ã€ŠAnother World&#x27;s Versatile Crafting Masterã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Prologue

    <h4>Chapter 1: Prologue</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As per usual in the mornings, Lin Li logged in on his smurf <sup>1</sup> ount¡ªwhich was a mage¡ªthe first thing after he went online.

    Bright Moon City was particrly busy on Sundays. The continuous stream of yers was more than double in number whenpared to other days; it was overcrowded even in the private warehouse where the fees were more expensive.

    ¡°Could you please help¡ª¡± Lin Li finally made his way to Suo Lan and was about to ask the pretty administrator for help in getting his mail item.

    But he was pushed away from the back before he could finish his sentence.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the words outside clearly? This is a private warehouse, what is a low-level yer like you doing here?¡± Those words came from a level forty-something warrior who was followed by a group of four or five yers. He seemed to be the leader of their small team.

    After the warrior had spoken, the rest of the yers expressed their discontent one after another. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with this low-level guy; he¡¯sing here and taking up a space for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Who knows. Maybe he thinks the rich are here and so would like to get some money for a potion to level up.¡±

    ¡°Why not go to the auction house for money? That¡¯s where all the rich men are. If anyone happens to be in a good mood and throws some gold coins your way, you will never have to worry about not getting enough money for the level-up potion.¡±

    Lin Li only nced at these wasps, then once again calmly wedged his way through to reach Suo Lan. ¡°Would you help me get the mail items posted yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Sure, please wait.¡±

    The onlookers watched as various mine ingots were being taken out of the private warehouse. There were themon mithril and thorium, and also rare adamantine and fiend iron. The sheen unique to magical metals sparkled in the private warehouse, dazzling the eyes of the yers. Themotion died down instantly, and only sounds of yers swallowing their saliva could be heard in the private warehouse...

    The yers had yet to shift their gazes away from the bulk of ingots when the pretty administrator took out another pile of stuff from the warehouse¡ªover a hundred pieces of ck dragon skin stacked neatly together. The fine and closely woven dragon scales were breathtakingly lucent under the sheen of the magical metals¡ªthis was genuine ck dragon skin. It was the perfectbination of magical and physical defense. Gear made from the dragon skin was of a legendary scale at the very least. Hundreds of ck dragon skin pieces meant hundreds of pieces of legendary gear at the very least!

    And this was not the end. Beneath the stack of ck dragon skin were over twenty pieces of smelted divinity metals.

    The entire private warehouse seethed with excitement at the sight of these divinity metals.

    ¡°Look, these look like the legendary divinity metals!¡±

    ¡°Look like? These <i>are </i>the divinity metals. Oh, God! More than twenty pieces, did this low-level mage just rob a dragon?¡± The guy had guessed it half right, Lin Li had indeed raided a dragon¡¯sir. But at the same time, while raiding the dragon¡¯sir, he had finished off the Dragon of Destruction Azardas.

    There was nock of professional cksmiths in the crowd. No one knew the value of the divinity metals better than them.

    The properties of equipment made out of divinity metals might not stand out in the beginning, but the longer you use it and the higher the level you attain, the more its fearful growth characteristics would show¡ªalbeit slowly. Many professional cksmiths had predicted on official forums that if a yer began using equipment made out of divinity metals at level one, then when he reached level 70, the equipment could reach an epic level at the minimum even if it might not be an artifact!

    Was this beast intending to give anyone a way out at all, having over twenty divinity metals out at once?

    The yers could only watch as Lin Li swept the twenty pieces of divinity metals into his bag, their expressions ones of those who had witnessed their wives entering a hotel with other guys...

    But then, Suo Lan retrieved a scroll from the warehouse yet again, and all life had escaped from the yers¡¯ eyes. He was a beast capable of producing two pieces of epic equipment at ease, and in addition possessed over a hundred pieces of dragon skin and over twenty pieces of divinity metals. What else could he not do?

    However, everyone had a breakdown the time the scroll was handed over to Lin Li.

    ¡°The Wishes Spell! That is the scroll of Wishes!¡± only yers who knew their stuff eximed as the scroll was passed.

    ¡°How is that possible! Did you see it correctly?¡±

    ¡°It really is! That is really the scroll of Wishes!¡±

    The private warehouse had just quieted down for a few minutes, but the appearance of the scroll threw the ce into a frenzy again.

    ¡°Powerful¡± might be an understatement in this case. Having the scroll of Wishes meant the yer could tell the System Lord one wish. As long as the wish was not against the rules of the game, anything could be granted. The yer could wish for an endless pool of wealth or the most powerful equipment. He could also wish for the Lord to kill any legendary creature for him, or even ask for a vastnd with rich natural resources to build his own kingdom on.

    At this time, the looks cast on Lin Li had a certain degree of other meanings to it.

    But Lin Li heeded them not. He stretched out two fingers and lightly picked up the scroll, put it in his bag, and strode out of the private warehouse.

    As Lin Li walked along the canal towards the trade zone, there were dozens of men with devil tails trailing behind him.

    <i>They really came along... </i>Lin Li nced back and couldn¡¯t help but feel excited. ying bandits without looking into whom they¡¯d be dealing with. <i>They had better follow closely. Just wait till I settle the business on hand, I¡¯ll be putting on my hunter form for a good talk with them.</i>

    In reality, Lin Li¡¯s hunter form was stationed in the auction house at the moment. He was a super hunter holding the legendary weapon, Stars of Fury. The mage was just a smurf ount he used in the warehouse. However, he seemed to have an extraordinary luck. He had created a mage smurf intending to use it as a warehouse, but he had gotten one with top levels of mental and intellectual abilities, a mage of the highest grade. Lin Li always had trouble deciding what to do with such an exceptional smurf.

    Finally, he thought he couldn¡¯t let such an outstanding smurf go to waste. Hence, he began training the smurf in various kinds of professions.The fellow was one of a hardy character. It was either no training at all, or all training at once. As long as it was a life skill to be learnt, he¡¯d learn it all. Now, a level one mage like him had mastered all five basic skills¡ªforging, alchemy, pharmaceutics, magical enchantment, and inscription¡ªto the highest level. In addition to these, his knowledge on medicine, minerals, cooking, scroll making, and other general skills had also increased beyond the highest level.

    Lin Li took his time to walk to the trade zone. He stopped in front of a cksmith shop.

    Over a hundred pieces of mithril poured noisily into the furnace. Lin Li waited on the side for two minutes, then, disregarding whether the mithril was melted, he took one piece out and began hammering once it was on the anvil. The yers behind him saw in between fits of sparks mithril valued at over a hundred gold coins hammered into a piece of scrap iron in an instant.

    Top-ss cksmiths used mithril in their forging, hence it was natural to turn mithril into scrap iron. However, it made no difference to Lin Li whether the mithril was hammered into scrap iron. He was neither short on those few hundred gold coins, nor was he short on those few pieces of mithril. In fact, he had his own private mineral veins in ces like the Glistening ins and Thousand Pinnacles, but no one knew about it...

    What was the big deal about scraping a few pieces of mithril as long as the skill points increased?

    Lin Li began busying himself again in the midst of those cksmiths looking as if they were going to cough up blood. He took the mithril pieces one after another, and after using up almost half an hour, finally managed to scrap all hundred of them. Of course, his forging skills had improved significantly.

    Right after mithril was thorium, then fiend iron, which was followed by adamantine...

    After the million gold coins¡¯ worth of minerals was hammered into scraps, the system prompt tone that was ever so pleasant to the ears rang out. ¡°Congrattions! You have advanced to be the Master of Forging!¡±

    Lin Li massaged his aching shoulder. He took a look back at the stupefied onlookers before packing his tools and turning in the direction of the pharmacy.

    Again, another million gold coins worth of herbs smashed and an advancement to be the Master of Pharmaceutics.

    Followed by metallurgy...

    ... and magical enchantment...

    ... and finally inscription...

    It was already noon when Lin Li finally reached the mastery level for all five skills. The group of yers who had followed behind watched in shock as they witnessed Lin Li ravaging the materials. They had felt pity for him at the beginning, but werepletely numb by the time he finished. The onlookers even started guessing whether Lin Li came from some rich family and took to gaming to vent his frustrations after encountering some stress at home.

    Lin Li finally stopped to catch his breath after sessfully upgrading his skills to the mastery level. Just when everyone thought he¡¯d finally call it a day, he took out the scroll of Wishes from his bag.

    ¡°What is he trying to do?¡± The power of the scroll of Wishes was almost terrifying. Lin Li had just taken the scroll out when the yers behind him made all possible preparations for a formidable enemy. After all, not only did this fellow not seem normal from the start, he was holding the scroll of Wishes, the freakiest item of all. Should he take things too hard and ask the System Lord for a huge massacre, they¡¯d be digging their own graves standing here.

    ¡°You think too highly of yourselves...¡± Lin Li nced at the yers who looked as if they met their mortal enemy. Did he have nothing else to do other than using the scroll of Wishes on them? Couldn¡¯t they be more self-aware and decide if they were worth the price?

    As the scroll of Wishes gently unfolded, a rainbow appeared suddenly on the skies of Bright Moon City. As the colorful rays shone down lightly, the whole city seemed to be enshrouded in a dream. A majestic voice rang through the solemn and divine choir, a voice that appeared toe from afar yet nearby at the same time.

    ¡°What is your wish?¡±

    Lin Li gazed at the rainbow. He hesitated slightly before taking a deep breath, then said, ¡°My wish is to increase the levels of all my life skills!

    The instant the wish was made, the rainbow transformed into numerous beams, descending gradually from the sky like a seven-colored ribbon, wrapping Lin Li up. Lin Li could vividly feel that with every breath he took, it was as if there were countless beams infused into his body. As thest beam was absorbed, limitless knowledge gushed from his brain. Forging, alchemy, pharmaceutics, magical enchantment, and inscription, and even general knowledge in medicinal, mineral, and other categories. These seemed to be with him from birth, integrated with the existing memories he had, and he had them at his fingertips.

    Lin Li checked his skill form. Four of the main skills had indeed reached the level of a guru, and most of the general skills were also beyond the level of a master. Thinking back to the year since the opening of the Endless World, there had never been a guru well-versed in all five series; even a master in one was hard to find.

    Life skills were iparable to individual levels. As long as you put enough time into gaining individual levels by defeating monsters andpleting missions constantly, you could umte enough experience points to level up. However, once you had reached the highest level for a life skill, it would be extremely difficult to make any progress. Only powerful characters like Lin Li would think of smashing top-grade materials to earn skill points. Thinking back, he had spent almost five million gold coins on these five basic skills. Other than Lin Li who had just raided a dragon¡¯sir, who else could afford it?

    The mastery level was more like a division. When one had reached the mastery level, it was not a matter of money anymore. Perhaps there wouldn¡¯t be the slightest increase in your skills even if you had seeded in forging ten thousand times, but a failure in forging might allow you to obtain a huge improvement in skills. No one would dare say there would be a day where he could reach the level of a guru, even when there was only a small gap to ovee to achieve it.

    Of course, the difference between a guru and a master was a vast chasm.

    The mastery level would only allow you to create legendary items, and there might only be one sess in a thousand tries. But at the guru level, you could create legendary items at will. You could even create epic items, though there would still be a certain rate of failure. However, a guru could not be mentioned in the same breath as a master.

    As for legendary items, it was not something the mortals could imagine. Someone who was able to create artifacts, no matter what profession he was in, was a person there¡¯d only be one title for¡ªthe Divine Smith!

    The scroll of Wishes was a good item. It could be used to attain millions of wealth, kill a legendary creature, or even build your own kingdom. Each was no doubt a fine choice. But Lin Li constantly felt that using it to be a professional guru was the wisest choice of all.

    Lin Li took a look at the fading rainbow. Slowly, he picked up the remaining materials for training and kept them in his bag. After witnessing a miracle, the yers no longer had the thoughts of banditry in their minds. They watched dumbstruck as Lin Li packed the materials, but no one dared to move an inch.

    Someone who could produce numerous top-graders at hand and spend millions of gold coins by the knock of a hammer and a shake of the medicinal bottle was not someone they could afford to mess with. Other things aside, he could simply employ someone for a few thousand gold coins to wipe them off their ounts. Banditry? More like suicide.

    After putting all the materials in his bag, Lin Li nned to switch to his hunter ount for a good talk with the onlookers. But then, all of a sudden, a sharp siren sounded.

    ¡°An unknown failure urred in the system. All yers are requested to go offline immediately!

    ¡°An unknown failure urred in the system. All yers are requested to go offline immediately!

    ¡°An unknown failure urred in the system. All yers are requested to go offline immediately!¡±

    The siren sounded thrice. Lin Li was about to go offline when he realized he had lost control of his character.

    He had yet to grasp the situation when the feeling of losing control extended to his own body. It felt as if his soul and body were being separated. He could see himself but couldn¡¯t feel his existence. The surroundings became soft and velvety. No matter how he struggled, he could not break away from the hopeless sense of impotence.

    Lin Li gradually felt his stream of consciousness floating away. He could even see another image of him lying sluggishly on the chair. Lin Li jerked his head up in horror. It was pitch-ck above him¡ªreal darkness, without a hint of foreign matter. Even if there was a sliver of light shining into it, it would be devoured by the endless dark, with nothing left behind.

    ¡°Which despicable fellow hid a ck hole in my house!?¡± The question popped up in Lin Li¡¯s head before thest bit of his consciousness faded into the darkness...

 Chapter 2 - The Pharmaceutics Rookie

    <h4>Chapter 2: The Pharmaceutics Rookie</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li woke up in a log cabin. Probably due to the hasty construction, the cabin looked a tad shabby. There was no furniture except for a chair and a bed in the room. The door was utched and a pungent odor of medicine wafted through the crack in it, so Lin Li could not open his eyes for a long time.

    <i>The Bull¡¯s Strength potion? But it doesn¡¯t smell quite right... </i>Lin Li took a few sniffs and pondered for a long time before he finally understood. <i>Damn! It¡¯s a failed one, no wonder it didn¡¯t smell right to me. But who¡¯s the genius adding leaves from the Wisdom Tree to the potion? Was he not satisfied that the conflicting smell of thebination of the four ingredients was not strong enough?</i>

    The concoction was just a high-grade potion. A pharmaceutics guru like Lin Li could easily find out the reasons for failure just by taking a whiff. But it didn¡¯t mean anyone else could. He had yet to sit up from the bed when he heard an exasperated grunt through the crack in the door.

    ¡°Impossible! There was no mistake this time, how could it fail again? Is there a problem with the ingredients? Yes, there must be a problem with the ingredients. Great! This dang old man, selling counterfeit goods at my doorstep! l¡¯ll make sure you give me my money back!¡±

    Another fit of temper from the owner of the voice. Lin Li was just about to cover his ears and go back to sleep when the door that was utched swung open.

    An old man in his sixties or seventies stood behind the door. He had white hair and a face full of wrinkles, but his actions were full of vigor, disying no signs of old age at all. He wore a long white robe dappled with stains, probably due to the frequent use of potions. There were ck and blue traces everywhere on his robe, which made it look kind of messy.

    ¡°Kid, I know you¡¯re awake. Stop pretending you¡¯re asleep and get up quickly.¡± The old man pushed the door open and sat on the vine chair in a huff. In his mind, he was probably still thinking about the failed Bull¡¯s Strength Potion.

    ¡°I just woke up...¡± Lin Li knew that the old man was fuming, so he hurriedly turned over and climbed out of the bed.

    However, the look on Lin Li¡¯s face changed the moment he uncovered his quilt.

    <i>The Robe of Wrath! </i>He was actually wearing the Robe of Wrath!

    It was indeed the Robe of Wrath. Lin Li was sure he couldn¡¯t be wrong. In order to attain this legendary robe with a space to hold thirty scrolls in it, he had spent almost forty thousand gold coins along with a piece of epic equipment and had barely managed to obtain this remarkable magical robe.

    <i>It can¡¯t be this odd... </i>Lin Li raised his right hand nervously, thinking he must have seen it wrong. There couldn¡¯t be a ghost in broad daylight!

    However, the ring on his thumb proved yet again that his vision was fine. The Ring of Endless Storm, with mythical space being its most singr attribute, possessed an almost infinite space in it. It was said that there was a big secret hidden in the ring. Lin Li attained two mythical equipment pieces when he went into the Well of Sun¡ªthe Stars of Fury held by the hunter and the Ring of Endless Storm right in front of him.

    The ring was just too familiar for Lin Li to remember it wrong.

    Looking at the Robe of Wrath he was wearing and the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger, Lin Li felt that he had no need to open the portal to the other dimension again. He was certain that it contained over a hundred pieces of dragon skin and over twenty pieces of divinity metals, along with the numerous top-grade equipment and materials he had umted previously.

    <i>What... What kind of damned situation is this? </i>In fact, he had vaguely guessed that something bizarre must have happened to him when he had woken a while back. But he would never have guessed it would be strange to this point.

    The entirety of the Endless World actually appeared in reality!

    Both the Robe of Wrath and the Ring of Endless Storm were equipment from the Endless World. They were only statistics, but now these statistics were present in the real world. Everything felt so real. The Robe of Wrath was constantly emitting its peculiar warmth and the Ring of Endless Stormy quietly on his thumb. Lin Li could totally feel that he could open up the near infinite space that was in the ring with just a thought.

    ¡°May... May I ask where in the world this ce is?¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice was so hoarse that it surprised him. He was afraid the old man would mention a ce he was familiar with. A load of data appearing in the real world was not frightening, what was really frightening was him bing a load of data¡ªjust like the plot that often appeared in horror movies. A wisp of resentful soul sojourning in thework, relying on various killing websites to find a substitute.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know this ce?¡± The question was nothing out of the ordinary, but the old man stared with eyes wide open.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Lin Li nodded honestly.

    ¡°Then what are you here for? This is the Sunset Mountains, one of the most dangerous ces in the south of the Anril Continent. Even an old fellow like myself would only dare toe here for a few days¡¯ stay every July. You little kid, you have guts, swaggering into the ce without even knowing where this is!¡±

    Lin Li knew it was a big deal when he heard the unfamiliar name of the Anril Continent. Other than transmigration, he had no other exnation for it. However, even Lin Li himself felt a little strange. For no reason at all he had be a transmigrator, and yet he felt relieved. The first thing on his mind was, surprisingly, something else, for he thought, <i>Transmigration it is. Better than bing a resentful soul on the inte...</i>

    ¡°Alright, kid, though I don¡¯t know why you came here¡±¡ªthe old man nced at the Celestial Cane ced on the side of the bed, and with an impatient look on his face, turned to face Lin Li¡ª¡±and of course have no wish to know why... In any case, the Sunset Mountains are not a ce for excursions. If you¡¯re looking for some thrill or would like to train yourself out of boredom, then I¡¯ll offer you one advice. Go back where youe from and don¡¯t evere seeking death in the Sunset Mountains again.¡±

    Not waiting for any reaction from Lin Li after he finished his sentence, he stretched out his hand and pushed the utched door open, once again burying himself among his beakers and test tubes.

    <i>You¡¯re the one looking for thrill, your whole family is looking for thrill! </i>Lin Li stared at the utched door as he cursed bitterly in his heart. It was only after cursing that he felt sorrowful again. Transmigration had be his reality, but this was an entirely foreign world and he had not grasped even the most basic concepts of it. To go back where he had came from... He¡¯d like to go back indeed, but how?

    Moreover, what the old man said at the end sounded like an admonition and a threat. It didn¡¯t sound too good, but Lin Li understood the meaning behind it. The Sunset Mountains were definitely not a peaceful ce. Now that he couldn¡¯t even tell the directions here, mishaps could happen if he just walked out of the ce foolishly.

    ¡°You only have ten minutes. If I find that you¡¯re still not packed and gone by the time Iplete this bottle of Bull¡¯s Strength potion, don¡¯t me me for chasing you out.¡± Lin Li had yet toe to a decision on his part but the old man outside the door was not at all polite, directly chasing him out.

    Lin Li took a smell of the medicine and knew the old man had added leaves from the Wisdom Tree once again.

    ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d be in a hurry to scoop those two leaves out. Otherwise, not to mention ten minutes, the beaker in your hand will explode once again in less than ten seconds.¡± Lin Li¡¯sugh sounded unusually nasty.

    ¡°Pack your stuff immediately and get out of my house!¡±

    The angry roar had yet to die down when a muffled sound of explosion was heard from behind the door. A plume of smoke followed and the pungent smell of medicine wafted through the door¡¯s crack, and Lin Li found it hard to open his eyes again. Then the door was flung open and the old man rushed in,pletely ignoring that his head was covered in bruises from the explosion. He grabbed Lin Li and demanded, ¡°Speak! How did you know it would explode?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it...¡± Lin Li maintained his nasty smile and broke off mid-sentence. With his finger, he pointed at his cor where the old man was grabbing.

    ¡°Sorry, I was too agitated.¡± The old manughed embarrassedly. He released him somewhat awkwardly and smiled as he helped Lin Li straighten his crumpled cor.

    ¡°Actually, the reason is too simple.¡± Lin Li smiled in contentment. He took a seat on the vine chair and began, ¡°There are four main ingredients for the Bull¡¯s Strength potion. They are the Dracaena grass, the Thousand-knot Vine, the Nightmare Flower, and the Troll¡¯s Blood. The medicinal properties of the ingredients sh with one another, but there is a delicate bnce between them. It is not wrong to add some supplementary ingredients to improve its medicinal properties, but something like the leaves of the Wisdom Tree... I can only say you¡¯re too smart for your own good. Although the leaves are usually used to bnce the conflict between ingredients, their other effect is to calm the mind. Putting a herb with calming effects into a potion that strengthens the body is like putting a cat into a rat¡¯s cage.¡±

    ¡°So this is it, I¡¯ve thought...¡± A master¡¯s knowledge of medicine meant one could speak of these as easily as if having all the words at hand. The old man waspletely convinced by Lin Li¡¯s eloquence, but at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but size up Lin Li with an odd look. He couldn¡¯t quite figure out the kid in front of him anymore. He possessed an almost perfect talent in magic but was extremely weak. He¡¯d figure Lin Li was at the standard of a level-one mage at most. But,ing to the Sunset Mountains alone, he had too much guts to be called a rookie.

    But what really eluded him was the kid¡¯s ability to exin the principles of the Bull¡¯s Strength potion. He was not really a master in potion crafting himself, but the Bull¡¯s Strength potion was an ancient potion recipe he got from the High Elves Relics. Not to mention average pharmacists, it was impossible to find information on the power of the Bull¡¯s Strength potion even in the Anril Pharmacists Association. Buting from the kid¡¯s mouth, it sounded like it was somethingmon and easy to understand, just like buying vegetables from the market. At the thought of this, the old man could not help but wonder if there was any justice in this world.

    When Lin Li finished exining the principles of the Bull¡¯s Strength potion and began analyzing the pros and cons of simr potions, the old man watched him as if Lin Li was a dinosaur.

    The old man hadpletely forgotten about wanting Lin Li to leave. Looking at the darkening sky outside the log cabin, the old man was eager to invite Lin Li to stay, and even prepared a sumptuous dinner for him. After rounds of beating around the bush during dinner, Lin Li was gradually able to make out a general outline of the unfamiliar world in his mind.

    This was a world of swords and magic. The old man in front of him, whom he hade to know as Andoine, was a mage by profession, and a powerful one at that. Although Andoine did not borate on how powerful he was, Lin Li could tell from his confident tone that this somewhat unkempt old man was definitely more powerful than he had imagined him to be.

 Chapter 3 - The Magic Genius

    <h4>Chapter 3: The Magic Genius</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li stayed in the Sunset Mountains for the following month. Other than asionally guiding Andoine in pharmaceutics, he spent most of his time learning magic. He discovered he had a gift in magic, and even old Andoine, who had lived for over a hundred years, had to admit he had never seen someone with such an exceptional talent in magic as Lin Li.

    Lin Li mastered three kinds of elementary magic in three days. This unbelievable progress got Andoine doubting if there was any justice in this world. He had spent a month getting into meditation and had been praised by his teacher for being a genius at that. Then, what would be of the guy in front of him? Was he a monster or a maniac?

    Only Lin Li would know how he came to possess such near-demonic gift in magic. It probably had something to do with the attributes of the mage smurf¡ªhigh levels of mental and intellectual abilities. It was all thanks to these demonic attributes that he could easily understand highlyplex spells and arrange magic elements without effort as if he was born knowing it. He could recite anyplex spell with ease just by hearing it once and learn the order of magic elements in the shortest time no matter how difficult they were.

    Andoine ceased teaching any new magic skills when Lin Li mastered the tenth elementary magic. Instead, he got him to practice the sequencing of the ten elements.

    Though tedious training made one lose interest quickly, Lin Li showed no signs of annoyance. He knew very well that despite being a terrible pharmacist with a nasty temper, old Andoine was undoubtedly an authoritative figure in the field of magic. His opinions might not be precise, but it was far better than having himself, an amateur, fumbling about on his own.

    The tedious training continued for a month, until one morning...

    Like any other days after breakfast, Lin Li resumed his training on elemental sequencing.

    This was not the conventional way of magic training. Usually, the mage would start off with sequencing the magical elements, and then unleash the magic through reciting a spell. But Andoine had adopted a different approach in his teachings. He made Lin Li summon the magical elements and had them arranged by making use of Lin Li¡¯s mental strength. Instead of unleashing the magic through spell, he jumbled them up and made Lin Li go through the whole process repeatedly until his mental strength finally wore off.

    On other days, Andoine would keep himself busy in the pharmaceuticalb after breakfast. However, he stayed in his room that day and quietly watched Lin Li train. It made thetter ufortable to know that someone was watching him, so he stopped and looked at the old mage as he asked, ¡°Have you learned the form of the rity Potion I taught you a few days ago?¡±

    ¡°Uh, not yet...¡± Andoine turned red in embarrassment when asked about the rity Potion. Indeed, whenpared to Lin Li¡¯s extraordinary gift in magic, he had nothing to show in regards to his talent in pharmaceutics. Lin Li had demonstrated over ten times the making of a simple rity potion, but he still could not get a grasp on it till this day. In fact, he nearly caused an explosion in theb just the day before. No matter how thick-skinned Andoine was, he blushed involuntarily at the mention of the topic.

    ¡°Are you alright? Why haven¡¯t you been able to master it yet?¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression that was clearly one of someone who¡¯d expected better from Andoine made thetter wish he had a hole to crawl into. ¡°So, what are you waiting there for instead of going back to theb? Do you need my demonstration again?¡±

    ¡°No need for it, I¡¯ll study it myself...¡± Andoine rubbed his hands awkwardly. After a few moments, he seemed to recall his goal. Putting on a serious face, he said, ¡°Umm... Let¡¯s not talk about this today, I have something to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± They had been together for more than a month, yet this was the first time Lin Li saw Andoine serious. He could not help but be curious.

    They stepped out of the log cabin. Andoine thought for long while before asking Lin Li, ¡°Do you know why I stopped teaching you new spells, and instead had you practice elemental sequencing?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lin Li replied honestly. ¡°I know nothing about magic anyway. I¡¯ll just practice whatever you ask me to, surely you won¡¯t harm me?¡±

    ¡°You kid have some conscience at least.¡± Andoine nodded with satisfaction, a relieved smile on his aged face. ¡°I have lived for over a hundred years and have never seen anyone as gifted as you. You are a monster, kid. I think even the legendary Geresco couldn¡¯t have been more gifted than you are.¡±

    ¡°Geresco?¡± Lin Li knew he was gifted, but he had never imagined he¡¯d be this powerful. He knew more or less from the old man who Geresco was. He was the most powerful mage in the Dark Ages, the strongest of mortals nearest to the divine. The God of Mages who single-handedly defeated the entire Magic Legion of the High Elves. Lin Li could never have imagined his own magical gifts to be this strong.

    ¡°But don¡¯t get too excited just yet.¡± Seeing how bewildered Lin Li looked, the old mage chortled. ¡°Talent is one thing, but achievements are another. From what I see, you are inferior to Geresco in at least two ways. First of all, you are not focused enough. In magic, only people who are absolutely focused can achieve real sess. Too much knowledge is sometimes not a virtue. Take pharmaceutics as an example, you know that better than those old fellows from the Pharmacists Association at such a young age. A lot of energy is spent on pharmaceutics, how much time would you have to study magic?

    ¡°What¡¯s really deadly is the second aspect: you¡¯ve been exposed to magic toote. ording to the records of the Dark Ages, Geresco was born into a family of mages. His parents were famous mages of the Dark Ages. He had been exposed to magic from birth; by the time he got to your age, he had already surpassed the standards of a Magic Shooter, and you¡¯re just beginning to learn the lowest level of magic.While ate start can bepensated for by talent, it does not give you a solid enough foundation. There are no shortcuts in the world of magic, and all powerful spells are nothing but talk until a solid foundation isid.

    ¡°That is why I stopped teaching you new magic.¡± At this point, Andoineughed guiltily. ¡°Actually, at the beginning, I just wanted to make an exchange. You¡¯d guide me in pharmaceutics, and I¡¯d help you in magic. Though it might not be much help, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to reach the level of a Magic Shooter within ten years.

    ¡°But I soon regretted it. Your talent is too great, such talent may not appear for thousands of years. I can¡¯t bear to see you going down the wrong path, so instead of teaching you new spells, I let you practice the most basic sequencing of elements every day. Never underestimate the tedious practice. Every world has its own rules, and the world of magic is no exception.¡±

    After more than a month in this unfamiliar world, Lin Li felt warmth for the first time. He bowed to Andoine respectfully and said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

 Chapter 4 - Ghostskin

    <h4>Chapter 4: Ghostskin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After the long talk with Lin Li, Andoine seemed to have forgotten about the matter.

    As usual, he spent his time in the potionb, making Lin Li¡¯s blood run cold with the things he did from time to time.

    Lin Li had been wondering whether the stubborn old man would be blown up one day.

    But for the time being, his body was still intact despite being subjected to various idents every day.

    It was not until the seventh day after the long talk that the stubborn old man, who was still in one piece, called Lin Li out of the log cabin.

    ¡°How about helping me?¡±

    For reasons unknown, Lin Li constantly felt that the smile on the old man¡¯s face was somewhat sinister.

    But thinking it over, he had been living as a freeloader for the past month and still had magic to learn from him. It was hardly justifiable if he couldn¡¯t even offer a little help. Hence, he braced himself and replied, ¡°Tell me about it. I¡¯ll do my best to help if it¡¯s within my means.¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s no big deal...¡± Andoine rubbed his hands embarrassedly. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve been unlucky these days. There have been many idents in theb for a few days in a row. Although the idents weren¡¯t serious, they cost me a lot of ingredients.¡±

    ¡°Afraid it¡¯s not just bad luck...¡± Lin Li muttered to himself. After living here for more than a month, he could see that old Andoine¡¯s attainments in magic were truly unparalleled. But in pharmaceutics, he was worse than an apprentice who had just started out. An apprentice would at least learn how to do it gradually, but Andoinepletely ignored the proper steps and chose to take up challenging tasks from the beginning. Now that there was a potion master around to clean up whatever trouble he caused, the old man became more brazen in his actions, making it seem as if there was Spring Festival celebration every day in theb. If there were no explosions someday, it would be because the old man had taken the wrong medicine.

    ¡°But, fortunately, I did an inventory count this morning. Most of the ingredients are no problem, only the wild steelbloom stock suffered the biggest losses...¡±

    Only arge number of wild steelbloom was lost¡ªthat was indeed a stroke of good luck in the midst of bad. Compared to the leaves of the Wisdom Tree, wild steelbloom was much moremon. The only condition for its growth was shade. The darker and damper the ce was, the more it thrived. Such environment could be found anywhere¡ªthere were countless such ces just in the Sunset Mountains alone.

    ¡°So, you want me to...¡± Lin Li had guessed what Andoine was about to say. Thinking it was not a big deal picking wild steelbloom for him, and that there was nothing else he could do but practice elemental sequencing anyway, Lin Li answered coolly, ¡°No problem. If you can¡¯t excuse yourself for the moment, it¡¯ll be the same if I go and pick some for you.¡±

    ¡°Thank God...¡± Old Andoine heaved a sigh of relief and exined rather embarrassedly, ¡°I am waiting for some very important news these days; it¡¯s really hard to find time to go. It¡¯s great that you¡¯re willing to help!¡±

    After inquiring about the location where the wild steelbloom grew, Lin Li went out without much dy.

    It was the first time he wandered far from Andoine¡¯s cabin since having transmigrated here.

    Walking in the dark forest, Lin Li feltplicated emotions. He was split between curiosity and nervousness.

    Being both curious and nervous, Lin Li naturally could not have noticed that Andoine had recited a spell the moment the former stepped out of the cabin. Following thepletion of the spell, a figure of Lin Li began to emerge on the crystal ball in front of him...

    ording to Andoine, not far away¡ªonly a few minutes of walk from the log cabin¡ªwas a spot where the wild steelbloom grew. It was said that the ce had once been the nest of Manticores, but they had died out during thest ck tide. No one knew which demons had killed them, and even Andoine could only guess based on the traces in the surroundings. ording to him, they had probably encountered their nemesis, the ck Dragon, during the ck tide.

    Lin Li stood outside the nest. It had only been a year, but the nest waspletely deserted.There were weeds all around and a bed of wild flowers bloomed in brilliance at the entrance of the cave.

    Lin Li could only feel a rush of cold, damp air on his face as he approached the overgrown cave. As soon as Lin Li came near, he knew he had not found the wrong ce. The cave was dark and damp¡ªthe perfect ce for wild steelbloom to grow.

    As in most ces where the wild steelbloom grew, the cave entrance was dark and damp, and the surrounding stone walls so slippery it almost felt like touching a giant python. There was no light in the darkness ahead. Lin Li had no choice but to light a torch and explore the depths of the cave with it as his only source of light.

    In fact, Lin Li saw a sea of wild steelbloom not long after entering the cave.

    But he did not pick any, and instead continued to explore with the torch in his hand.

    It was because he remembered that there was another herb which had the same habitual nature as the wild steelbloom, the ghostskin. It preferred dark and damp environment, and mostly grew in caves. However, the ghostskins were buried deeper and hidden better than the wild steelbloom.

    Lin Li¡¯s experience told him that the ghostskins were more likely to be found where the wild steelbloom flourished best.

    He wanted to find out whether his past experiences could be applied to this world.

    So, he didn¡¯t even look back.

    The route ahead seemed to be getting wider; it was only a small cave when he just came in, but as the forest grew deeper, the cave seemed to have turned into a maze.

    Lin Li circled the maze for a long time and went through one passage after another before he suddenly saw light ahead.

    It was a stretch of underground wilderness, empty and vast. Seas of wild steelbloom prospered on the wildnd. The ze of purple and red was interspersed with dots of gray, the color of ghostskin.

    Lin Li felt his heart leap upon seeing the little gray dots among the flowers.

    No one in this world could ever understand how Lin Li felt at the moment¡ªnot even Andoine who was the closest to him.

    His experience in the Endless World could be adapted to the world of Anril.

    What did this imply? This implied that in the world of Anril, Lin Li was also a master of all professions!

    It included not just professions like pharmacy, metallurgy, and forging. It was more on the knowledge aspect, like the knowledge of herbs¡ªhe also had a mastery level in it!

    It was not until the ghostskins had been gathered that Lin Li was able to contain his excitement. This was probably what made him the happiest since he had transmigrated. Lin Li knew very well what it meant to be a master of all professions. It was almost like being an omnipotent superman. With a background like that, his future in this unfamiliar world seemed to be clearer.

    It took Lin Li almost an hour to gather all the ghostskins from the underground wildnd. Even with his assets, he was not willing to let go of any of it. Compared with the wild steelbloom, ghostskin had too many uses. Besides refining the Wisdom Potion, it could also be found in potions that had broader applications, like the Hastening Potion and Fossilizing Potion.

    Wild steelbloom was also picked by him on the way. But a Herb Master like Lin Li would not be interested in that kind of cheap herb. He simply picked some, thinking it¡¯d be enough for the old fellow to squander away, and refused to waste any more energy bending over his back.

    Lin Li was about to leave the cave after finishing his errand when he inhaled a foul stench.

    The stench was thick with blood, like a pool of fresh, viscous blood.

    Lin Li had yet to regain hisposure when a low roar came from behind him.

    He turned his head in a hurry, just in time to see a dark-red shadow lurking there.

    ¡°F*ck!¡±

 Chapter 5 - The Manticore

    <h4>Chapter 5: The Manticore</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just as Lin Li turned around, the dark-red shadow sprung on him along with a gush of foul wind like a horde of ferocious wolves.

    It was fortunate that Lin Li had been living in Andoine¡¯s log cabin for more than a month. In this past month, though he had only learnt ten low-level spells, he was far more adept in his execution of the spells than an average mage.

    Lin Li pulled back before the red shadow came close and begun reciting the Dying Spell in haste.

    After unleashing the Dying Spell, he quickly recited the Illuminating Spell.

    What was originally a low-grade magic spell used for lighting released an extraordinary power in this dark and damp cave. A cry of horror ensued¡ªthe savage beast was badly wounded.

    Lin Li took advantage of this opportunity and retreated another dozen steps. In the blink of an eye, the distance between them had been drawn to a safe one.

    Only then did Lin Li have the chance to see the appearance of the monster that had attacked him from behind.

    It was a dark-red lion with a tail that was much longer than the average lion¡¯s. The tail had an inverted hook at the end, giving off a faint blue shimmer under the afterglow of the Illuminating Spell. Lin Li could see clearly that it had attacked neither with its ws nor teeth a while ago, but instead swooped in on him with the inverted hook on its tail.

    Even if Lin Li had been blind, at this moment, it would still have been clear to him as day¡ªit was a Manticore, the level-five magical beast that Andoine had mentioned!

    ¡°Old bastard Andoine...¡± Lin Li cursed between clenched teeth, paying greetings to all eighteen generations of Andoine¡¯s family in his heart. How irresponsible of the old fellow, sending him to the cave lightly without having any idea whether there were any Manticores inside.

    In the little log cabin, Andoine watched the scene on the crystal ball and blurted out a praise. ¡°Nicely done!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s performance was far beyond his expectations. He was calm yet efficient. Even when the Manticore¡¯s tail was right in front of him, he never stopped reciting of the Dying Spell. The Illuminating Spell that followed right after was even more so a stroke of genius. Even Andoine himself had not thought that the Illuminating Spell could be put to such use.

    Dealing damage to a level-five demon with a level-one spell was a feat that even Andoine himself had not aplished.

    With the delicate touch of the Illuminating Spell, it brought the distance between Lin Li¡ªwho had been just exposed to magic for barely more than a month¡ªand the level-five beast infinitely close.

    The badly wounded Manticore was still ferocious. But it had lost both its eyes, so most of the time it was merely expressing its anger and malice. Wild roars echoed throughout the cave; the strikes that seemed like lightning came down repeatedly, most of the time missing their target.

    Lin Li was constantly struggling to keep up amidst the relentless attacks.

    The Dying Spell was used alternately with the Hastening Spell, allowing Lin Li to escape from the lion mouth again and again.

    He seemed a little clumsy with this. But Lin Li knew that all he needed was a chance. A chance for him to recite his spells.

    Lin Li had waited for long before he finally got his chance.

    He¡¯d even exposed himself to the ws of the Manticore for this opportunity.

    It was because he knew very well that the most terrifying thing about the Manticore was not its ws, but the inverted hook at the end of its tail.

    After unleashing another Dying Spell, Lin Li suddenly broke his stride. He did not turn and run after unleashing the Dying Spell like how he did before. This time, he stood rooted to the spot, andrge verses of spells poured out of his mouth as if he had not noticed the advancing Manticore right in front of him.

    There was a thick smell of blood carried by the Manticore¡¯s roar.

    Lin Li could even sense the chill of its ws...

    Just as the ws fell, a wave of wind de tore the air apart. Then, it tore apart the soft abdomen of the Manticore as well. The cries of the Manticore were filled with despair; the sharp ws were so close, so very close to tearing the body of the human in front of it apart. But it was this small distance that became a gap never to be crossed...

    At that moment, Lin Li had not forgotten to shoot an icicle to clog the wound of the Manticore, preventing the gushing blood from spilling over Lin Li¡¯s body.

    The action fell into the eyes of Andoine, who deemed it a waste of power. He stomped his feet in anger and chided, ¡°Wastrel!¡±

    In the eyes of the old mage, magical power would always be the most precious of things. Even the smallest amount of power could let you unleash thest spell¡ªenough to save your life. What Lin Li had done was a crime in Andoine¡¯s eyes, wasting his power just for the sake of keeping his clothes clean!

    Though, of course, there was more or less some helplessness in his scolding.

    Andoine knew that the kid in the crystal ball was not an ordinary mage. He was a born psychopath, a psychopath with a super-deformity of the mind.

    It was still unclear to Andoine where the limit of the kid¡¯s mental strength was. All he knew was, if another mage were to practice the highly intense elemental sequencing daily, it would probably take him less than an hour to tire out and return to his room to meditate. But Lin Li was perfectly fine. The kid¡¯s mental strength seemed to be endless. To go through how many hours of practice all depended on his mood. Andoine had only ever heard him protest in annoyance, but never out of exhaustion.

    That was the truth. Unleashing a few more low-grade spells had no effect on Lin Li at all.

    He was crouching next to the body of the Manticore, studying its inverted hook with interest.

    The inverted hook was still shimmering with blue light, and a rush of sweet stench jolted his brain as he went closer.

    This was a sign of lethal poison.

    Lin Li had always liked stuff that carried poison because it meant a deadly force.

    So, without much hesitation, he pulled a dagger out of the Ring of Endless Space and very carefully nicked the inverted hook off the tail. Then, as gingerly as ever, he put it back into the Ring of Endless Space.

    ¡°...¡± Andoine was at a loss watching the scene from the crystal ball. Was he really a mage with a knowledge of the mystical? No matter how the old man looked, he thought the kid was more like a thief instead...

    Regardless of how Andoine thought, Lin Li came back safe and sound with a pile of wild steelbloom.

    ¡°I need an exnation!¡±

    Lin Li was still brooding over the encounter with the Manticore in the cave.

    ¡°What is magic to you?¡± Andoine did not exin but instead posed a question.

    ¡°A kind of skill, a skill that will allow your strength to be more powerful.¡± The present Lin Li was not the piece of clear rock that knew nothing when he first came to this foreign world. He had developed his own understanding of magic under the influence of Andoine.

    ¡°Then, what is the purpose of making your powers stronger?¡±

    ¡°To kill!¡± Lin Li suddenly understood some of it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Andoine smiled, feeling pleased. ¡°In the eyes of the mortals, magic is a skill that is mysterious yet elegant. But to a real mage, the only purpose of magic is to battle. A mage that lives is a mage that¡¯s really sessful! You have learnt enough low-grade spells this past month, and obtained a certain degree of skills. But it¡¯s far from enough. Without the experience of life and death, and the shower of fresh blood, you will never be a true mage.¡±

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t tell me there was a Manticore in the cave on purpose?¡±

    Andoine¡¯s reply was simple. ¡°It¡¯s just a level-five beast, there¡¯s no need for a special reminder.¡±

 Chapter 6 - Departure

    <h4>Chapter 6: Departure</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the following few months, Andoine frequentlycked in herbs.

    Using this as an excuse, Lin Li was frequently called upon by Andoine to fight different types of magical beasts.

    From Manticore to a Three-eyed Blood Wolf, then from Thunder Beast to a Bloodthirsty Lizard. In slightly over a month, Lin Li killed literally all the magical beasts of the Sunset Mountains that were of level-seven and below.

    After struggling in battle with a highly invasive manticore initially, Lin Li eventually could easily kill a level-six beast. Lin Li only possessed ten low-level magic spells, however, he was clear that he had be stronger. In the opinion of Andoine, Lin Li had begun to feel more like a real mage.

    Each time he peeked through the crystal ball to observe Lin Li¡¯s battles with the creatures, Andoine always felt that Lin Li felt distant and unfamiliar again...

    From the beginning, Andoine believed that inexperience could be ovee¡ªjust like an inexperienced archer hiding in the distance bing an experienced mage using magic to control the situation to make the enemies die in despair and helplessness. This transformation took only a month for Lin Li. It should be known that, in the current Guild of Magic, there were still quite a few who wore the hat of the wizard but were doing the work of an archer.

    Lin Li¡¯s improvement was indeed so quick that it was unbelievable for an old mage like Andoine.

    Mentioning the inexperienced Lin Li slightly a month back would only make Andoine feel strange and distant.

    Three days ago, in a battle with the Thunder Beast, Lin Lipletely rid himself of the shackles of the spell recitation through performing the Dying Spell merely with a gesture of a hand. The old mage begun to feel distressed.

    <i>What else can I still teach him? </i>Andoine stared at the crystal and pondered for a long time, asking himself what other skills he was able to teach Lin Li.

    Although it was only the Dying spell, it brought shock to Andoine as it felt like a spell over level-eighteen.

    He remembered very clearly: when he¡¯d first unleashed his low-levelled spell, he was thirty years old and had just be a mage.

    In the following few days, Andoine was troubled as he waspletely clueless what else he could teach Lin Li.

    Because of his troubles, Lin Li managed to get a few days of a rare break.

    After Lin Li practiced elemental sequencing, he sneaked into the pharmacy. Using the spirit divinity¡¯s grass that he had obtained a few days back, he made himself a few bottles of Hastening Potion. Andoine had forbidden him to use such stuff since quite a while ago as too much reliance on medications, drugs, or foreign objects would inevitably affect his improvement in magical capabilities.

    However, today he noticed that the old mage, Andoine, seemed to be distracted.

    While Lin Li was busy in the pharmacyb, the old mage would usuallye in to check instead of staring distracted out at the window.

    The old mage only returned back to his normal state when a few bottles of Hastening Potions werepleted.

    ¡°How many times have I told you that too much reliance on medication will only bring you more damage than benefits? Why are you not listening to my advice?¡± Upon saying that, Andoine heaved a sigh. ¡°Forget it. In the future, I will not be able to supervise you over the crystal ball every day. Perhaps the medication will be able to save your life when you meet with some trouble.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± For the past few days, Lin Li felt that Andoine¡¯s attitude was weird. Now that he heard the old mage utter such a thing, Lin Li hastily became aware of it and was so stunned that he even forgot to keep those Hastening Potions that he had made.

    At that time, Andoine begun to look pale. He held onto the chair, slowly sat down, and ced the crystal ball¡ªwhich he had never allowed to be out of his sight¡ªaside. Thereafter, he did not answer Lin Li¡¯s question. Instead, he asked, ¡°Have you been staying here for three months?¡±

    ¡°About there,¡± Lin Li answered distractedly. He curiously stared at Andoine as he realized that the old mage looked pale and tired today.

    ¡°When I¡¯ve found you, I did not realize that I have found a magic genius.¡± The old mageughed, his husky voice tinged with emotion. ¡°Until now, I still can¡¯t believe that you have never learnt magic before.¡±

    ¡°That was due to limited conditions, because nobody could teach me...¡±

    ¡°I know that you carry some secret and you have no intention to share it. I have no intention to probe, either.¡± He brushed off Lin Li¡¯s true reply as an excuse with a wave of his hand, indicating that Lin Li did not need to exin anything. Andoine then said to himself, ¡°In the beginning, I just could not bear to see you waste your talent. At that time, I did not expect that you could have done so well. It wasn¡¯t until thest two days that I realized I have nothing more to teach you!¡±

    Lin Li wanted to humbly say a few words of constion, however, he realized that the atmosphere was not right. He thought to himself, <i>Might as well keep my mouth shut and listen conscientiously to what Andoine has to say.</i>

    ¡°For the past two days, I have been pondering what else I could teach you. It wasn¡¯t until this morning that these questions could no longer trouble me... This morning, I received a letter from an old friend. In his letter, he stated that there is a very important thing that he requires my help in.¡±

    ¡°So you are ready to chase me off?¡±

    ¡°Basically, that is the case.¡± After finishing what he had to say, Andoine pulled out a thick envelope from his mage robe. ¡°In any case, by continuing to stay in the Sunset Mountains, you will not be able to learn anything useful anymore. Why don¡¯t you let me rmend you to another ce? There, you can choose to continue to learn something more or do the things you have always wanted to do.¡±

    ¡°What ce is it?¡±

    ¡°Take this letter to the Jarrosus City¡¯s Guild of Magic and look for someone by the name of Gerian. He will help you to arrange everything.¡± Andoine handed the thick envelope to Lin Li. ¡°By the way, there seems to be some problem with your identity. It won¡¯t matter, because if you don¡¯t wish to use your original identity, you can use the one I have prepared for you. The information is in the envelope. You just have to take some time to memorize it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± After listening to the old mage¡¯s gentle and thoughtful exhortation, Lin Li suddenly felt that his eyes were moist. In order to lighten the atmosphere, he gave a reluctant smile and asked casually, ¡°When are you nning to leave?¡±

    ¡°About half an hourter.¡± The old mageughed and gave Lin Li a pat on his shoulder. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t matter as this will not dy me too much. I guess I will probably be able to head to Jarrosus City after a week or two. When that happens, I will bring you to my private pharmacy. I had hidden a purple set of crystal beakers; it¡¯s a treasure that I have gotten at a great value...¡±

    Subsequently, Lin Li could no longer remember what Andoine had said. It was only when Andoine¡¯s back disappeared into the distance that Lin Li suddenly recalled an important matter.

 Chapter 7 - Wyvern

    <h4>Chapter 7: Wyvern</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With Andoine¡¯s long-winded instructions still ringing in his ears, Lin Li had to feel his way through the dense forest alone. As he fumbled along the way, he whined, ¡°Did the old man make a mistake? He knew how to prepare a new identity for me but forgot to prepare a map?¡±

    Andoine was probably the only person in this world who understood Lin Li best. He knew there was a problem with Lin Li¡¯s identity, so he had prepared a new one for him. But perhaps he would never have thought that it had not been just a problem of troublesome identity for this fellow¡ªin fact, he had none at all. The Sunset Mountains stretched for thousands of miles. How could Lin Li, who hade from another world, find his way out?

    Andoine was not to be med for his negligence. Who would have expected that a magic genius skilled in pharmaceutics could have such weak sense of direction?

    Barely a day after Andoine had left, Lin Li packed up all his stuff. However, it had been ten days and he had yet to figure out the bearings in the Sunset Mountains.

    The woods were dark and gloomy, and the ground was covered with decaying leaves. His feet sank with every step he took, as if he was walking on mud. The rancid smell was so disgusting that Lin Li had trouble keeping his eyes open. Specks of faint green light flitted in the dark, while the incessant howls from the wolves struck fear into Lin Li¡¯s heart.

    Lin Li had been walking around in this forest for three days. Ever since he stepped into this forest, Lin Li¡¯s spirits were permanently dampened. This cursed forest was like a hugebyrinth. Regardless of where he had started out from and how hard he had fumbled to find his way out, each time he felt exhausted and sat down to rest, he¡¯d find the trees in front of him ever so familiar...

    It continued until this morning, when Lin Li finally heard some voices.

    Lin Li had just passed through the dense woods when, all of a sudden, he saw the leaves billow in the bushes ahead¡ªthree figures were hurtling through the sea of leaves.

    ¡°Damn! Damn! Living humans!¡± He had always bragged about what a refined person he was, but he blurted out two ¡°damns¡± within moments. He was just too excited that he actually saw three living humans.

    Although these three living humans might soon be dead, at least they were alive at the moment.

    The leaves of the bushes ahead stirred; three wounded people could be seen fleeing from the forest. Among them, a middle-aged man seemed to have been seriously injured. A long wound extended from his chest to his waist; warm blood gushed out from the fresh wound, leaving a long blood trail on the ground covered with decaying leaves.

    A young man and a woman held onto the middle-aged man as they fled. The young man was wearing a mage robe made with fine craftsmanship; he seemed to be a mage with a good family background. In particr, the staff he held in his hand was a rather decent one even in Lin Li¡¯s eyes.

    Unfortunately, it was difficult for a mage to y a role in the current situation. The weak mage had be a burden with the vigorous running; hence, it was the beautiful girl with the long blond hair looking after the two men most of the time. The girl, who was pretty to begin with, wore a tight red vest, which outlined an infinite lovely curve in the high-speed running. She held onto the wounded man with her left hand and carried a dagger in her right hand. The temperament she disyed as she scanned her surroundings was such that Lin Li could not help but take a few more looks at her.

    What was chasing them was a raging Wyvern. Its rage originated from the gash on its abdomen. It was a long and deep wound, apparently left by a sharp weapon.

    <i>Exciting! </i>Lin Li stared at the Wyvern fervently as it appeared.

    Andoine had introduced all kinds of magical beasts living in the Sunset Mountains back when he was living in his log cabin. At the mention of the Wyvern, Andoine had added gleefully, ¡°The Wyvern¡¯s blood makes a good Rampage Potion.¡±

    Of course, only Andoine would dare to say such things. For an ordinary adventurer, a level-seven magical beast would definitely have the power to turn three living people into deadmen in a sh.

    Razor-sharp talons, flying at the speed of wind, and extremely corrosive acidic spout¡ªthese allowed the Wyvern to have what it took to survive on the edge of the Sunset Mountains. Ordinary magical beasts like the Manticores dared not provoke them. A raging Wyvern spewing endless acid from the sky was probably a nightmare for anyone.

    Lin Li was afraid as well. But he was even more afraid of this cursed forest. If he wished to walk out of this forest, he could not let the Wyvern turn those three into corpses. Sometimes, the reason for doing a good deed was just as simple as this.

    Granted, given Lin Li¡¯s character, he would make sure not to suffer any loss when he waspelled to perform a good deed...

    He saw the Wyvern take a dive, sshing acid on the bushes. In an instant, a plume of green smoke emerged, and a burst of fizzing sounds followed. Before the green smoke could disperse, the sight of lush green trees was transformed into one of fallen branches and yellow leaves.

    The trio who were trying hard to escape were spared from the acid, but they had to stop in their tracks briefly to avoid it. Normally, it might not have been a problem, but at present, they happened to be under the Wyvern. As the trio looked up, they saw a shadow zooming in on them, sharp talons glimmering in the dark.

    At the same time, Lin Li had finished the recitation of the Ice Armor Spell.

    As thest of the spell broke out, a hardyer of ice armor covered the middle-aged man. While stopping the bleeding of the wound, it also made the Wyvern¡¯s strike fall in vain. An excruciating pain shot up from the Wyvern¡¯s talons, like having caught onto steel, and the Wyvern roared in fury and agony.

    The trio, who were still reeling from shock, took the chance to extricate themselves from the Wyvern and went on to hide in the thick grove.

    Then, they saw a young man wearing a mage robe walk out from the forest, reciting an unintelligible spell. A shot of icicle tore through the sky and plunged into the wound on the Wyvern¡¯s abdomen. The icicle was not sharp, and would not be enough to prate the tough skin of the Wyvern. Even if it pierced through the wound as it did this moment, this low-level spell would not deal much damage to the Wyvern.

    The only thing the icicle could do was to aggravate the wound on its body. The initially deep, long wound was as though a ravine all of a sudden. Blood poured out like rain, and even the viscera were surging about in its abdomen...

    What was really fatal was that the icicle got stuck in the wound from the start. The icicle not only punctured the viscera of the Wyvern, it also prevented the wound from closing. Blood flowed out gaily like from a reservoir with its gates opened.

    After all these, Lin Li unleashed a Dying Spell to make matters worse for the magical beast.

    The bloodied Wyvern was already at its weakest. Now that the Dying Spell was cast, it was like an old bullock pulling a broken cart, trundling along. No matter how hard it struggled, it seemed that the distance of a dozen steps was a gap it could never cross.

    The wail of the Wyvern was filled with despair, and such emotions apanied it till it breathed itsst.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± After confirming the level-seven magical beast was dead, Lin Li was suddenly reminded of something. <i>What a waste! All this blood that have been spilled could make a substantial amount of Rampage Potion...</i>

    Upon seeing that the Wyvern was dead, the wounded middle-aged man held onto the surrounding branches and struggled as he walked out of the grove. He had wanted to thank his life¡¯s savior and had just taken two steps when he saw thetter holding a ss bottle, desperately squeezing the body of the dead Wyvern.

    ¡°Is there really no more? Please... Squeeze a little more, just a little bit more. At least let me make a bottle of Rampage Potion...¡±

    His actions reminded the trio of a vampire, and sent chills down their spines...

    Atst, it was the wounded middle-aged man who plucked up his courage and approached him with caution. ¡°Mr Mage, thanks for your generous help...¡±

    Hearing the middle-aged man¡¯s expression of gratitude, Lin Li was reminded of the proper business at hand.

    ¡°You are wee, it was an act of convenience.¡± Lin Li put the stopper back on the ss bottle that was half-filled with the Wyvern¡¯s blood and gingerly put it away into the pocket of his mage robe. Grinning, he introduced himself, ¡°You can call me Felic. By the way, may I ask how the three of you havee to provoke the Wyvern?¡±

    This was the new identity that Andoine had prepared for him. Lin Li had thoroughly memorized it along the way, and now said it so naturally and fluently as though Felic was his real name all along.

    The middle-aged man had not expected the seemingly powerful yet mysterious young mage would be this amiable and easy to approach. He was rather ttered and expressed his sincere gratitude all over again before introducing his party of three to him.

    The injured middle-aged man was called McGrenn, one of the many adventurers in Jarrosus City. He had entered the Sunset Mountains after epting a quest from the Adventurers Guild to obtain a Manticore¡¯s tail. The beautifuldy with the long blond hair was his daughter Ina; she was an adventurer just like him.

    As for the mage who looked like he came from a good family, McGrenn was vague in his introduction of him. He only mentioned that his name was Cromwell, and that he was a warm-hearted mage they had met on the way.

    Lin Li stifled augh at this. <i>A warm-hearted mage? More like he¡¯s trying to court your daughter. Who else would be that idle,ing to the Sunset Mountains being warm-hearted and all...</i>

    ¡°Everything was going well in the beginning. After a few days of search, we found a lone Manticore, so we¡¯d deployed a trap near the ce where it nested this morning.¡± A bitter smile came across McGrenn¡¯s face. ¡°And then, we hid in the forest, waiting for it to fall into the trap. But who knew the trap would attract two Wyverns instead of the Manticore? God knows what happened; a trap that was meant for the Manticore had provoked the Wyverns¡¯ attacks on us in the forest. I¡¯d killed one of them, but was badly hurt by it before it died. Cromwell had no choice but to bring Ina and I out of the forest... And then, fortunately, we met you. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, I really wouldn¡¯t have known what to do...¡±

    ¡°How unfortunate...¡± Lin Li looked regretful, but rejoiced secretly in his heart. Luckily they had encountered the Wyverns; if not, where would he have gone looking for people to lead the way? This cursed forest was much trickier to deal with than a Wyvern...

 Chapter 8 - Accident

    <h4>Chapter 8: ident</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li felt a lot more rxed with McGrenn leading the way. After all, thetter was a veteran adventurer with nearly 30 years of hunting experience. To quote McGrenn, in this 30 years, he had spent more time in the Sunset Mountains than in his own home.

    The forest that was initially like abyrinth seemed more pleasant all of a sudden.

    It only took half a day for the party of four to walk through the dense forest.

    The trees ahead were gradually thinning, and the woods were no longer dark. Warm sun rays fell through the gaps in the trees andnded on their bodies. Warming up with the sun rays was Lin Li¡¯s mood¡ªhe was finally able to leave the cursed Sunset Mountains.

    After studying the map, McGrenn told Lin Li, ¡°It would probably take another day to get out of the Sunset Mountains.¡±

    ¡°Then what about tonight?¡± Lin Li was somewhat worried. The Sunset Mountains were a dangerous ce, and they could encounter ferocious magical beasts anytime¡ªespecially during the night, as many magical beasts that were rarely seen in the day would leave their nests then, lurking in between the ravines and waiting to pounce on the sleeping prey.

    Every night spent out in the open in the Sunset Mountains was equal to putting life in danger.

    ¡°Not a big problem.¡± McGrenn looked calm. ¡°I know of a safe ce. We just need to speed up; we should be able to reach it before dark.¡±

    ¡°That would be great.¡± Lin Li nodded and said nothing more.

    ¡°Mr Felic, can I ask you a question?¡± Just as he was about to push on with the journey, the beauty with the long blond hair hurried up to him from behind.

    The blond beauty was still wearing the red vest. It revealed a gorgeous curve with her tall figure and slender legs that was further outlined by the vest. Perhaps it was due to the rush of the journey, but a tinge of red glow appeared on her fair face. Her long blond hair hung straight and dazzled in the sun.

    The forest paths were narrow, so it was hard to avoid being close when two people walked side by side. Breathing in the faint scenting from Ina¡¯s body, Lin Li suddenly felt his head hurting. He wasn¡¯t sure what happened on the way, but the blond beauty seemed to like asking him questions.

    If it were on other asions, Lin Li would definitely be delighted.

    This fellow had been an otaku before he transmigrated, and he¡¯d not met any pretty girls before. After the transmigration, all he saw was the old face of Andoine. He was not some Buddhist monk who practiced abstinence. Being approached by a pretty girl was too good a thing to ask for, so how could there be any reason to turn her away?

    However, the situation was giving Lin Li a headache, for he had no idea how to answer Ina¡¯s questions.

    ¡°Mr Felic, are you from Jarrosus City?¡± How should Lin Li answer this kind of question?

    ¡°Erm... This... I guess not really...¡± Lin Li was fretting over it when, fortunately, he thought of something else and hurried to change the topic. ¡°Oh, right. Ina, don¡¯t you need to kill a Manticore for this quest? I heard Mr McGrenn mention just now that you both had justid down the trap when the Wyverns discovered it. What will happen to the quest now that you had not managed to hunt down any Manticore?¡±

    ¡°It would be considered a failure, and I¡¯ll have topensate some money.¡± The topic that Lin Li had chosen wasn¡¯t bad at all¡ªthe blond beauty finally stopped asking her questions after Lin Li had mentioned the quest. Her pretty face revealed a hint of helplessness. ¡°The Manticores live in groups, so the probability of encountering a lone one is extremely low. We had followed them for a few days beforeing across one, but it was ruined by the two Wyverns.¡±

    ¡°That was a pity...¡± Lin Li rejoiced while he came to a decision. When they reached Jarrosus City, he would definitely have toe up with a wless background. Otherwise, it would be a loss of face when he was asked by the beauty and couldn¡¯t easily engage in a conversation with her.

    To avoid another questioning of his background from Ina, Lin Li took the initiative to bring up some topics to chat with her. For Lin Li, the content of the conversation was not important, what was more important was not to let her have the time to raise questions.

    Lin Li was really good at chatting. Even a seasoned old veteran like Andoine had always felt that he was unable to outspeak him, much less an innocent girl like Ina.

    It took Lin Li absolutely no effort to bring the rhythm of the conversation under his control.

    The fellow had led the conversationpletely out of point with that half a bottle of Wyvern¡¯s blood. He did not even mention the Wyvern¡¯s blood first, but only casually spoke of the strength of a level-seven magical beast. The blond beauty, full of curiosity, naturally picked up the topic. A pair of sky-blue eyes blinked inquisitively at Lin Li as she asked why he had collected the Wyvern¡¯s blood at the end.

    With the half a bottle of Wyvern¡¯s blood as a conversation starter, there were just too many topics to choose and continue from. He had heard many anecdotes from Andoine back when he had to face him all day long. Now it was easy using them to lead young girls on.

    In addition, Lin Li was also eloquent, and he told the stories with fine sense of humor. asionally, when it came to professional knowledge, he appeared profound and authoritative. Even Andoine had little to say in front of him, let alone Ina, an adventurer who only knew how to fight magical beasts.

    A mage who was powerful yet mysterious, humorous and witty, yet possessed extensive knowledge was a totaldy-killer in front of a young girl who was just beginning to think of love.

    The blond beauty walked with her head down along the forest path, listening to the interesting stories and feeling the manly auraing from the young mage. For reasons unknown to her, she suddenly felt her face burn.

    Both of them were chatting merrily and had not noticed the other mage turning pale.

    Cromwell felt as if he was being cut by a knife.

    When he had first met Ina at the Adventurers Guild, he was smitten by this blonddy with a pair of slender legs.

    The untamed beauty exuded by Ina had a near-fatal attraction for Cromwell, who was born into a mage family.

    Cromwell had used all kinds of means to win the heart of this long-legged beauty.

    This time, he even went with her into the Sunset Mountains to prove this way that he was equally reliable!

    Cromwell felt that he was nearing sess.

    If it had not been for Lin Li¡¯s appearance, he would have been the one to save the father and daughter pair.

    What irked Cromwell the most was that the sudden appearance of this mage seemed to have posed some kind of threat to him.

    Ina had neverughed so brightly when she was talking to him.

    Cromwell could not understand how that abject-looking mage could be better than him in any way.

    He was born into the most prominent mage family in the Fn Kingdom, and his father was someone who had a say in the Mage Association. His family was strikingly rich with the umtion of over thousand years of wealth after the Dark Ages, and his uncle Fario had held the position of the Minister of Wealth in the kingdom all along.

    What did the mage Felic have? Other than being slightly younger than Cromwell, he could not even afford a decent mage robe.

    This person had to disappear! Cromwell stared after Lin Li¡¯s back and sneered.

    The party of four set off in the direction of Jarrosus City, each carrying their own secrets.

    They had walked into another dense woods before the sun set. ording to McGrenn, as long as they passed through this forest and walked a little farther, they would be able to see Jarrosus City.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be impossible to reach it tonight, we¡¯ll just have to make do with whatever we have nearby.¡± McGrenn led them forward. Very soon, they found a cave.

    The cave was not too deep. It took just a torch to illuminate it whole. The stone walls were exceptionally dry, and traces of bonfire could be found on the ground. It seemed that it was not just McGrenn who¡¯d ever wanted to spend the night in this cave.

    ¡°This is the ce I¡¯ve mentioned earlier. Everyone can rest at ease for the night. I have stayed here for a dozen times, and not once have I encountered any danger.¡± McGrenn skillfully lit up a bonfire and instructed the long-legged beauty beside him, ¡°Ina, there is a water source in the north of the forest, about two to three hundred meters away from here. Take the water bag and fetch some water back.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

    Cromwell could hardly sit still upon seeing the long-legged beauty go out of the cave. He stood hastily and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you...¡±

    Lin Li noted that the expression of the middle-aged adventurer did not seem too good after Cromwell had chased out of the cave. Of course, he would not ask about this sort of thing; instead, he smiled and went back to warm himself by the fire.

    ¡°Mr Felic...¡±

    ¡°Just call me Felic, it will do...¡± Lin Li was rather troubled. He had mentioned it several times on the way, but McGrenn still insisted on calling him with honorifics.

    ¡°Alright. Felic, is this your first visit to Jarrosus City?¡±

    ¡°I guess so,¡± Lin Li answered vaguely. ¡°Some fellow had told me to go to Jarrosus City to look for someone...¡±

    ¡°Do you need any help? My family has been living in Jarrosus City for decades. It would not be a difficult task to help you find someone,¡± the middle-aged adventurer asked enthusiastically.

    ¡°Won¡¯t have to trouble you for now. My friend has given me an address, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to find...¡± Andoine had not really specified what the Mage Association was like. Lin Li was afraid it might be a secret organization¡ªwhat would he do if they decided to kill him for bringing McGrenn along?

    ¡°After we have reached Jarrosus City, feel free to contact me if you require any form of help. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, my daughter and I would most likely have been...¡± McGrenn was immensely grateful to Lin Li for his life-saving grace.

    The two men were chatting away when, suddenly, a scream broke out in the distance.

    ¡°Something terrible has happened!¡± It was Ina¡¯s voice. McGrenn¡¯s expression changed as he grabbed the weapon beside him and dashed out of the cave.

    Lin Li did not tarry, either. He cast the Hastening Spell and followed after the middle-aged adventurer.

 Chapter 9 - Leviathan Gorilla

    <h4>Chapter 9: Leviathan Gori</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The voice came from the direction of the water source McGrenn had mentioned before.

    The two men ran out of the cave back to back, just in time to see Cromwell sprinting back like a rabid dog.

    ¡°Monster... monster... monster took... took Ina away!¡± Cromwell looked extremely wretched, his luxurious mage robe covered with mud and leaves as he gasped for breath between words.

    Lin Li could not help but shake his head seeing this.

    This fellow was indeed hopeless. It was no wonder McGrenn had looked displeased when he chased after Ina. If Lin Li had a daughter, he definitely would not want her to associate with a weakling like him, either...

    ¡°What monster? Say it clearly!¡± McGrenn¡¯s eyes turned red with anxiety as it concerned his own daughter. He red feverishly at Cromwell, his eyes void of the distant courtesy he had previously.

    ¡°Just... just now... just now, when I went with Ina to fetch water, a monster suddenly emerged from the side! It... it... it took Ina...¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li dropped a swear and couldn¡¯t care less about the weakling anymore. He cast another Hastening Spell on himself and cut through the dense forest with the speed of wind.

    Behind the forest was a gentle stream, probably the water source that McGrenn had mentioned. Beside the stream, a water bagy quietly on the fallen leaves. There was still some water in it, gurgling out onto the ground.

    Lin Li bent down and picked up the water bag. He put it by his ear and gave it a shake, promptly realizing it was still half full.

    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be too far away!¡±

    Then, he took a look at the footprints on the ground, which were all in a jumble. There were footprints of all sorts¡ªbig, small, deep, shallow. The small ones should have been left by Ina and Cromwell, but the big footprints made Lin Li gasp in surprise.

    ¡°Leviathan Gori!¡± Lin Li believed what he saw. These were definitely the footprints of level-eight magical beast, the Leviathan Gori. Back when he was living in the mountains, he had seen them once or twice outside Andoine¡¯s cabin, only that old man would always make light of them as a couple of little ruffians looking for trouble that were driven away by him.

    Andoine could see them as little ruffians, but not Lin Li. Level-eight magical beast was no joking matter. Even in the Sunset Mountains, it was definitely in the middle of the food chain.

    But Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief when he identified it as the Leviathan Gori.

    If it were other magical beasts, Ina would probably be dead by now. It was only when encountering the Leviathan Gori that her life was not in danger for the time being. The Leviathan Goris were not so keen on killing like other savage magical beasts. Just as Andoine had said, they were just a bunch of troublemakers.

    ¡°Ina should¡¯ve been taken by a Leviathan Gori.¡±

    ¡°Leviathan Gori?¡±

    ¡°An oddity in the Sunset Mountains, a magical beast that is not keen on killing. If I¡¯m right, Ina should be crying now, but she¡¯s not in any danger for the time being.¡± Lin Li stared at the cluttered footprints on the ground and added softly, ¡°From the looks of the footprints, there should be only one Gori.¡±

    McGrenn was slightly relieved to hear that the situation was not as bad as he had imagined.

    The two men paid heed to Cromwell no more as they began their search by following the footprints along the stream.

    Lin Li had guessed it right. Still far away, the two men heard Ina crying.

    The cries came from a dense forest. From afar, the trees in the dense forest seemed to be particrly tall and the leaves seemed to be of utmost luxuriance. Between the tall trees were bestrewn tenacious rattans, joined together to form what looked like a giant.

    Lin Li had heard Andoine mention that this was the unique way of construction for the Leviathan Goris. They used the rattans to weave a giant, which would cover wherever their territory expanded. To the Leviathan Gori, this giant was both its nest and its most powerful weapon. With it, the Leviathan Gori could do many things that other high-level magical beasts could not.

    The long-legged beauty who was caught was currently being trapped in the giant.

    ¡°Go away! You monster... stay away from me!¡± Ina was struggling desperately in between her cries.

    The two men rushed forward upon hearing her.

    As soon as they were under the tree, they saw Ina being tied up in the giant. The rattan was entwined in severalyers, like a Chinese rice dumpling. The Leviathan Gori, which had somehow gotten a paintbrush from somewhere, was drawing circles on Ina¡¯s face as it made weird gaggling sounds ofughter.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li suddenly got a sense of what a freak this Leviathan Gori was. As a magical beast, it had caught a human not to tear or chew her apart, but to draw circles on her face with a brush. How was that not a freak?

    ¡°Ina!¡± They were father and daughter after all; McGrenn was as anxious as ever watching Ina wailing from under the tree.

    He was so anxious he had forgotten there was a level-eight magical beast on the tree.

    ¡°Father, be careful!¡± The long-legged beauty¡¯s shout had yet to settle when Lin Li heard a deafening sound followed by a muffled thud. McGrenn, who was just calling out his daughter¡¯s name, was knocked unconscious by a coconut that fell from the sky before he could avoid it.

    ¡°Kakakaka!¡± The Leviathan Gori was greatly excited seeing the coconut fall onto the human. It cackled as it hopped around, and it even wiggled its bottom at the two men.

    ¡°...¡± With McGrenn¡¯s experience as a lesson, Lin Li hurried to hide behind a tree in case that darned gori made another sneak attack with the coconut again.

    Just as he was about to lean behind the tree, he suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground; the next moment, his whole body was upside down.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Lin Li had not expected there to be a hidden rattan underneath the tree where he was hiding. One end of the rattan was tied into a slipknot, while the other was in the hands of the Leviathan Gori. It only took the darned gori one pull and Lin Li was caught.

    But Lin Li reacted fast as well. He was ascending in the air at full speed, yet he was exceptionally calm. There wasn¡¯t any recitation of spell; with only a peculiar hand gesture, the sound of a wind de piercing the air was heard.

    He had managed to cut off the insidious rattan with the wind de spell. At the same time, he cast another Feather Fall Spell on himself, and with that, Lin Li escaped from the trap atst. But what followed was another coconut volley.

    Who knew where the darned gori got the coconuts from¡ªat least hundreds of them came smashing down in a mess.

    Lin Li was racked by the barrage.

    The Leviathan Gori was a real level-eight magical beast. A smash with a coconut thrown from its hand had knocked out even a warrior like McGrenn, not to mention Lin Li who was in no sense strong.

    Lin Li felt as if he was being shot by a cannonball every time a coconutnded on his body.

    It was just too rough. The coconuts smashed down one after another, such that Lin Li could not even hold his head up.

    There were some opportunities in between for Lin Li to fight back, be it that two shots of wind de or a few shots of icicles. But all these spells had mostlynded on the tough rattan.

    The Leviathan Gori controlled the giant like it was a flexible arm. Most of the spells were actually blocked in the midst of twists and turns.

    Even if there were one or two spells that had gotten through the giant web and hit the Leviathan Gori, it was difficult to do any real damage to it.

    The resistance ability of a level-eight magical beast was poles apart from that of a Manticore. For Lin Li, the effects of these spells would only provoke the Leviathan Gori¡¯s rage, causing it to smash the coconuts on him a little harder.

    Those numerous shots of wind des and icicles would probably exhaust the mana of another mage. Only a freak with a serious abnormality of mental strength like Lin Li could persist under the rain of coconuts.

    However, even Lin Li was starting to lose heart in this situation.

 Chapter 10 - Frost

    <h4>Chapter 10: Frost</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The strength of level-eight magical beasts was just too powerful. It was luck that they had encountered the Leviathan Gori, an oddity. If it had been other brutal and savage level-eight magical beasts, he would probably have been torn to pieces by now.

    By the time Lin Li had recovered his breath from the shower of coconuts, he was already covered in patches of ck and blue, like a person applying various dyestuff on the body as a part of performance art.

    ¡°F*ck you darned gori...¡± Lin Li hid behind a tree, panting heavily as he desperately tried toe up with a n.

    This darned gori was an absolute freak. It was a level-eight magical beast, and it had reached a frightening degree in both speed and strength. Moreover, it was fighting on its home ground. The giant was like an imprable defense; even the razor-sharp wind des couldn¡¯t sever the rattans.

    This was really killing him...

    Lin Li had just caught his breath when the Leviathan Gori on the giant began to cackle again. Lin Li looked up just in time to see another pile of coconuts this fiend had brought back. Lin Li was distressed at the sight. If he did not get rid of the giant, he would really be killed by those coconuts today.

    <i>Hang on... Giant?</i>

    Suddenly, an idea shed across his mind, and he felt as if he had grasped something.

    Just then, the Leviathan Goriunched a new round of attacks. This time, the coconut shower was more violent and brutal than before. The coconuts fell one after another, and although they did not hit Lin Li, theynded on the giant tree beside him with a loud crash.

    Lin Li¡¯s scalp tingled upon hearing the sound.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± There was no time for Lin Li to dwell on it in this situation¡ªit didn¡¯t matter whether the idea would work or not, he had to do it no matter what.

    Lin Li finally found an empty space amidst the coconut shower. He took a leap to the side and managed to hide behind a few giant trees. The trees here were lined together, forming an excellent area for concealment. At least for the time being, the Leviathan Gori¡¯s coconuts would not reach here.

    After earning a temporary respite for himself, Lin Li dared not hesitate any longer. He opened up the Ring of Endless Storm and pulled out a bottle of blue potion.

    It was a rity Potion made from the sus of ghostskin and leaves from the Wisdom Tree. It could greatly increase the scope of magic cast. Because Andoine had always objected to his excessive reliance on potions, he had only concocted three bottles. Lin Li¡¯s heart ached as he downed a bottle, for it meant he had one bottle less...

    After he had finished the Recovery Potion, Lin Li red menacingly at the giant above him. ¡°Darned gori, you¡¯ve got guts!¡±

    ¡°Kakakaka!¡± The Leviathan Gori could not care less. After a fit of cackles, it resumed drawing on Ina¡¯s face with even more joy than before.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tear down your lousy and see if you can stillugh!¡± It was the first time Lin Li took out his own staff from the Space Ring since leaving the log cabin. It was the only thing Andoine had gifted him¡ªa magic staff embedded with the magical crystal of the Frost Troll. Lin Li had named it Winter.

    Holding the Winter Staff in his hand, Lin Li felt a familiar rush of magical wave all over his body. A low yet lengthy recitation of spell sounded among the trees. The surrounding air¡¯s temperature seemed to drop to the freezing point in an instant with the abstruse and mysterious recitation. Ina stopped crying and stared down nkly at Lin Li as she took in the powerful magical force. Even the Leviathan Gori, which was in the giant, had forgotten its weird cackles. The inborn instinct of a high-level magical beast had told it that it was in danger.

    ¡°Frost!¡± Thest of the spell was broken by Lin Li, and the crystal at the tip of the staff glowed brilliantly. A wave of cold current radiated from Lin Li and swept through the giant.

    Wherever the cold current passed, a vast expanse of white could be seen. Under the frigid cold brought on by the Frost Spell, every rattan in the range was chilled to ice. The range wasn¡¯t wide, perhaps only a few dozen meters, but it was enough for Lin Li.

    After the Frost Spell, he cast another Wind de Spell.

    The target of this Wind de Spell wasn¡¯t the Leviathan Gori in the giant, but the rattan that was frozen to ice.

    ¡°Snip!¡± The air was filled with ice kes in the midst of jarring sounds.

    All the moisture in the rattan was taken away after being frozen by the Frost Spell. Although the Wind de Spell couldn¡¯t cut through the tough rattan, it was more than enough to break ice.

    After a dozen shots of wind des, Lin Li had managed to carve a hole in the giant.

    The tiny hole grew in size as Lin Li continued to deliver the wind des.

    By the time the hopping, cackling gori realized something was wrong, it was already toote. The giant had lost its bnce and was copsing; no matter how it jumped, it could not prevent the whole from tearing.

    ¡°Wooo!¡± Finally, the Leviathan Gori fell head-first down the giant amidst the screaming.

    Falling with it was Ina, who was wrapped like a rice dumpling.

    Lin Li caught Ina before she hit the ground before turning around to cast a Dying Spell on the Leviathan Gori.

    Without the giant as a shield and a coconut in hand, the Leviathan Gori was no better than a toothless tiger.

    ¡°That¡¯ll teach you tough again!¡± Lin Li helped Ina loosen the restraints on her body, not forgetting to deliver the wind des at the same time.

    For most of the day, Lin Li had to suffer from the shower of coconuts. Now that he had gained the upper hand, he was done being polite with the Leviathan Gori. Dozens of wind des were shot out with a swoosh, such that the darned gori couldn¡¯t even lift its head. The Wind de Spell was a low-level spell, but after breaking away from the restraint of the chant, it had be the most direct and effective mean of attack. Along with the support of an abnormal mental strength, the wind des were like a river, flowing unceasingly...

    Even a powerful level-eight magical beast could not withstand the terrifying cluster of wind des. It could rely on its tough skin to resist a couple of shots, but with dozens of wind des flying in the air, the quantitative change had led to a qualitative change¡ªthe Leviathan Gori¡¯s tough skin had be a joke.

    Even the toughest of skin could not withstand the repeated cuts of countless wind des.

    ¡°Wooo...¡± The cries were exceptionally tragic. Blood was seeping out endlessly from the wounds; in just the blink of an eye, the Leviathan Gori¡¯s fur was tainted red.

    What made matters worse was that Lin Li also used the Dying Spell in the midst of those wind des from time to time. Under the constraint of the Dying Spell, the Leviathan Gori was utterly tormented. It could not flee nor catch up with him, and if it stayed grounded, it¡¯d be ripped by the wind des.

    A mighty level-eight magical beast beaten to the ground. Where did its previous arrogance go?

 Chapter 11 - Ring and Canvas

    <h4>Chapter 11: Ring and Canvas</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Finally, the Leviathan Gori had given up all its dignity as a level-eight magical beast. Its cries were full of pleas for mercy; it hunched and bowed with hands folded in front, all but kneeling on the ground giving kowtows to Lin Li.

    ¡°This darned gori actually knows to surrender seeing that it can¡¯t win the fight?¡± It was an eye-opener for Lin Li. No wonder Andoine had said they were merely a bunch of troublemakers, drawing circles on faces if they won and begging for mercy on the floor if they lost. Was this really a level-eight magical beast?

    Lin Li was rendered powerless facing a rascal like this.

    Lin Li was naturally unwilling to let it off this easily. But it¡¯d be meaningless to kill it as well. Lin Li racked his brains over and over, and felt as if his head was about to explode. The anger that stemmed from his frustration was instinctively released on the gori, and this time the guy did it without the wind de. He pulled out a cane and beganshing, cursing as he did it. ¡°This one¡¯s for the kidnapping and ckmailing! This one¡¯s for smashing me with the coconut! This one¡¯s for the queerughter directed at me! Right... Where was I? Forget it, let¡¯s start all over... This one¡¯s for the kidnapping and ckmailing...

    The incessant beatings raining down on the Leviathan Gori had it seeing stars. A mighty level-eight magical beast, when faced with the cane, did not even dare to shun it. Lin Li finally stopped the beating resentfully when his arms started to turn weak. The poor Leviathan Gori was beyond trampled, burying its head into the ground.

    McGrenn and Ina watched, dumbfounded. They had formed some idea of Lin Li¡¯s abilities along the way and knew he was a powerful mage, but they had never imagined him to be this powerful. The scene of the infinite wind des attacking made them feel as if they were in a dream.

    McGrenn was considered a veteran adventurer and hade across many mages in his adventures, but he had never seen a mage as perverted as Lin Li. Just the wind de earlier on was definitely denser than the Leviathan Gori¡¯s coconut barrage.

    By the time Lin Li had the Leviathan Gori rolling on the floor from all the beatings, McGrenn and Ina had turnedpletely numb. From what they saw, this young mage was a total monster...

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if you dare to be arrogant again.¡± It was only when Lin Li had been satisfied with theshings that he cast away the cane in his hand. After taking a nce at his surroundings, he motioned at McGrenn and Ina for them to flee the scene.

    But the action fell into the eyes of the Leviathan Gori, who thought he was going toe back with a different cane. After that fat beating it went through, the gori was scared out of its wits. No longer caring about feigning its death, it hastily bounced from the ground and sobbed while begging for forgiveness while pointing to a giant tree in the distance.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Wooo wooo!¡±

    ¡°Wooo? For what?¡± Lin Li kicked the Leviathan Gori in annoyance, his eyes following the direction its finger indicated. ¡°Surely you didn¡¯t have a pretty Leviathan Gori hiding there, now preparing to offer her to me?¡±

    ¡°Woooo...¡±

    ¡°Do you not know something else other than sobbing?¡±

    ¡°Woooo...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t stand this gori that only knew how to whine, so he followed its lead to the giant tree for a look.

    A thickyer of leavesy under the giant tree; unlike the rotten leaves in the dense forest, the leaves here were unusually dry and crisp. Some even carried a tinge of green¡ªapparently, someone had just plucked them from the tree.

    Not waiting for an instruction from Lin Li, the Leviathan Gori swept the fallen leaves aside and revealed a huge and deep hole in the tree.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Lin Li nced into the tree hole and suddenly felt that the darned gori was indeed a genius. It had turned the tree hole into a treasure chest. What was in there included a weaponed armor covered in rust, glistening ss beads, a pile of colorful dyestuff, and even a canvas that was coated with mess.

    After all the fuss, this rascal led him here, thinking it had some treasure to offer, but instead he was showed a pile of junk? Lin Li did not know if he should find it funny or feel angry.

    He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly felt a faint spell of magic in that mess. This feeling was too familiar to Lin Li. Whether it was the Ring of Endless Storm in his hand, or the Robe of Wrath on his body, they were constantly transmitting a slight wave of magic inadvertently.

    ¡°There really is good stuff hidden here?¡± Lin Li was stunned. Something that could give off a faint spell of magic was definitely something that was not ordinary. Even the staff that old mage had given him was not qualified enough to do it.

    Lin Li had no time to deal with the Leviathan Gori in his surprise. He bent over in a hurry and began choosing his pick in the tree hole.

    His feeling was right. After tearing the colorful canvas away, Lin Li quickly found a ring among the pile of ss beads.

    The color and luster of the ring looked rather dull. Though the materials used were unknown, its craftsmanship was delicate and sophisticated. Fine patterns swirled around a ck diamond, like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon. The slight magical wave that he felt came from this ck diamond.

    Lin Li was instantly attracted to the diamond when he firstid eyes on the ring.

    It was an almost instinctive intuition. Lin Li knew that this was definitely a powerful magical gear, at leastparable to the Robe of Wrath he was wearing.

    ¡°Alright... Since you¡¯re so sincere, then I shall dly take it...¡± Lin Li patted the Leviathan Gori¡¯s head in a way that looked like he was teasing a child. He was in a fairly good mood, probably due to the acquisition of the ring, and the Leviathan Gori did not seem to look as repulsive as it had before.

    ¡°Kya kya kya!¡± The Leviathan Gori giggled, looking d, though it was not known if it was because Lin Li had epted the ring or because it could finally send the pestilence away.

    Lin Li¡¯s mood was lifted with the acquisition of the magical equipment by chance. He had no further interest in making things difficult for the Leviathan Gori, so with a kick on its butt, he said, ¡°Scram!¡±

    The Leviathan Gori seemed to have received an amnesty while being kicked, and dived into the depths of the forest with a puff.

    Lin Li was about to leave after getting the ring when the colorful canvas caught his eyes.

    Only then did Lin Li notice that, underneath the mess of dyes, there seemed to be something else.

    Feeling somewhat puzzled, Lin Li picked up the canvas.

    After a detailed examination of it, Lin Li realized there seemed to be some squiggly symbols on the canvas.

    ¡°The High Elves¡¯ print!¡± Lin Li was taken aback. Andoine had hidden a significant number of spellbooks in that small log cabin of his. Some of were written in the High Elves¡¯ print, but because Lin Li had just been exposed to magic and his foundation was not solid enough, Andoine had never allowed him to touch the stuff.

    Lin Li could not understand the texts, but he knew at least that anything that had to do with the High Elves was definitely not something that was ordinary.

    So, without any hesitation, he tucked the dirty canvas into his arms.

    Cromwell was staring at the bonfire, dazed, when the three of them had returned to the cave.

    ¡°Ina!¡± The zealous mage was surprised seeing McGrenn and his daughtere back in one piece. The monster that had taken Ina was too powerful. It had the speed of lightning, sending him to the ground and snatching Ina away in the blink of an eye. Never had he expected the two of them to bring Ina back safely.

    Thinking back to the terrifying monster, he was reminded of his earlier actions¡ªhe had fled in panic and left Ina to fend for herself.

    For a moment, Cromwell felt his face burn as he stood rooted to the ground. It felt wrong to stand or sit; finally, Lin Li came to his rescue.

    ¡°It¡¯ste, everyone should rest early.¡±

 Chapter 12 - Jarrosus

    <h4>Chapter 12: Jarrosus</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The next day, the party of four arrived at Jarrosus City at noon.

    ¡°Felic, this is Jarrosus City.¡± McGrenn was enthusiastically introducing the bustling city to Lin Li as they walked along the lively streets. ¡°Not far ahead is the Adventurers Guild. I usually spend my time there when there are no quests. If you need any help, you can find me at the Emerald Tavern.¡±

    ¡°Damn! This Jarrosus City is huge...¡± Being ustomed to the tall buildings in a metropolis, Lin Li felt a wave of novelty as he entered the exotic city. His eyes had not taken any rest at all as he followed behind McGrenn, busy with taking in his surroundings.

    Cromwell could not help but frown as he watched Lin Li from behind. What a country bumpkin who had not been exposed to the world...

    His emotions wereplicated as he was remorseful yet indignant. But, more than that, he felt hatred towards Lin Li.

    He had utterly regretted plunging into the Sunset Mountains. He would not have encountered the Leviathan Gori if he had not entered the Sunset Mountains, and he would not have fled without taking Ina with him. There were many ways to win Ina¡¯s heart, but he had chosen the most stupid one.

    He waspletely stunned the moment the Leviathan Gori took Ina away. A level-eight magical beast was so powerful that Cromwell could not help but shiver just standing in front of it. He tried to run after Ina, but his legs wouldn¡¯t budge. The confidence from the past had vanished and all that remained was endless fear.

    Atst, fear had triumphed over reason, and Cromwell chose to escape.

    All that followed was simply a nightmare to him.

    He had fled in panic back to the cave, but this low-life mage managed to save Ina. Ina¡¯s attitude towards him changed, no longer being polite. There was only disdain now, the kind of disdain that she regarded him as air. Until now, Ina had still not looked him in the eye¡ªnot even once.

    Cromwell was not dumb and knew what this meant. It meant that he had lost all hope in winning Ina¡¯s heart.

    After the initial remorse, Cromwell naturally pinned all the me on Lin Li. It was because of his arrival that he had lost the opportunity to fight the Wyvern and save both Ina and her father. It was also because of his presence that he had performed badly in front of the Leviathan Gori.

    He had evene to believe that these were all part of Lin Li¡¯s n. This damned mage already had the thoughts ofpeting for Ina, and that was why he had appeared in the Sunset Mountains at that very moment.

    Cromwell, caught up with his conspiracy theories, had no time to think what a difficult taskmunicating with a level-eight magical beast was.

    For the zealous mage, Lin Li was the root of all evil. As long as he got rid of him, he could be together with Ina.

    Lin Li entered Jarrosus City¡ªthis was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

    As the heir to the family, Cromwell knew very well just how powerful his family was in Jarrosus. Even the leadership of the Guild of Magic were unable to ignore the suggestions of the Merlin Family. Once Lin Li joined the Guild of Magic, Cromwell would have his own ways to deal with him.

    At this thought, there was finally a smile on Cromwell¡¯s gloomy face.

    It was probably the reason why Cromwell, who had not spoken a word to Lin Li along the way, took the initiative to ask, ¡°Mage Felic, are you going to report at the Guild of Magic? If you need help, do feel free to ask me. The Merlin Family does have a say in the Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Report?¡± Lin Li was just looking around when he did a double take at the word.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Cromwell swore silently at the country bumpkin, but kept the smile on his face. ¡°The Supreme Council has made it clear that all mages above level five must report to the city¡¯s Guild of Magic upon their first arrival.¡±

    ¡°Hold on... What¡¯s the Supreme Council?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know of the Supreme Council?¡± Lin Li¡¯s ignorance had been an eye-opener for Cromwell. Feeling his vanity greatly satisfied, he couldn¡¯t help but swear inwardly at the country bumpkin again. ¡°The Supreme Council was established after the Dark Ages, and its full name is the Supreme Council of the Anril Guild of Magic. The purpose of its establishment is better supervision and management of the guild. Of course, the mage families are not included in the management¡ªlike the Merlin Family.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, but asked again doubtfully, ¡°So the Guild of Magic is considered a subsidiary of the Supreme Council?¡±

    ¡°Sort of. But the Supreme Council usually isn¡¯t directly involved in management.¡±

    Lin Li did not question further. In his mind, he thought, <i>Anril World is much moreplicated than I expected it to be </i>.

    Just as he was absorbed in his thoughts, the party had reached the doorstep of the Adventurers Guild.

    It was an enormous building, taking up most of the street. The decor was simple and in, and if seen from the outside, you¡¯d never expect it to be thergest and richest institution in all of Anril. Behind the front door was a spacious hall; ording to McGrenn¡¯s introduction, this was where they usually received their quests. The hall was packed with all kinds of adventurers¡ªsome were waiting for new tasks while others had already collected them and were preparing to leave. These adventurers covered almost every profession Lin Li knew, from mages to warriors and from archers to thieves. Most of them carried a faint smell of blood on them. Lin Li knew that it was the legacy of years of fighting demons.

    ¡°Felic, take a seat here first. Ina and I are going to turn in our quest; we¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    McGrenn was about to turn and leave when Lin Li stretched out his hand and pulled him back. ¡°Didn¡¯t you fail the quest?¡±

    ¡°We have to turn in failed quests as well, or we won¡¯t be able to receive new ones.¡±

    ¡°Then, do failed quests give you any trouble?¡±

    McGrenn shook his head. ¡°There is no trouble at all, just some loss of money.¡±

    ¡°Wait a second for me here.¡±

    He found a quiet corner and silently opened up the Ring of Endless Storm. From inside the ring he took out half of the Manticore¡¯s hook, which he had nicked off from the dead Manticore he¡¯d encountered when he was out picking wild steelbloom for Andoine.

    ¡°Is it alright to turn in this for your quest?¡± Lin Li handed the half piece of Manticore¡¯s hook to McGrenn.

    ¡°You...¡± The middle-aged adventurer had not expected that the problem he was so worried about could be solved so easily. Thinking of all the help Lin Li had rendered them along the way, the middle-aged man who was bad at words didn¡¯t know what else to say for a long while. He merely repeated, ¡°Thank you, thanks...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, I¡¯ve got no use for it anyway...¡± Lin Li smiled. ¡°I have things to do, so I won¡¯t be going with you anymore. If anything happens to you in the future, you can find me at the Guild of Magic. I should be staying there for some time if nothing else happens.¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic!¡± Lin Li had just stepped out of the Adventurers Guild when he saw Ina running after him. The long-legged beauty¡¯s blond hair flew in the air; Ina¡¯s pretty face was flushed, her expression one of bashfulness and carrying a hint of reluctance to say goodbye.

    ¡°Hm?¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic... I...¡± Ina¡¯s small, fair hands were clenched as she was cheering for herself mentally. But after a few stammers of ¡°I¡±, all she said atst was: ¡°Goodbye, Mr Felic.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye, Ina.¡±

    Lin Li smiled and was about to turn around when he suddenly felt a gush of sweet wind. Ina, who was blushing just a moment ago, finally summoned up her courage and stuffed an item into the palm of his hand. ¡°This is for you!¡±

    After passing the item to Lin Li, Ina¡¯s ears had turned red with embarrassment. Without waiting for Lin Li to respond, the long-legged beauty fled back into the Adventurers Guild like a frightened white rabbit.

    Lin Li was stunned as he stared at the figure that had just left. He stood at the street for a long time until he finally remembered the item in his hands.

    It was a newly-sewed scroll pouch. The craftsmanship was a tad rough, but nevertheless, it was meticulously sewed. He could almost feel Ina¡¯s warmth on the pouch as he held it in his hands...

 Chapter 13 - Emerald Tower

    <h4>Chapter 13: Emerald Tower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Guild of Magic was located at the southern end of Jarrosus City. It was a huge building as well, no less so than the Adventurers Guild. The Guild of Magic was also known as the Emerald Tower in Jarrosus City. Standing on the streets, one would be able to see the tall spire of the tower from a distance.

    Lin Li had asked several passers-by on the way and very soon found the direction to the Emerald Tower.

    The Emerald Tower was unusually quiet aspared to the bustling Adventurers Guild. Lin Li stood outside the gate for a long time, but did not hear a sound at all. There was only a faint wave of magicing from the tower. The magical wave was majestic and mysterious, and it made Lin Li feel as if what he was facing was an insurmountable mountain.

    Walking in through the gates of the Emerald Tower, what he saw was likewise a spacious hall.

    At a nce, the hall was empty, and not a single person was in sight.

    ¡°What kind of situation is this...¡±

    Lin Li stood at the door, bewildered. Just then, he heard amotioning from the upper story.

    ¡°Shadow City wants the control of the Demon Fall Valley? Sure! But you¡¯d better be prepared to bleed!¡± A furious roar came from upstairs. Lin Li saw a round gray figure just as he looked up.

    ¡°President Gerian, you¡¯re too irrational...¡± The man who was driven out of the door by the round figure was a middle-aged man in his forties. He wore a tight ck leather jacket and emitted a thick smell of blood from his body. When he turned around, Lin Li suddenly felt as if he was being targeted by a venomous snake.

    Hold on... President Gerian?

    Lin Li suddenly recalled¡ªthe name that the middle-aged man had called out seemed to be the one of the very person that Andoine had told him to look for.

    At this thought, Lin Li was unable to restrain himself from taking another look at the plump figure.

    Only then did Lin Li notice how old the figure in the gray mage robe looked. He had a kind countenance and was fair and chubby. Even when he was angry, he still looked cheerful. Lin Li felt a little dizzy; a fat old man like him who looked more like a businessman than a mage was actually the President of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, Archmage Gerian!

    ¡°President Gerian, you are too irrational. Rejecting the friendship of Shadow City will only bring disaster to Jarrosus Guild of Magic.¡± The middle-aged man dropped such a sentence on him and left the Emerald Tower without another look back. He only took another look at Lin Li when he passed by, and the feeling of having been targeted by a venomous snake tightened Lin Li¡¯s heart.

    <i>How does that man walk without a sound? Could he be possessed by a ghost? </i>Lin Li¡¯s character was not that of one who was willing to lose out. He had been unsettled by the gaze, and so he naturally had to curse in his heart.

    ¡°Come if you dare! As long as you dare toy a finger on the Demon Fall Valley, I¡¯ll chop the ws off your hands!¡± Who knew there¡¯d be another even more fiery-tempered one? The middle-aged man had already gone far, but the fat old man never stopped berating. After some time, he finally noticed a presence in the hall. With a frown, he red at Lin Li and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re President Gerian, right?¡± Lin Li hastily turned over his pockets. He took out Andoine¡¯s letter and handed it over. ¡°I am Felic. Mage Andoine had told me to look for you. This is a letter he wrote to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Andoine, that old chap!¡± The fat old man¡¯s eyes lit up at the mention of Andoine¡¯s name. The frown that was on his face dissipated, his chubby face radiant with smiles, and he looked just like an amiable businessman. ¡°Where¡¯s the old chap? Why are you here alone?¡±

    ¡°Mage Andoine said he had something to see to; he¡¯ll only return to Jarrosus City in a week or two.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Gerian nodded and began to read the letter in his hands.

    Gerian had found it odd from the start. Although Andoine was a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, he had been immersed in pharmaceutics and had not done anything serious in the guild for decades. He¡¯d asionally show his face once in a while, but only when he needed ingredients for his recipes. Had the wind changed for the old chap to write someone a letter of rmendation...?

    But as he read on, the expression on the plump mage¡¯s face changed. His eyes, narrow as he smiled, were as wide as those of a bull. He raised his head a couple of times to look at Lin Li as he was reading the letter. Finally, his hands that were holding onto the letter seemed to be trembling as well.

    This... If what was said in the letter was true, was this guy still a human?

    Look at what the old chap had said¡ªa magic gift that wasparable to that of Geresco, the God of Mages!

    The fat old man¡¯s pupils dted when he saw the name. He had grown up listening to the legend of the God of Mages. Gerian could count with his eyes closed exactly what the noblest mage of the Dark Ages had done in his time. He was the only mortal that could fight the gods, and there was the legend of him annihting the Magic Legion of the High Elves with his own power. Gerian had always thought that such a person would only exist in myths.

    Gerian would definitely regard it as a joke if it came from the mouth of someone else. But he knew deep down in his heart that Andoine was a man of his words. He had never exaggerated anything once in the hundred years he had lived.

    <i>I¡¯ve found a treasure... I¡¯ve found a treasure... </i>Gerian eyes were still on the letter, but his heart was bursting with joy. He wished he could pick up the letter and give it a few kisses. Jarrosus Guild of Magic had been down and out for decades, and now the opportunity had presented itself for them to turn things around!

    Before the old man¡¯s joy could subside, another paragraph had caught his attention.

    ¡°Furthermore, he is a Master of Potions...¡±

    <i>Master of Potions... You must be kidding! </i>Gerian rubbed his eyes as hard as he could, thinking he had seen wrong.

    Gerian picked up the letter once again after he was done rubbing his eyes.

    Damn! Really a Master of Potion!

    Gerian had gonepletely Spartan in his mind. This... was much more terrifying than a genius in magic!

    Who had ever seen a Master of Potion under the age of seventy¡ªlet alone at this time, thirteen hundred years after the Dark Ages? Gerian took a peek from behind the letter and carefully sized up this young man named Felic. The mage robe looked rather worn, but the magical waveing from it was exceptionally clear. From Gerian¡¯s perspective, he could tell that this was not an ordinary magical item just by one look. He was tall and thin, with a face that looked slightly childish. He was probably not any older than 20 years old...

    The letter also mentioned how powerful this young potion master was: powerful enough to outdo anyone in the Pharmacists Guild!

    <i>J... J... Jackpot... We have hit the jackpot this time!</i>

    A Master of Potion under the age of twenty... Gerian was trembling with excitement at the thought of it. From now on, the Pharmacists Guild was nothing to him! He would not have to go begging on their doorstep for a few bottles of potions, and would not even have to make contact with those pharmacists who had their eyes on the ceiling! Hell, what big shoes they wore when they didn¡¯t even haverge feet! He had a potion master here with him now¡ªthere was no need to face their terrible attitudes anymore!

    ¡°Mage Felic?¡± The old man was utterly out of breath after finishing the letter. His fixed gaze on Lin Li was a glimmering green, sending a chill down Lin Li¡¯s spine. ¡°Andoine has told me all about you in his letter. ording to him, you have not gone through a level certification?¡±

    ¡°Level certification?¡±

    Gerian knew he had said something nonsensical upon seeing Lin Li¡¯s confused eyes. He had pped himself out of dismay and cursed himself silently. <i>What a fool I am! </i>This kid had just been exposed to magic three months earlier and had been learning from Andoine, how would he know of any level certification?

    ¡°Simply put, it is to certify your magic level. In my opinion, this is necessary for you because it is only after being certified that you will be able to receive spells corresponding to your level from the Guild of Magic.¡±

    Gerian kept a smile on his face when he was exining what the level certification was, but in his heart, he felt an indescribable nervousness. This was about a magical genius who could rival Geresco, and even more about a Master of Potion under the age of twenty! Gerian even felt he was more nervous now than when he had advanced to an Archmage.

    ¡°Then, when can I get certified?¡± Lin Li reply was straightforward¡ªhe¡¯d also like to know which level he was currently at.

    ¡°Anytime!¡± Gerian pulled Lin Li up the stairs. His chubby face waspletely distorted from trying so hard to hold back his emotions. He wanted to pull Andoine into his arms and give him a few pecks on his cheeks. The old chap had been too lovely, he had to thank him when he returned to Jarrosus City.

 Chapter 14 - Level Certification

    <h4>Chapter 14: Level Certification</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Kevin!¡± the old man screamed as he got to the second floor. ¡°Youzy punk, get out here! There are things to do!¡±

    A long silence. The fat old man got angry and the tightly shut door was kicked and split in half with a thud. Lin Li stood at a side, stunned by what he just saw. How was the old fellow so strong? Was he a mage or a beast?

    ¡°President Gerian...¡± The room was in ruin; inside was a thin, young mage who looked to be about twenty or thirty years old. He stood dumbfounded, looking at the door. He was about to say something but the fat old man shot him a fiery re, and he could only swallow the words back down his throat.

    ¡°Come, let me introduce you. This is Mage Felic, a new mage. He has decided to go through the level certification in Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic. Bring him down to process the documents; I¡¯ll look for someone to arrange the certification. These little rascals are getting more brazen, hiding in the room early in the morning. I wanted to teach that bastard from Shadow City a lesson, but couldn¡¯t find any helpers to back me up...

    ¡°Oh, right. Felic, this is Kevin, the famous nice guy in Jarrosus Guild of Magic. You¡¯ll follow him to handle all the paperwork, I¡¯lle and find youter.¡±

    The fat old man went off swearing, leaving Lin Li and Kevin standing there in a daze.

    ¡°Heh heh, the President¡¯s character... Uh... He¡¯s more straightforward, you¡¯ll slowly get used to it in the future.¡± The young mage lifted the two broken pieces of door from the ground as he exined to Lin Li with a smile.

    ¡°Straightforward indeed...¡± Lin Liughed. The fat old man was much more interesting than Andoine.

    Gerian¡¯s kick was harsher than a beast¡¯s attack. The lock that was behind the door was broken with his kick. Kevin lifted the door up and examined it for a long while, soon realizing that it was impossible to repair it. He could only lean the broken door against the wall, and with a bitter smile, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for the President to call for a repairman. I¡¯ll bring you down to process the documents first.¡±

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you.¡±

    On the way down, the two of them chatted from time to time and gradually became familiar with each other.

    The fat old man was right, this young mage Kevin was indeed a nice person. Lin Li had asked a dozen questions along the way; if it was someone else, they¡¯d long be annoyed, and only a good-hearted person like Kevin would answer each and every one of them¡ªwithout losing patience, no less. He would exin twice if Lin Li couldn¡¯tprehend the first time, and only when Lin Li finally understood did he stop the exnations.

    ¡°That is to say, after the level certification, I¡¯ll be a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic?¡± After listening to Kevin¡¯s introduction of some general knowledge regarding the level certification, Lin Li finally understood the reason behind that fat old man¡¯s sheepishugh earlier on. It turned out that there was another meaning behind having this level certification.

    ¡°On paper, at least.¡± Kevin nodded and continued, ¡°But the Guild of Magic is a rtively loose organization. Strictly speaking, mages have far more rights than obligations in the guild. After the level certification, you will have the right to use all the guild¡¯s facilities like the library,boratory, and the meditation spot. If you make a significant contribution to an area of study, the guild will also provide you with arge amount of money.¡±

    ¡°Sounds pretty good... Then, what obligations do I have to fulfil?¡±

    ¡°Obligations... Other than admitting that you are a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, there seems to be no other obligation. At least in Jarrosus Guild of Magic, the President won¡¯t force you to do anything. Even if he does, you have the right not to agree. After all, the guild is a loose organization, there¡¯s no subordinate rtionship between the mage and the guild.¡±

    ¡°Then, why do I feel that you seem to be afraid of the President?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my uncle...¡± Kevin smiled bitterly. ¡°Not just kicking my door, even if he beats me, I can only bear with it...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The certification procedure was easier than expected. It was considered done once the form was filled out.

    The questions on the form were almost all about magic. Other than the name and age columns, there were no questions on the family or address. Lin Li had spent half the day worrying over it, and revised the fake identification Andoine had made for him once more.

    After filling out the form, Kevin brought Lin Li up to the third floor. They passed through a few corridors and finally saw Gerian, who had long been waiting for them.

    The old man was incensed. His hands were making exaggerated gestures as he swore.

    Not far in front of him, a middle-aged mage was listening in silence, his expression aggrieved and frightened. He nodded while retreating carefully at the same time, as if afraid that the old man¡¯s rage would fall upon him.

    ¡°Go and tell that fool from the Merlin Family to scram this instant. If they dare to make such requests again, I¡¯ll burn their nest down with a torch!¡± The swearing old man showed a slight restraint in anger when he saw Lin Li approaching and spared the poor middle-aged mage for the time being. ¡°Go now!¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    As if being granted an amnesty, the middle-aged mage turned and ran faster than a hare could. He only shot Lin Li a curious nce as he brushed past him on the way out.

    ¡°The Merlin Family?¡± Lin Li frowned at the mention of the familiar name. But after thinking for a long time, he still failed to recall where he had heard that name.

    Lin Li had yet to recognize the name when Gerian had stepped forward to meet him. He wondered which year the old man was born in as his mood changed from one moment to another. A while ago, he was still swearing in a towering rage, and with a turn, he reverted to the amicable smile on his chubby face. ¡°How was it, Felic? Have you processed the documents?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s done.¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± Gerian¡¯s face beamed with delight. Without any further questions from Lin Li, he hurriedly brought the two of them to the hall on the third level.

    A crystal ball was ced in the middle of the hall. Around the crystal bally two kinds of mageweath.

    As an Inscription guru, Lin Li knew too well about the mageweath. One of it was the magical shield field, used to weaken the power of magic; the other was the elements annihtion field, used to reduce the conflict among elements. When these two high level mageweaths were used at the same time, they would produce an effect simr to keeping demons away.

    ¡°Impressive...¡± Despite being an Inscription guru, Lin Li could not contain his surprise when he saw the mageweath. High level mageweath wasplicated by itself, but there was someone who could actually set up two mageweaths at the same time. The difficulties faced in the process were not as simple as a basic mathematical equation.

    ¡°From now on, we will begin the level certification. You don¡¯t have to care about anything else, just transmit your powers into the crystal ball.¡± Gerian could hardly wait once they entered the hall. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of breaking the crystal ball. Just focus on the output, I¡¯ll deal with the rest.¡±

    Lin Li nodded and ced his hands on the crystal ball.

    He was not afraid that the crystal ball would break. With the protection of the two mageweaths, even if Andoine had been here, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to break the crystal ball as well.

    The power gushed out like tide water, and the crystal ball began to glitter.

    As the light on the crystal ball glowed brighter, so did the smile on Gerian¡¯s face.

    Five minutes had passed, and Lin Li had no intention of stopping.

    At ten minutes, sweat began to break out on Kevin¡¯s forehead...

    At fifteen minutes, Gerian¡¯s pupils began to dte...

    At twenty minutes, both of them had the impulse to hit the wall. Was this a human or a monster?

    The hall was eerily quiet, and only the sound of Gerian and Kevin¡¯s breathing could be heard. The crystal ball was giving off a dazzling glow, lighting the whole hall into brilliance. Both Gerian and Kevin were astounded. Before this horrifying performance, they could only stare at the crystal ball, and the thought of recording Lin Li¡¯s data slipped right out of their minds.

    The horrifying performance went on for almost thirty minutes before Lin Li finally let out a long sigh and stopped the transmittance of power into the crystal ball.

    He found both of them dazed when he turned his head back.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°You... You... Are you a human or a monster?¡± Kevin asked cautiously, as if afraid that Lin Li would turn into a demonic beast and pounce on him.

    ¡°Twenty-eight minutes...¡± Gerian stared at Lin Li with his eyes and mouth wide open. With a confounded look on his face, he mumbled to himself repeatedly, ¡°Miracle... Miracle!¡±

    Any mage would know what it meant to have a magic output thatsted up to twenty-eight minutes. Most spells, with the exception of a few channel spells, required only an instantaneous burst of energy. In other words, it was only at the moment of unleashing spells that magic output was needed. A minute of continuous output could be converted into at least a hundred instantaneous bursts of power. The mental strength of a human was limited, after all; even a top mage like Gerian could only maintain five minutes of magic output at the time he had been advancing to the Archmage.

    He would never have imagined there¡¯d been such a monstrous character like Lin Li in the world.

    Twenty-eight minutes of continuous output meant a few thousands of low-level magic spells. Even if they were legendary spells, this would be enough to unleash a dozen of them. Gerian had really wanted to ask Lin Li whether he was truly a human.

    What was the scariest of all was that even after twenty-eight minutes of continuous magic output, Lin Li had shown no signs of fatigue at all. The kid had even approached them in great spirits and asked, ¡°How was it? How did I do?¡±

    Gerian was about to answer when Kevin, who was standing beside him, pped his hand against his forehead and let out a cry. ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I forgot to record his mental strength!¡± At the moment, Kevin wanted to drop dead. It was his responsibility to record the data, but he had been so engrossed in watching that he had forgotten about doing his job. Kevin wanted to hit his head against the wall. He was so doomed; something so important had gone wrong in his hands. With Uncle Gerian¡¯s character, even if he didn¡¯t die this time round, he¡¯d probably still have to get skinned.

    ¡°Fool!¡± Gerian, however, did not throw a fit¡ªnot physically. Instead, he scolded him in a fit of rage. ¡°Record for what! A mental strength that can support an output of twenty-eight minutes... Even if you did record it, no one would believe it.¡±

    Then, he took a look around and made sure no one was eavesdropping on them. With a menacing stare directed at Kevin, he threatened, ¡°Destroy all other evidence except the magic level. Also, do not reveal the things that have happened today no matter who asks about it¡ªand that includes your father. If news is leaked, let¡¯s see how I¡¯ll deal with you!¡±

    Kevin hurriedly agreed. He was so scared that he broke out in cold sweat.

    In the end, Lin Li¡¯s level in magic had be the least important of things.

    With a stroke of the pen, Gerian filled in an ¡°8¡± under the column for magic level. With that, a level eight mage certification was consideredplete.

    ¡°Mage Felic, on behalf of the guild, I officially wee you as one of us. From now on, you are a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. If there are things you don¡¯t understand, do ask Kevin,¡± Gerian announced with a smile of satisfaction on his face as he gathered the level certification records.

 Chapter 15 - Private Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 15: Private Discussion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    For the next few days, Lin Li was up to his ears in work.

    Gerian had arranged Kevin to run his errands, but he still had to do a lot of work by himself, for example copying spells in the library.

    Looking at the mountainous pile of magic books in front of him, Lin Li finally understood why that old fellow Andoine always said that there was no end to the world of magic. With so many books, it would take him a few years just to read the table of contents, not to mention studying the spells that were recorded in them.

    Lin Li had been sitting in the library for two days. There were about twenty or thirty spells recorded in the magic book, all of which he thought were useful.

    He had only two criteria when it came to choosing the magic books. One, the spell had to be short; two, the magical elements had to be simple.

    Most mages would have scoffed at these criteria.

    Among the same level of magic, the longer the spell and the moreplex the structure, the greater the power. Since it all consumed the same magical power, who wouldn¡¯t choose the one with greater power? It was just like ying a game of mahjong¡ªwith a good set of tiles in hand, who wouldn¡¯t want to give pure hands or something a shot?

    But to Lin Li, the intensity of power was not important at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t wish for the best, but I wish for the most!¡± With the support of an enormous mental strength, Lin Li never had to worry about exhausting his magical powers, much less about his mental strength being unable to hold out.

    Instead, the prolonged recitation of spells might put him in more danger. Since he couldn¡¯t solve the problem of his recitation speed in a short time, Lin Li simply chose the easier magic to learn. His powers wouldn¡¯t be exhausted anyway; if one didn¡¯t work, he¡¯d use several more. With dozens of magical powers sting down, what wouldn¡¯t be knocked down?

    Gerian took time off in between to look at what Lin Li was doing. After witnessing his weird selection criteria, the fat old man couldn¡¯t help feeling the jitters on his back...

    Look at what the twenty or thirty spells were about.

    Mind control, warlock¡¯s eyes, arcane missile, fragility, paralysis, power shield, power amplification, hysteria, delirium, fossilizing...

    Other than a few purely offensive spells like the arcane missiles, everything else was ruthless control spells.

    Gerian said nothing, touched his nose, and slipped out. Once out, he muttered to himself, ¡°Is the kid really the disciple of Andoine?¡± He didn¡¯t know Andoine had a taste for such things...

    Copying the spells was a burdensome thing to do, particrly for a dabbler like Lin Li who had a poor foundation in the localnguage. Other than the lingua franca of this world, all othernguages were Greek to him. So, he had to go through differentnguage guides as he wrote the spells down into the magic book.

    He had spent almost two days on those twenty or thirty spells.

    When he looked up from the pile of books the next day, it was already evening.

    Lin Li did a long stretch and returned the books to their original positions. He was about to leave the library when he saw Kevin walking in.

    ¡°Felic, are you done with copying the spells?¡± Kevin saw Lin Li packing up the books just as he entered. ¡°Right. President Gerian wanted me to tell you that he¡¯s waiting for you in the hall on the ground floor and would like you to go to him once you¡¯re done with copying the spells. He looked like he had something to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so urgent?¡± Lin Li was all ears. The fat old man had juste to the library in the morning, why hadn¡¯t he said anything then?

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say why, just asked you toe.¡±

    ¡°Oh... Sorry to trouble you.¡±

    Lin Li left the library. Very soon, he found Gerian in the hall on the ground floor.

    The fat old man, who was in a good mood today, was instructing two young mages.

    ¡°Fools! Can¡¯t you all be any dumber? You couldn¡¯t evenplete such an easy elemental sequencing, what is in your minds all day?¡± Of course, his approach was out of the ordinary as always.

    The two young mages were bruised from all the lecturing, but they had not the courage to speak up for themselves. They could only lower their heads in grievance and listen earnestly to the lecture of the fat old man. They seemed to have found their savior when they saw Lin Liing down, and quickly threw him nces that called for help.

    ¡°President Gerian, I heard you were looking for me?¡± Lin Li shook his head seeing those two poor fellows, but he began by greeting the fat old man.

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯vee.¡± It had indeed helped the two mages out of their predicament. Gerian had no time to lecture them seeing that Lin Li hade. ¡°Come,e, I have something to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°You two...¡± Halfway in his strides, Gerian seemed to recall something, but after a moment of hesitation, he waved at the two unlucky mages. ¡°Forget it, scram as far as you can...¡±

    For reasons unknown, Gerian seemed extra cautious along the way. He brought Lin Li to the reception room so that no one could interrupt them.

    If one were to ask where the safest ce in the whole of Jarrosus Guild of Magic was, it would undoubtedly be the reception room. There were seven Warlock¡¯s Eyes at the door, providing an all-dimensional surveince of each and every urrence in the surrounding. Behind the tightly shut door was a magic probing mageweath, emitting a faint wave of magic. Under the influence of the mageweath, any magical spying activities would never go unnoticed by Gerian.

    Lin Li knew it wasn¡¯t a trivial matter upon seeing how serious Gerian was. He pulled a chair and took a seat, quietly waiting for Gerian to start.

    Gerian was looking extremely cautious today; even in the reception room, which was the safest of all ces, he couldn¡¯t seem to be at ease. He cast another Life Sensor Spell, and after making sure that there were no living people around, he started whispering, ¡°Tell me, when did you offend the Merlin Family?¡±

    ¡°The Merlin Family?¡± It was the second time Lin Li heard Gerian mentioning the name; the previous time was a few days ago, when he was going through the level certification. He remembered the fat old man throwing a huge tantrum, threatening to do something to the Merlin Family...

    Lin Li was still in a daze when he suddenly recalled someone.

    <i>Cromwell! That¡¯s right, it¡¯s Cromwell!</i>

    When they had first reached Jarrosus City, the zealous mage had mentioned the very same name. If Lin Li had remembered correctly, his exact words were... ¡°If you need help, do feel free to ask me. The Merlin Family does have a say in the Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°You mean... Cromwell?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s him.¡± Gerian nodded. ¡°Do you still remember the day you came?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°That day, after you went with Kevin to process the documents, someone working under Cromwell hade calling. Hmph, this fool had put in a request for me to kick you out of the guild. He must be blind!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have the time to care about it, and only sent Colin to warn them that they had better not find any trouble with you.¡± At this, Gerian let out a muffled groan. ¡°But this idiot doesn¡¯t know where to stop. This morning, he sent someone else here again, and this time, he dared to threaten me, saying that if I don¡¯t do ording to his wishes, he¡¯ll convince his family to terminate all business contracts with the guild.¡±

    Lin Li did not say anything. He watched Gerian with a grin on his face.

    Gerian had been in charge of the Guild of Magic for decades; he was no ordinary character. He would probably have been devoured long time ago if he couldn¡¯t even deal with someone like Cromwell.

    Since he had brought this up voluntarily, he had to have a n in mind.

    From what Lin Li saw, the fat old man¡¯s rage was merely just an attitude, an attitude of support for himself.

    So, Lin Li did not utter a word, and waited for Gerian to speak.

    ¡°Hmph! He must be blind, not even looking at whom he¡¯s threatening.¡± Sure enough, Gerian then announced in a towering rage, ¡°Although Jarrosus Guild of Magic has been facing some difficulties these few years, we are not that down-and-out to be threatened by others! Since I was the one who got you into the guild, I will take responsibility for it. Whoever dares to touch you will have to ask for my permission!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, President!¡±

 Chapter 16 - Black Market

    <h4>Chapter 16: ck Market</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was more or less surprised when he came out of the reception room.

    Ever since the Leviathan Gori incident, Ina had never given Cromwell any pleasant looks. Lin Li knew then that the warm-hearted mage had been enthusiastic for nothing.

    But he had not expected Cromwell would vent his frustration of not winning Ina¡¯s heart on him.

    Lin Li felt quite wronged, it was as if he had been bitten by a mad dog for no particr reason. He hadn¡¯t cared much for Ina from the beginning, but he was still targeted by the mad dog Cromwell.

    <i>He dares to bite me? Then he¡¯d better be prepared to be beaten! </i>The more Lin Li thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.

    Just as he was feeling aggrieved, he heard footsteps shuffling from behind.

    ¡°Felic, are you free?¡± Kevin advanced with a smile and greeted Lin Li. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing to do, can you apany me to town? I have some things to buy.¡±

    Lin Li thought over it carefully and realized he had nothing to do indeed. He had taken down the spells from the library and the procedures for joining the Guild of Magic had beenpleted. Moreover, Kevin had been running around these days, giving him much help. It wouldn¡¯t seem kind of him to reject such a small request.

    ¡°Sure! I wanted to take a look around Jarrosus City too.¡±

    The two guys left the Emerald Tower after informing Gerian. They walked along a deserted street towards Jarrosus City.

    The streets outside Emerald Tower were unusually quiet. There were asionally a few passers-by, but most appeared to be in a hurry.

    Kevin was not much older than Lin Li, and was one of the first few people he knew in the Emerald Tower. After being in contact for a while, they had be pretty familiar with each other. The two had a chat as they walked along the street. As they were both level-eight mages, the topic of their conversation would naturally be about magic.

    Of course, Kevin¡¯s level-eight was different from Lin Li¡¯s level-eight.

    After all, one had just been exposed to magic for a few months, while the other had already spent over 20 years on it.

    Lin Li could not bepared to Kevin on general magic knowledge. So, most of the conversation was Lin Li askingmon sense questions and Kevin answering them.

    The way one questioned and another answered had kept the journey away from boredom.

    After walking for over ten minutes, the streets gradually became more lively.

    Not far ahead was the Adventurers Guild Lin Li had once visited.

    This was probably the most flourishing ce in the whole Jarrosus City. Arge number of stores was scattered around; numerous adventurers woulde and go every day, bringing forth huge demand and supply. Adventurers could buy a variety of equipment from the nearby stores, or sell the materials they¡¯d acquired on quests to these stores. The course of contact had brought great prosperity to the street.

    After taking a look around the street, they walked into a magic store called Gilded Rose.

    At least half of the magic stores in Jarrosus City were called Gilded Rose. ording to Kevin, they all belonged to a mage family called Mannes. Like the Merlin Family, this family was one of the most prominent families in the Fn Kingdom, only that one had entered politics, while the other did business.

    Since the Dark Ages, the Mannes Family had been running magic business. Over the past 1300 years, a huge amount of wealth was umted by them. Gilded Rose Magic Store was located in every corner of the Fn Kingdom; even in the most remote countryside, you could still find the signboard of Gilded Rose.

    The decoration of Gilded Rose was full of mysterious aura. As he walked into the hall, Lin Li could easily feel the unusual magical wave in the surroundings caused by therge number of magical items that repelled and interfered with each other.

    As soon as he walked into the hall, Lin Li was blinded by the dazzling array of magical equipment. It was indeed thergest magic store in the Fn Kingdom. From what Lin Li saw, every mage robe and magic staff here was decent stuff.

    Lin Li was browsing before the counter for a while before a female attendant in uniform came to greet him.

    ¡°Greetings to you, Mr. Mage. Is there anything I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was about to open his mouth when he suddenly stopped short, for it was not until then that he had remembered something important¡ªhe had no money, not even a penny!

    From when Andoine had brought him into the cabin till he had joined the Guild of Magic, a whole three months had passed and Lin Li had not spent a penny. As a poor transmigrator, he had no need to use money, and therefore did not think of earning it. It was only on this day when he walked into the Gilded Rose that Lin Li suddenly found himself without even a penny on him.

    He had his eyes on a ne and was about to ask the uniformeddy to show it to him when he had discovered this embarrassing fact upon touching his pockets. The smile on Lin Li¡¯s face froze and after a long while he chuckledmely. ¡°I¡¯ll have a look... We¡¯ll seeter...¡±

    It was indeed embarrassing. Fortunately, Kevin came over to his rescue.

    ¡°Felic, are you free? Help me take a look at this magic staff. What do you think?¡±

    Kevin held a staff of primitive simplicity in his hands. The body of the staff was covered in fine and delicate mageweath, and a red crystal was embedded at the top. Judging from the scorching aura of the magical crystal, it should be a staff for amplifying fire spells.

    Apart from a slight deviation in the mageweath structure, this was a good enough staff. Lin Li nodded. ¡°Nice staff. I wonder how much it costs.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not too expensive, around three to four hundred gold coins. It¡¯s hard to get a staff like this with this price nowadays.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Watching the expression on Kevin¡¯s face like he had snagged a bargain, Lin Li felt his scalp tingle. Three to four hundred gold coins was not considered expensive?

    He thought of McGrenn and his daughter, who had risked their lives in the Sunset Mountains to kill a Manticore for a reward of mere fifty gold coins. For a staff like this, they¡¯d have to kill almost ten Manticores before they could afford it...

    ¡°This is what being a mage is about, a lot of money is needed. You¡¯ll get used to it in the future.¡± Kevin had probably guessed what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind looking at his expression. He motioned for the uniformeddy to give him the bill as he exined in a low voice, ¡°A staff like this would go for at least five hundred gold coins in other magic stores.¡±

    After buying the staff with three hundred and fifty gold coins, Kevin went on to buy other items, spending over a thousand gold coins in all.

    As Kevin was checking out, Lin Li suddenly felt that he should make some money too.

    ¡°Kevin, you¡¯re familiar with Jarrosus. Do you know where the adventurers usually go to sell magic materials like the magical crystals they¡¯ve gotten?¡±

    ¡°Magic materials? Usually, they¡¯ll hand such things to magic stores like the Gilded Rose and entrust them with selling them, but part of the fee will be deducted after the transaction. You can also go behind the Adventurers Guild if you don¡¯t want to pay the fee. There¡¯s a ck market there, you can trade small items like herbs for bigger items like magical crystals from magical beasts there.¡±

    ¡°Shall we go take a look?¡±

    ¡°I was just nning on buying some materials from there too...¡±

    There was a deep, dark alley beside the Adventurers Guild. After the two guys came out of the Gilded Rose, they walked along the smallne. A few stepster, loud mor reached their ears.

    The ck market behind the Adventurers Guild was an entirely different world from the mysterious and elegant Gilded Rose.

    There were no rich magical auras or female attendants in uniform; all it had was a thick stench of sweat and endless arguments.

    Walking into the ck market was like walking into a Colosseum.

    It was often a price difference of a few silver coins that made a group of people contend in furor.

    ¡°Come on! Are you blind? This is a damn authentic Thorned Beast fur and you find it expensive for a hundred silver coins? You can make a leather armor out of it and it¡¯llst you forever! What goddamn world we are in, a hundred silver coins for a life and it¡¯s still not worth it...¡±

    ¡°You want to make a leather armor with this damn thing? Go back and make a diaper for your son with that. Stop talking rubbish with me, I¡¯ll take it for 50 silver coins at most. If you¡¯re unwilling, I¡¯ll go to another store!¡±

    ¡°50 silver coins for a Thorned Beast fur? Are you still f*cking asleep? Forget it, I¡¯ll take it that I¡¯m doing a good deed and sell it to you for 80 silver coins, how¡¯s that? If you don¡¯t want it, scram. Don¡¯t block my damn way to fortune!¡±

    The fierce bargaining was an eye-opener for Lin Li. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he¡¯d have thought there was some deep hatred between the two men just listening to their voices.

    ¡°Felic... Felic!¡± It was a ruckus all around. Kevin had to shout into Lin Li¡¯s ears for him to hear. ¡°Squeeze to the front a little more!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Kevin raised his voice higher and pointed his finger to the front. ¡°I said! Squeeze! Forward!¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡±

    With all their strength, they finally squeezed out into a gap in the crowd.

    ¡°Here it is.¡± Kevin panted heavily. He stopped in front of a small hut.

    Lin Li looked up. There was a sign outside the hut that looked like it was ready to fall off anytime. A few big words were written on the sign in dexterous calligraphy¡ªJarrosus Exchange.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost choked in his breath. How could such a dpidated house be associated with trade?

 Chapter 17 - Magical Crystals Trade

    <h4>Chapter 17: Magical Crystals Trade</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lin Li wiped the cold sweat off. He was about to enter the hut when two burly men came up and blocked him with raised arms.

    The burly men were shirtless, their expressions ferocious and ugly. At a nce, they seemed to havee from knocking around ces, fighting and killing. Lin Li touched his nose and replied timidly, ¡°I came to sell items...¡±

    ¡°Sell? Scram to the side! Take a look in the damn mirror, is Jarrosus Exchange a ce for you to enter at your own wish?¡± With these words, Lin Li was pushed out of the door.

    Lin Li stumbled a few steps back. ¡°Can¡¯t we talk nicely without any pushing?¡±

    ¡°Scram immediately!¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li wanted to continue his ramble, the two men became enraged and held their fists up.

    Kevin was gasping for breath at a side when he looked up and witnessed the conflict between both sides. Just as he was about to open his mouth to stop them, it was already toote. The burly men attacked and the young mage sighed regretfully.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Then came a session of cries, which seemed to have startled the noisy ck market into silence at once.

    ¡°Damn. You really thought anyone wearing a long robe would be a cultured person?¡± Lin Li was beaming. The crowd of onlookers couldn¡¯t understand how this seemingly harmless young mage could be so vicious in his strikes. The two burly men had yet to deliver their attacks when they were each sent a dozen meters away by an Arcane Missile, and were groaning in pain on the ground at the moment.

    ¡°Can I go in and sell my items now?¡± Lin Li approached with a grin and bent down to ask that the two men who were still groaning in pain.

    The two poor men were nothing but rogue gatekeepers. They mostly bullied derelict adventurers as they watched the gates, and had never met a real mage before. Those two Arcane Missiles were a low-level spell, but as theynded solidly on their chests, even the strongest in body could be half killed. At this time, they looked at Lin Li as if they had seen a ghost, and hurriedly nodded in trepidation. ¡°Yes, yes...¡±

    Lin Li smiled with satisfaction. He took a few steps forward and asked doubtfully, ¡°I won¡¯t get chased out?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡±

    Kevin watched from the side, dumbfounded. After some time, he let out a sigh in resignation. This young mage¡¯s character was rather simr to Uncle Gerian¡¯s, both ruthlessly vindictive. It was no wonder Uncle Gerian thought so highly of him...

    Lin Li walked into the exchange in high spirits amidst the groans of the two unlucky morons.

    Kevin caught up from behind, a bitter smile across his face. ¡°The Exchange goes by a membership system. I had yet to pull out my membership card when you already knocked them out. You¡¯re quick to take action...¡±

    ¡°Why? They have backing?¡± Lin Li asked casually with a grin.

    ¡°Of course. How can a ce like Jarrosus Exchange not have the protection of some sort of force?¡± Kevin¡¯s head throbbed at the mention of this. ¡°The one that protects this ce is Old Odin, thergest underground force in Jarrosus. The important thing is, Old Odin has always maintained a good rtionship with the Guild of Magic, and has been friends with President Gerian since young. You¡¯ve beaten them up without a word; it¡¯ll be hard for President Gerian to exin it to Old Odin...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve beaten them up anyway. We¡¯ll talk about it again when theye calling on the doorstep.¡±

    It was empty inside the Jarrosus Exchange; not a ghost could be seen except for an old man who was dozing off at the counter. Lin Li went in and knocked on the counter dozens of times before the old man opened his eyes with a sleepy face. He yawned as he grumbled in a quiet voice, ¡°Young people nowadays are really mean, waking up an old man taking an asional nap. Ai, I¡¯m already this old, wonder how many more good naps I can take...¡±

    Lin Li touched his nose sullenly. This old fellow could talk more crap than Gerian...

    ¡°Hurry up and state your business, don¡¯t hold up an old man¡¯s rest.¡± There was no energy in the old man¡¯s voice; it sounded as if he was on his deathbed.

    ¡°I heard from my friend that the Jarrosus Exchange buys in all kinds of magic materials. I have a few magical crystals at hand, and was thinking of bringing them here to see if I could exchange for some money to tide me through,¡± Lin Li said. The other party was an old man after all, and was not as strong as the two unlucky morons at the door. Even if he was unhappy with him, he¡¯d have to suppress his anger.

    That was why he cut to the chase and pulled out the scroll pouch Ina had given him from his pockets.

    What followed were the ttering sounds of dozens of magical crystals rolling out onto the counter.

    Kevin¡¯s scalp numbed as he saw the shiny magical crystals. He didn¡¯t even have to look closely to sense that they were at least level-five with the element waves emanating from the magical crystals. Magical beasts were not cows that one raised at home and could milk as and when one wanted. It would probably take more than ten days to collect these magical crystals of level-five and above even if a mercenary team was deployed.

    Kevin couldn¡¯tprehend just how so many high-quality magical crystals came to fall into the hands of Lin Li.

    The one with the biggest reaction was the old man behind the counter.

    The old fellow was just looking sleepy a moment ago, but his eyes shone when therge number of magical crystals rolled out from the scroll pouch. He shot up from his seat with a swish and threw himself onto the counter, his actions fast and agile¡ªhe did not look like an old man at all.

    ¡°Manticore... Bloodsucking Lizard... Thunder Beast, damn! There¡¯s also a Wyvern!¡± The old many on the counter and counted with his eyes lit, asionally whispering or shouting. His facial expressions could not be more perverted.

    ¡°These... these are all yours?¡± The two guys had waited there for half an hour before the old man finally looked up from the pile of magical crystals.The way he looked at Lin Li was one of a big gray wolf looking at a small white bunny.

    ¡°Basically...¡±

    Lin Li nodded reluctantly. He was about to ask the old man if he would take them when the old man pounded the desk. ¡°8000 gold coins for all, will you sell?¡±

    ¡°8000 gold coins?¡± Lin Li was bewildered. Being a transmigrator, he had no idea about money in the world of Anril. He had to turn his head around and ask Kevin for help.

    ¡°10,000!¡± Kevin spat out a figure resolutely.

    ¡°Hold on... I need to have a discussion.¡±

    10,000 gold coins was a huge amount, after all; the old man couldn¡¯t make the decision by himself. He hurried out from behind the counter after informing them. The two guys waited there for long before they saw the old man return with glee on his face. This time, there was no hesitation from him as he kept those dozens of magical crystals away. ¡°Deal!¡±

 Chapter 18 - Suppression

    <h4>Chapter 18: Suppression</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was in a bright mood when he walked out from the so-called Jarrosus Exchange. Back when he was in the Sunset Mountains, forced by Andoine to kill magical beasts, it had never urred to him that he could sell the magical crystals for money. He thought it was a waste to just leave them there, so he picked them up each time he killed a magical beast. Who would have thought that, two monthster, he could earn his first ie from these magical crystals.

    Because of his different experiences, Lin Li probably understood the power of money better than most mages in this world.

    Initially, he did not have the time to think about it. But after a reminder from Kevin, he recalled his experiences in the Endless World. Had he not had that near-infinite amount of money, he wouldn¡¯t have possessed so many top-grade materials, much less trained all his life skills to the highest level.

    10,000 gold coins might seem like an enormous amount in the eyes of others. But to Lin Li, it was just a beginning.

    That afternoon, Lin Li raided over 20 herb stores. When he had hired a horse wagon to bring the herbs back to the Emerald Tower, Gerian almost cried in excitement.

    He had waited for decades, and atst Emerald Tower had its own potion master. Damn the Pharmacist Association, go to hell!

    And then, both of them went into the reception room again; this time, the content of their conversation was kept secret even from Kevin.

    Kevin only knew that Gerian was beaming with satisfaction as he emerged from the reception room and announced on the spot that, from the day onwards, everything within the Emerald Tower would be open to Felic unconditionally. He was free to go anywhere and look up anything he wanted.

    This was probably the most exclusive privilege in the Emerald Tower apart from Gerian¡¯s, particrly for a mage who had just joined a few days ago¡ªit was absolutely a miracle.

    Almost none of the mages in the Emerald Tower could understand why Gerian made such a decision. To them, it was a joke. Even the pride of Jarrosus Guild, legendary mage Andoine, had never enjoyed such generous treatment before. What right did this young mage, who had just joined the guild for a mere few days, have to deserve such favorable terms from Gerian?

    For a moment, Emerald Tower was in chaos, and all kinds of rumors were in full swing. There were spections whether the rtionship between them was normal or not, and questions whether Gerian was being fair. There were even a few petnt ones who threatened to pull out from the guild if Gerian did not rescind his decision.

    Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic had beencking in talent, and the withdrawal of a few mages who were of at least level-nine would be a devastating disaster. Almost everyone thought Gerian wouldpromise¡ªotherwise, the Jarrosus Guild of Magic wouldpletely disappear from Anril before the Supreme Council¡¯s assessment in three months¡¯ time.

    However, they were all wrong. Gerian was not only unwilling topromise this time, he had also taken an unusually tough approach.

    Within three days, rumors in the guild were forcibly suppressed. The mages who threatened to quit were kicked out of the Guild of Magic that afternoon.

    The tumult hade and gone; it was almost over before it began, and everything seemed to be back on the original track. Lin Li still spent his days in the library, asionally hanging out with Kevin outside of the emerald tower to see if there was anything good in the magic stores. The fat old man was still keen on instructing young mages in his own unique way as ever...

    The only issue was probably the mages who were kicked out of the guild.

    Not to mention Gerian, even Lin Li heard it several times.

    These guys had beening togethertely, but no one knew exactly what they were discussing.

    Everything looked the same except for this.

    Under Gerian¡¯s tough approach, the small ruckus was crushed. But everyone knew that, in fact, these suppressed voices never really disappeared. They were merely waiting patiently.

    Once there was a slip-up from Lin Li, or if Gerian could note up with a convincing reason, these voices woulde out from the shadows again, louder than before.

    But to Lin Li, this was not a big deal.

    He had been so busy since he¡¯d returned from the Jarrosus Exchange that he did not have the time to care about such matters.

    Every morning, Lin Li would head straight to the library. He had too much knowledge he needed to catch up with. Sitting in the quiet library, Lin Li felt as if he was back to the time before his college entrance examination. When he had finally looked up from the pile of books, he¡¯d often go back to the potionb without having his meals. There, herbs worth thousands of gold coins were waiting for him.

    What Lin Li had to do was to turn the thousands of gold coins¡¯ worth of herbs into potions.

    Even Lin Li, a potion master, could not help but have a headache when faced with so many herbs.

    Moreover, there was that old fellow Gerian, who ran to the potionb in the name of concern more diligently than anyone. In particr, the way he drooled when he looked at the bottles of finished potions made Lin Li want to drive him out of theb.

    That day, the two of them had reached an agreement in the reception room.

    Lin Li would have the next highest privileges second to the President in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. Correspondingly, the guild would have the priority rights to purchase the potions he produced. That was the reason behind the fat old man running to the potionb everyday.

    As a matter of fact, the two men¡ªyoung and old¡ªdid not differ much in their core personality traits. Both were philistine¡ªonly that one was arrogantly philistine, while the other had kept it low-key.

    The agreement was, of course, full of the spirit of utilitarianism.

    One wished to maximize the benefits of pharmacists, while the other wished to maximize the use of guild resources for his own work. Neither of the two jerks was good.

    Lin Li was satisfied with the agreement. Being a transmigrator, he knew the power of publicity more than anyone else. Especially in a world of swords and magic, if you had a giant like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic standing behind you, you could sell the medicine more readily than others.

    Arge amount of herbs was ced into their different categories, and the empty pharmacy was once more filled with the fragrance of herbs. ording to Lin Li¡¯s n, the first batch of herbs would be used in low-level potions as much as possible. After all, this was just the beginning; it was far from the point of showing off all of his skills.

    But with his ability as the potion master, even if it were some low-level potions, it¡¯d be enough to make Andoine¡¯s eyes lit up. Heaven knew how many years had passed since the mages in the Emerald Tower had a smell of the Calming Potion...

 Chapter 19 - Potion Storm

    <h4>Chapter 19: Potion Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A delicate fragrance filled the potionb while the potion in the beaker gurgled.

    Lin Li added nectar from the peacebloom into the beaker as he meticulously calcted the ratio of the three potions. He only raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead asionally, quickly burying his head back in work.

    Behind him were bottles ofpleted Arcane Magic Potion.

    Gerian hade to watch a few times. When he saw the bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the fat old man nearly bit his tongue off. It had been on his mind even without looking at them, but now that he had seen them, he was behaving like an aggrieved woman who hadn¡¯t been satisfied for decades, refusing to leave the potionb and insisting on getting two bottles for him to have a taste.

    Lin Li tried every possible way to dissuade him, but eventually he got him a bottle and sent the aggrieved hag away.

    Other than that hag, Kevin also dropped by a few times to take a look.

    But the young mage was much more restrained than the fat old man. After greeting Lin Li at the door, he would squat in the corner and draw circles. When something happened, he could also help Lin Li; all he wanted was to witness the skills of a potion master.

    It took him almost a week to use up over thousand gold coins¡¯ worth of herbs.

    It was Wednesday when Lin Li dragged his tired body out of the potionb.

    Lin Li went to Gerian the first thing after he came out, and the old and young pair hid in the reception room once again. Their discussion took almost the whole afternoon, and both emerged with sly smiles on their faces.

    Lin Li could finally get a good sleep after finishing all these.

    Lin Li was dizzy from exhaustion after so many days of work. He fell asleep and did not wake up till Friday.

    By the time he woke up, news had spread through Jarrosus City.

    ¡°I heard that Jarrosus Guild of Magic discovered a High Elves relic not long ago and obtained many master potions from it!¡±

    ¡°No, no, I heard they poached a Potion Master. This time, the Guild of Magic hit the jackpot. It was said that the Potion Master had brought a pile of potions with him from the Pharmacists Guild!¡±

    ¡°Brag all you want. Who doesn¡¯t know what the Guild of Magic have been like these years? The fellows from the Pharmacists Guild have their eyes on top of their heads; if they really poached a pharmacist from them, I can chew off the spire of the Emerald Tower!¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what they were thinking. Those are potions of the mastery level, they should be keeping them and drinking them in secret, but instead they decided to sell them! Damn... You few, don¡¯t leave! Lend me some money, I should buy a bottle too!¡±

    ¡°Dream on! With what little money we have, it¡¯s not enough to buy a bottle. Hmm, it¡¯s probably enough to buy a bottle cap...¡±

    And the source of all these was a word from Gerian.

    ¡°This Sunday, the Guild of Magic will be auctioning 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion in the Emerald Tower!¡±

    The mages in Jarrosus, especially those who came from the mage families, could not even remember how many years it had been since they heard of ¡°Arcane Magic Potion¡±.

    Although the Jarrosus Guild of Magic had been down and out in the recent years, due to the agreement made during the Dark Ages, they could more or less get some aid from the Pharmacists Guild. Although the aid was paid for with Gerian¡¯s old face, they were still happier than the mage families.

    The mage families had great wealth and enviable power, but the Pharmacists Guild was not as much an object of wealth and power.

    Every pharmacist had the rights to look down upon all of these.

    The skill they inherited from the High Elves Dynasty was in itself the most precious wealth in the world. If a potion master wished so, he could easily destroy a magic family with a flip of his hands. There were too many strong people in the world willing to go through fire and water for a bottle of potion.

    Perhaps only a giant like the Merlin Family had a small chance of getting a master potion, but it was really only a small one...

    The entire Jarrosus City was in aplete frenzy ever since Gerian had released the news.

    Competent forces were scrambling to make money.

    The Merlin Family, determined to acquire these 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, even disposed of several properties in the heart of Jarrosus City in order to gain more bargaining chips in thepetition. After all, old Gerian had said that the Guild of Magic would only recognize money this time. Whoever gave the highest price would have the best opportunity, and friendship or whatnot would have to wait after the items were sold!

    It was said that Gerian gave a t refusal even when Old Odin came calling. Everyone in Jarrosus City knew that both of them wore the same pair of pants growing up. The Merlin Family, which was just about to extend a friendly hand, immediately pulled back after hearing that even Old Odin had been turned away...

    ¡°How are the properties in the city center handled?¡± Matthew Merlin was 53 years old this year. He had been the head of the Merlin Family for a decade, but he had never been as agitated as today. He paced back and forth in the living room, stepping on the soft carpet, but his mood could not be calmed for a long time.

    The 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion was a godsend of an opportunity for the Merlin Family.

    He had never seen any force taking out so many bottles of Arcane Magic Potion at once. Even the Pharmacists Guild had never been so generous. When he¡¯d first heard the news, Matthew Merlin, who had never let his feelings show, was so excited that he dropped his wine ss on the spot.

    That was 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, which meant 30 chances to permanently enhance magic power.

    Although this opportunity was only for mages below level-five, weren¡¯t they what the Merlin Family had the most?

    For most mages, level-five was a difficult gap to cross.

    After crossing this gap, one would be entitled to wear a long mage robe and be called ¡°respected mage¡±. But if one could not cross the gap, they would be a pathetic mage apprentice for life.

    A mage and a mage apprentice. It was one of heaven and one of hell...

    With the Merlin Family¡¯s influence now, should there be another 30 mages beyond level-five... At the thought of this, Matthew could almost see the glorious future of the family...

 Chapter 20 - Father and Son

    <h4>Chapter 20: Father and Son</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s almost done. There are two ces which are a bit of a trouble. The buyers are biting onto the prices and not willing topromise; I¡¯ve sent someone to negotiate with them, so we should be expecting some good news soon.¡±

    Cromwell¡¯s expression was respectful, but there was a triumphant glint in his eyes. He had always wanted to prove that he was capable of managing the family in addition to his magical talent, so he had done his best to be perfect in the real estate disposal. In just one day, five properties worth more than 180,000 gold coins were disposed of; in such an urgent situation, he made sure the family did not suffer much loss.

    In Cromwell¡¯s opinion, it would have been difficult even for his father to do it better than him.

    ¡°Fool!¡± But it was Old Merlin¡¯s angry outburst that awaited him. The wine ss in the old man¡¯s hands fell to the floor again, and the fingers pointing at Cromwell were shaking slightly, apanied by the sound of rapid breathing. ¡°Who told you to negotiate with them? Who gave you the rights to negotiate with them? Do you know that this is a matter of life and death for the Merlin Family?! You actually took the liberty of making such decisions on your own... do you still have any regard for me?¡±

    ¡°Father...¡± Cromwell waspletely dumbfounded. Old Merlin¡¯s anger was like a stick in the dark, beating him into bafflement. For a moment, the feeling of injustice welled up in his heart, and he just stood there speechless for a long time.

    ¡°Ai...¡± It was his own son after all. After the scolding, Matthew¡¯s anger had subsided a little. The old man sighed helplessly. ¡°Why do you not think over it? If I hadn¡¯t been pressed for time, how could I have sold the properties in the center of the city? Did you really think us, the Merlin Family, would becking in money? What we arecking is time! The amount of time left for us is too short: only two days. After two days, those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion will appear on the auction. It¡¯d be better if they could dy a few more days and I could dispose of some more properties. This way, our odds would be better during the auction...¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Cromwell had no idea that Old Merlin would be so determined this time. ¡°Are those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion really so important to our family? Even without the potions, we already have 40 mages level-five and above. Other than the Guild of Magic, no one else in Jarrosus has this kind of power. Why do we need to fight so hard for 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion?¡±

    ¡°Hmph...¡± Old Merlin rolled his eyes. He shot an exasperated look at Cromwell, a look that also expressed that he¡¯d expected better from him. ¡°I¡¯ve long told you not to hang out with those old fellows in the family, why won¡¯t you listen? Look at what they¡¯ve taught you, these short-sighted geezers... 40 mages above level-five... It only looks nice! With these 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, what we wille to have are 70 real mages, and not some ridiculous mage apprentices!¡±

    Old Merlin had a murderous glint in his eyes at the mention of this. ¡°Also, has it ever crossed your mind what will be of our Merlin Family if these Arcane Magic Potions fall into the hands of other families?¡±

    Old Merlin¡¯s words plunged Cromwell into deep thoughts. He stood there, absorbed in the meaning of his father¡¯s words. Cromwell was not an idiot, and after a few moments, he began to grasp the key to his words. Cromwell felt his limbs turn cold at once, and as he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat was unusually dry. ¡°You... you mean... Merlin Family... will... will be reced by other powers?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Old Merlin¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°The 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion may be an opportunity or a disaster for our Merlin Family...¡±

    ¡°I get it, Father!¡±

    ¡°These two days, other than disposing of the properties as soon as possible, it¡¯ll be better to hang around the Guild of Magic as well. It¡¯ll be good if you can get to know the origin of this batch of Arcane Magic Potion. Even if you can¡¯t, you¡¯ll first have to establish a good rtionship with the Guild of Magic. This time, they have most likely gotten themselves a potion master. When you go, bring those few level-fourteen spells from the family with you. Gerian will likely understand my intentions...¡± Old Merlin sounded a little dejected. ¡°From now on, the Guild of Magic is not the Guild of Magic of the past...¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get right down to it!¡±

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Cromwell was just about to leave when Old Merlin called him. ¡°A few days ago, I seemed to hear that you were having a bit of a bad time with the Guild of Magic because of a young mage?¡±

    ¡°About this... I can exin...¡± What was done secretly was exposed on the spot by the Old Merlin, and Cromwell¡¯s expression was now a flustered one.

    ¡°How much do you know about that young mage?¡± There was not much reproach in the look on Old Merlin¡¯s face.

    ¡°I know a little.¡± Cromwell was slightly relieved and went on, ¡°This mage is called Felic, I got to know him when I was in the Sunset Mountains. He had encountered a Wyvern and I was the one who saved him. But this person did not know gratitude and wanted to deal with me again and again. Then, I heard he had joined the Guild of Magic, so I wanted Gerian to teach him a lesson...¡±

    ¡°What about his strength?¡±

    ¡°About level-six.¡±

    ¡°Small character of little significance...¡± Old Merlin shook his head. ¡°Your fault is that you shouldn¡¯t have let Gerian know about it. Try to see if you can rope him in this time when you go; if you can¡¯t, then...¡±

    As he spoke, his gaunt fingers ran across the neck, indicating he was to ¡°eliminate¡± the problem.

    ¡°Remember, if you do it, do it cleanly.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Although he had been berated, Cromwell was in a good mood when he left Old Merlin¡¯s study. What could only have been done in secret was unintentionally approved of by Old Merlin. To Cromwell, this was more important than anything else. With the strong support of the Merlin Family, it was easier to kill a derelict of a mage than to crush an ant.

    As for trying to woo him... This had never crossed Cromwell¡¯s mind at all. As long as he took out those level-fourteen spells, even Gerian had to take him seriously. Was there any need for him to woo a down-and-out low-level mage?

 Chapter 21 - Black Lotus

    <h4>Chapter 21: ck Lotus</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The storm brought on by the Arcane Magic Potion swept in many of the powers in Jarrosus City.

    From eleven mage families to six underground forces, almost everyone was struggling to raise money. Prime real estate, top-grade magical crystals, rare magic materials and magic equipment... All these umon items seemed to have flooded the market overnight. Prices were dropping day by day as if taking a dive from a high tform.

    The whole Jarrosus City had be crazy. All the powers qualified for thepetition were fighting to force their way into the Emerald Tower.

    As for the Emerald Tower, it was of course the center of the storm.

    After Gerian had tossed the news out, he¡¯d been staying in the Emerald Tower, feigning illness.

    ¡°Visitation? Ai... I¡¯m really sorry, President Gerian is seriously ill; it¡¯s a malignant infectious disease. If you¡¯re infected, it will lie heavy on our conscience. Why not go back first ande back again a few dayster?¡±

    Sometimes, the circumstance was a scary thing. Just after two days, someone as honest as Kevin was poisoned into lying every time he opened his mouth. He spoke of the infection with an anxious expression of pain as if Gerian had not been just ill, but had been infected by a gue instead.

    Everyone knew what was going on, but there was nothing they could do about the fat old man Gerian. Everyone was at Gerian¡¯s mercy now, and what they were waiting for was to rip him off at the auction. So the members of the ten mage families came and left, and then the members of the six underground forces came and left too...

    The seriously ill Gerian, however, was hiding in the basement, grinning. He counted the Arcane Magic Potions again and again and listened to the noiseing from the hall, the grin on his face growing wider as he did that.

    He no longer remembered how long it had been since the Jarrosus City had been so astir. For thest twenty years, the Guild of Magic had been the top influence in Jarrosus City. But those with discerning eyes knew that it was only because the Supreme Council still existed. Without the support of the Supreme Council, the guild would have fallen apart in an instant.

    Before the emergence of the Arcane Magic Potion, who truly had regard for the Guild of Magic? The same went for Old Odin, whom he shared a friendly rtion with. If he had not been the President, that old chap who controlled all the assassins in Jarrosus would not have given the Guild of Magic any respect.

    Even that little rascal from the Merlin Family had dared toe to his doorsteps to make a demand.

    ¡°Pff! Kicking Felic out of the guild... Hats off to him for thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°Ai, I am too brilliant!¡± Thinking back to his decision, Gerian couldn¡¯t help but revel in it. It was all because of this decision that the Guild of Magic had be what it was today. 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion had made the guild the focus of the entire Jarrosus City. If these fellows who were fighting crazily were to know there were another hundred-plus bottles in the cer, what expressions would they have on their faces...?

    As the initiator of the potion storm, Gerian knew Lin Li¡¯s worth more than anyone else. In his opinion, the Arcane Magic Potion was just the beginning, and it was still far from demonstrating the true worth of Lin Li. In fact, even Gerian himself wondered what kind of surprises would this almost miraculous potion master bring to the Guild of Magic...

    Just as everyone was going crazy over the thirty bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, Lin Li was hiding in the potionb alone the whole morning.

    Lin Li knew about the stir created by the Arcane Magic Potion. If it happened in a different period of time, he would have taken pleasure in receiving the attention. But he had no mood for it now.

    He found something interesting in the potionb.

    It was a few ck petals. He had most likely been too tired the past two days, and walked into the potionb again in a daze this morning when he woke up. He wanted to leave once he came to realize where he¡¯d gone, but then he suddenly spotted the flower petals among a pile of potion dregs.

    The ck petals were mixed in the dregs; if not for Lin Li¡¯s good vision, he¡¯d not have been able to differentiate the petals.

    In the beginning, Lin Li did not take it to heart. After all, gathering herbs was a troublesome task. Other than a herb master like him, an average person would inevitably pick up some weeds while gathering herbs. Who knew how many weeds he¡¯d picked out from the herbs while he was concocting the Arcane Magic Potion the past few days...

    Picking up those few petals was an instinctual reaction, just like how one would naturally grasp a woman¡¯s breasts when he had his arms stretched out in front of her chest¡ªit was not a hooligan¡¯s behavior, but an extremely natural reaction...

    Anyway, Lin Li picked up one petal in his hand.

    It was then that he realized things were wrong.

    Upon closer inspection, this petal was actually the legendary ck lotus!

    <i>This... this... Isn¡¯t this too phony?</i>

    Lin Li could never dream that he¡¯d discover the petals of a ck lotus among the peacebloom dregs.

    Although using peacebloom as the main ingredient of the Arcane Magic Potion produced fairly good effects, the growing environment of these herbs was not at all harsh. Simply put, they could grow anywhere. As long as there were mountains and water, there would be peacebloom.

    The legendary ck lotus, however, was on another end of the scope. Its growing environment was unbearably harsh¡ªit had to be rich in magical elements and boast an extreme temperature high enough to melt steel. Most important of all, it had to be watered with moltenvaing from the core of the earth. The moltenva, however, could not be poured directly on the ck lotus; instead, it could only be run slowly about a meter away from it...

    All the conditions mentioned above were indispensable. Should there be any slight variance, the ck lotus would wither away in the shortest of times even if it somehow managed to grow.

    Aside from such perverted conditions, the emergence of the ck lotus was universally acknowledged as impossible. Lin Li had put out a high price for news on the ck lotus in order to achieve a breakthrough in pharmaceutics, but not the slightest simmer of bubbles could be seen even after putting out a reward of hundreds of thousands of gold coins.

    The reward had been out for a few months; Lin Li gradually began to give up on the ck lotus which only existed in the legends. He had not expected that, a few monthster, he¡¯d arrive in another world and discover the trail of the ck lotus by chance.

    ¡°Could I be this lucky?¡± Lin Li gazed at the petal in his hand and couldn¡¯t suppress his excitement any longer.

    If news of his lucking upon a few ck lotus petals among the peacebloom went out, it would scare some people out of their wits...

    Lin Li quickly opened up the Ring of Endless Storm and took out two bottles of potion¡ªa blue one and a red one. Sticking to the ratio of three-to-one, he carefully poured them into a beaker. Once the two potions mixed, they immediately gave off an acidic smell, which filled the potionb.

 Chapter 22 - A Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 22: A Visitor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This was a small trick Lin Li had learnt long ago. Mixing the Recovery Potion together with the Sobriety Potion would produce a cocktail potion with the simplest structure and most intense conflicting properties. Through this, the attributes of a certain herb could be perceived directly.

    Lin Li gingerly picked up a petal and slowly immersed it in the beaker.

    When that speck of ck came in contact with the potion, a fizzing pop could be heard. The liquid in the beaker churned violently, and white mist arose from it. The acidic smell that had permeated the potionb seemed to be swept away in an instant, and recing it was a rush of refreshing fragrance.

    ¡°It is indeed the ck lotus!¡± Lin Li ced the beaker in his hands down on the table, as if he was afraid he¡¯d drop all the ck lotus petals into it.

    ck lotus was frequently used in mental strengthening. One of the most powerful end products using it was the legendary Ephemeral Divinity Potion. In that twenty seconds of brief divinity, the user possessed an almost-infinite mental strength and was immune to any mortal spells. This thing was definitely the deadliest of weapons. It could block almost anything from humans to gods, and could kill with just a re.

    Granted¡ªthis thing was just a legend.

    No traces of the Ephemeral Divinity Potion could be found even in the forms of pharmacist gurus. Perhaps only someone at the level of a Divine Smith would have it...

    In addition, the ck lotus could also be used to create mental strengthening potions like the Infinite Magical Ability, Arcane Field, and more. Although they were less freaky than the Ephemeral Divinity Potion, these potions were far more realistic than the illusory Divine Smith level form. At least Lin Li had mastered their forms when he had reached the level of a pharmacist guru.

    Besides, these potions were not your average kind. They might not be as freaky as the Ephemeral Divinity Potion, but they were definitely almost there. In particr, the Infinite Magical Ability Potion was as enchanting as one wanted it to be. These three instantaneous phenomenal spells were enough for a mage apprentice to defeat a legendary mage.

    Of course, to possess potions with such horrifying powers, the materials needed were not at all ordinary.

    Other than the legendary ck lotus, a great deal of rare herbs was also hard to find. After thepletion of the potion, sap from the Eternity Tree had to be added in. Only the sap from the Eternity Tree would be able to provide magical support to the three legendary spells.

    Anyhow, the ck lotus could only be met but not asked for. Just these few petals would drive most pharmacists crazy. Moreover, these petals provided a clue for Lin Li to figure out the ce pharmacists dreamed of¡ªthe spot where a ck lotus was growing.

    The ck lotus petals were gently kept into the Ring of Endless Storm. Lin Li was mindful of his hands for the whole time as if he was afraid he¡¯d bruise the treasure by ident.

    He was finally done with the work and ready to leave when he met an acquaintance as he walked out of the potionb.

    <i>This fellow actually dared toe to the Guild of Magic! </i>Lin Li was unnerved watching Cromwell enter the Emerald Tower in a distance. Didn¡¯t he just threaten Gerian a few days ago about what to do? And the next minute, he came calling on the Guild of Magic, right? The Gerian today was not the Gerian of yesterday. Ever since he had got ahold of the Arcane Magic Potion, it was as if an old man had met an old army doctor. Without a few smokes of the cigarette everyday, he¡¯d not be at ease.

    This fellow hade in so casually, wasn¡¯t he afraid that Gerian would take the chance to vent his emotions?

    The whole Jarrosus City was all about the fat old man now that he had the Arcane Magic Potion in his hands. Given the vindictive nature of the old man, he would never let Cromwelle to a good end for offending him!

    ¡°Felic! I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere, so that¡¯s where you¡¯re hiding...¡± Lin Li was contemting whether to hide in a corner and watch the uing show when he heard Kevin¡¯s voiceing from the hall.

    Lin Li looked up, only to see Kevin with a face full of sorrow.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the expression?¡± Lin Li knew best the kind of crap Gerian had arranged for Kevin to do these two days. The fellow smirked unkindly upon seeing Kevin¡¯s sorrowful face. ¡°How was it? I bet you¡¯ve reaped some profits these few days?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even mention...¡± Kevin¡¯s pretty face was smothered into a ball of worry. ¡°You don¡¯t know how I managed to pull through these two days. I haven¡¯t taken a break since morning. The peopleing for Uncle Gerian were unceasing, everyone was asking how his illness was. I¡¯ve told the lie about that infectious disease at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand. I¡¯ve evene to suspect I¡¯ll say the same things in my dreams...¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯d have to get the time to sleep.¡± Lin Li dropped another blow on Kevin heartlessly. He stretched out his hand and pointed at the noisy crowd outside the Emerald Tower. ¡°Look at the number of people. By the time you y them off, it¡¯ll probably be morning.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Kevin was so engrossed in the chit-chat with Lin Li that he was caught unwittingly by Cromwell.

    After being reprimanded by Old Merlinst night, Cromwell was even more anxious to prove himself. Early this morning, he walked into the Emerald Tower carrying a few level-fourteen spells. He had even nned out the plea he would give in his mind.

    In his mind, he had imagined Gerian being overjoyed when he presented him with the spells. Then, he¡¯d start pulling strings, talking about the deep and long-standing friendship the Guild of Magic and Merlin Family shared. And when the atmosphere became harmonious, he would represent the Merlin Family, and with a tactful and sincere tone, ask to purchase the thirty bottles of Arcane Magic Potion.

    ¡°Perfect!¡± A reserved smile came to Cromwell¡¯s face at the thought of that exciting moment.

    Except, no matter how reserved his smile or how perfect his n was, there had to be a chance for him to carry it out first.

    As soon as he walked into the Emerald Tower, Cromwell found that things were quite different from what he had imagined. The mages, who were nothing but polite when they saw him on other days, regarded him as air today. Even the most enthusiastic ones merely nodded to say hello. Cromwell thought he was mistaken, but it had happened several times; atst, he began to panic...

    He had already messed up in his handling of the estates. If he couldn¡¯t even get this done well, it would be hard to keep his position in the family.

    So, Cromwell put on his best behavior, something that he rarely did, and tried his best to force a smile on his face, taking the initiative to befriend the mages in the Emerald Tower.

    Cromwell smiled as his heart bled.

    He was the son of Matthew Merlin, yet he had to lower his head and be the one taking the initiative to befriend these low-level mages. To the arrogant Cromwell, this was worse than killing him.

 Chapter 23 - A Slap In The Face

    <h4>Chapter 23: A p In The Face</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What Cromwell could not tolerate was the attitude of these damned mages. Those high and mighty faces almost drove Cromwell crazy. He could not ept how these people who had tried so hard to butter up to him could nowugh so contemptuously at him.

    Cromwell could not remember how he¡¯d managed to pull through that morning.

    Each time he was forced to show a friendly smile, all he received in exchange were several cold shoulders.

    Until a moment ago, when he finally saw Kevin.

    Cromwell, who had dealings with Kevin several times before, knew that if there was an honest person left in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, it would definitely be Kevin. In Cromwell¡¯s mind, it was much easier to talk to an honest person.

    ¡°Mage Kevin, long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Uh... Long time no see, Mr Cromwell.¡± Upon seeing Cromwell, Kevin¡¯s head began to ache. If possible, he wished he could say ¡°Better not see!¡± instead.

    It was a pity they¡¯d already seen each other. Cromwell, who was like a drowning man clutching at any straw that could save his life, rushed up and shook Kevin¡¯s hands¡ªwhether thetter wanted it or not. ¡°Long time no see, long time no see...¡±

    Lin Li, who was standing at a side, was of course ignored.

    Cromwell had thought that now that Gerian was down with a serious illness, the person who should oversee the Guild of Magic would naturally be his nephew, Kevin. What reasons were there not to cozy up to the guild¡¯s in-charge and instead engage in a chat with a mage in dire straits? Besides, as the heir to the Merlin Family, Cromwell could not afford to lower himself and initiate a greeting with a low-level mage.

    Lin Li was good at taking hints. As Cromwell¡¯s expression fell into his eyes, he knew exactly what was going on in his mind...

    But it was better to ept being ignored lest he should be approached with a smiling face and too embarrassed to make trouble for him in the future.

    Cromwell had thought of his plea before he came, but because he had to hold it back for the whole morning, he had almost gotten sick from keeping it in for too long. Now that he finally caught up with Kevin, he¡¯d never give him a chance to resist. He had not let up ever since he had a grab of Kevin¡¯s hands. He began with the friendship they had shared since childhood, and then went on to talk about the deep and long-standing friendship between the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic.

    The bombardment of words and favor had made Kevin extremely drowsy and miserable.

    ¡°Brother Kevin, to be honest, I really admire you. Father once told me that you are the only young man in the whole Jarrosus City with a stronger gift in magic than me. I had not believed him then; onlyst year, when you had surpassed level-eight in the mage certification, did I realize Father¡¯s vision was not wrong...¡±

    Upon hearing this, an honest person such as Kevin himself could hardly restrain from cursing. You son of a watermelon¡ªone should avoid the face of the person he was beating up! Didn¡¯t he know about that?

    Kevin nced guiltily at Lin Li and thought, <i>Surpassing level-eight surprises you? If you knew someone who had just been exposed to magic for three months surpassing level-eight, wouldn¡¯t you be scared crazy right on the spot? Not to mention you, your father would probably be driven crazy too if he saw the crystal ball glowing for twenty-eight minutes...</i>

    <i>Lauding me as a magic genius in front of this someone, isn¡¯t he trying to push me into a pit of fire!?</i>

    Kevin finally saw a silver lining when the sun was about to set; he had waited long for Cromwell to ask about Gerian.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, the President has been overly exhausted recently, and so he has not been feeling very well. He¡¯s resting in the Emerald Tower at the moment.¡± Kevin was awfully agitated when he delivered the sentence. It was as if the race that had been enved for thousand of years suddenly saw the dawn of victory at the end of the Dark Ages.

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad...¡± Cromwell¡¯s expression was aggrieved. ¡°Then, can I see him? My father had told me to bring him a small gift when I left home this morning.¡±

    Atst. Kevin had waited for this sentence after being tortured for the whole afternoon...

    ¡°Visitation? Well... I¡¯m really sorry. President Gerian is seriously ill this time, and it¡¯s a malignant infectious disease. If you¡¯re infected, it will lie heavy on our conscience. Why don¡¯t you go back first ande back again a few dayster?¡±

    Kevin had repeated this for at least a thousand times in the past two days, but never had he felt this joyful saying it. The words came as he opened his mouth, and he spoke without feeling burdened, much less worried that he¡¯d sleep-talk in the night. He even felt a stone lifted off his heart after he¡¯d finished the sentence...

    ¡°...¡±

    The smile froze on Cromwell¡¯s face. This was not the result he had expected after all the meticulously prepared pleas, smiles, and ttery. For a moment, Cromwell stood at a loss, staring nkly at Kevin.

    He could notprehend how things had be like this...

    ¡°...¡± Even Lin Li was shaking his head as he listened from the side. Circumstance was a scary factor¡ªeven an honest person like Kevin was poisoned into lying as he opened his mouth.

    The smile that was meant to be a sign of resignation was deemed an ineffable sarcasm in Cromwell¡¯s eyes. Kevin¡¯s refusal had his breath stuck in his chest, and he suddenly found an outlet to vent it out...

    ¡°What are youughing at?!¡± Cromwell¡¯s fair face was badly contorted, and a pair of gleaming red eyes were fixed on Lin Li in a re. That bearing and expression looked as though he was about to devour Lin Li alive.

    ¡°Mr Cromwell...¡± Kevin was just feeling ted earlier on, and never imagined this was how things would progress in the blink of an eye. When realization finally hit him and he was about to step in, things were already toote. Cromwell¡¯s eyes were fiendish, his expression contorted. His agitated outburst rained spittle on Lin Li¡¯s face...

    <i>This is the end... </i>Kevin knew things were bad as he recalled the two unlucky men outside Jarrosus Exchange. He had figured out Lin Li¡¯s character after being together for a long time¡ªhis character was almost like Gerian¡¯s. As long as he wasn¡¯t provoked, everything could be talked about nicely. But once the fellow was provoked, he would not show any mercy to anyone heid hands on. He would not move unnecessarily, but once he did move, he would definitely move in the direction of death.

    Although the Guild of Magic had some frictions with the Merlin Family, they were after all the top influence in Jarrosus City. If anything happened to Cromwell here, it would not be up to Kevin to imagine the chaos that would happen in Jarrosus City.

    ¡°Do you have any manners at all? The things I¡¯ve discussed with Mage Kevin were top secrets that belonged to the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic. What¡¯s your status now? Have you forgotten your name after worming your way into the Guild of Magic, having the guts to eavesdrop on our top secrets? Won¡¯t you scram yet?¡± What made Kevin troubled was Cromwell not knowing what he was doing as he continued his reckless mor.

 Chapter 24 - Shot In The Face

    <h4>Chapter 24: Shot In The Face</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Kevin wanted to die after hearing the malicious bawling from Cromwell. He wanted to p that fool across the face and ask him whether he knew whom he was swearing at. That person was the most privileged one in the Guild of Magic, and even Gerian had to wee him with a smiling face. But now, he was being pointed at and asked to get out. Kevin felt himself turning crazy...

    <i>It¡¯s the end... it¡¯s the end... </i>Kevin¡¯s heart was thumping as he watched Lin Li, who was still smiling.

    Amidst Cromwell¡¯s outcry, the guild hall seemed to have fallen into silence in an instant. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Cromwell.

    Their expressions were full of sympathy andpassion at first. Then, they turned to one of watching an idiot with a congenital disability.

    Gerian said nothing for the past few days, but in their hearts, they had already associated Lin Li with the 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion.

    It was just too obvious. Gerian had just granted him the best privileges in the Guild of Magic, and in the twinkling of an eye news of 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion came out. Even the blind could see the link between them.

    If there was anyone in the Guild of Magic that could never be messed with now, it would undoubtedly be the young mage wearing a worn mage robe standing in front of them.

    Even Cromwell¡¯s father, Old Merlin, who was said to be on par with Gerian in terms of magic attainments, would have no other way out except to die if he messed with the young mage¡ªlet alone someone like Cromwell.

    Someone who could bring out 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion at once would not mind having another 30 bottles out. Under this fatal temptation, who knew how many assassins would be out there, waiting for Cromwell? Yet he was still moring endlessly, not knowing how the word ¡°death¡± was spelled.

    Among all those present, perhaps it was only Cromwell who did not understand.

    Ever since returning from the Sunset Mountains, Cromwell had not felt this joyful before. The resentment that had been amassed for a long time exploded today, and the fury he had held in his chest finally found an outlet to vent it. Every word was vicious to the core and full of sarcasm, from the worn mage robe Lin Li was wearing to his inability to afford even a magic staff, his unawareness of his own status yet participating in such an important conversation...

    Satisfying! Cromwell had never felt this satisfied in a long time!

    But satisfaction was intriguing. It was like that very thing,ing when the satisfaction was to the fullest...

    Cromwell was as such.

    He was satisfied, but just as his satisfaction reached the fullest, he saw Lin Li lifting his right hand.

    There were no other gestures, and noplex spells.

    There was only an intense magical wave and a muffled thud.

    Immediately, Cromwell felt as if he had been hit in the face with a hammer. In that moment, Cromwell even felt like his whole face was shattered; it was an iparable force, bursting on his face all at once.

    The force was extremely powerful. Cromwell hardly had the time to let out a cry before being knocked off. He flew a whole dozen meters like a kite with broken strings; atst, hended heavily on the steps of the door, with all eyes on him.

    Cromwell felt nothing except coldness and dampness. His head was heavy and spinning, as if someone had just mped the door on him. His nose seemed to be broken as well, a gush of warmth flowing out from his nostrils. It mingled with the water stains on his face, with him not knowing if it was blood or water...

    He clearly saw what struck him was a waterspout.

    It would indeede for those who were satisfied to the fullest. But Cromwell was unlucky; it came for him, but it came on his face...

    The hall hushed all of a sudden. The dozens of mages present, including Kevin, had been studying magic for at least 20 years. They could easily see that the magic Lin Li used was a level-two Waterfall Strike.

    A level-two Waterfall Strike wasn¡¯t intimidating at all; what was intimidating was the way Lin Li had used it.

    There was no redundant gesture nor sound of chanting at all.

    It was merely a lift of the hand, and the Waterfall Strike was unleashed. This was a genuine instantaneous burst of power!

    Even a mage apprentice knew that it was not the mental strength or the mana that limited a mage¡¯s ability to fight¡ªit was the time taken to prepare. Complex hand gestures and lengthy spells kept the mage in a battle walking a tightrope. Most of the mages in the world were studying the same question¡ªhow to unleash magic in the quickest way.

    As for the interpretation of ¡°quick¡±, it would no doubt be the instantaneous outburst.

    But it was just too difficult...

    Absolute control of the mental strength, urate allocation of the mana, and theplete breakdown of the elemental structures...

    It had gone beyond the scope of knowledge and technology, and belonged entirely to another level.

    Perhaps some mages above the level ten could unleash two level-one and one level-two spell in an instant with their decades of umted experience, but for many mages, instantaneous outburst was nothing but a distant dream.

    But everyone had witnessed how a level-two spell was unleashed instantly today.

    Furthermore, the one who had used this level-two spell was a young mage not over the age of 20.

    All these had exceeded their imagination...

    ¡°Demon, demon...¡± A grey-bearded mage in the crowd looked on with a zed expression.

    His words were aplete representation of the crowd¡¯s thoughts. Other than a demon, no one coulde up with another word to describe the young mage.

    For a moment, the hall was rmingly quiet. Except for the sounds of rapid breathing, only Lin Li¡¯s light footsteps could be hearding from the steps.

    Lin Li kept the smile on his face. He even greeted Cromwell politely as he approached. ¡°Long time no see, Mage Cromwell.¡±

    ¡°Long... long time no see...¡± Cromwell backed down subconsciously. Due to his wounded nose, there was a faint twang in the broken voice.

    Lin Li had killed a Wyvern right before his eyes back when they were in the Sunset Mountains.

    But Cromwell had always thought that this low-life mage was never his rival.

    It was only luck that he¡¯d managed to kill the Wyvern with that shot of icicle piercing right into the Wyvern¡¯s wound. If not for that, he¡¯d long be torn to pieces by the Wyvern.

 Chapter 25 - Old Merlin

    <h4>Chapter 25: Old Merlin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Cromwell had always believed that Kevin was the only young man in the Guild of Magic worthy enough to be mentioned in the same breath as him. He had believed that the mage¡ªthree years older than him and three years ahead of him to be certified level-eight¡ªwas his only rival in Jarrosus City.

    As for Lin Li... he was nothing but a low-level mage.

    But now, he crumbled with a bang before such a low-level mage.

    There were no exnations and no reasons. It was merely a simple yet brutal Waterfall Strike, and it thoroughly shattered the pride Cromwell held for over 20 years.

    While on the floor, Cromwell suddenly realized just how frail he was.

    Lin Li bent over Cromwell, the smile never leaving his face. Only his eyes revealed a menacing light, such that Cromwell never doubted he¡¯d kill him with a lift of his hand.

    Endless fear welled up from the bottom of his heart, as if he was back in the Sunset Mountains in an instant, faced with the terrifying Thunder Gori. He shrank back involuntarily once more.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Just then, a voice came from below the steps.

    Upon hearing the familiar voice, Cromwell, who was just sinking into fear, was like a drowning man clutching at a life-saving straw. ¡°Father!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t you find yourself embarrassing enough?¡± Old Merlin emerged from the crowd. He wore a ck mage robe, his right hand clutching a green staff. He exuded an aura so powerful that even on the steps a distance away, Lin Li could sense an irresistible pressure.

    ¡°Mage Felic, thanks for disciplining my child on my behalf.¡± Old Merlin looked sincere and bowed slightly at Lin Li. But when he looked up, his eyes divulged a hint of murderous intent. ¡°But some things should be left to me, the father. Young man, it never hurts to be a little kinder.¡±

    As Old Merlin¡¯s voice settled, the magical elements in the surroundings turned into a violent wave, like a giant vortex spreading across the area. Lin Li felt an unprecedented pressure standing in the center of this vortex. He had to clench his teeth tightly to ensure he wouldn¡¯t bend under this immense pressure.

    At the same time, Old Merlin¡¯s mental strength was surging like torrential tide, dealing an impact with every wave to the center of the vortex where Lin Li stood.

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite.¡± Lin Li clenched his jaws, sparking an abnormal mental strength all of a sudden, barely enduring the battle with Old Merlin where he faced too huge a gap in the first ce.

    But between a level-fifteen archmage and a level-eight mage, mental strength alone would be far from enough topensate for the huge disparity in power.

    It was an all-dimensional disparity, not only in power and experience, but also in theprehension of rules.

    At this moment, Old Merlin seemed like a veteran who had mastered the rules of the game bullying a neer who had just entered the gaming circle.

    Once you surpassed level-fifteen to reach the realm of an archmage, your understanding of the entire world of magic would be onpletely another level. No matter how strong Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was, or how near-infinite his mana was, he could never ovee such disparity in level.

    What he could do now was to hang on and persevere.

    But even so, he could not hold on for too long.

    For Lin Li could clearly feel the giant vortex spinning at a crazier speed...

    After waves and waves of mental strikes, he was on the brink of copse.

    It was a feeling of desperation. In the midst of the huge vortex, Lin Li felt that he had no room to fight back.

    <i>An archmage is indeed impressive... </i>It was the first time Lin Li had met an adversary impossible to ovee ever since he had transmigrated. A profound sense of frustration sprung from his heart.

    In fact, at this time, Old Merlin was feeling no more peaceful than Lin Li.

    The young mage before him was no more than 20 years of age, much younger than Cromwell. But in the control of power, he was several times stronger than Cromwell, who had disyed an outstanding talent from a young age. Old Merlin had also observed in the probe earlier on how horribly strong this young man¡¯s mental strength was. He had given it his all, yet he couldn¡¯t figure out where his limit actually was.

    Old Merlin knew very well it was all because of his deeper understanding of the rules that he was able to dominate the battle.

    There was a difference of ten levels between both sides, and in the end this would be the way to decide the winner in this battle.

    Mage was a highly hierarchical profession, and each level implied a great progress in power. The gap between an archmage and a mage was vaster than the sea of darkness. It was only in levelled battles, such as those between Old Merlin and Gerian, thatpetition was the rule.

    An archmage oppressing a mage was an absolute crush...

    But the crush that was expected eventually came to such a situation at present. Even Old Merlin could not help but be startled.

    The only thing that pleased Old Merlin was that this unequal yet ridiculous battle was atsting to an end...

    Thinking it over, Old Merlin felt pathetic. He was an archmage, yet he was taking pride in defeating a mage.

    The giant vortex spun insanely, and the waves of mental strikes were each one wave higher than another.

    Just as Lin Li thought he would be swallowed by the giant vortex, a familiar voice rang from within the Emerald Tower. ¡°Matthew, I see you¡¯re really getting out of it.¡±

    The next moment, Lin Li felt the weight lifted off his body. The giant vortex seemed to vanish without a trace in an instant, as if it had never been there before. Old Merlin still stood at the bottom of the steps a distance away; his eyes shifted from Lin Li to the depths of the Emerald Tower.

    Gerian came out of the tower, looking as clumsy as ever. His round figure was moving rather than walking.

    ¡°Cut the crap, Gerian. You¡¯ve got to give me an exnation for what happened today.¡±

    ¡°Give you a f*ck...¡± Gerian retorted with a re. ¡°I say, Matthew, you¡¯re old enough now, shouldn¡¯t you be more sensible? Demanding an exnation when you bullied someone from my guild, do you really think I¡¯m easy to bully now that I¡¯ve gained weight in these two years?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As Gerian¡¯s voice fell, the atmosphere outside Emerald Tower turned intense. All hearts were lifted to their owners¡¯ mouths. This was not a battle between Lin Li and Old Merlin like the one before¡ªthat was merely payback from a father for beating up his son. Now, both men standing there were archmages over level-fifteen, and were likewise two of the top powers leading Jarrosus.

    Once the two powers turned against each other, the whole of Jarrosus would fall into turmoil.

 Chapter 26 - Helpless

    <h4>Chapter 26: Helpless</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You sure?¡± Old Merlin ced a foot on the step. Cromwelly not far from where he stood, but Old Merlin did not even look at him. He pointed his green staff at Gerian, the huge magical crystal that was embedded at the tip of the staff emitting a misty green me.

    The violent magic wave seemed to bring along a gust of strong wind outside the Emerald Tower. Dust and scraps of paper on the ground were picked up and swirled like little dancers in the sky.

    Apelling aura was felt from Old Merlin. It was different from the confrontation with Lin Li earlier on; this time, the aura was even more violent and powerful.

    Only then did Lin Li know how lucky he was as he felt the power contained in the aura. If Old Merlin had not suppressed him with his mental strength and attacked directly instead, Lin Li would probably have ended up lying t on the steps long before Gerian came to his rescue.

    It was totally two different worlds for a level-eight mage and a level-fifteen archmage.

    Old Merlin was wrong for choosing a field Lin Li was best at. That was an abnormal mental strength that even a legendary mage would be jealous of.

    But even in this field, Old Merlin, with his understanding of the rules, had won without a doubt.

    Lin Li stood watching Old Merlin from afar. He could only see one word from him: difference.

    As Old Merlin walked up the steps, Gerian tightened his grip on the staff.

    A powerful aura¡ªas powerful as that of Old Merlin¡ªradiated from Gerian.

    His body, originally overstuffed, was as imposing as a mountain in that instant.

    It would only take a moment for two of the most powerful mages in Jarrosus to collide with a dazzling spark.

    ¡°You had long wanted to teach me a lesson after putting up with me for so many years, right?¡± Gerian¡¯s manner was as calm as before even in the midst of immense pressure.

    ¡°Cut the crap, Gerian!¡±

    Old Merlin¡¯s expression was firm, but in his heart, he let out a sigh.

    If Cromwell hadn¡¯t failed him, he wouldn¡¯t have challenged Gerian, who was an archmage just like him, with no assurance of winning.

    Those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion were important, but what Old Merlin was more interested in was the Guild of Magic that had its own pharmacist. After all, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. The Guild of Magic, which had been down and out for decades, could still stand against the Merlin Family in Jarrosus City. How would it look if they were to have a pharmacist of their own?

    For an archmage like Old Merlin, he had sent Cromwell to convey their good intentions, and had even presented four level-fourteen spells that had been in their family hoard.

    Apart from the 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, what he had wanted to do more was to repair the rtionship with the Guild of Magic.

    How could Old Merlin not see with that wisdom of his that the Guild of Magic with its own pharmacist would eventually unify the whole Jarrosus City? Of the many forces in Jarrosus City, the Guild of Magic would definitely be dominating all in the future.

    Since the rise of the Guild of Magic was something that couldn¡¯t be stopped, Old Merlin thought it wise to extend a friendly hand to them before it happened.

    Besides, Old Merlin had been doing it well for the past 20 years. He had not had any conflict with the Guild of Magic, and had even materialized some business dealings with them. Old Merlin believed that as long as he was sincere, Gerian, judging by his character, would have made the same wise choice as he did.

    Therefore, he had sent Cromwell with four level-fourteen spells.

    But this rascal had ruined everything.

    Just two days ago, he had even sworn to him that the young mage named Felic was merely at a level five or six, and had just joined the Guild of Magic for no more than ten days.

    At the thought of this, Old Merlin was so angry he felt his lungs were about to explode.

    Just look at how he had performed, unleashing a level-two Waterfall Strike in an instant. How was that the strength of a level five or six mage? This was probably the general standard of most Magic Shooters...

    And look at Kevin¡¯s expression standing before him. He was Gerian¡¯s nephew, and undoubtedly the second-inmand in the Guild of Magic. Yet he had to do things as he pleased, how could he be an insignificant character?

    But it was toote for anything. In fact, even Old Merlin had not imagined this young mage Felic would be so ruthless. There were no greetings or negotiation, only a direct Waterfall Strike with the lift of his hand.

    The Waterfall Strike had shattered not just the pride Cromwell had held for over 20 years, it had also shattered the ns that Old Merlin had before.

    The instant Cromwell was swept out of the Emerald Tower, Old Merlin knew everything was over. The Merlin Family had lost all in thepetition for the Arcane Magic Potion, and it had alsopletely blocked the path to restoring its friendship with the Guild of Magic.

    No one would choose an ally who harbored resentment¡ªeven if it was only the ally¡¯s son who harbored the said resentment.

    ... Unless Old Merlin was willing to disown Cromwell and choose another sessor.

    But everyone knew it was impossible. Old Merlin had only one son, and Cromwell was his only choice.

    Old Merlin had only one choice at the moment¡ªto defeat Gerian!

    Gerian and he had always been two of the most powerful mages in Jarrosus City. It was only by defeating him that he could establish himself as the number one mage in Jarrosus, and allow the Merlin Family to tide through the future crises peacefully.

    Before the absolute power of the number one mage, the mage families that had been waiting for their chance would most likely remain well-behaved for a period of time.

    At the same time, Gerian¡¯s defeat would also silence the Guild of Magic for a long while. They would have to gather their strength again and wait for the next opportunity to rise.

    The time might not be long, but it would be sufficient for the Merlin Family in their preparations...

    For Old Merlin, this would be the best oue for this whole event.

    But, if possible, he wished he would not have to go that far.

    After bing an archmage, there were many things that often did not have to be seen with the eyes. Just by feeling, Old Merlin was sure that Gerian¡¯s power would not be any weaker than his own. The winner of the battle between the archmages would probably have to be decided by luck.

    Old Merlin would never do anything uncertain in his life. He had never given everything to luck, like what he was doing now.

 Chapter 27 - The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 27: The Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The green me rising up from the magical crystals raged on, and at the same time, the surrounding magical wave had reached its peak.

    With a short and rapid recitation of the spell, a red me lit up on Old Merlin¡¯s hands. With a stamp of the staff in his hand, everyone present seemed to feel space distorting in the surroundings. Stalks of red lotus with long ming tails in tow emerged as if from hell and bombarded the Emerald Tower amidst their howl.

    Just as the stalks of red lotus were about to erupt, Gerian held up the staff in his hand, which was followed by a likewise short and rapid recitation of the spell. Almost immediately, a water-blue barrier was erected outside the gates of Emerald Tower. The stalks of red lotus fell into the water curtain like stones falling into water as ripples appeared on the barrier¡¯s surface.

    ¡°Damn you, Old Merlin!¡± An angry roar came out of the tower, apanied by Gerian¡¯s furious interrogation. ¡°What does you mother do? You son of a b*tch, are you trying to tear down the Emerald Tower?¡±

    Old Merlin paid no heed to his fury; his lips continued their rapid recitation of the spells. The green me burned fiercely from the magical crystal at the tip of his staff, and anotheryer of fire rain came falling down, hitting the blue water curtain with a sizzle.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got guts!¡± Gerian let out a furious bellow, and the blue water curtain was instantly stretched to its limit. He made a strange gesture with his fat hands, and magical elements came pouring out from the ground all at once.

    And the source of magical elements was right beneath the steps where Cromwelly.

    Old Merlin¡¯s expression changed, and he aimed his staff right onto Cromwell¡¯s shoulders. Before thetter could understand what was happening, the magical crystal at the top of the staff exhibited a peculiar distortion as if it had changed into a pair of giant hands in just an instant, clutching Cromwell in it.

    Cromwell felt weight leaving his body, and then he was pulled to the back of where Old Merlin stood.

    Almost concurrently, two razor-sharp rock spines broke the earth and thrust themselves out of the ground.

    Cromwell looked back and felt nothing but a tingling scalp.

    If he were to let those two rock spines stab through his body, even if there were ten Cromwells there, they¡¯d be done for all together...

    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gerian took a big stride and lunged out of the tower. With the support of the Levitation Spell, his plump body was floating in the air as soon as he came out. There was no hesitation at all;rge verses of spells came streaming out from his mouth, his fat hands constantly making abstruse and iprehensible gestures.

    Old Merlin pushed Cromwell aside and met Gerian without fear.

    The magical elements outside the Emerald Tower swarmed madly. Each time the grandiose magic collided, it¡¯d spark off resplendent rays of brilliance. As Old Merlin levitated into the air, both exchanged almost ten strikes. Each attack was no less an extremely powerful top-level magic.

    Lin Li stood at the bottom of the tower a distance away. He¡¯d realized his previous battling styles were in no sense perfect after watching the battle of the two archmages.

    Instantaneous outbursts of numerous low-level magic could indeed take an unexpected effect. But in the face of absolute power, a low-level magic would be rendered a joke. Not to mention how he¡¯d go about blocking Old Merlin¡¯s fire rain, if he were to throw wind des at the blue water curtain Gerian had drawn up, it would probably take years for him to break it.

    This was a typical battle of the mages, so their battling styles were no doubt the most traditional.

    There was no control at all, and no counter-control as well.

    What they were battling with was absolute power. The one that had stronger magical power and a more abundant level of mana would eventually emerge as the winner.

    Of course, it was not to say that instantaneous outbursts of magic were inferior. But, sometimes, instantaneous outbursts were not everything.

    The two archmages possessed the ability to unleash low-level magic instantaneously, and were even adept at that aspared to Lin Li. But they had never showed any instantaneous outburst of magic since the start of the battle, for they knew clearly that the instant magic outbursts they could unleash would never pose a threat to the other.

    As for long recitation of spells, it would be only be a death-seeking move in a battle of this level.

    Even if it was only a second slower, it¡¯d be enough to send people to eternal doom.

    Both had chosen the middle course almost undesignedly. Short and rapid recitation of spells together with swift gestures had created a magnificent and ever-changing battle.

    After figuring out the crux of the matter, Lin Li was even more absorbed in the battle, not batting his eyelids once. Every gesture and recitation were etched in his mind. With every fierce collision, Lin Li gradually figured out answers to questions he had before, and at the same time, questions he had never thought of before arose in his mind.

    If there was anyone who benefited the most from the battle, it would undoubtedly be Lin Li.

    The teachings and influence of a legendary mage hadid the most solid foundation for him. His extraordinary talent had also given him higherprehension than ordinary people. A battle like this would be a grand and exciting one in the eyes of others, but never as enlightening as it was to Lin Li.

    When the battle reached its climax, Lin Li even forgot his own existence. He had totally immersed himself in the magical collision. His heart and soul all fluctuated with the battle, and his nerves trembled with the magical elements.

    It was an almost abstruse state, and Lin Li, being immersed in that state, was as if in another world by himself. In this world, he was approaching the nature of magic with unbelievable speed.

    Boom! Both sides collided again. The aftershock brought on by the collision of two enormous lumps of mana radiated off and pushed Lin Li a few steps back. Sparks of scorching meteors fell from the sky, leaving behind morous trails.

    The earth-shaking strike had finally brought the magnificent battle to a close.

    Among the zing light, two silhouettes descended slowly, a sign of mana exhaustion.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Lin Li had never imagined a ssic and perfect battle like this would end up with both parties exhausting their mana.

    Countless powerful spells had atst exhausted all mana of both parties.

    They had exhausted their mana almost at the same time. The slow descent was merely a buffer with the Levitation Spell.

 Chapter 28 - How Many Times Do You Wish to Recover?

    <h4>Chapter 28: How Many Times Do You Wish to Recover?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian held onto his bucket-thick waist as he gasped for air. The fat on his body rose and fell with dramatic gasps, and cold sweat broke out on his pale, chubby face. Although he was still staring at Old Merlin fiercely, everyone present knew that he was a spent arrow now.

    Old Merlin was no better. He had to rely on Cromwell¡¯s support in order to stand firm on his feet when hended.

    But, for some reason, Old Merlin¡¯s pale face carried a hint of a smile.

    Gerian had given up. Things were obvious¡ªboth were archmages, and both had exhausted their powers. No one could do anything to each other now, so how could he still smile with such confidence?

    In fact, Gerian felt a tinge of joy as soon as the mana was exhausted on both sides. Neither had the strength of an archmage now, and he had dozens of people standing behind him. It would be a challenge the moment when they¡¯d rush forward and surround the Merlins. Not to mention, he had a physical advantage. Just think, a two or three hundred pound man pouncing could easily crush him t...

    Hence, Gerian could not figure out just why Old Merlin was all smiles in victory when he had such a huge advantage over him.

    The old fellow red at Old Merlin. ¡°You can stillugh after being beaten by me? Are you a damn ostrich?¡±

    Old Merlin was barely able to steady himself with the help of Cromwell and still looked weak. He had heard Gerian¡¯s yell but chose to ignore it, clinging onto his chest as he broke out in a violent cough. Old Merlin looked like an old man with one foot in the grave, worn and weak, without the bearing of a great archmage.

    However, regardless of how weak he was, Old Merlin¡¯s had a confident smile on his face all this while.

    It made Gerian all the more unhappy to see it. He dragged his weak body and set forth towards Old Merlin. He would not let the mages in the guild lift a finger. He was going to crush that bastard Old Merlin all by himself.

    But as Old Merlin¡¯s smile gradually expanded and his emaciated right hand reached into the pockets, Gerian¡¯s expression stiffened all of a sudden.

    He saw Old Merlin pulling something out of his pockets.

    It was a sky-blue crystal. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the sparkling crystal reflected a colorful halo.

    That halo was gorgeous yet blurry, like the most beautiful of dreams.

    A pure magical aura was emitted from the crystal. There were no traces of impurity in the aura at all. It was authentic and clean, gentle and soft, like a flowing river from the countryside, moistening the earth without a sound.

    The confident smile of Old Merlin was even more unfathomable under the gleam of the crystal halo.

    ¡°If you had a Strong Energy Crystal, you¡¯d probably be smiling like me now...¡± Though he was answering Gerian¡¯s questions, his eyes were fixed on the crystal on his hand. He was somewhat enchanted by the colorful halo, and also somewhat unwilling to shift his eyes away from it.

    The whole Emerald Tower became silent as Old Merlin¡¯s voice spread throughout it.

    Everyone¡¯s attention fell upon the halo; all kinds of emotions intertwined¡ªconfusion, shock, greed, and uncertainty¡ªcreating a strange atmosphere within the Emerald Tower.

    The people present were mages of at least level-five and above. Other than a dabbler like Lin Li, who had never heard the great name of the Strong Energy Crystal, it was something that almost every mage yearned for. Its powerful calming effect prevented the bite of mana when unleashing spells. To a mage, the bite of mana was much more fearful than the opponent. In addition, the Strong Energy Crystal could amplify the effects of meditation. As long as one had the crystal by their side, the meditation¡¯s effects could be raised to a terrifying level.

    But the real power of the Strong Energy Crystal was that it couldpletely restore mana.

    For a mage, nothing was much more valuable than mana.

    Full restoration of mana could change almost everything at the critical moment.

    For example, the battle between two archmages right before their eyes. Being the most powerful mages of Jarrosus City, and having exhausted thest of their mana, with Old Merlin¡¯s condition worse than Gerian¡¯s as he could not even steady himself, it seemed to be over. But right at this crucial point, Old Merlin had taken out the Strong Energy Crystal...

    Gerian¡¯s expression changed when the sky-blue crystal was taken out. His pale chubby face turned to a terrible color of bluish-white. It was nearly an expression of despair. It did not matter who, there would only be profound anguish for anyone in this situation.

    Both had exhausted all their mana, but the enemy possessed the opportunity to restore all his mana at the most critical time. There was probably nothing else in this world that could feel more helpless than this...

    Gerian stood glued to the ground. The gaze he had on Old Merlin was a lifeless one. He had never felt so powerless before. What had obviously been an evenly matched enemy became one that could throttle him to death in an instant as effortlessly as crushing an ant.

    After the initial stupor, the mages in the Emerald Tower seemed to have realized all of a sudden what the Strong Energy Crystal meant. It meant that Old Merlin could kill Gerian anytime now, sending the Guild of Magic into depths of despair once and for all.

    But as soon as realization hit them, almost all the mages had an expression of vivid fear on their faces. Everyone knew that the Guild of Magic actually belonged to Gerian alone. It was all because of Gerian that the guild was able to survive such a difficult time for 20 years and was able to stand against the number one mage family, the Merlins.

    Once Gerian copsed, it would be the end of the Guild of Magic...

    Perhaps it was only a dabbler like Lin Li who had not understood the situation. He stared puzzled at Old Merlin, thinking about how despicable that old fellow¡¯s smile was. Could it be that he had a secret weapon with him? As it was a good habit to ask when one didn¡¯t know, he nudged Kevin with his elbow and asked humbly, ¡°What is that thing that the old fellow has in his hands?¡±

    ¡°Strong Energy Crystal.¡± Kevin was distracted. He was worried about the circumstances Gerian was in. But after the repeated questioning from Lin Li, he exined the origin of the Strong Energy Crystal in a simple way. ¡°Other than the effects of calming the mind and strengthening meditation, it also has the power to restore mana. Although such power can only be used once, under this situation, I¡¯m afraid Uncle Gerian...¡±

    ¡°Restore mana?¡± Lin Li was astounded. That old fellow Gerian looked to be a smart person and knew how to exploit his own surplus value usually. How could he see a broken crystal this day and be scared silly by it? Was it possible that the battle with Old Merlin had damaged his brain...?

    Restore mana... Lin Li touched his nose. He felt like asking Gerian, ¡°How many times do you wish to recover?¡±

 Chapter 29 - Red Bull Drink

    <h4>Chapter 29: Red Bull Drink</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Old Merlin squeezed the crystal ball in his right hand and all at once traces of light escaped from the gaps between his fingers. The pure and clean aura gushed into Old Merlin¡¯s body at an unimaginable speed. With that surge of power, color had returned to the pale and frail face.

    Everyone could clearly feel that Old Merlin was recovering his mana at lightning speed. The depletion brought about by the earlier battle was quickly recovered to the full by the Strong Energy Crystal. In just a few seconds, the seemingly frail old man would be the most powerful mage in Jarrosus.

    Outside the Emerald Tower, the sky was covered withyers of thick, dark clouds...

    A bitter smile came across Gerian¡¯s face. The winner of the battle between the most powerful mages of Jarrosus was actually decided by a crystal.

    Everyone was in despair, including Kevin. All was for naught in the face of a mage with a fully restored mana. Though they had plenty of people in the Emerald Tower, none could help Gerian...

    Old Merlin¡¯s smile spread across his face. It seemed like the situation was too far gone beyond repair.

    Just when everyone thought that the defeat of the Emerald Tower was a foregone conclusion, Lin Li shook his head helplessly. ¡°Looks like his brain was really damaged...¡±

    The voice wasn¡¯t loud, but enough for everyone around to hear. Immediately, about four or five mages turned around; the stares they gave Lin Li were filled with rage¡ªeven Kevin¡¯s. He was the one most familiar with Lin Li out of all others. And it was due to this that he knew how much Gerian valued Lin Li, and how much pressure Gerian had endured when those privileges were given to Lin Li.

    Never had he expected Lin Li to say such a thing when Gerian was at the most dangerous of times.

    Kevin¡¯s face turned unusually surly as he looked at Lin Li with rage and contempt in his eyes. ¡°Mage Felic, you really disappoint me...¡±

    ¡°Why are you all looking at me like that...? Also, Kevin, if you¡¯re to be disappointed, you should be disappointed in that old fellow.¡± Lin Li shook his head resignedly and slowly pulled out a sky-blue bottle from his pockets. ¡°If his brain wasn¡¯t damaged, he would have asked for help long ago. Does he really think that he could take the whole Jarrosus City being an archmage...¡±

    Under the deepening eventide, the sky-blue bottle red an even dazzling glow than the Strong Energy Crystal.

    It was likewise gorgeous yet blurry, emitting the same pure magical aura.

    When the beam of halo prated from Lin Li¡¯s hands, the few people who were ring at Lin Li were dumbfounded almost at the same time.

    Kevin blushed, then showed a look of surprise on his face. As for the mages behind him, all of them let out cheers!

    The cheering rmed everyone, including Old Merlin and Cromwell. All kinds of looks were shot in their direction¡ªlooks of doubt, surprise, and suspicion.

    And then they saw Lin Li emerge from the crowd.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re really getting on age, even your brain¡¯s stopped working...¡± Lin Li whispered quietly. Under Gerian¡¯s astounded stare, he stuffed the sky-blue ss bottle into his hand.

    ¡°This is...¡± Gerian was slightly confounded, but very soon sensed mana tumbling in the ss bottle. It was pure and clean, just like the Strong Energy Crystal in Old Merlin¡¯s hands.

    ¡°This is simr to the Strong Energy Crystal. I remember it was called the Awakening Potion or something,¡± Lin Li added softly, ¡°but I prefer to call it the Red Bull drink.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Who had the time to study the Red Bull drink with him at this critical time? Before Lin Li¡¯s voice faded, Gerian had already removed the bottle cap and poured the Awakening Potion into his mouth. He took in the pure mana contained in it while savoring the sweet yet sour aftertaste in his mouth.

    As soon as he gulped down the Awakening Potion, Gerian knew what the oue would be.

    The speed of mana recovery brought on by the Awakening Potion far exceeded that of the Strong Energy Crystal Old Merlin held in his hands. Almost instantly, the exhausted mana was restored to its peak.

    Feeling the magical waveing from Gerian, another cheer broke out from the crowd outside the Emerald Tower.

    This was the miracle of a pharmacist!

    Everyone¡¯s heart was filled with the joy of having survived a disaster. If it hadn¡¯t been for the bottle of Awakening Potion, there would probably not be any Guild of Magic in Jarrosus in the future. The ups and downs of life were indeed exhrating. The mages who were clutching their hearts a moment ago could now await the chance for victory.

    They had even outlined a scene in their minds¡ªGerian taking on Old Merlin again after recovering his mana. When both sides exhausted their powers once again, the crowd at the Emerald Tower would rush forth and knock Old Merlin outpletely. Of course, other than President Gerian and Mage Felic, the most glorious position must be left for oneself...

    Unfortunately, Lin Li did not give them any chance at all. The mages, immersed in their imagination, soon saw Lin Li¡¯s hand reaching into his pocket again. This time, what he took out was yet another sky-blue ss bottle, likewise with the dazzling halo and the pure magical aura.

    ¡°Let me give you another bottle on ount of how excitingly you fought...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the crowd outside the Emerald Tower copsed.

    Particrly Old Merlin, who felt a throbbing pain in the heart as he held onto the Strong Energy Crystal...

    The Strong Energy Crystal was hard toe by. Even with the power and wealth of the Merlin Family, only one had been found for so many years. But when it came to the Guild of Magic, just look at what this young mage Felic had done...

    It was enough to stuff the Awakening Potion which was no less precious than the Strong Energy Crystal into the hands of Gerian. But Gerian had just finished a bottle, and he immediately stuffed him another one based ¡°on ount of how excitingly you fought¡±... The most precious Awakening Potion, when it came out of his mouth, was like a carrot that was being stuffed into his hands...

    Old Merlin wanted to ask if there was any justice left in this world...

    Everything was over...

    Feeling the powerful auraing from Gerian, Old Merlin let out a slight sigh and released his grip on the Strong Energy Crystal. All was meaningless. Even if he could absorb as much mana as he could from the Strong Energy Crystal, he would be almost on par with Gerian at his peak.

    To Old Merlin, that meant defeat.

 Chapter 30 - Duel

    <h4>Chapter 30: Duel</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What Old Merlin had was merely a Strong Energy Crystal, which could only be used once. But what the Guild of Magic had was a potion master who could gift away an Awakening Potion, and he had just gifted two at once.

    If the previous Awakening Potion had brought Old Merlin disappointment, then this bottle had no doubt left him in despair.

    A fully recovered Gerian was enough trouble; now that he had another Awakening Potion in his hands, how could Old Merlin fight him?

    Looking at the young mage who was all smiles, Old Merlin was filled with regret.

    All along he had been guessing, who exactly was that mysterious pharmacist in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic?

    He had once thought it might be Gerian himself, or Kevin who was near his thirties. He had even thought it might be the mages outside the Emerald Tower, those who were well stricken in years but average in their performance. But he had never expected it would be a young mage not even over the age of 20!

    To be honest, it would be hard to fault Old Merlin for it. Everyone knew that years of umtion were required in pharmaceutics. There were no shortcuts in this field, and even more so there were no so-called geniuses. Regardless of how intelligent one was, it was necessary to umte experience through the failures in the long quest to seek a way to reach the top.

    If he had known that he was the pharmacist, he would have killed him earlier on. He¡¯d not have cared if Gerian had stepped in to help. As long as he killed the pharmacist, the Merlin Family would not have any more rivals in Jarrosus City. Who would care if he hurt himself along with Gerian in that battle? Surely the Merlin Family of today could defeat the Guild of Magic after it lost Gerian.

    But now, it was toote to say anything.

    Gerian hadpletely recovered. With his protection, he had no chance toy his hands on that pharmacist.

    For the first time, a dejected expression came across Old Merlin¡¯s face.

    He knew that he had lost, and he had lost utterly at that.

    From the beginning where he had sent Cromwell to convey their good intentions, until when he finally relied on the Strong Energy Crystal to challenge Gerian.

    He had counted every step beforehand, but it just happened that all the steps had gone wrong.

    Cromwell being swept out of the Emerald Tower by a Waterfall Strike, Gerian being able to stand again with a bottle of Awakening Potion... All these were because of the young mage named Felic. Unwittingly, this young man had be the most fearful enemy of the Merlin Family, even more so than the most powerful mage of Jarrosus, Gerian.

    In order to let the Merlin Family cruise through future crises, they had to first get rid of this terrifying young mage.

    Old Merlin took a look at Cromwell, who was standing by his side, and then at Lin Li, who was smiling away. Finally, he clenched his teeth and came to a painful decision.

    ¡°I lost.¡± Old Merlin¡¯s voice was dry, but everyone had heard it clearly.

    ¡°Hahahaha...¡± Gerianughed with no manners at all, and even the people on the streets could hear his arrogant voice. ¡°Need you say? Go and look in the mirror, you¡¯re beaten all swollen by me...!¡±

    Old Merlin had been mentally prepared before he opened his mouth, but now that he heard what Gerian said, he had the urge to cough up blood. Did this old fatty know what was shame?

    Old Merlin told himself desperately that he had to bear with it!

    ¡°Did I lose to you?¡± Old Merlin shot Gerian a re, and shifted his focus onto Lin Li. ¡°The one I have lost to is this young pharmacist!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Gerianughter was unbelievably pompous. ¡°You have restored your mana anyway. If you¡¯re indignant, you can still fight me and see who is the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Old Merlin¡¯s face turned purple with rage, and he paid greetings to all 18 generations of Gerian¡¯s family in his heart. A rematch? That son of a watermelon. He had the Awakening potion in his hands now, only a lunatic would fight him once more...

    ¡°Forget it, Gerian. I¡¯ll admit that you are the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City.¡± In order to swallow the fury, Old Merlin had almost chewed his teeth till they bled. He said with tears for every word, ¡°But what¡¯s the point? Even if you are the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City, does this mean you can shield and connive? Everyone has clearly saw Mr Pharmacist here humiliating the heir of the Merlin Family. If the Guild of Magic is unable to give an exnation for this, I will make sure there¡¯s a battle between the two most powerful influences in Jarrosus City!¡±

    ¡°It will not do you any good!¡± Though Gerian¡¯s tone was tough, his facial expression had changed.

    After having the potion master, the Guild of Magic already had the opportunity to rise. So long as they auctioned off the 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the Guild of Magic would be able to grow to a considerable degree in a short time. By that time, the 11 mage families and six underground forces would all have to adjust their behavior toward the guild.

    At this critical point, Gerian would definitely hate to battle it out with the Merlin Family.

    Although Gerian was not afraid of the Merlin Family¡ªmore so, he had the confidence that he could destroy them with the help in pharmaceutics Lin Li provided¡ªit was not in line with the Guild of Magic¡¯s interests. The conflict between the two most powerful forces would just end up in a Pyrrhic victory, and this would leave room for other powers.

    It was for this reason that Gerian had not acted rashly. He had gained a definite upper hand, and if he was willing, he could always rely on one bottle of Awakening Potion to kill Old Merlin and his son outside the Emerald Tower. But what for? The Merlin Family was not the Guild of Magic, their strength came from wealth and authority. Losing Old Merlin, an archmage, would not be fatal to them, yet the revenge that¡¯deter on would plunge Jarrosus City into chaos.

    ¡°For the dignity of the Merlin¡¯s Family, I¡¯d sometimes take on thankless tasks.¡± Old Merlin had gained the upper hand for the first time in the conversation.

    ¡°Dignity?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Old Merlin¡¯s expression was serious as he pointed his staff towards the crowd where Lin Li stood. ¡°Since this pharmacist had the guts to humiliate the heir of Merlin Family, then I guess he¡¯d have the guts to take on the humiliated¡¯s challenge!¡±

    Upon hearing these words, Gerian shot Cromwell a peculiar nce and burst outughing. ¡°This is your so-called dignity? Is it possible you¡¯re still half awake, thinking that the little rascal from your family would have the chance to defeat Mage Felic?¡±

    ¡°All I want is a chance for a fair match. Only the two of them, and no one can interfere!¡±

    ¡°After so long, just for this?¡± Gerian¡¯s mood lit up immediately. Only then did he understand that the old fellow had threatened him just to let his good-for-nothing son fight it out with Lin Li.

    Considering the disparity in strength between the two sides, he had agreed almost readily when he suddenly recalled that Lin Li was not an ordinary member of the Guild of Magic. He did not express his stance immediately, but instead turned to ask Lin Li, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just battle...¡± Lin Li was somewhat indifferent. Although he wasn¡¯t so optimistic like Gerian, he knew very well Cromwell¡¯s strength. So long as Old Merlin did not interfere, all would be well. No matter what schemes he came up with, it would be hard for Cromwell to pose a threat to him.

    After the battle today, he¡¯d had a deeper understanding of magic. Absolute power was definitely more important than skills. Even if one did not have an extraordinary gift, he could rely on brutal power to make a clean sweep off everything, like what Old Merlin had done to him at the beginning.

    ¡°A monthter, I will invite the leaders of all forces in Jarrosus, they¡¯ll be the witnesses of this duel. Do you think it¡¯s fair enough, Gerian?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Your son is a piece of cake anyway...¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Old Merlin could not keep it in atst. With a flick of his sleeves, he left with Cromwell in the midst of Gerian¡¯s arrogantughter.

 Chapter 31 - Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 31: Breakthrough</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After the battle between Old Merlin and Gerian, the Merlin Family seemed to have quieted down all of a sudden. And together with the Merlin Family, the pharmacist from the Guild of Magic had also stayed quiet.

    The revtion that Lin Li was <i>that </i>pharmacist spread like wildfire following the battle between the most powerful mages in Jarrosus. Now, more than half of Jarrosus City knew about the young pharmacist named Felic in the Guild of Magic, and that he was not even 20 years of age. Perhaps due to the overwhelming glory of being a pharmacist, many people actually overlooked the fact that he was also a level-eight mage.

    Mmm... In actual fact it was level-nine.

    Lin Li had learnt too much from the battle between Gerian and Old Merlin.

    For the subsequent few days, he had not stepped out of his room. He did not even have the time to care about the auction of the Arcane magic potions. He¡¯d locked himself up in the room and calmly pondered over every bit of the battle. Lin Li studied repeatedly each spell and gesture that both of them had used.

    After he had left the Sunset Mountains, Lin Li vaguely felt that he had encountered some sort of hindrance in the progress of his magic.

    It was a strange feeling, like being blocked by something.

    He had been training diligently every day, and he also knew that he had an exceptional talent. But he couldn¡¯t seem to ovee that ridge.

    He was helpless and aggrieved...

    But there was no other way. What Lin Li could do was to practice and read all kinds of magic books more diligently, hoping to make up for all this with diligence.

    But the effect of such effort was rather frustrating.

    The daily practice of elemental sequencing had indeed brought Lin Li¡¯s mastery of magical elements to a high level. He could even unleash the level-two Waterfall Strike instantaneously, something which many archmages above level-ten were not able to aplish. Reading all kinds of magic books desperately had also allowed him to be gradually rid of the awkward status of a novice mage, bing a full-fledged one instead; at least most of the time now he didn¡¯t have to ask Kevin about everything when he had encountered problems.

    But that ridge was still there...

    It was still the feeling of impotence. It was like there was a mountain in front of you which you could not get around in any way.

    This situationsted for a long time¡ªuntil a few days ago, when the battle between the strongest mages of Jarrosus took ce outside the Emerald Tower.

    Lin Li gained so much from the battle.

    The direct exchange between the two great archmages was even more effective than a legendary mage¡¯s precepts and examples.

    The subtle control of magical elements, the precise distribution of mana, and the flexible use of various kinds of spells, et cetera, et cetera, not only opened Lin Li¡¯s eyes, but also exposed him to a world he had never imagined before.

    The kind of feeling was like a closed door suddenly opened.

    It was a sense of enlightenment.

    It was only then that Lin Li suddenly understood why Andoine had said he had nothing more to teach him back in the Sunset Mountains. Some things just couldn¡¯t be described in words. If you understood, you understood, and if you didn¡¯t, you¡¯d still not understand no matter how much was said. When the magic power reached a certain level,nguage seemed to be pale and powerless, and no amount of preaching would be as real as fighting one another.

    Feeling that the mountain was loosening up bit by bit, Lin Li plunged into a state of excitement.

    He had locked himself in his room for several days, his mind full of the battle between Gerian and Old Merlin.

    It was not until the fourth morning that he came out of the room.

    When Kevin saw him, his eyes were bloodshot and his whole body looked terribly gaunt, but Kevin could only feel the word ¡°powerful¡±ing from that weak and gaunt person.

    At first sight, Kevin almost thought he had mistaken Lin Li for someone else.

    Although Lin Li was a gifted superman and possessed the hidden identity of a pharmacist, Kevin never felt unable to contend with the former when he stood in front of him. Kevin even felt he was better than the young mage in some ways.

    But only four days passed and Kevin could feel that Lin Li had already left him far behind in magic.

    He was somewhat surprised, and somewhat dismayed...

    Kevin could not help but feel dejected hanging out with a freak like Lin Li every day.

    Kevin was among the top talents among the young people in Jarrosus City. He had been exposed to magic since he was sensible, all the way until he had be a level-eight mage at the age of 25. Even the proud Cromwell had to admire him given his speed in advancing. But in front of a demon like Lin Li, his genius had suddenlye to nothing. From ignorance to a level-eight mage, and then another breakthrough from level-eight to level-nine and above, it took him only a mere three months. How was he any different from a beast?

    ¡°Good morning, Felic.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Kevin.¡± After the greetings, Lin Li dragged Kevin to the level certification hall without another word.

    The glow from the crystal ball confirmed Kevin¡¯s earlier spections. Lin Li¡¯s magic level had indeed gone beyond level-nine, and even reached the peak of level-nine.

    Even though he was prepared, Kevin sighed a little helplessly when he saw the light from the crystal ball. This was too freaky. A young man under the age of 20 had attained a top level-nine in magic; it would only take him just one more step forward to reach the realm that all mages dreamed of¡ªthe Archmage!

    Perhaps only someone like Kevin, who grew up with traditional magic education, knew how many mages had been dreaming of being an archmage all their lives, and how many had never been able to achieve that dream. If they knew that a young man who had only been exposed to magic for three months hade so close to being an archmage, who knew if they would be so very ashamed and resentful that they¡¯d kill themselves over it...

    It was fortunate that Kevin had gotten used to it. Ever since he¡¯d met Lin Li, the young mage had been working miracles. An unprecedented magic genius and enigmatic potion master... Kevin was more or less numb after the repeated surprises. Even if one day Lin Li suddenly picked up a hammer and stood by the fire forging iron, Kevin felt that he would probably only mutter ¡°monster¡± and then lower his head to do his own thing...

    ¡°Oh, right. Felic, I heard people from the guild say someone came looking for you yesterday.¡± Kevin suddenly remembered after they walked out from the level certification hall.

    ¡°Looking for me?¡± Lin Li was slightly confounded. Other than people from the Guild of Magic, did he have other acquaintances in Jarrosus?

 Chapter 32 - Black Castle

    <h4>Chapter 32: ck Castle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Apparently it¡¯s a beautiful female adventurer.¡±

    ¡°Blond hair, long legs?¡± Lin Li was surprised at first, but quickly recovered. The only beautiful female adventurer he knew in this Jarrosus City would probably be Ina.

    ¡°Seems like it. Why, is it your girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°Kevin, you were infected by Gerian¡¯s nosiness... Where is she now?¡±

    ¡°I had someone settle her down in the reception room. Wonder if she¡¯s still there...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li knew the father and daughter too well. If they had not encountered something that could not be solved, they would never havee looking for him. Lin Li was somewhat anxious at the thought of this. He rushed out of the level certification hall and hurried over to the reception room as heined, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier...¡±

    ¡°I wanted to tell you...¡± Kevin rolled his eyes. ¡°As soon as you locked yourself in your room, the President warned that anyone who tries to disturb you will have their heads screwed off by him. Do you think I¡¯d still dare toe?¡±

    ¡°This old fellow...¡± Lin Li grumbled, but in his heart, he was slightly touched. Gerian, that old fellow, was thoughtful, afraid that Lin Li¡¯d be disturbed at the critical moment of his breakthrough.

    The two of them reached the reception room promptly. As soon as Lin Li pushed open the door, a weeping beauty came into sight.

    ¡°Mr... Mr Felic...¡± The long-legged beauty choked in between sobs. ¡°Please help my father...¡±

    ¡°Calm down first, Ina. Tell me slowly.¡± Lin Li was at a loss after hearing the cries from the long-legged beauty. He hurriedly pacified her, ¡°Tell me first, what exactly happened to Mr McGrenn?¡±

    ¡°Father... Father is dying...¡± Ina¡¯s pretty eyes were red and swollen from all the crying. Under Lin Li¡¯s constant reassurances, she managed to hold back the sadness and began to speak intermittently, describing what¡¯d happened.

    That day, after parting at the gate of the Adventurers Guild, McGrenn and his daughter sessfullypleted the quest with the Manticore¡¯s tail Lin Li had given them. ording to their usual habits, they would often rest for a period of time after one quest waspleted before taking another. She wasn¡¯t sure what happened that day, but after turning in the quest, McGrenn insisted on going to the quest notice board to have a look.

    It was also coincidence that as soon as the father and daughter arrived at the quest notice board, they noticed a new batch of quests had just been announced.

    One of the quests was to go to the Forest of Whispers in search of an ancient castle. McGrenn chose this task at first nce. The Forest of Whispers was heavenpared to the Sunset Mountains. The most powerful magical beasts there were no higher than level-ten, and they were pitifully few in numbers. If you were lucky, you wouldn¡¯t run into one even if you stayed there for two or three years.

    The quest was also simple¡ªthey only had to find out the exact location of the castle.

    A detailed map of the Forest of Whispers was sold in the Adventurers Guild for a mere ten gold coins. The features of the castle were also clearly described in the mission¡ªa ck castle that appeared only after dark. Completing the quest was only a matter of time with these two clues. Moreover, the reward was as high as 100 gold coins, which was much more cost-effective than hunting for Manticores in the Sunset Mountains.

    So, McGrenn coolly took the quest. He did not rest in Jarrosus City that day. After a little restocking of supplies, he took Ina and set off for the Forest of Whispers.

    As McGrenn had expected, the quest went smoothly.

    Both father and daughter did not encounter any danger along the way. It took a little over a week to find the ancient castle mentioned in the mission.

    McGrenn was overjoyed at the time, and after marking the location of the castle on the map, he nned to return to Jarrosus City.

    But it was at this moment when the ident happened.

    McGrenn, who had just put the map into his backpack, suddenly copsed without any warning.

    Ina was scared stiff at the time...

    What was the scariest was that there was no wound on McGrenn¡¯s body, and it didn¡¯t look like he was attacked by any mental spells. Everything seemed the same¡ªexcept that McGrenn was asleep. ording to Ina¡¯s description, McGrenn¡¯s current situation could only be described as being asleep; even after returning to Jarrosus City, he could asionally be heard snoring softly.

    But McGrenn had slept for too long.

    From the day the castle was found, to the day the two returned to Jarrosus City, McGrenn had slept for seven days. He did not wake up once or eat anything in those seven days. He was in deep slumber, and his body wasnguishing day by day.

    ording to Ina, McGrenn had been worn down to a shadow of his past self when she came this morning.

    Lin Li frowned as he listened to Ina, but he could not recall what kind of magic could have caused that. Thus, after much thought, he decided to have a look.

    ¡°Ina, bring me to Mr McGrenn first. I can¡¯t think of any solution yet.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ina nodded obediently. Since her father copsed, the girl¡¯s heart had been at sixes and sevens. Under Lin Li¡¯s constant reassurances, she recovered some of her previous vigor.

    Lin Li was rather anxious and did not have time to inform Gerian. He found Kevin and told him, ¡°My friend¡¯s in trouble, I have to go take a look. Help me inform Gerianter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no! I forgot to tell him about this...¡± Lin Li had already stepped out of the Emerald Tower when Kevin suddenly recalled something important. But when he wanted to chase after them, he found that both of them had long gone out of sight.

    McGrenn and his daughter did not stay far. Aftering out of the Emerald Tower, they turned a few streets and soon reached an old house.

    This house looked like it had been there for ages. As they walked up to the bedroom on the second story, Lin Li could feel the wooden boards tremble under his feet.

    The room was clean and tidy, though the furniture was slightly shabby; even the nkets that had been draped over McGrenn had several patches.

    He remembered McGrenn telling him that the reward for hunting level-five magical beasts like the Manticores in the Sunset Mountains was only a few dozen gold coins, so Lin Li more or less understood the father and daughter¡¯s situation.

    But Lin Li kept it to himself and said nothing to Ina.

 Chapter 33 - The Twilight Curse

    <h4>Chapter 33: The Twilight Curse</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    McGrenn was covered with a thick nket and snored slightly from time to time. He seemed to be sound asleep.

    But his face was unusually pale, as if without a trace of blood. His eyes were deeply sunken and his face was ghastly thin. If it hadn¡¯t been for Ina¡¯s words, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have been able to connect him with the McGrenn he knew.

    McGrenn¡¯s physical condition had actually weakened to this extent even though he was a warrior above level-six, and his physical quality was ten times stronger than an average person¡¯s.

    Lin Li frowned and cast a Detection Spell.

    But the result was disappointing¡ªMcGrenn had no residual magical wave on him. That was to say, his slumber had nothing to do with magical attacks.

    Lin Li looked at the gaunt McGrenn, unsure what to do.

    ¡°Have you called for a doctor?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve called for them a few days ago, but they all said that father is very healthy.¡± Tears were brimming in Ina¡¯s eyes; she fought hard not to let them fall.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr McGrenn will be fine,¡± Lin Li consoled Ina before shifting his attention back onto McGrenn.

    ¡°Eh?¡± This time, Lin Li had found something different.

    It was an inconspicuous ck line on McGrenn¡¯s right hand. It was thin and indistinct¡ªif Lin Li had not looked carefully, he might not have discovered it.

    Lin Li had a foreboding feeling in his heart as soon as he saw the ck line.

    Without bothering to exin it to Ina, he grabbed McGrenn¡¯s shirt¡¯s sleeve, and with a sniffle, he tore it apart.Taking another look at the arm, there was indeed a thin ck line spreading to chest...

    ¡°It¡¯s actually this thing!¡± Lin Li felt troubled all of a sudden as his spection was confirmed.

    Never had he thought that it was the Twilight Curse that had put McGrenn to sleep.

    The reason why Lin Li remembered the name of this curse was because of a herb called Heart of Death.

    The Heart of Death usually grew only in ces with strong death aura. The stronger the death aura, the easier it was for the Heart of Death to spawn. The ces where the Heart of Death grew would usually be haunted by high-level undead creatures. After it spawned, the Heart of Death would need the power of a curse to grow; the Twilight Curse was one of the several curses that could breed the Heart of Death.

    Lin Li had taken a look at some curses when he was studying herb knowledge, and among them was the Twilight Curse.

    It would take at least a powerful level-twenty existence to master the Twilight Curse.They used their own blood and strength as a guide before they died, cursing all creatures which stepped into the realm and making them fall into eternal sleep.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li knew that the ck castle was not that simple as mentioned in the quest...

    Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief as he found the cause of McGrenn¡¯s deep slumber. Although the Twilight Curse was formidable, it was not entirely unbreakable¡ªat least he knew of two ways that could resolve it.

    Of course, strictly speaking, one of the ways was slightly boring¡ªusing a me to purify the bones of the cursed person in order to break the power source of the curse.

    This was indeed boring. Casting the Twilight Curse before death would almost 100 percent turn someone into an undead creature. Just think about a strong existence above level-twenty turning into an undead; if he was a mage before he died, then congrattions, you might have encountered a Lich. Commiting a suicide would be easier than purifying his bones...

    The other way was undoubtedly much more practical. One bottle of Purifying Potion would solve the problempletely.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ina. I¡¯ve found a way.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ina¡¯s eyes were full of tears, but there was a smile of surprise across her pretty face.

    Ina had been in a panic ever since McGrenn fell into deep sleep. She had tried everything that she could think of, and looking for Lin Li was only a matter of hope. In her heart, this young mage had always been so reliable. He had saved her from the talons of the Wyvern, and then again from the hands of the Leviathan Gori. Perhaps he could save her father this time again.

    So, she went to the Guild of Magic. In fact, she knew that hope was slim even when she went there. She had thought of so many ways, but her father was still in deep slumber. Although Mr Felic was an impressive mage, could he really wake her father up?

    ¡°No problem.¡± Lin Li counted the herbs in his pockets and nodded affirmatively.

    Just then, there was a knock on the door downstairs.

    ¡°It should be Doctor Rowling. Mr Felic, please wait while I get the door.¡± Ina shyly wiped away the tears in her eyes, then ran briskly down the stairs.

    Lin Li was in a pretty good mood seeing Ina had regained her vigor. He fumbled through his pockets and ced the herbs on the table. There were four ingredients required to make the Purifying Potion¡ªsilver hairgrass, sungrass, dreampetal, and terocone. Among them, the effects of the silver hairgrass and sungrass were simr: both had strong divine purifying effect. Using one alone would enable you to concoct a potion that could amplify the divine power; using two at the same time would enable you to purify almost every negative effect.

    But it was also because the purifying power was overly strong that it had to be apanied by the dreampetal and terocone. The dreampetal was used to calm the mind, while the terocone was used to protect the consumer¡¯s body from harm due to the overly strong divine power.

    The four herbsplemented yet restrained each other. An ordinary pharmacist usually would not dare to concoct the Purifying Potion, because the dosage of herbs had to be urately controlled. A small mistake could hurt the consumer.

    Of course, to Lin Li, this was not a big problem. Besides, the preparation process was very easy. It only involved simple extraction and blending, and did not even require assistive tools.

    Considering that he didn¡¯t even need any tools to aid him, Lin Li decided not to return to the Guild of Magic. He took out four ss bottles from his pocket and set them on the table.

    Just as he was beginning to extract the sus, he heard footstepsing from the stairs.

    Lin Li turned around and saw a head of long, fiery-red hair.

    Underneath the long hair was a stunningly beautiful face.

    Lin Li nced in a hurry, but he could only describe it as amazing...

    It was an almost-fatal kind of aesthetic¡ªproud yet cold. A person couldn¡¯t help but feel the desire to conquer her, and even with Lin Li¡¯s mental cultivation, he had gotten momentarily lost the moment he looked back.

 Chapter 34 - Quack

    <h4>Chapter 34: Quack</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Seeing a stranger by the sick bed, the redheaded beauty knitted her fine eyebrows slightly with a hint of caution. ¡°Ina, who is he?¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic from the Guild of Magic...¡±

    ¡°Why did you let him in?¡± The redheaded beauty had some discontentment in her tone, but when she saw Ina¡¯s innocent eyes, that trace of discontentment turned into helplessness. ¡°Ina... I¡¯ve told you many times, Mr McGrenn¡¯s illness cannot be cured by an average person. If mages were of use, I would look for one for you...¡±

    ¡°But, Mr Felic, he...¡± Ina was somewhat aggrieved, her big eyes blinking at Lin Li, asking him for help.

    ¡°Ina, be good and listen. I will find the way to cure Mr McGrenn.¡± The redheaded beauty turned her autumn-like eyes to Lin Li after coaxing Ina. ¡°Let me warn you, don¡¯t try to hit on Ina. If not, even if Gerianes, he may not be able to save you.¡±

    By the end, the redheaded beauty¡¯s voice was bitterly cold. The imposing manner that was disyed by her inadvertently frightened Lin Li. It was an aura of at least a level-ten yer. At this moment, the redheaded beauty was like a magnificent sword, full of murderous intent in her eyes that flowed like the autumn waters.

    This was actually a warrior above level-ten! Lin Li was slightly surprised, but he showed no sign of it on his face and merelyughed gently. ¡°If I leave, will you be able to cure Mr McGrenn?¡±

    ¡°This... This is none of your business!¡±

    ¡°None of my business?¡± Lin Li suddenly chuckled. ¡°Mr McGrenn is my friend. If not for him, I would¡¯ve probably still been lost in the Sunset Mountains. And you say this is none of my business? Furthermore, since you¡¯d like to be in charge of the treatment, let me ask you: do you know where the problem lies with Mr McGrenn?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Still thinking you¡¯re capable...¡± With the topic being what she knew best, the redheaded beauty lifted her fine eyebrows and a confident smile appeared on her face. ¡°There are no wounds on his body, and there was no magical attack. There are only two possibilities for Mr McGrenn¡¯s current situation. It can be either a mental attack or a curse!¡±

    ¡°Not bad that you¡¯re able to see this, it means you¡¯re a decent doctor,¡± Lin Liplimented her with a grin, but quickly changed the subject. ¡°A pity your eyesight isn¡¯t good...¡±

    As Lin Li spoke, he lifted McGrenn¡¯s right hand. ¡°Look at what this is.¡±

    The redheaded beauty shifted her attention and turned pale from fear as she saw the thin ck line. ¡°Curse?¡±

    ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±

    Lin Li stopped mid-sentence and did not reveal the answer. He sat grinning on the bed, looking at the redheaded beauty teasingly. The expression seemed to say: want to know? But I won¡¯t tell you...

    That abhorrent look fell into the eyes of the redheaded beauty, and she was as annoyed as she could be. She cursed in her heart, <i>Just a scoundrel getting his own way, I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s good sooner orter.</i>

    However, she could not hold back her curiosity. The redheaded beauty, who was as proud as a swan, had to put down her pride temporarily. ¡°May I ask, what is the curse?¡±

    Lin Li was highly satisfied with ¡°may I ask¡±. It was like having a cold drink in the dog days, the satisfaction going down from the top of his head to his feet. The fellow was dizzily immersed in it for a while before pointing out in a self-important way as if he was the senior. ¡°Look carefully, a ck line like this extending from the arm to the heart is called the Twilight Curse. No matter how powerful a creature is, once the Twilight Curse has fallen upon it, it will inevitably fall into a deep slumber and be gradually weakened in its sleep... until death.¡±

    Seeing how Lin Li was revelling in self-satisfaction, the redheaded beauty felt even more humiliated. After cursing silently ¡°scoundrel got his way¡±, she was quickly attracted by Lin Li¡¯s words.

    The redheaded beauty was born to an illustrious family and had been instructed by a famous teacher. She had reached a strength of level-ten and above at such a young age. Her high attainments in medical skills far surpassed those of others. As a teenager, she had even received pointers from a pharmacist.

    But she had never heard of the so-called Twilight Curse, nor had she thought that this Twilight Curse could kill people in their sleep.

    Everything the young mage had said seemed to be from another world to her.

    At the beginning, the redheaded beauty was slightly miffed, thinking that this young mage had made up some lies to deceive her and there was no such thing as Twilight Curse in the world.

    But as Lin Li talked about the Twilight Curse, the redheaded beauty was finally moved. After all, she had been instructed by a pharmacist, and knew that there were some things in the world that could not be invented out of thin air.

    Even if the Twilight Curse was fake, when it came to details, he would never deceive a real expert. Some of the things mentioned by this young mage were no different from those mentioned by the pharmacist who had instructed her. It was even more detailed and clearly exined than the pharmacist had at some points.

    The redheaded beauty had a mix of emotions in her heart, somewhat surprised and somewhat filled with admiration. But when she saw how cocky Lin Li looked, she felt a sense of shame and anger once more.

    ¡°Anyway, this is what happened. This Twilight Curse is not a big problem, but it is not something you doctors can touch. I say, redheaded little sis, go back and be the quack doctor you are; don¡¯te out for nothing and harm others.¡± Regardless of her emotions, Lin Li was not at all polite toe to a conclusion after the long speech. But, he had spent too much time with Gerian, and became unforgiving in his words.

    ¡°You called me a quack!?¡± The redheaded beauty¡¯s apricot eyes were wide open, and a look of disbelief came across her face. She was born illustrious and possessed strong abilities. Since young, no one had dared to say a single harsh word to her¡ªexcept her teachers. Since the opening of the hospital, countless lives had been saved by her. There had only been words praising her superb medical skills, and no one had ever told her she was a quack.

    Never had she imagined that, this day at Ina¡¯s house, this young mage would have thrown out that word so easily. Recalling his cocky manner earlier on, the redheaded beauty could no longer contain her anger anymore.

    In her wrath, the pair of beautiful eyes divulged boundless killing intent. A strong aura erupted from her; the red anger was like a me that filled the air. From a distance, the redheaded beauty was as if a phoenix bathing in fire.

 Chapter 35 - Concoction

    <h4>Chapter 35: Concoction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not budge under the oppression of such strong anger; the words he uttered were not at all polite. ¡°Why? Starting a fight because you can¡¯t outspeak me? You couldn¡¯t even find out the cause of Mr McGrenn¡¯s illness, yet you had the audacity to say you¡¯ll be responsible for his treatment. What do you think this is? This is not just any beast, it¡¯s a human life! Have you ever thought what you will do if I¡¯m chased out by you and you couldn¡¯t cure Mr McGrenn? I really don¡¯t know how your teacher has taught you, treating someone¡¯s life as a joke. How are you not a quack?¡±

    ¡°I¡ª¡±

    The killing intenting from the redheaded beauty subsided slightly, but her pretty face was flushed. She wanted to defend herself, but was rudely interrupted by Lin Li.

    ¡°What I? Are you going to say you¡¯ll find a way for sure? Alright, alright. I¡¯ll take it as saying you¡¯lle up with a way sooner orter. But please open your eyes, look closely at Mr McGrenn¡¯s condition now, and think if he has the time to wait till you¡¯ve found a solution!¡±

    What Lin Li hated most in his life was quack doctors ruining the life of someone. If it hadn¡¯t been for a darned quack, his father would not have been left with a lifelong disability. Although his father had escaped death, pain and disgust for quacks were deeply engraved in Lin Li¡¯s heart, and could not be erased no matter what. When he was questioning the redheaded beauty, Lin Li had unconsciously taken her as the darned quack.

    ¡°It was your ridiculous doubt that nearly caused Mr McGrenn to lose his life. What do you treat yourself as, and what do you treat your patients as? You say you¡¯re not a quack; then what are you, a killer?¡± By the end, Lin Li was livid, and his tone was filled with endless resentment. It was as if the one standing in front of him was not a charming beauty, but the quack who had crippled his father for life.

    The words were so serious that the redheaded beauty wavered because of them.

    Lying on the sickbed, McGrenn¡¯s face was ghastly pale and his body gaunt; every breath he took seemed to exhaust all his strength. Looking at how extremely feeble McGrenn was, the redheaded beauty lost confidence for the first time. She asked herself repeatedly, <i>Can McGrenn really wait till I find a way?</i>

    The answer to her question was cruel¡ªabsolutely not.

    She didn¡¯t even know what the Twilight Curse was¡ªdon¡¯t even mentioning up with a way to break it. And McGrenn, who was lying on the sickbed, most likely couldn¡¯t even wait another day...

    If this young mage really had the ability to save people, but was repeatedly stalled and even driven away by her, then wouldn¡¯t the result be...

    The redheaded beauty was stunned by the possibility.

    The curling me was gradually put out and the aura of a level-ten power also vanished without a trace. The redheaded beauty at the moment was like a little girl who had done something wrong. She pulled Ina into a tight hug; her voice had a tinge of sob in it. ¡°Sorry, Ina... I... I really wanted to help Uncle McGrenn... I¡¯ve never thought... I¡¯ve really never thought of...¡±

    ¡°Sister Rowling, I know, I know...¡± Ina held the redheaded beauty¡¯s shoulders andforted her.

    ¡°If you know you¡¯re wrong, then go hide in a corner and cry. Don¡¯t get in the way here, it¡¯s tiresome.¡± Lin Li shot a cold nce at her and paid her no more heed.

    The control of dosage for the Purifying Potion was somewhat troublesome; Lin Li dared not allow himself even the slightest negligence. After a meticulous calction of the amount of silver hairgrass and sungrass to be used, he took two terocones and twisted them in his hands. With tens of thousands of concoctions done in the past, Lin Li had developed a sensitive feel in his hands. With the two terocones in hand, Lin Li knew at once that the amount was too much. So, he took out a silver knife from his pockets and gingerly cut one of the terocones in half.

    After finishing up all these, a beaker suddenly appeared in Lin Li¡¯s hand. Neither Ina nor the redheaded beauty could tell exactly how the beaker came to be there; the whole process seemed like a magic trick.

    With a twitch of his wrist, the terocone fell into the beaker, followed by a Gas st Spell. Lin Li had controlled it carefully, releasing his mana bit by bit, turning an aggressive Gas st Spell into a slowpress. If Gerian had seen this scene, it would probably surprise him again. Such a subtle mana control would probably take at least a decade for an average mage to achieve.

    Under thepression of the Gas st Spell, the two terocones began to deform slowly. As the mana released by Lin Li slowly increased, the two round terocones eventually turned into two thin pieces.

    With a gentle pick of the silver knife, the two pieces of terocone peel were picked out. The clear beaker was brimming with thick terocone sus.

    Looking at the bizarre scene in front of her, the redheaded beauty, with tears still in her eyes, could not help but ask timidly, ¡°What... What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°None of your damned business...¡± Lin Li, who waspletely absorbed, paid no attention to her. After cursing rudely, he added the dreampetal into the beaker.

    It was followed by the recitation of the Spell of ming Hands. As usual, Lin Li was careful in controlling his mana, only lighting a small me on his hand, then slowly roasted the bottom of the beaker.

    After the terocone sus began to boil, Lin Li carefully grabbed the silver hairgrass and sungrass. The two herbs were added into the beaker almost simultaneously, which was followed by white mist rising into the air and a strong medicinal smell permeating the room. Even warriors like Ina and the redheaded beauty were deeply moved by the divine power contained in it.

    Lin Li fed half a beaker of Purifying Potion into McGrenn¡¯s mouth and massaged him for a while to make the potion work as soon as possible.

    Hearing McGrenn¡¯s breathing gradually stabilize, Lin Li finally breathed out a long sigh of relief.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, Ina. Mr McGrenn will wake up in about half an hour¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Mr Felic...¡± Ina was pleasantly surprised. Her lips were pursed as if she was about to cry.

    ¡°McGrenn is fine now, you should be happy. Why are you crying...¡± Lin Li kept the beaker into his pocket, then carefully reminded Ina, ¡°Although he¡¯s fine now, his body will still be extremely weak. I reckon it might still take some time for him to recover. You had better persuade him not to take on any quests for the next two to three months.¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic, thank you. If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t know what to do.¡± Ina¡¯s eyes were filled with gratitude. ¡°You¡¯ve helped us so many times, but I have nothing to repay your kindness with...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to thank for. If it weren¡¯t for your help in the begging, I could still be stuck in the Sunset Mountains. I should be the one thanking you both.¡± Such was the character of Lin Li¡ªclear about kindness and enmity. He would remember for life the kindness and grace he had received from someone. McGrenn and his daughter had helped him unintentionally, but Lin Li had kept it firmly in his mind.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll get going. If not, when your father wakes, he¡¯s going to thank me without end again...¡± Lin Li packed his stuff, getting ready to return to the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Tee hee!¡± Ina could not help butugh at his funny remarks.

    Lin Li insisted on leaving, so Ina could not make him stay and had to see him out of the door.

    After watching Lin Li¡¯s figure fade into the distance, Ina returned upstairs with a hint of reluctance. As soon as she went upstairs, she heard Rowling¡¯s crying out an apology. ¡°Ina... Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sister Rowling. You were kind enough to want to save Father,¡± Inaforted her gently, and the redheaded beauty stopped crying.

    ¡°That mage earlier on, who is he? How did you two meet?¡± Rowling wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity with regards to Lin Li¡¯s identity.

    ¡°I¡¯ve introduced him, he¡¯s Mr Felic. I met him when Father and I were in the Sunset Mountains. He¡¯s an impressive mage who helped me and Father many times. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had the chance to repay him...¡±

    ¡°Felic!¡± This time, Rowling had finally heard it clearly. Never had she expected that the young-looking mage from just now was actually Felic, the pharmacist who had been the subject of heated discussions in Jarrosus recently!

    ¡°Father and I had been pursued by a Wyvern. It was Mr Felic who had appeared suddenly and saved us. And, and... Afterwards, I was captured by arge gori...¡±

    Ina recalled the days in the Sunset Mountains, but Rowling could not hear a thing she said. She was still reeling in shock.

    It was no wonder he could see the cause of Mr McGrenn¡¯s illness at once and concoct such a peculiar potion. So he turned out to be a real pharmacist!

    The alternate identity of the young mage came to her mind, and Rowling¡¯s fine eyebrows were knitted once more...

 Chapter 36 - The Delayed Auction

    <h4>Chapter 36: The Dyed Auction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li saw Kevining out of the door before he could enter the Emerald Tower.

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯re finally back...¡± Kevin wiped cold sweat off his forehead as he continued with a lingering fear in his heart, ¡°If you hade back half an hourter, Uncle Gerian would have beat me to death!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°You went out in a hurry just now, so I forgot to tell you something.¡± As they walked toward the Emerald Tower, Kevin exined the matter to Lin Li. ¡°The auction for Arcane Magic Potion has been postponed!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lin Li was taken by surprise. Could Gerian have taken the wrong medicine? This old fellow had waited for decades for the day when the Guild of Magic could finally hold its head up high. The 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion had given him the opportunity, how could he be willing to postpone it?

    He had always thought that after the battle between Gerian and Old Merlin, those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion would be sold. He was still thinking about when to ask for his bonus from Gerian on his way back to the Emerald Tower. Never did he expect the old fellow to dy the auction!

    A bitter smile came across Kevin¡¯s face. ¡°Because you weren¡¯t here...¡±

    ¡°What bird crap reason is this? He dyed it because I wasn¡¯t here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what Uncle Gerian said. As for the real reason, he did not tell me, and I was too scared to ask...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li knew that Kevin was as scared of Gerian whenever he saw the fat old man as the mouse was of the cat. Since he said that he didn¡¯t know, then it had to be true. So, Lin Li did not pester him further. He instead asked, ¡°Then, until when is it postponed?¡±

    ¡°Today, half an hourter. That¡¯s why I said earlier on that if you¡¯d returned half an hourter, I would have been beat to death by Uncle Gerian.¡± Kevin¡¯s fair face was full of joy. ¡°That day, when Uncle Gerian found out you had locked yourself in the room, he said that you wouldplete yourst breakthrough today. So, the new auction date has been set to today.¡±

    ¡°Oh... Where is he now?¡±

    ¡°He just went to the reception room. He wanted me to tell you to look for him after you came out of the level certification hall, but I¡¯ve forgotten about it...¡±

    ¡°Go and do what you have to do, I¡¯ll go look for him.¡±

    Gerian¡¯s chubby face came into his sight as soon as Lin Li stepped into the reception room.

    ¡°What excuse did you give?¡±

    Gerian was taken aback. ¡°What excuse?¡±

    ¡°The excuse to dy the Arcane Magic Potion auction!¡±

    ¡°Oh... Bad mood.¡± Gerian was indifferent. ¡°I¡¯ve told them Old Merlin came fighting at our doorstep and it has made me very unhappy, so I dyed the auction for the Arcane Magic Potion.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sick...¡± Lin Li wiped his sweat off secretly. Only Gerian coulde up with this kind of excuse...

    ¡°Anyway, those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion are still with the Guild of Magic. They can only watch with their mouths closed even if they have any dissatisfaction. Who would dare to talk about it in front of us...¡±

    ¡°What exactly is the reason?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, because you were not here.¡± Gerian¡¯s expression was serious for the first time. ¡°This auction will attract all the forces in Jarrosus. How can I introduce all these forces to you if you¡¯re not present?¡±

    Lin Li was slightly puzzled. ¡°Introduce to me for what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m getting on age. I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but after the battle with Old Merlin that day, I knew I was really old. If I were ten years younger, I wouldn¡¯t need your Awakening Potion. I could crush him with one hand!¡± Gerian seemed to be a little dispirited. ¡°Think about it, I am 60 years old this year. At my age, how long can I continue to manage the guild? Sooner orter, the guild will have to change leaders. If the new President doesn¡¯t know what kind of forces Jarrosus has, how can he manage the guild?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very ill. Do you want me to prescribe some medicine for you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking!¡± Gerian fixed his eyes on Lin Li; he looked more serious than ever. ¡°You know the guild has no one of use. Look at those useless bums in the guild: the old are too old and the young are too young. The old are mediocre and the young are fools. None of them will work out. My hair is all worried white for these bastards. Luckily, we brought you into the guild. The disciple of the legendary mage Andoine, a magic genius, a potion master... Other than you, who else is qualified for the position?¡±

    ¡°Kevin.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kid me. Kevin turns weak in the legs whenever he sees me¡ªhow will the guild listen to him? After you¡¯ve taken over my position, you can ask Kevin to help you out. He¡¯s pretty good at running errands...¡±

    Lin Li stared at the chubby face for a long time and finally confirmed that Gerian wasn¡¯t joking. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    ¡°F*ck! Can you choose someone else? I can make do with something else, but the President? Maybe I¡¯ll lose all your money in a few years...¡±

    ¡°None of my damned business!¡± Gerian¡¯s eyes were wide open as he answered with no sense of responsibility at all. ¡°By the time you lose the guild, I¡¯ll probably be dead already. Why would I still care about whatever flood there is after I die...¡±

    ¡°Definitely no!¡± Lin Li would not do it no matter what. He really didn¡¯t want to be the President of any guild. This was not an easy position. If you wanted to do it well, you¡¯d be exhausted to death; it would not be tiring fooling around, but you¡¯d probably be criticized to death. Lin Li did not want to be exhausted to death nor criticized to death, so not being the President would be the best choice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to take over now. It¡¯s just my idea. You can think it over first; if you¡¯re still reluctant to take over in a few years¡¯ time, then we¡¯ll talk again...¡± Gerian knew not to push him too hard. Heforted him repeatedly, and with a roll of his eyes, changed the subject. ¡°Other than this, there¡¯s another reason...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh, I heard that some families are already starting to sell their family hoards in order to get the Arcane Magic Potions. I thought, rather than benefiting others, why not benefit the Guild of Magic instead? So, I told them it¡¯s alright if the money¡¯s not enough, they can use items. Regardless of ingredients or equipment, as long as it can be of use, the guild will ept it.

    ¡°I reckon that when the timees, there will be a variety of things brought to us...¡± At this point, Gerian was shameless enough to tter himself. ¡°Although I am knowledgeable, I can¡¯t guarantee to know everything. In this guild, you, too, have a good eye for things besides me. You can help me keep an eye to see if I missed anything...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li thought, <i>Just tell me straight up you want me to help with the authentication. Is there a need to beat around the bush so much?</i>

 Chapter 37 - Peeping

    <h4>Chapter 37: Peeping</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not decline. He was a guru well-versed in all five series, plus a master in general skills. When it came to professional stuff, he would naturally have a better eye than Gerian. Besides, he was also very interested in what the major forces would offer; it seemed to him as fun as a treasure hunt.

    The two jerks had a discussion in the reception room. When they came out, their eyes were shining¡ªanyone who saw them would have the feeling of being targeted by wolves.

    The preparation for the auction was almost done when they came out. All 17 forces of Jarrosus City were present; even the Merlin Family, which had a fight with Gerian just a few days ago, had shamelessly sent someone to attend the auction.

    After entering the guild¡¯s hall, the two jerks who were supposed to be the main characters refused to greet them at the front. Instead, they creeped to the back row and sat between a group of mages from the guild.

    ¡°President Gerian!¡± The group of mages at the side turned around to see Gerian, and all of a sudden, they felt chills on their backs. Why did the old fellowe to sit here...

    ¡°Shut up! All of you sit properly and watch, no one should make a sound. If anyone dares to sell me out, I¡¯ll let him know what¡¯s toe after the auction...¡± Gerian red, and all the mages shut their mouths in fear.

    ¡°See the little moustache, the one in the middle of the second row, wearing a red mage robe and looking all hussy?¡± Gerian hid among the group of mages, stretched his hand, and pointed pettily at the front row. ¡°That is Evan, the third son of the Merlin Family and Matthew¡¯s younger brother. Among the three brothers in the Merlin Family, he¡¯s the good-for-nothing one, merely a Magic Shooter now...¡±

    ¡°Then what about the second son?¡±

    ¡°The second son is Fario, the only one I couldn¡¯t figure out among the three brothers. Speaking of which, this fellow has always kept silent and low-key. I¡¯ve beaten him up a few times when we were young, and have always thought he¡¯s a useless bum. But, unexpectedly, this fellow has climbed higher and higher, and now he has climbed to the position of the Minister of Wealth of the Fn Kingdom. He is in charge of the economic lifeblood of the kingdom, but I heard he has some problems with Matthew and has not been back in Jarrosus for several years.¡±

    The two of them were whispering when a mor was heard outside the Emerald Tower. Looking up, they saw a middle-aged man in luxurious clothing enter the tower. From a distance, he looked to be about 40 year old; his face was slightly pale, but he exuded an air of authority.

    But what really surprised Lin Li were the two attendants he¡¯d brought along.

    One of them was wearing a ck mage robe; his whole face was covered with a hood, making it impossible to see his features clearly. But the aura that was emitted from him could definitely be described as strong. Among the mages Lin Li had seen, besides Andoine, Gerian, and Old Merlin, this person had to be the most formidable of them all.

    The other, probably also in his forties, had a shabby beard and a broad sword leaning on his back that was giving off a scorching aura. Lin Li could see that it was definitely an excellent weapon of fire attribute with just a nce.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Gerian¡¯s eyes were wide open at the sight of the middle-aged man.

    Lin Li had rarely seen Gerian so withoutposure since he had joined the Guild of Magic. He couldn¡¯t help but ask out of curiosity, ¡°Which big shot is it now?¡±

    ¡°The Casten of Jarrosus City, Isaac...¡± Gerian¡¯s head began to throb. He pointed at the two attendants behind him. ¡°See those two guys? One is Elliot, the strongest warrior in Jarrosus. He had made a clear breakthrough to level-fourteenst year; I don¡¯t even have the confidence that I can win against him. The other one is Andrew, Chief Mage of the Casten Mansion. Besides Old Merlin and I, he¡¯s probably the most ruthless out of all mages in Jarrosus.¡±

    At this point, Gerian¡¯s chubby face waspletely sullen. ¡°We¡¯re in big trouble. If the Casten is interested in those 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potions, who else would dare topete with him?¡±

    ¡°Probably not.¡± Lin Li shook his head, disapproving of Gerian¡¯s spections. ¡°The Arcane Magic Potion has too many limitations. You know it too¡ªonly a mage apprentice below level-five who has drunk it can permanently enhance their mana. The biggest demand can onlye from the 11 mage families. He¡¯s Jarrosus¡¯ highest official in name, how would this stuff interest him...¡±

    ¡°Makes sense...¡± Gerian scratched his head. ¡°But just in case...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing like just in case. Send someone to get in touch with him quietlyter and find out what¡¯s going on first...¡± Lin Li became active once interests were involved. ¡°Taking a million steps back, even if he¡¯s interested in the Arcane Magic Potion, the demand won¡¯t be high, at most a few bottles. When the timees, you will get him a few bottles from the basement secretly. And don¡¯t talk about money, just give it to him as a personal favor. We mighte to some gains in the future; as long as he doesn¡¯tpete openly, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Mm, we¡¯ll do just that.¡± Gerian nodded. He was going to entrust a mage with this important task, but hesitated. ¡°I shall just do it personally, it¡¯ll seem more respectful this way...¡±

    ¡°Might as well.¡±

    After Gerian left, almost everyone arrived.

    11 mage families, six underground forces, casten of Jarrosus, Jarrosus Guild of Magic, plus a few dozen weaker forces and a few hundred wild men from all over the ce. Everyone qualified topete for the Arcane Magic Potion in Jarrosus was sitting in the guild¡¯s hall. For a moment, the spacious guild hall looked crowded.

    What made Lin Li¡¯s jaw drop was that Kevin, who had always been genteel, had taken off his mage robe and put on a white, high-cored long-sleeved blouse this day. He, who wore a ck waistcoat, stood on the stage holding a small hammer in his hands, temporarily acting as an auctioneer!

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! The biggest auction ever held in Jarrosus is about tomence!¡± Kevin, who was usually stoic and honest, showed no signs of stage fright acting as an auctioneer for the first time and his words were full of incitement. ¡°What will be auctioned next will be nothing less than a miracle, a miracle created by the guild¡¯s potion master, Mr Felic!¡±

 Chapter 38 - The Castellan of Jarrosus

    <h4>Chapter 38: The Casten of Jarrosus</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Kevin¡¯s rousing words were like a boulder dropped in theke, at once causing amotion in the hall.

    Since the battle between Gerian and Old Merlin, almost everyone in Jarrosus City knew that there was a potion master named Felic in the Guild of Magic. But knowing it was one thing. The Guild of Magic had never admitted¡ªnor publicly announced¡ªon any asion that they had a potion master.

    Until just now, when Kevin finally admitted it personally.

    Even if the people present already knew something, they could not hide the shock hearing Kevin admit it. What was the concept of a potion master? It was someone who was long out of the ordinary; a few small bottles of potions would be enough to make a power rise from decline and a huge family fall apart in an instant.

    A character that only existed in hearsay had finally be a fact in Kevin¡¯s words, and all at once the guild¡¯s hall was thrown into a pandemonium. Everyone was whispering and looking about. The moment of ferment almost drowned out everything else in the guild¡¯s hall.

    The scene was out of control, but Kevin was not in the least rmed. He merely looked on with a smile on his face and waited patiently for them to quiet down.

    At the same time, Gerian was having the most congenial talk with Casten Isaac.

    Not far from the two men, the leaders from several forces were looking around, trying to join in and form a friendship with Gerian.

    The Guild of Magic this day was not the same as it was at the beginning. Before Lin Li joined, who would be willing to have any dealings with the Guild of Magic? They had no money nor talent; they had the title of the number one force of Jarrosus, but led a poorer life than anyone else. Not to mention the 11 mage families, the people from the six underground forces, and even the weaker forces, were most likely not interested in having dealings with the Guild of Magic, either.

    But since news of the potion master was out, the Guild of Magic transformed from a pheasant into a phoenix. It became the most sought-after force in Jarrosus Guild in an instant; who wouldn¡¯t want to butter up to Gerian at this time? This was a guy who hung out with the potion master! If they could make good of their rtionship with this old fellow, not to mention other things, just the auction alone would be worth at least 100,000 gold coins to make things convenient for themselves!

    Moreover, that was a potion master. It was impossible for him to have only a few bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. As long as they befriended Gerian, they¡¯d have a steady supply of potions...

    Thinking back to the past, the Guild of Magic had alreadye down in the world, but because of the agreement made during the Dark Ages, they could get a batch of potions from the Pharmacists Guild every year. This had established their position as the number one force in Jarrosus.

    If there was a constant supply of potions, who else couldpete against them in the whole Jarrosus City besides the Guild of Magic?

    It was a pity that Gerian already had his eyes on bigger things.

    The leaders of the several forces cowered at a side. They wanted toe over, but were stopped by the two attendants of the casten and could only turn to Gerian for help with their piteous eyes.

    But Gerian had no time to care if they were dead or alive. The leaders stood there for a long time, but Gerian did not even blink an eye. He was busy having a heart-to-heart talk with the casten now.

    ¡°Isaac, since you called me Uncle Gerian, then I can¡¯t be that petty as your uncle. It¡¯s only a few bottles of Arcane Magic Potion¡ªif you need them, just tell me. I may not have much ability, but I can still make the call for such a small matter.¡±

    Isaac found listening to Gerian¡¯s endless talk both amusing and ridiculous...

    He vaguely mentioned that his father had met Gerian when thetter had still been a young mage. To his surprise, the old fellow brought their rtionship up another level with a turn of his eyes¡ªthey became old family friends, the other party even iming to be <i>Uncle </i>Gerian...

    This, this... He was almost 50 years old this year, and Gerian was no more than 60 years old. Was there such a young uncle like him?

    But Isaac had been sitting in the position of the casten for a decade¡ªhe was no ordinary character. Jarrosus was a ce where all the major forces were tangled in warfare and chaos. He would have been devoured alive if he had no means to cope with it.

    Although he felt somewhat amused and annoyed, he showed no signs of it on his face. He simply made use of the opportunity and acknowledged Gerian as his uncle.

    In any case, it was not too bad to acknowledge Gerian as an uncle given his current position...

    ¡°Uncle Gerian must be joking. I have no desire for the Arcane Magic Potion. I¡¯vee to the Guild of Magic today to have a look at the legendary potion master.¡± Isaac was somewhat of a genius; he had gotten a convenient uncle out of the blue, but addressed him so easily as if Gerian was really an old family friend...

    ¡°That won¡¯t do! It wasn¡¯t easy for you toe to the Guild of Magic. How can I, your uncle, let you return empty-handed?¡± Gerian was overjoyed hearing that he did not have the intention topete for the Arcane Magic Potion, but he did not disy it on his face. He wanted to give him a gift on their first meeting no matter what, and seemed just like an elder who doted on his juniors.

    After a round of declining from each side, Isaac couldn¡¯t win Gerian atst, and a bottle of Arcane Magic Potion was stuffed into his hand.

    Gerian walked away in contentment, leaving the casten sitting there at a loss whether tough or cry at the situation.

    After a long while, the chief mage of the casten mansion came over and spoke to him in a whisper.

    ¡°Can¡¯t find?¡± When Isaac lifted his head, there was no trace of embarrassment at all; instead, his expression was serious and dignified. ¡°You mean, you can¡¯t find the person?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Casten. I¡¯ve tried using the way Mr Grimm has mentioned, but I can¡¯t find the personpletely.¡±

    ¡°Could it be that Mr Grimm had guessed it wrong?¡± The casten¡¯s face was serious; his eyes swept over all the faces in the hall. Once again, he lowered his voice and asked the mage in ck robe, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible that this person does not belong to the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. Other than the Pharmacists Guild, who else is able to concoct the Arcane Magic Potion...?¡±

    ¡°Are there no other possibilities?¡± Isaac massaged his temples; a pained expression seemed toe across his face.

 Chapter 39 - The Auction

    <h4>Chapter 39: The Auction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The hubbub continued for about half an hour before the hall gradually quieted down atst. Kevin, standing on the stage, still had the smile on his face as he hit the table with the gavel in his hand. ¡°The auction for the Arcane Magic Potion officially begins now!¡±

    A simple sentence was more effective than a Terror Spell. All of a sudden, the spacious hall fell silent, and not even the slightest sound could be heard.

    Just as Lin Li was patiently waiting for the auction to start, he saw Gerian return sighing in despair.

    ¡°How was it?¡±

    ¡°Lost a bottle of Arcane Magic Potion.¡± Gerian plopped down on the chair with a resentful expression on his face. ¡°Damn, this is such a big loss...¡±

    ¡°Only one bottle?¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. What was the big deal about it, he thought they were robbing eggs...

    ¡°It¡¯s also money!¡±

    ¡°5,000 gold coins!¡± Just as Gerian was grudging over it, someone in the hall began bidding.

    Lin Li got a shock as soon as the bid was called out. He knew the Arcane Magic Potion was worth a lot, and he also knew these fellows could afford it. But he had never thought that the first bid for the Arcane Magic Potion would be raised to such an rming level...

    What was the concept of 5,000 gold coins? If he were to think of it as a quest from the Adventurers Guild, then McGrenn and his daughter would have to kill 100 Manticores or look for 50 ck castles before they could get the chance to exchange for a bottle of Arcane Magic Potion.

    Moreover, 5,000 gold coins was merely a starting price.

    It was a short young man in his twenties or thirties who had called out the price. He wore a mage robe with fine craftsmanship. Gerian couldn¡¯t remember his name even after taking a few looks at him¡ªhe was most likely a leader of some smaller force. This guy was probably just like Lin Li, not having seen too many gold coins. After he had called out 5,000 gold coins, he thought that victory was in his hands and was smiling smugly as he sat among the crowd, a smile that said the bottle of Arcane Magic Potion was his to im.

    But before he could sit tight, someone offered a new price.

    ¡°10,000 gold coins!¡±

    It was a middle-aged man who participated in thepetition. Gerian took a look at him and whispered to Lin Li, ¡°This is Aaron Matsis, the leader of the Blood Brotherhood, one of the six underground forces in Jarrosus that is mainly in control of the casinos. This fellow is not simple; Old Odin has fought for the control of the casino rights with him, but not once did he seed. Just look, that shorty is in trouble...¡±

    The price was doubled abruptly, which was apparently beyond the young mage¡¯s expectations. It was obvious that he was at a loss, but atst, with clenched teeth, he offered a new price. ¡°12,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°15,000 gold coins!¡± There was no hesitation from Aaron Matsis at all. The shorty¡¯s voice had just settled when a 15,000 gold coins bid was thrown out.

    Aaron Matsis bidding without hesitation was a fatal blow to the short mage. 15,000 gold coins was not thetter¡¯s ceiling, but the other party¡¯s tone as if it was not 15,000 gold coins but only 15 silver coins made him feel despair.

    ¡°15,000 gold coins going once!¡± The gavelnded on the table, but it felt just like itnded on the short mage¡¯s heart instead.

    ¡°15,000 gold coins going twice!¡±

    ¡°20,000 gold coins!¡± Cold sweat broke out on the short mage¡¯s forehead. It was all of his assets; he had expected to get at least two bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, but now, the hope of getting even a single bottle was slim. He finally realized how deep the water for the auction was when he recalled how he had arrived at the auction with big ambition.

    ¡°30,000 gold coins!¡±

    Aaron Matsis sentenced the short mage to death without even blinking his eyes. This was a price that would send someone into the depths of despair.

    The hall was shockingly silent. There was only the sound of the gavelnding on the table.

    All eyes fell onto Aaron Matsis. Even the leaders of several mage families were surprised; the Blood Brotherhood had always kept a low profile, and its reputation was far less impressive than that of Old Odin... To think that they had such wealth and guts.

    ¡°30,000 gold coins going thrice!¡± The gavel in Kevin¡¯s handnded heavily on the table as he announced the first done deal of the day. ¡°Deal! Congrattions, Mr Aaron Matsis!¡±

    ¡°This... this... It¡¯s 30,000 gold coins just like that?¡± Lin Li¡¯s mouth was agape; the money hade too easily.

    ¡°This is just the beginning.¡± Gerian was dismissive of his reaction. ¡°Although the six underground forces are running various lucrative businesses, they are still far from boasting the wealth umted by the 11 magic families over the past thousand years. Look on carefully; when the timees for them to show their hands, it will be the real highlight of the auction!¡±

    ¡°Howe these fellows have so much money?¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t talk about the six underground forces. Almost all the lucrative businesses in Jarrosus are in their hands. Butpared to the 11 mage families, they are merely a group of nouveau riche. You¡¯ve seen Old Merlin; do you know how much the staff he was holding cost?¡± At the mention of Old Merlin¡¯s staff, Gerian¡¯s eyes were full of envy. ¡°A million gold coins!¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li almost bit his tongue off. A million gold coins for a staff? No wonder he had a son like Cromwell...

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel that it¡¯s too expensive yet. If not for Old Merlin¡¯s reputation, he might have not even got it for double the price.¡± Gerian took advantage of the opportunity to educate Lin Li lest the kid always made a fuss about small things. He stretched out his chubby hand and pointed at the few mages beside. ¡°And look at these useless bums, the gear they wear is worth at least 80,000, or even 100,000. A mage is such a profession, it all depends on spending money. Of course except for a monster like you. Damn it, I have never seen you buy a piece of equipment before!¡±

    ¡°Why do I need to buy equipment...¡± Lin Li mumbled softly. In his heart, he thought, <i>I am a guru well-versed in all five series and I¡¯m still buying equipment from others? If this goes out, where should I put my face?</i>

    At this point, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°No wonder the Guild of Magic is so poor...¡±

    ¡°Wrong again!¡± Unexpectedly, Gerian shook his head. ¡°The guild is not poor. Just the three rare mineral veins in the Demon Fall Valley alone bring in a steady ie of three million gold coins every year.¡±

    ¡°Then why does it seem to me that all of them are emaciated and sallow? Do you abuse them usually? Wait, why do I feel like the name ¡®Demon Fall Valley¡¯ sounds familiar?¡±

 Chapter 40 - Contend

    <h4>Chapter 40: Contend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Whoever has the damn time to abuse these useless bums...¡± Gerian shot them a re. The mages shrank back immediately, afraid that they might draw fire to themselves. Gerian then continued, ¡°The first time you arrived at the Guild of Magic, wasn¡¯t I talking to someone from Shadow City? We were talking about the control of the Demon Fall Valley at that time, I guess you remembered it from there...¡±

    ¡°Oh! Yes, yes... I remember! That ce belongs to our Guild of Magic?¡±

    An ¡°our Guild of Magic¡± had lifted Gerian¡¯s mood tremendously. This meant that Lin Li was gradually seeing himself as part of the Guild of Magic. This was definitely a good sign to Gerian. He believed that as long as he put in a little more effort, he¡¯d be able to fit the Guild of Magic President¡¯s hat onto the fellow¡¯s head.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Gerian answered with greater patience in light of his good mood. ¡°The reason why the Guild of Magic is still the number one force in Jarrosus today is that we have the control of the Demon Fall Valley. There are three rare mineral veins and a great variety of herbs in that valley. Most importantly, it also abounds in all kinds of high-level magical crystals. When the auction for the Arcane Magic Potion is over, I¡¯ll bring you there so that you can see for yourself.¡±

    As they spoke, three more bottles of Arcane Magic Potion were off the shelf. Among them, the lowest price was above 30,000, and the highest price even reached 60,000 gold coins.

    ¡°From this auction onwards, the number of Arcane Magic Potion will be increased to three bottles.¡± The gavel in Kevin¡¯s handnded heavily on the table. ¡°The starting bid will be 50,000, and the minimum increment 5,000. Let the bidding begin!¡±

    ¡°50,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°70,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°80,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°100,000 gold coins!¡±

    Kevin¡¯s gavel had juste down when the bidding calls rang out continuously, each higher than the other. In a moment¡¯s time, the price for the three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion was raised to a high of 100,000.

    ¡°See, the Rolin Family has shown their hand. The previous ones were all on the small scale. From now on, it is the highlight. Just watch; if the final bid for these three bottles of potion is less than 200,000, I¡¯ll screw my own head off!¡± Gerianughed pompously at a side.

    ¡°120,000!¡±

    ¡°140,000!¡±

    The leader of the Rolin Family had gonepletely amok. Competing with him was a good-looking young woman around 30 years of age. She was beautiful and charming, her voice soft and sweet, and her every action was exceedingly fascinating and amorous. Perhaps only a wily old fox like Gerian would recognize her. The attractive young woman was Daphne, the leader of the Dark Moon, one of Jarrosus¡¯ six underground forces. She controlled all the thieves in Jarrosus.

    Gerian told Lin Li, ¡°Memorized the woman¡¯s face? If someday you lost your wallet on the streets, you must look for her. But don¡¯t get it wrong, she¡¯s the leader of the thieves, not a brothel madam.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Anthony Rolin was about to bleed from his nose out of anger. He had not expected that rather than the big families he was most worried about, he would have roused this mad woman instead. What was more surprising to him was that this mad woman could be so merciless; she raised the price to 140,000 and was refusing to let up. If this continued, he was afraid he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for long.

    140,000 gold coins had already exceeded the Rolin Family¡¯s budget, but Anthony Rolin had no choice but to hang tough.

    These three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion were his best chance. Giants like the Merlin Family, the Mannes Family, and the Saruman Family had yet to make a move. Once he had waited for them to strike, the Rolin Family would have no chance at all.

    Moreover, Anthony Rolin really needed these three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. Out of his three sons, the youngest was already 16 year old, but was still a level-four mage apprentice. There was only one step away from level-five, just one step, but it couldn¡¯t be ovee no matter what.

    Which parent in the world would not want their children to be sessful?

    So when he heard that the Guild of Magic was going to auction the Arcane Magic Potion, he was utterly thrilled and immediately started to raise money. He had even disposed of several profitable industries at a low price in order to make his three sons into mages sessfully. But the Rolin Family was not the Merlin Family. The total amount of money he could gather was only about 200,000. If this mad woman continued to push on, Anthony Rolin dared not imagine what would happen next...

    But this was often the case in the world. The more you didn¡¯t want it to happen, the more it would happen.

    As he turned the idea in his mind, Daphne called out another bid once more. ¡°200,000 gold coins!¡±

    Anthony Rolin almost cked out when he heard the figure.

    At this moment, Anthony Rolin even thought of jumping on this woman to strangle her to death.

    But this was merely a thought. Not to mention this mad woman was no less strong than him and he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to strangle her to death even if he did jump on her, just disrupting the auction alone would be enough to put him on the spot. This was not the Emerald Tower of the past. The Guild of Magic today was at the height of their influence; even the Merlin Family dared notpete with or challenge the Guild of Magic head-on. That would be no different than seeking their own death. With Gerian¡¯s character, he would probably be blown down by his fireball before he could get to jump on the mad woman.

    Anthony Rolin hesitated for long before he finally put a hand into his pocket.

    ¡°200,000 going once!

    ¡°200,000 going twice!

    ¡°200,000 going...¡±

    Just as Kevin was about to hit the gavel for the third time, Anthony Rolin suddenly emerged from the crowd. ¡°Hold on, Mage Kevin!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mr Anthony?¡± Kevin was inwardly delighted, but managed to put on a troubled expression on his face. ¡°Do you have any doubts regarding the auctioning process?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I definitely don¡¯t mean that...¡± Anthony Rolin waved his hands. This was not a joking matter¡ªhaving doubts about the auction would mean having doubts about Gerian¡¯s character, and it¡¯d be equal to challenging the Guild of Magic. He would not dare to challenge the Guild of Magic which was at the peak of its influence even if he was given ten more guts.

    ¡°I remembered Mr Gerian had said that if cash is not enough, we would be allowed to rece it with items of equivalent value. Now, I would like Mr Gerian to evaluate how many gold coins this item is actually worth.¡±

 Chapter 41 - Deep Silver

    <h4>Chapter 41: Deep Silver</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was a thin silver ne hanging obliquely on Anthony Rolin¡¯s thumb, shimmering with silver light. But what really stood out was the blue gem mounted on the ne. The oval gemstone was about the size of a thumb and wrapped in silver wires like a petal, giving off an air of mystery and elegance under a sheet of silvery light...

    As soon as the silver ne was taken out, the mages¡¯ eyes turned wide open, and even Gerian drew in a hissing cold breath. ¡°What a big piece of Enigma Sapphire!¡±

    The hall was exceptionally quiet. All eyes fell onto the Enigma Sapphire; even the attractive young woman who was contending with him couldn¡¯t stop amazement from showing in her beautiful eyes.

    This was definitely a treasure a mage would wish for. Storing mana was too important for a mage. Even an archmage would not be able to fill such a big Enigma Sapphire.

    A group of mages were whispering among themselves.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth at least 100,000 gold coins...¡±

    ¡°Such a big piece, I reckon it¡¯s more than 100,000...¡±

    ¡°The Rolin Family has always been low profile, but they can actually bring out such good stuff like this. Looks like the water is not regr deep for the 11 mage families...¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s a little bit of a pity for such a big Enigma Sapphire to be set into the silver ne. He should get a mithril ne at the very least. It doesn¡¯t do any justice to the gem the way it is now...¡±

    ¡°How much do you guys have? Why don¡¯t we gather our money and acquire the ne for ourselves, then everyone can take turns using it...¡±

    As soon as the guy finished speaking, he realized there was no sound around him.

    He looked around in puzzlement, only to see his colleagues who had been chatting amicably with him just a moment ago all far away from him. The expressions of fear on their faces were as if they were afraid of getting infected by the gue...

    ¡°What¡¯s with the expressions?¡±

    The group of mages really wanted to jump on him and strangle him to death. You actually dared toe up with such a thought in front of Gerian... how was it different from putting your hand into the President¡¯s pocket and taking money from it? Moreover, you had even mentioned everyone taking turns to use it... You¡¯d be lucky if Gerian didn¡¯t find someone to tread you over...

    ¡°Come,e, everyone, gather our money. I think I have 30,000 here, how much do you all have?¡± The group of mages tried desperately signal him with their winks, but the guy was utterly oblivious to it and still gathering money without knowing what death was like.

    Everyone seemed to see Gerian¡¯s frown.

    Under His Excellency¡¯s influence, the group of jerks couldn¡¯t care less about friendship and simply sold the clueless guy off.

    ¡°President, we swear we really don¡¯t know him!¡±

    ¡°P-President?¡± That slow-witted mage finally remembered whom he was sitting nearby. He felt cold sweat breaking out all over his body all at once, and tried to pull his face into a smile that was uglier than crying. ¡°Heh... Heh heh, why are all of you so nervous? It was just... just a joke...¡±

    Luckily for him, Gerian was too busy talking to Lin Li to notice his rebellious thoughts.

    ¡°What do you think of giving him 50,000 gold coins?¡±

    ¡°80,000.¡± Lin Li did some calctions in his heart and decided to raise the price. ¡°I reckon that fellow only has 200,000 gold coins in his hands. If we give too little, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t have a chance against the thief leader. I have to get this ne!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also interested in the Enigma Sapphire?¡± Gerian was slightly taken aback. He knew the kid too well. He had always thought that even if all the mages in the world would need the Enigma Sapphire, this kid wouldn¡¯t have any use for it. The scene at the level certification hall had left too deep an impression on him. A magic output 28 minutes long was absolutely beyond the scope of a monster, and could only be described as a demon¡¯s!

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you have the stone, I only want the ne.¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes were glued to the thin silver ne. He was too familiar with the aura emitted from the ne. He had once felt the same aura from the enchantment guru back in the Endless World.

    If his guess was correct, the metal used for the ne was definitely the deep silver!

    In the Endless World, the deep silver could only be found by luck, but not by searching.

    In order to jolt his magical enchantment profession, Lin Li had used all his connections just to coat the gold rod with oneyer of deep silver. But this stuff was just too rare, almost no one had seen it in the Endless World. For that period of time, Lin Li spent his days squatting at the auction house. The Mercenary Guild¡¯s privatemission was hung all year round, and the reward was increased by a small amount every day and then saw a huge increase every three days, but no one had ever brought the stuff out.

    Thinking it over, Lin Li felt that he was really pretty lucky...

    With his wealth and status in the Endless World, he could do anything he wanted. But it was the ck lotus and deep silver that he couldn¡¯t get even after trying everything possible.

    To think he had encountered them a month after having transmigrated.

    Lin Li was grinning from ear to ear just thinking about the gold rod coated with deep silver.

    That was a genuine worldly weapon. In addition to strengthening the attributes of magical enchantment, it could also raise the enchantment sess rate to a terrifying level. A 100 percent would be an exaggeration, but it could guarantee at least 90 percent. Just think about an enchantment guru with a 90 percent sess rate, what a demonic thing it would be?

    ¡°We¡¯ll do as you wish...¡± Gerian only nodded after hearing what Lin Li said and did not ask what was so extraordinary about the ne.

    Then, the people in the hall saw Gerian, who was supposed to be the star of the auction, rising from a shabby spot in the audience. ¡°From what I see, this Enigma Sapphire is worth around 80,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, President Gerian.¡± When Anthony Rolin heard the figure, his suspended heart finally descended into ce. He had a total of 200,000 on hand; adding the 80,000 gold coins, it would be enough to acquire the three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion.

    ¡°Then, let the auction continue.¡± Kevin¡¯s gavelnded on the table again. ¡°Madam Daphne had offered 200,000 gold coins. Anyone else with a higher bid than Madam Daphne?¡±

    ¡°250,000!¡± With Gerian¡¯s promise in hand, Anthony Rolin raised the price to 250,000 without any hesitation. This astonishing figure immediately drew murmurs from the guild hall.

    250,000 for three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion; the average price had far exceeded the previous few bottles that were sold. To many, this was no longer an auction, but a fit of pique.

 Chapter 42 - To kill three warriors with two peaches

    <h4>Chapter 42: To kill three warriors with two peaches</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    250,000 was indeed a ruthless bid. Even a wealthy thief leader like Daphne did not dare to follow through.

    After receiving the Arcane Magic Potion from the guild¡¯s mage¡¯s hands, Anthony Rolin was so agitated that he held the three bottles tightly in his arms for a long time, reluctant to let go.

    With Kevin¡¯s gavel hammering down once again, the auction resumed.

    Just then, Gerian suddenly noticed his convenient nephewing his way.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Uncle Gerian. I have some urgent matters on hand to deal with, and I¡¯m afraid they can¡¯t wait until the auction is over.¡± Casten Isaac¡¯s face was regretful.

    Lin Li was waiting for someone to deliver the deep silver ne to him when he heard ¡°Uncle Gerian¡± all of a sudden and almost bit his tongue off out of shock.

    How could he not have seen before that Gerian had the talent of a social butterfly? Earlier on, he had said that he had no rtions with the casten, but after turning a circle back, he had been upgraded to ¡°Uncle Gerian!¡±

    ¡°Important thingse first, go and do what you need to do. Uncle will not make you stay any longer. But if there¡¯s time in the future, you muste to the Guild of Magic to visit Uncle.¡± Gerian¡¯s smile was gentle and amiable, just like an affable senior¡¯s.

    ¡°Sure, sure...¡± Casten Isaac felt his temples throbbing again. He answered vaguely in a hurry and fled the Emerald Tower. After stepping out of the gates, Isaac took a deep breath of the fresh air outside and swore to himself that he¡¯d nevere to this darned ce again if he didn¡¯t have to!

    ¡°Master Casten...¡± The three men walked out of the Emerald Tower, and the mage in ck robe asked with some hesitation in a low voice, ¡°We didn¡¯t find the person this time, will it be difficult to answer to Mr Grimm?¡±

    ¡°Mr Grimm is magnanimous and won¡¯t haggle over such trifles with us. Besides, with Mr Grimm¡¯s ability, how can he not find someone if he sets his mind to it? Looks like we were too meddlesome this time...¡± Since leaving the Emerald Tower, Isaac¡¯s expression was unusually rxed. To him, no matter how bad things were, they couldn¡¯t be worse than facing Gerian, that old jerk.

    After finishing the previous sentence, the casten¡¯s brows were knitted again. He spoke to the mage in ck robe in a low voice, ¡°Andrew, if you have nothing much to dotely, you might want to pay more attention to the Guild of Magic. I¡¯m actually also interested in the man Mr Grimm is looking for.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Casten.¡±

    After watching the three men leave, Gerian¡¯s expression was somewhat odd.

    ¡°Laugh if you want, why try so hard to hold it in. Aren¡¯t you scared you¡¯ll suffer internal injuries from holding it in...¡± Lin Li pouted and moved closer out of curiosity. ¡°Come,e, tell me what exactly happened. Why did the Casten address you as uncle? Could it be that you really know his father?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s of course!¡± Gerian¡¯s face was boastful. ¡°The Casten said it personally. His father saw me 20 years ago; apparently he instructed me. Damn it, so many mages instructed me 20 years ago, how would I know which one was his father?¡±

    ¡°So, you became his uncle?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes were zed and expression dazed. He took a look at Gerian in front of him and thought of the Casten¡¯s age. He looked up to the heavens and sighed heavily. <i>This shameless old man...</i>

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me. He was the one who wanted to pull strings. Since he wants it, then I¡¯ll give him the chance. Besides, he¡¯s so enthusiastic. If I don¡¯t be his uncle, he might be very disappointed...¡±

    Lin Li felt a heartfelt admiration at his words. ¡°You are a genius...¡±

    As the old and the young were whispering away, another deal waspleted in the hall.

    This time, it was still the beautiful young woman and a mage family whopeted, only this time, the beautiful young woman¡¯s rival was not the Rolin Family, but the Carreca Family. The result was still the same¡ªwhen the price was raised to 230,000, the beautiful thief leader was defeated again.

    Lin Li took a nce at Daphne and concluded in a low voice, ¡°She has no chance anymore.¡±

    Gerian was stunned for a moment, and asked surprised, ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you realize? Both times when the price was at tens of thousand, she would raise it to 200,000 all of a sudden. She should be trying to scare off the opponent, but to little avail. If my guess is correct, she only has exactly 200,000 gold coins with her. If I can see this, the other mage families can see it as well. Just look, if she participates in the next contest again, someone would surely second-kill her with a direct 200,000.¡±

    Lin Li was indeed correct. When the second round of auction began, Daphne was once again the first person to offer a bid.

    ¡°100,000!¡±

    ¡°210,000!¡± Contending with her was the Merlin Family. It was the mage in red robe whom Gerian described as ¡°hussy¡±, the third son of the Merlin Family. He quoted the startling price without so much as wrinkling his brows.

    So, the hall fell into dead silence...

    Although Daphne¡¯s expression was awful, she did not offer a higher price. Not to mention Gerian, even the mages who were sitting at the side understood that the thief leader indeed could not take out more money.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Gerian blurted out a swear. This kid was too urate.

    ¡°210,000 going once!

    ¡°210,000 going twice!

    ¡°210,000 going thrice!¡± The gavel in Kevin¡¯s hand dropped heavily on the table. ¡°Deal! Congrattions, Mr Evan!¡±

    This was probably the weirdest auction of the day, with only a total of two bids from the start. The increment was unprecedentedly big¡ªit was 50,000 higher than the starting bid, and a 110,000 increment at once...

    However, after a brief silence, Kevin pushed the auction to a climax with a message.

    ¡°In order to get enough Arcane Magic Potion for everyone to buy, the guild has decided to take out another three bottles of Arcane Magic Potion for everyone to bid on. And the next auction will be a one-shot sale of ten bottles!¡± No one had expected the Guild of Magic to be this bold, going from three bottles to ten bottles at once. Even with the additional three bottles, there would only be two opportunities for them to contend.

    ¡°You taught him?¡± Lin Li nced at Gerian strangely. When did the old man learn to be so clever, knowing to y the game of killing three warriors with two peaches.

    ¡°Heh heh. I used telepathy to inform him just now...¡± Gerianughed in a gratified manner. ¡°Three big families but only two chances. I¡¯ll see how they¡¯re going topete...¡±

    ¡°Brilliant!¡±

 Chapter 43 - Conjurer Reuben

    <h4>Chapter 43: Conjurer Reuben</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian had indeed executed a brilliant maneuver this time.

    Among the three major mage families in Jarrosus, except for the Merlin Family that had taken a whirl earlier on, the Mannes Family and the Saruman Family had not even made a move. The reason for their inaction was not hard to imagine¡ªas one of Jarrosus three major mage families, they knew each other through and through and shared an unspoken understanding. The three families knew how many bottles each should take, and no one would undermine this tacit understanding.

    Too bad Gerian would not give them the opportunity. You liked to y modestly? Then I¡¯d simply give you a push. The Merlin Family had taken three bottles just now and would surely not be satisfied. Everyone knew they had the most level-four apprentices. The other two families had not taken any bottle and would be even less likely to give up. This was the Arcane Magic Potion: if the opportunity was missed, who knew when the next one woulde.

    This time, it would be impossible for the three families not to fight at close range, even if that was not what they wished for...

    There seemed to be a hint of smoke in the quiet hall.

    The three families were sitting at the first row, not far away from one another. They had asionally exchanged a few words at the start of the auction. But as the rming news came out, each of the three parties seemed to have erected an invisible wall around them. No one was in the mood for talks anymore; their eyes fell on Kevin, waiting for the small wooden gavel to drop...

    The atmosphere in the hall became a little stifling at once, like the panic-stricken feeling one would get before the storm struck.

    By this point in time, the six underground forces and the eight mage families had lost all their chances to contend in the auction. Their wealth and power were a far cry from the three big mage families¡¯. In fact, even if they had had the chance, they would not have dared to step forward. In the entire Jarrosus City, who would dare to challenge the three giants head on besides the Guild of Magic?

    The quiet guild hall was meant to be the stage for the three big families.

    But they were still feeling nervous. The auction of the Arcane Magic Potion would likely change the currents in Jarrosus City. Even a small detail might decide the life and death of thousands of people.

    ¡°See, the guy in front wearing a ck mage robe and covering his head with a hood is the patriarch of the Saruman Family, Reuben Saruman.¡± The only people who were not tense would probably be the old and young hiding in the back. Gerian looked rxed, stretching his chubby fingers out toward the front row and patiently introducing VIPs to Lin Li.

    Lin Li took a nce from a distance and found the auraing out from the leader of the Saruman Family a little peculiar. It was pure feeling, not about strength nor magical wave. It was just sheer sense that this person was weird, as if he was dead, and however you looked at it, it¡¯d always give you an ufortable feeling.

    ¡°You felt it too?¡± Gerian chuckled as he saw the bewildered look on Lin Li¡¯s face. ¡°Strictly speaking, this fellow is not really a real mage. He¡¯s actually a conjurer!¡±

    ¡°Conjurer?¡± Lin Li was startled by that word, and thought of McGrenn and his daughter. ¡°You mean, he¡¯s skilled in curse spells?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t it weird, the leader of a mage family is in fact a conjurer...¡±

    ¡°You have insider information?¡± Lin Li knew the old man had to have some insider information judging from the look on his face.

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not really an insider information, almost half of Jarrosus City knows about it.¡± There was some fear in Gerian¡¯s voice. ¡°In Jarrosus City, other than that old bastard Matthew, Reuben is the one I fear the most. This fellow didn¡¯t have any magical talent when he was young; he was still a level-four apprentice at 20. At that time, not to mention us, even his father had given up on him.

    ¡°Not long after his 25th birthday, Old Saruman announced his sessor: Reuben¡¯s half-brother, Sosa. On the day Old Saruman announced the news, Reuben disappeared from Jarrosus City. His disappearancested for five years. No one knew where he went, and no one knew what he did in that five years. He did not return to Jarrosus until he was 30.¡±

    At this point, Gerian paused slightly before he continued, ¡°After he returned, the first thing he did was killing. From his half-brother to his father, those who were qualified for the position of the patriarch were killed off by him in a night. After that, Reuben had the whole family tightly controlled in his hands with his iron fist. In the subsequent 30 years, he had even brought the then-small Saruman Family to be one of the three biggest families in Jarrosus today!¡±

    ¡°Ruthless!¡± This was Lin Li¡¯s onlyment on Reuben Saruman.

    ¡°This guy is a lunatic.¡± Gerian shook his head. There was a sense of frustration in his tone as he said, ¡°Although Matthew is formidable, at least he has a weakness we can grasp. For example, his brothers and son. But this lunatic from the Sarumans, there¡¯s really nothing I can do with him. Unless you have an absolute power that can kill him with a flip of your hands... But this lunatic knows how to endure, and he will not provoke an invincible enemy unless he is absolutely confident.¡±

    Lin Li did not pay much attention to Gerian¡¯s finalment, for he had another thing on his mind.

    Did the curse on McGrenn have something to do with the Saruman Family?

    But after much deliberation, Lin Li could not figure out any possible reason behind it. McGrenn and his daughter were merely ordinary adventurers¡ªtheir strength was only at a level-five or six. Wealth and power were far from the answer as well. With Reuben Saruman¡¯s status, there was no reason he¡¯d want anything from them.

    While Lin Li was racking his brains, Kevin announced the climax of the auction.

    ¡°Ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, starting bid 100,000 gold coins. Let the bidding start!¡±

    ¡°110,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°Right. Felic, you must know this person. The richest man in the whole Jarrosus City all the way till Fn Kingdom, the patriarch of the Mannes Family: Ysera Mannes!

    ¡°The Mannes Family?¡± On hearing the name, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of the Gilded Rose that had bloomed over Jarrosus. If he hadn¡¯t seen the staff selling for thousands of gold coins in the Gilded Rose, he would not have thought of concocting potions to make money. But the funny thing was that after circling a round, that money would be made on Gilded Rose...

 Chapter 44 - Ysera

    <h4>Chapter 44: Ysera</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li looked up and cast a nce, only to find that the owner of the Gilded Rose seemed a little too young. He looked to be in his twenties and not quite 30. He was handsome, fair, and refined, exuding a schrly aura that would leave a good impression on people.

    ¡°Why is he so young?¡± Lin Li was rather surprised, and even slightly stunned for a moment.

    ¡°What can he do? His father died too early and he didn¡¯t have many sons.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not older than Kevin, right?¡±

    ¡°Two years younger than Kevin, but he¡¯s much more promising than him. The boy was only 20 when he took over the Mannes Family. At the time, us old fellows thought that the Mannes Family would be weakened this time. But who knew that, for all these years, not only did the Mannes Family not decline, it was more prosperous than in his father¡¯s hands.¡± As Gerian spoke, he shot a discontented re at Lin Li. ¡°It makes me angry just thinking about it. Damn it, what kind of world are we living in? Why is Jarrosus full of this kind of demons? A few years ago it was Ysera, and now there¡¯s you, a little bastard even more demonic...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, wondering whom he had offended...

    ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s odd. The boy has been in charge of the Mannes Family for seven years but has not fought even once. No one knows what his actual strength is. You know Old Odin. A few years ago, due to some business strife, the old fellow sent a few assassins to sound him out. In the end, none of the people he sent returned, and a few dayster, his beard was shaved while he was asleep. The old fellow woke up in the middle of the night and was scared silly on the spot. He ran over to the Mannes¡¯ house overnight, begging for mercy, and apologized for what he did. Only then was the matter finally settled.¡±

    While the two men were talking, the price for the ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion was raised to 400,000.

    ¡°450,000.¡± Reuben Saruman always seemed to have a gloomy chill around him. Every time Lin Li heard him bid, he¡¯d feel a chill creeping over his body.

    ¡°480,000!¡± Ysera¡¯s smile was gentle like a breath of fresh air, but his bid was firm and quick: he raised the price by 30,000 almost as soon as Reuben¡¯s voice fell.

    Reuben Saruman was also a ruthless character; if not, he wouldn¡¯t have killed his father and brother in one night. An emaciated arm was raised from under the ck mage robe. ¡°550,000.¡±

    This astonishing price was not enough to scare off the wealthiest man of Jarrosus. The emaciated arm was barely down when Ysera Mannes raised the price by another 30,000 yet again. ¡°580,000.¡±

    ¡°650,000!¡±

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    The people in the guild¡¯s hall wentpletely mad as soon as the new price was out. The group of mages looked at each other and wondered if they had misheard. Lin Li drew in a cold breath and pinched his thighs forcefully. Even Gerian, who was sitting beside him, couldn¡¯t help clutching the armrest of the chair and yammered under his breath, ¡°Too exciting... too exciting...¡±

    ¡°Mr Kevin, please hold for a moment.¡± Ysera Mannes did not continue his bid, but requested for a break instead. ¡°I remembered President Gerian said that if we¡¯re tight on cash, we could use items to rece it. Is that right, Mr Kevin?¡±

    The hall fell silent all of a sudden, and all eyes were on Ysera Mannes. This sentence was much more shocking than the Saruman Family¡¯s bid. No one had thought that the second one who admitted that he did not have enough cash apart from Anthony Rolin would be Ysera Mannes¡ªthe wealthiest man in Jarrosus City!

    ¡°You are right, Chief Ysera...¡±

    ¡°Then, I would like President Gerian to evaluate how much this set of mage equipment is worth.¡±

    The young patriarch gave a quick order and his attendants quickly brought in a set of equipment.

    There were three pieces in this set¡ªa staff iid with a level-eight magical crystal, a ck rune mage robe, and a mithril ne hung with a singing crystal.

    Gerian stared at the set of equipment without saying a word, but in his heart, he was berating him, <i>Damn you, pretty boy, are you trying to make fun of me?</i>

    The stuff was good, all three pieces of equipment were excellent products¡ªparticrly the mithril ne. Normal mages would be envious should they even get a look at it.

    However, it was the auction for Arcane Magic Potion now.

    Such an underachieving set of equipment would only reap in 20,000 gold coins from the Gilded Rose at most. In a business involving thousands of hundreds gold coins, these twenty or thirty thousand gold coins would not even create bubbles, much less if he wanted to pay with it. More like paying with life...

    Everyone was in their own state of mind when the young rich man spoke again.

    ¡°To be frank, President Gerian, the Mannes Family is tight on cash recently.¡± The smile on the young patriarch¡¯s fair face was gentle as always, but the words spoken next sent the Saruman Family intoplete despair. ¡°Therefore, we would like to use a hundred sets like this to exchange for ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. What do you say, President Gerian?¡±

    ¡°100... 100 sets?¡± Gerian swallowed his saliva with great difficulty.

    ¡°Yes, 100 sets.¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡±

    The hall was frighteningly quiet. This had to be the most absurd scene of the auction. The whole deal was not even validated by Kevin¡¯s gavel, but not one present doubted the validity of it. What struck them as absurd was the Mannes Family using 100 set of excellent equipment just to exchange for ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion. They had even wondered if the young patriarch had gone mad...

    And with the absurdity came the unprecedented sense of crisis.

    The Guild of Magic today could be described as the sun at high noon. They had one of the most powerful mages in Jarrosus City and a real pharmacist. On top of this terrifying power, the Mannes Family gifted them a hundred sets of powerful magic equipment...

    The leaders of several forces felt their heads numb just thinking about it. What a horrifying force would it be with 100 well-equipped mages?

    Moreover, the leaders of these forces were not fools. After the initial sense of absurdity had passed, they quickly came to realize that the Mannes Family would not be doing a losing business for no reason. After taking out the 100 sets of excellent equipment, they would surely form a series of coborations with the Guild of Magic. Everyone had the same idea in mind as they thought of the coboration of these two giants: there was going to be a change of weather in Jarrosus City...

    It was the richest man in Jarrosus City on one side, and the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City on the other. Before the faces that carried a variety of expressions, two hands were sped tightly together.

    ¡°President Gerian, I have a small request,¡± the young patriarch spoke in a soft voice as he held Gerian¡¯s hand. ¡°I wonder if you can introduce me to the young pharmacist in your guild?¡±

    ¡°This is perhaps the only thing I can¡¯t decide. I¡¯ll have to ask him before I can make a decision...¡± Gerian¡¯s expression was helpless. Indeed, he couldn¡¯t call the shots in this matter. Lin Li could be said to be the most unique member in the Guild of Magic. No one could force him to do the things he didn¡¯t want to¡ªincluding Gerian. Everyone knew that without this young mage, there would be no future for the guild.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s too bad...¡± Ysera was regretful, but quickly regained his smile. ¡°Then, could I trouble you to tell the pharmacist that I happen to have a big deal on hand and am in need of three Magicka Potions? If he¡¯s willing to help, the reward will be absolutely satisfactory for him. He can choose any three items from the collection of the Mannes Family!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Gerian gasped in surprise. The Mannes Family was the richest in all of Fn Kingdom. Who knew how much good stuff they had hidden in the 1300 years after the Dark Ages. Gerian had never once imagined such thing as getting to choose any three items...

 Chapter 45 - Sky-high Price

    <h4>Chapter 45: Sky-high Price</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Not long after the richest man in Jarrosus left, Gerian came over with a creepy look on his face.

    ¡°That kid wants to discuss a business deal with you, are you interested?¡±

    Lin Li knew the old fellow had to have gotten something good judging by the look on his face. ¡°What business deal? Tell me...¡±

    ¡°Three bottles of Magicka Potion. As for the rewards...¡± Gerian raised up three fingers and his expression was slightly exaggerated. ¡°You get to choose any three items from the Mannes Family¡¯s equipment bank!¡±

    ¡°Not interested!¡± Lin Li replied without even thinking about it.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Gerian felt his legs turn weak, and his old illness almost rpsed from the scare. The old man barely managed to steady himself by holding onto the chair and didn¡¯t even have the time to straighten his tilted hat; utterly difited, he roared, ¡°You¡¯re not interested?!¡±

    Faced with the President¡¯s sudden rage, the group of mages were scared silly at once. They looked at Gerian with trepidation and desperately shrank back for fear that the old fellow might spill blood on them. For the moment, there was a big space around Lin Li, and he sat there by himself as if nothing had happened and still had the time to stretch out his hand and point to Gerian¡¯s head, kindly reminding him of his image.

    ¡°Your hat is tilted...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Gerian was taken by surprise at his words and quickly straightened his mage hat. But halfway through, he remembered the reason for his anger. ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t change the topic. I¡¯m asking you a question, are you sick? The Mannes Family¡¯s hoard is something that many people could not dream about. You get to choose any three items from them and you¡¯re still not interested? Are you trying to piss me off, you little bastard?¡±

    ¡°Sit down first, I¡¯ll exin to you slowly...¡± Lin Li pulled Gerian back to his seat and continued, ¡°Say, you¡¯re an old man, how could you still have such a big temper? It¡¯ll hurt your health if you get too agitated easily... To tell you the truth, it doesn¡¯t pay for this business.¡±

    ¡°How does it not pay?¡± As soon as Gerian heard the word ¡®business¡¯, all his anger was gone. In particr, he was dumbfounded when he heard that it would not pay, and looked at Lin Li with confusion on his face.

    ¡°The Magicka Potion is not that easy to concoct as you think it may be.¡±

    Gerian got anxious at his words. ¡°Even you¡¯re unable to concoct it?¡±

    ¡°Not that it can¡¯t be concocted, it¡¯s just that the ingredients are not easy to get.¡± Lin Li shook his head and held out his hand, counting each and every one out for Gerian. ¡°The essence of two elements, fire and water, the blood of a high-level demon, magical crystal above level-fifteen. Can you get all these items?¡±

    ¡°I have a level-fifteen magical crystal, as for the others...¡±

    ¡°So, don¡¯t think about it.¡±

    Lin Li concluded with the sentence.

    Actually, there was another reason that he did not reveal¡ªmainly because he was worried it might frighten Gerian. The old man was 60-something this year, and if anything happened to him, it wouldy heavy on Lin Li¡¯s conscience.

    The Mannes Family was indeed the richest in Jarrosus. Lin Li had no doubt they had an abundant collection in the family. But choosing three pieces of equipment had no meaning for Lin Li. He was a guru well-versed in five series; as long as the ingredients on hand were enough, was there any equipment he couldn¡¯t get?

    Gerian pondered over it and was unwilling to give up. ¡°If not, I¡¯ll go ask Ysera again to see if he has enough ingredients?¡±

    ¡°Then you go and find out first...¡± Lin Li was not really interested in this deal, but Gerian was so enthusiastic it didn¡¯t seem nice to cast a damp over it.

    At this time, he was actually more concerned about the auction going on in the hall.

    There were only ten Arcane Magic Potion bottles left now, but out of the three families, two still had their eyes on them.

    Particrly the Saruman Family, which hadn¡¯t gotten a single bottle yet. Now, the three bottles hadpletely driven them to the edge of the cliff. It was just as what Old Merlin had said before: 30 level-five magesing into their own hands would be an icing on the cake, but if it fell into the hands of a rival, it would definitely be a deadly threat.

    ¡°500,000!¡± So, Kevin¡¯s gavel had juste down when Reuben Saruman announced a startling figure.

    Lin Li and Gerian looked at each other. The auction had far exceeded their estimates¡ªhundreds of thousands of gold coins and 100 sets of excellent magic equipment; if thest ten bottles were sold for a sky-high price, the two men would probably be reduced to the point of smashing people with money.

    Both their eyes were glowing, but Little Merlin Evan was utterly regretful.

    If he¡¯d known that things were going to get this far, he would have made his move sooner. Nine bottles were sold off consecutively earlier on, and if he had gotten them, he wouldn¡¯t have been forced to fight at such a close range with the Saruman Family. Reuben Saruman was a lunatic, and a lunatic would not reason with you. Just look, this bastard had offered the princely sum of 500,000 at the beginning. Was he going to leave a damn way for others?

    Little Merlin felt his scalp bursting at that price, but he had no choice except to shore up his offer. Before he left the house, Matthew had instructed him to at least get ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion back. There was only a pitiful three bottles with him now, not even half of ten bottles...

    ¡°550,000!¡± Little Merlin said with utmost resolution, goingpletely head on with Reuben Saruman.

    But what kind of a character was Reuben Saruman? He was someone who said he¡¯d kill his father and brother and really did it without even batting his eyelids. He raised the price by another 100,000 once more. ¡°650,000!¡±

    Little Merlin felt his heart bleeding. He only had 800,000 gold coins with him. If he went with that lunatic Reuben¡¯s increment speed, it would only take two rounds for him to be kicked out of the contest for the Arcane Magic Potion.

    ¡°700,000!¡± Little Merlin felt his liver churn when he shouted the price out...

    ¡°800,000!¡±

    As soon as Reuben Saruman uttered the price, everyone present fully believed the fellow to be a lunatic. 800,000 gold coins were thrown out without even a wrinkling of his brows. This was an absolute sky-high price! So what if this was the Arcane Magic Potion? With this 800,000 gold coins, you could get ten level-five mages with a just a throw of the money...

    ¡°...¡± Little Merlin could see nothing but ckness, and blood was almost spat out from his mouth. This fellow was really a lunatic. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to speak; he barely managed to lift his arm, and with the idea of leaving things to luck atst, he quoted a price with much difficulty, ¡°8... 820,000...¡±

    ¡°You win.¡±

 Chapter 46 - Dividing the Spoils

    <h4>Chapter 46: Dividing the Spoils</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    No one had expected Reuben Saruman to let go at this time.

    Sitting in the hall were leaders of the city¡¯s forces; how could they not see that Little Merlin was already a spent bullet? From the previous unstoppable momentum of a 100,000 increment to thest dying struggle of a 20,000 increment, everyone knew that this was all the cash the Merlin Family could offer.

    At this time, even an addition of 10,000 would be enough topletely crush the Merlin Family, but Reuben Saruman did not do that. He watched Kevin¡¯s gavel fall and let the stunned Little Merlin bring home thest ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion.

    ¡°Deal! Congrattions, Mr Evan!¡±

    Until Kevin announced that it was a done deal, Little Merlin still stood there, dumbfounded. The feeling was tooplicated; it was like a battle between two archmages: one saw that his mana was exhausted and struggled to unleash an icicle at thest moment, but as a result, the icicle stabbed the opponent right in the heart...

    It was as if having survived a disaster, and Little Merlin was immersed in it for a long while...

    Little Merlin did not realize what was wrong as Reuben Saruman turned around to leave.

    When Reuben Saruman passed by thest row, he dropped a word to Gerian without a look back. ¡°You owe me a favor!¡±

    On hearing these words, the old and the young sitting at thest row couldn¡¯t help butugh. This fellow, who did not even recognize his own kin, was indeed good at forbearing¡ªjust like Gerian said.

    In the face of the Guild of Magic that was at its height of influence, he had wisely chosen to take the initiative to befriend them.

    And the way he demonstrated his friendly intentions was simple and straightforward. For this auction, the greatest benefit was undoubtedly to maximize the value of Arcane Magic Potion, forcing out the bottom line of the Merlin Family with an astounding price. This alone was enough for the Guild of Magic to owe him a debt of gratitude.

    But on further thought, this was like a magic show. It looked like dancing on a tightrope, but in actual fact, it didn¡¯t involve much risk.

    He had created an aggressive momentum at the beginning, and at the end, he crazily got to an increment of 100,000, forcing the breath out of Little Merlin. But he was desperately calcting all along, figuring what was the exact bottomline for Little Merlin. Finally, he seeded in pushing Little Merlin to stake all he had with a bid of 800,000.

    Little Merlin had won the Arcane Magic Potion atst, but Reuben Saruman had won the favor of the Guild of Magic.

    And the risk he had undertaken was not that high as he had imagined.

    Even if he had miscalcted, he¡¯d only have had to buy ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion with 800,000 gold coins. It might be a little expensive, but he could still win the favor of the Guild of Magic nheless. The most foolish person would not reject a generous buyer, much less a shrewd person like Gerian.

    The Merlin Family could only envy. Since the battle between Old Merlin and Gerian, there was no possibility of any partnership between the Guild of Magic and the Merlin Family. But it was still possible for the Saruman Family and the Mannes Family. The patriarch of the second family had chosen to take the wise path, though he had taken a slightly different approach...

    Regardless, the Guild of Magic indeed owed the Saruman Family a favor. Though upon careful thought, it would seem that this favor was a rather cheap one...

    The auction finally came to an end. The old and the young had brought out 33 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion and harvested over a million gold coins, 100 sets of excellent magic equipment, and a Guild of Magic at the peak of its power.

    After this auction, everyone was clear that the Guild of Magic would be the single most powerful force in Jarrosus. Regardless of the 11 mage families or the six underground forces, no power would be able to contend with the Guild of Magic.

    The leaders of the forces sat in the guild hall with different expressions on their faces but the same thought in their minds. Some of the clever ones were already nning in their heads how to hold on to the Guild of Magic. Even the slightly slow-witted ones were reminding themselves to control their men when they got back. They were not to approach and provoke any guys in Jarrosus City who were wearing long robes...

    The follow-up work could not be sloppy for such a grand auction like this.

    The leaders of the major forces who had attended the auction had to be served well. The gold coins they sent would need someone to count, of course; meanwhile, the 100 sets of excellent magic equipment sent by the Mannes Family should be open to the guild mages to apply for. All the matters were in a mess, and just thinking about them would make anyone¡¯s head ache.

    However, the old and the yound took their hands off all of it and dumped the matters to Kevin. They openly hid in the reception room on the grounds of having something important to discuss.

    The important thing they meant was to divide the spoils.

    To these jerks, the dividing process was undoubtedly filled with joy and pleasure.

    One million five hundred and forty thousand gold coins were divided into two shares. The Guild of Magic would take 300,000 and the remaining 1,240,000 would all go to Lin Li. After all, for this auction, the herbs and work were all provided by Lin Li alone. The Guild of Magic had merely lent him the space, so it would be perfectly justified to give him the bigger portion of the pie.

    Moreover, there was the 100 sets of excellent magic equipment...

    ¡°This is your crystal card, that 1,240,000 is in it. You must keep it well. It¡¯ll be big trouble if you lose it.¡± Gerian tossed him a translucent crystal chip with a few small letters etched on it with star sand. Lin Li took a look and realized it was the name he used in Anril.

    ¡°How do I use this stuff?¡± Lin Li was a little perplexed. He knew that the crystal had a memory function and was often used for recording after being processed by magical means such as magic spells and sound image. But, he was puzzled by a thin crystal card like this...

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how Andoine has taught you...¡± Gerian was full of disdain. ¡°Glittergold¡¯s crystal card can be used anywhere in Anril. There¡¯s a Glittergold Bank in every city in general; if you need money, you can withdraw it directly. Surely you wouldn¡¯t want to carry the gold coins around? That¡¯s over a million we¡¯re talking about. If melted into a golden ball, it¡¯d be as tall as a house, can you even carry it...?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li carefully put away the crystal card and took out the deep silver ne from his pocket.

    ¡°The Enigma Sapphire is yours, the ne is mine.¡±

    With a slight use of strength, Lin Li pulled out the Enigma Sapphire from the ne. He tossed it to Gerian without even taking a look at it. Although storing mana was a powerful ability, to Lin Li, it was not really of much use. If his almost-infinite mana was exhausted, one more piece of Enigma Sapphire would probably make no difference...

    Gerian received the gemstone cheerfully and then leaned in for another look. He asked curiously, ¡°What exactly is this ne?¡±

    ¡°Deep silver, something you don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Aftering out from the reception room, Lin Li dived into the guild¡¯s alchemyb before he could catch a breath.

    He couldn¡¯t wait any longer now that he had the deep silver in his hands. He really wanted to know the kind of magical power a gold bar coated with deep silver would possess...

 Chapter 47 - Gold rod

    <h4>Chapter 47: Gold rod</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    All the mages were gathered in the guild hall for the auction. When Lin Li entered the alchemyb, it was quiet with no one in sight.

    Feeling assured, he opened up the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Looking at the dazzling array of metal ingots, even Lin Li himself had to admit that he was some kind of freak of collectormania. From the cheapest copper and iron ingots to the expensive adamantine and mithril ingots, and then to all kinds of magical metals that were rarely seen in everyday life, there were actually dozens of kinds when counted together...

    What Lin Li had to do now was to select the materials for the gold rod from the dozens of metals.

    The gold rod was different from weapons and equipment. It wasn¡¯t that the higher the grade of metal, the more powerful it would be. This was more like a trade-off: using ordinary metals would bring a higher level of stability for magical enchantment and greatly reduce the possibility of enchantment failure, while using magical metals as material would bring stronger enchantment effect. Different magical metals would also result in different enchantment effect.

    For a high-level magical enchanter, stability would always be the first priority.

    No matter how powerful the enchantment effect was, if it was not supported by stability, it would only be a joke in the end.

    Hence, almost all sessful magical enchanters would choose the Eternal Adamantine to forge the gold rod.

    The Eternal Adamantine was known as the most stable of all metals in the world. A gold rod forged from it could also increase the sess rate of enchantment by at least ten percent!

    Lin Li had always been cautious. When he had begun to jolt his magical enchantment profession, the use of Eternal Adamantine had always been his aim. He had even prepared several pieces of Eternal Adamantine in advance for this purpose.

    He had never imagined that he could get the deep silver one day.

    Now that Lin Li had the deep silver in his hands, the metals that he could choose were just too many.

    The stability of gold rods coated with deep silver already reached an appalling level. What he had to consider now was how to maximize the enchantment effect brought on by magical metals.

    In front of Lin Li were three magical metals¡ªdream iron, abyss mithril, and rune¡¯s adamantine. He had chosen them from the array of metals. Although there were many other magical metals, they were inadequate in various ways and did not fit Lin Li¡¯s requirements for the gold rod.

    Only these three magical metals would task Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Forging the gold rod with dream iron might bring magical dispelling effects to the equipment.

    Forging the gold rod with rune¡¯s adamantine would greatly enhance the element attributes.

    Forging the gold rod with the abyss mithril would allow the equipment to possess a higher resistance to magic.

    All three were rare magical metals, and getting even one of them would be enough to keep a mage awake at night. Perhaps only a beast like Lin Li could take out all three at once, and this led him to face a blissful problem.

    ... All three magical metals were so excellent, but only one could be coated with the deep silver he had on hand.

    This was indeed a big dilemma for Lin Li. After spending an hour in the alchemyb, he finally came to a decision with clenched teeth.

    The effect of strengthening element attributes was too singr, and the magic dispelling effect could only activate with a certain probability. After weighing the gains and losses, Lin Li chose the abyss mithril atst. Compared with strengthening element attributes, the application scope of magical resistance was much wider and could work every time¡ªunlike the magic dispelling effect, which could only depend on luck.

    After deciding on the material for the gold rod, there was nothing else to worry about.

    When he was trying to jolt the magical enchantment profession, he washed away countless amounts of gold rods. To do such a thing now was as facile as driving along a familiar road in a light carriage.

    There was a small melting furnace in the alchemyb which was usually used to smelt alchemy materials such as star sand and navy sand. The temperature was a little low, but it was not a problem for Lin Li. At the end of the recitation of a spell, the ming Hands was unleashed. The near-infinite mana fueled it wildly and the scorching me clung to the bottom of the furnace. It took only a moment before the abyss mithril began to show signs of melting.

    Lin Li used an iron mp to pick the red abyss mithril up and, with the other hand, took out a hammer from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Sparks flew on the forging tform; the dazzling magical runes swung back and forth, magnificent like fireworks in the night sky. Under Lin Li¡¯s consummate skills, the gold rod forged with the abyss mithril begun to take its form on the forging tform.

    A cksmith guru was totally a demonic existence. In the blink of an eye, a gold rod was almostpleted. The whole process was incredibly fast; there were still sparks dancing on the forging tform by the time Lin Li put the hammer down.

    Then, he waited for it to cool. Unlike ordinary metals, magical metals could not be actively cooled down; otherwise, it would cause a huge loss of magical properties in the metal. What Lin Li could do was only to wait patiently.

    While he was waiting, he put his hand into the Ring of Endless Storm once more.

    This time, he took out a magical crystal the size of a longan.

    The rtionship between the gold rod and the magical enchanter was held together by the final touch of mental strength. The enchanter could not provide mana for the gold rod, so a magical crystal that was strong enough had to be embedded on it. Lin Li had chosen a level-fifteen magical crystal of a Void Walker. It was the strongest magical crystal he could take out at present. Although his hunter form had killed countless back then, he hadn¡¯t had the time to transfer most of the magical crystals to the smurf ount. It had always been on Lin Li¡¯s mind ever since.

    Of course, what really strangled Lin Li was the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas.

    After the death of this legendary dragon, Lin Li could not find its magical crystal anywhere. The only thing that looked like a magical crystal was a stone found somewhere around its heart. But it was dull, thick, and rough; it didn¡¯t possess even the faintest magical wave¡ªhow could it be the source of mana for the legendary dragon?

    In the end, Lin Li could only dismember its body in anger. After a round of sick ravage, the famous Dragon of Destruction was skinned to the bones and all its remains thrown into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    But this was not important. The magical crystal was just to provide the gold rod with mana. If he could kill an even more powerful magical beast in the future, he could always rece the level-fifteen magical crystal.

 Chapter 48 - Dragons Blood Ink

    <h4>Chapter 48: Dragon¡¯s Blood Ink</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After putting down the level-fifteen magical crystal, Lin Li took out another two gemstones¡ªa ruby and an emerald.

    This was the core essence of the gold rod. The ruby and the emerald were collected from the nest of the Dragon of Destruction. After killing Azardas, the mountain of treasures there had left a deep impression on Lin Li; these two gemstones were embellished on top of the pile of treasure, like cherries on a birthday cake.

    Lin Li had yet to find out the origins of these two gemstones. He only knew that they looked brighter and purer than ordinary gemstones, and this was the kind of quality the gold rod needed. The purer and brighter the gemstones, the better it would be for dposition and fusion.

    The ruby was used for dposition, the emerald for fusion.

    The gold rod had gradually cooled down and was lying quietly on the forging tform, exuding the unique aura of an abyss mithril. It was a dark and abysmal feeling, just like a bottomless pool.

    Lin Li picked up the cooled gold rod. With a slight exertion of strength in his hands, he set the magical crystal onto the tip of the gold rod, followed by the ruby and emerald which were set at either side of the rod.

    After Lin Li was done, he opened up the Ring of Endless Storm once again.

    This time, he took out a small bag of star sand.

    Lin Li looked around the alchemyb, but couldn¡¯t find the amethyst vessel. He couldn¡¯t resist cursing the poor, wretched Guild of Magic.

    Finally, he thought it over and pulled out a ss beaker from his pocket instead.

    With one hand grasping the opening of the pouch, Lin Li shook it carefully, letting a little star sand into the beaker.

    An azure blue halo appeared in the beaker with that little bit of star sand. Through the refraction of the beaker, it looked as gentle as if in a dream. But Lin Li did not dare to get immersed in it. The star sand had to be held in amethyst; otherwise, the mana contained in it would disappear. He was forced, having no other way but to use a ss beaker for the time being.

    Once the star sand was poured into the beaker, Lin Li speedily took out a bottle from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    As soon as the bottle stopper was pulled out, a thick scent of blood filled the alchemyb. It was the blood of the Dragon of Destruction¡ªthe most important ingredient for the Dragon¡¯s Blood Ink.

    Half a vial of the dragon¡¯s blood was poured into the beaker. It instantly merged with the star sand. If looked at from up close, one could even see thin blue threads swimming in between the crimson.

    Another spell recitation for the ming Hands sounded. Lin Li carefully controlled the mana, letting the flickering me stroke the bottom of the beaker gently. The dragon¡¯s blood began to boil, and a peculiar smell permeated the air. It was the smell of heated and evaporated blood mixed with the freshness of the star sand¡ªa smell that was strange and pungent.

    Threads of blue were slowly dissolving in the boiling blood.

    This was a remarkably slow process. The dissolution of each blue thread seemed to darken the dragon¡¯s blood by a fraction. By the time thest strand of blue thread disappeared, a deep blue hue was faintly glowing in the crimson liquid.

    Lin Li stopped the output of his mana and ced thepleted Dragon¡¯s Blood Ink at a side.

    Then, he opened up the Ring of Endless Storm again. This time, he took out a crystal pen carved from crystal.

    The center of the crystal pen was hollow and the tip was covered with fine lines. Lin Li dipped it into the star ink. The thick dragon¡¯s blood ink flowed along the lines from the tip of the pen and quickly filled the pen as its lead.

    Lin Li picked up the gold rod at hand. The crystal pen dipped in the dragon¡¯s blood ink leaped swiftly, sketching lines on the gold rod. Since seeing the deep silver, these lines had been yed back in Lin Li¡¯s mind hundreds and thousands of times. Every line and stroke had been conceived countless times. There was no need to hesitate where to set the magic nodes and where to construct the magic circuits. With merely a gentle brush of the nib, the lines were there, as if undesigned.

    If the owner of the mageweaths in the level certification was present, he would have to praise Lin Li once he saw how impressive thetter had been. The construction of two high-level mageweaths at the same time hadpletely transcended the scope of inscriptions; moreover, the two mageweaths were mutually opposed and mutually exclusive.

    However, Lin Li was swiftly penning away at that moment.

    In the blink of an eye, the two mageweaths had taken shape.

    The two magic circuits led to the end of the magic crystal, from which magic was continuously absorbed. 26 magic nodes encircled the ruby and the emerald like a myriad of stars surrounding the moon. The power of the two mageweaths was thoroughly activated through the ruby and the emerald.

    Lin Li drew thest line at the same time the dragon¡¯s blood ink dried up.

    Lin Li let out a long sigh and looked at the abyss mithril gold rod on his hand. It had no trace of the previous coarseness. The luster was dark and abysmal, the patterns exquisite and delicate. Under the embellishment of the two sparkling, pure gemstones, a mysterious yet resplendent aura was revealed.

    It would be an almost perfect gold rod if it was coated with deep silver.

    After he was done with all these, he took out the deep silver ne from his pockets.

    Holding the ne in hand, he unleashed the ming Hands again, the massive power recalled as soon as it was released. When he opened his hand again, the fine deep silver ne had been melted into a thin piece. The whole process was tremendously fast, the release and recall of his mana was done in a sh. It was not until he had covered the gold rod with the thin piece of deep silver that he somewhat felt his palms burning.

    Thereupon, the mana output was slowly increased, and the me on Lin Li¡¯s hand burned more vigorously. The deep silver adhered on the gold rod began to melt under the zing me. Precise control was required. Any slight mistake could turn the valuable deep silver into nothing. Even Lin Li, who had always been calm, couldn¡¯t stop fine beads of sweat from breaking out on his forehead...

    The melted deep silver glided over the rod. The mageweaths were like ravines. As thest ravine was filled, the previously mysterious yet gorgeous gold rod seemed to recover its original simplicity. It looked an integral whole, silently emitting a misty silver light.

    Lin Li ced the gold rod on the tform and finally heaved a long sigh of relief.

    Except for the madness before he had transmigrated, he had never been as tired as he was this day.

    Creating a small gold rod utilized almost all the professions he¡¯d acquired.

    Weary, Lin Li¡¯s eyes fell onto the tform again, and when he saw the gold rod lying quietly there, he seemed to feel that everything was worth it. This was something sufficient to make all the magical enchanters crazy. Forged with the abyss mithril, using the Dragon¡¯s Blood Ink to construct the mageweath... two gemstones from the nest of Dragon of Destruction, and not to mention thest coating of deep silver...

 Chapter 49 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 49: Invitation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was not someone who could keep still. With such a deadly weapon in his hands, was there any reason not to use it?

    After a short rest, Lin Li opened up the Ring of Endless Storm again. Without even looking, he grabbed a handful of magical crystals and counted them on the forging tform. There were about a dozen or so of these magical crystals, most of which were level-four and five, with one or two level-six and seven ones.

    ¡°I¡¯ve be so poor?¡± Lin Li scratched his head in disbelief.

    Fortunately, there was no one in the alchemyb. If these words went out, he would most likely be struck by lightning...

    Someone who could grab a handful of magical crystals at once actually had the gall toin that he was poor?

    However, this fellow quickly epted the reality. He had miscalcted his steps and failed to transfer the magical crystals from the hunter at an earlier time.

    More than a dozen magical crystalsy on the table. Lin Li held the gold rod in his hand; after a slight hesitation, he removed the Robe of Wrath he was wearing.

    The Robe of Wrath did indeed look insignificant now.

    The terrific thing about the Robe of Wrath was that it could carry 30 scrolls and could be activated in an instant. For the ordinary mages, this was definitely a treasure they¡¯d dream about. But to make it fall into the hands of a freak like Lin Li whose mana was infinite was like casting pearls before a swine. It was like giving an eunuch an erotic painting¡ªhe could see it, but there was no way he could use it...

    But Lin Li had always felt it to be fitting after wearing it for so long, and never thought of recing it. Most mage robes were as such anyway, making an issue out of the scroll space.

    Besides, a few low-level magical crystals like these couldn¡¯t really turn over any waves, so it wouldn¡¯t hurt at all to waste them away...

    Lin Li tightened his grip on the gold rod with one hand and controlled with precision the mental strength he had previously imbibed. With the stimtion of the mental strength, the source of mana at the end of the gold rod began to run. A wave of mana was slowly released from the magical crystal and flowed through theplex magic circuit, atst activating the 13 magic nodes.

    At the instant the 13 magic nodes were activated, the pure ruby gave off a dazzling light as well. Lin Li extended the gold rod forward; itnded on a level-five magical crystal. In an instant, a ray of light rose from it as the magical crystal was dissolved into the purest essence of magic, leaving only a glittering halo on the gold rod.

    It only took the twinkling of an eye from the stimtion of the mental strength to thepletion of dissolution. It was indeed differentpared to the gold rods that were used in the past. Lin Li¡¯s mood was lifted at once; the gold rod in his hands moved swiftly, dissolving the magical crystals into pure magic essence.

    After the magical crystals on the forging tform were emptied, there was a thickyer of magic essence on the gold rod. The glittering halo also seemed to have be thick and viscous.

    With the change of the mental strength, the mana suddenly took a 180 degree turn, bypassing theplex magic circuit and activating the 13 magic nodes surrounding the emerald. Then, Lin Li lifted his hand, and the gold rodnded on the Robe of Wrath. A series of runes arose instantly and there was a distorted magical wave on the Robe of Wrath. By the time all these subsided, Lin Lipleted his first magical enchantment in Anril.

    Putting the Robe of Wrath back on his body, Lin Li could clearly feel that he was surrounded by a powerful wave of magic resistance.

    Even Lin Li felt surprised at it. The power of this magic resistance was totally beyond his estimation. Usually, at least a level-fifteen magical crystal essence was needed in order to achieve such a powerful effect.

    But, on the second thought, there was nothing strange about it.

    The gold rod was certainly a sick item. The abyss mithril itself could strengthen magic resistance, and after being greatly enhanced by the deep silver, a low-level magic resistance attribute had been made incredibly potent by him. If the Robe of Wrath was worn out, it would probably make mages under level-five utterly depressed...

    Lin Li meticulously put away the gold rod into the Ring of Endless Storm and began to envision other high-level magical enchantment. A low-level magic resistance attribute could be this sick; then wouldn¡¯t the Dragon¡¯s Clout and Flow of Eternal Wisdom send people to heaven?

    By the time Lin Li came out of the alchemyb wearing the enchanted Robe of Wrath, the leaders of the various forces in the guild hall had almost all dispersed.

    Only a few leaders of the smaller forces still crowded around Kevin, desperately trying to pull friendship with him. Poor Kevin had been acting as an auctioneer for the whole morning and was so tired that his limbs were weak, and yet he was blocked by these leaders. This made it impossible for him to either leave or stay easily...

    He seemed to have found a savior when he saw Lin Liing out from the alchemyb. He excused himself from the leaders in a hurry and quickly fled.

    ¡°Felic!¡± Kevin caught up from behind and greeted Lin Li.

    Lin Li was a little puzzled. ¡°Eh... How were those fellows willing to let you go?¡±

    ¡°I told them, why don¡¯t I ask President Gerian out to discuss the details with them?¡±

    ¡°Pft...¡± Lin Li nearly choked on his saliva hearing the words out of the blue. Discussing the details with Gerian? Kevin was trying to push him into the pit of fire...

    ¡°Oh, right. Proper business at hand.¡± Kevin suddenly recalled halfway through the walk. ¡°The Casten has sent someone with an invitation, inviting Uncle Gerian to a banquet.¡±

    ¡°What has it got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Uncle Gerian¡¯s intention is for the two of us to go in his ce...¡±

    ¡°Damn! Where¡¯s he?¡± Lin Li knew the old fellow was up to no good upon hearing what Kevin said. He was still thinking about making Lin Li the president of the guild; if not, why would he want him to attend the casten¡¯s banquet?

    ¡°News just came from the Demon Fall Valley, there¡¯s something important and they want Uncle to go over. He should almost be out of Jarrosus by now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± For reasons unknown, Lin Li would recall the first time he came to the Guild of Magic and the middle-aged man who felt like a poisonous snake whenever the name of the Demon Fall Valley came up. ¡°What happened there?¡±

    ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a conflict with Shadow City. Time was tight, so Uncle Gerian did not tell me the details. He only told me to inform you of the banquet.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go just this once. When is the banquet?¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow night.¡±

 Chapter 50 - Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 50: Banquet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There seemed to be some celebration today; the Casten Mansion was brightly lit with lights.

    Lin Li and Kevin got out of the carriage, and soon a servant came up to meet them. He took the invitation card from them with great respect and politely escorted them into the mansion.

    Outside the richly decorated banquet hall was a garden full of exotic flowers and nts. The banquet had not yet started and many guests still remained in the garden. As the two passed through it, they naturally drew curious looks from the other guests.

    Although Kevin was honest and low-profile, he was Gerian¡¯s nephew after all. Moreover, he was also famous for being the magic genius of Jarrosus City since young. There were some sharp-eyed ones among the guests present, and both of them had barely taken a few steps when they were recognized by these people.

    The Guild of Magic was at the peak of its power now; who in Jarrosus City wouldn¡¯t want to im a rtionship with them? Now that Gerian¡¯s nephew had graced the event, how could the guests hold back?

    In the blink of an eye, Kevin was surrounded by a crowd of guests.

    ¡°Mage Kevin, you don¡¯t recognize me? I¡¯m your Uncle Rode. I came to the Guild of Magic about ten years ago. I even carried you in my arms then. To think you¡¯ve grown so tall after not having seen you for more than a decade...¡± A chubby businessman looked at Kevin with kindness and relief.

    Lin Li was listening at a side and he nearly burst outughing. <i>Howe the fatties like to im to be uncles nowadays?</i>

    ¡°Oh, oh... So it¡¯s Uncle Rode. Long time no see indeed...¡±

    ¡°Brother Kevin, why have you not visited me for so long...¡± Kevin was politely ying along with the businessman when an affectedly sweet voice suddenly rang out from behind. He turned around in shock and saw ady in her thirties pressing forward with her full bosom.

    ¡°When did I go to you before!¡± Kevin was almost half dead from the scare at her words.

    The guests did not care whether he was frightened or not; they finally had a chance to befriend the Guild of Magic and were trying desperately to squeeze through the crowd just to have a word or two with Gerian¡¯s nephew.

    As for that someone who was hiding at a side watching theical scene, no one really paid any attention to him.

    Since joining the Guild of Magic, Lin Li rarely showed his face in public. In addition, the Robe of Wrath he was wearing now was crumpled and old, giving people the impression of him being poor and miserable just by looking at it. Even if he entered the garden with Kevin, the guests only regarded him as Kevin¡¯s footman. It was alreadyte to curry favor with the master now, whoever had the time to make friends with a footman?

    ¡°Excuse me, excuse me...¡± The chubby uncle had only said a few words and was identally squeezed to a side. How was he willing to take it lying down? He hurriedly pushed Lin Li away with his physical advantage and moved up to Kevin again. ¡°Mage Kevin, how about having a dinner with me after the banquet? Uncle Rode has a business deal to discuss with the Guild of Magic!¡±

    For a moment, Kevin was swarmed. He wanted to flee, but realized he was surrounded by people front and back, without even the slightest gap. He did not dare to move as well for fear that he would touch something that he shouldn¡¯t, for example the aunty who had addressed him as ¡°Brother Kevin¡±...

    ¡°Brother Kevin! You have to invite me for a dance at the banquetter...¡± The aunty was still pushing herself on him so hard that Kevin felt the hair on his body rise. He was utterly regretful that he had agreed to attend the banquet now...

    ¡°Little buddy, how about doing me a favor?¡± Lin Li was hiding at a side, gloating at Kevin¡¯s misfortune, when someone leaned in on him unwittingly.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li was slightly stunned. When he turned around, he saw anky middle-aged man in his forties taking out a few gold coins from his pockets.

    ¡°A small token.¡± Lin Li had yet to grasp the situation, but thenky middle-aged already stuffed the gold coins into his hand. Then, he patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulders affectionately. ¡°Little buddy, you have joined the Guild of Magic at such a young age and followed Mage Kevin. Your future is definitely promising!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the kind words.¡± Lin Li scratched his head, somewhat understanding what this fellow was trying to do.

    ¡°If my guess is correct, you must be Mage Kevin¡¯s assistant?¡± He wanted to say mage apprentice, but took back his words after seeing the Robe of Wrath Lin Li was wearing. With the Guild of Magic¡¯s financial resources, how could Kevin¡¯s apprentice be so underdressed?

    ¡°Mm, mm... Something like that...¡±

    ¡°Bright future!¡± The middle-aged man stuck his thumb up and took a letter out from his pocket. ¡°When we get to the banquetter, can I ask you to do me a favor and pass this to Mage Kevin? Tell him that my little girl admires him very much and would like to invite him for a dinner at our ce another day.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Lin Li took the letter, dumbfounded. The envelope turned out to be an equivocal pink with a bright-red lip print on the bottom right side...

    ¡°Little buddy, you can rest assured. The small token earlier on was nothing much. When it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll reward you handsomely!¡± The middle-aged man was flushed, addressing Lin Li as a ¡°little buddy¡± ever so affectionately.

    The mysterious gratitude of the middle-aged man made Lin Li feel a little anxious. In his heart, he was specting that Kevin might have run up to some romantic debt and didn¡¯t dare to tell Gerian, but now the person came looking for him...

    ¡°Casten Isaac has arrived!¡± Just as he was letting his thoughts run wild, he heard another moring from outside the garden.

    Lin Li looked up and saw Gerian¡¯s convenient nephew walk into the garden, still followed by the two powerful attendants.

    As the Casten of a city, the people who wanted to im a rtionship with Isaac were no less numerous than the admirers of the Guild of Magic. A throng of guests surrounded him like stars surrounding the moon as he walked into the garden, but Isaac was not at all flustered. He wore an adequate smile on his face, greeting the guests as he walked towards the banquet hall, neglecting no one on the way.

    ¡°Master Casten.¡± The appearance of the Casten gave Kevin a breather from the misery.

    Kevin finally found an excuse to flee when the guests gathered around Isaac. He saw Lin Liughing at his difiture as soon as he got out of the crowd, and in that moment, Kevin lost his temper. ¡°Felic, you¡¯re too unkind...¡±

    ¡°You should thank me.¡± Lin Li took out the envelope from his pockets as he spoke, ¡°Look, if it weren¡¯t for me hiding at a side, how would I have the opportunity to receive this love letter on your behalf?¡±

 Chapter 51 - Banquet Hall

    <h4>Chapter 51: Banquet Hall</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After Kevin took the letter, he merely nced at the signature on it and threw it into his bag without opening it. Instead, he broke out in sweat hearing what had happened, and in his heart, he cursed thenky man [Note: in the raw text it was written as ¡°fatty¡±, but after revising, the author was talking about thenky middle-aged man who had approached Lin Li for a favor in the previous chapter] over and over. <i>Reward handsomely after it¡¯s done? Mage Kevin¡¯s assistant? Kudos to him foring up with that. Letting this kind of demon be my assistant...</i>

    The two talked for a little while and were about to enter the banquet hall when they were recognized by the eagle-eyed Casten.

    ¡°Good evening, Mage Kevin!¡± The smile on Isaac¡¯s face was cordial. After greeting Kevin, he was slightly befuddled. ¡°Why didn¡¯t President Geriane?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Master Casten. Something has cropped up in the guild and requires President Gerian to deal with it. He¡¯s unable to make it for the banquet today.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s too bad.¡± The Casten¡¯s expression was pained, but in his heart, he was secretly delighted. He would not have to address the old fellow awkwardly as Uncle Gerian now that he was not here. After returning from the Guild of Magic, Isaac felt regretful countless times. He could have talked about any other things, but he had to mention that his father had met Gerian before. This was like digging his own grave...

    When Isaac¡¯s eyes fell on Lin Li, his brows were slightly furrowed. The Robe of Wrath was simply too old. Isaac furrowed his brows not because he thought Lin Li¡¯s appearance was shabby, but because he thought the young man seemed to have little respect for him. After all, this was a banquet hosted by the Casten of Jarrosus City. People who attended the party should dress themselves decently. It seemed a little too casualing to a dinner in an old mage robe like what the young mage was wearing.

    But Isaac was, after all, a man of high rank as a casten. Even though he was slightly unhappy, he still disyed a warm and gentle smile on his face.

    ¡°And this is...¡±

    ¡°This is Mage Felic from the guild.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The smile stiffened on the Casten¡¯s face. Felic of the Guild of Magic had been a legendary figure in Jarrosus ever since the battle between Gerian and Old Merlin. Even though Isaac was the casten, he had never thought Felic woulde to this banquet in person. He did not even imagine that the legendary potion master, who alone supplied the million gold coin auction, would be a young mage who looked no more than 20 years old wearing an old mage robe.

    However, Isaac was a staid person. Although his heart was pounding, he managed to keep his emotions in control. His smile froze for a moment, and then he held out his hand amicably. ¡°Wee, wee. I¡¯ve never expected to have such a distinguished guest like Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°You tter me, Master Casten.¡±

    Isaac was so excited that he could no longer spare the effort to attend to the other guests. He warmly escorted the two of them into the banquet hall while at the same time expressing his admiration for Lin Li.

    The other guests were slightly further away and so they were unable to hear Kevin¡¯s introduction. Although they found Isaac to be overly enthusiastic, they did not take it to heart. They merely thought that the Casten was like themselves, hoping to befriend the Guild of Magic, and hence regarded the two young mages sent by the Guild of Magic as important.

    The Casten Mansion had evidently put in a great deal of effort for this banquet.

    The spacious banquet hall was bright as day, illuminated by 12 crystal chandeliers. The floor was covered with a thick red carpet, and looked especially gorgeous under the crystal chandeliers. Lin Li entered the hall and felt as if the surroundings were basked in magnificence and filled with a luxurious aura. From time to time, handsome young waiters carrying trays of wine ambled through the hall, and beautiful waitress fluttered between the tables like butterflies.

    Lin Li was somewhat unustomed to it, attending a banquet like this for the first time. Besides, he had no acquaintances at the banquet. He talked to the Casten with a prudent look on his face, but it was mostly about unimportant matters.

    Matters such as he had left in a hurry at thest auction and didn¡¯t have the time to say hello to Mage Felic, and that he was sorry about it...

    Or that Mage Felic was so young but his attainments in pharmaceutics were so advanced, making Lin Li¡¯s head turn as big as a bucket. But he could not tell Isaac that he had smashed in countless gold coins and a Scroll of Wishes to attain his status as a guru of all five series. <i>It was money that paved the way. You could do it as well if you had the money...</i>

    In addition, guests would approach from time to time to greet them, either asking the Casten to discuss some confidential matters or trying to befriend the Guild of Magic. Lin Li gradually became bored, so he made up an excuse to leave, took a ss of red wine from a waitress, and went to hide in a secluded corner.

    After he had withdrawn himself from the banquet and hid in the secluded corner, he found some interest in observing thepany of guests.

    The majority of the guests were distinguished personages of Jarrosus. Apart from the 17 forces, there were many rich businessmen and celebrities. The men and women were all dressed to the nines, fluttering about in the banquet hall like butterflies. It looked an extremely lively scene.

    Among them, the 17 forces were obviously the main characters of the banquet.

    For example, the previous owner of the deep silver ne, the patriarch of the Rolin Family, was present at the banquet as well. When Lin Li spotted him, he was already surrounded by at least five or six guests tantly ttering him.

    And Mr Anthony Rolin seemed to enjoy the feeling. He was talking incessantly and eloquently in front of the guests with a triumphant expression on his face. Lin Li had not recognized him at first nce¡ªhe was nothing like the jittery patriarch of the Rolin Family who had asked Gerian for an evaluation the previous day.

    He shifted his gaze away from Mr Anthony and saw someone he knew entering the banquet hall.

    It was the redheaded beauty he saw at Ina¡¯s ce!

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes widened as soon as he saw the fiery long hair. He never thought that he would see this woman at the banquet in the Casten Mansion.

    And this redheaded beauty looked as if she was close to the Casten. Upon entering the hall, she took Isaac¡¯s arm affectionately with a coquettish look on her face. Isaac seemed to be very fond of her as well, his expression kind and loving, just like how Gerian had looked at Lin Li in the beginning.

    Seeing the scene made Lin Li even more confused.

    McGrenn and his daughter could be said to be the lowest level of adventurers, and a reward of a dozen gold coins was sufficient for them to risk their lives in the Sunset Mountains. The rtionship between the redheaded beauty and the Casten was not at all shallow, and they most likely shared some family rtions. Their statuses were far apart from each other, so how did she know McGrenn and his daughter?

    As he was still puzzling over it, he suddenly saw Isaac along with the redheaded beautying in the direction of where he was sitting.

    In that instant, Lin Li hesitated; to be honest, he wasn¡¯t keen on seeing this Rowling woman.

    Unfortunately, regardless of how much he was reluctant to see her, the Casten brought her to him.

    As she got closer, Rowling saw Lin Li in the corner too. She was again reminded of what happened at Ina¡¯s ce, and embarrassment could at once be seen on her pretty face.

    ¡°Mr Felic, why are you sitting here alone? Are you ming Isaac for the poor reception?¡±

 Chapter 52 - Apprenticeship

    <h4>Chapter 52: Apprenticeship</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Casten spoke but found the atmosphere rather oppressive. With his acumen, he naturally caught on quickly that the people he was about to introduce to each other had already met previously. However, Isaac was tactful in his approach. After he had grasped the situation, he did not reveal it on his face. He gently patted the redheaded beauty¡¯s hands that were holding him. ¡°Come, Rowling. Let Father introduce you to the famous Mage Felic.

    ¡°Mage Felic, this is my daughter, Rowling. She has been very fond of studying medicine since young and is also interested in potion making. If Mage Felic ever has the time, you might as well guide her along. Take it as giving me some face.¡±

    ¡°You must be joking, Master Casten. Miss Rowling has superior medical skills, how could she need my guidance...¡± Lin Li joked lightly, nning to y this matter off.

    The speaker had no intention in his words, yet the listener read her own meanings into it. The phrase ¡°superior medical skills¡± fell into the ears of Rowling, and at once her pretty face turned ghastly pale. Although Ina had never med her, what happened that day still weighed heavily on her mind. If it had not been for the young mage¡¯s insistence, she would have nearly killed her best friend¡¯s father. The thought was like a viper, lodging itself in Rowling¡¯s heart, and kept her in constant self-reproach and remorse.

    The Casten noticed his daughter¡¯s odd expression and asked out of concern, ¡°Rowling... Rowling? What happened, are you feeling unwell?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Father. Go on without me, I¡¯ll be fine after taking a short rest here.¡±

    ¡°Then, take a good rest.¡± Isaac hesitated for a moment. Still slightly worried, he asked Lin Li for help. ¡°Mage Felic, could you help keep an eye on my daughter for the time being? There are many guests today and I really can¡¯t excuse myself. Rowling has not been in good health since young, I¡¯m afraid. Just in case...¡±

    ¡°This... Alright.¡± Lin Li paused for a while, but nodded in response.

    After Isaac left in a hurry, the atmosphere in the secluded corner became even more awkward.

    Both of them did not speak at all until the redheaded beauty broke the silence. ¡°Sorry...¡±

    The sudden apology confused Lin Li. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°I was wrong the other day. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted your intentions towards Ina, and even more so I shouldn¡¯t have stopped you from treating Mr McGrenn when I wasn¡¯t even confident...¡± Rowling was as proud as a swan since a young age. Although she had recognized her mistake now, when it came to apologizing, her pretty face was still flushed and her voice quiet like a mosquito.

    Lin Li spared a great deal of effort before finally making out what she had said, and felt it amusing in that moment. ¡°You sent the Casten away on purpose just to tell me this?¡±

    ¡°I... I only wanted to apologize...¡± Being seen right through at once, Rowling blushed even brighter.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for an apology, we don¡¯t know each other well anyway. If you¡¯re looking for peace of mind, save your apology for Mr McGrenn. The one who was nearly killed in your hands was him, not me.¡± Lin Li always felt unsettled at the redheaded beauty who had nearly killed McGrenn. At her apology, he suddenly felt irritated for no reason, and put down his wine ss with a cold expression on his face. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, can you please leave? I¡¯m not used to being alone with a pretty girl, so leave lest I can¡¯t help my animal instincts from acting up and do something bad...¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Rowling had never been treated so unkindly by others before. She was aggrieved and angry in that instant; her beautiful eyes fogged and tears were glistening in her eyes, looking ready to fall anytime.

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    Rowling¡¯s red lips opened slightly, but she couldn¡¯t get the words out. Her expression was even more aggrieved, and tears started dripping on the dining table.

    Lin Li was made even more frustrated by her crying. He ced his wine ss down and stood up. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving? Then I¡¯ll leave!¡±

    As soon as his obstinacy acted up, he had no care whether it was a ck-haired beauty or a red-haired beauty. He kicked his chair aside and walked towards the center of the banquet hall.

    Rowling was slightly taken aback, then realized he was indeed leaving. She couldn¡¯t care about the embarrassment anymore; with clenched teeth, she came to a decision. ¡°I... I¡¯d like to learn potion making from you!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li stumbled and nearly fell on the thick carpet. He turned around with a look of disbelief and stared at Rowling for a long while before repeating what she said with much difficulty, ¡°You... You¡¯d like to learn potion making from me?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Rowling¡¯s flushed face was masked with a look of determination now. ¡°I¡¯d like to learn from you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li stood there in a daze for more than a minute, and asked unsurely, ¡°Are you muddled from anger?¡±

    ¡°I am serious.¡± Rowling¡¯s eyes were resolute, with a hint of enthusiasm.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not mild. I¡¯ll have someone prescribe some medicine for you...¡± Lin Li did not dare to look into those fervent eyes. He mumbled a curse and was ready to slip away. That fervent look had frightened him, and he did not dare to continue hanging around this wench anymore.

    ¡°...¡± Rowling really wanted to learn potion making. She studied medicine from an early age and had been instructed by a pharmacist. After her medical skills gradually became profound, she discovered that the problems which couldn¡¯t be solved with medical skills could actually be solved with a small bottle of a potion. But pharmacists in Anril were rare; even with Rowling¡¯s noble status, to learn potion making was a purely imaginary matter.

    ... Until that day at Ina¡¯s ce¡ªafter the ridiculous misunderstanding, she realized that the person she had misunderstood was actually the pharmacist she had been looking for all along. At that moment, Rowling had been utterly ashamed and regretful. She had been ashamed for she had almost killed her best friend¡¯s father, and regretful for she had let slip a pharmacist. Many times she had wanted to visit the Guild of Magic to apologize in person, but was held back by the hint of reserve in her heart.

    To think that she would see the young pharmacist again at her father¡¯s banquet two dayster.

    This time, Rowling had abandoned her reserve. But the answer she got was ¡°You¡¯re ill, and it¡¯s not mild...¡±

    The aggrievement in Rowling¡¯s heart that she could not express turned into glittering tears that swirled in her eyes before falling in drip drops on the red carpet.

 Chapter 53 - Rejection

    <h4>Chapter 53: Rejection</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Walking in the splendid banquet hall, Lin Li suddenly felt a little amused at the situation. He had never expected the redheaded beauty to apologize to him out of the blue, and even more so to request to be his apprentice. From what Lin Li saw, this request was absolutely ridiculous to the core!

    To be honest, Lin Li was not a stingy person, and he definitely did not have the habit of thinking highly of his own doings. Otherwise, he would not have given Andoine his best guidance back in the Sunset Mountains. Strictly speaking, Andoine really had no talent in pharmaceutics. He was in his hundreds, yet he couldn¡¯t even remember the simplest potion forms and was brash and clumsy when concocting the potions, blowing up the potionb on every asion.

    Byparison, Rowling, who was proficient in medicinal studies, was actually more suitable to be Lin Li¡¯s student. Medicinal studies and potion making had too much inmon. Lin Li could even be sure that as long as he was willing to guide her with all his heart, Rowling, with her superior medical skills at such a young age, would be able to achieve good results in pharmaceutics within a year.

    However, Lin Li had no intention to teach her at all. What happened at McGrenn¡¯s house had left too bad an impression on him.

    Perhaps it was because his experiences were different. Lin Li had always felt that there was nothing more precious than life in this world. All lives should be respected; especially as a doctor, one should absolutely respect the patient¡¯s life.

    Lin Li was essentially an introvert who preferred to keep things to himself. Unless someone¡ªlike Cromwell, who repeatedly provoked him and even spat directly in his face¡ªpicked a fight with him, Lin Li would not show any extreme behavior in general.

    Lin Li could tolerate a lot of things, for example Rowling¡¯s self-righteous character.

    He could even understand that such character was a privilege of a beauty, not to mention that Rowling was the daughter of the Casten.

    But she should never use this kind of self-righteousness on her patients. This was what Lin Li really could not tolerate. A self-righteous doctor, even if he mastered advanced pharmaceutics, would still be bringing lifelong misfortune and disaster to the patients.

    After having experienced this bizarre transmigration, Lin Li had be more mature,pletely over the age of being disoriented with a woman¡¯s beauty. Besides, he was not the kind of person who couldn¡¯t walk at the sight of a beautiful woman from the start. Rowling might be attractive in other people¡¯s eyes, but in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, she was merely a quack who almost killed her patient.

    Rejecting a little redhead beauty was not much of a psychological burden to Lin Li at all...

    However, whether it was Lin Li who had breathed a sigh of relief or Rowling who was secretly weeping, none of them had noticed that the scenario at the secluded corner had fallen into the eyes of a young man.

    ¡°Mr Anthony, do you know this mage?¡± The young man looked to be in his twenties. He had a handsome, fair face and gorgeous blond hair, dazzling like sunshine under the crystal chandeliers. He wore a well-tailored dress suit, which, judging from the fine craftsmanship, had been made by a famous designer. He had no other essories¡ªexcept for a ruby ring on the fourth finger of his right hand.

    He¡¯d merely held out his right hand and pointed pettily at Lin Li. The ruby reflected a pure and dazzling light under the crystal chandeliers.

    ¡°Looks a little unfamiliar, but he came with Mage Kevin, so he should be his attendant or apprentice of sorts...¡± Although he did not know the true identity of this young man, Anthony had maintained a respectful attitude throughout the conversation. This young man was introduced by the Casten, who said that he hade from the capital of Fn Kingdom. From the way they talked and behaved, Anthony could clearly see that they were in no ordinary rtionship.

    Since the rise of the Guild of Magic, the Rolin Family had shown signs of declining. Seeing that he had been pushed to the border of the 11 mage families, and even the thief leader dared topete with him fo the Arcane Magic Potion at the auction, Anthony had watched with an anxious heart. He had attended the banquet meaning to im a rtionship with the Casten. In addition, when he heard that the young man hade from the capital, Anthony¡¯s speech and manners were all the more ttering and enthusiastic...

    It was a pity that the Casten had divulged too little information, and the young man was so secretive about his origins that, so far, Anthony only knew his name was Bathrilor, from the capital city nna of the Fn Kingdom.

    ¡°Is it...¡± Bathrilor nodded and did not question further. He excused himself and walked to Lin Li with a ss of red wine in his hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should apologize to Miss Rowling?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was distracted with his own thoughts when he suddenly heard someone talking to him. From the voice, it seemed to being from a stranger. Lin Li turned around in doubt, only to see a handsome young man standing in front of him, carrying an expression that Lin Li didn¡¯t like...

    It was an undisguised sense of superiority, just like how when Cromwell had told him ¡°the Merlin Family does have a say in the Guild of Magic¡±...

    ¡°Do I know you?¡± Lin Li had always detested the idea of superiority, so it was natural that there was no politeness in his words. He merely took a nce at Bathrilor from the corner of his eyes. It looked like he was looking at some thing or a mass of air.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know me.¡± Bathrilor¡¯s expression was still full of superiority. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re not qualified to know me as well. A small mage like you should feel utterly honored to be able to step foot in this banquet hall. Why do you not know what is self-respect? Did you not look in the mirror to see what your status is before you pestered Miss Rowling?¡±

    ¡°When did I pester her?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes widened with anxiousness at his words, and in his heart, he was filled with injustice. He¡¯d like to ask Rowling: did I ever pester you?

    ¡°You didn¡¯t pester Miss Rowling? Are you going to tell me that Miss Rowling was the one pestering you?¡± Bathrilor scoffed at Lin Li¡¯s excuse, and his handsome face was full of a disdainful smirk.

    ¡°Duh!¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes and decided not to pay anymore attention to him. In his heart, he thought, <i>This person might have some psychological issues, I should suggest he sees a doctor some other day...</i>

 Chapter 54 - Infuriation

    <h4>Chapter 54: Infuriation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Stop there! You¡¯re leaving after offending Miss Rowling?¡± Bathrilor was filled with just anger, and stretched out his hand to block Lin Li who was ready to leave.

    ¡°Mr I-am-not-qualified-to-know-who, can you tell me in simple terms what you want to do...?¡± Lin Li asked in a faint voice. He was about to be driven crazy by this fellow. He didn¡¯t even know where the fellow came from, what he wanted to do, nor even what his name was. However, he had been used of pestering and offending Rowling. Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand at all; even if he did pester and offend Rowling, did it even have anything to do with him?

    ¡°This is Casten Isaac¡¯s banquet, I don¡¯t want to blow things up. But I would advise you to apologize to Miss Rowling immediately!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The other party¡¯s pertinacious behavior rankled Lin Li, and his expression turned cold. ¡°What if I don¡¯t apologize?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know then...¡± The undisguised sense of superiority seemed to return in Bathrilor¡¯s smile. ¡°You might get beaten up and then thrown out of this banquet. You might even get kicked out of the Guild of Magic. I think your master, Mage Kevin, would not choose to fall out with Casten Isaac for an attendant...¡±

    Lin Li listened agape to all sorts of horrible ends supposedly waiting for him. Could this be the legendary genius? He could specte so many things with only a few tears from the redheaded beauty and even came up with all kinds of horrible repercussions. How strong an imagination was needed for all these? It would be a pity if this man did not change his profession to writing chivalric novels...

    ¡°Have you thought it through?¡± Seeing Lin Li did not respond for a long while, Bathrilor looked even more pleased. He seemed to already see the other party¡¯s humiliating admission of guilt and the apology to Miss Rowling after being pushed by him...

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through. Simply put, if I don¡¯t apologize, I would be very, very miserable...¡± Lin Li nodded earnestly. He had indeed thought it through carefully. ¡°But after thinking through, I¡¯ve still decided not to.¡±

    Lin Li turned around to leave after tossing the words out. He was really reluctant to be near a wacko.

    ¡°You!¡± Bathrilor¡¯s expression froze; that high and mighty smile turned hideous at once. Lin Li¡¯s words were like a p, smacking severely on his face. Bathrilor, who lived in prosperity all his life, had never been so difited before. After a brief stupor, anger instantly engulfed his reason.

    Bathrilor raised his right hand forcefully and the ruby iid on the ring gleamed with red light.

    Lin Li had just taken six or seven steps when he suddenly felt a violent distortion of the magical elements around him. Almost subconsciously, he felt something was wrong. But it was toote to react, so he only managed to put up an Elemental Shield.

    Then, he saw a sh of light on the ruby, and dazzling mes spread out like fire dragons rushing forth, or like a giant ming web descending from the sky.

    ¡°Bathrilor, stop!¡± Isaac was talking in a low voice with a middle-aged man. Who knew that when he looked up, he¡¯d witness this horrifying scene. At that instant, Isaac was crushed. That was the treasure of the Guild of Magic. If anything happened to him at the banquet, that convenient uncle Gerian would probably tear down his Casten Mansion...

    But Isaac¡¯s shriek came toote.

    At the moment he opened his mouth, dozens of fire dragons crashed into the Elemental Shield.

    ¡°Boom!¡± An awful rumbling was heard in the banquet hall.

    A ze of fire spattered and countless sparks fell on the thick carpet, burning ck dots on it. Under the st of the two magic waves, the tables and chairs were thrown upside down and a dozen white napkins danced around under the crystal chandeliers. Several guests who were closer were pushed to the ground by the st.

    In that instant, everyone was dumbfounded.

    ... Including Isaac¡ªthe Casten of Jarrosus City watched the spattering sparks, his eyes full of despair. He held out his hand and pointed at Bathrilor, wanting to scold him, but found himself speechless. With aplex expression, he sighed and slowly lowered his outstretched hand.

    Rowling, who was weeping like a pear blossom bathed in rain in the secluded corner, had also witnessed the gripping scene. In the light of the spattering ze, Rowling¡¯s tear-streaked pretty face was filled with horror and despair. Her ruddy lips slightly opened, but she felt something being blocked in her heart. At this moment, she was actually worried about the young mage...

    And almost at the same time, Kevin dropped the wine ss in his hands and lunged to the side like crazy.

    ¡°Why, Uncle Isaac?¡± Bathrilor seemed to be satisfied with his strike. He leisurely removed a napkin from his head and pped his hands, disying a rxed smile on his face. But when he turned around, he saw Isaac standing there with an ashen face, and couldn¡¯t help but feel puzzled by it.

    ¡°p...!¡± What awaited him was a solid p in the face. Isaac lost his usual grace in his fury.

    ¡°Un... Uncle Isaac... Why did you hit me?¡± The p had Bathrilor stumbling a few steps back. He covered his left cheek with his hand and his expression was zed.

    Isaac was trembling with rage. ¡°Do you know what you have done?¡±

    ¡°What have I done? Isn¡¯t it just a small little mage? If Uncle Isaac feels that it¡¯s a pity, I¡¯ll have someone send you 20 mages tomorrow.¡± Bathrilor had never been pped in public before. Isaac had pped him now, and although he did not dare to confront him, his tone was more or less resentful.

    ¡°20 mages? Hahaha...¡± Isaacughed in anger. ¡°You¡¯re so generous. Unfortunately, not to mention 20, even if it¡¯s 50, it wouldn¡¯t beparable to a strand of his hair. Forget it, do what you wish. I wash my hands off this. Besides, even if I wanted to help, I have no control over this as well. You write your own letter to your father, hopefully it¡¯s not toote before Gerian returns...¡±

 Chapter 55 - Flames of Fury

    <h4>Chapter 55: mes of Fury</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to wait for Gerian toe back. I can deal with it on my own.¡± Lin Li, who was undoubtedly dead in the eyes of everyone, turned over and stood up from the carpet.

    ¡°What I detest the most is someone sneaking in an attack from behind.¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes were fixed on Bathrilor, but on his hand he had already produced a handprint. Not waiting for the flustered Bathrilor to grasp what was going on, a shot of wind de came whistling out. ¡°Because I myself like to do it!¡±

    Bathrilor could not understand at all how this person came to still be alive. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t time for him to ponder. Lin Li lifted his right hand and the wind de raked over his hand. A ¡°tchh¡± sound was heard and Bathrilor felt his hand tingle at once.

    It was followed by a spatter of blood. Bathrilor¡¯s ring finger was severed by the de andnded on the carpet with a few rounds of rolling. The ruby, now stained with blood, emitted an unearthly glow under the crystal chandeliers...

    Lin Li was unwilling to stop after that shot of wind de. An icicle was formed on each of his hands; the crowd heard a swish, and two long, thin icicles tore through the air.

    The speed of Lin Li casting a spell was too fast. Before the crowd could react, Bathrilor let out another scream yet again. The two slender, razor-sharp icicles pierced through Bathrilor¡¯s palms, and in an instant, fresh blood poured out and drenched the thick carpet red.

    The bloody scene fell into the eyes of the guests and at once triggered screams of horror. Isaac looked at Lin Li with aplex expression on his face. This was the first time he saw Lin Li infuriated, and it was also only now that he realized this seemingly harmless young mage in fact had a violent and cruel side to him.

    Bathrilor¡¯s shrieks echoed in the banquet hall for a long time. The voice sounded like a wounded beast, full of malice and despair.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Isaac tried to mediate for Bathrilor, but when he was about to speak, he heard a low rumble of recitation from Lin Li.

    The Casten¡¯s heart tightened when he heard it. He had not once heard Lin Li recite any spell when he had unleashed that awfully fast shot of wind de and the two tyrannical icicles. At this point, he had suddenly recited a spell. Then, the spell that he was about to release, wasn¡¯t it...

    The magical elements around distorted madly. A me was zing atop Lin Li¡¯s hands.

    The searing breath was higher with every wave, and no one among the guests dared to take a step forward.

    Bathrilor¡¯s hands were bleeding profusely, but his eyes were filled with fear and despair. He had never expected he¡¯d die in a small ce like Jarrosus. He did not even expect the abject-looking young mage to be so terrifying, not giving him a chance to repent at all and intending to kill him once he started his attacks.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Countless fire dragons roared past as thest spell fell. Compared to Bathrilor¡¯s ruby ring, the fire dragons summoned by Lin Li were greater in number and strength, like a torrential me that was about to devour Bathrilorpletely.

    It had happened too fast for Isaac to stop. His heart sank and he felt hopeless like dying embers.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom...¡± In an instant, only muffled explosions could be heard without end. Under the collisions of countless fire dragons, the blistering fire elements raged wildly and the whole hall was bathed in a scorching atmosphere. Before Bathrilor¡¯s desperate eyes, numerous fire dragons swarmed up and swallowed him whole in a sh.

    The banquet hall was rmingly quiet. Other than the bursts of muffled explosions, there was no other sound at all.

    Everyone stared at the me in daze, their hearts filled with shock. The young mage, who looked no more than 20 years old, had demonstrated strength that was infinitely close to that of a magic shooter. They were all rather curious¡ªsince when was there such a young genius in Jarrosus City besides Kevin and Cromwell?

    Of course, there were those with a keen mind. From a strength that was infinitely close to that of a magic shooter and an age below 20, they associated it with the rumor that was recently raging in Jarrosus City...

    In that moment, those with keen minds were astounded by their own guess.

    If their guess were correct, the abject-looking young mage in front of them was currently the most legendary figure in Jarrosus City¡ªthe hope for revival of the Guild of Magic, the potion master below the age of 20, the one who had single-handedly facilitated the million gold coins auction, and the one who, after having triggered the battle between the most powerful mages, was wrapped up in rumors but rarely appeared in public¡ªMage Felic!

    Just as everyone was in their own thoughts, the monstrous me brought on by the countless fire dragons dissipated atst.

    Only then did the crowd of guests discover that Bathrilor, who was supposed to be dead, was still standing unhurt in the ashes. Although his expression was lifeless and his palms were still dripping with blood, he was still alive¡ªthere was no doubt about it! Perhaps only a few guests were aware that the reason why Bathrilor could survive the fire dragons was due to ayer of magical shield.

    Thisyer of magical shield was vastly different from that of Lin Li¡¯s Elemental Shield. It was the release of the purest mana without any spell at all.

    At the moment Lin Li unleashed the ming Storm, he sensed there was something different. The violent and muffled explosion was caused by the collision of two magical elements. If it had hit Bathrilor directly, it wouldn¡¯t have made such a great noise. It would only take a me to engulf him in an instant.

    So, after he had unleashed the spell, he did not even look at Bathrilor but shifted his eyes to the banquet hall. Thatyer of magic was too peculiar and powerful; he was much more interested in the person who had cast the magical shield rather than killing Bathrilor.

    ¡°Little kid, you¡¯re Felic?¡± At this time, an aged voice was heard in a quiet corner of the banquet hall.

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes followed to the source of the aged voice and saw an old man wearing a gray mage robe.

    This old man looked to be around the same age as Andoine. His hair and beard were white, and his face was full of wrinkles too. But his gray mage robe looked clean and tidy, totally opposite inparison to the scruffy Andoine back in the Sunset Mountains.

 Chapter 56 - The Mage in Gray Robe

    <h4>Chapter 56: The Mage in Gray Robe</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Casten heaved a long sigh of relief having seen the mage in gray robe intervene atst.

    Tonight¡¯s banquet had been too tiring for him. The previous surprise attack by Bathrilor had already scared half his wits off; he was so afraid something would happen to Lin Li and draw Gerian¡¯s revenge. But then the situation plummeted; Lin Li stood up with a turn and dealt a heavy blow to Bathrilor with two instantaneous spells, and even unleashed the ming Storm to kill.

    At that instant, Isaac had lost heart.

    Bathrilor was born into an illustrious family. Even Isaac, with his status as a Casten, had to fear it. If Bathrilor really died at his banquet, Isaac couldn¡¯t even imagine what the consequences would be.

    Luckily...

    Isaac¡¯s heart gradually descended back into its ce when the mage in gray robe emerged from the quiet corner. As long as he was willing to interfere, Bathrilor¡¯s life should be saved...

    ¡°Felic, are you alright?¡± Right then, Kevin finally squeezed in from the crowd and inquired on Lin Li¡¯s injury with concern.

    He was utterly frightened just now. Watching the moment when Lin Li was hit by the fire dragons, Kevin was stupefied. Lin Li meant almost everything to the Guild of Magic at present; his value even surpassed that of Gerian. Kevin would not have known what to do if Lin Li had died under those dozen fire dragons. The present Guild of Magic definitely couldn¡¯t afford such a loss.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Lin Li shook his head, reassuring Kevin.

    It was true he was unhurt. But the thought of the whole process unnerved him.

    The power of the ruby ring was stronger than he had expected. When the dozens of fire dragons surged forward, it was equivalent to the power of a level-eight magic. Although Lin Li had weakened most of the damage with the Elemental Shield, there were still one or two fire dragons that broke through the blockage of the Elemental Shield, directly attacking his body.

    However, with the strong magical resistance attribute of the Robe of Wrath, the fire dragons did not cause any harm to him. They disappeared in the magical resistant field upon contact in an instant.

    Now that Lin Lin Li thought back on the perils in it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel fortunate.

    Luckily, he had enchanted the Robe of Wrath with the magical resistance attribute. Otherwise, even though the fire dragons would not be fatal, they were also likely to injure him.

    Then, Lin Li looked at the mage in gray robe doubtfully. ¡°I am Felic, you are...¡±

    ¡°I am Andoine¡¯s old friend.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You know Andoine?¡± It was the first time Lin Li had heard of news about Andoine after leaving the Sunset Mountains. He couldn¡¯t resist taking another few looks at the mage in gray robe. ¡°How¡¯s he like now? Is he still as stubborn as ever?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh... Just about so. A few days ago, in nna, he mentioned you. I thought you were interesting, so I specially came to Jarrosus to have a look.¡± The mage in gray robe smiled amicably. The eyes that were looking at Lin Li had a glimmer of admiration.

    ¡°You really tter me.¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression was modest and respectful, but his eyes were furtively ncing at Bathrilor. He was silently calcting the time Bathrilor¡¯s hands were bleeding while repressing him with a hint of mental strength.

    ¡°...¡± How could such a petty trick escape the eyes of the mage in gray robe? For a moment, the old man felt annoyed yet amused. However, in his capacity, he naturally could not expose him. He merely reminded Lin Li with a look of slight embarrassment on his face, ¡°This... Felic, can you first let Bathrilor off? If he continues to bleed, I¡¯m afraid his life will be in danger...¡±

    ¡°You know Bathrilor?¡± The dirty tricks he did in secret were exposed, but Lin Li was not the least bit embarrassed. He pretended to give a look of surprise. ¡°So that¡¯s to say, theyer of magic previously was released by you?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± The mage in gray robe felt that he seemed to be bitten in the face at these words. However, since Lin Li had already asked, he could only try to mediate. ¡°I saw what happened just now, it was indeed Bathrilor¡¯s fault. But I¡¯m unlucky to know his grandfather. In order not to let that old fellow me me for not doing anything to save his grandson from ruin, I had to intervene just now to help him. Besides, you¡¯ve already taught him a lesson. Can you give me some face and forget about this matter...¡±

    ¡°Oh... So this is it,¡± Lin Li answered coolly. He recalled his mental strength without hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s only a small matter, I¡¯ll do as you said and forget about this matter.¡±

    ¡°Then... I¡¯ll thank you on Bathrilor¡¯s behalf.¡± The mage in gray robe probably did not expect Lin Li to agree so readily. He supposed it was unfair to Lin Li, so he gave his guarantee apologetically, ¡°But you can rest assured. I will definitely make the old fellow from their family give you an exnation for what happened today.¡±

    ¡°No need to trouble yourself with it. It¡¯s a small matter, I won¡¯t take offense at him.¡±

    Lin Li smiled agreeably but he had already assembled a wind de in secret.

    The mage in gray robe had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly sensed a surge in magical wave. Before he could react, there came a ripping sound in the air.

    Bathrilor had just been released from the mental suppression when he suddenly felt a tingle in his hand.

    Then, a sharp pain shot through his left hand. When he lowered his head, he saw another ring fingernded on the thick carpet. In addition to the damage left by the previous icicle, Bathrilor¡¯s left hand was a bloody pile of flesh as well. The tearing pain went on and on, and Bathrilor fainted from the excruciating pain on the spot.

    ¡°Ai...¡± It was toote for the mage in gray robe to intervene. He sighed slightly and looked at Lin Li helplessly. ¡°Why bother?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tolerate him sneaking in an attack from behind. But you are Andoine¡¯s friend, I don¡¯t want to put you on the spot too.¡± Lin Li was all smiles as if nothing had happened. ¡°So, this is the best way out.¡±

    ¡°Andoine was really right. You, little fellow, are a wolf. You must bite back at anyone who provoked you...¡± The mage in gray robe shook his head, his expression amused yet helpless. ¡°Forget it. He had already lost a finger anyway, losing one more would bnce it out...¡±

    ¡°You tter me.¡± Lin Li grinned modestly, but his eyes were fixed on the mage in gray robe. ¡°Now, can you tell me, other than being Andoine¡¯s friend, do you have other identities?¡±

    ¡°I am Grimm Burnside.¡±

 Chapter 57 - Legend

    <h4>Chapter 57: Legend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The casual self-introduction from the mage in gray robe seemed to hit the guests like thunder above their heads.

    Everyone drew in a cold breath; the banquet hall was filled with surprised gasps. The name¡ªGrimm Burnside¡ªwas a living legend to the people of Jarrosus City.

    There were two of Jarrosus¡¯ most famous mages in thest hundred years. One of them was Andoine from the Guild of Magic; the other was the old man wearing the gray mage robe standing in front of them¡ªGrimm Burnside.

    To some extent, the two mages had a lot inmon. For example, both were from Jarrosus City, both had reached the legendary realm every mage had dreamed of, and both were immersed in pharmaceutics.

    And in the field of pharmaceutics, both had takenpletely different paths.

    Andoine¡¯s poor talent had reached such an astonishing level that even a pharmaceutics expert like Lin Li developed a deep sense of hopelessness when faced with him. Moreover, his obstinacy was simply a disaster. Just think, a stubborn old man who had lived for over a hundred years couldn¡¯t even get the most basic of equations right, but in his hands he possessed the forms for high-level potions, attempting highly difficult concoctions such as the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion as and when he liked. It was an absolute miracle that all thoseb idents over the years hadn¡¯t been able to kill him...

    Grimm, who was also a legendary mage like Andoine, was a rare pharmaceutics genius in Fn Kingdom. He had already made remarkable achievements in his twenties. His geniosity had even rmed the Pharmacists Guild; on the day he¡¯d be a Magic Shooter at age 30, the Anril Pharmacists Guild officially announced that they had epted Grimm Burnside as an official member of their guild.

    Decades had passed since then and Grimm Burnside was already at the mastery level in pharmaceutics. Even within the Pharmacists Guild, he was definitely an important person who had a say in the guild.

    Under the two glorious halos of a legendary mage and a master pharmacist, Grimm Burnside had be the most representative figure in Jarrosus City, his reputation even surpassing that of Andoine, who was also a legendary mage.

    In Jarrosus City, one could <i>not know </i>the six underground forces or the 11 mage families, or even the Guild of Magic and the legendary mage Andoine, but they could never not have heard of the legend of Grimm Burnside...

    When such a legend which could only be looked up to stood living in front of everyone else, there was only one word in their hearts¡ªawe.

    At that moment, whether it was the fat man who wanted to introduce his daughter to Kevin, the aunty with the full bosom, or even Anthony Rolin trying to get Bathrilor¡¯s favor by ttery, the looks they gave Grimm Burnside were full of heartfelt admiration.

    In Grimm Burnside¡¯s long life, he had long gotten used to being the center of attention. Surrounded by the crowd of guests, his wrinkled face still wore a gentle smile, and he even nodded at several familiar family leaders in a greeting.

    But he kept his gaze on Lin Li.

    In fact, the reason why he came to Jarrosus City was to have a look at this young mage. At the capital nna, Andoine haduded thetter to the skies like there was nothing impossible for him. At the age below 20, he had already had a profound gift in pharmaceutics and was a magic geniusparable to that of the God of Mages.

    Despite his friendship with Andoine, Grimm was still skeptical about it.

    It wasn¡¯t because he felt that Andoine was lying; it was just that Old Grimm thought that, theoretically, such a person shouldn¡¯t exist.

    Both magic and pharmaceutics required a lot of time to study, especially pharmaceutics. Old Grimm himself was a master pharmacist, hence he was most aware of the hardships thereof. Forms that could never be mastered, equations involving astronomical figures, all the experiments and failures¡ªeven a little progress would need a lot of time to umte.

    The mage in front of him was barely 20 and there was even a look of childishness on his face. Even if he had begun studying pharmaceutics the moment he was born, it would have been impossible to achieve such a huge breakthrough at this age. Moreover, he would need the same huge amount of time to study magic concurrently.

    Speaking of magic...

    Old Grimm had to admit that the young man named Felic was indeed a rare talent in magic.

    The previous ming Storm was nothing. It was not surprising that he had unleashed a level-nine magic with his proximity to the realm of Magic Shooter. But the wind de and icicle had instead left a deep impression on Old Grimm.

    Skillful and precise mana control, amazing elemental sequencing speed... although it was just a wind de and icicle, from what Grimm Burnside saw, it was definitely more surprising than a level-ten magic. Mana control and elemental sequencing were the fundamental skills that every mage was required to learn.

    But it was only in his state that he understood how important these two fundamental skills were to a mage. It was likeying a solid foundation before building a house. Without a solid foundation, however tall and gorgeous the house might be, it could still copse overnight.

    As the magic level advanced, a mage¡¯s real strength was often judged by these fundamental things. A more precise control of mana and faster elemental sequencing could allow more variations and a quicker conjuration of magic.

    It was like Old Grimm and Andoine at present: they were both legendary mages, but if they were to battle it out... Old Grimm had no confidence at all. After all, he had spent too much time on pharmaceutics. Though Andoine was equally immersed in it, he spent far more time on magic skillspared to Grimm.

    In a battle of their level, the most fundamental thing had be the most decisive key to victory.

    But Old Grimm still had some degree of doubt about the young mage¡¯s level in pharmaceutics.

    He needed some time to verify whether this young mage was really a genius in pharmaceutics as what Andoine had said.

    If he was really as good as what Andoine had said, Old Grimm thought that he could give him a little guidance and even lead him into the Pharmacists Guild.

    As an important member of the Pharmacists Guild, Old Grimm was well aware of its current situation¡ªdecaying and withering day by day without any enterprise or energy. What the Pharmacists Guild needed the most now was fresh blood to tide over the possible crisis, and the young mage in front might well be a good solution...

 Chapter 58 - Discuss

    <h4>Chapter 58: Discuss</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But with Old Grimm¡¯s eminent status, it was impossible for him to step forward like the aunty with full bosom. He was the most famous mage of Jarrosus, so he naturally had the reserve of a legendary mage. Hence, after the brief self-introduction, he waited for Lin Li to speak.

    Unfortunately... Andoine hadpletely forgotten to tell him that the little fellow before him was a half-baked mage; not to mention Grimm Burnside, even if the God of Mages, Geresco, was standing in front of him, he would be ignorant of it and ask: who is Geresco?

    ¡°Uh... So you are the famous mage Grimm Burnside! I¡¯ve heard so much about you...¡± Under Old Grimm¡¯s reticent gaze, Lin Li looked appalled. He tried hard to squeeze out a pleasantly surprised expression on his face while secretly nudging Kevin, and asked in a very quiet voice, ¡°Who is Grimm Burnside?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Kevin had given up all hope upon hearing his words. While trying to hide the embarrassment on his face, he turned to face the other side, hoping to pretend that he didn¡¯t know Lin Li...

    ¡°...¡± A mage who reached the legendary realm had already surpassed the scope of this profession itself. As long as it was within the range of his mental powers, he could learn of anything he wanted. How could Lin Li¡¯s furtive whispers escape the eyes and ears of Old Grimm?

    Even with Old Grimm¡¯s indifference to fame and fortune, his face turned liver-colored when he heard Lin Li¡¯s whispers...

    But Old Grimm was someone who had lived for over a hundred years after all. Although he was embarrassed by Lin Li¡¯s question, he did not show it on his face. He merely chuckled with a self-deprecating expression. ¡°Heh heh... Looks like Andoine, that old fellow, didn¡¯t speak ill of me in front of you...¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Lin Liughed dryly, hoping to conceal his ignorance with it. Andoine indeed did not mention Grimm Burnside. Besides, he had made the old man memorize all kinds of potion forms back in the Sunset Mountains, and he was also forced by thetter to fight all kinds of magical beasts. Both were about to fall apart from exhaustion at the end of the day, where would they have the time to talk about some Grimm Burnside...

    Old Grimm shook his head resignedly. He could make out something judging from the young mage¡¯s reaction. This fellow had no idea who he was at all¡ªnot even what his achievements in pharmaceutics were.

    ¡°When we were in nna, Andoine has mentioned to me that other than your magical gifts, you are also a rare genius in pharmaceutics.¡± Hence, Old Grimm had to find something to talk about. ¡°Coincidentally, I¡¯m quite a decent pharmacist myself. If you like, maybe we can discuss pharmaceutics issues together.¡±

    The hall waspletely silent at Old Grimm¡¯s words. Everyone held their breaths, and it was as if their heartbeat had stopped.

    The banquet tonight was a real thrill for all the guests.

    They were startled twice in a row previously when Bathrilorunched the sneak attack, which was followed by Lin Li¡¯s retaliation. It was extremely risky, but fortunately there were no problems. Then, Lin Li¡¯s identity was exposed¡ªthe young man in the old mage robe was actually the mysterious pharmacist from the Guild of Magic!

    When the mage in gray robe came out to reveal his identity, the guests were thoroughly shocked. No one had expected themselves to be able to see the living legend in person.

    Even more so, they had never expected that Grimm Burnside would say words like ¡°discuss together¡± to a young mage.

    All the people present were either wealthy or respectable, and they were all prominent figures in Jarrosus. Even the lowest among them were the cronies of the leaders of a certain force. How could they not hear the meaning behind Old Grimm Burnside¡¯s words?

    They had even gotten jealous of Lin Li¡¯s good luck.

    Those words almost meant that Old Grimm had taken interest in a talent and would like to guide this young mage in pharmaceutics!

    Just think... He was one of the most important figures in the Pharmacists Guild. With the guidance of a master like him, it was not impossible to join the Pharmacists Guild in the future.

    The silence in the hall was frightening. Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Lin Li¡¯s face. They would like to see whether the young mage would be able to continue keeping his calm in front of a godsent of an opportunity like this.

    ¡°You tter me...¡± Lin Li smiled modestly. No one had expected to hear the words that followed. ¡°But I¡¯ve indeed encountered a lot of problemstely, so it would be great if I could talk to you about it. Do you have time now? Why don¡¯t we go over there for a drink?¡±

    As soon as Lin Li uttered these words, a few guests fainted right on the spot.

    Everyone looked at him as if they were looking at an idiot. Many had begun cursing in their hearts, <i>How did such an idiote out from the Guild of Magic? </i>It was such a good opportunity to be Master Grimm¡¯s apprentice and he literally wanted to discuss with the master? Damn your stupid discussion...

    Some were even suspecting that he was deranged after Bathrilor¡¯s sneak attack. How could such a clever-looking kid utter such idiotic words?

    ¡°Uh... I have time...¡± Old Grimm wiped his cold sweat off secretly. He was beginning to doubt Andoine¡¯s vision. However, he had already said the words and it wasn¡¯t good to take them back on the spot. He made up his mind to test Lin Li with a few difficult questions to see if he coulde up with some constructive ideas. If he was satisfied with the answers, he would guide him; if he was not satisfied, then he¡¯d use this as an excuse to leave...

    Lin Li lifted his head and nced around the banquet hall, only to find the ce a mess due to the sneak attacks he and Bathrilor made on each other. At the moment, there was not a clean and secluded ce in sight...

    Just as he was at a loss, Old Grimm stretched out his hand and pointed in a direction behind him. ¡°Let¡¯s sit there.¡±

 Chapter 59 - Sobriety Potion

    <h4>Chapter 59: Sobriety Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The legendary mage wanted to talk to Lin Li alone; who¡¯d be insensible enough to intrude? Although the guests were curious, they had to disperse... albeit slowly. At the instruction of the Casten, a servant came shortly to pick up Bathrilor, who was still in aa, and soon the banquet hall was restored to its previous state.

    The crystal chandeliers still emitted the soft light, and the music still sounded soothing and gentle.

    The fatty continued to introduce his daughter to Kevin; the aunty with the full bosom continued to speak coquettishly; the mercenary guests were still working hard to secure their personal gains, and deals were picked up where they were left off previously.

    It was as if the prior chaos had never happened before, and everything was back as it used to be at the beginning.

    A few folding screens separated the quiet corner which was slightly dim under the hazy crystal lights, providing a suitable ce for guests to talk about confidential matters. The old and young each found a chair to sit, and when they were about to speak, they were embarrassed to discover that there were others in the secluded corner. For a moment, both of them were stunned.

    The tears had dried on Rowling¡¯s pretty face. Before the startled eyes of both men, she called out timidly, ¡°Grandpa Grimm.¡±

    ¡°Heh heh, so it¡¯s little Rowling.¡± Old Grimm¡¯s smile was amiable, and the eyes that looked at Rowling were affectionate and kind. ¡°Come, tell Gramps, why are you sitting here alone?¡±

    Rowling nced at Lin Li with aplex expression on her flushed face and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s too noisy outside, I wanted to be alone...¡±

    ¡°Heh heh, thene and sit with Grandpa Grimm.¡± Old Grimm had taught Rowling some knowledge of pharmacy because of his friendship with her grandfather, but he was caught up with something else and did not have the time to teach her anymore. Nevertheless, he had always liked this little girl who was proficient in medicinal skills. He had even had the idea of bringing her into the Pharmacists Guild.

    In Old Grimm¡¯s mind, he was about to advise Lin Li anyway. It might be better to have the little girl sit in and listen as well, perhaps she could learn something. Despite his intentions, Old Grimm still asked Lin Li politely for his opinion. ¡°Kid, is it okay with you?¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± Since the old man had already spoken, Lin Li would not refute him in his face. Furthermore, it was not a secret matter; there was no harm letting Rowling listen to it.

    Lin Li shifted his chair to make room for Rowling. The three of them sat down again around the table. Old Grimm then nodded at Lin Li and signalled that he could ask his questions.

    ¡°Please have a look at this bottle of Sobriety Potion.¡± Lin Li pulled out a blue ss bottle from his pocket and passed it across to Grimm Burnside.

    ¡°Mm...¡± Old Grimm took the ss bottle. He removed the cap and brought the bottle close to his nose, taking in a slight whiff.

    Then, Rowling, who had been sitting there quietly, noticed the look on Old Grimm¡¯s face changed at once. It was a look of disbelief, as if what he had seen was not a blue ss bottle, but an elephant bitten to death by an ant.

    ¡°This is impossible. Is this really the Sobriety Potion?¡± Old Grimm¡¯s eyes were wide open; he looked at Lin Li with a face full of doubt. ¡°What¡¯s added in it?¡±

    ¡°Someherbloom, and a little dracaena grass.¡± Lin Li scratched his head, his expression troubled. ¡°Recently, I have been trying to increase the concentration of the Sobriety Potion. In order to make the Sobriety Potion possess a higher degree of purity, I¡¯ve tried over 30 kinds of herbs. In the end, I realized that if I mixherbloom together with the dracaena grass, I¡¯ll get a simr effect. But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Old Grimm was anxious at this point. He was a mage, so he knew very well what a concentrated Sobriety Potion would mean to mages¡ªa longer time to cast a spell and a faster recovery of the mana.

    The Sobriety Potion had been criticized for its short-lived effects; a bottle of Sobriety Potion could onlyst for ten seconds. Hence, even within the Pharmacists Guild, very few people would make the Sobriety Potion. Even if they asionally did concoct one or two bottles, they were usually given as alms to the Guild of Magic.

    When Lin Li said that he was ¡°trying to increase the concentration of the Sobriety Potion¡±, Old Grimm wanted to talk him out of it. The same attempts had been made by the Pharmacists Guild, but no one had achieved anything so far.

    The potion itself was an extremely sensitive thing. All kinds of conflicting medicinal properties maintained a delicate and fragile bnce in a small bottle of potion.

    In particr, prescriptions like the Sobriety Potion, which had been passed down from the Dark Ages, had long been proven ones that could not be improved.

    So, Old Grimm waspletely stunned when he opened the bottle cap. Just this bottle of Sobriety Potion was enough to subvert the knowledge of most pharmacists.

    He had always thought that the genius pharmacist in the words of Andoine¡¯s mouth was merely a young man with a gift in pharmaceutics; perhaps a little more gifted than Rowling, but definitely not by much, since Rowling was a rare talent after all.

    However, when Lin Li had finished his sentence, Old Grimm realized that he had been wrong, and he was ridiculously wrong at that.

    This young mage, Felic, was not a genius at all, but a potion master who had already achieved great sess. He even had a good chance to surpass the mastery level in a very short time.

    It was then that Old Grimm understood why this young mage Felic had been so brazen earlier to want to discuss with him...

    ... He was really qualified to do so. Lin Li had no intention to be an apprentice, nor had he thought of asking for advice. He simply considered Old Grimm as a peer for discussion.

    After he had straightened out the matters, Old Grimm could not help feeling his face burn despite having lived for over a hundred years... It felt as if he had rushed forward with excitement but was suddenly pped in the face. The embarrassment mingled with a sense of loss, so the look on Old Grimm¡¯s face was extremelyplicated.

    But Old Grimm was not like those young people in general. He had already lived for a hundred years and learnt to take things easy. That endless embarrassment was soon forgotten by him, and he turned his attention to discussing the Sobriety Potion with Lin Li.

    However, this time, Old Grimm did not dare to treat him as a junior who needed advice, but a potion master who was qualified for a discussion together.

 Chapter 60 - Ambition

    <h4>Chapter 60: Ambition</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°But...¡± Lin Li shook his head helplessly. ¡°After adding theherbloom and dracaena grass, the concentration for the Sobriety Potion was indeed increased, but it also has potent side effects. I¡¯ve tried drinking a little bit of itst time and it led to an extreme mental confusion. If it¡¯s the whole bottle...¡±

    ¡°So serious?¡± Old Grimm was slightly startled. A little of it would cause mental confusion; then, if one were to drink the whole bottle, wouldn¡¯t it cause aplete mental breakdown?

    ¡°Mm...¡± Lin Li nodded and spoke no more.

    He had been really vexed by ittely. Ever since he had concocted the Arcane Magic Potion, Gerian had been pestering him toe up with some other potions no matter how to enhance the strength of the mages in the Guild of Magic. Lin Li had given it some thought at that time and felt it necessary as well. Although the Guild of Magic had ultimately risen, its influence was contained only in Jarrosus City.

    Outside Jarrosus, there was a handful of forces hostile to the Guild of Magic, such as the one of the middle-aged man whom Lin Li had met when he first arrived in Jarrosus¡ªthe middle-aged man represented a force called the Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    Because there were many rare mineral veins in the Demon Fall Valley, many forces were coveting that fertilend. Among them, the Shadow¡¯s Nest was the most direct; they had asked the Guild of Magic several times to leave the Demon Fall Valley, and even assassinated several guild mages as a threat.

    The Guild of Magic today was far from being able to rest easy.

    Lin Li was not an ungrateful man. He knew most clearly how everyone in the Guild of Magic treated him. Gerian, in particr, had even bet the guild¡¯s future on him. At that point, Lin Li felt obligated to contribute to the guild.

    After a slight deliberation, he had chosen the Sobriety Potion.

    In terms ofbat effectiveness alone, the Sobriety Potion was the most cost-effective among the forms Lin Li knew.

    Three kinds of inexpensive herbs and an uplicated concoction process could produce an overstepping effect, plus a small amount of mana restoration.

    And in the process of preparation, Lin Li also had the most intuitive understanding of the shorings of the Sobriety Potion.

    Of course, these Sobriety Potions were enough for ordinary mages, especially the ones in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. That was the smell of Sobriety Potion that they might never get a whiff of in a decade. It was a good thing that they got to have a taste of it; how would they stillin that the effect¡¯s duration was too short?

    However, Lin Li, a pharmaceutics guru, would never be content with it. He had much more to consider than ordinary mages.

    Ever since he had be a guru of all five series, he had always wanted to go even further and enter the illusory realm of the Divine Smith.

    The near-infinite power of the Scroll of Wishes hadn¡¯t allowed him to enter directly into the realm of the Divine Smith, because the realm itself transcended the scope of knowledge and skills. This was more of an abstruse realm, and the phrase ¡°a skill approaching the practice of Tao¡± was most likely referring to such a dimension.

    It was because of this ambition that Lin Li had never stopped moving forward.

    Although he was already a guru of all five series and had already reached the peak of his profession, Lin Li knew very well that there was still the illusory Divine Smith beyond this peak.

    This was the difference between Lin Li and ordinary pharmacists.

    Almost all the pharmacists, including Grimm Burnside, followed the forms strictly. They had never considered the reasons why they had to do this or why they could not do that. They were bound by their imagination and dared not break the inherent rules. They might have the chance to reach the realm of a guru by their own efforts, but they would never be able to reach the realm of a Divine Smith.

    Afterpleting 100 bottles of Sobriety Potion, Lin Li had been wondering whether there was a way to prolong its effects.

    Increasing the concentration of the potion was undoubtedly the most direct way, so Lin Li performed a series of experiments.

    Unfortunately... At present, his experiments were a failure.

    At least, he couldn¡¯t solve the problem of mental confusion caused by the increased concentration.

    And Old Grimm, who was from the Pharmacists Guild, naturally became the best partner to have a discussion with.

    In order to discuss with Old Grimm, he could even tolerate Rowling¡¯s presence, which was a very rare thing with his obstinacy.

    Old Grimm thought for a very long time, but still could not quite grasp the reason behind it, so he asked in puzzlement, ¡°I can understand theherbloom is used for purification, but why do you add in the dracaena grass?¡±

    ¡°Besides being used for purifying, theherbloom also has the effect of stimting the growth of mental strength, which effect can be further amplified after heating. But the Sobriety Potion itself has the knot elixir which can also stimte the growth of mental strength. The addition ofherbloom will cause a loss in bnce of the medicinal properties, so I added the dracaena grass. When the potion reaches its boiling point, the calming effects of the dracaena grass will curb the medicinal properties of theherbloom...¡± Lin Li said as he dipped his hand in the red wine and listed down a few equations on the table to exin the whole process more clearly.

    Old Grimm listened attentively. It felt like he returned to decades ago, when he was still an apprentice, looking at his teacher with eyes full of the thirst for knowledge and listening to him exin mysterious andplex potion forms to himself. He hadpletely forgotten Lin Li¡¯s age and was simply immersed in the knowledge of potions.

    Rowling sat there quietly, listening to the conversation of the two men, but her gaze resting on Lin Li was moreplicated than before.

    She knew Lin Li was a pharmacist back at Ina¡¯s ce. But Rowling had not imagined that he would be qualified to discuss pharmaceutical knowledge with Grandpa Grimm, and even dominating the discussion to some degree!

    Rowling¡¯s pharmaceutical attainments hadpletely failed to keep up with their thinking. The equations listed down on the table were like Greek to her. But Rowling knew what kind of figure Grandpa Grimm was. He was someone of a mastery level, and even within the Pharmacists Guild, he was considered one of the most important members.

    Looking at the old man who was listening modestly at the moment, Rowling had some doubts in her mind. <i>Is this really Grandpa Grimm?</i>

    <i>If I could learn potion knowledge from him... </i>Rowling took another nce at Lin Li with aplex expression. The idea that had been abandoned earlier bred quietly in her heart once more, and this time, it was firmer than before.

 Chapter 61 - An Idea

    <h4>Chapter 61: An Idea</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The increased concentration of the Sobriety Potion leading to mental confusion after consumption was a veryplicated problem in itself. It involved almost astronomical changes and conflicts. Other than a pharmacist of the Divine Smith level, there was probably no one else who could grasp each and every change in the potion.

    The old and the young in the seats were considered top figures in pharmaceutics¡ªone was a master and the other a guru. But they had talked for a long time and yet still failed to figure out any solution. Instead, Old Grimm learnt a lot from the discussion. What he had never heard nor thought about before came up in his head all at once, and all kinds of unheard of novel theories had been an eye-opener for Old Grimm.

    As for Rowling, who was listening at the side, it all sounded Greek to her.

    She only had a superficial knowledge of potions anyway, and sitting in front of her were a master and a guru in pharmaceutics. What they were discussing was already beyond Rowling¡¯s understanding, so at the end, she simply couldn¡¯t hear what the two men were talking about. She merely sat there, looking at Lin Li with aplicated expression, many times about to speak but saying nothing in the end...

    ¡°Mage Felic, I¡¯ve got a few ideas these few days. Do you think it will work?¡± As the conversation went on, Old Grimm¡¯s tone changed from one of discussion to one of asking for advice.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Although the discussion failed to help solve the problems of the Sobriety Potion, Lin Li could feel from their conversation that Old Grimm really deserved the title of a master pharmacist. After all, it was decades of umted experience. There were some things that sounded new to a guru like him as well. Hearing that Old Grimm hade up with a question, Lin Li¡¯s interest was piqued as well. ¡°Tell me about it, maybe we can study about it together.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like that...¡±

    Old Grimm had just begun to speak when someone else walked into the secluded corner.

    Lin Li lifted his head and saw Kevin walking towards them with an anxious expression on his face. Something must have happened¡ªKevin looked tense and his footsteps were hurried; worry was written all over his fair face.

    ¡°Felic... Something has happened.¡±

    ¡°What happened? Don¡¯t rush, speak slowly.¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened at his words. Kevin had always acted with poise, possessing a demeanor that wouldn¡¯t flip even if a mountain copsed before his eyes. Lin Li had never seen him so flustered after being in the Guild of Magic for so long, especially when the first thing that he said was actually ¡°something has happened¡±!

    Lin Li knew very well that since Kevin said so, something had to have happened...

    ¡°Just now... Just now, there was news from the Demon Fall Valley that Shadow¡¯s Nest hadunched a sneak attack, killing a dozen mages and even injuring Uncle Gerian.¡± Kevin gasped for breath, finally making things clear.

    ¡°Shadow¡¯s Nest?¡± Lin Li knitted his brows and asked Kevin in a low voice, ¡°Who else in the guild knows about this?¡±

    ¡°Only you and me.¡±

    ¡°Return immediately!¡± Lin Li pushed his chair aside and said to Old Grimm apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mage Grimm. Something has cropped up in the guild, I have to return immediately. If you¡¯re still interested in studying potions together, you can find me at the Guild of Magic. I believe President Gerian will be very happy if he knows you¡¯reing.¡±

    ¡°Then I shall not hold you up anymore. In case...¡± Old Grimm hesitated slightly, then continued, ¡°In case there¡¯s anything you need help with, you can send someone to look for me at the Casten Mansion. I will be here these few days. Although I¡¯m getting on in years and not as useful aspared to a few years ago, I should still be able to help you with trivial matters.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in advance, Mage Grimm.¡±

    As this involved the lifeblood of the Guild of Magic, Lin Li dared not tarry further. After informing Isaac, he set off for the Guild of Magic with Kevin.

    Looking at Lin Li¡¯s receding figure, Rowling bit her lips lightly. Her eyes revealed aplicated emotion.

    ¡°Why, little Rowling?¡± A hint of smile appeared on Old Grimm¡¯s face. With his experience, how could he not see what was on Rowling¡¯s mind?

    Rowling bit her lips, and asked hesitantly after some time, ¡°Grandpa Grimm, are all potion masters unwilling to impart their knowledge to others?¡±

    ¡°How could it be? There are only two things that a true potion master is proud of in his whole life. One is concocting a new potion, and the other is finding a disciple who can inherit his knowledge. Just like Grandpa Grimm. I am over a hundred years old but I¡¯m still busying myself every day with trying to find a good apprentice...¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯vee today...¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it all because of Andoine, that old fellow¡¯s instigation. I was nning to take that young mage as my disciple. But who knew I¡¯d arrive here to see that he was at the level high enough to be my teacher...¡± At the mention of this, Old Grimm¡¯s beard curled with anger.

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Though Rowling was upset, she could not help giggling when she heard Old Grimm put it in such an interesting way. But after the giggle, there was a look of bashfulness on her face. ¡°Then, Grandpa Grimm, do you think I have the gift to be the disciple of a potion master?¡±

    ¡°Little Rowling is thinking of taking someone as your teacher?¡± Old Grimmughed slyly. ¡°I wonder who¡¯s the lucky one, getting to teach little Rowling. Let me guess... Anyway, it sure isn¡¯t me. Oh right, is it Mage Felic who has just left?¡±

    ¡°Grandpa Grimm...¡± Rowling¡¯s pretty face was beaming red, but her voice was somewhat bitter. ¡°But he doesn¡¯t want to teach me...¡±

    ¡°Why? You have the gift and possess medicinal knowledge. Where can he find such a decent disciple like you? Why is that kid unwilling to teach you? Tell Grandpa Grimm, I¡¯ll go look for him at the Guild of Magic tomorrow.¡±

    Pressed by Old Grimm, Rowling had no choice but to recount what had happened that day. Old Grimm¡¯s brows furrowed as he listened on, and when Rowling finished her story, Old Grimm let out a long sigh. ¡°No wonder I felt you two kids were behaving awkwardly just now, so that¡¯s what happened... But little Rowling, it was really you in the wrong. As a doctor, you can¡¯t be wilful, especially in a situation concerning the life and death of a patient.¡±

    ¡°I know that I was wrong, Grandpa Grimm.¡± Rowling¡¯s expression was aggrieved. ¡°But I¡¯ve apologized after that...¡±

    ¡°Why won¡¯t Grandpa Grimm give you an idea?¡±

    ¡°You have an idea?¡± Rowling beautiful eyes lit up at those words.

 Chapter 62 - Mole

    <h4>Chapter 62: Mole</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li had totally no idea what Old Grimm had in mind. He was in a hurry now.

    After returning to the Emerald Tower, both of them had been trying to contact Gerian. But on the crystal ball, there was not a single tree or stone of the Demon Fall Valley. The crystal ball in the Emerald Tower was ced by Gerian personally; it was connected to the Demon Fall Valley through a hundred Warlock¡¯s Eyes spells. Such situation would not be happening as long as there was even one Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Moreover, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes was a level-ten magic. With Gerian¡¯s level-fifteen strength, he could easily restore one with no effort.

    The fact that the crystal ball waspletely silent only meant that the battle in the Demon Fall Valley was far more intense than in the news Kevin had received.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Kevin¡¯s face was already strained after waiting for an hour in the guild¡¯s hall.

    ¡°We¡¯ll wait and see.¡± Lin Li hesitated slightly. ¡°If there is still no news by tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll have to make a trip down to Demon Fall Valley.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The two of them waited by the crystal ball till the wee hours. Just as the two of them were in a state of extreme anxiety, the crystal ball, which had been silent, lit up finally!

    ¡°Felic, look, there¡¯s news!¡±

    ¡°I see it!¡±

    Both of them rushed forward almost at the same time, only to see Gerian¡¯s chubby face.

    Gerian looked exceptionally haggard in the image within the crystal ball. His usually rosy face was now frighteningly pale and he looked short of breath. This was the result of an overexertion of the mental strength. The old fellow took some grass off his hair and forced a smile at the two of them. Only then did he say in a weak voice, ¡°Good morning...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Lin Li was worried sick; he was not in the mood for any greetings.

    ¡°What else can it be...¡± Gerian rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s all because of that rascal from the Shadow¡¯s Nest, looking for trouble in the Demon Fall Valley of all ces.¡±

    ¡°What about now?¡±

    ¡°Now? I just brought a bunch of people with me to fight back. I guess things will quiet down for the next ten or more days. Eiserhol, that jerk, really doesn¡¯t know how the word death is spelled. Just watch, I¡¯ll flip the Shadow¡¯s Nest over sooner orter...¡±

    Seeing how Gerian still had the energy for big talk, the two of them who had been waiting in the hall for half the night were relieved atst.

    ¡°All¡¯s well as long as nothing happened to you. Other matters can wait till youe back. I¡¯m deadbeat now after waiting for you for so long. You can restore the Warlock¡¯s Eyes slowly, I¡¯ll go sleep first...¡±

    ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll go to sleep too...¡±

    ¡°Hey! Hey! I¡¯ve not finished... You two little rascals, this is too much!¡±

    ...

    Gerian returned to the Emerald Tower at noon the next day.

    Gerian walked into the guild¡¯s hall with a murderous look on his face, asking people to find out where Kevin was. Unfortunately, Kevin knew he¡¯d return today, so he had hidden away from the Guild of Magic early in the morning. Gerian couldn¡¯t find him anywhere in the Emerald Tower, and atst he had no choice but to knock on Lin Li¡¯s door.

    ¡°So early?¡± Lin Li had waited almost the whole night for news the day before and didn¡¯t wake up until noon today. He opened the door for Gerian with a sleepy face.

    ¡°I hurried back after I¡¯ve restored the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open on the road...¡± Gerian walked into the room andy down on Lin Li¡¯s bed regardless of his protests. ¡°It¡¯s sofortable lying down...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, take a nap first. I¡¯ll let you have the bed...¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t sleep yet.¡± Geriany for a while, then sat up from the bed. ¡°The more I think about what happened in the Demon Fall Valley, the more it feels wrong. I won¡¯t sleep today if I don¡¯t get to the bottom of it!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Warlock¡¯s Eyes.¡± Perhaps it was due to him being over-exhausted, but Gerian¡¯s voice sounded slightly hoarse. ¡°Damn it, there were so many Warlock¡¯s Eyes; even I can¡¯t remember clearly where they were. How did the people from the Shadow¡¯s Nest know?

    ¡°Anyhow, something must be wrong. 125 Warlock¡¯s Eyes were destroyed almost at the same time and the Shadow¡¯s Nest arrived soon after, killing a dozen of our mages in the blink of an eye. If it hadn¡¯t been for my timely action, who knows how long the situation would have dragged on...¡±

    ¡°Could it be... They, too, have mages helping them?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible. The Shadow¡¯s Nest has been expanding ferociously these few years, and could have recruited a few scums...¡± Gerian pondered, then shook his head and dismissed the spection. ¡°But it still isn¡¯t right. There were 125 Warlock¡¯s Eyes. Even I myself couldn¡¯t have possibly destroyed them all at the same time. If the Shadow¡¯s Nest really has such a formidable character, why would they still do a sneak attack? They could just kill me directly.

    ¡°Other than the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, there was something else that¡¯s abnormal too... These few years, because of the Shadow¡¯s Nest, I¡¯ve spent a great deal of effort on the Demon Fall Valley. Apart from the 125 Warlock¡¯s Eyes, about 20 additional sentry posts were set up as well. Butst night, these 20 sentry posts were as if nonexistent. The people of the Shadow¡¯s Nest had sneaked in all the way, but I didn¡¯t even receive any news...¡±

    At this point, Lin Li sort of understood what Gerian was trying to say. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes were destroyed all of a sudden and the people from the Shadow¡¯s Nest had gotten ahold of the way to bypass the sentry posts. Almost all the signs were pointing to within the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Mole!¡± Gerian made his judgment with clenched teeth. ¡°There¡¯s definitely a mole!¡±

    ¡°No wonder you rushed back early in the morning...¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯m worried there will be a greater disaster if I don¡¯t get rid of these guys.¡±

    ¡°You have a clue?¡±

    ¡°Not currently. But it¡¯s not hard to look into. Apart from me, you, and Kevin, anyone that has ess to the secret of the Warlock¡¯s Eyes has to be at least a Magic Shooter. And then, think again, among the Magic Shooters, who is the most likely to betray the guild?¡±

    ¡°Or, who are the people unhappy with you?¡± Lin Li had understood at this point.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    In that instant, both of them were invigorated. Gerian did not sleep; the old and the young conspired in the room to catch the mole. The discussion between the two mensted until the evening. When Gerian was unable to hold out, Lin Li helped him pull up the nket and quietly walked out of the bedroom.

 Chapter 63 - Extortion of Confession

    <h4>Chapter 63: Extortion of Confession</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian was truly furious this time. At dawn the next day, he went out with all the Magic Shooters from the guild.

    Such a terrifying force emerging from the Emerald Tower had shaken up Jarrosus City in an instant. The leaders of the various forces were trying desperately to get information about the situation, afraid that they would draw Gerian¡¯s fury to themselves. The Casten Mansion was in a state of panic, thinking that Gerian hade because of what had happened at the banquet and was leading a troop of men looking for revenge. Isaac asked for protection from Old Grimm while loading Bathrilor onto the carriage, sending him back to nna on the same day.

    ... Until, around noon, all the forces suddenly realized that it was a false rm.

    It was as if Gerian was out for a stroll. After turning a round in Jarrosus City, he quietly brought the men back again. He was simply toying with them. The leaders of the dozens of forces broke out in curses: that old bastard Gerian had nothing to do, bringing so many people with him out for a stroll... could he be any more ostentatious?

    Of course, no one dared to say it in front of Gerian. Every one of them was scrambling to hide from the fat pestilence when they saw hime out; who still had the guts to provoke him in his face?

    Hence, no one had noticed that there was an unfamiliar face among the group of Magic Shooters he led...

    ¡°Now you can speak, who made you do it?¡± In the basement of the Guild of Magic, Gerian¡¯s chubby face was livid.

    He was interrogating a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties. His eyes were swollen, but the mages present who had good memory mostly recognized this middle-aged man.

    When Lin Li had first arrived at the Guild of Magic, Gerian had caused a lot of dissatisfaction within the guild in order to open up the highest privileges for him. Among them, the most vehement opposition came from several Magic Shooters, who even threatened to withdraw from the guild in order to pressure Gerian.

    Who knew they would go for wool ande back shorn. Gerian¡¯s obstinacy acted up and he drove them out of the guild instead.

    And the middle-aged man turned out to be one of the few Magic Shooters who were driven out by him. His name was something like Luke.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Gerian¡¯s face was gloomy and his eyes looked as if they were about to be aze. ¡°Then I guess you¡¯d surely not know of the Shadow¡¯s Nest, or even the positions of those 125 Warlock¡¯s Eyes? As for the route that bypasses the sentry posts, it was surely not you who¡¯d sold it to the Shadow¡¯s Nest?¡±

    ¡°Gerian, I don¡¯t belong to the Guild of Magic anymore. What right do you have to keep me in captivity?¡±

    ¡°Who the f*ck cares whether you belong to the Guild of Magic?¡± Gerian¡¯s expression was ferocious, and his angry roar echoed in the basement for a long while. ¡°I am seeking revenge now. Seeking revenge, you understand? Go out and scream that the Guild of Magic has kept you captive, see whether anyone dares to speak up for you. Still talking about what damn rights... do I need them?

    ¡°Let me tell you, don¡¯t think that you can muddle through this by ying dead. You¡¯re still waiting for the people of the Shadow¡¯s Nest to save you, right? Dream the hell on. You¡¯re merely a tool, a tool that can only be used once! After they¡¯ve used it once, they¡¯ll never be able to use it again. Do you think they wille and save something that is worthless?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t malign me... Gerian... You have no proof...¡±

    ¡°You want proof?¡± Gerian pondered for a while, and admitted, ¡°Alright. I really don¡¯t have any proof. But it¡¯s okay. I am seeking revenge, and seeking revenge does not need any proof...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was sweating cold sweat while listening at a side. ¡°Is an extortion of confession like how you do it...?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it. He won¡¯t talk,¡± Gerian answered boldly. ¡°It¡¯s alright if he won¡¯t talk. Anyway, this could only be done by the few of them. Other than them, who else in the guild would do that?¡±

    Gerian¡¯s words might sound crude, but his reasoning was sound.

    Right now, the Guild of Magic dominated Jarrosus City, and even the Casten had to offer his friendship. Wherever the guild¡¯s mages went, they¡¯d receive the most generous treatment; even in the Gilded Rose, the equipment they bought would be given at least a 30 percent discount.

    Since the auction, the benefits had never ceased.

    First, there were the 100 sets of magical equipment gifted by the Mannes Family. They were excellent equipment worth 20,000 to 30,000 gold coins each. With a wave of his hands, Gerian sent it all to the mages in the guild. As long as they¡¯d reached the level of a Magic Shooter, they¡¯d be qualified to apply for a set.

    And not long after, it was another 100 bottles of Sobriety Potion.

    On the day the news was announced, a group of elderly mages was thrilled to tears on the spot. They could not remember how many years it had been since they had had a whiff of the Sobriety Potion. When they returned with a bottle of Sobriety Potion in their hands, they felt as if they were living in heaven.

    It was no exaggeration to say that as long as Lin Li was in the Guild of Magic, no mage would be willing to leave.

    What could the Shadow¡¯s Nest give them? It was nothing but money and equipment. The Guild of Magic had nock of these. Every year, millions of gold coins were collected from the Demon Fall Valley; and now, 100 sets of equipment were provided at once, and various kinds of potions were distributed continuously. Bathed in such great happiness, who¡¯d be willing to leave?

    Perhaps only the few Magic Shooters kicked out of the guild would be that down-and-out to the point of betraying the secrets of the Guild of Magic.

    Granted, strictly speaking, this would indeed not be considered a betrayal. After being kicked out by Gerian, they had no more connections with the Guild of Magic. Selling the secrets to the Shadow¡¯s Nest would only count as revenge on the Guild of Magic at most.

    However, Gerian would not care about these. Whether it was betrayal or revenge, it had dealt damage to the interests of the Guild of Magic. Damaging the interests of the Guild of Magic would be equivalent to damaging his own interests, and the one who damaged his interests had to be destroyed¡ªsuch was Gerian¡¯s logic...

    ¡°Forget it, let me handle this matter.¡± Lin Li knew Gerian¡¯s character too well. He was afraid this unlucky Magic Shooter wouldn¡¯t say things right, getting Gerian all riled up to the point of sting a fireball at him, and then they¡¯d have nothing left at all.

    Gerian was surprised. ¡°You know how to extort a confession?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Li shook his head. He fumbled about in his pockets and pulled out a ss bottle. ¡°But it knows.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make a trip to the potionb for a while, don¡¯t touch him for now,¡± Lin Li reminded Gerian before he left the basement.

    ¡°Mm, I¡¯ll listen to you this time.¡± Gerian watched Lin Li leave, and threatened the unlucky Magic Shooter in a gloating manner, ¡°Retard, you were given a chance just now but didn¡¯t know how to grasp it. Now, you¡¯ve roused that kid. He may look gentle, but his strikes are more savage than mine. You¡¯ve forced him to take action in person; who knows what kind of sick potion he¡¯ll concoct this time. Maybe it¡¯s the kind that itches and festers all over and takes a year of pain before dying...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The middle-aged man felt chill in his body as he listened to Gerian¡¯s horrifying description. But he was still holding out.

    Because there was one thing that even Gerian would not have guessed. He did not sell the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley to Shadow¡¯s Nest; instead, he sold it to someone else, and that someone else had promised he could worry not about the guild¡¯s revenge, because the Guild of Magic would be uprooted by him soon.

    ¡°Still won¡¯t talk? Forget it; even if you want to speak now, I won¡¯t listen to it. Anyway, that kid would be concocting the potion in a moment. You¡¯d evene clean about the age you had your first wet dreams.¡±

    Lin Li, who was busy in the potionb, had no idea how Gerian was intimidating the unlucky Magic Shooter.

    He was meticulously calcting the dose of the potion now. This was the first time he¡¯d actually concocted the Fear Potion since he had gotten hold of the form, so he was naturally more prudent in the process.

    Any person would have some negative emotions hidden in his heart. The effect of the Fear Potion was to trigger these negative emotions and magnify them indefinitely. Among the three ingredients, the nightmare seed and devil¡¯s tears possessed a simr effect. After mixing them, the effect would be greatly enhanced. In order to avoid excessive fear leading to a mental breakdown, a certain amount of peacebloom was added to calm the mind.

    The sus from the nightmare seed was boiling in the beaker. Lin Li held a peacebloom in his hand, gingerly plucking the petals one by one. This was a very crucial process. Excessive amounts of peacebloom would seriously reduce the effect of the Fear Potion; if there were too little peacebloom, it would not achieve the purpose of calming the mind. So, every time Lin Li tore a petal off, he would gently shake the beaker and wait for the petal to dissolve fully in the potion before judging whether the dose was enough ording to the color.

    After all, this was his first concoction of this kind¡ªunlike the Arcane Magic Potion, where the result could be judged by experience alone.

    When the seventh peacebloom petal was added, the nightmare seed sus in the beaker began to turn turbid. Lin Li knew that it was a sufficient dosage of the peacebloom, so he picked up a devil¡¯s tears from his pocket.

    The devil¡¯s tears was a kind of ck fruit about the size of the pinky. It tasted bitter and astringent, and if consumed directly, it would create all sorts of horrifying illusions. Unless a tranquilizing drug was taken, one would never be able to get out of this illusion, and would continue to be tormented until he finally broke down.

    Lin Li pulled out the silver knife from the Ring of Endless Storm and gently cut off the skin of the devil¡¯s tears. When he saw a drop of sus about to spill, he quickly dropped it into the beaker.

    A plume of mist rose up instantly. The potion fused with the sus of the devil¡¯s tears immediately filled the potionb with an intoxicating fragrance. It was a rather unique aroma, like one of a vintage wine that was too thick to diffuse and full of deadly allure.

    Bearing the temptation of the fragrance, Lin Li poured the contents of less than half of the beaker into the ss bottle he had prepared and then secured the bottle opening tightly.

 Chapter 64 - Mastermind

    <h4>Chapter 64: Mastermind</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When he returned to the basement, he overheard Gerian threatening the unlucky Magic Shooter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t me me for not reminding you. You don¡¯t have much time left. When that kides out of the potionb, I¡¯m really afraid that it¡¯ll be toote for you to cry...¡±

    ¡°Cry what?¡± Lin Li heard Gerian ndering him upon entering the door.

    ¡°Heh... Nothing, nothing. How did the concoction go? If it¡¯s not done yet, you can go and study it over again. Such a thing like extorting a confession, I can do it as well...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still going to do it?¡± Lin Li was startled. ¡°Another move by you and this guy will be scared to death...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing this for his own good!¡± The old fellow just had to boast shamelessly. Lin Li came to the Magic Shooter with the ss bottle in his hand.

    ¡°Do you drink it yourself, or do I feed you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The shameless intimidation by Gerian had cast a shadow of potions in the middle-aged man¡¯s heart. When he saw Lin Liing over with the ss bottle in his hand, he was scared out of his wits at once, shaking his head desperately while subconsciously retreating backward. But he had only retreated a few steps when his body pressed against the cold wall.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s heart was cold, just like the wall behind him. His Magic Shooter strength was useless, having his mana sealed by Gerian. Now, he was no better than an ordinary man. He could only watch Lin Li open the bottle cap and let the intoxicating fragrance pervade the basement...

    ¡°You actually want me to feed you?¡± Lin Li frowned, his hand gripping the middle-aged man¡¯s chin. ¡°The don¡¯t me me for being too rough...¡±

    ¡°I... I...¡± The middle-aged man really wanted to cry. He was a Magic Shooter, highly respected everywhere he went. However, at present, he was held by the chin by a young mage who wasn¡¯t over 20 years of age who even threatened to douse him with the potion violently...

    ¡°You¡¯ll really drink it on your own?¡± Lin Li nced at him skeptically, yet warned him kindly, ¡°You¡¯d better not have any tricks up your sleeves. I¡¯ve concocted a few dozen bottles of this potion altogether. If you break this bottle, don¡¯t me me for dousing you with bottle after bottle. I won¡¯t care if anything bad happens then.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The unlucky Magic Shooter was about to break the bottle upon receiving it, but his hand froze in mid-air when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words. After weighing the gains and losses, the middle-aged man, trembling, eventually brought the ss bottle to his lips. Atst, he epted his fate, and with his eyes closed, he gulped the bottle of potion down...

    ¡°Drink slowly, won¡¯t be good to choke on it...¡± Lin Li reminded him kindly again, then turned to Gerian and said, ¡°You do your interrogation slowly. I¡¯m going out to take a breather first, let me know when there¡¯s news.¡±

    After sitting in the hall for less than half an hour, Lin Li saw the basement door open. Gerian emerged with a look of fear on his face, and the mages who followed behind revealed an expression of awe when they looked at Lin Li.

    Gerian found a chair to sit in and asked Lin Li with lingering fear, ¡°What potion did you give him, why is it so brutal? I¡¯ve only asked him casually and that fellow spilled everything out while begging for forgiveness, asking me to have mercy on him. Damn it, I¡¯ve never even done much to him...¡±

    ¡°The Fear Potion is like that, indefinitely magnifying all kinds of negative emotions. Anything would fill him with fear. Maybe you were tormenting him with various kinds of savage tortures in his fantasy...¡± Lin Li casually mentioned the effects of the Fear Potion and then asked curiously, ¡°So, what exactly did he say?¡±

    ¡°Simply put, these three bastards were unhappy with me kicking them out of the guild. Then, someone offered a high price as a lure, so they coolly sold the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley.¡± At this point, Gerian sighed guiltily. ¡°If we were to pursue this matter, it¡¯s actually my fault. After I had driven them out of the guild, I should have adjusted the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley. The three of them had actually replenished the mana of 125 Warlock¡¯s Eyes back then, and those 20 sentry posts were actually arranged by the three of them as well... But I got so busy with the auction that I totally forgot about it. Plus, I actually thought that the Shadow¡¯s Nest wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with the Guild of Magic... Then it turned out to be such a big matter...¡±

    ¡°It is indeed your negligence...¡± Lin Li nodded.

    ¡°Apart from him, the other two fellows were the aplices. But consider them lucky today that I didn¡¯t manage to pull them out when I went out this morning. ording to this guy, they¡¯ve sought refuge with one of the forces of Jarrosus City, but I¡¯ve yet to confirm whether that is true. Looks like we have to hold another auction another day¡ªI¡¯ve got to dig those fellows out no matter how...¡±

    ¡°Quit counting on me!¡± Lin Li knew what the old fellow was thinking upon hearing his words. He did not want to spend his days in the potionb. It was not easy for him toe to a totally unfamiliar world; there were still many ces he had not ventured to, many things that he had not tried. How would he be content with staying in the potionb all day?

    ¡°Just saying. Never mind, let¡¯s not talk about this. Let¡¯s talk about business...¡± Gerian pursed his lips and then lowered his voice. ¡°You¡¯ll never imagine who bought the defense arrangement of the Demon Fall Valley from him...¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Evan¡ªMatthew¡¯s hussy brother!¡±

    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s got guts!¡± Lin Li was astounded, but quickly calmed down. ¡°Evan Merlin¡¯s that stupid? This is such a shady business, he could have sent someone to do it for him. How could he be so stupid to do it personally and even be identified?¡±

    ¡°Evan didn¡¯t go personally, but sent a low-level mage to contact him. But this fellow was not assured after the contact, so he secretly tailed the person Evan sent. Just think, he has the strength of a Magic Shooter¡ªit¡¯s nothing for him to tail a low-level mage. So after tailing him, he found out who was the mastermind behind it...¡±

    ¡°This fellow has saved us some trouble indeed...¡± Lin Li mulled over it carefully. The Merlin Family was really weird. Ever since the battle with Gerian, Matthew had disappeared from the scene, and even Cromwell had not shown his face in front of anyone. The only thing that was rted to them was the 800,000 gold coins deal at the auction.

    ¡°Saved trouble?¡± Gerian swore as he grumbled, ¡°The Merlin Family is sure to have something to do with the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Darn, I¡¯ve got a headache just thinking about it. One Shadow¡¯s Nest is trouble enough, now there¡¯s the Merlin Family...¡±

    ¡°An enemy in the dark is a terrifying thing. Since we know who is looking for trouble now, this matter is much simpler. Why, could it be that... you¡¯re afraid of Old Merlin?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid of him?¡± Gerian red and was about to utter something crude when he thought of the battle outside Emerald Tower and smiled embarrassedly. ¡°But he¡¯s surely not afraid of me too. If it wasn¡¯t for your Awakening Potionst time, I¡¯d probably be dead in his hands...¡±

    ¡°What can one bottle do? I¡¯m nning to give you a bag of it this time. Even if you drink one and toss the other one away, you can still tire him out to death!¡± Lin Li said with clenched teeth, and then asked Gerian again, ¡°Oh, right, how long is it until my duel with Cromwell?¡±

    ¡°Not many days left. But that kid is a useless bum, no need to worry.¡±

    ¡°Hard to say... Old Merlin is not an idiot. Since he dared to put in such a request, he must have his own n. I need to seize the time and enhance my magic level. It¡¯d be best if I can reach the Magic Shooter level before the duel, then I¡¯ll have more confidence to deal with Cromwell. Do you have any ways to enhance the magic level in the shortest time?¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Gerian gave Lin Li an angry re. ¡°If there was a way to enhance the magic level in the shortest time, would dozens of bottles of Arcane Magic Potion be selling for millions of gold coins...?

    ¡°No, now I remember, there is indeed such a way!¡± Gerian hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when he suddenly recalled something. ¡°I¡¯ve read about it in a magic book some time ago. The High Elves have a way to enhance the magic level by force. It is said that the highest level it can go is by five levels. But after the enhancement by force, the person¡¯s potential for life will bepletely exhausted, and there will never be any progress...¡±

    ¡°You can keep it to yourself. I¡¯ll just drink a few more bottles of potion when the timees to keep it safe...¡±

    ¡°Why are you suddenly cing such great importance on this duel?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to worry about the Merlin Family doing something behind our backs when we¡¯re dealing with the Shadow¡¯s Nest...¡±

    Gerian couldn¡¯t help the surprise showing on his face when he heard it. ¡°You want to deal with the Merlin Family?¡±

    ¡°Not me...¡± Lin Li shook his head and smiled innocently. ¡°The person who is going to deal with the Merlin Family is the Archmage, President Gerian. Starting tomorrow, President Gerian will beunching aprehensive crackdown on the Merlin Family. By the time ites to the duel, Old Merlin will probably be mad as hell and would vent it all on me. I think I¡¯d better bring a few more bottles of potions to protect myself...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The two bastards were discussing how to deal a blow to the Merlin Family when they heard a guild¡¯s magee forward to inform them that Mage Grimm Burnside came.

    ¡°Grimm Burnside!¡± Gerian seemed to have been struck by lightning as he sat dazed on the chair for a long while before stammering out his instructions, ¡°Hur... Hurry... Hurry and invite Mage Grimm Burnside in!¡±

 Chapter 65 - Retaliation

    <h4>Chapter 65: Retaliation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian immediately went out with excitement when he heard about the legendary mage¡¯s visit, but halfway through, he stopped as doubt came over him. ¡°Grimm Burnside never had any dealings with the Guild of Magic, why would he suddenlye calling?¡±

    The mage who had passed on the message swallowed his saliva and replied with seemingly much difficulty, ¡°Said... said he came to see Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Gerian stared at Lin Li with jealousy. ¡°How did you know Grimm Burnside?¡±

    ¡°He attended the banquet at the Casten Mansion a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°Damn! Kid, your luck is extraordinary. There are only two legendary mages in Jarrosus and you know them both...¡±

    Gerian grunted as he walked out of the Emerald Tower. He saw Grimm Burnside standing below the stairs in his gray mage robe and quickly put on a warm smile on his face. ¡°Wee, wee. The Jarrosus Guild of Magic is deeply honored by Mage Grimm¡¯s visit to the Emerald Tower.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite, President Gerian.¡± Old Grimm still had the gentle smile on his face. He then directed his smile at Lin Li. ¡°Long time no see, Mage Felic.¡±

    The three men exchanged greetings below the stairs, and Gerian solemnly escorted Old Grimm into the guild hall. For the Guild of Magic, Grimm Burnside¡¯s visit was truly a sensational event. Even Gerian, who was usually arrogant, dared not show a slight negligence; the reception was of the highest ss, enough to make the leaders of all the forces in Jarrosus red-eyed with envy.

    In order to receive Grimm Burnside, Gerian had summoned all the mages in the guild; even those stationed far away in the Demon Fall Valley were to pass on their wee message through the crystal ball in the hall. The scene was spectacr and lively, and even Grimm Burnside, who had lived for over a hundred years and regarded all things lightly, couldn¡¯t help but like Gerian a little more.

    Looking at Gerian beaming away, Lin Li was worried for the leaders of the various forces in Jarrosus in spite of himself. Gerian had deliberately made it sensational so that news of this day¡¯s event could spread as far as possible. When the leaders of the 17 forces knew that the legendary mage had visited them, who knew how terrified they¡¯d be...

    After the impressive weing ceremony, Old Grimm and Lin Li went into the potionb to continue the unfinished discussion they had had on the day of the banquet.

    This time, Gerian, who always liked to be involved, did not follow them in.

    He was in the guild hall, delivering a speech to all the mages.

    The speech took a long time, but the content circled around a single topic¡ªthe Merlin Family and the Shadow¡¯s Nest had joined hands!

    Such were Gerian¡¯s words: ¡°You bunch of fellows are going to rot staying in the Emerald Tower for the whole day. From today onwards, everyone must hang around Jarrosus City. What you want to do is up to you; as long as it makes the Merlin Family ufortable, I will support it all. Whoever has the ability to do away with the bastard, Matthew, I will reward him with a year¡¯s worth of profits from the Demon Fall Valley!¡±

    The Guild of Magic had put up with Gerian as long as the number of years he had been the president. Among the mages present, who had never experienced the contemptuous looks from others? Each and every one of the 17 forces in Jarrosus City had dared to throw their weight around the Guild of Magic. And among them, the Merlin Family had demanded from the guild time and again; even someone like Cromwell had dared toe up and demand that Gerian kick Lin Li out of the guild.

    No matter how wise or how calm a mage was, it was inevitable to be antagonized in face of such reality.

    After so many years of tolerance, the anger umted in their hearts was enough to ignite the entire Emerald Tower. And with the rise of the Guild of Magic, the fury in their hearts grew day by day. When the Shadow¡¯s Nestunched that surprise attack on the Demon Fall Valley, that fury was pushed to the peak. The Guild of Magic had been silent for these two days, but everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

    And now, Gerian¡¯s words hadpletely ignited the Guild of Magic.

    There were 36 Magic Shooters and 113 mages in the Emerald Tower, in addition to the people who were stationed in the Demon Fall Valley. The mage apprentices below level-five were numerous, and by the afternoon, nearly half of them were driven out to the city by Gerian.

    A terrible chaos was caused with such a force swarming into the city of Jarrosus.

    Just this afternoon, the Merlin Family¡¯s businesses in Jarrosus City had suffered huge losses.

    First, a fire was started in several industries located in the city center. Then, a few mysterious mages appeared in the casinos the Merlins ran with the Blood Brotherhood. It was obvious that the mages hade to make trouble, because they were utterly arrogant.

    ¡°Who is in charge of this casino?¡± The few mages demanded to see the casino¡¯s in-charge as soon as they entered. The men from the Blood Brotherhood went out to have a look, just to see they were people from the Guild of Magic. Who in Jarrosus City would dare to provoke them now? So they fled through the backdoor, leaving behind a few men from the Merlin Family who had no choice but to face them.

    ¡°Damn it, when are you going to return us the money you borrowed?¡±

    ¡°What... what money?¡±

    The man from the Merlin Family only hesitated slightly and the few fellows who were at least the level of a Magic Shooter suddenly turned hostile. This was simply worse than a beast, totally not giving the other party a chance to admit they were wrong before smashing the casino with their magic powers, then finishing it off by igniting a fire before they left to look for another target...

    The most immoral of them all was undoubtedly the gang consisting of more than a dozen mages.

    This bunch of fellows turned around the city but couldn¡¯t find a ce to start, so they went out of Jarrosus City, straight to the Mariana Canal. When they saw the Merlin Family¡¯s merchant ship in the middle of the canal, their eyes shed like a hungry beast¡¯s seeing its prey.

    Each of them downed a bottle of Sobriety Potion and a wave of spell recitation resounded.

    Before people on the merchant ship could react, a monstrous ze rose to the skies. That dozen of mages joined hands to unleash a level-eight ming Storm. To the people from the Merlin Family, it was like the end of the world. Countless fire dragons raged and roared, and the zing mes devoured the huge merchant ship in a single instant.

    The people on board were lucky enough to escape with a few small sampans. But the goods that were worth millions of gold coins on the merchant ship were burned to ashes by the fire...

 Chapter 66 - Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 66: Sacrifice</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The news soon spread through the whole Jarrosus City like wind.

    Everyone was bbergasted, including Casten Isaac. They were shocked by the Guild of Magic¡¯s high-handedness. To them, the Guild of Magic now was absolutely an unreasonable bandit. All the while, the forces in Jarrosus had been able to maintain a semnce of calm because everything was done behind closed doors.

    The struggle between the major forces had always existed, but no one had dared to put it on the table.

    Often, there were two forces fighting in secret, but when the two leaders met, they would talk harmoniously about wine and roses. It was like when the auction was held¡ªof all the various forces present, who did not have any enmity with another? But under the seduction of the 33 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the auction still went smoothly and no one was killed on the spot.

    Everyone knew that the Guild of Magic had the supremacy in Jarrosus now.

    But no one could have imagined that they would be so arrogant and insolent,pletely disregarding the rules of the game and directly putting the fight on the table. In just one afternoon, the Guild of Magic wiped out more than 20 businesses of the Merlin Family. These included several casinos ran jointly with the Blood Brotherhood and two merchant ships moored in the canal.

    This afternoon alone, the Merlin Family lost countless gold coins.

    For a while, all the forces were outraged, especially the Blood Brotherhood which had several casinos smashed by the guild¡¯s mages. Aaron Matsis almost had an heart attack from the rage. ¡°F*ck you, Gerian! You¡¯re seeking death like this. If you continue to do this, we¡¯ll all just have to die together!¡±

    But in the face of Gerian¡¯s anger, who would dare to go to the Emerald Tower to reason with him?

    The leaders of the dozens of forces were not idiots. The incident that happened at the Demon Fall Valley and the Guild of Magic¡¯s revenge on the Merlin Family... it was obvious what was the connection between them. Everyone knew that Gerian was retaliating, so who would be that ignorant to offer themselves up in such a sensitive time?

    The chaos did not subside until evening.

    At this time, the Merlin Family was already in disorder. When news came in the afternoon, anger had seized Old Merlin¡¯s heart and he fainted right on the spot. When he woke up, his face was still livid as he ordered the servants to call for his brother, Evan.

    ¡°Look at what you¡¯ve done!¡± Old Merlin seemed to have aged several decades after he woke up. The ever-energetic Matthew looked so old and weak at the moment.

    ¡°Big Brother... Let me exin...¡±

    ¡°Exin?¡± Old Merlin¡¯s face was leaden, and his somewhat murky eyes stared fixedly at Evan. ¡°How many times have I told you? Things must be done cleanly and never leave any tail behind; look at what you have done? Of the three traitors from the Guild of Magic, two have been poached by other forces, and the remaining one is even more impressive, getting found by the Guild of Magic. I really can¡¯t understand, what exactly are you trying to do? Why did you not silence him? Do you think the Merlin Family today can still be as reckless as we were in the past?¡±

    Evan opened his mouth, trying to defend himself. ¡°I¡¯ve only wanted to give it a shot, see if I could persuade them to work for the family. After all, they are Magic Shooters... It¡¯s a pity to kill them off. I¡¯m doing it for the sake of the family...¡±

    ¡°For the sake of the family? Hahaha...¡± Old Merlinughed in anger; streaks of blood were apparent in his eyes. ¡°Now, are you happy? Just this afternoon, the Merlin Family has been greatly undermined. Do you know how much we have lost in the afternoon? Including the two ships in the canal, it¡¯s a total of 3,700,000 gold coins! Evan... It¡¯s 3,700,000 gold coins... Is the family earning so much in one year? And the two merchant ships were the ones that helped the Duke smuggle his goods. Fario had a hard time setting this up for us, but after what happened, do you think the Duke will still be willing to trust us?¡±

    Evan waspletely dumbfounded hearing the huge figure.

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Old Merlin sighed heavily, his expression dejected. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this first. To be honest, I have to bear a little responsibility too. I knew you have been indecisive since young, but I still allowed you to handle this matter... How¡¯s Cromwelltely?¡±

    ¡°Cromwell is improving fast. He has reached level-twelve yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Not bad...¡± There was finally a glimmer of relief on Old Merlin¡¯s face when he heard the news, but his expression turned gloomy at once. ¡°This kid has been getting more sensibletely. Unfortunately, as descendants of the Merlin Family, we sometimes have to make some sacrifices...¡±

    ¡°Big Brother...¡± Evan hesitated. He paused between words as he said, ¡°Cromwell is the only heir of the Merlin Family... Even if he could kill that pharmacist from the Guild of Magic in the duel this time, his whole life would bepletely ruined. A Magic Shooter who would never progress... Isn¡¯t this a little too cruel to Cromwell?¡±

    ¡°It is a necessary sacrifice...¡± Old Merlin¡¯s expression was cast in shade, but the look in his eyes was extremely resolute. ¡°What the Guild of Magic has today was brought by the mage called Felic. Do you remember my battle with Gerian? If he hadn¡¯t taken out the bottle of Awakening Potion, Gerian would long be dead. I knew then that as long as this young man is present, the Guild of Magic woulde to dominate Jarrosus City sooner orter. The Arcane Magic Potion auction confirmed my spections. Two major families had conveyed their friendly intentions at the same time. Did you think they were trying to butter up to Gerian? You are wrong... They were actually trying to butter up to that young potion master!¡±

    ¡°But, I heard that Felic is merely a low-level mage. Cromwell doesn¡¯t necessarily have to...¡±

    ¡°Low-level mage?¡± Old Merlin chuckled bitterly. ¡°Didn¡¯t Cromwell tell you that the other party had only used a magic spell to cast him out of the Emerald Tower? This is a real magic genius. He possesses an extremely powerful mental strength and mana. Even I had to utilize my Archmage strength to defeat him. It will be terrifying to allow such a magic genius like him to grow... He has to die in this duel!¡±

    When Old Merlin had finished, he closed his eyes wearily and never looked at the horrified Evan again.

 Chapter 67 - Guidance

    <h4>Chapter 67: Guidance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Jarrosus City was in disorder, but the Emerald Tower was unusually quiet. About half the mages were out, leaving behind some mage apprentices below level-five and a few others, such as Gerian and Lin Li.

    Old Grimm looked up from a pile of beakers and asked in a seemingly casual way, ¡°Felic, when I saw you teaching Bathrilor a lesson that day at the banquet, you should have been at the strength of level-nine?¡±

    ¡°About there, I¡¯ve reached level-nine just a few days ago.¡± Lin Li nodded and then continued gloomily, ¡°But strangely,tely I feel that I¡¯ve run into a bottleneck again. It¡¯s the feeling that you know you have the potential, but you just can¡¯t exert it...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Despite having some understanding of Lin Li¡¯s strength, Old Grimm did not expect that he would be encountering a bottleneck in his breakthrough to the Magic Shooter level at such a young age. For a moment, the old man was intrigued. ¡°Does the Guild of Magic have a practice ground? I¡¯ll have a look at your situation first and then see if I can provide you with any suggestions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be great.¡±

    After this afternoon, the old and the young gradually became familiar with each other. There was less politeness but more intimacy in their conversations.

    The two men went downstairs and spoke to Gerian, hoping to find a suitable ce for actualbat. But when the old fellow heard that the legendary mage was about to showcase his skills, he forgot all about the proper business and insisted on going with them to have a look. Atst, Lin Li failed to dissuade him and had to let him bring the both of them up to the third level.

    ¡°This is the best ce. You can use any spells here. As long as it¡¯s not a legendary-level spell, it will be no problem.¡± Gerian fished out a key and unlocked the tightly shut door.

    Initially, Lin Li thought he was bragging. But when he poked his head in to take a look, he realized Gerian was actually too modest... On the spotlessly white wall, there were six magical shield fields and six elements annihtion fields. With the 12 mageweathsid out, the room was an impregnable fortress. Not to mention ordinary spells, even if a legendary-level spell was used, it would be difficult to blow the room apart.

    ¡°Impressive...¡± In Anril, even the general mages would have studied inscriptions, much less a legendary mage like Old Grimm, whose aplishments in inscriptions were also extraordinary. The moment he entered the room, his eyes naturally fell onto the 12 mageweaths.

    ¡°This is by Dvi?¡± Old Grimm was rather amazed, passing before the 12 mageweaths.

    ¡°You have fine eyes, Mage Grimm. This was indeed designed by Master Dvi 1300 years ago, when the Guild of Magic was established.¡±

    Lin Li was rather lost. ¡°Who is Dvi?¡±

    ¡°A level 22 mage.¡± Old Grimm¡¯s expression revealed a look of yearning.

    ¡°Level 22!¡± Lin Li was startled. Even a half-baked mage like him knew that as the magic level reached the realm of an Archmage, even a single level of ascension could bring about a nearly qualitative change in power, not to mention the legendary realm above the Archmage. A level 22 mage would probably equal up to ten Andoines¡ªand that was a conservative estimate.

    Lin Li had no idea that there had been such a powerful person in Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    ¡°But his greatest achievement in life was actually in inscriptions. If it weren¡¯t for him, the study of inscriptions today might be a totally different story. He was the first person tobine inscriptions and magic. Since then, inscriptions have be a required course for mages.¡±

    ¡°Felic...¡± After talking about Dvi¡¯s achievements, Old Grimm took a few steps back. ¡°That day at the banquet, I saw that you had done a good job in releasing the icicles. Why don¡¯t you try again now and attack me using the wind de?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Just focus on your spell, don¡¯t worry about hurting me.¡± Afraid that Lin Li would worry about hurting him, Old Grimm specially reminded him.

    ¡°Mm.¡± Lin Li nodded, and his expression became serious.

    There was no recitation nor even the slightest sign. Lin Li raised a hand and an icicle tore through the air. Driven by Lin Li¡¯s tremendous mana, the icicle was as fast as lightning. As soon as it was released, it disintegrated into the air, creating a blue stream of light...

    But as the stream of light approached Old Grimm, it stopped without warning and just hung quietly in front of his chest. It was like there was an invisible hand in the air, catching it with an unparalleled speed.

    There was a smile of approval on Old Grimm¡¯s face.

    ¡°Very well done. But it¡¯s still not enough this time. When you were teaching Bathrilor a lesson a few days ago, you had unleashed a few spells consecutively, so you should have ample mana. Don¡¯t stop. This time, we¡¯ll change it to the wind de: release as many as your mana allows.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Gerian touched his nose in spite of himself when he heard it.

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    From the previous icicle, Lin Li knew that Old Grimm¡¯s strength was fathomless and that it was impossible to hurt him with his own strength.

    Hence, he showed no mercy anymore and the wind des came one after another.

    In an instant, the shrill sound of tearing filled the air and dozens of wind des fell down like raindrops. But all these wind des, without an exception, were met with the invisible wall; none of them ever touched the corner of Old Grimm¡¯s robe.

    With the strength of a legendary mage, it was impossible for Old Grimm to be hurt by a few low-level spells. He didn¡¯t even require any magical shields; it was enough to protect himself from harm just by releasing his own mana, like what he had done when he¡¯d saved Bathrilor at the banquet.

    There was deep admiration in Old Grimm¡¯s eyes as he watched Lin Li release the wind des.

    Andoine¡¯s judgment was indeed right¡ªthis was a true magic genius, skillful and with an abundance of mana, just like Andoine in the past. The only difference was, he was much younger than Andoine had been back then and had a deeper understanding of magic.

    But as time went by and the wind des Lin Li released were already in the hundreds, the admiration in Old Grimm¡¯s eyes gradually turned to amazement.

    The mana of this young mage seemed to be overly abundant...

    Although the wind de was just a level-one magic, he couldn¡¯t afford to unleash it like this. The power consumed by more than 200 level-one spells was already well beyond the reach of a level-nine mage...

    From the look on his face, the young mage did not seem to be tired at all. Over a hundred level-one spells was as easy as eating and drinking water for him. No wonder Andoine had mentioned many times that this kid was nothing but a monster. Old Grimm thought he was talking about pharmaceutics, but now it suddenly dawned on him that Andoine was talking about the kid¡¯s freak mana!

 Chapter 68 - Bad Habit

    <h4>Chapter 68: Bad Habit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian wasughing up his sleeve when he saw the look of amazement on Old Grimm¡¯s face, and the thoughts in his mind were more or less sinister. <i>It doesn¡¯t seem to be a big deal being frightened by this freak back then. See... I wasn¡¯t the only one, now even the legendary mage is startled...</i>

    ¡°Stop!¡± When there were about three or four hundred wind des released by Lin Li, Old Grimm finally called for a timeout. ¡°President Gerian, can you tell me, how long was his mana output when Felic was going through his level certification?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Gerian paused for a while and crept beside Old Grimm¡¯s ear. ¡°28 minutes...¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Old Grimm almost jumped upon hearing it.

    The look on his face was no different from Gerian¡¯s back then. He looked at Lin Li as if he was looking at a monster. In the face of such a freak with infinite mana, there was no difference whether it was an Archmage or a legendary mage. In fact, they did not know that what they were feeling now had been felt by Andoine several times back in the Sunset Mountains...

    Old Grimm wavered. He had wanted to find the root of the problem from the strength of the mana, but now it seemed that Lin Li¡¯s mana was infinite, and so that seemed doomed to be in the wrong direction.

    ¡°Actually, I feel that what Felks most now is actualbat.¡±

    Both of them were startled at Gerian¡¯s words. Lin Li mulled it over and realized it seemed to be true indeed. When he was in the Sunset Mountains, he was faced with different magical beasts every day¡ªbeasts from level-four to level-eight, from Manticores to Wyverns. He was struggling on the delicate line between life and death almost every day. In this struggle, his magic level had improved dramatically. From a mage apprentice to a level-eight mage, it seemed to be just the blink of an eye, without feeling any hindrance at all.

    And then he got to Jarrosus City. There were better learning conditions, but the time he used magic was suddenly reduced. The number of real battles was pitifully few¡ªa mere total of three and a half. In three of these, he had gained an absolute upper hand; the only time he couldn¡¯t win was the pure mental strength battle with Old Merlin. But none of them had used any spells, and so, strictly speaking, it should only be counted half a time...

    At the same time, Lin Li¡¯s magic level stagnated all of a sudden. If he hadn¡¯t benefited greatly from the battle between the two Archmages, he would still have been at level-eight.

    Magic was such a strange thing...

    Having a huge mana and mastering a lot of spells did not necessarily mean a stronger fighting capacity. Many things could only beprehended during actualbat. Just like pharmaceutics¡ªsomeone who knew arge number of forms was not necessarily a master of potions. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to concoct a Sobriety Potion when it came to the application.

    ¡°President Gerian is right. Let¡¯s do it this way... I have nothing else to do these few days anyway, why don¡¯t I help you improve your actualbat experience?¡±

    ¡°This... doesn¡¯t seem appropriate?¡± Lin Li scratched his head and hesitated. ¡°You are the legendary mage. Isn¡¯t it the same as seeking death if I practice with you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this, I¡¯ll only use the strength of a Magic Shooter, and the spells I use won¡¯t be over level-ten.¡±

    Gerian was like an ant on a hot pan, ncing at Lin Li continuously. <i>This little bastard will be the death of me. The legendary mage wants to deliberately suppress his power in order to give him advice, and he is still dallying there. If it was me, I would already jump on him directly...</i>

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li nodded and took a few steps back.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Old Grimm suddenly called out at this point. ¡°This habit of yours is really bad.¡±

    Lin Li was about to cast an Ice Armor Spell on himself when he heard Old Grimm calling for a pause. He stood there dazed, and asked in bewilderment, ¡°What habit?¡±

    ¡°Retreating before you cast a spell.¡± Old Grimm pointed to the spot Lin Li stood at previously. ¡°You did the same thing just now when you were releasing the icicles¡ªtaking a few steps backward before casting the spell. This is a bad habit. A mage is not an archer¡ªthere¡¯s no need to distance yourself deliberately, and even more so there¡¯s no need to make use of the surrounding environment to win a battle. A real mage can take control of the rhythm of the battle in an instant, at any distance, and in any environment. What we use is always our own strength!¡±

    Lin Li listened quietly. He knew that this was indeed his shoring. His hunter profession in the Endless World had brought him a good sense of rhythm, but it also brought him a lot of deep-rooted bad habits.

    For example, retreating before the battle out of habit.

    For example, adding the Hastening Spell on himself duringbat and using the Dying Spell on his enemy to slow them down in order to maintain his advantage in speed.

    For example, cing too much emphasis on the distance between himself and the enemy.

    Et cetera, et cetera... For a mage, there was no need at all to do such things.

    ¡°You must remember: in a mage¡¯s battle, there¡¯ll always be two kinds of rhythm¡ªcontrol and outburst.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind...¡± Lin Li nodded thoughtfully. At the same time, a shot of wind de tore through the air. This time, he did not retreat at all.

    ¡°Heh heh. You¡¯ve learnt fast.¡± Old Grimm could only use the power of a Magic Shooter, and it was no longer possible to block the wind de with his mana alone. But the old man still looked unhurried, and almost as soon as the wind de roared, the Ice Armor Spell was summoned.

    The wind de cut through the glittering ice and made a shrill noise.

    Old Grimm¡¯s counterattack was quite different from Lin Li¡¯s. Under the protection of the ice shield, the old man began his recitations. His recitations were not fast, and even were slower than Lin Li¡¯s to some extent. But there was a sense of skill and fluency, with no pause in the middle. By the time thest spell fell, seven Arcane Missiles had coalesced into shape.

    With a wave of his hand, the seven Arcane Missiles fired at Lin Li at the same time.

    In an instant, the ice armor was shattered, and the Elemental Shield that was just propped up was reduced to a thinyer. It would only take one spell from Old Grimm to break itpletely.

    Lin Li was barely maintaining the functioning of the Elemental Shield, but there was no panic on his face. He retaliated with Mana Feedback that interrupted the casting rhythm of Old Grimm; at the same time, he began to recite the spell for Delirium, hoping to drag thebat into a match of pure mental strength.

 Chapter 69 - Classic Deceit

    <h4>Chapter 69: ssic Deceit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The surging mana of Old Grimm slowed down abruptly following the Mana Retroaction from Lin Li. The seven Arcane Missiles lost control and vanished in an instant. Old Grimm still remained unhurried; his thin arm rose slightly and a mental protection field rose. Under the safety of the mental protection field, Lin Li¡¯s Delirium Spell was like a stone thrown into a pond, merely creating ripples on the calm water.

    Both had amazing casting speed¡ªone was swift and the other fluent. Lin Li was constantly challenging the limits of magic counter-reaction by virtue of his superior mental strength; Old Grimm relied on years of experience to minimize the length of the spell. Gerian, who watched from the side, eximed countless times in his heart. These two fellows¡ªyoung and old¡ªbehaved nothing like a normal human being.

    It was a dazzlingbat with a tremendous rate of casting. The transition between attack and defense was often made in the blink of an eye. Often, they cast a spell and would cast protection on themselves before the spell could even fall on the opponent.

    Old Grimm was a legendary mage after all. Although he was using only the power of a Magic Shooter, the legendary level vision and experience were still there. The choices he made in between the counterattacks, seemingly casual, often hit Lin Li¡¯s vulnerable point. Not to mention that, in his long life, he had umted a huge amount of spell-casting skills. In the face of such skills, any genius could not help but appear feeble and futile.

    After the failure of the Mana Retroaction, Lin Li, who had been grappling for long, gave out atst.

    At the moment the Mana Retroaction failed, Lin Li knew it was a trap.

    Old Grimm first used a lot of low-level spells to suppress Lin Li, and when Lin Li was so overwhelmed that he couldn¡¯t even lift his head, Old Grimm departed from his usual style and cast a ming Storm instead. Lin Li was all too familiar with this level-nine spell¡ªit had powerparable to that of the Magic Shooter and a horribly long recitation.

    Lin Li, who hadpletely lost the opportunity, had only two options in the face of this level-nine spell. One was to force out the Elemental Shield, and be in a state of no protection from the Elemental Shield for about 30 seconds; the second was to risk being tricked again and carry on with another Mana Retroaction.

    Lin Li chose to take the risk, and then he was tricked...

    This was a ssic example of deceit that was worth including in magic textbooks. As early as the moment the spell sounded, Old Grimm had already cut off the mana output. Breaking off a spell was a skill that every mage needed to learn, let alone Old Grimm, who was already a powerhouse in the legendary realm. For him, it was no more difficult to break off a ming Storm than to eat and drink.

    At this time, although the spell was still being recited, there was no mana output at all.

    Mana Retroaction, of course, could only react against mana. For a magic spell that did not produce any mana, the Mana Retroaction was like a punch in the air and had no effect at all...

    Apart from a few low-level spells such as the wind de, icicles, and the dying and hastening spells, most other magic spells had their own cooldown time. After one use, one had to wait for the cooldown time to pass before one could use it again. This process was called the Spell Cycle.

    Everything had its rise and decline, and magic was no exception. When a spell was used, it would surely go into depletion, and then await the next cycle. This was thew of things.

    Of course, the time was not definitive. Many mages were able topress the cooldown time with skills and mental strength, but suchpression was almost negligible in most cases. Even a legendary mage as powerful as Andoine could onlypress the cooldown time of Mana Retroaction by two seconds at most.

    And Lin Li, who possessed a sick mental strength, was in fact close to the legendary level in this aspect. He could almost do as much as Andoine could.

    But as far as the current situation was concerned, let alone doing what Andoine could do, even if he surpassed Andoine, it would be equally useless. Old Grimm didn¡¯t even give him a chance to wait for the next cycle and proceeded to drown him in arge number of Arcane Missiles. In a zero-interference spell-casting state, it was simrly terrifying even with the strength of a Magic Shooter. The Arcane Missile shot down incessantly and the Elemental Shield on Lin Li¡¯s body was extremely fragile. In a twinkling, the Arcane Missiles broke through the protection of the Elemental Shield andnded directly on Lin Li¡¯s body...

    Lin Li was barely hurt under the protection of the elements annihtion field, but there was a look of disappointment on his face.

    Since transmigrating, due tock of actualbat, Lin Li had never been so miserable as he was today. The previous match with Old Merlin was more of mental strength, not to mention it was an absolute suppression of an Archmage. Though Lin Li had lost in the end, it could be said to be a glorious defeat.

    But this time, Lin Li had lost, with nothing else to say.

    Throughout the battle, Old Grimm did not use force beyond level-ten. Even when he was using magic, he chose some of the lower level ones as much as possible.

    And the deciding factor¡ªthe Mana Retroaction deceit¡ªleft Lin Li chagrined. If he had been moreposed then...

    ¡°Are you thinking you could have won if you had been moreposed then?¡± Old Grimm¡¯s eyes seemed to be able to see through people¡¯s hearts; as soon as he opened his mouth, he said what Lin Li was thinking.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Old Grimm shook his head. ¡°You wereposed enough. I could feel that you were struggling between Elemental Shield and Mana Retroaction, but it doesn¡¯t matter at all. Whether it was the Elemental Shield or the Mana Retroaction, anyone who enters the depletion cycle will undoubtedly lose.

    ¡°So... this has nothing to do withposure.¡± There was a smile of admiration on Old Grimm¡¯s aged face. ¡°Actually, you¡¯re doing quite well at your age. Whether in skills or rhythm, you¡¯ve already reached the limit of your age. I know you still possess an enormous amount of mental strength. Even I almost suffered with that Delirium Spell. In this spar, you¡¯ve lost due to theck of experience...¡±

    ¡°Experience?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, experience.¡± Old Grimm nodded and bagan analyzing the fight for him. ¡°I was actually affected by that Delirium Spell. But you were engrossed in the mental protection field and failed to judge the situation right. Didn¡¯t you realize? After casting the mental protection field, my casting speed was slower than usual, and why was that? That is because I had to divide some of my mental strength to suppress the negative effects brought by the Delirium Spell...¡±

    Lin Li pondered over it carefully and realized it was indeed as Old Grimm said. Thetter¡¯s spell-casting speed had decreased significantly. If he had used arge number of low-level spells to suppress him then, the whole fight would have been a different story altogether...

    ¡°And that failed Mana Retroaction. If you have enough experience, it is entirely possible to judge quickly whether I was really releasing mana when I was reciting the spell...¡± At this point, Old Grimm paused for a while before delivering the conclusion, ¡°President Gerian is right, you need actualbat!¡±

    After pointing out Lin Li¡¯s shorings, Old Grimm identified the mistakes and highlights of the spar, then proceeded with a detailed analysis. It was almost evening by the time he finished. Old Grimm saw that it waste, so he fixed a time with Lin Li for the next day before he left the Emerald Tower and disappeared into the darkness.

 Chapter 70 - Forbearance

    <h4>Chapter 70: Forbearance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Old Grimm came every day in the days that followed.

    While Lin Li continued to make up for hisck of practical experience, the chaos carried on in Jarrosus City.

    The victory that day had put Gerian in a good mood. He insisted on taking a few bottles of Awakening Potion from Lin Li as a reward for the group of mages who burned the two merchant ships down.

    Under the incentive of the Awakening Potion, the crowd¡¯s enthusiasm surged. Almost every day before dawn, the group of mages would depart from the Emerald Tower straight to the Merlin Family¡¯s businesses in the city.

    Unfortunately, the Merlin Family had shrunkpletely because of the devastating blow that day.

    Dozens of Magic Shooters and more than 100 mages were searching around Jarrosus City like a pack of hounds. Eventually, only a few abandoned businesses were found, as well as a few members of the Merlin Family oblivious to the situation that dared to roam about at this sensitive moment.

    Under the threat of this horrifying force, the forces in the city were all the more miserable. They were living in fear everyday, afraid that one of their men would offend the people from the Guild of Magic. This group of bastards was driven by bloodlust now; anyone who provoked them would be poking at a ho¡¯s nest. They were a group of real bandits¡ªbarbaric and unreasonable.

    Especially those of the six underground forces. Except Old Odin, who had maintained a good rtionship with the Guild of Magic all along, none of the remaining five forces were not in a state of apprehension. When the Guild of Magic was down-and-out, they had each done their fair share of treading upon them. Although not as arrogant as the Merlin Family to the point of directly interfering in the guild¡¯s affairs, those wicked things done behind the scenes had long been remembered by all the mages.

    These days, the leaders of the several forces were praying every day. They had never been so devout before. They were just hoping that the madness of the Guild of Magic would pass over soon, or the Merlin Family quickly wiped out; otherwise, if it continued like this, they would be driven to insanity.

    Almost everyone was cursing¡ªnot only that the Guild of Magic was a bunch of bandits, but also that the Merlin Family was a herd of cowards.

    The most reviled of them all was Aaron Matsis of the Blood Brotherhood. He was really driven to the wall. Because of them running a few casinos with the Merlin Family, it directly led to the people from the Guild of Magic smashing the casinos as soon as they saw one, regardless of whether the casinos were jointly run with the Merlin Family or not.

    Aaron Matsis felt that he had been wronged. The bastards, Merlins, had offended the Guild of Magic but somehow he was hurt as well. More than a dozen casinos controlled by the Blood Brotherhood were smashed in the week. Aaron Matsis¡¯ heart ached when he thought about it, and whenever his heart ached, he couldn¡¯t help but curse, ¡°F*ck you, Merlin Family. Your whole family was transformed from tortoises. You guys are at ease in hiding, while my casinos were smashed to ruins. If you have the guts, then hide forever, see how that old bastard, Gerian, is going to smash all your tortoise shells...¡±

    Aaron Matsis¡¯ words were blood and tears, almost spitting onto the Merlin Family¡¯s face. But even so, there was still no news from the Merlin Family.

    The forbearance was absurd to all the Jarrosus forces. The Guild of Magic now was as arrogant as if someone had stepped on your head and peed in your face, and the Merlin Family could still endure. This was just like the endurance ninja from legends!

    Even within the Merlin Family, perhaps only a handful of confidants¡ªlike Evan¡ªknew that Old Merlin endured only to wait for the duel that would take ce a few dayster.

    All the problems would cease to be problems after Cromwell killed Felic.

    The Guild of Magic¡¯s arrogance seemed to be stinking to the heavens, but in fact, they were nothing without the young mage. What about Gerian? Old Merlin was an Archmage as well. The battle before the Emerald Tower had already proved that the two men were neck and neck.

    And with all the equipment hidden in the family, Old Merlin was even more confident of defeating the most powerful mage of Jarrosus.

    Only Old Merlin who had personally experienced the battle knew how terrifying the young pharmacist was. It took only a bottle of blue potion to wipe out all his efforts. It was as if the winning ticket was held, but suddenly someone had struck you with a loud p. What was most devastating to Old Merlin was that, after Gerian had regained his mana, the young pharmacist had even brought out an extra bottle as a backup...

    The feeling of despair was still etched in Old Merlin¡¯s heart.

    From that time on, he knew that to destroy the Guild of Magic, he had to kill the pharmacist first.

    So, Old Merlin had been enduring. He did not even say a word when the two merchant ships in the canal were burned down, because he knew that the chance he had been waiting for wasing...

    Old Merlin constantly had faith in theing duel.

    Because his only son, Cromwell, had broken through to level-thirteen this morning!

    This breakthrough finally gave the guilty Old Merlin a glint of relief. Level-thirteen was a height that most mages could not achieve after a lifetime of hard work.

    Although this height was bought with no further progress for life...

    Looking at the confident Cromwell, Old Merlin kept a twinge of guilt in his eyes.

    ¡°Cromwell, how do you feel now?¡±

    ¡°Very good, Father.¡± There was a faint trace of hysteria in Cromwell¡¯s confident eyes. The Waterfall Strike at the Emerald Tower was engraved in his mind. For Cromwell, it was a disgrace for life. He remembered vividly how he could not resist in front of the mage named Felic and how he was thrown out of the Emerald Tower like a piece of garbage.

    So when Old Merlin asked him if he would like to carry out the family¡¯s secret ritual after he came back, Cromwell agreed without hesitation.

    He knew that once the ritual was held, he would run out of his full potential and would not be able to make any further progress in his life.

    But Cromwell knew well that this would bring him a powerful strength¡ªenough to easily kill Felic.

    Cromwell was imagining the whole time during the ritual¡ªwhen he appeared with a powerful strength, would the hateful mage also show a look of fear in his eyes like how he did when he was lying on the steps of the Emerald Tower, looking up at him?

 Chapter 71 - Leap

    <h4>Chapter 71: Leap</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Cromwell was absolutely confident about winning this duel.

    He was intoxicated with the unprecedented powerful feeling after breaking through to level-thirteen. He believed that no one in Jarrosus¡¯ younger generation was his opponent¡ªincluding Felic, who once made him feel fear.

    The shame in Emerald Tower had to be cleansed with blood.

    When he was answering Old Merlin, Cromwell began to n in his heart how to kill his opponent as cruelly as possible. The humiliation through words alone was inadequate; it was not enough to wash away the shame on himself. The mage named Felic had to shed thest drop of his blood before he could die in endless pain and remorse!

    ¡°There are two pieces of equipment in the basement, in the thirdpartment on the right side of the door. I¡¯ve told you before how to open it. Now go and take them out.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

    Momentster, Cromwell returned to Old Merlin with a mage robe and a staff.

    ¡°These two things were meant to be given to you after you became a Magic Shooter. Little did I expect...¡± Old Merlin looked at the two pieces of equipment and remembered that Cromwell would never be able to progress in his life. He couldn¡¯t help but feel dejected.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Father. I am also a Magic Shooter now.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Old Merlin nodded. He stretched his hand and picked up the staff. ¡°Even I have never used this Aether Staff before. It has been passed down in the Merlin Family for more than ten generations and can be said to be the most powerful piece of equipment in the family hoard. Look at this magical crystal, what do you feel?¡±

    ¡°A powerful mana, at least level-fifteen or above.¡±

    ¡°Not bad...¡± Old Merlin nodded. There was a glimmer of approval in his eyes. ¡°This is a level-eighteen magical crystal. In addition to increasing the magic power, it also contains one of the biggest secrets that only the heads of the Merlin Family in previous generations knew... This level-eighteen magical crystal can be activated by a special method, and when it is activated, you can get a chance to cast an overstepping spell of five levels...¡±

    Cromwell hissed, sucking in a cold breath. What did an overstepping spell of five levels mean...? Take himself as an example¡ªhe was a level-thirteen Magic Shooter. If the magical crystal was activated, he would be able to cast a level-eighteen spell. Such a terrifying level of spell would even be able to defeat Old Merlin and Gerian!

    ¡°And this Soul Branding Robe...¡± Old Merlin put down the staff and picked up the gray mage robe. ¡°It has magic resistance attributes. After wearing it, chances of you getting hurt by low-level spells will be much smaller. In addition, it also has space for 16 scrolls. Before the duel begins, I will prepare 16 scrolls for you.¡±

    ¡°I get it, Father.¡± Cromwell looked at the two pieces of equipment with some disregard. He felt that Old Merlin was making a mountain out of a molehill. Now that he was a level-thirteen Magic Shooter, he might even be able to fight the leaders of the other mage families. That Felic was at most level-eight or nine in strength. He did not need any equipment to aid him; he could easily crush Felic with his strength alone.

    ¡°Are you thinking I¡¯m making a big deal of a fuss here?¡± How could Old Merlin not see what Cromwell was thinking with that vision of his? It made Old Merlin helpless. Although Cromwell had grown up a lot after the setback at the Emerald Tower, his supercilious character had never changedpletely.

    ¡°Father, I feel¡ª¡±

    ¡°Say no more.¡± Cromwell tried to justify himself, but Old Merlin waved his hand wearily. ¡°There¡¯s one thing I haven¡¯t told you in order to avoid distracting you. That day, outside the Emerald Tower before Gerian came out, I tried to suppress Felic with my mental strength. Do you know what the result was?¡±

    Cromwell looked at Old Merlin with surprise in his eyes.

    ¡°Ay...¡± Old Merlin sighed. ¡°I wonder what kind of luck has struck the Guild of Magic to have such a genius with them. Not only is he a pharmacist, he also has an rming magical talent. His mental strength is stronger than any mage¡¯s I have ever seen. At that time, if I hadn¡¯t suppressed him with the strength of an Archmage, I might have lost our Merlin Family¡¯s face without waiting for Gerian toe out...¡±

    ¡°...¡± For all his arrogance, Cromwell was not really an idiot. Especially after breaking through to level-thirteen in magic, he understood better than before what a powerful mental strength meant to a mage...

    ¡°Don¡¯t belittle your opponent. And don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s a pharmacist at the same time...¡± Old Merlin carefully handed the two pieces of equipment to Cromwell. ¡°There are seven days left before the duel, and you still have a chance toplete the final ritual. If you can break through to level-fourteen in these seven days, the Merlin Family is really going to win this duel.¡±

    ¡°I get it, Father.¡± Cromwell nodded heavily. With the two pieces of equipment in his hands, he bowed himself out of the room and gently closed the door behind him.

    ...

    Meanwhile, inside the Emerald Tower, Lin Li had once again fallen under the Arcane Missiles.

    ¡°Looks like you need a little luck...¡± Old Grimm, who won, had a look of relief on his face. If he hadn¡¯t cast the spell too fast to trigger the bite of mana, he might have lost thebat.

    The young man progressed too fast. Andoine was right, he was a real magic genius. This speed of improvement was enough to make any mage jealous. At the beginning, he could use the strength of a Magic Shooter to triumph over him easily. But these days, Lin Li had made a leap from day to day. He had even required luck to win on this day.

    Every time he entered the hall, Old Grimm would feel that he was standing in front of a stranger.

    That kind of feeling was too strange¡ªthey obviously looked the same, but the strength waspletely different.

    It was less than ten days from the beginning, when Lin Li had no ability to retaliate, to now, when he could exchange strikes with Old Grimm himself. Old Grimm lived a hundred years and had never seen such a monster before. It was as if he had been born to learn magic; in particr, his terrifyingbat talent gave Old Grimm chills whenever he thought about it.

 Chapter 72 - Narrow Defeat

    <h4>Chapter 72: Narrow Defeat</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This hurt his self-esteem...

    Old Grimm felt incredulous looking at the young mage before his eyes. The same person couldn¡¯t even tell if a spell was really released a few days ago, but in the battle just now, he urately judged Old Grimm¡¯s intention with a Mental Confusion spell. He seized the brief pause after Old Grimm¡¯s spell-casting and sessfully suppressed it with a few low-level spells...

    Old Grimm¡¯s fear swelled as he watched Lin Li grow stronger day by day.

    He recalled the shot of Ice st earlier on; if he had not encountered the bite of mana, the one lying on the ground now would be him.

    ¡°I¡¯m still too impatient.¡± Lin Li recovered from the dizziness caused by the Arcane Missiles, but he was not in a hurry to get up. Instead, he sat on the cold floor and summed up his earlier failure. This was a habit he had developed in the recent days. After each failure, he would analyze thebat and look for the key to his failure.

    ¡°This is just one of the reasons.¡± Old Grimm shook his head. ¡°With your current mental strength, even if your casting speed is fast, it would be hard to encounter the bite of mana. You were just unlucky this time to encounter it. Your real problem lies in your mentality.

    ¡°You have been losing these few days. Today, you finally got the chance to win, so you¡¯d inevitably be a little out of your mind. You wanted to beat me with that Ice st, but in that situation, I was already under the spell of the Mana Retroaction and couldn¡¯t cast any spells for five seconds. Although the Elemental Shield was still there, it had already blocked off several low-level spells. Why did you not continue to use low-level spells to suppress me then? You only needed two or three wind des to cut through the Elemental Shield. At that time, why did you choose to recite the spell for Ice st that took three seconds long? Did you ever consider that if there was a mistake with the Ice st, then the opportunity you¡¯ve managed to grab would slip away from you and even put you in a passive position throughout thebat?¡±

    Lin Li carefully recalled the situation at that time. It was indeed just as Old Grimm said; his mentality was unbnced in the face of theing victory.

    Old Grimm¡¯s expression was stern. In his heart, he had already regarded Lin Li as his student. ¡°The bite of mana this time was by coincidence. However, a real powerful mage would never leave any chance to his opponent. Such is the battle between mages. One such coincidence can be fatal. Maybe you¡¯re much stronger than your opponent. You can win him 99 times in 100 battles, but that one time could kill you and you¡¯d never have the chance to fight him another 99 times.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± The old man¡¯s words fell into his ears, and Lin Li felt a twinge of gratitude in his heart. He knew very well that the experiences Old Grimm mentioned were summed up in his lifetime. This was more precious than any magic knowledge, and no mage would be willing to speak of it except those who really cared about him.

    ¡°But, Felic...¡± At this point, there was a smile of relief on Old Grimm¡¯s face. ¡°Your performance amazes me. If it had been two days ago, I would never have expected you to push me to such a degree. I even secretly used a Magic Steal once earlier on. This is a level-fourteen spell...¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li tumbled. ¡°I was thinking I had lost my Elemental Shield too fast...¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we do it again? But this time you promise you won¡¯t use Magic Steal...¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Old Grimm agreed readily. The battles with Lin Li these days had made him feel like he was a few years younger, as if he had returned to the days when he was a young man following the team of adventurers to every corner of Anril, hunting for magical beasts and precious herbs...

    At the same time, the old man nodded his head. Lin Li, sitting on the floor, had released two shots of wind des with a swish. He had prepared the two wind des for long, only waiting for Old Grimm to ept the invitation. Old Grimm had said that himself¡ªa mage was not a knight and should cast a spell whenever possible. There was nothing to worry about bad manners as long as you could kill your opponent; a dead body was not entitled to talk about manners.

    ¡°Not bad, you learnt fast.¡± Old Grimm was not flustered. An ice armor was erected and easily blocked the wind des released by Lin Li. It was then followed by a recitation that was unhurried yet remarkably fluent.

    Just as his spell was about to end, he suddenly felt an abnormal surge of mana. The raging fire element seemed to have frozen suddenly. Old Grimm looked up and saw Lin Li¡¯s triumphant smile. This was a brilliant Mana Retroaction, released just a second before the end of the spell. It not only disrupted Old Grimm¡¯s spell-casting rhythm, but also sessfully consumed the duration of his ice armor.

    However, Old Grimm did not panic. With a thinyer of ice armor, he resisted the suppression of the low-level spells that came after.

    The battle between the two men dazzled Gerian. Artful spell-casting techniques, precise time calction, rapid attack and defense changeover¡ªall kinds of qualities were disyed incisively and vividly. Especially in these two days, as Lin Li¡¯s strength skyrocketed day by day, the battles became more and more exciting, making Gerian reluctant to leave.

    Unfortunately, he received a message from Kevin just as he was watching in excitement.

    The Shadow¡¯s Nest had once again barged into the Demon Fall Valley.

    ¡°Eiserhol, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± In the guild hall, the furious Gerian mmed his fist onto the table and nearly smashed the crystal ball connecting to the Demon Fall Valley. In his towering rage, Gerian spoke to Kevin in the crystal ball in a shouting voice, ¡°What is the damn situation in the Demon Fall Valley now?¡±

    ¡°They have around a dozen thieves that sneaked in from the Night Song Forest. They destroyed two guard towers and took the mages in the towers hostage.¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡± Gerian broke out in curses. After a while, he gradually calmed down. ¡°How many people have been taken hostage?¡±

    ¡°A total of four.¡±

    ¡°Write a letter to Eiserhol right now to request an exchange of hostages. Didn¡¯t we capture a few Shadow¡¯s Nest peoplest time? Exchange them. If they don¡¯t agree, you can increase the price a little. Anyhow, we must get our people back,¡± Gerian said in one breath and paused before adding, ¡°There are seven days left before the duel, you must hang in there... If you can¡¯t keep the outlying guard towers, give them up. We can recover them anytime. The most important thing is that you are alright.¡±

 Chapter 73 - Level Twelve

    <h4>Chapter 73: Level Twelve</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Kevin, who was holding his ground in the Demon Fall Valley, passed every day as if it were a year. Lin Li, who was in the Emerald Tower, felt like time was flying by. In the blink of an eye, seven days were reduced to one day left.

    Apanied by Gerian, Lin Li walked into the level certification hall once again.

    Old Grimm had just left half an hour ago. Before he left, the old man¡¯s expression was somewhat hurt. In one afternoon, Lin Li had beaten him four times in a row, and each time was done neatly and efficiently. He¡¯d even used Magic Steal on one asion, but still failed to avoid a defeat...

    Even Gerian, who was wild with joy while watching, couldn¡¯t help but curse inwardly. <i>Beast.</i>

    Old Grimm was a legendary mage; though he used only the power of a Magic Shooter, it was hardly justifiable to beat him over and over again...

    ¡°Go and certify your level once more. With your current strength, you should have reached the Magic Shooter realm.¡±

    At Old Grimm¡¯s reminder, Lin Li suddenly remembered that he had not gone to certify his level for a long time. He wondered how much progress he had made after this period of tempering.

    Still the same empty level certification hall, still the same crystal ball protected by the mageweaths.

    Under the eyes of Gerian, Lin Li once again pressed his hand on the crystal ball.

    As time went by, the light on the crystal ball became more and more dazzling. Lin Li had once again broken his own record. This time, the mana output was extended by a full two minutes to be a horrifying 30 minutes in total!

    ¡°30 minutes...¡± Gerian¡¯s jaw was wide open, and looked as if an egg could be stuffed into it. He stared dumbfounded for long before asking incredulously, ¡°You little bastard, are you still human?¡±

    To Gerian, this kid was a monster in human skin. The initial 28 minutes was enough to put people in despair. To think this beast in human skin could extend the time. Gerian was even wondering if this bastard would blow up the crystal ball directly when he came back in another few years¡¯ time.

    Before Gerian¡¯s dumbstruck eyes, the brightness of the crystal ball soared through level-nine without a doubt, and then went straight into the realm of a Magic Shooter. What drove Gerianpletely mad was that the light still showed no signs of stopping after it had passed the realm of the Magic Shooter, and it broke through level-eleven with an irresistible force...

    ¡°Damn! Magic Shooter, it indeed is the Magic Shooter!¡±

    When the crystal ball¡¯s brightness rested at level-twelve, Gerian¡¯s screams almost lifted the roof off. ¡°Bloody hell, it¡¯s a level-twelve Magic Shooter at that...¡±

    ¡°Level-twelve? That much?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help feeling astounded. He had been practicing with Old Grimm every day recently, and he could really feel his strength growing by leaps and bounds. But he had never expected the extent of his ascension to be so great. Not only did he enter the realm of the Magic Shooter directly, he also reached a height of a level-twelve Magic Shooter in just over ten days.

    ¡°Heck, you tell me, are you human? After practicing with Grimm Burnside for a few days, you¡¯ve jumped from level-nine to level-twelve...¡± Gerian had gone totally insane, grabbing Lin Li¡¯s neck and shaking it with all his might. ¡°I¡¯ve fought for decades, and had 800 if not a 1000 battles in total, so why have I never got promoted so fast before?¡±

    ¡°How would I know...¡±

    ¡°F*ck, this is inhuman.¡± Gerian was extremely indignant, and looked at Lin Li with suspicion. ¡°If you continue practicing with Grimm Burnside for another couple of days, will you break through to the Archmage realm directly?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re dreaming!¡± Lin Li was at a loss whether tough or cry hearing Gerian¡¯s whimsical words.

    ¡°Right...¡± Gerian chuckled embarrassedly as he wiped off the cold sweat that broke out on his forehead. To break through to the realm of an Archmage could only be said out of fun. If there was really such a good thing in the world, why did they need to study magic? They could just battle with a legendary mage like Old Grimm or Andoine, who would probably be worked to death.

    In fact, Gerian knew that the root of Lin Li¡¯s achievementsy not only in his unique talent, but also in his diligence and umtion.

    It could be said that Gerian had watched this talented mage grow up. From the level-eight mage when he first came to the Guild of Magic to the level-twelve Magic Shooter he had broken through today, Gerian was perfectly clear how much sweat and effort Lin Li had put in in the process.

    Not to mention the Emerald Tower, even if you looked all over Jarrosus City, there was probably no mage beyond level-eight who still practiced the basic skill of elemental sequencing every day, and more so no one would stay in the library for a whole day just to find a shorter spell.

    But Lin Li could. Gerian often found this genius mage staying in the room for a whole day. When asked what he was doing, his answer was actually practicing elemental sequencing. Jarrosus was the famous City of Chaos in northern Anril. There were 18 forces here and a life full of splendor and various temptations. Even an honest guy like Kevin failed to resist the temptation and sparked off a rtionship with the daughter of a wealthy businessman a few years back...

    But this young man, who was several years younger than Kevin, could resist the temptation. With his status as a potion master, the wealth of over a million gold coins on the crystal card, plus the strength of a level-nine mage, there would be countlessdies willing to throw themselves on him with him just standing around in the Daylight Square. But he did not, and was instead holed up in the Emerald Tower every day, studying magic or making potions, as if these were all his amusements.

    This made Gerian perplexed but pleased at the same time...

    The umtion of diligence and perseverance finally broke out at once and led him to leap directly from level-nine to level-twelve. Thebat with Old Grimm was merely an inducement. Without his previous diligence and perseverance, even if the legendary mage personally guided him, he would only obtain some additionalbat experience, which would not be helpful to the ascension of magic level.

    For Lin Li, the fighting over the past ten days was like a key that opened the door to his dreams. Before this, he had been wandering in front of the door for a long, long time...

 Chapter 74 - Black Diamond

    <h4>Chapter 74: ck Diamond</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Aftering out from the level certification hall, Lin Li locked himself in his room once again.

    The duel with Cromwell would begin in a day¡¯s time¡ªhe had a lot of things to prepare before it. As Old Grimm said, a truly powerful mage had to put an end to all idents. Lin Li couldn¡¯t prevent all idents by himself with his strength, so he had to prepare some items for himself.

    It was a must to wear the Robe of Wrath which could carry 30 scrolls and which he enchanted with magic resistance attributes using the abyss mithril gold rod. The space to carry 30 scrolls was a little unnecessary, but the magic resistance attribute was definitely what Lin Li needed. How could Lin Li have gotten away unharmed at Casten Isaac¡¯s banquet if he had not worn the Robe of Wrath?

    After deciding on the mage robe, Lin Li fumbled about in the Ring of Endless Storm again.

    But the result was embarrassing. Despite the extent he was rich to in the Endless World, he had forgotten to prepare a set of equipment for his mage smurf. The Robe of Wrath was the only thing he had.

    So, Lin Li had to dig out the Winter Staff, which was the only equipment Andoine gave him. Although the tip of the staff was iid with a magical crystal from a level-eight Frost Troll, it was a handsome weapon for Lin Li, who had always loved ice spells.

    ¡°Eh!¡± Lin Li suddenly saw two familiar things when he took out the Winter Staff from the Ring of Endless Storm. It was a dirty canvas and a ring embedded with a ck diamond.

    Lin Li vaguely remembered that the two things should have been offered by the Leviathan Gori when he went to rescue Ina.

    The dirty canvas was quickly thrown aside by Lin Li, for he couldn¡¯t understand what was painted on it anyway, but he was delighted by the ring. This was something that carried a strong magical wave. When they found it in the tree hole of the Leviathan Gori, Lin Li knew that it was at least on the same level as his Robe of Wrath.

    But aftering to Jarrosus City, he had no use for it at the time, and he also had no time to use it. So, he had actually forgotten about it in the long run...

    Now that he had found it again, Lin Li decided to study it in detail.

    He first tried to input mana into the ring to see if he could trigger the magic attributes of the ring itself. This was general knowledge Andoine had taught him. If he was unable to judge the use of a piece of magic equipment, the best way to find out was to input mana into it. Under the stimulus of the mana, most magic equipment would reveal its own attributes.

    What Andoine had taught him was indeed true. Lin Li had just begun to input his mana into the ring when the ck diamond iid on it began to emit a faint light. The light was strange¡ªdeep and dark¡ªlike the eyes of the legendary Abyssal Demon.

    Lin Li¡¯s confidence rose seeing there was a reaction from the ring.

    He slowly began to increase the intensity of his mana output. It was a process that required patience. An overly intense mana output was likely to destroy rare magic equipment.

    But very soon, Lin Li found that he was being too careful.

    The intensity of mana output was constantly increasing, and the lighting out from the ck diamond glowed brighter and brighter. But the true attribute of the ring was never revealed. Lin Li began to feel a little anxious. The increase of his mana output began to amplify from the previous caution to a subsequent full output.

    But the strange ring remained the same...

    ¡°F*ck! What bird-crap stuff is this...¡± Lin Li knew his mana like the palm of his hand. At present, he was close to the maximum output of his mana. With such a massive influx of mana, even the most powerful magic equipment would be activated. How was it that this bird-crap ring had no response at all?

    ¡°Did I use the wrong method?¡± The method of mana input did not work, but Lin Li was not discouraged. After all, this was only one of the ways to judge the attributes of a magic equipment¡ªit was just the most widely used method. Apart from this, there were many ways to activate equipment; some creators even deliberately ced traps on the magic equipment.

    Lin Li gently held the ring iid with the ck diamond in his hand and began his attempt to prate it with his mental strength. It was just like when he was forging the gold rod; he could establish a subtle connection with the ring with the pration of his mental strength. Mental strength was a sensitive and delicate thing. Through the trace of mental strength, Lin Li could clearly grasp any situation that was in the ring.

    Lin Li felt an anomaly the moment his mental spirit prated the ck diamond.

    It was a bizarre feeling, as if the trace of mental strength fully incarnated into Lin Li himself and that little ck diamond had be the whole world.

    The world in the ck diamond was just like the deep, dark light it gave off, bearing a strong, peculiar aura. Lin Li was aware of the abnormality as soon as his mental strength seeped in. There was an endless gloom all around; it seemed that no trace of mental strength could escape the darkness. A powerful attraction force¡ªchaotic and violent¡ªpoured in from all directions, as if to tear the thread of mental strength to pieces.

    From the moment the powerful attraction force appeared, Lin Li knew he had done something stupid. The pration of the mental strength was a very dangerous thing, not to mention doing it with a ring of unknown origin. If the mental strength waspletely torn apart, even if he made great progress in magic in the future, it would not be able to make up for the w left behind in the mental strength.

    However, it was toote to regret now. Under the pull of the powerful attraction force, he was unable to recall that trace of mental strength. Lin Li could only try to steady his mind and control the mental strength with caution. Shuttling swiftly through the darkness, his goal was the only glint of light in the endless darkness.

    That glint of light was far ahead¡ªfaint and flickering but exceptionally brilliant in the endless darkness. The powerful attraction force was tearing in all directions, the darkness swept past, and every now and then, there were voices husky and deep, whispering and murmuring, and everything was as if in a dream.

    And with these voices were all kinds of emotions¡ªsadness, joy,ughter, and tears. These innumerable emotions seemed to pour into his mind all at once, and even with his sick mental strength, he almost copsed in an instant.

    After barely managing to steady his mind, Lin Li felt cold sweat breaking out all over his body. The pure mental attack was more frightening than a magic spell. It took only one careless move to plunge himself into a state of eternal damnation. At this point, he had begun to regret venturing to prate the ck diamond with his mental strength.

 Chapter 75 - Torrent of Elements Ring

    <h4>Chapter 75: Torrent of Elements Ring</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sudden influx of arge amount of emotions was frantically tearing at Lin Li¡¯s mental strength. At that moment, he felt as if he hadpletely broken down, or as if he were a schizophrenic¡ªat one timeughing, and at another crying. Apanying theughing and crying was a splitting pain. The pain that gushed out of the depths of the mind had nothing to do with the body. It was just the purest of all pain that couldn¡¯t be diverted nor relieved; he could only let it wreak havoc in his mind.

    Lin Li felt that he had gone insane under the inhuman suffering. No one knew how long this painsted; perhaps it was only one second, perhaps it was a year. Just as he was on the verge of copse, a ray of light tore through the endless darkness...

    It was as if a red sun rising from the east at the darkest hour before dawn, shining in all its splendor and filling the whole world with life and vitality. This was what Lin Li felt at the moment. After that wisp of light tore open the endless darkness, boundless rays of light permeated it all at once and cleared away the haze in an instant. The world became pure all of a sudden.

    The dream-like voices disappeared and the various emotions were gone without a trace. Through the mental strength, Lin Li could feel a kind of peace and tranquility very clearly.

    Apart from the dazzling light, there was an immense void all around. There was neither time nor space around, only the purest and most primitive nothingness, as if it were all but for the purpose of making this piece of light exist.

    After a short respite, Lin Li extended his mental strength and examined the bright light quietly...

    With his recent lesson, he did not dare to be careless. Everything was done with caution. His tenuous mental strength was divided into dozens of feelers, probing around one by one.

    The light seemed to contain some kind of power and rules; it maintained a tenacious and unyielding resistance to the invasion of that trace of mental strength from Lin Li. This resistance made the invasion extremely difficult, and Lin Li had to control his mental strength to wander around in search of cracks to prate.

    This was a process that required patience. After a few thousand tries, a trace of mental strength managed to get through atst...

    The mental strength fused with the light the moment it seeded. At the same time, there seemed to be a loud noise in the deeper part of Lin Li¡¯s mind. It was aplete fusion, as if a soldering iron hade down, and a unique imprint of Lin Li had been branded on the ring.

    The branding was more thorough than the one on the gold rod. The gold rod was only controlled by a trace of residual mental strength. However, this time, Lin Li left his own mental mark on the ringpletely, making the ring part of his mental strength. To prompt it, he didn¡¯t need any mana or connection through his mental strength¡ªa mere thought could activate the attributes of the ring.

    ¡°Good stuff...¡± When the ring was branded with his mark, Lin Li knew exactly what kind of magic equipment it was. It never urred to him that a level-eight magical beast like the Leviathan Gori coulde to possess such a powerful treasure.

    What was really powerful about this ring was that it could create an elemental channel in an instant¡ªall the magical elements that might hurt oneself would be guided into this particr channel. The magical elements guided into it would then be stored in theirplete form; regardless of the elemental sequence or the magic structure, there would be no change. When needed, the owner of the ring could also release the stored magic by mana activation...

    The only thing that was regretful to Lin Li was that the channel could only be created once a day, and the magic that could be guided into it could not exceed his own level by five.

    But apart from these two ws, this ring with the ck diamond was absolutely invulnerable. Not to mention the opportunity for a magic immunity, there was also an additional powerful magic spell on the house. If the ring was utilized well, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he might even have the chance beat an Archmage...

    ¡°Not bad, not bad...¡± After putting on the ring contentedly, Lin Li was grinning from ear to ear. It was only after a long time of tion that he suddenly remembered such a handy magic equipment had yet to have a name. ¡°Since it¡¯s used to immunize magic through a channel... I¡¯ll simply call it the Torrent of Elements...¡±

    With this Torrent of Elements Ring, Lin Li felt that he had no need to go to Gerian again. The Guild of Magic had been poor for years, and the only magic equipment it could bring out were probably the one that the Mannes Family contributed. The magic equipment in the guild¡¯s warehouse either enhanced mental strength or supplied mana. What little enhancement did a monster like Lin Li who was almost like a magical beast need?

    Fumbling through the Ring of Endless Storm again, there seemed to be no more equipment that could be used...

    So, Lin Li naturally had his mind on potions.

    After selecting severalmonly used herbs, Lin Li hesitated for a while, and gingerly took out a ck lotus petal.

    This was probably what they called ¡°character determines destiny.¡± If Gerian were to fight in this duel, with the old man¡¯s arrogant character and an opponent who had been defeated easily before, he would have gone to the duel straight, without even bringing his staff...

    But Lin Li had always been cautious. Even facing Cromwell, whom he had easily beaten before, he would still want to be fully prepared before the duel. Although the ck lotus petals were precious, they were not worth mentioningpared to his own life.

    Moreover, he would not be so naive to think that this duel would be easy.

    Old Merlin had seen clearly what happened in the Emerald Tower that day. With his vision, how could he not see that Cromwell was no match for Lin Li? He was not an idiot. How could he send the sole heir of the Merlin Family to die knowing the disparity in power?

    Lin Li was almost certain from all these unreasonable points that the Merlin Family definitely had something formidable up their sleeves for this duel. The Cromwell who would appear at the Daylight Square tomorrow would definitely be a lot stronger than the one he knew!

 Chapter 76 - Elixir of the Sages

    <h4>Chapter 76: Elixir of the Sages</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was a heavy mist in the potionb. Lin Li was busying himself with a solemn expression on his face.

    He was about to concoct the Elixir of the Sages, a true master-grade potion.

    This was the first time Lin Li used a master-grade form ever since he¡¯d transmigrated. The previous Sobriety Potion and the Arcane Magic Potion were merely medium-grade forms. Even the Awakening Potion that allowed Gerian to stun Old Merlin outside the Emerald Tower was only a product of a high-grade form...

    A master-grade potion that made use of the petals of the ck lotus was not to be mentioned in the same breath with the other potions he had concocted before.

    Even Lin Li, who was ustomed to using the ming Hands for heating, lit up an amethystmp today. This was a luxury item that a real pharmacy master was qualified to possess. The amethyst was by nature extremely sensitive to mana. By filling it with a low-level fire magical crystal, the temperature could be precisely adjusted through the use of mana.

    Half a small beaker of peacebloom sus was ced on top of themp holder woven by the Eternal Adamantine thread.

    As the temperature of the amethystmp rose little by little, the beaker containing the peacebloom sus gradually began to boil.

    Lin Li gently swung the test tube in his hands, carefully shaking the wild steelbloom sus up. But in his heart, he was carefully calcting the time taken for the peacebloom sus to boil. The Elixir of the Sages was a fragile thing, and would not allow any room for error. If the boiling time was too long, it would lead to serious vtilization of the potion, and the effect would be greatly reduced when used. If the boiling time was too short, its mind-calming effects would not bepletely achieved. A bottle of Elixir of the Sages that could predict the future would likely be a maddening lethal potion.

    The wild steelbloom sus in the test tube waspletely shaken up, which was also the moment when the peacebloom sus in the beaker turned from turbid to clear. Lin Li quickly poured down the sus of the wild steelbloom. The mixture of two solutions¡ªone cold and one hot¡ªnot only fogged the potionb, but also quieted the boiling liquid in the beaker in an instant.

    The wild steelbloom grew in dark, damp ces and had some medicinal properties tending towards cold. It was suitable to be used to cool the boiling peacebloom sus.

    After pouring the wild steelbloom sus, Lin Li did not adjust the temperature of the amethystmp. ording to his calctions, it would take at least 30 seconds for the liquid in the beaker to boil again.

    Although 30 seconds was not long, it was enough for him toplete a bottle of the potion.

    Lin Li used the silver knife in his hand and gently cut four stalks of dracaena grass into portions of equal length. And then there was another cut, and a piece of terocone was cut in half. One half of terocone and the four stalks of dracaena grass were put into the beaker at the same time, and they floated lightly in the clear liquid.

    After all these, Lin Li released an Ice st, creating a cold mist on the potion table. The little ck lotus petal was enveloped in that mist. Under the stimtion of the two distinct attributes, a hiss was heard...

    The cold mist dispersed almost instantaneously, while the temperature on the potion table was still hot.

    Lin Li was not flustered as he released another Ice st.

    The ck lotus, which grew only in the extreme temperatures, naturally contained massive amounts of fire magical element. It did not look any different than usually, but once the medicinal properties were released or when it collided with other magical elements, the zing temperature could erupt in an instant. If it was put directly into the beaker without any prior processing, it could probably evaporate the whole beaker of sus in an instant.

    After cooling down with three Ice st spells, the ck lotus petal was frozen atst.

    Under the light, the frozen ck lotus petal exuded a glittering mystery. However, Lin Li had no time to admire it. The three Ice st spells had used up nine seconds of his time.

    When that piece of sparkling frost fell, the liquid in the beaker that was about to boil seemed to rest suddenly. No fog arose and no magical element stirred; only a refreshing breath overflowed the beaker...

    There was a deep red glow in the previously clear liquid. This was the true color of the ck lotus¡ªas red as the fire, its own attribute.

    Lin Li heaved a long sigh of relief after finishing all these.

    This was probably the most tiring concoction ever since he¡¯d transmigrated.

    Although the required skills were not profound, it demanded the precise control of time. Every step had to be precisely calcted in seconds, in particr thest 30 seconds where the cooling of the ck lotus petal had to bepleted.

    However, watching the full beaker containing the Elixir of the Sages standing there, Lin Li felt that all his tiredness was worth it. It was a master-grade potion using the ck lotus petal. It would take only a small bottle to produce a time-warping effect, allowing the user to know in advance what would happen within 20 meters in the next ten minutes.

    Even among the master-grade forms, the Elixir of the Sages could be considered a true high-quality product. To some extent, forcibly distorting the rule of time was near to a miraculous realm.

    As long as a bottle of Elixir of the Sages was in his hand, Lin Li really did not believe that Cromwell would be able to hurt him in the following day¡¯s duel.

    The door of the potionb opened suddenly as he was thinking of the duel.

    Gerian poked his head in and asked with an obsequious smile, ¡°Eh! Felic, you are concocting potions again?¡±

    ¡°Please cut the crap, President Gerian...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes in spite of himself. He knew the old fellow would find his way here.

    Ever since the Arcane Magic Potion, Gerian¡¯s nose seemed to be more sensitive. As soon as he smelled somethinging out of the pharmacy, the old fellow would rush in and watch at the side, waiting for Lin Li to prepare the potion so that he could fill his pockets with one or two bottles.

    Anyway, the old fellow was too thick-skinned to be driven away. After a few times, Lin Li simply paid no attention to him anymore. Moreover, it was really boring, waiting for the potion to boil. It seemed that time passed faster when there was someone nearby to talk to. As for the few bottles of potions he pocketed at the end, he¡¯d just treat them as a payment for hispany...

    But this time it was the Elixir of the Sages. Even he himself had to think it over time and again before finally deciding to concoct a bottle, so naturally it had nothing to do with Gerian.

 Chapter 77 - Terms

    <h4>Chapter 77: Terms</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    So, without waiting for him to open his mouth this time, Lin Li shook his head and rejected him. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it this time. I¡¯ve prepared this for tomorrow¡¯s duel.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a stranger, alright...?¡± A blush came to Gerian¡¯s aged face when his intentions were exposed. But with his character, it was impossible for him to acknowledge it. Afterughing it off embarrassedly, he continued stubbornly, ¡°I saw that you¡¯ve been in the potionb for a long time and came to see whether there¡¯s anything you need...¡±

    ¡°You could fool Kevin with that.¡±

    ¡°Rascal, you don¡¯t know good from bad. I¡¯m concerned about you!¡± Gerian turned angry from the embarrassment and grumbled. Atst, he was unwilling to give up, and finally revealed his intentions. ¡°Is it true you only concocted one bottle?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li only felt energy sapped from him.

    ¡°If it¡¯s really one bottle, then forget it...¡± Seeing Lin Li¡¯s expression, Gerian knew that this time was out of the question, and he dropped the subject. ¡°For some reason, the more I thought about it these two days, the more I felt that something is wrong with the duel tomorrow... Do you think Matthew, that old jerk, has prepared some trap for me to jump into it?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t ce a trap as and when you like. Without sufficient strength, it¡¯s useless even if you really set it up...¡± Lin Li shook his head, dispelling the doubts in Gerian¡¯s mind. ¡°The situation in Jarrosus is too clear. You¡¯ve already stepped on Old Merlin¡¯s face, and that old fellow didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound. What are you afraid of?¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no buts. I¡¯ve also thought it through these few days. That day, there was only one reason why Old Merlin forced me into a duel with his son: his hope that Cromwell could kill me in the duel.¡± At this point, Lin Li stretched out two fingers. ¡°There are two benefits that arise from this. One, to weaken the strength of the Guild of Magic; two, to get rid of the threat of potions to the Merlin Family.¡±

    Gerian was still in doubt. ¡°Cromwell has the ability to do it?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he does have... He¡¯s the only heir of the Merlin Family. Should I kill him in the duel, even if the Merlin Family doesn¡¯t die, they¡¯d be crippled. Old Merlin¡¯s not that stupid. But luckily, I¡¯m not stupid either, and my luck¡¯s not too bad too. After practicing with Mage Grimm for a few days, I¡¯ve actually managed to climb to level-twelve by ident. Even if Old Merlin is formidable, he probably wouldn¡¯t have expected me to be a level-twelve Magic Shooter.¡±

    ¡°Of course... Who would have expected?¡± At the mention of this, Gerian felt seriously resentful. They were all mages; by what virtue could this little rascal progress so fast?

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve prepared some petty stuff to surprise him in the duel tomorrow.¡± With the Torrent of Elements Ring and the Elixir of the Sages in his hands, Lin Li really doubted Cromwell could do anything to him.

    ¡°But just in case something happens...¡± There was still worry on Gerian¡¯s face. After hesitating for a while, he clenched his teeth and fished out a ne from his pocket. ¡°Why not wear this tomorrow...?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lin Li was stunned for a slight moment, then reached out his hand to receive the ne.

    ¡°Careful, this is an expensive stuff, don¡¯t spoil it.¡± Gerian was in great trepidation as he watched Lin Li handle the ne carelessly. ¡°This green quartz contains a Purge Spell. Activate it with the mana when you use it, it will help you remove undesirable conditions caused by spells below level-ten... You rascal must be careful with it when you use it. This was the only item Teacher Osric gave me. I didn¡¯t even use it myself. I¡¯ll lend it to you tomorrow, and when the duel is over, remember to return it to me...¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Li nodded and prudently kept the ne close to him.

    ¡°Oh right, and this.¡± Gerian pondered and took out a pile of scrolls from his pocket. ¡°Choose a few useful ones. They mighte in handy when the timees.¡±

    ¡°Okay, leave it here first, I¡¯ll pick them outter.¡±

    After taking out the two stuff that he had long prepared, Gerian was still somewhat uneasy and began nagging at Lin Li about the things he should pay attention to during the duel. The Gerian at this moment seemed to differ from the usually arrogant president of the Guild of Magic. He seemed like a long-winded old man with his wordy advice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep an eye.¡±

    While the two men were talking, they heard the door of the potionb ring.

    Lin Li went to open the door; as it turned out, it was Kevin who had returned!

    ¡°Why did youe back?¡± Lin Li was slightly surprised seeing the wan expression on Kevin¡¯s face.

    ¡°Let me catch a breath first and tell you slowly...¡± Kevin had rushed back overnight from the Demon Fall Valley, and was already deadbeat. After entering the potionb, he took in a few breaths and began exining the purpose behind his return.

    ¡°I came back this time because of the hostages.¡±

    Lin Li vaguely remembered that the Shadow¡¯s Nest hadunched a sneak attack on the Demon Fall Valley aroundst week, not only destroying two guard towers but also capturing a few mages. As soon as Gerian had received the news, he had asked Kevin to do everything he could to get the hostages back. He was asked to offer additional money if he couldn¡¯t exchange them with the hostages from the Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    ¡°Eiserhol was unwilling to exchange?¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s willing. But not exchange hostages with hostages...¡± Kevin shook his head and there was some helplessness in his expression. ¡°What Eiserhol mean is, we can exchange for the hostages, but it must be done with potions.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Gerian¡¯s anger rose in an instant. ¡°What a grand dream he has!¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± The old fellow was about to lose his temper but was stopped by Lin Li. ¡°How do they know that the Guild of Magic has potions?¡±

    Kevin carefully recalled and said with uncertainty, ¡°Maybe the news got out from Jarrosus. The middle-aged man that Eiserhol sent seemed to have mentioned the Arcane Magic Potion auction once.¡±

    ¡°How many do they want? Did they clearly state what kind of potions they need?¡±

    ¡°Ten bottles for a hostage, and they specified the Elixir of Empowerment.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s simple.¡± Lin Li mulled it over andughed all of a sudden. ¡°Go and reply Eiserhol. Say that the Guild of Magic will ept his terms. 40 bottles of Elixir of Empowerment will be sent to him the day after tomorrow at thetest. Let him send someone to prepare for the exchange of the hostages.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± Kevin had yet to speak when Gerian, who was at the side, got anxious. ¡°How can you agree to such terms so easily? It¡¯s obvious that the jerk, Eiserhol, is trying to extort us!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I hope.¡± Lin Li¡¯s smile was unfathomable. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t extort us, I really couldn¡¯t think of anything else at the moment to stuff him to death. This time, we have to let that fellow from the Shadow¡¯s Nest know that pharmacists are actually capable of killing. And the more impressive the pharmacist is, the more impressive the way they kill...¡±

 Chapter 78 - A Different Person

    <h4>Chapter 78: A Different Person</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The next day, Jarrosus City seemed to be shrouded in an eerie atmosphere.

    With the exception of the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic, the leaders of the other 16 forces arrived at Daylight Square early in the morning. They put on their best clothes, as if they were going to a big dinner party. Whether it was the assassin leader or the casino tycoon, all of them seemed to get along very well on this special day. There was harmony in the Daylight Square. They talked about the changing weather, the chaotic Jarrosus, the results of the Arcane Magic Potion auction... But never about the duel that was toe...

    At the beginning of the day, several streets near the Daylight Square were already blockaded. This was on an order issued by the Casten Mansion and jointly executed by the 18 forces. No one could resist this force in Jarrosus City. Vendors and residents were temporarily relocated, leaving only an empty Daylight Square.

    All those qualified to watch this duel were prominent figures in the Jarrosus City¡ªCasten Isaac and his attendants, the leaders of the 18 forces and their henchmen, and several wealthy businessmen and celebrities in Jarrosus City. The worst of them were at least eligible to attend the banquet at the Casten Mansion.

    The grand scene left the assassin leader, Old Odin, with some regret. Why hadn¡¯t he taken up some celebrities assassination requests before he came? In this way, he might¡¯ve been able to earn some gold coins as an allowance after watching the duel...

    But he only entertained such thoughts in his heart. This was a duel between the Guild of Magic and the Merlin Family. Even if Old Odin had a hundred times more nerves, he wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge the two giants of Jarrosus City¡ªin particr the current Guild of Magic. Old Odin was in no condition to provoke them.

    Backed by the wealth of the 18 forces, temporary stands were built overnight at the southern end of the Daylight Square. A polished marble table was arched around less than half of the Daylight Square. The previously harmonious atmosphere in the square immediately became quite distinct after a group of celebrities ascended the stands.

    The six underground forces and the ten mage families were sitting at the top of the stands with the best view. Among them, three of the most prominent positions were left for Casten Isaac, President Gerian, and Chief Matthew. The three most powerful men of Jarrosus City should naturally sit in the most prominent positions. Even Ysera of the Mannes Family and Reuben of the Saruman Family did not dare toy their hands on these seats.

    Among these forces, there was also a hierarchy. Among the mage families, Ysera and Saruman were the closest to the three seats in the middle. As for the six underground forces, Old Odin was the leader. After the rise of the Guild of Magic, this old friend of Gerian was suspected to be the leader of the six underground forces.

    As for the rich businessmen and celebrities, they naturally sat below the 18 forces as befitting their position in Jarrosus City, where they had always been trampled by the 18 forces.

    What followed was a long wait. It was as if the Guild of Magic and the Merlin Family had agreed beforehand; none had shown up at the Daylight Square. Although the leaders of the various forces on the stands waited anxiously, no one dared toin, including Matsis of the Blood Brotherhood. Although he did dare tosh out at the leaders of the two powers behind closed doors, calling Gerian a lunatic and Old Merlin an old turtle, once he was in the stands, he would not dare to insult either of them even if someone lent him a hundred guts to do it.

    Amidst the anxious and helpless waiting, two figures finally emerged from the end of the streets.

    Cromwell was wearing a gray robe and clutching a staff embedded with magical crystals in his hand. His handsome, young face was brimming with confidence as he strolled through the streets with a radiant smile. On the contrary, beside him, the powerful Archmage Old Merlin looked somewhat aged and tired, and the smile he showed from time to time carried a hint of bitterness in it.

    When the old and the young entered the square, several of the strongest people on the stands, such as Reuben from the Saruman Family, Ysera from the Mannes Family, and Andrew, the Casten¡¯s mage, felt almost at the same time that Cromwell seemed a little out of the ordinary today.

    Cromwell was the sole heir to the Merlin Family and also a famous genius mage in the younger generation of Jarrosus, so the Mannes Family and the Saruman Family had paid close attention to him every day. At the same time, the two men also had to admit that Cromwell was really good, having the strength of a level-seven mage at such a young age.

    But when Cromwell showed up today, the two men suddenly realized they did not recognize him anymore.

    <i>Is this person really Cromwell from the Merlin Family? </i>Ysera and Reuben looked at each other incredulously. If it was really Cromwell, how could they be frightened by the aura he exuded?

    Both of them were powerful figures, and it would never be just a level-seven mage who made them feel the fear.

    ¡°At least level-fourteen...¡± The voice of the ck-robed mage, Andrew, sounded from behind and startled both Ysera and Reuben. Apart from Gerian and Old Merlin, Andrew was definitely the most authoritative mage in Jarrosus. Now that even he had said so, Cromwell¡¯s strength must have grown by leaps and bounds...

    ¡°How... How is this possible...¡± Although Reuben specialized in conjuring, the Saruman Family had its roots in magic after all. How could he not know that the ascension of magic level was by no means as simple as one plus one equals two? In addition to the umtion of mana and the training of skills, a great deal of time was required for research. He had not thought¡ªnot even in his dreams¡ªthat there would be someone like Cromwell, who went up seven notches in a month.

    For a moment, the looks of the two family patriarchs were somewhatplicated. They were the first two forces to swing to the Guild of Magic at the auction for the Arcane Magic Potion. To some extent, they had been tied to the Guild of Magic. Cromwell having level-fourteen in magic was definitely no good news to them...

 Chapter 79 - The Duel

    <h4>Chapter 79: The Duel</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just as the two men were feelingplicated, another two figures appeared at the end of the street.

    It was also a pair of an old and a young. Butpared to the previous pair, the old looked full of confidence while the young was helplessly shaking his head, sighing. Gerian¡¯s presence always seemed to carry a sense of humor. The fellow shouted at Old Merlin from a distance before he entered the square, ¡°Good morning, Matthew. You were too scared to sleepst night, weren¡¯t you? Look at your dark circles...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Half of the forces¡¯ leaders on the stand fainted on the spot. Could this old fellow be more arrogant, more unmannered?

    ¡°Gerian, you¡¯re like a fly.¡± Old Merlin¡¯s face was livid. He shot a cold re at Gerian and walked straight up to the temporary grandstand.

    ¡°Matthew, don¡¯t be in a hurry to walk away. Can¡¯t we have a little more talk?¡± Gerian refused to give up. He promptly followed Old Merlin onto the stand and plopped into the seat that was prepared for him. He even winked discreetly at Casten Isaac, who was sitting in the middle, beckoning him to make way so that he could get closer to Old Merlin.

    Lin Li stood in the middle of Daylight Square, shaking his head resignedly as he watched Gerian¡¯s overstaffed figure from the back...

    ¡°Now that both of them have arrived, let me, the overseer, say two words.¡± Isaac ignored Gerian¡¯s harassment and rose from the marble seat, his voice booming over the square. ¡°A month ago, the Merlin Family and the Guild of Magic had agreed on this duel. I, Isaac, am honored to be its overseer. I will do everything in my power to maintain the fairness of this duel!

    ¡°Now, allow me to introduce both sides of the duel. They are Felic of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic and Cromwell of the Merlin Family.¡±

    Isaac¡¯s voice had just dropped when there was a burst of apuse from the stand. This was dedicated to Cromwell and Lin Li. In this chaotic city of Jarrosus, people only respected the strong and courageous. Whatever his status, the duelist who dared to walk in to Daylight Square was entitled to all the apuse.

    Isaac took his seat amidst all the apuse, but his face was full of worries. After this duel, Jarrosus City would no longer have peace...

    Old Merlin stood up with a weary look. His voice sounded hoarse, but it clearly reached everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°I only want to say, whoever humiliates the Merlin Family will have to pay the price.¡±

    In the condemnation of Old Merlin¡¯s double-edged remark, Gerian naturally rose to his feet. The smile on his chubby face was still there, but his voice spread like muffled thunder under the effect of magic. ¡°F*ck the Merlin Family, so what if I humiliate you?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The Daylight Square suddenly quieted down; there was a startled expression on everyone¡¯s faces. No one knew what exactly had happened, and they merely stared nkly at the two Archmages...

    Old Merlin¡¯s face was livid and his eyes were fixed on Gerian as if they were about to burst into mes. Had it not been for Casten Isaac sitting in the middle, holding the two men down, perhaps there would have been another battle between Jarrosus¡¯ most powerful mages on the stands before the duel below started.

    ¡°Forget it, I shall not teach you a lesson for the time being. I¡¯ll settle it with you after the duel ends.¡± Gerian, who was just chewing out Old Merlin earlier on, swore in a fit as if he was the victim now. Only with Isaac¡¯s persuasion did he sit indignantly in his ce.

    There was a lot of drama on the stands, but Lin Li¡¯s attention had been on Cromwell.

    Cromwell, on the other side, seemed to be very different from the past. Surrounding him was a powerful aura, something Cromwell had never had before; the magical wave emanating from him was even more powerful than Lin Li¡¯s own.

    <i>The Merlin Family is indeed impressive...</i>

    Feeling the surprise from Lin Li, a cruel smirk appeared on Cromwell¡¯s confident face. He had been waiting so many days for the moment when he would step onto the Daylight Square. He relished the surprise in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, and hoped that the mage who had humiliated him would show the expression of despair and fear in the face of absolute power in the ensuing duel...

    The humiliation caused by the Waterfall Strike in the Emerald Tower had always been deeply engraved in Cromwell¡¯s heart. He could still remember how Lin Li had looked at him with condescending disdain, not regarding himself as a level opponent at all. The Waterfall Strike had knocked him out of the Emerald Tower, which seemed to him like throwing out a bag of garbage.

    ¡°Long time no see, Mage Felic.¡± Cromwell greeted him in exactly the same way as when Lin Li was leaning over him on the steps of the Emerald Tower. Cromwell¡¯s heart was full of anticipation when he said that sentence. He anticipated seeing the expression of fear on his opponent¡¯s face, like how he did when he was lying on the steps.

    ¡°Long time no see, Mage Cromwell.¡± Unfortunately, Lin Li disappointed him. The surprise in his eyes was only fleeting, and it was followed by a smile that Cromwell abhorred. This polite yet condescending smile instantly reminded him of his humiliation.

    ¡°I hope you can still smileter...¡± A faint gleam of malice was revealed in Cromwell¡¯s narrowed eyes.

    ¡°Same to you.¡±

    Just as the two were head to head with each other, Casten Isaac rose from his seat once again.

    ¡°As the overseer, I dere that the duel begins now!¡±

    As soon as Isaac¡¯s voice fell, Lin Li sensed a violent wave of magic. Then, he saw Cromwell lift his staff, and a ball of fire with a ming tail in tow was roaring towards him...

    ¡°Damn!¡± Lin Li propped up his Elemental Shield while secretly regretting sneaking an attack on him with the Waterfall Strike. Not only did it trigger the battle between Jarrosus¡¯s most powerful mages, he even taught such a guy like Cromwell to be smart¡ªhe even knew how to y a preemptive strike now...

 Chapter 80 - Disadvantage

    <h4>Chapter 80: Disadvantage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When the ball of fire hit the Elemental Shield and stirred up a dazzling spark, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but startle. <i>When did this fellow be so strong? </i>Just a fireball had almost caused his Elemental Shield to copse. He was probably nearing the strength of a Magic Shooter.

    After barely receiving the fireball with his Elemental Shield, Lin Li dared not have the slightest negligence anymore. He prepared a wind de in each hand, but was not in a hurry to release them. He was waiting for Cromwell to begin his spell recitation.

    The smile on Cromwell¡¯s face deepened after the fireball. Although it failed to crack down the Elemental Shieldpletely, it gave him a good sense of his opponent¡¯s strength.

    ¡°A mere level-twelve...¡± In mages¡¯ battle, a difference of more than two levels almost meant that it would be a crushing of one side. Cromwell already had full confidence in winning this duel.

    He cast an Elemental Shield on himself too, then began reciting at the full height of his voice.

    When the light of the Elemental Shield shone, a wry smile appeared on Lin Li¡¯s face. This fellow had really smartened up. But now his arrow was fitted to the string, and he had no choice but to fire. The two wind des tore through the air with a piercing sound and bumped into the Elemental Shield that was on Cromwell without suspense.

    Lin Li knew very well that the two wind des wouldn¡¯t do any damage.

    With Cromwell¡¯s strength being close to that of the Archmage, the Elemental Shield that he held up could probably withstand even a level-fifteen spell, not to mention the two level-one wind des. So, Lin Li did not dare to hope for any results at all. As soon as the two wind des were released, he also began a long recitation.

    With his massive mental strength, Lin Li barely caught up with the progress of the spell. Both of thempleted a level-nine ming Storm almost at the same time.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The res sounded almost concurrently. In an instant, a fire rose in the middle of Daylight Square.

    The earth-shattering collision between the two¡¯s spells had everyone on the stands exim loudly.

    With the exception of a few, no one thought that they would see a battle of this level today. Before arriving at the Daylight Square, almost everyone¡¯s impression of them was that of young geniuses¡ªthey had talent and strength, but it was only among the younger generation.

    Little did they think it would be a battle that could rival the level of the Archmages fighting.

    Just look at their skillful and rapid spell-casting technique and the powerful magical wave they released. These people even had an illusion... Was it Gerian and Matthew who were battling in their stead?

    Both were hit almost simultaneously by the ming Storm, but the results were different. The Elemental Shield on Lin Li was instantly broken by the crush of the magic level and the previous impact of the fireball. Cromwell, who was also standing in the midst of the mes, had maintained the faint halo on his body all the time...

    The gap between the two levels was exposed in a sh.

    ¡°Are you still able tough now?¡± Cromwell revealed a cruel smile, pointing at Lin Li with the Aether Staff in his hand. The magical crystal at the tip of the staff glowered in a blue light, and the roar of an icicle followed.

    At this moment, half of the audience¡¯s hearts were clenched. Most local forces were rted to the Guild of Magic. Gerian, who was sitting on Isaac¡¯s right, tightly clenched his fists.

    As an Archmage, his vision reached farther and was clearer than others¡¯. Gerian knew Cromwell was nearing the strength of an Archmage with that fireball he released. And sure enough, he had also had the absolute advantage in the sh of the ming Storm afterwards. Now that Lin Li¡¯s Elemental Shield had been broken, even if he topped it up with the Ice Armor Spell, it might still be difficult for him to receive this icicle...

    And then Gerian indeed saw the ice armor propped up in front of Lin Li. But for some reason, Gerian could feel that there was something wrong about this ice armor.

    At the moment when the ice armor was propped up, the icicle had been shot.

    ¡°Tch!¡± At the instant the icicle came in contact with the ice armor, a piercing sound rang through the Daylight Square.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Gerian heaved a long sigh of relief, for he already saw that after that icicle hit the ice armor, it did not break it down as he had imagined, but swept past the glittering ice, bringing with it pieces of ice debris. It was then that Gerian understood why he¡¯d felt there was something wrong with the ice armor earlier on.

    The angle at which the ice armor was propped up was changed by shifting the elemental sequence. Kudos to this kid for thinking of it...

    The ice armor propped up obliquely would naturally be more advantageous than the one propped up on the front in the face of an oing icicle.

    The smile on Cromwell¡¯s face froze as he failed to score with the icicle. He had never imagined that his opponent would fend off the icicle in such a way.

    There were gasps of awe from the stands, and the smile was still on Lin Li¡¯s face.

    Perhaps only he knew that he had no need for the ice armor. He could totally receive the icicle with the strong magic resistance attributes of his Robe of Wrath. However, he didn¡¯t want to reveal the secret of the Robe of Wrath so early. He wanted to surprise Cromwell with it at a more critical time.

    After a short Spell Cycle, Lin Li had gained a new Elemental Shield. At least on the surface, both sides were back to the same starting line once more.

    But the disparity of two levels still existed. Just as Lin Li was putting up his Elemental Shield again, Cromwell began another round of outbursts. This time, he made use of arge amount of low-level spells. Even if his mental strength couldn¡¯t bepared to that of Lin Li¡¯s, with an absolute dominance in level, the amount of instantaneous spells he could release was definitely not less than Lin Li¡¯s. Numerous wind des and arcane missilesnded unceasingly on the Elemental Shield, stirring up ripple after ripple on the sheeryer of light...

    And under this storm-like attack, Lin Li¡¯s counterattack was equally sharp. Mind Control, Delirium... the harassment was so varied and numerous that Cromwell had to divert his attention to set up a mental protection field. Lin Li released a few wind des from time to time, constantly trying to weaken the Elemental Shield on Cromwell...

 Chapter 81 - Impasse

    <h4>Chapter 81: Impasse</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In an instant, magical elements rose from the square. Magic runes were scattered among the brilliant lights and shadows and various magic spells collided with one another, sparking off dazzling sparks in the Daylight Square.

    ¡°President Gerian, the situation doesn¡¯t seem good. Do you think Felic would have...¡± The Mannes Family was the first to swing to the Guild of Magic. The battle in the middle of the square was heart-wrenching to watch for Ysera. There was worry in the young patriarch¡¯s voice as he watched the various spells released by Cromwell raging on wildly while Lin Li could only struggle for survival with an Elemental Shield.

    ¡°What would have? Open your eyes wide and watch. In less than a minute, Felic will kill that idiot Cromwell!¡± Gerian red at Ysera, but his heart was in mes. <i>Coming to tell me something doesn¡¯t look good in this critical moment. You¡¯re a f*cking crow, aren¡¯t you?</i>

    ¡°Gerian, what¡¯s the use of losing your temper here? The situation now is clear even to a blind man. Your mage, Felic, won¡¯t be able to hold out for long.¡±

    Old Merlin¡¯s lukewarm voice fell into Gerian¡¯s ears and immediately angered him. ¡°Matthew, you fool. I don¡¯t want to argue with you, but you¡¯d better keep your mouth shut. Don¡¯t make me angry, or your tortoise shells may not be able to protect you.¡±

    Aaron Matsis, who was sitting below them, felt chills on his back when he heard the words ¡°tortoise shells¡±...

    ¡°Gerian, there¡¯s no point in shouting here. Strength is strength. There¡¯s no use getting angry.¡±

    In the middle of Daylight Square, Cromwell had taken the absolute advantage. Arge number of low-level spells formed an elemental storm, devouring the faint halo of the Elemental Shield. After a long period of forbearance, they were finally yielding some good results today. Old Merlin was in high spirits, such that he could not even care about the insults between Gerian¡¯s words.

    Cromwell¡¯s advantage was simply too great. The continuous magic strikes had shaken the Elemental Shield that Lin Li had just erected. If it hadn¡¯t been for the previous Mana Retroaction to dy time, he would have been hit directly by Cromwell¡¯s spells.

    Cromwellughed wildly in the ze of magical light. The endless elemental storm seemed to have served as an outlet for him to vent all the humiliation he had gotten in the past month. The feeling was simply delightful. He even hoped for his opponent¡¯s Elemental Shield to copse slower so that he could enjoy the destruction process to his heart¡¯s content...

    Looking only at the current situation of the duel, perhaps even Gerian had to admit that Lin Li had sunken into an impasse.

    It was an overwhelming dominance, with no strength to fight back at all.

    At the beginning, he could use auxiliary magic spells to fight back. But after Cromwell had set up a mental protection field and unexpectedly consumed two scrolls, Lin Li had no chance to deliver his strikes anymore. The only thing he could do now was to constantly switch between Ice Armor and Elemental Shield, and asionally dy time with the Mana Retroaction of the previous spell. Otherwise, he could only watch Cromwell unleash the spells one by one, letting them shine brilliantly upon contact with the Elemental Shield.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Another fireball exploded on the Elemental Shield. The impact of the huge force sent Lin Li a dozen steps back.

    The mes were burning all around, and the light on the Elemental Shield was dim. In the midst of the burning mes, Lin Li seemed to hear a shrill piercing sound tearing through the air.

    The copse of the Elemental Shield and the Mana Retroaction of the Ice Armor Spell all happened within the cooldown time. Lin Li could only watch helplessly as the wind de cut through his leg...

    ¡°Tchh!¡± There was only a slight sniffle, and then Lin Li felt a tingle in his leg, followed by a sharp pain. His right leg seemed to lose its strength suddenly, and he knelt down weakly on the square...

    Cromwell emerged from the mes and stared at Lin Li, who was kneeling on the ground. His face was filled with the satisfaction of sessful revenge. The smile on his face was distorted and ferocious in the light of the fire, like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.

    ¡°Long time no see, Mage Felic. Hahahaha...¡± In the midst of his frenziedughter, Cromwell shot out another wind de. And this time, the target was Lin Li¡¯s left leg.

    Then there was only a stter of blood and Lin Li lost the support of his left leg. He was like a wooden stake, falling to the ground with a plop.

    There were gasps of surprise from above the stands. It was obvious to everyone, including Casten Isaac and the host of rich businessmen and celebrities, that the oue of the duel had been decided. Many of them had expected the young pharmacist from the Guild of Magic to win instead of Cromwell.

    At this point, the chips were down. Old Merlin stood up proudly, apuding towards the middle of the square where Cromwell stood. Out of the corner of his eyes, he nced¡ªunintentionally or intentionally¡ªat Gerian. ¡°I¡¯ve already said, there¡¯s no use getting angry. Strength is strength!¡±

    Hearing Old Merlin¡¯s annoying apuse, Gerian¡¯s face was already livid as he was trying to hold his emotions in.

    But even Gerian, who had infinite confidence in Lin Li, had to admit at this point that the oue of the duel in the square had been decided. The gap between the two levels was irreparable. The reason why Cromwell had yet to kill Lin Li was just so that he could enjoy the fun of a cat catching a mouse.

    ¡°Casten Isaac, if the Guild of Magic admits defeat, will it end this duel?¡±

    Almost everyone thought they had misheard it when Gerian uttered the sentence. <i>Is this really Gerian from the Guild of Magic? That Gerian, who never bowed down to any force even in the most desperate days of the Guild of Magic?</i>

    Gerian could only smile bitterly in face of the surprised looks from everyone.

    How could he not see with his vision that the chips had been down for duel in the square? The only difference was Felic¡¯s life and death. There might still be a chance if he admitted defeat; if he did not, then Felic would no doubt die.

    They had been together for more than a month. Even though they made no difference between the senior and junior when they talked to each other, in Gerian¡¯s heart, he had regarded this young mage as his own nephew. He couldn¡¯t just watch him die.

    In order to save him, Gerian eveny down his dignity and bowed down to the Merlin Family for the first time.

    However, Isaac¡¯s reply was exceptionally cruel. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, President Gerian. I have to uphold the fairness of the duel. A request to end the duel must be agreed upon by both sides. Which means... If Chief Matthew agrees...¡±

    ¡°Gerian. If you kneel before me, I might consider your request...¡± Old Merlin roared withughter, relishing the fun of teasing Gerian. He had not enjoyed the pleasure of Gerian bowing down in front of him for a long time. Ever since the battle outside the Emerald Tower, the Guild of Magic had been above the Merlin Family. From then on, Gerian had been taking the initiative in the confrontation between the two of them.

    ¡°You...¡± Gerian stared fixedly at Old Merlin, who wasughing away. It almost seemed that mes were about to burst from his eyes. He had even released a trace of mana a moment ago, wanting to st a fireball at Old Merlin¡¯s repugnant smiling face.

    But at the next moment, he saw Lin Li¡¯s bloody legs, and Cromwell who was closing in on him. The trace of mana that Gerian released vanished without a trace and the furious expression on his face gradually turned to hesitation...

    Cromwell¡¯s face was full of satisfied smile. ¡°Mage Felic, can you still stand?¡±

    ¡°Come over and see for yourself...¡± Lin Li tried to squeeze out a smile on his face, but it identally touched a wound, making the smile look unusually unsightly.

    At the same time, a trace of mana was directed into the Torrent of Elements Ring. Lin Li only needed to magnify this mana and the ring would create a channel in an instant, guiding the impending magical elements into the ring.

 Chapter 82 - Cloud Storm

    <h4>Chapter 82: Cloud Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Why, aren¡¯t you a pharmacist?¡± At the same time Cromwell humiliated his opponent to his heart¡¯s content, he released two fireballs, easily blowing off the Elemental Shield Lin Li had just put up.

    It wasn¡¯t easy dragging through thest Spell Cycle, but now it was buried in the two fireballs Cromwell had released.

    The few forces¡¯ leaders who had the closest rtionship with the Guild of Magic sighed almost concurrently. <i>It¡¯s hopeless, it¡¯spletely hopeless...</i>

    ¡°Mr Pharmacist, where¡¯s your potion?¡± After two fireballs blew away the Elemental Shield, Cromwell was still not in a hurry to kill. He was enjoying the pleasure of humiliating his opponent. ¡°Don¡¯t you like Ina a lot? Shall I tell you a secret?¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡± Lin Li startled when he heard Cromwell mention Ina.

    ¡°When I came out this morning, I sent someone to visit the McGrenn¡¯s house. If nothing unexpected happened, the father and daughter are most probably in the Merlin Family¡¯s dungeon now...¡± Cromwell¡¯s smile was full of a victor¡¯s pride. ¡°After killing you, I¡¯ll go back and have fun with Ina. I can hardly wait just thinking about it. I wonder if Ina¡¯s long legs would be tightly mped in bed...?

    ¡°But, don¡¯t worry... I won¡¯t kill you off so quick. I will torture you slowly, cutting you with shot after shot of wind des until you have shed yourst drop of blood. Only then would it be enough to wash away the humiliation you had given me.¡± Cromwell released two more wind des in between his words.

    Without the obstruction of the Elemental Shield, these two wind des cut through Lin Li¡¯s skin easily, bringing up a spatter of blood on the Daylight Square.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t utter a sound but gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He could only hold on until opportunity presented itself.

    Cromwell¡¯s smile was full of enjoyment. He was walking towards Lin Li step by step. He would release a wind de for every step he took, and each wind de seemed to bring up a spatter of blood with it. Cromwell kept this rhythm steady, neither giving Lin Li a chance to fight back nor killing him at once.

    There was a dead silence in the Daylight Square. As Cromwell closed in, everyone knew that this duel, which was far beyond their imagination, wasing to an end.

    ¡°How about it, Gerian? Have you thought it through? As long as you kneel before me, I may agree to end this duel. Of course... It all depends on my mood.¡±

    Gerian did not say a word. He merely kept his stare fixed dead on Old Merlin.

    He was struggling; he was struggling between his lifetime reputation and Lin Li¡¯s life at stake...

    ¡°Give it a good thought, Gerian. That is a genius who is able to concoct the Arcane Magic Potion. What¡¯s even harder toe by is that he already had a breakthrough to the Magic Shooter realm at such a young age, and his future is limitless. This is definitely a good deal for you. If you kneel before me, I might be happy and ask Cromwell to spare his life.¡± Old Merlin looked down at Gerian with a triumphant smile.

    It sounded like a slip of the tongue, but he had already made up his mind that Felic would have to die¡ªeven if Gerian knelt down to him. Being a pharmacist would be terrible enough, and today he had disyed the level of a Magic Shooter. Old Merlin would never allow such a figure to live. It would threaten the Merlin Family¡¯s dominance in the future.

    ¡°You ask Cromwell to stop first!¡± Gerian jumped to his feet. He was ready to risk everything. He had lived so long anyway; he¡¯d rather be humiliated at an old age than watch Felic be killed.

    ¡°Hahahaha... Gerian, are you kidding? You have not kneeled down yet. How would I know if you¡¯d not go back on your word after the duel ends? You know you¡¯ve done many such things before...¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    Gerian shut his eyes and was ready to give it all.

    However, he heard a recitation from the square. It was Cromwell¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Matthew, make him stop!¡±

    Cromwell¡¯s high-pitched voice resounded in the square for long. The surging magical elements were clearly felt even in the stands; everyone knew that Cromwell had had enough fun, and that the next strike would be the most fatal one.

    Old Merlin paid no heed to Gerian and merely smiled with contentment at the high-pitch recitation. Teasing Gerian was fun, but it was not the most important thing. Only by killing the young mage as soon as possible could the Merlin Family rise again.

    Gerian sighed softly. He knew it was over. Both the Elemental Shield and the Mana Retroaction were going into the cooldown time. It was impossible for Felic to block off the level-fourteen Cloud Storm. Perhaps he would be torn to pieces by the endless lightning the next minute.

    The Aether Staff was held high. The level-eighteen magical crystal at the top of the staff was wreathed in arcs, and a sizzling sound was heard under the mutual agitation.

    ¡°Die!¡± Cromwell bellowed, and endless thunderbolts seemed to burst out suddenly. The dazzling electric light seemed just like golden snakes dancing in disorder. The fierce electric light surged forward crazily, creating a gorgeous yet cruel scene in the middle of Daylight Square.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Cromwell!¡± Lin Li had endured for long for this opportunity.

    Almost at the moment when the Aether Staff was raised, Lin Li¡¯s mana was suddenly amplified, activating the Torrent of Elements Ring in an instant. All of a sudden, there was a distortion in the surrounding space. Violent thunder element and the boundless lightning danced wildly like golden snakes. There seemed to be a sudden change of direction as if some mysterious force was involved, and they were sucked into the Torrent of Elements Ring in a split second...

    ¡°This... This...¡± The smile on Cromwell¡¯s face stiffened, and his raised right hand that was holding the Aether Staff froze in mid-air.

    After absorbing thest thunderbolt into the Torrent of Elements Ring, Lin Li did not hesitate any further; through the mental strength that was branded on the ring, he released a level-fourteen magic spell with his level-twelve status of a Magic Shooter with a mere thought!

 Chapter 83 - Touch

    <h4>Chapter 83: Touch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Cloud Storm raged over the square once again, but unlike Lin Li before, Cromwell had no Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand...

    Endless lightning fell and several gold snakes danced through the square. Even with Cromwell¡¯s infinite proximity to the strength of an Archmage, he was almost swallowed up in an instant by the Cloud Storm. Electric arcs twirled around the Elemental Shield, giving off sizzling sounds. The power of a level-fourteen magic spell waspletely revealed in the moment.

    This was a stunning scene for everyone. No one could¡¯ve imagined there to be a drastic change in the duel that was nearing the end. Cromwell, who had hadplete advantage earlier on, was suddenly engulfed by the Cloud Storm. Among the hundreds of spectators on the stands, perhaps only the leaders of the 18 forces could see through the series of changes before this.

    Under the sh of the electric arcs, the ck diamond on the ring was emitting a faint light. There was no doubt that all this was because of the ring.

    ¡°The ring is too scary...¡± After figuring out the key point, almost all the leaders of the forces expressed simr sentiments at once, but what really scared them was actually Lin Li¡¯s forbearance.

    This was a character who sent chills to their hearts. He waspletely suppressed by Cromwell from the start and did not seem to have the ability to fight back; he even received dozens of wind des in session towards the end. Although these wind des were not fatal, the cruel torture was not something ordinary people could bear.

    In such an unfavorable situation, the young mage remained unmoved and endured until Cromwell unleashed the Cloud Storm.

    This almost perverted forbearance sent a shudder down the leaders¡¯ spines.

    It wasn¡¯t until this time that some of them suddenly realized what a terrible monster the Guild of Magic had.

    This was a real monster.

    He was only in his twenties but was already at the level of a Magic Shooter, not to mention his proficiency in pharmacy... But for the leaders of the forces, this was not the worst.

    What really made them shudder was the young Magic Shooter¡¯s forbearance that was far beyond that of ordinary people. This kind of enemy was undoubtedly the most terrifying. He was like a venomous snake hidden in the darkness, waiting patiently for a fleeting opportunity. Once you revealed your ws, what awaited you would be a fatal blow.

    Just like Cromwell, who was engulfed by the Cloud Storm currently. He had absolute superiority in terms of strength. The battle between mages was no longer a battle of levels once the gap between the two sides exceeded two levels. But the young mage Felic had dealt a powerful strike to Cromwell, who was far more powerful than him, at the veryst minute with his forbearance.

    The leaders of the dozen forces in the stands were all shrewd people. None of them wanted to make such a frightening person their enemy. Among them, Ysera and Reuben were secretly grateful that they had swung towards the Guild of Magic early...

    Under the power of the Cloud Storm, even Cromwell, who was close to the level of an Archmage, could not avoid being mauled. It was the Elemental Shield that helped him absorb most of the damage and the magic resistance attribute of the Soul Branding Robe that saved him from danger atst.

    Even so, Cromwell¡¯s injuries were no less serious than those of Lin Li, who had received dozens of wind des on his body.

    After the Cloud Storm had struck Cromwell heavily, Lin Li stood up shakily from the ground. The wounds cut by the wind des were dripping blood as they dyed the Daylight Square red. His wounded knees were still weak, but with the support of the Winter Staff, Lin Li stood up steadily.

    The one-sided battle earlier on was reversed almost in a sh.

    Looking at Lin Li standing up slowly, everyone in Daylight Square believed that victory would eventually belong to the Guild of Magic.

    With the exception of two men¡ªOld Merlin and Cromwell.

    Although this duel had gone out of their control, the Merlin Family¡¯s biggest secret weapon¡ªthe Aether Staff¡ªwas still there. With the staff, Cromwell could win the duel with a spell that could go up to level-neen.

    Old Merlin gazed at the middle of the square with calmness in his eyes.

    And when Cromwell struggled to get up from the ground, he even had a victor¡¯s smile on his face.

    Battered by his own Cloud Storm, Cromwell had always thought of himself as the victor of the duel, for he still had the Aether Staff in his hand!

    Through the activation of a trace of mana, the level-eighteen magical crystal on the Aether Staff began to emit a dazzling light. Massive magical elements surged in the Daylight Square, and an iparable fear filled everyone¡¯s heart. Whether it was Archmage Gerian or the Chief Mage of the Casten Mansion, Andrew, all of them felt an rming magical wave from the Aether Staff.

    This power was far beyond their imagination. He was stronger than Old Merlin and Gerian. From what they saw, it was even close to the level of Grimm Burnside...

    Gerian¡¯s heart had just been set down, and in an instant it was hanging up again. This power was horrifying. Even with his strength, he could not help but tremble under it, let alone the injured Felic.

    Absorbed in the immense power of the magic spell, no one noticed that an empty ss bottle was left where Lin Li had fallen...

    Amidst Cromwell¡¯s high-pitched recitation, Lin Li waddled his way through without any Elemental Shield nor Mana Retroaction. With the support of a mere Winter Staff, he walked towards Cromwell step by step...

    ¡°Is he crazy?¡± Everyone was bewildered; no one knew what he was going to do.

    And then... Everyone saw it. He pulled out a dark metal rod from his pocket and lightly tapped it on the tip of the Aether Staff!

    The 13 magic nodes on the gold rod were activated as the source of magic turned to work from the end of the stick.The pure ruby was emitting a brilliant light and the gold rod coated with deep silver was so trenchant that the magical crystal at the tip of the Aether Staff was restored to the purest magic essence in a sh.

    The level-eighteen magical crystal that was just exuding its own terrifying power was brought to a halt by the touch of the gold rod. The massive magical elements around it were instantly silenced. The pressure that shocked everyone suddenly vanished without a trace. Cromwell, who was reciting his spell in a loud voice, seemed to have been strangled at his throat...

 Chapter 84 - Shock

    <h4>Chapter 84: Shock</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A gleam of light hung from the top of the golden stick. Lin Li could clearly see the expression of dismay and despair on Cromwell¡¯s face.

    ¡°This... this is impossible!¡± From victory in hands to a total despair, the change was like a fall from heaven to hell. Cromwell could not ept the reality in front of him at all; his voice was full of frenzied emotions.

    The bite of mana brought on by the level-neen spell was like the end for Cromwell. Almost at the moment of failure, his mana hadpletely fallen apart. The overstepping spell was far beyond his ability, and so the consequences of the bite of mana were naturally far beyond what he could bear. Cromwell stood there, stupefied, but there was not a slight magical wave on him. At this point, he was aplete waste...

    ¡°This can¡¯t be real...¡± Cromwell recited spells desperately, but not a trace of mana was aroused. Endless despair rose from the bottom of his heart, and his hoarse voice even carried a tinge of sobbing tone.

    There was a dead silence on the stands. What was happening before them was far beyond anyone¡¯s imagination.

    The previous magic spell was terrifying; it was nearly divine. Just the aftermath of mana surge had set off an elemental storm in the Daylight Square. Everyone could not help trembling under the terrifying power of the mana...

    Amidst Cromwell¡¯s high-pitched recitations, an image of doomsday emerged in everyone¡¯s minds¡ªthe upsurge of violent magical elements instantly tore apart the young mage and then swept across the Daylight Square in a destructive gesture, tearing apart the sky and the earth and leaving behind a deep scar in Jarrosus City...

    It was as if even time had stopped, and everyone was sitting in their seats, dumbfounded, watching Cromwell recite his spell.

    Then they saw something they would never forget...

    It was just a light touch, and the whole world was cleansed.

    Almost everyone¡¯s mind went nk after witnessing this scene.

    Cromwell¡¯s magic had scared them, but that light touch of Lin Li¡¯s hadpletely plunged them into infinite fear...

    No one knew how he did it, or even more so the secret behind it.

    But the consequences of this light touch were obvious to them.

    It ended an almost-divine magic and made a strong man with a strength that was infinitely close to an Archmage¡¯s into an invalid at the same time.

    At the moment Cromwell¡¯s magic fell apart, everyone felt a chill rising from their hearts. It was a feeling of fear from the depths of their hearts.

    In their hearts, the Guild of Magic represented by this young Magic Shooter had also transformed from a monster that they were unable topete with to a monster that could not be measured bymon sense.

    In their view, the Guild of Magic today was even more frightening than a fire-breathing dragon. The dragon would at least inspire people to be a dragon yer, but when faced with a monster like the Guild of Magic, there was no chance to dream at all. How terrifying was Cromwell¡¯s magic spell? Yet it was broken almost in an instant... How was such a power not one of a monster?

    Whether it was the ten mage families or the six underground forces, who would dare to fight against such a power?

    Aaron Matsis was regretful, and wanted to p himself in the face. He had to be tired of living, daring to swear at Gerian. Although those words were said behind closed doors, a monster like the Guild of Magic could not be measured bymon sense. Who knew if those words would reach Gerian¡¯s ears...

    But luckily, Gerian had no time to bother about him at present.

    Gerian was busy now¡ªhe was busy humiliating Old Merlin.

    Gerian burst into a heartyughter, patting Ysera¡¯s back while ncing at Old Merlin wickedly. ¡°How about that, Ysera, I wasn¡¯t wrong just now, right? An invalid like Cromwell wouldn¡¯t even be able to get it up even if he was given aphrodisiac. It didn¡¯t even take a minute for Felic to thrash him. An invalid is an invalid, useless even with aphrodisiac...¡±

    ¡°Yes... Yes...¡± The fair and genteel young patriarch felt embarrassed at Gerian¡¯s vulgar metaphor, but had to force out a smile on his face in response.

    ¡°That is why, Ysera, sometimes heredity is really important. A useless father will naturally give birth to a useless son. But you are a decent kid, and your son will definitely be much stronger than the useless bum below. Do you want me to introduce some girls to you?¡±

    ¡°Uh... There¡¯s no need for this...¡±

    ¡°Gerian, don¡¯t go overboard!¡± In the face of Gerian¡¯s tant provocation, the livid Old Merlin could no longer sit still and stood up abruptly.

    ¡°F*ck you, Matthew. I¡¯m talking to Ysera, what has it got to do with you, fool?¡± Gerian looked at Old Merlin with taunting eyes. ¡°Stop telling me what to do in front of me. If you¡¯re indignant,e at me. I¡¯ve had enough of you too anyway.¡±

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°You what?¡± Gerian red. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the guts, then shut it. Damn fool. Your son¡¯s on aphrodisiac, and you¡¯re on aphrodisiac too. In the end, you¡¯ve got impotence at old age, not even having the guts to fight me. Matthew, I didn¡¯t mean to tell you, but you¡¯ve lived in vain all your life...¡±

    Hearing Gerian¡¯s outburst, Casten Isaac wisely turned his face away. Several rich businessmen and celebrities leaned to the side subconsciously for fear that blood might spill on them.

    Even some of the leaders who used to have a good rtionship with the Merlin Family quickly turned deaf ears to the situation. Nobody dared to speak up for Old Merlin at this awful moment. Who in Jarrosus City did not know that once Gerian opened his mouth, the words he uttered would get increasingly vicious? Now that the Guild of Magic had gained the absolute upperhand, it was toote for all the leaders to butter up to him; who still had the leisure to treasure past friendship?

    And it went without saying for the Saruman Family and the Mannes Family¡ªthe forces that had swung to the Guild of Magic long ago. Although they had not yet fallen to the point of openlyshing out at Old Merlin, it was undeniable that they were gloating in the dark. The looks that were cast on Old Merlin were not with the best intentions...

 Chapter 85 - The Winner

    <h4>Chapter 85: The Winner</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I can answer the questions you¡¯ve asked just now.¡± There was still a smile on Lin Li¡¯s face, but the fierce light in his eyes was as good as the one on the steps of the Emerald Tower. Cromwell had no doubt that the other party would kill himself with a lift of his hand. ¡°Firstly, I am indeed a pharmacist. As for my potion...¡±

    Lin Li looked back at the ce where he had fallen. An empty ss bottle was lying there quietly. Not too long ago, it was filled with Elixir of the Sages.

    So far, he was still pleased with his decision. It was fortunate that he had prepared a bottle of Elixir of the Sages before the duel...

    When the Aether Staff released the massive magical energy, Lin Li did not hesitate at all. He took out the Elixir of the Sages from his pocket and drank it directly. The petal of the ck lotus was very precious; but no matter how precious it was, it would never be more important than his own life.

    The moment he drank the Elixir of the Sages, Lin Li had aplete grasp of what would happen in the next ten seconds. It was a thorough perception. Not only did he know that Cromwell was about to release a level-neen spell, he also knew that the power of the magic spell came from the level-eighteen magical crystal. He even knew that the recitation would take ten seconds...

    Then everything became very simple.

    As a matter of fact, Lin Li had only done two things in those ten seconds.

    The first was to walk over.

    The second was to tap the gold rod on the level-eighteen magical crystal.

    The gold rod coated with deep silverpletely restored the level-eighteen magical crystal to the purest essence of magic almost in an instant. How could it be possible to sustain a nearly legendary magic spell with the strength of Cromwell¡¯s level-fourteen Magic Shooter without the massive source of mana?

    Under the terrifying bite of the spell, Cromwell¡¯s mana disintegrated almost concurrently and he hadpletely turned into a useless man.

    This nearly divine scene from the audience¡¯s view was actually this simple.

    A bottle of potion and a gold rod had utterly turned Cromwell into an invalid.

    ¡°Alright, Mage Cromwell, I¡¯ve answered your questions. Now it is your turn to answer mine.¡± Lin Li stared fixated into Cromwell¡¯s eyes. ¡°Mr McGrenn and Ina, where are they now?¡±

    Cromwell shrank back subconsciously as soon as he made contact with Lin Li¡¯s eyes. Having lost the protection of his magic, he was worse than a poor insect. His expression was dull and his eyes were wincing at the moment; where had his heroic spirit gone to? How was he looking like a level-fourteen Magic Shooter?

    ¡°Your time is running out, Mage Cromwell.¡± Cromwell¡¯s silence made Lin Li frown. He disliked having to extort a confession.

    ¡°They... should be in the Merlin Family¡¯s dungeon...¡± Cromwell had difficulty swallowing his saliva; when he spoke, he found his voice incredibly dry.

    ¡°Oh, thank you.¡±

    Lin Li still had the warm and polite smile on his face as if he was talking about the weather with an old friend. But in the next moment, an icicle was released from his hand and shot through Cromwell¡¯s chest on the spot...

    Lin Li was not Cromwell; he did not need to humiliate the other party, let alone have any feelings to vent. As to whether the defeated Cromwell would beg for mercy, Lin Li was even less interested in that.

    To him, this was just a duel, and the goal of this duel was to kill the opponent.

    He would not even have been interested in talking to Cromwell if he hadn¡¯t been trying to find out the whereabouts of McGrenn and his daughter.

    There were no shrill cries, no cursing before death; just a ¡°plop¡± and Cromwell fell down stiffly. Only then did he understand what the phrase ¡°your time is running out¡± meant...

    Old Merlin closed his eyes in anguish the moment Cromwell fell.

    The hundreds of spectators on the stand felt chills rising from their spines at the same time...

    This young Magic Shooter named Felic was fearsome. He could endure in adversity and stay calm in advantage. Once he had absolute control of the situation, he¡¯d never give his enemy a slight chance. The icicle that killed Cromwell was neat and clean, prompt and effective.

    If possible, they would never want to be enemies with someone like this.

    After a short silence came a thunderous apuse.

    All but Old Merlin rose from their seats and gave the warmest apuse to the winner of this duel.

    ¡°Well done!¡± Gerian was even more excited, just like a child. He stood high in his seat, jumping and shouting; his fat face full of ecstatic smiles as if he had won the duel himself.

    ¡°Congrattions, President Gerian.¡± There was a touch of joy on Ysera¡¯s fair face. He turned around and shook Gerian¡¯s hand and then apuded Lin Li excitedly.

    ¡°Congrattions.¡± Reuben had always been a man of few words, but there was still a glimmer of excitement in his voice.

    ¡°Hahahaha, congrattions to us!¡±

    Compared with the two men¡¯s low-key voice, Gerian¡¯sughter was so arrogant that almost half of the square could hear his gong-like voice.

    Hearing Gerian¡¯s ¡°congrattions to us¡±, the smile on the two patriarchs¡¯ face deepened. This meant that Gerian had acknowledged them as the guild¡¯s allies. After this duel, the Guild of Magic¡¯s domination of Jarrosus would be unstoppable. In the future, it would not be a match of which forces were stronger, but of who had a closer rtionship with the Guild of Magic.

    And the two major mage families who first swung to the Guild of Magic would undoubtedly have the absolute advantage in thisparison.

    Amidst the thunderous apuse, Casten Isaac¡¯s voice was clearly heard by all ears.

    ¡°Now, as the overseer of this duel, I dere the winner of this duel is... Felic, from the Guild of Magic!¡±

    Isaac¡¯s voicepletely ignited the atmosphere in the Daylight Square. The wealthy businessmen, the celebrities, and the leaders of the forces all chanted the winner¡¯s name at the same time to salute the winner of the duel.

    ¡°Winner¡ªFelic!¡±

    Jarrosus was a city that advocated the strong. At this moment, all except Old Merlin had put aside all other factors outside the court and also their feuds with each other. There should only be one main star and one voice in the Daylight Square¡ªand that was Felic of the Guild of Magic!

 Chapter 86 - A Visit

    <h4>Chapter 86: A Visit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The apuse in the squarested for a long time¡ªuntil Lin Li walked up to the stand with a smile.

    When Lin Li stepped onto the stands, the square suddenly quieted down and everyone automatically made way for him. Eyes filled with all sorts of emotions¡ªcuriosity, envy, admiration and awe¡ªfell on the face of the young mage. No one knew the background of this young Magic Shooter who had appeared like aet; no one knew what else he could do.

    They knew only one thing¡ªafter this duel, this young Magic Shooter would be the most dazzling star in Jarrosus!

    Lin Li walked up to the stand surrounded by various looks. He greeted the audience with a smile first, then went straight into the crowd and found Gerian, who was jumping and shouting.

    ¡°Call a few Magic Shooters from the guild to go to the Merlin Family with me. There¡¯re two people I have to look for.¡± When Lin Li finished his sentence, he suddenly saw that the ce where Old Merlin had been sitting was already empty. He could not help but ask, ¡°Where¡¯s Old Merlin?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Gerian turned around and realized that his old rival Matthew had left unknowingly. But now that the result was certain, Gerian couldn¡¯t care less about Old Merlin. So what if he was an Archmage? Gerian could drink a bottle of Awakening Potion and throw another one away and still be able to tire him to death. The old fellow grinned lewdly. ¡°He must have hidden away to cry after seeing that his son has died...

    ¡°Oh right, whom are you looking for at the Merlin Family?¡±

    ¡°I have two friends captured by Cromwell.¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell! That little bastard Cromwell has guts, stirring things up when he was going to die anyway. Come, I will go with you. I¡¯ll be just in time to see that fool Matthew crying his head out... Haha!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re experienced...¡±

    It was less than two hours after the end of the duel; the leaders of the forces who had just returned home received a message almost at the same time¡ªGerian came out for a walk again!

    Gerian, who was riding high, was walking ahead of the crowd. He swaggered with his obese body as if afraid that others might not see his upstart temperament. Walking beside him was the winner of the duel at the Daylight Square, the one who had just defeated a level-fourteen Magic Shooter¡ªFelic.

    But the young mage seemed to constantly have a helpless smile on his face, and looked as if he wanted to stay away from Gerian...

    And behind these two people was a group of Magic Shooters who looked ferocious like a pack of wolves.

    Over the past ten days, it had been these wolf-like Magic Shooters who had vividly and intuitively demonstrated what a bandit was like to everyone.

    Everyone in Jarrosus City was kept on their toes as soon as this group of people came out from the Emerald Tower.

    Up to half an hourter, the leaders of the forces finally rxed.

    For they had received news that the people from the Guild of Magic had arrived at the Merlin Family.

    At this moment, they really wanted to cheer ¡°hooray!¡±

    The Merlin Family was based in the north of Jarrosus City. Although they were not as rich as the Mannes Family, the wealth that they had umted over the centuries was also extraordinary. Buying the next few streets was only a drop in the bucket for them. For centuries, this area had been managed tightly by the Merlin Family, as if it was a small kingdom by itself.

    News had reached the Merlin Family as soon as the crowd from the Guild of Magic approached. In less than five minutes, Gerian saw Evan Merlin appear with a dozen mages with him.

    In the chaotic city of Jarrosus, intruding into another party¡¯s sphere of influence without authorization was almost equivalent to a face-to-face taunting. Moreover, Gerian came openly knocking on the door with a few dozen Magic Shooters. This was akin to stepping on the Merlin Family¡¯s face and spitting on them.

    There was anger on Evan¡¯s face. He wanted to ask Gerian what he meant by breaking into the Merlin Family¡¯s sphere of influence with so many people.

    Unfortunately, Gerian did not give him the chance at all. He saw that it was Evan who hade out from a distance; that old fellow looked as if he had suffered some huge grievances. ¡°Does the Merlin Family have any manners at all, letting you, a fool, toe out to meet us... Where¡¯s Matthew?¡±

    ¡°Gerian, what do you mean?¡± The Merlin Family itself was strong, and there was also the support of an Archmage. In his 40 years of living in such an environment, Evan had never been insulted like that before. Gerian¡¯s disdainful words almost blew up his lungs on the spot.

    It was not only Evan who almost had his lungs blown out, but also the dozen mages he had brought out with him. These people were the elites of the Merlin Family, and the worst of them were nearing the strength of a Magic Shooter. How could they stand the insult? Although they did not dare to take action without Evan¡¯s orders, most of them had already tightened their grip around their staffs.

    ¡°Scram far! You are not qualified to talk to me yet, get Matthew out!¡±

    Before Evan could speak, one of the mages could not tolerate it any longer; he was almost pointing at Gerian¡¯s nose as he denounced, ¡°Gerian, the Merlin Family is not a ce you can run berserk at, scram back to your Guild of¡ª¡±

    ¡°Pom!¡±

    Before he could finish his words, he was stopped by a burning fireball with a long ming tail in tow. How could he, a level-ten mage, withstand the strength of an Archmage? Almost in an instant, the unlucky mage had turned into ashes under the burning fireball.

    There was a sudden silence in the street. Evan had an incredulous look on his face. He knew that the Guild of Magic was a sun at high noon at present and that Gerian had always been arrogant, but he had never thought that this fat old man would be so unbridled and tyrannical to such extent. He was standing in the Merlin Family¡¯s sphere of influence and killed someone when he felt like it, totally disregarding the Merlin Family.

    The fireball was like a bucket of cold water pouring over Evan¡¯s head. He finally remembered what day it was...

    The young pharmacist was standing there, safe and sound. That meant Cromwell... The look on Evan¡¯s face suddenly froze.

 Chapter 87 - Release

    <h4>Chapter 87: Release</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Even a dog dares to bark at me...¡± Gerian paid no attention to what Evan was thinking. He merely took a look at the ashes on the ground and cursed angrily.

    For a moment, Evan¡¯s mind was inplete disarray. He did not know what to do in the face of an aggressive Guild of Magic and merely stood dumbfounded in the street, watching Gerian kill one of his men.

    ¡°Fool, bring your dogs and scram to a side, don¡¯t block my way.¡± Gerian looked at Evan with disdain in his eyes. Among the three brothers of the Merlin Family, the one he despised the most was the one in front of him. He had no skills nor schemes; he was even tailed when he tried to bribe the few traitors from the guild. He was just like Cromwell, that useless bum. Sometimes, Gerian would even suspect whether this fellow was Cromwell¡¯s father instead.

    Gerian swore as loudly as he could, regardless of the expressions of the dozen mages. He pushed Evan onto the street with his outstretched hand and spared him not another look. He led the group of wolf-like Magic Shooters across the street and barged into the Merlin Family¡¯s luxurious house.

    In the past few decades, the Merlin Family was the only dominant force in Jarrosus. When had Evan suffered such an insult? Gerian¡¯s rough push was like a p in the face. Evan¡¯s mood changed from humiliation to anger, and he clenched his staff tightly in his hand...

    And then he heard a deafening ¡°boom¡±.

    Amidst the loud noise, Evan¡¯s pupils were suddenly erged; he could hardly believe his eyes.

    Gerian, that old bastard, had blown down the Merlin Family¡¯s door with a fireball!

    ¡°I¡¯ve found this door an eyesore for a long time...¡± In the midst of the sparks, Gerianughter was utterly unbridled, and his fat face was filled with contentment.

    Seeing this reckless scene, the group of Magic Shooters who were described as bandits suddenly burst into tears. This was the real bandit... Compared with the heroic deeds of the President, what was it when they bombed the two merchant ships and burned down the dozen casinos? The President had blown down the hundred years of dignity that the Merlin Family held with a fireball!

    The men from the Merlin Family werepletely dumbstruck...

    ¡°Gerian, what exactly do you want?¡± Evan¡¯s voice was so hoarse that even he was surprised by it. There was probably no greater insult for a family with hundreds of years of history than this. The scene of a fireball blowing open the door made him tremble with anger.

    ¡°What do I want?¡± Looking at the shuddering Evan, Gerian¡¯s smile gradually turned cold. ¡°You dared ask me what do I want? Do you not know what Cromwell has done?¡±

    ¡°What exactly did Cromwell do?¡± Evan waspletely nuts.

    ¡°Cromwell had kidnapped two of Mage Felic¡¯s friends. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know.¡± As Gerian stared fixated at Evan, his ferocity was fully revealed on his face. ¡°Mage Felic¡¯s friends are the Guild of Magic¡¯s friends. Bloody hell, the Merlin Family has really gotten bold, kidnapping friends of the Guild of Magic! I came to get them today!¡±

    Evan¡¯s face became more and more unsightly; in the end, his face was ghastly pale.

    He knew that Gerian was not lying. There was indeed an adventurer who was sent to the dungeon today.

    With Evan¡¯s status in the Merlin family, he naturally wouldn¡¯t care about the life and death of an adventurer, so he had just taken a nce and forgot about it. He finally realized how serious the consequences were when Gerian made it clear...

    It never urred to him that a down-and-out adventurer would be Felic¡¯s friend.

    What kind of character was Felic? He was someone whom even Gerian did not dare to make light of. Something had happened to his friends; who in the Guild of Magic dared not do their best to help? With the current influence of the Guild of Magic, if things became serious, how could the Merlin Family, which faced problems both internally and externally, withstand it?

    <i>Cromwell, Cromwell. You had brought big trouble to the Merlin Family this time...</i>The more Evan thought of it, the more frightened he was. He was so suffocated that there was not a trace of blood on his face.

    ¡°But, since Matthew is not here, I can only go in and look for them personally.¡± Gerian dropped the sentence and paid no more heed to the pale Evan. He led the group of Magic Shooters straight into the mansion.

    ¡°Wait... President Gerian... Please wait.¡± How could Evan stand and watch it? If he let Gerian break in like this, what dignity would the Merlin Family have in the future?

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I can have a say in this. Please wait for a moment. I will get someone to release Mage Felic¡¯s friends.¡± Evan was flustered; he did not dare to raise his voice at Gerian anymore, and began to use a polite tone.

    Gerian hesitated for a while, then looked at Lin Li with a consulting look.

    ¡°Forget it, there¡¯s a chance in the future anyway.¡± With Lin Li¡¯s familiarity with Gerian, how could he not know that the old man had note in search of someone and had wanted to humiliate the Merlin Family? But this concerned the safety of McGrenn and his daughter, and he didn¡¯t want to push the Merlin Family too hard.

    ¡°Release them.¡± Gerian¡¯s tone was slightly softened by this persuasion. ¡°But, Evan, you should know that I have no patience. If you let me wait for long...¡±

    ¡°I know...¡± Evan was relieved when he heard Gerian consent, but his heart was full of bitterness. It wasn¡¯t long ago that the Merlin Family interfered in the internal affairs of the Guild of Magic with great arrogance. However, it did not take long for the situation to turn around. Apart from killing the family¡¯s mage in the street, they had blown away the Merlin Family¡¯s door with a fireball.

    But no matter what Evan¡¯s mood was, he dared not take what Gerian said as a joke. He knew very well that the old man really had no patience. If he got irritable from waiting, maybe he would even tear down the Merlin Family¡¯s house.

    After temporarily appeasing Gerian, Evan dared not dy for a second. He immediately called several family mages to the dungeon and brought out the adventurers captured this morning.

 Chapter 88 - The Last Request

    <h4>Chapter 88: The Last Request</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After arranging the things to be done, Evan cautiously ushered the crowd into the hall. Now, he was really afraid...

    In the process of waiting, Evan was always careful for fear of offending Gerian, the pestilence. The old fellow was determined to kill someone to establish his power today. Evan was constantly reminding himself, <i>Never give him an excuse, never give him an excuse </i>; under this pressure, even talking became a kind of torture. Before Evan spoke, he had to think it over and over again for fear that if he made a mistake, he¡¯d be the object of Gerian¡¯s bullying.

    But luckily, the duration of torture wasn¡¯t too long.

    Ten minutester, there were sounds of footsteps in the secret passageway leading to the living hall.

    A gaunt middle-aged man struggled to walk into the living hall with the support of two mages. His clothes were brand-new; it looked like he had just changed them. The wounds on his face had been treated; although clear whip marks could still be seen, at least crimson blood wasn¡¯t oozing out from the wounds anymore.

    At the moment when the middle-aged man walked into the living hall, Evan¡¯s heart fell. He knew better than anyone what kind of ce the Merlin Family dungeon was. Out of every ten living people who went in, nine woulde out dead, and the only one who was alive would mostly be badly mutted.

    Even Evan felt the various kinds of torture in the dungeon were a little perverted.

    Looking at Gerian¡¯s fat face, Evan could not imagine what kind of rage would erupt from Gerian if this adventurer had died.

    But luckily, he was still alive...

    Evan¡¯s hanging heart finally descended into its ce. <i>All is well, all is well...</i>

    ¡°Mr McGrenn.¡± As soon as the middle-aged adventurer entered the hall, Lin Li rushed over to hold him. His movements were light and careful as he was afraid of tearing the wounds on his body.

    Lin Li always had an indescribable gratitude towards McGrenn for bringing him out of the Sunset Mountains. He was such a person. Once he had received the favor of others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he would always remember it in his heart; just like in the case of Gerian and the Guild of Magic¡ªthe kindness Gerian had shown him and the respect that he had received from everyone in the Guild of Magic were things Lin Li had seen with his eyes and remembered in his heart. He did things for the Guild of Magic in the open and in secret without decline.

    In Lin Li¡¯s heart, McGrenn was his friend and his benefactor.

    Whether it was his friend or benefactor, Lin Li would not allow anyone to hurt him.

    If he was hurt, then someone had to pay the price.

    ¡°Mr McGrenn, how do you feel?¡± Lin Li looked at the bruises on his face. There were streaks and streaks of them¡ªwhich showed that he should have been whipped.

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s you... Mage Felic... How did youe?¡± Every word McGrenn uttered seemed toe with extreme difficulty. Every wound on his body was painful, like the bites of a venomous snake.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been captured by the Merlin Family...¡± Lin Li whispered and suddenly remembered Cromwell¡¯s words. His heart tightened as he cried out involuntarily, ¡°Oh right, Mr McGrenn, where is Ina?¡±

    ¡°Ina escaped...¡± There was finally a smile on McGrenn¡¯s face, which was full of whishes and bruises. ¡°I¡¯ve helped her escape...¡±

    ¡°Oh, then that¡¯s good.¡± Lin Li nodded, his heart finally at ease.

    ¡°Mage... Mage Felic...¡± McGrenn struggled again and called Lin Li¡¯s name with much difficulty.

    ¡°You¡¯re badly hurt. Don¡¯t talk for the time being, I¡¯ll get someone to treat you.¡± Lin Li patted McGrenn on the back of his hand and coaxed him in a soothing tone.

    But the voice of the middle-aged adventurer sounded exceptionally resolute. ¡°No, I can¡¯t rest... Mage Felic, I have a request.¡±

    ¡°I will agree to it as long as I can do it. Just tell me. But before that, you need to rest, Mr McGrenn. Your injury is really serious...¡±

    ¡°No need.¡± McGrenn shook his head with a bitter look, but his spirits seemed to improve, and his face brightened a little. He pushed away the two mages holding him. ¡°Mage Felic, no need to persuade me any longer. I can¡¯t live much longer.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Lin Li was startled.

    ¡°In order to let Ina escape, I¡¯ve used my family¡¯s secret method to break through to level-ten. Now my time is almost up...¡±

    ¡°I can cure you. Let me think, I wille up with something...¡± For a moment, Lin Li hadpletely lost his bearings. He desperately tried to recall the forms for different potions, trying to find one that could cure McGrenn. But McGrenn was already cut off from life and could no longer be treated with potions. No matter how hard Lin Li tried to recall, he could not think of a possible form.

    ¡°Mage Felic, I don¡¯t have much time left... Can you promise me to find Ina?¡±

    McGrenn¡¯s spirit was getting better, and his face was getting rosier. Lin Li knew that this was the momentary recovery just before death. ¡°I promise you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± McGrenn reached into his coat and trembled as he took out half of an arrow. ¡°If you find Ina, hand her this half of an arrow. Tell her to bring it to the Eternal Shrine to look... to look for her mother...¡±

    The voice of the middle-aged adventurer sank lower and lower, and the flush brought on by the momentary recovery faded. As he uttered hisst word, his life also came to an end. His once strong body fell softly and the arrow in his hand dropped onto the thick carpet, rolling lightly as it touched the ground...

    Lin Li quietly picked up the half an arrow from the ground and held it tightly in his hand. As he looked at the tightly shut eyes of the middle-aged adventurer, his face disyed an unprecedented seriousness. ¡°Rest assured, I will hand this half an arrow to Ina... As for those who had hurt you, I will not let any of them off!¡±

    After a long while, Lin Li turned around and looked at Evan coldly. ¡°Where¡¯s another one?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s another one?¡± Not to mention Evan, even Gerian was bewildered by the question. Didn¡¯t McGrenn just say that he had helped his daughter escape? When was there another one?

    ¡°She¡¯s called Ina.¡±

    Evan panicked. ¡°But... But she has escaped...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I only know that it was the Merlin Family that had captured her, and now I¡¯ll only look for the Merlin Family for the person.¡±

    Gerian suddenly realized that this gentle kid was even more aggressive than he was. He had more or less found an excuse for himself, but this kid didn¡¯t even try to look for an excuse; he had just made up a reason and nted it on them first.

 Chapter 89 - Investigation

    <h4>Chapter 89: Investigation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, that was exactly what Gerian wanted. He hade today to humiliate the Merlin Family. If it hadn¡¯t been for Lin Li¡¯s persuasion at the door earlier on, he would have blown up the living hall. Now that Lin Li changed his mind, he naturally had no opinion. The old fellow¡¯s expression turned cold, and he began raging.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It was the Merlin Family who had captured them, so why should the Guild of Magic look for her? Damn it, Evan, are you looking down on me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Evan broke out in perspiration as he thought inwardly, <i>Who dares to look down on you?</i>

    ¡°Mr Evan, you had better think it over. If you don¡¯t hand her over, it will most likely affect the friendship between our two forces. If something happens when the timees, we, the Guild of Magic, will not be responsible.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know where she is...¡± Evan was about to cry in panic. <i>Darn it, what kind of ce is the Guild of Magic? First there was the old shameless Gerian and now there is the young shameless Felic. Why are they all so unreasonable?</i>

    ¡°Felic, cut the crap with him. You¡¯re not handing her out? I¡¯ll look for her myself!¡± Gerian couldn¡¯t wait and issued an order to the wolf-like Magic Shooters, ¡°Search! Even if we have to tear down the Merlin Family¡¯s house today, we have to find Felic¡¯s friend!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The group of bandit Magic Shooters¡¯ eyes lit up at the words ¡°tear down¡±; they were like wolves that had been hungry for days and suddenly saw arge piece of fresh meat. Before Gerian continued giving out his orders, everyone had gotten the message as they rushed out of the living hall.

    ¡°You guys... You guys can¡¯t do this!¡± Evan felt he was about to ck out watching the group of wolf-like Magic Shooters hurrying out of the living hall. If this group of bandits was allowed to charge into the heart of the Merlin Family, the Merlin Family would be in ruins by the time they came out.

    But everything was far from the end.

    ¡°Mr Evan.¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice sounded again. ¡°As a matter of fact, I, personally, am willing to believe that this is a misunderstanding; and I also believe that it won¡¯t affect the friendship between the Guild of Magic and the Merlin Family. But...¡±

    Evan¡¯s heart tightened. ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But, the Merlin Family has to hand over the murderer who hurt my friend.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Evan hesitated slightly. To be honest, this request was not too demanding. With the current strength of the Guild of Magic, they could take the person involved directly from the Merlin Family regardless of his objections. But Evan was absolutely not willing to do so until they hade to the final step.

    In the hundred years of history of the Merlin Family, there had never been a precedent of voluntarily surrendering a member of the family. Once this precedent was set, it meant that the Merlin Family had lost the ability to protect its family members, and that the family hadpletely submitted themselves to the Guild of Magic. From then on, who would still be willing to work for a family that did not have the ability to protect themselves?

    ¡°Can you let me think it over?¡± Evan asked cautiously, afraid of angering the young Magic Shooter.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have much time.¡± Lin Li nodded and did not rush him anymore.

    The sweat on Evan Merlin¡¯s forehead became denser with every passing second. Under the tremendous pressure of the Guild of Magic, he hadpletely broken down. This decision concerned the future of the Merlin Family¡ªif he refused, what awaited would be the wrath of the Guild of Magic and the insults from the other forces of Jarrosus; if he agreed, there would be dissension in the family, and no one but the core members would be willing to serve a family that might sell themselves out at any time.

    Just as Evan was vaciting, footsteps were heard from the living hall.

    Several Magic Shooters had returned, most of them smiling in excitement. Their bulging pockets indicated that they had brought something back with them.

    ¡°President Gerian, we found a suspicious ce!¡± It was a middle-aged Magic Shooter who spoke. Gerian remembered that this fellow was Giorgio¡ªhe was the one who led the casino smash.

    Gerian was surprised. ¡°What ce?¡±

    ¡°The basement just behind. Do you want to have a look?¡±

    ¡°Mm, we should investigate.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Evan listened to this serious conversation and immediately wanted to vomit blood. <i>Suspicious your foot! </i>The basement behind was the Merlin Family¡¯s treasury. <i>F*ck you, Guild of Magic. You¡¯re a bunch of bloody bandits!</i>

    Gerian rubbed his chin with a serious face, then went on to investigate the suspicious basement with a group of Magic Shooters, leaving the poor Evan crying to no avail in the living hall.

    ¡°Mage Felic, I... I will hand over the murderer...¡± Evan knew that the matter could not be dyed any longer. If it continued to drag on like this, who knew if the bandits from the Guild of Magic would find more suspicious ces? Atst, after repeated struggles, Evan gave in.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Lin Li stood up from his seat and called over the few Magic Shooters who were standing guard by the door. ¡°Go with me to the dungeon.¡±

    Evan followed them down the dungeon nervously, and then he saw Lin Li stretching out his finger. ¡°This, this, this, this, and this... Bring all of them away!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The few Magic Shooters had received the orders and got to work without further ado.

    ¡°Wait!¡± After a whole round, Lin Li had pointed out all the family¡¯s mages guarding the dungeon. Evan stopped him in fright hastily. ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯ve said only to hand over the murderer!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li replied matter-of-factly. ¡°But now, I¡¯m not sure who is the real murderer that killed Mr McGrenn, so I¡¯m going to bring all the people suspected of murder back for questioning. Why... Do you have any objection, Mr Evan?¡±

    ¡°...¡± It wasn¡¯t until now that Evan realized how good a person Gerian was aspared to this young Magic Shooter...

    Most of the mages guarding the dungeon were only level-eight or nine in strength, how could theypete with the bandits from the Guild of Magic? There was no resistance at all in the process of arrest. A couple of control magic spells had brought them downpletely, and then they were tied up firmly with ropes. After the dozen mages were arrested, they gradually understood what was going on. When they looked back at Evan, their eyes were full of hatred and disgust.

    In the face of these looks, Evan, who knew he was guilty, could only lower his head and avoid any eye contact with them.

 Chapter 90 - A Rag

    <h4>Chapter 90: A Rag</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    By the time Lin Li came out with the group of suspects, Gerian had returned from the basement. The old fellow seemed to have gained another round of weight. Therge mage robe he was wearing was bulging out; it seemed that the basement was indeed very, very suspicious!

    ¡°There¡¯s good stuff, I¡¯ll tell you when we go back...¡± Lin Li had just walked into the living hall when Gerian leaned over in a haste. Then, he looked at the dozen mages who were tied up. The old fellow asked in puzzlement, ¡°What did they do?¡±

    ¡°They are suspected of murdering Mr McGrenn.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Gerian admired this kid from the bottom of his heart. What was the real meaning of having no sense of shame? This was¡ªa dozen mages arrested on suspicion of murder. Compared with this kid, what was the big deal with investigating the basement?

    Then, he found that his admiration came too early...

    ¡°Oh right, Mr Evan, I have to trouble you with something again.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Evan asked in trepidation.

    ¡°As far as I know, Mr. McGrenn was abducted into the Merlin Family by violence, so I hope Mr Evan will hand over the people involved in the kidnapping.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Evan jumped up abruptly like a cat having its tail stepped on. Gesturing in a threatening manner, he screamed, ¡°You¡¯re too much! This is impossible!¡±

    As soon as Evan¡¯s voice fell, he noticed a sudden silence in the living hall. Then, he saw Gerian squint his eyes. Behind him, more than 30 Magic Shooters rubbed their fists as their eyes were filled with excitement.

    Evan realized at once that he had said something foolish. At present, the bandits were eagerly looking forward to having an excuse to continue their investigation, and he was too foolish to give them the chance. Wasn¡¯t he pushing himself into a pit of fire?

    ¡°Mr Evan, you¡¯re unwilling to cooperate?¡±

    ¡°No, no... But Cromwell was the one who did it, I have no knowledge of it at all. Even if I want to hand them over, I have no idea who has done it...¡± Evan¡¯s face was troubled, but in his heart, he was secretly proud of his quick-wittedness. In such a critical situation, he could even think of pinning things onto Cromwell. Now they had no choice. <i>Wanna know who had captured them? Sure, you can ask Cromwell...</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. If Mr Evan really doesn¡¯t know, the Guild of Magic can also find it out on your behalf. We can bring all the people back for questioning slowly. I believe someone will say it under tortures.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    In the end, six more Magic Shooters were arrested. When Evan called out their names one by one, he really had the heart to die. The Merlin Family had never lost six Magic Shooters at once in its hundreds of years of history; and this time, he was the one who had pushed them out to die.

    ¡°Alright, Mr Evan. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± Lin Li shook Evan¡¯s hand politely when they left the Merlin Family.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Mage Felic, you¡¯re too polite.¡± Evan wiped his cold sweat off while squeezing out a stiff smile. In his heart, he had let out numerous sighs of relief. <i>God bless, I¡¯m finally sending away this group of bandits.</i>

    ¡°However, there are still many questionable points about this matter. If necessary, the Merlin Family may need to cooperate with us in the future. I hope Mr Evan can understand.¡± Who knew that the following words would almost cause Evan to pass out on the spot?

    Evan had gone nuts. <i>Things have ended up like this on the first cooperation. And you¡¯re stilling? Will the Merlin Family be able to live any longer?</i>

    By the time the people from the Guild of Magic left, Evan wanted to cry, but no tears would fall...

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Gerian¡¯sughter was rampant in the Guild of Magic¡¯s reception room. ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to do this since 30 years ago. I¡¯ve finally tasted the satisfaction today...¡±

    But Lin Li, who was sitting opposite him, was obviously not in high spirits; he was merely staring at the half an arrow in his hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re still thinking about McGrenn?¡± Gerianughed for a while before he sensed there was something wrong with Lin Li¡¯s mood, so he had to put away hisughter awkwardly and then patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulder with aforting look. ¡°Cheer up. No one can escape such matters as birth, old age, illness, and death. Even if you¡¯re grieving, it won¡¯t be able to bring him back to life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not grieving.¡± Lin Li shook his head and kept the half an arrow close to him. ¡°I just think it¡¯s rather sad that a good, living person is gone just like that...¡±

    ¡°It is precisely because of this unpredictability that life appears more wonderful. Who can predict matters like life and death? Maybe it¡¯ll be my turn or yours tomorrow... Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about things that¡¯ll dampen our mood. I¡¯ll show you something good!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Li knew that his mood was inappropriate; so, when Gerian opened his mouth, Lin Li also headed off the topic along with him.

    ¡°Suspicious evidence!¡± The old fellow shamelessly took out a staff from the mage robe. ¡°Do you remember how I told you about Matthew¡¯s million gold coins staff back at the auction?¡±

    ¡°This is it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Gerian smiled like a fox who had just stolen a chicken. ¡°Matthew, that fool, had actually left the staff he had carried everywhere at home before going to the Daylight Square. When I saw it in the basement just now, I went ahead...¡±

    ¡°Eh...¡± Gerian went on unceasingly but not a word went into Lin Li¡¯s ears, for he saw that Gerian had dropped something on the ground when he took out the staff.

    It was an old rag. It looked ck, covered with all kinds of stains, and even had a foul smell. Most people would throw it away as an old rag when they saw it, but it was quite different when it fell into Lin Li¡¯s eyes because he had an exact same rag with him. The difference was that the piece of rag he had had been smeared with various dyestuff by the Leviathan Gori.

    But apart from dyestuff and stains, the peculiar runes on the two rags were exactly alike!

    Lin Li picked up the rag carefully and, perplexed, asked Gerian, ¡°Where did you get this stuff?¡±

    ¡°Devil knows...¡± Gerian rolled his eyes and felt sympathy for him. It seemed that the kid had been hit hard. Someone who did not even appreciate the Mannes Family¡¯s treasury was actually holding a piece of ragged cloth and treating it as a treasure.

 Chapter 91 - The Truth Behind the Rag

    <h4>Chapter 91: The Truth Behind the Rag</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Then, Gerian saw the kid taking out an identical rag from somewhere. What was slightly different was that the rag he took out looked even dirtier and torn; it was also colorful, but it was unknown what was painted on it.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Gerian leaned over curiously.

    Lin Li did not answer, but ced the two rags on the table and slowly pieced them together...

    ¡°As expected...¡± The originally jagged corners coincided and the adjacent symbols became an integrated whole at once.

    ¡°High Elves Print?¡± Gerian was an Archmage, after all; he knew the ropes once the two rags were pieced together.

    ¡°You recognize it?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t...¡± Gerian belonged to a very different kind of mage. Besides magic, he did not care about the other kinds of general skills and knowledge. He only took the entry level even for inscription, which every mage was required to learn. Now that Lin Li had questioned him, the old fellow could not help but feel embarrassed. After thinking about it, he probably felt he had made himself look bad with the answer, so he added shamelessly, ¡°Actually, I recognize some of them, for example these symbols. Looking at the way they are spelled, I know that this should be a person¡¯s name. Let me see what this guy¡¯s name is...¡±

    Geriany his overstuffed body on the table and carefully made out those peculiar symbols. ¡°Osric Griffith... Damn! Highlord Osric!¡±

    He was talking to himself in amazement, but the more Lin Li listened, the less he understood. ¡°What Highlord?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never even heard of Highlord Osric?¡± Gerian looked unbelievingly at Lin Li as if he were looking at a visitor from Mars.

    ¡°Is this strange?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what Andoine has taught you...¡± Gerian took the opportunity to denigrate Andoine, then exined with a face full of ostentation, ¡°In the Dark Ages, the Fn Kingdom was ruled by six High Elves Highlords, of whom Osric was the most powerful. His territory stretched from nna in the west to Star Lake in the east, including Jarrosus City, and all thisnd belonged to him alone.

    ¡°Then, isn¡¯t he mightier than Isaac?¡±

    ¡°Isaac is peanuts...¡± Gerian sniffed at it and impolitely threw dirt on the Casten. ¡°In Jarrosus City, Isaac is at most a middleman. Not to mention the Merlin Family or the Guild of Magic, even if Ysera from the Mannes Family were to cough twice, Isaac has to worry whether the grocery prices would increase the next day. Try Osric instead. Ysera didn¡¯t even have to cough; even when he is exhaling, he¡¯d have to cover his nose with his hands. Reuben is cruel for killing his own brother and parents, right? But that can¡¯t evenpare to Osric. He¡¯s a real butcher. He hanged 30,000 rebels overnight without even even panting...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Gerian finally had a chance to show off, and there was no reason why he wouldn¡¯t do it. ¡°Go to the library more often, there are many books that record the stories of the great Highlord... Generally speaking, this was a ruthless and powerful ruler. He killed many people but did a lot of great things in his lifetime. The only pity was that he had lost his mind in hister years. It is said that in his old age, he was always afraid that his treasures would be stolen, so he built a huge mausoleum and buried the looted treasures with himself... Unfortunately, no one knows exactly where the mausoleum is...¡±

    Lin Li listened as the old fellow pulled further off topic, and knew that thetter certainly did not recognize the other symbols. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have dug these groundless stories up in order to divert the topic. ¡°Does anyone in the guild recognize the High Elves Print?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re counting on that bunch of junk? You could as well...¡± Gerian scolded in disdain, but hesitated halfway. ¡°You don¡¯t say... There¡¯s really someone in the guild who recognizes the High Elves Print...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone who knows?¡±

    ¡°Andoine, that old fe, knows. He is authoritative on the High Elves relics. Let alone Jarrosus, even in the whole Fn Kingdom, no one can match up to him in this respect. Too bad the old fellow never shows up all year round. It¡¯s not that easy to find him... Thest time I saw him, he was picking herbs in the Demon Fall Valley...¡±

    ¡°From what I heard from Old Grimm, he was in nna recently. We¡¯ll talk about it again when we see him someday...¡± Lin Li was not in a hurry for this matter; anyway, the rag had been in the Ring of Endless Storm for almost a month. Having to wait a little longer was not a big deal. Instead, he was reminded of something when Gerian mentioned the Demon Fall Valley. ¡°Oh right, any news from Kevin?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve gotten our people back.¡± Gerian knew he meant the hostages. The old fellow was somewhat discontented at the mention of it. ¡°I say, what on earth were you thinking? The Shadow¡¯s Nest is asking for a thunderingly high price, we could just sit back and pay them off with money. You¡¯re giving off 40 bottles of Wild Elixir; since when have you be that generous?¡±

    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for fear of their vignce, I would have given them 100 bottles at once.¡±

    ¡°Those elixirs are fake?¡± Looking at Lin Li¡¯s determined expression, Gerian had understood a little of what was going on.

    ¡°How can it be? Pharmacists also have to uphold the integrity of pharmacists. It is too crude to cheat people with fake potions.¡± Lin Li looked around and lowered his voice a little. ¡°And it¡¯s too easy to see through it...¡±

    Gerian, who had just gotten a grasp of the situation, was confused again. ¡°Then what did you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve increased the concentration of that batch of elixirs slightly.¡±

    If Old Grimm had heard this, he would have begun to sympathize with the people from the Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    However, Gerian was a total potion-idiot; how would he know there were so many bends to increase the concentration of a potion...

    ¡°This is tooplicated to exin in a short time. But rest assured, in three days at most, you can go to the Demon Fall Valley to collect the bodies of the Shadow¡¯s Nest.¡±

    Lin Li had 100 percent confidence in these 40 bottles of Wild Elixir.

    Unless the people from the Shadow¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t drink it¡ªbut this was almost impossible; why did they specify the Elixir of Empowerment instead of the better-selling magic potions?

    The increased concentration of the Wild Elixir was much more powerful than the Sobriety Potion. When you first drank it, it did enhance the strength and agility. But over time, the side effects of theherbloom would gradually erode the body, starting from sluggish actions to feeling weak and powerless in the end; even Lin Li was in fear of the various frightening side effects.

    It was no exaggeration to say that if a bottle of concentrated Wild Elixir was taken, a person would be aplete waste in a week at most.

    40 bottles of Wild Elixir were sent out to destroy 40 members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest. This was a worthwhile business. And it was also 40 members with no low status. Lin Li did not believe that the Shadow¡¯s Nest would be so generous to distribute such an item as the Wild Elixir to their low-level members.

 Chapter 92 - Arrowhead

    <h4>Chapter 92: Arrowhead</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    McGrenn¡¯s funeral was arranged on the next day by the Guild of Magic. With the present status of the Guild of Magic in Jarrosus City, the funeral was naturally a spectacr event. He was only a level-six adventurer before his death, but he had enjoyed the treatment that most beyond level-ten did not enjoy after his death.

    Casten Isaac and the leaders of the six underground forces hade; the patriarchs of the ten mage families had alsoe; even the Merlin Family which was being investigated the previous day hade as well, represented by Evan alone. As for the reason why he did not bring anyone along with him? No kidding... What if Mage Felic found a murder suspect among them again?

    This was the funeral of Mage Felic¡¯s friend, and this alone was enough.

    After yesterday¡¯s duel, Felic¡¯s name was louder in Jarrosus City than those of Gerian and Matthew. The horror of breaking Cromwell¡¯s magic was engraved in everyone¡¯s heart, and no one dared to have the slightest doubts about his power.

    The funeral was grand and solemn, but Lin Li knew it was meaningless for McGrenn...

    When Lin Liy McGrenn¡¯s coffin into the grave, he leaned on it and repeated his promise with a voice that only he could hear. ¡°Thank you, Mr McGrenn, for taking me out of the Sunset Mountains. Sleep in peace. I¡¯ll help you find Ina and take care of her as a sister.¡±

    Lin Li was rather depressed on the way back from the funeral.

    Gerian consoled him for a while, but it didn¡¯t have much effect. He simply advised him to walk around the city instead of staying in the Guild of Magic all day; anyone who stayed inside all day would eventually turn moldy.

    Lin Li thought about it and found it right; after living in Jarrosus for more than a month, he had yet to take a good look at the city.

    ¡°Might as well. You go back first, I¡¯ll walk around on my own.¡±

    After watching Gerian leave, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help pulling out the half an arrow from his pocket. After returning from the Merlin Family, he had looked at the arrow countless times. To be honest, the forging of this arrow was a bit rough¡ªit was probably the product of the assembly line; there wasn¡¯t even a blood slot on it.

    It was the metal used that surprised Lin Li.

    This was actually an arrowhead forged with star iron¡ªa really rare magical metal. Besides being extremely sharp, weapons forged with star iron often had magical attributes that were not in the least weak. Which was to say, the owner of this arrow was probably an archer proficient in magic.

    Lin Li just couldn¡¯t understand why a rare magical metal was used in such a rough forging process.

    After slight hesitation, Lin Li put the arrow in his pocket again. He decided to find a ce to ask from whose hand did such a rough forging crafte from.

    Perhaps through the sources rted to forging could he find out where the Eternal Shrine was.

    Speaking of it, the name Eternal Shrine had also been bothering him recently.

    After returning from the Merlin Family, he had already asked many people, but no one, including Gerian, had ever heard of Eternal Shrine. This was a very strange thing in itself. What kind of gossipmonger was Gerian? He even knew that Osric, the High Elves Highlord, had gone mad before he died, but he didn¡¯t know where the Eternal Shrine was...

    After the duel in the Daylight Square, Jarrosus was exceptionally calm.

    It was as if time returned to more than a month ago, when Lin Li had just arrived in Jarrosus City. There were no more wolf-like Magic Shooters in the streets and no more buildings that were lit up in mes. Even the rich guests who went to the casinos in their spare time were relieved that they no longer had to worry about the Magic Shooters suddenly barging in to collect debts when they were halfway through their gambling.

    Lin Li walked along the street aimlessly, looking at this familiar yet strange city with curious eyes. He had no particr ce to go; he just wandered aimlessly until it was almost evening, when he stopped in front of a Gilded Rose.

    This Gilded Rose was a special one. It dealt with all kinds of weapons and armor. A furnace was burning outside the door. There were two cksmith apprentices in front of their anvils, with sweat pouring down their faces. The hammers fell heavily in session and sparks spattered in the crisp sound of beating iron.

    ¡°Greetings to you, respected mage.¡± The boss of this Gilded Rose was a fat middle-aged man, with a round face nearly catching up with Gerian¡¯s, but when he smiled, his eyes would reveal a loathsome shrewdness.

    Lin Li specially wore a rune mage robe to attend McGrenn¡¯s funeral today. It was standard equipment provided by the Mannes Family for the Guild of Magic, done with fine workmanship and proper tailoring; it wore well on the fine-looking Lin Li, adding some bearing to him. The Torrent of Elements Ring on his finger was shining faintly, emitting a powerful magical wave.

    With the shrewdness of the boss, how could he not see that this was a rich man?

    Especially when Lin Li stopped in front of a few crossbows; the shrewd and enthusiastic boss thus greeted him with eager attention.

    ¡°Mr Mage, you have really fine eyes. These crossbows are all new products that arrived this morning. Made by the crossbow master of nna, they can fire three bolts at a time. They are simple and fast to load, suitable for mages like you.¡±

    ¡°No need to exin it. Let me have a look by myself first.¡± Lin Li frowned. The enthusiasm from the boss made him feel overwhelmed. It was natural to rip customers off when doing business, but it was detestable not to look at whom they were dealing with before ripping them off.

    From what Lin Li saw, the crudest weapons in this Gilded Rose were probably these crossbows. So, he hade here to see if such rough crossbows had something to do with the rough arrow in his hand. He had not expected the boss to think he was interested in these lousy crossbows just because he was standing in front of them...

    Lin Li did not know whether tough or cry at the situation. The arrow slot was casually polished and even the crossbow rear was loose; which mage dared to keep this kind of crude stuff as a concealed weapon? Perhaps he¡¯d be shot to death by the crossbow himself even before he got to shoot the enemy...

 Chapter 93 - Rainbow Adamantine

    <h4>Chapter 93: Rainbow Adamantine</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Probably because the Mannes Family specialized in magical equipment, there was very little good stuff in this Gilded Rose that sold weapons and armors. The only thing that caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was a double-edged sword.

    To be honest, this double-edged sword was really odd. It was clearly made of winter iron, but there were no mageweaths on the sword de. This was simply intolerable for Lin Li, who pursued perfection in everything. The winter iron itself contained powerful ice magical element. After the amplification of the mageweath, the magical element could be brought into full y. If there was a high quality ice magical crystal and a good Inscriber, this double-edged sword could definitely be a powerful magical weapon.

    <i>It¡¯s a pity...</i>

    Such a good piece of winter iron was ruined like that.

    Then, Lin Li looked at the price and found that the price of such a double-edged sword forged with the winter iron was the same as that of a general iron sword.

    Lin Li knew at once that he had found the wrong ce.

    The fat boss was very shrewd, but his vision was horrible. Would one expect a man who could sell winter iron as any other iron to judge the origin of the arrow from the forging process? It was easier to count on Gerian losing weight than to count on him...

    Just as Lin Li was about to leave, there was another sound of footstepsing from outside the door.

    In came a young man in his twenties. Although at the same age,pared with Kevin, who was gentle and handsome, this man was at the other extreme¡ªhis face was tanned and contours sharp. His hands were rough and strong; it was obvious that he had been engaging in physicalbor for a long time. He was sturdy and tall, and when he entered, he looked like a ck bear blocking the door.

    How could the astute fat boss not see that the stuff the young man had on his whole body was probably less than two gold coins? Just look at the leather armor and the leather boots¡ªany beggar in Jarrosus City might be richer than him.

    Let alone the mage next to him. Look at what he was wearing¡ªit was a rune mage robe worth nearly 10,000 gold coins. Besides the Guild of Magic, no other mage in Jarrosus City dared to wear it everywhere. And there was the ring on his hand; that ck diamond alone could probably buy ten Gilded Roses... It was a pity that such a rich man was merely taking a look and had no intention to buy anything...

    The reception for two differently dressed people was naturally different.

    When the young man entered the door, the fat boss did not even bat his eyelids. He asked listlessly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to sell this...¡± The young man said as he handed over a package to the counter. His voice sounded a little low. There was a strong reluctance in his eyes when he let go.

    The fat boss was still buried in ounting and it was unknown whether he had heard the young man. It was only after the package had been put down for some time that the fat boss¡¯ vague reply was heard. ¡°Oh...¡±

    The young man waited for a long time, but nothing followed. He had to whisper a reminder, ¡°Would you like to see it first?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m doing the ounts?¡± The fat boss was a little unhappy at his urging, but after looking up and staring at the young man, he somehow shifted his eyes to the package. The fat boss uncovered the wrapped cloth, which revealed a dark sword de. Judging from the length, it should be a double-edged sword.

    ¡°100 gold coins.¡± After tossing out a figure, the fat boss buried his head again.

    ¡°100 gold coins?¡± There was some surprise and disappointment on the young man¡¯s tanned face. ¡°Did you see it wrong? This is a weapon forged with the shadowforged siderite. How could it be only 100 gold coins?¡±

    ¡°What rubbish shadowforged siderite? Look at this sword de, how does it look like a weapon forged with the shadowforged siderite?¡± Perhaps it was the first time that someone questioned his vision, and it came from a young man who looked even inferior than a beggar; the fat boss immediately got angry and pulled apart the cloth that was wrapped outside, revealing the dark sword de. ¡°See for yourself. This sword de is darker than you. How can a shadowforged siderite produce such a weapon?¡±

    ¡°But... but...¡±

    While the two men were arguing, Lin Li who was standing at a side had already seen through it.

    The fat boss was right this time. The double-edged sword wrapped in the cloth was not forged with a shadowforged siderite indeed.

    Weapons forged with shadowforged siderite also disyed a kind of ck, but it was a shiny kind of ck, just like the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand. However, the double-edged sword on the counter was dull and without any shine to it.

    However, the price offered by the fat boss was far short.

    If Lin Li was right, this double-edged sword should be made of a rare magical metal¡ªthe rainbow adamantine. It was a metal more precious and rarer than the shadowforged siderite. Weapons forged with the rainbow adamantine would randomly produce a variety of magic attributes in the forging process¡ªtwo at the very least and seven at most. The number of attributes depended on the level of the maker. Generally, a cksmith that could forge more than four kinds of attributes could be considered a master.

    Of course... This was not the case for Lin Li. The Smith Master was a devil-like existence and couldn¡¯t be measured bymon sense. Once the rainbow adamantine fell into his hands, it was almost sure that there would be seven attributes produced.

    But all seven attributesing out at once was only a legend to most people.

    Generally speaking, a weapon forged with rainbow adamantine would definitely sell at a high price if it could produce four attributes. This double-edged sword in front of them had at least five attributes, because the color of the weapon was just too dark. The more attributes the rainbow adamantine carried, the darker it would be. Only after having seven attributes could it return to the initial colorful rays of the rainbow.

    So, Lin Li wanted tough. There actually was someone who dared to offer 100 gold coins for a rainbow adamantine weapon with five attributes. This was the kind of price that could allow you one look at the weapon. If it came across someone who knew his stuff, it could very well be sold for millions of gold coins. This was the best equipment that those who studied both magic and martial arts could ask for.

 Chapter 94 - The Shattered Shield

    <h4>Chapter 94: The Shattered Shield</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If a weapon forged from rainbow adamantine fell into the hands of those who knew how to use it, it would be a real killer. With only a trace of mana needed to control it, one could easily switch among the various magical attributes. This unpredictable way of attacking was enough to give any opponent a headache.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to give you 100 gold coins because I pity you. Open your eyes and see for yourself. Which weapon in my shop is not better than your sword? How much more do you want to sell such a lousy sword for? 1,000 gold coins, 2,000 gold coins?¡± Perhaps he felt that this man was affecting his business, but the fat boss looked up impatiently from his ount book. ¡°Anyway, I will only give you 100 gold coins. If you want to sell it, you can sell it. If you don¡¯t want to sell it, you can go away. Don¡¯t block me from doing business.¡±

    The young man opened his mouth and tried to defend himself, but when the words hade to his mouth, he said nothing. In the end, he wrapped his sword in the cloth silently and carried it on his back, then turned to walk out of the Gilded Rose.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Just as he walked to the door, the mage who had not spoken called out to him. ¡°How many gold coins are you going to sell this double-edged sword for?¡±

    ¡°Would you like to buy?¡± This sentence, like a light in the darkness, suddenly brightened the dull eyes of the young man. ¡°1,000 gold coins... Oh no, no. 800 gold coins. If you give me 800 gold coins, it¡¯s yours.¡±

    ¡°800?¡± Lin Li looked surprised.

    For Lin Li, this shock was quite normal. Who could imagine that a sword forged with rainbow adamantine and possessing five magical attributes cost only 800 gold coins?

    But for the desperate young man, this hesitation meant something else. He thought the mage found it too expensive. There was some hesitation on his tanned face, but atst he clenched his teeth and offered a new price. ¡°600 gold coins. Mr Mage, 600 gold coins and you can have it.¡±

    Lin Li hadn¡¯t said a word yet, but the price had dropped twice in a row. He immediately understood everything.

    This young man must have needed cash badly; if not, he wouldn¡¯t be in a hurry to sell the item off.

    To be honest, Lin Li never thought he was was someone with a heart of gold. If it was in the past, he would probably have made use of the opportunity and ept an offer at a low price for the double-edged sword. ¡°A person who does not take take advantage of a bargain is a bastard.¡± That was what Gerian, that old fellow, said...

    However, since he had made a windfall from the Arcane Magic Potion auction, this fellow had shown some significant restraint. This was probably what was meant by ¡°establishing a character after making a fortune¡±. It wasn¡¯t worth taking advantage of others for such a small amount of money...

    Lin Li did not give a counteroffer, but asked, ¡°You need money badly?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr Mage. My father is sick and we need money to buy the medicine.¡± The young man recognized a glimmer of hope from the mage¡¯s words and a beam of joy appeared on his tanned face in spite of himself.

    ¡°How much do you need?¡±

    ¡°Around 1,000 gold coins...¡±

    ¡°How is 600 gold coins enough?¡±

    ¡°I can sell my house, it should be enough after adding them together.¡± The voice of the young man was getting lower and lower, and at the end, it was actually a little bit hoarse.

    ¡°Forget it, don¡¯t sell the house.¡± Lin Li nodded and pulled out a purse from his pocket, which Gerian gave him for petty cash. It contained exactly 1,000 gold coins. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you 1,000 gold coins; the double-edged sword will be used as a coteral for the time being. When you have earned enough money, you cane to the Guild of Magic to redeem it.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± The young man looked up abruptly; his tanned face was full of surprise. ¡°You¡¯re willing to lend money to me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine by me anyway. If you don¡¯t pay back the money, this double-edged sword will belong to me. I won¡¯t lose out; and, I¡¯m not afraid to tell you the truth: this double-edged sword is worth more than 1,000 gold coins. Only those guys who have something wrong with their brains will offer a ridiculous price like 100 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Mr Mage.¡± The young man¡¯s face was full of astonishment. He took the purse from the other party with trembling hands. At this moment, he realized that he was not dreaming. He seemed to rx as he held the heavy purse in his hands. <i>I have the money to buy the medicine, there¡¯s hope for Father...</i>

    ¡°Mr Mage, what do you mean?¡± The fat boss, who had been buried in his ounting, could not help but lift his head when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, and there was a somewhat discontented look on his chubby face. ¡°It¡¯s your personal business that you¡¯re willing to help him, but what does it have to do with my vision? Do you really think this broken sword is better than the weapons in my shop? Stop joking...¡±

    Lin Li chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t believe it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I don¡¯t.¡± There was some arrogance on the fat boss¡¯ face. ¡°I¡¯ve been working in Gilded Rose for 20 years. I dare not say it about other things, but my eyes can never be wrong. Outside of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, there are tons of scrap metal like this, and they are all for the lowest level of adventurers.

    ¡°I think there¡¯s one thing you haven¡¯t figured out. You¡¯re just a mage, not a cksmith¡ªnot to mention an owner of a weapons store. When ites to magic, you may be 100 times better than me, but when ites to weapon appraisal...¡± There was some sarcasm in the fat boss¡¯ smile. ¡°I may be 100 times better than you even if I close my eyes and use my nose to sniff. Don¡¯t think that a mage can do everything. I might have sold more weapons than you¡¯ve ever seen them. Do you think you have the right to tell me that?¡±

    ¡°How about we just make a bet?¡± Lin Li really did not want to badger with him about his vision. For a man who could sell winter iron as ordinary iron, such a thing like vision was too profound.

    ¡°Bet?¡± The fat boss swallowed his saliva. He slightly wavered.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid?¡± After spending so much time with Gerian, Lin Li did not learn anything much, except that his mouth had be more vicious.

    ¡°Who said I¡¯m afraid!?¡±

    ¡°Very well, let¡¯s bet on whether the weapon in your store is better or the sword used by this low-level adventurer is better.¡± With little effort, Lin Li took the double-edged sword from the young man¡¯s hand.

    The scene fell into the eyes of the young man and he was immediately bbergasted.

    He was the one who¡¯d brought out the double-edged sword, so he naturally knew better than others how heavy this seemingly ordinary weapon was. When Lin Li reached out to him, he was still a little stunned. He had no idea that the seemingly weak mage could pick up such a heavy weapon.

    How could he have thought that the man standing in front of him was a total monster?

    As a cksmith guru, Lin Li¡¯s body was much stronger than it looked. Even if he had not received any training now, he had at least the physical qualities of a level-three or four warrior. If this fellow were to receive a good training, even though it was impossible for him to be versed in both magic and martial arts, he could at least be at the strength of level-five or six warrior.

    Picking up a heavy double-edged sword was just as easy as having a meal to him.

    ¡°Bring out the best shield in the store.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± This fat man was not afraid of death, either. Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, his temper acted up and he went straight up to the second floor.

    When the fat boss went up to the second floor, the young man felt a little uneasy. The Gilded Rose was the best equipment store in Jarrosus. What if the fat boss really brought out some powerful shield and made the kind mage lose the bet?

    And then he saw something that struck him dumb with astonishment.

    The kind-hearted mage held the sword in both hands and waved it twice in the air, and at once the sound of a heavy crack filled the air...

    Was there anything more bizarre in the world than a seemingly delicate mage hacking the air with a heavy double-edged sword that was almost half as tall as a man? The young man rubbed his eyes hard; he thought he had to be mistaken.

    After chopping several times in session, Lin Li finally stopped without blushing or gasping, and praised satisfactorily, ¡°Good, good. It¡¯s a really good sword.¡± Then, he asked curiously, ¡°Oh yes, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Mr Mage. I am Sean, Sean Poliro.¡± Hearing the question from the mage who helped him, the young man respectfully reported his name.

    ¡°Sean, is it...¡± Lin Li was going to continue the conversation with him when he heard noiseing from upstairs. Then, he saw the fat bossing down with a Tower Shield.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help feeling exasperated. This guy was smart enough to bring a Tower Shield down.

    The attack mode of a double-edged sword was chopping, and the Tower Shield was undoubtedly the most effective defense against said chopping. There was also an indistinct magical wave on the Tower Shield, which seemed to be another magic equipment processed by inscription.

    But it didn¡¯t matter; under the rainbow adamantine, everything was ephemeral...

    Lin Li was so confident in the rainbow adamantine forged double-edged sword. It was not a weapon that ordinary magic equipment could resist.

    ¡°Mr Mage, what do you want to bet on?¡± The fat boss was not a Smithing Master; he was covered in sweat, having dragged the hefty Tower Shield down from the second floor. But when he spoke, his voice was full of confidence. He had bought this shield at a high price from an adventurer. To improve its defense, he specially hired a mage toy down mageweath on it.

    He had tried many times these few days; every weapon in the store had been tested, but no matter how sharp the weapon was, as long as the chopping was done on the shield, it would never leave a trace. The fat boss definitely did not believe that the seemingly broken double-edged sword could be more powerful than the weapons in his store.

    The bet was so interesting that even the two sweaty cksmith apprentices beside the furnace could not help but put down their hammers and peer quietly into the doorway. Their strange behavior naturally attracted more passers-by. From time to time, people stopped outside the Gilded Rose and looked into the store with curious eyes.

    In the blink of an eye, dozens of people surrounded the Gilded Rose, turning the deserted armor and weapons store into a bustling market.

    ¡°Let¡¯s bet 1,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Sure! I¡¯d like to see if this broken sword is really that impressive.¡±

    ¡°Move away, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll hurt you...¡± After putting the shield in ce, Lin Li kindly asked, ¡°By the way, would it cause you any trouble if the shield is broken?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± The fat boss swallowed his saliva again. The mage¡¯s eyes had made him ufortable...

    ¡°Then that¡¯s great!¡±

    When the word ¡°great¡± was uttered, the heavy double-edged sword was already held high.

    Then Lin Li¡¯s mana entered the de of the sword, and in an instant there was a glimmer of a halo flowing on the double-edged sword.

    With this trace of mana, the rainbow adamantine weapon immediately became foreign; a dense chill was radiating from the de. Where did the previous dullness go? The halo passing through the sword de was like autumn waters, smearing a shining track in the air...

    The violent strike was like a sh of lightning.

    And then, both of them heard a crisp splitting sound.

    The air suddenly quieted down in the Gilded Rose...

    Whether it was Sean or the fat boss, both were paralyzed with shock almost at the same time.

    Sean had no idea that the kind-hearted mage could deliver such a ferocious strike with the sword.

    The fat boss waspletely dumbstruck by the sword ray. He had gotten a clear look of what happened in that instant. There was a gush of brilliant light on the originally dull double-edged sword the moment it came down. He had been working in the Gilded Rose for 20 years; how could he not recognize the unique brilliance of a high-level magic weapon?

    It was equally quiet outside the Gilded Rose.

    Almost all the onlookers, including the two cksmith apprentices, were looking nervously at the Tower Shield. At this moment, not even a breathing sound could be heard.

    After that sword of lighting, even time seemed to have stopped.

    There was no change in the Gilded Rose. Lin Li held his sword in both hands, and the heavy Tower Shield remained intact.

    ¡°Hahaha... I¡¯ve said it before. How could such a lousy sword split the best shield in my store!¡± The surrounding silence was astonishing, and theughter of the fat boss spread far and wide.

    ¡°Crack...¡±

    The sound was particrly harsh among the sound of the fat boss¡¯ughter.

    Then, everyone saw a crack that was beginning to spread on the seemingly intact shield...

    With the crisp sound, the fat boss seemed to be strangled at his throat suddenly and the smile on his face froze.

 Chapter 95 - The Golden-Eyed Lizard

    <h4>Chapter 95: The Golden-Eyed Lizard</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The cracks on the Tower Shield were thin and dense, spreading like a gue with endless crisp sounds. In the blink of an eye, they had covered the surface of the shield.

    The fat boss¡¯ small eyes also widened with the cracks...

    ¡°Pom!¡± Then, there was a muffled noise as countless tiny fragments spattered like scattered dust, filling up the spacious weapon store.

    The strong and hefty Tower Shield was shattered with only one strike of the sword.

    What kind of sick weapon was this...

    Everyone was dazed. Their open mouths were wide enough to stuff an egg.

    At the same time the Tower Shield was shattered, the fat boss plopped down on the ground. His heart was like the dying embers. <i>It¡¯s over. Everything is over...</i>

    This Tower Shield was specifically ordered by Mr Aaron Matsis, but now it was broken into pieces by a sword. People from the Blood Brotherhood would being in two days to ask for it; where was he going to find another one for them? The fat boss wanted to kill himself. He could have continued with his business instead of getting involved in a bet, and he had ced a bet with a mage some more. Ever since Felic appeared at the Guild of Magic, all the mages in Jarrosus were no different from monsters. Why did he even court them...

    ¡°A 1,000 gold coins.¡± Lin Li was in a good mood, having shattered the Tower Shield with one strike. Rainbow adamantine forged weapons were indeed different. He had tried to control it with a trace of mana, and it easily triggered the shattering attributes. This sharp weapon was the bane of all heavy armor; when it fell into the hands of a real powerhouse, even the mountains could be shattered, let alone a small Tower Shield.

    The fat boss got up from the ground, trembling. He did not even have the time to pat off the dust on his clothes as he hurried to the back of the counter and handed over a heavy bag of gold coins to Lin Li. Even for weapon stores like the Gilded Rose, 1,000 gold coins was by no means a small amount. When the money bag was handed over, the fat boss felt a throbbing pain in his heart.

    But he dared not default on the bet just because of the pain.

    When the sword was delivered just now, he knew that he had hit the wall. Facing such a monster, who would dare to renege on his debt?

    Lin Li reached for the money bag and weighed it. He then put it in his bag in contentment. Before leaving, he kindly asked the fat boss, ¡°Surely there¡¯s no trouble at all?¡±

    ¡°No... There¡¯s really no trouble!¡± The fat boss gritted his teeth, but could only watch Lin Li leave.

    ¡°Eh, Felic, it¡¯s you?¡± Just as Lin Li stepped out of the Gilded Rose, he saw an acquaintance walking towards him.

    ¡°Ah... It¡¯s Chief Ysera. What a coincidence...¡± He had just broken a Tower Shield and had handily made 1,000 gold coins from him. Even if Lin Li was thick-skinned, he was also embarrassed greeting Ysera.

    ¡°Heh heh, Felic, you¡¯re being a stranger here.¡± After witnessing the duel, Ysera dared not put on the patriarch air in front of Lin Li. ¡°It¡¯s not a day or two that we know each other. We are about the same age too, so just call me Ysera. President Gerian calls me by the name as well.¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Ysera.¡± Lin Li himself felt awkward calling ¡°Chief¡± here and there everyday. Since Ysera had said so, he¡¯d certainly follow suit. He had the backing of Gerian, that old fellow, anyway. In Jarrosus City, he could call anyone by their name as he liked, including the Casten. Who would dare to say a word about him?

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯re a rare guest indeed. How did you think of patronizing the Gilded Rose today?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a cksmith to find out something.¡± At Ysera¡¯s question, Lin Li was reminded of the half an arrow in his pocket. ¡°Oh yes, Ysera, does the Mannes Family have a more powerful cksmith? I have something in my hands to ask about its origin.¡±

    ¡°A more powerful cksmith...¡± On hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, a wry smile appeared on the young patriarch¡¯s gentle and handsome face. ¡°If the Mannes Family had a powerful cksmith, I would have opened several more weapon stores. Don¡¯t you know that in Jarrosus City today, selling weapons is much more profitable than selling magic equipment?

    ¡°By the way, Felic, it wasn¡¯t easy meeting you today. I want to discuss something with you. Can you get me a few bottles of Magick Potion? As I said to President Gerianst time, I only need three bottles in total. As a reward, you can choose any three items from the Mannes Family¡¯s hoard.¡±

    Ysera once again mentioned the Magick Potion, but this time it wasn¡¯t so good to decline it directly, so Lin Li had to give him some vague reasons, such as the difficulty in getting the ingredients. Finally, Lin Li was forced with no way out and had to promise him for the time being that if Ysera could get ingredients, he would make three bottles for him. As for the reward, he could give as he deemed fit...

    The two men were talking business outside, and the fat boss who had just stood up in the store sat down on the floor in horror once more.

    He was paid by the Mannes Family; how could he not know who the genteel and handsome young man outside was?

    He had never expected that this mage would have a friendship with the family patriarch.

    The fat boss felt that he had never been so unlucky and lost. What could he do now...

    Just because he had made a bet with someone, the Tower Shield specifically ordered by Aaron Matsis was shattered into pieces. Then, he found out that this person actually shared a good friendship with the patriarch. Just look at the expressions of the two men when they talked; the patriarch even had something to ask of him. If the dispute earlier on was leaked, then the consequences...

    After chatting for a while more, Lin Li saw that it was gettingte. He then turned and left the Gilded Rose.

    The fat boss¡¯ worries soon became a reality. Among the passers-by who had gathered outside the Gilded Rose to watch the earlier dispute, someone had already talked about it in exaggeration. Only a word or two had reached Ysera, but how clever was this young patriarch? He had deduced what happened in a moment¡¯s time with the couple of words he heard.

    Only then did he understand why there was a strange expression on Mage Felic¡¯s face when he left...

    ¡°Joseph, you fool!¡± Ysera¡¯s face was terribly gloomy when he entered the Gilded Rose, and he looked as if he was about to devour someone. Whether it was the two cksmith apprentices or the fat Joseph he called a fool, they had never seen the patriarch in such a rage before.

    Joseph had just got up with much effort when he heard Ysera¡¯s roar, and flopped down in horror again...

    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯ve done?¡± Ysera entered the Gilded Rose, pointing at Joseph with one hand that was shaking with anger. ¡°You... Do you know, do you know whom you were betting against?¡±

    ¡°Chief, I know I¡¯m wrong. I was blind; I¡¯ll be damned, I shouldn¡¯t have offended the Chief¡¯s friend.¡± The fatty named Joseph had some sense. Seeing that Ysera was angry, he burst into tears and begged for mercy, ¡°Please spare me this time for the sake of my 20 years of service to the Mannes Family...¡±

    ¡°20 years?¡± Ysera was livid with anger. ¡°Of all people, you had to bet against him. If you offended him, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to pay for it with a 1,000 years of service in the Mannes Family, let alone 20 years!¡±

    ¡°Give me another chance. I¡¯ll go and apologize to Mr Mage tomorrow. He¡¯s your friend, he sure won¡¯t mind it...¡±

    ¡°Friend? Do you think that just because I¡¯m Ysera, I¡¯m qualified to be friends with someone like him?¡±

    In that moment, Joseph could hardly believe his ears...

    He was stupefied; one of his hands was frozen in mid-air and he was unsure where to ce it.

    What did the Chief just said? He seemed to say, <i>Do you think that just because I¡¯m Ysera, I¡¯m qualified to be friends with someone like him?</i>

    Joseph seemed to have been struck by lightning. He stood dumbfounded. He could not imagine there¡¯d be anyone in Jarrosus City even a family patriarch was not qualified to be friends with...

    ¡°Fool! He¡¯s Felic¡ªFelic from the Guild of Magic!¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± When the patriarch¡¯s angry roar reached his ears, Joseph finally knew what kind of figure the mage he had bet against was. Felic from the Guild of Magic... who else had a name louder than his in Jarrosus City today?

    After a heap of reproach, Ysera¡¯s anger finally subsided a little. But he still wasn¡¯t totally relieved from anger when he thought about it again, so he kicked the fat boss who was on the ground severely. ¡°Go to the Guild of Magic tomorrow and beg for Mage Felic¡¯s forgiveness. If you can¡¯t get his forgiveness, there¡¯s no need toe back. Go find a ce to hang yourself.¡±

    ¡°Ch-Chief...¡± Joseph finally heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the Chief¡¯s words. With a feeling of having survived a disaster, he stretched out a hand and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, then carefully asked with some hesitation, ¡°Just now... Just now... When I was betting with Mage Felic, the Tower Shield that Aaron Matsis ordered was shattered by him. What should I do in case the Blood Brotherhood asks?¡±

    ¡°Blood Brotherhood?¡± Ysera sneered. ¡°It¡¯s Aaron Matsis¡¯ honor that Mage Felic broke that shield. He can¡¯t even thank you enough, how would he look for trouble with you... Prepare yourself to go to the Guild of Magic tomorrow and ask for the forgiveness from Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Lin Li had no idea what was happening in the Gilded Rose; he was on his way back to the Guild of Magic. He had walked around the city all day today. Although he hadn¡¯t found out the source of the arrow, the bet with the fat boss had made him feel much better.

    ¡°Mage... Mage Felic! Please wait...¡± It wasn¡¯t long after he came out of the Gilded Rose when Lin Li suddenly heard that someone seemed to be calling him from behind.

    ¡°Sean?¡± Looking back, he saw the young man from the Gilded Rose, who was strong like a ck bear, gasping to catch up with him from behind. Lin Li halted his steps in puzzlement.

    ¡°Please wait, Mage Felic...¡± By the time Sean caught up from behind, he was panting from exhaustion. His tanned face was covered in perspiration and his breathing was heavy. His strong body that was simr to a ck bear¡¯s was heaving violently.

    Lin Li was rather puzzled. ¡°Sean, how do you know my name?¡±

    ¡°Just... Just now I heard... heard Chief Ysera mention it at the Gilded Rose...¡± Sean wiped out the sweat off his forehead. The young man, who was as strong as a ck bear, gave off an honest and good-natured feeling when he smiled.

    ¡°Heh heh, so, why¡¯re you chasing out like that?¡± Although it was only the first time they met, Lin Li was rather fond of this honest young man, for he felt that someone who could bear the vicious verbal abuse of the fat boss for his sick father would never be bad in nature.

    ¡°Is it for this?¡± Lin Li thought for a moment and reached out to hand the sword wrapped in the cloth to him. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, you can take it back first. When you get the money, you cane to the Guild of Magic to see me again.¡±

    ¡°No, no...¡± Sean shook his head in denial as he gasped heavily for breath.

    ¡°Then, what is it for?¡±

    Sean was hesitant at first; but after thinking it through, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°People in Jarrosus say that you¡¯re a very good pharmacist. So... so... I¡¯d like to ask you to... save my father...¡±

    ¡°Save your father?¡± Lin Li was confused. ¡°Is 1,000 gold coins not enough?¡±

    ¡°No, Mage Felic.¡± Sean¡¯s eyes turned red as he continued, ¡°My father and I are both adventurers in Jarrosus City. Just a few days ago, we took on the task of killing the Golden-Eyed Lizard. But when we were killing Golden-Eyed Lizard, Father identally got bitten by it... I heard you are a very good pharmacist... So... So...¡±

    Sean¡¯s voice became lower and lower. After saying two ¡°so¡± in session, there was nothing that followed.

    However, Lin Li understood. He had killed two Golden-Eyed Lizard back in the Sunset Mountains. This magical beast was not strong, but it was terribly toxic. Once bitten, it would be more troublesome to deal with than a curse.

 Chapter 96 - Fire Plume Ridge

    <h4>Chapter 96: Fire Plume Ridge</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The venom of Golden-Eyed Lizard was so insidious that it was almost impossible to purge itpletely.

    It was not difficult to preserve one¡¯s life, though¡ªeven ordinary doctors could do it. But it was only removing most of the toxins; the toxins which had already invaded the body would continue to lurk there and slowly damage the body from the inside. With this destruction, the person who was poisoned would get weaker and weaker day by day. After about half a month, a vigorous man could turn into an invalid. It was as dangerous as Lin Li¡¯s concentrated Wild Elixir.

    Apart from a Cleric¡¯s level-fifteen theurgy, the Life Awakening spell, the only thing that couldpletely eliminate this toxin was the Detoxification Antidote.

    So when Sean mentioned the Golden-Eyed Lizard, Lin Li knew what he had to do.

    ¡°Bring me to your house.¡± Lin Li clearly remembered that he had at least four bottles of Detoxification Antidote in his pocket; it was essential for survival in the Sunset Mountains.

    Sean was stunned for a moment, then slowly understood the meaning of Lin Li¡¯s words. The simple-minded young man felt a moment of dizziness and ecstasy; he was so overwhelmed with joy that he even stuttered in his speech. ¡°Thank... Thank you, Mage Felic... Thank you... Thank you!¡±

    So, along the way, Lin Li kept hearing Sean¡¯s constant thanking. He had to admit that the young man, who was strong like a ck bear, had little eloquence as all he said was ¡°thank you¡± and nothing new. It was worlds apart from the businessmen and celebrities at the Casten¡¯s banquet. However, it felt real and dependable in Lin Li¡¯s ears...

    Sean¡¯s family lived in the west of the city, which had the lowestmodity prices and was near the Adventurers Guild. Most of the low-level adventurers would choose to live here.

    Of course, in such a ce, the quality of life was far worse inparison to everywhere else.

    Most of the buildings around here were dpidated, and from their color, they seemed to be a few decades old. There were wooden huts in many ces; they were simple and decadent, and looked like wind could blow them down. Along the way, they passed by some pedestrians, most of them wearing leather boots¡ªthe attire of a low-level adventurer. Sean, who was following closely behind, wore simr clothes.

    ¡°Mage Felic, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± After passing through several buildings, Sean stopped in front of a cabin.

    Despite being mentally prepared, Lin Li was surprised to see the cabin. It was just too simple and crude. Even the Jarrosus Exchange at the ck market looked 100 times better than it.

    It was not that Lin Li had never been to an adventurer¡¯s house. But, it was the first time he¡¯d seen such a shabby one...

    The furnishings in the house were even simpler. Two chairs, two beds, and a wooden table were all the furniture in the house. There was a lot of sundries in the corner; various kinds of magical beasts¡¯ fur and herbs like the silverleaf were everywhere. A middle-aged man, who looked to be almost 40 years of age,y in one of the beds. His skin was tanned and his body was strong, like Sean¡¯s. The only difference was the stubble on his tanned face, which seemed like he had not shaved for some time.

    This should be Sean¡¯s father.

    He was deeply asleep, with a patched nket covering him. Looking at the sleeping middle-aged man, Lin Li could not help thinking of McGrenn, who had brought him out of the Sunset Mountains.

    ¡°Sean, go get some water,¡± Lin Li said as he took out a bottle of Detoxification Antidote from his pocket. He did not pass it directly to Sean, but instead asked him to fetch some water. The antidote was too potent; if he drank it directly, the poison would be purged but it would loosen the bowels. Therefore, it was necessary to dilute it with clean water to tone down the effects of the antidote.

    Very soon, Sean brought the water in an iron kettle. There was some embarrassment on his tanned face when he brought it in. ¡°This is the only one in the house that can hold water.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯ll be the same.¡± Lin Li smiled and took the kettle from Sean. He opened the ss bottle and poured the viscous ck liquid into the kettle.

    To be honest... The smell of the Detoxification Antidote was terrible.

    It used arge amount of ghostskin sus. The smell that it gave off after concoction was so smoky and pungent that one could tear up if one came close enough to it.

    After the thick and ck sus was poured into the kettle, Lin Li quickly tightened the kettle lid and carefully shook the antidote.

    ¡°Take this to your father and let him drink it. He¡¯ll wake up in ten minutes at the most.¡±

    ¡°Yes... Yes... Thank you... Mage Felic...¡± Sean¡¯s voice choked. He had lived for over 20 years, and for the first time he was so happy that he wanted to cry.

    In order to find an antidote for his father, Sean had travelled almost the whole of Jarrosus City, looking for one doctor after another, but even the cheapest medicine required 1,000 gold coins. For his family, 1,000 gold coins was simply a huge sum of money they could not afford.

    In order to raise the money and save his father¡¯s life, Sean had done almost everything he could. All the things he could sell at home were sold and he even borrowed money from the Adventurers Guild, but it was still far from 1,000 gold coins...

    Then, he thought of the double-edged sword...

    In fact, even Sean himself had no idea about the origin of the sword.

    He only remembered vaguely that his father had said that hundreds of years ago, a great man had appeared in the Poliro Family, and that sword was his weapon.

    But the weapon used by a great man did not necessarily mean it could sell at a high price.

    With this sword on his back, Sean had gone to almost all the weapon stores in Jarrosus.

    But there was no one who was willing to pay 600 gold coins for it.

    When he got to the Gilded Rose, Sean had lost all hope.

    That was hisst chance. If even the Gilded Rose would only give 100 gold coins for it, Sean really didn¡¯t know where he should go to get the 600 gold coins.

    And then everything that followed seemed like a dream to him...

    The heavy bag of gold coins, like a little light in the darkness, lit up Sean¡¯s eyes in an instant.

    At that moment, Sean was like a drowning man struggling desperately in the water; but when he was about to give up, someone had offered him a warm hand...

    Sean did not know any general principles. He merely swore to himself that he had to repay the kind mage regardless of what he had to do!

    At that moment, Lin Li had discovered something strange.

    It was among the sundries in the corner. To be more precise, it was stuck on a few silverleaves. It looked like a piece of ck stuff, as if it was dirt...

    Apart from those who understood its value, most people would only see it as weeds.

    But Lin Li knew that there was another name for it.

    Its name was ck lotus!

    ¡°Sean, did you and your father ever sell herbs in the city?¡± Thinking back to the original batch of herbs he had collected, Lin Li gradually understood what had happened.

    ¡°How did you know it, Mage Felic?¡± Sean was apparently surprised.

    ¡°Sure enough...¡± Lin Li suddenly burst outughing as he patted Sean on the shoulder delightfully. ¡°Sean, you have done me a great favor this time!¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Sean¡¯sughter was ingenuous. Although he didn¡¯t understand what Lin Li was talking about, he could see that Mage Felic was ted.

    ¡°Come,e... Sean, have a look at this first.¡± Lin Li pulled the honest young man to the corner. Then, he stooped down and gingerly picked out half of the ck lotus petal from the pile of silverleaf. ¡°Do you remember where this herb was picked from?¡±

    ¡°This... This is also a herb?¡± Sean stared at the half ck lotus petals and scratched his head with some doubt.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°Aiya...¡± The simple and honest young man was very upset and pped his forehead severely. With his magical beast-like strength, the p went down with a loud rumbling p. ¡°Thest time I went to pick the silverleaf, I picked up two of these as well. Later, I thought the flowers were too ck and not good-looking. I was afraid that others would not buy them if I mixed them into the silverleaf, so I took them out and threw them away. If I¡¯d known it earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have thrown them away...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li wanted to bang the wall all of a sudden.

    Mixing the ck lotus with the silverleaf, and then rejecting it because it was too ck and unappealing... Was this what people would do?

    ¡°This is really a herb?¡± Seeing the strange expression on the Magic Shooter, Sean was much more cautious with his question.

    ¡°... Really.¡±

    ¡°Aiya...¡± Sean pped himself on the forehead again. ¡°If I had known, I¡¯d have picked up the other two as well!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li jumped in surprise. ¡°There are two more of it?¡±

    Sean dared not be careless seeing that Lin Li had asked with such prudence. He carefully recalled for a while and replied with uncertainty, ¡°It might also be three flowers...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li felt all energy sapped from him. ¡°Where is it...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in the Fire Plume Ridge. Usually, when I go there with my father for a task, we¡¯ll pick some herbs on the way and sell them when we¡¯re back.¡±

    ¡°The Fire Plume Ridge in nna?¡± Lin Li faintly recalled that Andoine seemed to have mentioned this ce before. It was said to be an extinct volcano.

    It was actually possible if you thought about it. The temperature of the extinct volcano should be able to satisfy the extreme environment requirement for the growth of the ck lotus; but, it seemed a little too much to grow four or five flowers all at a time. Or was that not merely an extinct volcano?

 Chapter 97 - An Invite from Alanna

    <h4>Chapter 97: An Invite from nna</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    To some extent, the ck lotus had gone beyond the scope of herbal medicine. Where it grew, it had to have rich fire magical element and an extreme temperature enough to melt steel. In the process of growing, the ck lotus would continuously absorb the fire magical element around it until it fully matured.

    This was a long process. It might take ten years for a ck lotus to fully mature. During this long period of time, the fire magical element it absorbed was exceedingly huge in amount; the strength of it was even close to the magic of an Archmage.

    This was already the case with one ck lotus, let alone as many as four or five.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe that the Fire Plume Ridge could contain such amazing fire magical element.

    ¡°Sean, do you remember where you picked this herb?¡±

    The big young man smiled and said, ¡°It seemed to be in a cave, heh... I identally fell in.¡±

    In Lin Li¡¯s confused eyes, Sean began to talk about his experience.

    The pair of father and son had gone to the Fire Plume Ridge to hunt for the Fire Crow, a level-five magical beast.

    As a mage, Lin Li was no stranger to the Fire Crow. The difficulty of casting various fire spells could be reduced using the feathers of the Fire Crow. It was also a good-selling item in many magic stores.

    This was a very interesting magical beast, with an innate advantage of being immune to fire spells. But its strength was not worthy of a mention; they were far inferior to the lions of the same level. Worst of all, they were voracious eaters. This weakness was extremely fatal. Even the lowest-level adventurers could trap them if they were aware of this weakness.

    Sean and his father were such adventurers. That day, they went up to the Fire Plume Ridge and very quickly set up the traps, then began to wait patiently for the Fire Crow to take the bait.

    For some reasons unknown, there were many Fire Crows on the hook that day. Initially, there was only a couple of them, but at noon, hundreds of Fire Crows poured out all at once, frightening Sean and his father badly. Even if they were the least impressive among the level-five magical beasts, it was by no means possible for humans topete with hundreds of them. Seeing the huge piece of brilliant red in the sky, the two of them turned around and fled immediately...

    The flightsted for half a day; it was almost evening when Sean finally got rid of the Fire Crows¡¯ pursuit.

    Then, he found himself separated from his father.

    It was getting dark by the time. It was so dark in the Fire Plume Ridge that he couldn¡¯t even see the road in front of him. Sean was relying on a half-broken fire torch, groping with difficulty on the rugged mountain road. It wasn¡¯t long before Sean felt his foot slip, and the next thing he knew, he had crashed into a cave.

    The honest young man did not have much in terms of eloquence indeed. He went back and forth but still failed to describe the cave clearly.

    Lin Li could only barely guess the general location of the cave from his description. It should be somewhere on the top of the Fire Plume Ridge, where there were many winding forks; and in the corner of these forks, there were clumps of silverleaf.

    Lin Li memorized these characteristics one by one, then asked casually, ¡°Is the temperature in that cave higher than anywhere else?¡±

    The honest young man was surprised. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I guessed.¡±

    Lin Li chuckled, but in his mind, he was confused. Where four ck lotus flowers could be produced, the fire magical element should be intensely rich. That was a real extreme temperature. Even if a piece of cast iron was put in it, it would probably be melted into a puddle of molten iron.

    Moreover, it was inside a cave. In the almost sealed environment, the temperature would be even more terrible. How could Sean walk into it ande out fine?

    Could it be... that there was another source for the fire magical element?

    This was not a good news...

    Naturally formed extreme environments were terrifying but there were always ways to ovee them.

    But if there was another source of the fire magical element, the force was probably something that human power could not contend with.

    Nobody knew what was hidden in it. What if it was a mighty fire magical beast?

    He should find a chance to see it... Lin Li quickly made up his mind. The temptation of the ck lotus was too great; especially after having felt the power of the Elixir of the Sages intuitively, the temptation had grown even stronger. A ck lotus petal could create such a miraculous realm; if it was reced by the legendary Ephemeral Divinity Potion, perhaps he could even kill legendary-level characters at will.

    Just as Lin Li was distracted, a sudden cough came from the bed.

    ¡°Father, are you awake?¡± Sean was pleasantly surprised hearing the coughing.

    Although the venom of the Golden-Eyed Lizard had been cleared, the middle-aged man¡¯s body had yet to fully recover. There was an unconceble weakness in his voice. ¡°Sean... Who is this mage?¡±

    ¡°Father, this is Mage Felic.¡± Sean put a pillow under his father to make him morefortable. ¡°Mage Felic is the one who treated the poison in your body.¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Perhaps it was because he had just woken up, but the middle-aged man was still in a daze at first. Then, he remembered the name that had spread all over Jarrosus. The name was too loud and clear, so the middle-aged man was still in disbelief after he had recalled it. ¡°You... You are Guild of Magic¡¯s... Mage Felic?¡±

    ¡°Hello, Mr Poliro. I am Felic.¡± Lin Li¡¯s head was pounding. Since the duel with Cromwell, almost all of Jarrosus knew his name, and that had caused him a lot of trouble. After all, he was only in his twenties and was not ready to be famous.

    ¡°Oh my God... You¡¯re really the Magic Shooter, Felic?¡± The middle-aged man was agitated and there was an incredulous look in his eyes. Felic from the Guild of Magic¡ªthe genius pharmacist, the youngest Magic Shooter. With all the glory and fame, he was like a legend. Poliro had never dreamt that, one day, the legend would stand in front of him and even cure him of his toxic injury.

    ¡°Sean... Help me up.¡± The voice of the middle-aged man was still weak, but his tone was firm.

    The honest young man hesitated at first. After all, his father had just recovered from a serious illness and should lie in bed to rest. However, under the persistence of the middle-aged man, he carefully helped his father up.

    ¡°Mr Poliro, with your current condition, it¡¯s not suitable for you to get out of bed...¡±

    Before Lin Li could finish his sentence, he saw the middle-aged man break away from Sean¡¯s support then kneel down on one knee, scaring Lin Li into helping him up promptly. ¡°Mr Poliro, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°You saved my life, but I have nothing to repay you with.¡± It was unknown where the strength to move hade from in the middle-aged man who had just recovered from a serious illness. Lin Li tried to pull him up twice in session but he remained motionless. One of his knees was firmly nailed to the ground and his tone was extremely stubborn. ¡°I can only express my gratitude in this way.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright... Please quickly get up. The venom of the Golden-Eyed Lizard has just been removed. You¡¯d better stay in bed these few days and not walk around at will.¡± After helping the middle-aged man up, Lin Li left them some advice in a hurry and was prepared to say goodbye to the simple father and son. Kneeling down to convey one¡¯s gratitude was touching, but Lin Li still could not adapt to it.

    When Lin Li left, it was Sean who sent him out.

    As they approached the Emerald Tower, the honest young man suddenly showed a look of desire to speak, but he did not do so on the second thought.

    ¡°Sean, is anything the matter?¡±

    At Lin Li¡¯s urging, Sean bit his teeth and seemed to have mustered his courage. ¡°Mage Felic... I would like to ask you for something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Would you consider making me your attendant?¡±

    ¡°Making you my attendant?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t expect Sean would ask for such a thing. He couldn¡¯t help feeling curious. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because... Because I¡¯d like to repay you.¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Liughed, but did not reject him. He merely patted Sean on the shoulder. ¡°Go back and discuss with your father. This is not a small matter.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡± Sean nodded heavily and sent Lin Li all the way to the gates of the Guild of Magic. He stopped in front of the Emerald Tower. ¡°Can Ie to the Guild of Magic to see you after I¡¯ve discussed it with Father?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then, goodbye, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    After watching the honest young man leave, Lin Li turned around and entered the guild hall.

    Then, he saw a plump figure. Gerian was pacing restlessly in the hall; his plump face was strained; his expression was as if he was constipated. Knowing that the President was in a bad mood, the guild mages tried to shun him, escaping far away. Nobody dared to stay too close to him at this time.

    ¡°What happened, Mr President?¡± Lin Li was probably the only one in the whole Guild of Magic who dared to approach Gerian at this point in time.

    ¡°Little bastard, you¡¯re finally back...¡± When Gerian saw that Lin Li had returned, the constipated expression on his face rxed at once, but his nagging continued. ¡°Are you a rabbit, you little bastard? You were out of sight as soon as you went out. I was about to go crazy trying to look for you!¡±

    ¡°Something happened?¡±

    ¡°A big one!¡± Gerian¡¯s expression was exaggerated. ¡°But it¡¯s a good one!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the good thing?¡±

    ¡°When I came back at noon today, I received an official letter from the nna Council,¡± Gerian spoke cheerfully. ¡°They are providing a three-month study opportunity for each of the 30 magic guilds in the Fn Kingdom, and they require mages above level-seven and under the age of 25. The nna Council will arrange a trial after three months of study, and the guilds that win the top three positions will automatically receive the highest level of appraisal in this year¡¯s Supreme Council evaluation...¡±

    ¡°So... you¡¯re counting on me? I say, Mr President, can you be a little more humane? I just finished my duel with Cromwell. Can¡¯t you let me rest for two more days?¡±

    ¡°You kid don¡¯t know what¡¯s good or bad. I¡¯m doing it for you!¡± Gerian was furious, and gently pped Lin Li on the head. ¡°This is a learning opportunity arranged by the Supreme Council. The mentor assigned to you is at least of the legendary level; it may even be one of the seven arbitrators. Your magic gift is so perverted. If you can spend three months with an arbitrator, you may even break through to the Archmage realm directly... Do you think such opportunityes by every day? You don¡¯t wish to go, but a lot of people have sharpened their heads as they tried to drill into a spot. If Kevin wasn¡¯t too old for this, I would send him for it...¡±

    ¡°Is it that impressive?¡± Lin Li still had some suspicion. It was not that he didn¡¯t want to go to nna. It was just his innateziness acting up; he could not change it in a short while.

    ¡°It IS that impressive!¡± Gerian¡¯s eyes were wide open as he came to a firm conclusion.

    Gerian was so determined. Lin Li thought over it; he had to find Andoine to interpret the High Elves Print anyway, and he also had to go to the Fire Plume Ridge to search for the ck lotus. The nna Council was on the way, so he agreed half-heartedly. ¡°Then... When do I set off?¡±

    ¡°Three dayster. It will take about two days from Jarrosus to nna. I¡¯ll arrange a carriage to take you there. Kid, you¡¯d better not let me down. Get the first ce for me at the trial. I¡¯ll see who dares tough at the Jarrosus Guild of Magic for not being able to foster talent then!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± After hesitating for a moment, Gerian lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Do you have a potion that can hide your magic level?¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li gave a start. ¡°You want me to cheat?¡±

    ¡°What cheat? Don¡¯t make it sound so bad...¡± Even if Gerian was thick-skinned, he couldn¡¯t help but blush when he was exposed on the spot. But he was still stubborn with his words. ¡°I was afraid your magic level would scare the other fools... Well, is there any?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there is. But how many levels do I have to suppress?¡±

    ¡°The standard on the official letter is level-ten. Why don¡¯t you be more resolute and suppress it to level-seven? Anyway, you¡¯re a freak. Even if you really did something out of the ordinary then, you could stretch the truth using your sick mental strength as an excuse.¡±

 Chapter 98 - Attendant

    <h4>Chapter 98: Attendant</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hahaha... I guess those fools wouldn¡¯t even dream of Jarrosus sending a level-twelve Magic Shooter!¡± Gerian guffawed. ¡°I¡¯d like to see who can take home the first ce this time!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure the other guilds have no Magic Shooters under the age of 25?¡±

    ¡°Do you think everyone¡¯s a freak like you? Bloody hell, you¡¯re only 20 but you¡¯ve dared to break through to the realm of a Magic Shooter. Why didn¡¯t God just strike you with lightning, you demon...¡± After Gerian had finished his indignant nagging, the expression on his face changed again, revealing a smile as if his plot had already seeded. At this time, the President looked like a big fat fox that had just stolen a chicken. ¡°Besides, it was written clearly in the official letter. This learning opportunity is only for mages above level-seven. Do you see it... Only for mages above level-seven. Magic Shooter? Just stay home and y with yourself! Why do you think I want you to cheat?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was at a loss whether to cry or tough. The old fellow had made a point of cheating.

    ¡°Do a good job and get the first ce at the trial. I¡¯d like to see who still dares to look down on the Jarrosus Guild of Magic in the future!¡± The guild being at a low ebb in the past 20 years had always rankled Gerian. This time, he finally had the chance to hold his head high. Excitement was all over his chubby face.

    During the past month in the Emerald Tower, Lin Li could see clearly how much effort this seemingly arrogant old fellow had spent on the Guild of Magic. To be frank, Lin Li was very willing to do something for him. It was probably due to his character¡ªLin Li was not used to giving any steadfast guarantees. He just nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s promise to try his best had immediately calmed Gerian¡¯s mind. He knew the kid¡¯s character too well¡ªhe never promised easily, but as long as he had made a promise, he¡¯d fulfill that promise well above expectation. From the Arcane Magic Potion in the beginning to the Sobriety Potion, then to the duel at the Daylight Square¡ªa level-twelve Magic Shooter had made Cromwell, who was level-fourteen, an invalid.

    ¡°Take these few days to get ready. You¡¯ll leave for nna in three days¡¯ time.¡±

    For the next two days, Lin Li was extremely busy.

    After the nna trip was set, he suddenly realized that he still had a lot to do.

    The 40 bottles of Wild Elixir seemed to have silenced the Shadow¡¯s Nest. At least there had been little movement in the Demon Fall Valley in the recent days. However, everyone from Guild of Magic did not take it lightly. The two had been long-time rivals; no one understood the Shadow¡¯s Nest better than the Guild of Magic. The rate of expansion of this particr force was like a gue. No one knew when they would suddenly exert their power.

    In order to leave in peace, Lin Li had been cooped up in the potionb for the past two days.

    Theb was shrouded in a white mist; a strong medicinal smell permeated it. Amidst this, various kinds of potions were concocted, the majority being the Recovery Potion and the Mana Potion. These were two of the lowest-level potions; they had the most extensive use in treatment of minor injuries¡ªone for the treatment of minor injuries and the other for the restoration of the mana. In a fierce battle, these two potions might be able to save many lives even if there was only one small bottle of each.

    In addition, he had concocted ten bottles of Awakening Potion in one breath. It was specially prepared for Gerian. The old fellow was an Archmage, which meant there was no use in making him drink the Mana Potion. It might take two bottles of Mana Potion to make up for the consumption of a level-fifteen magic spell...

    As for the other misceneous items such as the Sobriety Potion, the Detoxification Antidote, and the Elixir of Wisdom... He had concocted plenty of them each. Anyhow, in these two days, Lin Li did not even step out of the potionb once. When he was tired, he¡¯d sleep for a while, and then continue when he woke up. Even the meals were sent to the potionb by one of the guys.

    Perhaps only a pharmaceutics guru could do something like this.

    Other than a near-demonic figure like Lin Li, other pharmaceutics masters would probably be exhausted to death if they were to do what Lin Li did. There seemed to be only a thin line between a pharmaceutics guru and a master, but in fact, the distance was vaster than ever.

    It was not until the morning of the third day that Lin Li came out of the potionb, both weary and drowsy.

    Just as he opened the door of the potionb, he saw Gerian, who was keeping watch outside.

    Probably because of the long wait, Gerian was leaning against the wall and almost falling asleep. There was some tiredness on his chubby face and his yawns came consecutively. But when he heard the sound of Lin Li opening the door, he immediately opened his eyes.

    This time, instead of looking into the potionb, Gerian asked with concern, ¡°Why did it take so long this time?¡±

    The old fellow¡¯s concerned eyes warmed Lin Li¡¯s heart. He gave a weak smile. ¡°This time, I¡¯m going to be away for three months. I want to leave more things for the guild.¡±

    ¡°Damn, you¡¯ve stayed in for more than two days. Do you still want your life... How can your body stand it this way?¡±

    Gerian kept on nagging, but Lin Li felt extremely warm as the words went in his ears. ¡°Go in and take a look, I¡¯ve prepared ten Awakening Potions for you. In addition, there are ten Iron Shield Potions, which shouldst for three months if used wisely. As for the rest, you can ask someone to take them to the Demon Fall Valley and give them to Kevin.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, mhm...¡± Gerian nodded his head, then urged him to take a rest.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go take a nap first.¡±

    Lin Li was really worn out. He had concocted about 300 bottles of potions in less than three days. Even a pharmaceutics guru who was at the peak of his profession would have been both mentally and physically exhausted.

    He walked into the guild¡¯s hall drowsily. He was about to return to his bedroom to sleep when he heard a pleasant voiceing from the steps of the Emerald Tower.

    ¡°Mage Felic!¡±

    Lin Li turned around with some surprise and saw Sean¡¯s tanned face.

    Apart from Sean, his father, who had just recovered from a serious injury, also came. The middle-aged man was just recovering, so he still looked rather weak. There was less color on his equally tanned face. The honest young man was carefully supporting him. The two men just stood on the steps, looking in the direction of the guild hall.

    ¡°Mr Poliro, why are you here? Didn¡¯t I tell you that the venom in your body has just been cleared and you¡¯re still very weak? You should stay in bed these few days and rest; don¡¯t wander around at will. Why did you...¡± Lin Li hurried to wee them in. He carefully helped the middle-aged man into the guild hall, then found a chair for him to sit down.

    ¡°Sean, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡± After all this, Lin Li turned back and stared at the honest young man; his expression was rather stern. ¡°Your father was just recovering, why not make him stay in bed?¡±

    Sean looked a little sorry. He opened his mouth to exin, but when the words came to his mouth, they turned into an apology. ¡°Sorry... Mage Felic...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t me him, Mage Felic. I wanted toe on my own...¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s voice was hoarse and weak, and he was speaking slowly. ¡°I¡¯m here this time to ask you for something...¡±

    ¡°Please speak.¡±

    ¡°Sean has been sensible since young. He has been running around with me for many years, but has not known better days all these years. I, as his father, have no ability to find a promising career for my son. So, I¡¯d like to ask you, would you consider making Sean your attendant?¡± The middle-aged man gazed at his son with much warmth and love in his eyes.

    The gaze reminded Lin Li of his father and of McGrenn, who had passed away.

    To be honest, he was hesitant.

    In a world of sword and magic, many mages had their own attendants. For example, Old Grimm, who had been to the Guild of Magic, had a legendary-level warrior attendant. This was not merely a subordinate rtionship; in many cases, it also meant a responsibility.

    Lin Li was not someone who liked to take responsibility. So, when Sean had made this request the other day, Lin Li did not agree immediately, making him go home and discuss it with his father.

    Lin Li thought that it was just Sean¡¯s own idea; the middle-aged man might not necessarily consent to it.

    But, in the end...

    The middle-aged man not only agreed with Sean¡¯s idea, he even dragged his sick body to the Guild of Magic to persuade Lin Li.

    Facing a father who hoped for his son to have a brighter future, Lin Li couldn¡¯t bring himself to reject him.

    The expectant expression on the middle-aged man¡¯s face constantly reminded Lin Li of his father. When he had just graduated from school, his father ran all over the ce, putting in good words for Lin Li as he tried to seek a rtionship for Lin Li¡¯s own good. The expression on his face was exactly the same as that of the middle-aged man in front of him...

    ¡°I beg you, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°Please let me consider...

    ¡°Sean, you see if this is alright...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment amidst their anticipation, and then told the honest young man, ¡°I don¡¯t need an attendant yet, but there¡¯s one thing that I really need your help in, so I¡¯m going to hire you for three months first. As far as the remuneration is concerned... What do you think of 5,000 gold coins a month?¡±

    ¡°5,000 gold coins!¡± The middle-aged man gave a start and quickly declined, ¡°This is no good, Mage Felic. That will never do. 5,000 gold coins is too much. You saved my life. If you need any help, just order Sean to do it. How can we make you spend so much money?¡±

 Chapter 99 - The Robbery Begins Now

    <h4>Chapter 99: The Robbery Begins Now</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Things were settled. Lin Li hired Sean for three months with a monthly sry of 5,000 gold coins.

    At daybreak the next day, Sean arrived at the Emerald Tower and sat down in the hall earnestly, waiting for the Mage Felic to get up. His tanned face was filled with excited smiles. Although he could not be Mage Felic¡¯s attendant as he wished, employment for three months was delightful enough for the honest young man. Lin Li was the most powerful character of Jarrosus and the benefactor of his family. For this simple and honest young man, whether it was being an attendant or an employee, it was sufficient to keep him up in excitement all night.

    The past two days had consumed too much of Lin Li¡¯s energy. After sending Sean and his father away the previous day, Lin Li simply fell asleep as soon as hey down on his bed and slept tillte in the morning today.

    When he came out of his bedroom, still groggy, the carriage had already been waiting outside the Emerald Tower for a long time. There were many people in the guild hall. Except for those who were far away in the Demon Fall Valley, almost all the guild¡¯s mages were here. Sean sat far away in a corner and observed the fascinating mages with curious eyes.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re finally up...¡± When Lin Li came out of the potionb yesterday, hisplexion was frightening. Gerian was so worried that he did not sleep well all night for fear that something bad might happen to the bushed kid. It wasn¡¯t until this morning, when he saw that the kid¡¯s face had returned to its former luster, that the old fellow was secretly relieved.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything¡¯s fine...¡±

    ¡°Have you brought everything? Take more clothes with you. The weather is cold in nna. If you get a cold or fever, it won¡¯t be worth it. By the way, you must remember to put your crystal card away; don¡¯t throw it around. Thieves in that ce are not under Daphne¡¯s control. If you lose it, you may not be able to get it back.¡± Gerian seemed particrly long-winded today, but Lin Li felt an unspeakable warmth as he listened.

    ¡°I know, I know. The older you get, the more long-winded you are...¡±

    ¡°You little bastard, you don¡¯t appreciate the good!¡± Gerian yelled. His eyes fell on Sean again, and there was some admiration on his face. ¡°This young man has a gift.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± Lin Li nodded. He knew that Gerian was telling the truth. Sean¡¯s gift was so good that it would make people really jealous. His innate strength had allowed him to reach beyond level-five of a warrior without any training. If he had a real expert to guide him, his future would be very promising.

    ¡°Sean, what are you looking at?¡± Lin Li approached the simple young man, only to find him looking around with curious eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking at them.¡± Sean pointed his finger towards the guild hall; the expression on his face was rather exaggerated. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so many mages in my life before...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see it frequently in the future. Alright, Sean, we should set off soon...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± The honest young man nodded and reached for his sword that was leaning just beside him. Old Poliro bought this for him when he went out this morning. A bottle of Lin Li¡¯s Detoxification Antidote had solved all the problems, and also allowed the father and son to have more money to buy new weapons.

    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared your weapon. You can leave that in the Guild of Magic.¡± Lin Li shook his head and took out the sword wrapped in cloth from behind.

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°This what?¡± Lin Li forcefully stuffed this huge sword into Sean¡¯s hand. ¡°You are the bodyguard I paid to hire. How can you protect me without a good weapon? As for the 1,000 gold coins lent to you... I¡¯ll deduct it from the remuneration when the timees.¡±

    Gerian walked them outside the Emerald Tower, where a carriage had been waiting for a long time.

    ¡°Be careful on the way.¡± Gerian did not forget to remind Lin Li as he saw him up to the carriage.

    ¡°I know, I know. Don¡¯t be too hasty about the Demon Fall Valley. If you can, you¡¯d better put it off first. We¡¯ll talk about it when I get back from nna.¡±

    ¡°Mhm. Bon voyage!¡±

    In the crisp sound of horse¡¯s hooves, the Emerald Tower gradually faded away.

    Sean was driving the carriage with a whip clicking on his hand. His tanned face was full of excitement and contentment¡ªbeing able to drive for Mage Felic seemed like a dream to him.

    Lin Li sat in the spacious carriage, drowsiness creeping in on him with every bump of the carriage. The tall spire of the Emerald Tower had disappeared from his sight a long time ago. The scenery on both sides flew by fast, and before he knew it, he was getting farther and farther away from Jarrosus...

    ckstone Town was close to the Night Song Forest, only 100 miles away from nna. These two ces¡ªone of them a paradise for low-level magical beasts and the other the heart of the Fn Kingdom¡ªupied such important geographical locations. ckstone Town enjoyed exceptional advantages¡ªwhether it was adventurers hunting for magical beasts or businessmen in charge of goods all over the world, most of them would choose to take a rest when they passed through this town.

    The huge migrant poption had brought prosperity to the inn industry in ckstone Town. In just a few hundred years, inns in ckstone Town had mushroomed, emerging one after another. Presently, nine out of ten families in this small town run an inn.

    The sky gradually darkened and there was silence between the mountains and ins, but ckstone Town was bustling. For the inn owners, this was the best time of the day. The businessmen who had missed the stay and the adventurers who had juste out of the Night Song Forest were the best customers for the inns. They stayed in a room of five gold coins a night without blinking their eyes.

    Compared to these big spenders, the mage earlier on was much more stingy.

    A gold coin for one night, and two people were sharing a small room together.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a mage this poor...¡± The maidservant looked at Lin Li with some disdain. He was handsome and fine, but she did not expect him to be so shabby. Not to mention squeezing in one room with his attendant, the mage robe he was wearing was old and worn as well...

    After the two men were introduced into the room, the maidservant did not even hint at a tip and left with a coquettish twist of her hip.

    ¡°The quality of the maidservants here is so high?¡± Lin Li was stunned. He was reaching out into his pocket for money, nning to tip her with two gold coins before she left.

    Fortunately, Lin Li did not know what she was thinking; otherwise, he would have died unjustly...

    He wanted two rooms, but Sean refused that no matter what. He said that he was responsible for the safety of Mage Felic and that he had to stay close to protect him...

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll protect me now...¡± Lin Li¡¯s brows furrowed as soon as he entered the room. A gold coin per night in a room which was so shockingly small. Two beds and one table alone upied most of the space. With Sean inside, the room suddenly seemed extremely jammed.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Hearing Sean¡¯s address to himself, Lin Li felt a great headache. ¡°I¡¯ve told you 800 times, don¡¯t call me Mage Felic. We are in an employer-employee rtionship. Do you understand that? That is to say... I give you money, and you help me do work. We are equal in status. You can call me Felic or Mr Felic.¡±

    He then reminded Sean fiercely once more, ¡°If you address me wrongly again, you¡¯ll go back to Jarrosus on your own...¡±

    ¡°Mr... Mr Felic?¡±

    ¡°Mm, very good!¡± It still sounded awkward, but it didn¡¯t matter. <i>He¡¯ll get used to it after a few more times </i>, Lin Liforted himself inwardly. Then, he took off his Robe of Wrath and plopped into bed. ¡°Hurry and sleep, but don¡¯t you snore!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t snore...¡±

    The big man who¡¯d said to never snore almost toppled the inn after being in bed for less than half an hour.

    ¡°Mm, you never snore... You only thunder!¡± Lin Li wanted to die. Sean¡¯s terrifying snores were like the howls of a magical beast. The bursts of thunder followed one after another, which rmed the coquettish maidservant. She came to knock on Lin Li¡¯s door in the middle of the night, reminding the mage that it was best not to use magic in the room, because if anything was damaged, thepensation would be very costly!

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was going to defend himself and make up for the tip earlier on when he heard a muffled banging from downstairs.

    Then there was a flurry of footsteps, along with the inn owner¡¯s inquiries.

    But it was a loud p in the face that answered him.

    p! The p in the face was so loud and crisp that even Lin Li who was on the second floor could imagine the owner¡¯s swollen face.

    The footsteps were getting nearer and nearer, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the stairs.

    From the sound, there should be more than a dozen people.

    Before the coquettish maidservant could understand what was going on, a dozen people had rushed up to the second floor.

    The leader was a tall strong man who looked to be about 30 years old. He carried a deep and long scar on his face, making him look extremely ferocious. A group of heavily armed men followed behind him; each and every one of them looked fierce and aggressive. The strong man with the scar on his face did not stop when he walked past Lin Li¡¯s room; he merely shot a menacing re at Lin Li. ¡°Take out all your valuable things and kneel at the door. Someone wille to collect them. If you dare to hide a copper te, you will die!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li stood bewildered at the door. He thought to himself doubtfully, <i>Is this the purported robbery? Damn, how exhrating!</i>

    Then he saw that group of strong men who were savage like wolves and tigers kick open all the doors one by one.

    The sessive rumbling awoke Sean.

    ¡°Mage Felic... Oh, no, Mr Felic...¡± Sean got up from bed with a sleepy face and rubbed his eyes as he approached the door and asked Lin Li, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, we are being robbed!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The coquettish maidservant looked at Lin Li as if she were looking at a madman. Was the mage scared silly? He wasughing so happily knowing that they were being robbed...

    ¡°Really?¡± Sean¡¯s eyes lit up, and he came forward excitedly.

    ¡°Two freaks...¡± The coquettish maidservant cursed inwardly, but she was dismal. She was finally earning some tips as a maidservant; she didn¡¯t expect she¡¯d be so unlucky to meet the people of the Bloodwolves Thieves. Not only was she going to lose her money, she might even lose her life...

    As the two freaks scrambled to take a peep outside, the doors had been kicked open. About 30 to 40 guests were driven out of their rooms; some wore pajamas, while others wore nothing at all. The only trace of sleepiness was scared away by the gleaming weapons. Most of the people were frightened pale and trembling with fear as they watched the group of robbers rush into their rooms.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the robbery begins now. Please cooperate.¡± The strong man with the scar on his face stood at the end of the corridor, proudly announcing the situation to everyone.

    ¡°Now, please put all the valuable things in the doorway and then kneel on the ground with your hands on your head. Our people wille to collect them soon. Please cooperate and don¡¯t hide anything. Otherwise, unpleasant things may happen... I repeat, please cooperate and don¡¯t hide anything!¡±

    ¡°F*ck you, you Bloodwolves Thieves. I am from the Silver Hand, try toy a finger on me if you dare!¡± At a time when everyone was at a loss, there was uproar in a room. A low-level adventurer with a machete was staring at the people of the Bloodwolves Thieves with a guarded expression.

    Lin Li shook his head with some regret. How could he not see with his vision that the strength of the adventurer was too poor¡ªa level-three or four at the most. On the contrary, his enemies, the members of the Bloodwolves Thieves, were all beyond level-five, and among them, the strong man with the scarred face was at least of level-eight.

    It was no wonder they had the guts to rob the Sylvan Inn.

    The Night Song Forest was a paradise for low-level magical beasts, so it would naturally attract only low-level adventurers. Adventurers who had reached level-eight or above would never take a fancy to it. The reward was simply too low. For those who possessed strength above level-eight, who would be willing to travel such long distance for a mere few dozens gold coins?

    As for those who could afford the protection from mercenary corps, how would they seek a lodging in ckhills Town? They could just pitch a tent anywhere in the wilderness. With dozens of mercenaries to protect them, which band of thieves would dare to look for trouble with them?

    Most of the people who would seek a temporary lodging in ckhills Town would be those who only shuttled short distances between nna and the surrounding cities. Their profits were not high, so it was impossible to hire mercenaries to protect them...

    ¡°These Bloodwolves Thieves are very good at calcting...¡±

 Chapter 100 - Two Bottles of Potion

    <h4>Chapter 100: Two Bottles of Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li¡¯s regret was reasonable. The strength of a level-three or four warrior was awfully low. The voice of the low-level adventurer had just fallen when he was kicked in his stomach; the machete in his hand was sent flying at the same time. Two wolf-like robbers pounced on him and delivered rounds of fat punches to him, knocking several of his teeth out on the spot.

    ¡°Now, who else has objections?¡± The burly man with a scar picked up the machete from the ground and looked around with a grin on his face.

    There was dead silence in the corridor.

    ¡°Very well, it seems that everyone has no objections...¡± The man chortled haughtily. ¡°Brothers, collect the valuables!¡±

    More than a dozen vicious robbers spread out and began to collect the goods piled up in front of the doors.

    Under the threat of death, the businessmen chose to give in. They knelt in front of the doors with their hands on their heads. In front of themy all their ie from this business trip¡ªthe shiny gold coins and jewelry were all over the ce at the doors. In contrast, most of the adventurers were hardened. After all, they were people who had seen bloodshed before. Although most of them had already handed over their belongings, at least three or four of them had not knelt on the ground with their hands sped around their heads.

    ¡°It seems that there are people who don¡¯t want to cooperate.¡± There was some dissatisfaction in the tone of the burly man with a scar. With one hand holding the machete upside down, he walked towards the adventurers.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that. I¡¯m a Fn aristocrat. You can¡¯t do that to me!¡±

    At this time, however, there were some disputes among the businessmen.

    A middle-aged man with a paunchy belly was tearing at a few robbers. Lin Li listened and realized that the dispute stemmed from a gold tooth. After the robbers had finished collecting the belongings, they had taken a fancy to a gold tooth in the middle-aged man¡¯s mouth and wanted him to pull it out by any means. The middle-aged man refused to do it; he was fighting hard while crying out that he was a Fn aristocrat.

    Not to mention the burly man, even Lin Li did not believe it.

    If he was really a Fn aristocrat, how could he lodge at a room in ckhills Town?

    This was simply a farce.

    However, the arm was no match for the thigh. Under the joint efforts of the four robbers, the golden tooth was finally pulled out. The middle-aged man screamed in pain; blood and saliva flowed down from the corners of his mouth, making it seem unusually bloody.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even have anything valuable?¡± The coquettish maidservant was trembling with fear having witnessed the bloody scene. She quickly pulled out a few gold coins from her brassiere and ced them properly at the door. However, when she looked up, she found that the two men beside her did not even budge.

    Lin Li scratched his head, unsure how to answer the question.

    Fortunately, at this time, a member of the Bloodwolves Thieves came to help him get out of this predicament.

    ¡°Kneel on the ground and put your hands on your head, didn¡¯t you f*cking hear it?¡± The man came over and saw that there were only a few gold coins at the door; he was about to fly into a rage when he saw that the two men out of the three people did not kneel down, so he gave them a p in the face on the spot.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Then, there was a scream. Almost half of the Sylvan Inn heard it. The unfortunate fellow was covering his wrist desperately while rolling on the ground in pain. ¡°My hand... My hand...¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The scream was followed by another scream, but it was let out by the coquettish maidservant this time. She had turned pale after seeing the bloody palm on the ground.

    After severing the palm of the fool who had wanted to p him with a wind de, Lin Li announced with a smile on his face, ¡°Well, now I dere that the robbery is over. Leave what you just robbed and you can go.¡±

    ¡°You are... a mage?¡± the burly scarred face asked with some doubt.

    Lin Li was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he had forgotten to put on his Robe of Wrath when he got up to open the door for the coquettish maidservant... It was no wonder that the burly man wasn¡¯t able to see his profession with his level-eight strength.

    ¡°Mr Mage, one of my men has offended you, and you¡¯ve already discarded one of his hands. Everyone¡¯s even now. As for other things, you seem to be bent on having too much control over them, don¡¯t you?¡± The burly man¡¯s triangr eyes revealed a dim ray of menace.

    ¡°I repeat, leave the stuff behind and you can go.¡± As a Magic Shooter at the peak of level-twelve, characters below the level-ten were just like ants in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. If he had not had other considerations in mind, he would have wiped them outpletely at the time they¡¯d told him to kneel down...

    ¡°Go!¡± The chief feature of the ant was that it had no self-awareness. In front of a mage with unknown strength, the burly man with a scar did not choose to retreat, but to fight to death instead. This was probably what ¡°men die for money, while birds die for food¡± meant. The valuables on the ground made people covetous.

    At themand of the scarred man, more than a dozen Bloodwolves Thieves abandoned their targets of robbery and grabbed their weapons, rushing toward Lin Li.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, Sean.¡± However, Lin Li did not release any magic. He handed two bottles of potion to the honest young man and told him, ¡°Drink the yellow one first, then the red one a minuteter.¡±

    Then, the fellow went into a theater-spectator modepletely.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Before Sean could understand what was going on, a dozen strong men had already pounced on him. Sean could only grasp his double-edged sword tightly and sweep at them in a hurry.

    Ddang! Ddang! Ddang...

    In an instant, the sound of gold and iron rang out without end. How horrifying was Sean¡¯s strange power¡ªthe innate strength was almost demon-like, bursting out in an instant. The robbers, who were equally ranked at level-five, all copsed at the touch. In that moment, they felt as if they had hit an iron te. Several robbers had no time to respond before they mmed into the wall heavily...

    After the sweep had forced the crowd back, Sean opened the bottle of yellow potion and poured it down.

    As soon as he drank the yellow potion, Sean felt a warm current growing in his body. And as the warm current flowed rapidly, his skin became rough and hard at once. When he touched it with his hand, it felt like rock...

    ¡°Sean, fight well.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Mr Felic!¡±

    Although Sean was slightly dim-witted, the change in his body was too obvious. How could he not realize that the potion he drank was definitely not a simple one? After all, Mr Felic was Jarrosus¡¯ famous potion master!

    Sean was extraordinarily valorous with thatyer of rock-hard skin as protection.

    In the face of an enemy with numbers ten times his own, Sean did not retreat. He held his double-edged sword high in his hands and rushed forward like a tiger diving into a flock of sheep. In a moment, only a stter of blood could be seen.

    For the Bloodwolves Thieves, this was but a ughter. The double-edged sword, almost half as tall as a man, was frightening enough. You¡¯d either be chopped to death or crushed to death by it. And look at this monster¡ªhis skin was as hard as the scales of a magical beast. No matter what weapons were used against it, only tinkling sounds could be heard; it was impossible to hurt a single hair on his body.

    With the addition of his terrifying strength, none of the dozen or so members of the Bloodwolves Thieves could confront him. Every collision of weapons would end with the members of the Bloodwolves Thieves being blown away.

    ¡°...¡± In the blink of an eye, the burly scarred man had lost several of his men. He wanted to throw up blood.

    Before deciding to rob the inn, he had already looked clearly into the guests staying tonight, making sure that none of them was above level-eight. He could not understand how such a monster would suddenly appear.

    Just look at the terrible strength and the formidable double-edged sword¡ªthe seemingly disorganized chops turned out to be so terrifying and acute. He had worked so hard to bring his men up; if he just let them die like this, there would be no one left in the Bloodwolves Thieves...

    ¡°Let me do it!¡± the burly scar-faced man bellowed and jumped forth with a machete in his hand.

    The level-eight warrior did have some skills. Although his strength was not yet able topete with Sean¡¯s, his skillful martial arts and richbat experience were far beyond those of Sean. The machete was like a venomous snake¡ªevery strike was aiming for Sean¡¯s eyes. The protection of the potion, however powerful, could not protect the exposed eyes. So, Sean had to retreat again and again.

    In an instant, there was an exchange of offense and defense. Sean managed to parry the offensive with strike after strike of the sword, but his feet withdrew repeatedly, and soon, he stood in front of Lin Li.

    ¡°Drink the other bottle!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Sean delivered another powerful strike, sending the burly scarred man flying. He had no time to build on this victory; he quickly opened the bottle of the red potion with one hand and downed it.

    The previous yellow potion had brought a warm feeling, but this red potion brought on a burning sensation. Sean seemed to sense a strong smell of blood, and in a moment, he felt a gush of vigor rushing straight to his head. His eyes swelled with pain, and even the scenery in front became blurred...

    And all this brought about an unprecedented strength.

    In that moment, Sean could sense that his whole body was full of explosive power. He seemed to hear the ground cracking with every step he took. He held the heavy double-edged sword firmly in his hand, but it felt as light as a feather. The extreme power filled his body, and it was as if he was going to explode.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

 Chapter 101 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 101: Invitation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The burly man with a scar was swept away by the sword, but he was not at all flustered; he had already seen through the fact that the kid was merely a brute and his fighting skills were not worth mentioning. With the double-edged sword in his hand, all he knew from the start was only chopping. Although it looked impressive, it was actually not fatal.

    He knew that what he needed was a little patience...

    The burly man with a scar had thought it through¡ªas long as there was a chance, he¡¯d order his men to attack the mage.

    The corridor was narrow; without the protection of this brute force kid, he might not be able to resist the siege of more than a dozen people even if he was formidable enough. Besides, he should be a mere low-level mage; otherwise, he would not have exhausted his mana with a single spell. Now he had to rely on this kid with brute force to buy time for him to restore his mana.

    What was the difference between killing a mage who had exhausted his mana and killing a chicken? That was what the burly man with a scar thought...

    Then...

    He heard Sean¡¯s howl.

    The howl that was full of rage awoke half of the Sylvan Inn. Sean no longer had the simple and honest demeanor at this time; his originally strong body simr to that of a ck bear was further thickened at once. His tanned face was frenzied and ferocious; the initially honest youth was full of bloodthirsty aura at that very instant.

    The scar on the burly man¡¯s face began to distort as he witnessed this astounding scene. Although he held the machete tightly in his hand, he had involuntarily taken a step back. It was a subconscious action¡ªjust like wild animals involuntarily taking flight when faced with stronger predators.

    All of this was far beyond hisprehension.

    From a rookie with mere brute force to a monster emanating a terrifying aura¡ªall had happened in the blink of an eye...

    ¡°Go... All of you, go!¡± In the face of this unprecedented fear, the voice of burly man with a scar had be hoarse.

    There was a dead silence in the corridor; only the hoarse holler of the burly man with a scar and Sean¡¯s heavy breathing that was like that of a magical beast could be heard. The dozen robbers seemed to be scared dumb¡ªnobody dared to move a step. They just gawked at Sean, watching as the monster approached them step by step.

    And then, there was an outright massacre...

    How threatening and aggressive the dozen robbers were when they¡¯d rushed into the inn earlier on? However, in just the twinkling of an eye, half of them were wiped out. After the furor, Sean was just like a violent and ferocious magical beast.

    It was merely brute force and disorganized chops, but when the brute force was increased to the extreme, the power brought on by it had turned out to be so appalling. Every sweep of the huge double-edged sword in his hands was apanied by the sound of breaking the air. Every strike contained endless power¡ªthere was no struggle and no resistance; it was only the purest of killing and the sound of chopping that would drive anyone mad. In an instant, the blood that was spattered had dyed the Sylvan Inn into a sea of red.

    Everyone felt suffocated, having witnessed this horrible scene with their own eyes.

    The burly man with a scar was utterly dumbfounded; he could only watch the killing helplessly.

    The guests in the inn stared with their mouths agape as they kneeled at the doors,pletely forgetting to stand up.

    The middle-aged man who imed to be a Fn aristocrat did not even blink. His mouth, which the gold tooth was knocked out from, was wide open. His chin was covered with blood, but he was too dumbstruck to stretch out his hand to wipe it.

    There was an incredulous expression on the coquettish maidservant¡¯s face. Looking at Sean who was in a state of rage and then looking back at Lin Li who was nothing but rxed... was like seeing an elephant getting banged by a mouse.

    As the bloodstained sword fell once again, thest survivor fell down atst too. The previously clean corridor was filled with corpses now, most of them still holding onto their iplete weapons. Blood gushed from the huge wounds and slowly flowed along the corridor and down the stairs...

    Only the burly man with a scar was left of the dozen people who had charged to the second floor earlier.

    He still could not believe that all of this was real.

    He had always been proud of his strength, but in front of this monster holding the double-edged sword, he had turned out to be weak and frail. Boundless fear surged from the bottom of his heart. For the first time, he felt that he was so close to death...

    The burly man with a scar broke down thoroughly when Sean began to approach him slowly.

    Plop...

    Then, everyone saw the imperious robber kneel stiffly on the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me... Don¡¯t kill me...¡±

    The double-edged sword hung around his neck, but it did note down heavily on him.

    The Rampage Potion only strengthened the physical strength and stimted the desire to kill in the heart, but it would not blind the mind of the user. Although Sean had killed more than a dozen people, he was still lucid. After he had halted his sword on the neck of the burly man with a scar, Sean cast an inquiring nce at Lin Li once more.

    The burly man with a scar was not stupid. Upon seeing the monster¡¯s gaze, he suddenly realized that the mage who had been standing at the door was the one who would decide his own life and death, so he quickly turned to Lin Li to beg him for mercy.

    Unfortunately, he did not understand what kind of person Lin Li was...

    That was the man who killed a level-fourteen Magic Shooter without hesitation.

    ¡°Your plea for mercy came toote.¡± After leaving this sentence behind, Lin Li walked down the stairs without even turning back. The Sylvan Inn was uninhabitable¡ªtoo many people had died overnight, and the smell of blood was too strong. He¡¯d have nightmares staying at such an inn.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    When Lin Li walked to the side of the carriage, another scream rang out from the inn...

    After a while, Sean emerged from the inn.

    After the previous ughter, his clothes had been soaked with blood, but Sean had been hunting magical beasts with his father since he was young, so he was used to blood. Moreover, he came from a poor family and couldn¡¯t bear to throw them away. Hence, he left the inn wearing the sticky, bloodstained clothes.

    ¡°Sean, change into these first.¡± Lin Li searched the Ring of Endless Storm, but could not find clothes suitable for Sean. In the end, he chose a Rune Robe for Sean to make do with it for the time being.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Sean received the Rune Robe meekly and looked at it with some curiosity. Then he quickly pulled off his bloody clothes and put on therge Rune Robe. However, his ck bear-like strong figure was very unkind¡ªwhat was originally a loose Rune Robe looked like a burr¡¯s night tights on him...

    ¡°Just make do with it first. I¡¯ll get you new clothing in the day.¡± There was nothing that Lin Li could do about it at the moment. The two men¡¯s statures were vastly different. Presently, ckstone Town was unlighted and dark; even if they had the money, they couldn¡¯t find a ce to buy clothes.

    ¡°Mr Felic... The two bottles of potions you gave me...¡± After Sean had put on the Rune Robe, there was a hesitant look on his face again. He wanted to ask what the two bottles of potions were, but he was afraid to anger Mr Felic once more.

    ¡°The yellow one was Stoneskin Potion, which can make your skin tough; the red bottle was Rampage Potion, which can greatly enhance your physical strength and stimte your inner desire to kill.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    ¡°You know why I made you fight them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Sean shook his head frankly. ¡°I only know that anything Mr Felic says is definitely right.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li chuckled resignedly, and did not continue.

    Even Gerian couldn¡¯t help admiring the gift of this simple young man. He shouldn¡¯t be merely a low-level adventurer.

    Although he was hired in name only, Lin Li, either intentionally or unintentionally, was constantly offering Sean opportunities. There was no reason for it, nor did he expect any returns from it; he simply could not bear to see Sean waste his talent. It was just like how Andoine had helped him back in the Sunset Mountains.

    Sometimes, the improvement of strength was that simple.

    Constantly fighting, and constantly honing.

    It was a long night for Lin Li. First, he was tormented by Sean¡¯s snoring for most of the night. Then, he was woken up by the knock of the coquettish maidservant at the door. Before he got to return to his room, the members of the Bloodwolves Thieves hade... Lin Li thought it was not far from daybreak, and he was toozy to find another ce. So, he leaned his head on the carriage and intended to spend the night like that.

    ¡°Mr Mage!¡±

    He was just getting a little sleepy when someone tapped on the carriage.

    Lin Li poked his head out of the carriage and asked angrily, ¡°What?¡±

    Then, he found out that the fellow who had disturbed his dreams was the fat man who had his gold tooth knocked out. Lin Li recalled that he had called himself a Fn aristocrat earlier on.

    The fat aristocrat showed some fear at once when he saw Lin Li¡¯s hostile expression. He had witnessed the mage¡¯spanion kill more than a dozen people in the twinkling of an eye. He did not want to irritate the two men who could kill without batting an eyelid because of something wrong he¡¯d said, so he carefully considered the words with a pleasant smile on his face before asking, ¡°Hello, respected mage, may I take the liberty to ask if you¡¯re going to nna?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Despite Lin Li¡¯s indifferent attitude, his affirmative reply delighted the fat aristocrat. Thetter leaned forward mysteriously. ¡°Mr Mage, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dugar, an aristocrat of the Fn Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯d like to hire you. Of course... your powerfulpanion too.¡±

    ¡°H-hire me?¡± Lin Li almost choked on his saliva.

    ¡°Yes, Mr Mage. I¡¯m willing to hire both of you for a high price. After you¡¯ve escorted me safely to nna, the remuneration will definitely be at least a four-digit sum...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. <i>A remuneration of at least a four-digit sum? Is that 1,000 or 2,000 gold coins?</i>

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a decent reward, isn¡¯t it?¡± The fat aristocrat sounded rather pleased. He thought he couldn¡¯t have read it wrong. Although these two men were strong, they had to be quite hard up. Look at the mage¡ªthe mage robe he was wearing was so worn and old, and he couldn¡¯t even take out a decent wand. Even more so hispanion, who was more powerful than a magical beast; the leather armor on him had to be worn for at least ten years. The huge double-edged sword had killed more than a dozen people, but how could the fat man not see that it was entirely due to his strength? He could stab the dozen robbers to death even with a wooden stick.

    How could they not be tempted by a 1,000 gold coins with their financial situation?

    Mr Mage did not respond, and the fat man was not in a hurry to rush him. In his opinion, this was just a means of raising the price.

    ¡°3,000 gold coins, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°3,000 gold coins? You¡¯re so generous...¡± There was some derision in Lin Li¡¯s smile, but when it fell into the eyes of the confident fat man, the very same smile seemed full of tion.

    ¡°You agree?¡±

    ¡°Mr Aristocrat...¡±

    Just as Lin Li was about to reject his offer, someone else was approaching the carriage.

    ¡°Mr Mage!¡±

    This time, it was the low-level adventurer who had a few of his teeth knocked out. This fellow had it worse than the fat aristocrat. Thetter only had a golden tooth pulled out, but he actually lost several teeth. When he shouted ¡°Mr Mage¡±, it was leaky and indistinct, which made Lin Li all the more ufortable listening to it.

    <i>Bloody hell, would you all let me sleep? </i>Lin Li cursed inwardly. The dissatisfaction on his face was apparent.

    ¡°Greetings, respected Mage.¡± The ckstone Town was enveloped in a curtain of darkness, and it was pitch-dark around the carriage. The mercenary who had his teeth knocked out could not see clearly the look on Lin Li¡¯s face. He rushed forward and ignored the fat aristocrat beside and introduced himself, ¡°My name is Hank, a member of the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li clenched his teeth as he struggled to suppress the urge to punch someone.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that, Mr Mage. May I venture to ask if you are interested in joining the mercenary corps?¡±

 Chapter 102 - Alanna

    <h4>Chapter 102: nna</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was about to go crazy. The fat aristocrat who intended to hire him had yet to leave, and here came another invitation for him to join the mercenary corps.

    ¡°Mr Mage, would you consider it? The Silver Hand has a well-known welfare system. We have a monthly sry of 300 gold coins plus team rewards after thepletion of the task, and there is a 30 percent discount for all internal purchases. With the strength of you two, you could be promoted to a leader position very soon; and when the timees, you will be able tomand a team of adventurers on arge scale...¡±

    The adventurer with missing teeth was rattling on and on, but Lin Li felt all the more drowsy as he listened.

    He really had the heart to kill someone now. He hadn¡¯t slept for most of the night. He had finally managed to kill the robbers, but now he was being harassed by these two fellows.

    Lin Li had endured all he could so that he would not st them all away with a fireball even when he was towering with rage.

    ¡°Moreover, Mr Mage...¡± The toothless mercenary who was still chattering endlessly was not aware that he was in great danger. There was a lewd smile on his face as he leaned forward to Lin Li, obviously intending to share some secret with him. ¡°The Silver Hand is famous for having many beauties. Not to mention our captain¡ªnna¡¯s most prominent beauty, there are several other squad leaders who are all cream of the crop, especially the beautiful warrior who has just joined the mercenary a few days ago. Her blonde hair and beautiful legs are totally gorgeous...¡±

    ¡°Blonde hair?¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tingled. ¡°And beautiful legs?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s Ina...¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li grabbed the toothless mercenary by the cor and dragged him into the carriage, at the same time threatening, ¡°If there¡¯s no such person, you are going to die!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The toothless mercenary looked at Lin Li contemptuously. Damn it, everyone said that mages had cleansed their heart of all desire. How could there still be such a devilish pervert? He could even give up his life upon hearing the blonde hair and long legs...

    ¡°By the way, Mr Aristocrat, aren¡¯t you going to nna?¡± Lin Li thought it made no difference bringing both along since he was already bringing this one. So, he decided to count the fat boss in as well. ¡°5,000 gold coins for a single trip, do you want toe or not?¡±

    ¡°Come! Of course I¡¯lle!¡± The fat aristocrat got into the carriage without another word. These days, it would cost about 3,000 to 4,000 gold coins to hire one mercenary. It took him only 5,000 to find two such powerful bodyguards. Only fools would reject it...

    To the surprise of the fat man, the journey after that turned out to be a safe one. They set off from ckstone Town at dawn and saw nna by evening. Not to mention thieves and robbers, they did not evene across any decent magical beast along the way, causing the fat boss much regret. If he had known, he¡¯d have set off on his own; he had also spent 5,000 gold coins in vain. This ride had cost him too much.

    As the carriage was about to enter the city, the toothless adventurer pointed at a building outside the city as he introduced it to Lin Li enthusiastically. ¡°Mr Mage, the mercenary station is right in front. Would you like to say hello first?¡±

    Lin Li wanted to meet Ina quickly; but looking at the weather, he shook his head regretfully. ¡°I have something to do today, how about tomorrow? You tell me the ce, and I¡¯lle to see you early tomorrow morning.¡±

    The official letter from nna Council had made it clear that all mages participating in the trial had to arrive within five days, and those who failed to arrive within the stated time period would be unable to participate in the trial. Lin Li carefully counted the days¡ªthey were dyed for three days in Jarrosus and had spent more than a day on the road. If they hadn¡¯t reported at nna Council before sunset, he could imagine the unpleasant look on Gerian¡¯s chubby face...

    ¡°No problem,¡± the toothless adventurer replied coolly. ¡°Look for me at the Adventurers Guild tomorrow. I am just going to submit a task there.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Apanied by the crisp sound of horses¡¯ hooves, the carriage drove briskly towards the capital of Fn Kingdom.

    nna was a hundred times more prosperous than Jarrosus. After being bombarded with questions by the city guards, their carriage passed through the lofty gate. What appeared before Lin Li was a straight, wide road paved with shiny stone bs. The clear sound of the horses¡¯ hooves rang whenever they came in contact with the ground.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lin Li seemed to return to the time when he¡¯d first arrived at Jarrosus City. Everything in front of him was so novel and curious. At this time, he was looking up at the sky in surprise¡ªa few magical beasts had just flown by...

    ¡°Mr Mage...¡± The fat man in the carriage had never seen such a bumpkin mage before. In order not to disgrace himself, he had to whisper to that fellow, ¡°That¡¯s the Skyguards¡¯ Gryphon Riders.¡±

    ¡°Gryphons?¡± At the fat man¡¯s mention of it, Lin Li recalled that Andoine had once told him about the Gryphon, a level-thirteen magical beast. They were suitable to use as a flying ride after being tamed.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s controlling them?¡± However, Lin Li still had some doubts. The capital of Fn Kingdom actually allowed anyone to fly in the air? What if one day they decided to throw something down from the sky? It could crush a person to death.

    ¡°They are one of Fn¡¯s imperial guards directly subordinate to His Majesty, who dares to control them...?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded his head earnestly, but he envied those guys who were able to fly in the sky. He secretly made up his mind that he had to ride on one of those someday.

    The carriage slowly entered the city and drove steadily forward along the crowded street.

    With Gerian¡¯s familiarity with Lin Li, how could he not have known that this fellow was a country bumpkin? So, he had drawn a map of nna for Lin Li before he left. In order to prevent thetter from losing his way, he also marked the location of the Guild of Magic with a red circle.

    At present, Lin Li was staring at the red circle.

    To be honest, Gerian was thoughtful; the old fellow was certainly much more considerate than Andoine, who didn¡¯t even provide him with a map.

    The bad thing was that the map he drew was a little abstract. Lin Li was unable to understand it even after flipping through it for half a day.

    What on earth was painted on it? Except for the red circle, there were only messy lines on it. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help scratching his head. ¡°This... Is this east or west?¡±

    ¡°Uh... Mr Aristocrat, may I ask you something?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°May I ask, where is the Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Guild of Magic?¡± The fat man who imed to be an aristocrat was astonished. The young maged seemed so unsophisticated and was dressed in shabby clothes. He definitely did not look like someone from the Guild of Magic. Could it be that this was all an act?

    ¡°No.¡± Lin Li shook his head honestly. Before he reported to the Council, he was not really a member of the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Oh...¡± The fat man let out a sigh of relief as he helped Lin Li with the directions, all the while thinking in his heart, <i>He scared me there. How could someone from the Guild of Magic be so poor?</i>

    Under the guidance of the aristocrat, Lin Li finally found a magnificent building.

    The nna Guild of Magic and Jarrosus¡¯ Emerald Tower werepletely different in appearance. The Emerald Tower stood alone, and here was an infinitely hugeplex of buildings. The main building alone upied almost the whole street. From a distance, it felt solemn and primitive, while at the same time emitting a mysterious aura.

    As the carriage approached the main building, they saw an open gate. A dozen mages in long robes were entering and leaving the building hastily. Lin Li stood on the carriage and looked inside¡ªthe guild hall was at least several times more spacious than the Emerald Tower¡¯s. Large groups of mages were busying themselves in it, but it did not seem crowded at all.

    ¡°Mr Aristocrat, I have something to see to, so I won¡¯t see you anymore.¡± As soon as he halted the carriage by the street, Lin Li took Sean and walked towards the direction of the gate, regardless of whether the aristocrat agreed or not.

    ¡°Darn it...¡± The fat man cursed, but there was nothing he could do about it. That was the Guild of Magic¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t have the guts to rush in and haul them out anyhow.

    Lin Li entered the spacious guild hall when he suddenly remembered that he did not know whom to report to, so he cleared his throat and intercepted the mage next to him, who looked to be in his forties. ¡°Hello, excuse me, where should mages who havee to participate in the trial report to?

    ¡°Participate in the trial?¡± The middle-aged mage shot an indifferent nce at him, and there were some mockery on his face. ¡°Are you from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic? You¡¯ve arrived early... Why didn¡¯t you just wait until the trial was over?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was bewildered.

    ¡°Which Guild of Magic did not arrive a few days ahead of schedule for the trial arranged by the Supreme Council? Only Jarrosus is the most promising indeed, arriving just before the deadline...¡± The middle-aged man finished his sentence with a poker face and looked at Lin Li again. ¡°Gerian must give the nna Council an exnation for this matter. For now... You¡¯ll go handle the paperwork with me first.¡±

    On the way to handle the paperwork, the middle-aged mage continued, ¡°My name is Darian, but you¡¯d better call me Mr Darian because I¡¯m one of the in charge of this trial.¡±

    <i>Darian your head.. </i>. Lin Li cursed in his heart, but he was all smiles. ¡°Understood, Mr Darian.¡±

    The trial procedure was notplicated. Other than filling in the necessary information, it was Darian who would be arranging the temporary lodging. Lin Li was also notified of the points needing attention in this trial.

 Chapter 103 - Roommate

    <h4>Chapter 103: Roommate</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After filling out the materials in the guild hall, Darian took Lin Li through the corridor and out through the back door of the guild hall. Outside was a linear path with sycamore trees nted in lines on both sides; surrounding the trees were wreaths of flower beds. The songs of birds and the scent of flowers filled the whole ce.

    Darian did not talk much along the way; he merely took Lin Li to an old building.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be staying here for these three months.¡± Darian¡¯s face was expressionless and his tone somewhat stiff.

    ¡°Okay...¡± Lin Li did not say anything, but looked around¡ªthe environment was pretty nice; it was much better than the Emerald Tower.

    They went into the empty hall and all the way up the stairs to the second floor until they came before an utched door, where Darian stopped. He took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, and after going through them, he picked one out and handed it to Lin Li. ¡°This is the key to the room.¡±

    Lin Li nodded, but suddenly remembered something. ¡°By the way, Mr Darian, does mypanion also stay here?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The middle-aged mage shook his head impassively. ¡°Only mages who are participating in the trial can stay here. As for yourpanion, the guild will arrange another ce for him.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li heaved a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, he would not have to squeeze in one room with Sean anymore. The tragic experience in ckhills Town terrified him whenever he recalled it.

    Darian left after the amodation was settled.

    After watching the middle-aged mage leave, Lin Li gently pushed open the utched door.

    Compared with the one-gold-coin-a-night room in ckhills Town, this dorm was much more spacious. The living room alone was more than twice the size of the inn¡¯s room. There were also all kinds of furnishings in the living room, such as an antique wooden table surrounded by several rattan chairs. The afterglow of the sunset prated the balcony, sprinkling golden rays over the living room. Through the bright ss windows, Lin Li could clearly see the flower beds and sycamore trees that were downstairs.

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes swept through the room, his heart filled with admiration. This was indeed the nna Council¡ªthe amodation was much better than the Emerald Tower. But... why were there three bedrooms?

    Just as he was wondering, he heard a quiet noise and one of the bedroom doors opened. Then, he saw a fair young maning out of the bedroom. He was wearing a ck mage robe and looked about the same age as Lin Li. He had a genteel disposition as well, but the excited smile on his face made people feel ufortable.

    As soon as the young mage came out of the bedroom, he asked eagerly, ¡°Felic from Jarrosus?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± Lin Li nodded and asked in puzzlement, ¡°You are?¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± The young mage smiled in excitement and introduced himself enthusiastically as he weed Lin Li into the living room. ¡°My name is Mason. I¡¯m from the Chevan City¡¯s Guild of Magic. Felic, if you need any help, just say it. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. We¡¯ll be roommates for the next three months!¡±

    ¡°Roommate?¡± Lin Li stood nk for a moment. ¡°This dorm is for two people?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Mason shook his head. ¡°How can two people live in such a big dormitory? There¡¯s another person who lives here in addition to us.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Only then did Lin Li realize that such a big dorm was not for him to live alone in...

    ¡°But that fellow, you¡¯d better leave him alone...¡± Mason said as he nced stealthily at the bedroom opposite them, and pointed at his head with his finger. ¡°He has a problem here...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Perhaps Mason was satisfied with Lin Li¡¯s reaction, for he patted him on the shoulder gaily. ¡°Anyway, you just have to hang out with me, Mason, and I promise you¡¯ll get a good ce in this trial. I am a level-nine mage!¡±

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Mason was bragging when the closed bedroom door suddenly opened. A pale young man stood in the bedroom. He was about the same age as Lin Li and also looked genteel, but the feeling he gave Lin Li was quite different from Mason¡¯s enthusiasm.

    The feeling that this guy brought to Lin Li was as if everyone owed him tens of thousands of gold coins, and there was a chilly gloom in his bones.

    ¡°Orrin, whom did you call an idiot? Say it again if you dare!¡±

    ¡°Whoever shows off his magic level is an idiot.¡± Leaving that sentence behind, Orrin closed the door again without even taking another look at Mason.

    Mason was infuriated by his words but couldn¡¯t barge into the room, so he could only shout at the closed door. ¡°Orrin,e out if you dare! I must teach you a good lesson!¡±

    Lin Li watched the farce from a side and shook his head helplessly...

    <i>Whoever shows off his magic level is an idiot </i>¡ªMason did not understand the meaning of the sentence, but Lin Li was absorbed in ponderment about it.

    With his almost perverted mental strength, his judgement of magical wave could be said to be so keen that no disguise could escape his eyes, including the Mana Concealment Potion that he drank.

    Orrin¡¯s disguise could fool everyone else, but it absolutely could not be concealed from Lin Li. Almost at the moment Orrin opened the door, he knew that this guy was not just a level-nine mage. Judging from the magical wave he was emanating, he was at least a level-ten Magic Shooter, and might even had reached the peak of the level-ten.

    This meant that... Orrin was also a cheater.

    Standing at the height of a level-ten Magic Shooter, looking back at a level-nine mage was indeed like an elephant looking at a mouse. This was a difference in realm¡ªno strength or skill could make up for it. It was like the feeling of utter powerlessness Lin Li had when he was facing an Archmage like Old Merlin.

    Orrin was indeed qualified to say that...

    Of course, Mason didn¡¯t see it that way.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what he has to be so arrogant, carrying a dead man¡¯s face all day long.¡± After screaming at the door, Mason¡¯s anger finally subsided, but he still looked a little resentful. He sat on a rattan chair and continued his unceasingints. ¡°He really fancies himself a Magic Shooter. If he was a Magic Shooter, why would he participate in the trial...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes...¡± Lin Li nodded with a guilty conscience, then quickly took the opportunity to divert the topic. ¡°Oh yes, Big Brother Mason, what on earth is this trial for?¡±

    Perhaps it was because he was being addressed as ¡°Big Brother¡±, but the anger on the guy¡¯s face disappeared immediately, and he revealed an excited yet lewd smile. He reached out and patted Lin Li on the shoulder, then said with great emphasis, ¡°Brother Felic, you¡¯ve asked the right person by asking me, Mason. I¡¯ll tell you, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s no one else except me who knows what this trial is exactly about.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Brother Felic, we¡¯re not strangers, so I¡¯ll tell you frankly...¡± Mason looked at the closed door again, then lowered his voice with a mysterious smile and whispered to Lin Li, ¡± My uncle, Morris, is one of the leaders of this trial. He told me about all about it...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li did not expect that this roommate, who seemed to be quick with his intimacies, actually had such a strong connection.

    ¡°Brother Felic, let me tell you, this trial is quite different from those of the previous years.¡± Mason smiled in contentment before continuing. ¡°There are 24 Guilds of Magic including the nna Council. We will be divided into eight groups toplete the trial missions that will be announced by the Supreme Council...¡±

    ¡°Three in a group?¡± Lin Li understood at once; so this was the reason for the strange arrangement of the amodation. The nna Council had it nned from the start.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mason nodded. ¡°Us two, and that Orrin...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li had the thought to die. These two fellows... one being overly enthusiastic and unable to shut his mouth once he opened it, and the other being haughty as hell, as if he couldn¡¯t care less about anyone else. What were the prospects of passing this trial in the same group with these two fellows?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Brother Felic.¡± The look of disappointment on Lin Li¡¯s face turned into one of worry when it fell into Mason¡¯s eyes. The guy beat his chest and assured, ¡°Although you are a littlecking in strength, I, Mason, will not abandon you. You can rest assured if you just follow my lead. Even if we exclude Orrin, I will guarantee you¡¯ll be able to bring a decent cing back to Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°Then... Thank you, Big Brother Mason.¡± Lin Li could feel the corners of his lips twitching...

    ¡°Hahahaha! Brother Felic, you¡¯re too polite...¡± Mason pretended to be modest, but the smile on his face was unusually bright.

    ¡°Big Brother Mason, and then?¡± Lin Li had to whisper a reminder seeing the fellow had be delirious with joy.

    ¡°Oh, right... And then...¡± Mason remembered the matter at hand and quickly put away his smile before continuing, ¡°ording to Uncle Morris, in order to ensure everyone¡¯s safety, there will be an Archmage assigned to follow each team. The Archmage will not participate in the trial mission, remaining passive except when we are in real danger, but... If he does interfere, it would mean that the team has failed their mission.¡±

 Chapter 104 - A Cheap Trick

    <h4>Chapter 104: A Cheap Trick</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, Brother Felic, it¡¯ll most likely be an Archmage from Sienna who¡¯ll be assigned to our team.¡± The look on Mason¡¯s face was unusually mysterious when he said this.

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Mason took a nce at the surroundings, then revealed the lewd smile on his face again. ¡°My uncle arranged for it. He¡¯s old friends with the Sienna Archmage. When the timees... Heh heh...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was startled to hear that all the Guilds of Magic would actually risk doing anything for the trial. It was kind of Gerian to send a level-twelve Magic Shooter to cheat; look at Mason¡¯s uncle¡ªhe had simply manipted the rules of the game by bringing in an acquaintance into the team. What was the point of all this in the end? The Archmage could just interfere when the time came and everything would be settled then. Anyway, it would only be the few of them who¡¯d know; if no one said a thing, who else would know what had happened in between...

    ¡°So... Brother Felic, just rest assured and follow my lead. I guarantee you won¡¯t lose out.¡±

    Mason smiled proudly, but the closed door suddenly opened again and Orrin walked out with a gloomy expression on his face. He looked at Mason as if he was looking at some rare animal. After sizing him up for a while, he said coldly, ¡°An idiot who only knows how to daydream.¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Mason was smiling in self-satisfaction when he heard what was said, and he immediately sprung up from his seat.

    ¡°Why, you want to fight?¡± Orrin stood there without budging, and a sarcastic sneer came across his face. ¡°You think that only you have an uncle and everyone else is an idiot?¡±

    Although Mason talked without much consideration, he was not a real idiot, after all. He held back his anger and asked, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you the truth. We in the Rotterdam Guild have received news long ago. The Archmages who will be following the teams will all be sent directly from the Supreme Council. The reason why the Supreme Council made such a decision is to target people like you.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Mason was taken aback. This was not a joke. In order to get Sienna¡¯s Archmage into his team, whether it be Uncle Morris or the Chevan City¡¯s Guild of Magic, much consideration and effort had been made for the past few months. His Uncle Morris had sent several pieces of priceless magic equipment, including a magical staff worth at least a million gold coins, just to convince the Sienna Archmage.

    If the truth was really as what Orrin said¡ªthat the Archmages who would be following the teams would be sent directly by the Supreme Council¡ªthen things would be bad. By that time, the gold coins and what they bought that would fall through wouldn¡¯t matter much; messing up the trial would be the real problem instead...

    Mason suddenly felt his head pounding.

    His two teammates... one was totally ipatible with himself, and would absolutely end up in a fight with him in three sentences; the other one, though easy to talk to and with personality much to his liking, well, in terms of strength... His uncle was right¡ªJarrosus Guild of Magic had been in a terrible state of decline these two years. They had actually sent out a level-seven mage for this trial... And he didn¡¯t even look like he had any impressive magical equipment with him...

    This, this... How were they going to go about doing this?

    Orrin nced coldly at the pale Mason, then turned around and left the living room. Before he left, he gave a piece of advice to Lin Li. ¡°You¡¯re Felic, right? I would advise you not to hang around with people like Mason. The trial depends on strength, not schemes and intrigues. Otherwise, even if youplete the trial missions, you will lose in the final guild qualifiers.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was baffled by what Orrin said, but when he wanted to rify, Orrin had already disappeared, so Lin Li had no choice but to turn to Mason...

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± If it had been a while ago, Mason would have been talking big again. However, the bad news that Orrin had delivered had dampened his mood for bragging. At present, there was only one thing on Mason¡¯s mind¡ªhow to convey the bad news to his Uncle Morris. As for Lin Li¡¯s question, he briefly exined it. ¡°After the trial mission ispleted, a guild qualifyingpetition will be arranged to determine the final ranking ording to the oue of thepetition. Alright, Felic, I have to go out now. I¡¯ll borate on the details when Ie back.¡±

    ¡°See youter.¡± Lin Li nodded and watched as Mason left.

    In the twinkling of an eye, only Lin Li was left alone in a room where three people stayed.

    ¡°There are three people sharing a room, and it turns out all three are cheaters. I wonder what the other teams are like...¡± Lin Li chuckled and began to tidy up his bedroom.

    He had to admit that the nna Guild of Magic did a good job with the amodations. The bedroom had been tidied up for Lin Li even before he arrived. The room was cleaned spotless; there was a rattan chair in the corner beside a small wardrobe, and the bed was covered with white sheets and a soft nket. Although the bedroom was not spacious, it gave him afortable feeling.

    Lin Li opened up the Ring of Endless Storm and took out a set of clothes to change into.

    While he was taking his clothes out, he suddenly felt something familiar¡ªthe two crumpled rags.

    Seeing these two rags, he thought of Andoine and wondered how the old fellow had been recently. Was he still bombing the potionb every day like how he used to...?

    He had heard from Old Grimm that the old fellow had been in nna. It seemed that he had to ask Old Grimm out for a chat someday and enquire about Andoine¡¯s whereabouts while he was at it. The old fellow had fooled him by saying that he¡¯d return to Jarrosus in a week or two, but it had been more than a month, and he was still nowhere to be seen...

    At the thought of Old Grimm, Lin Li fumbled through the Ring of Endless Storm once again.

    Before Old Grimm left, he had left behind a ring with instructions that Lin Li would be able to find him at the Pharmacists Guild if he brought the ring there.

    <i>I¡¯ll go look for Old Grimm on the way to the Silver Hand tomorrow...</i>

    After deciding on the schedule for the next day, Lin Li started to feel a little sleepy. To be honest, he was really worn out these two days¡ªthe long journey was energy-consuming on its own, and they were met with the robbers at ckhills Town. He had not had a good shuteye all night. Now that he was finally lying on a soft bed, he felt a wave of drowsiness ovee him...

    That night, Lin Li had no idea when Mason and Orrin returned. He slept like a log in his room until dawn the next day, when he was awakened by a sudden knock on the door.

    ¡°Felic, wake up!¡±

    Lin Li recognized Mason¡¯s voice. He hastily put on his Robe of Wrath and opened the door with a sleepy face. ¡°Big Brother Mason, why did you wake up so early?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got no choice, I was forced as well...¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°All mages participating in the trial must gather in the guild hall before nine o¡¯clock this morning; if they fail to gather before the stipted time, it¡¯ll be treated as forfeiting,¡± Mason said in one breath, and looked at Lin Li in puzzlement. ¡°Why, nobody told you about it?¡±

    ¡°No...¡±

    ¡°Who brought you here yesterday? How could he not have told you about such an important matter? It¡¯s so irresponsible of him...¡±

    ¡°It probably slipped his mind...¡± Lin Li smiled apathetically, but in his heart, he made a note of the middle-aged mage called Darian. From the first meeting the previous day, Lin Li felt that this man¡¯s attitude towards himself was a little out of the ordinary¡ªhe had been too harsh and too cold. They had no previous history of antagonism; even if he was unimpressed by histeing, he could have just reprimanded him. Why did he stoop to such a cheap trick and leave out such an important notice?

    Lin Li could tolerate many things. For example, Mason¡¯s bragging in front of him, and Orrin¡¯s arrogant attitude. But ying such a petty trick behind his back was something that he could not tolerate...

    It seemed like... he had to find a chance to talk to this Mr Darian.

    Lin Li hurried to tidy up. Just as he was about to go out, Orrin came out of his room.

    This fellow was still looking as if everyone owed him millions; he merely shot a cold nce at the two of them and left without turning back.

    ¡°So cocky for what...¡± Mason groused bitterly as he watched Orrin¡¯s receding figure.

    But the Mason today seemed to be a lot more low-key; he said nothing more after the grousing.

    Lin Li guessed that his uncle had brought him some bad news when he¡¯d gone out the previous night.

    By the time they arrived at the hall, there were already many people standing around. Over 20 young mages were gathered in groups of twos and threes, chatting away. A little farther away, there were some middle-aged men in long gowns engaged in discussion. Lin Li had a better vision¡ªlooking ahead, he spotted the fellow named Darian. Thetter was talking to an elderly man with white hair and white beard. He looked very respectful, totally different from his cynical attitude the day before.

    ¡°Big Brother Mason, do you know who that man is?¡± Lin Li asked Mason, who was next to him, quietly.

    ¡°You mean the white-bearded one?¡± Mason looked at Lin Li with some doubt. ¡°Come on, Brother Felic, you don¡¯t even know him?¡±

 Chapter 105 - Aldwin

    <h4>Chapter 105: Aldwin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Aldwin, the President of nna Guild of Magic. Also... he¡¯s probably the most powerful mage in the whole Fn Kingdom...¡± Mason answered weakly. He thought that he might go crazy; sometimes, he really suspected whether this kid was pretending. How could a mage be this ignorant?

    ¡°So formidable?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than that... It is said that President Aldwin had broken through to level twenty-one ten years ago. Perhaps only God knows what realm he¡¯s in now...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was probably more aware than most people how horrifying a power beyond that of a legendary level was, for he had exchanged strikes with Old Grimm. Although Old Grimm had used only strength below level-ten, it was enough to suppress a level-twelve Magic Shooter like him. If he did not deliberately suppress his power, not to mention Lin Li, even Gerian would be reduced to ashes in a sh.

    ¡°If only I had half the strength of President Aldwin...¡± For a young mage like Mason, Aldwin was a true legend. Even though he liked to brag, he had not the audacity to say ¡°as good as President Aldwin¡±, but cautiously chose only half.

    ¡°The idiot¡¯s daydreaming again,¡± Orrin said dryly.

    ¡°Damn it...¡± Mason¡¯s anger shot up at once. If they weren¡¯t at the guild hall, he¡¯d have jumped on Orrin and fought him.

    The two guys were now at battle pitch, but Lin Li ignored them. He had gotten used to it.

    Anyway, this was the guild hall; even if they were given a hundred times more guts, they wouldn¡¯t dare to make trouble here.

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes were fixed on Aldwin. He was full of curiosity about the legendary level twenty-one mage.

    Like most old people, Aldwin looked thin and slightly hunched. He wore a long gray robe, which looked too big on him. Judging from appearance only, who could imagine that the most powerful magic strength of the Fn Kingdom was contained in this old body?

    Compared with the arrogant Gerian, the president of the nna Guild of Magic was on the other extreme. When he listened to Darian¡¯s report, he was always smiling and his expression was serene. He expressed his opinions asionally, but it was only in the intervals between Darian¡¯s words.

    Lin Li was ustomed to Gerian¡¯s autocratic rule. He was curious for a moment¡ªhow did such a kind old man get his subordinate mages to be so docile andpliant?

    This was nna¡ªthe heart of Fn Kingdom. In its Guild of Magic, there were over 30 Archmages and over 100 Magic Shooters. As for mages below level-ten, there were simply too many to count every one of them. The difficulty in Aldwin¡¯s management was not to bepared with what a Jarrosus rich man like Gerian faced.

    At this time, Aldwin seemed to notice Lin Li¡¯s gaze on him. He gave a few more instructions to Darian, then turned to face Lin Li, who was shocked to have been caught while staring covertly. Aldwin did not seem to mind, though; he merely smiled kindly before turning away and leaving the hall.

    As the thin figure faded away, Lin Li remained in doubt. He felt that there seemed to be some other meaning in Aldwin¡¯s smile besides the kindness and friendliness...

    Lin Li was in a bewilderment when he heard Mason¡¯s muffled cry. ¡°Why is Gryffindor here as well?!¡±

    This time, it was not just Mason who was surprised; even Orrin¡¯s deadened face revealed an indistinct astonishment.

    Seeing the looks on both their faces, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but ask out of curiosity, ¡°Who is Gryffindor?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be...¡± Mason rolled his eyes.

    ¡°This person is famous?¡±

    ¡°Not just famous, but extremely, extremely, extremely famous!¡± Mason used ¡®extremely¡¯ thrice to describe him. ¡°He was praised as Fn¡¯s first-ever magic genius at the age of ten. Don¡¯t you think he is extremely, extremely, extremely famous? He had be a mage officially at the age of ten and was a super magic genius who had advanced to level-nine at the age of 16...¡±

    At the mention of this, a trace of doubt suddenly appeared on Mason¡¯s face. Disregarding the baffled Lin Li, he began to mumble to himself. ¡°Gryffindor is one year older than me, so he should be 24 this year... It has been eight years, why is he still at level-nine... No, no. I must have remembered it wrongly...¡±

    ¡°Big Brother Mason, who exactly is Gryffindor?¡± Lin Li understood as soon as he heard what Mason said¡ªit was another cheater. For a while, he was interested to know more about this super magic genius, Gryffindor.

    ¡°Look to the left; it¡¯s the one wearing the ck mage robe.¡±

    Lin Li followed Mason¡¯s gaze and saw a young mage talking cheerfully there.

    The young man was good-looking¡ªhe was tall and handsome. It was only a shame that his eyes looked a little too small. In particr, they would narrow when heughed, making them look thin and long, giving off an effeminate feel.

    His ck mage robe was exquisitely crafted¡ªit was probably made by a famous tailor. It also emitted a strong magical wave. From what Lin Li saw, the magical wave was even stronger than the Robe of Wrath¡¯s. But what really surprised Lin Li was the powerful aura emanating from the young mage.

    The young mage¡¯s strength was far beyond Lin Li¡¯s imagination. Among the young people he had seen, perhaps only Cromwell, who had gone through the transformation, couldpare with him.

    He was at least level-fourteen, or even level-fifteen!

    ¡°Which Guild of Magic is he from?¡±

    ¡°The nna Guild of Magic, of course.¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li nodded and did not question further. Perhaps only the heart of the Fn Kingdom, the nna Guild of Magic, could foster such an impressive character.

    Amidst their exchanges, Lin Li suddenly noticed the unusual expression on Orrin¡¯s face.

    Orrin¡¯s pale face showed a hint of agitation as he saw Gryffindor. Although his hands were huddled in his sleeves, anyone could guess that his hidden hands had to be firmly clenched into fists from the quiver of the mage robe.

    Lin Li was a little confused; Orrin had always been arrogant and indifferent. How could he have lost his sense of proportion at the sight of Gryffindor?

    And then he saw Gryffindoring in their direction.

    ¡°Heh heh... Orrin, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re here!¡± Gryffindor¡¯s face was full of smiles, but as he approached the three guys, his eyes were fixed on the agitated Orrin. As for Lin Li and Mason who were just beside him, Gryffindor did not even spare a look at them.

    Orrin did not speak, but only stared at the other party in the eyes; the hands that were hidden in his sleeves were trembling even harder.

    ¡°To be honest, Orrin, I was quite surprised. I¡¯ve always thought you wouldn¡¯t dare to participate in the trial...¡± When Gryffindorughed, his long, slender eyes were squinted once more; the effeminate feel he gave off annoyed Lin Li.

    ¡°Please go away.¡± Orrin¡¯s words were still in and concise, but judging from his husky voice, he was definitely not as calm as he sounded.

    ¡°Heh heh... Orrin, you¡¯re still the same. Alright, I¡¯ll leave right away. I hope I can still see you at the final qualifyingpetition.¡± Gryffindor took a step backward with the smile still on his face, and his contemptuous eyes swept over Mason¡¯s face. There was some mockery in his tone. ¡°But, to be honest, Orrin, your luck is really bad. Look at your teammates, he¡¯s actually a real level-nine mage...

    ¡°Wait...¡± As he spoke, he suddenly saw Lin Li, who was just next to Mason. Gryffindor seemed to have discovered a new continent. ¡°Oh my God... If I¡¯m not mistaken, this one should be a level-seven mage, right?¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± How could Mason swallow the insult? He clenched his fist and wanted to dash forward to punch him, but as soon as he took a step out, he was held back tightly by Lin Li. This was the guild hall. If Mason dared to make trouble here, he would surely be driven back to Chevan City. In the end, Lin Li could not just stand and watch him do something silly. They were roommates sharing the same dorm, after all.

    As for the something-findor... Anyway, theing days would be long; Lin Li was in no hurry at all.

    ¡°Orrin, you¡¯re really unlucky...¡± Gryffindor¡¯sughter was pompous amid Mason¡¯s bawl. ¡°You¡¯re actually met with such two teammates. Looks like I may not necessarily see you in the qualifyingpetition. Hahahaha...¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Orrin¡¯s hoarse roar rmed everyone. The 20-odd young mages turned their heads and looked at him in confusion.

    And then there were whispers all around.

    ¡°Look, that seems to be Orrin from the Rotterdam Guild!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes... I remember him. He¡¯s the magic genius who was beaten by Gryffindor three years ago.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s him...¡±

    ¡°I heard that this fellow is really impressive. It¡¯s a pity he has met Gryffindor. How unlucky...¡±

    Gryffindor seemed to revel in their discussions. It was not until the murmurs died down that he went away with a satisfied expression on his face.

    ¡°Orrin, if you¡¯re unable toplete the trial missions,e and beg me!¡±

 Chapter 106 - Fantama Panthera

    <h4>Chapter 106: Fantama Panthera</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Mason shouted as he struggled furiously.

    Yet, how could he surpass the almighty Master of cksmith in physical strength? Lin Li had been umting his strength over the years by hammering on metals. Not to mention a Mage like Mason, a Warrior would not have escaped the grasp of Lin Li.

    ¡°Forget it, Brother Mason. You¡¯d...¡± Just when Lin Li wanted to persuade him, his thoughts were interrupted by a group of men in ck robes entering the guild hall in the distance. There were about 10 people in that group, and their leader, a dignified man in his mid-40s, had a magic staff in his hand.

    <i>This man looks familiar... </i>thought Lin Li, though he could not remember where he first met him.

    While he was still pondering over his identity, the leader had already reached the middle of the guild hall.

    ¡°Please be silent!¡± Thismand, despite being spoken in a voice not as resounding, was clearly heard by each and every individual present.

    Immediately, the bustling guild hall became quiet.

    ¡°The trial starts now,¡± announced the middle-aged man. Without further ado, he got to his point and instructed, ¡°You are required to take one of the eight number tes from my hands. Take note of its number and go look for your mentor.¡±

    Right after ending his speech, a group of young mages crowded around him, and the quiet guild hall grew noisy again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± volunteered Mason as he dashed into the crowd. Yet, after a while, he was seening out of it with a very disappointed expression on his face. ¡°I was too slow. This was thest number te left...¡± said Mason in a dejected tone.

    <i>What¡¯s the great deal about beingst to collect the te when the order doesn¡¯t matter? </i>thought Lin Li as he remained quiet.

    ¡°Felic, we¡¯ve gotten a ¡®six¡¯!¡±

    Before Mason¡¯s voice faded, Lin Li saw a short and skinny old man walking towards them. He had a goat-like beard, and like the other mentors, he was dressed in a ck robe.

    ¡°Those two sly fes and that... and that idiot! Come here now!¡± that old man shouted from afar.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the idiot that he was referring to?¡± Mason asked foolishly in a low voice, but was ignored by his two teammates.

    Lin Li and Orrin proceeded towards the old man diligently, leaving behind Mason, who was still standing there in a daze.

    ¡°Idiot! Are you noting?¡± the old man shouted again. This time, Mason understood whom he was referring to...

    ¡°Let me first introduce myself. My name is Macklin, but you¡¯d better address me as Mr. Macklin,¡± ordered the old man in an unfriendly tone as he red at them, hoping to make himself appear fiercer than he was. Yet, it was the goat-like beard that gave him away, revealing him to be a pretentious man instead. He continued, ¡°I had made a bet with the others on this round of trial that my team would definitely enter the cement round. Regardless of your abilities, if you make me lose the bet, you are going to get it from me the hard way. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± mumbled the trio together as they gulped down their saliva anxiously. Their hearts had also started to curse this damn mentor...

    ¡°Louder!¡±

    ¡°Yes, we do!!¡±

    ¡°Very good. But before I win the bet, I need to verify your abilities,¡± said Macklin as he nced at Lin Li and Orrin. Then, he emphasized in a serious tone, ¡°Remember, I meant <i>real </i>abilities!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The underlying meaning of Mr. Macklin¡¯s instruction would have been clear to any dimwitted fe. Lin Li just could not understand how the old man could see right through him. The Mana Concealment Potion was so advanced that even Gerian would not be able to decipher the real level he was at!

    ¡°Is this very strange to you?¡± the old man asked, grinning, as though he knew how to read minds. Without waiting for Lin Li to respond, he continued, ¡°When I was your age, this was what I did as well.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, shoot if y¡¯all have any questions. If not, let me bring you to an interesting ce now.¡±

    ...

    That was the Nightmare Mountains¡ªthe most dangerous ce in nna.

    The four of them stood in front of a pitch-ck cave. Macklin pointed at the cave casually and told the trio, ¡°There lives a little kitten inside this cave. I¡¯ll lure it out, and you are to battle it single-handedly. I would like to see who can kill it.¡±

    ¡°I shall go first!¡± Mason volunteered enthusiastically after observing how rxed Macklin was when he made his speech, thinking that it would be an easy task.

    ¡°Sure, you go first, then,¡± said the old man with an amusedughter that caused his goat-like beard to twitch. Before Mason realized it, he had already gone far into the cave...

    Soon after, a series of groans could be heard by the three men, and that was followed by two shadows emerging from the cave at top speed one after another like two arrows, shooting out from it.

    ¡°Mason, it¡¯s your turn now!¡± Macklin left the cave with the Levitating Spell, which allowed him to swerve off in the air, leaving the dumbfounded Mason by himself...

    Looking at the pair of blood-red eyes before him, Mason¡¯s heart dropped.

    <i>W-W-Was this the ¡°little kitten¡± the old dude was referring to??? Indeed! What a kitty! Damn him...</i>

    As a level-nine mage, never would Mason have dreamt of confronting a level-12 magical beast alone. What was more, this beast was the most powerful of the other level-12 beasts, and the killer of mages¡ªthe infamous Fantama Panthera!

    Mason was facing the Fantama Panthera by himself.

    ¡°GRRR!¡± The beast growled as it pounced towards Mason like a threatening ck stroke of lightning.

    ¡°Help! You¡¯ve got the wrong man!¡± Mason cried helplessly. How would the Fantama Panthera entertain his pleas?

    To them, all humans were prey. Who cared if they were plump or lean?

    The Fantama Panthera instantaneously bridged the distance of at least 10 meters between them, and appeared in front of Mason.

    Mason employed the Dying Spell onto the beast and the Hastening Spell onto himself before scurrying off.

    That old man had to be joking when he made a level-nine mage deal with a Fantama Panthera!

    Lin Li saw the dire situation Mason got himself into.

    Alternating between the Dying Spell and the Hastening Spell would only let him stand a chance of defeating a beast of a level lower than 10. For the level-12 Fantama Panthera, however, doing so would only mean sending himself to death.

    Mason had only run a total of 10 steps before meeting the red eyes of the Fantama Panthera again.

    What followed was an unpleasant and terrifying roar from behind.

    Before Mason knew it, he felt as though he was walking on mud. The lower half of his legs had already sunk into the ground too.

    Apart from having the speed of lightning as well as a set of sharp and immensely poisonous ws, the Fantama Panthera was also extremely proficient in Dark Magic.

    The Decaying Spell it unleashednded Mason in boiling hot soup.

    In such a frenzied state, there was no time for Mason to think anymore. Without hesitation, Mason started to recite a spell in a hurried manner.

    He could swear that that was the first time he¡¯d ever had such a thrilling encounter.

    A Fantama Panthera sprang towards him like a bolt of lightning while he recited the spell in the middle of the sludge.

    In that instance, Mason was so terrified that he nearly died from a heart attack.

    Just when the blue toxic ws were about toe into contact with his chest, Mason finished reciting thest line of his spell...

    ¡°Pom!¡±

    A deafening sound reverberated as the spell broke out. As a level-nine mage, it was no doubt that Mason¡¯s Power of Repulse erupted with great force, and the leopard got repelled at least 10 meters away from him. After pulling his legs out of the mud, he fled at once.

    The three bystanders could only shake their heads in disapproval of Mason¡¯s shameless escape. That fe was such a weakling! The only method he employed throughout the confrontation was to escape. How could one even outrun the lightning speed of a Fantama Panthera?

    The excruciating pain inflicted by the Power of Repulse agitated the Fantama Panthera.

    ¡°ROAR...!!¡±

    This growl was shrill and prating. Almost everyone could sense a strange force of magical waves rising from their surroundings.

    Amidst the ear-piercing snarl, Mason felt an agonizing and tight pain in his feet. Before he knew it, he¡¯d lost his bncepletely, and lunged towards the ground with his face.

    While he tried to look back, what made him almost swoon with trepidation was a white skeletal arm grabbing firmly onto his ankle from the soil...

    <i>I¡¯m dead! </i>In that instance, this was the only thought that was in Mason¡¯s mind.

    Then, he saw the coat of ck rosettes prints leaping towards him stealthily...

    Yet, the agony he was expecting never came.

    Only a word came to him.

    ¡°IDIOT!¡±

 Chapter 107 - The Mark of Decline

    <h4>Chapter 107: The Mark of Decline</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Moron! What else do you know apart from fleeing from a small cat?¡± Macklin was so furious that his goat-like beard trembled. He continued ruthlessly, ¡°Did you just use the Dying and the Hastening Spell? Look at what a blockhead you are. Is this the limit of a level-nine mage? I can easily find any apprentice who can surpass you! Forget it... With the intelligence level you have, I rmend that you switch over to be a cksmith instead!¡±

    ¡°But¡ª¡± Mason wanted to defend himself. That was a level-12 beast! How could he, a level-nine Mage, defeat it?

    Yet, he was interrupted by Macklin, who stared at him in disdain.

    ¡°Did you want to rebut that that was an unfair battle? Did you want to defend yourself that the Fantama Panthera had a higher level aspared to you? Pfff... Excuses are for the weak. Now I know: you are not only a fool, but also a weakling!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± cried Mason in agitation as his face flushed.

    ¡°You dare to rebut it? Then let me ask you. Why did you choose to recite the Power of Repulse when it was a great opportunity to make an attack?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to create some distance first...¡±

    ¡°What the hell, you are a Mage, not an Archer!¡± cried out the agitated Macklin as he nearly spat his saliva on Mason¡¯s face. ¡°Who taught you that mages need to battle at a specific distance? With the powerful magical elements of mages, you¡¯re really dumb to have done so! If you had the time to create distance, why didn¡¯t you use it to aim a Fireball at your enemy? You could have defeated it!¡±

    ¡°I...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better make sure whom you are battling next time. How would the Dying and the Hastening Spell be effective against the Fantama Pantheras, which are experts in the field of Dark Magic? To adopt such a technique, you are really an incurable fool...¡±

    ¡°What did you want me to do, then?¡± asked Mason indignantly. ¡°I¡¯m just a level-nine Mage; if I don¡¯t distance myself from that leopard, do I wait for it to eat me up?¡±

    ¡°Moron, moron, moron, moron...¡± After snarling at Mason, the old man reached out with his finger.

    Macklin¡¯s casual act seemed to have a great underlying force. The leopard that was previously lying calmly on the ground flew up uncontrobly.

    After which, Mason witnessed how that short and skinny old man raised the leopard up by its neck single-handedly.

    ¡°Do you see this now?¡± Macklin lifted the Fantama Panthera up as he pointed at its exposed belly.

    It was then that Mason realized it.

    On the belly of the leopard, there was a dark-red light, which was shing weakly.

    Being a level-nine mage trained by the Guild of Magic, although Mason was not that skillful, he instantaneously understood what that speck of red meant.

    That was the level-18 Dark Magic¡ªthe Mark of Decline!

    At once, Mason¡¯s face grew crimson with shame...

    The Mark of Decline would degrade any living being by at least three levels.

    This means that the majestic Fantama Panthera he¡¯d dealt with was just a level-nine beast. Being a level-nine Mage himself, it was definite that he would defeat the animal. With beasts being beasts, they not onlycked rationality as well as intelligence, but also depended solely on their natural instincts.

    Yet in such an easy battle, Mason lost to the beast without a doubt. The mere thought of it made him very ashamed and embarrassed of himself.

    The old man was right; Mason had been terrified.

    If not for his fear towards the level-12 beast, how would he have attempted to escape from the start of the encounter, and not have any confidence to defeat it? The ce where the Mark of Decline was was not concealed. If he had spared time to calm himself down, how could he not realize it?

    ¡°Do you acknowledge your stupidity now?¡± asked the old man. Although these words were indeed caustic, a glimpse of admiration shed across his gaze.

    Making a mistake was not scary. What made it terrifying wasmitting it repeatedly. Once a person realized his faults, it indicated that there was still hope for the person to grow.

    ¡°Yes, I do...¡± answered Mason with guilt. He nodded humbly as he got himself up from the ground.

    ¡°Very good, you can scram now.¡± The old man waved at him, gesturing him to leave. Then, his gaze fell on Orrin. In a demeaning tone, he instructed, ¡°That sly fe over there, it¡¯s your turn now!¡±

    Orrin remained quiet as he walked towards Macklin.

    ¡°Wait a minute...¡±

    Just when Orrin wanted to unleash his first attack, the old man stopped him.

    ¡°Compared to that moron, you are more astute. I can¡¯t let you do it so easily...¡± Macklin continued.

    Orrin felt a wave of mana. After that, he saw the red glow on the belly of the Fantama Panthera dim.

    Having escaped from the restraint of the Mark of Decline, the Fantama Panthera gave a deep growl of freedom. It had finally recovered its identity as the great and terrorizing level-12 magical beast again!

    Orrin did not say anything. He just gave the beast a deadly stare, and started reciting hisplicated spell. This created brilliant and dazzling magical runes around everyone. The surging mana mirrored the massive currents generated by a seething ocean.

    ¡°Magnificent...¡± Lin Li gasped from a far. Orrin¡¯s abilities were higher than what he¡¯d previously imagined. It seemed that Orrin was at either the peak of level-10, or even level-11¡ªjust a little bit away from Lin Li.

    ¡°Grrrr!¡± At this moment, Macklin had also just loosened the restraint on the Fantama Panthera. A ck shadow bolted out like a sharp arrow from the dark.

    The distance of 10 meters was covered by it immediately.

    Orrin¡¯s recital was a hastened one. As he raised his magic staff, a huge tremble was created in the ground, and what followed was an ear-shattering eruption.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    Soil particles flew up into the air, and a thick stone spear pierced the ground from below.

    Thereafter, everyone witnessed how critically the stone spear had struck at the Fantama Panthera.

    Lin Li could not help but gape at that instance. When the Fantama Panthera was running at full speed, it could be said that it was as quick as a lightning bolt. At that moment, it would be almost impossible to attack it with the Ground-Piercing Spell.

    Once the Ground-Piercing Spell was cast, a shrill cry from the leopard could be heard.

    That arrow that emerged from the darkness seemed to hit a wall of copper. Everyone could hear the sound of bones breaking, and see blood sttering all over. After that, the Fantama Panthera escaped at top speed as though it was whipped.

    The ear-splitting shriek echoed in the wilderness, while fresh red blood spilled on the soft ground...

    Seeing how his enemy suffered massively from his Ground-Piercing Spell, Orrin did not spare it any time to recover. Without hesitation, he threw a few wind des towards it from different directions. Although he was not as skillful as Lin Li when it came to the lower-grade magic, there were no faults in terms of his uracy and impact generated.

    Although it had the strength of a level-12 magical beast, the cruel force of the Ground-Piercing Spell was so ruthless that it crushed multiple bones with just one strike. Those bones not only tore through its soft and vulnerable abdomen, but also prated its viscera. With such grave injuries, the Fantama Panthera could only sumb to the lower-grade magic.

    Each of the two consecutive shots of wind des struck at the two front paws of the Fantama Panthera.

    At that instance, what followed was another stter of fresh blood.

    ¡°Arwooooo...¡± The Fantama Panthera howled in rage. The cry was so piercing that it felt like needles to the ears.

    Subsequently, a wave of repressed magical elements rose up, and the surroundings darkened at once. The ckness cast by the Fantama Panthera¡¯s Obscurus Spell covered a distance of at least 10 meters.

    ¡°SH*T!¡± Lin Li was startled when he realized the leopard¡¯s ability to cast the Obscurus Spell. It was a considerably powerful spell in the field of Dark Magic.

    Beasts like the Fantama Panthera were born with a certain amount of Dark Magic. The exact amount of Dark Magic, however, would be decided by nature. Taking the beast in front of Orrin for example, it could well be deemed a prodigy of the Fantama Panthera species.

    Being surrounded by the Obscurus Spell, Orrin¡¯s recital started to be intermittent. His previously almighty magical wave also started to weaken greatly.

    The Fantama Panthera that was still in dire straits not long ago started to recover under the Obscurus Spell. In the blink of an eye, its ribs that were crushed by the Stone Spear grew back, and the torn abdomen also healed gradually.

    At that moment, everyone could see a shadow moving swiftly in the dark. Just like a wandering ghost of the night, its body carried a stench of blood.

    Orrin did not cease his recital. There was no hint of fear on his ashen face, and the glow of determination and concentration remained in his eyes.

    The distance between both of them pulled closer. Then, the Fantama Panthera leapt towards him with its bright and blue poisonous ws...

    ...

 Chapter 108 - The Invincible Lucky Star

    <h4>Chapter 108: The Invincible Lucky Star</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Orrin¡¯s spell recitation became faster and faster. The surging magical elements were frantically trying to break from the spell. It was like flood waters rushing against a dam.

    This was a real gamble as Orrin was wagering his life against a level-12 magical beast.

    At this instance, everybody¡¯s hearts were held in suspense. They watched Orrin chanting his spell recitation hastily while the Fantama Panthera rushed towards him like an arrow.

    The Fantama Panthera would turn into ashes if he were victorious.

    Should he lose, his chest would be torn apart by sharp ws.

    Yet at this point, the levitating Macklin raised his magic staff.

    And then... this gamble was brazenly halted by him.

    Two blue water curtains, one each for the human and the leopard.

    Within the rippling lights of the curtain, time seemed to stand still.

    The leopard that lept up was weirdly stuck in the air. There was a blue flicker on the razor-sharp ws, and its deep red eyes were sluggish. Orrin held tightly onto the magic staff, and opened his mouth slightly. It seemed as though he was about to recite a portion of the spell, but the boiling magical elements appeared to have suddenly solidified, and thest phrase of the spell was stuck frozen in Orrin¡¯s throat.

    Lin Li and Mason, who were standing far away, looked at Macklin in a daze.

    Only at this point did they finally understand that this man with a goat-like beard was stronger than they had imagined him to be.

    The blue curtains were actually a legendary level-19 spell, Shadow Prison!

    What was the concept behind level-19...

    With just a step forward, he could have entered the Legendary Realm.

    Lin Li finally understood why he could not decipher the old man¡¯s magic level as well as his ability to see through the mana concealment potion with just a single look.

    The gap between level-12 and 19 was too vast...

    No matter how focused Lin Li was, he was not able to see through a mage that was close to the legendary-level. This had nothing to do with mental strength; it was purely an issue of suppression due to levels. For example, even if you were to give a child a hundred viagra pills, he would not be able to do anything as well. It was nothing more but theck of prerequisites.

    From the start, Lin Li already knew the man with a goat-like beard was formidable.

    But Lin Li did not imagine that he was almost as strong as Old Grimm.

    Old Grimm was a monster that could humiliate Lin Li, a level-12 magic shooter, with a strength less than that of a Magic Shooter.

    Immediately, both Mason and Lin Li looked at Macklin withplicated feelings.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± The old man with a goat-like beard nodded his head slightly with an approving look in his eyes. ¡°You are stronger than that fool.¡±

    Following those words from Macklin, the blue water curtains disappeared in the air with a ¡°poof¡± like a popped bubble. Orrin was released from the hold of Shadow Prison. His pale face was emotionless; he just stood there and listened.

    ¡°But, you are only slightly stronger...¡± Once the old man finished speaking, he stared at Orrin in a slightly angry manner. ¡°You thought of dying together with a magical beast, you¡¯re really promising...¡±

    ¡°It would have died.¡± Orrin¡¯s tone was firm, as though the issue was obvious.

    ¡°Would have died?¡± Macklin was so furious that his goat-like beard sprang up. ¡°Even I am not confident in situations like that. What makes you so sure?¡±

    ¡°I only believe in my own strength.¡±

    ¡°Suchughable belief!¡± The old man was almost driven mad by him. ¡°You need to remember that you are a respected mage, not a damned magical beast. Your mentor and guild have spent a lot of effort on raising you. Go ahead and ask them if they are willing to trade your life for a level-12 magical beast. You would be lucky if they didn¡¯t give you two tight ps. So damn idiotic!¡±

    In the midst of Macklin¡¯s angry howling, Orrin¡¯s pale face was emotionless. He just stood there quietly and listened.

    ¡°Forget it, I do not much have time to lecture you. Go think about it yourself.¡± Orrin had no reaction at all even though Macklin gave him a scolding. This made the old man feel exasperated, and he turned around angrily, pointing his magic staff at Lin Li. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, you cunning fe.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Looking at how Orrin failed to take down the Fantama Panthera, Lin Li knew that he would not be able to escape this. After hearing how Macklin shouted, he did not say anything much, and braced himself to face the music.

    ¡°How embarrassing. Such a small ck cat, yet both of you couldn¡¯t take it down. You¡¯d better buck up, cunning fe.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    After Macklin finished his sentence, he released the Shadow Prison.

    This time, he shortened the time given to Lin Li.

    The distance between him and the leopard was not more than 10 meters. When the shadow prison was released, the Fantama Panthera rushed out instantaneously. The rage induced by Orrin previously was now being directed towards Lin Li. Amidst the roars, countless Dark Magic power pelted down. Under the Decaying Spell, the surrounding soil started to simmer like a restless swamp.

    Lin Li was calm; he cast Feather Fall on himself.

    The effect of this low-level spell would not allow him to levitate like Macklin, but it was more than sufficient to deal with this swamp. Concurrently, an icicle whistled through. The reason as to why icicles were so ruthless was because it had thebined effect of a magical and physical attack. Even if it were a level-12 Fantama Panthera, it would have to dodge when facing the icicle.

    ¡°Howl!¡± With a flick of its tail, the Fantama Panthera became a ck blur, and twisted in an arc. It dodged the iing icicle; it followed with a kick from its legs, once again charging towards at Lin Li at an even faster pace.

    However, Lin Li seemed to be oblivious towards it, and continued reciting the spell.

    At the instance when the Fantama Panthera leaped, Lin Li had also finished reciting the Spell of Frost.

    However, his target wasn¡¯t the iing Fantama Panthera, but the area in front of him that had decayed.

    After that, a gust of frozen air above the soft soil started to formyers of ice at lightning speed.

    Orrin¡¯s pale face had a faint look of uncertainty, whereas Mason was anxious and nervous, tightly clenching his fists.

    Both of them could not discern what Lin Li was trying to do.

    The sharp ws of the Fantama Panthera were before his eyes, yet this level-7 mage only used a single Spell of Frost, which has failed, striking the decayednd instead of the Fantama Panthera.

    ¡°Swish!¡±

    Before Mason and Orrin could understand it, both of them heard a sound, and saw that the Fantama Panthera had copsed.

    Their eyes seemed to have widened simultaneously.

    A strong level-12 magical beast had actually slipped.

    This slip was pretty serious due to the speed of the Fantama Panthera. It almost caused its innards to spill out. It slipped quite a distance on the ice before striking a tree with a thud.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, how lucky...¡± Mason looked on with admiration. The luck of this kid was too good. It was supposed to be a failed Spell of Frost, but by some freak ident, it became a trap. It had managed to cause a level-12 magical beast to slip. Such an achievement was not something that he, a level-9 mage, had experienced before.

    This fall was indeed a serious one. Even if it was the muscr body of a level-12 beast, it could barely withstand it. When the Fantama Panthera stood up under the tree, there was a trail of blood trickling from its mouth. This was the second massive impact it had received within a day. It evoked all of its ferocity, and its deep red eyes were filled with madness.

    ¡°Quickly, Mana Retroaction!¡± Mason became extremely anxious while watching.

    However, he was toote. As soon as Mason¡¯s voice settled, some skeletal arms tore apart the soft soil, and suddenly appeared from the ground. Lin Li¡¯s legs were immediately filled with wounds due to the attack of these skeleton arms. He raised his magic staff while fleeing in panic.

    After that, Mason saw this guy releasing Mana Retroaction.

    ¡°Are you for real...¡± Mason felt like dropping dead. Everybody had been releasing magic for half the day, and only now did he remembered to use Mana Retroaction? He really wanted to ask that fe if he dared to be any slower.

    Just when Mason¡¯s face was as white as a sheet, he suddenly realized that the mana of the Fantama Panthera had been sealed. This also meant that the Mana Retroaction that was castte had really sealed a spell.

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    Mason almost jumped when he saw it. The Fantama Panthera¡¯s dark magic was all outbursting. It was challenging to reverse the instantaneous outburst of magic. He was only trying his luck when he shouted just now. Yet, under some freak chance, this guy actually managed to retroact the mana. <i>What... what kind of luck is this?</i>

    At this instance, Lin Li had already escaped the dense skeletal arms, and stood on top of theyers of ice.

    Once both his feet were on the ice, Lin Li cast the Dying Spell.

    If it were a normal Fantama Panthera, it would not be wary of the Dying Spell. With just a Blood Rage, it could reach frightening speeds. The leopard currently could not do anything as its mana had been sealed, leaving it only physical strength. The Obscurus Spell and Blood Rage had all be nothing but an illusion. It could but stare helplessly at the enemy reciting spells on top of the ice.

    Countless fire dragons flew out, and everyone heard a loud st. The bright re devoured the Fantama Panthera.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Numerous fire res sprang about instantaneously. It was as splendid as fireworks in the night sky when looked at from afar.

    And then... everything became quiet.

    Mason was dumbfounded, and stared at Lin Li who was on top of the ice. Only now did he start to use his wind de to cut away at the skeletal arms that had appeared from the ground.

    ¡°I... I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Mason could only use this sentence to describe how he felt.

    First, it was a random Spell of Frost, and then it was followed by a coincidental Mana Retroaction.

    When both werebined together, it created a fantastic leapfrog victory...

    A level-7 mage had killed a level-12 Fantama Panthera. Mason did not know how to describe such luck. <i>Is it the Invincible Lucky Star?</i>

    ¡°Nicely done!¡± Macklin praised him generously while still Mason could not understand the battle at all. Macklin was an archmage nearing the Legendary-level, so how could he, just like Mason, attribute everything to luck?

    Adept skill casting, a finesse grasp on timing as well as being a bornbat genius. This level-7 mage was indeed the most cunning one out of the three.

    It was especially so for thatst Mana Retroaction. It was a definitely a ssic example worthy to be used as a teaching material.

    What was the concept behind retroaction and outburst spells?

    Even though he was bordering the strength of a legendary-level, he only had a sess rate of five or six out of ten tries. Looking at the calm andposed expression of this fe, he was in a stable state of mind. He¡¯d already known that he would be able to retroact that Obscurus Spell.

    Macklin felt that such a sess rate was incredible.

    His heart was filled with curiosity, and he wondered who this fe¡¯s master was. It was definitely not Gerian¡ªhis strength was pretty good, but not to this stage. He would not be able to produce such students. Other than Gerian, who else could be so powerful within Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic? Andoine... Definitely not, that old man hid at the Pharmacists Guild every day. He hardly visited Jarrosus in thest eight or ten years, so how would he have the time to teach this fe?

    ¡°Sh*t, I will dig out this person one of these days...¡±

    Macklin could not have imagined that this fe not only had the guidance of Andoine, but had also been training with another legendary mage, Grimm Burnside, for almost half a month.

    ¡°I consider that you havepleted the first mission. Follow me back to the Guild of Magic. I will ponder which missions I will assign to you...¡±

 Chapter 109 - A Mishap

    <h4>Chapter 109: A Mishap</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest this afternoon.¡±

    They returned to the Guild of Magic in a row of four. After that announcement, Macklin went to look for Aldwin straight away.

    Frankly, he was delighted with the performance of these three in the afternoon. Except for the slightly stupid Mason, the other two were definitely rarely found geniuses, especially that brat Felic. That mana retroaction could only be described as breathtaking. Macklin had never seen someone attain such proficiency at this age.

    He had to consult Aldwin...

    Once Macklin left, Orrin went into the meditation room alone, while Mason proposed to shop in nna.

    Lin Li nced at the sky, and thought of his appointment with the toothless adventurer. Hence, he had no choice but to reject Mason¡¯s invitation.

    Initially, he wanted to ask Sean toe along as he decided to take this opportunity to buy some clothes for Sean. However, after searching for him in the guild, Sean could not be found. In the end, Lin Li had no choice but to leave the Guild of Magic, and walked along the prosperous streets towards the Adventurers Guild.

    Compared to the remote Jarrosus, nna felt like another world.

    Even the people visiting the Adventurers Guild were very different from those in Jarrosus.

    In the Jarrosus Adventurers Guild, a level-6 warrior like McGrenn was considered to be pretty good.

    After walking into nna¡¯s Adventurers Guild, Lin Li kept seeing multiple adventurers that were close to level-10. Even one of the thieves was already at level-12!

    After all, it was in the afternoon, and it was the time when the Adventurers Guild is the emptiest.

    At this time, the missions had just been updated, and most of the people were busy killing magical beasts. Except for those who were unlucky enough not to have a task, nobody would be so free to waste their time in the guild hall.

    If he could see a level-12 thief at this time, would it not be possible to see a level-15 and above adventurer should hee at the time when the missions were updated?

    After circumventing the guild hall once, he did not see the toothless warrior called Hank.

    Lin Li felt uncertain. From what he had been saying, this guy wanted to pull him into Silver Hand. With such an excellent opportunity today, how could he not appear? Could he have been dyed by some issues?

    As it was still early, Lin Li was not anxious.

    He casually found a seat and waited patiently.

    Who knew that this wait wouldst for almost two hours.

    While waiting till the afternoon, Lin Li finally saw him hurriedly walk into the guild hall.

    ¡°Mr. Felic!¡± Hank saw Lin Li from a distance after just entering the hall.

    Lin Li was about to reply, but he suddenly felt something was not right. This guy seemed to be injured¡ªhis right hand was covered in bandages, its surface slightly immersed in a circle of bright red.

    ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    ¡°Small wound, it will not get in the way...¡± Hankughed, and did not bother about the injury on his hand. He only looked around anxiously, and then carefully asked, ¡°Oh, yes, Mr. Felic, where is your warriorpanion?¡±

    ¡°Warriorpanion?¡± Lin Li was stupefied for a moment, and then he realized Hank should be referring to Sean. ¡°Oh... he had something else to do, and did note with me.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Hank nodded, and did not ask more about Sean.

    After exchanging a few more greetings, Hank stood up and said his goodbyes. ¡°I am really sorry Mr. Felic, I wanted toe over really early. However, I did not expect to run into some trouble along the way. Now, I have to report to the garrison immediately. I fear there is no time to bring you over...¡±

    Lin Liughed off the matter. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, official matters are more important.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again, Mr. Felic.¡±

    ¡°See you again.¡±

    Lin Li was not too concerned about his return to the Silver Hand¡¯s garrison, since he had three months of time. After all, if he really wanted to go, it would be the same without Hank¡¯s introduction. He was a level-12 magic shooter, so he would be treated as a distinguished guest at any mercenary corp. There was no way anybody would dare to reject him.

    After seeing off Hank from the guild hall, Lin Li stood up as well, and shook off the dust from the Robe of Wrath. He then decided to go back to the Guild of Magic in nna to ponder some things.

    ¡°Mr. Felic...¡± Just when he reached the main entrance of the guild hall, he saw that Hank had returned. He saw that Hank was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a face full of hesitation. ¡°Mr. Felic, do you... do you know Ina?¡±

    ¡°What happened to Ina?¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened immediately.

    ¡°Squad Leader Ina... she met with an ident!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Hank had lowered his voice, and saw that the mage¡¯splexion changed. A sudden influx of pressure was being emitted. This energy was so intense that anybody would feel breathless at that moment. Next, he saw that the formerly kind mage had an abnormally fierce look on him.

    ¡°Tell me what exactly happened!¡±

    One was a level-12 magic shooter, and the other a warrior apprentice. Under Lin Li¡¯s coercion, Hank had no room to struggle. He swallowed hard, and said everything exactly as it had happened.

    The cause of the incident was a batch of magical crystals.

    Today in the morning, when Hank walked past the Thousand Leaves Bar, he coincidentally met a few friends from Silver Hand. One of them was the neer, Squad Leader Ina. She had just led her men to thepletion of a mission, and was celebrating at the Thousand Leaves Bar. After she recognized Hank, she warm-heartedly invited him for a drink.

    Hank noticed that it was still early, so he did not reject the offer, joining them in their celebration.

    However, halfway through drinking, a mishap took ce.

    A group of Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps suddenly barged in. The leader was a level-9 warrior by the name of Marko. They rushed into the Thousand Leaves Bar, and loudly demanded that Ina and gang hand over a batch of magical crystals. Otherwise, they would capture all of them, and let the captain of the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps deal with them.

    Apparently, Ina and the gang did not allow it to happen. Both sides had a dispute, which quickly ended in a fight.

    The opposition had arge group, and even had a level-9 warrior helping them. Silver Hand only had seven or eight people, and their best fighter was Ina. Both forces were not on equal footing. Once the fight started, several people from Silver Hand were already injured¡ªincluding Hank.

    He¡¯d realized the situation was not right, and escaped amidst the mess.

    Hank originally wanted to return to the Silver Hand encampment to ask for help. However, he remembered that he had to meet a mage while going past the Adventurers Guild¡¯s entrance.

    He was not sure of the mage¡¯s strength, but the monstrous warrior that was with the mage left a profound impact in his memory. The other night, at the ckhills Town¡¯s Sylvan Inn, he¡¯d clearly seen that the monstrous warrior killed tens of robbers without breaking a sweat, and one of them was even a level-8 warrior.

    Moreover, Hank vaguely remembered that the mage called Felic seemed to have a connection with Squad Leader Ina. If they were to lend a helping hand, the chances of saving people might increase significantly.

    Up till this moment, Lin Li finally understood why this guy hurriedly asked about Sean once he¡¯d entered the guild hall. It appeared that he was harboring this idea...

    For a moment, Lin Li rejoiced a little. Thankfully, this guy returned again. Otherwise, he would have been clueless about what had happened to Ina.

    ¡°Bring me there.¡±

    ¡°Should we ask the warrior along...?¡± Hank still had some doubts; after all, he¡¯d only seen the warrior¡¯s ability in ckhills Town. He did not know that this mage was, in fact, a fiend far stronger than that monster.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    Lin Li really wanted to kick this guy. The distance between both guilds was at least one hour of walk. A return journey would waste a lot of time, and Sean would still have to be found. By that time, it would already be toote. What bird crap would be there to rescue?

    ¡°...¡±

    Upon seeing Lin Li¡¯s rage, Hank did not dare speak another word. He only nodded, and hurriedly brought Lin Li towards the Thousand Leaves Bar.

    Thousand Leaves Bar was not far from the Adventurers Guild. Furthermore, Lin Li was in a rush to rescue people. He used two Hastening Spells simultaneously, one for Hank, and one for himself. Under the effects of the hastening spell, both were moving like the wind. It only took them two to three minutes to reach the outside of the Thousand Leaves Bar.

    ¡°Marko, what is it that you want?¡±

    Immediately after reaching the vicinity of the bar, Lin Li heard a familiar voice from the inside. It really was Ina.

    Being anxious, Lin Li kicked the door of the bar open, and saw that twenty or more adventurers were tying up the group of Silver Hand members.

    Within that group of Silver Hand members, there was a familiar silhouette holding a sword in her hands.

    ¡°Ina!¡±

    ¡°Fel... Mr. Felic?¡± At this instance, Ina felt that she was dreaming. She could not imagine that she would be able to meet this young mage in the faraway nna. Lin Li¡¯s appearance invoked countless memories within Ina. She remembered the sunset mountains, the wyverns, Cromwell, as well as her father that was facing off a group of magic shooters.

    ¡°Mr. Felic... Father... Father, he...¡± Previously, she was a strong-willed sword-wielding girl fighting off enemies. Now, she started sobbing.

 Chapter 110 - Murder

    <h4>Chapter 110: Murder</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Before Lin Li could offer a word of condolence, Ina had already brought along a fragrant scent and dived into his embrace. Her pretty face stuck firmly to Lin Li¡¯s chest, crying even louder than before. It was as if all of her sorrows and yearning were unleashed at this moment.

    ¡°Ina...¡± Lin Li raised his arm and hesitated for a moment before lowering it down again. He gently sped Ina¡¯s shoulder, allowing her tears to soak the Robe of Wrath.

    Within the Thousand Leaves Bar, it was silent except for Ina¡¯s sobbing.

    ¡°... The other day, some people came from the Merlin Family. They said that Cromwell sent them... I wanted to leave with Father, but Father... Father used the Destruction Combat Energy, allowing me to escape by myself... Mr. Felic... I am scared... I am terrified...¡±

    Ina¡¯s low-pitched sobbing was definitely a form of emotional catharsis.

    McGrenn¡¯s death had brought about a massive impact on her.

    In the day, Ina was as strong as ever. She joined the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps, leading a team of adventurers to hunt and kill magical beasts, celebrating with the team at bars. It seemed like there was no difference from the past. However, in the dead of every night, Ina would frequently wake up in tears from her dreams. She would be in a daze until sunrise.

    Only after she stuck her face into that warm chest had the pain and confusion from the past started to recede slowly...

    Lin Li only listened in silence. ¡°I know, I know everything...¡±

    The emotional Ina only started to calm down slowly after sobbing for a long time.

    Lin Li gently patted Ina¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Alright Ina, stop crying...¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± When Ina raised her head from Lin Li¡¯s embrace, her tear-filled face was somewhat embarrassed and happy. She cutely nodded her head, and her voice was soft like a mosquito.

    ¡°Let us find a seat somewhere. Mr. McGrenn left something behind. He wanted you to have this.¡± Lin Li held Ina¡¯s hands, and his eyes swept over the group of Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps. ¡°Please let us through.¡±

    ¡°Kid, who do you think you are?¡±

    The one who spoke was a young warrior that looked like he was not even thirty years old. Under a tight-fitting suit of ck leather armor, he was barely tall or strong. He held a shining machete that appeared to be made with refined iron. Unfortunately, he was born with a pair of triangr eyes, which caused others to feel malice once they saw him.

    ¡°This woman took ten magical crystals from the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps. You want to take her along with one sentence? This is too cheap...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Just when Ina was feeling happy and bashful when her hands were held gently by Lin Li, she was ndered by the young warrior. Instantaneously, she was red with anger. ¡°Those magical crystals were hunted by us, Silver Hand, in the Nightmare Mountains; it has nothing to do with the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps. You saw so many crystals that you became envious. You couldn¡¯t defeat us when you tried to snatch it away, and so, you captured us to threaten the head of the corp. Hmph! How shameless!¡±

    Little did he expect that Ina was still so hot-tempered after all this while. Lin Li could not help but smile, and he gently patted her small hands. ¡°Let me handle this.¡±

    Ina smiled sweetly. ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lin Li¡¯s had a warm smile on his face, respectfully asking the young warrior a question.

    This warm smile was perceived to be a sign of weakness by the young warrior. He immediately revealed a proud look. ¡°Marko.¡±

    Truth be told, even though Marko¡¯s strength was level-9, he was only an adventurer. Under normal circumstances, Marko would not dare to offend a mage. However, nna was not the same as Jarrosus. In this city, the Guild of Magic¡¯s strength was at the point that made people terrified. With a single word from President Aldwin, more than ten Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps could be easily pulverized.

    There were just two reasons why Marko still dared to stand there.

    Firstly, this mage was too young even at first nce.

    Secondly, the mage robe he was wearing was too old.

    With thebination of these two features, the image of a weak and abject-looking homeless mage naturally filled up Marko¡¯s mind.

    Setting age aside, the appearance of the mage robe made Marko feel more at ease. What was the Guild of Magic doing? It was a ce where chests were used to keep gems. Any mage that walked out from there would be full of equipment valued in tens of thousands. Look at this kid in front of him¡ªhe was wearing an old and creased mage robe. It was as if it had been worn for more than ten years. Who would wear this tattered robe if he was a rich a mage?

    As long as he was not a member of the Guild of Magic, Marko would be fearless.

    It did not matter that he was a mage; he had more than twenty people on his side. Rushing forward and shing madly would also kill him.

    Marko thought he had a clear understanding of the situation. Thus, his tone became more unreasonable.

    ¡°Kid, let me give you a piece of advice. This is a matter between Red Moon and Silver Hand. Don¡¯t be a busybody. Be careful that you may not help the damsel in distress, but instead get yourself involved in this.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Marko, you¡¯re mistaken...¡± Lin Li smiled while shaking his head. ¡°I am not interested in whatever disputes your two corps may have.¡±

    Marko was even more assured that this young mage¡¯s background was nothing much. Instantaneously, he raised his voice. ¡°What are you doing here, then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m purely here¡±¡ªLin Li held Ina¡¯s hand with a smile on his face¡ª¡±to kill people.¡±

    During the time he showed off a warm smile, an icicle had already torn through the air. With a ¡°pft,¡± the adventurer closest to him copsed with a nk look. Amidst the spewing blood, the icicle that struck his chest was still chilling.

    ¡°Hank, is this the man that shed you?¡±

    ¡°Y... Y... Y... Yes, Mr. Felic...¡± Hank was standing in the doorway of the Thousand Leaves Bar, witnessing the frightening scene. He must have been so terrified that he started stammering and said ¡°yes¡± multiple times beforepleting his sentence.

    He had not expected that the young mage he¡¯d brought along was so ruthless. He meant it when he said he was going to kill, and there was no room for negotiation.

    Only up to this point did Hank start to remember.

    Back then, at the Sylvan Inn, that monstrous warrior meant it as well when he said he was going to kill people. It seemed that he must have been influenced by this young mage.

    Funny how he was still worrying back then that, without the monstrous warrior¡¯s help, they would be unable to rescue the members of the Silver Hand.

    He felt foolish after thinking back to it. Looking at what mage Felic did, killing a level-7 and above by merely releasing an icicle from his hand, what sort of strength was this? Even the corp leader might not be as strong. This sort of people would not even be bothered by the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps.

    ¡°Mr. Marko.¡± Lin Li looked at Marko, the smile on his face filled with regret. ¡°I am really sorry, your subordinate hurt my friend just now. So, he had to pay a little price.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Marko looked at Lin Li as though he¡¯d just seen a devil. He was totally stupefied. <i>What sort of person is he?</i>

    Marko was the clearest when it came to his subordinates.

    The one killed by the icicle just now was called Mdonade. Although the name might sound a little corny, his strength was different. In this team, he was the strongest. If he were to bepared with Marko, he wascking only marginally. Individually, he was at the very least at the peak of level-8. Marko could notprehend how such a powerful subordinate was taken out in the blink of an eye...

    The scene back then was too terrifying.

    He only saw a blue sh, and no other signs. Once Marko snapped out of it, the icicle was already stuck in Mdonade¡¯s chest.

    Marko could not help but wonder: if the icicle¡¯s target was him, would he have a chance?

    The answer sent shivers down his spine. None... absolutely no chance at all.

    ¡°You... What do you want?¡± Once Marko opened his mouth, his voice was slightly shaky.

    ¡°What do I want? Have I not told you? I¡¯m only here to kill.¡± Lin Li¡¯s showed a friendly smile as though he was here to kill chickens, not humans. ¡°Now that someone has been killed, I intend to take these few friends from Silver Hand along with me. Mr. Marko, do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    Marko hesitated for a moment before noticing that the young mage¡¯s eyes carried a murderous gleam.

    ¡°No, no, no... I mean, I have no objections.¡± Marko finished his sentence before forcefully swallowing his saliva. This demonic mage was too terrifying. Marko swore that if he were to see this mage again, he would try to hide as soon and as far as possible. Of course, it would be best not to see him again at all.

    ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Li finally revealed a satisfied smile, and walked out of the Thousand Leaves Bar holding Ina¡¯s hands.

    Behind these two was a bunch of whispering adventurers. Seven or eight rescuees from Silver Hand were filled with curiosity about the young mage. He was emitting an aura that was strong yet mysterious. Furthermore, all signs showed that his rtionship with Captain Ina was not simple...

 Chapter 111 - An Archmage Forging Iron

    <h4>Chapter 111: An Archmage Forging Iron</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Marko¡¯s face was as white as sheet of paper from fear as he watched the pestilence leave the Thousand Leaves Bar; he felt cold on his back as if he had just been soaked in water. Only when the footsteps finally faded away did he take in a long breath, and stretched out his hand to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead. For a while, he felt all energy sapped from his body as he sat weakly on the ground.

    ¡°Phew...¡± At the same time, the group of adventurers from the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps heaved a sigh of relief as well; the expressions on their faces were as if a heavy load had been lifted off their shoulders. For them, it was like having survived a holocaust.

    Just as everyone rejoiced, the door of the Thousand Leaves Bar was pushed open.

    Then, the group of adventurers saw the long-legged beauty dash in and give Marko a kick in the face with her boots.

    ¡°Who told you to be vulgar, shameless!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The leather boots from the Silver Hand were tailored for all kinds of adventurers. The workmanship was not delicate, but the soles of the boots were horribly hard. The kick in Marko¡¯s face was simr to a hit using a whip, and the whole side of his face swelled up in an instant.

    ¡°Hng!¡± The long-legged beauty crinkled her nose, and flipped her blonde hair back gently before walking away with a proud gait.

    The group of men from the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps looked at each other, then looked at Marko with some sympathy... Of all people, he had to provoke a shrewish woman, who was also the well-known Chilli Pepper from the Silver Hand!

    ¡°Did you vent your anger?¡± Lin Li witnessed this scene in front of him as he stood outside the Thousand Leaves Bar. For a moment, he was both dumbfounded and amused at the situation.

    ¡°Who told him to speak such vulgar words...¡± Ina¡¯s nose crinkled kittenishly.

    ¡°Ina, are you still adapting in the Silver Hand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am. Everybody¡¯s very kind to me. Captain Marie is like a big sister to me. Mr Felic, Captain Marie is a beautiful woman. We went to the Nightmare Mountains the other day, and encountered a lot of magical beasts. And then we...¡±

    At the mention of the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps, Ina¡¯s beautiful face was brimming with spirit.

    They wandered aimlessly through the streets of nna. Lin Li listened quietly to Ina as she talked about her experiences¡ªfrom how she left Jarrosus to how she came to join the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps, then from the various missions she had gone through to their disputes with the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps. At this moment, the long-legged beauty was like a cheerful little sparrow.

    But as she spoke, Ina¡¯s face suddenly turned gloomy, and there was a faint sobbing in her voice. ¡°Everyone is very kind to me, but... but I still miss home and Father...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, it¡¯s all in the past...¡± Lin Li patted her shoulders gently andforted her in a soothing voice.

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Ina, Mr McGrenn asked me to hand this to you.¡± Seeing that Ina was depressed, Lin Li hurriedly pulled out the half an arrow from his pocket in hope of diverting her attention.

    And it worked. As soon as he took out the half of an arrow, Ina forgot her grief, and confusion clouded her expression. ¡°I seem to have seen this before. I remember that when I was a child, Father often stared at half an arrow in a daze alone, sometimes for the whole afternoon. Butter on, when I got older, Father seldom took it out anymore. Mr Felic, did Father say anything when he handed this to you?¡±

    ¡°Mr McGrenn said to bring this half an arrow to the Eternal Shrine to look for your mother.¡±

    ¡°Mother!?¡± Ina asked in astonishment. ¡°Mr Felic, did Father really said that?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°But... but Father told all along me that Mother had died of difficulties when she went intobor when she gave birth to me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because Mr McGrenn thought you were too young to know these things, so he lied to you that your mother died when she gave birth to you.¡±

    ¡°Mhm!¡± Ina nodded heavily; there was finally some vigor in her sky-blue eyes. At least she knew that she still had rtives in this world.

    ¡°But where on earth is this Eternal Shrine...¡± This question had gued Lin Li in many ways ever since he had given his promise to McGrenn. He thought about many ways to search, and had asked many people about it, but he had yet to find a clue to the Eternal Shrine.

    ¡°This... I remember that once, when Father was drunk, he seemed to mention something about the shrine...¡± Ina frowned, which actually made her look unusually lovely. ¡°But I was young at that time, and can¡¯t really remember much of what was said. I only remember Father said that it was at a faraway ce, and we¡¯ll have to cross the Sea of Darkness to get there...¡±

    ¡°Cross the Sea of Darkness?¡± Lin Li started in surprise. Even he, a transmigrator, had heard that the Sea of Darkness was an endless sea. There were all kinds of magical beasts in the sea, and all were 100 times stronger than the magical beasts onnd. Hence, there was another nickname for the Sea of Darkness¡ªthe Sea of Death. In the history of Anril, no one had ever crossed the taboo sea. Did McGrenn aplish this feat without anyone knowing when he was young?

    It didn¡¯t seem possible...

    It was unknown how many magical beasts were lurking in the Sea of Darkness. These ancient magical beasts had been living in the sea as early as the years of the flood, when the Dragon and Titan werepeting for hegemony. Their strength was far beyond the human ability topete. Even in the Dark Ages, the powerful High Elves did not dare to provoke the majesty of these sea tyrants.

    No matter how many secrets McGrenn hid, he was still only a level-six warrior. Even if he used Destruction Combat Energy at the cost of his life, he was merely a level-ten warrior at most. He could not evenpete with Lin Li with such a strength, so how could hepete against the ancient magical beasts? They were an abnormal existence that could even crush an Archmage with a mere breath!

    However... Other than this, what else could exin the mystery surrounding Eternal Shrine?

    To be honest, Lin Li had asked many people about it for a while now¡ªincluding Macklin. Lin Li had approached the subject withouting straight to the point, but the answer was surprisingly consistent¡ª <i>what bird crap Eternal Shrine? Never heard of it...</i>

    Seeing that the young mage was silent for long, Ina asked with some curiosity, ¡°Mr Felic, what¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    ¡°Oh... Nothing.¡± Lin Li shook his head, and put aside the Eternal Shrine for the time being. After some ponderment, he quietly asked the long-legged beauty, ¡°Ina, when are you going to return to Jarrosus?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll return whenever Mr Felic decides to return...¡± Ina was blushing, and her voice was light and soft, but her eyes were resolute.

    For ady, perhaps there was no more definite hint than that.

    Unfortunately, she had overestimated Lin Li¡¯s ability to take hints.

    In the face of such a clear hint, this fellow actually said in all seriousness, ¡°Well, you stay in the Silver Hand for the time being. I¡¯ll bring you back to Jarrosus after I finish the trial.¡±

    ¡°Ohh...¡± There was a trace of disappointment in Ina¡¯s eyes. However, giving that big hint had exhausted all her courage, such that her heart was still pounding hard at this time. How could she still muster the courage to give him another hint?

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± Lin Li considered something for a while, and drew out a few bottles of potions from his pocket. ¡°Take these. Drink the brown one if you¡¯re injured, and the ck one if you¡¯re poisoned. Also... If you encounter a fierce magical beast, drink the orange one, and run away immediately. Can you remember it?¡±

    ¡°Mhm, I¡¯ve gotten it...¡± Ina sensed Lin Li¡¯s concern for her, and a hint of sweetness welled up in her heart.

    Lin Li repeated his reminders. After making sure nothing was left out, he waved goodbye to Ina and walked alone in the direction of the Guild of Magic.

    It was getting dark by the time Lin Li returned to the Guild of Magic.

    The guild hall was buzzing with noise during the day, but it was more or less deserted and cheerless at this time.

    After a busy day, Lin Li was rather exhausted, and was about to go through the tree-lined path back to his room when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

    ¡°The... The most cunning fellow there, wait up!¡±

    Lin Li looked back, and saw that it was Macklin with his goat-like beard.

    The old fellow looked a little different from the day. The ck mage robe was loosely worn on his body and the hood was not pulled; his messy hair resembled a chicken¡¯s nest.

    ¡°Do you have any instructions for me, Mr Macklin?¡± Lin Li was a little stunned; he wondered what the old fellow had done to make himself look like this.

    ¡°Uh...¡± The old fellow came over. He took a nce at the surroundings, then rubbed his hands embarrassingly as he whispered to Lin Li in a low voice, ¡°I... I¡¯d like to ask you for a little help...¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was startled. He was clear about the old fellow¡¯s strength; a level-19 Archmage was actually asking for his help?

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. Just follow me.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s heart was full of confusion. He contemted for a while, and decided to follow Macklin.

    They went out of the guild hall and into a low building just next to it. Macklin took Lin Li around a few corridors, and they soon arrived at an utched door.

    Through the open door crack, Lin Li could clearly hear the sound of nking.

    He was all too familiar with the sound.

    Hearing the familiar noise, a bizarre expression came across Lin Li¡¯s face. No wonder people said that the more formidable a person was, the more psychopathic he became¡ªit seemed that this was indeed right. Look at this level-neen Archmage, hiding in his room forging iron!

 Chapter 112 - Bogus Master

    <h4>Chapter 112: Bogus Master</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A dignified level-19 Archmage was actually hiding in his room, forging iron...

    It felt absurd¡ªit was like seeing a millionaire kneeling down on the street, begging for food.

    Before Lin Li came over, he had never thought that the old man with a goat-like beard had mysteriously called him over to help him with the forging!

    ¡°Mr Macklin...¡± Lin Li stood at the door with some confusion on his face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in first.¡± The expression of the old fellow was as if one of a thief¡¯s; he walked to the door and took a look at the surroundings; then, after confirming that no one had discovered them, he lightly pushed open the door that was left unlocked.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was confounded. This old fellow really had nothing to; he could get anything he wanted as an Archmage, so was it necessary to be this secretive...?

    ¡°Hurry... close the door!¡± Lin Li had just entered the room when he heard someone speaking from the furnace.

    And then, Lin Li had gone crazy...

    The old man by the fire was short and thin, and was wearing arge ck mage robe; from a distance, he looked slightly hunched. Amidst the clear banging sounds, the old man struggled as he wielded the hammer, and dazzling sparks were formed as he smashed down on the anvil.

    ¡°Damn...¡± The moment Lin Li saw the hunchback old man, Lin Li felt that he had really gone mad.

    He really wanted to ask the two old fellows: is the world really so difficult now? Even they had fallen to the point of working as cksmiths... Let alone Macklin, now, even Aldwin, the level-21 legendary mage, was actually standing beside the furnace!

    But to be honest, the President¡¯s workmanship was too crude to be true.

    A piece of bright red iron embryo was knocked into a hideous mess by him. His strength was inconsistent, and the hammer often came down on the wrong spot¡ªthere were at least five times out of ten that the hammer hadnded on the anvil. Watching the President forge iron was a fast trigger for a heart attack. asionally, Lin Li was worried that the hammer in the President¡¯s hand would suddenly fly out and smash someone...

    ¡°Take a rest, I¡¯ll do it.¡± As soon as Macklin entered the room, he took the hammer from the President.

    Aldwin was utterly exhausted as well. Seeing that someone was here to take over, he immediately handed over the hammer. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead as he gasped for breath. After a while, he seemed to abruptly notice Lin Li, who was standing in the doorway.

    ¡°Eh, little fellow, it¡¯s you?¡± Aldwin was rather surprised.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li¡¯s face revealed some astonishment. He was sure that he had never seen Aldwin before today, but the legendary mage¡¯s tone sounded like he¡¯d known him since long ago.

    ¡°Andoine didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Aldwin chuckled, and there was some helplessness in his expression. ¡°The old fellow had boasted to me several times, saying that he had picked up a genius in the Sunset Mountains.¡±

    ¡°You know Andoine?¡±

    ¡°More than that. We are old friends.¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li finally understood the situation. No wonder the old fellow had smiled at him for no reason at all this morning in the guild hall. So it turned out that he knew who he was all along.

    ¡°Oh, right, I have a grandson; you know him for sure.¡±

    ¡°Your grandson?¡± Lin Li was baffled again. He might know Andoine, but how would hee to know his grandson?

    ¡°He¡¯s called Bathrilor.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Lin Li almost lost his soul from the scare. He had never imagined that this, this... this old fellow was actually Bathrilor¡¯s grandfather!

    Aldwin chortled upon seeing how big Lin Li¡¯s reaction was. ¡°Rx, young man. I won¡¯t do anything to you. My grandson is a good-for-nothing. The whole nna knows that you¡¯ve broken two of his fingers and taught him a lesson. It¡¯s a good thing. I¡¯ve lived many years and I¡¯m not unreasonable. Besides, you¡¯re Andoine¡¯s disciple. That old man... I¡¯ve to give him some face. I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s very close to Grimm Burnside from the Pharmacist¡¯s Guild. I have a lot to ask him in the future...¡±

    ¡°Ah... Haha...¡± The smile on Lin Li¡¯s face was stiff; he still remembered vividly that it wasn¡¯t just about breaking two of his fingers. If it hadn¡¯t been for Old Grimm¡¯s intervention, he would have killed Bathrilor. Now that he was standing in front of Aldwin, even if he was thick-skinned, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little ufortable.

    ¡°Young man, what are you doing, still standing there? Come and help me quickly, I can¡¯t hold out any longer!¡± The workmanship of these two old guys could be said to be half a catty and half a tael. Macklin was slightly better physically, and could manage hammering for a bit longer¡ªbut it was only a few more times. In only a short time, that old fellow was unable to hold out; he was pressing Lin Li for help while muttering under his breath, ¡°Damn, the cksmith is really not a job for humans...¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± The call was just what Lin Li wanted. He felt awkward standing in front of Aldwin, so he pulled up his sleeves and walked over.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, may I ask, what... exactly is this?¡± Lin Li looked at the bent iron embryo, and his heart couldn¡¯t help mourning for it. These two old fes were really some talents. A good piece of fine iron was beaten into such state by them. Look at what the iron embryo was wrecked into¡ªwas that a steamed bun or twisted roll?

    ¡°This... is called forging!¡± Macklin did not care about it at all, and boasted vigorously. ¡°You know, cksmith? A very impressive profession!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li really wanted to kick him in the face. cksmith... And ¡°a very impressive profession¡±? <i>Is he trying to bully me, seeing I¡¯m from Jarrosus?</i>

    ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t have to be nervous.¡± Seeing that Lin Li was silent, Macklin twisted his goat-like beard satisfactorily, and bragged shamelessly. ¡°With the two Masters of Forging with you, I guarantee you¡¯ll soon be a decent cksmith yourself. Come,e, take a look at how I use the hammer... This is a highly technical matter.¡±

    And then Lin Li saw this old fellow actually lifting the hammer with both hands...

    ¡°Ddang!¡±

    A crisp sound rang out, and the hammernded firmly on the anvil. As for the cooled iron embryo, it fell to the ground with a sound upon contact with the hammer.

    ¡°...¡± Even Macklin, whose face was as thick as a wall, could not help but blush at that moment. He picked up the iron embryo in a hurry, and ced it back on the anvil. Then, without shame, he once more said to Lin Li, ¡°See that? What I demonstrated just now was a failed forging. You must not do it like that in the future. You have not the skills of a master like me. If you make a mistake, you might hurt others easily.¡±

    Lin Li rolled his eyes, and thought to himself, <i>Isn¡¯t that nonsense? This is iron forging, not stone forging. Is there someone like you who hammers with both your hands?</i>

    ¡°Alright, your turn.¡± Fortunately, although Macklin was thick-skinned, he still had some shame. Even he himself knew that he might cause some ident if he went on demonstrating. After dismissing it with a few words, he handed the hammer to Lin Li.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, may I ask again, what are you trying to forge?¡± Lin Li shook his head, and took the hammer from Macklin. He picked up the cooled iron embryo, and threw it into the furnace to smelt it again. These two old fes were really some geniuses. The iron embryo had be so cold, yet they were still hitting away happily...

    After the iron embryo was thrown into the furnace, Lin Li began to pull the bellows. Amid the sound of puffing and blowing, the me in the furnace became more and more vigorous. When the vigorous me had burned the iron embryo red, Lin Li used an iron plier to mp it out, and with a fling, the burning-red iron embryo fell lightly on the anvil.

    Macklin was bbergasted by the fluent disy of skills. <i>This, this... this kid is not a cksmith, is he?</i>

    ¡°I¡¯m actually in luck...¡± the old fellow muttered in a low voice; his mood was greatly lifted in that instant. When he first called the young man over, he had just wanted to look for a free coolie to help them with the tough work. In Macklin¡¯s mind, the young man¡¯s physical strength was better than that of both Aldwin and himself. This rough forging job could be left to him, and he and Aldwin could do something that required a higher technical skill.

    He had no idea that he had found a treasure this time.

    Look at what he had done¡ªit was so much better than a half-baked man like himself.

    Macklin was full of excitement. ¡°We need a sword!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li stood nkly for a moment. The two old fellows had hidden in the room mysteriously just to forge a sword? Were they too free? They were an Archmage and a legendary Mage, why did they need to forge a sword for no apparent reason at all? Were they nning to use it for suicide...?

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the use of it at ater time. You just focus on hitting the iron well. Anyway... If you manage to forge a formidable sword, I guarantee you some great advantage!¡±

    ¡°What advantage do I get?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Macklin hesitated for a moment. Atst, he made up his mind, and said with clenched teeth, ¡°I¡¯ll gift you a lost level-15 spell!¡±

 Chapter 113 - Level-15 Spell

    <h4>Chapter 113: Level-15 Spell</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was taken aback¡ªwhat was the concept of a lost level-15 spell? When the Merlin Family tried to curry favor with the Guild of Magic, what Cromwell sent them were just a few lost level-14 spells.

    And look at Macklin¡ªgifting a level-15 spell at once!

    The difference between a level-14 and 15 spell was not only one level; it was also the difference between a Magic Shooter and an Archmage. The disparity in realm doomed these two spells to be far from each other in power.

    Lin Li wondered if the old man was mad. He had only wanted to forge amon iron sword; it was not even a magical equipment. He even took out a lost level-15 spell for such a broken thing. Did he have to make it into such a serious matter?

    ¡°Is it really just an iron sword?¡±

    Seeing how solemn Lin Li was in asking that, Macklin hesitated for a moment, then added awkwardly, ¡°It¡¯s best... to be razor-sharp, such that it¡¯ll be able to pierce through leather armor.¡±

    ¡°Razor-sharp...¡± Lin Li murmured, and did not continue further.

    It¡¯d be best to pierce through leather armor... What bird crap requirement was this? Could these two old fellows be more daring in their pursuit? In this city of nna, even buying the cheapest ironware from any weapons store would not be something as simple as piercing through a leather armor.

    But it was good that they were asking for less¡ªhe could save himself some trouble...

    With the level-15 spell in mind, Lin Li lifted the hammer in a merry mood.

    ¡°Ddang! Ddang! Ddang! Ddang...¡±

    The hammer fell heavily, and sparks spattered off the anvil. Amidst the nging sound, the red iron embryo slowly unfolded. Lin Li held the heavy hammer in his hands, but it seemed to be without any effort. He waved the hammer with such ease as if he was holding only a brush; and presently, he was using the brush to paint a scroll on the anvil. In the crisp ttering sound, the red iron embryo gradually presented the early form of a single-handed sword.

    An ordinary iron sword was too simple for a Smithing Guru...

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even put much effort into it¡ªhe was merely hitting casually.

    But in the eyes of two old fellows, it was like having seen a ghost...

    Their eyes were dazed as they watched. They had hidden in the room for half a month, yet still failed to aplish the task. But when it fell into the hands of this kid, it seemed to be as easy as having a meal for him. Look at how hended the hammer, and at the strength he used for hitting¡ªthis was a standard that only a veteran cksmith could achieve.

    The two old fellows looked at each other with a strange look on their faces.

    Between the two of them, Aldwin knew the most about Lin Li. At least, he knew that the kid was a real magic genius who was picked up by Andoine in the Sunset Mountains. But Andoine never seemed to have said that besides being a magic genius, the kid was an impressive cksmith as well...?

    Macklin had it even worse¡ªhe had just blown his trumpet in front of that kid, saying he was some cksmith Master. In the mere twinkling of an eye, he had found that the kid was 100 times better than them in workmanship. This was more embarrassing than being caught catting around...

    Luckily, the old fellow¡¯s skin was thick enough...

    ¡°Although I am not a Master of Forging, I¡¯ve actually picked up a real Master of Forging anyhow. This is something of a feat...¡± Macklin consoled himself at the side.

    On the other side, Lin Li had already put the iron sword into the water bucket.

    There was a sizzling sound, and a plume of white mist rose¡ªthe iron sword had gone through the final quenching.

    Lin Li put the hammer aside and pped the dust on his hands.

    ¡°The iron sword is ready, Mr Macklin. As for the level-15 spell...¡±

    The old fellow was secretly gloating when he heard a sizzling sound. By the time he hade back to his senses, that kid was already asking for the level-15 spell. Macklin gave a start of surprise. ¡°So fast?¡±

    Lin Li rolled his eyes, and mumbled to himself, ¡°It¡¯s considered slow this time...¡±

    Macklin was not convinced. He stepped up to the bucket and tried to pick up the half sword body that had just been quenched.

    He had just stretched his hand out when he felt as if something had bitten him. Macklin retracted his hand in rm, only to find that his hand had been cut a thin slit...

    The old man was dumbfounded for a moment.

    ¡°Kid,e with me!¡± Macklin did not even address the wound on his hand as he dragged Lin Li out of the room.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Juste with me and you¡¯ll find out.¡±

    They left the low-rise building, and returned to the guild hall. This time, Macklin did not stop. Instead, he took Lin Li straight up the spiral staircase, all the way to a room on the third floor.

    Macklin stood outside the door and whispered a short spell. Then, Lin Li saw the closed door suddenly open...

    ¡°Come in with me.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± Lin Li followed promptly.

    The furnishings in the room were quite simple¡ªa table and several rattan chairs were all the things in the room. Lin Li looked around and found that there was not even a trash can in it.

    ¡°Tell me frankly, kid...¡± Macklin¡¯s face was grave, but his voice sounded slightly agitated. ¡°How do you know forging?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and did not know how to exin it. Was he going to tell the old man that his forging knowledge was all because of something called the Scroll of Wishes? Wouldn¡¯t the old man kill him with one of his fireballs...

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous.¡± Macklin thought the kid was frightened by his serious manner seeing the look on his face, and he immediately regretted it. This kid was the treasure of the Guild of Magic now, and he could not be frightened. If he was frightened badly, it would be trouble for the whole Guild of Magic.

    The old fellow spoke some words offort as he squeezed out a smile on his face, but to Lin Li, it felt like a weasel paying respects to the hen¡ªsomeone harboring ulterior motives.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, as a matter of fact, I do not know forging, but my family runs a cksmith shop. I just learn whenever I¡¯m free...¡± After thinking about it, Lin Li finally chose such a reason that was more easily eptable.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Macklin had just asked a casual question, and the answer he had gotten was reasonable, so the old fellow naturally did not suspect anything.

    ¡°Do you know how to forge other metals besides refined iron?¡± Macklin seemed to be worried that he would not understand him, so he made a point of exining, ¡°Magical metals such as mithril.¡±

    ¡°I think I know a little...¡± Lin Li answered cautiously before knowing Macklin¡¯s purpose.

    ¡°Great!¡± Macklin pped his thigh, and stood up excitedly. ¡°Felic, you¡¯ve done us a great favor!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was bewildered.

    ¡°No hurry, no hurry... I¡¯ll tell youter.¡± Macklin¡¯s felt a sense of relief, and his old face was beaming. He reached out into his pocket and fumbled for a while, then pulled out a roll of crumpled parchment. ¡°You put this away first. This is the level-15 spell, Mana Disruption.¡±

    Lin Li received it nonchntly. ¡°Alright, thank you, Mr Macklin.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on this spell, kid.¡± Seeing the indifference on his face, the old fellow kindly reminded him, ¡°This is a really good thing. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I wouldn¡¯t take it out. To tell you the truth, this is a level-15 spell, but if it¡¯s used well, it could be more powerful than a level-17 or 18 spell. Do you understand the meaning of Mana Disruption?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t...¡± Lin Li answered matter-of-factly.

    Lin Li was not to be med. Such was the case of a spell recorded on a scroll¡ªbefore one learnt the spell, one wouldn¡¯t know the kind of effects it had. One could only analyze the structure of the spell from a few isted words and phrases, and guess some useful information from it. For example, the crumpled parchment in Lin Li¡¯s hand¡ªhe could only analyze the structure to know that it should be a spell that was highly dependant on the mental strength because there were several characters in the spell which were used to stimte the mental strength.

    ¡°The so-called ¡®Mana Disruption¡¯ refers to the use of mental strength to deal an impact, interfering with the opponent¡¯s mana, and thereby creating an effect simr to Mana Retroaction. Of course... you¡¯d have to have a strong enough mental strength. If your mental strength is not strong enough, this spell, which disrupts the opponent, will probably make you suffer in turn.¡±

    Macklin¡¯s face revealed a trace of pride. ¡°As long as you master this spell, even if you don¡¯t know any other spells, you could walk with airs in front of an Archmage.¡±

    The old fellow continued bragging, but Lin Li did not respond at all.

    He was entirely appalled. What kind of a concept it was to use the mental strength to deal a direct impact...

    Such a spell hade into his hands; providence was probably the only exnation for it.

    Lin Li knew very well the condition of his own mental strength. The ¡°strong enough mental strength¡± that Macklin had mentioned was not a problem to him at all. Under the impact of his massive mental strength, perhaps he could really be able to walk with airs in front of an Archmage...

 Chapter 114 - Sword Sage of the Storm

    <h4>Chapter 114: Sword Sage of the Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At the thought of all that this spell might bring, Lin Li tightened his grip on it in spite of himself.

    ¡°How about that, kid? This is worth the help you¡¯ve given us, right?¡±

    Lin Li nodded profusely. ¡°Worth it, worth it...¡±

    Although Macklin¡¯s iron forging skills were bad, he knew how to strike while the iron was hot. As soon as he saw how fascinated Lin Li was with the spell, the old fellow took advantage of the situation and added, ¡°How about doing us another favor?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Help us forge a magical weapon!¡±

    ¡°This...¡± There was some hesitation on Lin Li¡¯s face. Magical weapons were not difficult to forge; anyway, these two old fellows didn¡¯t have strict requirements. He could just make them any two weapons that carried magical attributes. But Lin Li constantly had the feeling that this matter was not something of the ordinary; there was an eerie feeling to it from the very start.

    Think about it carefully...

    Skip the part about the two powerhouses hiding in a room while forging iron¡ªit could be a mere hobby or interest, after all. There were many wonders in the world. Anyway, even SM had many fans; it seemed to be not much of a big deal forging some iron...

    However, an ordinary iron sword was exchanged for a level-15 spell¡ªand it was such a powerful level-15 spell, no less. Lin Li was baffled. Macklin was not an idiot; would he be that silly not to be able to differentiate whether the ordinary sword or the spell was more precious? Lin Li never once felt that he had some kind of a kingly aura, and that when his body moved slightly, he could scare such figures like Macklin and Aldwin into bowing down.

    <i>One who is unountably solicitous is hiding evil intentions!</i>

    Lin Li had kept these words in mind.

    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Macklin was a little anxious, seeing that Lin Li was silent for a long while. He continued to entice him. ¡°Just a magical weapon. It doesn¡¯t have to be very strong, just containing some magical attributes will do. You can consider it; as long as this thing is done, us two old fellows will be very grateful to you!¡±

    Lin Li scratched his head, but kept mum. He wanted to hear what exactly was the gratitude the old fellow had mentioned...

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it like this.¡± Macklin saw that empty promises were not enough, so he bit his teeth, and said, ¡°Once you forge this magical weapon, you can ask us a favor. As long as it is within our power, the two of us will definitely help you!¡±

    ¡°...¡± As soon as Macklin¡¯s words were uttered, Lin Li¡¯s hair stood on ends in horror.

    For the two old fellows¡ªone a level-19 Archmage, and the other a level-21 legendary mage¡ªto say such words in their capacity, it was evident that the weight of the matter was not ordinary.

    This request held too many meanings. If Lin Li was willing, he could even ask them to sweep out the Shadow¡¯s Nest so that the Jarrosus Guild of Magic would never have to worry about the enemies coveting the Demon Fall Valley again.

    ¡°By the way... I¡¯ll start by saying, the request and the trial are two different matters. This trial is arranged by the Supreme Council. No matter how bold Aldwin and I are, we would not dare to poke our heads in it.¡±

    Lin Li shook his head in denial of his assumption. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll have to depend on my own strength for the trial.¡±

    ¡°So, you agree to it?¡±

    ¡°This... Can you tell me the reason behind it?¡± Lin Li hesitated for a long time, and his tone finally rxed. To be frank, he was filled with curiosity about this matter.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Macklin replied coolly. ¡°Do you know of the Sword Sage of the Storm?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Lin Li was telling the truth. Since the transmigration, the profession he had contact with the most was the mage¡ªand it was all because of Andoine. He had always been concerned about stuff rted to magic, and had not paid much attention to what a Sword Sage or a Shadow King was.

    ¡°You know Aldwin¡¯s strength, right? Fn Kingdom¡¯s most powerful level-21 mage.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, I know.¡±

    ¡°In the Fn Kingdom, those who canpete with Aldwin can be counted with one hand, and the Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir, is one of them.¡±

    ¡°So formidable?¡± He had always thought that it was more than enough to have a demon above level-20. Unexpectedly, there was more than one such monster in the Fn Kingdom.

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing...¡± Macklin pursed his lips, and went on to say, ¡°This b*tch, besides being a level-21 powerhouse, is actually the one behind the nna Adventurers Guild!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was confounded. The fellow¡¯s status was probably stronger than that of Aldwin¡¯s. What was the idea of the nna Adventurers Guild? It had the most deformed monsters in the Fn Kingdom, and an astronomical amount of money in addition to millions of adventurers. It was horrifying just to think about such a force.

    ¡°There¡¯s more...¡± Macklin shook his head, looking somewhat depressed. ¡°This b*tch is also a Master of Forging!¡±

    ¡°Very impressive!¡± Lin Li still didn¡¯t get it. ¡°But... What¡¯s that got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Be patient; listen to me.¡±

    Macklin rocked softly in a rattan chair, recounting to Lin Li about a bizarre bet.

    It happened more than a year ago, when the Guild of Magic discovered a High Elf relic.

    For any mage, the legacy of that era was full of fatal temptation at all times.

    Nobody, including President Aldwin, was willing to pass up on this opportunity.

    So, the work of exploring the relics began to proceed in an orderly way.

    They begun with a search of all the information rted to this relic from the mountainous pile of books on the Dark Ages, and the Magic Shooters inside the guild worked day and night to extract silk from the vast amount of information.

    Atst, the Guild of Magic found it.

    The remains turned out to be the mausoleum of Highlord Osric!

    The key to opening the tomb was buried at the highest peak of the Nightmare Mountains, and it was guarded by a level-22 magical beast, the Lord of Inferno.

    That morning, under the leadership of President Aldwin, the Guild of Magic dispatched all the members beyond the level of an Archmage. Their goal was the Lord of Inferno on the peak of the Nightmare Mountains and the key it guarded.

    But as they climbed up the Nightmare Mountains, they suddenly found that there was a group of people who were also eyeing the Lord of Inferno¡ªit was a group of adventurers led by the Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir.

    At the moment, even Aldwin¡¯s temper was triggered. He had studied so hard, but the result was stolen by others. Was there anything more annoying in the world than this?

    However, he soon realized that the Adventurers Guild was even more enraged than Aldwin himself¡ªespecially the Sword Sage of the Storm, who was so angry that he had demanded a duel with thetter on the spot.

    Fortunately, both sides had some self-restraint in the end.

    Through the personal mediation of His Majesty the King, the conflict that had shaken the whole Fn Kingdom did not ur, but was reced by an arduous negotiation.

    Even Macklin himself was unaware until he had participated in the negotiations.

    All of this... was merely a coincidence!

    It was just too much of a coincidence...

    The two guilds found the relic almost concurrently. They had both looked for clues from books, and discovered where the key was buried at the same time.

    The leaders of the two guilds were both wise men. After the misunderstanding was cleared, things became much simpler. The two guilds soon reached an agreement to kill the Lord of Inferno together, and everything would wait until the key was dug out.

    Although the Lord of Inferno was at a powerful rank of level-22, were nna¡¯s two major guilds an ordinary force? Together, there was more than a dozen people who had broken through level-18 in the two guilds. After battling for a whole day and night, even a power like the Lord of Inferno did not manage to escape the fate of losing its life...

    With the fall of the Lord of Inferno, the ownership of the key was naturally to be put on the agenda.

    There was immediately a huge rift between the two forces who had once fought side by side.

    In order to get the other half of the key in the other party¡¯s hand, the two guilds had each offered an earth-shaking price without any prior consultation.

    At the end of the negotiation, the Adventurers Guild even suggested that half of its revenue would be allocated to the Guild of Magic in the next ten years!

    But in front of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the power of money was insignificant.

    Thus, the negotiation entered a stalemate.

    Finally, the Sword Sage of the Storm, who believed in force, made a suggestion.

    The leaders of the two guilds would fight a fair duel, and the one who won the duel would have the right to use the key, while the one who failed would receive a small portion of the benefits from the High Elf relic aspensation.

    To be honest, this was a perfect solution.

    However, a bizarre scene unfolded before them when it was implemented.

    The two fellows, both level-21,pletely tied with each other. They had fought for two days and two nights. In the end, one ran out of mana, and the other one ran out of stamina; both fainted on the ring at the same time...

    It was like walking into a dead end when things got to this point.

    Fortunately... someone had reminded them.

    Besides being level-21 powerhouses, one was a Master of Inscription, and the other was a Master of Forging.

 Chapter 115 - The Ins and Outs

    <h4>Chapter 115: The Ins and Outs</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Both parties came to a consensus quickly. Since violence could not solve the issue, they could only use their knowledge to determine whom did the key belong to.

    Frankly speaking, this was an absurd suggestion.

    Forging and Inscription were twopletely different fields.

    Furthermore, the heads of both guilds and both of these two figures were at the peak of their own fields.

    It was ridiculous for either of them toe out on top of each other.

    After that, the negotiations revolved around a single point. Was there any method to prove which guild was more superior when both guilds were from different fields?

    After another round of arduous negotiations, both sides finally came to an agreement.

    In the new round of debating, the deciding factor would no longer be the two heads of the guilds, but the members of the guild. Regardless of rank and position, they could partake in thispetition as long as they were members of the guild.

    ording to the agreement from both sides, the following was decided.

    Should a member of the Adventurers Guild be able to produce a high level mageweath, it would be the Guild of Magic¡¯s defeat.

    Conversely, should a member of the Guild of Magic forge a magical weapon, it would be the Adventurers Guild¡¯s loss.

    Lin Li was astonished after hearing this.

    As a master of both fields, how could he not know the difference?

    Making magical weapons might sound mysterious, but in reality, it was notplicated. With a magical metal, most middle-tier cksmiths had a chance of producing magical equipment. On the flipside, producing a high-tier mageweath would be much more difficult. Only a high-tier inscriber had a chance of doing so.

    The difference between middle and high tier was not as simple as it sounded. It required countless amounts of money and time, as well as an unexinable difference in innate talent.

    Among a thousand cksmiths, at least 500 of them could reach middle tier. On the contrary, only 100 out of 1000 inscribers could reach a high tier of mastery. This was decided by innate talent.

    It was the same pyramid structure in any field. Only a few people could climb up the stairs of a pyramid.

    On the surface, it was obvious that the Guild of Magic had an advantage in this agreement.

    However, that was just on the surface.

    After thinking about it, Lin Li finally understood.

    Even though the Guild of Magic seemed to be at an advantage, they were hugely disadvantaged due to the members of both guilds.

    Surely enough, at this point, Macklin cursed frustratedly. ¡°Shit. Al¡¯Akir is such a cunning bastard. We were baited while not paying attention!¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Liughed without saying anything.

    The disadvantage was received unjustly by the Guild of Magic.

    There was a mixture of good and bad in the Adventurers Guild. There were many low-level adventurers, but there were legendary-level adventurers as well. Among the great number of adventurers in nna, they made up for almost all of the different professions. Moreover... naturally there were some mages that had not been registered with the Guild of Magic. Inscribing had always been a core subject for the Guild of Magic. Even though a high-tier inscriber was rare, who could guarantee that there was none amongst the vast number of adventurers?

    Conversely, the guild of magic was at a huge disadvantage.

    Firstly, it was theposition of the members. The Guild of Magic was inherently the guild for mages. There would not be any warrior that would be foolish enough to give themselves up to the Guild of Magic. Even if they did, what sort of benefits would they receive? Giving up all of their might, learning magic from scratch? Who would have the time to do so...

    Next, it would be the number of members. This was even more iparable for the Guild of Magic.

    With the example of Jarrosus¡¯ guild of magic, Gerian¡¯s subordinates, including those disciples below level-5, only had a full strength of a few hundred.

    Being the center of the Fn Kingdom, nna¡¯s Guild of Magic was stronger. However, there was only a maximum of three thousand members.

    With these numbers, how could theypare with the Adventurers Guild?

    After listening till this point, Lin Li already knew that Guild of Magic was going to be out of luck.

    Indeed...

    When Macklin spoke of this, he felt sad, expressing a look of heartache.

    Within the past year or so, both old men were about to be driven mad. They searched everywhere within the guild for a mage that could forge so that they could win this gamble. Both men traveled all around the Fn Kingdom¡ªincluding Jarrosus¡ªasking almost every Guild of Magic in hopes of finding a mage that could forge.

    However, a genius like Lin Li who was adept at every profession could not be easily found.

    For more than half a year, they could not even find a mage that had dabbled in forging, much less a middle-tier cksmith that could produce magical equipment.

    This was indeed almost impossible...

    A strong mind with a weak body was the characteristic of a mage. A mage with powerful magical elements had no intention of training their physical strength. A strong body was meaningless from their point of view. Would a strong body be able to withstand the st of a fireball?

    A cksmith was not a well-respected profession, unless he could reach a high level and guarantee that every weapon he forged had magical attributes. Otherwise, which mage would be willing to undertake such an arduous but fruitless task?

    On the other end, the Adventurers Guild was able to find a suitable candidate quickly.

    Six months ago, the adventurers guild dispatched an adventurer with level of an archmage. He free-handedly produced a high-level mageweath under the full view of the public.

    ¡°The time initially agreed upon was two years. In other words, we only have half a year left. If we can¡¯t find a middle-tier cksmith after these six months, the Guild of Magic will likely lose this gamble...¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± Lin Li finally understood after listening to the full description of the matter.

    No wonder these two old men were forging in the house. It was because the guild could not find anyone suitable, hence they decided to do it themselves.

    Unfortunately, these two old men had terrifyingly low talent for forging. They were still worse even whenpared to Andoine, the pharmacist enthusiast. At the very least, Andoine could produce a few bottles of low-level medicine. These two old men were struggling to even hold the hammer.

    ¡°No problem.¡± Lin Li nodded and generously gave his promise. It was just a magical weapon; it would not amount to much.

    ¡°Really?¡± Macklin was surprised as he did not think this matter would be solved so easily.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Lin Li nodded, and then asked, ¡°Mr. Macklin, when do you need this magical weapon?¡±

    ¡°After a half a year.¡± Seeing his steadfast attitude, Macklin felt thoroughly relieved. His old face was smiling.

    ¡°Alright then, Mr. Macklin. If there is nothing else, I would like to go back and have a rest...¡± Lin Li saw that it was gettingte, so he decided to bid him farewell after discussing the details with Macklin.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you out.¡± Hearing his words, Macklin showed him the way out with a smile on his face, brimming with joy. On the way out, he repeatedly advised the young mage to have a good rest, and not overexert himself.

    The old man could only settle down after idolizing him.

    This fe was not only a mage participating in the trials, but someone that had rtions to Osric¡¯s mausoleum. It could even be said that he was the hope of nna¡¯s Guild of Magic. If this trial was not arranged by the Supreme Council, Macklin wanted to directly assign him as first ce.

    Think about it... Once the relic, Highlord Osric¡¯s mausoleum, was opened, no other faction in the Fn Kingdom could go against nna¡¯s Guild of Magic.

    After sending him off to the guild hall, Macklin hurriedly looked for Aldwin for a discussion.

    As for Lin Li, he left the guild hall through the backdoor, and walked along Sylvan Street.

    He was indeed slightly exhausted as he was really busy today.

    In the morning, he killed a Fantama Panthera. After that, he fought with members of the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps, and even killed an adventurer with an icicle. In the afternoon, he was coerced into forging by these two old men at the Guild of Magic. After the whole day, he was thoroughly exhausted. No matter how energetic Lin Li was, he could not help but feel drained at this point.

    Unfortunately, that was how the world worked.

    The more you felt like resting, the less opportunities you had to rest.

    Just when he walked along Sylvan Street, he could hearmotioning from the front.

    Lin Li could hear from afar a familiar voice that was cold and proud.

    With such an obvious trait, Lin Li knew who it was after thinking for a brief moment.

    ¡°Why was it Orrin?¡±

    Just when Lin Li was still confused and could not make out what was happening, an intense magical wave was suddenly released.

 Chapter 116 - Matthias

    <h4>Chapter 116: Matthias</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was surprised, and rushed in the direction which the magical wave came from.

    When he arrived, Orrin had already copsed on the floor. One of his arms was hanging limply, bent at an awkward angle. From the painful look on his face, this arm was most likely broken.

    ¡°Felic!¡± Just when he was about to raise Orrin up, Mason appeared, rushing breathlessly towards them from afar. ¡°I heard that idiot, Orrin, got into trouble?¡±

    ¡°Mm...¡± Lin Li nodded, and spoke no more.

    He pushed his way through the gathered crowd, walking to the pale-faced Orrin¡¯s side.

    ¡°Are you ok?¡± Lin Li carefully lifted Orrin, fearing that he might touch the broken arm.

    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Orrin painstakingly shook his head. A small movement like this could already cause his pale face to be filled with sweat. The pain due to a broken arm was not something anybody could bear, but Orrin proved to be tough. He did not make any sounds even though the pain was causing his face to be as white as a sheet.

    After being lifted up, Orrin¡¯s eyes continued staring at the crowd.

    Lin Li followed his gaze, and saw a young mage with a cynical look.

    This man was around twenty years old. He was very fair, but had a piercingughter which made people ufortable. ¡°Heh heh heh... The genius from Rotterdam¡¯s guild was only at this level. I thought he was someone very powerful... How¡¯s it, Orrin, weren¡¯t you very ufortable just now?¡±

    ¡°Matthias, stop joking around. There is no genius from Rotterdam¡¯s guild, only a piece of trash. If he really was a genius, how could Gryffindor beat him up so badly?¡± Just as Matthias¡¯ voice fell, there was somebody in the crowd picking it back up.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He usually acts so powerful, yet he is so useless when he fights. Some sort of genius from Rotterdam¡¯s guild, howughable...¡±

    ¡°Maybe he got crippled by Gryffindor? Hahahaha...¡±

    This mage called Matthias had two other fes behind him. They had to be from the same group.

    The insults from the three of them made Lin Li somewhat pissed off, but he maintained hisposure. He helped carry Orrin while calling out to Mason for help.

    He had to admit that even though Mason had loose lips, he had a good personality.

    This fe would always bump heads with Orrin. No matter the circumstances, they would definitely argue when they met. The rtionship between them was the worst.

    When he heard that Orrin had an injured arm, he should have gloated at the mishap even if he did not add salt to the wound.

    However, Mason did not have any intention of gloating when Lin Li asked him for help. He came over willingly to lift Orrin up.

    Even Orrin behaved in an unusual manner this time. Despite that, he had always been an introvert. Even though he was surprised, he only nced at Mason, and did not say anything.

    ¡°Orrin, don¡¯t worry. I will take revenge for you. Damn it, these bastards went overboard. They dared to beat you up before I did...¡± Mason carried Orrin with an indignant look.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li could not help but shake his head; he did not know what to say at this point.

    Both of them helped Orrin out of the crowd together, and carefully ced him down at the side of a flower bed.

    Lin Li observed Orrin¡¯s broken arm, which seemed to be severely injured. From the remnants of the magical wave left on the surface, this injury should have been caused by an arcane missile.

    How fortunate...

    These fes were not brave enough to aim for Orrin¡¯s chest. If this Arcane Missile had hit it, he would have been knocking on death¡¯s door. For now, it was just a simple broken bone. It would be cured with a bottle of Recovery Potion.

    Lin Li dug around his pockets and took out a bottle of Recovery Potion. Without a care for their unusual reactions, he uncapped the bottle and ced it beside Orrin¡¯s mouth. ¡°Drink it.¡±

    After passing the Recovery Potion to Orrin, Lin Li softly asked Mason, ¡°Brother Mason, do you know where that group came from?¡±

    ¡°You mean that pretty boy?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°They are from Sunrise City¡¯s Guild of Magic. I think he¡¯s called Matthias. The other two fes are in one team with him, but I can¡¯t seem to remember their names. I heard they finished their trial mission yesterday with rather good results. They should be somewhat strong...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    When the two of them brought Orrin to the side of the flower bed, the three fes had followed suit.

    ¡°The two of you are in the same team as this trash?¡± Matthias hadcent look on his face, and scornfully looked at the two of them. He then shouted excitedly, ¡°Wow! So strong. A level-9 mage and a level-7 mage!¡±

    ¡°No wonder you formed a team with Orrin. Trash will always flock together...¡±

    ¡°Who knows, they might be the same as Orrin, a genius from some random guild!¡±

    ¡°Sh*t...¡± Mason¡¯s temper could not tolerate such insults. His hands reached into his pockets, and he took out a thin magic staff.

    ¡°Hold up...¡± Lin Li pulled Mason back, not letting him take any action, as he did not want Mason to suffer a loss. Irregardless of their strength, if these three could hurt Orrin, it also meant that they were not weaklings. Orrin was at the peak of level-11, and even he was injured. If it was the level-9 Mason, would he be able to survive?

    ¡°Let me go!¡± Mason did not care about it. When he turned around, his face was red with anger, and his eyes were about to spew fire.

    ¡°Let me handle it.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s voice carried amanding tone. Even with Mason¡¯s hot temperament, he let go of his magic staff immediately.

    ¡°You¡¯re Matthias, right?¡± Lin Li nced at the young, fair-skinned mage. ¡°May I ask what exactly is between you guys and Orrin?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Matthias was arrogant; he looked at Lin Li as though he was looking at an ant. ¡°Some people think themselves a genius and act arrogantly. Some of my friends talked him, yet he ignored them, pfft! Nothing to be cocky about. If he really was a genius, why would he be beaten up so badly by Gryffindor? What an idiot...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and seemingly understood.

    It was too obvious.

    Sunrise City and Rotterdam were both located at the northern border of Fn. The two neighbouring Guilds of Magic should be in contact with each other. As for this Matthias, he had something against Orrin in the past. Today, they finally met each other in nna. If Matthias did not initiate a challenge, it would be unusual.

    Knowing Orrin¡¯s personality, how could he let it slide? With all the nonsense they spouted and disagreements, it made sense that they started fighting.

    Surprisingly, it was Orrin that suffered a loss...

    ¡°I, Matthias, am not an unreasonable person. To solve today¡¯s issue, Orrin just needs to apologize to me, and I will pretend that nothing happened. Otherwise...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li curiously asked. ¡°Otherwise, what would happen?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, only violence can settle it. Orrin insulted our Sunrise City¡¯s Guild of Magic. I have the rights to request a duel from nna¡¯s Guild President.¡±

    ¡°A duel...¡± Lin Li stared at Matthias for a while, andughed suddenly. ¡°I wonder if a bedridden person would be able to participate in a duel...¡±

    Matthias felt uncertain, yet he felt a sudden surge in mana. After that, there was a deafening sound. Before Matthias could snap out of it, a wind de had already let out a sharp whistle...

    ¡°Oh, sh*t!¡± Matthias was caught with his pants down. He did not imagine that this fe would be so despicable, letting out a wind de without saying anything.

    Fortunately, Matthias reacted quickly. He raised his Elemental Shield when he felt the surge in mana.

    When the wind de struck the Elemental Shield, it only produced a rainbow-colored ripple.

    Although this wind de did not hurt Matthias, his pride took a beating. He did not think this pathetic level-7 mage would dare to attack him when there were others looking. He even had to use Elemental Shield. In the eyes of Matthias, this was simr to getting a tight p.

    ¡°Trash, you¡¯re gonna die!¡± Matthias clenched his teeth. While casting Delirium, he gripped his magic staff, and started to recite in hasty yet resounding manner.

    The spell that Matthias was reciting was Fireball.

    The rage in Matthias¡¯ heart could only be quelled by burning down the opponent into ashes with the use of this spell that was filled with anger.

    On the other end, Lin Li seemed to be dumbfounded after casting Wind de. He did not recite other spells, nor did he raise his Elemental Shield. He only stared at Matthias casting Fireball.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The fireball flew towards Lin Li frenziedly, leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

    Then...

    Then they saw something they would never forget...

    ...

 Chapter 117 - A Freakish Mage

    <h4>Chapter 117: A Freakish Mage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone witnessed how the level-seven Mage stood in a daze when he saw the Fireball. He stood rooted to the ground, allowing the mes to engulf him...

    This was followed by a distortion in the surroundings.

    After that, they realized that the level-seven Mage was still alive, while the zing Fireball had vanished...

    Completely vanished...

    The ring glow of fire was gone, and the long trail of mes was nowhere to be seen; even its strong sense of destructiveness was wiped off instantaneously. Not a single trace of magical wave was left.

    Everyone was stunned by the disappearance of the Fireball.

    The crowd observing the battle was all distinguished members of their own Guild of Magic. Among them, many were renowned and powerful Mages. Even the least skilled was at least a level-eight Mage. How could they not understand what was unfolding before their eyes?

    Never would they have imagined that it was possible to swallow a Fireball without the protection of the elemental shield...

    At that moment, the silence was deafening.

    Everybody was stunned as they stared nkly at Lin Li as though he was a frightening creature.

    ¡°A monster!¡± someone shouted among the masses after a while.

    As though it was a contagious disease, this sentiment started to spread among the crowd. What followed was a wave of discussions in subdued voices.

    ¡°Did my vision blur? T-that was really a Fireball? How could it not result in any harm...¡±

    ¡°What the heck, is he still alive despite being hit by that Fireball? Is he even human???¡±

    ¡°Hey, how about you go and have a taste of that blow?¡±

    ¡°Which Guild of Magic is that freak from? I have never heard his name before.¡±

    ¡°The Guild of Jarrosus. I heard that he¡¯s the illegitimate son of Gerian... Never knew that old man treated this brat with such partiality!¡±

    ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely! How else could he be so outstanding?¡±

    ¡°How was it even possible?¡± muttered Matthias. He was so stupefied that his eyes were as wide as that of a cow, and his expression was as though he had just met a ghost.

    He nearly died from instant shock due to that Fireball.

    Matthias was so confused. Without the protection from the Elemental Shield, how did his opponent manage to withstand the impact of the Fireball? What was more, a Fireball was not a loaf of bread. How could it be swallowed by a human being?

    Before Matthias had time to make the situation clear, the sound of recitation could be heard from a distance.

    What followed was a sudden sh of light zing into the eyes of Matthias. In his vision, a fiery sphere with a long trail of mes grewrger andrger...

    ¡°BOOM!¡± An ear-splitting explosion could be heard when the Fireball collided with his Elemental Shield, creating dazzling and vivid sparkles as the Fireball erupted.

    Under the attack of a level-eight magical element, a bright glow was reflected on the Elemental Shield.

    Seeing that, Matthias heaved a sigh of relief.

    Luckily, that Elemental Shield could defend him from a Fireball...

    Being the most outstanding Mage, Matthias was certain that five seconds were the timing needed for calling out a Fireball!

    Although five seconds were not long, they were sufficient for Matthias.

    That was because the timing required for Matthias¡¯ Elemental Shield to cool down would be four seconds. After that, both men would be back to square one of their battle again.

    At that moment, Matthias was filled with confidence again.

    To him, the dire situation he¡¯d encountered previously was only due to that one Fireball. Once everything restarted, it would very likely be a sure-win for him since his opponent was a level-seven Mage.

    He did not believe that that a level-7 mage had the ability to swallow three Fireballs.

    Yet... Matthias¡¯ prediction was not entirely correct.

    After swallowing the first Fireball, it was a given that Lin Li did not have any ability to take in another blow. However, what he could do was to spit out the previous one that he¡¯d swallowed!

    Matthias suddenly realized he got surrounded by those blinding sparkles again...

    ¡°Boom!¡± The sound of explosion was so loud that it echoed in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Matthias¡¯ heart sank at once...

    ¡°Sh*t...¡±

    In this instance, the only line that Matthias felt like screaming was, ¡°Goddammit, this rascal cheated!¡±

    All these were indeed a fraud.

    It was clear that the second Fireball was released with zero recitation. It merely shot out when the level-seven Mage raised his magic staff.

    ¡®My God... Isn¡¯t that a level-eight skill!¡¯

    Not to mention that he was only a level-seven Mage, a level-seventeen Archmage would also not have the skills to unleash a level-eight spell immediately. This was totally against humanity, and also breached the Laws of Magic.

    Every time a spell was upgraded by a single level, itsplexity would be increased by multiple times.

    It was almost impossible for a level-eight spell like the Fireball to be unleashed instantaneously.

    Thepression of a five-seconds-long recitation wouldplicate the magical elements within it by numerous folds. No mortal¡ªeven if he were to have a huge mental capacity¡ªwould be able to summon a spell like that. The intricacy of the spell was totally iprehensible to any normal human being.

    But... how could one exin what had just happened before their eyes?

    The crowd of mages fell into a frenzy.

    Firstly, they already thought that the act of Lin Li swallowing a Fireball was a feat out of this world. Then, they grew totally incredulous with what happened thereafter...

    This crazy fe could summon a Fireball instantaneously!

    At that moment, everyone had the impulse to crash into the wall because of what they had witnessed.

    That was such a contradiction to human nature!

    ¡°Pom!¡±

    A Fireball dropped onto the trembling Elemental Shield, and the collision generated a series of uncontroble magical waves. In that instance, the tremendous impact inflicted on Matthias¡¯ Elemental Shield caused the te to split into a thousand fragments. Without thestyer of protection, he was as though a disrobed youngdy, confused and terrorized by the hideousughter of perverts surrounding her...

    After Matthias got disarmed by the Fireball, Lin Li grabbed the opportunity to continue his attack. He raised his right arm and unleashed a series of Arcane Missiles on the poor man.

    ¡°AHHH...¡±

    The excruciating cry of Matthias reverberatedstingly... In the midst of that shrill shriek, everyone heard a distinct crisp sound as well. They knew that it was the sound of bones breaking.

    Four Arcane Missiles created four explosions, also breaking the bones of Matthias. Unlike how he treated Orrin¡ªbreaking one of his arms¡ªthe ruthless Lin Li was more thorough in his actions. He broke all four limbs of Matthias...

    The agonizing pain from his broken limbs was so tormenting that it went beyond what normal human beings could handle. His blood-curdling wails were never-ending, and sent shivers down everybody¡¯s spines. Squirming on the ground in a pool of sweat, Matthias was like a dried shrimp that was soaked in boiling water.

    ¡°You are free to submit your application for a duel now,¡± gibed Lin Li as he looked at Matthias in disdain. Then, his nce fell on the two mages who were chiming in previously.

    He raised his brows in contempt, but inquired politely, ¡°May I know if my teammate had offended your Guild as well?¡±

    ¡°Nonononono...¡±

    ¡°H-he¡¯s right! Absolutely not!!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s sarcastic tone as he asked his question contemptuously was so terrifying it nearly drove their souls out in fear. While denying, both of them inched backwards as if they could break off any rtionship they had with Matthias that way.

    He had to be joking...

    Not to mention if Orrin had even offended any Guild, if he really had, who would have had the guts to admit it in front of this freak? Should they agitate this fe, how would they survive his four Arcane Missiles? They would have to be mad to challenge him...

    ¡°I-it¡¯s Matthias! H-he tried to sow discord between us and Brother Orrin!¡± one mage said.

    ¡°Y-yes, yes! He¡¯s really a sly fe!¡± The second Mage followed suit.

    After nodding profusely to make themselves seem more credible, they strided towards Matthias and gave him a strong kick with zero hesitation.

    Having lost all his limbs, Matthias was already pitiful enough. Tears of pain were already welling up in his eyes. With the additional kick, it was like sshing oil on top of fire. It aggravated his suffering, and caused him to roll around in greater pain. His screams intensified, provoking sympathy among the onlookers.

    ...

 Chapter 118 - Subversion of Belief

    <h4>Chapter 118: Subversion of Belief</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°...¡±

    Although Lin Li had seen many who decided to betray their own team at the veryst minute, it was the first time that he witnessed such extremity. The thought of how harmonious the trio had been when they sneered and taunted contemptuously just then juxtaposed with how swiftly they turned against each other was so appalling.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Lin Li waved his hands impatiently, not knowing how to deal with such incorrigible and selfish beings.

    ¡°We will leave immediately, immediately...¡± said both men in relief. The order for them to leave was such a sce to them.

    ¡°Thank God, our lives are spared...¡±

    What seemed like a level-seven Mage was actually a freak. The sight of Matthias lying gruesomely on the ground made both men question if he was even human. He was not only extremely powerful, but also vicious and ruthless. To the two men, these types of people were the most terrifying¡ªnobody knew the triggers that would provoke them, nor the reasons behind their desire to kill...

    No one would ever want to be mutted or roll in excruciating pain, then lie lifelessly on the ground like dried shrimps.

    In the face of such a monster, who would not want to escape if they could?

    Both men scurried away.

    ¡°Wait...¡± The voice of the pestilence sounded behind the duo.

    At this moment, fear weakened the legs of both men.

    ¡°W-what?¡± muttered the two anxiously.

    Did... that freak change his mind?

    The thought of the current state of Matthias caused them to tremble in fear. What if this freak, Lin Li, changed his mind? Were they going to be treated like Matthias?

    ¡°Take this man away,¡± Lin Li ordered.

    ¡°Alright...¡± replied both men as they heaved a sigh of relief. The feeling of having survived a catastrophe caused cold sweat to trickle down their spines...

    After that, Lin Li bent down and lifted Orrin up. He looked back, and urged the shocked Mason, ¡°Brother Mason,e over quickly. He is too heavy...¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± replied Mason as he was snapped back to reality. Yet, while carrying Orrin, his expression remained odd.

    The parties who had partaken in the battle left, leaving behind dumbfounded audience.

    Everyone was stupefied, and their gazes towards Lin Li¡¯s gang showed hints of fear.

    They always thought that Gryffindor would emerge as the victor. Yet, the emergence of Lin Li, the self-proimed level-seven Mage, in this fight inevitably undermined their confidence.

    Could Gryffindor exert the power of the Fireball so instantaneously? Not to mention him, the mentors themselves would not have the ability to perform such an impossible feat.

    Almost everyone was praying not to meet any of these three people in the finals. If this were to be inevitable... they silently hoped that he¡¯d suffer a cmity...

    This fellow was a total pestilence! Anyone who needed to confront him would be wretched,nding in a situation worse than contracting a gue!

    Lin Li was oblivious about himself being cursed. After carrying Orrin back into the room, he went back to his room alone.

    It was indeed difficult to deal with fractured bones. One bottle of the Recovery Potion might not be sufficient. For a full recovery, one might need additional supplements...

    After watching Lin Li enter his room, Mason could not help but continue to mutter, ¡°Damnnn... Why am I the weaker one despite being a level-nine Mage?¡±

    Having clearly heard what was under Mason¡¯s breath, Orrin put his uninjured arm over Mason¡¯s shoulders, and snapped, ¡°Idiot!¡± Yet, he was at a loss for words, and did not know how tofort Mason.

    How could a level-seven Mage have the outstanding ability disyed by that fe?

    ... Not to mention the two suspicious Fireballs¡ªthe matter was definitely unfathomable for Orrin as it subverted themon knowledge of Magic.

    Just the four Arcane Missiles were sufficient for Orrin to renew his judgment towards this strange teammate.

    The Arcane Missile was an authentic level-two magical skill. Under the Magic Shooter-level, it was impossible for the Arcane Missile to beunched at an instantaneous speed. This meant that this self-proimed level-seven Mage owned at least the powers of a level-10 Mage.

    And this was only ¡®at least¡¯...

    Orrin had to admit that hecked the skill to judge Lin Li¡¯s true capability. He could only base his entire deduction on that single battle. This implied that Lin Li¡¯s real ability might either be at the peak of level-12, or at the beginner stage of level-13...

    Definitely not what he imed to be.

    Right after helping him to get onto the bed, Mason got scolded without any reason. This provoked all his rage he¡¯d just suppressed. Mason grumbled, ¡°Goddammit. Even though you are injured, don¡¯t assume that I wouldn¡¯t beat you up...¡±

    ¡°You can try.¡±

    ¡°Damn you...¡± replied Mason as he red hard at Orrin, yet ultimately had to admit, ¡°I don¡¯t dare to beat a patient...¡±

    ¡°So, you still don¡¯t believe that you are an idiot...¡± Orrin said as a smile came across his poker face. He asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that my injuries are recovering swiftly?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± said Mason in shock as he nced involuntarily at Orrin¡¯s fractured arm.

    It was then that he realized how Orrin tried to raise his arm, albeit with a pained expression. Yet, it was a fact that the broken arm had already received treatment.

    ¡°W-wait... how is this possible?¡± Mason gasped, his eyes open as wide as a bull¡¯s.

    The sight before him seemed as though it was an illusion.

    It was only just then that he¡¯d witnessed the agony Orrin was in while he was helping him return to his room¨Cthe pain reflected through his facial features, and the awkward angle his arm was positioned at¡ªwhich could not be falsified! Mason dared to bet his life on this¡ªOrrin¡¯s right arm had indeed been broken!

    Only a few minutes had passed. How could the recovery be so speedy?

    Mason got confused. He really hoped to ask Orrin, ¡°Brat, are you made of slime?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I said, you are an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Hey...¡±

    ¡°If you are not an idiot, how are you still treating Felic as a level-7 Mage?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he one?¡± Mason eximed in much disbelief.

    ¡°What crap...¡±

    Orrin had changed a lot ever since he¡¯d been injured. He started to show more feelings on his face, and became more talkative. It was rare that Orrin did not scold Mason for such a foolish question. While he just rolled his eyes, he asked, ¡°Have you ever seen a level-7 Mage defeating and crippling a level-12 Magic Shooter?¡±

    ¡°Level-12 Magic Shooter!¡± Mason cried out in surprise, and his expression became extremely odd. ¡°You mean, Matthias is...¡±

    ¡°What else do you think...¡±

    ¡°If Matthias was a level-12 Magic Shooter, then isn¡¯t Felic a...¡±

    Mason felt that he was on the verge of turning crazy. He¡¯d always thought that since he was a level-nine Mage, he would be one of the strongest, and thus have an edge over the others with his powers. Never had he expected that only on the first day he¡¯d meet a level-nine Magic Shooter. And it was this Magic Shooter who crippled his teammate without using much force...

    ¡°Should be the 13th level.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Upon hearing such an almighty and terrifying status, Mason was beyond speechless, and was on the verge of a breakdown.

    ¡°Goddammit... Is there still justice? Since we are all mages, why do we differ so much from each other? Come to think of it, this fe does seem younger than me.¡±

    Mason was not alone.

    Compared to him, Orrin was no better.

    His nature had made him moreposed than usual.

    It was no exaggeration to im that Orrin was a true genius.

    He was acknowledged to be the ¡®Most Outstanding Mage¡¯ (across three hundred years) at the Guild of Magic in Rotterdam.

    When he became an official Mage when he was 12 years old, it rmed the Supreme Council. They even sent an Archmage to congratte Rotterdam¡¯s Guild of Magic for their achievement in raising a prodigy.

    In the next 10 years, never had Orrin ever cked off. At the age of 21, his extreme talent, together with his hard work, allowed him to attain the status of the Magic Shooter.

    Orrin had always thought that without Gryffindor (who had once defeated him), he would be the top Mage of the Fn Kingdom...

    Yet just today, this ¡®top Mage¡¯ had already suffered a series of disappointment.

    First, being defeated by Matthias. Then, witnessing Felic¡¯s outstanding performance...

    Since Matthias was older than him by three years, and the ability of both men only differed slightly, the first case of his defeat due to a minor mistake was still tolerable.

    However, the freakish act by Felic had totally subverted his initial perception.

    A level-13 Magic Shooter at the age of 20... Would there be anybody else more terrifying than this?

 Chapter 119 - A New Task

    <h4>Chapter 119: A New Task</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A level-13 Magic Shooter at the age of 20... Was there anybody more terrifying than this?

    Orrin could not help but smile bitterly at the thought of the battle.

    What was he inparison with this freakish roommate?

    Then, Orrin thought of the bottle of medication he¡¯d consumed...

    If he did not remember wrongly, that was called the Recovery Potion.

    The President¡ªor his mentor¡ªhad once purchased a few bottles of the potion at an exorbitant price at the Guild of Rotterdam. Orrin still remembered how shocked he was when he first heard of the price of the Recovery Potions. The cost of those potions was sufficient to fully equip a Magic Shooter!

    Orrin still remembered how casually Lin Li had passed the bottle of Recovery Potion to him, as though the pricey bottle was just a random stone found on the roadside.

    It was only starting from this day that Orrin knew how terrifying the self-proimed level-seven roommate was.

    Attaining the ability of a level-13 Magic Shooter when he was barely 20-years-old, casually giving away an expensive bottle of Recovery Potion... Only an idiot like Mason would believe that he was only a level-seven Mage...

    ¡°All in all, our roommate is definitely a freak!¡± concluded Orrin.

    When the duo was conversing, Lin Li came into the room, and passed a sparkling blue ss bottle into the hands of Orrin. He did not say anything else, but only reminded him to consume it before sleeping.

    The sky gradually darkened. The trio, who had been restless for the entire day, was already so exhausted that they immediately fell into deep slumber.

    ...

    On the next day, Lin Li was awakened by the knocking on his door.

    As he rubbed his bleary eyes, what came to view was not Mason, but a person he¡¯d never expected.

    ¡°Mack... Mr. Macklin!¡± Lin Li eximed as he saw the twitching mustache. His sleepiness vanished immediately. It was only then that he realized: he had overslept!

    After the quest yesterday, Macklin had announced that everyone would meet in the hall at 8 o¡¯clock in the morning. Not to mention the time then... It would be consideredte to even go for lunch...

    ¡°Get dressed and follow me,¡± Macklin said in an extremely calm manner. Yet, the words ¡®I am extremely furious¡¯ were clearly inscribed on his old face.

    The thought of it all made Macklin shudder in fury. He wanted to put up the front of a mentor, and make those three fes wait for at least two hours. He even had his grand entrance and lines nned if they were to get impatient. He would chide, ¡°Without this bit of patience, how are you able to endure the tedious magic training in the future? Sigh... you youngsters are too short-tempered...¡±

    Thus, Old Macklin had been reading in the library the entire morning. It was only lunchtime when he slowly strolled towards the hall.

    Who¡¯d expect that the hall was empty¡ªnot even a shadow was present! The rage nearly burst his lungs...

    In his anger, Macklin dashed over, only to discover the three fes all sound asleep.

    With his usual temper, he would have long pped them with his magic powers.

    Who cared which Guild you were from? Just receive your due punishment.

    Unfortunately...

    Among the three who were asleep, there was one who was not punishable.

    This Sir was the hope of the nna Guild. The forging of magic equipment, the winning of the bet with the Adventurers Guild, the possibility of attaining the key to the Relic¡ªit all depended on his mood.

    How would Macklin dare to offend such an individual?

    Even as he conversed with this man, he needed to weigh the tone of his speech. If he were to agitate him, where would the Guild of Magic find another middle-level cksmith like him?

    Punishment? Only a fool would do so...

    ¡°Oh...¡± muttered Lin Li as he observed the facial expression of the old man. He did not dare to dy any further, and immediately wore the Robe of Wrath and took his Winter Staff with him.

    When he opened his door again, Macklin was already knocking on the doors of his two other roommates.

    This time, the old man was not as courteous as he treated Lin Li.

    Lin Li saw the old man raise his arm and send two majestic Arcane Missiles. This burst opened the doors of both men immediately.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    That loud noise reverberated in the house.

    ¡°...¡± This unique way of knocking on the door brought Lin Li¡¯s memory back to Gerian, who lived in the city of Jarrosus.

    The two consecutive loud noises were as though two ferocious ps of thunder, and woke Orrin and Mason up in shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter... Did Matthias create a racket again?¡± eximed Mason as he dashed out of the room anxiously without even putting on his robes. Then... he saw the face of Macklin that was filled with fury.

    The old man shuddered so angrily that his mustache twitched. While ring at Mason as though he was a monster nning to eat him up, he scolded, ¡°How do you dare to ask me!¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± mumbled Mason in a dumbfounded manner.

    ¡°I will deal with youter...¡± said Macklin in a lowered tone as he red at Mason. He would keep his fuming temper at bay in front of the well-respected cksmith.

    ¡°...¡± Macklin¡¯s threat caused Mason to tremble in fear.

    <i>Darn it, I¡¯m dead... What if that crazy old dude finds another Fantama Panthera to kill me...</i>

    After threatening Mason, Orrin came out of his room.

    Aspared to the two of them who were more unsettled, Orrin appeared to be moreposed. Donned in a ck robe, he was only taken aback slightly by the sight of Macklin. Orrin also apologized immediately, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mr. Macklin, I¡¯mte.¡±

    This did not ay Macklin¡¯s displeasure. After scanning Orrin for quite a while, he squeezed some words out of his mouth.

    ¡°Follow me!¡±

    Macklin was a man of words. He fulfilled his promise of punishing Mason.

    After leaving the Guild of Magic, the four people ventured into the Nightmare Mountains they were in the previous day.

    The Nightmare Mountains seemed more lively today. Throughout their journey, the four people met two other small groups from the Guild of nna, which were on a quest. It seemed that the Nightmare Mountains were a conducive environment to train young people. All of these mentors had selected this region to train their students.

    The road ahead was unusually rugged. Other than Macklin, who had attained the status of an Archmage, no one could use the Levitation Spell. The rest of the men ventured arduously with the Hastening Spell, which could only advance their speed slightly. They could only utilize the Feather Fall Spell to cushion themselves if they were to fall...

    Throughout the journey, they met numerous magical beasts. Although their power was on the basic level, the uneven terrain increased their struggles. For more than two hours, they had to be stopped by such battles along the way as they overcame the innumerable twists and turns along the way.

    ¡°How good is it to be an Archmage...¡± Mason muttered as he stole a nce at Macklin. With the help of the Levitation Spell, the man gracefully glided towards him as though a carefree traveler. How envious Mason was!

    ¡°What a fool!¡± Macklin bellowed as though he could see through Mason¡¯s mind with his pair of prating eyes. He levitated above Mason¡¯s head, and gave Mason a sidelong nce.

    ¡°Instead of filling yourself up with envy, why don¡¯t you invest the same time to think about how to improve your skills? What¡¯s so special about the Levitation Spell? When you get to the Legendary Realm, the Power of Flight would enable you to surpass the speed of any Gryphon!¡± Macklin scolded him, full of loathing.

    ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°Scram... I don¡¯t converse with fools,¡± Macklin replied, not forgetting to give Mason a deadly re. Then, he announced solemnly, ¡°To be honest, other than this fool here, the two of you have more potential. Furthermore, the opponent yesterday was just a gentle kitten that had failed to pose any challenge to you. After much consideration, I have decided to increase the level of difficulty by just a tiny, little bit...

    ¡°Do you see that jungle over there?¡± said Macklin as he pointed to a dense jungle ahead of them.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± said the old man as he nodded. Then, he fished out a map from his pocket, and instructed, ¡°I hid an interesting object somewhere in that jungle. Your mission is to find it ande back to me.¡±

 Chapter 120 - A Pack of Wolves

    <h4>Chapter 120: A Pack of Wolves</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Oh, yes. Here¡¯s a friendly reminder,¡± said Macklin casually as he passed the map to Lin Li. ¡°I heard that there are some animals there which are not as friendly. You just have to be a little bit more careful inside... and there¡¯s nothing to worry about. Alright, keep the map well, and you are good to go!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The expressions on the three¡¯s faces froze.

    Since the old man treated the lethal Fantama Panthera as a mere kitten, if he imed that the animals there ¡°are not as friendly¡±, wouldn¡¯t that imply that the jungle was more deadly than it seemed?

    ¡°Mr. M-Macklin, are you not entering the jungle with us?¡± Mason inquired meekly as he gazed at Macklin uneasily.

    ¡°Nah...¡± said the old man as his mustache twitched, and he red at Mason with a gloating expression. He continued guilt-tripping. ¡°Look at my age... Why would you want these old bones to apany you?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Mason was at a loss for words. It was only just then that the old man utilized the Arcane Missile to burst the doors open; he also employed the Levitation Spell, and glided through the Nightmare Mountains with ease. Didn¡¯t he consider his old age? Why was it then that when they were about to enter the jungle, he suddenly cared about his age?

    ¡°Hurry off. You only have an afternoon toplete the task. If you fail to get the object back to me before the sky darkens, heh...¡±

    <i>How¡¯s that? </i>thought Macklin as he remained silent, but his threatening tone had already caused Mason to break out in cold sweat. Mason regretted his act ofzing in bed that morning. Now that they had provoked this old pestilence, they knew what was toe...

    Under Macklin¡¯s urges, the trio entered the jungle uneasily.

    ¡°Heck!¡± Lin Li cursed as he took out the map.

    Could the old bastard outside the jungle be Gerian¡¯s brother?

    The map was a mess. The scribbles and curvy lines were as though stubborn earthworms lying around. Numerous red blots of ink sttered all over made the map look like a heavily freckled face. Among the red spots, therey an ¡®x¡¯ marking, boldly smacked in front of him like a cripple. Lin Li took quite an amount of time to make out what that old dude was even drawing...

    ¡°What a piece of abstract art...¡± Lin Li sighed as he rolled up the map before putting it in his pocket. Since no one could understand this map, it was just a waste of space.

    ¡°Felic, are you not using the map?¡± inquired Mason.

    ¡°This map...¡±

    Just when Lin Li was about tombaste Macklin, he heard some faint sound.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Right after him warning his teammates, a pack of Three-eyed Blood Wolves appeared. Each of the wolves had red eyes, and carried a strong stench of blood. Aspared to those they had met before, this pack of wolves was evidently more malignant. One wolf with a grayish-white coat stood out in particr; it had an extraordinary red eye, which was beyond sinister¡ªjust like a droplet of blood.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that we might be in trouble now...¡± Mason whispered as he gulped down his saliva nervously, and moved two steps backward subconsciously.

    ¡°Cut the crap,¡± shushed Lin Li and Orrin together.

    Even an Adventurer of the lowest ranking would know that the level of a Three-eyed Blood Wolf was to be deciphered based on the color of their eyes and fur coat. The lighter the fur and the redder the eye, the higher its level. <i>This</i>creature before them was definitely the King!

    There were at least 40 to 50 wolves behind this King that was at least level-12. How could the trio take it easy?

    ¡°Arwooooo...¡±

    The howl of the King broke the silence in the jungle, and more wolves appeared. At once, the surroundings were filled with spots of red light and stench of iron. The shrilling howls reverberated in their ears, threatening to engulf them. The vast number of Three-eyed Blood Wolves in the wilderness resembled a sea of blood. In that moment, more than 10 wolves crowded towards the three men.

    ¡°KILL THEM!¡±

    Lin Li gripped onto his Winter Staff, and called on the Hastening Spell. While retreating, he also released two wind des at his opponents. Orrin and Mason, who were by his side, also took action, each calling out a magic shield and starting to recite the spell at top speed.

    Among the three people, Lin Li was thest to be exposed to magic, yet in terms of taking part in battles, he had the most experience. During the few months at the Sunset Mountains, he had already in countless magical beasts.

    In that instant, his reaction was the fastest. His intention of employing the Hastening Spell and the two wind des did not deviate from that of Orrin and Mason, yet what differed was the impact of his powers.

    The methods which Mages decided to employ in their battles were no doubt the most flexible among the other upations.

    Depending on their opponents, the tactics utilized would also be different.

    Fantama Pantheras were generally immune to magic. Since these creatures were proficient in the Dark Magic, one would be seeking death if he were to adopt this method which resembled the flying of kites. A Dark Magic spell would strike down the kite from the sky.

    On the other hand, it would be different if one wanted to deal with a big pack of the Three-eyed Blood Wolves.

    The powers of these Three-eyed Blood Wolves were innately of extremely low standing. Even if they were to be led by the King wolf, to defeat a Magic Shooter would be an impossible matter. Lin Li did not need to worry that his Kite Magic would be ovee by magic that was invisible to the eye.

    Furthermore, there were still Mason and Orrin.

    Although both of them had little experience in battling beasts, one was a level-nine Mage, while another a level-11 Magic Shooter. Given adequate time to recite their spells, they would unleash a destructive force on the wolves.

    Just when Lin Li¡¯s wind des led to waves of shrilling cries from the wolves, both of their recitals were alsopleted. As Orrin raised his magic staff, tremors were also induced at once. Then, a huge spear made of stone appeared from the ground.

    Stone spears were only made of stone. In dealing with the escaping wolves, itcked the sharpness required of a weapon to kill.

    The stone spear created only immediate injuries, and not many casualties.

    This was the true intention of the magic. It was not exerted with the intent to kill.

    Just like how a dead rat could incite a sense of disgust among a group of people, yet had no ability to kill, the attack with the stone spear was simrly not lethal, and only aimed to create fear among enemies. Which foolish wolf would pounce towards stone? As the wolves scrambled away from that stone spear, ripples were created in that sea of red.

    It resulted in a great turbulence. Even the growl of rage from the King failed to calm the situation down.

    To worsen the situation, the powers of Orrin were unleashed.

    This was a total catastrophe.

    Rays of red radiated from Orrin¡¯s magic staff, and violent particles that arose from the Fire-Elemental Power filled the air at once. The temperature was scorching, and the air appeared to be boiling. Numerous sparks beamed, lighting up the dark jungle as bright as day.

    What followed after was the sound of a great explosion. ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The rapid spread of embers birthed a sea of uncontroble fire. The speed at which it was spreading was faster than a gue, as though the earth was covered in gasoline. A little spark would be sufficient to light up the ground.

    To the helpless wolves, that Fiery Meteor spelled doomsday. They had no ce to hide or escape to. The only thing they could do was to watch how the mes engulfed them...

    In the sea of fire, there were endless cries of despair. The wolves, one after another, got swallowed by the ze. An unpleasant burnt smell diffused with the pitch-ck fumes as well...

    The Fiery Meteor had imed the lives of nearly 20 Blood Wolves.

    ¡°A butcher...¡± Mason did not forget to denounce Orrin while he retreated towards a thicket with the Ice Armor. He, however, would never have expected that the madness caused by Orrin¡¯s magic powers was a result of the Ground-Piercing Spell he¡¯d exerted.

    ¡°Arwooooo...¡±

    Right after the three of them calmed down, another wave of howls came by.

    And then, they saw how leaves of the thicket moved with a rustle, and out came even more Three-eyed Blood Wolves...

    ¡°SH*T!¡± Lin Li could not help but blurt out another swear.

    The coboration of the trio had only enabled them to y 20 wolves. Now that another hundred wolves appeared, how were they going to deal with them? Even if they managed to kill them all, what would happen if King Wolf called out another 200 or 300 underlings? Not to mention being bitten by the wolves, they would lose their lives due to exhaustion...

 Chapter 121 - The King Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 121: The King Wolf</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What now, what now?¡± Mason repeated in distress, and his face was filled with anxiety. Even if the trio was very proficient in their skills, there would still be a limit to it. Faced with a continuous stream of Three-eyed Blood Wolves, apart from the Archmage who could escape with his Spell of Levitation, any mages would have died of exhaustion from battling them.

    Not to mention the level-nine Mason, his two teammates who were much stronger than him might not even have any odds of sess.

    After all, mages were just mortals...

    ¡°Kill the King Wolf,¡± said Orrin in a concise manner; his eyes were fixed mercilessly on the pack of wolves.

    It was scarlet all around; thus, the grayish-white coat of the King Wolf seemed particrly ring. In that moment, it was growling aggressively, and its eye reflected an ominous flickering red glow. Under its call, the never-ending stream of Three-eyed Blood Wolves emerged from the thickets like a sea of red blood.

    ¡°Kill them,¡± Lin Li said as he gritted his teeth.

    Subsequently, the two men heard a hurried strong gush of recital. It was Lin Li, who was trying to channel all of his mental strength intopressing the duration of his recital. The recitation of the Spell of Frost usually required five seconds toplete, but Lin Li only used a mere three seconds. If it were other mages, they would suffer a bacsh from their own spell due to the rapid recitation.

    Following thest character of the recitation, the temperature of the air that was raised by the Fiery Meteors not long ago fell to the freezing point instantaneously. White fog filled the air, and the magical element of biting ice froze around 10 wolves, turning them into ice sculptures in the blink of an eye.

    Although this aggroed more enemies, increasing the number of howling wolves, Lin Li did not stop reciting spells after the first Frost Spell. Just when a few wolves were about to approach him, he unleashed the Spell of Swamp. That was a level-12 spell with the ability to result in the same impact as the Decaying Spell. At once, those wolves were engulfed by the swamp.

    Even after all these, Lin Li did not take any breather, but proceeded to cast the Hastening Spell onto himself.

    With that spell, Lin Li moved nimbly and swiftly as though he was an agile fish. Throughout his journey, he made a few sudden turns and stops, and with the help of the thick thicket, he managed to get rid of the pack of wolves that was previously following him tightly.

    At the same time, he did not cease his attack with the wind des. With every brief stop he made, the soft sound created by flying wind des would be followed by the death of a wolf.

    At this critical juncture when lives were at stake, Lin Li exerted all of his abilities.

    And it was only then that his two teammates were brought to full realization of how powerful that self-proimed level-seven Mage was.

    Both men were totally dumbfounded by that freak after witnessing how that Frost Spell was released.

    That was a recitation of a level-four spell that gotpressed by half...

    From the day Matthias became a cripple from fighting with Lin Li, the two men knew that their teammate had really great powers. Although they had no idea as to how capable this freak truly was, they were very certain that there were no words they could use to describe his abilities.

    To them, the power to cast the Spell of Frost like that was not what a human would be capable of.

    In judging the abilities of a Mage, the most important aspect was to look at how long they took to shorten their recitation of spells.

    The higher his level, the shorter the time a Mage would be able to recite his spell in.

    In most situations, a Magic Shooter could onlypress the recitation for a spell of level-one or level-two. Once the spell reached level-three and above, any forceful attempt topress it would no doubt cause it to deal the damage to the Mage himself. Due to theplexity of the magical elements in a spell, only an experienced and knowledgeable Archmage had the skills topress a level-four spell.

    Yet, this universalw could not be applied to a crazy Mage like Lin Li at all.

    Based on the ability of Magic Shooters, if Lin Li couldpress a level-four spell forcefully without any repercussions, would there be anything else that could challenge that beast?

    Mason and Orrin were stupefied. Both of them sighed after ncing at each other.

    Themon sense of humans was not to be applied to beasts...

    The wind des that came after seemed so unreal to them.

    They had never seen any Mage with such nimbleness and speed. Neither had they met one who could integrate speed with magic so seamlessly. The method undertaken by Lin Li to attack the wolves with the created distance between them seemed as though every step was a carefully calcted one.

    Looking at how fast the freak killed the enemies, Mason could not help but curse with admiration. ¡°F*ck! I¡¯m impressed!¡±

    He just could not help it...

    Speaking about experience in battling magical beasts, Lin Li was totally an expert adventurer. Mason, who grew up receiving the traditional magic education, had no right to even try topare himself with Lin Li.

    ¡°Idiot! Why are you still in a daze?¡± chided Orrin as he red at Mason. Being a Magic Shooter himself, Orrin had a stronger mental strength to deal with unexpected situations. Although he was also stunned by his freakish teammate, he was able to recover faster than Mason.

    ¡°I¡¯ll really turn into an idiot if you keep calling me so...¡± Mason sulked in guilt as he was brought back to reality. It was rare that he did not fight back this time when Orrin insulted him. After that, like Orrin, Mason started his recitation.

    These three men were not weaklings. They did not need any prior discussion on their battle strategy.

    Right after Orrin and Mason started their recital, Lin Li changed his tactics.

    Having taken a breather amidst the pack of wolves, he did not employ his wind des immediately, but raised his staff and started to recite the Swamp Spell.

    As a ray of light shot out from the Winter Staff, air bubbles surfaced from the empty and wide field ahead of them. Next, the first few wolves that were leaping towards them were wholly engulfed by the mud¡ªno time for cries.

    In the blink of an eye, the wolves lost nearly ten of their own kind. No matter how dumb these wolves were, they would have realized the danger of the swamp. Under the threat of impending doom, almost all of the Three-eyed Blood Wolves chose to retreat.

    With the help of the swamp, Lin Li finally had the time to catch his breath.

    Yet, he chose to continue to recite the spell.

    At this moment, Lin Li had already reached his limits.

    Delirium, Mind Control, and Hysteria...

    Magical elements surged turbulently like ferocious flood. The recitation that was previously flowing in cadence became rushed and monotonous, and also carried a faint sense of jaggedness. Lin Li, who never had to worry about his stamina, started to feel exhausted. He broke out in sweat, and his right hand that was grabbing tightly onto the Winter Staff also reflected the bulging green veins of his.

    The three types of Mental Spells were unleashed at once. The Spell of Hysteria broke out on the King Wolf, and that was followed by the Spell of Mind Control on one of its nearestrades. Subsequently, the Spell of Delirium broke out too...

    A sound of piercing cry could be heard. The wolf that was under the Spell on Mind Control started to show aggression towards its King Wolf.

    ¡°Sizzzz...¡± After a ripping sound, silence filled the entire jungle. All of the Three-eyed Blood Wolf seemed as though they were in a daze.

    ¡°Arwooooo...¡±

    The howling of the King Wolf reverberated throughout the jungle. It was a sound that carried rage and fury. Having lost its dignity to a small wolf, the Spell of Hysteria that hit the King Wolf started to take its effects. Its anger and aggressiveness were amplified, and the red light from the eye on its forehead began to blink like thick droplets of blood.

    That grayish-white shadow moved like a sudden bolt of lightning.

    To the other wolves, the King Wolf at least level-12 was an almighty existence. Its strength greatly surpassed any other wolves¡¯. Under its rage, it went beyond terrorizing. The wolf that dared to offend the King Wolf was torn into pieces by its razor-sharp ws and teeth.

    At that moment, fresh blood sttered all over, and torn limbs were strewn everywhere. The bloodstained coat of the King Wolf emitted a strong stench of blood, and this triggered its desire to kill...

 Chapter 122 - Level-13

    <h4>Chapter 122: Level-13</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Under the Hysteria Spell, the King Wolf wentpletely out of control.

    In that moment, it resembled a pale streak of lightning that brought about foul wind and rain of blood among the pack of terrorized wolves. The Three-eyed Blood Wolves became bits and pieces of flesh strewn all over in a sea of blood. The savage killing continued, turning the tranquil and peaceful jungle into a terrifying ground for ruthless ughter.

    In front of their raging king, no wolf dared to oppose it. The movement of the gray bolt of lightning left behind trails of blood. Between its light fur were stains of red blood and flesh, and in its eye was madness and thirst for blood.

    After he was done with all these, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. The sess of these three spells was as though a death sentence to the King Wolf. The Spell of Hysteria would continue for 15 seconds. With this duration, the contribution from Orrin and Mason would suffice even if they recited a level-10 spell.

    Yet, after he wiped off his cold sweat, he realized that these two fes had forgotten to recite any spells, staring at him in a daze.

    ¡°F*ck, what are y¡¯all doing?¡±

    ¡°O-oh...¡± muttered the two men as Lin Li¡¯s shout brought them back to reality. They hurriedly grabbed onto their magic staffs and started another long recital.

    After calcting the duration left for the Spell of Hysteria, Lin Li felt more rxed. Although there was still 10 seconds left, and hence enough for them to finish their recitation, Lin Li could not help but grumble, ¡°Are they not afraid to be killed by the bite of mana when they zone out at this crucial moment?¡±

    Right after hisment, both menpleted their recitation.

    Two spells were summoned. One was the Spell of ming Storm, while the other an Icy Spear.

    These two level-eight spells that were contradictory in nature inflicted a huge magical wave among the trees. Blinding sparks flew all over, and bitterly cold air filled the surroundings.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the jungle. Magical elements stirred so violently that the ground was trembling as well. Countless sparks scattered everywhere like resplendent fireworks in the night sky. Concurrently, a beam of blue light also struck the lifeless body of the King Wolf like a bolt of lightning...

    ¡°Arwooooo!¡± The cry of the King Wolf was filled with endless despair.

    Immediately thereafter, the two spells coiled around the throat of the King Wolf. There was a loud st, and everything went back to normal as well, reverting to the peaceful state from before at once.

    That was the terrifying force of the two most powerful spells. Although the spells were at a lower level in rtion to the level-12 King Wolf, it would not have escaped its inevitable doom since it had not yet reached the next stage at level-15.

    Behind the remnants of the sparkles, Lin Li could clearly see a piece of ck coal lying in the ce where the King Wolf was. In the middle on the coal stood an Icy Spear...

    All of the other wolves froze. The death of the King Wolf sent them into disarray. Without their leader, they would not have any chance of defeating any opponents. Furthermore, it was the three monsters before them who had their King ughtered so brutally. Therefore, these wolves chose to retreat instinctively.

    Just as how they initially entered the scene like a shing flood, when the wolves backed away, they resembled the fast declining of water level as well.

    ¡°Phew...¡± When thest wolf left their sight, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. Yet, his legs turned into jelly when he tried to walk forward, and he fell onto the ground helplessly.

    He had exerted all of his strength in that grueling battle. Lin Li had a limit to his huge mental capacity too. First, hepressed the recitation of a level-four spell by half. Then, he cast two spells of level-two and level-three consecutively. Throughout this, the persistent struggle with the bite of mana was real. It was almost suicidal...

    Lin Li felt as tense as a bow that had been drawn to its limits. The arrow was only released when everything got sorted out. Then, he just felt like a deted balloon, losing all his energy.

    ¡°Felic, how are you feeling?¡± asked Mason in a concerned tone as he ran over to him.

    ¡°No worries... I am just exhausted. A little rest and I¡¯ll be fine...¡± Lin Li replied as he tried to smile, and shook his head weakly.

    Mason was not convinced. He asked again, ¡°Let¡¯s go back now and see what that old dude says?¡±

    ¡°Idiot,¡±mented Orrin. Every time when Mason said anything foolish, Orrin was bound to suddenly appear behind him like a ghost.

    ¡°Bastard...!¡± Mason cried out in agitation.

    ¡°Not happy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to beat you up one day! Just you wait...!¡±

    ¡°Moron...¡± Orrin shot Mason a scornful nce before kneeling down before Lin Li. A strand of genuine concern was reflected on his signature poker face.

    ¡°You should take a break first. Leave the rest to us.¡±

    It was natural that a level-eleven Magic Shooter had more discernment aspared to a level-nine Mage. Orrin knew that Lin Li was really worn out just by looking at the cold sweat on his forehead. Furthermore, if he was still not exhausted from summoning such a series of extreme spells, Orrin would not know how to describe his teammate anymore...

    The state of being tired proved that this man was still a human being after all...

    ¡°Alright,¡± replied Lin Li as he nodded. After passing the abstract piece of map to Orrin, he leaned against a tree, and closed his eyes in fatigue. He was really tired. His limits were continuously challenged in that battle. No matter how much mental strength he had within him, he could not support it any longer.

    Slowly, the footsteps of his teammates faded away. The silence that filled the atmosphere was eerie. Apart from the sound of the cold wind, the only thing Lin Li could hear was the sound of his pumping heart. The smell of the corpses of the wolves that were strewn around in a mess emitted a really foul stench in the stale air. However, these did not disgust Lin Li at all. He just closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree as though he was asleep...

    Although his body waspletely out of energy, his jolting mind was still in a constant state of excitement.

    At this moment, Lin Li was immersed in an intriguing realm.

    The course of the battle he had been in just then continued to rey in his mind. It was as though every minute detail of the different battle techniques was reyed in slow motion. Everything was reflected with amazing rity¡ªeven the most subtle flow of mana was not missed.

    In such a magical realm, Lin Li could even attempt to simte the strategies he¡¯d used repeatedly. From the Spell of Frost to thest three Mental Spells, Lin Li never had to worry about the bite of mana. Without the fear of any more lurking Three-eyed Blood Wolf, what he wished to do was to reattempt those spells over and over again, and to feel the flow of mana time and time again.

    It was as though deeper knowledge and insight were gained every time he conscientiously reviewed the spells.

    That was a worldly sensation that Lin Li could never describe with words. Lin Li, however, knew that he was not far from that tightly shut door.

    In that instance, it was as though time had lost its meaning.

    Lin Li just sat there peacefully, taking in whatever benefits he had gained from that battle. As time trickled, he knew that he was getting closer and closer to the door...

    When he finally arrived before that door, everything seemed so simple. The only thing Lin Li did was to reach out and give the door a gentle push...

    Afterwards, he felt a sudden sense of enlightenment.

    ¡°Old Grimm was right...¡± said Lin Li with a smile as he got up from the ground. There was no strand of fatigue left on his face. The smile that he gained from the battle allowed him to feel energized at once.

    This was all due to the breakthrough he just had.

    Having been stuck at the level-12 for such a long period of time, he finally got to the level-13 through that battle.

    Lin Li clearly remembered that when he was still at Jarrosus, Old Grimm had once told him that the fastest and only way to progress was through continuous battles.

    Based on the numerous research and countless experience that that legendary Mage had umted, the real breakthroughs and realizations could onlye from the struggle on the verge between life and death. Only had one gone through such a profound experience would he be able to scale greater heights as a Mage.

    Under the pressure of death and the stress from summoning extreme spells, Lin Li had been living on the edge between life and death. Yet, that also paved his way towards enlightenment and breaking through.

 Chapter 123 - Emerald Dream

    <h4>Chapter 123: Emerald Dream</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Macklin had been observing the three men with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes ever since they stepped foot into the jungle. With his powers as a high-level Archmage, it was extremely easy to conceal himself from them. Hence, nothing had escaped the pair of old eyes. He was aware of every single detail of their encounter¡ªincluding Lin Li¡¯s breakthrough.

    The expression on his face became more serious than ever. He was very shocked by Lin Li¡¯s breakthrough. Despite the young age of twenty, this Magic Shooter had already reached level-13. To describe the man as ¡®powerful¡¯ would be an understatement. If the news of his breakthrough were to be known by the Supreme Council, it would surely create amotion.

    ¡°F*ck Gerrian, that old bastard...¡± cursed Macklin under his breath. He could not understand why a hot-tempered man like Gerian had the good fortune of having such a gem like Lin Li.

    The old man got more and more vexed as he pondered this matter.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let this be. I need to think of a way to bring him to nna. To stay in Jarrosus would be such a waste of his potential! But... what should I say to Jarrosus? Oh, yes... maybe I could exchange Lin Li with 10 of my Magic Shooters! Yes, yes... I shall let Aldwin discuss this with Jarrosus after I get back!

    ¡°Eh?¡± While Macklin was still muttering to himself, he suddenly sensed the presence of a peculiar magical wave. Then, his facial expression changed. ¡°Damn! Why is that fe here?¡±

    At once, he swooped up into the air hurriedly despite his old age.

    ...

    Lin Li felt so powerful after his skills upgraded. It was as though he could cast a huge amount of magical elements with just a raise of an arm! Even at this moment, when he was walking in the creepy and gloomy jungle, every step he took felt lighter than before.

    With the help of the markings left behind by his teammates, Lin Li found them easily. For those two men, navigating the jungle had been an arduous journey.

    ¡°Goddammit, Macklin is such an old bastard...¡± Mason cursed his mentor profusely as they ventured through a jungle full of thistles and thorns.

    Mason was beyond frustrated. The abstract markings on the crazy map were totally iprehensible! Those curvy lines drawn by Macklin were just like earthworms tangled together! How were they going to locate any treasure with this mess?

    What was the purpose of this map¡ªif there was even any??

    Facing the ranting Mason, Orrin just shook his head helplessly. He did not even bother to scold him for his foolishness anymore. Orrin was also exasperated with that map. Even he started to doubt the credibility of the old man.

    What if... this was a conspiracy to lead them into a trap?!

    ¡°Felic!¡±

    Just when Mason was at the peak of his irritation, he saw Lin Liing from behind. At once, his face glowed with surprise and happiness¡ªjust like that of a drowning person who found a life-saving straw. In these two days, Lin Li had indeed surprised him a lot of times. This teammate of his had already be an invincible man to him, and he thought that nothing would be unconquerable by Lin Li¡ªincluding that insane map.

    ¡°Are you better now?¡± Orrin asked with a hint of suspicion.

    Watching how the freak walked towards them from a distance, Orrin felt there was something different about him. Yet, he could not make out what exactly had changed. If he really needed to give an answer, he could only say that Lin Li had be more powerful than before.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lin Li smiled as he walked towards them. Mason came over, and passed the map to him frantically, looking as though he was giving him a bomb that could explode anytime soon. Mason told him, ¡°I don¡¯t understand this crazy map...¡±

    ¡°Same here,¡± replied the grinning Lin Li as he put the map into his pocket casually. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, I think the old man did not intend to let us understand it from the start.¡±

    ¡°I knew it! He was plotting against us...¡± Mason said in fury.

    Lin Li shook his head, and replied, ¡°It was no conspiracy. He just wanted to create some challenges for us to gain morebat experience.¡±

    ¡°What should we do, then? Should we just kill everything thates our way...¡±

    ¡°We could do that too...¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up at this absolutely tempting idea. The breakthrough just then had allowed him to gain new insights and confidence about battling between life and death. However, Lin Li had to put away his excitement reluctantly at the thought of how weak Mason was. How would Mason be able to endure such extreme conditions? He continued, ¡°But we¡¯ll do that next time... Let¡¯s justplete the mission for today.

    ¡°Help me catch an animal,¡± said Lin Li as he reached for a ss bottle from his pocket. It was sky-blue in color.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Mason¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing this order. He left at once in excitement before Lin Li could give him any more instructions. After all, he was still a level-nine Mage! Although his skills were far behind his two teammates¡¯, the simple task of catching small animals would not be hard for him. In a few minutes, he came back with a wild rabbit in his hand, and a face beaming with pride.

    Lin Li took the rabbit from Mason. One of his hand pinched the mouth of the rabbit, while the other opened the cap of the ss bottle. Then, he poured two drops of liquid into the mouth of the rabbit.

    ¡°Felic, what¡¯s that?¡± Mason asked curiously as he looked at the mysterious potion.

    ¡°Emerald Dream,¡± Lin Li replied Mason patiently as he estimated the dosage, ¡°It is a potion that could turn mages into Druids. I will drink some myself too; then, I would be able to converse with the rabbit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so interesting! Could I try it?¡± Mason asked in fascination.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Lin Li passed the bottle of Emerald Dream to Mason without any hesitation. After that, he reminded Mason, ¡°It has a very strong effect, so only a few drops will do¡ª¡±

    Mason had lived for more than 20 years, yet he had never drunk such a high-grade potion. Excitement took his rationality away as he emptied the bottle even before Lin Li finished his sentence. It was toote.

    ¡°W-what would happen now?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much, the effects will justst longer.¡±

    ¡°Phew...¡± Mason heaved a sigh in relief as he waited eagerly for the potion to take effect.

    Seeing how enthusiastic Mason was, the two teammates went ahead to find a ce to sit down as they waited for him.

    After around 10 minutes, Mason was seening out from the bushes and walking towards them.

    ¡°So, what information did you gather?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s too much,¡± said Mason with an exaggerated look,¡±but the rabbit had told me everything. It said that it was true that an old man with goat-like beard hid something in this ce. Look, the Emerald Dream is such a powerful potion¡ªthe rabbit even revealed the hiding ce to me, not that far from here! I can bring you there now. Hahahaha! Macklin would never expect that we¡¯ll find the treasure through such a method!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    It was the first time that Mason talked to animals. That made him even chattier than usual. ¡°That little rabbit was so interesting; it even told me that it lived at the northern side of the jungle, and it has at least 10 siblings at home, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Just as the exhrated Mason was telling them about his encounter animatedly, Lin Li sensed a strange magical wave lurking by.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s here.¡± Orrin nodded.

    ¡°Who?¡± Mason asked them in a daze as he looked around.

    Orrin nced at him in irritation. Just when he wanted to speak, faint footsteps could be heard.

    The three men looked toward the source of the sound instinctively. There were a few men dressed in long robes walking towards them. Among them, two were familiar faces, whom they had met the day before.

    ¡°It¡¯s them...¡± said Lin Li as he got distracted for a moment. He still remembered that those two fes were the ones with Matthias then, and were also the scumbags who injured Orrin.

    However, Lin Li could not recognize the middle-aged man who was with them. He was a gentleman around 40 years old; his sharp and dignified features, as well as his well-built figure, werepletely different from that of Macklin. Donned in the same ck robe as Macklin, Lin Li knew that he was a mentor from nna.

    ¡°Mentor Aeron, it¡¯s the three of them!¡± The two men stirred uneasily as they saw Lin Li from afar as though he was a ghost.

    ¡°Oh?¡± the middle-aged man replied in a husky voice, but when his stern gaze fell on Lin Li¡¯s gang, even Lin Li felt a chill down his spine.

    ¡°Hey, look... that guy seems familiar...¡± Mason whispered as he hid behind Lin Li.

    ¡°You are right...¡± agreed Lin Li. Just like Mason, Lin Li felt that he had seen the man somewhere before.

 Chapter 124 - Arrest

    <h4>Chapter 124: Arrest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li remembered who the middle-aged man was at once.

    The man before them was the one in charge of matching students to their respective mentors in the guild hall the day before. Since then, he already seemed familiar to Lin Li, although Lin Li still could not make out where exactly he first met him.

    He walked out from the thick growth, eyes fixed in a deadly nce as he looked at Lin Li.

    ¡°You are Felic?¡± he asked.

    A sense of superiority could be sensed from that hoarse voice as though it was an interrogation.

    Despite feeling indignant, Lin Li repressed his anger. Then, he replied politely, ¡°Yes, mister.¡± The man was still a mentor after all!

    He nodded his head, and did not continue further. Yet, his harsh gaze intensified.

    ¡°Mr. Aeron, that¡¯s the brat! He¡¯s the bastard who injured Matthias!¡± The two fes were good in reading the facial expression of their mentor. Thus, they grabbed this opportunity to tell on Lin Li. Their behavior now was aplete opposite from their obsequiousness the day before. If Lin Li had not witnessed how these traitors betrayed Matthias previously, he might have thought them righteous and loyal friends to Matthias.

    Unfortunately, the kicks they gave Matthias had already revealed their true nature...

    ¡°Mage Felic, is that true?¡± Aeron asked in a harsh tone.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Aeron.¡±

    Lin Li admitted it right away.

    With the witnesses and evidence, it would be futile to deny his actions.

    ¡°Today¡¯s youngsters indeed have a greater potential than us old men! Hahaha...¡± the middle-aged man said as he startedughing out of a sudden. Still fixing his re on Lin Li, he continued, ¡°Mage Felic, did no one tell you that it is clearly against nna¡¯s rules for mages to fight among themselves?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Seems like you do not have a memory. <i>But </i>, don¡¯t worry. When you get to the underground prison of the Guild of Magic, I¡¯m sure there will be ample time for you to recall it... Now, as the arbitrator of nna Guild of Magic, I am arresting for your act of injuring your fellow mage. If you have any other words to say, we can slowly discuss it in jail. You are going to be in there for a long time.¡±

    ¡°You have no rights to bring Felic away!¡± Mason said firmly as he stepped forward, bringing Lin Li behind him.

    Orrin stepped forward without saying any word, trying to protect his teammate from Aeron as well.

    ¡°I presume the two of you are Orrin and Mason from Rotterdam and Chevan City, respectively?¡± Aeron asked with disdain. Smirking, he continued, ¡°Are you interested in joining him in the prison?¡±

    ¡°F*ck. If you are abiding thew¡±¡ªMason pointed at Aeron in a fury¡ª¡±then why wasn¡¯t Matthias arrested when he injured Orrin? And now, when ites to Felic, you are saying that he harmed his fellow colleagues?¡±

    ¡°He got injured by Matthias? Mason, could you tell me where did he suffer his injuries?¡±

    ¡°His right arm! Matthias used Arcane Missiles on him!¡±

    ¡°You are saying that... Matthias broke Orrin¡¯s right arm with Arcane Missiles before Felic retaliated with the same technique to break his four limbs?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Orrin, could you show me you right arm?¡±

    Mason fell in a daze immediately.

    Since they lived under the same roof, how would Mason not know that Orrin¡¯s right arm hadpletely recovered after consuming that potion? What are they going to show Aeron?

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to,¡± said Lin Li as he came forward. While staring firmly on Aeron¡¯s right hand, he spoke, ¡°Mr. Aeron, I injured Matthias myself, and it¡¯s got nothing to do with my teammates. I could go back with you, but allow me to ask a bold question. Who is Bathrilor to you?¡±

    There was a ruby ring of Aeron¡¯s right hand, and that gem was radiating faint magical waves.

    ¡°I¡¯m Bathrilor¡¯s father.¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Limented as he nodded his head.

    He was clear on everything at that moment.

    The reason he thought the middle-aged man looked familiar was not just that he looked alike with Matthias. That particr ruby ring on his finger had long since engraved itself deeply in his mind when he was nearly killed by its owner during the banquet at the Casten Mansion.

    Everything¡ªMatthias or thews of nna¡ªwere just excuses...

    Even if he did not break the four limbs of Matthias, Aeron could very well find other excuses to avenge his son. After all, nna Guild of Magic was Aldwin¡¯s territory. If the son of the president wanted to create trouble for Lin Li, nothing could stop him.

    ¡°You have guessed it right...¡± Underlying the smile of Aeron was a sense of satisfaction. From the day he returned from Jarrosus, avenging his son was always his top priority.

    Matthias was his only son. He prized him like a treasure ever since he was born. Aeron would never bear to scold or beat him up, or even speak to him in a harsh manner.

    How could he had expected that his son would return from Jarrosus with two broken fingers? If his father, Aldwin, did not stop him, Aeron would have gone down to Jarrosus in person to avenge his son.

    Heaven wasn¡¯t blind...

    To his joy, Jarrosus had sent Felic to represent their Guild for the trial held by the Supreme Council.

    Now, Aeron did not intend to let him leave nna alive...

    He had even devised a cruel scheme to ruthlessly torture him to death in the dungeon...

    ¡°Yes, I had indeed guessed it correctly...¡± Lin Li replied, and smiled as he took out his magic staff.

    At this juncture, actions would speak louder than words.

    If he had not known Aeron¡¯s identity, he might have been willing to go back with him for investigation. Now that he was certain that Aeron was the father of Bathrilor, how could he allow himself to fall into their hands? Even with the help of Aldwin, once he fell into the hands of Aeron, there would be a thousand ways for himself to be killed by him...

    ¡°It seems that you are going to go against me.¡± Aeron took a nce on Lin Li, than his gaze fell on Mason and Orrin. ¡°What about both of you? Also fighting back with him?¡±

    ¡°Moron.¡± The word left Orrin¡¯s mouth along with a cold tone.

    ¡°HAHAHA, you are right!¡± It was rare that Mason wouldugh so wholeheartedly when he heard that word.

    Aeron was not triggered by thisughter. With his high status and magnificent abilities, only the culprit who messed with his son would be a provocation to him. He nodded, and said, ¡°Since you want to be imprisoned with him, I can give you the chance.¡±

    Right after he finished his speech, the three men were surrounded by a strong gush of pressure. It was emitted by Aeron, who now appeared to be more powerful than before.

    Even Lin Li, who had just progressed to level-13, felt suffocated by that pressure. It was a spell to suppress the strength of enemies. Aeron did not recite or summon anything. His pure exertion of his mana was enough to restrain the three young but strong mages.

    ¡°That¡¯s... at least level-17...¡± Lin Li cried painfully. He realized that Aeron had lived up to his status as the son of Aldwin¡ªhe was iparable even with Old Merlin.

    ¡°You...¡± Lin Li opened his mouth. He wanted to warn Mason and Orrin of the danger they were putting themselves into.

    It was a level-17 Archmage they were trying to defy!

    Yet his half-started speech transformed into a bitter smile.

    ¡®Let¡¯s just leave it to fate...¡¯

    What the level-17 Archmage possessed was beyond human capacity. His sheer exertion of mana alone could provoke a huge mana storm in the jungle. Fallen leaves rose into the air, while sand and soil hit them like knife des. Standing in the center of this havoc, Aeron fell into delirium. He could finally avenge his poor son!

    Aeron grabbed onto his magic staff, and a long andplicated recitation reverberated in the forest...

    The terrible feeling of the frantic force of mana caused Lin Li¡¯s heart to sink down. With his level-13 skills, he did not have any ability to stand up against or even stop that spell of at least level-15...

    Suddenly, Lin Li heard the voice of an old man.

    ¡°You are going overboard, Aeron.¡±

 Chapter 125 - Andoine

    <h4>Chapter 125: Andoine</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was as though that hoarse voice carried something magical, as though an invisible hand came and grabbed onto the throat of Aeron. His recitation came to an abrupt stop, while the raging magical elements he¡¯d created also vanished immediately.

    The leaves that flew up into the air also fell back gently to the ground. The forest regained its serenity and peacefulness.

    Everyone looked towards the source of the sound.

    They saw a frail-looking elder walking out from the bushes ahead. He was a senior aged around 60 or 70, and had a face full of wrinkles. The grayish-white robe he wore was crumpled and dirty like it was not washed for decades. The moment he emerged from the thicket, everyone could realize a heavy smell of medicationing from him...

    As the old man got closer, Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°How are you, did you get injured?¡± the elder asked with great concern.

    Lin Li was touched by the warmth and care the old man showered him with. He smiled, and replied, ¡°I was just shocked...¡±

    ¡°Master Andoine, what are you trying to do?¡± Aeron asked while his lips turned purple as though he was recovering from a dire sickness. That was the effect of the bite of mana. The repercussion from having a level-15 spell interrupted would not be that easy to deal with aspared to the lower spells. Even if he was a high-level Archmage, he would need to exert all of his strength to stabilize the mana that went out of control.

    After knowing who the old man was when Aeron addressed him, everyone sighed in admiration.

    Other than Lin Li, everybody was shocked.

    Never would they have expected that the unkempt elderly man standing before them was one of the six legendary Mages¡ªAndoine from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic!

    Mason waspletely stunned. He had always heard about this legendary Mage from a young age, yet did not expect to meet an almighty man like Andoine in person. And, it seemed that the rtion between the man and his teammate was rather close...

    In that moment, even Orrin¡¯s face showed a rare hint of excitement. How would anyone from Fn Kingdom not have heard about the reputable Andoine?

    Matthias¡¯ two teammates were totally dumbfounded as well...

    They were extremely surprised with Felic¡¯s unusually close rtionship with the legendary Mage.

    Right before this, they foolishly stood up for Matthias since they had Mr. Aeron¡¯s backing. Now, they were in hot soup... The backer of their opponent was not just any other person, but a legendary Mage!

    Damn... it would be a gone case for them now...

    Actually, they were just overthinking it.

    Why would Andoine invest his time on them? His eyes were just fixed on Aeron in a deadly re.

    ¡°You have the cheek to ask me?¡± Andoine shot back furiously. If he did not pass by the area coincidentally, Felic could have died from Aeron¡¯s level-15 spell.

    How could a mere Archmage deal with the rage of a legendary Mage?

    Right after Andoine finished his speech, a surge of energy covered the entire part of the jungle they were in. Under that pressurizing force, Aeron¡¯s face turned as pale as a white sheet of paper.

    ¡°Ma-Master Andoine...¡± Aeron stammered.

    How could he have expected that that old man was so easily provoked, and totally would not treat him like the son of Aldwin? Aeron was totally astounded by looking at the limitless magical elements before him. He absolutely could notprehend what was so special about Felic that made Andoine feel so triggered.

    Andoine¡¯s facial expression was so familiar to Aeron¡¯s. When Bathrilor came back wounded from Jarrosus, that was the exact shade of wrath shown by himself. He understood that that degree of rage would only be shown by kin.

    Felic and Andoine might be...

    ¡°Let me tell you what I meant!¡±

    A surge of an unspeakable force of mana was released instantly.

    ¡°AHH...¡±

    How could Aeron hide from such a legendary force? The force flung him off, and he crashed into a tree.

    ¡°THUD!¡±

    The impact was so hard that the tree shook when Aeron crashed onto it. Lying on the ground, Aeron felt as though he was smashed into pieces. A buzzing sound echoed in his mind, and as he struggled to stand up from the ground, he felt nauseous. What followed was a hot gush of fresh blooding out from his mouth...

    ¡°Do you understand it now?¡± Andoine said coldly as he walked towards Aeron. Even after striking Aeron with the Power of Repulse, Andoine did not intend to stop.

    Aeron felt utterly terrified as he watched how Andoine got closer and closer to him.

    He knew that the old man was not joking with him...

    ¡°A-Andoine, you cannot kill me!¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I? Because of your father, Aldwin? Hmph. That old man is going to get it from me after this. His dear son almost killed the man I asked him to take good care of!¡±

    Seeing how serious Andoine was, Lin Li could not help but tremble in fear. He did not expect Andoine to have such a hot temper.

    Lin Li walked towards the man reluctantly, hoping to stop him.

    Aeron was Aldwin¡¯s son, after all. If Andoine were to kill him, he might get himself into unwanted trouble. Since Lin Li was not hurt by Aeron, there was no reason to blow up the matter...

    Just when Lin Li wanted to speak, he heard a strong gust of winding from above.

    He looked up into the air with curiosity. There, he saw Macklin rushing over at top speed while supporting himself with his Levitation Spell. Maintaining his flying speed, he shouted, ¡°Master Andoine, please step back!¡±

    ¡°Why are you here, idiot?¡±

    Macklin felt very offended by the word ¡®idiot¡¯. He had always been the one hurling the insults in nna Guild of Magic, not the other way round. Yet in front of Andoine, he did not dare to rebut him. After touching down, heughed sheepishly at Andoine.

    ¡°Hehehe... It was my utmost honor to be the mentor of your student in this trial...¡±

    Hearing this, Andoine shot him a suspicious nce, and asked, ¡°You¡ªan idiot¡ªare Felic¡¯s mentor?¡±

    ¡°Of course, you could also verify this with him,¡± Macklin admitted. Andoine¡¯s insults came like mosquito bites on his face. Being a thick-skinned man, Macklin could only put up with him. Smilingly, Macklin carefully persuaded, ¡°Why not give Aldwin some face by forgiving this chap...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if it¡¯s Aldwin, it is not impossible to do so...¡± Andoine agreed as he nodded his head. To be frank, he would also not want to offend Aldwin. After all, Aldwin was the great level-21 legendary Mage, and also the President of nna Guild of Magic. Although he was not afraid of that man, it would not be worth it to create such a tense rtionship with him...

    After considering the matter for a moment, Andoine¡¯s gaze fell on Macklin again. He asked in a concerned tone, ¡°What if I let him go, but he continues to create trouble for Felic?¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t! I could vouch for him!¡± Macklin cried as he shot Aeron a deadly re. He could not understand how a great man like Aldwin had such a foolish son.

    Apart from being the student of Andoine, Felic was also the hope of nna Guild of Magic. The magical weapons this young man could forge had a direct impact on the mausoleum of Highlord Osric.

    <i>Even an old man like me doesn¡¯t even bear to speak a harsh word to him, and you tried to attack him? If you ever dare to kill Felic, your father, Aldwin would beat you to death... </i>¡°How are you going to vouch for him?¡±

    ¡°Calm down and listen to me...¡± said Macklin as he led Andoine away to a secluded corner. Then, he told him about Lin Li¡¯s talent in forging, as well as the bet between the Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild.

    Their conversation continued for at least 10 minutes...

    ¡°In short, you don¡¯t need to worry¡ªtoday¡¯s only an ident. I, Macklin, would absolutely not allow anyone to hurt Felic. Aldwin, too, would never allow Aeron to be so reckless!¡± Macklin concluded his speech by assuring Andoine again.

    ¡°Mid-Middle-grade cksmith?¡± Andoine shot Lin Li a nce from afar. He was amazed. How would there be a second person as freakish as his student?

    He only knew that Felic was a one-of-a-kind prodigy specializing in the field of Magic, as well as a master in pharmaceutical knowledge... No, even a middle-grade cksmith as well?

    What else could be a challenge to that fe?!

    Nothing?! Oh, of course, let¡¯s not mention giving birth...

 Chapter 126 - Crystal of Eternity

    <h4>Chapter 126: Crystal of Eternity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°To say the truth, he is indeed a cksmith...¡± Macklin said as he shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°This young man...¡± Andoine murmured while he scratched his head in a daze. How could a human be so extraordinary? Being such a remarkable genius in forging, Lin Li was really a rare individual¡ªlike a dinosaur. Furthermore, Andoine clearly remembered that his man had extremely deep Pharmaceutical knowledge. The old man absolutely could notprehend how this freak was able to scale such great heights.

    After trying all possible ways in his persuasion, Macklin finally convinced Andoine to forgive Aeron for the time being.

    ¡°I will let today¡¯s matter pass. But, Macklin, don¡¯t me me for killing this fe if Felic gets hurt in nna. My decision will be final even if Aldwines over to beg me. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, yes!¡± Macklin nodded profusely. After they returned to nna Guild of Magic, he would get Aldwin to lock up that bastard son of his. ¡®F*ck you, Aeron... why am I taking the me for you?¡¯

    Even if he were Aldwin, he would not have dared to have any direct confrontation with Antoine or mess with his students. Unless... he was tired of living.

    ¡°Take him away...¡±

    Macklin was greatly relieved. With these words, it meant that Aeron¡¯s life had been spared.

    After dismissing Macklin, Andoine walked towards Lin Li with an anxious expression. ¡°Felic, please help me take a look this bottle of the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion...¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t changed much...¡± Lin Li said, andughed under his breath. He opened the cork stopper of the dark-red ss bottle Andoine passed him and took a sniff...

    ¡°The ingredients are alright,¡± replied Lin Li. With just a sniff, he could tell that this Bull¡¯s Strength Potion was more powerful than before. He had no issues with the ingredients of the potion. All four ingredients inside were in perfect ratio, and... it was very rare that the old man did not add any other weird things inside.

    And just because of this oddity, Lin Li could not help but ask, ¡°Who taught you this?¡±

    ¡°Grimm Burnside.¡± While replying him, the old Mage suddenly realized that he had been tricked. So, he tweaked his answer. ¡°Grimm Burnside gave me some suggestions. I thought they were good, so I adopted them reluctantly...¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you admit it, hahaha...¡± Lin Liughed as he put the cap back on the bottle and returned it to Andoine. ¡°This bottle of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion was generally well made, with the exception of the temperature it was created in. I remember telling you that when you are heating up the terocone juice, you need to maintain the temperature at the boiling point¡ªnot too hot or cold. Or else, there would be a violent reaction from the dracaena grass, leading to dire consequences¡ªand that¡¯s noughing matter. At the very least, the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion would turn into poison. Or else, it would emit a toxic effervescence that would kill anyone¡ªregardless of whether you are a legendary Sword Sage or a legendary Mage!¡±

    ¡°Oh, maintain the temperature at the boiling point...¡± Andoine nodded as he repeated Lin Li¡¯s advice in a serious tone.

    ¡°Oh yes, how did you find this ce?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story... Let¡¯s find somewhere quiet to take a sit, and I will tell you everything!¡± the old man said excitedly as he pulled Lin Li away, ignoring the people around him.

    While the two of them found a secluded spot to speak, the others were left dumbfounded...

    Especially Macklin¡ªhe totally could not believe his eyes!

    Illusion! It had to be an illusion! Macklin rubbed his eyes vigorously, yet he had to admit: everything was real...

    That old fe, Andoine, came with a bottle of potion to consult Lin Li?!

    <i>Goddammit, I¡¯m going crazy...</i>

    Macklin was really going mad. He was definitely clear about Andoine¡¯s identity. Although that old dude did not get into the Pharmacists Guild, he was a true Pharmacist!

    And now, this true Pharmacist came here to consult his student...

    Macklin thought he saw a dinosaur.

    W-what a monster...

    Not to mention his freakish potential in Magic, he was also immensely talented in the art of forging and in pharmacy! Most importantly, that fe was still under the age of 20!

    It was then that Macklin gradually realized how the seemingly down-and-out Jarrosus Guild of Magic had trained Lin Li into...

    ¡°O-Orrin, did I see wrongly?¡± Mason asked in admiration as though he was dreaming.

    ¡°N-No...¡±

    Both of them were utterly stunned; their stupefied gazes were fixed on the old man and the young fellow. It was such an unbelievable experience for them. The manner in which the young Felic gave the legendary Andoine advice was so natural as though it was expected!

    ¡°The guy who advised Master Andoine... was really Felic?¡±

    ¡°Should be...¡± This time, even Orrin could not believe his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m turning crazy...¡±

    Whether Mason would turn mad was not a concern of Andoine.

    He fiddled in his pocket.

    ¡°Look what I¡¯ve found just now...¡±

    What Andoine took out from his pocket was a sky-blue-colored crystal. It was the size of a fist, and when Lin Li held it in his hand, he felt a cooling sensation from the crystal. The refreshing feeling spread from his palm to his entire body. ¡°The Crystal of Eternity?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up as he eximed in excitement. How would he not know the origin of this treasure? Lin Li had acquired a piece of it when he was a Hunter at the Endless World. Unfortunately, while in search for a suitable crystal sculptor, he did not manage to bring the crystal with him when he transmigrated.

    To pharmacists, this item was a real treasure. Although it looked like an ordinary b of stone, once it was carved into a medication bottle, its value would multiply by a hundred times. Any medication the bottle was to contain would have no expiry date, and thus could be stored for eternity. On top of that, the medication inside the bottle would grow stronger with the passage of time.

    It was said that the im had been verified by someone in the Endless World.

    He poured a mana potion into one such bottle and only drank it after a few months. The effect of that bottle of potion was already on par with the Awakening Potion!

    That treasure was what all pharmacists dreamed to own. Especially Lin Li, who had already reached the level of a Pharmaceutics guru. He had always been bringing at least 17 bottles of potion around with him. If he were to have one such bottle with him, he would be ted.

    After returning the Crystal of Eternity to Andoine, Lin Li asked, ¡°Where did you find this?¡±

    ¡°I found it in the Northern side of the jungle, not too far from here. If you are interested, I could bring you there. But... I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need to, since there would not be crystals there anymore. I only found one piece of the Crystal of Eternity at that ce after venturing for about two or three days... Who knew I would meet you on my way back!¡± Andoine said as he put the crystal into his pocket, his face beaming with pride.

    ¡°Hehe... luck yed a part in that too. I went to the Adventurers Guild a few days before, and met an adventurer who was selling a broken fragment of the Crystal of Eternity. Nobody wanted to buy it from him for the entire afternoon. How foolish they were not to know what¡¯s the Crystal of Eternity! I even tricked him into telling me where he found that fragment by buying it from him with 100 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°You really intend to go?¡± Andoine could not help but feel surprised. Did he not tell him that he spent at least two days to find this crystal? Even if there was a crystal, he would already have found it. Why was this fellow still in a rush to go?

    Wait a minute... This fellow was no ordinary human being. He must have known some other things he did not have any knowledge about...

    ¡°Is there... any problem with that ce?¡± Andoine asked as he wanted to test Lin Li.

    ¡°Of course there is...¡± Lin Li looked at him helplessly. He did not know how to describe this foolish old man... How could he concentrate on such a trivial matter and neglect the big picture?

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go there at once. When I left, I saw people walking towards it!¡± Andoine cried out nervously. He immediately got more anxious than Lin Li when he heard that he¡¯d missed something crucial.

    ¡°Hold on, now is not the time to do so. It is still too early, we¡¯ve got to wait for the sun to set.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°The reason isplicated. I will tell you when I have the time...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 127 - The Mineral Veins of the Eternal Adamantine

    <h4>Chapter 127: The Mineral Veins of the Eternal Adamantine</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When the two people finished discussing the details, Macklin was already gone. Apanying him was Aeron, who was severely injured and in grave danger.

    But Lin Li was not concerned with all these.

    What mattered to him most was the Crystal of Eternity with Andoine.

    As a master of mineral veins, how could Lin Li not remember its association with those crystals? It meant that anywhere with the Crystal of Eternity, there would sure be the mineral veins of the Eternal Adamantine.

    The Eternal Adamantine was a treasure as well. Having the properties of a stabilizer, it was suitable to be used to forge not only gold rods, but was alsomonly used as coating for armors. With this thinyer of coating, the protection the armor could provide would be even greater.

    Also...

    In the mineral veins of the Eternal Adamantine, apart from the Crystal of Eternity, many types of rare gems could be found as well. This would include the Dragon¡¯s Eye, the Heart of Gaia, as well as the Star¡¯s Lament. Being precious and authentic jewels, even the weakest of them would not be inferior to the ruby on Aeron¡¯s ring.

    If they were lucky, they would find a Mana Crystal¡ªthe natural source where mana was created from. Even if it was the size of a thumb, the mana it could generate would not be less than a level-15 Magical Crystal¡¯s.

    Ever since he transmigrated, Lin Li always regretted not bringing more high-grade Magical Crystals with him.

    Well, having that Gold Rod that was coated with the Deep Silver, he could only use his low-grade level-12 Magical Crystals for it previously.

    Unfortunately, it was still too early.

    As the properties of the Eternal Adamantine were generally stable, he could not detect it with magic. Even for a master of mineral veins like Lin Li, he could only find the glowing Eternal Adamantine after the sky darkened.

    For that, Lin Li was not anxious at all.

    From the small size of the Crystal of Eternity in Andoine¡¯s hands, Lin Li could tell that the mineral vein of the Eternal Adamantine would not be a rich mine, and that it would also be a very sparse one. Previously, Lin Li had gotten his first Crystal of Eternity from the rich mines of Thousand Pinnacles. It had the size of a human head, and would be sufficient for any crystal sculptor to create an entire set of potion bottles...

    To Lin Li, mineral veins were considered rtively safe since they were scattered and barren. Even if there were people who went there, they would not be able to retrieve the treasures. Given theirck of knowledge of minerals, they would not be able to harvest them in such a short period of time.

    Antoine, however, was anxious.

    He really wished to fly back to nna instantly to find a crystal sculptor to help him with the crafting of the potion bottle! How would he have the patience to waste his time in that forest?

    After Lin Li introduced Antoine to Mason and Orrin, the old man said in a haste, ¡°I will meet you again tonight.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Lin Li replied, and did not ask him to stay longer. He knew what Antoine was thinking.

    ¡°See you tonight.¡±

    At once, Andoine vanished in the blink of an eye with the help of the Power of Flight.

    Then, Lin Li realized a stunned Mason was looking at him in a daze as if he was looking at a stranger.

    ¡°Y-you are... really Felic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really me,¡± assured Lin Li. When he saw his stupefied expression, he had a sudden urge to knock his head against a tree.

    ¡°T-then... how would you know Master Antoine?¡± Mason asked again with suspicion. He still could not believe his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story... I will tell you when we have the time?¡± replied Lin Li. He was not lying. The story of how he met Antoine was reallyplicated, and would be iprehensible for Mason if given only a short period of time. That was if Lin Li dared to tell him the whole story. The concept of time-traveling would frame him an extraterrestrial being. He would be viewed like an Abyssal Demon, and probably risk being burnt alive.

    ¡°...¡±

    Hence, how could Mason insist further? His eyes were just filled with amazement. He could not believe how this self-proimed level-seven teammate had such a terrifying background...

    That was a feeling shared by Orrin.

    For his reserved personality, he would certainly not run up to people to pester them about their background.

    That, however, did not mean that he was not feeling shocked.

    Any blind man would be able to sense the absurdity.

    The interaction between Antoine and Lin Li showed closeness that surpassed a teacher-student rtionship.

    How would any student in this world use the word ¡°you¡± when they addressed their own teacher?

    Furthermore, Orrin had clearly seen how sincere Antoine was when he consulted his teammate on the bottle of potion.

    Orrin could not believe his own eyes at that moment. It was so surreal. A master in pharmaceutical knowledge seeking help on a potion, and that person was his own teammate...

    ...

    They started their missionte that day. When the three of them returned from the Nightmare Mountains, it was already dinner time.

    When they¡¯d woken up at noon, Lin Li had to skip lunch since Macklin was rushing them to get started with their training in the Nightmare Mountains. Now, after all the perspiring, he was so hungry as though he could feel his chest pressed against his back. When he entered the guild hall, he started to search around for food.

    Behind him were his curious teammates, who still had not recovered from their daze. Their minds were just upied with that mysterious teammate.

    ¡°Mr. Felic!¡± Lin Li heard a voice calling from behind.

    After he turned his back, he saw Sean, whom he had not seen for two days.

    ¡°Hey Sean, why are you here?¡± Lin Li asked guiltily. After all, it was him who¡¯d brought Sean to nna. Yet when they reached the Guild of Magic, he did not interact much with him.

    ¡°I was waiting for you...¡± Sean said as he scratched his head shyly. ¡°I heard that the mages who are here this time would be undergoing their training missions in extremely dangerous ces. So I was worried about your safety...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Liughed lightly. Seeing how Sean was so concerned for him, he felt a little touched.

    While they continued their conversation, Lin Li suddenly noticed how Sean was still wearing the same leather armor he wore in ckhills Town. ¡°Oh, yes. Sean, why didn¡¯t you change into a different armor?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± replied Sean as his tanned skin revealed a tinge of embarrassment. After hesitating for a moment, he bashfully continued, ¡°I... I only have one piece of leather armor...¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡±

    Instantly, Lin Li remembered how Sean told him he only had that one armor when they were at ckhills Town. At that time, Lin Li promised Sean that he would buy new armor for him when they reached nna. That promise, however, was forgotten due to the hectic schedule Lin Li was presented with¡ªtraining missions and helping Macklin with forging...

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I will bring you to get a new one now,¡± said Lin Li generously. In his guilt, he had forgotten about hunger. After informing his teammates, he brought Sean out of the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°M-Mr Felic, actually t-there¡¯s no need to... T-this leather armor can stillst me a long time...¡± Along the way, Sean stammered as he tried to reject Lin Li¡¯s offer. He was not from a wealthy family background. Since a young age, Sean had valued frugality. Unless his armor was torn and tattered, he would not bear to change it at all.

    To this honest young man, armors were really expensive.

    ¡°Hey, your weapon needs to be changed too...¡± Lin Li muttered under his breath, and totally paid no attention to Sean¡¯s reluctance. After sizing up Sean for a moment, he continued, ¡°That double-edged sword of yours is actually quite useful... But it is a pity that you are not trained in both Magic and Martial Arts. Otherwise, you would be able to utilize the sword to its full potential. Let me bring you to the weapon shopter to choose a suitable one first. After that, I¡¯ll think of a way...¡±

    To the wealthy Lin Li, how much would an armor and a weapon cost?

    While they walked on the streets of nna, Lin Li asked in a concerned tone, ¡°Oh, yes. Sean, what have you been doing in the past two days? Why have I not seen you at all?¡±

 Chapter 128 - Outfit

    <h4>Chapter 128: Outfit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Sean¡¯s face lit up as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure where was that ce too; it was a mage who brought me there...¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± said Lin Li as he nodded. Since he remembered Darian had said the Guild of Magic had helped Sean prepare amodation, he thought it should be that mage who brought Sean there, and did not inquire further.

    When two of them left the Guild of Magic, the sky had already darkened. Although the streets of nna were still bustling with activity, most of the shops had ended their business for the day. It was not a perfect timing to buy any equipment, as most goods would be out of stock, and the shop owners would purposely sell their products at exorbitant prices.

    This fact, however, did not stop Lin Li at all¡ªa few more gold coins did not matter to him. Anyway, that was only temporary. How could he equip Sean with low-grade equipment? When the time came, he would personally create them for Sean.

    In reality, Lin Li already had ns for that.

    Yet, there was no need to rush. They just had to wait till tonight.

    The stabilizing properties of the elements in the Eternal Adamantine would be the most appropriate material to create the best outfit for Sean...

    With this mentality, Lin Li was not as picky as usually. Shortly, they found a costume stall that was still open.

    ¡°We will go into this shop, then,¡± said Lin Lizily. He was so exhausted from all the training missions he had in the day that he did not feel like finding another stall.

    ¡°Wee,¡± the friendly shop owner greeted them politely. He was not put off by the old and wrinkled robe Lin Li wore at all, and invited them into the stall sincerely.

    Lin Li was impressed by the good attitude of the stall owner.

    ¡°Mr. Mage, what do you need?¡±

    ¡°No, no. Not me.¡± Lin Li shook his head and pointed to Sean who was standing at the door, ¡°I¡¯m buying my friend an outfit, but I¡¯m not sure which to get. Do you mind bringing us around to look for appropriate ones?¡±

    ¡°Sure, pleasee over here.¡±

    The owner brought both of them in front of a shelf of weapons, and pointed to a double-edged sword that was made of refined iron. ¡°What do you think of this sword? It was produced by the Adventurers Guild¡¯s Marathon Forging Group. The price is just 100 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°It is a reasonable price indeed...¡± Lin Li agreed. If such double-edged sword were to be sold in Gilded Rose, it would cost at least 200 gold coins.

    However, Lin Li felt that such a weapon was not suitable for Sean. Due to theck of quenching, its sharpness was heavily affected. On top of that, as a proficient swordsman, what mattered was the weight of his weapon, and not its magical properties nor sharpness.

    ¡°We will look at others...¡±

    ¡°What about this?¡± The shop owner rmended patiently as he took out a long gun from the shelf. ¡°This was a product manufactured by the Marathon Forging Group too. Its creator is in charge of all the weapons used by one of the Three Great Praetorian Guards¡ªSky Knights¡ªas well. The price, however, is a little expensive... It would cost 500 gold coins.¡±

    The heaviness of the weapon could be reflected in the facial expression of the shop owner, who was carrying the gun with much difficulty. Unfortunately, Sean told Lin Li in a small voice, ¡°Mr. Felic, I don¡¯t know how to use long guns...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The two men toured the stall for quite a while, but nothing struck their eye. Just when Lin Li decided to randomly select any outfit for the time being, he felt a magical waveing from one of the shelves.

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li said as he walked towards it in curiosity. The magical elements appeared to be radiating from an outfit. That costume set was made up of a double-edged sword and a red leather armor. When Lin Li went nearer to it, he could sense fire magical element in the surroundings.

    It was a dull-colored sword, and on its de, there was a faint mark of red. If Lin Li did not remember wrongly, it meant that the de was made of the Abyss Mithril. Among all the magical metals, a little bit of it was enough to increase the weight of weapons by many levels.

    As for that red leather armor, it seemed like it was made of the skin of Fire Smandrids.

    They were the legendary descendants of the Fire Smandrids. Being natural fire spirits of level-14, the fire Smandrids could walk in zing fire, bathe in bubbling scaling moltenva, and were proficient in all fire-element spells. Armors that were created from their skin not only had the ability to protect the owner from magic, but also the power to generate magical mes to retaliate against any attackers.

    ¡°Boss, how much does this set cost?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± The middle-aged man hesitated in his reply. ¡°Mr. Mage, why don¡¯t you look at other outfits? These two pieces are...¡±

    He could not believe why the poorly dressed mage would be interested in that set.

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I am helping its owner to sell it here. However, the price he gave was really...¡±

    ¡°How much is it?¡± Lin Li asked in relief. It was good to know that those two goods were for sale. How would money matter to this filthy rich customer?

    ¡°200,000 gold coins...¡± The man could not help but admit the exorbitant price for just a two-piece outfit. It was worse than daylight robbery!

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li nodded as he took out a Glittergold Bank card from his wallet. ¡°I am buying it.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± eximed the shop owner in shock. Actually, he already had ns to decrease the price of the outfit in order to get rid of it from his shelves (finally).

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lin Li asked after observing his weird expression. Then, he continued in a concerned tone, ¡°Your shop does not ept payment with Glittergold Bank¡¯s crystal card?¡±

    ¡°N-no, no...¡± After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, the owner was struck back into reality. He took out another crystal card, and started the transaction.

    200,000 gold coins were peanuts to Lin Li.

    How would he not know the value of those two pieces of equipment?

    Thebined value of a double-edged sword that was created with the Abyss Mithril and an armor made from the skin of Fire Smandrids should be at least 300,000 gold coins. Purchasing it with 200,000 gold coins was absolutely considered a value buy.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Boss, could you do me a small favor?¡± Lin Li asked before stepping out of the stall.

    ¡°Of course, anything in my ability,¡± the stall owner replied immediately. After making such a big fortune, he was in a very good mood.

    ¡°If the owner of the outfites to collect the money, could you tell him to visit the Guild of Magic to look for me? Say that a Mage named Felic is interested in discussing some business matters with him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure...¡± The shopkeeper agreed without questioning further. After all, he was an experienced businessman. He knew what to ask and what not to ask.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Upon stepping out of the stall, Lin Li passed the outfit to Sean, and said, ¡°You can use this outfit for the time being. I will help you get a better one after a few days.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sean was so stunned.

    He would never have imagined that Mr. Felic would gift him an outfit that cost 200,000 gold coins so generously. From Mr. Felic¡¯s words, it seemed that he had ns to give him a better outfit...

    ¡°M-Mr. Felic, this is too expensive! I-I... cannot t-take it...¡± Sean stammered at the surprise that came too quickly.

    ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m asking you to take it, so you <i>had better </i>take it!¡± After knowing Sean for such a long time, Lin Li understand that his pal was an honest and humble individual. So... he could only make himself seem harsh to give him a scare. ¡°Look at yourself. Can you protect me with this old and tattered costume? It can¡¯t even protect <i>you </i>...¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap, put it on <i>now </i>!¡±

    ...

 Chapter 129 - Fire Salamandrids

    <h4>Chapter 129: Fire Smandrids</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Under the pressure of Lin Li, Sean changed into the brand-new Smandrid Armor quickly. He felt faint fire magical element as well as the unique warmth of Fire Smandrids. The double-edged sword in his hands was heavy, and the red marks of the Abyss Mithril appeared even more crimson in the dark.

    Sean was so excited that his face glowed as he gripped the double-edged sword so tightly that his hands trembled. To this young man with a poor family background, everything was like a dream. How many Fire Crow¡¯s feathers and low-grade magical crystals did he have to acquire, and how many missions did he have toplete in order to earn 200,000 gold coins? It was beyond Sean¡¯s ability to calcte the figures. He only knew that he would need 100 years to own such a huge sum of money.

    After leaving the stall, Sean felt as though he was sleepwalking. When he walked, it was like stepping on cotton¡ªevery step was so light. Yet, such a hefty amount of money was extremely terrifying. Never had he dreamed to own two items that were worth 200,000 gold coins...

    Throughout the journey back, Sean hugged the double-edged sword very tightly in his arms with a very serious expression. It was as though what he carried was his new-born baby, and not his weapon. Every few steps, he would stop to check if there were any dirt that stuck onto it.

    Realizing that, Lin Li stopped walking, and asked, ¡°Sean, can¡¯t you walk properly?¡±

    ¡°Okie...¡± he replied Lin Li. Although he tried to tone down a little, the lightness of his steps as he tried to move extremely carefully in his outfit made him looked as though he was a thief.

    Lin Li just shook his head. He did not know what to do with Sean...

    The streets of nna in the evening were much quieter aspared to daytime. While strolling back to the Guild of Magic, Sean continued to walk very, very carefully, while Lin Li¡¯s mind was focused on thinking about who the previous owner of the outfit was...

    Although there were two pieces of clothing in that outfit, Lin Li was only concerned with the Smandrid Armor.

    Ever since Sean told him about that mysterious cave, Lin Li had always wanted to explore the Fire Plume Ridge. However, Lin Li had never thought of any way to deal with the extreme temperature there. The Fire Plume Ridge was the ce where the ck lotuses grew, and the fire magical element within it was even more threatening than the Archmage-level magic. It was luck that allowed Sean to escape to safety. As for what type of luck it was, Lin Li would only know it if he were to go there...

    Today¡¯s Smandrid Armor, however, gave him an idea.

    If the Fire Smandrid Armor were to be modified properly, it could really defend its user from Archmage-level fire-element magic spells.

    Hence, the armor Sean was wearing would require some alteration...

    It was perhaps due to a different intention that the creator of the armor had had in mind, but when he was creating it, he emphasized too much its offensive power, and neglected its defensive properties. On top of this, the armor was also not given any inscription treatment. Since it was just an armor, and not a living level-14 Fire Smandrid, if the creator wanted it to be immune to fire, he needed to coat it with a master-level mageweath¡ªthe mes Extinguisher.

    Unfortunately, the Fire Smandrids were usually rare. As the descendants of the Solomondos, they would most likely be near each other. Yet, the Solomondos were level-18 magical beasts. If one was not a Legendary-level mage, he would only be killed in a battle with them.

    Which adventurer would dare to skin a Fire Smandrid? If they were to provoke the Solomondos, it would be toote to even cry...

    Furthermore... the Solomondos had a very long lifespan, and the stronger ones could surpass level-20 to be Legendary-level magical beasts, and their strength would multiply by many folds. Until then, they would be called the ¡®Smanders¡¯.

    Throughout his journey from Jarrosus to nna, Lin Li did not see any Fire Smandrid skin at all. Little did he expect to find one when he brought Sean out to shop for his outfit.

    It would not be an issue if the armor was not functional.

    What was important was that through that armor, Lin Li had the opportunity to find its seller.

    Once he found him, Lin Li would have his ways to get him to reveal the origins of that skin.

    Until then, how would it not be a piece of cake for him to venture into the Fire Plume Ridge?

    The two men walked along the street slowly. When they were about to reach the Guild of Magic, Sean stopped in his tracks abruptly.

    This time, however, he did not use the time to clean his armor. Instead, he looked at Lin Li hesitantly. ¡°Mr. Felic, could I...¡±

    ¡°Could you what?¡± Lin Li asked as he looked at him suspiciously. The more he stared at him, the more he realized that once they left the Guild of Magic, Sean had been stuttering¡ªnot like his usual self.

    <i>Did he encounter anything unusual in those two days? </i>Seeing how Lin Li looked at him skeptically, Sean swallowed his words, and shook his head frantically. ¡°N-no, nothing much...¡±

    ¡°Sean!¡± yelled Lin Li.

    Hearing Sean¡¯s meek reply, he noticed something that was amiss at once. <i>There must be something hidden in the heart of this fe! </i>Lin Li stopped walking as well. With a serious expression, he questioned, ¡°Tell me honestly, or I shall send you back to Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Felic, there¡¯s really nothing...¡±

    ¡°I repeat, DON¡¯T YOU LIE!¡± The frustrated Lin Li insisted harshly, letting out almost a howl.

    Sean had a fright. That was the first time he witnessed Lin Li in such a great fury ever since he left Jarrosus. Stunned, he swallowed his saliva nervously. After hesitating for quite a while, he mustered his courage, and said, ¡°Mr. Felic... C-Could I... Could I move out of the hostel?¡±

    ¡°Why do you wish to move out of it?¡± Lin Li asked doubtfully. That was an unusual request from Sean. Was it ufortable for him to live there?

    ¡°That¡¯s because, because...¡±

    After saying two ¡®because¡¯, his voice got softer and softer, and his head lower and lower.

    ¡°Because of what?¡± Lin Li questioned, and then suddenly observed some remnants of magical waves on Sean¡¯s body. Instantly, Lin Li¡¯s face ashened¡ªhow could a great Magic Shooter not understand what that magical wave meant?

    Without asking, Lin Li ripped off Sean¡¯s armor.

    What came into his view was a chest full of ck, charred marks. The magical wave that lingered carried a scent of burnt smell.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li burst out in rage. He nearly lighted the houses that were along streets with fire.

    No wonder he did not see Sean in those two days...

    No wonder Sean wanted to move out...

    Lin Li did not need to ask anything. Those burnt marks screamed everything to him.

    From Sean¡¯s wounds, he was absolutely certain that he was attacked by the ming Hands!

    ¡°Who did that?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Felic...¡±

    ¡°SPEAK!¡± Lin Li hollered in a very threatening and fierce manner. He could not believe that Sean would receive such a severe injury when it had only been two days since he arrived at nna.

    Lin Li felt that it was his negligence that resulted in Sean¡¯s suffering. It was like a tight p to himself.

    ¡°I-it was a mage...¡±

    Lin Li breathed heavily as he tried to force himself to calm down.

    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°I-I think... I think his name is Madrick.¡±

    ¡°Great, Madrick...¡± Lin Li nodded, and continued to ask impatiently, ¡°Why did he attack you?¡±

    ¡°He said... He said he needed a partner to practice magic with...¡±

    ¡°Practice magic...¡± Lin Li repeated Sean¡¯s words as he cracked his knuckles, his fists tightly clenched.

    ¡°Bring me to find him,¡± he requested hostilely after quite a while.

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s facial expression was terrifying. Sean did not dare to say anything more. He walked into the guild hall and along the corridors. After making a few turns and out of the guild hall, Lin Li saw a short building.

    From its exterior, it seemed as though the building had been there for many years. The paint had long been washed away by age. Although they were at a distance away from it, he could smell a tinge of mustiness. Looking at its structure, it seemed like an abandoned warehouse.

    ¡°You were living here??¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Felic.¡±

    ¡°F*ck you, Darian!¡± Lin Li was so triggered that his desire to kill was overwhelming. He would never have thought that the ce Darian had referred to was an abandoned warehouse like this.

    How was that a ce for humans to live in?

    ¡°Where¡¯s Madrick?¡±

    ¡°He lives here too. I heard that he was sent by the Guild of Magic...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li nodded. Now he knew why.

    There were a lot of mages who were participating in that round of trial. Hence, it was natural for them to bring along their attendants, which caused a shortage of housing. Since the attendants were mostly of no status, this ce was thus an attempt to make room for them temporarily.

    How would the mages be concerned about the lives of their lowly attendants?

    It was not difficult to guess the motive of the nna Guild of Magic in sending Madrick over¡ªit was to ensure the attendants did not cause trouble in the Guild of Magic.

    No one from nna Guild of Magic would care about the methods Madrick adopted to maintain the order there.

    The only one who would poke his nose into it would be Lin Li.

    Sean was more than his attendant.

    At most times, Lin Li treated Sean like his own little brother. Now that the little brother was hurt by ming Hands, how could the older brother forgive the culprit?

 Chapter 130 - Madrick

    <h4>Chapter 130: Madrick</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°T-the person who arranged a-amodation for me was a m-mage. H-he looked 40 years old, and was around t-this tall...¡± Sean replied clumsily when he got to the description of the physical appearance of the subject. He was just bad at expressing himself.

    Despite the vague description, Lin Li could tell that Darian was the middle-aged mage Sean was trying to tell himself about.

    Along the way, Sean was extra careful when he was around Lin Li as he feared to provoke him. Hence, while conversing with Lin Li, he could not help but stutter. It took him half a day to give Lin Li a rough idea.

    That old building was truly the ce they housed the people who came with the mages.

    Upon bringing Sean there that day, Dorian asked Madrick to help him with registration. Sean could still remember that the men had a long conversation after the registration waspleted. However, Sean was not aware of the contents of their conversation at all.

    Then, Madrick brought Sean to his room, and told him the usual things to take note of when living in the hostel before leaving him there.

    Yet, someone woke Sean up on the morning of the second day.

    It was the drunk Madrick, whose breath was filled with the stench of alcohol, and he staggered as he walked.

    Sean could vaguely remember the conversation he had with him. Madrick was a rude man who hurled a lot of vulgarities at him. Heshed out at Sean for his lowly presence at the Guild of Magic with disdain, and sulked because of his task to look after him...

    After the scolding, he brought Sean out.

    ¡°Mr. Mage told me he needed an opponent to train with him...¡± murmured Sean as he lowered his head in an attempt to avoid eye contact with the raging Lin Li.

    ¡°And then he made you train with him??¡±

    Lin Li was so furious that the green veins on his face were visible when he questioned Sean.

    Sean was a white mouse for Madrick¡¯s magical experiments, not his magical training partner!

    When they were at Jarrosus, Gerian told Lin Li something rted to that.

    He said that there were some mages who would use living specimens to test their skills. By attacking them repeatedly, they could estimate the effects of their spells. These experiments, however, usually involved low-grade magical beasts. That was the first time Lin Li ever heard people like Madrick, who used real humans for their tests.

    Most importantly, that person was Sean...

    ¡°Continue.¡±

    Under Lin Li¡¯s pressurizing gaze, Sean had no choice but to continue.

    He was right¡ªthat supposed ¡®magical training¡¯ was just a hoax. The first thing Madrick told Sean was that he should not be fighting back, and to maintain a 10-meter distance from him. Sean abided by everything innocently, which made him a perfect living target.

    Although Sean was naturally strong, he had never learned martial arts. With those restrictions imposed on him, how could he be a mage¡¯s opponent? He was struck by many different magical attacks in the blink of an eye. There was a bruise on his chest due to an attack by the ming Hands, a wound on his back caused by an explosion of an Air Bomb, and a cut on his calf as a result of a Wind de.

    Thank goodness... Sean¡¯s life was still intact. Those magical spells did not manage to hit the critical regions.

    Yet even if Sean had a strong body, being attacked by so many magical spells without defending himself would result in excruciating pain.

    People who had not experienced the feeling of being attacked by magic would never understand that torment. Amidst the brilliant sparks of magic, there was the most murderous pain. For example, if the Air Bomb were to explode on one¡¯s back, he would feel as though he had triggered a firecracker inside his body.

    Just a ¡°POM!¡±, and one could be battered to a pulp.

    Even Sean, a man who could endure arduous tasks, pleaded Lin Li to let him move out of that hostel.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you retaliate?¡± Lin Li red at Sean furiously. He was angry at him¡ªangry at his innocence and honesty.

    If somebody were to attack you out of ill intentions, it was only normal to hit him back.

    Lin Li despised merciless people. That was his personality¡ªif people did not offend him, he could be extremely polite to them. However, if they showed any signs of enmity, Lin Li could be very extreme too¡ªjust like how he killed Cromwell in Daylight Square, or how the bandits lost at least 10 of their members in the Sylvan Inn, and how the Adventurers from Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps died in the Thousand Leaves Bar...

    ¡°I could not fight back...¡± Sean muttered as he bent his head lower.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I was afraid you might be angry if I hurt him... He¡¯s a mage too, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was utterly speechless, and felt extremely touched by his reply. He had imagined all sorts of causes that made Sean not fight Madrick back.

    How foolish the real reason was! Although it was full of sincerity...

    Lin Li opened his mouth, and wanted to speak¡ªbut he did not know how to. There were just some things that required him to be there to experience them before he would know what to do.

    Hence, Lin Li only patted Sean¡¯s shoulders, and brought him into that short building.

    An abandoned warehouse would naturally be iparable to the condo the training mages like Lin Li lived in. These warehouses, however, were very spacious. Yet, they were extremely rundown. When Lin Li walked past the warehouses, there was a moldy stenching from the rooms.

    The rooms were temporarily separated by wooden dividers¡ªone could feel the instability of the wall when he pushed it. The only decent room was the one deeper inside, which seemed like it¡¯d been a storeroom in the past. From afar, it looked bright and spacious. There were also a few young mages sitting on the rattan chairs at the side, having a casual conversation with each other.

    ¡°May I ask if Mage Madrick is here?¡± Lin Li politely asked them. He was all smiles¡ªhe totally did not look like someone who was trying to find trouble.

    ¡°You are looking for Madrick?¡± one of the mages with a golden hair asked as he nced at Lin Li with judgemental eyes.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The golden hair mage frowned as he asked suspiciously, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    <i>This guy does not look like he belongs to nna Guild of Magic. The robe he is donning appears old and crumpled as well, just like what a poor fe would be dressed in.¡¯ </i>Contrastingly, the teenager behind him was well-built and buff. He had a double-edged sword and a red leather armor that emitted faint magical waves. That was definitely a fabulous magical outfit.

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m Felic from Jarrosus City.¡±

    ¡°You know Madrick?¡± the person asked disdainfully upon hearing that Lin Li came from Jarrosus City. Since Jarrosus was quite a rural area on the continent, it was no wonder to that mage that Lin Li had such a shabby attire.

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Lin Li nodded his head ambiguously.

    ¡°It seems that Madrick isn¡¯t back yet. You could wait for him here...¡± Seeing how rugged Lin Li was, the young mage lost interest in him quickly. After speaking to Lin Li, he readjusted his chair, and continued his superficial chat with his colleagues.

    Hence, Lin Li and Sean waited for Madrick patiently. Since was still time to his meeting with Andoine, Lin Li was not in a rush.

    After half an hour, the door was opened.

    The man who entered the room wore a new gray mage robe, and looked at least 20-years-old. From afar, Lin Li realized that his appearance resembled Darian.

    ¡°Mr. Felic, that¡¯s Mage Madrick...¡± Sean whispered into Lin Li¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li replied, and nodded his head.

    Before Lin Li could speak to anyone else, that young mage shouted, ¡°Madrick, someone¡¯s looking for you!¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Felic from Jarrosus City. HAHAHAHA! Didn¡¯t know you went to such a big city before!¡±

    His ironic use of the phrase ¡®big city¡¯ led to sarcasticughter from the other mages.

    ¡°What crap are you talking about? How would I have gone to such a rural ce...¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Mage Madrick.¡± Lin Li smiled, addressing him very politely.

    ¡°You are...?¡±

    ¡°My name is Felic, and I¡¯m from Jarrosus,¡± Lin Li introduced himself, and reached out with his hand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any Felic¡ª¡± said Madrick, but he was interrupted by a cream white glow that suddenly appeared from the open palm.

    What followed immediately was a ¡°POM!¡±

    An Arcane Missiles flew out of Lin Li¡¯s hand into Madrick¡¯s chest.

    The Arcane Missile had proven its power¡ªMatthias became a cripple due to the four shots of it. Although Lin Li did not exert his full force, it was enough to send Madrick flying out of the door.

    In that instance, he felt as though someone rammed a hammer into his chest. There was no time to react.

    ¡°Now, do you know me?¡± Lin Li asked as he continued to smile. Yet, his killing intent was known to all.

    That sudden change shocked everyone.

    The few young mages who were sitting on the rattan chairs got up, and surrounded Lin Li at once; they even had their spells prepared, but none dared to strike Lin Li.

    The poor and unkempt young mage they had previously despised transformed into a powerful monster, whose skills were unfathomable. That beast merely used a single Arcane Missile to injure Madrick severely. Who knew what terrifying consequences would befall them if they were to fire at Lin Li?

    ¡°You¡ª¡± Madrick tried to speak, but a gush of hot blood spluttered out of his throat. Even if he was not a weak mage, but the strong-freak¡ªSean¡ªit would still be impossible to get away unharmed.

    What followed was a series of coughing, and a broken voice filled with great pain, as though the lungs were going to be coughed out. Only after a while did Madrick struggle to ask, ¡°W-Who... are you?¡±

    ¡°It is alright if you don¡¯t know me,¡± said the grinning Lin Li, who then pointed at Sean who was by his side. ¡°You should know him, right?¡±

 Chapter 131 - Mineral Veins

    <h4>Chapter 131: Mineral Veins</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Madrick¡¯s face turned pale the moment he saw Sean. How could he not know what he had done? Thinking back to what had happened two days ago, Madrick swallowed his saliva with much difficulty, and his expression revealed some fear. ¡°What... What exactly do you want?¡±

    ¡°What do I want? Heh heh...¡± Lin Li bent down with a grin on his face as he stared into Madrick¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. I don¡¯t want to do anything to you. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve heard Sean mention today that a mage called Madrick is missing an opponent to practice with. I wonder if I can have the honor?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Madrick looked suspicious, and retreated unconsciously. He didn¡¯t know why, but he always thought this fellow named Felic looked frightening when he smiled.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Lin Li nodded seriously, and his face was unusually sincere.

    But at the same time, a wind de tore through the air, and a light swoosh was heard. The wind de closed in on Madrick¡¯s inner thigh, and made a long, deep cut.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A shrill cry sounded. In an instant, blood was cascading out of Madrick¡¯s thigh. Large tracts of blood streamed from the wound and dyed his brand-new gray mage robe red in a sh. Madrick¡¯s eyes were full of horror; he screamed in despair while desperately clutching his wound.

    However, no matter how he tried to cover it, he couldn¡¯t stop the blood from flowing out...

    ¡°How¡¯s that, Mage Madrick? I¡¯m quite a good practice buddy, right?¡± Lin Li said cheerfully as he stretched out one hand.

    There was no indication of him reciting a spell at all, but all of a sudden, there was a violent surge of magical wave, and a soft explosion followed by a ball of me ignited from his hand.

    Madrick felt his scalp go numb as he watched the dancing mes. He finally knew what the fellow wanted to do¡ªhe wanted to reenact what¡¯d happened the day before yesterday. However, the one who was going to lie wailing on the ground would be him instead of the country boy.

    ¡°Don¡¯te near me!¡± Madrick seemed to have lost it suddenly. He desperately crawled towards a corner, even disregarding the wound on his thigh. He screamed in anguish as he crawled. ¡°Darian is my uncle, he won¡¯t let you off!¡±

    ¡°Darian¡¯s your uncle?¡± The slowly descending ming Hands froze in midair; the zing me was almost touching Madrick¡¯s nose.

    ¡°Phew...¡± The ming Hands did note down, and Madrick¡¯s tightly clenched heart finally rxed. After letting out a long sigh, he felt a chill on his back. Madrick knew that the ming Hands was not used just to scare him. If he had uttered those words a second slower, it would already havended on his chest. Fortunately, he was quick-witted to mention Uncle Darian at a critical time...

    ¡°The guild¡¯s Archmage, Darian, is my uncle. I¡¯d advise you not to do anything rash...¡± At the thought of his Archmage uncle, Madrick felt somewhat emboldened.

    ¡°Oh... So your uncle is called Darian, I thought it was Gerian...¡± Lin Li nodded, and at the same time, the ming Hands came down.

    ¡°Sizzle...¡± When the ming Hands came down, a plume of white smoke sprung up instantly. Amidst the smoke, a strong stench of burnt flesh spread, followed by a shrill cry. Madrick fainted almost at the same time the ming Hands came down on his chest. It felt as if being branded by a burning iron. The pain was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure. At that moment, Madrick even suspected that his chest had been cooked...

    Everyone took in a hissing cold breath on seeing the cruel scene.

    The few young mages stood stupefied there, looking at Lin Li with eyes that were filled with fear. No one had expected the fellow to be so ruthless. Madrick had already mentioned that his uncle was the guild¡¯s Archmage, Darian. However, the fellow seemed to have never heard him, and presented Madrick with a ming Hands without second thought, almost cooking his skin right there and then.

    Everyone wondered what kind of background the fellow had to be so overly arrogant. The unconcerned attitude he carried was as if he had no regard for Archmage Darian...

    Lin Li was not interested in knowing what they were thinking. He stood up, refreshed, and pped the ashes off his hands. With a smile on his face, he said politely, ¡°Goodbye, Mage Madrick. Remember to say hello to your uncle for me.¡±

    Almost everyone, including Madrick, heaved a long sigh of relief when they heard the words. They were finally seeing this pestilence away...

    But as soon as the idea popped up, they saw the pestilence halt his steps and say, ¡°I forgot the Air Bomb...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Then, there was a muffled sound of explosion. Madrick, who was already somewhat out of his senses, jumped like a frog at the muffled noise. In an instant, there was only a ssh of blood; a pool of red¡ªmingled with minced flesh and torn rags¡ªsshed all over the ground.

    After the Air Bomb, Madrick seemed to be dead¡ªhey limply on the ground, and even his breathing became very weak. Everyone saw clearly that his whole back had been blown up. From a distance, it was a bloody pile of flesh, just as if he had just been bitten by a wild animal. The flesh and blood were mingled together, and there were a few pieces of cloth in it. The terrible sight made everyone hiss, taking a cold breath...

    ¡°Sean, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Having done all this, Lin Li left with Sean without another look at Madrick. Such a small character was not worth his attention.

    ...

    When they returned to the guild hall, Andoine had been waiting there for a long time, along with Macklin, the goat-like beard-wearing old man. Thetter was really shocked when Andoine entered the door earlier on. The first thought that came to his mind was: <i>It¡¯s over, this old fellow hase to find trouble with Aeron...</i>

    At the moment, instead of reporting to Aldwin, he had rushed downstairs, and greeted Andoine warmly while trying to probe into his intentions.

    But the old fellow was so tight-lipped that he refused to reveal why he hade. He looked around and asked about Felic from time to time, which had Macklin in trepidation, nearly scaring him into a nervous breakdown. He was afraid that he would say a wrong word and make the old fellow think that Felic had suffered grievances in the Guild of Magic¡ªthings would be serious then...

    It was simply a torture to Macklin.

    Fortunately... The duration of such torture was not too long.

    When Lin Li walked into the guild hall, Macklin was so relieved that he could hardly wait to jump up and kiss him. <i>Master Felic, Master Felic, you¡¯re finally here. Send the old pestilence away as soon as possible...</i>

    ¡°Kid, where did you go?¡± Andoine had waited for a long while, and his patience was wearing thin. Just as he was about to reprove the kid, he suddenly noticed a young man, who had a massive frame just like that of a magical beast, following behind Lin Li. In that moment, his eyes could not help but reveal some surprise. ¡°He is...?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Sean, my friend from Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± The old man nodded. He had said exactly the same thing as Gerian.

    As for the reason behind ¡°not bad¡±, Andoine did not borate.

    However, it¡¯d be the same whether he borated or not. It was impossible for Sean to know who had praised him with his knowledge. He only knew that this kind-looking old man seemed to beplimenting himself. So, he bowed his head, and gave two modest giggles, which amused Macklin, who was standing at a side...

    Andoine seldomplimented anyone; even when he saw Gryffindor, he had only said ¡°Not bad¡±.

    And yet, it put Gryffindor in high spirits for a long while. He told everyone he saw that he was someone who had received Master Andoine¡¯spliment before.

    And look at this ck tower-like country boy, who only knew how to giggle inanely. It was as if the one who hadplimented him was not a legendary mage, but an old geezer selling bread next door.

    Byparing the two guys, Macklin really had to yield to thetter. He cursed in his heart, <i>Damn that freak Felic, none of the people who have something to do with him are normal people...</i>

    ¡°By the way, Macklin, I¡¯m going to bring the two of them out, and will probably not be back tonight. Is there any objection from the guild?¡± Andoine asked democratically before leaving.

    ¡°No, no objections...¡± On hearing this, Macklin shook his head repeatedly, thinking, <i>You old pestilence, you¡¯vee in person, so who dares to have any objections? If having any is not getting tired of living, then what is it...?</i>

    Andoine nodded in satisfaction, and praised in his old and aged manner, ¡°Not bad, not bad, You¡¯re more sensible than Aeron, that useless bum...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    By the time the three men came out of the Guild of Magic, it was already pitch-dark outside; there was not even a figure in sight out in the cold street. They walked along this cold street all the way out of nna, and headed for the Nightmare Mountains. The Nightmare Mountains were a long way away, and it took them a lot of time to get there. It was almost midnight when the three men climbed along the rugged mountain road to the top of the highest mountain, looking at the dense forest afar.

    The Nightmare Mountains at night seemed to be a different sight than during the day.

    Many of the magical beasts that weremon during the day, such as the Three-eyed Blood Wolf, had mostly returned to their nests, and were reced with all kinds of nocturnal magical beasts. The forest was dark and quiet; the lighting along the way originated entirely from the Illuminating Spell released by Lin Li. Anyway, his mana was almost infinite¡ªit was nothing even if he used the Illuminating Spell all the way.

    Besides, with Andoine, he had no chance to make a move. Along the way, magical beasts appeared from time to time among the trees, but most of them didn¡¯t even get to reveal their faces; they merely made some noise by ident, and the old fellow would send a fireball directly in their direction, blowing off each magical beast along with the trees.

    To Andoine, magical beasts below level-fifteen were nothing. He didn¡¯t even have to use his brain, and could just kill them off with an instantaneous outburst of magic. Lin Li had lost count of the number of magical beasts that had died unjustly in the hands of Andoine along the way. It felt just like driving a steamroller out in the streets¡ªno matter what it was, he¡¯d roll over it first; anything else would have to wait.

    ¡°Eh?!¡± As he passed through a bush, Lin Li suddenly stopped in his tracks, for he found that there seemed to be traces of trampling among the thorny bushes. After taking a careful look at it, it seemed that there were quite a few people. The footprints on the ground were numerous and disorderly; at a casual count, there were more than a dozen people.

    ¡°Sure enough, someone hase.¡± Looking at the direction of footprints, it was just north of the forest.

    This time, Andoine felt dejected. He was the one who had discovered the ce. These fellows had sneaked in on the sly¡ªwhat was the difference from grabbing a bite from his bowl? The old man touched his chin, and looked vaguely hostile. ¡°Who¡¯s the one with no eyes...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know when we go over.¡± It didn¡¯t matter much to Lin Li; he had onlye for the Eternal Adamantine, anyway. Even if someone had beaten him to it, he¡¯d just have a little less to pick. He didn¡¯t believe that someone could pick all the Eternal Adamantine in just one night.

    They followed the footprints, and very soon found the northern part of the forest. Before the three men left the forest, Lin Li saw from a distance that there seemed to be a flicker of fire at the ce just ahead.

    A Warlock¡¯s Eyes was summoned by him. Under the control of Lin Li¡¯s powerful mental strength, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes seemed to be particrly agile. It soon passed through the dense jungle, mindful of the spot where the fire was noticed by him, gliding towards it quickly.

    These people obviously came prepared¡ªeven a campsite had been set up. On the in outside the forest, several tents were connected to each other, and a bunch of bonfires was burning in the middle. There seemed to be something cooking on the bonfire; food¡¯s aroma wasing from the camp a distance away.

    However...

    In such a huge camp, there was not even one person in sight.

    Lin Li frowned, and there was some puzzlement in his expression. The scene was too bizarre. There should be one or two people staying behind to watch over such a big campsite. It was impossible not to sense a trace of life like this.

    With this hint of doubt, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes flitted quickly through the campsite, and then drifted outside to a nearby cave, which was deep and dark, and seemed to give off a ghastly chill from a distance.

    ¡°Weird...¡± After retrieving the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li was still full of doubts.

    He was a little puzzled indeed. At first, he had thought that everyone had gone into the cave to dig ore, but when the Warlock¡¯s Eyes had scanned the outside of the cave, he realized that the cave was dead silent too.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The old fellow was getting impatient. From his point of view, there was absolutely no need to spy with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes; he could just blow them away with a magic spell. He¡¯d tear down the ghost camp first. That fellow with no eyes had gone so far as to snatch a bite from a legendary mage¡¯s bowl...

    ¡°There is no one in the camp...¡± Lin Li shook his head, and asked with some doubt, ¡°Did you find anything amiss when you came in the morning?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong. It¡¯s just a in and a cave. Oh, right... It was in this cave that I found the Crystal of Eternity.¡± Andoine thought for a moment, and added with some hesitation, ¡°What seemed wrong was that cave. It was huge like a maze, and it was cold and dark. When I went in during the day, I had to turn around for a few hours before I found the way out.¡±

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s have a look in the cave?¡±

    ¡°Okay, but be careful. Don¡¯t lose sight of each other.¡±

    Indeed, as Andoine said, the cave was just like a maze. After entering the cave, the inside was terriblyplicated. The road was winding and more rugged than the path up the mountain. Lin Li maintained his Illuminating Spell, and led the way in front. He was followed by Sean, who had to bend down slightly to avoid hitting the top of the cave because he was too tall. Andoine was at the end of the line, for he was the most powerful among them, and so had to stay at the end to deal with all kinds of sudden events.

    The road in front was always pitch-ck; no matter how Lin Li enhanced his mana output, the Illuminating Spell could only illuminate less than ten meters ahead. A chilly wind would blow from time to time, which added some gloom to the mysterious cave. The surrounding stone walls were wet and humid, and left a greasy feel on one¡¯s hands when one touched them¡ªit was just like touching the body of a python.

    On the whole, this ce was unpleasant...

    After walking through a steep slope, the scene ahead suddenly changed. It was narrow and deep previously, but all of a sudden, it be like a spider¡¯s web, extending in all directions. As he stood in front of each entrance, Lin Li suddenly felt as if he had walked into a hive.

    ¡°How did you walk in the day?¡±

    Andoine¡¯s voice was somewhat awkward. ¡°I closed my eyes and walked anyhow...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Li shook his head. The old guy was really unreliable. He counted the front entrances. There were as many as seven entrances, bothrge and small. From the outside, the one in the middle was the most spacious of all the entrances, and from Lin Li¡¯s position, he could clearly see that there were faint glimmers inside¡ªit was the unique shine of the Eternal Adamantine.

    Since they hade to mine, it was without doubt the best to choose a road with minerals. Lin Li hesitated a little, and led the two people into thergest entrance.

    He did not see it wrong. Shortly after stepping into the entrance, Lin Li suddenly saw that there was a dim glimmer in the open area ahead.

    The Eternal Adamantine veins were generally exposed outside the surface, and few were deeply buried in the ground. People who had reached the master level of mineral knowledge like Lin Li could easily find the location of the open vein with its unique shine, just like the one in front of them. Lin Li could see from a distance that it should be a lean ore. After the Eternal Adamantine contained in it was smelted, it could probably be forged into two sets of armor.

    Although the old man was unparalleled in magic attainments, he was a rookie in the field of minerals. Watching Lin Li stand before a stone in a daze, he could not help but ask in confusion, ¡°Such a stone is worth youring to the Nightmare Mountains in the middle of the night?¡±

    ¡°This is not a stone, it is called the Eternal Adamantine. It can be used to forge the gold rod and armor. In terms of elemental resistance, it definitelyes first on the list of all magical metals.¡± Lin Li took out a scroll from his Robe of Wrath as he exined to Andoine patiently.

    ¡°...¡± This exnation sounded like gobbledygook to Andoine. What eternal gold, what forged armor... He couldn¡¯t understand it no matter what. How could this kid be so young yet know so much...?

    Lin Li pulled out two scrolls for Air Bomb, one of which he held himself, while the other one was handed to Andoine. ¡°When I count to threeter, you will detonate the Air Bomb with me.¡±

    ¡°Orh...¡± After a series of shock, Andoine¡¯s eyes were zed. He hadpletely recognized his fate. This kid was a living monster. You could never understand what was on his mind. Instead of trying to guess, he might as well cooperate and do whatever the kid wanted him to.

    The two Air Bomb scrolls were inserted into two of the cracks of the Eternal Adamantine vein. Theoretically, the two magic spells should be enough to st the vein open. However, theory was only theory. Even Lin Li himself had never used magic to st a mine before. In the past, they used geo-explosives, but aftering to Anril, he had never seen anything like this, so he could only make do with using the Air Bomb...

    With the idea of trying, Lin Li started counting down.

    ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡±

    ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

 Chapter 132 - Dragons Eye

    <h4>Chapter 132: Dragon¡¯s Eye</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The rumbling explosion echoed in the cave, and the stone walls around seemed to tremble. Small pebbles spattered, and hit their bodies, bringing them great pain. Dirt and gravel mingled in the air, covering their faces in dust. Lin Li rolled up his sleeves and wiped his face, and the thick dust shook off like flour.

    This was a typical st mining method known to Lin Li, but it was the crudest and the most dangerous one. Not to mention it was easy to hurt someone, it was likely to injure the apanying gemstones as well. Lin Li would not have done so if it hadn¡¯t been for the limited conditions.

    The most precious part of the Eternal Adamantine vein was its apanying gemstones, such as the Infused Crystal, which was something that couldn¡¯t be sought, but only found by chance. If one of them was damaged in the explosion, it¡¯d be toote for Lin Li to cry over it.

    However, there was no other way. The conditions here were too primitive¡ªthere was no chance for them to mine the more difficult ones.

    ¡°So many minerals, how are you going to ship them out...¡± Andoine looked doubtful. The Eternal Adamantine was terribly heavy. Thergest piece probably weighed 100 or 200 kilograms. It would take a day or two to move them all out even for someone with a freaky physical like Sean.

    ¡°Too simple.¡± Lin Li grinned mysteriously as he quietly opened the Ring of Endless Storm.

    His right hand, which wore the Ring of Endless Storm, seemed to possess a mysterious power. Where his hand reached, the minerals were swept away in an instant. Half of the mineral piles were swept away by him in just a moment¡¯s time.

    Since knowing this kid, Andoine had resigned himself to destiny. He knew that the kid was a monster. His gift in magic was seriously abnormal, but he was also proficient in all kinds of misceneous skills. It seemed that there was nothing he couldn¡¯t do except giving birth. Sometimes, Andoine would even think that he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the kid really gave birth to a child. After all, a monster was a monster¡ªit couldn¡¯t be measured by an ordinary person¡¯s values.

    Nevertheless, he waspletely mad when he witnessed this scene!

    He had seen a lot of spatial equipment, but he had never seen anyone use it the way this kid did.

    Look at what he had done...

    The extremely precious dimensional space was actually used by him to hold minerals, which were packed in one after another. In the blink of an eye, almost all the minerals on the ground were swept away as if it was not a piece of spatial equipment, but a garbage bag that could be discarded at any time.

    Andoine felt guilty just thinking about the abnormality of it. <i>God above... Is there anyone who¡¯s more of a wastrel than this kid?</i>

    The most uneptable thing to Andoine was that this kid was desperately trying to pack the minerals in, but the spatial equipment never seemed to be filled up. No matter how many pieces of minerals there were, as long as this kid stretched his hand out, the minerals would be gone in a sh. Look how long it took for the whole area of minerals to be almost swept clean? There were only a few small, broken bits, looking pitifully alone in the corner.

    After finishing all these, Lin Li said in a leisurely manner, ¡°It¡¯s called the Endless Storm.¡±

    On hearing this, Andoine felt that he could not breathe at all. After holding back for a long time, he finally squeezed out two words. ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    ¡°Want to take a look inside?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Andoine gnashed his teeth. He had to see for himself today whether the so-called Endless Storm really had endless space inside. <i>An Eternal Adamantine vein couldn¡¯t stuff you, right? Then we¡¯ll st a few more!</i>

    Since Andoine had agreed, Sean naturally had no objection. Under the guidance of the Illuminating Spell, the three men gradually went deeper into the cave. As they advanced deeper and deeper, the space around them became emptier and vaster. The cave was like a vase with a thin and narrow opening, but the inside was empty. When the three men walked for another few hundred meters, the road ahead was already t.

    ¡°Did you hear anything?¡± Lin Li was somewhat uneasy walking on this t road. He constantly felt there was a voice talking to him. It sounded far yet near, sometimes calling out loudly, and sometimes whispering, but when he listened carefully, he could never recognize what the voice was saying.

    ¡°What voice? Kid, you¡¯ve misheard it...¡± Andoine nced at him in surprise. There was dead silence in the cave; even the air seemed to be frozen. Where did any sounde from?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it, either.¡± Sean nodded in agreement. He had not heard anything indeed.

    ¡°Strange...¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyebrows wrinkled slightly. He was sure that he had heard it¡ªthere was a voice in the cave. Just as he had uttered the words, the voice rang again. However, the look on both their faces was exactly of the same seriousness. Sean might not have noticed it, but how could Andoine, a legendary mage, not have noticed it?

    ¡°Am I imagining it?¡± Lin Li grumbled in a low voice, but the weird feeling still lingered in his mind. He constantly felt uneasy along the way as if something was going to happen. The feeling made him feel very ufortable; several times, he wanted to stop and end this exploration altogether.

    When Lin Li bit his teeth and nned to put this idea into action, he was surprised to find another dim light. Obviously, this was another Eternal Adamantine vein. Judging from its bright color, it might as well be a rare and rich mineral...

    The Eternal Adamantine vein was not far in front¡ªprobably less than 100 meters away from them. Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up when it was determined to be a rich mine. A rich Eternal Adamantine mine was not always avable; it meant high-quality minerals together with all kinds of precious apanying gemstones.

    Lin Li took swallowed his saliva hard, and his previous worries were immediately forgotten.

    The ten-meter-long vein was exposed outside the surface of the earth. From a distance, it felt winding and undting¡ªjust like the rolling hills. The unique luster of the Eternal Adamantine gave people a rxed and refreshed feeling under the light of the Illuminating Spell, which was quite different from the poor mineral vein that was previously mined.

    The three men quickened their pace, and hurried over.

    Lin Li reached into his pocket, and pulled out a few Air Bomb scrolls.

    st mining could easily damage the apanying gemstones, but the present conditions were really poor, so Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less. Besides, with his strength as a master of mineral veins, as long as he was careful, he would not deal too much of a damage.

    But this time, Lin Li dared not give Andoine the scroll.

    After all, he was a legendary mage, not a legendary miner. Even if his personal strength was powerful enough, he was only ayman in mining. Lin Li could let him waste the poor mineral vein earlier, but he wouldn¡¯t dare let him mess up this rich mineral vein.

    In the face of such an almost perfect vein, even Lin Li himself dared not have the slightest carelessness. After the scroll was taken out, he was not in a hurry to insert it into a crack, but walked back and forth around the vein. This time, he would not allow any negligence in the sting; he had to take all details into consideration.

    Lin Li put on his rare serious face as he stood in front of the mineral vein. He rubbed his eyebrows gently with one hand and immersed himself inplicated calctions.

    The simple yet crude st mining was inherently prone to idents. In addition, Lin Li was presently trying to use the Air Bomb spell instead of geo-explosives, which added to the uncertainties of this mining process. He had to calcte every step carefully so as not to let any idents happen.

    It was frighteningly quiet all around. There was no other sound apart from the rhythmic footsteps. Andoine and Sean held their breath almost concurrently, for they knew that this was the most critical moment. Lin Li, who was immersed in thought, could not be disturbed even by a little.

    Time passed by, and it was unknown how long it took for Lin Li to halt his steps atst. He carefully took out a scroll, and gently inserted it into the crevice of the mineral vein. When he bent down, Andoine and Sean saw distinctly the beads of sweat dripping down from his forehead...

    The insertion was followed by another one. Lin Li inserted a total of five Air Bomb scrolls into the crevices.

    The positions of the five scrolls were not uniform, either. Some were deeply buried in the vein crevices; others were only slightly inserted. Most of the scrolls were still exposed to the air. The depth that they were inserted to would determine the sess of this sting. If there were no mistakes in Lin Li¡¯s calctions, this sting would open the surface of the vein without injuring the apanying gemstones in the interior.

    For Lin Li, the apanying gemstones were the most important. Although the Eternal Adamantine was a magical metal, it was not very useful for a mage. Its only use was probably to forge a set of equipment for Sean.

    After inserting the five scrolls into the crevices, Lin Li rolled up his sleeves again, and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Then, he slowly retreated beside Andoine, and asked with a look of fatigue, ¡°How many scrolls can you control within a second?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡± Andoine thought about it, and gave an exact answer. Besides not consuming magic, there was no difference between a scroll spell-casting and ordinary spell-casting¡ªboth were controlled by the mental strength, and required elemental sequencing. After all, the Air Bomb spell was a level-five magic spell. Even if Andoine had reached the legendary level, he dared not undertake more tasks.

    It was not as simple as one plus one equaling two to release three level-five spells at the same time.

    This meant that Andoine¡¯s mental strength had to control three level-five spells at the same time, andplete the sequencing of these three magical elements within the same time frame.

    This was for Andoine. If a slightly weaker mage¡ªsuch as Macklin, who was only infinitely close to the legendary level¡ªwere to handed control of three scrolls of Air Bomb at the same time, he would definitely refuse without even thinking about it. Macklin was arrogant, but not crazy enough. What was the difference between controlling three scrolls at a time and seeking death? A little carelessness could lead to a mental breakdown...

    ¡°The three left ones are for you.¡± Lin Li nodded. He knew that the three Air Bomb scrolls were Andoine¡¯s limit. If he were to add another scroll, not to mention Andoine, even if it was Aldwin¡ªwho was a level higher than Andoine¡ªhe could probably only watch at a side.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Andoine nced at him, and there was some worry on his face.

    His question was obscure, but how could Lin Li not know that the old fellow was concerned about himself? After all, he was just a Magic Shooter, and was still a long way away from the Legendary Realm. Even if he was only controlling two scrolls concurrently, the old fellow was still worried something might happen to Lin Li.

    Lin Li felt a gush of warmth to his heart, but merely smiled. ¡°Did you forget how I practiced elemental sequencing?¡±

    ¡°Oh, true...¡± Andoine chortled at the mention of this. It was then that he remembered the kind of monster standing before him¡ªit was someone who had practiced elemental sequencing all day long. Although he was still a Magic Shooter, his mental strength was far beyond this category.

    ¡°Ready.¡± Lin Li tightened his grip on the Winter Staff; his voice was slightly hoarse.

    ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡±

    ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The three of them only felt the ground tremble in the earth-shaking explosion. The power of five Air Bomb scrolls unleashed at the same time was equivalent to the magic spells of an Archmage. At that moment, Lin Li even felt that the whole cave had copsed;rge tracts of rubble spattered, and there was a sharp whistling sound in the air. Clouds of dust filled the air¡ªthe whole area was as dark as if a sandstorm was brewing.

    With the previous lesson, the three men crouched down almost at the same time with their hands held over their heads as the rubble smashed down on their backs¡ªthe burning pain was as if they had been whipped.

    It was unknown how long had passed before the cave gradually quieted down.

    Lin Li stood up with some apprehension.

    Then, he saw that there seemed to be a few glimmers of light among the minerals that were all over the ground...

    ¡°Indeed...¡±

    Lin Li suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and slowly walked to the spot of light.

    It was a Dragon¡¯s Eye about the size of a fist. This was a really good thing. It was said that after the death of the ancient dragon, the pair of eyes would turn into a gemstone with the passage of time.

    Granted¡ªlegends were just legends, and it was difficult to verify the authenticity of it.

    But one thing was for sure.

    Legendary dragons were all natural spellcasters. Even newly born dragons could use their dragon roars to unleash a magic spell strong enough to destroy the world. In that distant yet barbaric era, the violent magical elements in the war between the dragons and the titans had torn the whole world apart.

    And the Dragon¡¯s Eye had a simr power as well.

    A Dragon¡¯s Eye naturally contained a spell, but no one knew what kind of spell it was and how it came into being. Even Lin Li¡ªa man so erudite he was unlike a human being¡ªhad not been able to fully understand its mystery.

    He only knew that the bigger the Dragon¡¯s Eye was, the higher the level of spell it contained.

    Lin Li had seen numerous Dragon¡¯s Eyes back in the Endless World.

    However, most of the Dragon¡¯s Eyes were only the size of the thumb, and the spells contained in them were the likes of the wind de and icicle. Usually, they were iid on rings, and used as underhand tricks.

    Lin Li felt that the gemstone before them was too much¡ªit was the size of a fist, and probably contained a spell of at least the Magic Shooter level.

    This was no joke...

    The spell contained in Dragon¡¯s Eye was not like the low-level stuff from the magic scrolls. It waspletely instantaneous, and did not require the control of mental strength. There was no need for elemental sequencing, and there was not even a level restriction for it. Only a trace of mana input was needed to directly activate the spell contained in the Dragon¡¯s Eye.

    Think about it. A spell of the Magic Shooter level could be released anytime and anywhere¡ªand it was even in an instantaneous outburst. If it was unleashed out of the blue, it could probably even take down an Archmage by surprise.

    If there were any shorings, it would be the mana.

    Dragon¡¯s Eyes were naturally endowed with a magic spell, but they had no source of mana. After this spell was used once, it had to be supplemented, be it from a magical crystal or a mage. In short, it was necessary to input enough mana into it to restore the Dragon¡¯s Eye¡¯s terrifying magic ability.

    But when a monster like Lin Li came by it, even its only shoring seemed insignificant. How would he worry about the problem of insufficient mana with his almost-infinite mana?

    Compared to this, it was the size of the Dragon¡¯s Eye that had him troubled¡ªit was simply too big...

    Lin Li had never seen such arge Dragon¡¯s Eye. It was certainly impossible to set it on a ring. Even with such a big ring, Lin Li did not have fingers that were thick enough to wear it...

    In addition to this Dragon¡¯s Eye, there were several apanying gemstones scattered around it.

    Lin Li nced at the heap of minerals, and spotted a Heart of Gaia.

    The Heart of Gaia was not small, either¡ªit was the size of an egg.

    The Heart of Gaia was a good item. The earth element contained in it was surprisingly massive. If they were embedded on any equipment, even if it was just an ordinary blouse, it could be invulnerable in an instant.

    Lin Li was about to bend down to pick up the Heart of Gaia when he discovered something else.

    Among the fine pieces of and Eternal Adamantine, a crystal of astonishing size was emitting a faint magical aura...

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes almost fell out as he looked at the crystal.

    It was not only Lin Li¡¯s eyes that almost fell out, but also Andoine who had just hurried forward.

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Andoine¡¯s voice sounded like a somniloquy; he was really suspecting that he was dreaming. This Crystal of Eternity was just too big. It was lying quietly among the pile of minerals, reflecting a brilliant halo under the Illuminating Spell.

    Andoine estimated the volume of the Crystal of Eternity¡ªit was probablyrger than his head!

    If this were to be carved into potion bottles, then at least ten of it could be carved out.

    At the thought of the ten potion bottles carved from the Crystal of Eternity being arranged in the potionb, Andoine¡¯s aged face was beaming like a flower in full bloom.

    The old man had even thought out a scene in his mind¡ªwhen the ten bottles were carved, he would show them off in the Pharmacists Guild. He wondered what would the expression on Burnside¡¯s face be like when he saw the bottles.

    The old man¡¯s satisfaction grew as he stared at the Crystal of Eternity.

    By this time, Lin Li had filtered all the gemstones.

    The harvest for this trip was far beyond his expectations. In addition to the Eternal Adamantine, there was a fist-sized Dragon¡¯s Eye, an egg-sized Heart of Gaia, and a terrifying Crystal of Eternity.

    It was a pity to him that there was no Infused Crystal¡ªthe one he wanted most¡ªin the pile of minerals.

    However, he soon cast it aside after thinking it through. The Infused Crystal was something that could be met, but not sought. In a thousand Eternal Adamantine veins, it was not necessarily possible to dig a piece of it out.

    After sting the veins, they¡¯d naturally divide the loots.

    First on the list was the huge Crystal of Eternity. Andoine stood up and called dibs on the crystal in exchange for all his wealth. Lin Li pouted, and thought to himself, <i>I know very well about how little your assets are. You¡¯re trying to exchange such a huge crystal with what little you have? It¡¯ll be good enough for you to exchange them for an amethyst potion bottle.</i>

 Chapter 133 - Shapeshifter

    <h4>Chapter 133: Shapeshifter</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But then again, of the three, Andoine was probably the most suitable to get this Crystal of Eternity.

    The Crystal of Eternity was really good stuff. Besides the permanent preservation of potions, it could also slowly improve the efficacy of the potions. For a pharmacist, this was a dream treasure. The temptation of this thing to pharmacists was something that Lin Li had personally experienced. He had once sold a small piece of it back in the Endless World. He didn¡¯t expect then that what was originally a tentative move had attracted numerous pharmacists, and the price that he sold it for was unbelievable to Lin Lin himself.

    But the one in front of them was even bigger than others. Lin Li dared not imagine how many pharmacists would have a heart attack if such arge piece of Crystal of Eternity was brought out.

    But because it was too big, Lin Li insisted that it was only suitable for Andoine.

    Indeed¡ªthe bigger the Crystal of Eternity, the better it was. But when it reached a certain extent, its actual value would be greatly discounted. For example, the Crystal of Eternity before them was big to a scary extent. If it were to be carved into a potion bottle, it could be carved into at least ten bottles, from big to small, to make a whole set.

    However, what about that?

    A whole set of potion bottles carved from the Crystal of Eternity was really perverted and violent, but that was all. Besides being used for showing off, Lin Li really couldn¡¯t think of any other use for them.

    To preserve potions? There was no need for it at all. Apart from a few, how many potions had to be preserved with the Crystal of Eternity? A ss bottle was more than enough...

    To improve the efficacy of potions? Stop kidding... It would take months to turn a bottle of Mana Potion into an Awakening Potion. It was better to just concoct hundreds of them¡ªit¡¯d be more than enough for them to drink one bottle and throw one bottle away. Was there a need to spend a few months on it?

    This fellow was a real pharmaceutics guru; apart from those master grade potions, how many were worth it to be contained in the Crystal of Eternity?

    For Lin Li, the size of the Crystal of Eternity was actually irrelevant. One bottle of potion carved from the Crystal of Eternity was enough for him. If he was given a set of bottles of different sizes, he¡¯d have a headache instead. What if he broke one, or what if others were jealous of him? The less trouble you had, the better.

    Lin Li hated trouble, so he did not hesitate at all, and pushed the Crystal of Eternity to Andoine.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± The old man held the Crystal of Eternity in his hands, andughed so hard that his eyes narrowed. ¡°If old Burnside could see it, I wonder if it would frighten him out...¡±

    ¡°You should umte some virtue...¡± Lin Li looked at the crystal, and suddenly sympathized with Old Grimm. As a potion master, it would be strange to see such arge Crystal of Eternity and not be scared into a heart attack by it.

    After a long look at the Crystal of Eternity, Andoine finally opened up his spatial equipment. With a cautious look on his face, he kept the king of all crystals away.

    The old man¡¯s spatial equipment was simrly a ring.

    Nevertheless,pared with the Ring of Endless Storm, the space of this ring was much smaller. A mere Crystal of Eternity had upied almost half of the space. In the end, Andoine was forced to clear out several magic books from it.

    And at this time, Lin Li held the Dragon¡¯s Eye in his hand.

    To him, this was the best choice.

    Compared with the giant Crystal of Eternity that was filled with an upstart temperament, this Dragon¡¯s Eye was much more low-key. It was yellow and slightly dim. It might be mistaken for an amber stone by someone who had no knowledge of gemstones.

    Only those who really knew magical gemstones understood the huge gap between the two gemstones.

    The amber stones were usually used by mage apprentices because they were too weak to control the mana contained in the magical crystals. Therefore, ordinary mage apprentices used mageweaths set on the magical staff to control the mana contained in amber stones. This control was simple, and did not require too much skill.

    The Dragon¡¯s Eye was at the other end of the pole.

    Especially the one before them¡ªit was so big that it was scary. Lin Li was almost certain that it contained a spell of at least a Magic Shooter level!

    Lin Li had already thought about it¡ªit was impossible to set such arge Dragon¡¯s Eye on a ring. He¡¯d probably have to try on a staff when he returned. Anyway, magical crystals were of little significance to him; they were only a source of mana. To a monster with infinite mana like him, whether the staff was iid with a magical crystal or not made no big difference.

    So, for a long time, Lin Li seldom used the magic staff. The reason why he always carried the Winter Staff was merely to make himself look more like a mage.

    However, if the magical crystal was reced by the Dragon¡¯s Eye, then things would be different. That was some realbat effectiveness¡ªif used skillfully, one could even defeat an Archmage.

    ¡°As for this...¡± Lin Li picked up the Heart of Gaia after putting the Dragon¡¯s Eye into the Ring of Endless Storm. This defensive gemstone could only belong to Sean...

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep it first. I¡¯ll help you blend it into the armor when we get back.¡±

    ¡°Orh...¡± With Sean¡¯s knowledge, how could he know what the Heart of Gaia was? He only knew that anything Mr Felic said couldn¡¯t be wrong...

    The three precious apanying gemstones were distributed. As for the pile of Eternal Adamantine on the ground, nothing more had to be said about it¡ªLin Li had swept them all into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Watching Lin Li made a sweep of the mineral stones, Andoine had the urge to curse him.

    This was perhaps what was meant by parisons are odious¡±...

    He was a legendary figure to say the least, but the spatial ring he had was so miserable¡ªhe had barely managed to stuff in just a piece of Crystal of Eternity. And look at this kid¡ªthe Ring of Endless Storm he had was like a bottomless pit. He could still load it with mineral stones after putting the gemstone in. If it hadn¡¯t been impossible to move the cave, the kid would have packed the whole cave into the ring.

    With the Ring of Endless Storm in hand, the speed at which Lin Li swept through the mineral stones was simply astounding.

    It took him only a few minutes to sweep away the Eternal Adamantine piled up all over the ce a moment ago. As thest of it was put into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li rubbed his sore arm, and was about to stop for breath when he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something shining in the rubble under his feet.

    This pile of rubble was located in the center of the previous vein. The whole vein had been blown up by five Air Bomb scrolls. At this time, the stones piled on the ground were those that were connected with the vein.

    ¡°Another apanying gemstone?¡± Lin Li started in surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected that aftering across three of the best gemstones, there was another one waiting for him in the rubble heap.

    Lin Li had quickly forgotten his sore arm in the face of this unexpected surprise. He bent down in a hurry, and moved the rocks away with his hands; soon, the shining thing showed its true self.

    Whaty beneath the rubble was not the apanying gemstone he¡¯d expected, but a glittering and translucent crystal.

    It was amon crystal. It had neither a magical wave nor elemental power. Lin Li could clearly sense that it was no different from the crystal jewelry from the jewelry stores.

    To be honest, Lin Li was rather disappointed.

    He had a hunch that such a rare Eternal Adamantine vein would contain precious stones of at least the level of the Heart of Gaia. Ordinary crystals such as those that could be bought with ten gold coins were almost certain not to appear...

    ¡°Wrong...¡± Lin Li¡¯s knitted his eyebrows shortly after.

    This could not be just an ordinary crystal...

    Lin Li was very clear about the power of the five Air Bomb scrolls. Under the earth-shaking explosion, let alone an ordinary crystal, even pig iron would be blown up. But the crystal among the rocks was still glittering, and not even a crack could be found.

    ¡°There¡¯s a problem with this!¡± At the thought of it, Lin Li hurried to remove that piece of rubble. In order to speed up, he even used the Ring of Endless Storm once again.

    ¡°...¡± Andoine almost went crazy. Loading mineral stones into a dimensional space was something abnormal, but this kid had gotten worse¡ªhe was actually using dimensional space to load stones. Those were real stones; if he liked them, the Nightmare Mountains were full of them. He could hire a motorcade for 200 gold coins, and load as much as he wanted!

    The old man was hopping in anger, but there was no time for Lin Li to pay attention to him.

    The stones were moved away, and the entire crystal was revealed.

    This crystal looked simr to the Dragon¡¯s Eye¡ªboth were of the same size and oval in shape. The only difference was that one was glistening yellow, and the other was shiny and glittering.

    When Lin Li held it in his hand, he suddenly realized that this crystal did not seem to have been formed naturally, for its surface was covered with a strange pattern.

    Lin Li knitted his brows again at the sight of the patterns.

    He constantly felt the pattern was familiar. He stood there and carefully recalled it for a long while before he vaguely remembered¡ªwhen he was in the Endless World, he seemed to have seen simr patterns somewhere. If Lin Lin remembered correctly, they should belong to the category of inscription.

    However, even Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell exactly what the patterns stood for.

    He could only vaguely guess that this should be a mageweath array because only mageweath arrays had arge number of magic circuits and arge number of magic nodes¡ªeach seemingly independent but interrted. The source of mana that they tapped into was the same at the end of the day.

    Lin Li was astonished for a moment.

    It was umon to see a mageweath array...

    Thebination of more than three mageweaths was qualified to be called a mageweath array.

    This was not as simple as adding one to two. Mageweaths were extremelyplex per se. Thebination of several mageweaths would cause theplexity to increase exponentially. Even the level certification hall in the Emerald Tower used only two mageweaths¡ªthe Elements annihtion field and the Magical shield field¡ªinstead of adding a Magic exhaustion field to form a real mageweath array.

    Lin Li knew that it was not because the Jarrosus Guild of Magic was unwilling; it was because they were unable to do it...

    It was exactly this reason that Lin Li felt puzzled about.

    It was only an ordinary crystal; was there a need for a mageweath array?

    Lin Li stood there thinking for a long time, but could not figure out why. Finally, he shook his head, and kept the strange crystal in his pocket.

    In any case, the purpose of this trip had been achieved. Not to mention a set of equipment, even two or three sets would be more than enough with therge number of Eternal Adamantine. Adding to it the few precious apanying gemstones, the harvest of this trip could be said to be far beyond Lin Li¡¯s imagination.

    ¡°Want to take a look at other entrances?¡±

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s sote. I¡¯m going back to bed. I¡¯m getting on with age, and can¡¯t bepared with you young people...¡± With the Crystal of Eternity in his hand, Andoine¡¯s heart had long returned to nna. He could not wait to find a jeweler to carve the giant Crystal of Eternity into a potion bottle, and then bring it to the Pharmacists Guild to show off. How could he still have the thought of exploring other entrances...?

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go back first...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not force Andoine. Anyway, he still had to stay in nna for three months; he¡¯d have time to explore the other entrances. They did not have to rush it today.

    On their way back, Lin Li was still the one leading the way with his Illuminating Spell.

    Lin Li listened intently as he walked. He wanted to know whether the voice he¡¯d heard when he entered the cave was his misconception. But this time, the voice seemed to have disappeared. No matter how Lin Li tried to concentrate on it, there was no trace of sound in his ears at all...

    It was alreadyte at night when they came out of the cave. A crescent moon hung high in the night sky, and the moonlight sprinkled on the Nightmare Mountains like dew, adding a gentle aura to this crisis-ridden forest.

    ¡°You just cannot hold out for long as you get older. It¡¯s just past midnight, and I can¡¯t take it anymore. Bad, bad. I have to go back to bed earlier...¡± The old man yawned as he came out of the cave. He kept emphasizing his age while the Power of Flight was already released by him. ¡°You two go back on your own. I won¡¯t send you...¡±

    Lin Li was amused and annoyed at the same time. He was a legendary mage, but he was using ¡°can¡¯t stay upte¡± as an excuse. <i>Just say you¡¯re itching to go back to show off the Crystal of Eternity; do you have to find such ame excuse...?</i>

    ¡°Do some good, will you. Don¡¯t frighten an illness out of Old Grimm...¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, it won¡¯t scare him to death.¡±

    After uttering these words, the old man flew out of the forest.

    Standing at the entrance of the cave, Lin Li could not help but yawn. The night¡¯s ordeal was really exhausting. Even if he was full of vigor, he was just too tired at this time. All he wanted was to go back to the nna Guild of Magic and have a good sleep.

    But the world was as such¡ªthe more you wanted to sleep, the more it wouldn¡¯t allow you sleep.

    Lin Li was yawning when he heard a terrible scream from afar.

    The scream was so piercing that it scared off half of Lin Li¡¯s sleepiness in an instant.

    ¡°What the heck...¡± Lin Li muttered a curse, but he did not freeze as he promptly released a Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    He had heard clearly enough to know that the scream hade from the campsite.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s control, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes turned into a stream of light and glided off in the direction of the campsite.

    Lin Li was startled when the Warlock¡¯s Eyes approached¡ªthe campsite that was dead silent earlier on was buzzing with noise at present. From the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, there was only the glint and sh of cold steel and flickers of magic rays from time to time. Shouts and screams mingled together, and it sounded noisier than exploding the mines with Air Bomb.

    This was a battle of great disparity in numerical strength. One side was a team of more than 30 adventurers, while the other side was a single magical beast.

    ¡°F*ck! The Shapeshifter!¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes straightened after a thorough look at the situation.

    It not for the fierceness of the battle, Lin Li really wanted to go over and interview those adventurers to ask them what gave them the courage to climb the Nightmare Mountains in the middle of the night and challenge the Shapeshifter! Could it be that they really thought it was something like a unicorn, easy to be trifled with?

    ¡°Wash up and sleep...¡± Lin Li shook his head, having lost the interest to continue watching. In fact, he did not need to watch¡ªwhat would happen after that would be a massacre through and through.

 Chapter 134 - Sacred Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 134: Sacred Weapon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In all the folklore of Anril, the Shapeshifters were usually depicted as the mount of Demons. They came to the human world in hellfire, along with blood and ughter.

    The birthce of these beasts was definitely locations which suffered cmity. No matter if the disaster was natural or man-made, it was certainly a catastrophe that imed the lives of thousands and millions. Only this could trigger the birth of the Shapeshifters, which were an amalgamation of pure negativity.

    Suffering and hopelessness were the greatest sources of energy for them.

    As they were created from negative emotions, their bodies were neither tangible nor a figment, and were born with all sorts of Dark Magic. At birth, they would be at least level-16. When they had finished evolving, they might surpass the level-20 mark, and be a Legendary Beast.

    Although that Shapeshifter in front of them had yet to surpass level-20, it had already evolved once. There was fire circling around its four limbs, and the color of dark red around its horn. That meant that the beast before them was at least a level-18 one. Since its body did not have a definite form, the beast would have great immunity to any attack¡ªno matter if it were to be a magical or physical one. On top of that, with its proficiency in Dark Magic, it would be extra difficult for even Macklin, a level-19 senior, to defeat that Shapeshifter before their eyes.

    How could these Adventurers be able to deal with such a formidable monster?

    Strength-wise, the adventurers definitely had an edge over those beasts. Their abilities, however, were not on the same level. Among the 30-odd adventurers, the strongest was just level-12, and the weakest was only level-8.

    In Master Gerian¡¯s words, if they wanted to battle a Shapeshifter in such a group dynamic, they would be digging their own graves!

    Nearly 10 men stayed at the front line. Each of their heavy armors had obviously gone through inscription to protect themselves against Dark Magic from the Shapeshifter. They miraculously pulled through the deadly attacks, and gave the mages behind them precious time to do their recitation.

    Yet, how would the abilities of a Shapeshifter be limited to Dark Magic?

    One warrior lost his life in a short distance attack.

    When the beast charged at him with its dark-red horn, his thick and heavy armor was as if a thin white sheet of paper. Despite having protection, the long horn pierced through his chest. The sharp tip that passed through his back showed faint but bright gleam. Amidst that shriek, blood flowed out profusely, leaving behind an impressive crimson that stained the long horn.

    Yet, the time that the warrior bought with his life did not manage to bring any impact.

    The levels of the soldiers in the camp were too low.

    That was the weakness of a mercenary corps. In Fn Kingdom, there were very few mercenary corps which had the finances to employ powerful mages to aid them.

    A full set of magical equipment cost at least a few million. How many magical beasts did one have to kill in order to earn this amount of money?

    Unless the Guild of Magic had the ability to pay a hefty sum to employ them, no Magic Shooters would want to join the guild as an Adventurer.

    That being said, who would dare to invite Gerian into the team?

    Lin Li noticed two Magic Shooters in the mercenary corps before him. And that made the team one of the strongest already...

    Apart from them, the abilities of others were undoubtedly horrible. They were a bunch of level-eight and level-nine mages¡ªnothingparable to the mages in Jarrosus Guild of Magic. Besides, they were from the capital, nna.

    Since theirbined strength was weak, their fate had been sealed.

    In that precious recitation time, most of the mages had already summoned their strongest spells, ranging from ming Storm to Arcane Missile, and then Icy Spear to Fireball. The over 10 spells that were cast together raged a magnificent scene of brilliant sparkles...

    However, what followed that blinding ray of light was a raging howl.

    Although the deaths of those mages on the front line happened almost concurrently, the damage they could do to the Shapeshifter was minimal. Among them, the ming Storm had the biggest impact. After all, it was still a spell that only Magic Shooters could cast. Yet, in dealing with the beast, it seemed to have lost its usual impact. When the sparks were cleared, there were only burnt marks on the body of the beast.

    Lin Li sighed disappointedly upon witnessing that scene. The ming Storm was indeed a powerful spell to injure Shapeshifters¡ªbut too weak to kill.

    Since Shapeshifters were created from resentment, the most effective way to deal with them would be to use the Holy Light that had purification properties.

    However as Fn was a magical kingdom, very few people would choose to be a Priest. That being said, it was even rare to be see a Pdin around.

    To be able to find a someone who had the skills to purify a Shapeshifter would be more difficult than teaching Andoine the art of creating pharmaceutical products.

    Of course, magical spells would work too¡ªprovided they had a strong enough impact.

    For Andoine, it would only take him one legendary magical spell in order to kill a Shapeshifter.

    And that was what differentiated the realms.

    To the people who were at the legendary-level, intangible opponents like the Shapeshifters were definitely not a challenge.

    For example, to Andoine would not need to consider what spells he should use to deal with the beasts. With the sufficient amount of strength, any spell would be enough to kill¡ªjust like how earlier on in the jungle, Andoine¡¯s instant yet simple Fireball managed to take lives so effectively...

    Unfortunately, the old man left too hurriedly.

    Or else, Lin Li would really hope to seek his help to take down that rare Shapeshifter in front of him.

    If anyone could get ahold of the horn of a Shapeshifter, they would be envied by everyone. With the addition of their horns, even the value of a normal metal could be multiplied by a hundred times. That was due to its firmness, which had been proven by how the Shapeshifter managed to slit open the thick and heavy armor of the warrior so easily as though it was a thin piece of paper.

    Weapons that were forged from the horns of Shapeshifters would hold an extremely mighty Dark Force that could break all protective barriers. With the horns of Shapeshifters, the Spell of Frost would be a mere joke...

    The magical crystals of the Shapeshifters were even more precious to mages. The negative emotions contained inside would be able to enhance the Mental Spells and Spiritual Spells by many folds if one of such crystal were to be attached to their staffs.

    Lin Li was very tempted just by the thought of how he could make use of the body of a Shapeshifter for his benefits.

    Yet it was like a goldfish¡ªone could only see, and not touch...

    While Lin Li was feeling his share of disappointment, a series of shrieks could be heard from the camp. From afar, the Shapeshifter that was provoked by the magical spells looked like a wild horse that had gone loose. Its dark-red horn conducted a massive ughter in the camp.

    Under the firm and strong horn, the heavy armor was as if a floating cloud. No warrior could withstand the Shapeshifter¡¯s attacks. At first, there were seven or eight warriors battling the beast. Within a second, half were down. Fresh blood oozed out of their wounds, leaving behind a ground of red.

    The charging Shapeshifter was like a real nightmare¡ªit was using its own unique method to spread suffering and hopelessness.

    ¡°BUY SOME TIME FOR THE MAGES!!!¡± a voicemanded when the team was close to copsing. That exasperated howl belonged to a young man with golden hair who was standing at a corner of the battlefield.

    The shrill cry indeed helped to dy the copse of the team. It motivated the remaining warriors to raise up the weapons in their arms and block the charging Shapeshifter.

    At the same time, the mages behind thempleted another recitation. They grew smarter this time round. Instead of using offensive spells to hurt the Shapeshifter, they utilized all sort of spells that dealt with states. Among them, there were the Dying Spell, Blinding Spell, and Weakening Spell, all cast over the Shapeshifter like a.

    After all, the body of the Shapeshifter was half intangible and half tangible. The massive low-grade attacks that focused on its body affected the beast as well. Although resembling insect bites,cking the power to kill, that indeed caused an irritating feeling for the beast.

    <i>It is the frustration you get when a buzzing housefly circles around your ear continuously¡ªand you really would hope to smack that tiny bug dead.</i>

    And that was what the Shapeshifter did...

    That pair of red eyes reflected an extremely bright light. What followed was a huge gush of Dark Force, which distorted the surrounding space. From how the magical elements sizzled like boiling water, Lin Li knew that it was a powerful and destructive Dark Magic.

    ¡°Why...¡± Lin Li sighed as he shook his head. He had expected that to be the ending of the team with no one ranked higher than level-12.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to nna.¡±

    Lin Li summoned the Hastening Spell for himself and Sean to make an escape before the Shapeshifter shifted its target to them.

    In fact, that was the only time Lin Li dared to leave the location.

    The battleground was in-between the cave and the jungle. If one wanted to return to nna with the same path they came, they could either use the Power of Flight like Andoine or cut through the battlefield. Yet Lin Li feared that if they were to do thetter, they would trigger the Shapeshifter¡¯s hostility.

    Shapeshifters would not care whether you were adventurers or not. As long as you were a human being, it was all the same to them.

    But it was not a problem now.

    Thanks to those mages, the Shapeshifter had been close to bing crazy. Even if Lin Li were to walk towards it casually, it wouldn¡¯t pay any attention to him. To the Shapeshifter, the number one priority was to find out how to get rid of the buzzing housefly.

    To be safe, Lin Li did not use the Illuminating Spell. Both men crept stealthily towards the camp in the dark...

    Their footsteps were very light. As they stepped on the lush green grass, there were only rustling sounds.

    The vigorous movement of the Dark Force and the sizzling waves of magical elements gave everyone a sense of suffocation.

    ¡°HOLD ON! EVERYBODY HOLD ON!¡± the golden-haired youth screamed with all his might. His voice had already gone hoarse from all the shouting. Red veins surfaced in his eyes too.

    However, it was toote...

    The brightness of that ray of red light in that pair of eyes filled with suffering and despair had already reached the maximum. The sizzling magical elements were like strong rush of water that surged towards the dam constantly, as if an extra gush of it would open the p of the dam and flood the entire camp.

    ¡°Brother, you are in real danger...¡± was what Lin Li really hoped to tell him.

    Actually, he felt really sympathetic for that group of adventurers.

    However, sympathy was sympathy, and rendering support was another matter altogether.

    Doing one¡¯s best to turn the tide of the battle required true abilities. If a level-13 Magic Shooter were to fight a level-18 magical beast, that was not helping, but digging his own grave. Lin Li was not that virtuous enough to be willing to sacrifice himself so foolishly for bunch of strangers...

    Hence, he could only feign ignorance, and continue walking deeper into the woods.

    At that moment, the Dark Force that had been umting for quite a long time exploded suddenly.

    Instantly, there were plumes of ck smoke spreading all over the ce. From afar, it not only looked like ck circr ripples, but also a ck blooming flower. The moment he came into contact with the ck fog, the warrior that charged at the front disappeared in a violent explosion.

    That was a real explosion, where blood and flesh sttered all over the ce.

    That ¡°POM!¡± gave everybody goosebumps on their heads. There were also some fragments of armor among the sttering pieces. Despite having undergone the inscription process, the armor was as fragile as a piece of duckweed when it came into contact with the ck ripples.

    ¡°Death Ripples...¡± Lin Li eximed in shock. It was the legendary level-18 magic spell that not many Archmages specializing in Dark Magic could grasp! He could not believe that he¡¯d just witnessed that spell from a magical beast...

    Sh*t. They were totally doomed...

    The Shapeshifter was terrifying enough just with its mastery in Dark Force. Now that it was as proficient in the life-threatening Death Ripples, it made the beast before them even more horrifying.

    Not all Shapeshifters had the ability to attack their opponents with the Death Ripples.

    How a Shapeshifter was able to own Dark Magic was simr to a Fantama Panthera¡ªdepending on nature. The greater its innate qualities, the more advanced its Dark Magic.

    For a Shapeshifter, its strengths were dependent on the amount of negative energy within its body. Thus, it would be based on the scale of the disaster it was created from.

    To create a Shapeshifter that had the abilities to cast the Death Ripples, the disaster would have cost the lives of at least ten thousands.

    The thought of a ten-thousand-lives-big bloodbath made Lin Li pause in his steps. He had a vague impression he¡¯d heard about a wide scale catastrophe...

    The depressing sound of a series of explosions echoed from the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, the few warriors who survived out of luck previously died under the attack of the Death Ripples.

    They were too close to the sudden strike of Death Ripples. There was no room for escape.

    At that instance, the battlefield saw a scene of bodies blown into pieces.

    The Death Ripples was spreading at top speed like a gue towards the mages. Within seconds, they would fall due to it. Then, the entire team would be annihted.

    At this crucial moment, a beam of bright white light shot through the crowd, separating the ck fog.

    In that moment, Lin Li could not help but be dumbfounded. He clearly remembered that he felt an underlying sense of pure holy energy from that shining glow of light.

    ¡°Holy Light!¡± Lin Li eximed. He was so stupefied that he went into a daze. It was a known fact that the Fn Kingdom was the kingdom of mages. It would be extremely rare to find anyone who had a holy upation and was skilled enough to use the Holy Light to purify any Shapeshifter.

    Since it was already difficult to hire a legendary mage to join the team, Lin Li found it unbelievable that among this group of adventurers, there was such a member with that sacred upation.

    Although the Death Ripples was a level-18 magic, the spell that took it down was a holy spell that was at least level-15.

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not a divine upation...¡± Lin Li realized his mistake soon after.

    As the ck fog dispersed, Lin Li saw clearly that it was only a silver te that emitted the Divine Power, and not any divine upation.

    The golden-haired youth gripped the silver te tightly. His handsome face was covered with sweat. Anyone who saw that scene would have been petrified. No one could have thought that the powers of a Shapeshifter would be so extreme.

    All thanks to the timing he used the sacred weapon. If he waste for a second, the mercenary corps he¡¯d built up so strenuously would have been wiped off entirely by the Death Ripples...

    The sacred weapon was so valuable. It could ovee a level-18 magical spell with the shocking Divine Power within it.

    Unfortunately, that sacred weapon could only be used once...

    At the thought of that, a streak of disappointment was reflected in the eyes of the golden-haired youth. He¡¯d brought his mercenary corps to the Nightmare Mountains to battle the legendary Shapeshifter as he had gotten ahold of this weapon. From the day he¡¯d acquired this sacred item, everything had been nned.

    They nned to let their warriors hold back the beast and their mages use the traditional Attacking Spells to weaken it bit by bit. When its powers have been weakened to the minimum, he would take out his sacred weapon and inflict the most critical blow.

    Unfortunately, luck was not on their side.

    They had miscalcted the fact that their opponent was a Shapeshifter that would be skilled in the Death Ripples...

    Now that the sacred weapon had its powers drained, even if there was a strand of magic left, it would be hard for them to pose any threat to the Shapeshifter. If they dyed any further, the entire team would be wiped outpletely.

    The golden-hair youth made a decision.

    He raised the silver te high up in the air. Under the zing light, the light reflected off the te was exceptionally dazzling.

    ¡°RETREAT!¡±

    What followed themand was another beam of light from the silver te. The only difference was that this time, the light was much dimmer than before.

    The pure Divine Power shot out of the silver te once more. But this time, it was not to ward off Dark Magic. It was to attack the Shapeshifter, which had been releasing those Death Ripples.

    Even though that was only the remaining powers of the divine weapon, it had innately antagonistic properties against the Dark Ripples. The impact it resulted in was beyond what one could imagine. There was a bolt of dazzling white light that prated the body of the Shapeshifter¡¯s body immediately.

    Dark-red smoke gushed out of the wound of the beast profusely. To the Shapeshifter that did not have a fixed body, these were like its blood, its energy source. Every time it escaped from its body, the beast would get weaker.

    Under that single strike, the Shapeshifter had lost more than a quarter of its energy.

    If he were to use this weapon at the beginning, it would be almost impossible to deal with the monster. That weapon could only weaken it slightly when the over 30 adventurers charged to the frontline in their respective batches, and even employed the ming Storm on it.

    ¡°Such a loss...¡± The golden-haired youth sighed disappointedly.

    If only he was able to dy the attack by another minute! With just an extra minute, he would have been able to use that sacred weapon to inflict a deadly blow upon the level-18 magical beast...

    Unfortunately, it was toote...

    There was not enough power in the sacred weapon to kill anymore.

    Thatst strike only helped to agitate the beast further. Other than that, it was meaningless.

    ¡°ROAR...¡± The ear-piercing growl of agitation almost sliced through the eardrums of everyone. That was the first time that the creature got injured from the fight, causing it to reach extreme anger. The red light in its eyes became more prominent than ever, just as if blood was going to ooze out of them. The fire that surrounded the hooves grew even more threatening too.

    The mercenary corps had started to retreat. With the protection from the rest of the archers, the mages managed to exit the battleground. Before they arrived, they had already practiced the retreating drill countless times.

    Although they were at the losing end, they showed no chaos nor panic. The mages walked at the front, while the archers followed closely behind.

    If the warriors were still alive, that ce would have belonged to them...

    The mercenary corps retreated like the tide. Yet, the eyes of the Shapeshifter did not even nce at them, and remained fixed on the silver te¡ªthe enemy that attacked it!

    ¡°What a waste...¡± The golden-haired youth sighed as he looked at the Silver te in his hand. Then, he clenched his teeth, and threw out that weapon.

    The sacred weapon created a brilliant silver trace behind it as it flew over and descended into the thick growth.

    And while the Silver te was flying, the Shapeshifter took its chance to flee. The fire around its hooves went away quickly together with it as it escaped like a gush of wind.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li cursed in shock. Never had he expected that the battle would end so abruptly, and that he¡¯d still face the tragic consequence of it...

    The ce where the silver te fell happened to be Lin Li¡¯s hiding ce.

    The legendary Nightmare Mount had a frightening speed. Before the silver te even touched the ground, the Shapeshifter had already dashed in front of the two men. That moment, Lin Li¡¯s hair stood up. He felt despair and absurdity, just as if he was knocked down by a train suddenly while sitting at home watching the television programme.

    The train¡ªno, the Shapeshifter¡ªwas like a red bolt of lightning that struck Lin Li. Its dark red horn was like a hammer, knocking hard into Lin Li¡¯s waist.

    <i>Retribution... This must be my retribution... </i>At this moment, ¡®karma¡¯ was the only thing that filled Lin Li¡¯s mind. He chose to be a passive bystander, and watched the mercenary corps fight to the death. It was the time for him to receive his retribution now, and die like how the other warriors did...

    ¡®A transmigrator being killed in a road ident¡ªhow absurd this is!¡¯ Lin Li never felt so indignant. On the verge of dying, the only thing Lin Li felt like doing was to shout at the Shapeshifter, ¡°F*ck you, Shapeshifter¡ªit¡¯s time to get a driver¡¯s license!!!¡±

    ¡°Mr. Felic, Mr. Felic... Are you alright?¡± After closing his eyes from quite a while, he heard Sean¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li cried in doubt. <i>How could Sean speak when he is dead? </i>Then, he suddenly remembered he was attacked by the horn of the Shapeshifter before this. Why did he feel no pain at all? Did the horn have anesthetic effect?

    Thinking of which, Lin Li opened his eyes.

    Then, he was stunned...

    The view before him was sheer absurdity.

    The culprit lied at his feet on the lush green grass. A faint scent of holiness emitted from it.

    And the ultimate killer¡ªthe Shapeshifter¡ªhad vanishedpletely...

    At that instant, Lin Li did not know if he should cry orugh. He thought he was definitely going to die, yet woke up with zero injuries. The only thing that was amiss was that there was a small hole on his Robe of Wrath, located where the horn of the Shapeshifter struck...

    ¡°This is too surreal!¡±

    Lin Li could not believe his own eyes. He felt as if he was a serial killer who was apprehended by the police but merely sentenced as a thief...

    Lin Li always wanted to hunt Shapeshifters¡ªhow would he not be aware of the horn that struck him? That was the firmest weapon on earth, filled with the powerful Dark Magic which could break all protective realms. Not to mention that he was only wearing the Robe of Wrath, even if it was the thick and heavy armor that the warriors wore, he would not be able to block the harsh impact the horn inflicted on him. That sharp weapon struck him like a bolt of lightning¡ªhow would it only create a small simple hole in his body?

    ¡°But...¡±

    It was what made Lin Li felt like something was amiss.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because of that?¡± Lin Li muttered as an object shed in his mind...

    The pocket of the Robe of Wrath was exactly where the horn of the Shapeshifter struck on.

    Thinking of which, Lin Li reached into his pocket frantically. His fingers came into contact with that eerie piece of crystal.

    Although the surface of the crystal was filled with decorative patterns, the light it reflected was a sinister dark red.

    When Lin Li first noticed it, he thought he had seen wrongly.

    Lin Li was absolutely clear that in that cave, the crystal was transparent. However, why did it show rays of dark-red when the exited the cave?

    Soon after, Lin Li understood everything.

    That was because he smelled a familiar scent that came from that piece of crystal.

    One could forget the color of the crystal, but not its scent. Lin Li would never forget that unique smell belonging to a Shapeshifter. This dark and pressurizing smell would only be emitted by these beasts born during suffering and disasters.

    ¡°God dammit! That Shapeshifter got eaten by a... crystal?¡± At that point of time, the only term that came to Lin Li to describe the unbelievable scene was the word ¡®eaten¡¯.

 Chapter 135 - Spite

    <h4>Chapter 135: Spite</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li held onto the crystal tightly on the way back to nna. His expression was like Sean¡¯s in the daytime¡ªhe was in the same trance and absent-minded state. He even felt soft beneath his feet walking on the rugged mountain road; it was as if he was stepping on cotton.

    The night¡¯s experience was like a dream. A huge Eternal Adamantine vein, three astounding gemstones, and a piece of weird crystal that could devour even the Shapeshifter. Just thinking about it made him feel unreal.

    So much so that when Lin Li left, he did not even notice that the golden-haired youth who should have fled was still standing in the camp with a pale face. Beads of perspiration fell from his forehead. Even the golden hair around his ears was dampened with perspiration. His body trembled as he looked at Lin Li as if he was looking at the most terrifying monster...

    He could not help being afraid...

    He had led a group of people, and they had fought the Shapeshifter for half a night. How could he not be clear about the strength of the level-18 magical beast? That was a creatureparable to that of a legendary level. If it weren¡¯t for the sacred weapon they had in hand tonight, even an adventurer ten times stronger than them wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge the majesty of the Shapeshifter.

    However, such a magical beast had disappeared the moment it collided with the young mage. What kind of terrifying force was it?

    If such a powerful figure mistakenly thought he was hostile, who could return to nna alive among the 30 adventurers present?

    He would swear to God if he could that it was all a coincidence, and that he was not at all hostile!

    Tossing the sacred weapons out at thest moment was part of the battle n to attract the Shapeshifter¡¯s attention, and to buy precious time for the whole mercenary team to escape. Under the cliff of the other side of the camp, the mercenary corps had already prepared 40 ropedders. It would only take a breath¡¯s time for the surviving adventurers to escape.

    However...

    Little did the golden-haired youth expect that there was a young mage hiding in the forest.

    When he discovered the young mage, the golden-haired youth knew things were bad. Once the Shapeshifter surged forth, no one could ward it off. The raging Shapeshifter would tear all living creatures to pieces. Not to mention such a young mage, even an Archmage wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to escape from death.

    The golden-haired youth was more or less guilty, having killed a man for no reason.

    But very soon, he realized that the Shapeshifter was gone!

    It was neither killed, nor defeated¡ªit suddenly disappeared...

    A hallucination, this had to be a hallucination!

    The golden-haired youth refused to believe it, and rubbed his eyes hard!

    That was right, it really disappeared...

    The sacred weapon was still quietly lying on the grass, and the young mage was still standing there, but the horrible Shapeshifter disappeared from the world in a sh.

    ¡°Shock¡± was not enough to describe his feelings. The golden-haired youth stared at the ce where the Shapeshifter had disappeared for a full minute.

    Then...

    He realized a very serious problem.

    What he had just done could be described as foolishness. No matter how one looked at it, perhaps it would be regarded as a deliberate provocation.

    Although the golden-haired youth knew that this was in fact an ident, he knew better than ever that such an outrageously powerful person would not be in the mood to listen to his exnation. Anril was such a world¡ªonly the strong were respected and qualified to speak.

    A level-12 warrior was like an ant in the eyes of such a powerhouse. Thetter only needed one finger to crush him to death. In this world, who would listen to an ant exin anything?

    At this moment, the golden-haired young man was so frightened that even his heart stopped beating. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and his whole body was soaked in cold sweat; it looked as if he was just fished out of the water. His fair, handsome face was full of despair. He looked at the powerhouse amongst the forest with fear and horror, waiting for his final judgment. Everyone¡¯s life and death were all between his thoughts...

    It was only a short span of two minutes, but the golden-haired youth felt as if it had been a year. Fear and despair filled his heart. The feeling of waiting to die was like being nibbled away bit by bit by a monster, but he just couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    After what seemed like an eternity, thest thing he had anticipated was for the other party to turn away and leave...

    The golden-haired young man couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He¡¯d never thought that the super powerhouse would let him go like this.

    When the other party¡¯s figure disappearedpletely in the forest, the sense of relief made the golden-haired youth lose all his strength¡ªhe could not even wipe the sweat on his forehead. He stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the dark forest with dull eyes...

    And all of this, of course, was unknown to Lin Li.

    It waste at night when he returned to nna, and he had a hard time getting into the gates of the nna Guild of Magic.

    Before Lin Li could enter the gate, he was stopped by two mages on night guard.

    There was no other way out. This was not Jarrosus, after all. No one knew Felic nor his identity. The two mages on vigil, who were yawning away for most of the night, only knew that this was the nna Guild of Magic¡ªthe heart of all magic in the Fn Kingdom. Anyone who wished to enter the guild had to be interrogated.

    As for what kind of interrogation... It would be determined by the identity of the other party.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li¡¯s identity was the kind that should be questioned carefully.

    A young trial mage, who was also from the countryside of Jarrosus. Everyone knew he was a magic genius, but with no background.

    There were many marginal people in an awkward position in the nna Guild of Magic, They had gotten rid of their status as mage apprentices, but it was difficult to make any further progress. Perhaps they would only be stuck at level-five even at the end of their lives, so most of the time, they would be sent to do various chores, such as vigils.

    No one liked to be on vigil; they had to stand outside at the gate every night in the cold wind. As long as they were human beings, they would harbor some resentment in they hearts, which naturally had to be vented. Therefore, making things difficult for mages who returnedte had be their best entertainment, and such entertainment could usually bring some benefits. In order to return to sleep earlier, mages were usually not stingy¡ªthey might offer a few words of ttery, or even a little gift.

    Of course, they naturally dared not find trouble with those higher-level Magic Shooters in the guild. Once they angered these pestilences, they would not have to be on vigil anymore¡ªa magic spell that came down would banish them to the cemetery.

    The subjects of their spite were generally low-level mages in the guild. These people were not high in status as well. As long as they adopted a business-like attitude, in addition to subtle hints, they would be able to reap some benefits in the end most of the time.

    Apart from these low-level mages, the ones they liked to spite most were still the ones who came from other guilds for the trials. In particrly, the mages that hade this year were all young talents, and they had no background in nna.

    This was a veryplicated mentality¡ªone of both jealousy and superiority. They were jealous of the other party¡¯s talents, yet they despised their guilds. Except for the nna Guild of Magic, other guilds could only remain country guilds.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The man in charge of interrogating Lin Li was a middle-aged mage. He looked to be over 50 years of age, and was tall andnky. He stood outside the guild hall in a ck robe, looking like a ck bamboo pole.

    ¡°Felic.¡±

    ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°What are you here for?¡±

    ¡°To participate in the trial.¡±

    ¡°Why did you return sote?¡±

    ¡°I had something to deal with.¡±

    Lin Li frowned slightly. He was alreadycking sleep, and had been through some ordeal for the day; even if he was made of iron, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out as well. He had finally returned to the guild and wanted to go back for a good sleep, but did not expect to be hounded by this fellow. He was asking some boring questions over and over and over again; anyone in Lin Li¡¯s ce would probably be infuriated as well.

    However, the other party¡¯s attitude was all business. Though Lin Li was fuming in his heart, he did not show it on his face. He continued to answer another few more boring questions patiently.

    ¡°Mmm...¡± The middle-aged mage turned over the guild records¡ªthere was indeed a trial mage named Felic, who was also from Jarrosus. Except... his leaving the guild tonight did not seem to be in the guild records.

    This discovery lit up the mage¡¯s eyes. The absence of a record meant that he had left the guild without the consent of their trial mentor. Plus, he had returnedte. If he did not try to make things difficult for such a subject, then he had kept vigil for nothing for the past ten years.

    The middle-aged mage¡¯s face hardened as he tried to make his expression look more dignified. ¡°Felic from the Jarrosus Guild, right? I¡¯ve just read the guild records, but there¡¯s no record of your going out. What¡¯s your exnation for this?¡±

    ¡°I...¡±

    Lin Li opened his mouth to exin, but the middle-aged mage spoke again in a disgusting, old-fashioned tone, ¡°As a trial mage, you have seriously vited the rules of the trial by going out in private, and you hade back sote. It seems that nna¡¯s night life has lost you... The country guild is a country guild after all, only capable of producing an unruly kid such as you.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I tell you, if there¡¯s no reasonable exnation, I think I¡¯ll inform your mentor about it.¡± When the middle-aged mage said this, he specially emphasized on the enunciation of the word ¡°exnation¡±...

    ¡°Orh...¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and understood at once. He thought it was business, but the mage was actually asking for bribes. On hearing this, Lin Li¡¯s face turned cold. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to exin. If you have a problem, you can ask my mentor. His name is Macklin.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± The middle-aged mage never expected that this kid from the country guild would have such an outrageous attitude. He had seen many trial mages before; even if he picked one from them casually, their background would be much deeper than that of Jarrosus. What kind of ce was that? It was Fn¡¯s most remote, most down-and-out Guild of Magic. It was said that several mage families had been riding on their heads in the past few years; a country kid who came from there actually had the guts to re his temper on him?

    The two sides had dispensed with all civilities, and the middle-aged mage no longer wanted any bribes. He had decided to fix the kid¡¯s wagon. He shot a menacing re at Lin Li, and said between clenched teeth, ¡°Alright, I will ask!¡±

    As it happened...

    Before he could ask, Macklin came out on his own.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t he returned...¡± Lin Li had been out for most of the night, and it nearly gave Macklin a heart attack from the panic. He was utterly regretful at present; if he had known earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have handed the kid over to Andoine and have his nerves kept on tenterhooks for the whole night. He was afraid something might happen to the kid¡ªhe was the Guild of Magic¡¯s only hope. If something wrong happened to him, was he going to make another intermediate cksmith to deal with the bet?

    After the two of them had left, Macklin¡¯s fear grew with his thoughts. He had alreadye out for a dozen times in just a few hours just to see if Lin Li had returned. In just a night¡¯s time, he could feel that he had grown a few more strands of white hair.

    ¡°Damn, Andoine, that old bastard...¡± Macklin walked down the steps and was about to look around the corner when he suddenly saw a young mage smiling at himself. The old mage robe, which was torn and worn, looked very cordial at the moment. The curse that he had uttered halfway was stuck at his throat...

    <i>This kid is finally back...</i>

    ¡°Mr Macklin...¡± ¡°Lin Li and the mage on vigil greeted almost concurrently.

    However, the Macklin at present had no time to care about a mage on vigil. He breathed out a sigh of relief, and began to reprove incessantly, ¡°You kid, you know how toe back? Another half an hour, and I¡¯d be going up to the Nightmare Mountains in search for you...¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but I had a small ident on the way...¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression was listless, and he yawned after speaking. He was utterly sleepy. ¡°I¡¯ll exin to you tomorrow. I have to go back to sleep now. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid tomorrow¡¯s trial mission will be done for...¡±

    ¡°Forget about the crap trial!¡± Macklin rolled his eyes as he scolded him with exasperation. ¡°In your present state, I could throw you into a heap of magical beasts, and you¡¯d still fall asleep. Hurry back and sleep, we¡¯ll talk about the trial mission tomorrow afternoon when you wake up. I will personally wake you up then.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and continued no more. He led Sean¡ªwho was also yawning unceasingly¡ªpast the middle-aged mage, who was standing with his eyes and mouth open wide, and went down the steps into the guild hall.

    Macklin heaved out a long sigh of relief watching the two figures recede... The night¡¯s sufferings had caused him a few more strands of white hair.

    The middle-aged mage was regretting his guts out having witnessed this bizarre scene.

    A country mage with no background in his eyes turned out to be someone that even Mr Macklin had to personally receive...

    He had been in the nna Guild of Magic for more than ten years; how could he not know Mr Macklin¡¯s character? He was someone who dared to confront even President Aldwin. In these ten years, he had never seen Mr Macklin as gentle as he was today. Just listen to the conversation between them earlier on¡ªin order to let the young mage have a good sleep, Mr Macklin had spared no effort to dy the trial time!

    For a moment, the middle-aged mage felt his scalp tingle.

    <i>I¡¯m done for, I might really end up guarding the cemetery...</i>

    Fortunately, Macklin was unaware of the whole situation. He hade out at ater time, and had not seen the mage on vigil badgering Lin Li, nor did he know that the person he had been waiting for the whole night was held up by this fellow at the gate and was not able to enter the guild hall. Otherwise... with Macklin¡¯s character, the consequences were hard to imagine.

    Because he was in a good mood, before Macklin went back to the guild hall, he had even encouraged the middle-aged mage.

    Hearing the words of encouragement, the middle-aged mage felt his legs go weak. Cold sweat broke out continuously on his back, and even his voice seemed to tremble as he spoke...

    When Macklin left atst, the middle-aged mage was finally unable to hold out, and fell limply on the ground like a pool of mud.

    Lin Li brought Sean to his dormitory. Then, his head began to pound.

    Sean¡¯s snoring was something that he had got to know well. He was fine with it personally¡ªhe was deadbeat from the day¡¯s ordeal, and figured that he probably wouldn¡¯t wake up even when thunder struck. However, his two roommates were innocent. As soon as Sean¡¯s snoring sounded, they probably wouldn¡¯t sleep tonight...

    He stood outside the door and hesitated for a moment, but he could not think of a good way out of it. He could only ask Sean to restrain himself and get through the night first, then he¡¯d help him think of other ways the next day.

    After making up his mind, Lin Li pulled out his key and opened the room¡¯s door gently.

    ¡°Felic, you rascal, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Who knew that he had just entered the living room when Mason¡¯s voice rang out from the bedroom.

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry for disturbing your sleep, Big Brother Mason.¡± Lin Li felt rather sorry. He had opened the door gently so as to avoid disturbing both of them when resting. He didn¡¯t expect Mason to wake up despite it.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t even sleeping...¡± Indeed, when Mason came out of the room, it turned out he did not even take off his mage robe. He still looked very energetic. He pointed to the next door, and grinned lewdly. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that fellow¡¯s not asleep as well; you can take a look if you don¡¯t believe...¡±

    ¡°Felic¡¯s back?¡± Mason¡¯s voice had just fallen when Orrin¡¯s bedroom door opened.

    ¡°Mhm, I¡¯m back.¡± Lin Li nodded, but his expression was full of confusion. <i>What are these two fellows doing in their room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?</i>

    ¡°Felic, I heard you¡¯ve beaten up Archmage Darian¡¯s nephew?¡± Mason gathered to Lin Li¡¯s side without even looking at Orrin. The smile showed that he was totally up for some juicy gossip.

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Heh... I heard from others. So, did you really beat him up?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± There was nothing to hide about such a thing. Lin Li nodded his head, and admitted it generously. ¡°I practiced magic with him for a while.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mason rolled his eyes. He thought inwardly, <i>It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen that fellow Madrick before. He¡¯s only level-seven, and is worlds apart in strength with me. You monster, you went to to practice with him? Aren¡¯t you sending yourself to death...?</i>

    ¡°Be careful these few days.¡± Orrin¡¯s words were few, but his concern could be heard by anyone.

    ¡°Mhm, I will.¡± Lin Li also knew that the middle-aged mage named Darian had always harbored a strange hostility for him. Perhaps what Madrick did to Sean was also ordered by him. Now that he had crippled Madrick, it would be strange if he did note to find trouble with Lin Li himself.

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore.¡± If it was in the past, Mason would probably have advised him once more. But after seeing Andoine the day before, he finally knew how strong the kid¡¯s backing was. With the legendary mage standing behind him, who¡¯d dare toy a hand on him? It was just a casual mention anyway. Then, Mason¡¯s face revealed the lewd smile again, and he asked in a mysterious tone, ¡°Did you all hear about the change in the trial mission tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°What change?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be startled. Why hadn¡¯t he heard Macklin mention about a change in the trial mission when they were outside a while ago?

 Chapter 136 - Shadowglen

    <h4>Chapter 136: Shadowglen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I heard from my uncle...¡±

    Mason¡¯s opening remarks were still the same. Lin Li had heard him say the same thing at least ten times in the past few days since he¡¯d arrived in nna, so much that Lin Li was curious who this ¡°uncle¡± was, and how he was so well-informed. Not to mention the major decisions of the guild, even somece news and gossip could not escape him. Lin Li made up his mind that he¡¯d have Mason introduce him to his uncle one some day.

    ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s mission will be beyond our imagination.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°What¡¯s the mission that¡¯s so impressive?¡±

    Mason¡¯s face stood to reason. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was almost infuriated by him. He had been talking mysteriously for a long while, and in the end, it had finished with an ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±. Where was the important part? The important part was gone¡ªwhat was the difference between this and an eunuch?

    For a moment, even Orrin couldn¡¯t stand it. ¡°Idiot without any professional ethics!¡±

    ¡°Listen to my exnation...¡± Mason quickly excused himself, seeing that he was about to offend the majority. ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s task is decided by the Supreme Council. Don¡¯t mention my uncle, even President Aldwin might not necessarily know.¡±

    ¡°For real?¡±

    The more Lin Li thought, the more puzzled he felt. Although the trial was initiated by the Supreme Council, thetter had not interfered too much. After all, there were countless Guilds of Magic in Anril; the Supreme Council might not necessarily have time to oversee nna.

    What medicine had they mistakenly taken to take charge of the mission suddenly...

    ¡°What missions do you think the Supreme Council will issue to us?¡± Mason was apparently excited. The thought of the Supreme Council¡¯s mission excited one easily.

    ¡°Devil knows...¡±

    Lin Li pouted his lips; he had no awe for the Supreme Council. His headache at present was how to sleep tonight. Sean was already dozing over there¡ªhe was sitting in a rattan chair with his head leaning back. Lin Li reckoned that, in a short time, he would shock the whole building with his snores.

    Lin Li pondered, and had to wake Sean up. ¡°Sean, wake up first...¡±

    After the day¡¯s ordeal, Sean was already worn out. Though he was shaken up by Lin Li, his eyes were still half closed as he asked in a daze, ¡°What happened, Mr Felic?¡±

    ¡°Sleep in my room.¡±

    ¡°How could I?¡± Sean woke up half in shock upon hearing this. He shook his head, and said, ¡°No, no, Mr Felic, I¡¯ll just sleep in the living room.¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap with me.¡± It was no use discussing with this fellow. Lin Li¡¯s face stiffened, and he said in amanding tone, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go back to Jarrosus, go to my room to sleep!¡±

    Sean dared not decline anymore upon seeing Lin Li¡¯s hardened expression. However, he was still hesitant. ¡°Then... Mr Felic, where would you be sleeping?¡±

    ¡°I want to sit down a little longer. When I want to sleep, I¡¯lle in and wake you up.¡±

    With this remark, Sean finally put down his worries, and answered honestly, ¡°Orh...¡±

    Lin Li helped Sean to close the bedroom door, then sat back in the rattan chair. With a tired look on his face, he said to his two roommates, ¡°It¡¯s not early anymore. Let¡¯s go to bed earlier. There¡¯s still the trial mission tomorrow...¡±

    ¡°You are good to him.¡± Orrin praised Lin Li, which was something rare, and then gently closed the door.

    Lin Li smiled, and did not give any exnations. He whispered in his heart, ¡°I¡¯m good to you too...¡±

    Seeing that both roommates had closed their doors, Lin Lin opened the Ring of Endless Storm once again, and took out a crystal pen and a bottle of star sand from inside. Then, he quietlyid a Ward of Secrecy on the doors.

    After all these, Lin Li could finally put his heart down and sleep. With the Ward of Secrecy as a shield, let alone Sean¡¯s snoring, even thunder couldn¡¯t reach the living room.

    Lin Li had been bone-weary from the day¡¯s events. Now that he had nothing to worry about, he slept soundly even in the rattan chair.

    It was not just Lin Li that slept well, but Mason and Orrin too¡ªas well as Sean, who was shielded with the Ward of Secrecy.

    While they slept soundly, someone was crying in front of Darian.

    It was Madrick¡ªthe unlucky brat who had hit a snag.

    ¡°Uncle Darian...¡± Madricky on his bed, covered with bandages and looking like a mummy. A little movement from Madrick would affect his wounds and cause excruciating pain all over his body.

    ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re a grown man, what¡¯s there to cry about with minor injuries?¡± Darian¡¯s face was livid, and he was frustrated by Madrick¡¯s cries.

    He already knew what had happened. Darian had never thought that the kid from Jarrosus would have the guts to take such strong actions.

    Although he had said ¡°Nothing to cry about¡±, Darian knew very well that it was not a minor injury.

    In fact, he was startled when he saw Madrick¡¯s wounds.

    The body was covered with bruises, and the wounds on the legs were as deep and long as if they had been cut open by a knife. The trace of the ming Hands on the chest still exuded a strong burning smell. His back was even more horrible¡ªalmost half of his body was blown up, and even the ribs were exposed. Fortunately, Madrick was lucky enough not suffer injuries to the internal organs; otherwise, he would probably have died already.

    Madrick¡¯s injury reminded Darian of the trial many years ago.

    All this seemed to be a repetition of that year.

    Back then, he was lying on that bed in almost the same condition as Madrick at present. He was seriously injured, and had almost died; the man who did that to him was also from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and his name was Gerian.

    Darian could not help gripping his fists at the thought of Gerian¡¯s disgusting fat face.

    It was the greatest shame of his life¡ªbeing defeated in front of hundreds of people by a fat man whom he had never taken a look at before.

    Darian had never suffered such humiliation in his life. After an Air Bomb had defeated him, the fat man who deserved to go to hell spat in his face, and said, ¡°If you have the strength, you can be arrogant too.¡±

    ¡°Focus on healing your injuries. I¡¯ll deal with this matter.¡± Darian took a deep breath, and tried to force down the years of hatred.

    ¡°Uncle Darian, you must help me out...¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    After Darian came out of the room, he did not look for Lin Li directly. Instead, he returned to the guild hall, went up the stairs to the second floor directly to Aldwin¡¯s door, and knocked on it.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± It wasn¡¯t Aldwin who was asking, but Macklin, who was second to Aldwin in the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Good morning, Mr Macklin.¡± Darian¡¯s voice was very respectful. He had always feared the man with the goat-like beard; Macklin wascking in strength aspared to Aldwin, but at the nna Guild of Magic, people who were afraid of Macklin were far more than those who were afraid of Aldwin.

    Although Aldwin was a legendary mage¡ªeven surpassing that of legendary-level with his level-21 strength¡ªhe had always acted with the principle of generosity. He was a kind and wise elder in everyone¡¯s hearts. But Macklin was different; the goatee was a real pestilence. Darian was considered mild; just look at the young mages in the guild¡ªeveryone saw Macklin as if having seen a ghost.

    However, today...

    Darian had to stand in front of Macklin even though he was afraid of him. The reason was simple¡ªthe man he feared most was the trial mentor of the Jarrosus kid.

    ¡°Darian is here?¡± While Darian was hesitating to open his mouth, Aldwin looked up from a pile of books. The old man had a gentle smile on his face, which was like a spring breeze to others.

    ¡°Good morning, President Aldwin.¡± After the respectful greeting, Darian took another nce at the book in the President¡¯s hands. It seemed to be written in the High Elves Print.

    ¡°You¡¯vee to me so early. There must be something of the matter?¡±

    ¡°Yes, President.¡± Darian nodded his head, and showed some indignation on his face. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have bothered you so early, but unfortunately, a very serious matter happened in the guildst night. A mage who took part in the trial actually wounded Madrick, President Aldwin. I think it is necessary for you to take care of this matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Aldwin paused slightly, and put his book back on the table. ¡°Which guild is the trial mage from?¡±

    ¡°From the Jarrosus Guild of Magic; he seems to be called Felic.¡±

    ¡°You mean... Felic?¡± Before Aldwin could speak, Macklin¡¯s eyes were already wide open.

    ¡°Yes, Mr Macklin.¡±

    ¡°Then take care of what cra¡ª¡±

    ¡°Macklin, Felic¡¯s trial mentor seems to be you?¡± Macklin was about to curse, but was stopped by Aldwin on the other side.

    ¡°Yes, President Aldwin.¡±

    ¡°Then, great. You¡¯ll do as you deem fit.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    How could Macklin not understand when the President¡¯s hint was so obvious? The so-called ¡°do as you deem fit¡± naturally meant to do nothing about it. <i>No kidding... </i><i>Deal with Felic? You¡¯ll deal with it and see... If that old fellow Andoine res up, are you going to pacify him, or is Aldwin going to do it?</i>

    Furthermore...

    <i>After dealing with this kid, will you settle the bet with the Adventurers Guild for us?</i>

    ¡°Darian, is there anything else?¡± Looking back at Darian again, Macklin suddenly felt that this fellow was seriously not pleasing to the eye. He cursed inwardly, <i>Damn it, can¡¯t you do anything right at such an age already? You only know how to find trouble for me...</i>

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    Darian was waiting for Aldwin to announce the solution, and was taken by surprise when Macklin asked him out of the blue. When he finally woke up to reality, he realized that the solution had been announced. The President had not even asked for his own opinion, and had given Macklin full authority to deal with it.

    ¡°Why, do you not rest assured that President Aldwin has left this matter to me? Are you worried that I¡¯ll be biased?¡± Macklin looked at him with a vague, somewhat ill-intentioned look.

    ¡°No, no...¡± Darian was almost scared out of his wits upon hearing it. This was no joke; even if he were given 100 times more guts, he wouldn¡¯t dare admit it before Macklin. For a moment, he was sweating buckets in fear as he shook his head repeatedly in denial.

    ¡°Then, that¡¯s good.¡± Macklin nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Go back first. I will handle this matter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr Macklin.¡± Darian dared not stay any longer upon hearing it. He¡¯d be in trouble if Macklin had misunderstood him again. After saying goodbye to them, he respectfully left the room.

    ¡°Heh heh, this Felic...¡± Watching Darian¡¯s receding figure, Aldwin chuckled helplessly.

    ¡°This little rascal! He¡¯s only creating troubles for me!¡±

    ¡°What do you think of this matter?¡±

    ¡°What can I think?¡± Macklin shrugged his shoulders, and his face looked even more helpless than Aldwin¡¯s. ¡°This little rascal is now my living ancestor; I can¡¯t fight nor scold him. I¡¯m just short of paying tribute to him... Darian¡¯s nephew can only ept it as his bad luck... He could have provoked anyone, but he went for that fellow. It¡¯s his luck that he¡¯s not killed...¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Aldwin shook his head. ¡°I mean, what do you think of this Felic?¡±

    Macklin scratched his head. After mulling it over for a while, he choked out a single word. ¡°Monster.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Aldwin was slightly stunned. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°This is a long story...¡± Macklin sighed, and his face revealed deep emotions. ¡°You know about yesterday¡¯s trial, right?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°I bet you¡¯d never imagined what that kid did...¡± Even Macklin couldn¡¯t help feeling sour when he recalled yesterday¡¯s trial mission. ¡°That kid unleashed two level-two instantaneous spells and one level-three spell right under my nose...¡±

    ¡°Level-three spell?¡± Aldwin was shocked to hear that; level-three instantaneous spell meant a strength of at least a Magic Shooter. This Felic might be a magic genius, but he was still young. He looked to be just barely over 20 years of age, so how could he possess strength close to that of a Magic Shooter?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised yet. I haven¡¯t finished...¡± Macklin sighed, and then gritted his teeth. He said, ¡°And these three spells were released almost at the same time, the interval between the spells was only one second!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Even with Aldwin¡¯s strength, he hissed as he took in a cold breath sharply in spite of himself. What was the concept of two instantaneous level-two spells and an instantaneous level-three spell? Even among the Archmages, perhaps there weren¡¯t many who could do it, let alone a young man who was only 20 years old...

    ¡°And then, this kidpleted a breakthrough!¡±

    ¡°Breakthrough to which level?¡±

    ¡°Broke through from level-12 to level-13.¡±

    ¡°How can it be...¡± Aldwin¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing level-13. Even the pride of the nna Guild of Magic, Gryffindor¡ªwho was also the number one magic genius in the Fn Kingdom¡ªwas only 23-year-old when he broke through level-13, and that was also due to special reasons. How could this Felic from Jarrosus be so powerful? He had already reached level-13 at age 20; when he reached the age of Gryffindor, wouldn¡¯t he be breaking through to the realm of Archmage straight away?

    ¡°If not, why would I call him a monster...?¡±

    ¡°A monster indeed...¡± Aldwin shook his head as he sighed with emotion.

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± Macklin mused, and then remembered something. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing you can¡¯t imagine...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this kid is most likely a pharmacist!¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°I saw it with my own eyes. Andoine took out a bottle of potion to ask him for advice. You didn¡¯t see the scene at that time, or you¡¯d be dead fromughing. The old guy was like the apprentices from our guild in front of him, and was lectured till he dared not lift his head...¡±

    ¡°This is too...¡± Aldwin uttered a few ¡°toos¡± in session, but there was nothing that followed. Finally, he shook his head helplessly, and his eyes were full of incredulity.

    ¡°In short, this kid is a real monster!¡± Macklin concluded with this sentence, then squinted his eyes, and asked in a consultative tone, ¡°I say, can you think of a way to get this kid to nna? What future does he have staying in the countryside of Jarrosus? Why don¡¯t you discuss it with Gerian?¡±

    ¡°Will hee to nna?¡± Aldwin¡¯s eyes lit up all of a sudden when he heard Macklin¡¯s words. If such a perverted genius could join the nna Guild of Magic, he would not have to worry about having no sessor. It was only a matter of time for a level-13 Magic Shooter at age 20 to break through to the legendary realm, not to mention he was still a pharmacist... Oh, right, right. He almost forgot¡ªthis fellow was a cksmith who could forge magical equipment...

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask, but nna is the capital of the Fn Kingdom. Our guild is ten times stronger than Jarrosus guild. Why does he not want toe?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say...¡± Aldwin shook his head, but was equally reluctant to give up. ¡°But I¡¯ll try, let me find a way.¡±

    Two of the most powerful men in the nna Guild of Magic were in the room, engaged in a discussion; the target of their discussion was a young mage of only 20 years of age.

    They were so engrossed in the discussion that theypletely forgot the time. It was almost in the afternoon when Macklin suddenly pped his head, and eximed, ¡°Oh, no, I forgot the business at hand!¡±

    Then, he rushed out of the room without giving Aldwin an exnation.

    Like the day before, Lin Li was awakened by a sudden knock at the door.

    ¡°Good morning, Mr Macklin...¡± Lin Li greeted Macklin with a sleepy face.

    ¡°Why are you sleeping in the living room?¡± As soon as Macklin entered the door, he saw the two rattan chairs joined together and a nket that had slid to the ground.

    Lin Li yawned, and used an excuse. ¡°It¡¯s cooler in the living room...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath. <i>What kind of mess is this? What month is it now to be sleeping in the living room because it¡¯s cooler?</i>

    ¡°Come on, hurry and tidy up. We must set off right away. Today¡¯s trial mission is a bit of a hassle...¡± Time was running out, so Macklin did not ask further. Halfway through the conversation, he asked in puzzlement, ¡°By the way, where are those two guys?¡±

    ¡°Both sleeping. They stayed up toote yesterday.¡±

    ¡°F*ck! These two loafers...¡± Macklin¡¯s face darkened.

    Just as he was about to wake them up with an Arcane Missile like yesterday morning, the doors of the two rooms opened almost at the same time. When Orrin and Mason came out of the room, their faces revealed some jollity. Fortunately, they were early today; otherwise, they¡¯d have to receive two Arcane Missiles...

    ¡°Very well, luckily you¡¯ve gotten up fast today...¡± Time was too tight today, so Macklin did not have the time to lecture anyone. He merely shot a warning look at the two of them. ¡°Pack up and go with me, your trial mission today will bepleted in the Shadowglen.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Not to mention Mason, even Lin Li could not help but have his jaws drop. What kind of joke was the old man making? Was it somewhere that humans could go?

    Going to Shadowglen toplete the mission... This was like buying people¡¯s lives!

    That was the legendary Heaven of the Dead. It was full of the bones of the dead, and was covered with poisonous fog. Even if a cockroach were to crawl in, it would most likely turn into a corpse.

 Chapter 137 - The Mission Starts

    <h4>Chapter 137: The Mission Starts</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What joke is that...¡± Mason grumbled. He was here to participate in trial missions, not to sell his life. How was Shadowglen a ce for humans? Mason would not want to enter Shadowglen as a human yete out as a dried corpse.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the mood for jokes!¡± Macklin eximed impatiently. Due to the nature of today¡¯s mission, Macklin had already bottled a stomach of anger. Yet that was the decision the Supreme Council. Even if he was unwilling, the only thing for him to do was toply. Just when he had no ce to vent his anger on, Mason came to him. Obviously, poor Mason became his punching bag, and got scolded harshly.

    ¡°Do you think I want to bring you fes to Shadowglen? God dammit... that was decided by the Supreme Council!¡± Macklin shouted as the goat whiskers of his trembled uncontrobly. The finger he was pointing Mason with almost poked his nose. ¡°If you are unhappy, go and look for the Supreme Council! No point ranting to me!¡±

    ¡°How would I dare to go...¡± Mason muttered under his breath before scurrying away. He would not want to provoke Macklin further.

    Macklin was in extremely bad spirits. Ever since he stepped out of the Supreme Council, he had been frustrated. To him, that mission had no point at all. How could the Supreme Council set the mission in Shadowglen?

    What if anything were to happen to these kids¡ªespecially Felic? He would get himself into hot soup...

    Not to mention the bet he made with the others... Andoine¡¯s existence alone was enough to cause a headache for Macklin and Aldwin. What was the rtionship between Andoine and Felic? From their closeness, it did not seem like a mentor-student rtionship to Macklin.

    Lin Li just walked silently, and did not think too much about it.

    After all, he had survived the Sunset Mountains, where he encountered all types of dangerous and vicious magical beasts¡ªalthough not dangerous to the extent that they could certainly kill him.

    What he was more concerned about was the piece of crystal in his pocket.

    That crystal was too mysterious...

    There were no signs of magical waves. Even when its surface was covered with magewealth inscription, it looked as if it was for decoration purposes. Lin Li could not detect any sense of energy from it...

    Yet it was this crystal that swallowed a magical beast in front of his eyes.

    Lin Li was doubly sure that it really engulfed the beast.

    Before he went to bed yesterday night, Lin Li deliberately took a look at the crystal. He clearly remembered that when he was at the Nightmare Mountains, he had seen that the crystal emitted the exact magical waves as the Shapeshifter.

    The magical waves was filled with the same viciousness and evilness, and the same depression and hopelessness.

    The thick and dark red waves were like thick red blood flowing within the crystal.

    When he held onto the crystal, he could clearly sense that the Shapeshifter was inside it. It was quite surreal, but indeed authentic.

    Lin Li totally could notprehend why such a powerful crystal would be buried underneath the mineral veins.

    This could not exined by mere magical equipment. Even if Lin Li were to have all the materials needed for forging, he would not be able to create such a sick magical item that could engulf a level-18 magical beast.

    While walking, Lin Li made a silent decision¡ªhe¡¯d find time to test out this piece of crystal when he returned from Shadowglen. If he were to understand and gain the strength of this crystal, nothing would be able to pose a threat to him anymore. After all, it could swallow a level-18 beast instantaneously¡ªwho would still need to use magic and physical strength against them?

    With that crystal, he would not need to fear any dragons, titans, or ancient magical beasts again! They could all be devoured by that crystal!

    With some uncertainty and some reverie, the journey to Shadowglen did not seem arduous to Lin Li at all.

    Shadowglen was filled with mountains, and was so secluded that even vicious beasts would not want to go near this legendary Heaven of the Dead.

    Yellow, withered weeds covering the ground were as though they were the aftermath of a fire. The gloomy pitch-ck sky that almost never showed any sunlight instilled a sense of depression in the people. Cold wind continued to swirl those leaves up into the air, adding a sense of loneliness and chilliness to the atmosphere.

    Their journey to Shadowglen was as long as the time they took to the Nightmare Mountains. The four people reached Shadowglen in two hours by a coach.

    When Lin Li alighted from the coach, he could not help but feel dazed. He realized that there was a lot of tents of different sizes set up on the hills outside Shadowglen. There were also busy mages dressed in long ck robesing in and out of the tents from time to time. Among them, Lin Li spotted the two teammates of Matthias¡¯.

    ¡°What kind of situation is this?¡±

    Mason looked at the tents, andughed heartily. ¡°It must be that the Supreme Council saw through our toil and sweat, so they are nning to organize an outing for us to rx. No wonder my uncle said that today¡¯s mission would be an unexpected one...¡±

    ¡°Moron,¡± Orrin said as he walked past Mason, then added, ¡°Only you would y in Shadowglen.¡±

    ¡°Fat hopes you fe...¡± Macklinughed at Mason¡¯s anticipation when he alighted from the coach. ¡°You wanted to have fun? I¡¯m afraid you might not even have the time to cryter on...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Macklin, what¡¯s the situation? Why are the other teams...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. That¡¯s the instruction from the Supreme Council,¡± said Macklin reluctantly as he shook his head. ¡°Today¡¯s mission is the same across all the teams. If you have any people you know who are here, you can go and say hi to them now because there will be a lot of chances for you to meet each other in the next few days...¡±

    ¡°Why is it a few days?¡± Mason asked innocently.

    ¡°Fool!¡± Macklin eximed as he shot him an angry stare, and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you see those tents? Do you really think that they are here for a holiday?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    At this moment, not to mention Mason, Lin Li could not help but feel surprised as well. He asked, ¡°Mr. Macklin, do you mean that we would be living in Shadowglen for a couple of days?¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, you have guessed it correctly! There¡¯s no prize, though...¡±

    How would Lin Li care if there were any prizes to be won?

    Before setting off, Lin Li had tried to predict the nature of that mission. To him, if they were going to go to Shadowglen, it would only mean that they were just going there to kill a few undead creatures. Frankly speaking, Lin Li was not serious about going to Shadowglen, as he felt that these undead creatures were not scary beasts. That was because he had at least two nemeses of the undead creatures in his Ring of Endless Storm.

    But, when Macklin said that, he sensed that that was not the case.

    To live in Shadowglen for some days was not to be treated as a joke...

    ¡°Honestly speaking, this mission could be quite troublesome...¡± Macklin said hesitantly as he understood the dangers of it. He continued, ¡°Yet, there¡¯s only one thing that you need to do¡ªstay in Shadowglen for a week. In these seven days, you can do whatever you like, or nothing at all. Of course, finding a hiding ce for yourselves will be cool as well. But to me, there¡¯s nowhere safe to hide in Shadowglen...¡±

    <i>Aren¡¯t you talking crap? </i>Lin Li pursed his lips.

    The undead creatures were not magical beasts. Time did not matter to them. They could be found wandering around, regardless of if it was day or night. It would be easy to find a hiding ce, but whether they could escape from those creatures would be another matter. If any high-level undead creature were to see them, they would be in big trouble.

    Furthermore, the air in Shadowglen was poisonous all year round. If one were to stay in any spot for long, he would be in grave danger due to the huge amount of toxins he breathed in.

    ¡°F*ck the Supreme Council, a bunch of scoundrels! How would that be a mission? It concerns life and death!¡± Mason cursed angrily, forgetting that it was Macklin that was standing beside him.

    It was rare that Macklin did not scold him this time. Macklin only took out three scrolls, and said, ¡°It¡¯s also not very serious. For this mission, the Supreme Council prepared these scrolls for you. If you meet any danger, open the scroll, and you will be transported back to the camp.¡±

    ¡°But,¡± Macklin thought for a moment before advising, ¡°if you were to open the scroll, it would mean that you have failed the mission. So, think carefully before you give up on this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, let me add on... I was not joking just now. If you know of any one here, grab this time to go and meet them. You might need them after you enter Shadowglen.¡±

    Apart from his two teammates, how would Lin Li have any other friends in nna? Although Macklin¡¯s advice was reasonable, it was not applicable to him at all. It was the same for Orrin. With his cold and reserved nature, it was hard for him to have many friends.

    Mason, on the other hand, was a social butterfly. Right after Macklin advised them, a sly grin appeared on his face. ¡°He¡¯s right... Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said whatever I need to. The rest is up to you...¡± After telling them all the tips and the rules of the task, Macklin walked off, feeling more at ease.

    ¡°Mason!¡± someone called out from a distance. Lin Li could not help but feel relieved that Mason was in his team. He really was a social butterfly...

    The person who greeted Mason was a tanned and skinny young mage that looked about the same age as him. Behind him were two of his teammates¡ªone short, another tall. When they walked together, it was full ofedic effect.

    ¡°Haha! Ka, it was you?¡± Mason seemed very happy that he met someone familiar. He waved to him excitedly while gesturing to his two teammates. ¡°Come here, let me introduce him to you! This fe is Ka from Sunrise City Guild of Magic, and he¡¯s my childhood ymate.

    ¡°Ka, these are my two teammates. He¡¯s Orrin, and that¡¯s Felic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to meet both of you.¡±

    Ka was obviously more mature than Mason. His speech and gestures were filled with propriety and politeness. After greeting the two men, he also introduced his teammates to them. The taller one was Lauren from Snow City Guild of Magic, while the shorter one was Fedrick from Dawn City Guild of Magic.

    It had been long since hest met this childhood friend. Mason was so ted that he pulled Ka over to chat for at least half an hour. Only when the mission was about to begin did he wave goodbye to him. When Ka was about to leave, they promised to definitely render their help to each other if they were to meet any danger in Shadowglen, and to survive the seven days together.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m there, you will be fine!¡± Mason patted his chest, assuring Ka.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll depend on you in this mission, alright?¡±

    ¡°Be assured, everything¡¯s on me!¡±

    After making a pact, they continued to chat for a while before Ka brought his teammates away.

    While they chatted, Lin Li remained silent and sized up the tanned and skinny mage curiously.

    Even to Lin Li, Ka was a good mage of at least level-11, just a little weaker than Orrin. His two other teammates were not weak too; both were at level-10, and much stronger than Mason...

    If they were to form an alliance with this team, it would definitely be of help for Lin Li¡¯s team toplete this mission.

    Unfortunately, even if he cherished the bond between the two teams, they might not have that same attitude...

    Underlying Lin Li¡¯s smile was a hint of sarcasm.

    <i>This Ka is an interesting man... </i>...

    When Ka went back to his tent, the shorter mage, Lauren, asked him curiously, ¡°Boss, you are very close to that Mason?¡±

    ¡°Just an acquaintance.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you treat him...¡±

    ¡°Why was I so friendly to him, right?¡± Ka said as he smiled, and gazed at the entrance of Shadowglen. ¡°Friendliness is free. If I treat him nicely now, he might be of help in the future. Furthermore, this mission will not be easy. Even if it was Gryffindor, there is no certainty for him to survive the seven days himself, what more us. When danger arrives, it would be good for us to receive help from people instead of being backstabbed by them.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that the ability of that fe is...¡± the short mage paused, and thought for a while before continuing, ¡°He is no more than a level-nine, and his teammate, Felic, is just a level-seven dude. How could they be of any help to us in Shadowglen?¡±

    ¡°What do you know...¡± Ka red at him impatiently. ¡°In Shadowglen, luck is more important than ability. Don¡¯t be too full of yourself with that level-10 ability. I¡¯ll tell you that in Shadowglen, even if you are a level-11 or level-12, you might not be able to survive in this period of time. After all, friendliness is free. And, it¡¯s good to have some scapegoats with us...¡±

    ¡°But...¡± After reprimanding the short mage, Ka continued while in deep thought, ¡°But that fe Felic... How could he dare to even participate in the trial with just a level-seven skillset? I¡¯m sure he would be sent back from Shadowglen not long after the mission starts. We don¡¯t need to have much hopes of depending on that team.¡±

    While the trio was conversing in the tent, an old and husky voice resounded outside. ¡°Let me announce that the mission officially starts now. This time, I hope everyone can seed andplete the task.¡±

    Although the voice was not loud, it was strangely clear and easy for everyone to hear it.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go!¡±

    When Ka and his team came out of their tent, Lin Li¡¯s team was already at the entrance of Shadowglen.

    The moment when Lin Li got close to the entrance, he sensed a pungent smell of rot. The putrid smell that filled the stale air resembled that of decaying corpses. ck haze filled their vision, and nothing could be clearly seen from any distance. The soil below their feet was moist and slippery. As they walked, it was as though they could hear the squelching sound of their steps.

    ¡°This ce is so disgusting...¡± Mason cried out in disdain as he fixed his eyes at his feet, afraid of stepping on anything he should not be stepping on.

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice, because the undead are unaware of the environment in their habitat.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Felic, aren¡¯t you a pharmacist? Are there any potions for us to go unnoticed by the undead creatures?¡± Mason always liked to daydream. To say the truth, when he was asking this question, he was not expecting there to be any.

    Who knew Lin Li would nod his head. He said in a definite tone, ¡°Of course there are...¡±

    ¡°HUH?¡± Mason was shocked. Even Orrin stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°There is a type of potion made especially to deal with the undead creatures. If you consume a bottle of it, not only could you go unnoticed by them, but also gain Divine Power that would enable you to attack them with ease.¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s such a good thing in the world! Why don¡¯t you create some quickly... Our sess depends on you now!¡±

    ¡°No problem...¡± Lin Li nodded, and extended his arm to Mason. ¡°Give me a stalk of the Divine Flower, and I will help you create a few bottles of it instantly.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s joke eased the tension in everybody¡¯s hearts. They walked along the curved narrow path, and before they realized it, they had reached the middle region of Shadowglen.

    That was the territory of the undead creatures. The ck fog around them became thicker and thicker. Lin Li could hear vague rustling from the surroundings. It was the sound produced when a spring silkworm was devouring a mulberry leaf continuously. Amidst the cold chilly wind, the sound created goosebumps all over them.

    ¡°Be careful...¡± Lin Li reminded his teammates in a low voice as he grabbed onto his Winter Staff vigntly.

    ¡°Alrighty.¡± Mason nodded. But, he shrieked right after, ¡°AH!¡±

    Lin Li nced back immediately, only to see a few skeletal hands grabbing onto Mason¡¯s thighs. Mason¡¯s ck robe was torn into pieces with a great force, and blood streaks appeared on his thighs.

    ¡°Sniff!¡± Lin Li reacted immediately and raised his Winter Staff, and sent out wind des. At that moment, there was a crisp sound of bones breaking, and an arm broke off from Mason. Under Lin Li¡¯s Mind Control, that wind de took a turn, and proceeded to cut away another arm.

    Orrin¡¯s staff was raised as well, but his mental strength was not as freakish as Lin Li. Although his reaction was fast, the speed of his spells was slower. When he shot out an Icicle, Lin Li had already shot his second Wind de. In a split second, a series of crisp breaking sounds echoed, and the four or five skeletal hands that¡¯d grabbed onto Mason became a pile of bone fragments.

    ¡°God dammit, that was scary...¡± Mason shook off those arms, and hid in a corner apprehensively.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just take a break, let¡¯s get rid of them first.¡±

    ¡°Them?¡± Mason froze before realizing who ¡®they¡¯ were.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s rapid recitation, the ground below the trio vibrated gently; ck soil rose up into the air as though something was about to emerge from the earth.

    ...

 Chapter 138 - Hell Ghoul

    <h4>Chapter 138: Hell Ghoul</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Large patches of soil raised with a burst of cackling sound. The scene of dozens of Skeletal Warriors breaking out from the soil made the three people hiss in a cold breath. Rusty machetes and the flickering will-o-the-wisp filled the atmosphere with gloom and horror.

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Mason¡¯s face went sickly pale in an instant. He only felt chill on his back as if a gush of cold wind had just blown past.

    It was in the center of these dozens of Skeletal Warriors where he was caught by his calf earlier on. If not for his two teammates, who were quick enough to rescue him in time... Looking at how these dozens of Skeletal Warriors flocked up, not to mention a level-nine mage like him, even a level-nine warrior would inevitably be cut to pieces.

    Luckily... living in a room with these two guys was really the wisest choice he had made...

    He was secretly rejoicing when Orrin¡¯s cold voice came from behind. ¡°Idiot, stop spacing out.¡±

    Mason looked back and shot a re at Orrin, but did not swear at him. Instead, he began to recite his spell. He knew that the dozens of Skeletal Warriors had to be dealt with immediately. There were countless undead creatures in the Shadowglen; no one knew what was hidden in the dark. The longer the fightsted, the more dangerous the situation of the three men would be.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A muffled sound of explosion spread far away; Lin Li¡¯s ming Storm had taken the lead. Countless fire dragons cascaded forward, instantly engulfing arge number of Skeletal Warriors.

    Almost at the same time, Orrin had finished his recitation of the me Nova. Two powerful fire spells exploded consecutively among the Skeletal Warriors. In an instant, there was a ze of firelight, and nearly ten Skeletal Warriors were blown to pieces before they could even lift their weapons.

    Mason had gotten the message after the two powerful magic spells were released by Lin Li and Orrin. Without waiting to be reminded, he unleashed an Ice Armor Spell, which was firmly propped up before the two of them.

    Skeletal Warriors were not real warriors, after all; they were merely the lowest of undead creatures, and did not have the ability to think independently. As a matter of fact, theyer of Ice Armor unleashed by Mason could notpletely protect his two teammates; if it were other magical beasts, they¡¯d have circled around it and attacked from the back. However, these mentally retarded Skeletal Warriors only knew how to wield their machetes and sh haphazardly, leaving the rusty machetes to crack upon contact with the Ice Armor.

    So, that the thinyer of Ice Armor actually won them a significant amount of time.

    When the Skeletal Warriors finally split the Ice Armor, they were greeted by another bombardment of magic spells...

    All three of them were powerful, and had tacit understanding among them. The Skeletal Warriors¡ªthe lowest of the undead creatures¡ªcould not possibly pose much threat to them.

    The battle was over now, so to speak.

    But, in the Shadowglen that was infested with undead creatures, no one dared to rx even the slightest bit. Lin Li tightened the nerve in his head; while concentrating on unleashing the spells, he had to divert some attention at the same time to monitor cautiously the movements around him.

    Thus, nobody noticed that every Skeletal Warrior seemed to release a wisp of ck mist when it fell. It seemed to have been attracted by some mysterious force, drifting towards Lin Li; the direction of the flow was the pocket that contained the weird crystal...

    If Lin Li took out the crystal now, it would be very easy to notice that the pale maroon in the crystal was bing stronger and stronger with the flow of ck mist.

    <i>Boom! </i>Thest Skeletal Warriors fell too atst¡ªLin Li had ended the battle with a fireball.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first.¡±

    There was a tinge of uneasiness in Lin Li¡¯s voice. He constantly felt that there was something wrong with the Skeletal Warriors. They had been buried underground for countless years, and did not surface at all until they had passed by. It made him feel as if he was falling into a trap¡ªas if something was peeping at him secretly,ying a trap and waiting for him to step on it.

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    Mason and Orrin, though at odds with each other, had a surprising simrity. They had an almost instinctive trust in their teammates, who had imed to be a level-seven mage. Their trust in him had reached a blind extent¡ªespecially after the trial in the Nightmare Mountains.

    Like at present¡ªafter Lin Li had spoken, they did not even question, nor did they hesitate to follow, because they believed that since Lin Li had said so, he had to have his own reasons.

    But this time, their guess was wrong.

    In fact, Lin Li had no reason at all¡ªit was his subconsciousness telling him to leave the ce and extricate himself from the feeling of being peeped at. He kept having the sense that there was something wrong with this ce; the dozens of Skeletal Warriors seemed like a trap that had been ced there for a long time, waiting for someone to step into it.

    The terrain was extremelyplex in the Shadowglen, and the road ahead was filled with poisonous fog. Walking on this winding path was like walking into abyrinth. There were fragments of bones everywhere¡ªsome scattered on the roadside, some deeply buried in the ground¡ªand were all emitting a strong odor of decay. A gloomy atmosphere surrounded him. There were no other sounds at all apart from the trio¡¯s rustling footsteps. In the dead silence, even the air seemed to be solidified.

    Lin Li was controlling a Warlock¡¯s Eyes all the time as they were absorbed in navigating on the winding path. He controlled this small ray of light with his powerful and iparable mental strength, and it moved rapidly within a few dozen meters square of the surrounding area.

    Lin Li¡¯s n was simple¡ªhe¡¯d find a ce safe enough to get through the night.

    The Shadowglen invaded by darkness was not a ce suitable for ying. Many high-level undead creatures liked to wander at night. Nobody knew what was hidden in the darkness. If they encountered a few high-level Vampires, it would be toote for them to cry.

    The first night was always the most dangerous. First, they were unfamiliar with the terrain of the Shadowglen; second, they were unaware of the distribution of the undead creatures; besides, they were unprepared due to the rush. Once they encountered danger, they wouldn¡¯t be able to respond at all. Lin Li was of the opinion that most of the trial mages would probably be sent back tonight.

    If they wanted to spend the seven days here in safety, they¡¯d have to get through tonight first.

    But, it was not easy to find a safe ce in a hurry. It took Lin Li almost an hour to walk through the path. Watching the sky darken gradually, they finally spotted a small cave. The cave was situated just below a cliff, and was quite well concealed. It did not look very deep from a distance¡ªthe walls of the cave could be seen at a nce. Moreover, it was quite dry inside,pletely different from the damp and slippery feeling outside, and outside the cave, a tuft of withered and yellow weed could even be seen.

    Weed... what a rare thing to see in the Shadowglen...

    So, Lin Li had chosen the cave at the first nce. Still, in order to be more on the safe side, he released a Warlock¡¯s Eyes, and searched every ce within 100 meters of the cave.

    ¡°We¡¯ll stay here for the night.¡± Lin Li¡¯s face showed some satisfaction when he retrieved the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. The cave was really good¡ªthere were no signs of undead creatures within 100 meters. This was simply something unthinkable in the Shadowglen, where the undead ran rampant.

    Since Lin Li had said so, Mason and Orrin naturally had no objection. Besides, the cave environment was really good. Let alone tonight, they wouldn¡¯t have any objection if they were to live here for the next seven days if possible.

    After a discussion, the three men decided on a simple division ofbor. Mason took out his sleeping bag and nket from his backpack, and arranged a temporary dwelling; Orrin set up a bonfire in the cave; meanwhile, Lin Li took out the crystal pen from his pocket, then dipped it in the navy sand, andid out two mageweaths at the mouth of the cave.

    One was the Mental Protection Field, which could not only be used to ward off mental spells, but also to protect against Eidolons <sup>1</sup> such as ghosts. Before they became resentful souls, ordinary ghosts would not be able to pass through the Mental Protection Field.

    Another was the Seal of Life, used specially to shield the Scent of Life of the three guys.

    High-level undead creatures were the most sensitive to living people¡ªthe Vampires especially so. A small trace of life was like an endless temptation for them. In the Shadowglen, where the undead ran rampant, this Seal of Life was essential if they did not want to be discovered by the higher-level undead creatures.

    After the two mageweaths werepleted, the bonfire was ignited by Orrin as well.

    The three guys, wrapped in nkets and leaning against the cave wall, which was heated by the fire, all felt a sense of drowsiness...

    ¡°Good night.¡± Lin Li wriggled into his sleeping bag, and soon fell asleep.

    All three of them slept very soundly amidst the soft snoring, and none of them noticed that there seemed to be a slight maroon flickering in the light of the fire on Lin Li¡¯s body that was covered with the nket.

    ...

    Lin Li, who was sleeping soundly, seemed to hear a slight noise. It sounded like a spring silkworm gnawing on mulberry leaves; the rustling sound continued on, and made Lin Li extremely annoyed, but he was reluctant to get up from the warm bed. He merely frowned, and muttered two meaningless words in his mouth.

    ¡°Help!¡± It was not until a scream rang out that Lin Li suddenly woke up from his dream.

    He sat up from his nket almost unconsciously, staring out of the cave with his eyes fixed and his ears straining in the direction of the sound.

    ¡°Save us!¡± Just as Lin Li sat up, the voice rang again. Judging from the voice, it seemed to be a young man in his twenties.

    ¡°It¡¯s the mage who participated in the trial!¡± Lin Li quickly turned over, and shook his two sleepingpanions vigorously. ¡°Quick, wake up, it seems that someone is in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Felic, what are you doing...¡± Mason rubbed his eyes with his hands, and reluctantly emerged from the nket. ¡°It¡¯s in the middle of the night, can¡¯t you let me sleep in peace...¡±

    Orrin did not speak, but his eyes were full of confusion.

    ¡°It looks like someone is in trouble. Let¡¯s go out and have a look.¡±

    ¡°Hell...¡± Masonined reluctantly, but eventually climbed out of his warm bed.

    As he walked out of the cave, Mason looked at Lin Li with some doubt. ¡°It isn¡¯t right, Felic. You fellow, you are usually not so enthusiastic. What benefit did that guy give you?¡±

    ¡°I am such a person in your eyes?¡± Lin Li stared at Mason fiercely, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling guilty inwardly. To be honest, he was really up to no good at present...

    It was not a big deal to help ame dog over a stile, but in the Shadowglen¡ªa dangerous ce where the undead were rampant¡ªLin Li had no interest in meddling with other people¡¯s business. He could put himself in danger instead of sessfully helping the other party.

    Besides, all trial mages had the Teleportation Scroll with them; they could return directly to the camp if they had encountered any danger. There was no need to struggle desperately and disrupt other people¡¯s dreams in the middle of the night.

    Lin Li wanted to go over because he wanted to know what trouble the team of trial mages had encountered¡ªthat was the most important thing.

    The sound came from somewhere very near them¡ªjust a few dozen meters outside the cave.

    Lin Li remembered clearly that he had conducted a thorough search with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes beforeying down the two mageweaths; there were no signs of undead within 100 meters. This meant that either he had overlooked them somewhere, or that something suddenly appeared in the middle of the night.

    Anyhow, it was not a good thing.

    Lin Li felt uneasy and scared. He was even grateful to the unfortunate trial mages. If they hadn¡¯t appeared, it would be him calling for help at present.

    He had just walked out of the cave when he saw a fire aze not far ahead¡ªit was the rays of the ming Storm.

    The rumbling muffled sound came with the rays, followed by another scream. ¡°Help!¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Mason spat, and cursed crudely. ¡°Don¡¯t they know how to use the Teleportation Scroll? They had to shout for help in the middle of the night, b*tch!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go over and have a look.¡± With the light of the ming Storm leading the way, Lin Li could save on using the Illuminating Spell. After all, this was the Shadowglen¡ªa little light might also attract the undead.

    The three guys walked along the steep hillside, and quietly groped their way in the direction of the scream. A few dozen meters was only a short distance for them. Before the light from the ming Storm had disappeared, Lin Li saw several figures leaning against the hillside. They looked very young, and wore the ck robes of the Guild of Magic. It seemed that they were indeed the mages from this trial...

    One of the young men¡ªa long-haired youngster¡ªhad already suffered some injuries; blood gushed out from the wound, and dyed red arge area on the mountain walls behind him. The other twopanions were also in a bad situation. Although they held their magic staffs tightly, the magical waves that emitted from them were extremely weak. Lin Li estimated that their mana had already been more or less exhausted.

    A dozen meters ahead of them, arge group of Skeletal Warriors with rusty machetes in their hands was approaching them step by step...

    Mason¡¯s eyes were wide open, and he held back for a long time before he finally uttered, ¡°This is too fake... Mages who are taking part in the trial are forced to shout for help by a group of Skeletal Warriors; are they still seeing themselves as mage apprentices?¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Orrin red at him, and pointed his staff behind the Skeletal Warriors. ¡°Look what that is...¡±

    Behind therge group of Skeletal Warriors stood the same deathly white skeleton; there was the same will-o-the-wisp, but what was in its hands was not a rusty machete, but a skeleton staff iid with a huge magical crystal! Its aura was different from that of the Skeletal Warriors¡ªit was powerful and mysterious, filled with a strong deathly aura.

    ¡°F*ck! Hell Ghoul!¡± Mason gave a start of fright. It was also a skeleton, but the Skeletal Warriors were no more than level-five, while for the Hell Ghouls, the weakest were no less than level-ten. The strongest of them might even break through to level-fifteen, and regain their bodies to be true Liches.

    And in this Shadowglen, the power of the Hell Ghoul could be maximized. They were born maniptors of Skeletal Warriors. They could control hundreds and thousands of skeleton legion with only one spell.

    ¡°These few fellows are really unlucky...¡±

    ¡°If they weren¡¯t unlucky, it would be us who¡¯d be unlucky.¡± Lin Li was speaking the truth. With the keenness of the Hell Ghoul to magical elements, it was almost logical for them to find the two mageweaths. When the time came, they¡¯d be trapped in the cave, with hundreds of skeletons pouring in. The best way out would be to teleport back to the camp using the scrolls they had.

    While the two guys were whispering, the staff in the hands of the Hell Ghoul shed again.

 Chapter 139 - Soul Summoning (1\/3)

    <h4>Chapter 139: Soul Summoning (1/3)</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The light from the Skeleton Staff glowed brighter and brighter, bringing the already precarious situation to an extreme. Lin Li seemed to have heard a continuous whoosh¡ªit was the sound of arge number of Skeletal Warriors stirring. The surrounding earth was slowly loosening, and deathly white skeletons slowly crept out of the ground one after another...

    The Skeletal Warriors that were approaching steadily increased from tens to hundreds in an instant. At that moment, the numerous deathly white skeletons and their rusty machetes exuded a depressing aura of death in the dark of the night.

    The battle that came after could be described as a dying struggle. Facing an almost impossible-to-defeat enemy, the three trial mages chose not to teleport, but to recite their spells. Among them, the injured long-haired youngster was the strongest, and had the most sufficient mana. He undertook the attack role almost alone. His two teammates had exhausted too much mana, and had no ability to attack at this time; they could only use some low-consumption spells such as the Dying Spell and the Spell of Frost to provide some assistance to their teammates.

    Despite suffering some injuries, the real strength of the long-haired youngster was not weak. For a moment, he was killing with bravado with the full support of his two teammates. He unleashed one lethal spell after another, and wiped out more than a dozen Skeletal Warriors in a sh.

    But on the other side of the battlefield, the summoning of the Hell Ghoul continued; a steady stream of white bones rose from the ground. Every dozen of Skeletal Warriors that fell was reced with another dozen of Skeletal Warriors. This was the most terrifying aspect of the undead¡ªthey were not afraid of exhaustion at all. The endless cannon fodder could slowly nibble at any enemy. Faced with an endless sea of corpses and bones, even a legendary mage would have their mana exhausted.

    Lin Li had seen through the strength of the trial team ahead¡ªtwo level-eight mages who had exhausted their mana and one injured level-nine mage. It would have been extremely difficult to confront arge number of Skeletal Warriors with such a force, not to mention the addition of the Hell Ghoul. Unless they were able to kill the Hell Ghoul instantly, the Skeletal Warriors it constantly summoned would be enough to send the three back to the camp.

    From the current situation, perhaps this only way would not be feasible as well.

    Under the siege of therge group of Skeletal Warriors, they would not be able to fly out even if they had wings, let alone kill the Hell Ghoul.

    ¡°Why are they not teleporting?¡± Lin Li was puzzled. The strength of the two sides was not at the same level at all. Even a blind man could see that there was no chance for them; so, what were the fellows thinking? Did they think that continuing the trial mission was more important than their own lives?

    ¡°They were probably scared silly,¡± Mason mumbled softly.

    ¡°Idiot, would you still recite a spell if you¡¯re scared silly?¡±

    Mason was rendered speechless at Orrin¡¯s chide, but this fellow had a thick skin. Even if he knew he was in the wrong, he still had to say something. ¡°Maybe they are gifted!¡±

    ¡°Go and die...¡±

    The two guys were bickering when situation of the battle ahead suddenly changed.

    The long-haired youngster began to recite a long spell under the protection of the Spell of Frost. The power of this magic spell far exceeded that of those he had used previously. The surrounding magical elements seemed to surge in an instant. Even the three guys who were peeping in the distance could clearly feel the power of this spell.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to give it his all...¡± Lin Li shook his head. The more powerful this spell was, the more mana it consumed. Even if the long-haired youngster had reached the strength of a level-nine mage, his mana would inevitably be exhausted following the release of the spell.

    ¡°Say... Shall we help him?¡± Mason was slightly hesitant.

    ¡°We must help,¡± Lin Li said with certainty; the smile on his face was rather weird. ¡°But we have to choose the right time.¡±

    The reason why Lin Li made such a decision had nothing to do with helping ame dog over a stile. This fellow was used to being selfish; even if he had decided to help at this time, it was almost entirely out of selfishness.

    From Lin Li¡¯s point of view, the Hell Ghoul had to be destroyed sooner orter. Otherwise, if it was allowed to wander around in the vicinity, it would only be a matter of time before the cave they were hiding in was exposed. It¡¯d be better to take advantage of the fact that someone was stalling it now; they could finish it off with one strike when the time came, or they¡¯d have to confront the enemy and deal with the Skeletal Warriors it summoned at the same time¡ªit¡¯d be too much trouble instead then.

    However... they¡¯d have to look at the situation before showing their hands; it was definitely not the right time at present. Numerous Skeletal Warriors were crammed there; It was enough trouble just to st a way through with a spell. Furthermore, they¡¯d have to deal with the other undead creatures that it constantly summoned. They¡¯d have to wait...

    ¡°When¡¯s the right time?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯ll be at the most crucial time!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Just as they were talking, the spell recitation of the long-haired youngster was drawing to a close. The surging magical elements burst into full swing; a bone-biting chill filled the surrounding air as countless snowkes drifted down from the sky. A cold wave swept wildly through the group of Skeletal Warriors, freezing at least a dozen of them in an instant.

    After the Snowstorm, the mana of the long-haired youngster waspletely exhausted. Lin Li could clearly feel that the magical wave from him was even weaker than the other two.

    In fact, this was a good opportunity to kill the Hell Ghoul. Most of the Skeletal Warriors had been frozen, and the summoning of the Hell Ghoul had juste to an end. If the long-haired youngster had the strength to spare, a few instantaneous spells would do the job. Even if it couldn¡¯t kill the Hell Ghoul, it could probably deal a heavy blow to it.

    Unfortunately...

    After barely releasing a Snowstorm, the long-haired youngster could not even lift his hands, let alone release any magic spells.

    He could only watch helplessly as the opportunity slipped from his hands...

    ¡°Now¡¯s the crucial time!¡± As soon as Lin Li uttered the words, the fireball in his hands had been fired with a st.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    When the huge fireball hit the Hell Ghoul, the dull reverberation seemed to shake the earth...

    The three of them had cooperated for so long that they had fostered enough tacit understanding long ago. Before Lin Li¡¯s fireball was fired, his two teammates had already began their recitations. When the fireball burst open, and the splendid mes spattered, the two guys had finished their spell recitations consecutively.

    In an instant, countless zes rose up. These two fellows had chosen the ming Storm without prior agreement. But, after all, Mason was only a level-nine mage. His casting speed was far slower than Orrin, a level-11 Magic Shooter. Although they had started reciting at the same time, the release of his ming Storm was more than a secondter than Orrin.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Mason also knew that this short second signified a huge disparity. The fellow had cursed in anger as soon as the ming Storm was released.

    This fellow did have some indignation; he thought that he could be considered the cream of the crop with his level-nine strength, but didn¡¯t expect to meet his two teammates¡ªone a powerful level-11 Magic Shooter, and another a freak through and through. He could not even make out the truth about thetter¡¯s strength...

    He was lucky not to be driven out of his mind under such harsh survival conditions.

    The long-haired youngster had frozen almost all the Skeletal Warriors with his Snowstorm. For a while, there was no summoned creature to share the damage with the Hell Ghoul. The Hell Ghoul was blown to pieces after a round of bombardment by the three guys. Innumerable sparks shot up at once, and scattered bones fell all over the ground. The magical crystal on the Skeleton Staff fell, and rolled over several times on the ground...

    This sudden turn of events frightened the trial team. The three of them stared at the bone fragments with a zed expression on their faces. The scene before them was too bizarre¡ªit was like a rape case in which the victim struggled desperately but was still stripped of her clothes; as she was ready to close her eyes for enjoyment, she suddenly found out that someone had castrated the rapist...

    All three of them looked at Lin Li at the same time. They wondered who had castrated the rapist¡ª cough, who had killed the Hell Ghoul?

    Lin Li paid no heed to these doubtful looks. He was currently busier than anyone else.

    Undead creatures carried magical crystals as well, but these magical crystals often possessed powerful Death Energy. Ordinary mages could not use them at all; only Lin Li, who was well-versed in all five series, could make the magical crystal of the undead creatures be the same¡ªor even more powerful¡ªas that of a magical beast through a special treatment!

    ¡°Damn! Why does it not have it?¡± Lin Li searched around the area where the Hell Ghoul exploded, but he never found the magical crystal he had imagined.

    It was almost impossible. An undead creature like the Hell Ghoul¡ªwhich had reached the strength of level-ten¡ªshould leave behind a magical crystal after being killed in any case.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Lin Li was looking around when he found something strange.

    It was a wisp of ck mist, clearly visible in the bright light of the fire. The pale ck mist was rising from the ce where the Hell Ghoul had exploded. It was like a ck ribbon, winding around in the night sky, then finally surging forth to himself like a stream of water...

    The ce where the ck mist went was the pocket with the crystal.

    For a moment, Lin Li felt an inexplicable puzzlement.

    He was almost driven mad by this crystal In thest two days. Ever since he had gotten this crystal, weird things had been happening one after another. First, it had devoured the Shapeshifter in the Nightmare Mountains; now, it was absorbing ck mist in the Shadowglen. He did not know what the ck mist was, but he could vividly feel a strong death aura from it...

    The peculiar aura specific to the undead creatures made Lin Li feel ufortable. He wanted to know what the hell this crystal was!

    Snip... While Lin Li was wondering, there was a sudden whisper in his ear, followed by a scream.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Lin Li was a little stunned at first; then, he suddenly remembered that he had just looked for the magical crystal of the Hell Ghoul, but had no time to clean up the Skeletal Warriors that were frozen by the Snowstorm.

    However, it was not toote to clean up now...

    Lin Li cast a Hastening Spell on himself, and withdrew promptly. He had retreated a dozen steps before he began his recitation, all the while keeping an eye behind him.

    Dozens of Skeletal Warriors had been freed from their shackles, and were approaching Lin Li with their machetes amongst the shattered ice. But now that Lin Li had discovered their existence, how could he possibly give them the chance to approach him? As he turned around, a shot of Infernal re exploded among the Skeletal Warriors.

    Orrin, who was behind him, did not hesitate to release an Air Bomb.

    Mason¡¯s recitation was swift; without waiting for Orrin¡¯s Air Bomb to explode, he had alreadyid a Spell of Swamp under his feet. In an instant, air bubbles surfaced, and the wet and slipperynd turned into a swamp.

    The Skeletal Warriors were really stupid; so big a swamp was in front of them, but they had just stepped into it without even looking. The swamp had be crowded in a little while¡ªarge group of Skeletal Warriors fell into the mud, waving their machetes as they struggled clumsily and slowly.

    This was simply a natural target; furthermore, it was a fixed target, which couldn¡¯t even move...

    Lin Li had earned much experience hitting targets like this with his Hunter background. It took less than five minutes and a dozen bombardment of spells to blow the Skeletal Warriors off the swamp. Orrin was not idle at all at the side; while Lin Li stood there, hitting the fixed targets, he was hitting the moving targets right beside. Because of the limited space, the Skeletal Warriors that had no chance to fall into the swamp had all fallen victim to him instead.

 Chapter 140 - Soul Summoning (2\/3)

    <h4>Chapter 140: Soul Summoning (2/3)</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The two magic shooters were wreaking havoc, while others were just onlookers. It was not because they did not want to interfere, but because they did not have the ability to do so. The targeted Skeletal Warrior was obliterated by the two of them before the spell recitation could bepleted. How could they step in? It was more likely for them to step out...

    The scene was witnessed by the long-haired youngster, and it terrified him. The Hell Ghoul that forced him at the end of his rope was obliterated by them in seconds. It was as easy as eating and drinking for them to clear up the Skeletal Warriors. Were these monstrous fes really mages participating in the trials?

    This team could only be described as abnormal. A level-9 mage and a level-11 magic shooter were already terrifying. Unexpectedly, there was another fiend that looked like a level-7 mage, but he had disyed the strength that was stronger than the level-11 magic shooter¡¯s. The infernal re released just now had sted away more than ten Skeletal Warriors. The barrage of magic that followed was even more monstrous. It sted all of the Skeletal Warriors in the swamp into smithereens. Was a level-7 mage really capable of such a feat?

    The long-haired youngster got more scared as he looked on. By the time the two of them had sted more than a hundred Skeletal Warriors into bits and pieces, both of his eyes were opened wide like a cow¡¯s eyes.

    <i>Who are these people...</i>

    The long-haired youngster swallowed hard. He looked at those three as though he was looking at three demons. Even as he spoke, he stuttered. ¡°Thank... Thank you...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Lin Li smiled humbly. As long as he would not be in harm¡¯s way, he would be very brave and willing. Anyhow, the long-haired youngster had the Skeletal Warriors under control. He was willing to kill the Hell Ghoul as it was convenient. It was advantageous to him. Furthermore, he could get some good reputation. Who would not be willing to do that ?

    Of course...

    If the Hell Ghoul was something like a high-leveled Vampire or a Death Knight, Lin Li would not be so willing...

    These level-17 or 18 undeads were not going to be killed with a single spell. It would be a joke if they got raped instead of killing these monsters!

    Regardless, this instance of help had been very sessful.

    The few surviving mages in the trial had no idea how cunning Lin Li was. From their perspective, this young mage was a role model. He had thrown away his safety to save others, emitting a selfless noble quality. Instantaneously, the feeling of gratitude was overbearing. In the midst of these three¡¯s gratitude, Lin Li naturally gave himself a pat on the shoulder.

    With the status of a benefactor, he had answers to whatever questions he asked.

    Of course, Lin Li did not ask too much. He only wanted how the three of them met a Hell Ghoul.

    ¡°We were too unlucky....¡± The long-haired youngster looked unusually sad and angry.

    Since they had been woken up, Lin Li¡¯s group was not in a hurry. They found a ce to sit, and listened to the long-haired youngster¡¯s resentful ount.

    The long-haired youngster¡¯s name was Larry; he was from the Marianna¡¯s guild. He was a level-9 mage as well, but he was not as lucky as Mason. Mason¡¯s luck was really good, for he found two powerful teammates. This trial could be considered smooth sailing as theypleted both missions splendidly. Even the nitpicking Macklin could not find an issue with it.

    On the contrary, Larry had worse luck. Both his teammates were level-8 mages, and they were the weakest in this trial. With the exception of the ¡°level-7¡± Lin Li, they were of the lowest level.

    A teamprising two level-8 mages and a level-9 mage trying toplete a mission would end in a tragedy. In the past few days, they did not evenplete one mission. If they were unable to attain good results in the Shadowglen, they would not have the right to participate in the finals.

    Lin Li somewhat understood after listening to this point.

    It was not surprising that they refused to use the teleportation scrolls even under those dangerous circumstances. This mission in the Shadowglen was theirst chance.

    After mentioning this matter, Larry could not help but feel resentful again.

    Larry knew that his team was too weak, so he decided to hide from the start. Since this mission was rated based on time, they would be able to get more points by hiding for one more day. If they were at the peak of their luck, and able to hide for more than seven days, the points solely from this mission would allow them to participate in the finals.

    Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. They almost did not pull through the first day.

    After entering the Shadowglen, Larry immediately went to look for a hiding spot. In fact, he was skilled in this aspect. From the outskirts of the Shadowglen, he carefully dodged the undead. He actually entered the central region of the Shadowglen without encountering danger. After that, he chose the same route as Lin Li.

    Both of them used Warlock¡¯s Eyes to advance, and both chose the cave beneath the cliff.

    But their meeting was of a very different setting.

    Three of them carefully advanced before painstakingly arriving near the cave. Yet, they unknowingly encountered a Hell Ghoul straight away. At this point, Larry thought he was going to die. Other than ming himself for being unlucky, he was speechless. While searching with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, there were no signs of the undead. However, they bumped into a Hell Ghoul they moment they advanced.

    ¡°Where did you bump into it?¡± Lin Li was slightly curious.

    ¡°It was near the cave.¡± Larry pointed with his finger. The location he was referring to was about ten metres away from the cave. At this point, Larry started to feel uncertain again. ¡°It looked like it was searching for something...¡±

    Lin Li was surprised when he heard it. ¡°Searching?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it had summoned twenty Skeletal Warriors, and they were all quite spread out. It was as if they were searching...¡± Larry, with a doubtful look, continued, ¡°When we discovered it, it was toote to escape. Those twenty Skeletal Warriors surrounded us quickly, and then... we could only shout for help.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not question further; he only felt very curious. What exactly was that Hell Ghoul looking for?

    The undead were not like magical beasts. They were unable to chase enemies through smell; they were only attracted to the Scent of Life. When he was hiding in the cave, he had already ced a Ward of Secrecy for Life. A master-level Ward of Secrecy for Life could even conceal the scent of life from a high-level Vampire, what more a Hell Ghoul. How could a single Hell Ghoul do it?

    Maybe... It was rted to the crystal?

    Lin Li was terrified at this idea.

    Thinking back to that crystal, Lin Li remembered that there was ck fog released from the Hell Ghoul when it was sted...

    Within the ck fog, there was a thick Scent of Death. When it seeped into the crystal, Lin Li could faintly feel that the scent emitted from the crystal was identical to a Hell Ghoul¡¯s. The deep red glow became even more profound and darker after the ck fog seeped in...

    That piece of crystal was too mysterious...

    Lin Li felt that he should find some time and investigate it. Otherwise, it might bring forth trouble if he carried it out around cluelessly.

    ¡°If you guys do not have a ce to rest tonight...¡± After making up his mind, Lin Li saw that it was gettingte, and hesitated again. ¡°Head to the cave first. We will talk tomorrow if there are any other matters.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Larry had been worrying for the whole day; he was blocked by a Hell Ghoul at midnight, and surrounded by hundreds of Skeletal Warriors. He was thoroughly exhausted. Right now, was there any reason for him to reject Lin Li¡¯s invitation? Furthermore... this team¡¯s strength, as they had witnessed, was fiendish. It was especially so for that ¡°level-7¡± mage that spoke to him¡ªhe was a monster among monsters. Larry estimated that he was not inferior to that legendary top genius of Fn, Gryffindor.

    With such a powerful person protecting him, he could not ask for more. How could Larry be so foolish to reject it?

    This battle took up too much time. By the time they had returned the cave, the camp fire had already died out, and the cave was pitch-ck. There were only two mageweaths at the entrance of the cave, radiating a dim light in the dark

 Chapter 141 - Soul Summoning (3\/3)

    <h4>Chapter 141: Soul Summoning (3/3)</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Once everyone returned to the cave, they were mostly exhausted. Orrin lighted up the extinguished campfire, and Larry bandaged his wounded arm. Soon after, everyone slept soundly in their sleeping bags... except for Lin Li. Ever since he returned, he had been thinking about the crystal. He only fell asleep while in a daze in the dead of the night. He even had a dream that he was surrounded by undead creatures¡ªthis dream had actually woken up him in terror...

    Anyhow, it was not a pleasant night.

    Lin Li was still low in spirits and with heavy eyebags when he woke up in the morning, yawning away. When Larry looked at him, it took him a while to remember that this dejected-looking fe was the monster that sted more than ten Skeletal Warriors with an Infernal re.

    The dusk at the Shadowglen was still lifeless; it did not have the vigor that a dusk should have.

    ¡°Good morning...¡± Lin Li again yawned twice before leaving his sleeping bag reluctantly. He greeted hispanions while walking towards the entrance of the cave with a sleepy face.

    After a night of maintaining the mageweaths¡¯ functionality, his mana had almost been fully consumed; he had to replenish it. This was because heckedpatible magical crystals. He could only use mana to maintain the mageweaths while replenishing it every now and then. He only wished that he could use magical crystals instead.

    Once Li Lin Li left the cave, the radiance from the two mageweaths was extremely dim. It was like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.

    While Lin Li squatted at the entrance and was preparing to replenish his mana, he suddenly heard a sound. Out he curiosity, he looked over, and saw that there was a cloud of dust rumbling afar.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± This discovery jolted Lin Li, and he did not feel sleepy anymore. He did not even care about replenishing his mana, rushing into the cave as he shouted, ¡°Hurry,e take a look at this. There seems to be something over there!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Mason moved over excitedly with a sheepish smile on his face.

    ¡°You will know once you look...¡± Lin Li had a heavy look on his face; he had a bad premonition.

    Both of them used Warlock¡¯s Eyes, tracing the edge of the Shadowglen closely, and hastily moved towards the area with the dust cloud.

    When the Warlock¡¯s Eyes had just moved closer, the smile on Mason¡¯s was frozen. ¡°Sh*t...¡±

    Through the visual field of the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, both of them clearly saw that the dust was due to tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors. Countless machete-wielding Skeletal Warriors had gathered together, forming a terrifying undead army. Nobody knew what they were up to, and neither did they know why they had gathered. Lin Li only knew... if they unluckily bumped into this army, it would be difficult to escape, and they¡¯d likely die even if they had unlimited mana.

    This was too horrifying...

    Looking from afar, the whole mountain range was filled with Skeletal Warriors. It was an endless in of skeletons that looked like a sea of corpses and bones.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Mason¡¯s brain was in a muddle. He had never seen such a terrifying image before.

    ¡°Look again!¡± Lin Li clenched his teeth, and moved the Warlock¡¯s Eyes closer. He had to figure out why were these tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors gathering.

    This was of utmost importance!

    If these tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors coincidentally gathered together, it would naturally not pose a problem. Everybody could hide in the cave and wait for these seven days to end before using a teleportation scroll to teleport back to base without caring about the undead army.

    However, they would be in deep water if that was not the case.

    Lin Li knew that he had to figure out their route so that he could find a solution if they had any abnormal changes.

    ¡°What is the situation like?¡± Just when both of them had a serious look, Orrin also came out from the cave.

    ¡°It seems to be worse...¡± Lin Li muttered while controlling the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. The situation was worse than he had imagined. Those tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors were like real soldiers. They were pressing into the depths of Shadowglen while sweeping away all obstacles

    And then... Lin Li realized he was in trouble. He suddenly discovered that the undead creatures in the Shadowglen seemed to have split into two groups. They waved their weapons and fierce fight started.

    From the visual field of the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see that there were numerous undead creatures obstructing the setting up of the formation. There were Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, and low-level Vampires. They were like moths trying to put out a fire, rushing into the undead army.

    Hell Ghouls were level-10 undead creatures, and low-level Vampires had the strength of level-13 or 14. However, they were torn into pieces when the tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors rushed forward.

    ¡°They... They fought?¡± At that moment, Lin Li went into a daze after watching.

    <i>This... this... isn¡¯t this too phony?</i>

    Within that thick cloud of dust, there was a fierce battle between undead creatures. Tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors pushed into the Shadowglen, while countless undead creatures took up the positions of the fallen, and rose to fight one after another, attempting to intercept. As groups of them were torn into pieces, new groups rushed forward.

    In this battle, not a single drop of blood was spilt, and neither were there any screams. Yet the intensity was far beyond what Lin Li had seen before.

    The scene was simply too shocking; it had surpassed Lin Li¡¯s group¡¯sprehension.

    A battle between undead creatures was actually this intense...

    ¡°What kind of joke is this...¡± Lin Li was prepared for death. These Skeletal Warriors were too despicable. They did not appreciate a harmonious society, and started fighting their own. Anyhow... if they wanted fight, then so be it, but they deliberately fought near the cave. Was this not forcing people onto the road of despair?

    It was not tens or hundreds of Skeletal Warriors, but an army of tens of thousands. If one were to get caught within this sea of corpses and bones, not even a mentor would be able to survive, much less a group of mages. Lin Li had to think of a solution as he did not want to be trampled on by the army...

    ¡°Its over...¡± At the side, Mason was thoroughly nervous. He paced back and forth in the cave like a bundle of nerves.

    Orrin was silent, but he had a serious look. Naturally, he had the same thoughts as Lin Li. Such a terrifying force was not something a few mages could go against even if they had a monster like Lin Li. They would also be smashed to pieces even if they were caught in the aftermath, much less facing the undead army head on.

    ¡°Let¡¯s pack and get ready to escape!¡± Lin Li clenched his teeth and retrieved the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Mason was stupefied after hearing it. ¡°Where do we run to ?¡±

    ¡°Inside.¡± Lin Li stood at the cave¡¯s entrance and pointed at the depths of Shadowglen, the ce filled with a dark fog.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Mason almost fainted from fear. Shadowglen was a ce that got more dangerous the deeper you ventured. At the entrance, they might encounter just a few Skeletal Warriors. However, as you ventured deeper, the levels of the undead creatures got higher. In this area, there were already Hell Ghouls appearing. They had no idea what they would encounter as they go in deeper. It could be Vengeful Spirits, Enchantresses, high-level Vampires, or even Death Knights. If they were provoked, it would be much more troublesomepared to the tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors of the undead army.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too dangerous inside?¡± Mason looked slightly disturbed.

    ¡°Its fine, we are only taking a detour around those Skeletal Warriors. Once they disperse, we will return. We will be fine if we are more careful.¡± Lin Li consoled Mason, but the smile on his face looked helpless as they had no other choice. Just by looking at those Hell Ghouls, they could tell how terrifying those tens of thousands Skeletal Warriors were. A level-10 undead creature could not even cast a spell before being torn to shreds. It was like a walk in the park.

    While those two were conversing, Larry and the rest had already packed their belongings. They rolled up their nkets and sleeping bags, stuffing them into their bags while they held firmly onto their magic staffs. The magic staffs in the hands of those three were trembling as they were holding them too tightly due to their anxiety. This was too tough a job for them, a team that wanted to hide for a few days. To suddenly have them enter the depths of the Shadowglen was equivalent to sending them to their own deaths...

    Just when they left the cave, the battle took a turn.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± That horrifying image left them rooted to the ground at that point, and they did not even dare to breathe heavily...

    At the depths of the Shadowglen, where there was immense ck fog, they saw countless undead creatures appear suddenly. There was a huge flying flock of bats, blocking out the sky. Dim eyes with blood-red fangs, a sight that sent chills down the spine of anyone that saw it. This was the legendary Vampire. Although it was not the blood-red body of a high-leveled Vampire, they had the strength of at least level-13 or 14. Having said that, it meant that every single bat was not weaker than the strongest one of the group, Lin Li.

    In the shadows of the Vampires were the skeleton staff-wielding Hell Ghouls. From afar, there were at least a few hundred of them. The group went pale in terror at the sight of hundreds of Hell Ghouls summoned simultaneously.

    ¡°Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang...¡± These sounds prated their ears just like a rain, dampening their spirits. While listening to this terrifying noise, Lin Li¡¯s heart was held in suspense as if he thought of an idea.

    ¡°Death Knights...¡± Larry¡¯s voice was as if he was sleep-talking. He was already in a state of total fear.

    The legendary level-15 undead creatures appeared on the battlefield with an earth-shaking manner. They rode skeletal warhorses, their ck capes waving in the wind, and their full-bodied ck armor radiating a dim light.

    The Death Knights¡¯ numbers were not many¡ªthere were only about a hundred riders. However, their appearance was like an arrow shot at the heart of the Skeletal Warriors. The ck scent of death started to scatter, and the neighs of the Skeletal Warhorses rang throughout. A cknce spattered white bone within the skeletal warriors.

    The two simrly powerful undead armies immediately had an even battle.

    On one end, there was an overwhelming advantage in terms of levels. Death Knights, Hell Ghouls, and low-level Vampires. With such a strongposition, fighting Skeletal Warriors that were not higher than level-5 should be a one-sided massacre.

    On the other hand, there was an advantage in terms of endless numbers. This advantage was too terrifying. There were hundreds and thousands of skeletal warriors that had been shredded, but it did not bother them. There were more Skeletal Warriors that immediately took up new positions. Furthermore. there was arge number of Skeletal Warriors climbing out from the ground at every second. Tens of thousands of Skeletal Warriors were battling, yet their numbers did not decrease. Instead, it seemed like their numbers increased.

    This battle was like Mars crashing into Earth. In that moment, there was a zing re searing, countless magic runes arising, and metal screeching. The scent of death was so thick that every individual could not breathe.

    Lin Li¡¯s group hid at the edge of the valley, with their bodies hugging tightly the icy cliffs. At this point, their hearts were at their throats. This battle was beyond their imagination. Nobody could have thought that they would witness such a terrifying battle when they were only at day two of their trial.

    Yet, at this time....

    Lin Li suddenly saw that ck fog had appeared from the mutted corpses when those undead creatures had fallen. This ck fog was simr to that from the night before, and floated towards him, seeping into the crystal that was in his pocket.

 Chapter 142 - Petrifying Potion

    <h4>Chapter 142: Petrifying Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li could clearly tell that the weird crystal was getting hotter as the ck fog started to seep in. It even started faintly burning...

    Unfortunately, there was no time to investigate.

    The battle between the two undead forces had already reached its climax.

    There were more and more Skeletal Warriors. They were like the rising tides, constantly barraging the dam. On the other hand, the high-level undead creatures were defending against the constant barrage with their immense strength. It was as if there were countless Skeletal Warriors falling every second, yet at the same time, there were countless more crawling out from the ground.

    Under the protection of the Death Knights, hundreds of Hell Ghouls released a powerful Scent of Death. The magic crystals on the skeletal staffs were constantly shing, and the undead spells were bombarding the Skeletal Warriors like hail. A horde of low-level Vampires swooped down from the sky, letting their sharp ws and fangs loose on the Skeletal Warriors.

    Lin Li was almost driven mad by them. If this battle were to continue, even hiding properly might not prevent them from getting involved.

    But...

    There were undead creatures everywhere¡ªthere was nowhere to run. It was impossible to follow their original n and move around the depths of the Shadowglen, much less escape from the Shadowglen. With the undead creatures surrounding them, and a horde of low-level Vampires observing in the skies, who dared to rush out at this moment? It would be considered a victory if they could run for ten steps, much less escape!

    After pondering about it, Lin Li finally clenched his teeth, and took out six bottles of yellow-colored potions.

    ¡°One bottle per person¡±

    Mason and Orrin knew very well what was happening. When they saw Lin Li took out the bottles, they knew what he was up to. They did not question further after taking the bottles, and gulped the potion down their throat. Contrarily, Larry, who was on the side, was hesitant. ¡°What... What is this?¡±

    ¡°Petrifying Potion, it is something good that can turn you into stone.¡± Lin Li painstakingly exined with these two sentences. It was a life-saving item. Back in Jarrosus City, he had quietly made only a few bottles because did not have enough Stone Conifers, and even Lin Li could not bear to use them. Who knew that he would have to take six bottles out today...

    He wished that he had gathered moreherblooms and made more Stealth Potions, then they would be able to brazenly walk past these undead creatures. There would be no need for such a thrill that he even had to take out the Petrifying Potions.

    ...

    Upon hearing ¡°Petrifying Potion¡±, the look on Mason¡¯s face froze...

    ¡°Is... Is this a joke...¡± Mason was stuttering. ¡°If... If we drink this Petrifying Potion, will we really turn into stone?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I never use fake potions!¡± Lin Liughed with a straight face.

    ¡°...¡± Mason wanted to smash his head; he was hoping that Lin Li took out fake potions. What was this Petrifying Potion that would turn you into stone? It could not be something good. Why was he so unlucky... he had not questioned anything before drinking it. It was all over, there was nothing left...

    ¡°Stop fidgeting... It is nothing scary. It was a Petrifying Potion, not a Fossilizing Potion. After drinking it, you would only look like a stone. Mason would still be Mason...¡±

    ¡°Oooh...¡± After hearing Lin Li¡¯s exnation, Mason finally calmed down.

    Larry also nodded at the side, and opened the bottle, gulping it down.

    ¡°This time, we can only rely on luck...¡± Lin Li drank the Petrifying Potion, and nced at the battle far away. ¡°If we are lucky, we canst till the battle ends. If we are unlucky... we can only teleport back.¡±

    ...

    After drinking the Petrifying Potion, everybody simultaneously felt ayer spread over their body; it was getting thicker before it had solidified into a thickyer of stone. It felt like they were wearing a suit of heavy armor. When this armor finally covered every part of their body, even their sensory organs felt dull. The sounds from the battlefield went softer before finally bing silent. They could clearly see things that were in front of them, but it was limited to the area near the battle. Anything further than that could not be seen; it was like there was something blocking it...

    The thick rotting smell disappeared. Everyone felt that they were not breathing, only hiding at the bottom of the cliff like a rock...

    In reality, with the exception of thest bit of their consciousness, they were just like rocks.

    Even a human, much less an undead creature, walking past would only feel surprised. ¡°Hey, why do these rocks look like humans...¡±

    After their sensory organs went dull, time seemed to have flown past. They drank the Petrifying Potion in the morning, but it did not feel long when the night started to set in.

    The battle between the two undead forces had approached the end. The endless Skeletal Warriors, using their immense numbers, had driven back the high-level undead creatures. They marched towards the vicinity of the depths of the Shadowglen.

    The ck fog emitted from the countless fallen undead was seeping towards Lin Li through a route that could be seen with the naked eye. The crystal in his pocket was scorching hot. Lin Li felt that if he had not drunk the Petrifying Potion, he might have been scalded by this crystal.

    When it waspletely dark, thest Death Knight, apanied by the neighs of a Skeletal Warhorse, was drowned in the sea of Skeletal Warriors.

    The battle had ended...

    The infinite Skeletal Warriors seemed to be driven by an unknown force. They stepped on the carcasses of the high-level undead creatures, and slowly moved towards the depths of the Shadowglen.

    After witnessing the disappearance of thest Death Knight, the petrified bodies finally felt relieved. They were saved!

    Lin Li took the lead in dispelling the state of Petrification. He moved his limbs that were numb due to the petrification for a while before hurriedly taking out the crystal in his pocket.

    ¡°Sss...¡± The crystal was indeed scorching. Lin Li had just taken it out, and he had to toss it away due to the heat. That temperature was like red-hot iron; Lin Li felt that he had been burnt.

    ¡°This piece of sh*t...¡± Lin Li swore before blowing at his hand furiously. That short moment of contact indeed burnt his skin seriously, but when he looked at his hand, Lin Li felt something was off. His hand did not have any signs of swelling, so how was it anything like being scalded by soldering iron or something like that?

    The crystal was still the same¡ªit seemed as though nothing had changed. Ity quietly on the ground, and continued to absorb the ck fog.

    ¡°Was it just a hallucination?¡± Lin Li did not believe in heresy, and bent down again, trying to put the crystal back into his pocket. Just as he reached his hand out, he was burnt, and withdrew. Instantly, he became furious. ¡°Hallucination your f*cking a*s...¡±

    Just as he was about to use the Ring of Endless Storm to keep the crystal after he spewed those vulgarities, there was a sudden cackle from the sky.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Before Lin Li raised his head, Mason screamed at the back.

    It was not only Mason¡ªeveryone stood still at that moment...

    A huge vampire was pping its wings and releasing a horrifying scent in the air. With blood-red fangs and body under a full moon, it was like the legendary devil.

    ¡°Vampire...¡± It was as though Mason squeezed those words out from this throat. That type of dry and terrified voice had even surprised himself.

    Lin Li subconsciously swallowed his saliva, and added on to Mason¡¯s sentence. ¡°And it¡¯s a high-leveled one...¡±

    ...

    Looking at that blood-red silhouette, everybody felt like asking: what sort of day was it today? Mason even thought that could it be that Larry, the unlucky moron, had infected them...

    If not, why was it that the trial mission that was going smoothly had turned for the worse after meeting these three unlucky guys? It was already incongruent enough to witness that battle of the undead¡ªthere was even a high-level Vampire now. Wasn¡¯t this pushing them into a dead end??

    ¡°Good evening, humans...¡± The giant bat greeted in a polite manner. Its voice was abnormally hoarse, likely due to the fact that it had not been using the localnguage. It was like ss grinding ss sending chills down one¡¯s spine after hearing it.

    ¡°...¡± After hearing this polite greeting, Lin Li started to panic. When he was at Sunset Mountains, Andoine once told him a few stories about Vampires. ording to the old man, Vampires level-15 and above would turn into blood-red bats, while level-18 and above could speak a fewnguages, including the local humannguage. Once they reached level-20, they could even be human-like. They would not be terrified of the sun or relics other than the purest powerful godly relics. There were not many things that could counter them. This type of Vampires was frequently mentioned in the legends of Anril, the Bloodlines...

    With the ability of speaking the localnguage, it meant that the level of this Vampire was at least 18.

 Chapter 143 - Shapeshifter

    <h4>Chapter 143: Shapeshifter</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The giant bat slowly descended from the sky, gently pping its blood-red wings. Once the dust on the ground was raised, it had quickly transformed into a tall and thin middle-aged man. He wore a ck suit with a white shirt, and had a pale yet handsome face. If it were not for those blood-red eyes, nobody would have thought that this charming middle-aged man was actually an infamous undead creature, a high-level vampire...

    During the polite greeting of the vampire, everybody had simultaneously held onto the Teleportation Scrolls. This was not a joke. The strength of level-18 could kill any one of them instantaneously. The gap between both sides was too wide, and was not something a few mages could stand up against.

    Facing this terrifying reality, their only choice was to escape. As for this mission, they could only me it on their luck...

    ¡°Let me think, how many years has it been since Ist saw a human? A hundred years or a thousand years...¡± After the vampirended, his pale face had a grin. His gaze towards them was as if he had been starved for a hundred years and suddenly saw a sumptuous dinner. That gaze was as if he was salivating, causing them to feel a chill down their spines.

    Lin Li did not speak, only staring at the Vampire. He held his teleportation scroll in one hand, while the other inched towards his back, making gestures to signal an escape towards hispanions that had just recovered from Petrification.

    One party was staring intently at his dinner, while the others were trembling with fear and trying to escape. At that tense moment, nobody noticed that thest remnants of the ck fog had seeped into crystal. After thest remnants of ck fog had seeped in, the crystal that was abnormal since the day it had been dug up started to undergo some changes...

    The crystal that had been glittering and translucent now becamepletely crimson in color. From afar, it looked like a piece of solidified blood, yet that crimson was not like an immutable solid. It was as if there was life force struggling within the crystal, using all its might to be free of a leash of some sorts. From the looks of it, it was about to seed...

    ¡°No matter what, I have to thank you all. Humans, thank you for delivering me dinner!¡±

    Once the hoarse voice had fell, the ck suit was waving in the wind and pped ferociously. Under the crescent moon, the vampire let off an iparable aura. Even Lin Li felt suffocated under this strong aura filled with bloodlust.

    He frowned, and was about to open the teleportation scroll in his pocket...

    Yet, at this moment, the crystal on the floor had suddenly radiated a blinding sh of red.

    Everyone heard a roar, which was followed by an explosion of an equally strong aura. Before they could understand what was happening, a crimson shadow shot out like an arrow with the ¡°ta, ta, ta, ta¡± sound of trotting hoofs, forming a crimson shade in the air.

    ¡°Shape... Shapeshifter...¡± The others did not know what was happening, but Lin Li understood clearly. This was the treacherous Shapeshifter from the Nightmare Mountains. Gazing at that crimson shadow, Lin Li was panic-stricken at that moment. He was in a daze with his mouth open for a while before uttering out two words. ¡°Oh, f*ck...¡±

    This time, they were in deep waters.

    Thepanions behind Lin Li were stunned; it was as though somebody shoved an egg down their throats. They were about to be driven crazy from the fright. First a vampire, and now a shapeshifter. They were mentally prepared not to be shocked even if a Fire Dragon was to appear right now...

    ¡°Felic...¡± Mason looked straight with a voice that was like he was sleep-talking. ¡°What, what, what... What is that...¡±

    ¡°ordingly, it¡¯s called Shapeshifter...¡± Lin Li was no better than Mason¡¯s. It had mysteriously disappeared from the Nightmare Mountains, and randomly appeared in the Shadowglen; moreover, it was filled with a peculiar aura. This peculiar and strange feeling caused Lin Li to be unable to breathe.

    While the two of them conversed, the vampire screamed.

    Lin Li looked over in horror. He saw that a red and a ck shadow were locked together under the crescent moon. The four hooves of the Shapeshifter were zing, and with a roar, it had pierced a hole in the Vampire¡¯s suit with its unbreakable horn...

    The humiliated Vampire was unyielding; it used its razor-sharp fangs and ws to leave wound after wound on the half intangible and half tangible body of the Shapeshifter. As both were level-18 creatures, they used immense strength. Even a moment of contact would scatter radiating res.

    Both were a formidable existence proficient in Dark Magic, and both had an iparable brute strength. Just a moment of contact, and both were inseparable. As the Shapeshifter had a half intangible and half tangible body, it had strong immunity towards physical and magical attacks. On the other hand, a vampire could drain the strength of its opponents. Although each attack it dealt did not cause much damage to the Shapeshifter, it had constantly drained the Shapeshifter¡¯s strength. It was as if after every attack, the crimson radiance dimmed a little.

    Even though this battle between two level-18 creatures was not as immense as the battle between the undead in the morning, the intensity was on par with it. An immense amount of Dark Magic flowed out, resonating with a powerful magical wave in the surroundings. The magical elements were strong after each consecutive wave; the pressure left everyone breathless. The razor-sharp ws and the unbreakable horn had sttered blood around the battlefield, dying the earth red...

    Only at this point did Lin Li realize that this strange battle might bring about some results...

    This was indeed a chance gifted from the heavens...

    Everybody had spent a lot of effort on this mission. If they were to abandon it right now, everyone would not be able to take it lying. The mysterious appearance of this Shapeshifter had given them a chance to gamble. They had to gamble once, regardless of whether they made the right choice. Even if they did make the wrong gamble, they had their Teleportation Scrolls in their hands. There would not be much loss.

    Lin Li hesitated for a moment before making up his mind quickly. He tightly clenched his teeth, and spat out two words. ¡°Kill him!¡±

    Mason was totally terrified. After hearing those words, he unusually asked, ¡°Kill whom?¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡± Orrin¡¯s voice came from the back, and at the same time, a fireball flew past...

    ¡°F*ck, just you wait...¡± Mason snapped back into reality, and red at Orrin while he hastily recited a spell.

    The first thing that struck the vampire was not Orrin¡¯s fireball, but Larry¡¯s ming Storm. This level-9 mage might not be lucky, but his reaction speed was much faster than Mason¡¯s. Lin Li¡¯s voice had just fallen, and he had already cast his ming Storm, setting the vampire¡¯s body on fire.

    ¡°Despicable. Both of you are equally despicable.¡± With two fire spells sting it simultaneously, even a powerful level-18 creature would note out unscathed.

    There was only a furious shrieking from the battlefield, a shriek as sharp as the cries of a nightbird. The bombardment from the two fire spells had thoroughly enraged the Vampire. It endured the Shapeshifter¡¯s Death Ripples, and shed two gaps in the Shapeshifter¡¯s body with its razor-sharp ws before withdrawing. It metamorphosed into a blood-red bat in the air, charging furiously towards the mages that had backstabbed it.

    ¡°A level-18 bullying a level-9, yet you dare to say I am despicable?¡± Mason scolded fiercely, and threw an Icy Spear. When the Icy Spear that was as strong as ming was thrown, even a level-18 Vampire would have to briefly dodge it.

    Yet it was this brief moment that bought the Shapeshifter enough time.

    With the resounding roar of the Shapeshifter, everyone felt a surge in Dark Force. In that instance, everywhere was pitch-ck. Even the crescent moon in the sky seemed to have lost its radiance at that moment. The Shapeshifter had cast the Obscurus Spell, it was stronger than the one used by the Fantama Panthera in the Nightmare Mountains. In a blink, it had covered an area of more than a hundred metres. Even if it was a level-18 Vampire, it would have been at its weakest under this Obscurus Spell.

    The blood-red bat was flying at blinding speed, but under this endless darkness, it flew with abnormal difficulty. From afar, it looked like a red snail carrying a heavy mountain while crawling in the air. Just a short distance of tens of metres was like the difference between heaven and earth.

    At this moment, Lin Li had finished reciting his spell. The magical crystals on the Winter Staff started radiating a bright light. The violent magical elements created a deafening st in the air...

 Chapter 144 - Tamed

    <h4>Chapter 144: Tamed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The brilliant light the Winter Staff emitted tore through the darkness in an instant; countless magical elements stirred, creating a terrifying vortex of elements in the Shadowglen. The sky was filled with snowkes and screeching ice shards. It was as if heaven and earth had turned white at this moment. Amidst the waves of deafening sts, the ice particles violently stirred like a tornado, and mercilessly struck the blood-red bat that was in the air...

    ¡°Argh...¡± There was only an awful scream before they saw arge piece of ice plummeting down from the sky and crashing into the ground...

    Not even a Vampire could defend against the might of a level-12 spell. Even though they could notpletely annihte this level-18 undead creature, but the Icest contained a powerful frost, causing it to be frozen instantly.

    This was not the first time Lin Li had used a spell that was level-12 and above. Even though it was within his capabilities, he still felt somewhat exhausted. It was hard to control the mana of Icest, and he would suffer from the bite of mana if he were to be careless. After casting Icest, Lin Li felt like he waspletely drained of energy. The Winter Staff fell on the ground, and he copsed on top of it.

    Lin Li knew that the Vampire was a level-18 Undead Creature, so even Icest would not be able to keep it frozen for too long. It could be two or three seconds. Of course... it could even be but one second.

    But this was sufficient.

    Just when the lump of ice had fallen, a red shadow had already torn through the Obscurus Spell.

    At this moment, time seemed to have stood still. The clopping hooves were like droplets of rain, echoing in the hearts of everyone. The searing mes were zing, and the unbreakable horn started to emit frost under the moonlight. The crimson shade in the night sky gave off a sense of emptiness....

    It wasing closer. From a hundred metres to fifty metres, and then from fifty metres to five metres...

    And then, there was a rattle that was like ss shattering with a touch of hoarseness.

    Initially, the voice was soft, but as the cracks on the ice started to grow, the sound was ringing in everybody¡¯s ears. At the end there was a ¡°boom¡±, and the ice totally shattered. Within the scattering ice, the drops of solidified blood were unusually vibrant. The moonlight radiated the countless pieces of fine ice bits that had been scattered.

    All of sudden, everything became quiet. Other than the blowing of cold wind, nothing else could be heard.

    Everyone just stared nkly at this sight. It felt as if it was just a dream. A battle between a level-18 Vampire and Level-18 Shapeshifter, including that level-12 Icest...

    After a period of time, Mason asked in an uncertain voice, ¡°It¡¯s dead?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Orrin¡¯s voice was slightly shaky.

    Lin Li kept quiet. He only bent down, and picked up the crystal on the floor.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lin Li had only just picked up the crystal, and he realized something was wrong. The crystal was still covered in strange inscriptions, but that crimson color had suddenly disappeared. The crystal that was in his hands was just like how it was when he first dug it out. There were no colors on it. It was just clear and transparent, just like the clear water of ake.

    Just as Lin Li was feeling confused, Mason¡¯s face had suddenly turned white. Both his eyes stared straight behind Lin Li, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. ¡°Felic, Felic... Quickly look!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up...¡±

    Lin Li turned his head to look while still being confused, and saw the Shapeshifter walking towards him. Just when he turned his head, the Shapeshifter had also stopped moving, and then... it slightly lowered its head!

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    Even a transmigrator like Lin Li knew what it meant when a magical beast lowered its head at you...

    It was total submission!

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes; he thought he was hallucinating. It was a level-18 beast. How could it be tamed by a level-13 magic shooter?

    Magical beasts could indeed be tamed, but the requirements for taming were extremely demanding. To tame a magical beast like a Shapeshifter, it might not even be possible for Andoine. It required total superiority in strength, absolute suppression with levels, and even other tricky requirements.

    As for himself...

    Both sides had a difference of five levels, so how could he have made a level-18 Shapeshifter submit to him?

    And yet, everything in front of him was real. No matter how Lin Li rubbed his eyes, that level-18 shapeshifter was still lowering its head about ten metres away, neighing from time to time. It was still showing signs of being tamed and friendly. It did not look like a level-17 magical beast, but like a stallion in reins.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be real...¡± Mason¡¯s eyes were as big as a cow¡¯s, and he stared at the Shapeshifter in bewilderment. ¡°Felic, did you raise this Shapeshifter?¡±

    ¡°How could I afford to raise it...¡±

    ¡°Too wicked...¡± Mason¡¯s mind had always been different from the others, and he gasped in admiration a few times before suddenly asking, ¡°How about lending me to ride it for a few days? Hahaha. If I could ride that Shapeshifter around nna, that would really be... Wahahaha!¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡±

    ¡°F*ck, Orrin! I haven¡¯t settled the score with you yet, and you provoke me again!¡±

    ¡°Not happy?¡±

    While the two of them were arguing, Lin Li realized that the ethereal body of the Shapeshifter started to be transparent. The changes were not obvious, but it was still vivid. After each passing second, the crimson body of the Shapeshifter slowly became dull until it became totally transparent just like the crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hand.

    And then Lin Li saw that the Shapeshifter that was lowering its head suddenly became glitters of light. At the same time of releasing that brilliant light, the glitters were absorbed by a type of energy, forming a stream of light in the night sky. It seeped into the crystal just like the ck fog during the day...

    Lin Li could clearly see the crystal starting bing more crimson in color as the glitters started to seep in. When thest bit of light had disappeared, the crystal in his hand returned to the state it was in when he¡¯d just entered the Shadowglen.

    With this sequence of events, Lin Li started to figure things out...

    The crystal in his hand was not an ordinary crystal.

    Lin Li could almost confirm that this crystal that was full of inscriptions harnessed a potent power. This power was strong enough to seal or trap a Shapeshifter. That night in the Nightmare Mountains, when the Shapeshifter bumped into him, it had to have triggered this power and got sealed inside the crystal instantly.

    In fact, Lin Li had always guessed that it was this what had happened. Hence, he used the word ¡°eaten¡± to describe the situation back then.

    The battle from before had further confirmed Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. The appearance and disappearance of the Shapeshifter from the crystal had proven everything.

    And yet, this conjecture raised more questions...

    Lin Li could not understand why the fallen undead creatures turned into a thick ck fog and seeped into the crystal. What was even more confusing was: why did the Shapeshifter coincidentally appear just now? Lin Li could only instinctively guess that these were all rted.

    As for what was the rtion, Lin Li was clueless. He could only faintly guess that the ck fog was the essence of the undead creatures...

    ¡°I will figure you out!¡± Lin Li held the crystal firmly and scolded it fiercely.

    The powerful crystal made Lin Li really excited.

    Instantly sealing a level-18 beast and being able to summon it when needed for battle. Such power could drive a person mad just from thinking about it.

    Furthermore, the power it had just disyed was merely the tip of the iceberg. Nobody knew what was the limit of this crystal. If it could seal a level-18 magical beast, what about level-19, 20, or even more?

    All these guesses started to permeate Lin Li mind all the time. No matter how much he researched, he could not understand how to utilize this power. As a person that liked to split hairs, it was an unbearable torture for Lin Li.

    Lin Li gripped the crystal, and pondered for about half an hour...

    Ever since the Shapeshifter appeared, the searing temperature on the crystal had seemingly disappeared. It was cool when he held it now. It was unlike the previous time when he held it, when there was a burning sensation. No matter how hard he pondered, he still came to a dead end. He put the crystal pack into his pocket in frustration, hoping that he would discover something new during the uing missions...

 Chapter 145 - A Familiar Person

    <h4>Chapter 145: A Familiar Person</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After putting the crystal into his pocket, Lin Li walked over to the spot where the vampire died. The horn of the Shapeshifter was very firm and strong. It left behind fragments of ice lying around on the ground. Not to mention the vampire that was frozen in ice, a boulder would also shatter into pieces under the long distance attack. Red bloodstain covered the crystalline ice, creating a sinister atmosphere under the moonlight.

    While ncing at the surroundings, Lin Li found a pair of blood-red fangs. He bent over to pick those treasures up. Comparable to the horn of a Shapeshifter, those fangs would definitely be of a great help in forging weapons.

    By nature, the fangs of Vampires could absorb the abilities of their enemies. When mixed with a little bit of magewealth during forging, anyone could easily adopt the magical properties of the fangs onto themselves. Although they were not as sharp as the horns of Shapeshifters, their abilities in the field of magical defense and fighting would be unimaginable. Furthermore, the fangs were extremely corrosive. There might not be any obvious effect at the start, but in the long run, even the magical shield of an Archmage would show some loopholes.

    Lin Li always loved things that were vicious. He had made ns to forge a pair of daggers with that pair of fangs right after he returned. Then, he would coat those daggers with the poison of Manticores...

    After putting them in his pockets, Lin Li¡¯s gaze did not leave the shattered ice on the ground. There was a dark-red glow radiating from the pile of bloodstained ice, and Lin Li understood what it was immediately¡ªthe magical crystal of a level-18 undead creature...

    Compared to the magical crystals one could obtain from beasts, the magical crystal from a Vampire was no doubt more precious. It had the size of a thumb, and a glow of dark-red that resembled that of a blood clot. While holding it in his hands, he felt a burning sensation.

    That was the only thing from the body of a Vampire that had warmth. When Lin Li tried to transmit some mana into the crystal, it shook gently as though it was not a crystal, but a heart.

    Since Vampires got their energy from fresh blood, the function of that magical crystal was to convert fresh blood into energy. Hence, that crystal was like the heart a Vampire.

    If such a Vampire crystal fall into the hands of others, it would be mounted onto a magical staff for the mana like any other magical crystal. Then, when the mana inside was finished, it would turn into trash. Yet if Lin Li were to acquire it, it would be a totally different story.

    All five upations that Lin Li was proficient in had their respective ways to modify the Vampire¡¯s crystal. For example, in pharmaceutics, there was a ck Bloodlust Potion that could be enhanced by soaking it with the Vampire¡¯s crystal. If he were to use a bottle made from the Crystal of Eternity to contain the potion, it would reach the master-level ability after half a year.

    But to Lin Li, the crystal was the most suitable for forging weapons.

    Since fresh blood was the energy source for the crystals of the Vampires, and weapons were the items that result in blood, every time a life was taken, the crystal would gain its energy. The more deaths the crystal caused, the more energy it would gain, and eventually level up.

    The level of a magical crystal had always been fixed, and the Vampire might probably be the only species that could cause this type of sinister abnormality.

    To an extent, there were some devilish properties within it. How the crystal worked was as though a type of ritual during the Dark Age, where people gained energy from the sacrifice of others. There was a rumor that eons ago, the higher-ups would ughter ves from different races to enhance their own energy.

    Lin Li did not like devilish things, but he always loved to have great powers. After measuring the gravity of both on the scale, he decided to put the magical crystal into his pocket.

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s personal values, no matter how much one¡¯s contributions were, if he were to participate in any mission, he ought to have a share of the pie. This time, however, he did not offer to split the rewards, but threw the item into his own pocket.

    Of course...

    That did not mean that he wanted to keep everything for himself selfishly. It was because Lin Li understood that normal people would not be able to handle the two items well. If a Vampire¡¯s crystal got attached to a magical staff to be used as a magical crystal, it would be a shame as one¡¯d be wasting it.

    What Lin Li absolutely could not tolerate was this type of waste.

    Furthermore, there were six people, but only two things. It was impossible to divide the pie equally.

    So, he had decided to distribute some equipment to every single man on the team after returning to nna as reward forpleting the mission together.

    Before everyone left, they lit a fire in the Shadowglen to clean up all the bloodstains. After all, it was a ce where the undead creatures roamed freely. A ground full of blood would not only trigger the interest of these creatures, but also the Vampires. If it were to lure a more powerful undead creature, there would be dire consequences.

    After doing all these, it was already veryte.

    The team of six returned to that cave again. Since they had not only stayed away from the battle between the undead creatures, but also escaped a high-level Vampire by luck, they did not need to embark on their former n of hiding deep within the Shadowglen. That cave was indeed a good hiding spot, and should be the safest and cleanest ce in the valley.

    Campfire, sleeping bags, rugs...

    Due to their thrilling encounter with the high-level Vampire, and witnessing the magnificent battle between the undead, everyone except Lin Li and Orrin was so excited that they crowded around the campfire to discuss it through the night. Then, they gradually fell into a deep slumber as a result of fatigue...

    The subsequent days were strangely calm and peaceful as everyone hid in the cave.

    Apart from Mason, who encountered Hell Ghouls, no one saw any undead creature throughout the three days. Even Lin Li, who was a man who disliked trouble, alsoined a couple of times that life was too boring in there...

    That situation continued until the sixth day of the trial.

    The moment the sky started to light up, Lin Li did not feel like sleeping anymore. Every day felt the same¡ªeveryone stayed in the cave, and the only thing they did was to eat and sleep. The one entertainment they had was only to chat with the others. Even a pig would have lost all its desire to sleep.

    After he got out of his sleeping bag, he went to the entrance of the cave to reinforce the mana on the mageweath. Then he stood there and started daydreaming...

    When Lin Li was thinking if he should look for things to fill up his time, he heard faint footsteps walking in the direction of the cave. What came into his vision afterwards was a small group of young mages walking along the skeleton-filled path towards him...

    ¡°Eh...¡± Lin Li froze for a second before he immediately hid back into the cave. What he saw was a group of sour young mages, and he could recognize three of them.

    Those were the three men whom Mason introduced to them on the first day of the trial. Vaguely, Lin Li remembered that one of them was called Ka.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li did not have a good impression of that Ka, as he was too friendly.

    If they had a close bond with each other, the friendliness would be absolutely justifiable. Hence, the extremely agreeable attitude Ka showed them was so unnatural as though he hoped to be sworn brothers with them the moment he met them.

    Lin Li had always believed the idea that ¡®one who was unountably solicitous would be hiding evil intentions¡¯.

    It was Liubei¡¯s friendliness thatnded Guanzhang in dire consequences. [1. Allusion to the Three Kingdoms¡ªthe tripatite division of China in 220-280 A.D.]

    Of course, Lin Li had nothing to say if Mason was close to that fe. He could only observe silently and try to minimize interaction with him.

    Unfortunately, things in the world were always like that. The stronger one wished to avoid a particr person, the greater the chance for him to meet that fe¡ªjust like in this case.

    Although Lin Li tried to hide in the cave, the four young mages continued toe closer and closer.

    And at that moment, Mason woke up, getting out of his sleeping bag groggily. He wanted to go out of the cave to relieve himself...

    ¡°Mason¡ª¡±

    Before Lin Li could continue talking, Mason already dashed out of the cave in a daze, and cried out in surprise, ¡°Ka!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Mason, I can¡¯t believe that we meet again so quickly!¡± Ka eximed in surprise, and urged his teammates over. He was shocked that Mason had such good luck that he had not been sent back to the campsite.

    And, the cave seemed to be a good hiding ce.

    Lin Li shot Mason a nce, and shook his head helplessly before sitting down beside the campfire. Orrin, who had been snuggling up in the nket, frowned as well.

 Chapter 146 - An Uninvited Guest

    <h4>Chapter 146: An Uninvited Guest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hey, Ka, how did youe here?¡± Mason asked excitedly as he brought Ka into the cave. To meet a familiar person unexpectedly in the middle of the Shadowglen, where undead creatures roamed about, was a pleasant surprise for Mason.

    ¡°It was just a coincidence...¡±

    When Ka spoke of that, he was at the mouth of the cave. Lin Li clearly saw how he froze in shock at the beginning before hiding his emotions with a smiling face to talk to Mason. He eximed excitedly, ¡°Mason, you are so lucky to find such a good ce! How were you these few days? Hope you did not have too much trouble to deal with!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, there was really nothing much...¡± Mason replied Ka after thinking for a while. He was right. Not to mention the Skeletal Warriors, the Hell Ghouls were also killed by Felic instantaneously. As for the high-level Vampire they encountered afterwards, there was the level-18 Shapeshifter that dealt with it. In the past six days they spent together, there were really no obstacles at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s really a good ce...¡± Kamented as he entered the cave enviously. He couldn¡¯t believe that there was such a gem hidden in the Shadowglen; if he had found it sooner, he would not have faced so many challenges...

    ¡°Hello, Mage Felic, Mage Orrin. I can¡¯t believe that we meet again!¡± Ka greeted the two men by the campfire affably.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, what a coincidence...¡± Lin Li was full of smiles when he greeted them back, but his gaze was on the young mage standing behind Ka.

    This person looked like he was in his 20s, which was around the age of Ka. He was good-looking and slender. The silk ck robe on him had particrly delicate craftsmanship, and he could see some faint signs of magical waves on it.

    After the young mage walked into the cave, he saw Larry and hispanions, and Larry was wrapped in a thick nket, drooling in his sleep by the campfire.

    The young mage frowned, and his eyes showed hints of disdain.

    ¡°Come, everybody. Let me introduce him to everyone,¡± said Ka in an extremely friendly tone, although underlying it was a slight sense of ingratiation. ¡°This is Mage Sarsen from Nightfall City. Oh, yes. Mason, you should have heard of the reputable Mage Salson, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± Mason replied as he nodded. ¡°Wee wee, I¡¯m surprised that Mage Sarsen would participate in the trial too.¡±

    Unlike Mason, who treated him with extreme hospitality, Sarsen only nodded coldly. There was a hint of arrogance that surfaced in his eyes.

    ¡°This is Mage Felic, and this is Mage Orrin...¡± Ka was very agreeable as he took the initiative to introduce them as though he was the owner of the cave.

    ¡°Mage Orrin?¡± Sarsen looked at Orrin immediately, and did not even acknowledge Lin Li¡¯s presence. The emotionless expression on his face when he entered the cave transformed into a surprised one.

    ¡°You are Orrin from Rotterdam?¡± He entered the cave

    Ever since Lin Li came to nna, he had been used to being ignored by everybody. When Sarsen treated him like air, he just touched his nose, and did not feel awkward at all.

    Sarsen¡¯s actions was very natural too. Ranking of mages was everything in the world of magic. How would a level-seven mage and a level-nine mage deserve his respect?

    There should only be one person in the entire cave that he needed to show his respect, and that man was Orrin.

    The prodigy of Rotterdam was indeed true to his name. Despite his young age, Orrin was already a level-11 mage. Maybe after one or two years, he would reach his current level...

    Sadly, he had shown this respect wrongly.

    After hearing Sarsen¡¯s greeting, Orrin did not even bat his eyelid. His gaze was fixed on the flickering mes as though it was air that greeted him.

    Sarsen¡¯s smile froze, and the atmosphere became awkward and tense immediately.

    ¡°I say, Mason, could I discuss some things with you?¡± Ka tried to ease the situation by changing the topic.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mason asked in an unfriendly tone as he was upset that Sarsen did not acknowledge him. No matter what, he was still the best performing young mage from Chevan City! It was only after he met these two freakish teammates in nna that he got belittled by others... The more Mason thought about it, the more indignant he felt.

    <i>God dammit, I have even met Master Andoine in real life before... How could this fe look down on me?</i>

    ¡°The thing is...¡± Ka paused, and led Mason out of the tense atmosphere that was not suitable for discussion. At the entrance of the cave, he continued slowly, ¡°I hope to borrow the cave for two days.¡±

    ¡°Lend it to you for two days?¡± Mason repeated his question in surprise.

    ¡°You see... I have so many people with me, and the cave is not that big. If we were to live together, it would be very ufortable. Furthermore, since the mission is going to end soon, could y¡¯all just move out of the cave for us...¡±

    ¡°Ka, what are you saying?¡± Mason asked suspiciously as he felt that something was amiss.

    ¡°Mason, let me exin...¡± Ka stood a little further from Mason, and continued, ¡°Look, Mason, we grew up together. And since Mage Felic and Mason Orrin are your friends, they are naturally my friends too. I would not make you move out, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But the rest of them, they have neither abilities, nor a close rtionship with you. Couldn¡¯t you do something about it?¡±

    Mason nced at Ka, and asked, ¡°You are referring to Larry and his teammates?¡± He did not know how to describe his feelings. The man standing before him, with whom he yed together since they were young, became like a stranger to him instantly.

    ¡°Y-yes, yes. I¡¯m talking about those guys. You are not close to them, right? Wouldn¡¯t it be easy for you to tell them to move out?¡±

    Although Mason had not given him a clear answer, Ka was not anxious at all. He just continued to persuade him with patience. ¡°You saw that Sarsen from Nightfall City just now? He¡¯s a level-13 Magic Shooter. If we get close to him, how would we still need to worry about our mission?

    ¡°Furthermore, we are only telling them to move to the mouth of the cave¡ªwhat¡¯s the big deal about it since there¡¯s only onest day to the end of the mission? As an exchange, we get to help them toplete the mission as well! Mason, don¡¯t be in a hurry to reject me now. Go and have a discussion with them to see if they are fine with the terms.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me...¡±

    Mason turned to enter the cave and whispered to Lin Li with a low voice.

    After all the interaction with Lin Li, Mason had already treated him as the sole decision-maker of their team. In fact, he could only look for Lin Li, for Orrin¡¯s would only insult him with a ¡°moron¡±.

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡±

    After listening to Mason, he only nodded his head, and said nothing else.

    Ka was waiting outside the cave while Mason waited for Lin Li to make his decision. At that point in time, the cave was extremely silent. Apart from the sound of the crackling mes, nothing could be heard at all.

    ¡°Mage Ka, you might want toe in for a while.¡±

    The silence was broken by Lin Li after some time.

    ¡°Hehe, what¡¯s the matter, Mage Felic?¡± Ka entered the cave confidently. Although the way he made his request just then seemed very casual, it was indeed carefully considered. He was confident that no one would turn it down.

    Everything was so obvious. Firstly, since he knew Mason from a young age, their rtionship with each other would not be as superficial as that with Larry, whom they had only met for a few days. By making thisparison, anyone would know how to make the choice. Next, he had already told them Sarsen¡¯s background. Since Sarsen was a level-13 Magic Shooter, how would anyone be able to find any ally more powerful than him other than the magical genius Gryffindor?

    Even if they had Orrin, who came from Rotterdam, who would not wish to have a stronger ally in thisnd where the undead roamed freely?

    <i>That is a true-blue level-13 Magic Shooter... A fool would also know whom to choose, right?</i>

    To Ka, not to mention Mason and his friends that would stand to benefit from Sarsen, if Larry¡¯s team were to be asked to move out of the cave, they would also be extremely willing to invite Sarsen in.

    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Lin Li smiled before standing up from the side of the campfire. ¡°I wanted to ask: when are you intending to leave this cave?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Right after Lin Li ended his speech, Ka was not the only one that was shocked. Even Sarsen gave him a second look. Never would he have expected that a level-seven mage actually opened his mouth to ask him to leave when Orrin had not even said a word...

 Chapter 147 - Lich

    <h4>Chapter 147: Lich</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Mage Felic, what do you mean?¡± Ka¡¯s smile stiffened.

    ¡°Mage Ka, please don¡¯t be mistaken. I don¡¯t have anything against you...¡± Lin Li replied with a sincere smile, but the words that came out of his mouth nearly caused Ka to vomit blood. He continued humbly, ¡°I only feel that such a simple and worn-out cave is not suitable for people with high status. I heard that there¡¯s this Undead Pce in the Shadowglen. Why don¡¯t you live there tonight? The time now is still early, so if you rush there now, maybe you can reach there by dinnertime...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mason was listening by the side. He nearly choked on his saliva.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you must be joking...¡± Ka let out a nervousughter. The ends of his lips curved as though he had infantile paralysis.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li stared at him with a shocked expression, and continued, ¡°Does Mage Ka has such high expectations that he does not take any fancy to the pce? I¡¯ve heard that a monarch of the undead lived there before though...¡±

    ¡°This fe, you are going overboard!¡± Before Ka could react, the short mage beside him stood out and pointed a finger at Lin Li face. He came so close that he nearly poked him.

    Lin Li looked at that short and thick finger, and vaguely recalled that this short mage was one of Ka¡¯s followers, named Fedrick...

    ¡°You¡¯re Mage Fedrick, right? Could I trouble you to move your finger away by a teeny weeny bit?¡±

    Instead of putting away his finger, Fedrick came closer to Lin Li, and while he scolded him harshly, his salivanded on Lin Li¡¯s face.

    ¡°F*CK! You are just a level-seven mage, how could you be so cocky? If not for Mason, do you think Boss Ka would waste his time here and listen to your crap? Scram when we ask you to, don¡¯t wait until¡ª¡±

    The moment the short mage spoke his first line, the cave was filled with tension. Embarrassment appeared on Ka¡¯s face. He did not expect that a matter that would bring benefits to both parties would be so difficult...

    But forget it... he would let Fedrick teach that impolite dude a lesson.

    And Mason was just stupefied at what he saw.

    He was so amazed by Fedrick. What a talent...

    <i>To point a finger at Felic! Does he feel that his finger is too long...</i>

    <i>Does he not know that he is standing before a monster?</i>

    At that moment, not just Mason, even Orrin looked at that short mage with pity...

    ¡°Let me repeat... Mage Fedrick, could I trouble you to move your finger away...¡± Lin Li requested calmly.

    ¡°You motherf¡ª aaah!¡± Before the short mage couldplete his sentence, he saw a ball of fire rising up. What was next was a hammering pain on his hand. Before he could understand what had happened, the finger he used to point at Lin Li was alight with fire...

    ¡°Moron,¡± said Mason and Orrin in unison.

    Ka was utterly stunned by what he saw. Never would he have expected that the level-seven mage could use a grade-two magic spell¡ªthe Instant ming Hands. Not to mention a level-seven mage, even if it were him, he might not seed in casting the spell instantaneously every single time...

    At that point of time, Ka didn¡¯t know if he should cry orugh.

    His n was that after Fedrick punished that cocky fe, he would step forward to mediate, and guilt-trip Mason with their rtionship. After all, how could a mere level-seven mage create muchmotion in the Shadowglen? At that time, not only would those insensible people volunteer to move out themselves, that dude would not even dare to reject their request of him leaving that cave...

    But he only guessed the ending right.

    Someone was indeed punished, but the man was Fedrick...

    ¡°AH!¡± Fedrick shrieked in pain again suddenly. That sound brought Ka back to the present. Then, he started to recite a spell before his magical staff produced liquid for him to extinguish the fire on Fedrick¡¯s finger.

    ¡°To be honest, I couldn¡¯t believe it...¡± Lin Li grinned as he waved the smoke off his hand before bending down to look at the short mage.

    Fedrick¡¯s nearly entire arm caught fire, and the cold water from Ka aggravated his pain. A series of ear-piercing cries continued; how would Ka have the time to react to Lin Li¡¯s gibe? Furthermore, he would not have the courage to speak against him. What if he were to lose his life due to that?

    ¡°Ooops, sorry, I guess I¡¯ve exerted too much force.¡± After giving Fedrick a scare, Lin Li stood up to apologize. Yet, he was still full of smiles.

    ¡°...¡± Ka was so furious that he felt like puking blood. How was that an apology? That was like pping Ka right after Fedrick without even changing his hand. To Ka, nothing was as humiliating as that. But facing this insult, he could only choose to swallow his rage.

    The world of mages had always been a cruel one. Whoever was more able in his skills would have more say in matters. Ka understood that not only did he not have the ability to summon the Instant ming Hands like Lin Li, he also could not deal any injury to a level-10 mage just with a raise of an arm. Thus, he did not have any right to avoid Lin Li¡¯s p.

    In contrast, he needed to lower down his tone and make exnations. ¡°Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, that was really a misunderstanding. Mage Felic, please don¡¯t take it to heart...¡±

    Lin Li was still all smiles when he replied, ¡°Mason Ka, you must be kidding. Since you are brother Mason¡¯s friend, what misunderstanding could there be? Do I look like that type of petty people that would put such a trivial matter to heart?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ka was on the verge of spitting his saliva onto Lin Li¡¯s face.

    <i>Dammit, how are you not a petty man? Fedrick only said a few lines, and you already used the ming Hands on him?</i>

    Of course, Ka would not dare to say that out loud. That was an unpredictable dude. What if he smashed the ming Hands onto his face if he were to say any word wrongly?

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Ka...¡± Lin Li smiled as he brought the topic back before continuing his speech with utmost sincerity, ¡°What do you think of my suggestion? To say the truth, I feel that this cave is a tad too small...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The smile on Ka¡¯s face froze. After hesitating for a while, he squeezed out some friendliness, and said with great care, ¡°This... Look, Mage Felic, it¡¯s thest day of the mission, and Fedrick is injured too. Could you just let us stay here for the night?

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Lin Li replied without thinking at all. He rejected it straightforwardly. ¡°Larry is not in good health, what if he caught a cold from sleeping outside the cave?¡±

    Facing Lin Li¡¯s pressure, Ka had no choice but to submit to him. He clenched his teeth, and said, ¡°We will stay outside the cave!¡±

    After saying that, Ka looked at Lin Li again.

    <i>Do you have anything else to rebut me with? Since Shadowglen is not your house, even if you could prevent me from living inside the cave, you have no right to decide where I stay!</i>

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that,¡± said Lin Li. Who knew that he would reject this suggestion right away as well? He continued, ¡°Hey, look. I¡¯m a light sleeper, and I¡¯ll get insomnia from the sound of snoring. What if you are noisy at night?¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Ka was on the verge of vomiting blood from debating with Lin Li again.

    ¡°Mage Felic, are you trying to provoke us?¡± Sarsen finally spoke, but his question was extremely confrontational. He was a level-13 mage, after all. The Instantaneous ming Hands was not a threat to him. To him, only Gryffindor was qualified to be his opponent among all the participants of the trial. This arrogance allowed him to hold back his frustration until then. Or else, he would never care to give any verbal threats to anyone.

    However, the progress of the matter finally exceeded the limits he could tolerate. Sarsen did not mind teaching that cocky fe a lesson personally.

    ¡°You¡¯re not happy?¡± asked Lin Li. That was the only thing he said when he turned around. The tension had reached the max now.

    Kalya could not help but gasp...

    Never would he believe that that fe had the balls to defy Sarsen, and with such provocative words!

    Who was Sarsen? He was a rare geniusing from Nightfall City, and the man who could pose a threat to Gryffindor.

    ¡°Felic¡ª¡± Mason said as he pulled on Felic¡¯s sleeves. He wanted to remind his teammate of Sarsen¡¯s abilities.

    Before Mason couldplete his sentence, the Mental Protection Field at the entrance shook with a great force.

    What followed was Lin Li¡¯s change in expression. He knew better than anyone else that the Mental Protection Field he¡¯d put up was a high-grade magewealth. It would not bulge if it were toe in contact with normal spells. From the impact that was just created, he could tell that it was a Mental Spell of at least level-eight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look first.¡± Lin Li grabbed his Winter Staff, and dashed to the mouth of the cave, leaving behind a baffled Sarsen.

    The moment Lin Li exited the cave, Orrin and Mason followed suit immediately. The trio had always been moving together. Naturally, they understood Lin Li¡¯s actions more than anyone else. It had to be a terrifying thing to be able to change Lin Li¡¯s expression. They grabbed their staffs without any dy.

    The moment Lin Li set foot out of the cave, he heard a low voice from afar that was not the usual recitation for spells. The sound was mellow and distant, and underlying it was a tinge of sinister and deadly force.

    As the recitation continued, ck smoke clouded the air. A huge amount of Death Energy filled the surroundings, and a dark figure started to emerge from the ck smoke. From afar, it seemed to be a ghost in a dark night.

    ¡°Why are we so unlucky...¡± Masonined as he followed behind them. Right after he saw that the figure had a Bone Staff and it was Death Energy that it was emitting, Mason was terrified. He started stuttering, ¡°T-t-that¡¯s a freaking lich!¡±

    ¡°Troublesome.¡± It was rare for Orrin to frown.

    Since even Orrin showed signs of disapproval, it was obvious that the undead creature was an extremely troublesome one.

    The birth of the undead creatures was a slow andplicated process. There were many different conditions required to birth one creature. If any of the factors were to be absent, it would be impossible to breed a true undead creature.

    No one could define howplicated such a process was¡ªnot even a wise and knowledgeable man like Andoine.

    The only thing certain about those creatures was that their power would be determined by that from their previous life.

    For example, the mostmon creatures in the Shadowglen would be Skeletal Warriors. In their previous life, most of them were adventurers with their own skill set and fighting abilities. After death, and under the influence of the massive aura of death in the Shadowglen, they got converted into Skeletal Warriors very quickly.

    And what was more powerful than the Skeletal Warriors would be Hell Ghouls. They were usually the reincarnation of mages, and their levels were decided by the level the mage was at when he died.

    If nothing were to go wrong, mages who were above level-10 would generally transform into Hell Ghouls. Compared to Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls were a more powerful existence. They retained a small amount of magical knowledge from their previous life, and were to a certain extent intelligent as well. With those abilities, they would be able to achieve breakthroughs and upgrade themselves into a real Lich!

    As for mages who were at least level-15, they had great possibility of bing a Lich immediately.

    A Hell Ghoul and a Lich only differed by one level.

    Yet it was that single level that ssified them into high-grade and low-grade monsters.

    One would only be a high-grade undead creature after bing a Lich.

    The Hell Ghouls, on the other hand, retained a small portion of magical knowledge. Apart from summoning Skeletal Warriors, they only knew a limited number of low-grade magical spells. On top of that, they had weak cognitive ability. If they were to meet enemies a little slyer than them, they would naturally be at the losing end.

    But for Liches, it was another matter.

    Especially the Archmages¡ªthey¡¯d transform into Liches immediately after death. Not only would the knowledge they gained stay with them, they would also be mightier than a normal Archmage. Their umtion of the Death Energy and the proficiency in the spells of the undead¡ªparticrly in the mental field¡ªwould make them the master of everyone!

    And because of that, their intelligence was no different from a normal human being¡¯s. Their long lifespan as undead would give them unlimited time for rationalizing. A Lich that had lived for a hundred years would be like a living encyclopedia, and the amount of knowledge it had would intimidate everyone.

    If possible, Mason would rather be faced with 10 Hell Ghouls than one Lich...

    But unfortunately, there were just some things that he could not choose not to deal with.

    While the mellow recitation continued, ck smoke moved towards the Lich. Everybody knew that that Lich was absorbing the Death Energy¡ªit was a skill that empowered them to be a high-grade undead creature.

    Its abilities would increase at the rate of its absorption of the Death Energy.

    After its energy had reached the maximum capacity, what they need would just be one favorable circumstance. With that opportunity, they would be able to transcend into a higher-grade being.

    Since there had been a battle between the undead near the cave, there were countless dead bodies¡ªmany Hell Ghouls, numerous low-grade Vampires, countless Death Knights, and of course... a level-18 Vampire. To any undead creature, the energy they¡¯d left behind would be a deadly temptation...

    Unfortunately...

    The Death Energy got wiped off by Lin Li¡¯s crystal the moment it was released, and its remnants would be far from meeting the needs of a Lich...

 Chapter 148 - The Origin of Liches

    <h4>Chapter 148: The Origin of Liches</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li could clearly sense how rapidly the mental spell of the Lich was rising¡ªit was going to reach the entrance of the cave very soon. The two magewealths at the mouth of the cave were meaningless. Mental Protection would not prevent the Liches froming at all as they were all Mages by nature. Even the Archmages were of a lower abilitypared to them in the field of Mental Spells.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what happened?¡± Ka asked anxiously. The huge impact caused by the Force of Death was so oppressive that it could drive people mad. Hence, everyone decided to head out to take a look.

    After that, they saw that ck and scrawny floating shadow; the hoarse and low voice added an ominous and sinister quality to the figure.

    ¡°Oh my god, a Lich...¡± Ka said nervously as he broke out in a sweat. He was a level-11 Magic Shooter, after all. How could he not be able to recognize the monster? It was just not within his expectations that he would see such a high-level undead creature there.

    Sarsen frowned, but remained silent. Since he came from Nightfall City, he was more aware than anyone else the danger a Lich posed. With its proficiency in Mental Spells and deep knowledge of magic, the undead creature wasparable to any Archmages in terms of abilities. Even if it was the level-13 Sarsen, he would not dare to challenge a Lich.

    Just when everyone was stunned by what they saw, that Lich suddenly stopped in its tracks. Then, everyone heard a hoarse voice echoing in their heads. ¡°Who¡¯s there...?¡±

    The voice of a Lich carried a screeching noise as though it was an old pair of bellows. When the voice reverberated in his mind, a chill went down his spine. The buzzing in his mind was so tormenting that it was like a hammer smashing onto him, breaking his head into pieces.

    Ka was not only the only one that experienced difort from it. Everybody¡¯s faces ashened at the moment they heard the Lich¡¯s voice. It was pure mental disturbance that no magic shooter could shun.

    Although Sarsen¡¯s expression did not change, his hand gripped tightly onto his magic staff. Despite having the ability to forcefully resist the mental impact created by the Lich, it was obvious that he was still disturbed by the tremendous noise.

    Lin Li was the only one who stayed unaffected.

    After all, he had a freakish mental strength. Even if it was a Lich that was proficient in Mental Spells by nature, it would not be able to pose any risk to him. Freaks would be freaks, we should not use the yardstick we measure normal human beings to measure Lin Li¡¯s capability.

    ¡°WHO¡¯S THERE...?!¡± The Lich repeated impatiently. Underlying its croaky voice was a greater forcepared to before.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Mason felt suffocated by the huge Mental Energy it produced, and was nearly breathless. After he finally managed to resist it, he spat out a swear word with great difficulty.

    Right after Mason¡¯s swear word left his mouth, Lin Li knew that the fe was going to create havoc. Unlike Hell Ghouls and Skeletal Warriors, Liches were real Archmages. Although Mason kept his volume soft, since he was standing at the entrance of the cave without the protection of the Seal of Life, his Scent of Life went out immediately. If the Lich did not discover that, it would not be true to its name.

    ¡°IT¡¯S YOU...!¡± Another growl sounded out in everyone¡¯s heads.

    ¡°We are in big trouble...¡±

    At the moment it growled, the ck haze flew towards the cave menacingly as though it was blown by strong wind.

    ¡°HUMANS, HOW DARE YOU CHALLENGE <i>BHASKAR </i>IN THE POWER OF DEATH!¡± The Lich hovered within the cloud of ck smoke, and its pair of green eyes shed like phosphorescent light. Under the strong wind, its wide sleeves pped, and it unleashed its powerful Mental Strength again.

    Its target was Ka.

    Since Ka was just a level-11 Magic Shooter, he was not as strong as Sarsen. Yet, he reacted very quickly. Right after the Lich started talking, Ka¡¯s magic staff was already high up in the air, establishing Mental Protection Fields around themselves.

    Although the collision of the two¡¯s Mental Energy was unlike the Elemental Magic that would create brilliant sparks all over, the danger within it was a lot greater than how calm it appeared to be. The moment Ka established the Mental Protection Fields, the surroundings started to distort. Subsequently, a tremendous gust of energy flooded over, tearing the fields apart.

    When that happened, the vicious bite of mana caused Ka¡¯s face to ashen.

    ¡°HUMPH!¡± The Lich growled in the air. And... that was only the start.

    ¡°AH...!¡± Ka screamed as he was harshly thrown against the wall of a crag like a kite that broke its string.

    ¡°...¡±

    Someone drew a mouth of breath among the crowd.

    Everyone was stupefied by what they saw just now. Even though Ka was a level-11 Magic Shooter, before he was able to unleash any magical spell, he was severely injured by a mental spell.

    That Lich, which imed to be Bhaskar, was indeed terrifying...

    ¡°WHO¡¯S NEXT...!¡± The sleeves that were pping in the strong wind and the pair of bright green eyes scanned the crowd. Then, the strong aura it transmitted forced everyone to feel breathless.

    ¡°I remember it now!¡± At this moment, Mason suddenly eximed. ¡°I remember who this fe was already...¡±

    Lin Li was surprised for a moment before he turned towards Mason, and whispered, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°He is Bhaskar from Chevan City. During the huge massacre after the Dark Age, he was one of the mages executed by the great lord, Osric. I read about him in the Guild of Magic before, but who knew he came to Shadowglen to be a Lich...¡±

    ¡°Such a big shot?¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. That Lich before him existed since the Dark Age!

    ¡°I¡¯m impressed that people still remember me...¡± Even the Lich could not hide his astonishment.

    Since it had a body and was skilled in spiritual magic, it was natural for it to have a sharp hearing too. Although Mason¡¯s voice was soft, Bhaskar could still hear what he was telling the rest.

    ¡°T-t-that¡¯s because... you are a renowned figure!¡± Realizing that the tone of Bhaskar became gentler, Mason praised the Lich as he tried to squeeze out a smile on his face. He was a shameless fe, after all. If he didn¡¯t mind ttering Macklin, how would he care about buttering up a Lich?

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Really, really! Mr. Bhaskar, weren¡¯t you the hero who pioneered the revolution against the High Elves for the freedom and harmony of humanity? Not to mention the small Chevan City... even the entire Fn, or the entire Anril, was singing appraises of your gantry! Why don¡¯t we set a time and date to allow me to bring you around personally? I¡¯m sure you might meet a few prettydies who admire you...¡± Mason poured out his ttering words in a steady flow. Before Bhaskar got convinced by the boot-licking, his friends already swooned at Mason¡¯s obsequiousness...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost choked on his saliva.

    <i>What¡¯s Mason thinking about? To bring a Lich out of the Shadowglen... Is he crazy? Without the Death Energy in the Shadowglen, not only a Lich like Bhaskar, but any powerful undead creature would be like a fish out of water.</i>

    ¡°There¡¯re really people who remember me?¡± asked the Lich. No one could decipher Bhaskar¡¯s thoughts from its gruff voice due to theck of emotional waves.

    ¡°I swear!¡± Mason assured Bhaskar sincerely. He was not lying. The huge massacre conducted by Highlord Osric was recorded down extremely clearly in the entire Fn, and hence Anril. And that included the namelist of those victims...

    The strong wind around them seemed to stop, and even the ck clouds started to fade away. Bhaskar¡¯s pair of bright green eyes turned dimmer gradually too. It just hovered in the air quietly, as though it was deep in thought, recalling its past memories...

    Seeing how his words evoked Bhaskar¡¯s memory, Mason was secretly ted. When he wanted to enhance his art of ttery, fierce wind howled. The ck fog that were dispersed gathered together again, thicker than previously...

    ¡°HUMAN, THIS IS MEANINGLESS!¡±

 Chapter 149 - Make Love

    <h4>Chapter 149: Make Love</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Mason¡¯s words got stuck at his throat, and his smile became very awkward due to the suppression from the death aura. After scratching his head, he whispered to Lin Li, ¡°Damn, why is it so capricious?! Was it a woman in its previous life? Fine, when I go back, I¡¯m going to tell everyone that Bhaskar was actually a woman...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Fool,¡± Orrin said behind him, ¡°do you think you are a bard?¡±

    ¡°No matter what, thank you for telling me all these.¡± There was a sinister quality to Bhaskar¡¯s voice. Underlying it was cruelty. ¡°As a reward, you are going to be thest to be killed by me. You can witness how yourpanions die one by one, and rejoice in their helpless cries... And after you die, I¡¯m going to preserve your soul in the Shadowglen. Then, you will apany me here, and tell me stories of the outside world for a few hundred years...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee...¡± replied Mason. The smile on his face was uglier than a crying face.

    ¡°Who asked you to suck up to it?¡± Orrin chided Mason and red at him angrily.

    ¡°Bhaskar, don¡¯t think that you have won!¡± Sarsen eximed as he walked out of the cave with strong magical waves from his body.

    ¡°I¡¯d never expect that human beings could still be so arrogant even after 1200 years¡ª¡± Before Bhaskar could finish his words, a huge mental strength surged towards it.

    Concurrently, Sarsen established a Mental Protection Field too. As his abilities were far better than Ka¡¯s, he managed to hold off Bhaskar¡¯s mental attack.

    ¡°BAM!¡±

    What followed was an instantaneous Fireball.

    ¡°WHAT A JOKE!¡± The Lichughed in amusement. Although the Fireball was one that had a shocking impact, the Lich was not moved by it at all. It raised up a colorful Elemental Shield, and at the same time, it used its staff to create a wall of white bones over the shield.

    That was the Skeletal Shield that was specific to undead creatures. It was a formidable fortress against all magical and physical attacks.

    ¡°You are the joke, Bhaskar!¡± Sarsen dered determinedly despite being faced with twoyers of defensive shield. After a rapid recitation, another gust of sparks flew up into the air. This time, it was the ming Spear... and Sarsen was resolved to bomb Bhaskar.

    Lin Li stood at the entrance of the cave and observed quietly. He had to admit that Sarsen really had the means to be arrogant. He was outstanding in both his tactics and control of mana. Since he could reach a draw with the Lich of at least level-15, the skills of this level-13 Magic Shooter had to be exceptional.

    In terms of strength, Bhaskar definitely had the advantage. Its double protection¡ªSkeletal Shield and Elemental Shield¡ªwas so impressive that it was hard for Sarsen to threaten it with his magical spells. The mental impact the Lich created never weakened, and was always disrupting Sarsen from casting his spells.

    To ensure he couldplete his recitation, Sarsen had no choice but to continue to hold up his Mental Protection Field there.

    Multitasking was a deadly thing to mages.

    Even if it was a battle between two parties on the same level, if one were to direct some focus to support the Mental Protection Field, he would fall to the losing end. What was more for this unfair battle?

    Frankly speaking, Sarsen did not look promising to Lin Li at the beginning. That was because they were so different in their levels. Furthermore, there was still the life-threatening mental attack. Even if he were to calcte it optimistically, Sarsen would crash within 30 seconds. Yet, what happened afterwards was an eye-opener for Lin Li.

    With his adept skill set and uracy in mana control, Sarsen pushed the battle into a deadlock.

    ¡°This fe is not bad...¡±mented Lin Li as he nodded, not rushing tounch his attack. He only opened the Ring of Endless Storm and transferred some mana into the torrent of elements.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Ka called out to him after downing a bottle of Recovery Potion. Although his face was still pale, his injuries were better, and he did not have any difficulties walking already. Seeing how Sarsen and the Lich was in a deadlock, Ka could not sit still any longer. He went over to Lin Li with a concerned expression, and whispered to him, ¡°Now is a good opportunity...¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Lin Li responded without any concern, but his gaze was fixed at the battle not far away.

    After waiting for Lin Li¡¯s speech to continue for quite a while to no avail, Ka could not help but feel anxious. ¡°Mage Felic, you have the greatest abilities among all of us. If you don¡¯t do anything now, I¡¯m scared Sarsen would be...¡±

    This time, Lin Li did not even care to turn his head to look at Ka. He just replied, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Ka really felt like crashing himself against the crag. He could not understand why this seemingly great and powerful mage was so foolish... Sarsen had already fought to a deadlock, so even a moron would understand that it would only take one more straw to defeat ¡°the camel¡± Bhaskar!

    <i>This is such a rare opportunity...</i>

    <i>The deadlock is so fragile. Who knows if Sarsen won¡¯t be defeated in the next second? What is that damn Jarrosus mage thinking about? Is he waiting for Sarsen¡¯s defeat so that he can y hero?</i>

    ¡°What a freakish fighting spirit...¡± Ka berated Lin Li quietly. He would definitely not dare to provoke such a man. What if he triggered Lin Li, and he lit him up with a ming Hand?

    Lin Li shot a nce at him, and exined nothing.

    He knew what Ka was thinking about, but he did not n to exin himself.

    For him, what would be more importantpared to his own life? How would he care about honor or heroism? If he could, he would be more than willing to bring a bunch of followers and fight.

    The thing was that it was not the time.

    There were some things that he understood betterpared to Ka.

    Sarsen was definitely not weak. Toe into a deadlock with a level-15 Lich with his level-13 Magic Shooter abilities definitely made this battle a superficial one. Looking at how the magical waves were, Lin Li could be sure that Bhaskar was not exerting his entire strength.

    From the start till now, Lin Li clearly realized that the Lich did not use any spell that was beyond level-10!

    And that was impossible in a normal battle...

    It was a creature of at least level-15 and 1200-years-old, much older than Old Andoine. Throughout those years, the number of times it used its spells could only be counted with astronomical figures. For such a monster, there would not be any difficulty in summoning spells.

    For a creature like the Lich that had lived for a long time, it had an edge in casting a spell of its own level without worrying about the bite of mana.

    There could only be one reason for it to only use spells lower than the 10th level¡ªit was messing with Sarsen!

    Undoubtedly, the act of ying pranks was a very personal matter.

    Lin Li knew that he would be very furious if he were the trickster and someone tried to disturb him. Hence, if he were to interfere in their battle, what was important was not whether he could defeat Bhaskar, but rather that he would agitate the old monster to unleash its true powers...

    This situation was akin to making love.

    It would be incredibly dangerous for one to disturb people who were making love. Lin Li would not want to do such an immoral act...

    Furthermore...

    There was no need to make this gamble and disrupt his entire n.

    ... Unfortunately, Ka did not know what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind. Seeing how Lin Li dilly-dallied, Ka lost his patience, and braved forward despite his injuries. After discussing the matter with his two teammates, they began a long recitation.

    ¡°Aish...¡± Lin Li sighed, and shook his head, but did not stop them. Since they were not closely rted, Lim Li did not pity them at all. Even if they disturbed Sir Lich¡¯s love-making session, they were purely asking for it. After all, there were consequences to suffer for peeping...

    When Sarsen was in a deadlock with the Lich, the recitation of the three peeping Toms also came to an end...

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The three men finished their recitation concurrently, and their three staffs lit up together.

 Chapter 150 - Death Sentence

    <h4>Chapter 150: Death Sentence</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The three Icy Spears created a sharp whizzing noise when they were high up in the air.

    It was definitely a nned attack.

    Sarsen swapped the Lich¡¯s Skeletal Shield with his own Elemental Shield. At that moment, the three Icy Spears pierced through the vault of heaven when the Lich was at its weakest.

    And then...

    Sarsan began reciting his spell again...

    He did not even replenish his Elemental Shield, he just gripped onto his magical staff, and recited with a sonorous voice as powerful runes were produced rapidly. The tides of the magical elements tossed and turned in the air, and a gust of extreme coldness was spreading at top speed. Everyone knew that Sarsan was definitely going to unleash a very powerful and impactful spell.

    Subsequently, the three spears pierced through the Elemental Shield, with Sarsen in charge of giving thest critical blow.

    In Ka¡¯s eyes, the nned attack had been proceeding smoothly.

    At this time, he even grinned triumphantly. How could he not smile? A monster of at least level-15 was going to be defeated by a team of four! If this were to be known to the public, who would dare to belittle him in the future?

    He was going to get famous in just one battle. Maybe after today, he would be a man highly sought after by the higher powers and the man of the hour at the feast held by the nobles of Fn!!

    He even felt grateful to Lin Li, the timid mage of Jarrosus. If it weren¡¯t for his cowardice, how would such a good opportunity fall into his hands?

    The three Icy Spears lined up together in the air. Amidst the cold and blue fluorescent light, a ghastly, chilly wind blew by.

    Before that critical attack, the Lich only used a simple gesture to disperse Ka¡¯s daydream...

    It raised its ghastly white skeletal arms into the air, and drew an arc across the sky. Everyone¡¯s vision blurred at that moment. What followed was a series of shattering sounds when the three spears got struck at once. What waited for them was not a skinny Lich, but a Skeletal Warrior with a machete in its hands.

    ¡°Stand-in Puppet!¡± Ka eximed out after seeing the rusty machete. It was toote for regrets. The three Icy Spears were already torn into pieces by the Skeletal Warrior.

    Almost simultaneously, everyone¡¯s vision blurred once more. That skinny figure of the Lich was as though a ghost that drifted above their heads. Then, after a moment of croaky and rapid recitation, a gust of strong and mighty mental strength came down from the sky like torrents, threatening to suffocate everyone else. Sarsen was only halfway through his recitation before he got interrupted by such a huge flood of mental strength.

    ¡°AH!¡± There was an excruciating cry. Before he could make clear of the situation, torrents of mental strength flooded into his mind. Under such pressure, he could not exert any mana. A level-13 Mage became like any ordinary human being.

    ¡°Mind Crush!¡±

    Just when Sarsen was in a state of confusion and anxiety, the Lich waved his Skeleton Staff in the air, and unleashed a Mental Whip.

    The ¡°PAK¡± sound it produced was like a tight p on Sarsen¡¯s cheek, throwing him harshly against the crag again like a kite string that snapped. How could he block this level-10 mental spell with his mana totally suppressed?

    Lin Li guessed it right. The Lich was indeed ying with Sarsen. From the beginning till the end, it did not put in all of its effort at all. It merely took two spells, namely Stand-in Puppet and Mind Crush, to resolve the simple crisis; as for thest Mental Whip, it was actually not necessary.

    It was only then that the Lich in the sky broke out in a sinisterughter. ¡°HUMANS, YOU HAVE PROVOKED ME...¡±

    Ka looked up into the air nkly; his ashened face was terrifying. He suddenly realized the foolish deed he had done. How was that a battle? It had been a prank all along! His interruption finally caused the Lich to lose all of its patience.

    A chill went down their spines just by thinking of what would be of them...

    But it was toote for regrets. After the Lich used the Mental Whip on Sarsen, itughed hideously again. Then, it waved the Skeleton Staff in its hand gently...

    ¡°BAM!¡±

    Soil particles flew into the air, and ghastly white bones surfaced from the ground. Those bones created an airtight cell almost immediately, and sealed the entrance of the cave.

    ¡°Hell Prison...¡± Ka raised his staff and shot out two Wind des in panic.

    Yet, the Wind des that had been sharp and deadly became so powerless now.

    Those bone shards were like they were made of steel. When the sharp and firm Wind des fell onto the bones, there was not a single scratch mark, and only an ear-splitting noise in everybody¡¯s eardrums.

    ¡°H-how...?¡± Ka was horrified. Sarsen was gravely injured, and even if he could use the Recovery Potion to save him, it would take quite some time for him to recover. On top of that, since everyone was trapped inside of the Hell Prison, it would be extremely easy for the Lich to kill all of them with a few Archmage-level spells. Not only them¡ªthe Hell Prison and the cave would also be ruins. How could Ka remain calm...?

    ¡°Wait,¡± Lin Li only said a word.

    ¡°...¡± Ka knocked his head into the wall of the Hell Prison. He really wanted to ask what that Mage from Jarrosus had been thinking about. <i>Like mice, we are all trapped in the cave now! Is he going to wait for an Archmage-level spell to crash onto everyone?</i>

    Luckily, he did not ask that...

    Or else, Lin Li might really respond with a ¡°yes¡±.

    Seeing that the situation had deteriorated into the worst, apart from Orrin and Mason, who had a deep trust in Lin Li, almost everybody became hopeless. Sarsen leaned against the crag with blood flowing out from one side of his mouth and a gaze towards the sky that had lost its usual spark. The Mind Crush had not only caused him to lose his mana, but also his confidence.

    Sarsen always had a lot of confidence in his abilities. He believed that although he was only level-13, with his deep understanding and knowledge of Magic, he had the capability to defeat anyone at the Archmage-level. The deadlock he had with the Lich at the beginning reaffirmed this confidence. When Sarsen felt that a level-13 could be on par with a Lich with at least level-15, he was full of pride.

    However...

    What followed the three Icy Frost transformed the battle into aplete nightmare.

    Then, Sarsen realized how far were his abilities from the Archmage-level creature¡¯s.

    It was the distance of heaven and hell.

    He had no strength to defend himself against the Mental Spell of the Lich at all. Just like amb in the ughterhouse, he could simrly only struggle helplessly under the butcher¡¯s knife.

    Being entrapped in the skeletal prison, even with Sarsen¡¯s previous arrogance, he had no other choice but to reach out for the Teleportation Scroll in his pocket...

    Everyone could hear the croaky recitation through the chinks of the cell. The Skeleton Staff on its hand glowed, and when the Lich waved it in the air, what filled the air was ck fog, and a pungent rotting stench that stole everyone¡¯s breath.

    <i>It¡¯s here...</i>

    Lin Li tightened his grip on his staff, and increased the force within the torrent of mana gradually.

    The fog in the air got thicker and thicker. Under the pressure of the heavy Death Energy, the fog transformed into a gigantic luminous ck sphere. A series of shrieks and screams sounded out from it, and shards of white bones circled rapidly.

    ¡°Sh*t...¡± Mason gasped even though he had confidence in his teammate. That was Death Sentence, a level-16 Dark Magic! It definitely would surpass that of an Archmage-level Dark Magic.

    The Lich¡¯s recitation was as though it came from hell. Every single rune carried a thick and deadly strength.

    After thest rune fell from the sky, a strong wind blew onto the cave.

    ¡°Szzz... Szzz...¡±

    The electric streaks that appeared on top of the ck sphere gave everyone goosebumps on their scalps. Dark Magic elements stirred, and a great ¡°BAM!¡± followed right after. Everyone¡¯s hearts sank to the lowest point immediately...

    ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the judge!¡±

    At the same time, the mana that Lin Li transferred into the torrents suddenly expanded.

 Chapter 151 - The Highlordéˆ¥æªš Ring

    <h4>Chapter 151: The Highlord¡¯s Ring</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The unending death aura emanated; Ka and the others took out their Teleportation Scrolls all at the same time.

    Against level-16 Dark Magic, Ka had no hesitation at all. No matter how important the trial mission was, it could not be more important than his life. Only a moron would choose to persist in this situation.

    Ka was secretly gloating as he took out his Teleportation Scroll, for he saw that the guy named Felic was still standing at the cave entrance and had no intention of taking out the Teleportation Scroll; there was even a reckless smile on his face.

    <i>Idiot, this is a Death Sentence...</i>

    Of course, Ka was just saying it in his heart. He was not foolish. There was not even time to escape from the Death Sentence, so how did he still have the mood to remind others? Besides, there wasn¡¯t any friendship between them at all; on the contrary, there was some friction. He wouldn¡¯t forget that the fellow had tried to drive himself away from the cave a while ago...

    Apart from Lin Li, only Orrin and Mason did not take out their Teleportation Scrolls among all others; they had too much trust in their teammates. To some extent, this trust had reached a blind level. Perhaps only they knew how perverse their teammate was. Let alone persisting in the Death Sentence, even if Lin Li said ¡°This stone tastes good, everyone try it¡±, they¡¯d probably pick one up immediately and gnaw at it.

    Having seen all kinds of perverted behaviors of their teammates, the thought that such a freak would stand foolishly under the Death Sentence to wait for death never crossed their minds at all.

    No kidding; this fellow would wait for death foolishly? Might as well say a herbivore Dragon existed¡ªit might be more believable...

    Faced with such an unprecedented Dark Magic, the group of young mages had different thoughts in their minds. However, Lin Li had no time to care about them. His eyes were fixed on the Sr Sphere falling from the sky as he slowly raised his right hand to magnify the magical elements within the Torrent of Elements...

    Almost immediately after the creation of the elemental channel, the Death Sentence was free from the shackles of the Lich¡¯s mental strength. The glow of the Sr Sphere made a deafening roar in the sky. Under the impact of the overwhelming Dark Magic element, the skeletal prison was destroyed almost instantaneously.

    Then...

    There was no ¡°then¡±.

    Bone fragments flew about outside the cave, and inside the cave, the silence was astonishing.

    Everyone froze; they stood rooted to the ground with a dazed look on their faces. All of them held the Teleportation Scrolls in their hands, but none of them could open it.

    Even Orrin and Mason were dumbfounded.

    They had already seen how perverse their teammate was back in the nna Guild of Magic, and both of them remembered the sh between Orrin and Matthias¡ªthe freak had received a burning fireball with his body then.

    But, after all, that was only a fireball. Compared with the Death Sentence earlier on, there was more than twice the difference in level; the disparity in power was as that of the ant and the elephant.

    Mason really wanted to bang the wall with his head. He wanted to grab the freak by his neck and shake him with all his might. <i>Are you really human!?</i>

    ¡°I... I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?¡± Ka rubbed his eyes in despair; he just couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. To make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming, he stretched out his hand and pinched his own thigh. The throb of pain that came from his thigh announced to him that it was all true...

    Ka¡¯s eyes were zed; as he looked at the cave entrance, he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

    All of this was too fake¡ªit was unbelievably fake.

    The mage from Jarrosus still stood casually at the cave entrance, and even the smile on his face remained unchanged. The only difference was that his right hand was raised, and a ring iid with a ck diamond shone dimly in the early morning sunshine...

    ¡°This...¡± Ka swallowed his saliva with difficulty.

    At present, not to mention Ka, even Sarsen, who had always been so arrogant, was almost scared out of his wits. His expression showed he was utterly confused, and his eyes were bigger than those of cattle. His open mouth was almost wide enough to stuff an egg in.

    It was just that Sarsen¡¯s thoughts were much moreplicated than Ka¡¯s.

    He was a real level-13 Magic Shooter. Besides Gryffindor, his magic level was the highest among the mages who participated in this trial. In fact, his goal from the beginning was Gryffindor. In his eyes, among the many trial mages, only the number-one magic genius of Fn was qualified to be his rival.

    However, the previous scene had thoroughly crushed all his perception...

    Lin Li was unhurt under the Death Sentence, and could even make level-16 Dark Magic disappear¡ªwhat kind of force was this?

    Faced with a force beyond the limits of a mortal, Sarsen felt an array ofplex emotions¡ªshock, joy, disappointment, and jealousy¡ªas several kinds of emotions surged up suddenly. He was dumbstruck for a moment as he looked at the figure at the cave¡¯s entrance.

    And at this moment, Lin Li did not hesitate to input a trace of mana into the Torrent of Elements. Directing the Death Sentence into the elemental channel was just the beginning; theplete release of its power was the real reason why Lin Li had waited so long.

    ¡°No... That¡¯s impossible!¡± Just as Lin Li was feeding a trace of mana into the Torrent of Elements, the hoarse voice of the Lich rang from the sky. ¡°Human... How could you possibly have the Butcher¡¯s ring?¡±

    ¡°Butcher?¡± Lin Li was a little stunned at first.

    But very soon, he almost encountered the bite of mana due to this word...

    Bhaskar lived in an age when the High Elves ruled over the world of Anril. The whole Fn Kingdom groaned under the butcher knives of the three Highlords. There was only one person whom Bhaskar was referring to as a Butcher¡ªthat was Osric, who had hanged 30,000 rebels overnight!

    Highlord Osric¡¯s ring...

    At the thought of this, even the calm Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be startled. The trace of mana he had fed into the Torrent of Elements nearly resulted in a bite.

    It was fortunate that his mental strength was powerful enough. Besides, the trace of mana was too weak; the sign of a bite had just surfaced when it was suppressed by Lin Li with his powerful mental strength. Otherwise, he¡¯d be affected by the bite of mana before he even managed to bombard the Death Sentence... If news of this were to spread, he¡¯d be a ridiculous joke before everyone else.

    This slight mistake also reminded Lin Li that there¡¯d be time to study the secrets of the ring, but there was only one chance to wipe out the Lich¡ªand it was now.

    Lin Li calmed his mind again as he abruptly magnified the mana in the Torrent of Elements.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Once again, a deafening roar sounded from the Death Sentence; but, this time, it was aimed at the Lich in the sky.

    Bhaskar had put up an Elemental Shield the moment it recognized the origin of the ring. At the same time, it waved the Skeleton Staff in its hand, and ayer of Skeletal Shield was firmly erected around it. It knew very well the power of the ring. If possible, it really wanted to flee back to its nest at once.

    However... this was impossible.

    The Death Sentence had been released; even with Bhaskar¡¯s strength of an Archmage, it could only rely on a variety of shields to hold out against the former. Unless it reached the Legendary-level and had the ability to teleport, it would never escape the mental lock of the Death Sentence.

    ¡°No!¡± As the ck Sr Sphere grew bigger and bigger in sight, Bhaskar let out a scream of despair...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Ka almost bit his tongue off when the scream of the Lich came. The look he cast on Lin Li afterwards was as if one of looking at a prehistoric dinosaur. He really wanted to ask: ¡°Is this fellow still a human?¡± Not to mention he could remain unhurt when confronted with the Death Sentence, now he had actually sted the Death Sentence back. <i>F*ck... could this b*tch be a spy that the undead creatures sent to the Guild of Magic?</i>

    Sarsen¡¯s face was as white as a sheet. After taking a nce at Lin Li, he finally sighed resignedly...

    He now knew how lucky he was. He had been so foolish back in the cave, getting into conflict with such a person.

    Thank God, thank Bhaskar...

    If it hadn¡¯t been for the sudden appearance of Bhaskar, he would have been half-cooked by the ming Hands.

    Massive Death Energy erupted with a deafening roar, swallowing Bhaskar almost instantly. The sudden release of the death aura was like a gale blowing up all over the sky. Sshing bone fragments hit the stone wall, making crisp, cracking sound as theynded.

    At this moment, the whole sky was shrouded in ck mist. The death aura, like substance, was so overwhelming that everyone couldn¡¯t breathe.

    At this time, even Orrin and Mason thought that the battle was over.

    Being hit directly with a level-16 magic spell... there was almost no doubt that one would die even with the strength of a Lich.

    However...

    They overlooked one point¡ªthe Lich was an undead creature. It was more resistant to Dark Magic than any other creatures. Moreover, it had the Elemental Shield and the Skeletal Shield. These two newly erected shields could help it neutralize most of the damage...

    The direct hit of the Death Sentence severely wounded Bhaskar indeed.

    But, a severe wound was only a wound; they were still a little short of killing it...

    After the storm had dispersed, Bhaskar fell from the sky with a plop like a broken kite. At this point in time, it no longer looked like the prestigious Lich it was. The loose ck robe had long turned into ashes under the Death Sentence. Even the deathly white Skeleton Staff had disappeared without a trace.

    When the crowd looked over, hardly anyone could imagine that the wrecked bones before them were formerly powerful Lich, Bhaskar.

    Among the people present, perhaps only Lin Li could imagine it. In fact, he had made preparations for it. After the release of the Death Sentence, he did not hesitate at all to open the Ring of Endless Storm. He took out an item from inside that was enough to send Bhaskar into eternal despair.

    ¡°No!¡± Bhaskar screamed again¡ªit was a scream more desperate and more forlorn than before.

    It was because it suddenly saw that the mage with the Highlord¡¯s ring had taken out a weapon that was filled with the Holy Scent.

    Lin Li held in his hand a crossbow made of refined iron, and the pure Holy Scent was emitted from the silver bolt...

    At this moment, Bhaskar was regretting its guts out¡ªif it had guts...

    If possible, it would really prefer to never appear and stay in its nest forever than encounter such a terrifying fellow. Look at what the unbelievable mage had done. The Highlord Osric¡¯s ring... was that something a human should have? In Bhaskar¡¯s time, that ring had taken the lives of countless mages. For a long time, the rebels could not help but tremble with fear every time they mentioned the ring. To think that he¡¯d met with this thing again after 1,200 years...

    As for the refined iron crossbow, it hadpletely plunged Bhaskar into the depths of despair.

    The pure Holy Scent was the real nemesis of the undead creatures.

    Having lost his strength, Bhaskar could only watch the other party draw the crossbow, load it with the bolt that was filled with the Holy Scent, and then slowly raise it, aiming at his chest...

    After all this, Lin Li repeated what he had said before. ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s the judge!¡±

 Chapter 152 - Sunéˆ¥æªš Spike

    <h4>Chapter 152: Sun¡¯s Spike</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Almost at the same time, a sliver of light had cut through the skies. The bolt possessing the Divine Power plunged urately between the two will-o-the-wisps with its shadow in tow...

    ¡°No!¡± The scream of the Lich was filled with despair. Strong Divine Power erupted, and in an instant, only a silver ze arose.

    The body of the Lich was melting as fast as snow in the sunshine in the middle of this silver ze. As the silver ze grew stronger and stronger, the screams of the Lich became fainter and fainter. Finally, it waspletely turned into a pile of ashes.

    The lingering ck mist cleared away at once, and the sky was blue again. With the death of Bhaskar, everything returned to its original tranquility.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Standing in the ce where Bhaskar died, Lin Li took in a breath heavily before bending down and gently pulling the bolt from the ashes.

    It was called the Sun¡¯s Spike, and was among Lin Li¡¯s most unsessful investments so far.

    Why ¡°among¡±?

    In addition to the Sun¡¯s Spike, there was another one¡ªHollow Spike. The two crossbows¡ªone of light and one of dark¡ªhad cost Lin Li a total of 200,000 gold coins.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had spent a lot of thought in order to get these two crossbows. Who knew that shortly after acquiring them, the Hunter had received the Stars of Fury. In addition to its amazing power, this mythical weapon also came with seven bolts made of Meteorite Debris, each of which contained unparalleled power.

    With the seven Meteorite Debris bolts in hand, the Sun and Hollow Spikes were naturally no longer useful. The sharp weapons that were bought with 200,000 gold coins could only be set aside in the Ring of Endless Storm, such that for a long time afterwards, Lin Li was unable to raise his head because of this matter. He referred to them as his two most unsessful investments.

    He¡¯d never thought that these two most unsessful investments would have suddenly erupted in another world, killing Bhaskar, who could not even be destroyed by the Death Sentence, in one fell swoop.

    Lin Li kept the Sun¡¯s Spike back into the Ring of Endless Storm, then looked at the ashes on the ground, and spoke without any rhyme or reason, ¡°You died justly...¡±

    Lin Li was about to leave after uttering these words that he himself did not even understand when he suddenly discovered thick, ck mist surging up from the pile of ashes.

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    With the previous experience, Lin Li took out the strange crystal from his pocket without any hesitation this time; then, he saw that thick, ck mist pouring into the crystal as if attracted by some kind of force...

    With the continuous influx of the ck mist, the crystal in his hand began to warm up¡ªjust like when he had entered the Shadowglen!

    ¡°I get it, I get it...¡± This time, he really understood.

    Lin Li was even certain that among the many mageweaths engraved on the crystal, one had to be used to absorb the power of death. After the power of death was absorbed, some of it had to be converted into mana to maintain the normal functioning of that huge mageweath array, while the rest was stored. When this power reached its limit, the creature that was sealed in it could be activated.

    It was like the other night, when the Shapeshifter suddenly appeared as they were dealing with the high-level Vampire.

    Of course...

    All these were merely Lin Li¡¯s spections. The secrets of the crystal could only be unravelled after he had studied the mageweath array thoroughly.

    Even with Lin Li¡¯s strength as an Inscription Guru, it was not an easy thing to study that mageweath array thoroughly. It was an extremely huge andplicated process; Lin Li would need a lot of time to understand and analyze it, and the Shadowglen was obviously not a suitable ce to do that.

    Lin Li shook his head helplessly. He threw the maroon crystal into his pocket, then slowly walked back to the cave.

    When he returned to the cave, almost everyone was looking at him as if they were looking at a dinosaur.

    The others were not to be med for making a fuss; why did he have to behave in such a perverse manner in the first ce? Think back to what he¡¯d done¡ªhe had absorbed the Death Sentence with the Torrent of Elements, and then released it instantaneously, severely wounding the powerful Lich.

    And he wasn¡¯t done after all this¡ªhe had pulled out a crossbow that was emitting massive Divine Power...

    Having done such a wicked thing, he couldn¡¯t me others for looking at him as if he was a dinosaur...

    When the Lich was turned into ashes, almost all of them wanted to strangle him by his neck and ask, ¡°Do you dare to be a little more perverse?¡±

    Alright, he wouldn¡¯t dare anymore...

    The rest of the day was calm. Not to mention powerful undead creatures like the Lich, even creatures such as the Skeletal Warriors had no chance to appear in the public eye, and Lin Li naturally had no asion to disy his perverseness.

    That night, Ka and others were not driven out of the cave. Lin Li¡¯s exnation was that they did well during the day, so this was a reward for them.

    In the past, Fedrick would have been furious, but after the day¡¯s battle, he was almost turning crazy. How could he have the courage to be furious? After nightfall, Fedrick found a corner and spread his nket meekly. In order to be on the safe side, he even asked Sarsen to helpy a Ward of Secrecy around him before going to bed for fear of snoring in the middle of the night and bringing disaster to himself...

    At dusk the next day, the seven-days trial finally came to an end.

    When the melodious bell sounded over Shadowglen, Ka and the others could hardly wait to pull out their Teleportation Scrolls. No one wanted to stay in a ghostly ce like the Shadowglen, let alone live in a cave and be subjected to the changing moods of a freak...

    ***

    Lin Li was just recovering from the giddiness brought about by the teleportation when he saw Macklin¡¯s drab, old face.

    ¡°You boys, get out and take a shower. Are you all trying to stink me to death...¡± the old man chided, but the joy in his tone could not be concealed.

    In any case, he was the trial mentor; his disciples had lived in the Shadowglen for seven days, and hadpleted the trial mission with an almost perfect result. It was absolutely a lie to say that he was unhappy. In fact, although the old fellow was outwardly scolding them, he was actually blooming with joy in his heart. These few kids had not let him down indeed; Macklin knew better how dangerous the Shadowglen was. Even he himself didn¡¯t expect the boys could reallyst for seven days...

    ¡°Damn, let¡¯s see if that idiot, Darian, has anything else to say...¡± Macklin scolded fiercely as he watched the three figures recede.

    He was utterly browned off by Darian in the past few days.

    Darian was also some genius. While Lin Li and others were fulfilling their trial missions in the Shadowglen, he hade to Macklin every single day to persuade thetter to deal with the Jarrosus mage who had hurt his nephew.

    Macklin really didn¡¯t understand why he had such great energy.

    In the past seven days, Darian had been reporting in his tent after lunch every day. He¡¯d begin with criticizing Gerian, who was far away in Jarrosus. He¡¯d talk about how impolite, how arrogant, how overbearing, and how cruel he was. In short, all the adjectives that could nder one were used on the fat man...

    Then it was Felic¡¯s turn...

    Everytime he mentioned this matter, Darian would put on a tragic face, desperately trying to use the country mage from Jarrosus of how nasty he was, as well as how perverse a method he had used to mutte his nephew. He also said that although his nephew had not contributed much to the Guild of Magic in recent years, he had been diligent after all. It was a pity that no one had spoken up for him even though he was badly injured, et cetera...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Macklin was boiling with anger at the thought of this; he wanted to throttle Darian and ask, <i>Are you f*cking done with this?</i>

    Unfortunately, Darian was an Archmage, after all. He was also an important member of the nna Guild of Magic. Even if Macklin was upset, he still had to show him some due respect on the surface.

    Macklin really had had enough of it these days. The bombardment of words every day had almost brought him a mental breakdown. He swore that when the trial was over, he would find a way to transfer that idiot, Darian, to a remote mountainous area. If possible, he¡¯d send him to the Ogre¡¯s nest so that he couldn¡¯t appear in nna for the rest of his life.

    However, it was all right now; these three boys hadpleted the trial mission of the Supreme Council. From today onwards, they¡¯d be the young mages that the Supreme Council would pay special attention to.

    <i>Damn you, Darian, go and find trouble with the Supreme Council if you have the ability. What¡¯s the use of pestering me every day... </i>the old fellow thought shamelessly. <i>I¡¯d like to see if the people from the Supreme Council are cultured like me...</i>

    ...

    ¡°Good evening, Mr Macklin.¡± Lin Li and others took afortable hot bath and each changed into a clean mage robe¡ªall three of them looked refreshed at present.

    ¡°How is it, you didn¡¯t encounter too big of a trouble in the Shadowglen, right?¡± Macklin was in a good mood, having solved a big problem which was Darian. He was showing concern for his disciples¡ªsomething that was rare of him.

    ¡°...¡± Mason swallowed his saliva. As a matter of fact, he wanted to ask Macklin,<i>Is a Vampire above level-18 and a Lich of at least level-16 considered ¡°too big of a trouble¡±?</i>

    ¡°We didn¡¯t encounter that big a trouble¡±¡ªLin Li nodded his head and smiled with ease¡ª¡±but we saw two groups of undead fighting each other. I wonder what was that about.¡±

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    Macklin was taken aback; he hurriedly called the three guys into his tent, and after looking around and making sure that no one was eavesdropping, he lowered his voice and asked, ¡°You boys really saw two groups of undead fighting each other?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was splendid!¡± Mason was already talking with great rapture without waiting for Lin Li to speak. From the thousands of Skeletal Warriors to therge number of high-level undead creatures creeping from the depths of Shadowglen... this fellow always liked to exaggerate, so everything about the size of a sesame was described as a watermelon in his mouth. Besides, the war of the undead was so great in power and impetus that it sounded like the end of the worlding from him. Even someone with great experience like Macklin was taken aback by it.

    ¡°Damn, you guys are lucky...¡± After Macklin heard from them, he remained dazed for a long while before sighing with emotion. ¡°Do you guys know why the undead were fighting each other?¡±

    Mason was startled. ¡°Could it be a crime of passion?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin almost pped Mason on the head. <i>Crime of passion from the undead creatures? You can kill one for me to see...</i>

    ¡°Was someone manipting them in the dark?¡± Lin Li probed.

    ¡°Half right.¡± Macklin nodded, and then went on to say, ¡°They were not manipted by human beings, but by two powerful undead creatures¡ªone a level-22 Lich, and the other a level-22 Skeletal Lord. For some reasons unknown, these two creatures have been fighting for a long time since the Dark Ages. Almost every once in a while, they will start arge-scale war of the undead.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? Two level-20 undead creatures?¡± Lin Li started in fright.

    ¡°Do you know how bad it was now? That¡¯s why I said that you boys were lucky enough to be involved in such a fight and stille back alive...¡±

    The three of them broke out in a cold sweat at Macklin¡¯s words.

    Mason and Orrin felt extremely thankful¡ªluckily, they were grouped with Felic. If it hadn¡¯t been for his Petrifying Potion, they might have been captured by the group of undead creatures and presented to the two powerful undead lords as tribute.

    ¡°Alright, cut the crap. Now let¡¯s get on with business.¡±

    ¡°What business?¡±

    ¡°You all have done well this time.¡± Macklin¡¯s creepy old face revealed a rare hint of admiration. ¡°24 mages participated in the trial, but only 13pleted it, and you boys made up three of them. Before you left, I told you that this trial was decided by the Supreme Council. That is to say... the reward for aplishing the mission will also be issued by the Supreme Council.¡±

    ¡°Reward?¡± Mason¡¯s eyes lit up at once.

    ¡°Yes, reward!¡± The old man was in a good mood. His disciples were rewarded by the Supreme Council; as their trial mentor, he was naturally proud of it.

    ¡°Heh heh, Mr Macklin, can you tell us in advance what kind of reward is the Supreme Council giving us?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Damn...¡±

    ¡°But I can disclose in advance the nna Guild of Magic¡¯s reward to you...¡± The old man grinned, and whispered, ¡°Congrattions, you are free to enter and exit the Omniscient Tower for the next two months!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Not to mention Mason, even Orrin and Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up at the mention of it. What kind of ce was the Omniscient Tower? It was thergest library in the whole Fn Kingdom. For mages, the Omniscient Tower was an absolute treasure house of magic. The vast majority of spells circted in Anril today could be found in it.

    Moreover, every mage who had ever entered the Omniscient Tower would leave a reading note in it. To some extent, this reading note was equivalent to a mage¡¯s lifelong research experience¡ªthis was not a joking matter. No matter how ipetent a mage was, he would acquire some unique skills more or less in the decades and centuries of research. These skills were the most precious gift in the world for mages.

    Moreover, which of the mages who could enter the Omniscient Tower were ipetent stuff?

    For the mages of the Fn Kingdom, the Omniscient Tower was a true Holy Land of magic.

    Even Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but get excited at the thought of being able to enter the Omniscient Tower.

    Forget about those lost spells; those reading notes were something really precious things to him. After all, he was exposed to magic only for a short period of time. Although Andoine hadid a solid foundation for him, he had no time to master some of the more peculiar spell-casting skills. If he could enter the Omniscient Tower, his strength could at least be raised to a higher level...

    Lin Li pondered, and asked with some doubt, ¡°By the way, Mr Macklin, if we go to the Omniscient Tower to study, will we have enough time toplete the next trial mission?¡±

    ¡°Trial mission?¡± Macklin chided angrily. ¡°What other trial missions are there? You have aplished the mission issued by the Supreme Council. Would I possibly make you stay in the Shadowglen for another month?¡±

    ¡°Then...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no more trial missions.¡± Macklin¡¯s reply was very simple this time. ¡°In the next two months or so, you can stay at the Omniscient Tower every day to study as you await the finals, and then... You guys can go back to your guilds.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t bad...¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done here. You boys, quickly pack your things and return to nna with me.¡±

    ...

    The party of four returned to the nna Guild of Magic after a bumpy carriage ride.

    ¡°Oh, right, Felic, wait a minute. I have something to discuss with you.¡± Macklin stopped Lin Li after they¡¯d entered the guild hall.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± After the old man stopped Lin Li, he stood there and rubbed his hands in embarrassment. It seemed that he didn¡¯t know how to broach the subject.

    ¡°Mr Macklin, is it about magical weapons?¡± Lin Li knew what the old man wished to say upon seeing thetter¡¯s expression.The old fellow had to be worried and want Lin Li to give him some assurance, but he was afraid he¡¯d anger Lin Li with his words, so he was all shilly-shallying there, acting like a sissy...

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to forge one now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± The old fellow nodded in session.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s straightforward reply was totally unexpected to Macklin, such that the old fellow stood there dazed for a long time beforeing to a realization. For a moment, his smiles were all about ttery. ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great. I knew you¡¯re honest and kind. Come,e. Let¡¯s slowly talk about it in the smithy...¡±

    Macklin heaved a long sigh of relief when he led Lin Li out of the guild hall. To be honest, he was afraid that this kid would not agree, and even more afraid that his words would offend him. The sentence earlier on was euphemistic, but the worry was undoubtedly expressed.

    Macklin had lived for a long enough time to understand that anyone who had a certain ability would inevitably have some strange temper. Especially in the field where they were good at, no one could tolerate the slightest doubt. It was like the kid in front of him¡ªhe seemed to be very easy to talk to, but Macklin knew very well that this kid had a more terrific temper than anybody else.

    Luckily, the kid was understanding today...

    At the thought of this, the old fellow heaved a sigh of relief.

    Lin Li did not speak as he followed Macklin out of the guild hall.

    He could understand Macklin¡¯s feelings. After all, it was a bet on the future of the guild; even if the old man had trust in him, it was entirely reasonable for him to be worried as well. It was not too much trouble for Lin Li if he could use a weapon to calm the old man down. Furthermore, he had just obtained two fangs and a magical crystal; he could mighty well make use of this opportunity to put them to good use...

 Chapter 153 - Frostfire Sword

    <h4>Chapter 153: Frostfire Sword</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Aldwin had been waiting outside the smithy for a long while by the time the two hade.

    The President, who had always been calm andposed, was quite different today. There was anxiety all over his aged face; his moping disposition made it really hard for people to rte him with the strongest mage in Fn. At present, nna was pacing around anxiously with his hands behind his back. He did not look like the President of the nna Guild of Magic, but rather like an ant crawling on a hot pot.

    It was not until Macklin and Lin Li¡¯s figures appeared at the other end of the corridor that Aldwin finally showed a somewhat relieved expression on his face.

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you, Felic.¡± The President came forward with an apologetic smile on his face.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Lin Li smiled. He was not unhappy; this concerned the future of the guild, after all. He¡¯d most likely be like Aldwin if he were to be in thetter¡¯s position.

    Anyway, there were also two Vampire fangs that needed to be studied. It¡¯d only take him a little more time to let the two of thempletely rest assured, lest both should have to worry all day long even when they were getting old. In case something went wrong one day, wouldn¡¯t he havemitted a sin...?

    ¡°Uh... Felic...¡± Aldwin hesitated for a while, and took out something from his pocket.

    It was a yellowish parchment that looked like it had been around for some years. There were still some burn marks on the corners and the edges¡ªit looked like it was caused by spatters of sparks.

    ¡°Take a look at this and see if you have confidence in this?¡±

    Lin Li was puzzled at first; when he took the parchment and looked at it, he realized that it was a blueprint of the Frost Shadowbane.

    ¡°Well, there should be no problem...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He really didn¡¯t know how to exin it to Aldwin at that moment.

    The Frost Shadowbane was the lowest-level magical weapon. Any cksmith who had reached the higher tier of mastery did not require any blueprint to forge the Frost Shadowbane. What was more, Lin Li was someone who was at the top of the forging profession.

    However, it was impossible to exin such a thing.

    Anyway, Lin Li had already received the blueprint. He had no option but to hold onto it for the time being.

    Seeing the strange look on Lin Li¡¯s face, Aldwin thought he wascking in confidence, and hurriedlyforted him with a few words. ¡°All you have to do is try your best. We still have time. Even if it¡¯s not sessful, it¡¯s not a big deal...¡±

    ¡°I will...¡± Lin Li nodded, and said nothing more. He took the blueprint, and went into the smithy.

    After closing the door behind him, Lin Li smoothly threw several pieces of refined iron into the furnace. Then, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and began to study the fangs of the two Vampires.

    On the day he had obtained the fangs, Lin Li was going to set them on a dagger. After all, mages were not warriors; excessive use of metal weapons would affect the control of mana. After careful thought, the only weapon he could use for closebat was probably a dagger.

    But, the battle with the Lich had changed Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    When the Sun¡¯s Spike was fired, a sudden thought popped up in his mind¡ªwhy not make a crossbow for himself?

    Although the dagger was light and convenient, its power was really limited. He was a mage, above all, and had few opportunities to fight in close quarters. Even if the dagger was iid with Vampire fangs, it¡¯d still be very difficult to exert its power. But, it would be different if it were a crossbow bolt¡ªit was simrly light and convenient, but the power was much greater. It could be used both at a long range or a close range, and it could be used on a variety of powerful crossbows, such as the Sun and Hollow Spike that was stored in the Ring of Endless Storm...

    Also...

    Perhaps there were few people who were more proficient than Lin Li in shooting enemies from a long distance. Before he came to this world, he was a Super Hunter.

    Lin Li threw the refined iron into the furnace; he had already outlined several designs in his mind. As a Smithing Guru, countless of crossbow blueprints had been installed in his mind. What he needed to do now was to choose a scheme from these blueprints that could give full y to the Vampire fangs.

    Meanwhile, the two most important figures in the nna Guild of Magic were pacing back and forth restlessly like ants on a hot pan.

    ¡°Say, do you think the kid can do it?¡± Macklin frowned firmly such that his brows were almosting together.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± The President¡¯s face was not much better than Macklin¡¯s; since breaking through the Legendary Realm, he had probably never been as nervous as today.

    The Adventurers Guild had already found an Inscriber who could chart high-level mageweaths as early as six months ago. In contrast, the nna Guild of Magic took a full year to find Felic, their only hope. The nna Guild of Magic today could be said to be pushed onto the edge of a cliff.

    This was a big deal. Aldwin couldn¡¯t help being nervous...

    Perhaps not even Aldwin himself had imagined that, one day, he would hand over the fate of the guild to a young mage under the age of 20.

    ¡°Too young...¡± Aldwin shook his head in spite of himself at the thought of this.

    This was the point Aldwin was worried about¡ªFelic was simply too young.

    Although Aldwin¡¯s forging level was not much, he had nevertheless done some research on this profession. He knew that forging in general was not difficult. As long as one was strong enough to pull the bellows and lift the hammer, one could forge a decent piece of equipment; but, once it came down to the field of magical equipment, it was another matter altogether.

    Aldwin had studied the blueprint of the Frost Shadowbane for at least a month.

    He knew very well that the blueprint of magical weapons was no simpler than a Magic Shooter-level spell; it required too much expertise. If one didn¡¯t spend a lot of time on it, one wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out the ropes.

    There was no doubt that Felic was a real genius; otherwise, he would not have reached the rank of a level-13 Magic Shooter at the age of only 20.

    But, even the most talented person couldn¡¯t stop the flow of time. Bing a cksmith required arge amount of time. How could he have enough experience when he was in his twenties?

    The President paced back and forth with his hands behind his back outside the smithy.

    Felic had been inside for almost half an hour, and there wasn¡¯t any sound of hammering yet; Aldwin was really worried. Could something be wrong, seeing that there hadn¡¯t been any movement inside for such a long time...?

    It happened that, at this time, Macklin had to ask with a face of apprehension, ¡± Say, if it doesn¡¯t work...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Aldwin shot him a threatening look. This fellow just had to rub his nose in it; was he trying to make him anxious by saying such discouraging words at this point in time...?

    ¡°Dding, ddang, dding, ddang...¡±

    At this moment, there was finally the sound of nkinging from the forging workshop.

    When the sound of iron being hit came, the two top figures in magic rushed forward almost at the same time, desperately sticking their ears to the door, hoping to recognize the forging progress through this crisp sound of nking...

    The two of them could be regarded as the top mages even in the entire Fn Kingdom. However, they were two real rookies in the field of forging. As they put their ears to the door, it was merely to console themselves, for they could not even make a thing out of it at all.

    Before they could make out something, the loud nking noise ceased, and then there was a soft sizzling...

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Macklin remembered the sound; drawing from his half-baked forging experience, it seemed to be quenching.

    ¡°No way...¡± Aldwin did not believe it; he stuck his ear to the door to listen once more.

    But, before he could lean his head over, the door opened with a creak.

    Then, they saw Lin Li walk out of the smithy with a smile on his face.

    ¡°D-done?¡± Macklin opened his mouth. His wretched face was full of incredulity.

    ¡°Done.¡± Lin Li nodded. He stretched out his hand, pointing to the anvil in the workshop.

    The two men looked along the direction of Lin Li¡¯s finger, and saw a single-handed sword lying quietly on the anvil. A faint magical wave slowly passed from the polished sword.

    ¡°Wrong...¡± Macklin was about to enter the door when he suddenly noticed a slight abnormality. The magical wave on the one-handed sword seemed different from what he imagined. Theoretically, ice magical element should pervade the Frost Shadowbane; how could he sense a scorching aura on this sword?

    ¡°Howe... howe it¡¯s of fire magical element?¡±

    Aldwin was confused as well. After carefully taking in the magical aura on the one-handed sword, he shook his head again. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not only fire magical element, but also ice magic element. Felic... what is going on? How can there be two kinds of magical elements?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and smiled, embarrassed. ¡°I just suddenly remembered that I seem to have forgotten how to forge the Frost Shadowbane, and seeing that the materials were just right, I conveniently made a Frostfire Sword...¡±

    ¡°...¡¯ Macklin nearly banged his head on the wall upon hearing it. What did the kid just say? He seemed to say, conveniently made a Frostfire Sword?

    Bloody hell... The Frostfire Sword could also be conveniently forged?

    Macklin almost had a heart attack at those words.

    The old man was an Archmage, at any rate. How could he not know what the Frostfire Sword was?

    This was a weapon with two magical attributes¡ªand they were fire and ice, no less. To integrate these twopletely conflicting attributes into a weapon was not something as easy as one plus one equalling two. Even if they were to look all over nna, they might not be able to find several cksmiths who could forge the Frostfire Sword...

    Macklin knew very well that a cksmith who could forge a Frostfire Sword had at least an advanced forging level, and might even approach the legendary Master of Forging!

    ¡°High-level cksmith...¡± Macklin had the sense he was going crazy just at the thought of it.

    A mage with an advanced forging level¡ªwhat was the difference between this and a herbivorous dragon? Oh, no... it was something rarer than a herbivore dragon. After all, the dragon could be forced into being a herbivore, but there might only be a mage with advanced forging skills in the whole of Anril, and that was Felic...

    ¡°F*ck, pervert...¡± Macklin held back for long before finally choking these two words out.

    He really understood now that this kid could not be measured by human standards. Age, experience, and genius were of no significance to this kid at all. He was a living dinosaur¡ªthere¡¯d only be things you couldn¡¯t think of, but there¡¯d never be things that he couldn¡¯t do.

    Lin Li waited there for a long time, but there was nothing that followed from Macklin. So, he had to remind him conscientiously, ¡°Mr Macklin, if there¡¯s nothing else, can I go back to my room first? You know, the mission this time was really somewhat...¡±

    After being asked by Lin Li, Macklin came to his senses, and hurriedly stepped aside to make way for Lin Li. Before leaving, Macklin reminded him with a simper, ¡°Oh, yes yes yes. Go back and take a rest. Do, do take a good rest; don¡¯t tire yourself out...¡±

    ¡°Then, goodbye...¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    When returning to the guild hall, Lin Li reached into his pocket and touched the two crossbow bolts, which still had some lingering warmth. His biggest harvest going to the smithy today was those two. He was itching to find a ce to try them now. How powerful would these two crossbow bolts forged with the Vampire fangs be?

 Chapter 154 - Omniscient Tower

    <h4>Chapter 154: Omniscient Tower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I¡¯ll write to Gerian right away!¡± Macklin stood at the door of the smithy and looked at the Frostfire Sword with a zed expression on his face. After staring at it for more than half an hour, he finally said, ¡°I must have a good talk with that fatty Gerian...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to write...¡± Aldwin¡¯s face was also zed, but as President of the nna Guild of Magic, his vision reached farther than Macklin¡¯s. ¡°Gerian will not let him go. I just learned two days ago that the Emerald Tower has unified the whole city of Jarrosus, and all this happened in two months. Just think, didn¡¯t Felicplete his level certification in Jarrosus Guild of Magic two months ago? Gerian must be clearer about Felic than us. With his character, how could he easily let him go...¡±

    ¡°Gerian, this darned fatty...¡± Macklin thought for a moment, and knew that the President was telling the truth. It had not been a year or two since he knew Gerian. How could he not know that this arrogant-looking, seemingly unscheming fat man was actually more cunning than a fox?

    Macklin could even be sure that the reason why Felic participated in this trial as a level-seven mage was mostly Gerian¡¯s idea.

    Why a level-seven mage? Wasn¡¯t it because the fat man was worried that Felic was so outstanding that the nna Guild of Magic, and even the Supreme Council, would covet him?

    Damn it, letting a level-12 Magic Shooter disguise as a level-seven mage¡ªthis darned fatty was indeed despicable to think of such thing...

    Macklin really wanted to ask Gerian: why didn¡¯t you just let hime as a mage apprentice instead?

    ¡°Is there really nothing you can do about it?¡± Macklin kept thinking about it; he refused to give up. Felic was simply too outstanding¡ªthere might not be another such talent like him in hundreds of years. No matter how, Macklin was unwilling to see him slip away from his own hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult...¡± Aldwin stared at the Frostfire Sword¡ªwhich was emitting a faint magical wave¡ªin the smithy; there was some helplessness in his expression. ¡°To be honest,pared with the Emerald Tower, we have no advantage at all...¡±

    ¡°Why not? We are the top Guild of Magic in the Fn Kingdom. We can offer the best treatment to the members of the guild, including magical equipment, research materials, spells, and even the opportunity to receive guidance from the Supreme Council. Can the Emerald Tower afford these things?¡±

    Aldwin shook his head. ¡°The question is, do you think these advantages are of any significance?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin opened his mouth and wanted to refute Aldwin, but after pondering it over, he suddenly realized that Aldwin was right. These things, which an ordinary mage longed for, seemed to be meaningless to that freak.

    Magical equipment needn¡¯t be mentioned¡ªhe was a pharmacist-cum-cksmith. He could just move his hands, and innumerable gold coins would be pouring down from the sky. He could just spend all the money he wanted for any magical equipment; was there still a need for the guild to provide it?

    The same was true for research materials. As long as you had money, there would naturally be a lot of adventurers willing to contribute to you. What research materials were beyond your reach?

    Of course, the top-level ones were certainly not possible. After all, those things had gone beyond the scope of money.

    The problem was...

    The nna Guild of Magic was simrly unable to provide the aforementioned top-level equipment and materials that had gone beyond the scope of money...

    As for the various kinds of spells... Don¡¯t even mention it. What was his rtionship with Andoine? The old fellow was the authority on High Elves relics. He probably held more lost spells than the whole of nna Guild of Magicbined...

    ¡°Damn...¡± Macklin mulled it over for a long time, and had to admit gloomily thatpared to the darned fatty¡¯s Emerald Tower, the nna Guild of Magic really had no advantage at all.

    ¡°However...¡± Hearing Macklin¡¯s curse, Aldwin¡¯s face revealed a hint of smile. ¡°Frankly speaking, it¡¯s not true that there¡¯s no way around this matter at all...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Macklin started, and asked eagerly, ¡°What ways are there?¡±

    ¡°Felic has been in nna for about ten days, right? You are his trial mentor. Think carefully about what he has done in these ten days...¡±

    Macklin listened with a nk face. He couldn¡¯t understand why Aldwin had suddenly asked such a question.

    In his opinion, the question was too simple. What the kid had done in the past ten days could be summed up in two words¡ª¡±terrifying¡± and ¡°provocative¡±...

    A trial mentor for this kid was like audience of horror stories¡ªhe was in a state of shock from the beginning to the end.

    For the past ten days, the kid had been doing the same thing¡ªconstantly using various abnormal ways to frighten everyone who knew him.

    ... In particr his two poor teammates. Macklin really sympathized with the two little fellows. They had taken part in the trial together with such a monster. If their psychological qualities were slightly weaker, they would have been frightened out of their nerves long ago.

    Apart from this, what the fellow loved to do was to stir up trouble.

    This bizarre hobby of his troubled Macklin.

    He was only in nna for ten days, but had crippled two men¡ªit was more atrocious than Gerian back then...

    Needless to say, Darian¡¯s nephew was inexplicably beaten into a cripple, such that Darian hade to him every day, wailing and demanding him to give an exnation, especially while they were in the Shadowglen the past few days¡ªthis fellow was only short of moving his sleeping bag into Macklin¡¯s tent.

    Oh, right. Then, there was Matthias...

    Compared with Darian¡¯s useless nephew, breaking Matthias¡¯ limbs was a greater headache to Macklin.

    This matter could be said to be quite troublesome. Matthias himself was not very outstanding, but his family held considerable power in the Fn Kingdom. At first, the Guild of Magic went through a lot of trouble to calm this matter down. Eventually, even Aldwin himself had spoken up, so the matter was finally suppressed for the time being. But, it was only temporary; Matthias knew that this matter was far from over...

    ¡°This kid is really...¡± Macklin thought over it for a long time, and even startled himself. Why hadn¡¯t he noticed before that this kid was such a troublemaker?

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s Madrick or Matthias, the reason why Felic shed with them is the same...¡±

    Macklin¡¯s eyes brightened suddenly at these words.

    Yes, both conflicts were in full view of the public. As his trial mentor, he had also inquired witnesses about it. Madrick had attacked Felic¡¯s attendant, while Matthias had attacked Felic¡¯s teammate. From these two events, it could be concluded that this kid was someone who would shield the shorings of his acquaintances¡ªhe would dare to kill anyone who dared toy a hand on his friends.

    Macklin picked at a few strands of his goat-like beard. After pondering for a long time, he asked doubtfully, ¡°Do you mean we should start with Felic¡¯s friends?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... That¡¯s too obvious.¡± Aldwin shook his head, and a hint of smile loomed on his face. ¡°This young man is smarter than you think. This apparent rope-in is meaningless to him. We need to be more implicit...¡±

    ¡°What kind of implicit?¡±

    ¡°Emerald Tower.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin almost spat out a mouthful of blood. After half a day¡¯s work, it was still Jarrosus¡ªwhat was the difference between that and not saying?

    ¡°In fact, it is very simple. What we have to do is to strive for the interests of the Emerald Tower as much as possible and win the favor of this young man in this way.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we benefitting that darned fatty too much?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing benefitting or not. Do you think people like Felic will stay in the Fn Kingdom all the time? The Fn Kingdom won¡¯t be able to keep him. Young people like Felic wille into contact with therger world sooner orter. By that time, there will be no difference whether he belongs to the Emerald Tower or the nna Guild of Magic. All we have to do is to win his friendship before that. That¡¯s enough...¡±

    ¡°But, with this kid around, will other benefits interest the Emerald Tower?¡±

    ¡°No one would dislike having too much benefits. When Isaac came back the other day, he mentioned to me that the Emerald Tower was entangled with a force called the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Maybe we can think of something about it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will handle this matter.¡±

    The two most important figures of the nna Guild of Magic stood outside the smithy and talked for almost two to three hours before deciding on the whole matter. When Macklin left, there was a glimmer of a smile on his grim face.

    ...

    Lin Li held the crossbow bolts made with two Vampire fangs and walked slowly all the way back to his dormitory. Just as he opened the door, he saw three guys gorging on their food.

    ¡°What are you doing...¡± Lin Li was appalled. Forget about Sean¡ªhe was a bear, anyway. But when did Mason and Orrin, these two genteel and refined mages, learn to eat so crudely?

    ¡°Felic...¡± Mason shoved two pieces of bread into his mouth. Then, he raised his head in a hurry and gave an ambiguous greeting, ¡°Come quick, I¡¯ve left you something to eat...¡±

    ¡°Why are you all so hungry?¡± Lin Li remembered that everyone had eaten something before returning from the Shadowglen. How had they all turned into hungry ghosts in just a few hours?

    ¡°We must hurry.¡± Orrin tore up a small piece of bread and put it into his mouth. It seemed very gentle, but the frequency with which he delivered food to his mouth was a little frightening. In the duration of this sentence, he had eaten more than Mason. ¡°The Omniscient Tower is closing.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li then remembered that the Omniscient Tower was only opened from 9 am to 9 pm; and looking out at the sky, it seemed that there was not much time left until 9 pm. No wonder the two guys were eating so ferociously... But why was Sean following them?

    ¡°Sean, you have some matter too?¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s inquiry, Sean quickly put down his food, and answered honestly, ¡°No, Mr Felic.¡±

    ¡°Then, why are you eating so ferociously as well?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hungry...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li shook his head, then grabbed a piece of bread from the table and went back to his room.

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯re not eating?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just eat some bread. Remember to call me when you¡¯re going out.¡±

    Lin Li closed the door gently. He fumbled about in his pocket, and took out the crossbow bolts made of the two Vampire fangs.

    At first, he wanted to use the Vampire fangs on the crossbows, but when he finished studying the crossbow blueprint, it suddenly urred to him that they were all long-range weapons anyway, so it was better to simply make them into bolts.

    So, the original n was changed again. Two high-level Vampire fangs became two bolts that could absorb the enemy¡¯s power. But, at present, these two bolts were only half-finished products. They had to be charted with a mageweath before they could be consideredplete. Lin Li shut the door, intending to do so.

    The two bolts were ced at the head of the bed. Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm and took out a bottle of navy sand and a thin crystal pen from inside.

    Because it was made with Vampire fangs, the power of these two bolts had to be sufficient. Once the power was absorbed, even the most powerful enemy would inevitably be weak. Therefore, Lin Li did not need to use mageweath to enhance the power of bolts. What he needed to consider now was how to properly utilize this absorbed power.

    It was definitely not possible to transfer it directly to oneself.

    First of all, it was tooplicated. The transfer of power itself was a huge andplex process. Moreover, the direct acquisition of power from equipment as it was currently would not necessarily produce an ideal result even if it was a mageweath of the guru-level.

    Secondly, it was too dangerous. The power absorbed by the bolt had to exist in various forms. Perhaps it could be magic, orbat energy; its attributes varied as well. From light to darkness... there were all kinds of attributes. If he were tobine the various attributes of this power, he would surely end up in a miserable situation. It was like a certain eminent monk who had integrated the power by force. At the end of the day, he was possessed, and had to find someone to help him purge it out. What was the point of it?

    Lin Li mulled it over, and still thought it safer not to make rash decisions.

    Since it was the power absorbed by the bolt, it was better to keep it for himself.

    He had bled a lot in order to achieve this goal.

    It was no exaggeration to say that this was the most severe bleeding after he had transmigrated.

    In order not to waste the two fangs of the high-level Vampire, Lin Li gritted his teeth and used the Divinity Metal from the nest of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Although only ayer was ted on the bolt, that thinyer had used up nearly one-third of his Divinity Metal.

    Lin Li¡¯s hands were shaking when he was ting the Divinity Metal on the bolt; this was something that would deplete with every use. It was totally a different concept from herbs. Herbs could be collected from many ces. With his mastery knowledge of herbs, Lin Li had never worried about the source of his herbs. Even for the legendary ck lotus, at least he knew that it could be found at the Fire Plume Ridge. Although the cave sounded troublesome, it was not impossible to get it with some good nning.

    But, where could the Divinity Metal be mined? It was found in the nest of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas. Devil knew whether there¡¯d be another Dragon of Destruction in Anril. Besides, so what if there was another one? Back then, the Hunter was armed with the legendary weapon, the Stars of Fury; it was only by chance that the Dragon of Destruction was killed. Now that he had transmigrated into another world, who could guarantee that he still had such good luck?

    However...

    After a thinyer of Divinity Metal was ted, the level of the two bolts was raised almost instantaneously. There was a leap forward, whether in terms of destructive power or absorbing power. And, the most valuable thing was the growth brought about by the Divinity Metal. With the help of two high-level Vampire fangs, this growth had been maximized.

    This growth might not be reflected in the beginning, but as the number of battles it¡¯d been in increased, the power drawn by the Vampire¡¯s fangs becamerger andrger, and the Divinity Metal would gradually show its tremendous power. These two bolts were bound to be stronger and stronger. In the end, perhaps even Lin Li himself wouldn¡¯t be able to figure out how far they could grow...

    What Lin Li had to do at present was to set a direction for their growth.

    The power drawn by the Vampire¡¯s fangs would ultimately determine the direction of growth for the two bolts.

    And this direction would be determined by the mageweath that Lin Li would soon chart.

    Lin Li gently pinched the crystal pen and dipped it in a little star sand. After staring at the bolt thoughtfully for a moment, the first line was drawn on it.

    The three adjacent magic nodes in the central position formed an inverted triangle, and beside the inverted triangle were six magic circuits. The significance of their existence was to ensure the normal operation of the three magic nodes. This was the embryonic form of the Mass Energy Ward.

    With only a few strokes, Lin Li had outlined the embryonic form of the Mass Energy Ward. In the meantime, it was also decided that this bolt¡ªted with the Divinity Metal¡ªwould be magical equipment with strong elemental power.

    The significance of the Mass Energy Wardy in converting power into mana and purifying it in the process of conversion. After the conversion by the Mass Energy Ward, any form of power could be stored in the form of elements. It only required a trace of mental strength to be stimted, and then it would erupt into a mighty power.

    The mostmon use of the Mass Energy Ward was a mage¡¯s magic staff. Only through the Mass Energy Ward could the power contained in the magical crystal be converted into the purest form of mana.

    And what Lin Li was going to do was 100 times moreplicated than this.

    He would draw aplex mageweath on top of the thin bolt. The difficulty of it was simr to dancing on a needle tip. Lin Li held the crystal pen, and his wrist was quivering gently. It looked like he was having a convulsion. Only careful observation could reveal that he had drawn a series of lines amidst the weird tremors.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Lin Li breathed a long sigh of relief afterying down thest magic circuit. As a Mass Energy Ward wasid down, Lin Li could clearly see a faint halo flowing over the bolt. This was the power of the high-level Vampire fang itself. As more and more power was absorbed in the future, this halo would be more and more intense.

    After relishing in contentment, Lin Li was about to pick up the other bolt when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

    ¡°Felic, hurry and open the door. We¡¯re about to leave!¡±

    After hearing Mason¡¯s voice, Lin Li suddenly remembered that there was still work to be done. It seemed that the mageweath on this bolt could only wait until he returned at night.

    ¡°Coming.¡± Lin Li kept the stuff into the Ring of Endless Storm beforeing out from the bedroom.

    He saw Mason and Orrin waiting outside as soon as he opened the door.

    Lin Li pondered, and called Sean over again. ¡°Sean.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr Felic?¡±

    ¡°Remember, you¡¯re still sleeping in my room tonight. Don¡¯t run into the living room to sleep, or you¡¯ll be in trouble, do you understand?¡± Lin Li warned Sean again before going out. He was afraid that the kid would sleep in the living room on his own initiative seeing that he had returned. Then, there would be no protection of the Ward of Secrecy. His earth-shaking snoring could possibly lift the whole building.

    ¡°Orh...¡± Sean nodded honestly, but his face was full of confusion. He could not understand why Mr Felic would attach such importance to this matter.

    ¡°Remember, don¡¯t sleep in the living room...¡± After reminding Sean once more, Lin Li went out of the door with his two teammates. They walked all the way to the guild hall along the path lined with sycamore trees.

    The Omniscient Tower was definitely the core even in the entire nna Guild of Magic. The three of them soon felt the position of the core building when they came out of the guild hall and walked down the corridor to the Omniscient Tower. They were questioned at least ten times in less than ten minutes. On average, the time spent on the road was not as long as the time spent being questioned...

    After passing through a long corridor, the three people suddenly saw light ahead. In front of them was a mass of flowers and greenery. The environment looked even better than the ce where they lived. Before them, a tall tower shot straight into the clouds; it looked majestic and imposing from afar, filled with a dignified yet mysterious aura. Just beside the tower, there was another huge building, which upied almost half of the surrounding space. The three of them had just approached when they felt a strong magical wave.

    ording to Mason, this was the nna Research Institute, where the core magic research in the guild was located.

    It was said that the person who presided over the research institute was a legendary mage with strength not below Aldwin¡¯s.

    However, this legendary mage had been lying low as he did his research. He had never appeared in public for decades. No one, including Mason¡¯s resourceful uncle, knew how the Dean really looked like.

    The three of them crossed the lush, greenwn, and very soon arrived before the high tower.

    Two middle-aged mages in ck robes were stationed at the gate of the tower.

    Lin Li was startled as he approached the gate. The two middle-aged mages stationed here actually possessed the strength of an Archmage each...

    They were again interrogated by the two Archmages. The interrogation was more detailed than the ones they met on the way here. Finally, after Mason disyed their identity certificates, the three of them were able to enter the legendary Omniscient Tower.

    ¡°This is your pass. It is valid for two and a half months. In the next two and a half months, you can freely enter and exit the Omniscient Tower with this pass. However, there are several things I must remind you about. The Omniscient Tower is open from 9 am to 9 pm.¡± After handing over the three metal nametes to the three of them respectively, a middle-aged mage repeated the matters needing attention. ¡°In addition, the ce where you can freely enter and leave is only between the first floor and the fifteenth floor. Beyond the fifteenth floor, you must gain permission from Dean Baron personally.

    ¡°Also, within the Omniscient Tower, there must be no loud noise, no magic, no physical conflict, no destruction of books, no...¡± The middle-aged mage mentioned a dozen of ¡°nos¡± in session, and the three of them could not help but feel their scalps turn numb.

 Chapter 155 - The Highlord

    <h4>Chapter 155: The Highlord</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll go up to the tenth floor first.¡± After waiting for the middle-aged mage to finish listing the dozen prohibitions atst, Mason was already eagerly holding his pass and heading straight up the spiral staircase. Before he left, he said wretchedly, ¡°I wonder what treasures are hidden on the tenth floor...¡±

    ¡°See you at nine.¡± Walking into thergest magic treasure house in the Fn Kingdom, there were perhaps few mages that would not be moved. Orrin left a few words hastily, and disappeared in a twinkling of an eye.

    ¡°Okay, see you at nine.¡± After separating from his two teammates by the steps, Lin Li did not rush to the upper floors, but went straight through the corridor to the hall on the first floor of the Omniscient Tower.

    Coming in from the main entrance of the hall, Lin Li saw a row of huge bookshelves that were filled with all kinds of books. Arge desk was ced in the middle of these bookshelves. Some young mages were sitting by the desk in twos or threes, each concentrating between a thick stack of books. Judging from the magical wave emanating from them, most of them were above level-six or seven, but they were only in their twenties, and several of them were even younger than Lin Li. He reckoned that these were all young talents specially trained by the nna Guild of Magic.

    Lin Li walked gently into the hall. After circling around in the middle of a row of bookshelves, he quickly found what he wanted.

    It was a thread-bound book with a ck cover. What was recorded in it was not a magic spell, but a biography written by a bard based on hearsay after the Dark Ages; it included the life of Highlord Osric.

    In the hall on the first floor of the Omniscient Tower, besides a variety of low-level spells, the mostmon books were probably these anecdotes. It was just that this light read was obviously less popr than low-level magic spells. Just like the one in Lin Li¡¯s hands¡ªwhen it was picked up and shaken lightly, the thick dust on the cover was shaken off. It was probably some years since anyone hadst picked it up to read.

    Lin Li did not care. He shook the dust off the cover, and casually took a seat at the desk. He was even reading the biography with great interest.

    Anyway, he had never thought about looking for any spellsing to the Omniscient Tower today.

    It was almost evening when they had returned from the Shadowglen, and he was still asked by the two old fellows to forge a weapon. He had also spent a lot of time on the bolts when he returned to the dormitory. By the time they reached the Omniscient Tower after passing through the various checkpoints, it was already time for thergest magic treasure house in Fn to close. It was toote to memorize even if they had found some powerful spells at this time. He¡¯d rather find some light reading on the first floor to pass time and learn more about Highlord Osric while at that.

    Speaking of the Highlord, Lin Li was very intrigued indeed.

    Since arriving in nna, Lin Li felt as if he was always involved with the Highlord. Osric¡¯s name was clearly written on the two rags written in High Elves¡¯nguage. The Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand was also said to have been the ring worn by the Highlord during his lifetime. Even these days, Lin Li was treated with courtesy at the nna Guild of Magic because he could help them win the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    He had nothing to do, anyway. It¡¯d be good to know more about it.

    Lin Li read the biography with great interest with such an idea in mind.

    ¡°Savage...¡± Osric¡¯s biography was full of legendary quality, and with the bard¡¯s exaggerated writing, Lin Li was utterly stunned as he read.

    Speaking of Highlord Osric, one had to mention the conflicting n of the High Elves.

    After the remote years of floods and wilderness, after the Titans and Dragons disappeared in the long history, the High Elves took advantage of this opportunity to rise, and began to rule Anril with blood and magic for thousands of years.

    Compared with other ns, the High Elves could be described as perfect¡ªno one could match their superiority in magic. Every adult High Elf possessed at least the strength of an Archmage. With this unique advantage, the High Elves had almost advanced to the edge of magic civilization. They had created one miracle after another with magic. Even 1,200 yearster, no n had the guts to say that its magical achievements were anywhere near that unprecedented glorious civilization.

    In the mouth of most bards, the magic civilization created by the High Elves was described as ¡°a miracle beyond the Gods¡±...

    They loved and worshipped all things that were perfect, and their achievements in the field of art were equally amazing. Unfortunately, most of these achievements were destroyed by wars after the Dark Ages. Today, people could barely recover a trace of perfection from the ruins of High Elves.

    At the same time, they were a n full of contradictions.

    When dealing with other ns, the brutality of the High Elves had reached an appalling level. In their eyes, other ns were just inferior creatures, whose only purpose was to serve as ves. When dealing with other ns, the High Elves did not even consider hypocritical appeasement, but only the most direct and brutal envement.

    The Orcs had tried to resist, but what awaited them was the repression of blood and fire. Six monthster, millions of Orcs from 18 ns died under the butcher knives of the Magic Legion. Nearly every vige was covered with the hanging corpses of the Orcs. Millions of Orcs had groaned and wailed under the butcher knives, and blood stainedrge areas ofnd red.

    Highlord Osric was undoubtedly a typical example of a High Elf.

    Even in that glorious age of magic civilization, Osric¡¯s strength was absolutely the highest. He had even fought with the God of Mages, Geresco.

    ording to the bard¡¯s description, in the war at the end of the Dark Ages, the rebels sent their strongest fighters¡ªseven strongmen of the Legendary-level¡ªto assassinate Osric. They sessfully infiltrated the pce of the Highlord,ing face-to-face with the real ruler of the Fn Kingdom, Highlord Osric. Eventually, none of them escaped, and the seven legendary strongmen remained in the Highlord¡¯s pce forever.

    Osric merely said a few words about it.

    ¡°Kill those loathsome bugs!¡±

    Then, there was the infamous massacre¡ªthe most well-known event in Osric¡¯s life. 100,000 rebels were hanged overnight. This horrible massacre also earned him the nickname, The Butcher.

    But, few people knew that in addition to this massacre, Osric had actually done a lot of things in his life...

    The legendary life of Osric almost perfectly illustrated the conflicting nature of the High Elves. Behind the cruel nickname of The Butcher, he was also a wise schr with profound knowledge, a powerful mage, a versatile craftsman, and a famous artist. Osric, shrouded by numerous halos, could only be described as amazing.

    At the end of the Dark Age, the High Elvesid the foundation of pharmaceutical theory and developed theplete framework of pharmaceutics on the basis of this theory. Highlord Osric was a real Potion Master. In the description of the bard, Osric¡¯s pharmaceutics level was exaggerated to an incredible degree.

    All sorts of magical potions had rendered Lin Li dumbfounded. In particr, the biography mentioned several rare forms Osric had discovered in hister years; even Lin Li, a pharmaceutics guru, had only heard about them.

    In hister years, Osric became interested in forging.

    So, he led the Magic Legion and conquered the Dark Iron Dwarves.

    Countless Dark Iron Dwarf craftsmen were sent to Osric¡¯s pce to demonstrate forging techniques for him day and night. It took less than a year for the Highlord to make amazing progress in the field of forging. Four of the seven most notable pieces of magical equipment in the Fn Kingdom today came from Highlord Osric.

    Osric¡¯s life was full of legendary quality; especially after 1,200 years, looking back on his life, it really felt like reading a novel, but the satisfying kind of novel where the main character was invincible.

    Lin Li felt satisfied reading it.

    However, after the satisfaction, he looked back, and suddenly realized that there was not even a trace of the thing that he wanted to find...

    That day in the Shadowglen, the Lich¡¯s mention of the ¡°butcher¡¯s ring¡± almost caused Lin Li to encounter the bite of mana. At that time, he had vaguely guessed that the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand was most likely rted to the High Elves¡¯ Highlord.

    The reason why he stayed in the hall on the first floor was not only to find some light read to pass time, but also to see if he could find some clues about the Torrent of Elements from Osric¡¯s life story.

    Unfortunately, nothing was found...

    Lin Li shook his head and closed the thread-bound book again. He was about to stand up and put it back on the shelf when, suddenly, he heard light footsteps behind him.

    ¡°How did youe here...¡± Lin Li looked back and found that it was his two teammates.

    ¡°We¡¯ve copied a couple of spells and came to call you back together. I say, Felic, what on earth were you reading to be so fascinated?¡± Mason pulled a chair furiously and sat down on Lin Li¡¯s right. The sound of a fuss prompted several young mages who were reading to re at him.

    ¡°Idiot, keep your voice down.¡± Orrin red at him. The fellow was always so overjoyed that he forgot his surname. Could he make a lot of noise in a ce like the Omniscient Tower? It would be trouble if they attracted the attention of the Archmage outside the door.

    ¡°Ooh...¡± Mason remembered where he was after being stared at by several young mages. He nodded his head, but his eyes fell on the thread-bound book. ¡°Bloody hell, after so long, you¡¯re looking at this stuff? Felic, is it necessary for you toe to the Omniscient Tower for something that you could get with a few silver coins on the street...?¡±

    ¡°I had nothing to do anyway.¡± Lin Li looked at the sky; it was almost time for the Omniscient Tower to close. He got up and put the thread-bound book back on the bookshelf. Then, he left the hall with his two teammates. As they exited the gate of the Omniscient Tower, Lin Li asked, ¡°How¡¯s the harvest?¡±

    ¡°Haha, the harvest is too great!¡± Mason¡¯s face was filled with excitement at the mention of the harvest in the Omniscient Tower. Without waiting for Lin Li to ask further, he began to talk in full swing. ¡°I¡¯ve copied down two level-ten spells and one level-12 spell...¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and asked in doubt, ¡°Can you use it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a genius. It doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t use now. After a year and a half, maybe I can even use a level-15 spell...¡± When Mason finished, he looked around furtively, then lowered his voice and said, ¡°Besides, even if I can¡¯t use it, other people can always use it. I can take them back to Chevan City...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li listened to this and suddenly understood that it was no wonder the tower was like a military restricted area. All ess needed to be certified and all kinds of annoying rules wereid down. It was all because there were many people like Mason...

    However...

    It didn¡¯t seem to be a vition of the rules. Anyway, when the nna Guild of Magic approved theming to the Omniscient Tower, they had most probably thought about this. He should also copy some the next day. That old fellow, Gerian, would probably be spoilt with delight when Lin Li brought it back to Jarrosus when the time came...

    Lin Li was turning things over in his mind as he crossed thewn with his teammates. They walked along the corridors all the way back to the guild hall.

    As soon as the three of them entered the guild hall, Mason pulled Lin Li¡¯s sleeves from behind, and said, ¡°Felic, look over there...¡±

    ¡°Look at what?¡± Lin Li was taken aback.

    ¡°To your right... quick, look...¡±

    ¡°Howe it¡¯s this guy...¡± Lin Li looked in the direction that Mason said and immediately saw a familiar figure¡ªa fellow in his twenties; tall, handsome, and dressed in a well-tailored blue mage robe. His appearance seemed to be in line with ady¡¯s standards of Prince Charming; it was a pity that he walked with a limp, making people feel ufortable when watching...

    ¡°Matthias...¡± Lin Li was somewhat surprised. He knew very well the strength of his strikes. When the four Arcane Missiles went down, Lin Li knew that this guy would probably be bedridden until the end of the trial. It had only been ten days, and the fellow could walk already; was he not merciless enough at the beginning?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this guy to be able to walk so fast...¡± Mason was also surprised.

    ¡°He won¡¯t be able to walk again soon.¡± Orrin¡¯s eyes were fixed on Matthias, who was still in the distance. The dense chill in his voice seemed to freeze even the air. With Orrin¡¯s character, how could he possibly forget the incident back then? It was probably the first blow that Orrin suffered aftering to nna. He had always been very proud; apart from Gryffindor, no other young mages were worthy of his attention. Although there was Felic, he was a monster, and could not be measured by human standards.

    But, Matthias¡¯ sneak attack was always on his mind. Now that he had run into him in the guild hall, how could Orrin let him off that easily?

    ¡°Felic, I¡¯ve got something to discuss with you.¡± Orrin, who never asked for help, had used the word ¡°discuss¡± for the very first time today.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t interfere.¡± Lin Li did not even have to ask; he knew what Orrin wanted to do. After receiving the fireball with his body that day, Lin Li knew he had guessed wrong¡ªMatthias¡¯ strength could never be above Orrin¡¯s. The reason why Orrin was injured was probably due to a sneak attack.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried at all now that Orrin wanted to finish off by himself. So, he coolly agreed to it.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    In the meantime, Matthias discovered the three figures.

    This was perhaps what ¡°meeting enemies opens new wounds¡± meant.

    Matthias looked at the three men as if he were going to eat them; his fists were tightly clenched. From a distance away, Lin Li seemed to be able to see the bulging green veins on his forehead.

    But, Matthias quickly smiled.

    Mason rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not wrong. The guy was really smiling, and he was smiling very brightly, such that Mason thought he had seen a ghost. He subconsciously poked Lin Li, who was beside him, with his hand. ¡°Felic, do you think that guy¡¯s so mad he¡¯s be neurotic?¡±

    ¡°Maybe he was scared into it...¡± Lin Li responded irresponsibly. In fact, he was puzzled as well. From Matthias¡¯ words and deeds, Lin Li could tell that he was not someone that easy to dismiss. Lin Li did not believe that Matthias was someone who would meet enmity and smile.

    Had he really be neurotic from the scare, seeing how brilliantly he was smiling?

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you all are still alive...¡± Just as the three of them were wondering, Matthias limped towards them, the smile still on his slightly pale face.

    But, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the smile was exceptionally ufortable to watch. It was like when Old Merlin was smiling at Gerian¡ªhe was obviously so furious that he could vomit blood, but he was still putting up a smile on his face. It was unbelievably fake.

    ¡°I say, Matthias, can you stop smiling so fakely? There are no outsiders here. Everyone knows I¡¯ve broken your limbs. Take it easy; there¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of...¡± Lin Li was an honest man¡ªhe¡¯d always say anything that was on his mind. But, being too honest often hurt other people...

    ¡°You...¡± Matthias almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath. The smile he had tried so hard to squeeze out was distorted immediately.

    ¡°Matthias, listen to my advice. It¡¯s better for a disabled man to cleanse his heart and limit his inner desires. Don¡¯t worry too much about things like whether we coulde back alive or not. It¡¯ll affect your recovery,¡± Lin Li spoke with sincerity as if he was really concerned for an old friend.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± After all, Matthias was only in his twenties. How could he stand this kind of provocation? His hands were tightly held into fists, and fire seemed to be bursting from his eyes.

    ¡°Look, you¡¯re agitated again...¡± How could Matthias rival Lin Li in eloquence? Matthias had only spoken a few words, and he was already trembling in agitation.

    But, then again, ording to Lin Li¡¯s character, how could he possibly have said so much to Matthias? As early as when thetter came to incite them, Lin Li would have delivered a fireball straight to him. Would he be crapping so much with Matthias? What crap...

    Half the reason for wasting so much saliva was for Orrin.

    Lin Li actually couldn¡¯t wait for Matthias to pounce on him after provoking him with a sincere face. Then, he would run on him a few words and drive him into a fair duel with Orrin. It¡¯d be considered fulfilling Orrin¡¯s wish.

    However...

    Matthias seemed to be behaving a little out of the ordinary today. This fellow had to have taken the wrong medicine. He was still ring angrily with his fists clenched a moment ago, but he rxed very quickly, and even put on a fake smile on his face. ¡°Forget it. It doesn¡¯t make sense to be angry with a country bumpkin like you...¡±

    Having said that, Matthias leaned close to Lin Li¡¯s ear and said in a low voice, ¡°However, you must be careful not to make yourself be like me...¡±

    ¡°Ah... what?!¡± How could such a threat frighten Lin Li? He looked at Matthias in surprise, and raised his voice so much that half of the hall could hear him. ¡°Mage Matthias, did you say you are impotent? Oh my God, that¡¯s terrible...¡±

    Almost half of the guild hall was attracted by this exmation. At least dozens of mages looked towards them at the same time...

    ¡°...¡± Under the sympathetic eyes of the mages, Matthias was flushed as he told himself, <i>Endure, endure!</i>

 Chapter 156 - Scrapped Dragonéˆ¥æªš Eye?

    <h4>Chapter 156: Scrapped Dragon¡¯s Eye?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Matthias¡¯ psychological endurance seemed to have improved a lot; was it because he had spent a few days lying down? Lin Li was treading all over his face with his provocations, but he had swallowed it all down. Apart from his increasingly unsightly face, he had no intention of doing anything at all.

    Lin Li was more or less surprised by it. He wanted to continue provoking him, forcing him into a duel with Orrin...

    However, he let it go at that. Such a trifle was not enough to affect Lin Li¡¯s mood. For the next few days, he was cooped up in the Omniscient Tower, reading with relish with a thick stack of books everyday.

    But, unlike his two teammates, Lin Li had never gone above the third floor of the Omniscient Tower over the past few days. He had been cramming with a group of young mages, holding either books on basic skills or basic theories, perplexing his two teammates.

    Mason really couldn¡¯t figure out what this guy was really thinking. He was clearly at the peak of Magic Shooters, but he wouldn¡¯t go above the tenth floor to learn the more powerful spells. On the contrary, he was nestled on the first and second floor everyday, reading these apprentice-level books with great interest. What kind of mentality was it?

    ¡°Can apprenticeship be addictive?¡±

    In the face of such question, Lin Li did not know how to exin for a while.

    His situation was too special¡ªit took him less than half a year to go from an apprentice to a Magic Shooter. Even if Lin Li was strongly gifted, it would inevitably leave some drawbacks. It was like travelling¡ªif you were in a hurry, you would always miss some roadside scenery. That was the case for Lin Li now. Because his progress was so fast, he had missed a lot of things.

    He knew the principle of spell-casting and its techniques, but when it came to the most detailed ces, Lin Li would immediately expose his shorings. It had nothing to do with talent nor diligence, it was simply because hecked adequate personal experience.

    Such was magic¡ªapart from talent and diligence, patience and time were also needed.

    Even for the worst mage, as long as he was willing to try 10,000,000 times, he¡¯d naturally grasp every detail of a spell.

    What Lin Licked now was precisely this kind of details.

    Fortunately, he had gained the right to enter and exit the Omniscient Tower freely. What thergest magic treasure house in the whole of Fn Kingdom had the most were reading notes describing such details.

    Almost as soon as he got these reading notes, Lin Li realized that this was what he needed most...

    For the next few days, he immersed himself in these reading notes almost every day. It took him nearly ten days to go through the first to the third floor of the Omniscient Tower. In the same time, Mason had copied ten high-level spells, and Orrin had broken through the limit to reach the rank of a level-12 Magic Shooter.

    But, Lin Li didn¡¯t think he was wasting his time. On the contrary, he thought it meaningful, for he could clearly feel that he was making rapid progress every day.

    He seemed to find the answers to a lot of questions he did not understand, and what gave him the answers was often a tittle-tattle on the reading notes. The person who wrote these reading notes might be a famous gifted mage in Anril, or a mage apprentice who could not break through level-five all his life. When they wrote these reading notes, they might not even think that it could provide an answer to some questions.

    But, when Lin Li saw these reading notes, there was always a feeling of sudden enlightenment as if he had found a thread in a mess; with a light stroke, he had untangled numerous knots.

    This feeling of being suddenly enlightened caused Lin Li to be immersed in pleasant reading all the time.

    It wasn¡¯t until the tenth day that Lin Li suddenly remembered he still had a lot to do...

    That morning, instead of going to the Omniscient Tower with his two teammates, he left the guild hall, and went to the equipment store on the corner.

    ¡°Good morning, Boss.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, good morning. I didn¡¯t expect to see you again so soon, Mr Mage.¡± The boss obviously remembered Lin Li. For any businessman, they¡¯d perhaps not forget a big spender who once spent hundreds of thousands of gold coins in his store. Moreover, this big spender was such a unique one...

    ¡°Boss, can I ask, has the person who sold those two pieces of equipment been here recently?¡±

    ¡°Once.¡± The middle-aged boss nodded his head. He remembered it very well. After all, the deal impressed him deeply. After carefully recalling, the middle-aged boss continued, ¡°It seems like 15 days ago, when he came to collect the money. I¡¯ve asked him to go to the Guild of Magic to look for you. Why did he not look for you?¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li counted the days; ten days ago, he was in the Shadowglen,pleting his trial mission. It would be strange if the seller could find him at that time.

    It was a pity¡ªhe had finally found a clue, but it was lost due to a coincidence.

    Without the Fire Smandrid skin, it would not be so easy to go to the Fire Plume Ridge to gather the ck lotus.

    Surely it couldn¡¯t be... that he really had to use the ck dragon skin?

    Fire immunity was not a problem at all if the ck dragon skin was used. After all, it was what the Dragon of Destruction left behind. He could wear it to Fire Plume Ridge after a simple treatment process.

    But, the problem was that Lin Li hated to use it. The ck dragon skin was no less valuable than the ck lotus; perhaps there was no one who could make the ck dragon skin into an armor so casually. Lin Li wanted to never use that batch of ck dragon skin before he came up with a perfect treatment process.

    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Just when Lin Li was vaciting, the middle-aged boss suddenly said, ¡°He seemed to have said that he wille again in a few days, and then he will send two other pieces of equipment to me to be put up for sale.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Hearing this, Lin Li hurriedly asked, ¡°When?¡±

    The middle-aged boss thought for a moment before he replied affirmatively, ¡°The day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much...¡± Lin Li was relieved. After thanking the middle-aged boss, he asked, ¡°Oh yes, boss, do you help in smelting ore here?¡±

    What Lin Li wanted to smelt were precisely the Eternal Adamantine in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    It was not because he couldn¡¯t smelt it himself. As a master of mineral veins, smelting ore was the most basic skill. But, it was unlike pharmaceutics, where he could make a few beakers or test tubes and could control his mana urately such that he could concoct many potions even in the wild.

    Smelting required some professional equipment, including st furnace, hot air stoves, and so on, which was enough to make Lin Li¡¯s head pound. He was living in the nna Guild of Magic at present. If he really were to get arge number of professional equipment, then not to mention that it would frighten other mages, perhaps even Aldwin would be rmed.

    ¡°Smelting ore? Surely not in the store, but I have a smelting workshop in the north of the city. If you can trust me, you can give me the ore. When I have finished the smelting, you cane back and get it.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bring you the oreter,¡± Lin Li agreed very coolly. He had nothing to worry about with this regr businessman. Others could consign hundreds of thousands of worth in equipment here. To some extent, it could also prove the credibility of the middle-aged boss.

    ¡°By the way, Boss, the ore I want to smelt may be more troublesome. You can charge a higher price, but you must guarantee the quality of smelting.¡±

    ¡°May I know what ore are you nning to smelt?¡±

    ¡°This is it...¡± Lin Li reached into his pocket and fumbled in it. He pulled out a piece of Eternal Adamantine that he had long prepared.

    ¡°This...¡± The middle-aged owner took the ore in his hand and looked at it carefully for a long time before he asked with great difficulty, ¡°This... Isn¡¯t it Eternal Adamantine?

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Eternal Adamantine.¡±

    The middle-aged boss probably had never handled such expensive ore before. The hand that was holding the ore was trembling a little. After hesitation, he finally bit his teeth, and said, ¡°Okay, you can bring the ore here in the afternoon. I¡¯ll start work this afternoon. You can pick it up tomorrow. As for the price ...¡± The middle-aged boss said in one breath, and thought again.

    ¡°... I usually collect 1,000 gold coins for each time I run the furnace, but this is really... it¡¯s really too precious, so my risk is rtively high. I tell you what, I will collect 3,000 gold coins from you, okay?¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡°By the way, Mr Mage, how many Eternal Adamantine do you have in your hands?¡±

    ¡°About two carriages.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Before leaving, Lin Li seemed to hear a tter. It sounded as if someone had fallen down...

    Aftering out of the equipment store, Lin Li went directly to the nna Garage, where he hired two carriages, and then took them around the city of nna. Finally, he found a quiet ce, opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and poured the Eternal Adamantine down on the ground.

    After that, it was loaded and transported off. It took a whole morning for Lin Li toplete this trip.

    He handed 3,000 gold coins to the middle-aged boss, and then watched him transport the two cars of Eternal Adamantine to the north of the city. Lin Li finally breathed a long sigh; this morning was really troublesome...

    But, he couldn¡¯t stay idle because he had one more thing to do.

    After returning to the Guild of Magic, Lin Li went directly to the Spell Testing Hall.

    This was probably the difference between a small town and a big city. If it were the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, spell testing would probably be arranged in the level certification hall because there was also a Magical Shield Field and the Elements Annihtion Field, as well as a crystal ball to test the strength of the spell. In addition to certifying the level, it could also be used for spell testing. In Gerian¡¯s words, this was called thrifty housekeeping¡ªspending as little as possible where you could...

    But, this was the nna Guild of Magic¡ªthe heart of all magic in the Fn Kingdom.

    It was the purpose of the nna Guild of Magic to seek not the best, but the most expensive, regardless of the kind of money that was spent.

    The Spell Testing Hall was on the fourth floor. Lin Li easily obtained a private room with his identity as a trial mage.

    The room was empty, with only one crystal ball, four mageweaths, a Magical Shield Field, and an Elements Annihtion Field inside. Each of them had two channels, which were used to protect the structure of the room and crystal ball used for the test, respectively.

    Lin Li looked at the structure of these two mageweaths to ensure that they could withstand the bombardment of a Magic Shooter-level spell. Then, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm in relief, and pulled out the fist-sized Dragon¡¯s Eye from it.

    This was the first time Lin Li had taken it out since he came back from the Nightmare Mountains.

    When he came out of the cave that night, he had witnessed the battle between the mercenary corp and a Shapeshifter, followed by the appearance of the strange crystal. After returning to nna, he had to go for the trial in the Shadowglen arranged by the Supreme Council. He had finallypleted the trial mission, but had been immersing himself in the Omniscient Tower everyday.

    He had gotten the Dragon¡¯s Eye for more than half a month, but he still did not know the spell it contained...

    This was simply unthinkable for a researcher such as Lin Li.

    Anyway, he didn¡¯t have to go to the Omniscient Tower today, so he took out the Dragon¡¯s Eye and studied it...

    In order to ensure his own safety, Lin Li had deliberately took a few steps back. After all, no one knew what kind of spell this Dragon¡¯s Eye contained; in case it was a powerful spell that could cover arge area, he might get injured if he stood too close to it.

    Lin Li did not stop until he retreated to the door. He tightened his grip on the Dragon¡¯s Eye in his hand, and began a slow and steady mana input.

    With a trace of mana pouring into the Dragon¡¯s Eye, Lin Li could clearly see that the unique orange glow of the Dragon¡¯s Eye was gradually bing brighter and brighter; especially when Lin Li¡¯s mana input was about to break through the limit, this orange light seemed to be golden in a sh. At a nce, it looked as if the room was covered in gold foil. The room was filled with a golden light, so resplendent that it made one dizzy.

    When the golden light reached its peak, the room suddenly set off a surge of magical wave. The massive mana seemed to solidify all of a sudden. Even Lin Li could not help feeling a huge pressure.

    But, after that, it was dead silent.

    Nothing had happened...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rubbed his eyes and looked at the Dragon¡¯s Eye in his hand. He thought it had to be an illusion.

    A long timeter, there was a loud cry in the room. ¡°F*ck! How could this be possible?¡±

    Lin Li almost went mad on the spot. How could that be possible? Earlier on, he had clearly felt the mana that was concealed in Dragon¡¯s Eye had been activated by his own mana. Even a fool could feel the turbulent magical wave and that enormous pressure. However, after that, there was not even any reaction from the crystal ball at all. What was this situation?

    Lin Li refused to give up, and circled around the crystal ball again. Yes... there was no response at all.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    The Dragon¡¯s Eye in his hand was sted out of the Eternal Adamantine vein, and it was a piece as big as a fist. Even if it was dead, it should at least contain a spell. How could it be that there was no movement at all, like this? It was all too fake...

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li did see some discarded Dragon¡¯s Eyes before. It didn¡¯t seem to look any different, but after inputting mana into it, it couldn¡¯t even release a wind de, which was the lowest level of spell.

    However, those Dragon¡¯s Eyes were either too small to contain a spell, or mistakes were made during mining, dealing considerable damage to the internal structure of the Dragon¡¯s Eye and directly causing the spell concealed in them to disappear.

    There was no doubt that neither of these two situations had something to do with the one in his hand.

    There was no need to mention it being too small¡ªit was the size of a fist, and could even crush someone to death, much less contain a spell in it.

    As for damaging the internal structure, it was equally impossible. A thoroughly destroyed Dragon¡¯s Eye would not react to mana at all; it was essentially a stone. How could it emit that gorgeous golden light under the drive of mana?

    ¡°I¡¯ll fight with you!¡± Lin Li refused to be misled by facies. After pondering over and over for half a day, he found that he really couldn¡¯t figure it out. He simply held the Dragon¡¯s Eye tightly, and began to input mana into it desperately.

    He wouldn¡¯t talk about reason anymore. He¡¯d need to replenish his mana every time he used it, right? He¡¯d just replenish it. Anyway, he had an almost infinite mana. If once wasn¡¯t enough, he¡¯d just try several times. He would spend the whole day on multiple attempts. He did not believe that he wouldn¡¯t be able to discern it...

    Under the immense perfusion of mana, the faint orange light soon emerged on the Dragon¡¯s Eye, which had just exhausted its mana.

    Lin Li took a few steps back after the mana was replenished.

    With the previous experience, he no longer had to control his output as slowly as before, but directly enhanced the mana to its limit.

    In an instant, another dazzling golden light veiled the room.

    Then...

    The Dragon¡¯s Eye was still the Dragon¡¯s Eye, and the crystal ball was still the crystal ball¡ªboth were simrly dim and dull...

    As before, nothing had changed.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li banged his head on the wall.

    Just as he was about to replenish another round of mana, Lin Li suddenly noticed something unusual. ¡°Wrong...¡±

    This time, he finally realized what was wrong.

    As the golden light of the Dragon¡¯s Eye dissipated, there was no trace of magical wave in the room.

    This was a ce where spell tests were conducted, and there was no magical wave at all. It was something quite weird in itself.

    Whether it was the four mageweaths in the room or the crystal ball that was bombarded with spells all year round, both should show a trace of magical wave in any case. How could it be like this¡ªeven a little bit of magical wave could not be felt?

    Lin Li himself was a Master of Inscription. He was all too familiar with the two mageweaths in the room. Neither the Magical Shield Field nor the Elements Annihtion Field had the effect of concealing magical wave. Moreover, the two mageweaths needed to be supplied with mana to maintain their normal functions. They themselves would emit a subtle magical wave. How could they be like this?

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation again...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, looking more bewildered than before.

    Lin Li mulled it over and over, but still couldn¡¯t find an answer to it.

    So, he decided to take a dumber approach.

    Of course, he couldn¡¯t do it alone. He had to ask Macklin for help.

    Lin Li put the Dragon¡¯s Eye back into the Ring of Endless Storm, and hurried out of the Spell Testing Hall. He took the stairs all the way to the second floor, and soon found Macklin¡¯s room.

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock...¡±

    He had just knocked at the door a few times when he heard Macklin¡¯s angry roaring from the room. ¡°Who the f*ck is being so inconsiderate, disrupting my rest early in the morning!?¡±

    ¡°Mr Macklin, this is Felic.¡± Lin Li jumped in shock. Had the old man taken gunpowder? What time was it already to be early in the morning? Why didn¡¯t he just say middle of the night?

    ¡°Oh... So, it¡¯s you, kid. Come in... The door¡¯s not locked.¡±

    Lin Li pushed open the door and went in. He saw Macklin sitting there in a rather uncultured position¡ªone of his feet was on the table.

 Chapter 157 - Flame Shield

    <h4>Chapter 157: me Shield</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After Lin Li entered the room, he found that there was another acquaintance sitting inside besides Macklin.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr Darian,¡± Lin Li greeted with a smile. Perhaps few people could imagine, seeing the expression on his face, that this polite-looking fellow was actually the culprit who had beaten Darian¡¯s nephew into a cripple.

    ¡°Hng!¡± Darian snorted; his face as ck as the bottom of a pan.

    The atmosphere in the room was full of tension, making Macklin¡¯s head throb. He rubbed the center of his forehead painfully, and quickly interrupted, ¡°Alright, Darian, I¡¯ll think about what you¡¯ve said. You go back first...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr Macklin...¡± Macklin had already spoken, so Darian would have to abide even if he was unwilling. In case he had incited the anger of the guild¡¯s most powerful Archmage, it¡¯d be toote to regret. Macklin was not as amodating as Aldwin; he would always turn hostile all of a sudden without even prior greeting.

    Darian got up and opened the door. Before he left, he shot a merciless re at Lin Li. Let alone Lin Li, even Macklin, who was at a side, could clearly see the hatred in his eyes.

    It was just that Macklin was troubled now, and he pretended not to see it.

    Seeing Darian¡¯s figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Lin Li closed the door and shamelessly left the matter clean. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your discussion with Mr Darian...¡±

    ¡°Why bother pretending? You can¡¯t possibly not know what we¡¯re talking about...¡± Macklin had a headache just looking at this guy.

    This kid was absolutely driving him to death. He had only been in nna for slightly more than half a month, but had gotten into a butt of trouble. Matthias and Madrick were crippled one after another by him. During this period of time, Macklin had wanted to hit the wall with his head just taking the me for him.

    Just like facing Darian earlier on, Macklin had spent a lot of effort to barely pacify him.

    But, the pacification could only be temporary. Who knew when these two fellows would sh again. It would be trouble for Macklin when the time came...

    There could be no mishaps with Felic. Not to mention the bet with the Adventurers Guild six monthster, the ability he had shown at present alone was sufficient for the nna Guild of Magic to fight for. Let alone Darian, even if His Majesty the King came, Macklin would never allow him toy a hand on Felic.

    But, the problem was that there could not be any mishap with Darian, either...

    He was an elder of the nna Guild of Magic. Over the past few decades, he had long run a huge force in the guild. If something had happened to him, and it was because Felic, wouldn¡¯t the others raise the devil with the guild on the spot?

    In this respect, Macklin was not as good as Gerian...

    Gerian¡¯s hard work for decades had brought his personal prestige to the peak. The Jarrosus Guild of Magic could be said to be his own guild. In the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, his words were the truth, and no mage dared to defy him.

    However, even back then, when Gerian had given Lin Li special privileges, there were voices of opposition as well, and he had even forced out three traitors as a result.

    If that was true for Gerian, it naturally went without saying for Macklin, who was worse than him...

    And, some things could never be made public.

    After the long talk with Aldwin that day, the two men were surprisingly in agreement. Felic¡¯s real situation could not be made public.

    This kid was a freak. It was frightening just thinking about the various peculiar points of his. If the other forces were to know there was such a figure in the nna Guild of Magic, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t take a few days for them to be hounded.

    nna was such a ce¡ªthey were more serious in robbing talents than robbing money. What forces wouldn¡¯t want to fight for a talent like Felic?

    This fellow had even gone beyond the scope of talent. If he were to be described in one word, it would probably only be ¡°all-rounder¡±.

    He was proficient in both forging and pharmaceutics, and his talent in magic was enviably strong. It probably wouldn¡¯t take him long to reach the realm of an Archmage. What forces would not want to contend for such an omnipotent young genius?

    The truth¡ªthis young genius¡¯s ability¡ªcould never be disclosed. So far, no one in the guild knew the truth except Aldwin and Macklin. In the eyes of ordinary people, this young man from Jarrosus was merely a gifted trial mage.

    Hmm... Maybe Mason and Orrin knew something about it, but it was only something. After all, they were both too young to see anything beyond the surface. They certainly knew that their teammate was different, but they most likely did not know what this difference really meant...

    All these reasons distressed Macklin.

    Darian counted on his nephew¡¯s injury and his status as an elder. He knew that Macklin would not go too far with himself. The recent days had been a real storm; he came to Macklin everyday, insisting that the Jarrosus country boy would have to be severely dealt with...

    Macklin could onlyugh bitterly in the face of Darian¡¯s demands.

    He really wanted to tell Darian, <i>If it weren¡¯t for the Jarrosus country boy you mentioned, the nna Guild of Magic would be in trouble six monthster!</i>

    Unfortunately, these were the words that couldn¡¯t be uttered...

    So, Macklin could only suffer in silence as he listened to Darian¡¯sints while contemting that he had to find a chance to banish the b*tch to a remote and deserted ce after this matter had passed!

    ¡°What is Mr Darian demanding to do with me?¡± Since Macklin had already said so, Lin Li was also too embarrassed to continue his pretense.

    ¡°There is no specific demand, but in general, it can all be summed up in two words¡ªseverely dealt!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li chuckled, embarrassed. He knew that Macklin had to be under some pressure in this matter. After all, Darian was an elder in the guild. Macklin would have to spare some effort to suppress his opinions.

    However, it could not be helped.

    Some things were like that¡ªknowing that doing it might cause trouble, many times it still had to be done.

    Just like Madrick the other day.

    Lin Li knew that Madrick was Darian¡¯s nephew and that Darian would never let him off easily after having crippled Madrick. But, Lin Li did not hesitate at all even up to the end, and the ming Hands fell without stopping.

    The reason why he did it was not so much to do justice for Sean, but rather to express an attitude¡ªif he wanted to bite me, then he had toe to understand that he might be beaten to death!

    To Lin Li, this was a warning, but also a strategy.

    At the beginning, he did try to tolerate it. When he first arrived at nna Guild of Magic, Darian¡¯s attitude was not particrly normal. At that time, Lin Li thought there had to be some misunderstanding. Then, he was reminded by Mason that Darian had deliberately not informed himself to report to the guild hall. Lin Li had marked it down in his heart, but he had always kept it in mind, and not spelled it out.

    It wasn¡¯t until the incident with Sean that Lin Li was finally infuriated.

    Since tolerance couldn¡¯t resolve the contradiction, he¡¯d simply intensify itpletely and put everything in the open.

    It might seem dangerous to outrage an Archmage, but, in fact, it was much safer than letting him prey on himself in the dark.

    The aim was to let everyone know that Darian was in conflict with him. In this way, if Darian wanted to aim his shots at Lin Li, he¡¯d have to think twice whether he¡¯d get caught doing so.

    To let the enemy worry was the real preemptive strategy.

    ¡°But, don¡¯t worry too much about it. Aldwin and I will deal with it.¡± Seeing Lin Li was silent, Macklin thought he was worried about something. After a few words offort, he asked Lin Li about his purpose today. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this. You¡¯vee to me today not just to see Darian, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah...¡± At his reminder, Lin Li recalled his main purpose. ¡°Mr Macklin, can you do me a favor?¡±

    ¡°What favor?¡± Macklin suddenly became interested. For a long time, the kid had behaved like a freak; Macklin did not even feel that he needed help for a lifetime.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this... I acquired a gemstone a few days ago. As far as I know, there should be a spell in this gemstone, but I went to the Spell Testing Hall just now and couldn¡¯t find out what kind of spell it was, so... I was thinking... could you help me to test it?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon¡¯s Eye?¡± With Macklin¡¯s knowledge, how could he not know what it was? Before Lin Li had finished speaking, he had already guessed what this gemstone was.

    ¡°Yes, Dragon¡¯s Eye.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Macklin agreed coolly.

    Although the Dragon¡¯s Eye was precious, he had already seen many of it with his status.

    To tell the truth, he did not think much of this magical gemstone which was said to have been transformed from a dragon¡¯s eye. In his opinion, the power of this magical gemstone was too low¡ªit could only contain stuff such as wind de or icicle, which couldn¡¯t even break through the Elemental Shield. What practical significance does it hold?

    To test the power of the spell was as easy as eating and drinking for Macklin. Without even a second thought, he went straight into the Spell Testing Hall with Lin Li.

    ¡°Come.¡± Macklin erected an Elemental Shield with a wave of his staff.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and fished out the Dragon¡¯s Eye from his pocket.

    ¡°Damn!¡± The fist-sized Dragon¡¯s Eye almost drove Macklin mad on the spot. The old man¡¯s eyes immediately became zed when he saw the glistening yellow light.

    He¡¯d never imagined that the Dragon¡¯s Eye in the kid¡¯s mouth was such a big fellow...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Macklin wanted to bang the wall. With his knowledge of Dragon¡¯s Eyes, how could he not know that the level of the spell contained in the Dragon¡¯s Eye was proportional to its volume? What the kid had in his hand was the size of a fist. The spell contained in it... was it a Magic Shooter level or an Archmage level one?

    ¡°Why, Mr Macklin, is there some difficulty?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! What difficulty, you just try it! ¡± With Macklin¡¯s character, how could he admit that he was unconfident?

    Nevertheless, though he refused to admit outwardly, he dared not treat it lightly in his heart. He waved his staff again, and a spurt of mes rose. Four burning fireballs whirled around Macklin, looking like four bright suns. This was the me Shield¡ªa single-attribute shield which one could possess after having attained the realm of an Archmage. It was the same concept as the Skeletal Shield on the Lich.

    Under the protection of twoyers of shields, Macklin then retreated a step. He hardened his scalp, and murmured, ¡°Okay,e on!¡±

    ¡°Then, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony...¡± Lin Li tightened his grip on the Dragon¡¯s Eye, and began his mana input in a slow yet steady manner. The orange light gradually became brighter under the impetus of the mana, and bit by bit, it started to disy a gorgeous gold...

    Everything seemed to be the same as before. The golden light became brighter and more resplendent. It was likeying ayer of golden foil in the room. When the brilliant light reached its peak, a violent magical wave broke out.

    But, this time, the room was no longer dead silent.

    ... For Macklin had eximed all of a sudden. ¡°F*ck!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Macklin¡¯s voice was like a stuck pig, and it startled Lin Li right on the spot. He couldn¡¯t care less about studying the change in the Dragon¡¯s Eye, and hurriedly went over to support Macklin. ¡°Mr Macklin, are you all right?¡±

    ¡°Al... alright.¡± Macklin shook his head, but his face was turning pale.

    ¡°Then...¡± Lin Li wanted to ask what the situation was about when he felt that there was something wrong with Macklin. With this doubt in mind, he studied Macklin carefully for a long time before he finally understood what the problem was.

    The two shields that Macklin had just propped up had suddenly disappeared into thin air...

 Chapter 158 - Arcane Wall

    <h4>Chapter 158: Arcane Wall</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes hard so that he could see even more clearly.

    He hadn¡¯t seen it wrong.

    Gone¡ªall gone...

    Whether it was the colorful light on the Elemental Shield or the four fireballs around the me Shield, all of them had suddenly disappeared without trace...

    ¡°That¡¯s too fake...¡± Lin Li stared at Macklin in dismay. For a moment, his eyes were straightened out.

    Macklin was someone close to the legendary-level. The elemental and me shield that he had propped up at the same time could almost withstand all strikes of the Archmage-level. Lin Li even felt that if someone like Aldwin had made the move personally, he might not even be able to break these two shields.

    However, everything before him was so real.

    It was true that someone broke the two shields in an instant.

    And that person was Lin Li himself...

    Lin Lipletely lost his mind. He couldn¡¯t believe all this turned out to be true.

    That was the me Shield¡ªonly after breaking through the realm of an Archmage could one possess this specialized shield. It directly applied the power of the elemental source. Its defensive power had reached the point of almost abnormal. In addition to the me Shield, Macklin was also covered with ayer of Elemental Shield.

    Breaking the two shields at the same time almost meant that he had the opportunity to threaten a figure close to the Legendary-level in that very short period of time.

    There was no doubt that it was the Dragon¡¯s Eye that allowed him to break through the two shields.

    ¡°This is real?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, duh...¡± The old man cursed exasperatedly. He was really frightened just now. Macklin had never expected that there was such a perverted spell in this Dragon¡¯s Eye.

    ¡°How can this be...¡± Although he had vaguely guessed something, Lin Li could not help but take in a cold breath upon hearing Macklin¡¯s admission. ¡°It really broke your shields just now?¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t say that.¡± Macklin shook his head, and looked hesitant. ¡°In that case, interruption may be more appropriate...¡±

    ¡°Why is it interruption?¡±

    ¡°The reasons areplicated. If you want to make it clear, you need to know one thing first.¡±

    Lin Li stood surprised. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The thing is... F*ck, kid you¡¯re too damn lucky!¡± the old man cursed indignantly, and then went on saying, ¡°Do you know what spell is hidden in this Dragon¡¯s Eye?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly, this spell should be called the Arcane Wall, a level-15 spell that has been lost for 1,200 years...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Make a guess. How formidable do you think this spell is?¡±

    ¡°How can I guess...¡± Lin Li shook his head numbly. He suddenly realized that he had shaken his head more times in a day than all the previous monthsbined.

    The old manughed, and then went on to say, ¡°This magic is powerful in that it can cut off mana in an instant. To some extent, it is simr to Mana Retroaction, but Mana Retroaction is achieved by suppression. At the same time as interrupting the spell, it also has an anti-mana effect. On the contrary, Arcane Wall is achieved by cutting off mana, which will not produce the anti-mana effect; it can only cut off the cirction of mana temporarily.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that another Mana Retroaction?¡±

    ¡°Wrong!¡± Macklin shook his head. ¡°There is a most obvious difference between these two spells: Mana Retroaction can interrupt the recitation of spells, while Arcane Wall can at most prolong the duration of recitation. Its real use is against channel and semi-channel spells.¡±

    Lin Li nodded; he really understood it this time.

    The so-called channel spells referred to spells that required a continuous output of mana in the process of spell-casting. For example, there were 12 Arcane Missile in total; in the process of releasing the 12 Arcane Missile, it was necessary to maintain a state of spell-casting all the time. Once interrupted, it would be impossible to release all 12 Arcane Missile at once.

    Semi-channel spells referred to spells such as the Elemental Shield¡ªthere was no need to maintain a spell-casting state, nor to use the mental strength to channel. When using semi-channel spells, the spell-caster was required to continue the provision of mana. If the mana output was interrupted, the Elemental Shield would naturally disappear.

    ¡°Does that mean that I can interrupt anyone¡¯s mana at will in future battles so as to achieve the effect of breaking through magic shields?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... You¡¯re wrong again.¡± Macklin shook his head.

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    ¡°Arcane Wall doesn¡¯t work that way. First of all, you have to be clear that the Arcane Wall is not a Mana Retroaction. Itsts too shortly, and does not produce an anti-mana effect. When mana is interrupted, it would only take a moment to recover. What can you do in that moment? Not to mention recite a spell, you may not even be able to unleash an instantaneous spell.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the significance of this Arcane Wall?¡±

    ¡°In the Dark Ages, the Arcane Wall was a spell that every member of the Magic Legion had to master. Don¡¯t underestimate the interruption of a moment. During the war at that time, few people had the guts to release channel spells in front of the members of the Magic Legion. Do you know why? It¡¯s precisely because of the existence of the Arcane Wall!¡±

    ¡°That exaggerated?¡± Lin Li frowned. To be honest, he was incredulous. If, as Macklin said, the effectsted only for a moment, what significance did it hold to interrupt the channel spells?

    ¡°Fool!¡± Macklin red at him fiercely. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that interruption could bring about the bite of mana?¡±

    After being chided by Macklin, Lin Li suddenly remembered that forcibly interrupting the casting of a spell could bring about the bite of mana. In particr, for some channel spells¡ªbecause they had to focus their attention on casting, once interrupted, it would likely result in mental confusion.

    The battle between mages was rapidly changing, and there was absolutely no room for a single mistake. It would only take one bite of mana to turn the game around. Moreover, it might result in mental confusion, which was much more powerful than the bite of mana. The severity ranged from loss of mana control to schizophrenia.

    At the end of the conversation, Macklin concluded with a sentence, ¡°So, kid... you are really lucky this time. Put it away properly. If you use it right, you may even have a chance to defeat an Archmage.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± Lin Li nodded, and carefully put Dragon¡¯s Eye in his pocket.

    ¡°Knowing that you have this thing, I feel more at ease....¡± As Macklin spoke, he opened the closed door and came out of the Spelling Testing Hall, his aged face filled with triumphant smile. ¡°At least you don¡¯t have to worry about that fellow, Darian, anymore. He loves to use channel spells. When the timees... You can use this gemstone to give him a big surprise. Damn it, I¡¯ve been unhappy with this idiot for a long time. If he reallyes to find trouble with you, don¡¯t need to give me face at all¡ªbeat him as hard as you can. I¡¯d like to see if he still has the face to stay in nna after being beaten by a Magic Shooter...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    It was unknown whether Darian could stay or not, but there was one person who certainly couldn¡¯t.

    His name was Matthias...

    Lin Li had been running to the Omniscient Tower every day over the past ten days. Although he had not been there today, he was too busy to notice that the words he had used to tease Matthias had gradually spread in the nna Guild of Magic...

    ¡°Let me tell you a secret...¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡±

    ¡°Do you know Matthias from Sunrise City? I heard that he¡¯s impotent!¡±

    ¡°F*ck! That exciting?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Pity Sir Wilhelm, he finally has a son, but he turns out to be impotent...¡±

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s a tragedy indeed...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the only person I told this secret to. You¡¯ll have to help me keep it, and not tell anyone else about it!¡±

    ¡°Mhm, no problem.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Let me tell you a secret...¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡±

    ¡°Do you know Matthias from Sunrise City? I heard he likes men instead of women!¡±

    ¡°F*ck! That exciting?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Pity Sir Wilhelm. He finally has a son, but it turns out that he likes men, and not women...¡±

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s a tragedy indeed...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the only person I told this secret to. You¡¯ll have to help me keep it, and not tell anyone else about it!¡±

    ¡°Mhm, no problem.¡±

    ...

    Rumors were like gue¡ªit would only spread faster and wider. From impotence to liking only men and not women, then to STD and body stench; it took only four to five days for such aplex process to evolve, and it seemed that there was a trend of it getting worse...

    As for the authenticity of the rumor, no one was willing to care about it.

    In fact, everyone knew that this was false. But, for them, the truth was not important. What was important was the satisfaction and pleasure in the process of spreading the rumor.

    So, it was unfortunate for Matthias...

    ¡°Damn it! Damn! Damn! Damn it!¡± Matthias¡¯ face was as ck as the bottom of a pot. He was desperately smashing things to vent his anger. Everything that could be smashed in the room had already been smashed by him, but his rage only grew stronger and stronger.

    If possible, he really wanted to capture the Jarrosus country boy right away and torture him for ten days and ten nights with the cruelest means so that he could die in endless pain after he had shed hisst drop of blood!

    It was because of this darned guy that he had be theughing stock of all people. Just listen to what they were saying... Matthias had been recovering recently, but the jokes circting in the guild had passed through his ears without miss. Matthias felt as if he was on pins and needles listening to all thements every day.

    He couldn¡¯t live another day like this anymore.

    That Jarrosus country boy... he¡¯d have to pay for everything he had done!

    Matthias mmed open the door. He dragged his wounded legs that had yet to fully recover, nning to look for that darned fellow. However, he had just opened the door when he saw a figure in ck robe standing outside the door.

    ¡°Matthias, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Mentor Aeron, I... I...¡± Matthias froze, then stammered ¡°I¡± a few times before finally continuing, ¡°I want to go out for a walk...¡±

    ¡°Walk?¡± Aeron looked at him, and a sneer appeared on his squarish face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to see that Jarrosus mage named Felic?¡±

    Having been exposed by Aeron, Matthias was more or less pricked with guilt. All along, Aeron had given him an unfathomable feeling¡ªMatthias was afraid of him, but he also respected him.

    ¡°Alright, go if you want...¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Matthias gave a start of astonishment.

    ¡°But, I¡¯ll tell you, Matthias, if you have your limbs broken by him again this time, don¡¯t expect me to take out the Restorative Potion to save you. You¡¯d better think it through.¡±

    ¡°But... Mentor Aeron...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± Aeron looked at him, his squarish face was still calm. It was impossible to figure what his mood was.

    ¡°But I can¡¯t swallow this down!¡±

    ¡°What about that?¡± Aeron sneered, his eyes fixed on Matthias. ¡°You can¡¯t swallow it, but what can you do with him? Do you think you¡¯re his match?¡±

    ¡°I... I was only careless thest time...¡± Although Aeron¡¯s stare made him nervous, Matthias did not give in.

    During those ten days in bed, he had thought over and over again, gradually finding out the crux of the battle.

    In this world, it was absolutely impossible for anyone to withstand a fireball without magical shield. Even a legendary mage would not be able to bear it. It was not something that could be endured with physical strength at all, unless... unless that fellow named Felic was wearing some magical equipment...

    Matthias could even guess that the use of this magical equipment would most likely produce a simr effect to a magical shield. The fireball that he¡¯d fired at that time must have been blocked by this magical equipment.

    This was exceptionally important...

    It was the magical equipment that had blocked the fireball, not the strength of the fellow himself.

    Matthias believed he couldn¡¯t be mistaken. The Jarrosus country boy¡¯s strength would never exceed level-seven. Even if he had made new breakthroughs in the past dozen days, it would never be beyond that of level-ten. As long as he knew the real strength of his opponent, with his strength of a level-12 Magic Shooter, how could he be making the same mistakes again?

    It was also because of this that Matthias never understood why Mentor Aeron had asked him to endure.

    Endure, endure... He wondered how long he¡¯d have to endure...

    ¡°A moment of carelessness? Hahaha...¡± Aeron seemed to have heard some funny joke when Matthias¡¯ words fell into his ears. After a longugh, Aeron said to Matthias with sarcasm, ¡°You should thank yourself for your carelessness...¡±

    ¡°Mentor Aeron, why is that?¡± Matthias was a little guilty, beingughed at.

    ¡°Why?¡± Aeron looked at him; his face was still full of derision. ¡°Matthias, you¡¯re not really so naive, are you? Do you really think that the Jarrosus mage named Felic was only at the strength of level-seven?¡±

    ¡°Was he not?¡±

    ¡°Matthias, you are so naive that I want tough...¡± Aeron snickered derisively and continued until Matthias was rather insecure. Then, he shrugged his shoulders, and said indifferently, ¡°Alright, alright. Matthias, just treat it as he¡¯s a level-seven mage; but, what about that? Do you think Macklin will allow you to hurt his disciple?¡±

    At the mention of this, let alone Matthias, even Aeron himself was somewhat discouraged. There was one thing he had not told Matthias, because he feared that it would frighten himpletely.

    The so-called level-seven mage not only had the backing of Macklin, but also of a legendary mage named Andoine...

    After returning from the Nightmare Mountains that day, Aeron had said nothing to anyone, and even forbade the two trial mages from speaking of that day again. In order to lull Macklin, he even pretended to have forgotten about it. But, Aeron remembered everything clearly in his heart. The person who hurt Bathrilor had to pay the price!

    Aeron was only tolerating...

    Aeron knew he had made a mistake.

    It was the same mistake as Matthias¡ªthey had both underestimated the Jarrosus mage, Felic.

    At that time, Aeron had thought it was just a level-seven mage, and there was no need for schemes and intrigues. He even thought that even if Macklin was right in front of him, he would never fall out with himself because of a low-level mage. So much so that Aeron didn¡¯t even bothering up with a scheme when he was in the Nightmare Mountains. He merely tried to charge Felic with hurting his fellow mage and was going to take him to the guild dungeon by force.

    It never urred to him that this Felic could have prompted Andoine¡¯s help, and fromter development, he found that the rtionship between the two men had gone so deep that it was frightening¡ªit had even gone beyond the scope of apprenticeship.

    For this reason, Aeron had reflected on himself for a long time.

    Andoine¡¯s existence gave Aeron a feeling of being tied behind his back. He couldn¡¯t deal with Felic directly. Even if he did, he could not let Andoine know that he had something to do with the matter.

    That day, after returning from the Nightmare Mountains, Andoine had asked Macklin to convey his words to him.

    ¡°You dare touch a hair on Felic, I¡¯ll chop off Bathrilor¡¯s hand.¡±

    Aeron knew Andoine did have the capability to do so. He dared not provoke Andoine until he had gotten his father¡¯s support, so he could only pretend nothing had happened.

    But, that didn¡¯t mean that he had forgotten about it. In fact, Aeron didn¡¯t forget anything; he just hid his thoughts deeper.

    Aeron soon had an idea¡ªbecause it suddenly urred to him that the fellow named Felic had not only hurt Bathrilor, but also his disciple, Matthias!

    Matthias was not an ordinary person. If he was willing, he could make big news out of Matthias¡¯ status...

    ¡°Forget it... Matthias, if you really want to vent that anger, you should listen to me and follow my arrangements. Don¡¯t act on your own imagined cleverness and look for Felic like that.¡± After Aeron had finished, he turned and walked out of Matthias¡¯ room. He had already devised aplete n. As long as Matthias didn¡¯t act on his own, he¡¯d soon be able to bring that Felic down. There was no need to tell Matthias what the n was. After all, he was just a chess piece; chess pieces needed not know too much...

 Chapter 159 - Robe of The Void

    <h4>Chapter 159: Robe of The Void</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The few following days were very peaceful. Lin Li¡¯s daily routine was to head straight to the Omniscient Tower once he woke up, and he would only return once it was near dusk. He spent almost twenty days to get from the first floor to the fifth. Within these twenty days, he had almost finished reading all of the reading notes from all five floors.

    Being submerged in the sea of knowledge regarding magic, Lin Li did not feel the passage of time.

    ... Until this morning.

    The weather was pleasant, and Lin Li, as before, nned to head for the Omniscient Tower just as he finished his breakfast.

    Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

    ¡°Morning, Mr. Macklin.¡±

    ¡°Morning, getting ready to head out?¡± The old man did not look well; it seemed as if he did not sleep much.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m nning to head to the Omniscient Tower.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, very diligent...¡± Macklin nodded, but the words he said gave Lin Li a shock. ¡°However, you don¡¯t have to go anymore¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you have something more important.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes as he wondered how he did not know.

    ¡°Members of the Supreme Council areing.¡±

    ¡°Supreme Council?¡± Macklin¡¯s words indeed reminded Lin Li that ever since they came back from the Shadowglen, Macklin might have mentioned that whoeverpleted this mission would receive a reward from the Supreme Council. As for the contents of the reward, the old man did not clearly state it, and Lin Li did not question further. In a sh, twenty or more days have passed. Lin Li was at the Omniscient Tower almost every day, and he left the matter in the back of his mind.

    Unknowingly, this matter was raised up again after such a long time. Could it be that the Supreme Council came over to pay back the debt from back then?

    ¡°I reckon it should be that matter...¡± Looking at hisplexion, Macklin knew that this fe was just thinking about the reward.

    Thinking about how it would make the Supreme Council bleed, both of themughed simultaneously.

    Afterughing, Macklin frowned and stared at the Robe of Wrath that Lin Li was wearing. He then bluntly criticized, ¡°Let me say this Felic. Can¡¯t you change this torn robe? After wearing this torn robe everyday, aren¡¯t you sick of it? I beg you to do something right and change it immediately. Don¡¯t let the Supreme Council think that the nna¡¯s Guild of Magic is torturing you when they see it...¡±

    ¡°Is it that serious...¡± Lin Li scratched his head awkwardly. This Robe of Wrath was indeed slightly ridiculous. Not only was it crumpled and old, it even had a few holes in the sleeves. Luckily, he did not leave the Guild of Magic often, or he might have been mistaken as beggar while walking around nna city.

    ¡°It is very serious!¡± The old man affirmatively nodded his head.

    ¡°Ok, then...¡±

    Even without Macklin¡¯s reminder, Lin Li had long thought of changing the Robe of Wrath as it was of little value. Ever since he arrived at Anril, he had never filled up the space of over thirty scrolls. The only time the scrolls were ever used was the day that he went with Andoine to the Nightmare Mountains and used Air Bomb scrolls as geo-explosives.

    It was just that he had never seen something worth changing into all this while, and he could not bear to lose the magical enchantment for magical resistance. Therefore, this matter has been dragged on since. Unknowingly, it had been dragged on for several months.

    He could not help it. Currently, the robes seen in the market were always making an issue about scroll space. From ten to twenty spaces, it mostly cost tens of thousand gold, and rarely would it be a few thousand gold. Wasn¡¯t it like having nothing better to do by not using the Robe of Wrath with thirty scroll space and spending money to buy those that only had ten or more scroll spaces?

    Lin Li hesitated, but Macklin seemed like he was prepared for it. He smiled sheepishly and reached out with his right hand that had been behind his back.

    After that, Lin Li saw that his hand was holding onto a ck robe that was folded neatly.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li was astounded. He looked at the ck robe and looked at Macklin; he seemed uncertain. This was the Robe of the Void¡ªmagical equipment supplied by the Gilded Rose in limited quantities. Even within nna¡¯s guild, only people of the archmage rank had the right to wear it.

    This was something good, and even Macklin was wearing it.

    Not only did it have space for fifteen scrolls, it even had a Shield of the Void, which could be used once daily. It was equivalent to having another emergency tool during battles.

    Lin Li was slightly uncertain as this item was not simple. It could fetch more than five hundred thousand gold if it was sold in the store. Why was Macklin so generous?

    ¡°Kid, why are you dazed? Hurry change into it in your room. You helped the guild in the matter with Adventurers Guild, giving you this robe is nothing much...¡± Macklin urged him and ced the ck robe into Lin Li¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Macklin...¡± The old man had already said that much, Lin Li did not want to reject him anymore. After taking the ck robe, he went into his room.

    After seeing Lin Li entering his room, Macklin had a slightly pleased smile.

    This was an idea that he¡¯d painstakingly thought of. He thought of giving the benefits first regardless of whether this kid was interested ining to nna. As gifts blinded the eyes, even if the kid were to reject, he would not reject easily after wearing this robe given by the old man...

    Even though the Robe of the Void was precious, it was nothing much for the nna¡¯s Guild of Magic. If the robe could rope in a genius like Felic, it was a deal that could not be any more valuable.

    If he could, Macklin even wanted to bring a full set of equipment and immediately ce a logo of the nna¡¯s Guild of Magic on this kid. At that point, would there be anything left for the fatty Gerian to say?

    Unfortunately, this kid was too monstrous. His whole body was filled with top-tier equipment¡ªespecially that Dragon¡¯s Eye that he took out the other day. It was terrifying. Macklin thought so hard about it that his hair almost turned white. He could only think of using the arrival of the members of the Supreme Council to force this kid to change into a robe.

    As he was deliberating, Lin Li had already changed into the ck robe, and came out from the room before he could even have a breakthrough.

    Lin Li was not bad-looking, and after changing into the new ck mes, he seemed to be more refreshed. When he stood at the door, even Macklin was stupefied for a moment. After a brief moment, this old man shamelessly praised, ¡°Not bad, not bad, you¡¯re almost like how I looked like when I was younger...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li looked at that old face, and then looked at that goatee. He smartly remained quiet...

    Macklin wanted to boast more, but the door opened with a ¡°kacha¡±, and then Macklin saw Mason and Orrin, each carrying a bag of food entering from the door.

    ¡°Felic, let me tell you...¡± Once Mason entered, he started making a fuss. Only when he was halfway throughining did he see Macklin, who was behind the door. Mason immediately swallowed the rest of his words and started smiling. ¡°Good Morning, Mr. Macklin...¡±

    ¡°Both of you returned at the right time. Come over, I have something to talk to you about.¡± Macklin called both of them over and repeated the same words.

    ¡°Supreme Council?¡± Mason¡¯s eyes shined after he heard it. Ever since they returned from the Shadowglen, he had been waiting for the reward from the Supreme Council. He had been waiting for more than twenty days, and the news had finally returned. Instantaneously, he could not be bothered about anything else. He threw his bag of food on the table and started questioning Macklin incessantly.

    At this time, even Orrin, much less Mason, showed some excitement on his face. ¡°When is it?¡±

    ¡°Tonight, the council will organize a banquet, and there will be many attendees. You guys just need to be punctual.¡± The old man was annoyed with Mason¡¯s barrage of questions; he hurriedly gave them instructions before leaving.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Felic...¡± After seeing Macklin off, Mason thought of the matter at hand earlier. He excitedly said, ¡°I heard some news today.¡±

    ¡°What news?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you mention a few days ago that you thought of letting Sean properly learn martial arts? I heard just now that the Ad Academy is now recruiting new students. Do you want to send Sean over?¡±

    ¡°What is Ad Academy?¡± Lin Li was slightly confused. After arriving at nna, he hardly left the Guild of Magic. He had no idea what the Ad Academy was...

    ¡°Damn, you don¡¯t even know what the Ad Academy is?¡± Mason felt bitter as he could not understand something¡ªjust how was this clueless guy so much more outstanding aspared to himself?

 Chapter 160 - Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 160: Banquet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After hearing listening to Mason long-windedly talk for a long time, Lin Li could somewhat understand what the Ad Academy was. It was simr to the Guild of Magic¡ªthey were responsible for nurturing talented people. It was just that the Guild of Magic was for nurturing mages, whereas the Ad Academy was for nurturing warriors.

    Of course, there were some differences in the smaller details.

    After all, the warriors were different from mages. This profession did not require much innate talent. As long as you had all four limbs, it would be possible to be a qualified warrior. In ce such as Fn Kingdom, there were too many people with the possibility of bing a qualified warrior...

    This enormous number of apprentices naturally was not the same as the Guild of Magic. It was hard to imagine things such as warriors having a mentor passing down knowledge and a mentor having a few students following him.

    With the sheer number of students, they would choose academies to enrol in and receive basic training in martial arts.

    With the Ad Academy as an example, this academy was known for teaching various martial arts. The students just had to pay a fixed amount in school fees, and they could learn skills from level one to level ten.

    Lin Li was a little excited. Sean had such an unquestionable talent that even a nitpicking old man like Andoine was full of praises for him. He was onlycking proper guidance. If he could enter the Ad Academy, he would be able to be a formidable warrior within a short period of time.

    ¡°Let me ask what Sean thinks.¡± After Lin Lin said that, he remembered that he did not seem to see Sean today morning when he woke up. He immediately felt uncertain. ¡°Oh, yes... did you see Sean today?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see him...¡± Mason¡¯s voice was not clear as he was munching on the bread.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Orrin shook his head as well.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was confused. Where did this kid run off to at such an early hour?

    ¡°Du, du, du...¡± At this time, there was another series of knocks on the door.

    ¡°May I know whom you are looking for?¡± Lin Li opened the door, and there was a stranger wearing a suit of brown leather armor. From his looks, he was in his twenties. He was fair-skinned and his blond hair was unusually vibrant.

    The weirdest part for Lin Li was that this guy looked slightly familiar...

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes... It¡¯s you!¡± Before Lin Li could speak, that man had already shouted, and both his eyes were wide open. His face looked like he had just seen a ghost as he pointed at Lin Li. He was stammering; he did not say a word for a very long time.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was stupefied at first, but immediately after, his brain was filled with images.

    Fresh blood was spilled over the base, the four searing hoofs of the Shapeshifter, a silver te filled with Holy Scent, and the mystical crystal...

    Wasn¡¯t this youngster with a shocked look the guy that brought a group of adventurers to challenge the Shapeshifter the other night in the Nightmare Mountains? It appeared that after the battle, he threw a silver te and almost killed Lin Li...

    ¡°It¡¯s you...¡± Lin Li smiled, and looked like he had suddenly realized it.

    ¡°No, no, no... It¡¯s not me. It really isn¡¯t me...¡± The blond youngster looked so terrible that it was worse than crying. He did not imagine that things could be so coincidental.

    Since he returned that night, he was so scared that he could not sleep well. He was afraid that the powerful mage woulde searching for him. For the next half a month or so, he was ever so trembling in fear everyday. Finally, the situation blew over, and he thought he was safe. He did not think that on his second time going out, he would bump into the victim.

    It was over, this mage definitely knew who he was. Through the trapid by that damned boss, he had effortlessly caused himself to walk right into the trap.

    ¡°Why is it so confusing...¡± Lin Li frowned. This guy had some issues,ing over with no rhyme or reason to tell him that ¡°It was not him, it really wasn¡¯t him.¡± Did he have nothing better to do?

    ¡°Mr Mage...¡± The blond youngster swallowed his saliva, and painstakingly exined himself, ¡°The other night, it wasn¡¯t intentional...¡±

    ¡°I did not say that it was intentional...¡± Lin Li spoke weakly, and thought, <i>¡®What bullshit, who didn¡¯t know you ran away hurriedly? If it was really intentional, I would have killed you. Why bother waiting for you toe to the Guild of Magic?¡¯</i>

    The blond youngster looked anxious and doubtful. He stared at Lin Li for a while before deciding that the other party meant what he said.

    ¡°If there is anything else,e in first before we talk about it. Stop looking around, nobody will do anything to you...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± The blond youngster followed Lin Li, and entered the living room trembling in fear. Hisplexion unusually nervous, and he looked around uneasily. He did not even know where to ce his hands.

    ¡°Please take a seat.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    ¡°Would you like a drink?¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    ¡°What does you mother do?¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was about to be driven mad by him. What was wrong with him? Was he just going to say ¡°okay¡± aftering here early in the morning?

    ¡°Forget it, if there is anything, just hurry up and say it. After you go back, you can slowly say ¡®okay¡¯ to yourself...¡±

    ¡°... Weren¡¯t you the one that was looking for me?¡± This time, the blond youngster did not say ¡°okay¡±; instead, he had a surprised look on his face.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was baffled. ¡°When did I ever look for you?¡±

    ¡°You asked Garza to pass the message that you had some business to discuss with me...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± After Lin Li heard this, he immediately understood. It appeared that this guy was the one he had been searching for, the one that put up the Fire Smandrid leather armor for consignment sale. ¡°So the owner of the two pieces of equipment was you...¡±

    ¡°You looking for me... was purely for business?¡± After hearing him mentioning the equipment, the blond youngster finally somewhat trusted him. It was just that hisplexion was still very nervous, and he looked at Lin Li in an anxious and doubtful manner. The scene in Nightmare Mountains had etched a deep impression in him.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Lin Li did not care if he was nervous. He just went straight to the point and asked, ¡°Was it you that brought that leather armor made from the skin of the Fire Smandrid to the consignment store for sale?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Mage...¡±

    ¡°Very good...¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and straightforwardly asked, ¡°How many pieces left?¡±

    The question was asked brainlessly. Furthermore, the young blond was nervous; hence, he was baffled. ¡°Ah? How many pieces left?¡±

    ¡°The Fire Smandrid¡¯s leather, how many do you have left? I need about ten pieces. It doesn¡¯t matter if I have to pay with money or trade for it. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± The blond youngster hesitated.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the price.¡± Lin Li saw him hesitating, and thought that he was worried that Lin Li could not afford it. He did not say much and stated his own price. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I will trade with you using potions. For every piece of Fire Smandrid leather, I will give you three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion!¡±

    ¡°Three... Three bottles?¡± Once this astonishing price was given, the blond youngster was so scared that he forgot about his nervousness.

    He could not imagine that this mage was such a big spender. The bull¡¯s strength potion was something that every physical ss dreamed of, especially so a warrior like him. A bottle of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion could increase one¡¯s power by a few levels.

    In the ck market, a bottle of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion could fetch at least fifty thousand gold coins. One piece for three bottles, ten pieces would be thirty bottles...

    How much money was this? The blond youngster started to feel that his brain wascking as he started calcting...

    Unfortunately, he could only admire thisrge some of money.

    The young blond hesitated, but he decided to speak the truth. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Mr Mage. I¡¯m not worried about the price¡ªI can¡¯t deliver the goods...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li felt regretful, but he was not discouraged. In fact, he had already guessed this answer. The other day, when he helped Sean purchase the leather armor, at least five pieces of Fire Smandrid leather were used. Even if the blond youngster had an outbreak in his character, he would not be able to deliver that many immediately...

    ¡°Let¡¯s change the terms.¡± Lin Li thought about it, and continued, ¡°Let¡¯s exchange thirty bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion for the location to hunt for Fire Smandrid.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The blond youth almost went mad at that moment. <i>¡®What does this mage do that he has so many bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion on hand?¡¯ </i>He could actually use thirty bottles just for a hunting spot.

    Unfortunately, he could only admire thisrge sum of money.

    If he did not want to just admire it, he could take a risk and fabricate a location. He would think about itter after cheating the thirty bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion.

    If he was dealing with somebody else, the blond youngster might have risked it under the temptation of such a huge sum of money. The problem was that no matter how precious the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion was, wouldn¡¯t he need to be alive to drink it? Was this young mage going to be so easily scammed?

    ¡°Mr Mage...¡± The blond youngster swallowed his saliva with a painful expression. ¡°The leather armor was not ours...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°The leather was purchased by me from the ck market one month ago. Along with the leather armor, there were two other items. One was the double-edged greatsword that you bought. The other...¡± Aftering to this point, the blond youngster became somewhat awkward.

    ¡°The silver te that smashed me?¡± Lin Li could guess what was the other item by looking at hisplexion.

    The blond youthughed awkwardly. ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave the silver te. What I am more concerned about is whether you have a way to help me find the people selling these items? Don¡¯t worry, it would not be fruitless for you.¡±

    ¡°Finding them is not an issue, but I need some time. As you know, the ck market is a veryplicated ce...¡±

    ¡°Help me find this person within a month. As for the reward... what do you think about three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion?¡±

    ¡°No problem, no problem...¡± The blond youngster nodded his head. Helping to find someone for three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion... was there any mission in the world that was more worth it?

    ¡°Oh, yes. What is your name?¡±

    ¡°My name is Elijah, Mr Mage.¡±

    ¡°Very well, Mr Elijah. Within a month, this deal would be effective. After you found the person,e look for me at the Guild of Magic. Then, I will give you the three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion. Of course, it would be even better if you can secure ten pieces of Fire Smandrid leather. I will give you thirty bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion.¡±

    Aftering sealing the deal, both of them discussed the finer details before Lin Li sent him off.

    ...

    After searching for the Fire Smandrid leather for almost a month, there was finally some result today. Feeling happy, Lin Li gave himself a day to rest; he would not go to the Omniscient Tower to read. He would stay at home to organize the knowledge he had learnt over this recent period of time. At the same time, he would discuss with Sean about the Ad Academy when thetter returned.

    This matter was weird as Sean did not go out usually. However, today was very different. He had left before dawn, and there was no sight of him even until now.

    Sean did not return, but Macklin came over.

    When it was approaching the evening, Macklin came over and knocked on the room door.

    ¡°Hurry, many people came over today. If you guys don¡¯t hurry, there will only be leftovers for you!¡±

    The old man¡¯s bawl was more effective than any hypnotism. Mason, who was originally in the room, thinking which robe to wear, had a shock after hearing Macklin¡¯s voice. He hastily wore a ck robe, and rushed out of the room like a rabbit.

    The venue for the banquet was set in the guild hall. When they rushed over, the banquet hall was basked in magnificence and brightly lit with lights. Lin Li looked around. There were 24 training mages¡ªincluding the three of them¡ªas well as some important personnel from the nna¡¯s Guild of Magic. For example, there was Aldwin, Archmage Aeron, who was the son of the president, and Archmage Macklin, who was beside Lin Li....

    Within the wide banquet hall, about fifty people were seated.

    In the hall, there were two long tables. Members of the nna Guild of Magic were at one table, and the other table was for the 24 training mages. Beside Aldwin was an old man, who was seventy years old or more. He looked old, and had a turbid gaze. Both of his eyes were half open as though he had not woken up yet. Even when Aldwin was talking to him, he looked like hecked enthusiasm.

    If it was not for the immense magical wave he was emitting, most people would think that he was just a normal old man.

    Lin Li looked at him, slightly surprised. This was actually another legendary mage...

    ¡°Did you see that?¡± After Macklin entered the banquet hall, he hinted Lin Li with his eyes, asking him to look at the old man beside Aldwin. ¡°This old man is one of the highest-ranked arbiters. His name is Herza. Don¡¯t look at him as though he is almost of the same age as Aldwin. In reality, he is old enough to be Aldwin¡¯s grandfather. During these hundred years, he has been handling the external matters of the Supreme Council. As for strength... I only know it is very powerful!¡±

    ¡°How powerful is that?¡± Lin Li was curious.

    ¡°Stronger than me, in any case...¡± Macklin finished speaking with a depressed look as though he had lost his reputation. Hence, he brazenly added, ¡°He might be stronger than Aldwin...¡±

    ¡°That is indeed powerful...¡±

    The both of them had just exchanged a few words before Macklin was called over by somebody, leaving Lin Li and the rest looking everywhere curiously.

    Only when they were almost done looking did the three find a few seats to sit down.

    Lin Li had just sat down, and realized there was somebody familiar sitting beside him.

    ¡°Good evening, Mage Fredrick.¡±

    ¡°Good evening, Mage Felic...¡± Fredrick felt like pping himself. Out of all the ces to sit, he had to choose this seat. Great, now that this fe was sitting beside him, he could enjoy tonight¡¯s dinner...

    Thinking about the ming Hands in Shadowglen, Fredrick became restless. His butt was rubbing on the seat as though he had piles.

    Lin Li saw that he looked weird, and concernedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is mage Fredrick ufortable?¡±

    ¡°No... Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Why don¡¯t I see Ka and the rest here?¡± Lin Li chatted with Fredrick warm-heartedly; it seemed as though they were good friends that had not met for a long. Just by looking, nobody would have thought that this fe was the one that used ming Hands without uttering a word in the Shadowglen and almost burnt Fredrick.

    ¡°They... They are with Sarsen...¡± Fredrick sat there, feeling as though he was sitting like a soldering iron. He did not dare to change his seat as there would be trouble in case this fe did not give him any face.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and continued making small talk with Fredrick.

    Fredrick really felt like smashing his head against the wall. What was this fe thinking by lingering around, having toe up to him when there were so many other people around?

    Actually, he did not know that Lin Li knew only a few people out of the many in the banquet hall. Since he had already sat there and idling was just idling, why not search for someone familiar to talk to...

    But, he did not think that his existence gave Fredrick so much pressure...

    Luckily, President Aldwin stood up when Fredrick felt like every single second was arduous.

    ¡°Good evening, everyone.¡± Aldwin¡¯s face had a warm smile. His voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for everyone. ¡°The banquet willmence shortly, but before that, I would like to solemnly introduce an important person¡ªone of the arbiters of the Supreme Council, Mage Herza!¡±

    ¡°p, p, p, p...¡± There was a loud round of apuse in the banquet hall. For most of the mages, the Supreme Council was the most mysterious ce with Anril. A mage from the Supreme Council was worthy of their enthusiastic apuse.

    ¡°Good evening, everyone...¡± Herza¡¯s voice sounded like he was short of breath.

    ¡°Mage Herza¡¯s attendance is mainly for two reasons. The first reason is rted to the trial at the Shadowglen. Before the banquetmences, Mage Herza would bestow a gift upon those fes that were sessful during this trial.¡± After this point, Aldwin paused for a moment. ¡°The second reason is that Mage Herza will be hosting the finals that will be held in a month¡¯s time.¡±

    The hall was suddenly silent. Aldwinst sentence had seemingly taken away everybody¡¯s attention. Even the leaders of the nna Guild of Magic held their breaths. Nobody could have imagined that the finals were actually going to be hosted by somebody from the Supreme Council.

    From these words, many of them could sense something out of the ordinary. The individual guilds were responsible for the previous trials. However, this year, not only did the Supreme Council suddenly organize the mission at the Shadowglen, they even wanted to host the finals now. Before Aldwin¡¯s voice settled, everyone was guessing what was the meaning behind this...

    Yet, at this point, the insider stood up again. His voice was still weak and faint, but the words he spoke were as though he dropped a bomb in the banquet hall.

    ¡°The victor of the finals will have the support of the Supreme Council to set up a guild in any region.¡±

    This feeble sentence caused everyone to be excited.

    ¡°Oh my God...¡±

 Chapter 161 - Earthquake

    <h4>Chapter 161: Earthquake</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Herza¡¯s words were like a lighted match being thrown into gasoline. With a roar, everyone in the banquet hall was ignited. The once quiet banquet hall had suddenly be bustling with noise. Everyone seemed to be discussing fervently; whispers were blending together, causing the quiet banquet hall to be lively like a city.

    All 24 young mages had a pleasantly surprised look.

    Before participating in the trials at nna, none of them could have thought that such an opportunity was awaiting them. Prior to today, they had not even dreamt of being a guild president of a Guild of Magic.

    The Fn Kingdom was a country of magic. A president of a Guild of Magic was not a small matter. He could have enormous resources and the right to study the mostplex spells, and he would not be bound bymonw.

    Most in the crowd were not older than twenty years. At this age, immense power and an honorable status were undoubtedly the most tempting.

    Being able to be the president of a Guild of Magic at the age of twenty was something unheard of in the Fn Kingdom. The victor of this trial would be destined to be the brightest shining star of the Fn Kingdom.

    Who would be able to resist such an opportunity and temptation?

    Even the fidgeting Fredrick that seemed like he has piles had his eyes lit. Both his eyes were staring at Herza. It was as though he was a wolf that had not eaten for days looking at a piece of fresh meat...

    Sarsen looked at Gryffindor, who was far away. This number one genius of Fn was alwaysposed. He would sometimes show a rxed smile when speaking to hispanions. However, he emitted an endless sense of self-confidence from his body. It was as though the championship of this finals was within his grasp.

    Sarsen let out a sigh. Although Gryffindor was arrogant, he had to admit that there was a reason for Gryffindor¡¯s self-confidence.

    Ever since they returned from the Shadowglen, Sarsen met Gryffindor numerous times. He could clearly feel that Gryffindor¡¯s strength had immensely improved. The current him might already have bordered the realm of an Archmage. Maybe just by progressing a little more, he would be able to step in the realm that every mage dreamt of.

    Even Sarsen could not make out how strong the current Gryffindor was.

    He only knew that he had been left in the dust by this number one genius of Fn.

    The scenery of the Shadowglen started to slowly appear in Sarsen. He had to admit that this world indeed had geniuses. Their existence was to let those who were trying to chase up to lose hope. For example, Gryffindor, who was at approaching the realm of an Archmage in his twenties, and that fe who went up against a Lich...

    Most likely only that fe could be a match for Gryffindor.

    Sarsen unknowingly gazed into the distance. That young mage from Jarrosus was still calm andposed. He was now bored, ying with a knife and fork. It looked like he was an outsider that was not affected by the earlier news at all.

    Compared to the cheering of the youngsters, the people like Macklin were more prudent.

    In fact, the looks on their faces could be described as serious.

    The over twenty archmages present were core members of the nna Guild of Magic. The things they knew were much more profound than these youngsters.

    Their perspective of issues was naturally much more different.

    In fact, Macklin was now having a headache.

    A new Guild of Magic was not going to be that simple.

    This meant something of more immediate significance. For example, it could be the partition of the boundaries of authority, or the division of privileges or the rtions between each other, and much more...

    These questions were philistine, but they still existed, constantly puzzling everyone...

    The benefits of Fn¡¯s twenty-four Guilds of Magic were intertwined with each other, and it was very messy. This mess had not been cleared for more than 1200 years since the end of the Dark Ages.

    Yet, the decision made by the Supreme Council was like taking this mess into their hands and squashing it. The mess that could not be solved was now worse.

    Nobody knew what the Supreme Council was thinking, much less what they were nning to do.

    Macklin did not know where this new Guild of Magic was going to be established.

    Fn Kingdom¡¯s most prosperous twenty-four cities had long ago set up their own Guild of Magic. Where was this new Guild of Magic that had suddenly appeared going to be established?

    <i>Could it be the Breezy ins? </i>Thinking of this possibility, Macklin facial expression changed immediately. <i>Isn¡¯t this too exciting...</i>

    The more Macklin thought about it, the more possible it became. After expanding his thoughts, the questions that he could not solve previously suddenly had an answer. No wonder the Supreme Council organized this trial. No wonder they intentionally added the mission in Shadowglen halfway through. No wonder the rules for the finals were so weird...

    Macklin¡¯s face had a look of understanding, but at the same time, he looked worried.

    Looking at Aldwin who was beside him having the same expression, it seemed like both of them had the same idea.

    Macklin was restless; he decided to ask Herza.

    Luckily, Herza was the one that came this time.

    Herza was in charge of external affairs, and woulde to nna a few times a year. Macklin had a somewhat friendly rtionship with him.

    Hence, Macklin moved closer shamelessly. ¡°Mage Herza, is it the Breezy ins?¡±

    ¡°The weather today is not bad...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin was ¡®choked¡¯ by him until his eyes rolled. In his rage, he silently scolded, <i>Jerk!</i>

    Macklin was right, Herza was befitting of the word ¡°jerk¡±.

    A pleasant banquet had now been ruined by Herza. Under the bombardment of this news that was like an earthquake, who would be able to eat? The sumptuous dinner that was served tasted like sawdust for everyone. Being absent-minded, the meal had be nd. It was not long after eight o¡¯clock when everyone had dispersed.

    Ever since this hasty banquet, the atmosphere within nna¡¯s Guild of Magic started to be very tense. The twenty-four young mages were desperately trying to improve. Those that had the right to enter the Omniscient Tower wanted to live inside it. Before dawn even broke, they went in, and only left the tower punctually at 9 o¡¯clock at night. They were so focused that they did not want to waste a single second. They even felt like pouring their meals into their stomach when it was time to eat.

    As for the rest that could not enter the Omniscient Tower, they did not show weakness. They went to the Adventurers Guild without prior consultation and took on the most challenging missions. They used this self-torturing method to close the gap between them and the others.

    Even though they had a mountain like Gryffindor pressuring them, nobody gave up during this month.

    During a real battle, who would know what could happen? It was not only Gryffindor that had a chance to fight for this position. Maybe a mistake in a spell could deliver this chance to them.

    This was the general thought that most of these young mages had.

    This tense atmosphere was motivating many people.

    Even Mason, who was usually not very diligent, had visited the Omniscient Tower almost every day. Furthermore, he would drag Orrin to the spell testing hall, bombarding it with various spells.

    As for why he looked for Orrin, and not Lin Li? This was slightlyplicated...

    If Mason were to answer, he would most likely whisper, ¡°F*ck. Do I not have nothing better to do but look for that monster? That¡¯s torture alright...¡±

    Of course, even if he did want to find Lin Li, he might not be able to find him.

    Lin Li was as busy.

    It was just that the things he was busy with were different from the rest.

    Initially, he gave Elijah one month to find somebody in the ck market. However, after one week, the blond youngster had brought him good news.

    ¡°Mr Mage, I have alreadypleted the task you gave me!¡± The fair-skinned face of the blond youth was filled with excitement. He had no choice but to be excited as it was a deal for three bottles for Bull¡¯s Strength Potion....

    ¡°Bring me immediately.¡± Li Li did not say anything else and dragged Elijah out of the Guild of Magic.

    Both of them hurriedly left the guild hall, and went through the streets of nna. After a short time, they saw the main entrance of the Adventurers Guild. The ck market was established within the vicinity of the Adventurers Guild, just like in Jarrosus. This was very normal as it was natural to do such trades where adventurers were entering and leaving...

 Chapter 162 - Thunder Eaglet

    <h4>Chapter 162: Thunder Eaglet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Jarrosus was a small northern city, and nna was the imperial capital of Fn. These two cities had a vastly different style, but they had one thing inmon, and it was how messy the ck markets were. They were simrly bustling. Furthermore, the situation in nna was worse than in Jarrosus.

    This ce was too awful. The pungent smell of low-quality tobo mixed with sweat was very suffocating, and there was rubbish all over the floor. The fruit peels, scraps of paper, and ash were all mixed together. One had to be careful, for they might step on it. There were only noise and arguments when walking amongst the crowd. It was like a million flies constantly buzzing beside your ear. asionally, there would be a scream. It was either a female adventurer that got groped, or a male adventurer that had their wallet stolen. All in all, this ce was like a market, but magnified by a hundred times.

    With a situation that was worse than Jarrosus¡¯, it would naturally have more goods than Jarrosus.

    After all, nna was the capital of Fn. The adventurers here were much stronger than those in Jarrosus. The products they could supply were naturally not something Jarrosus¡¯s ck market couldpete with.

    From armor to weapons and magical crystals, from gems to ores and herbs. A dazzling array of products was piled together, causing people to see things in a blur. At the corner of the street, there were a few small metal cages, and within these cages were some Thunder Eaglets. Thunder Eagles were level-10 magical beasts. Hunting their young was not easier than ying the eagles. No matter if it was a human or a magical beast, they would erupt with astonishing power when their family was under threat.

    The one selling the Thunder Eaglets was a bandit wearing a brown leather armor. He looked to be in his twenties, and his pair of eyes had a unique feature. They seemed to be keen. No matter who looked over, it seemed like their first reaction would be to cover their wallets.

    Gerian, that shameless person, said before that an attractive guild president like himself did not have to do anything¡ªhe only needed to show an adequate expression, and people would obey him.

    Lin Li felt that this description was befitting of this fe. Such an attractive bandit like him did not have to do anything; people would cover their wallets if he just made a face at them.

    Without a doubt, he was indeed an attractive bandit.

    What was more attractive than his eyes was his figure.

    This figure was indeed too spectacr!

    Based on Lin Li¡¯s estimation, this bandit that was wearing leather armor with two daggers by his boots was fatter than Gerian. He seemed like a meatball when looking at him.

    It was hard for Lin Li to imagine...

    How was this huge thing able to achieve high-difficulty movements such as stealthy movements and sneak attacks?

    ¡°Mr Mage, you have sharp eyes. With one look, you seemed to have taken a fancy to my Thunder Eagles. Come over and take a look. I am selling genuine Thunder Eaglets, one for ten thousand gold coins! I would even give you an exclusive secret rearing manual for free. Don¡¯t miss it as you walk past. It is a rare deal to rear a Thunder Eagle for such a cheap price!¡±

    The fat bandit¡¯s exaggerated promotion made Lin Li feel amused. This guy was indeed made for business. He promoted the thunder eagles to a mage. These level-10 magical beasts were naturally proficient in Thunder spells, but they had no specialty in fighting. There was no need for a mage to buy it. Was it not equivalent to bringing more Thunderbolt scrolls?

    ¡°Shut up, Shaun!¡±

    Elijah operated a mercenary corp. He would make deals with all sorts of people in the ck market almost every day. The tricks of this fat bandit were not known to others, but Elijah definitely knew them. What exclusive secret rearing manual? This jerk¡¯s secret magical beast rearing manual was copied from a circus in the first ce...

    A Thunder Eagle was a level-10 magical beast. It would not be possible to be good at rearing when using these methods for cats and dogs...

    If such methods were possible, wouldn¡¯t Anril be full of magical beast tamers?

    It was not that nobody bought magical beasts offspring from him before. It was just that out of those who bought it, who had sessfully reared them?

    Magical beasts were not the usual beasts. When they matured, the natural ferocity and bloodlust would start to show, but it would not be seen when they were young. Once it had reached that point, any training would be useless. It was either to kill or be killed by it... Luckily, those that had bought these magical from this fe chose to do the former. For the time being, no human blood had been shed. Otherwise, this guy would have been beaten to death.

    This originally had nothing to do with Elijah, for everybody was making a living. He sold his fake rearing methods, while Elijah managed his own mercenary corp. It was fine once you knew and would not be scammed. There was no need to ruin his business.

    But, the problem was this guy chose to scam this monstrous mage out of everybody else...

    Was he somebody that you could just casually scam as well?

    <i>If you want to die by yourself, it is fine. But if he felt that I brought him to get scammed, wouldn¡¯t I be in deep trouble?</i>

    For the fat bandit¡¯s safety¡ªand much more so for his own¡ªElijah had no choice but to step in. He righteously stood out and exposed this person...

    ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t Captain Elijah. Just a joke, just a joke. I merely saw the pleasant weather today, and I just cracked a joke with this mage...¡± Once he saw that Elijah appear, the fatty started to tremble in fear. <i>F*ck, it was not easy to spot a gullible target, and it was this person¡¯s friend. </i><i>Seems like this deal is busted...</i>

    Elijah was not to be messed with. He was somebody that traded in frequently in the ck market. There was no way to hide this little trick away from his eyes.

    ¡°Mr Felic, you can ignore him. This fe is a cheat. He doesn¡¯t have any exclusive secret manual...¡± After Elijah had taught a lesson to the fat bandit, he carefully exined to Lin Lin Li in fear that Lin Li would misunderstand that he had anything to do with the bandit.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Lin Li smiled; he did not take it to heart. From the start, he never believed there was an exclusive secret manual. Why would anyone with this secret manual fall so low as to depend on selling magical beast offspring for a living. Furthermore, it was so cheap. A Thunder Eaglet for a thousand gold each?

    This was a level-10 magical beast. If it was possible to rear it, it could be sold randomly for tens of thousands of gold coins, and not just a thousand gold.

    It was not a small matter to rear a level-10 magical beast.

    Even Lin Li, a former super hunter, was only able to master the art of rearing a level-5 magical beast.

    The real question for Lin Li was: where did this guy get these Thunder Eaglets from?

    Thunder Eagles were indeed level-10 magical beasts naturally proficient at Thunder Spells. Not everybody could withstand a Thunderbolt. From the looks of it, this bandit was not higher than level-10. It would already be very exhausting to face a Thunder Eagle alone. Furthermore, he had to steal their offspring from their nest.

    A single Thunder Eagle nest would require a team of ten people. If he went alone, wouldn¡¯t it be the same as courting death?

    Just as Lin Li seemed uncertain, that round bandit was looking puzzled.

    He did not understand some things. He knew the status of Elijah, captain of the Silver Moon Ranger Mercenary Corp. He was only in his twenties, and had single-handedly raised a mercenary corps to a scale of more than a hundred people. He could be considered one of the top figures even amongst nna¡¯s adventurers.

    No matter how he looked, he couldn¡¯t understand it¡ªwhy was Elijah so respectful towards this young mage?

    This was uncharacteristic of Elijah...

    Could it be the background of this young mage was so good that Elijah had no choice but to be respectful?

    The fat bandit could not make head nor tail out of it. He only heard that Lin Li left him a message before leaving. ¡°Help me reserve one Thunder Eagle.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The fat bandit was stunned for a while.

    When Elijah had appeared just now, he already knew this deal was busted. A person like Elijah was definitely able to see through his small trickery. Since that young mage was Elijah¡¯s friend, naturally he would not be going to be baited.

    But...

    When that young mage left, what did that sentence mean?

    Help him reserve one Thunder Eagle? There were still people who were earning a lot?

    ¡°Oh, yes. What is the background of that bandit?¡± Lin Li casually asked while walking.

    ¡°That guy is called Shaun, a famous cheater in this area. He is a level-10 bandit. I heard he was from Breezy City, but for unknown reasons, he came to nna. Usually, he does not dot ept missions from the Adventurers Guild; he only relies on selling magical beasts¡¯ offspring to make ends meet. I also do not know where he gets these magical beasts¡¯ offspring from...¡±

    ¡°Are there a lot?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Almost after each period of time, he would change the offspring he is selling. The other time, I think I saw him selling Shadow Panther offspring. That fe is really screwing around. Luckily, they were sold. Otherwise, when these Shadow Panther cubs have grown up, who knows what may happen...¡±

    This fe was really talented, he could even obtain the cubs of a Shadow Panther...

 Chapter 163 - The Old Blacksmith

    <h4>Chapter 163: The Old cksmith</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was interested in this fat bandit, but there was not much time. He had to wait till he finished settling the Fire Smandrid leather business beforeing back to have a chat with him.

    Elijah and Lin Li walked through the foul-smelling street amidst the arguments. They squeezed through with difficulty until half an hourter, when Elijah finally stopped.

    ¡°Mr Felic, it¡¯s here.¡±

    What he pointed at was a torn and tattered workshop.

    This workshop was befitting of being described as torn and tattered. From afar, it was just a piece of wood dangling. It seemed like a gust of wind would blow away the main door, while the furnace outside the door was not even lit. The anvil had a thickyer of dust on top. When Lin Li walked over, the sight was bare and empty. It was as if it had been a while since the furnace had been lit.

    ¡°The Fire Smandrid leather were purchased from here.¡± Elijah stood outside the workshop and introduced it to Lin Li softly, ¡°This boss has a weird temperament, he may not open his store for days. Today, I saw that he had opened his store when I came early in the morning, so I rushed to the Guild of Magic to look for you. Luckily, we made it...¡±

    Lin Li looked at the insides of the furnace, and then he looked at the anvil before asking curiously, ¡°Oh, yes. Mr Elijah. How much did you spend to purchase those items?¡±

    ¡°Just calling me Elijah will do...¡± Lin Li addressing him as ¡°Mr.¡± caused Elijah to be overwhelmed by ttery and honor. He was in a daze for a while before he remembered about the deal. ¡°Those items were traded for with a batch of ores.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not ask what ores.

    The shop was terrifyingly silent. When both of them walked in, Lin Li thought that he had entered a haunted house.

    There was nothing inside except for a thin old man, lying in a chair with his eyes closed. It seemed like he was taking a break, but it also felt like he was taking a nap. His hand held a lighted pipe that was flickering. In the midst of the sound of clicks, he suddenly erupted into coughing. It sounded like a workshop¡¯s bellows with a raspy sound. This made Lin Li sympathize with him.

    ¡°I will not do any deals today. If there is anything, we¡¯ll talk tomorrow.¡± Only when the both of them walked into the store did the old man open his muddy eyes.

    ¡°Master Hoyer, don¡¯t you remember me?¡± Elijah carefully asked.

    The old cksmith nced, and seemingly remembered. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you...¡±

    ¡°Master Hoyer, my visit today is to ask you about¡ª¡±

    Elijah had a smile on his face, but before he could finish speaking, the old man had rudely interrupted, ¡°Did you bring any ores again when you came over today?¡±

    ¡°That, that I didn¡¯t...¡±

    Elijah was stunned slightly. Before he could speak, the old man waved his hands. ¡°Then you can scram.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Lin Li was astonished. He had seen many bad attitudes before. This included himself as he was a person with a rather bad attitude. However, this old man¡¯s bad attitude was a first for him...

    The old cksmith¡¯s words were not any different from a p. Even a tactful person like Elijah was frozen right there. At that moment, leaving or staying were both not right. His fair-toned face was filled with awkwardness.

    ¡°Master Hoyer, may I say a few words?¡± Lin Li shot a look over to Elijah to tell him to take a seat; he¡¯d settle the rest of it.

    ¡°You are?¡± The old cksmith was smoking his cigar; he did not even raise his eyelids.

    ¡°My name is Felic, and I am from Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°What has that got to do with me? I am just asking you if you brought ores...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. This old man was rather persistent about the ores, but after taking into ount the source of Fire Smandrid leather, he controlled his temper, and answered, ¡°Ores are not an issue. If you can promise to answer my questions, I will try to source out whatever ores you want.¡±

    ¡°Such big words...¡± The old cksmith coldlyughed.

    ¡°How about Eternal Adamantine ores? I have a batch of refined ones with me right now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying you have a batch Eternal Adamantine?¡± This was the first time the old cksmith looked surprised ever since Lin Li walked into the workshop.

    ¡°I coincidentally have one batch...¡± Judging by the look on the old man¡¯s face, Lin Li knew that there was a good chance this time. He immediately smiled, and continued tempting him. ¡°If you don¡¯t like those, I can provide others. For example, Abyss Mithril and Abyss Fiendish Iron. I got a couple of those Ice Crystal Metal and Infernal Copper or something on hand right now...

    ¡°These ores... You have them all?¡± The old cksmith could not sit still once he heard of the myriad of ores; he immediately changed from lying to sitting down. He stopped smoking and just left it in his mouth despite the choking smoke spreading. That face, which was full of wrinkles, was now astonished. The way he looked at Lin Li was no longer disdainful.

    ¡°I should have them...¡± Lin Li thought for a bit, and he was a little unsure. ¡°There are too many ores. I don¡¯t have the time to check them one by one as well.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°I just want to find out, where did you hunt for Fire Smandrid leather that you gave to Elijah the previous time?

    ¡°Fire Smandrid leather?¡± The old man nced at Lin Li, but he did not answer the question. He just took another two puffs of his cigar before turning to Elijah and asking, ¡°I gave you something like that before?¡±

    ¡°That leather armor...¡± Elijah cautiously reminded him.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re talking about that leather armor?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Kid, that was just a piece of leather armor. What made you so sure that I would be able to tell you the location to hunt for Fire Smandrids?¡± The old man leaned back in his chair. His emotions could not be felt from his voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re joking...¡± Lin Li smiled. He pulled over a chair to sit down without waiting for the old man telling him to do so. Then, he began to tell the old man, ¡°Look, I am a mage. Mages are able to determine the actual attributes of equipment through a special method. Allow me the liberty to say this: those two pieces of equipment had identical attributes. In other words, they came from the same person.¡±

    ¡°What has that got to do with me? It could be that someone sold it to me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re joking again...¡± Lin Li was still smiling. He shifted his chair and moved closer to the old cksmith. ¡°I am not too sure about that Fire Smandrid Leather Armor. However, I am sure I did not misjudge that double-edged sword. It is definitely from this workshop...¡±

    ¡°Kid, did you see clearly? That is a magical weapon. I am cksmith that is waiting to die. If I had that ability, I would have been hired by arge workshop like Magical Weapon. Why would I stay in this forsaken ce?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, I have my reasons for being so sure. Don¡¯t be hasty, listen to me slowly.¡± After Lin Li said that, he pointed at the furnace outside. ¡°If I remember correctly, the top of the double-edged sword should have some Abyss Fiendish Iron melted into it, right? When I walked in just now, I had already looked inside the furnace. It was such a coincidence that the inside of the furnace had a trace of crimson imprints. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know that when Abyss Fiendish Iron has melted, it would quickly permeate any metal ites in contact with? Just a little touch would leave a permanent imprint.¡±

    The old man puffed his cigar. After some time, he suddenly asked, ¡°You¡¯re really a mage?¡±

    ¡°I guess so...¡± Lin Li thought for a bit. He was really slightly unsure.

    ¡°A mage that knows forging isn¡¯tmon...¡± The old man carefully ced his pipe down. He stood up as though he has made a decision. His muddy eyes stared at Lin Li and extended two fingers. ¡°Number one, forge magical equipment with two attributes for me now. I don¡¯t believe that you are a mage that knows how to forge. Number two, give me a batch of Eternal Adamantine. I will not take it for free, I will trade it with you. You can put forward anything in this workshop of mine that you take a fancy to.

    ¡°Once these two tasks have beenpleted, I will tell you where to hunt those Fire Smandrids.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Lin Li did not say anything else, and rolled up the sleeves of his robe. He lit a fire in the furnace by himself, not allowing the cksmith to help him.

    For Lin Li, magical equipment with two magical attributes did not pose any difficulty. Just by the designs in his head, he coulde up with dozens of them. The Frostfire Sword that he¡¯d forged in the Guild of Magic the other day was a typical example of magical equipment that had two attributes. It was just that Lin Li did not n on doing the same thing again.

    ¡°Eh...¡± Just when the fire had started, Lin Li suddenly discovered that the temperature of the furnace was higher than normal furnaces¡¯. Furthermore, the me inside was purer than normal. Just this discovery alone increased Lin Li¡¯s appraisal of that old cksmith. Only cksmiths like them that reached this level would know that during forging, factors other than craftsmanship were just as vital. The purer the me, the lower chance of producing impurities and making mistakes.

 Chapter 164 - Ward of Bad Luck

    <h4>Chapter 164: Ward of Bad Luck</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After starting a fire in the furnace, Lin Li casually took out an iron embryo from a pile of metals.

    The old cksmith leaned against a recliner with his eyes closed as he sucked on the pipe intensely. The thick smoke that filled the cksmith Shop did not affect him at all. If he was only a little curious at the beginning, then he would be a little surprised now...

    He had been a cksmith for decades. How would he not know the difficulty in forging a dual-attributed magical weapon? Just the selection process for the materials alone would be long and arduous. The two different attributes were fated to sh with each other. Therefore, a special magical metal such as the valuable rainbow adamantine would be required to forge a multi-attributed magical equipment.

    <i>Although this man is a young mage, he is familiar with the characteristics of Abyss Fiendish Iron. Not only that, he also knows the special qualities of my furnace. Hence, he might have some knowledge in forging. But why would one use an iron embryo as material in forging? Can¡¯t he tell that that is only a normal iron embryo that cannot withstand the shes between the different attributes?</i>

    The old cksmith could only think of two possibilities...

    The first was that Lin Li was trying to act smart: after hearing about the characteristics of the Abyss Fiendish Iron, Lin Li went to him to act like he knew everything. That reason, however, was less likely. Normal human beings would not be so natural andposed when lying...

    The second reason would be that Lin Li had extreme confidence in using a normal piece of iron embryo to create a magical weapon that would have two attributes.

    Frankly speaking, Hoyer was still skeptical...

    He had lived in nna as a cksmith for decades, and was thus fully aware that there would only be three to five people who were able to use ordinary iron embryos while forging dual-attributed weapons in the whole of nna. Lin Li¡¯s upation as a mage, and his young age, however, did not seem like a person from the Master-level...

    ¡°Dong, dong, dong...!¡±

    A rapid and clear noise sounded out as the red iron embryo transformed quickly under the hammer.

    Lin Li used a different technique when he was knocking on the metal. Although he was very gentle, the frequency of the knocking was extremely high, like never-ending raindrops.

    Under that crisp and rhythmic knocking, the red iron embryo turned into a thin sheet in a short amount of time. After cooling the metal by folding it around for a couple of times, Lin Li ced it back in the furnace again.

    While he winded the bellow with one hand, he wiped the sweat on his forehead with another.

    ¡°H-hundred-Folds Forging Technique... ¡± The old cksmith gasped through the pipe that he left in his mouth. His cloudy eyes immediately became sparkly as he stared at Lin Li with amazement.

    <i>T-t-that¡¯s... how is that possible?</i>

    The old cksmith was dumbfounded at what he saw...

    <i>This thin and weak-looking young mage is indeed a cksmith... and a proficient one!</i>

    <i>And he used the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique!</i>

    Hoyer had been a cksmith for decades. How could he not know about the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique? It would be no exaggeration to say that the mastery of this method would make one a guru of the smithing industry.

    The Hundred-Folds Forging Technique required countless knocks onto the iron embryo to turn it into a thin metal sheet. Then, it would need to be folded repetitively.

    Although the weapon created with such a technique would appear thin and t, within, it would be like a thousandyered cake. With that, not only would the edge of the de be sharp, it would also be malleable and tough. This technique was especially vital for weapons like single-handed swords, machetes, and daggers; they would be powerful, and not be destroyed during battles.

    Seeing that, the old cksmith knew that he had met a guru.

    For such a weapon, its craftsmanship would be enough to turn it into a top quality equipment¡ªnot forgetting its magical properties. It had been ages since the old cksmith hadst seen the real Hundred-Folds Forging Technique...

    Elijah waspletely stupefied too.

    He was not a professional like the old smith, and he had never heard of the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique. To be frank, he was absolutely unskilled in forging.

    Yet even this amateur could tell that Lin Li was definitely a forging expert just from looking at his swift and precise movements. With such craftsmanship, anyone could tell that it was not Lin Li¡¯s first attempt at holding a hammer.

    If someone were to tell Elijah that the young mage outside was actually an old and experienced cksmith, Elijah would ept the saying without questioning it.

    And that was the reason for him to be utterly surprised.

    How could Elijah not know who was that man outside their shop? He was a genuine mage, a mage that could kill a level-18 Shapeshifter in the blink of an eye¡ªjust like a Skeletal Warrior with flesh!

    At this moment, another person entered the cksmith shop.

    He was a burly middle-aged man around 40, and had a squarish face with a majestic beard, and short and bold blond hair. His mere presence radiated a strong sense of righteousness!

    It had to be the appearance...

    However, this decent man looked a little disconcerted. Lin Li could find five bruises on his bronzeplexion that seemed to be left behind by a woman¡¯s p due to its slenderness...

    ¡°Hoyer, help me...¡± Upon entering the cksmith shop, the man looked around frantically with no sense ofposure a gentleman should have.

    ¡°You bastard...¡± the old cksmith chided him in exasperation. Then, he sighed and pointed behind him. ¡°Scram to the back...¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡± The honest man entered the cksmith shop and walked towards where the old cksmith pointed to immediately as if it were his own house.

    ¡°Crack...¡±

    After pushing on one of the bricks, a secret passageway appeared.

    ¡°Thanks, Old Hoyer!¡± the middle-aged man said as he lowered himself and sneaked into it.

    ¡°Scram!¡± the old man replied in anger; the pipe in his hands almost dropped.

    Right after the honest man left, a hot and sexy female adventurer stopped by the cksmith shop. One of her arms rested on her hips as she pointed at the old cksmith with another. ¡°Old Hoyer, did that darn hooligane here to hide?¡±

    Lin Li did not know what grievances the female adventurer suffered for her face to turn so red in fury. Amidst the big breaths she drew, the mountains on her chest rose and fell.

    Only after the old cksmith puffed out a mouth of smoke from his pipe did he open his eyes groggily to ask, ¡°What hooligan are you referring to? I didn¡¯t see any...¡±

    ¡°Is he really not here?¡±

    The tone of the female adventurer became less harsh. Since the cksmith shop was not huge and had a simple interior, any human would know there would be no ce for any man to hide. After all, the shop only had a pile of metals, the old cksmith¡¯s recliner, and a desk near the entrance...

    ¡°If you want to, you cane in and search...¡±

    Perhaps due to the wariness toward Old Hoyer, although the female adventurer did not really believe his words, she did not enter the shop. After standing at the entrance in rage and looking into the shop suspiciously for awhile, she left unwillingly. She was still in rage when she left, and... the mountains on her chest moved as usual.

    The old cksmith sighed as he shouted into the secret passageway, ¡°You cane out now...¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Old Hoyer, I will treat you to a meal next time,¡± the honest man replied, and came out of hiding after hearing that the coast was clear. He had a dignified expression and solemn aura, none of the unsettledness like before.

    ¡°What did you do this time...?¡±

    ¡°I noticed that her boobs were exceptionally huge and wanted to see if they were fake. Who knew I exerted too much force when I pinched them. Damn, she not only gave me a tight p, but also chased me here. Need to be more careful next time...¡± the middle-aged man responded with much righteousness.

    What an honest man...

    He was filled with righteousness even when talking about touching women¡¯s breasts. Despite being able to concentrate on his hammering previously, Lin Li could not help but lose the focus that he nearly hit his breasts¡ª err, hands.

    At that moment, it was as though Lin Li could see the ck vertical lines born of speechlessness on the old cksmith¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Eh...¡± After replying, the middle-aged man saw Lin Li outside.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s rapid and rhythmic hammering, the iron embryo turned into a thin sheet of metal on the working desk once more.

    ¡°Old Hoyer, who¡¯s that child...?¡± the middle-aged man inquired casually, but his words stopped when he saw what Lin Li was doing. He eximed, ¡°Hundred-Folds Forging Technique!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right...¡± The old cksmith¡¯s gaze was still fixed on the hammer in Lin Li¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Your disciple?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that honor...¡±

    ¡°Then what is he doing?¡±

    ¡°That interesting fe made a bet with me. He said he could create a dual-attributed magical weapon.¡±

    ¡°Dual-attributed?¡± The middle-aged man glimpsed the anvil, and gasped. ¡°With a normal piece of iron embryo?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°That fe is indeed interesting...¡±

    When the two men talked, Lin Li had already created 20yers within the metal, and was molding the metal into a dagger now. Actually, if he was willing to, he could increase the total number ofyers to a hundred. However, it was meaningless to do so as 20yers were enough for the dagger to tolerate the dual-attribute force. Furthermore, why should he tire himself in something he was not going to be paid for?

    While the dagger was still red, Lin Li reached into his pocket for a bottle of navy sand. While hammering the dagger with one hand, he lifted the cork stopper of the bottle with his teeth. Then, Lin Li gently poured ayer of navy sand over the red dagger...

    The navy sand melted the instant it came into contact with heat, emitting a faint magical wave that filled the cksmith shop.

    After all these, Lin Li could finally take a breather. Then, he took his staff and pointed it at the bucket of water beside the furnace. What followed the rapid recitation was vapor that rose from the water bucket. The cold water within it turned into floating ice instantaneously.

    Subsequently, Lin Li picked up the dagger with metal pincers and dropped it into the bucket gently.

    ¡°Szzz...¡± Mist filled the cksmith shop.

    The old cksmith was stunned upon seeing the mist.

    ¡°How did it get quenched by that singleyer of navy sand?¡± the confused cksmith muttered as he stared at Lin Li skeptically. ¡°Does he intent to coat the dagger with just ayer of martensite?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s weird...¡± mumbled the middle-aged man beside him suspiciously.

    While the two men were upied with their doubts, Lin Li had finished thest act of quenching. When he picked up the dagger that had been cooled with the pincers again, he did not rush to pass it to the old cksmith. Instead, he reached into his pocket once more, and took out a crystal pen. After dipping it into the navy sand, he drew a few strokes on the dagger.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the dual-attributed magical weapon you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Dual-attributed?¡± the old cksmith asked in a daze.

    The middle-aged man beside them asked in astonishment, ¡°The Ward of Bad Luck?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lin Li nodded his head calmly, but his ¡®yes¡¯ was like a p of thunder that boomed from the top of the head of the middle-aged man. He stared at Lin Li in shock as if he had just met a ghost...

    ¡°You could use the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique to build the structure of the Ward of Bad Luck?!¡± The voice of the middle-aged man trembled.

 Chapter 165 - Unintended Luck

    <h4>Chapter 165: Unintended Luck</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The honest man gasped, while the old cksmith snatched the dagger. His movement was quick and stealthy, without a hint of senility. Compared to his listless expression before, it was as though he was another person.

    When he held the dagger, the old cksmith understood everything at once.

    It was neither sharpened nor polished, and had an extremely rough surface. Yet, the sky-blue veins on it were utterly clear and defined.

    Since the old man was one of the top cksmith in nna, he realized the reason just with one look at the markings.

    <i>Genius... he¡¯s a true genius.</i>

    Other than that word, Old Hoyer could not think of anything else to describe Lin Li.

    It was those veins on the dagger that made it so precious.

    Coating a weapon with navy sand after forging it was a very natural action for it to have a martensitic property. However, it was the same navy sand that made the process a profound one.

    While giving the weapon a martensitic quality, the navy sand would also seep through the markings on it. Since the positions of these markings were carefully calcted to form the outline of the Ward of Badluck, a few more strokes, and it would turn into an authentic one...

    The old cksmith looked at the dagger in his hands, and then at the young mage. All of a sudden, it was as if he felt the high heat from that dagger...

    ¡°Master Hoyer, when do you wish to collect that batch of minerals from Eternal Adamantine?¡± Lin Li asked with a smile as he brushed off the astonishment of the two men casually.

    To be honest, Lin Li yed a small trick in the forging process.

    After all, that was a normal piece of iron embryo. Even if it underwent the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique, it would still be an ordinary iron embryo. It was too troublesome to use it to create a dual-attributed magical weapon. Although Lin Li could do it, he wouldn¡¯t want to waste his energy on it. Hence, he made use of the markings left behind by the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique by adding the navy sand that would permeate through it to construct a Ward of Badluck.

    With one Ward of Badluck, and one with martensitic properties, he fulfilled the requirements of creating a dual-attributed magical weapon.

    ¡°Eternal Adamantine?¡± Before the old cksmith could reply, the middle-aged man interrupted. He glimpsed at the old man distastefully, andined, ¡°Old dude, you are too selfish. We have known each other for so many years! How could you not tell me that you have gotten ahold of the Eternal Adamantine? Do you have any conscience or morals?

    ¡°Shut up!¡± the old cksmith barked as he red at him. Then, he pointed at Lin Li, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any with me now. You can look for him instead since you have what he needs too.¡±

    ¡°What do I have...?¡±

    ¡°The skin of Fire Smandrids. Didn¡¯t you give me a few sheets if it thest time?¡±

    ¡°The skin of Fire Smandrids?¡± The middle-aged man grinned, and stopped pestering the old man. He went up to Lin Li with a smile beaming with passion, and asked, ¡°Young man, do you want to exchange Eternal Adamantine for Fire Smandrids¡¯ skins?

    Lin Li was ufortable due to the middle-aged man¡¯s sudden friendliness. He went two steps backwards cautiously. After pulling a little distance away from him, he nodded his head in a daze and replied, ¡°Yes, I do...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± The middle-aged man reached a hand out to Lin Li, and introduced himself politely, ¡°Hey young man, I¡¯m Azalez. Nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Azalez?¡± The moment the middle-aged man ended his speech, Elijah nearly jumped. With an expression filled with fright, and a pair of eyes opened as wide as a bull¡¯s, he stared at the middle-aged man nkly and stuttered, ¡°H-h-he... he¡¯s Azalez?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the pervert.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Azalez¡¯s name was not only familiar to Elijah¡ªeven Lin Li had heard countless people mention him.

    He was a legend.

    In the recent 100 years, there were two Legendary-level Warriors from nna. One was the level-21 Sword Sage of the Storm¡ªAl¡¯Akir, the only one in charge of nna¡¯s Adventurers Guild.

    The other man was Azalez. As a noble, he entered the army when he was just 16 years old. After serving Fn Kingdom passionately for 20-odd years, he attained numerous meritorious military achievements. At 40 years old, he took up the role as the leader of the Sky Knights.

    Sky Knights were one of the three imperial guards of Fn Kingdom, and had the best military might. As the leader of the troop, it meant that Azalez was the number one force of the military in Fn Kingdom.

    Lin Li nced at Azalez, and then at the old cksmith. He got confused for quite a while.

    From their conversation with each other, Lin Li had already observed that the middle-aged man and the old cksmith were no ordinary people.

    But, he didn¡¯t not except that they were that extraordinary...

    The man who gave off an awe-inspiring and righteous vibe was not only a perverted fe, but also a legendary level-21 warrior¡ªthe leader of the Sky Knights, Azalez!

    <i>A pervert as the leader of the Sky Knights.</i>

    <i>That old cksmith, Hoyer, must be something too...</i>

    ¡°This... Mr. Azalez, how should we do the exchange?¡±

    ¡°If you are willing,¡± Azalez continued after hesitating for a moment, ¡°I could give you all 10 sheets of Fire Smandrids¡¯ skins. If that¡¯s not enough, I could go and find more for you. But you¡¯d better give me 20 ingots of Eternal Adamantine. I need to create a set of armor, and it would be troublesome if I have a shortage of that...¡±

    ¡°No problem, 10 is enough.¡± Lin Li agreed upon the transaction swiftly after thinking about it.

    Frankly speaking, even a child could tell Azalez extreme desperation for the Eternal Adamantine; not only did he not mind giving up 10 sheets of skin, he was also prepared to help Lin Li find more of them.

    If Lin Li wanted to bargain with him, he could make use of this loophole to demand more¡ªnot only 10 sheets, but perhaps 20 or 30 of them too.

    Yet, Lin Li did not think there was a need to do so.

    From his perspective, Fire Smandrids were not excellent material for armors. Without their strong resistance against fire element, they would not have much significance. The only reason for Lin Li to use it was because he needed to go Fire Plume Ridge to harvest ingredients for potions.

    Considering Sean¡¯s body size, two sets of armor could definitely be created from 10 sheets of Fire Smandrids¡¯ skin.

    One should not waste effort on meaningless tasks.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go... I¡¯ll will pass it to you now,¡± Azalez urged as he pulled Lin Li off impatiently once the deal had been set.

    Before Lin Li left, he reminded Elijah, ¡°Oh, yes. Elijah,e to the Guild of Magic tomorrow. I will give you your rewards.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Felic.¡±

    After Lin Li left the cksmith shop, he visited the fat bandit. He wanted to buy a Thunder Eaglet for research.

    If not for fat bandit¡¯s reminder, he would have forgotten the need to tame magical beasts.

    When he was still at the Endless World, he battled in a high-difficulty mission as a hunter. Although he did notplete that mission, he remembered some techniques in taming. They were not any ordinary taming methods. If Lin Li were to follow the instructions religiously, he would be able to tame a level-10 magical beast.

    But, for his skills as a Hunter then, the ability to tame was not important at all. Even if he could train a level-10 magical beast, it would not be able to survive the attack from the Stars of Fury.

    So, Lin Li did not pay much attention to that matter then.

    Yet as he transmigrated as a mage, these taming tips became extremely valuable.

    The body of a mage was too weak. Lin Li felt like he was walking on tightrope in almost every battle. Especially when he was at the Shadowglen, Lin Li had the fear that any slight mistakes would doom him eternally.

    If he had a powerful pet, how would the low-level creatures like Skeletal Warriors of at most level-10 be any trouble to them? One pet would be enough to wipe all of the Skeletal Warriors out without the use of magic. They would only need to sit there and enjoy the show...

    Mages had pets too. They were known as Familiars.

    It was a level-15 spell to summon a Familiar from another dimension.

    Yet these types of Familiars were usually not equipped with battle skills.

    Apart from high intelligence, they were no different from cats and dogs.

    Most of the times like this, mages would treat the Familiars as their personal assistants.

    For example, Lin Li saw Gerian summon his Familiar during his few-months¡¯ stay in Jarrosus. They were at the potion room that day, and the Familiar was summoned to help the busy Gerian pick up a few test tubes.

    Were there any Familiars that were to be used for battles? Yes, there were. But... there were too few of them.

    In 10 mages, there might not be one with the ability to summon a Familiar.

    Hence, Lin Li really valued the taming techniques a lot. Since he had been a super hunter, he knew how to instruct his pets to do chores very well. He knew better than anyone else the best time to order the pets to help them kill their enemies or create destruction.

    If he were to seed in taming any level-10 magical beast, his capability in battling would be raised by a level.

    The knowledge of taming, however, was different from that of potions. Lin Li was uncertain if the knowledge would be effective in Anril. Thus, he decided to attempt it with a Thunder Eaglet...

 Chapter 166 - Troubles Huge

    <h4>Chapter 166: Trouble¡¯s Huge</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Who knew that when Lin Li arrived, the fat man was nowhere to be found. Judging from the empty metal cage on the ground, it seemed that he did not even have the time to pack them when he left in a hurry.

    Standing at the corner of the street, Lin Li could not help but feel odd.

    He only took less than an hour from the time he¡¯d entered the cksmith shop and exited from it with Azalez. How did the fat bandit disappear in such a short amount of time?

    ¡°Little fe, you wanted to look for Shaun?¡± Azalez sounded as though he frequented the ck market as well. From how Lin Li stood at the corner of the streets, he already guessed whom he wanted to look for.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Azalez. Do you know him?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do! That bastard sells the offspring of magical beasts here every day¡ªI don¡¯t know how many have been deceived by him already. He¡¯s going to be caught and brought by the garrison of nna to the dungeons one day!¡±

    The middle-aged man chided the fat bandit righteously, forgetting that he was no different from him. From how he molested female adventurers every day, he might gain even more hatred from the people.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°But, this fe got some skills... He could actually get ahold of so many magical beasts¡¯ offspring,¡± the middle-aged man finally remarked objectively after criticizing the fat bandit.

    ¡°Actually...¡± Lin Li nodded, and asked in suspicion, ¡°Mr. Azalez, does Shaun always run off after agreeing on a transaction?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± The middle-aged manughed gloatingly. ¡°What do you think he does?¡±

    Hearing that, Lin Li understood everything.

    That fat bandit was a conman.

    Conning was a dangerous profession¡ªone could get into trouble any time. Now that he did not even have time to keep his metal cage, it might mean that someone was after him...

    ¡°You need to find him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. He will be back after a few days when the coast is clear. Since it¡¯s not that great an issue, nothing would happen to him after the victim¡¯s anger subsides.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I wille back after a few days, then.¡±

    After they walked out from the ck market, the two chatted casually.

    Lin Li gradually realized that apart from being a little perverse and quite a pretentious prick, it was easy to get along with this leader of the Sky Knights. The conversation made the journey less boring too.

    And the conversation¡¯s topic was naturally rted to forging.

    Throughout the journey, Azalez appeared to be veryposed, but his anxiety grew as he spoke.

    As a natural pervert, he even forgot that he took advantage of a female adventurer¡ªhow unimaginable!

    In the world of Anril, every warrior was expected to have the skillset in forging¡ªjust like how most mages were proficient in the studies of inscription. Legendary-level Azalez had great knowledge in forging no ordinary man would be able toprehend.

    Although he was not like Old Hoyer, or like the person from the adventurer Guild, Azalez¡¯s forging skills could still be considered as one of the best in nna.

    However, his skill was nothingparable to the young mage¡¯s...

    That fe looked no older than 20 years old, but when it came to forging, it was as if he had been an old cksmith for decades. He could talk to Lin Li about anything. Although Lin Li was a man of few words, all his words would be able to address the crux of their topics.

    And then...

    Azalez could tell that that young mage knew more than what they talked about. The suggestions he gave seemed very casual as though it did not require much thinking. That feeling reminded Azalez of his mentor when he was still a novice in a cksmith shop.

    Now, his forging skills had already peaked in the whole of nna.

    ¡°Felic, my house is in front.¡± The two men grew closer as they journeyed from the ck market. Azalez¡¯s had already switched from addressing Lin Li as ¡®little fe¡¯ to the passionate ¡®Felic¡¯.

    In reality, if it was not for Lin Li¡¯s age, Azalez really hoped to learn from him, and let him coach him in the art of forging.

    With the advice from such an experienced person, he might have the chance to surpass Old Hoyer and reach the level of the man from the Adventurer Guild.

    Unfortunately...

    As a legendary-level man, and the leader of the Sky Knights, if he were to treat such a youngster as his master and learn from him, it would be a huge embarrassment for Azalez. He would not dare to lift his head anymore next time, and would be covering his face with a piece of cloth...

    ¡°I¡¯ll need to think of something...¡± Azalez muttered as he grew more and more impatient as they walked. The attainment of this young man in the art of forging were beyond his imagination. While they walked, Azalez had decided that even if he could not be Lin Li¡¯s apprentice, he had to ask for his advice on forging...

    Lin Li was not at all concerned what Azalez was thinking about.

    In reality, Azalez was right. Lin Li only replied out of boredom subconsciously. He merely spoke because someone was asking him questions...

    Just like how you met someone familiar during a stroll after dinner¡ªif he asked you if you had had your dinner, you would also reply with a ¡®just eaten¡¯.

    Yet he knew not that Lin Li was a guru. His skills in forging had gone beyond what normal people could imagine.

    As a guru, any word that came out from Lin Li¡¯s mouth would be enough to create a great admiration from Azalez.

    Azalez¡¯s mansion was not far from the ck market.

    One was indifferent, while the other wanted to chat a little while more. Hence, no one called for a carriage, and they travelled slowly on foot. Yet, they only took around half an hour.

    Azalez invited Lin Li to take a seat in the living room graciously beforeing out with a parcel.

    ¡°Come, Felic. Here¡¯s the 10 pieces of Smandrid skins you wanted.¡± After giving Lin Li the parcel, he did not pester him for the Eternal Adamantine. Instead, he patted on chest fervently and assured him, ¡°If these are not enough, you coulde and look for me directly. I can¡¯t vouch for other matters, but giving you a few more Smandrid skins would definitely not be a problem.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough already...¡± Lin Li received the parcel, and said apologetically, ¡°But, Mr. Azalez, I¡¯m afraid I can only give you the Eternal Adamantine tomorrow. You know, those things are so heavy. I can¡¯t carry them everywhere I go...¡±

    Of course, he was lying.

    The Eternal Adamantine which he¡¯d just finished smelting a few days ago was lying quietly in his Ring of Endless Storm.

    And Lin Li did not intent to take them out in front of Azalez.

    Only Andoine and Sean knew of the existence of the Ring of Endless Storm. They were the two men whom Lin Li trusted not to divulge that secret.

    Azalez was really a nice man. However, since it was the first time for Lin Li to meet Azalez, it would be too abrupt to show him such a high-level item.

    ¡°No problem. You can give me the Eternal Adamantine whenever you are free.¡±

    Despite giving Lin Li the Fire Smandrid skins, he could only receive the Eternal Adamantine another day.

    If it was before, Azalez would definitely not allow that. After all, the Eternal Adamantine was very important to him. Wouldn¡¯t it be problematic if that fe stood him up?

    However, it was different now.

    After realizing Lin Li¡¯s great potential and ability, he really hoped to consult him more in the art of forging. When Lin Li told him he would give him the things he needed the next day, Azalez was more than happy to agree on it. How would he reject that request?

    Initially, Lin Li had nned to rush back to the Guild of Magic the moment he acquired the Smandrid skins. Yet, Azalez insisted that he stay behind to chat. Seeing that the sky wasn¡¯t that dark yet, Lin Li did not reject his offer further, and sat in the spacious living room for idle chitchat.

    But, this time, the topic of the conversation was not like before, regarding the field of forging.

    While they were conversing, Azalez asked casually, ¡°Oh, yes. Felic, why do I feel that your name is a little familiar? Did we meet each other before?¡± He really felt that he had heard the name somewhere before.

    ¡°You must have remembered it wrongly. It has been a month since I reached here from Jarrosus...¡± After saying that, Lin Li thought, <i>You would not have met me before I reached Jarrosus. I was still at a ce called Endless World then...</i>

    ¡°Jarrosus?¡± What was supposed to be a casual reply changed the expression on Azalez¡¯s face.

    ¡°You were saying that you¡¯re from Jarrosus?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m from Jarrosus. Why, Mr. Azalez? Have you met me in Jarrosus?¡± Seeing Azalez¡¯s change in expression, Lin Li grew doubtful.

    <i>What might the matter be for it to create such a concern for the legendary warrior, Azalez?</i>

    ¡°That, Felic...¡± Azalez hesitated for a while before he continued his question with uncertainty, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you are going to face some trouble...¡±

    ¡°What trouble?¡±

    ¡°When you reached nna a month ago, did you injure a young man named Matthias?¡± Azalez asked with a serious and grave expression.

    ¡°Yeah, there was such an incident.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in great trouble...¡± Azalez sighed. Shaking his head, he asked, ¡°Do you know who is Matthias¡¯ father?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°His father is Wilhelm!¡±

    ¡°Wilhelm?¡± Lin Li felt that this name was rather familiar, but he could not remember where he heard it before.

 Chapter 167 - The Kingdoméˆ¥æªš Arms Dealer

    <h4>Chapter 167: The Kingdom¡¯s Arms Dealer</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The leader of the Marathon Family, Wilhelm...¡±

    ¡°What Marathon...¡± Lin Li was a little confused at the beginning, but his speech stopped halfway as he nearly bit his tongue. ¡°You meant Marathon Workshop?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡±

    Lin Li stared at Azalez in a daze, and only after a while did he mutter, ¡°What a big shot...¡±

    <i>That is really a big shot...</i>

    In the whole Fn Kingdom, there was one power that could beparable to Mannes Family in terms of wealth¡ªthe Marathon Family.

    The kingdom¡¯s legendary arms dealer controlled 70 percent of the forging business. As long as it was rted to forging, anything would carry the logo of Marathon¡¯s smithy.

    The two influential families¡ªthe Marathon and the Mannes Family¡ªcontrolled almost the entire kingdom¡¯s wealth.

    The strategies of these two, however, werepletely different.

    The Mannes Family¡¯s Gilded Rose had always been all over the Fn Kingdom. Their trademark could be found even in the most ¡°ulu¡± vige. ording to Ysera, he was absolutely going to expand the Gilded Rose business into heaven after he died!

    On the other hand, the Marathon Family was a renowned merchant.

    Their best equipment would always be provided for the kingdom¡¯s army. For example, the carbines and armors of the Sky Knights were all manufactured in Marathon smithy.

    To exaggerate a little, without Marathon, wars would still break out in today¡¯s Fn Kindom, and all mages would be required to put on armor.

    Compared to Mannes Family that had been around since a long time, Marathon Family was just established 600 years ago, and only attained its fame in the recent 300 years.

    Back then, Marathon smithy was only a small cksmith shop. Throughout the hundred years, their exquisite forging skills allowed the tiny cksmith business to inch its way up. They not only gained a monopoly in today¡¯s Fn Kingdom, but also reached out into different other aspects.

    In thest 600 years, the Marathon Family expanded to every corner of Fn Kingdom with its wealth.

    Members of the Marathon Family could be found everywhere¡ªregardless of whether in the state or the military. After some time, such awork had turned the Marathon Family into a terrifying and formidable giant.

    In terms of wealth and power, today¡¯s Marathon Family had reached the peak of glory. Even the Mannes Family that had a simr level of wealth would be iparable to them because of the Marathons¡¯ strong backer¡ªthe whole military of the Fn Kingdom.

    The leader of the n in this generation was Sir Wilhelm, who won the king¡¯s deep trust. Being in charge of the Fn military for over 30 years, he had been promoted to be the noble duke of Fn Kingdom. For his status and ability as a Legendary Warrior, everyone who met him had no choice but to address him politely as ¡®Sir Wilhelm¡¯.

    ... And that was the Marathon Family¡¯s glory today.

    ¡°That Matthias you had injured is the second son of Wilhelm,¡± Azalez said as he nced at Lin Li worriedly.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised...¡± Lin Li touched his nose andughed awkwardly. Honestly, he did not expect Matthias to have such a powerful background.

    Even though he was a little stupid to be the son of the kingdom¡¯s arms provider...

    Azalez remained quiet despite a doubtful expression on his face.

    There was one thing he could not figure out.

    How would he not know that Wilhelm was the type of person who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance? Matthias was the only magic genius in the few hundred years the n existed, and was sent to Sunrise City Guild of Magic at a very young age. Matthias did not let Wilhelm down, either, bing a young level-12 Magic Shooter.

    Even the ants of nna would know the love Wilhelm had for his little son. Before the trial started, Wilhelm already convinced all his connections¡ªincluding the royal mage, Aghis, to help Matthias excel in it.

    This matter was no secret among the nobles of Fn Kingdom; even the leader of the Sky Knights, Azalez, who rarely socialized, heard of it too.

    Yet no one expected Matthias to suffer fracture to his four limbs at the beginning of the trial. Such incident was undoubtedly a tight p to Wilhelm.

    Since Wilhelm was a very petty and vengeful man, how would he forgive the young mage before him?

    Azalez could not understand why this fe could still be alive, and also have the leisure to explore the ck market so freely.

    But Lin Li had long understood the reason.

    <i>It seems that the two men from the Guild of Magic were really receiving a lot of pressure...</i>

    Lin Li, however, did not say anything. He just ced the matter in his mind silently.

    ¡°Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Lin Li shook his head, rejecting Azalez¡¯s offer.

    As the leader of the Sky Knights, if Azalez were to step in, even Wilhelm would have topromise. Although that would not cover up the matter, he would be able to at least alleviate it.

    Of course, the prerequisite wouldpromise Lin Li.

    And that was why Lin Li refused.

    It was not that Lin Li would never yield to anyone. But, if he were to do so to someone, it would mean that he was prepared to smash a brick onto this person¡¯s head the next second.

    On top of that, he did not want to owe such a huge favor.

    After putting the matter aside, the two continued to chat until noon. Then, Lin Li left Azalez¡¯s house and travelled back to the Guild of Magic on foot.

    Before stepping into the guild hall, Lin Li entered the equipment shop at the corner of the street.

    Although he had gotten ahold of 10 sheets of Smandrid skin, they had not undergone the tanning process, and were still raw. Hence, the skin was as hard as metal boards, and definitely could not be worn on the body¡ªunless only as hand-held shields...

    ¡°Good afternoon, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°Good afternoon, Boss Buck.¡± After Lin Li greeted the shop owner, he looked at the new products for a moment. Then, he asked casually, ¡°How¡¯s your business?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s lucky today. I just sold two set of armor¡ªall thanks to you, Mage Felic, hehe. If not for the Eternal Adamantine your gave me, the sales would not be as good...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter, nothing much...¡±

    The two people were familiar with each other due to the numerous business deals they had together. Furthermore, Lin Li had done Buck a favor by giving him the fragments of Eternal Adamantine that he¡¯d found difficult to smelt.

    As the owner of an equipment shop, how would Buck be unaware of the value of the Eternal Adamantine? It was something no ordinary person could acquire¡ªeven if they were just fragments. The owner thanked Lin Li for it every time he saw him, causing Lin Li to feel a little embarrassed.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Boss Buck. Actually, I¡¯m here to ask for a favor from you.¡± Lin Li looked around the equipment shop before continuing, ¡°I have some skin of magical beasts. Can you help me dry it? I will be back after two days.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Buck replied. The Eternal Adamantine given to him had helped him a lot, and he was a man with gratitude.

    If not for the Eternal Adamantine, how would the sales of the armors be that good?

    ¡°There are 10 sheets. How much should I pay you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it...¡± Buck rejected Lin Li¡¯s offer as he took the parcel from him. ¡°You had helped me a lot, and I don¡¯t even have the chance to thank you! How would drying the skin of magical beasts trouble me? Mage Felic, if you are going to talk about money, you would be looking down on me...¡± ¡°¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li did not expect Buck to be so insistent. Since he did not want to ept the money, Lin Li could only thank him once more. ¡°I¡¯ll trouble you, then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing...¡±

    Buck was not wrong to say that his business these few days was rather good. The moment Lin Li passed the parcel to him, customers entered the shop before Lin Li could turn around.

    They were two youthful adventurers: a bandit and a warrior. The warrior had a double-edged sword strapped to his back. Lin Li could tell that it was a fire-element weapon. Among the adventurers in nna, people who could use magical weapons were considered well off.

    As for the bandit, Lin Li was surprised to see his boots.

    If Lin Li did not see wrongly, that pair of boots must have undergone magical enchantment,

    It seemed that those two adventurers were close with each other.

    The reality verified Lin Li¡¯s prediction as well. When the two men set foot into the shop, the warrior asked, ¡°Boss, I¡¯ve heard that you sell armors made from the Eternal Adamantine?¡±

    Seeing the customers, Buck could only smile at Lin Li apologetically, and leave the parcel on the counter first.

    He said in a friendly tone, ¡°Young man, you have a great taste. We not only sell armors made from the Eternal Adamantine, but also weapons produced by the Marathon smithy. Do you want to take a look at this rifle?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need weapons for the time being. Could you show the armors to me? If they¡¯re as good as what they say outside, I might buy two sets of them.¡± From the request of the adventurer, it was clear that he was here for the Eternal Adamantine.

    Lin Li was surprised that mere fragments of the Eternal Adamantine could give an equipment shop such a good business...

 Chapter 168 - Unusual Potion Formula

    <h4>Chapter 168: Unusual Potion Form</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When he reached the Guild of Magic, he saw Mason and Orrin, but not Sean.

    Speaking of Sean, Lin Li sensed something odd.

    Ever since the day they had the meal gathering, Sean was nowhere to be found for the entire day. When Lin Li asked him where he went after he came back the next day, that fe only stuttered, ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Felic. I¡¯d promised someone to keep it a secret.¡±

    Lin Li did not know whether he should cry orugh at his reply. Since Sean already said it was a secret, he could not ask further.

    They following day, Sean went missing again.

    Lin Li even started to suspect that Sean got into a rtionship with someone in nna.

    <i>Yes, and it would be dual cultivation...</i>

    Or else, why would Sean¡¯s abilities increase so quickly?

    These few days, Sean really shocked Lin Li.

    The speed of his changes was too rapid. Almost every time when Sean came back, Lin Li would sense that his ability had made vigorous improvement.

    The change was too obvious. Not to mention Lin Li, who was naturally sensitive to strength, even a blind man would be able to detect the same.

    Lin Li, however, was unaware of the reason behind it. What did Sean encounter to allow him to have such a great improvement?

    Since Lin Li was the one who brought Sean to nna, he knew Sean¡¯s ability better than anyone else.

    When he¡¯d just reached nna, Sean¡¯s ability was at most level-7. But, in the past few days, Lin Li could clearly sense that it was close to level-10 now.

    The advancement from level-7 to level-10 was a massive leap.

    At Jarrosus, Lin Li had experienced such a leap before. He knew better than others how freakish such a leap was.

    Lin Li felt extremely tormented by his unspeakable curiosity as he witnessed the growth of Sean day by day.

    Yet that fe declined to reveal anything to him. Sometimes when Lin Li got a little to pressurizing him, his signature phrase¡ª¡±I promised someone to keep it a secret¡±¡ªalways allowed him to dodge Lin Li¡¯s questions. That made Lin Li gnash his teeth helplessly...

    When he got back to the house, Mason and Orrin were dining.

    From the day the Supreme Council announced their decision, those two fes worked extraordinarily hard. Especially Mason¡ªhe quit his habit ofziness to visit the Omniscient Tower every day to read religiously, and only reached home at nine o¡¯clock at night. It did not stop there. Mason even insisted that Orrin practice magic with him at the Spell Testing Hall after that.

    Mage was a very fair upation. One would always be able to reap the results of the effort he put in. In just two days, Mason finally reached level-10 to be a Magic Shooter he had always been dreaming of.

    Of course, the price of being a Magic Shooter would be to be beaten up by Orrin every single day and groan in pain before falling asleep every night.

    Orrin had be a true level-12 Magic Shooter now, making his abilitiesparable to Lin Li¡¯s. How would a level-10 Magic Shooter be of any hindrance to him?

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯re back?¡± Mason¡¯s face was still as swollen as before. When Lin Li was standing in the door, he was chewing on his bread loudly and ring at Orrin with eyes full of enmity.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived,¡± Lin Li replied. Then, he asked curiously, ¡°Why did y¡¯all not go to the Omniscient Tower today?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it... That old dude nagged at us from the moment we woke up, and only left just now.¡± After telling Lin Li that, Mason red at Orrin fiercely, and said, ¡°Pretty boy, let¡¯s fight after eating! I¡¯m gonna teach you a lesson today!¡±

    ¡°Moron,¡± Orrin muttered without even looking up.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was beyond speechless. The two guys would get really ufortable if they didn¡¯t fight every day. Mason especially¡ªit was as if he got himself addicted to being tortured by Orrin. Even if he got bruises all over, he would get even motivated to challenge Orrin the next day. Normal people could never win against him in such a fighting spirit.

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Felic...¡± Mason spoke right after Lin Li took a seat and only chewed a few mouthfuls of bread. ¡°Just now, that old dude said he is going toe back in the afternoon to speak to you.¡± ¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li nodded, and continued eating his bread.

    Just right, he also wanted to discuss some issues with Macklin.

    When he was journeying back, he had decided that he needed to go visit the Fire Plume Ridge the moment he got the Fire Smandrid skin. He had to deal with those ck lotuses there. Any further dy would be a problem for him.

    Furthermore...

    When he found out that the Marathon Family was after him, he could not help but feel threatened. It would be a lie to say that he was not concerned about such a massive power. Although Lin Li was not scared of the Marathon Family, it would be ideal for him to have more cards in hand.

    And the ck lotus was undoubtedly the best card.

    Looking back at his battle with Cromwell when he was in Jarrosus City, if not for his Elixir of the Sages, the consequences would be unpredictable if Lin Li were to be hit by that level-18 spell.

    Although the Fire Plume Ridge was not very far, it was not that near, either. He would need at least a few days to return.

    After all, Macklin was still their trial mentor. It would be rude to leave without informing him.

    Actually, apart from that, Lin Li had another n too...

    But such a n was still at the guessing stage. He could only verify it for himself when he reached the Fire Plume Ridge...

    ¡°Pretty boy, have you finished eating?¡± After swallowing thest mouthful of bread, Mason looked at Orrin challengingly. ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to beat until your face turns ck today!¡±

    ¡°Jerk, just you wait...¡±

    Subsequently, the two men headed out together...

    Macklin came knocking on the door right after Mason and Orrin stepped out of the dorm.

    ¡°I finally found you...¡± Macklin started toin incessantly the moment he came in. ¡°I say, Felic, where were you the entire morning? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long that my hair turned white.¡±

    ¡°I just went to the ck market to take a look and bought some things. But what¡¯s with you? What was it that made you so anxious?¡± Lin Li said as he rolled his eyes.

    <i>Don¡¯t tell me exaggeration is contagious. I¡¯d only not seen this old man for a few days, how did he be more ludicrous than Mason in his words?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s a big matter!¡± Macklin shouted harshly.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Shoot...¡±

    Macklin told Lin Li the supposed ¡®big matter¡¯ after a dry cough. ¡°Someone from the Pharmacists Guild visited this morning to pass you an invitation letter. He said it was to invite you to what meeting...¡±

    ¡°What meeting?¡± Lin Li asked in confusion.

    ¡°How would I know? I¡¯m not a pharmacist...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Yes, he wanted me to tell you that the invitation letter was personally sent by Grimm Burnside.¡± Macklin paused as he nced at Lin Li suspiciously. ¡°You actually know Grimm Burnside?¡±

    ¡°Yea, he taught me some magic before.¡± Lin Li felt awkward at the mentioning of Old Grimm. When he was at Jarrosus, Old Grimm put in all his effort to help improve his ability, but now that he was in nna, he did not even pay him a visit afterwards. That made him seemed like an ungrateful fe.

    <i>Why don¡¯t I use this opportunity to visit Old Grimm, and take a look at what is that ¡®what meeting¡¯...? Gosh, that¡¯s awkward...</i>

    ¡°You are really a lucky fe...¡± Macklinmented enviously. When he was at the age of Lin Li, he had never met many archmages, not to mention the legendary-mages. As for mentorship... <i>Does being beaten up by an archmage count as mentorship?</i>

    ¡°Where¡¯s the invitation letter? Give it to me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sure...¡± Macklin suddenly remembered that invitation letter. He reached into his pocket for a while, and took out a crumpled envelope.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li looked at the envelope, then at Macklin in a daze. This... really was the invitation letter sent out by the Pharmacists Guild? And not a tissue that the old man carelessly mistook the letter for?

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, I don¡¯t know why, either. It was like this when I received it...¡± Macklin defended himself innocently.

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lin Li nced at him curiously before speed-reading the contents of the envelope.

    There was nothing much written in the letter. Without the ordinary diplomatguage, the true content was really little. It just mentioned that the Pharmacists Guild discovered an unusual potion form, and if Master Felic was interested, he could join the research at the guild one weekter...

    ¡°What form would be so powerful...?¡± Lin Li murmured curiously. He was not new to the Pharmacists Guild, and ording to Andoine, even the guards of the guild had the knowledge of creating Recovery Potions. How would they be affected by the form of any potion? Unless... unless the form was at the level of a Guru... or Divine Smith?

    Lin Li was shocked by the sudden thought. After staring nkly for a couple of minutes, he forced himself to put the matter in the back of his mind.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mr. Macklin, I would like to take a few days of leave.¡±

    ¡°Leave?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I need around four to five days to attend to some private matter.¡±

    ¡°What kind of private matter would require such a long period of time? Do you need my help?¡± Macklin asked nervously.

    This fe was the treasure of nna Guild of Magic. Without the protection from Aldwin and himself, what if anything were to happen to him? Furthermore, these few days were extremely crucial. Who would know if the Marathon Family would do anything to him...

    ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, just going to collect something. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back in four or five days.¡±

    ¡°Please stay safe...¡± Macklin only cautioned him, and did not force Lin Li to tell him what he was going to do.

    ¡°Yes, I will,¡± Lin Li said while nodding his head.

 Chapter 169 - Ink

    <h4>Chapter 169: Ink</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sun had just risen the next day when Sean was stopped by Lin Li.

    This fe woke up early, nning to sneak out just like in the past few days. However, today he had just touched the door handle when he heard Lin Li¡¯s voiceing from the back.

    ¡°Morning, Sean.¡±

    ¡°Morning, Mr Felic...¡± The greeting that came from behind almost made Sean die from shock. He turned around with a frightened look, and saw Lin Li stick his head out from the nket, looking at him with a sleazy smile.

    How could Sean have know that Lin Li had woken up early and even ced a Warlock¡¯s Eye in the room for surveince just to stop him? He would not have been able to leave even if he used Invisibility, much less moving around stealthily.

    Just by looking at Sean¡¯s panicstricken face, Lin Li knew that this fe tried to sneak out again...

    If it was a few days ago, Lin Li would to turn a blind eye to it. After all, Sean¡¯s strength had obviously risen in thest few days. Sometimes, Lin Li suspected if Sean would be able take over him in levels at this rate... Naturally, nobody wouldin about having too much of such a good thing. Even if Sean remained silent, Lin Li would still continue to support him. In the end, he had a type of intrinsic trust in Sean.

    However, not today. Today he had something else more important to do.

    Lin Li coughed, and casually asked, ¡°Going out to get food?¡±

    Sean looked guilty after being questioned, and he could only ambiguously reply, ¡°Erm... Erm... Mr Felic, what do you want to eat? I¡¯ll help you buy it.¡±

    ¡°No need, we¡¯ll go eat in a bit.¡± Lin Li wore the Robe of the Void as he spoke. After he had folded the nket, he turned over to remind Sean as if he thought of something. ¡± Oh, yes, don¡¯t wander around today. Go with me to Fire Plume Ridgeter.¡±

    ¡°Fire Plume Ridge?¡± Sean was in a daze for a while before deciding that Lin Li was not pulling his leg. Instantly, Sean started stuttering. ¡°Really... It really is Fire Plume Ridge?¡±

    ¡°What else did you think it was...¡± Lin Li wore the Robe of the Void and started to urge the dazed Sean without exining further. ¡°Why are you still in a daze? Hurry, pack up. Our trip this time will be for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    There was nothing much for Sean to pack. There was only one double-edged sword and a Fire Smandrid leather armor. These two pieces of equipment cost about twenty thousand gold coins. Usually, Sean could not bear to use them, and left them in his room. He even cleaned it properly three times a day. It made Lin Li question if those items that he bought were actually equipment... There was no need to be afraid that it would rust by taking such good care of it every day...

    However, today was still alright. For the first time, Sean wore the Fire Smandrid leather armor, and strapped the Abyss Fiendish Iron Greatsword to his back, looking magnificent and mighty. It was as if he had the aura of a high-level warrior.

    When they left the Guild of Magic, the streets were still somewhat empty. There were only a few vendors that sold breakfast, pushing their carts around, serving steaming hot breakfast to customers. Lin Li was a person that disliked inconvenience. He gobbled down his food after he had bought breakfast for Sean and himself. It made a few of the customers look at him in disdain. They probably had not seen such an uncouth mage before...

    Sean was nibbling on his food; he seemed to be somewhat absent-minded. There were a few times he struggled to speak, but every time the words came to him, he swallowed them down with hesitation.

    ¡°If there is anything you want to say, just hurry. Don¡¯t keep turning around, it¡¯s making me dizzy...¡± Lin Li saw his expression, and knew that this kid wanted to say something.

    ¡°Mr Felic, I was thinking...¡±

    ¡°Thinking about what? Just hurry, stop turning around. This trip is going to take a few days, you should notify the others. In any case, they taught you some martial arts.¡±

    ¡°You... You...¡± Sean was dumbfounded. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. He stuttered ¡°you¡± for a while before hepleted the sentence. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°How could I not know...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, <i>You¡¯re behaving like a thief every day, leaving in the morning anding back at night with a secretive look. Your strength has improved tremendously, faster than anyone cultivating the Yin Yang Combo and Dual Cultivation Method. Even a blind person could see it. If not because of a master guiding you, how could you improve to this state?</i>

    Of course, Lin Li did not say it out loud. He just waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Just hurry up. I¡¯ll be at the store where I bought your equipment. Once you¡¯re done,e look for me over there.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    After chasing Sean away, Lin Li devoured his breakfast in a few bites before walking over to the equipment store at the corner.

    ¡°What is going on...¡± Lin Li realized something was wrong when he just entered the store. The store was in a mess. The weapons and armor were sprawled all over the floor like a hideous mess. It was as if there was a locust gue recently.

    Buck was picking up the items, and one of his hands was covering his left cheek. It seemed to be swollen.

    ¡°What happened, Boss Buck?¡±

    ¡°No.... Nothing...¡± Buck stood up with difficulty while covering his left cheek and squeezed out an awkward smile at Lin Li. ¡°I can only me it on my luck, running into troublemakers early in the morning...¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not question further. Such incidents were verymon in nna. Frankly speaking, equipment business was a firearms business. Which of those patronizing such stores was aw abiding citizen?

    <i>If you do not believe, you can ask the vendors outside selling breakfast and see if they woulde here to buy weapons and armor.</i>

    Such ces had always been full of troubles. Today¡¯s situation could be considered minor. Blood sttering without a single word was asmon as eating.

    Furthermore, such incidents were of no concern for Lin Li.

    Since Buck could open an equipment store and a smelting workshop at the same time, how could such a person have no background? The losses he suffered today could be recouped in a few days. There was no need for Lin Li to worry for him.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Boss Buck. Has my batch of magical beast leather been tanned?

    ¡°It has been tanned, Mage Felic. Sit here for a while, I¡¯ll bring it over now.¡±

    Buck took out bag from the storeroom. It contained 10 pieces of tanned Fire Smandrid leather.

    After Lin Li exchanged a few polite greetings, he asked for rmendations for a leatherworking shop. There was no special request, and Lin Li was toozy to do it himself. He dealt with the ten pieces of Fire Smandrid leather at the leatherworking store across the street. It was going to be a total of two pieces of leather armor, two pairs of leather boots and two leather pairs of leather gloves.

    After returning to Buck¡¯s store. Lin Li saw that Sean had not returned yet. He decided to borrow a room from Buck, and focused on dealing with these two sets of leather armor.

    This was the most crucial step. Although Fire Smandrid leather had high fire resistance, before it had been treated with inscriptions, it could hardly negate the temperatures of Fire Plume Ridge. This was one of the reasons why Lin Li had to get his hands on the raw leather, or he would have to rely on the set that Sean was wearing, and it would be barely enough to just test the waters at Fire Plume Ridge.

    After Lin Li closed the door, he took out a Fire Resistance Potion first from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    When he was at Endless World, the various potions were what Lin Li drank the most. There was no other way. Resistance potions were too important for a hunter battling at the Well of the Sun. Without these items, he would have died at any given time from various types of magic.

    Yet, Lin Li hardly drank such things when he came to Anril.

    This was the difference between a hunter and a mage.

    Even though resistance potion could provide high magic resistance, it could severely diminish the sensitivity towards magical elements. For a mage, drinking potions and casting spells was like wearing dozens of condoms...

    However, the Fire Resistance Potion in his hand was not meant for drinking.

    cing the Fire Resistance Potion aside, Lin Li continued to retrieve items from the Ring of Endless Storm. He took out a bottle of star sand, a ss beaker, and a crystal pen.

    Lin Li only picked up the star sand after all the materials were all set, and he carefully poured it into beaker. This thing was not like the navy sand, which could be found in all magical material stores. The bottle in Lin Li¡¯s hand was extorted from the Gilded Rose store while relying on Ysera¡¯s connections.

    A thinyer of star sand sat at the bottom of the cup, looking like a in of stars. It seemed like it really was brilliant and as dazzling as a sky full of stars. After Lin Li admired it for a moment, he uncapped the bottle of Fire Resistance Potion, and gently poured some into the beaker.

    After doing all those, Lin Li held the beaker with his hand, reciting a short spell at the same time. ming Hands lit up, and he carefully controlled his mana as he had to maintain the temperature of ming Hands within a small range. This was an essential process in concocting star sand ink. The magical elements contained within the star sand had to be heated up before they could be released.

    The star sand and Fire Resistance Potion in the beaker started blending together as Lin Li released his mana bit by bit, permeating the room with a white mist. Lin Li carefully observed the changes in these two materials as he swirled the beaker gently, allowing the two to blend more uniformly.

    ¡°Poof, poof, poof...¡± With the heat from the ming Hands, the fire resistance potion started to bubble. The white mist that curled upwards had a trace of a pungent smell. This was the unique smell of the star sand. When this smell was produced, it was the sign that this bottle of star ink had been sessfully concocted.

    Lin Li dispersed the mes on his hands, and ced the star ink that had been concocted on the table. Then, heid out the two sets of leather armor, and started to construct the outlines of two mageweaths in his head.

    These two mageweaths had been designed by Lin Li for almost more than a month. When he picked up the crystal pen, he only had to recall for a bit, and he could set the outline of these two mageweaths.

    The crystal was coated with a slightly thick red liquid after being dipped in the star ink lightly...

 Chapter 170 - Causing Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 170: Causing Trouble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What Lin Liid on the leather armor was a fire resistance force field.

    Because the star ink was blended with the Fire Resistance Potion, the fire resistance force field produced from this ink would be stronger than those mageweaths that were produced with normal ink. With the addition of the innate fire resistance from the Fire Smandrid leather, it should not be a problem going to Fire Plume Ridge. Of course, wearing it did not mean that they could jump straight into magma...

    Lin Li had already thought about this mageweath for a long while. It was like he drew it without stopping this time. With just a few strokes of the pen, he had already drew the rough sketch of the outline. After mounting a level-5 magical crystal in the middle of the magical crystal, all that was left was to make it more well developed.

    Just when Lin Li was focusing on drawing the mageweath, there was a sudden burst of human voices from outside of the door.

    Initially, Lin Li thought that Sean had came back.

    After hearing again, it was a barrage of scolding.

    ¡°Buck,e out now! F*ck your mom. You actually dare to sell a broken armor like this.¡± Before Lin Li could understand what was happening, a muffled voice had already started scolding.

    When this scolding voice was heard, Lin Li felt that it was somewhat familiar as though he heard it somewhere. Even more so, it was very recent. It was either today or yesterday.

    ¡°I only wore it once, and someone pierced it with a sword. F*ck your mom. If it hadn¡¯t been for my luck, I wouldn¡¯t have known how I died. I will definitely smash your useless store today.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do this!¡± As there was a scream from Buck, there was ¡°BAM¡±ing from outside of the door. The screeching of metal sounded as though the weapons rack had been knocked over by someone. This was followed by sounds of a struggle; he thought that Buck must have started fighting with the other party.

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    Lin Li hesitated for a little. He borrowed Buck¡¯s room to draw the mageweath. If he was to stand by idly and watch as Buck¡¯s store got trashed, it would be hardly justifiable.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll offer them some advice...¡± Lin Li thought about it and stopped his work, deciding to advise them. After all, this was a dispute between a businessman and his customer. It would not reach the degree of someone dying.

    Who knew that just as Lin Li opened the door, he heard a windy sounding over...

    At the moment when the windy sound came over, Lin Li instinctively lowered his head. Immediately, there was a beam of light flying past his head. Before Lin Li could stand up, there was crisp ¡°ping¡±ing from behind...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a few beats when the crisp sound was heard.

    He did not need to turn around to know that something major happened...

    That sound was obviously made by shattering ss, and in this room there was only a beaker of star ink. What else was there that was made of ss?

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li really felt like killing somebody. He¡¯d never imagined himself to be so unlucky. <i>If you want to smash the store, then just smash it. What right do you have to smash my star ink?</i>

    That was star ink, something that could not be bought from anywhere!

    Lin Li nced towards the table. The beaker has indeed been smashed.

    The less than half of the beaker¡¯s star ink was flowing down the table. It was all red, just as though fresh blood had been spilled. There was a dagger stuck near the broken beaker. It had to be this thing that flew in from the door just now and broke the star ink that was painstakingly concocted.

    When Lin Li came out from the room, his face had already turned livid from rage.

    He did not even greet Buck, and just stood at the door¡¯s entrance watching who had the nerve to do that...

    The trouble maker was indeed someone familiar.

    It was the warrior that came to buy the armor. He was fierce-looking, and he even carried a decent fire-attribute magical weapon. The thief that followed him the other day was here today as well. He was now smashing things while threatening Buck for reimbursement along with that warrior.

    <i>F*ck. I haven¡¯t got you to pay me back for the star ink, and you actually asked somebody to else pay...</i>

    ¡°May I know who threw this dagger?¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice was terrifyingly calm. If Mason here, he more or less would know the problem. The more polite this fe was, the more likely would there be trouble...

    If he spoke to you politely, then you¡¯d better be worried. You could very likely have a spell pounding at your face in the next second.

    Unfortunately, that warrior was not Mason. He had no idea whose belongings the dagger that was thrown had crushed.

    So, he lifted his head audaciously. ¡°I threw it, why?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, just asking...¡± Lin Li took the dagger and walked over, handing it to the warrior very politely.

    The warrior rudely took back the dagger and stared at Lin Li recklessly. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing, then shove it. Don¡¯t stand in the way. If you were to get crushed by something, don¡¯t me me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll watch and leave...¡± Lin Li smiled, and a surge of magical wave started to spread all over the ce.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to see¡ª ah!¡±

    Before the warrior couldplete his sentence, he gave out a loud shriek.

    Lin Li did not give him any chances. He immediately lifted his hand and fired an Arcane Missile that smashed right into the warrior¡¯s face. Even a magical beast would not be able to withstand it while getting smashed in the face by an Arcane Missile while being defenseless, much less a human. Under the immense force of impact, the warrior seemingly flew out instantaneously.

    Lin Li was considered merciful. He did not release all of his mana when firing that Arcane Missile. Otherwise, the warrior would have been blown up even with that muscr body. If not, how could he have the strength to lie there panting and moaning like now...?

    ¡°You... You... what are you doing...¡± Even though he was not blown up, it did not mean that the warrior was not afraid.

    Initially, when he saw the ck robe Lin Li was wearing, he had not reacted to it. He thought that it was just normal clothes. Once the Arcane Missile flew into his face, the warrior suddenly recalled what was the most likely profession of people that wore this ck robe...

    He even recalled the rumors that he¡¯d heard...

    ordingly, among the mages, the color of the robes determined their levels. The darker the color, the higher level. A mage that wore a ck robe like this one was a person of prominent position even within nna¡¯s Guild of Magic. As for how prominent it was, it was not something an adventurer at his level would know...

    The warriory on the floor, getting more terrified as he thought about it.

    If this was really the case, then the opponent could conveniently kill him. There was no need to worry about the mercenary corps¡¯ revenge. This was because there was no mercenary corp within nna city that would seek vengeance against the Guild of Magic.

    Even though Lin Li was merciful, the Arcane Missile was still a level-two spell. When it smashed into the face at such a close distance, it was not lighter than being struck by a pole. When the warrior struggled to stand up, more than half of his face had already swelled up. Some of his teeth had dropped out, and the blood that was mixed with saliva flowed out of his mouth that could not be closed. He looked to be in a very sorry state.

    When this sudden unforeseen event befell the eyes of people, be it Boss Buck or the thief that was wearing a pair of shoes with magical enchantment, they stood there, dumbfounded. Nobody thought that this unforeseen event would be so abrupt. In an instant, the seemingly powerful warrior adventurer had been whipped like a dog, lying on the floor.

    ¡°Fe... Mage Felic..¡± Buck looked at Lin LI as though he had just met Lin Li today.

    In fact, he did indeed have this feeling.

    He made a few deals with this young mage. He always felt that the other party was a gentle young man. No matter what Lin Li did, he seemed like he always took his own and would never lose his temper. Yet, up to that point, Buck discovered that he had been wrong, and he was severely wrong at that.

    This young mage not only would lose his temper, but when he did lose his temper, it was scarier than for most people.

    Frankly speaking, the warrior¡¯s luck was not that bad.

    If it¡¯d been in the past, there was no knowing how Lin Li would have fixed him up.

    However, Lin Li was too busy today. After giving him a small lesson, Lin Li did not n to give him any more trouble.

    There were too many incidents today. The star ink had been spilled, and Lin Li had to concoct a new bottle again. The mageweath on those two pieces of leather armor had to be dealt with quickly. When Sean returned, they had to depart for Fire Plume Ridge. This journey was going to be long, and they had to return by the time stated on the invitation letter. There was not much time that could be wasted on such things.

    ¡°You guys can leave now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, we will leave now...¡± The unlucky warrior suffered great losses, yet he did not dare to retaliate. Naturally, he was not an idiot, as he could stay an adventurer until this day. Looking at this mage in front of him, it was obvious the mage was not someone he could provoke. Other than admitting that he was unlucky, he dared not have a single thought about taking revenge when facing such a person.

    When Lin Li finished his sentence, the unlucky warrior crawled towards the door as though he had been received an amnesty...

    Just as he reached the door, Lin Li suddenly went back on his words. ¡°Hold on.¡±

    ¡°Ma... Mr Mage, you, you, you... what orders do you have?¡± The unlucky warrior¡¯s face was slightly pale. His life was in somebody else¡¯s hand, he could not retaliate even if he wanted to.

    ¡°Before leaving, could you tell who actually instigated you toe here and create trouble?¡±

    ¡°No... Nobody instigated us...¡± The unlucky warrior summoned up his courage with difficulty andpleted his sentence. He was sweating profusely. There was an immense pressure when standing in front of this unpredictable young mage...

    ¡°Try saying that again...¡± Lin Li nced, and started smiling again.

    When the warrior saw that smile, it immediately sent shivers down his spine. He clearly remembered that this young mage smiled in this manner as well when he struck out just now...

    After hesitating, he still did not confess.

    Of course, he did not dare to as well.

    He even confirmed that if he were spout out another word, another Arcane Missile would immediatelynd on his face. He dared not take such a risk.

 Chapter 171 - Ore Devouring Beast

    <h4>Chapter 171: Ore Devouring Beast</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The unlucky warrior did not want to confess, and Lin Li did not force him, either. He just bent down and picked up the armor that was said to have issues amongst the mess of equipment on the floor.

    It was amon half body armor made from refined iron. It was even ted with Eternal Adamantine in a few crucial spots. The craftsmanship was pretty decent. It was of an above-average standard even from Lin Li¡¯s point of view.

    The problem stated by the unlucky warrior was the chest area of the armor. When Lin Li picked it up, he immediately saw a long crack. This crack started from the shoulder, and stretched all the way till the abdominal area. Just by looking, it seemed to be split by a sharp edge.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask onest time, who was it that asked you toe?¡± Lin Li could guess what was the issue just by looking at the armor in his hands.

    ¡°...¡± The warrior broke out in a cold sweat from fear, but his mouth was tightly shut. It was not because he did not want to say, but because he really did not dare to. The person that made him do this had very powerful backing. Now, he only wished that this young mage was making wild guesses.

    Maybe if he were to persevere for a while more, he would let him off...

    The warrior could only console himself in this way.

    The warrior shut his mouth tightly, but the thief at the side could not tolerate it anymore.

    ¡°Honorable Mr Mage, we admit that we are not your match. But, you also can¡¯t just willfully use us, right? The armor that was bought yesterday had already been split at night by somebody with a sword. You¡¯ve seen that crack yourself. If it was not because my friend got lucky, he would¡¯ve been already dead. Shouldn¡¯t Boss Buckpensate us for selling us such an armor?¡±

    ¡°Well said, but you seem to have forgotten something...¡± Lin Li only smiled when facing the thief¡¯s questioning. ¡°While creating this crack, have you guys thought about how much strength is required to create such a long crack?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The thief¡¯s face suddenly froze. It was as if an invisible hand had shoved a cloth into his mouth. ( Boxno vel. co m )

    Lin Li smiled, and turned around to look at the warrior, praising him sincerely, ¡°You must be Titan¡¯s descendant. You didn¡¯t get injured from such a powerful sh. You even have the energy to seek trouble with Buck the next morning. You must be from a circus...

    ¡°Also, could I trouble you guys to be more professional?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The two of them were baffled with the lesson taught to them. They stared at each other nkly.

    ¡°So unprofessional even when falsifying. Such ack of professionalism...¡± Lin Li shook his head as if he¡¯d been expecting better. ¡°Look at this opening yourselves, does it look like it was caused by a sword? It¡¯s more like it was gnawed by a dog. Just look at it yourselves, there are even serrations. Your swords can cause serrations?¡±

    The warrior and thief were full of confusion while listening to Lin Li lecture them old-fashionedly.

    ¡°Ok...¡± Lin Li felt thirsty after lecturing for so long. He only then passed the armor to a dumbfounded Boss Buck. He used a perilous look to re at the thief and warrior. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you don¡¯t say it now, you won¡¯t have the chance to say itter...¡±

    ¡°We...¡± The warrior opened his mouth, and thought of continuing to deny it, but only spoke halfway before Lin Li red at him. Instantaneously, he felt like there was something stuck in his throat, and his voice was terrifyingly hoarse. ¡°We... We can¡¯t say...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re scared?¡± Lin Li nced outside, and then advised the warrior softly, ¡°Rx, there is a total of four people here. If none of us says anything, who would know what happened today? You just need to pretend as if nothing happenedter, and walk out with swagger. Nobody would suspect anything...¡±

    ¡°Furthermore... even if this incident spreads out, nobody would suspect you guys. I¡¯ll honestly tell you something. That gentleman behind you isn¡¯t just involved with you guys only. Just less than an hour ago, Buck just sent off another group of people...¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words were just casually spouted.

    The moment he came in, he saw that Buck¡¯s face was bruised, and faintly became aware that something was off. It was just that he did not think about things from this perspective. However, after the warrior and thief came in, how could Lin Li not figure it out?

    Such incidents were toomon...

    Within nna city, there were countless cruel businessmen using such methods to underminepetitors. However, it went overboard this time. Not only were two batches of people sent, Lin Li¡¯s star ink was also carelessly smashed. Thinking about that half of a beaker of star ink, Lin Li¡¯s chest started to feel tight. Under the influence of these circumstances, he started to look at those two in menacing manner...

    ¡°So, what is it going to be? Hurry and decide, I am running out of patience. If you really want to keep mum, I won¡¯t force you to speak, either. It¡¯s just that when you came in just now, you smashed something of mine. You have topensate for this loss. It doesn¡¯t cost much, just a bit more than 100,000 gold coins or so. I¡¯ll give you a discount, and round it down to 100,000 gold coins. You can leave whenever you pay me back. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t return me... Recently, I amcking a few living humans to conduct magic experiments. The bodies of you two look pretty decent, I just might be able to use them...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    When the warrior heard this, he thought he was going to die.

    What kind of joke was this, demanding more than 100,000 gold coins instantly? As an adventurer, how could he have such a huge sum of money? The words of these young mage were not a joke. If he really conducted magical experiments on them, would it not be worse than death?

    He had heard of the cruelty of mages.

    ordingly, some of these really psychopathic mages liked to dissect living humans and transnt all sorts of magical beast limbs on them, creating a monstrosity that was half human and half beast.

    Just the thought of it gave the warrior goosebumps...

    The warrior swallowed his saliva, and used a voice that was softer than a mosquito to spout out a few words with difficulty.¡± Hammer of Glory...¡±

    When this voice that was softer than a mosquito¡¯s was heard by Buck, hisplexion changed immediately. ¡°Hammer of Glory?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    The warrior looked at Buck; unknowingly, Lin Li suddenly felt that his gaze towards Buck had a trail of pity. Lin Li rubbed his eyes, and he was not mistaken. This guy that he had almost forced tomit suicide was now looking at Buck with full of pity.

    All of these was obviously caused by a ced called ¡°Hammer of Glory¡±...

    Instantly, Lin Li could not help but feel somewhat uncertain.

    ¡°What is Uriel Forging Workshop?¡±

    ¡°It is also an equipment store specializing in all sorts of armor. It is only two streets away from here...¡±

    ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°And then, they have the backing of the Marathon Family...¡±

    ¡°The Marathon Family...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. Boss Buck¡¯s luck was chasing up to his. Just by selling two pieces of armor, he could also provoke the Marathon Family. Thinking about the influence of the Marathon Family, Lin Li could not help but worry about Boss Buck. ¡°Would there be any trouble?¡±

    ¡°It is nothing big, they just belong to the Marathon Family in name. However, in reality, they are under the management of a few businessmen that are not locals...¡± Boss Buck shook his head; he seemed to be somewhat down. ¡°But, this time, I would have to spend quite a bit of money...¡±

    Lin Li nodded his head, and did not continue asking. He waved his hand in annoyance at those two. ¡°If there is nothing else, you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Thank you... Thank you, Mr. Mage...¡±

    They trembled in fear for a long time before finally hearing Lin Li say those words. At that moment, they did not dare to hesitate. Instantly, they ran away without leaving a trace.

    ¡°Sorry to trouble you, Mage Felic...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Lin Li smiled, and did not say anything more. He could help Buck till this point, whereas for the future, Buck was definitely mentally prepared. There was no need for Lin Li to help him.

    After Lin Li went back into the room, he concocted some star ink again.

    He spent about half an hour on the mageweath for the two sets of armor. By the time he came out of the room, Boss Buck had just cleaned up the mess on the floor.

    Just as he was about to start a conversation with Buck, he saw Sean¡¯s silhouette appear at the corner of the street.

    <i>This kid is finally back...</i>

    ¡°Sean, here!¡± Lin Li stood at the entrance, and shouted from afar, ¡°How was it, everything settled?¡±

    ¡°Everything has been settled, Mr Felic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. This set of armor is for you, keep it safe. Get ready, and then we will leave.¡± Lin Lin Li nodded, and ced a set of armor in his hands. Then, he turned around and bid farewell to Boss Buck, whom he had inconvenienced this morning. ¡°Boss Buck, I really inconvenienced you today.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You¡¯re wee toe again, Mage Felic.¡±

    After they left the store, Lin Li went to rent a car from the car rental. On the way there, he also went to Azalez¡¯s house, and delivered ten pieces of Eternal Adamantine that he had promised him yesterday.

    After everything had been done, Lin Li drove the carriage and left nna heading towards the Fire Plume Ridge...

    ...

    The distance between the Fire Plume Ridge and nna was about half a day¡¯s journey. Setting off from nna, they¡¯d pass by ckhills Town and follow the outskirts of the Forest of Whispers heading southwards. If the carriage was fast enough, it would only take a maximum of two hours before they started to feel the temperatures of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    The location of ckhills Town was very advantageous. It was right next to the low-level adventurer¡¯s haven, the Forest of Whispers, and in close proximity of the Fire Plume Ridge, which was full of materials. The travelling adventurers and traders had given the inns overwhelming patronage.

    Within a radius of 100 miles, the Fire Plume Ridge should be the area that had the rarest materials in the highest abundance.

    It was only extreme environments such as the Fire Plume Ridge¡¯s one that could produce rare materials in high quantities. All sorts of rare herbs and ores, as well as magical beast hides, that were sold for high price could be found here. Most of the adventurers that could explore here had some backing from their families.

    The Fire Plume Ridge did not only produce ck lotus. In it, there were some rare materials that could even make Lin Li excited. For example, the Infernal Magic Iron, the best material for creating fire-attribute magical weapons, could be found deep in magma. This was not somethingmon. Just any piece of Infernal Magic Iron could be forged into a magical equipment that was iparable in power. The magical strength contained within was at least at the level of a Magic Shooter. The magical gemstones were also of top quality. Just any one of them would be stronger than Andoine¡¯s Crystal of Eternity.

    If they were lucky, they could even find the me¡¯s Heart. That was the purest essence of fire. Whether it was for forging or for magical enchantments, it was the best of the best. With just a bit of the me¡¯s Heart, one could bestow equipment with powerful fire abilities.

    With the rarity of the Infernal Magic Iron, Lin Li could not help but be excited.

    When he was in the Endless World, he could be said to be the richest person. He had several private mineral veins, but he drooled over the Infernal Magic Iron. The requirements for mining such a rare magical metal were too difficult. An average person would not even have the chance to discover it, so how could they have the ability to mine it?

    However...

    The things that could not be done in the Endless World had a chance of seeding in Anril...

    Before leaving for the Fire Plume Ridge, Lin Li specially went to the Omniscient Tower to find information rted to it.

    Who knew that with this search, he found traces of a clue.

    It was the diary of an archmage. ording to the memories of this archmage from three hundred years ago, he followed a team of adventurers to the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge when he was younger, and challenged a level-16 Ore Devouring Beast.

    Frankly, from Lin Li¡¯s view, there was nothing much about the fight. The archmage only had the strength of level-12 at that time. When facing the level-16 magical beast, he¡¯d only showed his face before rocks rolling down from the summit broke his leg. The whole battle had nothing to do with him, and he relied on his powerful teammates to survive.

    However, within these few phrases, Lin Li found two interesting points.

    ording to the memories of the archmage, the Ore Devouring Beast¡¯s body would be covered in magma when it appeared. Just a slight shake would cause fill the sky with a rain of fire.

    This was an important point. A creature like the Ore Devouring Beast did not require severe living conditions. It could walk in the searing heat, or rest in a cool cave. The only important condition was that their living environment required rare mineral veins. The stronger the elemental strength contained within these mineral veins, the stronger the Ore Devouring Beast.

    The body full of magma also meant that the Ore Devouring Beast lived within the magma.

    Furthermore...

    The memories of that Archmage also hinted that the Ore Devouring Beast had also summoned a Meteor Shower.

    This was an equally important point. The strength of Ore Devouring Beast came from the rare ores that it devoured. If it consumed Ice Crystal Metal, it would have magical elements of the ice attribute in its body. The spells that it used would also be something like Crystal Nova.

    Since it unleashed Meteor Shower, the rare mineral veins that it devoured would naturally contain magical elements of the fire attribute.

    An Ore Devouring Beast that lived in the magma and devoured a rare fire-attributed mineral vein. All of the signs hinted that the Fire Plume Ridge had a high possibility of containing an Infernal Magic Iron mineral vein.

    When the carriage entered ckhills Town, it was close to dusk. Lin Li looked at the sky, and decided to stay at the town for a night first.

    The Fire Plume Ridge was unlike the Forest of Whispers. There was no knowing what trouble might arise if they headed over at night..

    ¡°Two rooms.¡± Lin Li stopped the carriage, and brought Sean into an inn that was rather clean. When he asked for the rooms, he even emphasized it once more. ¡°It must be two rooms!¡±

    The experience at ckhills Town previously had terrified him.

    In Lin Li¡¯s mind, Sean¡¯s snoring had already surpassed the realm of noise. It was a torture that could not be tolerated by humans. Lin Li could even bet that if a dragon were to share a room with Sean, it would also not be able tolerate the torturous sound.

    Luckily, this inn¡¯s business was not as good as the previous one¡¯s. Lin Li managed to get two rooms without a problem.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Please bring us some foodter,¡± Lin Li instructed a maid before entering the room.

    ¡°Yes, Mr Mage.¡±

    Lin Li remembered something when the maid addressed him as ¡°Mr.Mage¡±.

    It seemed that the leather armor that was painstakingly made had not been worn yet...

    After returning to the room, Lin Li opened up the Ring of Endless Storm, and retrieved the leather armor that he had crafted in the day.

    Speaking of which, this was the first time that Lin Li had worn something else other than robes ever since he had came to Anril.

    When he transmigrated, he was already wearing the Robe of Wrath, and had already been wearing it for almost half a year. From the Sunset Mountains to Jarrosus, and from Jarrosus to nna, all the way till some time ago, when he changed into the Robe of the Void.

    Lin Li, who¡¯d got used to wearing robes, felt somewhat ufortable after wearing the leather armor...

    ¡°You¡¯re... You¡¯re Mr Felic?¡± Sean had a shock when he was having dinner.

    ¡°Duh...¡± Lin Li wanted to smash a te on this fe¡¯s head. He merely changed clothes, was there a need to exaggerate it?

    This time, he might have misunderstood Sean.

    Lin Li was d in a suit of tight-fitting red leather armor, with sharp daggers on his leather boots, a crossbow on his back, and a quiver at his waist. There were two Vampiric Fang Bolts amongst them. By walking around with this image, who would have imagined that this guy was a mage that wore a robe and carried a magic staff if he did not say it himself?

    After being tossed around for half a day in the carriage, Lin Li felt exhausted. He dismissed Sean to the room after having dinner. He closed his door, and prepared to have a good sleep to rejuvenate himself so that he could take a good look at the Fire Plume Ridge to see if there were really that many rare materials for him to gather...

    Just when he hadid his head on the pillow, there was clear ¡°PAK¡±ing from downstairs...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± When Lin Li head this sound, he immediately felt like smashing his head against the wall. Thest time when he was at ckhills Town, it was also a p that made him not have a good sleep. He really felt like sting a fireball through the floor and asking those fes: ¡°Are you f*cking gonna let me sleep?¡±

 Chapter 172 - Exchanging With Lives

    <h4>Chapter 172: Exchanging With Lives</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night, are you gonna let me sleep...¡±

    Lin Li opened the window in a depressed manner, and saw that there were a few carriages that stopped outside the front of the inn. A group of fes wielding their weapons came down from the carriages one after another. There were more than ten people in this group, and they looked threatening and malicious. Even if Lin Li was blind, he knew that they were not here to stay at the inn.

    What made Lin Li feel odd was that these people were not bandits, though they were also looking malicious and using weapons. Lin Li could distinguish who was a bandit and who was an adventurer.

    The leather armor on these people were inscribed with a pair of interlocking swords as their logo. This should be the logo of a certain group of mercenary corp. It was like Silver Hand that had a sword and the Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps that used a red crescent. As for which group this was, Lin Li had no clue yet...

    And thest person that came down from the carriage was even a mage.

    Lin Li was shocked. A mercenary corp that had mages was umon...

    Within nna city, the prowess of a mercenary corps was usually determined by the number of mages they had. Why was Elijah doing well? It was because he had a team of more than ten mages that had powerful magic strength under him. Some of them were even archmages. Elijah relied on this strength to barge his way through into the top ten mercenary corps in nna.

    At this time, Lin Li had no choice but to admit that this was not a weak mercenary corp.

    The boss of this inn was really unlucky. He was pped till he could not even differentiate his directions. Half of his face was swollen; it was like a bun was shoved into his face. When he spoke, it was as if there was air leaking out. ¡°You... What do you want?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, scram!¡± The one that struck him was a young bandit that looked fierce and tough. Before the inn¡¯s boss could finish speaking, he was kicked, and sprawled on the floor.

    ¡°Brothers!¡± The bandit kicked the boss, and turned back, pointing at an inn. ¡°Whoever catches that woman, I will let him have some fun first!¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± The bandit¡¯s words of incitement were like throwing a piece of meat in the middle of a pack of wolves. The group of adventurers¡¯ eyes immediately turned red, and they rushed into the inn growling and snarling, fearing to be thest. ( Boxno vel. co m )

    The trampling footsteps came from the bottom. Lin Li released Warlock¡¯s Eyes and sent them to watch the events in the corridor. At the same time, his gaze was set upon the mage that was at the entrance of the inn.

    The mage was in his forties. His face was so pale that it did not have the color of blood. It looked like he was a zombie that had just crawled out from the graveyard. His body was emitting an evil yet cold aura. This feeling naturally made Lin Li remember the undead creatures at the Shadowglen...

    But, most importantly, based on what Lin Li saw, the mage was at least level-14. He was at the border of entering the realm of archmages.

    Lin Li thought for a long while, but he could not recall which mercenary corps in nna city had the strength to recruit a person that was so close to the level of an Archmage.

    Just when Lin Li was pondering, a group of adventurers had rushed to the second floor.

    From the Warlock¡¯s Eyes vision, Lin Li could clearly see that there a total of neen adventurers. There were ten warriors, six thieves, and three archers. If the mage that was downstairs was included, it would be exactly twenty people.

    The thief that struck was the leader of this group of people. He was holding a dagger in each of his hands, and when he came upstairs, his whole body gave off a murderous aura.

    ¡°Bam!¡± When the thief came up to the second floor, he immediately kicked open the door that was next to stairs.

    ¡°What you are doing!?¡± A trader was staying inside that room. When the thief kicked the door, there was a screaming from the room.

    ¡°Shut up! If you wanna live, then continue sleeping!¡±

    After threatening the trader fiercely, the thief then signaled to his underlings. ¡°Continue searching, you must find that woman!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± With themand from thief, a group of adventurers became even more outrageous, kicking the doors. They did not care what the other party was doing, they just unsheathed their weapons and chased those people out.

    ¡°Seems like I won¡¯t get to sleep tonight...¡± Lin Li sighed; he looked rather annoyed.

    By judging the situation, it was a matter of time before it was his turn...

    As he had expected, a big mustached man kicked open his door in the next moment.

    This big mustached man was tall and buff. He held an axe in each of his hands. His tanned face was filled with killing intent. He looked as though he was fiercer than Sean, the human magical beast.

    The big mustached man raised both axes when he just came in. ¡°Get out!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    Lin Li did not resist. Since he¡¯d already been woken up by them, he might as well take a look at what was going on.

    As he followed the man with a big mustache out of the room, he saw that most of the guests of the inn had already been chased out. The majority of them were still thin pyjamas. With the addition of fear, all of their faces were as pale as a sheet of paper. They were trembling in the corridor as though they had mria...

    The inn was in a mess. A group of malicious adventurers were chasing people out of their rooms. That violent manner made it seem like they were not chasing humans, but draught animals. There was some resistance, which was met with beatings. Within a few seconds, some of the people had already been hurt.

    The thief stood at the corridor, and silently stared at the crowd.

    ¡°Mr Felic...¡± Sean was also chased out. Even though he had the power of a level-ten warrior, he would not make a move without Lin Li¡¯s orders. He was being escorted by two archers, walking out of the room. His voice carried a hint of request for instructions.

    ¡°No rush, we¡¯ll see how it is first.¡± Lin Li smiled; it was as though he did not pay attention to those adventurers beside him.

    In fact, he had no need to pay attention to them.

    Among the people that came today, excluding that weird mage, most of them had the strength of around level-ten, including that thief. They might not be able to beat Sean, much less if Lin Li were take action.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Just when the two of them had spoken a few words, a warrior that was at the side recklessly shoved Lin Li. If this scene was to be seen by Mason, he would be so terrified that he would have cold sweat...

    Anyway, Lin Li¡¯s feelings were those of curiosity. He actually did not lose his temper after being shoved by the warrior, which was rare. He just conscientiously embraced his head and stood at the side with Sean.

    ¡°Captain, we only found these few!¡±

    This carpet sweeping method of searching came to an end quickly. The voices came from one of the rooms. Lin Li curiously raised his head and looked over. He saw a group of people being dragged, and one of them looked familiar...

    With just a nce, Lin Li had shock. Within the group of people that was dragged out, there actually was Hank¡¯s silhouette...

    ¡°Release me, you bunch of morons!¡±

    After hearing this indistinct voice, Lin Li knew that he did not recognize the wrong person. It really was Hank! Why was this person speaking indistinctly? This was because some of his teeth were knocked out by a few bandits when he¡¯d stayed ckhills Town thest time.

    Lin Li was astonished for a moment.

    Even though Hank¡¯s strength was nothing much, he was still a member of the Silver Hand. Within nna, Silver Hand was a mercenary corps that was at least in the top three. Everyone was of the same profession, so how could this bandit not know it, and how could he be so daring to actuallyy his hands on someone from the Silver Hand? From the looks of it, it seemed like he did not only want toy his hands on Hank. Just now, wasn¡¯t this guy shouting that he wanted to catch a woman?

    Wait... a woman?

    This sudden thought gave Lin Li a shock. The woman that the fe mentioned... could it be Ina?

    Before Lin Li could ponder more, the bandit had a gloomy look, and asked, ¡°Just these few?¡±

    Just when the thief had finished his sentence, another adventurer came out from room beside. ¡°Captain, this room is empty. I fear the woman has already...¡±

    ¡°Understood...¡± The thief nodded, and walked to Hank with a gloomy face. ¡°Let me ask you, where is that woman?¡±

    Hank coolyughed. ¡°Rode, do you think you can hide that tiny bit of shrewdness of your¡¯s from Captain Serena? Wipe your a*s and wait, the end of your Rising Sun Mercenary Corp ising!¡±

    ¡°When did Serena escape?¡± The thief¡¯s face was as ck as the base of a pot. He did not imagine that this surefire operation would go wrong at the most crucial part. Serena escaped. What was the point of catching these small fishes?

    ¡°Heh...¡± Hank had a proud look, and he pointed at the two thieves at the entrance of staircase. ¡°It was when these two idiots were only watching us.¡±

    ¡°...¡± When Hank¡¯s voice just fell, the two thieves¡¯ face were immediately as white as a sheet. They messed up in such a crucial situation, so the only fate that awaited them could only be...

    ¡°Trash. I will deal you withter...¡± Rode stared at those two thieves menacingly, and then ordered his underlings. ¡°Bring them away.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The thieves voice had just befallen them when a group of fierce and aggressive adventurers rushed over.

    ¡°Hey, Hank, how could it be so coincidental?¡± At this point, it was improper for Lin Li to continue watching the events unfold. In any case, Hank had helped him before. If it was not because he had provided information, Lin Li would be clueless about the trouble that Ina had run into.

    ¡°Fel... Mr Felic?¡± Hank eyes were instantly wide open. He could not imagine that he would run into this young mage again at ckhills Town. Although he was surprised, his suspended heart finally descended into ce at the same time. He was clear that if this young mage were here, his life would be safe...

    ¡°Guys, how about some negotiations?¡± Lin Li looked at the thief that was called Rode, and smiled politely. ¡°Anyhow, capturing Mr Hank is useless. Why don¡¯t we strike a deal?¡±

    The thief was stupefied initially, and stared at Lin Li for a while before murmuring, ¡°What kind of deal?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and thought about it agonizingly before probing, ¡°Why not just using your lives?¡±

    ...

 Chapter 173 - Silver Storm

    <h4>Chapter 173: Silver Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The... The deal you speak of, is to exchange us for them?¡± The thief had a bizarre expression; it was as though his mouth was filled with frogs. This suggestion was too amusing. He could not imagine that this guy that appeared to be normal had brought forth a suggestion that only a lunatic would suggest.

    ¡°Yes, think about it. This deal is really worthwhile.¡± Lin Li nodded his head seriously; his facial expression was very earnest.

    With this sentence, it was not just the members of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp... even the guests that had been chased out of their rooms looked at Lin Li in a queer manner. Nobody thought that this young man would say it so naturally. It was as though he was asking if the radish were to be sold for 5 copper coins per kilogram...

    ¡°F*ck, I met a lunatic...¡± The thief stared at Lin Li for a while beforeing to a conclusion. At that moment, he felt angry and amused. After all, he was part of important personnel of one of the top three mercenary corps in nna. He felt unlucky as he even had to seriously discuss with a lunatic for such a long time...

    ¡°Take them.¡± The thief had no interest in discussing with him anymore. After he gave out the orders to the underlings, he turned and started walking downstairs.

    ( Boxno vel. co m ) ¡°You really don¡¯t want to think about it?¡± Lin Li did not give up, and shot another question towards the back of thief.

    ¡°Think your f*cking ass...¡± The thief spewed vulgarities. He was about to be driven mad by this lunatic. The thief felt that if this were to continue, he might be a lunatic as well.

    ¡°Why...¡± Lin Li shook his head, and some mana started to undte.

    It was at this moment when there was the sound of heavy footstepsing from the outside of the inn.

    At the moment when this sound descended, even Lin Li¡¯s facial expression changed.

    The sound of these footsteps was heavy. It sounded uniform. Lin Li knew that this was an elite force that was equipped with armor. If not, such a sound would not be produced.

    The Fn Kingdom¡¯s production of ores was not abundant. It was usually the army that could be equipped with armor made from refined iron. Normally, a mercenary corp could only put together a team of armored warriors with difficulty no matter how rich it was. From the sounds of footsteps, it seems like it was a contingent of more than a hundred people. With so many armored warriors, could it be that imperial guards have arrived?

    ¡°Good evening, idiots of the Rising Sun!¡±

    Just when Lin Li was feeling incessantly puzzled, there was the voice of a woman travelling from the skies.

    This voice was crisp and sweet. When it fell on the ears of the members of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp, theirplexions immediately changed. It was as though this was not a greeting, but a magic spell full of killing intent.

    As for those from Silver Hand, their faces had even weirder expressions almost simr to that of Rode¡¯s. They had expressions that seemed like they wanted to smile yet they did not dare to.

    ¡°Serena, shut up!¡± This voice came from the skies, and Rode screamed like a cat that had its tail stepped on. His calm expression had immediately be distorted.

    ¡°Idiot, save some strength. No matter how you stomp, you are going to die today! Really. If stomping had any use, why would we need assassins...¡± After Serena sentenced Rode to death in two sentences, it was as though she murmured the rest to herself.

    Rode was very close to losing his sanity...

    Unfortunately, he could not do anything to Serena.

    The whole nna knew that this damned woman was a Sky Knight. She had a level-15 gryphon as a mount. Nowadays, she mostly rode that damned gryphon, circling around the top of people¡¯s head in amanding manner.

    Rode got more depressed the more he thought about. It was as if he was so angry that he was about to vomit blood.

    It was not easy to seize this chance where the damned woman did not bring her gryphon along, yet two idiots wrecked the whole situation. Now, not only did she bring the gryphon, she even brought along the armored soldiers from Silver Storm. The victory that was supposed to be in hand had now been turned over. He could be torn into pieces by Silver Storm at any given time, not to mention allowing this damned woman unt her prowess above him...

    The footsteps outside the inn got heavier; it seems like the armored warriors were about to reach the entrance of the inn.

    Rode thought he was going to die when he heard heavy footsteps.

    That was Silver Storm, the strongest one-hundred-men squad amongst the mercenary corps in Fn.

    ordingly, the members of Sky Knights were retired soldiers from the Sky Knights corp. The weakest amongst them had the strength of at least level-seven. One of the main captains was said to have reached level-fifteen and above. Thebat power of Silver Storm was almostparable to that of the Fn Imperial Army. It was said that when Silver Storm had just been set up, they relied on the strength of these one hundred members of Silver Storm to y a level-18 magical beast in the Nightmare Mountains before establishing their position in one fell swoop as one of the top three mercenary corps in Fn.

    With such a monstrous strength, which mercenary corp in Fn would not be envious of them?

    ¡°Idiots of the Rising Sun, I¡¯ll give you two choices. One: jump out of the window yourselves. Two: wait for someone to throw you out. Think carefully, you don¡¯t have much time left!¡± It could because the inn was too quiet, but the captain that was circling in the air on his gryphon started to agitate Rode with words.

    ¡°F*ck, this crazy woman. If I catch you, I will definitely sell you to a brothel!¡± Rode harshly scolded.

    ¡°Captain Rode, what do we do?¡± With the most elite mercenary corp in Fn in close proximity, the more cowardly mercenaries from Rising Sun started to panic. They would be able to bully unarmed traders, and if they had bigger numbers, they could also bully low-ranked mercenaries like Hank. However, if they were to face Silver Storm, they did not even have the courage to resist...

    ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about!¡± Rode fiercely red at them. It was these two fes that were unable to aplish anything. It was something that should have seeded in, but they messed it up. Now, they even dared to speak so much. <i>Do you think I do not know that we are in deep water?</i>

    If it was not because of the impending troubles, Rode wanted to kick them both to members of the Silver Hand first to let them vent their anger...

    Unfortunately, not only was Rode unable to kick them out, he even had to calm them down. Under such circumstances, an additional member was another bit of strength. Rode was clear on this principle.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, we have hostages. I don¡¯t believe that Serena will dare toe in strong. If she were to let Silver Storm charge in, we will kill of these fes. Let¡¯s see how she can keep a foothold as a mercenary!¡±

    Rode¡¯s solution that he hastily came up with did indeed made some sense.

    They had four or five members of Silver Hand under their control. Furthermore, there were two that seemed like their positions were not low. If Serena were toe in strong, then at most he would just destroy them all and see how Serena could still establish herself as a mercenary.

    Such things were a great taboo.

    The profession of a mercenary was already very dangerous, and nobody knew when they would lose their lives. So why join a mercenary corp? It was because people wanted to live longer. If a mercenary corp captain were to betray his own members, who would be willing to follow him?

    It was a pity that Rode forgot about something...

    Inside here, not only were there a few members of Silver Hand, there was a fe that seemed like a lunatic.

    Of course, he had yet to know the origins of this fe.

    But, Hank knew...

    As for how powerful this person was, Hank had seen it twice¡ªonce at a ckhills Town inn, and the other time at the Thousand Leaves Bar¡ªso he was not worried at all. He believed that if this young mage were here, his own life would be safe.

    The trust that Hank had in Lin Li was at level of being blind. He even had the leisure to chat with Lin Li, who was beside him, while facing Rode who would be reckless in desperation at any given time.

    ¡°Mr Felic, why do you have the time toe to ckhills Town?¡±

    ¡°I nned to go to the Fire Plume Ridge. I did not think that I would be involved in this...¡± Lin Li had no choice but to smile. He started to question his morals as he had run into the same type of encounter twice at ckhills Town.

    ¡°You want to go to the Fire Plume Ridge?¡± Hank was surprised when he heard it, and then he hurriedly asked, ¡°Are you going tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! Mr Felic, we are heading to the Fire Plume Ridge as well. Are you interested in going together?¡± The previous time at ckhills Town, Hank wanted to pull Lin Li into Silver Hand. This fe refused to give up, and started to prod Lin Li in a roundabout way.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment.

    Lin Li was very clear on what Hank was thinking about. Frankly speaking, he was rather tempted by this suggestion. A ce like the Fire Plume Ridge was going to be more dangerous as they ventured further in. At any time, a level-15 and above magical beast could appear. If he could rely on a power like the Silver Hand, it would be much easier getting around.

    The problem was...

    Relying was one thing, but if he were to owe them a favor, it would be hard to return it.

    Just when Lin Li was hesitating, Rode had already rushed up to the top of the roof, and screamed at the top of his lungs, ¡°Serena, don¡¯t forget that I still have your Silver Hand members in my hands. Do you still want them to live?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. How can the people of the Silver Hand be caught trashes like you? Trust you? Do you think I am as idiotic as you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Ok! Just wait, I¡¯ll prove it to you now!¡± Seeing that Serena did not believe it, Rode started to feel flustered. He pointed at Hank. ¡°You,e over here. Speak to your captain.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me, I¡¯m busy...¡± Hank was busy recruiting someone, so why would he even bother about other things? Rode was screaming, yet he did not even turn around.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Rode was so angry that his lungs almost exploded. Forget about the woman swaggering around on a gryphon above him. Now, even a low-ranked mercenary did not even care about him. Was there any more justice in this world?

    Just when Rode was raging till he trembled, Lin Li realized something unusual.

    Those footsteps were too far just now, and he did not take notice. But as time passed by, Lin Li started to feel something was wrong...

 Chapter 174 - You lied to me

    <h4>Chapter 174: You lied to me</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were many people in the corridor, but besides Lin Li, others were either shivering with fear or cold. The only one who was not shivering, Hank, was busy poaching Lin Li from Jarrosus Guild of Magic. So, out of the many people present, only Lin Li was aware of the anomaly.

    Those heavy footsteps sounded really abnormal¡ªthey were too precise, as if measured with a ruler. The rhythm of each step was exactly the same, and there was no murmur in the midst. uracy was not a problem, but it seemed fake if it was this urate. Even if the Silver Storm was well-trained, it could never be so precise. It was even neater than the best guard of honor...

    As the heavy footsteps approached, Lin Li gradually understood. He was absorbed in thoughts as he looked up at the ceiling. The female captain of the Silver Hand was very interesting...

    ¡°Serena, you¡¯d better not mess around!¡± Rode finally panicked as he saw the Silver Storm about to charge into the inn. The night¡¯s encounter waspletely out of his control. He had yet to figure out what had gone wrong. It was well-nned at the beginning, so why was the execution full of loopholes? Not only did Serena escape, but also brought the Silver Storm.

    At this point, Rode was afraid to think about what would happen. At present, he was just trying to figure out a way to get out of here. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be any fun if he fell into the hands of that woman...

    These few people from the Silver Hand were the only chips he had to get away...

    Unfortunately, these people were not willing to cooperate, especially the fellow who was still chatting away. The more Rode thought about it, the angrier he felt. Did the damned fellow have the consciousness of being a prisoner? He thought he was going to the vegetable market. The knife was on his neck, yet he still had time to engage in small chit chat with others. If the darned woman hadn¡¯t pushed too hard, he would have knocked off a few of his teeth again!

    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re kidding me, aren¡¯t you?¡± As he listened to the approaching heavy footsteps, Rode could not wait any longer. He pulled out the dagger in his boots with one hand, and grabbed Hank¡¯s cor with the other, ring fiercely at Hank. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here of your business now. Get out of here!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hank was startled. This guy really hadn¡¯t died before?

    But to Hank¡¯s surprise, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any intention to make a move at all. He merely touched his nose, and stepped aside as he was told, for he knew he didn¡¯t need to make a move anymore...

    Through the vision of the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see several dark shadows sneaking into several open rooms...

    ¡°Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!¡±

    The shadows in the room moved just as Rhode grabbed Hank¡¯s cor with one hand. In an instant, a sharp crack tore through the air; a wisp of cold light shed across the corridor, and then he saw a spatter of blood¡ªthe clean corridor was filled with hot, gushing blood in a sh...

    Screams rose up, and the quiet corridor fell into a terrible mess at once. Confronted with an enemy of unknown origins, the men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were scared out of their wits as they desperately tried to hide themselves in the corners.

    However, where was there any corner along this corridor?

    Those arrows were like poisonous snakes hidden in the dark. Wherever they ran with their heads in their arms, they¡¯d end up spattering blood even if they stopped for only a little while.

    In a mere moment¡¯s time, arge group of men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were shot down.

    As this one-sided massacre fell into the eyes of Lin Li, he knew at once that it was over for the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp.

    In fact, they were not without opportunities.

    All the dozen of mercenary corps present had decent strength¡ªthe weakest of them were at least of level-nine, and the strongest were above level-12. Even if Lin Li had personally made the move, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him with such a force. Moreover, at the entrance of the inn stood a figure close to the rank of an Archmage. As long as he could find a way to get the message out, the situation of battle in this corridor would be reversed immediately.

    Unfortunately, all of them had been thoroughly scared out of their wits. The famous Silver Storm in nna was keeping watch, and there was a level-15 Gryphon hovering in the sky. In this critical time, they were met with archers stealthily attacking from the dark. Right now, they hated their parents for not giving them two extra legs to run faster, so how could they still have the leisure to judge how many enemies were hiding and ambushing them from the rooms?

    In the face of this sudden attack, the only one who could see the situation clearly was probably Rode, but what role could he y alone? All his men were running around in panic, leaving Rode yelling at the top of his lungs desperately, ¡°There are not many of them, don¡¯t panic!¡±

    Regrettably, nobody paid any attention to him...

    Everyone was running desperately¡ªsome to the rooms, some upstairs. Wherever they could hide, that would be where they ran. They were using all their strength to run, and then they were shot by the arrows that came from the darkness...

    ¡°Sh*t...¡±

    Looking at this chaotic scene, Rode knew that it was game over for him. In just a few minutes, these fools, who only knew how to run with their hands on their heads, would be killed by the archers in the dark. Rode was utterly indignant as he listened to the shrill sound of the arrows tearing through the air. He was perhaps the only one among the crowd who had a grasp of the situation. There were not many archers hiding in the rooms¡ªif these idiots could listen to him, how would they end up in such a state?

    It was a pity¡ªno matter how unresigned Rode was, there was nothing he could do about the other party. Things had developed to such a point; even if he could once again regain control of this group of frightened men, it was also impossible to bring them out of the inn.

    The only thing Rode could do was to retreat toward a window step by step.

    This was the only way out for him. What he could do now was to take advantage of the opportunity when his men were dying the enemies and jump from this window. As for whether he could escape the pursuit of the Silver Storm after jumping down, it would be entirely up to fate...

    It was aplete chaos in the corridor. The men of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were fleeing with their heads in their arms, and a group of residents were trembling in fear. Nobody had time to look around, and nobody cared about what Rode wanted to do by going near the window. The only one who discovered he wanted to run was probably Lin Li, but Lin Li was not the least bit interested in him now.

    After all, it had nothing to do with Lin Li at all.

    Disputes between the mercenary corps happened countless of times every day in nna. Lin Li had long gotten used to such things. They could fight among themselves, and he would continue his sleep. If it weren¡¯t for Hank, he would¡¯ve already been back in his room, sleeping.

    Besides, Rode nned to run? Could he even run...

    Lin Li knew very well what Rode wanted to do.

    He even knew that if Rode did jump down, it would never be the Silver Storm that was waiting for him...

    Sadly, Rode didn¡¯t know anything. He was stepping back to the window, carrying thest bit of hope with him.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    And then, it was a shrill cry.

    Rode had just retreated to the window, and before he could turn around, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, followed by sharp pain and a gush of blood pouring from his throat.

    ¡°You lied to me...¡± Rode struggled to spit out thest sentence, then staggered and fell head first to the ground.

    A graceful figure jumped into the corridor from the window, wiping the blood on the sword while muttering innocently to herself, ¡°How do I know you¡¯re so stupid...¡±

    Lin Li looked to the window, and saw a tall and beautiful woman standing there, slowly wiping a sword.

    After wiping the blood from the sword, the beautiful woman reached out her hands and pulled back her flying blond hair. This feminine movement slightly diluted some of the horror brought about by the previous bloodshed and murder. After casually tying up her blond hair, the beautiful woman turned back, and frowned at Hank and the gang. ¡°What are you guys doing, still spacing out here? Aren¡¯t youing over to help?¡±

    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re here atst...¡± Hank smiled obsequiously. ¡°You could just let the Silver Storm storm in and settle those few clownfish at once. Why did you make us take the trouble?¡±

    Hearing this, the beautiful captain¡¯s hand halted suddenly. After staring at Hank for a long while, she said abruptly, ¡°Hank, tell me honestly. Was the man who wanted to escape through the window your brother?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hank was bewildered by the question.

    ¡°Otherwise, how could you be as foolish as him?¡± The beautiful captain turned the sword around, and gave Hank a hard knock on the head. ¡°Do you think I can fly? Do you think I can fly back to nna and then back here with the Silver Storm in an hour?¡±

    Hank was so frightened by her that he even forgot the pain on his head. He froze there for a while before he finally opened his mouth, and asked, ¡°Then... then... how many people did you bring?¡±

    ¡°Where can I find anyone when all the people are at the Fire Plume Ridge? I met Aragon¡¯s team on the way just now, so I called them here...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hank almost lost his mind.

    A team of Silver Hand had always beenposed of eight people¡ªthat was to say, the beautiful captain had created such a huge array, but had in fact brought with her only eight people...

    Lin Li leaned on the door, sizing up the beautiful captain with interest.

    The beautiful captain of the Silver Hand was a well-known figure in nna. Lin Li had heard of Serena¡¯s name so many times that he had lost count. When he first saw her in real life today, Lin Li had to admit that this tall and beautiful woman really deserved her reputation.

    The raid tonight was too stunning...

    As the beautiful captain engaged in a question and answer session with Hank, the whole process of the raid became clear in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    The awaiting Silver Storm and the hovering level-15 Gryphon were all smoke screen arranged by Serena. In her own words, the ckhills Town was hundreds of miles away from nna, and she couldn¡¯t really fly¡ªso how would she be able to return so fast with the Silver Storm?

 Chapter 175 - Serial Corpse Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 175: Serial Corpse Explosion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Lin Li did not know what method she had used, one thing was certain¡ªthe heavy footsteps earlier on were absolutely an illusion that she had created in some way. There was no Silver Storm, nor a level-15 Gryphon, at all. From the beginning, it was a y scripted and performed by the beautiful captain herself.

    The chips she had in her hands were at best those archers...

    This woman was really brave. She had the guts to charge into the inn to rescue others with only eight archers. The men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp could be said to be well-equipped and well-trained¡ªincluding Rode, who was level-12, and a group of level-nine men, plus a figure close to the level of an Archmage eyeing them outside the inn.

    If there was a slight mistake in this process, the whole troop would be wiped out in an instant.

    But that was what she did, and it was very sessful...

    The Rising Sun Mercenary Corp, which seemed to be a strong contingent of fighters, was swept clean in a moment. Of the 19 people that came up, including Rode the bandit, none was able to run away. Every one of them fell in a pool of blood.

    ¡°Hank, you go and gather everyone. We have to get to the Fire Plume Ridge tonight,¡± Serena ordered Hank as she wiped the blood from her sword.

    ¡°We¡¯re not resting in ckhills Town?¡± Hank was stunned.

    ¡°Thuzadin will be back soon. If you don¡¯t mind him chatting with you, you can rest here...¡± Serena pulled a rope out of her backpack, and slowly lowered it down the window. Meanwhile, she muttered to herself, ¡°Anyway, I do mind...¡±

    ¡°Thuzadin is still there?¡± Hank¡¯s hair stood up in horror, and his face was full of panic upon hearing this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked someone to draw him away just now; I expect him to be back soon...¡± Serena¡¯s pretty face froze mid-sentence. She looked at the stairway, and pursed her lips. ¡°Uh... I mean, he¡¯s back now...¡±

    As soon as Serena¡¯s voice fell, everyone felt a cold auraing from the stairway. Thuzadin walked in a very strange way¡ªhis pace was light and fast, with no sound at all, and his legs couldn¡¯t be seen moving. They could only see the long, ck robes dragging on the ground, and he seemed to levitate like a ghost...

    Thuzadin stood at the end of the corridor, and looked at the pool of blood on the ground. There was still no expression on his pale face. No one knew what he was thinking.

    ¡°Unfortunately, none of you can leave.¡±

    At the moment of Thuzadin¡¯s appearance, the expression on Serena¡¯s face was absolutely fascinating. She stood there, tongue-tied, for a long time as if she had been caught stealing. Finally, she squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying. ¡°Sh¡ª Did you have dinner, Mage Thuzadin?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Several members of the Silver Hand almost bumped into the wall when they heard this.

    ¡°Cut the crap, Captain Serena. You know what I¡¯m here for.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Mage Thuzadin, what prospects do you have, following Caledra? Why not join the Silver Hand? How could his idiotic mercenary corps bepared to us, the Silver Hand? Look at you, still not married at such an age. If you¡¯re willing to join the Silver Hand, this matter is on me. I¡¯ll introduce you to some beautiful women in the corp some other day... Huh? You don¡¯t like beautiful women? What about handsome guys? What do you think of this fellow, Hank...?¡±

    Lin Li listened to it with his mouth wide agape. Only then did he understand where Hank had learnt the persuasion skills he had used on himself...

    Everyone¡¯s expression went nk. Several members of the Silver Hand turned their heads. If possible, they really wanted to climb to the top of the inn and shout ¡°We don¡¯t know this woman!¡± thrice.

    Nobody noticed that Serena¡¯s petite hand had quietly reached behind her, slowly grasping the handle of the sword...

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯ll have to be next time.¡± Thuzadin stretched out his thin fingers, and an electric arc flickered lightly on his fingertips. Then, Serena¡¯s sword fell to the floor with a ng. ¡°Besides, Captain Serena, it¡¯s not a good habit to handle weapons when discussing business...¡±

    Serena gritted her teeth. ¡°Thuzadin, you¡¯ve got guts!¡±

    Thuzadin said nothing, but pulled back his lips to reveal a stiff smile; together with his pale face, the smile looked really creepy. The strength approaching the level of an Archmage was too powerful. Thuzadin stood at the end of the corridor, but everyone could feel a tremendous pressure.

    The archers hiding in the room dared not move at all. With their strength, they could attack the mercenaries who had their guts frightened out. If they wanted to sneak an attack on Thuzadin, who was close to the level of the Archmage, it was almost the same as seeking death. A magic spell from him would be enough for them to die several times...

    ¡°Mage Thuzadin...¡± Serena turned her eyes, and tried to struggle with a few more words.

    ¡°Serena, you talk too much.¡± However, Thuzadin did not give her a chance. Just as Serena was about to open her mouth, the dark staff in Thuzadin¡¯s hand was raised high. In a moment, a violent magical wave spread out, and the crystal at the top of the staff emitted a dazzling light, turning Thuzadin¡¯s face into a ghastly white.

    Almost at the same time that Thuzadin staff was lifted, the eight archers hidden in the room moved.

    They had to move; once a mage of Thuzadin¡¯s rank took control of the fight¡¯s rhythm, the only thing that awaited everyone would be death.

    For a moment, the reverberations from the bowstrings being loosened sounded unceasingly. A speck of cold light burgeoned in the dark, dazzling like the evening star in the dark sky.

    ¡°Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!¡±

    The sharp sound of breaking the atmosphere sounded continuously; however, what followed was not the muffled sound of sharp arrows piercing the body, but nking like the chime of gold and iron upon contact with each other. Sharp arrows tore open the air, only to encounter a pile of dead-white skeletons. Sparks flew in the twinkling of an eye, and the sound of golding in contact with iron resounded endlessly. The razor-sharp arrows seemed powerless in the face of the imprable skeletal shield.

    <i>Necromancer! </i>Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened involuntarily at the sight of the dead-white skeletal shield. No wonder the aura on this fellow was so weird¡ªhe turned out to be a Necromancer, a distant rtive of the Lich!

    It was a profession rarer than a dinosaur...

    Forsaking mysterious knowledge and turning to darkness for power¡ªfew mages were willing to do such a thing. There was an essential difference between being buried in theboratory all day and dealing with the undead. The former was admired, while thetter abhorred.

    Lin Li was curious¡ªwhat would cause a person to give up on elements and turn to darkness?

    Unfortunately, Thuzadin was not intending to tell him why for the time being.

    Why not? Simple. Thuzadin was busy¡ªhe was busy reciting a spell.

    One of the greatest characteristics of the Necromancers was that the time spent reciting a spell was very short.

    It sounded urgent and quick¡ªjust like a scream.

    There was only a scream from Thuzadin, and a muffled explosion sounded in the corridor. There was a spatter of blood and flesh where Rode fell, and in a sh, two archers who had juste out of the room were swallowed up. It was a horrifying scene¡ªthe flesh and blood sshed like shrapnel into the archers¡¯ bodies. They were blown up like honebs before they even had time to scream out.

    ¡°Corpse Explosion!¡± Even Lin Li did not expect this fellow to be so cruel. It seemed that he was going to kill not only Serena, but all the people in the inn...

    There were more than a dozen bodies lying on the ground. If he was really going to use a serial Corpse Explosion, let alone the people in the corridor, perhaps even the inn would be torn down by him.

    It seemed like Lin Li could not go on just watching anymore.

    Taking advantage of the bloody fog that shrouded Thuzadin¡¯s sight, Lin Li quietly retreated a few steps. He slowly took out the crossbow that was hanging on his back with one hand, all the while feeling more or less nervous. Since transmigrating, he had not used this thing for a long time. <i>It¡¯d better not miss at a critical time like this...</i>

    On the other side, Serena picked up her sword on the ground, and there was a silver me all over her body. This was Combat Energy unique to a warrior above level-ten. In Gerian¡¯s words, only a warrior with Combat Energy could be regarded as a real warrior. Until then, they were just a bunch of barbaric rascals.

    Combat Energy not only brought about the improvement ofbat effectiveness, but also greatly enhanced the resistance of the warrior to various magic. The Combat Energy could even absorb some rtively low-level spells, which would not even cause any harm to the warrior at all.

    Serena, shrouded in the silver Combat Energy, seemed to be bathing in the moonlight. The sharp sword turned into a silver stream, and split open arge piece of dead-white skeletons in an instant.

    Thuzadin did not even bat an eyelid in the face of Serena¡¯s sword. He held his magic staff high up in the air. With a shrill recitation, several corpses that were lying in the pool of blood suddenly moved. Although their movements seemed slow and stiff, they had covered the opening made by Serena as soon as they stood up.

    These two bodies were undoubtedly more frightful than the skeletal shield.

    Serena¡¯s reflexes were quick¡ªas soon as the two corpses stood up, she quickly withdrew.

    A muffled boom followed, and the two corpses exploded in the middle of the corridor; blood and flesh sttered on the walls on both sides. The pping sounds continued, and the heavy force made everyone¡¯s scalps tingle.

    The Necromancer, who was standing in a pile of corpses, was like a warrior whose pockets were filled with the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion. He was almost invincible under the same level.

    Moreover, Serena¡¯s Gryphon mount was not around at present. In terms of personal strength alone, she was still a long way from Thuzadin, who was almost at the level of an Archmage. Serena was sent flying when the corpses exploded; if it wasn¡¯t for the protection of the silver Combat Energy, this serial Corpse Explosion alone would have cost her half her life.

    Hank and others wanted to go forward and help, but before they could rush up, they were already blocked by several corpses. The Necromancer¡ªwho was standing among the corpses¡ªwas indeed fearful. He could control the corpses to fight at will and st them up whenever necessary. When three or four corpses exploded in tandem, the power they released was perhaps no less than a spell of a Magic Shooter.

    ¡°Looks like this guy really wants to tear down the inn...¡± Lin Li quietly moved back a few steps. After making sure there were no bodies around, he stopped carefully. Then, he slowly took down the crossbow on his back, and loaded the slot with a Sun¡¯s Spike.

    When everything was ready, Lin Li only had to wait for an opportunity...

    And Lin Li hadn¡¯t been kept waiting for too long.

    After another series of Corpse Explosion, the opportunity suddenly presented itself.

    Annoyed with Serena, who was struggling on obstinately, Thuzadin seemed to have lost his patience. He controlled six bodies at the same time with a shrill recitation. When these six bodies wobbled up from the ground, almost everyone present felt their scalps go numb. If they were to explode all at once, wouldn¡¯t the floor be blown up as well?

    Then, they saw the six staggering bodies surround the people from the Silver Hand.

    This time, Thuzadin¡¯s recitation seemed to be slower than before.

    After all, it was a serial Corpse Explosion with six corpses. It was impossible for even a figure of the Archmage level toplete the recitation in an instant. In theory, a necromancer could control countless undead army. However, the more undead creatures one controlled, the more mental strength and mana would be required. For a battle that involved thousands of undead creatures like the one in the Shadowglen, perhaps only the two horrifying Undead Lords could do it.

    In this aspect, Lin Li was actually well-suited for the Necromancer profession...

    With his innate superiority in mental strength and mana, only a little more research was needed to attain achievements that most necromancers could not attain in their lifetime.

    Granted¡ªhe had to be willing...

    There were many ways to pursue power, and it was not necessary to associate with undead creatures in order to obtain formidable power.

    Almost everyone¡¯s hearts were raised as the six bodies approached.

    Thuzadin had too great an advantage...

    If this was a close battle, he would never have imagined controlling six corpses at the same time. But, unfortunately, the power of both sides was not at the same level at all. Thuzadin¡¯s strength was close to that of the Archmage, while on the Silver Hand side, the strongest of them, Serena, was only level-12. Without the help of the Gryphon, she was not much stronger than Rode.

    With this tremendous advantage, Thuzadin had spared no effort at all. He sealed them up easily with a few Bone Spears and a Skeletal Wall. They could neither advance nor retreat, and could only watch as the six corpses staggered towards them while Thuzadin recited the spell for Corpse Explosion.

    The speed of Thuzadin¡¯s recitation increased; glittering sweat fell from Serena¡¯s pretty face. The serial Corpse Explosion just now had injured Serena a little. At this time, a cut on her arm was bleeding profusely. Blood was trickling down her arm, making a ¡°drip-drop¡± sound as it fell onto the floor...

    However, Serena paid it no heed at all. She held her sword tightly in her hands and chopped at the Skeletal Wall in front of her again and again.

    It felt like an ant biting an elephant.

    The futile struggle was sad to behold.

    ¡°ck! ck! ck...¡±

    The de made monotonous and dull sounds upon contact with the Skeletal Wall.

    Serena¡¯s efforts could be said to be in vain. The disparity in strength between both sides was too great. The Skeletal Wall Thuzadin released was enough to trap her firmly. By the time she split the one-meter-thick bone wall, Thuzadin¡¯s Corpse Explosion would have been released long ago.

    But Serena refused to give up. She clenched her teeth, and under the cover of the silver Combat Energy, she pounded on the wall again and again.

    At present, Serena was like a moth plunging into fire. Almost every impact would leave her badly battered, but she seemed to have no sense of it at all. She wiped the bloodstains off her forehead, then bent over to pick up her sword and started a new round of pounding.

    Once, twice, thrice...

    Even Lin Li did not think that the seemingly entric beautiful captain was so tenacious. Lin Li developed a tinge of respect for her as he gazed at the thin figure. Serena was perfectly demonstrating to everyone the true meaning of the word ¡°perseverance¡± in her own way.

    With Serena¡¯s continuous hits, Thuzadin¡¯s recitation became louder, sharper, and harsher; it even carried with it a hint of hoarseness.

    A strong death aura surged wildly, and a wisp of substance-like ck mist gradually diffused. The previously bright corridor became pitch-dark all of a sudden.

    Everyone¡¯s hearts sank concurrently as the ck mist pervaded the air. Everyone from the Silver Hand knew that after the dark clouds gathered, it would be raining cats and dogs...

    They even saw Thuzadin slowly raising his staff.

    But, at that moment, the fluent recitation suddenly stopped. It was like a person singing at the top of his lungs was suddenly being strangled.

    The men from the Silver Hand were dumbstruck, and so was Thuzadin...

    The difference was that Thuzadin knew what had happened to him¡ªand he was clearer than anyone else.

    This was Mana Retroaction!

    Thuzadin¡¯s pale face showed for the first time a look of astonishment.

    He was a level-14 Magic Shooter. Someone who could use the Mana Retroaction on him had to be at least level-12.

    This was what really puzzled Thuzadin.

    There were only a few living people in this corridor, and they were either warriors or archers; where did this Magic Shooter with a strength beyond that of level-12e from?

    Though in doubt, Thuzadin was a figure approaching the level of an Archmage, after all. Even if he was suddenly afflicted with a Mana Retroaction, he was still able to keep his calm, for he knew that Mana Retroaction couldn¡¯t affect himself at all.

    Even if there was a Magic Shooter above level-12 in the room, and even if he had encountered a Mana Retroaction, what about it? The Skeletal Wall that was previously erected could buy enough time for him. As soon as the effect of Mana Retroaction was over, he could regain control of the rhythm of the battle immediately.

    <i>It¡¯s nothing¡ªthis is just a little hitch.</i>

    Or so Thuzadin told himself...

    However, just a momentter, he found that it was not merely a small hitch.

    At the moment when his mana was interrupted, Thuzadin suddenly felt that a massive and iparable Divine Powering at him.

    Atst, the look on Thuzadin¡¯s face changed¡ªfrom surprise to shock, and from shock to despair¡ªwhile all of this happened only in a moment. Since the time that he had chosen the Necromancer profession, the expression on Thuzadin¡¯s face had never been as splendid as it was today.

    ¡°Swish!¡±

    Following the shrill sound of breaking the air, a ray of silver instantly tore away the thick ck mist. The strength of the thick skeleton was like a thin veil in front of this silver lightpletely torn with merely a slight poke.

    And then, there was a ssh of blood...

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Thuzadin screamed; the scream sounded like the cry of a night owl.

    The Sun¡¯s Spike shot through the chest and out from the back. The small bolt left a bloody hole the size of a bowl in Thuzadin¡¯s chest. Blood gushed out from the hole in the chest¡ªeven for a half-dead creature like Thuzadin, whose blood was almost dried, he still had blood, albeit it didn¡¯t seem to be particrly in an upsurge...

    Despair froze Thuzadin¡¯s face. He staggered back a few steps, trying to cover the wound with his hand. But how could such arge wound be covered by a thin palm? With blood pouring out, Thuzadin could only bow his head to see what had killed him.

    The expression of despair on Thuzadin¡¯s face seemed to rx suddenly after seeing that half a Sun¡¯s Spike, and it was reced by a look of sudden enlightenment.

    ¡°So... so it¡¯s you...¡±

    After saying this sentence, the Necromancer, who was rarer than a dinosaur, fell to the floor just like that. Under the purification of the Divine Power that was contained in the Sun¡¯s Spike, his body seemed to be on fire, burnedpletely in a sh.

    ¡°...¡±

    The corridor was surprisingly quiet. Everyone stood dumbfounded¡ªincluding Serena, who was holding her sword tightly.

    At the moment when Thuzadin released the Corpse Explosion, almost everyone thought they were going to die; they didn¡¯t expect that things would turn around in the end. Before they could figure out what was going on, the mighty Necromancer was suddenly turned into a mass of ashes, disappearing without a trace as soon as the wind blew over...

    It was without warning or reason¡ªit felt like a heart attack patient who suddenly fell to the ground while talking...

    This was simply too bizarre...

    Serena slowly turned around and looked at the end of the corridor. Near the window, there stood a man d in red leather armor, holding a crossbow in his hands. He asked meekly, ¡°He¡¯s not going to revive, is he?¡±

 Chapter 176 - Mysterious Mission

    <h4>Chapter 176: Mysterious Mission</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Lin Li at his words. The dozen of Silver Hand members had the same thought in their hearts.

    <i>This fellow has hit the jackpot...</i>

    Who was Thuzadin? He was the only Necromancer in nna¡¯s many mercenary corps; he also had a strength close to an Archmage. It was no exaggeration to say that the half of the sess of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp at present could be attributed to Thuzadin. If it hadn¡¯t been for Thuzadin¡¯s existence, how could they have squeezed their way into one of nna¡¯s top ten mercenary corps?

    But, just a while ago, the famous Necromancer had died in the hands of a low-level warrior...

    No one could have imagined that the battle would end in such a dramatic way. Just when everyone had lost all hope, a low-level warrior had raised his crossbow, and using a bolt that possessed the Divine Power, he easily shot and killed a figure close to the level of an Archmage...

    This guy was extremely lucky...

    It happened exactly when Thuzadin failed to cast his spell and was at his weakest, and it just so happened that the other fellow was in possession of a bolt that contained Divine Power. As a result of these coincidences that had happened in session, Thuzadin was sent on a road to ruin, and this fellow was also sent to the position of man of the moment in the Silver Hand.

    Shooting Thuzadin was tantamount to saving more than a dozen people from the Silver Hand, including Captain Serena herself. Such kindness could not be expressed in a word or two of gratitude. This thing alone was enough to make the whole Silver Hand regard him as a distinguished guest. Under such circumstances, no matter what request he put forward, Captain Serena would probably agree to it without a second thought...

    For such a favorable turn in life, the admiration of the Silver Hand members could only be summed up in a sentence: ¡°hit the jackpot¡±.

    Unfortunately, the low-level warrior who had hit the jackpot did not have any awareness of it at all.

    The fellow was holding the crossbow, mumbling in puzzlement to himself. ¡°This something of a mage, looking all-so-mighty, turned out to be all an act. He died with just one shot. I thought he was going to release some powerful spell...¡±

    Listening to these words that would warrant a good whacking, Serena only felt her eyebrows twitch violently. She finally suppressed the impulse of whacking someone up, and answered with some difficulty, ¡°He¡¯s... He¡¯s unlucky...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic...¡± Apart from Sean, perhaps only Hank knew Lin Li¡¯s background well among all the people present. The more Hank listened to thetter¡¯s words, the more he was convinced there was something fishy about it. How could a character like him utter such ignorant words?

    However, just as Hank opened his mouth, he suddenly noticed that the young mage was looking at him. Although the smile on his face was temperate, Hank saw clearly the note of warning in his eyes...

    The threatening look startled Hank.

    What would be the consequences of provoking this young mage? Hank dared not even think about it. What happened to the group of bandits who had infuriated him back in ckhills Town? The Ruby Moon Mercenary Corps had also angered him in the Thousand Leaves Bar¡ªand what was their end? Hank did not want to be in by the monster next to him, much less have an icicle stab his chest...

    So, Hank wisely chose to bury his head.

    Seeing Hank had kept silent, Lin Li smiled in contentment.

    <i>No kidding¡ªif I were to be exposed by you, wouldn¡¯t the things I did before be in vain?</i>

    It was also a coincidence¡ªLin Li had only wanted to avoid being discovered by Thuzadin at the beginning, so he was trying to restrain the magical wave that emanated from him. With his mental strength, it was natural that he knew how to do it without any difficulty at all. If Lin Li was willing, he could even control the magical wave on him to apletely static level. Even a legendary figure would not be able to judge his real strength by the magical wave he emitted.

    And the fact proved that it was indeed a sessful sneak attack.

    Thuzadin totally did not notice that there was a mage who was no less powerful than himself in the corridor.

    The Mana Retroaction at the critical moment had decided the oue of the battle.

    As for the Sun¡¯s Spike that followed, it was not as crucial as people thought it to be. After controlling Thuzadin with the Mana Retroaction, Lin Li actually had a list of ways to kill him easily. The Sun¡¯s Spike was just one of the most effortless ways to kill him...

    After shooting down Thuzadin, Lin Li suddenly remembered Hank¡¯s proposal.

    To be honest, he was really interested in the proposal.

    The Silver Hand was a big tree; hitching a ride with them to the Fire Plume Ridge could save him half the effort. He could get the map and the carriage easily when the time came, and in case he needed help with trivial errands, he could borrow a few people from the Silver Hand to help him.

    However, the problem was that this was a fair world¡ªone had to do his duty after he had enjoyed the rights. What if the Silver Hand had encountered trouble at the Fire Plume Ridge? Wouldn¡¯t he be falling on hard times together with them as well?

    So, Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and politely declined. He disliked trouble, and disliked helping others solve their troubles.

    Nevertheless, when Thuzadin died, the trouble disappeared.

    He was now the life savior of all those present, and a low-level warrior. What did you expect a low-level warrior to do? He wouldn¡¯t be able to bear such a heavy duty, and too light a duty was unnecessary. He was their captain¡¯s life savior¡ªwere they going to make their benefactor run errands for them?

    Hence, Lin Li¡ªwearing the Fire Smandrid leather armor and carrying a crossbow on his back¡ªwas conscientiously ying the role of a low-level warrior there.

    Sure enough, being low-key was the king¡¯s way...

    Lin Li was proud to think so, but he had forgotten that such behavior was also called ¡°being pretentious¡±...

    As Lin Li predicted, when Serena heard that he was going to the Fire Plume Ridge, she invited him to travel together with them enthusiastically. Serena¡¯s excuse was: ¡°If we go together, we can look after one another in case anything happens.¡±

    Of course¡ªan excuse was only an excuse.

    Whether it was Serena herself or the pretentious Lin Li, both knew very well what the words meant¡ª <i>young man, the Fire Plume Ridge is a dangerous ce. With your strength of a low-level warrior, you had bettere along with us...</i>

    Anyway, Lin Li hitchhiked to the Fire Plume Ridge before dawn.

    After chatting with Serena along the way, Lin Li gradually realized that the Silver Hand had camped in the Fire Plume Ridge two days ago.

    And it was not just the Silver Hand that went to the Fire Plume Ridge this time. Two of nna¡¯s three major mercenary corps went there as well, plus four mercenary corps that were strong enough to enter nna¡¯s top ten.

    As to why these mercenary corps were gathered in the Fire Plume Ridge overnight, Serena did not divulge it, but only said that there was a very big mission to aplish. For this mission, the six major mercenary corps had even blocked the road from ckhills Town to the Fire Plume Ridge.

    Lin Li felt relieved when he heard the news. Fortunately, he had gotten a free ride from the Silver Hand. Otherwise, just thinking about how to get through these posts would be enough to make his head pound.

    It was not because he was afraid of these adventurers. These mercenary corps were powerful, but in the eyes of Lin Li, they were not forces that he couldn¡¯tpete against. With his present strength, there were very few things that could frighten him except the huge Marathon Family.

    But, this would bring him trouble. In case of conflict, it would inevitably affect his trip to the Fire Plume Ridge. It would do more harm than good if the time for return was dyed, resulting in him missing the invite from the Pharmacists Guild.

    All in all, this fellow had temporarily joined the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps as a low-level warrior.

    Under the full moon, several carriages rushed towards the direction of the Fire Plume Ridge...

    ...

    ckhills Town was exceptionally bustling tonight. Thuzadin¡¯s continuous Corpse Explosions almost tore down the whole inn. It was not until the carriages had gone away that the innkeeper¡ªwho got pped in the face¡ªfinally raised his head from behind the counter in trepidation.

    ¡°Thank heavens for sending these guys away...¡± Watching the billowing dusts and smoke from the carriage, the middle-aged man¡¯s face revealed an expression of relief.

    However, the inn soon gave him a headache. These guys had left enoughpensation before they left, but could the second floor, which had been ravaged by the serial Corpse Explosion, be cleaned up in two days? It seemed that he would be busy for a period of time...

    ¡°What a bane...¡± The middle-aged man sighed, and was about to go up to the second floor to tidy up when he suddenly heard the sound of horses¡¯ hoovesing from a distance.

    Then, he saw a few carriages approaching from the curtain of night. At first, he thought that the adventurers who had just left returned. But when he saw the crest on the carriages, his face turned white in horror...

    Painting the family crest on the carriage was the privilege of the nobles. The middle-aged man had been running the inn in ckhills Town for a long time, and had seen many nobles. But he¡¯d never expected the carriages to be painted with a golden hammer!

    ¡°Men from the Marathon Family!¡±

    Just as the innkeeper¡¯s face paled, the carriages had slowlye to a stop at the door of the inn.

    A young man, who looked less than 30 years of age, stepped down from the carriage. His long, golden hair looked extremely dazzling even in the dark. His handsome face and ruby eyes, in addition to his lengthy ck robe, filled him with a devilish charm. When he pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, it reminded people of a phrase¡ªa smile like the devil¡¯s!

    ¡°What a backwater...¡± The young man seemed toin in a low voice when he got out of the carriage. Then, he turned around, and waved to the innkeeper. ¡°You,e here.¡±

    ¡°Honorable Sir, I¡¯m at your disposal.¡± This was a member of the Marathon Family. As soon as he saw the young man waving at him, the innkeeper hurried forward, and greeted him with a bow.

    ¡°Did someone create a ruckus here tonight?¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± The innkeeper started in astonishment.

    After all, he was only a businessman. Even if he was knowledgeable and experienced, he could never understand that a mage could infer innumerable pieces of information with only a trace of residual magical wave.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about how I know; you just have to answer my question. Take a good look at this. Was there a person like this who checked into your inn?¡± After speaking, the young man took out a picture from his pocket and handed it to the innkeeper, who was still hunched.

    The picture showed a young man, simrly in a long ck robe. He looked to be in his twenties; he had short ck hair and dark pupils. His face was handsome, and his smile gentle¡ªhe looked very likeable at first sight.

    The innkeeper took the picture and looked at it with furrowed brows for a long while before he nodded, though somewhat uncertain. ¡°It seems that there was such a person...¡±

    ¡°Where is he now?¡±

    ¡°He just left.¡±

    ¡°Left?¡±

    ¡°Yes, about half an hour ago. He left in a horse carriage.¡±

    ¡°Half an hour ago...¡± The young man thought about it, and took out a bag of gold coins from his pocket. The bag was heavy¡ªthere were over 100 gold coins in it. The young man held it in his hand, shaking it in front of the innkeeper. ¡°Think about where this man went in the carriage. If you can recall, this bag of gold coins is yours.

    ¡°Right, let me remind you. If you dare to lie to me...¡±

    ¡°I dare not...¡± The innkeeper hastened to rify that he was telling the truth. This person was from the Marathon Family. He would not dare to deceive the Marathon Family for a bag of gold coins even if he was given a hundred times more nerve.

    The innkeeper frowned tightly, and after a long period of contemtion, he finally recalled it. ¡°Yes, I remember, the adventurers with him seemed to have said that they are going to the Fire Plume Ridge!¡±

    ¡°The Fire Plume Ridge?¡± The young man put the gold coin in the hands of the innkeeper, then quickly walked to the carriage. He whispered a few words to someone in the carriage. After some time, he raised his head and ordered the other carriages, ¡°We must get to the Fire Plume Ridge before dawn!¡±

    ...

    It was only a two hours¡¯ journey from ckhills Town to the Fire Plume Ridge. Lin Liy in the carriage; he had barely shut his eyes for a moment when he felt the unique temperature of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    ¡°Mr Felic, we¡¯re here.¡± Hank halted the carriage, and cautiously woke Lin Li up.

    ¡°So fast?¡± Lin Li rubbed his eyes, still sleepy. When he came halfway out of the carriage, he suddenly stopped. ¡°Hank, my name is Felic, not Mr Felic. Also, I¡¯m a level-five warrior, not a mage. You might be having a little problem if you mistake me again...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Six mercenary corps had pitched six camps at the foot of the Fire Plume Ridge. Among them, the Silver Hand¡¯s camp was on the outskirts. After Lin Li got out of the carriage, he saw hundreds of tents closely linked together, which meant that there were at least thousands of adventurers...

    For a while, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help wondering what kind of mission it was to attract six powerful mercenary corps at the same time.

    nna¡¯s three major mercenary corps were no joke. Although Lin Li was not very clear about the strength of the other two, he knew more or less about the Silver Hand because of Ina. Even without mentioning the famous Silver Storm, the Silver Hand alone had thousands of adventurers of all levels, of which there were at least hundreds of people over level-ten.

    If he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, Lin Li would have hardly believed that there was a mission the Silver Hand could not aplish alone, forcing them to coborate with other mercenary corps.

    Coboration was notmon for mercenary corps...

    As the saying goes, ¡°two of a trade could never agree¡±. It was particrly so for heavyweights such as the three major mercenary corps¡ªthey were each other¡¯s ultimate foes. The three major nna mercenary corps each controlled thousands of adventurers. With such arge number of them, contradictions and conflicts were natural in daily life. When it came to conflicts of interest, this kind of contradiction would be particrly more intense. It would be harder to get them to cooperate than to reach for the sky...

    But, this time, the mission had really brought them together, and it seemed that they were cooperating well. At least they did not fight as soon as they met when they were pitching their tents together.

    With some doubts in mind, Lin Li followed Serena and the gang, heading towards the Silver Hand¡¯s camp.

    The Silver Hand¡¯s camp was wellid out. More than 100 tents upied arge stretch of the open space. Around the tents, temporary posts were erected; several sharp-eyed archers were standing guard on the posts. Below the posts, a group of fully armed warriors was patrolling the camp.

    <i>Good vignce... </i>This was Lin Li¡¯s evaluation of the Silver Hand.

    That was why he was puzzled¡ªhow could the vignt Silver Hand let their captain be trapped in the inn and almost killed by a group of adventurers withckluster strength?

    Unfortunately, before he figured it out, he noticed a familiar figure...

    The tent in the center was thergest one in the whole camp. It was undoubtedly the temporary headquarters of the Silver Hand. The familiar figure that came out of the tent looked to be in his twenties, and was dressed up as a warrior; his blond hair was particrly dazzling in the early morning sunshine.

    <i>F*ck, howe it¡¯s this fe! </i>Lin Li jumped in surprise. It was Elijah who came out of the tent!

    Lin Li hadn¡¯t seen this fellow after they had visited the ck market together the other day. Lin Li was bewildered initially; he clearly told him toe to the Guild of Magic the next day to collect the Bull¡¯s Strength Potion, but the fellow was nowhere in sight. Lin Li then realized that this fellow hade to the Fire Plume Ridge one step ahead of himself...

    It made sense on the second thought too. This fellow was also a captain of one of the top ten mercenary corps. It was not surprising that he had a share in such missions.

    He hade on his own, but why did he have to pick such a time to appear...

    Lin Li¡¯s head pounded. It was not a good thing to bump into Elijah at this moment. If this fellow was insensible, and revealed his background in a word, he¡¯d be in big trouble...

    ¡°Captain Serena, you¡¯re back...¡± Elijah saw the men from the Silver Handing from afar, and went up to greet them anxiously. However, Elijah¡¯s face froze halfway mid-stride, for he found Lin Li among the group of people. ¡°Ma¡ª¡±

    ¡°Captain Elijah, is it really you?¡± How would Lin Li dare to give him the chance to speak? In case he called out ¡°Mage Felic¡±, how was he going to exin it? Just as the expression on Elijah¡¯s face froze, Lin Li went up and greeted Elijah with a face full of surprise, hugging him enthusiastically. ¡°When are you going to pay me back?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Elijah almost bit his tongue. He thought, <i>Aren¡¯t you the one who owes me three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion? Why did it suddenly be me owing you money?</i>

    Fortunately, Elijah was smart. When he saw the weird expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, he knew that the young mage had to have something he wanted to hide. He dared not treat the matter slightly, and immediately picked up the conversation. ¡°This... Can we put it off for a while?

    ¡°Again? You¡¯ve been holding off on it for months...¡± Seizing the chance of pressing for debt, Lin Li said to Elijah in a low voice, ¡°Remember, you don¡¯t know anything except that you owe me money, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand...¡± Elijah nodded, but the look on his face was exceptionally embarrassed. He was the captain of one of the ten most impressive mercenary corps, but was pressed to pay debt in public. If this were to spread, he didn¡¯t know where he could put his face.

    ¡°Captain Elijah, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Fortunately, Serena spoke in time to save Elijah from the embarrassment.

    ¡°Well, Captain Serena, I¡¯ve done what you asked me to do yesterday. The drawings are in your tent now. Would you like to go and take a look at them now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go right now.¡± Serena nodded, and called Hank over to help Lin Li and others find a ce to settle down.

    At the beginning, Lin Li actually wanted to call Elijah over. One reason was to standardize their versions, and another was to inquire about the mission. It didn¡¯t matter if Serena refused to say it; Elijah wouldn¡¯t not say, would he? Unfortunately, Serena did not give him a chance to. Before entering the tent, she stopped Elijah, and said that she had something to discuss with him.

    So, Lin Li had no choice but to follow Hank. They found two tents near the campfire in the north of the camp, and settled down.

    ¡°Hank,e in and have a chat.¡± Lin Li had dozed off in the carriage earlier on, and had forgotten to ask many questions. He had plenty of time now, anyway, so he was not in a rush to rest. He made Hank stay, and asked the question that he had failed to figure out an answer to on the way here. ¡°Tell me, how did you all get surrounded by the Rising Sun Mercenary Corpst night?¡±

    The reason why Lin Li wanted to know was not because he was interested in gossip.

    Thuzadin¡¯sst words had left a deep impression on him.

    ¡°So... So it¡¯s you...¡± Whoever listened to these words¡ªthat were uttered by a Necromancer¡ªwould be horrified. What was the difference between being remembered by a Necromancer and being targeted by a venomous snake?

    Hence, Lin Li urgently wanted to know what was hidden behind it...

 Chapter 177 - Rumor

    <h4>Chapter 177: Rumor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°We were betrayed¡± was Hank¡¯s opening remark.

    It wasn¡¯tplicated. Last evening, Serena brought them to ckhills Town to collect a lot of supplies. However, their carriage was ambushed just as they were halfway through their journey. Hank vividly remembered that it was Rode who had attacked them.

    It was simply too much of a coincidence¡ªjust as if it had been nned. It happened when Serena brought only a few of them to ckhills Town for the handover.

    Serena took only six people at that time, including Hank, all of whom were low-level adventurers below level-ten. Moreover, Serena did not bring the Gryphon along. The Silver Hand had suffered a big loss in this sneak attack. The battle was almost one-sided; the men that Rode had brought along were all around level-ten, and it was a surprise attack to boot. They had killed two of Silver Hand¡¯s men upon appearing.

    Fortunately, Serena¡¯s reaction was quick. Once she saw that the situation was far from good, she led the rest of them back to ckhills Town immediately.

    While escaping, Serena alsoid several traps, which helped to leave Rode and his men behind for the time being.

    After the party from the Silver Hand fled to ckhills Town, they immediately found an inn and hid in it. They had nned to wait until after dark to sneak back into the Fire Plume Ridge. However, nobody expected that the men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were lurking in ckhills Town. Although there were only two bandits, they immediately informed Rode of the Silver Hand¡¯s whereabouts.

    When Serena discovered the two bandits, it was toote. Hence, they had to y it by ear and pretend to know nothing. They continued to stay in the inn, but at the same time, Serena slipped out and found Aragon and others nearby.

    However, perhaps even Serena did not realize that, this time, not only Rode and his men came, but also the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp¡¯s most famous figure¡ªThuzadin, the Necromancer!

    If it weren¡¯t for Lin Li¡¯s abrupt help, the Silver Hand would be in big trouble this time...

    Lin Li nodded his head when Hank finished speaking, agreeing with his earlier spection.

    The matter was too obvious. If someone hadn¡¯t let the cat out of the bag, how could Rode¡¯s men be so smart, blocking them on the road? Furthermore, they could even foresee their escape, and nted two bandits in ckhills Town on watch duty...

    ¡°What¡¯s the origin of that Thuzadin?¡± However, how the two mercenary corps fought had little to do with Lin Li. He did not even ask Hank why the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp was so bold to fight against the Silver Hand.

    What he wanted to know the most was about the Necromancer, Thuzadin. The words left by that fellow before his death were so frightening that Lin Li feared he would not be able to sleep soundly if he didn¡¯t figure it out.

    However, it was obvious that Hank did not know much about Thuzadin. He frowned and pondered for a long time, but still could not exin it. ¡°This Thuzadin is very mysterious. Many people know that he is a member of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. However, no one knows when and for what reason he joined them. We, the Silver Hand, investigated him two years ago, but the results of the investigation are not very clear to me...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not continue his questions, because he knew that even if he continued to ask, he wouldn¡¯t get anything out of Hank¡ªafter all, he was only a junior member, and was far from getting ess to the core secrets of the Silver Hand.

    It seemed that he should find an opportunity to inquire Serena about it.

    Lin Li was hesitating on what excuse he¡¯d use to look for Serena when someone else entered the tent. Lin Li looked up, and saw that it was Captain Elijah, who hadn¡¯t paid back the money he owed!

    ¡°You¡¯ve finished the discussion?¡± When Lin Li saw Elijahe in, he knew that this fellow had to havee to standardize their stories. He said nothing, but smiled and motioned him to find a ce to sit first.

    ¡°I¡¯m just running errands, and what to do depends on Captain Serena¡¯s opinions.¡± Elijah found a ce to sit down, then looked at Hank hesitantly.

    Hank was not a fool, either. He saw Elijah¡¯s hesitant look, and knew they had something to talk about to each other alone. He stood up quickly, and said, ¡°Mr Felic, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave first. If you need anything, you cane to me anytime. My tent is just in front.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, go and do your stuff. I¡¯lle to youter if I need your help.¡±

    ¡°Then, see youter.¡±

    ¡°This... Mr Felic...¡± After watching Hank leave, Elijah paused for a while, then asked with a bitter smile, ¡°How much should I owe you?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t owe me too much. I¡¯m a level-five warrior. I won¡¯t be able to take out too much of a loan...¡± Lin Li considered, and said a number. ¡°If not, you¡¯ll owe me 500 gold coins. You can say that I sold you a batch of herbsst time, but you haven¡¯t had time to pay yet.¡±

    ¡°Alright, 500 gold coins it is then...¡±

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± Lin Li thought for a moment, and took out three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potion he had long prepared from his pocket. ¡°This is the reward I promised at the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Mr Felic.¡±

    ¡°Right, Elijah, how¡¯s your rtionship with the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?¡±

    ¡°Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?¡± Elijah put the three bottles of Bull¡¯s Strength Potions in his pocket gingerly. ¡°I don¡¯t have many dealings with them; I¡¯m not exactly on good terms with them, but we¡¯re not exactly on bad terms, either. We¡¯d probably just greet each other if we meet, and then turn around like strangers...¡±

    ¡°Then, are you familiar with Thuzadin?¡±

    ¡°I know a little about this.¡± Elijah mused for a moment, then continued, ¡°Thuzadin joined the Rising Sun Mercenary Corpst year. As far as I know, this man has quite an unordinary rtionship with vev, the captain of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. He helped vev clinch several big deals just after joining the mercenary corp. And I heard that this man fled from the Ledin Kingdom...¡±

    ¡°Ledin Kingdom?!¡± Lin Li started. The Ledin Kingdom in Elijah¡¯s mouth, as he had heard, was one of the strongest military powers in Anril. It bordered with Fn in the north. In recent decades, the contradictions between the two countries had been constant. Perhaps a war would bepletely triggered between the two countries next time.

    The Ledin Kingdom was a typical country of faith. There were numerous churches in the Kingdom, and their dominant religion was so powerful that the whole kingdom had almost be a theocracy.

    If this Thuzadin was really from the Ledin Kingdom, then his escape was quite logical. The Ledin Kingdom was not the Fn Kingdom. Although Necromancers in Fn were abhorred, they could at least appear openly in front of people. If it were the Ledin Kingdom, Necromancers would be regarded as sphemers, and burned on the cross.

    <i>A person from Ledin Kingdoming to Fn to tell me ¡®so it¡¯s you¡¯... </i>The more Lin Li thought about it, the more confused he was. The initially puzzling matter became even more confusing with the information that Elijah brought him...

    ¡°By the way, Mr Felic, why have youe to the Fire Plume Ridge? And even... even...¡± Elijah looked at the red leather armor on Lin Li, and then shifted his gaze to the crossbow on thetter¡¯s back. After uttering ¡°even¡± for a long while, he couldn¡¯t find the words that would follow. This get-up was too bizarre¡ªbizarre to an extent that Elijah couldn¡¯t imagine the fellow had been wearing the long, ck robe a few days ago and was going in and out of ces like the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story...¡± Lin Li did not try to hide it in face of Elijah¡¯s confusion. He recounted the incident at ckhills Town, choosing only to tell him the crux of it.

    ¡°The Rising Sun Mercenary Corp wanted to kill Captain Serena?¡± After listening to what happened in ckhills Town, Elijah opened his eyes wide, and was stunned for a long time before he finally said, ¡°Are they looking for death?¡±

    ¡°Who knows...¡± Lin Li shrugged, and smiled indifferently. The two mercenary corps could kill all they wanted. As long as it didn¡¯t hinder him, Lin Li was willing to stand by and be part of the audience.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect vev to be so brave, daring toy his hands on Captain Serena. Is he not afraid of revenge from the Silver Hand?¡± Elijah contemted for a long time with mixed emotions on his face, but he still couldn¡¯t understand it.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it.¡± Lin Li was totally uninterested in this kind of fighting and killing. After a few casual words, he took the topic elsewhere. ¡°Elijah, what¡¯s your mission this time? Why do I feel that all of you seem to be mighty nervous...?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± There was some hesitation in Elijah¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Never mind, I was just curious.¡± Seeing the look on Elijah¡¯s face, Lin Li guessed that it was probably some secret mission this time, so he didn¡¯t force it. ¡°If you can¡¯t say it, you don¡¯t have to tell me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t say...¡± Elijah gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind. ¡°Mr Felic, to tell you the truth, this mission was actually entrusted to us by the president personally...¡±

    ¡°The president?¡± Lin Li was a little stunned at first, but then remembered that Elijah was an adventurer. Then, wasn¡¯t the president in Elijah¡¯s mouth the legendary warrior who was at the same level-21 as Aldwin, the president of the Adventurers Guild, Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir?

    ¡°You mean, Sword Sage of the Storm?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°No wonder there are so many people...¡± It was then that Lin Li finally understood¡ªthe mission this time turned out to be issued personally by Sword Sage of the Storm. This old man was a legendary level-21 warrior, and was the one in charge of all the adventurers in Fn Kingdom. Which mercenary corp in nna would not rush up to him desperately with a mere word from him?

 Chapter 178 - Abyss Fiendish Iron Mineral Vein

    <h4>Chapter 178: Abyss Fiendish Iron Mineral Vein</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    That was about it. Both Elijah and Lin Li were wise enough not to touch the topic of the content of the task. This was no joke¡ªit was a mission that involved nna¡¯s six major mercenary corps at the same time. Elijah could not possibly have talked about it even if they shared a deep friendship. If news were leaked, he¡¯d never be able to seek a living in nna ever again.

    Lin Li was puzzled after sending Elijah away. With the position and strength of the Sword Sage of the Storm, what could he not do? He had actually gone so far, gathering the six major mercenary corps...

    However, it was merely puzzlement. After contemting for a while and not getting any answer, Lin Li put the matter behind temporarily. For him, although the private entrustment of Sword Sage was sensational, it did not involve his own interests. In Lin Li¡¯s view, it was not even as important as Thuzadin¡¯sst words before he died.

    What the six mercenary corps wanted to do was their own business; as long as they didn¡¯t hurt those ck lotuses, even if they leveled the Fire Plume Ridge, it had nothing to do with Lin Li.

    What he cared about at present was when he could get the ck lotuses.

    The effort he had spent in ckhills Town was not in vain. With his position as their captain¡¯s savior, Lin Li¡¯s life in the camp could be said to be quite nourishing. The whole Silver Hand was grateful to him, and they responded to almost all his requests. During lunch, Lin Li just said casually that he wanted to get a map of Fire Plume Ridge; as soon as he turned around, a deputy head of logistics had sent the map to him. Before leaving, he even inquired warmly whether Lin Li needed any other help, then thanked him again and again for his generous help in ckhills Town, making Lin Li feel slightly embarrassed over it...

    After lunch, Lin Li stayed in the tent, studying the map over and over.

    This was a map specially for the Silver Hand; it was many times more detailed than the ones sold by ordinary adventurers. After all, one was drawn by a single adventurer, and the other was continuously improved and supplemented by thousands of members. These were two different concepts.

    This map was too detailed. From magical beast infested areas, to the origin of various herbs and minerals¡ªall wasbelled in detail on the map. Even some shortcuts that only the Silver Hand knew werepletely drawn out.

    Having learned that there were ck lotuses growing on the Fire Plume Ridge, Lin Li had made a lot of preparations. He spent at least 10,000 gold coins just buying information from adventurers. But even so, he did not realize that there were so many things hidden on the Fire Plume Ridge until he got this map.

    The Fire Plume Ridge really couldn¡¯t be mentioned in the same breath as the Nightmare Mountains.

    Granted, magical beasts that were found at the foot of the mountain were really weak. Most of them were just about the level of the Fire Crow, which was very suitable for adventurers at the level of Sean and his father. However, once one got to the mountainside, it would immediately be dangerous. There were often groups of magical beasts above level-ten, and they¡¯d asionally have the opportunity to enjoy the heroic bearing of magical beasts above level-15.

    As for the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge, it was the most dangerous of ces. Without the strength nearing level-20, one should never even dream of going up to that ce. Should a legendary magical beast appear, one would be swallowed whole, with not a chance to escape.

    It was unknown what kind of luck Sean had had back then to escape all the way from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside. He had not even encountered any danger, and managed to escape in the dark.

    If Sean¡¯s luck was slightly worse, his corpse would probably be dposed now with his strength at that time.

    Lin Li felt fortunate the more he looked at the map in his hands. Luckily, he had stayed in ckhills Town for the night; luckily, he had rescued Serena from Thuzadin. If not, who knew what kind of trouble he¡¯d encounter if he had gone to the Fire Plume Ridge on his own.

    But now that he had the map, everything would be much easier.

    After studying the map, Lin Li went to Serena again, and told her that he needed to go out and might not be back until evening.

    After all, the map was simply a map. Some things needed to be seen in person before the safest route could be nned.

    Of course, these were things that he couldn¡¯t tell Serena...

    Otherwise, just wearing thebel of a level-five warrior and monkeying about on the mountainside of the Fire Plume Ridge alone would take him half a day¡¯s time to exin himself.

    Lin Li¡¯s statement was that he was just taking a walk around the foot of the mountain. He heard that there were many herbs and minerals around there. After that, of course, he had to reveal a little knowledge of mining and herbs in order to prove that he was not spouting nonsense...

    The Fire Plume Ridge was a ce with abundant resources. Many adventurers who knew a thing or two about herbs and minerals woulde to this ce to make money. After listening to him, Serena did not doubt it, but showed a little surprise. ¡°You are a talent in this field as well?¡±

    ¡°What kind of talent is mining and picking herbs...¡± Lin Li muttered as he exited the tent. He considered it for a while, and decided to call Sean to go with him. After all, Sean had spent a much longer time in the Fire Plume Ridge than himself. Now that Sean was at least level-10 in strength, it should be a lot easier to bring him along.

    The camps of the six major mercenary corps were set up on the borders of the Fire Plume Ridge. Lin Li came out of the Silver Hand¡¯s camp, and only walked forward for ten minutes when he felt the peculiar scorch of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    To enter the Fire Plume Ridge from the south, one had to first cross a barren in. This was the ce where the Fire Crows liked to gather. Back then, Sean and his father hunted the Fire Crows here, and exchanged their feathers for the money necessary for their living. After crossing this barren in, the terrain would slowly beplicated. There were several mountain roads leading to the mountainside, one of which was a shortcut only known to the core members of the Silver Hand.

    This was the shortcut that Lin Li wanted to take.

    However, for some unknown reason, when the Silver Hand drew the map, they were vague about the introduction of this shortcut; especially for one of the caves, which had no introduction at all. They directly marked it with a ck line, which made Lin Li very dejected. He had to take a look at it in person. If there was no problem with it, then he could decide on the route after returning to the camp...

    Lin Li had released a Mana Detector when he was crossing the in. The Fire Plume Ridge was a ce rich in natural resources. If he missed some precious mineral veins on the road, it would not be worth it...

    The two men set out from the Silver Hand camp, and crossed the barren in. It was quite calm along the way. Apart from several flocks of Fire Crows, there was hardly anything alive.

    For these two guys, the Fire Crows were no trouble at all. Not to mention Lin Li, even the present Sean had at least the strength of a level-10 warrior. His body was emitting a cyan Combat Energy as he held the huge double-edged sword in his hand; coupled with his amazing natural strength, when he waved the double-edged sword, the surroundings were suddenly filled with plumes of blue me. The Fire Crows were often turned into ashes before they even managed to go near them.

    It could be said that their journey was without hindrances. About half an hourter, they had crossed the in, and followed a rugged mountain road upward. Soon, they saw a withered yellow forest.

    As soon as Lin Li saw the forest, he knew he had found the right ce.

    The shortcut marked on the map was near the forest. When he was studying the map earlier on, Lin Li had been wondering about something¡ªwhat was the meaning of this area marked in yellow? If red meant danger and green meant safety, what did yellow mean? Did it mean erotica <sup>1</sup> ?

    Now that he got to the ce, he could see that the meaning of yellow was ¡°barren¡±.

    It was indeed a barren forest; everything in it seemed to be listless. Although the trees had notpletely died, they did not show any vitality at all. A few pitiful leaves hung on the branches, swaying around and making a ttering sound when the hot wind asionally blew by.

    This lifeless feeling seemed to be contagious¡ªLin Li constantly felt drowsy walking in the forest.

    It was the activity transmitted by the Mana Detector that refreshed his spirits¡ªthere was a weak magical wave.

    ¡°There¡¯s something!¡± Lin Li was too familiar with the magical wave. Back in the Endless World, he loved using this method of prospecting, but at that time, he had used a ne with mana detection property, and this time, he had really mastered this spell.

    The magical wave from afar was slightly weak, but Lin Li could judge almost immediately by experience that it was absolutely a magical wave emanating from the mineral veins, and it was most likely an Abyss Fiendish Iron vein, for only the Abyss Fiendish Iron could dye the surroundingnd dark red.

    Currently, the earth beneath their feet disyed a hoodooing dark red, which looked to have been soaked in blood. This was the most obvious growth feature of the Abyss Fiendish Iron. However, it was a pity that the soil was still not thoroughly red enough. If the color was darker, it could probably breed Demonsoul¡ªan important ingredient of the Truth Elixir!

    From the color of the soil, it should be a poor mine.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± Nevertheless, Lin Li was not going to let it go even if it was a poor mine. The Abyss Fiendish Iron was a rare magical metal. Adding a little of it while forging could greatly enhance the power of a weapon. For a humanoid magical beast such as Sean, weapons integrated with the Abyss Fiendish Iron were especially powerful. If they could dig up some this time, Sean¡¯s equipment set would be settled.

    By virtue of his superior mental strength, Lin Li had always been the most sensitive to magical waves. He took Sean through the withered and yellow forest, and within a few minutes, he found the exact location of the mineral vein.

    Looking from where Lin Li stood now, it was clear that there was a dim metallic luster in the dark red soil.

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed a poor mine...¡± The mineral body was only slightly exposed on the surface, and Lin Li knew at once that it was a poor mine. If it were a rich mine, at least half of the mineral body would be exposed instead.

 Chapter 179 - Mine Robbing

    <h4>Chapter 179: Mine Robbing</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Sean, lend a hand.¡± Lin Li sought out two shovels from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    ¡°Orh...¡± Sean nodded, and took one of the shovels, but did not know what to do. He looked at Lin Li with a nk face.

    ¡°Dig from here, until you reach this point.¡± Lin Li drew a line on the ground, and signalled him to dig along that line. He still felt not quite at ease after thinking about it, so he reminded Sean, ¡°Use little strength. Don¡¯t you damage the mine...¡±

    Lin Li took out only two ordinary shovels. If it were others, he would not need to deliberately remind them. Perhaps only a humanoid magical beast like Sean needed to be told to use little strength...

    ¡°Yes, Mr Felic.¡± Sean¡¯sprehension ability wasn¡¯t that good, but his execution was meticulous. Just as Lin Li finished speaking, he swung his shovel and began digging. As soon as this humanoid magical beast started to work, there were only clumps of soil spattering all around. The shovel was like a bulldozer, digging up arge area with loud ngs.

    This fellow was a born miner; the shovel in his hands swung rapidly and furiously. While Lin Li was still stunned, Sean dug a deep and long trench along the edge of the vein. And in the middle of the trench, the dark red Abyss Fiendish Iron vein was revealed...

    Lin Li was bbergasted as he held the shovel.

    There was indeed a distance between human and magical beast...

    Lin Li did not even have the time to move his hands, and Sean had finished the job for him. He stood there with the shovel in his hand, not knowing whether he should dig or not. Atst, he saw that there was no need to, so he threw the shovel on the ground, and took out two Air Bomb scrolls from his pocket.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped...

    st mining was primitive and backward, but the Fire Plume Ridge was a remote ce¡ªthere was no manpower nor tools. Lin Li had countless mining methods at his disposal, but could only settle for st mining first. Moreover, he could only use two scrolls. Andoine wasn¡¯t around, and two scrolls were his limit.

    Fortunately, this was a poor mine, unlike the one found in the Nightmare Mountains, which needed five Air Bomb scrolls at the same time. That was a great work¡ªwithout a figure like Andoine around, he could not even think about it.

    Two Air Bomb scrolls were inserted at both ends of the vein. There was nothing to study about it¡ªunlike the Eternal Adamantine, the Abyss Fiendish Iron wouldn¡¯t produce apanying precious gemstones. Thus, when sting Eternal Adamantine mines, one had to be cautious so as not to damage the apanying gemstones within, but there was no such concern for the Abyss Fiendish Iron. So, he could just st the mineral vein directly.

    After inserting the scrolls, Lin Li slowly took a few steps back.

    But just as Lin Li was trying to detonate the scrolls with his mental strength, there was a sudden rush of footsteps in the woods behind him. ¡°You two, get out of that ce at once!¡±

    Lin Li frowned, and looked back into the woods. He saw several people hurrying from afar; two archers were the fastest. As soon as Lin Li turned his head, they had rushed over with their bows drawn and arrows set just less than 30 meters before where Lin Li stood. The hostility in them was obvious even to the blind.

    ¡°Let us warn you again, leave that ce immediately; otherwise, don¡¯t me us for being rude!¡± A warrior caught up and stood with the two archers. There came a ¡°ng¡± as a sword was pulled out. The shimmering cold light on the sword de made evident to everyone that he was not kidding. If Lin Li and Sean continued standing there, a battle would be imminent.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes skimmed over the two archers, but he had no intention of moving his feet. He merely looked at the warrior from afar, and smiled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with where we are standing?¡±

    ¡°That vein was first discovered by us!¡± Before the warrior answered, an archer stood up. While he spoke, his arm was lifted slightly upward. The sharp arrow was pointed directly at Lin Li¡¯s chest. In the midday sunshine, a faint blue shimmer was shining on the iron arrow. It was obvious that the arrow had been smeared with poison.

    A hint of fishy sweetness wafted in the air, and it made Lin Li frown. It was not a pleasant thing to be aimed at with a poisonous arrow.

    ¡°You¡¯ve discovered it first?¡± However, the archer¡¯s words wavered Lin Li. After all, robbing mine was a dishonorable thing, and he couldn¡¯t do it. It hardly seemed justifiable if they had really discovered the mineral vein first and he hade up from behind to mine.

    ¡°Yes, I found this vein in the morning, but I didn¡¯t have enough manpower, so I went back and called two friends with me.¡±

    ¡°Morning?¡± Lin Li came to understand as soon as he heard these two words. The reason why it was named the Abyss Fiendish Iron was that it shared some simrities with the Abyssal Demon in some aspects. For example, the strength of the Abyssal Demon varied with time¡ªit was the weakest in the morning, and the strongest at night. The same was true for the magical wave emanating from the Abyss Fiendish Iron. It was the weakest in the morning, and the strongest in the evening; especially when the first ray of sunshine appeared at dawn, the Abyss Fiendish Iron magical wave was almost the same as a piece of ordinary iron.

    And it was a poor mine before him; the whole mineral body was almost buried underground. Without a mastery knowledge of mineral veins, it was impossible to find it.

    Granted¡ªnothing was absolute in this world.

    Even without a mastery knowledge of mineral veins, there was still a chance of discovering the Abyss Fiendish Iron mineral vein in the morning with a perverse mental strength like Lin Li. After all, as long as it was not in the first ray of sunshine, the Abyss Fiendish Iron mineral vein would emit subtle magical wave at other times.

    The problem was that these guys didn¡¯t look to have perverse mental strength.

    Of course, they couldn¡¯t be masters of mineral veins, either. Otherwise, why did he need to go back and call upon more people? He could have finished mining by himself instead of having to share the benefits with others.

    ¡°Right... then may I ask, what mineral vein is this exactly?¡± Lin Li still had a smile on his face, but a wind de quietly gathered in his hand. Since this was a vein without ownership, Lin Li needed not be polite with them.

    ¡°This...¡± The look on the warrior¡¯s face froze when he was questioned by Lin Li out of the blue...

    ¡°Why do you ask so many questions?¡± The archer at a side saw that something was wrong, and tautened the bowstring further. The sharp arrow that was smeared with virulent poison was aimed at Lin Li¡¯s chest. His eyes faintly revealed an intention to kill. ¡°Get out means get out, stop f*cking spouting nonsense here. Do you really think I don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was taken aback. He had seen a lot of arrogance, but it was the first time he saw someone this arrogant. ¡°Get out means get out¡±¡ªwhat a heroic deration this was!

    Lin Li felt that if he didn¡¯t cower, he¡¯d be letting the archer¡¯s bravery down.

    ¡°Sean, the warrior is yours.¡± The wind de in his hand was just about to be released when suddenly something urred to Lin Li.

    Recently, Sean¡¯s progress speed was so sick that even Lin Li could barely judge that his present strength was at least above level-10. Lin Li had been wondering how far the boy had improved. But ever since leaving nna, Sean hadn¡¯t had a chance to show his skills. He¡¯d killed some Fire Crows when they crossed the in earlier on, but that was it. How could a low-level magical beast reflect the strength of a warrior above level-ten?

    This warrior was quite suitable. If Lin Li was not mistaken, he should be the strongest of the three; he had most likely broke through to level-10.

    As for the weakest of the three, it turned out to be the most arrogant archer. This fellow was at most level-eight in strength. Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand why he could be so arrogant. Did he really think they were persimmons that could be pinched randomly?

    ¡°Oh.¡± Sean nodded heavily; there was a faint gleam of excitement in his eyes as he looked toward the warrior.

    He was equally curious about his current strength. When he was in nna, there was indeed a master who had guided him. However, the master¡¯s strength was so strong that no matter how rapidly Sean had progressed, the result did not change at all. The other party could easily defeat himself with a simple blow. The feeling was as easy as picking up a knife and fork while eating.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to fight us with just the two of you? How reckless...¡± The bold archer pursed his lips and sneered. He had no regard for these two guys from the start. That big guy had a decent strength, but so what? Sandro was a level-10 warrior. Even if the big guy was impressive, he couldn¡¯t be more impressive than Sandro, right?

    As for the bullsh*t-ridden fellow, there was nothing to say about him. The crossbow he was carrying looked the part, but one could see clearly that the fellow was at most level-five or six in strength. Even he could easily shoot that fellow to death.

    The bold archer was so confident that he hardly gave it a second thought, and fired his arrow directly. In his mind, the low-level warrior would at least be crippled even if he did not die by his arrow.

    However, the arrow was just fired when he suddenly heard a gust of wind by his ear.

    Although this fellow was arrogant, he was a real archer after all. He probably knew a lot better than others what this gust of wind meant. However, it was toote for him to dodge in haste. In an instant, there was only a crisp sound...

    ¡°Shoo!¡±

    The bold archer felt a chill in his ear at first, followed by an excruciating pain. He touched it with his hand, and there was nothing else but blood...

    ... Where was the ear?

    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± A scream rang out among the trees¡ªso forlorn that even the withered leaves seemed to be shivering.

    Almost at the same time, Sean raised his huge sword with both hands, and with a powerful chop, he greeted Sandro, who was also a level-10 warrior. The confrontation between level-10 warriors was much better to watch than that on the other side. In a moment, the two weapons fired brilliant sparks upon contact.

 Chapter 180 - Seanéˆ¥æªš Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 180: Sean¡¯s Improvement</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were no changes to Sean¡¯s battling style. But it was that barbaric fighting method that gave off such a terrifying impact under the influence of the green-coloredbat energy. In a single exchange, Sean struck Sandro heavily with strength like that of a magical beast.

    Sandro was experienced as well. Once he noticed that he could not win against his opponent with strength, he started to tussle with Sean. To him, his opponent would not be as agile as himself. Furthermore, that great sword of his would put Sean at a disadvantage as it was better at attacking, and not defending.

    If he could secure one opportunity, Sandro had confidence to defeat his opponent.

    To be honest, that was indeed a valid strategy.

    If it had been a month ago, Sandro would have had an advantage over Sean. That was when Sean was also strong, but extremely poor in his battling techniques. Not to mention a level-10 warrior, even if it was Sean¡¯s previous opponent, the leader of the bandits, Sean would be facing dire consequences because of the battle if not for Lin Li¡¯s two bottles of potion...

    But Sean was not the rookie that only had a shocking strength anymore.

    The one month in nna transformed Sean entirely. It was as though he was a brand-new man.

    Green-coloredbat energy circled, and the speed Sean disyed was not slower than Sandro¡¯s. The heavy double-edged sword in his hands became very quick and agile, and there was zero dy in its movements. No matter what Sandro did, he could gain no advantage in the duel.

    While the two level-10 warriors were caught in a deadlock, the level-five warrior on the other side ended his battle almost instantly.

    <i>( .c om ) That fe was rather boring...</i>

    As a level-13 Magic Shooter, no energy was needed in getting rid of two low-level archers. However, he did not feel like doing so. Instead, he took the crossbow and moved backwards while he fought them, leading them to the vein of the Abyss Fiendish Iron...

    ¡°Goodbye, you two.¡±

    It could only be said that the two fes were really unlucky.

    ¡°POM!¡±

    Before they could understand the situation, they were shocked by a loud sound ringing in their ears like an explosion. What followed right after that was soil particles that rose from the ground.

    Among the dark-red soil particles in the air, there were numerous ore fragments of different sizes. The big ones were of the size of a human head, while the small ones were the size of a fist. They exploded in mid-air like cannonballs.

    This was the ore of the Abyss Fiendish Iron¡ªthe heaviest magical metal. At the moment it flew off, even warriors above level-10 would be bombed into fools on the spot, not to mention the two low-level archers.

    Fortunately, Lin Li did not intend to kill them. He merely triggered one Air Bomb scroll.

    Yet, even if there was only a single scroll, it was enough to create arge destruction for the duo. The feeling when the ore hit them mirrored that of big cannons¡¯s barrage. After a few ¡°POM!¡±s, the duo could be seen unconscious on the ground.

    ¡°Do you know it now? This is called Abyss Fiendish Iron, and it¡¯s very heavy...¡± Lin Li said as he rubbed his tired elbows. He found a ce nearby to sit down and observe the battle of the two other people.

    At this time, Sean had already gained the upper hand.

    The heavy double-edged sword in Sean¡¯s hands moved like a pinwheel, and the force of its chops seemed to getrger andrger. Although Sandro was also a level-10 warrior, he was nothingpared to Sean in terms of strength. As the battle progressed, Sean seemed more and more confident, while Sandro tired and breathless.

    <i>Is this guy a human? </i>The fight was bing more intimidating for Sandro as he fought. Although Sean had human skin, his strength was scarier than a beast¡¯s. Every time Sandro used his weapon to defend himself from the great sword, he could hear a groan of paining from his weapon.

    His decent single-handed sword that was made of refined iron almost became a scrap of metal in one battle. The torn de could already be used as a saw, while the sword was so badly distorted that it looked like a crawling earthworm.

    ¡°F*ck, I¡¯m too unlucky...¡± Sandro could not help but curse quietly. The results of the battle did not matter anymore. His exorbitantly expensive weapon¡¯s loss was enough to cause him to grieve for a few days.

    The advantageous position Sean had was enough to let him emerge as the victor in the next minute.

    It appeared that the hard work Sean put into training in that half a month paid off. His ability was at the peak of level-10, and he definitely had a lot of room for improvement. At the start of the fight, he was still in a deadlock with that warrior, yet as time passed, the disadvantage of the warrior became more obvious.

    It was not that the skills of the warrior deteriorated, but that those of Sean improved.

    Battles were indeed the best way to improve one¡¯s skills. It only took one battle for Sean to reap tremendous benefits.

    Lin Li could clearly sense that as the time Sean spent in battles grew, hisbat skills became increasingly sophisticated. Sean was not as barbaric with his movements as before. He became more aware of how to best allocate his strength to defeat the warrior during the battle.

    ¡°This boy¡¯s improving really quickly...¡± Lin Limented sincerely under his breath.

    ( .c om ) Indeed, Sean was only at level-five when he left Jarrosus. Then, he developed his personalbat energy in less than two months. This improvement was faster than the speed of a rocket...

    Yet there was one thing Lin Li had forgotten.

    The rate of his own improvement... was much faster than Sean¡¯s.

    When he¡¯d just entered this world, he could not even unleash a single low-level Illuminating Spell. If not for Andoine, he would have been eaten up by a low-level magical beast. Yet, only a few months had passed by, and he was already at level-13. He was also able to surpass the ability of archmages in the blink of an eye. Such a crazy improvement speed was absolutely freakier than Sean¡¯s...

    As Lin Li gasped in bewilderment, the battle also came to an end.

    With the Abyss Fiendish Iron integrated into Sean¡¯s great sword, it was moving gracefully like a pinwheel in his hand. The green-coloredbat energy circling on the surface of its de carried a rough sound. Sandro became a minor character under the fierce attack. How could a single-handed sword be able to fend off Sean who had unleashed his entire might?

    At that point of time, Sandro was already on the brink of death. Every attack that he managed to dodge was avoided only with the help of his experience and his luck.

    Lin Li was certain that the level-10 warrior would fall under Sean¡¯s sword in less than a minute.

    ¡°What a waste...¡± Lin Li sighed, and shook his head. He moved his gaze away from the two men, and focused it on the ore on the ground.

    Because of the outsiders, Lin Li did not dare to use the Ring of Endless Storm. He could only gather those fragments together, and wait for Sean to get rid of Sandro.

    However, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.

    This time, they were no small fries, but a bunch of people.

    Lin Li could not help but feel nervous for a second. When he wanted to get his mana ready, he realized that he knew their leader.

    That person was Aragon. It was him whounched the surprise attack on Rode at ckhills Town the day before.

    ¡°Mr. Felic, why are you here?¡± Aragon was dumbfounded when he stepped out of the forest.

    Wasn¡¯t the man rubbing his elbow on that pile of rocks his savior two days ago? Yes, and his beast-like partner...

    Aragon looked at Sean while he drew in a cold breath.

    Although he was not aware of Sean¡¯s ability, he knew the man Sean was fighting. He was Sandro, a true level-10 warrior. Judging from his capacity, he would not be able to defeat Sandro. However, seeing how the beast-like youth forced that level-10 warrior onto the brink of death, Aragon was d that he was there. If he were to bete, Sandro was really going to die under his opponent¡¯s sword.

    Aragon was shocked by what he saw. It was rare to see level-10 warriors, especially youths who had a natural advantage over others. Their future sess would be unlimited.

    Frankly speaking, Aragon did not put the two men in his eyes at the start. Although they saved his and Serena¡¯s life, apart from being grateful, they were also filled with admiration. The only thing that could cause adventurers to have respect for someone was true ability.

    Intelligent people could tell that the scariest thing that happened in ckhills Town was that crossbow. Aragon dared to bet with his life that there was huge Divine Power within that weapon. Otherwise, it would not have passed through the Skeletal Wall and killed Thuzadin instantaneously.

    Apart from his outfit, it would be hard for Aragon to admire a level-5 warrior.

    However, it appeared that the two people did not simply only own a set of efficient equipment and good luck...

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Aragon. Why are you here?¡± Seeing that it was someone familiar, Lin Li secretly dispersed the mana he¡¯d gathered previously, and put on a smile on his face.

    Witnessing the battle between Sean and Sandro, Aragon¡¯s tone became extremely respectful towards Lin Li. He replied, ¡°Leader Serena ordered us to run some errands. Then, we heard the sounds of fighting from the forest, and decided to take a look. Who knew it was you two...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, we met some trouble. But it¡¯s alright, we¡¯re settling it very soon.¡±

    ¡°Erm, Mr. Felic, could you let them stop their battle for a while?¡± Aragon seemed unsettled as he nced at the fight in the distance.

    ¡°What, you know that fe?¡± Lin Li asked as he observed Aragon¡¯s expression. He could guess what was in Aragon¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 181 - High-rank Miner

    <h4>Chapter 181: High-rank Miner</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re all from the Bloody Horns.¡±

    ¡°The Bloody Horns? Are they one of the mercenary corps on this mission?¡± Lin Li asked as he recalled how Hank had told him of the six mercenary corps that were on the mission to visit the Fire Plume Ridge¡ªone of them was called Bloody Horns.

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    Aragon hesitated. Honestly, he should be supporting Lin Li. Since he¡¯d saved him in ckhills Town, it was only natural to express gratitude to him over and over again. Furthermore, apart from meeting their leader a few times, his rtionship with the Bloody Horns was not close.

    The problem was...

    This matter concerned the cooperation between the six mercenary corps. It was alright to get rid of a few fes here and there, but if the matter were to leak out, and people knew that it was Silver Hand¡¯s guests who took their lives, the rtionship between the two mercenary corps would be affected. Previously, it would not have any implications, for with the Silver Hand¡¯s ability, they would not need to be threatened by the Bloody Horns.

    However, it was not the case now. If they were to kill him, the Silver Hand¡¯s situation would be very awkward. Although the six mercenary corps agreed to embark on this mission together, they did not have anymendable rtionship with each other at all. Under the temptation of benefits, their problem of self-interest was more prominent than before.

    ¡°Alright,¡± replied Lin Li.

    How would he not understand the importance? Lin Li nodded at Aragon, and shouted to Sean in the distance, ¡°Sean, don¡¯t be too harsh!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mr. Felic.¡± Sean was indeed a monster. While he was striking and shing with his great sword, he could still find time to reply to Lin Li.

    ¡°Let me help Captain Serena thank you.¡± Aragon could finally feel relieved. Everything would be good as long as no lives were taken. As for how harshly Sean dealt with the man, Aragon would not be able to interfere with it.

    In reality, even if Sean did not wish to kill, Aragon had the intention to teach Sandro a lesson the hard way. How could that fe dare to offend the noble guests of the Silver Hand? Did they think that the Silver Hand was afraid of them?

    While Aragon was thinking of how to exin it to the leader of Bloody Horns, he shifted his gaze from Sandro to the ore on the ground...

    Then, he froze.

    That pile of ore seemed extremely ordinary. There was nothing special about it apart from the dark-red elements. Any normal person would have thought them to be the usual rocks out there.

    Aragon, however, was different. His father was an old miner who had mined for decades. Furthermore, before he joined the Silver Hand, he had experience mining too. It was all the same for low-level adventurers; apart from hunting magical beasts, they would take up part-time jobs. Sean, who used to harvest herbs to earn enough money to upgrade his equipment, was a good example.

    Yet Aragon was not in the mining industry long enough, as he got hired by the Silver Hand after half a year. With his little knowledge on minerals, he could not tell what type of ore it was.

    But there was one thing Aragon was certain about: the ore strewn over the ground was definitely a type of magical metal!

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Aragon¡¯s face turned pale. His gaze towards Lin Li was filled with bewilderment.

    People who could harvest magical metals were rare. They not only needed to be learned regarding minerals, but also be proficient in their knowledge of magic.

    Magical metals were immensely fragile. It would only take a trivial mistake to damage the entire mineral vein. Hence, only people who already reached the higher tier of mastery would have such a skill...

    Aragon had never expected that that man who appeared to be a level-5 warrior would be an Expert Miner!

    ¡°Mr. Felic, did you harvest this ore?¡± Aragon inquired, feeling that his throat became a little dry.

    Lin Li smiled. He knew what Aragon wanted to know, but there was no need to hide such matters. He nodded honestly, and said, ¡°Yes...¡±

    Aragon waspletely stunned...

    He nced at Lin Li, then at Sean, and nned to inform Captain Serena of it when he returned...

    He was a rare Expert Miner, after all!

    At the same time, the battle ended on the other side.

    Sean knocked Sandro¡¯s weapon away out of his grip in a single strike, pointing his double-edged sword at Sandro¡¯s neck. He did so because Lin Li reminded him not to be too harsh on that enemy or else a little more strength was all he needed to cut off Sandro¡¯s head.

    ¡°Aragon, I¡¯m handing this man to you,¡± said Lin Li with a smile. He also pointed to the two unconscious archers on the ground. ¡°You should bring those two fes away too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Felic.¡± The series of surprises made Aragon more cautious of Lin Li, and much respectful as well. After thanking him politely, he ordered his men, ¡°Tie them up and send them back to our camp first. Then, request for the leader of the Bloody Horns toe personally for them.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± A few archers took out ropes from their backpack, and started to tie the three men up.

    ¡°Mr. Felic, I¡¯ll be returning to the camp now. I swear that these fes would be heavily dealt with!¡± Seeing that everything was ready, Aragon bid goodbye to Lin Li.

    ¡°Goodbye. As for these people, a little punishment will do since I wasn¡¯t really affected by them.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    Although Sandro was a level-10 warrior, he was tied up like a rice dumpling. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the ropes which were the thickness of a thumb. While they walked, Aragon became gloomier and gloomier as he thought of what¡¯d just happened. He pped Sandro¡¯s head, and scolded, ¡°You¡¯re really tired of life, eh? How could you offend the guests of the Silver Hand? I¡¯m going to make your captain punish you further when you get back...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li could not help butugh at them from the distance. He did not intend to do anything to these people. Now that they fell into the hands of Aragon, they were going to suffer.

    After seeing the group of men leave, Lin Li lit another Air Bomb scroll to open the mineral vein of the Abyss Fiendish Ironpletely. Then, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm to keep all the ore.

    Following that, he brought Sean towards the cave their map mentioned.

    ...

    Aragon, on the other hand, reached the camp of the Silver Hand very quickly.

    When he reached the camp, he handed the three captives to the guards, while he himself dashed to the tent of his captain.

    After entering, Aragon saw Hank speaking to the captain.

    If it were before, Aragon would wait until Hank finished talking. But, this time, he did not want to waste any time. As soon as he stepped into the tent, he interrupted Hank. ¡°Captain Serena, are you free?¡±

    ¡°You have something to tell me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain Serena. I must tell you something.¡±

    Serena frowned at Aragon¡¯s impatience. She knew this man very well. He had always been calm and reserved. When they got into danger in ckhills Town, Aragon could remainposed and enter the inn. What could have happened that made him so anxious?

    ¡°You found someone you like?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Aragon was beyond speechless.

    He really could not understand what was in the mind of his pretty captain. She had always been meticulous and astute in the management of work-rted affairs. At times, however, she would say unusual things, such as asking if Thuzadin had his dinner...

    Aragon drew a few breaths, and then raised his volume, saying, ¡°Captain Serena, it¡¯s regarding the two of our guests!¡±

    Once she heard that it concerned her two guests, her expression turned serious. ¡°Something happened to them?¡±

    ¡°They had a fight with the people from the Bloody Horns.¡±

    ¡°People from the Bloody Horns? Hmph, how dare Brook touch my distinguished guests! Hank, go ask a few men and bring Brook before me.¡±

    ¡°That...¡± Hank was a little hesitant. Although Serena was oblivious the true identity of the two guests, how would Hank be unaware? It would be the problem of the Bloody Horns to offend them.

    How would they need the help from the Silver Hand?

    ¡°Captain Serena, it¡¯s not that. Listen to me...¡± Aragon drew a few more breaths before recounting what happened on the Fire Plume Ridge.

    ¡°You mean that Mr. Sean defeated Sandro?¡± Serena asked in shock. She knew that Sandro was the backbone of the Bloody Horns. Without the Gryphon, she¡¯d have to use a lot strength to defeat him.

    But now, he had been defeated by a warrior she had not even heard of...

    ¡°There¡¯s another thing...¡± Aragon hesitated, and continued with much uncertainty, ¡°Captain Serena, I suspect that Mr. Felic might be an Expert Miner.¡±

    ¡°You must be kidding!¡± Serena eximed in astonishment.

    There were thousands of people under the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps. Among them, at least one-third had the knowledge of minerals. However, not a single one could reach the Expert-level.

    Oh, yes. Just that afternoon, Mr. Felic told her that he wanted to go search for ores and herbs. However, it should not be that crazy, right?

    Expert Miners were highly sought after by huge and influential corporations. Even Serena knew of a powerful figure who had been wanting to collect rare ores, but to no avail...

    ¡°Aragon, are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not very certain about it...¡± Aragon hesitated before reaching into his pocket for a piece of dark-red ore that was the size of a thumb.

    ¡°I took this back secretly. When I rushed there, Mr. Felic had heaps of ore like this with him. Captain Serena, why don¡¯t you find someone to verify the identity of this ore?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I shall do that.¡±

    Hank was the calmest person among the three people in the tent.

    He had cultivated a huge mental and emotional capacity from meeting countless freakish people like Lin Li. After several encounters like that, he gradually became numb. As long as it was something that he experienced, even if it was an unusual matter, it would never be iprehensible.

 Chapter 182 - Flash and Darkness Decimator

    <h4>Chapter 182: sh and Darkness Decimator</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When Serena was about to leave the tent, she suddenly thought of something. Turning back, she asked Aragon toe over. ¡°Aragon, help me with something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Go and ask those people from the Bloody Horns about what happened on the Fire Plume Ridge. Use whatever methods necessary to get them to reveal everything. If they sessfully hide anything... you know the consequences.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Aragon¡¯s face darkened.

    <i>Isn¡¯t she hinting me to extort a confession from them using tortures?</i>

    However, that was exactly what he wanted; he had something against Sandro.

    ¡°And you, Hank.¡± After giving Aragon instructions, Serena called Hank over. ¡°You stay in the camp. If people from the Bloody Horns were toe, keep them here until I return.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain Serena.¡±

    A few lines were all it took for Serena to finish giving her orders. Then, she left the camp with that piece of ore.

    ...

    It was dusk when Hank saw Serena again after an hour.

    The first thing she did was to call for Aragon.

    ¡°Aragon, did you manage to find out anything?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Captain Serena. They told me everything.¡±

    ¡°Continue,¡± Serena said as she nodded her head.

    ¡°It was actually a coincidence...¡± Aragon started to tell her what he¡¯d learned in that hour.

    It was like what he started off with. The entire matter was a coincidence.

    If the people from the Bloody Horns had not told him, even Lin Li, who was on the Fire Plume Ridge, would also not have thought of how coincidental the timing of the matter was...

    From the start, Sandro and his team were ordered to go to the Fire Plume Ridge as their first mission. However, when they passed by that forest, they identally discovered the mineral veins of the Abyss Fiendish Iron.

    ¡°This Sandro was a miner in the past,¡± Aragon added.

    Of course, Sandro was not knowledgeable enough to decipher what type of mineral vein it was.

    But the coincidence was that he had heard that there was a magical metal with a mineral vein that would turn the ore and the surrounding soil dark-red in color.

    As an adventurer, the idea of a mineral vein of any magic metal was naturally a big temptation for Sandro because it meant huge fortune he could gain from it. With all that wealth, he would be able to retire from being an adventurer, and live a luxurious life peacefully.

    On top of that...

    Lin Li and Sean seemed so frail and weak previously.

    ¡°Actually, it was rather unfair for that dude. During the interrogation, he was so indignant when heined to me. What he thought to be pushovers turned into two powerful opponents. It was as though he kicked iron tes instead of soft persimmons...¡± The mention of Sandro¡¯s realization made Aragon feel likeughing.

    Hank rolled his eyes beside him. What was there to be surprised about? Sandro was not the only hapless man he knew of that kicked these iron tes.

    Not to mention the group of robbers from ckhills Town that was killed by Sean, there was Thuzadin with the lousiest luck, who thought that he could send everyone in the inn to their deaths, but got shot dead by Mr. Felic. He probably still was not able to figure out why a crossbow could suddenly appear from the crowd...

    Of course, Hank would not dare to tell them these. It was nothing for him to be reprimanded by Serena for keeping such secrets. The real trouble would start if he were to offend that man. If he knew that it was him who divulged the matter, how would Hank be able to escape the fate of being skewered by his Icicle?

    Therefore, Hank only listened to their conversation at the side silently.

    ¡°Before I forget...¡± Aragon said as something came to his mind. He said hesitantly, ¡°There¡¯s a thing I feel we should take note of.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Sandro said when Mr. Felic fought with his two teammates; instead of fighting them personally, he detonated some kind of firearm.¡±

    ¡°Detonation?¡± Serena froze in surprise, and said, ¡°You meant... Explosive Mining?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m suspecting that...¡± The expression of Aragon showed amazement too.

    Many people knew the existence of a skill like Explosive Mining, but few dared to use it. The reason was very simple¡ªExplosive Mining was too difficult to master. It would only take a small mistake to destroy both the mine and lives. Even an Expert Miner would not want to risk attempting such a dangerous skill.

    At that moment, the two people could not help but be in a daze.

    Although they had been suspecting Mr. Felic to be an Expert Miner right from the start, when they rted him to Explosive Mining, they were awestruck. That was really a crazy thing. In the whole of Fn Kingdom, the number of people who knew how to use Explosive Mining to mine would not exceed a hundred. Among them, at least 90 had been drawn over byrge organizations.

    The Marathon Family, which rose to its status back then due to their business in forging, was one such organization. It sessfully gathered more than half of these people under its name.

    Hence, there would be fewer than 10 Expert Miners who weren¡¯t affiliated with any organization...

    People with such a talent were highly sought-after ones.

    Explosive Mining could increase the efficiency of any mining activity by one fold.

    The Dwarf Kingdom, which was located at the North of the Sunset Mountains, only had a few hundreds of thousands people. However, it was able to form a country by itself in the chaotic world of Anril. That was thanks to their forte, which was forging, as well as mastery of mining techniques.

    Among the different mining techniques, they were especially known for their Explosive Mining.

    It was just because the Dwarf Kingdom had a goblin working for them.

    Goblins had a ir in creating weapons. Their knowledge in explosive techniques peaked among the entire Anril. The weapons they produced were so powerful that they could bepared to the spells of magic shooters.

    It was said that during the Dark Age, the goblins created a type of weapon that could easily prate the shields of archmages with fire from their metal tubes. Unfortunately, that skill set vanished after the era. Hence, the goblins could only seek refuge in the Dwarf Kingdom.

    On top of the innate talent of the dwarfs in forging and mining, the Explosive Mining technique from the goblins made the Dwarf Kingdom a stronger entity. Although the poption of the kingdom was rather small, they got to be protected in the world of Anril, and also reaped benefits from all the wars that happened. Gradually, they had grown to have the shadow of the descendants of the Titans.

    Hence, it was obvious how an Expert Miner who had the knowledge of the Explosive Mining technique would be so high in demand...

    Deep in thought, Serena nodded her head as shemented, ¡°Seems that we are really not wrong. I¡¯m afraid this Mr. Felic might really be an Expert Miner.¡± Then, she reached into her pocket for the Abyss Fiendish Iron and fiddled with it in her hands.

    ¡°Oh, right. Captain Serena, have you identified this ore?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This ore is called the Abyss Fiendish Iron. If it were to be added into a weapon, it would increase the weight of the weapon by multiple times. That old Al¡¯Akir said that it is considered one of the rarest ores.¡±

    ¡°Even Mr. Al¡¯Akir came?¡± Aragon froze when he heard the name. Al¡¯Akir was the leader of Adventurers Guild¡ªthe person in charge of all the Adventurers in the entire Fn Kingdom! Apart from Aldwin, the leader of the Guild of Magic, no one would beparable to him for his level-21 abilities.

    As an adventurer himself, how would Aragon not hear of Al¡¯Akir?

    In reality, Al¡¯Akir¡¯s story was the inspiration for most people to take up this upation in Fn Kingdom.

    For almost all adventurers, Al¡¯Akir had only been a legendary character that they¡¯d heard of. However, now that this legendary man was so close to them, even Aragon could not help but show signs of excitement.

    ¡°But he is extremely lively too...¡± Serena muttered as she minced her lips. Then, she said in a serious tone, ¡°That old man also said that he hopes to meet that fe if given the chance. So Aragon, we need to grab onto this opportunity... ¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± replied Aragon as he nodded.

    Serena¡¯s words were more than clear.

    It was not easy to meet any Expert Miner, especially one who knew about the Explosive Mining and who was not bound to any organization.

    How would anyone reject a partnership with him? When Al¡¯Akir expressed his hopes about wanting to meet Lin Li, his motive was clear...

    To be honest, the Silver Hand had zero edge over the huge Adventurers Guild. Whether it was in terms of finances, resources, manpower, military might, intelligence, or emotional capacity... to want to win heart of the miner who had the Explosive Mining skills would be like a dream.

    The only advantage the Silver Hand had was only the fact that they¡¯d met Mr. Felic before the Adventurers Guild did...

    And that was also their only chance.

    If they could rope Mr. Felic into the Silver Hand before the Adventurers Guild, Al¡¯Akir would not be able to snatch him away!

    ¡°Captain Serena, what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Very easy. You just need to give in to whatever request Mr. Felic makes starting from today. Remember, don¡¯t question him.¡±

    ¡°Noted, Captain Serena.¡±

    ...

    At the same time, Lin Li was still venturing into the cave. He waspletely unaware that he had already shocked both a captain and a guild president by his casual act of bombing the mineral vein.

    He¡¯d had no choice, either.

    Who asked him to have met mostly mages, and not miners in the few months since he¡¯d entered the world of Anril? And how would he have known that Explosive Mining¡ªan ancient and unsophisticated skill¡ªwould have such a high standing here?

    Furthermore...

    Even if he knew, Explosive Mining was the technique that was the simplest and most straightforward to him. Why should he restrict himself from using such a technique just because he needed to take care of the feelings of one captain and one guild president?

    It did not make sense for him to adopt the most primitive method of using a metal shovel to dig for ore...

    If he were to know the truth, he would probably holler, ¡°I¡¯m a very busy man, and I have no time to care about your feelings!¡±

    That was right, he was indeed busy.

    Ever since he¡¯d entered the cave, he had been very busy cursing. He had been cursing the people who¡¯d created the map.

    ¡°Goddammit, this is outrageous...¡± Lin Li¡¯s rage grew as he thought about it.<i>Wasn¡¯t the cave asplicated as a spider¡¯s web? How can one simple green line on the map tell me how to navigate?</i>

    Lin Li had felt a sense of foreboding the moment he stepped into the cave. The widework of pathways inside the cave was like a spider¡¯s web. Just looking at all the pathways made Lin Li feel very dizzy. How could he even identify directions?

    After bringing Sean to walk around for many rounds, Lin Li could not even remember where he came from. This made him really feel like crying.

    Damn it!

    He had already wasted a few hours inside of the cave. If that were to continue, it would be midnight if he was able to walk out of the cave.

    They were at the Fire Plume Ridge, where all powerful magical beasts roamed freely. One already had to be extremely careful of them in broad daylight, not to mention in the night. If Lin Li were to meet beasts that they could not defeat, or miss a step and fall into a ravine like Sean, wouldn¡¯t there be big trouble?

    ¡°I will think of a way...¡± Lin Li vowed angrily through his clenched teeth as they moved around the cave. They should not be getting themselves lost again!

    ¡°Mr. Felic...¡± After following Lin Li another round of the same ce, Sean could not contain himself further. He reminded meekly, ¡°I think we passed by here before...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li really felt like killing himself after hearing those words. He had been a hunter famous for his bad sense of direction in the Endless World. If not for his wealth that allowed him to purchase the Guide Light from the unscrupulous merchant, he would have died. How would he have the opportunity to acquire the Stars of Fury to kill the Dragon of Destruction?

    Although he was in Anril, his sense of direction was still as poor as before. Without the Guide Light with him, how was he going to walk out of that horrible cave?

    ¡°Mr. Felic...¡± Just when Lin Li was filled with frustration, Sean called out to him...

    ¡°What is it again...?¡± Lin Li was still thinking of crashing into the wall. When he heard Sean¡¯s voice, he immediately thought that something more terrible happened. While replying, his expression was uglier than crying.

    ¡°I think there¡¯s someone...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li eximed, and instantly became more alert.

    ¡°There¡¯s someone?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and he¡¯s walking towards us...¡±

    Then, Lin Li heard footsteps too. He immediately let out Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Lin Li gasped. After all, he was a level-13 Magical Shooter. Hence, he was much clearer than Sean in terms of making out the movements in his surroundings.

    Through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see there was really a figure walking towards them.

    That person looked around 30 years old. He had a brand-new armor, and carried two axes on his back. In the dark and eerie cave, the weapons emitted a dull blue. Lin Li only need one glimpse to know they were quality magical weapons. From the delicate craftsmanship, Lin Li could tell that the creator had Master-Level qualifications...

    This man had a distinct appearance too. He would not lose out to Sean in terms of his big and tall build. Due to his age, he even looked bolder than Sean. His messy golden hair and big beard that resembled steel needles on top of his hearty expression gave people an impression of a dignified and dauntless man.

    Lin Li could not help but feel a little worried.

    That man was too powerful. He was at least a level-15.

    People at level-15 were no joke. During the few months Lin Li came to Anril, apart from the few old monsters like Macklin and Andoine, he rarely met people above level-15.

    To someone like that warrior, 30 was a golden age. With such a long time to train hisbat skills, he definitely had the opportunity to go beyond the Legendary Level.

    Furthermore, with his two magical weapons, even Gerian might not be his match.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li was still very hesitant about whether he should ask the stranger for help.

    His ability was too strong; it threatened Lin Li.

    Who knew that the man noticed their presence when he was still hesitating.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there? Stop hiding.¡± The six senses of the warrior of at least level-15 were too sharp. It only took Lin Li to draw a gentle breath to expose their hiding spot.

    ¡°Good evening, Mr. Warrior. Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t have evil intentions.¡± Since their whereabouts had been discovered, there was no point hiding anymore. If the man were to think that they had ulterior motives and attack, they would not be his match. Hence, why shouldn¡¯t he make it clear first?

    Lin Li came out of the darkness without hesitation with a smile on his face, and his arms were spread wide to show that he did not have any weapons.

    ¡°Good evening, you two.¡± The warrior nodded, maintaining a courteous attitude. After shifting his gaze from Lin Li to Sean, he became a little shocked. He knew Sean was a warrior, but was naturally surprised with his ability.

    ¡°Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Felic, from the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps. This is my buddy, Sean. How should I address you?¡±

    ¡°You are from Silver Hand?¡± The warrior had a startled look on his angr face. After sizing Lin Li up for a while, his attention stopped at the map in his hands. Then, his wariness transformed into astonishment instantly. He reached out a rough right hand and held Lin Li¡¯s hand passionately. ¡°I¡¯m Andre, nice to meet you both.¡±

    ¡°You recognize this map?¡± Lin Li was sharp to notice the reason for the change in the warrior¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have one with me too.¡± Andre nodded, and reached into his pocket for a simr map. Then, he praised profusely, ¡°I could navigate this area so efficiently these two days thanks to Silver Hand¡¯s map!¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li lifted the corner of his mouth, andughed awkwardly.

    Maybe it was the problem with appearance. While Lin Li and Sean got themselves trapped in the cave, the same map allowed Andre to avoid so many unnecessary pathways. If not for his looks, what could be the reason?

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother Felic, isn¡¯t Silver Hand at the base of the mountains? Why are you here?¡± Andre asked in a concerned tone while patting Lin Li¡¯s shoulder. Since he knew their identity already, he did away with the formalities.

    ¡°Captain Serena gave us a mission.¡±

    ¡°Have youpleted the mission? If not, I could give you some help. Speaking of Serena, it has been long since I¡¯ve met that girl...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯vepleted the mission¡±¡ªLin Li scratched his head awkwardly¡ª¡±but we lost our way...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Andre almost coughed out a mouthful of saliva.

    He would never have thought that someone could be so hrious, getting lost with a map in his hands.

    ¡°If you want tough, go ahead. It¡¯s not the first time, anyway...¡±

    ¡°No, Brother Felic, you have misunderstood. I did not want tough at you, but you are really...¡± Andre took a lot of effort to contain hisughter...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He knew what Andre was thinking.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Brother Felic. You can follow me. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll reach home by dinnertime,¡± Andre replied as he patted his chest as though trying to make up for hisck ofposure.

    ¡°Then I shall thank you, Brother Andre.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee...¡±

    Andre was not bbering. His sense of direction was much better than Lin Li¡¯s. He brought the two men around the cave, and after a few turns, they saw a light shining from afar.

    ¡°Phew...¡± After seeing that spot of light, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. They were finally out of that terrible cave!

    After leaving the cave, Lin Li¡¯s mood got a lot better. Hence, he also had the mood to chat with Andre throughout the journey.

    The topic of the conversation shifted to the two weapons Andre had with him.

    ¡°Haha... You have great interests, Brother Felic. These two double-handed axes are named sh and Darkness Decimator¡ªboth created by yours truly. When I made them, my mentor was so proud of me...¡±

 Chapter 183 - Disciple of the Sword Sage

    <h4>Chapter 183: Disciple of the Sword Sage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Brother Andre has such a delicate craftsmanship!¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t trying to be polite. He genuinely felt that those two axes were rare quality goods in terms of forging method and magical treatment. To him, Andre¡¯s skill in forging was close to the Master-level.

    They chatted from the Fire Plume Ridge to the campsite, and Lin Li got to see the interesting side of him.

    Being at least level-15, Andre was considered one of the best in Fn Kingdom. However, when interacting with Lin Li, he was not arrogant at all. Even though he thought that Lin Li was a low-level warrior, he¡¯d still pat his shoulder while addressing him as ¡°Brother Felic¡±.

    That was no hypocrisy. Lin Li could tell that Andre was treating them sincerely, and not like someone he could make use of. He reminded Lin Li of how Mason patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Felic! As long as you are with me, I¡¯ll ensure you excel in the trial!¡± when he¡¯d reached nna for the first time.

    Sometimes, social interaction could just be so simple.

    ¡°Brother Felic, there¡¯s something I¡¯m not sure if I should say...¡± Andre spoke hesitantly when they reached the base of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    ¡°Brother Andre, speak your mind. You are not the type to hesitate.¡±

    ¡°If you want to earn money, there are many other effortless but high-paying missions I can refer to you after I get back to nna. So, you might want to withdraw from the Fire Plume Ridge mission because I¡¯m scared you¡¯d...¡±

    To ensure he would not embarrass Lin Li, Andre was subtle in his words. Yet, the underlying intention was clear. <i>A level-5 warrior like Lin Li would be seeking death if he stayed at Fire Plume Ridge!</i>

    ¡°If you are scared that little Serena wouldn¡¯t allow it, I can help you convince her. Due to my rtionship with her father, she even needs to address me as ¡®Uncle Andre¡¯ when she sees me...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. <i>What crap is he bbering about? Then shouldn¡¯t Serena address me as uncle too? Do I have to bring her to look at goldfish then?</i>

    Of course, Lin Li knew Andre had good intentions. He smiled at Andre gratefully, but said nothing.

    Andre was not a fool. He knew his warning was futile when he looked at Lin Li¡¯s expression. Andre sighed, and changed the topic to forging.

    He would never have thought that this conversation would be such a great help to him...

    Although it was Andre doing most of the talking, Lin Li gave some critical suggestions too. When Lin Li asked ¡°Why not do that?¡±, Andre would pause and sink into deep thoughts for a very long time.

    Throughout the journey, Andre could not help but admire Lin Li¡¯s innovative ideas, and he was much younger than himself...

    Lin Li was more subtle in his suggestions. At times, he would deliberately make some mistakes in his general knowledge. Despite that, Andre benefited a lot from talking with him. Yet, he did not realize that this man who was much younger than him was that proficient in the art of forging.

    But it was these subtle suggestions that benefited Andre greatly.

    Regardless of how subtle the suggestions were, the fact that they were given by a forging master made them veryprehensive. Lin Li was like a man standing on the peak of a tall mountain, overseeing the entire situation happening below him.

    Andre, on the other hand, was like a confused and lost traveller at the foot of the mountains. Without any pointers, he would never have walked out of the forest.

    If the man at the top of the mountain was willing to reach out to him and show him a way, he would only need a few minutes to walk out of the maze-like forest...

    Sometimes, realms were just so simple.

    Andre was filled with awe when the two men reached the foot of the Fire Plume Ridge. He was too excited from the knowledge he gained from Lin Li. By talking to him, Andre learnt more things than in the past ten years. Now, he had the confidence that he could reach the Master-Level if he put in enough effort.

    And all these achievements were thanks to this brother before him.

    ¡°Brother Felic, you are a true genius!¡± Andre said as he looked Lin Li in the eye.

    Apart from his hesitation when he reminded him not to meddle in the Fire Plume Ridge mission, Lin Li knew that Andre never talked in a roundabout manner. If he were to praise Lin Li as such, he had to be really sincere about it.

    At that moment, Lin Li felt embarrassed. ¡°Brother Andre, you speak too highly of me...¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m notplimenting you.¡± Andre shook his head, and continued gravely, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about your suggestions thoroughly. You are really a genius! Sometimes I wonder where you get this creativity from.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯m usually too free, so I use all my time to think about these meaningless things...¡± Lin Li replied while touching his nose unnaturally.

    What else could he say? Tell Andre that it actually wasn¡¯t any genius thinking but the conclusions he¡¯d learned from much time spent on metalwork that got him from a beginner to a master cksmith?

    ¡°My teacher had told me a long time ago about how some people are natural geniuses; they do not need to study intensively or put in any effort to achieve sesses that seem unachievable to many. Now I¡¯m convinced...¡± Andre shook his head, and pointed to a tent not far away. ¡°Brother Felic, the camp of the Silver Hand is in front. I¡¯ll not apany you there, as I still need to rush back to my teacher.¡±

    ¡°Alright, goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± Andre returned not long after he left. He looked at Lin Li earnestly, and said, ¡°Brother Felic, although this does not sound nice, I would like to tell you that the mission this time is extremely dangerous...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I might not participate in it...¡±

    This time, Lin Li was saying the truth.

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Andre as a smile finally appeared on his face. Then, he pointed to a tent in the distance.

    ¡°I¡¯m living there these two days. If Brother Felic has time, you cane over for a chat! Oh, yes. My teacher is a real Master of Forging, he will be very happy if he sees you.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s time, I¡¯d definitely go over.¡± Since the two camps were not very far from each other, Lin Li did not hesitate in his reply.

    While replying, Lin Li could not help but feel curious about Andre¡¯s teacher.

    Throughout the journey, Andre had mentioned his mentor a couple of times. From his expression of admiration, this mentor had to be someone maleficent¡ªsomeone who was able to nurture a warrior of at least level-15 and knew people close to the master level.

    After parting with Andre, Lin Li slowly walked back to the Silver Hand.

    Time was really wasted when they were trapped in that horrible cave. When Lin Li returned to the camp, it was near midnight. Apart from the crackling campfire, and the soft footsteps of the patrolling warriors, the surroundings werepletely quiet.

    Not long after Lin Li enter the campsite, he saw a familiar figure walking towards him.

    ¡°Mr. Felic, you are finally back...¡± Aragon greeted him.

    As Aragon walked closer to him, Lin Li could clearly see that he was filled with fatigue as though he had not been sleeping for a few days.

    ¡°Aragon, what happened to you? You don¡¯t look good...¡±

    Aragon yawned as he replied, ¡°Nah, I just feel sleepy...¡± He would never tell Lin Li about how Serena sent him to his sentry duty since afternoon when the reason was to wait for those two men in front of him...

    ¡°Oh, then you should go and sleep soon. It¡¯s not good to burn the midnight oil...¡± Lin Li just wanted to return to his tent to rest quickly.

    Although he was able to take a quick nap on the coach for two hours after his encounter the in ckhills Town Inn, what was the use of it? He became so exhausted from the maze-like cave earlier that day. Now that he was back, the only thing he hoped to do was naturally to sleep.

    ¡°Mr. Felic, Mr. Felic, please hold on...¡± Aragon caught up with Lin Li not long after he turned his back.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic, it¡¯s like that... Captain Serena wanted to ask how you want to punish the people from the Bloody Horns who had offended you.¡±

    ¡°How to deal with them?¡± Lin Li nced at Aragon suspiciously. ¡°Didn¡¯t you send them back to the Silver Hand? Furthermore, I don¡¯t intend to do anything to them. If you can¡¯t think of anything for them, you can return them to the Bloody Horns. It¡¯s nothing much anyway.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll do as you say and return them to the Bloody Horns tomorrow, then,¡± Aragon said as he nodded his head. Next, he asked Lin Li about his day again. ¡°Mr. Felic, how was it on the Fire Plume Ridge today? Did you face any trouble? If you need, you can tell us anytime. The members of the Silver Hand are at your service.¡±

    ¡°Apart from the useless map, there wasn¡¯t any problem...¡± While replying, Lin Li could not help but feel uneasy at Aragon¡¯s sudden friendliness.

    The two people conversed randomly until Lin Li reached his tent. While walking with him, Lin Li was weirded out by Aragon¡¯s attitude. The friendliness Aragon showed him was overt, and underlying it was ingratiation. Yet, Lin Li could not find a reasonable excuse for that.

    Never would he have thought that he became the target of the Silver Hand just because his Explosive Mining technique at the Fire Plume Ridge...

    He could not help it, either. No matter how clever he was, he would not have expected that such a low-grade technique would cause the Silver Hand to feel such amazement...

    While he was standing outside the tent, he pointed to the few tents in the distance, and asked, ¡°Aragon, do you know who lives there?¡±

    Aragon looked along the direction of his finger. That was the border of the six big mercenary corps. He could not help but feel suspicious towards the few tents scattered near the foot of the mountains. Aragon replied, ¡°I¡¯m not really sure, either. But it seems like the other mercenary corps...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li nodded, and said no further. He wasn¡¯t hoping for an answer from Aragon.

    Just when Lin Li was about to enter the tent, Aragon suddenly eximed, ¡°I know!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Al¡¯Akir! The tent of President Al¡¯Akir!¡¯ Aragon said in a definite tone with an expression filled with awe and wonder. He was certain that it was not a wild guess. During the day, Captain Serena had mentioned that the Storm Sword Sage was here for the mission too. He was at least 80-percent sure that the President was residing in one of those tents.

    ¡°Al¡¯Akir?¡± Lin Li asked in shock. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li suddenly understood everything. That masculine fe he met in the cave was actually the disciple of the Storm Sword Sage.

    Lin Li stood outside the tent, and finally got curious about the Silver Hand mission.

    It was really a big deal for the Storm Sword Sage toe out personally. He was the President of the Adventurers Guild, and had a lot of duties at hand. What could possibly be the reason that had attracted him here? He remembered that Andre once said that that mission was really really dangerous...

 Chapter 184 - Ruby Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 184: Ruby Eyes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li muttered in his heart after sending Aragon away...

    At first, he really did not expect Andre to be the disciple of Sword Sage of the Storm. Then, what he¡¯d said on the road carried a different meaning. It was obvious that the mission this time was personally issued by the Sword Sage of the Storm. Other than Al¡¯Akir himself, Andre was perhaps the only one who knew the inside story the best. Even he had said that the mission was extremely dangerous; so, this task had to be really dangerous...

    <i>¡®We must get another map tomorrow and make a clean break with this ghost of a mission as soon as possible!¡¯ </i>Lin Li wrapped himself in his sleeping bag. Before going to sleep, he gritted his teeth, and once again cursed the man who drew the map.

    He had been thoroughly exhausted thest two days; Lin Li slept untilte in the morning. When he got out of the tent, the sun had already risen high in the sky. Lin Li squinted and looked at the sky. He was going to look for the deputy head in charge of logistics when, suddenly, he discovered a familiar figure in the distance...

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li was startled by the figure.

    <i>Isn¡¯t that Matthias? What is this fellow doing in the Fire Plume Ridge?</i>

    <i>Weird, how did Matthias be like that... </i>Lin Li took a few looks at Matthias, and then frowned in spite of himself.

    Matthias looked very different from the usual days. He was dressed in a gorgeous silver armor, with a luxurious sword hanging around his waist. His brown hair was carefullybed, and he looked very serious on the whole. He did not seem to be seeking adventure in a ce like the Fire Plume Ridge, but looked like he was going to a grand banquet.

    Behind Matthias was a young mage¡ªwho looked less than 30 years of age¡ªwith ck hair and ruby eyes. He had a handsome face; he wore a ck long robe, and held a magic staff iid with a huge magical crystal that was shining dangerously in the sunlight...

    Yes, it was dangerous.

    The aura from this person made Lin Li feel as if he was being targeted by a venomous snake.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe that there was such a young ace besides those old monsters. This fellow was at least level-16. Maybe even Andre, whom he had just met the day before, was not necessarily the ruby-eyed mage¡¯s opponent.

    Lin Li merely took a nce at them, and then turned into the tent wisely. No kidding¡ªhe was not in a friendly rtionship with Marathon Family. Even an onlooker like Azalez knew that the Marathon Family was nning to kill him. Now that they suddenly met in the Fire Plume Ridge, and that Matthias had brought along a level-16 Archmage with him... if he was recognized by any chance, the trouble that would await him would not be ordinarily big...

    Fortunately, the two of them did not stay for long.

    After Matthias came out of the tent, he hurried away with the ruby-eyed mage. Lin Li watched the two men cross the camp and then go up the carriage; he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

    However, after sighing, Lin Li suddenly remembered that something was wrong...

    Matthias was a mage; why was he wearing an armor?

    And the one who had just passed seemed to be older than Matthias¡ªthere were wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. How could Matthias have wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he was in his twenties?

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not Matthias!¡± Looking at the distant carriage, Lin Li finally recalled what was wrong. This man was definitely not Matthias; his strength was much stronger than Matthias¡¯!

    When they came out of the tent, Lin Li could clearly sense that this person¡¯s strength was not weaker than that of the ruby-eyed mage next to him. The ruby-eyed mage was at least a level-16 Archmage. With Matthias¡¯ magic level, he would not be able to catch up with the former in ten years, not to mention not being any weaker than the ruby-eyed mage.

    <i>Is this fellow Wilhelm? </i>Lin Li thought for a moment, and denied the spection.<i>It doesn¡¯t seem quite right, either...</i>

    Who was Wilhelm? That was the most beloved aristocrat of His Majesty the King, in charge of half of the arms trade in the Fn Kingdom. How could hee to the Fire Plume Ridge so casually with such a status?

    Lin Li pondered for half a day, but still couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.

    He was about to pry into it from Serena when Aragon¡¯s voice came from outside the tent.

    ¡°Good morning, Mr Felic. Are you awake?¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Aragon.¡± Lin Li came out from the tent and saw Aragon standing outside with a respectful expression on his face.

    ¡°Mr Felic, do you have time now?¡±

    ¡°Why, do you have something?¡±

    ¡°Not me. Captain Serena is looking for you. She said that if you are free after you get up, go to the temporarymand post to find her. She has something to talk to you about.¡±

    ¡°Captain Serena is looking for me?¡± Lin Li frowned. He couldn¡¯t really understand what was going on.

    The Silver Hand¡¯s situation was obvious even to the blind. Apart from the idlers such as Hank and Aragon, the others were up to their necks at work. As the captain of the Silver Hand, Serena had treated the temporarymand post as her bedroom. Lin Li saw here out of that ce once in the past two days.

    <i>What is she going to talk to me about when she¡¯s already this busy?</i>

    <i>Talk about saving her life? It doesn¡¯t seem like that. When can¡¯t we talk about it, and why pick the busiest time?</i>

    <i>Could it be to talk about the two fellows just now? </i>Lin Li shivered in astonishment.

    Lin Li entered the big tent with a belly full of doubts. Serena was frowning in front of a map. He had to admit that Serena was beautiful at this time. Her fair hands were sping her small face, and her beautiful brows were furrowed slightly. She looked focused yet calm, unlike the entric woman who¡¯d climbed onto the roof of the inn making threatening gestures back in ckhills Town.

    ¡°Captain Serena, I heard from Aragon that you have something to talk about with me?¡± Lin Li broke the silence while ncing at the map in front of Serena.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s attention was attracted by the map even just ncing at it. It was too detailed¡ªlike an exact reproduction of the real terrain. Even the ghostly cave was marked out with thin lines, giving the correct and urate way to navigate the maze.

    Lin Li gnashed his teeth in anger the more he looked at it. He had to have a talk with the deputy head in charge of logistics sooner orter. He had hidden such a good thing and made him spend most of the day circling in the cave...

    ¡°Good morning, Mr Felic.¡± Serena looked up from the map, and shed a bright smile at Lin Li.

    To be honest, Serena looked really good when she smiled; her eyes resembled crescent moons.

    Unfortunately, most of Lin Li¡¯s thoughts were on that map now, and a small part of his thoughts was also concerned with the ruby-eyed mage and the fake Matthias on the carriage. How did he have the leisure to be concerned with how good-looking the captain was when she smiled?

    ¡°Captain Serena, is something the matter?¡± Lin Li stared at the map on the table without even lifting his eyelids.

    ¡°...¡± Serena couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of anger. What kind of mentality did this guy have? He had been staring at the map as soon as he entered the tent, and he was so brazen about it, not even putting the owner of the map in his eyes. She had prepared her speech for most of the day, and now, she couldn¡¯t even use it. Serena uttered a few words through clenched teeth. ¡°A small matter...¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li nodded, and continued staring at the map on the table as if he had just been talking to a fly buzzing in his ear instead of the beautiful captain of the Silver Hand.

    Serenapletely copsed. She had to change her strategy, and gave up on the idea of letting the fellow initiate the inquiry. ¡°Mr Felic, do you know the Marathon Family?¡±

    ¡°The Marathon Family?¡± As soon as the familiar name came out, Lin Li finally raised his head.

    ¡°Why, Mr Felic knows the Marathon Family?¡± Seeing that everything seemed to be back on the right track, Serena felt somewhat pleased with herself.

    ¡°Heh heh, Captain Serena, you tter me.¡± Lin Li smiled affectedly, but muttered inwardly, <i>My rtionship with the Marathon Family is not only as simple as knowing...</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s a coincidence,¡± said Serena as she¡ªintentionally or not¡ªrolled up the map on the table and took out a picture from below. ¡°This morning, two people from the Marathon Family came to me. They gave me such a picture so that I could help them find the person on it.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li took the portrait, and immediately froze. The ck hair and ck eyes¡ªwasn¡¯t that himself?

    ¡°Why, Mr Felic knows the person on the portrait?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li was grinding his teeth. Things had alreadye to this point; if he still hadn¡¯t made a sense out of it, he¡¯d be having a brain for nothing.

    Azalez was right; once he was out of the shelter of the nna Guild of Magic, the Marathons were bound to take action. But Lin Li really didn¡¯t think that the Marathon Family would invest such a big capital, sending an Archmage in order to deal with himself.

    Moreover, there were six carriages parked outside the camp. Those six carriages could carry over a dozen level-10 characters, and it would be a stinking nuisance to him already...

    It seemed that this trip to the Fire Plume Ridge was far from as easy as he imagined.

    And, Serena was also a trouble...

    She had been beating around the bush for the longest time; he was afraid her purpose was not just a casual chat.

    Serena wanted to beat around the bush, but Lin Li was not in the mood to do so. He did not go around in circles with her, and said straightforwardly, ¡°Captain Serena, if you have something to say, please say it.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Mr Felic, I wonder, what do you think of the Silver Hand?¡± Serenaughed brilliantly because she knew that she had grasped the key to the other party. Although she could not get more information after talking to the two men from the Marathon Family, one thing was certain¡ªthe Marathons would never let this fellow named Felic off.

    Perhaps not many people knew the power of the Marathon Family better than Serena did. The Marathon Family, which owned half of the arms business in Fn, could almost cover the sky with one hand in the Kingdom. Even when His Majesty made a decision, he had to pay the utmost attention to the reaction of the Marathon Family.

    The Marathon Family at present was a monster of power and wealth.

    Other than the nna Guild of Magic, which was a secr power above the world, who else dared to offend the Marathon Family? A level-five warrior, or a high-level miner? In fact, it did not matter what his identity was. Whether it was a level-five warrior or a high-level miner, once the Marathon Family decided to get rid of him, he¡¯d be bound to fall into desperate straits.

    Maybe she was one of the few people who didn¡¯t have to be afraid of the Marathon Family...

    Therefore, Serena was very confident in bringing this high-level miner into the Silver Hand.

    Serena thought her words were clear enough; she was only short of waving her handkerchief like a prostitute on the street, shouting, ¡°Come in and have a rest, Mister. Of the girls here, one is more beautiful than the other. They will surely serve youfortably...¡±

    ¡°The Silver Hand isn¡¯t bad¡± was what she got after a long wait.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Serena¡¯s brilliant smile froze. Was this guy having a problem with his brain or his ears? Shouldn¡¯t he have cried and asked to join the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps, and ask her for asylum? Howe ¡°isn¡¯t bad¡± was all that came out? What did he mean by ¡°isn¡¯t bad¡±?

    ¡°Uh, Mr Felic...¡± Serena hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak clearer so that this fellow would not regretter, while Silver Hand would lose a rare talent. ¡°I heard Aragon said that you are a talent in mining, I wonder if you are interested in joining the Silver Hand?¡±

    ¡°Join a Mercenary Corps?¡± Lin Li deliberated for a moment, but still shook his head. ¡°Sorry, Captain Serena, I currently have no such ns...¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic, you really don¡¯t want to think about it? By the way, the one who came this morning was Gaud from the Marathon Family...¡± After saying that, Serena took another look at Lin Li. Her expression meant: ¡°now you know how bad it is?¡±

    Gaud, Wilhelm¡¯s nephew, was a well-known figure in nna. At an early age, he had the ability to undertake tasks alone. He was also one of Wilhelm¡¯s most trusted aides. At least one-third of the business of Marathon smithy was handled by Gaud himself. And he had a frightening strength¡ªat the age of 28, he possessed a strength of a level-16 warrior. Perhaps he¡¯d be another legendary figure ten yearster.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, but he wanted to ask Serena: ¡°what does Gaud do...?¡±

    It couldn¡¯t be helped¡ªLin Li only came to nna just over a month earlier. In this period, at least a whole month was spent in the Guild of Magic. If not for what Azalez had told him, he wouldn¡¯t even have known about Wilhelm and the Marathon Family, let alone Gaud...

    ¡°...¡± On the other side, Serena wanted to knock her head against the wall. She really wanted to split this guy¡¯s head and see what structure was inside. She had spoken till her mouth was dry, but he merely responded with an ¡°oh¡±. Did he dare give her a warmer response?

    At this time, it suddenly hit Serena that everything that had already returned to the right path seemed to have slipped out of her control once more...

    The fellow in front of her seemed to be really obstinate; he was in a constant state of calmness no matter what she said. It was as if what she had said was not that the Marathon Family wanted his life, but that an acquaintance wanted to invite him to dinner.

    Serena looked at Lin Li with a straight face...

    While Serena hesitated to make herself even clearer, Lin Li had already stood up. ¡°Captain Serena, if there¡¯s nothing else, I would like to go back first.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Captain Serena, can you give me that map?¡±

    ¡°I-I can...¡± Serena stared nkly at Lin Li, and then nkly watched him take the map away. When he disappeared out of the tent, Serena still couldn¡¯t make sense of the situation. <i>Where did this fellow get his guts from? He¡¯s not even afraid of the Marathon Familying after his life...</i>

    When Lin Li returned to his tent, he immediately spread out the map.

    Serena had guessed it wrong this time. How could Lin Li not be scared of two level-16 and above characters? But it was also because of fear that he could not join the Silver Hand.

    From what Serena said, Lin Lin could hear that this beautiful captain shared some friendship with the Marathon Family; however, the problem was that she didn¡¯t understand that the ill rtionship between him and the Marathon Family was not an ordinary one. It was bought with Matthias¡¯ limbs.

    Who was Matthias? He was Wilhelm¡¯s son; could friendship resolve such hatred?

    Now, the only way was to cut the Gordian knot.

    As long as he was fast enough to obtain the ck lotus and then return to nna before them, under the protection of Macklin and Aldwin, even if the Marathon Family was bold enough, they wouldn¡¯t dare to be too hard on him.

    Besides, with the ck lotus in the hands of a pharmaceutics guru, it was still uncertain who¡¯d be the one bothering whom...

    He could just fight it out at worst, and look for the ingredients for the Ephemeral Divinity Potion with a high reward. As long as he could concoct the potion, he could tten a small Marathon Family directly with an instantaneous legendary spell. They were looking for trouble? More like looking for death...

    Lin Li began to study the map in his hands.

    Lin Li was sending his respects to the deputy head in charge of logistics while he studied the map. That man was indeed cheap. He had given him a simplified version of the map. Lin Li didn¡¯t feel much about it initially, butpared with the one he had in his hand, it was a damn sight worse. Lin Li even suspected whether the fellow was deliberately fooling him...

    As a matter of fact, he had wronged the deputy head this time.

    At the beginning, the deputy head had indeed given a simplified map, which only provided the distribution of monsters at the foot of the mountain. Many ces on the mountainside were not marked in detail. For example, the damn cave was only drawn with a line, and no detailed route was given.

    The problem was...

    Lin Li had asked for the map as a level-five warrior. Who would have thought that he would go all the way to the mountainside? What kind of ce was the mountainside of the Fire Plume Ridge? That was where magical beasts above level-10 emerged in endless stream. Even in the Silver Hand, no one would dare to go there alone, let alone a level-five warrior.

    The deputy head thought that the captain¡¯s life savior had only wanted to take a stroll around the foot of the mountain. He didn¡¯t think much about it at that time, so he had chosen an ordinary map to give Lin Li. How could he know that the fellow¡¯s goal was the mountainside?

 Chapter 185 - Legendary Magical Beast

    <h4>Chapter 185: Legendary Magical Beast</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°This reckless fellow...¡± Serena stared at the picture on the table, her eyes greening with anger.

    It was clearly something benefitting both sides, but this guy was quick to avoid it¡ªjust as if he was avoiding the gue. Was it so terrifying to join the Silver Hand? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this guy had saved her life in ckhills Town, Serena wouldn¡¯t bother to meddle in these affairs; this was something of a big risk.

    With Serena¡¯s background, there was really no need to be afraid of the Marathon Family. However, it was one thing not to be afraid, and another thing to be worthwhile or not. Although high-level miners were rare talents, offending the Marathon Family for the sake of a high-level miner was not worth the cost. After all, the Silver Hand was only a mercenary corp, and there were many areas that they had to rely on the Marathon Family. Not to mention other things, at least half of the members¡¯ equipment was bought from the Marathon smithy.

    Serena really wanted to throttle the fellow¡¯s neck and ask, <i>What¡¯s wrong with the Silver Hand? There¡¯s welfare, beauties, and you can even escape the Marathon Family¡¯s persecution with us. How can you refuse so brazenly something that only benefits you and does no harm?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s best for the Marathons to kill this fellow!¡± Serena nailed the portrait indignantly to a wooden board, and then threw flying daggers at it repeatedly.

    Dozens of flying daggers were stuck onto the wooden board. Only then did Serena shout vigorless out of the tent. ¡°Aragon,e in!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your order, Captain Serena?¡± Aragon hurried into the tent, and saw Captain Serena throwing flying daggers at the face of a certain distinguished guest. He felt his scalp tingle all of a sudden...

    ¡°Go and help me get some men and make them release some false information.¡± Serena hurled thest dagger; there was only a ¡°tok¡±, and the daggernded right between the eyebrows of the portrait. After tilting her head and admiring her results in satisfaction, she went on to say, ¡°I don¡¯t care how this news is released. I don¡¯t mind whether you hire an assassin to kill or hire an arsonist to burn the inn. Anyhow, you must let people know that our two distinguished guests have returned to ckhills Town.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡± Aragon withdrew from the tent in cold sweat.

    ¡°This fellow is really a trouble...¡± After watching Aragon leave, Serena rubbed her eyebrows with a pounding head. <i>This is the only way.</i>

    The best way was to get that fellow to join the Silver Hand. In this way, she¡¯d have a reason to shelter him from the Marathon Family. Even if Gaud came personally, she could answer him with a firm voice, saying: <i>He¡¯s a member of the Silver Hand. Why should I hand him over to the Marathon Family? </i>This would put the Marathon Family on the spot, but at least it wouldn¡¯te to an open break in friendship between them.

    Unfortunately, that fellow refused to join them; it put Serena in an exceptionally passive position.

    However, it so happened that the fellow had saved her life in ckhills Town. Serena couldn¡¯t refuse to return such a big favor. Atst, after deliberating it over and over again, she could onlye up with this solution.

    As long as they could fool the Marathon Family, she would use the Gryphon to send this fellow away¡ªfar away from the Fire Plume Ridge. As for the future, he could only resign himself to fate. This was all she could do.

    ***

    The six carriages had just left the Bloody Horns camp. In the luxurious and spacious carriage, Gaud, who resembled Matthias, was reposing his mind with closed eyes. The ruby-eyed mage was sitting next to him; there was a sarcastic smile on his face. ¡°The six major mercenary corps are getting bolder. They actually dare to shelter the mage named Felic.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not surprising. People will naturally do things of interest.¡± Gaud¡¯s eyes were still closed, but he smiled with the same sarcasm.

    This morning, they had visited the six major mercenary corps one by one and inquired about the whereabouts of Felic, but the answers were surprisingly consistent¡ªno one had ever seen or heard of him. Seeing the clues they had gotten from ckhills Town broke off, both of them did not look disappointed at all, butughed, happier than usually.

    To them, this was good news.

    This meant that the search area would be reduced from the Fire Plume Ridge to the six mercenary corps.

    The reason was too simple...

    The Fire Plume Ridge had beenpletely controlled by the six mercenary corps these few days. Even if a mosquito flew by, the captains of the six mercenary corps would surely know of it, let alone two big living people? Unless that Felic could fly, how could all six mercenary corps be unaware of him?

    No one had seen him; no one had heard of him...

    There was only one exnation for it¡ªthat was, someone had to be harboring that Felic in the six mercenary corps.

    ¡°Master Gaud, what should we do next?¡± The ruby-eyed mage¡¯s eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at Gaud. This was the most outstanding figure in the young generation of the Marathon Family. Compared with him, his master, Matthias, was just a blockhead...

    ¡°Argus, don¡¯t ask me everything...¡± Gaud was still squinting slightly, but his smile was helpless. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I only came out to rx; I¡¯m not interested in helping third bro do such childish things...¡±

    ¡°Master Gaud, Sir Wilhelm...¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± At the mention of Wilhelm¡¯s name, Gaud¡¯s face suddenly became stern, and even a little frightened. He abruptly straightened up and looked out of the carriage. Then, he lowered his voice and warned, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Master Gaud.¡±

    ¡°Never say that again. Don¡¯t even think about it. Do you understand?¡± Gaud¡¯s face was still serious. After staring at the ruby-eyed mage for a long time, he sighed resignedly. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll tell you what to do next.¡±

    ¡°You have two things to do. The first thing is to send people to monitor the six mercenary corps and keep an eye on suspicious people. The second thing is to send a man to ckhills Town. If you get any information from there, you will immediately find the person who spread the news and find out who made him spread the news. If I am not mistaken, the person who¡¯s sheltering Felic would find ways to divert our attention. Things will be much easier if we find out who¡¯s trying to divert our attention...¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do it right away.¡± The ruby-eyed mage got out of the carriage. At Gaud¡¯smand, he divided the men he¡¯d brought into several groups, and sent them to the six major mercenary camps and ckhills Town, respectively.

    Gaud sat alone in the carriage, and seemed to feel warm in the palm of his hand. He raised his hand and saw that it was because he had clenched his fist too tight that his fingernails had cut through his palm, and a trace of blood was slowly oozing out along the wound...

    ¡°Wilhelm, some things, you¡¯ll have to give me back sooner orter...¡±

    Lin Li, who was buried in the map, was not at all aware that the Silver Hand and the Marathon Family had made various arrangements aimed at him.

    Yesterday¡¯s lesson was too profound; he studied the map a few dozen times over and over again such that he could remember it with his eyes closed. By about afternoon, the fellow started to be restless, and was itching for action. He called Sean, who was wandering around the camp, and they nned to go to Fire Plume Ridge again.

    But they were stopped before they could get out of the camp.

    ¡°Brother Felic!¡± Andre was driving a carriage, grinning and greeting Lin Li from afar.

    By right, carriages were forbidden in the camp, but this fellow was different. He was a disciple of the Sword Sage of the Storm, and even Serena addressed him ¡°uncle¡±. The three deputy heads were respectful to him. Who¡¯d dare to say a word when he came in with the carriage?

    Lin Li understood at once when he saw the expressions on the deputy heads¡¯ faces. He did not say anything at the moment, and greeted Andre with a smile. ¡°Brother Andre, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Teacher asked me toe out and do something. I happened to pass by here, so I came over to have a talk with you. Come on, get on the carriage first. I have something I want to ask for your help with,¡± Andre said as he enthusiastically invited the two to get on the car, which was so spacious that even when Sean¡ªthe humanoid magical beast¡ªgot in, it didn¡¯t seem to be crowded at all.

    After getting the two of them aboard, Andre drove out of the Silver Hand camp in his carriage. They drove along the foot of the mountain, through the t wilderness, farther and farther towards a remote road...

    As the surroundings became deste, Lin Li poked his head out of the carriage with a smile on his face, and asked, ¡°Brother Andre, speak your mind. By the way, don¡¯t say you need my help, I don¡¯t believe that.¡±

    Lin Li noticed as soon as they left the camp. Andre did note to look for him on the way. Although he stillughed as usual all the way, the whip in his hand was getting heavier and heavier than before, such that there were blood marks on both horses. This only showed that Andre was very anxious. How could he be anxious when he was just dropping by on the way?

    ¡°Brother Felic is meticulous indeed, you could even see that.¡± Andreughed as he pulled the carriage to the side of the road and put the whip down. ¡°Brother Felic, do you remember what I told you yesterday?¡±

    ¡°You mean, don¡¯t get involved in this mission?¡± Lin Li frowned. He had guessed that Andre had looked for him most likely with regards to this matter, and he had guessed it right. However, why didn¡¯t Andre just say it and had to drive him out to such a deste ce?

    The reason for these doubts was not because Lin Li suspected Andre would put him in an unfavorable spot, but mainly because he felt that Andre¡¯s behavior today was somewhat abnormal. With his strength and status, there were not many things that could make him act so strange...

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Andre nodded, and pointed his whip at the top of the hill. ¡°An hourter, the six mercenary corps will go up the hill. They will face a legendary magical beast. Your big brother here doesn¡¯t want you to die, so I¡¯m bringing you out first in case you follow the Silver Hand up to the hill.¡±

 Chapter 186 - Salamander

    <h4>Chapter 186: Smander</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°So exciting?¡± Lin Li got a fright. From the beginning, he¡¯d known that the mission of the six mercenary corps would be extremely dangerous, but he¡¯d never thought it would be this dangerous. What was the concept of legendary magical beasts? They could be said to be at the top of the magical beast food chain. Each had lived for at least hundreds of thousands of years, and their IQ was even higher than that of the vast majority of humans. Their naturally strong body, coupled with the wisdom brought by the passage of time, was an iparably perfectbination.

    Despite also being at the same legendary realm, the probability for a legendary human powerhouse to win against a legendary magical beast would never exceed 30 percent.

    No wonder...

    Lin Li understood at once. No wonder the tyrannical Sword Sage of the Storm had to hire the six mercenary corps.

    However, as this question was resolved, more questions emerged one after another.

    What Lin Li did not understand most was that the strength of the six major mercenary corps was as good as cannon fodder¡¯s in front of the legendary magical beast. Even if the Sword Sage had gathered them, how much of a role could they y? Was he really going to use them as cannon fodder?

    This was impossible...

    The Sword Sage was also the president of the Adventurers Guild. He¡¯d be a toothless tiger after losing the six major mercenary corps. Not to mention other things, the nna Guild of Magic alone could keep the Adventurers Guild from lifting its head. The bet that was due six monthster would also be a piece of waste paper at once.

    Credibility¡ªthat was what a powerhouse had.

    But what could they do if they were not cannon fodder? Confront the legendary magical beast face to face? It seemed a little too fake...

    In addition, Lin Li was most curious about the identity of the legendary magical beast. What kind of legendary magical beast was it to attract such a figure like Sword Sage to take it down at all costs?

    At that moment, Lin Li suddenly heard a rush of trumpets.

    He had stayed with the Silver Hand, and knew that this was the order for the mercenary corps to assemble. And then, he saw the long row of tents in the distance beginning to fold up one by one. From afar, they looked like a paddy field that had been blown by the wind. In the rush of trumpets, Lin Li seemed to hear countless footsteps sounding in the distant ces, and arge group of adventurers wereing out of their tents, sprinting to the ce where the horn sounded.

    This unprecedented task was about to begin...

    ¡°Brother Felic, I have to go. Take my advice and stay here until the mission is over. Then you can return to the Silver Hand,¡± Andre exined hastily, and nned to drive the carriage out of this ce.

    To be honest, Andre¡¯s words touched Lin Li. This was another person who cared about him besides Andoine and Gerian, albeit the way he showed his concern was a little entric. He had lured Lin Li out of the camp with a lie without even asking for his opinion. Nevertheless, Lin Li could sense his good intentions.

    ¡°Wait...¡± However, it was one thing to feel touched. If he did not ask about some things clearly, Lin Li feared he would not be able to sleep at night. ¡°Brother Andre, what on earth is this legendary magical beast you are talking about? I¡¯ve never seen one before. Why don¡¯t you bring me along so that I could see it for myself? Anyway, you¡¯re strong; I won¡¯t be in any danger if I follow you.¡±

    ¡°You want to follow?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes were wide open. ¡°No, no, no. How could youe along? Do you know, it¡¯s the Smander!¡±

    ¡°Smander?¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened, but his face was still. ¡°What¡¯s a Smander?¡±

    ¡°The Smander is... It is... You won¡¯t understand even if I exined it. Anyhow, it¡¯s a very, very powerful magical beast. Brother Felic, listen to me. That¡¯s not the ce where you join in the fun, and you don¡¯t have any special equipment to resist the heat emitted by the Smander. Maybe you¡¯d burned to ashes by the heat before you even got to see it!¡±

    <i>So formidable? </i>Lin Li muttered secretly in his heart. <i>Smander... To think that there is really such a legendary-level fire spirit in the Fire Plume Ridge...</i>

    In a moment, innumerable ideas turned around in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    He was thinking not only of the Smander, but also of the Fire Smandrid under the shelter of the Smander, and the cave in Sean¡¯s memory...

    ording to Sean¡¯s recollection, it was a hot cave with a temperature high enough to bake a living person, and it was so emptypletely different from theplicated, cobweb-like cave that they went to the day before. In the deepest part of the cave, magma slowly flowed through.

    And those ck lotuses grew right next to this magma...

    Lin Li now understood why several ck lotuses could grow in a cave at the same time¡ªit was all because of the legendary fire spirit, the Smander.

    The Smander was no stranger to Lin Li.

    He had encountered one back in the Endless World. But, at that time, he was a Super Hunter with a mythical weapon. Where the arrows of the Stars of Fury pointed, even the most powerful monsters would be turned to ashes.

    But even a Super Hunter with the Stars of Fury had experienced a bitter battle when encountering the Smander. When Lin Li had finally seeded in defeating the magical beast, he was too worn out to even walk. After that, he was reluctant to go deep into ces like volcanoes for a long time¡ªthat was the shadow that the battle had left on him.

    However...

    While the battle had cast a shadow on him, it also left him two precious treasures. The first one was a pair of gloves, which directly raised Lin Li¡¯sbat effectiveness to a higher level; the second one did note into y until today¡ªthat was the fatal weakness of the Smander...

    This weakness was too deadly; if used well, it was not impossible to create miracles even with Lin Li¡¯s current strength.

    But if he wanted to make a miracle, he¡¯d have to go through Andre first. From Andre¡¯s firm expression, it looked like he wasn¡¯t going to let Lin Lie along today.

    Lin Li smiled. If Andre refused to let hime along, he¡¯d just follow behind quietlyter...

    He quit mentioning about joining in, and nodded his head obediently. ¡°Alright, Brother Andre. Go and do what you need to do, we¡¯ll hide here and wait for the event to finish before returning to the Silver Hand.¡±

    How could Andre know what the fellow was plotting in his mind.

    As a matter of fact, not to mention Andre, perhaps no one could guess what Lin Li had in his thoughts.

    Who could imagine a barely level-five warrior rushing excitedly in front of a legendary magical beast? There was a full 15 levels difference between them. It was even inadequate to use ¡°heaven and hell¡± asparison to describe such a difference in level. This could not be called seeking death; this was aplete and thorough madness!

    Even when Lin Li said he wanted toe along earlier on, Andre had only treated it as a joke. Everyone only had one life; without any benefit, who would foolishly give it away?

    How would Andre know that not only was this fellow not joking, he was more serious than anyone else...?

    ¡°Brother Felic, you can rest here. As for other things, I¡¯ll talk to Serena.¡±

    ¡°Then, thank you, Brother Andre.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me. Ha!¡± Andre got on to the carriage. He waved the whip in the air, and a crisp ¡°pa¡± sound followed. The two horses neighed, pulling the carriage with Andre and sped away...

    ¡°Sean, get ready. We should set off too.¡± Lin Li studied the map again before leaving.

    ¡°Mr Felic, are we going too?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°But, Mr Andre seemed to have mentioned some Smander...¡± Sean was somewhat worried; he wasn¡¯t worried about his own safety, but about Mr Felic¡ªthe one that changed his life.

    ¡°Rest assured, the Smander is nothing...¡± Lin Li said brazenly. He slowly rolled up the map in his hand, and stuffed it into his backpack. Then, he took Sean across the t wilderness, along the once-traveled mountain road, and quietly proceeded to the Fire Plume Ridge...

    With the six mercenary corps leading the way in front, the road was much calmer this time. Not to mention magical beasts, they did not even spot a mouse as they walked along the way. It was a smooth journey all the way up to the mountainside. If it weren¡¯t for the rugged mountain road, it would really make it a sightseeing tour.

    ¡°Wait...¡± It was that withered forest before them again, but Lin Li stopped short outside it, for he discovered a pool of blood.

    The blood stretched out from the woods. It was warm and sticky to the touch¡ªwhich meant it should be human blood...

    This puzzled Lin Li. He had just been to the woods yesterday, and he knew nothing better than what was in it. Apart from that Abyss Fiendish Iron mineral vein, there were only trees that lingered on with theirst breath of life; where was the blood from? Surely there wasn¡¯t another magical beast that had appeared out of the blue?

    ¡°Sean, be careful not to make a noise.¡± Lin Li unleashed two Hastening Spells¡ªone for himself and one for Sean. In the meantime, he released a Life Detection Spell, which nicely covered most of the woods.

    Under the coverage of the Life Detection Spell, Lin Li tried his best to lighten his footsteps, and slowly went deep into the forest.

    There were no powerful magical beasts on the way, but the bodies of some adventurers and traces of fierce fighting were found by them. From the emblems on the bodies, it seemed that they were people from all the six major mercenary corps, including two members of the Silver Hand...

    The surroundings were in disorder. There were traces left behind by swords, as well as of bombardment by spells. Arge area of trees was burned; even the bodies on the ground were mostly iplete. From the wounds on them, some were led to their deaths after being torn by some ferocious magical beast, while others were obviously burned to death by fire. They looked like blocks of ck coal from a distance.

    ¡°Firewolves, it¡¯s definitely the Firewolves!¡± This was probably the most dangerous thing in the Fire Plume Ridge besides the Smander. Lin Li vividly remembered reading about it from an Archmage¡¯s adventure diary back in the Omniscient Tower. Firewolf¡ªa level-10 magical beast¡ªhad sharp ws and the speed of wind. They traveled around in packs, forming a pool of brilliant red as if of sunrise. In the Archmage¡¯s adventure diary, this creature once killed nearly half of hispanions in an instant...

 Chapter 187 - Four Black Lotuses

    <h4>Chapter 187: Four ck Lotuses</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The six mercenary corps were indeed strong. Even a terrifying magical beast like the Firewolf had failed to bring them much damage. There were no more than ten corpses on the ground, and most of them were low-level adventurers. The Firewolves came in packs of hundreds, so it could be said to be aplete victory for the mercenary corps in eliminating them with such losses.

    But Lin Li dared not be negligent in the slightest. It wasn¡¯t a good thing that the Firewolves were hanging around the woods. This meant that the magical beasts on the Fire Plume Ridge had been thoroughly enraged by the invaders¡ªthe six mercenary corps. He clearly remembered that there were no traces of life in the woods when he came yesterday afternoon, but today, a pack of Firewolves suddenly appeared here...

    Since the Firewolves could run freely, other magical beasts could also appear in areas where they should not appear...

    The expression on Lin Li¡¯s face was somewhat grave. He took off the crossbow from his back, and carefully loaded it with a vampire fang. Then, he quietly walked through the withered and yellow forest with Sean.

    They were lucky enough to cross the woods quickly. There were two roads ahead of them¡ªone was a maze of the cave, and the other was the road that six mercenary corps had traveled.

    Lin Lin chose to follow behind the six mercenary corps with no hesitation. With them opening the way ahead, it¡¯d be much better than groping alone in the maze of cave.

    The two men quietly followed the six mercenary corps at a distance neither too far nor too close¡ªjust enough to see the battle ahead through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    But, as soon as the Warlock¡¯s Eyes was released, Lin Li was dumbstruck by the sight in the distance...

    It was only three hours since Andre drove away in his carriage. It never urred to Lin Li that the battle would be so intense.

    It was like a meteorite had struck Earth...

    Thousands of members of the six mercenary corps had taken up positions on the mountain teau. At this time, they were like meat grinders running at full speed, twisting all the magical beasts that came at them into meat sauce violently.

    The Silver Storm, the strongest fighting force among the mercenary corps, had been transferred. Arge number of armored warriors stood at the front of the teams. They held thick iron shields, firmly guarding theirrades behind them like a bastion of iron.

    On both sides of the Silver Storm were the berserkers of the Dragon Mercenary Corp. They bared their tangled muscles to the waist; their axes danced like windmills. Many magical beasts did not even have time to pounce on them before they were chopped into meat paste by the whirlwind of hammers. Blood spattered on the berserkers¡¯ bare chests, drawing totems that were full of primitive savagery.

    Arge number of mages was reciting spells; the surging magical waves¡ªlike the waves of the tide¡ªconstantly scoured the swarm of magical beastsing from all directions.

    Lin Li did a count from a distance. This group of mages were perhaps no less than a hundred¡ªthis was probably the strongest magical power that the adventurers had ever been able to gather. The hundred mages were at least above level-eight, including at least 20 Archmages. The staves in their hands gleamed with dazzling splendor. In the deafening roar, endless magical elements surged wildly, and in a split second a bloody storm was brewing.

    The peak of the Fire Plume Ridge was like a pot of boiling water at this moment.

    Countless magical beasts poured in from all directions; each of them carried the scorching breath peculiar to the magical beasts of the Fire Plume Ridge. Innumerable Fire Crows flew by, forming arge red cloud that blotted out the sun. Archers from the six mercenary corps drew their bows and fired their arrows constantly. A dense rain of arrows shot into the sky, instantly tearing a gap in the center of the red cloud. However, it was filled up by even more Fire Crows in an instant...

    The burning Firewolves, like flowing blood, gushed from afar. The shrill howls of the Firewolves sent a tingling sensation down everyone¡¯s spines.

    The magma that used to flow slowly became turbulent at the moment. In the midst of the stormy waves, numerous Fire Smandrids rushed out of the magma. With a flick of their long tails, a rain of fire started pouring from the sky...

    Howls, screams, explosions¡ªseveral sounds reverberated together, wreaking chaos on the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    However, all this had little to do with Lin Li.

    The six mercenary corps hadpletely angered the magical beasts on the Fire Plume Ridge¡ªthis was even a good thing for him. Now was the best time to pick the ck lotus. If he missed this opportunity, who knew how long he¡¯d have to wait for the next one...

    Lin Li recalled the Warlock¡¯s Eyes after taking a hurried nce at the situation in the battle ahead. Then, he turned around, and asked Sean, ¡°Sean, where is the entrance to the cave?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not far ahead. Please follow me, I¡¯ll show you.¡± Sean, clutching the huge sword in both hands, led Lin Li through a rocky wastnd, and then along a rugged path to a dark entrance...

    ¡°This is it, Mr. Felic. It was here that I fellst time.¡±

    Lin Li looked at the hole in front of him. It was pitch-dark inside. When the two of them approached, they could clearly feel a wave of heating from within. Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and did not go straight down. Instead, he picked up a stone from the roadside and dropped it in. It took nearly ten seconds to hear a ¡°plop¡± from the hole.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li was stunned. There was some suspicion in his eyes when he looked back at Sean. ¡°Sean, you jumped in like thatst time?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Sean nodded like it was a natural thing. ¡°I was carrying a backpack, and when I fell, a rock caught the backpack while I was falling, so I didn¡¯t sustain any injuries...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat as he listened. Fortunately, he did not jump in foolishly. Who could have his backpack urately caught by a rock every time? It was better to count on money falling from the sky than to count on such luck.

    Thankfully, Lin Li was a mage...

    A hurried recitation of spell sounded, and two Feather Fall Spells were released.

    One for himself, and one for Sean.

    With the help of the Feather Fall Spell, they fell into the cave like two feathers. When they were in mid-air, Lin Li freely released an Illuminating Spell. It waspletely dark inside; wouldn¡¯t they be in big trouble if the magma just happened to be under their feet when they fell?

    How fortunate...

    They were in good luck. As soon as Lin Li released the Illuminating Spell, he knew that the fall was most likely a safe one because the magma Sean mentioned was still a long way from where the two mennded.

    However, the scene in the cave surprised Lin Li slightly.

    Although he had heard about the cave dozens of times from Sean, Lin Li was still shocked when he saw it for himself. It was simply another world. The boilingva flowed in the distance, and a thick smell of sulfur came with the heat wave. Under the zing temperature, sparks burst in the air from time to time. Lin Li could even smell something charred when hended.

    Under the Illuminating Spell, everything around was dark red¡ªjust like a world on fire.

    As Sean said, the cave was really spacious. At first nce, it was almost the size of two Guilds of Magic. The flowingva was like a surging river. Walking in the cave would only give people the sense of majesty and magnificence, but it would not make anyone feel oppressed at all.

    ¡°I fell herest time too...¡± Sean scratched his head, and pointed to a prominent rock in mid-air. ¡°Look, it¡¯s the rock that caught the backpack.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li looked in the direction of Sean¡¯s finger, and felt a sudden wave of cold sweat. Thed¡¯s luck really surpassed the limits of humans.

    The rock he talked about was about a dozen meters away from the entrance of the cave. The tip of the rock was pointed and sharp. From a distance, it looked like a razor-sharp tusk.

    Falling from such a high ce anding across that rock was an oddity, not to mention that only the backpack was caught on it, and he hadn¡¯t had his back wounded by it. It¡¯d be a pity not trying their luck on lottery tickets...

    ¡°Unfortunately, my backpack doesn¡¯t seem to be there anymore. I picked a lot of herbs and put them in it...¡± Sean mentioned the matter with great enthusiasm. It didn¡¯t seem to ur to him that he had walked around the death¡¯s door back then. After reminiscing for a while, he suddenly remembered the business at hand. ¡°Oh, yes, Mr. Felic, the herb you are looking for seems to be right ahead. Let me show you there.¡±

    Sean was right. The ck lotuses that Lin Li dreamed of were indeed not far ahead.

    In fact, even if Sean did not say so, Lin Li had already found them.

    For Lin Li, who was well-versed in knowledge on herbs, there was no need to look for such a thing as the ck lotus, because it was just like what a famous movie line described: ¡°It (He) was so bright and outstanding; its (his) mncholic eyes and sad beard had betrayed it (him)... <sup>1</sup> ¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s long-cherished ck lotus grew just by the flowingva. From a distance, four ck lotuses the size of a bowl were blooming in a wreath of fire.

    An unparalleled powerful fire magical element was emanating from the four ck lotuses.

    ¡°Four ck lotuses...¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t even control his limbs as he looked at the four ck lotuses. This was what every pharmacist dreamed of. At least 90 percent of them could not obtain a petal even after exhausting their whole life.

    But, at present, four blooming ck lotuses were ced in front of him...

    <i>Calm down, calm down, this is too undignified. I¡¯ve seen the world! </i>Lin Li desperately sucked in his breath, trying to calm himself down. But he had just sucked in the hot air into his lungs when the fellow who told himself to calm down had already plunged himself forward. One of his hand passed through the burning mes, grabbing the root of the ck lotus, and tugged at it hard. In an instant, the ck lotuses, along with the soil, were pulled from the ground...

    Harvesting ck lotus did not require any skills. The only thing worth noting was that it was best to prepare a ce with enough fire magical element when harvesting it; otherwise, the ck lotus would likely wither without the nourishment of fire magical elements.

    The ck lotus petals that Sean got at the beginning lost arge part of their efficacy because there was no ce where the fire magical element was strong enough. Otherwise, with Lin Li¡¯s strength as a pharmaceutics guru, he could definitely concoct something more powerful than the Elixir of the Sages even with a few ck lotus petals.

    To be frank, Lin Li was still unable to create a man-made space full of fire magical element with his current ability. This was a propriety of a legendary-mage. To some extent, this was tantamount to creating a magic field of one¡¯s own. In this field, the creator could even change the rules of magic operation, such as duration...

    However, it didn¡¯t matter. Without the magic field, there was still the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The Ring of Endless Storm was a true artifact. Although Lin Li still did not know what power it possessed, one thing was certain¡ªin the space of the ring, time seemed to be stationary; Lin Li once tried to throw a pocket watch into the Ring of Endless Storm. After a month, he found that the hands were still in their original positions...

    That was probably the reason why a frog couldn¡¯t fit into the Ring of Endless Storm that possessed infinite space. Why? Because frogs were living things; putting them into a space where time stopped flowing vited the basic rules of the world.

    Until the four ck lotuses were put into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t believe that all this was true...

    From the time when he discovered the few petals of ck lotus in Jarrosus until he met Sean and learnt that the Fire Plume Ridge was where he could pick the ck lotus, and then tried every means to get the Fire Smandrid skin¡ªall of this had taken up an uncountable amount of effort and attention from him. But, Lin Li never felt there was anything wrong with it.

    On the contrary, he thought that all of this went without saying. The ck lotus was such a precious herb that it should take so much effort and attention.

    He was even prepared to spend more of them on it aftering to the Fire Plume Ridge...

    However, with the six mercenary corpsing to the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge, everything seemed to be easier all of a sudden.

    With a simple jump and a simple stretch of the hand, the ck lotuses were in the Ring of Endless Storm. It was simply like a dream...

    The feeling of having struck at thin air <sup>2</sup> made Lin Li confused and uneasy.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll leave first.¡± Lin Li nned to leave with Sean after putting the four ck lotuses into the Ring of Endless Storm. The uneasiness hovered in his mind, constantly making him feel that something was not right. With this subconscious sense of crisis, he did not hesitate to believe in his intuition.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Felic, you can¡¯t go back.¡± But, at this time, there was a sudden frivolousughter behind him.

 Chapter 188 - Let Uncle Give You A Shot

    <h4>Chapter 188: Let Uncle Give You A Shot</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li turned around abruptly, and saw a figure in ck robe floating over the cave like a ghost. His blood-red eyes were filled with devilish aura. They were so unique that Lin Li did not even need to look at his face. He knew that this person was one of the two men who¡¯d scared him into hiding in his tent when they visited the Silver Hand camp that morning.

    Lin Li vaguely remembered Serena seemed to have said that this fellow was called Argus or something. It was said that he was a mysterious level-16 mage. The one with him was Wilhelm¡¯s nephew, a warrior who was also level-16.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lin Li remainedposed. While he asked something he knew the answer to, one of his hands quietly reached behind him and clutched the crossbow on his back.

    ¡°My name is Argus, one of Master Matthias¡¯ magic instructors.¡± Argus¡¯s voice was calm, sounding as if he were talking about weather with his old friend.

    But as he spoke, a powerful magical wave continued to emanate from him, making Lin Li feel greatly pressured. It was indeed the strength of a level-16 Archmage. Lin Li could clearly sense that purely in terms of strength, the fellow with ruby eyes might have already surpassed Gerian...

    ¡°Mr Argus, is it? It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. I didn¡¯t expect you were Matthias¡¯ magic instructor. That is great, Mr Argus. Could you please tell Matthias something for me...¡± Lin Li smiled casually as if he had really met an old friend.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    As a trace of doubt shed through Argus¡¯ eyes, the strong aura that emanated from him fluctuated like ripples as well. This slight fluctuation was very short and subtle, but with a keen and iparable mental strength, Lin Li seized the slight fluctuation in an instant. At the same time as the doubt shed through Argus¡¯ eyes, a shrill noise of something breaking the air sounded in his ear.

    ¡°Swish!¡±

    There was only a soft noise. A dark red light ripped the gloom of the cave in a moment. It went straight at Argus¡¯ chest like a venomous snake.

    Still, Argus was a level-16 Archmage. The unexpected strike did not fluster him at all. Argus raised his staff almost at the moment when the dark red light cut through the gloom. A colorful halo shed past him, and a Frost Shield and a me Shield had been propped up at the same time...

    ¡°Funny!¡± Argus showed slight contempt on his face as he faced the dark-red light as it tore through the air. What was a mere crossbow to an Archmage above level-16? What was the point of attacking like this besides provoking him? He didn¡¯t imagine Felic to be this stupid; how dare such a person challenge the Marathon Family? It was ridiculous!

    But in the next moment, Argus could no longerugh...

    The bolt tore the Frost Shield almost instantly without any hindrance¡ªjust like a burning knife cutting through butter. There was a tearing sound, and the solid Frost Shield was split open; the me Shield was exposed in the next instant.

    Argus¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He couldn¡¯tprehend at all¡ªwhy was this bolt so sharp?

    How could he possibly have thought that the bolt Lin Li had fired was actually one made from the fang of a high-level Vampire? With just one blow, it had a great chance of prating even a legendary-mage¡¯s magic field, let alone a small Frost Shield.

    When the Frost Shield was split open, Lin Li seemed to have seen the vampire fang tear open the thinyer of me Shield in the next moment, and then plunging deeply into Argus¡¯ body, sucking up thest power of the level-16 Archmage.

    ¡°ck!¡±

    But then, Lin Li heard a soft crackle.

    Almost immediately after the vampire fang pierced through the me Shield, the magic staff on Argus¡¯ hand was raised at once. Then, a Frost Spear was formed in Argus¡¯s hands. At that instant, it impartially collided into the oing vampire fang...

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li¡¯s face immediately darkened; the ruby-eyed mage¡¯s response far exceeded Lin Li¡¯s estimation.

    Under the circumstances earlier on, even Lin Li had to admit that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it better than the ruby-eyed mage. As the vampire fang pierced through the Frost Shield, what was left for the ruby-eyed mage was only a split second; but, in that split second, he had made the utmostly correct choice. The Frost Spear blocked what Lin Li thought would be the deciding strike.

    ¡°Master Matthias is right. You are very cunning, but, unfortunately...¡± The vampire fang dropped to the ground amidst the sshing ice debris.

    Argus smirked, and slowly lifted the magic staff in his hand. With a long andplicated recitation of spell, a bitter chill filled the air in an instant;rge snowkes circled around the tip of the staff. The bitter chill even overwhelmed the natural heat in the cave.

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± The look on Lin Li¡¯s face changed the moment that the chill diffused. With his present strength, he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the full blow of a level-16 Archmage.

    Argus recited at an amazing speed; it was only in the blink of an eye that he had already finished his spell recitation. Endless chills poured in from the sky, and the magical elements were so immense that Lin Li could hardly breathe. At this point. Lin Li simply had no time to dwell on it. He could only rely on his instinctive response and channel a trace of mana into the Torrent of Elements Ring...

    However, the expression on Lin Li¡¯s face suddenly froze.

    For he clearly saw that it was only a thin icicle after the endless wave of chill...

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± The icicle was swallowed up by the Torrent of Elements in an instant, but what it brought to Lin Li was a feeling of almost despair. The massive magical elements and the long recitation of spell turned out to be all an illusion; the real purpose of it was to make him show the Torrent of Elements Ring. This was a conspiracy through and through!

    As thest chill faded into the channel of elements, Argus¡¯ near-devilish, handsome face revealed a triumphant smile. ¡°It seems that Master Matthias is right, you have a good magic equipment, but, unfortunately, you¡¯ve used it at the wrong time...¡±

    Now that things hade to this point, it was no longer meaningful to y any more tricks. Lin Li took out his Winter Staff from the Ring of Endless Storm as he scolded angrily, ¡°Damn it, did Matthias ever tell you how he was beaten into a moron by me?!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Argus smiled, and slowly descended from the air. It was absolutely unnecessary to use the Levitation Spell in a battle between two mages. Apart from the psychological advantage of amanding position, overlooking the opponent on the ground, the magic at this Archmage level had no significance at all. Unless you could fly faster than spells, the Levitation Spell would only make you a flying target.

    Neither of them spoke. They raised their staves and began to recite their spells almost concurrently.

    On one side, it was a roaring me; on the other, it was a thunder of ice and snow.

    This was a pure power struggle. It was about who was more aggressive and ruthless. The collision of the ming Storm and Ice Storm instantly sent off sparks in the cave.

    Innumerous sparks of fire exploded on the Elemental Shield. Almost every spell made Lin Li shudder in fear. The power of a level-16 Archmage was far beyond his limits. Every sh of the spells would dim the Elemental Shield right away.

    In the meantime, there was not even a sign of weakening on the other party¡¯s me Shield. As their exchange continued, the gap between an Archmage and a Magic Shooter was magnified infinitely.

    This was apletely one-sided battle. From the beginning, Lin Li had fallen into an absolute disadvantage.

    This fellow named Argus was probably the most powerful enemy Lin Li had ever encountered. Even the Lich in the Shadowglen was not as terrifying as this ruby-eyed mage. Argus had attained a frightening level, whether in terms of skill or strength. In Andoine¡¯s words, this was a real mage, with iparable richbat experience that enabled him to deal with any situation with unparalleled uracy and ease of judgment, which also gave Lin Li a severe headache.

    On several asions, Lin Li tried to deceive the other party for a Mana Retroaction. However, what he got in exchange for feigning casting a spell was not an opportunity to reverse the situation, but merciless ridicule from the other side.

    Lin Li could even feel that the other party was not even giving his best.

    It felt like a game of cat and mouse. After the cat caught the mouse, it was not in a hurry to devour it, but instead yed the poor mouse until thetter was hanging at itsst breath¡ªonly then did the cat snap the mouse¡¯s neck.

    Lin Li felt that he was the mouse at present...

    He wanted to figure out a way to be rid of the disadvantageous situation, but the battle was like a whirlpool, constantly dragging him to the depths. The powerlessness made Lin Li feel as if he was entangled by something. No matter how hard he tried, he could not prevent the battle from sliding down to the abyss step by step. The only thing Lin Li could do was to struggle desperately until the moment when he was exhausted of hisst strength...

    The light on the Elemental Shield was getting dimmer and dimmer; Lin Li could already feel that the cooldown was gradually failing to keep up with the speed of the disappearance of the Elemental Shield. At this point in time, he had fallen into a terrible vicious circle.

    Perhaps for the next time, he would be facing the other party¡¯s spell bombardment without the presence of a shield.

    ¡°Are you still struggling? What admirable courage...¡± There seemed to be a perpetual derision in Argus¡¯ smile. Just a few seconds ago, he had used a ming Storm to blow off the other party¡¯s Elemental Shield, and at the same time released two wind des, which swiftly cut through the leather armor made of the Fire Smandrid skin.

    Without the protection of Fire Smandrid leather armor, the toxic heat in the cave immediately struck him like gue. The exposed skin was scorched almost instantly; Lin Li could even hear a sizzle. An excruciating pain assaulted him, and it felt as if he was being cut bit by bit with a knife...

    The high intensity casting of spells had drained thest ray of strength from Lin Li. The severe pain was also a torture for him. When Argus¡¯s voice sounded, Lin Li was ovee by drowsiness as if he were stepping on a mass of cotton. He tried to open his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, the sight in front of him was always a blur. Colors flickered before his eyes as if he were watching an absurd movie.

    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s all over.¡± Argus¡¯ slowly lifted right hand, and a ball of light gradually gathered in the palm of his hand. The mouse was on the verge of copse¡ªit was time to bite its neck.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A dull explosion followed. A dazzling glow gushed from the palm of his hand. The Arcane Missile struck Lin Li firmly on the chest. The heavy sound was like a hefty hammer falling down, causing Lin Li to spit out a mouthful of blood on the spot.

    However, the Lin Li at present seemed to drop silly. Blows after blows of Arcane Missilended on his body, but he did not move at all. He stood there like a target, letting the Arcane Missiles hit him as the dull sounds rang out repeatedly...

    ¡°Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa...¡±

    There was no scream and no angry roar, only a stream of blood from his mouth. After the tenth Arcane Missile fell, Lin Li fell straight on the ground like a puppet.

    Everything in the cave suddenly quieted down. Even the slowly flowingva seemed to be solidified by time...

    Sean looked at Lin Li, who was on the ground, and then at Argus who was in the distance. His tanned face was filled with incredulity. He could not believe that Mr Felic, who had always been omnipotent, would be killed by this ruby-eyed mage.

    ¡°Mr Felic... will you get up?¡± Sean¡¯s voice seemed to tremble. He bent down and tried to lift Lin Li up; but, when he touched him, all he could feel was the hot blood on his hands.

    ¡°He can¡¯t get up.¡± There was an indescribable contentment in Argus¡¯ voice. ¡°He had received ten Arcane Missiles. No one can get up with that.¡±

    ¡°You killed Mr Felic!¡± Sean stood up fiercely; his eyes turned crimson all of a sudden. The green Combat Energy around him burned like a me. He stomped his feet abruptly and flew into the air like a huge bird. The double-edged sword, which had been integrated with the Abyss Fiendish Iron, was held high above his head as he shed down with a heavy sound of breaking the air.

    ¡°Courting death...¡± For a level-16 Archmage, a level-10 warrior was no different from an ant. Argus raised his right hand without even looking at Sean, and another Arcane Missile was fired with a st...

    ¡°Pom!¡± The Arcane Missilended solidly on Sean¡¯s body.

    But with the spattering of a dazzling light, the young man¡ªwho was as stout as a magical beast¡ªdid not fall from the sky like a broken kite as Argus had imagined. His green Combat Energy was still burning, and his double-edged sword was still held high above his head.

    The shadow in the sky was getting closer and closer, and the look on Argus¡¯s face changed atst.

    In haste, he only had time to quickly prop up a Frost Shield.

    What followed was a crisp snap...

    How horrifying Sean¡¯s strength was, and his anger was in full swing. Even if it was a Frost Shield erected by a level-16 Archmage, the ruby-eyed mage still uttered a groan of pain under the powerful and hefty sword. The great sword rubbed against the Frost Shield, sending a sparkle of dazzling fire there and then.

    Sean had torn a crack on the Ice Armor with a hardly sharp sword. The greatsword in his hands drew along the crack and shed past Argus; in an instant, blood spattered from thetter¡¯s shoulders.

    Sprays of bright-colored blood spurt in the sparkling light. In that moment, it was gorgeous.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    The empty cave echoed with bouts of shrill screams. Argus¡¯s blood-red eyes were filled with unbounded hatred. Even the handsome and slightly devilish face waspletely distorted almost instantly, turning extremely hideous in no time at all.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± A session of Arcane Missiles fired from the palm of his hand. Although Sean had the Combat Energy to protect himself so that they could not hurt his body, he was still forced to step back a dozen paces under the continuous impacts. He plunged his great sword into the ground, which barely anchored his retreating figure. Apanied by heavy breathing, a pair of eyes¡ªstill carrying a fervent crimson tinge¡ªstared fixedly at Argus.

    ¡°You must die, bastard!¡± Argus¡¯ voice was hoarse and shrill, like the sound of ss rubbing against each other.

    He raised the staff in his hand abruptly, and a yellow light engulfed Sean at once. It was followed by a hurried recitation, and massive magical elements began to distort violently.

    Under the effects of the Dying Spell, each step Sean took required several times more effort than usual. Nheless, he held the sword tightly in both hands, and though his footsteps were slow, they seemed very firm. As Argus recited the spell, Sean fixed his crimson red eyes on him while approaching him step by step in a slightly clumsy manner.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    All of a sudden, there was a loud explosion overhead. Then, they felt the earth shake as countless small stones fell from the top, stirring up the dust in the cave.

    This sudden loud noise seemed to be the prelude to a great change.

    Violent explosion, rumbling footsteps, and forlorn screams...

    The whole world seemed to be doused with a barrel of gasoline, igniting suddenly. The cave, which was originally hot enough to roast a living person suddenly became immeasurably scorching. Both Argus and Sean felt their weapons heat up at the same time as if they had just been taken out of a zing fire.

    And then...

    With a deafening growl, Argus was so startled that he forgot to recite the spell...

    Although he did not know what the monster was, he sensed a tremendous power from the roar straightaway thanks to the keenness peculiar to an Archmage.

    If Lin Li was there, he would most likely be able to recognize it as the roar of the Smander.

    Faced with this legendary power, even an Archmage like Argus could not help the fear welling in his heart. The first thought that shed through his mind was to flee!

    However...

    It was only a momentter that he suddenly realized¡ªhe could not escape at all.

    With that deafening roar, the whole cave seemed to copse. Whenrge chunks of rock fell from the top of the cave and hit the ground, the dull noise seemed to reverberate in Argus¡¯ heart. There were only clouds of dusts around him, and the sand that covered the sky blocked everyone¡¯s sight. Argus could only hide in blind corners based on his memory.

    He had just taken a few steps forward when he heard something tear through the air behind him.

    He suddenly remembered there was a ck bear with a greatsword trying to fight him with all his might.

    At this moment, Argus really wanted to die.

    If it were other times, even if the ck bear red up, he could never be Argus¡¯ opponent. He could just release a few spells that were above level-10 and easily shatter his Combat Energy.

    But now...

    Now, the cave was like a pot of boiled porridge. Large chunks of rock fell straight down; if no attention was paid to them, one would end up with a split head. It was a scene of rivers and seas tumbling over each other all around. Not to mention reciting a spell in this situation, even if you stopped to catch a breath, you would risk losing your life.

    He could release a few instantaneous spells; but, against a level-10 warrior with Combat Energy, what was the use of instantaneous spells?

    There was no other way; Argus could only run with all his might.

    The earth trembled in the cave; rocks fell from time to time, and a furious ck bear was chasing behind him. For a moment, Argus was unspeakably miserable.

    Argus couldn¡¯t figure what medicine the ck bear had taken. For the sake of hispanion, he could even give up his life. He was determined to kill Argus despite the risk of being hit by the falling rocks.

    ¡°You¡¯re f*cking crazy!¡± Argus spat angrily, and tried to avoid the falling rocks. In the process, he had witnessed at least twice¡ªthe ck bear was basically a madman. He would let the rocks hit him in order toy his sword on Argus!

    ¡°F*ck! Sick!¡±

    In this seemingly heavenly disaster, escaping was harder than leaping to the sky. Besides, the fellow was still badgering him like a madman. <i>Isn¡¯t he afraid of being crushed by the rocks or being burned by theva? </i>Argus nced at the face full of insanity. He really wanted to drop dead.

    ¡°Boom!¡± At that moment, another huge rock fell from overhead.

    Argus felt his scalp go numb as the rock fell. This huge rock was almost as big as a house. When it fell from a distance dozens of meters away from the ground, the dull sound it produced sounded like Mars had hit the Earth. Even the thick walls of the cave were shaking.

    The position where the rock fell nearly made Argus cry; it was not far from the flowingva. The road in front was blocked by the huge rock, and just behind was the blisteringva, so there was no way to retreat. And, in between stood a ck bear with a greatsword... Oh, and a lucky corpse...

    Argus suddenly found himself envying that corpse...

    The body was actually unscathed in this cmity. It wasn¡¯t crushed by the rocks, nor burned by the spattering magma. Ity there quietly as if everything had nothing to do with him.

    Unfortunately, Sean did not give him the chance to envy.

    Just as Argus slowed down, the double-edged sword was once again held high above his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m finished...¡± Seeing that the sword was about toe down, Argus did not even have a ce to retreat. Going forward was naturally needless to say¡ªhe¡¯d be chopped into half by the double-edged sword right away. There was no difference retreating, either. He¡¯d fall into theva, which was probably worse than being split to death by the double-edged sword.

    ¡°Bom!¡±

    However, at this time, there was another muffled boom.

    Perhaps Argus was not destined to die yet. Just as Sean was about to sh down with his sword, a rock the size of a human head suddenly fell, hitting Sean right on his back. Although this did not hurt Sean, it actually knocked him down on the spot, and the double-edged sword fell to the ground with such a ng.

    How could Argus let slip this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Without demur, he kicked the double-edged sword that threatened his life into theva.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see how you¡¯re going to kill me now...¡± Although in despair, Argus couldn¡¯t help but be proud of himself. He was almost driven mad by this ck bear. Now that he finally gained the upper hand, how could he still hold back?

    Unfortunately...

    As he smiled triumphantly, he seemed to have forgotten another thing.

    Other than ws, the magical beast had a mouth full of sharp teeth.

    That was what Sean was doing at present. He did not even look at the double-edged sword that was kicked into theva. There was only a growl from him as he pounced on Argus like a shot...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± As Sean¡¯s figure grew bigger and bigger in sight, the smile on Argus¡¯ face froze. He could only watch the ck bear throw himself on him and send his thick paw on his face...

    ¡°Bom!¡±

    Sean was a real magical beast in human form; how could a mere mage withstand his punches? There was only a muffled thud, and flowers bloomed like kaleidoscope before Argus right on the spot. Countless little stars flickered in front of him as if he was hit by a hammer on his face.

    ¡°Help...¡± Argus shouted in grief. But, as soon as he opened his mouth, his teeth fell out.

    Sean had a hard time seizing this opportunity; who cared if Argus cried out for help? His crimson eyes were overflowing with hatred, and his fists came down incessantly on Argus¡¯ face, like he was hitting a sandbag. It took only a few punches, and Argus¡¯ face was all swollen. At a nce, there were only patches of purple and blue, with smears of blood amidst them. If one were to look particrly at this face, who would have thought that this fellow¡ªwho looked like he was in the dye business¡ªwas actually the handsome and devilish Argus?

    Argus hadpletely given up resistance. Under Sean¡¯s continuous rain of punches, he could only let out bouts of weak groans. A level-16 archmage being forced to this degree¡ªthis one thing alone would be enough for Sean to make a name for himself.

    However, Sean did not care about all this now. He was shrouded in the rage for revenge. There was only one thought left in his mind¡ªhe was going to kill the murderer who¡¯d killed Mr Felic...

    ¡°Sean, take a break first...¡± Perhaps even Argus himself did not expect that the body lying on the ground was the one who would keep him alive for the time being.

    ¡°Mr... Mr Felic?¡± Sean¡¯s fist froze in mid-air. He saw¡ªwith rity¡ªsomeone who should be dead sitting up from the ground in great spirit, speaking to him while spitting something out from his mouth...

    Argus¡ªwho was beaten to the pulp¡ªwas utterly stunned. The fellow who had received ten of his Arcane Missiles actually sat up like someone who waspletely fine.

    ¡°This ck lotus... is motherf*cking bitter...¡± Lin Li spat out a few mouthfuls before he got up, and patted Sean on the shoulder. ¡°Thanks, Sean.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s nothing...¡± Sean scratched his head. There was a tinge of red on his tanned face. ¡°I am your attendant. It¡¯s my responsibility that I failed to protect you.¡±

    ¡°You did great.¡± Lin Li smiled. He turned around and took a look at Argus, who was beaten into a pig head. ¡°If not for you, how would our Mr Argus be beaten into a pig head like this...¡±

    Argus wanted to bang his head on the wall as he listened to this mocking remark.

    Unfortunately...

    He could not even knock himself to death currently. After a fat beating, he felt as if he had been run over by a huge stone. Every bone in his body was broken. Not to mention standing up against the wall, merely blinking his eyes would send a severe paining from the cracks in his bones.

    Moreover, his life was in the hands of these two men now.

    They didn¡¯t even need to lift a finger. They could just leave him in the cave and let him perish in it.

    How would he dare to offend the two of them in such a situation?

    Not only did he not dare to offend, he had to endure the severe pain and squeeze out a pleasant smile on his face.

    This fawning smile fell into Lin Li¡¯s eyes. How could he not know what Argus was thinking? He praised with joy, ¡°Mr Argus is a smart man...¡±

    Just when Argus thought the other party would let him off, he suddenly saw thetter take a bolt out from his pocket... Argus clearly remembered this bolt. When they had exchanged strikes earlier on, this fellow had used a bolt like this to pierce through the Frost Shield with ease, which almost took his life in a right there. If he hadn¡¯t released the Frost Spear, he would have died under this bolt.

    At the thought of the power of the bolt, Argus could not help but tremble with fear. He could not figure out what the man who had just feigned death wanted to do.

    Lin Li did not keep Argus in fear for long. He came up to Argus with the bolt in his hand. He even turned thetter over carefully, trying not to touch the wounds on his body.

    ¡°Hush, don¡¯t be scared. Let uncle give you a shot...¡±

 Chapter 189 - Ravage

    <h4>Chapter 189: Ravage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Argus gaped at the sharp bolt; he realized he couldn¡¯t even cry if he wanted. He couldn¡¯t imagine how a dignified level-16 Archmage like him could end up so miserable. If he could, he would rather not havee to the Fire Plume Ridge by himself, nor send someone to keep watch on the Silver Hand camp.

    Unfortunately, it was toote to say anything...

    Argus was a piece of meat on their chopping board at present; the only thing he could do was to look pitifully at the fellow resurrected from death, hoping that thetter could be gentler with his actionster.

    Lin Li held the vampire fang in his hand, and looked at Argus with ill-intentioned eyes while offering a few hypocritical words offort. ¡°Rx, it won¡¯t hurt much...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Such a look¡ªlike that of a wolf staring at a sheep¡ªmade Argus¡¯ hair stand on ends.

    ¡°Please believe me, it¡¯s just like a mosquito bite!¡± Lin Li¡¯s smile was very light, but there was a violent shake of his wrist, followed by a spatter of blood; the sharp bolt was plunged deep into Argus¡¯ back.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Argus released a feeble scream, but itsted only for a moment, for the sound of the earth shaking covered it up again.

    The fellow who came back to life did not lie¡ªit was really like a mosquito¡¯s bite. Argus did not feel any pain at all; but, what it brought him was fear more unbearable than excruciating pain. When the bolt was plunged into his back, he could feel his back go numb as if he had just been bitten by a venomous snake.

    At the same time, the mana that he took pride in was rapidly leaking along with this numbness...

    The horrifying rate of loss was like the flood that had opened the floodgates, surging outward like a torrential tide. Argusy prone on the ground; his wickedly handsome face turned pale with terror. For a mage, the mana was always the most precious thing. If he had lost the mana that he took pride in, what was the difference between him and a cripple?

    In face of such a tremendous fear, Argus suddenly gained a burst of energy. He began to struggle desperately; but, how was he going topete against Sean in his current state? Almost as soon as he moved, he was stepped on his head by Sean¡¯s foot, and he jumped like a lizard having its tail stepped on.

    Hot mud was stuffed into his mouth, scalding a few blisters in it. However, under the foot of the freak ck bear, Argus could not even resist at all. He could only beat the ground desperately to protest against the shameless abuse of the two guys.

    ¡°Be quiet, Mr Argus. It¡¯s going to be over soon.¡± The mageweath on the vampire fang was shimmering with a faint blue light. Theplex lines on the Mass Energy Ward reflected a glittering translucency under this faint blue light. Plumes of visible halo flowed slowly along the magic circuit. Three magic nodes ran continually, transforming the mana from Argus¡¯ body into energy that could be absorbed by the Mass Energy Ward.

    And this energy, through the Mass Energy Ward, was constantly strengthening the Divinity Metal on the vampire fang...

    Lin Li gently patted Argus on the head, but his eyes were fixed on theplex yet perceivable transformation process. This small bolt was of extraordinary significance to Lin Li¡ªnot only because of the use of the Divinity Metal, but also because it was the first piece of equipment he¡¯d designed after he came to Anril.

    Even for Lin Li, this was apletely new attempt.

    He did not use any ready-made blueprints, nor imitate any known equipment. It was apletely independent design. Everything was only built on theoretical knowledge. Even Lin Li was not sure whether the bolt¡ªmade from a vampire fang and Divinity Metal¡ªwould really be able to achieve the effect he desired...

    The answer came out very soon.

    Argus, who was lying on the ground, was getting weaker by the moment. Lin Li could clearly feel that Argus was losing his mana at an rming speed. The level-16 Archmage, who had just overwhelmed Lin Li with his strength and rendered him powerless, had fallen from the realm of an Archmage.

    And, all this happened in the blink of an eye.

    Perhaps in less than a minute, the level-16 Archmage would be sucked into aplete scrap.

    The fang of a high-level Vampire was no joke.

    ¡°Mr Felic, what¡¯s wrong with him? How...¡± Sean was a level-10 warrior at present. He was far more sensitive to changes in strength than when he¡¯d firste to nna. Moreover, the current Argus was apletely different manpared to a while ago. Even if Sean was slow, he could also sense something from it.

    ¡°This question, eh... it¡¯s veryplicated.¡± Lin Li scratched his head. For a moment, he really didn¡¯t know how to exin it to Sean.

    The process was truly tooplicated...

    It looked simple¡ªit was a mere plunge of the vampire fang, and Argus became a scrapped man. However, the principle behind it could not be covered in two or three words.

    This was definitely impossible in the past.

    Although the fangs of high-level Vampires were powerful, they were not powerful to such a sick extent. Otherwise, the Vampire n would be invincible long ago. Be it the Dragon or the Lich n, they could just suck them dry in one go. Wouldn¡¯t they rebel against the Heaven, then?

    The real reason, in fact, was still because of the fat beating Sean had delivered a while ago.

    A level-16 Archmage was beaten into a pulp by a level-10 warrior¡ªthis was a in humiliation. Even if Argus had a strong mind, he could not stand such a brutal mortification. At this moment, Argus was in his most vulnerable state, both physically and mentally. In particr, he had almostpletely given up on the control of his mana.

    And at this point in time, Lin Li had plunged the bolt into his body.

    The power of the vampire fang, coupled with the channeling of the Mass Energy Ward, ultimately produced this amazing result.

    To be honest, Lin Li was hesitant at the beginning.

    After all, Argus was a level-16 Archmage. In case this bolt failed to produce the desired effect, but instead gave him a chance to fight for a breathing space, it would be a big problem for Lin Li.

    At that time, Lin Li even thought of killing him off and being rid of this menace.

    But, after a short hesitation, Lin Li decided to take the risk.

    Lin Li was afraid of death, so the most intolerable thing for him was someone threatening him with his own life. In order to continue living, he could do many things that others could not do.

    Since the Marathon Family could send the first Argus, then they could send the second, third or even to the nth Argus. Lin Li disliked sitting and waiting for death, nor did he like to simply be crushed to death, so he had to fight back. He had to grasp more chips in his hand, and Argus was undoubtedly the most powerful of these chips.

    Being able to hang around Wilhelm¡¯s nephew and at the same time act as Matthias¡¯ magic instructor... no matter from which aspect, it seemed like his position in the Marathon Family would not be too low.

    At such a delicate time, to be able to gather as much information as possible was certainly what Lin Li needed the most now. Facing a giant like the Marathon Family, the more he knew, the greater his hopes for survival would be.

    Hence, Lin Li chose to risk it.

    A living Argus was much more valuable than a dead Argus.

    The blue light flowing on the bolt made Lin Li heave a strong sigh of relief. This was very crucial for him. In the face of a powerless Argus, Lin Li had countless ways to deal with him. Even if he were a mute, Lin Li had the confidence that he could get Argus to tell him what he wanted to hear. A certain pharmaceutics guru was really good at doing this kind of thing...

    The blue light glowed brighter and brighter. As he watched the level-16 Archmage being left with strength around that of level-10, he abruptly pulled out the bolt.

    ¡°Sean, do you still remember the way?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Sean nodded his head, looking very sure.

    ¡°Very well, you take this fellow with you. Let¡¯s go out first.¡± Lin Li took a bottle of Recovery Potion from his pocket. He grasped Argus¡¯ mouth and poured half of the bottle down. Then, he poured the remaining half on the wound on his back, and helped him stop the bleeding.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Sean nodded his head, and reached out to lift Argus up. The Argus at present was nothing like a level-16 Archmage. His magic strength had fallen below level-10, and his body was bruised all over. Faced with these two guys, he had totally resigned himself to his fate. He was without even the slightest hint of resistance as Sean held him in his arms. He stared nkly at the ceiling with a deadened expression.

    ¡°Boom!¡± However, just then, there was another loud st outside the cave.

    And then, Lin Li seemed to see ripples circle in the gently flowingva before them.

    At first, it looked like ripples caused by stones; but, as the ripples spread, the movements in theva grew bigger and bigger. After that loud noise, theva was even making gurgling sounds as it bubbled. Subsequently, the ground broke, and bits ofva sshed up, making sizzling sounds when it fell on the hot ground.

    Amid the earth-shaking scene akin to the end of the world, theva began to simmer.

    ¡°F*ck, damn it!¡± This spectacr scene fell into Lin Li¡¯s eyes, and immediately gave rise to an ominous feeling.

    If he remembered correctly, there was a type of creature called the Ore Devouring Beast that liked to make its appearance in this way...

    ¡°Run!¡± Lin Li yelled. He pulled Sean with him as he nned to leave this ce.

    But as soon as he moved, he saw the sttering of a monstrous firelight. A lump ofva spurted out, blocking the way of the two men like a wall of fire. An extremely striking red shadow was in the midst of that lump ofva...

 Chapter 190 - Transmigration

    <h4>Chapter 190: Transmigration</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Quick, run!¡± Seeing the sh of red, Lin Li knew it was something ominous. He let out a Dying Spell without further ado, hoping that the low-grade magic could slow down that menacing monster.

    ¡°Freak...¡± Argus gasped under Sean¡¯s arm. At the instant when the red figure shed past, he was so dazed that his face ashened.

    He could not understand why his luck was so bad. <i>Why must the earthquakee at such a timing to cripple me? </i>After much struggling, he barely held onto his dear life. Now, he had to meet an Ore Devouring Beast...

    <i>Oh God, that¡¯s a magical beast of at least level-15!</i>

    Even in top form, he would never dare to provoke it. Now that he could not raise an arm, he was no different from a cripple...

    <i>I¡¯m doomed...</i>

    <i>I¡¯m really doomed...</i>

    Although he¡¯d already fallen to the stage of being carried under someone¡¯s arm, Argus was extremely clear about the ability of both men¡ªone was a level-13 Magic Shooter, while the other a warrior who had just achieved level-10. No matter how fierce they were, they were no match for that Ore Devouring Beast that was at least level-15. The gap was clear¡ªno amount of aggressiveness could cover up for their differences.

    Argus felt that he had been wrongfully treated...

    Lin Li felt even more so!

    Why did that Ore Devouring Beast appear with such an untimely manner? The cave was already shaking due to the tremors... How could he deal with the monster when he did not even have the time to escape from the copsing cave?

    After letting out the Dying Spell, the two of them scurried away.

    ¡°GRRR!¡± The beast growled, shaking off theva from its body, causing hot sparks to rain from the sky.

    Since Lin Li and Sean were wearing armors made from fire smandrids¡¯ skin, they had enough protection. Unlike them, Argus had to suffer excruciating pain under Sean¡¯s arm. He was covered with wounds, and was wearing nothing protective. The sparks thatnded on him were like searing iron...

    ¡°Let me down, you damn sh*t! Quick! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Argus¡¯ shrieks were ear-piercing all throughout the journey. Yet, how would Lin Li care about him in such a critical situation? If he did not see value in Argus¡¯ life, he would tell Sean to dump him already.

    After shaking off theva on its body, the Ore Devouring Beast¡¯s hideous head appeared.

    Lin Li stole a nce behind him, and became more certain about his suspicion. It was definite that there was an Infernal Magic Iron mine below this stream ofva! On top of that, it was most likely a rich mine! Only Ore Devouring Beasts born on rich mines would have such an ominous metallic glow all over them.

    The beast was like a lizard in the chase. It was very agile due to its slender and long body. When it passed by, it was like a streak of red flittering light, covering big distances almost immediately. The Dying Spell had no effect on it. What followed the faint yellow sh was leaping mes.

    ¡°Grrr...¡± There was a series of growls. Rocks that fell from the air were not a threat to it at all. Its slender body was like a fish in water, swimming at fast speed. Its two front legs¡¯ sharp ws were like steel knives slicing through tofu, transforming the falling rocks into powder instantaneously.

    Knowing that the Ore Devouring Beast was closing up on him, Lin Li did not dare to look back. He just grabbed onto his life, and continued to escape from it.

    His only chance to cast his spells was to escape from that cave.

    With the help of the Hastening Spell, the speed of both of them was already very fast. However, the Ore Devouring Beast was speedier than them. When they dashed into a narrow pathway, they were less than 10 metres apart from the beast.

    The road in front got more and more narrow, while the beast got closer and closer. Lin Li could feel the heat from the beast behind him and hear its heavy breath...

    Yet, Lin Li dared not look back. He knew his only chance to survive was in escaping the cave.

    The Ore Devouring Beast was so fast that it was able to pounce onto Lin Li before he could even pass through that narrow passageway. His armor was torn instantly, like a sheet of paper under its sharp ws.

    As Lin Li sensed pain on his back, he felt warm blood gushing out from it.

    ¡°Sh*t...¡± Lin Li panicked amidst the agonizing pain. He had no chance to escape in such a narrow pathway.

    It was toote to distance himself from the Ore Devouring Beast.

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    The thin and long tail of the beastnded harshly on Lin Li¡¯s back like a whip. To him, it felt a bomb. As he flew off due to the impact, a mouthful of fresh blood surged out before he crashed against the firm and hard crag...

    ¡°Mr. Felic, you go first!¡± At the same time, Sean stopped in his tracks. He threw a rock at the beast with one hand while lugging Argus with the other.

    When the Ore Devouring Beast was about to pounce onto Lin Li, the fist-sized fragment smashed onto its head. ¡°Grr...!¡± It cried out in pain.

    ¡°...¡± Argus had never felt so helpless in any situation before. He could not understand why Sean was so foolish to lure the attention of the beast onto himself just to protect Felic. Did he eat the wrong medicine?

    At this moment, Argus really hoped to scream: ¡°F*ck you, that¡¯s a level-15 magical beast! If you want to die, can you not drag me along?¡±

    Yet, why would Sean have the time to be considerate about the feelings of such a passer-by? His left hand was like a pair of metal pincers that mped tightly onto Argus¡¯ neck. He did not even have the time to lift his head to scold him, not to mention that he would loosen his grasp.

    Sean was like a bastion of iron¡ªan impregnable fortress in the middle of the road.

    The Ore Devouring Beast was a little injured by the rock. After shaking its giddy head, its small triangr eyes gave Sean a deadly stare. The hatred and anger within it were like a poisonous snake that was determined to attack. Argus could not help but feel goosebumps on his scalp just by looking at it.

    Under the zing fire, it emitted extremely hot magical waves, an energy special to the fire-attributed Ore Devouring Beasts. Especially for those that had their powers from the Infernal mineral veins, their fire element magic wasparable to that of Archmages of the same level.

    On its long and thin tail that was covered with scales, there was a tiny and flittering me. It was like a small candlelight that could be extinguished at any time. However, it was notforting to Lin Li at all. He knew that it spelled danger¡ªthe Ore Devouring Beast was going to rage. When that me lit up, what waited for Sean would be a terrifying fire element magic.

    ¡°SEAN, RUN!¡±

    At this life and death juncture, the injuries on Lin Li did not matter to him anymore. It was as though he saw the massive mes breathed out by the Ore Devouring Beast turning Sean into ashes instantaneously. He had no choice but to get himself up despite the falling rocks. While struggling to control his mental strength, he unleashed his weakest Mana Retroaction ever...

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    As soon as the Mana Retroaction was unleashed, another sound sted from the top of the cave.

    Aspared to the first two times, it was like the sound of heaven splitting with the earth. At that instant, it pushed the disaster to the climax. Huge boulders tumbled from the top of the cave noisily. Although Lin Li¡¯s two feet were on the ground, he felt that the earth was shaking as though he was standing on a ship.

    That did not exclude the beast that had its deadly stare fixed on Sean. It, too, was stunned by the disastrous situation. Its long and thin tail was still swiping left and right, while that small spark was still flickering. Yet, it did not breath out any fire at all...

    ¡°AROOO...¡± Amidst the continuous falling boulders, there were ear-piercing growls. It was like a bomb that exploded right beside human ears, which left Lin Li with nothing but the sound of buzzing in his ears.

    What followed was a moment of silence...

    Underlying the thunderous shriek was an authoritativemand that silenced the entire world.

    The earth stopped shaking; the boulders stopped tumbling inside the cave; even the me on the tail of the Ore Devouring Beast went out immediately.

    What they were reced with was a ray of colourful light.

    The gorgeous beam drew a perfect curve across the narrow pathway to the three men and the beast. On the other end was a majestic pce surrounded by wild fire. The light was like a huge door which separated two worlds to each end.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li was utterly bbergasted by the multicolored light. He stood rooted to the ground like a puppet and stared nkly. To ascertain that he was not dreaming, he did something very cliche, which was to pinch his thigh.

    ¡°Argh...¡± Lin Li drew a mouthful of cold breath due to the pain on his thigh.

    <i>A-are all these real...?</i>

    Lin Li suddenly felt so confused. <i>Why did the earthquake stop out of a sudden? Is there a different world behind that zing fire? Since I¡¯m in a cave, it can¡¯t be a mirage, right...?</i>

    ¡°GRRR!¡± The Ore Devouring Beast finally lost its patience in the standstill. It dug the soil with its sharp ws, while the series of anxious growls continued.

    The hoarse voice drew Lin Li back to the present. The gorgeous sight actually caused him to forgot the existence of the beast...

    ¡°RUN!¡± Lin Li shouted at Sean. Seeing that the Ore Devouring Beast was about to pounce on them, Lin Li had no time to care about anything else. He sped off like an arrow released from a bow towards the light.

    When the first beam of light shone onto him, Lin Li felt a tinge of warmness. It rose from his right ring finger and spread throughout his body. The warmness waspletely different from the suffocating heat in the cave. Although hot, it was not ufortable. He felt as though he was hugging a small stove in his arms in the cold winter.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡± Stunned, Lin Li could not help but look back. Then, he suddenly realized that the ring finger on his right hand was emitting a blinding beam of red.

    ¡°Torrent of Elements Ring!¡±

    The blinding red glow was as concentrated as fresh blood. Lin Li could even see that the red was spreading with amazing speed.

    At the same time, the Ore Devouring Beast behind him moved. When it pounced towards him, it was like a streak of red light. While Lin Li made his first move, it had already covered an unimaginable distance. Then, as it lifted its hideous head, a ball of fire appeared from its mouth...

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Lin Li eximed as he jumped up into the air. It was toote for him to bring out his Elemental Shield. He could only watch that ball of fire grow brighter in the paws of the beast...

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    The gigantic fireball exploded.

    Lin Li felt as though every piece of his bone shattered when the bomb hit him.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m really doomed...¡±

    Even fools knew the consequences of being hit by an Archmage-level fireball under zero protection. Lin Li closed his eyes in resignation as the pain from his body soared. However, he forced his eyes open immediately again.

    <i>No, I can¡¯t die now!</i>

    Lin Li was not far away from Sean and Argus, who had fainted on the same lush green grass. The light ahead of him was still in a myriad of colors. Through that, Lin Li could see clearly the menacing Ore Devouring Beast leaping towards him at a freakish speed...

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li raised his arms subconsciously over his face. Then, he saw that the beast was lifted by something when it passed through the color spectrum. What followed was an ear-splitting cry from it as it turned into a ball of ashes...

 Chapter 191 - Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 191: Sky Castle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Are you kidding me!?¡± Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat. The Ore Devouring Beast, with the strength of at least level-15, was turned into ashes in an instant. This could almost rival the power of a legendary spell. Lin Li felt his legs turn weak when he recalled passing through the same colorful spectrum earlier on.

    Lin Li stood there with cold sweat in his palms, desperately trying to recall what had happened in that moment... The roar of the Ore Devouring Beast, the burning fireball, the colorful spectrum...

    Oh, yes, yes¡ªand the Torrent of Elements Ring that was dazzling with red light!

    At the thought of this, Lin Li raised his hand in confusion and examined the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand with a strange look. The dark red light still flickered faintly; the scorching heat seemed to have been solidified...

    That was right; it was the Torrent of Elements Ring!

    Lin Li remembered it distinctly¡ªwhen he passed through the colorful spectrum, the red light on the Torrent of Elements Ring seemed to gleam all of a sudden. At that moment, the colorful glow was like a shield; it not only firmly protected himself, but also Sean and Argus, who were beside him.

    Lin Li scratched his head with a sluggish look on his face. There was probably more to the secrets of the Torrent of Elements Ring than he had imagined.

    He could still remember the Lich once said that this was the ring of Osric, the Butcher, back in the Shadowglen. Later, in order to unravel the secret of the ring, Lin Li specially searched for relevant information in the Omniscient Tower, including Osric¡¯s life and the massacre that shocked Anril. However, there was never a single word on or description of the ring.

    To think that this ring had revealed its miraculous nature once again in the Fire Plume Ridge.

    All of them had passed through the colorful spectrum. The Ore Devouring Beast had turned into a mass of ashes; the three living men hade out unscathed. The signs were so obvious that even a fool could see it was definitely rted to the Torrent of Elements Ring.

    As for what the rtionship was, Lin Li was at a loss. All of this was really too bizarre; all the doubts were intertwined in a mess. It was almost impossible to even gather up the threads, let alone to uncover the secrets one by one.

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Just as Lin Li was puzzling over it, he suddenly realized a serious problem. ¡°This hell of a ce. How do we go back?¡±

    The colorful light ahead was still shining, just like a mirage that clearly reflected everything in the cave. But, with the Ore Devouring Beast serving as a warning, he dared not approach this spectrum of death even if he was given a hundred times more courage. That was where a level-15 magical beast was reduced to ashes in a sh. Although he did not encounter any problem previously, who could guarantee that it would be equally safe should he do it again?

    It was not a big deal making a joke. But joking with one¡¯s life seemed to be a little too dumb...

    Lin Li hesitated for a moment, but atst shook his head resignedly. He looked around in the hopes of finding another way.

    It was then that he had the time to take a good look at this ce.

    This was a totally different world, surrounded by green grasnds and bright wildflowers, and there was a beautiful forest farther away. When Lin Li lifted his eyes, he could see a few rabbits hopping out of the woods. All of thisplemented a peaceful and harmonious scene.

    In addition to this harmony and tranquility, mes lit up the sky.

    The green grasnd and the burning fire in the sky were twopletely different scenes, but they were so harmoniously blended together that instead of adding a hint of cruelty to this grasnd, it unexpectedly added some gorgeous colors to the surroundings.

    Lin Li scratched his head. He roughly remembered that he had seen a pce in winding me through the colorful spectrum earlier on in the cave. For a moment, Lin Li was puzzled in spite of himself. Was the me in the distance the ce where the pce was situated?

    ¡°Hey! It¡¯s daybreak. You two guys are still asleep?¡± Lin Li deliberated for a moment, and decided to go and have a look first. But before that, he had to wake up the two guys who were lying on the ground...

    ¡°Hell...¡± Argus staggered up from the grass. He looked up at the distant woods, then at the sky-high fire, and finally his eyes stopped on Lin Li...

    All of this made Argus weep without tears. He felt that no one could be more unlucky than himself in this Fire Plume Ridge. It should be an easy and joyful assassination, but he had implicated himself in it in the end. A level-16 Archmage was beaten into disfigurement by a level-10 warrior, and then he had lost most of his mana. He was probably worse off than a Magic Shooter at present...

    <i>Hell, hell, hell, hell. This is living hell! </i>Argus was depressed mad at the thought of this.

    However, he dared not utter a sound at all. The two fellows before him did not know what sympathy was, especially the one who had died and came back to life. Shivers ran down his spine at the thought of how merciless they were. Argus could sense it clearly when the bolt was plunged into him¡ªif possible, that fellow would not hesitate to plunge the bolt straight into his heart.

    The reason why they kept his life was merely because he had some value...

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lin Li had no time to be concerned with how Argus thought of him. After shooting a re at the fellow, he proceeded to wake Sean up from the ground. ¡°Sean, watch after this fellow. Don¡¯t let him go anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Sean nodded, and carried out Lin Li¡¯s order meticulously.

    It didn¡¯t matter that he was methodistic, but Argus nearly lost his mind...

    For the honest Sean, there was only one way to watch after Argus¡ªthat was to hold him firmly and carry him like a bag of goods on his shoulder. Only in this way could he not run around freely. It would not take much for Sean, who was nearly two meters tall and stronger than a magical beast, but Argus couldn¡¯t even shed a tear if he wanted.

    A level-16 Archmage was carried over the shoulders like a bag of goods¡ªhow was he going to stand before others in the future?

    The three of them... Or it should be, two of them and a bag of goods walked towards the ce on fire.

    As he passed through the green grasnd, Lin Li could clearly feel that as he got closer to the fire, the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand was getting hotter and hotter; it actually felt as if it were roasted by fire at the end.

    This peculiar feeling made Lin Li all the more confused...

    From the Sunset Mountains to the Shadowglen, and then from the Shadowglen to the Fire Plume Ridge, the Torrent of Elements Ring was bing stranger by the time. At the beginning, it only created an element channel that allowed him to win the duel in Daylight Square. However, in the Shadowglen, the Lich had called it the Butcher¡¯s ring. When they arrived at the Fire Plume Ridge, the ring had turned even more restless. There was an unusual breath surrounding it on the whole.

    Lin Li was utterly dumbfounded when the three of them crossed the green grasnd and stood in front of the zing fire. ¡°This, this... could this be the Mountain of Inferno in the myths?¡±

    The verdant grass stretched from the foot to the far end of the horizon. Lin Li looked up and saw a ball of fire burning in the sky, like an infinitely close sun. A blistering heat and powerful magical wave was radiating out unscrupulously from the fire.

    An edifice hovered quietly in the sky.

    ¡°F*ck...¡±

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes violently. He thought he had to have seen it wrong...

    Nothing had changed¡ªthe fire was still burning; the huge building was still floating. It was really a floating edifice.

    Lin Li was dumbstruck by the sudden finding.

    The luxurious and extravagant architectural style was definitely one unique to the Dark Ages. If he remembered correctly, this was probably the legendary Sky Castle¡ªthe peak of the High Elves¡¯ architectural art!

    At the end of the remote Dark Ages, the entire High Elves n fell into a frenzy. Almost all High Elves believed that they were the most perfect of creatures¡ªand that they were living gods. In the legend of the High Elves, the pces of the gods were above the vault of heaven.

    Hence, they made use of their magic civilization, which had been developed to its peak, to create seven floating cities.

    These seven Sky Castles represented the four elements of earth, fire, water, and wind, and the three factions of light, darkness, and chaos. In their legend, the world was made up of these seven rules. Even from the present perspective, these seven Sky Castles could be described as true miracles. The extreme extension of imagination and the perfectbination of architectural and magic art had created these seven unprecedented miracles.

    Unfortunately, the war that happened afterwards destroyed everything.

    Six of the seven Sky Castles had fallen; the only one that was still standing had also retreated into the cracks of time and space with thest warriors of the High Elves in thest battle. There had been no news from them for 1,200 years.

    The day¡¯s experience had gone far beyond the scope of Lin Li¡¯s understanding. Even if he had the ability to foresee the future, he probably would never think that he could see such a fearful thing after a disaster...

    Of course¡ªthis wasn¡¯t a real Sky Castle.

    Compared with the real Sky Castle, this edifice was at most the tip of the iceberg. The seven almost invincible fortresses of war were muchrger than the edifice before them. In the distant dark ages, the Sky Castle was also known as ¡°the castle that never falls¡±. With the support of magic civilization at its peak, one Sky Castle could even destroy a country.

    1,200 yearster, most of the facts had disappeared in the long river of time, but various signs showed that although the coalition forces had won the war back then, they had most likely used some shady means to fight against the seven Sky Castles...

    But one thing was certain. The edifice was essentially the same as the Sky Castle. It was also powered by elemental forces and built with magical materials.

    The burning fire was the power source of this pce. Judging from the blood-red color, the main material of this edifice was probably the Infernal Magic Iron that Lin Li longed for. If Lin Li¡¯s memory served him well, the ze on the roof that was simr to a dragon¡¯s scale was likely polished by the Sun¡¯s Crystal of general size...

    This luxurious architectural style drove Lin Li insane just thinking about it...

    Whether it was the Infernal Magic Iron or the Sun¡¯s Crystal, they were all precious magical materials. But here, they were used as construction materials. Such a huge pce would have consumed enough materials to buy a city if it had been converted into gold coins.

    From what Lin Li saw, ¡°luxurious¡± was no longer adequate to describe it...

    ¡°Hell...¡± Argusy on Sean¡¯s shoulder; his eyes were zed and his expression was dull.

    Although Argus looked ghastly in his current state, he was once a level-16 Archmage. How could he not even know what Lin Li knew? It was possible that he knew better than Lin Li what a floating pce meant.

    Of the three, perhaps only Sean could remain calm¡ªhe did not have any idea about magical materials, let alone what the Sky Castle was. In his eyes, it was probably just a weird building, just like the Emerald Tower in Jarrosus City...

    When Lin Li stood there, the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand was searing; Lin Li even felt this strange ring was struggling desperately to be rid of his control and rush up to the zing fire in the sky. When Lin Li clenched his fist, he could even hear a voice in his heart constantly urging himself, ¡°Go up, go up!¡±

    ¡°Sean, take off your leather armor.¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth fiercely. He decided to go up and see it anyway. If he did not take a look at a pce like this, he was afraid that he would be tortured by curiosity in time toe.

    ¡°Orh!¡± Sean did not question, and took off his leather armor right away, baring his toned muscles.

    Sean tried to take off his gloves as well after handing the leather armor to Lin Li, but was stopped. ¡°No need for the gloves. The leather armor is enough.¡±

    Lin Li took the leather and put it on his back just to hide the spot that was torn by the Ore Devouring Beast.

    The four elements of earth, water, fire and wind could provide the power for the Sky Castle to function. The magnificent pce before them was obviously powered by fire, which was the fruit of the High Elves¡¯ civilization. The magic power contained in it was far beyond ordinary people¡¯s ability to endure.

    Fortunately, Lin Li was wearing Fire Smandrid leather armor. As long as it could cover the area torn off by the Ore Devouring Beast, he could even dive in magma.

    After putting the leather armor on his body, Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and achingly pulled out half of the iplete ck lotus.

    At the sight of the partial ck lotus, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but re at Argus. His bitter and hateful eyes immediately frightened Argus, but he couldn¡¯t understand why this cruel fellow should look at himself with such freakish eyes...

 Chapter 192 - Mj?lnir

    <h4>Chapter 192: Mj?lnir</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Fortunately, Lin Li did not intend to settle the score with him for the time being. After ring at Argus, he pulled out two ss bottles and some strange herbs from his pocket, and began to busy himself.

    However, that was only temporary...

    That was half a ck lotus, not half a ck bread. It put Lin Li¡¯s teeth on edge to think about it. How could he possibly let Argus off easily?

    If this fellow hadn¡¯t pushed him into a corner, how could he have used half a ck lotus? They were in a fierce battle; moreover, the conditions were crude, so there was no supplementary ingredient at all. He could only roughly concoct a bottle of Vibrant Potion using the natural heat of the Fire Plume Ridge.

    Strictly speaking, it couldn¡¯t even be called a potion.

    It was just a mash of Dracaena grass and half a ck lotus, slightly heated up by the natural high temperature in the Fire Plume Ridge and swallowed by Lin Li in one gulp.

    He had no choice¡ªArgus wasing too close on him at that time.

    The power of a level-16 Archmage was something Lin Li could notpete against. In an impasse like this, being able to keep his life was the Heavens having mercy on him; where would he get the time to concoct a bottle of perfect Vibrant Potion?

    <i>Such a waste, such a waste! </i>Lin Li felt his liver ache at the thought of it. This was not concoction of a potion¡ªthis was a crime! Half a ck lotus had produced such a teeny bit of Vibrant Potion; if there was ample time and supplementary ingredients, he could prepare ten bottles of Vibrant Potion with the same ck lotus, and it¡¯d be far more effective than the bit of sus earlier on.

    However, this was the only way. Lin Li had decided to do so from the start of the battle. He had no other choice; the disparity of up to three levels had exceeded Lin Li¡¯s limit. Apart from the Vibrant Potion, which could bring about a short-term magic immunity, Lin Li could not think of any other way to ovee this unequalled strong opponent.

    From the beginning of the battle, Lin Li never thought about defeating Argus with strength. His bet was all on the Vibrant Potion. He seemed to have no ability to fight back, when, in fact, he was doing shady things on the sly. Almost every respite was taken advantage of by Lin Li¡ªhe quietly extracted the sus, used the temperature to heat it, and finally stuffed it into his mouth quietly...

    To be honest, this was probably Lin Li¡¯s most unsessful concoction since he¡¯d be a pharmacist. Half a ck lotus was used to make this pinch of Vibrant Potion, and it was an inferior product, no less. If it were other times, he would have been so embarrassed that he¡¯d bang his head on the wall.

    But it was precisely this inferior product that saved his life.

    If it weren¡¯t for this inferior product, Lin Li would have been killed by the ten Arcane Missiles. How else would he be here alive and kicking at present?

    After ten Arcane Missiles, the oue was already decided.

    Sean¡¯s outburst was just an ident. Even without the earth-shaking disaster and the sudden outburst of Sean, Lin Li still had 100 percent confidence in defeating Argus. The Vibrant Potion would bring about 10 seconds of magic immunity. For a Magic Shooter, 10 seconds could do too much.

    This was the secret of Lin Li¡¯s resurrection. Although Argus was an Archmage, and also dabbled in some knowledge of pharmacy, how could he possibly imagine confronting a pharmaceutics guru?

    Not to mention Argus not being able to imagine what Lin Li had done, perhaps even Andoine would notprehend his actions as well. He could still concoct a potion in the fierce battle and crude environment where he could easily lose his life at any time? Whom was he kidding...?

    Of course, Lin Li had no interest in exining theplicated process even if Argus wanted to know. He secretly took note of the grudge; when he had the time, he¡¯d have to have a good talk with this Mr Argus. Before that, he¡¯d have to concoct the Gliding Potion first...

    The sus of the rootless grass was extracted, which looked somewhat turbid in the sparkling beaker. Lin Li released the ming Hands as he swiftly put several ck lotus petals into the beaker. The whole process was astonishingly fast. As soon as his fingers moved, the turbid sus had boiled up. Almost at the same time, several ck lotus petals fell into it, instantly emitting a hazy white mist.

    Although the Gliding Potion was a guru-grade potion, its preparation process was notplicated at all. The only thing required of it was speed. The rootless grass contained very unstable properties, especially when heated. It might result in failure if he was any slower.

    However, this was not a big problem for Lin Li. A pharmacist who had broken through the realm of a pharmaceutics guru was technically perfect. Even if he had attained the realm of a Divine Smith, he would no longer have much room for improvement. The difference between a guru and a Divine Smithy in the understanding of the essence of pharmaceuticals, not in the superiority of skills.

    A bottle of Gliding Potion could not astound Lin Li at all. He had already finished the bottle of guru-grade potion in a dazzling moment. The sky-blue mist permeated the beaker, looking like a scene in the dreams. The Gliding Potion in the beaker was separated into two parts¡ªone was stored in a ss bottle, and the other was left in the beaker until it was cooled. For a distance of less than 100 meters, half a bottle of Gliding Potion would be sufficient. Using too much was simply a waste.

    When Lin Li poured it into the ss bottle he had prepared long beforehand, Argus waspletely stupefied.

    He couldn¡¯t follow what the fellow was doing. He knew the beaker and the herbs, but what was it about putting the herbs into the beaker and heating them with the ming Hands?

    Argus first squeezed out a somewhat ingratiating smile, and after confirming that Sean would not do anything to him for the time being, asked cautiously, ¡°What... what is he doing?¡±

    ¡°Concocting a potion,¡± replied Sean with a proud expression on his face. Even a dull-witted man like him knew how prestigious it was to be a pharmacist¡¯s attendant.

    ¡°...¡± Argus was bbergasted. If he hadn¡¯t thought that he was a ruined man now, he would have spat on this big lubber.

    <i>F*ck, need you be so insulting? I am a level-16 Archmage at the very least, and have received high education in magic. Although I am a bit wretched now, my IQ is still above average. You¡¯re calling it concoction of a potion just squeezing some sus out into the beaker and heating it with the ming Hands? Then, can I just lie on the ground and say I¡¯ve raped the goddess of the earth?</i>

    <i>This lubber is indeed not in the right mind...</i>

    Argus looked at Sean, and then at Lin Li, who was in the distance. He admired the fact that it was not easy for two madmen to get together...

    And then, he was dumbstruck...

    ... for he suddenly saw that madman called Felic pouring the liquid from the beaker into his mouth.

    ¡°God, he really drank it...¡± Argus was confounded. <i>Is this guy really a fool? </i>He had taken out a few strange herbs and heated them up with the ming Hands, pouring it directly into his mouth. <i>Does he really think he¡¯s some potion master?</i>Meanwhile, there was a slight jubtion in Argus¡¯ heart. <i>Drink it, drink it. It¡¯ll be best if something untoward should happen. Then, I¡¯d have a chance to escape...</i>

    Unfortunately, before he could figure out how to run away, Lin Li had taken flight...

    ¡°Hell...¡±

    Before Argus¡¯ zed eyes, a gust of wind suddenly rose, and then he saw the fellow suspected of mental disorder steering the gust, flying to the zing pce in the sky at an astonishing speed.

    ¡°This, this, this... What¡¯s going on?¡± Argus was so taken aback that he plopped down on the ground and almost went insane on the spot. He rubbed his eyes desperately, trying to prove that his eyes were blurry. <i>Are you kidding me, a flying Magic Shooter!?</i>

    Then, Argus realized that his eyes were not blurred. The insane fellow had turned into a ck spot, andnded gently on the steps of the zing pce...

    Lin Li could feel the extreme temperature even when he was wrapped in twoyers of Fire Smandrid armor. When hended on the steps, he could vividly sense a huge magical wave emanating from the depths of the pce. It was a kind of near-substantive pressure, like a huge rock on his body: no matter how he struggled, he could not straighten his back.

    As soon as Lin Linded on the steps, he knew that things were not looking good. The pressure was so immense that even with the strength of a Magic Shooter, there was no room for resistance at all.

    <i>Bloody hell, something¡¯s weird... </i>Countless thoughts turned in Lin Li¡¯s mind in this instant. He even wanted to leave this ghost of a ce immediately while the effect of Gliding Potion was still there.

    In his moment of hesitation, the Torrent of Elements Ring on his hand gave off a dazzling light all of a sudden.

    Lin Li felt the pressure lift from his body at once when the dazzling light was released. The enormous pressure a while ago promptly softened; although it still could not be resisted, the feeling it brought to Lin Li was totally different. It was full of hostility earlier on, but presently it seemed extremely gentle. He even heard a voiceing from the depths of the pce, constantly calling out to him...

    Subsequently, the bright red door opened without notice.

    A red carpet extended from the depths of the pce until it reached Lin Li¡¯s feet. When he stepped on it with some uneasiness, he felt as if he had stepped on fine silk. The pce was a magnificent sight¡ªthere were pure gold candlesticks, bright silver decorations, and moonstone floor tiles so shiny and smooth that they could even reflect a strand of hair clearly.

    Everything in the pce was full of luxury. When Lin Li walked along the red silk, he felt as if he were in a dream. Such extravagant decorations should not appear in reality at all. Look at the diamonds embedded in the ceiling¡ªfrom a distance, he could only see a patch of glitters, just like stars in the night sky.

    Under the bright starlight, there was something even more dazzling.

    It was a golden hammer. When Lin Li saw it, he knew what was the origin of the pressure he had felt before right away¡ªit was from the golden hammer. The unending magical waves that emanated from it made Lin Li, who was close to the realm of an Archmage, tremble.

    The power contained in it was so powerful that it gave Lin Li a feeling it was no less than the strength of a legendary mage. Whether it was the powerful Macklin or Argus¡ªwho had once put him in despair¡ªit was a difference between a firefly and the sun when put inparison with the hammer.

    Lin Li felt dampness in his palms as he walked towards the hammer stepping on the soft red carpet.

    The hammer was lying there quietly. Lin Li only had to bend down to hold it in his hands...

    ¡°Despicable! Do you have manners or not? How dare you grope others so casually...¡±

    ¡°...¡± At that moment, Lin Li really thought he had encountered a ghost...

    ¡°Why are you spacing out? Aren¡¯t you going to put me down?¡±

    For a moment, Lin Li was wide-eyed and dazed. He stared at the hammer that was desperately struggling in his hand, and after a long while, he stuttered, ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s you who¡¯s talking?¡±

    ¡°Duh!¡± The hammer scoffed as it struggled violently again. ¡°Hey, did you hear me?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I hear you...¡± Lin Li nodded distractedly, but did not loosen his grip at all. Instead, he clutched the hammer tighter in his hand.

    This was probably what it meant by ¡°there are all kinds of fish in the sea¡±...

    Lin Li was totally thrown off bnce. Before picking up the hammer, who would have thought that it could not only jump, but also swear at people? Lin Li was at a loss as he held it in his hand.

    ¡°Hey...¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh. Put you down, right?¡± Lin Li snapped back intoposure after being urged for another time, and he quickly put the hammer down. After a careful deliberation of words, he asked with a cautious look on his face, ¡°Uh... How do I address you? Mr Hammer, or?¡±

    ¡°What Mr Hammer? That sounds awful...¡± Mr Hammer seemed to be in a good mood after being put down. Although there was still some dissatisfaction in his tone, he did not swear. He merely told Lin Li in discontentment, ¡°You can call me Moradin; by the way,d, you look like a human being?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am a human being...¡±

    ¡°Weird. How did a humane here? Aren¡¯t they all hanged by Osric, that moron...¡±

    ¡°O... O what?¡± Lin Li was so startled that he stammered as he talked. ¡°You mean Osric? You know Highlord Osric?¡±

    ¡°Duh...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost bit his tongue when the words reached his ears. ¡°Then, what¡¯s this ce?¡±

    ¡°This is the Eternal Furnace, the private smithy of Osric.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li only felt a constant buzz in his head in that moment.

    He finally remembered...

    There was a story in Osric¡¯s legend. In hister years, the amazing Highlord became interested in forging techniques. So, he sent the Magic Legion to conquer the Dark Iron Dwarves. Countless Dark Iron Dwarves craftsmen were sent to his pce to demonstrate forging techniques day and night. The Highlord had attained the level of the Master of Forging in just a short year.

    There had always been a rumor circting in Anril¡ªOsric, when conquering the Dark Iron Dwarves, also took away the Thor¡¯s Hammer, a sacred relic that the Dwarf n had inherited from generation to generation.

    Moradin... Moradin...

    Didn¡¯t this name mean Mj?lnir¡ªThor¡¯s Hammer¡ªin Khuzdul <sup>1</sup> ?

    Lin Li felt his scalp go numb abruptly as he stared at the bizarre hammer...

 Chapter 193 - Gates of Ashes

    <h4>Chapter 193: Gates of Ashes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Heh heh, now you know...¡± Perhaps it was because Moradin hadn¡¯t spoken to anyone for a long time, but it seemed very excited at present. After triumphantly showing off, he began to engage in a talk with Lin Li. ¡°Oh, yes, how did you get the Brand Of Dusk?¡±

    ¡°Brand Of Dusk?¡± Lin Li paused, looking bewildered. ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell, you don¡¯t have the Brand Of Dusk?¡± Moradin cursed, sounding exasperated. ¡°Then how did you get past the Gates of Ashes?¡±

    ¡°What is the Gates of Ashes...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He was in confusion when he suddenly recalled the moment when he¡¯d passed through the colorful spectrum, and his expression froze. He raised his right hand unbelievably and shed the Torrent of Elements Ring that was shining with a faint light. ¡°The... The Brand Of Dusk you mean, is this...?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes...¡± Moradin uttered a cry of rm as soon as the Torrent of Elements Ring was shed. For a moment, even his words were incoherent. ¡°It¡¯s really with you; the Brand Of Dusk is really with you. Heavens... I am saved, I am saved atst...¡±

    ¡°This thing is important to you?¡± Lin Li looked at Moradin strangely. The bizarre hammer was trembling slightly because it was too excited.

    ¡°Too important!¡± After a long silence, Moradin suddenly said, ¡°Lad, let¡¯s do a deal!¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°The Brand Of Dusk is very important to me. I need to borrow it. Rest assured, you won¡¯t be lending it in vain. In exchange, I can help you get powerful magical equipment.¡± At this point, Moradin asked casually, ¡°By the way, you should be a warrior, right?¡±

    Lin Li took a nce at the Fire Smandrid armor he was wearing, and nodded without a change in countenance. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you will lend me the Brand Of Dusk, I¡¯ll get you a weapon forged by the Dark Iron Dwarves.¡±

    You¡¯re reading on  Thanks!

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li hesitated. It was not that he refused to lend it, but he could not figure out what Moradin wanted to do.

    Moradin was somewhat anxious seeing Lin Li had kept silent for long. ¡°Two magical equipment pieces¡ªone weapon and one armor. This should do now, right?¡±

    ¡°Let me think about it...¡±

    Half an hour passed; Lin Li was still deliberating.

    Moradin was getting impatient. ¡°Hey, have you thought about it?

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush. This is a big matter, I have to think it through...¡± Lin Li had not thought it through, indeed. If it was in the past, he¡¯d have lent the Brand Of Dusk without a second word. It was only a loan, and he did not stand to lose, anyway. In return, he could receive two magical equipment pieces forged by the Dark Iron Dwarves. Such a cost-effective deal wouldn¡¯t always happen.

    However, this time, Lin Li was really hesitant about it.

    The day¡¯s encounter was too strange; whether it was the colorful spectrum or the floating pce in the sky, everything was shrouded in a peculiar aura. Lin Li had to be extra cautious when making decisions like that.

    ¡°Oh, right. Moradin, have you been here for 1,200 years?¡±

    ¡°Mhm, that¡¯s right...¡± When Moradin finished, it suddenly eximed, ¡°Wait, what did you say just now? 1,200 years? You mean, 1,200 years have passed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been 1,200 years since the Dark Ages. Why, don¡¯t you know?¡±

    ¡°Hell... It¡¯s been such a long time.¡± After grumbling for a while, Moradin asked Lin Li curiously, ¡°Is the war over?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s long over. All the High Elves, including Osric, are gone. Now humans rule the world of Anril.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about the Dark Iron Dwarves?¡±

    ¡°There are no Dark Iron Dwarves...¡± Lin Li shook his head, and told Moradin everything he saw in the books. ¡°The Dark Iron Dwarves were exterminated right at the beginning of the war. In Anril, there has not been a living Dark Iron Dwarf for 1,200 years.¡±

    ¡°Strange, before the Magic Legion came, didn¡¯t a group of Dark Iron Dwarves escape? Did Osric also...¡± Moradin¡¯s words sounded like a soliloquy.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this group of Dark Iron Dwarves did not escape from the Magic Legion...¡± Lin Li had not spoken without thinking.

    Everyone knew that the Dark Iron Dwarves were born cksmiths. They had an innate talent for forging. Almost every adult Dark Iron Dwarf could attain a higher tier of mastery in forging. If they really did escape, how could there be no rumors about them in Anril for 1,200 years?

    Even if the talent of these Dark Iron Dwarves were any worse, shouldn¡¯t there be at least dozens of Smithing Masters in these 1,200 years?

    Once there was a cksmith of the mastery level, unless they had been isted from the world for 1,200 years, it was impossible to have no hearsay about them at all. Look at the present nna and you¡¯d know¡ªhow did the Sword Sage of the Storm get his fame in Fn? In addition to his own strength, it wasrgely due to him being a Smithing Master.

    If there were really such a group of Dark Iron Dwarves, when would it be the Marathon Family¡¯s turn to be so arrogant? They¡¯d be crushed by the big group of Smithing Masters long ago.

    ¡°That¡¯s really strange. I clearly remembered they escaped...¡±

    ¡°Maybe they were foundter...¡± Lin Li had little interest in the life and death of the Dark Iron Dwarves, and did not want to go on at it any longer. After a casual mention, he took the topic elsewhere.

    Perhaps it was because Moradin had something to ask from Lin Li, but it had answered all the questions thetter had. Whatever Lin Li asked, as long as Moradin knew the answer, it would give a satisfactory one almost all the time.

    From the conquest of the Dark Iron Dwarves to the establishment of the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li had read most of the stories in books, but how could itpare to hearing from Moradin in person? It was all its personal experience; regardless of the details or the degree of authenticity of the stories, it was far beyond what the books could match.

    Lin Li¡¯s jaw dropped at the mention of all the details from behind the scenes.

    No one knew why Osric was interested in forging, and no one knew why he built the Eternal Furnace. Everything looked like a farce. The Highlord suddenly took interest in studying forging, so there was the tragedy of the Dark Iron Dwarves...

    The Magic Legion rode lightning down from the sky and conquered the Dark Iron Dwarves overnight; at the same time, they took away their sacred relic, the Mj?lnir, that had been passed down for thousands of years.

    At the mention of this, Moradin chuckled impudently. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s fine with me. Anyway, I was only a sacred relic with the Dark Iron Dwarves. It was a good thing following Osric; at least I could have more contact with precious magical metals...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes and thought, <i>This fellow has a gift for betrayal.</i>

    In the years that followed, Moradin dide into contact with innumerable precious magical metals. With Osric¡¯s power and status, he could get almost all the magical metals he wanted, including the Infernal Magic Iron, which Lin Li yearned for.

    Then came the construction of the Eternal Furnace. Moradin followed beside Osric and participated almost in the whole construction process. 1,200 years on, there was probably no one who knew more about the Eternal Furnace than Moradin.

    Lin Li was not wrong. The Eternal Furnace did adopt the technology of the Sky Castle.The magical crystal of a fire dragon provided the source of power for the Eternal Furnace to operate. Theplex mageweaths intertwined, restricting and influencing each other, bringing this purest fire magical element into full y. The whole Eternal Furnace was like a precision machine. Even a hairline mistake might render the whole construction useless.

    The technology used in this process had exceeded the limit of human resources. Even the brilliant Osric couldn¡¯t do it alone. In order to build an Eternal Furnace, he had used up almost all the manpower and material resources in his hands. In just three years, Osric had squandered enough money to buy the whole Fn Kingdom at present.

    ¡°Did you see that corridor in front of you? From there, it takes about 10 minutes to reach the core of the Eternal Furnace. There is a real melting furnace there¡ªno me, no smoke, only the purest fire magical element directly supplied by the dragon¡¯s crystal. The magical metals it produces are almost perfect, and there will never be a trace of impurities in it.

    ¡°Look to your right, there¡¯s a showroom storing all of Osric¡¯s works. To be honest, this bastard was really a genius. The magical equipment he forged were all of the mastery level. Unfortunately, he died too early. If he were to live for a few more years, he could be a Smithing Guru for all one knows.¡±

    ¡°So impressive?¡±

    Lin Li gave a start of surprise. He was about to open the door when he was stopped by Moradin. ¡°Don¡¯t go; you¡¯re out of luck. You came toote, the stuff had been carried away by him 1,200 years ago, including those precious minerals and the mountain of gold.¡±

    ¡°...¡± This time, Lin Li understood.

    Lin Li recalled Gerian telling him about it back in Jarrosus. No one knew what happened, but the Highlord had actually built arge tomb for himself in hister years. Lin Li remembered now that Moradin had mentioned it. The things here were probably moved to the tomb. It was not only a human custom to bury valuables with them...

    ¡°Otherwise, I could give you two of them.¡± Moradin finally lost his patience as he spoke. ¡°Hey, I say, have you thought it through or not? Can you at least give me a reply¡ªare you going to lend me the Brand Of Dusk? I won¡¯t treat you unfairly; you could get two powerful pieces of magical equipment in exchange. You had better think carefully. These were forged by the Dark Iron Dwarves. Don¡¯t regret missing this opportunity in the future!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem lending it to you, but I¡¯m not interested in magical equipment...¡±

    ¡°Then, what are you interested in?¡±

    Lin Li was waiting for this sentence. He chuckled, and finally revealed his purpose. ¡°Hehe, to tell you frankly, I am very interested in the magical crystal of the fire dragon. If you can get it for me, not to mention lending you the Brand Of Dusk, I can even give it to you...¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do!¡± Moradin gave up, and firmly rejected Lin Li. ¡°The magical crystal of the fire dragon is not only the source of power for the Eternal Furnace, but also maintains the operation of the entire World of Void. Without it, the World of Void will copse immediately. By then, not only the Eternal Furnace will disappear, I¡¯m afraid you and I...¡±

    ¡°What World of Void?¡± Lin Li was confounded.

    ¡°Hell...¡± Moradin cursed, and its tone was not without frustration. ¡°Did you not notice that this is not the original world at all?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Moradin¡¯s words finally reminded Lin Li of a possibility. For a while, his face turned white in horror, and he swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. ¡°You... you mean to say, the location of the Eternal Furnace is actually within a certain dimensional space?¡±

    ¡°Duh...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li almost lost his mind. ¡°Then, how do I get out?¡±

    ¡°Hng, you¡¯ll have to depend on me!¡±

    ¡°Depend on you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Lend me the Brand Of Dusk, and I will have the means to bring you out of here.¡±

    ¡°For real or not...¡± Lin Li nced at it with some doubt in his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth, the Brand Of Dusk is the key to the Gates of Ashes. Only by grasping this key can we move freely between the two worlds. Otherwise, you will be burned to ashes right away by the Gates of Ashes.¡±

    ¡°Gates of Ashes...¡± At this, Lin Li recalled the colorful spectrum again, and his face turned pale for a moment. ¡°Is the Gates of Ashes you mentioned a colorful spectrum?¡±

    ¡°Have you seen its power?¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Lin Li nodded. He did witness the power of the Gates of Ashes. A level-15 magical beast was turned into ashes in an instant¡ªsuch a power was at least of the Legendary-level.

    ¡°Great that you¡¯ve seen it. Now, you should have thought it through?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded obediently, and then uttered something that almost angered Moradin to death. ¡°I¡¯ve decided not to lend.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Moradin was so angry it almost jumped. ¡°Damn you,d, you¡¯re taking me for a ride?!¡±

    ¡°You can lie to me for half a day, why can¡¯t I take you for a ride? You¡¯d better give me a good reason...¡±

    ¡°How did I lie to you?¡± Although Moradin¡¯s tone was strong, there was a hint of guilt in its voice.

    ¡°How did you lie?¡± Lin Li slowly bent down, and took Moradin in his hand again. ¡°Indeed, the Brand Of Dusk is the key to the Gates of Ashes. But you¡¯re not simply trying to pass the Gates of Ashes by borrowing the Brand Of Dusk from me, right?¡±

    ¡°I...¡±

 Chapter 194 - Trading Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 194: Trading Spirit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you something...¡± Lin Li held the hammer, and smiled as if he was up to no good. ¡°Other than being an ipetent warrior, I am also a cksmith. You know what is a cksmith, right? So, I advise you to be more honest. If you were to piss me off, I will throw you into the furnace and see if the legendary Mj?lnir can be melted.¡±

    After Lin Li finished his sentence, the hammer in his hand stopped struggling. After a while, Lin Li then heard a hoarse voice. ¡°You... What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Your origins.¡± Lin Li grinned after speaking, and kindly reminded, ¡°Take note¡ªyour true origins, not some damned Mj?lnir¡¯s. I really don¡¯t know what you are thinking... Do you not know how to look in the mirror before pretending to be Mj?lnir? Look at yourself, you are so dirty. It¡¯s worse than those prostitutes that have worked for tens of years. You still dare to call yourself a relic of the Dark Iron Dwarves? Do you have no shame?

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, enough nonsense. Just be more honest, I am not that patient...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I am not the relic...¡± After being silent for awhile, the hammer finally spoke, ¡°I am just a trapped soul¡±

    ¡°Mmm.¡± Lin Li nodded, signalling it to continue.

    ¡°There is one thing that I need to rify. With regards to the Brand of Dusk on your hand, I really wanted to borrow it only. I have no ill intentions.¡± This time the hammer started to be honest maybe because it was scared of being thrown into the furnace. Before answering Lin Li¡¯s question, it did not forget to justify itself. ¡± My origin is a very long story, and it has nothing much to do with this issue. If you really want to know, I can tell you onest time. Before this, you can call me Connoris. This was my name before I got killed by Osric.¡±

    ¡°Ok then, Connoris. First tell me, what is your goal for wanting this Brand of Dusk?¡±

    ¡°I need it to control the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°It can control the Eternal Furnace?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you should know of the history of the Brand of Dust. It belongs to Highlord Osric. As far as I know, this ring had never left his side when he was alive. Even though it has been 1200 years, it still contains a sliver of Osric¡¯s mental strength. In a certain way, it can be said that it is the inheritance of the highlords¡¯s mental brand. This is also the reason why you could pass through the Gates of Ashes unscathed.

    ¡°That sliver of mental strength is still around?¡± Lin Li was a little suspicious. He remembered that before the battle with Cromwell, he had fused with a Spiritual Brand, which resulted in understanding the ring¡¯s secret. Logically speaking, magical equipment should not have two spiritual brands. Otherwise, there would beplications... just like with adultery.

    ¡°Are you trying to say that you¡¯ve also left your own spiritual branding on it as well?¡± Connoris did not answer directly, but instead questioned Lin Li back.

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t actually contradictious. If I am not mistaken, what you have is just an iplete Brand Of Dusk, and you only have small part of its strength in your grasp. Osric¡¯s spiritual brand is still asleep within the Brand Of Dusk. Otherwise, your strength wouldn¡¯t degrade to this state. It is unassuming to say that being able to control the power of the Brand Of Dusk would be equivalent to being another Osric!¡±

    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s that strong?¡±

    With Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li almost bit his tongue. Back then, in the Nightmare Mountains, Lin Li already knew that it was formidable magical equipment, but he dared not imagine that this thing was actually this strong. What was it like to be another Osric? He was a person that could go against seven legendary powerhouses alone and stille out on top. If this power were to be obtained, it would not be a fantasy to make a clean sweep of the Fn Kingdom with just the wave of a hand.

    ¡°I know you do not believe it, but the truth is that it really is that strong. Honestly speaking, I died to the power of the Brand Of Dusk 1200 years ago.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this.¡± Connoris seemed to be feeling down after getting to this point as it probably invoked sad memories. After being silent for awhile, he continued speaking. ¡°Actually, this is also the reason why I want to borrow this Brand Of Dusk from you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It can release me from this damned hammer and also give me a new body at the same time.¡±

    ¡°A new body?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Connoris voice felt somewhat pleased. ¡°Let me tell you now, this is a real secret. Other than Osric, only I know about it. After my soul has been trapped for tens of years, I have somewhat seen everything that Osric had done. Furthermore, he was not weary of me. Sometimes, he would even tell me his thoughts, and this secret is what Osric told me himself.¡±

    Lin Li subconsciously held his breath. He believed that he was going to hear a world-shaking secret.

    ¡°The real Eternal Furnace is not used for forging, but for creating lives...¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Lin Li almost spat out his saliva.

    ¡°How much do you understand about the High Elves?¡± Connoris still replied with a question.

    ¡°High Elves?¡± Lin Li was questioned till he was baffled. He tried recalling for a long while before he could regurgitate what he had read from the books. He even added on a few of his own points. This discussionsted for about ten minutes.

    ¡°These lunatics, they thought that they are gods.¡± Finally, Lin Li concluded with this sentence.

    ¡°That¡¯s why the Eternal Furnace came about.¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was calm.

    Lin Li swallowed his saliva hard. ¡°Are you trying to tell me that the reason for Osric creating the Eternal Furnace is to prove that he is a god?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re correct.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s mad...¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t crazy.¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was resonant, but it was abnormally affirmative. ¡°Indeed, the twilight years of Osric did see many unthinkable things. Killing tens of thousands of humans in a night. Dominating the Dark Iron Dwarves due to a spur in interest and building a gigantic mausoleum for himself. But, I can confidently tell you that Osric was not crazy. It was the opposite¡ªhe was more sober than ever during his twilight years. Do you know why he killed those hundreds of thousands of humans?¡±

    ¡°How would I know...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, <i>I am a normal person, how could Iprehend what a monster like Osric was thinking?</i>

    ¡°It was because creating life needed arge sample of souls.¡±

    ¡°Monster...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, he was indeed a monster,¡± Connoris excitedly scolded, but then he sighed. ¡°But you have to admit that Osric was not a normal freak. Even I thought that creating life was impossible at that point of time. But nobody would have thought that Osric would almost seed within 10 years...¡±

    Lin Li frowned. ¡°Why was it almost?¡±

    ¡°Because, strictly speaking, the things he created cannot be called Life...¡±

    ¡°What did he create?¡±

    ¡°I am not sure what it was as well...¡± Connoris¡¯ answer was mysterious. ¡°I only know that after failing, Osric had neuroticism. He often experienced an episode of mania mysteriously. Many an important member of the Magic Legion was killed by him during that period. After he cooled down, Osric would kneel down in front of the bodies to repent in regret. When he was in regret, the sentence he said the most was ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s not that I want it to be this way. But, but he is returning soon...¡±

    ¡°The ¡®he¡¯ that Osric was referring to, who is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Osric never mentioned it before. I only remember that after failing in creating life, Osric seemed to have changed into a different person, madly plundering the riches of other races and using them to build the enormous mausoleum. You¡¯ve heard of that mausoleum, right? During the years of building the mausoleum, hundreds of thousands people perished. The books of humans should have the records...

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

    ¡°So, do you have any interest in that mausoleum?¡± Connoris was indeed a monster that had lived with Osric for hundreds of years. He had not forgotten to tempt Lin Li. ¡°If you are interested, I can give you some clues in exchange for the Brand Of Dusk. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Lin Li angrily replied. This fe made him angry, yet he found it funny. How long had it been, and he had not forgotten to tempt him.

    Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to tempt. Lin Li knew how much he himself was worth. Was the mausoleum of the highlord somewhere that people could just casually enter? Without the power of the Guild of Magic or the Adventurers Guild, there was no need to think about it. All sorts of machines and traps, and maybe countless curses, were waiting...

    <i>Furthermore, what could a few clues do? If I want clues, I will go look for Macklin. What¡¯s the point in exchanging with you?</i>

    ¡°How unfortunate...¡± Connoris was not dejected after failing in tempting; he just started speaking to himself. ¡°On the day that the mausoleum was built, Osric came to the Eternal Furnace for onest time. I saw with my own eyes that he used the Earth Element Essence, a pile of steel, and a mageweath that was soplicated that it was unparalleled to create something that was close to life.¡±

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°This thing...¡± Connoris hesitated for a moment. ¡°I am also not sure how to describe it. In short, it is just something weird. It had no thoughts or soul, just pure primitive instincts. It even dared to resist its creator, Osric, when he attacked it!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin nodded, and did not question further.

    He had already understood. The essence of earth element, the hardest steel, and aplicated mageweath. Weren¡¯t these requirements for creating a soul puppet? Lin Li remembered clearly that a branch of alchemy specialized in creating soul puppets. ordingly, the soul puppets that were created after attaining the Divine Smith level could bepared to the ancient titans.

    However, this had nothing to with Lin Li. He had never chosen any branch before. From a certain point of view, he was a traditional metallurgist. He was cultivating the path of the king of the metallurgy skill tree. As to why he made this choice, it was toplement Epigraphy. As a master ofplex Epigraphy and Metallurgy, it could only be described as nothing was impossible.

    His knowledge about soul puppets was mostly heard from people in the same trade. He was only an amatuer. When it came to something as difficult as creating life, he was not much better than Sean...

    ¡°The biggest weakness of these creations was that they do not have their own souls. But for me, this was the biggest advantage because when I was alive, I devoted myself to the research of Souls.¡±

    ¡°Devoted to the research of souls?¡± Lin Li frowned, and doubtfully asked, ¡°You were a Necromancer?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... How could a low-ranking profession like Necromancer be befitting of my noble status? Let me tell you something: I used to deal with souls. As long as the price was right, you could discuss with me about all sorts of souls. No matter if it was low-ranked, noble, dirty, or pure... Are you interested?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, demon?¡±

    ¡°Wrong, you should call me the Great Soul Trader. Mr Connoris, the phnthropist.

    ¡°Pff, demon means demon. What phnthropist or great soul trader. You deserved to be killed by Osric for doing such an wicked business...

    ¡°You really do not have sympathy...

    ¡°To sympathize with a demon? What kind of joke is this...¡±

    ¡°Look at my current state, can I still be called a demon?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to say that you want to create a soul puppet to transfer your soul into?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes! So, could you help? I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for a long while. This damned hammer will be the death of me. I really dream of walking with two legs...¡±

    ¡°What benefits can you give me?¡±

    Connoris pondered for a long while before he finally decided. ¡°If you help me, I will tell the method to control the Eternal Furnace!¡±

    ¡°No, you will tell me the method to control the Eternal Furnace, and <i>then </i>I will help you create a new body. This is the proper order¡ªdon¡¯t be mistaken.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Even though he was unwilling, the great soul trader had to lower his noble head in the face of his only chance. ¡°Deal. I hope you keep your words!¡±

    ¡°Rx, honesty is the best policy. Even though I am not some damned soul trader, I still run by this principle.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll trust you!¡±

    ¡°You can only trust me...¡± Lin Li pouted, and did not show Connoris any respect. It was obvious that the Brand Of Dusk was its only chance. If it were to miss this opportunity, it would have to wait thousands of years again. With such a long end of the stick, why would Lin Li be polite to it? Anyway, this fe was a demon, so Lin Li did not feel any remorse for extortion.

    Both of them walked past the corridor, and quickly arrived in front of tightly shut door.

 Chapter 195 - Heart

    <h4>Chapter 195: Heart</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After gently pushing open the tightly shut gates, the scene that Lin Li saw was beyond his expectations. There was not a burning furnace, nor an unbearable temperture. There were only all sorts of bizarre runes, fluttering in the air like butterflies.

    Beyond the tightly shut gates was apletely different world. Just standing there made Lin Li feel like he was dreaming. The sky above him was full of stars, and there was a bright and clear moonlight under a bright moon, while under his feet was a bottomless abyss that was a mix of red and ck. With the shrilling howls, it was as if blood and darkness were relentlessly entangling together.

    These two different sceneries had perfectly merged together. It was not in the slightest bit abrupt, but, in fact, had a harmonious sense of beauty.

    ¡°How is it, not bad, right?¡± The great soul trader was abnormally excited. It brought Lin Li into the endless void while proudly showing off. ¡°This is the only Void Crack within Fn. It is in between the abyss and the star world. When Osric was building the Eternal Furnace, it was me that brought him here. Look below your feet, that is my hometown¡ªthe abyss where countless demons reside.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded; he seemed apathetic. Within a day, he had experienced too much excitement. The assassination of a level-16 archmage, the floating Infernal Pce, as well as a 1200 year old hammer. Oh, yes... within this hammer was a great soul trader. All of these felt like it was a dream.

    Lin Li thought that since it was a dream, another Void Crack would be nothing much...

    With such thoughts, Lin Li followed Connoris into the Void Crack. The feeling was really weird as all he saw was a boundless abyss, but it felt like solid ground when he stepped on it. Looking at that endless entanglement of blood and darkness made Lin Li feel curious.

    The center of the Void was crimson red, and when Lin Li approached it, he could clearly see that this crimson red was heavy and palpitating.

    ¡°Dom, dom, dom! Dom, dom, dom!¡± The sound was slow but rhythmic¡ªit was like a strong heartbeat. The numerous rays of crimson red radiating from this heart were entangled like a spider¡¯s web. They stretched all the way to the boundaries of the void.

    ¡°This is the heart of the Eternal Furnace, the magical crystal of a fire dragon. Back in the day, after Osric had caught this fire dragon called Red Fang, he did not kill it immediately. Instead, he constrained it in the Void Crack, and used a sharp de to split open its skull, extracting this magical crystal. He then channeled of Red Fang¡¯s life force into this crystal when it was on the verge of dying so as to allow it to maintain life. Look at it now, doesn¡¯t it look like it¡¯s alive?¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Lin Li nodded. The life force that was emitted from this magical crystal was indeed full of vigor. It was like heaven and earth when it waspared to the rock that he had extracted from the Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°Look at these now...¡± After Connoris had finished speaking, it brought Lin Li to the spiderweb. ¡°The Eternal Furnace and that heart are connected by these webs. Enormous amounts of energy are transferred through this and provide energy to operate the Eternal Furnace. This is also the method for Osric to pass down orders. So, from a certain perspective, this heart is actually the real controller of the Eternal Furnace. Obtaining it is the same as obtaining the whole Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°What should I do?¡± Lin Li did not hesitate at all. For him, the temptation of the Eternal Furnace was too huge. This was rted to Osric¡¯s secret and a world that was untouched. It was rted to a floating castle. In Lin Li¡¯s perspective, all of these were filled with a lethal temptation.

    ¡°Just ce the hand with the Brand Of Dusk on it.¡±

    ¡°So simple?¡± Lin Li looked at, but did not rush to ce his hand. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Connoris, opening the Ring of Endless Storm at the same time.

    ¡°You... what are you doing?¡± Connoris immediately had a shock when it was grabbed. It was especially so when it saw the dark portal that emerged from the Ring of Endless Storm. It was so scared that its voice was shaky.

    ¡°Nothing...¡± Lin Li smiled, and, with an earnest look, exined, ¡°This is the magical crystal of a fire dragon. I¡¯m just worried it might hurt you if I stir up something too big. For your safety, I decided to put you into the portal. Rx, other that being a bit dark, it is absolutely safe...¡±

    ¡°What the hell! Put me down, I am not hiding in some damned portal!¡±

    ¡°Mr. Connoris, please cooperate. This will be better for both of us.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still suspicious of me!¡±

    ¡°Of course. You operate a soul trading business. Whom else can I be suspicious of? Don¡¯t forget, you lied to me once just now and told me that you are the relic of the Dark Iron Dwarves, Moradin. Now, there is a red dragon¡¯s magical crystal. How can I know you¡¯re not lying to me again?¡± After recounting Connoris¡¯ lies, Lin Li then showed an earnest look again. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I am a virtuous person. I won¡¯t do anything to you. I¡¯ll just ce you inside the portal, and release you once it is safe.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Of course! However, if anything were to happen to me, don¡¯t think about living peacefully. Let me tell you honestly, this ring is called Endless Storm. Whatever secret it has, even I am not clear. I only know that whatever is ced inside... unless I am the one that does it, not even Osric can release you if he is resurrected.¡±

    After he finished speaking, he affectionately patted Connoris with his hand. ¡°So, Mr Connoris, you¡¯d better start praying now that I don¡¯t run into any trouble. Otherwise, you better be prepared to stay inside the portal forever...¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Connoris struggled within Lin Li¡¯s hand. Its angry roar seemingly echoed throughout the whole portal. ¡°You¡¯re actually suspicious of such a kind demon like me!¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullsh*t...¡± Lin Li was toozy to listen to him. He lifted his hand and shoved it into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    ¡°You... Wooo...¡±

    Connoris¡¯ voice drowned within the Ring of Endless Storm. The Void Crack immediately became unusually quiet. Other than Lin Li¡¯s breathing, there was only the sound of the gigantic heart¡¯s beating...

    Lin Li stood in front of the gigantic heart, feeling the heat that seemed to be palpable. This time, Connoris was not lying. This was indeed a fire dragon¡¯s magical crystal. This was definite. Lin Li could clearly feel the pure yet powerful aura. Only magical beasts that surpassed the legendary-level could produce such a terrifying power.

    Lin Li took a breath, and slowly stretched out his right hand. The Brand Of Dusk on the ring finger started to shimmer...

    ¡°Boom!¡± Just when the right hand hade in contact with the heart, Lin Li heard a loud sound.

    Following this loud sound, an endless stream of energy started to leak out from the gigantic heart instantaneously like flood waters. It surged towards the Brand Of Dusk, and, in that instant, the Brand Of Dusk that was already scorching became as hot as white-hot iron. It was so hot that Lin Li felt like cutting off his finger.

    Yet, at the same time, Lin Li¡¯s boundless mental strength also seemed to have found an opening, and surged towards the Brand Of Dusk. Two kinds of energy of the same scale were shing together like Mars crashing into Earth. Suddenly, there was a bloom of a blinding light...

    ¡°Boom!¡± Lin Li seemed to have heard a loud sound.

    After that, everything was deathly quiet.

    It seemed like everything had disappeared. The gigantic heart stopped beating; the sky full of stars was now dark. The Demonic Abyss that was an entanglement of red and ck seemed to be blocked by a fog. Even Lin Li could not feel not feel the existence of his body. It was like his soul had separated from his body, leaving behind a weak consciousness fumbling about with difficulty.

    There was no sound nor light¡ªjust an endless darkness and solitude...

    Nobody knew how long this state continued for. Maybe a year, or maybe a second. In short, it was under these circumstances that Lin Li suddenly saw a ball of fire rising, and then he felt countless memories entering his brain...

    These were fragments of memories that were like shattered ss that had been cut up by someone. Some were images, some were voices. There were even some that were a vague feeling. If he wanted to find out what they had inmon, then it would still be as messy and iprehensible.

    With the surge of the countless fragmented memories entering his brain, Lin Li instantly felt a sharp pain. This pain was at the level far from anything that a human would be able to tolerate. It was like an invisible hand had reached into his brain and relentlessly roiled.

    The entanglement of the chaotic fragments of memories was like a mess. Both the old and current memories were repelling and swallowing each other. No matter how powerful Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was, he almost fainted. He was hugging his head with red eyes and rolling on the floor as if he had went mad. There were consecutive painful groans as pain that¡¯d never been felt before was continuously torturing him.

    This torture went on for a long while before Lin Li finally felt that the fragments of memories that almost drove him mad had finally calmed down.

    When Lin Li opened his eyes, a thought appeared in his head. <i>So that¡¯s what happened...</i>

    This was a natural realization that was like the time when he used the Scroll of Wishes¡ªhe suddenly felt that he knew all of the life skills thoroughly. It was just that the previous process was more peaceful; this time, it was iparably painful.

 Chapter 196 - Fusion

    <h4>Chapter 196: Fusion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li stood quietly in the Void Crack, and felt a powerful force that he¡¯d never encountered before. The fusion that took ce just now had given him countless fragments of memories and a strength that was beyondparison. This strength not only came from the magical crystal of the fire dragon, but also came from the eternal furnace.

    Only in this moment did Lin Li understand why Connoris said that if he were to obtain the heart, it would also mean that he had obtained the Eternal Furnace. It was because both the heart and the eternal furnace were a single entity. The heart was the eternal furnace, and vice versa.

    When Lin Li left his own Spiritual Brand on the gigantic heart, all the memories and power that had been umted by the Eternal Furnace for 1200 years had surged into the Brand Of Dusk like flood waters. This was a process that was repelling and swallowing one another. When the countless fragments of memories had been pieced together, they then formed aplete eternal furnace.

    Although Connoris was the only one other than Osric to know of the Eternal Furnace¡¯s existence, even this great soul trader did not know how dangerous the process was. The moment the countless memory fragments surged in, the assault on one¡¯s mental strength was far beyond what a human could tolerate. Even Osric, the creator of the Eternal Furnace, might not be able to tolerate it.

    Fortunately, Connoris met Lin Li. The mental strength that was almost unlimited had saved Lin Li¡¯s life, avoiding the fate where Connoris would be trapped in the Ring of Endless Storm for an eternity.

    When the swallowing and fusion had beenpleted, Lin Li became the owner of the Eternal Furnace.

    It could also be said that Lin Li was the Eternal Furnace, and the Eternal Furnace was Lin Li. Through the connection between the Brand Of Dusk and the heart, there was no longer a distinction between him and this enormous sky fortress.

    The only thing Li Li needed now was to control this power better.

    This process might be long, but it was not iprehensible, because all the methods and skills had filled his brain along with the countless of memory fragments.

    ¡°How is it, Connoris? Have you gotten used to the portal?¡± Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm and took out the hammer that Connoris was residing in.

    ¡°What the hell! You dare to treat a great soul trader in this manner!¡± Connoris was furious. If the hammer had a mouth, it would have bitten Lin Li.

    ¡°Am I not doing this for your own good...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose; he seemed to feel awkward. He might have been in the wrong. The truth had proven that Connoris had not lied to him. However, it was still awkward. With the thickness of Lin Lin Li¡¯s face, he quickly tossed this incident to the back of his mind. He smiled, and asked, ¡°Oh, yes. Mr Connoris, I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which one do you wanna hear first?¡±

    ¡°I want to hear the good news.¡± Connoris did not hesitate.

    ¡°Ok, then.¡± Lin Li smiled. ¡°Good news is I have the Eternal Furnace under control.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great...¡± Connoris was trembling in excitement, and repeated ¡°that¡¯s great¡± twice before doubtfully asking, ¡°What about the bad news?¡±

    ¡°The bad news...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°The bad news is, currently there is no way for you to change a body.¡±

    ¡°Why!?¡± Connoris¡¯ voice suddenly became really sharp. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve promised me!¡±

    ¡°F*ck, I didn¡¯t forget!¡± Lin Li scolded harshly, but he calmed down soon after. He looked really helpless. ¡°The problem is that with my current abilities, I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t do it, do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Then... Then what do we do?¡± It had finally had some hope, but it only got an ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡± in return. Connoris was about to burst into tears. ¡°I have already been trapped in this damned hammer for 1200 years...¡±

    ¡°There is nothing I can do, me it on Osric. It is in the domain of high level magic, and he even tampered with those core magic rules. Look at me carefully, do I look like a person with legendary power?¡± Lin Li felt unlucky thinking about it. Indeed, the memory fragments did contain information about using puppets to create life, but that was useless for Lin Li. The usage of many spells in the high level domain and the tampering of the core magic rules were not a domain that normal humans could set foot in. Legendary power was just a conservative estimation made by Lin Li. It would be more reliable to say that this requirement needed a few more levels...

    ¡°Then...¡±

    ¡°What then. Since you¡¯ve already waited for 1200 years, waiting another few hundred years would not matter. Let me give you a suggestion since you are just idling around. Why not follow me? You could help me with forging as well. When I have breached the legendary realm, I will make you a new body. What do you think of this idea?¡± Lin Li smiled while speaking; he also nced at Connoris....

    Lin Li actually put in some thoughts about this...

    No choice, the origin of Connoris was too tempting. It was a genuine demon.

    And the home of demons was the legendary abyss.

    All along, Lin Li was not a person full of desire. There were very few things that could pique his interest. This was especially so aftering to Anril. There were only two things that could interest him. One was to be stronger¡ªthis was the only way he could live a better life. The other was getting all sorts of rare materials like ck lotus or infernal magic iron. For the sake of bing stronger and obtaining more rare materials, he could go out of his way and do things that he would not normally do¡ªfor example, roping in a spirit that was trapped in a hammer.

    The reason for doing so was because Connoris used to live in the Demon¡¯s Abyss. This was crucial for Lin Li because other than being dangerous, it was also well known for producing goods in abundance. At least one-third of the rare materials that Lin Li dreamt of originated from the Demon¡¯s Abyss!

    Roping in Connoris was like roping in a guide. A decent guide in a ce like the Demon¡¯s Abyss would help prevent Lin Li from taking wrong path.

    Therefore, Lin Li was very passionate.

    He was so passionate that it made Connoris suspicious. ¡°Wait for you to breach the Legendary Realm?¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a warrior...¡± Connoris whispered softly, but what it actually wanted to say was ¡°F*ck, wait for you, a level-5 warrior, to breach the Legendary Realm? It would be more practical for me to sleep for another 1200 years....¡± Of course, Connoris smartly swallowed its words after he considered the ring that this fe was wearing.

    ¡°Speaking of this, I remembered that I forgot to tell you something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Connoris was stupefied.

    Lin Li did not answer, but tightly grabbed Connoris in his right hand. Instantly, there was searing me arising.

    With the casting of ming Hands, it was so hot that Connoris immediately howled. ¡°What the hell, you ungrateful bastard. Are you trying to burn me to death?¡±

    ¡°This is what I forgot to tell you...¡± Lin Li took his time in putting Connoris down. At the same time, he iled his right hand and put out the mes. ¡°Do you still have any questions?¡±

    ¡°What the hell, are you crazy...¡± Connoris grumbled for a while before realizing something. It asked with disbelief, ¡°You, you, you... You are not a warrior?¡±

    ¡°Duh...¡±

    It was almost instantly that Connoris became excited. ¡°You¡¯re a mage! No, no, no... Not a mage, at least an Archmage! What the hell, what a young Archmage. How could it be?¡±

    Towards the end, Connoris¡¯ voice was so sharp that it seemed like it was being choked...

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much...¡± Lin Li sounded humble, but he could not conceal the smile on this face. There was no choice¡ªeven the city walls would not be able to resist it if he was lucky. Just now, when he branded his Spiritual Brand on the gigantic heart, his mental strength and the power of the Eternal Furnace had fused together. Even though he still couldn¡¯t fully control this strength at the moment, that brief moment of contact had brought him a great benefit.

    Lin Li estimated that his strength had risen by two levels, and he could clearly feel that it was not just his strength that had increased. There was even a breach in realms. This sensation was too distinct. The difference between a magic shooter and an archmage was like two separate worlds. With the status of an archmage, looking at a magic shooter was like an adult looking at a child...

    Lin Li even felt that with his current strength, he was rather confident of defeating Argus if he were to be assassinated by him again. Furthermore, it¡¯d be through a battle purely based on strength, and not through some other means.

    Unfortunately, such a thing could only be thought of. Argus had already been destroyed. Even if Lin Li wanted to battle him fairly again, it was not going to happen.

    ¡°What the hell, you¡¯re really an archmage...¡±

    ¡°Do you believe me now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was full of exhration. The turn of events was too stimting for it. From being filled with hope to being full of despair, and again from being full of despair to being filled with hope. Swinging back and forth was like being sent from heaven to hell, and then from hell back to heaven. If it had a choice, it would not want to experience it again...

    ¡°That¡¯s great...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not further excite it. ¡°From now on, you are my private property. I am Felic, nice to meet you Mr Connoris.¡±

    ¡°Me too...¡± For unknown reasons, the smile on Lin Li¡¯s face made Connoris feel somewhat guilty...

    ¡°Oh, yes. Connoris, I heard that all sorts of magical materials were being produced in the Demon¡¯s Abyss. Could you bring me to take a look one day? It might even be useful when I help to create your body...¡±

 Chapter 197 - Floating Castle

    <h4>Chapter 197: Floating Castle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After inscribing his Spiritual Brand on the heart, Lin Li did not go anywhere else, not even to the showroom that Connoris had mentioned. He knew that it would be useless even if he went there. The entire Eternal Furnace had been cleaned out. Other than the fire dragon¡¯s magical crystal and Connoris, the half hammer half demon weirdo, everything else had been sent to Osric¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Before leaving the Void Crack, Lini Li left a trace of mental strength inside the gigantic heart. This allowed him to control the Eternal Furnace at any time and from anywhere. It did not matter where he was¡ªhe could summon the Eternal Furnace as long as there was the existence of the Void Crack within the vicinity.

    For Lin Li, this was the best reward.

    Compared to having full control of the Eternal Furnace, breaking through the Archmage realm and finding a guide for the Demon¡¯s Abyss were somewhat insignificant. Even though the Eternal Furnace was now empty, the most essential thing was still there, and it was the technique to build the Sky City. Along with fire dragon¡¯s magical crystal that maintained the functioning of the Eternal Furnace, the Eternal Furnace would still be Eternal Furnace with these two things. With sufficient time, Lin Li would able to reconstruct a real Floating Castle.

    The reappearance of the Sky City of the High Elves sounded impossible, but for a master of all professions like Lin Li, the issue was not about technique¡ªhe justcked time and materials.

    Without a doubt, this would be a long process. The reconstructed Eternal Furnace would take up an astronomical amount of time and gold, but it would immediately solve all of Lin Li¡¯s troubles whenpleted. Even the Marathon Family or the Shadow¡¯s Nest would not pose a single hint of threat anymore. Within the current Fn Kingdom, a floating castle from the Dark Ages would be invincible, and this included the legendary Sky Knights. There would not be a single power that could threaten this floating castle.

    Furthermore, this was a floating castle that was drifting within the Void Crack.

    Under the control of the trace of mental strength that had just fused in, Lin Li could summon it anytime and anywhere. Think about it: when the reconstructed Eternal Furnace appeared above Jarrosus, what kind of expressions the people of Shadow¡¯s Nest would show?

    Lin Li¡¯s face had a smile when he left the Eternal Furnace. He stood on top of the red pedestal, and recited a spell quickly before turning around to jump off...

    This was the first time Lin Li used the Levitation Spell, so his mana control was still slightly jerky; when he came down from the Eternal Furnace, he looked as wretched as someone that fell into water. No matter how wretched it was, without a doubt, he was still using the powers of an Archmage.

    The proof was the look on Argus¡¯s face...

    Looking at the figure that slowly descended, Argus¡¯ expression was as though he had just swallowed a dead rat. His mouth was so ck that an egg could be shoved into it, and his eyes were wide open just like a goldfish that was blowing bubbles.

    He was unable to maintain hisposure.

    Even children knew what the Levitation Spell meant.

    This meant extreme control of mana. This meant thorough understanding of magic rules. This also meant the power of an Archmage!

    Argus had always been proud of his achievements. He¡¯d even thought that he was a true magic genius of Fn. He was only twenty-eight years old when he broke through to the Archmage realm. Such an achievement was something that even Andoine could notpare to.

    As for Gryffindor that had appeared from the Guild of Magic in these past few years, Argus did not hold any regard for him. From Argus¡¯s point of view, he was just a lucky flower which bloomed in a greenhouse that was exposed to a dense magical atmosphere from a young age. The people that he saw every day were of the Archmage level, and there were archmages patiently guiding him, helping to solve all doubts he might have. Yet, under such an enviable environment, he could only approach the border of the Archmage realm, which was far from Argus¡¯ level. Honestly, Argus looked down on Gryffindor.

    Compared to Gryffindor, Argus was another extremity. He came from the lowest ss in society, and was orphaned at twelve years old. If not because he¡¯d suddenly discovered his talent for magic, he might have been the same as most of the orphans, bing a thief or hooligan in the messiest streets of nna.

    Although he had talent for magic, he¡¯d never had a chance to enter the Guild of Magic. Argus became an adventurer when he was fourteen, struggling between life and death every day. Within ten years, he had hunted thousands of magical beasts. He had broken through during a hunt when he was in a dire situation, and this shaped the current Argus. Whatever he had achieved had been stained with red blood, be it from a magical beast, or from his own body...

    Was Gryffindor able to match up to such an aplishment? Not only was he not able to match up, there were only a few mages in the whole Fn Kingdom that could match up to it.

    But when Argus saw Lin Li gently descend from the Eternal Furnace, he was dumbfounded...

    Argus was much clearer than anyone else who this young mage was. In fact, they had dueled just not too long ago.

    Indeed, Argus admitted that this was a real genius.

    He already had the power of a level-13 magic shooter when he had not even reached twenty years old. Such a talent had already surpassed Gryffindor¡¯s, and even Argus was surprised.

    But that was merely a surprise...

    Argus did not even imagine that just after two hours, this level-13 magic shooter would have leapt forward such arge distance and broken through to a realm that many mages had failed to reach, bing a real Archmage. Argus felt that even if he fully recovered, he might not be able to win against this fe in a fair duel.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Argus looked down, spewing vulgarities. ¡°I also do not want to fight against this guy...¡±

    He even decided that once he returned to nna, he would severe ties with the Marathon Family.

    No matter how powerful Wilhelm was, he was just a mortal. Offending him would be better than offending a person that broke through to the Archmage realm within two hours. Who knew what else this fe was still capable of.

    ¡°Mr Felic, you¡¯ve returned...¡± Thinking till this point, Argus weed him with a smile that was full of ttery.

    ¡°Not bad, Argus. You¡¯ve improved.¡± Lin Li smiled. He was very clear about what this fe was plotting. In fact, this was the effect that he had wanted; otherwise, there was no need to fly down with the Levitation Spell. There was still half a bottle of Levitation Potion in his pocket...

    ¡°Sean, what are you looking at?¡± Lin Li turned around, and saw Sean look at him with a dull expression.

    ¡°No... Nothing...¡± Sean had a shock. After he stammered in denial, he then weirdly asked, ¡°Mr Felic, you seem to look different...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just different....¡±

    Linughed. Seemed like Sean did not waste time during this period. He could instinctively tell Lin Li¡¯s level of strength. Two months ago, this fe was still ignorant. Within less than two months, he had improved tremendously. It appeared that the master that was guiding him was not someone average.

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    ¡°We havepleted the task at the Fire Plume Ridge; we are returning to nna now.¡± After Lin Li finished speaking, he nced at the Eternal Furnace that was in the sky before bringing along the two men across the ins to walk towards the Gates of Ashes.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Just when the three of them entered the Gates of Ashes, there was a loud sound from the skies. Instantly, the cave started to shake violently, and there wererge rocks crashing on their heads amidst the dust. This caused them to be extremely distressed.

    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Lin Li spat out. He thought, <i>F*cking mercenary corps and f*cking smanders did not take any aphrodisiac, so why are they taking so long to finish the battle?¡±</i>

    ¡°Sean, lead the way!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    Luckily, there was still Sean as the guide. Although the three of them stumbled, almost getting crushed by the falling rocks along the way, they still made it out of the damned cave. After seeing the sunlight again, Lin Li stood at the entrance of the cave, and deeply breathed in the hot air that was unique to the Fire Plume Ridge. He was feeling better than ever.

    The ce that they came out from was near the peak of the Fire Plume Ridge. It was very close to the battle that was in full swing. Without even looking back, they could see the rising res of the battlefield.

    ¡°Will it ever end...¡± Lin Li looked over, and saw a field of res rising up.

    The current Fire Plume Ridge peak was like Hell. There was a field of ck magical beast carcasses, while thick fresh blood was flowing towards the ridges, evaporating into a dense mist of blood under the searing temperature. The thick scent of blood could be smelled from afar.

    The six great mercenary corps sufferedrge casualties. There were more than a thousand adventurers when they ascended the mountain, but now there was less than half left. Furthermore, many of them had severe injuries. From where he stood, Lin Li could see clearly that the ground had piles of coke mixed with blood. As a magician, Lin Li knew that this was the remains of humans being burnt by a powerful fire spell...

    From atop the spacious peak, there came a deafening roar from the blinding res.

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Lin Li only took a nce before realizing what he had just seen. It was the main culprit that caused the earthquake, a beast that had legendary strength. The legendary Smander.

 Chapter 198 - Driven Into A Corner

    <h4>Chapter 198: Driven Into A Corner</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The six great mercenary corps were still holding on. From Lin Li¡¯s position, he could clearly see the heavily armored warriors of Silver Storm using their shields to restrain the Smander¡¯s movements to a limited area. They used their sharp swords to sh it, causing blood to stter from its body that was covered in mes.

    After that, this legendary beast roared, and iled its tail, which caused a deafening sound to tear through the air. Then, a Fire Storm descended...

    ¡°AHHH...¡±

    Screams were heard incessantly, so much so that even Lin Li who was far away could hear it clearly. The strength of a legendary beast was too terrifying. With just one Fire Storm, several adventurers have been killed almost instantaneously. Yet, the members of the Silver Storm did not retreat even a single step.

    ... This was because they had no way to retreat

    Less than ten meters behind the Silver Storm was the mage¡¯s unit of the six great mercenary corps. Within that area, hundreds of mages were reciting spells hastily, allowing the Fire Storm tond on the Elemental Shield. It appeared that the Elemental Shield¡¯s brilliance started to dim, but not a single one of them dared to stop reciting.

    It was because they knew that this recitation would give them another shot at the Smander. If they were to stop reciting and allow the Smander to finish off the Silver Storm, then only death would await them.

    The Silver Storm closed in even more, and their sharp swords tore open deep wounds on the Smander. The magicians at the back started to recite their spells even faster.

    <i>Something bad is happening... </i>Lin Li could clearly see that the two small eyes of the Smander started to radiate intense crimson light. The six great mercenary corps were in trouble, for this was the sign that the Smander was furious. He hade across this legendary beast once; he of course knew how terrifying it was in its fury. If he were to exaggerate a little, it had the force of a cataclysm.

    With his current strength, provoking the Smander would mean death.

    Unless...

    ... he had the opportunity to use <i>that </i>weakness.

    However, such chances were too rare. Even for someone that had hunted a Smander like Lin Li, he had to admit that a chance urred less than once within a hundred times. To able to encounter it once was just sheer luck.

    ¡°Run!¡± Lin Li nced at the battlefield and the smander, and made his decision without hesitation.

    But when he turned around, he heard panting.

    Lin Li turned and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a middle-aged man in his forties carrying his sword while leaning on the rocks and breathing heavily.

    The middle-aged man seemed like he had just gone through an intense battle. The leather armor that he was wearing had been drenched in sweat and blood. There was a wound stretching all the way from his waist to his lower abdomen, blood oozing out endlessly. The meticulously crafted leather armor had been covered in dirt and ash, causing it to be in a mess. For unknown reasons, Lin Li felt that that this middle-aged man was very clean when he first saw him.

    This weird feeling caused Lin Li to be stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized he had such a feeling because of the man¡¯s arms. Even though his whole body was a wreck, his arms were totally clean, including the sword his right hand held onto tightly. There was not a single trace of blood on it.

    ¡°Hello...¡± Lin Li scratched his head awkwardly. The six great mercenary corps were putting their lives on the line, yet he was just hiding and watching. Even with Lin Li¡¯s shamelessness, he could not help but feel remorse. <i>I was too careless, I need to conceal myself better next time...</i>

    ¡°Aah, hello...¡± The middle-aged man smiled. It could be due to the injuries that he seemed to be in pain while smiling.

    This was a troublesome ce; another second spent here meant another second of danger. Lin Li hurriedly exchanged greetings, and thought of escaping with Sean and Argus. However, just as he turned around, he heard a loud ¡°BOOM¡± even before he could raise his leg.

    In the moment when the loud sound was heard, Lin Li felt something had crashed into his chest. In front of him, the world had turned into a burst of colors, and countless stars were shing. His mind was nk, and he could only hear a buzzing sound. The ground that was covered in blood was shaking, and the sky was dyed red. It looked like the end of the world.

    The searing mes were raging, andrge meteors were ripping up the skies with mes trailing behind them, descending with an aura reminiscent of utter destruction.

    ¡°Aaaaaaah!¡±

    The shrill screams came in waves. There were more than a hundred Silver Storm warriors, but in the blink of an eye, more than ten of them were knocked out. Even the steadfast Silver Storm started to panic in the wake of this legendary Fire Power. Nobody could stand up against meteors, much less defend against the legendary spell, Fire Storm, with their shields. The only thing they could do was to run and distance themselves from this area that was filled with death.

    ¡°Boom... Boom...¡± The deafening sounds were incessant. The whole area seemed to be trembling. Countless meteorsnded on the Fire Plume Ridge and stirred up a magnificent re. Initially, there were a hundred or so Silver Storm warriors, but less than half of them escaped from the Fire Storm. Piles of coke on the battlefield gave out a charred smell, which was mixing with the thick scent of blood. It brought tears to their eyes.

    ¡°What a cursed thing...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. He did not want to continue watching. The hundred of Silver Storm were considered the best adventurers in nna, not in the least inferior whenpared to the army of the Fn Kingdom. Yet, when they fought against a legendary beast like the Smander, they were sacrificed like cannon fodder.

    Just when he wanted to escape with both hispanions after recovering from the shock with difficulty, Lin Li realized that the sword-wielding middle-aged man started to emit a strong aura. There was a silver Combat Energy, appearing as though a silver me was tightly hugging him. The middle-aged man was no longer the same normal person as before. The aura emitted from his body was unique to the strongest people. Lin Li had felt such an aura before from a few people. For example, Andoine, Old Grimm, and Aldwin. Even Macklin could not give Lin Li such a sensation.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li fell backwards andnded on his butt. <i>F*cking hell, this guy is Sword Sage of the Storm!</i>

    Almost immediately, Lin Li¡¯splexion changed.

    It had to be a joke...

    The Sword Sage of the Storm had to demonstrate his strength now out of all times. <i>Aren¡¯t you luring the Smander to me?</i>

    Just when the Smander was insatiable, the Sword Sage of the Storm chose this time to be showy. This was more alluring than a strong aphrodisiac for that legendary beast. When this iparable aura was emitted, it immediately sent the Smander into a frenzy, luring it over.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li really thought that he was going to die. <i>This should be what it is like to suffer from another person¡¯s disaster. The Sword Sage of the Storm had nothing better do and challenged the Smander, what has this got to do with me? It¡¯s ok if you die, but what about me? The pitiful me had just broken through to the Archmage realm, and I haven¡¯t had enough fun yet; do I have to apany an as*hole like you in death?</i>

    Immediately, Lin Li¡¯s face turned white. He ran forward without caring which path he chose, and pointed his middle finger. ¡°F*ck your mom, Sword Sage of the Storm!¡±

    Argus seemed to have been struck by lightning when he heard these words...

    ¡°Argus, escape faster! Are you courting death?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± After Lin Li shouted, Argus snapped out of his shock, but he still felt dizzy. <i>F*ck, this guy is too arrogant... He even dares to scold the Sword Sage of the Storm, and in such a crude manner at that. I¡¯m not sure if the Sword Sage of the Storm would be so infuriated that he vomited blood if he heard that?</i>

    Lin Li did not know if the Sword Sage of the Storm would vomit blood; he only knew that he himself was about to vomit blood.

    This was what you reap what you sow meant...

    After passing through a pile of rocks, Lin Li suddenly realized that he had nowhere else to run. Looking down, there were only precipitous rock face and sheer cliffs that looked like knives and axes. After observing the surroundings, there was not a single mountain track in any direction.

    ¡°What a huge joke...¡± Lin Li swallowed hard, and started to recall the path he took. He then realized that he must have taken the wrong turn when he ran without caring which path he chose.

    ¡°What... What do we do...¡± Now, Argus started to be scared as well. Originally, with his level-16 Archmage realm strength, going in the wrong direction would not be an issue. At most, he could use the Levitation Spell and descend from the top of the mountain to the base. He just had to use up some mana.

    It just had to be so coincidental that the first time he had nowhere else to go was also the time he lost most of his powers. After being shot by the strange bolt in the cave, more than half of his powers disappeared. Now, he only had the power of a level-10 mage at best. He would struggle to use Feather Fall Spell, much less the Levitation Spell.

    Lin Li had the power of an Archmage now, but with the strength of one person, how could he bring two more people along? Even if he were to abandon Argus, the prisoner, there was still the monster Sean. His weight was twice as much as Argus¡¯...

    ¡°F*ck, I¡¯ll fight it out with you!¡± After being driven into a corner, Lin Li lost his temper. Without saying anything else, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and took out ten ss bottles along with different middle- and low-tier herbs.

    ¡°You two, keep a lookout for trouble. You absolutely must not let anything distract me.¡±

    ¡°Mr Felic, this is...¡± Argus was confused; this was already the second time he had seen this fe take out ss bottles and herbs.

    ¡°If you want to live, then cut the bulls*it!¡±

 Chapter 199 - Flight

    <h4>Chapter 199: Flight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The six great mercenary corps werepletely routed, struggling for their lives in the sea of fire created by the Smander. The adventurers that were huddling up together just now were letting out shrill screams. They were surrounded by mes and smoke on all sides. Furthermore, there were giant meteors dropping from the sky asionally, leaving deep scars in the Fire Plume Ridge. Just by looking at this battlefield, it seemed to resemble Hell...

    The ground seemed to be cooked. Every step felt hot and soft, and there were even bubbles appearing with ¡°poof, poof, poof¡±. There was not a single adventurer that was alive within a 100 meter radius of the smander. The whole Fire Plume Ridge was like it entered doomsday under the cataclysmic heat.

    The smander was like a grim reaper from hell waving an invincible zing scythe amidst the fire, incessantly iming the lives of adventurers.

    Argus sweated profusely after witnessing this horrific scene.

    Time was ticking away, yet the fe named Felic was squatting down and busy with something. He¡¯d set up a mithril crucible on the ground, shoving herbs inside. The herbs started boiling with ¡°poof¡± sounds, and Argus thought he was going to die while smelling the thick herbal scent. <i>This fe still has the mood to cook at this hour!</i>

    ¡°The hell...¡±

    Just as Argus was mumbling, he suddenly felt a herculean auraing from afar. Afterwhich, he saw a beam of silver light rushing into the sky like a silveret, and it tore apart the sky full of red clouds. The haggard-looking Sword Sage of the Storm was now giving off a tremendous amount of energy. The silver res ripped the red clouds apart and descended like lightning, instantaneously tearing a hole in the mes that filled the sky.

    ¡°Too strong...¡±

    Argus was frozen in ce. The strength of the Legendary Realm was far beyond his imagination. It was an usage of power that was pushed to the extreme. The world seemed to have be silent with just a stroke of the sword. The magnificent rays of light released from the sword formed a perfect arc in the sky. These rays of light appeared to be unusually magnificent in this field filled with corpses and blood...

    ¡°Aroo!¡±

    The smander¡¯s roar was heard immediately as though a thunderbolt had struck its head. Instantly, a heat wave could be felt, and there was debris flying everywhere on the battlefield. With a sweep of its long tail, the smander brought forth waves of apocalyptic heat. Even the Sword Sage of the Storm had no choice but to take evasive actions in the face of the Smander¡¯s immense strength.

    With a legendary Sword Sage on one side and a legendary magical beast on the other, the battle between them was divinely. There were mes and de aura everywhere. The debris that was sent upward filled the air and painfully struck everyone. Red clouds were rolling in the air, pressuring everyone till they were breathless.

    Even the members of the six great mercenary corps were attracted to this electrifying battle. They had forgotten about escaping and the danger. It was as if they were possessed, watching this once-in-a-century electrifying battle intently. It was especially so for Sean¡ªhe did not even blink while watching. He stared at the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s every move. This legendary powerhouse¡¯s every attack and evasion seemed to open up a new world for him...

    Argus, who was at the side, was really anxious. He looked at Lin Li, who was far away, and Sean, who was beside him. Immediately, he was filled with regret, and there were thousands of ¡°should not have¡± in his mind. <i>I should not have came to the damned Fire Plume Ridge. Now everything is in a mess, and I¡¯ve been captured by these two fes that do not know what is death. Look at these two fes: one is cooking, and the other is just watching a show. Do they not know that staying around longer will only lead to death?</i>

    Never mind this ck bear; in any case, he was really stupid...

    As for that fe called Felic, why did he suddenly be so idiotic? Of all things he could do, he started cooking out in the open. What was the use of cooking that big pot of herbs? <i>Even if you were cooking arge pot of Manticore tail, would you be able to poison the Smander? That is a legendary magical beast. Even if you were able to concoct something venomous, it would be evaporate instantly. This is just seeking death...</i>

    ¡°F*ck, this method will not do...¡± Argus looked around, and felt that he could not wait any longer. Otherwise, it would spell trouble if they were not able to wait for the cooking to finish, but instead receive a Fire Storm while waiting.

    However, Argus was watching for a long while, and he indeed could not find any route to escape. The battle between the two legendary powerhouses was too violent. The frantic powers had seemingly engulfed the whole peak of the Fire Plume Ridge except the small area where he was at and the corner where the six great mercenary corps were squeezed at.

    Even though they were in a safe corner, it was still asionally struck by the rain of fire streaming down from the skies. The reason why the six great mercenary corps could endure for so long was due to the elemental shield conjured simultaneously by nearly a hundred mages. Under the protection of the elemental shield, they only managed to struggle for a chance to gasp a breath...

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Argus was feeling troubled. The battle between the Smander and the Sword Sage of the Storm was red-hot. Furthermore, whether intentionally or not, the Sword Sage of the Storm was constantly moving backwards. Coincidentally, the area that he was moving towards was the only safe spot on the whole mountain peak...

    ¡°F*ck, I am done for!¡± Seeing that the shimmering golden res creeping towards him, Argus could not tolerate it anymore. He turned over andshed out at Lin Li. ¡°If you guys are trying to die, don¡¯t drag me down as well!¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Sean was observing the Sword Sage of the Storm fighting style intently, and yet he suddenly heard this fe being disrespectful towards Mr.Felic. Of course, without saying anything more, he turned around andnded a fist on his head. It almost caused arge swell on the spot.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Argus hugged his head; it was so painful that he almost teared. The punch from this fe was like a rock striking his head. Argus was in so much pain that his whole body spasmed.

    ¡°Argus, let me say once more. If you want to live, then cut the bullshit.¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice came from afar; it sounded rather annoyed. He was busy adjusting the proportions of all sorts of potions. He did not have the mood to bicker with Argus. He bent down and continued adjusting the proportions of the various bottles of potions after warning him once.

    ¡°Behave yourself. Mr.Felic wille up with a solution.¡± Sean gripped his fist, and the distinct cracksing from his joints made Argus¡¯ scalp tingle upon hearing the sound.

    ¡°...¡± Under this indiscreet threat of violence, Argus obediently shut his mouth, but he had already cursed Sean several times in his mind. <i>F*ck, only an idiot like you would believe that that fe has a solution. What kind of solution would he have? He has been cooking his soup for almost half an hour. Just wait. In another two minutes, the smander will rush over. Just a breath of his would kill the two of you. F*ck, I am just pitiful. I could have stayed at nna perfectly, but I just had to kill myself at the Fire Plume Ridge...</i>

    With each passing second, the battle between the Smander and the Sword Sage of the Storm got more intense.

    Everybody, including Argus, started to feel anxious...

    The Smander¡¯s body was simply too powerful. Not only was it strong, it was also tough and flexible. It could be described as an iron body. Even though the Sword Sage of the Storm was strong, it would also be difficult for him to harm the opponent before hisbat energy ran out. The opposite was true for the Smander as well. Its powerful tail and sharp fangs and ws were its strongest weapons. Furthermore, it did not even have to use powers of the me. With just a swipe of its ws, the Sword Sage of the Storm had no choice but to start dodging...

    No matter how powerful a legendary powerhouse was, he was still a mortal. They could not use their physical strength to go up against a magical beast like the Smander. Hence, the only the thing the Sword Sage of the Storm could do was to draw back. He drew back until he finally reached the only safe spot in the whole peak...

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Looking at the zing res, Argus¡¯ heart sank...

    When Lin Li stood up, his face looked rather exhausted.

    Ever since he came to Anril, he had never been as busy as today. Even if it was at the Emerald Tower, helping Gerian make all sorts of emergency potions in a single night, it did not wear him out as it did now. After all, those were regr potions¡ªthe highest level of the recipes was was only high tier.

    However, every single bottle of these potions were made from high-tiered recipes.

    One of them was even a grandmaster¡¯s recipe...

    Furthermore, for such azy person like Lin Li, today was a rare asion that he took out the mithril pot without using magic skills to cut corners.

    ¡°I hope these things work. If not, I will be in deep trouble...¡± Lin Li mumbled as he bent down to pick up those bottles and ced them in his pockets, causing the Robe of the Void to bulge.

    After that, with a rushed recitation, a levitation spell was cast.

    Argus looked at the soaring Lin Li and was dumbfounded. He could not figure out what this fe was thinking about, because he clearly saw that the direction this fe flew in was actually towards the heart of this raging storm.

    <i>This, this, this... Is this what it means to seek death?</i>

    Argus eyes were staring straight...

    As Lin Li flew further, a few of the adventurers from the six great mercenary corps with sharp eyes also discovered his silhouette.

    ¡°What the hell..¡± Serena lost half of her Silver Storm, and her heart raging with pain. Yet, she suddenly saw a familiar silhouette flying in the sky. Instantaneously, Serena seemed to have forgotten about her heartache, and stared at the sky with a nk look as though she was puppet standing there.

    ¡°I¡¯m not blind, right... That... That seems like... Mr. Felic?¡± Aragon¡¯s mouth was wide open. He stared at the sky as though he had seen a flying dinosaur.

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± At the same time, the two archers from Red Dragon Mercenary Corp also discovered the flying silhouette. Those two unlucky fes that were supposed to raid the mine were staring at each other. They looked like it was unbelievable. They did not believe anything, as they tried to rob a person like this previously...

    A kid that was not even ten years old would know what it meant for a mortal to be flying in the air, much less these two adventurers that were close to level-10. It meant that it was a power of at least an Archmage.

    ¡°We actually tried to rob this Archmage before...¡± As soon as they remembered the scene at the forest, both of them fell to the ground simultaneously...

    ¡°It¡¯s a hallucination! This must be a hallucination!¡± Serena would not believe it. This low-leveled reckless warrior that was carrying a crossbow every day actually had the strength of an archmage? ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. This must be a hallucination. That fe must have cheated!¡±

    Hank, who was hiding at the side, puckered his lips, and thought to himself, <i>I knew it all along, I just did not dare to tell you all...</i>

    After witnessing the miracles of the young mage numerous times, Hank was already numb to it all. Not to mention that he could fly, Hank would not even find it weird if he could spit fire.

    As Lin Li flew higher and higher in the sky, the number of people that saw him grew.

    Initially, it was just whispers within a small area, but with each passing second, the whole six great mercenary corps and hundreds of adventurers took notice of the figure flying in the sky. Immediately, there were discussions everywhere. Nobody knew where did this fe, who had the power of at least an archmage, came from.

    Elijah rubbed his nose, and had a triumphant look on his face that was barely conceble.

    ¡°I am too brilliant...¡± Elijah shamelessly praised himself.

    Thinking about it carefully, ever since the misunderstanding in Nightmare Mountains, he had never offended this young mage. Even when he¡¯d coincidentally bumped into him at the Guild of Magic by some freak chance, he would also be willing to admit his mistake and apologize. He had never thought of resisting.

    At this moment, Elijah rejoiced.

    Fortunately, he never had any thoughts of resisting...

    That was an archmage that was not even twenty years old. There was no need to mention what strength he harbored. Just by looking at his aplishments, one could imagine how powerful his mentor was. Just by looking at Fn Kingdom, who would be able to produce an archmage who was not even twenty years old through his teachings?

    Just by counting, there could only be those few¡ªAndoine, Aldwin, and probably Grimm Burnside from the Pharmacists Guild...

    Which one these old monsters was to be trifled with?

    Elijah had cold sweat dripping all over his body just thinking about the consequences of offending any of them...

    ¡°Captain Elijah, are we attacking?¡± Just as Elijah was feeling proud of himself, an archer suddenly appeared beside him. The archer had already prepared his bow and arrow, full of killing intent. He even used his finger to point at the magician in the sky. It seemed like he was asking whether to shoot that fe down...

    ¡°Attack you head...!¡± Elijah immediately became furious, and kicked him to the corner of the mountain. <i>What an idiot, attacking that guy? Do you think that a Smander is not stimting enough?</i>

    With the Levitation Spell, Lin Li slowly flew to the area above the battlefield. Looking from his current position, he could easily observe the battle between the two legendary powerhouses clearly.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm had indeed been put at a disadvantage...

    The smander¡¯s powerful body had allowed it to gain an advantage in this battle. Unless the Sword Sage of the Storm went all out, it would be hard to damage it significantly even with the sword. Its long tail and sharp ws and fangs made the Sword Sage of the Storm fearful. Just a single touch from them would result in severe injuries; it was needless to talk about the powerful fire magical element that was contained within that tail, ws, and fangs.

    It was not easy for the Sword Sage of the Storm tost till this point...

    However, from the looks of it, it seemed like he was unable tost any longer. Being in the sky, Lin Li had deeper understanding of the battle than the members of the six great mercenary corps. He could clearly see that the footsteps of the Sword Sage of the Storm got lighter¡ªit was a sign of exhaustion. The silver me surrounding the sword started to get dimmer, and it was no longer as radiant as before.

    It had only been one minute since Lin Li used the Levitation Spell to fly to the space above the battle, and the sword sage of the storm had already been pushed back by almost ten more meters. To be pushed back for almost ten meters when evenly matched could only mean that the party that got pushed back was exhausted.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already concocted the potions, please don¡¯t let me down. You must hold on...¡± Lin Li held the potions in one hand; he looked nervous. These tens of bottles had already been concocted, so whether his n would be sessful depended on the ability of the Sword Sage of the Storm to help him fight for a chance.

    ¡°Aragon...¡± Serena frowned while looking for a long time, and she still could not figure out what that fe was trying to do by flying there. Instantly, she asked her trusted subordinate with uncertainty, ¡°Do you think that guy went mad?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure as well..¡± Aragon shook his head; he looked rather concerned. ¡°But, Mr. Felic seems to be rather rash...¡±

    Aragon¡¯s words were put in a rather courteous manner. For Lin Li¡¯s current situation, at least nine out of ten people would spit at him and add, ¡°Courting death!¡±

    Even if he was an archmage, was there a need to be so arrogant?

    One had to know that those two entangled together were a legendary magic shooter and a legendary sword sage. If an archmage were to be caught up in this vortex, nothing good woulde out of it. If the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s de aura were to ssh over, to say nothing of the Smander¡¯s cataclysmic fire magic, how could an archmage guarantee that he woulde out unscathed?

    ¡°Duh...¡± Serena took a nce at the floating silhouette, and scolded him harshly. ¡°That¡¯s obvious. This guy had always been reckless, nothing special. What I am asking is, are you able to tell what is he trying to do?¡±

    Aragon was at a loss. ¡°I can¡¯t tell...¡±

    ¡°I guess...¡± At this point, Hank, who had been behind a rock all the while, suddenly said softly, ¡°I guess... I guess Mr.Felic is trying to help.¡±

    ¡°Help?¡± Serena grunted. ¡°Can he?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Aragon rubbed his nose and kept quiet. However, from his expression, it could be seen that he did not believe that Mr.Felic would be of much help.

 Chapter 200 - Medicine Taking

    <h4>Chapter 200: Medicine Taking</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°No, we need to find a way to get this fe down...¡± Serena looked at the floating silhouette; she looked rather anxious. ¡°Aragon, I order you to hurry and think of a way!¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Aragon was dumbfounded, his expression looked worse than crying.<i>Captain Serena, you think too highly of me, asking me toe up with a solution now. What kind of solution can Ie up with? How can I fly up there and bring that fe down? I am not an archmage...</i>

    In fact, Serena knew it herself. There was no solution avable at this time. Those two fighting were legendary powerhouses. Other than that reckless fe, who else dared to interfere with their fight? Yet the problem was that that reckless fe had saved her life before. Serena could not watch on as he died...

    ¡°Damned Archmage!¡± Serena scolded harshly. She could note up with a solution no matter how hard she thought about it.

    The members of the Silver Hand were whispering to one another. Likewise, the other mercenary corps were also discussing. Almost everyone were specting what this fe was trying to do by rushing into the sky. Some said he wanted to help the Sword Sage of the Storm, but he never made any moves. Some said he wanted to watch the fun, yet he was too close.

    Going up there at this time would only result in severe injuries; nothing good woulde out of it...

    Amongst the crowd, it could be said that only Hank and Elijah were the most unperturbed.

    They knew Lin Li the longest, and had gone through the most scare caused by him. After going through it repeatedly, they had already be numb to it. They even did not think that Lin Li would run into trouble. This was almost like an instinct¡ªjust like eating when you were hungry or drinking when you were thirsty. It was apletely logical and obvious train of thought.

    Being the focus of the crowd¡¯s gazes, Lin Li did not budge at all. He just floated in the sky quietly, waiting for that fleeting chance.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm had already been pushed the borders of the Fire Plume Ridge, and it looked like he was about to be pushed into a hopeless situation where he could no longer retreat.

    This time, the Sword Sage of the Storm did not retreat further. He grabbed the sword with both hands and the silver me surrounding his body surged. Instantly, the infinite silver mes flushed to the sword¡¯s body. Under this flush of silver mes, the almost one meter long sword instantly expanded, creating a silver fire wall that was up to ten meters tall.

    ¡°Boom!¡± There was a loud sound, the overspreading silver mes rolled up, and the apocalyptic aura dissipated. Even Lin Li, who was in the sky, felt stifled.

    The red mes and white de aura instantly invoked a florid scene that seemed like a dream. The two different colours, warm and cold, mixed together. The brilliance dazzled everyone.

    Within the overspreading silver mes, a shimmering light shot through like aet.

    Lin Li clearly saw that it was the sword from the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Aroo!¡±

    This was closely followed by a shriek...

    Even with the Smander¡¯s iparable body, it finally gave way to the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s all-out attack. In a hurry, it only barely managed to block its most vital part, its head. Next, silver light shed by and the Smander¡¯s long tail was instantly chopped off by the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s sword.

    ¡°Bom!¡±

    The muffled sound could only be heard after a while..

    The tail that was cleaved off heavily fell on the ground. Instantaneously, there was crimson red blood spewing everywhere. The thick scent of blood permeated the air. It was so suffocating that even Lin Li, who was in the sky, started to frown. Shrill roars came in quick session and traveled throughout the whole Fire Plume Ridge. Even the Fire Crows at the bottom of the ridge were so frightened that they took to the skies in flocks.

    Being provoked by pain that it had never felt before, the ferocious head of the Smander fiercely rose up. Its small pair of eyes was filled with inexhaustible hatred. Two of its protruding teeth were shimmering in the dazzling re, and its red tongue was flickering. The hiss it let out made everyone¡¯s skin crawl.

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Lin Li, being in the sky, was crystal clear on the changes in the battlefield. When he saw the Smander flickering its tongue, he knew that situation was not going well. The earth-shaking strike just now hadpletely exhausted the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s energy. If the Smander were to attack now, he would not have the ability to resist it.

    As expected, just when Lin Li said ¡°sh*t¡±, the smander¡¯s front paw¡¯s ws had already created an afterimage...

    ¡°Swish!¡± A tearing sound could be heard, and what followed was blood spewing. In that instant, Lin Li thought that Al¡¯Akir had been ripped into two. The razor sharp ws shed at the chest. With a ¡°tchh¡±, it had ripped out a long wound on the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s body...

    Yet, simultaneously, a silver flight shot out from the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s hand like lightning.

    ¡°Aroo...¡± Smander¡¯s shriek this time was more intense than the previous time.

    The Smander¡¯s ferocious head arched backwards, and red blood spewed out from its right eye like rain drops. The sword that was surrounded by silver mes was like a nail hammered into the Smander¡¯s right eye.

    This bloody scene made everyone freeze...

    Nobody had thought that the battle between these two legendary powerhouses would be so bloody.

    Lin Li, who was in the sky, was admiring it silently. The Sword Sage of the Storm was indeed the Sword Sage of the Storm. In such exhaustion, he still managed to severely wound a powerhouse like the Smander with just a throw of his sword. Just with this unexpected strike, he had already pulled back the bnce of power that was originally against him.

    However, it was not important to Lin Li whether it had been pulled back.

    It was because the chance that he wanted was right in front of his eyes!

    First, the Smander¡¯s tail had been chopped off, and now, one of its eyes had been stabbed. Even if the Smander was a legendary magical beast, it had finally lost its sanity. Its earth-shattering roar was filled with pain and hatred. It was pounding its ferocious head against the floor. The dull ¡°bom bom bom¡± sounds could be felt in everyone¡¯s chest. The body that lost a tail was iling about. The scales that were covered in dirt and sand gave everyone goosebumps.

    The heavily wounded Smander started to lose the mes from its body. The numerous scales seemed to be dull. This was the sign of energy depletion. The smander would retract the mes from its body only when it was severely wounded to prevent itself from being burned when it was exhausted.

    However, such a retraction was not actually aplete disappearance. It was just that the Smander used its innate ability to control the mes and hid them inside its body.

    And <i>this </i>was the chance that Lin Li was waiting for...

    ¡°Smander, bro, it¡¯s time for you have a taste of some medicine!¡± Just as the mes receded, Lin Li took off his Robe of the Void. A robe that was worth hundred thousand of gold coins was made into a bundle by him in a matter of seconds. It was like a package held in his hands. He furiously enhanced his mana output; then, he charged down like an arrow that had just been shot by an arrow...

    ¡°He, he, he... What is he doing?¡± This sudden action instantly made Serena have a scare. She saw that fe descend like a meteor, plunging straight towards the raging Smander. ¡°What the hell, is he courting death?¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Aragon was dumbfounded. He could no longer understand anything anymore about that strange fe in the sky. Since killing Thuzadin at ckhills Town, everything that this fe did seemed to be out of everyone¡¯s expectations. Today was even worse, for unfathomable things came in consecutively. He had transformed from a low-level warrior into a powerful Archmage. And now, he had taken off his robe and charged towards the Smander. This, this, this... What was this? Was he trying to say that it was easier to injured the Smander by taking off the robe?

    The hundreds of adventurers from the Six Great Mercenary Corps seemingly cried out in rm simultaneously.

    Nobody knew what he was thinking, including Hank and Elijah. They could only watch as he swooped down from the sky like a giant bird.

    ¡°Bon Appetit!¡± Lin Li rode the howling winds and flew past the Smander¡¯s body with lightning speed.

    Just as both man and beast were in contact for a split second, the bundle in Lin Li¡¯s hand was thrown out andnded inside the Smander¡¯s mouth.

    After that, Lin Li did not stop. Before he left, he had shot out an icicle as though he was trying to help it with its digestion.

    However, the target for this icicle was actually the Smander¡¯s blinded right eye.

    If it was on any other day, even a mosquito would be stronger than this icicle for the Smander, or maybe the icicle would have been melted by the searing mes before it even reached the Smander. However, now it was severely injured. It had retracted all of the fire magical element surrounding its body. Although it had a high body temperature, it would not reach the level of melting the icicle.

    As for this mediocre icicle, it had miraculously plunged into the Smander¡¯s right eye...

    ¡°Aroo...¡± This grievous, shrill cry echoed, and almost everyone could feel the Smander¡¯s rage.

    In fact, even the members of the six great mercenary corps felt sympathy.

    This what it meant to lose one¡¯s dignity. A legendary magical beast had been struck in the right eye by a level-1 spell. If this news were to spread, it might be able to cause the Smander¡¯s enemies to die fromughing.

    This action that was very insulting, like giving a p to the Smander which had an intelligence that was not inferior to humans. Its heart was filled with rage like never before. It even caused it to forget the wounds on its body and the other human that had injured it. Amidst the dust and smoke, the Smander moved like a red-colored lightning and charged towards Lin Li who was in the sky...

    Unfortunately, Lin Li was not Al¡¯Akir. He had never thought about going head to head with the Smander.

    At the moment when the Smander charged forward, Lin Li¡¯s mana had already been raised to the maximum. With the support of his demon-like mana, the archmage level¡¯s Levitation Spell almost had the effects of Power of Flight. In that instance, Lin Li was like a stream of light and whizzed past the Smander¡¯s body.

    After that, the crowd saw him grinning whilending beside the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s body.

    ¡°Guild Master, need any help?¡±

 Chapter 201 - Self-Destruct

    <h4>Chapter 201: Self-Destruct</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Watch out for yourself...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm was very clear on the severity of his injuries. He was hit by the ws of the Smander, which contained a venom that was a hundred times more potent than that of a Manticore¡¯s tail. Even though he was a legendary powerhouse, he could only use his Combat Energy to suppress the venom. As for the rest, he would have to wait till he returned to nna and search for a remedy at the Pharmacists Guild...

    In fact, he could only go to the Pharmacists Guild.

    Other than those greedy old fes at the Pharmacists Guild, there was no cure for the Smander¡¯s venom. No matter how wise a doctor, a priest, or a mage was, they would be helpless in the face of Smander¡¯s venom.

    Even though this young mage standing in front of him had a mysterious origin, but the Sword Sage of the Storm believed that he was not mysterious enough to have the cure for the Smander¡¯s venom.

    ¡°You can¡¯t help me...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm shook his head.

    ¡°Try drinking it.¡± Lin Li smiled, and did not exin further. He only took out a ss bottle and tossed it over. ¡°If it really doesn¡¯t work, just take it as a fruit juice. After all, it is pretty sweet.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm caught the bottle and was about to ask Lin Li to stay when he heard a roaring from a distance. He saw that the Smander had charged over like wind, bringing along a red afterimage. Its target was the young mage that had added onto its injuries. In a instant, the venomous front ws and numerous scales that no longer radiated red light under the sunlight closed in. Facing this abrupt change, even theposed Sword Sage of the Storm had a change in his expression. ¡°Careful!¡±

    The members of the six great mercenary corps had also simultaneously cried out in rm.

    Serena¡¯s eyes were wide open and her face was panic-stricken. Aragon was anxious; he wanted to rush over and pull Lin Li away. Even the one that trusted Lin Li the most, Hank, had finally started panicking. He covered his mouth with both of his hands and shouted frantically at the far away Lin Li, ¡°Watch your back!¡±

    After tossing the ss bottle to the Sword Sage of the Storm, Lin Li left without even turning over. After he heard the soundsing from behind, without even blinking, he shouted at Sean and Argus, ¡°Hey, you two. Start packing up, we¡¯re going back to nna!¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Sean replied obediently, and started packing up.

    ¡°You... Hurry and look behind you!¡± Argus was as panic-stricken as though he had seen a ghost. He was stuttering while pointing towards Lin Li¡¯s back.

    ¡°Just a Smander, is there a need for you to be so scared...¡± Lin Li mumbled to himself, and he did not even turn around to take a look.

    The smander was getting faster and faster. It stuck close to the floor and slid over a hundred meters with ¡°swish¡± like a red shadow.

    ¡°You¡¯re a pig!¡± Serena harshly scolded. She could not tolerate it anymore, and shut both her eyes. It was over. It waspletely over. At such a short distance, it¡¯d only take a second with the Smander¡¯s speed and it could rip him apart with its sharp ws. At that point, whatever archmage it was would also have to go to heaven.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Just when everyone thought his fe was dead, there was a loud sound from far away. Following that, there was a brilliant explosion of red from the Smander¡¯s body. It was like a mist that had pervaded everyone¡¯s vision. The scorching temperature immediately permeated everywhere, causing everyone to feel the heat...

    What followed immediately was a ¡°POM!¡±

    There was a dazzling re rushing into the skies, which made the pervading red mist abnormally impressive.

    Suddenly, the whole of Fire Plume Ridge had quieten down. It was as though something had sucked away all the noise...

    The Sword Sage of the Storm froze, Argus froze, everyone in the six great mercenary corps froze.

    Nobody knew what had happened, and nobody knew what had made it happen.

    Why did the raging Smander copse for no apparent reason?

    Some of them even rubbed their eyes furiously to make sure that it was not a hallucination.

    Indeed, it was no hallucination. The Smander had copsed.

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Serena opened her eyes nervously, and yet she witnessed this strange scene. Instantly, she was in daze. She was in daze for a minute before she furiously grabbed Aragon¡¯s throat. ¡°Tell me, what happened?¡±

    Aragon¡¯s eyes were zed; he stared at the burning mes. He did not even feel Serena grabbing his throat. Only after awhile, he finally squeezed some words from his throat. ¡°S... The Smander has... has... has been burned to death!¡±

    ¡°Burn your a*s!¡± Serena was close to kicking his face. <i>What a mess. Smander getting burned to death, why don¡¯t you say that a fish is drowning?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s true!¡± Aragon gasped heavily. He recounted what had happened to Serena during that short period.

    After listening to Aragon¡¯s recount, Serena¡¯s eyes became wider and wider. She could not believe that it was true. ording to what Aragon said, the Smander¡¯s body had suddenly caught on fire, and it got burned to death by its own mes. What a joke. A Smander was a fire spirit, it was born with the power to control mes. Strolling in magma and showering in zing fires was as natural as breathing for it. Wasn¡¯t it too preposterous to say that it got burned by its own mes?

    Yet, Aragon was speaking with certainty. She had no choice but to believe it.

    Serena refused to drop the matter and asked again, ¡°The Smander really... really got burned to death by its own fire?¡±

    ¡°Really...¡± Aragon nodded his head. Honestly, if it was not because he¡¯d seen it with his own eyes, he himself would not have believed what he had just said.

    What happened just now was something one wouldn¡¯t have imagined.

    It was like magic. Smander had surged over with an afterimage, and just when it was about to stretch out its ws, it had suddenly started burning without any reason. A loud sound followed closely, and its whole body had been blown into a mist of blood.

    Serena bit her lips and thought for a while before speaking again. ¡°Aragon, do you... think it was done by that guy?¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, that guy seemed to have thrown something into the Smander¡¯s mouth just now. Could it be poison?¡± Serena¡¯s head was full of questions. She was about to lose her sanity from this abnormal situation. Rather than saying that she was asking Aragon, it would be more befitting to say that she was talking to herself.

    ¡°...¡± Aragon sneakily curled his lips, and thought, <i>Only your poison can cause explosions...</i>

    While both of them were mumbling, the other mercenary corps had started discussing simultaneously. There was only one topic in their discussion, and it was about who that young mage was.

    To these adventurers of the six great mercenary corps, Lin Li was an unfamiliar face. Nobody knew where he came from, and nobody knew why he would appear here. The scariest thing was that this fe managed to cause the Smander to self-destruct. Just how great was this injustice?

    Yes, those few from the red dragon mercenary corps knew. Even though they knew, would they dare to say it...

    The Sword Sage of the Storm had already stood up. His hand still held onto that ss bottle, and the stopper had been removed. A thick and viscous ck liquid was emanating a thick and foul smell. The Sword Sage of the Storm tried to bring this weird bottle of liquid to his nose, and it was so pungent that he immediately frowned. He really found it hard to believe that this bottle of liquid that looked more poisonous than the Smander¡¯s poison could help him just like what the young mage had said...

    But the scene from before made the Sword Sage of the Storm have no choice but to believe it.

    Furthermore, he himself was a legendary-level powerhouse. His insights were much deeper than Serena¡¯s. He had no need to suspect Lin Li. Just by his instincts alone, he could tell that the existence of this young mage was the reason why the Smander had died to its own mes.

    On what basis would a person that could kill a Smander just casually use a bottle of potion to trick him?

    The Sword Sage of the Storm gritted his teeth. Finally, he pinched his nose and gulped down that bottle of ck liquid...

    ¡°Ugh...¡± When the weird liquid just entered his throat, the Sword Sage of the Storm felt that his whole body was churning. The feeling was worse than receiving a sh from the Smander. It was like soaking a pair of socks that had not been washed for years and then drinking that water...

    The Sword Sage of the Storm was gagging and drinking at the same time. He had already cursed Lin Li¡¯s ancestors. <i>F*ck. You¡¯re really capable, you little a*shole. You can even create such a nasty thing. Did that Smander die of disgust because of this thing?</i>

    After finishing the bottle with difficulty, the Sword Sage of the Storm did not even have the strength to stand. He threw the bottle and sat on the floor before thinking to himself, <i>F*cking hell, drinking this bottle of liquid was more agonizing than fighting the Smander...</i>

    At this time, Lin Li had already kept the mithril pot. He was now bringing Sean and Argus with him to the route to descend from the peak. When he had reached the Sword Sage of the Storm, he looked at the empty bottle on the ground. ¡°You¡¯ve finished it so quickly? Rest well for these two days. Drink more water and don¡¯t exercise too much. Within two days, the toxins in your body will be gone.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm was vomiting incessantly. When he saw Lin Li walked over, he wanted to curse and swear at him. Yet, he heard him give an important warning. He immediately shut his mouth. He really could notprehend what this young mage was thinking. <i>What if that bottle of liquid really could dispel the poison? Could it be that, I, the Sword Sage of the Storm still wanted to do something stupid like beating up somebody and then knock on his door to apologize after realizing my mistakes? No, no, no, I can¡¯t do something like that...</i>

    Lin Li no longer had any interest in what the Sword Sage of the Storm was thinking. The only thing that interested him now was the charred carcass of the Smander...

 Chapter 202 - Legendary Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 202: Legendary Magical Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the Sword Sage of the Storm was vomiting, he felt something was wrong. He suddenly realized that the toxins in the body started showing signs of disappearing.

    This sudden realization shocked the Sword Sage of the Storm.

    That was the Smander¡¯s poison we were talking about. Even though he had already used his legendary-levelbat energy to suppress it, it was still waiting for a chance to cause trouble. With just a little carelessness, it could invade his heart and damage it.

    But after drinking this thick and viscous ck liquid, the toxins suddenly showed signs of softening...

    The Sword Sage of the Storm knew that he did not have to go to the Pharmacists Guild anymore.

    He was a legendary warrior. A warrior¡¯s strongest weapon was his body. Any warrior had a deep understanding of their own body. It was especially so at the realm that Al¡¯Akir was in. He would not miss a single minute change, not to mention such a big issue like the Smander¡¯s poison...

    Almost as soon as the toxin started to recede, the Sword Sage of the Storm had already noticed it. This small change made the Sword Sage of the Storm realize that that bottle of ck liquid that was making him vomit non-stop really could neutralize the Smander¡¯s poison.

    The young mage had not been lying.

    For a moment, the Sword Sage of the Storm was in aplete daze.

    He even started to guess what sort of person this young mage was. An archmage not even in his twenties could actually neutralize the Smander¡¯s poison. A person like this should not be of a low profile. Even if his identity were to protected by the Guild of Magic, his name should have been heard of by now.

    Just thinking about Gryffindor would make sense. A 24-year-old level-14 magic shooter already had the reputation of the number one genius in Fn. If Gryffindor was the number one genius in Fn, then what should this young mage in front of him be called? Anril¡¯s number one magic genius?

    ¡°Just where did this kide from...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm had a doubtful and anxious expression. He decided that when he returned to nna, he would investigate this kid.

    Just as the Sword Sage of the Storm was being doubtful and anxious, Lin Li had already walked to the side of the Smander¡¯s carcass.

    Lin Li nced at the Sword Sage of the Storm; the expression of the guild master had been seen by him. When the Sword Sage of the Storm had a doubtful and anxious expression, Lin Li knew that that bottle of antidote had already achieved its goal...

    ¡°Mr Al¡¯Akir, do you mind if I take some things from the Smander¡¯s body?¡± Lin Li smiled while asking.

    ¡°No... I don¡¯t mind.¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm was stupefied for a moment. Even though he seemed reluctant, he still agreed.

    There was no choice, he had owed the other party a favor. Even if they wanted to take away the whole Smander, he would not have a way to say ¡°no¡±, not to mention a small part of it.

    As to why the Smander had been killed and why he was still alive, it was thoroughly because of this young mage. If it had not been for his sudden appearance, he would have died to the Smander¡¯s ws. As for the adventurers of the six great mercenary corps, at most only half of them managed to escape.

    Furthermore, the other party even took out a bottle of ck liquid to help neutralize the Smander¡¯s poison.

    After summing up everything, this favor was even greater than the heavens. WIth the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s personality, how could he reject?

    ¡°Heh heh, then I¡¯ll help myself!¡± Lin Li smiled, and quietly took out the silver knife which he frequently used from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s reaction was well within Lin Li¡¯s calctions. These two favors were really too great. Unless the Sword Sage of the Storm could disregard his reputation and ignore him, there was no way that he would stop him from touching the Smander¡¯s carcass.

    If it was not because he had harbored such thoughts, why would he be so generous?

    He had no ties to the Sword Sage of the Storm. There was no friendship or animosity between them. Furthermore, the Smander was already dead. He no longer needed the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s help, and it was not like he had an abundance of herbs in his pockets. Why should he force himself to pretend to be magnanimous?

    Since the Sword Sage of the Storm had agreed, Lin Li did not stand on ceremony. He grasped the silver knife taken from the Ring of Endless Storm and slowly walked over to the Smander¡¯s carcass.

    The Smander died in a wretched manner. Its entire body had been cooked. When Lin Li walked over, he could even smell a thick scent of roasted meat. It was just that when the smell of the roasted meat was mixed with the scent of blood, it became unbearable. When Lin Li just walked over, it was so pungent that he pinched his nose.

    <i>I will never eat roasted meat again... </i>Lin Li frowned. He used the small silver knife in his hand to sh gently and cut open the Smander¡¯s abdomen. He then pulled down along this hole, and opened up arge opening in the Smander¡¯s abdomen.

    Of all the magical beasts that Lin Li had seen, the Smander was a very special species. Their magical crystals were not the same as those of the other magical beasts that grew on their heads, but instead grew in the chest like a heart. This allowed the powerful Po wer of Fire to flow through the entire body along the cirction of blood.

    Lin Li had experience killing a Smander before. Even though he was now in another world, he was still very familiar with the extraction of the magical crystal. The silver knife in his hands easily went through the sutures of the Smander and followed an invisible line which easily opened the Smander¡¯s thoracic cavity. The entire process seemed to bepleted with a single stroke, and was as smooth as a butcher with tens of years of experience at work.

    Once he had the Smander¡¯s crimson magical crystal in his hand, Lin Li kept his silver knife with satisfaction. He used his hands to wipe off the blood and dust, and then ced it against sunlight to admire it. When the Smander¡¯s magical crystal was in his hands, Lin Li could clearly feel a faint warmth being emitted from the magical crystal. It was gentle and peaceful,pletely different from when the Smander was alive, filled with a violent and murderous aura.

    It was a priceless treasure.

    When a magical crystal reached the legendary-level, its value could no longer be quantified with gold. It was impossible to find an adventurer that could hunt legendary magical beasts, no matter how many gold coins were offered. Such a rare magical crystal could only be traded for with other goods within a small circle.

    Lin Li had had a n once, but he¡¯d given up on it.

    Although the Ring of Endless Storm contained a lot of treasures, he could trade only a few items among them for a legendary magical crystal. For example, something like the Divinity Metal. However, he hated to use the Divinity Metal to trade for a legendary magical crystal...

    Hence, Lin Li could only drool all the while.

    ... Until today¡ªhe¡¯d finally found a chance when the six great mercenary corps encircled and suppressed the Smander...

    As a saying went, an opportunity only presented itself to those who were prepared.

    Lin Li was rejoicing because he was prepared.

    The various herbs within in the Ring of Endless Storm allowed Lin Li to concoct the various potions to deal with the Smander. This was the most crucial part of this battle.

    The ingestion of these ten or more bottles of potions made the Smander self-destruct.

    If this were to be spread, it might make people feel that this skill, the legacy of the High Elves, was too monstrous...

    Presumably, only Lin Li knew it. If this matter were to be disclosed, it actually was not worth a single penny.

    Even if he did not have a skill that was the legacy of the high elves, he could still achieve his goal. It was just that it would be slightly moreplicatedpared to using potions.

    The unique position of the Smander¡¯s magical crystal had already determined its miserable fate.

    Its immense Power Of Fire came from the magical crystal at the heart. Once it was gravely injured, the Power Of Fire contained within the magical crystal would be unstable. Therefore, it had no choice but to retract its Power Of Fire to prevent itself from inflicting injury upon itself. When the Smander was in such a condition, it would be very dangerous. If anything that could ignite the Power Of Fire within itself were to happen, it would be burnt alive by itself...

    And Lin Li manipted it using this point.

    All of the tens of bottles of high-level potions were meant to buff every single elemental power. One of them was even a master level atomic energy potion. It was used for increasing the explosive power of the elemental power.

    The Smander was already in a dangerous condition. Its Power Of Fire was seriously unstable. It just had to drink tens of bottles of elemental power enhancing potions, so how could it not be unlucky? Furthermore, within those tens of bottles of potions, there was an Atomic Energy potion that was used for raising the explosive power of elemental energy. That was the real killer. For mages, a bottle of Potion of Fury could instantly boost thebat power by a level. It could allow a magic shooter to have the power of an archmage. Even though itsted only for a short period, the power released during that time could only be described as horrific.

    As legendary magical beast, the Power Of Fire that the Smander had released during that instance should not belong to Anril. It was not a god. How could it survive under such circumstances?

    One had to admit, Lin Li had picked up a heavenly bargain.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s fight to the death had brought about a rare chance for Lin Li. With the ingestion of the tens of bottles of high-level potions, it¡¯d immediately sent the Smander to heaven.

    ¡°A thing like luck is really hard to exin...¡± After cing the Smander¡¯s magical crystal into the Ring of Endless Storm, satisfied, this fe even shamelessly sighed.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm saw him take out the silver knife and watched him cut open the Smander¡¯s abdomen before finally extracting the crimson red magical crystal. It truly was so heartbreaking that he almost teared up...

    Although this was not the true objective behind his attempt to hunt the Smander, who wouldn¡¯t be interested in a legendary-level magical crystal? It was a priceless treasure. It even had a chance of being traded with Aldwin for the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    Unfortunately...

    Unfortunately, this priceless treasure fell into the hands of this young mage in the end.

    He could not even breathe a word about it, because it had already been settled previously. The other party wanted to extract something from the Smander¡¯s carcass, and no matter what it was going to be, he could only watch. With the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s current position, he would not do something like going back on his words...

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to nna!¡± After obtaining a magical crystal for no reason at all, Lin Li¡¯s mood could not be any better. Even the prisoner, Argus, stood to gain something from it. Lin Li affectionately patted him on the shoulder, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s have a good chat while we are on the road. I have a few questions to ask you. If you can answer them properly, I will release you once we reach nna.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely answer properly...¡± Argus was surprised. He had never thought that this guy would actually be so easy to talk to.

    To be able to escape after answering a few questions. Where could such good deal be found?

    The three of them went past the corpse of the Smander and walked towards the route for descending the mountain.

    ¡°Hold up, kid!¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm was feeling sorry about the Smander¡¯s magical crystal, and then he suddenly saw these few fes trying to leave, so he hurriedly shouted at them.

    ¡°Mr Al¡¯Akir, is there something wrong?¡± Lin Li was smiling, but he reminded himself that this was a legendary powerhouse. Even if he was still poisoned by the Smander, he was somebody that he, who¡¯d just broken through the Archmage realm, could go up against.

    If this old man were to turn against him, it would mean serious trouble. Even though, judging by the Sword Sage of the Storm¡¯s position, he most likely would not do something like that. However, in some situations, it was better to be more careful.

    Therefore, when Lin Li stopped, even though his face was filled with smiles, his mana had already been raised to the max...

    ¡°Kid, there¡¯s no need to be so nervous.¡± Lin Li¡¯s body was filled with mana. The intense magical wave could be felt from far away. How could a veteran like the Sword Sage of the Storm not know what he was thinking about? Immediately, he smiled in a very friendly manner to show that he did not have any animosity.

    ¡°Guild Master, how can I help you?¡± Lin Li did not take it lying down. <i>I don¡¯t care if you have any animosity, let¡¯s distance ourselves from this dangerous person first. </i>He smiled while talking, and also moved back at the same time. After finishing this sentence, he had already shifted back more than ten steps.

    ¡°Let me say this, kid, can you not be so nervous...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm felt like both crying andughing. He had lived for almost a hundred years, and had never experienced something like this. He had been seen as a weird old man trying to trick a kid with lollipops! To prove that he did not harbor any ill intentions, the Sword Sage of the Storm took more than ten steps back before the other party did. Only then did he ask Lin Li from afar, ¡°I just wanted to ask if you are from the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Lin Li shook his head straightforwardly. He did not wait for the Sword Sage of the Storm to question him further, and took Sean and Argus with him to the route to descend the mountain.

    ¡°...¡± The Sword Sage of the Storm was dazed for a while, and suddenly touched his face before asking himself in a uncertain manner, ¡°Am i really that scary?¡±

    The members of the six great mercenary corps only returned to their normal state when Lin Li¡¯s party had descended the mountain...

    Today had been too stimting for them. They had seen the legendary Smander and a person that could kill the legendary magical beast with their own eyes.

    Serenamanded her subordinates to clear the battlefield while thinking to herself. She had always felt that the fe together with Lin Li had always been somewhat familiar...

    ¡°Oh my God. That¡¯s Argus!¡± It was only after a full ten minutes that Serena finally remembered. In an instant, her expression could only be described as unusually brilliant.

 Chapter 203 - Kevin

    <h4>Chapter 203: Kevin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The three of them took a break at ckhills Town, and hired a carriage there. By the time they had returned to nna, it was already in the afternoon on the second day. During this long journey, Argus said everything.

    The situation was simr to Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. The reason as to why Argus became his opponent was all because of Matthias¡¯ actions. It had not been suggested by Wilhelm, nor did it have any support from anyone within the family. It was purely because he could not let it go and wanted his life.

    This result made Lin Li somewhat more rxed.

    At least, judging from their talk just now, the Marathon Family was not preparing to do anything against him. If it was only Matthias, there was no need to worry, because this fe was too stupid. He made such a mess out of an assassination n. If it weren¡¯t because Argus had been lucky and caught him in the cave trying to gather ck lotus, why would the journey thereafter have be so dangerous?

    Now, he had four ck lotus on hand, and the power of an archmage. If Matthias were to act against him, he would have to ask a legendary-mage for help...

    Yet, after the talk, Argus also confirmed one thing. Wilhelm was indeed angry. This was the only thing that made Lin Li somewhat worried.

    Wilhelm¡¯s attitude also signified the attitude of the Marathon Family. Just a single Matthias would not amount to anything. From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, he was just an useless blockhead at the very most. If he wanted to go against Lin Li, he would have to mature more. On the flip side, if it was the whole Marathon Family, then it would spell trouble. The power of the Marathon Family was too immense. Even if Lin Li was protected by the Guild of Magic, they would still have a chance...

    ¡°Ok, Argus. You may leave.¡± The carriage stopped in front of the Guild of Magic, and Lin Li let Argus go very willingly.

    ¡°Ah?¡± Argus was dazed for awhile.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to ¡®ah¡¯ about, why aren¡¯t you leaving? Could it be that you¡¯re still waiting for me to treat you to dinner?¡±

    ¡°I... I really can leave?¡± Argus could not be believe it. This fe actually let him go so easily...

    Although this guy had mentioned it earlier at the Fire Plume Ridge that if he were to cooperate, he would be released. However, with this guy¡¯s personality, what it meant to release him had to include some machinations. For example, getting cursed, poisoned, or something. It could also be getting some form of evidence that he had betrayed the Marathon Family so that he had no other choice but to listen to Lin Li.

    In fact, Argus had long been prepared for this.

    He had already submitted to fate.

    In any case, this young mage called Felic was also powerful person, having the power of an Archmage at such a tender age and the knowledge of the mysterious pharmaceutics. Listening to a person like this was not something shameful. To be precise, it promised a better future than listening to Matthias.

    He had already thought about how to show his loyalty and win the other party¡¯s trust...

    Who knew this was going to be the result...

    This guy actually released him the moment he opened his mouth. He did not cast any curse or poison him. He did not even try to ckmail him. <i>This, this, this... Isn¡¯t this too disrespectful? At any rate, I used to be a archmage, and you let me go just like this?</i>

    Argus was a little disappointed.

    Lin Li did not care whether he was disappointed or not. He chased him off the carriage with just a few words.

    <i>What a joke, it¡¯s not like I have nothing better to do. What¡¯s the point of taking in a burdensome person like you?</i>

    <i>For now, it¡¯s just Matthias own actions. If I really were to take you in, I¡¯m afraid the Marathon Family would send men over to f*ck me up. Also, you should look at the mirror. Can¡¯t you see that you have the word ¡°traitor¡± written all over your face?</i>

    <i>You are the traitor of the Marathon Family. If I really were to bring you into the Guild of Magic, who knows what would Wilhelm think?</i>

    <i>Sending an Archmage to assassinate me is a small issue...</i>

    <i>What I am afraid of is that he might have issues with Guild of Magic and think that the Guild of Magic might be attempting something against the Marathon Family. Once that happens, two powerful forces will sh together. The adventurers guild that always had eyes on the key to Osric¡¯s Mausoleum might interfere as a third party. This will result in a bloodbath in nna. How would I, the instigator, feel?</i>

    <i>I can¡¯t do this, I definitely can¡¯t...</i>

    Lin Li sent Argus off in a manner that was simr to sending off the God of gue.

    Lin Li only felt relieved and got off the carriage after seeing Argus leave. He brought Sean with him into the Guild hall.

    ¡°Felic!¡± Just as he had entered the Guild hall, he heard Mason¡¯s voiceing from afar.

    ¡°Morning, Brother Mason. What a coincidence.¡± Lin Li looked into distance and saw Masoning over from the corridor with Orrin. It seemed like these two were not cking off, either. They should have spent most of their time reading at the Omniscient Tower.

    The three of them started catching up after not seeing each other for a few days before they started walking outside. Once they were on the road, Mason managed to find the time to ask Lin Li about his harvest. ¡°How was it, was it smooth sailing at the Fire Plume Ridge?¡±

    ¡°This, it can be considered smooth...¡± Lin Li was not too sure. In fact, he himself was unsure whether this was considered smooth going. The rewards for this trip to the Fire Plume Ridge had far exceeded his expectations. Not only had he sessfully gathered ck lotus, he had also obtained a floating fortress from the Dark Ages and a legendary-level magical crystal.

    On the other hand, there were quite a few issues.

    First of all, he had to duel with an archmage, and in the middle of it, he had encountered a disaster-like earthquake. As for entering the Gates of Ashes, something like going to the Eternal Furnace could only be considered a small interlude. The real climax would be killing the Smander. It might seem like smooth sailing, but it actually had been as dangerous as walking on a steel wire. With just a small mistake back then, it would most likely be Lin Li¡¯s ashes that were sent back to nna now, not he himself.

    Luckily, each of those times were threatening, but not overly dangerous. Hence, it could still be considered smooth sailing...

    ¡°What have you guys been up to? Still going to the Omniscient Tower every day?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... I only use half of a day to read books now.¡± Mason¡¯s face was boastful.

    Lin Li was curious. ¡°Then what about the other half?¡±

    ¡°I use the rest of time to educate an idiot.¡± After Mason said that, he looked at Orrin with eyes full of provocation.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost fainted from fear because of him. He distinctly remembered that before he had left nna, this guy had just reached the Magic Shooter realm, and Orrin had already reached the peak of level-12. It was not just a level in power. What did he use to educate others? His finger...?

    ¡°Felic, you must know that people always improve. You can ask him who educated whom if you don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°He won.¡± Orrin¡¯s words were short like in the past, but after he finished, he added another two words. ¡°One round.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°What, one round doesn¡¯t count as winning?¡± Mason did not bother refuting; he just showed off proudly, and shamelessly added another sentence. ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I will not duel with you anymore. I want to keep this victory for an eternity!¡±

    ¡°Idiot.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Mr.Felic...¡± The three of them returned to the living quarters, and just as they sat down on the rattan chairs, Mason suddenly remembered something. ¡°I¡¯ve heard from the old man that somebody was looking for you yesterday afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Somebody was looking for me? Was it an old man?¡± Lin Li thought hard about it. The people that he was familiar with in nna were just a few. Among them, more than half of them were at the Fire Plume Ridge. Other than that, only Old Grimm and Andoine might look for him. Furthermore, out of these two old men, Old Grimm was the most likely one.

    It was because when Lin Li had left, he had promised him that he would go to the Pharmacists Guild to join some event when he returned. After calcting the time, it could be that the old man could not wait any longer these two days and decided toe to Guild of Magic.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so...¡± Mason thought about it; what he said next was far beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the old man say that it was somebody young. Like, in the twenties or thirties...¡±

    ¡°Twenties or thirties?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Mason thought for a long before he remembered. ¡°He¡¯s called Kevin! Yes, yes, yes... It¡¯s Kevin!¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡± Lin Li had a shock.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. Why don¡¯t you ask the old man, he might know a thing or two.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I will go find him right now!¡± Once he¡¯d heard that Kevin had actually came to nna, Lin Li immediately could not sit still. He did not care about the exhaustion from the trip. After he hurriedly settled down Sean, he rushed over to search for Kevin.

    Lin Li jogged over to the guild hall, went through the long corridor, and was knocking on Macklin¡¯s door before long.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    Lin Li gently pushed open the door, and immediately saw the sheepish face of Macklin.

    ¡°Mr. Macklin, I¡¯ve heard somebody was looking for me.¡± After Lin Li entered the room, he did not bother being polite, and went straight to the point.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Macklin nodded. ¡°Two days ago, a mage called Kevin came looking for you. He said he was Gerian¡¯s nephew,ing from Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°He... Where is he now?¡±

    ¡°He is at the guild¡¯s guest room. I¡¯ll get somebody to bring you there in a while.¡±

    ¡°No need, I¡¯ll go over myself.¡± Lin Li shook his head and rejected Macklin¡¯s kind intentions. As of now, he could not even wait for a single minute, much less ¡°a while¡±.

    Lin Li clearly remembered that before he¡¯d left, Kevin had always been garrisoned at the Demon Fall Valley. For the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, the Demon Fall Valley was their lifeline. It was the root of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. If it was not because something big had happened, why would Kevine over to nna to look for him? And if he came to nna, who would be defending the Demon Fall Valley? Could it be that Gerian went over...

    <i>Something must have happened at Jarrosus, and it¡¯s not something ordinary!</i>

    ¡°Felic, wait...¡± Lin Li had just stood up when he got stopped by Macklin. ¡°I have something to discuss with you...¡±

 Chapter 204 - Bad News (Big Chapter!)

    <h4>Chapter 204: Bad News (Big Chapter!)</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Now is not the time. Let¡¯s discuss it when I get back...¡± Lin Li said while he rushed off. When he reached the guest room of the guild, he saw Kevin pacing around the room anxiously.

    The archmage who was responsible for taking care of Kevin was called Stilton. Before Lin Li went to the Shadowglen for the trial, he¡¯d met him twice. Lin Li knew that he was an important figure in nna Guild of Magic, and wasparable to Darian in terms of the status.

    Although Macklin had not said much, he was indeed concerned with this matter.

    ¡°Mr. Stilton, could you tell me when would Felic be back?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± The archmage hesitated. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not sure as well. I only know that his mentor is Mr. Macklin. Apart from him, we do not have the right to ask about his whereabouts...¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Kevin paused, and was unusually jittery.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Stilton.¡± Lin Li greeted the good-natured archmage the moment he entered the room. Then, he turned towards the other man. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Kevin.¡±

    ¡°L-long time no see!¡± Kevin was ted upon seeing Lin Li. ¡°When did youe back?¡±

    ¡°Felic, you are finally back! Your friend has been waiting for two days here. If not, I would need to go and pester Mr. Macklin for you,¡± Stilton joked while he walked towards the door. ¡°Alright, I will go and attend to my matters now. Have a nice day!¡±

    ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Stilton.¡±

    After sending Stilton away, Lin Li turned to look at Kevin. He asked worriedly, ¡°Kevin, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Something horrible has happened...¡± replied Kevin. It had only been a month since Lin List saw him. Kevin looked much more pallid than before, and his hair looked like a mess, eyes bloodshot.

    ¡°We¡¯ve lost the Demon Fall Valley...¡±

    Lin Li frowned. Still, he was not shocked by this sudden news. Before he came, he had already prepared himself mentally. Since Kevin appeared at nna, it meant that something had happened in Jarrosus. It would not be a small matter, or the stubborn Gerian would not have allowed Kevin toe nna to look for him.

    At the start, he thought that it was Gerian whom had gotten into trouble.

    Thankfully...

    Although the Demon Fall Valley was important, losing it was not a great deal. They could just get it back when he was free.

    So, he asked in a low voice, ¡°Did Shadow¡¯s Nest do it?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Kevin nodded, and leaned against the chair weakly. ¡°They attacked the Demon Fall Valley within one month after you left.¡±

    ¡°Their attacks have always been rather frequent. Why did the defense force fail this time?¡± Lin Li asked doubtfully. Everyone in Jarrosus knew that the Shadow¡¯s Nest had been vying for the Demon Fall Valley and would be sure to n their attacks every month. To put it in Gerian¡¯s words, those attacks were much more punctual than Old Merlin¡¯s period.

    As for whether Old Merlin had any period, we could discuss it next time. The Shadow¡¯s Nest had never seeded in any of their raids throughout these 10 years. How did they do it this time round?

    ¡°This time... this time...¡± Kevin hesitated, not knowing where to start. After a minute, Lin Li heard his voice again. ¡°This time was different¡ªtheir attack was much stronger than before. If I did not recognize a few familiar faces, I would have thought that it was a different force that attacked the Demon Fall Valley.¡±

    ¡°Stronger attack?¡± Lin Li was stunned for a moment, but regained hisposure immediately. He rified, ¡°You meant they had better equipment?¡±

    There were two sides to a stronger attack. First, it would be an upgraded set of skills. Second, the enhancement of equipment.

    In a battle that hundreds of thousands of people participated, unless there was a suppression to everyone¡¯s level, the level of any individual would be meaningless. Furthermore, breakthroughs were not to be achieved in the matter of days. How would so many people experience that together?

    The most direct and effective method was still to make changes to the equipment.

    Especially for people of lower levels, a trashy outfit and an outfit of superior quality would mean two different things. For example, if you gave a mage who had just surpassed level-5 10 scrolls, 10 Recovery Potions, and a Robe of the Void, he would be able to kill at least 10 other mages of a simr level extremely easily.

    Hence, when he heard that the Shadow¡¯s Nest had a boost in abilities, the first thing Lin Li thought of was their equipment!

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Kevin nodded with an agonizing expression. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they had so much magical equipment... Almost everybody had one! Each of them were holding either a Frost or a Fire Shadowbane. It was my first time ever seeing so much magical equipment. And... and the thing was, they even had a team of warriors dressed in heavy armor! I totally could not tell what metal their armors were made of. They remained unharmed from attacks that were below level-5. They were like monsters!¡±

    ¡°Warriors in heavy armor?¡± Lin Li paused. Having great knowledge in forging, he knew that magical equipment was of little significance. The names¡ªFrost or Fire Shadowbane¡ªwere only superficial fronts. With any piece of scrap metal, he could easily forge magical equipment of simr capabilities.

    The heavy-armored Warriors were the only thing that attracted his attention.

    The cost of heavy-armored Warriors was infamously exorbitant. Not to mention their magical attributes and costly maintenance fees in the future, just a set of delicately forged heavy armor would require at least ten thousands goin coins. In fact, the budget to develop a heavy-armored Warrior would be as much as if he was a mage.

    In Fn Kingdom, there were as many mercenary corps as the hair on a cow. They were endowed with rich oil resources too. Yet, what could really manage the expenses of the heavy-armored Warriors would no doubt only be the Silver Hand. With such a big force, the Silver Hand became one of the three great mercenary corps in nna.

    However, the Shadow¡¯s Nest was considered an inferior force in the Fn Kingdom. What was their motive for doing so?

    Furthermore, they did not look like the usual heavy-armored Warriors...

    ¡°Kevin, were those heavy-armored Warriorspletely or partially immune to magic of level-5 and below? Think carefully before you answer. It¡¯s important.¡±

    ¡°Fully immune,¡± Kevin replied with firmness.

    ¡°I knew it...¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and said nothing more. Yet, he started to suspect something was amiss. Armor that could protect people from magic below level-5 was nothing to be fancy about, and Lin Li knew various forging designs that could achieve the same effect.

    And that was the reason why he was even more suspicious.

    The few designs he knew of would require the help from high-level cksmiths. With the inferior status of the Shadow¡¯s Nest, how could they have the ability to invite them? Furthermore, those designs were exorbitantly priced¡ªeasily at a few hundred thousand gold coins. If the Shadow¡¯s Nest had so much money, why would they vie for the Demon Fall Valley? They should have run to Jarrosus to rescue the prostitutes there...

    ¡°How¡¯s Ysera?¡± Lin Li asked after a while.

    ¡°Uh?¡± Kevin was surprised by that random question. How would the upation of the Demon Fall Valley be even rted to Ysera¡¯s wellbeing?

    But after that, he honestly replied, ¡°He was not injured¡ªhe just had his group of merchants stolen. But, frankly speaking, he made significant contributions. Not to mention that he busied himself to help out with different resources, he¡¯s also sent 20 magic shooters from the Mannes Family. If not for him, I¡¯m afraid we wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist even for a week.¡±

    ¡°20 magic shooters?¡± Lin Li nodded, and eliminated his suspicions against Ysera.

    Initially, he¡¯d thought that the Mannes Family had been behind it.

    Before he¡¯d left Jarrosus, the Mannes Family had been on extremely good terms with the Guild of Magic. Yet although they¡¯d appeared to be as close as family, Lin Li understood that it was because of theck of a proper opportunity. Or else, neither the Mannes Family nor Ysera would waste the chance to take over Jarrosus.

    The situation was clear. How could the ability of the Guild of Magic and all the different potions Lin Li had left behind before he¡¯d left give the Shadow¡¯s Nest any chance to seed? If not for those, Lin Li would not have left with such a peace of mind.

    Yet, it had only been one month since he¡¯d left, and Kevin came rushing here to announce that the Demon Fall Valley got taken over. Who would believe that no one was supporting the Shadow¡¯s Nest?

    The attack by the Shadow¡¯s Nest this time had a strong reek of money. Money was needed to forge magical weapons and magical armors.

    And who was the richest in the whole of Jarrosus? It would undoubtedly be... the Mannes Family, or the pretty boy Ysera.

    Hence, the first person that Lin Li had suspected was Ysera.

    But, from what Kevin told him, it did not seem like it...

    Ysera was a young and able man with good potential. He would not chose to do the silly deed of siding with both the Shadow¡¯s Nest and the Guild of Magic at the same time.

    Even if what Ysera did was to gain the trust from the Guild of Magic as a backup n, it did not make sense to waste so much effort. Furthermore, Jarrosus was not nna¡ªeveryone knew who were the archmages. After Old Merlin disappeared, there was only one archmage in Jarrosus left, and that man was President Gerian.

    Archmages were already considered the most influential and powerful people in the country. If Ysera was to engage in such an activity, he would have invested everything. Hence, it seemed like he was trustworthy in allying himself with the Guild of Magic...

    Apart from the Mannes Family, who would have the ability to own such wealth? Lin Li filtered the 17 forces in Jarrosus in his mind, but could note up with an exact answer.

    ¡°Might it be an external force?¡± Lin Li asked. The moment he imagined that, he was shocked too.

    If it was an external party that had been vying for the Demon Fall Valley, things were moreplicated.

    It might make sense for one of the 17 forces within Jarrosus to provide aid to the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Regardless of the reason¡ªwhether it was to weaken the Guild of Magic, or to im the Chief¡¯s seat¡ªit would require arge sum of money. Hence, what would be the motivation of the external force?

    Even if their attack impacted the Guild of Magic, they would not gain any benefits. The 17 forces had been in the city of Jarrosus (while the Shadow¡¯s Nest nearby) for thousands of years, and leadership over the city had continued on a rotational basis.

    This rotation was like what the High Elves had practiced during the Dark Age. They had been passing down the power of the monarch among the noble descendants of the Sun King. Regardless of how they turned against each other, the person who ultimately got to the seat of the monarch would no doubt be one of those descendants. If his ability could terrify the other nobles, they would be convinced to wait for their next opportunity.

    If he was not a descendant of the Sun King or a High Elf, the consequences would be clear...

    No High Elf would settle for anyone who was not the Sun King¡¯s descendant to rule over them. If such a situation were to ur, the entire imperial court of all the High Elves would riot with all their might and use whatever means to pull the usurper off the throne.

    Jarrosus was in a simr situation now...

    There were too many forces gathered in the small city. From the six underground forces to the 11 mage families, none would allow the interference from external parties.

    If there was an intervention from external forces, they would be more than happy to be the peanut-crunching crowd and wait for the Guild of Magic to fall to its lowest point. After that, they would express their grief at the unfortunate situation while plotting how they could use it to their advantage.

    However, if that external force were to try to advance into Jarrosus City after weakening the Guild of Magic, the leaders of the 17 other forces would not hesitate to intervene.

    To reach their hand into the City of Jarrosus would require blood.

    As for forces that were powerful enough to destroy the 17 forces with a wave of an arm, they would not be interested in Jarrosus.

    No matter how Lin Li looked at the situation, it did not seem like there would be involvement from any external party.

    However, Lin Li could not think of other reasons after putting aside his suspicion against the other 17 forces and the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Unless... the target of the external force was not Jarrosus, but the Demon Fall Valley.

    If it was so, they would need to reassess that ce...

    An organization would not be interested in taking over the few rare mines and herbs there if they had the ability to supply the Shadow¡¯s Nest with so much magical equipment. They would certainly not settle for such little things.

    ¡°How was it in the Guild of Magic?¡± After a moment of silence, Lin Li asked about the situation in the Guild of Magic.

    In fact, that was what Lin Li was truly worried about.

    To Lin Li, they could always regain the Demon Fall Valley after losing it when he had the time. He was more concerned with the current state the Jarrosus Guide of Magic was in.

    Jarrosus Guild of Magic was like his second home; it did not matter whether it was the vulgar Gerian or theposed Kevin, the bootlicking or the timid mages, everyone had be part of his life.

    If anything were to happen to Jarrosus Guild of Magic, what was the use even if they were to reim the Demon Fall Valleyter?

    ¡°We¡¯ve retreated early, so there weren¡¯t too many casualties.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s that old man?¡±

    ¡°Uncle Gerian had been slightly injured, but had recovered more or less before I came here.¡± Speaking of that, Kevin¡¯s expression was a little unnatural. However, he hid it well. Having lost the Demon Fall Valley, he was already not in good spirits. Even an observant person like Lin Li could not realize his awkwardness.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Lin Li nodded as he sat down relieved. ¡°Kevin, would you be free these few days?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Kevin smiled, but hisplexion was still pallid. ¡°For our safety, Uncle Gerian wanted me to return to Jarrosus with you after your trial ends.¡±

    ¡°That old man seems rather thoughtful this time round...¡± It was rare for Lin Li topliment Gerian. ¡°Then let me find you amodation. We shall head back at the end of the month when things are settled.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    After chatting with Kevin for a while, Lin Li finally felt a sense of relief. Thank goodness that they¡¯d only lost one Demon Fall Valley! He regained hisposure, and brought Kevin out to eat happily. Their attitudes were contradictory. Kevin did not react much to what Lin Li talked about. At most, he forced out a smile.

    ¡°Kevin, look. Could you stop mulling over the Demon Fall Valley...?¡± Lin Li advised while they were on their way back to the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that due to their good magical equipment? Do not worry, I would surely get you heaps of equipment when I get back to Jarrosus. You can decide what to do with it then.¡±

    Lin Li was probably the only person that knew the credibility of his words.

    Magical equipment was nothing special to a freak like him who was proficient in the five elemental skills. To exaggerate a little, any scrap metal could turn into quality equipment if he were to touch it with a finger.

    Lin Li did not worry about the Shadow¡¯s Nest at all...

    ¡°No, Felic.¡± Kevin was still worried. ¡°You haven¡¯t experienced that battle for yourself. You would not understand how traumatizing the Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s attack was...¡±

    ¡°Never mind, then...¡± Lin Li stopped persuading him after realizing that he could not speak with such a pessimist anymore. ¡°Since there are not many days left, you can stay in nna with a peace of mind. I will tell you more things when we return to Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    When they reached the Guild of Magic, Lin Li brought Kevin to his apartment and settled him down. After introducing him to Orrin and Mason, he went to find Macklin hastily.

    The reason for doing so was firstly because he¡¯d remembered that the old man had had something to talk to him about before he went to the guild hall. Secondly, it was to help Kevin find a better amodation. Although the apartment given to him by the Guild of Magic was spacious enough, it would be really packed if both Sean and Kevin were to live there as well.

    Furthermore...

    With Sean¡¯s snoring being stronger than magic, it was definite that Kevin would not be able to share a room with him. He couldn¡¯t let Kevin sleep in the living room like him, right? It did not make sense to do so...

    Lin Li saw the old man ring at him in a bad mood the moment he¡¯d stepped into the room. He could not help but feel guilty at that moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s up...?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up? You still dare to ask me that?¡± The old man was so mad that his goat-like whiskers twitched as he spoke. ¡°Goddammit, you had to make me wait for you the entire afternoon just to discuss something trivial. Where is your humanity...¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ie back...¡± Lin Li was beyond words at the child-like personality the old man had. ¡°Come, don¡¯t you know that anger is bad for health? Furthermore, for people with status like you, you have to take note of your image. Understand? Alright, tell me now. I will try my best to help if it is within my ability...¡± Lin Liforted Macklin.

    ¡°That makes more sense...¡± After gaining the promise from Lin Li, Macklin finally smiled with contentment. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to ask if you have confidence in the finals.¡±

    ¡°Finals?¡± Lin Li was stunned. He did not understand why the old man would talk about this topic all of a sudden.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Macklin cursed. He could not help but feel furious at Lin Li¡¯s aloofness. Then, he looked at Lin Li earnestly, and gave him a tongueshing. ¡°You bastard. Can¡¯t you be more concerned with your progress? Look at Gryffindor and Sarsen. Which one of them doesn¡¯t train from morning till night that they seem as if they hope to lived in the Omniscient Tower? Even that useless Marsen knew the need to work harder. Dude, why could you just leave training for the entire week? Do you still want to win?¡±

    ¡°Why would I not want to...¡±

    ¡°You want to win?¡± Macklin scoffed. ¡°Then let me ask you. How many times have you gone to the Omniscient Tower ever since you got the pass to go there?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± At that instance, Lin Li could not help but feel a little guilty. He realized how he had not gone to the Omniscient Tower ever since he¡¯d got the pass to do so. Yet, no matter how guilty he was, he was not going to admit it. ¡°I¡¯ve gone there many times. How could I even count it?¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m not going to dig out past matters. Now I¡¯m going to be very serious with you. You¡¯re not to go anywhere from tomorrow onwards. Since we still have time, I have to teach you some things personally. Or else, Andoine is going to nag that I¡¯m not being responsible for his disciple. You must put in more effort. Unless you reach the archmage realm, you have to be with me for a very, very long time...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He felt embarrassed to tell that old man he¡¯d already reached the realm of the archmage.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re not happy?¡±

    ¡°No, no. I¡¯m very happy... but I wonder why are you so anxious? You¡¯ve never pressured me in the past.¡±

    ¡°Freak, how could I not be anxious?!¡± Lin Li¡¯s question triggered Macklin¡¯s rage. ¡°I never knew that Gryffindor dude made it to the realm of the archmage until today! Goddammit, that fe even tried to hide it from me. If I didn¡¯t know that, you are going to lose out in the finals!¡±

    ¡°Gryffindor also surpassed the realm of the archmage?¡± Lin Li was stunned. Although he¡¯d felt something different from Gryffindor in theirst lunch gathering, the man had been still a magic shooter at his peak. Lin Li could not believe that Gryffindor had made hisst step into the realm that most mages dreamt of in such a short period of time.

    Even Lin Li felt bbergasted by the speed he had improved at. It exined Macklin¡¯s fury after he knew the news. The progress of mentees was directly rted to the reputation of their mentors. If Lin Li were to lose to Gryffindor, Macklin would not be able to lift his head in front of Gryffindor¡¯s mentor.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®also surpassed the realm of the archmage¡¯?¡± Lin Li¡¯s casual inquiry made Macklin curious.

    ¡°Erm... I mean, I admire Gryffindor as he is no doubt the top magic genius in the whole of Fn, being able to reach the realm of the archmage!¡± Lin Li tried to cover up for himself by diverting the topic. While saying that, he could not help but feel surprised at the number-one magic genius of Fn...

    ¡°Admire what sh*t!¡± Macklin cursed with anger immediately. ¡°Why should you admire him? I¡¯ve never seen anyone as talented as you for all the years I¡¯ve ever lived. What is Gryffindorpared to you? When he was at your age, he¡¯d barely surpassed the magic shooter realm. If you put in a little more effort, you will no doubt catch up with him.¡±

    ¡°You really believe in me...¡±

    ¡°What crap. Do you think any Tom, Dick, or Harry could be my disciple? If not for your strong potential, I would have chosen to mentor other people...¡± Macklin scolded Lin Li as he stood up from his chair. ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow me to the Spell Testing Hall. I need to teach you more things.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so much in a rush...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes as he followed him to the Spell Testing Hall obediently.

 Chapter 205 - Advice

    <h4>Chapter 205: Advice</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Do you think I have a lot of free time like you?¡± Quick, don¡¯t dilly-dally. I still have things to do after smacking you...¡±

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go. Do you think I¡¯m afraid of you...¡± Lin Li muttered, and walked through the long corridor. While they walked, Lin Li reminded Macklin about finding a ce for Kevin.

    ¡°Amodation? That¡¯s easy. I¡¯ll have them settle itter,¡± Macklin promised Lin Li without further thought. Since the Guild of Magic was so huge, finding amodation was nothing to him. Even if 10 Kevins needed a ce, he would be able to fit them in the guild, not to say one Kevin.

    ¡°Then let me thank you in Kevin¡¯s stead.¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap!¡± The old man was not convinced by him. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I will forgive you if you thank me like that. You are going too overboard these days; worse than that foolish Mason. If you are continuing with that, we shall wait and see if you have what it takes to win the finals.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t say I would definitely win...¡± Lin Li had never seen Macklin utterly concerned with anything before. Even for the trial at the Shadow Glen, he¡¯d only told him to be careful...

    Lin Li could not understand why Macklin would be that fixated on winning the finals. To Lin Li, the finals were just the finals. It would be nice to emerge victorious, but he would not mind if he didn¡¯t.

    Since Gryffindor had be an archmage as well, there were bound to be a lot of variables in the battle between the two. Although there were simr chances of winning, Lin Li was not certain that he would win even if he had the confidence.

    However, that was not the case for Macklin...

    ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t you have any goals?¡± The old man paused in his tracks to look at Lin Li in disdain.

    Although he felt guilty, Lin Li was nevertheless stubborn with his words. ¡°Why are you looking at me? You also knew that Gryffindor was an archmage, and I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m able to defeat him...¡±

    ¡°What uncertainty are you talking about?¡± Macklin pursed his lips scornfully. ¡°I¡¯d bet my life that for your current skills, you could just surrender to Gryffindor. You don¡¯t even need to fight him. He¡¯s too powerful...¡±

    After all the scolding, the old man suddenly realized his words might be too discouraging. Hence, after thinking for a while, he awkwardly added, ¡°But you still have that little bit of advantage by being younger than him by a few years...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes, knowing that he was notpeting for who the h*ll had lived longer.

    ¡°All in all, put in more hard work this month. With your potential and my guidance, you¡¯ll still have quite a chance.¡± Macklin concluded the discussion on a resolute tone before showing his envy. ¡°Damn, you batch of bastards, you are really lucky. Why didn¡¯t we have the same treatment when we were younger? To give you people the power to build a new guild... Their brains must be fried...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to be jealous about...?¡± Lin Li could not understand what was so attractive about having a new guild that made not only the mages on trial, but also old people like Macklin so fixated on it. They were like wolves seeing meat...

    To Lin Li, the leader of the new guild would be like a coolie.

    Look at what Jarrosus and nna were like.

    Building a new guild did not finish overnight. Although Gerian had the strongest magical power and the respect of the whole Jarrosus, he had been oppressed by the three big families so much that he could not even raise his head. On the surface, he seemed to have the seat of the ruler, but when was he the most powerful man throughout these 10 years?

    That being said, even bastard Cromwell dared to visit them, demanding Gerian to do that to Lin Li...

    If not for Lin Li, no one knew how deep the Jarrosus Guild of Magic would continue to be...

    The rise from nothingness and building up strength were an arduous process.

    Not to mention other needs, it was a necessity for them to have somewhere to live. Although Jarrosus Guild of Magic was poor, it had an Emerald Tower. What would be of the new guild? They couldn¡¯t let a group of mage sleep on the streets, could they?

    A library, mediation room, different types of halls,boratories... how could one be able to list all of them in one or two lines? Even if the Supreme Council gave their full support, it would never have the power to send a group of archmages as free constructionbor, right?

    Furthermore...

    Who knew where to build the new guild at...

    Lin Li had the confidence to maintain it if it was to be built in Jarrosus, where their archmages were all considered to have the highest ranking.

    However, if it were to be built in a prosperous city like nna, where legendary figures roamed, Lin Li would have sleepless nights, fearing that he might unknowingly vite their rights. Wouldn¡¯t he die an unjustified death if someone were to kill him silently in the middle of the night?

    In conclusion, that would be a hard but thankless job.

    Lin Li always tried to distance himself from such fruitless matters.

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m utterly uninterested in the position as the leader of the new guild.¡± Since he had already begun on this topic, he had no ns to hide his reasons. ¡°That is not only an arduousmitment, but also something that would endanger my life. I¡¯m not that silly to fight for such a thankless position...¡±

    ¡°What are you saying!?¡± Macklin¡¯s eyes widened immediately, and he red at Lin Li as though he was a moron. ¡°Who told you that you¡¯d waste a lot of energy and put yourself in danger? Do you know what it means to be a guild leader?¡±

    Lin Li pursed his lips and sulked. ¡°Why would I not know what it entails? I¡¯m going to be the cream inside a sandwich biscuit. Above me would be the Supreme Council, and under me the mages in the guild. Not only that, there¡¯s also the lurking forces outside. You know Gerian from Jarrosus? He¡¯s already 60 years old, but still needs to stay at the Demon Fall Valley every day to protect it. He was even injuredst month when the Shadow¡¯s Nest attacked and took over the Demon Fall Valley. Now tell me, what¡¯s worthwhile about that damn position?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s lost the Demon Fall Valley?¡± Macklinughed suddenly. ¡°I was wondering why you are so heated up today. So it¡¯s because of that valley... Don¡¯t worry, we will not let it happen like that. You could stay in nna while I send people to Jarrosus tomorrow to stabilize the situation there, then see if we can snatch the Demon Fall Valley back.¡±

    ¡°Then I shall rece Gerian to thank you...¡± Actually, it was just a casual grumble from Lin Li. To him, the Jarrosus Guide of Magic was like a second home. He had spent half of his time since he¡¯d entered the World of Anril there. Now, his house was robbed, yet nothing could be heard from the head of the nna Guild of Magic and the mayor of the Supreme Council. Lin Li could not help but feel anxious despite him being a good-natured person.

    What he did not expect was Macklin¡¯s agreeableness when he promised to provide aid to Jarrosus.

    Honestly speaking, it was not important if they could not reim the Demon Fall Valley. It was more vital to stabilize the situation in Jarrosus. Now that they lost the Demon Fall Valley, even fools would know that the heads of the 17 forces were more or less itching for action...

    If nna Guild of Magic was willing to provide aid, it would be good news for the Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    It would not require much strength as well. One to two archmages would be enough to hold back the many forces in Jarrosus. As for the Demon Fall Valley, Lin Li totally could think of a solution after he returned.

    ¡°Cut the crap. My reason for sending aid there is not to help that old Gerian, but to assure you to stay in nna in peace. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have cared about this at all...¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I will do my best in the finals that areing in a month!¡± No matter what he said, he was already going to owe Macklin a favor. He could only promise him temporarily as it would not be nice to persist any further. As for things that were going to happen next month, let us talk about it after that month...

    ¡°Seems like you still don¡¯t understand... Forget it, there¡¯s not going to be a difference if you understand. You should just know that the seat of the president of magic guild is not for anyone...¡± Macklin shook his head.

    He finally understood that it was meaningless to talk sense into that fe. The most direct and surest way to deal with him was to tell him the benefits of such a position.

    Temptation of one thing would still be better than one hundred principles.

    Macklin did not nag at Lin Li further. ¡°I wonder if this thing came across your mind before. Have you wondered why the president is always the most powerful person in any Guild of Magic?¡± Macklin asked while shooting Lin Li a mysterious nce.

    ¡°How could one be the guild president if he does not have a strong ability?¡± Lin Li pursed his lips, thinking that Macklin was talking nonsense...

    ¡°Wrong!¡± Macklin eximed mysteriously while he stopped in his tracks, and pointed to the president¡¯s room far away. ¡°Aldwin surpassed the archmage realm at the age of 46. However, the position he gained was not based on meritocracy. At that time, there were at least five mages who were more powerful than him. F*ck the Supreme Council. You know how they chose the guild president? With a boxing challenge! How absurd is that...¡±

    ¡°46 years old?¡± Lin Li was stupefied. He clearly remembered that Mason told him Aldwin had surpassed the Legendary Realm at the age of 55.

    <i>If Macklin was saying the truth, does that mean that Aldwin spent only nine years to progress from an archmage to a legendary-mage?</i>

    <i>Holy... That is a horrifying speed...</i>

    Lin Li could not ept the fact that Aldwin had merely spent nine years to rise to a legendary-mage. Lin Li was an archmage too. How could he not understand how shocking it was to be able to do so?

    To exaggerate a little, it was as if with the speed of light.

    Lin Li swallowed his saliva anxiously. ¡°Y-You... You mean... President Aldwin only spent nine years because of... his position?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not a moron, after all,¡± Macklinmented while he nodded his head. ¡°Do you not remember that Herza announced that the new guild president would receive full support from the Supreme Council? What do you think the support is? Really physical resources and manpower? Stop being so childish. I dare to bet my life that the winner of the trial would receive the most mysterious spell, the most profound magical knowledge, and the most powerful magical powers. Even in the Supreme Council, only their core members would be able to enjoy such treatment.¡±

    Macklin gulped another big mouth of saliva before he continued, ¡°In fact, Aldwin¡¯s nine years was nothing at all. I remember that he once told me that in his batch, there was a most freaky mage from the Ledin Kingdom. Wow, that kid was a true beast. He¡¯s only used 10 years to be the guild president when he only had the ability of a level-10 magic shooter. Then, he got to the Legendary-level immediately...

    ¡°Is that true...?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Crap, why would I lie to you?¡± Macklin snapped. Then, he continued, ¡°But, to be frank, your concern on safety is valid too...¡±

    ¡°Why is that so?¡± Lin Li asked curiously. He was a little shocked. Why did that old man change his stance out of a sudden?

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, the new region Herza was referring to should be near the Breezy ins...¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s there...¡± Lin Li suddenly was clear on how things stood after listening to Macklin. If it were the Breezy ins, his concerns were indeed justified. The Breezy ins was a renowned ce that even a transmigrator like Lin Li knew of. The mostplicated region of the north of Anril would be the Breezy ins.

    The two strongest human kingdoms located in the north of Anril¡ªFn and Ledin¡ªwere situated on the Breezy ins. On top of that, together with the Dwarf Kingdom not far away, as well as the Trahem Forest, where elves roamed freely, they were going to make up four formidable giants in total. They were like four pieces of puzzle that would form the most imprable force on the Breezy ins.

    And apart from these four greatest influences, there were many other smaller forces. However, if one were to randomlypare one of such forces with those in Jarrosus City, it would be much mightier than Jarrosus¡¯ 11 mage families and their six underground forces.

    Unless they had people from the Supreme Council following them around every day, their lives would really be in danger...

 Chapter 206 - Live Broadcast

    <h4>Chapter 206: Live Broadcast</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The Breezy ins is actually a very interesting ce. If you have time, you can go to the Omniscient Tower to have a look...¡± Macklin said for no rhyme or reason. He ignored Lin Li after he spoke, and went to the Spell Testing Hall on his own.

    ¡°How is it interesting...?¡± Lin Li thought about it for a long time, but didn¡¯t understand what it meant. When he looked up in puzzlement, he saw that Macklin had already passed through the corridor, and was walking along the stairs to the third floor. ¡°Hey, how interesting is that ce? Can¡¯t you just tell me?¡±

    Macklinughed mysteriously, but said nothing, and pointed out the direction of the Omniscient Tower...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was speechless. He stood there, unsure whether tough or cry. This old fellow was already advanced in years; how did he suddenly have the interest in mysteries? P <i>lease help, all right? You¡¯re not suited for this kind of thing; it¡¯ll destroy the obscene image you¡¯ve spent so hard to build up...</i>

    Lin Li followed Macklin into the Spell Testing Hall with a stomach full of doubts.

    The Spell Testing Hall was bustling with activity these days, probably due to the finals that wouldmence in a month. Lin Li followed behind Macklin into the hall, only to see dozens of young mages chatting together in twos or threes. They seemed to be waiting for an empty room.

    There was nothing they could do. Even with deep pockets like the nna Guild of Magic, the Spell Testing Hall could not be built as one wished to. The structure of this thing was tooplex and expensive. Take the room where Lin List tested the Dragon¡¯s Eye as example¡ªit was only about ten square meters, but the building materials had cost over 100,000 gold coins. With the addition of facilities such as the crystal ball and the various inscription processing rooms, it could not be done without at least 500,000 gold coins.

    Also...

    This was not something that was paid once and for all. Every time it was used, it had to be maintained by an Inscriber. It was considered doable for the nna Guild of Magic¡ªthere were many Inscribers in the guild. If it were a guild like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, there was not even a single decent Inscriber that one could find in it. That was a real problem. It probably cost an astronomical amount to hire an Inscriber to maintain the hall every year.

    In Gerian¡¯s words, this was the mage profession. Every bit of mana was umted by an uncountable sum of money.

    The nna Guild of Magic was sorge that it was not clear what was the number of mages at each level. Coupled with the sudden influx of trial mages, the Spell Testing Hall had been overcrowded these days. Lin Li had heard Masonin about it upon his return, but he didn¡¯t believe it then. Now that he hade, it really seemed as if there wasn¡¯t even any space to squeeze in at one nce.

    <i>Why are there so many people... </i>Lin Li mused inwardly, and his brows wrinkled involuntarily. There were perhaps no less than 40 or 50 people, including people from the nna Guild of Magic and the mages who came to participate in the trial. It seemed that they were all waiting for empty rooms. If he had to wait for them to satisfy their needs, wouldn¡¯t he have to wait till the night?

    However, Lin Li had forgotten one thing...

    He had forgotten whom he hade with...

    Who was Macklin? He was the person second only to Aldwin in the nna Guild of Magic. Even Aldwin had to ask Macklin for advice on some decisions. Did this old man have to join the line in order to use the Spell Testing Hall? No one had ever heard of it...

    Besides, even if this old man would observe the order, would the Spell Testing Hall administrator dare to let him observe it?

    As soon as the old fellow stepped into the Spell Testing Hall, a middle-aged Magic Shooter came up to meet him. He looked respectful and even bowed slightly when he spoke.

    ¡°Felic!¡±

    Lin Li watched the two men talk from afar when he suddenly heard someone calling his name from behind. Turning back, he saw Mason and Orrining from the distance.

    Mason looked reluctant, and he walked into the Spell Testing Hall with dawdling footsteps. Although Orrin, who was behind him, still had a poker face that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, there was a hint of triumph in his eyes.

    ¡°Why are you guys here?¡± Lin Li was puzzled. Didn¡¯t Mason just swear that he wouldn¡¯t ever fight Orrin again? Had he forgotten about it in just a moment¡¯s time?

    ¡°He had a bet with me and lost.¡± Orrin¡¯s words were simple as usual.

    ¡°What bet?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it...¡± Mason shot an angry re at Orrin, and, with much regret, said, ¡°This kid is too cunning. I¡¯ve identally walked into his trap...¡±

    ¡°So, what you¡¯ve said in the afternoon doesn¡¯t count again?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t count. I¡¯m willing to admit defeat. I¡¯ll fight this idiot until the end of the month. I¡¯d like to see if he can really fly...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li watched as Mason mored, and couldn¡¯t help but take pity on him. Although Mason had the strength of a Magic Shooter at present, he was still far worse whenpared with Orrin. Moreover, this fellow was too arrogant¡ªhe had won against Orrin once the day before and had already gotten this cocky. If they really were to fight until the end of the month, wouldn¡¯t he be tortured by Orrin through and through?

    ¡°Felic, hurry up ande here, stop dawdling there, kid!¡± While the three of them were talking, they heard Macklin yell from a distance.

    ¡°Coming,ing...¡±

    ¡°Felic, what did the old fellow ask you to do?¡± Mason was curious.

    Lin Li pursed his lips. ¡°The old fellow said he wants to teach me a lesson...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mason and Orrin drew in a cold breath almost concurrently. Macklin had been their trial mentor sinceing to nna. From abusing the Fantama Pantera to entering the Shadowglen, how could they not know the strength of this old fellow after all these encounters?

    He was a peak Archmage¡ªjust one step away from a Legendary-mage.

    Even if Felic was any more talented, he was only a Magic Shooter. The gap between them was as far as the distance between heaven and hell. In such battles¡ªwhich had a huge disparity in level¡ªtactics and techniques were only minor elements. The old fellow¡¯s lesson might really turn into an abuse...

    For a while, the two guys looked at Lin Li with sympathy in their eyes.

    ¡°Why...?¡±

    ¡°Brother Felic!¡± Masonid one hand on Lin Li¡¯s shoulder and smiled brighter than the flowers. ¡°In all conscience, how do I treat you usually?¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Li¡¯s reply was not perfunctory. Since he came to nna, his two teammates were arguably the ones who treated him best. Although both of them had strange personalities¡ªone was lewd and the other indifferent¡ªthe concern that came out of every little thing couldn¡¯t be concealed, and Lin Li had kept these little things in mind all the time.

    ¡°Then...¡± Upon hearing the satisfactory answer, Mason¡¯s eyes beamed with delight. ¡°Bring us in to have a look?¡±

    ¡°Look at what?¡± Lin Li was stunned, and could not react for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll see how the old fellow abuses¡ª ahem, advises you!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± At Mason¡¯s words, even Orrin nodded his head at the side. Although the fellow¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, there was a morbid excitement in his eyes.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li looked at Mason, then at Orrin. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯ll ask the old fellow.¡±

    The three of them were talking in low voices, and Macklin in the distance could not wait any longer. ¡°Hey, can you hurry up? What¡¯s the use of dilly-dallying, do you think I won¡¯t teach you a lesson like that?¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell, do you really think you¡¯re surely able to teach me a lesson?¡± Lin Li grumbled under his breath, and then, with a reluctant expression on his face, asked Macklin, ¡°Big Brother Mason says they¡¯d like toe along, do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Macklin replied coolly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much today, anyway. I¡¯ll teach them a lesson after I¡¯m done with you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The middle-aged Magic Shooter respectfully took the four men outside a spacious hall. ¡°Mr Macklin, this is the arena you want.¡±

    ¡°Mhm, go and busy yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    After the middle-aged Magic Shooter bade goodbye, the four of them reached out and pushed open the door, and an empty hall came into sight.

    There was nothing in the hall¡ªneither mysterious mageweaths nor sparkling crystal balls were present. It looked like a new house that had yet to be decorated. But when Lin Li walked into the hall, he could clearly feel that a powerful force was protecting the whole hall.

    The feeling was very intriguing¡ªhe couldn¡¯t find the source of the force, yet he could clearly feel that it was there.

    Macklin introduced the origin of the hall to the three of them as he entered. ¡°This is the Guild¡¯s Arena, specially used for battles of Archmages. In the past 1,200 years, most of the internal disputes within the nna Guild of Magic have been settled here. Apart from Aldwin, only I have the right to use it.¡±

    ¡°By the way, look above you,¡± Macklin said, pointing to the heads of the three guys. ¡°12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes have been fixed here.The battle between the Archmages will pass through these 12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes to every crystal ball in the nna Guild of Magic. Kid, do you understand what that means?¡±

    Lin Li gave a start. ¡°What does it mean?¡±

    ¡°It means that if you don¡¯t take it seriously and get thrashed too badly by me, you¡¯ll be theughing stock of the whole guild.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you...¡± Lin Li was amused yet annoyed. The old fellow¡¯s brain was indeed wired differently from others. He was using a strength nearing that of a legendary-mage to bully a trial apprentice, and he was actually relishing it, having the cheek to broadcast such a low-down thing...

    ¡°It¡¯s for your own good. Don¡¯t you know ¡®to know the things of shame is to be near fortitude¡¯?¡± Macklin was especially smug. ¡°But, don¡¯t worry. I am a person of status, after all. I will not bully you with pure strength. In order to be fair, I will only use a level-15 strength.¡±

    ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°Duh, do I not know what you¡¯re capable of? It¡¯s more than enough to deal with you with a level-15 strength!¡±

    ¡°Then, you can try...¡± Since Macklin was so confident, Lin Li couldn¡¯t say anything more. He took his Winter Staff out from the Ring of Endless Storm and challenged him. ¡°Come on!¡±

    Two powerful magical waves emanated from both men at the same time.

    Mason and Orrin took a few steps back subconsciously and looked at them with some apprehension. They knew that they were very, very strong all along. One was at the peak of the Archmage realm, and the other young mage was a monster that could not be measured bymon sense.

    But it was only at that moment that they really felt how strong they were.

    Just the magical waves that emanated from them had forced the two of them back a few steps. As they took in the iparably strong power, both of them measured themselves up in their hearts¡ªwhat would be their end if they were to rece them to fight? The result disappointed both of them...

    If they were to rece either of them, perhaps they wouldn¡¯t even be able to release a spell before being turned into ashes by the other party. It would be aplete suppression of strength, without even slightest room for them to resist.

    ¡°Hey...¡± Mason poked Orrin, and asked in a very low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that kid, Felic, has gotten even stronger than before...?¡±

    ¡°Duh.¡±

    While the two were talking, Macklin suddenly moved. There was only a rushed recitation, and a sh of lightning tore open the air. Winding arcs, like golden snakes, surrounded Lin Li in an instant.

    ¡°F*ck, that old fellow¡¯s ruthless...¡± Mason watched, his mouth agape. He¡¯d never imagined that the old fellow would release a Cloud Storm, which was a level-14 spell, on the first move. With Felic¡¯s current strength, it would be a little problematic for him to cope with it.

    Lin Li was not flustered at all despite being under the Cloud Storm. He had seen the Cloud Storm back in Jarrosus, and knew the elemental structure of this spell well. He watched Macklin summon the lightning in the sky, but there was no panic in his expression. He merely erected an Elemental Shield and began a hurried recitation. When the golden snakes fell from the sky, a Lightning Shield Field had surrounded him.

    ¡°Good job, Felic!¡± After breaking through the realm of a Magic Shooter, Mason¡¯s vision had improved drastically. At this time, he could see some subtle things, just like the Lightning Shield Field that was released by Lin Li at present.

    The Lightning Shield Field was a level-10 magic spell. It was not a difficult spell to cast; it was especially not a big deal for Felic, who possessed a level-13 strength. But just at that moment, the Lightning Shield Field and the Elemental Shield were lit up almost at the same time.

    This also meant that his teammate had unleashed two magic spells concurrently.

    The gap between releasing one spell and two spells was not as simple as one plus one equalling two.

    Not to mention Mason, even Macklin was slightly surprised.

    As soon as the Lightning Shield Field was lit, Macklin knew that his attack had missed its target. Even three Cloud Storms wouldn¡¯t break the Elemental Shield and the Lightning Shield Field.

    ¡°Not bad!¡± Macklin nodded his head, and there was a little approval in his eyes. Meanwhile, a raging me was rising above his thin right hand.

 Chapter 207 - Advantage

    <h4>Chapter 207: Advantage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You tter me...¡± Lin Li faked modesty, but his recitation did not stop. While using the protection of the Lightning Shield Field to withstand the heavy bombardment of the thunderstorm, he released a sinister Wall of Fire at Macklin¡¯s foot. The old fellow had to halt his recitation and retreat several steps in a row. In this time, Lin Li¡¯s Mana Retroaction had beenpleted...

    ¡°...¡± Macklin was halfway through his recitation of the spell and was interrupted by Lin Li, which almost made him vomit blood in anger. He had ended up in the ditch. He had misjudged the kid¡¯s strength from the start, which led to all the wrong steps he¡¯d taken now. Ever since the kid had resisted his Cloud Storm with the Lightning Shield Field, he had slid into a passive situation that was hard to reverse.

    This was the case in the battle between mages. A single mistake might change the oue of a battle.

    Macklin might not be so upset if it was under ordinary circumstances. After all, he was a character close to the Legendary Realm. Even if there were minor mistakes asionally, he could make up for them by means of his powerful strength. But he had no chance at present. His power had been suppressed at level-15; he could not even release a level-16 me Shield. Besides a deeper understanding of the rules and a more sophisticated use of power, Macklin was no better than a Magic Shooter who had just broken through level-15.

    Macklin could not help but frown because of the intense pain caused by the bite of mana, and was ultimately shocked by the power his opponent disyed. He could already sense that this was not a power a Magic Shooter should have. Even if this kid had talent, he could never have such power at the rank of a Magic Shooter.

    <i>Hell... an Archmage. An Archmage under the age of 20... </i>Macklin almost lost his mind on the spot. What was the concept of an Archmage below 20? Even in the Dark Ages, the race that considered itself the most perfect under the stars had never had such a genius.

    On the contrary, there had been a genius like this in the human race less gifted in magic than the High Elves. His name was Geresco, the God of Mages who defeated the whole Magic Legion by himself. In the legends of any ns, he existed as a God¡ªeven the human mages had to admit that people like Geresco shouldn¡¯t appear in Anril. His power wasparable only to that of a true God.

    Fortunately, there was only one Geresco...

    Macklin¡¯s hands were trembling with excitement as he tried desperately to support the Elemental Shield. He himself was a mage close to the legendary-level. How could he not know what the power disyed by Lin Li meant? Furthermore, this power was not innate; it was built up step by step. Macklin remembered very clearly that, just a month ago, this kid only possessed the strength of a level-12 Magic Shooter¡ªMacklin even witnessed his breakthrough from level-12 to level-13.

    Merely a monthter, the young mage possessed the strength of an Archmage...

    Macklin¡¯s hands trembled slightly. He had already felt it in his heart¡ªperhaps today¡¯s battle would herald the birth of another God of Mages...

    In the meantime, Lin Li¡¯s attacks were bing sharper. Except for the ming Storm having its duration of recitationpressed to the limit, almost all of his attacks were instantaneous spells. These instantaneous spells that Macklin usually did not even bother to look at were extremely frightening at this time. Almost every strike would weaken the Elemental Shield by one point. The innumerable instantaneous spells formed a huge elemental in the hall, like a boulder that was pressed on Macklin, rendering him breathless.

    The difficulty of this battle had exceeded Macklin¡¯s expectations.

    He had never been so suffocated as he was presently. The feeling of powerlessness almost drove him crazy.

    He had an overwhelming advantage, whether in terms of strength or skills, while in terms of experience, that young boy was far from able to catch up with him.

    However, because of a moment¡¯s mistake, he had fallen into passivity for the whole battle.

    ... It was to the degree that a level-18 Archmage had to struggle for a little respite in front of a young kid...

    At a side, Mason and Orrin were totally stupefied.

    They couldn¡¯t believe what they saw. They rubbed their eyes hard almost concurrently, trying to see the scene before them more clearly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not mistaken, right...? Is that really Felic?¡± Mason was dumbstruck, his eyes zed. He watched the two men in the battle like they were a mouse f*cking an elephant...

    ¡°Yes.¡± Orrin¡¯s face turned a little pale. He had never thought that his teammate would be this strong.

    How strong was Macklin? He was a legendary figure. In the whole nna Guild of Magic, only President Aldwin was slightly stronger than him. In the eyes of trial mages like Orrin and Mason, Macklin¡¯s strength was at an unimaginable level. Even a finger of his could easily crush them to death.

    As for challenging Macklin, they did not even think about it...

    But, at present, Macklin was not only challenged, but also seemed to be in leeward.

    In the eyes of Mason and Orrin, it was as if a dream...

    Although at the beginning of the battle, Macklin had said that he would suppress his power at level-15...

    ... But even a level-15 strength was not what young mages like Mason and Orrin could imagine. It was the power of an Archmage, and this power was held in the hands of Macklin. With his skills andbat experience, how could any ordinary Archmage rival him?

    ¡°I must be still asleep...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Just as Orrin and Mason were appalled by the scene before them, the entire Guild of Magic was in aplete state of tumult.

    Through the 12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes at the top of the arena, every detail of the battle between the two men was transmitted and clearly reflected on each mage¡¯s crystal ball.

    Macklin was second only to Aldwin in the nna Guild of Magic. No one could remember when this grand old man had had hisst battle. When the party of four entered the arena, at least half of the mages in the nna Guild of Magic were specting about the identities of those young mages and the reason why Macklin had personally brought them into the arena.

    Some of the well-informed ones had pulled themselves together, for they knew that these young people were Macklin¡¯s apprentices for the trial. They were sure that Macklin had brought them into the arena to show them the ways of magic.

    Such opportunities were not always avable.

    Even the president of the guild, Aldwin, sat in front of the crystal ball with a smile on his face; sitting opposite him was Archmage Darian, who had aplex look on his face. Macklin had not been in action for a long time. His strength had long been an unknown secret within the Guild of Magic. Even President Aldwin would like to see how strong the most powerful Archmage was currently.

    When the Cloud Storm was released, almost everyone cursed subconsciously,<i>That old fellow, Macklin, is really mean...</i>

    He was merely coaching a young apprentice¡ªdid he have to dramatize? He had actually released the Cloud Storm on the first move; wasn¡¯t it clear that he wanted to end this battle in an instant?

    However, what happened next almost had their eyes popping out of the sockets.

    That was because they suddenly saw the so-called young apprentice releasing an Elemental Shield and supporting a Lightning Shield Field at the same time. With the protection of these two spells, the powerful Cloud Storm could not affect his spell recitation at all.

    This detail was too critical. The battle between two mages of the same level was actually about who could recite better, faster, and morepletely, and he¡¯d be the one who would win the final victory.

    There was no doubt that the young apprentice¡¯s recitation was faster and moreplete.

    So...

    Macklin fell under the Wall of Fire without suspense.

    When Macklin had to break the spell and retreat in a hurry, some of the mages who were watching through the crystal ball frowned in spite of themselves. Macklin was at a great disadvantage. The spell was interrupted before the Mana Retroaction had hit him, which meant that the other party could interrupt him again at any time if he wished to.

    What was the concept of two forced interruptions in a battle? If it were a battle between mages of the same level, these two opportunities were what it would take to decide the oue of the battle.

    Fortunately, Macklin was powerful after all. Even if he was only using level-15 strength, it was more than enough to deal with a young apprentice.

    So, the mages merely frowned, but none of them were worried for Macklin at all.

    For them, the oue of the battle was set in stone long ago. Even if the young apprentice had the greatest advantage, it was only a struggle and an episode of the battle. Macklin could end the battle with his strength whenever he wanted.

    But very soon, they realized that they had guessed it wrong again...

    The battle continued, and the young apprentice did, as everyone had guessed, gain the upper hand with a Mana Retroaction. However, Macklin failed to even up the odds with his level-15 strength, and it seemed that his disadvantage was getting worse by the time...

    Gradually, the mages around the crystal ball began to understand...

    The young man who was beating up Macklin was not an apprentice at all; he was a real Archmage!

    ¡°Oh, my God...¡± Cries of rm rang out at the same time in the nna Guild of Magic.

 Chapter 208 - Psionic Potion

    <h4>Chapter 208: Psionic Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Archmage!?¡± In the president¡¯s room, Aldwin let out an exmation. He leaned his hunched body slightly forward as if to see the crystal ball clearer. The strength of this young apprentice was beyond his expectation.

    In the big nna Guild of Magic, if there was a person who knew best about Lin Li¡¯s strength, it would probably be Aldwin. Although they did not have much contact with each other, and only met a few times altogether, Aldwin was someone who had lived for more than 100 years. Were his experience and visionparable to those of ordinary people? With his experience and vision, he was able to see many things that others could not.

    But even with Aldwin¡¯s rich experience and sharp vision, he probably could not see that this fellow had secretly attained the strength of an Archmage...

    This was certainly thest thing that Aldwin had expected.

    Since the onset of the ming Storm, Aldwin had been staring at the scene in the crystal ball in a daze. After a long time, he sighed. ¡°Gerian¡¯s luck is really enviable...¡±

    With Aldwin¡¯s insight, how could he not understand what it meant to have an Archmage under the age of 20? This meant that the Jarrosus Guild of Magic would not have to worry about anything for the next 100 years, because another God of Mages was likely to be born in this remote little guild.

    Aldwin looked a little envious when he said this.

    However, it was just envy. At Aldwin¡¯s age, he hade to take things in stride. It could only be said that Gerian was in luck to be able to discover such a magic genius.

    Compared with Aldwin¡¯sposure, Darian, who was sitting opposite him, seemed to have lost it.

    ¡°This is impossible!¡± When Lin Li suppressed Macklin with arge number of instantaneous spells, the look on Darian¡¯s face suddenly changed. His whole face turned ghastly white all at once, and he looked like a cat having its tail stepped on. He jumped up from his chair, waved his hands in exaggeration at the scene in the crystal ball, and screamed, ¡°This is impossible. How could he be an Archmage? He must have cheated!¡±

    ¡°Darian, nothing is impossible...¡± Aldwin had been in charge of the nna Guild of Magic as early as a few decades ago. How could he not know the feud between Darian and that fat president from Jarrosus? But this was, after all, a personal grudge. Furthermore, one was the president of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and the other was the right-hand man he had always relied on, so Aldwin had turned a blind eye all along and pretended not to know anything.

    Fortunately, Gerian had gone to Jarrosus. There had been little contact between the two men in the past few decades, so there was no asion for them to expand their grievances.

    But since Felic¡¯s arrival to Jarrosus, the feud of that year seemed to have continued on.

    Speaking of which, it was also quite a coincidence. Felic, that kid, was a born troublemaker. First, he wounded Darian¡¯s trial apprentice, and then he wounded Darian¡¯s nephew. After that, Aldwin could vaguely feel that Darian hade to possess great hostility to the young mage.

    If it was just another mage, perhaps Aldwin would continue to turn a blind eye. After all, although Darian was arrogant and domineering, he would not dare to do anything out of line under his nose. At most, he would only make the other party suffer a little. This could serve as a kind of drill for young mages.

    But not with Felic...

    Not to mention the nna Guild of Magic had to rely on Felic for the bet that¡¯d be due six monthster, just due to his rtionship with Andoine and Old Grimm, and the strength he had shown at this time, Aldwin would never allow anyone toy a hand on the young mage. <i>Are you kidding? Who will take the me for offending Andoine and Old Grimm? Those two old guys are not easy to handle. They can do anything if they really set their minds to it.</i>

    Even if Aldwin was the only level-21 legendary-mage in the Fn Kingdom, he would never provoke these two old guys unless necessary.

    Moreover, Lin Li was a genius who had reached the realm of an Archmage before he was even 20 years of age.

    This genius had gone beyond the region. He belonged not only to the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, but also to the entire Fn Kingdom. As the head of 24 Guilds of Magic in the Fn Kingdom, Aldwin had the responsibility not to let hime to any harm.

    No matter what Darian had in his mind or what he had done before, his hostility toward the young mage had to be curbed from now on.

    Aldwin assumed an unprecedented seriousness and asked, ¡°Darian, how long have you not seen Gerian?¡±

    ¡°If I can, I hope I never have to see that hell-damn fool ever again!¡± At Aldwin¡¯s mention of Gerian¡¯s name, the middle-aged Archmage suddenly showed a look of disgust. His hatred for Gerian had been buried in his heart for decades. That bit resentment back then had already taken root and sprouted into a huge tree, which tormented him all the time. Sometimes, even Darian suspected he¡¯d be forced to go totally crazy one day if he could not find an outlet to vent this hatred.

    Darian¡¯s hateful eyes made Aldwin frown. Facing his right-hand man, he had to consider his words carefully. ¡°There is something I must talk to you about...¡±

    But before Aldwin could finish a word, he was interrupted by Darian. ¡°President Aldwin, if it¡¯s about that fool, I don¡¯t think you need to say anything more.¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Aldwin nodded, and did not try to persuade him anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the feud between you and Gerian, but there¡¯s one thing I have to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see anything happen to this young man.¡± Aldwin stretched out his bony arm and pointed at the crystal ball, where Lin Li was disyed reciting his spells at high speed. The eyes he cast on Darian were stern. ¡°Darian, I am not afraid to tell you the truth: this young man is very important to the nna Guild of Magic. I have offended Wilhelm in order to protect him. If you really intend to put Gerian¡¯s ount on him, then I don¡¯t mind offending another person. Do you understand what I mean?¡±

    For the few decades that Darian had been in the Guild of Magic, he had never seen Aldwin as serious as he currently was. The venerable president had given people a kind and generous impression all along, but he unexpectedly broke the norm for the young mage today. When those stern eyes swept across his face, Darian even had the illusion that it was the violent Macklin who was standing before him.

    Darian felt a chill down his spine under Aldwin¡¯s gaze.

    He swallowed his saliva, then uttered with much difficulty, ¡°U-understood...¡±

    ¡°I hope you really understand.¡± Aldwin nced at his right-hand man and sighed involuntarily. ¡°I already know about your nephew, Madrick. Felic is indeed in the wrong; his attack was too heavy-handed. However, Darian, your nephew should be disciplined as well. He actually had the guts to abuse the trial mage¡¯s attendant at will in such an important trial. Does he really think that the other 23 Guilds of Magic are all empty?¡±

    Darian¡¯s heart tightened at these words.

    He knew the incident with Madrick better than anyone else. if it weren¡¯t for his behest, Madrick would never dare to abuse a trial mage¡¯s attendant. With Darian¡¯s acumen, how could he not have guessed that the ins and outs of the matter had already fallen into Aldwin¡¯s eyes? The reason why he¡¯d brought it up at the moment was nothing more than to give him a wake-up call.

    Darian did not dare to be neglectful of the warning. He took the responsibility with a fearful expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President Aldwin, I¡¯m to me for hisck of proper discipline. I will certainly teach him a good lesson when I get back.¡±

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Aldwin shook his head. ¡°He has learned his lesson too. Felic was too heavy-handed on him. I¡¯m afraid he will have to lie in bed for months before he can get up, right?¡±

    ¡°At least three months.¡± Darian had no children; his nephew, Madrick, was his only rtive. Although thetter was stupid, he was, after all, the closest person to him. At Aldwin¡¯s mention, he was reminded of Madrick lying miserably in the hospital bed. For a while, he could not help feeling bitter.

    ¡°Well, Darian, when you go backter, drop by the Research Institute and ask Baron to give you a bottle of Psionic Potion. Tell him I¡¯ve sent you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, President Aldwin.¡± Darian¡¯s face was full of delight. He¡¯d never thought that Aldwin would promise Madrick a bottle of Psionic Potion. This was the biggest secret of the nna Guild of Magic. Even among the guild¡¯s top officials, only a few people knew about its existence. Only Aldwin and Baron had the right to use it. Even if Macklin wanted to use it, he¡¯d have to apply for it one month in advance.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me...¡± Aldwin shook his head. ¡°This bottle of Psionic Potion is not for nothing. From today onwards, I don¡¯t want to hear any more rumors about you dealing with Felic.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Darian nodded, and said nothing more.

    Aldwin¡¯s intention was very clear¡ªthis bottle of Psionic Potion was to pacify him. If he refused to ept, then perhaps it¡¯d be another end that awaited him...

    Although the president had always been kind and generous, he had ruled the nna Guild of Magic for decades. How could he be someone who was only kind and generous? If Darian really angered him, it was really unknown what sort of means Aldwin would take to deal with him.

    Furthermore...

    He had cast the down as early as 10 days ago. Everything that came after that had nothing to do with him. Even if something really happened to that Jarrosus country boy, Aldwin could hardly pin the me on him.

 Chapter 209 - Because I Am Going to Dupe Someone

    <h4>Chapter 209: Because I Am Going to Dupe Someone</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The guild hall was crowded with people. Everyone¡¯s eyes fell on the huge crystal ball. The battle between the apprentice and mentor was clearly disyed in front of everyone through the huge crystal ball.

    The battle had reached its climax; the young apprentice was getting fiercer with every attack, and the Elemental Shield on Macklin had be extremely dim. It was still a long way away from the end of the cooldown time for a few crucial spells. Everyone¡¯s heart was suspended in the midst of dancing wind des.

    This battle had gone far beyond everyone¡¯s imagination.

    When Macklin had activated the Warlock¡¯s Eyes and put the entire arena into the crystal ball, almost everyone thought it would be an actualbat practice.

    In their imagination, Macklin might use several control spells to make the young apprentice understand the power of control, or he might erect an Elemental Shield and let the young apprentice bombard him until he ran out of mana before telling him how to distribute his mana rationally...

    In short, no one had ever thought that the battle would be this intense.

    The sparks in the battle in the crystal ball shed, and everyone stood stupefied. There was not a sound in the whole guild hall. Whether it was the Archmages who had made a name for themselves for decades or the mage apprentices who had juste into contact with the mysterious knowledge, all of them were scared into silence at this moment.

    The battle between the two men was too terrifying...

    Macklin was indeed someone standing at the peak of the Archmage realm. Although his strength was suppressed to level-15, his spell-casting skills told everyone that he was indeed the most powerful of the Archmages in the guild. He had almost perfect mana control and a spell-casting duration that was nearing the limit. The spells released by him were almost as exquisite as fine works of art. In that almost hopeless impasse, he could even take time to retaliate. Many times, people even thought that his spell-casting skills had subverted theirmon sense.

    The crowd was even thankful that Macklin had suppressed his strength to level-15 and had fallen into leeward from the beginning. If not for that, they wouldn¡¯t be able to witness such an exciting battle in their lifetime.

    A figure like Macklin, who was at the peak of the Archmage realm, could often destroy everything with his strength alone, so he seldom did his best in a battle, not to mention fighting desperately for a respite with all his skills like now.

    For the hundreds of mages in the hall, this was simply a stunning magic show.

    Such opportunities were not always avable.

    Just seeing Macklin doing his best was enough to make them cry out for joy.

    On top of that...

    It was a young apprentice barely 20 years of age who had forced Macklin into putting in his best.

    What this young apprentice brought them was a real shock.

    Compared with Macklin¡¯s fine art of casting, what the young apprentice demonstrated was another style. He was urate and efficient, like a precise machine. His control of mana had reached a terrifying level¡ªit was as if the mana was not an illusory magic power, but the most flexible finger. He had aplete and urate control over it, and there was neither redundancy nor waste.

    What made the scalps of the mages tingle the most was that this young apprentice seemed to have an instinctive sensitivity to time. Up to now, each side had released at least dozens of spells; the magnificent runes alone were enough to dazzle everyone¡¯s eyes, but this young apprentice clearly remembered the order of each spell and urately grasped their respective cooldown time.

    The hundreds of mages in the guild hall had the same idea in their minds. <i>It¡¯s horrible...</i>

    A while ago, Macklin managed to pull through the cooldown time of the Elemental Shield, and was going to retaliate with this Elemental Shield when the young apprentice suddenly released a Mana Retroaction.

    At that moment, almost everyone saw Macklin open his mouth.

    That was a sign that he was about to recite a spell.

    But no one knew what spell had been intending to recite, as the spell was taken by the throat by the young apprentice before it could even be uttered.

    It was simply a hopeless feeling...

    The trick was notplicated. Among the hundreds of mages present, those with good vision could see that it was nothing more than calcting the cooldown time of Macklin¡¯s Elemental Shield, and then releasing the Mana Retroaction just after it. Only under the protection of the Elemental Shield could Macklin cast his spells boldly and confidently, and that also left an opportunity for the opponent to use the Mana Retroaction.

    But things in this world were always easier said than done.

    How was it an easy thing to calcte the cooldown time of the Elemental Shield?

    Not only did he have to remember when the Elemental Shield was put on Macklin, but also how many magic spells he had released during this period and how much they had weakened the shield. In addition, he had to also take into ount Macklin¡¯s mana consumption and the pressure he put on him, which could even involve reading the opponent and other subtle factors.

    The most important thing in the battle of mages was concentration. The recitation ofplicated spells was enough to consume the whole focus of most mages. It could only be a rare magic genius that could think and work out exquisite tactics for himself in an intense battle. As for the young apprentice, he could even makeplicated calctions when facing his mentor. Not to mention seeing, it was never even heard of. This was not the ability that human beings should possess.

    The guild hall was so quiet that even a needle could be heard if it fell to the ground.

    All eyes rested on the crystal ball; they stared in awe at the young apprentice who was reciting the spell.

    He wasn¡¯t reciting the spell swiftly. He seemed to be unhurried, but old mages with sharp eyes could see it at a nce¡ªthe young apprentice was reciting the spell as fast as Macklin!

    Several old mages muttered quietly, ¡°Hell...¡±

    This was just too damned...

    No matter how Macklin suppressed his strength to level-15, the spell-casting habit that had been incorporated into his blood would not change. For mages of his level, the spell-casting habit had be an instinct. Even if he¡¯d suppressed his strength to level-1, the duration that a spell should bepressed would not have changed because of the level.

    It seemed to everyone in the hall that Macklin¡¯spression of recitation time had reached the limit of human beings. They felt that even a legendary-mage could not do it better than Macklin.

    But right under their noses, there was at present a young apprentice under the age of 20 who had done something only Macklin could do.

    No one dared to believe that this young apprentice was barely 20.

    Everyone began to specte about the origins of this apprentice-looking fellow...

    For a moment, whispers rose one after another in the guild hall.

    Someone spoke from the crowd, ¡°I remember, this fellow seems to be from Jarrosus!¡±

    When this sentence was uttered, a voice of disapproval was immediately aroused, and an old Magic Shooter with white beard said agitatedly, ¡°Nonsense, how can a ce like the Jarrosus Guild of Magic produce such an impressive genius?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s impossible!¡± Several colleagues around him looked at him and nodded in the same way.

    This had to be a joke¡ªa magic genius who could drive Macklin to the wall came from Jarrosus? Who didn¡¯t know that ce was a backwater of magic; it had had only one Archmage, Gerian, in decades. The most ridiculous thing was that people had said that the most powerful magic strength in that ce was not the Guild of Magic, but a dozen of mage families from all over the ce.

    Such a genius came from Jarrosus? It¡¯d be more straightforward to say that Macklin was a woman...

    ¡°If this kid reallyes from Jarrosus, I¡¯ll eat this crystal ball!¡± The white-bearded old Magic Shooter pointed excitedly at the crystal ball in front of him.

    ¡°...¡± The mage who¡¯d told the truth became mum at once. Wouldn¡¯t it be murder if the old man were to eat such a huge crystal ball?

    Furthermore...

    Although he had said that this kid came from Jarrosus, he was actually not certain of it. Everyone knew about that countryside ce, Jarrosus. They¡¯d long be celebrating if they could produce a Magic Shooter, let alone an Archmage less than 20 years of age.

    Perhaps he mistook him for another... The only mage who¡¯d spoken the truth began to doubt himself.

    The battle wasing to an end when the crowd was talking and specting about Lin Li¡¯s origins.

    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± Three Rings of Fire exploded beside Macklin in series, leaving behind only a thinyer of the crumbling Elemental Shield...

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got guts! The three Rings of Fire, which had been buried long ago, exploded at the most crucial moment and immediately pushed Macklin to the brink of despair. There was only a thinyer of Elemental Shield on his body, and perhaps only a wind de was all it would take to break it. Moreover, it was only half past the cooldown time; it¡¯d be like asking a rooster toy eggs for Macklin to put up another Elemental Shield.

    Macklin had lived for a long time, and it was a first for him to find himself in such a mess. He was too aggrieved being beaten by a young kid barely 20 years of age without even having the strength to fight back. The Elemental Shield was about to be torn; he was about to be sentenced to death, yet he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He could only watch as the other party cast spells after spells on himself...

    ¡°It¡¯s such a miserable failure!¡± Macklin was utterly regretful at present. He shouldn¡¯t have underestimated this boy, thinking that he was still at the same strength a month ago. He did not expect that the kid would break through from level-13 to level-15, advancing to the realm of the Archmage in such a short period of time.

    However, this boy was also a talent. A slight advantage was constantly erged by him, and eventually pushed Macklin to the brink of despair.

    Taking the opportunity of passing Macklin, Lin Li whispered in his ear, ¡°See, I¡¯ve said. It¡¯s uncertain who¡¯d be the one lecturing whom...¡±

    Upon hearing this, Macklin nearly vomited blood in anger.

    Unfortunately, vomiting blood was one thing; there was still nothing he could do. Just as the two passed each other, the ming Hands had fallen on Macklin¡¯s back¡ªthe mes rose at once, burning a huge gap in the Elemental Shield in an instant.

    <i>It¡¯s over... </i>Macklin¡¯s heart sank as he felt the heat from the ming Hands. <i>The name I¡¯ve made for myself for decades will be destroyed in this kid¡¯s hands today...</i>

    At the thought of the 12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes above him, Macklin really wanted to die.

    At this moment, the entire Guild of Magic fell into silence.

    Whether it was Aldwin or Darian, or the hundreds of mages in the guild hall, everyone was nervous as they stared at the crystal ball. When they watched Lin Li¡¯s ming Hands fall, and then Macklin¡¯s Elemental Shield break open, even time seemed to have frozen at the moment...

    And then, they saw it...

    The zing me on the young apprentice¡¯s hand was extinguished in an instant.

    The runes dancing about in the arena suddenly disappeared, and everything seemed to return to the time when the party of four just entered.

    Everyone in the Guild of Magic was stunned; nobody expected this to be the final oue. This... what kind of situation was this?

    In the guild hall, someone shouted out, ¡°Darn, the kid has exhausted his mana!¡±

    His mana was exhausted indeed...

    It was not until this time that this group of mages in the guild hall suddenly remembered that the young apprentice had released at least dozens of spells during the battle just now, of which at least half were at the level of a Magic Shooter.

    For a moment, all the mages in the hall showed the same look of sudden enlightenment.

    No wonder they¡¯d constantly felt that something was amiss. So, this was what happened.

    The reason why this kid looked so fierce was that he had been overdrawing his mana. What was the concept of dozens of spells? This meant an astronomical amount of mana. Even those well-known Archmages could not necessarily withstand such a consumption, let alone a young man under the age of 20.

    It was indeed so when they recalled the battle process. Ever since the young mage apprentice had gained the upper hand, he had been bombarding Macklin with spells. Arge amount of instantaneous spells, in addition to the short recitation, had forced Macklin out of breath, but at the same time he was also overdrawing his own mana. This battling style that was almost simr to a gamble finally had a disastrous effect on him. Just when victory was within reach, his mana waspletely exhausted...

    ¡°What a pity...¡± Bursts of sigh ensued from the crowd. Even the mages unrted to the young mage apprentice felt regretful for him.

    It was so close. If the ming Hands were to burn a second longer, it¡¯d be enough to defeat Macklinpletely. Unfortunately, this one second had be a goal that he could not reach. Macklin was a level-18 Magic Shooter¡ªhow many times could a mage defeat him in his life?

    In the President¡¯s room, Darian quietly let out a sigh of relief.

    Fortunately, this Jarrosus kid might be powerful, but it was not to an unreasonable extent. At least he could notpete with an Archmage in terms of mana yet. This put Darian somewhat at ease. He took a mental note of it¡ªinsufficient mana was the biggest w of the opponent.

    Aldwin merely chuckled. ¡°Looks like Macklin¡¯s in luck...¡±

    ¡°President Aldwin, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not just luck.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Aldwin nced at Darian in puzzlement. ¡°Darian, you beg to differ?¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Aldwin.¡± Darian nodded. He pointed to Lin Li who was in the crystal ball, and said, ¡°If my guess is right, this was all in Mr Macklin¡¯s grasp. He knew the limit of the other party¡¯s mana right from the start, so he has been defending all along. It was all to let the young man exhaust his mana and to make him understand the importance of distributing the mana.¡±

    ¡°Looks like you still don¡¯t understand...¡± Aldwin gave a chuckle, and did not continue. ¡°Forget it. Darian, if there¡¯s nothing else, you may go back. I¡¯d like to be alone.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Darian took another look at the scene in the crystal ball before retreating from the room respectfully. He walked along the corridor in the direction of the Research Institution. He was in a good mood on the way¡ªhe was about to get his hands on the Psionic Potion, and he had a clear grasp of the Jarrosus boy¡¯s strength. The kid exhausting his mana at the very end had put Darian¡¯s heart at ease. As long as he was not a real Archmage, there was still a chance to deal with him.

    The battle, which had far exceeded everyone¡¯s imagination, finally came to a close as Darian entered the Research Institution. The scene on the crystal ball gradually faded and returned to its original atst.

    And, at this time, Macklin was flying into a rage.

    The old fellow recited a spell with a livid expression, and the 12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes above were switched off. When he turned around, he looked as if he was about to devour someone alive. ¡°Damn it, you have the guts to im you¡¯ve exhausted your mana?¡±

    ¡°Why...?¡± Lin Li was still unhurried. ¡°Why can¡¯t I exhaust my mana...?¡±

    ¡°Cut the act with me. Others might not know you, but I do.¡± Seeing how lifeless Lin Li looked, Macklin couldn¡¯t resist the urge to send a kick in his direction. ¡°Damn it, monsters like you should be dragged into the ughterhouse. Exhausted your mana? To hell with it. Why didn¡¯t you exhaust your mana when you were dealing with the Three-eyed Blood Wolf in the Nightmare Mountains? Why didn¡¯t you exhaust your mana in the Shadowglen? Yet you¡¯ve exhausted your mana while fighting me; is there such a coincidence?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and answered shamelessly, ¡°There¡¯d be times when one is down on luck. I was unlucky this time. My mana was exhausted too fast. Alright?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Macklin almost vomited blood. <i>Exhausting one¡¯s mana is dependent on luck? Did youe up with your own theory?</i>

    ¡°Forget it. I don¡¯t want to badger with you anymore.¡± Macklin realized that if they were topete to see who was better in telling bald-faced lies, he¡¯d never catch up to this kid. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know how to lie; the main reason was because his skin wasn¡¯t as thick as the kid¡¯s. Thetter was absolutely shameless¡ªhe was always ready to lie through his teeth, regardless of whether the words made sense.

    ¡°You just tell me honestly. Why did you go easy on me!?¡±

    ¡°When did I go easy on you...?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re still denying?¡± Macklin was infuriated. As someone at the peak of his profession, he had long been indifferent to the oue. Winning was certainly worth rejoicing, but losing wasn¡¯t a big deal, either. Losing before the whole guild was only a momentary embarrassment; he still had to do what he had to do after the embarrassment passed.

    What really angered him was that he had won the battle¡ªwhich seemed to be one with a great disparity in strength¡ªdue to his opponent deliberately going easy on him. Macklin was utterly furious at the thought of this. It was inly a p in the face for him. He could¡¯ve exhausted his mana anytime, but he had to do it before the ming Hands was about toe down. Didn¡¯t that mean, ¡°Old man, don¡¯t be happy just yet, I¡¯m just going easy on you¡±?

    F*ck, this was simply unbearable!

    Furthermore, others didn¡¯t know about him, but it didn¡¯t mean that Macklin himself wasn¡¯t clear about his background!

    Since the kid came to nna, Macklin had been his trial mentor. From the Fantama Panthera to the Three-eyed Blood Wolf, he had paid close attention to both battles. He had not found any problems with the kid¡¯s mana from the start.

    In those two battles, the kid acted like a perpetual motion machine with infinite mana. Spells were released one after another every time he opened his mouth, and there was never a moment that he was seen worrying about his mana. He looked like he had abundant mana at any time, such that Macklin had even suspected the kid had brought along the Recovery Potion.

    Although the battle was exciting, it was far less intense aspared to when the party of three had encountered the Three-eyed Blood Wolf in the Nightmare Mountains. There were hundreds of them¡ªkilling a dozen of them with a spell would be tiresome, not to mention there was a mighty King Wolf with them.

    He hadn¡¯t exhausted his mana under those circumstances; how could he have exhausted it earlier on?

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to spout crap anymore seeing that he had really ruffled Macklin¡¯s feathers. He merely nodded, and said vaguely, ¡°I do have some mana left...¡±

    As for how much the ¡°some¡± was, Lin Li couldn¡¯t exin it. Anyway, ¡°a little¡± and ¡°a lot¡± both meant infinite to him.

    Although Macklin had already guessed the truth, he was still livid when he heard Lin Li admit it personally. His angry howl almost flipped the guild¡¯s roof. ¡°Damn it, you had better tell me the truth. Why did you go easy on me? Did you think I was an unworthy opponent?¡±

    Macklin¡¯s words were somewhat serious; Lin Li dared not treat them lightly. He hurriedly shook his head in denial. ¡°No, don¡¯t misunderstand it. The reason why I held back was not because of you.¡±

    ¡°Why is that so?¡±

    Lin Li looked at the 12 Warlock¡¯s Eyes above him. ¡°It was because I wanted to deceive someone.¡±

 Chapter 210 - Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 210: Discussion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Macklin was stunned. ¡°Deceive whom?¡±

    ¡°This is a secret...¡± Lin Li smiled, but did not continue. Grinning, he merely said, ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t go easy on you on purpose.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Macklin nced at him skeptically, but chose to believe him atst. After all, he really couldn¡¯t think of any reason for the other party to go easy on him. <i>To save me from embarrassment? Are you kidding? </i>Macklin knew this kid well enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t do something so kind with this character of his.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Lin Li replied in all seriousness.

    ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s no use asking you.¡± Macklinlin stared at him for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and gave up. Not a wording from this kid¡¯s mouth was true. Even if he said that the sun rise from the east, he was most likely trying to figure out how to get the sun to the west.

    <i>F*ck, none of the mages from Jarrosus are good stuff! </i>Macklin cursed in his heart. He shifted his eyes to Mason and Orrin, looking like a big wolf eyeing two white bunnies.

    ¡°What... What do you want!?¡± Mason was slightly intimidated by Macklin¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve broken through the realm of a Magic Shooter?¡± Macklin had an amicable smile on his face, which made him look like a kind elder. ¡°Not bad, young man, much better than your disappointing Uncle Morris.¡±

    ¡°You tter me. This is all your good teaching...¡± Mason was ttered by Macklin¡¯spliment, such that even a shameless person like him could not help but be humbled. His words were modest, but he couldn¡¯t hide the smug smile on his face.

    ¡°Mhm, I thought so too.¡± Macklin nodded, and said shamelessly, ¡°I seem to be doing a good job as a mentor. Mason, it¡¯s still early today, how about I give you some pointers?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The smile on Mason¡¯s face froze. He really wanted to p himself. <i>Talk more! Curry more favor! Now you¡¯ve gotten yourself into trouble...</i>

    <i>F*ck, I¡¯m really done for...</i>

    The old fellow had just suffered a great defeat in Felic¡¯s hands; he would probably take the chance to vent it all on Mason.

    Mason really wanted to die. He wasn¡¯t that monster Felic. It¡¯d be brutal abuse if he fell into Macklin¡¯s hands. In addition, the old man was on fire. It¡¯d be his luck if he could live after the abuse...

    ¡°Why?¡± Macklin was a little upset when he saw Mason dilly-dally. ¡°Does Magic Shooter Mason think that I¡¯m not qualified to give you pointers?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Mason was nearly out of his wits at the old fellow¡¯s words. That was the most powerful Archmage here. Mason wouldn¡¯t dare to say that thetter wasn¡¯t qualified to advise him even if he was given 100 times more guts.

    Mason was too distressed to think about how he¡¯d be abused; he could only bite the bullet and walk over.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do a good job...¡± Macklin said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°...¡±

    It was a battle without suspense. Although Macklin once again suppressed his power, it was still effortless for him to deal with Mason. Hepletely grasped the rhythm of the whole battle with only a Mana Retroaction. He could easily bring Mason down as he wished.

    However, with the old fellow¡¯s sinister mind, how could he bear to end the battle so quickly?

    The repeated abuse and devastation were halted just as Mason was about to lose. This cat-and-mouse game was extremely childish, but Macklin was having a wonderful time with it despite his old age.

    Not to mention the battered Mason, even the two spectators at the side could not help dozing off.

    Lin Li only took a few nces, and quickly lost interest in the cat-and-mouse game.

    In the end, he didn¡¯t even pay attention to what the two fellows were doing, because all his thoughts were on the previous battle. Once a character of Macklin¡¯s level was forced to show all his abilities, it¡¯d undoubtedly be a very scary thing. Every detail and skill was worth studying.

    The whole battle shed through Lin Li¡¯s mind over and over again. Every spell that was cast by both sides was broken up and contrasted repeatedly. Almost everyparison made Lin Li marvel at Macklin¡¯s strength. This old man was indeed a character who was approaching the legendary-level. His skills could be described as almost perfect. If it weren¡¯t for the huge mistake Macklin had made at the beginning and Lin Li¡¯s abnormal mental strength, he would most likely have been the one who lost the battle.

    The experience umted over decades was not something that could be exined in a sentence. Spell-casting was purely an instinctual habit for an old monster like Macklin. There was no need for thought nor measure. He only needed to control his mana. Perhaps Macklin did not even spare a moment of thought for which spells he should release. It was purely a subconscious act.

    Doing the most appropriate thing at the most appropriate time.

    This was Lin Li¡¯s conclusion to the previous battle.

    This was perhaps the most ideal state for a mage.

    Lin Li knew that he was still far from this state.

    To the onlookers, Lin Li¡¯s casting speed was not slower than Macklin¡¯s, and his response to various situations was also reasonable. Even in many cases, he could also release some seemingly powerful and unconstrained spells. The hundreds of mages in the guild hall had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacr battle style.

    Only Lin Li himself knew that the reason why he could reach such a level was solely his superior mental strength.

    It was because of the support of his abnormal mental strength that he could risk the bite of mana and minimize the duration for reciting the spells so that he could divide at least half of his attention to analyze every change in the battle ande up with the most appropriate response.

    One was intentional, and the other was otherwise¡ªthe result was obvious uponparison.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t discouraged at all. He knew that he¡¯d be able to attain the near-ideal state one day.

    In fact, it was not difficult to reach this state. To sum up, it was nothing more than ¡°repetition¡±. Countless repetition¡ªrepeated practice and repeated battles¡ªwould turn magic into a habit and an instinct.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with this feeling.

    It was just like the various professions he was proficient in. Once reaching a certain level, it would naturally be an instinct¡ªsuch as pharmaceutics. Lin Li had not sorted out the forms he had mastered for a long time; he even forgot how many kinds of forms he had mastered. But once he started to prepare the potion, he was able to clearly know how much of the herbs should be used and how high the temperature should be. It was often the case. There was no need to think about it at all. He could simply put his hand into the Ring of Endless Storm, and the herbs needed for the potion would be out.

    It was the same for alchemy, inscription, and forging.

    This was probably what was meant by ¡°a skill approaching the practice of Tao¡±...

    Lin Li had to admit that the benefits gained from this battle had far exceeded his estimate. These benefits could not enhance his strength, but could point out the right direction for Lin Li.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A muffled thud sounded out of the blue. Lin Li lifted his head up in confusion, and realized that Macklin was done with giving pointers... or rather, abusing Mason.

    The old guy fellow was really out of his mind. After ying the game of cat and mouse, he still refused to let Mason go. Thest spells he¡¯d used to end the battle was the Mud Spell and the Blind Spell, which got Mason fumbling blindly in the mud, all the while swearing...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. The old fellow really had nothing to do.

    At this time, Orrin suddenly asked, ¡°Felic, didn¡¯t you want to go to the Omniscient Tower?¡±

    ¡°When did I...¡± Lin Li was puzzled. When did he say he¡¯d go to the Omniscient Tower? However, he quickly understood and swallowed back the words he was about to utter. Instead, he said, ¡°Right, right. Are you free?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much to do. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go together.¡±

    Both of them were talking in all seriousness. Even Mason, who was currently blind, couldn¡¯t listen any longer. ¡°Hey, you two, wait for me!¡±

    ¡°Get out of here...¡± Macklin was in a better mood after abusing Mason. He released a dispelling magic to relieve Mason¡¯s blindness, and said to Lin Li, ¡°But don¡¯t forget, you have to go to the Pharmacists Guild the day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Got it...¡± Lin Li nodded. He¡¯d remember even if Macklin had not reminded him. He had heard of its name for a long time, and finally got a chance to visit. He wouldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity to go to the Pharmacists Guild.

    The three of them walked out of the arena, only to find that it was brimming with people.

    ¡°What is this...¡± Lin Li gave a start. He clearly remembered there had only been a few dozen people outside when he¡¯d entered the arena. Where had these hundreds of peoplee from?

    ¡°I reckon they must be here to see who had thrashed the old fellow...¡± Mason whispered at a side.

    ¡°Mhm.¡± Orrin nodded in rare agreement with Mason.

    ¡°Surely not...¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva, feeling somewhat intimidated.

    Then, he realized that Mason wasn¡¯t wrong.

    As soon as Lin Li stepped out, all eyes were on him. They were full of admiration, doubt, and spection. There was also much whispering and finger-pointing. Lin Li felt like a tiger in the zoo being discussed about and judged by a group of tourists.

    To be honest, this was not a pleasant feeling...

    However, there was nothing Lin Li could do.

    They had merely wanted to have a look; surely he couldn¡¯t cover himself up so as not to let them see?

    ¡°Please give way...¡± Lin Li could only bury his head and squeeze his way out of the crowd.

    Fortunately, the crowd was cooperative.

    The crowd conscientiously parted when Lin Li walked past, clearing a path for him to walk through.

    But the discussion never stopped as they cleared the way for Lin Li. Although the voices were very soft, hundreds of people whispering at the same time turned the quiet hall into a bustling market at once.

    After escaping from themotion, Lin Li found that he still received no less attention. As he walked to the guild hall, almost every mage Lin Li met seemed to cast strange looks on him.

    ¡°See, that¡¯s Felic, from Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s Felic. I hear that he won against Mr Macklin. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. He may look normal now, but I heard that when he was battling with Mr Macklin, he grew three heads and they all recited the spells at the same time. He had eight arms too, each holding a staff. Why else do you think he was able to defeat Mr Macklin at such a young age?¡±

    ¡°Ah, three heads and eight arms? Isn¡¯t that like Naga?¡±

    ¡°Mhm. This is the guild¡¯s secret. You¡¯d better keep it to yourself...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know whether he should be amused or annoyed as the discussions reached his ears.

    ¡°Looks like we can¡¯t go to the Omniscient Tower anymore...¡± The three of them walked all the way to the guild hall. Lin Li had no intention to go to the Omniscient Tower any longer. He could even think with his knees how the people in the Omniscient Tower were discussing about him having three heads and eight arms. He¡¯d be seeking difort if he were to go there now.

    ¡°You should leave and hide outside until the limelight passes. Anyway, you know what these fellows are like too. They¡¯ve been cooped up in the guild, and have be perverse after holding back for so long. Any small movement would go out of hand through them, like that fool, Matthias, thest time...¡±

    Mason words hung in mid-sentence, for he suddenly saw the ¡°fool¡± that he was talking about heading towards the guild hall.

    Matthias had spotted them long ago. He had not stepped out of the Guild of Magic for the whole day, so how could he be unaware of the battle between Macklin and Lin Li?

    However, he was more in shock than the other mages.

    The fellow who was battling with Macklin shouldn¡¯t have been here.

    Matthias was dumbfounded when the scene was transmitted into the crystal ball.

    He couldn¡¯t figure out why this darned Jarrosus country boy could appear in the guild. He had sent Argus to the Fire Plume Ridge. Argus was a true Archmage, who could easily handle 10 trial apprentices all at once.

    Could it be that even Argus had failed to kill him? Matthias was flustered at the thought...

 Chapter 211 - Secret of the Dark Alley.

    <h4>Chapter 211: Secret of the Dark Alley.</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Matthias started to panic. He could not understand what was going on...

    Logically speaking, all of these should have gone smoothly.

    Ever since he¡¯d unintentionally heard somebody say that this Jarrosus country bumpkin was going to leave, Matthias had put in a lot of effort. First, he¡¯d inquired about the time he was going to leave, and then he¡¯d sent quite a few men to keep a lookout. That morning, when he¡¯d discovered that he was going to leave the Guild of Magic, Matthias was ted. He immediately looked for his mage mentor and asked him to stalk this Jarrosus mage and finally to finish him off in a safe ce...

    From Matthias¡¯ perspective, if a level-16 archmage were to take action, even ten Felics would be finished, not to mention just one Felic. He had been at ease while waiting at the Guild of Magic. He did not even go out once¡ªhe only thought of waiting for Argus to bring him good news.

    Yet, in the end, he only waited for the most hated enemy to stand alive right in front of him.

    Furthermore, he even drew with Macklin during a duel just now.

    Matthias stood in front of the crystal ball and stared at that face for a minute or so before he was certain that he was not mistaken. This fe that drew with Macklin was indeed the Felic from Jarrosus.

    Matthias was restless; he had to look for his mage mentor immediately to find out what had happened.

    ¡°Morning, Mage Matthias,¡± Lin Li greeted with a face full of smiles.

    ¡°Morning.¡± Currently, Matthias¡¯ mind was like roast pit. He did not even have the mood to be entangled with him. He hurriedly greeted him and brushed past Lin Li¡¯s shoulder before leaving the Guild hall in a hurry.

    However, this time, Lin Li did not continue provoking him. He onlyughed in his mind. <i>Good luck, Argus.</i>

    ¡°Why does this fe look so weird...¡± Mason mumbled to himself while looking at the back of the leaving Matthias.

    ¡®He¡¯s feeling guilty.¡± Lin Li smiled, but did not exin further. He only spoke briefly to Orin and Mason and had them go back first. He decided to walk around and returnter.

    ¡°Be careful then, Felic.¡± Before Mason left, he was somewhat concerned. ¡°I¡¯ve always felt that that fe is weird, he might use a cheap trick.¡±

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± This time, Mason was spot on. Matthias had indeed nned for a cheap shot, but it did not matter anymore. The Fire Plume Ridge was the Fire Plume Ridge. nna was nna. Under the eyes of the Guild of Magic, Lin Li believed that Matthias would not be brave enough to mess with him.

    It was not a joke...

    The oue of the bet that was due in half a year would be directly rted to the Mausoleum of Osric. If anything were to happen to him, Macklin would go mad if it were to cause the Guild of Magic to lose the chance to obtain Osric¡¯s mausoleum. If something were to happen at that point, not even Wilhelm would be able to clear the mess.

    To offend a powerful entity such as the Guild of Magic due to a moment of rage was not very wise.

    As for whether Matthias knew about this, Lin Li was not concerned. It did not matter if he understood as long as Wilhelm understood. Without using the Marathon Family¡¯s resources, what sort of waves could a single Matthias create? Unless he intended to search for another Archmage to assassinate Lin Li...

    Hence, Lin Li walked out of the guild hall without any worries, and walked along the streets towards Buck¡¯s equipment store.

    ¡°Morning, Boss Buck.¡± The equipment store was not having a good business. When Lin Li walked in, there were only two adventurers browsing through the weapons, while Buck was in low spirits and yawning away, leaning on the counter.

    ¡°Morning, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s it going, Boss Buck. Any good stuffing in these two days?¡± Lin Li looked around after entering and realized there was quite a number of new equipment. From the looks of it, the craftsmanship was pretty decent. Immediately, Lin Li started to be interested.

    ¡°Stop joking, Mage Felic...¡± Buck smile was somewhat fearful. How could he not know what this young mage in front of him did? He was somebody that casually produced the Eternal Adamantine. Anything that could capture his attention would not be ordinary. Even if one were to search the whole of nna, Buck estimated that there would still only be a few such things, not to mention this weapon store that had been going from bad to worse.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Boss Buck, how¡¯s businesstely?¡± Just by looking at Buck¡¯s expression, Lin Li already knew that nothing good had been delivered. He did not continue asking, but brushed off the topic instead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about business...¡± Little did he know that mentioning this would make Buck frown. He saw the middle-aged businessman sigh and start looking dispirited.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Lin Li could not help but feel curious. It was not like he had not seen the equipment at Buck¡¯s store. Even if he judged them as a Smithing Guru, the craftsmanship of these could be considered decent. For an average adventurer, each one was excellent. Furthermore, Buck was a person easy to deal with; he knew the principle of not overcharging while running a business. Even if it were those highly valued pieces of equipment that could easilymand a price of tens of thousand of gold coins, his profit would only be one or two hundred gold coins. In the vicinity, Buck¡¯s store could be said to have the lowest prices.

    Therefore, Lin Li could notprehend why business was bad if the prices were all appropriate?

    ¡°Recently, the business of this store has been going from bad to worse...¡± Buck sighed; he looked rather frustrated. While he was talking, those two adventurers that were looking at weapons left without picking any weapons that interested them after taking a look. They looked with a nitpicking manner and then left while shaking their heads.

    ¡°These two fes really have poor taste...¡± Lin Li pouted and looked outside of the store curiously. He saw that those two adventurers walked into the store across the street after leaving Buck¡¯s store. Instantly, Lin Li could not but feel uncertain. ¡°Boss Buck, is that store newly opened?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was opened a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not question further. This was too obvious. The reason why Buck¡¯s store¡¯s business had been declining was most likely due to the newly opened store across the street. However, this was normalpetition between simr stores. It had nothing much to do with Lin Li.

    ¡°No choice, he hung the Marathon Family signboard. Business is bound to be good.¡±

    ¡°Men from the Marathon Family?¡±

    ¡°It should be. Two days ago I went to take a peek. The equipment there was indeed produced by the Marathon smithy.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯re in big trouble...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, if business is bad, then let it be. After all, I am returning to Moonset City soon. My son has been writing letters daily, rushing me. I¡¯ll just use this chance to wrap up the business.¡± Although Buck sounded like it did not matter, his depressed expression could not be hidden. After all, it was a business that was tens of years old. Nobody could tolerate it if it were to be wrapped up.

    ¡°That¡¯s not too bad...¡± Lin Li smiled and brushed off the topic.

    During this afternoon, Buck¡¯s store did not have any business, plus Lin Li had nothing urgent going on, so they just chatted away. They did not feel the passage of time until it was evening, when Lin Li left Buck¡¯s store.

    After leaving Buck¡¯s store, Lin Li was not in a rush to return to the Guild of Magic. He followed the walkway and walked towards the new weapons store.

    He decided to take a look.

    Of course, this had nothing to do with whether Buck¡¯s business was doing well.

    He just felt that it was weird.

    After hearing what Buck had said, he instinctively felt that the Marathon Family should not be opening a weapon store at this area at a time like this. As to why he felt this way, he could not exin it temporarily, but it did not matter as he had nothing to do. Going over to take a look at Marathon Family¡¯s weapon store was good as well. After all, it was the best weapon store in the Fn Kingdom; there might be a good surprise waiting on the shelves there.

    ¡°Mr Felic...¡±

    Just when Lin Li had reached the corner of the street, he suddenly heard someone call his name. The voice was really soft¡ªlike a mosquito¡¯s¡ªplus it was already in the evening, and the sky started to darken. Lin Li stared for a while before he saw a familiar silhouette at the corner of the street.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you, Argus?¡± Lin Li asked with a frown. At the same time, he wasining in his mind. <i>What¡¯s with this guy, didn¡¯t I already release him? Why did hee back, looking for me? Could it be addictive to be a prisoner?</i>

    ¡°Can I talk to you?¡± The expression on Argus¡¯ face was rather surreptitious. He only asked that Lin Li softly after he had looked around.

    ¡°Talk¡±. Although Lin Li was feeling rather uncertain, judging from Argus¡¯ expression, it did not seem like a joke. Lin Li was feeling uncertain, but he reluctantly nodded. ¡°Search for a ce.¡±

    ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Along the way, Argus always looked down as though he was afraid of being recognized. He brought Lin Li past a few corners before stopping outside a dark alley.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Argus, this ce is remote enough. If there¡¯s anything, let¡¯s talk here.¡± Lin Li saw the pitch-ck alley and started to be on alert.

    ¡°Ok.¡± Argus hesitated for moment before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s like this, Mr. Felic. Matthias looked for me in the afternoon...¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Lin LI nodded. He¡¯d seen Matthias leaving the guild hall in the afternoon. How could he not know what was the reason for Matthias leaving in a hurry. Other than searching for his mage mentor to rify things, it could not be anything else...

    ¡°You.. Did you say something to him?¡±

    ¡°Stop joking...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, <i>I am not so free to say anything to Matthias. Have you ever seen a cat tell anything to a mouse?</i>

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But I feel that Matthias is suspecting me...¡± Archmage shook his head and looked somewhat worried. ¡°When Matthias returned this afternoon, he asked me if you had really broken through to the Archmage realm.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that he knows we fought before?¡±

    ¡°Yes, so I wanted to ask if, while talking, identally...¡± Argus¡¯ voice got softer. Although he did not say anything after ¡°identally¡±, his surreptitious gaze clearly told Lin Li the following: I am suspecting you!

    ¡°Shut up...¡± Lin Li red at him. ¡°So what did you say?¡±

    After being red at by Lin Li, Argus resentfully retracted his gaze, and said in a soft voice, ¡°I had no choice. I could only admit that I fought with you, but I was unlucky and got involved with the battle between the Smander and the six great mercenary corps. You¡¯ve escaped during the chaos. As for whether you really broke through the Archmage realm, I am not sure...¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Lin Li nodded; his expression seemed to be full of praise. ¡°You¡¯ve done well.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know if Matthias believes it...¡±

    ¡°He can only believe it. Think about it yourself. What happened in the cave, only you, me, and Sean know. If the three of us don¡¯t mention anything, who knows if I escaped during the chaos...¡±

    ¡°I hope so...¡± Argus still looked like he was full of worries.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Argus...¡± After the conversation ended and they were about to leave, Lin Li suddenly remembered about the newly opened weapon store. ¡°Do you know why would the Marathon Family open a weapon store beside the Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°This, I am not too sure. Business matters have always been handled by Gaud...¡± After Argus said this, his expression was rather uncertain. ¡°But there is something really weird. Recently, the Marathon smithy has been shipping out quite a lot of magical equipment. I am not sure if this has anything to do with this newly opened weapon store...¡±

    ¡°How many is quite a lot?¡±

    Argus thought for a bit. ¡°I reckon there¡¯s hundreds of them...¡±

    ¡°Then that has definitely nothing to do with it. Hundreds of pieces of magical equipment would not be sold by next year...¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression changed while speaking. ¡°Wait, what did you just say? The Marathon smithy shipped out hundreds of pieces of magical equipment?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Lin Li spoke while gritting his teeth, and when he looked at Argus, his expression was rather frightening. ¡°Argus, could you help me?¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Argus was stunned.

    ¡°Help me find out where was that batch of equipment from the Marathon smithy shipped to.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Argus frowned, and his expression seemed to be rather awkward. ¡°I am afraid it would not be easy. As you know, I am just a mage mentor for Matthias. I can¡¯t say anything about business. Furthermore, now is such a sensitive period. If Matthias knows about my rtionship with you, I¡¯m afraid...¡±

    Argus exined it in a long-winded manner, but Lin Li did not even listen. He just selfishly said, ¡°If you can settle this, I¡¯ll help you recover your mana.¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± With this sentence, Argus immediately changed his tone. It was just that after he said that, he started to feel worried again. ¡°But, can I really recover my mana?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± This time, Lin Li was not spouting nonsense. Even though Argus¡¯ power had been sucked up the Vampire¡¯s fang, in essence, this was part of normal power shifting. If Lin Li could use the Vampire¡¯s fang to suck his mana, he could also return it back to him because that mana originally belonged to him. There was no sh of attributes during the shift. All Lin Li had to do was to make a minor change on the mageweath.

    Of course...

    Because the Vampire¡¯s fang was ted with Divinity Metal, the mana stored inside would be depleted. Additionally, the depletion would get worse as time passed by. Within ten days, this level-16 archmage¡¯s mana would bepletely depleted by the Divinity Metal, and it would change into the power of the Vampire¡¯s fang.

    Therefore, Lin Li kindly reminded him, ¡°But you need to be quick. If you can¡¯t help me settle this issue within five days, then I can¡¯t guarantee anything...¡±

    ¡°Ok!¡± Argus gritted his teeth, but in the end, he still chose to believe this young mage once more.

    It was because as he thought about it, he could not find a reason as to why the other party would lie to him. If Lin Li only wanted him to help him, he could have used other methods, like violence or threats. Now, both parties¡¯ powers had been totally reversed. This young mage was now an Archmage; as for him, he had fallen back to the Magic Shooter realm due to the loss of mana.

    Most importantly, the temptation of regaining mana was too big.

    For an archmage, it was more painful than death to remain in the magic shooter realm. It was like a multi-millionaire losing all of his wealth overnight. The great disparity between the beginning and end could even make a personpletely break down.

    ¡°Yes, make the best of your time. As long as you settle this, the issue of regaining mana would be on me.¡± Lin Li only had a satisfied smile at this point.

    For Lin Li, this was the important issue. For this issue, he could even let go of the immense mana that he had obtained. That was a level-16 archmage¡¯s mana. Once it had beenpletely absorbed by the Divinity Metal on the Vampire¡¯s fang, it could raise the power of the Vampire¡¯s fang by several levels. However, this was no longer important. Lin Li needed to know where those hundreds of equipment pieces went to.

    <i>If it went to Shadow¡¯s Nest, then don¡¯t me me for being rude...</i>

    ¡°Oh, yes, Argus.¡± Before leaving, Lin Li instructed Argus, ¡°If Matthias were to ask about the Fire Plume Ridge again, you must end this topic. Just say that I escaped during the chaos. I¡¯ll see if I have a chance these few days to speak to him and make him believe what you said is true.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    The two of them discussed the details again before going their separate ways, leaving this dark alley.

    Aftering out from the dark alley, Lin Li no longer had any interest in visiting the newly opened weapon store. He went straight back to the living quarters of the Guild of Magic.

    Lin Li opened the door and saw that Mason, Orrin, and Kevin were sitting in the living room. Lin Li started feeling uncertain. Didn¡¯t Macklin say that he would arrange a room for Kevin? Why was he still in his room? Could it be that after that old man failed, he got so angry he forgot about it?

 Chapter 212 - Elemental Annihilation

    <h4>Chapter 212: Elemental Annihtion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The previous time at the Shadowglen, it was because of my, Mason¡¯s, brilliance that I brought the two of them out safely. Let me tell you, Mage Kevin, it¡¯s not that I am boasting. I single-handedly...¡± When Lin Li entered the door, he could hear Mason shamelessly boasting.

    ¡°No wonder Orrin went to sleep so early...¡± Lin Li mumbled at the door. But whoever knew what happened would not be able to carry on listening.

    ¡°I single-handedly... Uh... Felic, you¡¯re back?¡± Mason was boasting while beaming with joy, but he saw Lin Li had entered the room. His expression immediately froze.

    ¡°Yes, I just came back.¡± Lin Li did not expose Mason, he only asked Kevin with uncertainty, ¡°Kevin, they did not arrange a room for you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m staying next door.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not too bad...¡± Lin Li only then nodded his head and showed a satisfied smile. It seemed like Macklin had already taken Lin Li¡¯s and Kevin¡¯s rtionship into consideration when arranging thetter¡¯s amodations, thus arranging for him to stay beside Lin Li. Not bad, not bad. It seemed like this old man did not lose his mind after the failure.

    ¡°How about we go take a look?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Theyout of the two houses was the same. It was three bedrooms and one living room. The living room had a tea table and a few other desks. It looked simple yet elegant. Looking out from the window opposite of the living room, one could clearly see the whole Guild of Magic, the spacious guild hall, the skyscraping Omniscient Tower and the mysterious magic research center.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it¡ªthe reason behind your asking me toe over,¡± Lin Li asked directly as he pulled out a rattan chair and sat on it. He did not believe that Kevin asked him toe over simply to chill together. He could tell just by looking at Kevin¡¯s expression. If there wasn¡¯t anything on, would he ask Lin Li toe over at such ate hour?

    ¡°Felic, you... do you have any way to help a person whose mana had copsed recover?¡± The expression on Kevin¡¯s face seemed to be rather restrained.

    ¡°Help a person whose mana had copsed recover?¡± Lin Li was stunned. Mana copse was not a small matter. For a mage, it was the same as receiving a death sentence.

    Back at Jarrosus, Lin Li saw it happen once with his own eyes.

    Cromwell had the power of a level-14 Magic Shooter back then. Even if Lin Li had Element Surge and broke down his staff, Lin Li would have had to use a lot of effort to defeat if it hadn¡¯t been for his mana copsing at thest moment.

    As to why his mana copsed, it was due to that level-18 spell.

    With Cromwell¡¯s power back then, forcing out a level-18 spell was the same as courting death. It was especially so after Lin Li¡¯s gold rod had touched him and disintegrated that weird magical crystal. That level-18 spell instantly became a death knell. The amount of mana required for a level-18 spell was a terrifying number. Even the current Lin Li would not dare to think about it, not to mention Cromwell from back then.

    Mana copse was just like that. It was due to the forced usage of immense power and the fact that mental strength could not handle the pressure, resulting in the loss of control of immense mana. That then resulted in the bite of mana.

    ¡°Who would be so unlucky?¡± That was why Lin Li felt it weird. Other than Cromwell, which other mage would do something so stupid?

    To exaggerate a little, it was the same suicide.

    ¡°A friend...¡± Kevin was rather soft.

    ¡°Do I know him?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, you don¡¯t know him.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded his head; for some unknown reason, he felt that Kevin looked rather flustered. However, after thinking about it, with Kevin¡¯s honest character, he would not have lied to Lin Li. In that moment, he did not care too much about it. He looked rather awkward as he said, ¡°This issue is moreplicated, let me think of a way.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± In fact, even if Lin Li did not say it, Kevin also knew that this issue was veryplicated. He was a mage himself¡ªalthough his level was not high, he had also received at least ten years of magic education. How would he not know the implications of Mana Copse?

    However, this time the person that had mana copse was somebody that needed to be rescued. He had to grab onto every shred of hope. In fact, when Lin Li said ¡°think of a way¡± instead of immediately saying ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡±, it had already made him overjoyed...

    ¡°Wait for a while...¡± Lin Li rubbed the area in between his eyebrows as he was having a headache.

    Lin Li knew of a way to recover from mana copse...

    But this method was the same as not knowing it. It was too difficult to carry out.

    Among the guru level of pharmaceutics recipes, there was a potion called the Elemental Arche.

    Elemental Arche used a stalk of ck Lotus as the main ingredient and then it used rare herbs such as Heart of Corrosion and Leaf of the Origin Tree. Once concocted, it could fuse all of the mana together in an instant and go through a purification that was like filtration. During purification, the mana that was in disorder could then return under the control of mental strength.

    This was the real recipe of the guru level. Once it had been made, it could allow a Magic Shooter break through to the Archmage realm. Even if the user was a powerhouse that stepped into the Archmage realm, it could also help him raise his mana by several folds.

    The problem was...

    This potion was not something somebody normal could concoct.

    There was no need to mention the Heart Of Corrosion. One had to enter the Demon Abyss because there was no other ce that produced it. If the hammer, Mr. Connoris, was willing to cooperate, then there would be a slight chance. As for this Leaf of the Origin Tree, it could be considered impossible. Lin Li had never heard of anyone obtaining this herb during his time at the Endless World¡ªso much so that nobody knew where it grew. The only thing Lin Li knew about it was that several guru level potions required it...

    Even if Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm had everything, it only had the ck Lotus¡ªjust one of those ingredients. The other things could not even be found.

    In conclusion, it was rather troublesome...

    Lin Li shook his head and ced this issue aside. Sometimes when it came to herbs, it was not something you could have immediately.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Kevin...¡± Just as he was about to return to his room, Lin Li suddenly remembered something. ¡°During the battle with Shadow¡¯s Nest, did you manage to get some magical equipment?¡±

    ¡°I guess so...¡± Kevin¡¯s face seemed to be uncertain. He did not understand why would Lin Li suddenly mention this.

    ¡°Did you bring it over?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s all at Jarrosus...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Speaking to Argus in the alley in the evening made Lin Li realize something immediately. Wasn¡¯t the Marathon Family conforming to external forces with immense wealth and backing? Furthermore, Argus also said that the Marathon smithy had coincidentally shipped out arge batch of magical equipment in thest ten days.

    Where had this shipment gone? Lin Li was fifty percent sure that half of this shipment had gone to Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    It was only the Marathon Family that could produce hundreds of pieces of magical equipment effortlessly, and it was only them that could order a force like Shadow¡¯s Nest around. The dots were connecting.

    As to why he¡¯d asked Kevin about that batch of equipment, it was because Lin Li wanted to see if he could discern who exactly was it that made it through the characteristics of the forging handicraft.

    Unfortunately, Kevin had not brought them.

    It would not do to let Kevin describe it. Other than a true cksmith, an average person would see the same things in an equipment. It could be either a sword, a knife, or an armor. At the very most, they had some magical attributes. Only a true master cksmith could see who made them through the traces of craftsmanship on the equipment.

    It seemed like he would have to wait for Argus¡¯ reply...

    ¡°Oh, yes!¡± Yet it was at this moment when Kevin smacked his forehead and took something out from his pocket. ¡°This. I found this on a bandit from Shadow¡¯s Nest!¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡± Lin Li frowned and stretched out one hand to take the item for a look. This thing looked like an iplete dagger. The handle had been destroyed by fire magic, leaving behind only the de made from refined iron. Lin Li tested it out on the rattan chair and found it much sharper than he¡¯d expected.

    ¡°I¡¯ve obtained this dagger from a bandit.¡± When Kevin said this, his expression seemed to have some sort of lingering fear. ¡°At that time, I was entangled with a level-8 warrior. This bandit took that chance to sneak behind me and backstabbed me with this dagger. I thought I was dead then. The dagger easily pierced through the Frost Shield and stabbed me in the back... If it wasn¡¯t because of Uncle Gerian¡¯s timely actions, I¡¯m afraid I would not have the chance toe to nna...¡±

    ¡°Element Annihtion!¡± When Lin Li heard this, he immediately realized that Element Annihtion attribute must have been added to this dagger. With the usage of equipment with such handicraft, it would easily pierce through Frost Shield and injure a mage.

    ¡°Kevin, do you know how much such equipment does Shadow¡¯s Nest have?¡±

    ¡°There should be fifty or so...¡± Kevin¡¯s face was rather ghastly. ¡°This time, we¡¯ve lost a total of 40-odd mages. At least ten were stabbed in the back and killed when the Frost Shield was split apart. Based on these numbers, Shadow¡¯s Nest should have at least fifty or more of weapons like this...¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and did not question further, but was calcting something quickly in his mind. Now, he was ny percent sure that this incident had been orchestrated by the Marathon Family. Element Annihtion was a handicraft that only high-level cksmiths could master. Furthermore, the forging process was ratherplicated. It required a lot of time. Other than the Marathon Family, Lin Li could not think of any other forces that could supply that much equipment with the Element Annihtion attribute.

 Chapter 213 - People From The Pharmacists Guild

    <h4>Chapter 213: People From The Pharmacists Guild</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After discussing about those matter, both of them chatted for a while more. They chatted until Lin Li was rather tired, when he returned to his room. Before he left, he again reminded Kevin, ¡°The issue about your friend¡¯s mana copse, let me think of a way first. It may require some time, but don¡¯t worry, just be at ease and wait in nna. I will definitely think of a way for you before returning to Jarrosus.¡±

    When Lin Li left Kevin¡¯s room, Mason and Orrin were already asleep. Sean was nowhere to be seen for the whole day. Today was even worse¡ªhe did not evene back at night. However, after Lin Li shook his head, he did not care about that fe anymore. Anyway, he now had the power of a level-10 warrior. Additionally, he had the brute force simr to that of a magical beast. As long as he did not get into too big of a trouble, he should not be at a disadvantage...

    Sean did not return, and Lin Li slept on his own bed.

    It was unclear whether it was because he had been sleeping in the living room for too long, but when hey down on the soft bed, Lin Li slept very well. He slept all the way until the next day when the it was alreadyte in the morning before he got woken up by a series of knocks on the door.

    ¡°Who is it that¡¯s so early and not letting me sleep...¡± Lin Li mumbled while getting out of bed. He rubbed his sore neck while going over to open the living room¡¯s door.

    Who knew that when he opened the door, he instantly saw Macklin with a face full of distress and disgust. ¡°Are you a pig...¡±

    ¡°What is it...¡± Lin Li yawned. His face was out of sorts as if he would not have enough sleep no matter how much he slept. Thinking about it carefully, he had been exhausted during this time. From nna to the Fire Plume Ridge, and then from the Fire Plume Ridge back to nna. The whole journey was a few days long; furthermore, there were so many hideously messy issues in between. Nobody would be able to tolerate it.

    ¡°F*ck, you really will turn into a pig if you continue sleeping. You forgot about the thing I reminded you about yesterday. Do you even have any memory at all?¡± Macklin was furious; he nagged away for a long time before realizing that this fe had really forgotten it. Hence, he gritted his teeth, and reminded, ¡°Pharmacists Guild!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, the Pharmacists Guild...¡± After hearing Macklin¡¯s reminder, Lin Li finally remembered. He had really forgotten about it...

    ¡°You can forget such a big thing... do you dare to have bad memory again?¡± After Macklin finished nagging, he started to press him. ¡°Hurry, pack up and leave. Don¡¯t dawdle anymore. The Pharmacists Guild¡¯s carriage has been waiting for you for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± This time, Lin Li did not talk back. He obediently went back to his room and changed. This issue could not be neglected; he had to attend it just based on his rtionship with Old Grimm, not to mention what the Pharmacists Guild was like. He had owed him too big of a favor previously at Jarrosus. If it weren¡¯t because Old Grimm mentored him for such a long time, the victor of that battle would still have been unknown...

    ¡°Felic, don¡¯t me this old man, me, for being such a grumbler. Such an opportunity is hard toe by. Please keep a low profile after going there. Don¡¯t sh with others randomly, like when you¡¯re at the Guild of Magic. Balbo, that old man, is not as easy to deal with as Aldwin. Furthermore, those pharmacists are not people that can be pushed around like Madrick...¡±

    While Lin Li was changing in the room, Macklin was nagging constantly outside.

    Even though he was nagging, Lin Li understood what he meant.

    It was to warn him that after going to the Pharmacists Guild, he had to be obedient and not create trouble.

    ¡°I know, I know, I know...¡± Lin Li nodded his head while wearing his robe.

    The Robe of the Void that Macklin had given him the other time had already been shoved into the legendary magical beast¡¯s mouth when killing the Smander with poison. Lin Li also only returned to nna yesterday, so he did not have the time to purchase a new one. He could not find a suitable robe today, so he had no other choice but to wear a Rune Robe.

    The Rune Robe produced by the Mannes Family was not good enough whenpared to nna Guild of Magic¡¯s Robe of the Void. Although it couldn¡¯t be seen from its appearance, the magical wave emitted from the robe was definitely a world of difference. It was not at the same level.

    ¡°You¡¯re wearing that?¡± Macklin looked at the Rune Robe that Lin Li was wearing and immediately frowned. ¡°Didnt I give you a Robe of the Voidst time?¡±

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    ¡°I lost it at ckhills Town...¡±

    ¡°Wastrel!¡± Macklin scolded harshly before bing anxious himself. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? How am I supposed to get you a new one at such short notice...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, wearing this won¡¯t be embarrassing, either.¡± Lin Li pouted, and thought to himself, <i>Back when I wore the Robe of Wrath, I could go anywhere. What else do you want now that I am already dressed like a gentleman? Surely you don¡¯t mean that the Pharmacists Guild would not allow me to enter because I¡¯m dressed like this?</i>

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Macklin thought about it, but he could note up with a better idea. The Robe of the Void represented status within nna Guild of Magic. Even if Macklin wanted to get a new one, he would to apply through the standard procedures. Now that the people from the Pharmacists Guild were already waiting outside, where would he get the time to apply for it? How could he give the one he was wearing to the fe and then run out naked?

    Just when Lin Li walked into the guild hall, he saw two unfamiliar faces waiting there.

    These two people, who looked like they were in their thirties, were wearing a gray robe each. There was a thick scent of medicineing from their robes. It was a very ring sight amidst all of the mages within the guild hall.

    ¡°Hello, Mage Felic.¡± Once Lin Li entered the guild hall, both of them greeted him with respect.

    ¡°Hello.¡± Lin Li nodded his head as if greeting them. ¡°Are you both from the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic. Guild Master knows that you just came to nna, and was worried that you might not know the way to the Pharmacists Guild, so he sent both of us here. Can we leave now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we can.¡±

    The three of them exited the guild hall, but at the entrance, Lin Li met someone familiar.

    ¡°Good morning, Mage Sarsen.¡± Ever since he¡¯d returned from the Shadowglen, Lin Li only saw Sarsen once during the banquet. After that, he had never seen a trace of him. It was only yesterday when he¡¯d returned that he heard Macklin say that this fe¡¯s strength had improved tremendously. He was highly possibly going to be his biggest challenge in the uing finals.

    Of course, back then Macklin did not know that Lin Li had already broken through to the Archmage realm.

    In fact, Lin Li did not really care whether it was a challenge or not.

    He did not have any rtion with Sarsen. The only time both of them were in contact was when they fought the Lich together back at the Shadowglen.

    However, other than being slightly proud, Sarsen was not a nasty person. Coupled with the fact they¡¯d once fought together, it would not be right to not greet him.

    ¡°Good morning, Mage Felic. Such a coincidence? I seem to recall Mr. Macklin saying that you went on a long journey a few days ago. How was it, was it a pleasant journey?¡± Sarsen was more warm-hearted. Once he saw that it was Lin Li that greeted him, his usually uptight face disyed a rare smile.

    That was how Sarsen was, an uptight look. It was not really that he was that proud.

    It was just that he was more straightforward. He was born in Nightfall City, where the strong fed on the weak. In that chaotic city, power was everything. For Sarsen, those that were weaker than him were people that he did not have to care about. If those with strength had met his approval, he would let down his attitude and start making friends.

    For example, this Mage Felic in front of him. It was obvious he was somebody to be associated with.

    He was younger by a fair bit, yet had immense power. It was especially so during the battle with Macklin at the colosseum. It made Sarsen look up to him even more.

    Sarsen would always be more warm-hearted towards such people.

    ¡°It¡¯s boring to stay within the guild so I went out for a look...¡± Lin Li¡¯s reply was perfunctory.

    ¡°Haha...¡± Sarsenughed, he knew that it was a perfunctory reply, but he only casually asked. He did not expect the other party to reply. Once he saw the other party¡¯s perfunctoriness, he naturally did not push it. He just brushed off the topic with a ¡®haha¡¯. ¡°Oh yes, Mage Felic, are these two your friends?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He¡¯d only just realized that ever since he¡¯d left the guild hall, he had not asked for their names yet. In that moment, he did not know how to introduce them. He only vaguely replied, ¡°They are from the Pharmacists Guild...¡±

    ¡°Pharmacists Guild!¡± Sarsen was surprised after hearing it.

    Sarsen received the most traditional education for magic. Ever since he was young, his mentor constantly stressed that potions were the lifeline for mages. They could restore mana, heal wounds, and even help break through bottlenecks to attain an even greater power.

    The wonders of pharmaceutics had been pervading his mind constantly. As for the Sarsen back then, he had always thought that pharmacists were a god-like existence.

    Till this day, he even remembered that his mentor once said, ¡°If you have a pharmacist friend, you will be the happiest mage.¡±

    As for after he grew up, he witnessed the miracles of pharmaceutics time and time again. The perception ingrained during his youth had now been rooted even deeper in his mind.

    Once he heard that those two were from the Pharmacists Guild, Sarsen was in daze. Even when he spoke, he was stuttering. ¡°Nice... Nice to meet the both of you. My name is Sarsen, I... I am Mage Felic¡¯s friend.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He never knew that these two small fishes from the Pharmacists Guild could make Sarsen so excited. Look at that gaze and that smile¡ªhow was it different when Lin Li met the Star Chaser n?

    <i>This, this, this... Is this still the proud Sarsen?</i>

    What Lin Li had not expected was that the reaction from these two people from the Pharmacists Guild towards Sarsen¡¯s warm-heartedness would be so cold. They merely nodded at him. ¡°Yes, hello.¡±

    Sarsen was not single bit disobedient; his face was still showing respect and passion.

    ¡°Mage Sarsen, we still have things to do. If there¡¯s anything, let¡¯s have a chat another time, ok?¡± However, the people from the Pharmacists Guild were getting impatient. After they brushed him off, they turned around and respectfully said to Lin Li, ¡°Mage Felic, the carriage is in front.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok...¡± Lin Li¡¯s mind was in a muddle. This guy shouldn¡¯t be learning how to change his countenance, right? Look at this change in countenance, he just replied with that old saying¡ªhis change was faster than flipping a book.

 Chapter 214 - Pharmacists Guild

    <h4>Chapter 214: Pharmacists Guild</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not feel anything¡ªthose two were very respectful all the while, after all. On the other hand, Sarsen¡¯s eyes were wide open. He could not believe his own ears. Did those words just now reallye from the people of the Pharmacists Guild?

    Why would the people from the Pharmacists Guild be polite to a mage? Furthermore, it was just a young mage with no status. Even though Sarsen admitted that Felic¡¯s power was fathomless and his talent was even more amazing, but this was only among the youngsters. Compared to the real powerhouses, he still had a long way to go.

    After all, he was too young. No matter how fathomless his power was, he could not possibly be stronger than Macklin.

    Such power was still far from enough to deserve the Pharmacists Guild¡¯s respect.

    Sarsen distinctively remembered that when he was very young, his mentor had once brought him to nna to pay a visit to an acquaintance in the Pharmacists Guild.

    The meeting back then left a deep impression on him.

    At that time, his mentor was already a level-16 archmage, and hence in control of the Nightfall City Guild of Magic. Be it power or position, he was living up to the word ¡°impression¡± regardless of which aspect one looked at. However, Sarsen quickly realized that his impressive mentor was nothing at all in front of that acquaintance from the Pharmacists Guild. The start of the conversation was filled with cutting remarks. There was absolutely no respect for the mentor. Some of the words were harsh. Even a ten year old Sarsen could not carry on listening; that incident produced a twelve year old Sarsen that broke through to the fifth level.

    Even a person like his mentor received cold treatment at the Pharmacists Guild. On what basis was this Felic receiving their respect? Although he was indeed a genius, but he was miles apart inparison to his mentor.

    Sarsen could not understand it...

    Whatever had happened just now was too surreal.

    Sarsen believed that he was not mistaken. Those two people were definitely from the Pharmacists Guild. Even though they were wearing ck robes and being respectful towards Felic, the thick scent of medicine emitted from their bodies and the cold attitude towards Sarsen were exactly the same as when he had seen them back then at the Pharmacists Guild.

    Sarsen could not understand why they were so respectful towards Felic.

    Was it because he was a young genius? That did not seem possible...

    The Pharmacists Guild was never in need of geniuses, much less formidable magical power.

    There was no need mention others. Just a legendary mage Grimm Burnside would be able to awe anybody from the Pharmacists Guild. Furthermore, they had potions that everybody dreamt of. Sometimes, there would be powerhouses that would be willing to help them do anything even if they just gave a small hint without saying anything.

    There was no need to mention geniuses. The thing that the Pharmacists Guild wascking the least was geniuses. If it was not a one in ten thousand genius, there was absolutely no chance to be a pharmacist.

    No matter from which perspective, Felic did not have the qualifications.

    <i>Could it be that he himself is a pharmacist? </i>Sarsen looked at the leaving carriage and his mind suddenly had this thought. However, when this thought appeared, he started smiling. <i>How could it be possible to be a pharmacist below twenty years old. It¡¯s such a joke...</i>

    No matter how talented or hard-working Felic was or if he started learning about the pharmaceuticals from birth, there was absolutely no way he would be able to understand the principles of pharmaceuticals at twenty years old. Furthermore, to be a pharmacist, one had to memorize all sorts ofplicated recipes. These recipes were much more detailed andplicated than magical curses, and also carried all sorts of traps. Two herbs might seem fitting to be concocted into a potion, but in fact, they would severely sh. Such things would not be able to be mastered if not for repeated failures.

    A long time ago, Sarsen had once asked his mentor the following: since mages relied on potions so much, why didn¡¯t he himself try learning about pharmaceuticals?

    Sarsen clearly remembered that his mentor had had a really serious look; he¡¯d also sternly warned him to never, ever have such a thought. It was because mage was a profession that required time. The more knowledge and experience one had, the more powerful they would be. As for pharmaceuticals, all the more it could exhaust a person¡¯s energy for a lifetime.

    Trying to master both would only end in not reaching the peak of either.

    Sarsen remembered that his mentor had even used Grimm Burnside as an example back then.

    ¡°Grimm Burnside is truly a genius. A genius that only appears once every hundred or thousand of years. Unfortunately, he took the wrong path. He shouldn¡¯t have learned magic and pharmaceutics at the same time. Don¡¯t look at him now, being a legendary-mage and master pharmacist. In truth, he could¡¯ve aplished more than this. If he were to specialize in one, I¡¯m afraid he would have surpassed Aldwin in magic long ago, or surpassed Balbo in pharmaceutics. He would not be pressured by both of them in both domains like now.¡±

    If it was true for Grimm Burnside, what about Felic, who was younger than him by decades?

    Sarsen thought about it for a long while, and could not make head nor tail of it. He finally shook his head and turned around to walk into the guild hall.

    Yet at this time, Lin Li¡¯s face was full of emotions while sitting in the carriage.

    All the while, he knew that pharmacists were arrogant, but he did not imagine that they would be so arrogant that they looked down on others. Just now, he had spoken to them in the carriage. Both of them were just disciples of the Pharmacists Guild. To put in a blunt manner, they were no different from men doing odd jobs. One of them was even a driver...

    However, these two disciples did not even give Sarsen a single shred of respect.

    Sarsen was not even twenty-five years old this year, and he already had the power of a level-14. Additionally, he was the only disciple of the guild master of Nightfall City¡¯s Guild of Magic. His future was bright. Even bing the new guild master of Nightfall City¡¯s Guild of Magic was not impossible.

    Such a person would be respected wherever he went. Even if he came to nna to participate in the trials, his trial mentor never saw him as a disciple. Yet, he did not think that a warm-hearted face would be greeted by cold shoulders by these two disciples of the Pharmacists Guild...

    ¡°Too arrogant...¡± Lin Li shook his head and his expression was filled with emotions.

    Back at Jarrosus, he would frequently hear people talk about pharmacists and the Pharmacists Guild. Back then, he did not feel anything until he saw it with his own eyes today. Lin Li immediately realized how important his grasp on pharmaceutical knowledge was in this world.

    <i>F*ck, seems like I also have to be more arrogant lest there be trash like Matthiasing to pick on me. It¡¯s such a bother! </i>Lin Li shamlessly thought of it as he remarked in the carriage.

    ¡°Mage Felic, we have arrived.¡± Yet it was at this time that the carriage stopped.

    ¡°Oh, ok...¡± When Lin Li got off the carriage, his expression was filled with curiosity. The tower in front of him was nothing special. Be it the stature or the size, it wascking inparison to the Guild of Magic¡¯s. It was just that when he walked closer, he could smell a pungent scent of medicine drifting out from the tower.

    About 100 hundred metres in front the tower, there was a magnificent and grand structure. It was surrounded by fully geared soldiers. It could be said that they were armed to their teeth. They were patrolling the structure in teams of tens. There were even squadrons of Gryphon Riders flying past asionally. Looking from the tower, it felt like the whole structure was covered in a solemn and respectful aura.

    ¡°What is that?¡± When Lin Li looked at the tight security, he was surprised. He had never imagined that nna was so powerful. Not only did it station so many fully equipped soldiers, it could even afford so many Gryphon Riders. This was simply stronger than all of the great ten mercenary corpsbined.

    ¡°...¡± When Lin Li said this, both of the members from the Pharmacists Guild froze. It was as if they turned around and looked at Lin Li simultaneously. The strange gazes they gave made Lin Li feel like he was some sort of rare animal.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong...¡± Lin Li touched his face and realized that he seemed to have asked a stupid question.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± One of them slowed his saliva with difficulty: ¡°That is Fn Pce...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost killed himself.

    After making such a huge blunder, Lin Li did not have the face to stand at the entrance of the tower. He thickened his skin and dismissed the two with a few words before rushing into the Pharmacists Guild. Following the directions of the two disciples, he could see a spacious hall, on whose right side there was a spiral staircase creeping up. Judging from its structure, it had not much of a difference from Jarrosus¡¯ Emerald Tower.

    When Lin Li walked, there were quite a few people inside the hall.

    There was even someone familiar among them...

    ¡°Felic!¡± Before Lin Li could speak, Andoine weed him with a face radiant with vigor. The old man seemed to be in a good mood. He walked over to the main entrance while greeting acquaintances triumphantly.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lin Li scratched his head and he looked confused. Didn¡¯t the invitation letter already mention this gathering would invite all of the pharmacists in the Fn Kingdom? Even though Andoine had a passion towards pharmaceuticals as a hobby, in essence, he was just a hobbyist. He was far from the level to discuss with pharmacists...

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m here as well?¡± The old man gave up. His expression was filled with humiliation. ¡°I came in here with an invitation letter. Would that old man Burnside dare not to invite me to such a grand gathering?¡±

    ¡°He really is brave...¡± Lin Li softly mumbled.

 Chapter 215 - Andoineéˆ¥æªš Status

    <h4>Chapter 215: Andoine¡¯s Status</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Old Grimm¡¯s had quite the courage. He even dared to invite Andoine. What if he suddenly became overzealous and wanted to concoct something on the spot? Wouldn¡¯t it cause an explosion and st the whole Pharmacists Guild?

    He¡¯d never guess that although Andoine was old, his hearing was not worse than a youngster¡¯s. Lin Li¡¯s mumble had actually been heard by him. ¡°What really brave?¡±

    ¡°No... Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Come, sit with me over here.¡± Since returning from the Nightmare Mountains, Andoine had not seen Lin Li for quite a while. After seeing him today, he wanted to ask about his recent developments. After all, it could be said that this young man was brought into the world of magic by him alone. Yet, at the same time, he had helped Andoine a lot in pharmaceuticals. Their rtionship was like that of master and disciple, but it was like a friendship as well¡ªit was much closer than an average master and disciple rtionship.

    ¡°Oh, yes... that Crystal of Eternity of yours, has it been sculpted already?¡± Both of them sat in a quiet corner and chatted for a bit before Lin Li suddenly thought of the Crystal of Eternity.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Andoine had a mysterious smile on his face and took out a purple crystal bottle from his pocket. ¡°Look at it, how¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°It really is the Crystal of Eternity...¡± Just when he took the crystal bottle, Lin Li could feel what made the Crystal of Eternity so special. It was cold to the touch, but it was not ufortable. Using his fingers to run through the fine and smooth striations on the crystal bottle, it felt like stroking a piece of high quality silk.

    Lin Li released trace of mana, carefully prating the bottle slowly from the opening.

    The moment this trace mana had entered, Lin Li could feel that crystal bottle in his hand started to heat up. A warm aura gushed slowly out of the crystal like spring water. It gently and slowly surrounded the trace of mana that he¡¯d released, which was then moistened using that gentle aura. It was a very peculiar feeling; it was as if someone was singing a luby beside his ear.

    Indeed, this was the power of the Crystal of Eternity...

    He yed with it till he could not tear himself away from it. Just as he was about to return it to Andoine, the old man generously waved his hand. ¡°I brought this here just to give it to you. I still have a full set in my pharmaceuticalb...¡±

    ¡°Then...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment. He then thought those few ck lotuses in his pocket required a potion bottle made from the Crystal of Eternity. Instantly, he did not stand on ceremony with Andoine. He just nodded and ced the crystal bottle in his pocket. ¡°Then I will not be courteous.¡±

    ¡°When were you even courteous...¡± The old man pouted his mouth and red at him with disdain.

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Lin Li started to feel embarrassed. He thought about it carefully, and it was true. Ever since he¡¯de to know Andoine, he had never really been courteous with him before.

    ¡°Oh, yes, kid, I heard from people that recently, you don¡¯t really know your ce in the Guild of Magic...¡±

    Lin Li was a little guilty. ¡°Who spread this rumor?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you care who. Just answer me honestly, have you been causing trouble recently?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva. His gaze was rather guilty. Actually, even if Andoine did not say it, he already knew that it was Macklin who told him of it. When that old man saw Andoine, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. As long as Andoine asked, why wouldn¡¯t he just sell Lin Li out?

    ¡°What this and that...¡±

    ¡°OK, I admit I did cause some small trouble.¡± Lin Li saw that he could not deny it, so he could only honestly nod.

    ¡°I knew that you were dishonest...¡± Andoine pouted. He had an ¡°I know what you have done¡± expression. ¡°But it¡¯s ok, it¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯ve already spoken to the Marathon Family. As long as you don¡¯t provoke them anymore, Wilhelm will not take actions against you anymore.¡±

    ¡°You already spoke to them?¡± Lin Li instantly understood. No wonder after he beat up Marathon Family, from Macklin to Azalez, all of them looked like they were anxiety-ridden. They described the Marathon Family as a dreadful monster, especially Azalez. The only thing they did not do was to point at him and tell him to clean his neck because the men of Wilhelm woulde over to kill him in the next few days.

    Yet, he had not run into any trouble after so long.

    That incident with Argus did not count, as that was definitely Matthias¡¯ arbitrary actions.

    One should not belittle this difference. Although Matthias was Wilhelm¡¯s son, he did not hold much power within the Marathon Family. Didn¡¯t Argus already say so¡ªthe family business was mostly handled by Gaud. As for Matthias, he could onlymand people closer to him like Argus...

    Although the assassination at the Fire Plume Ridge was rmingly dangerous, for Lin Li, it was only just dangerous. It did not reach the state where it would take his life. Even if there was no Smander to wreak havoc, Lin Li could also rely on the ck lotus sap to escape. With something like the ck lotus in the hands of a pharmaceutics guru, there were many tricks that could be used. A single Argus would not be able see through all of it.

    But if it was Wilhelm who personally took action, then Lin Li would not be so optimistic.

    With the prowess of the Marathon Family, if they really wanted somebody¡¯s life, it would not be as simple as sending just a single level-16 archmage. Without mentioning other methods, just taking out a sum of money and hiring one to two hundred assassins to go through assassinations everyday could even drive a person crazy.

    Honestly, even Lin Li had to admit that if the person that wanted his life was not Matthias but Wilhelm instead, the only thing he could would be to escape from nna...

    Andoine¡¯s words made Lin Li heave a sigh of relief and feel touched at the same time.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider that you still have a bit of a conscience. There¡¯s nothing to thank me about. The key is that can you save me from worries. Stop stirring up trouble every time...¡± After Andoine nagged at him, he changed into a serious expression. ¡°Oh, yes. I also heard that the reward this time was pretty good...¡±

    ¡°What pretty good...¡± Lin Li answered with ack of interest. ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than the winner being able to establish a new guild at Breezy ins, are you interested? If you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll let you be the guild leader if I win the finals...¡±

    ¡°Fool!¡± Andoine red, his face was filled with distress. ¡°How could not I see that you¡¯re such a fool!¡±

    Lin Li looked around and discovered that a few people were shocked by Andoine¡¯s tone. They were looking over with curiosity. Lin Li had to smile at them without embarrassment and carefully reminded Andoine, ¡°Manners, Mage Andoine, mind your manners...¡±

    ¡°Manners my...¡± The old man almost spewed out vulgarities. He contained his temper with difficulty, but his face was deep with rage. ¡°Do you know what sort of ce is Breezy ins?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little...¡±

    Lin Li nodded his head, then regurgitated the information he had heard from Macklin.

    ¡°Anyway, it was a ce where dog eats dog.¡± At the end, Lin Li concluded with these words.

    ¡°...¡± Andoine almost died from anger. His finger almost poked Lin Li¡¯s chest: ¡°Fool, you believe whatever that idiot Macklin says? Why don¡¯t you think about it, if it was not a good thing, why would the Supreme Council set it as the top prize? Do you think that all of members of the Supreme Council are fools?¡±

    ¡°How would I know if they are...¡±

    ¡°Then look at me, do I look like a fool?¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Lin Li was in dazed, he stared at Andoine for a while before asking in an uncertain tone, ¡°You... You¡¯re part of the Supreme Council?¡±

    ¡°What else do you think?¡± Andoine red at him angrily before advising him with admonishing words and kind feelings. ¡°Before Horza came to nna, he had already told me about this. At that time, I thought that you have a good chance. I didn¡¯t think that you would be so disappointing. You even feel like giving up. Do you know what you are giving up? It¡¯s a chance that many mages have been hoping for in their lifetime!

    ¡°Is it that good...¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva and looked at Andoine doubtfully. ¡°Then tell me, why would this new guild be so powerful?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± Andoine was rather troubled.

    ¡°Then, let¡¯s not talk about this. Let¡¯s talk about the trial this time. Tell me honestly, what¡¯s so special of this trial that the members of the Supreme Council would attend to it personally and create a new guild?¡±

    Andoine¡¯s expression immediately froze, and he started to hum and haw. ¡°There¡¯s... There¡¯s nothing special. Can you stop asking so many questions?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I will believe it?¡± Lin Li pouted his lips and thought to himself, <i>If there was nothing special, then why was the Supreme Council in a rush? First they created a mission at the Shadowglen, making me live through an encirclement of undead. I had nightmares daily even when I returned to the Guild of Magic. After that, it got worse. Horza was even sent over and said that the winner of the finals can establish a new Guild of Magic.</i>

    <i>If this was nothing special, then would I have to wait till a roosterys eggs before it¡¯s special?</i>

    ¡°Ok, I admit. The trial this time has an inside story...¡± Andoine was forced till he had no way out, so he could only nod and admit it at the end. ¡°As for what the inside story is, I can¡¯t tell you. Anyway, just think about it carefully. I have already said what I can. If you really still do not understand, then kill yourself somewhere...¡±

    ¡°Understood...¡± Lin Li nodded and agreed to it. He trusted that Andoine would definitely not harm him. Since he¡¯d said that heading this new guild would be beneficial to him, then it would surely be beneficial. In any case, he would have to win the finals in a month¡¯s time. As for what benefits there were, he would have to ask Andoine then.

    ¡°Anyhow, work hard. There would be many benefits.¡± Andoine finally gave off a satisfied smile. He patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll introduce some acquaintances to you.¡±

    ¡°What acquaintances...¡± Before Lin Li could finish his sentence, the expression on his face froze. When he said acquaintance, there really was an acquaintance. He had only just stood up when he saw an acquaintance.

 Chapter 216 - Shaun the Fatso

    <h4>Chapter 216: Shaun the Fatso</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes, and realized that he was right.

    Wasn¡¯t that round figure amongst the crowd the fat bandit he¡¯d met at the ck market? Oh, and the fat bandit went missing after he promised to sell one Thunder Eaglet to Lin Li...

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯d better watch out and not create any trouble for me today. Those people who areing would not be easy to deal with...

    ¡°Do you see that guy with a big beard and wearing an armor standing at the corner there...?¡± As Andoine brought Lin Li towards the middle of the guild hall, he asked him patiently.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that man?¡± Lin Li followed Andoine¡¯s gaze and saw a burly middle-aged man with a huge beard. With his build and majestic armor, he was like a magical beast that just came down from the mountains. He sat at the corner like a statue.

    ¡°His Highness, Prince Lionheart Johnathan.¡±

    ¡°Damn...¡± Lin Li was shocked.

    <i>He really is a bigshot...</i>

    Andoineughed. ¡°You should make a guess who that old man speaking to Prince Lionheart is...¡±

    ¡°A mage?¡± Lin Li asked subconsciously. But, after the question left his mouth, he realized that he was wrong. That man was definitely not a mage. Although he was donning a long gray robe, the aura he was exuding was not mystical, but one with a faint stench of blood. It was a smell that only people with bloodied hands would emit.

    ¡°Nope, not a mage.¡± Lin Li shook his head and took his words back.

    ¡°Is he an assassin?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Andoine nodded his head. His gaze was filled with satisfaction at Lin Li¡¯s answer. ¡°He is Oro, an assassin under the Ruby Moon. More than half of the assassins in Fn Kingdom are under him. If you want to prevent yourself from being killed in your sleep or during a meal, you¡¯d better go and get closer with himter. Despite being a ssic rookie in pharmaceutics, that old man is extremely addicted to the field. Go and unt some of your knowledge in front of him and I¡¯m sure he will protect you afterwards.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. Wasn¡¯t it the same for Andoine?

    ¡°And that guy over there...¡± As Andoine brought Lin Li over, he told him about everyone in the hall. Lin Li could not help but admit that the old man¡¯s knowledge was not what anyone could surpass.

    The people he told Lin Li of were not well known. It would be difficult for anyone to recognize them in public. Yet, this old man could not only identify each and every one of them, but also know their respective abilities and personalities as though they were his friends he had known for over 10 years.

    This trip really widened Lin Li¡¯s horizons.

    Although it was supposed to be a low-key gathering held by the Pharmacists Guild, there were more than half of the elites in Fn Kingdom present. Each man Andoine had told him about turned out to be a very influential figure.

    The gathering consisted of people from all walks of life: the biological brother of the reigning monarch; the king of all assassins who traded money for lives; the archmage boasting great power; the wealthy merchant... and even a priest and a Necromancer who manipted corpses...

    Just as the two man were walking by, Lin Li could see clearly that that the Necromancer and the priest were engrossed in their discussion about their personal experiences in the field of pharmaceutics. They did not in the slightest sense look like what themon people viewed them as¡ªmortal enemies.

    ¡°They are not going to start a fight?¡± Lin Li was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Well, they might if they were outside. Because there are strictws imposed by the Pharmacists Guild.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Do you know that fatty over there?¡± Lin Li nodded his head and wanted to direct Andoine¡¯s attention to that fat man. Yet, he realized that the fatso vanished from his sight again. He could not help but mutter, ¡°Is his zodiac Rat...¡±

    ¡°Which fatso?¡±

    ¡°He is a bandit I met in the ck market once, but now he is gone again...¡±

    ¡°Bandit?¡± Andoine shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any impression of him.¡±

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Since it was not a great matter, Lin Li did not take it to heart. He followed behind Andoine and walked to the middle of the guild hall. Along the way, there were many people that approached Andoine, and Andoine casually introduced them to Lin Li.

    ¡°He is Felic, a new student of mine.¡± While Andoine introduced Lin Li, he always did it with much pride.

    ¡°Brother Felic is really lucky to have Andoine as his mentor. He is definitely going to have a bright future ahead of him...¡± Calluses were starting to form in Andoine¡¯s ears due to the never-endingpliments he had heard as they walked from that isted corner to the center of the guild hall.

    However, in order to sustain the praises Andoine received, Lin Li had no choice but to force all his smiles out on his face with words of salutation.

    ¡°Master so-and-so, how are you? Master so-and-so, how¡¯s your father? Master so-and-so, how¡¯s your mother...?¡±

    After squeezing out of the crowd, Lin Li could not help but wobble due to fatigue. He turned to Andoine beside him and asked, ¡°Are you very close to them?¡±

    ¡°Only so-so.¡± The old man nodded his head andughed awkwardly. ¡°I would exchange my magical scrolls for the forms of their potions. It is going to be worth a few hundred thousand gold coins from these past few decades...¡±

    ¡°What a prodigal!¡±

    While they bickered with each other, Lin Li found that round figure amidst the crowd again.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I find him just now...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes after discovering the fe speaking passionately to people at an isted corner.

    ¡°I¡¯m going there to take a look.¡± After informing Andoine, Lin Li wanted to walk towards the fatso and ask where is the Thunder Eaglet he promised.

    Then, he heard something very familiar.

    ¡°Mr. Pharmacist, your eyes are so sharp to have taken an interest in my herbs. Look at the dewdrops on its petals closely¡ªI had picked this Tricolored Flower just this morning. I¡¯m selling one flower for 100 gold coins, and if you were to buy 10 from me, I¡¯m giving you one free. You can¡¯t meet with such a good deal every single day.¡± ¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. Wasn¡¯t that exactly what the fe had said to him when he paid for the Thunder Eaglet?

    The target of the fat bandit was a midde-aged man in a long ck robe. Lin Li could vaguely remember that man as Amman from what Andoine had told him just now. He was the president of Thunder City Guild of Magic, and had strong abilities himself. Being a level-17 Archmage a few years ago, he was just a step behind the well-known Macklin of nna.

    On top of that, Amman was only 40 years old. Compared to Macklin, who was going to reach 60 years old soon, most mages would feel that Amman would have a brighter future.

    Of course, Antoine did not borate much about Amman.

    There was only a slight difference in level between an Archmage and a legendary-mage. Yet, such a gap seemed unreachable. To exaggerate a little, it was a gap that distinguished the absolute difference in upations. Although an Archmage was powerful, he would be restricted byws of magic. In contrast, a legendary-mage had already surpassed all restrictions in magic, and arrived at the intrinsic essence of magic.

    In the eyes of a legendary-mage, an Archmage was not worth mentioning. If he was willing, he could kill around a hundred Archmages with the wave of an arm. Even Macklin¡ªdespite being acknowledged as the mightiest Archmage¡ªhad to submit to Andoine like a mouse that met a cat. What was more for Amman, who was less ablepared to Macklin?

    To Andoine, there was no value in any Archmage at all. If not for his study in pharmaceutics, and coincidental participation in that gathering, Andoine would not even mention him.

    As for the young man beside him, Lin Li was unable to figure out who he was. He could only make use of the age of both man to conclude the young man was the student of Amman or an attendant...

    Amman did not even lift his eyelids while the fatso Shaun fed him all the lies.

    In reality, if not for the strict rules in the Pharmacists Guild, Amman would have chased Shaun away. Shaun was like a fat housefly that kept buzzing by his ears. It was utterly absurd that he called the Tricolored Flower a herb when it could be found almost everywhere in the ck market. His guts to promote it to the president of the Thunder City Guild of Magic made him really foolish.

    While the president had to keep his chill due to his status, the young man beside him did not have to care much.

    Just when Shaun was trying to drown them in his honeyed words, the young man frowned and reached out his arm to push Shaun¡¯s shoulder away.

    ¡°Fatso, you are too annoying. Just scram, man.¡±

    Shaun was already plump in size. He was like a round ball standing there, with his head and body bent towards Amman in ingratiation. How would he expect that the young man would reach his arm out to him out of the blue? Since it was unexpected, he tumbled off like a ball straight away, and rolled a few rounds.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± That amusing sight causedughter to erupt from the crowd.

    ¡°Hold back, Milo.¡± It was the Pharmacists Guild, after all. Since he¡¯d only attained that invitation card through a lot connections, Amman did not want to create too much of a fuss. He was not going to allow Milo to mess things up due to his rashness.

 Chapter 217 - Tricolored Flower

    <h4>Chapter 217: Tricolored Flower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You can just choose not to buy from me. Why is there a need to hit me...¡± Shaun mumbled in a wronged tone as he got up from the ground. Frankly speaking, he was already used to being beaten up. When he was selling the young of magical beasts in the ck market, he always got beaten up the very next day he sold one.

    To him, that was nothing. Protection from his rough skin and thick flesh would allow him to fully recover after resting a few days.

    But, the treatment today was too unfair...

    It was his first time dealing as a honest businessman. This time, he neither conned nor lied. The herb he tried to sell was also carefully chosen¡ªnot even a strand of it was a weed. How could he expect to be beaten up when he had not even had the chance to say a few lines...

    Of course, injustice was injustice.

    Shaun clearly knew that he would not dare to seek justice even if he was given a hundred guts. After dragging himself up clumsily, he limped towards the crowd to find the next buyer after a soft mutter.

    ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Little did Shaun expect to be held back the moment he turned away.

    ¡°Take your trash away,¡± said the young man as he pointed to the Tricolored Flower on the table.

    ¡°This is not trash!¡± Shaun eximed as his face turned red. He had used more than a month to pick this batch of Tricolored Flowers. Now that they werebeled as trash, he could not help but feel indignant.

    ¡°This is hrious...¡± The young man nced at Shaun with disdain. He rolled his sleeves up to brush the flower off the table. ¡°See clearly next time, don¡¯t bring a bunch of trash everywhere again. How would my mentor need them with his status?¡±

    The few pharmacists beside him shook their heads after the young man spoke.

    That fatso was really shameless to try to sell a Tricolored Flower to a pharmacist. It was as though he was insulting Amman to be a quack pharmacist in his face.

    To pharmacists, the Tricolored Flower only had one function¡ªto weaken any medicinal effects.

    Generally, only the students of a pharmacist would use the Tricolored Flower. That was because they had not grasped the skill of prescribing medicine despite knowing the form. They would always make mistakes while they dispensed medicine. Although those mistakes were unlikely to be huge, they would very likely result in some troubles.

    In order to minimize the problems their students created, some mentors would suggest that they add the Tricolored Flower into their prescription. Although that would weaken the effect of the medicine, it could decrease the reaction between different ingredients and lighten the impact of potential failures.

    Although Amman was not a Master of Pharmaceutics, as a person of status and a high position, it was weird enough for him to be patient with someone selling Tricolored Flowers to him. It would imply that he was not proficient in that field as he needed the Tricolored Flower to minimize errors.

    Tricolored Flower was an insult to any esteemed pharmacist.

    ¡°Only you use the Tricolored Flower. Your entire family uses it!¡±

    Of course, most of the pharmacists would believe that the fatso had no ill intention in trying to sell the Tricolored Flower to Amman.

    The function of the Tricolored Flower was generally known among the pharmacists, but not always their students¡ªnot to mention a low-level bandit. No one knew where he got the invitation to the gathering, and how he knew there would be so many pharmacists present for him to promote the Tricolored Flowers. He just wanted to earn some money, but did not expect himself to make such a blunder...

    Amman¡¯s attitude was good enough. If he¡¯d been a hot-tempered man, he would have thrown tha fatso out of the Pharmacists Guild long ago.

    ¡°Fatty,e over here.¡± While Shaun bent his back to put all the flowers into the herb sack, he heard someone calling out to him. After turning his head, he saw a young mage standing behind him. He frowned, feeling that he had met the young mage somewhere before...

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mr. Mage?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a great matter...¡± Lin Li smiled while picking up the Tricolored Flower from his feet. ¡°I just wanted to ask, where did you keep the Thunder Eaglet you promised me the other time?¡±

    ¡°Thunder Eaglet?¡± Shaun was a little stunned.

    ¡°You¡¯ve forgotten? Do you need me to find Elijah to talk to you...¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± After hearing Lin Li mention Elijah, the fat bandit suddenly remembered the identity of the young mage before him. Wasn¡¯t he the person who¡¯d ordered a Thunder Eaglet from him in the ck market a few days ago? From Elijah¡¯s submissiveness and respect towards him, he knew Lin Li was not to be messed with.

    Now that he met him again, Shaun knew he had not guessed it wrongly. He was indeed a big shot. If not, how would he appear at the Pharmacists Guild? He knew that unlike himself, everyone here held great influence.

    ¡°Erm...¡± The thought of the Thunder Eaglets changed the expression on Shaun¡¯s face.

    It was a fact that he had the Thunder Eaglet. Yet, would he dare to take it out?

    He would at most get some beating for lying. What if that Thunder Eaglet were to injure that young mage after it grew up? Wouldn¡¯t he lose his life for it? Not only that, one Elijah was enough for him to be fearful of.

    No. He couldn¡¯t let that happen...

    ¡°Mr. Mage, that Thunder Eaglet...¡± Shaun hesitated, and did not directly tell Lin Li he was not going to sell that eaglet. ¡°They have run out of stock. Why don¡¯t you give me some time, and I will pass it to you after I get one?¡±

    ¡°Out of stock?¡± Lin Li nced at the fat bandit skeptically. He was definitely aware that the case was not only a hoax from the start, but also a lowly one. Anyone who had some experience in the ck market would know of a conman who sold the secrets of taming the offspring of magical beasts.

    After he got identified, the fat bandit could only deceive people who were patronizing the ck market for the first time by themselves. Hence, how would anyone believe him when he said that the eaglets were out of stock in just a few days?

    That fe must have hidden them...

    Yet, Lin Li did not take his words to heart, since all he wanted was to use the Thunder Eaglets to test the credibility of a taming trick he learned in the Endless World. Even if Shaun was unwilling to sell it to him, his abilities as an archmage would allow him to capture any offspring of magical beasts.

    What he was more concerned with was another thing.

    Lin Li pointed to the Tricolored Flower, and asked, ¡°Fatty, how much stock do you have with you?¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s still a few hundreds...¡± Shaun was uncertain. After getting the invitation card to the Pharmacists Guild, he immediately went to the Nightmare Mountains for the herbs. Even he could not remember how much he had picked.

    ¡°Very good, give me a price. I¡¯m buying everything from you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    His words not only caused Shaun to be bbergasted, but also shocked the peanut gallery of pharmacists.

    What did that young man say just now? Why was he so willing to buy a few hundred Tricolored Flowers? Even if he was a tycoon, those flowers were definitely not what anyone would splurge on.

    Those flowers only cost a few million gold coins. It was nothing to him.

    However, all medicine that contained Tricolored Flowers was regarded as wasted product. Although the flower could minimize undesired effects, it weakened the medicinal effects at the same time by arge extent.

    For example, usually one bottle of Awakening Potion would suffice to replenish the mana of one Archmage. Yet, after the weakening effect by Tricolored Flowers, it could barely replenish the mana of one level-10 Magic Shooter.

    One was level-10, while another level-15. How could the gap between the levels be exinable by words...?

    A few hundred flowers would render a few hundred bottles of potion useless.

    To everyone, Lin Li¡¯s family had to own gold mines. How could he dare to waste those hundred bottles of potion otherwise?

    Of course, what truly caused these pharmacists to be stupefied was the young mage¡¯sck of knowledge.

    There were even a few older pharmacists who started to shake their heads quietly...

    They felt disappointed that Lin Li¡¯s good looks were just a facade of his foolishness.

    The function of a Tricolored Flower was no doubt to reduce some of the errors. However, when the skills of their students got better gradually, they would not need it anymore.

    When a person needed a hundred bottles of potion to practice and master the most fundamental skill, he should just kill himself by crashing against a piece of tofu. It was pointless to keep him alive anymore...

    Even for a pig, it would have gained some knowledge from creating those few hundred bottles of potion.

    Although Amman was sitting there quietly, he could not help but feel a little proud of his student. Although they were both mages learning pharmaceutics, his student, Milo, was much better than that fe.

    Milo was indeed talented to be a low-level pharmacist even before he hit 25 years old. When he was at his age, he had not even figured out much about pharmacy himself. Now, Amman was convinced that it would not take Milo many years to attain the middle-level proficiency.

    By then, it would be time for him to pass the Thunder City Guild of Magic to Milo...

    While Amman was immersed in his imagination, Milo beside him was filled with disdain.

    He even advised, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to regret it, don¡¯t buy this trash.¡±

 Chapter 218 - Con Man

    <h4>Chapter 218: Con Man</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Actually, Milo did not think much when he¡¯d said those words. He inly felt that Shaun was too irritating, and did not want to see him promote his business.

    However, to Lin Li, those words were rather unsettling. He felt that Milo was too overbearing...

    <i>Who are you to prevent me from buying those things?</i>

    If it were another asion, Lin Li¡¯s expression would have changed long ago. Yet, thanks to Andoine¡¯s nagging, even if he was in disapproval of Milo¡¯s attitude, he was more restrained. Lin Li only frowned a little, but did not erase the smile on his face.

    ¡°Thanks for the advice, but...¡±

    Although Lin Li did not continue his speech, his intention was clear enough.

    Milo¡¯s lungs nearly burst in rage due to Lin Li¡¯s indifference. To him, that young mage was too cocky. How could Lin Li respond to his kind advice with such an unconcerned tone? That reply from Lin Li, ¡°Thanks for the advice¡±, made him feel as though he was treated as a con man like the fat bandit trying to delude Lin Li.

    Now that Milo had no support, he felt so embarrassed that his expression turned unsightly.

    ¡°Are you in cahoots with this con man?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li was shocked at what he heard. He did not know what Milo meant.

    ¡°Stop acting,¡± Milo said as he looked at Lin Li in disdain. ¡°Do you think anyone would fall into your trap? If you are not his aplice, why would you try to cover up for him so desperately? Unfortunately, both of you are too foolish by forgetting that this is the Pharmacists Guild of Magic. Who here is not a learned pharmacist? How could you even use a few hundred Tricolored Flowers by yourself?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was beyond speechless. He did not know if he should cry orugh in amusement. Lin Li felt that there had to be something wrong inside Milo¡¯s brain to think him to be in cahoots with a con man just because he wanted to buy some flowers.

    <i>If he knew that I want to buy other things from Shaun, am I going to be treated as a con man myself then?</i>

    <i>Anyway, what does this have to do with you?</i>

    <i>Do I need to exin my reasons of buying the Tricolored Flowers to you? Apart from reducing the effects of potions, these flowers could also be used to solve something even the old Gerian himself could not solve...</i>

    ¡°Aha, you can¡¯t fake it anymore...¡± At first, Milo did not know how to save himself from the situation. Therefore, he¡¯d used Lin Li of being the aplice of the con man. Now, he started to feel that it did not seem like an usation anymore. If Lin Li was innocent, he would not have decide to purchase the Tricolored Flowers at such a bad timing.

    ¡°I...¡± Lin Li opened his mouth, but realized that he could notmunicate with him at all. To him, Milo did not have the normal reasoning skills other humans had. His tone was like a great prophecy¡ªthe stronger Lin Li tried to deny that he was not a liar, the higher the chance that Lin Li had ulterior motives. It resembled the mindset of a delusional man....

    Having no interest tomunicate with a deluded man, Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°Forget it...¡±

    Unfortunately, Milo did not want to let the matter pass.

    Since Milo was Amman¡¯s only student, even the casten of Thunder City had to show him ample respect. Hence, how could he not feel mad when the two liars, whom no one knew where they came from, attempted to treat him like a fool?

    ¡°Forget it? You must be guilty...¡± Milo¡¯s face ashened, and he fixed a deadly re on Lin Li. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m not aware of what you are thinking. I must advise you that you¡¯d better stop hoping that anyone here would believe in your lies. Everyone here in the Pharmacists Guild is as learned as my mentor. Stop wasting energy.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He realized that it was useless to say anything now. No matter what he were to say, it¡¯d be turned into evidence against himself.

    Lin Li, however, did not mind at all. Since the exchange had not started, and the people from the guild had not shown up yet, it was too boring to tag along with Andoine everywhere to meet people. If he were to stay there to listen to those heartfelt words of a deluded man, he should be able to umte some positive karma for his kindness...

    Yet, the fatso beside him waspletely frightened. Being a con man in the ck market was nothing since there would be a huge chance that he and the victim were not going to meet each other anymore in the future. Even if they met again, it would just be another round of beating. To Shaun, with the protection from his rough skin and thick flesh, it was no big deal.

    However, they were at the Pharmacists Guild now...

    Being treated as a con man here would not be as easy as in the ck market. Who was not well known here? No matter how little capable someone were to be, they would at least have some background like Milo. Even with a hundred guts, Shaun would not dare to deceive these influential people. If he were to agitate them, it might cost him his life...

    ¡°Mr. Mage, I-I think¡±¡ªShaun paused as he hesitated¡ª¡±I think, let¡¯s call off this deal...¡±

    ¡°Call off?¡± Lin Li nearly jumped. The problem with the Sobriety Potion had already troubled him for a few months. Now that he had thought of the good way to solve it using the Tricolored Flower, how could he allow such a big batch of it escape before his eyes?

    Lin Li held onto Shaun¡¯s cor with a menacing expression on his face. ¡°If you dare, I¡¯m going to have Elijah find you every single day!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Shaun nearly teared up. He knew how hard it was to earn a living in nna. Now that he was really depending on the sales of the offspring of magical beasts to sustain himself, if Elijah were to find him every day, how was he going to continue that business?

    ¡°You¡¯d better stay here and wait for me honestly, and bring me to those flowers. You can rest assured¡ªthe payment wouldn¡¯t be short of a single copper coin. But, if you were to y tricks with me, don¡¯t me Elijah for being rude to you...¡±

    After Lin Li finished threatening Shaun, he turned back and looked at Milo smilingly.

    ¡°Listen to my advice and take you medication early. Your illness can¡¯t wait...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    After saying that, a few onlooking pharmacists nearlyughed. That young mage was too evil...

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Milo¡¯s face flushed immediately. He had never been insulted in his life, and even the casten of the Thunder City had to shower him with respect.

    Now that a liar he had never met before suddenly came out of nowhere, pointing at his nose and telling him to take his medication, how could he tolerate it with his personality?

    Milo stood up immediately.

    ¡°Do you dare to repeat what you said?¡±

    ¡°What is there to fear...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. His gaze towards Milo was just like how he would look at a patient.

    ¡°You...¡± Milo¡¯s lungs nearly burst in rage. He could not believe thatck of respect from that fe. He drew deep breaths while pointing to Lin Li with a trembling finger, and his eyes seemed as if they were going to shoot out some mes.

    ¡°Really, Mage Milo. Listen to my advice and have some medicine...¡±

    ¡°Hahaha...¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s expression was beyond sincere, while the peanut gallery of pharmacists roared withughter.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright...¡± Milo repeated the word ¡®alright¡¯ a couple of times. His face turned green instantaneously, and a strong wave of mana was generated in his palms.

    ¡°Milo, stop!¡± Amman could not sit still any longer. They were not at Thunder City, where Milo could do whatever he wanted. To be really frank, apart from the fat bandit, it would be difficult to find anyone of a lower status than Milo and himself present in this gathering.

    Since Amman was older than Milo for a few decades, his sense of judgment was not something Milo¡¯s could match.

    Indeed, this young mage seemed ordinary at the first nce.

    Yet, who could be certain that he had no background?

    How would anyone dare to buy a few hundred Tricolored Flowers to ruin a few hundred bottles of potions if he had no wealth?

    He would be better off being low-key in such a ce where there were so many powerful influences...

    ¡°Yes, mentor.¡± Since it was an instruction from Amman, Milo did not dare to defy it. He gave Lin Li a deadly re before dissipating his mana gradually. The violent magical waves around them also became calmer now.

    The onlookers sighed in relief too.

    It was the Pharmacists Guild, after all. It was alright to be the onlookers, but there would be big trouble if the conflict were to cost lives. If it were to anger Balbo, what should they do if the gathering got cancelled? They were still hoping to learn a long lost medical form from the meeting...

    Shaun was another person that felt relief.

    The way he got the invitation card was not a honest one to begin with. It¡¯d already cost him a struggle with great fear to attend the gathering. If something were to happen because of him, how could he escape from the Pharmacists Guild?

    Luckily, it was not a big matter...

    ¡°Why is it so lively here?¡± Just when everybody rxed, the voice of an old man came from the crowd.

    ¡°Master Andoine.¡± Amman shot up from his seat to greet Andoine respectfully.

    It was not just Amman. Even the other pharmacists turned their heads towards the old man to greet him. Andoine was a man who had surpassed the Legendary Realm a few decades ago. His influence had long gone beyond the boundaries of the upation. Whether they were mages or not, the people who were here would have heard of the story of that Legendary-mage.

    The influence of anyone who had reached the Legendary Realm was just that terrifying. No one would dare to disrespect him or neglect his presence.

 Chapter 219 - Mentor and Student

    <h4>Chapter 219: Mentor and Student</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Since even the most ignorant man would have known about Fn Kingdom¡¯s Legendary-mage¡ªAndoine¡ªnothing was needed to be exined about him. The elite like the Pharmacists Guild would also not dare to neglect his presence despite hisck of proficiency in pharmacy.

    As for Amman¡¯s abilities, it was too meaningless to talk about them...

    To Amman, Andoine¡¯s ability to reach the Legendary Realm a few decades ago was like a miracle. Being one of the important members in the Supreme Council, this slovenly old man had the future of all the mages of Anril in his hands.

    When Andoine stood there, Amman dared not to breathe...

    Andoine was in good mood. As he walked towards them, he did not fail to greet some familiar pharmacists cheerfully.

    When he saw Amman, his expression became a little doubtful. ¡°You are...?¡±

    ¡°Master Andoine, I¡¯m Amman from Thunder City. You gave me some advice when you came to Thunder City 30 years ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh... I remember it now!¡± Andoine vaguely remembered that when he¡¯d just reached the Legendary Realm 30 years ago, he visited Thunder City once. As for whether he did give any advice to Amman, he could not remember anymore. It was no big deal to him.

    Of course...

    He had some impression of Amman since he was the president of Thunder City Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Amman, is the young man beside you your student?¡± After asking, Andoine looked at Milo again.

    ¡°Yes, yes. His name is Milo. Quick, Milo. Greet Master Andoine.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Master Andoine.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, your student is quite talented, Amman. I suppose he had reached the Magic Shooter Realm already?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Andoine. Milo had reached Level-12 three months ago.¡± Although Amman was very polite, he could not help but feel proud of his talented student. He never had to worry for him at all. After the trainee stage, Milo always improved exponentially. It was rare to have any students who had be a Level-12 Magic Shooter at the age of 25 and had good attainments in pharmaceutics.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡± Andoine nodded his head. Then, he asked curiously, ¡°Oh, yes. What happened just now? Why was it so noisy just now?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, nothing much. It¡¯s just a small argument between immature youngsters.¡± Amman was trembling in excitement due to being able to meet the legendary figure. How would he care about the conflict between two youngsters? To be honest, he only felt that the younger mage was a little rude. Since the young mage did not offend him, he would just let him purchase those flowers. In his opinion, the young mage should be able to realize the uselessness of those flowers afterwards.

    ¡°Hehe, youngsters are indeed more hot-tempered...¡± Andoineughed. However, his face ashened after he saw Lin Li trying to hide amidst the crowd.

    Since Milo was the nearest to Andoine, he could observe the changes in his facial expression the clearest. When he saw Andoine¡¯s expression change, he was so ted.

    <i>That unlucky fe is going to get it!</i>

    That was a valid prediction. Andoine had still been in good spirits when he walked over, and still full of cordiality when he talked to himself. Would there be a need to exin the reason behind the change in his expression after seeing that young mage? The young mage must have had offended him before. Now that they met again so coincidentally, anyone would know the consequences just by thinking with their knees.

    Milo was definitely ted.

    He had wanted to teach that fe a lesson himself. Now, Master Andoine could help him do it.

    <i>This fe is doomed!</i>

    His mentor would stop him if he were to beat the fe up. Who would dare to stop Master Andoine?

    ¡°Felic.¡± Andoine stood there with a terrifying expression.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He turned back to see Andoine ring at himself mercilessly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter...¡± Lin Li asked as he smiled awkwardly, knowing he could not escape from him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Andoine¡¯s nose nearly distorted out of anger. ¡°You still dare to ask me?¡± The pitch of his hoarse voice rose by a few keys.

    ¡°...¡±

    Milo was beyond ted to know that that fe was in the soup. Even if he was not going to die, he was going to be skinned alive.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you just now to behave yourself and not cause any trouble. It has only been a while, and you have started a conflict with people. Are you intending to piss me off to death?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do that on purpose...¡±

    ¡°Not on purpose?¡± Andoine red at him while his boney finger nearly poked into his head. ¡°Do you want to tell me that Mage Milo provoked you himself?¡±

    Andoine was still enraged. The people around them, however, started to sense something weird...

    W-why... why did that sound so familiar?

    A few older ones among then had a sudden realization. <i>Isn¡¯t that how I always scold my students?</i>

    Could it be possible that that young mage who looked extremely wronged was the student of the Legendary-mage Andoine?

    This sudden thought shook everyone.

    Andoine had already reached the Legendary Realm a few decades ago. Throughout these years, countless mages had tried to be his students. Everyone knew that by bing the student of a Legendary-mage, they could be a step away from sess.

    Furthermore, Andoine held an important position in the Supreme Council, and had the deepest knowledge in magic. If they had such a connection, they would gain ess to all these benefits.

    However, the problem was...

    Andoine¡¯s expectations were too high. All these years, many mages tried all their ways to be his students, yet none actually seeded. And the reason was just that Andoine was not interested in those mediocre people.

    Let us look at Gryffindor from the nna Guild of Magic...

    After Gryffindor had reached Level-9 at the age of 16, Aldwin wanted to rmend him to Andoine. But, he did not expect Andoine to say, ¡°That fe has no talent. He is not suitable to be my student.¡±

    Look! The magic genius of Fn Kingdom was not qualified to be his student!

    Now that people knew how Andoine belittled Gryffindor¡¯s talents, did that mean the young mage before them actually had a stronger potential?

    At once, everyone looked at Lin Li curiously.

    Milo took quite a while to understand the meaning behind the words exchanged by the duo.

    When he realized that there was a high chance the young mage might be Andoine¡¯s student, his jaw nearly dropped...

    <i>T-t-that¡¯s... how is that possible?</i>

    Milo did not want to believe that it was true. How could that fe in cahoots with a con man be the student of Andoine? It could not be so!

    ¡°How would Mage Milo provoke me by himself...?¡± Lin Li shook his head. ¡°He just had some misunderstanding with me.¡±

    ¡°What misunderstanding?¡± Andoine frowned.

    ¡°Mage Milo felt that I had ill intentions¡ªthat I am in cahoots with some fat man to con them into buying a bunch of trashy herbs...¡± Lin Li said in a casual tone as if he was narrating other people¡¯s story.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Andoine was shocked. He looked at Lin Li, then at Milo. Milo felt that Andoine attitude towards him was not as gentle as before.

    ¡°I had exined, but Mage Milo did not want to believe me...¡± Lin Li summarized the entire incident in just a few lines. ¡°Then, we naturally started quarrelling...¡± Lin Li said as he shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Andoine nodded his head, and did not say anything more. He turned his head to look at the trembling Amman.

    Although he did not say anything, his expression caused everyone¡¯s heart to skip a beat. It was obvious that Milo¡¯s usation had agitated that Legendary-mage.

    It was alright to suspect anyone but the student of Andoine as a con man. That was as though one were to give Andoine a tight p on his face. With Andoine¡¯s status, it would be weird if he did not confront them for an exnation.

    Andoine did not look at Milo again. He treated him like air.

    Of course, it was normal for Andoine to do that.

    For someone with his status, Amman was already considered somebody whom he barely talked with. As for Milo, to put it in a good way, he was considered a promising youngster. If not, he was just any nameless soul. Being the Legendary-mage like Andoine, he would not vent his anger on a nameless soul.

    ¡°Master Andoine, p-please... please listen to my exnation...¡± Amman pled in fear under Andoine¡¯s re. Although he was a level-17 Archmage that oversaw the entire Thunder City Guild of Magic, he could not bear the anger of a Legendary-mage. If Andoine really wanted to seek trouble, the entire Thunder City would be doomed, let alone Amman himself.

 Chapter 220 - Apology

    <h4>Chapter 220: Apology</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Amman was extremely regretful. If he had stepped in to stop Milo earlier, the situation would not have grown so big. Even the Pharmacists Guild could not help but be subservient towards Andoine. Now that they had provoked Andoine, what would be in store for them?

    ¡°Alright, let me hear how you exin it.¡± Although Andoine¡¯s tone was calm, his frown was very obvious. Even morons could tell that the Legendary-mage waspletely furious!

    There was no reason for Andoine not to feel anger...

    Andoine¡¯s rtionship with Lin Li was closer than that of any mentor and student. Having lived together at the Sunset Mountains for two months, they had already forged an imprable rtionship long ago. Andoine saw how Lin Li improved over the period of time¡ªfrom a clueless rookie to the masterful Archmage today. Not only that, Lin Li had also taught everything he knew about pharmaceutics to him. How would this rtionship beparable to any other mentor-student rtionship?

    If not for that, how would thezy Andoine care to nag at Lin Li and advise him on what to look out for? Why would he get rid of the trouble caused by the Marathon Family before Lin Li could even tell him?

    Looking at how Andoine treated Lin Li now, instead of calling him Lin Li¡¯s mentor, it would be more applicable to call him his nanny.

    However, Andoine¡¯s concern was reasonable...

    He had set great prerequisites for his potential students to meet, but only managed to ept Lin Li as his student in his old age after a hundred years. How would he allow Lin Li to be used of anything when he could not bear to speak harshly to Lin Li himself?

    Not to mention Amman¡¯s status as president in the small Thunder City Guild of Magic, even if it were Aldwin¡¯s son, he could just beat him up if he wanted to.

    On top of that...

    Andoine was sulking secretly. Since it was Lin Li who¡¯d taught him his pharmaceutical knowledge, if Milo were to suspect Lin Li, it meant that he was suspecting him too. Since Milo felt that Lin Li was in cahoots with a con man just by wanting to buy some herbs from him, did he suspect himself of being an aplice as well?

    He could not endure it...

    When he thought of that, he was itching to fight. His re towards Amman showed signs of danger.

    ¡°M-Master A-A-Andoine, the situation was like this...¡± Amman broke out in cold sweat when Andoine red at him dangerously. He tried to hint the pharmacists around him to help him put in a good word while he told Andoine about the matter in a stutter.

    Amman was terrified. He did not dare to show any bias for his student. Everything he said was true. Even Lin Li, who was one of the directly involved parties, could not find any fault in his words.

    As Milo stood there, cold sweat trickled down his pale face.

    Until now, even a fool could tell that Amman had no ability to side with his student anymore. When the president himself was unable to save himself, how could he care about his student? As for what consequences Milo would face, it depended on Andoine¡¯s decision...

    Actually, the process was notplicated at all. It was just Milo finding trouble for himself by using Lin Li of being in cahoots with a con man. As for what happened after that, it was just bickering between two youths.

    Although the process was notplicated, Amman took a long time to exin the situation.

    ¡°Then, you¡¯ve arrived...¡± After finishing what he had to say, he peeked at Andoine¡¯s reaction in fear.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Andoine said as he nodded his head, but did not stop frowning. He turned to Lin Li, and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Lin Li asked while he scratched his head in confusion.

    If one were to really talk about the situation, it was just Milo making a fool of himself. Lin Li had the confidence that Milo could learn how to better express himself. If Milo¡¯s mentor could not teach him, Lin Li did not mind to do it physically. He was just holding himself back when Milo wanted to fight just now...

    Unfortunately, Milo did not dare to utter a single word when Andoine came over.

    Lin Li pursed his lips.

    <i>You ask me what I would want to do? I can¡¯t even teach him a lesson, because you didn¡¯t allow me to...</i>

    Lin Li could not think of a way to deal with Milo at all.

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Ultimately, Lin Li could not help but shake his head. ¡°It was no big deal after all. Just let him apologize to Shaun.¡±

    ¡°Who is Shaun?¡± Andoine was puzzled.

    ¡°Fatty,e over.¡± Lin Li asked the fat bandit over at once. He¡¯d just realized that Andoine still had not met Shaun. ¡°This is Shaun. I still wanted to buy some herbs from him. What an unlucky day...¡±

    ¡°Oh, hi Shaun.¡± Andoine loosened his frown when he heard the word ¡®herbs¡¯. He smiled at the fatso and then turned to look at Lin Li. ¡°What herbs?¡±

    ¡°Some Tri-coloured Flowers. I will tell you more detailster...¡± This batch of flowers was too important in the revolutionary technique of the refining of potions. If this news were to be known to others, things would beplicated. Now that Amman and his student were beside him, Lin Li would all the more want to keep it a secret.

    ¡°Alright...¡± Looking at Lin Li¡¯s expression, Andoine understood that there had to be some deep secrets regarding the Tricolored Flower. ¡°Amman, youe over.¡± He called Amman over, and did not continue to pester Lin Li.

    ¡°Master Andoine, may I know what do you need?¡± Amman asked as he walked towards Andoine cautiously.

    ¡°Did you hear Felic¡¯s request just now?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Since Felic does not intend to pursue this matter, I shall not find any trouble with you. Let your student apologize to Shaun and I will let this pass.¡± After he finished talking, he red at Amman in a threatening manner.

    ¡°Y-yes, yes.¡± When he heard Andoine say he would not find trouble with himself, he was so relieved that he nearly fell down. His pale face was covered in sweat, and a chill traveled down his spine.

    <i>Thank God, if Andoine decides not to pursue the matter, why would apologizing be a great deal?</i>

    Not to mention that the request was to apologize to that fatso. If it was to apologize to a pig, Amman would have agreed to it wholeheartedly too.

    ¡°Fatty, do you mind that?¡± Lin Li asked Shaun secretly.

    ¡°HUH?¡± The fatso first froze for a moment. Then, he understood everything at once. Lin Li was asking if he minded Milo apologizing to him.

    <i>He must be joking!</i>

    Overwhelmed, he started to stutter. ¡°Erm, n-n-no. I d-don¡¯t mind it at all.¡±

    In fact, Shaun did not even expect to receive an apology from a mage, what was more a high-ranking one. He understood that it was the Pharmacists Guild. Who there was not someone with status and position?

    To have this type of person apologize to him, he would not dare to think about it when he was selling the young magical beasts in the ck market.

    ¡°Milo,e and apologize to Mr. Bandit here,¡± Amman spoke to Milo in a low voice. He wanted Milo to settle the issue quickly, or else it would not be as easy if he were to dy any longer.

    ¡°Yes, mentor...¡± Milo nodded his head very unwillingly.

    He was still a young man after all, so he could not mask his emotions as masterfully as Amman. Even if he was scared of Andoine, and respectful of the orders of his mentor, he could not bring himself to apologize immediately.

    Being Amman¡¯s student, even the casten had to be very respectful towards him. What about that fat bandit? He was just a low-level adventurer selling his herbs. From his clothing and fat figure, Shaun would not even have the chance to help be his servant.

    Unfortunately, he had to apologize to such a fat man.

    Milo really want to puke blood just by the thought of it...

    But, what could he do if he did not want to apologize? Milo was not a blind man. How could he not see the anxious nces his mentor was giving him? The man he had offended was the student of a Legendary-mage. If he did not want to apologize to the fat man, who was going to deal with the rage of the Legendary-mage?

    At that time, his mentor, together with the entire Thunder City Guild of Magic, would be doomed.

    Milo¡¯s face flushed. ¡°Mr. Shaun, so...¡± he said through gritted teeth.

    Milo opened his mouth, but he found it hard to that one word¡ª¡±Sorry¡±.

    Yet, the fat bandit had to choose this time to ask, ¡°So, Mage Milo, are you still interested in these herbs?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Milo really hoped to find a hole to hide in. Lin Li was trying so hard to hold in hisughter. That fatso was quite evil to ask Milo if he was still interested in buying the herbs.

    ¡°Mr. Shaun, you must be joking.¡± At this time, only Amman could maintain his smile. ¡°How could we take away what Mage Felic wants?¡±

    He¡¯d rejected the offer politely, and did not forget to ingratiate himself with Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Shaun nodded his head understandingly. ¡°Do you need any other things from me?¡± he asked in a concerned tone.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li nearly burst his stomach whileughing. He had seen enough insults, but that was the most embarrassing one ever.

    <i>This fatty has a bright future ahead! XD</i>

    Milo felt a hot blood gushing to the top of his head. If not for the basic rational sense that reminded him not to act recklessly, he would have turned that annoying fatso into ashes with a fireball.

 Chapter 221 - Good Stuff

    <h4>Chapter 221: Good Stuff</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Mr. Shaun, I¡¯m sorry.¡± When he said that, Milo really hoped to find a hole to hide in from all the embarrassment. He had never done such a humiliating thing in his whole life. To apologize to a low-level adventurer in front of everybody who had a certain level of influence was deeply shameful. If this incident were to be known by the people in Thunder City, Milo would not know how he could still lift his head in the future.

    Shaun always heard people call him ¡°fatty¡±. Hence, he did not expect it when he heard the words ¡°Mr. Shaun¡±. Since Milo was very soft when he addressed Shaun, he could not believe his ears. Shaun blinked in a daze and asked cautiously, ¡°W-what... did you say...?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Milo nearly coughed blood. He thought that the fatso was trying to make things difficult by asking him such an embarrassing question.

    At that moment, Milo even felt like dying.

    He was only here to apany his mentor and meet some people. Yet, he even needed to apologize to a fat man repeatedly, not to mention that he was humiliated in front of everybody. How did he end up in this state?

    If this incident were to be known to people in Thunder City, he would be shamed for life.

    Milo was really regretful. If he¡¯d known it¡¯d happen, he would have stayed in Thunder City. Why did he go to nna? Why couldn¡¯t he just keep his mouth shut?

    Now he had not only implicated his mentor, he had also offended the Legendary-mage. With Andoine¡¯s position in the Supreme Council, Milo was certain that it would be 10 times difficult for Thunder City Guild of Magic to get any support from the Supreme Council in the future...

    ¡°Mr. Shaun, I¡¯m terribly sorry!¡±

    Ultimately, even Milo forgot how he¡¯d brought himself to say that sentence. He only felt very dizzy all of a sudden. His vision became unusually blurred, and it was as if he saw Amman¡¯s sighing in relief and Andoine nodding his head...

    It was as if that mage named Felic said something too...

    ¡°It¡¯s alright now...¡± Amman said as he patted on Milo¡¯s shoulder after the crowd dispersed.

    ¡°Everything is fine now, Milo, they¡¯re finally gone...¡± Ammanforted Milo weakly.

    Milo said nothing. His gaze was fixed onto the rearview of Lin Li.

    <i>I will return all this humiliation to you soon!</i>

    Lin Li was not concerned about Milo¡¯s thoughts at all.

    He was busier than anybody now¡ªbusy threatening Shaun...

    Lin Li had zero interest in what Milo was thinking. To him, Milo was just an insignificant and petty mage. Even if Milo were to hate him, he would just be one of the many people who wanted to plot revenge against him. Would he even get his turn to do it?

    ¡°Hey, fatty...¡± After he came out from the crowd, Lin Li grabbed onto Shaun very tightly. If not for Lin Li¡¯s quick reaction, that fatso would have escaped like thest time in the ck market.

    ¡°W-what... what¡¯s up, Mr. Mage?¡± Shaun swallowed his saliva nervously. He tried to avoid the Lin Li¡¯s gaze too.

    Frankly speaking, if Shaun could choose, he would rather be used as a con man than stay with a mage like Felic.

    That man was too dangerous...

    Being treated as a con man would only cause him to be scolded. Being with Felic, however, might expose his secrets.

    He could not exin why he¡¯d found Lin Li so dangerous the first time he¡¯d met him. It was as though he was a magical beast that had encountered his nemesis.

    The sight of Lin Li always made Shaun ufortable. When he was at the ck market, this feeling was not that obvious yet. But, it grew so strong in the Pharmacists Guild. His nning to escape was almost subconscious.

    Unfortunately, he was not given any chance to do so. He was caught the moment he left the crowd. Shaun could only hope that Lin Li only wanted to buy herbs, and not that he already discovered his secret...

    ¡°Let me ask you, fatty. Why do you run every time you see me?¡± Lin Li was very hurt by how Shaun kept avoiding him. Since it was not the first time, Lin Li even nned to go in front of a mirror to reflect at his own appearance. He wanted to see if he looked that menacing to be able to frighten a fatso...

    ¡°N-nope, nope.¡± Shaun shook his head profusely. How would he dare to admit it?

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Since it was not a great deal, Lin Li did not insist. ¡°Fatty, are you lying to me that you really have a few hundred Tricolored Flowers?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± This time, Shaun was not lying.

    ¡°Very good...¡± Lin Li nodded his head and smiled in satisfaction.

    Honestly, he had suspected that fatso initially.

    He had long heard that there were Tricolored Flowers in the Nightmare Mountains. Yet, he did not know somebody could pick at least 10 of them in one go. Hence, he was fascinated by Shaun¡¯s ability to collect a few hundred of them.

    Those flowers did not grow in clusters. Sometimes, there would only be one to two flowers scattered on a single mountain, growing in a very covert region. If one did not have superb observation skills, they would not be able to pick a great batch of flowers at one time¡ªnot to mention a terrifying number like a few hundred of them.

    Fortunately, Shaun¡¯s reaction did not make him appear to be lying.

    Lin Li had nothing to say if those few hundred flowers really existed. As for why that fatso was scared of him, he still need to figure it out when he was free.

    ¡°Fatty, you follow me first. Then, bring me to the batch of Tricolored Flowers after the gathering. Rest assured, I wouldn¡¯t be short of a single copper coin.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Shaun nodded his head, not daring to say anything else.

    ¡°Felic,e over quickly.¡± While Lin Li was still talking to Shaun, he saw Andoine waving to him from afar, gesturing for him to go over. ¡°Let me introduce you to an acquaintance.¡±

    ¡°Why do you have so many acquaintances?¡± Lin Li muttered unwillingly.

    ¡°Come, Felic, let me introduce. This is President Balbo.¡± Andoine¡¯s introduction had never been so formal. It was not like the acquaintances he¡¯d briefly introduced Lin Li to when he just told Lin Li a few sentences¡ªtheir names and positions¡ªnever adding any salutation with their names...

    ¡°Balbo, his name is Felic. He became my new magic student a few months ago. So... what do you think of my student?¡± While Andoine said that, his gaze was filled with a lot of satisfaction.

    It was no doubt normal for Andoine to feel so proud of his student. He was absolutely clear how talented his student was. In his eyes, Lin Li was nearly perfect. He was skillful in magic, masterful in pharmacy, and, as Macklin said, proficient in forging. Hence, Andoine was afraid that such a talent would only appear in the next hundred years.

    How would he not be thrilled in having the opportunity to be his mentor?

    Not exaggerating, the thing Andoine felt the proudest of in the entire hundred-plus years of his life was to count the number of spells he¡¯d taught this young man.

    ¡°Nice to meet you, President Balbo.¡±

    The man beside Andoine was wearing a long ck robe, and looked 60 to 70 years of age. Compared to Andoine, although both of them were scrawny and had white hair, the impression they gave to people were starkly different.

    Andoine was always unkempt. His hair and mustache were always in a mess, and there would be potion stains on his robes. When Lin Li first saw him, he even thought that that old man just walked out from a pile of garbage.

    The old man donning a ck robe before him waspletely different. His white mustache appeared to be so carefully trimmed that Lin Li could not find any messy strand of hair. Although his ck robe looked very simple, it looked very decent on him. There were no creases and stains on it at all. He did not give people an impression that he was an old man nearly 70 years old. The impression he gave to people was that of a dashing man in the prime of his life.

    When Andoine introduced Lin Li, a smile could be seen on Balbo¡¯s face. He asked, ¡°So, you must be Felic?¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Balbo.¡± Lin Li nodded his head politely. Yet, he could not help but suspect that Balbo had heard about him before.

    ¡°Hehe, I heard Burnside talk about you before,¡± Balbo spoke as though he knew what Lin Li was thinking about.

    ¡°I see...¡± The mention of Old Grimm embarrassed Lin Li. When he was at Jarrosus, he promised Old Grimm that if he were toe to nna, he would find time to visit him. Yet, being always caught up in matters, he did not have chance to visit Old Grimm at all.

    ¡°How¡¯s Mage Grimm?¡±

    ¡°He is very well.¡± Balbo smiled. Then, he continued, ¡°He even told me about you this morning, saying that you would surelye with Andoine today. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so...¡±

    ¡°What is he doing now?¡±

    ¡°He had some important things to attend to, and might onlye back after the gathering...¡± After he finished his speech, Balbo joked with him again. ¡°Andoine, weren¡¯t you envious of my talented student in the past? Why not be swap our students?¡±

    ¡°Dream on!¡± Andoine replied without hesitating. Someone like the freakish Felic might not even appear in a hundred years. Even if there were 10 geniuses, he would not agree to swap Felic for them all.

    ¡°Hehe, I was just joking. You don¡¯t need to be so nervous. Look, since the discussion has not started, why not Iet me bring you to see something good?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s good?¡±

 Chapter 222 - Catalytic Potion

    <h4>Chapter 222: Catalytic Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The old man¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing that. Balbo was the president of the Pharmacists Guild; every single pharmacist needed to heed his orders in the whole Fn Kingdom. No one dared to defy him at all.

    ¡°You will know itter...¡± Balboughed, refusing to reveal what he was referring to. He brought the two people through the hall and along the flight of stairs on the right side up to the third floor.

    It was rare to meet any pharmacist since it was a rare upation. Although the Pharmacists Guild was huge, it was quieter than the Emerald Tower. When the two men followed Balbo behind his back, they only saw two students rushing around, busying with their things. As for the real pharmacists, they did not see any at all.

    Most of the doors leading to rooms on level-three were tightly shut. At times, the smell of the thick potion could be smelled. While they walked along the corridor, they could smell the fumesing out from the crack of the doors.

    ¡°Please follow me,¡± Balbo said as he pushed the door open gently.

    ¡°Good morning, President Balbo.¡± A cloud of white fog filled the air. A few pharmacists were observing the bubbling liquid in a beaker, and were mostly holding onto a ss test tube filled with red liquid. When Balbo walked in, they were pouring a specific amount of red liquid into the beaker drop by drop.

    ¡°Good morning, everybody.¡± Balbo could not help but frown when he saw at the liquid in the beaker. ¡°How is it? Do you have any ideas?¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Balbo.¡±

    The voice belonged to a pharmacist around 40 years old. He was considered one of the youngest among all the pharmacists. When Balbo walked in, he¡¯d already put down his fingers to report his progress politely.

    ¡°Oh, I see...¡± Balbo nodded his head, and did not say anything more. He only looked at the surrounding suspiciously, and asked, ¡°Oh, yes, where¡¯s Elin?¡±

    ¡°Elin said he had an idea that might work. Thus, he went back to theb to get some materials.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then, do your things now. I will bring the two guests around for a tour.¡±

    ¡°Alright, President Balbo.¡±

    ¡°You two...¡± Balbo paused when he saw that young mage, whom Burnside imed to be a prodigy, screening the bubbling liquid in the beaker. ¡°Felic, do you know this type of potion?¡± Balbo asked curiously.

    ¡°N-no, no...¡± Lin Li was surprised to hear that question from Balbo. He regained his focus, and told him, ¡°I¡¯m just here to look around.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Balbo smiled. Yet, his curiosity about Lin Li increased a little.

    He was a freak who had lived more than a hundred years¡ªunlike normal humans beings. When that young mage looked at the beaker, he was not in a daze like those without experience. His was a stare of surprise and pity.

    Although Balbo did not really understand why he was shocked and saddened, he knew that the phrase ¡°just looking around¡± should not be trusted.

    Of course, not trusting was just not trusting.

    Balbo¡¯s position today would not require him to expose a young man¡¯s lie. Since Felic said he was just looking around, he would just treat him as if he was really looking around.

    Yet, deep inside his heart, he¡¯d improved his impression of that young mage by a little again.

    How could normal people have the ability to recognize the red liquid?

    It seemed that Burnside was telling the truth. That young mage¡¯s skills in pharmacy had surpassed his age as he was only a step away from the experienced pharmacists in the guild. <i>That old man Andoine had really found a treasure this time...</i>

    Balbo¡¯s room had a simple design. There was a desk in the middle of the room, with piles of paper stacked on top. Beside it were a few rattan chairs made with delicate craftsmanship. Nearer to the windows was a bookshelf filled with different types of books. Lin Li gave them a quick nce from afar, only to realize that those books were unrted to pharmaceutics.

    ¡°Make yourselvesfortable while I leave the room for a while.¡± After inviting both of them to sit down, Balbo apologized again before heading out of the room.

    Like Balbo, Andoine was also not a fuel-saving jet. Since Balbo could read Lin Li¡¯s mind from his expression, how could Andoine not understand his student? The moment the president left the room, the old man asked impatiently, ¡°Felic, do you know what type of potion they are trying to make?¡±

    ¡°What potion...?¡±

    Andoine exposed Lin Li mercilessly when he still wanted to act as though he wasn¡¯t aware of it.

    ¡°You can continue to act...¡± The old man pursed his lips. ¡°Who has a better understanding of your ability than me? If even you don¡¯t know what potion that was, who the heck in the entire Pharmacists Guild knows it?¡± Andoine asked in disdain.

    ¡°Mr. Mentor, could you be less serious...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. He did not know how to react to Andoine being unreasonable, as he indeed knew the name of the potion. After looking at Andoine and at the unlocked door, Lin Li sighed, and decided to satisfy the curiosity of the old man. ¡°Yeah, you are right. I know what that potion is...¡±

    ¡°Tell me more about it?¡± Andoine¡¯s eyes lit up. To him, nothing else could be as attractive as new potions.

    ¡°If I did not remember wrongly, the potion they are making should be the Catalytic Potion.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a Catalytic Potion?¡±

    ¡°Something very dangerous...¡± Lin Li revealed to Andoine secretly after looking around the surroundings for a while. ¡°You should have heard of the Rampage Potion, right? This Catalytic Potion isparable to the magicians¡¯ Rampage Potion, but it¡¯s more powerful and more dangerous. The consumption of it could to arge degree activate the highest potential of any mage.

    ¡°Regardless of mana or mental strength, it can reach unimaginably terrifying heights. By estimation, it can raise their ability by four levels. Although it can only sustain its effect for 30 seconds, it¡¯s this crucial 30 seconds that can allow a magician¡¯s ability to reach that height.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that powerful?¡± Andoine was shocked. He¡¯d never heard of a potion having the effect of making someone stronger by four levels.

    ¡°It is just so powerful.¡± The mention of the Catalytic Potion reminded Lin Li of his time as a hunter in the Endless World. When he¡¯d been trying to fight for the legendary weapon¡ªStars of Fury¡ªback then, he¡¯d met a magician who had consumed the Catalytic Potion. The destructive burst of energy made Lin Li so helpless that he¡¯d nearly died. It was beyond horrifying...

    Fortunately, the Catalytic Potion was usually underrated. Its form might not even be known to master pharmacists. Only monsters like Lin Li who had broken through to the level of a guru would have the chance toe into contact with it.

    Not only that¡ªit was known to many that it was extremely difficult to create the Catalytic Potion.

    In the process of making the Catalytic Potion, a great number of Rainbow Herb would be needed.

    The most ipetent pharmacist would know that the Rainbow Herb did not have a stable attribute¡ªespecially if it was used in a great amount, when it would create unimaginable and damaging effects.

    It was fated that if someone wanted to make the Catalytic Potion, he had to be extremely proficient in pharmaceutics and be someone that could handle every minute change that would happen in the process. If any small mistakes were to ur, it would be devastating. Not only would the product be damaged, it would cost lives as well.

    Every herb that the Catalytic Potion contained had great elemental energy. If the energy were to be unleashed, it would create an explosive reaction and cause a building to fly up into the air.

    <i>Sh*t. Those people outside had better keep it a secret... </i>Lin Li understood that it was a dangerous deed. Although they were at the Pharmacists Guild¡ªthe most prestigious ce in the entire Fn Kingdom for their pharmaceutical ability¡ªthe Catalytic Potion was not something that anyone could put their hands on. If something bad were to happen here, wouldn¡¯t he be in bad luck as well?

    However, it was not the right time to reveal it yet, since he was still feigning ignorance in front of Balbo. How could he swallow everything back and go over to Balbo to say, ¡°Mr. President, the potion you are making is actually very interesting. If proper precautions are not taken, the Pharmacists Guild might fly up into the sky alright...¡±

    Lin Li could not bring himself to do it...

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how to make it?¡± Andoine did not want to know how dangerous that potion was. To him, any new potion would be worth exploring despite the danger it would entail...

    ¡°I know how to do it, but¡ª¡± Lin Li knew that the old man had taken an interest in the Catalytic Potion.

    ¡°Could you teach me?¡± Andoine interrupted Lin Li excitedly before he could finish his speech.

    ¡°I...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He did not know how to exin it to Andoine.

    ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Mentor, I want to teach you that, but I don¡¯t have the materials needed. Why don¡¯t you find them for me and I demonstrate for you once on the spot?¡± Lin Li tried to discourage Andoine.

    Even if he was willing to find the ingredients, Lin Li would just tell him about those that would require great difficulty to find. Lin Li was confident that Andoine would not be able to find things like the blood of the great wyrm, the feather of the phoenix, and a lot of others...

    ¡°This...¡± Just when Andoine was stuck and did not know how to answer Lin Li, the room¡¯s door creaked. Balbo came in with something in his hands, smiling. His grin was unusually wide, and the moment he entered the room, he asked Andoine, ¡°I think I heard Felic say he wanted some materials? Andoine, don¡¯t be too formal with me. We, the Pharmacists Guild, don¡¯t have many other things, but we have an unlimited range of herbs. You can just tell me frankly, and I will ask my men to prepare it for you.¡±

    After Balbo finished talking, he looked at Lin Li intentionally.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li really felt like crashing himself to death against a wall.

    <i>Goddammit, trouble¡¯s big! That old dude must have heard everything!</i>

 Chapter 223 - Shadow of the Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 223: Shadow of the Darkness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Ha ha...¡± Lin Liughed dully. He did not say anything. He had already made up his mind. <i>No matter what you¡¯ve heard, I will not say anything.</i>

    <i>Are you kidding me, how could I admit to something like that?</i>

    Admitting to all the trouble he¡¯d caused was a small issue¡ªhe was just afraid that Andoine would be interested in the recipe. With his headstrong character, he would definitely think of a way to get Lin Li to teach him the recipe. Furthermore, this old man was a legendary powerhouse. The herbs required for the Catalytic Potion would only take him a few days to gather. Should his brain short-circuit at that time and he would like to find someone to y with him, what could he do? It would be a small issue if the pharmaceuticalb exploded, but if he blew up his old head, it would be a massive problem...

    <i>I will not admit it! I will not admit it even if it¡¯s the death of me!</i>

    Lin Li did not say anything, and Balbo could not do anything as well. He could only pull a vine chair over and sit down. Then, he ced that glittering and translucent jade box on the table with a mysterious smile before he said, ¡°Oh, yes. Andoine, let me show you something nice.¡±

    ¡°What something nice...¡±

    ¡°Take a look...¡± Balbo gently opened the box, and white mist immediately burst from it. After that, a chilling bone-piercing aura started to permeate the air. Even though he was inside this warm little room, Lin Li could not help but shiver.

    Through that white mist, Lin Li could clearly see that within the jade box¡ªit was filled with intricate mageweaths. Lin Li knew that this had to be a high-leveled mageweath. It was just that it was very misty inside of the jade box, so he could not see clearly what the features of the mageweath were at that point.

    He only faintly saw that there seemed to be a flickering light within the white mist.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li frowned. That thing seemed like a ring, but for some unknown reason, the magical wave emitted from the ring gave Lin Li an unusually familiar feeling.

    ¡°Andoine, I know that you are knowledgeable regarding the research of the Dark Ages, and even more so about the technical authority of the Fn Kingdom. I¡¯ve invited you today to help me see what is the origin of this ring.¡±

    ¡°Let me see.¡± Andoine was also frowning. When he took the jade box from Balbo, he stared at the ring. ¡°Balbo, where did you get this thing form?¡±

    ¡°Last month, someone use this to exchange for a batch of potions with me. I heard from him that he got it from historical remains of the High Elves. Quickly help me take a look, is it something from the High Elves?¡±

    ¡°It should be.¡± Andoine nodded, but he seemed rather uncertain. ¡°But it¡¯s weird, the ring¡¯s use seems to be Mana Sealing Skill...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with the Mana Sealing Skill?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to criticize you, but you really are not knowledgeable. The High Elves never used the Mana Sealing Skill, because they thought that magical elements are free spirits. They should not be tied by any powers. From the High Elves¡¯ perspective, the Mana Sealing Skill is sphemy towards magic.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± When Andoine reached this point, he suddenly recited two phrases of a curse. After that, a ring of light appeared in his hands and immediately covered the ring inside the jade box. Looking through the rapidly spinning light, it could be clearly seen that the ring inside the jade box was changing into a myriad of colors in tandem with the spinning of the light. It was like a rainbow was constantly shing within the jade box.

    The whole process repeated itself. The seven colors shed from ring, and then finally went back to the original color.

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Andoine dispersed the light in his hands before speaking in a tone full of uncertainty, ¡°I just used Time Lapse to take a look. It¡¯s definitely a magical item from the Dark Ages, but it¡¯s weird¡ªwhat sort of High Elf would actually use the Mana Sealing Skill? Wasn¡¯t he afraid of angering the masses?¡±

    ¡°Who am I supposed to ask if you ask me...¡±

    ¡°Let me think about it...¡±

    Just as the two of them were talking, Lin Lu suddenly heard a voice beside his ear.

    ¡°Think of a way to obtain that ring.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Lin Li immediately had a shock, starting in his seat. Yet after looking left and right, he could only see Andoine and Balbo. Other than these two old men, how could there be anyone else around him?

    ¡°Felic, what¡¯s with you?¡± Andoine frowned.

    ¡°Nothing, I think a mosquito bit me.¡±

    ¡°Are there mosquitoes?¡± Luckily, Andoine just casually asked. After ncing at Lin Li, he turned around and started talking to Balbo again.

    Lin Li looked around again, but he did not see anything. In the end, he could only sit down with uncertainty. However, when his butt had just touched the vine chair, that voice appeared again beside his ear. ¡°Be moreposed.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost started swearing. He thought to himself, <i>Composed your as*. Your voice appeared out of nowhere, how could anyone beposed?</i>

    Lin Li took a few deep breaths so that his expression would be more natural.

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± That voice chuckled before saying, ¡°I am Connoris. Please be more rxed; don¡¯t be so nervous. I am using Spiritual Force tomunicate with your mental strength. Whatever you want to say, you don¡¯t have to say it out. Just think about it in your mind. I am the Great Soul Trader, an expert at Spiritual Communication.¡±

    ¡°Connoris?¡± Lin Li had a shock before remembering that after he came back from the Fire Plume Ridge, he had kept Connoris inside of the Ring of Endless Storm all the while. After that, things came in one after another. By some chance, he had identally forgotten to release this fe.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me.¡± Connoris¡¯ voice carried a tinge of anger. ¡°Speaking of which, you¡¯ve been too unkind. Ever since leaving the Eternal Furnace, you have caged me inside that ring. How long do you n to keep me caged in there for?¡±

    Lin Li pouted and whispered in his mind, ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional...¡±

    ¡°Luckily, I¡¯ve found a trace of mental strength inside this ring. It can help me engage in spiritual exchange with you. If not, I wouldn¡¯t know how long you would keep me here for.¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok, this was my mistake. Respected Mr. Soul Trader, take it that I let you down, ok?¡± Lin Li had a headache from this guy¡¯s nagging. He hurriedly admitted his mistakes, and then shifted the topic. ¡°Oh, yes. What did you say just now? I must get that ring?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was serious like never before. ¡°Let me tell you, you must get this ring! If not, you will be unable to reboot the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°Eternal Furnace?¡± Lin Li immediately understood. No wonder Andoine was racking his brains as to why would this ring have the deviant Mana Sealing Skill? It was all because it came from Highlord Osric¡¯s hands. Who was Osric? He was a High Elf that always brokews. He¡¯d even dared to replicate the Sky Castle, so why would he be scared to use a small skill like the Mana Sealing Skill?

    ¡°Correct. While building the Eternal Furnace, Osric created a total of two rings. One is the Brand Of Dusk on you, and the other is this Shadow of the Darkness. The use of the Brand Of Dusk was to boot the Eternal Furnace. Only those with the Brand Of Dusk would have the qualifications to obtain the right to control the Eternal Furnace. As for the Shadow of the Darkness, it is one of the coreponents of the Eternal Furnace. Without its energy, you would be burnt to a crisp by the Fire Dragon¡¯s magical crystal once you boot the the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Lin Li almost jumped. This a*shole, Connoris, was making a joke out of lives. Back when Lin Li was at the Eternal Furnace, he¡¯d never brought this up. Luckily, Balbo took out this ring today. If Lin Li were to build the Eternal Furnace and try starting it, wouldn¡¯t he shove his whole life inside?

    ¡°I forgot!¡±

    ¡°You dare to forget about something so important? Are you thinking about staying inside the ring forever?¡±

    ¡°Anyway, this is not urgent. Building the Eternal Furnace would need at least eighteen years. Isn¡¯t fine if I remind you whenever I remember about it?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    This fe was almost the death of Lin Li.

    ¡°Since this happened today, I reminded you in passing. Anyway, do as you deem fit. If you want to start up the Eternal Furnace, you would need to find a way to obtain that ring.¡± Connoris¡¯ voice got softer and softer. Just when Lin Li thought he was going to leave, this fe suddenly said, ¡°Oh, yes. When are you going to release me?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Since this is not urgent, I¡¯ll release you whenever I remember.¡±

    ¡°You...¡±

    ¡°Hence, Mr. Great Soul Trader, I would have to inconvenience you for now.¡± After Lin Li spoke, he did not care about the screaming Connoris. He cut off his spiritual connection with the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Without this trace of mental strength Connoris had essed, it would not be a concern to Lin Li no matter how Connoris screamed.

    When he finished dealing with Connoris, the two old men were almost done talking.

    Andoine was indeed an authority when it came to High Elves. With just a small clue on the ring, he had slowly guessed that it was Osric¡¯s. Yet, it was unfortunate that he did not have a deep understanding of Osric¡¯s conduct. After all, it was just knowledge from books. If it was about familiarity with that, it would pale inparison from Connoris¡¯, the soul trader that got killed by Osric¡¯s own hands.

    Therefore, he had been entangled by that Mana Sealing Skill, and also unable toe in contact with the truth.

    Lin Li shook his head, but he did not remind Andoine. He only plotted in his mind how to obtain this ring.

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock...¡± It was at this time that a sudden series of urgent knocks came from the door

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    ¡°Guild Master Balbo, Elin has seeded!¡± It was that pharmacist in his forties that opened the door. His face was filled with joy. After entering, he did not have any basic manners. He just delightfully spoke to Balbo.

    ¡°What?¡± Balbo immediately sprung up from the rattan chair.

 Chapter 224 - Explosive

    <h4>Chapter 224: Explosive</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It¡¯s true, President Balbo. Elin really seeded. Come take a look with quickly!¡± The middle-aged Pharmacist had run till he was panting. He had said a lot, but he still had not caught his breath yet.

    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± When Balbo opened the door, his skinny right hand was already shaking. This news was too shocking. For hundreds of years, nobody could concoct the Catalytic Potion. Finally, it saw the light of day once again at the Pharmacists Guild. Furthermore, the person that had solved this difficult problem was his only disciple. How could Balbo not be excited?

    ¡°Is it true?¡± Andoine¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard it. His expression was more excited than Balbo¡¯s. He ced the jade box on the table and left with Balbo without any greetings.

    ¡°This old man really...¡± Lin Li shook his head. He looked at the backs of those three leaving, and then he looked at the jade box on the table. In the end, he gritted his teeth and refrained from this temptation that was within reach.

    Honestly, if Lin Li was more ck-hearted, he would have hidden the Shadow of the Darkness.

    After all, the concoction of the Catalytic Potion would cause a huge uproar within the Pharmacists Guild. There would be many people walking around, so who would know who had taken the Shadow of the Darkness.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li was not thick-skinned enough. He could notmit such acts.

    With Lin Li¡¯s personality, he would not abstain from murder and arson, but for pilfering, he would steer clear away from it. In his own words, it would be that bandits had a higher status than thieves.

    <i>Seems like this Pharmacists Guild has all sorts of talented people. Even the Catalytic Potion has been concocted. This is indeed something worth taking a look at... </i>Lin Lin Li shook his head and followed Andoine. It was just that as he was about to leave, he looked at the jade box on the table with some attachment.

    When Lin Li walked out, the guild¡¯s pharmaceuticalb had already been surrounded by numerous people. At a nce, there were tens of people. Most of them were wearing a gray robe. This was the dress code for members of the Pharmacists Guild. When Lin Li walked over, he immediately felt that there was a rich medicinal smell permeating the airing from the crowd. Lin Li knew that these people were pharmacists that had been submerged in piles of herbs for tens of years.

    At this time, tens of senior pharmacists were gathered together, and there was loudughtering from amongst the crowd. From its sound, it seemed as though it was from a young person.

    ¡°Well done, Elin. You deserve to be the President¡¯s favorite disciple!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Elin. This time, you were splendid. Not only did you surpass this group of old men, I¡¯m afraid even President Balbo would have to see you differently!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say that, Uncle Maxim. Compared to Master Balbo, I¡¯m still miles apart. I was lucky this time round. I was not very confident in the beginning. I only thought of casually trying, but I did not think that I¡¯d actually seed...¡±

    ¡°Elin, don¡¯t be so humble. We old men have been dealing with this Catalytic Potion for tens of years, so how could we not know the difficulty of concocting it? This time, you concocted it, so we, the Pharmacists Guild, would be honored by it. Who would dare to say that the Pharmacists Guild does not have any geniuses anymore!¡±

    The crowd praised incessantly, causing the whole pharmaceuticalb to be very lively.

    ¡°President Balbo is here.¡± The crowd did not know who said it. The bustling pharmaceuticalb instantly became quiet. The crowd instinctively split, making a path for the master and disciple.

    ¡°Master Balbo...¡± Elin seemed to be in his twenties. He was fair and refined. His luscious golden hair was meticulously cared for, and he was wearing a ck robe that was befitting of him. His disposition was indeed identical to that of Balbo.

    ¡°Elin, not too bad.¡± Even though Balbo¡¯s tone was calm, the excitement shown in his eyes could not be hidden. After all, Elin was his only disciple. He had solved the difficult problem that the Pharmacists Guild could not solve for tens of years at such a young age. How could he, as the master, not be excited?

    ¡°You praise me too much, Master Balbo. I was just luckier than others.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Elin. There¡¯s no need to be humble with me. What you¡¯ve solved is a problem that the Pharmacists Guild could not solve for tens of years. Such an aplishment does not have enough praise. How about it, what sort of rewards do you want this time? How about this, didn¡¯t you mentionst time that you wanted a set of purple crystal potion bottles? I will get Burnside to pass you a setter.¡± Balbo was talking more and more under his tion. He was too happy today. Concocting the Catalytic Potion was secondary. Tens of years of dealing with it finally had some returns. For Balbo, this thing that was most worthy to be happy about was his disciple.

    ¡°Thank you, Master Balbo.¡± Elin nodded. Although he did not say it, judging from his gaze, he could not help but feel proud. His mentor was the pharmacist of the highest standards in the Fn Kingdom. To be praised by him also meant that he had attained the acknowledgment from every pharmacist.

    With Elin¡¯s current age, it was like a miracle.

    ¡°Ok, Elin. Bring me over to take a look at that bottle of Catalytic Potion.¡±

    ¡°Ok, Master Balbo. Follow me.¡±

    When this pair of master and disciple walked over, the surrounding pharmacists made way for them, and an empty table emerged in their front. On the table there was a goblet filled with a red liquid that was diffusing a white smoke.

    ¡°Elin, congrattions!¡± When the goblet filled with red liquid fell within his sight, Balbo finally smiled. This was indeed the Catalytic Potion. Although the color of it was minutely different from the description in the recipe, that strong stimting smell and the intense magical waves permeating from the potion could not be concealed from a top-tier pharmacist like him.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Elin, now you can tell me, how did you do it? Take note, do not leave out a single detail. This is very important for the Pharmacists Guild.¡±

    ¡°Ok, Master Balbo.¡± Elin smiled with restrain. He gently stretched out his hand and took the goblet that was filled with red liquid. ¡°Actually, at the start, it was Uncle Maxim¡¯s words that inspired me. He said that it would be great if there was a way to simplify theposition of the Catalytic Potion. Hence, I thought that the only way to simplify theposition of the potion would be to use the Leaf of the Origin Tree...¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Balbo nodded. He did not give anyments, but quietly listened to what Elin said.

    ¡°Weird...¡± When Lin Li walked into the guild pharmaceuticalb, his face was full of uncertainty. He had felt something was off, but after thinking about it, he could not discern what it was. It was only when Elin had picked up that goblet filled with red liquid and started exining to Balbo the process of concocting the potion when Lin Li immediately understood.

    Lin Li sniffed hard and immediately smelt a pungent medicinal smell drifting from afar.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is it!¡± Lin Li immediately understood. No wonder he¡¯d constantly felt something was off. It was because something that should not be added had been added to this bottle of Catalytic Potion.

    ¡°F*ck, this is bad!¡± After thinking that this could bring about a terrifying result, Lin Li¡¯s hairs instantly stood up.

    This was the Catalytic Potion. Every herb used contained an immense elemental power. Especially the Rainbow Herb¡ªit could be called the killer of all killers. Just a single use could cause a huge explosion of power. Furthermore, with the pharmaceutical processing, the uniqueposition could push this power to the extremes. Don¡¯t think that it was just a small goblet in Elin¡¯s hands. If any ident were to happen, even the whole Pharmacists Guild would run into a gigantic problem, not to mention this pharmaceuticalb.

    ¡°What is that, Elin? It¡¯s absurd!¡± Instantly, Lin Li hair stood on ends. The wellbeing of the crowd now was as doubtful as that of someone dancing on a de. Look at that Elin, he was smiling more delightfully than anyone while holding a pile of explosives in his hands.

    Lin Li was really curious as to whether that fe would still be smiling so delightfully if he knew that he was hold an explosive instead of a potion in his hands.

    The pair of master and disciple, Balbo and Elin, were happily chatting about the experience of the concoction, and the group of pharmacists at the side were listening intently. Even the onlooking old man, Andoine, was in high spirits. Nobody noticed that the red liquid within the goblet started go through some abnormal changes.

    Logically, the potion would have cooled down after leaving the fire for such a long now. Yet now, the red liquid that filled the goblet started to bubble without rest. The white smoke was nowing out of the goblet continuously, causing the whole guild pharmaceuticalb to be pervaded with a white smoke.

    The scariest thing was...

    The magical waves emitted by the red liquid did not slowly stabilize. Instead, it was like the conversation between those two¡ªit was bing more vigorous and violent. That feeling even made Lin Li remember the battle at Jarrosus where Cromwell summoned the level-18 spell through his magical staff.

    In this crowd of tens of Pharmacists, there was nock of strong mental strength or sensitive sensory organs. If it was during a regr time, they would have noticed the abnormalities of the potion long ago. However, the crowd was submerged in joy. Even Andoine, a legendary-mage, did not discover the abnormal changes of this red liquid.

    ¡°Oh sh*t...!¡± This time, Lin Li could not be bothered anymore. He shoved away the pharmacists that were in front of him and made his way through furiously. At the same time, he was reciting a spell hastily and an icicle formed on his right immediately...

 Chapter 225 - Sudden Change

    <h4>Chapter 225: Sudden Change</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just a little more and I can blow up that thing in front...

    ¡°Dang!¡±

    There was a sudden crisp sound, and the goblet full of red liquid was instantly spilled everywhere.

    The whole guild pharmaceuticalb was eerily quiet. Everyone stood there while staring in bewilderment. They looked as the icicle smashed the goblet, and the goblet full of Catalytic Potion started leaking out...

    The tens of Pharmacists were stunned.

    Nobody thought that while the whole Pharmacists Guild was drowning in joy, there would actually be someone that shot an icicle to smash the goblet. Even more so, nobody thought that the person who did it was a guest that the President had invited. That was the Catalytic Potion, something that had puzzled the Pharmacists Guild for tens of years. It actually been destroyed by someone without rhyme or reason.

    Andoine was also stunned. He was waiting at the side to see what was so special about this potion that even Felic said was dangerous. Yet, after waiting for so long, he only waited for an icicle flying out of Felic...

    When that crisp sound traveled over, Andoine was shocked in an instant.

    This was going to be a big problem...

    Andoine rubbed his eyebrows with a pounding head, thinking of how to solve the problem this time. This was the Pharmacists Guild¡ªany pharmacist could be said to be a figurehead with big backing. Furthermore, what Felic had destroyed was the tens of years of hard work of the Pharmacists Guild. It could even be said that this icicle had made him the enemy of all the pharmacists in the Fn Kingdom. How could offending the Marathon Family bepared to this problem?

    Andoine¡¯s head was really pounding. He could not understand¡ªwhy would Felic do this?

    Although this kid always caused trouble, the old man had not thought that he would go overboard today. Even in the issue with the Marathon Family, Andoine helped him clear up the mess. Although Andoine scolded him, but in his mind, he was secretly praising him. Well done!

    But this time, even Andoine could not help but grumble...

    <i>What do you think you have done? The Pharmacists Guild has been busy for the past tens of years all because of this Catalytic Potion. You¡¯re good. You¡¯ve destroyed it with an icicle. This, this, this... Isn¡¯t this too harsh?</i>

    ¡°Felic, why did you do that?¡± Even though Balbo¡¯s expression was calm, the anger in his voice could not be concealed.

    He totally could not understand why would this young mage do that.

    In terms of rtionship, he had been friends with Andoine for tens of years. When Balbo was in Jarrosus, he helped him break through to the Magic Shooter realm. Such a friendship was not trivial. In terms of gains, the Catalytic Potion was something that every mage dreamed of. Both master and disciple had seen the sess of the Catalytic Potion with their own eyes. When the gathering ended, Balbo would definitely gift them a few bottles as a weing gift. What reason did he have to destroy a benefit that he had already obtained?

    On top of that...

    He himself was a pharmacist, so how could he not understand what this Catalytic Potion meant to the Pharmacists Guild? This was tens of years of hard work. To destroy somebody else¡¯s tens of years of hard work, wasn¡¯t he afraid of the reprisal of the Pharmacists Guild?

    ¡°This, I think I can exin it...¡± After confirming that the goblet of red liquid had finally spilled all over the floor, Lin Li then let out a huge breath. He pushed aside two pharmacists that were looking at him angrily while speaking to Balbo with a smile.

    ¡°How are you going to exin?¡± Before Balbo could speak, Elin¡¯s eyes were red with fury. It was as if he was consumed by rage. His fair and refined face was twisted. Both of his eyes had a fatal gleam. That ferocious expression seemed like he wanted to swallow Lin Li with a single gulp.

    Of course Elin would lose hisposure...

    A cumbersome problem that had troubled the Pharmacists Guild had been finally solved by him today. It was not exaggerating to say that with just this bottle of Catalytic Potion, it was enough for him to enter the Pharmacists Guild¡¯s records. Even if it was hundreds or thousands of yearster, pharmacists of the future generations would always remember a person called Elin who was the first to sessfully concoct the Catalytic Potion.

    This was a chance to be crowned with eternal glory. Who would not be moved by it?

    Elin had never imagined that this unfamiliar mage would suddenly appear, shooting out an icicle and destroying his chance at obtaining eternal glory.

    In an instant, Elin fell from heaven and straight into hell. How could he not lose hisposure?

    From Elin¡¯s perspective, even if this young mage were to die tens of thousands of times, it would not be enough topensate for his loss. Theposition of the Catalytic Potion was veryplex. With the sh of several materials, the changes it would bring about were astronomical. Even if Elin had seeded once, he could not guarantee that he would be able to seed again. Furthermore, the sessful sample had been destroyed. To him, to concoct another bottle would be equivalent to trying it anew. This might take a year or even his whole life¡ªhe might not even concoct another bottle of genuine Catalytic Potion ever again.

    Lin Liughed as if he had never seen such a ferocious re from Elin. ¡°Actually, I feel that you should thank me.¡±

    ¡°...¡± With these words, Elin almost fainted from anger.

    Those tens of pharmacist rolled their eyes.

    <i>This... this... Isn¡¯t this too shameless?</i>

    After destroying the tens of years of the Pharmacists Guild¡¯s hard work and Elin¡¯s chance to get eternal glory, he still dared to shamelessly ask Elin to thank him. If he could say such things, what else was there that he dared not do?

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± He had already felt aggrieved, but he did not imagine this guy still dared to make mocking remarks. In an instant, Elin was swallowed by rage. A ball of fire appeared on his hands. That iparable magical wave almost made everyone feel the zing aura.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li had a shock. This ball of fire¡¯s power had surpassed his imagination. The fire magical element contained within could bepared to the magic of an Archmage. Even if it was the present Lin Li, he did not dare to tarry. Mana surged out and formed an Elemental Shield around the surroundings.

    Under the protection of the Elemental Shield, Lin Li did not stop. He shot out a Mana Retroaction.

    ¡°Eh!¡± With a release of Mana Retroaction, it was simr to a rock dropping into ocean. That feeling where he could not exert force made Lin Li feel that he had punched air.

    This time, Lin Li waspletely confused.

    Ever sinceing to Anril, Lin Li had never encountered something so weird during his countless battles. With Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, he could not have possibly failed. It was even more so for him to have seemingly backtracked a ball of air with this release of Mana Retroaction. It had no effect on the other party¡¯s spell. He could only look on as that ball of fire grew bigger...

    ¡°This is bad...¡± The Mana Retroaction had missed. Lin Li could only bet everything on the Elemental Shield. He desperately stimted mana, hoping that this delicate Elemental Shield could help him defend against the ze that was of the Archmage level.

    ¡°Stop him, Balbo. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being rude.¡± Andoine¡¯splexion changed, and the magic staff in his hand gave off rays of light.

    The one under the threat of the fireball was his only disciple. No matter how good Andoine¡¯s rtionship with the Pharmacists Guild was or how deep his personal friendship with Balbo was, he did not care anymore at this point.

    ¡°Elin, stop.¡± Balbo¡¯s face was purple with rage. All of this today was simply a farce to him. A gathering that was going well had been turned into a mess by an icicle. He had to stop this farce from continuing.

    ¡°Master Balbo...¡± Balbo had already spoken. No matter furious Elin was, he could only obediently listen to his orders. Even though the mes on his hands had dissipated, the fire in his eyes grew even stronger. When he stared at Lin Li, he wished that he could incinerate Lin Li.

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll talkter if there is anything else.¡± After Balbo stopped Elin, he turned around and looked at Lin Li. ¡°Mage Felic, I hope that you can exin yourself properly.¡±

    ¡°Ok, President Balbo.¡± From Felic to Mage Felic. Even a blind person could tell this obvious change in address. Balbo was really angry. Lin Li did not dare to be negligent. His expression became unusually serious. ¡°Firstly, I need to tell everyone that you really were in danger just now...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± A group of pharmacists almost sprung up. This kid was really too shameless. It had alreadye to this point and he still dared to say something so unscrupulous. <i>Could it be that he really thinks that the Pharmacists Guild can be bullied?</i>

    ¡°As*hole!¡± Elin was unable to restrain his anger. He could not believe that there would be anyone so shameless in this world. He had destroyed Elin¡¯s chance at eternal glory and even dared to ask Elin to thank him.

    ¡°Elin, shut up.¡± Balbo red at his disciple before forcing out a polite smile. ¡°Mage Felic, please continue.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you admit it or not, but these are all facts.¡± Lin Li smiled apathetically. The reaction from pharmacists was within his calctions. He just turned around and stared at Elin. ¡°What have you added to the potion other than the Leaf of the Origin Tree? Do you dare to say it in front of everyone?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Elin was agitated and his eyes were bloodshot. It was as if he had suffered from a huge grievance, but he could not help but feel uncertain. Nobody knew that he had added something into the Catalytic Potion. Could it be that this unfamiliar mage had discovered something?

    ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense, you know it yourself.¡± Lin Li stared at Elin for a while and suddenlyughed. ¡°But it¡¯s alright. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t want to say it. I can help you. Helping others is happiness, anyway. I¡¯ve always enjoyed helping others...¡±

    After Lin Li spoke, he slowly bent down and picked up a shard from the goblet¡¯s remnants.

    The shard was no bigger than a thumb, and there was red mark on it. Under the the gaze of everyone, it was especially brilliant.

    Everyone knew that that mark should be the remnant of the Catalytic Potion.

 Chapter 226 - Outburst

    <h4>Chapter 226: Outburst</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I perform a magic trick for everyone?¡± Lin Li spoke while taking a clean goblet from the side. Anyhow, he had already fallen out with this bunch of pharmacists. Lin Li did not intend on being polite with them. After taking the goblet, he turned back and asked rudely, ¡°Oh, yes, who can help me get a ss of clean water?¡±

    The group of pharmacists stared each other. All of them were at a loss for words. The thickness of the fe¡¯s face was almost as thick as the city walls of nna. Every single one of those pharmacists present was somebody of status and with big backing. To be able to stand there peacefully and watch him perform a magic trick was already giving enough respect. They did not think that this guy was going to ask for a yard after getting an inch. He even dared to ask someone to fetch him clean water. This was simply treating the Pharmacists Guild as the backyard of his house.

    ¡°Who would be willing to help you fetch it...¡± The group of pharmacists had tacit understanding with each other. They stared at the ceiling together. Nobody was willing to care about that thick skinned fe.

    In an instant, the atmosphere became really awkward.

    In the end, it was Balbo that spoke. He called that middle-aged pharmacist over. ¡°Maxim, get him some water.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± The President had spoken, so, naturally, Maxim would not dare to neglect it. After nodding, he quickly fetched a ss of water for Lin Li.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Li poured the water into the goblet. At the same time, he put the shard from the goblet¡¯s remnants into it. That spot of red remnant started to dissolve in the water. It looked like string that was swimming.

    This bit of the Catalytic Potion¡¯s remnants was not a lot. After dissolving in the clear water, other than an indistinct shred of red, nobody could feel its presence.

    ¡°Ok, everyone please step back a bit.¡± Lin Li carefully ced the goblet on the mithril rack and lit up an amethystmp at the bottom to allow the orange me to gently grill the bottom of the goblet. After doing all those, Lin Li took more than ten steps back. While stepping back, he reminded everyone, ¡°If you are a mage, please use the Spell of Frost. If you are a warrior, please release yourbat energy. If you are none of the above, then I wish you good luck...¡±

    The temperature within goblet rose as the small orange me danced. The calm surface of the water started rippling, and a white smoke started to permeate the air. That indistinct red color started to move vigorously within the water.

    The guild pharmaceuticalb was eerily quiet. Everyone¡¯s eyes, including Balbo¡¯s and Andoine¡¯s, were fixed on that ss of water. They wanted to see what sort of magic this young man was trying to perform.

    Everyone clearly saw that after moving one round around the cup, the shred of red would dull for a bit. The red string onlypletely disappeared when the water in the goblet started boiling...

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    A loud sound was heard almost at the same time. After that, a dazzling re bloomed and boiling droplets of water spattered around, producing a ¡°ta ta ta¡± sound as they struck the table. Countless fine shards of ss were like bullets, scattering around with a shrill.

    ¡°...¡± The few pharmacists that were standing at the front had been frightened. Luckily, they listened to Lin Li just now and drew up frost armor. Otherwise, these fine ss shards would disfigure at least half of them, if not take their lives when they scattered.

    ¡°Luckily...¡± Listening to the crisp sounds produced by the Frost Shield being hit, a few pharmacists simultaneously wiped off their cold sweat. This was too dangerous. The power of that explosion could rival at least a level-five spell. Think about it: struck by the aftermath of a level-five spell without any protection, what would have be of them?

    Those in a daze were not limited to just those few. Even those pharmacists standing in the corner that were not struck by the shock wave were also standing there with shocked expressions. Nobody had imagined that this ss of water would harbor such a terrifying strength.

    Furthermore, that was just a tiny bit of the Catalytic Potion.

    If it¡¯d been that goblet full of Catalytic Potion that exploded just now, wouldn¡¯t the whole Pharmacists Guild been blown straight to the heavens?

    ¡°Felic, can you exin the theory behind it?¡± Balbo frowned. His tone was much better than before.

    He clearly saw that when the goblet of water exploded, this young mage did not pull any tricks. The thing that¡¯d triggered this explosion could only be the power of the Catalytic Potion.

    <i>Seems like this bottle of Catalytic Potion has problems...</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple, President Balbo.¡± Lin Li smiled and swept off the ss shards stuck to his robe. ¡°You should know the principles of the Catalytic Potion better than me. It¡¯s simply concentrating elemental power to high levels and forcibly injecting a mage¡¯s body through pharmaceutical methods. With these elemental power as the added ingredient, it would stimte the user¡¯s mental strength and mana to the extreme, allowing a mage to exhibit a power that was far greater than his level.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Balbo nodded, signaling the other party to continue.

    ¡°To achieve this result, the herbs are naturally of high importance. Firstly, let us take a look at the six herbs required for the Catalytic Potion. Dragon Tongue Orchid, me Flower, Mind Grass, Frost Vine, Leaf of the zing Tree. There¡¯s no need to talk about these five; they are all herbs that harbor immense elemental power. In addition, we would still need to add inrge amounts of Rainbow Herb. Why does the Catalytic Potion requirerge amounts of Rainbow Herb? Isn¡¯t it for stimting the mage¡¯s potential and to increase his mental strength to the maximum within a short period?

    ¡°Therefore, the problem arises.¡± Upon reaching this point, Lin Li paused slightly. ¡°The use of the Rainbow Herb is to stimte the growth of mental strength. This ismon knowledge even among children, but does everyone remember that the Rainbow Herb still has another unique point? It¡¯s elementalposition is not stable, especially when it reaches high temperatures. Theposition of the Rainbow Herb would undergo a massive change, and this change is the biggest challenge in making the Catalytic Potion.¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± The group of pharmacists could not help but nod.

    ¡°The difficulty of the Catalytic Potion lies here. When theposition of the Rainbow Herb changes, it would definitely affect the other five herbs as well. With the elemental power they harness, it would be a disaster to anyone when there is an ident.¡± After Lin Li said that, he started to smile. ¡°As for the result of the disaster, I believe everyone has seen it.¡±

    This time, even Balbo could not help but nod.

    He had indeed seen the result of the changes.

    The power of the st from the ss of water just now was at least like a level-5 spell. If it was a goblet full of Catalytic Potion, it could only be described as a disaster.

    ¡°Mr Mage, may I ask a question?¡± At this time, an aged senior pharmacist stood up from the group. It was just that the way he addressed Lin Li had changed from ¡°Kid¡± to ¡°Mr. Mage¡±...

    ¡°Please do.¡±

    ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Herman, and I am seventy this year. I¡¯ve been a pharmacist for almost forty years.¡± This pharmacist called Herman looked very old. He was wearing a robe that was more untidy than Andoine¡¯s. ¡°Firstly, I need to admit that Mr. Mage¡¯s understanding of pharmaceutics has far surpassed my imagination. I have never seen someone that understands the Catalytic Potion as much as you during these tens of years in the Pharmacists Guild.¡±

    ¡°You speak too highly of me.¡±

    ¡°However, there is one point which I do not agree with.¡± After Herman said that, he paused. ¡°Based on what you¡¯ve said, the Catalytic Potion is an unstable entity. A bottle of concocted Catalytic Potion is simply like a gue that can spread at any given time. I think you¡¯re exaggerating here. Even though I can¡¯t concoct the Catalytic Potion, I¡¯ve looked through much rted information, including a book passed down from the Dark Ages. In this book, there was a record stating that during the Dark Ages, the high elves had kept tens or hundreds of bottles together. If it was as what you¡¯ve said¡ªthat the Catalytic Potion is the same as a disaster¡ªthen wouldn¡¯t the whole dynasty of the High Elves be in danger at any given time?

    ¡°But based on what I know, during the longst Dark Ages, the Catalytic Potion has not invoked any incidents.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Mage Felic. How would you exin this question?¡±

    Herman¡¯s words seemed to have represented the thoughts of all the pharmacists. After his words were said, they immediately received the response of the audience.

    ¡°This question...¡± Lin Liughed, and turned around to look at Elin. ¡°I think we would have to ask Mr. Elin.¡±

    ¡°Elin?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Elin¡¯s creation is more unique. He added the Leaf of the Origin Tree into the Catalytic Potion. I have to admit, this method would allow the six herbs to fuse better, and it would also decrease the chances of an ident happening the most. But, I think Mr. Elin seemed to have forgotten something. While the Leaf of the Origin Tree would allow the six herbs to fuse better, it would also allow all sorts of elemental power to permeate each other. Then, it would cause the elemental power to overflow during the process of permeating... Mr. Elin, do you know the meaning of overflow?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Elin¡¯s was livid and turned around; he pretended not to hear what Lin Li said.

    ¡°Seems like Mr. Elin understands...¡± Lin Li was upset, but it did not affect his mood. After jeering at Elin, he starting speaking eloquently, ¡°The overflow of elemental power is indeed a very troublesome issue. It¡¯s something that Mr. Elin knows as well. A solution must be thought of to prevent such a situation from arising. It¡¯s just that he came up with the wrong solution. He used the Spirit Addiction Leaf to block the overflowing elemental power.

    ¡°Speaking of the Spirit Addiction Leaf, I would have to add...¡± Upon reaching this point, Lin Li looked at Elin while smiling from ear to ear. ¡°Mr. Elin, you really are an idiot. When the elemental power overflows, you should immediately realize that this would cause a serious incident instead of thinking of a way to block it. Look at what you¡¯ve used to block it? Spirit Addiction Leaf!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Spirit Addiction Leaf?¡± Elin asked in a vexed manner.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Spirit Addiction Leaf? Since you¡¯ve asked me in this way, it seems like I really underestimated how thick-skinned you are, Mr. Elin. The Spirit Addiction Leaf is one of the most basic magic materials. It could use the fastest rate to absorb elemental power. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you used the Spirit Addiction Leaf to absorb the overflowing elemental power, right?

    Elin did not say anything, but the expression on his face tacitly admitted it for him.

    ¡°Then do you know what changes the Spirit Addiction Leaf will undergo after absorbing elemental power?¡± After Lin Li said that, his expression became unsightly. ¡°Let me tell you. Once the Spirit Addiction Leaf has absorbed elemental power, it would start to emit light and heat!¡±

    After that was said, the whole guild pharmaceuticalb immediately became silent.

    The scene where the water exploded had left a deep impression in everyone. Now, how could they not understand what kind of frightening results would ur once the Spirit Addiction Leaf started to emit light and heat?

    ¡°The addition of the Leaf of the Origin Tree itself could already fuse the six elements together tightly. Once the Spirit Addiction Leaf starts to emit light and heat, it would immediately cause the Rainbow Herb to go on a rampage. After that it would be a chain reaction. If it were not because I was quick in striking down your goblet, the whole Pharmacists Guild would have been blown to the heavens now...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Elin, you¡¯re President Balbo¡¯s disciple. It¡¯s impossible for you not to understand such basic pharmaceutical knowledge.¡± When Lin Li reached this point, the gaze which he looked at Elin with was filled with mockery. ¡°Of course, I can understand your thoughts. It was just a gamble. If this cup of Catalytic Potion were to seed, your name would go down in the history of pharmaceutical development. Who would not be moved by such eternal glory?

    ¡°Honestly, I am very curious, Mr. Elin. From the beginning, I always wanted to ask you that when you were gambling, did you think of the other pharmacists? Did you think of President Balbo? Did you think about us, the innocent pharmacists that came to take part in this gathering? Look at the hall below, hundreds of pharmacist from all over the Fn Kingdom havee here. It¡¯s best if you look carefully¡ªthey are here to exchange pharmaceutical knowledge, not to be blown to heaven by you.

    ¡°I...¡± Once Elin heard the phrase ¡°Spirit Addiction Leaf¡±, his mind started to tighten. His fair and refined face immediately became pale.

    He opened his mouth, trying to exin himself, but just as he said ¡°I¡±, he was immediately shut down harshly by Lin Li.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Lin Li red at Elin; his tone was filled with a rage that could not be restrained. ¡°Prioritizing the chance to leave your name in pharmaceutical history over your life is your own problem. If you¡¯re willing to gamble with your life, then it¡¯s just you seeking death. Don¡¯t f*cking drag me into it, not to mention trying to act as the victim with an innocent look and making moves at me while feeling wronged. If you have the guts, just try it again. If I don¡¯t kill you, I¡¯ll write my name backwards!¡±

    Everyone were at a loss of what to do when facing Lin Li¡¯s sudden outrage. Even Balbo¡¯s gaze towards Lin Li was filled with remorse.

    ¡°And all of you!¡± After scolding Elin in his face, Lin Li¡¯s anger had still not simmered down. He turned around and stared at the pharmacists tauntingly. ¡°All of you idiots, do you know what you are doing? Praising buoyantly while helping this idiot kill people. F*ck. The saying ¡°helping others even though you¡¯ve been had¡± is meant for you idiots!¡±

 Chapter 227 - Genius Pharmacist

    <h4>Chapter 227: Genius Pharmacist</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    The group of pharmacists had been scolded till they were in a daze...

    It was like they had been pped and did not dare to dodge it.

    There was no other way¡ªthey could not dodge it.

    All of the tens of people present were pharmacists. How could they not know the theory behind the Catalytic Potion? No matter how angry a person was, they knew that what this young mage said was at least ny percent true.

    In other words, if this young mage had not taken any action, there was ny percent chance that they would have been dead.

    Put in a more exaggerated manner, that icicle had saved the whole Pharmacists Guild.

    Take a look again at how they¡¯d treated this young mage.

    After he¡¯d shot out an icicle and destroyed the goblet, almost everyone unanimously requested President Balbo to punish him severely. Nobody wanted to listen to his exnation, or even more so the reason why he¡¯d done it. As for Elin making a move after turning angry from embarrassment, nobody stopped it. Some people were even secretly happy. They were all hoping that Elin would kill this fe that had wrecked the Pharmacists Guild¡¯s tens of years of hard work.

    Balbo spoke at the end and gave him a chance to exin.

    Nobody believed that he could give a logical exnation. As for the time when he¡¯d requested a ss of water, nobody cared. They were all waiting for him to fumble.

    Logically, giving an apology was a logical thing to do after making such a big mistake.

    But the problem was that each and every one of the pharmacists present was somebody with status and position. They had been severely reprimanded today by a young kid that was in his twenties. No matter how good a person¡¯s temperament was, would he want to lose face?

    In an instant, the audience were iparably awkward. It was not right to apologize, and neither was it okay to argue. The tens of pharmacists just stood there in a daze, waiting for Balbo to make the final decision.

    ¡°Elin, I need an exnation.¡± When Balbo looked at his only disciple, his expression was abnormally calm.

    ¡°Master Balbo, I...¡± Elin opened his mouth, but he realized that he was unable to exin. Out of all the tens of people present, he knew best that what the young mage said just now was not wrong. The Spirit Addiction Leaf had indeed been added to this bottle of Catalytic Potion, and his thinking back then was indeed to try and block it.

    If his gamble had seeded, his name would be written down in the history of pharmaceutical development.

    If his gamble had failed, it would have been just another potion incident.

    Of course, when Elin made this decision, he did not think that the consequences would be so severe. He had thought that if this test were to fail, it would just be another small incident. What was blowing up a pharmaceuticalb and injuring a few pharmacists going to amount to? As long as he did not injure anyone important or damage the fundamentals of the Pharmacists Guild, he would just have to wipe his tears after the whole incident at the very most given his status as Balbo¡¯s disciple.

    At the beginning, he¡¯d thought that he¡¯d made the right choice, but he did not think that he¡¯d even almost lost his underpants.

    He wrecked his brains, but he could not understand where this mage came from. Why would he have such a deep understanding about the Catalytic Potion? Why did he have to appear at this time? If he were slightlyter, even by just a few minutes, Elin would have dealt with this Catalytic Potion by then. How could all that had followed happen?

    Unfortunately, he¡¯d been too irresolute just now...

    If he¡¯d been more determined and used the Divine Fire to kill the other party, nobody would have ever realized anything even if the Catalytic Potion had any issues.

    Thinking till this point, Elin could not help but feel regret. However, even if he were to regret now, it was useless. It would be better to think about how to answer Master Balbo¡¯s interrogation.

    ¡°Elin, I¡¯m waiting for you exnation.¡±

    ¡°Master Balbo, I¡¯ve made a mistake.¡± Elin gritted his teeth and gave up on arguing.

    Elin was not really an idiot. Everyone present was a senior pharmacist, and his own mentor represented the highest standard of pharmaceutics in the whole Fn Kingdom. How could his little trickery avoid their detection? Everything already had received a final verdict. Master Balbo¡¯s questioning was just a formality. If he were to continue arguing, not only would he fail to persuade anyone, but he would also lose Master Balbo¡¯s trust instead.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Balbo nodded. Elin admitting to his mistakes willingly was somewhat out of his expectations. In an instant, his expression became somewhat gentler. ¡°Elin, seems like my discipline towards you back then wascking. Before obtaining a deep understanding of pharmaceutical knowledge, you should learn how to behave yourself. From today onwards, your status will revert to being a student. You are not to skip any of the chores that a student of the guild has to do. Additionally, I need to remind you not to try your luck. If I find out about anything, I will immediately chase you out of the Pharmacists Guild. Do you understand?¡±

    After Balbo spoke, most of the pharmacists were in daze.

    The adjudication this time round could not be any more severe.

    The rules of Pharmacists Guild had always beenx. No matter how serious the mistake was, it would at most end with just a scolding. After all, everyone was somebody with wealth and status. Even if Balbo was the president of the Pharmacists Guild, it was not possible for him toe up with a punishment with a cold expression. It was even more so that he could not be like Gerian, scolding mothers as and when he liked. In the Pharmacists Guild, to be demoted to a student was just next to being expelled from the Pharmacists Guild.

    ¡°I¡¯ll remember it, Master Balbo.¡± After Elin finished listening, he was relieved. Luckily, Master Balbo did not give up on him. As long as he was not chased out of the Pharmacists Guild, with just the status of being Balbo¡¯s disciple, would it matter to be a student?

    ¡°Ok, you can leave now.¡± Balbo waved his hands; he seemed to be somewhat exhausted. ¡°Reflect on your actions today. Once you¡¯re done,e look for me again.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    After Elin left, the whole pharmaceuticalb became quiet again.

    Tens of pharmacists stood there and looked at each other. All of them looked awkward. Nobody was willing to lose face and speak first.

    Lin Li was not bothered. After all, he had already scolded them and performed a trick. Even though he suffered from injustice earlier, he had already vented his anger. All these tens of pharmacists who were people with wealth and status had already been scolded by him till there was dirt in their faces. They did not even dare to say anything. How could he not be satisfied.

    As for Elin...

    Honestly, Lin Li never had a good impression of him from the start. An ambitious person like him was never well-liked in the first ce. Forget that he was ying with other people¡¯s lives, but he just had to include Lin Li in the people that he was ying with. How could a person that was afraid to risk one¡¯s neck like Lin Li be able to tolerate it?

    However, Balbo had already made the final verdict. Naturally, Lin Li did not say anything else. This was an internal matter of the Pharmacists Guild, so what right did he have to speak?

    ¡°Felic, are you not satisfied that I¡¯ve handled it this way?¡± After Elin left, Balbo started smiling again. His smile looked kind and sincere, unlike how he handled his own disciple just now.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re joking, President Balbo...¡± Lin Li did not fall for his tricks. He stayed out of it with augh. ¡°What right does a junior like me have to interfere with matters of the Pharmacists Guild. Please stop pulling my leg...¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Balboughed. This kid was cunning to a certain degree, but it did not matter. No matter how cunning he was, as long as Balbo had an advantage, he would not be afraid of Lin Li being cunning at the gathering.

    Balbo clearly saw that just now, this kid¡¯s eyes were fixed on the ring in the jade box. It was just that his eyeballs did not fall into the box.

    It seemed like this ring that was identally traded for could be used on the main stage...

    ¡°Well, President Balbo. If there is nothing else, I would like to head downstairs to look around.¡± The old man smiled strangely. Lin Li did not feel like staying at this ce. To catch the attention of this old man was a small issue. It would truly be a big issue when Andoine came over and wanted Lin Li to teach him how to concoct the Catalytic Potion.

    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll meetter at the gathering.¡±

    ¡°See you.¡±

    After saying his goodbyes to Balbo, Lin Li went down in a hurry.

    ¡°Balbo, slowly clear it up. I¡¯m also heading down. This kid knows how to stir things up. If I don¡¯t look out for him, I am afraid he might create some trouble again...¡± Even though Andoine was foul-mouthed, his expression was exceptionally proud. Today, this kid really made him proud. He gave them a few ps in the face in front of the whole Pharmacists Guild¡¯s tens of people.

    Andoine felt really happy even just thinking about it.

    Over these past ten years, he had bought countless recipes from the Pharmacists Guild. Every time he requested for them, all of the pharmacists had eyes growing on top of their heads¡ªexcept for his old friend, Balbo. Even though he did not say anything, Andoine was very aware that these fes looked down on his pharmaceutical standards. If he was not wearing a legendary-mage¡¯s hat, he might not even be able to enter the Pharmacists Guild.

    <i>Great, the one that pped your faces is my disciple. See who dares to show me bad attitude when Ie again.</i>

    ¡°Go...¡± Balbo smiled. He did not say anything more, and allowed Andoine to hurry along.

    When these three people left, the guild pharmaceuticalb seemed to be empty.

    The gazes of the pharmacists were all fixed on Balbo. Everybody knew that this incident, on the surface, had been resolved. The Pharmacists Guild¡¯s true approach would have to wait for Balbo to make the final decision.

    ¡°Maxim...¡± After Balbo muttered to himself, he then called the middle-aged pharmacist over again. ¡°Help me go and get Burnside toe over. Tell him that I have something important to ask him.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    ¡°Ai...¡± After Maxim left, Balbo looked at the broken ss shards again. His eyes could not help but show regret. ¡°Seems like what Burnside told me initially is not Felic¡¯s full potential. If I knew this, I should have rified further and invited him while representing the Pharmacists Guild when he was still at Jarrosus. Unfortunately, it¡¯s toote now. Such a talent actually came to nna. How could Aldwin, that old fox, be willing to let him go? If I did not guess wrongly, I¡¯m afraid the Guild of Magic has long prepared all sorts of methods to keep him...¡±

    ¡°President, are you trying to say that you want to directly invite this Felic into the Pharmacists Guild?¡± Herman, who was at the side, had a shock. He had been at the Pharmacists Guild for tens of years, and he had never seen President had such a thought before. Even if it was Burnside back then, it only took a few higher-ups to coborate together and send him an invitation.

    But this time, it was President personally sending an invitation.

    Could such a difference be described clearly in just one or two sentences?

    Once such an invitation was sent out, it could be said that once that Felic entered the Pharmacists Guild, he would automatically receive a rather high position.

    ¡°Of course...¡± Balbo nodded as though he did not even feel how surprising his words were. ¡°Did you not see it just now? The pharmaceutical knowledge this young man exhibited is not something a normal pharmacist¡¯s knowledge canpare to. The recipe of the Catalytic Potion is only known to core members even within the Pharmacists Guild. But among his words, there was not a single shred of difficulty. Think carefully, how many people within the Pharmacists Guild could exin the theory behind the Catalytic Potion with words that are easy to understand?¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Herman thought about it for a while. In the end he had no choice but to admit that even though he has spent tens of years on the Catalytic Potion, it was an impossible task for him to exin the theory of the Catalytic Potion in a manner that was easy toprehend just like that young man.

    ¡°If I am not mistaken, among the dozens of people present here, none apart from myself canpare to this young man¡¯s pharmaceutical standard. I¡¯m afraid that within the Pharmacists Guild, only Burnside might be better than him.¡±

    Once this was said, Herman was so scared that his face turned white. The worst of all pharmacists present was already nearing the high rank. The strongest would also be near the master rank. Based on what Balbo said, wasn¡¯t this young man already at the master level?

    Herman did not dare to believe that this young man¡¯s pharmaceutical standard had already reached such a level. A master pharmacists in twenties. Even Maxim, who was already seventy, did not dare to imagine something like this.

    ¡°This is impossible. This is definitely impossible...¡±

    ¡°Herman, nothing is impossible. You have to admit that in this world, there will definitely be people that cannot be measured bymon sense. Something that cannot bepleted during one¡¯s lifetime can bepleted by these people in a matter of minutes. A person like this is called a genius...¡±

    ¡°This.... President Balbo, I really can¡¯t believe it...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, don¡¯t force yourself. Even I am at a loss as to what to do, not to mention that you can¡¯t believe it.¡± Balbo shook his head, he could not help but show a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s wait. Wait till Burnside is here. Hopefully he can give me some good suggestions. I¡¯m afraid a genius pharmacist like this hasn¡¯t appeared in Anril for a thousand years...¡±

 Chapter 228 - Secret Recipe

    <h4>Chapter 228: Secret Recipe</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Balbo, I heard you were looking for me?¡±

    ¡°Small matter. Right, Burnside, you¡¯re almost done with the things on hand?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s still a little more left, but I¡¯ve sent someone to keep an eye on it. It¡¯ll definitely be done before the discussion.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you.¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡±

    After a round of smalltalk, Balbo dived into the main point. ¡°Actually, I need to discuss an important matter with you today.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard about Elin having concocted the Catalytic Potion, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Mhm, someone has told me. Congrattions, Balbo. Elin has finally done you proud.¡± Old Grimm was all smiles at the mention of the Catalytic Potion. The problem that had bothered the Pharmacists Guild for decades was finally solved by Elin. As a member of the Pharmacists Guild, Old Grimm naturally couldn¡¯t help but be happy.

    ¡°Ai...¡± Balboughed bitterly at Old Grimm¡¯s congrattions. ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t know yet...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Elin, that brat, has ruined everything.¡± There was some helplessness on Balbo¡¯s face as he spoke about his only disciple. He finally recounted what happened under Old Grimm¡¯s constant prompts.

    ¡°Felic, thatd...¡± Old Grimm had no idea whether or not tough at the thought of Felic berating the group of pharmacists. The kid¡¯s temper was as usual after so long. He was still unwilling to suffer any loss.

    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s what happened...¡± Balbo recounted the story off and on. His aged face was shaded with mncholy. ¡°I did make a mistake. When you told me about this young man, I always thought he was just a talented pharmacist. Little did I know that he¡¯s at such a high level regarding pharmaceutics. It¡¯s toote for me to regret now. Such a pharmaceutical genius has been enlisted by the Guild of Magic. How am I supposed to face Aldwin in the future?¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Old Grimm now understood that Balbo¡¯s mncholy was not because his disciple had made a mistake, but because the gifted pharmacist he¡¯d taken an interest in had been snagged by the Guild of Magic. He chuckled, and said, ¡°If you are only worried about Aldwin, then I can tell you that you can put all your heart at ease. So far, Felic has no ns to join the nna Guild of Magic. Macklin hasined to me several times because of this...¡±

    Balbo¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, Felic is not an ordinary young genius. He has an almost perfect gift, whether in magic or pharmaceutics. Maybe in less than 30 years, he will be at the top of these two professions. Wait and see, this young man will be the next Geresco and Sdos...¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Balbo frowned. Despite having witnessed the amazing gift of this young man, he could hardly believe what Old Grimm said. Who was Geresco? He was the most powerful mage after the Dark Ages, and was known as the God of Mages. Sdos was even more remarkable. He was the legendary elite pharmacist who hadid the foundation of pharmaceutics and perfected the pharmaceutical theory. Legend had it that even human beings who had been oppressed by the High Elves had to acknowledge Sdos¡¯ high status when it came to pharmaceutics.

    Yes, Felic was indeed an excellent young man. He was better than most in the Pharmacists Guild, including Elin. But it was still hard for him to believe that Felic could surpass Geresco and Sdos. It seemed like a myth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± Old Grimm nodded, and assumed an unprecedented seriousness.

    ¡°All right...¡± Balbo was slightly surprised by the chief pharmacist¡¯s insistence. He had known him for decades, but had never heard him praise a young man like this before. After shaking his head, Balbo decided to abandon the topic. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss thister. You haven¡¯t told me why the nna Guild of Magic couldn¡¯t enlist this young man.¡±

    ¡°As I said earlier, Felic is not an ordinary young genius. He has his own ideas. You know, when I met him in Jarrosus, he was only a level-nine mage. But at that time, he had rejected Gerian¡¯s proposal to hand the guild over to him. Do you think such a person would be tempted by a little benefit?¡±

    ¡°Level-nine mage? Burnside, if I remember correctly, it¡¯s only been less than two months since you¡¯re back from Jarrosus?¡± Balbo couldn¡¯t believe it. He clearly saw that this young man had at least the strength of a Magic Shooter. If it was as what Old Grimm said, didn¡¯t Felic make a leap from level-nine to level-15 in two months?

    Six levels¡¯ progress in two months...

    Was this a magic gift a human should possess? Even the legendary God of Mages couldn¡¯t have possessed such an exaggerated degree of a gift...

    Balbo¡¯s eyes lit up again. ¡°You mean the Pharmacists Guild still has a chance?¡±

    ¡°I mean, everybody has a chance...¡± Old Grimm couldn¡¯t bear toy the blow on Balbo seeing that he was so enthusiastic. Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t help but try to persuade him. ¡°Actually, Balbo, don¡¯t be too enthusiastic. This boy¡¯s talent is amazing, but his temper is also amazing. When I met him in Jarrosus, he had almost killed Aldwin¡¯s grandson. Look at Andoine. Ever since he¡¯s epted such a disciple, he¡¯s always worried about what trouble he might get into. If you bring him into the Pharmacists Guild, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have more white hair than Andoine...¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He can make some trouble. Anyway, there¡¯s no trouble that the Pharmacists Guild can¡¯t handle with our strength... unless he assassinated the king. Burnside, don¡¯t try to persuade me. We have to get this kid into the Pharmacists Guild.¡± Balbo sighed involuntarily as he finished. ¡°You¡¯ve seen how worse the Pharmacists Guild has gotten in these few decades. Apart from us both, there hasn¡¯t been a potion master in 30 years. Elin does have the potential, but look what he¡¯s done this time...¡±

    ¡°Balbo, you should keep a rein on Elin. If he doesn¡¯t change that utilitarian character of his, he¡¯ll get into big trouble sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± Balbo shook his head helplessly. ¡°I¡¯ll keep him in check. I¡¯ve decided to make him an apprentice for two years and let him have a taste of what hardship is like. Do help me keep an eye on him if you have the time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, we¡¯ll talk about Elin again. I¡¯ve asked you here to discuss about Felic. I say, Burnside, do you have any idea how to get the young man into the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°Let me think about it...¡±

    At this time, Lin Li was back downstairs, sitting in a quiet corner while chatting with Shaun.

    ¡°Mr Mage, I¡¯m not trying to boast here, but I can get you any herbs that you want...¡± Shaun was less afraid of Lin Li after some conversation. In particr, Lin Li had conquered Shaun¡¯s heart when he took out his crystal card and drew 50,000 gold coins from it.

    That was 50,000 gold coins...

    Back when he was selling magical beast cubs at the ck market, he had to take several fat beatings, and it was not always possible to get the 50,000 gold coins. The money hade too easily this time. He could earn 50,000 gold coins just by spending two weeks in the Nightmare Mountains picking flowers and herbs. Where was he going to find such a good business?

    Sparks flew before Shaun¡¯s eyes when he received the 50,000 gold coins. He could no longer care about how dangerous the young mage was. He assured thetter that he could get him any kinds of herbs he wanted.

    ¡°For real?¡± Lin Li looked at him with some skepticism.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°In that case, get me some Dragon Eye Flower. I¡¯ll buy them for 10,000 gold coins if you really do get them.¡±

    ¡°10... 10,000!¡± Shaun almost teared up.

    ¡°Mhm, 10,000.¡± Lin Li nodded. Among the ingredients for the Elemental Arche, the Heart Of Corrosion, Dragon Eye Flower, and Leaf of the Origin Tree were the hardest to find. The Heart Of Corrosion would have to count on Mr Hammer. In case of the Leaf of the Origin Tree, he could probably get them from the Pharmacists Guild¡ªwasn¡¯t there the Leaf of the Origin Tree in the Catalytic Potion earlier on? As for this Void Flower, he¡¯d have to depend on luck. If this fat bandit could really be of some help to him, 10,000 gold coins wasn¡¯t expensive at all.

    That was something that could directly enhance a mage¡¯s strength.

    If he could really concoct it, he was sure that neither the other mages nor Kevin¡¯s friend would find the price too high.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think of something...¡± Shaun nodded agitatedly. 10,000 gold coins for a stalk of Dragon Eye Flower was a huge sum. Even if it was a risky trip, he could only take it.

    ¡°Mhm, give me a reply soon.¡±

    While they were discussing the details, Balbo came down the stairs with Old Grimm. The old man was sharp-eyed; he¡¯d spotted Lin Li sitting in the corner from a distance. After showing a smile as a greeting, he made a covert gesture, seemingly asking Lin Li toe over for a talk.

    Lin Li returned the smile and nodded to Old Grimm from the distance, indicating that he had epted the invitation.

    ¡°Morning, everyone.¡± Balbo was beaming with smile. He saved all the greetings after entering the guild hall, and went straight to the point. ¡°I believe everyone is anxious after all the waiting, so I¡¯ll cut to the chase.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that. Three months ago, the Pharmacists Guild discovered a High Elves relic. We were lucky to find four lost forms. We¡¯ve managed to work out three. However, we still can¡¯t make head nor tail of thest form after three months. That¡¯s why we called for this discussion. All of you are experienced pharmacist. I believe that we¡¯ll be able to work out thest form with your knowledge of pharmaceutics.¡±

    ¡°President Balbo, what exactly is the form?¡± Balbo¡¯s voice had just fallen when a plump middle-aged pharmacist stood up from the crowd. ¡°Could you bring it out for us to have a look?¡±

    Out of the over hundred pharmacists in the guild hall, at least 90 of them hade for the mysterious form. The middle-aged pharmacist got the approval of everyone when he opened his mouth.

    For a while, the pharmacist¡¯s guild was in a mor. Everyone was urging Balbo to bring out the form as soon as possible.

    Balbo was on friendly terms with that fatty. He wasn¡¯t angry at the fatty¡¯s attempt to create a stir. He merelyughed, and cracked a joke. ¡°Haha, Hoffman, I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time. You haven¡¯t lost all that meat, but your temper¡¯s getting more and more impatient...¡±

    Balbo¡¯s voice had just fallen when there was a burst ofughter from below.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡±

    ¡°Hoffman, are you over 200 kg now?¡±

    ¡°Hoffman, I heard that your wife has given birth to a daughter recently. Is your daughter as fat as you?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you bastards. I¡¯ll get someone to poison your food sooner orter!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha...¡±

    Nobody took Hoffman¡¯s words seriously, and they continuedughing. Everyone knew that the middle-aged fatty had the best temper among the pharmacists in the entire Fn Kingdom. They had known him for decades, and nobody had ever seen the middle-aged fatty fly into a rage.

    ¡°Alright...¡± Balbo waited until the crowd had enough ofughing before turning to Old Grimm, saying, ¡°Burnside, you can start by writing down the form.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Old Grimm nodded and took out a pen from his pocket. Then, he had someone bring him a huge parchment, which heid out on the table.

    ¡°Shoo, shoo, shoo...¡± The sound of the pen tip scratching against the paper sounded, and the hall fell into silence. Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued to the huge parchment. They wanted to see just what kind of secret was contained in the form that even the Pharmacists Guild couldn¡¯t work out.

    Strange symbols appeared one after another as the pen tip danced along on the parchment. Balbo took on the role of amentary at a side. ¡°In order to present the original form, Burnside has written it in High Elves Print. But all of you here are experienced pharmacists; it should not be too hard to decipher High Elves Print.¡±

    Old Grimm had written numerous runes as Balbo exined.

    Lin Li was frowning all the time. He was an experienced pharmacist, yes. But it was as hard for him to recognize the High Elves Print as it was for a man to give birth. In order to find out what Old Grimm had written, he had to turn to Andoine, the authority on the High Elves, for help.

 Chapter 229 - Void Power Potion

    <h4>Chapter 229: Void Power Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But just by looking, Lin Li knew that it was hopeless.

    This old man was obsessed. Old Grimm had just taken out a pen from his pocket, and both of that old man¡¯s eyes were fixed on the scroll made of goat leather. He even felt like nting his face onto it, so how would he have the mood to help answer Lin Li¡¯s queries?

    ¡°This old man really...¡± Lin Li immediately rolled his eyes. He understood this old man too well. Once he ced his focus on potions, he wouldn¡¯t move even if you were to shout at him, not to mention giving him signals. <i>Forget it, let¡¯s give up on this old man. </i>Lin Li looked around, and just as when he was about to talk to the pharmacist that he had scolded, he suddenly heard Shaun talking to himself at the side.

    Shaun¡¯s eyes stared straight at at the goat leather scroll. He was mumbling to himself continuously, ¡°Thousand Leaves Grass and Dragon Tongue Orchid. So these are the herbs needed by pharmacists. Seems like I need to gather more next time...¡±

    Lin Li had a shock on the spot. This fatty looked ordinary, but he actually knew thenguage of the High Elves.

    ¡°Fatty!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Shaun turned over with a nk look. ¡°What is it, Mr Mage...?¡±

    ¡°Fatty, let me ask you something.¡± Lin Li thought for a while, and prudently asked, ¡°You know the High Elves Print?¡±

    ¡°I know a little.¡± The fatty nodded his head earnestly.

    ¡°Such a talented person...¡±

    ¡°I coincidentally learned it...¡±

    ¡°Such a coincidence...¡± Lin Li nodded his head and squeezed out a smile. ¡°Fatty, how about helping me?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Lin Li looked around sneakily before whispering to Shaun, ¡°Help me trante that High Elves Print...¡±

    When he said that, he felt guilty. The High Elves Print was a knowledge that every mage and pharmacist should know. It was especially so for people like Lin Li. As an archmage and pharmaceutics guru, he actually did not know the High Elves Print. If this were to spread, wouldn¡¯t it be very embarrassing?

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t know the High Elves Print?!¡± Fatty¡¯s mouth went wide open and he stood up with a stupefied look. His loud voice was enough to be heard by almost half of the guild hall.

    Instantly, tens of pharmacists looked over simultaneously.

    All of their gazes were filled with disdain.

    ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk... At this age, there actually is a pharmacists that does not know the High Elves Print. How did he even get in...¡±

    ¡°Hush, maybe he has a strong backing? Everything is possible, everything is possible. Let¡¯s just keep it to ourselves...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, maybe he is Balbo¡¯s godson or something. Haha!¡±

    ¡°Lower your volume. Don¡¯t let Balbo hear this; otherwise, he would have no ends with you...¡±

    With all these discussions, Lin Li wanted to dig a hole and hide inside it.

    If it was not because there was a crowd, he¡¯dnd a kick on this damned fatty¡¯s face and ask him what was he thinking. <i>I already lowered my voice so much, yet you still dared to be so loud. Forget about being loud, you even spread my disgrace. Aren¡¯t you pushing me into the furnace?</i>

    <i>F*ck, this is so embarrassing...</i>

    ¡°Fatty, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± Lin Li lowered his head with guilt to escape from those disdainful gazes while looking at the fatty and gritting his teeth.

    ¡°This¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± It would be better if the fatty did not exin. That attempt at exnation made Lin Li even more furious. He breathed in heavily a few times, and forced himself to calm down before he gritted his teeth, and asked, ¡°Hurry and help me trante, are you still trying to make me embarrassed?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes... Oh, no, no, no. I didn¡¯t mean that. What I meant was I will help you trante immediately...¡± Shaun fumbled in his nervousness. A simple sentence was made to be incongruous by him.

    ¡°You still dare to be long-winded?¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok, ok...¡± Shaun instinctively withdrew his head and carefully tranted for Lin Li. ¡°What Mr. Burnside wrote down should be a potion form. If we were to base our understanding on the text, it should be grinding the Thousand Leaves Grass, mixing it into Condensing Flower¡¯s sap, and heating. Then, before it boils, add in the Dragon Tongue Orchid, Netherbloom, Thousand Binding Vines...¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± After hearing this, Lin Li suddenly stopped him.

    The following content needed not be heard. Lin Li could recall it even with his eyes closed.

    No wonder the Pharmacists Guild made it so grand. They even invited a clueless old man like Andoine, not to mention all of the pharmacists from the Fn Kingdom. It turned out that this mysterious potion form was actually the Void Power Potion...

    Lin Li shook his head. His gaze towards Balbo was somewhat filled with sympathy.

    To concoct something like this was not something that could be done in one or two days.

    The existence of the Void Power Potion was like a nightmare for most pharmacists.

    There were as many as ten types of herbs. Just by looking at it, people would get dizzy. Furthermore, they had to make a potion out of them? This was not a simple potion that could be made just by simply adding the herbs in order and brewing it. Even a student that had just started would know that a potion was equivalent to a perfect world. In this world, all the medical characteristics would sh and attract each other. During this sh and attraction, it would result in a delicate yet harmonious bnce.

    The difficulty of the recipe would firstly be based on the required herbs.

    The more the types of herbs were required, the higher the difficulty of the recipe would be.

    The easiest recipes usually had one or two herbs. Some of them only required one. Those were the entry level potions. Just heating the sap that was extracted from the herb or brewing it after it had been thrown into the crucible would result in creating a potion.

    As for the herbs required for high-level recipes, it was usually three types, or even four or five types. This was a true test of skills of a pharmacist.

    Almost every high-level recipe would have a harsh requirement on the pharmacist¡¯s skill. The temperature could not be too high nor two low. Just a slight deviation would result in failure, wasting all of the efforts as the potion would be a bottle of poison. As for the proportions of the herbs, that would require an even more intricate grasp¡ªit had to be exact. The concoction process required the ability to deal with all sorts of idents. After all, humans were not robots. Nobody dared to guarantee that there would be no mistakes. This would test the pharmacist¡¯s ability to adapt.

    As for the Void Power Potion, it was one of the hardest recipes that Lin Li had ever seen.

    The addition of ten types of herbs would turn the potion into a mess. Just finding a clue out of this whole mess would be able to thoroughly exhaust any pharmacist, what more to maintain a delicate bnce between them? Furthermore, during this process, one had to be able to deal with all sorts of situations that might ur. For example, a change in the wind¡¯s direction or a change in temperature in the room. Even one¡¯s breathing would have to be uniform¡ªif not, all the pharmacist would get in return was failure.

    Lin Li remembered that back then in the Endless World, he¡¯d spent a month trying to concoct the Void Power Potion.

    During that month, Lin Li did not do anything else. He woke up and collected herbs every day. After collecting them, he would hide in theb and stay there for the whole day. Every day, he would encounter at least a hundred failures. It was only one monthter that he finally sessfully concocted a bottle of Void Power Potion.

    This first bottle of Void Power Potion also gave him the title of the wealthiest man in the Endless World.

    This thing was too powerful. For a warrior, it was like a second life. Almost every day, countless warriors would use all sorts ofmunication methods to contact Lin Li to purchase this mythical potion that could give them a second life. Naturally, the price surged with the increasing demand. It started from ten thousand gold coins per bottle, and rose to two hundred thousand gold coins per bottle.

    This astronomical price did not scare off those warriors, but strengthened their desire to purchase it instead. Within just a month, it had brought Lin Li a wealth that was unimaginable.

    If it wasn¡¯t because of this, how would Lin Li¡¯s hunter have the funds to purchase so many pieces of epic gear and then enter the Well of the Sun to obtain the Stars of Fury that every hunter dreamed of? Naturally there was no need to mention things like battling the Dragon of Destruction.

    From the countless concoction attempts to selling it like hot cakes. During a total of two months, Lin Li was dealing with the Void Power Potion almost every day. The required materials, methods, and environment had already been developed into a reflex-like memory.

    Just when Shaun had mentioned those few materials, he had already realized what the Pharmacists Guild had obtained from High Elves¡¯ relic¡ªthe Void Power Potion...

    ¡°This is theplete recipe.¡± Old Grimm picked up the goat leather scroll and pinned it onto the guild announcement board. ¡°All you of can copy it and feel free to ask questions. As long as we know it, we can tell everyone. Furthermore, if anyone wants to take a look at the original recipe, you can ask President Balbo.¡±

    After he spoke, Old Grimm retreated behind Balbo and passed the ball to the president. He walked past the crowd and found Lin Li, who was deep in thought.

    ¡°Felic, what are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± After being called out by Old Grimm, Lin Li finally snapped back into reality. ¡°Aaah. Good morning, Mage Grimm.¡±

    ¡°Good morning.¡± Old Grimm nodded, but the expression on his face was full ofints. ¡°Let me say this, Felic, you¡¯re too unkind. Back then at Jarrosus, we agreed that you¡¯de look for me once you were in nna. Now look at yourself. It¡¯s been more than a month, and you haven¡¯t stepped into the Pharmacist Guild. If it weren¡¯t for the invitation this time round, were you thinking of staying at the Guild of Magic forever?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Once Lin Li brought up this issue, he could not help but feel awkward. ¡°I am busy too. Please be the bigger person and forgive me this time...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide from me the nonsense that you have done in nna. Macklin has told me almost everything. After beating up Wilhelm¡¯s son, you then beat up Darian¡¯s nephew as well. During this month, you don¡¯t even have enough time to beat up people. Of course you would not have the time toe to the Pharmacists Guild...¡±

    ¡°Thank the heavens, at least Macklin did something good.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, I will not criticize you anymore. Anyway, Andoine has already helped you settle the issue with the Marathon Family. However, honestly speaking, Felic, you have to keep your temper in check. Don¡¯t be so impulsive. Be able to hold it in sometimes, it will be beneficial for you. Oh, yes, just now, I heard Balbo say that you scolded all of the guild¡¯s pharmacists in the guild pharmaceuticalb?¡±

    ¡°It was a moment of impulse. Sorry, sorry...¡± Even though Lin Li said that, his tone was not very sincere.

    ¡°You really...¡± Old Grimm shook his head in annoyance before he changed the topic. ¡°Oh, yes, let me tell you something. Balbo sent me to speak to you as he wants to recruit you into the Pharmacists Guild. Think about it yourself. If you are interested, then set a higher price. If you are not interested, then just say it. Don¡¯t be afraid of me being in a difficult position. After all, I am just here to pass on a message.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li hesitated for a moment.

    Frankly, he had never thought about something like joining the Pharmacists Guild.

    Firstly, the hurdle that he couldn¡¯t ovee was himself.

    Back then, during the battle at Daylight Square, when Cromwell had absolute superiority, Gerian nearly knelt down before Old Merlin so that Old Merlin would let Lin Li off. Even though Lin Li never spoke of this, he had always remembered it. With his personality, he would not leave the Emerald Tower under any circumstances.

    From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, no matter if it was the nna¡¯s Guild of Magic or the Pharmacists Guild, regardless of how powerful they were or how high the position they could give him, it would never be better than the Emerald Tower that was located in a small remote city. It was because that ce was entrusted by Guild of Magic. It was the goal of a middle-aged fatty that fought for it with his life.

    After the duel, when Ysera had told Lin Li the details, Lin Li had already decided in his heart that he had to do something more for the Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic. If the situation arose, he could even agree to Gerian¡¯s request and be in charge of the Emerald Tower.

    Under such circumstances, how could Lin Li join the Pharmacists Guild?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you discuss with Balbo and give me the title of guest pharmacist or something.¡±

    ¡°What is a title of guest pharmacist?¡±

    ¡°It means that I belong to the Pharmacists Guild on paper, but only I can raise requests to the guild. The guild cannot ask me to do anything. You should understand this, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re dreaming...¡± Old Grimm rolled his eyes. He thought to himself, <i>How is this any different from being the guild master?</i>

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no other way...¡± Lin Li shook his head with a face full of regret.

    ¡°Forget it. Anyway, I am just a messenger. If you really are not interested, then I will help you reject Balbo, but I feel that Balbo will not be so easily dissuaded...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Mage Grimm...¡± After being reminded by Old Grimm, Lin Li suddenly remembered something. Didn¡¯t the Elemental Arche Potion require some Leaves of Origin Tree? Instantly, Lin Li smiled obsequiously. ¡°I have something to trouble an elder like you with. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know if an elder like you is willing to help...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Old Grimm immediately put up his guard. He was too clear about this kid¡¯s personality. If it was not something difficult, why would he smile like that?

    ¡°Could you help me get some Leaf of the Origin Tree?¡±

    Old Grimm frowned. ¡°What do you want the Leaf of the Origin Tree for?¡±

    ¡°Somebody asked me for help to concoct a potion. I do have some of the materials on hand, but I am justcking the Leaf of the Origin Tree. I know that the Pharmacists Guild would definitely have it, could you help me get some? Don¡¯t worry, I will not ask for it for free. I will add on another 20% of the market price of the Leaf of the Origin Tree for the Pharmacists Guild.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Old Grimm hesitated for a moment, and his expression was rather troubled. ¡°Honestly, Felic, even though my position in the Pharmacists Guild is not low, I¡¯ve never handled guild¡¯s goods and materials. The right to use such goods and materials all lies in the hands of Balbo. Even if I want to help you, I don¡¯t know where to begin...¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case...¡± Lin Li could not help but feel disappointed.

    ¡°However...¡± After Old Grimm reached this point, his words took an abrupt change. ¡°I can help you think of an idea.¡±

    ¡°What idea?¡± Lin Li immediately became attentive.

    ¡°That recipe just now, you should have understood it, right? I¡¯ll honestly tell you, the Pharmacists Guild had invested a lot this time. If someone canplete that recipe and share what he has learned, the Pharmacists Guild will agree to one condition so long as it¡¯s within an achievable range. Whatever condition it is, it will be granted. Why don¡¯t you think of something from this perspective?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something so good like this?¡± After Lin Li heard this, his eyes immediately brightened up.

    <i>I¡¯ve been stressed with how hard it was to reach the Shadow of the Darkness. The Pharmacists Guild actually had such a reward. Seems like this time, I¡¯m afraid I have to rise up to the asion!</i>

    ¡°It really is something good, but it depends on whether you have what it takes.¡± After Old Grimm spoke with a face full of smiles, he then patted Lin Li on the shoulder. ¡°Think of something. If you really can solve this recipe, I think Balbo would consent to you taking the whole inventory of the Pharmacists Guild, not to mention just the Leaf of the Origin Tree. Ok, I¡¯ll end it here. I still have something else to handle. I won¡¯t apany you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Please take your leave.¡±

    Lin Li sent off Old Grimm with his mind wandering. His gaze was fixed on that goat leather scroll.

    Even though the words were written in the High Elves Print, for Lin Li, it was not different from the chinese characters that he was familiar with. It was because the whole concoction process had been locked in his memory. As long as he was willing, he would be able to solve all of the difficult problems that the Pharmacists Guild had.

    In the center of the guild hall, Balbo had already finished speaking. Old Grimm was right, Balbo had indeed promised that if someone was able toplete this recipe and share the information, the Pharmacists Guild would agree to one request as long as it was within their capacity.

    Balbo was leaning on deck chair resting when he saw Old Grimming over. The president rose up, and asked hurriedly, ¡°How was it?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Old Grimm shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already said it. This fe, Felic, would definitely not be willing to leave Jarrosus. You just won¡¯t give up...¡±

 Chapter 230 - Shortcut

    <h4>Chapter 230: Shortcut</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The two old men discussed something softly for a while. Nobody knew what they were saying, but, in any case, Balbo was beaming after the discussion. Whoever saw it knew that he was in a rather good mood.

    After the potion¡¯s recipe was disseminated, the guild hall was bustling. The pharmacists that were familiar with each other were now gathered together in groups, discussing what they had learned about this recipe. Some of them were filled with confidence. They requested a pharmaceuticalb from Balbo. They took out herbs, set up a crucible, and started wrestling with the Void Energy Potion.

    <i>These few fes have got quite the nerve... </i>Lin Li looked at them and could not help but shake his head. Nine out of ten people, when they first encountered the Void Potion, would be driven mad by it. At least half of these fes that walked in confidently woulde out in a neurotic manner.

    Lin Li had experienced such a feeling before.

    Of all the recipes that Lin Li knew, the Void Energy Potion was the most likely one to drive people mad. All sorts of issues appeared in an endless stream¡ªeven a strong mind would not be able tolerate it. It was always looking at the fruit of a day¡¯s of hard work, a bottle of Void Potion, turning into poison due to a breeze or the mes flickering a few times. Once or twice would be a coincidence, but a person would not be able to tolerate it happen tens of times.

    Therefore, Lin Li was not anxious. After walking around the guild hall once, he sat down in a deserted corner. He eavesdropped on the discussion that a few nearby pharmacists were having while chatting with Shaun.

    Honestly, even though the gathering had gathered the best pharmacists in Fn, from what Lin Li heard, their level was sub-par. Lin Li was very clear that they had started off from the wrong foot.

    When Old Grimm wrote out this recipe, the group of pharmacists had all simultaneously believed that this was an impossible task. To control the bnce of ten herbs and deal with all sorts of random situations was already out of a human¡¯s reach. Even with the most precise machinery, it would not be possible to do something like that.

    Hence, almost everyone thought of maniption.

    Almost of all the discussions were based around maniption.

    Some suggested categorizing the ten herbs and processing them ording to the recipe¡¯s requirements, only to mix them together once the processing waspleted. Some even suggested adding Leaf of the Origin Tree to allow theposition of the herbs to be more bnced and fuse better. Some also suggested opening a portal to another dimension and beginning the concoction in an almost perfect environment, thereby reducing the possible idents that might arise during the process...

    There were all sorts of suggestions, but Lin Li, who was listening at the side, frowned.

    The existence of the Void Energy Potion originally was to test a pharmacist¡¯s skill standard. In Endless World, if a pharmaceutics master wanted to be promoted to a pharmaceutics guru, he would have to concoct a bottle of Void Energy Potion. This also meant that even though the requirements for the Void Energy Potion were not high, the skill requirement was at a pharmaceutics guru level. Before attaining the pharmaceutics guru level, it would not be possible to manipte.

    Of the hundred or more pharmacists present, only a few people had reached the master level. As for guru and above, there was only Lin Li. Only Lin Li had thepetency to manipte the Void Energy Potion.

    All of the discussions were the same. Lin Li was tired of listening. He barely tolerated it till lunch time before he finally freed himself from the guild hall.

    After lunch, Balbo passionately invited everyone to tour the guild pharmaceuticalb.

    During this afternoon, everyone seemed to be almost done with what they needed to discuss. Just when everyone was feeling restless, Balbo¡¯s invitation came, and received everyone¡¯s response. More than a hundred pharmacists went up to the second floor. Even the spacious guild pharmaceuticalb started to feel cramped.

    During the afternoon, theb had already been cleaned up. It did not look like an explosion had urred there. The potion table was filled with all sorts of herbs. Lin Li casually took a look and found silverleaf, peacebloom, and Dragon Tongue Orchid. There were all sorts of herbs required for the Void Energy Potion. Naturally, no words were required to understand what Balbo meant by taking everyone for a tour.

    ¡°All of you pharmacists had discussed all morning. I think all of you have some ideas. The guild has prepared all sorts of herbs. Use them as you wish.¡±

    ¡°Let me try!¡± The person that stood out from the crowd was the fatty, Hoffman.

    Once Hoffman stepped forth, there was a roaringughtering from the crowd immediately. A few mean people were even louder.

    ¡°Haha, Hoffman. Can you do it?¡±

    ¡°Hoffman, please listen to my advice. You¡¯re so fat. You¡¯re not suitable to be a pharmacist!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Hoffman. Don¡¯t be mistaken, this recipe can¡¯t use the Tricolored Flower.¡±

    ¡°You b*tches, I will teach you a lesson one of these days.¡± Hoffman strutted over to the potion table. He looked at those mean people with an angry gaze while proficiently categorizing the different herbs.

    ¡°Aye, this fatty can¡¯t be looked down on...¡± Lin Li stood within the crowd and saw everything clearly. When Hoffman was categorizing the different herbs, his technique could be described as unusually proficient. It could be seen that he was a person that had been stacking herbs for years. It was especially so for a detail that Lin Li noticed. When he reached the Dragon Tongue Orchid, this fatty actually had the awareness to ce the Dragon Tongue Orchid and Silverleaf together.

    This was a detail that couldn¡¯t be missed. Even Lin Li himself only figured it out slowly after he¡¯d broken through the guru level. When the Dragon Tongue Orchid was exposed, it¡¯d automatically leak out some sap, which had a strong corrosive property. Pharmacists usually ced the Dragon Tongue Orchid in a goblet, but there was an exception. When a certain recipe required both Dragon Tongue Orchid and Silverleaf, the Dragon Tongue Orchid could be ced together with the Silverleaf because the sap would not corrode the Silverleaf. Instead, it helped to bring out the medicinal potential of the Silverleaf. It would save the pharmacist a lot of energy during the concoction process.

    ¡°Of course you can¡¯t look down on this fatty.¡± Only heaven knew when Andoine stood up. These words that appeared out of nowhere almost scared the living daylight out of Lin Li.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead with an annoyed expression, and spoke to Andoine, ¡°Mentor, do you know that a person can scare another to death? The next time when you want to appear, could you make a sound so that I can mentally prepare myself?¡±

    ¡°Is it? Then next time I¡¯ll just make a squeak.¡± Andoine¡¯s expression was like he took it for granted.

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Lin Li shook his head. He knew that talking about logic with this old man would not result in anything. He wisely changed the topic. ¡°Mentor, are you familiar with Hoffman?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he can be considered an old friend.¡± Andoine nodded and retracted the joking expression. He started to grow serious slowly. ¡°Let me tell you, you can¡¯t look down on this fe. Don¡¯t look at him being gentle at the Pharmacists Guild. Do you know what he does secretly?¡±

    ¡°What does he do...?¡±

    ¡°What this guy does is a highly dangerous profession.¡±

    ¡°Killer?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s much more formidable than a killer.¡± Andoine nced at Hoffman and whispered into Lin Li¡¯s ears, ¡°Conjurer...¡±

    ¡°F*ck me!¡± Lin Li had a shock and immediately thought of the Saruman Family in Jarrosus.

    ¡°Anyhow, just don¡¯t mess with him. When I look at him now, I¡¯m somewhat fearful...¡±

    Just when the two of them were whispering, Hoffman had already announced his failure.

    There was no choice. He had started off from the wrong foot even though he was a senior pharmacist. Regardless of technique or detail, he had handled it well, but he went in the wrong direction. Everything else thereafter naturally failed. What Hoffman used was the method that had been discussed the most back in the guild hall. Categorizing all the herbs, processing them separately ording to the recipe¡¯s requirements and mixing them together once the processing wasplete. Toplete thisplicated work, Hoffman even requested from Balbo some Leaf of the Origin Tree to allow these herbs to fuse together better after they had been mixed together.

    But the result was still a failure...

    Without a single doubt.

    ¡°F*ck, I didn¡¯t make any mistakes. Why did I fail for no rhyme or reason...¡± After the fatty failed, he did not look disappointed. He only mumbled some words and went back into the crowd.

    This time, nobody made fun of him. After all, they were all senior pharmacists. Everyone saw what Hoffman had done. Everyone knew that if it were themselves, their technique would not be better than Hoffman¡¯s. They would have met with the same iprehensible failure as Hoffman if it were them.

    After that, there was another two pharmacists that came forward.

    One was a Necromancer that was as thin as a stick, and the other was an assassin from the biggest assassin organization.

    The Necromancer¡¯s failure was almost identical to Hoffman¡¯s. There was nothing wrong with his technique, but because he chose the wrong path, his Void Power Potion became poison mysteriously. It was just that the Necromancer¡¯s mastery was obviously not as good as Hoffman¡¯s. After retreating into the crowd, his pale face was livid. Even the priest that was his acquaintance did not dare to invite contempt onto himself.

    There was no need to mention the Assassin...

    It was just a farce. This fe¡¯s pharmaceutical standard was about the same as that of Andoine¡¯s. It was more befitting for him to concoct Arcane Magic Potion or Sobriety Potion. It was the same as courting death to concoct the Void Power Potion. He did not even process the herbs after walking to the potion table before he stepped down in a sorry manner.

 Chapter 231 - Milo Went Mad

    <h4>Chapter 231: Milo Went Mad</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°President Balbo, can I have a go?¡± Just as the group of pharmacists were looking at each other in hopes of someone else stepping up to demonstrate, a young man¡¯s voice suddenly came from the crowd.

    ¡°This is...¡± Balbo frowned. The young man that stepped out from the crowd seemed rather unfamiliar. As President of the Pharmacists Guild, it could be said that Balbo was very familiar with all of pharmacists in the Fn Kingdom. Even people like Hoffman enjoyed a close friendship with him, but Balbo did not have any impression of that young man that just stood up.

    ¡°Hello, President Balbo. I am Milo, and I am from Thunder City¡¯s Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s Mage Milo...¡±

    ¡°President Balbo, you¡¯re too courteous.¡± Under the gaze of Balbo, Milo was unusually calm, but his fists that were hidden under the robe had already been clenched tightly.

    When Old Grimm was writing down the recipe, Milo already knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. At that instant, he almost fainted from happiness. Milo had never imagined that such a coincidental thing could happen in this world. Of all the potion recipes in the Pharmacists Guild or even the whole Fn Kingdom, he had unexpectedly saw one that was simr to a recipe in Thunder City¡¯s library.

    Most importantly, the one he saw at the library by coincidence was more detailed than the one Balbo had. Not only were there all sorts of techniques added inside, there were even different research notes left behind by numerous pharmacists.

    In the past ten years, be it himself or his mentor Amman, they had been constantly trying to concoct the potion mentioned in the recipe.

    For the duo, that recipe was like a treasure. All the techniques mentioned inside had made both of them lost in astonishment. The research in the past ten years not only allowed Amman to have a stable position as a high-ranked pharmacist, but also allowed Milo to attain the peak of middle rank pharmacist in his twenties. Maybe within a few years, he would be able to break through and be a respected senior pharmacist just like his mentor. After this, it would naturally be master pharmacist. If he could really be a master pharmacist, even Andoine would not be able to berate him at will, not to mention his disciple Felic.

    How could that Felic amount to anything. If it was magic power, Milo was already a level-thirteen Magic Shooter. Breaking through to the Archmage realm before he was thirty was within close reach. If it was pharmaceutical knowledge, he had already reached the peak of middle level. He could be a high-level pharmacist anytime. What did that Felic have? He even knew nothing about the High Elves¡¯nguage. Look at what he¡¯d just done now, he had been embarrassed by that fatty for not knowing the High Elves¡¯nguage. Everyone in the guild hall had been staring at him. If it was Milo, he might have had to kill himself.

    The only thing he had that won against Milo was just luck.

    He was lucky and met a good teacher.

    As a disciple of a legendary-mage, even if he was not as hardworking or smart as Milo, his teacher would have arranged everything for him. All he had to do was to rx and let others find a way out. To put it bluntly, he was just a good for nothing second generation.

    <i>Pff. Other than being lucky, you aren¡¯t even fit to be my servant. </i>When Milo stood at the front of the potion table, he even nced at Lin Li. The provocation in his eyes could even be seen clearly by a blind person.

    ¡°Idiot...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose and lowered his head. It was really difficult for trash like Milo to pique his interest.

    ¡°Mage Milo, please.¡± Balbo¡¯s mood today was really decent. When Milo walked to the front of the potion table, Balbo even personally brought him a clean goblet.

    ¡°Thank you,President Balbo.¡± When Milo took the goblet, his fingers were shaking slightly. He knew that he was one step closer to sess. President Balbo personally passing a goblet meant that he recognized Milo. If Milo couldplete this recipe, it would not be difficult to apply for the Pharmacists Guild.

    If he was sessful in joining the Pharmacists Guild, everything would be easier. With his diligence and intelligence, bing outstanding at the Pharmacists Guild was something to be expected soon. Once it reached that point, even Andoine would not be able to disrespect him!

    Sess or failure would depend on this.

    Milo suppressed his excitement and carefully categorized the ten different herbs. Even though his movements were not as proficient as Hoffman¡¯s, for his age, they were praiseworthy. Simrly, the Dragon Tongue Orchid and the Silverleaf were ced together while he was processing the different herbs separately.

    After that, it was different from Hoffman.

    The concoction process was exactly the same as how the recipe described. The Thousand Leaves Grass was carefully crushed and mixed with the sap of the Condensing Flower. After that, they were poured into the mithril crucible, and the endless heating process began. During this process, Milo carefully adjusted the temperature of the me as though he had urately measured it before. Every adjustment had exactly allowed the sap in the crucible to be close to boiling, but it did not produce any bubbles. At the same time, his other hand did not stop moving. The Dragon Tongue Orchid was ced into the crucible first, followed by a Void Flower, and then Thousand Binding Vines.

    The working procedure thatpletely followed as prescribed stunned the group of pharmacists.

    It seemed like this mage that was called Milo was overconfident.

    It was not a simple task topletely achieve and maintain the bnce of ten herbs. Even the senior pharmacists present that had spent tens of years on pharmaceutics did not dare to try something like that, not to mention this young person that was in his twenties. Did he see that a few pharmacists had consecutively went up and tried to take a shortcut? Did he think that his techniques were better than those of people who were present?

    But in a short moment, the group pharmacists were speechless.

    It was because they saw that the whole concoction process was wless. From start to finish, every detail was taken care of. Every change was dealt with, and the whole process was surprisingly fast. Before the crowd could even react, Milo had already added the ninth herb into the crucible. They saw a stalk of sunflower being engulfed by the boiling liquid, and it emitted a weak re. The group of pharmacists could not hold it in anymore.

    ¡°Oh my God, he seeded again...¡±

    Nine out of ten herbs had already been added, and there was not a single ident. This also meant that only the Moonlight Grass had to be addedst, and this extremely difficult recipe would be totallypleted by this young man.

    Milo stared at the boiling liquid inside the crucible. He did not dare to add the Moonlight Grass into it. Thisst step was too crucial. It concerned whether Balbo would give him recognition, and his ability to enter the Pharmacists Guild that he had always dreamt of.

    The gazes of everyone, including Balbo¡¯s, simultaneouslynded on Milo. Everybody wanted to see if this young mage could actuallyplete thest step.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Once Lin Li saw this, he heaved a sigh.

    Honestly, Milo being able to reach this step had already surpassed his expectations.

    Unfortunately, he still failed because he had not added the Moonlight Grass yet.

    ¡°Felic...¡± At this point, even Andoine was somewhat nervous. He stood behind Lin Li and softly asked, ¡°Do you think this kid called Milo would be able to make it?¡±

    Lin Li nced at Milo, who as at the potion table, yet he did not speak¡ªhe only gently shook his head.

    Lin Li already knew Milo failed from the moment he was holding the Moonlight Grass and hesitating.

    Thest step of the Void Power Potion was, in a way, the easiest step. It only required the Moonlight Grass to be added when the Sunflower emitted a re so that the heat emitted by the Sunflower could be negated. Then, the whole Void Power Potion would beplete. But this step was also the step that tested a person¡¯s confidence the most. Without absolute confidence, who would dare to add the Moonlight Grass without hesitation at the final step?

    Back when Lin Li was at the Endless World, he was also stuck at thisst step for a long time. It was at least for three days that he had been perplexed by thisst step. Only on thest day, when he was so frustrated that he steeled his heart and added the Moonlight Grass when the Sunflower¡¯s re had just been emitted, had he ovee it.

    After that, a bottle of Void Power Potion was concocted.

    However, this was also pardonable. A person without hands-on experience would not be able to understand that feeling.

    Unfortunately, Milo had done pretty well, but he fell short at thest step.

    Lin Li could not help but shake his head...

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± It as at this time, Lin Li suddenly heard a voice in his head. It was sharp and shrill like a knife cutting bone. ¡°You actually dare to imprison the Great Soul Trader!¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li almost went mad on the spot. He spewed vulgarities immediately.

    After that, Lin Li heard a muffled sound.

    But he could not care so much anymore. Connoris, that as*hole, had already been trapped within the Ring of Endless Storm, yet he could actually still appear and stir up trouble. Lin Limunicated with Connoris through mental strength while desperately stimting mana to suppress the changesing from the Ring of Endless Storm. ¡°F*ck. Connoris, are you trying to rebel?¡±

    ¡°Kid, let me tell you. Although I am just a soul now, the pride of a great demon will not allow sphemy. If you still do not release me from this damned ring, I will use my voice to annoy you to death even though I can¡¯t do anything much to you.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes while listening. He thought to himself, <i>You finally thought of pride. Back when master Osric killed and sealed you inside the hammer, why didn¡¯t you think about pride? Back then, when I stumbled into the Eternal Furnace and brought you out at the same time, why didn¡¯t you think about pride?</i>

    This as*hole really started bing disobedient after not receiving punishment. <i>I finally got some peace and you even dared to pull such a stunt. Fine, didnt you want toe out? I will amodate you once and release you from the Ring of Endless Storm. I really want to see what other tricks you can pull.</i>

    ¡°Ok, ok, ok. Connoris, I promise you that I will definitely release you by today. How about that?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Connoris voice was filled with doubt. He was perfectly clear about the character of this kid that was speaking to him. To put it nicely, it would be cautious. To put it bluntly, it would be suspicious. Whenever he promised you something without hesitation, you had to be careful of falling into his trap.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe, then forget it...¡± Lin Li had no mood to be probed by him because he had distinctly heard somebody call his name.

    ¡°Then you¡¯d better remember...¡± Connoris did not dare to question further. If he was not forced to, he would not want to offend this youngster. After all, Connoris had to depend on him for many things. Just to obtain a new body, it would have to wait till Lin Li reached the Legendary Realm, not to mention the others.

    ¡°I know, I know. If there is nothing else, hurry back into the ring...¡± Lin Li impatiently cut off themunication.

    Who knew that once he raised his head, he saw Milo charging over to himself.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li had a shock. What sort of stimtion did this guy receive? Why did he suddenly be a lunatic?

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Milo¡¯s eyes were red, and his hand tightly held onto a shard of the broken goblet. The ss cut his palm and blood was flowing from the wound, but Milo did not feel anything. He was like a raging tiger as he charged over to Lin Li. The empty other hand was grabbing onto Lin Li¡¯s neck. From the looks of it, he really wanted Lin Li dead.

    ¡°Let... Let go!¡± Lin Li, being unprepared, almost lost his breath after being grabbed on the neck by Milo. He squeezed out ¡°let go¡± with difficulty and his face was flushed from being choked.

    ¡°As*hole, you ruined my potion. I must kill you!¡± Milo had been consumed by rage. He did not listen to anything that Lin Li said.

    This time, Lin Li started to get angry.

    <i>You don¡¯t want to listen when I¡¯m being nice? Then don¡¯t me me for being rough!</i>

    Due to the rage, Lin Li did not try to reason it out with Milo. He pulled away the arm that was holding his neck andshed out a kick...

    A ¡°bam!¡± made the whole guild pharmaceuticalb silent.

    The group of pharmacists stared at each other. Nobody imagined that this seemingly frail mage actually had such a terrifying strength. With a kick, Milo flew at least six or seven meters away. This, this, this.. Was this a strength that a mage should have? Could it be that this guy was a robe-wearing warrior?

    The strength of a cksmith guru was almost simr to a level-5 warrior. This kick hadnded right on Milo¡¯s stomach; how could a mage withstand it? After this kick, Miloy down on the ground and arched his body like a shrimp. The painful groans escaped from his throat continuously, and in between were some venomous curses.

    ¡°Lunatic...¡± Lin Li adjusted his crumpled robe before cursing with a confused expression.

 Chapter 232 - Taking Action In Person

    <h4>Chapter 232: Taking Action In Person</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Ever since Lin Li hade to Anril, he had stirred up trouble numerous times, but there was not a single time that was as baffling as today. It was totally an undeserved ident. He was standing there perfectly fine and he did not offend or provoke anyone. Yet this fe charged over like a mad dog. <i>F*ck, if I don¡¯t vinate you for rabies, would you think I can be bullied?</i>

    ¡°So queer...¡± Lin Li swore in a fit.

    Just as he was about to return to the crowd, he saw Amman holding a bottle of potion. He anxiously poured it into Milo¡¯s mouth while ring at Lin Li. That expression and gaze was as if somebody stole his wife. Lin Li could not help but scratch his head, and thought to himself, <i>How did I even offend you master and disciple?</i>

    ¡°Milo, how are you?¡± Amman asked Milo with concerned face while carefully helping him up. After gulping down the potion, Milo¡¯splexion started getting better.

    ¡°Teacher Amman, it was him... It was him that ruined my potion!¡± It was as though Milo did not hear anything. His eyes stared straight at Lin Li and his voice had a tinge of sobbing in it.

    ¡°I know, I know... Be at ease, Milo. This time, Mentor will help you seek justice. This is the Pharmacists Guild. With President Balbo and Mr. Burnside as well as the respected pharmacists present, they will not watch you get bullied by somebody. It will be the same even if it is a disciple of a legendary-mage!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was amused and annoyed after hearing it.

    However, he thought about it and let it go. <i>These two, master and disciple, are somewhat abnormal. Since they like to act as the victim, then I¡¯ll just let them carry on since I will not lose a piece of flesh anyway.</i>

    Andoine, who was at the side, could not hold it in anymore. ¡°Amman, what do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°What do I mean? Master Andoine, you have a high virtue and a glorious name. I, Amman, have always respected that from the bottom of my heart, but today, I have to say something. Master Andoine, I really cannot agree with your judgment in selecting students.¡±

    ¡°Amman!¡± Andoine had lived for more than a hundred years. The thing that he was the most pleased with was that he had taught Lin Li magic. To him, this was the most brilliant thing he had ever done in his life. Amman questioning his judgment at this instance was like giving him a p on the face. Andoine could not tolerate it anymore and raised his voice. ¡°Just say whatever you have to say!¡±

    ¡°Master Andoine, I, Amman, am just an insignificant personpared to you, but with regards to choosing disciples, I have to remind you that some people are born to be unscrupulous. They will do anything just to beatpetitors.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head before he finally understood what it meant. ¡°Could it be that you are referring to me?¡±

    ¡°Who else can it be if it¡¯s not you?¡± Amman looked at Lin Li and his eyes were filled with hatred. ¡°You already knew that the Moonlight Grass was the most crucial step, and you also knew that Milo cannot be distracted at that point. Yet, you intentionally made some noise at that time. If it¡¯s not because of you, why would Milo¡¯s potion fail and why would he lose all logic and fight with you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li thought it about it carefully before he remembered that when Connoris, that as*hole, was being a nuisance, he had heard a muffled sound. Could it be that muffled sound was made when Milo failed?

    Thinking about the scene back then, Lin Li was really at a loss whether tough or cry. <i>These two, master and disciple, were so desperate because Lin Li made a sound at that time. To tell you the truth, if it was not because that as*hole Connoris was being mischievous, did you think that I would be so free to shout and wrangle that such a time?</i>

    <i>Furthermore, even if I were to remain silent, do you think that your disciple would be able to concoct the Void Power Potion?</i>

    <i>Why don¡¯t you take a look at the timing? He was holding the Moonlight Grass and hesitating for so long. Do you think the temperament of the Sunflower was as good as mine? Even half a second would be hopeless, not to mention that you hesitated for so long. Once the re shed, it also meant that Sunflower¡¯s heat had already been released. In that instance, it would immediately destroy theposition of the potion. At that point, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if you put the whole moon in, much less Moonlight Grass.</i>

    ¡°Forgive me for being so powerful...¡± After listening to Ammanining with tears of blood, Lin Li instinctively rubbed his nose. This was the first time he realized that he was a viinous genius. Listen to that meticulous conspiracy and treacherous n. If it was used to protect the world¡¯s peace, Amman would have been filled with love long ago.

    ¡°Ok, now you can becent. Because of your distraction, Milo had thoroughly failed and was injured severely. Your aim to seek revenge has been aplished. How can you still be dissatisfied?¡±

    ¡°Actually, Mage Amman, you¡¯re also somebody of old age. Can you not be like a youngster and take everything for granted?¡± Looking at Amman¡¯s sad and angered expression, Lin Li really could not tolerate it anymore. His words were not as restrained as before. ¡°Do you really think that your precious disciple¡¯s sess was within arm¡¯s reach? Stop joking, Mage Amman. I¡¯m not afraid of telling you it honestly. When Milo was hesitating and holding on to the Moonlight Grass, he had already failed. What do you think the Void Power Potion is? A sculpture in the hands of a crystal sculptor that needs to wait for him to slowly think of where should he start and end?¡±

    Amman sneered. ¡°Of course you can say whatever you want now.¡±

    ¡°Felic...¡± Balbo could no longer sit back since the situation had reached this point. ¡°Just now, you seemed to have said that the recipe¡¯s name is Void Power Potion?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Void Power Potion.¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Balbo frowned first before he immediately came around. Out of all the hundred or more pharmacists present, this kid was the first person to say its name. This was too crucial. To be able to say its name, he would have some knowledge of it at least. Thinking about this, Balbo¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Felic, do you know how this potion should be concocted?¡±

    ¡°I only know a little.¡± This time, Lin Li did not hide it anymore, since he also needed this chance to ask for that ring from Balbo. Additionally, he also needed to obtain the Leaf of the Origin Tree. This thing would be difficult to find after he left the Pharmacists Guild.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Lin Li nodded and walked up to the potion table under Amman¡¯s gaze that was filled with hatred.

    ¡°Watch carefully, Mage Amman.¡± After lining up ten clean goblets, Lin Li shot a provoking nce at Amman while hastily arranging the herbs. Anyway, he had already offended Amman so much, so he was not afraid of offending Amman further.

    ¡°Rx, I will watch closely.¡± Amman gritted his teeth. To him, even if this mage were to die ten thousand times, it would not be able topensate him for his losses. As long as Milo could concoct this potion, he would be able to befriend the Pharmacists Guild. With his pharmaceutical techniques and his ns, it was not impossible to obtain an important position within the Pharmacists Guild in the next tens of years.

    Unfortunately, everything was ruined by this damned mage.

    <i>Pff, I really want to see how will youplete this recipe. You think that you can boast around just because you are a disciple of a legendary-mage. When you can¡¯t concoct it, it would further prove that you are jealous of Milo. Once it reaches that point, let¡¯s see how you are going to quibble. With so many pharmacists and important personnel as well as Balbo and Burnside watching, I don¡¯t believe that Andoine would anger the masses just for you.</i>

    Amman was very clear on the contents of this recipe. Both master and disciple had spent almost ten years on it. Whatever could be researched was only superficial. Others might not know, but it was explicit to Amman¡ªMilo¡¯s attempt just now was the most sessful one ever. The nine steps at the front were perfect up till the step where he had to add the Moonlight Grass.

    Both master and disciple did not obtain any significant results after researching for ten years. How could this young mage called Felicplete it? Pharmaceutics was a domain that required time and experience. So what if he had seen this recipe before? Without ten or twenty years of hard work and attempts, he would not able to obtain theplex yet meticulous techniques. It was even more impossible for him to contain the infinite idents during the concoction process.

    ¡°Just wait...¡± Thinking about this, Amman could not help but sneer.

    But almost instantly, that sneer froze.

    It was because he distinctively saw that young mage had already processed all of the different herbs and he was now mixing the Peacebloom¡¯s sap with the Thousand Leaves Grass. The crucible was filled with smoke. The temperature he chose was actually the optimal temperature just before the sap boiled that Amman and Milo had found after researching with more than a thousand tries. This would guarantee that the medicinal attributes would not vtilize too quickly, and it would also prevent the different medicinal attributes from fusing too tightly from the beginning.

    ¡°Luck, this is just luck.¡± Amman bit his teeth and consoled himself.

    Following Amman¡¯s frozen smile, the pharmacists that were onlooking had simultaneously cast their gazes on Lin Li.

    At the beginning, nobody cared about him.

    It was because many of them still remembered that this young mage was the kid that was called out for not knowing the High Elves Print at the guild hall just now. At that point, the crowd looked at him condescendingly.

    Yes, this kid also seemed to be Andoine¡¯s disciple.

    Just based on Andoine¡¯s pharmaceutical level, how brilliant could his disciple be?

    When the group of pharmacists looked over, most of them only thought of onlooking. This kid was too brazen today. He had made a pharmacist faint with a kick during this gathering that Balbo had organized personally. Was it hundreds of years ago when such a scene that was likened to a farce had beenst seen?

 Chapter 233 - Cheering

    <h4>Chapter 233: Cheering</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But after looking, the audience felt something was wrong. It was especially so for people like Hoffman. He had a fat body, but he was somebody that specialized in researching all sorts of details of techniques. He could immediately see that this kid was not somebody that was easy to deal with. There was nothing to fault, be it the details or techniques.

    Hoffman had always thought that out of all the emerging young pharmacists in these few years, Elin was the most talented; he was also Balbo¡¯s disciple. Hoffman always perceived Elin as the most promising one, but he did not think that two youngsters would appear together at today¡¯s gathering. Forget that Milo failed. Even though that weird recipe reached the final point, there was nothing much tomend about his skill. It was only average at best.

    But this one was really impressive. This kid¡¯s origin was unknown. He looked like he was in his twenties on the outside, but he looked like he was seventy or eighty when concocting potions. Be it skills or methods, they could all be described as perfect. From the time when he stood at the potion table, Hoffman had already noticed a certain detail. This youngster¡¯s speed was not fast, but he was terrifyingly steady. From start to finish, his hands had never shaken once. It was as if those were not a pair of hands, but a precision machine.

    Hoffman was a master pharmacist and pursued pharmaceutical techniques in a bigoted fashion. From sixteen years old to fifty, he had made contact with all sorts of potions. With perseverance and consistency, he finally tempered his pharmaceutical techniques to the point where it was full of praise from Balbo.

    But when this youngster walked over to the potion table, Hoffman suddenly realized that the techniques he was so proud of could not bepared to those of this youngster in his twenties.

    Hoffman was in a daze immediately...

    ¡°This, this, this... This can¡¯t be real, right?¡± Hoffman stood there stupefied, watching him extract the peacebloom¡¯s sap and then separating the Dragon Tongue Orchid from the Silverleaf. Even though his actions seemed slow, there was not a single shred of dy or mistake.

    The thing that Hoffman found hardest to believe was that this youngster¡¯s mastery of temperature was simr to a magic trick. While processing multiple herbs, he had maintained his spell-casting state. ming Hands and Chilling Touch were used interchangeably to constantly adjust the temperature of the crucible so as to allow the liquid within the crucible to be maintained at state near boiling.

    ¡°Is this still human?¡± Hoffman almost went mad on the spot.

    Mages and Conjurers were simr professions. How could Hoffman not know what status a mage required to cast spell. Be it mental strength control or mana maniption, they both required full concentration. During this process, even a small sneeze could be lethal, not to mention doing other things.

    It was even harder to be like this kid, concocting a potion that had baffled all the pharmacists in Fn while executing two spells interchangeably. Furthermore, look at his expression. It was as though he was walking in a park¡ªhe was so rxed that it made people feel like smashing their heads into the wall.

    Hoffman did not dare to imagine how immense his mana reserve had to be to constantly execute these two spells.

    ¡°Andoine, where did you hire this person? Why is he so good?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, what hired? Would I be so despicable? Let me tell you, this is my new disciple. If you don¡¯t believe, you can ask the assassin. I just introduced Felic to him.¡±

    ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡±

    Ever since he became a mage, Andoine had always been bullied by the pharmacists. He usually talked like a saint, finally adding some precious magical materials before he could exchange for a row of pathetic potions from those high and mighty pharmacists. Although he joined the Supreme Council at the end and made friends with Balbo, those pharmacists had never said anything good about him even though they did not show it on the surface.

    Andoine had tolerated it for tens years before he finally held his head up high today. Why would he be so courteous towards Hoffman this time?

    The old man¡¯s neck was the same, and he looked very cocky. ¡°Forget it. With your intelligence, it would be hard to understand.¡±

    ¡°You really aren¡¯t lying?¡± Hoffman blinked his small eyes and he still somewhat did not believe it. ¡°He really isn¡¯t someone you hired to humiliate the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, am I that free...?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Hoffman thought about it carefully, and indeed, the logic was there. He immediately squinted his eyes and had a smile full of ttery. ¡°This, Master Andoine, could you tell me whom did this youngster learn Pharmaceutics from? Why is he so good when he¡¯s so young?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Of course my disciple learnt it from me. Otherwise, could it be that he learnt it from you?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hoffman rolled his eyes, and thought to himself, <i>Yeah, right, as if I will believe you.</i>

    Of course, he did not dare to say that.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, of course you taught him.¡± Hoffman was currying favor continuously, and his smile became even more ttering. ¡°I mean, other than you, did anyone else teach him?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Andoine replied in a proud way.

    ¡°...¡±

    Thankfully, Hoffman¡¯s skin was thick enough. He did not even get the least bit angry after being taunted by Andoine. Instead, he was eagerly soliciting the old man¡¯s answer. He used ¡°master¡± the whole time, just that he did not use ¡°sir¡±.

    ¡°Master Andoine, could you allow your disciple to speak with me after this gathering has ended?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t make the decision...¡±

    This time, Andoine was not spouting nonsense. He couldn¡¯t make this decision. This kid, Felic, was too secretive. Even Andoine, who was the closest to him, frequently did not know what he was thinking. Hoffman said he wanted to speak to Lin Li, but who knew what he wanted to talk about. Andoine did not dare to casually make promises about such things.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case...¡± Hoffman thought about it, and asked in ttering manner, ¡°How about this, Master Andoine. Help me tell him that Hoffman has a few questions for him. If he could help me solve these questions, I would be willing to give him the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations.¡±

    ¡°Book of Ten Thousand Incantations!¡± Andoine¡¯s voice was raised by a few decibels, but he quickly realized he was losing hisposure. The old man quickly stopped his vering and looked gentlemanly again. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll try my best...¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, Master Andoine.¡±

    ¡°This damned fatty really does not pay any mind to expenses. He even used the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations...¡± After watching Hoffman leave, Andoine started mumbling to himself repeatedly. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was something really good. Although Andoine was already a legendary powerhouse, even he could not help but ver when he first heard it. It was not exaggerating to say that of the achievements that Hoffman had now, at least half of it was due to the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. It was by relying on this thing that Hoffman was able to stand tall in Breezy ins, where powerhouses ran amok, without ever falling with a mere level-16 power.

    <i>Seems like there¡¯s a need to tell this to that kid, Felic...</i>

    At this point, Lin Li¡¯s Void Power Potion was almostpleted.

    Out of ten herbs, eight had already been ced in the crucible. At this moment, there were two crucibles beside his hand. One was filled with Moonlight Grass, and the other was filled with Sunflower. To guarantee the effects of the Sunflower, Lin Li even specially created some ice cubes and ced them on top. Within the sparkling ice cubes, the Sunflower¡¯s unique red color was exceptionally brilliant.

    Balbo gaze was fixed, staring at Lin Li¡¯s hands from the start. Everything that this youngster had exhibited had once again overthrown hismon sense. The perfect fusion of magic and pharmaceutics. Even Balbo, who had pharmaceutics as a partner for tens of years, was instantly lost in wonder.

    ¡°Burnside, help me think of a way quickly.¡± When Balbo said this, his expression was abnormally serious. ¡°Whatever the cost, the Pharmacists Guild needs this genius. Otherwise, I will be the sinner of the Pharmacists Guild.¡±

    ¡°President, I have no suggestions this time. Just now, I helped you ascertain his feelings. He would definitely not leave the Jarrosus Guild of Magic...¡± Old Grimm spread his arms in despair and produced a forced smile.

    ¡°Then there is no other way?¡±

    ¡°What other way is there?¡± Old Grimm could not help but feel a bit angered. ¡°Could it be that we both have to appear and ept him as our disciple by all means? Stop joking, it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t see it. Andoine has lived for a hundred or more years and he only has this disciple. He treats him like a treasure every day, when we will ever have the chance to get in the way?¡±

    ¡°Andoine, this as*hole, was too lucky.¡± Balbo thought for a while, but he had to admit that what Old Grimm said was the truth. ¡°If only we made a move earlier...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. I remembered something!¡± Just when they were in low spirits, Old Grimm suddenly remembered something. ¡°Maybe you can think of an idea from this.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Just now, when I was helping you to ascertain his feelings, Felic once told me that he wanted to wanted to purchase some Leaf of the Origin Tree from the guild. Why not you use this as a bargaining chip to negotiate with him?¡±

    ¡°Let me think...¡±

    When both of them were discussing, the concoction of the Void Power Potion had entered the final phase.

    Just as the red petals of the Sunflower had entered the crucible, all of the pharmacist started to feel anxious simultaneously.

    Everyone knew this was thest step.

    Just now that young mage, Milo, failed at this step. The question that was on everyone¡¯s mind was whether this mage that was younger than Milo would be able to ovee this crucial step. If he could not ovee it, then naturally there was nothing to be said, but if he were to ovee it, it would also mean that a new star had been born in pharmaceutics.

    And this star was brighter than any other before.

    This recipe had baffled the whole Pharmacists Guild, and even all of the pharmacists in the Fn Kingdom. Hoffman¡¯s technique could be considered as wless, right? The Necromancer Sendros¡¯ potion attainments could also be considered unfathomable, right? Yet even they could notplete this weird recipe.

    If a youngster that was not even twenty couldplete it, it would be something that would shake the whole nna.

    ¡°Kid, do it well. Let Hoffman, that damned fatty, know that being fat would not mean that pharmaceutical standard would be high!¡± someone from the crowd shouted, and it immediately invited a roaringughter.

    ¡°Kid,e on!¡±

    ¡°Yes, do it well, kid. If you canplete this recipe, I will introduce my daughter to you!¡±

    ¡°Garrison, you¡¯re always so shameless. You should umte some virtue. Your daughter is almost forty, and you got the cheek to allow her to rob the cradle?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, I¡¯m talking about my younger daughter!¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck, your younger daughter is not even thirteen, right? Do you need to be so relentless?¡±

    ¡°What, indignant? Give birth to a daughter too if you have the guts...¡±

    The atmosphere in the guild pharmaceuticalb started to be bustling for no apparent reason.

    At this point, almost all of the pharmacists were cheering Lin Li on.

    Among them, there were a few of them that had looked down on him for knowing High Elves Print previously. There were some of them that had dealings with the Thunder City Guild of Magic. There were even more unfamiliar pharmacists that Lin Li had never met before. Their cheering had nothing to do with friendship or gratitude or enmity. It was purely out of passion for pharmaceutics.

    At this point, everyone had hoped from the bottom of their hearts that he would seed.

    ¡°Thank you everyone for your support!¡±

    The instant that the sunflower petals¡¯ re shed, Lin Li gently added the Moonlight Grass that had a silver shimmer. This was followed by a white smoke permeating the air. Lin Li stood within the white smoke and smoothly extinguished the fire below the crucible. He then turned around and bowed to the onlooking pharmacist. After that, he left the potion table without even turning back...

    The permeating white smoke had a tinge of sweet smell. It made the whole guild pharmaceuticalb blurry. The group of pharmacists were focused on the smoke.

    Balbo was the first to stand up. Because his actions were too intense, the vine chair under him had been knocked over. Although he looked very calm, both of his hands that were firmly ced on the sides had started shaking slightly. The next person to stand up was Grimm Burnside, and then it was the anxious Andoine. This was followed by all of the pharmacists in session...

    They used this manner to pay respects to this young mage.

    Indeed, he¡¯d really seeded.

    Based on the description on the recipe, once the potion had been concocted, it would be in a dense and transparent state. A sweet smell could be smelt when near. It was like the smell of barley candy. Everything was exactly the same as the liquid in the crucible.

    This young mage that was not even twenty had solved a difficult problem that no pharmacist in the whole Fn could solve. Today¡¯s gathering would definitely allow this young man to be the brightest star in pharmaceutics.

    After a moment of silence, the pharmaceuticalb erupted with cheers. Hundred or more pharmacists, regardless if they knew each other or if they had any sentiments towards each other, were drowning in joy at this moment. What this young mage had solved was not a simple potion issue, but a difficult problem that had frustrated all of the pharmacists in Fn. The birth of this potion also signified a giant step forward for pharmaceutics!

 Chapter 234 - Book of Ten Thousand Spells

    <h4>Chapter 234: Book of Ten Thousand Spells</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This bottle of Void Power Potion had caused the whole Pharmacists Guild to be submerged in delight. Balbo announced on the spot that tonight, the Pharmacists Guild would host a grand celebratory banquet. He hoped that all of the respected pharmacist present would attend it.

    After the announcement, Balbo left the guild pharmaceuticalb with a smile on his face.

    After that, he called Old Grimm over.

    ¡°Burnside...¡± Burnside sat on the chair and thought for a long while before he suddenly said, ¡°I think I should speak to Felic.¡±

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°Tonight¡¯s banquet.¡±

    Old Grimm was immediately somewhat uncertain. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this be too fast?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to wait...¡± Balbo stood up and paced to and fro, circling around the room twice. His expression was unusually frustrated. ¡°I am also left with no other choice. You have already seen it as well just now in the pharmaceuticalb. When that group of as*holes looked at Felic, was that any different from the look of a pack of famished wolves? If we do not act fast, it will be only a matter of time before this young genius is snatched away. By that time, it would be toote even for regrets!¡±

    ¡°Which group of as*holes...?¡±

    ¡°Who else...?¡± Balbo pouted, and counted one to ten with his stretched fingers. ¡°Fatty Hoffman, dead man Sendros, Prince Lionheart Johnathan, Archbishop Englos. Oh, yes, and there is also Killer Rode. Aren¡¯t they cursed as*holes?

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that they are also interested in Felic?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Think about it. Behind Hoffman is the Glittergold trade union. Sendro is backed by the Darkness Shrine, and Mongraine is supported by the Brilliance Shrine. Oro controls Red Moon, and there this is still that bastard, Johnathan. He is the brother of the king. The powers behind all of them are all full of ambition. Who wouldn¡¯t want to control a genius pharmacist like Felic?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I really regret it this time. Why didn¡¯t I listen to you back then? If I¡¯d made my move earlier, wouldn¡¯t there have been no issues now?¡± Once he spoke of this, Balbo¡¯s face was filled with distress. ¡°It is a pity that it¡¯s toote for anything now. If I am not mistaken, Felic¡¯s pharmaceutical standard is already at the master, at the very least. Think about it, a master pharmacist below the age of twenty... how terrifying is this existence?¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Thinking about that young mage¡¯s pharmaceutical ability, Old Grimm could not help but nod.

    ¡°Hence, we cannot wait anymore. Burnside, this time, we must pull him into the Pharmacists Guild.¡± Balbo stood up from the chair vigorously, his eyes seemed to be filled with killing intent. ¡°Pay no mind to expenses!¡±

    This time, even Old Grimm could not help but feel moved. He had known Balbo for tens of years, but in these tens of years, he had never seen Balbo so determined. Old Grimm hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°You¡¯re saying...¡±

    ¡°Book of Ten Thousand Spells.¡±

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Old Grimm suddenly froze.

    ¡°Let me finish....¡± Balbo pulled the chair, signaling Old Grimm to take a seat first. ¡°I am clearer than you how precious the Book of Ten Thousand Spells is. To use it to trade for a master pharmacist may seem like making a loss, but, Burnside, don¡¯t you forget that that master pharmacists is only twenty years old. Based on his talent, I can guarantee that he will break through to the guru realm. At that point, even a hundred books would not make anyone bat a single eyelid, not to mention just one. Burnside, this is ourst chance. If we miss this chance, we would have to pay hundreds of times the price in the future...

    ¡°You¡¯ve really made your decision?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Balbo nodded his head.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll find you a chance to speak with Felic alone during tonight¡¯s banquet.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Burnside. Just now, you mentioned that Felic needs some Leaf of the Origin Tree?¡±

    ¡°Yes, looking at him just now, he seemed to be in a hurry...¡± After Old Grimm finished speaking, he looked at Balbo with doubt. ¡°Why, are you really giving it a shot with this? Balbo, I need to advise you on this. This kid¡¯s character had always been be open to persuasion, but not to coercion. If you are trying to woo him with Leaf of the Origin Tree, it¡¯s better to call it off. Don¡¯t let your image be ripped apart before you have gained any advantage. What dignity would you have left when facing Andoine in the future?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Burnside shook his head. ¡°Rx, I wouldn¡¯t push the limit. What is the Leaf of the Origin Tree to a master pharmacist? Then, Burnside, when the banquet startster, help me pass some Leaf of the Origin Tree to him. Don¡¯t mention about buying or whatever, just say that it¡¯s a gift from me. After all, other than being rather rare, this thing is not worth a lot. It¡¯s rather suitable to use as a friendly gesture.¡±

    ...

    Pharmacists Guild had spent a lot of effort on this banquet. It was grand and magnificent. Almost of all the pharmacists from the gathering came. The only two absentees were the Amman master and disciple pair that had already left in the afternoon.

    Amman was wise as well. Once the gathering ended in the afternoon, he went to look for Balbo and said that there was something urgent that he had to attend to in the Thunder City Guild of Magic. Thus, he would not be attending the banquet...

    Balbo pouted. He thought to himself, <i>I earnestly hoped that you wouldn¡¯t attend. This banquet is a celebration prepared for Felic. If you two, master and disciple, came along, wouldn¡¯t it make everyone uneasy....</i>

    Of course, his face was wreathed in smiles. After pretending to persuade them to stay, he went with the flow and let them leave. As for whether they really went back to Thunder City, only heaven knew.

    When Lin Li walked into the banquet hall, there were numerous people seated already. A group of waiters were holding tes and served exquisite food continuously. sses of fine wine emitted a dream-like luster under the resplendent light. Those acquainted pharmacists were gathered together and conversing, just like in the guild hall back in the morning. The only difference now was that once the pharmacists saw Lin Li enter, they would stand up and passionately greet this young mage that had shocked the whole Pharmacists Guild.

    ¡°Good evening, Master Felic.¡±

    ¡°Master Felic, are you free to talk?¡±

    The group of pharmacists did not feel ufortable at all despite using ¡°master¡± to address a youngster in his twenties. Just based on the pharmaceutical standards this young man had exhibited this afternoon, no matter how proud a person was, he had to admit that Felic definitely lived up to the word ¡°master¡±.

    Furthermore, everyone believed that the word ¡°master¡± would only be use for a few years before it was changed to ¡°guru¡±...

    ¡°How¡¯s it, Master Felic. How do you feel?¡± Both master and disciple sat in a corner. Andoine was speaking to acquaintances beside him, and asionally made some time to ask questions.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and spoke with a tone of annoyance, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m being watched.¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Andoineughed and retracted his gaze. ¡°This is normal. You¡¯ll get used to it after a while.¡±

    ¡°I hope so.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Felic.¡± The both of them chatted for a while before Andoine suddenly remembered something. ¡°During the gathering in the afternoon, Hoffman looked for me.¡±

    ¡°Hoffman?¡± Lin Li thought about it before realizing. ¡°Oh, you mean that fatty?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Fatty Hoffman. He asked me to tell you that he had some difficult questions that he wanted consult you about. If you are able to help him solve it, he is willing to give you the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations.¡±

    ¡°What is this Book of Ten Thousand Incantations?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something good!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Really, I¡¯m not lying to you this time. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations is something good!¡± When Andoine said this, his expression was unusually serious. ¡°The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations is one of the treasures passed down since the Dark Ages. Its previous owner is the well-known Highlord Osric. Apparently, Osric took it from a demon¡¯s pce while leading the magic army on an expedition into the Abyss. After that, for some unknown reasons, it ended up with Fatty Hoffman. Don¡¯t think that that fatty has a dreadful appearance and he doesn¡¯t have much power. I told you that he was well-known in the Breezy ins and he was a shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union. He was somebody that nobody dared to provoke. What he relied on to get there was the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. If you really can obtain it, it would a breeze to walk about in the Breezy ins.¡±

    ¡°So impressive?¡±

    ¡°It is that impressive.¡± Even Andoine was moved when talking about the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. ¡°It¡¯s a pity. Back when Osric invaded the Abyss, he had obtained two books. One was the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, and the other was the Book of Ten Thousand Spells. Although the fatty Hoffman was lucky, he only obtained one book. If he had both books at the same time, I¡¯m afraid even I would be no match for him...¡±

    ¡°Why would Hoffman bring it out, then?¡±

    ¡°How would I know...¡± Andoine pouted his lips. He stretched out his finger and pointed at the fatty that was toasting about as though he was wearing butterflies. ¡°If you want to know, why don¡¯t you ask him?¡±

    ¡°You mean that you approve of me speaking with him?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Andoine nodded his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine to just talk. Anyway, other being good at stirring trouble, you do not have any major ws. You¡¯re also too wise. I never worried about you making a loss with such things. After all, you should just decide for yourself when ites to that point.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go speak to him when I¡¯m freeter...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, don¡¯t hurry back to the Guild of Magic once the banquet is over.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I suddenly thought a way to improve magical power within a short period of time, and I was thinking of finding someone to try it out...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 235 - Book of Ten Thousand Incantations

    <h4>Chapter 235: Book of Ten Thousand Incantations</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Andoine was indeed correct. Lin Li was sitting there for less than ten minutes when the fatty Hoffman walked over with a coquettish smile while holding a wine ss.

    ¡°Good evening, Master Andoine, Master Felic.¡±

    ¡°Good evening, Hoffman...¡± How could a seasoned old veteran like Andoine not know what was Hoffman here for? After greeting him withughter, he stood up from the chair. ¡°You guys have a good talk. I know a few people over there, I¡¯m going over to greet them.¡±

    ¡°Then I shan¡¯t dy you...¡± After seeing off Andoine, Hoffman was smiling till his eyes were like two thin lines. ¡°Master Felic, your performance in the afternoon was too wonderful. Tsk, tsk, tsk, I really dare not imagine that such intricate pharmaceutical skills woulde from such a young person!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re praising me too much...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, this is definitely not ttery.¡± Hoffman shook his head, and his fat face switched from being sheepish to abnormally serious. ¡°I started studying pharmaceutics intensively since I was in my teens. During these past tens of years, I¡¯ve seen countless pharmacists, but I have never encountered anyone that can bepared to you in terms of skill. To put it bluntly, even if it was President Balbo or Master Burnside who are recognized as people of authority in pharmaceutics, they are still behind you in this aspect just by a little...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Hoffman, you are joking. How can Ipare to them.¡± Although Lin Li was being humble with his words, he had to admit that he was thoroughly enjoying the ttery Hoffman was giving him.

    It seemed like Andoine was indeed correct. Hoffman, this fatty that was born a businessman, was indeed interesting. When speaking to him, one would not feel uneasy. He would choose the best words to say and not point out your shorings. Furthermore, his praises were not superficial. His words always had substance. Even if one knew that he was trying to suck up to them, they would still be unable to resist it and want more...

    One was in a good mood, and one was sedulously praising. Naturally, both of them were enjoying themselves in the conversation. After a series of small talk, both looked like old friends that had known each other for a long time. A few pharmacists at the side could not help but turn over and look. They thought to themselves, <i>This damned fatty Hoffman could actually hide it so well, how did we not know that he knew this Master Felic?</i>

    After listening to Hoffman tter him a few more times, Lin Li only then satisfyingly asked, ¡°Oh, yes, Mr Hoffman. I heard Teacher Andoine mention just now that you are looking for me about something?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± Hearing Lin Li bring it up by himself, Hoffman smiled brilliantly. ¡°It¡¯s like this, Master Felic. Some time before, we the Glittergold Trade Union spent a fortune to purchase a potion recipe, but we only discovered that the content of this recipe was too obscure after we had obtained it. I spent more than two months, and I still could notprehend it. After that, I visited many famous pharmacists such as Sendros, Johnathan, and Englos, but the results were almost the same. Nobody could help me solve this problem. I even thought this recipe was an impossible task all the way until I met you, Master Felic, today at the Pharmacists Guild...¡±

    ¡°This... Mr Hoffman, you really are praising me too much. I¡¯m not gonna hide it from you. Although I am able to concoct the Void Power Potion, it was only because I have encountered it before. Compared to Mr Sendros, His Highness Johnathan, and Archbishop Englos, I still have much to learn. Even if I wanted to help, I would be powerless to render assistance to a recipe that even they could not solve...¡±

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re too humble...¡± The smile on Hoffman¡¯s face was still as bright as ever. ¡°How about this, Master Felic. I, in the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s name, promise you that as long as you are willing to give it a try, the Glittergold Trade Union will still give you a handsome reward regardless of whether it¡¯s sessful or not. The price would be at least a million gold coins. What do you think about that?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Even though Lin Li looked calm, he had a shock. The Glittergold trade union was really generous¡ªa million gold coins could be obtained just by giving it a shot. Wasn¡¯t it to make ducks and drakes of this million gold coins if he just did the work without putting in any effort should he not feel like helping?

    ¡°As for the reward for being sessful, I already spoke to Master Andoine about it...¡± Hoffman smiled confidently, and continued to tempt Lin Li with the generous rewards. ¡°I have a Book of Ten Thousand Incantations on me. It was taken from a Greater Demon¡¯s pce back when the Highlord Osric led an expedition into the Abyss. Not only does it harbor great power, it¡¯s also said to contain a big secret. If you can help meplete this recipe, I will give you the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, Mr Hoffman, let me think about it...¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok...¡± Seeing that the other party did not reject immediately, Hoffman¡¯s face could not help but show a trace of happiness. ¡°Oh, yes, Master Felic. I will be staying at nna during this one month. After you are done considering it, you can tell me anytime.¡±

    ¡°Where can I find you?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± Hoffman took out a crystal card hurriedly. ¡°This is the Glittergold Bank¡¯s VIP card. If you want to look for me, just bring this VIP Card to the Glittergold Bank¡ªany Glittergold Bank would do. There will be people that will satisfy all your needs.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Lin Li did not stand on ceremony; he just took the card.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Master Felic...¡± When Hoffman stood up, he smiled mysteriously, and said, ¡°Standing in a pharmacist¡¯s point of view, I must tell you that this recipe is really interesting.¡±

    ¡°Is it?¡±

    ¡°I swear!¡± Hoffman looked very serious, but he stopped short of the climax. ¡°As for what¡¯s so interesting, you¡¯ll know once you see it.¡±

    Hoffman didn¡¯t leave for long before Andoine sneaked back.

    ¡°How did the talk go?

    ¡°It¡¯s over. Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. Hoffman¡¯s motive for finding me was to help him solve a recipe. If it¡¯s sessful, I will get the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. If not, I will get a million gold coins...¡±

    ¡°So, you agreed to it?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I told him that I need to consider...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to consider...¡±

    ¡°To whet his appetite first, after all we are not in a hurry...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Andoine immediately rolled his eyes. Initially, he was worried that this kid was losing out. He did not imagine that he would be so immoral. It was something beneficial to everyone and he was still whetting the other¡¯s appetite. Andoine thought about the anxious expression Hoffman had had while looking for him, and did not know how anxious Hoffman would be right now...

    ¡°Is that Book of Ten Thousand Incantations really so powerful?¡±

    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s absolutely powerful!¡± Andoine said resolutely.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll think of a way to get this thing.¡± Honestly, Lin Li was very interested in this Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. It was not only because Andoine said it was very powerful. The main point was that this thing was a relic of Osric. Maybe this Book of Ten Thousand Incantations contained a secret rted to the Eternal Furnace.

    ¡°Felic, why are you sitting here. You are the main character today. Aren¡¯t you going to drink with everyone?¡± Balbo walked over with full of smiles as the duo chatted.

    ¡°Good evening, President Balbo.¡± Once he saw that it was Balbo, Lin Li hurriedly stood up and greeted him.

    ¡°Take a seat, youngsters should not be so reserved.¡± The smile on Balbo¡¯s face was unusually warm. ¡°Andoine, I am really jealous of you this time. Look at your disciple, and then look at my disciple. It¡¯s like heaven and earth. How are you so lucky?¡±

    Andoine was not courteous at all while talking about this issue. He replied proudly, ¡°That¡¯s because your judgment is not as good as mine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s, that¡¯s...¡± Balboughed, embarrassed.

    As legendary-mage for tens of years, Andoine had never thought that he would be able to put on airs just like today. In his exhration, he did not continue putting Balbo in a tough spot. ¡°As old friends for tens of years, don¡¯t say that I did not give you respect. I¡¯ll go walk around; if you have anything to say, then say it quickly.¡±

    After seeing Andoine leave, Balbo chatted with Lin Li again before he brought forth the excuse that he¡¯d thought of long ago. ¡°Felic, I heard from Burnside that you seem to require some Leaf of the Origin Tree?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed I do require some Leaf of the Origin Tree. I¡¯m not sure if you, President Balbo, would be willing to sell me some.¡± This time, Lin Li did not hide anything. After all, the issue about the Leaf of the Origin Tree had to be brought up to Balbo.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to sell. You have helped the Pharmacists Guild with two big favors today. I was thinking of how should I thank you. How much can a little bit of Leaf of the Origin Tree amount to. Just tell me how much you need and I will ask Burnside to bring it to you in a bit.¡±

    ¡°Thank you in advance then, President Balbo.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Balbo finished speaking with a vehement expression before he carefully brought up the proper business at hand. ¡°Oh, yes, Felic, what do you think of the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good.¡±

    Once he heard ¡°it¡¯s pretty good¡±, Balbo immediately became overjoyed and was waiting in excitement for more while inching his ear forward. Who knew that he waited for nothing. After a minute or so, the President finally reacted. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded. His expression showed that it was as it ought to be.

    ¡°...¡± Balbo did not know whether tough or cry. He had asked so many questions because he was waiting for this kid to praise the Pharmacists Guild a little, and then he would go with the flow and offer an invitation to the kid. Who knew that he waited for so long and only got a ¡°it¡¯s not bad¡± in return. No matter how articte Balbo was, this invitation could only be stuck in his throat.

    Balbo thought about it for a while before deciding not to beat around the bush. The President coughed, clearing his throat, and then his expression became serious. ¡°Felic, I¡¯m not sure if you have any interest in joining the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li was really troubled. In the afternoon, Old Grimm had asked him to be a guest speaker and got rejected. He did not think that this President would not give up and came over personally. Lin Li thought about it, and decided to rify his words. ¡°President Balbo, you should know that I am a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. I¡¯m afraid it might not be suitable to switch over to the Pharmacists Guild?¡±

    ¡°Felic...¡± This young man¡¯s rejection was already within Balbo¡¯s calctions. After thinking about it for a while, he brought forth the excuse he had prepared before. ¡°Actually, there are some things that I thought of telling you in the morning. It¡¯s such a waste for a talented pharmacist like yourself to stay at a ce like Jarrosus...¡±

    After reaching this point, Balbo felt that his words were somewhat inappropriate, and he hastily made corrections. ¡°Of course, I was not saying anything about the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. I¡¯m only trying to tell you that a stage like Jarrosus is too small, there is no room for a genius like you. Do you know that I, Balbo, have lived for more than a hundred years and I have not seen a genius like you before? Do you know what it means to be a twenty year old pharmaceutics master? This means that if you are willing to work hard coupled with a suitable environment, you would be be a true pharmaceutics guru within ten years!¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡± Lin Li pouted his lips. He was too embarrassed to tell Balbo that there was no need for ten years¡ªhe was already a pharmaceutics guru. The only thing that could move him might only be the unparalleled Divine Smith, but how could the visionary Divine Smith realm be reached purely by hard work and environment?

    ¡°Ok, then...¡± After meeting such an unambitious fe, Balbo could let out a sigh. ¡°Even if you do not want to attain a higher pharmaceutical standard, you still require the necessary herbs, right? What the guild has is not just herbs, we also have immense wealth. As long as it¡¯s herbs you want, we will have the way to obtain it for you. Would the Jarrosus Guild of Magic be able to provide these for you? Stop lying to yourself, Felic. You and I are very clear on what sort of ce Jarrosus is.¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°Also!¡± Without waiting for Lin Li to speak, Balbo already spoke unceasingly. ¡°There is something you must know. Ever since the Dark Ages ended, the Pharmacists Guild is the closest ally of the Supreme Council. If you want to obtain a more powerful magical strength and learn even more profound magical knowledge, then joining the Pharmacists Guild is the best choice. What can you get from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic? An annual young mage¡¯s trial or a chance to learn once every three years? As long as you are willing to join the Pharmacists Guild, I can even personally request for you all sorts of lost incantations. Even Andoine can¡¯t ess to some of them!¡±

    ¡°President Balbo...¡±

    ¡°Let me finish...¡± Once Balbo reached this point, he was already rather worked up. ¡°Felic, I am not afraid to be honest with you. I made a big decision this time. As long as you join the Pharmacists Guild, I am willing to give up everything. You can ask Burnside, I have even prepared a copy of the Book of Ten Thousand Spells for you. As long as you are willing to join, this treasure that has been passed down from the Dark Ages would belong to you!¡±

 Chapter 236 - Twilight Forest

    <h4>Chapter 236: Twilight Forest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Book of Ten Thousand Spells?¡± Once Lin Li heard this name, his heart was moved. He immediately remembered what Andoine had told him previously. Back when Osric mounted an expedition into the Abyss, he took two books from the Greater Demon Pce. Wasn¡¯t the Book of Ten Thousand Spells one of them?

    Wasn¡¯t this too coincidental?

    Hoffman who had the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations had just left, and then Balbo, who had the Book of Ten Thousand Spells, came right up. Furthermore, the old man and the fatty both wanted to gift these treasures to him. Thus, Lin Li could not help but feel suspicious. Could it be that these two had actually talked about it before?

    ¡°How¡¯s it?¡± Seeing that Lin Li was silent, Balbo immediately felt ted. At such times, not receiving a direct rejection meant that there was still hope. It meant that this genius pharmacist was finally moved by the Book of Ten Thousand Spells.

    Frankly speaking, this time, Balbo was correct.

    Upon hearing the Book of Ten Thousand Spells, Lin Li immediately hesitated. This was a relic of the Highlord Osric. Even a legendary powerhouse like Andoine, much less Lin Li, would disy a face of admiration when these two books were mentioned. He had once said that even he himself would feel fearful if somebody could have these two books simultaneously,

    Who would not be moved by a power that even a legendary-mage would be fearful of?

    However...

    Temptations were just temptations. Joining the Pharmacists Guild was another matter itself.

    ¡°President Balbo, thank you for giving me so much credit...¡± Lin Li¡¯splexion was very sincere when he said that. ¡°Honestly, the terms that you¡¯ve given me are very favorable. If I said that I¡¯m not moved, I would be lying. Regretfully, I have always beenzy. I would not change anything that I have grown ustomed to. You¡¯re right. Jarrosus is rather remote, and the Emerald Tower pales inparison to the Pharmacists Guild, but I am already used to all of these. I am used to Gerian¡¯s fiery temper, the deserted Emerald Tower, as well as the inferior mages. I am veryfortable there. I do not wish to adapt to a new environment, and neither do I want to chase after the peak of Pharmaceutics. I hope that President Balbo can understand.¡±

    Even though the reasons were rather far-fetched, when Lin Li said it, it was usually sincere. Even Balbo, who was rejected, did not get angry after hearing it. He only stared nkly at Lin Li for a while before he helplessly let out a sigh. ¡°Seems like my luck is way worse than Andoine¡¯s...¡±

    After seeing off Balbo, Lin Li decided to change a spot to sit, yet he realized that somebody had targeted him again.

    This time, it was Prince Lionheart Johnathan.

    It was the same as before, ttery and chatting while showing friendliness diligently towards Lin Li. That expression and mannerism onlycked patting his chest while he made a promise for his brother to offer Lin Li a title simr to chief pharmacist in the pce.

    After His Highness left, the Archbishop came over.

    After that was the Necromancer...

    And then the assassin...

    During this evening, all of the big shots amongst the pharmacists were like musical chairs, revolving around Lin Li continuously. They took turns, causing the quiet corner to be bustling.

    Lin Li was so busy that he was sweating profusely. He managed to shake off these big shots with much difficulty. He thought that maybe he could finally rest for a bit, yet he did not imagine that he had not even warmed up his butt before those pharmacists that did not have the same backing as those before had already started being impatient from waiting. At this point, when those big shots left, they immediately came over like a swarm. They cozied up simultaneously and brazenly showed friendly smiles, making Lin Li feel like he had been surrounded by a swarm of flies. No matter how he covered his ears, there would always be a constant buzzing sound.

    Just when Lin Li was about to be driven mad, Andoine returned. The old man had his hands behind his back and took his time to walk over from afar. asionally, some acquainted pharmacists would walk up and greet him with a zealous look. However, they only got back a slight nod or a cocky ¡°yes¡± most of the time. It could be said that none of them was able to make him stop and engage in small talk.

    There was no choice. Andoine could not help but be cocky.

    This old man¡¯s disciple was the person most sought after. Just with a bottle of Void Power Potion, this young man¡¯s name would be written in the history of pharmaceutical development. Who would not want to have a good rtionship with such a genius of a pharmacist? The Pharmacists Guild, Brilliance Shrine, Darkness Shrine, Glittergold Trade Union, and Fn royal family were powerful enough, right? Even these big shots automatically tried to be friendly with him. What more all of the small fries?

    ¡°Felic,e over for a while. I have something to discuss with you,¡± Andoine shouted from a far; he was exuberant.

    ¡°Oh, ok, ok...¡± Lin Li nodded, and hastily escaped from the entrapment of pharmacists.

    This time, no matter how unwilling the group of pharmacists were, they could only stand there and watch on.

    There was no other way. The master and disciple had business to discuss. Could they thicken their skin and walk up?

    ¡°How was it, Master Felic. How do you feel tonight?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Lin LI turned around with lingering fear and looked. He saw that the group of pharmacists were like a pack of famished wolves staring at him. He immediately felt goosebumps on his neck. Lin Li stood there and gritted his teeth while saying, ¡°Only an asshole is a master!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Andoine almost lost his breath.

    ¡°Oh, sorry sorry, Mentor. This is not meant for you...¡± Lin Li suddenly remembered that within this banquet hall, he was not the only master. It was especially so for the one beside him who had been a master for tens of years.

    ¡°How¡¯s it, Master Felic. Are you annoyed?¡± Andoine ced heavy emphasis on the word ¡°master¡± as though it was revenge.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Actually, this is nothing much. In the year when I just had broken through to the Legendary Realm, I was almost the same as you. It was as though countless people were trying to be friendly overnight. This world, Anril, is just that practical. Once someone bes famous, this would be the oue.¡±

    ¡°How did you deal with it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. They want to rope you in? Then just let them do that. If they want to be friendly, just let them be friendly. Anyway, as long as you don¡¯t dere where you stand and provoke anyone, naturally nobody would trouble you. Whatever benefits and advantages there are, just take as much as you can, but there is something you must remember. Before you make your final decision, you must absolutely maintain a neutral position. You must not sway towards anyone. This point is rather important. As long as you have not made your decision, they still stand a chance!¡±

    ¡°Are they that stupid?¡±

    ¡°Just watch. They might be stupider than you think...¡± Andoine nced at the big shots within the banquet hall and let out a sneer. ¡°Tonight¡¯s banquet is merely the beginning. Wait till you are back at the Guild of Magic. Only then will you really feel how passionate these people are...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, what did Balbo speak to you about just now?¡±

    ¡°What else...¡± Lin Li pouted his lips and repeated what Balbo had said.

    ¡°Book of Ten Thousand Spells?¡± After listening midway, Andoine suddenly frowned. ¡°I did not think that the Book of Ten Thousand Spells would actually be in the hands of Balbo. It¡¯s a pity that you are too stubborn. If you are willing to join the Pharmacists Guild, coupled with the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, I would feel at ease letting you go to the Breezy ins even if you did not break through to the Legendary Realm...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know that I¡¯ve always been very sensitive. There are some things that I just can¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s leave the matter about the Book of Ten Thousand Spells aside, we¡¯ll think of somethingter.¡±

    Andoine was right. Lin Li was the main character in tonight¡¯s banquet. Hundreds of pharmacist, regardless of whether they were acquaintances or not, would surround Lin Li simultaneously. There were all sorts of wooing, friendliness, and methods¡ªso much that even an old fox like Andoine could not handle them all.

    ...

    The banquet only ended up until the wee hours of the night. Both master and disciple dragged their exhausted bodies back, but they did not return to the amodation that the Pharmacists Guild had prepared for them. Instead, they stealthily left the Pharmacists Guild and went straight to the Twilight Forest.

    In the middle of the forest stood a tall and rugged tower.

    All of the adventurers in the Fn Kingdom knew that the most dangerous thing in the Twilight Forest was not magical beasts, but a tower in the middle of the forest. It was because the owner of the tower was the legendary-mage Andoine.

    ¡°Ok, kid, don¡¯t sleep first.¡± Once they entered the gates of the tower, Andoine started interrogating Lin Li. ¡°While the night is still young, tell me what happened in the past month. You seem to be rather unusual. I haven¡¯t seen you for a month, and you actually dared to break through to the Archmage realm?¡±

    ¡°How is this not normal...¡± Lin Li pouted his lips and did not stand on ceremony. He just found a chair himself and sat down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I am joking with you. Magic is a very dangerous thing. An abnormal increase could make you regret forever!¡±

    ¡°is it true?¡± Lin Li looked at Andoine¡¯s expression, and it did not seem like he was joking. Instantly, he could not help but be scared. He repeated everything that happened during this period of time with a perturbed mood, from the trials mission at the Shadowglen to the Eternal Furnace at the Fire Plume Ridge. Of course, the main point was his breakthrough inside the Eternal Furnace.

    ¡°No wonder...¡± When Andoine heard this, he was suddenly enlightened. His gaze towards Lin Li had traces of fear. ¡°It really is a miracle that you could survive up till now!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± After hearing Andoine¡¯s serious tone, Lin Li could not help but feel frightful.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Let me tell you, you are in big trouble...¡± Andoine was gloating over Lin LI¡¯s predicament. ¡°Tonight, I was hesitating whether to keep you here for a few days. Great, I don¡¯t have to hesitate anymore. Without eight or ten days, you don¡¯t even have to think about returning to nna!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 237 - Dragon Roosting Plateau

    <h4>Chapter 237: Dragon Roosting teau</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Andoine did not mention as to what trouble it was. He just looked at Lin Li sympathetically for a while before shaking his head and returning to his bedroom. It caused Lin Li¡¯s feelings to be in a mess for the whole night. Lin Li went through his memories about the Eternal Furnace, starting from meeting Connoris till fusing with the Spiritual Brand. Lin Li¡¯s memories were abnormally detailed, not daring to leave a single detail out as he was afraid that this little details might harm him.

    Yet, after reminiscing back and forth, his head was about to burst and still he could not think what went wrong. Hey on the bed, tossing and turning all the way till the sky started to light up before he finally gave in to the exhaustion and fell asleep.

    Who knew that in the early hours of the next morning, he got called by Andoine to go into the pharmaceuticalb before he could even open his eyes. He did not know what medicine this old man took to be so excited early in the morning. When Lin Li walked through the door, he immediately saw him busy recording; the crucible was boiling. Before he even got close, there was thick scent of the peacebloom¡¯s sap permeating and there was a goblet full of sky-blue-colored liquid at the side. Lin Li took a sniff before he realized that this old man was actually concocting the Awakening Potion!

    ¡°How¡¯s it, this bottle of Awakening Potion of mine isn¡¯t too shabby, right?¡± Andoine raised his head amidst the white fog. He was so pleased with himself it simply could not be concealed.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not bad.¡± Lin Li nodded. His gaze shifted for a bit andnded on the bunch of ss shards at back of Andoine. ¡°Of course, if you didn¡¯t shatter so many goblets, it would be better.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Andoine¡¯scent expression immediately froze. However, luckily the old man was thick-skinned enough. Other than letting out an embarrassedughter, he did not feel any shame at all.

    ¡°Could it be that you called me over so early just to let me see this bottle of Awakening Potion?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± After being reminded by Lin Li, Andoine then remembered the business on hand. ¡°There¡¯s a small favor I would like to ask of you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°This morning, I realized that my Teleportation Portal broke. I am looking for someone to help me find out what¡¯s wrong with it.¡±

    ¡°You really think too highly of me...¡± Lin Li pouted his lips and thought, <i>Your Teleportation Portal really broke down at the right time. When I¡¯m not here, nothing happens. When I¡¯m here, it would have issues. Does it mean that other that I am always causing trouble, I am also cursed such that even your Teleportation Portal was jinxed?</i>

    ¡°You see, I am also very old. Things like chores... are you that impolite to make me do it myself?¡±

    ¡°Forget it, forget it. I¡¯ll just go. When do I leave?¡±

    ¡°The faster, the better.¡± Andoine brought Lin Li down to the basement while speaking.

    A ce like basement had never been well-liked by anyone. Usually, the basement of a Guild of Magic was meant for keeping all sorts of criminals. For example, in the Emerald Tower and nna¡¯s Guild of Magic, the environment inside the basement was dark and moist. While walking inside, all sorts of painful groans could be heard.

    However, Andoine¡¯s basement opened up Lin Li¡¯s eyes. It was dry and cool, unlike a prison. The two Illuminating Spells fixed at the top were radiating a gentle yet bright light, illuminating the whole room.

    In the center of the basement, there was arge portal. The dark red structure could be described as something of extremeplexity. Even with Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of magic, reading it proved to be somewhat difficult. Some of the magical materials used could only be said to be luxurious. There wererge amounts of Air Spirit Crystals and Seven Degrees Adamantine as well as all sorts of colored magical gemstones. Lin Li roughly estimated that the price of just this portal would be millions of gold coins.

    ¡°The portal you¡¯re looking at now was made by the Supreme Council personally. There is only a total of twenty-five such portals in the Fn Kingdom. The other twenty-four are controlled by all of therge Guild of Magics. As for the exit of the portal, it¡¯s a secret only known by the Guild¡¯s President. Oh, yes, my portal is a bit more special. Its exit is in a forest in the Dragon Roosting teau.¡±

    ¡°What has it got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know in a bit...¡± Andoine¡¯sughter was somewhat mysterious.

    ¡°Tell me, Master, what are you asking me to do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Later, when you¡¯ve been teleported by this Teleportation Portal, find out what went wrong at the exit. I think that with your knowledge of magic, reading it should not be much of a problem, right?¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and was about to stand on the Teleportation Portal.

    ¡°What are you rushing for...¡± Andoine pulled him back. ¡°Do you know what I am talking about? The position of the exit is at the Dragon Roosting teau. You did not even prepare and you just hurriedly went over. Aren¡¯t you afraid that you will run into trouble?¡±

    ¡°Can I not be anxious...¡± Lin Li pouted his lips and thought, <i>Isn¡¯t this bullsh*t. Who was the one that told me that breaking through to the Archmage realm so quickly isn¡¯t normal? Who was the one that told me I could run into big trouble? Why don¡¯t you try it yourself. Let¡¯s see if you would be more anxious than me if you knew that breaking through to the Legendary Realm isn¡¯t normal and that you would run into trouble...</i>

    ¡°The Dragon Roosting teau isn¡¯t simple. You¡¯d better prepare yourself and bring along sufficient necessities. Don¡¯t skimp on whatever scrolls or potions. I don¡¯t wish to see my disciple die because of such a small matter.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know...¡± After being nagged at by Andoine, Lin Li remembered something. The scrolls or potions would not be needed after all¡ªthe Ring of Endless Storm had them all. There was something that required Andoine¡¯s action, though. Lin Li searched around in the Ring of Endless Storm and took out the Dragon¡¯s Eye that had been kept there for a while. ¡°Oh, yes. Master, do you still remember this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How about doing me a small favor? I want to socket it into the magic staff, but, unfortunately, I never had the required materials on hand. Could you help me think of a way? I don¡¯t have any requirements for the materials, just normal ones would do. It would best if it had better magical conductivity...¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± This time, Andoine was very agreeable. ¡°Leave the gem here first. When I¡¯m back, I will definitely make you a good magic staff.¡±

    ¡°Ok. Then I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± After Lin Li finished speaking, he did not continue to listen to Andoine¡¯s nagging. He just stepped on the Teleportation Portal and released a trace of mana, which instantly activated the magical crystals on the Teleportation Portal.

    Instantly, there was an iparable strength pulling him in. It was like his whole body was being torn into countless fragments. There was seemingly a ray of light from afar that was getting brighter and brighter. Furthermore, it was closing in on him with extreme speed.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    At the instant when he met with that ray of light, Lin Li seemed to have heard a loud sound traveling over. After which, it was as if his surroundings had turned upside down and underwent a change. The nagging Andoine had disappeared. The dry and bright basement had disappeared. The dark red teleportation portal had also disappeared.

    In their ce was a bunch of dark clouds. It was like the weather before a storm. The humidity and warm temperature were choking. The earth under his feet was muddy, and stepping on it felt like stepping on a swamp. Just a little carelessness would cause him to sink in. The surroundings had a monstrous dark brown color, be it the earth, the skies, or the trees.

    This ce should be a forest, but it was just that it was more ghastly and gloomy than any of the forests that Lin Li had seen before.

    ¡°Weird...¡± After sizing up his surroundings, Lin Li could not help but show a trace of doubt on his face. Logically speaking, he came here through the Teleportation Portal, so the ce he was at now should be the exit of the Teleportation Portal.

    But look at this area¡ªwas there a trace of the Teleportation Portal anywhere? Lin Li tried releasing a Detection Spell, but he could not detect any magical waves. Everything seemed to have died in this area. Even the towering trees did not have any scent of life.

    This feeling caused Lin Li to have a foreboding premonition.

    ¡°Damn, why did youe to the Dragon Roosting teau?¡± It was at this moment that Connoris¡¯ exasperated cry traveled across Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Lin Li heart tingled. He probed, ¡°What¡¯s up, Great Soul Trader. You are familiar with this ce?¡±

    ¡°Duh...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± After hearing this, Lin Li¡¯s mood was lifted. ¡°Great Soul Trader, why don¡¯t we make a deal?¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be responsible for letting you out and you will be responsible for guiding me. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± Connoris¡¯ voice seemed to be full of contempt. ¡°Don¡¯t you forget that you¡¯ve promised that you will release me by today. This is what you ought to do. By what virtue do you use that to make a deal with me? Do you think that the Great Soul Trader is easy to deceive?¡±

    ¡°Is it...¡± Lin Li rubbed his chin, and, with malicious intentions, asked, ¡°Then have you heard of something called breaking a promise?¡±

    ¡°What do you want...¡± Connoris was immediately rmed.

    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that my memory recently isn¡¯t too good. If you don¡¯t remind me, I think I might forget about letting you out. Surely you don¡¯t want to see this happen, right?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Connoris almost died from anger.

    ¡°How¡¯s it, do you want to be the guide?¡±

    After being silent for a short while, Connoris seemed to have gritted his teeth, and spat out, ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, you really are a great trader...¡± Lin Li satisfyinglyughed. He opened the Ring of Endless Storm and released Connoris. ¡°Ok, Connoris. Now can you tell me where is this ce?¡±

    ¡°Let me see...¡± Connoris dawdled around for a while before suddenly spouting, ¡°Damn, you are about to be in big trouble soon!¡±

    ¡°Is it that serious...?¡±

 Chapter 238 - Cinder Woods

    <h4>Chapter 238: Cinder Woods</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Its more serious than you think...¡± Connoris voice was as if gloating at Lin Li¡¯s misfortune. After speaking, he even sighed with intoxication. ¡°Ah, the smell of freedom is really refreshing...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost sat on the ground. ¡°Please, can you be more aware that you are a hammer. A hammer still wants to talk about air. Just continue to obediently strike iron...¡±

    ¡°If you are were to be trapped inside a dark space for days, not knowing when you will be released or how long you will be trapped for, then you will understand how I feel!¡± When Connoris spoke of this, his voice was filled with rage.

    ¡°Ok, ok, as long as you obediently give me less trouble, I will try my best to let you stay outside...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Connoris became very excited after hearing that.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, why did youe here?¡± Connoris was not excited for too long before he suddenly thought of a question. ¡°I remember that at the Eternal Furnace, you said you were going back to nna...¡±

    ¡°I went back already, but it¡¯s just that I was unlucky. Somebody¡¯s Teleportation Portal broke down and he asked me to take a look. As for what was the issue, who knows¡ªI already ran into trouble before I could find out. Take a look at this area, how does it look like a Teleportation Portal exit?¡± When Lin Li said this, he became furious. This old man, Andoine, was really too irresponsible. He¡¯d only said that the Teleportation Portal was broken, but did not say how broken it was. It made Lin Li think that it was a small issue; he had not imagined that once he came out from the Teleportation Portal, he could not even find the exit...

    ¡°Who is it that¡¯s so harsh that made youe to the Cinder Woods to check on the Teleportation Portal?¡±

    ¡°My teacher, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°You, you, you... You must owe him a lot of money!¡± Connoris stared in bewilderment. Even when he spoke, he was stuttering. ¡°It¡¯s over. This time, you and I are in big trouble!¡±

    ¡°Just what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Do you know where is this ce? This is the Cinder Woods of the Dragon Roosting teau!¡± Connoris almost shouted out thest sentence.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Once that sentence was said, even Lin Li had a shock. Even though he was not from Anril, he had still heard of the name ¡°Cinder Woods¡±. Early on at the Sunset Mountains, Andoine had told him that Anril had ten ces where the magical beasts were the most ferocious. Even if a legendary powerhouse were to go there, surviving would depend on luck.

    One of those ces was Sunset Mountains. Once the darkness set in, even somebody like Andoine would have no choice but to run.

    It was very unfortunate that the Cinder Woods was one of those ces as well.

    Furthermore, the Cinder Woods was more dangerous for a mage than the Sunset Mountains. It was because it had another name: the Magic¡¯s Grave.

    As to why the Cinder Woods was so dangerous, it was not because there were high-level magical beasts roaming there, but because this dark forest had beenpletely covered by some sort of power. Under the influence of this power, a mage¡¯s strength would be weakened by the highest degree. A legendary-level mage would most likely only be able to exert the power of an Archmage, and an Archmage would be a Magic Shooter that couldn¡¯t even use the Levitation Spell.

    ording to Andoine¡¯s acknowledgment, he had suffered a lot back then.

    Back then, Andoine had just broken through to the Legendary Realm and flew past the Cinder Woods in coquettish manner using the Power of Flight. After that, he met with the terrifying power. A legendary-mage instantly became an Archmage. If it was not because the old man was quick-witted and released a Levitation Spell, he would fall and end up with half of his body paralyzed.

    After many years, when he told Lin Li about this, his face still showed lingering fear.

    ¡°That ce really is scary, it immediately made me drop to level-sixteen. It¡¯s worse than being afflicted by the Mark of Decline!¡±

    Lin Li hastily recited the incantation of the Levitation Spell after thinking about this.

    Indeed...

    After reciting the Levitation Spell¡¯s incantation, nothing had happened. In the past, once his voice descended, he would immediately be surrounded by air magical element. It seemed to have disappeared today. He could not feel any flotation.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± This time, Lin Li thought of banging against the wall. This bleak forest was already very dangerous, and now his magic strength had weakened dramatically. If he were to encounter a powerful magical beast, wouldn¡¯t he be unable to fight back even if he wanted to?

    Lin Li did not give up, and tried a few more spells consecutively.

    Luckily, other than the Levitation Spell, most of the other spells could be used. Lin Li finally could be more rxed. At least he was not as unlucky as Andoine, dropping four levels immediately. Based on the current situation, he¡¯d only dropped by a single level. For Lin Li, the loss of one level was eptable.

    After all, he had only just broken through to the Archmage realm. He did not have the time to master many of the level-fifteen spells, and there were many more powerful spells that could only be mastered at level-sixteen, like me Shield. It might seem very scary to be a Magic Shooter from an Archmage, but for Lin Li, he¡¯d only lost ess to a Levitation Spell.

    ¡°Luckily...¡± Lin Li wiped off the sweat; his mind was more stable now.

    It was fine not to have the Levitation Spell. As long as he had the power of level-fourteen, with the addition of all sorts of potions and scrolls, normal magical beasts should not be an issue.

    ¡°Connoris, you got any suggestions?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯m just a hammer.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was so angry that he rolled his eyes, and thought, <i>Now you remember that you are a hammer...</i>

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we search around?¡± Seeing that the other party¡¯s expression was off, Connoris felt rather guilty, and carefully suggested, ¡°After all, I am familiar with the routes in this forest. I remember that this ce is not far from the Breezy ins. If we can¡¯t find it, we can still go to Breezy ins and then find a way back to nna...¡±

    ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s search around.¡± Lin Li thought about it. Other than this, there was no other way. He instantly picked up Connoris and carried it on his back.

    One had to admit that this image was rather weird.

    He was wearing a ck robe and holding the Winter Staff in his hand, yet he was carrying a hammer on his back. This was rather grotesque no matter how one looked at it.

    ¡°This damned ce...¡± Lin Li scolded while walking.

    The environment there was indeed too abominable. Even if it was when he had just descended from the Sunset Mountains, he had never felt so tortured like today. There was not a single bit of ecological bnce. The sky above his head seemed to have been dyed. The dark clouds did not dissipate, and the earth below his feet was muddy, slippery, and wet. A bit of carelessness would cause him to fall. The countless trees were dense, and every tree was almost identical. If it were not because of Connoris, the old horse which knew the way, Lin Li would have gotten lost long ago with his bad sense of direction.

    On top of that...

    Even this old horse, Connoris, was unreliable sometimes.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I remember this ce. Walking forward for less than two hundred meters, you will see a small wooden hut. I remember that should be the living quarters of a few hunters. If you are lucky, you can rest for a bit there and get some water to drink.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Li was tired and thirsty from walking. He immediately bucked up greatly after he heard that there was ce to rest.

    But when he reached that ce, there was no small wooden hut...

    Other than a stretch of thick and dense damned trees, there was nothing else!

    ¡°Ugh... I meant that 1300 years ago, there used to be a small wooden hut here...¡±

    ¡°Do you believe that I will put you back into the ring?¡± Lin Li almost fainted from anger. Was this as*hole purposely trying to oppose him? It brought up something from 1300 years ago; on top of that, Lin Li was so stupid that he believed it...

    ¡°What can I do. I was sealed in the hammer by Osric 1300 years ago. Have you seen a hammer running around by itself?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Lin Li was really furious. Just when he was about to put this fe back into the ring, he suddenly heard a faint sound from the grass patch in front.

    ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened, and he hid behind a tree.

    After that, he saw that a short and fat silhouette appearing from the trees with a wretched look. He ran forward hurriedly while sneakily looking back in an anxious manner. It was like he stole something and was afraid of getting caught by his master.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li looked at that wretched fat face and immediately felt like a thunderbolt had sted the top of his head.

    <i>This, this, this... Isn¡¯t this Shaun the fatty!</i>

    <i>The hell...</i>

    This time, Lin Li waspletely dumbfounded!

    After arriving at Andoine¡¯s towerst night, Lin Li suddenly remembered something. He had ordered herbs worth tens of thousands of gold coins from Shaun the fatty, but he had been dragged away by Andoine once the banquet ended and he forgot to take the goods from this fe. He was not sure how that fatty wasining about him...

    Lin Li did not think that this fatty seemed to have grown wings overnight and flew straight into the Cinder Woods from nna. Moreover, he had a wretched look. Not sure if he had pilfered something again.

    ¡°Shaun!¡± Lin Li shouted from afar, and the fatty was immediately stunned.

    ¡°M-m-m... Mr Mage?¡± This time, Shaun was not any better off than Lin Li.

    He distinctly remembered that this young mage was still at nna yesterday. Why was he here today? Could it be he was the same as Shaun?

    Shaun subconsciously shook his head. <i>Impossible, this is definitely impossible!</i>

    ¡°Shaun, why did youe here?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Once Shaun heard this, hisplexion became really awkward. He mumbled ¡°this¡± over and over for a long time, and he still could not say anything else.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just casually asking.¡± Once Lin Li saw his expression, how could not know what secrets this fe was hiding? However, Lin Li was very understanding. How could anyone not have any secrets while living? Since Shaun was not willing to divulge it, Lin Li did not question further. He onlyughed and changed the topic. ¡°Oh, yes, why are you in such a panic? Are you selling juvenile magical beasts again?¡±

    ¡°No, no...¡± After being reminded by Lin Li of the past, Shaun¡¯s fat face immediately turned red.

 Chapter 239 - Dragon Hawk

    <h4>Chapter 239: Dragon Hawk</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Oh, yes, Mr. Mage. Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Somebody¡¯s Teleportation Portal broke and I was asked to take a look...¡± After Lin Li spoke, he casually asked, ¡°Oh, yes, have you discovered any Teleportation Portal exit of some sorts around these parts?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s question carried the intention of making a Hail Mary effort. After all there were no leads, so asking would not bring any harm. He did not carry any hope that Shaun would be able give him directions.

    ¡°Teleportation Portal exit?¡± He did not think that the fat bandit actually had a clue after scratching his head. ¡°There¡¯s a ce that looks like it, but I can¡¯t confirm it...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes immediately lit up.

    Shaun nodded his head with seriousness. He lifted his fat fingers and pointed in the distance. ¡°Yes, its at the northern side of the Cinder Woods. Go through the forest in front from here and walk forward for about another hour. Then, you will see a cave. You have to be careful over there because the roads in the cave are moreplicated. After go past that cave...¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Once Lin Li heard about the forest cave, he immediately felt troubled. He had already given up on his own sense of direction. Back at the Fire Plume Ridge, the Silver Hand had given him a map, and he still got lost. For him to be able to find a ce just by pointing a finger, the sun would rise from the west first, not to mention now with how Shaun described it.

    Hence, Lin Li just asked, ¡°Shaun, do me a favor. How about bringing me there?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Shaun looked at the forest behind him, and then looked at Lin Li again. Instantly, he seemed to be abnormally hesitant.

    ¡°How about this, ten thousand gold coins.¡± Lin Li did not say anything else, he just lifted a finger.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Bring me to that ce. The reward is ten thousand gold coins.¡± After he finished, Lin Li lifted a finger again. ¡°If that ce really is the exit of the Teleportation Portal, I will add another ten thousand gold coins. What do you think about it?¡±

    Shaun¡¯s eyes were wide open immediately. At the Pharmacists Guild, he already knew that this young mage was very wealthy, but he did not think that it was till this degree. From the start, ten thousand gold coins was the price, and another ten thousand would be added once the thing was found. This would be a total of twenty thousand. It was equivalent to him working hard at the ck market for a few months.

    But after thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t weird. How could Shaun, who had attended many gatherings, not know who this young mage was? He was the genius pharmacist that even President Balbo was full of praise for. At the banquet yesterday night, Shaun saw it with his own eyes. Even Mr. Hoffman, His Highness Johnathan, and other big shots were trying their utmost to rope in this genius pharmacist.

    How could a person like thisck money? There would be countless people fighting to buy it with astronomical prices just by seeing him casually taking out a bottle of potion.

    But for Shaun, this twenty thousand gold coins was definitely arge sum of money.

    ¡°OK!¡± Shaun gritted his teeth and made his decision.

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    ¡°Follow me, Mr. Mage.¡±

    It was really weird. This fe, Shaun, was short and fat. When he moved, he gave people the impression of someone clumsy. Yet, when he entered the forest, it was as if he had changed into another person. His footsteps were light and quick. Not a single sound was made. The hundred kilograms heavy body had no issues when stepping on the mud. Within a short period, he had brought Lin Li into the depths of the forest.

    On the flipside, Lin Li was having an unusually tough time behind him. He was carrying the heavy Connoris on his back and wearing the Rune Robe. He was tumbling throughout the journey. There were a few times when he almost slipped on the mud. If it was not because of the support from the Hastening Spell, he would have copsed on the floor from exhaustion.

    The forest ahead was getting denser, and the thundercloud in the sky was getting thicker. Lin Li had chills up his spine while walking in the depths of the vast forest. The area asionally had cold breezes, rolling up the leaves and dropping them back on the ground. Even the sound of the breeze seemingly carried an abnormal feel.

    ¡°Grr...¡±

    The growls of magical beasts could be heard once in a while. It sounded near and far at times. It was shrill and ear-piercing. It was always when the sound of the growls had just fallen that it would immediately bring about echo. It was as if the whole Cinder Woods had been covered by a weird aura. Although the two of them did not encounter any danger on the way, Lin Li could not rx at all. It was a short half-an-hour trip, but Lin Li felt that his body had been drenched in sweat...

    ¡°This damned ce...¡± Lin Li cursed while walking. When he returned, he had to speak to Andoine properly. This old man was really creative. He came up with something like the Teleportation Portal being broken and then threw Lin Li into this wretched ce. Then, the next time something broke, would he be thrown into the abyss?

    ¡°Oh, yes, Shaun. How did you discover this ce?¡± The aura in the forest was really pressurizing. Lin Li felt that he was about to be driven mad. He had no choice but to start a conversation in order to alleviate the aura¡¯s pressure.

    ¡°Heh heh, this would take a while...¡± This time, Shaun did not hide it. He just sheepishlyughed. ¡°Mr.Mage, do you still remember the Thunder Eaglet that you wanted?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, the reason why I could discover that ce is somewhat rted to that juvenile Dragon Hawk. Mr. Mage, look over there...¡± As the fatty was talking, he stopped walking. He raised his finger and pointed at a small path in the trees. ¡°From this path, there is a cliff about two thousand meters away. I estimate that there are at least a thousand Thunder Eagle nests on that cliff. The Thunder Eaglet you ordered from mest time was captured on this cliff. Come to think of it, my luck was bad. The other day, I had just caught a Thunder Eaglet and I was discovered by two adult Thunder Eagles. At that time, I was pale from fright and ran desperately towards the forest. I was stumbling on the way and entered that cave. After that, I found out that it could be the exit of the Teleportation Portal...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Lin Li nodded, and could not help but respect this fat bandit. He dared to venture into a Thunder Eagle¡¯s nest for something worth a few thousand gold coins. What sort of spirit was this?

    Unfortunately, he could only deceive people once even though he did this.

    Although the fat bandit usually boasted on the ck market, saying that he had a specialist¡¯s secret taming methods, how could Lin Li not know that the so-called secret taming methods did not exist. It was because he set off on the wrong path. It was impossible to tame magical beasts¡ªsuch as a Thunder Eagle¡ªthat were wilder than their reasoning from the day they were born.

    Based on the what Lin Li knew, the only way was to start taming while the Thunder Eaglets had yet to hatch. Then, just maybe, there might be a small chance... However, this was more dangerous than stealing Thunder Eaglets...

    <i>Wait... Thunder Eagle eggs?</i>

    Lin Li suddenly stopped walking. His eyes were inspecting Shaun¡¯s back. Shaun did not bring any weapons today, just a bag, and it looked full. It was as if it was carrying something round...

    With one look, how could Lin Li not make it out?

    <i>Fu*k, this asshole really is screwing around!</i>

    Could a magical beast¡¯s egg be casually stolen? This was literally making a joke out of death...

    All magical beasts were the same. Before they hatched, juvenile magical beasts and adult magical beasts would always maintain an intricate telepathic link with each other. Stealing a magical beast¡¯s egg at this time was equivalent to having a tracker on the body. No matter where you ran, adult magical beasts would always be able to find you¡ªunless you were a powerhouse at Andoine¡¯s level and obtained it with sheer strength. Otherwise, most people would just end up nursing a grievance when facing an enraged magical beast...

    ¡°Shaun¡ª¡±

    Lin Li could not even finish his sentence, for there was gale tearing through the sky suddenly. Instantly, Lin Li¡¯s body felt like it was being cut by knives. The surrounding trees were shaking violently. The lush branches were making waves in the howling wind, and the sound made from it was permeating the ears continuously. The echoing growls of the magical beasts instantly stopped.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li thought of killing himself. Of all people, he had to ask this bane to be his guide. <i>F*ck, you had to be a magical beast smuggler. Great, now the adults are here. Let¡¯s see, fatty, how you are gonna clean up the mess.</i>

    When the gale started howling, Shaun suddenly stopped. When he looked up at the sky, his fat face was pale from fear.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over...¡± Shaun mumbled to himself, and his fat hands tightly grabbed his bag.

    ¡°F*ck, fatty!¡± Lin Li lost his temper, and his next sentence was like a roar. ¡°What did you steal this time?¡±

    ¡°I, I, I...¡± Shaun¡¯s face was white from fear, and his body was shivering. When he spoke, his teeth were chattering.

    ¡°I my a*s!¡±

    ¡°I, I, I... I stole a Dragon Hawk¡¯s egg...¡±

    ¡°F*cking hell...¡± Lin Li spewed vulgarities in his immense anger.

    Lin Li had seen many reckless people before, but it was a first for him to see someone as reckless as this fatty. <i>F*ck, it¡¯s fine that you are stealing Thunder Eaglets, but you actually dared to try something with the Dragon Hawk. Are youining that you are too fat and nobody is helping you lose weight?</i>

    ¡°What, what, what... what do we do?¡± Shaun looked like a bean sprout wavering amidst the gale. Looking at the res continuously appearing in the sky, Shaunpletely lost hisposure.

    ¡°What else can we do. Run!¡±

    This time, Lin Li did not care about the mud; he grabbed the hems of the mage robe and desperately ran forward. He faintly remembered that Shaun mentioned before that after crossing this stretch of trees, the cave with aplicated terrain would be right in front.

    Yes, yes, yes... The cave. As long as they could enter the cave, they should have escaped from danger.

    Even though the Dragon Hawk¡¯s strength was iparable, would it continue chasing if they were to hide in the cave?

    As for that Dragon Hawk egg inside Shaun¡¯s bag, it will be dealt with once they entered the cave. <i>F*ck, this thing really is a hot potato. It can¡¯t be destroyed or thrown away. I just have to let Shaun carry it and pray that it does not crack; otherwise, both of us will be finished if the adult Dragon Hawk goes mad...</i>

 Chapter 240 - Dragon Hawk Queen

    <h4>Chapter 240: Dragon Hawk Queen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The adult Dragon Hawk swooped in aggressively. The two of them heard a long, gentle growling from the sky just as they ran out of the woods. Then, they saw the dark clouds in the sky being torn apart by a streak of red light. The red light shed through the tumultuous dark clouds. The brilliant feathers and swirling mes of the Dragon Hawk were almost arrogant...

    As the Dragon Hawk charged out of the dark clouds, a gush of heat wave suddenly poured in.

    ¡°Run!¡± Lin Li saw a shing red light the moment he looked up. He lunged himself into the mud almost subconsciously at the thought of the power of an adult Dragon Hawk.

    ¡°Boom!¡± An explosion followed.

    The Dragon Hawk skimmed over the woods in an arrogant manner, and it was followed by a scorching dragon breath. The trees around it burned up and the mud on the ground evaporated instantly. When it came back, thend had turned into the color of scorched earth.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li felt a rush from behind just when he had started to move his body. What was originally an agile movement became a pstick in an instant¡ªhe mmed heavily into the mud like a toad. The pervasive smell of mud sttered all over him. Lin Li spent a while spitting out the stinky mud from his mouth. However, when he turned around, he was dumbfounded by what he saw...

    A mere dragon breath attack had razed a few dozen meters of the woods into ground. It was a piece of dark brown scorched earth at a nce. The whole dense woods had vanished in the dragon breath, leaving only a scene of doomsday.

    ¡°This, this... This is the bloody Dragon Hawk?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe¡ªnot over his dead body¡ªthat a level-16 Dragon Hawk could be so destructive. Just a dragon breath had anihted dozens of meters of woods¡ªthis was almostparable to a legendary-level spell. Not to mention a Dragon Hawk, Lin Li would even believe it if it was said to be a wyrm.

    ¡°F*ck, fatso, what kind of monster have you provoked?¡±

    Fatso had been scared out of his wits, and stammered, ¡°It, it, it... it¡¯s a Dragon Hawk Queen!¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li thought he¡¯d faint. <i>Bloody hell, this fatso is some genius. He has actually stolen from a Dragon Hawk Queen. Why did you not just steal a wyrm¡¯s egg?</i>

    ¡°Let¡¯s... Let¡¯s return the Dragon Hawk¡¯s egg, shall we?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost passed out from anger. If an apology would suffice, why else did they need garrisons?

    ¡°You go...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips, and hid himself deeper into the woods without dignity. ¡°Try negotiating with Her Majesty. Say you¡¯ve taken it by mistake. Ask her if she¡¯ll let us off if you return the egg to her...¡±

    ¡°I... I don¡¯t think she¡¯s up for a negotiation...¡± Fatso swallowed his saliva and hid into the woods ahead of Lin Li.

    ¡°d you know.¡± Lin Li hid himself among the trees, but kept his eyes on the Dragon Hawk Queen hovering in the sky through the gaps between the branches and leaves.

    Luckily, there was still some time...

    Although the Dragon Hawk had the blood of the wyrm, it was not a real wyrm. Even if the one hovering in the sky was the Dragon Hawk Queen, it was still impossible for it to use the dragon breath like a real wyrm. After a dragon breath, it¡¯d need to rest at least for a while, which provided a respite for the two of them.

    Both of them were safe for the time being¡ªuntil the next dragon breath attack.

    However, this was only temporary.

    The two men hiding in the woods seemed to be dancing on the tip of a knife. In fact, they might get themselves killed anytime. An adult Dragon Hawk was at the very least a level-16 magical beast, not to mention that the one before them was the queen of the Dragon Hawks. With its previous dragon breath, it might very well be a power that was close to the legendary-level. Perhaps it was even no weaker than the Smander in the Fire Plume Ridge.

    If there had been a Sword Sage of the Storm in the Fire Plume Ridge, then what was in the Cinder Woods?

    Apart from a stealthy bandit, there was only a rookie Archmage who had just broken through to level-15, and he was only able to exert a level-14 power in this damned woods.

    With their strength, the only thing they could do was to pray that the Dragon Hawk Queen wouldn¡¯t find them so quickly...

    But could such thing be determined by a prayer?

    Despite them looking seemingly safe at present, there was still a high probability of them being burned to ashes with a dragon breath. Moreover, they dared not run. They might be able to drag it out for some time while under the cover of this dense woods. If they ran out, they would immediately be discovered by the Dragon Hawk Queen. When its sharp talons fall, they¡¯d be torn to pieces in a moment.

    ¡°How, how, how...?¡± Lin Li hit his forehead repeatedly. He was about to go insane. Ever since transmigrating to Anril, he had encountered his fair share of danger and a few close calls with death. He had even killed a Smander once.

    But he had never been in such dire straits like present.

    No matter how Lin Li racked his brains, he had to admit that there was absolutely no way out of this situation...

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned...¡± Just as Lin Li was in distress, Connoris, who was on his back, jumped suddenly. ¡°How did youe to provoke the Dragon Hawk?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lin Li¡¯s blood boiled when he heard the fellow¡¯s voice. If Connoris hadn¡¯t pretended to be an old horse who knew the way, he wouldn¡¯t have met the fatso and gotten himself into such a fix.

    ¡°...¡± Connoris shut his mouth sensibly...

    For a moment, the atmosphere in the woods was extremely depressing.

    The Dragon Hawk Queen was still circling in the sky with its gorgeous tail in tow, just like a meteor falling from the sky. The two men in the woods desperately tried to hold onto their breaths, afraid to make a noise. Shaun¡¯s plump face had turned pale from fright, and his small eyes were glued to the sky, keeping a lookout on the Dragon Hawk Queen at all times, while Lin Li was still trying hard to rack his brains, carefully filtering every resource they had. From level-one spells to level-14 spells, from the various potions to the various scrolls, and every item in the Ring of Endless Storm were all given a thought to by Lin Li.

    It was not until this time that he realized¡ªalthough he had many treasures in his hand, nothing could help him out of his predicament...

    ¡°Hey, Connoris, you still alive?¡± After much deliberation, Lin Li decided to hit on Connoris.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Do you have a solution?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯m just a hammer.¡±

    ¡°F*ck, our assess are burning already and you¡¯re still merely a hammer? Great soul merchant, please find a way out. My death is not going to do you any good!¡±

    ¡°How is it no good?¡± Connoris had had enough, and began analyzing scornfully. ¡°If you¡¯re dead, no one will keep me in the ring anymore. As for the Eternal Furnace, I could just find a new owner for it. It doesn¡¯t matter. The Brand Of Dusk is indestructible, anyway...¡±

    ¡°Connoris, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± Lin Li cursed through clenched teeth. ¡°But don¡¯t worry. Before I die, I¡¯ll think of a way to put you in the ring and fuse my Spiritual Brand in itpletely. Unless you can find someone with exactly the same Spiritual Brand as me, don¡¯t ever think of getting out from the ring!¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Connoris started. He stood stunned for a while before respondingmely, ¡°You¡¯re good!¡±

    ¡°d you know. Hurry and think of something. I don¡¯t believe a monster like you who has lived for 1,000 years can¡¯t handle a Dragon Hawk!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush me...¡± Connoris grumbled, then eximed suddenly, ¡°I remembered!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Spill it!¡±

    ¡°I remembered...¡± Connoris said confidently. ¡°There¡¯s a creature the Dragon Hawk fears!¡±

    ¡°Which creature?¡±

    ¡°The Wyrm!¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Lin Li nearly kicked the hammer. ¡°Are you kidding? Who isn¡¯t afraid of the Wyrm now in Anril? If I could get the Wyrm to help me, I wouldn¡¯t be here, wasting my time badgering with you, and would have made it kill that little red birdy long ago...¡±

    ¡°Be patient and listen to me... The Dragon Hawk¡¯s fear of the Wyrm is different from that of other magical beasts. Ordinary magical beasts are afraid of their power. Where the Wyrm exists, there will not be any magical beast within a hundred miles¡¯ radius. But the Dragon Hawk¡¯s fear of Wyrmes from the memory deep in the soul. Because they have the blood of wyrms themselves, this fear was probably engraved in their souls even before they were born. Just a howl from the wyrm, or even a slight hint of wyrm¡¯s aura, is enough to drive away any Dragon Hawk.¡±

    ¡°Wyrm¡¯s aura?¡± Lin Li frowned, then suddenly pped his thigh. ¡°Got it!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t care to exin at all in a haste. He hurriedly opened the Ring of Endless Storm and took out a fist-sized item.

    ¡°Luckily, I didn¡¯t throw it away...¡± Lin Li held a dull stone in his hand, but he seemed to be holding it like it was something precious. The Wyrm¡¯s aura? This stone was dug out from the body of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Even if it was not a magical crystal and a gallstone instead, it would still carry a trace of the aura of the Dragon of Destruction, wouldn¡¯t it?

    That was one of the four Dragon Aspects in the Endless World. It absolutely could not be mentioned at the same length as other ordinary dragons. Once its aura was emitted, even a real dragon would bow in trepidation, let alone the Dragon Hawk Queen.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°O great soul merchant, can¡¯t you see? This is something from a wyrm¡¯s body. How¡¯s it? The wyrm¡¯s aura it emits is pretty strong, eh?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t feel it at all.¡± Connoris did not give Lin Li face at all. ¡°If you¡¯re depending on this to scare the Dragon Hawk away, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be disappointed...¡±

 Chapter 241 - Little Dragon Hawk

    <h4>Chapter 241: Little Dragon Hawk</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± How could Lin Li believe it? Others might not know the origin of the item in his hand, but how could he not know? That was what he got straight from the body of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas. How could it not possess any wyrm¡¯s aura? Surely the wyrms in Endless World couldn¡¯t be much different from the wyrms in Anril?

    ¡°No...¡± Just as Lin Li was in a state of bewilderment, Connoris started mumbling to himself. ¡°That stone of yours is odd. The aura it emits isn¡¯t from the wyrm; it¡¯s even stronger. Could it be that there¡¯s a creature in Anril that¡¯s more powerful than the wyrm?¡±

    Lin Li pursed his lips, and thought, <i>You almost frightened me to death...</i>

    Azardas was the Dragon of Destruction, one of the four Dragon Aspects in Endless World. If it hadn¡¯t been for the hole in the Endless World, perhaps even God himself couldn¡¯t have killed it. How could something from an ordinary wyrmpare with one from the Dragon of Destruction?

    ¡°Strange. Where did you get such a powerful thing from...?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business...¡± Lin Li snapped. He raised his head with worry and looked at the Dragon Hawk Queen in the sky.The zing me and fire elements it released were unbridled. Lin Li knew it wasn¡¯t long before the next dragon breath attack.

    ¡°If you have time, use it to think of a way out. We¡¯ll never see the day if the Dragon Hawk Queen doesn¡¯t go away...¡±

    ¡°What ways would I have...?¡± At the mention of this, Connoris felt aggrieved and began to grumble. ¡°You¡¯ll have to me yourself. If you were stronger¡ªand I¡¯m not even saying the Legendary Realm, if you were at least level-18¡ªyou could summon the Eternal Furnace from the fissure of the World of Void. Then, we could use the magical crystal from a fire wyrm to drive the Dragon Hawk Queen away. So what if I know the weakness of the Dragon Hawk Queen? Do you expect me, a hammer, to fight on your behalf...?¡±

    ¡°Then, how?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to make a Hail Mary effort. Didn¡¯t you say this stone was taken from a wyrm¡¯s body? We¡¯ve no other choice, anyway. We¡¯ll just have to give this stone a try. If it doesn¡¯t work, you¡¯ll just have to resign yourself to fate...¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, what kind of wyrm was it?¡±

    Lin Li pondered, and replied, ¡°It should be a fire wyrm.¡±

    ¡°Try to stimte it with fire magic. If it¡¯s really a fire magical crystal, the stimtion will most likely drive its power out. But, to be honest, I¡¯m not 100% confident, either...¡± At this point, Connoris suddenly eximed, ¡°To hell!¡±

    ¡°What¡ª¡± Before Lin Li could finish his sentence, he heard a clear, long howling from above him, and a red light swept across the sky. In that moment, Lin Li felt like he was enveloped by a scorching breath...

    <i>F*ck, this is too despicable!</i>

    The thought crossed his mind in a sh. He didn¡¯t even have the time to curse out before he was drowned in the heat wave in an instant. It all came too fast. Without warning, the Dragon Hawk Queen swooped in and released a dragon breath¡ªthe dragon breath was directed straight to the woods Lin Li and Shaun were hiding...

    The fiery dragon breath fell, and tens of meters of forest was reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. In that instant, Lin Li felt as if he had been baked, and as if his body didn¡¯t belong to himself. He felt only numbness from head to toe. Under the surging heat wave, he was like a kite being sent out into the distance. Lin Li only had time to release a Frost Shield in hopes that this thinyer of protection could reduce the impact of the me for himself.

    However...

    How could a Frost Shield resist a dragon breath that was near legendary-level? The Frost Shield turned into a puddle of water as soon as Lin Li finished his recitation, and the puddle very soon evaporated. What followed was numbness, then an excruciating pain. Lin Li felt as if his body was torn apart¡ªthe pain was even more severe than having a sharp knife stuck in his body.

    Lin Liy in a pile of ashes after the fire. He had lost the support of his legs, and his left hand limped weakly. Lin Li knew that it had been broken by the impact just now. His right hand, which was still functional at the moment, was holding onto the stone tightly.

    The Dragon Hawk Queen was rampantly venting its anger. The gorgeous red figure glided across the sky above the forest with its long ming tail in tow. Its cries¡ªwhich were getting louder and louder¡ªwere filled with anger and impatience. Its sharp eyes were shing red as they swept through the woods. Lin Li knew that it was searching for the Dragon Hawk egg. Once the egg was found, Shaun would have to be burned to death...

    <i>Hold on. Shaun...</i>

    It was only then that Lin Li realized Shaun had been gone. Where did the culprit who¡¯d started this mess flee to? The whole woods had been burned to the ground with the dragon breath earlier. Lin Li barely managed to keep himself alive with the Frost Shield. Shaun was farcking in strength aspared to him, and didn¡¯t have any Frost Shield on him. Could he be dead already?

    Darn, the Dragon Hawk¡¯s egg was still with him...

    Panicked, Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less about pain. He gritted his teeth and struggled to get up from the ground. But as soon as he moved, he felt a burning sensationing from his hands. Then, he saw a gush of red light, which instantly lit up the whole earth. The red light was even more scorching and dazzling than the previous one.

    As soon as the red light lit up, another growl sounded from the sky.

    The curling mes dispersed in an instant. The Dragon Hawk Queen at present looked just like any other ordinary bird. It seemed to have seen something horrible when faced with the dazzling red light. Its long howls were full of fear and despair, and its slender wings were curled up into a pitiful position in the sky. Lin Li could even see its body, which was covered by those gorgeous feathers, shivering in the wind...

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart descended back into ce atst.

    Connoris was right¡ªthe Dragon Hawk had an innate fear of the wyrm¡¯s aura. It was the same with the Queen.

    Indeed, only the word ¡°fear¡± could describe the Dragon Hawk Queen¡¯s state at present.

    It dared not even look directly at the brilliant red light as it buried its red skull between its wings. Lin Li could even hear a trace of plea in its sorrowful cries.

    Lin Li was dumbfounded. He saw with his own eyes how the mighty Dragon Hawk Queen from before turn into a pitiful little rabbit.

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± Lin Li raised his right hand high at once, and a surging mental strength emanated instantly. The stone on his hand seemed to feel his mind, and the brilliant red light became more intense immediately.

    In that moment, the whole world was illuminated by the red light.

    Everything¡ªthe sky, the earth, the ashes, and the mud¡ªseemed to be shrouded in this red brilliance.

    It was followed by a shrill howl from the skies.

    The Dragon Hawk Queen could no longer resist the majesty of the wyrm. After a cry of despair, it finally unfolded its slender wings and disappeared in the tumultuous dark clouds with its gorgeous ming tail...

    ¡°Phew...¡± Lin Li let out a long sigh of relief atst as he watched the Dragon Hawk Queen leave. At this moment, he felt as if his whole body had been emptied. He was without a trace of strength, nor could he feel the slightest joy. Even the pain in his body seemed to disappear suddenly, and he simply sat upright on the ground...

    The fist-sized stone was still burning with the bright red light.

    But Lin Li didn¡¯t feel any difort at all.

    There was neither the pain from the heat, nor the re from the light. There was only a warm feeling rising from the bottom of his heart. It was as if it wasn¡¯t a scorching stone in his hand, but a delicate hand warmer instead. Lin Li could even feel his badly traumatized body recovering at an amazing speed. Whether it was his burned back or his broken left hand, they seemed to have been revitalized.

    The amazing recovery speed startled even him, a pharmacist. This was totally unreasonable. Every injured part of the body waspletely healed in an instant, regardless of how serious the injury or what the cause of injury was.

    <i>This, this... This doesn¡¯t make sense, does it?</i>

    Lin Li stood there with his mouth agape. He was absolutely stupefied.

    ¡°He.. Help!¡± Lin Li suddenly heard a weak cry for help. Upon listening carefully, he realized it was actually Shaun¡¯s voice. <i>That fatso¡¯s still alive? </i>Flustered, Lin Li hurriedly looked all around, but he couldn¡¯t find Shaun¡¯s plump figure even after a long while.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m below you!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li started in surprise and quickly looked down.

    He didn¡¯t know whether he should feel amused at the situation.

    He was actually sitting on the fatso all along.

    However, Lin Li was not to be med. The fellow¡¯s posture was too inconspicuous. Shaun had kept his backpack on his chest when the dragon breath came down. Then, under the impact of the heat wave, he naturallyy face down on the ground. His whole body seemed to be buried under the thick mud mixed with ashes. If it weren¡¯t for his timely call for help, Lin Li would probably still be sitting on him...

    ¡°Oh, sorry...¡± Lin Li scratched his head and stood up embarrassedly. Fortunately, the fatso had a thick flesh, and was still in one piece after being sat on.

    ¡°Pff, pff...¡± The fatso got up and began spitting all the mud out from his mouth. Just as he was about to speak, he felt something moving on his chest. For a moment, the expression changed on Shaun¡¯s face. ¡°Mr... Mr Mage...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li was slightly stunned.

    ¡°I think it came out...¡±

    ¡°Ah?!¡± Lin Li jumped in fright. There were only two of them in this wilderness. Any man with ack of nerves would be frightened to death when being told ¡°it came out¡±. <i>What gibberish was that? Don¡¯t say things that¡¯lly ourselves open to suspicion, alright...?</i>

    ¡°Shaun, this ain¡¯t funny...¡±

    ¡°Ha... Have a look yourself...¡± Shaun stretched his finger out and pointed to the backpack he was carrying on the front. His right hand was trembling as he spoke.

    Lin Li frowned and opened the bag.

    Then... he witnessed an awfully bizarre scene.

    Almost as soon as he stretched out his hand to open the backpack, a fiery glow burst out and pounced on Lin Li.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li was almost scared out of his wits at that moment.

    <i>How... howe there¡¯s another Dragon Hawk?</i>

    Lin Li saw clearly when the ball of red light burst out. Those red feathers, slender wings, the magnificent and almost arrogant aura were the exact same as the Dragon Hawk Queen¡¯s.

    ¡°We¡¯re f*cked this time...¡± Lin Li thought he would pass out.

    But very soon, he realized a problem.

    <i>Wrong...</i>

    The wings of the Dragon Hawk Queen could reach more than ten meters when stretched out. How could a lousy backpack hold it? Surely the backpack couldn¡¯t have been another Ring of Endless Storm?

    A thought shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind. <i>A little Dragon Hawk!</i>

    It couldn¡¯t be wrong¡ªit had to be a little Dragon Hawk.

    ¡°This is too uncanny...¡± Lin Li was dizzy for a moment. This little Dragon Hawk had picked a crucial time to hatch. Lin Li had scared its mother away a moment ago, and now it hatched from the egg and came onto him. Was it trying to seek revenge for its mother?

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva with much difficulty at the thought of it...

    But when he looked down, he realized that the little Dragon Hawk seemed to have no intention of revenge. It was rubbing itself affectionately against Lin Li¡¯s body. There was some attachment in its low, tender howls¡ªlike a newborn baby beast acting cutely in front of its mother.

    This time, Lin Li was really taken aback.

 Chapter 242 - The Little Dragon Hawkéˆ¥æªš Dad

    <h4>Chapter 242: The Little Dragon Hawk¡¯s Dad</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Connoris, you¡¯d bettere out!¡±

    Lin Li held onto the little Dragon Hawk¡¯s head to prevent it from snuggling into his arms while he looked out for Connoris. Connoris was too sly. It had been faking death since it came down from the dragon breath. How could it be killed by the dragon breath when it was cast by the Eternal Furnace?

    ¡°Stop shouting and look at what¡¯s at your feet...¡± Connoris weak voice could be hearding from below. Lin Li saw that the fe was half buried among the ashes, and its head was resting on a burnt tree branch.

    ¡°Stop ying dead. The Dragon Hawk Queen had long been gone...¡± Lin Li grabbed onto the little Dragon Hawk with one hand while he pulled Connoris out with the other.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Why does this little fe keep clinging onto me?¡±

    ¡°I think that it might have thought that you are its dad. HAHAHA...¡± Connoris chuckled. ¡°Maybe it sees you as its mom too...¡± he continued irresponsibly.

    ¡°You are its real mom. Everyone in your family is its mom!¡± Lin Li scolded in exasperation, but he was really at a loss what to do.

    <i>F*ck, what do I do? This fur ball is really clinging to me. Could it really be that it thought I¡¯m its dad or mom?</i>

    Although he knew a few tricks for taming magical beasts, the taming of Dragon Hawks needed to start right when it was still in the womb. Or else, it would be really hard to deal with¡ªlike this situation.

    The more Lin Li looked at it, the cuter it became to him. It really seemed to be treating Lin Li as its mom when it rubbed itself against him.

    Yet, magical beasts were magical beasts. No one knew what it would be like were it to grow up. Wouldn¡¯t it be very unfair if it were to turn against him then?

    ¡°I say, Connoris. Will this little fe turn against me when it grows up?¡±

    ¡°How could it be? Don¡¯t you feel that it is closer to you than its true mom?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Afterughing at Lin Li¡¯s misfortune, he asked skeptically, ¡°Oh, yes. Did you really acquire that rock in your hand from the body of the Wyrm?¡±

    ¡°Are you thinking that I¡¯m lying to you?¡±

    ¡°I understand now...

    ¡°What do you understand?¡±

    ¡°I understand why it loves to cling onto you. You are really lucky.¡±

    ¡°Tell me quickly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. There is a little bit of Wyrm blood in Dragon Hawks, and the rock in your hand is from a Wyrm. If I¡¯m not wrong, the rock in your hand must be the magical crystal from one of the fire-element Wyrms. Its energy suddenly got activated due to the breath of the Dragon Hawk Queen just now. That energy not only frightened the Dragon Hawk Queen, but also hatched the little fe in your arms...¡±

    ¡°But, what does it have to do with me?¡± Although Connoris reasoning was clear, Lin Li still could not fathom it. While he understood how the energy emitted by the magical crystal could hatch a Dragon Hawk, he did not understand why he was involved in the matter.

    Since there were two humans and one hammer present, why did the little Dragon Hawk choose himself to cling onto?

    ¡°Could it be that I am more like a nanny?¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose awkwardly.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you transferred mental strength into the magical crystal, right?¡±

    Lin Li paused for a while. He could not help but admit, ¡°I think I did...¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why? Although the dragon breath activated the energy within the magical crystal, the real thing that hatched the Dragon Hawk is the mental strength you transferred to it. If it does not cling to you, why would it evene to me?¡±

    ¡°Why do I have such bad luck...¡± Lin Li was so regretful. If he knew that the Dragon Hawk Queen was that timid, he would not have used his mental strength and create such a mess...

    ¡°Bad luck?¡± Connoris eximed in rage. If it had legs, it would have jumped up. ¡°That¡¯s such a great giveaway. Don¡¯t you know how lucky you are?¡±

    ¡°How am I even lucky?¡±

    ¡°Can you look at what you are carrying in your arms? That is an offspring of the Dragon Hawk Queen. It not only has the purest blood of the Wyrms, but was also hatched by their energy. Although I¡¯m not sure what abilities it will have when it grows up, I¡¯m certain that it would not be worse than that Smander!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li drew in cold breath. Looking at Connoris in his hands, and then at the furry thing in his arms, he had difficulty breathing for a moment. He could not imagine that the little fe snuggling in his arms would grow up to be a legendary magical creature that would be more powerful than the Smander...

    ¡°I believe it now...¡± Connoris said in bewilderment.

    ¡°Believe what?¡±

    ¡°Now, I believe that you really have the ability to rebuild the Eternal Furnace. For all your good fortunes! From the Fire Plume Ridge to the Cinder Woods, I¡¯ve never seen you suffer even a little. Despite all the dangers, you always could avoid them while gaining the greatest advantage out of it...¡±

    ¡°No choice, my personality decided everything for me!¡± Lin Li shrugged his shoulders shamelessly as he carried Connoris on his back and the little fe in his arms gently. ¡°Shaun, you see...¡± Lin Li said as he smiled at the stupefied Shaun.

    ¡°Y-yes...¡± Shaun replied as he swallowed his saliva. He really saw everything¡ªeven a talking hammer!

    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Lin Li asked. He wanted to discuss the little Dragon Hawk with Shaun, but he realized that Shaun was looking at himself dumbfoundedly as though he had seen a ghost.

    ¡°W-w-what... What is that monster?¡±

    ¡°HUH?¡± Lin Li was surprised by Shaun¡¯s question. Yet, he understood his concern quickly. The ¡°it¡± Shaun was referring to had to be Connoris on his back.

    ¡°Are you referring to this? It¡¯s just a sly old hammer. Fear not, apart from knowing how to say some words, it is no different from a normal hammer...¡± Lin Li smiled as he pointed to Connoris.

    ¡°Crap! I am an honorable Soul Trader!¡±

    Connoris fidgetted unhappily on Lin Li¡¯s back, but was stopped by Lin Li quickly. ¡°Shut up, or I¡¯ll put you inside the ring!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Shaun. It¡¯s just a talking hammer. Since you have seen the Dragon Hawk Queen, there¡¯s nothing to be scared of...¡± Lin Li assured Shaun smilingly after silencing Connoris. ¡°And... You saw the situation just now. Strictly speaking, it was my mistake to cause it to only recognize me, which means I cannot even return it to you. Why don¡¯t you tell me what you always wanted? No matter if it is equipment or a potion, I will think of a way to repay you with it.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Shaun scratched his head hesitantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, just tell me,¡± Lin Li encouraged Shaun. He looked at his hesitant expression, knowing that he had to have something he really wanted, but was scared that it might be too pricey.

    ¡°The other time, I saw a...¡± Shaun paused, and shook his head vigorously. ¡°Forget it actually, that¡¯s too valuable...¡±

    ¡°Speak!¡± Lin Li said with frustration as he nearly gave Shaun a kick.

    He was very clear about what he¡¯d gained after that unexpected incident¡ªa future legendary magical beast!

    Although it was not his intention, the little thing in his arms only responded to him. It was a harsh reality that he¡¯d snatched Shaun¡¯s opportunity to be the master of the Dragon Hawk. Now, he just hoped what Shaun wanted would be something very valuable so that he could assuage his guilt.

    ¡°It was a dagger...¡± Shaun said softly, his voice like the sound of a buzzing mosquito. ¡°It¡¯s sold in one of the weapon shops along the Silverpine Street. But, Mr. Mage, its price was too exorbitant. They requested one million gold coins...¡±

    ¡°Bring me there when we return.¡±

    ¡°Okay...¡±

    Maybe it was due to the arrival of the Dragon Hawk Queen, but the Cinder Woods was extremely quiet. There was neither the sound of the cold wind nor menacing growls of magical beasts¡ªonly dead silence.

    They did not have any trouble in their journey out of the forest at all. Even for that cave that was said to be extremelyplicated, they passed through it easily with Shaun¡¯s guidance. Yet, when they were near the ce Shaun mentioned, Lin Li was shocked by a figure that descended from the sky.

    ¡°Thank God, I¡¯ve finally found you...¡± Andoine¡¯s voice was riddled with anxiety and relief. When he swooped down with the help of the Power of Flight, he did not realize that his long robe was torn by the tree branches on his way down.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°E-erm...¡± The old man stuttered upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s question.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Lin Li suddenly understood the reason. It was no wonder that the Teleportation Portal broke down so mysteriously, and that hended in the Cinder Woods so randomly! Both were all due to this old dude!

    ¡°I say, Mister Mentor, you have already lived for over a hundred years. Can you not go overboard? Please understand that we are now in the Cinder Woods. If something dreadful were to happen to me, who is going to take care of you after this?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I do it for your good...¡± Andoine flushed as he tried to exin himself.

    ¡°For my good?¡± Lin Li nearly burst outughing. ¡°So, you tampered with the Teleportation Portal, and sent me to this freaking forest?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon Hawk Queen was just an ident.¡± Andoine shook his head as he said patiently, ¡°Actually, once you¡¯ve entered the Teleportation Portal, I had been using a crystal ball to observe the Cinder Woods. Who knew that you were that unlucky to meet the invincible Dragon Hawk Queen the moment you stepped in...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted you to adapt to the change in power dynamics. Your improvement in strength for the past month was really unusual. If it continued, it would not be good for you. Hence, I chose the Cinder Woods as the special environment here will weaken your powers. It will allow you to better understand and control the changes in your abilities.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Li asked skeptically, but he had already epted Andoine¡¯s exnation. He was extremely clear about the old man¡¯s concerns. Even if the entire world want to harm himself, the old man wouldn¡¯t. Lin Li¡¯s earlier show of dissatisfaction, as well as his questioning of Andoine, were just his venting of theplicated feelings after the terrifying incident.

    ¡°When did I even lie to you...?¡± Andoine was naturally clear what were Lin Li¡¯s feelings. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the Twilight Forest. The Teleportation Portal is just in front.¡± Andoine patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Li nodded his head obediently. Then, he turned to look at the fat bandit. ¡°Shaun, do you still have anything to do in the Cinder Woods? Want to go back with us?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Shaun hesitated. He really wanted to join Lin Li, yet he feared that Andoine might not agree to it. Andoine was a powerful man at the Legendary-level. To Shaun, it was not somebody he could associate with. Let alone going back to the Twilight Forest with him, even if he had a chance to hear Andoine speak a few words, it was already a great deal to Shaun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. Since Felic was the one who wanted to invite you along, I naturally would have no objections.¡± How would Andoine¡ªa man who had lived for more than a hundred years¡ªnot know what Shaun was thinking about? He shrugged his shoulders as he brought them towards the portal.

    While walking, he looked at the furry thing in Lin Li¡¯s arms curiously. ¡°Oh, yes. Felic, why are you still carrying that little fe?¡±

    ¡°It is a long story...¡± Lin Li replied helplessly, and repeated the story he¡¯d told Connoris earlier.

    The story continued for around half an hour. Before they knew it, the trio was already beside the entrance of the portal.

    Even though Lin Li¡¯s story was just a summary, Andoine was still stunned by it. Although he¡¯d monitored the situation in the Cinder Woods through a crystal ball, how could he notice the delicate hatching of the little Dragon Hawk that was caused by the energy of a Wyrm? On top of that, when the old man had seen the appearance of the Dragon Hawk Queen, he¡¯d be really anxious. How would he have the time to care about the hatching of the little Dragon Hawk?

    ¡°How could there be such a coincidence...¡± Andoine was stunned after he heard about it.

 Chapter 243 - Mental Blast

    <h4>Chapter 243: Mental st</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li only lived in the tower for 10 days. The rest of the time was wasted in the Cinder Woods. He worked under Andoine¡¯s supervision almost every single day in the Twilight Forest and the Cinder Woods. The reasons were quite varied. Andoine could tamper with a Teleportation Portal for one day, and hide some herbs the next day. The following day, he could be requesting to eat some specialty food from the Cinder Woods...

    ¡°Damnit, what specialty food is there in the Cinder Woods? Are you going to eat the mud there?¡± Every time he heard those excuses, Lin Li could not help but roll his eyes.

    Lin Li could not defy Andoine¡¯s instructions. How could he not know the intentions of the old man? Andoine just wanted him to have more experience with the Cinder Woods so that he could adapt to the fluctuations in his magical abilities.

    Honestly speaking, it was really a strange feeling...

    In the morning, he had the abilities of a level-15 Archmage. Yet, his abilities deteriorated to level-14 in the afternoon. Then, at night, it returned to normal again...

    For the period of 10 days, Lin Li nearly became a schizophrenic.

    The benefits, however, were clear.

    Almost every morning, Lin Li would have a surprising discovery from the new changes in him. Those changes might not be obvious to outsiders, but Lin Li could clearly feel that the umtion of these changes was like being reborn.

    Yet, Lin Li was still a Level-15 Archmage after the 10 days. Although the improvement was not visible, he¡¯d gained unimaginable insights over himself and the control of his strength.

    Inparison, he¡¯d previously been only an oblivious kiddo who had good weapons. If his luck was good, he could kill two men. Yet, if it was bad, he could even injure himself.

    As the days passed by gradually, Lin Li became more adept in controlling his magical powers. Especially so for those spells that were at the Archmage level¡ªhe¡¯d previously needed to use rapid recitation when he needed to employ the Levitation Spell. However, when he returned from the Cinder Woods, he did not even need to use gestures. He just had to use a little bit of mana to activate the element structure to cast this Archmage level spell instantaneously.

    Just like anyone else, Lin Li, a man who feared death, would not reject the opportunity to increase his power. At the start, when he was thrown into the Cinder Woods by Andoine, he would still sulk a little. Yet, after he realized the changes in him, he gave upining and focused on battling with a variety of magical beasts in the Cinder Woods. Even if he were to return to the tower at night, he would be researching all the different types of Archmage-level spells till midnight.

    It could be said that Lin Li worked in these 10 days the hardest since he¡¯d left Jarrosus.

    Lin Li had looked through all the spells below level-15 within 10 days. He was always seen with a huge pile of books when he returned to his room at night every day.

    When he passed by Lin Li¡¯s room every night, Andoine always saw the light inside shining brightly while a figure donning a long robe was leaning against a table. There would be the sound of recitation in a low voice and weak magical waves emitting from the room. Andoine would sigh unbearably upon seeing how Lin Li forgot his meals when he was at work.

    Tonight, Lin Li likewise went into his room right after eating dinner.

    What was different from the past few days was that in front of him was not a pile of books, but an old parchment. It was a scroll with a level-15 spell that was lost for generations. Macklin gave it to him after he helped to forge a magical weapon when he just arrived at nna.

    Now, that long lost spell was right in front of Lin Li.

    Lin Li still remembered that Macklin once told him the spell on the parchment was called Mental Disruption. Once a personprehended it, they would be able to use their own mental strength to disrupt the spell his opponents were trying to cast. If he were to use it well, it was like another Mana Retroaction.

    Children would know that battles between mages depended on who was able to unleash a stronger spell. If either side suddenly had a Mana Retroaction, how horrifying would it be?

    However...

    The focus of Lin Li¡¯s research was not to understand how to use that spell.

    With his familiarity with the abilities of Archmages, a level-15 spell was a no-brainer. He only needed to look up the element structure to be able to unleash it the same way. Although the Mental Distruption Spell had been lost for a long time, Lin Li only spent one or two hours on it.

    However, after he understood the spell, Lin Li had new concerns.

    The Mana Retroaction, together with the Arcane Wall from the Dragon¡¯s Eye, was more than enough to deal with any opponent of the same level. Yet, the additional Mental Disruption Spell might have a bboring effect in dealing with opponents that were too mighty. What he should think of should be survival, and not how to use Mana Retroaction.

    Hence, Lin Li changed his research¡¯s focus...

    Among the Level-15 spells, the structure with Mental Disruption was notplicated. There was minimal use of the High Elves Language on the parchment. It meant that there were few details written in High Elves Language. For a man who had already reached the Archmage Realm, Lin Li naturally understood that spells with a simpler structure would be easier to modify.

    But, if Mental Disruption could distract opponents from casting spells, would Mental st work as well?

    To other people, it might be a joke.

    Unless the abilities of the two opposing parties were starkly different, or either of them had extremely high magic attainments, none could employ pure Attacking Spells to injure any enemy.

    How would a normal mage have such a great mental strength?

    Mental strength was required in elemental sequencing and controlling powers. It was the same principle in the regaining of mana. It was like money. People knew gold coins were valuable things, yet everyone felt that they did not have enough coins.

    Only a freak like Lin Li would think of touching the Mental st effect.

    His Mental strength was too strong.

    Regardless of the elemental sequencing, he couldplete any games in an instant. Despite the great mana involved, he could control it proficiently. Have you seen how much water from the sea dried up, and how a bottomless pit got filled to the brim? In Lin Li¡¯s few months in Anril, he never needed to worry about his control over his mana.

    Lin Li spent most of the entire night staring at the yellowish parchment.

    He was thinking of a solution to separate the Mental st segment from the spell. But, it was not as easy as expected. Any minute errors would result in great destruction. Even the creator of the spell might not know its impacts. It might cause the entire structure of the spell to copse, or produce an entirely new spell. There would definitely make an impact.

    ¡°Felic, why are you not sleeping yet?¡± Andoine walked into the room all of a sudden.

    ¡°Oh... I¡¯m looking into a spell...¡± Lin Li turned to look at Andoine, who entered his room casually without knocking on the opened door.

    ¡°What spell is it that is worth spending so much time looking at...?¡± Andoine walked to Lin Li¡¯s desk and picked up the old parchment paper. ¡°Eh? Is this the Mental Disruption Spell? From Macklin?¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°Of course I know.¡± Andoine smiled as he ced the parchment back on the table. ¡°I clearly saw how Macklin recorded the spell on the scroll back then. That fe thought I would not be able to find out about it if he did it sneakily in the library. He should have better understanding that the Supreme Council is not a ce where any random Archmage canmit dishonest deeds...¡±

    ¡°You mean that the contents of this scroll have dubious background?¡±

    ¡°Not quite. We had decided to let that fe go to the library to record some spells as our wee gift to him. Who knew that this fe was that presumptuous to sneak into the library himself, and escaped right away he got the Mental Disruption Spell.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was very speechless. He knew that only Macklin would resort to such a despicable act.

    After exining, Andoine asked Lin Li curiously, ¡°Why are you so interested in this spell?¡±

    ¡°I just want to know more about it.¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s sote already, you should stop dwelling on it. If you are interested, I can bring you to the Sky Castle one day. I know the creator of the spell. You would be able toprehend it after you talk to him.¡±

    ¡°You know the creator of this spell?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up.

    That entire night, he had been researching how to iste the section with Mental st. Until now, he¡¯d only gained a little bit of inspiration. However, there were a few runes written in the High Elves Print that gave him some dilemma. He could not decide how to modify the runes such that he would not affect the section with Mental st.

    ¡°If only we could ask the creator of this spell...¡± Lin Li could not help but hope for an easy way out.

    Of course, it was just a dream. How could he meet somebody who could create a level-15 spell that easily?

    Never did he expect that the old man would say that.

 Chapter 244 - Mausoleum Map

    <h4>Chapter 244: Mausoleum Map</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I know him, of course...¡± Andoine pursed his lips. ¡°The creator of the spell is my colleague, Sir Lothar. He is a very interesting man. If you are free, I can bring you to meet him, then you can ask him whatever questions you want.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright...¡± Lin Li smiled. He stopped looking at that parchment and rolled it into his pocket. Since Andoine knew the man, Lin Li would be able to meet the creator very quickly. Why would he need to waste his energy on those freaking runes?

    ¡°I say, you shouldn¡¯t have anything on after thepetition in nna, right? Until then, I can bring you to a ce and introduce Sir Lothar to you.¡±

    ¡°That will do...¡± Lin Li replied after thinking for a moment.

    The two of them continued to discuss their schedule after thepetition. Then, just when Andoine wanted to retire to his room, Lin Li suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Oh, yes. I have something with me written in the High Elves Print. Can you help trante it for me?¡±

    ¡°High Elves Print?¡± Andoine paused for a moment. He reached out his boney arm, and said, ¡°Let me see.¡±

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm and searched for quite a while before finding those two rags.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Andoine received the rags and his expression suddenly changed. He frowned as he scanned through the unusual runes. After reading the contents of both rags, he pieced the two of them together carefully. Then, he took them to the table to look at them again.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart was also suspended in the air.

    At this point in time, he was trying to suppress all of his questions. He did not even draw any deeper breath as he feared it might disturb Andoine.

    There certainly would be some issues with the two rags!

    Andoine looked up and asked Lin Li seriously, ¡°Felic, tell me, where did you find them?¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Lin Li repeated his question, and thought for a moment. ¡°I found one in the Sunset Mountains. It was given to me by a Thunder Gori. The other one was from Gerian. He found it in the treasury of the Merlin Family, hehehe...¡± Lin Li answered honestly.

    ¡°Merlin Family?¡± Andoine smirked. ¡°I knew it would be with them...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Lin Li froze. He could not help but feel weird. Although Andoine was from Jarrosus Guild of Magic, he spent little time in the Emerald Tower. How could he have any issues with the Merlin Family?¡±

    This time, Andoine did not reply directly. ¡°Felic, do you know that the things in your hands are rted to a crucial secret...¡± he said gravely.

    ¡°What¡¯s the secret?¡±

    ¡°You should have heard about Osric, right?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. How could he not know him?

    ¡°Before the High Elves copsed, the great leader Osric built a massive mausoleum for himself. Everyone in the World of Anril knows about it...¡± Andoine said with a smile, and his tone was dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Almost everyone knew that Osric had hidden some things in that mausoleum. However, most thought that it was all his wealth. None used their brains to think about why Osric would be interested in wealth when the entire Fn Kingdom belonged to him.

    ¡°Do you know what were the treasures?¡±

    Lin Li gradually figured it out now...

    Andoine said nothing. He gave Lin Li a light nod. ¡°What I¡¯m going to tell you now is a top secret¡ªa secret that very few people in the Supreme Council know about...¡±

    ¡°Continue!¡± Lin Li prepared himself for what Andoine was about to say.

    ¡°In reality, the Supreme Council has gotten ahold of some information on the mausoleum many years back. We have always been looking into it all this while. That was the reason why we travelled to the Sunset Mountains, and how I met you. Of course, that was not important. What I wanted to say is, if our information is correct, we are very sure that the treasure inside the mausoleum is not wealth, but a weapon. A weapon that had the ability to destroy the entire Fn Kingdom...¡±

    Andoine paused for a while. ¡°However, I can¡¯t imagine what weapon could destroy the whole of Fn Kingdom...¡± he continued doubtfully.

    ¡°Freak...¡± Lin Li eximed nervously.

    He knew what the treasure was...

    The focus of the Supreme Council was not wrong. The treasure inside the mausoleum was indeed a weapon. To be exact, it was a part of the weapon.

    And that weapon was the Eternal Furnace!

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Andoine couldn¡¯t help but ask after he realized the changes in Lin Li¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Nothing, you can continue...¡± Lin Li shook his head. He¡¯d briefly told Andoine about the Eternal Furnace before, and left out a lot of details. If he were to properly exin everything to him, he would need an entire day to do so. Hence, he wanted to wait for Andoine to tell him more about the two rags before Lin Li slowly told him about it.

    ¡°But, no one could ascertain the existence of that weapon. With our limited resources, we couldn¡¯t help it. Those precious documents from the Dark Age have long been swallowed by mes of war. Even if with my authority on the High Elves, I can¡¯t confirm any assumptions at all...¡± After saying that, Andoine picked up the two rags again. ¡°But, with these two things, we should be able to conclude our research...¡±

    ¡°Is it rted to these two things?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Andoine nodded as he pieced the two cloths on the table. His boney finger underlined a section of the High Elves Print. ¡°Have a look at this¡ª no, I¡¯ve forgotten you do not know how to read the High Elves Print. It generally means that before the copse of the High Elves Kingdom, Osric knew his life wasing to an end. Hence, he let a powerful weapon apany his eternal rest...¡±

    ¡°Apart from this section, what does the rest of the print mean?¡±

    ¡°Inyman¡¯s term, this is a map of a mausoleum. But, the High Elves are different from humans. They do not like monotonous lines, and felt that the High Elves Language is the most perfectnguage in the entire world. Look, since the High Elves use riddles tomunicate, there¡¯s this line: ¡®The fangs hidden in the darkness wee every uninvited guest...¡¯¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Look at this line too. ¡®The asleep hero is going to gain eternal life within the mes and ice...¡±

    ¡°So, you are saying that the whole mausoleum is filled with moreplicated sentences like these?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right...¡±

    ¡°Did they have nothing else better to do?!¡±

    ¡°But, it is not rted to what I¡¯m researching. I¡¯m not interested whether Osric actually hid any weapon in the mausoleum. The weapon is best buried deep underground and never to be discovered. If one weapon is enough to destroy the entire Fn Kingdom, I wonder what else that lunatic Osric had done...¡±ined Andoine as he rolled up the two rags.

    ¡°Felic, can I discuss something with you?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Can you lend me these two things first? I want to bring them back to the Supreme Council to let the others have a look at it.¡±

    ¡°I can give it to you too...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. After all, he couldn¡¯t read the High Elves Print. ¡°But, before you take it away, can you trante a copy of it for me?¡±

    ¡°What, are you interested in Osric¡¯s mausoleum too?¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and replied frankly, ¡°If there is a chance, I might go and take a look. Since it was left behind by the great leader, there might be unexpected discoveries...¡±

    ¡°Then you must be very careful. The High Elves were beyond proficient in the use of curses.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I understand.¡±

    The two men continued talking for an hour until they felt ovee by tiredness. After reminding Lin Li about other things to take note of, Andoine yawned as he returned to his room. Lin Li, however, could not fall asleep at all. He tossed and turned in the bed, his mind still on the two rags. There was one thing Andoine wasn¡¯t clear when he told him about the rags¡ªhow the Merlin Family was rted to them. <i>Why did he say he ¡°knew it¡± when the Merlin Family was mentioned? Doesn¡¯t that mean that Andoine long knew their family would be rted to the cloths?</i>

    After leaving Jarrosus, the Merlin Family did not bother him anymore.

    After Cromwell died in battle and Old Merlin mysteriously disappeared, the Merlin Family was not considered a threat anymore. However, the situation now gave Lin Li an unspoken edginess. <i>Come through think if it, the disappearance of Old Merlin was too unusual...</i>

    Lin Li could not shut his lids for the entire night. His mind was filled with a lot of things. He only managed to fall asleep unknowingly when the sky turned brighter.

    He fell into a deep sleep until the wailing sound of the hungry little Dragon Hawk woke him up.

    ¡°That¡¯s so weird. Why didn¡¯t that old man wake me up today?¡± Lin Li asked as he got out of bed. Just when he wanted to find some food for the little fe, he noticed a note on the table.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving first¡± were the only few words in the note.

    ¡°Shaun, let¡¯s pack up. We¡¯re going back to nna!¡± Since Andoine had left, there was no reason for Lin Li to stay here anymore. He called Shaun down and headed out of Andoine¡¯s tower after packing his things.

    Lin Li¡¯s luck was rather good this time. Although the roads in the Twilight Forest were ratherplicated, he did not get lost with the help of the fat bandit. After reaching nna sessfully, Shaun spoke up.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mr. Mage, I will not be entering the city with you, because I still need to prepare the Tricolored Flowers you were asking for. Why don¡¯t you give me a time and ce, and I deliver it to you immediately when I¡¯m ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that will be good.¡± Lin Li nodded. He pointed in the direction of the Guild of Magic, and said, ¡°I will meet you at the entrance of the Guild of Magic tomorrow afternoon.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    After sending Shaun off, Lin Li carried the little Dragon Hawk and walked towards the guild¡¯s entrance slowly. Since the finals was nearing and he had nothing much to do, he decided to walk around nna.

    He took an hour to travel from the north of the city to the Guild of Magic. Lin Li used the entire afternoon to bring the little Dragon Hawk around. After Lin Li was satisfied with patronizing different stalls, and the little Dragon Hawk was happy with all the food it ate, the little fe curled in Lin Li¡¯s arms and fell asleep soundly.

    Lin Li only reached the nna Guild of Magic in the evening.

    Who knew that before he even walked into the Guild Hall, he saw a familiar figure in the corner of the street.

    ¡°What a coincidence, Argus.¡±

    ¡°What coincidence are you talking about? I am here to look for you...¡± Argus replied as he looked around furtively. ¡°I have some information with regards to the things you asked me to find out the other time...¡± he spoke in a low voice.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Upon hearing that, Lin Li withdrew his joking expression. After scanning the surroundings carefully, he brought Argus to an isted area.

    ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    ¡°ording to what I know, when that equipment was out of the Marathon smithy, it was sent to the north.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Argus nodded confidently. ¡°The person that told me that was a supervisor in Marathon smithing workshop. I saved his life when he was still an Adventurer. He would never lie to me.¡±

    ¡°It seems like I¡¯m guessing it correctly...¡± At that stage, it was clear that Jarrosus was in the north of Fn Kingdom.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Did you see Matthias recently?¡± Argus asked hesitantly as Lin Li trembled in rage.

    ¡°Nope, I was not in nna these 10 days. Did something happen to Matthias?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Argus hesitated for a moment, but still said the truth. ¡°I don¡¯t know, either, but I can sense that Matthias has started to be wary of me...¡±

 Chapter 245 - The Bustle

    <h4>Chapter 245: The Bustle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You are saying that Matthias knows you are keeping in touch with me?¡± Lin Li frowned. It was not good news to him.

    ¡°No, no, no. I don¡¯t think it is that serious.¡± Argus shook his head, but the expression on his face turned anxious. ¡°But I can tell that Matthias trusts me less than before...¡±

    ¡°Maybe your failure in the Fire Plume Ridge upset him.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, it might be due to that too...¡± Argus replied.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one else knows about this matter. As long as we don¡¯t tell anyone, it will be a secret forever,¡± Lin Li assured while patting Argus¡¯s shoulders. He knew what Argus was worrying about.

    ¡°Hope so then...¡± Argus forced out a smile, but his expression did not be even a bit better.

    ¡°Alright, you go back first. Update me again if you need to. Don¡¯te to the Guild of Magic like today. If Matthias were to find out, you wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it to him,¡± Lin Li advised Argus after realizing that the sky was getting dark.

    ¡°No, it is alright. Matthias has not beening to the Guild of Magic for a few days already...¡± Argus told Lin Li. ¡°Oh, yes. Matthias¡¯s ability is improving at considerable speed. He was close to level-15 thest time I saw him...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    This time, Lin Li was really taken aback.

    <i>Matthias is close to level-15 already?</i>

    Lin Li was very aware of Matthias¡¯s ability. Matthias was still around level-11 when Lin Li had firste to nna¡ªat most a little better than Mason and Orrin. Yet, to be able to advance from at most level-12 to nearly level-15 was terrifying. Lin Li managed to achieve that just with the trial in Shadowglen and his experience in the Omniscient Tower.

    Despite being envied by Andoine for his talent, Lin Li had not even improved at such a monstrous speed before. How could it be possible for Matthias? Did Matthias take in the energy from the wyrm like he did?

    ¡°I feel that it is unusual too...¡± agreed Argus. ¡°I saw him twice these few days. He grew even stronger the second time I saw him. It was as if he was a different person. He became... became very weird...¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks, Argus. I will take note of him.¡±

    After sending him away, Lin Li returned to the Guild of Magic. He did not know why the guild hall was so quiet and empty today. There were only a few young mages, all rushing around anxiously as though they all had important things to attend to.

    <i>What is the situation now? </i>Lin Li went back to his ce full of doubts. He was surprised to see only Mason there¡ªOrrin who hated to move around and Kevin who loved to visit them were absent. As for Sean that usually would note back, let¡¯s just consider him nonexistent...

    No one knew it it was because he got tortured too harshly by Orrin, but Mason seemed to have changed much in personality. At this time, he was actually sitting in the room alone with just a magic book. He was so immersed in the book that he did not realize Lin Li came in.

    ¡°Brother Mason, why are you alone?¡± asked Lin Li after he settled the little Dragon Hawk down.

    ¡°Oh! Felic, you¡¯re back?¡± Mason jerked up from the sound of the knocking on his door. ¡°I say, where have you been these days? How could you disappear for over 10 days just like that...¡± Mason asked. He was surprised by Lin Li¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°I went out for a while, and brought you some good things.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Shh...¡± Lin Li reached into his pocket mysteriously and fished out a few scrolls. ¡°I copied these in secret. Go and split this with Orrin, and don¡¯t let anyone know.¡±

    ¡°Oooh~¡± As Mason received those scrolls, he realized those were all spells between level-10 and level-15. They were so rare that one might not be able to find them in the Omniscient Tower. Mason was so ted that he had no time to wipe his drool from excitement. Hey the scrolls on the table and started to pick those he was interested in.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother Mason, where are the others?¡± Lin Li asked casually.

    ¡°The others?¡± Mason looked up from the pile of scrolls. ¡°Oh yeah! I would have forgotten about him if you did not mention him. Kevin and that pretty boy went to watch some fun. Why aren¡¯t they back yet?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s interesting?¡±

    ¡°Haha, it is something great...¡± The mention of this diverted Mason¡¯s attention from the scrolls. He pulled a chair over and started exining.

    ¡°The Guild of Magic is really full of life these few days. Renowned people kept visiting us¡ªfor whatever reasons. Prince Lionheart Johnathan came a few days ago, followed by Assassin Oro from Ruby Moon and Archbishop Englos... Oh! The person that visited today is even unexpected. Felic, I¡¯m sure you would not guess it correctly...¡±

    ¡°Other than that fatso from Glittergold trade union, I really don¡¯t know who woulde,¡± Lin Li said as he pursed his lips.

    ¡°...¡± Mason gaped at him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°H-h-how... how did you know?¡± Mason stuttered, staring nkly at Lin Li like he was a ghost.

    Lin Li pursed his lips. Wasn¡¯t that obvious? Other than these old fes, who would make their way to the Guild of Magic?

    <i>Trouble¡¯s big! What if Macklin brings them over?</i>

    Lin Li looked around guiltily. ¡°This is a littleplicated to exin now. Oh, yes. Brother Mason, why are you spending your entire afternoon here reading books? I bet you haven¡¯t had your lunch. Why don¡¯t we go out to find a ce for food? I¡¯m very hungry...¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right...¡± Mason scratched his head. He suddenly realized he had not eaten. ¡°Give me a while,¡± Mason said as he put the magic book aside.

    ¡°Which scroll should I pass to that pretty boy?¡± Mason pondered as he held onto the scrolls. He could not bear to share them with Orrin. ¡°I shall decide thatter...¡± Mason said as he put all the scrolls in his pocket unreservedly.

    ¡°...¡±

    Aftering out from the Guild of Magic, the guild hall was still quiet.

    ¡°Thank God...¡± Lin Li wiped his cold sweat. He was still d for his good luck in not bumping into that old man Macklin.

    However, his joy did notst long. He was greeted by a voice behind him.

    ¡°What a coincidence, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°HUH?¡± Lin Li jumped. He saw it was Sarsen when he turned around. Lin Li also saw someone he despised behind Sarsen.

    ¡°Hehe, good evening, Mage Sarsen and Mage Gryffindor,¡± Lin Li greeted them with a superficial smile. Deep inside, he was very curious how Sarsen and Gryffindor ended up together. Lin Li clearly remembered that when he¡¯d firste to nna, that top mage from Fn was not really friendly toward him.

    Furthermore, that man was not on good terms with Orrin...

    Lin Li just could not bring himself to have any good impression of that man at all.

    ¡°Hehe, I met Mage Gryffindor when I went out to settle some things. So, we came back together.¡± Although Sarsen was an arrogant man, he did not dare to show his egocentric nature in front of Lin Li. He had seen clearly how the Pharmacists Guild sent for a coach to escort that man, as well as how the people there treated him with utmost respect.

    Even Sarsen¡¯s knees could understand that the mage named Felic was not any random man on the streets.

    Gryffindor nodded his head, and agreed reluctantly, ¡°Yeah.¡±

    He clearly remembered that man to be Orrin¡¯s teammate.

    His rtionship with Orrin could be likened to water and fire. When he was 10, his mentor brought him all over Fn Kingdom to almost all Magic guilds. He fought almost all young mages¡ªincluding Orrin.

    Orrin had been a level-9 mage back then, while Gryffindor a level-8 mage. They were both young talents who had attracted the attention of many. In the end, Orrin defeated Gryffindor with his level-9 abilities after much difficulty.

    That battle became a lifelong stain on Gryffindor¡¯s pride.

    After returning to nna, he had always been thinking of ways to defeat Orrin. He researched into magic every minute tirelessly. With the help of his talent, he¡¯d managed to break into the Magic Shooter realm. His subsequent improvement could be described as vigorous. He had the abilities of a level-14 Magic Shooter at a young age. After three years, when Gryffindor challenged all the magic guilds again, he finally defeated Orrin at Rotterdam.

    But, to Gryffindor, a battle was not enough to erase that disgrace from three years earlier. He hoped his mentor would let him meet Orrin during the finals.

    Gryffindor knew that the finals allowed mages to make mistakes... such as inflicting too much injuries...

    As for the two teammates Orrin had, he was never concerned about them.

    He understood the reason why Felic could emerge victorious against Macklin in the arena.

    Gryffindor clearly saw Macklin suppressing his energy and underestimating his opponent. He did not doubt that he would lose to Felic.

    He was only a little surprised. Gryffindor clearly knew that thest time Macklin lost to Felic was due to Macklin suppressing his abilities and his personal underestimation of his opponent.

    As for that Orrin who¡¯d just reached level-10, he was not even an ant in front of him.

    How would two ants¡ªone big and one small¡ªdeserve his respect?

 Chapter 246 - Master Hoffman

    <h4>Chapter 246: Master Hoffman</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, if the bigger ant was willing to be nice to him, he might not reject it.

    Yeah, just like what Sarsen did.

    After all, he was one of the only two Archmages in this trial. After he clinched the championship and set up his new guild, he would need some manpower. Since his mentor would be busy with work in the Supreme Council, he needed to depend on what he had.

    An obedient Archmage would be of great help to him.

    After acknowledging him slightly, Gryffindor had been waiting for Lin Li to suck up to him. Then, he would just casually act humbly and friendly to him, allowing Lin Li to be less awkward and at the same time maintain his own status. Yeah, just like how he treated Sarsen. Gryffindor believed that he did not need to wait long for Lin Li to do it.

    Since he was much more powerful than the other mages participating in the trial, it wasmon sense for them to suck up to him in order to be treated less harshlyter.

    Furthermore, the finals allowed idents. If he were to inflict too harsh a blow, it would be a pity to die due to that.

    In the end...

    Gryffindor waited for quite a while, only to realize the fe named Felic had no intentions of getting close to himself. He continued to talk to Sarsen about meaningless things such as the weather and about life.

    Gryffindor frowned, and got unhappy.

    He could not understand why meaningless things could be more important aspared to being friends with himself. It concerned life and death. If Gryffindor were to hate on Lin Li, he could just exert more force in the finals and a corpse would be sent back to Jarrosus.

    Having had the title as the magic genius of Fn, Gryffindor had forever been the center of attention anywhere he went. Unlike the usual, it was the first time he was treated like air today. After feeling surprised, an unexinable rage rose from his heart. How could the country bumpkin from Jarrosus treat him as though he was invisible?

    Gryffindor was fuming. If Sarsen was not there, he would turn and leave on Felic. What was so great about a country bumpkin having the abilities of an Archmage?? How could Felic belittle him? Yet, after looking at Sarsen beside him, he swallowed his anger.

    Since the country mage had no background, if he were to kill Felic in the finals, no one would step in. On the contrary, he had to ensure he would not put Sarsen in a hard position. As his mentor was the President of the Nightfall City Guild of Magic, he would need a lot of his help after he set up the new guild in Breezy ins.

    Gryffindor tried his best to suppress his rage as two men conversed.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Felic, I heard Mr. Macklin said you left the guild for quite some time?¡± Ever since he saw how respectful the two pharmacists were to Lin Li, Sarsen knew clearly that this young mage from Jarrosus was not someone he should trifle with.

    Furthermore, as Sarsen was not very close to Lin Li¡ªlike Mason and Orrin¡ªhe needed to watch hisnguage and speak to him courteously. Gryffindor could not help but be infuriated when he saw how Sarsen treated Lin Li.

    ¡°I had no choice, either. My dear mentor felt that I¡¯m too weak and needed more practice. The old man instructed me to go ces as part of training...¡± Lin Li grumbled. He was half-lying.

    ¡°Hehe, Mr. Macklin is like that. He is known to be strict toward his students...¡± Sarsenforted Lin Li, assuming that the ¡°mentor¡± Lin Li mentioned was Macklin. In reality, Macklin was the only mentor that would treat his students so harshly. Sarsen did not expect the real ¡°mentor¡± Lin Li was referring to was one that had even higher expectationspared to Macklin...

    ¡°Erm, actually...¡± Lin Li paused. Since Sarsen assumed that mentor was Macklin, Lin Li was not that foolish to correct him. He took the chance to weave some moreints about Macklin, framing the poor innocent old man.

    Sarsen seemed to be engrossed in the conversation, and had no intention to leave.

    Gryffindor, on the other hand, was already very impatient. If he could, he really wanted to leave them. He could not suppress his disdain when he saw that country bumpkin. Gryffindor felt that Sarsen must have lost his mind to treat that mage from Jarrosus with extreme kindness.

    Did he think all Archmages were invincible? Was he hoping that the bumpkin would be less harsh on him during the finals?

    What a joke...

    So what if he was an Archmage? He was just a more skillful one among his age group. Compared to the other mages in the whole of Fn Kingdom, he was a nobody. He had neither social status nor background. Apart from that trial and bing the student of Macklin by luck, what other abilities did he have?

    Furthermore...

    If Sarsen wanted Felic to go easy on him at the finals, he had to ensure Felic would not be killed first.

    Gryffindor had heard that a moron had offended Matthias the moment he arrived in nna. He found out that the fool¡¯s name was Felic after he asked further.

    ¡°What an idiot...¡± Gryffindor mumbled as he rolled his eyes. He could not understand why there would be such a stupid fe who dared to offend Matthias. Who was Matthias? He was the son of Wilhelm, the second heir of the Marathon Family. Even Gryffindor would never want to offend Matthias himself. Why did that mindless dude from Jarrosus do that...?

    At this moment, Gryffindor really hoped to tell Sarsen to stop talking to Felic. It was meaningless to tter somebody who was not going to make it to the finals. He was sure that people from the Marathon Family would be after Felic. Not even his mentor, Macklin, would dare to offend the family just to save a student from that mess.

    Of course, Gryffindor could not say those thoughts out loud. Even if he were to say it, he would not say it in front of Lin Li...

    Hence, he remained quiet grumpily.

    ¡°Oh dear, it¡¯s sote now. I¡¯m so sorry, Mage Sarsen. I have to go.¡± Lin Li apologized to Sarsen after noticing how dark the sky was. He wanted to end the conversation quickly, fearing that he would need to take quite some time to find a restaurant to have his meal at this rush hour.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk again next time, then,¡± Sarsen said as he smiled. Just when he wanted to leave with Gryffindor, they heard the sound of a conversation.

    The voices belonged to a few Archmages in the guild, as well as Mr. Macklin. Oh, there was an unfamiliar voice too.

    When Sarsen was still trying to figure out whom that voice belonged to, Lin Li frowned, knowing that it was his unlucky day. If he were to know he was going to meet him, he would not have stayed to chat with Sarsen.

    <i>I need to escape quickly!</i>

    ¡°Mage Sarsen, I¡¯m going to take my leave now...¡±

    Lin Li had no time to care anymore. After bidding Sarsen goodbye in a hurry, he turned towards the exit of the guild hall. However, after he made his first step, Macklin spoke.

    ¡°Felic, you are here! I was looking for you...¡±

    No one knew what Macklin was up to. His old and wrinkly face was grinning widely as he walked down the stairs in high spirits. Others might think that this old dude found his second spring.

    ¡°Can you not find me?¡± Lin Li asked impatiently after seeing the fatso behind Macklin. Didn¡¯t he promise Hoffman he was going to take some days to consider his offer? Why was he so anxious to make his way to the Guild of Magic to look for him??

    ¡°And you two,e over here too...¡± Macklin gestured to Sarsen and Gryffindor while he grabbed onto Lin Li, who was trying to make his escape.

    ¡°Let me introduce Hoffman to you. He is from the Glittergold trade union. I¡¯m sure you have heard his name, right?¡±

    ¡°Hoffman...¡± Sarsen repeated the name in bewilderment. How could he not have heard of Hoffman¡¯s name? Hoffman was not only the man managing nearly half of the businesses in the Glittergold trade union, but also an esteemed Conjurer. If he were to stamp his feet lightly on Breezy ins, the entire Breezy ins would shake.

    On top of that...

    Sarsen had heard from his mentor that this Mr. Hoffman in front of him was a true Master Pharmacist!

    <i>Oh God, he is a Master in Pharmaceutics...!</i>

    Sarsen had never dreamed to be able to meet a Master Pharmacist in his entire life. With Mr. Hoffman, who were those pharmacists who made things difficult for his mentor, and the two fes that treated him with disdain? Although the title ¡°Pharmacist¡± and ¡°Master Pharmacist¡± only differed by a single word, the actual difference in status was as wide as the distance of heaven and hell.

    ¡°I-i-it¡¯s my pleasure to meet you, M-M-Master Hoffman...!¡± Sarsen stuttered as he greeted the man.

    Aspared to Sarsen, Gryffindor was rtively calmer. Since his mentor was from the Supreme Council, he had a lot encounters with renowned individuals. He was surprised at first, but managed to calm down quickly.

 Chapter 247 - Business

    <h4>Chapter 247: Business</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Mr. Hoffman, you need to know these young men. This is nna¡¯s Gryffindor, Nightfall City¡¯s Sarsen, and Jarrosus¡¯s Felic.¡± The old man frowned, and continued his speech when he saw Mason looking at him with excitement. ¡°Erm, and Mason from Chevan City. They are all the top few young mages in the trial.¡±

    ¡°Macklin, there¡¯s no need to introduce them to me. How would I not know the top mage of Fn, Gryffindor? Also, I knew Mage Sarsen since he was from Nightfall City, the neighboring county with Breezy ins. There have been many talentsing from Nightfall City these few years. I¡¯ve never expected to meet one here today...¡±

    Since Hoffman was a businessman, he was adept in the art of ttery. No one would think those words were mere politeness. It was as though he was really praising these young mages from his heart.

    Although Gryffindor smiled humbly, he was very surprised. He had never expected that Hoffman would have heard of his name. How could he not know who Hoffman was?

    Hoffman was one of the decision makers of the Glittergold Trade Union, managing nearly half of the union¡¯s business single-handedly. Not only that, he was also a level-17 Conjurer that many legendary figures would not dare to offend.

    He¡¯d never expected that the friendly fatso was a Master Pharmacist too!

    How would Gryffindor not know what it meant to be a Master Pharmacist in Fn Kingdom? Even his mentor would need to treat Hoffman with ample respect. Gryffindor did not expect his title of the ¡°Top Mage of Fn¡± would travel into the ears of Hoffman!

    Gryffindor could not suppress his excitement.

    <i>Look, even Master Hoffman knows my name!</i>

    Gryffindor looked at Sarsen, then at Mason and Lin Li. A sense of superiority rose in him. He felt that the two men should feel ashamed for standing beside himself. How could a country bumpkin from Jarrosus City and a trash from Chevan City stand together with him?

    <i>Take a good look at yourselfter. You will know what it means to be ashamed when Mr. Hoffman says he does not recognize you...</i>

    ¡°As for Mage Felic¡ª¡± Hoffman said as he looked at Lin Li with extreme friendliness.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah...¡± Lin Li put aside his manners to interrupt Hoffman. ¡°I knew Master Hoffman long ago. I still remembered I sold him some herbs when I was still at Jarrosus. How were they, Master Hoffman? They were great, right? I have more of them with me now, do you want to buy more?¡±

    ¡°Felic...¡± Macklin rolled his eyes speechlessly. How could the fe talk about that in front of everybody? What was he thinking?

    Gryffindor could not hide his smirk.

    A country bumpkin would always be a country bumpkin. Did he think he could get close with Master Hoffman just by selling some herbs to him? He should stand in front of the mirror to reassess his status before speaking.

    Hoffman seemed like a friendly man with no scheming intentions. However, as one of the decision makers of the Glittergold trade union, how could he not know how to observe the actions of others? Seeing how Felic interrupted his speech with such a random story, he understood that this genius pharmacist wanted to hide something...

    Hoffman stopped, hesitating. ¡°Erm... Can we talk about herbs next time?¡± He yed along with Lin Li.

    ¡°Of course, we can discuss it whenever you are free.¡±

    Hearing that, Hoffman felt relieved. Of course they were going to discuss about the form of the potion! If that genius pharmacist were to agree to help him, his problem would be solved.

    Just when Hoffman wanted to invite Lin Li for a chat, Gryffindor stood out with noble indignation. ¡°Mage Felic, I hope you know what you are doing. This is nna Guild of Magic, not the ck market of Jarrosus. If you want to promote your herbs, you should do it elsewhere. Do not disturb such a noble guest like Master Hoffman,¡± Gryffindor spoke gravely.

    He even brought the reputation of the guild out. Even if Macklin had the intentions to speak for Lin Li, he could only sigh helplessly, hoping that his student would not create too much of a trouble...

    ¡°...¡± Hoffman stood there speechlessly. Did that fe believe he really heard about him long ago? Now he even stood out to defend Hoffman...

    <i>Goddammit, why would I need you to speak for me? Do you think you are really a genius when people call you the top mage of Fn? If you are going to mess up my ns, I¡¯m going to have people spike your food...</i>

    ¡°Mage Gryffindor...¡± Lin Li said calmly, albeit with a tinge of sarcasm. ¡°How does this got anything to do with you?¡±

    ¡°How does it got to do with me?¡± Gryffindor smiled with disdain. He looked at Lin Li as though he was a beggar. ¡°Mage Felic, I hope that you understand that Master Hoffman is a noble guest invited by the guild. Who do you think you are to advertise your herbs to him? Are you telling Master Hoffman that our guild had no resources to provide for a newbie, and that he needs to live off his earnings from the sale of the herbs?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s weird...¡± Lin Li looked at the surroundings before speaking to Sarsen seriously, ¡°Mage Sarsen, can you tell me if there is a rule in the guild that forbids students to sell herbs in the period of their trial?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Sarsen hesitated awkwardly. After thinking about it carefully, he shook his head, and replied, ¡°Nope, there isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Mage Gryffindor, did you hear that?¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic!¡± Gryffindor was infuriated. ¡°Now, as the steward of the guild, I¡¯m going to order you to stop your pointless promotion of herbs and apologize to Master Hoffman. Then... you are going to serve your sentence in the dungeons!¡± His voice was raised by a few pitches.

    After he said that, even Macklin was stunned.

    He¡¯d never expected that Gryffindor would abuse his authority. Indeed, Gryffindor could send students to the dungeons with his position as the steward. But, how was Felic an ordinary student? Gryffindor was not evenparable to him. They still had to depend on Felic¡¯s mood to decide who would obtain the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum after six months. Was Gryffindor crazy to want to throw him in the dungeons like that?

    Furthermore...

    How could one use the dungeons so recklessly? That ce was exclusively for the traitors of the guild. Was Gryffindor crazy?

    ¡°Gryffindor. Don¡¯t you forget Felic is my student in the trial. Are you going to send him into the dungeon right in front of me?¡± Macklin asked furiously.

    ¡°Mr. Macklin, although I always respected you, I must still remind you that it is time to teach your student.¡± Gryffindor¡¯s tone was stiff. His anger that had been umting from the start finally got unleashed.

    <i>Damn you country bumpkin! How dare you treat me with such indifference and spoil the reputation of the guild! If I¡¯m going to let you go, I¡¯m not Gryffindor!!</i>

    ¡°Are you worrying too much? Master Hoffman has not even say a word. Why are you so agitated...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. He did not care about the steward at all.

    ¡°Since you said so, why don¡¯t we let Master Hoffman decide...¡± This time, Gryffindor was more agreeable. He thought that since it was a domestic matter that concerned the guild, and Hoffman was not close to that fe, he would make noments and allow Gryffindor to send Felic to the dungeons.

    Honestly speaking, Gryffindor guessed it half right.

    Although the two men had only met twice, Hoffman really hoped to forge a closer bond with this genius pharmacist...

    ¡°Mage Felic, I¡¯m really interested in the batch of herbs you have. Why don¡¯t we discuss the details over some drinks? I know a good ce near here,¡± Hoffman offered passionately right after Gryffindor said that.

    After hearing that, Gryffindor froze.

    He¡¯d never expected that the highly Master Pharmacist Hoffman would want to purchase herbs from a Jarrosus country bumpkin...!

    <i>Freak, what is this absurdity!?</i>

    How would a poor boy from Jarrosus be able to grow any herbs himself? Could it be that he had some special herbs that interested a Master Pharmacist like Hoffman? Goddammit, that fe was really lucky to be able to get close to a figure like Hoffman just because of a bunch of herbs...

    If he knew it was so easy to get close to Hoffman, he would have patronized the ck market for any rare herbs beforeing back. Then, he would be the one getting close to Hoffman. What a miscalction! After all, he only needed a few millions to get some rare herbs in exchange for a good rtionship with Hoffman! He felt so dumb to have missed this opportunity that would bring him a thousand benefits...

    Gryffindor stood there in a daze. He was filled with mixed feelings.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten!¡± Lin Li eximed. No one would expect Lin Li to be so informal with Hoffman. Even Mason felt like kicking him because of that.

    ¡°...¡± Macklin was extremely speechless.

    He was so done with Lin Li...

    Only this fe would dare to ask for a meal that shamelessly when Hoffman offered to treat him to a drink. His student was such a glutton...!

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Let¡¯s go and eat...¡± Hoffman did not care whether Lin Li wanted to eat or drink. As long as he could sit down with this genius pharmacist and agree on the form of the potion, he would find ways to give him anything he wanted¡ªeven if Lin Li wished to eat the moon.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Lin Li said with a satisfied smile, and nodded his head strongly. Before leaving, he looked at Gryffindor challengingly. ¡°What a busybody...¡± Lin Li remarked scornfully at a volume that Gryffindor could hear.

    ¡°You...¡± Gryffindor felt the veins on his forehead bulging. Just when he was ready to unleash all his fury, that fe and his foolish teammate had long left the guild hall with Hoffman.

    After exiting the guild hall, Hoffman invited the two men up his luxurious coach ingratiatingly. He specially ordered his driver to send them to the highest-ss restaurant in nna.

    With the amount of wealth he had, he would not treat someone at the normal small restaurants. Moreover, Felic was no ordinary man. He was a genius pharmacist that shook the entire pharmacistmunity in Fn Kingdom. Spending more to treat this man would not be uneptable.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Master Felic, how do you think of my request the other time?¡± Hoffman asked excitedly the moment they got onto the coach.

    ¡°Sure.¡± This time, Lin Li was very direct.

    Lin Li felt that it was a favor he owed Hoffman for going along with his acting earlier on in the guild hall. Furthermore, that Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was a good thing that even a legendary figure like Andoine would drool to get. If Lin Li could get that book, even if he was not going to use it, he could gift it to Andoine as an act of filial piety. After all, that old man taught him so many things, but Lin Li had not repaid his kindness yet.

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Hoffman became very excited. He fished out a crystal card from his pocket, and said, ¡°Master Felic, this is a VIP card from the Glittergold Bank with a million gold coins. You can withdraw the amount at any of our branches. Please ept it!¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Lin Li thought for a moment. ¡°Then, I¡¯m going to ept it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I should do...¡±Hoffman nearly teared with joy. He finally had a chance to solve that problem after a few months! With that potion, Glittergold Bank would be able to earn a hundred times in profit. How much would one million gold coins and the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations cost to exchange for that?

 Chapter 248 - Orrin in Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 248: Orrin in Trouble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li had time for a break during the subsequent days. After settling the form with Hoffman, he stayed in the Guild of Magic. Every day, he would visit the Omniscient Tower to read and go to the battling arena to practice with Mason and Orrin. He felt very carefree.

    Of course, ¡°carefree¡± only applied to Lin Li.

    To Mason and Orrin, these few days were the most fulfilling ever since they came to nna. They reaped many benefits every time they practiced with Lin Li. Not everyone had an opportunity to train with an Archmage. What was more, this Archmage was their closest teammate. This allowed Lin Li to better analyze their strategies and suggest ways for them to improve.

    The two men improved greatly after 10 days. That morning, Mason finally had a breakthrough and left behind his status of a rookie Magic Shooter. Although Orrin did not experience any breakthroughs, his abilities were much better than Mason¡¯s.

    No one knew what Orrin went through these days. He became quieter than before. When Lin Li asked him things, he only replied by nodding or shaking his head. Replying with a ¡°yeah¡± had be the furthest Orrin would go if he had no other choice. At the same time, the amount of effort he put into magic was abnormal. He would visit the Omniscient Tower before sunrise and onlye back fatigued after his two teammates fell asleep.

    Orrin got more and more serious after every practice session the trio had every other day. He would take a very long time to reflect on Lin Li¡¯s suggestions and drag Mason to test out his new strategy with him.

    His extreme perseverance and hard work finally paid off when he improved every single day. After 10 days, he became just a step away from level-14.

    Naturally, Mason felt his improvement the most.

    Initially, Mason could still win in the practice sessions between both men. But, recently, he realized that he felt he wasgging behind. When he stood in front of Orrin, he had no strength to return his attacks. He waspletely suppressed right from his first move, and received multiple explosive attacks¡ªjust like how an adult beat up a child.

    In the end, Mason decided to hide whenever he saw Orrin.

    The pretty boy had be too freaky! Mason would rather get tortured by Felic and not let Orrin destroy his confidence. There was nothing to be ashamed if he were to lose to an Archmage. However, Mason could not take the blow if he were to lose to a Magic Shooter. What was more, he was a pretty boy Magic Shooter...

    Furthermore, Felic did not have much free time. Unlike that pretty boy, Felic only had time to torture him asionally. On the other hand, Orrin would not stop if he was not satisfied with beating Mason up.

    Indeed, Lin Li did not have much time. He spent most of his time in the Omniscient Tower.

    Lin Li learned a lot over the course of the 10 days in Cinder Woods, and wanted to consolidate his knowledge in preparation for the finals. But, this time, he was not at the first or second floor. He went straight to the 15th floor to rummage through all the spells rigorously.

    Only Lin Li would do this type of thing...

    Normal mages would climb one level every one or two years. Yet, when they reached level-15, it would be very difficult to advance anymore. Many mages who were less able would be stuck at their level until they died.

    However, Lin Li was not like them. He had already prepared for spells that were above level-15, waiting to advance after breaking through the higher levels...

    Lin Li¡¯s rapid improvement caused his level to advance far ahead of the level of the spells he knew. Now that he reached the Archmage-level, he had the liberty to learn all the spells he wanted to. When that fe was hungry for knowledge, he would just copy all of them down regardless of whether they were useful or not.

    In these 10 days, the Archmages around him always saw Lin Liing with a pen in the morning and leaving with a huge pile of scrolls at night. It was fortunate that the Omniscient Tower provided nk scrolls for readers, or else Lin Li would need to spend a huge amount of money to fund his quest of copying...

    Of course, none of the level-15 Archmages would think that this young man had no qualifications to visit the 15th floor. Everyone knew who he was. He was the youngest Archmage from nna Guild of Magic, the one who defeated Macklin a few days ago. If he did not have the right to visit the 15th level, who else had the right to do so?

    ¡°Good morning, Felic.¡± Two familiar Archmages would always greet Lin Li whenever he went to the 15th floor. Since all of them frequented the library, they naturally knew each other. Not only that, Lin Li was well-liked by them too. He always had a humble smile and treated people with extreme politeness. Even though they were on good terms with the Marathon Family, they could not find any faults with Lin Li. Gradually, they grew to ept the young man.

    ¡°Good morning!¡± Lin Li greeted the Archmages warmly. After exchanging greetings, he found a seat and took out the magic book from the day before. That book had insights and notes from a Legendary-mage living 300 years ago. It focused on helping one improve on the technique of unleashing spells.

    Although Lin Li was fast in casting spells, he relied heavily on his natural abilities. His strong mental strength allowed him topress the time he took to cast spells by arge extent. He did not have to worry about facing the bite of mana at all.

    In fact, it did not require much technique from him. He was like a man with invincible strength, allowing him to have the natural ability to lift a huge rock. Furthermore, Lin Li always had the mentality to make use of this natural talent and not delve into techniques.

    His experience in the Cinder Woods gave him a new perspective.

    The environment there not only suppressed his strength, but also weakened his entire body. Regardless of mana or mental strength, the battles that happened during those 10 days became the most awkward battles Lin Li had ever fought in the World of Anril. Having a weakened mental strength and mana, as well as abilities capped at level-15, he had missed many magical beasts which he could have easily killed in usual settings.

    The feeling was so unnatural that Lin Li had no choice but to cease many crucial attacks in fear of the bite of mana when he was able to unleash them with ease on normal days. Then, Lin Li had to pick up his weapon and physically fight the beasts which were above level-10. He really regretted not learning more methods to unleash his spells...

    After transferring all the level-15 spells, he went on to search for books that could teach him more techniques rted to casting spells.

    In fact, Lin Li found one that was written by a Legendary-mage. He spent two days to figure out the gist of the concepts, but could only try them out slowly in his subsequent battles.

    Even though it was like that, the extent of Lin Li¡¯s improvements across those 10 days was not what normal people could imagine.

    He had no choice too. He had too much room for improvement. Before learning about those techniques, he was like a nk piece of paper. He had been relying on his powerful mental strength all this while. Now that he had mastered different types of insights pertaining to the various methods, it was natural for him to have unbelievable improvement straight from the start.

    Although the improvements were not obvious at a nce, they were definitely there. One could only see them during a real battle.

    ¡°Ugh, if I came early by a few hundred years, I would have asked this Legendary-mage personally. Maybe my improvement would be even greater...¡± Lin Li mumbled as he put down the book, thinking if he should go out to eat lunch.

    At this moment, there was a din outside the door.

    ¡°Get off, let me in!¡± A frustrated voice could be heard at the door.

    However, the people on patrol were all Magic Shooters on the 15th floor of the Omniscient Tower. How would they allow outsiders to trespass the area? The two Magic Shooters gave no room for negotiation and rejected Mason straight away. ¡°No, without the member pass, you are not allowed to the 15th floor.¡±

    ¡°I beg you to let me enter. I have something really important to find my teammate for...¡±

    As the noise got louder and more anxious, Lin Li finally realized whom the voice belonged to.

    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s Mason!¡±

    Lin Li had no time to care about order. He threw the magic book aside and stood up. His big actions shocked the fellow Archmages around him. Fortunately, Lin Li had good rtionships with them. When they saw it was Lin Li, they smiled tolerantly and continued to read their materials.

    Lin Li dashed out of the door and saw Mason and a middle-aged Magic Shooter having a conflict. The face that was usually filled with smiles andughter was all anxiety. If there weren¡¯t the two Magic Shooters stopping him, he would have dashed into the room.

    ¡°Brother Mason, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Felic, it¡¯s bad! Something terrible happened to the pretty boy!¡± Mason eximed when he saw Lin Liing out. He pushed away the two Magic Shooters who were trying to stop him.

    ¡°What happened to Orrin? Calm down and tell me slowly.¡±

 Chapter 249 - The Curse

    <h4>Chapter 249: The Curse</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Afterforting Mason, Lin Li turned to look at the two Magic Shooters. ¡°Sorry, guys, this is my friend. He broke the guild rules as he had some urgent matters.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so he is a friend of Mage Felic...¡±

    How would the two Magic Shooters not know who Felic was? He was the man who¡¯d won against Macklin in the arena, and the youngest Archmage of nna Guild of Magic. They even heard how a few Archmagesmented that Felic was going to rise above Gryffindor eventually.

    How could the two men continue to stop Mason when Felic started to apologize to them? They gathered all their smiles and exined to Lin Li apologetically, ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Mage Felic, we did not know he was your friend. You know we are stickers to the guild rules. As we did not mean to do it on purpose, please do not mind us...¡±

    ¡°I understand...¡± Lin Li assured the two Magic Shooters. He knew what they were thinking about, yet could not help but feel amused by their actions. He was not Matthias, so how would he take such minor things to heart? Heughed it off and brought Mason to the side.

    ¡°Brother Mason, tell me clearly. What exactly happened to Orrin?¡±

    ¡°It is terrible!!!¡± Mason gasped, and started exining, ¡°When we woke up this morning, we realized you were at the Omniscient Tower already. Hence, me and that pretty boy were discussing going to the arena to train. To be honest, I¡¯ve learned a powerful spell recently, so I was hoping to try it with him. Who¡¯d expect that we¡¯d met Gryffindor and his friend at the arena too...¡±

    ¡°Gryffindor?¡± Lin Li repeated the name nervously. He clearly remembered how the two men had a conflict the first time they met in nna. If not for the eyes of the public in the guild hall, they would have fought each other on the spot.

    He knew nothing good would happen should they meet each other in the arena.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s that Gryffindor.¡± Mason confirmed Lin Li¡¯s concerns. Gritting his teeth, he continued, ¡°That bastard owed a beating when he showered that pretty boy with sarcastic remarks straight away. He said that the pretty boy was still trash as the pretty boy was still a Magic Shooter despite the years that passed. Gryffindor jeered that it was a shame for him to treat Orrin as his sole enemy too. F*CK! He could just insult that pretty boy. Why must he insult me too? What¡¯s wrong with being a Magic Shooter? Magic Shooters are still humans, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li could not help but roll his eyes. He still could not adapt to Mason¡¯s childish way of non-linear thinking. ¡°So, what happened after that?¡±

    ¡°Then, the pretty boy got agitated...¡± Mason continued. He could not help but feel shocked at what he¡¯d witnessed. ¡°Frankly speaking, it was really strange. You know that pretty boy¡ªhe is not really an agreeable man, treating people as though they owed him a huge amount of money every day. But when did you ever see him being agitated? His eyes turned red at that instant, and gave bastard Gryffindor a deadly stare as though he was going to bite him into pieces...¡±

    ¡°That serious?¡± Lin Li asked in a daze.

    Lin Li had long known there was enmity between the two men. Yet, why was Orrin so easily disturbed? Orrin met Gryffindor quite a few times in the past month. Although they were indifferent towards each other, they had never gotten physical like how they did today. Could there be other things that happened in these few days that he missed out on?

    ¡°He was just that agitated...¡± Mason said as he sighed. ¡°At first, I thought I could stop that pretty boy. But, afterwards, I did not know what Gryffindor told him. That pretty boy went berserk immediately and unleashed a Chilling Touch...¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡±

    Lin Li never felt that vexed. Did Orrin eat wrong medicine? Why was he so foolish to attack Gryffindor first? Lin Li knew his abilities were unfathomable when he met him at the guild hall a few days ago.

    How could he challenge him with a mere level-14 ability when Lin Li himself had no confidence to win facing Gryffindor?

    <i>This is really bad...</i>

    ¡°How is Orrin now?¡±

    ¡°He got attacked by one Pyrost and was already sent to the emergency...¡±

    ¡°F*CK. Watch out, Gryffindor!¡± Lin Li cursed through his gritted teeth. ¡°Bring me to Orrin now.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡±

    The two men rushed down the Omniscient Tower. When they arrived at the guild¡¯s treatment room, they saw Orrin unconscious, lying lifelessly on the bed. His usual pale face grew whiter and Lin Li could sense death just by standing outside the room.

    Macklin was pacing to and fro beside the bed while cursing.

    ¡°Goddammit, you are a group of fools! Why are you hired by the guild when you don¡¯t even have the ability to find a priest?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Macklin, we have tried, but... but...¡± the two trainees replied meekly while they trembled in fear. ¡°But, there is only a single priest in the whole of nna, and he had gone back to the Brilliance Shrinest month...¡±

    ¡°Damn you, Raleigh! So you returned to the Brilliance Shrine when I need you now! What the f*ck do you mean when you im God has love for His people? You¡¯d better stay at your shrine forever and nevere back. Or else, I¡¯m not going to forgive you...¡±

    ¡°The old man¡¯s temper has turned from bad to worse...¡± Lin Li mumbled before pushing the room¡¯s door open gently.

    ¡°Felic, you are finally here...¡± Macklin said as he sighed in relief when he saw Lin Li enter the room. He knew the abilities of this student. Lin Li would be the second person who could save Orrin apart from a Priest¡¯s theurgy.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°It was all due to that foolish group of people. Goddammit, I¡¯m not going to let that bastard Gryffindor off like this. If Orrin were to die in the Guild of Magic, how am I supposed to face his mentor? Quick, help me think of a way. Let¡¯s save his life first.¡±

    ¡°Let me see...¡± Lin Li said as he nodded and sat in front of Orrin bed to look at his injuries.

    Lin Li frowned right after that.

    The effect of Pyrost was not as bad. Although there was blood on his back, Orrin¡¯s organs were not injured at all. The real thing that endangered his life was another type of energy. When Lin Li sat in front of his bed, he could clearly see how ck smoke dispersed from his wounds...

    Lin Li knew trouble was big when he saw the ck fumes.

    He remembered how the simr fumes could have been found on McGrenn the other time.

    But, Orrin¡¯s current situation was worse now.

    That was right. It was the power of curse.

    McGrenn fell under the Sleep Curse back then. Its effect was average aspared to other curses. One bottle of Dispelling Potion would suffice in clearing 80 percent of the curse. However, for Orrin now, 10 bottles of Dispelling Potion might not do the trick.

    This time, Lin Li had a little headache.

    Although he was proficient in pharmaceutics, he was not skilled in curses.

    He could not tell what type of curse Orrin was put under. The ck smoke could only show that Orrin¡¯s situation was worse than McGrenn¡¯s the previous time.

    ¡°It will not threaten his life yet...¡± Lin Li shook his head and stood up from his chair. He said gravely, ¡°But, the situation is really bad. We might need to find someone to help us...¡±

    ¡°Find whom?¡± Macklin asked impatiently. ¡°I will set off right away.¡±

    ¡°Wait first...¡± After Lin Li stopped him, he took out a ss bottle, and said to Mason, ¡°Brother Mason, help me get a bottle of clear water and mix this medicine inside. Portion it and feed it to Orrin three times every one hour. Remember, do not give it to him too early, or his body might not be able to take it.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Mason nodded and went off to find clear water with the ss bottle in his hands.

    After thinking for a while, Lin Li took out a crystal card from his pocket. ¡°Mr. Macklin, could you send someone to Glittergold Bank for me?¡±

    ¡°Why are you going to the Glittergold Bank?¡± Macklin asked in surprise.

    ¡°To find someone,¡± Lin Li replied as he gave the crystal card to Macklin. ¡°Go and find any mage apprentice. Tell him to go to any Glittergold Bank to find Mr. Hoffman for Felic. Say that I would be waiting for him at the Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Macklin received the crystal card and headed off to find Hoffman uneasily. He really did not believe a crystal card could bring Hoffman over. Despite that, he was going to try whatever he could to rescue Orrin. If Hoffman was not able to save him, Orrin would really die in nna Guild of Magic this time.

    Not long after he left, Macklin stopped in his tracks again, and asked, ¡°Then where are you going?¡±

    ¡°The curse on Orrin is too powerful. I¡¯m going to find a priest to help.¡±

    ¡°Priest? How would there be any other priests in nna after that bastard, Raleigh, returned to the Brilliance Shrine...?¡±

    ¡°I will exin to you when Ie back...¡± Lin Li said as he left the treatment room in a hurry.

    After exiting the guild hall, Lin Li called for a coach to send him in the direction of Dawn Cathedral immediately. It was the only cathedral in nna with the Brilliance Shrine. If Lin Li did not remember wrongly, when Archbishop Englos had talked to him the other time, he told Lin Li to look for him there if he were to face any difficulty in theing month.

    ¡°Goddammit, now I owe two favors. I¡¯m not going to let you off, Gryffindor!¡±

 Chapter 250 - The Dry Soul Curse

    <h4>Chapter 250: The Dry Soul Curse</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Today, Dawn Cathedral was unusually bustling with activities. When Lin Li went over, he could see at least 10 coaches parked outside the door. Lin Li could not help but feel a little curious. Although he was mostly staying in the Guild of Magic, he would pass by the cathedral when he had errands to run, but Lin Li had never seen Dawn Cathedral so crowded before.

    Fn was the Kingdom of Magic. In thisnd, all children knew being a mage would make one the most sessful in his life. They believed in the power of elements and were curious about the mysterious knowledge of magic. Adults were telling them repeatedly ever since they were born to put in hard work to study magic and be a true mage when they grew up.

    The Brilliance Shrine had been nning to spread Dawn¡¯s teachings over this kingdom. Yet, what awaited them was not the blessing of Dawn, but a vigorous rejection they¡¯d never faced before. From royalty to random peasants, none subscribed to Dawn. Their hearts were wholly filled with the pursuit of Magic, and could not make any space for Dawn.

    An inn owner once said, if a mage and a priest visited his inn at the same time, the mage would get the best service, while the priest could only crouch in a corner to chew on burnt bread. This was the awkward position Dawn Cathedral faced in the Fn Kingdom.

    Dawn¡¯s efforts over few hundred years did not see any rewards. Finally, even the pope burst out in rage, eximing, ¡°Damn those heathens! Go to hell with your damn magic!¡±

    In the recent one hundred years, no priest was willing to visit the Fn Kingdom. They were all clear that there was no meaning in preaching for Dawn there. Even the most religious believer could not help but admit how everyone had magic in their blood¡ªeven the miracles that happened to him could not reform them.

    Dawn Cathedral was one of the few cathedrals in the Fn Kingdom. The unlucky Archbishop who was in charge of preaching for the cathedral was a middle-aged fatso named Raleigh.

    This middle-aged fatso had really bad luck. He was a level-15 Priest, but just because he offended an authority figure in the Brilliance Shrine, he got sent to a ce like nna.

    Not to mention a level-15 Priest, no one would tolerate a level-20 Priest in thend of nna. Nobody cared about the Holy Light and their teachings. In nna, Raleigh was seen as a good doctor¡ªa free one, though. The only group of people who would step into the Dawn Cathedral regrly would only be those low-level adventurers. What to do if they were to injure their hand due to battling a magical beast and did not want to pay a cent for their treatment? Raleigh was their answer, of course. His theurgy was rather good...

    As for the lower-level adventurers, only ghosts knew how many of them were willing to listen to him spread his teachings...

    No leader of any organization in nna actually acknowledged him. To them, Raleigh was a pitiful fe. Despite being the Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, he had zero authority and followers. Although Dawn Cathedral looked extremely grand and holy, it was only the appearance¡ªinside, it was extremely deste.

    Raleigh¡¯s days were indeed pathetic. The number of followers he¡¯d gathered was not more than two across the 20 years he worked in nna. His days here felt worse than death. Raleigh had been thinking of all the ways to leave the darn ce for the past two decades. He definitely was the Archbishop that put in the most effort in the whole of the Brilliance Shrine. In a year, he would not be in nna for at least six months, venturing everywhere to establish social ties. All these efforts were just in hopes of being transferred from nna during his yearly deployment.

    Hence, he had left nna against month...

    Who¡¯d expect that Dawn Cathedral became so lively after Raleigh¡¯s departure. The few young priests were busy greeting the big shots who made their visit. No one came out to invite Lin Li even after he stood at the entrance for 10 minutes. If it were in the past, not only young mages, but also Raleigh himself would run out to invite them inside...

    Lin Li got restless, standing at the door for such a long period of time. When a young priest walked past him, he stopped him immediately. ¡°May I ask if Archbishop Englos is in?¡±

    ¡°You are...?¡± The young priest looked at Lin Li suspiciously. There were too many people who came to look for Archbishop Englos in the past month. Of course, none of them were religious followers. There were also none willing to believe in the Holy Light. These people who were visiting the cathedral had no other motive but to get potions from Archbishop Englos.

    Being a pharmacist, Archbishop Englos had no choice too...

    After so many days, the young priests had already learned how to read their visitors...

    For example, from the appearance of the unfamiliar mage standing before them, his young age hinted that he had no status. By wearing a normal long robe, it suggested he did not have much money with him. In addition, the anxious expression on his face implied that it was his family or friends who got injured.

    Without status and money, why did he still go to Dawn Cathedral? They had seen enough for the past one month.

    ¡°I am Felic, from the Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± The young priest nodded, and ordered his guest to leave. ¡°Apologies Mr. Mage, Archbishop Englos is currently resting. If you are here for medications, I must dissuade you. You are not the only one who came here for medications recently.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li nearly choked on his saliva. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew he had beenbeled as an uninvited guest by the young priest.

    If it was before, Lin Li would just leave. Since there was no point to get into a conflict with the young priests, there was no harm to stay away from them. But, it was different this time. Orrin was still lying on the sickbed. If he did not find Englos, even if Hoffman was proficient in curses, the frail Orrin might still not be saved.

    ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Lin Li had no more patience. He pushed the two priests aside, and dashed into the cathedral immediately.

    The Dawn Cathedral today was not like the usual Dawn Cathedral. There were so many people visiting the cathedral these 10 days. Even if the young priests had been ignored by people previously, they had umted enough ire to face the mage that did not know his manners. One of them was fast enough to grab onto Lin Li¡¯s long robe, while another went in front of Lin Li to stop him.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°GO AWAY!!¡± Lin Li screamed. He was very concerned for his bed-ridden teammate, whom he had known for two months. Being pulled back by the robe triggered him, causing him to unleash all the anger that he had been umting in a Power of Repulse.

    How could the young priest who had not reached level-5 be able to endure the strength of an archmage? ¡°BAM!¡±. Before the young priest was able to hold onto the robe properly, an impregnable force blew him off. He was like a rock that smashed onto the street opposite of the cathedral.

    ¡°Little fe, let me remind you that this is Dawn Cathedral, where the Brilliance Shrine is. If you dare to y any games with us, your Guild of Magic might not even have the ability to save you!¡± two young priests beside him warned Lin Li sternly.

    ¡°Let me repeat it again. LEAVE ME ALONE!¡± Lin Li roared and forcefully let out a powerful magical wave. If Mason or Kevin was here, they would know that Lin Li was really enraged. If anyone were to obstruct him, it might cost lives.

    Unfortunately, these young priests did not understand Lin Li well. Although they were a little afraid of the person standing in front of them, the thought of Archbishop Englos being with them here allowed them to muster their courage. A few young priests stood at the door and red at Lin Li fearlessly.

    The entrance of Dawn Cathedral became a mess at once. People sitting in the cars outside the cathedral looked out of their windows. They were curious who that daring man was to create such a fuss at such a timing. Did he not know that the man inside the cathedral was not that trashy Raleigh, but one of the four popes of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos?!

    They thought that the young mage was doomed.

    While the crowd was stillmenting on the situation, they felt a strong sense of chill airing from far. Everybody looked in its direction, only to see a corpse-like old man donning a long ck robe alighting the coach.

    ¡°Sh*t, why is that man here...?¡± A few knowing people gasped. It was not the first time they saw him since they had been here almost every day. That guy was a monster that ughtered lives blindly!

    Hence, while the old man walked down the coach, some of them tried to hide in their cars. They could not help but worry for the young mage. He was doomed. What a waste of talent! Dashing into the cathedral aside, meeting the semi-undead monster showed how bad his luck was. The rtionship between the monster and Englos was not shallow. They did not know if the pitiful young mage was going to be turned into a skeleton or a zombie...

    No one expected that the young mage wouldugh.

    The more absurd thing was that the corpse-like old man wasughing too...

    ¡°What a coincidence, Master Felic!¡± Sendros had no reason not tough. Ever since the gathering at the Pharmacists Guild, he had been wanting to chat with that pharmaceutical genius. However, the two times he visited the Guild of Magic, he was told that Felic was not in. Then, he heard that that fatso Hoffman seemed to have struck a deal with this pharmaceutical genius a few days ago.

    Sendros felt that he could not wait any further. If it were to continue, the pharmaceutical genius of Fn would be snatched by other forces. That was absolutely not something the Darkness Shrine hoped to see.

    He was here at Dawn Cathedral to find Englos to discuss Orrin¡¯s situation. He hoped that the Darkness Shrine and the Brilliance Shrine would have an opportunity to coborate.

    He had not expected such a coincidence¡ªto think he¡¯d meet the pharmaceutical expert even before he found Englos. This luck was like a meat pie that dropped from the sky. Not to mention that Sendros was still a semi-undead monster, even if he became fully undead, he would stillughpletely hysterically.

    ¡°Hehe. Good afternoon, Master Sendros,¡± Lin Li greeted the man smilingly. He knew the rtionship between Sendros and Englos. Since Sendros was meeting Englos here, Lin Li¡¯s n to see Englos shouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°Oh, yes. Is Master Sendros here to look for Archbishop Englos?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. As I don¡¯t have much to do these few days, I¡¯ming here to find him for a chat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. I have a matter that needs Archbishop Englos¡¯ attention. Since you also want to go in, can you help me to send a message?¡±

    Sendros frowned, and asked doubtfully, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go in yourself? If Englos knew you are here, he would be very happy.¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Lin Li paused in his speech andughed helplessly.

    How would Sendros not understand his bodynguage?

    ¡°Are you stopping him?¡± Sendros red at the young priests. His palish face had no expression, but there was a hint of bloodlust in his eyes.

    ¡°Master Sendros, w-we... we really did not know this mage is acquainted with you...¡± the young priests muttered while they trembled. They could not believe that the seemingly status-less mage would know Sendros.

    It was as if they had seen a ghost...

    Who was Sendros? He was the man who controlled the whole Undead Army which had millions of members. To him, lives were mere consumables for his army. In the documentation of the Brilliance Shrine, Sendros had long been recorded as a bloodthirsty devil. Heunched more than 10 massacres, which led to at least thousands of casualties each time.

    Who wouldn¡¯t be scared of such a person? Although the young priests were sincere followers, none of them were fanatics. They were also fearful of Sendros. They feared that the semi-undead monster would kill them and turn them into undead using evil spells.

    Furthermore, he was a friend of Archbishop Englos.

    That was right, they were friends.

    People who were not aware of insider information would never understand how a priest who believed in the Holy Light and a mage who controlled the undead became acquainted. It was obvious that they were best friends, and everyone knew that the evil undead mage, Sendros, could to arge extent influence the decisions of Englos.

    He didn¡¯t even have to kill these young priests directly. With just a line from him, they would be doomed.

    The young priests¡¯ faces paled. Their gazes towards Lin Li betrayed their plea to be spared.

    They knew that the only one they could depend on was the mage. If he would help to speak a few good words, they would be able to live on. They did not dare to stop Lin Li anymore. As long as their lives were intact, what else mattered even if they let another person in?

    ¡°It¡¯s only a small misunderstanding. All will be good after some exnation.¡± Lin Liughed it off. He was definitely not as petty as the young priests. ¡°Oh, yes! Are you going to meet Archbishop Englos? Can I go with you?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    How would Sendros not understand Lin Li intended to forgive the young priests? Hence, Sendros nodded and walked into Dawn Cathedral.

    ¡°Englos, look who is with me!¡±

    ¡°Sendros, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not here just to see you. I¡¯ve brought you a noble guest too!¡± After seeing his old friend, it was as though a sense of humanity could be seen from the semi-undead monster. His palish face twitched and squeezed out a smile.

    Englos lifted his head suspiciously before grinning in surprise. ¡°Master Felic, I didn¡¯t expect that you would visit Dawn Cathedral. I still went to the Guild of Magic to look for you twice; unfortunately, you had not came back...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Archbishop Englos, you are too courteous. I¡¯m not fit to own the title ¡°Master¡± in front of both of you. You should just call me Felic.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Englos said as he invited the two men into the guest room to have a seat. He exined seriously, ¡°What you solved was a difficult task that no pharmacist in Fn could solve. Just this is enough for you to bear that title. Oh, yes. Master Felic, why are you free to visit me today?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and said honestly, ¡°One of my friends was cursed. I¡¯m here to find Archbishop Englos to help. I wonder if you have the time to do so?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind helping. But, to be honest, I¡¯m not really skilled in curses. Why don¡¯t you find Hoffman for help? He is a true Master of Curse.¡±

    ¡°I have already sent people to invite Mr. Hoffman. However, my friend is in an extremelyplicated state this time. He was not only put under a curse, but also badly injured. I fear he might not be able to endure the deep pain while we rid him of the curse. Hence, I hope that your theurgy could heal his body.¡±

    ¡°I can do that...¡± Englos agreed. As one of the four Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, his mastery in theurgy was naturally not something Raleigh could match. Even if he were to injure his arm badly, it could still be easily treated.

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Master Felic, may I ask what curse your friend was put under?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about that. I could only judge from his reactions. That curse, however, is very strange. It was like sizzling ck smoke emitting from his wounds. I could also feel that my friend is gradually weakened by the curse. I¡¯m afraid he does not have much time left...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Englosmented while he sank into deep thoughts.

    Just when Englos was still at a loss of what to do, Sendros interrupted, ¡°If I am not wrong, your friend is still in aa, is he?

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s right...¡± Sendros did not answer Lin Li¡¯s question, but continued, ¡°I have seen this type of curse before. It is called the Curse of the Dry Soul, a secret spell that has existed since the Dark Age. I remember reading about it from the magic book for the undead. The book states: ¡®A real devil can give you great powers if you know how to control it. However, if you don¡¯t, the devil would swallow you immediately.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Do you mean that this Dry Soul Curse is like a bite of mana¡ªif it failed to injure the opponent, it would harm the caster?¡± Lin Li asked, frowning. Could it be that Orrin was not attacked by Gryffindor, but learned a forbidden spell instead?

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a possibility...¡± Sendros said as he shook his head. ¡°Master Felic. Frankly speaking, this curse is the most troublesome of all. Because it has existed for so many years, it has been in the blood¡ªeven if I know the concept, I do not know how to cure it.¡±

    ¡°Sendros, please don¡¯t say that. Hoffman might have a way out.¡± Englos shot a re at his old friend. He knew how Sendros would always think of the worst case scenario. Although he might be right at times, it would not soundforting to the others.

    ¡°I hope so...¡± Sendros nodded unwillingly.

    ¡°Archbishop Englos, do you have time now? If it is possible, can you go and take a look personally? I¡¯m afraid my friend might not be able to wait any longer...¡± Lin Li asked impatiently.

    ¡°No problem,¡± agreed Englos without further ado.

    ¡°Can I go with you?¡± Sendros asked and stood up like Englos.

    ¡°Alright, both of you please follow me.¡±

    The three men walked out of Dawn Cathedral and rushed to the Guild of Magic in a coach. They left the young priests and the bored passers-by guessing at the noble identity of the young mage who could get the help from the leaders of the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine. It was no joke. Englos was one of the Archbishops of Brilliance Shrine, while Sendros had the authority over the whole of the Darkness Shrine. Their status was so high that even His Majesty would not be able to enjoy the same treatment.

    Those several young priests were especially scared, and broke out in sweat when they saw the leaving coach. If they had known the background of the young mage, they would not have dared to stop him.

    The coach stopped outside the guild hall. The two old men saw a familiar figure the moment they came out of the coach.

    ¡°Hahaha! Hoffman, you¡¯re here too?¡± Hoffman¡¯s round figure was too obvious. Sendros recognized him among the crowd right away after alighting from the coach. ¡°Why don¡¯t you rush back to Breezy ins to look after your daughter? Don¡¯t regret if she were to elope with a random dude...¡±

    ¡°F*ck! Sendros, what a shameless set of old bones you are! I¡¯m going to spike your food sooner orter...¡± Hoffman was halfway through scolding that Sendros when he realized that Sendros did not need to eat at all. Hence, he added another scornful line. ¡°Nope... You do not even need to eat any food. Just scram back to your cemetery and gnaw on corpses! I feel so awkward standing with you...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was speechless hearing how the two oldies bantered with each other. He decided to step in to mediate their dispute. ¡°You two, you two, mind your image!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Master Felic is right. I¡¯m a sessful man. I should not argue with a semi-undead monster...¡± Hoffman scoffed as he entered the guild hall.

    ¡°This fe...¡± Sendros and Englos mumbled as they shook their heads reluctantly and followed them in.

    Lin Li led the way and brought the three men to the guild¡¯s treatment room. He took some time to tell Hoffman about Orrin¡¯s situation along the way.

    ¡°Damn. So it¡¯s the Curse of the Dry Soul. This is bad...¡± Hoffmanmented after hearing Lin Li describe the situation. He could not help but frown at the thought of it.

    ¡°What do you think, Master Hoffman? You, too, can¡¯t deal with the Dry Soul Curse?¡± Lin Li asked after seeing Hoffman¡¯s expression. Lin Li could not help but grow nervous. If this expert in curses could not deal with it, he knew Orrin would really be in grave danger.

    ¡°But, it does not mean we have no solution for him. It would just be more troublesome...¡± Hoffman said as he shook his head. He did not say that Orrin would surely die, but he could not rx his deep frown.

    ¡°You mean...?¡±

    ¡°I mean...¡± Hoffman paused in his words. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go look at your friend first. Maybe his situation is not that serious.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 251 - Comrades, Brothers

    <h4>Chapter 251: Comrades, Brothers</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When Lin Li entered the guild¡¯s treatment room, he saw Macklin pacing around the room anxiously. Perhaps it was due to Orrin¡¯s serious injury, but Macklin¡¯s mood was seriously affected. The group of mages who wanted to visit Orrin was standing far away from Macklin fearfully. Mason was the only person sitting by Orrin¡¯s bed out of the ten-plus people in the room. There was a cup of water in his hand. Lin Li told him to give that to Orrin before he left. Macklin who always liked to find fault with others would definitely not target him now.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Lin Li asked softly as he walked beside Mason.

    Mason sighed, and replied, ¡°He looks better, but is still unconscious...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will think of a solution,¡± Lin Liforted him. Then, he called out to Macklin who was pacing back and forth. ¡°I say, Mr. Macklin, aren¡¯t you tired of walking around? Can¡¯t you stop and take a break? I have invited Englos to look at Orrin...¡±

    ¡°HUH?¡± Macklin gasped. He did not expect that Archbishop Englos was the person whom Lin Li found!

    ¡°Oh, yes. There¡¯s Hoffman too...¡±

    Damn. This fe must have had a secret between him and Hoffman! From what the apprentice who returned said, the moment he showed the crystal card in Glittergold Bank, he got treated like a noble guest. When he mentioned he was there to look for Hoffman, people brought him to Hoffman immediately. There was zero obstacles in the process. It was as if it was absolutely normal for a random apprentice to look for Hoffman.

    When he saw Hoffman, this plump middle-aged man asked nothing at all. He called for a coach and followed him to the Guild of Magic without further ado.

    ¡°Archbishop Englos is here too?¡± Macklin asked. After all, Englos was one of the Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine. Even if Macklin was really anxious about Orrin¡¯s condition, he just had to go to the door and invite Englos in all smiles. It was a necessary etiquette that Macklin needed to observe, or else he might damage the rtionship between the Guild of Magic and the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, Macklin¡¯s smile froze the moment he stepped out of the guild.

    <i>What the hell...</i>

    <i>Why does that fe who is standing behind Englos look so familiar?</i>

    The face of the scrawny man tightly wrapped in the long ck robe was as pale as that of a corpse, and the cold and ominous vibes he radiated confirmed Macklin¡¯s suspicion. Who could he be other than Sendros himself?

    Goddammit! Why would Sendros appear at the Guild of Magic?!

    At that moment, Macklin¡¯s hair stood up. How could he not know who Sendros was? He was a necromancer well known in the recent decade, and had the abilityparable to Legendary-mages. Although he had not appeared in Fn Kingdom in the recent 10 years, his name was known to even young children. The Massacre of Rotterdam was too famous that even the parents today used his name to scare their children.

    This time, Macklin was really petrified.

    It was not strange for Hoffman to be here, since the other time in the guild hall he¡¯d admitted that he had bought a batch of herbs from Lin Li. As for Archbishop Englos, his presence should be rted to Andoine. Macklin knew that this Archbishop owed Andoine a huge favor when he was younger.

    However...

    How could Sendros be here...? Was he dreaming...?

    He was a real necromancer¡ªa semi-human monster. Apart from having a close rtionship with Englos, Macklin had not heard how he would ever lend help to anyone else. Even if Felic was talented and had a strong backing, how could this young mage aged 20 even get acquainted with a figure like Sendros?

    Wait a minute...

    Just when Macklin was stunned, he thought of something...

    Didn¡¯t Felic participate in a gathering half a month ago? Macklin remembered that the organizer of the gathering was the Pharmacists Guild. If he did not remember wrongly, apart from having a massive background and impressive abilities, the three big shots in front of him had another simrity. That was, they were all true pharmacists!

    Ever since that gathering, nna Guild of Magic had been visited by many big shots every other day, from Prince Lionheart Johnathan and Head Assassin Oro to Archbishop Englos and the fatso Hoffman... They were all like trotting horsemps, and all said nothing when they came to the Guild of Magic. They only tried to strike meaningless conversations with Macklin and Aldwin, and asked about the recent talents from the Guild of Magic...

    <i>Freak, ain¡¯t Felic a talent?</i>

    This time, Macklin understood itpletely.

    The never-ending streams of big shots were all here to look for Felic.

    Felic must have done something that caught their attention during that gathering and attracted all of them to the Guild of Magic.

    <i>This fe is too crafty! He did not even say a word about it when he came back. To even bber about having traded herbs with Hoffman... Nope, I have to discuss this with Aldwin...</i>

    The identities of the several men that came were even more unbelievable. They were all true pharmacists, and only high-ranking pharmacists could get close to them.

    <i>Damn. Evil Felic must have hidden it very well...</i>

    When he was at the Nightmare Mountains, Macklin heard for himself that that fe had once given Andoine suggestions how to improve in pharmaceutics. He knew then that Lin Li must have had great abilities in pharmaceutics. However, Macklin did not expect that his ability was so high. What did it mean to be a high-ranking pharmacist? He must have known hundreds of potion crafting forms. With all this knowledge, to emerge victorious in a battle between Archmages would be a piece of cake!

    Macklin scratched his head. He had indeed seen a monster!

    He really wanted to ask if that fe was human. Not to mention that he reached the Archmage realm at the age of 20, he was also proficient in pharmaceutics and forging. With Lin Li being both a high-ranking cksmith and a high-ranking pharmacist, Macklin would not be shocked if he were to see Lin Li give birth to a child one day...

    ¡°Take a seat inside quickly...¡± Macklin invited the three men into the treatment room hospitably. However, he could not help but want to interrogate that fe after he got Orrin cured!

    Englos frowned the moment he saw Orrin when he stepped into the room.

    ¡°Felic, I¡¯m afraid to tell you that your friend¡¯s condition is really terrible...¡±

    ¡°Yes, I know that...¡±

    ¡°If I haven¡¯t guessed it wrongly, the injury on his body must have been caused by a fire element magical spell. That is nothing, though. Due to the presence of the Dry Soul Curse, his life force has already been drained. Even if I use my Holy Light Spell on him, the injuries on his body would not get better at all...¡±

    ¡°Then could we wait for Mr. Hoffman to rid Orrin of the curse before you perform the Holy Light treatment?¡±

    ¡°That might work, but it must be quick. If not, after he loses more blood and his life force getspletely drained, only the pope will have the ability to save him...¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Lin Li nodded his head and turned to Hoffman. ¡°Mr. Hoffman, regarding the solution you¡¯ve mentioned just now...¡±

    ¡°Let me try...¡± Hoffman walked in front of the sickbed and raised his right hand slowly. At that moment, his five plump fingers looked extremely agile as though they had no bones inside them. After a few weird hand gestures, a white ray of light shot out from his palm and covered Orrin¡¯s wound instantaneously.

    During that process, Lin Li could clearly see that it was as though that ray of light had its own life force, which entered Orrin¡¯s body continuously. At the same time, the ck smoke seemed to be triggered and moved vigorously. It was like a thick and dense gray cloud carrying the stench of blood while covering Orrin¡¯s wound.

    As the ray of white light grew brighter, the sweat on Hoffman¡¯s plump face grew more copious too. Atst, his face grew as pale as Sendros¡¯.

    Lin Li knew it was because he had exerted too much energy.

    Even though Lin Li knew little about curses, it was evident that Hoffman tried his best in dealing with Orrin¡¯s curse. Those few minutes were enough to exhaust and turn him into a pallid man. His sweaty face turned ashen as though he had just run at least 10 kilometers.

    <i>Sh*t, now I owe him a big favor...</i>

    Hoffman was a real businessman. Since he was willing to drain his energy to save Orrin, he would expect greater returns. It would be hard for Lin Li to reject his requests in the future.

    ¡°Bastard Gryffindor, I¡¯m not going to forgive you!¡± Lin Li muttered furiously under his breath. The thought of owing three big favors gave him a terrible headache. If there weren¡¯t so many people present, he would have taken his revenge on Gryffindor right and then.

    ¡°Felic,e here...¡± While the three master pharmacists were toiling away, Master Felic called Lin Li over.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li nced at Macklin cautiously. He was prepared to face Macklin¡¯s interrogation as to how he¡¯d managed to invite the three big shots at one go. Macklin would have guessed what he did during that gathering...

    ¡°Nothing much, I just wanted to have a chat with you...¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. You don¡¯t need to ask me anything¡ªI will tell you myself. That¡¯s right. I met them during the gathering at the Pharmacists Guild. All of them wanted to get close to me as I¡¯m knowledgeable in the pharmaceutical field. Hence, when I requested that they help me, they agreed immediately. Period. What else do you want to ask?¡± Lin Li was very direct. He told Macklin of all that had happened.

    ¡°F*ck, only you know how many things you have hidden!¡± Macklin cursed after listening to Lin Li¡¯s ount. He red at him unhappily, but he shook his head. ¡°But, this was not what I wanted to talk about...¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± Lin Li nearly fell on his buttocks. So he hade clean with the old man for nothing??

    ¡°Who told you to act smart...?¡± The old man pursed his lips. Then, he asked Lin Li seriously, ¡°Are you thinking of finding trouble with Gryffindor?¡±

    ¡°Crap, that¡¯s a must!¡± Lin Li burst out in rage upon hearing Gryffindor¡¯s name. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that he attacked Orrin with Pyrost? If not for Orrin¡¯s strong health, he would have died from that. How would he be able to have the strength to use any curse?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! That bastard Gryffindor owes a beating!¡± Macklin cursed righteously. Yet, after that, he frowned again. ¡°But, Felic... You might not want to create a conflict with Gryffindor these two days...¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± Lin Li frowned. Gryffindor nearly killed Orrin with a Pyrost! Was this old dude forbidding him to find trouble with Gryffindor? Did he be senile due to his fear of Sendros?

    Lin Li, Orrin, and Mason had been living together for the past two months. From the beginning when they started off clearing the tasks Macklin gave them, to struggling in the Shadowglen together and being study buddies in the Omniscient Tower every day, and then learning from each other in the arena every other day together, their rtionship had surpassed any normal friendship. They had be the bestrades and the closest brothers. Gryffindor¡¯s act of attacking Orrin with a Pyrost was the same as him attacking Lin Li with it.

    How could he not avenge Orrin? How could Macklin say that...?

    Lin Li still remembered when they were at the Nightmare Mountains, when Bathrilor¡¯s father, Archmage Aeron wanted to attack him, it was Orrin who rushed in front of him to defend him.

    How could Lin Li not avenge such arade, such a brother?

    ¡°Felic, listen to me...¡±

    ¡°Why should I listen to you, Mr. Macklin? Gryffindor had injured my teammate. My teammate who had protected me from Archmage Aeron. Can you give me a reason not to take revenge for him?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Because that bastard Gryffindor is lucky. He has a mentor from the Supreme Council. So please do not get into a conflict with him...¡± Macklin sighed. ¡°Do you know who is Gryffindor¡¯s mentor?¡±

    ¡°Do I look like I care...?¡±

    ¡°Gryffindor¡¯s mentor is called Rosen. He¡¯s like your mentor Andoine, who had reached the Legendary realm, and is one of the leaders in the Supreme Council.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. But, I have to tell you something. The rtionship between Rosen and Andoine has not been very good these 10 years. Because they are the leaders of the Supreme Council, they have the chance to be the next Arbiter of the council.

    ¡°If you were to beat Gryffindor up, the issue will spread and it will absolutely affect thepetition between them. The Supreme Council is not like nna Guild of Magic. They have terribly stringent rules and your actions might affect Andoine directly...

    ¡°Imagine: if Andoine were to lose to Rosen, would Rosen forgive you and Andoine as the new arbiter? nna Guild of Magic might even be his target. I¡¯m sure this will not be what you want to see...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Macklin¡¯s words stuck Lin Li. His frown loosened. But, when he looked at Macklin, he could not help but feel a little suspicious.

    ¡°Damn, do you think I don¡¯t wish to beat that bastard up? Let me tell you, my urge to do so is stronger than yours. Do you know why that is so? Orrin¡¯s mentor is Ronald, a friend I have known for a few decades. When Orrin first came to nna, he had asked me to take care of his only disciple. Or why do you think I would put aside all mymitments just to be the trial mentor of you brats? What were my motives? I just wanted to see for myself how powerful the magic genius that Gerian mentioned was, as well as take care of the student of my old friend...¡±

    ¡°Alright, I must admit that your exnation is reasonable. But, I just can¡¯t swallow this anger! You¡¯d better tell Gryffindor to hide well, and don¡¯t let me meet him in nna!¡±

    ¡°Actually, you do not need to put up with him that long...¡± Macklin smiled slyly. After looking around furtively, he asked Lin Li in a low voice, ¡°Did you hear about the rules of the finals?¡±

    Lin Li froze and asked, ¡°What rules?¡±

    ¡°Herza personally told me that the finals allowed ¡°idental¡± injuries...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Li eximed and his eyes brightened immediately. He did not expect that it was allowed in the finals.

    <i>Doesn¡¯t this mean that I can push the me away if Gryffindor were to be harmed?</i>

    The old man nodded gravely and confirmed his doubts. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great...¡±

    ¡°But I would like to remind you that the finals will take ce at the Sky Tower. Aldwin had established multiple mageweaths to greatly lessen the impact of attacking spells. If you n to injure Gryffindor, you have to use powerful magic...¡±

    ¡°Noted...¡± Lin Li nodded understandingly. He fixed his gaze on the Omniscient Tower in the distance. It seemed like he had to visit the tower one more time in these two days. He had not copied down that one magic spell that would create a devastating impact...

    When the two men finished conversing and returned to the treatment room, the exhausted Hoffman was already leaning against the back of the chair, resting. When he saw Lin Li entering the room, he told him breathlessly, ¡°The Dry Soul Curse is almost cured. I will leave the rest to Archbishop Englos...¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Mr Hoffman.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Hoffman replied, and shook his head tiredly. ¡°But let me go and rest now...¡±

    ¡°Will do,¡± Lin Li replied. Lin Li was really d after hearing that the curse had been broken. If not for the presence of the curse, with the ability of Archbishop Englos, Orrin would have been already saved earlier.

    Englos really lived up to his title as one of the four Archbishops of Dawn Cathedral. A simple ray of Holy Light from him was enough to summon an umtion of Divine Power into the air. His abilities were on a different level rtive to Bishop Raleigh. The wave of Divine Power was like a flowing stream, having tremendous momentum but not threatening, and was forever filled with a peaceful and harmonious vibe...

    When the Divine Power generated a warm white light, it was like a water curtain covered Orrin¡¯s body. As the magnificent wave of Divine Power entered him, life could be seen from Orrin¡¯s ghastlyplexion. The wound caused by the Pyrost turned from blood-red to pinkish. His muscles squirmed continuously and recovered quickly under their eyes.

    ¡°Amazing...¡± Lin Li gasped. This was the first time he saw Englos with his spells. He could not believe that such a simple Holy Light Spell could generate an effect much more powerful than the Recovery Potion. Could the legendary pope revive a dead person using this as well?

    He saw how ignorant he was. He¡¯d always thought magic was the most powerful force in the world. It seemed that The World of Anril was so huge that it was worthy to learn from other upations as well.

    ¡°Szz...¡± When the warm light dispersed, Orrin who had been lying on the sick bed finally frowned and let out a faint sound.

    ¡°How are you, pretty boy?¡± Mason rushed over to Orrin in surprise. Although he was insulting him, his tone could not veil the amount of concern he had for him.

    ¡°Moron, sh... shut up...¡±

    ¡°Thank goodness...!¡± Mason eximed in relief. Since that fe could scold people even before he opened his eyes, it meant that everything was well now.

    ¡°Thank you, Archbishop Englos,¡± Lin Li said gratefully. Orrin was finally dragged back from the edge of death!

    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Englos said smilingly. He stood up and waved goodbye to Lin Li. ¡°Alright, Master Felic, your friend should be fine now. I still have things on with Sendros, thus I will be going back to Dawn Cathedral first.¡±

    ¡°Are you leaving already?¡±

    ¡°I have no choice but to rush too... Oh, yes! Master Felic, if you are free, you can visit me at Brilliance Shrine. I hope to ask you some questions with regard to pharmaceutics.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I will definitely visit you when I have the time.¡±

 Chapter 252 - The Eve Of The Finals

    <h4>Chapter 252: The Eve Of The Finals</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gryffindor had been in high spirits these two days.

    It so happened that he met Orrin in the arena even before the finals. This was something he had not expected. Moreover, that moron was foolish enough to take the initiative to attack the guild¡¯s steward despite being a trial apprentice. Even if he was killed, he could only me himself for his own bad luck.

    Unfortunately...

    Mason, that fly, got in the way and took Orrin away at the veryst minute. The Pyrost that he had so carefully prepared couldn¡¯t be released in time.

    So be it¡ªOrrin was lucky this time. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t survive more than a few days. He was directly hit by the Pyrost, and in addition, Gryffindor had cast a curse at thest moment. Even if he didn¡¯t die on the spot, he wouldn¡¯t survive until the day of the finals.

    <i>Better let mee up against that Jarrosus country boy in the first round. I¡¯ll let him know then that there¡¯s also a distinction among the Archmages...</i>

    Gryffindor returned to his apartment in a cheerful mood. His teammates had moved out, so the room was exceptionally quiet. Now the whole apartment was Gryffindor¡¯s. The few chairs in the living room were ced at random. A huge crystal ball that was emitting a soft light was ced on the tea table.

    Gryffindor stood before the crystal ball and recited a spell hurriedly. Then there was only a ray of light, and a white-haired figure appeared in the crystal ball.

    ¡°Gryffindor, do you have some questions on magic you¡¯d like to ask me, seeing that you¡¯ve reached out to me at this time?¡± The old man in the crystal ball looked to be in his sixties. He was gaunt and his face was covered in wrinkles. Other than a pair of keen eyes, he looked no different than an ordinary old man.

    ¡°Yes, Mentor Rosen. I¡¯ve been trying to shorten the duration of my recitations, but I seem to be having some problems...¡± Gryffindor quickly exined the difficulty.

    Rosen was still holding onto a crystal pen in the crystal ball. His eyebrows were furrowed as he drew a line on a nk scroll while exining a principle to Gryffindor in aprehensive and meticulous way. ¡°Shortening the duration of the recitation is the simplest way to improve mental strength, but it does not mean much to you. After all, the enhancement of the mental strength can¡¯t be done overnight. Another way is to analyze the structure of the elements repeatedly. The more you understand the structure of the elements, the quicker you can finish your spell-casting...¡±

    Gryffindor continued with a few more questions. Rosen took time to answer all of them while still busying himself with the scroll. He seemed absent-minded, but his answers were sinct and precise. His exnations were in one or two sentences, but he always managed to hit the nail on the head. They were issues whose solutions Gryffindor couldn¡¯t figure out even after thinking for a long while, but he¡¯d immediately show expressions of sudden enlightenment when guided by Rosen with a mere word.

    If Lin Li were present, he could probably make out what Rosen had drawn on the scroll¡ªit was a ¡°tidal¡± mageweath. This mageweath, which could increase the speed of mana restoration by several times, was not easy to draft. Only Inscribers who attained a mastery level and beyond could understand itsplete structure. It was well known to be extremely difficult to draw. Even Aldwin, who was known as the number one Inscriber in Fn, could not guarantee he¡¯d seed in every try, not to mention Rosen, who was giving pointers to his disciple while drawing the mageweath.

    Speaking of Rosen, he was indeed nothing but legendary.

    He came from the Fallen Leaves City¡¯s Guild of Magic, north of the Breezy ins. His name first became known 40 years ago. At that time, Rosen had just turned 30, but he had already broken through to the Archmage realm. In a battle between the Fallen Leaves City Guild of Magic and the pirates, he¡¯d killed a level-18 pirate with one strike, and his name spread throughout the Fn Kingdom at once.

    In the following 10 years, Rosen¡¯s prestige in the guild reached the peak. He had various virtues¡ªpowerful strength, meticulous mind, tactful management¡ªthat helped him establish an absolute prestige in the Fallen Leaves City Guild of Magic. Almost everyone thought that he¡¯d be a strong candidate for the next president. Even the then-president of the guild had once said in public that once he stepped down, Rosen would be the one to oversee the Fallen Leaves City Guild of Magic.

    However, Rosen made a surprising decision at that time.

    He gave up his position of the future president of the guild and applied to the Supreme Council in the hope of entering the library to study. With his position in the Fallen Leaves City Guild of Magic at that time, the Supreme Council naturally could not refuse his request. Less than a month after the application was filed, Rosen was admitted into the library. He¡¯d stayed there for three years, and by the time he¡¯d left the library, he already had the strength of the level-18 Archmage.

    Later, he¡¯d received an invitation from the Supreme Council and entered into the center of power that all mages of Anril dreamed of. Over the next three decades, Rosen climbed higher and higher up thedder at an astonishing speed with his own abilities. To this day, he remained one of the ten leaders in charge of tens of thousands of mages, and there was good chance that he could go one step further and be a new arbitrator in the near future.

    But there was something odd about him. Rosen¡¯s name had been heard in most parts of Anril. However, no one really knew exactly what kind of person Rosen was.

    Others would more or less have some sort of desire. Even Andoine, someone who was indifferent to almost everything in the world, had a near-fanatical passion for pharmaceutics. But Rosen seemed like an ascetic. Apart from the most profound knowledge of magic, he would never be interested in anything else.

    He did only two things after he was admitted into the Supreme Council. One was to ept Gryffindor as his disciple, and the second was topete for the seat of the arbitrator. Other than that, he seemed to stay in his research room forever, dealing with all kinds of mageweaths.

    ¡°By the way, Gryffindor...¡± After answering these questions one by one, Rosen smiled again and asked Gryffindor with great interest, ¡°I seem to have heard recently that another young Archmage was born in nna Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mentor.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°Okay. He¡¯s called Felic, probably about 19 to 21 years old. He¡¯s from Jarrosus Guild of Magic. To be honest, he shouldn¡¯t be considered a real Archmage with his strength. I¡¯ve met him once two weeks ago. If I were to have a duel with him, I believe he wouldn¡¯t be able tost more than 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡°Tell me where you got this confidence from...¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this person¡¯s strength does not belong to him. He had suddenly acquired it by virtue of some luck or other reason¡ªI can clearly feel the magical wave emanating from him isn¡¯t at all pure. In other words, he can¡¯t manipte his strength very well. And what¡¯s important is that while he could acquire his strength at once, knowledge is different. Even though he has the strength of an Archmage, he doesn¡¯t have enough time to learn the knowledge an Archmage should possess. He is far from being a real Archmage. I am confident of defeating such an opponent in 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡°Not bad, Gryffindor. You¡¯ve be more meticulous.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°But, you seem to forget something...¡± At this point, Rosen¡¯s smile disappeared and was reced with a somber expression. ¡°What you¡¯ve said happened two weeks ago. How can you be sure that he still hasn¡¯t gotten a grasp of his own strength after two weeks?¡±

    ¡°Impossible, Mentor Rosen. I remember clearly that this fellow was only a level-nine mage at the start of the trial. It¡¯s a six levels¡¯ ascension from level-nine to level-15. Even the most impressive genius couldn¡¯t have been able to adapt to such an incredible speed of improvement. Moreover, if he¡¯s really a great genius, how could he still be stuck at level-nine at the age of 20? He should¡¯ve broken through to the realm of the Magic Shooter with his own efforts, and not make the leap to an Archmage by a strange encounter.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like a good analysis. But if you were to go to the finals with this thought, you¡¯d probably be inviting trouble to yourself...¡± Rosen smiled. He was generous with his patience to his only disciple. ¡°Now, listen to my analysis. Perhaps you¡¯ll change your mind after listening to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, this fellow has made the leap from level-nine straight to level-15. Yes, it¡¯s a far cry. But you seem to have forgotten that the amount of mana a person can hold is limited. The stronger your mental strength, the more powerful your mana will be. The mana of an Archmage is almost 100 times that of a level-nine mage. Do you know what it means? If we were to liken magic to water, then a level-nine mage can only fill a small bottle, while an Archmage can fill a bucket. Think about it¡ªwhat will happen if you force a bucket of water into a small bottle?¡±

    ¡°The bottle will burst...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Then, can you tell me, did that Archmage called Felic burst?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Gryffindor pondered, but was still unconvinced. ¡°It could be because of luck...¡±

    Rosen smiled. ¡°You¡¯re still insisting on luck. Gryffindor, I hope you remember that there has never been a really lucky person in the world. There is an inevitable principle behind every seemingly lucky encounter. The difference lies in whether you can grasp it. For the young man you¡¯re talking about now, there could only be two reasons. One, he had concealed his strength when you first met him. Second, he has a terribly strong mental strength, and possessed the mental strength of an Archmage at level-nine.¡±

    Gryffindor was shocked when he heard what Rosen said. He was about to open his mouth to make a response when he heard Rosen¡¯s voiceing from the other end again. ¡°In either case, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not good news for you. There¡¯s nothing to say about concealing his strength. It wasn¡¯t a big deal that he managed to hide it from you, but he managed to hide it from Aldwin. Did it not cross your mind how he could conceal it so well? As for the second possibility... It¡¯s even more terrifying to think about it. Mental strength is the most important thing to a mage. If one has a unique advantage in mental strength, then he¡¯s an out-and-out magic genius. This advantage will give him inestimable edge in a battle between two mages. He¡¯ll have a faster spell-casting speed and a faster mana recovery time. He can even ignore the danger of the bite of mana and impose powerful spells that you could never imagine. Such an opponent can¡¯t be handled in 10 minutes...¡±

    ¡°Mentor, you mean, I should have a fight with him before the finals, just like how I did with Orrin?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... I¡¯ve never said that. Orrin and Felic are two different people. You should never put them together; otherwise, you¡¯llnd yourself in hot water...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± This time, Gryffindor was really astonished. He could admit that Felic was a genius. It was a fact that he was a 20-year-old Archmage, after all. This was something that he couldn¡¯t deny. However, Gryffindor would never believe that he¡¯dnd himself in hot water if heid a hand on Felic.

    He was the number one magic genius in Fn, and a disciple of a Legendary-mage. He even held the position of a steward in the Guild of Magic. He was second only to Aldwin and Macklin, and held the same rank as Darian. What was Felic to him? He was merely a country boy. So what if he had the strength of an Archmage? So what if he was Macklin¡¯s trial apprentice? Surely Macklin wouldn¡¯t go all out with him over a trial apprentice? As for the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, they were too insignificant to be considered. What could that fat Gerian do? Only one word from his mentor would send that fatty straight back to Jarrosus!

    ¡°Are you thinking that you could confront him without a care for nobody because he¡¯s a mage from Jarrosus, who¡¯s got no background or status?¡±

    Gryffindor did not speak, but the indifference on his face revealed all his thoughts.

    ¡°Gryffindor, it really didn¡¯t ur to me that you¡¯re still so filled with pride. Have you forgotten how you lost to Orrin back in Rotterdam Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°It was a moment of carelessness...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a ridiculous excuse...¡± Rosen burst outughing in the crystal ball. ¡°Gryffindor, do you still remember how many forces had tried to scout you when you¡¯ve just be an Archmage?¡±

    ¡°A lot.¡± Gryffindor¡¯s voice was calm, but there was some pride on his face. This was something he was proud of. Since he became an Archmage, numerous forces had tried to pull him over to their side. Many of them were big figures who seldom showed their faces. Such a privilege was definitely one of a kind among young mages!

    ¡°Then have you ever thought how many forces Felic will attract, being an Archmage who¡¯s even younger than you?¡±

    The expression on Gryffindor¡¯s face froze...

    ¡°Ugh...¡± He opened his mouth, but didn¡¯t know what to say.

    ¡°But, this is nothing...¡± Rosen suddenly chuckled at this point. ¡°There¡¯s still the finals, right?¡±

    ¡°You mean?¡±

    ¡°My meaning is simple. You must nevery a hand on Felic before the finals. But perhaps you can inflict some unrecoverable trauma on him using the excuse that your hand slipped or something along the line during the finals. It¡¯ll be a pity, but it is allowed in the finals, after all...¡±

    ¡°I understand. But Mentor, didn¡¯t you say that thed was probably no weaker than me?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. But don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re Rosen¡¯s disciple. How can I possibly let you lose in this finals? You can read the magic book I¡¯ve given you the other time now. I¡¯ve written a paragraph for you on thest page. Take a good look at that paragraph, and tell me what you should do after you¡¯ve understood it.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Gryffindor returned to his room and took out a ck-covered magic book from under his pillow. On thest page, there was a passage written by Rosen himself. Gryffindor¡¯s eyes glowed brighter and brighter as he read through each and every word...

    ...

    It was veryte at night, but the lights were on in Lin Li¡¯s room. He was looking up some information and making final preparations for the finals that¡¯d take ce the day after tomorrow.

    After arriving in nna, Lin Li had never been this eager to win the finals as he was at present. Although he¡¯d promised Gerian, Macklin, and Andoine that he would do his best in the finals, it was only because he couldn¡¯t stand up to their demands. Even if he had given his promise, he held little regard for it in his heart. After all, azy and fearful fellow like him was not one to fight for glory.

    But this time, Lin Li was serious.

    Orrin was still lying in bed. He probably couldn¡¯t make it for the finals that¡¯dmence a dayter. All this happened because of that fellow called Gryffindor.

    Lin Li had been living with Orrin for two months. How could he not know that this young mage, who seemed indifferent to everything, really wanted to do well in the finals? Lin Li even remembered how Orrin had once said that he was from the Rotterdam Guild of Magic, a ce more remote than Jarrosus. He hoped to clinch the first ce in the finals to let people know that Rotterdam was not only a ce rich in wheat, but also a ce with powerful mages!

    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t take part in the finals now.

    Other than wishing for his fast recovery, Lin Li could only win the finals on his behalf.

    In front of Lin Li was a book titled Introduction to High Elves Print. He was struggling to find suitablemonnguage to annotate the strange runes. In his other hand, he was holding the parchment scroll that Macklin gave him. He was attempting to trante the key words with his own efforts.

    Perhaps this spell would be of some help in the finals two dayster.

    ...

    Matthias was meditating in the secret room of the Marathon Family. No one dared to disturb him at this time, for they knew that the finals that would take ce two dayster would determine who was the real magic genius in Fn.

    ¡°Come in, Argus.¡±

    ¡°Master Matthias, what can I do for you?¡± Argus felt unfamiliar with the man before him. In just a month, the changes on Matthias¡¯ body could only be described as ¡°earth-shaking¡±. Argus, who was once an Archmage, couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised at the magical wave emanating from Matthias. It was simply too powerful. Even in his heyday, he couldn¡¯t have emanated with such a magical wave.

    But what Argus couldn¡¯t imagine was the change in Matthias¡¯ temperament.

    To be honest, Matthias wasn¡¯t at all likable in the past, but he was still respectful to him most of the time. After all, he was his mentor. But now, as he stood before Matthias, Argus felt chills all over his body, and it was as if he was being locked onto by a serpent¡¯s stare. The eerie feeling made his hair stand on ends.

    ¡°Argus, have you prepared what I¡¯ve asked you to prepare?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Matthias...¡± Argus swallowed his saliva and looked at Matthias in trepidation. Then he cautiously took out two magical crystals. ¡°However, Master Matthias, the level-15 magical crystal you asked for is too rare. I have searched many ces, but could only get two of them...¡±

    ¡°Two?¡± Matthias held the two magical crystals in his hand and felt the surging magical wave emanating from them. There was a faint smile on his pale face. ¡°One each for the two Archmages. It should be enough...¡±

    Argus¡¯ heart tightened at the mention of the two Archmages. He knew whom Matthias was talking about. He was talking about the two Archmages in the nna Guild of Magic¡ªone was Fn¡¯s number one magic genius, Gryffindor, and the other was Felic, whom he had once attempted to assassinate.

    He could no longer see through the present Matthias. He could only guess from his expression that these two magical crystals were specially used to deal with the two Archmages.

    <i>This isn¡¯t good...</i>

    Argus stood there respectfully, but he was in fact feeling anxious. Argus couldn¡¯t care less if Gryffindor died; he knew nothing about thetter anyway. But Felic could not die. He was still counting on Felic to restore his mana. If he died, wouldn¡¯t he have to stay a Magic Shooter for the rest of his life?

    At the thought of this, Argus plucked up his courage, and asked, ¡°Master Matthias, do you have a special use for these two magical crystals? If two pieces are not enough, I can try to find another way to help you get two more pieces...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know in two days.¡± Fortunately, Matthias seemed to be distracted. Although there were some ws in Argus¡¯ words, it did not arouse his suspicion. He just held the two magical crystals tightly, and his eyes were full of hatred and irony. ¡°Archmages, eh? I¡¯m going to show you this time that there¡¯s another Archmage besides the two of you...¡±

 Chapter 253 - The Truth

    <h4>Chapter 253: The Truth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was exceptionally sunny in nna on this day.

    Lin Li woke up early in the morning. He took the little Dragonhawk out for breakfast as usual and spent some time at Buck¡¯s store on his way back. He chatted with Buck, who was going to leave nna soon. It was not until the streets began bustling that Lin Li made his way back to the Guild of Magic.

    It was a special day for the nna Guild of Magic. The mages from the 24 Guilds of Magic would be ending their two-and-a-half months long trial on this day.

    In order to bring the finals to a sessful end, the entire guild had been hard at work since early morning. Aldwin went to the Aurora Square first thing in the morning. He set up four mageweaths of the mastery level to ensure that there¡¯d be no unnecessary casualties in the finals. Of course, he had the help of Darian, who was second in inscription only to Aldwin in the entire nna Guild of Magic. Setting up four mageweaths was aplex and huge undertaking, and Aldwin definitely couldn¡¯t have done it alone.

    Even Macklin got up early on this day. He rarely dressed formally, but at present he looked just like a respectable elder, wearing the Robe of the Void and holding the maroon staff in his hand.

    Granted¡ªhe looked like a respectable elder only when he wasn¡¯t telling anyone off.

    Lin Li walked all the way back to the dormitory. Just as he was walking to the stairs, he heard a string of curses.

    ¡°Get up, get up at once. F*ck, look at the time now. You guys are still sleeping? Are you humans or pigs?¡±

    Macklin¡¯s voice was like the roar of a magical beast. Not to mention Mason and Orrin getting stirred from their slumber, even Kevin, who was in the adjacent dorm, quietly poked his head out of the door to see what was going on with a sleepy face.

    Mason rubbed his eyes, bewildered. ¡°What...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, you ARE a pig. Look at the time. You still have the guts to ask me ¡®what¡¯? Open the windows and take a good look. The sun has long been up. You¡¯d better get yourselves ready. Surely you don¡¯t think that the finals won¡¯tmence without you, Master Mason?¡± After Macklin was doneshing out at Mason, he turned to look at the sickly Orrin. ¡°And you. Don¡¯t think you can sleep in just because you¡¯re not participating in the finals. Go wash up, and keep your spirits up. Don¡¯t let Gryffindor, that little bastard, see you look like a joke!¡±

    <i>This old fogey... </i>Lin Li stood at the stairwell, watching Macklin¡¯s crude manners from a distance. He gave a suppressedugh. The old fellow was born to offend people with his words indeed. He had actually meant it well, but the words that came from his mouth couldn¡¯t sound any nastier.

    How could Lin Li not know Orrin¡¯s character after having lived together for the past two months? He was prideful and introverted, and kept everything in his heart. He wouldn¡¯t even confide in Lin Li, who was the closest to him. After being wounded by Gryffindor, Orrin seemed to have changed little, but those who knew him well knew that the proud genius mage had been depressed a lot.

    Fortunately, Macklin managed to divert his attention. Although his words were vulgar, they worked quite well. After hearing the old man¡¯s words, Orrin¡¯s eyes seemed to liven up. He nodded silently and went back to his room to tidy up his things.

    Kevin stuck his head out of the room and called out lightly, ¡°Felic...¡±

    ¡°Kevin. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Are you going back to Jarrosus after the finals?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not...¡± Lin Li pondered, and there was some hesitation on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve promised Andoine to go somewhere with him. It might take a few days.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see...¡± Kevin didn¡¯t say much, but the disappointment was apparent on his face.

    ¡°Why? Do you have something to tell me?¡±

    ¡°N-nothing...¡± Kevin hesitated, and continued, ¡°I¡¯m just worried about Emerald Tower. Both of us aren¡¯t around. I¡¯m afraid the Emerald Tower will be in danger if the Shadow¡¯s Nest decided to make a move...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Shadow¡¯s Nest. If my guess is correct, they won¡¯t be making any moves for the time being. Moreover, your uncle is still there.¡±

    ¡°But, Uncle...¡±

    Kevin knew he had said something wrong the moment he opened his mouth.

    He wanted to change the topic, but it was toote. Lin Li¡¯s eyes were fixed on Kevin as he asked in a solemn voice, ¡°What about Gerian?¡±

    ¡°Nothing...¡±

    ¡°Shoot!¡±

    ¡°Really... it¡¯s really nothing.¡± Kevin wanted to assure Lin Li with a smile, but the one that he barely managed to squeeze out was uglier than a frown.

    ¡°Spill it. Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself...¡± Lin Li shook his head resignedly. An honest person like Kevin just couldn¡¯t lie. He¡¯d start stammering once he was nervous, and all his emotions were written on his face. He couldn¡¯t even lie to himself, let alone lie to someone else.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, Felic. Uncle Gerian has given me a death order. I mustn¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to speak or not?¡± Lin Li red menacingly at him.

    Lin Li had established his reputation in the months spent at Jarrosus Guild of Magic. Even those mages who had doubts about him had to admit that it was because of this young man that the Emerald Tower had its ce this day. Kevin, who was among the first few people toe to know Lin Li, worshiped him absolutely. For a moment, Kevin became nervous at the sight of Lin Li¡¯s rage.

    He swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Uncle Gerian won¡¯t let me talk, but I think you should know about this. Uncle Gerian was badly injured when the Shadow¡¯s Nest attacked the Demon Fall Valley thest time. He had released a level-18 spell to allow for the guild¡¯s mages to escape. You should go back to see him after you finish the trial...¡±

    ¡°You told me you had a friend whose mana copsed. You were talking about Gerian?¡± Lin Li kept his stare on Kevin. He found it hard to believe that the fat old man, who was always energetic and swearing, would be lying in bed at present!

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll let Andoine know. I¡¯ll return to Jarrosus with you once the finals is over.¡±

    ...

    This was a real grand magic event. The Aurora Square grandstand,rge enough to amodate thousands of people, was filled. Thousands of mages from the nna Guild of Magic came, including the president, Aldwin, and the young apprentices in their teens as well as the dignitaries of the city. Even Prince Lionheart Johnathan came on behalf of his brother, His Majesty of the Fn Kingdom.

    The Aurora Square was oval, following the style of arenas from the Dark Ages. The Magical Shield Field around the square was set up by the Supreme Council, and could withstand the impact of a Legendary spell. In the four corners of the square, there were four mastery level mageweaths glittering with purple light¡ªthey were Aldwin¡¯s masterpiece.

    Facing the Aurora Square was the VIP stand on the grandstand, where Aldwin sat. The men who sat beside him were all big figures. There was Herza from the Supreme Council, Archbishop Englos from the Brilliance Shrine, Hoffman from the Glittergold Trade Union, His Majesty¡¯s brother, Johnathan, Sendros from the Darkness Shrine, and Oro, Fn¡¯s top assassin. All of them were revered and well known. As for Darian and the others, they could only sit in the corner far away from them.

    Herza departed from his usual listless self as he asked Hoffman with great interest, ¡°Hoffman, what are the odds that Glittergold has for Gryffindor this time?¡±

    He was old friends with the fatty beside him. How could he not know that Glittergold would impose a handicap in suchpetitions for the wealthy gamblers to bet on?

    ¡°One to four.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Herza was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect Hoffman to put forth such odds. Gryffindor was the number one magic genius in Fn. Even a fool knew that he had at least a 90 percent chance of winning. If Gryffindor were to clinch the final victory, the loss that the Glittergold Trade Union had to bear would be an astronomical figure!

    ¡°Looks like the Trade Union doesn¡¯t have much confidence in Gryffindor. On ount of our decades of friendship, throw me a bone, will you? Which trial apprentice do you have your bets on?¡±

    ¡°Mhm, I can¡¯t tell you. It¡¯s a trade secret...¡± Hoffmanughed unabashedly. He thought, <i>This old fe must have ced a heavy bet on Gryffindor. </i><i>I¡¯m putting my bets on all you fools who think that Gryffindor will win!</i>

    Hoffman took a big risk in order to make a big profit in the finals this time. He¡¯d adjusted Gryffindor¡¯s odds to be higher from the start to attract the rich gamblers. The odds of one to four would not make much of a difference if it were to be imposed on others, but not for Gryffindor¡ªit was almost the same as giving money away for free. Gryffindor was the number one magic genius in Fn. Those who were well-informed already knew that the young man had broken through to the Archmage realm a month ago.

    As for the other trial apprentices, the strongest was only level-14, and the weakest was a mere level-nine. It was not too much to say that Gryffindor¡¯s strength was the most outstanding among the rest. With a powerful strength like this and high odds, where else could they find such a good deal?

    Hoffman was precisely counting on this mentality among them.

    In fact, if it hadn¡¯t been for that recent pharmaceutical event, perhaps even Hoffman would have thought that Gryffindor would emerge as the victor for the finals.

    However, Hoffman saw with his own eyes how the young mage called Felic controlled the ming Hands with one hand and a Chilling Touch with the other at the event, and the Void Power Potion waspleted like a magic show. Putting aside his consummate pharmaceutics skills, just the magic skills he¡¯d disyed were enough to make any mage¡¯s hair stand on ends.

    He had controlled two spells at the same time¡ªand they were one of fire and one of ice, no less. Felic¡¯s strength could never be any worse than Gryffindor¡¯s.

    Also, he was a potion master.

    The roles a bottle of potion could y in a battle between two mages could not be covered in one word or two.

    It was no doubt a huge gamble this time, but Hoffman was never worried that he¡¯d lose. He was too confident in that young mage called Felic.

    Of course, Herza would never understand this.

    He watched as the young apprentices entered the Aurora Square, trying to discern which of them the Glittergold Trade Union had their eyes on.

    Mason looked at the thousands of spectators on the grandstand and was trembling all over. He was waving ostentatiously at them while saying, ¡°Felic, I¡¯m feeling very nervous...¡±

    Macklin walked past them just then, and he sniffed at Mason¡¯s words. ¡°What¡¯s there to be nervous about? You¡¯ll be out in the first round, anyway. If you have the time to be nervous, why not use it to think about how to lose decently...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Mason tried hard to suppress his displeasure. After Macklin left, Mason muttered through clenched teeth, ¡°I won¡¯t lose. I¡¯ll advance to the second round and drive you up the wall, you old bastard...¡±

    While Mason was muttering away, Aldwin stood up from the VIP area. The old man seemed to have some sort of charisma; the whole ce quieted down as soon as he stood up. Aldwin¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it was just enough for everyone to hear him. ¡°... The two-months trial will end today. We¡¯ll be witnessing the birth of the strongest trial apprentice soon...¡±

    After Aldwin¡¯s simple opening remarks, it was Herza who announced the rules.

    The rules were notplicated. It¡¯d be a one-on-one elimination¡ªthe winner of each round would advance to the next, and the loser would pack up and leave. It was straightforward yet cruel. The ruling of victory was also clear at a nce. Being forced out of the battle area, or voluntarily admitting defeat, would be considered a loss; being hit by a spell beyond level-10 would also be considered a defeat.

    They decided the table of matches after the announcement of the rules. Lin Li was neither lucky nor unlucky; he drew a level-12 Magic Shooter as his first opponent. On the contrary, Mason was in luck. After taking a look at the table, he realized that he was up against a level-eight mage who had joined the three of them inpleting the task in Shadowglen.

    Oh, he was a level-nine mage now.

    But this wasn¡¯t much of a difference to Mason. Whether it was level-eight or level-nine, the mage wasn¡¯t his opponent. Mason was a level-11 Magic Shooter; if he couldn¡¯t even take down a level-nine mage, he¡¯d be better off selling beancurd skin instead.

    ¡°Hahahaha. Let¡¯s see who still dares say I can¡¯t pass the first round!¡± Mason chuckled smugly, and looked at Macklin with a challenging expression.

    ¡°Beware of ending up in the ditch...¡± Macklin pursed his lips and cursed viciously.

    ¡°Knock on wood!¡±

    ¡°Take a seat first. I¡¯m going up.¡± Lin Li stood up as the two men were still bickering. His match with the level-12 Magic Shooter was the first one up.

 Chapter 254 - Battle Mage

    <h4>Chapter 254: Battle Mage</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    Lin Li¡¯s opponent was from the Lordaeron Guild of Magic. The fellow looked to be in his twenties. He had a full beard on his face and was nearly two meters tall, which made him look like a tower in the Aurora Square. If he hadn¡¯t worn a mage robe and held a magic staff in his hand, perhaps most of the spectators would think him a warrior.

    An Archmage in ck mage robe stood between the two of them. As they came up to the arena, the Archmage announced in a clear and loud voice, ¡°Let me introduce the two apprentices for this round¡ªLoken from the Lordaeron Guild of Magic, and Felic from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic...¡±

    ¡°Eh...?¡± At this moment, Lin Li¡¯s face revealed a hint of surprise.

    Could the fellow before him be the Battle Mage from Lordaeron that Andoine had once mentioned? He remembered Andoine had once said that Lordaeron was near the Frozen Hignds and bordered the territory of the Savages. Over the past 1,300 years, thebat skills of Savages had been continuously introduced into Lordaeron, and the magic knowledge of human beings had been constantly disseminated in the hignds. As a result of the exchange of knowledge between the two sides, an unconventional kind of Battle Mage had emerged.

    Magic and martial arts, knowledge and the physical body seemed to be two ipatible pairs. But they had foundplement in the Battle Mages, and that resulted in an explosion of amazing power. People who studied the Battle Mage profession were regarded as insane at the start, but as the power structure of the Battle Mages matured day by day, these people who were good at both magic and martial arts soon became an indispensable force in the Fn Kingdom.

    Hoffman¡¯s eyes were agape as he said incredulously, ¡°F*ck, how can such a monster appear...¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. That young mage¡¯s luck was unbelievable. He had encountered a Battle Mage in his first round. This was no joke. There hadn¡¯t been a Battle Mage in a 100 years, and how many people knew how terrifying the youngsters were nowadays?

    <i>Damn it. I¡¯ve gotten myself into hot water now...</i>

    Even if the genius pharmacist had the strength of an Archmage, Hoffman wasn¡¯t sure he would win the duel. The existence of the Battle Mage was simply too mysterious. A little carelessness might end up resulting in a lifelong regret. When the power structure of the Battle Mages was just established and people didn¡¯t know much about them, countless people suffered huge untold losses in front of these magically and martially adept fellows.

    Herza sat next to Hoffman, so naturally he¡¯d have noticed his every move. The moment he saw Hoffman¡¯s expression change, a thought immediately came up in his mind. However, he didn¡¯t expose it on the spot, but instead chuckled, and asked, ¡°How¡¯s that, Hoffman? What do you think of this round?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to see? Are Battle Mages that impressive? Don¡¯t be so sure that the fool¡¯s going to win. Let me tell you, as long as the other fellow grasps the fool¡¯s weakness, he¡¯ll be beaten into a pulp immediately...¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes were fixed on Loken. He was dying to fight and win on behalf of Lin Li for this round if he could!

    Unfortunately, the rules didn¡¯t allow for that...

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Hoffman¡¯s expressions fell into Herza¡¯s eyes, and he promptly grasped the situation. The old fellow was gloating smugly. ¡°That kid¡¯s misery is about to start. He¡¯s at most a level-12 Magic Shooter. He can¡¯t possibly win being up against a level-12 Battle Mage...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense...¡± Hoffman shot him a murderous re, but it was obvious that his confidence was shaken. He wasn¡¯t worried about the level-12 Battle Mage, for the genius pharmacist was an Archmage after all. Hoffman was afraid that the Archmage was unaware of the strength of a Battle Mage, and if there were any mishaps, Glittergold Trade Union would lose tens of thousands of gold coins...

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Herza giggled, and said nothing more. His murky eyes were fixed on the exceptionally young trial apprentice on the Aurora Square.

    Just as Hoffman was all keyed up, the two men on the Aurora Square were ready.

    Lin Li held the Aether Staff tightly in his hand, taking in the enormous mana emanating from it. The Dragon¡¯s Eye iid on the tip of the staff was giving off soft light in the sun. This staff was made by Andoine back in the Twilight Forest. It was the first time Lin Li was using it.

    He had to admit that Andoine was truly generous to him...

    Lin Li was unaware of something at the beginning. It was only when he received the staff after his return from the Cinder Woods that he realized Andoine had used a precious branch of the Wisdom Tree as the staff¡¯s main material! The Wisdom Tree was grown to make staves since the Dark Ages because it not only contained enormous mana, but also had extremely high sensitivity to magical elements. Unfortunately, the war that broke out in the Dark Ages destroyed six of the Sky Castles, causing the magical elements in Anril to go out of control. After losing the nourishment it needed to survive, the only Wisdom Tree disappeared along with the High Elves in the long river of time.

    Every branch from the Wisdom Tree that existed to this day had been passed down from that era, and each of them could be said to be a treasure of its own kind. If Lin Li were to try and sell the staff in his hand, countless of mages would be vying for it at his doorstep. Perhaps even the experienced profiteer, Hoffman, wouldn¡¯t be able to estimate its real value.

    If they were to put a price tag on the Aether Staff, it¡¯d probably be ¡°priceless¡±!

    With the branch of the Wisdom Tree, a fist-sized Dragon¡¯s Eye, and three mageweaths drawn by an inscription guru, who would have the guts to evaluate such a sick piece of staff?

    However, the sick staff only attracted a burst of ridicule when it was taken out.

    No way, the Dragon¡¯s Eye looked too outmoded...

    Nine out of ten mages would say it was an amber stone from the soft yellow light, faint magical wave, and its fist-like size. As for the remaining one, he probably didn¡¯t even know what an amber stone was...

    ¡°This, this... This can¡¯t be real. Felic was someone who defeated Macklin; how could he take out such a staff? Look at that amber stone. Isn¡¯t that only used by magic apprentices?¡±

    ¡°To hell with it. How would I know? I can¡¯t fathom how he¡¯d set an amber stone on the staff. Surely the Jarrosus Guild of Magic couldn¡¯t be *that *down-and-out?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s really true. I¡¯m sure you know about Jarrosus. The ce is so poor that even a fly won¡¯t settle there. I¡¯ve heard that the mages there can¡¯t even afford a meal. Oh, right, you¡¯ve seen the mage robe Felic wore the other time, right? He couldn¡¯t even bear to throw it away even when it¡¯s so worn and old. I heard that Macklin had given him a more decent robe to wear after that...¡±

    ¡°That bad?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely!¡±

    ¡°This simply can¡¯t be real. He¡¯d actually set an amber stone on a pretty decent staff. If he really couldn¡¯t afford one, he could negotiate with the guild. He¡¯s someone who defeated Macklin, after all. Surely the guild won¡¯t mind lending him some money?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking me? How am I supposed to know...?¡±

    The mages in the audience began to talk about the Aether Staff as soon as it was taken out. For a moment, the Aurora Square was buzzing with discussions. It was as if thousands of bees were flying about at the same time.

    Even Hoffman was confounded. <i>What was Felic thinking when he set the amber stone on the staff...?</i>

    ¡°Haha, this kid is interesting. I must have a talk with him after the finals. What was he thinking? He actually took out a staff iid with amber stone in finals like this...¡± Herza watched the two men in the square with much amusement. His eyes were already narrowed into slits withughter.

    ¡°What do you know, you old fogey...¡± Hoffman cursed in exasperation. However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious. For a mage, the staff was the most crucial magical weapon. A good staff could bring the strength of a mage into full y, whereas a lousy staff would send the mage into passivity from the beginning.

    Undoubtedly, Felic was holding a lousy staff at present.

    Hoffman was utterly regretful. If he¡¯d known things were going to end up like this, he¡¯d have chosen to be on the conservative side and impose the handicap on Gryffindor instead. The little bastard was seen with a radiant smile on his face¡ªhe must have gotten a good draw for the match. Look at Felic, then; he had encountered a Battle Mage in the first round, and he had actually taken out a staff iid with amber stone...

    If it weren¡¯t for the many pairs of eyes around him, he¡¯d have kneeled before Felic and say, ¡°My lord, can you take this seriously? This is a business that involves tens of thousands of gold coins. You could¡¯ve told me earlier if you¡¯re short on cash. I could give you a staff that¡¯s worth a million¡ªno, two millions¡ªfor free.¡±

    There were at least thousands of mages in the spectator seats at this time. In addition to them, there were the big figures on the VIP seat. All of them had keen eyes, in particr an experienced merchant like Hoffman. The amount of gold coins that passed through his hands could pile up into a mountain, and devil knew how much magical equipment he had seen in his life.

    However this time, they had misjudged.

    Granted¡ªthey could hardly be med. The Dragon¡¯s Eye was too deceptive.

    Who could have thought that there¡¯d be a fist-sized Dragon¡¯s Eye in the world? It could probably frighten someone to death if it was made known. To avoid bing a murderer, this had to be called an amber stone!

    The stress was much less if it were an amber stone. Although a fist-sized amber stone was rare, it wasn¡¯t entirely unbelievable...

    ...

    Loken took his ce in the center of the Aurora Square. He propped the staff in his hand heavily on the ground, giving out a clear and loud ¡°plop¡± sound...

    <i>F*ck...</i> Lin Li felt miserable all of a sudden. He cursed inwardly,* Since when are iron rods used as magic staffs...?*

    If he were to be hit by the iron rod, wouldn¡¯t it be the end of him?

    ¡°Looks like both of them are ready. Let the match begin!¡±

    Once the referee announced the start of the match, a violent magical wave began to spread on the Aurora Square.

    Loken¡¯s recitation was fast and hurried, and three spells¡ªthe Hastening Spell, Potence Spell, and Stoneskinnded on Lin Li at the same time. Then, there was a rush of heavy footsteps, and Loken threw himself on Lin Li like a cannonball.

    Almost at the same time, Lin Li raised the Aether Staff in his hand high up. There were no recitations norplex hand gestures. A bone-chilling aura emanated and spread dozens of meters in an instant. At that moment, everyone saw that a plume of white mist rose and innumerable ice shards danced around amidst it.

    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s an instantaneous Crystal Nova!¡± The mages in the spectator seats stood up almost instantly.

    ¡°Oh, my God!¡± Hoffman¡¯s voice sounded like a pig about to be ughtered. He leapt up from the VIP seat with a face full of surprise. He was in a frenzy. This fellow had the knack of scaring someone to death with a single brilliant feat.

    Hell, an instantaneous Crystal Nova...

    The Crystal Nova was a through-and-through level-eight spell. Even a Legendary-mage like Aldwin wouldn¡¯t dare say he could release it instantaneously. However, that young mage who was barely 20 years of age had done it. Just look at the plume of mist and the flying shards of ice. Hoffman¡¯s energy instantly perked up as he thought,* I¡¯ll p anyone who says that this isn¡¯t a Crystal Nova!*

    ¡°This isn¡¯t Crystal Nova...¡± Unexpectedly, there wasn¡¯t even enough time for Hoffman to turn the idea around in his mind when Herza¡¯s words reached his ears.

    ¡°Bloody hell, old fogey, you¡¯re doing it deliberately, aren¡¯t you?¡± Hoffman¡¯s face was flushed with anger. If he¡¯d been a match for this old fellow, he would¡¯ve beat the air out of him long ago!

    ¡°Open your eyes...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Hoffman gave a start of surprise. Then, the battle situation on the Aurora Square hit him like a hammer...

    This was not the Crystal Nova indeed.

    The bitter cold aura spread, but it didn¡¯t erupt into an astonishing frostbite. Three sharp sound tore through the white mist sessively.

    ¡°Damn, Master Felic is insidious...¡± Hoffman was someone with vast experience. He immediately knew what was going on when he heard the three deafening sounds in the air.

    Nine out of ten people would think of that bone-chilling cold as an instantaneous level-eight spell. But, in fact, the real killers were the three icicles that were hidden in the cold. It was unknown how Master Felic had rearranged the elemental sequence of the Crystal Nova so that the level-eight spell was camouged as an instantaneous spell.

    Just when everyone was struck with terror by the camouge, the three icicles had advanced secretly under the former¡¯s cover. Perhaps no one could have thought that there was such a scheme behind this attack...

    Almost everyone thought that the Battle Mage was done for. The distance between the two of them was too short. In addition to the Crystal Nova as a cover up, he couldn¡¯t have avoided the three icicles.

    ¡°Dang, dang, dang...!¡± However, what followed were three loud stomps.

    The whole Aurora Square fell into silence in an instant.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened. That fellow¡¯s physical strength was beyond his estimation. The three icicles seemed to have been shot into a Frost Shield instead. Even a magical beast with thick hide wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand it.

    Fortunately, he had the strength of an Archmage at present. The three icicles had missed unexpectedly, but his response was nheless quick. The moment the three stomps sounded, Lin Li had already cast a Power of Repulse. The target of this spell was not Loken, but the ground beneath him.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A muffled explosion rang out after a surge of mana. The huge recoil of the Power of Repulse sent Lin Li flying. With the help of the recoil, Lin Li withdrew to a distance of more than dozens of meters away in a moment.

    Almost concurrently, Loken¡¯s staff came down heavily on the ground. Rubble spattered instantly. The power of the instantaneous outburst was no less than a level-five spell¡¯s. A chill ran down Lin Li¡¯s spine despite being in the air. If the staff were tond on him, wouldn¡¯t he be crushed to pieces on the spot?

    <i>This won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll have to defeat this fellow as soon as possible. I¡¯ll only be in greater trouble if this drags on!</i>

    Lin Li released a Levitation Spell just before he was about tond on the ground.

    The release of the Levitation Spell was extremely concealed. Air element surged just less than half a meter from the ground, bringing Lin Li tond lightly on the ground. No one managed to see the release of this spell as Lin Li hadnded too fast. No one had noticed that he had cast an Archmage-level spell in less than just a second¡¯s time.

    Loken didn¡¯t feel discouraged at all that his attack had missed. He raised the heavy staff high and approached Lin Li with speed brought by the Hastening Spell. At this moment, Lin Li was reciting a spell. The gem on the Aether Staff was glowing, and an enormous mana flowed through the branch of the Wisdom Tree into his body...

    ¡°To hell!¡± The mages who knew their stuff could no longer sit still when the hurried recitation fell into their ears. They found it hard to believe that a mage barely 20 years of age could cast a spell like this!

    ¡°Old fogey, did you see it?!¡± Hoffman was totally excited. He was grabbing onto Herza with his fat and thick hands, shaking him with all his might. ¡°See it? This is the level-12 mage you were talking about. Hahahahaha...¡±

    ¡°I see it, I see it...¡± Herza was getting on age; how could he stand all the vigorous shaking? He was giddy from the grabbing and shaking, and was desperately trying to break free of that thick, fat hand while trying to speak. ¡°To hell with it. How is this possible?¡±

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    While the spectators were thrown into a frenzy, another explosion sounded from the center of the Aurora Square. Fire dragons charged fiercely at Loken with their fangs bared and brandishing their ws.

    ¡°ming Storm?¡± Loken grabbed the staff with both his hands, and a sneer appeared on his face. <i>Looks like this is all to the fellow who has once defeated Macklin.</i> After all that preparation, he merely released a ming Storm. Surely he didn¡¯t think that a level-12 Battle Mage could be defeated by a level-eight spell?

    Moreover, was he just an ordinary Battle Mage?

    <i>I have the blood of the Savages flowing in me!</i>

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Loken roared and pushed himself off the ground. He was like a tower falling from the sky, holding his staff high in the air anding down with a tremendous force...

    But in the next moment, the ferocious expression on Loken¡¯s face suddenly changed to one of fear. He clearly felt that besides thepelling fire magical element, there was another force influencing him quietly. The force wasn¡¯t strong, but it was absolutely lethal to him at present.

    <i>Bloody hell, it¡¯s the darned Magic Quell!</i>

    Although Loken had realized something, there was no way he could use his magic in the air. He couldn¡¯t even slow down his descent a little. He could only watch the magic spell on him disperse quickly, and in an instant, he was like a naked baby facing the ferocious fiery dragons.

    Then...

    In a moment, countless fire dragons swallowed Loken, who was without the protection of any magic spells. Although he was a Battle Mage and had the blood of the Savages, these could only help enhance his magic¡¯s effect and reduce the damage he¡¯d suffer. These things couldn¡¯t give him immunity to spells. The dispersion of the amplifying spells meant that he was reduced to nothing...

    <i>Howe there were two spells?</i> In that moment, Loken only had time for one question in his mind. Before he could figure it out, he felt the world spin and was knocked out cold...

    ¡°See that, old fogey? This is the level-12 Battle Mage you were talking about!¡± Hoffman didn¡¯t bother hiding his tion. Heughed uncontrobly as he patted Herza on the shoulder.

    ¡°I must be blind...¡± Herza admitted generously. There was no embarrassment on his aged face at all. The young mage called Felic was simply too outstanding. Although he had used some low-level spells, he was perfect in terms of his spell-casting skills. Not to mention the nna Guild of Magic, even the people from the Supreme Council couldn¡¯t have done it better than him.

    Herza sat down, and quietly asked the fatso next to him, ¡°Hoffman, you know this kid?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± Hoffman was extremely pleased with himself, and his cockyughter got even more out of control.

 Chapter 255 - Guarding Against Thieves

    <h4>Chapter 255: Guarding Against Thieves</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    How could Hoffman tell him? A once-in-a-century genius pharmacist like Lin Li would be a highly sought-after individual. Letting another force in on such a talent¡¯s identity would mean morepetition. Hoffman had never mentioned it, but he was already nning on how he¡¯d bring this young man into the Glittergold Trade Union.

    The potion form was just a test. As a businessman, he was more adept at beating around the bush and building trust aspared to people like Johnathan and Englos.

    Hoffman was shrewd indeed. After that pharmaceutical discussion event, there were at least a dozen forces vying for Lin Li. But at present, there seemed to be only a hopeful few, and that included Hoffman¡¯s Glittergold Trade Union.

    He had gotten into Lin Li¡¯s good books with the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, and had Lin Li owe him a favor with the Dry Soul Curse. If nothing would go wrong, Hoffman believed that the Glittergold Trade Union he represented had the highest chance among all the other forces. It was a 20-year-old potion master they were talking about¡ªit was a matter of time before he broke through the level of a pharmaceutics guru. When the time came, everyone would be at the beck and call of the Glittergold Trade Union!

    Seeing that the opportunity was just within reach, Hoffman held his guard up against Herza.

    Herza represented the Supreme Council. When Felic joined the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, he¡¯d joined the Supreme Council¡¯s influence as well at the same time. It was simply too easy for the old man to win Felic over. He¡¯d only need to hand down a transfer order, and all the forces, including the two holy shrines, could only watch as the genius pharmacist entered the Supreme Council.

    <i>F*ck, I¡¯ll only tell you over my dead body... </i>Hoffman clenched his teeth determinedly. However, there was perplexion on his face. ¡°How would I know? I¡¯m not from the Guild of Magic, so it¡¯s natural that I know nothing about him. Old fellow, don¡¯t be so quick to suspect me, alright?¡±

    ¡°Cut it out...¡± Herza didn¡¯t believe it at all. He knew the fat man too well. He might look honest and candid, but was in fact ill-disposed at best. If there were to be a truthful sentenceing from his mouth, it would be a miracle.

    ¡°This is a trade secret. I can¡¯t tell you even if you ask!¡±

    Hoffman began to act shamelessly. He¡¯d use ¡°trade secret¡± as an excuse regardless of what Herza asked. There was nothing Herza could do despite being someone who held the highest position in the Supreme Council. The only thing he could do was to re hatefully at Hoffman and curse, <i>Fine, you won¡¯t say? I can f*cking see for myself!</i>

    As the two men were talking, the battle on the Aurora Square was drawing to an end.

    Aldwin stood up from the VIP stand. ¡°The winner for the first round is Felic from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic!¡±

    ¡°p, p, p...¡±

    Apuse thundered in the Aurora Square. Thousands of mages stood up one by one to salute the winner with warm apuse and cheers.

    In the world of magic, the strong were always respected.

    The mages would never hold back their apuse for a real powerhouse.

    The battle was amazing. The young man from Jarrosus had only used low-level spells throughout the battle, but all the mages present were not blind. How could they not know what these low-level spells meant?

    Since the insidious Crystal Nova, everyone knew that the young man¡¯s spell-casting skill was no worse than that of many Archmages. Although the elemental structure for the Crystal Nova was simple, it was not easy to rearrange it. Who would dare to risk it without a profound understanding of the essence of magic and a precise control of mana? It was easy to trigger the bite of mana with a single slip. Moreover, he had done it with so much ease; there hadn¡¯t been any hesitation at all as the Crystal Nova was released with a lift of his hand.

    Granted, the oue wasn¡¯t too satisfactory...

    However, this had nothing to do with magic. The Battle Mage was an anomaly, let alone a Battle Mage with the blood of the Savages. They possessed an innate brute force and a powerful resistance to magic. Their resistance to magic, in particr, was terribly enhanced after they had cast various amplifying spells on themselves.

    These Battle Mages were said to be able to withstand spells up to level-10 with their bare bodies. With this, the three icicles that Loken had received were considered nothing...

    Moreover, the Magic Quell and ming Storm that followed were the real highlight of the battle.

    If they were to use an adjective to describe their feelings, it would be ¡°amazed¡±.

    To cast both a level-eight ming Storm and a level-five Magic Quell was so difficult that even Archmages would flinch facing such a task. In order to control such a perverse casting skill, it¡¯d need at least years, if not decades, of repeated studies. Only then was it possible to divide one¡¯s mental strength to control two kinds of mana at the same time. It seemed easy to release two kinds of spells in this subconscious state, but it was in fact akin to dancing on the tip of the sword. A slight mistake would result in a horrible end for the mage.

    There was nock of Archmages among the thousands of spectators. However, none of them was confident enough to say that they could disy such a perfect casting skill like the young man.

    Nobody thought the apuse and salutation were unfitting.

    ¡°Well done, Felic!¡± Mason was over the moon seeing that his roommate had won with such ease.

    ¡°I just took advantage of the opportunity...¡± Lin Li giggled, and asked Mason, ¡°When does your round start?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in the third round. Don¡¯t worry. Do I not know Larry¡¯s strength? It¡¯ll be a piece of cake. I¡¯ll see if that old man dares to jinx me when I advance to the second stage...¡±

    ¡°Fool. It¡¯s good to be confident, but it¡¯s best if you can get a grasp on the situation...¡±

    Nobody knew when Macklin hade. The old man was like a ghost, appearing behind Mason without any sound.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t... weren¡¯t you at the VIP stand?¡±

    ¡°Fool. Felic achieved a splendid victory. As his trial mentor, I have toe over andpliment him. But you, kid, you¡¯d better be cautious. I¡¯m not joking. Larry has improved tremendously ever since he returned from Shadowglen. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s not any weaker than you.¡±

    ¡°For real?¡± Mason was slightly stunned. The old fellow really did not look like he was kidding. <i>Has Larry really made a tremendous improvement recently? F*ck, why am I so unlucky? I thought I¡¯d picked a weakling; who knew this weakling had gotten a boost!</i>

    ¡°You¡¯ll know when the battle starts...¡± Macklin said gloatingly. Then, he turned his gaze to the Aurora Square. ¡°Eh? Seems like it¡¯s Gryffindor¡¯s turn now...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li followed Macklin¡¯s gaze, and saw Gryffindor walking to the center of the square with a smile on his face. His opponent was someone Lin Li knew. He was Fedrick, Sarsen¡¯s teammate in the Shadowglen, and the one who had wanted to fight Lin Li.

    Lin Li lost interest seeing that Gryffindor was up against Fedrick. That fellow could not be more than level-12 in strength. He was almost like an ant in front of Gryffindor. To figure out Gryffindor¡¯s ability in this match was like asking for the moon.

    To be honest, this was what everyone thought¡ªincluding Fedrick himself.

    He wanted to just drop dead on the spot as he stood before Gryffindor. He had never thought that he¡¯d be so unlucky to have picked Gryffindor in the first round.

    Gryffindor was the number one magic genius in Fn. He had broken through to the Archmage realm in his twenties. Although Fedrick had improved tremendously ever since he¡¯d returned from the Shadowglen, he was only at a mere level-11. How could he possibly win against Gryffindor, who could crush him with just a finger?

    ¡°M-Mage Gryffindor, please go easy on me...¡± Perhaps only Fedrick knew that this was not merely a conventional remark. He really wanted Gryffindor to go easy on him.

    ¡°Mage Fedrick, you¡¯re too humble.¡± Gryffindor chuckled, and said nothing more. He took two steps back and pulled their distance away further. At the same time, he gestured to the referee to indicate that he was ready.

    ¡°Looks like both apprentices are ready. Then, let the match begin!¡±

    Fedrick began his recitation as soon as the referee¡¯s voice fell. His voice was rushed and hoarse. The magical waves around him were in so much disorder that even Lin Li, who hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the battle, could feel it. Fedrick was on the verge of suffering a bite of mana. His recitation speed was simply too fast. There was apression of time in every three characters of the incantation. This was something only an Archmage could do. Fedrick, a Magic Shooter, was only seeking death doing it.

    However, Fedrick had no other choice.

    His strength was worlds apart from Gryffindor¡¯s. The only thing he could do was to earn a slight chance for himself with a supernormal spell at the beginning, when they were still on the same starting line.

    Unfortunately, Gryffindor did not give him the chance.

    Fedrick was halfway through his recitation when he suddenly felt the flow of mana in his body being blocked...

    <i>Darn, Mana Retroaction! So soon? </i>Fedrick¡¯s heart tightened, and his chubby face turned ghastly white at once. He couldn¡¯t understand how Gryffindor had released a Mana Retroaction so soon. There was no sign at all; it was as if the spell was released with just a thought.

 Chapter 256 - Showtime

    <h4>Chapter 256: Showtime</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was a great disparity in strength, and with the Mana Retroaction from the start, everything that came afterwards was well within expectations. After the Mana Retroaction, Gryffindor didn¡¯t even bother to take another look at his opponent; he raised his hand and released a ming Storm. In an instant, numerous fire dragons were seen charging towards Fedrick...

    Fedrick¡¯s chubby face was filled with despair in the ze of fire. It was followed by a loud crash that silenced the entire Aurora Square.

    The mages sitting on the stands were bbergasted. All these youngsters were too strong. Felic, the young man in the previous round, was ruthless enough. He was only in his twenties and had given all the experienced mages a lesson on spell-casting. And at present, Gryffindor was worse. His battle style was simply unreasonable and brutal. He was destroying the level-11 with his strength. There were neither skills nor tricks, only the most direct attacking spells. The battle could simply be summed up in three words¡ªfast, aggressive, precise.

    ¡°No wonder Orrin couldn¡¯t win against him...¡± Lin Li frowned as he watched Fedrick being carried away from the arena. Gryffindor was strong indeed. Although the match didn¡¯t take long and his opponent was weak, Lin Li could see a thing or two from it. At least in terms of mana control, Gryffindor could be said to be on par with him.

    Even Lin Li had to admit the Mana Retroaction was brilliant. It was precise and concealed, without any sign at all. It was like a snake hiding in the grass, dealing the most fatal blow to its prey at the most critical moment.

    As for that ming Storm at the end, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of any reason to use it other than to disy power.

    As expected, Gryffindor stood in the middle of Aurora Square, but his eyes¡ªfull of challenge and disdain¡ªwere fixed on Lin Li, who was in the distance.

    ¡°Moron...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips and spat coarsely on the ground while cursing inwardly. <i>I wonder what this fellow is thinking. I haven¡¯t settled the scores with you, yet you¡¯re looking at me with those vengeful eyes. Do you really think I owe you?</i>

    ¡°The winner of the second round is Gryffindor from the nna Guild of Magic!¡±

    ¡°p, p, p...¡±

    Apuse thundered in the square. It was even more deafening than when Lin Li had won.

    ¡°How¡¯s that, Hoffman? The young people we¡¯ve groomed at the Guild of Magic ain¡¯t bad at all, eh?¡± said Herza proudly. The two young men from the previous rounds had taken him by surprise. One had demonstrated a wless spell-casting technique; the other had brought his strength into full y. At their present age, Herza could assert the future of these two young men to be definitely boundless.

    ¡°So-so...¡± Hoffman pouted distractedly. He began to doubt his decision to drop Gryffindor and ce his bet on Felic.

    The strength disyed by Gryffindor was terrifying. Even a figure like Hoffman couldn¡¯t help but lose heart. This little bastard was too inhuman to possess such strength at such a young age. Perhaps in a few years¡¯ time, even Hoffman might not be his opponent.

    Hoffman¡¯s head began to pound. If he knew things better, he would have done an even more thorough check. Thest time he¡¯d seen this little bastard, thetter had been just a level-14 Magic Shooter. How could he be stronger so much in just one month? Not only had he broken through the Archmage realm, but also had shown signs of approaching level-16. <i>Is this how a bloody 20-something-year-old young man should be?</i>

    ¡°Master Felic, it all depends on you now...¡±

    The third roundmenced as Hoffman was muttering to himself. The two contestants for this round were Mason from Chevan City and Larry from Marianna Guild of Magic. Both of them had fought back in the Shadowglen. Larry was just a level-eight mage then; he was still a distance away from Mason, who was the weakest out of his teammates.

    But on this day, he had made it a tough fight for Mason.

    Macklin wasn¡¯t kidding. Larry was at least a level-11 Magic Shooter at present. Even if Mason had made a breakthrough recently, they were almost on par nevertheless. The two rivals of equal power naturally made the match an exceptionally drawn-out one. Although it wasn¡¯t too exciting, it was still intense.

    This time, Mason had to prove to Macklin that he was not a novice mage anymore. Larry, in contrast, seemed to be naturally good at this kind of battles. Mason was suffering under the various tricks he used. Their shsted for half an hour. It was a rare sight in a century of battle of the Magic Shooters. It was fortunate that they were both resilient. Otherwise, the pressure stemming from the exchanges would be sufficient to drive anyone crazy.

    The battle between the two level-11 Magic Shooters was almost like a marathon. In the end, both of thempletely exhausted their mana. They could only fight for time to restore their mana while still working their staves in the stalemate. This time, Mason finally gained a slight upper hand. He gathered the wind de a second faster than Larry; so, he managed to clinch the victory.

    ¡°The winner of the third round is Mage Mason from Chevan City!¡±

    Mason looked like he was about to copse as he left the arena. He panted heavily and grumbled, ¡°How... how did Larry, that fellow, be so strong?¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that? Hope you knew better from the start, right? That kid is different now. You were still thinking that I was trying to fool you. Count yourself lucky this time. He¡¯s not that experienced, after all, wasting too much mana in the beginning. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve got rid of you easily...¡±

    Mason was still chided by Macklin despite having won the match. However, he could not refute him. He tried to divert their attention away with themencement of the fourth round of battle. ¡°Look, it¡¯s someone we know!¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help butugh when he saw the two guys who were entering the arena. ¡°Matthias¡¯ down on luck, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Matthias is dead meat this time!¡± Mason was obviously taking pleasure in Matthias¡¯ plight.

    Matthias was indeed unlucky. His opponent for this round was someone whose strength was second only to Gryffindor and Lin Li.

    Yes, it was Sarsen...

    The present Sarsen was at the peak of level-14. He was only one step from being an Archmage like Gryffindor and Lin Li. How could Matthias match up to such a strength? It seemed like the Marathon Family¡¯s heir was in hot soup this time...

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Just as he was rejoicing in Matthias¡¯ misfortune, Lin Li suddenly sensed something was amiss. Matthias seemed vastly different on this day.

    Matthias no longer looked frivolous like before. He looked tanned and thinner as well. When he kept his eyes fixed on someone, he was as if a snake about to devour its prey. His expression was cast in a constant gloom¡ªjust like the weather before a thunderstorm.

    The magical wave emanating from him wasn¡¯t strong, but it held an eerie power. It was like a giant vortex spinning crazily without control, attempting to draw everything in and tear it to pieces. The feeling made Lin Li frown.

    He suddenly recalled Argus saying that Matthias had changed tremendously as if he was totally a different person altogether. Lin Li hadn¡¯t understood the meaning of it then, but he could see for himself at present. It was right¡ªit felt as if it were a totally different person standing there. Apart from the appearance, every other detail¡ªthe disposition and strength¡ªwas a far cry from the past Matthias¡¯. If Matthias used to be a dandy, then the present Matthias undoubtedly had the qualities for Lin Li to fear him.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s uncertain who¡¯ll win this time...¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Mason was slightly stunned. When he finally recovered and was about to rify it with Lin Li, the referee had announced the start of the match.

    The two men held up an Elemental Shield each and began their recitation almost at the same time. Both had chosen safer tactics this time¡ªneither had chosen to suppress the other with Mana Retroaction. After all, they were no longer novices, and they had some understanding of each other¡¯s strength.They knew clearly that using Mana Retroaction without thinking could end up with them falling into a trap of the other party. At their level, disguising a spell had long be one of the necessary skills. In a battle like this, a failed Mana Retroaction would mean losing the whole battle.

    The pace of this battle was much slowerpared to the previous battles. They were merely sounding each other out at the start. Neither made a serious move. Both of them had the same thought. They were waiting for the other to make the first move, and they were waiting for the other party to slip up. As such, the battle between two men who were almost Archmages was reduced to an extremely dull one. The thousands of mages in the stands were getting drowsy watching their antics...

    ¡°Come on, Sarsen! Beat him!¡± Mason stood far from the square. He was in a heightened state of agitation, even more so than Sarsen. The expression on his face changed with the situation of the battle. He was cheering at one time, and sighing at another. ¡°Ai, that was so close. What a pity...¡±

    ¡°Far from close...¡± Lin Li shook his head. He could see what Mason couldn¡¯t. The previous contact might¡¯ve looked like a missed opportunity for Sarsen to clinch the victory, but in fact, Lin Li knew very well that Matthias had left the opportunity for him...

    It seemed that the present Matthias had be a difficult opponent to wrestle.

    Perhaps Argus was really right¡ªthat fellow had be an Archmage.

 Chapter 257 - Battle of the Inferior Goods

    <h4>Chapter 257: Battle of the Inferior Goods</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But Sarsen wasn¡¯t a rookie, either. He was not an easy opponent for anyone with his peak level-14 strength. Moreover, he was in good condition. He hadn¡¯t suffered any losses during all the exchanges. His performance was far beyond his usual standard. At least Lin Li could see that the present Sarsen was stronger than he¡¯d been back in Shadowglen.

    Nevertheless, the battle was a boring one despite their powerful strength. There was neither an interesting disy of casting skills nor an intense sh at all. There wasn¡¯t even a slight thrill in the battle. All there was constant probing from both sides. The energy they spent on defense far exceeded that spent on attacks. They¡¯d put up another Elemental Shield once the previous one disappeared, but they were holding back the Mana Retroaction, never releasing it at all.

    From a level-one spell to a level-eight spell¡ªthis was the entirety of the match.

    There was no excitement at all in this process. There were no splendid casting skills like those in the battle between Lin Li and Loken; there was no hair-raising shes like the battle between Mason and Larry. Both of them were only using basic skills learnt from the textbooks, and repeated cautious probing.

    Lin Li was falling asleep. This was simply a torture for him. He¡¯d rather watch two mage apprentices fight than watch those two guys sounding each other out.

    However, he had to put up with the torture.

    Matthias¡¯ progress was too out of the ordinary. He¡¯d been only slightly stronger than Mason in the beginning, but he was on par with Sarsen at present. Covering this distance couldn¡¯t be exined in a word or two. Even Lin Li¡ªwho thought himself to be extraordinarily lucky such that even a pie would drop before him while walking on the streets¡ªcouldn¡¯t have done this. Even with the Eternal Furnace left behind by Osric and the magical crystal from the fire dragon, Lin Li had merely made the leap from level-13 to level-15. What did Matthias have? Surely it couldn¡¯t be that there were another Eternal Furnace and another fire dragon magical crystal in the world? It just couldn¡¯t be possible...

    Lin Li had to see how much Matthias had improved¡ªand if he had really broken through to the Archmage realm!

    Therefore, even though the battle was making him drowsy, Lin Li tried to keep his eyes open, paying attention to every probing move between the two guys.

    In fact, Lin Li wasn¡¯t the only one. Almost half of the thousands of mages on the stand were perhaps thinking about the same thing. They, too, thought the battle couldn¡¯t be more mundane. However, they would like to see how strong Matthias had be. Hence, the battle continued in this strange atmosphere.

    Everyone was yawning yet desperately trying to keep themselves awake just to see what was going on.

    Then, they dozed off. And with that, Sarsen lost...

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li rubbed his eyes vigorously. He thought he had seen it wrong.

    The two guys were still sounding each other out with Wind des not long ago, but in the next moment, Matthias released a ming Hands and it tore through the Elemental Shield on Sarsen. It was followed by a close-distance Air Bomb, and Sarsen was thrown out of the arena.

    ¡°Sarsen lost?¡± Looking at Sarsen, who was lying on the ground, Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯d seen.This was all too sudden and strange. It was as if two boxers with equal strength were fighting each other in the ring, with exchanges that¡¯d dazzle the onlookers. Then, one of them suddenly spat, and the other fell inexplicably.

    This was impossible...

    Lin Li remembered clearly that Sarsen¡¯s Elemental Shield only held up for slightly more than 10 seconds and had at most received two Wind des. How could it have been torn through by a mere ming Hands?

    ¡°The victory goes to Mage Matthias from Nightfall City!¡±

    The referee¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be clearer. Indeed, Sarsen had lost.

    Lin Li scratched his head and thought for a long time where Sarsen could¡¯ve made a mistake. The match just now could definitely bepiled into an encyclopedia of the artful. Both Sarsen and Matthias were fighting with a more conservative attitude than nuns. They spent at least 90% of their energy on defense.The remaining 10% had to be divided into two¡ªhalf for defense preparations, and finally the other half for attack.

    Lin Li had even seen Matthias putting up a Mental Protection Field before releasing the ming Hands. It was no doubt to prevent Sarsen from disrupting him with mental spells.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t have imagined such a thing. How could someone be that sly?

    Such a devious tactic. In addition to the slow rhythm, Lin Li thought nothing could go wrong with a mage on a level like Sarsen. Lin Li even thought the battle wouldst through the night, until both of them had exhausted their mana and could only fight with their fists to decide the winner.

    However, at that moment, Sarsen had lost. It was a puzzling defeat, no less.

    It wasn¡¯t just Sarsen himself that was puzzled, but also Lin Li and the thousands of mages on the stands, who all sat with their mouths agape.

    ¡°Hell...¡±

    Anyhow, the oue was decided.

    Matthias, who¡¯d been only a little stronger than Mason a month ago, had defeated Sarsen, one of the best apprentices in the trial. This battle alone was enough for everyone to see him in a new light. The past Matthias was just dandy, but from this day on, no one would dare to treat him as a simple dandy. Even if he was, he had to be a powerful dandy!

    ¡°This Marathon fellow isn¡¯t at all likeable, but he has sure improved tremendously in a short time. I remember he was just a level-11 Magic Shooter thest time I saw him,¡± Herza mumbled as he secretly took note of Matthias.

    Hoffman pouted, and said indignantly, ¡°This little bastard was just lucky, like the old bastard in his family...¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that in front of Wilhelm?¡± Herza was slightly annoyed. The Marathon Family and Glittergold Trade Union hadn¡¯t been on the best of terms. This was a known fact in the whole of Anril. In particr, Hoffman and Wilhelm hadpletely fallen out with each other.

    At least it wasn¡¯t even the second time Herza had heard it in person. Hoffman was moring about sending people to poison the unscrupulous arms merchant¡¯s food, while Wilhelm swore to hire an assassin to get rid of the darned fatso.

    It was fortunate that one of them was in nna, and the other in Breezy ins. Otherwise, devil knew how much the chief assassin, Oro, would benefit from their feud.

    How could Hoffman have nice things to say now that Wilhelm¡¯s son was just below them?

    The feud between the Marathon Family and the Glittergold Trade Union naturally made it impossible for Herza to take part in it. He could only pretend not to hear Hoffman¡¯sst remark. ¡°It¡¯s not just luck this time. Don¡¯t you see that Matthias had the ability to beat Sarsen from the start, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal it? To be honest, Hoffman, you may be really out of your mind this time. Looks like Gryffindor and your favorite Felic are not the only people likely to win thispetition...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. How can this little bastard match up to Felic?¡± Hoffman said in spite, and suddenly came to his senses. The expression on his fat face froze. ¡°How... how do you know I have my eyes on Felic?¡±

    ¡°Just think back to how nervous you were in the first match. It was so obvious that even the blind could see it.¡± Herza smiled, and did not question further, but simply said, ¡°Hoffman, it¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t see it. After all, you are not a real mage. There are many things that only a real mage can understand. Keep your eyes peeled. The finals today will be more exciting than any finals in the past few decades...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it...¡± Hoffman gritted his teeth furiously.

    The morning passed in a hurry, and the first round of the 12 matches was all decided. The names of the 12 trial apprentices were written on the promotion table. It was followed by the drawing of lots, presided over by Aldwin himself.

    ¡°First match¡ªMage Mason from Chevan City is up against Mage Lauren from Snow City!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Mason was slightly stunned. He couldn¡¯t believe his luck...

    Lauren, from the Snow City, was an old acquaintance of Mason. Back in the Shadowglen, the fellow had followed Sarsen into the cave to upy their ce. In the end, Felic had scared him off with a ming Hands, and he had nearly peed in his pants because of that. Mason remembered that Lauren had already been at the peak of level-10 then.

    Most of the trial apprentices had progressed one or two levels in this trial that hadsted for two months. After all, all of them were young geniuses chosen by their respective guilds, and possessed considerable potential and capability. Aftering to nna, there were not only Archmages to guide them personally, but also ces like the Omniscient Tower to study in. It was nothing surprising for them to improve one or two levels.

    However, there were exceptions to everything, and the same was true for the enhancement in magic strength. In this trial, some freaks had made the leap from level-12 to level-15, yet some fools made no progress. They¡¯d entered the finals with the same level as they were when they came to nna.

    Lauren was undoubtedly such a fool.

    Mason knew very well the fool¡¯s standard. Chevan City and Snow City were neighbors, after all; in addition, after they had exchanged attacks back in the Shadowglen, Lauren had been trying to curry favor with this neighbor of his. He had been showing up before Mason for the past month, so thetter naturally knew his strength through and through.

    In finals filled with perverts, he could still be up against a level-10 Magic Shooter. How could Mason not be delighted?

    ¡°I have to thank the pretty boy properly.¡± Mason was relishing in the joy when it suddenly struck him¡ªit was all because of Orrin that he could be this lucky.

    Why was it because of Orrin? The reason was simple.

    A total of 24 guilds took part in this trial. 24 apprentices were divided into 12 groups in the first round of thepetition. This was decided long before the trial, but no one had expected that Orrin would be injured before the finals¡ªand it was a bad one at that. It was difficult for him to walk a few more steps, let alone take part in the finals.

    Each of the 24 trial apprentices had his own task and there was nobody to spare. It was just like a radish for a hole¡ªthere was an empty hole now that a radish was spoiled. And Lauren was the lucky one that filled for that hole.

    Mason wondered where that fool got his luck from. He¡¯d actually drew the empty lot and advanced to the second round without even breaking a sweat...

    Unfortunately, that was where his luck would end.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Mason watched Lauren from afar and smiled sinisterly.

    Mason couldn¡¯t care less about being neighbors currently. There was only one thought in his mind¡ªas long as he defeated this fellow, he¡¯d be able to make it to the final six!

    Although the Chevan City guild had produced arge number of talents over the past several hundred years, there wasn¡¯t anyone who made it to the final six in the trial finals. If he were to achieve a breakthrough this time, wouldn¡¯t he be able to walk with airs in the Chevan City Guild of Magic?

    ¡°Brother Lauren, I have to go hard on you this time. You can only me yourself for your luck...¡±

    Just as Mason was mumbling away, the results of the lots were out. Some of the hot favorites were lucky not to be up against one another in the second round. Gryffindor was up against a level-13 Magic Shooter called Mark from Starlight City¡¯s Guild of Magic. Matthias¡¯ luck was better; he was to be up against a level-12 Magic Shooter.

    When Lin Li saw the results of the draw, he couldn¡¯t help but think, <i>Matthias, that jerk, is going to be up against a level-12 Magic Shooter this time. Surely he can¡¯t be that sly again?</i>

    In contrast, Lin Li was up against a more difficult opponent, Garat from Far Seeing City. His strength was definitely considered first-ss among the trial apprentices, and he had always been mysterious. He had never gotten too close to anyone. He didn¡¯t even build a friendship with his two roommates. Lin Li could only vaguely judge by observation that this fellow had broken through to level-14, and was probably at the same level as Sarsen.

    However, it did not make any difference to Lin Li. As long as it wasn¡¯t Gryffindor or Matthias, everyone else was the same.The gap between level-15 and level-14 could not be summarized as just a difference in level. Unless it was an unconventional kind like Loken, an ordinary mage would not stand a chance against an Archmage.

    After the draw results came out, Lin Li only took a nce at him from a distance. This man looked about the same age as Gryffindor. He was tall and thin. He was wrapped in a ck robe all over¡ªapart from his frighteningly pale face. From a distance, he looked like a ck bamboo pole standing in the wind.

    As Lin Li nced over, the other party¡¯s eyes fell on Lin Li as well. At that moment, Lin Li suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. Just then, Mason¡¯s match had started. Lin Li merely frowned slightly and threw the matter to the back of his brain.

    Compared with the bitter first match, this one was really easy for Mason. However, it wasn¡¯t because Mason was strong. He could only be so rxed because the other party was simply too useless. Lauren was probably the most inferior stuff in this trial.

    Not to mention him not making any progress at all in the two months, what was worse was his terrible performance in the finals. His casting skills were dogmatic; even the characters and sybles of the spells were no different from those of the textbooks. He was just like a mage apprentice struggling for a breakthrough. He¡¯d do whatever his mentor told him to and whatever was written in the textbooks. There were no highlights at all to his performance. If he were to have a change of clothes now and re-enter the arena, Lin Li was sure that at least 90% of the mages wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him.

    His strength was far worse than Mason¡¯s, let alone matching up against people like Gryffindor and Sarsen. Lin Li wondered how such a rookie like him could make it into the trial...

    Lauren impatiently released a Mana Retroaction upon themencement of the match, for he saw Mason open his mouth and thought thetter was about to begin his recitation. However, Mason merely said, ¡°Brother Lauren, don¡¯t me me!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lauren almost vomited blood.

    What was to be a serious match turned out to be an amusement afterwards.

    There was a disparity in strength and Lauren had wasted a Mana Retroaction as soon as the battle started. The oue was settled by this point. However, Mason was not in a hurry to end the battle. He was having a great time ying with Lauren. The short five-minute match had be his one-man show. He applied all the casting skills he¡¯d learnt from Lin Li in the past month on Lauren. Moreover, he deliberately went easy on the other party. He¡¯d pull the brakes each time his opponent was about to be beaten. Lauren was suffering immensely from this repetition.

    The only thing Lauren could do was to recite all the spells he knew in a hurry. However, except for a freak with infinite mana like Lin Li, this high-intensity spell-casting was not for anyone to bear. Not to mention Lauren, even an Archmage wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand such consumption of energy. As such, Lauren exhausted all his mana in a mere five minutes, and was sted off by an Air Bomb Mason had so sinisterly released...

    The match ended too fast, such that Mason didn¡¯t even sweat a bit. Just like that, he was the first to make it to the final six.

    ¡°Old man, how¡¯s that? I haven¡¯t disgraced you, right? Shouldn¡¯t you reward your disciple for being the first to make it to the final six? I don¡¯t want just any reward. I¡¯m not a beggar. Don¡¯t think you can send me away with just two lousy scrolls...¡±

    ¡°Go and die, will you...?¡± Macklin was annoyed. If they weren¡¯t under the public¡¯s eyes, he would¡¯ve given Mason a kick in the butt. <i>Bloody hell, this little brat really thinks too highly of himself. He¡¯d forgotten his name after having won against a level-10 Magic Shooter. He should take a look at how amateurish he is instead of having the cheek to boast about his petty win.</i>

    But then again, that was some sorcery from Aldwin. How could he manage to draw Lauren and Mason in the same match? <i>Bloody hell, now that he had won, that little brat¡¯s going to have to brag about it for a few days...</i>

    ¡°What are you looking at, Felic?¡± Mason was boasting excitedly when he suddenly realized his teammate was staring into space.

    ¡°Did you notice? Something seems off about that fellow...¡±

    ¡°Which fellow?¡± Mason asked, puzzled. He followed Lin Li¡¯s gaze and realized that thetter was staring at his opponent for the next round, Garat from Far Seeing City. ¡°Him?¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say. This fellow is indeed weird...¡± Mason scratched his head in puzzlement. ¡°Far Seeing City isn¡¯t that far from Chevan City. My mentor once brought me to their Guild of Magic when I was young. That fellow was a jerk from young age. He peeped at girls taking shower when he was just in his teenage years. I heard that he¡¯d gotten worse as he got older, visiting houses of ill-repute as and when he likes. Nine out of ten prostitutes in Far Seeing City has once served him. Why else do you think he¡¯s so skinny?¡±

    ¡°For real?¡±

    ¡°Duh...¡± Mason finished with a lecherous smile, then frowned, and mumbled to himself, ¡°Strange. When we¡¯d just arrived in nna, that fellow wanted to take me for drinks and what not. Why has he be like this? Look at his face and his eyes. Reminds me of the zombies in the Shadowglen...¡±

    ¡°He really does look like one...¡± Lin Li nodded. Although Mason¡¯s words might sound exaggerated, Garat had indeed given him such a feeling. If Lin Li were to find someone simr to Garat in aura, it would be Sendros, who had visited the Guild of Magic a few days ago.

    However, even a half-human, half-undead monster like Sendros had more human aura than Garat.

    ¡°Anyway, you¡¯d better be carefulter. I can¡¯t stop thinking how abnormal this fellow is. He could¡¯ve been cursed. It¡¯ll be trouble if he spreads it to you...¡±

    Mason was exaggerating way too much. Even Orrin, who had stayed quiet all this while, couldn¡¯t listen any longer. He scolded him feebly in his chair. ¡°Idiot...¡±

    ¡°Damn...¡± Mason red at him, and was about to break out in a curse when he suddenly lost heart. ¡°Forget it, pretty boy. You¡¯re injured. I shan¡¯t hold it against you.¡±

    ¡°Do you even dare...¡± Orrin pouted, and looked at Mason with disdain. Then, he turned his attention to Lin Li. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡±

 Chapter 258 - Immortal King

    <h4>Chapter 258: Immortal King</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li¡¯s match was arranged to be thest, so he was in no rush, as there was still time. He was engaged in a chat with Mason and Orrin while waiting for the results of the two matches.

    Gryffindor was in the second match. The number one magic genius in Fn took only two minutes to win the match. The level-13 Magic Shooter from Starlight City stood no chance in front of Gryffindor. He was being oppressed throughout the whole match. There was no control from Gryffindor, only outburst through and through. Just like a gust of wind sweeping away the fallen leaves, he¡¯d swept the level-13 Magic Shooter out of the final six.

    The referee¡¯s announcement silenced the whole Aurora Square.

    At least half of the thousands of mages in the audience were re-evaluating the number one magic genius of Fn. Everyone knew that he was strong, but had not expected that he could be so strong.The strength shown by both sides in the match earlier on was on two different levels. Gryffindor easily defeated his opponent without even needing to put much thought into it.

    Many people couldn¡¯t believe that such a power gap would appear on two young mages in their twenties.

    The mages who were participating in this trial were all elites in their respective guilds. Even the worst of them were level-10 Magic Shooters; there was no weakling among them to say the least. The fact that Gryffindor had won so easily showed that he was incredibly strong.

    ¡°F*ck, why¡¯s this kid so strong...¡± Hoffman¡¯s confidence took a dive as he watched Gryffindor from afar.

    ¡°I¡¯ve warned you, but you didn¡¯t heed it...¡± Herza looked at him sympathetically, thinking that the fatty had gotten himself in hot water. Herza could judge from Hoffman¡¯s tense expression that the Glittergold Trade Union had ced arge bet this time. If Gryffindor really were to win the finals, Hoffman would have to pay off his pants with the handicap he¡¯d imposed in the bet...

    Herza thought the Glittergold Trade Union was bound to make a huge loss.

    Perhaps no one knew Gryffindor¡¯s strength better than Herza. Gryffindor¡¯s mentor, Rosen, was one of the top ten leaders of the Supreme Council. He was not an ordinary person. He was definitely a legendary figure even in the Supreme Council. It took him only 20 years to progress from a member of a remote Guild of Magic to one of the top ten arbitrators of the Supreme Council. The present Rosen was an outstanding figure in the Supreme Council in terms of strength and skill.

    Hoffman, that darned fatty, was gutsy enough to bet on a dark horse in apetition like this. Didn¡¯t it cross his mind that Rosen would never allow his only disciple to lose?

    As a member of the Supreme Council, Herza naturally understood better than anyone else how many appalling secrets were hidden in this council that held the destiny of all the mages in Anril. This was not something a businessman could understand. Even Herza himself had to admit that what he had learned in the Supreme Council for decades was only superficial. Only people like Rosen or Andoine, who had a chance topete for the position of the arbitrator, had ess to the heart of the matter.

    ¡°He¡¯ll only learn his lesson after making a huge loss...¡± Herza¡¯s eyes moved away from Hoffman and fell on the young mage, who was chatting with his two roommates at Aurora Square, and could not help but sigh. The young man was a real genius. Even he felt amazed at those peculiar casting skills. It was a pity that he¡¯d encountered Gryffindor and was destined not to win the finals.

    The present Gryffindor had far surpassed the average young mage. Not to mention those in their twenties, even in the entire nna Guild of Magic, only a few people¡ªsuch as Aldwin and Macklin¡ªcould dare say that they could definitely beat him. Even the likes of Darian might not necessarily have this confidence. Such a strength could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as the average young mage.

    ¡°Pity...¡± Herza shook his head and bemoaned the reality. In fact, it was true that the Jarrosus mage named Felic was the most suitable person to win the finals, not only because of his outstanding talent, but also because he came from Jarrosus, a small remote guild. His background was far lessplicated than Gryffindor¡¯s. Even if a new guild were to be established in the Breezy ins, it would not be a trouble that couldn¡¯t be handled.

    However, Gryffindor was different. His mentor was Rosen, who was expected to be an arbitrator. Once he¡¯d won the finals, numerous motives that wouldn¡¯t stand exposure to the day or light would emerge between the new guild and the new arbitrator.

    Unfortunately, Gryffindor was too powerful.

    Although the young mage named Felic was equally powerful, he might have to wait for another test three yearster to emerge as the final winner.

    ¡°Knock on wood!¡± Hoffman pouted. He refused to believe Herza¡¯s words.

    In fact, even Hoffman himself had to admit at this time that Gryffindor was indeed superior in terms of strength. However, Hoffman still stood to think that Gryffindor was bound to lose the finals because he knew very well that the young mage named Felic was not only an Archmage, but also a potion master!

    A bottle of potion could decide the oue of a magic battle, let alone a potion master.

    Both of them held different opinions, but they refused to give in to each other and insisted that they were right. Both of them were eventually flushed from the aggressive exchange of words.

    And at this moment, Matthias had entered the Aurora Square...

    Lin Li perked up on seeing it was Matthias¡¯ turn.

    <i>I¡¯d like to see if you¡¯re going to resort to sly means again... </i>Lin Li was focused on the match with this thought in mind.

    And then, he was dumbstruck...

    Matthias was as if a different person in this match. His attack was a torrential pour of spells as soon as the match began. His casting speed was so quick that his opponent did not even have the chance to release a Mana Retroaction. The surging magical elements seemed to be boiling, and there was a scorching aura in the Aurora Square. Matthias had used all his strength in every attack. He did not defend even once from the beginning. Only when he drove his opponent into a corner with a ming Storm did Lin Li suddenly realize that there wasn¡¯t even an Elemental Shield on this guy...

    Lin Li was dumbfounded. Compared with the previous slyness, this match was a spark. It was a violent game from the beginning to the end. If Gryffindor hadn¡¯t stood near him, Lin Li would have thought that this match was in fact fought by Gryffindor.

    That poor level-12 Magic Shooter had only managed to release a spell.

    It was an Elemental Shield...

    Hispetition came to an end when Matthias had broken through his only spell. Matthias hadn¡¯t even spared him another look before he released an Air Bomb on him. There was only a ¡°bang¡±, and the poor Magic Shooter was hit by the Air Bomb when his Elemental Shield broke. It felt as if he had been hit hard on his chest by a hammer. He cked out immediately and spat out blood, which dyed the b stones red...

    ¡°The winner is Matthias from Sunrise City!¡±

    Lin Li took one look at the injured level-12 Magic Shooter from a distance, and couldn¡¯t help butugh inwardly. Although Mathias¡¯ strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, he was still as narrow-minded and petty as before. He¡¯d used Air Bomb twice to defeat his opponents. The mageweaths Aldwinid could only reduce damage by magic, but couldn¡¯t offset the impact of the Air Bomb. If you want to hurt your opponent in this special environment, the Air Bomb, a low-level spell, would be the most effective method.

    Both Sarsen and the level-12 Magic Shooter were badly hurt when they were blown out of Aurora Square.

    ¡°Felic, it¡¯s your turn!¡± Macklin, who was at a side, was already rushing Lin Li eagerly when the referee read his name. The old man was in a good mood. Two of his three trial apprentices had made it to the final six. He¡¯d have to brag about this achievement for a while.

    ¡°All the best!¡±

    ¡°Do it right!¡±

    ¡°Mm-hm!¡± Lin Li slowly proceeded to the square¡¯s center amidst his roommates¡¯ cheers.

    Garat, from the Far Seeing City Guild of Magic, was already waiting there. He was still wrapped tightly in a ck robe, and his face was still ghastly pale like a dead man¡¯s. When Lin Lin stepped forward, he could clearly see that there was no expression on Garat¡¯s pale face, making him look as if he was wearing a mask.

    Lin Li stared at him for a long while. He couldn¡¯t imagine how Garat was someone who knew to peep at girls in shower in his teenage years...

    What puzzled Lin Li most was that the magical wave emanating from Garat seemed to be quite different from those of most mages he had seen. It was a cold and depressing aura, just like the feeling of being surrounded by countless undead when he was in the Shadowglen. If Lin Li had to name someone with a simr aura, it could only be Sendros, whom he had just seen a few days ago. Only this semi-human, semi-undead monster had some traits simr to Garat¡¯s.

    Lin Li knew that this was the real death aura, just like that of the high-level Vampires or Necromancer in the Shadowglen. Only mages like Sendros, who dealt with various undead creatures all year round, could emit such strong death aura.

    However, even the death aura that emanated from Sendros was far weaker than the one from Garat.

    Lin Li was utterly astounded by this realization.

    Sendros was the Lord of the Undead, and was a powerhouse who¡¯d broken through the Legendary realm many years ago. Even a figure like Andoine had to acknowledge Sendros¡¯ power. Garat was a mere level-14 Magic Shooter. How could the death aura emanating from him be stronger than that of Sendros?

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand how a guy who enjoyed watching girls taking showers emitted such a strong death aura. He had never heard of any achievements the Far Seeing City Guild of Magic had made in undead magic.

    <i>Wait a minute... </i><i>Could it be the trial back in the Shadowglen? </i>A thought suddenly shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    <i>That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the Shadowglen trial!</i>

    The more Lin Li thought about it, the more usible the idea became. When Lin Li first arrived in nna, he¡¯d never sensed the death aura from anyone when the 24 trial apprentices were gathered in the guild hall. In other words, Garat should have been normal at that time. And in the following two months, the only thing that could be associated with the undead was the trial in the Shadowglen...

    All kinds of thoughts shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind. His heart tightened when he looked at Garat once again. If it was just as he guessed, then Garat was no longer just a level-14 Magic Shooter. A death aura stronger than that of Sendros¡¯ was no joking matter.

    Lin Li tightened his grip on the Aether Staff in his hand and fixed his eyes on Garat. His mental strength had been pushed to the limits, and the magical elements were surging violently, stirring up a magic storm in Aurora Square. Lin Li was more serious than ever at this moment; he knew very well that in the face of such a half-human, half-undead monster, an oversight could leave him a lifelong regret.

    This was not merely apetition. He had no other choice but to give his all.

    Garat stood there, expressionless. There was still not a trace of expression on his death-like face. He held a fire magic staff in his hand, but the magical wave that was emanating from it had nothing to do with fire magic. Lin Li, who had spent seven days in the Shadowglen, knew that this was the purest form of death energy.

    Just when Lin Li was on his guard for the dangers that mighte, Garat had made a move all of a sudden...

    ¡°Oh, Great Immortal King, you¡¯re finally back...¡± Garat¡¯s voice was low and hoarse. Perhaps only Lin Li could hear what he was saying in the whole Aurora Square.

    ¡°Im... Immortal King?¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened. Surely this couldn¡¯t be some summoning spell?

    Then he saw that a plume of ck fog arose from Garat¡¯s body. It filled the whole Aurora Square in an instant, just like a fast-spreading gue. Lin Li lost control of his body in this immeasurably strong death aura. And then there were cries¡ªhowls, screams, and moans¡ªand it was as if the whole Aurora Square was thrown into hell instantly.

 Chapter 259 - Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 259: Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± the audience cried out in rm as they watched the ck fog rise. All the people present were the magic elites of Fn Kingdom. They had a far higher sensitivity to magic power than the ordinary person. As soon as a ck fog appeared, at least half of the thousands of spectators had correctly guessed what it was.

    Indeed, this was definitely the purest form of Death Energy. Only the most powerful undead creatures and the most powerful Necromancers could emit such pure Death Energy. It might look like a plume of haze, but it definitely contained enough energy to destroy everything.

    In an instant, the audience were seething with anxiety. Everyone was specting who was the one who had released such a pure form of Death Energy. Was it the young mage from Jarrosus, or was it Garat with the dead-man-like expression?

    ¡°To hell...¡± Herza frowned as he saw the ck fog on Aurora Square.

    With his decades of diabolical vision, it was natural that he¡¯d be able to see things more clearly than other mages. As soon as the gue-like ck fog gushed out, he already saw that it was Garat who had released it.

    Even Herza had to admit that the power of this Death Energy was absolutely the strongest one he had ever seen.This had even gone beyond the Legendary realm, and to a level where most mages dared not even imagine it. Herza looked at the center of Aurora Square dumbfounded, and could not help but tremble with fear.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Hoffman thought he was going to pass out. Like Herza, he felt the power of the Death Energy at once. He waspletely stupefied when he looked back at Aurora Square. This plume of ck fog not only engulfed an astronomical sum of money, but also a potion master who was expected to break through to the guru realm. It was a magic genius seen only once in a few centuries. Anyone who knew anything about Felic would feel regret for this plume of ck fog...

    There was absolutely no way out of such a terribly powerful Death Energy concentration. Even if it were Hoffman, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily have made it after being devoured by the fog, let alone an Archmage in his twenties.

    Macklin was at the edge of Aurora Square, lecturing Mason with curses and swear words. His face turned ghastly white at once when he saw the ck fog rose. He¡¯d never expected there¡¯d be such a horrible Death Energy in apetition between trial apprentices. For a moment, Macklin was dumbstruck. The person engulfed by the Death Energy was their only hope to win the bet, and he was also the only disciple of a Legendary-mage, Andoine. Macklin dared not think of the consequences if Felic were to die in this match...

    ¡°Felic!¡± Macklin couldn¡¯t care less about the rules in anxiety. He pushed through the crowd and threw himself into the ck fog. However, he felt powerful energy gush out from amidst the ck fog. It was like a hammernding heavily on his chest. Macklin threw up a mouthful of blood in an instant, and he was yanked out of Aurora Square like a broken kite.

    Macklin was not the only one that was shaken by the force. Mason had also rushed into the ck fog when he felt that something was wrong. However, he was also struck by the massive power and was yanked out of Aurora Square like Macklin. The whole Aurora Square was in chaos. The two referees desperately tried to use Magic Quell to dispel the terrifying ck fog. The dozen of mages who were in charge of maintaining the energy of the mageweaths also began to recite their spells in a bid to free the Jarrosus mage from the ck fog.

    At this time, even Orrin, who had yet to recover from his injury, rushed forward with his weak body. Unfortunately, he had yet to enter the plume of ck fog when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and fell limply onto the ground...

    ¡°Don¡¯t go near!¡± Aldwin stood up from the VIP stand. After a hasty recitation, the magic staff in his hand began to emit a dazzling light. Boundless magical elements surged toward the ck fog like torrential waves.

    The two forces intertwined in an instant. Everyone clearly saw that the white rays were like a tide, constantly pounding against the ck fog that was like a reef in the sea. It was standing firm despite the impact of the tide.

    For a while, the silence in the Aurora Square was frightening. Everyone¡¯s heart was raised to their throat.

    This was a real life-and-death struggle. Either the ck fog waspletely dispelled, or the young mage was devoured by the Death Energy...

    At this time, Lin Li felt as if he had entered another world.

    It was pitch-ck around him. He could neither see nor hear anything. It was as if he was in an endless void. There was no other form of existence apart from himself. Time and space had lost its meaning in this moment.

    ¡°What exactly is happening?¡± Lin Li was perplexed. He seemed to remember that just a moment ago, the mage with the dead-man-like expression, Garat, seemed to have done something to him, but what happened after that?

    Right, ck fog...

    Lin Li remembered at once. Garat seemed to release the ck fog after he¡¯d made a move on him. It contained the purest massive Death Energy. And in the next moment, he lost consciousness...

    ¡°Hell...¡± He¡¯d gradually recalled the whole process, but he was still filled with confusion. He knew what had happened, but he did not know why all this had happened, and what consequences it would entail for himself...

    Lin Li felt as if his soul was detached from his body at present. He¡¯d lost all his senses and control of his body. His mind was clear, but his body refused to listen to hismands. He could only watch helplessly as the eerie ck fog devoured him. He took in the massive pure Death Energy, but couldn¡¯t even call out for help...

    An unprecedented sense of powerlessness filled up Lin Li¡¯s consciousness instantly. Since he became a mage, he had never been so weak as he was on this day. He knew very well that he was in an extremely dangerous situation, but he just had no way out. In face of that massive Death Energy, Lin Li felt like an ant that was unable to resist or struggle. The only thing he could do was watch it devour himself...

    Lin Li even felt that he¡¯d slowly die just like that.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t die!¡±

    Finally, his strong will to survive gained the upper hand.

    There was a moment when Lin Li almost regained control of his body, but, unfortunately, it was only for a moment. The massive pure Death Energy once again reimed its overwhelming advantage.

    However, this moment was particrly precious to Lin Li. Because at that moment, Lin Li saw the source of the Death Energy...

    ¡°It was from this...¡± Lin Li never imagined that the massive Death Energy did not actuallye from Garat, but from the crystal in his pocket that he¡¯d gotten from the Nightmare Mountains...

    At that moment, Lin Li¡¯s senses were unusually clear. He clearly saw the crystal devouring his own mental strength like a bottomless ck hole. At the same time, it was crazily releasing the Death Energy. This was an extremely bizarre process. The crystal was devouring the mental strength, yet releasing the Death Energy at the same time. It was like a converter¡ªconstantly converting the mental strength it devoured into Death Energy, and then using this energy to continue its devouring...

    Moreover, with the constant exchange of the two energies, the dark red crystal gradually radiated an eerie light in the ck fog. The eerie light became brighter and brighter as time passed. In the end, even the whole world seemed to have turned dark red.

    ¡°Drat...¡± Lin Li quickly recovered hisposure. If he were to let his mental strength drain, what would await him was death. Appalled by this realization, Lin Li began to control his mental strength desperately in a bid to guide it back on track. But the force of the red crystal was like a huge vortex. With an irresistible force, it was channeling the mental strength into itself.

    Lin Li only felt immeasurably tiny in this instant. It was as if he were a stone in a torrent, unable to slow down the flow at all.

    ¡°Bloody hell, what do I do now...?¡± Lin Li was about to go insane as he watched his mental strength fade bit by bit. The only thing he could do was to increase his control on his mental strength.

    This was an immensely painful process. It was like trying to make the blood flow in the opposite direction. Just as Lin Li was desperately trying to control his mental strength, excruciating pain struck him.

    Lin Li felt as if his whole body had been torn apart. The endless power was tearing frantically his body, just like continual turbulence. There was now or order, only rage and uneasiness. They tore crazily at his body and every nerve.

    And in the next moment, the insanely surging energy came together at once as if countless tiny nails from all directions were attracted by a huge ma. It was a feeling more painful than that of tearing. Lin Li felt as if he was squeezed t in an instant by some force.

    The squeezing and tearing went on repeatedly. Under the endless pain and torture, Lin Li even felt like he was already dead...

    It was unknown how long time had passed¡ªit could as well only be a mere second for all one knew. Just as Lin Li felt as if he was going to die, he felt apse in the ubiquitous energy!

    Thispse in power was like a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Lin Li made a decisive decision and took this fleeting opportunity to divert a trace of his mental strength. He slowly and stealthily prated through the almost invisible gap.

    And then he realized that he seemed to have entered another world.

 Chapter 260 - The Undead Lordéˆ¥æªš Puppet

    <h4>Chapter 260: The Undead Lord¡¯s Puppet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This short period felt like centuries for Lin Li. The continuous whispers reverberated in the ears like the twittering in the night and the soft breathing. The boundless darkness was slowly disappearing, and in its ce was rainbow light. It was as if the space in between ck and white had suddenly been filled with a myriad of colors, causing the whole world to be alive.

    Lin Li¡¯s weak strand of mental strength was carefully and prudently moving around in this colorful world.

    What he needed now was an exit. Even if it was a small hole, as long as he could insert this trace of mental strength into it, he would have the confidence to leave his own brand andpletely control this abnormal crystal just like how he¡¯d obtained control over the Brand Of Dusk.

    But the process was harder than what Lin Li had imagined. The whole rainbow world seemed to be protected by some sort of energy. When his mental strength had just gotten closer, it would be immediately reflected. There was not a single opening or suture to be found. It was like a sphere with no openings.

    Time was ticking by...

    Lin Li¡¯s forehead was full of sweat. He knew that he did not have much time left. What was waiting could only bepletely losing his mental strength if he were to continue dragging it, and then finally he would die from exhaustion. Lin Li could even feel that the rate of depletion of his mental strength was increasing. It was like surging waters, incessantly flowing into that abnormal crystal...

    Towards the end, Lin Li had already given up.

    There was no room to struggle. The only thing he could do was to wait for death toe knocking.

    ¡°Just which asshole was it that¡¯s so immoral. He actually hid a crystal in the Nightmare Mountains to harm others...¡± The mental strength was running out quickly, which meant Lin Li¡¯s mind had been pushed to the limits. His head was feeling heavy. The only thing he could think about was to curse that asshole that had ced the crystal in the cave to harm others.

    ¡°F*ck, I¡¯ll fight it out with you!¡± The situation could not get any worse. At this time, looking for an opening was useless. When thest remaining strand of mental strength was about to be lost, Lin Li finally gritted his teeth tightly. He did not care what sort of power was protecting this rainbow world anymore. He also did not care what sort of injuries he would sustain if thisst strand of mental strength was lost. He had seemingly made his decision in an instant.

    Lin Lipletely gave up control of his mental strength. He let it surge straight into the crystal. At the same time, he was constantly invoking mana and letting it attack this rainbow world.

    This was decision simr to seeking death...

    It was either he created an opening, or he would die in the Aurora Square.

    When the mental strength and mana had surged out together, Lin Li¡¯s face immediately became pale. This feeling was like his blood and flesh had been sucked out, leaving behind an empty shell. His whole body felt like jelly, and he could not muster any strength. His mind was empty. He could not feel the existence of anything except for that bit of mental strength that he had released...

    After that, he suddenly realized that a gap had appeared within this rainbow world!

    ¡°I¡¯m saved!¡± The appearance of this gap was like a ray of light that had appeared in the pitch-ck night for Lin Li. He did not hesitate at all and steered the remaining mental strength towards that gap...

    What followed immediately was a ¡°POM!¡±

    While his mind was in a whirl, Lin Li only felt that the world was copsing. The rainbow lights that were in front had seemingly shattered into countless fragments in an instant. The rainbow-colored fragments were fluttering amidst the dark red light. It was more magnificent than fireworks in a night sky, but Lin Li discovered immediately afterwards that those countless rainbow-colored fragments seemed to be controlled by some sort of power. They scattered at times, and then they amassed together. In the end, they formed a rainbow stream of light and surged into his mind.

    At that moment, Lin Li had seemingly seen the back of somebody.

    It was an emaciated back of somebody wearing a long ck robe. He was quietly standing there in this rainbow light stream, but he was unusually harmonious. What made Lin Li panic-stricken was that the aura permeating from his body was exactly the same as the ck fog released by Garat. Just when Lin Li was about to release a strand of mental strength to check things out due to the sudden change, he suddenly heard a sounding from afar.

    ¡°Immortal ruler, you shall use the bones as a scepter and retake the crown!¡±

    After that, everything suddenly disappeared without a trace. All that was left behind was a rainbow light stream which surged into his mind in an instant...

    As the countless rainbow-colored fragments had turned into a stream of light, they were buried deep within Lin Li¡¯s memory while flowing into his mind. Lin Li realized that this had to be some creature¡¯s memories. It was just that these memories seemed to have been tampered with. They were messy and fragmented. It was either a sound, a picture, or just a feeling.

    In the instant when they were flowing, Lin Li had tried to interpret some useful information from within, but he quickly realized it was a waste of effort. These fragmented memories were too messy, and were not rted to each other. It was more practical to count on Andoine suddenly bing a master pharmacist than to try and interpret anything useful from this...

    Lin Li filtered through these countless memory fragments, and the only thing he got in return was that he found out that there was indeed a powerful existence called ¡°Immortal King¡± during the Dark Ages more than a thousand years ago.

    It was just that there were no leads to be found from memory fragments about the origins of this ¡°Immortal King¡± and what he had done during the Dark Ages...

    In the end, Lin Li had to give up.

    When he had finally regained his senses, everything in front of him had already disappeared. Be it that colorful world or that thick ck fog, it allpletely disappeared without a trace after that sudden change. This time Lin Li had already regained control of his body. He lowered his head and looked at himself. He was still holding the Aether Staff and wearing the Rune Robe. The only thing that was different was that the dark red crystal he was holding tightly in his right hand had an unearthly light seeping out from the cracks...

    <i>I guess I¡¯m lucky. I did not throw my life away... </i>Lin Li could not help but be covered in a cold sweat all over his body when thinking back about that hair-raising battle. The situation back then could be said to be as odious as it could be. If he was just a little more unlucky, he would not have been able to escape from exhausting himself to death.

    This type of mental strength battles was always the most dangerous. Even though Lin Li had not used magic from the beginning to the end, it was more dangerous than fights with knives and guns. One mistake would causeplete destruction of the body, up until the soul. Even a trace of Soul Branding could not be left behind. This way of dying was the most thorough, and there was no way to be saved.

    Lin Li wiped off the cold sweat off his forehead. When he turned his head around, he suddenly realized that the Aurora Square was eerily silent. Everyone¡¯s gaze had been set on him simultaneously. It was as if what they saw was not a trial apprentice, but a bipedal magical beast.

    ¡°What is going on?¡± Lin Li was in a daze. His mind was constantly having misgivings. Could it be that when the ck fog permeated the area, he had done something shocking again? No, no, since the ck fog had permeated the square, they would not have been able to see it even if he had done something, right?

    Then...

    Lin Li suddenly saw that his opponent, Mage Garat from Far Seeing City, was kneeling down on one knee and both his hands were raised above his head while holding the scepter. His expression was full of devotion and reverence. The current Garat did not look like an opponent that was trying to kill him. It was more like he became his most devoted disciple.

    ¡°Great Immortal King, wee back!¡±

    Garat¡¯s voice was still as hoarse and deep as before. In the gigantic Aurora Square, nobody other than Lin Li could hear what he was saying, but that posture of him kneeling down had started amotion among the audience instantly. The sound of thousands of mages discussing it had instantaneously made the whole Aurora Square chaotic. Everyone was guessing what had happened in that ck fog just now, why was the victorious Garat kneeling down, and why hadn¡¯t that mage from Jarrosus been swallowed by the ck fog?

    Question after question appeared, but there was no answer for any of them¡ªwhat transpired had been too fast, plus there had been ck fog covering their bodies suddenly. It looked like it had a life of its own. It had just arisen from Garat¡¯s body, and started forming all sorts of shapes. It spread out at times, and gathered together afterwards. In the end, it became a streak of ck smoke and flew far away amidst a cackle that was simr to that of a nightbird...

    ¡°F*ck, just what is the Immortal King!¡± Lin Li stood in the Aurora Square and watched that ck smoke disappear in a daze. His mind bore an indescribable annoyance because before the ck smoke dissipated, Lin Li had heard another voiceing from within his mind. It was hoarse and deep, and it was also baffling. ¡°Great Immortal King, you have finally awakened in the Skeleton Realm...¡±

    ¡°Awake your mother¡¯s a*s...¡± Lin Li swore angrily. <i>This cliffhanging behavior is most hateful. It makes your heart itch, yet it does not tell you what is going on...</i>

    <i>Wait a minute...</i>

    Lin Li was in a daze again when he stopped scolding midway.

    He suddenly remembered the direction the ck smoke dissipated in¡ªwasn¡¯t it the route to the Shadowglen?

    Could it be this was all because of the trials that had taken ce a month or so ago?

    The more Lin Li thought about it, the more frightened he was. He had experienced that level Death Energy from that ck fog before. In a more exaggerated manner, even if it was a person on Andoine¡¯s level, he might not do any better than Lin Li. It was not a power that humans couldpete with, especially so for the mental strength resistance. It made Lin Li break out in cold sweat just by thinking about it. How could Lin Li not be aware about the condition of his mental strength? Yet, Lin Li felt like an ant trapped in a spider¡¯s web when his mental strength was being extracted by that crystal. He had no room to struggle; he could but watch as he closed in on death...

    Thinking about what had happened in the ck fog, Lin Li suddenly felt that the crystal in his hand started to burning...

    ¡°So who won?¡± Both of the judges stood far away and looked at each other. They could note to a conclusion after a long while. Based on logic, the victor of this battle should be the Jarrosus mage because he was still standing and his opponent was already down...

    But there was a question amidst everything...

    There were too many incidents that happened in this battle¡ªnobody could determine who was victorious. Not only had Macklin rushed onto the stage, even Aldwin had taken action at the end. This brazen interference with thepetition could disqualify anybody from thepetition ten times if they were to follow the rules strictly, thereby kicking those two aplices out of the Aurora Square...

    Of course, this was all just an ¡°if¡±...

    Even if they had a hundred galls, they would not dare to chase those two aplices out of the Aurora Square.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just consider it a draw?¡± One of the young judges hesitated for a long while before he finally muttered out his own thinking.

    ¡°Draw your mother¡¯s a*s!¡± Macklin was old, but his hearing was still sharp. He was blown away by the ck fog, and he was just standing up now, but he heard this guy suggesting it to be a draw. He immediately lost his temper. ¡°F*ck, this can also be a draw. How are you two even judges? Felic is standing, and Garat is on the floor. How can you not understand such an obvious rtionship of victory and defeat? You really think that my trial aplice can be bullied?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... You¡¯re mistaken, Mr Macklin. Let me exin, please...¡± Everyone in the Guild of Magic was very clear what sort of temperament Macklin had. Other than Aldwin, nobody else dared to provoke him. Even though the two judges had the right to decide the victor, they both shut up simultaneously in front of this master.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to exin?¡± The old man red and shamelessly raised his hand, pointing Garat who was on the floor. ¡°It can be a draw, but there must be a rematch. If you can wake him up, I will admit that this is a draw and let Felic fight him again. But you had better hurry, I am not so patient...¡±

    When he said thest sentence, it was already a tant threat.

    ¡°This...¡± Who still dared to go against the fierce-looking Macklin at this point? The two judges did not use more than ten seconds to make a decision.

    ¡°Ok, then the victor of this match is Mage Felic from Jarrosus!¡±

    ...

    The final six had already been decided. Macklin could be said to have retained his face this time. Two out of three of his trial disciples had entered the final six. One of them even had the chance to win everything. This iparably brilliant result made the old man so unusually joyful that even the number of times he reprimanded Mason had decreased evidently.

    Once the lots had been drawn, Macklin had jumped up from relief. He patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulder with a delighted look. ¡°Felic, you are finally lucky!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Lin Li was reminiscing about what had happened in the ck fog when he suddenly got patted strongly by somebody. He immediately had a shock. When he saw that the person that patted him was Macklin, he started to calm down. He spoke with an annoyed look, ¡°I say, Master Macklin, don¡¯t you know that a person can scare another person to death?¡±

    ¡°Scare my a*s...¡±

    ¡°Forget it...¡± Lin Li shook his head, his face full of annoyance. He knew that he would not able to clear things up with this old man, so he changed the topic on the spot. ¡°You said that I got lucky?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Macklin extended his hand and pointed afar. ¡°Look, that fe is your opponent in the next round...¡±

    ¡°This fe looks rather familiar. What, do you know who he is?¡± Lin Li frowned; that young mage in the distance looked to be in his twenties. His figure was small and thin as though he was malnourished. His face was pale, and his eyes were puff¡ªit made one wonder if he got a good sleepst night...

    ¡°He is Gordon, he is from the Burning Willow City¡¯s Guild of Magic. His strength is not weak, apparently he is already at level-fourteen. But this guy is more unlucky....¡± When Macklin spoke of this, he sheepishlyughed. ¡°Heh heh, in the previous round, he met another level-14 Magic Shooter. Both of them fought for almost half an hour, and in the end, he forcibly used a level-15 spell. Be it mental strength or mana, it is already overdrawn. It won¡¯t recover for at least three to five days. You going up now would just be a free win...¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t too bad...¡± Lin Liughed as well.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± It was at this point that Mason suddenly cried out in rm. ¡°How the f*ck am I so unlucky?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Look...¡± Mason pointed into the distance with a sad and angry look. Aldwin¡¯s hands were holding two pieces of paper. One had Mason¡¯s name, and the name written on the other piece was... Gryffindor!

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°F*ck, Gryffindor is like a beast now. How can I beat him? It¡¯s over. There¡¯s no need to enter the final three. It¡¯s all over now. This President Aldwin, really. Why didn¡¯t he wash his hands before picking the lots?¡± Masonined in a vulgar manner, and then looked at Lin Li with a pitiful expression. ¡°Felic, don¡¯t you have a lot of potions? Do you have any that can help me win against an Archmage after I drink it?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li immediately felt like crying andughing. He held it back for a while before he finally squeezed out a single word. ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but this type of potion is really troublesome. After you drink it, there will be some minor side effects...¡±

    ¡°What side effects...?¡±

    ¡°After you beat the Archmage, you will die...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡±

    While they were conversing, the lots for the final six had already been drawn. Lin Li¡¯s luck was pretty decent, for he was matched with a level-thirteen Magic Shooter that was a spent bullet, but Matthias was slightly unluckier. His opponent was a genuine level-fourteen Magic Shooter, but for Matthias, this was nothing much.

    The unluckiest would naturally be Mason. He had actually been matched with Gryffindor. Thinking about this guy¡¯s beastly strength, Mason could not help but have cold sweat. The judges had yet to announce the start of the third round, and this guy had already begun nning on how to lose with more dignity...

    ¡°Oh, yes, Felic!¡± Lin Li was helping Masone up with strategies when he suddenly heard Macklin¡¯s voiceing from the back. ¡°Garat¡¯s awake.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lin Li immediately came to his senses, and he did not discuss with Mason methods how to lose with more dignity anymore. He hurriedly pulled Macklin to the side. ¡°Did he say anything about the ck fog?¡±

    ¡°He said he doesn¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°Then did he say why he has such a strong Death Energy?¡±

    ¡°He also said he doesn¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°Why does he not know anything?¡± Lin Li was really distressed. <i>This Garat is really absurd. He released such strong Death Energy and almost killed me. After regaining consciousness, he does not know anything. Is he purposely screwing with me?</i>

    ¡°No choice, he said he forgot everything...¡±

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he die...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I think he really forgot...¡± Macklin shook his head before continuing, ¡°Because before he woke up, I used Mana Detector to observe him. The Death Energy in his body hadpletely disappeared. Now, he¡¯s just a normal level-fourteen Magic Shooter, or maybe one slightly stronger than Sarsen. But he definitely is not strong enough to kill you...¡±

    ¡°You mean that that energy did not belong to Garat?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Lin Li really felt like killing somebody. Such a weird situation had happened to him, but all the strings were cut loose at the end. This whole incident had be a mystery without clues. Did he really have to follow what that voice had said and awaken from the skeleton something in order to find out what had happened to his body? <i>F*ck, I am not that free, either...</i>

    ¡°If I am not mistaken, this incident is most likely rted to those two Undead Lords at the Shadowglen. Garat also said that on the fifth day after he entered the Shadowglen, he encountered an unrivaled undead creature. After that, hepletely lost his memory, and finally regained his consciousness only now...¡± When Macklin said this, his expression was somewhat fearful. Those two Undead Lords at the Shadowglen were powerhouses that existed since the Dark Ages. Nobody knew how powerful they were currently. Even the number one mage in Fn, Aldwin, did not have the confidence to face them, not to mention Macklin, a level-eighteen Archmage...

    Once Lin Li heard this, he took in a deep breath and looked at Macklin in disbelief. ¡°Are you telling me that just now I was fighting with a puppet controlled by the Undead Lord, and not Garat?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 261 - Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 261: Destruction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Matthias¡¯ power was indeed fathomless. A level-fourteen Magic Shooter could not put up any resistance when facing him. He could onlyst for less than eight minutes before being sted away by an Air Bomb severely. In an instant, there was blood sttering everywhere...

    On the other hand, most of the several thousands of mages at the spectators¡¯ seats were used to seeing blood. They could not help but shake their heads. Matthias¡¯ personality had issues. Once or twice could be written off as an ident, but three times in a row... it could be safely said that Matthias did it intentionally. He was utterly trying to injure his opponents for no rhyme or reason. It was purely out of interest, or maybe that was what he wanted to do.

    Even Herza frowned. This Matthias was really going overboard. Even if he won the final victory, he would definitely not be suitable to control a new Guild of Magic. This point had to be written down in the report...

    As for Lin Li¡¯s match afterward, it was just a walk over.

    Macklin was not spouting nonsense. That Magic Shooter at the peak of level-thirteen was a spent bullet. When he just walked into the Aurora Square, Lin Li could already sense that this person¡¯s magical wave was too weak. It did not resemble that of a level-13 Magic Shooter. Instead, it was like that of a mage apprentice that could not even wear a robe.

    Both of them were very clear on what the oue was going to be. When he walked up to the Aurora Square with a pale face, Gordon spoke softly, ¡°Mage Felic, please have mercy.¡±

    ¡°Mage Gordon, you¡¯re too kind...¡± Lin Li smiled. He waved the Aether Staff in his hands and released an Elemental Shield instantly.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    This was a battle full of tacit understanding. Lin Li used the Elemental Shield to tell the opponent that he would not do anything out of bounds, and for the appreciative Gordon, he did not try to fight desperately. The whole process seemed to have been nned beforehand. Gordon attacked continuously with his weak strength once he came up, whereas Lin Li only blocked with the Elemental Shield and asionally countered with Wind de all the way till the tenth minute mark. Only then did Lin Li ¡°identally¡± release a Chilling Touch and thus sessfully conclude this match.

    ¡°This young man is not bad...¡± Herza, who sat in the VIP seat, satisfyingly nodded his head. With his judgement after devoting to magic for tens of years, how could he be deceived by these two¡¯s acting? From the point when the Jarrosus mage raised his Elemental Shield, he had already known that this match was fixed. Otherwise, with his powers, why would he need to use the Elemental Shield? To put it bluntly, he would not even need to use any magic to go against the spent bullet Gordon. Just by casually smacking him with the magic staff, he would also beat him to death...

    <i>But this is good...</i>

    Establishing a new guild in the Breezy ins did not only require a powerful President. That ce was really chaotic, for all sorts of forces there were moreplicated than those in nna by a hundred times. To create a foothold there was not an easy task. Other than requiring absolute power to intimidate those that harbored ill intentions, it also needed methods that could pacify and dissolve conflict. An immense strength was important, but tactful methods were also necessary.

    Back then, while deciding this issue, Herza had already consulted one of the arbitrators, Anthony. What sort of person would be the most suitable tomand this new Guild of Magic? Herza remembers that Anthony¡¯s answer was: the humbler, the better!

    <i>Without a doubt, that Jarrosus mage down there is definitely a humble person. He did a favor at little cost and still managed to sell it off so sincerely. Genius... What a genius!</i>

    Furthermore, Felic¡¯s rtionship with Hoffman seemed to be rather good. If he couldmand the new Guild of Magic, then there would not be many issues with the Glittergold Trade Union. Mary support could even be given if need be. This was definitely the most ideal situation for a Guild of Magic that had just been established.

    Of course, they would have to wait for the tournament results before they could see how the story was going to unfold. After all, the rules have already been set in ce. Even if they wanted to change them, they could not do so too drastically.

    Within half an hour, two of the battles of the final three had already concluded. The only pair remaining was Mason and Gryffindor!

    ¡°F*ck, why am I so unlucky...¡± Mason stood at the Aurora Square, frowning.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and did not know what to say.

    Even an idiot knew that Mason fighting against Gryffindor was like smashing an egg on a rock. There was not a single chance of victory. Logically speaking, he should be advising Mason to be more realistic and not lose too badly. But how could he say something like that? Hence, Lin Li shook his head and sighed without saying anything...

    ¡°I know you are trying to advise me to surrender lest I lose too badly...¡± However, Mason already knew what he was thinking about even if he did not say it. He nced at Lin Li gloomily, and started mumbling, ¡°I do feel like surrendering, but I¡¯m just worried Gryffindor would not ept it...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Ah, if I die, then so be it. If I can do it, I will surrender. I don¡¯t believe that Gryffindor would still continue beating me up if I surrender!¡± Mason spoke, full of valor. He stuck out his chest and walked on to the Aurora Square, leaving Lin Li staring in disbelief...

    Gryffindor stood at the center of the Aurora Square and stared straight at his opponent. Gryffindor remembered that this guy was Orrin¡¯s roommate, called Mason or Mark. That day at the Spell Testing Hall, it was this guy that ruined everything. If he had not pulled Orrin away, Orrin would have died to him. Yet now, Orrin could actually still watch thepetition...

    <i>Oh yes, there¡¯s still fe called Felic!</i>

    This country bumpkin from Jarrosus, he did not even have any regard for Gryffindor. Gryffindor had heard that the main reason why Orrin could still be standing here was mostly because of him. Just thinking about it made Gryffindor want to kill the both of them. <i>F*ck. You dare to save someone I, Gryffindor, want to kill? Are you steeling your heart and going against me?</i>

    <i>Fine, since you guys do not know how to appreciate favors, then don¡¯t me me, Gryffindor, for being merciless.</i>

    <i>That Felic definitely cannot be forgiven, but before that, time to let them see how I¡¯m going to destroy their roommate...</i>

    Gryffindor started sneering when he saw Mason walking up to the Aurora Square. <i>Do you think you will bepletely safe since Aldwin inscribed mageweaths on you? What a joke, four mageweaths of the mastery level would only decrease the damage from spells. In front of a true Archmage, what could mageweaths do? Even Matthias, that trash, knows how to make use of openings, what about me? Just watch,ter I will definitely let you feel all sorts of pain and then slowly drain out every bit of blood before I deal with that country bumpkin...</i>

    ¡°What are you doing...?¡± Mason stood on the Aurora Square and looked at Gryffindor. He could not help but feel ack of self-confidence.

    ¡°You will know in a bit...¡± Gryffindor had a grin at the corner of his mouth. When he stared at Mason, it was like a big gray wolf staring at a white rabbit.

    Mason swallowed his saliva with difficulty: ¡°I-I-I... Let me warn you, don¡¯t try anything crazy...¡±

    Gryffindor nced at Mason with disdain. He did not say anything else, and stood there quietly, waiting for the judges to announce themencement of the match.

    ¡°Looks like both of them are ready. Let the match begin!¡±

    As the judge said ¡°begin¡±, Gryffindor suddenly moved. There was only a steady recitation of spells, which was followed closely by a Mental Control...

    ¡°F*ck, this little bastard...¡± Macklin stood at the side of Aurora Square and harshly cursed. This little bastard really was Rosen¡¯s disciple. It could be seen just with a single Mental Control. This little bastard¡¯s was exactly the same as his teacher¡¯s.

    Gryffindor definitely saw through his opponent. Mason, who had just entered battle stance, had to be harboring fear towards him. As for Mental Control, this spell excelled in such situations the most. Once there was fear within one¡¯s mind, it would be hard to maintain a calm andposed attitude. Once the Mental Control was able to find an opening, there would no need to continue the battle. How could a controlled bum be of any threat to the one controlling him?

    Sure enough, it did not exceed Macklin¡¯s expectations. Gryffindor released Mental Control and Mason¡¯s expression immediately froze. He consecutively released three ming Storms, and the whole Aurora Square had instantly been set off in a dazzling re. It was a pity that these three ming Storms¡¯ target was not his opponent, but the stone bs covering the Aurora Square....

    The re was scattering, and tiny rocks were flying around. The two judges were unprepared and struck by a few pebbles because they were too close. The debris was not lethal, but it stung when it struck the human body.

    The duration of the Mental Control was usually more than five seconds, plus the current Gryffindor was an Archmage. The difference in power was too great, thus the duration of Mason being controlled was much longer. He barely managed to break free from it and regained control over his mental strength.

    ¡°F*ck, this guy really is strong...¡± Mason released three ming Storms simultaneously, and his mana started to lose support. He¡¯d barely managed to escape from the Mental Control, and hurriedly took a few steps back while trying to raise up the Elemental Shield...

    Who knew that everything was already within Gryffindor¡¯s calctions. Before Mason had raised his Elemental Shield, Gryffindor had already released a Mana Retroaction. In an instant, it cut off the mana channel that Mason had just constructed...

 Chapter 262 - Hopelessness

    <h4>Chapter 262: Hopelessness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    For Mason, this was a tragedy...

    He¡¯d barely managed to make it through the duration of the Mental Control. He had just thought of raising an Elemental Shield to protect himself, but he did not think that Gryffindor would be so shrewd and prepared for his execution timing. With this release of Mental Control, it was like a leg was stepping on Mason¡¯s throat. He instantly lost the ability to speak.

    <i>What to do now? </i>The difference in power was already far apart, and now he was being pressured so badly. No matter how optimistic Mason¡¯s character was, he could not help but start panicking now.

    It would be more troublesome once he panicked...

    Before Mason could think of a way, Gryffindor released another Mental Control...

    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Mason immediately felt that everything in front of him was ck. It was not even a minute since he wasst controlled, and now he lost control over his mental strength again. After that, he felt that the mana in his body had furiously surged out, and another three ming Storms bombarded the Aurora Square.

    This time, Mason thought he really was going to die.

    Even a mage apprentice knew that ming Storm was famous for expending mana. He was just a level-eleven Magic Shooter and not Felic, that monster with infinite mana. How could he have so much mana to st the surface?

    With a series of ming Storms, Mason could clearly feel that the mana within his body was showing signs of exhaustion...

    ¡°Its over...¡± Just a short minute of battle, and he had been mind controlled twice in a row already. This was hopeless enough in itself, but Gryffindor, that b*tch, was not in a rush to finish off Mason. He used this despicable method to deplete Mason¡¯s mana. At this point, even an idiot would know that this b*tch Gryffindor had to have some sinister n lying in wait for him.

    It was not that Mason did not want to surrender. After all, the difference in powers was toorge, Even if he were to surrender, it would not be embarrassing, but Gryffindor, this b*tch, did not give him a single chance to surrender. The continuous magic suppression caused Mason not to be able to open his mouth, what more to tell the two judges that he wanted to surrender.

    When the fourth ming Storm was released, Mason hadpletely lost all hope. Thest strand of mana had been utterly expended, and the only thing he could rely on now was that negligible natural recovery.

    Based on his little bit of mental strength, the bit of mana recovered was not enough for an Elemental Shield, what more to try and turn the situation around...

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, it has only just begun...¡± When both of their shoulders brushed past each other, Gryffindor¡¯s voice was like a venomous snake slithering into Mason¡¯s ear...

    Looking at Mason¡¯s pale face, Gryffindor¡¯s heart was filled with the delight of revenge. This was the result he¡¯d wanted. Depleting Mason¡¯s strength, crushing all of his confidence, and then letting him die from the hopelessness of endless pain.

    All of this was originally prepared for Orrin, but he had not imagined that this fe called Mason would ruin everything in the Spell Testing Hall the other day. Then, naturally, all of this could be ced on Mason. <i>After all, regardless if you are called Mason or Mark, since you have spoilt my, Gryffindor¡¯s, ns, then you must be ready for my revenge...</i>

    After two consecutive Mind Controls, Gryffindor hadpletely dominated the match, The current Mason had already expended hisst bit of mana. He could but watch on as Gryffindor recited the incantations with a hideous smile.

    ¡°This is bad...¡± Lin Li stood far away at the side of the Aurora Square, and he was really anxious. When the first Mind Control was released, Lin Li already knew what Gryffindor was nning. At that point, he really felt like rushing onto the Aurora Square to remind Mason, ¡°Hurry and surrender, don¡¯t hold on anymore!¡±

    Unfortunately, when the match had already progressed to this point, it was already toote for him to remind him. Gryffindor used Mind Control another two times to deplete Mason¡¯s mana. After that, it would just be an outright stomping. Lin Li could only hope that Mason could find a chance in this dire situation to catch a breather even if he couldn¡¯t end the match. Otherwise, if this continued, Mason would be driven mad by Gryffindor even if he did not die.

    But with Mason¡¯s strength, how could it be easy to find a chance in front of Gryffindor?

    Gryffindor had just finished speaking, and the magic staff in his hand shook. After that, a Power of Repulse was released...

    This Power of Repulse could only be described as sinister. With Gryffindor¡¯s intentional control, the elemental sequencing of the Power of Repulse showed a minor disparity, which had changed its attack to start from the top and end at the bottom. It smashed Mason in a constricting manner.

    That was right, it indeed was ¡°smash¡±...

    In that instant, Mason felt like he had been crushed by a giant rock falling from the sky. Instantly, he felt everything in front of him turned ck, and his mind was nk. His eyes, nose, and ears had a trace of warm liquid flowing out...

    ¡°How does it feel?¡± After the release of Power of Repulse, Gryffindor was not in a rush to attack, but moved towards Mason with a face full of smiles.

    ¡°Gry... Gryffindor, you are too overboard...¡± Mason struggled to open his eyes, and felt that his surroundings were unusually blurry. Be it Gryffindor in front of him, or the judges and the audience far away, they all seemed to be duplicated. Looking at the blurry silhouette wavering in front him, Mason weakly raised his hands to rub his eyes, but he realized that when his hands had just touched it, his hands were covered in blood...

    ¡°Overboard? Hahaha. Mage Mason, you really are interesting. Didn¡¯t I tell you just now that this was merely the beginning? There are still more interesting things waiting for you. Enjoy...¡±

    ¡°Gryffindor, I... I warn you, my uncle is not someone to be provoked. If you really injure me, my uncle will definitely not forgive you...¡± Mason spoke in a breathless manner. He desperately invoked his mental strength, trying to recover enough mana during this limited time.

    In order to buy more time, he even spouted nonsense in order to make Gryffindor continue mocking him and not use another spell to once again sink him into a desperate situation.

    ¡°Haha, your uncle? You mean Annio, that trash? Stop joking around, idiot. In terms of position, I am also a steward of the guild. In terms of identity, I am Leader Rosen¡¯s disciple. Even if I were to kill you, what can that idiotic uncle of yours do to me, not to mention just injuring you? If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try it...

    ¡°Is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, if you don¡¯t believe me, you can try.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll admit that you are right, but Mage Gryffindor, I really don¡¯t understand. This is just apetition, why are you so brutal? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve used the Mental Control to sap my mana just so that you could chat with me.¡±

    ¡°As for this question...¡± Gryffindor¡¯s face was filled with acent smile. It seemed like he really was highly conceited. It was just that when he was halfway through speaking, Gryffindor¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he released an Air Bomb. ¡°Ask Orrin yourself once you are dead!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± This Air Bomb exploded right on Mason¡¯s chest. Be it the power or the damage, it had far surpassed the prior Power of Repulse. Instantly, Mason let out a cry and there was blood spewing. When the dust had finally settled, Mason¡¯s chest was a bloody mess...

    ¡°Poor idiot, you really think you can those little tricks and hide them from me? Trying to buy yourself more time to recover mana with those few stupid sentences, I really don¡¯t know if you are too stupid or too naive...¡± Gryffindor shot another Air Bomb, severely injuring Mason. His face was filled with a sarcastic smile.

    No choice. The difference in strength was toorge. With Gryffindor¡¯s acute Archmage senses, he did not have to observe much before he easily grasped Mason¡¯s mana flow. When Mason first opened his mouth and spoke, he already guessed the opponent¡¯s ns. It was just that Gryffindor was not in a hurry. He really enjoyed such cat and mouse games. He waited until the opponent had finally recovered enough mana before using another Air Bomb to sink the opponent into despair again.

    A cat catching a mouse was like this. Give the mouse hope time and time again before making it feel hopeless again.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± When the Air Bomb sted his chest, Mason felt like his whole body had been ripped apart. The stinging pain spread from his chest continuously. The pain from that bloody pile of mess was worse than dying.

    This time, Mason really gave up.

    Gryffindor¡¯s schemes had far surpassed Mason¡¯s imagination. He had used all sorts of methods, and he even acted like a clown, but the result was that he could not even buy any time to regain his mana. All of his efforts had only gotten him one Air Bomb in exchange...

    ¡°How¡¯s it, Mage Mason? Are you still able to stand up? The game has only just begun, I don¡¯t want it to end so quickly...¡± Gryffindor started chanting again, and an electric arc appeared from his palm instantly. He was ying with the electric arc in hands, making it form different shapes, and then he slowly walked towards the side of the square.

    <i>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s really over this time... </i>Masony down and his heart slowly sank.

    While being stupefied and confused, Mason seemed to have heard someone calling his name.

    At the beginning, Mason thought he was hallucinating, but he quickly realized that this voice was getting clearer and clearer. Upon listening carefully, this seemed to be Felic¡¯s voice!

    ¡°Is it really Felic?¡± Mason endured the shredding pain and twisted his neck. He immediately found out that Felic was cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting Mason¡¯s name from somewhere not too far. It was as if he was trying to tell Mason something.

    This sudden realization immediately made the deted Mason regain some hope.

    <i>Yes, Felic has always been capable of doing something. He must have an idea!</i>

    Mason gritted his teeth while carrying this hope. He dragged his injured body and moved a few steps backwards...

 Chapter 263 - Divine Protection Potion

    Chapter 263: Divine Protection Potion

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The electric arc in Gryffindor¡¯s hands was revolving around. It was like a cat chasing a mouse, getting closer and closer. At this time, Mason had already exhausted all of his mana, and his body was totally covered in wounds. Just moving a finger would bring about pain that would rip him apart, not to mention defending against Gryffindor. If somebody else had been in this situation instead, they would have most likely just shut their eyes and waited for their turn to die...

    But Mason did not give up. He stubbornly dragged his injured leg towards the edge of the Aurora Square bit by bit while facing the oing Gryffindor. The bloody mess on his chest was oozing out blood constantly, leaving a trail of blood on the Aurora Square as Mason wavered with difficulty. It was because Mason knew that this was hisst chance. If even this omnipotent roommate of his could not help him, then he could only shut his eyes and wait for death.

    ¡°Mason, behind you. Just behind you!¡± Lin Li was so anxious that he was about to cry while looking at this horrifying scene. He could only watch as his best friend was suffering, and could not do anything to help. For Lin Li, that sort feeling was like being nibbled by a venomous snake...

    The only thing he could do was to cup his mouth his hands and desperately shout Mason¡¯s name in hopes that Mason could hear what he was saying.

    But, the distance between them was tens of meters, and Mason was injured seriously at this time. His mouth, ears, nose, and eyes were bleeding profusely, and his brain was filled with a ringing sound, so how could he hear Lin Li¡¯s voice? He could only faintly hear his roommate shouting for his name, but as to what it was about, Mason could only hear it in a distorted way...

    ¡°What behind?¡± Mason held in the tearing pain and forcibly turned his head over, but there was nothing on square except for some bs of stone. At this point, Mason really felt like smashing his head and dying. Master Felic, oh Master Felic. Of all things to joke about, you had to joke about my life. Is there a need to joke about it till this extent?

    ¡°How do you feel, Mage Mason?¡± Gryffindor was standing less than ten meters, and an electric arc was still revolving around hand. That sizzling sound from the electrical jumps gave Mason goosebumps.

    ¡°Nothing... Nothing much.¡± Mason wiped off the blood at the corner of his lips and squeezed out an awkward smile. At this point, he had already given up totally. Even that omnipotent teammate was of no help, and who else could save him? Although Mason was not somebody courageous, Gryffindor would definitely not let him go, since the situation had reached this stage. Instead of begging for mercy, why not take this chance to speak more while he was still able to talk? At the very least, he could vent his anger even if he were to die at the end...

    ¡°Is it?¡± When Gryffindor spoke, his face was still full of smiles, but in the next instant, his face was filled with brutality. ¡°Then, how about trying this again?¡±

    A flicker of blinding electrical light shed by soon after...

    There was a fizzing sound, and there was instantly a cloud of green smoke appearing. After that, there was an intense shriek ringing out across the square. Everyone in the Aurora Square could clearly hear it. Everyone¡¯s hearts could not help but clench tightly following this shriek. That feeling was like a frog had been pierced by a wire mesh and then shoved into cauldron to be cooked.

    After the intense pain came the endless numbness.

    There was a point where Mason had really thought he had died. There was no pain and no thoughts. His whole mind was nk other than the voice that was echoing behind him the whole time. It felt like nothing existed in this world anymore.

    ¡°Mason, it¡¯s behind you. It¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°Behind you...¡± The electrical light exploded on his body, and thetter had been burned crisp. The wounds on his body looked like squirrel fish, curling up one by one. The endless torture of pain had caused Mason¡¯s mental condition to be unsound long ago. His teammate¡¯s shouts entered his ear, and Mason instinctively raised his hand to painstakingly search around the stone b behind him...

    ¡°To the right a little more, just a bit more...¡± Half of Lin Li¡¯s body had already reached into the Aurora Square. Both his eyes were fixed on Mason, who was searching painstakingly. At this time, his heart had clenched up. He was so anxious that it was as if he was the onepeting.

    ¡°Behind... Behind... what is behind? Eh... what is this...¡± Mason reached out his hand in a daze. He searched for a while, and finally touched something different. It was smooth and mellow. When he held it in his hands, it was even slightly warm...

    This sudden discovery was like a cardiac stimnt, and it immediately stimted Mason¡¯s mind. It was as if even the wounds on his body no longer had the searing pain. It was as if he grabbed that thing in a hurry, and just by touching it, he could tell that it was a ss bottle.

    ¡°There is hope now...¡± Once Mason saw that ss bottle, he knew that he would not die. That omnipotent friend of his was a genuine pharmacist. He had seen it with his own eyes at least twice¡ªonce, he used a potion to save Orrin, and the other time, he gave advice to Andoine on Pharmaceutics. The potion he¡¯d concocted would definitely allow Mason to get through this duel safely.

    ¡°At least he found it...¡± Looking at Mason obtaining the potion, Lin Li finally gave off a huge sigh of relief.

    It was unknown who came up with the damned rules of thispetition. It actually banned the usage of potions.

    From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, this was nonsense. It was unknown which idiot that was clueless about pharmacists thought about it and presumptuously came up with this rule. In the end, it almost killed Mason. How would this idiot know that a genuine pharmacist would have at least ten different ways to hide the potions somewhere nobody could ever find them? There were more than ten methods to consume the potion without being found out.

    This rule could only be applied to people like Mason¡ªan unlucky person that did not master concealment methods but had a friend that was willing to give them a potion.

    It was also because of the limitation of this idiotic rule that Lin Li had no choice but toe up with this weird solution. Under the cover of the Ring of Endless Storm, he had hidden a potion in the cracks between the stone bs in the Aurora Square earlier on. It could be used when Mason and Gryffindor were dueling each other.

    To be safe, Lin Li even used that potion bottle made from the Crystal of Eternity. This could reduce the risk of the bottle being destroyed. It was unlikely to be destroyed during the fight unless it was struck directly by magic. Otherwise, even an Archmage level magic would be hard-pressed to cause any structural damage to it.

    It was a pity that everything was too coincidental. When Mason was about to enter the square, Lin Li thought of telling him everything. Who knew that this guy would give a fervent and excited speech, which distracted Lin Li. Before he could even speak, this fe had hurriedly rushed in. In the end, he was almost roasted by Gryffindor¡¯s lightning before he could even surrender...

    But luckily, Mason found the bottle at the very least before Lin Li shouted till his throat was hoarse...

    As long as he drank this potion, Mason should bepletely safe. Lin Li had hidden a genuine bottle of Divine Power potion in between the cracks of the rock earlier on. Half a ck lotus¡¯s power was enough to protect Mason from all sorts of magical damage. Although the time was not long as it was just 10 seconds, for Mason, these ten seconds would allow him to safely retire from the Aurora Square...

    This time, Mason was rather intelligent. He held the bottle of Divine Protection Potion in his hands, but he did not drink it hurriedly, because the two judges were near him and Gryffindor was monitoring him. If he were to try to drink this potion now, Gryffindor would not allow him to do so even if the two judges did not care.

    He did not even have to waste any effort and would need to release just a single spell, then Mason would have to even swallow the bottle into his stomach.

    In order to lull Gryffindor¡¯s vignce and to hide from the gaze of the judges, Mason had very carefully held the potion bottle in his hands. His eyes were fixed on Gryffindor, monitoring his every movement. All Mason had to wait for now was a chance¡ªa chance to drink the potion.

    As to what would happen after drinking it, Mason did not think about it at all. Anyhow, Felic would never harm him. As long as he took out the potion, it would definitely help Mason escape from this predicament. During those two months at nna, this idea had long been etched into Mason¡¯s mind. It had be a habit¡ªunder all sorts of circumstances, his first choice would be to instinctively wait for this omnipotent teammate to make a decision.

    There was no other choice. Within these two months, the miracles Felic had created were too many. From the first trial mission to the survival of the Shadowglen, and then to today¡¯s finals in the Aurora Square. One after another, the miraculous performances even made Mason suspect that there was nothing this guy could not do other than giving birth to children.

    ¡°Seems like Mage Mason is in a lot of pain, why not allow me to help you end this?¡± Gryffindor¡¯s face was still full of smiles. His right hand extended out, and immediately two Wind des appeared, but Gryffindor was not in a hurry to release them. He slowly walked towards Mason while spinning the two wind des in his palm at lightning speed. That sharp screech made all of the mages present have goosebumps all over...

    ¡°Haha...¡± Mason forced out a smile and stared straight at Gryffindor. He waited till he was five meters away from him and exactly blocking out the sight of the judges behind. Mason then immediately opened the cork and shoved the whole bottle of Divine Protection Potion into his mouth. ¡°Leave it for yourself, idiot!¡±

 Chapter 264 - Three Man Round Robin

    <h4>Chapter 264: Three Man Round Robin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just as Mason¡¯s voice had fell, the two wind des in Gryffindor¡¯s hands shot out at the same time. In an instant, a screeching sound could be heard. At that moment, most of the spectators could not help but close their eyes. Even the lowest-level mage apprentice knew that the Air Bomb and Wind de were the same in terms of innate character and theory. They both used wind attribute magic to channel it, but in reality, it dealt physical damage. This also meant that the four master level mageweaths that Aldwin had inscribed had no way of protecting the trial apprentice called Mason. With the release of these two Wind des based on Gryffindor¡¯s Archmage powers, this trial apprentice called Mason would most likely be spilling blood...

    Then...

    They heard a crisp sound¡ªit was as if something had scratched ss. It was sharp and ear-piercing, giving everyone goosebumps. Immediately after, there were cries of rm from the spectator seats. The group of mages that had closed their eyes started to slowly open them. After that, they saw that the trial apprentice called Mason had already escaped from the Aurora Square at an unknown time. He was now standing outside of the battling zone and directing a crude hand gesture at Gryffindor. ¡°F*ck your mom,e over and kill me if you have the guts!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Shut up...¡± Macklin smacked Mason¡¯s head. ¡°There¡¯re so many people looking, don¡¯t be an embarrassment. Hurry up and go to the guild medical center to treat your wounds.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Although the old man¡¯s tone was hostile, the concern he had could not be concealed. As for Mason, he had pulled off a miraculously obedient attitude today. He did not re furiously after being smacked by the old man on the head, but just obediently nodded his head. He hobbled back to the guild¡¯s medical center with the support of two mage apprentices.

    It was just that before he left, he waved his fist at Lin Li. ¡°Felic, destroy him!¡±

    ¡°Rx.¡± Lin Li gently nodded his head. This sentence was not only directed to Mason, it was also directed to himself. Gryffindor was really going overboard. Within a few days, he had injured both of Lin Li¡¯s teammates. Orin could only watch the tournament, and Mason had now been sent to the guild¡¯s medical center, not knowing when he¡¯d fully recover.

    This was absolutely intolerable for Lin Li.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li¡¯s character was nothing much. Even Herza could tell that this guy was naturally hypocritical. People like this hardly treated anyone as friend. Sometimes, he might seem to be a loyal friend, but actually it was just superficial. Very few people would be treated as true friends by him. For example, Mason, Orrin and that particr fatty at Jarrosus. Lin Li would never be stingy towards them or reject them. He could not tolerate seeing them getting hurt. Gryffindor had consecutively injured Mason and Orrin. It hadpletely ignited Lin Li¡¯s killing intent...

    Yet at this time, Gryffindor was regretting the opportunity that he had missed. His face was purple with rage while standing in the middle of the Aurora Square. Even when the judges announced his victory, he did not disy a single hint of smile on his face.

    Gryffindor could not understand even after wrecking his brains. They were obviously two decisive Wind des¡ªhow could they miss for no rhyme or reason? Gryffindor clearly saw that those two razor-sharp wind des had struck Mason¡¯s throat. Why was it that they seemed to havended on a piece of metal and bounced far away with ¡°dang¡±? They did not even leave a mark, not to mention slitting Mason¡¯s neck...

    How was this possible? Gryffindor stood there, totally clueless...

    But it was alright, for he still had another chance.

    That country bumpkin from Jarrosus called Felic... wasn¡¯t he in the final three already?

    The finals for the top three was a round-robin tournament. <i>Willing or not, I will still have to fight with the other two. By that time, I, Gryffindor, will definitely let this country bumpkin from Jarrosus know what it is to be a genuine Archmage. Don¡¯t think that you are amazing just because you are acquainted with Hoffman. Even Hoffman himself would have to address my master respectfully as ¡°Leader Rosen¡±, not to mention that you are only acquainted with Hoffman. What kind of a big deal are you, a trial apprentice from the countryside, going to be?</i>

    When Gryffindor walked out of the Aurora Square with a sullen look, the tournament was about toe to an end. The final three were Gryffindor from nna, Matthias from Sunrise City, and Felic from Jarrosus City. The person who¡¯d control the new Guild of Magic would be decided by the round-robin tournament at the end.

    To be fair, all three of them were given an hour to rest.

    After one hour, the first fight wouldmence. It would be Gryffindor from nna versus Felic from Jarrosus...

    Lin Li had been standing at the side of the Aurora Square and staring at the Gryffindor far away all the time.

    ...

    An hour of rest time went by quickly. After Aldwin said ¡°Let¡¯s Begin¡±, Lin Li and Gryffindor almost stood simultaneously and walked into the Aurora Square together. At this time, the atmosphere in the whole arena had changed. Be it the VIP seats, the spectator¡¯s seats, the big shots from the whole of the Fn Kingdom, or the mage apprentices that could only steal a few nces from the side of the square, they had all roused up their spirits and fixed their eyes on these two men that had just walked into the square.

    If the previous match was an appetizer, then the current one in progress would be the real main course. These three man represented the highest standard among all of the young mages in the Fn Kingdom. Be it Matthias, who had a sudden surge in power, the long appointed number one genius, Gryffindor, or Felic, whose way of fighting was more interesting than a magic show, their strength had already been proven in this tournament. However, everyone wanted to know who was the strongest out of these three young mages.

    Herza, who sat at the VIP stand, asked in a mean manner, ¡°Hoffman, you seem rather anxious...¡±

    ¡°Of course...¡± Hoffman¡¯s pea-like eyes stared straight at the Aurora Square. He was so anxious that he did not dare to blink; it was as if he was afraid that he might die just from blinking. After hearing Herza¡¯s mocking remark, he only pouted his lips, andined, ¡°This match involves tens of millions of gold coins. If it was you, you would be as anxious as me...¡±

    ¡°...¡± When this astronomical number of gold coins was brought up, Herza almost choked on his saliva. He stared at Hoffman with deep hatred and quietly cursed to himself. ¡°No wonder these bastards from the Glittergold Trade Union are so rich as if they are leaking oil. F*ck, a match like this, and they could even bet tens of millions of gold coins. How could they not be rich?¡±

    After being shocked, Herza could not help but feel doubtful. ¡°Hoffman, do you happen to know any inside story? If not, why are you so confident about Felic that you actually dared to bet tens of millions of gold coins...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be noisy, let me finish watching the match, and we¡¯ll talk...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    When those two men were mumbling to each other, the two trial apprentices had alreadypleted their final preparations.

    ¡°Start!¡±

    Once the judge¡¯s voice was heard, Lin Li and Gryffindor simultaneously started reciting incantations. Maybe it was because these two men¡¯s mentors were members of the Supreme Council, but both of their execution methods were abnormally simr. When the battle started, both of them used the highest level spell to pressure their opponents.

    Lin Li recited the Fire Storm incantation, whereas Gryffindor recited the Ashen Tornado incantation. Both were level-fourteen fire attribute spells, and both also had a five-second recitation time.

    ¡°F*ck, what is wrong with the youngsters these days. Why are they so brutal, making things so exciting from the start?¡± Hoffman was dumbfounded as he watched. He had not imagined that these two fes would actually choose to use high-level magic to fight from the start. Once these two spells were released, the only fear was that everything would be destroyed. Even if their Elemental Shields were not broken, they would definitely not able to stop the magical attack that came afterward. Didn¡¯t this mean that this battle would be over in just ten seconds?

    Just as Hoffman was dumbfounded, the magical wave in the Aurora Square had been suddenly stifled. The searing fire magical elements seemed to be doused by a bucket of cold water and dissipated in an instant.

    It was as if it had been agreed on. Both of them started reciting incantations, and then suddenly cut off the mana output.

    With their strength as Archmages, they had no need to worry about the issue of the Bite of Mana when canceling a level-fourteen spell. They only thing that they had to be careful about was just the release and gathering of mana. As long as they were not too anxious or too quick, it would not result in any mistakes.

    After that, Gryffindor smiled.

    The power of this country bumpkin from Jarrosus was weaker than his by quite a bit. To cancel a level-fourteen spell, Lin Li required one more second than Gryffindor. Usually, this did not amount to much, but now, it allowed Gryffindor to do a lot more things.

    Aftering in first in canceling the spell, Gryffindor did not hesitate, and released a Mana Retroaction...

    ¡°I want to see how long can an Elemental Shield help you...¡± When the Mental Control had been released, Gryffindor already knew he had won because he clearly felt that his opponent¡¯s mana was instantly cut off. The thing he had to do next was to constantly barrage him with spells, breaking down his opponent¡¯s Elemental Shield like cracking open a turtle¡¯s shell. After that, he could do the same thing as he had with Mason, starting off with a Mental Control to deplete his mana and then using all sorts of spells to destroy him!

    On the other side, Lin Li did not lose hisposure after being struck by a Mana Retroaction. He allowed Gryffindor¡¯s Fireballs to strike the Elemental Shield, letting theyer of rainbow brilliance to dim slowly. Lin Li slowly raised the Aether Staff in his hands, and the Dragon¡¯s Eye socketed to the top of the staff started to radiate a gentle orange light...

    After that, Gryffindor was in a daze...

 Chapter 265 - Thousand Miles of Ice

    <h4>Chapter 265: Thousand Miles of Ice</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°H-How... How could that be...?¡± Under the sh of the faint yellow light, Gryffindor¡¯s smile froze on his face. He suddenly realized the mana in his body stopped flowing. No matter how he tried to stimte his mental strength by recitation, he could not recall any bit of magical wave.

    Gryffindor nearly went crazy on the spot...

    F*ck, how could someone who was suffering from Mana Retroaction be able to freeze him?

    Unfortunately, he did not have time to think much, because in the next moment, Lin Li already started reciting the ming Storm Spell. mes rose up into the air wildly. The streaks were like fire dragons pouncing towards him viciously. Gryffindor had no choice but look at how the ming Storm exploded on his body. The radiant Elemental Shield turned dim almost immediately.

    After the ming Storm, Lin Li showed no mercy and attacked Gryffindor with a Chilling Touch. The use of one fire element and one ice element magic was soplementary that they were like a rhythmic poem harmoniously written by both fire and ice. It sted a magnificent elemental storm in the Aurora Square. Gryffindor could only back away from the raging magical waves. The retroactive effect brought over by the Arcane Wall turned the situation around. Gryffindor who was one second away from absolute advantage had be the one who had to deal with the beating.

    Gryffindor could not help but keep stepping backwards and make use of unexpected movements to increase the difficulty of casting spells for his opponent to buy more time for himself.

    ¡°F*ck, how did he do that?¡± There were thousands of mages in the audience. Their eyes were open wide after seeing how the young man named Felic had managed to turn the tides. Despite suffering from Mana Retroaction, he could still unleash the two spells with force as though nothing had happened to him...

    Could that be an inconceivable way of unleashing spells?

    No, no, no. It couldn¡¯t be...

    No matter how iprehensible the technique was, it would never allow a person to oppose thews of magic. However, the situation now was very unreasonable. What was the difference between a mage who could not control Mana Retroaction and a beast without humanity? Goddammit, was another monster going to appear after these few hundred years?

    Of course, it did not concern the two men who were battling. Neither Lin Li nor Gryffindor had time to think of other matters. One was trying to defend himself from all the attacks and ovee the awkward situation, while another was trying to find every opportunity to attack so that he could continue to maximize the chances of winning. The battle in Aurora Square became strangely delicate all of a sudden...

    Lin Li unleashed another ming Storm as he saw Gryffindor backing away.

    ¡°POM!¡± A horrifying sound echoed in the arena like thunder. At that moment, at least half of the audience stood up. It was noughing matter. Although he was an Archmage, Gryffindor could barely defend himself from the two ming Storms and one Chilling Touch with his Elemental Shield. If his luck was worse, he might lose the entire battle.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Lin Li sighed softly while he waved his hand to put away a Wind de and prepare an Elemental Shield for himself. He knew that he did not have enough time left. Although he hadpressed the time he used to cast the three spells, his speed was stillcking. When the second ming Storm was out, the Arcane Wall lost its effects. The seemingly terrifying sttering of sparks only bashed onto another Elemental Shield.

    After a soul-stirring exchange, the two men got back to the starting line again.

    Lin Li estimated it correctly. Three icicles shot out from the ze and thick smoke right after he held his Elemental Shield up.

    ¡°You¡¯re doomed, bumpkin!¡± Gryffindor hollered as he walked out of the thick smoke.

    Gryffindor¡¯s rage was justifiable. He was back to his usual self now. His delicate long robe had long be a mess under the strong mes and thick smoke. It looked crumpled and torn as though Gryffindor had just walked out of a rubbish dump. He had bruise on his face and dirt on his nose. A circus clown would have been more attractive than him.

    How would the egoistic Gryffindor be able to tolerate such an insult? He really wanted to smash the Jarrosus bumpkin like an ant.

    In fact, he had the confidence to do so.

    The heart-racing exchange looked as though it was Lin Li who gained the upper hand. However, Gryffindor waspletely aware that it was just an ident. He just had not expected that Felic who got attacked by the Mana Retroaction could still turn the tides to control him. But, it did not matter now. An ident was an ident because it would not ur frequently. One time was enough¡ªhe would not allow himself to be fooled again. Apart from it being an ident, the difference between the two men were obvious. Gryffindor was already an Archmage who was at the peak of level-15. One more step, and he would surpass level-15 and reach level-16, a state where he could use the Four-element Shields.

    On top of that...

    Gryffindor waspletely aware that he could do it. Although it was unrealistic to most people, he knew that as the student of the Legendary-mage Rosen, he could do it anytime he wanted to.

    A rookie Archmage who rose to his level due to good luck would never expect him to raise himself by a level just like that. This made Gryffindor anticipate how exciting Felic¡¯s expression would be when he unleashed his level-16 abilities. Would it be shock or hopelessness, torment or confusion...?

    As he walked out of the thick smoke, Gryffindor started his recitation.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Lin Li eximed. He could tell that the spell Gryffindor was reciting was entirely made up of the High Elves¡¯nguage.

    To a real mage, thenguage was like their secondmonnguage. In reality, there would always be some key characters written in thatnguage in most spells. Since even Lin Li, a mid-life career changer, had alreadyprehended some of themon words, how well would the top mage of Fn fare in the utilizing of the High Elves¡¯nguage?

    However, it was Lin Li¡¯s first time hearing a spell that was formed entirely of the High Elves¡¯nguage. This could only mean that its effects were far off from what an ordinary spell of level-15 would create! Lin Li reacted quickly. After realizing the gravity of the situation, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm and fished out a Multicolored Potion he had prepared long ago...

    Then, a strong wave of mana radiated in the entire Aurora Square.

    ¡°F*ck, Gryffindor has reached level-16!¡± The crowd cheered. Almost all of the mages had their eyes open in disbelief. None of them had expected Gryffindor to reach the next level in the Archmage realm like that!

    ¡°Sh*t, how could it be possible?¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes nearly fell off. He sprung up from his seat in shock. As he was too agitated, even his meaty cheeks twitched. He could not believe a mage around the age of 20 could have a level-16 ability!

    Only people who truly understood the differences between the magic levels would know that the one level that separated level-15 and level-16 was a huge leap. Although a level-15 Archmage could master the Levitating Spell, he was not very differentpared to a Magic Shooter at the peak of level-14. However, once he was able to reach level-16, the difference between the two levels would be widened as though there were no boundaries. That was because at level-16, he could learn the four signature spells, and use the Four-element Shields across the series¡ªa near-perfect defensive weapon acknowledged by mages!

    ¡°Doomed, doomed! Felic is going to lose...¡± Even Hoffman, who always had great trust in Lin Li, had to bring out his hopeless side. The difference between a level-15 and level-16 was not what the technique of spell casting could breach. The only thing he could hope for was that Lin Li had enough potions on him to defend himself from a level-16 attack...

    But, to be honest, it was an extremely slight hope...

    Just when the crowd was stunned, Gryffindor¡¯s magic staff began to emit a blinding light. A massive amount of ice element filled the entire Aurora Square. Even the mages sitting far away from Gryffindor could feel the chilling sensation very clearly.

    At that moment, a cold white breeze blew at the Aurora Square, along with snowkes as big as goose quills.

    ¡°Thousand Miles of Ice!¡± The audience gasped again.

    Of all the level-16 spells, the Thousand Miles of Ice was definitely the most powerful. It had the ability to freeze everything instantaneously once it was unleashed. The scariest part was that before achieving the Legendary-realm, the Thousand Miles of Ice was the spell that would result in thergest impact. It was no joke.

    In a battle that would concern a few thousand lives, a Thousand Miles of Ice could turn the tides for any losing party. Many skillful people from level-17 or level-18 could not help but feel intimidated by the spell. What was more for a young mage of the age 20?

    ¡°It¡¯s a hopeless case...¡± Hoffman shut his eyes in resignation.

    Herza, who was beside him, also shook his head and sighed. ¡°What a waste of talent...¡±

    Amidst the violent, roaring wind, one could only see white particles at the areas the chilling wind passed through. Immediately, huge shards of ice were formed. A wave of crisp sounds could be heard when the stone bs on the ground of the Aurora Square froze. At that moment, it was as though the air was frozen too.

    Everyone was stunned. No one made a sound. The Aurora Square that was unusually boisterous just before became unusually silent now.

    Gryffindor gripped his staff tightly. Because he broke into level-16 by force, fatigue could be seen on his handsome face. However, apart from tiredness, it was filled with more satisfaction and tion. To him, it was extremely important to get rid of the mage from Jarrosus. He would not hesitate to break into level-16 forcefully in order to achieve that...

    Since Matthias was also a cripple, it would be easy for Gryffindor to kill him even if he was in a weakened state. It wouldn¡¯t affect the next battle for him.

    Although the chilling air from the Thousand Miles of Ice had dissipated, the furious snow continued. Amidst the mad winds, an ice sculpture stood in the middle of Aurora Square quietly.

    ¡°Mage Felic, how was it? I¡¯m sure it doesn¡¯t feel good to be frozen in the ice, does it?¡± Gryffindor jeered as he stood in front of the ice sculpture andughed hysterically. He was beyond tion. He felt as if he had smacked dead an irritating fly that was buzzing around his ears for a long time. Although he knew that his opponent would not be able to hear him inside the ice, he could not help but stay there to soliloquize, venting all his emotions.

    ¡°What a pity! Although you have made it to the top three, you are still unable to return to Jarrosus alive. Yet, you can only me yourself for this. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t give you any chance, but you took it for granted. Pfff... How clever do you think you are to even try to take away the presidential seat of the new guild from me? Go and have your grand dream in hell!¡±

    ¡°Aldwin, quick... stop that little bastard!¡± Macklin rushed up the VIP seats breathlessly. He urged, ¡°If anything were to happen to Felic, then...¡±

    This time, the old man was really anxious. He was extremely clear what a Thousand Miles of Ice entailed. Even though Aldwin had established four master-level mageweaths, and Felic was armed with an Elemental Shield, it was still the mightiest spell from level-16. If Felic was trapped in it for more than a minute, he would not be able to save himself even he be a divinity.

    If Felic were to die here, Macklin would be the first to be doomed. It was not easy to negotiate with Andoine. Who knew what that old man would do if he turned crazy? And the two other fes in the Pharmacists Guild... Macklin clearly remembered that Grimm Burnside had sent a message to the Guild of Magic before the battle, and it said that President Balbo had some matters to discuss with Mage Felic...

    Holy...

    God knew how long had Macklin not heard such a formal request from the Pharmacists Guild...

    Macklin could use his knees to conclude that Lin Li must have established some connections with Balbo when he was at the gathering. If the fe were to get into any ident, what would the Pharmacists Guild do to them? If the potions that they had been providing to the Guild of Magic for at least a thousand years got stopped abruptly, not to say Macklin, the entire Guild of Magic would be sinners!

    ¡°Erm...¡± Aldwin hesitated. To be honest, it was really difficult for him to make any decision. How would he not know Macklin¡¯s worries? But, both of them were in different positions. Macklin¡¯s concern was on the consequences if Felic were to die. He, however, had to judge the matter as a whole. Aldwin had to weight the impact of his actions as the president.

    It would be very easy to stop Gryffindor. But, what woulde next? Were they going to continue the battle?

    Strictly speaking, his interference in thest round already affected the overall fairness of the finals. He was thankful that Garat for being abnormal just now. The extreme undead energy gave him the reason to interrupt the battle. But, what exnation could he give if he were to do so for this battle? Although Gryffindor was a little extreme in his tactics, he had never gone against the rules from the start. As much as he wished to stop him, he had to think about the fairness of the battle. Or else, how could the battles go on?

    Yet, Macklin was not wrong to be that frantic over it...

    Felic¡¯s background was reallyplicated. He was involved in too many things. If anything were to happen to him, it would be very difficult to exin to Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    Just when Aldwin was still hesitating, Sendros and Hoffman stood up from the VIP seats almost at the same time. One took up his skeletal staff, started to recite a spell, and generated some thick ck smoke in his palms.

    These two people had zero concern for the fairness of the battle. From their upations and status¡ªone being a necromancer and the head of the Darkness Shrine, the other being a conjurer of dark magic and the decision maker of the Glittergold Trade Union¡ªanybody would know that rules would not matter to them at all. They did not have to care about the Guild of Magic in their daily lives. To them, Gryffindor and fairness would never be as important as a talented pharmacist.

    Unfortunately...

    The situation changed again just when both of them stood up from the VIP seats.

    ¡°C-crack...¡± Amidst the roaring winds was a crisp sound. Although it was gentle and soft, it was extremely deafening to Gryffindor. It was as though a thunder had sounded right above his head...

    Cracks could be seen appearing on the ice sculpture. These few lines were like gue, spreading uncontrobly. In the blink of an eye, they had multiplied furiously like nobody¡¯s business. A crystal clear ice sculpture looked as though it was covered in worms. Then, it exploded instantly. ¡°POM!¡± The shattered ice flew in all directions, forming vapor in the air...

    Gryffindor stared at the scene nkly. He saw how the cracks formed on the ice sculpture, and how it exploded thereafter. He was in disbelief. How could the Jarrosus mage escape from the Thousand Miles of Ice? Did he see a ghost? The temperature of the Thousand Miles of Ice was close to zero degrees Celsius. It would be as tough as steel once it got frozen.

    How could a human mage be able to break free from it? At this point of time, it was as though Gryffindor saw a beast escape by prying open his own trap...

    ¡°So, Mage Gryffindor, you look very surprised?¡± Lin Li asked. Although he was standing in the vapor and had many ice shards on his Rune Robe, the smile on his face had never been so bright. The temporal entrapment brought about by the Thousand Miles of Ice nearly cost him his life, but it also allowed him to think through many things.

    Gryffindor¡¯s true ability was one of them.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li had a shock when Gryffindor unleashed the Thousand Miles of Ice. He knew very well what a level-16 Archmage entailed. The appearance of the four signature magic spells had be the divider of the abilities of Archmages. To be exact, although they were all Archmages, a level-15 Archmage had no chance to battle a level-16 Archmage at all. It would be better to just surrender immediately...

    However...

    When the Thousand Miles of Ice was unleashed, Lin Li started to suspect Gryffindor¡¯s true abilities. Gryffindor could have used the Four-element Shields on him from the start. Even if he had Mana Retroaction and the Arcane Wall with him, it would not be any threat to Gryffindor.

    There was no choice too. The defense mechanism of the Four-element Shields would be too mighty to counter any attack below level-16. If Gryffindor had that ability, why would he have toiled so hard to cope with Lin Li?

    When the crucial stage was over, everything that was abnormal became reasonable at once.

    That was right. Gryffindor must have used some method to level himself up unnaturally. Like Cromwell, who raised himself to level-14 using a mystical spell of the High Elves. Lin Li did not have to worry about anything. There was no free lunch in the world. Since Gryffindor broke into level-16 unnaturally, he would have to pay for it.

    Hence, when Lin Li walked out of the foggy mist, he was extremely light-hearted.

    ¡°H-how could this be...!¡± Gryffindor eximed as he fixed a deadly re on Lin Li. It was as though someone had fixed his body in cast. He stood rooted to the ground for at least a minute before screaming in agony.

    ¡°Nothing is impossible, Mage Gryffindor. Since even roostersy eggs, how can¡¯t I escape from the Thousand Miles of Ice?¡±

    ¡°You¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop it. You can leave your words at the cemetery...¡± Before Lin Li speak finish, he had already unleashed Mana Retroaction.

    Almost immediately, Gryffindor started his recitation too. But, before he could recite another word, the mana in his body got disrupted. He felt a strong heat flying towards him. It was a fireball as big as his face, dragging a tail of me towards him...

 Chapter 266 - Gotta endure it!

    <h4>Chapter 266: Gotta endure it!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    With a loud noise, a Pyrost flew and dropped onto the Elemental Shield. At that moment, it created a dazzling scene. Numerous sparks sttered like beautiful fireworks in the night sky, drawing a magnificent scene in the Aurora Square.

    Gryffindor was all shrieks behind all the grandiose. Flying off like a kite with broken strings, he puked a great amount of blood and left a long trail of it in the air.

    ¡°Instantaneous... Instantaneous Pyrost?¡± Thousands of mages among the audience gasped...

    No one had expected that apetition between trial students would be so intense. Look at what they did! It started off with Gryffindor breaking into a level-16 when he used a Thousand Miles of Ice on the mage from Jarrosus. At that point, everyone thought that Gryffindor won. After all, it was impossible to bridge the difference between level-15 and level-16.

    However, they realized that they had guessed it wrong very quickly. They saw how the young mage from Jarrosus broke the Thousand Miles of Ice apart with zero injuries...

    Wait, that was not the end.

    The mages would never dream of how the monster would attack his opponent with an instantaneous Pyrost...

    All of a sudden, the Aurora Square was silent.

    Everyone was really bbergasted after witnessing an instantaneous Pyrost. I-it... was impossible, right...?

    A Pyrost was definitely a level-15 spell. Although it was not as powerful as the Thousand Miles of Ice, it required simr amount of mana as any level-16 spell. Although there were a lot of mages seated in the Aurora Square, none could im they could unleash a Pyrost instantaneously.

    It was like forcing a rooster toy eggs, and forcing a hen to crow. The Jarrosus mage absolutely transgressed the fundamentalws of Magic. Even if it were the mighty Sendros or Aldwin, they would not have been able to do that.

    But now, everyone had witnessed a young mage not over the age of 20 unleash a Pyrost instantaneously. At that moment, all of them thought they were dreaming. It was absolutely unbelievable!

    Yet, the scene in the Aurora Square was very real.

    There was no tedious and long recitation of spell, and noplicated gestures¡ªonly a ball of mes followed by sparks, shing gantly against the colorful Elemental Shield...

    Their eyes were wide open together with those of the guests in the VIP seats.

    ¡°Too... too fake...¡± Hoffman uttered in shock as though he was in a dream. That was simply unbelievable! If he¡¯d viewed Lin Li as a talented pharmacist from the start, it was perhaps time to reevaluate this young man.

    He had no choice. The scene he¡¯d just witnessed was too freakish. Anybody with a normal IQ would do the same too.

    Hoffman could not help but doubt if the Glittergold Trade Union would be able to employ him even if he were to agree to it. Being a sessful businessman, Hoffman would subconsciously use the perception of a businessman when he considered things. He always believed there was value in every individual, and people who were more powerful would have a higher value.

    But, the young man before him was beyond powerful. The price to pay for him would no doubt be extremely high...

    Hoffman was not the only one reconsidering his ns of partnering with Lin Li. All the big shots¡ªHerza beside him, necromancer Sendros, Archbishop Englos, as well as Prince Lionheart Johnathan¡ªcould not help but frown at what they saw. Even Aldwin and Macklin were deep in thoughts. They were going to reevaluate the abilities and potential of this young man, and change their attitude ordingly...

    He was no longer a young man with a bright future. He was an unreasonably transcendent mage!

    Just when everyone were in deep thoughts, the battle in the Aurora Square had reached the most crucial point.

    Gryffindor knelt on the ground on one knee, his right hand clutching his staff. Hisplexion was really palish from the loss of too much blood. Yet, no sense of anxiety could be found on his face, but some traces of joy.

    He was probably the only one who knew that although he¡¯d attained level-16 by unnatural means, the number of level-16 spells he could use was not limited to one, and the Thousand Miles of Ice was only one of them. He was certain that the Jarrosus bumpkin would never escape the fate of losing after he took a breather.

    ¡°I will let you see what is a true Archmage!¡± Gryffindor smirked as he covered himself with water element. At that instant, everyone could see the formation of a blue panel.

    ¡°Holy, that¡¯s a Water Shield...¡± The mages who finally got over the fact that the Pyrost was cast instantaneously had another thing to gasp at. The sound of discussion filled the room as if billions of locusts flying past a field. No one expected that Gryffindor could still summon one of the Four-element Shields while suffering serious injuries.

    It seemed that the battle was not going to end yet...

    ¡°I have to admit that I¡¯m surprised at your abilities...¡± Gryffindor hissed. His deadly re was fixed on Lin Li like a poisonous snake. ¡°But, it is enough. Mage Felic, idents are idents because they don¡¯t ur frequently.¡±

    Almost immediately, Gryffindor¡¯s right hand gripped his staff. He began another round of recitation. It was really quick and had no pauses, just like a storm, and created vigorous magical waves.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Li asked, the smile on his face not fading away. His Aether Staff was positioned in front of his chest.

    At that moment, he cast another fireball the size of a sink.

    ¡°POM!¡± The effects of Pyrost were too great. Even though he had the skills of a level-16 Archmage temporarily, Gryffindor could not help but allocate a huge amount of mana to defend himself. He even had a short pause during his recitation.

    However, Gryffindor was not worried. He knew that it would take at least five Pyrosts to destroy the Water Shield in his hands. By that time, he would have finished his recitation, and readjusted himself for the battle...

    Gryffindor would not expect it to be more than five. He was very clear that the mage from Jarrosus must have gotten the skill to cast instantaneous Pyrost by unnatural means like him. He did not know how that fe did it, but was certain that Lin Li would notst.

    Five Pyrost had to be the maximum he could reach, or else how would he not have used it on him at the start but saved it to the veryst moment?

    Furthermore, everyone knew that Pyrost would require a great deal of mana, and a level-16 Archmage would only be able to cast around 10. Otherwise, Pyrost would have been the favorite spell among Archmages...

    ¡°Hey, Jarrosus bumpkin! Feel free to be cocky! When you finish your mana, I will not allow you to cry...¡± Gryffindor jeered, and diverted a great amount of mana to cushion the impact of the Pyrosts while continuing his recitation...

    Second, third, fourth, fifth...

    Gryffindor was right. After the fifth Pyrost, his opponent really stopped to take a break.

    He could not help but smirk upon seeing the scene he¡¯d expected. Like Lin Li, he began a recitation that was more rapid. He wanted to use this crucial opportunity to show everyone who was the strongest amongst all the trial students!

    Then, the smirk on Gryffindor¡¯s face froze...

    He clearly heard that the opponent started his recitation as well. The voice was very fast, with a rhythm stronger than his.

    Furthermore, the spell he was casting was obviously Pyrost again!

    ¡°Goddamm¡ª¡±

    Gryffindor did not even have the time to be vulgar. He saw a fireball in the size of a sink dragging its long tail of me towards him.

    ¡°BOOM!¡± Sparks could be seen flying, giving Gryffindor the urge to crash himself into the wall...

    Gryffindor really wanted to ask, ¡°F*ck, do you know what is the meaning of wastage? That is a level-15 Pyrost, not something for a rookie Archmage like you to cast as and when you feel like it!¡±

    Unfortunately, before Gryffindor had the chance to speak, Lin Li cast another Pyrost on him. It was the same short and rapid recitation of spell, and it shut Gryffindor¡¯s mouth instantly.

    At this moment, Gryffindor really had the urge to st a Pyrost back at him.

    But, he realized that it was not worth it to do that. Pyrost would take up a great deal of his energy. He would be wasting precious energy if he was not totally sure that he could break his opponent¡¯s Elemental Shield.

    <i>Goddammit, I¡¯m the top mage of Fn. I can¡¯t stoop to your level of a country bumpkin. I¡¯m going to endure this!</i>

 Chapter 267 - Prolonged Endurance

    <h4>Chapter 267: Prolonged Endurance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, it became a prolonged one.

    Gryffindor had to allocate huge amount of mana to maintain the effects of the Water Shield. The attack of the Pyrosts on it was never-ending. He even took a minute to recite a Thundershock that only required eight seconds of recitation in the usual situation. In that period of time, he had to withstand all the unruly Pyrost attacks...

    Every time a Pyrostnded on the Water Shield, Gryffindor could only convince himself that there was nothing bad about it¡ªFelic would be doomed when he ran out of his mana. Hence, Gryffindor was very patient in waiting for Felic to use up his mana...

    However...

    Gryffindor realized quickly that the situation was not as easy as he had expected. The mana of the Jarrosus bumpkin seemed to be unlimited. He had been using Pyrosts on him ever since he broke out from the ice.

    One minute passed.

    Two minutes passed.

    In the whole of three minutes, he did not stop his recitation at all. There were roughly 20 attacks of Pyrost already...

    The audience were entirely hyped up. Almost everyone was shouting loudly.

    ¡°Eighteen, Neen, Twenty!¡±

    ¡°Keep it up, fe! One more, one more!¡±

    The cheers were in tempo, just like a well-rehearsed cheerleading team¡¯s. The atmosphere in the entire Aurora Square was lit up by the 20 Pyrosts. Everybody was in a state of excitement and thrill. Before the battle started, none of them had expected to be the witnesses of such a historic exchange.

    <i>Look at this mage who has not even reached the age of 20! Just his honorable achievement of sting 20 Pyrosts is enough to put him in Anril¡¯s history annals! </i>Everyone could foresee every mentor casually telling their own students about how a certain number of years ago a young mage named Felic cast over 20 Pyrost in the Aurora Square!

    None of the excited mages cared about Gryffindor¡¯s feelings. At the moment, Mage Felic was everything to them. He was the brightest star of the whole Aurora Square. The thousands of mages were in sync when they counted the number of Pyrost he cast, and saluted him with apuse and cheers.

    Even Herza, who was supposed to have a neutral stance in the event, also stood up in anticipation. As for Hoffman, who was beside him, half of his body was leaning out of the VIP seats. He was cheering and pping loudly for the young mage...

    ¡°Damn, are you still human?¡± Gryffindor really felt like vomiting blood. Felic was too freakish! He did not draw a breath when he was attacking Gryffindor with the 20 Pyrosts. Felic continued to recite his spell and casually unleashed a fireball as big as a sink...

    The whole battle was like his own performance. He had never taken a break in his recitation of spells. The Pyrosts he unleashed turned Gryffindor into a clown who was desperately trying to ensure his Water Shield protected him. The attacks he asionally unleashed were totally ineffective. It was as though he was scratching his itching feet through his boots. The only impact it created was some ripples on Lin Li¡¯s Elemental Shield...

    Gryffindor really could not understand how a normal human could be so freaky. The mana required to cast a Pyrost was equal to that necessary for two ming Storms. Many Archmages above level-16 would never dare to choose such a method to st the opponent¡¯s shield forcefully, what was more for a young mage who had not even reached level-16.

    He even secretly suspected that the fe had some equipment to recover his mana.

    Yet, even if it was equipment helping him to recover his mana, it would not have such an intense power. This was the continuous sting of Pyrost! If he did not have a real theurgy, how could he recover so much mana?

    When the 20th Pyrost was out, Gryffindor really lost all of his hope...

    He could not believe how a normal trial battle would progress to this stage. What background did the Jarrosus bumpkin have? How could he be so freakish to survive the Thousand Miles of Ice and cast 20 Pyrosts in one go as though he was addicted...?

    <i>Holy, are you trying to joke with me?</i>

    Gryffindor nearly went crazy. The sts of Pyrost seemed to be never-ending. While Gryffindor was feeling the tiredness from holding onto his Water Shield, his opponent had no intention to stop at all¡ªnot only that, for he also became more violent with his attacks...

    That was right, the speed of Gryffindor¡¯s opponent indeed became much faster.

    While the audience might not have realized, Gryffindor, being at the core of the ming Storm, felt it very clearly. The speed of the Jarrosus bumpkin casting his spells indeed became faster and faster. He¡¯d still needed seven seconds to cast a spell at the start. Yet, now he only used no more than five seconds to do so. The mere thought of Lin Lipressing the speed of casting a spell by one-third made Gryffindor want to crash himself into a tree...

    <i>Did you get yourself addicted to attacking me? F*ck you!</i>

    ¡°Goddammit, are you still human?¡± Being surrounded by fire, Gryffindor even had the urge to seek death. Heughed at how he¡¯d treated Felic like Mason at the beginning, when he still used Mental Control to drain his mana. Now, Gryffindor knew he¡¯d made a grave mistake...

    <i>Damn! The way this bastard casts his Pyrost is as casual as how he has his meals! Will his mana ever be depleted?</i>

    <i>Thank goodness I didn¡¯t attack him like how I did to Mason! Or else, I would have shamed myself for life. </i>That bastard would be still attacking him with Pyrosts while he drained his mana by casting the Psychic Storms...

    However, it was meaningless to say anything now...

    The only thing Gryffindor could do was to try his best to ensure his Water Shield didn¡¯t break. He made himself withstand the Pyrost amidst the dazzling fire sparks, and waited for his mana to drain to the veryst bit...

    Indeed, the change of tide was filled with sarcasm.

    At the start, his intention was to drain the mana of that scoundrel. It was like how an ant wanted to f*ck an elephant, but in the end got f*cked by that elephant. Felic was definitely a monster. The mana required to replenish a Water Shield was one-tenth that of a Pyrost. To use his level-15 Pyrost on a level-16 Water Shield... Anyone would know it was a losing deal.

    Yet, the fe was shameless enough to use Pyrost against him...

    ¡°F*ck, you are daring, eh?¡± Gryffindor hissed as he red at Lin Li breathlessly while he busied himself by replenishing his mana for his Water Shield. This time, his heart was set. Since his attacks had no impact on Felic, why wouldn¡¯t he bet on all of his mana? <i>I just want to use my Water Shield against you, let¡¯s see how long you willst!</i>

    After making this decision, Gryffindor¡¯s brain popped out a random thought¡ªlife was like a rape: since he couldn¡¯t prevent it, he should just stay silent and enjoy it...

    ¡°This fe is clever...¡± Lin Limented knowingly when he saw that Gryffindor stopped his recitation. He could not help butugh at Gryffindor. Gryffindor¡¯s title as the top mage of Fn really suited him when he thought of such a solution...

    But, it didn¡¯t matter already. Although casting Pyrost required a huge amount of energy, it was not a problem for himself.

    Even if he was not in this battle, he could have sted a hundred of them. Now that he consumed the true Multicolored Potion from the Guru-level, he gave himself at least 10 seconds of resistance to magical attacks, as well as 10 seconds to cast level-15 spells instantaneously. The medical effects that were left would remain for 10 minutes. It would keep on triggering his mental strength and allow the recovery of his mana to speed up by 10 times...

    To normal mages, ten times their speed of recovery of mana was nothing. However, how many mages could own the mental strength that even Andoine was envious of?

    Not to exaggerate, a recovery speed that was ten times faster meant that they would have full mana at any point of time. In other words, in ten minutes, he would not use up any amount of energy at all. What was Pyrost to him? If he had a higher ability, he would have used a hundred Dragon¡¯s Breaths to kill him...

    Unfortunately, Mason¡¯s mental strength was not strong enough. Or else, if he had had the Multicolored Potion, which ensured that his mana would not deplete in 10 minutes, at the start, he would not have been bashed up so harshly by Gryffindor...

    ¡°Oh, yes. I promised Mason to torture you to death!¡± Lin Li hollered. His deadly re was fixed on Gryffindor, and it was obvious that he sped up his recitation¡ªa spell that was alreadypressed to five seconds of casting time became four seconds. At that moment, loud noise thundered throughout the whole Aurora Square. The heat produced felt as though the Pyrosts were lighting the air up with fire.

    The Pyrosts kepting at Gryffindor. Lin Li was like a cannon. When one Pyrost justnded on Gryffindor, the next one was already lit with a red glow on his hand...

    ¡°28, 29, 30...!¡±

    ¡°Another one, another one!¡±

    ¡°60!¡± As the crazy digit was out of their mouths, Gryffindor¡¯s Water Shield could not take the pressure anymore. It turned into white vapor amidst the dazzling mes...

    ¡°Alright, Mage Gryffindor, don¡¯t worry. As you say, it is just the start...¡± Lin Li jeered as he held onto his Aether Staff and slowly walked towards Gryffindor, who was lying on the ground.

 Chapter 268 - Round-Robin

    <h4>Chapter 268: Round-Robin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gryffindor¡¯splexion was extremely pale. Thest Pyrost not only broke his Water Shield, but also created a serious impact on his body. His left arm was left hanging weakly before his chest, while his delicate robe had long been burnt to ashes. If not for his right hand that was still gripping tightly onto his staff, no one would be able to tell that the young man who was looking like a beggar was still the top mage of Fn a minute ago...

    Even Gryffindor could not help but admit that he was in an extremely messy situation. His left arm had been fractured by the Pyrost. Any bit of movement was enough to inflict excruciating pain. The skin on his chest suffered a very serious burn, and every breath he drew brought him agony. Other than these, he also had countless wounds of different sizes...

    Gryffindor was very clear of the impact of the Pyrost. If he did not have the Water Shield to absorb those attacks, as well as the protection from the four master-level mageweaths established by Aldwin, he would have turned into ashes after being hit by the first Pyrost.

    And, those were not the worst...

    To Gryffindor, the depletion of mana was the most terrible thing that could happen. In fact, he still could not believe how that Felic fe could drain his mana with 60 Pyrosts.

    <i>What the h*ll, is that bastard still human?</i>

    Gryffindor was not the only one in disbelief. Everyone was shocked when Lin Li shattered the Water Shield with his Pyrosts. They were all discussing the 60 Pyrosts as well as the young Archmage. Even the other people who knew Lin Li personally¡ªlike Macklin¡ªcouldn¡¯t help but rub their hands in anticipation.

    They had no choice, either; it was too freakish to cast 60 Pyrosts...

    If they had not witnessed it themselves, those like Macklin would have never believed such a bizarre situation. The amount of mana that 60 Pyrosts required to cast was astronomical. If it was an Archmage-level spell, it would take one full day.

    The great amount of mana could only be described in one word¡ªhorrifying.

    Hoffman, on the other hand, wasughing heartily without reservation.

    ¡°Goddammit, why are youughing...?¡± Herza pursed his lips, and his face became more wrinkled. He knew why that fatso wasughing. If he were Hoffman, the deal that was worth millions of gold coins might make him more hysterical than Hoffman.

    That damn fatso was lucky...

    Although the round-robinprised of two rounds, a blind man would know that the ultimate victory would belong to the young mage from Jarrosus. The young man was beyond crazy. Even if Matthias tried to hide his true abilities, would he be more powerful than such an abnormal human being?

    Look at what that Felic guy did! He did not even draw a breath when he cast those 60 Pyrosts! Just his terrifying mana was enough to set him apart from Matthias. Not to mention Matthias, even Herza, who was close to the Legendary level, would not be able to it. 60 Pyrosts were indeed a little too much...

    ¡°Hahahaha! Old man, feel free to be jealous of me...¡± Hoffmanughed as though there was nobody else with him. He had no time to care about Herza¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Herzaughed. He was neither angry nor jealous of Hoffman at all...

    That was right¡ªHoffman really won millions of gold coins for himself. But, so what? While the Glittergold Trade Union gained more money for its already huge pool of funds, the Supreme Council gained a bona fide freakish power!

    At this time, Herza really wanted to remind the fatso beside him that the young man who had cast 60 Pyrosts was a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. In other words, he would be one of the members in the Supreme Council.

    Furthermore, after this battle, he would be in charge of a new guild. Until then, as long as the Supreme Council approved, he would be able to borrow the young man whenever he needed. How would that be measurable by millions of gold coins?

    Damn, why would the Glittergold Trade Union have such a foolish decision maker? To still be ted after he let go of the valuable prize just to grab at trifles...

    At this time, Lin Li already walked to Gryffindor.

    ¡°So sorry, Mage Gryffindor. I might have identally won...¡± Lin Li apologized and smiled hypocritically.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you not to do anything funny! It is a serious crime to injure the guild¡¯s steward!¡± Gryffindor withstood the gripping pain on his body and moved backwards subconsciously. Although his words were threatening, his face wore a horrified expression. A moron would be able to tell that although he appeared menacing, he was actually in a weakened state...

    ¡°Oh, really...?¡± Lin Li reached out a right hand doubtfully. Before anyone heard him recite any spell, they saw the distortion of magical waves in their surroundings. Afterwards, a ball of fire lit up in his right hand. However, Lin Li was not in a rush to send the ming Hand to Gryffindor. He fiddled with it in his palms while giving Gryffindor a deadly re.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, I am actually quite curious about the consequences of injuring our steward...¡±

    ¡°You...¡± When the mes rose, Gryffindor could feel his eyebrows twitch. His right hand that was against his chest trembled weakly. He could not expect what happened to Mason would be happening to himself so quickly...

    ¡°Take it easy, Mage Gryffindor. Don¡¯t be so anxious! You know, I don¡¯t like it when other people injure my friends...¡± Lin Li said, and smiled warmly at Gryffindor before casting the ming Hand onto him the moment the word ¡°friends¡± was pronounced. At that instant, a sizzling sound could be heard. What followed was a thick white smoke and a burnt smell...

    ¡°AHHHHH...!¡± Gryffindor¡¯s shriek broke the silence in the Aurora Square. Instantly, he felt as though there was a soldering iron on his chest. The pain was so excruciating that he even had the desire to die.

    The two judges who hid themselves faraway could not help but frown as they saw how Gryffindor struggled and screamed. It was a reenactment from the previous battle. There were the same sanguinary and menacing situation, just that the victim was not Mason, but Gryffindor...

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Macklin sighed while he sat at his seat. The fe¡¯s temper did not change at all. Bearing grudges like no other people, this fe would find a way to make his enemies pay by returning the affront tenfold...

    But to think of it, it was Gryffindor¡¯s fault to offend the wrong person. He had already warned him against that. It was his own recklessness to make things difficult for Felic by abusing his authority as the guild¡¯s steward. That bastard was definitely going to suffer in Felic¡¯s hands...

    However, since that scoundrel was the student of Rosen, he was afraid that old Andoine was going to get a headache for quite some time...

    ¡°Damn, how can such an affable man have such brutal methods?¡± Hoffman gasped at the violent scene in shock. He¡¯d always thought that the young pharmacist was a gentle person...

    It was no wonder that Hoffman would think that way. During the previous gathering, although Lin Li entered a conflict with two other people, it was only a minor matter. Neither Milo nor Elin crossed his bottom line. Hence, it gave Hoffman the impression that he was an agreeable man...

    ¡°Affable man...?¡± Macklin nearly choked on his saliva when he heard those words.

    Damn, since when was he an affable man?

    From how Orrin¡¯s minor injury triggered him to fracture the four limbs of the Marathon Family¡¯s descendant, and how his attendant¡¯s injury nearly caused the death of Darian¡¯s nephew... To say that Felic was an affable man was too absurd...!

    ¡°How is it, Mage Gryffindor? How do you feel now?¡± Lin Li asked after he flicked his hand to remove the remains of the fire spark.

    ¡°You... What do you want to do?¡± Gryffindor asked cautiously and backed away in fear.

    ¡°What do I want? Hehe, Mage Gryffindor. Do you still need to ask me what I want...?¡± Lin Li said smilingly. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he kicked Gryffindor¡¯s chest forcefully. ¡°You injured two of my teammates and still have the cheek to ask me? Alright, let me tell you what I want now...¡±

    Lin Li was a man who had the true abilities of a Smithing Guru. Not to mention that Gryffindor was gravely injured now, even if he were at his normal state of health, Lin Li¡¯s attack¡¯s result would be serious. Everyone could hear Gryffindor¡¯s shriek and see how he curled up like a dried shrimp on the ground. Even the two judges from afar could not help but feel sorry for Gryffindor when they heard his whines.

 Chapter 269 - Blood-vine Spell

    <h4>Chapter 269: Blood-vine Spell</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After that harsh kick, Lin Li was still not satisfied. When he gripped the staff again, Gryffindor immediately felt a vigorous distortion of the magical waves around him. What followed was a persistent creaking sound. Before he could react, Gryffindor saw a formation of thick vines. It was as though they had their own lives when they stretched towards him at an insane speed. Then, he felt tightness on his body. It came from those vines, which wrapped him up in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Let... Let me go!¡± The sudden attack gave Gryffindor a great shock. He had heard of the legendary Blood-vine Spell. Any living thing the blood vine entangled would have to fight until itsst gasp. The blood vines would only stop after draining all the blood or amputating the affected body part of its victim...

    <i>Goddammit! How am I supposed to break free from this? </i>Gryffindor already had the desire to die.

    It would be much better if his health was as good as before. But, now that he had been seriously injured, how was he going to save himself from those vines when he did not even have the strength to stand up?

    Furthermore, although the Blood-vine Spell would not inflict physical injuries like Air Bomb, it was still a summoning spell. This meant that the blood vines that were summoned would have their own lives. Since Aldwin was only a Master of Inscription and had not be the invincible Guru of Inscription, the four Master-level mageweaths were not useful in controlling the Blood-vines Spell. This implied that if Gryffindor wanted to live on, he had to work for it himself...

    <i>F*ck this...</i>

    Gryffindor had a hundred doubts with regard to the young mage who came from a rural ce. Where did he learn such a rare spell? Although Gryffindor was raised in nna Guild of Magic and had Rosen as his mentor, he only heard of it before...

    Unfortunately, he did not have the time to think anymore...

    The thousands of blood vines were like poisonous snakes that tightly entangled Gryffindor. He looked like an ant stuck onto a spider¡¯s web. The blood vines became tighter as he struggled...

    ¡°AHHHHH...!¡± Gryffindor cried out helplessly. He felt the needles of the vines sinking into his body. They were like greedy drinkers, sucking on his blood vessels. Every gush of blood that flowed out made the vines expand. In the end, the vines that were as thick as a pinkie became as thick as a thumb.

    This time, Gryffindor felt really helpless...

    He gave up struggling. He let the blood vines suck his blood while his soulless eyes stared nkly at the sky. His face that was covered in dirt and bloodstains had no expression at all. At this moment, Gryffindor looked as if he was an innocent girl who had just gotten gang-raped by 10 hefty men...

    ¡°This...¡± Macklin could not help but frown in his seat.

    Although Gryffindor was not well-liked, it would be a messy situation if he was really killed by Felic. His mentor was the Legendary-mage Rosen, who was known for his petty and prideful attitude. If Gryffindor were to die in the Aurora Square, the nna Guild of Magic would need to answer for it.

    ¡°This cannot continue. We need to stop them...¡± Aldwin said nervously. He was very clear that both Felic and Gryffindor had abilities above those of an Archmage. If they wanted to kill each other, the four Master-level mageweaths were nothing to them.

    ¡°Should I go and stop them?¡±

    Aldwin paused, and thought for a while. ¡°Let me do it...¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Macklin nodded. He did not say more.

    In reality, Aldwin was the only person who could intervene.

    That was because he knew Felic too well...

    Since it seemed that Felic had set his heart on killing Gryffindor, he wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded from it by any advice. If he were to intervene in their battle at this time, it was not certain that Lin Li would listen to him...

    Aldwin would be the best choice to stop Lin Li out of everyone in the VIP seats. Since he was the one who intercepted the previous battle to ensure the fe didn¡¯t get swallowed by the undead energy, Lin Li owed him a favor. Even if he was not happy with Gryffindor, he should give Aldwin face...

    <i>Goddammit, these bastards are really troublesome...</i>

    Seeing that Aldwin was holding onto his magic staff, Macklin sighed in relief.

    Luckily, they had not created too great of a problem...

    ¡°How do you feel, Mage Gryffindor?¡± Lin Li asked Gryffindor sarcastically. Gryffindor was like a drowning man when he struggled under the blood vines. While Lin Li was at it, he observed the people in the VIP seats.

    ¡°Let... Let me go...¡± Gryffindor begged. This time, he did not care about his enmity with Orrin, or his status as the top mage of Fn anymore. He only wanted to live on. At the age of 25, he did not want to be a dried corpse under the blood vines. He did not want to die in a trial battle.

    ¡°Are you joking? I¡¯ll let you go and you¡¯ll injure my teammates again? F*ck you, do you think my brain is also like yours, short-circuited?¡±

    ¡°I... beg you...¡± Gryffindor¡¯s voice became weaker and weaker. While draining his blood, the blood vines were also drawing away his energy. If he could not escape the blood vines in five minutes, he was not going to live. Gryffindor had ditched his arrogance for that. He was even secretly determined to do anything to beg Felic to forgive him...

    ¡°Hmm, you looked rather sincere...¡± Lin Li said as he stroked his chin. While he was looking at Gryffindor, his mind was on the VIP seats. He had seen themotion there. Aldwin was reciting a spell in a deep and serious voice...

    Lin Li was very clear what was on the mind of the president. He was just afraid of the trouble that would arise after Gryffindor¡¯s death. His background was too powerful.

    But, this was what Lin Li hoped to see. He¡¯d never wanted to kill Gryffindor from the start. Since Gryffindor was Rosen¡¯s student, and Rosen was Andoine¡¯s fellow council member, if he were to kill him, Andoine would be in trouble.

    Because of that, Lin Li yed a little trick on the elemental sequencing of those blood vines. Although they looked as if they were sucking Gryffindor¡¯s blood menacingly, it was just the appearance. While these thousands pricks on the vines were draining Gryffindor¡¯s blood, they were just a tough front to terrify others. When the vines were drawing out fresh blood, they were at the same time injecting the blood back into Gryffindor¡¯s body through the pricks. It was extreme fear that got the better of Gryffindor, which caused him not to realize it...

    However, while Lin Li did not want to kill Gryffindor, it did not mean that he would let other people intervene in his battle. <i>The people who were injured by Gryffindor were my teammates! I should be the one who decide when I want to stop trampling on him. If you want to intervene like that, you¡¯d better not regret...</i>

    ¡°Alright, since Mage Gryffindor is so sincere, I shall try to¡±¡ªLin Li nced at Aldwin, who was still in the process of his recitation¡ª¡±I shall try to ept your apology...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Although Gryffindor was really weakened by the blood vines, he could not help feeling a little happy.

    ¡°Of course...¡± Lin Li replied and smiled. He waved his hands and the blood vines started to loosen their grip on Gryffindor.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you...!¡± Gryffindor thanked Lin Li profusely. At this time, he had already ditched his pride as the top mage of Fn. He was scared that the thousand vines would grip onto him again if he were to bete in his apology.

    While Lin Li was controlling the blood vines, he was also observing the happenings at the VIP seats. Aldwin hadpleted his recitation, and there was suddenly a bright light that engulfed the whole Aurora Square. Instantly, both Gryffindor, who was entangled, and Lin Li, who was smiling, were swallowed by that light...

    Lin Li knew that that was the legendary level-20 Purge Spell. Any region covered by the spell would bring the living things that were summoned there back where they came from. Even if it was a devil which was summoned from the abyss, it would return to the dark abyss instantaneously. It was the same for the blood vines, which were low-level beings.

    And this was the moment Lin Li had been waiting for.

    Just when the Purge Spell lit up, Lin Li stopped controlling his Blood-vine Spell.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee!¡± The massive mental strength was activated to the max immediately. Just when Gryffindor tried to break free from the blood vines, a wave of mental strength that was filled with destructive elements gushed into his brain...

    ¡°AHHH...¡±

    The shriek also stunned Aldwin.

    Aurora Square was engulfed by the glow of the Purge Spell. Even someone with extremely good eyesight would not be able to see what was happening within the light. The thousands of mages could only try to guess the situation from the shrieksing from the light. They wondered if it might have been that Aldwin¡¯s spell failed, and instead harmed Gryffindor.

    ¡°Erm...¡± Macklin was dumbfounded as well. How did a battle that was fairly easy to nicely wrap up progress to such a state?

    The whole Aurora Square became silent. Everybody gaped at that blinding light. Until this moment, they never felt as if time was passing really slowly. No one knew how long it took for the light to be dispersed. Then, they heard the sound of footstepsing from that light.

 Chapter 270 - Settling The Score

    <h4>Chapter 270: Settling The Score</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The brilliance of the Purge Spell slowly dissipated, and the Aurora Square returned to its original silence. The freak that had released sixty Pyrosts in a row returned to the resting area in a sh of light. They did not even wait for the judges to announce the victor, because even a blind person could tell who had won this match. Gryffindor was lying motionless on the floor. His heartbeat and breathing were normal. He would asionally let out painful moans and groans from his throat, but it gave people a feeling that he was dead...

    This sort of feeling was really weird. He was alive, yet it made people feel like he was a corpse. Yet, after thinking about it carefully, the mages in the spectator seats were suddenly enlightened...

    Indeed, this was all because of mental strength.

    Although Gryffindor was alive, he was no longer the number one genius of Fn. This was because his mental strength had been exhausted¡ªit could even be said that it waspletely destroyed. It took less than twenty seconds from when the light of the Purge Spell was ignited to the moment when it disappeared, yet Gryffindor¡¯s body underwent a drastic change.

    Not a single magical wave could be felt from his body. He was like a walking corpse lying down there...

    Macklin was somewhat confused. ¡°How did this happen?¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have taken action...¡± Aldwin let off a sigh. Out of all those that were present, only he knew what had happened behind the brilliance of the Purge Spell.

    In fact, he already knew things were going bad during the moment when the Purge Spell was released, because he distinctly felt that an unparalleled mental strength had surged into Gryffindor¡¯s mind while borrowing the power of the Purge Spell. That aura close to being destructive would even make a powerhouse that had broken through the Legendary realm like Aldwin feel shocked. It was too powerful and too overbearing. It was as if a thunderbolt hadnded andpletely destroyed Gryffindor¡¯s mental strength instantly...

    ¡°You did that?¡± Macklin had a shock.

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Aldwin shook his head, somewhat annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s just that if I hadn¡¯t made any move, Gryffindor would not have be like this. Sigh, we really outsmarted ourselves this time, Macklin...¡±

    The more Macklin heard, the more lost he was. ¡°In what way?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to describe this trial apprentice of yours. He is terrifyingly smart. This match may seem to be full of idents, but in reality, it was all within his calctions. Even my taking action at the crucial moment, using the Purge Spell to dispel the blood vines, had already been in his calctions. Do you know what he did to Gryffindor in the end? Mental Disruption. Damn. He actually borrowed the power of the Purge Spell, separated a segment from the spell, and specifically separated out the incantations for a Mental st. With this segment of incantation that was separated, he totally shattered Gryffindor¡¯s mental strength. Macklin, were you able to do something so terrifying when you were twenty years old?

    ¡°N-no...¡±

    ¡°But there is something strange: where did he learn this incantation from?¡±

    ¡°I think it should be Andoine that taught him...¡± Macklin swallowed his saliva; he seemed rather guilty. He clearly remembered that the incantation for Mental Disruption was a reward for Felic when this fe helped him forge an iron sword, but he did not imagine that two monthster, this fe would use his own incantation and destroy the mental strength of the number one genius in Fn...

    <i>F*ck, this thing cannot be revealed. If Rosen were to know about this, I will be in deep trouble...</i>

    Macklin looked at the president cautiously and realized that the old man¡¯s expression was not any different than his own. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°This time, we really acted on our own imagined cleverness. If I knew this was gonna happen...¡± Aldwin¡¯s voice carried a tinge of regret. Even though Gryffindor¡¯s conduct was not really good, he was still a powerhouse that had broken through to level-fifteen in his twenties. In Aldwin¡¯s position, he could not make decisions based on what he liked or disliked¡ªhe had to take into consideration the overall benefits of the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a big issue.¡± Meanwhile, Macklin¡¯s train of thought was much simpler. Hence, he did not have to hide his hatred for Gryffindor. ¡°Who asked this a*shole to be so arrogant. It wasn¡¯t enough after injuring Orrin¡ªhe even injured Mason. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t understand Felic¡¯s character. This a*shole is lucky enough that Felic did not kill him with a Pyrost...¡±

    ¡°Aye...¡± Aldwin sighed again, and did not continue this conversation. He only called over two mage apprentices and told them to bring Gryffindor to the guild¡¯s medical center for treatment.

    ¡°Then, the victor of this match would be Felic from Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic!¡±

    The two judges that had been scared out of their wits only regained their senses and announced the results of this match when Gryffindor had been carried off the square.

    ¡°p, p, p, p, p...¡±

    A thunderous apuse was heard in the Aurora Square. Thousands of mages stood up together and showed their respect to this young mage through their passionate apuse.

    This splendid duel was worthy of them using their apuse to show respect. At the start, who would have thought that this duel was going to be this exciting. The fight between these two trial apprentices had far surpassed the imagination of the audience. Be it the victorious Felic or the defeated Gryffindor, they had exceeded the expectations of the audience. Without a single bit of exaggeration, with just their strength alone, they would have long been a president of a guild each if it had been a smaller ce...

    From the moment Gryffindor let loose a Thousand Miles of Ice, the audience already knew that this battle was going to be special. Sure enough, Felic used five Instantaneous Pyrosts to counter immediately. This was closely followed by other 55 consecutive Pyrosts, pushing the battle towards its climax step by step. At that moment, everyone thought that they were dreaming. For them, this was more shocking than any legendary level spell.

    This battle could be said as perfect. Be it Gryffindor¡¯s Thousand Miles of Ice or Felic¡¯s 60 Pyrosts, they were all filled with brilliance. It was simply perfect. Those that had witnessed this battle would not be able to find another mage battle that was as interesting.

    As for what happened at the end, it could only be said to be a small error.

    Some mages were evenining that President Aldwin had made an unnecessary move. If it was not because of his sudden action, this battle might have been more interesting. It was all because of this untimely old man. Of all times, he had to take action at this point. <i>Great, now that Gryffindor is crippled, let¡¯s see how you are going to exin to his mentor Rosen...</i>

    Of course, all of this had nothing to do with Lin Li.

    After destroying Gryffindor¡¯s mental strength with a Mental Disruption, Lin Li slowly retreated to the resting area. He was taking a nap all the while. Even when the judges announced his victory, he did not even open his eyes to take another peek. After all, this was the first time he¡¯d separated the incantation for Mental Disruption. Even with the assistance from the Purge Spell, Lin Li still needed some time to calm his madly distorted mental strength down.

    Macklin came over suddenly and stood in front of Lin Li with a face full of anger. He questioned, ¡°F*ck, why are you so ruthless?¡±

    Upon hearing that it was Macklin¡¯s voice, Lin Li could not help butugh. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this match what you want?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh...¡± There was no choice, Gryffindor was really too arrogant. Even a person like Macklin had been annoyed with him for a long while. After listening to what Lin Li said, the old man immediately smiled shamelessly. It was just that he smiled for a bit before he suddenly remembered why he came over. He immediately changed his expression. ¡°F*ck, cut your bullsh*t. I told you before, Gryffindor¡¯s mentor is the Legendary-mage Rosen. That old man is not as kind as Aldwin. F*ck, just watch, you are going to be in a lot of trouble...¡±

    ¡°What sort of trouble can it be...¡±

    ¡°What trouble? Rosen, that old man, is famous for covering his faults. If he were to know that you turned his only disciple into an idiot, how do you think he is going to fix you?¡±

    ¡°Felic!¡± Just when both of them were speaking, Kevin suddenly squeezed his way through from the crowd. His expression was abnormally anxious as if something serious was going to happen.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Lin Li looked at Kevin and immediately figured that something was amiss.

    Kevin only shot a nce at Macklin. He did not say anything, but from his look, it was very obvious what he wanted. Macklin had always been sharper than monkeys. Just by looking at Kevin¡¯s expression, he immediately guessed what was happening. It had to be that something happened over at the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and Kevin did not dare to say it front him. Hence, he gave off that sheepish look. Macklin immediately gave off aughter, and reprimanded Lin Li a little more before he made an excuse hastily and sneaked away...

    After seeing Macklin off, Lin Li asked softly, ¡°Speak, what exactly happened?¡± His expression was abnormally serious. He knew that Kevin would note look for him for no reason. It was even more impossible for Kevin to be so mysterious that he even forgot about basic manners...

    ¡°Just now, the Emerald Tower sent me some news. I think I have to tell you...¡±

    ¡°Speak!¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart immediately tightened after he heard the words ¡°Emerald Tower¡±. Currently, Gerian¡¯s mana had disappeared, and Shadow¡¯s Nest had be a threat. The news that had been received at this time would definitely not be good news...

    ¡°Three days ago, Shadow¡¯s Nest attacked the Emerald Tower...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li stood and stared straight at Kevin. ¡°Is this news reliable?¡±

    Kevin nodded his head heavily. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°This... How is this possible?¡± Lin Li stood there in a daze. He could not digest this information for a while. Shadow¡¯s Nest attacking the Emerald Tower at this time could not be any worse than other news. Gerian¡¯s mana had disappeared, and Lin Li was far away at nna. In the whole Emerald Tower, the strongestbat power was only a level-fourteen Magic Shooter. In the face of the newly equipped Shadow¡¯s Nest, being defeated was just a matter of time...

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation like now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible...¡± Kevin covered his face with both of his hands and slumped to the ground. His voice sounded like he was sleep-talking. ¡°More than twenty Magic Shooters and more than fifty Mages were killed. Almost everything has been plundered by them. At the end, they even... even... set the Emerald Tower on fire...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li almost cked out on the spot. More than twenty Magic Shooters and more than fifty Mages. This was almost the entire magic strength of the Emerald Tower. The Emerald Tower would require at least ten years before it could recover from this loss. Lin Li clenched his fist tightly, and his eyes were almost spewing out fire. ¡°What about Gerian?¡±

    ¡°The good news out of this misfortune was that Uncle Gerian had been secretly sent away before the Emerald Tower was attacked...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good...¡± After listening to the only piece of good news, Lin Li finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as Gerian was still alive, there would be hope for the Emerald Tower. ¡°What were the reactions from the other forces?¡±

    ¡°The Merlin Family swung towards the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Other than Ysera, Reuben, and Old Odin, the other forces are still observing. Honestly, this time we really have to thank the three of them. If it was not because of their assistance, Uncle Gerian might not have escaped from the Emerald Tower...¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Lin Li nodded and hisplexion started to be gentler. As long as Gerian was safe and the other families did not interfere, the Emerald Tower still had a chance to recover. It was just that Lin Li had to return as soon as possible. If he were to bete, he might even lose the three most unwavering allies. After all, there was no such thing as evesting alliances in this world. There were only evesting benefits. The reason why these three forces protected Gerian was only because they knew all along that the Shadow¡¯s Nest would not be able to give them any substantial benefits. If anything were to change and cause them to lose faith in the Emerald Tower, Lin Li believed that they would absolutely sell out Gerian without any hesitation.

    ¡°F*ck, what is Shadow¡¯s Nest thinking? They actually attacked the Emerald Tower at this time... are they trying to interfere with the forces of Jarrosus? Shadow¡¯s Nest isn¡¯t that stupid, right, this would definitely anger everyone...¡±

    ¡°No, their aim seems to be searching for something. On the second day after they attacked Emerald Tower, they retreated back to the Demon Fall Valley.¡±

    ¡°I get it now...¡± Lin Li nodded. He did not continue speaking. This time, he really understood. As expected, it was simr to what he had guessed. Shadow¡¯s Nest capturing the Demon Fall Valley had to be due to the hidden support they received from the Marathon Family. Lin Li could even imagine that both parties had reached some sort of agreement. After being sessful, the Marathon Family would obtain something from the Demon Fall Valley, whereas Shadow¡¯s Nest would obtain the resources from the Demon Fall Valley.

    It was just that when the Marathon Family was looking for that thing, they did not have many clues. Hence, they thought of attacking the Emerald Tower and looking for leads from the documents of the guild...

    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯ve guts, Marathon Family!¡± Lin Li was gritting his teeth while speaking.

    ¡°Felic, do we have to return immediately? I am afraid that Uncle Gerian...¡±

    ¡°No, I still have a score to settle.¡± Lin Li shook his head, and his pair of reddened eyes stared straight at Matthias. His voice was soft and low; it was as if he was trying to exin to Kevin, but also felt like he was talking to himself. ¡°It¡¯s time to settle the score...¡±

    ¡°What score?¡± Kevin was baffled...

    ¡°Nothing much...¡± Lin Li forced out a smile. ¡°Kevin, go prepare the carriage now, and then go to the Silver Hand¡¯s base to look for a woman called Serena. Tell her that I want to hire some people from the Silver Hand. It¡¯s best if they are strong fighters. Oh, yes, bring Ina along as well. I¡¯ve promised her that I will bring her back to Jarrosus.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± After Lin Li reached this point, he suddenly remembered something. ¡°When you leave, don¡¯t forget to go to my house and bring Sean. We have to return to Jarrosus by tomorrow evening!¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Kevin nodded his head. He did not question further, and turned around to squeeze through the crowd.

    ...

    After seeing Kevin off, the one hour¡¯s rest time was almost up. Lin Li moved his limbs around and slowly entered the Aurora Square without even waiting for the judge to call his name.

    ¡°The contestants for the next match are Matthias from the Sunrise City Guild of Magic and, from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, Felic!¡±

    ¡°Felic!¡±

    When the judge¡¯s voice had justnded, there was tsunami-like apuse in the Aurora Square. Thousands of people were cheering, causing the whole square to tremble. Almost every mage stood up and showed their respects to this monstrous young mage through their own unique ways. Earlier, those 60 Pyrosts hadpletely won over this nitpicking crowd. No matter their status or position, they had allpletely be fans of this young mage from Jarrosus at this point. The standpoint of these thousands of mages had never been so unanimous before. Everyone believed that only this monstrous mage from Jarrosus was worth of winning this finals.

    ¡°Honestly, there¡¯s no need to continue with this match...¡± Hoffman was no exception. He pouted his lips without any manners at all. He impolitely nced at Matthias, who was slowly walking up to the square. ¡°Based on the strength that Felic disyed just now, there is not a single mage in the whole Fn Kingdom that is under thirty years old that can challenge him. That Matthias should just forget about it. It¡¯s better for him to surrender earlier to save himself from the embarrassmentter...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Herza, who was sitting beside him, shook his head. His pale face carried a thoughtful expression. ¡°If I am not mistaken, this match will be more exciting than the previous one...¡±

    ¡°Pff...¡± Hoffman could not believe it at all.

    Yet, Herza was full of confidence. ¡°My judgment will not be wrong for this match.¡±

    ¡°Pff. Didn¡¯t you say that as well for the first match? Something like, the Battle Mage is unrivaled. Unrivaled my a*s, wasn¡¯t he sent packing by Felic in a short while? Furthermore, when Gryffindor went up the square, didn¡¯t you also say that Gryffindor was terrifyingly strong and that Felic was going to be in trouble, and then what happened? 60 Pyrosts, he got sted till his mother could not even recognize him anymore...¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Herzaughed, and did not bother exining himself, but his eyes were fixed on Matthias. He believed that he would definitely not be mistaken this time round, because the magical wave emitting from Matthias¡¯ body was all too familiar.

    That magical wave was simr to a vortex and constantly swallowing everything, and was very simr to that of Ashen Warlock Rnd. After thinking about the rtionship between the Marathon Family and the Ashen Warlock, no matter how stupid Herza was, he should have guessed it. Why was Matthias able to have such a tremendous power within a short period of one month and why was he able to have such a unique magical wave...?

    Without a doubt, Matthias must have been taught by the Ashen Warlock by some chance.

    It was still difficult to tell who¡¯d be the victor of this match...

    After two months, the two of them were standing face to face again. It was just that the current Matthias was not longer the newbie that could be trampled over at will. Even Lin Li had no choice but to be serious about this match. Ever since Matthias walked into the Aurora Square, Lin Li could already feel that the magical wave emitted by the opponent was iparably weird. It was like a vortex, constantly swallowing its surroundings. Even the afternoon sun¡¯s rays were slightly distorted when they shone on Matthias¡¯ body...

    ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t kill you...¡± When brushing past Lin Li¡¯s shoulder, Matthias¡¯ eyes suddenly disyed a deeply etched hatred. He whispered, ¡°I will only break your limbs, destroy your mental strength, and make you useless forever to suffer in the deepest depths of hell...¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose, and stared at Matthias for a while with a smile before saying, ¡°Then it¡¯s such a shame, I think I will most likely kill you...¡±

    ¡°Wait and see!¡± Matthias red at the opponent and shut his mouth. He knew that if he were to argue, even ten of him would not be able to overthrow this mage from Jarrosus. But how was that important? The battle between of mages had always been about strength. <i>So what if he could shoot out 60 Pyrosts? How could that trash, Gryffindor,pare to me in strength?</i>

    Before the match began, the atmosphere in the Aurora Square started to get intense. Probably only Lin Li knew that the words he¡¯d spoken just now were not to scare Matthias. He had already decided that he would kill Matthias in this match. The reason was simple. The actions of the Marathon Family had already far surpassed Lin Li¡¯s bottom line. Forget about them attacking the Demon Fall Valley, they killed so many people and even burned down the Emerald Tower.

    For Lin Li, the Emerald Tower was like his second home. He could tolerate anything, but he absolutely could not tolerate that they burned down his second home.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to settle the score...¡±

 Chapter 271 - Ashen Warlock

    <h4>Chapter 271: Ashen Warlock</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The two of them stood there quietly, and nobody said anything¡ªeven if it was Matthias. He was very clear that the hatred between them had reached the point where it could no longer be solved. At this time, any words would only be meaningless, and any insults would be useless. Only a battle to the death and taking down one party would put and end to this hatred.

    ¡°Match, start!¡±

    The two unlucky judges hid at the side instinctively once they gave the signal.

    They had to hide. The two trial apprentices in this match were each a real piece of work. There was no need to mention Matthias. The magical wave that he was emitting was like a vortex that was swallowing everything. Some of the people that knew something about the murder case back then had already guessed that Matthias had to be a disciple of the Ashen Warlock.

    As for that fe called Felic, he was more impudent that Matthias.

    A monster that could fire out 60 Pyrosts. Who would even be so free to stand next to him? If his mood were to be bad, what could they do if he were to use Pyrost? <i>Could it be that I, as a judge, would still have to be sted by a trial apprentice until I be an idiot? No way, definitely no way. Gryffindor is already pitiful enough. We two judges would not want to join in as well...</i>

    <i>Anyway, this isst the match. Let¡¯s stay further away from these two dangerous fes. Once they are done, whoever can still stand in the Aurora Square would be the winner.</i>

    That was what these two despicable judges were thinking...

    Almost at the same these two judges hid at the side, the battle between the two trial apprentices had also started. They only used a split second and it made the audience feel a fiery aura. There was no probing or prelude. There was intense sh of magic the moment both of them arrived.

    Thundershock going against Cloud Storm immediately caused thousands of golden sparks to appear in the Aurora Square. The endless magical elements were like an enraged beast letting loose a deafening roar. There were countless lightning bolts descending from the sky amidst the crackling sound of electricity. It created a gigantic within a fifty-meter radius. At the same time, the electrical energy had seemingly torn apart the sky like a golden wyrm in an instant, causing the entire Aurora Square to be covered in a golden luster.

    The animosity between the two had been going on for a long while. It had reached the point where their eyes zed with hatred when they came face to face. Now that they had a chance to battle openly, naturally neither dared to fall behind. They only used a short moment before initiating this battle together. They went all out, sting each other with high-level spells, which instantly roused a raging elemental storm in the Aurora Square.

    There were hasty recitation of spells and surging magical waves. In the blink of an eye,rge amounts of mana effused from both parties, who kept sting each other with almost ten level-fifteen spells. Even a person like Macklin could only watch on with shock. This method of fighting was like throwing their lives away. In a brief moment, both had used up three Elemental Shields. Almost each of them had barely scraped through the opponent¡¯s attacks. Almost every single shield made it through the Elemental Shield¡¯s cool down time just right before the instant the next attack hit.

    In an instant, the thousands of mages sitting at the spectator seats were in daze simultaneously...

    Everyone was a senior mage. How could they not tell how heated this battle was? From their perspective, it seemed like these two fes had taken aphrodisiacs and were going against each other with their lives. They did not have any feelings or leave any chances. They put their lives on the line for every single chance they seized. Nobody cared about defense¡ªit was always going straight at each other. This way of fighting with their lives made everyone feel that they were not spectating a match between trial apprentices. Instead, they were sitting in a bloodstained colosseum and spectating a primitive and brutal ughter...

    Thankfully, these two trial apprentices were lucky. Even though the timings of the three Elemental Shields were cutting it really close, not a single death had been caused yet.

    ¡°F*ck, is this guy really Matthias?¡± At this time, Lin Li started be shocked. The power that Matthias disyed was simply too powerful. It was like another person whenpared to the past. Back then, he could use four Arcane Missiles to break all four of this guy¡¯s limbs. Now, he had to time his Elemental Shield usage to scrape through the bombardment of spells from the opponent.

    ¡°Rx, I told you I won¡¯t kill you...¡± Matthias¡¯ lips curled into a smile. It was as if this battle had long been in his grasp.

    ¡°Kill your mother¡¯s a*s...¡± Lin Li was waiting for this chance. He muttered that sentence, and then raised the Aether Staff. After hastily reciting, arge fireball was shot out with a roar. This Pyrost was long prepared by Lin Li. He was waiting for Matthias¡¯ Elemental Shield to be almost broken and to give him a huge surprise.

    This was the perfect chance.

    At this point, both of them had just started countering each other. Under the circumstance that the Mana Retroaction had no effect, Lin Li used a Chilling Touch to counter Matthias¡¯ ming Storm. This sh could be said to be even. Both sides did not gain any advantages, but it was at this time that Lin Li¡¯s unparalleled mental strength had an unimaginable use.

    The mental strength superiority gave Lin Li half a second head start.

    The Chilling Touch¡¯s recitation.

    Afterwards, he shortened the execution timing of the Pyrost insanely. The execution of this Pyrost was almost at its pinnacle. It almost made the onlooking mages think this was another instantaneous Pyrost.

    Matthias¡¯ next spell was only recited halfway through when he suddenly heard a whizzing from a distance. After that, he felt that a brilliant red re shed by his eyes...

    This Pyrost struck a critical hit. It was when Matthias¡¯ defense was at its weakest. The old Elemental Shield was close to breaking, and the new Elemental Shield had not made it through the cool down timing yet. At this time, the only thing Matthias could do was to desperately raise a negligible Ice Armor and watch as that gigantic Fireball sted his body...

    A muffled ¡°BOOM!¡± could be heard in everyone¡¯s mind.

    The unparalleled fire attribute element had almost instantaneously swallowed Matthias. In an instant, torrential res rose up and covered everything in mes. It was like a gue that gave everyone goosebumps.

    After using a Pyrost, Lin Li did not continue attacking. Instead, he stood at his original position and caught his breath. This Pyrost was definitely a nned attack. He had already calcted the timing for Matthias¡¯ Elemental Shield from the start, and had been using all sorts of methods to distract his opponent all the while. The advantage of timing started stacking up bit by bit, and when it came to the Instantaneous Pyrost, it naturally gave people a weird sensation¡ªwhy was this Pyrost so fast?

    In fact, it was not that the Pyrost was fast. It was the result of superiority exploding in an instant.

    Even Matthias could not defend against the instantaneous explosion of the Pyrost. After all, the Elemental Shield on his body was already on the brink of copsing. Now, a Pyrost had sted right on his body. It was like breaking thest straw on his body, and it immediately caused the Elemental Shield topletely copse. Once the surging fire attribute magical element exploded, even a warrior protected by high-level Combat Energy would definitely not be able to defend against it, what more a robe-wearing and magic-staff-wielding Matthias?

    ¡°It¡¯s still not clear who is killing whom...¡± Lin Li scornfully pouted his lips. The release of this Pyrost had also meant that he hadplete control over this battle¡¯s rhythm. Even if Matthias was lucky to not die, he had to have suffered serious injuries. As long as Lin Li continued suppressing him with spells, victory was only a matter of time.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Macklin, who was at the VIP stand, blurted out vulgarities.

    His own trial apprentice had smashed the opponent in an instant, but Macklin could not even be cheerful. His old face had been frowning due to anxiousness, and he started to mumbleints. ¡°Little bastard, oh, little bastard, why don¡¯t you listen to my advice? I told you to avoid trouble whenever possible. You still have a lot of time and a bright future, why do you have to do things so ruthlessly?¡±

    Indeed, Matthias was really hated...

    But being hated was one thing. After all, he was the sessor of the Marathon Family. <i>You crippled Gryffindor and killed a member of the Marathon Family. F*ck, do you still want to stay in the Fn Kingdom?</i>

    One had a chance to be a Legendary-mage of the arbiters, and to top things off, the other was a thriving man with thousands beneath. <i>Even if it was me, I would still have to think about the consequences. You¡¯re really great, you little bastard. First, you crippled Gryffindor with a Mental Disruption, and now, you almost killed Matthias with a Pyrost. F*ck, you really think that bing an Archmage would make you invincible?</i>

    ¡°F*ck, this little bastard is really reckless...¡± Macklin grumbled to himself for a while, and he could only use that sentence to conclude everything.

    ¡°No, Matthias is fine...¡± Aldwin, who was sitting beside, was shaking his head with assurance...

    ¡°Ah?¡± Macklin was stunned immediately. ¡°He¡¯s still fine?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice? Matthias¡¯ magical wave had not shown any changes up till now...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yea...¡± After all, Macklin was a level-eighteen Archmage. Initially, he was too worried about his disciple getting into trouble, and that was why he did not notice Matthias¡¯ abnormal magical wave. After hearing what Aldwin said, Macklin immediately understood. Indeed, Matthias¡¯ magical wave was still normal. From the beginning, it did not have any changes as though what struck him was not a level-fifteen spell, but just a mere pebble.

    ¡°Seems like Matthias has grown quite a lot in these two months...¡± After Aldwin said that, he immediately shut up and focused his attention on the battle that had yet to conclude.

    Macklin scratched his head. ¡°Did this kid take the wrong medicine today?¡±

    It was only natural that Macklin was so doubtful. The raise in Matthias¡¯ strength was really too abnormal. Within less than two months, he turned into a professional from a newbie¡ªfrom level-eleven or twelve to level-fifteen and above. No words could be used to describe such a tremendous improvement. It was especially so for this match. He had been hit by a Pyrost, but he came out unscathed. It went against everyone¡¯s magical knowledge...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± At this time, Lin Li was also shocked.

    It was because he clearly saw that Matthias slowly walked out of the mes with the magic staff in his hands.

    ¡°This, this, this... This can¡¯t be real, right?¡± Watching as Matthias walked out from the mes, Lin Li immediately felt goosebumps all over. How did this guy be so powerful¡ªeven a Pyrost would not kill him.

    <i>Isn¡¯t this match gonna be in deep trouble?</i>

    ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯ve really disappointed me...¡± Matthias¡¯ face still bore a cruel smile. At this time, Matthias did not look like someone that had just been struck by a Pyrost. His whole body did not even have a single burn mark. His hair was still neat, and his handsome face was still as fair as ever. Even that robe made with fine craftsmanship did not have a single crease...

    No matter who was it that saw Matthias now, they all suspected that everything that they saw was just a hallucination. The Pyrost did not exist at all, and it did not even pose a single threat to Matthias...

    ¡°It¡¯s too unreal, too unreal...¡± Lin Li refused to drop the matter, his hand holding onto the Aether Staff tightly. He was never someone to give up easily. <i>It does not matter if it¡¯s one Pyrost, two, three, four, or even ten¡ªat least one of them will kill him. Anyway, I have mana and potions. If I can¡¯t defeat you, Matthias, I will write my name in reverse!</i>

    At almost the same time when Matthias was walking out from the mes, Lin Li had started to hastily recite spells. He was still using the Pyrost, and the recitation was quick and fast. It was as if saliva was about to pour out of Lin Li¡¯s mouth. The revolving mes and the abstruse runes started to weave a myriad of dreamy colors in the Aurora Square.

    Yet at this time, Matthias did not move at all.

    ¡°Idiot, don¡¯t you get it? The power of the mes will never hurt an envoy of the Abyss!¡± Matthias¡¯ voice was gruesome and cruel. In that instant, Lin Li even thought that a magical beast was roaring at him. It was especially so for that word ¡°abyss¡±, for it gave Lin Li a shiver down his spine he¡¯d never felt before.

    After that, he realized the Pyrost that he had released had disappeared...

    There was no reason or signs. It was as if a Void Crack had appeared in the Aurora Square. It had swallowed a level-fifteen spell in front of the spectators¡¯ eyes.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was really stupefied. He rubbed his eyes furiously to try and see things better. This was aplete a joke. A level-fifteen spell had suddenly disappeared without any reason. Could it be that Matthias had a brand on his body that could instantly generate a mana channel and shift the opponent¡¯s mana into it?

    Osric wasn¡¯t this generous, right...?

    ¡°What the hell?!¡± It was as if someone had stepped on Hoffman¡¯s tail in the VIP area. After a scream, he jumped up. He could not believe what he had seen. What sort of drugs did this little rabbit of the Marathon Family take¡ªhow did he be so powerful?

    Forget about that initial Pyrost; after all, there had been a thinyer of Elemental Shield protecting him. But this time, Hoffman clearly saw that Matthias¡¯ body did not have Elemental Shield or any protection from any spells. He waspletely naked standing there, no different from a prostitute that was naked and spreading her legs wide open...

    <i>F*ck, how could this be...</i>

    Without protection from any spells, even the Sword Sage that was protected by a high-level Combat Energy would be seriously injured when sted directly by a level-fifteen spell. <i>Could it be that Matthias has trained to be stronger than the Sword Sage? Then why did he even join this finals, just let the judges announce his victory...</i>

    ¡°Hoffman, please be quieter.¡± Herza frowned. This damned fatty that was making a big fuss was giving him a headache. He was constantly making movements, not allowing the others to watch the match peacefully.

    ¡°How can I calm down?¡± Hoffman rubbed his brow. He was so anxious that cold sweat had appeared. ¡°It¡¯s not like you did not see it. This little rabbit from the Marathon Family is like a monster. A f*cking Pyrost could not even kill him. What else is there that he can¡¯t do?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so weird about that.¡± Herza shook his head with a smile. ¡°Did you forget about that murder case in the Breezy ins fifty years ago?¡±

    ¡°Fifty years ago in the Breezy ins?¡± Hoffman was in a daze; almost immediately afterward, his expression was panic-stricken. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Ashen Warlord Rnd?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Hoffman looked at Matthias, who was in the Aurora Square, for a while with a face full of anxiety and doubt before he suddenly spewed vulgarities. ¡°F*ck, I really did not think that this little bastard was actually Rnd¡¯s disciple. No wonder I kept thinking that he looked repulsive. So that¡¯s how it is. F*cking Rnd is really an idiot¡ªof all the people to take in as a disciple, he chose this little bastard...

    Hoffman was cursing passionately, but his heart could not help but be anxious. The fame of Ashen Warlord Rnd was known by even a three year old in the Breezy ins. There was no choice¡ªthis guy was really too famous. He was one of the biggest ughterers in the Fn Kingdom after Osric from the Dark Ages. This legendary murderer that was always wearing a ck robe and covering his face with a hoodmanded mysterious powers from the Abyss. He had once used his mysterious powers to summon a powerful demon fifty years ago, and killed thousands of soldiers from the Fn Kingdom in a single night...

 Chapter 272 - Hellfire

    <h4>Chapter 272: Hellfire</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The massacre fifty years ago had shocked the entire Fn Kingdom. That afternoon, the most elite Sky Knights of the Fn Kingdom had departed for the Breezy ins. The mission they received was to kill the Ashen Warlock and the demon he had summoned at all costs. At the same time, tens of branches of the Adventurers Guild had added the name of the Ashen Warlock into the mission archives. It was the first ever five million gold coin reward. When it was announced, it had attracted countless adventurers.

    But fifty yearster...

    The Ashen Warlock was still alive, and he still stayed in a small town just north of the Breezy ins. He was still leading a peaceful andw-abiding life in the fields. Nothing had changed. It was as if the royal court¡¯s rage and the reward from the Adventurers Guild had never happened at all.

    In that town where the Ashen Warlock lived, nobody seemed to knew that their neighbor was a ruthless killer that had killed thousands with just a wave of his hand. They only knew this wealthy but unsociable old man did not like toe in contact with others. He did not like to speak with people. He either conducted weird experiments in his room every day or was sitting in the fields in a daze...

    Only people like Hoffman would know that after that murder case, the prestige of the Fn royal court had received an impact that almost destroyed it. The Sky Knights set off on that very day¡¯s afternoon towards the Breezy ins. In just five days, they returned to nna in a hurry. When they returned, they only brought back five hundred Gryphons, and only about 100 men were alive. The once high and mighty Sky Knights had received arge blow to their morale while trying to capture the Ashen Warlock. It was only after tens of years when Azalez was in control of the Sky Knights that they started to regain their former glory.

    As for the Adventurers Guild¡¯s mission archive, it was eerily neat. But whichever Adventurer that tried to take on this task, without any exceptions, their name had the following added: ¡°Dead, Mission Failed¡±.

    That murder case fifty years ago was truly a shock for the Breezy ins. The fame of the Ashen Warlock had resounded across the whole Breezy ins. Almost all of the heads of all forces had ced the Ashen Warlock on the list of dangerous personage as soon as the murder case happened. Even the town he lived in had be like a restricted zone. It was because the Ashen Warlock once said that anybody entering the small town without an invitation would be considered a challenger.

    The current Breezy ins could be said to be the most chaotic ce in the Fn Kingdom. Countless powerful factions were gathered, and it was also a strategic location. Additionally, with the Dwarf Kingdom keeping it under surveince, it was a fool¡¯s talk for a one man to establish himself there as a single power. Yet, after fifty years, not a single faction dared to challenge the Ashen Warlock. It was because nobody knew how severe the consequences would be if they were to anger this solitary old man...

    As for how strong the Ashen Warlock was, there was no definite answer till now, but there was one point that needed not be questioned. The President of the nna Guild of Magic, the legendary-mage Aldwin that had reached level-21, had once said that if he were to duel with the Ashen Warlock, he would not even have thirty percent chance of winning...

    The business of the Glittergold Trade Union spread throughout whole Anril. The wealth that they had was an astronomical number. As long as they were willing, they could even use the wealth they had to overthrow a small kingdom, but Hoffman was very clear that even if the Glittergold Trade Union had ten times the money they had now, they would absolutely not dare to provoke that terrifying demon...

    In fact, even the Fn royal court had to admit that choosing to surround the Ashen Warlock back then was the worst mistake. This decision had caused the Fn royal court to lose the Sky Knights as well as all of the influence that the royal court should rightfully have. Also, tens of years afterward, Fn¡¯s weaking had given the Ledin Kingdom a chance to take advantage of it to rise in power.

    This time, even Hoffman started to be concerned...

    The disciple of the Ashen Warlock was not aughing matter!

    Of all the powerhouses in the Fn Kingdom, the Ashen Warlock was definitely the scariest one¡ªthere was nobody like him!

    Mysterious yet powerful. Nobody dared to butter up this character. If Macklin were to describe it, the old man would probably pout his lips and mumble, ¡°Ashen Warlock? You¡¯re referring to that old Felic at the Breezy ins...?¡±

    Indeed, the personality of these two was too simr. It was like they were made from the same mold...

    The reason for that murder case back then was only because a few soldiers stationed at the borders of Fn identally stepped and killed the Ashen Warlock¡¯s dog while marching. This incident was like stirring up a ho¡¯s nest. The Ashen Warlock went straight to Ptine and found the Border Military Commander that was stationed there. He wanted to seek justice for his dog no matter what. Themander for the border troops back then was the uncle of the current king. Why would His Highness that was used to throwing his weight around care about who was this Ashen Warlock? Met with his attitude, the Ashen Warlock used a Hellfire immediately and ttened half of the military base without uttering another word. This issue escted, and tens of thousands of troops rushed into the small town, capturing everyone in the town while trying to force them to hand over the damned murderer.

    In the end...

    The Ashen Warlock opened the Gates of the Abyss and summoned a high-level demon. He had taken away thousands of lives in a single night.

    From Hoffman¡¯s perspective, it was always better not to provoke people that had such a distorted mind...

    Just when Hoffman¡¯s face was turning pale, the situation of the battle in the Aurora Square took a turn.

    Although Lin Li was slightly shocked after his Pyrost was swallowed by thin air, his spellcasting rhythm was not disturbed at all. At the point when Matthias was walking out of the mes, Lin Li had already raised an Elemental Shield. Afterward, he used a mental protection field. He transitioned to defense without a single bit of hesitation. He was so decisive that it left the audience speechless...

    It was very easy to transition to defense, but it required courage to transition to defense while having the advantage. Everyone knew that Matthias was weird, but who would be willing to give up the advantage that they had?

    However, Lin Li¡¯s thinking was different...

    Matthias was unscathed after being hit directly by a Pyrost. At this time, Lin Li had already known that he did not have a single advantage. Even if he could make use of the time that Matthias was unprepared and sted another Pyrost, what would it do? It would still not deal any damage to him. Before finding the crux of the problem, it would be pointless even if he were to cast any more Pyrosts. This advantage that might seem substantial had actually amounted to nothing already...

    Furthermore, Lin Li had always felt that Matthias was abnormal. Hisughter was too weird, and he was booming with confidence. He might evene up with some powerful method to deal with Lin Li if another Pyrost were to do zero damage to him. It was the final match, so it was better to be safe than sorry...

    ¡°BOOM...¡± As expected, a loud sound had erupted from the side just when Lin Li hadid down the Mental Protection Field.

    Arge fireball descended from the sky¡ªit looked like a gigantic meteor. In an instant, everybody felt the earth shake. The loud sound was like thunder, and countless res flew around too. It had instantly swallowed Lin Li¡¯s silhouettepletely. If it wasn¡¯t because of the Elemental Shield that he had raised, Lin Li might have already been turned into a pile of ashes.

    ¡°F*ck, Hellfire!¡± Instantly, there were gasps of shocking from the audience.

    Indeed, it was an infernal golem from the abyss¡ªHellfire!

    When the meteornded on the Aurora Square, and after raising a in of dazzling res, the magical elements did not dissipate. Instead, they got even more chaotic. At the same time when the crowd was gasping in shock, that gigantic fireball underwent a weird distortion. After that, there was an intense tremble, and the fireball transformed into an Infernal Golem that was almost ten meters tall.

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Even if with Lin Li¡¯s strength, he could not help but have goosebumps when he suddenly saw this Infernal Golem that came from the Abyss. This was a monster that had the power of at least level-fifteen. Its body was in between that of a demon and an elemental. It did not feel pain, nor did it have any thoughts. It only had the most primitive blood lust and the basic ability to understand its summoner¡¯smands.

    When the meteor transformed into an Infernal Golem, Lin Li made a run for it without even thinking. This was not a joke. With the body of a mage, it was purely seeking death to go against such a powerful monster that was almost ten meters tall...

    ¡°Boom!¡± After that, there was anotherrge sound. The fist of the Infernal Golem heavily struck the Aurora Square. In an instant, there were countless res fluttering around. This heavy punch immediately created arge crater in the square...

    ¡°So powerful...¡± Luckily, Lin Li¡¯s reaction was on time. He had just moved a few steps, and the fist of the Hellfirended. The spot with therge crater was the exact spot where he¡¯d just stood. If he¡¯d beente by one or two seconds, the thing that was punched would not have been only the stone bs covering the Aurora Square.

    ¡°Count yourself lucky...¡± Matthias was gritting his teeth. At this time, he had to admit that this Jarrosus mage was indeed cunning.

    But, could the attacks of the Hellfire be dodged just because he wanted to?

    Matthias exhausted a lot of mana to absorb a Pyrost just so that he could increase the power of the Hellfire. Don¡¯t think that even this Hellfire was not even ten meters, so how strong it could be? Based on strength, it was definitely the strongest Hellfire that he had ever summoned!

    The Hellfire that transformed from the meteor stood there. It was like a burning mountain. The iparable heat from the mes was gushing over. It made Lin Li really dizzy. The movements of the Hellfire were not nimble, but every step it took always covered a distance of several meters. Even if Lin Li had the Hastening Spell, it would not able to handle such physical torture. It was just in the blink of an eye that he had already been forced to the wall by the Hellfire...

 Chapter 273 - Level-Sixteen

    Chapter 273: Level-Sixteen

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Luckily, Lin Li¡¯s reaction was fast enough. Just casting Hastening Spell, he already felt a surge of heating from his back. Lin Li did not panic, though. He just raised his Aether Staff and cast a Dying Spell on the Hellfire. While making use of this chance, Lin Li managed to cast a Levitation Spell when it was almost toote, flying past the Hellfire¡¯s head.

    While already being in the air, Lin Li did not stop. There was a hasty recitationing the sky, and then there was a bone-chilling magical wave, tearing apart the scorching air in an instant.

    ¡°Ice... Thousand Miles of Ice!¡± The thousands of mages seated at the spectators¡¯ area had seemingly been affected by the Group Fixation Spell. They all were in a daze simultaneously, and all of their gazes were fixed on the area above the Aurora Square, staring at the young mage that was levitating.

    ¡°I-I-I... I¡¯m not mistaken, right?¡± Some of them that had a weaker spirit even pinched themselves hard to make sure that they were not dreaming.

    With the paining from their thighs, they knew everything was real...

    ¡°F*ck, this really is living hell...¡± Macklin sprang up from his seat and his old face¡¯s expression showed that he found it unbelievable. He did not imagine that Felic was only level-fifteen in the previous round and had suddenly actually broken through during this round, using Thousand Miles of Ice straightaway!

    Macklin was right...

    When he cast the Levitation Spell, Lin Li seemed to have caught onto something. All of a sudden, he felt that his mind was suddenly enlightened. Suddenly there were answers to whatever he could not understand previously. The breakthrough this time came really weirdly, and it was even more without reason. It was different from previous times. This sort of feeling was equivalent to being struck by a gigantic pie from the sky while walking on a road casually...

    The most confusing part for Lin Li was that this pie not only hit his brain, but it also taught him how to make pies.

    Even though the breakthrough this time round was sudden, it was not enough to cause Lin Li to panic. After all, during this period of time, he had been fighting all sorts of magical beasts in the Cinder Woods. After that, he had been submerged in studies at the Omniscient Tower for almost half a month. Additionally, there were a few consecutive high-level battles today. Strictly speaking, this breakthrough could be considered smooth sailing.

    But at the same time, Lin Li shockingly discovered that his brain seemed to have gained something...

    Indeed, there was something else.

    For example, when he cast that Thousand Miles of Ice just now, Lin Li clearly remembered that he had nevere in contact with the recitation for Thousand Miles of Ice before today. After all, it was a genuine level-sixteen spell. No matter how much of a genius or how hardworking Lin Li was, it would be difficult to rely purely on the elemental sequencing to model out the casting process of the Thousand Miles of Ice before he had even reached level-sixteen. Without mastering the process casting, it would naturally mean not mastering the spell. Even if he had memorized it thoroughly, it would have been useless.

    But, at that moment, the recitation for the Thousand Miles of Ice had suddenly appeared in his mind. Lin Li did not have to ponder or consider; he merely followed his instincts and recited the spell, casting this genuine level-sixteen spell.

    At this time, Lin Li even suspected that he actually had amnesia... If not, why did he know the incantations for the Thousand Miles of Ice, yet forgot where he had learned it...

    But such worries quickly disappeared.

    ... Because in the next moment, Lin Li again discovered that even weirder things were appearing in his mind...

    Oh no, it¡¯s not weird...

    These things that suddenly appeared in his mind might seem to be messy, but after carefully tidying them up, everything seemed understandable. Lin Li then forcibly split them into three categories.

    This first category would be incantations simr to the Thousand Miles of Ice. Lin Li had heard or seen at least ny percent of them, but this was not important. At least Lin Li could use the structure of thenguage to forcibly decipher that there were indeed some incantations of the spell.

    The second category would be weirder. If Lin Li was correct, those were mostly magicws, and they were the most corews at that. However, something was off. These magicws had mostly undergone changes. Although the changes were not much, Lin Li could still feel it. This discovery give Lin Li a sudden bone-chilling feeling...

    Indeed, powerful mages were able to change the magicws, but the more core thews were, the harder it was to change them. The severalws that had appeared in his mind... even a powerhouse at Aldwin¡¯s level would face difficulty trying to change any of them.

    As for the third category, Lin Li decided to temporarily set it aside.

    It was because he could not make head nor tail of it after researching for a while. He could only make a rough guess that these were part of abandoned magical knowledge, but as to what sort of magical knowledge, Lin Li had no clue at all. So, he cleverly made the choice to give up for now.

    One had to admit that Lin Li¡¯s adaptability was really good. Under such weird and random circumstances, he could still remain calm. His spell casting speed was not affected, either¡ªhe had already released Thousand Miles of Ice in an instant.

    Currently, Lin Li was floating in the air. With this Thousand Miles of Ice, the Infernal Golem that was wreaking havoc had been frozen instantly.

    This time, even Matthias was stunned...

    ¡°What the hell!?¡± Matthias spat out angrily, but he quickly regained hisposure. He held onto the magic staff tightly and started reciting quickly as well. He also used the Levitation Spell, and was level with Lin Li in midair in the blink of an eye.

    The distance between the two was twenty meters...

    ¡°Pity, it¡¯s a littlete...¡± Matthias stared at Lin Li, and his gaze had a tinge of disdain and pity.

    From Matthias¡¯ perspective, the opponent¡¯s breakthrough this time round was toote. The breakthrough from level-fifteen to level-sixteen would be different from the other times. The appearance of the four signature spells also meant that the opponent would require arge amount of time to study and learn them before truly grasping the power of a level-sixteen.

    ¡°No, no, no, it is still not toote...¡± Lin Li shook his head instead. Probably only he knew that such a weird thing happened to him when he¡¯d broken through.

    This feeling that was simr to being self-taught made Lin Li brim with confidence. Now, even if he were to face a true level-sixteen Archmage, he would be confident enough to win. After all, what he had obtained just now was not just a level-sixteen incantation, but also a rted core magicalw that had been modified.

    Unfortunately, Matthias did not believe it...

    ¡°Unless you have suddenly broken through to level-seventeen, just a single Thousand Miles of Ice would not save you...¡± Matthias was in the air, and his lips carried a scornful smile. He waved the magic staff in his hand, and the Hellfire in the Aurora Square immediately vanished in the air. Afterward, there was a hasty recitation, and a gigantic instantly appeared in front of Matthias...

    ¡°I¡¯d be damned, Rain of Sacrifice!¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes were wide open instantly. This time, he clearly saw for himself that this Matthias was definitely the Ashen Warlock¡¯s disciple. It was because this Rain of Sacrifice was a spell created by the Ashen Warlock.

    People that had seen Rain of Sacrifice for the first time would most likely treat it as a normal Rain of Fire spell. Only people that truly understood the powers of the demons would understand that the destruction wrought by the Rain of Sacrifice would not be less than that of a level-eighteen spell. This process of casting this spell was not different from Rain of Fire¡¯s¡ªeven the incantations were almost identical. It was only that before casting it, the demon that was summoned would have to be sacrificed as the price. Even a Legendary powerhouse would have no choice but to feel somewhat fearful of that iparable demonic power that was gained at that time.

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Hoffman¡¯s face instantly turned pale. Although Felic had just broken through to level-sixteen and obtained the genuine power of an Archmage, the Rain of Sacrifice was no joke. Back when they were surrounding the Ashen Warlock, countless Sky Knights were instantly turned into ashes just by a single Rain of Sacrifice falling from the sky.

    ¡°Is that so? What about this...¡± Lin Li only smiled, and waved the Aether Staff in his hands. This was followed by a swath of aquamarine light appearing.

    At the same time, Matthias¡¯ Rain of Sacrifice was released.

    In an instant, the whole sky was dyed red, and there were countless res, swallowing Lin Li¡¯s body like a gigantic immediately.

    ¡°it really is the Rain of Sacrifice...¡± There were cries of shocking from the spectator seats. The spectators that knew the prowess of the Rain of Sacrifice simultaneously started panicking for that mage from Jarrosus. They knew how powerful the Rain of Sacrifice was, and they were even concerned whether this battle woulde to a close with this Rain of Sacrifice.

    But immediately after, they saw a swath of aquamarine light radiating...

    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s Water Shield!¡± There were waves of cries of rm in that instance. The noise was not any softer than when the Rain of Sacrifice had appeared. A few of the mages that had inferior psychological quality had started to curse in their minds. F*ck, this fe called Felic is indeed not a normal monster. It was just an instant, and he had already used two level-sixteen spells in session...

    They really wanted to ask: Did you really just f*cking break through to level-sixteen? How is that I keep thinking and feeling that you are more experienced than those senior Archmages that have been stuck at level-sixteen for tens of years?

    Honestly, the current Lin Li was really giving people such a feeling. He was terrifyingly proficient as though he had broken through to level-sixteen tens of years ago. Be it Thousand Miles of Ice or Water Shield, they all seemed to be at his fingertips. There was no need to think or ponder. He only needed to instinctively recite, and he could exhibit the most suitable spell for the situation.

    Luckily, they were all only cursing in their minds. If Lin Li were to hear such words, this fe would most likely shamelessly say, ¡°If you guys were the same as me, having tons of incantations and almost ten core magicalws appearing in your mind while breaking through, then you guys would definitely be as proficient as me...¡±

 Chapter 274 - Rules

    <h4>Chapter 274: Rules</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In an instant, there were a thousand meteors falling from the sky. Countless res were dispersing, and there instantly were ripples appearing on the aquamarine light.

    ¡°F*ck, this guy really took some drugs...¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth as he cursed. The prowess of the Rain of Sacrifice was definitely not something a normal spell could match up to. Tens of thousands of meteorsnded on the aquamarine light, and it immediately made Lin Li feel dizzy and blinded. It was just an instant, yet the Water Shield was only left with thest thinyer.

    This time, it gave Lin Li such a fright that his hair stood up.

    While being panic-stricken, Lin Li hurriedly stimted his mana to the maximum and desperately replenished the Water Shield that was on the verge of copse. Fortunately, Lin Li was also a monster, and his near-infinite mana surged out. Although it was unable to reverse the adverse situation, it was still able to sufficiently maintain the Water Shield.

    Lin Li stared at Matthias while continuously conjuring mana. This guy was too abnormal. It had only been more than a month or so, yet he had already be so powerful. He consecutively used so many spells, and each was more sinister than the other. If it wasn¡¯t because Lin Li had broken through just now, he might have been pounded into meat sauce by that Hellfire, not to mention this Rain of Sacrifice that was like gue, continuously sapping his mana...

    This terrifying corrosion was in effect for at least ten seconds. It happened until a certain monster with infinite mana started feeling weak before the Rain of Sacrifice started to dissipate. At this point, Matthias¡¯ incantation started to near its end. The low and hoarse voice started to be sharp and loud like a warm-hearted prayer. A blue phosphorescent light started to ignite on Matthias¡¯ palm. The Mental Protection Field became a gold brilliance and was steadfastly protecting Mental Protection Field, preventing him from being affected by spells such as the Mana Retroaction.

    ¡°Felic¡¯s in deep trouble now...¡± Hoffman clenched his fists and stared right at the sky above the Aurora Square.

    ¡°I think this battle ising to an end...¡± Herza only give out a slight sigh. This old man from the Supreme Council was very clear. Even with his own powers that were near the Legendary-level, it would be difficult to change the situation in the Aurora Square. There was no choice, the disadvantage for the mage from Jarrosus was too big. Matthias¡¯ incantation wasing to an end, and he was also under the protection of the Mental Protection Field. There was a perfect mix of defense and offense, not allowing a single chance for the opponent.

    At this time, the only chance at victory would be to use absolute strength to destroy the Mental Protection Field and deliver a fatal blow to Matthias with Mana Retroaction again. Otherwise, the only thing that was waiting for the mage from Jarrosus would only be a painful defeat.

    However, how could forcefully destroying the Mental Protection Field be an easy task?

    The current Matthias had the strength of at least level-sixteen. There was not a single chance to break down his Mental Protection Field without a thorough understanding of the core magicalws and Legendary-level mental strength. This was because forcefully destroying the Mental Protection Field was breaking magicalws in itself. Other than absolute strength, there was no other method...

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Hoffman shook his head, and his fat face was filled with regret.

    Probably only Hoffman himself knew that the thing that truly made him regret was not that enormous wager, but the genuine genius that only appeared once in hundreds of years. This young man from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic was a rare genius. Not only was his magical strength terrifying, he even had miraculous attainments in Pharmaceutics. Not only did Hoffman have high opinion of him, even the person of authority for the Fn Kingdom¡¯s Pharmaceutics, Balbo, has expressed his admiration for this young man repetitively.

    It was such a pity...

    Just when Hoffman was shaking his head, there was a sudden change in the battle in the sky above the Aurora Square.

    The sharp and loud incantation suddenly stopped. It was like arge invisible hand had suddenly choked Matthias¡¯ throat. The whole Aurora Square went silent, and there was only a swoosh...

    Then...

    ¡°Ah...¡± Matthias let out a shriek, and plummeted down from the sky just like a kite that had its string cut off.

    In that instant, every mage clearly saw that when Matthias struck the ground, there was blood spewing everywhere, and it left a red trace in the sky...

    Matthias had actually been injured!

    Nobody had thought that Matthias, who was dominating the whole match, would be injured at this time. One had to know the thousands of mages at the spectator seats had even concluded together just now that Matthias woulde out victorious in this match. In fact, the progress of the battle back then was indeed as such. But just a momentter, Matthias actually gave out a shriek, and then he plummeted down from the sky...

    <i>This, this, this... what the f*ck is happening? </i>Almost everyone¡¯s mind had simultaneously came up with this question.

    Although Matthias had desperately used a Levitation Spell to stabilize his body at the instant when he fell to prevent himself from falling to his death, that pale face and weak magical wave as well as that pool of blood in the Aurora Square made it very obvious that Matthias was injured.

    Victory and defeat could change hands in an instant. This was how cruel and exciting a battle between mages could be.

    Of the thousands of spectators present, probably only those few with the best judgment like Aldwin, Englos, and Sendros would know what sort of shocking change had happened just now. As for the rest, they were still lost, with a face full of confusion.

    Even the strongest Archmage, Mr. Macklin, who knew Lin Li the best could only follow his habitual guessing. At that moment, that fe Felic must have done something bad. As for what it was, even Macklin was not too clear.

    ¡°What is going on again?¡±

    ¡°This trial apprentice of yours is indeed a miracle creator. Constantly giving everyone surprises...¡± Aldwin shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°If I am not mistaken, just now, Felic must have used strength, forcibly tearing through Matthias¡¯ Mental Protection Field, and then he used a Mana Retroaction to disrupt the opponent¡¯s casting. As for that Wind de at the end, it could only be considered a given...¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± It was as if someone stepped on Macklin¡¯s tail. After a scream, he almost jumped up from his seat. ¡°Break, break, break... Broke through Matthias¡¯ Mental Protection Field?¡±

    It was fine if the president did not exin. After exining, Macklin¡¯s face immediately turned ghastly pale. He was known as the strongest Archmage. How could he not know what kind of power was needed to tear through the Mental Protection Field?

    ... The mental strength of at least Legendary-level as well as the thorough understanding of the core magicalws. Just thinking about these two terrifying conditions, Macklin felt cold sweat all over his back. Forget about the mental strength¡ªafter all Felic, that fe, was a natural monster. No matter how strong his mental strength was, Macklin would not even be surprised, but the understanding of the core magicalws? It almost made Macklin go mad from fright on the spot...

    In the world of magic, rules were everything. The more proficient and more knowledgeable you were, the more powerful your power would be. This power was not referring to strength, but a realm that was hard toprehend. It was like a butcher spoken of in legends. After butchering tens of thousands of times, his understanding of the cow¡¯s body would be very profound. At the end, he could use a small knife and dismember a cow in an instant with his eyes closed.

    Why was this butcher so legendary? It was because he already had the core rules of butchering cows within his grasp.

    A mage that had the core rules within his grasp was also another legendary butcher from a certain perspective, casting any spell at his own whim. With this small knife in hand, he could skip levels and challenge powerhouses far stronger than himself.

    Macklin was clearer than others as to how frightening this skipping of levels was.

    Looking at the Aurora Square again, Macklin¡¯splexion changed. In his eyes, that young man floating in the sky was no longer the trial apprentice that had boundless prospects. He was now a genuine powerhouse that could defeat Macklin head on. Macklin did not even have the courage to fight with his trial apprentice again, because he knew that if they were to duel again, he would not even have forty percent chance of winning even when he was not suppressing his strength...

    A mage that had the core magicalws within his grasp was seriously too scary.

    Yet at this time, Matthias used a Levitation Spell to stabilize himself. He used his hand to touch his abdomen, and his hand was immediately covered in blood.

    ¡°I was still underestimating you...¡± Matthias¡¯ voice seemed to havee from the Abyss. That chilling aura was so bone-piercing that even the mages at the spectators¡¯ seat could not help but shiver. This feeling was too terrifying. It was like a demon from the Abyss was staring at them with its faint eyes.

    ¡°Ahahaha, I agree...¡± Lin Li¡¯sughed modestly, but his hands did not stop moving. He used his advantage of being in the air and shot out ten more Wind des. It immediately forced Matthias to raise the Elemental Shield.

    The battle had progressed this far, and it had finally reached the rhythm that Lin Li liked the most. By using his immense mental strength and instantly casting low-level spells that were blinding fast to apply pressure, forcing the opponent to flee in panic while he himself was taking things easy, he could prepare another killer move.

    ¡°However, you will soon find out that an ant like you would never be able to harm a messenger from the Abyss...¡± While being pressured by the wind de, Matthias was not distressed at all. Instead, his face disyed a cruel smile.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Just when Lin Li was in a slight daze, Matthias had already reached out his right hand and took out a blood-red crystal from his pocket...

 Chapter 275 - Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 275: Awakening</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Matthias seemed to have been possessed while holding the blood-red crystal tightly in his hands. His eyes were filled with madness¡ªhe was just like a gambler whose eyes were red from losing yet had suddenly gotten a good card. Now, Matthias¡¯ face was so swollen that it was contorted. It was abnormally hideous in the blood-red light.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting too long for this day...¡± Matthias¡¯ gaze was filled with madness, but his voice seemed to be calm and suppressed. It was just like the calm before the storm, where the clouds in the sky were dense and thick. The hoarse voice spread across the Aurora Square, and the thousands of mages at the spectator seats could clearly hear it. ¡°When I was lying on the sickbed, I told myself again and again that one day I will let you experience the taste of your limbs being torn apart and being stepped on. I am really thankful to the Supreme Council for giving me this chance. Felic, open your eyes and take a look what is the power of the messenger of the Abyss!¡±

    When Matthias¡¯ voice had just fallen, that blood-red crystal had been crushed by him with a ¡°crack¡±. Afterward, blood-red mist started to seep out of the crystal like a gue. It instantly filled up the whole Aurora Square...

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Lin Li¡¯s head instantly tightened. He was a true master of mineral veins. In terms of the appraising of gemstones, even Andoine could not bepared to him. When he saw Matthias crush the crystal in his hand, Lin Li immediately remembered this was definitely a Blood Eye Crystal, a legendary sacred relic from the Abyss!

    What the hell...

    The Blood Eye Crystal was noughing matter. Even back at the Endless World, Lin Li had heard of this name before, but he never had the chance to see it with his own eyes. At this time, Lin Li¡¯s hair stood up. He had never imagined that Matthias would actually have such a lethal weapon in his hands.

    This was a genuine sacred relic from the Abyss. Once the Blood Eye Crystal had been crushed, it would immediately create a Gate of the Abyss. Under the influence of the Gate of the Abyss, a mage that was proficient in demonic powers would not only see a raise in power, but he could even make minor changes to magicalws...

    Do not underestimate such minor changes. In the magical world, once it involves changes with thew, just a small change would very possibly trigger a true disaster. Such changes could be magical attributes, or even the magic structure. It could even be time and space. Nobody knew what would happen once thews were changed, and nobody would dare to provoke a mage that had the ability to changews. It was because this was often unexpected in the field of magic, which also meant that it was a Legendary powerhouse at the very least...

    Even though almost ten magical core magicalws appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind, he could not help but feel a shiver down his spine.

    ¡°F*ck, what is this little bastard trying to do?!¡± Hoffman almost jumped up from his seat. His small eyes were wide open as though he had seen a ghost. This was not a joke¡ªonce the Gate of the Abyss was open, the demonic power that was full of corrosive attribute would start to spread like a gue. Once it reached that point, even most of the thousands of mages at the spectator seats would start to demonize, not to mention that those two at the Aurora Square would not be able to escape.

    ¡°Too impulsive...¡± At this time, even Herza started to frown. At the moment when Matthias crushed the Blood Eye Crystal, Herza already knew that if this young man was not stopped, there might be a real disaster happening in the Aurora Square.

    ¡°Damn. With what this little as*hole Matthias did, we are all going to die!¡± Macklin¡¯s exasperated scolding came from the VIP seats, but he had no solution to offer. It was because the Blood Eye Crystal in Matthias¡¯ hand had been crushed already. Amidst the blood-red mist, the profound and dark Gate of the Abyss had started to slowly appear...

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Aldwin only shook his head, and gripped the magic staff in his hand tightly again. A long andplex incantation escaped his lips like flowing water. The iparably intense magical waves were filled with a threatening aura. The brilliance from the tip of the magic staff was as bright as a scorching sun. Furthermore, the brilliance got brighter as Aldwin¡¯s recitation got louder and louder. At the end, the blinding brilliance seemed to have covered the entire Aurora Square...

    At this time, even people like Sendros that were sitting nearby had started to feel rmed. All the while, they had only heard that Aldwin was the strongest mage in the whole Fn Kingdom, but they had never witnessed how strong this strongest mage actually was until today. At the climax of today¡¯s duel, they had finally seen that the power of Aldwin had far surpassed their imagination. It was because the field of magic that this president of nna¡¯s Guild of Magic had was actually the Void Barrier.

    This was the legendary absolute defense. ordingly, when bodies were under the protection of the Void Barrier, even time would not have any effect on them.

    Furthermore, the Void Barrier that Aldwin cast had reached everywhere. The whole Aurora Square was under the protection of the Void Barrier. The dazzling white light appeared, and Matthias¡¯ Gate of the Abyss was like a child¡¯s y now. No matter how that red mist pervaded the area, it was unable to reach the spectators¡¯ seats. It was like an invisible wall had separated the Aurora Square into two different worlds.

    ¡°Howl!¡± A loud roar came from the Aurora Square, and Lin Li anxiously turned around to take a look, frightened. Yet, he saw Matthias tightly gripping his fists, and his distorted but hideous face was filled with pain. What made Lin Li confused and panic-stricken was that there seemed to be something hidden under Matthias¡¯ ck robe, and that it was wriggling in ordance with his roars of pain...

    ¡°It can¡¯t be...¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression immediately froze. He suddenly remembered that other than raising the power of a mage, the Gate of the Abyss could be used for something else...

    Just when Lin Li was dumbfounded, Matthias let out another roar of pain. Immediately after, Lin Li saw a pair of ck wings tearing open the robe, being exposed to everyone¡¯s gaze in a strange and weird manner. Just in the blink of an eye, Matthias¡¯ body had undergone aplete change. The current him had already lost all features as a human being, and seemed to look like a real demon...

    His whole body was covered in scales, which gave people goosebumps when they looked at them. His handsome face had beenpletely distorted. Two weird mageweaths stretched from his forehead all the way to the corner of his mouth, filled with a devilish hideousness. There was single horn extending from his forehead as though a tumor growing out. The pair of ck wings spread in the wind, and when it whipped up a gust, it even brought forth a thick bloody scent...

    There was an iparable demonic aura emanating from the Aurora Square; it gave Lin Li goosebumps. Now, Lin Li finally understood. No wonder Matthias could obtain such powers within a month. No wonder the Ashen Warlock was willing to have him as a disciple and even unselfishly taught him everything about a spell like the Rain of Sacrifice.

    <i>It turns out this was the reason why. Matthias has a genuine devil¡¯s lineage!</i>

    All the way till now, Lin Li had always thought that Matthias crushed the Blood Eye Crystal to summon the Gate of the Abyss. Now, Lin Li finally understood. He had actually forgotten that the Blood Eye Crystal was called the sacred relic of the Abyss, and other than being able to summon the Gate of the Abyss, it could even allow those that inherited the devil¡¯s lineage to awaken. Although the period of awakening was not long, within this time frame, Matthias, who had the devil¡¯s lineage, could allow himself to turn into a true demon...

    Furthermore, the devil¡¯s lineage that Matthias had inherited definitely belonged to some powerful demon monarch. It was because only by inheriting a devil monarch¡¯s lineage would there be a pair of majestic-looking wings and a single peculiar horn. In the world of the abyss, these two unique characteristics represented strength and status.

    <i>F*ck, it¡¯s going to be really troublesome now.</i>

    The awakening of the devil¡¯s monarch lineage was naturally a terrifying thing. It meant that Matthias would have the power of at least level-eighteen for a short period of time. Furthermore, his actual body was inside the Gate of the Abyss. While being affected by the power of the Gate of the Abyss, his power would be multiplied. He could even make minor changes to magicalws.

    Facing such a terrifying monster, Lin Li did not have a single chance at victory even if he were to be more powerful...

    ¡°Seems like I would have to drink something again...¡± Lin Li shook his head. He reached into his pocket with a face full of frustration and took out a small and exquisite ss bottle from inside.

    The ss bottle contained a transparent liquid, which did not seem thick. Under the sunlight, it was sparkling and crystal-clear, just like normal water, but when Lin Li held it in his hands, he was unusually careful. It was because what this ss bottle contained was a potion that Lin Li used two days and a whole ck lotus to concoct...

    ¡°Roar!¡± Just when Lin Li had opened the ss bottle and was about to drink the potion, Matthias who was on the ground suddenly roared. After that, he spread his ck wings and instantly flew toward Lin Li just like a gigantic bat.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± While facing the charging Matthias, Lin Li had no choice but to retreat. Even an idiot knew that a demon¡¯s physical and magical strength was overbearing. Even though Lin Li was a special kind of mage that was a cksmith guru as well, he did not dare to engage in closebat with Matthias, either...

    But Matthias did not give him this chance. He retracted his wings quickly and seemed to have transformed into a ck arrow, instantly shooting towards Lin Li. After that, he threw out a punch. In that instant, Lin Li felt like his chest had been smashed by an iron hammer. Even his bones seemed to have been crushed into pieces.

 Chapter 276 - Lord of Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 276: Lord of Destruction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After Matthias managed to inflict that blow, heughed hideously. His fistsnded heavily on Lin Li like a heavy rain. The awakening of the devil¡¯s lineage had caused Matthias to transform from a physically weak man into apletely different person. Now, his mighty blows were like boulders that run over Lin Li¡¯s body. Lin Li winced in pain as if his bones were all broken...

    ¡°Damn...¡± Lin Li endured the 10 blows from behind his Frost Shield. But, he finally found a chance to escape the storm-like attacks with Matthias¡¯ oversight...

    Lin Li wiped fresh blood off the edge of his mouth. His hands were trembling a lot, and he had no strength to control his body. Lin Li could only make use of the Levitation Spell to hover unsteadily in the air. Everything beneath him seemed tilted. Even the Aurora Square looked unusually distorted as if it was folded by someone. In Lin Li¡¯s eyes, the thousands of mages appeared to own multiple shadows that ovepped with each other...

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes to see more clearly. However, the moment his hands touched them, he saw blood on his hands. It was then that he realized that blood wasing out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Matthias¡¯ continuous attacks might have injured his organs...

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is just the beginning...¡± Matthias¡¯ hoarseughter was like the cry of an owl. When heughed, the two mageweath on his cheeks distorted hideously.

    Lin Li drew in big mouthfuls of air and stubbornly replied, ¡°I¡¯m... not worried at all...¡± He forced out a smile and raised up his Aether Staff.

    The Frost Shield pieced itself back together, and generated a bright light up the sky. What followed was the Potence Spell, Hastening Spell, Hemophilic Spell, Stoneskin Spell, and other types of energy boosters. At that point of time, Lin Li could feel that he was wrapped in a blinding light¡ªred, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple... like a dazzling rainbow.

    ¡°What a joke...¡± Matthias smirked as a smile surfaced on his scaly face. To him, the mage from Jarrosus had to be joking. His own devil¡¯s lineage had just awakened, and his ability wasparable to that of a high-level magical beast. If he wanted, he could simply tear him into pieces. What were energy boosters to him? Could it be that the Jarrosus mage still wanted to make use of the boosters to personally battle with himself?

    Matthias really wanted to advise him to give up resisting. There was no use with himself being physically stronger. Not to mention the Hastening Spell and Potence Spell, even if Lin Li had the help from a Legendary-level Priest as well as the legendary theurgy from a divine, he would not be able to win against the devil¡¯s lineage which had been awakened.

    Seeing that his opponent was desperately doing his recitation to maintain the energy boosters, Matthias suddenly had the thrill of being in a cat and mouse chase. Although he had always wanted to kill his opponent, he was not in a hurry when he had gained absolute advantage over him. He levitated quietly to look at the trivial spells Lin Li was trying to cast. He was ted by the definite power he had imed.

    Matthias had gotten ahold of the momentum of the battle. The extreme gush of energy from the awakening gave him undue confidence. He could end the battle with a victory by tearing the Jarrosus mage into pieces any time he wanted. However, he was not in a rush. He loved the euphoria he got from the power difference between the cat and the mouse. Seeing how the mouse struggled helplessly gave the cat greater satisfaction aspared to killing it in one go.

    What Matthias wanted to do now was to smash all the tiny sense of hope he could give his opponent. He was going to do this again and again until his opponent fell into a state of hopelessness. Then, he was going to kill him with the most brutal methods.

    Matthias hovered in the air quietly as he looked at his opponent from above. Then, he swooped towards him. He was like a vampire amidst the red mist, giving off ominous and hair-standing vibes...

    ¡°F*ck this bastard...¡± Hoffman red at Matthias angrily. That scoundrel was too terrifying! How would Hoffman not be aware of the situation Matthias was in? To a certain extent, the energy of a Dark Conjurer was as good as from the devil itself¡ªjust not as direct as how Matthias got his. Among the thousands of audience present, Hoffman knew Matthias the best...

    Looking at how Matthias¡¯ ck wings spread, the hideous horn on his head, the two mageweaths on his cheeks, as well as his scaly body, one could not help but feel goosebumps all over him. If Hoffman remembered correctly, the leader of the seventh level abyss¡ªLord of Destruction, Batu¡ªlooked exactly like this...

    Batu was a devil at the lord-level. It was at the tip the food chain on the seventh level of the abyss. No legendary man would dare to raise his head to look at it. Although Matthias was born generations after Batu, and inherited one-tenth of its ability after the awakening, and so he was much more powerfulpared to Felic, who had just reached level-16 of the Archmage realm.

    Hoffman was not the only one who was in panic. Macklin was sitting there anxiously as well. Although he did not say much, his hands were clenched. The battle was really overboard! It surpassed the level of a battle that was only supposed to involve trial students.

    Especially Matthias¡ªhe had be a monster. Not to mention his invincible strength, he also had great resistance against magical spells. He could clearly see Felic casting three spells on him in one go.

    However, two of them were like throwing meat buns at a dog, disappearing almost immediately. While the Dying Spell worked a little, Matthias still managed to dash towards Lin Li after a few seconds as though he had consumed aphrodisiac...

    <i>Goddammit, how can they fight like this!</i>

    The scariest thing for Macklin was the fact that Matthias had only consumed half of his energy. From the beginning, he had always been using his body to fight like a warrior. The awakening had not just brought him invincible strength, but also simr magical ability. The greatness would then be amplified by a few times when Matthias got under the influence of the Gate of the Abyss.

    <i>Doomed, doomed!</i>

    <i>Everything is really doomed!</i>

    At this time, even Macklin, who always had extreme confidence in Lin Li, lost nearly all his hope. He had no choice. Matthias was too powerful. His might was beyond reasonable.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Macklin¡¯s voice shook. He could not stand it anymore. What if Felic were to die in the Aurora Square? It would bring a real tragedy to the entire Guild of Magic. Andoine¡¯s rage was not what the Guild of Magic could deal with.

    Macklin¡¯s gaze naturallynded onto Aldwin. Now, he could only wait for Aldwin to intervene in the battle once more. Or else, when Matthias had his fun from the cat and mouse game, it would be toote. Macklin had given up rooting for Felic to be the victor of the battle. No matter what, he needed to ensure the safety of Felic. He was too important to the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait first...¡± Aldwin replied as he shook his head gently. Although his voice was very low, his tone was filled with firmness.

    ¡°Still wait?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Felic still has chance.¡±

    Apart from Macklin, the thousands of mages were also extremely nervous. Their hearts were at their throats while they waited for Matthias¡¯ attack. Now, even a fool could tell that Matthias had absolutely imed the upper hand in the battle. One attack would suffice to defeat his opponent. However, after witnessing the miracles the Jarrosus mage had created for them, they were all secretly hoping for another miracle from him.

    The anticipation that was filled with contradiction made thepetition be a torment for them.

    Finally, Matthias moved. He spread his ck wings with force and swooped towards Lin Li. He was like a sharp arrow aiming at Lin Li¡¯s chest.

    The Aurora Square fell silent immediately.

    Instantly, every one could see a fistnding roughly on Felic, causing him to fall on the ground. Immediately, they realized that it was just their imagination. Felic was not only unaffected by the punch, but he appeared behind Matthias almost immediately. He was as quick as the wind.

    What followed was a ¡°POM!¡±

    No one expected that the first blow given by Felic would be a punch too!

    Matthias was stunned by the disappearance of his opponent. His attack was supposed to end the battle! When he realized what had happened, and wanted to attack, the fist of his opponentnded on his back like a bomb. Under the extreme impact, he felt as though he was torn into pieces...

    Then, Matthias was like a kite with a broken string. He fell from the sky at once.

 Chapter 277 - Hello, Jarrosus

    <h4>Chapter 277: Hello, Jarrosus</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The battle concluded with the cheers. Lin Li waited for Kevin anxiously while he listened to Macklin nag by his ear.

    ¡°Darn you, fe. How many times have I told you not to find trouble for yourself? Now that you did such a cruel thing, how would Wilhelm forgive you and Jarrosus?¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright...¡± There were still many unsolved mysteries behind the attack of the Emerald Tower. Lin Li did not intend to tell that to the old man at all. He stood there obediently and listened to the old man nag. It was only when the old man¡¯s throat went dry from all the nagging that Lin Li interrupted, ¡°Oh, yes. There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I am going back to Jarrosus tonight.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why are you so rushed?¡±

    ¡°Something happened to the Emerald Tower and Gerian asked me to return quickly.¡±

    ¡°Could you dy it?¡± Macklin frowned hesitantly. ¡°The trial had just finished. The guild must have nned some celebration. If the main character is not here, how are we going to celebrate? Furthermore, your performance at the finals was historic! The Supreme Council is sure to reward you for that. If you leave, you are going to miss out on all the good stuff!¡±

    ¡°I have no choice too. Gerian said it was urgent...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips and pushed the me to Gerian.

    ¡°Gerian, that bastard...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. If I don¡¯t remember wrongly, the bet between the Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild should be after three months, right? Don¡¯t worry, I will think of a way toe back to nna no matter how busy I will be.¡±

    When Herza announced the winner, the trial also came to an end. Aldwin said some scripted things to praise all the trial students for their performance, thank the Supreme Council, as well as the audience...

    When he waited for Kevin toe with the coach, Lin Li greeted the VIPs ceremoniously. Since they had met each other at the Pharmacists Guild, they were still familiar with each other. Especially so for Englos, Sendros, and Hoffman¡ªthey had rendered great help when Orrin got injured previously. How could he not greet them now?

    The VIPs were also extra friendly to him. Their tone when they called him ¡°Master Felic¡± became sweeter and sweeter, especially Hoffman¡ªafter he heard that Lin Li was going to build a guild of magic in Breezy ins, he smiled so hard that his eyes nearly closed. It was no joke to have such a powerful neighbor. As long as he could establish a good rtionship with him, the Glittergold Trade Union would stand to benefit a lot.

    When Macklin saw such friendliness, he could not help but scold Hoffman under his breath for his opportunistic behavior.

    After greeting the VIPs, Herza had a long chat with Lin Li. It was nothing important, just regarding Lin Li¡¯s good performance in the finals, and telling him that the Supreme Council would be rewarding him for his efforts. At the same time, he also talked about the building of the new guild of magic. When he heard that Lin Li was returning to Jarrosus a while, he asked to know more.

    The conversationsted for a good half an hour until the sound of hooves could be heard from the distance. Herza concluded the conversation by informing Lin Li that the Supreme Council would send one person in charge to Jarrosus, and that person would be assisting Lin Li in building the new guild of magic.

    Perhaps it was due to Lin Li eagerness to return home, but the trial ended haphazardly. After bidding goodbye to everyone there, Kevin¡¯s coach had entered the Aurora Square.

    ¡°Goodbye, everyone!¡±

    Sean¡¯s strong build was like a magical beast, taking up more than half of the space in the coach. When he saw Lin Lie in, the good-natured man who had been gone for around a month suddenly became very nervous. ¡°Felic... Mr. Felic...¡±

    ¡°Good evening, Sean,¡± Lin Li greeted Sean cheerfully. How could he not know the reason behind Sean¡¯s anxiety? That fe had to be afraid of him asking about his whereabouts during the past month.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know that you promised someone and can¡¯t tell me anything. Rest assured, if you are not willing to say, I won¡¯t force you...¡± Lin Li said with a warm smile.

    ¡°Thank you, Mr Felic.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Sean, I see that you are close to level-14. Will it affect your breakthrough if you apany me back to Jarrosus?¡±

    ¡°N-nope.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great...¡±

    After speaking to Sean, Lin Li stuck his head out of the coach. ¡°Kevin, did Ina note with you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Kevin replied as he nodded his head, and told Lin Li what happened.

    The matter was rather coincidental. When Kevin rented the coach in the afternoon, he went nna Guild of Magic to look for Sean who had just returned. Then, the two men followed Lin Li¡¯s request and traveled to the campsite of the Silver Hand. Yet, they could not see anyone at the campsite.

    It wasn¡¯t until they found an Adventurer that they knew that the Silver Hand had just taken on a huge mission. Everybody had left¡ªexcept for no more than 10 low-level members, who stayed behind to guard the campsite.

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li replied, and did not ask further. In reality, he actually felt that it was safe to leave Ina with the Silver Hand. Serena was a clever and sympathetic woman. Although it was not extremely safe to follow her, Ina wouldn¡¯t be at disadvantage.

    The three men took turns to drive the coach. They passed by the familiar ckhills Town when it was nearly midnight. This time, Lin Li did not dare to stay over at the ckhills Town. He had no choice. Once bitten, twice shy¡ªevery time he stayed at the ckhills Town, there would be lives lost. Now that the Emerald Tower had a fire and nobody knew Gerian¡¯s whereabouts, how would Lin Li dare to waste his time here?

    The three men traveled through the night without stopping. Finally, they crossed the borders of Jarrosus before the sunset. Everything around them became very familiar. Lin Li looked out from the coach and saw the tip of the Emerald Tower clearly.

    ¡°Jarrosus, I¡¯m back.¡±

    ...

    After reaching his dear Jarrosus, the breath of the familiar air made Lin Li very anxious.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Emerald Tower first.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mr. Felic.¡± Sean shook the ropes in his hands, and they passed through the streets of Jarrosus. Everything in Jarrosus stayed the same. The Gilded Rose still had great business, and the Adventurers Guild was still bustling with activity...

    The only thing that was different was that it was a little too lively in the Emerald Tower today.

    Before the coach took a turn at the corner of the streets, Lin Li could hear an argument going on from afar. He immediately realized that the argument came from the Emerald Tower. Lin could not help but feel suspicious. He urged Sean to go faster. The hooves sounded as they passed through the streets. Not long after, they reached the base of the Emerald Tower.

    ¡°What the hell is happening...¡± Lin Li grumbled as he saw the scene before him. There was a group of 30 men blocking the main entrance of the Emerald Tower. All of them were carrying weapons and had a fierce expression on their face. A fool would have known that they were not to be messed with.

    Something that made Lin Li very doubtful was the abilities of the troops standing there.

    Although all of them looked very threatening, there was only one powerful man among them. He was a level-10 Warrior. He had a long, deep scar on his face that resembled a disgusting earthworm. He was wearing themon rough leather armor of an Adventurer, and holding onto a delicate machete. He blocked the entrance of the Emerald Tower like a loan shark visiting his debtor.

    ¡°What on earth is he trying to do?¡± Lin Li asked. He was surprised.

    Since the fall of the Merlin Family, the power of the Emerald Tower became unrivaled. Even the wealthy Mannis Family and the mysterious Saruman Family would not have dared to create trouble for the Emerald Tower.

    There was a saying: ¡°a lean camel that dies of starvation is still bigger than a horse¡±. In other words, the intrinsically superior were bound to outdo the inferior! Lin Li could not understand why a fire would cause the Emerald Tower to be the subject of gossips when it was still an impregnable force in Jarrosus. Since these men were not stronger than level-10, why were they here before the Emerald Tower?

    ¡°F*ck, do you think the guild of magic now is still the guild of magic of the past? You morons, wake up now! Jarrosus has nothing to do with the guild of magic now. Even that old coward Gerian had escaped after the fire! What do you have to stop us?

    ¡°Brothers, let¡¯s be like the Shadow¡¯s Nest, burn this useless Emerald Tower down again!¡±

    ¡°Yes! Burn their den, and see if they will dare to be so cocky!¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah, I¡¯ve always been tired of these morons!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it! Who knows if that old turtle, Gerian, is hidden inside! Let¡¯s go and hand him over to the Shadow¡¯s Nest!¡±

    Scarface immediately got the raging support from his men. The over 30 men raised their weapons and ran towards the entrance of the Emerald Tower. There were only a few level-5 or level-6 young mages guarding the entrance of the Emerald Tower. How would they be able to deal with these bestial warriors?

    Although they had exerted all their strength, they were still pushed aside by the men. Seeing that they were about to enter the Emerald Tower, the young mages were so anxious that they sweated profusely.

 Chapter 278 - An End, A New Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 278: An End, A New Beginning</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li shook his head, and said nothing. He just muttered a spell, and countless red vines covered the Aurora Square like tide water.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Blood-vine Spell again!¡±

    Before the audience could calm down, the crazy blood-vines grabbed Matthias¡¯ body. It was as though those blood-red vines had their own consciousness. The moment they caught onto Matthias¡¯ body, their prickles sunk into his flesh like leeches, sucking his sweet fresh blood hungrily.

    ¡°AHHH...¡± Matthias let out a weak scream. It was as though he had his throat strangled by someone.

    The audience was dumbfounded. Everybody stared at that scene nkly. Aldwin shook his head, and a bitter smile surfaced on his face. This old man who had been managing the nna for decades felt that he was out of control for the first time. The battle was a disaster. Although he had already intervened in the flow of the finals, he could not change the end result.

    The silence in the Aurora Square was deafening. There was only sound from the growing blood-vines.

    A blood-vine that was filled with blood climbed around Matthias¡¯ neck. It was like a poisonous snake. Everyone could tell that if it were to tighten further, the heir of the Marathon Family would die in the Aurora Square.

    ¡°Mage Felic, please let him go!¡± At this time, 10 warriors d in armor burst out from the crowd. Their leader looked to be over 30 years of age and resembled Matthias.

    Lin Li suddenly remembered that he was the same man he¡¯d met in the Fire Plume Ridge. That man was with Argus when they visited the Silver Hand to ask Serena about his whereabouts. Oh, yes. Serena told him that this man, named Gaud, was the cousin of Matthias, and the nephew of Wilhelm.

    The gravity of the situation made Gaud lose the cool he¡¯d had back in the Fire Plume Ridge. He brought the team of warriors through the crowd and barged into the Aurora Square. The two judges who had been hiding in the corner got shoved away by the warriors.

    ¡°Get off!¡±

    Gaud was aware that he was in the Aurora Square, and knew that it was the day of the finals. After bringing his team in, he only asked the judges to stand aside, and did nothing intrusive. The group of men in armor were also left at the edge of the Aurora Square. He walked up to Lin Li alone and stood a few meters in front of him.

    ¡°Mage Felic, please think of Master Wilhelm and give Matthias a chance!¡±

    Lin Li nced at him, and said nothing. He secretly dispersed his mental energy while scanning the four mageweaths that were tampered with by someone. At the same time, he controlled the strength of the blood-vines to ensure that they did not wrap Matthias too loosely or tightly. He let Matthias hang there lifelessly.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you are a smart man. I¡¯m sure you know that you gain nothing if you kill Matthias. You had already won this battle. Why are you creating more trouble for yourself?¡±

    Yet, Lin Li could not care about Gaud¡¯s patient advice. At this time, his gaze was on a sky-blue-colored streak of mageweath on his right. It was between a few cracked stone bs, and at least 10 meters away from him.

    As the Guru of Inscription, Lin Li could tell straight away that it was a bipr mageweath. Its mana was supported by two level-15 magic element crystals, namely ice and fire. It had a total of 33 magic nodes and 14 magic circuits. The reason for its existence was to bnce out the sh between magic from the two elements.

    Within the area it covered, the impact of the magic would be minimized. While the same ming Storm could burn a cargo ship outside, it could only burn a long robe inside the area.

    However, when Lin Li¡¯s gaze fell onto the mageweath, he frowned. While there were indeed 33 magic nodes, there was ack of the most crucial magic circuit. Lin Li remembered that there should be one more magic circuit near the source of the mana. This magic circuit would be the one that would ensure the bnce between the ice and fire elements.

    This magic circuit was absolutely vital on the bipr mageweath!

    Without it, the entire bipr mageweath would be incredibly dangerous. It was difficult to stabilize the energy between ice and fire elements by itself. If the concentration of either magical element were to get higher than the critical point, the bnce would be broken. Then, it would engulf the person who cast the spell...

    ¡°Darian is indeed a talent...¡± Lin Li muttered sarcastically. To be honest, at first, he did not believe such a narrow-minded man would be able to craft such aprehensive conspiracy.

    Unfortunately, he had used in at the wrong ce.

    To y tricks in front of an Inscription Master was insignificant. Lin Li did not need to do anything much on his side. He only need to release a small sense of mental energy to change the entire bipr mageweath. In reality, Lin Li only tweaked the bite of mana effect brought about by the mana imbnce such that it became a magic sequence that would allow direct attacks...

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Gaud drew a breath after realizing that Lin Li was not responsive to his persuasion. ¡°Could you let Matthias down first? I¡¯m afraid that those blood-vines might...¡±

    ¡°Let him down? Sure...!¡± Lin Li raised the Aether Staff in his hand. A dark red glow shed past. Immediately, the numerous blood-vines dispersed like snow under the sunlight.

    Matthias stood himself up with his staff. The loss of blood had made him really dizzy and weak.

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Gaud thanked Lin Li after seeing the blood-red vines disappear and Matthias get down. He sighed, and just when he wanted to continue thanking him, he felt gentle magical waves around him.

    The magical waves were not vigorous. They were like ripples on the surface of a calmke.

    The magical waves from Lin Li were not vigorous, but caused the imbnce of the ice and fire elements in such a sensitive environment.

    At once, countless Wind des came flying in like butterflies.

    Matthias, who had just got away from the blood-vines, had no time to understand the situation. A Wind de slit his throat.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± When Gaud realized something was amiss, and wanted to stop it, but it was toote. He could only watch while the Wind de cut Matthias¡¯ throat.

    ¡°Hey, this is not my fault anymore...¡± Lin Li said innocently as he rubbed his nose.

    Frankly speaking, he was not wrong.

    When the blood-red vines dispersed, Lin Li did not attack Matthias at all¡ªhe did not even touch his hair. Now, even Macklin could not help but frown.

    <i>What is this kid doing?</i>

    He was still wondering why Lin Li did not choose to kill Matthias at such a good chance. Then, he realized that Aldwin¡¯s bipr mageweath failed due to the over-concentration of elements...

    What followed was Matthias falling straight onto the ground.

    Gaud was stupefied. He¡¯d never thought that it would end this way. Matthias¡¯ death was too absurd. Although he knew it was the doing of the Jarrosus mage, he had no proof. Thousands of mages saw very clearly that Matthias was killed by a random Wind de. His death was not rted to Felic at all.

    Since the grounds belonged to nna Guild of Magic, Gaud could not do much without credible evidence. Even though he was the nephew of Wilhelm, the only thing he could do was grit his teeth and snap at Lin Li. ¡°Mage Felic, I will report everything to Master Wilhelm.¡±

    After saying that, Gaud walked out of the Aurora Square, and exited nna Guild of Magic with the team of fully armored warriors.

    ¡°The ultimate victory goes to Felic from the Jarrosus!¡± Herza¡¯s voice was very clear. At this time, the audience who were stunned got back to reality. A round of thunderous apuse filled the arena.

    The two-month-long trial might appear to have ended with the apuse. However, to most people, it was just the start.

 Chapter 279 - Unrelenting Potion

    <h4>Chapter 279: Unrelenting Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°F*ck! Where did that monster came from?¡± The quiet Aurora Square was filled with gasps at once. The sudden change was like a thunder that roared above their heads. At that moment, everyone¡¯s head buzzed. No one believed what they saw to be true...

    It was that unbelievable. How could a skinny and weak mage be able to inflict such a magnificent blow? His blow was as strong as thunder and as fast as mad wind. He was definitely a monster in disguise...

    Aurora Square was filled with a deafening silence. Everybody¡¯s gazes were fixed on the two men on the ground. The prolonged battle had been testing their emotional capacity with hair-raising exchanges one after another. Lin Li¡¯s sudden progression into level-16, Matthias¡¯ awakening, and the never-ending miracles had caused everyone to think that they had be ustomed to surprises. Yet, when Lin Li demonstrated his almighty close quarters attacks, nearly half of the mages in the audience went mad after seeing it...

    Lin Li¡¯s sudden second wind had pushed the battle to the climax.

    Lin Li¡¯s fist made Matthias fall onto the ground. Although Matthias did not expect that, it was a fact that his devil¡¯s lineage had been awakened. How would he be defeated so easily? When he fell, he spread his ck wings almost instantly. He managed to stabilize himself, then hissed and generated huge torrent-like magical waves...

    The dazzling sparks from the Rain of Sacrifice were like shooting stars falling from the sky, and created a raging storm. At the same time, Lin Li also summoned his Water Shield. While gripped his Aether Staff, his recitation flowed out like gushing water from hisrynx.

    Instantaneously, the temperature in the Aurora Square fell. There were snowkes and bone-chilling wind in the air. Amidst the mes, the crystal-like snowkes looked brilliant. When the two strong spells shed with each other, torrents of elements erupted. While the Thousand Miles of Ice came by, the snowkes and fire sparks came into close contact with each other.

    After casting the Rain of Sacrifice, Matthias roared again. Everybody could see multicolored elemental fragments rising up to the sky. They became a perfect barrier that blocked off the chilly air given out by Thousand Miles of Ice. What followed was Matthias spreading his pair of ck wings and swooping like a sharp arrow towards Lin Li.

    The battle between them was never-ending. Their exchanges were filled with increasing intensity, and each attack generated more and more impact. Seconds trickled by, and it got to the evening in the blink of an eye. The setting sun painted the Aurora Square with a blood-red hue. It amplified the eerie and foreboding atmosphere.

    ¡°It seems that I have misjudged you...¡± Matthias hissed while he panted heavily. Although the devil¡¯s lineage within him had awakened, and he inherited part of the power of Batu, the Lord of Destruction, he could no longer stand such a huge energy usage. Throughout the arduous battle, both men unleashed many spells that were beyond level-15. On top of that, the strenuous and up-close wrestling they had with each other had drained Matthias not only physically, but also mentally. He had reached his limit.

    ¡°Same here...¡± Lin Li replied. Although he was not as worn out as Matthias, underlying his voice was a sense of fatigue. Even if he were to have unlimited mana, the intensity of the prolonged battle had caused him to feel a tiredness like never before.

    ¡°However, one time is enough. Now, enjoy while you can. This will be thest beautiful sunset for you.¡± Matthias scowled, and let out a shrilling cry. At once, blood-red smoke filled the Aurora Square. From afar, it was as though the red fog had solidified.

    At the same time, shocking transformations urred on Matthias¡¯ body.

    The tightly packed ck scales became really bright and shiny as though they were a set of brand-new armor. His horn, which stood straight upwards on his head, emitted a faint light. His ck wings spread out energetically and turned red amidst the red fog. Matthias was like a real Vampire. He was all menace and hideous under his blood-red wings.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± The audience gasped. This time, even a fool would be able to tell that Matthias¡¯ power became many times greater. His original ability that surpassed that of an Archmage became very near to that of a guru. He gave off an extremely terrifying vibe, and the audience could not help but feel threatened by it.

    That energy was not supposed to be owned by a normal human. Now, Matthias gave off a vibe that was really simr to the Lord of Destruction.

    Matthias¡¯ sudden energy, however, did not surprise Lin Li at all. He slowly put the Aether Staff back into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Matthias¡¯ recitation hastened. The red fog in the Aurora Square seemed to be under control. It swirled ominously like a huge whirlpool, and swallowed everything around it crazily. When air and sunlight came into contact with the blood-red whirlpool, they could not avoid their fate of being swallowed by it, either. At once, the Aurora Square was all blood-red.

    ¡°Sh*t! That¡¯s the Crimson Adjudication!¡± Hoffman eximed as his eyes widened. He lived in the Breezy ins with the Ashen Warlock, so while he did not have too many interactions with him, he knew this that that butcher in the arena was casting the Crimson Adjudication.

    ... It was the spell the Ashen Warlock was the proudest of!

    All of a sudden, the audience became quiet. They held their breath. It was like the silence before the storm, as though the gray clouds in the sky were oppressive. Everyone was very fearful for the young mage from Jarrosus. They even felt like telling him to leave this ce immediately.

    However, it was toote...

    While the blood-red whirlpool swirled madly, it was as though time had frozen.

    Lin Li hovered in the air quietly and took out something from the Ring of Endless Storm slowly. It was a crossbow that he had only used thrice since he came to Anril. The first time was at the Shadowglen, the second was at the ckhills Town, while the third was at the Fire Plume Ridge. Every time, it allowed him to escape cmity.

    ¡°Freak, what is Felic thinking...?¡± Macklin muttered. The recitation had made him really anxious. His eyes was fixed on the two students in the ring.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± At this time, even Aldwin shook his head. The Gates of the Abyss had appeared, and the recitation of the Crimson Adjudication had begun. No matter how powerful he was, Aldwin would not be able to stop the catastrophe that was about to happen. The only thing he could do was to transfer his mana into the Void Barrier to minimize the impact the Crimson Adjudication was about to bring...

    Lin Li was still hovering in the air quietly. He reached his hand into the Ring of Endless Storm again and took out a thin Hollow Spike. Under the sunset, the ck Hollow Spike had a faint glow. Lin Li touched its tip and positioned it in the slot of the crossbow. His actions were slow and precise, just as though he was caressing the long hair of a sweetheart...

    ¡°Oh my God... Felic, run!¡± Macklin was so angry that he stomped his feet. However, his cries were not of any help to the matter at hand. With the Void Barrier established, Lin Li would not be able to hear his voice.

    The act of holding the crossbow in his hand and putting the Hollow Spike into position gave Lin Li a great sense of nostalgia. He remembered how he had the Stars of Fury with him in the Endless World very long ago. His surroundings did not matter to him. He did not care about the swirling blood-red fog nor the mages in the audience seats. His focus was ced on the crossbow in his hands and the faint red glow before him.

    That was right. It was the source of the Blood Eye Crystal, the location of the center of the Gates of the Abyss.

    Perhaps it was the mental energy that Lin Li gave off, or the presence of the Hollow Spike when he raised his crossbow, but Matthias¡¯ recitation elerated. At once, everybody could sense a thick stench of blood filling the Aurora Square.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Matthias. My good luck might be continuing...¡± The moment Lin Li spoke, he casually pulled the trigger. The sharp Hollow Spike shot out. The sound of it flying off was like an rm, terrifying the audience.

    What followed was a loud ng.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The Hollow Spike was like a shooting star that ruthlessly stabbed that faint red glow. At that instant, it was as though the entire world had lost its colors. The ominous whirlpool dispersed all of a sudden, leaving the entire Aurora Square in a cloud of ash.

    At the same time, Lin Li¡¯s figure became blurred. He was like a ghost that crept behind Matthias without any warning. What followed was a harsh punch on Matthias¡¯ back. Before Matthias could react, Lin Li had already turned his body and threw at least ten Wind des towards him like a machine gun. Although Matthias had the protection from his scales, he got injuries all over in the blink of an eye.

    When he had gotten ahold of the momentum, Lin Li did not give Matthias any more chances. He let out a strong wave of mana and forced Matthias to the edge of destruction...

    ¡°This can¡¯t be...¡± Darian was stunned. He stared at Lin Li as though he saw a ghost. He was full of sweat and his face ashened. A bony hand was covering his mouth tightly, stopping his urge to scream.

    Darian was the only man among the thousands of mages who was aware of Matthias¡¯ ability. That was due to the pact he had made long ago with Matthias¡¯ mentor, Aeron.

    The ability of an Archmage and that of someone with a devil¡¯s lineage was definitely not something Darian would have expected the trial students to associate themselves with. He even started to doubt if it was even necessary to help Aldwin with the four master-level mageweaths...

    But, he knew very quickly that it was indeed a necessary act. It was utmost necessity!

    The mage from Jarrosus was a monster. The spells he had been casting became more and more terrifying as the battles progressed. Those were enough to cause hearts to skip beats. However, Darian realized those were nothing. Why would its powerful methods even matter if the monster could cast 60 Pyrosts right from the beginning?

    However, no one¡ªnot even Darian¡ªhad expected the Jarrosus mage to have the ability to fight with Matthias. What Matthias had inherited was the Lord of Destruction¡¯s¡ªBatu¡¯s¡ªability! Even if he did not inherit the entire skill set, it was adequate for him to y all his opponents.

    But now, Matthias, who was supposed to y his opponents with ease, had lost his powers from the Gates of the Abyss due to a crossbow bolt. His strength and speed declined gradually. He also needed more time to recite his spells now.

    On the other side, the young mage from Jarrosus became more and more powerful. He had forced Matthias to the edge in just the blink of an eye.

    His ck wings were broken and his scales had lost its shine. He reeked of blood while it gushed out of his wounds profusely. Before this, he had still been making ns on how to y the cat and mouse game with Lin Li. Now, he was like a dying dog, pinned down for a good beating.

    After falling from the sky, the emotion on Matthias¡¯ expression was all shock. He could not understand how that mage from Jarrosus got his powers to defeat him, who had his devil¡¯s lineage awakened. It was unbelievable. He felt so weak, and had no strength to return the attacks. He could only see his opponent punch his face continuously like a heavy hammer. At that moment, the Aurora Square was really silent. The only sound was the sound of the fists hitting his face. Matthias could only protect his head with his hands to minimize his injuries.

    Lin Li was never a forgiving person. His anger from the unexpected beating that Matthias gave him just now already umted much anger in him. Now that he finally got the chance to reciprocate with harsher attacks, why would he choose not to? Furthermore, he had had to use the entire ck lotus to create the Unrelenting Potion. If he did not beat Matthias into a moron, wouldn¡¯t he waste that ck lotus?

    He was like a different person now. His speed was faster than that of a mad wind, and his strength was stronger than a thunderbolt. Matthias was like a hrious clown before him. He was like a sandbag that was beaten up harshly by Lin Li. Matthias could not struggle or resist at all.

    The crazy attacks turned Lin Li eyes red with blood lust. He grabbed onto Matthias¡¯ throat tightly and smashed his scaly body onto the ground.

    ¡°BAM!¡±

    Instantaneously, cracks appeared on the firm ground. Matthias sank into the debris, and the air was filled with dust and small rock fragments. The Aurora Square became silent at once.

    ¡°This...¡± Hoffman swallowed his saliva strenuously. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Never had he expected that the gentlemanly and talented pharmacist would have such an extreme thirst for blood. He was so violent and fierce, just like a diator that would partake in a deadly battle.

    At this time, Hoffman was really doubting his decision to use Lin Li. He wondered if it was a good choice to strike a deal with this man...

    No matter what, the battle on the Aurora Square would be ending soon...

    Matthias was at the edge of death. His body was covered with wounds of different sizes, and he even had his horn broken off by Lin Li. His shrill cries sounded as though they came from the deepest of hells. The audience couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill down their spines and goosebumps all over.

    ¡°How is it, Mage Matthias? Now you should know that it is not just luck that brought me where I am, right?¡± Lin Li asked menacingly as he gave Matthias a harsh kick and sent him deeper into the debris.

    ¡°Keh...¡± Matthias coughed forcefully while he stood in the middle of the debris. Fresh blood flowed out from his mouth as though someone opened a floodgate. Yet, his eyes were filled with an upromising expression. ¡°So what? Have you forgotten about the Emerald Tower already?¡±

    ¡°So it was really you!¡± The mention of the Emerald Tower changed Lin Li¡¯s expression immediately. This time, he finally could ascertain that the Marathon Family was providing support to the Shadow¡¯s Nest. ¡°Tell me, why would the Marathon Family do that?¡±

    ¡°WHY? HAHAHA...¡± Although he was at a disadvantage, the carefree Matthias was still able tough. ¡°If you want to know the reason, why don¡¯t you kneel down before me? If you beg me, I might consider telling you.¡±

    ¡°Mage Matthias, you are very insensible.¡± Seeing Matthias¡¯ desperate struggle, Lin Li showed zero excitement. He only had a cruel smile on his face. ¡°Perhaps my ming Hand could make you wiser...¡±

    Almost immediately, Lin Li already bashed a ming Hands onto Matthias...

    ¡°AHHH!¡± Matthias let out a shriek. A stone-hearted person would have be sympathetic for him. It was a torture for Matthias. His dashing cheeks were like raw meat on the griller¡ªone could see skin sizzle under the ming Hand. At once, a plume of smoke rose up into the air...

    Furthermore, Lin Li was determined to make Matthias suffer. After using the ming Hand, he was not in a rush to let go. He held onto Matthias¡¯ face for a good 10 seconds before putting out the mes reluctantly. When he removed his hand, Matthias¡¯ handsome face was badly burnt. Under the charred ashes, there was a messy mix of torn skin, flesh, and fresh blood. Nine out of ten wouldn¡¯t believe the monster used to have the ideal appearance that women loved just 10 seconds ago...

    ¡°How was it, Mage Matthias? Do you feel better now?¡±

    ¡°Heh... heh...¡± Matthias¡¯ughter sounded as though it was being forced out of his mouth. It carried a heavy nasal tone, which no one could tell if it was fromughing or crying.

    ¡°So what? Do you have the guts to kill me? I¡¯m the heir of the Marathon Family. If you were to kill me, my father will make everyone die with me. This includes those morons in Jarrosus, as well as that foolish fatso! Oh, yes. Before I forget, do you want to know who was the mastermind behind the invasion? Hahaha, stop guessing. It was me, Matthias! Does this sound exciting to you?¡±

    ¡°Exciting? Damn you, little piece of sh*t!¡± Lin Li raged as he stepped onto Matthias with great force.

    Matthias was in such an excruciating pain that his back arched. Although it would have been unbearable to normal people, Matthias was determined to endure it. Such extraordinary perseverance put a frown on Lin Li¡¯s forehead. He was extremely clear of the cruelty of the ming Hand. It was used with the intention of killing Matthias in the first ce. He did not expect that Matthias could still withstand the torture the ming Hand brought him.

    But, after pondering it for a while, he decided to put these concerns in the back of his mind. Since Matthias had admitted himself that he had been the mastermind behind Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s attack on the Emerald Tower, Lin Li naturally did not have a reason to let him off. He had to pay for the death of so many mages and the loss of the Emerald Tower with his blood.

    <i>The revenge of the Marathon Family can wait until they are dead...</i>

    ¡°Mage Matthias, you might have forgotten my personality. I may becking in everything else, just not my guts...¡±

    Lin Li reached his hands into the Ring of Endless Storm for the pair of Vampire fangs. Then, he realized something was amiss. If he was not wrong, Matthias was looking at the VIP seats with a different expression...

    ¡°Darian?¡± The sudden realization put a frown on Lin Li¡¯s forehead. Logically, Matthias was the one who wanted to kill him. Hence, it would only be reasonable for him to re at Lin Li. Yet, why was Matthias¡¯ gaze not fixed on his opponent, but on Darian, who was seated in the VIP section?

    <i>Could there be something between them?</i>

    Yet, although Darian was a clever man, he was not in the guild ever since his nephew, Madrick, got into trouble. Hence, Macklin did not really include him in the preparation of both the Shadowglen¡¯s trial and the finals in the Aurora Square. Apart from helping Aldwin establish the four master-level magewealths the day before, he was not part of the entire finals at all. Even if he had any undisclosed rtionship with Matthias, he should not have much chance to do anything...

    <i>Wait a minute... Mageweath?</i>

    When the word ¡®mageweath¡¯ came to his mind, Lin Li guessed the issue immediately.

    <i>That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the mageweath!</i>

    ¡°No, no, no. You will not dare to kill me...¡± Matthias said with utmost confidence. In reality, he still did not believe that the Jarrosus bumpkin would dare to injure him. Being injured from a battle and being killed in it were two different matters. Even if he was not afraid of the revenge by the Marathon Family, could he not think about the future of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic instead? If he were to kill him, the rage from Marathon Family would not be something a small guild of magic could deal with...

    And it was this belief that gave Matthias that confidence. Although he seemed to be the losing party, Matthias had no concern for his life. In fact, he was also calcting another matter. He was nning how to lead the Jarrosus bumpkin into the trap he had prepared for him...

 Chapter 280 - Yeah, Iéˆ¥æª“ back

    <h4>Chapter 280: Yeah, I¡¯m back</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just when Scarface pushed the young mage away and wanted to bring his men in, he saw a long red shadow sh past him. Before he knew it, he saw a floor of blood-red vines crawling towards them from all directions. In the blink of an eye, they entangled a few of his men.

    Then, a hair-raising sound could be heard. The red vines wiggled and became like leeches, sucking onto his men...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± The men who were still intimidating backed off subconsciously.

    Then...

    Scarface suddenly realized that there was a coach that suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Emerald Tower. A smiling young man aged around 20 walked out of it.

    But, the words that came out of his mouth caused everyone to break out in cold sweat.

    ¡°People who want to invade the Emerald Tower, DIE!¡±

    The silence at the entrance of the Emerald Tower was deafening. There was only the sucking sound that came from the blood-vines. Scarface swallowed his saliva in trepidation. In fact, he really wished to escape from this horrific ce immediately. The gaze of that young man was very scary. He felt as though he was targeted by a magical beast. A poisonous snake would have been more friendly towards him.

    But, Scarface knew that he should not escape.

    Since the men under him were all mercenaries, they were not loyal to him at all. If he were to escape, they would run off really quickly to create trouble.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± Lin Li asked. Although his smile stayed the same, his Aether Staff shed. Those fes who were still trying to sneak into the Emerald Tower got caught up tightly by the blood-vines. At that instant, an ominous sound could be heard. Together with the shrieks from the men, it caused everybody to tremble in fear. Their struggle, however, were in vain. The more they fidgeted, the tighter the vines got. After a while, the once burly and strong men turned into dried corpses. When they were brought down by the blood-vines, they were rather t. Their eyes were bulging; they¡¯d died with a horrified expression...

    ¡°Pardon me, I¡¯m a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. May I know if I have the right to discuss some things with you?¡± After asking politely, Lin Li smiled warmly at them.

    ¡°You... Please stand back!¡± Scarface screamed in terror. Lin Li¡¯s smile was so artificial that it was as though Scarface had seen a ghost. Scarface backed away cautiously. Unlike his usual oppressive stance, he was really timid now...

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so worried. Take it easy! I don¡¯t like to kill people or create trouble...¡± Lin Li assured Scarface casually. After he walked along the steps up to the entrance of the Emerald Tower, he turned back to look at Scarface under his chin. The elevation gave him a sense of superiority when he looked at him.

    ¡°But, if there are any people who are going to enter the Emerald Tower without permission, don¡¯t me me for not letting them go!¡±

    ¡°Little fe, don¡¯t be too cocky!¡± After witnessing the death of his men, Scarface was so spooked that he would definitely not trespass the Emerald Tower if he had 100 guts. Courage was needed to confront a monster that killed without thinking. Scarface was not bold enough to do that. Hence, he tried to put on a brave front. ¡°Let me tell you now. We Blood Brothers are not pushovers!¡±

    How would Scarface expect that his words would lead him into greater trouble.

    ¡°Blood Brothers?¡± Lin Li frowned upon hearing the name. ¡°Stop there,¡± hemanded.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s was not loud, his voice was like thunder to Scarface¡¯s ears. His legs turned jelly on the spot. He really wished to give himself two ps on the face.

    <i>Why did I say that? I would have escaped from the bloodthirsty monster if I tried! Will he swallow or skin me alive...?</i>

    ¡°W-what do you want?¡±

    ¡°You are from the Blood Brothers?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Lin Li said and nodded. A sh from the Aether Staff made the blood-vines retract, only leaving a few dried corpses on the ground. ¡°Tell Aaron-Mazi to see me at the Emerald Tower at once.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Scarface was speechless. He took a cold breath. Aaron-Mazi was the leader of the Blood Brothers, and had great influence in Jarrosus.

    Was that young mage mad? If he requested for Aaron-Mazi to see him, why didn¡¯t he ask Ysera to make Reuben meet him? Even if Jarrosus Guild of Magic used to rule Jarrosus in the past, it was the past. How would Aaron-Mazi give face to a fallen guild of magic? Furthermore, if they wanted to give face, the other party would be Gerian. How could they give any respect to a 20 years old mage?

    Of course...

    Those thoughts could only be left in Scarface¡¯s mind. He would not have the guts to say it out loud...

    ¡°Oh...¡± Scarface nodded, and brought his men away quickly.

    ¡°Mage Felic is back!¡± a 50 years old Magic Shooter shouted when he saw the three men step into the guild hall.

    This announcement created a din in the whole Emerald Tower.

    To the Emerald Tower, the name ¡®Felic¡¯ had be a legend.

    Everyone would know that this was the man who had created a hugemotion during the auction at Jarrosus, as well as in the battle at the Daylight Square. The most ignorant fe would have heard of the young talent from the Emerald Tower whose name was ¡®Felic¡¯. This ¡®Felic¡¯ stood up for Emerald Tower when it was at its weakest, and he was able to defeat the Merlin Family by himself and help the Emerald Tower take control of all the forces in Jarrosus.

    Only the people who had interacted with Lin Li and knew his true ability would know the significance of Lin Li to the Emerald Tower.

    It was this understanding that motivated them to guard theirst piece of territory in Jarrosus. They firmly believed that they would be able to ovee all adversity. They only had to endure until Felic returned to Jarrosus. Then, the Merlin Family and the Shadow¡¯s Nest would fall beneath Emerald Tower again.

    ¡°Mage Felic is back!¡± The news of Lin Li¡¯s arrival spread around really quickly. It did not take more than 10 minutes for it to be known to the entire Emerald Tower.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back!¡±

    ...

    At the same time, Scarface stood before Aaron-Mazi fearfully...

    In reality, Scarface was just an external member of the Blood Brothers. In terms of status, he had no right to meet Aaron-Mazi at all. This time, he brought the brothers to Emerald Tower due to mary rewards. He did not expect that Aaron-Mazi had such a hugework to know what had happened. It was not long after the racket at Emerald Tower that he got called to meet Aaron-Mazi.

    Then...

    ¡°Ross, I heard that you went to the Emerald Tower?¡± Aaron-Mazi asked coldly while sizing up the trembling Scarface.

    ¡°Y-yes...¡±

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    A crisp sound could be heard.

    Aaron-Mazinded a tight p on his face.

    ¡°Big Boss...¡±

    ¡°F*ck, don¡¯t call me boss! I¡¯m not qualified to be your boss...¡± Aaron-Mazi was so angry that his lungs nearly burst. He really regretted not getting of this moron earlier. What the heck, how could these fools listen to whomever gave them money? Did they think that the Emerald Tower would fall just because a fire?

    <i>Son of a b*tch...</i>

    Other people might not know the power of the Emerald Tower. But, how would Aaron-Mazi not know? Although Emerald Tower might appear to be weak now, their foundation was still extremely strong. Not to forget, the news of Gerian¡¯s death was not yet announced. That sly fatty had to be plotting some conspiracy. When he appeared again, it would be the day the Shadow¡¯s Nest repaid their debts...

    On top of that...

    Aaron-Mazi saw very clearly that although the Emerald Tower had been down for this period of time, their two loyal allies¡ªMannes Family and Saruman Family¡ªwere still very supportive of it. Why was that so? Even the knees of Aaron-Mazi would know that it would be due to their young mage at nna...

    ¡°F*ck you, scumbags! Why are you always creating trouble for me...¡± The thought of that young mage caused Aaron-Mazi to experience a huge headache. If he were to know the matter, 100 lives would not be enough for him to die...

 Chapter 281 - Allies and Comrades-In-Arms

    <h4>Chapter 281: Allies and Comrades-In-Arms</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Aaron-Mazis¡¯ expression was restless. He paced up and down in the room like a bundle of nerves. He had been in control of the Blood Brotherhood for tens of years, but he had never been as flustered as today. After fighting from the sidelines for tens of years, all had been destroyed by the blind idiot Rossi. F*ck, what was this idiot thinking? He was actually stupid enough to cause trouble at the Emerald Tower for a small sum of money. Did he really think that the Emerald Tower would bepletely destroyed after Gerian¡¯s disappearance?

    <i>It¡¯s going to be big trouble this time. Unless Gerian doesn¡¯te back... otherwise, he will definitely take revenge on the Blood Brotherhoo </i>d. At that point, there was really no ce to cry anymore. Aaron-Mazis got angrier the more he thought about it. He looked at Scarface for a long while, cursing in his mind. F*ck, could it be that this idiot was sent as a spy by some force?

    <i>No, I must think of a way...</i>

    Aaron-Mazi thought about it, and in the end, he gritted his teeth and called a few of his trusted subordinates over.

    ¡°Prepare gifts and follow me to the Emerald Tower.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°And you...¡± Aaron-Mazi pointed at Scarface, who was trembling in fear. ¡°Bring your henchmen and follow me to the Emerald Tower toply with the punishment. Staying alive or dying would depend on your luck. You idiot, you¡¯d better pray that Mage Felic has not returned yet, or else...

    ¡°Mage Felic?¡± When Scarface heard this name, his head immediately tightened. He plucked up his courage, and asked while stuttering, ¡°Boss, you... you said Mage Felic, is he a young man in his twenties, ck hair, ck eyes...

    ¡°Yes.¡± Aaron-Mazi was deciding which gifts he should bring. He did not pay any attention to what Scarface was asking, and he only nodded absent-mindedly. But after he nodded, Aaron-Mazi¡¯s eyes were suddenly wide open. He instantly grabbed Scarface¡¯s cor. ¡°You¡¯ve seen him before?¡±

    Scarface swallowed his saliva with difficulty. ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Aaron-Mazi immediately drew in a cold breath, and stood there without speaking for a while. It was like he was in a daze, and his brain only had a single thought. <i>He¡¯s back, that monster is back...</i>

    ¡°...¡± Scarface was bewildered, but he could bury his head into his shoulders, and did not dare to say anything else. He was clear that he had to have caused serious trouble, trouble serious enough to cause him to lose his life...

    This scary silence was maintained for at least ten minutes before it was broken by Aaron-Mazi¡¯s voice. He red right at Scarface, and seemed to have gritted his teeth, saying, ¡°Tell me about the situation back then. If I were to find out that you left out a single word, just wait for somebody to put you inside a gunny sack...¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Scarface swallowed his saliva with difficulty again; his whole forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat. Even if he was just a member of the outside circle of the Blood Brotherhood, he also knew what ¡°put someone inside a gunny sack¡± meant. This was the most severe punishment of the Blood Brotherhood. It was always used to deal with traitors, consisting in cing the person inside a gunny sack and then beating them into a pulp...

    Scarface knew what was the real pulp. When he first joined the Blood Brotherhood as member of the outside circle, he already witnessed a traitor being ced inside a gunny sack. Countless wooden poles were smashing into and beat him for a day. When the gunny sack was opened, there were only bits of mashed meat. There was no way to differentiate what was a shoulder or a thigh...

    Scarface wiped off the cold sweat off his forehead while recounting what happened at the Emerald Tower to Aaron-Mazi. He did not leave out a single word. Even the incantation to summon the Blood-vine Spell was recited by his mumbling voice. Although he sounded more like a chicken than reciting an incantation, at least he did not end up in a gunny sack...

    ¡°F*ck, I should make someone give you another scar on your face...¡± Aaron-Mazi just finished listening, and he gave Scarface another p. When he pointed at Scarface¡¯s nose while scolding him, he was so angry that his hand was shivering. ¡°Mage Felic wants me to go to the Emerald Tower? Such an important matter, and you actually left it unsaid till the end. F*ck, are you a human or a pig?¡±

    After saying this in a hurry, Aaron-Mazi did not even feel like bringing those trusted subordinates that he went to prepare the gifts. He just told them to inform the other leaders that were close and powerful that Mage Felic had returned. Then, he brought Scarface to the stables and the two of them found a carriage, leaving straight for the Emerald Tower.

    While sitting in the carriage, Aaron Matsis was really sweating. Luckily, this idiot Rosi was too stupid. Although he had blockaded the Emerald Tower, he did not create any disasters. Although Mage Felic had always been merciless, he was not unreasonable. As long as Aaron Matsis were to exin properly, there would be some chance...

    Scarface, who was at the side, was restless. He had joined the Blood Brotherhood for three years, and he had always been a member of the outside circle. He was usually fighting or killing at Jarrosus City in hopes of being recognized one day and entering the core ranks of the Blood Brotherhood. As for the top leader of the Blood Brotherhood, Aaron-Mazi, he was just like a legendary figure to Scarface. Even in his dreams, Scarface had never thought that there would be a day that he could actually see Aaron-Mazi with his eyes. He¡¯d also never thought that a young mage called Felic would be able to make Aaron-Mazi so frightened with just a single sentence¡ªAaron-Mazi was having cold sweat all over, and he did not even care about wearing a jacket, leaving straight for the Emerald Tower in a hurry...

    Scarface knew that when he had mentioned the name ¡°Felic¡±, that panic-stricken expression on Aaron-Mazi¡¯s face was real. What sort of person could scare Aaron-Mazi to this extent? Scarface had no clue...

    ...

    When the carriage had arrived at the gates of the Emerald Tower, the information that the Blood Brotherhood had disseminated had already spread throughout Jarrosus City.

    Among the eleven great magic families and six underground forces, all of them seemed to have just experienced an earthquake. All of the leaders that heard this news immediately had their pupils erged. That monster had really returned?

    That battle in the Aurora Square had totally crushed their confidence. They did not even have the courage to resist in the face of that young mage that was like a monster. In Jarrosus¡¯ area, the name Felic seemed to have some sort of magic to it. Even people like Ysera and Reuben were in a daze for a while when they heard this name.

    Then...

    Jarrosus City suddenly became really lively. Be it the eleven mage families or the six underground forces, they were all in motion simultaneously. Arge number of the leaders of the forces immediately got off their carriages like Aaron-Mazi when they heard this news and went straight for the Emerald Tower. The streets that were usually deserted immediately became iparably lively. A few acquainted leaders exchanged their opinions while being in a rush. Although everyone had different opinions on the details, one thing was certain¡ªanother storm was about to brew in Jarrosus City...

    ¡°What?¡± Ysera was at the family¡¯s smithy, holding a ring that he had just enchanted. When he heard this news, the ring in his hand fell andnded on the ground with a ¡°ding¡±. ¡°Mage Felic has returned?¡±

    Ysera was in a daze for a minute, and thenughed for no rhyme or reason...

    ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s great. Mage Felic is finally back!¡± Ysera quickly called a few subordinates over and gave out orders one by one. ¡°You, hurry over to the Saruman Family and tell this news to Reuben. You, bring my seal and bring a group of the family¡¯s mages, at least fifty of them. Get them to be on standby, there might be a battle at any time. As for you two, go to the family¡¯s warehouse and pick the best magical equipment, then follow me to the Emerald Tower.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After thosepetent subordinates received theirmands, they quickly went their separate ways. There was only Ysera left at the family¡¯s smithy,ughing for no apparent reason. This news that he had been waiting for a month had finally arrived, and Ysera really could not contain hisughter. This time, the Mannes Family had bet right again. When Shadow¡¯s Nest was conquering the Demon Fall Valley, the Mannes Family stood by the Guild of Magic without any hesitation. When the Shadow¡¯s Nest burned down the Emerald Tower, Mannes Family once again stood by the Guild of Magic without any hesitation. Just based on these two incidents, it was enough for the Mannes Family to no longer worry about their standing in Jarrosus City for another hundred years.

    This was the change from ally torade-in-arms. Just a different word, but it was a totally different rtionship.

    Allies were united due to benefits, butrade-in-arms stuck together in life and death.

    ...

    ¡°Felic, you are finally back...¡± There were a few elderly Magic Shooters surrounding Lin Li inside the guild hall. All of them were telling him every single detail of what had happened to the Guild of Magic during this period at the same time.

    Their ounts were rather messy, but much more detailed than Kevin¡¯s. From their mouths, Lin Li heard more details. For example, after Shadow¡¯s Nest invaded the Emerald Tower, they were even garrisoned here for a night. During that night, it was as if they turned the whole Emerald Tower inside out. It was only until after dawn broke before they set the Emerald Tower on fire. After that, they returned to the Demon Fall Valley while unting their prowess. When the members of Shadow¡¯s Nest left, they were somewhat dissatisfied. It might be because they did not find what they were looking for.

    Lin Li was listening carefully. He even threw in some questions in the middle. This conversationsted for almost half an hour. Everything that had happened to the Guild of Magic within the past two months started developing into a rough outline in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Yet at the same time, a few of the younger apprentices that had joined the Guild of Magic in thest two months were inquiring with curiosity. Their hearts were filled with curiosity and doubt. Almost everyone was asking who was this young mage called Felic, and why was it that once he returned to the Emerald Tower, he received cheers from everyone? Could it be that his status was higher than the missing President Gerian¡¯s?

    ¡°He is the pride of Emerald Tower, Mage Felic,¡± those that were asked had replied with a proud look. After that, they would patiently describe to the new apprentices the sky-high price of the potion auction, the shocking battle of Jarrosus, and at the end, they would even add, ¡°Without Mage Felic, the Emerald Tower would not be what it is today!¡±

    When these several older Magic Shooters were almost done conversing, Aaron-Mazi¡¯s carriage had also arrived at the gates of the Emerald Tower.

    Aaron-Mazi brought Scarface; they walked with their heads buried. Once Aaron-Mazi thought about this incident, he could not help but want to give another p to Scarface. <i>It¡¯s all because of this damned idiot. If it wasn¡¯t because of him doing something stupid, I would be treated like a guest no matter what once I arrived at the Emerald Tower. Why would there be a need to be like this now? I can¡¯t even lift my head up, just like a thief...</i>

    But all was well. At least Mage Felic left some orders and said that he wanted to meet Aaron-Mazi. While walking in, there were obstacles being deliberately ced in his way, or at least it could be said so. The gazes from those Magic Shooters were already ufortable enough. Once he thought about this, Aaron-Mazi could not help but curse in his mind. <i>F*ck, it¡¯s all because of that idiot Rosi. Once I return, I will definitely put him inside a gunny sack...</i>

    ¡°Good morning, Mr Mazi.¡± Lin Li saw the two of them enter the Emerald Tower from afar. After greeting them, he found a few chairs in a corner of the guild hall and invited Aaron-Mazi along with Scarface to take a seat. Honestly, this was a little rude. After all, Aaron-Mazi was the leader of the Blood Brotherhood. Based on status and position, he was no different from Gerian. When he came to visit, he should have been invited into the guest room.

    However, it was a pity. Shadow¡¯s Nest had burned the Emerald Tower. Although there was not much damage as help came in time, the guest room could not be used. They could only be inconvenienced and sit in the guild hall.

    ¡°Morning, Mage Felic. When did you return to Jarrosus? Why didn¡¯t you say anything. If I knew you were returning today, I would definitely fetch you personally...¡± Aaron-Mazi was filled with anxiety. He did not even know what he was talking about, so why would he even still care about manners? At this time, even if he were asked to sit in the toilet, he would also do it without saying anything, not to mention sitting in the guild hall.

    ¡°Haha, I came back in the afternoon.¡± Lin Liughed. He did not point out Aaron-Mazi¡¯s faulty wording. He just said a sentence as though he was talking to himself. ¡°I have been away for two months, yet Jarrosus seems to have changed a lot...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, the change is really a lot...¡± Aaron-Mazi mind was perturbed, and he did not know whether the other party¡¯s words had any hidden meanings. He could only follow the flow of the conversation.

    ¡°But I did not imagine that the change would be so huge. I remember that the old Jarrosus would not have anyone daring to block the front gate of Emerald Tower...¡± Lin Li¡¯s face had a forced smile, but his gaze fixed on Aaron-Mazi suddenly became stern.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Aaron-Mazi¡¯s head immediately tightened, and when he looked at Lin Li again, his voice was stuttering even when he spoke. ¡°Mage Felic, let... let me exin...¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s nothing to exin. If I am not mistaken, you will definitely tell me that all of it has nothing to do with you. It was this Brother Scarface¡¯s idea. How is it, Mr Mazi, am I right?¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Mr Mazi. Let¡¯s forget about this issue. You don¡¯t have to exin, and I will not investigate. Let¡¯s pretend that it never happened. After all, the Blood Brotherhood is our ally. We, the Guild of Magic, still have this much magnanimity.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Aaron-Mazi was in a daze. Beforeing to the Emerald Tower, he was thinking a lot. There were all sorts of possible results, be it good or bad, but the best result would still be being extorted. After all, the current Guild of Magic had a lot of things to be done. They needed a lot of funds to rebuild the Emerald Tower, and Aaron-Mazi had already prepared himself to agree to it as long as the terms were not too demanding.

    As for this, Aaron-Mazi had not reacted to it when he heard Lin Li say ¡°I will not investigate.¡± It was only when the words had been spoken that Aaron-Mazi be stunned.

    <i>T-t-that¡¯s... how is that possible?</i>

    Aaron-Mazi was very clear about the personality of this young mage. Back then, Cromwell had been killed by him with a single Icicle when he¡¯d caught two of his friends. What kind of luck was Aaron-Mazi enjoying? His subordinate had blocked the main gate of the Emerald Tower and announced that the Emerald Tower needed to hand over Guild of Magic, yet it could all be treated as if nothing had happened. Could it be that this young mage had suffered from some tragedy during these two months at nna, and his personality had changed so much?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous, Mr Mazi. Emerald Tower is one of the eighteen forces of Jarrosus. Maintaining the peace and harmony in Jarrosus is just a small issue. Please don¡¯t take it heart. But I have something else more important to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°Please speak your mind, Mage Felic. As long as it¡¯s something that the Blood Brotherhood can do, I, Aaron-Mazi, will definitely not reject it!¡± Such a big issue was not to be investigated, so Aaron-Mazi did not dare to make any excuses. Before Lin Li could even say what it was, he had already pounded his chest and agreed.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, Mr Mazi. I heard that around Jarrosus, there is ced called Demon Fall Valley. The scenery is beautiful, just like in a fairy tale. I¡¯ve always wanted to take a look...¡± After reaching this point, Lin Li took a pause before continuing, ¡°But it¡¯s a pity. I heard that recently, the people of Shadow¡¯s Nest had upied Demon Fall Valley andid all sorts of traps. I¡¯ve been cowardly, afraid something might happen while I¡¯m enjoying the scenery. So, I was thinking of asking Mr Mazi for help. Help me get a map of the Demon Fall Valley. It¡¯s best that those dirty traps can be found, lest something happens to me while I¡¯m enjoying the scenery...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Aaron-Mazi was dumbfounded. He had seen his fair share of shameless people, but this was the first time for him to see someone so shameless. <i>F*ck, nna has indeed changed this young mage¡¯s personality, but it was just that he has be even more shameless...</i>

 Chapter 282 - The Horn for Counterattack

    <h4>Chapter 282: The Horn for Counterattack</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This time, Aaron-Mazi really thought he was going to die. Even if the bandits of the Blood Brotherhood were second to none among therge forces of Jarrosus, they would not be able to take such suffering. The current Demon Fall Valley was not the same as the Demon Fall Valley before. Ever since it was invaded, it had been managed as a core area by the Shadow¡¯s Nest. It was heavily guarded, and there were all sorts of traps and portals. The Shadow¡¯s Nest managed the Demon Fall Valley like a metal barrel. Based on Aaron-Mazi¡¯s estimation, at least eighty percent of Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s forces were garrisoned there...

    This young mage had spoken about it too lightly, demanding the map of the Demon Fall Valley the moment he spoke. Aaron-Mazi really felt like telling him ¡°Master Felic, that is something that our brothers have to use their lives to obtain...¡±

    Of course, he only dared toin to himself. He did not have the guts to say it out loud.

    On the contrary, he had no choice but to smile. ¡°It is the Blood Brotherhood¡¯s honor to be of help to Mage Felic...¡±

    There was no choice. Who asked this Rosi to do something stupid. <i>F*ck, is the main gate of the Emerald Tower something you can block? Furthermore, of all days to block it, you had to choose this damned day, bumping into Mage Felic when he was returning to Jarrosus. Isn¡¯t this f*cking pushing the whole Blood Brotherhood into the furnace?</i>

    <i>F*ck, wait for me to return and settle the score with you slowly... </i>Thinking about this, Aaron-Mazi really felt like killing somebody. He fiercely red at Scarface, who was beside him. He had made up his mind long ago. When he returned, he would definitely let these idiots have a taste of his power.

    ¡°Then, I would have to thank Mr Mazi.¡± Lin Li only gave a delighted smile at this point.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. Mage Felic is too courteous...¡±

    The two of them were unctuously chatting when there was another sound of carriagesing from outside of the door. Lin Li turned around and looked outside of the Emerald Tower¡¯s gates with uncertainty. He saw that there were tens of luxurious carriages parked outside the gate, and there were acquaintances walking out of these carriages one by one. Ysera from the Mannes Family, Reuben from the Saruman Family, Anthony from the Rolin Family, Daphne the Thief, the boss of the ck market Old Odin, and so on... With just a nce, the leaders of all the notable forces in Jarrosus had arrived¡ªwith the exception of the Merlin Family. All of them had brought gifts, and their faces were filled with smiles, asking the apprentices on duty to let them in.

    ¡°...¡± The two young apprentices on duty at the door were terrified. Both of them had just joined the Emerald Tower in the past month. What they experienced was the toughest time for the Emerald Tower. Although they heard from some senior mages how powerful and glorious the Emerald Tower was in the old days, after being used to cold shoulders, both of their minds had already thought otherwise. They even reckoned that the so-called powerful and glorious past was just a fantasy that those senior mages came up with.

    At this point, with tens of carriages parked outside the Emerald Tower, the these two young apprentices finally believed that what the senior mages said was true. The Emerald Tower of old days had once united the whole Jarrosus.

    Looking at the names this group of people gave, all of them were like thunder piercing the ears. Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Mannes Family, the Saruman Family, and the Rolin Family. All of them were people that could shake Jarrosus with just a single tap of their feet. When they stood in front of the apprentices and respectfully informed them of their visit¡¯s goal, the two apprentices immediately had a floaty feeling.

    ¡°Mage Felic, do you want to see them?¡± The two young apprentices respectfully stood there. Their gaze towards Lin Li was filled with fanaticism and worship. That was respect and admiration from the bottom of their hearts. There was no sham or deception. To them, this young mage that was almost the same age as them and had single-handedly restored the Emerald Tower to its former glory was a living legend.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Lin Li personally invited the crowd into the guild hall. Looking at this damaged Emerald Tower suddenly having so many guests, naturally it was a long exchange of greetings. It took about half an hour before the crowd were seated as guests. The sincere and passionate exchange of regards and polite conversations made the atmosphere iparably harmonious.

    It was just that in the midst of this harmonious atmosphere, some of the leaders with better judgment started to frown...

    For example, Ysera...

    Long ago, while walking into the guild hall, Ysera had already felt that something was wrong. All the while, he had always been the sharpest leader out of the tens of forces within Jarrosus. It was as if this wealthiest man in Jarrosus in his twenties was born with a talent that could see what others could not see in a person that he had justid his eyes on. Most probably it was because of this reason that he was the first to be friendly with the Guild of Magic back then, and he was also the first to form an alliance with the Guild of Magic.

    It was just that today, Ysera suddenly felt that his sharp eyes had suddenly lost their ability.

    <i>What the hell... </i>Ysera cursed in his mind while chatting away with a face full of smiles. It was because he suddenly realized that already impossibly strong young mage had actually undergone a terrifying change in two months. If one were to say that the old Felic could make people feel that they could not go against him, then the current Felic had already reached another realm. It was like everyone was living in a different time; they could see him and hear him, but they could not touch him.

    <i>F*ck, he¡¯s at least an Archmage...</i>

    Ysera instinctively swallowed his saliva. An Archmage before his twenties. Just thinking about it gave Ysera goosebumps. When he looked at Lin Li again, his eyes were filled with fear.

    Ysera¡¯s expression wasplicated, but Lin Li was right there, talking in a jovial mood. In reality, even he did not realize that ever since he¡¯d returned to Jarrosus, he had slowly grown ustomed to this role that Gerian had. He was used to leading the Emerald Tower and jockeying for power with a crowd of leaders.

    The crowd sat in the somewhat damaged guild hall and spoke glowingly about the changes that Jarrosus had in these two months. In this time frame, naturally some of the loyal leaders were indignantly condemning the Merlin Family for taking sides with the enemy as well as Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s piging. When these leaders spoke, the rest of the crowd was in agreement. In a moment, the guild hall had a subtle atmosphere that was a shared bitter hatred for the enemy.

    Lin Li had always maintained a smile since the beginning. It looked like he really did not know that these indignant leaders did not help at all when Shadow¡¯s Nest had attacked.

    The tens of leaders of the forces stayed at the guildhall till sunset before leaving unwillingly.

    Honestly, they really wanted to stay for a few more hours if they could. This young mage¡¯s attitude was too weird. He did not mention things from the past, and he did not even state clearly his stand on future rtionships. This made the tens of leaders confused within their hearts.

    They had some sort of understanding about this young mage¡¯s personality. His methods were terrifyingly merciless. He was smiling today, but he could make moves tomorrow. Nobody knew if he would turn his back on them, and nobody knew if they could continue living in Jarrosus. The only thing they could do was to desperately repent since they did not extend their assistance earlier, when Emerald Tower was in trouble. If they had thought about the eventual oue, wouldn¡¯t they have been receiving the same treatment as Ysera and Reuben?

    When the tens of leaders of the forces had left unwillingly, Lin Li then gave a signal to Ysera and Reuben, asking them to stay.

    Ysera¡¯s mind immediately became joyful. <i>Haha, my hardwork in these two months did not go to waste. Mage Felic has finally acknowledged my status as arade-in-arms!</i>

    ¡°Take a seat, both of you.¡± The reception this time was of much higher standards. Lin Li had personally invited both of them to the second floor, and sat down in the room that he used to stay at. It might seem casual, but there was an unspeakable intimacy.

    ¡°Ok, ok, ok...¡± The two family heads looked at each other, and both saw delight in the other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I will not say too many words of gratitude, you two. I, Felic, am not somebody that is ungrateful. In the past two months, I will forever remember what you two have done for the Emerald Tower...¡±

    ¡°Felic, you are too courteous...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, this is not being courteous...¡± Lin Li shook his head, and his expression started to be serious. ¡°Ok. Both of you, the friendship between us has gone past the test of battle. As long as I, Felic, am here for a day, it also means that the Emerald Tower will be the closestrade-in-arms for the both of you. Betweenrade-in-arms, there should not be any secrets. I currently have a n, please listen and see if you can give me any suggestions.¡±

    ¡°What n?¡± When they heard this, both pricked their ears. They had known this young mage for a few months, but from the auction at the Emerald Tower to the duel in the Daylight Square, they had never seen him so serious before.

    ¡°If I can, I hope that before tomorrow¡¯s evening, I can make the Emerald Tower¡¯s Warlock¡¯s Eyes cover the entire Demon Fall Valley again!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ysera drew in a breath of cold air.

    This young family head that was in his twenties was in control of the Mannes Family, and spread the Gilded Rose¡¯s influence to the whole of the Fn Kingdom, yet even he thought that he¡¯d misheard this sentence. The only thing that appeared in his head was a question: how was this possible? To regain the Demon Fall Valley before tomorrow evening was more inconceivable than Gerian losing weight. Ysera had seen the strength of the Shadow¡¯s Nest before. Well-trained warriors and iparably superior equipment. For any force that grew perceptibly from mage, it was the most lethal enemy. Back then, with the strength of the Guild of Magic, the Shadow¡¯s Nest only needed one attack, and they managed to seize control of the Demon Fall Valley. Now, they managed the whole Demon Fall Valley like a metal barrel, so how could it be taken back just because somebody wanted to?

 Chapter 283 - Bait

    <h4>Chapter 283: Bait</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Ysera swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. He wanted to disagree, but he dared not to voice it out, because he realized the young mage seated in the chair had a serious expression¡ªYsera had never seen him so serious before. It ought to be known that back when Cromwell used a cataclysmic level-eighteen spell during the duel in the Daylight Square, this young mage only just frowned.

    Ysera immediately realized that the issue was very serious...

    <i>Mage Felic is serious. He really is going to attack the Demon Fall Valley before tomorrow evening!</i>

    Ysera rapidly shifted his body. The originally soft chair did not feelfortable anymore. This was not a joke. The current Mannes Family had been tied to this chariot, the Emerald Tower. They were bound together for good or ill. If the Emerald Tower were to fall, the Mannes Family would also be affected as well.

    <i>F*ck, what to do?</i>

    Lin Li did not know what Ysera could do; after all, he had already decided on this.

    Of course, the risk of attacking the Demon Fall Valley had already been considered by him. This issue was indeed rather troublesome. It was heavily guarded, plus there were countless traps and portals. Just a single mistake would result in death, and so, Lin Li had already thought of it. The risk for the Emerald Tower when attacking alone would be too big¡ªit would have to be divided.

    Thus, there was a warm reception in the guild hall, and the secret meeting now in the room.

    But before all of this, Gerian had to be found first.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Ysera. How¡¯s Gerian now?¡±

    As to Gerian¡¯s recent news, Ysera was full of confidence. In fact, even beforeing to the Emerald Tower, he already had it arranged. Now that he heard Lin Li¡¯s question, Ysera smiled confidently. ¡°President Gerian is now on the way back to the Emerald Tower.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, both of you.¡± Lin Li did not say much to express appreciation, but the expression on his face was unusually earnest. He even stood up and bowed towards Ysera and Reuben, who were rather startled by it. This time, he was really grateful to these two big families from the bottom of his heart. If they had not helped, Gerian would most likely have been in the hands of the Shadow¡¯s Nest now. Thinking about the old man¡¯s bad temper and the way Shadow¡¯s Nest handled matters, even an idiot knew that that would definitely end in his death.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you are too courteous...¡±

    Just as those two were overwhelmed by his special favor, there was racket heard from the guild hall. Lin Li hurriedly opened the room¡¯s door and saw a fat middle-aged man walking into the guild hall while being surrounded by a group of mages. Gerian had returned.

    Gerian did not change a single bit even though they had not met for almost two months. His figure was still round, and he still cursed and swore all the time. He had just walked into the guild hall, and was already heard scolding loudly. ¡°F*ck, hasn¡¯t that fe Felic returned, why do I not see him? Did he run away with somebody¡¯s daughter?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li could not help but roll his eyes. He scolded Gerian in his mind. <i>Is the old man that kind of person?</i>

    ¡°Felic!¡± Gerian was old, but his eyesight was rather good. Lin Li had juste down the stairs, and he had been seen by Gerian. ¡°Why are you hiding upstairs?¡±

    ¡°Of course I am discussing something, otherwise do you think I¡¯m doing embroidery?¡±

    Ysera and Reuben took this chance to take their leave. This time, Lin Li did not continue asking them to stay. He just smiled, and said, ¡°Oh, yes, Ysera. When I was in nna, I managed to get a recipe that could permanently raise mana. Its effects are much stronger than the Arcane Magic Potion¡¯s, but the herbs are hard to obtain. So, I thought of finding a way in Jarrosus. Why don¡¯t you help spread the news and say that I am finding a partner from the sixteen forces in Jarrosus to manage this potion together. If anyone is interested, they cane to the Emerald Tower tonight to talk it out.¡±

    ¡°Talk it out?¡± When Ysera heard that, his mind had a click.

    Inwardly, Ysera kept telling himself, <i>Scam, scam, scam, this is definitely a scam!</i>

    Ysera was not stupid. Everyone had discussed in the room just now that they would retake the Demon Fall Valley before tomorrow evening. With just a turn, this guy was going to toss out a recipe that was stronger than the Arcane Magic Potion. Even an idiot would know that this guy was trying to use this chance and rope in the sixteen forces of Jarrosus onto the Emerald Tower¡¯s war chariot.

    This was a trap without a doubt.

    Furthermore, it was a trap that one had to fall for. There was no choice, for this bait was too powerful. What did it mean when a recipe was stronger than the Arcane Magic Potion? It was clear just by thinking about the auction that had shaken Jarrosus. The price of thest ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion had been raised to millions of gold coins. Without even exaggerating, this was a profit that was tens of thousands of times. Even an idiot would know that it was definitely worth it to trade anything for such a profit...

    Includingmitment to attack the Demon Fall Valley!

    In an instant, Ysera could not help but be uncertain.

    To agree or not? It was a really difficult question.

    Yet at this time, Reuben, who was at his side, nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be here tonight.¡±

    After that, he left the Emerald Tower with a nk look.

    Reuben¡¯s willingness had left Ysera somewhat dazed. After that, he suddenly was enlightened. Oh yes, in his cleverness, he had overreached itself. So what if it was a trap? The current Mannes Family had long been tightly tied to the Emerald Tower. Even if there was no potion recipe and even if he did not rally to participate in this attack, would the Shadow¡¯s Nest let him off after they won? It had to be known that their spokesman in Jarrosus was the Merlin Family!

    Whether it was a trap or not, it should be left to the other forces¡¯ leaders to worry about. There was no need for people like Reuben and himself to consider it. The thing that the Mannes Family needed to do was to follow the Emerald Tower¡¯s footsteps closely. Whatever Mage Felic wanted to do, they would do as well, be it attacking the Demon Fall Valley or exterminating the Shadow¡¯s Nest. After all, there was only a chance to fall in with the Guild of Magic, and the Mannes Family had used this chance long ago.

    Funny how he had made a muddle out of this small issue. Luckily, Reuben was willing to participate!

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Ysera did not hesitate anymore.

    After seeing the carriages of those two leave, showing his seniority, Gerian praised, ¡°Not too bad, eh, kid. I haven¡¯t seen you for two months, and your ns have grown perceptibly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I almost forgot about business. How were the trial results after going to nna? Did you embarrass me?¡±

    ¡°If all goes well, people from the Supreme Council wille to Jarrosus in a while. Just ask them yourself when the timees...¡±

    ¡°Not bad, not bad...¡± Gerian smiled sheepishly before gritting his teeth, and said, ¡°When those idiots from the Supreme Councile over, I will definitely ask them if they still dare to say that Jarrosus is a magic desert...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, do you have an enemy called Darian?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen that idiot?¡±

    ¡°More than just seen him...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes, and recounted all the important parts about his experience in nna, from the obstacles deliberately ced in his way by Darian to the trap at the finals.

    Although it was meant to be the important parts only, things happened one after another on his trip to nna. How could it be summarized properly with just a few words. From the trials at the Shadowglen to the encounter at the Fire Plume Ridge, Lin Li had spent one hour describing just this segment before it was clearly reported.

    The sky was starting to get darker before the two of them started to end the conversation. Lin Li made use of the chance that Gerian was still shocked before he suddenly asked, ¡°Oh, yes. When I was at nna, I heard Kevin mention that your body¡¯s condition is really bad?¡±

    ¡°F*ck, that bastard. I already told him not to spout nonsense!¡± The issue that he had been hiding had suddenly been exposed, so Gerian immediately became angry from embarrassment. ¡°F*ck, when I see himter, I will definitely teach him a lesson...¡±

    But after he scolded Kevin, the old man sighed. ¡°But it¡¯s ok, with my current condition, I won¡¯t have the chance to teach this bastard a lesson anymore.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be disheartened. Even though Mana Copse is very troublesome, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s no solution...¡±

    ¡°You have a solution?¡± When Gerian heard that, his eyes immediately lit up.

    ¡°I have a potion recipe that can help recover mana that has copsed, but the required herbs are a little troublesome. There are some that you can onlye by with luck, but not by searching for it. I have already gotten the hardest one from Old Grimm. I will think of a way to get the others as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°What sort of herb is that powerful?¡±

    Lin Li pouted his lips. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand even if I said it. Anyway, when you have nothing to do, please keep a look out. Especially for the one called Heart Of Corrosion. It is dark red in color and about the size of a little finger. If it can be obtained, there will hope in recovering your mana.¡±

    ¡°Heart Of Corrosion? Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier...¡± When Gerian heard this, he jumped up from his seat. ¡°In the guild¡¯s store there...¡±

    Halfway through his words, Gerian took a seat softly like a deted ball. ¡°But it has been taken by the Shadow¡¯s Nest...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll just take it back...¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Easier said than done...¡± Gerian¡¯s voice was somewhat colored by frustration. ¡°F*ck, this time I really have underestimated them and lost. I really don¡¯t get it. Where did Shadow¡¯s Nest, those assholes, manage to get such good equipment?¡±

    ¡°I know where...¡±

    ¡°You know?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded his head. ¡°If I am not mistaken, it is the famous kingdom¡¯s arms dealer, the Marathon Family, that is supporting the Shadow¡¯s Nest this time.¡±

    ¡°The Marathon Family? You¡¯re talking about Wilhelm, that old asshole? As expected, it is this damned shameless, unscrupulous merchant. He actually messed with me for a made-up treasure map. F*ck, I hope that his son does not have an anus...¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and smiled guiltily. ¡°Whether or not his son has an anus, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I identally killed his son in the finals.¡±

    ¡°F*CK!¡± Gerian was immediately dumbfounded.

 Chapter 284 - Arcana Potion

    <h4>Chapter 284: Arcana Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sky started to get dark, and the sound of hooves could again be hearding from outside the Emerald Tower. More than ten luxurious carriages were parked there, and when their passengers came out, everyone had questions on their minds. What was Mage Felic doing? Finding a partner was not something disgraceful, but why didn¡¯t he say so earlier, only to make Ysera ask them over after they had gone back?

    ¡°Wee, wee...¡± Lin Li was filled with smiles while inviting the crowd into the Emerald Tower. He pretended not to hear the doubts that were being circted around them. There was no choice. In this world, there were things that could not be said out loud, just like how it was now. Lin Li could not possibly tell them that there was no reason to make them travel back and forth other than to whet their appetite...

    But then again, a little bit of doubt would not affect the mood of the crowd. In fact, nobody took this uncertainty to heart. Compared to astronomical profits, what could this little uncertainty amount to? When they walked into the Emerald Tower one by one, the gaze they directed towards Lin Li was as though they were looking at a gold mine.

    This was a trade that had tens of thousands times of profit waiting for them.

    The people present had personally experienced the auction back then. How could they not know how mystical the potions made by this young mage were? That was a true touch of Midas. No matter howmon the herbs were, once they reached his hands, they would turn into valuable potions. To be able to be a partner of Mage Felic was a rare opportunity. The crowd believed that even if it was a ten percent profit, it would definitely be a terrifyingly astronomical number.

    Thinking about this, the gazes they aimed at Lin Li immediately became warm and cordial.

    For this group of leaders, wealth was of extraordinary significance. With money, there would be manpower. With money, there would be equipment. With money, there would be power. It was especially so for such a chaotic ce like Jarrosus. As long as there was enough wealth, then they could stand out among the rest of the forces.

    Why was the Emerald Tower able to unite Jarrosus City? Other than the miracle of this young mage and the fame of Gerian, the three rare mineral veins at the Demon Fall Valley were indispensable. Without those three rare mineral veins to supply substantial wealth, it would still be useless even with the miracles of that young mage or no matter how famous Gerian was. As the saying goes, you can¡¯t make bricks without straw. Without money, who would be willing to join the Emerald Tower?

    ¡°Good evening, everyone. I actually invited everyone again because I suddenly remembered something, and wanted to discuss it with everyone...¡± After seating all of the leaders at the guildhall and getting the apprentices to serve drinks, Lin Li finally spoke without omitting any details. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte, so I will make it short. Simply put, I did not get anything in return when I went to nna. I was rather lucky and found a rather good potion recipe in the ruins of the High Elves. I heard from experienced people that this potion recipe seemed to be left behind by the Highlord, Osric...¡±

    In order to boost the attractiveness of this recipe, Lin Li even intentionally made a small lie and used the famed name, Osric. But honestly, this was rather superfluous...

    Osric was famous, but he was somebody from one thousand and three hundred years ago. Everything about him only existed in legends. Although the potion recipes he had passed down were full of mysteries, it was only just that. Nobody had seen it for themselves. In contrast, it was iparable to Lin Li¡¯s persuasion. After all, everyone had seen it for themselves back at the auction where ten bottles of Arcane Magic Potion were sold for eight hundred thousand gold coins...

    But it did not matter anymore. No matter where this recipe came from, it only mattered that this potion was concocted personally by Mage Felic. Just this point alone was enough for these leaders to fight for it with everything they got. Their only concern now was the effect of this recipe. Hence, the leaders simultaneously pricked up their ears with a face full of anticipation to hear him continue when his voice had just fallen...

    ¡°The Arcana Potion is recorded within this recipe. The theory involved is ratherplicated, so I will not talk about it. But in simple terms, this is a stronger version of the Arcane Magic Potion...¡± Lin Li had seen that their appetites had been whetted enough. He smiled, and said, ¡°As everyone knows, the Arcane Magic Potion is able to raise the mana of a mage apprentice. Normally, when a level-four apprentice uses it, there is at least a seventy percent chance for him to break through to level-five and be a true mage. However, it has no effect at all on mages at level-five and above. But it¡¯s different for the Arcana Potion. It¡¯s specially made for mages below level-ten...¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice had just fallen off, and Ysera had already covered his mouth. He simply could not believe what he just heard. <i>If all of it is true, doesn¡¯t that mean that Mage Felic has the ability to train batches of Magic Shooters?</i>

    The difference of one level between level-nine and level-ten was immeasurably vast. Out of a hundred mage apprentices, most likely eighty of them could be mages, but out of a hundred mages who used arcane magic potion, at most ten could be Magic Shooters. This really was a difference between heaven and hearth. It was just a small gap, but it had already decided the difference in price for these two potions that had simr effects. If the price of the Arcane Magic Potion was one copper, then the Arcana Potion would worth one gold coin, or even one diamond!

    This time, even Gerian could not help but be stunned. The guild hall was eerily silent. There were only thumping hearts and heavy breathing. Everyone was trying to think what kind of price they would have to pay in order to obtain the dealership of the Arcana Potion.

    ¡°Seems like everyone is rather interested in the Arcana Potion...¡± Lin Li was satisfied with the reaction of the crowd.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡± The leaders of the ten, twenty forces fought to be the first one to nod. Everyone wanted to hug this young mage¡¯s leg and shout, ¡°What rather interested, we REALLY are!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, this business should be able to work out...¡± Lin Li smiled satisfyingly. Closely after, he then frowned. ¡°But, there is a small issue..¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone¡¯s expressions immediately froze. All of them stretched their necks and pricked up their ears, fearing they might miss out on something.

    ¡°This Arcana Potion requiresrge amounts of Warlock Herb, and it has to be freshly plucked. Once it has left the soil for an hour, its medicinal properties will change, and then it can no longer be used for the Arcana Potion. Can everyone think where in Jarrosus can the Warlock Herb be harvested and transported here within an hour?¡±

    Lin Li finished speaking with a troubled look. Gerian almost could not hold back hisughter. This kid was really up to no good. He was gleefully talking for a while, and his final motive was to make the other forces cannon fodder...

    Of course, with Gerian¡¯s shrewdness, he naturally did not expose it.

    Everyone sat there and thought hard for a while before Ysera broke the silence. ¡°If I remember correctly, the Demon Fall Valley should be the ce that produces Warlock Herb...¡±

    ¡°Demon Fall Valley. No, no, that ce won¡¯t do. It¡¯s too dangerous. We only seek wealth when doing business. There¡¯s no need to get into conflict with the Shadow¡¯s Nest, those ruffians...¡± Lin Li hypocritically spoke till this point, and brazenly added, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this. Let¡¯s wait for three to seven years. Wait for us, the Emerald Tower, to take back the Demon Fall Valley, and then we¡¯ll resume our talk about the partnership?

    ¡°...¡± Ysera almost vomited blood. He had always thought that he himself was shameless enough, but he did not think that he was nothing much in front of this young mage. He was obviously trying to drag the sixteen forces of Jarrosus along, yet he still hypocritically said something like ¡°no no, it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± F*ck, he even dared to say something so shameless like waiting for three to seven years. Why didn¡¯t he say that they¡¯d wait for Shadow¡¯s Nest to leave first?

    It was not just Ysera that was cursing wildly in the heart. At this time, at least eight out of the sixteen leaders were cursing in their minds. From their perspective, this was an obvious trap, and it was the type that would make people willingly jump into it. With therge incentive hanging in front, wouldn¡¯t you want to take it...

    The temptation of the Arcana Potion was too dangerous. There was nobody present that could resist it, including Ysera. At the point when Lin Li¡¯s voice fell, almost everyone had a decision¡ªtake!

    Furthermore, they were fighting to be first!

    ¡°How would do this work!¡± The first that stood up was Aaron-Mazi. ¡°The whole Jarrosus knows that the Demon Fall Valley belongs to the Emerald Tower. On what basis can those bandits from the Shadow¡¯s Nest upy the Demon Fall Valley? Mage Felic, don¡¯t worry. As long as the Emerald Tower decides to take back the Demon Fall Valley, the Blood Brotherhood would assist without holding back any time. For the pride of Jarrosus and for the friendship between our two families that goes way back, we, the Blood Brotherhood, will give it our all!¡±

    ¡°Well said!¡± The head of the Rolin Family also stood up. His face was filled with righteous indignation. ¡°Mage Felic, as long as you say it, the Rolin Family will be able to send out a hundred mages. If you are to attack the Demon Fall Valley, don¡¯t forget about the Rolin Family!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness.¡± Lin Li smiled, and did not say much. He was very clear what this guy was trying to say. <i>When the Arcana Potion has been concocted, don¡¯t forget about the Rolin Family!</i>

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, Mage Felic. Don¡¯t forget about me, Old Odin!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, and us too...¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic, actually I can do it too!¡±

    Aaron-Mazi got the ball rolling, and the sound of the responses from the guild hall had a rippling effect. In an instant, the quiet guild hall had suddenly be very lively.

    Ysera looked at those leaders that were fighting to be first, and then he looked at the young mage, who was full of smiles. In the end, he could not resist the temptation of the Arcana Potion, and he also stood up in haste. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, there is also us, the Mannes Family!¡±

 Chapter 285 - Simple and Crude

    <h4>Chapter 285: Simple and Crude</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Under the temptation of the Arcana Potion, the crowd did not even put up a proper resistance. They just announced their defeat. It took less than thirty minutes, and the effects were terrifying. As for the plea that Lin Li had long prepared, it was not even used at all...

    After the thoughts of the seventeen forces were united, all that was left were the details. For example, when they would attack, their roles once the attackmenced, how the rewards would be split, or how the decision which family ended up with the Arcana Potion would be made. All in all, these were all negotiations with the stink of money.

    Lin Li was never good at negotiations, so he tactfully passed on the topic to Gerian, and retreated back into the pharmaceuticalb long ago.

    As to why he hid inside the pharmaceuticalb, it was not because he wanted to sell it after creating a hype. It was not that he did not want to meddle around after concocting the Arcana Potion¡ªit was because he could not. This thing, frankly speaking, was just a bait. It relied too heavily on the Warlock Herb, and there was a need to assure the freshness of the Warlock Herb. Before they took back the Demon Fall Valley, Lin Li could only watch even though he had the standards of a pharmaceutics guru...

    The thing he had to concoct now was some low-level potions, just like what he¡¯d done before he left Jarrosus back then.

    Actually, most of the time, potions were the same as spells. The lower the level, the moremonly they were used.

    Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and took out herbs that he had prepared long ago. He then set up the crucible and lit a me. After that, he worked monotonously while being loaded down with trivial details...

    Lin Li was busy all the way until the sky started to break into dawn before he rubbed his sore neck, and walked out of the pharmaceuticalb.

    Gerian was standing at the door for a while by then. When he saw Lin Lie out, he asked with concern, ¡°Another sleepless night?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Lin Li yawned; his voice exposed the exhaustion that could not be concealed. He raised one finger, pointing at the desk that was filled with ss bottles. ¡°These potions were prepared by me yesterday. Distribute themter. I am really tired now, and need to find a ce to lie down. Just call me when it¡¯s time to leave.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    Lin Li was woken up by the knocking on the door.

    When he opened the door, he saw Gerian¡¯s fat face.

    ¡°How¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°Waiting for you.¡±

    Lin Li knew that time was limited, so he did not pack much. He just picked up the Aether Staff that was at the bed and wore the Rune Robe before he left the Emerald Tower in hurry with Gerian.

    This time, the Emerald Tower had departed in full force. Other than apprentices, all mages that were level-five and above were ready forbat. When they exited the main gate of the Emerald Tower, Lin Li could clearly see almost two hundred robed mages loading the carriages continuously. They went in the direction of the Demon Fall Valley, apanied by dust and smoke.

    It was almost at the same time that there was the sound of hooves clopping suddenlying from Jarrosus City. There were countless carriages driving through the streets. Everyone that saw this exceedingly great scene could not help but open their mouths. They could not believe what they had just seen. The insignia on each of these carriages were representing the greatest sixteen forces of Jarrosus, from the six mage families to the six underground forces. These titans that would shed blood whenever they met usually had actuallye together today to take action...

    The news seemed to have grown wings, and had quickly spread all over Jarrosus.

    Before the carriages could leave the city gates, discussions had already been started within Jarrosus City. Everyone was guessing what was the reason that brought these sixteen forces together and what was the power that could cause them to ignore their differences that had been umted for hundreds of years?

    Could it be the Emerald Tower?

    This unexpected guess scared many people so much that they broke out in a cold sweat.

    It was especially so for the ones from the Merlin Family.

    Evan Merlin¡¯s face was filled with anxiety. He paced around the living room for more than ten rounds before he gritted his teeth and called over a trusted subordinate, whispering a few orders into his ear...

    At this time, the carriages had already left Jarrosus, and kicked up a plume of dust on the smooth highway.

    The carriages from the Mannes Family were always the most luxurious and spacious. Despite an Aaron-Mazi that suddenly squeezed in, it actually did not feel cramped. As for why Aaron-Mazi did not sit in his own carriage and insisted on squeezing in with Ysera, he actually had his own troubles. There was no choice. Who told him to have a subordinate that was so stupid that he blocked the Emerald Tower of all ces. Furthermore, he had to do it in front of Mage Felic...

    Thinking about this incident, Aaron-Mazi could not help but break out in a cold sweat.

    While Mage Felic had already said that he would no longer investigate this issue, Aaron-Mazi was still worried. After all, Aaron-Mazi had seen Mage Felic¡¯s approach before. If he really were to have a grudge against the Blood Brotherhood, Aaron-Mazi would not be able to live in peace at Jarrosus anymore.

    Aaron-Mazi thought about it, and decided to discuss it with Ysera. There was no choice. In the whole Jarrosus, only Ysera could say a thing or two to Mage Felic...

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to help you exin it, but as for whether Mage Felic is willing to forgive you, that I dare not intervene with...¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you...¡±

    Ysera hesitated for a moment. ¡°Actually, you asked me to help you exin it, but why don¡¯t you do a good job? Mage Felic¡¯s vision is more sensitive than anyone can ever imagine. Completing the task he gave you is a hundred times better than me helping you to exin a hundred times...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± Once Aaron-Mazi heard this, he immediately understood. <i>Oh, yes, why didn¡¯t I think of it from the start? Mage Felic has already given me a chance. As long as I am able to find out the actual situation of the Demon Fall Valley, won¡¯t that be better than any exnations?</i>

    <i>That¡¯s right, I¡¯ll do that...</i>

    When Aaron-Mazi thought about this, he could no longer restrain his excitement. He hurriedly asked Ysera to stop the carriage, and called over his trusted subordinates that were following behind.

    ¡°Spread my orders. All of the bandits in Blood Brotherhood will have to think of a way to sneak into the Demon Fall Valley. Get a clear read on the current situation within the shortest time. Remember, even if it¡¯s a magical beast¡¯s dung, you will have to find out how fresh it is!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After seeing off his trusted subordinates, Aaron-Mazi then got into the Mannes Family¡¯s carriage again.

    ¡°Leader Ysera, I really have to thank you this time, no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Ysera onlyughed, and did not say much. For him, this was just a favor done at little cost. If it was thest time, Ysera would definitely not tell Aaron-Mazi what to do. The reason was simple. It was because everyone resided in Jarrosus City, and they all cast greedy eyes on the throne of number one force in Jarrosus. But now, all of that did not matter. The existence of the Emerald Tower had long crushed their hopes. What they needed to worry about now was not standing out from among the other forces, but maintaining a good rtionship with the Emerald Tower. This was the first condition for whether a force could continue surviving in Jarrosus City.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Leader Ysera...¡± Aaron-Mazi hesitated for a moment before asking Ysera with uncertainty, ¡°Do you have any idea why Mage Felic chose this time to attack the Demon Fall Valley?¡±

    ¡°Is there an issue with this timing?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Aaron-Mazi carefully thought over his words. ¡°You see, now it¡¯s broad daylight. We have so many people going towards the Demon Fall Valley, so wouldn¡¯t it give Shadow¡¯s Nest time to prepare?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unimportant whether they have time to prepare...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ...

    Aaron-Mazi definitely would not be able to imagine that at this time, Gerian was also asking the same question in the Emerald Tower¡¯s carriage.

    ¡°Let me say, what are you thinking this time?¡± Gerian sat in the carriage. His fat and bby body shifted around with unease. ¡°Of all times to attack, why did you choose this time, going over in broad daylight? Isn¡¯t this the same as telling those a*sholes from Shadow¡¯s Nest ¡®I¡¯ming, you¡¯d better prepare for it!¡¯?¡±

    ¡°This question of yours is really too ignorant...¡± Lin Li was leaning on the carriage¡¯s wall and shutting his eyes. When he heard Gerian¡¯s question, he did not even open his eyes. He just lifelessly replied, ¡°If they want to prepare, then let them...¡±

    ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re so arrogant. Be careful not to lose out!¡±

    ¡°Fine, then. Let us make an assumption, President. Let¡¯s say we are all bandits that are good at being stealthy and hiding. Let¡¯s say we depart in the middle of the night. Let¡¯s say we have already sneaked into the Demon Fall Valley before anyone notices us. Then, President, could you tell me what we can do at that time?¡±

    ¡°What can we do? Of course we sneak an attack on them!¡± Gerian answered in ordance with what was right.

    ¡°President, please be mindful. Out of the 1000 people here today, at least 900 of them are mages. How can weunch a sneak attack on them?¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°Additionally, don¡¯t forget that the main attack power of the Shadow¡¯s Nestes from bandits that are good at being stealthy and hiding. If we really were to attack in the middle of the night, I wonder who would be sneaking an attack on whom. The reason why I chose this timing is to cripple their advantage by thergest degree possible. I don¡¯t believe that the bandits of the Shadow¡¯s Nest are able to stab anyone in the back in broad daylight¡ªno matter how strong they are...¡±

    ¡°After listening to your exnation, it seems to make some sense...¡±

    ¡°What makes <i>some </i>sense? It makes <i>a lot </i>of sense, okay? Anyhow, just rest peacefully. Once we¡¯ve reached the Demon Fall Valley, we¡¯ll bombard it with magic. When the Demon Fall Valley has been ttened by the bombardment, the battle will end!¡± Lin Li¡¯s simple words had decided this battle¡¯s simple and crude tone.

 Chapter 286 - Enemy Attack

    <h4>Chapter 286: Enemy Attack</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Demon Fall Valley was situated in between Jarrosus and the Forest of Whispers. Heading north along the highwaying out of Jarrosus for over forty minutes, a short forest could be seen. Following the border of this short forest and heading forward for a few kilometers, the beautiful and bountiful valley could be seen...

    It was just that the owner of the Demon Fall Valley had currently changed from the Emerald Tower to the Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    Under the winding mountain range and in between the luscious greenery, there was a motley in of tan. Breathing and shouting were continuously heard from the mountain caves. This was apanied by the monotonous ¡°dang, dang, dang¡± sounds, adding a tinge of cruelty to the Demon Fall Valley. There were ore cartsing out from the caves¡¯ entrances asionally, and the carts were filled with a dense and heavy load of ck-colored ore. Even though the Fn Kingdom was the least advanced in regard to mining technology, this was still the most primitive form, where humans were pushing carts to transport the ore.

    ¡°Hurry, you damnzy pigs. You only know how to eat and bezy. Isn¡¯t food that costs 5 copper enough to keep you full for the whole day? You still move so slowly while pulling carts with so little ore. Do you want me to use a whip to wake you up?¡± There were a few supervisors walking around the caves¡¯ entrances; the whips in their hands danced, giving off cracks. They were the lowest-ranking members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest. It was only natural that they did not getfortable tents or have a rxing patrol duty. Those were the privileges of the core members. Low-ranking members that had only joined for less than three years like them could only apany the ves under the zing sun. The only privilege they had was only to use the leather whips in their hands.

    The emaciated ves moved the carts strenuously, dripping their sweat all over the luscious grass. In a further ce, there were a few simple and crude furnaces that were set up temporarily. The order they had received was to refine as much mithril ore into mithril ingots as possible within the shortest time.

    Ronald was forty-five years old this year. His early life of exile had caused him to lose an eye, but Ronald never regretted it once. It was because he had traded this eye for the control of the whole Shadow¡¯s Nest. The current him now stood on top a sentry tower, using his remaining eye to overlook the whole Demon Fall Valley. Under the torture of the zing sun and leather whips, there were ves copsing at the side asionally. Some struggled and stood up, while some never got back up again. Ronald watched everything coldly. For him, ves were merely expendable goods. Their value could not even bepared to a refined mithril ingot¡¯s. The only issue was that if too many ves died, it¡¯d disrupt the mining process.

    ¡°The output recently is not up to standard. I think we have to purchase another batch of ves. Yes, the number of supervisors would have to increase as well. These good-for-nothings are toozy, they need more whips to greet them...¡± Although he wasining, his tone carried a sense of pride that could not be concealed.

    It was hard to me Ronald for being proud...

    Ten years ago, he had developed his wild ambitions within the Shadow¡¯s Nest, but his ambition was hampered by barrennds. It wasn¡¯t until two months ago, when the Demon Fall Valley had been taken over, that he finally obtained sufficient capital. The enormous yield of the mithril ore had brought about a terrifying advantage for the Shadow¡¯s Nest. Probably not longter, he would be able to have an elite force armed to their teeth. When it reached that point, what could Jarrosus amount to? <i>My wild ambition is to spread Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s influence throughout the whole Fn Kingdom. Even His Majesty would have to hand over protection fee if he were to venture into my area of influence...</i>

    ¡°Ronald, don¡¯t count your chickens before they hatch. The real danger has yet to arrive. You need to prepare for battle...¡± The one standing behind Ronald was an old man with a frail voice. He was wearing a ck robe, and his hood was pulled over. His face was thoroughly serious, and it was only under the shadow of the hood that his eyes had a sharp gleam to them...

    ¡°Haha, you are too careful, my old friend...¡± Ronald¡¯sughter spread far and wide. His only eye was filled withcency. ¡°If it was the Emerald Tower from two months ago, I might worry for a bit. But now, they no longer have this right. Gerian is just a piece of trash now. When we burned the Emerald Tower, he did not even dare to emerge from his shell. Do you know, my old friend, that that fatty is afraid now? Haha, he is afraid now. He is afraid of Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s strength, and he is even more afraid of our powerful ally!¡±

    ¡°Gerian is not the only mage in the Emerald Tower...¡±

    ¡°Mage? Are you joking? My old friend, didn¡¯t you always tell me that in the world of magic, level is everything? An Archmage can easily kill tens of Magic Shooters. Now that we, Shadow¡¯s Nest, have you, an Archmage, other than Gerian fully recovering his powers, who else in the Emerald Tower can be your opponent?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, Gerian? So what if he recovers his powers... He is not the one I¡¯m worried about...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ronald could not help but be afraid for a while. His only eye was filled with shock. ¡°Could it be that there¡¯s another Archmage in the Emerald Tower other than Gerian? My old friend, don¡¯t joke with me. If there had been such a person, then wouldn¡¯t we have been unable to take over the Demon Fall Valley?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if that person is an Archmage, but there is one thing I am sure of. If that person had been around when we attacked the Demon Fall Valley, then even if we were able to take over the Demon Fall Valley, we would have paid a very heavy price...¡±

    ¡°There is really such a person?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    The old man¡¯s voice was very soft, but Ronald always felt that this old friend of his sounded very ghastly for some unknown reason.

    ¡°His name is Felic.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± When the ghastly voice was heard, Ronald had a shock. After that, he suddenlyughed loudly. ¡°Hahaha... Oh my God. I was wondering whom you were talking about. So the person you were talking about is that pharmacist from the Emerald Tower? Stop joking. Indeed, my old friend, I admit that that pharmacist is powerful. He is able to concoct the Arcane Magic Potion and Wild Elixir at such a young age. But so what? He is only twenty years old. Even if he were to study magic from the day he was born, he only has the power of a Magic Shooter now at best. With your powers, you can turn him into ashes just by moving your fingers. Let me say this: what is wrong with you recently? You be timid after encountering some obstacles. Even a twenty-year-old kid makes you scared...¡±

    Ronald¡¯s words were very rude, especially so for thatst sentence. It was tant derision, but the old man seemed not have heard it. His eyes just stared into the mountain range in the distance. After a long pause, he finally let out a soft sight. ¡°Ronald, you have never seen that Felic before. You have no idea how terrifying he is. If it was any other Magic Shooter, I would probably tell you ¡®no problem, he is not my match¡¯, but this Felic is really different. I am not confident... I really do not have any confidence at all.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The old man suddenlyughed, but thisughter was indeed a little miserable. It was hoarse and heavy, just like the sound produced when two shards of ss were rubbed against each other. ¡°Do you know that when this Felic was only level-eight, he could already resist my mental strength suppression... Do you dare believe it? A level-eight mage resisting an Archmage¡¯s mental suppression. Ronald, you haven¡¯t seen it before, so you won¡¯t be able to imagine how terrifying he is...¡±

    ¡°Say no more!¡± Maybe it was because the old man¡¯s words were too direct, but Ronald¡¯s voice was rather rude. He gripped the sides of the sentry tower, and his gaze fell upon the continuous chain of mountains. Over there was the only entrance to the Demon Fall Valley. ¡°If it really is as you said, that Felic can go against an Archmage, what of it? Could it be that you think that the Emerald Tower still has the guts toe to the Demon Fall Valley again? Could it be that you think that they really have the ability to take back the Demon Fall Valley? Its not that I, Ronald, am boasting. If the Emerald Tower really dares toe to the Demon Fall Valley again, I would eat up this sentry tower¡ª f*ck!¡±

    Ronald¡¯s voice had not even fallen when his gaze suddenly froze. After that, a chain of vulgarities was spewed by him.

    It was because he clearly saw that there was a cloud of dust in the continuous chain of mountains in the distance. Based on years of experience, Ronald could tell with one look that this was a battalion with more than a thousand men. <i>F*ck, this really is like seeing a ghost. A battalion with more than a thousand mening over to the Demon Fall Valley? Could it be that they did not know that this ce belongs to our Shadow¡¯s Nest, and barging in without an invitation equates to deration of war?</i>

    ¡°Could it be the Emerald Tower?¡± This thought had just appeared in his mind, but Ronald had already denied it. Of course, this was not because he wanted to eat up the sentry tower, but because he believed that the Emerald Tower could not rally so many people. Even by thinking with his feet, he knew this terrifying number was definitely not something that the Emerald Tower could gather...

    Not a single force in the whole Jarrosus could summon so many men, not to mention the Emerald Tower.

    Unless they came together...

    A thousand thoughts appeared in Ronald¡¯s mind. He already did not bother trying to think which one was the most possible one. He hastily reached out with his hand into his clothes, and pulled out a magic beacon. At the same time, he pulled the fuse of the magic signal. Afterwards, a red re shot into the sky.

    ¡°Bang!¡± The red re exploded in the air. In an instant, dazzling red light covered half of the Demon Fall Valley.

    ¡°Enemy attack, enemy attack! Come out, all of you bastards! Prepare for battle!¡± Ronald hoarse shouting spread far and wide from the sentry tower. Arge number of the members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest came out from their tents continuously. All their faces were filled with confusion. There were even people mumbling, ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s broad daylight. Attack my a*s...¡±

    After that, they saw the brilliant red re.

 Chapter 287 - Young and Old Archmage

    <h4>Chapter 287: Young and Old Archmage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°BOOM!¡± The loud sound was like a bomb that exploded above Ronald¡¯s head. At that moment, Ronald really felt like his head had been bombed. That feeling was like arge and invisible hand had grabbed onto his heart and squeezed tightly. After that, it was like a surge of cold air came from beneath his feet...

    There were res all over the sky. Coupled with the searing heat, they made it feel like a gue was surging towards the guard towers. The power of the ming Storm was the most incisive at this point. Ronald was only stunned for a moment, and the sky full of res already surged towards him. When he realized it, and tried to retreat, it was already toote. He could but watch as the res swallowed the guard tower.

    In that second, Ronald seemed to have heard a hasty chanting. After that, the old man behind him raised his magic staff, and therge gem embedded at the top instantly gave of a dazzling light. In the blink of an eye, a gale swept past. When these two magical forces collided, even space seemed to have been distorted. While the gale swept past and the zing mes let up for a moment, the old man seized the chance to grab Ronald¡¯s cor.

    ¡°Jump!¡±

    The two of them seemed to have jumped off the guard tower at the same time. The old man hastily chanted while he was midair. With the support of the Levitation Spell, the two of themnded softly on the ground like leaves.

    Ronald was a level-fifteen warrior. After the initial shock, he quickly regainedposure a high-level warrior should have. When his feet had justnded on the ground, his crimson red Combat Energy had started to spread. It protected himself and the old man behind him. With the sky full of roaring res, they could no longer take a step forward.

    ¡°It really is him!¡± The old man did not mention any names, but Ronald knew that ¡°him¡± referred to the Emerald Tower¡¯s Felic.

    ¡°What... What do we do?¡± After thinking about the danger just now, Ronald could not help but break out in a cold sweat. This time, he really did not dare not to trust what the old man said. Ronald swallowed his saliva with difficulty. The gaze from his only eye showed that he was panic-stricken.

    ¡°Gather up the forces. We must counterattack as soon as possible. I will try my best to buy you time.¡± After the old man said that, another hasty recitation was heard. With the support of the Levitation Spell, he was like a ck arrow, flying towards that chain of mountains.

    Lin Li stood at spacious t ground. He observed the Demon Fall Valley while hastily reciting. At his back, there were at least a hundred mages gathered. Furthermore, there were countless mages wearing robes in a location further away. They rushed over one by one. At this time, the majority of them were looking at this twenty years old young mage with fear.

    Almost all of the mages in Jarrosus hade here this time. Other than the members of the Emerald Tower, there were at least five hundred men that were deployed by the forces of Jarrosus. Within the past few months, they more or less heard from their own leaders that there was a genius in the Emerald Tower. A genuine genius. His talent was unsurpassed, and his strength was immense. At the same time, he had a deep knowledge of pharmaceutics. Almost every praise could be used describing this genius. It was especially so for those like Ysera that knew well how powerful Lin Li was. They gave out warnings repeatedly before setting off. <i>Don¡¯t ever go against the words of Mage Felic or question Mage Felic¡¯s decisions. Otherwise, even the Magick Potion may not save you...</i>

    After the repeated warnings, the name ¡°Felic¡± had long been etched deep inside everyone¡¯s minds. It could be said that none of the hundreds of mages present were strangers to the name ¡°Felic¡±. Other than a lucky few, almost nobody had seen him take action with their own eyes. For most of the mages, everything were just rumors.

    Those that were more timid had maintained a peculiar reverence for him from the start, viewing him as though he was a demon from the Abyss. Those that were braver had thought otherwise. They had always felt that no matter how powerful this Felic was, he was just an overrated young genius...

    But now, be it those braver or those more timid, they had a thorough understanding of the prowess of this young mage. There was iparable strength and violence. In just that short instant, he had already cast almost ten ming Storms. The casting speed was fast, and the execution was powerful. It was simply terrifying...

    Almost all of the mages could not tolerate it, and swallow their saliva. They used a gaze normally designated to view monsters as they stared at that young mage who was reciting incantations. All of them could not help but mumble to themselves, ¡°Is this something a f*cking human can do? Could it be that this guy¡¯s a magical beast that¡¯s wearing human skin?¡±

    ¡°Weird, why is this guy so familiar?¡± After Lin Li had released the tenth ming Storm, he took a breather. After that, he saw that there was a familiar silhouette flying from afar. Lin Li could not help but feel uncertain. He pointed at the familiar silhouette flying over to him and inquired Gerian, who was beside him.

    Gerian wasughing while watching Lin Li cast spells. Each time a ming Storm was cast, Gerian¡¯s smile would get more sheepish. When the tenth ming Storm was released, the fatty had already turned around and looked at the leaders of the 16 forces with a gaze that was up to no good. The meaning behind his gaze was just too obvious. <i>Take a look, just take a look. This is the pride of the Emerald Tower. All you of trash actually dared to be arrogant when the Emerald Tower was down and out. Do you want to end up like Shadow¡¯s Nest?</i>

    Nobody wanted to...

    So, the leaders of the 16 forces buried their heads. Nobody dared to look at Gerian. It was not a joke. To look straight at this fatty at this time? What if he took it as a challenge? This damned fatty was still gullible, but what if Mage Felic took it seriously?

    After scanning through the faces of the leaders of the 16 forces, Gerian finally gave a satisfied smile, but he only smiled midway when he heard Lin Li¡¯s voice from the side. After that, Gerian¡¯s smile suddenly froze. ¡°F*ck, that¡¯s Old Merlin!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Lin Li had a shock, and looked at the silhouette flying fast in the sky. The more he looked, the more familiar it was. It was the same magical wave, and the same figure. The only thing that was different would be that he seemed to be more frail aspared to back then in Jarrosus. But, the magical wave being emitted from his body seemed to be stronger than before..

    ¡°It really is Old Merlin...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I have fought with Old Merlin for decades. Even if he were to turn into ashes, I would still recognize this old man...¡± Gerian finished his rambling, and then started to frown. ¡°F*ck, this old man. I knew that he wouldn¡¯t disappear so easily. As expected, this old man had actually teamed up with the Shadow¡¯s Nest. I told you so¡ªwhere else could that idiot, Evan, get such balls. He knew that he could not afford to offend the Emerald Tower, but he actually dared to go against me every time. So, it was actually this old man pulling the strings behind the scenes...¡±

    This time, Gerian was really troubled.

    Old Merlin was one of the strongest mages in Jarrosus. Even if it was Gerian with his full powers, he had not been able to ovee this old man after fighting for tens of years. The only time he won was when he relied on the Awakening Potion that Felic gave him.

    ¡°F*ck, this time, it really is going to be troublesome. My mana has copsed, where do we find an Archmage to take him out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to him...¡±

    ¡°What are you going to talk to him about¡ª¡± Gerian had not finished speaking when the expression on his face froze. He stood there with a dazed look; his mouth was wide open as though he had seen a mouse rape an elephant. ¡°F*ck, what the hell. Bastard, when did you break through to the Archmage realm? Why is it that I did not know of it...¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me, either...¡± Lin Li dropped that sentence, and flew over towards Old Merlin with the support of the Levitation Spell.

    ¡°F*ck, this bastard is getting more and more out of hand. He actually hid it from me...¡± Gerian¡¯s tone was anguished, but his fat face was already smiling jovially. This was truly a surprise within a surprise. No matter how well informed he was, he would never imagine that this kid had already broken through to the Archmage realm after going to nna for two months...

    ¡°He really is an Archmage...¡± Ysera had swallowed his saliva. Yesterday, back at the Emerald Tower, he had already faintly felt it, but he just did not dare to believe it. Now, he had seen it with his own eyes. Ysera had no choice but to admit that there were always some people in this world that could not be measured bymon sense. Profound knowledge and unsurpassed talent. Many times, they could only be described as ¡°monsters¡±...

    As for the hundreds of mages that came to the Demon Fall Valley this time round, all of their jaws were wide open. If those ten ming Storms had made them dumbfounded earlier, then this Levitation Spell almost scared them to death...

    F*ck, an Archmage in his twenties. Was there anything more monstrous in this world?

    When the crowd was discussing, Lin Li had already flown to the sky above the Demon Fall Valley.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Mage Felic.¡± This pair of young and old Archmages had stopped at the same time when the distance between them was a hundred meters. Old Merlin¡¯s voice sounded more frail than when he had been at Jarrosus.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Merlin Family Head Matthew.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can ask what is the purpose for Mage Felic toe over to the Demon Fall Valley today?¡±

 Chapter 288 - Psychic Storm

    <h4>Chapter 288: Psychic Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You¡¯re amusing, Patriarch Matthew. So many of us havee to the Demon Fall Valley, of course we¡¯re here to retrieve some items. Do we look like we are on a holiday? ¡±

    Lin Li maintained a polite smile throughout the conversation, while his words remained mild. Anyone would have thought he was chatting with an old friend.

    Only Old Merlin thought otherwise...

    He was hovering less than a hundred meters away from his opponent, and could clearly feel the strong magical waveing from the young mage. It was an incredibly powerful force, and Old Merlin could not help feeling trepidation despite having prepared himself for it. This force was too strong, and made him feel out of breath¡ªit felt like he was facing a huge dragon even though he was still situated at the outer boundary of the magical waves.

    <i>My God... </i>Old Merlin¡¯s heart sank as he knew that this young mage had grown beyond what he could imagine.

    Even though he¡¯d already known of this young mage¡¯s astounding talent back in Jarrosus, and was aware that he would reach a scary heights one day, Old Merlin never knew that that day woulde so fast. It had merely been months ago that he had been a level-8 mage, yet now he had be an existence that Old Merlin was no match for...

    ¡°Sigh... ¡± Old Merlin sighed quietly, and for the first time felt like he had made a mistake. If he had known that this would happen, he would have kept Cromwell in check instead of letting him mess with the Emerald Tower, and all the more kept him from messing with this scary young mage. Then, all of this would not have happened. While he could not change the fact that the Emerald Tower ruled over Jarrosus now, he could have continued to live there, and Cromwell would not have died in the Daylight Square...

    But it was toote for anything now.

    The Merlin Family had fallen, Cromwell was dead, and even he himself had to reside in the Shadow¡¯s Nest¡ªall of this had already happened.

    The regret in Old Merlin¡¯s eyes faded as soon as it appeared. When he raised his head again, his eyes were filled with determination. It was toote to say anything now; he had to defeat this young mage and fend off Emerald Tower¡¯s attack before he reinstated the glory of the Merlin Family with the aid of the Shadow¡¯s Nest. This was his only chance¡ªeven if it had but an almost negligible possibility of sess...

    The magical waves from both of them exploded almost at the same time, and it felt like a strong wind swept past at that moment. Their ck cloaks were caught in the wind as magical waves started surging, and the air in the Demon Fall Valley began to feel vtile.

    Old Merlin¡¯s chanting was unusually throaty as even he had to admit that he did not have an ounce of confidence going against this scary young mage.

    This was perhaps the least confident Old Merlin had been in a fight in his whole life¡ªeven when he faced Gerian in Jarrosus, he always believed that all he needed was a stroke of luck. Now, however, he knew he needed a lot more than just luck...

    That was because he now saw an aqua-colored lighting from the young mage.

    Old Merlin knew that it was a Water Shield¡ªone that wasing from a level-16 Archmage...

    Lin Li was not in the least bit concerned about what Old Merlin was thinking at that moment as he was concentrating on his chanting under the protection of the Water Shield. The chanting of a Chilling Touch spell began flowing in the air...

    Both finished their chanting nearly at the same time.

    One was a Chilling Touch, while the other was a ming Storm. In a split second, the two contrasting forces shone blindingly as they were suspended in the sky above the Demon Fall Valley. Amid floating snowkes and flying sparks, one was shining a crystal blue, while the other was a fiery red; the two lights twined together, forming an almost ethereal array of colors.

    They were both Archmages, and their understanding of magic way surpassed that of other mages. The speed at which they used magic would look unbelievably fast to anyone else as they had already exchanged a few attacks in the blink of an eye.

    Whether it was Old Merlin, who had already enjoyed decades of fame, or the young mage, who had taken the whole of Jarrosus by surprise, both showcased exemry capabilities in the fight. This was easily the fight of the highest standard in Jarrosus in thest few decades as every mage stared in awe at the two figures moving rapidly in the sky...

    ¡°The heck, an Archmage indeed... ¡± Gerian gulped as he could clearly see now that the youngster hovering in the sky above the Demon Fall Valley had indeed reached the realm of an Archmage. That Levitation Spell had nothing to do with magical equipment nor pharmacy, it was purely the strength of an Archmage!

    And one of level-16 too...

    Gerian felt slightly enraged when he thought of that.

    <i>Damn it, on what grounds was he able to achieve this?</i>

    <i>On what grounds is it that I have been studying magic for decades, yet I remain a level-15 Archmage while this rascal merely spent a couple of months in nna and managed to reach level-16? Matthew and I had been of equal standing when we fought, but he isn¡¯t able to retaliate against this rascal at all... How is that possible...</i>

    ¡°What kind of logic is this... ¡± Gerian cursed angrily as he vented his anger on the bandits of the Shadow¡¯s Nest.

    After Lin Li flew up to fight Old Merlin, the authority tomand the rest naturally fell onto Gerian. The middle-aged fatty started waving his hands wildly as he gestured for the mages behind him to attack the Demon Fall Valley again and again.

    A momentter, the Demon Fall Valley was filled with smoke as the torrential magical elements rushed into the Demon Fall Valley as though they were water bursting through a floodgate. Storms, mes, lightning, and snow, everything seemed to boil over at once as waves and waves of magical attacks hit the Demon Fall Valley, not leaving even an inch ofnd untouched.

    Once hundreds of mages had a geographical advantage in the fight, the explosion of strengthing from all of them at once was definitely nothing short of terrifying. An endless amount of magic rained down from the cliff, and covered the whole of Demon Fall Valley as towers were burned into ash and tents were sealed in ice. As for the members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest who were busy running for their lives, many of them were beheaded before they even realized it...

    This was a brutal and violent battle, without any chance for surprise attacks or turnarounds. Everyone fought honestly, unleashing all magic they were capable of. This was a simple process that even a level-5 mage apprentice would not find challenging, but when there were hundreds of mages doing the same thing, it turned into an iparably scary sight...

    ¡°This is ridiculous... ¡± Ronald held on desperately to his Combat Energy, and was scarcely able to protect himself from being injured by magic, but his men were falling down one by one. There was no choice, since the attacking magic was too dense, and there were no corners for him to hide in in the Demon Fall Valley¡ªthe only thing he could do was to watch them fall one by one...

    Ronald did think of counterattacking, sending a group of bandits to try and sneak amongst the mages to create a distraction by stabbing them¡ªthis had worked for him when he attacked the Demon Fall Valley. Unfortunately, everything that seemed to work in the past only proved to be aughable failure today.

    The 30 bandits had met with a mass massacre just when they left the exit of the valley. Hundreds of Wind des sliced through the air, and then through their bodies as well, leaving the ground covered in corpses and blood in a sh.

    Ronald could not cry even if he tried now; he really wanted to know who had thought of such a useless idea for an attack.

    Damn it, did he think this was child¡¯s y? He dared to stand at the entrance of the valley and use suchughable tactics just because he had hundreds of mages under hismand. <i>Damn it, do you even know what tactics are, how to make use of troop formations, and how to round up your enemy?</i>

    <i>Damn it, he knows nothing of it, yet he is able to suffocate me like that... </i>Ronald was so angry he coughed up blood as he could only watch as the damned mages burned the Demon Fall Valley into ashes.

    At this point, Ronald really had no way out; the only thing he could count on was Old Merlin. He hoped that Old Merlin would kill that Felic as soon as possible and then quicklye and help him. Without the help of Old Merlin¡¯s magic, his bandits and warriors were unable to even raise their heads under the mages¡¯ suppression.

    Actually, Old Merlin really wanted to go and help him.

    Unfortunately, he was unable to help even himself now, so how could he think about helping Rnd?

    Gerian was vicious indeed. Old Merlin was able to resist Felic at the start of the fight, but Gerian could already tell that this Archmage who wasparable to himself would surely be no match for Felic.

    And truth was, Lin Li only spent a minute to prove Gerian right.

    Just as Old Merlin fired a fireball, only for the Water Shield to spin, Lin Li reacted differently from what he had done earlier. Instead of retaliating immediately, he manipted the Levitation Spell to retreat quickly, then used a Mana Retroaction...

    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Old Merlin¡¯s mouth opened just as the expression on his face suddenly froze. At this moment, Old Merlin felt a chill rise on his back, making him feel as though he had fallen into an ice hole. Never had he thought that there existed such a horrifying technique of casting spells¡ªit was like the legendary ability, the prophecy. From the moment he started chanting to the moment his mana flow was cut off, the whole process could not havested more than one-tenth of a second¡ªit was as if everything had been nned...

    Old Merlin suddenly paled just as his flow of mana was cut off.

    While the fight had been exhausting, at least neither of them was able to best the other. Now that Mana Retroaction had been used, it seemed that this would no longer be the case.

    Old Merlin fixed his gaze on Lin Li as sweat covered his forehead. The only thing he could do now was to bet on hisst resort. He retreated nearly 10 meters using the Levitation Spell as he quickly retrieved a scroll from his pocket...

    ¡°What the hell?! ¡± The middle-aged fatty who had been excitedlymanding the mages cursed suddenly when Old Merlin revealed the scroll, taking all the mages by surprise.

    ¡°Damn it, this despicable old fellow!¡±

    While other mages might not recognize the scroll, how could Gerian not? That was the Psychic Storm scroll that the Merlin Family had bought cheaply from them when the Emerald Tower was at its lowest!

    Even though the Emerald Tower had unified Jarrosus now, when Gerian saw the Psychic Storm scroll, he still couldn¡¯t help but swear. It had been one of the most valuable magical items in Emerald Tower¡¯s collection. There was a level-18 Psychic Storm magic transcribed on it, but the scariest thing was that the scroll had been specially treated, and could be triggered by any Archmage. As long as there was sufficient mana, one could maintain the effect of the Psychic Storm until thest trace of their mana had been burned...

    ¡°Damn it, Felic is in trouble... ¡±

    In his panic, Gerian really wanted to use a Levitation Spell to fly over to the Demon Fall Valley and stop Old Merlin. Unfortunately, his magical force was broken, and even using a Wind de was too much for him. At this point, the only thing Gerian could do was to cup his hands around his mouth toward Lin Li, who was chanting in a low voice, and shout desperately, ¡°Quick, Felic, stop that old fogey, don¡¯t let him open the scroll!¡±

    Unfortunately, Lin Li could not hear him at all as he focused on chanting the Pyrost spell.

    Then, the scroll in the hands of Old Merlin shone a dazzling gold. In an instant, his whole being was shrouded, and if one looked closely, they would see a golden thread glimmering between the two Archmages...

    This was a sign of guiding magic...

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Gerian¡¯s fat face suddenly became pale. He was painfully aware of the power of the Psychic Storm¡ªonce this dazzling golden light fell on a mage, it would swallow their power within 10 seconds. Even a mage with nearly unlimited power like Lin Li would not be spared by this level-18 magic. The only difference was that it might take a little longer, but what difference did that make? Whether it was 10 seconds or 20 seconds, as long as Old Merlin¡¯s guidance was not interrupted, his magic would bepletely swallowed sooner orter, and the longer it took, the more pain he would feel...

    The only way out was to interrupt Old Merlin¡¯s guidance.

    However, the Psychic Storm was a level-18 magic, so how could it be easy to interrupt? One should know that in addition to burning mana, the Psychic Storm itself was able to restrict magic. Under the cover of the Psychic Storm, even someone as strong as Felic would not have an opportunity to cast a spell. How would one interrupt Old Merlin¡¯s guide without magic? By poking with their finger?

    Then...

    Lin Li answered Gerian¡¯s question with a simple action.

    He did not seem flustered at all despite being covered in the golden light, and even had a smile on his face. It was as though his rapidly depleting mana had no effect on him. At this moment, Lin Li only did one thing, which was to gently lift the Aether Staff in his hand...

    At that point in time, Gerian thought he saw the gem at the end of the magic staff glow a faint yellow.

    Then, the golden light suddenly dimmed, and disappeared like snow in the sun.

    ¡°Ah... ¡± Old Merlin sighed under Gerian¡¯s shocked stare, for he knew that he had wasted thest chance to save himself. He had prided himself on his mana, but it now seemed pathetic in front of this level-16 Archmage¡ªOld Merlin could neither retaliate nor escape, and even the Psychic Storm scroll which was hisst resort only seemed like child¡¯s y to his opponent.

    ¡°How unfortunate, Patriarch Matthew... ¡± Lin Li still had an easy smile on his face as he chanted quickly. The moment the golden light vanished, a Pyrost was sent out...

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The sound was so loud and intense that even people standing hundreds of meters away heard it clearly, and sparks flew as the mes burned strongly. Having lost the protection of his Elemental Shield, Old Merlin seemed unusually weak under the effect of the Pyrost, and burst into mes just as it hit him. There was no struggle and no cry for help as hended in the Demon Fall Valley like a ball of fire...

    ¡°... ¡± Gerian looked at the falling fireball as he was suddenly filled with mixed emotions. Matthew had single-handedly led the Merlin Family to glory, and was once ranked alongside him as the strongest mage in Jarrosus. Yet, he had now met with a sudden death... In the past, Gerian would never have believed Matthew would die in this manner...

    The magical attack on the cliff suddenly stopped as all eyes were fixed on the burning ball of fire, especially those of the leaders of the 16 forces. It was a mind-numbing scene, and frightened them all. The patriarch of the Merlin Family, the same Old Merlin who was as powerful as Gerian, was not capable of retaliating against Mage Felic. The whole battle had not been shocking at all, as though it was logical for this young man to have easily killed the strongest mage of Jarrosus...

    ¡°Damn it, retreat!¡± The death of Old Merlin was thest straw that finally caused Ronald to copse. Now that the entire Demon Fall Valley was under a magical attack, and the most powerful mage under him had died suddenly, Ronald knew that he had lost, and it was an utter defeat at that...

    Retreating was the only option they had now.

    While the Demon Fall Valley was prosperous, it was not worth the lives of all his men.

    No matter how strong the Shadow¡¯s Nest was, it was no match for the entire city of Jarrosus, not to mention that damned Mage Felic. Damn it, how did this monstere about? Not only did he bring all the mages in Jarrosus City, he also killed Old Merlin so effortlessly. Was he really not a legendary magical beast disguised as a human?

    A pity that Ronald did not have much time left to think.

    At the same time Old Merlin fell down in a burning ball of fire, Ronald ordered a retreat.

    The order had just been given, but everyone already reacted. Hundreds and thousands of bandits emerged from all directions, rushing to the Forest of Whispers like game chased by predators. The whole scene was both chaotic and pathetic as infighting and trampling broke out during their escape. Who knew how many weaker bandits had died at the feet of theirpanions...

    ¡°Trying to escape?¡± Lin Li hovered quietly in the sky as he stared at their every action with an almost cruel gaze.

    Having brought so many men, surely he wanted to do more than just chase the Shadow¡¯s Nest away, no?

    In this world, there would never be a shortage of ambitious forces. They might¡¯vee across the Shadow¡¯s Nest today, but who was to say that they wouldn¡¯t meet another one called the Light¡¯s Nest tomorrow? Lin Li had had a lot of experience dealing with such forces¡ªthe only way to deal with them was to truly teach them a lesson, one that they would remember distinctly for hundreds of years and still feel the pain like it was only just yesterday. Only then would those who plotted against the Emerald Tower think twice before they act and realize that they could not actually afford to pay the price of offending the Emerald Tower...

    For some reasons, Lin Li felt like he was suddenly able to empathize with Osric as he hovered in the air...

    However, he was not anxious to act, as he merely followed behind the defeated fighters of the Shadow¡¯s Nest using the Levitation Spell. He remembered Aaron-Mazi had told him before that there was a fast-flowing river not far ahead from here...

 Chapter 289 - The Great Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 289: The Great Massacre</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    When he escaped from the Demon Fall Valley, Ronald was already covered in dirt and wounds as his hair stuck up in all directions. The eye patch over his blind eye had been ripped off, leaving a hollow exposed to the air, sending a chill down the back of anyone who saw it...

    Luckily, he did manage to escape...

    Ronald wiped the sweat on his forehead as he felt slightly relieved to hear the sound of water flowinge from the distance. As long as he crossed the ck River, he would enter the Forest of Whispers, which had a difficult terrain and dense vegetation¡ªa perfect spot for an ambush. The Shadow¡¯s Nest had been operating for decades, and the mages of the Emerald Tower would not dare barge into this ce even if they had an advantage in numbers. As long as he was patient and waited a few years for his strength to recover, he might still have a chance to take back the Demon Fall Valley.

    The only unfortunate thing was that he had paid an unbelievably high price in this battle.

    The expensive traps they¡¯did down did not evene into use, as thend was burned right from the start of the battle. Over a hundred core members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest had died today too, and Ronald felt his heart clench at the very thought of it. He had spent a decade painstakingly building up these rtionships, only to lose so many of them today...

    Of course, what truly pained Ronald was Old Merlin¡¯s death.

    He was a true Archmage, much stronger than a level-15 warrior like him in terms ofbat, and a powerful figure he would never have been able to recruit if not for the sudden fall of the Merlin Family. The truth was that Old Merlin¡¯s strength in magic was of utter importance to the Shadow¡¯s Nest as many fights that were too difficult for them previously suddenly became way too simple with his help. Especially so during the attack on Emerald Tower¡ªwith Old Merlin helping them secretly, they were able to take down the tower which had remained unbeatable for centuries, and did so without shedding a drop of blood...

    Only, Old Merlin was now dead...

    Who knew how long it would take him to find another Archmage¡ªafter all, not every force had one. Furthermore, not everyone was as lucky as Emerald Tower to be able to find an Archmage in his twenties, and such a terrifyingly powerful one too. <i>Damn it, why don¡¯t I have such luck?</i>

    Ronald could not help ring at his men when he thought of this.

    <i>Damn it, it¡¯s all because of these retards!</i>

    <i>We already took down Emerald Tower, which was unbeatable for centuries, yet these retards still could not find me what I was looking for!</i>

    <i>Damn it, if I¡¯d found what I wanted, would I have lost like I did today? That big shot from nna had promised me to fulfill my requests for any equipment or manpower as long as I gave him that thing. Damn it, if I had a few Archmages, would Emerald Tower still dare to act so high and mighty?</i>

    Unfortunately, it was toote to say anything...

    Ronald shook these annoying thoughts away as he continued dragging his weary body towards the ck River.

    It was right ahead¡ªthe fast-flowing water sshed against the river banks, causing vapor to hover in the air. 10rge vessels were docked at the bank overgrown with grass¡ªthey had been left behind here after the Shadow¡¯s Nest¡¯s attack on the Demon Fall Valley. Ronald could not be happier about his decision to do this as he would undoubtedly lose over half his men if these 1000 or so defeated fighters had to swim across the ck River now...

    ¡°B-B-Boss...!¡± As they neared the ck River and Ronald was about to order his men to board the vessels, one of his trusted men suddenly froze.

    ¡°Damn it, shut up!¡± Ronald was feeling annoyed, and felt an unexinable anger rising as he listened to him stutter again and again without getting his message across. If not because they were on the run, he would give him a p.

    Then...

    The sight of the figure hovering in the sky immediately quenched his anger. Ronald leaped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and ran towards the ck River with all his might as he frantically waved at his men to follow. ¡°Quick, quick, quick, if you wanna live, you¡¯d better get on that damn boat!¡±

    ¡°Get on the boat?¡± Lin Li quietly hovered above the ck River using the Levitation Spell as he watched Ronald shout with all he had as the members of Shadow¡¯s Nest scrambled to board the vessel.

    He gripped the Aether Staff tightly as the light yellow Dragon¡¯s Eye glowed brightly; strong magical waves appeared from the mageweath that covered the staff. The mana Lin Li infused into the staff was repeatedly magnified and purified before it was ultimately released in its purest form...

    Theplex and lengthy chanting was like flowing water, mysterious and solemn. Endless amount of ice magic element was tossing around above the ck River as thick clouds covered the sky as if before a storm. Lightning shed from time to time, resembling a golden snake as it tore through the sky and coated the gloomy clouds with ayer of gorgeous gold. The ck River continued to flow quickly as waves crashed against the river banks again and again. Coupled with the vapor that shrouded the ce, it was what anybody would imagine doom¡¯s day to be.

    Lin Li¡¯s chanting grew faster and faster...

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Ronald¡¯s gaze ckened. The figure holding the staff in the sky was like a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper who made snow fall in July. The bone-chilling cold made Ronald¡¯s heart seize up as he only then realized that he had been overly optimistic. The goal of this young mage was not to chase them out of the Demon Fall Valley, but to kill them¡ªit would be a massacre capable of shaking any force down to their core...

    <i>It¡¯s over, everything¡¯s over now...</i>

    Ronald stood and stared nkly at the sky as his gaze was filled with fear and hopelessness.

    The chanting flowed like water as Lin Li stared at the ck River with a gaze void of mercy. As thest of the spells was finally finished with a loud cry, a strong gust of wind swept by, and caused heavy snow to fill the entire ck River. In an instant, the whole world turned white, and neither the members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest scrambling for their lives nor the 10rge vessels could be seen. Even the rushing river came to a standstill as heaven and earth seemed to have be one at that moment. Besides white, there was no other color in the world...

    Then, the world became quiet.

    Strong wind blew above the ck River as the young mage with a presence like that of the Grim Reaper continued hovering quietly in the sky.

    A deathly silence filled the surrounding as nothing besides the howling wind could be heard.

    The first batch of mages to reach ck River after cutting through the Demon Fall Valley only appeared after 10 minutes, and what they saw was enough to haunt them for a lifetime...

    ¡°My God... ¡± A young mage from the Mannes Family was the first to reach the river bank, and he could not help letting out a terrified whimper as soon as he saw what had happened here. Then, he sat down weakly.

    Followed by the second, the third, and then the fourth...

    Almost a thousand mages stood frozen on the spot, looking uncannily simr to the thousand or so ice sculptures on the surface of the ck River.

    Downy kes of snow continued to fall as the whistling of blowing wind could be heard from time to time. Thousand or so eerily lifelike ice sculptures stood quietly. Some of them had just boarded the vessel, while the others were fighting to get to it. Rays of sunlight fell upon them, and made the crystal-clear sculptures shine unusually beautifully.

    At that moment, the beauty and cruelty of the situation had fused seamlessly.

    As they stared at the crystal-like sculptures of ice, almost everyone felt a chill running down their spines...

    The leaders of the 16 forces looked at each other as they saw fear and shock in each other¡¯s eyes.

    There was only thought in everyone¡¯s mind. <i>My god, this is a massacre...</i>

    Indeed, this was a massacre.

    Including Ronald, not one of the over thousand members of Shadow¡¯s Nest, nor any of the vessels, had been spared. Everyone had been sealed into a block of ice, their faces etched with hopelessness right to the point of their deaths.

    Lin Li continued to hover silently in the sky with the Levitation Spell. While his ck-cloaked figure seemed weak and feeble in the strong wind, he was just like a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper in the eyes of everyone else. No, he was an existence scarier than the Grim Reaper¡ªat least the Grim Reaper chose which lives he wanted to take, but this young mage spared none. He was just like the Highlord, who single-handedly terrorized the whole of Fn 1,200 years ago, equally shocking, and equally ruthless...

    ¡°Sorry for scaring all of you... ¡± Lin Li slowly descended after freezing everyst drop of water in the river before lightly dusting off his robes, a bone-chilling smile still on his face. ¡°I sent the guests from the Shadow¡¯s Nest on their way since it was convenient... ¡±

    ¡°...¡± The 16 leaders of the forces tried to wee him with a smile, but after hearing his ominous words, they could not help feeling a wave of terror run through them, and nearly sat down in shock. <i>What a monster... he killed a thousand people with a single wave of his magic staff. How can he still smile so easily now? Hell, could he really be possessed by Osric, the great executioner?</i>

    Of course, they still had to keep the smiles on their faces in the midst of their fear.

    ¡°The bastards of the Shadow¡¯s Nest deserved to meet their end for harassing Jarrosus year after year. They should have been dealt with earlier... Thankfully, Mage Felic caught all of them today!

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ve long been waiting for this day!¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯re too humble!¡±

    Strings of praise came tumbling forth in a second as Lin Li smiled, not paying heed to any of it. After cating them with a few casual phrases, he found an excuse to leave before finding Gerian in a quiet corner.

    ¡°Damn it you¡¯re a monster... a thousand people, alive and kicking, yet you killed all of them just like that. Hell, how could you not have called me along for something so exciting!¡± Gerian scolded him, excitement written all over his face.

    ¡°... ¡±

    ¡°Quick, quick, tell this old man, how did you do it?¡± Gerian¡¯s eyes glittered as he looked at the sculptures on the banks of ck River before he pressed excitedly, ¡°Was it the Thousand Miles of Ice?¡±

    Lin Li did not hide it from him. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s really the Thousand Miles of Ice?¡± Gerian froze suddenly as he looked at Lin Li like he was a dragon spewing mes. ¡°Damn it, are you human?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips indignantly as he thought, You think I wanted to do it? Damn it, I still don¡¯t know what Immortal King is, or what saying he would wield skeletons as his staff and be crowned king once again means. You think I got to level-16 easily? Damn it, I still don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll get into more trouble...

    ¡°Hey, wait... ¡± After mumbling away for some time, a trace of suspicion appeared on Gerian¡¯s fat face again. ¡°I¡¯ve seen people use the Thousand Miles of Ice in nna too, but why wasn¡¯t it as powerful as yours? Tsk, tsk, are you fooling me about freezing over a thousand people using the Thousand Miles of Ice?¡±

    ¡°Well, you know I have a bit of knowledge in the field of pharmaceuticals... ¡±

    ¡°Goddamm...¡±

    Of course Gerian understood what he was getting at¡ªthis rascal must have taken some powerful potion before using the Thousand Miles of Ice, which caused his magic to be much stronger and result in the horrific scene before them. Damn it, he could kill over a thousand people in a second with just one bottle of this potion? How could a monster like this exist?

    ¡°Have you got more of such potions? Give me some...¡±

    ¡°Stop dreaming, you really think anyone can use such potions?¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes as he looked almost weary. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, this potion is powerful, but so are its side effects. I may look fine, but my mental strength has been drained... ¡±

    ¡°What a pity...¡±

    Lin Li smiled tiredly as he did not continue with the topic. To be honest, if not because he was going to leave Jarrosus in a week, he would not have been willing to use the Soul Burning Potion. The side effects were unbelievably powerful even to someone like him, and depleted all his mental strength at once, although he had an almost unlimited source of it.

    However, it could not be helped.

    He was due to leave Jarrosus in a week to head to Breezy ins, and might not be able to return to this ce he had already thought of as home for a couple of years. What would happen to the Emerald Tower and Gerian after he was gone? What if some force that didn¡¯t know better decided to attack the Emerald Tower? What was he going to do?

    So, he could only leave a warning before he left¡ªif someone was eyeing the Emerald Tower, they had better think twice whether they could afford to pay the price of failure...

    ¡°Alright, go get someone to set up a Warlock¡¯s Eyes, I need to find a ce to rest.¡±

    ¡°Ok, go ahead.¡±

    Gerian knew what it was like to have one¡¯s mental strength depleted, and did not dare disturb Lin Li any further, only calling on two young apprentices to escort Lin Li to a tent that had just been set up.

    Gerian felt his eyes water as he looked at the figure walking away while stumbling asionally. He still remembered asking this young man if he was willing to seed him as the leader of the Emerald Tower before the auction, but this young man had replied saying he did not want to be tied down. However, when he thought back on what had happened, he realized that everything this young man did had been for the sake of the Emerald Tower¡ªhe had always been secretly helping the Emerald Tower even though he was not always willing.

    ¡°It has been hard on you, Felic...¡±

    Gerian was right, it had been hard on Lin Li indeed.

    Lin Li slept until the morning of the fourth day as he woke up groggily. The side effects of the Soul Burning Potion were much too powerful, and even for someone with Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, it had taken him four days to deal with most of it. As he walked out of the tent, he still did not feelpletelyfortable as his once incredibly sensitive mental strength was now somewhat blunt and slow. He tried releasing two Wind des, only to realize that the flow of his mental strength was not as smooth as it used to be, just as though something was interrupting its flow.

    ¡°Seems like four days aren¡¯t quite enough...¡± Lin Li shook his head. Well, it was not like he was in a hurry; besides, mental strength could only recover in about 10-15 days anyway. This was a methodical and gradual process that couldn¡¯t be rushed; he would naturally recover to the peak of his strength when the time was right.

    After setting aside his worries, Lin Li realized that the Demon Fall Valley had taken on a new look after he woke up. The debris outside the mithril cave had been cleaned up, and a group of mages were directing the ves they had taken over from the Shadow¡¯s Nest to dig outside the cave. The ce had once been charred by magic, but now, tents were set up everywhere as the hundreds of mages brought by the 16 forces did not leave after the fight; they all remained at the Demon Fall Valley instead.

    This stay hadsted four days.

    Lin Li scratched his head, feeling perplexed. All of those people were notable figures in Jarrosus, and while they might not have thousands of matters to see to every day, they were definitely nothing short of busy, and had business to tend to. How would they have time for vacation in the Demon Fall Valley?

    ¡°Felic, you¡¯re awake?¡± Lin Li had just walked out of the tent when he heard Gerian¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I just woke up.¡± Lin Li nodded before asking curiously, ¡°Right, why didn¡¯t Ysera and others go back?¡±

    ¡°I have some trivial matters I¡¯ll need their help for.¡±

    ¡°You need their help to raise money?¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. What else could Gerian ask for if he needed somebody¡¯s help...?

    ¡°Damn it, am I such a person?¡± Gerian replied indignantly, looking as though he had been wronged, only to burst intoughter after nagging away. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s actually a really great idea, I¡¯ll discuss this with Yserater. Damn it, their mages have bombarded this whole ce, and ruined all the nts in the Demon Fall Valley. It¡¯s only right that they pay for it...¡±

    ¡°You should start doing some good...¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m helping Ysera lighten his burden? Think about it, you rascal, you¡¯ve scared so many people out of their wits with your Thousand Miles of Ice. The leaders of the 16 forces are now trembling in their tents, afraid that you¡¯ll use it on them one day when you lose your temper. I¡¯m showing them that they are not worthless and won¡¯t be wiped out by you by asking them for money. Why don¡¯t you ask them, then, see if they are willing to fork out money to help rebuild the Demon Fall Valley.¡±

    ¡°Whatever, you can keep talking, I¡¯ll go look for some food...¡± Lin Li shook his head, defeated. He was no match at all for Gerian when it came to spouting nonsense, and saw no point in continuing. He was starving after sleeping for four days straight; it made more sense to satisfy his hunger first...

    ¡°What are you, a pig? Looking for food as soon as you¡¯re up... I¡¯ll talk to you about thatter, but first, I have some important matters to discuss with you...¡±

    ¡°What important matters?¡± Lin Li looked at Gerian suspiciously.

    ¡°Do you know why the Marathon Family supported the Shadow¡¯s Nest?¡±

    Lin Li scratched his head, uncertain, and asked, ¡°I think you¡¯ve mentioned a treasure map a few days ago?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m surprised you remember that...¡±

    ¡°What about it? I thought you said that the treasure map was a hoax?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, no, no...¡± Gerian looked around before leaning closer to Lin Li discreetly. ¡°Let me tell you this, I found out a big secret a few days ago...¡±

    ¡°What big secret?¡±

    ¡°Well, it was a coincidence...¡± Gerian pointed into the distance. ¡°You see that mineshaft there? When we were attacking a few days ago, we copsed the cave, didn¡¯t we? After you went to sleep, I had a group of people shovel away the debris from the entrance of the cave, only to find out that it was hollow about 50 meters into the cave...¡±

    ¡°Hollow?¡± Lin Li frowned when he heard this. <i>If it was hollow, doesn¡¯t that mean that something else is hidden in the cave? Could that be where the treasure Gerian was talking about is hidden?</i>

    ¡°That¡¯s right, hollow!¡± Gerian nodded firmly. ¡°I studied the treasure map thoroughly thesest couple of days, and I realized yesterday morning that my previous understanding of it was wrong. The ce indicated on the map was not the Forest of Whispers, it¡¯s here...¡±

 Chapter 290 - The Song of Death

    <h4>Chapter 290: The Song of Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Since it was just a treasure map that did not have solid directions, Lin Li forgot about it by the next morning. Gerian, however, was filled with confidence. He gathered all the manpower and resources avable, searching for the treasure.

    While it was alright for the old man to have great confidence himself, it was a chore for the leaders of the 16 other forces. After reiming the Demon Fall Valley, Ysera and the others were forced to stay there. Probably by threats and temptation, the middle-aged fatso managed to make them call for more help from Jarrosus. As a reward, Gerian promised them that they would be able to get two percent of the treasure.

    Alright, two percent was better than nothing...

    Since it was Gerian¡¯s instructions, they naturally didn¡¯t bargain with him. <i>Are you joking? Who would dare to seek death when the thousands of ice sculptures are still on the ck River?</i>

    Hence, the matter was decided just like that.

    No one was expecting there to be any reward. That was what a fool would have thought. As the Demon Fall Valley had been in Jarrosus Guild of Magic¡¯s hands for 1200 years, if there were to have any treasure in the mine hole, how would it fall into the hands of this darn fatso?

    At the start, everybody was treating it as a long-term investment. It was not important if they were going to find the treasure. As long as they could get closer to Gerian, they would be able to work with a close associate of Mage Felic!

    But, none of them had expected Gerian to be so serious today. He began to instruct everyone to start digging from the morning and only stop the work at night for consecutive days. It was as though he was determined to dig a hole through the mineshaft. Ysera and the others were really tired. At times, they really had the urge to approach Mage Felic to persuade that middle-aged fatso to stop being so crazy.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li was as busy as them.

    When he woke up early in the morning, he brought a few young apprentices to explore the Demon Fall Valley until afternoon, when they returned to the tents with heaps of Warlock Herbs. What followed was a long and arduous preparation of potions that wouldst until the evening. It was already dinner time when they would drag their tired bodies out of the tents.

    Busy days passed the fastest. Three days had gone by in the blink of an eye. The date to leave Jarrosus crept nearer and nearer, but the legendary treasure was nowhere to be found.

    Yet, to Lin Li, treasures were not important. The thing he had to do was to create as many good potions as possible. Apart from giving some of them to the Emerald Tower, he could sell the rest for money.

    He had no other choice. There were really a lot of ces that needed money. The guild of magic in the Breezy ins was not cheap to build. Although the Supreme Council would support him by providing a big portion of the costs, he had to prepare 5 million gold coins for himself to live frugally in the Breezy ins.

    Furthermore, the Marathon Family was a trouble too..

    How would Wilhelm let the man who had killed his son off so easily? It might not take him long enough to target Lin Li with all sort of assassination tactics. It was only when Lin Li acquired a huge amount of fortune that he could ensure he survived the revenge the Marathon Family¡¯s plots against him.

    And it was this reason that caused Lin Li to publicize the fact that he was creating secret potions.

    His sessful experience from the Endless World let him understand a lesson: although money was not omnipotent, theck of money was definitely a problem!

    This type of situationsted until the morning of the fourth day.

    The Supreme Council would be sending someone here the next day. Hence, Lin Li had been packing his things as he nned to return to Jarrosus before noon.

    Before leaving the Demon Fall Valley, Lin Li went to find Gerian.

    ¡°What? You are leaving today?¡± Gerian asked in surprise after seeing that Lin Li had packed his things.

    ¡°Yeah, the person from the Supreme Council woulde tomorrow. I have to go back and prepare some things before I travel to the Breezy ins with them. It may take some time before I¡¯m back here again.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you that it will be a waste if you don¡¯t be a guild president. See? Even though I let you go, the old men in Supreme Council are still after you...¡± Gerian had heard about the happenings during the trial in nna. He was not shocked that Lin Li was leaving for the Breezy ins very soon. He was just still thinking about the words Lin Li had said before the auction the other day.

    ¡°Is that true...?¡± Lin Li asked as he touched his face subconsciously. Could it be that the word ¡®president¡¯ was written on his face?

    Gerian red at him, feeling he lost face. ¡°Are you thinking that I¡¯m lying to you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are always reasonable...¡± Lin Li ttered the middle-aged fatso. ¡°Oh, yes. I left behind some secret potions in the tent. Please give half of them to the Emerald Tower, and the other half to the people outside...¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Since it had been agreed that Lin Li had a partnership with him when they were at Jarrosus, Gerian would naturally be unable to refuse him. However, after thinking for a while, he asked doubtfully, ¡°There are so many people outside. Whom should I pass them to?¡±

    ¡°This is easy...¡± Lin Li said as heughed shamelessly. ¡°After you are back, hold an event like an auction, and let them fight for it with money. But, they don¡¯t fight for the potions itself. They are going to fight for the status of my business partner.

    ¡°The person who offers the most money will get the exclusive right to manage the sales of these secret potions for one year. After one year, it will reset, and everyone will bid for the position again.¡±

    ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s so wicked!¡± Gerian eximed in shock. He had seen many shameless people over the decades when he managed the Emerald Tower, but it was his first time seeing such an unabashed man in his life.

    <i>To invest in a long-term exclusive right to the partnership with a huge amount of money... Goddammit, only this kid would think of such an evil rule...</i>

    ¡°Hehe, I have no other choice. I reallyck money recently...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s that...¡± Gerian agreed as he nodded his head. The building of the new guild needed arge amount of funds indeed.

    ¡°As for the profits, they can get 20 percent of it, while we have the other 80 percent. You can help me to deposit the earnings into the Glittergold Bank through the crystal card you gave me the other day.¡±

    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t be too anxious regarding the copse of your mana. I have found a solution for you. You¡¯ll take at least 10 days to regain your powers, but no more than a month. I would rmend you to hold your temper before that. Don¡¯t be so impulsive to use your powers like always.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Goddammit, why are you so naggy at such a young age?¡±

    ¡°... ¡±

    While the two men conversed, there was suddenly the sound of anxious footsteps.

    ¡°P-P-President Gerian!¡± Ysera called out as he dashed into the tent anxiously. He was not as formal and mature as before. ¡°Oh, Mage Felic is here too...¡±

    ¡°Ysera, have you seen a ghost? Why are you so nervous...?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mage Felic. I didn¡¯t know you were here. My apologies, apologies...¡± Ysera apologized awkwardly, but he did not have the intention to leave the tent. He rubbed his hands awkwardly, and tried to hint at something to Gerian with his expression.

    However, Gerian¡¯s mind was full of that batch of secret potions; hence, he did not notice Ysera¡¯s attempts. He only responded to Ysera when his facial muscles were nearly having cramps.

    ¡°Ysera, you are looking for me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ysera nearly fainted out of frustration. ¡°President Gerian, we found it!¡±

    ¡°Found it?¡± After hearing Ysera, Gerian was like a dog that had its tail stepped on. He jumped up, and asked, ¡°You found the entrance?¡±

    ¡°Yes, just a few minutes ago.¡±

    ¡°Entrance? You mean you found the entrance of the treasure cave?¡± That was Lin Li, who suddenly appeared to take an interest in the topic.

    However, after hearing that, Ysera had a worried expression on his face. He hesitated. ¡°Erm...¡±

    ¡°What are you hesitating about? Just shoot,¡± Gerian told Ysera impatiently. Since there was hope to find the treasure, how would Gerian have the heart to y guessing games with him? Had he really hoped Gerian went to the scene to take a look himself?

    ¡°President Gerian, listen to me. It was like this...¡±

    Frowning, Ysera started to talk about the situation.

    As Lin Li was too focused on creating potions these days, he did not get any updates on the progress of the treasure hunt. Now that he heard Ysera narrate it, he learnt that the speed of the digging was insanely fast. They found the cave in two to three days, and then they encountered a problem...

    This morning, the team started digging in the area, and found the passageway that led to the entrance of the cave. It should be a good thing since it meant that it was a clue to the treasure. As long as they followed the passageway, they might be able to find the legendary treasure. Unfortunately, there was still a huge stone door that obstructed the people from the passageway...

    ¡°You can¡¯t open it?¡± Lin Li frowned skeptically. Everyone in the mission was Warriors of at least level-8. They were so strong that they could use their bare hands to kill a few magical beasts. How would they be blocked by a mere stone door?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li nearly cursed. <i>Ain¡¯t it just a darn stone door? How would somebody not know if they could open it? Did they not try it themselves before they run here to find Gerian?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, Mage Felic...¡± Seeing that the young mage had an annoyed expression, Ysera tried to exin desperately. ¡°We sent two Bandits down when we found that stone door. They were supposed to be skilled in dealing with locks, but the moment they touched the door, they stopped moving...¡±

    ¡°Stop moving?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Ysera nodded his head firmly, but his eyes were dazed. ¡°The situation was too eerie. It was as though somebody used a Fixation Spell on them. They immediately froze, and when I sent people down to get them back up, they... they...¡±

    ¡°What the hell, can¡¯t you just speak properly?¡±

    ¡°They...¡± Ysera said as he swallowed his saliva uneasily. ¡°The two bandits lost their consciousness when they came up. It was as though they had turned into fools...¡±

    ¡°So serious?¡± Gerian asked. He couldn¡¯t help but frown.

    Lin Li listened to Ysera quietly. Only when Ysera said that the men apparently became retards did Lin Li suddenly ask, ¡°Is there anything weird on that stone door?¡±

    ¡°Weird things?¡± Ysera said as he reflected on his encounter for a moment. ¡°Now that Mage Felic mentioned that, I remember that there is a very strong magical wave around that door. At first, I thought that when the two bandits touched the stone door, the magical wave immediately seemed to expand...¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic, do you know what¡¯s the reason?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lin Li replied. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, there should be some unusual symbols on the stone door...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. That¡¯s right, there are really some strange symbols!¡±

    ¡°Then it will not be wrong. Come, bring me there at once.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    When the three men came out of the tent, Gerian was still worried. He asked Lin Li in a low voice, ¡°Do you really know what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Yup, that should be a mageweath¡ªa very rare one. ording to what I know, there are only some high-ranking undead mages who would study such an evil magic. It seems that the treasure should not be just gold and jewelry...¡±

    ¡°Is it really so powerful?¡± Gerian asked. He became anxious when he heard Lin Li mention ¡®high-ranking Necromancer¡¯. ¡°Should I go and find a mightier Inscriber?¡± he asked Lin Li discreetly after looking around for a moment.

    ¡°No need,¡± Lin Li replied as he shook his head speechlessly. How would there be any other Inscriber in Jarrosus who would be able to do anything before the Song of the Death Mageweath? He just hoped that no more innocent lives would be wasted...

    The two men discussed as they walked. Not long after, they arrived outside the mineshaft.

    This time, there were many people outside and inside the mineshaft. There were people from both the Emerald Tower and therge forces. In the middle of the crowd, there stood two bandits in a daze. From one look, Lin Li could tell that they had lost their mental strengthpletely. Even God himself would not be able to save them now.

 Chapter 291 - Rage of the Natural Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 291: Rage of the Natural Disaster</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look inside. ¡± Lin Li looked away from the two unlucky bandits and toward the mine as he became interested in what was inside. He quickly chanted, releasing an Illuminating Spell before leading Ysera and Gerian inside the mineshaft.

    Perhaps because it was morning, the air in the cave was unusually cold, and even Lin Li sneezed a couple of times when they entered. Rubbing his nose, he slowly walked into the depths of the cave under the guidance of the Illuminating Spell. The excavation Gerian had ordered was quite effective; the mouth of the cave had only been wide enough for a mine cart to pass through, but now, thanks to the hundreds of workers, it could even fit a chariot.

    The three soon saw a t plot ofnd after entering¡ªthis was the ce Gerian had mentioned hearing the sound from. There was a huge crater in the middle of thend, with freshly dug earth lining the sides of it. Tools of all sorts were scattered around on the ground; the ce was messy and unorganized, probably due to the workers rushing outside after they saw something happen.

    Lin Li maintained the Illuminating Spell as he carefully walked into the crater, and saw a nted tunnel extend far ahead. It was effective to have many workers indeed¡ªthey had dug a tunnel a few hundred meters long in a few days¡¯ time. The trio walked for about five minutes before seeing a light ahead.

    A tightly shut doory at the end of the tunnel; there weremps on either side of the door, probably left there by the workers. The oil was running out now, and the fire from themps flickered weakly in the dark.

    ¡°Hang on, don¡¯te over yet. ¡°Lin Li waved away the Illuminating Spell, and chanted a spell as heid a Mental Protection Field in front of the door.

    Indeed...

    The stone door was filled with strange symbols; they looked crooked and messy, just like a child¡¯s doodles. Gerian and Ysera gave it a few nces before they looked elsewhere as these things were too difficult for them toprehend.

    However, it was a different story when Lin Li saw it.

    ¡°Impressive...¡±

    Even Lin Li who was a Guru of Inscription himself marveled at it as he stood outside the tightly shut door. This Song of Death mageweath was worthy of his admiration indeed. While it looked messy, it was easy to spot once you looked closely. Its messiness was nned as it helped reduce the conflicts that might arise between various flows of magic by diverting magic circuits so as to minimize the waste of mana. The six magic nodes also formed a natural system which allowed the flowing magic to be recycled again. In order to have such thought and technique, the person who made this had to be a Master, if not a Guru, of Inscription.

    ¡°Is this door powerful?¡± Gerian asked when he saw Lin Li¡¯s frown. ¡°Why don¡¯t I get a few mages and have them blow the door up!¡±

    ¡°President Gerian, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be a good idea... ¡± Ysera gulped nervously. The tunnel was freshly dug, and the proper supporting frames had not yet been installed¡ªif they were to blow up this ce with magic, it would surely copse. Then, it might take another three days for the workers to dig them out of the debris...

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll think of something... ¡± Lin Li shook his head as his gaze remained on the door. The structure of a Song of Death mageweath was notplicated; the key was the six magic nodes. As long as he destroyed one of them, the mageweath would be destroyed, but he did not dare take the risk for now. Most Masters of Inscription wouldy traps at the magic source of the mageweath, or have it self-destruct or attack... Anyway, they¡¯d make life difficult for anybody who dared to destroy the mageweath. The one whoid down the mageweath might¡¯ve been a Necromancer, so Lin Li did not dare to take any risks all the more. If the trap at the magic source was so strong that it copsed the tunnel, were they going to wait for the workers to dig them out?

    As he was a Guru of Inscription, the Song of Death mageweath did not take up too much of Lin Li¡¯s time even though it was a little tricky. With a deep hum, an idea came to Lin Li. He chanted a spell, and a blue light appeared in his palm. This was a Magic Suppression spell that had been used by mages in a fight¡ªit suppressed the explosion of magic and served to protect the mage. It was simr to Element Annihtion in its use, except that it could be used in more ways. It couldn¡¯t be helped; Element Annihtion was inflexible, and only a Guru level Inscriber had a chance to expand its usage. Magic Suppression spell was more flexible, and it could even help block an attack from behind once with concentration.

    Of course, Lin Li was not trying to block an attack from behind¡ªhe was trying to block the trap on the magic source.

    ¡°Step back just in case... ¡± Lin Li did not say what would happen, but his expression was enough to scare Ysera and Gerian into taking a few steps backward.

    Seeing that the two knew how powerful it could be, Lin Li smiled in satisfaction before he brought the blue light in his palm to the door.

    ¡°Felic, be careful!¡± Even though Gerian cowered at the back, he still remembered to remind Lin Li.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, ¡± Lin Li assured Gerian with a wave of his hand.

    The Song of Death mageweath on the door was not unlike what Lin Li imagined it to be. Well thought out magic circuit and precise magic nodes made the mageweath¡¯s structure imprable. As he stood in front of the door, Lin Li could clearly feel a suppressed and dark magical wave lingering around him. That was the strength of the Song of Death; if anyone fell into it, they would be trapped in endless nightmares, while negative emotions and scary hallucinations would keep haunting them. Its effect on one¡¯s mental strength was worse¡ªeven an Archmage might be rendered helpless by a touch of the Song of Death, much less the two bandits...

    Lin Li would have just gone ahead usually.

    While the Song of Death was powerful, it only attacked one¡¯s mental strength, and a creature like Lin Li would not be afraid of that. He had been able to withstand Old Merlin¡¯s mental attack at only level-8; hence, it would be less of a threat to him now that he was at level-16.

    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t do that now.

    The Thousand Miles of Ice at the ck Water River Bay had hurt his inner strength too much, and his mental strength had yet to recover fully. Any mistake would cost him his life. Lin Li did not wish to be schizophrenic, either.

    Hence, he cautiously wielded the Magic Suppression spell and inched forward, looking for a spot the trap might explode from.

    This was a deceivingly simple process as Magic Suppression spell was different frommon magic. The slower the movement, the more taxing it was as every move in position meant he had to filter the magical waves around him again and calcte the most suitable elemental sequencing. The figures he calcted were basically astronomical given that Lin Li moved at a snail¡¯s pace and had to exert mana that was more than enough to exhaust any Archmage. Only a creature with incredibly powerful mental strength and limitless mana like Lin Li could manage to maintain a Magic Suppression spell at such a slow pace.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it should be here!¡± Lin Li heaved a long sigh of relief when the blue ball of light stopped at the center of the six magic nodes. <i>This should be right. </i>Lin Li did not even do another elemental sequencing, as he could guess the end result. Well, he was an Inscriber, and one of the best at that¡ªhe was more or less able to guess what an Inscriber was thinking when theyid down a mageweath.

    Just like with the trap in front of him¡ªit was right in the center of six magic nodes, and if it exploded, it¡¯d immediately be supported by the six nodes, and thus make it more powerful and of a greater scale than if the trap was ced elsewhere.

    Lin Li inhaled deeply before fixing the Magic Suppression spell in the center, and started chanting spells hurriedly.

    As the chanting echoed, so did a crisp sound.

    The Eye of Decay fell on the magic node, and thetter was destroyed in a second. Since the connecting node was gone, the magical waves that escaped the magic circuit filled the tunnel. Before Gerian and Ysera realized what was going on, the ball of light in Lin Li¡¯s hand suddenly lit up, and they saw lumps of bluebining with lumps of ck in a sh...

    ¡°Damn it, Rage of the Natural Disaster?¡± Gerian almost bit his tongue¡ªthis was a true Rage of the Natural Disaster, a legendary level-18 Necromagic. Even the Pope of the Ledin Kingdom had been injured by one when he was younger. To think he would have such an honor to see its incredible power unfold in a mineshaft...

 Chapter 292 - The Gem of Curse

    <h4>Chapter 292: The Gem of Curse</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li¡¯s face paled as the Rage of the Natural Disaster started...

    That was right, while he was aware that this was a trap, he never would have thought that it would be so powerful. Hell, so what if he once stayed a week at the Shadowglen, so what if he knew the unmatched Necromancer Sendros, and so what if he was once mistaken for some Immortal King? This Rage of the Natural Disaster was level-18. Not even in his wildest imagination did he think he would one day be faced with such terrifying Necromagic.

    The effect of the magic suppression onlysted a second before it was engulfed by the wild spread of darkness.

    However, this second was iparably precious to Lin Li.

    A single second was neither long nor short, yet it was sufficient for Lin Li to release a sliver of mana and activate the Brand Of Dusk on his finger.

    An elemental channel materialized in the dark void of the sky; in an instant, the world fell into silence even though it was restless with the death aura just a moment ago. It was like a rock sinking into the ocean, but the ripples disappeared without a trace before they had the chance to form.

    Everything happened too quickly for anyone to react.

    It felt like a dream for Gerian and Ysera¡ªeverything ended in a sh before it even had the chance to start before they saw the ck rays of the Rage of the Natural Disaster explode violently and disappear. The event¡¯s speed made it all too surreal.

    ¡°It... It¡¯s gone?¡± Gerian stared open-mouthed at the stone door, his chubby face full of disbelief.

    ¡°It¡¯s gone... ¡±

    ¡°Just like that? ¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost sat on the ground. <i>Just like that? </i>he thought. <i>Sh*t, if I didn¡¯t use the Magic Suppression spell earlier on, this mineshaft might have copsed thanks to the Rage of the Natural Disaster. ¡°Just like that¡±? Only that damned fatty could say that...</i>

    Between the back and forths of the two, a faint noise came from the tightly shut cave door.

    ¡°Swish, swish...¡± As the faint noise echoed in their ears, the cave door had already started to tremble lightly. Sand and dirt trickled down from the freshly dug tunnel¡¯s ceiling; then, to the trio¡¯s pleasant surprise, the tightly shut cave door began to slowly open...

    An endless gloomy on the other side of the cave door. Standing in the dim light, Lin Li furiously rubbed his eyes, but he could still only barely make out the outline of whaty ahead. There seemed to be a long and narrow tunnel, stretching beyond what they could see. As Lin Li stood outside the cave door, he could not help but imagine a bloodthirsty beast in front of him. Perhaps due to the old age,yers of algae grew on the thick bs of stones that made up the floor, thus giving them the cold and slimy feel of a python¡¯s scales.

    The moment the cave door opened, they caught a whiff of rancid smell of decaying from the tunnel. The rancid smell wasparable to that of the skeletons in the Shadowglen: thick and dense, as though the smell had somehow solidified into something. Maybe it was due to the opened cave door, but the chilling wind sweeping past their ears only added on to their terror in this tenebrous setting.

    ¡°Shall we go in and take a look?¡± Ysera whispered after swallowing his saliva with difficulty.

    ¡°Nonsense, the door is already open¡ªdon¡¯t tell me we¡¯re going back? Say, Ysera, when did you be such a coward?¡± Lin Li barely opened his mouth when Gerian cut in. His chubby face was filled with such excitement that one would think there was an unclothed beauty standing before them instead of a gloomy cave.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Lin Li could not help feeling perplexed upon seeing the eager Gerian. <i>This rascal really doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for him; his mana has already been shattered, yet he is still the first to dive into everything. God, how can he be so reckless in such a ce? All you need is a couple of traps for this fatso to fall into...</i>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry...¡± Gerian was hardly aware of the danger. With a wave of his hand, the middle-aged fatty sauntered off into the tunnel. However, as soon as he stepped foot into it, the smile on his face stiffened.

    ¡°Crunch... ¡±

    A very normal sound rang out, yet in this gloomy setting, it set off everyone¡¯s nerves.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Lin Li chased anxiously while grasping the Aether Staff tightly, ready to save Gerian with his magic the moment something was off.

    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine. ¡± Gerian barely managed a smile that seemed worse than a grimace even in this dim light. ¡°It¡¯s just... I... for God¡¯s sake, I might have stepped on something... ¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Lin Li hurriedly uttered two lines, and released the Illuminating Spell.

    Thanks to the blinding lights, Lin Li finally saw everything clearly. He did not know whether tough or cry in that instant. Maybe it was because of Gerian¡¯s awful luck, but he had stepped on a skeleton. Then again, in this tenebrous setting, coupled with the periodic gusts of chilling wind, it made sense that even the bravest man would be in shock having stepped on a skeleton.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose, and sheepishly exined, ¡°I forgot to mention earlier, but the Song of Death mageweath relies on the power of death to work. So, I guess what you are stepping on is the source of the Song of Death mageweath... ¡±

    ¡°Sh*t, it almost scared the living lights out of me... ¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I lead the way instead...¡± Lin Li held the Illuminating Spell while leading the two into the tunnel.

    This was one scary looking tunnel...

    The trio carefully proceeded, yet despite walking for around 10 minutes, they still could not see the end.

    Only when Lin Li started yawning did the three of them finally see a greenish lighting from the distance. From where they were, the speck of light reminded them of a vigil light as it flickered in the air, sending a chill running down their spines...

    Only, the three could not find it in themselves to care at this point anymore¡ªthey would go ahead even if there was a whole graveyard lying in front of them, much less a vigil light.

    As the three of them went nearer, the speck of light grew brighter as well.

    When Lin Li could finally see the speck of light clearly, he could not help but to draw a mouthful of cold air at the sight...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± It was a Gem of Curse.

    Legend had it that the Gem of Curse only existed within the rare Heavenly Mithril, and even then they were few in numbers. One the size of a fingertip was enough for a Necromancer to summon tens and thousands of the Undead. Even in the Endless World, Lin Li had only read of it in various books, and the gem usually appeared along a scary tale even in those circumstances. Maybe some Necromancer used a Gem of Curse to summon thousands of the Undead and murdered a few tribes, or an ambitious Lich embedded one of these gems in his life case in order to be immensely powerful, and should the brave fail to stop him in time, he would use this power to destroy the universe, etc., etc...

    There were numerous tales surrounding the Gems of Curse, but their only simrity was that their powers were terrifying...

    That was right, the power of the Gems of Curse could only be described as ¡°terrifying¡±.

    ¡°Well, looks like this joke got out of hand... ¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva with difficulty; even just staring at the Gem of Curse made his breathing speed up.

    That couldn¡¯t be helped¡ªthis Gem of Curse was too big, so big it was unbelievable.

    If the Dragon¡¯s Eye on the Aether Staff was a lucky find, then this Gem of Curse could only be a miracle...

    The Gem of Curse was the size of a fist. It floated quietly, radiating green light. The surging Death Energy was much stronger than the one at the Shadowglen, in the war of thousands of the Undead. As Lin Li stood there, he began to unconsciously reach for the Gem of Curse. It was truly a priceless treasure, and at the hands of a Master of the Five Arts, it could even be turned into a god-tier magical equipment.

    However, just as he reached out halfway, Lin Li gritted his teeth, and hurriedly withdrew his hand.

    ¡°No!¡± Just before he got hold of the Gem of Curse, Lin Li suddenly realized that something was amiss. It made no sense for this Gem of Curse to be here, silently floating in the air just as though it had appeared out of nowhere, without any force to protect it.

    In normal circumstances, abnormal meant something was wrong.

    ¡°What is it?¡± As Gerian witnessed everything, he could not help feeling confused for a second. He was not aware of how precious the Gem of Curse was, but he knew that the young man before him was not just any other man¡ªif something could entice him so strongly, it had to be a treasure of immeasurable value.

    Hence, Gerian was immensely curious as to why this young man gave up on the treasure lying right in front of him

    ¡°Nothing... ¡± With that said, Lin Li had no mind to exin this right now, and merely shook his head. Setting his sight somewhere else, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look first.¡±

    Only at this point did Lin Li realize that this was an empty stone room with two exits. One was the long and narrow tunnel, and the other was opposite the tunnel. From a distance, it looked like a stone door left ajar, but from the center of the stone room, it looked like there was a speck of green light hovering around...

    ¡°My God, so that¡¯s what it is... ¡± When Lin Li saw the speck of green light, he had a eureka moment. No wonder he found the Gem of Curse strange¡ªhe had thought that the green light came from the Gem of Curse at first, but never expected that this was actually a mageweath.

 Chapter 293 - Blood Oath

    <h4>Chapter 293: Blood Oath</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Three Six-pointed Star Arrays wereid out one after another, and together formed aplicated many-sided shape. This was a disaster energy field without question¡ªits sole purpose was to distill Death Energy before re-ssifying it to sustain the operation of magical equipment like the Psychic Tower and the Great Graveyard. Anyway, this was a mageweath that a top-notch Necromancer had to master. On certain levels, the disaster energy field acted like a heart and controlled everything; once this heart stopped, the world it ran would also fall into nothing.

    Hence, Lin Li withdrew his hand...

    Lin Li knew that the mine probably hid more than just simple treasures. For the Gem of Curse and the disaster energy field to appear at the same time, this might just be the burial ground of some powerful Necromancer. This was no child¡¯s y; the burial ground of a top-notch Necromancer meant powerful magical equipment of all kinds, signified the life¡¯s work of the Necromancer, and meant the presence of a strong summoned creature deep in sleep at the moment. None of these could be trumped by a bit of treasure.

    Plucking the Gem of Curse from the disaster energy field was not a difficult feat, but it might take away their chance to continue exploring. Who knew, they might lose the opportunity to stumble upon a treasure cove of magical gemstones because of this¡ªnow that would be something to regret.

    With onest look at the Gem of Curse, Lin Li pushed open the phony stone door meant as a disguise while gritting his teeth.

    ¡°...¡± Never did Lin Li think that there would be such a vast difference between whaty on both sides of the door. Once he pushed the door open, it was like there were two different worlds in the mineshaft¡ªa quiet stone room on one side, and a gloomy and terrifying graveyard on the other side. Looking into the distance, all he could see were numerous tombstones and the flickering light of vigil lights, coupled with the whimpering cry of the blowing wind. It was a bone-chilling sight.

    As they walked into the big graveyard, Lin Li thought he had returned to the nest of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. The graveyard was nested within the spacious mountains, and one look told them that there must have been thousands of tombstones in the graveyard. In the center of these tombstones, therey a massive ancient mausoleum. The architectural style of the mausoleum looked to be around a thousand years old to Lin Li as he looked at it from a distance. The kingdom of the High Elves had just fallen then, and many things like the arts and architecture in Anril contained remnants of the Dark Ages.

    The faint light of the vigil lights hovered above the mausoleum like green fireflies; it looked like a sea of green from a distance. The wind blew high and low on the vast mountainside, forming a mix of whimpers and groans that raised the hair on their backs.

    As they weaved through the numerous tombstones, bits of skeletons could be seen scattered around. Their ghastly white added to the eeriness of the ce.

    The mausoleum at the center of the graveyard was the only exception as it oozed magnificence and grandeur. Standing before it, the trio could see a faint lighting from within it...

    ¡°If there¡¯s really a treasure here, I¡¯m afraid this is where it is hidden...¡± Lin Li turned back to the other two from where he stood in front of the mausoleum. ¡°Shall we go take a look? ¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Gerian replied without a second thought.

    ¡°Well... erm, I guess we could go take a look...¡± Ysera was apprehensive, but seeing that Gerian already decided on it, he did not dare to protest for fear of displeasing the middle-aged fatty.

    ¡°But this door...¡± Gerian said, feeling sheepish all of a sudden. ¡°Would it be like the one outside?¡±

    ¡°This door should be fine...¡± Lin Li scrutinized it before leading the two forward after he had ascertained that there was no mageweathid down around it.

    Lin Li was correct as the door was alright. It gave way with just a light push, only creaking lightly in the process.

    Then...

    Light shone through the mausoleum¡¯s door¡ªsuddenly, all Lin Li could see was light that shone like glittering gold, just as if he was basking in the afternoon sun.

    ¡°My God...¡±

    Lin Li was no stranger to money, for the wealth he¡¯d held in the Endless World could only be described as astronomical. In the Anril world, he enjoyed the samefort, for he easily earned more than a million in gold coins at an auction selling the Arcane Magic Potion. Gerian even had to get him a crystal card at the Glittergold Bank.

    Well, those were just numbers...

    Lin Li had never thought that the result could be so astounding when the numbers were tranted into actual objects. The main entrance of the mausoleum led to a spacious hall around the size of a football field, with heaps of gold coins scattered around it; they varied in size, but resembled hills nheless. Red and green gems peeked through the sea of glittery gold, covering the hall in a dreamy light...

    ¡°F*ck, we¡¯ve hit the jackpot...¡± Gerian¡¯s pupils dted slowly, his beady eyes resembling gold coins more and more as he looked at the glittery gold hills. Face flushed and breathing hastened, he would have pounced on all the treasures if it were not for Lin Li¡¯s tight hold on him.

    ¡°Be careful, I sense something amiss here...¡± For some reason, Lin Li frowned as he stared upon the mountains of gold.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Hell, I don¡¯t know, either...¡± Maybe it was the setting, or the fact that they were currently in a spooky graveyard, but Lin Li could not help but feel unsettled. Even though there were mountains of gold right in front of him, he could not wave away the uneasiness, feeling as though they were being watched by some eyes hiding in the dark.

    This feeling urred twice to him aftering into Anril: once in the Nightmare Mountains, and the other time in the Shadowglen. While nothing terrible happened each time, Lin Li believed that his hunch was right, and the time might just not be ripe even though nothing out of the norm happened.

    All in all, it was an unsettling feeling.

    Besides, Lin Li felt a familiar presenceing from within the mountains of gold.

    Compared to the unsettling feeling, Lin Li was more concerned about this familiar presence.

    Truth be told, Lin Li had already felt this presence the moment he had broken the Song of Death and opened the tightly shut stone door. It almost felt like a blood connection that transcended even time and space, like a brand on the soul, the rity of it undeniable no matter the distance between them.

    It was especially strong when Lin Li approached the mausoleum, just as though a voice right next to his ear was calling him.

    Lin Li , however, was unable to recall what could be so familiar that it would feel like a blood connection to him...

    The trace of suspicion lingered on his mind until a small noise came from deep within the mountains of gold...

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lin Li realized he was in trouble just as the noise sounded. A sudden noiseing from a mausoleum sealed for the past thousand years... What could it be besides the damned Undead creatures?

    Indeed...

    No sooner had Lin Li¡¯s warning been issued than a heap of gold coins scattered, and a dozen skeletons wielding rusted machetes came tumbling through the gold coins in the air.

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s these things again!¡± Lin Li felt a headacheing; he could never seem to rid himself of the Undead creatures ever since the fight at the Shadowglen. Time and again, from the Shadowglen to ckhills Town, and from nna to Jarrosus, the damned Undead creatures pursued him relentlessly like a nightmare he could never free himself from.

    A pity he did not have the time to ponder further.

    While a dozen Skeletal Warriors brushed the gold coins aside and charged forward, noises could be heard from the nearby piles of gold. All of a sudden, the gold coins rained down as the noises continued like swarms of locusts chewing away at crop fields. Ysera paled at the sight¡ªsure, it was not his first encounter with the Undead, but in such numbers... that was a first. Judging from the massive size of this hall, they would be doomed if every heap of gold coins hid Skeletal Warriors.

    ¡°Retreat to the door!¡± Lin Li prompted his dumbfoundedpanions as he wielded the Aether Staff.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Ysera found himself breaking out of his trance at Lin Li¡¯s warning. From their position at the center of the great hall, they would be surrounded if Skeletal Warriors emerged from every pile of gold...

    Gerian and Ysera hurriedly retreated out of the mausoleum as Lin Li held the Aether Staff tightly, spilling verses after verses of intelligible spells. The Dragon¡¯s Eye atop the magic staff gleamed as a sea of light started spreading; he managed to stop the Skeletal Warriors that continued pressing closer with a zing fire.

    After using the Wall of Fire spell, Lin Li took a few steps back, and quickly began his recitations with his back pressed against the cool stone wall.

    Ever since he mastered many core magical mantras in the Aurora Square, Lin Li was able to reach a level of greatpletion with his skills. Right now, he could wield any magic below level-10 with ease, be it shortening the time taken to cast it or changing its magical elements. With a little bit of risk, even a level-10 magic could be cast in the blink of an eye...

    Given the twisted nature with which he cast magic, conjuring ming Storm, a level-8 magic, needless to say, was as easy as breathing for him. As the spells tumbled out of his mouth swiftly, numerous fiery dragons pounced on the Skeletal Warriors, each brandishing their fangs and ws.

    One, two, three...

    Like the falling autumn leaves, dozens of Skeletal Warriors had been reduced to ashes in a sh as the ming Storm continued its onught. So rapid was Lin Li¡¯s use of magic that the Skeletal Warriors were caught in the sweep of magic before they could even rise from the heaps of gold coins, which left the great hall empty in a matter of seconds.

    Still, Lin Li did not let his guard down one bit.

    At this point, Lin Li could not be more sure of the fact that this was the tomb of a top-notch Necromancer. Song of Death mageweath, Gem of Curse, and the disaster energy field... which of these could have belonged to anyone besides a powerful Necromancer? How could he not expect anything besides these lowly Undead creatures?

    Hence, Lin Li grasped the Aether Staff tightly with both hands.

    Indeed...

    Before Lin Li could unleash the fourth ming Storm, a noise came from the great hall, and Lin Li realized all of a sudden that the stone door opposite the great hall had opened.

    ¡°Damn it... ¡± Lin Li felt his heart tighten.

    Unsurprisingly, a sea of Undead creatures poured out just as the stone door gave way.

    This was definitely a bone-chilling sight.

    Corpses, vengeful spirits, Skeletal Warriors, and Hell Ghouls...

    Undead creatures of all kinds came swarming in waves drenched in a stifling death aura, looking like tiny dots from afar. Even if Lin Li had stayed a week at the Shadowglen, where the Undead roamed, and witnessed a great war of the Undead creatures, he could not help but be dumbfounded when presented with this scene. While they were trumped by the ones in the Shadowglen in terms of quantity, they easily won with their variety. This was a banquet of the Undead creatures of some kind¡ªas the door opened, every lowly Undead creature you could name came pouring out of it...

    ¡°Is this a joke... ¡± The thought of death came to Lin Li as he stared at the throngs of undead creatures. If he¡¯d known this would be the oue, he would have fled with the Gem of Curse instead of exploring the burial grounds of a powerful Necromancer. Look where this brought him¡ªeven if he used the Thousand Miles of Ice spell to expel the undead creatures, it was going to take him at least a day...

    ¡°M-Mage Felic, what do we do now?¡± Ysera swallowed saliva with difficulty, feeling regret deep in his guts. He would have pped himself if he could. God damn it, why did he interfere with the affairs of the Guild of Magic? Great, he would be smashed into jam by the sheer number of the Undead here now.

    ¡°Protect President Gerian and retreat outside first, I¡¯m going to stall them.¡± Lin Li quickly made a decision knowing he would not be able to take on so many Undead creatures. The only way out was to escape, and even that had to be done separately...

    ¡°Nonsense, I don¡¯t need any protection!¡± Ysera had not even had the chance to speak before Gerian had scolded from aside. However, after his scolding, he suddenly realised the condition he was in, he would be of no help even if he stayed and thus the middle-aged fatty changed his tone. ¡°Even if you think this old man will get in your way, I can leave on my own, at least let Ysera stay to help, it shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± How could Lin Li not understand Gerian¡¯s concern? This was really not the time to debate who should take the risk, however, and as he continued kindling the firewall, he turned to Ysera, who was hesitating at the side. ¡°What are you waiting for? Take President Gerian and leave immediately! ¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok...¡± As Ysera stared at the Undead creatures that were pressing in on them, he knew they could not dy further. Without worrying about Gerian¡¯s consent, he grabbed his robe, and dragged him out of the mausoleum.

    Seeing the two retreat outside, Lin Li let out of breath of relief, and slowly retreated as well, maintaining the firewall blocking the Undead creatures all the while.

    However, at that moment, something unexpected urred all of a sudden...

    Just as Lin Li finished thest wave of ming Storms, intending to retreat outside of the mausoleum, a ck puff of smoke appeared in the center of the great hall. Lin Li whipped his head around at hearing a noise, only to find that the stone door had shut tightly. Lin Li paled at this moment. His escape route was gone as the army of Undead creatures closed in on him¡ªbad things really came in threes!

    ¡°F*ck, you really want to trap me in here, huh? ¡± Tightly grasping the Aether Staff, Lin Li began his recitation yet again.

    Just as the first syble rang out, a tall figure appeared from the puff of ck smoke. He looked to be a young man in his twenties. With his ck cape and a pale face as well as the air of elegance radiating from him, he looked to be a High Elven aristocrat from the Dark Ages.

    <i>How can my luck be this bad... </i>This air of elegance only served run a chill down his limbs.

    Lin Li clearly remembered that two months ago in the Shadowglen, he had seen the same air of elegance which, correct, belonged to the high-ranking Vampire who had died a mysterious death in the end.

    The same gory stench, and the same eerie blood-red pupils.

    This dude had to be a true high-ranking Vampire.

    <i>I¡¯m in big trouble... </i>Lin Li could not help but gulp as he thought of how powerful a high-ranking Vampire could be...

    This high-ranking Vampire could well be the leader of the Undead creatures. As he arrived atop the ck fog, the great hall quieted down in an instant. The corpses stopped their growling, and the vengeful spirits ceased their painful whimpers; even the Skeletal Warriors wielding their machetes stilled as if held by an unknown force, standing frozen in their spots, and only the lights in their hollow eyes continued flickering.

    The death auraing from the high-ranking Vampire was iparably powerful, just like the legendary aura of a dragon. So powerful it was that Lin Li found himself gasping for breath. At this point, he realized that this Vampire was so powerful that it was probably above the one back at the Shadowglen...

    Despite mastering many core magical mantras and attaining the 16th level which was coveted by every Archmage, he was probably still no match for the powerful Death Energy.

    At this point, all Lin Li could do was to continue his recitation, praying that the Thousand Miles of Ice spell could buy him some time...

    However, at this point, the ck-cloaked High-ranking Vampire did something beyond Lin Li¡¯s wildest dreams.

    He lowered his head, his pale face filled with loyalty and passion, and then... he kneeled down.

    ¡°The Great Immortal King, you have finally arrived... ¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li almost choked on his saliva out of shock. <i>W-w-what¡¯s going on now?</i>

    Wait a second... The Great Immortal King?

    Is this another muddled dude?

    Lin Li remembered clearly that a few days ago, in the Aurora Square, the mage named Garat had called him the ¡°Mighty Immortal King¡± as well, even going as far as to say that ¡°He would wield skeletons as his staff and be crowned king once again¡±. Indeed, it was almost the same scenario as the one now, and the same look of loyalty and passion, rivaling the most devoted followers of Brilliance Shrine!

    <i>Do I really look like the Immortal King? </i>Lin Li touched his face unconsciously, thinking to himself, <i>Am I really that unlucky?</i>

    ¡°O Mighty Immortal King, on behalf of the Lus Feratu Family, I pledge our allegiance to you!¡± As Lin Li remained doubtful about the situation, the Vampire kneeling on a single knee carved a line on his forehead with a long and sharp nail...

    Blood trickled out of the gash...

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes bulged at the sight. While he knew little about Vampires, he had heard Andoine mention on asions that they usually pledged their loyalty using a blood oath like this...

    What the high-ranking Vampire was presenting now was a blood oath in its mostplete form.

    With fresh blood as a guide and with life bearing witness, hey down a vow to never betray¡ªsuch was the blood oath of a Vampire.

    Lin Li froze in shock, for he knew that if he walked over and painted the blood on his forehead with his finger, it would seal the blood oath. This high-ranking Vampire would be his most loyal servant, so fiercely loyal that he would give his life up for Lin Li without a second thought if he was asked to.

    At this moment, Lin Li really felt as though he were in a dream.

    For some reason, he had barged into a mausoleum, and stumbled upon unimaginable wealth presented in the form of gold coins. All of this would have been thrilling enough, but little had he known that a high-ranking Vampire at least level-18 would pledge his allegiance to him using a blood oath!

 Chapter 294 - The Highlordéˆ¥æªš Younger Brother

    <h4>Chapter 294: The Highlord¡¯s Younger Brother</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°How can I do that... ¡± Lin Li said half-heartedly as he had already proceeded to dip his finger into the blood. Not once did he stop to think if this could be a trap, as there was no need to do so. There were countless Undead creatures in this great hall, and with a high-ranking Vampire at least at level-18, why would they risk the Vampire¡¯s freedom with a blood oath when they could destroy him so easily.

    As Lin Li felt the boiling blood on his fingertip, he confirmed his suspicions. This had to be a blood oath. The reason was simple. As an Undead creature, a Vampire¡¯s blood was unbearably cold. Only when they made a blood oath did their blood boil with their soul fire, just as the blood on his fingertip did...

    The boiling blood felt like a zing ball of fire on his forehead; before Lin Li could react, millions of fragmented memories formed a wave and flooded his mind. Voices and scenes, old and new, came together in a flurry, fighting a war in his mind. Amidst the chaos, the fog shrouding one particr voice and scene slowly disappeared, just like dust-sealed scrolls being revealed to him. Lin Li knew that this was the soul fire of the Vampire, epassing all his memories from the day he became an Undead creature to this day as he offered his soul fire to seal the blood oath. The boiling drop of blood was brimming with all of these memories...

    ¡°Whooo...¡± Countless memory fragments pieced themselves together. At longst, Lin Li let out a long breath of relief. Scanning the many Undead creatures in the great hall, he saw that not a trace of violence and murder resided in their eyes, onlypliance and respect. Lin Li could even tell that they wouldply with any of his orders. Atst, he let his gaze fall upon the high-ranking Vampire.

    ¡°Norfeller, could you tell me about the origins of this mausoleum? ¡±

    ¡°Norfeller¡± was the name of the high-ranking Vampire. Not only did Lin Lie to know of the Vampire¡¯s origins from the fragments of memory, he also knew that this Vampire was half human and half High Elf. Born in the legendary Dark Ages, Norfeller had even once served as the personal guard of a High Elf aristocrat.

    ¡°As you wish, Master...¡± replied Norfeller. He remained on a single knee,pliance and respect evident in his voice.

    His deep and raspy voice brought them back to 1200 years ago, when the High Elves still ruled the world and Osric reigned over the Fn Kingdom. This reign and dictatorship, however, came with stir of a brewing storm. The human army had destroyed six Sky Castles, and the High Elves were about to lose theirst weapon. Naturally, the High Elves aristocrats started to panic, and the aristocrat Norfeller served was no exception.

    ording to Norfeller, the aristocrat was named Giovanni¡ªhe ruled over thends south of the Breezy ins. He lost everything he had in the war, and had no choice but to escape to Fn, where he begged his half-brother Osric to offer him protection. Sadly, the once decorated Highlord was now utterly devoted to building a mausoleum in his old age.

    Perhaps it was an understanding of his plight, or maybe he had been inspired by Osric, but after a night of pondering, the distraught Giovanni approached Osric and asked for the piece ofnd by the Demon Fall Valley.

    Osric did not refuse him, and recalled the Magic Legion that resided at the Demon Fall Valley that very evening.

    From then on, Giovanni lived in the Demon Fall Valley, building himself a mage tower and sending countless ves to dig the grounds to build him a true underground pce.

    Following that, he began his research on Necromagic.

    Necromagic was a taboo amongst the life-loving High Elves, who thought it a belittlement of life. In those times, any High Elf who practiced Necromagic was treated like a heretic and burnt to death.

    Hence, Giovanni¡¯s research on Necromagic remained a secret to everybody but his personal guard Norfeller. Not even his half-brother Osric knew about it.

    Giovanni¡¯s researchsted 10 years. As time went by, the human army had already taken over vast areas. The sound of horns came ringing from the borders of the Fn Kingdom, and as the ruler Osric grew frailer each day, the people knew that the Highlord¡¯s time was nearly up...

    The human army finally invaded the Breezy ins that autumn. In that same autumn, Highlord Osric also came to the end of his time. The raging fires of war reached nna from the Breezy ins as Osric¡¯s two sons battled each other for the throne each day even as they lived in fear of the human army. At that time, Giovanni did the unthinkable: he turned himself into an Undead creature.

    Or, more urately, a Lich.

    Giovanni buried the brand of his soul into his life case, hence obtaining immortality through an unorthodox method.

    After turning himself into a Lich, Giovanni did not attempt to resist the human army. Instead, he quickly moved all that he had into the underground pce. The day he was done, he killed all the ves with Necromagic, and turned them all into his most loyal servants.

    Due to his loyalty, Norfeller was turned into a high-ranking Vampire who retained his memory and intelligence, and served as the right-hand man of Giovanni whomanded the army of Undead creatures.

    ¡°What about now? Where is Giovanni?¡± Lin Li could not help his suspicion upon hearing this.

    ¡°Lord Giovanni has already died, the brand of his soul had already disappeared 1200 years ago when he moved into the underground pce...¡± While Norfeller¡¯s voice was still filled with the same air ofpliance and respect, a trace of hisplicated feelings slipped through at the mention of his previous master.

    ¡°Dead?¡± Lin Li could not control his shock at this. <i>Wasn¡¯t that too fast? Didn¡¯t he just turn into an immortal Lich? </i>Lin Li clearly remembered Andoine telling him that every Lich lived almost eternally, and even if they were killed, they could revive themselves with the brand of their soul that remained in the life case. Even if Giovanni was a freshly created Lich, surely he was better than that?

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    Norfeller nodded as he remained kneeling. As Giovanni retreated into the underground pce with his army of the Undead, he found an altar situated right at the center of it. This altar had been already present as the ves built the underground pce, but as they had mostly been peasants from various tribes, none of them knew what the altar represented.

    Giovanni was the only one who knew...

    Just as he set foot into the underground pce, Giovanni felt a great force of Divine Powering from the center of the altar. This was undoubtedly a cruel joke for the newly born Lich¡ªsuch Divine Power was hidden in an underground pce made for Undead creatures? It felt like being in a tank with a ball of fire.

    Perhaps he had been too sure of himself, or maybe he did not want future troubles knocking at his door... no matter what it had been, Giovanni made a decision to check out the interior of altar upon seeing it for the first time. Norfeller recalled that Giovanni had gone in alone¡ªnot a single underling followed, not even the most trusted Norfeller.

    The ident happened then...

    Norfeller heard a cry an hour after Giovanni went into the altar before he saw Giovanni rush out covered in mes. Till this day, Norfeller could recall the terror of the mes, just like that of the legendary Judgement Day. Even a spark of that fire could destroy an Undead creature, and numerous Undead turned into ashes just as Giovanni emerged from the altar. If not for his quick thinking and flying away after turning into a bat, Norfeller would not be speaking to Lin Li today...

    Just like Lin Li, Norfeller had initially thought that Giovanni would survive the Divine Fire as he had already turned into a Lich. Soon, however, he could clearly feel that the Divine Fire was not just burning Giovanni¡¯s body, but also his soul¡ªeven the brand of his soul locked in the life case was not spared.

    Sadly, as Norfeller realized that, thest bit of the brand of Giovanni¡¯s soul had already been destroyed...

    Thus, nobody knew what Giovanni saw inside the altar, and nobody knew what was the fire that could parallel the mes of Judgement Day. Norfeller only knew that Giovanni¡¯s dying words were: ¡°1200 yearster, the Immortal King will open this sealed door. Norfeller, you must follow him and serve him...¡±

    Hence, Norfeller waited 1200 years in this underground pce until Lin Li came through the mausoleum¡¯s door...

    ¡°... ¡± Lin Li brushed his nose without a word, thinking to himself, <i>F*ck, how can there be such a coincidence?</i>

 Chapter 295 - Meteorite Debris

    Chapter 295: Meteorite Debris

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Lin Li still remained in shock as the number of questions in his mind only grew even after Norfeller told him everything he knew. Why did Giovanni study Necromagic? Why did he build the underground pce? Why were there so many things hidden in the altar, and why did it shoot out such powerful Divine Fire? Who was this damned Immortal King, and why did he find the issue revolving around him all the time?

    Lin Li found himself out of breath as the questions weighed down on him like boulders. He found everything about the Immortal King terrifying as it resembled a trap someone had meticulouslyid down for him.

    ¡°Damn it, who has so much time in the world to be after me? Be prepared to feel my wrath!!¡± Lin Li never thought he would be so vexed standing in the midst of so many Undead creatures that this would be the first thing he said.

    Norfeller remained on one knee, not a single movement on his sculpted features and pale face. It was as though his new master¡¯s outburst did not affect him at all.

    ¡°Damn it, really...¡± Lin Li quickly calmed down after his huge outburst, and no trace of irritation remained on his face when he lifted his head. ¡°Alright, Norfeller, bring me to the altar... ¡±

    ¡°As you wish!¡± While Norfeller¡¯s voice brimmed withpliance and respect, he could not hide the tiny bit of worry in his blood-red eyes. ¡°However, Master, the strength hidden in the altar is way too strong, and I may not be able to protect you... ¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Lin Li smiled as he said something even the high-ranking Vampire could notprehend. ¡°If my predictions are correct, I may meet an old friend in there...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Signs of doubt appeared on Norfeller¡¯s pale face, but he did not question Lin Li further. With a wave of his hand, countless Undead creatures retreated like a receding tide. In a sh, all that was left in the great hall besides the heaps of gold coins were Lin Li and Norfeller.

    ¡°Please follow me, Master. ¡±

    The ck-caped Norfeller looked like a ghost with his light and fast steps as he walked ahead. Lin Li studied the vast underground pce as he casually followed behind him. Giovanni was a crafty fellow indeed; if not for Norfeller leading the way, Lin Li would never have guessed that the great hall covered in gold coins was only the entrance to the underground pce. The underground pcey behind a trap door, and behind the door was a corridor filled with traps. Even Norfeller had to slow down as he had to pause and disarm a trap at every step. A quick count told Lin Li that they had to stop at least 80 times across the distance of less than 500 meters...

    Lin Li broke out in cold sweat as they continued. He was thankful that Norfeller made a blood oath with him as he would surely not survive here alone. The trapsid down in this corridor could only be described as ¡°despicable¡±¡ªarrows hidden under tiles, poison smeared on the handrails, and others were only child¡¯s ypared to whaty ahead. Lin Li loosed a long breath of relief after passing through the corridor, only to hear Norfeller warn him that a certain tile ahead would activate a Teleportation Portal upon contact. Lin Li could not help himself anymore as he gritted his teeth and cursed, ¡°Asshole.¡±

    Soon, however, Lin Li realized he was too quick to curse...

    A spacious stone roomy ahead of the corridor. Lin Li saw rows of neatly arranged shelves as he peeked in through the door which was left ajar. Books of various kinds filled the shelves; they looked to be remnants of the Dark Ages from their appearance. Lin Li could not help feeling excited as he thought of Giovanni¡¯s royal status; for all he knew, these could be precious works. Just as he wanted to ask Norfeller if there was anything on Osric in there, the high-ranking Vampire introduced respectfully, ¡°Master, this is the underground dungeon. There are three Abyssal Demons here...¡±

    ¡°... ¡± Lin Li all but coughed out blood . Damn it, Giovanni must have had nothing better to do... Why would he turn a study into a dungeon and ce Abyssal Demons here? He might as well have kept a demon highlord inside.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Norfeller asked concernedly after seeing the change in Lin Li¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Nothing... Carry on!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The human and vampire moved on. After an hour in this underground pce filled with traps, Lin Li finally saw an exit. There was a winding staircase leading upwards outside the exit. Lin Li could clearly see flowingrvae at the end of the staircase, with sparks flying up asionally, and an altar glowing blindingly...

    ¡°Master, we¡¯re... we¡¯re here...¡± Norfeller stood outside terrified as he unknowingly cowered. As an Undead creature, such pure Holy Light was like poison for him, and even a drop could destroy his body as well as his soul fire.

    ¡°Ok, you go rest somewhere. I¡¯ll take a look. ¡± Lin Li knew what the Holy Light meant for Norfeller, and let him rest in the underground pce instead of making him lead the way any further. Instead, he carried on up the winding stairs by himself.

    ¡°Well, of course...¡± The familiar presence became stronger the nearer Lin Li got to it. At this point, Lin Li could clearly tell that it came from the altar.

    The altar was not far ahead. It was situated on top of the flowingrvae. A glowing path lined with fragmented moonstonesy in front of the altar, and from a distance, the altar was bathed in a Holy Light. Lin Li stood quietly with his palms drenched in sweat as he clearly knew what the Holy Light meant even though Norfeller and Giovanni did not.

    Standing there, he could even clearly hear a voice in his head.

    ¡°Long time no see...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, long time no see...¡± Lin Li walked on the moonstone path with a smile on his face.

    The blinding lights and flowingrvae ceased to exist in his mind, and all that was left was the Holy Light as well as the voiceing from the depths of his soul.

    Three steps, two steps, one...

    Lin Li thought he heard a loud ¡°bang¡± the moment he touched the altar, though he was not sure. All he remembered was that in a split second, countless sounds rang in his ear and countless lights shed before his eyes. While it was gone in a sh, it felt like years to Lin Li, and when he finally opened his eyes again, there was a smear of light on his palm...

    Then, everything quieted down again.

    The boilingrvae stopped flowing, and the blinding lights dimmed. The world lost all color in that short time as though something had sucked everything from it. Everything disappeared into the smear of light on Lin Li¡¯s palm.

    Perhaps only Lin Li knew what happened in that short amount of time.

    Light escaped even as he slowly sped his hands together, and Lin Li could clearly see that he was holding a bolt shining as brightly as the sun in his hands. Blinding Holy Light spilled from the bolt, pure and strong like the first ray of sunlight when the sun rose in the east...

    Lin Li could not help breaking into a smile as he held the bolt in his hand, for he knew that hardly any Undead creature stood a chance against him now¡ªnot even Sendros from the Legendary Realm or the two Undead Lords from the Shadowglen. They were no match for the meteorite debris no matter how powerful they were.

    That was right, the bolt Lin Li held was one of the seven pieces of meteorite debris. A certain legend said that it could slice through the deepest dark and destroy the worst of evils. It was the symbol of purity and holiness, ¡°Holy Light!¡±

    A legend in the Endless World said that Godbined earth, water, fire, wind, light, and darkness together and forged seven bolts with seven elemental alignments. With the milky way as the string to the bow made of the crescent moon, God forged the Stars of Fury that could destroy heaven and earth. In the legend, God could destroy the stars in the sky with just one hit using the Stars of Fury.

    If that happened to the stars, what about Undead creatures?

    Lin Li suddenly understood Giovanni¡¯s sudden death as he held the Holy Light in his hands. Honestly, this asshole had terrible luck. After putting in so much effort to build himself an underground pce and turning himself into a Lich to live out his days as an immortal, he unexpectedly found Holy Light the day he moved into his underground pce. To top it off, this guy did not know what was good for him, and tried to investigate the Holy Light himself...

    The light held the most powerful and pure Divine Power; it was so strong that the power of the Pope of the Ledin Kingdom, who prided himself on being the most pious man of Anril, probably did note close to the power of this bolt. Even the most powerful evil highlord would tremble at a blow from this Holy Light, much less a newly turned Lich!

    ¡°Serves this guy right...¡± Lin Li turned to the stairs without looking back after gloating. The altar dimmed behind him, and the flowingrvae writhed as though losing all its life force. He knew that this was because he took away the Holy Light which served as their life source.

    The amount of fear in Norfeller¡¯s gaze subtly increased as Lin Li returned to the underground pce.

    He could clearly sense that this young mage held enough power to destroy him a sh.

    ¡°Master, are you alright? ¡± Norfeller sounded terrified.

    ¡°I¡¯m well...¡± Lin Li nodded, casting ast nce at the altar behind him. ¡°Never been better! ¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Master! ¡±

    ¡°Alright, Norfeller, I have been gone long enough. We must hurry back, for I dare not imagine what will happen to the underground pce if we don¡¯t... ¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Norfeller was visibly confused.

    Soon, however, he realized what it was all about...

    The clinking sounds of digging could be heard just as they returned to the great hall filled with gold coins, an angry bellowing asionally piercing through the noise.

    ¡°Damn it, all you good for nothing fools, why are you taking so long to dig through this rotten mausoleum, even rats can do it faster!¡±

    ¡°President Gerian, calm down, we will save Mage Felic for sure...¡±

    ¡°God, Ysera, call the mages and blow up this ce! I don¡¯t believe a thousand mages wouldn¡¯t do the trick!¡±

    Norfeller gulped as he pictured a thousand mages blowing down the doors of the mausoleum.

    ¡°He¡¯s true to his word, open the door quickly...¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Norfeller hurriedly uttered a spell before the tightly shut door gave way with a clicking sound; then, familiar faces appeared before Lin Li.

    ¡°President Gerian, what if we hurt Felic by getting so many mages at once...¡± Ysera barely finished before he paused seeing the Felic they were trying to save standing there smiling, not a hair out of ce¡ªtotally not what you would expect from a person who had just escaped countless Undead creatures.

    ¡°Hahaha, I knew you would be alright, and I was right...¡± Gerian pounced on him before Lin Li could speak. Despite his boasting, the middle-aged fatty could not help but blurt out, ¡°How was it? Are you really fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s¡ª¡± Gerian froze before he could finish his words as he saw the pale-faced young man standing behind Felic.

    Norfeller had yet to reveal his inhuman form when the two escaped the mausoleum, so Gerian did not know that this pale-faced young man was a level-18 high-ranking Vampire. This did not affect Gerian¡¯s judgement as he felt his heart jump at the powerful death aura the moment he set eyes on Norfeller.

    ¡°Fe... Felic, this is?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Norfeller, my new bodyguard...¡±

    The vague exnation made Gerian and Ysera look at each other and roll their eyes as they thought that nobody could lie through their teeth so obviously like Lin Li. A bodyguard? We went in with you, since when did you have a bodyguard we don¡¯t know of?

    Of course, they could not say this.

    Not only could they not speak of it, they had to smile and eagerly turn to this creepy guy emitting a strong death aura. ¡°Norfeller, I see, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you...¡±

    Lin Li was no longer concerned over the two humans meeting the high-ranking Vampire. He was more caught up with gold coins in the great hall and how was he going to take care of that. There was really too many of them, and it would take days even with all the men Jarrosus had on his hand.

    ¡°Right, Norfeller...¡± Lin Li decided to turn to Norfeller after some thought.

    ¡°What orders do you have, Master?¡±

    ¡°The Undead creatures youmand, can they walk out of the mausoleum?¡±

    ¡°They can.¡± Norfeller gave a resolute nod. ¡°As long as there is no sunlight, they can head anywhere.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, I have a small task for them...¡± Lin Li lowered his head, and whispered something into Norfeller¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Yes, Master! ¡±

    Norfeller turned back to the mausoleum, leaving Gerian and Ysera who both sported a nk look behind.

    ¡°He¡¯s gone, what are you staring at?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, you rascal, tell me honestly, is he an Undead creature?¡±

    ¡°What Undead creature, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare deny it, he was oozing such strong death aura... with his red eyes, he must be a Death Knight or a Vampire! Do you take me for a fool?¡±

    ¡°All right, all right, you can take him for an Undead creature, but he¡¯s an obedient one...¡± Lin Li cated Gerian vaguely before turning to the innocent workers with a smile. ¡°Thank you all for your help, you must be tired, so go home and rest. I¡¯ll treat you all one day when we¡¯re back in Jarrosus, my heartfelt thanks to you all!¡±

    The workers were taken by surprised at his words, and the weak-hearted ones even felt their legs turning into jelly as they walked out of the mine. They looked at each other in disbelief as they couldn¡¯t believe the man who praised them with a smile was Mage Felic of the Emerald Tower. Goodness, I must write this down for my kids when we get back...

    Lin Li did not know how emotional the workers were, but he knew Gerian was.

    ¡°Quick, tell me what was in that mausoleum and what you have got up your sleeve! Why did you chase away the workers, how am I going to bring the gold coins back without them?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the gold coins, I¡¯ve found a solution. Just get everyone home and get someone to collect the coins at the entrance of the mine at noon. As for what happened in the mausoleum, that¡¯s a long story... you saw Norfeller earlier, right? Well, he¡¯s one hell of a guy...¡± Lin Li ushered Gerian out of the underground pce as he slowly gave an ount of what had happened inside. Of course, because of various reasons, most of it were half-truths. The meteorite debris, for example, remained a secret as this concerned Lin Li¡¯s origins, and Lin Li was still gued with questions that he had yet to find the answers to...

    Nothing happened after they returned to the Demon Fall Valley, and a quiet morning passed just like that. Only when afternoon rolled around did Norfeller appear in Lin Li¡¯s tent like a ghost. After hearing his update about the transportation, Lin Li went to Gerian to tell him to get people to move the gold coins to Jarrosus.

    He had to admit that Gerian was very generous this time.

    He promised the various leaders a 20 percent cut at first, but nobody took it to heart as they knew how shrewd Gerian was. It was a blessing as long as he did not turn to them for help; how could they expect to gain anything from him?

    In the end, he fulfilled his promise after the gold coins were hauled over, and gave the happy 16 leaders their cut straightaway at the Demon Fall Valley.

    During this moment of happiness, however, some people noticed something was off.

    Every single one of these gold coins was drenched in a thick death aura, and greenish liquid could be seen on the coins¡¯ surface. As they thought about how Mage Felic had sent everyone away while mysteriously sending these gold coins up to the mine¡¯s entrance, they realized that even a fool would know what happened.

    As they came to this realization, almost every leader trembled at the thought...

    Damn it, this monster...

    No wonder he was so powerful at such a young age and could kill without batting an eye¡ªit turned out he secretly dealt with Undead creatures, and could evenmand them. With such a monster living in the Emerald Tower, who would dare go against them?

 Chapter 296 - Departure

    <h4>Chapter 296: Departure</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li had long predicted the people¡¯s reaction. This was exactly what he wanted¡ªhe wanted for them to be unsure of him and fear him. This was the only way he could curb the ambitions of Jarrosus¡¯ 16 leaders and protect the Emerald Tower, for he would soon leave this ce...

    Early next day, when everyone was still asleep, Lin Li donned his robe and called upon Norfeller, who had stood outside the tent guarding the whole night. The pair quietly returned to the underground pce, and retrieved the Gem of Curse which kept the disaster energy field going. Then, without alerting anyone, they swiftly returned to the misty Jarrosus on a carriage...

    The Emerald Tower was empty save for a few young apprentices and Kevin who stayed behind to guard the ce. Kevin yawned as he perused the level certifications that had just been submitted, and was visibly stunned when he saw Lin Li walk in.

    ¡°Uncle Gerian didn¡¯t return with you? ¡±

    ¡°Nope...¡± Lin Li said as he casually pulled over a chair. ¡°Your uncle said that the Demon Fall Valley is a pretty good ce, so he¡¯s got ns to stay...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, enough of the jokes...¡± Lin Li turned serious after cracking a joke at Gerian¡¯s expense. ¡°Your uncle had me tell you to send some horses over to the Demon Fall Valley, he¡¯s got some stuff he wants to bring back.¡±

    ¡°What stuff?¡±

    ¡°Some gold coins, maybe around six million...¡±

    ¡°... ¡± Kevin hissed, drawing a cold breath.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°You guys dug into a gold mine?¡±

    ¡°No, we dug into a mausoleum...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Kevin shook his head after being stunned for about a minute. With a face full of disbelief, he called over an apprentice, and got him to rent a fleet of carriages from the station.

    ¡°Sigh, I knew it, something was bound to happen if the two of you went together. My God, six million gold coins, how are we going to spend it...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The two were chatting away when they heard the galloping of horses from a distance.

    Lin Li looked out, and saw a few carriages outside the door of the Emerald Tower, a dozen ck-cloaked mages stepping out of them. Amongst them was an old man with a beard the color of snow¡ªhis name was Herza, and Lin Li had met him a few times in nna.

    ¡°Well, Kevin, I¡¯ve got to leave...¡± Lin Li stood up and dusted off his rune cloak while forcing a smile as he approached the door. ¡°Good morning, Mage Herza, wee to the Emerald Tower...¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Mage Felic.¡±

    Herza could not help showing a satisfied smile as he looked at Lin Li. As the organizer of the trial, he had uncovered the most talented young mage in the whole of Fn Kingdom, maybe even in the whole of Anril. This was a happy asion for anyone; besides, this young mage had gained authority over a Guild of Magic because of this trial, and this alone would have given Herza enough credit. While it did not seem like much now, under the guidance of this powerful mage, this Guild of Magic would surely hold an important position in a couple of decades, and Lin Li would have been greatly indebted to him by then...

    Herza could not helpmenting as he eyed the messy guild hall. Gerian was unbelievably lucky indeed¡ªafter decades of mediocre work helming the Emerald Tower, he found a monstrous talent in his old age. This was not your everyday luck...

    Herza frowned as the thought of Gerian struck him. He came as a representative of the Supreme Council, so how dared this fatty hide instead of weing him? This was utter disregard for the authority of the Supreme Council, and this alone would have guaranteed Gerian insufferable consequences in other circumstances!

    <i>Well, so be it, this fatty has always been up to no good, and there¡¯s no point getting angry over it. </i>Besides, Felic hailed from the Emerald Tower, so Herza would let this pass for his sake.

    Herza never thought that somebody else would harp over this matter even though he had let it slide.

    As Herza walked into the guild hall, a middle-aged mage said unhappily, ¡°Where¡¯s Gerian? Why didn¡¯t hee out to wee us?¡±

    The middle-aged mage¡¯s tone sounded using as though Gerian should be damned to hell for noting out to wee them, and a sudden chill spread in the guild hall as a result...

    While Lin Li kept his smile, he was visibly mocking the middle-aged mage as he asked, ¡°I wonder what¡¯s your name, Sir Mage?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, my apologies, Mage Felic, look at me being old and muddle-headed, I forgot to introduce him to you...¡± Herza knew something was going to happen as he saw the change in Lin Li¡¯s expression, for he was aware of Lin Li¡¯s personality and what he would do to this middle-aged mage. Luckily, he was well over a hundred years old, and immediately appeased them the moment something was off. ¡°This is Mage Moke, the most respected Inscriber of the Supreme Council. When the mage tower at Breezy ins is finished, he will be in charge ofying down the mageweath; if you have any ideas, now is the time to discuss it... ¡±

    Herza resolved the awkward atmosphere with the hidden meaning in his words, warning Lin Li against acting rashly. Mage Moke was not to be trifled with, for Lin Li would be in trouble if the former tampered with the new mageweath...

    ¡°Mage Moke? I see, it is a pleasure to meet you...¡± Lin Li backed off on Herza¡¯s ount, but his half-hearted smile remained. ¡°I must trouble you with the mageweath, then... ¡±

    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t worry about that...¡± Unfortunately, the middle-aged mage did not buy that, and moved to scan the guild hall once again with an icy huff..

    ¡°Ipetent as I am, I would nevery down such a lousy mageweath that can be burned down by anyone!¡± he said with an even bigger air of distaste.

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li said nothing more before turning to Herza with a smile. ¡°Mage Herza, when can we leave?¡±

    ¡°Anytime!¡± Herza heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that the prickly Lin Li chose not to make matters worse, for he did not know if he could handle it if Lin Li chose to do otherwise.

    ¡°So soon?¡± Lin Li was surprised at Herza¡¯s words, for he¡¯d originally thought that the old mage had important matters to see to seeing as he had made a trip to Jarrosus. He was shocked that Herza would leave so quickly without so much as a greeting.

    ¡°This was a routine visit to announce the Supreme Council¡¯s decision to Gerian as well as to bring you along to the Breezy ins. Seeing as Gerian isn¡¯t here, I shall save myself the trouble. If there is nothing else, Felic, we can leave this instant. I will fill you in on the details as we go along.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li thought back to the days at the Demon Fall Valley. Knowing he had nothing else to see to, he agreed with a nod of his head, and called in Norfeller, who remained outside the door standing guard. ¡°Norfeller, go pack our stuff, we¡¯ll be leaving for the Breezy ins in half an hour. ¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. ¡±

    Herza¡¯s expression changed as Norfeller entered.

    ¡°Hell...¡± Herza almost cursed in shock. <i>Damn it, what is this rascal up to? It has only been a few days, and now he has a Vampire as a servant? And a high-ranking Vampire at that...</i>

    Herza had seen more than the average man at his age of over a hundred years old, and already knew that Norfeller had to be a true high-ranking Vampire when he entered the guild hall. Furthermore, if he had guessed correctly, the Vampire had to be well over level-18 too...

    ¡°Felic...¡± Herza gulped. ¡°This is...?¡±

    ¡°My new bodyguard, I heard he¡¯s not bad...¡±

    ¡°... ¡± Herza almost lost it at that. <i>A new bodyguard? You heard he¡¯s not bad? Damn it, how patronizing can you get? At leaste up with a better story, will you?</i>

    s, Lin Li was too preupied with bidding farewell to Kevin toe up with something better.

    ¡°Well, Kevin, this is really goodbye.¡± Lin Li tried to make his smile lighter as he patted Kevin on the shoulders. ¡°When your uncle is back, tell him to stay out of trouble. I¡¯ll try to get the antidote out as quickly as I can...¡±

    After nagging some more, Lin Li left the Emerald Tower somewhat reluctantly, and boarded the carriage sent by the Supreme Council. With a crack of the whip, the carriage started moving, and headed northward to the Breezy ins in the afternoon sun...

    Herza sat next to Lin Li as he introduced the sights outside the window as well as the situation in the Breezy ins. He also told him about the provisions the Supreme Council gave him this time.

    Without a doubt, the Supreme Council was very generous this time indeed.

    Besides the necessary provisions, they assigned an Archmage toe byter to assist the President on matters of the council.

    <i>Is he sent to monitor me? </i>Lin Li frowned rather discreetly upon hearing this.

 Chapter 297 - Doland

    <h4>Chapter 297: Dnd</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Dndy at the northern tip of the Breezy ins near the Flower Forest. This chaotic town was home to the poor, soldiers, and the most evil. Every second, a life was lost here; every second, a crime wasmitted here... only the truly evil could survive in such a wretched town.

    Without a doubt, Kaman was a true evil.

    Of course, he would never admit it himself, for he had always prided himself on being a phnthropist who had provided employment opportunities to the masses, thus allowing them to feed their families. The ones preaching benevolence and morals could never contribute the same.

    Few remained unaware of Kaman, and few had yet to cross paths with him in this town. The middle-aged fatty in his forties looked anything but special, but he was the true mastermind behind the Rosen Union. This union controlled more than 80 percent of the stone trade in Dnd, and many products were made with their stone. In recent years especially, the Rosen Union was taking bigger deals and had ventured into every industry possible, snowballing their fortune as a result. There were even rumors that they had coborated with the Glittergold Trade Union, which would allow them to monopolize more than half of Dnd¡¯s industries in the near future.

    Of course, these were merely rumors, and nobody could prove them.

    One thing for sure, though, was that Kaman had been in a good mood these days, and it had nothing to do with the Glittergold Trade Union. It was because Kaman recently discovered a mineral vein in ckhills Town, and after sending experienced miners to check it out, he now knew that it was brimming with adamantine. This had kept him happy for days.

    Kaman had always been in the mining business, and he knew the stone trade better than anyone else. He was well aware of the fact that the price of refined iron core had been increasing, and had nearly doubled since the previous year. If this newly discovered mineral vein could be fully exploited, the Rosen Union would enjoy great profits.

    Moreover, Kaman clearly recalled that at a banquet a few days ago, Casten Gomok had sent people to him, requesting a batch of refined iron core. If he used this opportunity wisely, he could get on the casten¡¯s good side, and his business in Dnd would be smooth sailing in the future.

    Kaman had been making ns to start the mining.

    ckhills Town was a small ce with only a few hundred families, which mostly consisted of farmers. Kaman had found out that the owner of the mineral vein was a wretched aristocratic descendant, so impoverished that he barely had food to eat. As long as Kaman gave him some money, getting the title deed should not be much of a problem...

    Kaman did not give it much thought, as a wretched aristocrat descendant posed no threat to him given the influence the Rosen Union held today. There were numerous ways he could use to force him to cough out the title deed as long as he wished to

    The real concern was mining, for it required arge number of people, and the miners he had on hand were insufficient. Moreover, they were demanding when it came to their pay and benefits, which made Kaman¡¯s blood boil when he thought about it. <i>Damn it, I¡¯m nice enough to give you a job, how dare you mor for benefits... When my ves arrive, I¡¯ll send you home unemployed...</i>

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to hurry the other side once I get my hands on the title deed...¡±

    The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the study as Kaman silently pondered.

    ¡°President Kaman, we... we¡¯ve got a situation!¡±

    Kaman frowned as he heard the frantic noise. None of these guys were good for anything; if he panicked over such trivial matters, how was he going to deal with anything substantial? It seemed like he was going to have to teach them a lesson one of these days....

    ¡°Damn it, shut up!¡± Kaman red at the guy angrily. ¡°Barbeid, are you possessed? What are you screaming for?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... President Kaman...¡± The middle-aged Barbeid rushed into the study and panted for a minute before steadying his breath. ¡°We¡¯ve really got a situation!¡±

    ¡°Well, what is it?¡± Kaman frowned as he stared at his ipetent subordinate. ¡°Is it trouble over at ckhills Town?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡± Barbeid gulped, and eyed Kaman nervously. ¡°Sorry, President Kaman, I couldn¡¯t get the job done...¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t get the title deed?¡± Kaman was shocked. This had been the easiest part of his n¡ªa few thousand gold coins could have easily settled a wretched fallen noble, so how did he not get the title deed? Did this guy really try and ask for a higher price?

    <i>Well, if that is the case, he can¡¯t me me for not showing mercy...</i>

    ¡°Sorry, President Kaman...¡±

    ¡°Save that for the grave, what I want to know is the reason you failed to bring me the title deed! Was it the price, or some unreasonable conditions? Anyway, Barbeid, you¡¯d better give me a good reason... ¡±

    ¡°Well, you see, President Kaman, I went to ckhills Town like you told me to, and found the fallen noble called bham to discuss the purchase of the title deed...¡± Barbeid continued nervously as Kaman¡¯s gaze forced him to. ¡°Who knew that when we found him in the inn, he told us that somebody had already bought the title deed: a young man from Jarrosus, who was going to build a tower of some sort on thend...¡±

    ¡°Hell...¡± Kaman nearly exploded at this; he would have pped Barbeid if he had not been controlling his anger. ¡°You fool, if he sold it to somebody else, couldn¡¯t you have bought it back? Damn it, do you know how much the mineral vein is worth? Well, let me tell you, it¡¯s worth at least two million gold coins and an opportunity to get into the casten¡¯s good books! How dare you run back like this, are you really a fool?¡±

    ¡°P-President Kaman, listen to me...¡±

    ¡°Alright, I would love to hear your exnation!¡±

    ¡°We found the guy from Jarrosus, but he said he would not sell it no matter the price...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, he¡¯s too much, too much...¡± Kaman was so worked up he was practically trembling. Never had he thought that anyone in Dnd would disregard the Rosen Union like that. <i>Damn it, no matter the price? I would love to see who has the guts to say that...</i>

    Kaman stormed out of the study, and called a few dozen of his most trusted men over¡ªeven the newest addition among them had been with him for five years. There were level-12 warriors, level-13 bandits, and even a level-11 mage. When money could not solve the issue, he usually sent these men to settle the purchase...

    ¡°Everyone, bring along your weapons, we¡¯re going to ckhills Town!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    A dozen carriages set off towards ckhills Town, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

    ¡°Look President, Kaman...¡± Barbeid pointed at a distant slope as the carriage neared the town¡¯s entrance. ¡°They¡¯re over there!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I see it...¡±

    Kaman looked where Barbeid pointed from afar. There was about a dozen men, both young and old, and a ck-cloaked young man who seemed to be discussing something with the old man by his side.

    ¡°Felic, have you really decided on this?¡± Herza frowned. To be honest, he could not understand why this young man chose to build the tower in a ce like this; it seemed like a joke to Herza. What did Breezy insck that made this young man finally decide on such a lowly and secluded ce like ckhills Town...?

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quieter here...¡± Lin Li smiled as he gave a casual excuse.

    ¡°...¡± Herza shook his head, having given up on persuading Lin Li.

    Moke, however, looked on in disdain. ¡°Ridiculous... ¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Moke.¡± Herza was perplexed. Out of all the mages in the Supreme Council, why did he choose to bring this idiot along? It definitely did not help that he kept targeting Felic along the way. <i>Damn it, does he not have brains? A young man who won the trials must be something! Just you wait, when Felic gets his revenge on you, I¡¯ll definitely beughing on the side, you idiot...</i>

    ¡°Mage Moke, why don¡¯t you tell us what¡¯s so ridiculous so that we can allugh at it together?¡± Lin Li was used to Moke¡¯s targeting him by now, and was not angered by it. He only silently plotted to get back at him...

    Herza wasforted by the fact that Moke had heeded his advice and toned down his attitude towards the prickly young mage. It all became easier from there. Since the president had made his decision, Herza gave up on persuading him. He called upon a mage to notify the Supreme Council to send a team of workers who would arrive three dayster so that they could start building the tower.

    At this moment, Kaman alighted from the carriage, and rushed over with a group of men.

    ¡°President Kaman, that¡¯s the guy who bought the title deed!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± From afar, Kaman saw that the young man was in his twenties and looked prim and proper, nothing like a shrewd businessman. It should not be difficult to settle the deal with him. The old man on his side looked shrewd, however; he would have to find a way to distract him, or he might give the young man some ideas...

    After pondering silently, Kaman forced out a weing smile.

    ¡°Good afternoon, gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself, I am the president of the Rosen Union. Could you all spare me some time to discuss a deal we would all benefit from? ¡±

    ¡°President Kaman? I see, nice to meet you...¡± Just as Kaman thought, this well-mannered young man was easy to speak to. No sooner had Kaman finished his self-introduction than the young man gave him a warm smile.

    <i>Damn it, thank God I came here myself! If I left it to that fool, god knows what would happen to this deal...</i>

    Kaman was still silently celebrating before he heard the young man say, ¡°My apologies, though. I will not sell you the title deed, so I¡¯m afraid there is nothing left to discuss here. ¡±

    ¡°...¡± The weing smile was frozen on Kaman¡¯s face.

    As a sessful businessman himself, he had seen his fair share of utter disregard. However, he only realized today that he was nothingpared to this young man. Utter disregard, you say? This young man right here embodied it...

    ¡°Alright, President Kaman. If there is nothing else to discuss, I shall not dy your time further.¡±

    Kaman was in a bind. ¡°How does 5000 gold coins sound, or 6000... no, 7000? You must know that 7000 is not a small amount, you may never get this amount again if you miss this opportunity!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave this money for yourself instead...¡±

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t me me for not showing you mercy...¡± Since 7000 gold coins were not enough to move him, Kaman stopped raising his price, and waved at his men behind him. ¡°Go talk to this man.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Kaman¡¯s men were well-trained. They had Lin Li surrounded in a split second. Seeing as a fight was about to break out, Herza was concerned, and hurriedly warned Kaman, ¡°President Kaman, don¡¯t do anything stupid, you¡¯re going to regret this...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just want to talk to this man, I won¡¯t hurt him.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Herza rolled his eyes upon hearing this as he scolded him inwardly. <i>You fool, I¡¯m worried he¡¯ll hurt you...</i>

 Chapter 298 - Rolling Snowball

    <h4>Chapter 298: Rolling Snowball</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, Kaman did not think so...

    Kaman thought he had the upper hand now as he eyed the insolent young man. ¡°Well, can we talk now, Sir?¡±

    Lin Li said nothing as he turned around to look at the 30-odd people surrounding him, the weaker ones were around level-6 to 7, while the stronger ones were around level-11 and 12. It seemed that this Rosen Union had quite a bit of influence; perhaps he would have to talk to this fatty since he had no choice but to ¡°work¡± with an influential union...

    Of course, he had a slightly unorthodox method of ¡°working¡± in mind...

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste too much time, Norfeller. ¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Is this a joke...¡± At this point, Kaman seriously doubted the young man¡¯s ability tomunicate; why else was it so difficult for them to do so? <i>Don¡¯t waste too much time? Damn it, what has this got to do with wasting time?</i>

    And then, Kaman heard a terrible cry...

    The shrill cry sounded like it came from the depths of hell, and the confused Kaman trembled before he saw blood spill, unusually vibrant in the afternoon sun. Then he heard the second cry, then the third...

    It all happened too quickly for anyone to react to; only after the tenth cry did Kaman see that only half of his 30 men remained. The cause of their deaths was a ck shadow weaving through the crowd.

    The ck-cloaked and pale-faced young man was taking lives like the Grim Reaper wielding a sickle.

    Fear was sparked in his heart, and spread wildly like a gue. When Kaman came back to his senses, his round face was as white as a sheet of paper. Kaman was gripped in endless fear as his heart palpitated, causing him to pant. Never in his wildest dreams had he pictured such a horrifying creature that could kill more than half of his men in a split second without breaking a sweat. It looked as easy as picking up a pebble to him...

    What really scared Kaman was the indifferent attitude of the young man¡ªnot a trace of sympathy or hesitation could be seen in his cold-blooded killing spree, just as if he had done it more times than he bothered to count. Kaman knew that this man would not consider the consequences of his actions, much less be concerned about the fact that Kaman was the president of Rosen Union. At this moment, Kaman thought he saw the shadow of death pressing in on him...

    ¡°Alright, Norfeller, that¡¯s enough...¡± At least 20 lives including that of Kaman had been spared at the young mage¡¯smand.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Norfeller had impaled the chest of the only mage just as he finished the sentence.

    ¡°God...¡± Kaman felt himself cking out as he watched the mage fall. That was the only mage amongst his men, and he was a level-11 mage too. Kaman gave him an important position in the Rosen Union, and even he could not help but be polite whenever he gave him a task. In all honesty, the mage was deserving of this treatment, for Rosen Union might be the only one with such power, and the mage¡¯s presence guaranteed their protection from bandits and extortion. Without him, the Rosen Union would have to spend another 50,000 gold coins every year...

    And now, this mage worth 50,000 gold coins was easily killed, his chest pierced through...

    ¡°Well, Mr. Kaman, I think we can talk now...¡±

    Kaman felt himself shiver even though Lin Li smiled at him. It felt like he was being eyed by a venomous snake. He forced himself to speak with all his strength, but ended up trembling right after the first sentence. ¡°W-what would you like to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Rx, President Kaman, you look too strung up... ¡±

    ¡°...¡± Kaman almost blew up hearing this. If not for the monstrous pale-faced young man standing before him, Kaman would have cursed loudly. <i>Rx? Damn it, it¡¯s easy for you to say that! Your monster of a man killed a dozen of my men in a sh, even my only mage...! Wouldn¡¯t you be strung up if it were you in my ce?</i>

    Of course, he could not voice his anger, and he would never dare do it even if he had to. Not only that, he had to obediently nod his head and put up a casual front, but his cover was unfortunately blown by his pale face and trembling hands...

    ¡°I heard you are in the stone trade?¡±

    ¡°Ye-yes.¡± Kaman gulped as he eyed Lin Li with fear and hesitation, wondering why this man was suddenly interested in his business. <i>Damn it, is he eyeing the Rosen Council?</i>

    ¡°Great...¡± Lin Li nodded with satisfaction as Kaman was torn between fear and hesitation. ¡°Right, let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Felic, a mage from Jarrosus, but I may be living in Dnd for a while. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll wee me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, wee... wee...¡± Kaman fought to squeeze out a smile, but due to his fear, it turned out worse than a grimace.

    Lin Li was not concerned with that, since this gross fatty would never look anywhere near pleasant even if he tried. He was more concerned if this fatty would cooperate with him; the rest could be dealt with by Norfeller...

    ¡°Alright, President Kaman, I shall cut to the chase. Right now, I have a favor to ask of you. I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t refuse me given your generosity?¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Kaman eagerly agreed before Lin Li even finished his sentence.

    Of course, he was not nearly as eager as he sounded. Kaman winced as he nodded; now that he was at the mercy of Lin Li, he would have to ede to any favor asked of him. He could not bear to imagine what this would cost him. Perhaps he would have to supply stones at way below their price, or maybe he would have to give him a share in the Rosen Union... Either way, Kaman could not help feeling like he would face an insufferable loss.

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple, I¡¯m going to need stones soon, and even though it won¡¯t be much, I¡¯m going to need quite a variety of them. I don¡¯t have the time to look for them myself, so I¡¯ll have to trouble you for that. I¡¯ll write you a listter, so keep a lookout for me if you have the time. Once you get them, bring them to ckhills Town, and I¡¯ll buy them from you at the market price...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Kaman thought he had heard wrongly when Lin Li said ¡°market price¡± .

    ¡°Why, you think that¡¯s too low a price?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± Kaman hurriedly denied it in fear. Goodness, Lin Li held his life in his hands, so he would be lucky to cut his losses, much less earn a profit from making a sale at market price. Kaman did not dare imagine such luck. Why would he refuse it now?

    After settling the terms briefly, Lin Li enquired about the stone market in Dnd, and was satisfied to hear that rare stones could be found frequently due to Dnd being situated at the borders of the Fn Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom. Besides that, the Breezy ins was already rich in resources, which meant that most stones could be easily obtained on the market.

    Then, Lin Li gave Kaman a list.

    ¡°...¡± Kaman felt himself getting cross-eyes looking at the list. <i>Hell, is this guy ying a joke on me, there are at least 30 kinds of stones on the list, and each of them is a rare magical ore in small amounts. Is this a magical ingredient of some sort?</i>

    ¡°Alright, President Kaman, if there is nothing else to say, I shall not dy you any further. However, I hope you will get the stones ready as soon as possible. I would hate to personally head down to Dnd to rush you since this is our first time working together...¡±

    This was a thinly veiled threat...

    ¡°I... I got it...¡±

    As they watched Kaman leave, Herza whispered to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, why do you need so much magical metal? This is not a small sum; if you need so much money, why not invest in building the tower first? You know as well as I do that the budget given by the Supreme Council is not very adequate...¡±

    Lin Li, however, confidently said, ¡°Haha, Mr Herza, the stones I¡¯m buying will be used to build the tower...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see...¡± Lin Li answered mysteriously, his stare bing mischievous as he watched Kaman leave. He was in luck. He had just reached Dnd, but he had already got to know a businessman who monopolized the stone trade, and in such rare circumstances too. With this alone, he could get him to purchase stones for him as well as sell his finished products. A simple exchange like this would snowball his profits...

 Chapter 299 - Ice Crystal Metal

    <h4>Chapter 299: Ice Crystal Metal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The following days were peaceful, and everything was going ording to n. The workers sent by the Supreme Council had started building the tower, and Kaman had begun to send over rare magical metals. Besides visiting Dnd every once in a while, Lin Li spent his time alone with Norfeller. Nobody knew what he was up to these days.

    Well, strictly speaking, Lin Li was not up to anything these days...

    The strange encounter in the Aurora Square had brought him many things, which included a dozen core magical mantras. This was enough research material tost a lifetime for any mage; luckily for Lin Li, these mantras were embedded in his memory like a soul brand he was born with, so all he needed to do was to internalize the information, and he would be able to master them with ease...

    Even that was no small feat, and would take a long time as the dozen core magical mantras were akin to all there was in magic. Anyone who could master all of them had to be a god or close to one; even though Lin Li hadmitted all of them to memory, he was still far away from mastering all of them.

    Of course, memorizing all of them had its benefits. At least it made it easier than before for Lin Li to use magic, as evidenced by the fight in the Demon Fall Valley. Old Merlin was a powerful level-15 Archmage, and even though he was not as skilled as Lin Li, he wasparable to thetter. Yet, he was forced to remain on defensive as he failed to pose any threat to Lin Li all the way until he died...

    Such was the power of the core magical mantras...

    Lin Li did not harbor high expectations initially considering how profound the core magical mantras were. Even the mages who had reached the Legendary Realm and surpassed it could not say that they had mastered the mantras, much less Lin Li, who was merely a level-16 Archmage.

    However, Lin Li found his understanding of magic growing as time went by. He found the answers to the questions he¡¯d had in the past as well as questions he¡¯d never thought he had. It was a surreal experience for Lin Li who was immersed in the knowledge. It excited him to the point where he did not set foot outside the house for a month as he buried himself in his research.

    These mantras were like endless treasure coves to say the least, and Lin Li found himself gaining enlightenment and finding new techniques to use his magic with each passing day.

    The boring and routine-like days passed by quickly as a month had gone by in a sh...

    In that month, Lin Li asionally called on Norfeller to test out his strength.

    He had to admit that Norfeller was indeed a worthy opponent. As a high-ranking Vampire, he held impable strength in his body and was well-versed in Necromagic. ording to his calctions, Norfeller was at least on par with a level-17 Necromancer...

    Norfeller started out winning by a small margin, but the more Lin Li understood the core magical mantras, the more difficult it became for Norfeller. In thest couple of days, especially, Lin Li found that he could defeat Norfeller in half an hour if Norfeller only used Necromagic.

    What Norfeller found perplexing was the fact that he clearly felt this young man¡¯s power remaining at level-16. He could not understand how a level-16 Archmage managed to repeatedly defeat a level-17 Archmage so effortlessly. Norfeller found no other exnation besides the fact Lin Li was the incarnation of the Immortal King...

    All in all, Lin Li had been very satisfied with the work in the past month.

    Like any other day, Lin Li woke up at dawn and went for breakfast with the little Dragonhawk before going on a walk outside of town as he observed the progress of the tower¡¯s construction. He then returned to his house to study the core magical mantras.

    Who knew that a series of knocks would be heard from the door not long after he sat down.

    ¡°Strange...¡± Lin Li frowned, slightly doubtful as he answered the door. Ever since Herza left, the people in ck Clouds Town rarely came to look for him. The workers building the tower, however, were unbelievably arrogant, and would have hardly spared him a nce if not for the Supreme Council¡¯s direct orders.

    Yeah, just like that Moke¡ªLin Li could notprehend how anyone could be so silly. Moke outdid his silliness after Herza left as he either ignored Lin Li or sneered at him, saying that he was not engaging in honest work as a mage and instead meddled secretively with magical metals like an idiot...

    <i>Damn it, you¡¯re the idiot here!</i>

    Sometimes, Lin Li really wanted to p his face.

    Unfortunately, he never found a reason to...

    Strangely, hateful as he was, Moke never did anything out of line. Lin Li felt all the more irritated that he could not find a reason to p him...

    ¡°Kaman?¡± Lin Li saw a familiar face as he opened the door to the study.

    ¡°Great, that¡¯s great, Mage Felic, you¡¯re here indeed...¡± Kaman stood there flushed and panting heavily as if he had just finished a marathon. Before Lin Li could ask him what was the matter, Kaman started speaking while still out of breath. ¡°Mage Felic, I-I-I... I found a batch of rare magical metal!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li was intrigued when he heard him mention ¡°rare magical metal¡±, and hurriedly ushered him inside. ¡°Quick, tell me what rare magical metal is it? ¡±

    ¡°Well, you see, Mage Felic, a dwarf brought a batch of Ice Crystal Metal to the stone trading bank today...¡±

    ¡°Ice Crystal Metal?¡±

    Lin Li frowned as soon as he heard what Kaman said. He was familiar with Ice Crystal Metal, and had once held a dagger made of it in the Endless World. Incredibly sharp and powerful, it was hailed as a ssic amongst magical equipment. Lin Li had beheaded at least 10 high-ranking warriors and slit open the belly of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, with the said dagger. A pity that he could not bring it with him when he arrived in this time...

    ¡°Yes, Ice Crystal Metal, a whole carriage of refined Ice Crystal Metal...¡± Kaman¡¯s beady eyes positively glowed at the mention of this. Paired with his panting round face, he was the definition of ical¡±.

    Lin Li had no concern for this, however, as he hurriedly questioned Kaman before he finished speaking. ¡°What¡¯s his price?¡±

    ¡°One million gold coins...¡± Kaman eyed Lin Li carefully as he said this, fearing that the figure would anger Lin Li. He was a young mage who killed without batting an eye, so Kaman would be deep in trouble if Lin Li thought he was being greedy and got angry...

    ¡°One million gold coins?¡± Lin Li brushed his nose as he stood up from where he was sitting without questioning further. ¡°Let¡¯s go, bring me there!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Bring me to Dnd, I want all of that Ice Crystal Metal!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Kaman nearly bit his tongue. <i>Damn it, mages are all filthy rich, how can he decide to buy one million gold coins¡¯ worth of Ice Crystal Metal without bargaining at all?! Hell, this is one million gold coins, not a hundred copper coins!</i>

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right...¡± Kaman jumped at Lin Li¡¯s words, and quickly followed him out of the house to the carriage waiting outside.

    Lin Li did not bring Norfeller along this time, as thetter was an Undead creature, which might cause a scene if he appeared in Dnd. The unusually devoted followers of Brilliance Shrine took it upon themselves to exterminate evil Undead creatures, and might mistake him for one of them as well¡ªwouldn¡¯t he be in trouble then?

    ¡°Right. Kaman, did you manage to sell the magical weapons I got you to previously?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic, all four of them have been sold. Your crystal card has been credited with the money, you can check the transaction details anytime you wish. Heh, to be honest, Mage Felic, in my years of doing business, I¡¯ve never seen such popr goods. They were gone in less than half a day after we put them up...¡±

 Chapter 300 - Two Fatties

    <h4>Chapter 300: Two Fatties</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At the mention of the four magical weapons, Kaman suddenly grew excited, and rattled on about how he was amazed by it. He had been doubtful about the weapons when Lin Li handed them to him as they did not look like ancient artifacts, nor did they look like they had been crafted by a master artisan, and Kaman was worried that he would not be able to sell them...

    Little did he know that someone woulde to enquire about them the day they were listed in his shop. Kaman remembered that it was a level-15 Warrior Adventurer by the name of Jason. He was a well-known figure in Dnd, and was a powerful Warrior who aplished all his missions so far, thus making him a promising figure among Adventurers.

    Kaman recalled that Jason was interested in the sword forged of rune¡¯s adamantine. That was the most expensive of the four, with a price tag of 20,000 gold coins¡ªmore than enough to deter most buyers. Jason did not even frown as he swiped his crystal card; instead, Kaman clearly remembered how ecstatic he looked, just as if that had been a bargain...

    Kaman had wondered if Jason was crazy for blowing through his fortune for a mere weapon.

    Soon, he realized that Jason was not. In the span of a day, the other three weapons were sold, each at a price higher than what was initially set. The dagger made of Dream realm metal was by far the most ridiculous as two high-ranking bandits fought over it¡ªthe dagger was sold at 30,000 gold coins even though it had originally been priced at 5,000...

    Kaman suddenly came to realize the incredible power this young mage he had just met held.

    He could get over a million gold coins easily in exchange for a few pieces of magical equipment, something only the legendary Smithing Master was capable of.

    The following days saw Kaman¡¯s stone trading shop brimming with customers who were mostly level-15 and above, asking Kaman to bring out more magical equipment. In order to purchase equipment of their liking, these powerful individuals tried to outdo each other with promises of protection and bringing more business for Kaman. It all felt like a dream for Kaman...

    While Kaman held great wealth and controlled over half of the stone trade in the past, he was well aware that he was nothing more than a speck of dust to these powerful individuals. They did not have any regard for him previously, for they knew they would never have to turn to Kaman for anything.

    The Rosen Union could notpare to the Glittergold Trade Union, after all, and they had neither Legendary members nor powerful hitmen. While they held some influence, it was never enough for them to be respected in this power-hungry town.

    However, as the four weapons were sold, it all seemed to change...

    Luckily, Kaman was well aware of the fact that this was all because of the young mage in ck Clouds Town¡ªthe very young mage that had cost Kaman the loss of half of his subordinates. Well, he felt different about the matter after a month, even being thankful that he had brought his men to stir up trouble at ck Clouds Town, or how would he have got to know Mage Felic otherwise?

    Not everyone had an opportunity to meet a Smithing Master...

    Of course, Lin Li knew what happened in the process¡ªhe just was not interested. Right now, he was only concerned about the carriage of Ice Crystal Metal. Legend had it that it could only be found in the frozen soil of the poles, and weapons made of Ice Crystal Metal were not only incredibly sharp, but also boasted a powerful corrosive property¡ªeven a dragon¡¯s scale would break with one blow...

    What was truly terrifying about Ice Crystal Metal was not the weapons it could be made into; rather, it was the projectiles it could be made into¡ªespecially bolts used for defensive purposes. Equipment became truly lethal once it was equipped with a bolt made of Ice Crystal Metal. Till this day, Lin Li remembered the 50 chariots armed with Ice Crystal Metal crossbows at the Bright Moon Castle in Endless World¡ªeven a god would not survive a volley from all 50 crossbows...

    When Kaman mentioned the dwarf had an entire carriage full of Ice Crystal Metal, Lin Li knew he had found the answer to a question he had long since been worried about. While he could avoid most trouble by building his tower in ck Clouds Town, defense remained a concern as ck Clouds Town was well-connected and situated on t ground. If he was met with an attack from the likes of the Shadow¡¯s Nest, wouldn¡¯t his tower suffer a repeat of the Emerald Tower¡¯s fate?

    This carriage full of Ice Crystal Metal would solve his problem¡ªwith 10 chariots armed with Ice Crystal Metal crossbows, while he might not defeat a god, he could definitely kill everyone below level-20.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to Dnd!¡± Lin Li eagerly called on Norfeller as he boarded a carriage with Kaman.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Kaman carefully shifted away from Norfeller on the carriage. Perhaps it was due to their less than pleasant first meeting, but Kaman remained fearful of Norfeller, and felt himself seize up whenever the pale-faced young man was near...

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to reconsider this? One million gold coins is not a small amount...¡± Kaman hesitated as he stumbled over his words. Honestly, one million was too expensive a price to Kaman...

    ¡°Haha, we¡¯ll see then...¡± One million gold coins was not an expensive price at all to Lin Li, for he was well aware of the value of Ice Crystal Metal even though others might not be. The metal could only be found in soil frozen for a thousand years, and even a fistful was immeasurably precious, much less an entire carriage of it.

    While one million gold coins was not a small amount, it was only money in the end. If he so wished, Lin Li could always earn it back. However, he might note across an entire carriage full of Ice Crystal Metal again.

    As the carriage pulled up to Dnd, the streets were bustling with people. Mornings in Dnd were always crowded and chaotic as everybody busied themselves with their daily errands; even the air smelled of the town¡¯s bustle. The Rosen Union¡¯s stone trading shop was next to the Adventurers Guild in the southern part of Dnd. Lin Li had to admit that Kaman had foresight as this ce was filled with Adventurers even though it was not a rich district, thus bringing them much business. It was safe to say that more than a half of the Rosen Union¡¯s wealth was thanks to business from adventurers.

    As the three alighted from the carriage, the shop was unusually crowded with a few dozen men surrounding the door, discussing away. For some reason, Lin Li saw Kaman¡¯s expression change as he set foot on the steps...

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Mage Felic, I think I may have a small problem...¡± Kaman paled as he eyed the crowd outside the shop.

    Before Kaman finished speaking, a curse could be heard from the crowd. ¡°Damn it, you idiots, get your boss here now. I don¡¯t have the patience to deal with you, don¡¯t make me burn your scam of a shop! ¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that irritable man...?¡± Lin Li muttered as he brushed his nose. Kaman was a rich and powerful man, after all. To be snubbed by a man like this meant this might not just be a small problem...

    Of course, Lin Li was not interested in this, as he was only working with Kaman for now¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t even call it partnership. Hence, he chose not to stand up for Kaman, seeing as he was not looking for trouble.

    Lin Li was right. As he muttered to himself, the impatient man started smashing the shop, which was left in a mess with a crash. Kaman wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead, and reproved, ¡°Who the hell dares to make a scene at the Rosen Union¡¯s shop!¡±

    However, he froze just as he finished his rant. ¡°Young Master Lasorick, w-w-what brings you here...?¡±

    A young man in his twenties emerged from the shop, his chubby and round physique rivaling that of Kaman, looking like a disco ball as his ostentatious armor made of silver glittered in the sunlight.

    The fatty waddled over, and red at Kaman with his beady eyes before his shooting his usations out of the blue. ¡°Damn it, Kaman, you¡¯ve got some guts, how dare you fool me...¡±

 Chapter 301 - Master Garza

    <h4>Chapter 301: Master Garza</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, Young Master Lasorick, how would I dare to cheat you...?¡± Kaman trembled at the usation, and rushed to appease him.

    Lin Li pondered silently as he watched from the side. He knew from their dealings that Kaman enjoyed a rtively high status even though he was not very influential. He had monopolized the stone trade, after all, and under normal circumstances, nobody would be willing to upset him as they might cross paths in the future for all they knew. Lin Li could not think of any reason to exin why Kaman had paled at the sight of this man and was fawning over him. Even the leaders of Jarrosus would not be so afraid of Gerian.

    Confused, Lin Li quietly pulled over an employee, and asked, ¡°Do you know who this fatty is?¡±

    Lin Li had appeared at the shop a few times in the past month, each time in thepany of Kaman, who fussed over his every request. Needless to say, the employees seemed to have caught on to the happenings, and thus when Lin Li approached them, they hurried to reply respectfully. ¡°He is Young Master Lasorick, the son of Casten Anjay...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li suddenly understood why Kaman had trembled at the sight of the fatty¡ªhe was the casten¡¯s son. This was not Jarrosus. Lin Li had long heard of Casten Anjay, who was a truly powerful person. It was a drastic contrast with Casten Isaac of Jarrosus, who was at the mercy of the Emerald Tower. Anjay was akin to a king in Dnd!

    Naturally, Lasorick did whatever he pleased since he was Anjay¡¯s son, and even men with more influence than Kaman, who controlled the stone trade, would not dare refuse him.

    ¡°A misunderstanding?¡± Lasorick walked out of the crowd as he red fiercely at Kaman for a minute. Finally, he gave a fake smile, saying, ¡°Sure, a misunderstanding, you say. I¡¯ll show you a real misunderstanding today, fatty... Trash this ce!¡±

    Hisst phrase was directed at the men standing behind him.

    Kaman paled as Lasorick finished speaking. Then, a group of fierce-looking men stomped the shop, and started thrashing the things in there. The terrified employees were no match for the men, and the shop had been smashed to bits in a sh.

    ¡°Y-Young Master Lasorick, t-there must be a misunderstanding here, p-please hear me out...¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°Young Master Lasorick, I swear, this is really a misunderstanding, please hear me out...¡±

    Kaman¡¯s voice wasced with tears as he saw the hard work he¡¯d put into his business about to be destroyed.

    ¡°You want me to hear you out? Alright, I¡¯ll give you a chance...¡± Only when the shop was destroyed did Lasorick wavezily at his men to make them pause in their thrashing.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you, Young Master Lasorick...¡± Kaman could not be bothered about his shop now as he thanked Lasorick while squeezing out a smile with all his might. ¡°Young Master Lasorick, I swear the dagger I sold youst month was really crafted by Master Garza, I had it examined, there really is Master Garza¡¯s mark on it...¡±

    ¡°F*ckst month, of course I recognize Master Garza¡¯s work. I¡¯m talking about that machete I bought a few days ago. Damn it, you¡¯ve really got some guts to tell me that it was made of rainbow adamantine. I spent thousands of gold coins on it, only to find out it¡¯s fake after having it checked. You must be tired of living to fool me...¡±

    ¡°A machete a few days ago?¡± Kaman thought for a while before recalling that he had indeed sold a machete from his weapon shop a few days ago. The cksmith who crafted the machete was in his shop at the moment too. Only, the machete was not bought by Young Master Lasorick, so could there be some misunderstanding?

    As Kaman remained confused, Lasorick started happily saying, ¡°Don¡¯t bother, you wouldn¡¯t get it in a lifetime with that brain of yours. To be honest, I had something on that day, and sent Rolf to buy it. Who knew you would dare to fool me with a fake since I wasn¡¯t there!¡±

    ¡°You had Rolf buy it?¡± Kaman was shocked at that. Anjay¡¯s influence really had to be unimaginable. Rolf was the most promising young warrior of Dnd. He had surpassed level-15 even before reaching the age of 30, and was seen as the next young genius in Dnd to possibly reach the Legendary Realm after Carlo. Who would have guessed that he would be working for Anjay? Also, from what Kaman could tell, he had to be pretty devoted to him to run such a small errand for Lasorick.

    This would make a headline in Dnd; sadly, Kaman was not concerned with that. He was only concerned about how he could exin this to Lasorick to keep him calm; otherwise, he would be in trouble...

    ¡°But Young Master Lasorick, the machete Mr Rolf bought was indeed forged from rainbow adamantine...¡± Kaman was certain of it as he had personally bought the rainbow adamantine from an Adventurer before traveling to ck Clouds Town that very night. Then, the young mage gave him the four magical weapons to be sold in his weapons shop.

    ¡°To hell with your rainbow adamantine! Old fatty, it seems you don¡¯t know regret until you¡¯ve truly experienced it. I had Master Garza appraise it after I bought that machete, and even he said that it was not forged from rainbow adamantine!¡±

    ¡°Ah...¡± Kaman froze, for he was well aware that Master Garza was the President of Dnd¡¯s Guild of cksmiths and the most renowned cksmith in the whole of Dnd. His appraisal was the final say here!

    Deep in his mind, however, Kaman refused to believe that the young mage would lie to him.

    This was not because he thought the young mage was an honest man. Rather, Kaman knew that a man who could create a fortune of millions in a sh had no reason to pass some other magical metal off as rainbow adamantine.

    Moreover, the magical attributes of the four pieces of magical equipment were powerful enough that they would have been sold quickly even if they were forged from refined iron, so why would he bother passing it off as rainbow adamantine?

    ¡°Y-Young Master Lasorick...¡± Kaman gulped before saying carefully, ¡°Maybe... Maybe Master Garza made a mistake...¡±

    Kaman knew he had said something foolish as soon as those words came out. He really wanted to p himself¡ªhow foolish of him! Master Garza was the most authoritative cksmith of Dnd, and even Anjay trusted him deeply. If he doubted Master Garza, didn¡¯t that mean he doubted Anjay as well?

    Unfortunately, the words have been said, and it was toote for any regret.

    ¡°To hell with your nonsense!¡± As expected, Kaman¡¯s words triggered Lasorick, who had already calmed down previously, and made him furious in an instant. He took a step forward, and grabbed Kaman¡¯s cor, looking as though he would devour the man. ¡°Old fatty, you must be tired of living to doubt Master Garza!! Why didn¡¯t you doubt your mother for giving birth to you? Damn it, who do you think you are to doubt Master Garza...¡±

    ¡°Lasorick, let him go first. I have something to ask him...¡± Just as Kaman thought this was how he was going to die, he heard a voiceing from the crowd.

    ¡°Master Garza, you are an important guest of the Casten Mansion, just ask him anything you wish to know. There¡¯s no need to be polite to him, this old fatty was born to be a sandbag!¡± Lasorick finished evilly, and gave an angry kick at Kaman¡¯s stomach, making him jackknife in an instant.

    ¡°Alright, Lasorick, let me talk to Kaman...¡±

    ¡°Well... alright.¡± Lasorick let go of Kaman after some thought.

    ¡°Kaman, if I may ask, whom did you get this machete from?¡±

    ¡°I... I bought it from an Adventurer...¡± Kaman could not help ncing at Lin Li, who stood quietly amongst the crowd, with no intention to im responsibility. Since the young mage did not want to own up, Kaman dared not say anything, either. This was no child¡¯s y; sure, he might be beaten up or even lose his business from angering Lasorick, but to offend the young mage could mean the immediate death of the entire Rosen Union. Weighing his options, Kaman decided that he should keep his mouth shut...

 Chapter 302 - Show them some color to see

    <h4>Chapter 302: Show them some color to see</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Really...¡± Garza seemed to be in his forties. With his tanned skin, he looked like a copper tower, overwhelming others with just his presence. Lin Li felt especially suffocated, for he could clearly feel a strong Combat Energy emitting from the middle-aged cksmith, whose presence felt as stifling as a wall. Lin Li knew that he was definitely a true high-ranking warrior, and Macklin might only best him by a hair¡¯s breadth capability-wise...

    The Breezy ins was indeed far more exciting than Jarrosus...

    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t wish to say it...¡± The middle-aged cksmith held the rainbow adamantine machete in his hand, and casually flourished it in the air before saying, ¡°That¡¯s alright, I¡¯m not interested in this machete, anyway. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t have interfered if you hadn¡¯t doubted me earlier, but now it seems I have no choice but to do so...¡±

    ¡°M-Master Garza, I-I... that¡¯s not what I meant...¡± How could Kaman not understand what he meant? Garza was the most authoritative cksmith in Dnd, so how could he allow others to question his ability? He had questioned Garza appraisal earlier, so wouldn¡¯t that mean doubting Garza¡¯s ability? Kaman really wanted to p himself for this¡ªjust why did he have to doubt Garza¡¯s skills? Wasn¡¯t that asking for death?

    Unfortunately, it was toote to say anything...

    ¡°Well, let me show you what a weapon forged of rainbow adamantine should look like...¡± Garza said, and slowly retrieved a single-handed sword from around his waist. From afar, the single-handed sword looked dull as though it had been lying in the ashes. Nobody would spare it a second nce if it was not being held in the hands of the most influential Smithing Master in Dnd.

    Perhaps only Lin Li knew that the single-handed sword was indeed forged of rainbow adamantine...

    Of the rare magical metals, rainbow adamantine was the most unstable and easily affected by external factors. While a weapon forged of rainbow adamantine looked dull at first, it would glow with rainbow colors once mana andbat energy were channeled into it.

    Just like this single-handed sword...

    ¡°A weapon forged of rainbow adamantine has many magical attributes, each with its own color...¡± Garza channeled a bit of Combat Energy into the single-handed sword he held. In an instant, the shop was glowing with the colors of the rainbow, filling it with an air ofvishness...

    ¡°Well, Kaman, I did not wrong you, did I...¡± Lasorick took over with a sinister air.

    ¡°I...¡± Kaman paled as he looked at the single-handed sword in Garza¡¯s hands before looking at the crystal-clear machete...

    The machetey quietly and shone in the bright afternoon sun. The de was crystal-clear, not a trace of color or imperfection. At any other time, Kaman would have marveled at that¡ªsuch a sharp machete...

    Now, however, Kaman had no tears left to cry...

    As the most authoritative cksmith, Garza¡¯s words were the final say. If even he had said that weapons forged of rainbow adamantine were dull, then the machete he had sold was almost certainly a fake...

    W-what was he going to do now?

    He would be in big trouble for selling Young Master Lasorick a fake!

    <i>I¡¯m doomed...</i>

    Kaman feltpletely hopeless now. If he¡¯d known this would happen, he would have never agreed to sell the four pieces of magical equipment. It did not earn him much, but it was about to cost him his life. How could he fool Young Master Lasorick? If Anjay was involved, then it would really be the end for the Rosen Union. Master Garza too. <i>Damn it, I must have been blind to doubt him! If every cksmith in Dnd came after me, I would be dead...</i>

    As Kaman wallowed in regret, Lin Li emerged from the crowd with a smile. ¡°It seems Master Garza is quite knowledgeable about rainbow adamantine...¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lasorick frowned as he red at Lin Li with his beady eyes. Anyone who knew him would be able to tell that he was on the verge of exploding. How dared this rascal not know his ce and interrupt him while he was confronting someone? <i>Does he take me for a joke?</i>

    While the middle-aged cksmith said nothing, he frowned as well. Clearly, the most authoritative cksmith of Dnd did not enjoy having his conversation interrupted.

    Kaman, however, could not hide his happiness.

    He knew very well that only the young mage who forged the machete could save him...

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m just here for the buzz...¡± Lin Li smiled as he waved off Lasorick with an excuse before turning to the most authoritative cksmith of Dnd. ¡°Right. Master Garza, since you know rainbow adamantine very well, could I ask you something regarding it?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Garza frowned; he looked somewhat angry. Anyone would, having their conversation interrupted by a stranger¡ªmuch less a man of his status.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like this, Master Garza...¡± Lin Li remained oblivious to it as he smiled humbly before asking, ¡°As you¡¯ve heard, I am nothing but a young mage, but coincidentally, I know a thing or two about forging, and I remember hearing that not all weapons made of rainbow adamantine have to be dull and dirty. I wonder if that¡¯s true...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Garza¡¯s expression darkened, and when he looked at Lin Li once again, there was no hiding the anger in his eyes. He had been a cksmith for years, and worked his way up to a Smithing Master from a mere cksmith. Countless rare magical metals had passed through his hands, and he had even forged over 10 weapons made of rainbow adamantine. He could tell a rainbow adamantine weapon even with his eyes closed.

    Nobody could rival Garza¡¯s skills in the whole of Dnd¡ªeven the self-proimed forging masters of the Dwarf Kingdom did not dare go against Garza nor doubt his skills.

    Today, for some reason, Kaman had doubted his appraisal before a young stranger doubted his skills. He even said that weapons forged of rainbow adamantine did not have to be dull! <i>Damn it, don¡¯t tell me it would shimmer like this damned machete? What a joke...</i>

    ¡°Rascal, are you looking for trouble?¡± Lasorick said unhappily before he shoved Lin Li away. ¡°Move aside, you must be blind to look for trouble in Dnd. Master Garza may not stoop to your level, but I will not let you off easily! A mage? I can kill you easily if I want to!¡±

    Then, all Lasorick saw was a blur before his eyes.

    ¡°Look where your hands are going!¡± The ck-cloaked Norfeller moved like a ghost; he had pushed Lin Li behind him in an instant. With his pale face and blood-red eyes, the auraing from the high-ranking Vampire was as chilly as winter even in the bright afternoon sun.

    ¡°You...¡± Even the ever-haughty Lasorick could not help shivering as he stood before Norfeller. It was a primal instinct of prey before a predator.

    ¡°Norfeller, don¡¯t do this, you¡¯ll scare him...¡± Lin Li smiled, and ushered Norfeller aside before turning to Lasorick with a smile. ¡°Sorry about that, he¡¯s got a bit of a temper. I apologize if he has offended you...¡±

    ¡°Humph!¡± Lasorick red at Norfeller, but for some reason, the curses at the tip of his tongue could not find their way out as he looked at the deathly red eyes. Instead, he gulped...

    ¡°One thing he was right about, however. If you do not keep your hands in check, Young Master Lasorick, I cannot be sure they will remain by your side...¡± Lin Li smiled as though he had not been threatening to cut somebody¡¯s hands off.

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± Lasorick almost erupted at that. He had thought that he was the most arrogant man in Dnd, but he¡¯d never thought that this young mage would trump him by a long shot. <i>How dares he threaten to cut my hands off like that? Damn it, who does he think he is?!</i>

    Lasorick was furious. In his 20-odd years in Dnd, nobody had dared to say this to him. Even the Archmages from nna had to treat him with respect because of his father, much less a young mage! How was he going to live this down without teaching the young mage a lesson?

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯d like to see you try!¡± Lasorick lifted the machete worth thousands of gold coins with an angry cry, only for a blue Combat Energy to rise, and all he saw was the shimmer of light reflected on the de...

    Then, he heard the clink of metal!

    ¡°Young man, your temper will do you no good...¡± Only when Garza said this did the people realize that Lasorick had not managed to wield the machete before Garza had stopped him easily with the sword in his hand.

    Garza¡¯s words were not directed at Lasorick, however, as he kept his eyes on the ck-cloaked Norfeller both threateningly and cautiously.

    ¡°... ¡± Norfeller remained like a marble statue as though he had not heard the cksmith. Only those sensitive to magical energy realized that while Norfeller remained still, strong magical waves were pouring off of him...

    Without a doubt, this was the reason why Garza had stopped Lasorick. A pity that Lasorick did not understand this, as he wanted to continue his attack after that. ¡°Master Garza, you don¡¯t have to plead for this guy! He¡¯s too much, how dare he threaten me in Dnd!! I must show him some color to see today...¡±

    ¡°Forget it, Young Master Lasorick...¡± Garza shook his head as he looked somewhat helpless. Honestly, he would have left Lasorick here to let him try and show them some color to see if not for Anjay. What a fool, the ck-cloaked guy moved like a ghost and shielded the young mage in an instant! If they really fought, he would have Lasorick¡¯s head in an instant too. Show them some color to see? More like show them your head...

    Unfortunately, he could not say this due to Anjay as well. Hence, he only shook his head, and patiently persuaded him. ¡°Alright, Young Master Lasorick, you have punished the corrupted businessman, let¡¯s talk when we return, ok?¡±

    ¡°No, Master Garza, you have to teach him a lesson for me today. He¡¯s too arrogant, how dares he threaten me!¡± Lasorick refused to let go of this still.

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 303 - Smithing Guru

    <h4>Chapter 303: Smithing Guru</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Honestly, even Garza was afraid of the pale-faced young man. The unrestrained magical wave pouring off of him was too scary; if he was not wrong, this man had to be at least level-17. Even if he went against him, the odds of winning were slim. Besides, with the speed at which he moved, this man was most likely well-versed in martial arts as well...

    Without question, it would be foolish to go against a man like that.

    ¡°But, Master Garza¡ª¡±

    Lasorick wanted to continue his protests, but was immediately cut off by Garza. ¡°Alright, Lasorick, let¡¯s end this here. I¡¯m tired and wish to rest, you can settle the rest of it with Kaman...¡±

    ¡°Ok...¡± Lasorick debated for a while before he reluctantly agreed. He did not have a choice, as he could not go against Garza. Even his father Anjay had to treat him with utmost respect as the President of the Guild of cksmiths was not merely a cksmith¡ªhe had an unimaginably formidable backing...

    With Lasorick¡¯s agreement, it all became easier. Kaman had long wanted to settle the issue amicably, and bought the machete from Lasorick at two times the original price without a second thought.

    After sending off Lasorick and Garza respectfully, Kaman looked deted as he sat in the thrashed shop for half an hour before he returned to his senses. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Mage Felic, that was embarrassing...¡±

    ¡°Haha, that was nothing. If we must, it was me who had troubled you...¡±

    Kaman patronized him half-heartedly before burying the incident as though it had never happened. As for the shimmering machete whichy amidst the debris in the shop, Kaman never gave it another nce, and treated it like it was nothing but air...

    Kaman thought that this was the wisest way to deal with the situation, and since Master Garza had said that it was not forged from rainbow adamantine, something had to be wrong here...

    But even then, Kaman dared not say anything, since he did not have any evidence. Even if he did, he could not question Mage Felic with the machete and ask him why he gave him a fake to sell.

    What a joke, hadn¡¯t he been in enough trouble?

    Thus, Kaman thought the best thing to do was to remain silent...

    Unfortunately, Kaman did not know that Lin Li knew what he was doing, and could not help finding it amusing. Lin Li knew what he was thinking, but did not want to exin it to him...

    Honestly, Lin Li might have been the only one who knew that the machete was indeed forged from rainbow adamantine. Only, he had used a skill that was too advanced when forging it, so even a Smithing Master like Garza had thought it was fake.

    True, weapons forged of rainbow adamantine would look dull, but everything had an exception, rainbow adamantine included. Amongst the techniques of Smithing Gurus, there was one targeted at rainbow adamantine.

    Everybody knew that weapons had to be quenched at least once¡ªeven most magical weapons. It was just that the method of quenching was moreplicated. Rainbow adamantine, however, had to be quenched at least two to seven times as every time it was quenched, the weapon was infused with another magical attribute. This was a testament to a cksmith¡¯s skills, for the number of times it was quenched determined the quality of the cksmith¡¯s technique as well as the quality of the weapon forged of rainbow adamantine. The more times it was quenched, the more magical attributes it had. A cksmith who was able to quench the weapon seven times was no doubt a true master!

    However, Lin Li¡¯s skills were way above that of a master, and he knew that to quench it seven times was not the limit. Actually, it was better to quench it only once and infuse it with eight magical attributes created in that single instance. That was the true limit of forging rainbow adamantine!

    A Smithing Guru was one because they could achieve what a Smithing Master could not. It was every cksmith¡¯s life goal to reach the seven magical attributes of rainbow adamantine, and to be able to forge a weapon with seven magical attributes meant that their forging skills had peaked out. However, the cksmiths who stood at the peak knew that an eighth magical attribute existed¡ªit was only that its presence was more obscure than a god¡¯s words. To be able to forge a weapon with eight magical attributes with one quenching was a goal only Smithing Masters could pursue...

    Legend had it that the Smithing Gurus who were above Smithing Masters in skills could forge the weapon with one quenching and activate the eighth magical attribute of rainbow adamantine. At the same time, the weapon would shimmer unlike what usually happened...

    And Lin Li had used the technique belonging to Smithing Masters for this machete.

    A pity that nobody, Garza included, could see the true value of this machete.

    ¡°Alright, Kaman, time is ticking, bring me to the dwarf...¡± Lin Li was a little dejected to have the masterpiece he¡¯d created in a moment of passion depreciated. He was not in the mood for small talk; hence, with a few half-hearted words, he rushed Kaman to bring him to the carriage of ore.

    ¡°Ok, ok...¡±

    As the two exchanged half-hearted words, Lasorick had already boarded the carriage with Garza at his side. Garza was resting with his eyes closed, and paid no mind to Lasorick¡¯s endlessints.

    ¡°Master Garza, the two foreigners were too much!! Why didn¡¯t you let me punish them? And Kaman, that corrupted businessman, how dares he doubt your appraisal after selling me a fake! If not for your sake, I would have torn down his shop!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Lasorick, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re Anjay¡¯s son and will take over from him one day as the casten of Dnd. Rashness is not a good trait to have as a casten...¡± The middle-aged cksmith could not help frowning at Lasorick¡¯s endlessints.

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°No buts, Lasorick. I¡¯ll tell you this: the two foreigners are not people you can punish, especially the ck-cloaked man...¡±

    ¡°The ck-cloaked man?¡± Lasorick was not convinced. ¡°Isn¡¯t he just a servant, why can¡¯t I punish him?¡±

    ¡°Servant?¡± Garza shifted himself and sat up straighter, a sneer on his tan face. ¡°You really think he is a servant? Don¡¯t be funny, Lasorick, he is at least a level-17 mage! Even the most powerful mage that your father has may not have such capabilities, and you think he is a servant you can punish?¡±

    ¡°Le... level-17?¡± Lasorick gulped, his beady eyes filled with disbelief. ¡°Y-y-you... You said, that ck-cloaked guy, is a level-17 mage?¡±

    ¡°Maybe even level-18...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°But something is strange...¡± Garza frowned deeply again at this, his tanned face filled with doubt as he spoke as though to himself. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell how powerful the other mage was, could he be more powerful than the guy in the ck cloak?¡±

    ¡°Master Garza, what are you saying?¡± Lasorick was confused when he heard this. What other mage, who was stronger than the guy in a ck cloak? Could Master Garza be referring to the guy who had threatened him about his hands?

    ¡°Right, right, weapons forged of rainbow adamantine do not have to be dull, that must be it, that must be it, the eighth magical attribute, the legendary eighth magical attribute... ¡± Garza muttered to himself, and became more excited as he did. In the end, he leaped up, and yelled, ¡°Stop the carriage!¡±

    ¡°What happened, Master Garza?¡± Lasorick was taken aback.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask anymore, Lasorick, get someone to bring me the machete from the shop now!¡±

    ¡°Uh, the machete?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the machete forged from rainbow adamantine!¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master Garza, calm down, I¡¯ll have someone do it now...¡± Garza looked very serious, so Lasorick did not dare dy it any further as he stopped the carriage and alighted before getting one of his attendants to buy the machete back.

    After that, Lasorick returned to the carriage with a doubtful expression. ¡°Master Garza, w-why is it you want it back?¡±

    ¡°Lasorick...¡± The middle-aged cksmith shook his head; the calmness from earlier could not be seen on his tanned face anymore. ¡°I was wrong, how could I not have thought of that, there really is a Smithing Guru in this world...¡±

    ¡°Smithing Guru, what Smithing Guru?¡±

    ¡°Only in legends, a Smithing Guru who can activate all eight magical attributes of rainbow adamantine with one quenching!¡±

    Lasorick finally understood something when he heard this. ¡°You¡¯re saying...¡±

    ¡°Yes, if I¡¯m right, the one who forged the machete is a true Smithing Guru!¡±

    ¡°Good heavens...¡±

 Chapter 304 - Dwarf

    <h4>Chapter 304: Dwarf</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    While Lasorick was not all that smart, he knew what being a Smithing Guru entailed. It meant forging skills that were out of this world and an iparable status thatmanded great respect. In the 1300 years after the Dark Ages, there had only been two Smithing Gurus, and they had godlike status amongst cksmiths as they could both achieve the impossible like a god. No doubt that a piece of scrap metal could be transformed into a weapon in their hands!

    ¡°... ¡± Lasorick was stunned. He could not believe that the machete he called a fake had been forged by a Smithing Guru; he gulped as he thought of this. ¡°What do I do, Master Garza, what do I do, will he be angered by what I said at the shop...¡±

    It was no child¡¯s y to offend a Smithing Guru. He might not have much influence, and might not have anything apart from his forging skills, but the consequences of offending him were terrifying as there was no saying how many legendary and powerful individuals were waiting to get into his good books...

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, a cksmith who has achieved a guru status would not be angered by your words. You are only a child who¡¯s throwing a tantrum in their eyes, do you think an adult would be angered by that?¡± the middle-aged cksmithforted him before frowning again. ¡°But Kaman would be a bit of a problem...¡±

    ¡°Kaman?¡± Lasorick paused before showing his disdain. ¡°What problem could that old fatty be, he is only a businessman with a bit of power. I¡¯ll have Father issue an order to keep his mouth shut or we¡¯ll close down his shop and banish him from Dnd...¡±

    ¡°Fool!¡± The middle-aged cksmith almost exploded in anger, and he nearly stabbed Lasorick with his finger. ¡°Can¡¯t you use your brains, Lasorick?? Think about it, how did Kaman get the machete?¡±

    ¡°How...¡± Lasorick pondered with a nk look before covering his mouth suddenly, then his face started bing white. ¡°Ma... Master Garza, you¡¯re saying that Kaman got the machete because he knows the Smithing Guru?¡±

    ¡°What else do you think...¡±

    ¡°My god...¡±

    ¡°People like Kaman are the most troublesome, if he can fawn over you because of your father, he can also bear a grudge because of what you did to his shop...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Garza, I know what to do...¡±

    The Smithing Guru was not aware of the pair¡¯s conversation. To be honest, he was pulling out his hair in frustration in Kaman¡¯s shop. If not for the carriage of Ice Crystal Metal, he would have gone on a rampage...

    It was Lin Li¡¯s first encounter with dwarves since he came to Anril, and so he only realized today that they really lived up to their reputation of being difficult. To put it bluntly, the dwarves from Danmod were as difficult and stubborn as a bull!

    ording to Kaman, this bull¡ª no, this dwarf had some status in Danmod. His grandfather or his great-grandfather had once led an army to go against the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion during the Dark Ages, and thus, this fellow¡¯s full name was ridiculously long. It would take a minute to recite it in its entirety. Well, this was how the dwarves were¡ªthe more impressive their history was, the longer the names of their descendants were as they liked to add their achievements into their descendants¡¯ names. Andoine had once said that to know the history of the Dwarf Kingdom, one need not visit the library, for all they had to do was to ask a dwarf of high status to recite his full name...

    Of course, if his name took a minute to recitepletely, he could not use it on a daily basis. In the following conversation, Kaman addressed him as ¡°Mr Sturn¡±. As ¡°Sturn¡± tranted to ¡°forge¡± in Khuzdul, thenguage of the dwarves, it seemed that the Sturns were a family of cksmiths.

    ¡°No, no, no, my father said that humans are crafty creatures, and I will not fall for this. My ore will only be sold in exchange for food, no amount of money will suffice!¡± Sturn spoke with a thick Danmod ent, and Lin Li had to use the same amount of concentration he used when memorizing spells to decipher a bit of it...

    This was all because of Sturn¡¯s ent.

    No choice¡ªhis ent was really too strong, and even Kaman who had spent years dealing with various races could not understand him. Yes, the carriage of Ice Crystal Metal cost one million gold coins, but he wanted one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food...

    Lin Li was incredibly angry when he thought of this. <i>Damn it, I don¡¯t know anyone here in the Breezy ins, how am I going to get you one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food? Even then, how would I dare to? One million gold coins¡¯ worth of food would pile up higher than the walls of Dnd, and require an army of hundreds to transport. If I did that, wouldn¡¯t I be charged for colluding with other countries? If the Sky Knights and the Three Guard Army came for me, are you going to help me exin this mess?</i>

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that, Sturn, one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food is too much. I can¡¯t get you that much now. Why don¡¯t you give me some time, say, three to six months, and I¡¯ll send it over to Danmod in batches?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, my father said...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was hopping mad, and would have pped him for wasting his afternoon away if not for the Ice Crystal Metal. All he did was say ¡°no, no, no, my father said¡±... <i>Damn it, since your father already said so, why are you here in Dnd? To waste my time?</i>

    The worst part was that Lin Li could not do anything about it even after trying to persuade him the whole afternoon; that fellow refused to budge. Lin Li had no choice, and so he stood up as he said helplessly, ¡°Alright, Sturn. You¡¯re staying in Dnd for some time, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my father said that if I can¡¯t exchange the ore for food, I can¡¯t return to Danmod, either.¡±

    ¡°What about this, Sturn? I don¡¯t have so much food right now, so can you give me a few days? Just a week. Keep the ore for me for a week and don¡¯t sell them to anyone else. In a week, I¡¯ll get you million gold coins¡¯ worth of food.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, my father said humans are crafty, what if you don¡¯t return to me after a week?¡±

    ¡°... ¡±

    ¡°What are you looking at me for, this is what my father said...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you 50,000 gold coins first, and if I don¡¯t return in a week, you can take that aspensation for your time!¡± As Lin Li said this, he really wondered which idiot had said that dwarves were honest people. <i>Damn it, this fellow even knows you have topensate for defaulting a contract... Honest? I must be a saint, then...</i>

    ¡°Deal!¡± Sturn had agreed very quickly this time.

    Lin Li held in his anger again and again so as not tond a p on the damned dwarf. His face had darkened from his anger as they walked out of the shop. It terrified Kaman, who panicked internally as he smiled carefully at Lin Li while reminding himself to watch his words lest Lin Li¡¯s anger was taken out on him.

    ¡°Kaman, what do you think of this?¡±

    ¡°Well, Mage Felic...¡± Kaman watched him carefully. ¡°Those damned dwarves are naturally stubborn, and won¡¯t change their minds easily after they have decided on something. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll really have to get one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food before we can get the Ice Crystal Metal...¡±

    ¡°I know that...¡± Lin Li shook his head, frustrated. ¡°What I want to know is, do you have any solution to this?¡±

    ¡°Well, to be honest, Mage Felic, I can think of something if it¡¯s a few thousand gold coins¡¯ worth of food, but one million is really too much... Why don¡¯t you give me a few days, I¡¯ll call up a few friends...¡±

    ¡°Ok, then...¡±

    It was already evening when they returned to ck Clouds Town. Lin Li felt increasingly upset the more he thought about what happened in these few days as they did not achieve anything despite all the trouble. If he had known earlier, he would have stayed home to study the core magical mantras.

    ¡°Strange, why are there so few people...¡± Lin Li alighted from the carriage at the entrance of the town, and walked back to the house he had been staying at, but found something was amiss as he did. ck Clouds Town was too quiet today, and he did not see a single familiar face along the walk. While ck Clouds Town was in a remote area, it was home to a lot of people, and many woulde out for a walk after dinner every day. Even foreigners like Lin Li hade to know a few familiar faces in town in the past month.

    ck Clouds Town was strange today, however. It was unusually quiet, just as if everyone had disappeared all of a sudden.

 Chapter 305 - Protection Fee

    <h4>Chapter 305: Protection Fee</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Master, there is a stench of blood.¡± Just as Lin Li was feeling suspicious, Norfeller, who stood at his side, frowned suddenly.

    Norfeller was a true high-ranking Vampire whose life source came from blood itself, which exined his incredible sensitivity to the presence of blood. If Norfeller said there was a stench of blood, then it had to havee from somebody in ck Clouds Town...

    ¡°What ce is iting from?¡±

    ¡°The Church Square.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lin Li released a Levitation Spell before he finished speaking. With the spell, Lin Li flew to the Church Square as though he was swept by the wind. The month spent on studying the core magical mantras had brought him many benefits, and he could make a simple Levitation Spell quicker than lightning. Fortunately, nobody was around to witness this, for they would have been scared out of their wits. For someone to be able to use a Levitation Spell the way an Archmage used a Legendary-level Flying Spell, could he really be human?

    Lin Li flew to the Church Square in an instant with his near Legendary Levitation Spell, and was stunned by what he saw. The somewhat small ce was crowded, with at least a thousand people there. ck Clouds Town was neither the prosperous capital nna, nor was it the chaotic Jarrosus filled with the 17 powers; it was merely a remote town near Dnd, with a little over a thousand families. That meant that almost every family had a representative in the Church Square.

    ¡°Move it quickly and stop dilly-dallying, pay up and go home! If you hold me back from dinner, I¡¯ll have you suffer next month!¡± The voice that came from the crowd sounded nasal as though he had a serious case of sinus.

    Lin Li looked down in his shock, and saw a strong man in his thirties standing behind a long table with a chest sitting on it. The man shouted curses as he ced silver coins in the chest, while the townsfolk lined up before the table and presented their silver coins at his orders...

    Lin Li had initially thought that it was the tax officer.

    It made sense¡ªthe borders of the Fn Kingdom had grown increasingly restless over the years, especiallyst year. The two great human kingdoms, Fn and Ledin, had fought a few wars consecutively, and while they were small in scale, everyone knew that the two human kingdoms would ultimately engage in a big war. Wars and taxes always came together, hence the heavy taxes in recent years. Lin Li had only been here for a month, but even then, he had seen the tax officer¡¯s carriage twice...

    But something did not seem quite right¡ªsince when did the tax officer who dressed in ck and rode a carriage look so arrogant? Look at him: beady, angled eyes, a strong, robust face, and saliva flying as he shouted at the top of his voice. With both his legs hiked up on the table, he looked dashing, with a touch of style¡ªno tax officer looked this arrogant!

    ¡°Damn it, all you stingy fellows, if not for the Syer Bandits protecting you all these years, could your crops grow so well? Could your businesses remain prosperous for so long? Also, could your kids be so big? We¡¯re only charging a bit of money, and here you are taking such a long time¡ªhaven¡¯t you any conscience? Let me tell you, our boss said that prices are rising these days, and our spending has increased, so from next month onwards, each family is to pay another 50 silver coins. You¡¯d better prepare that money now, and not take your time like today!¡±

    As the man continued his rant, Lin Li finally understood what was going on. This guy was way more arrogant and dashing than tax officers, but at least they had to calcte carefully how much tax they would collect, unlike this guy who simply decided how much protection fee he wanted them to give him!

    Lin Li had never liked the idea of protection fees. Hence, he slowly descended from the sky with the intention to talk to this man, but then he heard someone call his name.

    ¡°Felic, why are you here?¡±

    Lin Li turned around, and saw an old man with white hair. ¡°Good evening, Uncle Stt.¡±

    This old man named Stt was Lin Li¡¯s new neighbor. He ran a small cksmith shop, and made a living by making farming tools. ck Clouds Town was a small town, and most people did not rece their farming tools for a few years at a time. Hence, Stt¡¯s business had been slow¡ªoften not a single person would drop by his shop for days. On top of that, his son was a good-for-nothing who dreamed of making it big as an adventurer, and had been hanging out in Dnd since he was a teenager. While he did not be an adventurer, he was quickly bing a lowly thug. Since he did not make much money these years, he had to rely on his father to support him. With slow business and an ipetent son, Stt often struggled financially.

    While he struggled financially, Stt was a well-known Samaritan in ck Clouds Town. Take Lin Li for example¡ªwhen he had first moved here, Stt had taken very good care of him, always asking if he was well, and treated him like family. Even now, when Stt made something to eat, he would always call on his young neighbor to share it. Lin Li was thick-skinned, but even he felt embarrassed by Stt¡¯s hospitality at times, and always told himself that he would have to find a chance to repay this kind old man someday.

    Right now, Stt¡¯s face was filled with panic. ¡°Felic, quick tell me, why did youe here?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I went out in the day, and didn¡¯t see anybody in town when I returned...¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you...¡± Stt sighed, his wrinkled face was filled with worry and panic. ¡°Why did youe back? You should have just stayed out, why did you have toe back now... Sigh, this is going to be messy...¡±

    ¡°What is going on, Uncle Stt?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask so many questions now...¡± Stt looked around before he pulled Lin Li aside, and pointed at the forest opposite the Church Square. ¡°Felic, you see that? Yes, yes, the small path right next to the forest. The blood-suckers haven¡¯t seen you yet, so follow it and hide outside the town, wait until night falls beforeing back...¡±

    ¡°What blood-suckers?¡±

    ¡°Them!¡± The old man discreetly pointed at the man who sat in the center of the crowd, collecting money. ¡°They¡¯re from the Syer Bandits. These blood-suckers collect a lot of money from the townsfolk every year, saying it is the price for protecting us. Pff, these damned blood-suckers, we¡¯ll be thankful if they don¡¯t find trouble with us, what protection...¡±

    ¡°You just give them the money?¡±

    ¡°How can we not? Every one of them is armed, so how can we fight against them?¡±

    ¡°What about the town¡¯s soldiers? And Dnd? ck Clouds Town is under Dnd¡¯s protection, isn¡¯t it? Haven¡¯t they ever asked about this?¡±

    ¡°The town¡¯s soldiers are no match for them. There are only a few dozens of them, and their weapons are outdated. The Syer Bandits have over a thousand people, all formidable ones in the Breezy ins. How can a few soldiers with outdated weapons protect ck Clouds Town? As for Dnd, well, I heard Anjay is on pretty good terms with the boss of Syer Bandits...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li nodded, and said nothing more.

    ¡°Alright, Felic, I¡¯ve told you what you wanted to know, you¡¯d better get going now. You may not know this, but these blood-suckers not only collect money¡ªthey often take the town¡¯s young men and make them join them or turn them into ves. You¡¯ve seen my son, haven¡¯t you? If not because I feared the blood-suckers would take him away, why would I allow him to fool around in Dnd?¡±

    The old man was worried sick as he said this. If it was up to him, he wouldn¡¯t want to see his young neighbor hurt. While they had only met not too long ago, the old man treated him like his own child, and this young man was the exact opposite of his son. He was humble and mild-tempered, a polite smile always on his face... Lin Li was always respectful even to a lowly cksmith like him, and asked him about his work when he came to visit in his shop.

    Such a nice young man, how could he bear to see him taken by the Syer Bandits? He would either die from torture or be brainwashed into a ruthless bandit!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Stt, I won¡¯t be taken by them...¡± Lin Li knew what Stt was worried about. Afterforting him gratefully, he looked over to the man sitting behind the table.

    He had to admit that it was quite a chore to collect protection fees. There were over a thousand families in ck Clouds Town, and 50 silver coins a family would mean over 50,000 silver coins in total. It had to be tiring to collect all of them; no wonder the boss wanted to raise the price next month...

    ¡°Alright, you damned misers, move faster and stop taking your time, I¡¯ll skin you alive if you dy my dinner!¡± Rosu shouted as he clinked a few silver coins in his hand.

    Lin Li pursed his lips as he prepared to tell this guy that he would not have time for dinner. However, there began a stir in the crowd at that moment.

    ¡°Let me go you bastards, let me go!¡±

    A few armed bandits were escorting a young man from the center of the square. He looked to be in his twenties. At a nce, he even looked quite simr to Stt!

 Chapter 306 - Fight

    <h4>Chapter 306: Fight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You bunch of nipoops! Wait till our bosses!¡± the young man shouted as he wrestled with the robbers. Unbeknownst to him, there was a pair of eyes on him.

    ¡°G-Gaso... How could it be Gaso? Didn¡¯t I tell that fe not toe back? Why is he back...¡± Old Stt stuttered at the sight of the young man walking into the Cathedral Square. His face turned ashen.

    ¡°What happened, Uncle Stt?¡± Lin Li looked at Old Stt by his side, and then at the young man at the Cathedral Square. He suddenly understood everything.

    ¡°Is he your son?¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is him... What should I do? I always told this scoundrel not toe back to the ck Clouds Town before the 15th of every month... Now that he¡¯s back...¡± The old man was so worried after seeing that his son fell into the hands of the robbers.

    ¡°Uncle Stt, don¡¯t worry first. Nothing would happen to your son.¡± Lin Li was not trying tofort him. The reason was simple; the robbers were too weak to begin with. Although they were strong in numbers, the strongest was not more than level-10. To a level-16 Archmage, they were just nobodies. If Lin Li wanted to, he could get rid of them all at once, not to mention saving Old Stt¡¯s son.

    Hence, Lin Li was not worried at all. Afterforting Old Stt, his gazended on the young man named Gaso. There were residents and robbers among the thousands of people in the Cathedral Square. But, the main thing that interested Lin Li was the useless son, Gaso, Old Stt was talking about. Although this young man woremon leather armor just like other Adventurers, the way he walked was as if he had not had any martial training before.

    Furthermore, when that fe walked into the Cathedral Square, Lin Li remembered that he clearly saw a small metal hook hanging out of his pocket. Lin Li remembered that was the mostmon tool used by Jarrosus¡¯ robbers...

    It seemed that the son Old Stt was talking about was much more useless than he imagined him to be...

    When the robbers took Gaso into the Cathedral Square, one of them ran towards the long table, and spoke discreetly to his vice-chieftain, who was counting money.

    ¡°What?¡± the bandit vice-chieftain eximed upon hearing what the robber told him. He stopped counting money, and sprang up from his chair. Then, he walked up to Gaso menacingly.

    ¡°p!¡± A crisp sound could be heard.

    ¡°Damn, you have big guts!¡± The vice-chieftain gave Gaso a tight p. His cheek became swollen immediately.

    What followed was a heavy kick that made Gaso stumble backwards. If he had not been held onto tightly by the two robbers behind him, he would have fallen to the ground. The vice-chieftain did not give up, and started to give Gaso a harsh beating.

    ¡°Goddammit, you have a boss too, don¡¯t you? Alright, let me see if my fist is harder than your backing!

    ¡°You guys, what are you waiting for? Beat him to death!¡±

    While the vice-chieftain shouted, the other robber went towards Gaso. The sound made when their fistsnded on his skin was deafening.

    When his gazended on Gaso, Old Stt clenched his fist. However, he could not stand the sight of his son getting punched by so many people.

    ¡°Marko! You robbers, let my son go!¡± Old Stt barged into the crowd, and dashed towards his son.

    Before anyone realized it, Old Stt was already like a hen trying to protect its chick. He brought Gaso behind him, and let the fistsnd on him like a heavy rain.

    However, since Old Stt was a middle-aged man in his 50s, he was not as strong as he had been in his youth. How would he be able to withstand the never-ending blows? Not long after, he started to puke blood.

    ¡°F*ck you, old man! If you want to die, let me give you the chance!¡±

    This time, Lin Li could not stand still anymore.

    He shook his head, took out his Aether Staff from the Ring of Endless Storm, and summoned the Blood-vine Spell.

    At that instant, the ground of the Cathedral Square was covered by red blood vines. They were not only like countless red snakes entangled together, but also like blooming blood flowers. Everyone¡¯s gaze were fixed onto that pool of red.

    ¡°F*ck, what¡¯s that¡ª¡±

    A group of robbers got engulfed by the sea of red before they could say anything.

    The first person that the blood vines attached themselves onto was their vice-chieftain, Marko. He was tightly wrapped by the blood vines. Since it was a real level-15 spell that even an Archmage might not be able to deal with, how would a low-level Warrior like Marko be able to withstand it? He could only watch the hundreds of blood vines entangle themselves tightly around himself...

    After doing that, Lin Li patted off the dirt on his long robe, and walked out of the crowd slowly.

    ¡°To be honest, Mr. Marko, I think you might not have a chance to have your dinner...¡±

    ¡°W-w-who are you?¡± Marko asked fearfully. He could feel the countless pricks sinking into him slowly. The pain was not excruciating, but he could not help but feel helpless. They were like blunt knives slicing his body slowly...

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m just somebody who doesn¡¯t like paying protection fees,¡± Lin Li replied smilingly as he controlled the speed of the blood vines growing. It was to ensure that that would not endanger innocent lives.

    As the two men had their conversation, there were whispers among the people in the Cathedral Square. The discussion started off with just three people, but now, it expanded like a gue, and spread to the whole of the Cathedral Square.

    Everyone was asking about the origin of that man. It did not take long for them to meet someone who knew it. That person told them proudly that the young man had just moved to the ck Clouds Town a month ago, and had recently bought something from his small shop...

    However, it did not matter if they knew him or not. None of them could believe that this young man who appeared to be a gentleman was actually a powerful mage!

    This piece of news caused the residents to be really surprised. To them, a mage was the world¡¯s most mysterious upation. They could control lightning and storm and fire and ice, and had extraordinary strength to create many miracles in the human world.

    When the young man just moved in a month ago, the residents felt that he was really agreeable and humble. None of them had expected such a mighty power to hide behind his amicable fa?ade.

    ¡°Felic is really a mage?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    This voice belonged to Lin Li¡¯sndy. She was at least 40 years old, and opened a bakery. Now, her face was glistening with pride as she bragged about how she realized that Lin Li was not anymon man, and how she gave Lin Li a lot of care since he moved in...

    Anyway, if Lin Li had stayed at the ck Clouds Town for a shorter period of time, she might even brag that she taught Lin Li his magic!

    At once, the Cathedral Square became very lively. Everyone felt more at ease, and no one cared about the robbers anymore. To them, the presence of the mage in the ck Clouds Town meant the death of those little robbers.

    ¡°I-I-I... Let me warn you, fe. We are the Syer Bandits. If you dare to be funny, our boss will not let you go...¡± Marko lost all of the pride he had just now. He was like a drowning man trying to grab onto straws, trying to live on.

    Unfortunately, this piece of straw was meaningless to Lin Li. He didn¡¯t know the Syer Bandits at all, and didn¡¯t know who the ¡°boss¡± Marko was referring to was.

    ¡°Mr. Marko, to be honest, you have too many things to talk about...¡±

    What followed was the lighting up of the jewel on top of the arched staff.

 Chapter 307 - Treasure hunt again?

    <h4>Chapter 307: Treasure hunt again?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the Dragon¡¯s Eye glowed, it was as though the numerous vines had experienced a shock. They retracted at once, and a shriek could be heard. Hot fresh blood sshed out, staining the grounds of the Cathedral Square.

    The square went silent immediately.

    Lin Li took back the blood-vines slowly. His eyes were on the rest of the robbers.

    ¡°Does anyone else wants their dinner?¡±

    Apart from the sound of hearts thumping and people breathing, the silence in the surrounding area was deafening. The rest of the robbers looked at each other uneasily. None of them dared to make a sound. Their gazes towards Lin Li were filled with trepidation and helplessness. Since they had no time for escape, who would want to provoke that killer?

    ¡°Very good,¡± Lin Li said as he nced at the robbers before showing signs of satisfaction. ¡°Since everyone is so polite, I¡¯m not going to make things difficult for you. You can go after leaving behind all your things.¡±

    ¡°S-sure, sure...¡± The robbers were already shocked by Marko¡¯s death. Now that Lin Li said he would let them off, they had no time to fuss about their belongings. At once, the ttering sound of the weapons dropping on the ground could be heard. Two timid robbers even ran to the long table and brought that heavy wooden box full of silver coins to Lin Li¡¯s feet as though in an act of ingratiation.

    After all these, the bunch of robbers sighed in relief. Although the ck Clouds Town was small, today¡¯s collection of protection fees was too dangerous. They had really seen a monster. Why would such an invincible magee to the ck Clouds Town? If they¡¯d known about it, they would have joined the other group in robbing the traders. It would certainly be much safer than the ck Clouds Town...

    What they were d for was the little bit of humanity that mage had. Although he killed Marko, he spared their lives...

    ¡°Wait a minute...¡±

    When the robbers were secretly celebrating the fact that they were spared, Lin Li¡¯s ¡°wait a minute¡± nearly caused them to pee in their pants. The bunch of burly men stood frozen in fear, and looked at each other nervously like guilty children that were unsure of what they had done wrong. After five minutes of staring at one another, a robber who was braver than others stood out from the crowd. He asked cautiously, ¡°M-most respected Mr. Mage, w-what orders do you have?¡±

    ¡°Do I need to remind you again? I meant it when I said to leave behind <i>all </i>your belongings...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    When Lin Li said that, the bunch of robbers flushed. <i>Does that mean that we have to take off our clothes?</i>

    If this happened in the past, these robbers would let their fists speak for them. How could the robbers from the Syer Bandits expose themselves to such shame? However, none of them said a thing. Everyone was in a dilemma...

    In the end, they were ovee by their desire to live...

    One leather armor got ced on the grounds of the Cathedral Square after another. Then, the undergarments. Not long after, there was a huge pile of clothes in the Cathedral Square.

    ¡°Alright, you can go now.¡±

    Hence, the group of naked robbers frantically escaped from the ck Clouds Town. This incident would be a famous anecdote among the people of ck Clouds Town for many years. They woulde to love talking about it after their meals, and recount the events of the day President Felic first came to the ck Clouds Town, and how those 10 robbers ran away in shame...

    ...

    The wooden box that was full of silver coins went back to the residents of ck Clouds Town. Old Stt was the one who distributed them. Since he was one of the top cksmiths in the ck Clouds Town, no one had any objection. At the same time, Lin Li sneaked back to his house. He knew that if he did not do so, the residents would not let him go that easily. What should he do when a whole bunch of fat aunties rushed towards him to ask about his life aspirations?

    Yet, when Lin Li returned to the house, there was something in his hand.

    From its appearance, it looked like a key. If Lin Li did not remember it wrongly, it was this thumb-sized key that was found in Garso¡¯s possession when he was brought to the Cathedral Square. It became the reason why Lin Li would request that those 10 robbers take off their clothes back then.

    ¡°Alright, Connoris. What a petty peeping Tom you are! I have the key you wanted. Come out at once!¡± After he returned to his house, Lin Li let Norfeller guard the door before opening the Ring of Endless Storm to call Connoris out.

    ¡°What peeping Tom? That¡¯s not nice...¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Lin Li snapped angrily. ¡°If you are not a peeping Tom, why did you keep nagging at my ear to take this key? Do you know that I had to let the entire bunch of robbers strip just to get it? Unknowing people might think that I have such a weird fetish...!¡±

    ¡°So exciting?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lin Li ced the key on the table. ¡°If you don¡¯t give me a reasonable exnation, get ready to stay inside the ring for a month!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Listen to me first...¡± Perhaps it was due to him being trapped in the Ring of Endless Storm for too long, but Connoris was unusually straightforward in his words today.

    ¡°Your neighbor?¡± Lin Li asked before realizing its meaning. ¡°You mean, a devil?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. A real high-level devil. The Lord of the 10th level of the abyss, Saradus!¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡±

    ¡°Young man, calm down. I still have more shocking news than this.

    ¡°My neighbor is not an agreeable person. Ever since he was born, he never stopped challenging me. Unfortunately for him, he never seeded. How would a mighty Soul Trader lose to a pitiful worm? Those times are really making me feel nostalgic; every day was filled with battles. There were always countless devils battling on the 10th and 11th level of the abyss.

    ¡°Thissted until one day, when Osric brought his Magic Legion into the abyss. Those darn High Elves were too powerful. Osric¡¯s Magic Legion was like a mincer that ground all of the devils into bits and pieces.

    ¡°Osric only used an evening to defeat the level-10 of the abyss, and nearly killed my sweet little neighbor...¡±

    ¡°Nearly?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, nearly...¡± Connoris replied. He was really immersed in his story, and his hoarse voice was filled with emotions. ¡°When the Magic Legion was chasing after him, Saradus shamelessly escaped into my pce...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so stupid...¡±

    ¡°Heh...¡± Connorisughed. ¡°You¡¯re right. I killed him, and swallowed his soul. Yet, this was all normal. Only the fittest survive in the abyss. If it was me that tried to hide in Saradus¡¯ pce, my sweet neighbor would have done the same without hesitation.¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap, get to the main point.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you know that there would be memory fragments inside any soul. Hence, when I was swallowing Saradus¡¯ soul, I obtained part of his memories. One was rted to this key. From this memory, I found Saradus had sneaked into the world outside the abyss many years ago and built a personal force there.

    ¡°I could not find further information about it. Still, there is something I¡¯m really sure of. That is, my adorable neighbor¡¯s special interest in magical metals. He used his own ability to gather many precious magical metals in this world, and hid them in a secret ce. As for the key to that ce, it was in the hands of a loyal human ve of his...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a treasure hunt again?¡± Lin Li interrupted Connoris. He started to understand the situation now.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Then, did you find the exact location of the treasure in Saradus¡¯ memory?¡±

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here to discuss some things with you. So, are you keen to be my dear partner in attaining the wealth of a demon monarch?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to tell me or not?¡± Lin Li asked impatiently. He was extremely clear on the Soul Trader¡¯s personality. When he heard the word ¡°discuss¡±, he knew that that fe had ill intentions.

    ¡°Goddammit, how could you threaten a mighty Soul Trader?¡± The stale dimension within the Ring of Endless Storm was Connoris¡¯ weakness. When he saw Lin Li open the ring, he started pleading with him. ¡°W-wait, wait, wait... I will tell you everything...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it...¡±

 Chapter 308 - Mayoréˆ¥æªš Visitation

    <h4>Chapter 308: Mayor¡¯s Visitation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Actually, Lin Li was not really keen on attaining the demon monarch¡¯s treasure. Since 1300 years had already passed, who knew if the treasure hadn¡¯t been dug out by some other people? Furthermore, it did not sound credible that a demon monarch would have a thing for collecting magical metals. Even though Connoris was really serious in telling him that, Lin Li was just treating him as though he was saying a fairy tale. The threat he gave Connoris was just a joke...

    Yet, as he heard more of it, Lin Li could not help but feel surprised. Apparently, Connoris was really not joking this time. He talked about the location of the treasure and the types of magical metals really seriously. Lin Li had to believe in his words.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be so powerful. Connoris, are you joking?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to joke with you. Do you think that Saradus¡¯ collection is a joke? Let me tell you¡ªthis is a really rare opportunity that you might not meet in a hundred years. Don¡¯t regret it when you think of it next time...¡±

    ¡°Are you sure...?¡± Lin Li nced at Connoris skeptically. ¡°I say, the mighty Soul Trader, why are you so passionate in sharing it with me this time?¡±

    ¡°Erm, hehe...¡± Connoris smiled hideously. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just because there are not only magical metals in Saradus¡¯ treasury. There is something else there that interests me...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Something that once belonged to me. That year, our battle was incredibly intense. There were many a time I nearly died under the hands of my cute neighbor. Those things there are the things I dropped on our battlegrounds. They epassed part of my personal soul energy.

    ¡°I have always been thinking about a certain issue all these years. That is, since Osric used powerful soul energy to seal my body, if I¡¯m able to find those things, they might be of some help to me. It might even separate me from this darn hammer...!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so there¡¯s that...¡± Lin Li was now entirely clear about the situation and the reason behind Connoris¡¯ unusual friendliness. He told Lin Li every clue about the treasure, and kept convincing him to go and uncover the treasure chest. All these efforts were due to his persistence to recover his lost belongings...

    But that was good too. Each of them could take what they wanted, minimizing any suspicions between them.

    Then, everything became lessplex. Since Connoris had told him so many things, there was nothing else he had to hide from Lin Li. Connoris told him that Saradus¡¯ treasure was at the north of the Breezy ins, in some ce called Evergreen Valley. The ce had barren hills and unruly rivers. There were rolling hills and dark forested regions. Furthermore, the geographical location of the treasure was unique. It was nicely located at the border between the territories of three races¡ªhumans, dwarves, and elves¡ªwhich no one would pay attention to. It was safe to say that this treasure was hidden in a remote region where few people trod. Even those Adventurers who valued money more than their own lives would not want to travel to that miasma-filled area where magical beasts roamed freely just for some money...

    Saradus¡¯ treasure was in one of the caves. In order to exin more clearly, Connoris even found a map of the Evergreen Valley for Lin Li.

    ¡°Do you see that? If you walk up this mountain, I presume you would need two to three days to cut through this primeval forest. So, I rmend that you pack some food with you, and don¡¯t be foolish and try to battle those magical beasts. When the High Elves were researching a dangerous spell in this area, an incident caused a great leakage of their poisonous chemicals. It polluted almost the entire forest, and the magical beasts soaked them up for more than 1300 years. I¡¯m sure even a little rabbit would have be a poisonous snake by now. Their meat is going to give you indigestion...¡±

    ¡°Noted,¡± Lin Li replied as he carefully remembered Connoris¡¯ words.

    ¡°After you pass through the primeval forest, you will be able to see the light of day again. However, please do not stop traveling. If you head in the northeastern direction and walk for about two to three kilometers, there will be a scene of precipitous cliffs. You should walk along the edge of the cliffs, and use either a rope or the Levitation Spell to bring yourself down. After about 200 meters, you will be able to see the entrance of that cave...¡±

    ¡°Soplicated?¡±

    ¡°Complicated? That is just the start. My dear neighbor was not a simple-minded demon. How would he let anyone go near his treasures easily? Not to mention other precautions, just the gate of the cave is enough to block you off. That gate is made wholly from the Eternal Adamantine. Without the key, thebined abilities of 10 Legendary mages would not be enough to open that gate...¡±

    As Connoris was immersed in all the descriptions, Lin Li could gradually visualize how the treasury of a demon lord would look like.

    The conversation between the man and the hammer continued untilte at night. Since Lin Li had to be serious about the Evergreen Valley, his queries to Connoris were very specific. Once Lin Li felt that he had nothing more to ask, he casually ced Connoris beside his bed, and fell into deep slumber...

    The next day, Lin Li was awakened by knocking on his door.

    When he opened the door, he saw Norfeller¡¯s ashen face.

    ¡°What is it, Norfeller?¡±

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s somebody outside who requested to see you.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded. He was not surprised. It was not unexpected for people to look for him now. Since he created such a din in the Cathedral Square, the people of ck Clouds Town were apudable enough to only look for him now...

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡± When he was putting on his long robe and preparing to head out, he remembered Connoris at the side of his bed. ¡°I say, mighty Soul Trader, I have some guest here. Do you want to hide in that dimension first?¡±

    ¡°Pfff!¡± Connoris jumped up from the side of the bed. ¡°I hate that darn dimension! There is no sunlight nor air inside. You¡¯d better not send me there again!¡±

    Lin Li did not expect Connoris to be so agitated. ¡°Alright, alright. Then don¡¯t hide. Can you not be so agitated...¡± He cated Connoris awkwardly.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    After reminding Connoris not to do anything funny, Lin Li and Norfeller went out to meet the guest.

    As expected, just when Lin Li stepped out of the door, there were over 10 people crowding outside. The old cksmith Stt, the plumpndy, and a stout middle-aged man who looked around 40 years old were there too. That squabby man had very fair skin that made him looked like fermented flour. There were no wrinkles on his smiley face, and thatplexion made him appear to be somebody who led a veryfortable life.

    Lin Li nced at him skeptically. Then, he remembered that this man was the highest-ranking chief executive of ck Clouds Town¡ªMayor Alexir...

    ¡°Greetings, Uncle Stt. Good day, Aunt Margaret. Good morning, Mayor Alexir...¡± Lin Li smiled as he greeted the people in a friendly manner. However, when it was Alexir¡¯s turn, Lin Li frowned a little.

    <i>Why is this fence-sitter here...</i>

    Anyone who had stayed in ck Clouds Town would know that Alexir fitted the title of a fence-sitter. Mister Mayor did not have much of a stance of his own, and would always gravitate towards anyone with power. Not only that, due to his timidness, any sense of danger would cause him to get insomnia for days. Lin Li knew from Old Stt the day before that this Mister Mayor made an excuse to attend to a non-existent business in Dnd three days ago after knowing that the robbers were going to his town...

    Throughout the several past years, he was the same. It had be the joke people of ck Clouds Town wouldugh about. They said that the time of this mayor going to Dnd to settle some ¡°affairs¡± was even more urate than thedies¡¯ monthly period. It was this determination and persistence that paved his road to be the mayor...

    Of course, Lin Li was not a righteous man that hated injustice. He did not really have qualms about dealing with the fence-sitting mayor. The reason behind his frown was an instinctive worry. Why would someone who liked to avoid trouble visit him? Since that mayor was so cheery today, it might not be something good. He would need to use a lot of energy to dismiss him now...

    Lin Li pursed his lips as he invited the guests in.

    Since the house was rented temporarily, the environment was not too great. The living room was not spacious to begin with, and now became even more crowded when the 10 people went in. Mister Mayor, who had always lived afortable life, did not seem to mind it, though. After he sat down, he started to use a very casual tone to talk to Lin Li.

    ¡°I hope Mage Felic finds ck Clouds Townfortable.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Mayor Alexir, I quite like ck Clouds Town. In fact, I¡¯m thinking about settling down here too...¡±

    ¡°Oh? Mage Felic wants to stay at ck Clouds Town? That¡¯s great...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Liughed, and did not say much. He saw Alexir¡¯s dismay very clearly when he said that he hoped to settle down in ck Clouds Town...

    ¡°Oh, yes. Magic Shooter Felic, I heard that you are from the nna Guild of Magic? What a coincidence, I went there a few years ago. I had the honor to meet a few noble Archmages. May I know which Archmage was your mentor?¡±

    ¡°My mentor is Andoine, but he is not an Archmage. He is just a random old man who loves to run around...¡±

    ¡°Andoine?¡± nna repeated the unfamiliar name. He was certain that he had never heard that there was an Archmage named Andoine in nna. When he looked at Lin Li again, his gaze had less respect now.

    <i>It seems that he is just a random mage with no background...</i>

    In reality, Alexir was still disappointed with that fact. He¡¯d thought that this young man who could defeat over 10 robbers would be under a well-known Archmage. Now that he knew that he was just an apprentice of a homeless mage, he felt that it was not worthy to risk anything for him despite his great abilities...

    ¡°What matters do you have in ck Clouds Town?¡± Alexir asked Lin Li directly. Since Lin Li had not much of a background, Alexir dispensed with formalities.

    ¡°Just a small matter...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, to think of it now, I realize I haven¡¯t gotten the chance to thank you. Mage Felic, you are a big savior to ck Clouds Town. If you hadn¡¯t been around, we would have faced great damagest night. Mage Felic, if you face any troubles here, please don¡¯t mind telling me. I would be able to render some help to you...¡± Alexir said ingratiatingly. Then, he tried to squeeze out a worried expression.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m not sure if I should tell you this, Mage Felic...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Alexir frowned, and hesitated dramatically before he continued, ¡°Mage Felic, after you finish what you wanted to do, please leave ck Clouds Town quickly...¡±

    Lin Li frowned, and asked, ¡°So Mayor Alexir doesn¡¯t really wee me here?¡±

    ¡°N-no, no, no. That¡¯s not it. I didn¡¯t mean that...¡±

    ¡°Then what did you mean, Mayor Alexir?¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic, it is not that the ck Clouds Town doesn¡¯t wee you. It¡¯s actually for your own good. Do you know that the man you¡¯ve killedst night was an important man in the Syer Bandits? They would not let you go easily. Although you are very powerful, if the people in Syer Bandits were to return to get revenge on you, you might¡ª¡±

    ¡°Important person?¡± Lin Li could not help but interrupt Alexir with hisughter. Now he knew why the man would visit him. What important figure was he talking about? Did Alexis think he was a fool? Just that Marko, a level-10 guy? How could he be somebody of importance? If that was so, the revenge by the Syer Bandits would be nothing to be fearful of...

    ¡°Mage Felic, since you¡¯re from nna, you might not know how powerful the Syer Bandits are. They are ranked in the top 10 of the bandit organizations in the Breezy ins. They have thousands of core members, and this is not including the external members scattered in different corners of the Breezy ins...¡±

 Chapter 309 - The Granary of the Breezy Plains

    <h4>Chapter 309: The Granary of the Breezy ins</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After that, it was just that fence-sitter talking to himself. He described the Syer Bandits as though they were as scary as floods and monsters. It was as though it was not a criminal organization, but a bunch of legendary heroes...

    Lin Li knew that all the effort Alexir had put into his stories was just an attempt to convince himself not to appear in the Breezy ins ever again. Or else, if the Syer Bandits really wanted to take revenge, the first person who was going to get into trouble would be Alexir himself.

    How would Lin Li care about such a mild scare? Not to mention that he was not scared of the Syer Bandits at all, he could not leave the Breezy ins, either. It was the Supreme Council¡¯s order for him to build his new guild in the Breezy ins. Now, everything was set in stone. If Lin Li were to leave at this time, wouldn¡¯t it be a p on the Supreme Council¡¯s face? At that time, let alone Syer Bandits, even Syer Kingdom would be turned into t ground by that bunch of old freaks in the Supreme Council...

    Of course, he could not tell Alexir those things now...

    Hence, Lin Li could only give him a vague response to dismiss him. He said, ¡°Alright, Mayor Alexir. I will consider your suggestion...¡±

    ¡°Please make up your mind fast...¡± Alexir replied. Although he was not a man of honor, he was not a fool, either. He knew that the young man was not going to be terrified by his words alone. Hence, he did not try to convince him further, but bid him goodbye to leave that ustrophobic house. Yet, before he left, he did not forget to reiterate the part about the prowess of the Syer Bandits.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Felic, you might not have heard this, but the Syer Bandits had just kidnapped the son of the casten of Rnd City...¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I will be careful, Mayor Alexir...¡± After sending this timid man off, Lin Li wanted to address Old Stt and the others. However, he suddenly felt that the name ¡°Rnd City¡± sounded rather familiar.

    Doubt shed across his mind, but he did not take the matter to heart.

    Yet, after Old Stt and the others took their leave, the issue with Rnd City reappeared in his mind. Where did he hear this name...?

    This question had disturbed Lin Li for a good two days. On the morning of the third day, Lin Li finally got the answer from Kaman, who hade to visit him.

    ¡°Rnd City? That¡¯s a nice ce. It is the wealthiest city in the Breezy ins. I¡¯ve heard that the ie that city earns from taxes in just a year is equivalent to Dnd¡¯s five years of taxes. Oh, Mage Felic, why are you asking this all of a sudden?¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it is that Rnd City...¡±

    Beforeing to the Breezy ins, Lin Li had gathered some data regarding Rnd City. It was said that this city in the center of the Breezy ins was also known as the granary of the Breezy ins. It was a ce of beauty and wealth, and had a great agricultural system. Every year, Rnd City would be able to provide crops for the whole of Fn Kingdom.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Kaman, have you heard that the son of Rnd City¡¯s casten got kidnapped?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Haha, that was the biggest news in Breezy ins thus far! Why, is Mage Felic interested in the reward as well?¡±

    ¡°Huh? What reward...?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, the casten of Rnd City had already announced the news. He promised to grant any request of the person who could save his son. Any request would be possible to meet as long as he could fulfill it. Tsk, tsk. He is the wealthiest man of the Breezy ins. His riches areparable to those of the Glittergold Trade Union. Anyone who has the ability to save his son will not have financial trouble for the rest of his life!¡±

    While Kaman was totally engrossed in his speech, Lin Li was bing impatient. He kept thinking about the reward the casten had promised, and how he should make good use of this man...

    ¡°Hehe. I feel that the reward was prepared for you, Mage Felic. With the ability of you and your servant, I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t take much for you to rescue his son from the Syer Bandits. Why don¡¯t you help him out...?¡±

    ¡°I will consider doing that...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± It was Kaman¡¯s turn to gasp. His suggestion to Lin Li that he should go and rescue the casten¡¯s son was just ttery. He did not expect Lin Li to even consider that. The Syer Bandits had thousands of members, and were ranked among the top ten bandit groups of Fn. To even think of rescuing the hostage alive would be a great challenge...

    ¡°Hehe. Boss Kaman, don¡¯t be so anxious. I was just joking...¡± Lin Li had no interest to continue discussing the matter after he knew the answer to his question. Heughed, and brought the topic to an end. ¡°Oh, yes. Why are you here you visit me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic...¡± Kaman kept his ingratiating smile, and squeezed out a very serious expression. ¡°There is something that happened in Dnd. I¡¯m here to ask for your opinion.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember that Master Lasorick?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±

    ¡°Not long after you left, Master Lasorick brought his people over again. Hehe, it was rather embarrassing too. I was so afraid that they were there to create trouble. After I asked them, I realized they were not there to create any trouble, but to buy back the machete ording to its original price...¡±

    ¡°They bought it back?¡± Lin Li did not know whether he shouldugh or cry. Was there something wrong with Lasorick? So, he bought a magic weapon at the Guru level, but used the seller of selling him a counterfeit. Not to mention that he returned to crash that shop, he even demanded to sell it back at twice the price he paid. Now, in the blink of an eye, he regretted it, and bought the thing back...?

    Lin Li really wanted to ask who was this Lasorick¡ªto be exact, if he had mixed up his gender. Or else, why did he buy magical weapons the way women bought their clothes? What type of dilemma was that...?

    ¡°Furthermore, furthermore...¡± Kaman hesitated, but still continued his story with a weird expression. ¡°J-just this morning, Kaman went back to the shop, and inquired really politely if I could sell him more such weapons...¡±

    ¡°How many did he want?¡± Lin Li asked. He did not have any qualms about Lasorick wanting to buy some more weapons. Since he still had quite a lot of magical metals that Kaman gave him the other time, Lin Li would definitely not reject someone who wanted to give him money. Of course, the price of the magical weapons would not be as low as before. Since Lasorick¡¯s father was the casten of Dnd, it would be a waste if he did not ask more from him...

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Felic, Master Lasorick also told me to arrange a meet-up with the cksmith of that machete...¡±

    ¡°Leave that for another time...¡± Lin Li hesitated. He did not want to promise Kaman that.

    As for the exnation why he did not readily agree to that request, it was actually very business-minded. Themon saying was that the reason why people did not betray others was not due to his loyalty, but because they did not have the ability to. Since he was just the son of a casten, Lasorick did not have the power to force a Smithing Guru to reveal his identity...

    Lin Li actually wanted to visit Dnd that afternoon. He was indeed interested in the reward promised by the casten of the Rnd City. Of course, his eyes were not on the mary benefits. Instead, he was interested in the granary of the Breezy ins. Who made him meet that ¡°my father said¡± dude who demanded a million gold coins¡¯ worth of grains? The casten of Rnd City should be the only person in the Breezy ins who had the ability to grant this request...

    In order to rescue the man from the Syer Bandits, the most important thing was to know more about that organization. Hence, it would be the easiest if Lin Li got such information from the Adventurers Guild.

    After eating lunch, Lin Li and Norfeller walked to the entrance of the town. When they wanted to board a coach, they suddenly met somebody whom Lin Li really did not want to see...

    ¡°Master Felic, I have something to discuss with you...¡± It was the Master of Inscription, Moke.

    Speaking of this Moke, he was not quite the ordinary man. Herza had once mentioned that he was an affable man who was more powerful than Aldwin in terms of handling Inscriptions, and was well respected by the people in the Supreme Council. He had helped to establish mageweaths at at least 20 out of the 24 magic guilds across Fn.

    However, Lin Li did not know why this man showed him so much attitude ever since they met. It was as though their eight characters shed with each other.

    Thus, it was really polite of him to address him as ¡°Mage Felic¡± today. If it was the usual days, he would address Lin Li with ¡°Hey, the who...¡±

    ¡°Good afternoon, Master Moke.¡±

    Moke nodded, and replied Lin Li with a ¡°yeah¡±.

    <i>Yeah your head... </i>Lin Li rebuked Moke inside his heart. When he looked at Moke again, he was less friendly.

    ¡°Master Moke has something to discuss with me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here to notify you that the main body of the tower has beenpleted. I will start to establish mageweaths there during these two days. If you have any special requests, please tell me now.¡±

 Chapter 310 - Pickpocket

    <h4>Chapter 310: Pickpocket</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Look, Master Moke. If you have extra time, please help me to establish 10 Wards of Bad Luck within the tower...¡±

    ¡°Wards of Bad Luck?¡± Moke asked in surprise.

    Actually, before he went to Lin Li, he had decided to put up some low-grade mageweaths for Lin Li as the Supreme Council did not specify the grade of the mageweaths he had to use. Since Lin Li did not look like a man who would have much knowledge about Inscription, he would not be able to notice that the mageweaths had low quality...

    However, Moke did not expect that the fe would be so dumb. Ward of Bad Luck was the simplest entry-level mageweath. Not to mention this Master of Inscription, even his weakest students would be able to create quite many of those.

    Moke did not know whether he shouldugh or cry at Lin Li¡¯s request.

    How could somebody instruct a Master of Inscription to put up 10 Wards of Bad Luck...?

    <i>But forget it, that¡¯s good as well.</i>

    10 Wards of Bad Luck were requested by the man himself. If Herza were to question him about it, he could exin that it was ording to the order of Lin Li himself. It was not his inefficiency...!

    ¡°Alright, 10 Wards of Bad Luck...¡± Moke nodded, and went off with a weird expression.

    ¡°Damn it, when did I even offend him?¡± Lin Li muttered to himself after Moke left. This Moke was really an unusual man. Since they had never met each other before, it was only normal for him to treat Lin Li politely. Why did he keep targeting him on purpose? That was really absurd!

    Let us review what this dude had done...

    Apart from his usual unfriendly attitude, he even dug a hole for Lin Li today! F*ck, since he was a Master of Inscription, how would he agree to construct Wards of Bad Luck when Lin Li casually asked him to do so? A fool would have known that mageweaths were the most crucialponent in the defense mechanism of a mage tower. If it were to depend solely on 10 entry-level mageweaths, a swarm of mosquitoes would have destroyed the entire tower...

    ¡°Luckily, I still have something to back it up...¡± Lin Li muttered, and pursed his lips after seeing Moke¡¯s backview disappear from his vision.

    For ordinary people, a Ward of Bad Luck was indeed the most basic of mageweaths. However, Lin Li knew that if one knew how to do it, it would bring about unimaginable effects...

    Of course, knowing was knowing. Lin Li did not have the mood to remind Moke about that.

    After sending Moke off, Lin Li went to the station to rent a coach. Then, he headed to Dnd with Norfeller.

    Upon entering Dnd, the duo got down on their feet, and reached the entrance of the Adventurers Guild very quickly. The ground of the Breezy ins was not that t after all. There was a lot of Adventurers in the tiny Dnd City, exceeding the numbers in Fn and nna. As the two men went up the steps, they saw a bustling scene. Thousands of Adventurers were gathered at the guild hall. It took Lin Li and Norfeller much effort to walk through the crowd.

    The Adventurers Guild was always a ce where people of different backgrounds gathered¡ªespecially in a ce like Dnd thatcked order. There were people of different age and gender, apprentices below level-5 and powerful people above level-15... and pickpockets, of course. The hustle and bustle in the guild hall made it seem like a busy wet market.

    Lin Li walked into the guild hall, and felt something moving in his pocket. Before he managed to turn his head, Norfeller had already stepped in...

    ¡°L-let go of your hand!¡±

    A frantic voice could be heard. Lin Li turned to look, and he saw a short and thin youth struggling with Norfeller. However, how could the strength of a human beparable to that of a Vampire? His hand was as though caught in a metal pincer...

    There was a coin pouch hanging on that index finger. It was dangling due to all the struggling...

    Lin Li turned back, and naturally realized what had happened.

    Dnd was indeed Dnd. It had the most pickpockets. Being one who had never encountered any pickpockets in Jarrosus and nna, Lin Li actually broke the streak by being in Dnd for a few days.

    ¡°W-what... do you want? L-let me tell you, y-you are on the territory of our Mafia Brotherhood! If you dare to offend any of us, you are going to get it...¡± The short and thin youth tried to use the name of his organization to threaten the two men who looked like danger.

    ¡°Mafia Brotherhood?¡± Lin Li repeated after him. This name sounded rather familiar...

    <i>Oh, yes...</i>

    Wasn¡¯t this the undesirable organization that Old Stt¡¯s son, Garso, joined...? So, it was just a bunch of pickpockets?

    No wonder he saw a dangling hook peeking out of Garso¡¯s pocket that night. It seemed that he had a special upation in Dnd.

    <i>Damn, I have to warn Old Stt to teach his son now. How can being a pickpocket have a brighter future thanmitting murder, arson, rape, and robbing?</i>

    ¡°Mafia Brotherhood, right?¡± Lin Li looked at the short and thin youth a while before instructing his high-ranking Vampire. ¡°Norfeller, let him go first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. ¡±

    After that steel-like pincer let go of his hand, the short and lean youth took some time to rub his bruised hand. ¡°So you know what¡¯s better for you...¡±

    ¡°Shut up, moron!¡± Lin Li snapped angrily. ¡°I always despise pickpockets! If I didn¡¯t have something for you to help me out with, I would have gotten rid of you...¡±

    ¡°What are you joking about?!¡± The short and lean youth took a step back in fear. Just when he wanted to flee, he felt a burning sensation at his feet...

    When he looked down, he nearly had a heart attack. He saw that his feet suddenly caught fire!

    ¡°What the hell is this! Help...¡± The short and thin youth winced in pain. The two balls of fire stuck to his feet. Regardless of how he struggled, he could not shake them off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. It is just a small trick...¡± Seeing that it was enough, Lin Li waved his hand to disperse the spell. ¡°But, if you don¡¯t want to listen to us, this little trick can take your little life too...¡±

    ¡°Y-you, you... What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything I want to do, I just have an errand I hope you can help me with...¡± Lin Li said as he brought Norfeller towards the exit of the guild hall. Before stepping out, he looked back, and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be burnt alive, you¡¯d better follow us out now...¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± The short and thin youth shivered as he imagined himself being burnt alive. Then, he followed them outside in trepidation.

    After the three people reached an isted area, Lin Li stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at the youth.

    ¡°Introduce yourself,¡± he said, and gave the youth a smile that sent jitters down his spine.

    ¡°I... I¡¯m Duke...¡±

    ¡°Very good, Duke. Are you interested in earning some money?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°What, I believe there should only be a yes or a no, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not a monster. Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I will eat you up?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Duke swallowed his saliva and cursed in his mind. <i>How should I know if you are a monster?</i>

    ¡°What¡¯s your answer?¡±

    ¡°Erm.¡± The short youth hesitated. ¡°Yes...¡± he replied meekly.

    ¡°I have some errands that I need help with. If you help me do it, I can give you 5000 gold coins as a reward.¡±

    ¡°D-did you say ¡®5000 gold coins¡¯?¡±

    That shocking number nearly gave Duke a heart attack. When he held Lin Li¡¯s heavy wallet just now, he knew that Lin Li had to be a rich man. But, no matter how imaginative Duke was, he would not have expected him to offer such a high mary reward. Did he get all his wealth from the wind?

    ¡°Yeah, 5000 gold coins. Are you interested?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, yes, yes! I am...¡± Duke replied and nodded profusely. At this moment, Duke really wanted to have two heads to better show his sincerity to deal with Lin Li. It was as though those 5000 gold coins would grow wings and fly away from him if he was a little less sincere...

    ¡°I believe you have heard about the Syer Bandits. I want a stack of detailed information on them: their strength in numbers, physical abilities, favorite hideout, name of their boss, their past, the color of undergarment they like to wear... et cetera. The more detailed, the better it is. If your report is satisfactory, I don¡¯t mind increasing the reward to ten thousand gold coins.¡±

    ¡°My gosh...¡± Duke became breathless upon hearing the shocking number.

    ¡°But...¡± After Lin Li threw out the temptation, his words got a sharper twist. ¡°But, if you were to ruin this matter, I promise I would ensure you enjoy the rest of your life.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Before I forget, I had nted something on your body. Not to worry, it would not cost you your life. It would only enable me to find you more easily. If I want to, I would be able to chase you down regardless of how far you try to hide yourself. Understand that?¡±

    ¡°Yes...!¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Lin Li said as he smiled. He retrieved the coin pouch from Norfeller and fiddled with it in his hands before he threw it to Duke. ¡°The money inside is my deposit. After doing that report, go to that ore shop to look for me,¡± Lin Li said, and pointed to the shop opposite them. ¡°Remember, you only have three days...¡±

    Lin Li spent the next two days in Kaman¡¯s ore trading shop.

    Since the mage tower in the ck Clouds Town was still under construction, there was nothing he could help with if he were to return at this time. Hence, he decided to stay at Dnd City to save himself some trouble. Another reason for staying here was to make use of Kaman¡¯s smithy. Having money was admittedly great, but aspared to Old Stt¡¯s cksmith shop, Kaman¡¯s smithy was much more powerful. It had all kinds of facilities and rare tools. In Kaman¡¯s words, with the relevant skills, one could create divine-level equipment right in his smithy.

    Of course, Lin Li was not there to create any such equipment...

    He only took out the leftover magical metals and tried to forge a magical weapon that was barely at the master-level. Since Lasorick could not even recognize weapons made from the rainbow adamantine, it would be a waste to give him better equipment...

    On the third day, Lin Li handed the three magical weapons he had forged to Kaman. While he was eating breakfast and wondering if Duke would leave him in the lurch, a worker in the trading shop ran towards him.

    ¡°Mage Felic, there¡¯s a bandit outside by the name of Duke, iming that he is your friend. Do you want to meet him?¡±

    ¡°Yes, let him in.¡±

    Not long after, the worker brought Duke over.

    ¡°Good morning, Mage Felic...¡±

    ¡°Morning, Duke. How is the errand going?¡±

    ¡°It is almost done. Mage Felic, do you want to hear it now?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°The Syer Bandits was set up by militiamen of Syer Town. Their leader is Vanskore, the formal leader of the militia. 20 years ago, the Syer Town suffered a gue; it¡¯s said that around half of the poption was wiped out by it...¡±

 Chapter 311 - Librarian

    <h4>Chapter 311: Librarian</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hm, carry on...¡± Lin Li nodded his head as the disaster that had happened then was widely known indeed, and even a foreigner like him had heard people mention it. Half the people had allegedly lost their lives, while the the other half fought to leave the cursed ce. The once prosperous Syer Town had been reduced to ruins. Even after 20 years, nobody was willing to step into this ce of death.

    However, Lin Li had never thought that the Syer Bandits had originally been the militiamen of Syer Town...

    ¡°I heard that Vanskore was the first one to discover the spread of the gue...¡± Duke was a natural at telling stories, and made them feel as if they had gone back to 20 years ago as he pieced the story together.

    As Duke recounted what had happened, Lin Li slowly gained a deeper understanding of what had happened during that disaster.

    After Vanskore discovered the spreading gue, he notified the head of Syer Town immediately, hoping to find a way to curb the expanding disease. Unfortunately, his warning fell on deaf ears, and the gue was treated like an ordinary illness. Only a few doctors came to conduct an inspection, but nothing happened after that. Vanskore was desperate at that point, but he refused to give up, even going to Rnd City to notify the casten. Sadly, he was only a small leader in the militia, and did not even make it past the gates of the casten¡¯s mansion before he was stopped by guards.

    Then, the tragedy happened.

    The gue spread with terrifying speed, taking thousands of lives in less than a week. Fear and desperation clouded Syer Town. Everyone wanted to leave this cursednd, including some who had been infected as well...

    Their desire to live was so strong that nobody wanted to think about what would happen if the infected ones made it to Rnd City. On the morning of the seventh day since the gue started, their exodus began. However, they were met by the army of Rnd City...

    Thousands of those infected were killed, while the lucky survivors were mostly thrown into dungeons to go through an endless period of quarantine and observation. Only when it was certain that they were not infected were they released from the cold dungeons.

    Vanskore and his men were some of the few lucky survivors of that disaster. Vanskore had warned them in time, hence nobody was infected. Theyter managed to escape Syer Town in the midst of the chaos.

    Then, the Syer Bandits were born.

    The Syer Bandits started out at the Star Moon Forest, which was located at the north of Dnd, and grew from a group of a few dozen men to one of the top 10 bandit groups of the Breezy ins. Under Vanskore¡¯s lead, the Syer Bandits focused on infiltration of various organizations. Their influence had now spread to every part of the Breezy ins. From casten mansions to Adventurers Guilds, signs of the Syer Bandits could be seen in every corner of the ce. Even the casten of Rnd City could not destroy them with his army, although he had long wanted to remove them.

    ¡°This Vanskore is talented indeed...¡± Lin Li had to give it to this bandit chieftain¡ªhe¡¯d managed to turn a small group of bandits into a syndicate of a few thousands in only 20 years, climbing from a wanted criminal to collecting protection fees onrge scale. Not everyone was capable of that indeed.

    ¡°What about now? Are they still at Star Moon Forest?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Duke shook his head. ¡°They moved to the Dragon Mountains after destroying thergest bandit syndicate there. Mage Felic, do you need a map of Dragon Mountains?¡±

    ¡°How do you know I¡¯ll need one?¡± Lin Li looked at Duke suspiciously. He was acting stranger and stranger today; the vivid story-telling earlier had been suspicious enough, and now he even knew to prepare a map when Lin Li hadn¡¯t asked for it yet. Since when did he be so observant? If he really was so observant, he wouldn¡¯t have tried something funny in front of Norfeller earlier...

    ¡°I... I guessed.¡± Duke looked at Lin Li carefully, and squeezed a smile to make himself appear calm, only for the tremble in his voice to give him away.

    ¡°Really...¡± Lin Li¡¯s smile turned cold. ¡°Seems like you want a rey of that little fire trick earlier...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case, Mage Felic, p-p-please listen to me...¡± Duke retreated unconsciously, but as he lifted his foot, he suddenly recalled that he was standing in front of a true mage who was capable of killing him if he wanted to, it would be useless even if he retreated to the gates of Dnd City.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a chance to exin yourself.¡±

    ¡°All... all of this information had been given to me by Mr Basel from Dnd¡¯s library...¡±

    ¡°Mr Basel from Dnd¡¯s library?¡± Lin Li frowned; he was aware of this ce in Dnd.

    The Supreme Council had not built a Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins; hence, the mages here usually held their discussions in libraries, and those soon became a popr spot for mages in every city. Dnd¡¯s library was no exception, and Lin Li had always paid close attention to it since it might well represent the highest standard of magic in Dnd.

    However, the name Basel was unfamiliar to him.

    Lin Li had done some preparation like reading information about this ce as well as asking around. He tried to get a better understanding of this ce through different means, but not once did he hear the name Basel.

    ¡°Yes, Mr Basel. He¡¯s the librarian of Dnd¡¯s library and my father¡¯s friend, hence he has always been looking out for me. I went to the library after leaving the Adventurers Guild to ask him what he thought of this whole issue...¡±

    ¡°And this Mr Basel told you this story?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic...¡± Duke nodded, and dug out ambskin scroll from his pocket. ¡°Oh, right. Mr Basel asked me to give you this map as well, he said you¡¯ll need it...¡±

    ¡°I see, how nice of Mr Basel. How about this, Duke, help me find out when he¡¯s free so that I can thank him over a meal.¡±

    ¡°Ok...¡±

    After sending Duke away, Lin Li stayed in his room to study the map closely. Judging from the fresh ink, he could tell that it had been drawn in thest couple of days, maybe even after Duke had approached him. However, the lines of this map were quite distinct, with detailedbels. Based on it all, it was hard to imagine that it had been drawn in a rush.

    It was too detailed¡ªeverything from a forest and a ditch to every tree on Dragon Mountains could be seen on the map. This looked impossible to Lin Li; the only usible exnation would be that this Mr Basel had already known Dragon Mountains very well since a long time ago. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to draw such a detailed map in such a short amount of time.

    If that was the case, things were going to get interesting...

    Why would a librarian know the hiding spot of the Syer Bandits so well? Even a fool could make the connection.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ll have to get involved in this...¡± Lin Li smiled, and rolled up the map to put in his pocket.

    Duke was quick. It had barely been two hours, but he had already brought back Basel¡¯s reply.

    ¡°Mr Basel said that there¡¯s no need for a meal, but if Mage Felic has the time, he is wee to visit him at the library.¡±

    ¡°Haha, seems like Mr Basel can¡¯t wait, either...¡± Lin Li smiled secretly as he let Duke lead him and Norfeller to the library.

    The library was near the casten mansion, and was the ce with the best environment in the whole of Dnd City. Clean and spacious roads, a za paved with marble right in front of the library¡¯s door, sparkling fountain and pigeons flying around... all of these elements added to the sacred air of this ce, a treasure cove of knowledge. Mages in long robes carrying thick books hurried across the za. Judging from the High Elves Print on the covers of the books, they had to be advanced spells.

    The trio crossed the za and approached the door of the library. Before they could tell the guard what they came for, he had already weed them respectfully.

    ¡°Wee, esteemed Mr Mage. Mr Basel would like to invite you to the meeting room at the second floor where he is waiting for you.¡±

 Chapter 312 - Free Lunch

    <h4>Chapter 312: Free Lunch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The library¡¯s hall was quiet as the mages sat on both sides of the long table, holding thick magic books in their hands as they buried their heads in them. Nobody spared a nce when the four of them walked in through the entrance, treating them like little more than flies buzzing nearby.

    The four crept through the library¡¯s hall, and followed the stairs to the second floor. The guard who led them knocked twice on a false door before they heard a hoarse voiceing from the other side.

    ¡°Pleasee in. ¡±

    Lin Li smoothed the creases in his robe before he pushed open the door.

    The meeting room was sort of small, with tall rows of bookshelves lining both sides of the room. Books of every genre imaginable filled the shelves, and they could almost smell the ink as they stood in the room. The thick carpet they stood on felt soft and clean; with a coffee table and a few bamboo chairs, the room looked well-designed even though theyout was simple. On the other side of the room was a balcony, which allowed the rays of the setting sun to shine into the room, casting it in ayer of glittering gold.

    An old man sat serenely in the evening rays as he slowly rocked the bamboo chair to an unknown rhythm. On his left sat a small coffee table with a teapot and four teacups, while a green magic staff leaned on his right. The gem sitting atop the staff was not all that shiny, but the magical wavesing from it made Lin Li hiss unknowingly...

    ¡°Good evening, Mage Felic,¡± the old man spoke in a slow and mild manner, a twinkle of a smile in his eye as he looked at Lin Li.

    ¡°Good evening, Mr Basel.¡± Lin Li bowed to the old man on the bamboo chair with a hand on his chest.

    ¡°Please take a seat, everyone, no need for formalities. Just treat this like your home...¡± The old man entertained them warmly, but his gaze remained on Lin Li as he spoke. Only when everyone took a seat did the old man start speaking again. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, Mage Felic, you joined the House of Andoine half a year ago, and through Andoine, you joined Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic. Oh, right. At the first level certification, you maintained magic for 28 minutes, didn¡¯t you? Impressive, I¡¯ve lived to this age, but I¡¯ve yet to see any other mage capable of this feat...¡±

    Lin Li sat quietly as he listened closely, however, his mind was nothing like his calm exterior. Honestly speaking, a feeling of unrest was brewing in his mind¡ªnot even in his dreams did he think that anyone would know everything about him so well!

    This was impossible; his ability to maintain his magic output for 28 minutes had been ssified as a secret by Gerian, and not even the Supreme Council had any idea of it, so how did this Basel get to know of it? As for his joining of the House of Andoine, that was even more unbelievable...

    This was his biggest secret, and nobody else besides Andoine knew of it.

    Andoine would never tell anyone of it for fun; of course, neither would Lin Li do it himself. The problem was, if nobody had let this secret out, where did this Basel hear it from? Surely divination did not exist in this world?

    ¡°Haha, it seems Mr Basel knows me very well...¡± Even though Lin Li was smiling, his smile looked very stiff; it felt as though he had caught someone staring at him as he showered.

    Right now, Lin Li felt very exposed...

    However, the peeping Tom who sat in the bamboo chair did not look the least bit apologetic.

    ¡°Haha, that was too much of apliment, Mage Felic. I only know these trivial things...¡±

    ¡°Mr Basel, you¡¯re too humble...¡± Lin Li smiled stiffly as he scolded him in his mind. <i>Trivial things? You know too much for it to be trivial...</i>

    ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m not being humble, there are many things I do not understand. For example, how did you be a level-16 Archmage even though you did not know a single thing about magic just half a year ago? For example, how were you able to master both pharmacology and smithing? To be honest, Mage Felic, I think you¡¯re full of secrets, and the more I know, the less I think I do...¡±

    Norfeller and Duke sat quiet and unmoving like a couple of statues. Of course, Norfeller showed no reaction. As a high-ranking Vampire, he was indifferent to everything unless it threatened the one he made a blood oath to. As for Duke, it was because he was dumbfounded...

    Joining the House of Andoine? Maintaining magic output for 28 minutes? While Duke did not understand any of those, he did hear ¡°level-16 Archmage¡± very clearly. Hell, level-16 Archmage? Even the most powerful Archmage in Dnd¡¯s Casten Mansion might not beat that.

    Duke had never thought he would have such luck¡ªhe was not even looking, but ended up pickpocketing a level-16 Archmage. As he thought back to what happened then and that terrifying skit, Duke felt himself break out in cold sweat...

    <i>Thank god I was smart and didn¡¯t do anything stupid.</i>

    <i>If not, I would have died at least ten times by now...</i>

    ¡°Frankly speaking, I¡¯m taken aback...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose as he smiled awkwardly. ¡°But, Mr Basel, I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t invite me over just to scare me?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I hope you don¡¯t misunderstand me, Mage Felic, I only said that to show my sincerity. As you can see, I am nothing more than an old man, and have nothing against you. I invited you over today to discuss a good deal.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I wonder what kind of deal you are referring to, Mr Basel?¡±

    ¡°No hurry, Mage Felic, I¡¯ll tell you the detailster. First, however, if I may ask, is it true that the Supreme Council appointed you the President of Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic a month ago?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is true, but as you can see, I¡¯ve just arrived in the Breezy ins, and haven¡¯t had the chance to start on anything. Besides a newly built tower and some less than friendly acquaintances, I haven¡¯t got anything. If you are looking to make a deal in this area, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be disappointed...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± The old man shook his head, and continued speaking in a slow and mild manner. ¡°Mage Felic, I think you¡¯ve misunderstood me. While my deal is rted to you being the President of Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic, it¡¯s somewhat different from what you¡¯re thinking of. Frankly speaking, I want to ask if you¡¯ll need some manpower after the tower has been built...¡±

    ¡°Manpower?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up at the mention of that. ¡°You¡¯re saying that you can provide the Guild of Magic with military support of some sort?¡±

    It was no wonder that Lin Li was so worked up¡ªmilitary strength was of utmost importance to the Guild of Magic now. He had no choice¡ªthe power dynamic of the Breezy ins was incrediblyplicated, and nobody knew when something might happen. Just like what Lin Li had said earlier: besides a barely finished tower, all he was left with were a few acquaintances he was not even on good terms with. If he were to get in trouble, Norfeller would not be sufficient; hence, he needed a strong army¡ªonly then could he guarantee himself peaceful days in the Breezy ins.

    And because of this, Lin Li had been earnestly making more money these days.

    How else would thiszy fellow be willing to sweat buckets in a forge otherwise?

    Even when he was in Jarrosus, Lin Li knew that the world was mercenary; why would anybody work for him if he wasn¡¯t wealthy?

    Basel¡¯s suggestion was very attractive to Lin Li indeed.

    The group sitting in Dnd¡¯s library was as good as a Guild of Magic; only, its structure was morex. The power of knowledge brought together all of Dnd¡¯s mages, and made them somewhatpliant to Basel, who owned the library. If Basel was willing, he could definitely gather many powerful mages for Lin Li!

    Lin Li gritted his teeth, and said, ¡°Tell me your terms!¡±

    ¡°Haha, my terms are very simple...¡± The old man smiled as he stood up from the bamboo chair for the first time. ¡°Save me a spot in the Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li was stunned.

    Long before he spoke, Lin Li had already considered what terms Basel wouldy out, yet he never would have thought that what Basel wanted was a spot in the Guild of Magic. <i>W-w-what kind of terms are these? </i>Even Lin Li was unable to tell how powerful Basel was, which meant that he could probably be at the Legendary-level...

    A mage of a Legendary-level asking to join the Guild of Magic, at the same time promising to gather him a group of decent mages...

    This was as good as a newly orphaned beauty with arge inheritance crying for your hand in marriage and offering to find you a harem of concubines. Wasn¡¯t this what they called free lunch?

 Chapter 313 - Head Referee

    <h4>Chapter 313: Head Referee</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    While there were many Guilds of Magic in the Fn Kingdom, only nna¡¯s Guild of Magic was helmed by a true Legendary mage. Having stayed there for a couple of months, Lin Li was well aware that this Legendary mage, Aldwin, was the real reason they were able to maintain their position in Fn¡¯s capital, seeing as they were only mediocre in their capabilities.

    Aldwin has rarely intervened personally in the past decade¡ªthe only time he had done so was to fight the Sword Sage of the Storm for the map of the Highlord¡¯s mausoleum. Even then, nobody dared to belittle him. Lin Li recalled his fight with Matthias; even though the Marathon Family basically controlled the whole of nna, they did not dare deal with him openly as Aldwin had said before that anybody who dared find trouble with the young mage was provoking the Guild of Magic.

    Provoking the Guild of Magic was equivalent to challenging Aldwin¡¯s authority, and even the powerful Marathon Family was not prepared to deal with the rage of a Legendary mage.

    Strength, how straightforward and effective it was at times¡ªso long as one held enough power, they would not even have to do anything, as anyone who harbored ill will for them would be sufficiently deterred with just a few words.

    The strength of a Legendary mage would be especially amplified in a ce like the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic. It was newly established, and much too weak to withstand the attack of any decent force. If a Legendary mage were to join them now, it would buy Lin Li some precious time for him to build up the Guild of Magic.

    The surprise hade so suddenly that it was almost unbelievable, which made Lin Li doubt his ears. Surely free lunch like this did not exist?

    Soon, however, Lin Li calmed down...

    Lin Li had to repeatedly remind himself to be cautious against this heaven-sent offer as a free lunch simply meant he would have to pay for it in another way. Granted, he couldn¡¯t wish for anything more than to have a Legendary mage on board, but what woulde after that?

    There had to be a reason behind everything, even if it seemed like nothing more than a convenient coincidence. To have a Legendary mage join them? Not bad, it¡¯d call for a celebration indeed, but the first thought that came into Lin Li¡¯s mind was...

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have my reasons...¡±

    ¡°Mr Basel, that was hardly convincing at all¡ª¡±

    ¡°Listen to me, Mage Felic...¡± The old man cut him off somewhat rudely, and slowly stood up from his bamboo chair, an unusually stoical expression on his wrinkly face. ¡°I assure you I have no ill intentions. It is true that I have my own reason for wanting to join the Guild of Magic. While this reason does not negatively affect you, I cannot tell you know about it for the time being.¡±

    Basel paused for a moment. Perhaps to make himself sound all the more convincing, he sincerely added, ¡°But, I guarantee that I¡¯ll tell you the real reason when the time is right.¡±

    ¡°Well, Mr Basel, I¡¯d like to know when will the time be right?¡±

    ¡°In three months.¡±

    ¡°No, no, Mr Basel, three months is too long a time; there¡¯s no saying if anything I have no control over will happen in this time. I hope you understand this as I have to answer to the members of the Guild, the Supreme Council, and to myself.¡±

    ¡°Alright, two months, then. However, Mage Felic, this is myst offer, and if you cannot wait this little bit of time, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll be the end of our deal...¡±

    The Legendary mage and the Archmage haggled like a couple of street hawkers. After arduous negotiations, they finally settled on a month.

    After that, Lin Li stared at Basel for a good 10 minutes before he suddenly smiled warmly. ¡°Wee on board, Mr Basel.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure.¡± The old man sat quietly and did not look the least bit surprised, as though it was as he¡¯d predicted.

    ¡°Right, Mr Basel. I wonder what position you¡¯ll like in the Guild of Magic? Honestly, with your status as a Legendary mage, you can definitely be the president, but that¡¯ll be tricky as this was decided by the Supreme Council. If I were to transfer this position to you, it may take a long time for the Supreme Council to agree... I should be able to call the shots for any other position, though.¡±

    ¡°The position of the president is a pretty humorous idea. I¡¯ve never thought about wanting that position, but since President trusts this old man so much, I cannot stand on ceremony with you. If it¡¯s possible, I want the position of the head referee.¡±

    ¡°The head referee?¡± Lin Li paused. It was a very important position in the Guild of Magic, and it¡¯s authority wasparable to that of the president. They could handle any matter that concerned the safety of the Guild, and their authority sometimes surpassed that of the president. A head referee was to some extent another president in the Guild of Magic.

    Perhaps for this reason, the position of the head referee was empty in most Guilds of Magic, or the president upied both positions. Take nna¡¯s Guild of Magic for example: even with Macklin¡¯s influence and power, he was not appointed the head referee. As for Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic, Gerian himself was the head referee. Anything that provoked him was treated as a threat to the Guild¡¯s safety, and he was perfectly capable of leading a group of mages to eliminate it.

    However, Basel¡¯s request was not seen unkindly by Lin Li, who secretly heaved a sigh of relief instead...

    Basel was a true Legendary mage. With his power, it would have been perfectly reasonable for him to ask for the position of the president. Lin Li was not worried that he would ask for an important position; quite the contrary, the more important the position Basel asked for, the better. It would only be an issue if he asked for an unimportant one...

    Since the head referee was such an important position, they would have to notify the Supreme Council of it, and they could have the Supreme Council send a few people to examine the issue as well. Anyway, the most important thing was to blow this matter out of proportion so that everyone knew of it, then it¡¯d be great for Lin Li. <i>Stand me up? No problem, the Supreme Council will take care of you. Set a trap for me? Not an issue, either, the Supreme Council will take care of that too...</i>

    With the Supreme Council backing him, Lin Li would be more than a mere president of a Guild of Magic. He would represent the authority of the Supreme Council, and anybody who dared go against him would be directly challenging the Supreme Council¡¯s authority. Would the sick elders holding unimaginable power let you go easily?

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be well-assured after this, right, President Felic?¡± The old man looked at Lin Li with a half smile.

    Clearly, Basel was well aware what being the head referee entailed, and he did so to prove his sincerity. By tying himself to the Guild of Magic, he would avoid creating any issues when the pair worked together.

    Lin Li was apparently a fan of such a solution too...

    Of course, Lin Li would never admit this. Once he got what he wanted, he immediately put on a smile. ¡°Hahaha, Mr Basel, you¡¯re pretty humorous too, what would I be worried about? You¡¯re a well-respected man of impable morals, it is the honor of the Guild of Magic of Breezy ins to have you on board as well as my honor as a junior. Head referee aside, if you wanted the position of the president, I¡¯d give it to you in a heartbeat...¡±

    After serving up a flurry of ttery, Lin Li changed the topic suddenly. ¡°Right, Mr Basel, when do you intend to announce this to the mages in the library? As you know, government organizations like the Supreme Council like to take their time, and if I don¡¯t notify them of your new appointment as soon as possible, I¡¯ve no idea when they¡¯ll send your letter of appointment over...¡±

    ¡°...¡± No matter how refined his manners were, Basel could not help feeling baffled by this tant lie.

    Thankfully, Basel had had more time to cultivate his manners than most of the young, and only frowned slightly before he rxed again. ¡°Why the rush, my President? I¡¯d like to discuss something else with you before you announce this news...¡±

    ¡°Something else?¡±

    ¡°Yes, about the kidnapping of Rn¡¯s casten...¡±

    ¡°Oh? I wonder what do you think of this, Mr Basel?¡± Lin Li lit up at this. Recall that the map of Dragon Mountains had been given to him by this old man. He had to have a good understanding of the bandits of the Dragon Mountains. Lin Li had originallye today to find out more from him and had been worried about not having a chance to bring it up. To think that Basel would bring it up first...

 Chapter 314 - Ruins of Syer Town

    <h4>Chapter 314: Ruins of Syer Town</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I do have some ideas about this...¡± As they returned to their initial topic, the old man slowly regained the wise demeanor of an elder. He drank his tea leisurely as he spoke in a mild and slow manner. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the people who kidnapped the casten¡¯s son were the Syer Bandits...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips secretly as he thought, <i>What a nonsense! Everyone in the Breezy ins knows that the ones who kidnapped the poor kid of the casten¡¯s family were the Syer Bandits¡ªthey are the survivors of the epidemic in Syer Town, and have a leader called Vanskore!</i>

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re secretly scolding me for spouting nonsense...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost bit his tongue as he stared at Basel both in shock and suspicion. He had so many questions. <i>Surely this old man isn¡¯t capable of mind-reading? Howe he knows what I¡¯m thinking...</i>

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Felic. I¡¯m not able to read your mind, and even I know that what I just said was nonsense...¡± The old man smiled as he looked satisfied with himself. ¡°But that¡¯s not the point. The point is, I¡¯m afraid not many know that the Dragon Mountains are not the real hiding spot of Vanskore...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li was stunned when he heard this. ¡°It¡¯s not the Dragon Mountains? Then where would it be...¡±

    ¡°A ce you wouldn¡¯t think of.¡±

    ¡°My dear Head Referee, can we not go around in circles? What do you mean a ce I wouldn¡¯t think of? Don¡¯t tell me Vanskore is hiding in the ruins of Syer Town...¡± Lin Li suddenly froze at this, and after a minute, he carefully gulped and said, ¡°That... that can¡¯t be it, right?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± Basel smiled and nodded his head as though he hadn¡¯t just seen President¡¯s nk expression, and carried on speaking, ¡°Rnd City has been increasingly hard on the Syer Bandits for the past few decades, and even had the Sky Knights from nna thoroughly search the Dragon Mountains once. However, they haven¡¯t found anything besides a few low-ranking men¡ªnot a single core member of Syer Bandits has been found. My dear President, do you know why that was the case?¡±

    ¡°This must be because Vanskore has got many spies in Rnd City...¡± Lin Li shook his head as he spoke. ¡°No, no, not spies; no matter how powerful Vanskore¡¯s spies were, they couldn¡¯t have made it into the Sky Knights... So many searches, yet they haven¡¯t caught a single core member, that must mean that the Syer Bandits were able to escape quickly enough each time. So, Sir Head Referee, you¡¯re saying that there must be a special way they use to escape, something like a secret passage...¡±

    ¡°Yes, one that leads to the ruins of Syer Town!¡±

    ¡°I understand...¡± Lin Li nodded his head as he was really enlightened this time. No wonder the Syer Bandits had been so bold as to kidnap the son of Rnd City¡¯s casten. Who else would dare do this? Even if they were stronger than the Syer Bandits, surely they would find it difficult to go against Rnd City¡¯s army?

    Moreover, the Sz Family that ruled Rnd City was an important noble family in the Fn Kingdom, and held power in nna as well as the Breezy ins. They had also been on good terms with nobles like that Marathon Family, and who knew what would happen if the nobles joined forces?

    Only the Syer Bandits would be brave enough to this...

    They were not in the least bit afraid of Rnd City¡¯s casten, because if he wanted topletely uproot their organisation, surely he would have to find their base first.

    If not for Basel¡¯s hint, Lin Li would never have thought that their real hiding spot was in the long destroyed Syer Town..

    But how did Basel know this?

    Basel only gave a vague reply to Lin Li¡¯s question. ¡°I have my ways...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes at that. <i>Damn it, this old con man...</i>

    That said, Lin Li was in a pretty good mood as they had aplished more than what he¡¯d expected to during this visit to the library. They now knew where the Syer Bandits were really hiding, and they also got a Legendary mage and some other decent ones on board too.

    While he was unsure where the loyalty of the Legendary magey, he was quite sure of the other mages joining them. If it all went ording to n, they would be the pioneer core members of the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic.

    He was confident that even if Basel decided to change his mind in the future, the other mages would still follow him loyally.

    Who else besides him could provide these mages with state-of-the-art magical equipment, an endless supply of medicine, as well as a chance to learn advanced magic? Anril was materialistic like that¡ªanyone willing to pay the highest price would have the most followers, and even if Basel was highly respected by the mages, he would surely be no match for Lin Li with what thetter could provide them with. Each of the three aforementioned points was more than enough to tempt any mage, and if he was willing to spend money, it was only a matter of time before he won them over.

    ¡°But, Mr President, there is something I have to remind you about. There is something strange about Syer Town, so you must be careful if you¡¯re going there.¡±

    Lin Li paused. ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. I¡¯ve been there a few years ago, and noticed that the magical wave there is somewhat different from other ces. I haven¡¯t gone to investigate what¡¯s different, though. No choice, I¡¯m a feeble old man, and not as hardy as you youngsters...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t hold back from rolling his eyes when he heard the old man pretend to be weak. <i>Damn it, you¡¯re a Legendary mage! If you say you¡¯re not hardy, then who is?</i>

    <i>But never mind, if he doesn¡¯t want to say it, there is no use in pressing him.</i>

    Having asked everything he wanted to know, Lin Li did not wish to stay longer. After a bit of chatting, he left the library with Norfeller and Duke.

    Norfeller remained emotionless, and followed Lin Li like a shadow. Meanwhile, Duke looked as if he had just encountered something out of the world. He had a zed expression, and asionally stared at Lin Li as though Lin Li was a ferocious beast instead of a human while they walked...

    Duke could not believe that he was walking next to an Archmage!

    Goodness...

    He had tried to steal an Archmage¡¯s wallet!

    However, Lin Li was in a rush, and did not seem to notice Duke¡¯s staring at all. Time was ticking, and he really wished he had a pair of wings as the week he had promised the dwarf was already half gone. He had originally thought that saving the casten¡¯s son would only take a day or two, but after hearing what Basel said today, he realized this was not that easy. The bastards of the Syer Bandits had conjured up a secret passage between the Dragon Mountains and Syer Town!

    This joke was getting out of hand...

    The secret hiding spot of Vanskore for the past decade or so could not possibly be found so easily; who knew how long it was going to take him this trip.

    ¡°Duke, get a carriage and meet me at the Adventurers Guild.¡± Lin Li led Norfeller down a few streets to the Adventurers Guild after giving instructions to Duke. Syer Town was strange indeed; he was going to have to get some help.

    Lin Li walked into the Adventurers Guild, and went straight to the reception for mission recruitment announcements.

    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯d like to make a recruitment notice for a mission, reward will be 30,000 gold coins and I need at least three members. Best if one of them is a bandit and any adventurer who epts the mission is at least level-15.¡±

    ¡°Ok, please give me a moment.¡± The receptionist was a youngdy in her twenties. She had short, red hair and a delicate doll-like face, making her look exceptionally adorable. As she epted Lin Li¡¯s crystal card, she could not help giving him a nce, surprise evident in her eyes. It was not often that someone announced a mission for 30,000 gold coins, and to think he would be so young too...

    The youngdy retrieved a form from the desk, and asked, ¡°May I know what will the mission be about?¡±

    ¡°Searching a deadly area. It¡¯ll be highly dangerous and details will be given in person.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The youngdy filled up the form for Lin Li, and had him check it before asking someone from the staff to disseminate the information.

    A reward of 30,000 gold coins was pretty attractive, so Lin Li had only been in the resting room for five minutes before footsteps could be heard. It was thedy from before, and there were three young adventurers behind her.

 Chapter 315 - The Dragon Mountains

    <h4>Chapter 315: The Dragon Mountains</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The four walked into the resting room. Lin Li was shocked when he clearly saw the sword hanging on the waist of the warrior in his twenties. It was a familiar sword. A month ago, when Lin Li had just moved to the Breezy ins, he had forged four magical weapons for Kaman to help him as he wanted to earn some money quickly. This sword was one of the four weapons.

    Lin Li remembered that the sword was forged from rune¡¯s adamantine, and the mana power it held wasparable to that of a true Magic Shooter. He had also used Mana Sealing Skill during the forging process and repeatedlypressed and purified the mana power. Coupled with two alternating mageweaths, even Lin Li considered the rune¡¯s adamantine sword the finest of masterpieces.

    Right, Kaman had mentioned that the buyer of this sword was a guy named Jason. It seemed that this guy was the level-15 Warrior, Jason, that Kaman had been referring to. Not bad, it would make the trip to Syer Town¡¯s ruins much safer if he had this level-15 Warriore along.

    ¡°Mr Felic, many adventurers are interested in the mission you have just announced and want to know more details.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thanks for the trouble.¡±

    After a simple introduction, the red-haired girl retreated and left the resting room to Lin Li and the three adventurers.

    ¡°Hello Mr Felic, I¡¯m Jason.¡± Jason¡¯s self-introduction was short unlike those of the other adventurers as he did not even mention his upation. It was not necessary to him, as he stood at the top of all adventurers in Dnd, and the name ¡°Jason¡± alone was a brand of guarantee. Hence, levels and upations were meaningless to him.

    ¡°Pleased to meet you, Mr Jason.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re mypanions: Weathor, a Bandit, and Rotiah, a Priest. Oh, right, Mr Felic, I heard Ms Pannie say you need a level-15 Bandit?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Weathor is a level-15 Bandit, and is the most outstanding Bandit amongst all the adventurers in Dnd. He has aplished many difficult missions alone, and is considered an authoritative figure in the areas of searching and infiltration. Weathor also contributed to creating more than half of the map that most adventurers in Dnd use.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great...¡± Lin Li nodded as his gaze fell upon the Bandit named Weathor. He had to admit that this guy did look like a Bandit. In Gerian¡¯s words, the most important trait a Bandit should have was to look sly, and this Weathor guy was a born natural: with short stocky figure and beady eyes, he made people hold onto their wallets unknowingly.

    ¡°As for Priest Rotiah, shees from the Brilliance Shrine in Ledin Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li paused when he heard the name ¡°Brilliance Shrine¡±. Everybody knew that the Fn kingdom was a true kingdom of magic, and few people worked in shrines. Even the prosperous capital nna only had a single lonely church. Lin Li had been in Anril for about half a year, yet the only person he knew who was involved in holy work was the Archbishop Englos, who was also well-versed in pharmacy.

    Lin Li had not thought that this dainty blonde beauty would turn out to be a level-15 Priest!

    Not bad, a level-15 Warrior, a level-15 Bandit, and a level-15 Priest¡ªit was a pretty strong team, and should be more than enough to deal with what they might find in the rubble of Syer Town...

    ¡°Very well, Mr Jason, this mission is yours.¡±

    It all became easier once the three had been given their due recognition. Lin Li gave them a simple introduction of the mission, including the objective and possible hazards as well as division of loot and rewards. Lin Li had been pretty generous with the terms and rewards, and Jason agreed easily. Hence, the entire negotiation had only taken half an hour.

    Lin Li was unusually easy going, and paid them a 10,000 gold coins deposit immediately after an agreement was made.

    When the five emerged from the Adventurers Guild, Duke had already been waiting for some time on the carriage at the entrance.

    It took about half a day to reach Rnd City from Dnd. As they were pressed for time, they left in the afternoon, and only reached Rnd City around the evening. Rnd City waspletely different from the wretched Dnd; it was prosperous and had abundant resources. Large fields and orchards could be seen nearby, and painted a picture of happiness.

    When they reached the perimeters of Rnd City, the bandit Weathor suggested that they go through the Dragon Mountains, which he said was the quickest way to the ruins of Syer Town. After passing through the Dragon Mountains, they would reach Syer Town in about an hour, and since he was the best at this, Lin Li naturally agreed with him. Hence, the six of them left the carriage at the foot of a mountain, and hiked up a rugged mountain path that evening.

    Few people dared to enter the Dragon Mountains due to the presence of the Syer Bandits. Hence, thend around here slowly became filled with wilderness. It was an arduous journey for them as the winding paths were difficult to follow and beasts appeared at times too.

    This was where Jason and the rest came in useful.

    Quite honestly, the magical beasts they met were not too weak. There was a level-14 Velociraptor, a level-15 Scare Tiger, and a level-15 Evil Eye had also appeared suddenly when they were halfway up the mountain. However, they were all no match for Jason and the rest, and even the strongest of them, the Evil Eye, hadsted only 10 minutes before it fell under Jason¡¯s rune¡¯s adamantine sword.

    Lin Li had to admit that Jason¡¯s position amongst adventurers was well-earned as the ability he had showcased in these fights was well above what an average Warrior was capable of. Every attack and defense were birthed from life and deathbat, and while they might not seem like much, they always served him unexpectedly well in fights. Even Lin Li was secretly in awe.

    His other twopanions were amazing as well. Weathor was very different in his way of fighting¡ªit was unbelievably despicable, and his strikes were never lethal. He always made the ferocious magical beasts suffer by slicing their stomach or poisoning their eyes. Every time, he would escape unscathed, and left the magical beasts frustrated with him.

    Rotiah¡¯s magic yed its part as well. The dainty beauty was a typicalbat Priest, and her magic was targeted at strengthening while minimizing pain. Coupled with a heavenly attack, she held an important role in the fight. If not for her, Jason and Weathor might have fallen prey to the ws of the magical beasts no matter how good they were.

    SInce he had spent 30,000 gold coins to hire them, Lin Li happily stood at the sidelines as he never once intervened even though they had encountered over a dozen magical beasts. The only thing he had done was to wave the g and shout. While the rest did not view this highly, they could not do anything to him, as he had already paid them. Money was power these days, and for someone to spend 30,000 gold coins to hire people... They would have to ept it even if he messed up asionally, much less expect him to help...

    Their journey carried on just like that...

    They spent almost half the night to get from the foot of the mountain to the midpoint. As they were about to enter a forest, Jason stopped.

    ¡°Mr Felic, it¡¯s dark, and if we were to enter the forest now, we may run into some danger. Should we rest for the night?¡± The terrain in the Dragon Mountains wasplicated, and it had all kinds of magical beasts as well. Coupled with the fact that this was where the boss of the Syer Bandits hid, it would be incredibly dangerous for them to continue at night. They were lucky to have arrived this far; no matter how brave Jason was, he did not dare to continue now.

    Too bad he¡¯d met such an employer... Lin Li was utterly useless in Jason¡¯s opinion¡ªthis fellow and his servant did not help at all in the dozen or so fights they had been in. Besides cheering them on now and then, they had not done a single thing. It was no child¡¯s y to bring an employer like that on this journey; if they ran into danger at night, it would be one thing to lose the 30,000 gold coins, but he might also lose his life. Wouldn¡¯t that be too high a price to pay?

    Hence, Jason refused to continue on into the forest...

    Since Jason was not willing to do so, Lin Li could only nod his head and agree. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡±

    Then, the six of them set up a few tents and lit a fire.

    Nights in the Dragon Mountains were cold and quiet. Lin Li sat in his own tent, wrapped in thick nkets as he started his daily meditation...

 Chapter 316 - Ice Howler

    <h4>Chapter 316: Ice Howler</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The way Lin Li meditated was different from other mages¡¯. No one would believe that this Archmage who had already broken to level-16 would be like a mage apprentice, still drilling on the fundamental magical practices. He was very consistent in doing so, and never broke his routine. He knew that that was the only way he could patch his weakness up.

    That was right. Although he seemed to have perfected his mental strength and magical ability, and was thus envied by many, Lin Li knew that he had an extremely weak foundation. Other mages who had simr abilities as him had either grown up in a magic-oriented culture, or had the coaching from esteemed mentors since a young age. To Lin Li, however, learning magic was like a mid-life career change.

    Despite being exposed to magic only when he was reaching the age of 20, he took merely half a year to rise to where he was now. His powers had been increasing exponentially as he journeyed through the Sunset Mountains and then to the Breezy ins, where he soared from a rookie who knew nothing to a powerful level-16 Archmage. The reason behind his growth was not just his little bit of talent, but more so the luck that helped him along the way.

    This was the fact that struck Lin Li after he sat down to think about it properly.

    His luck had been really great...

    A lot of mages would take their whole lives to grow from a level-1 Mage Apprentice to a level-16 Archmage. He, however, only used half a year to achieve all these. The rapid growth would naturally bring much weakness to his foundation. At the start, such weakness would not be significant. Yet, it would be toote to regret if it were to haunt him in the future.

    Actually, Andoine had seen this problem after the gathering at the Pharmacists Guild. But, being a Legendary-mage, he thought of a way to patch things up by throwing him into Cinder Woods. He made use of the special environment and the need to partake in strenuous battles there to reinforce Lin Li¡¯s shaky foundation. Lin Li did not even realize that he was in a grave situation then...

    It wasn¡¯t until the recent month that Lin Li made some time to contemte and had the chance to understand the core magical mantras better. He gradually realized that his situation was not as optimistic as it seemed.

    Yes, he was indeed powerful now¡ªeven mightier than Macklin.

    But, without much technical knowledge on Magic, as well as with theck of experience in aprehensive set of magical practice, the mana within him was like a time bomb which might explode at any moment. That it had not exploded yet was due to his huge mental strength. With that, he was able to bnce out the violent mana inside him. However, when that bnce was broken one day, it would mean terrible trouble.

    Once the mental strength failed to repress the violent mana, it would be a devastating issue to any mage, especially Lin Li¡ªa man with unlimited mana. It would be particrly destructive if the tragedy were tond on him. He would lose everything¡ªeven his Spiritual Brand...

    But, the good thing was that it was not toote for him. Such consistent practice might seem really boring, but it was the only way through. Taking these baby steps¡ªpolishing the rough edges and building up the magic system within him¡ªwould bring about a huge improvement to his ability as well. Lin Li believed that he was not far from that day. He could faintly feel that the unsettled mana was gradually integrating with his body...

    ¡°Mr. Felic, may Ie in?¡±

    After finishing thest mana practice, he heard Jason¡¯s footsteps outside his tent. Lin Li could not help but feel surprised. Why wasn¡¯t Jason asleep at such an ungodly hour? Lin Li ended his meditation doubtfully.

    ¡°Sure. ¡±

    The man who came in was indeed Jason. There was an apologetic expression on the face of this top adventurer of Dnd. ¡°Mr. Felic, hope I didn¡¯t disturb your rest?¡± asked Jason.

    ¡°It does not matter. I don¡¯t have a habit of sleeping early, either. But, Mr. Jason, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°Erm, it¡¯s nothing much. I just couldn¡¯t fall asleep, so I was wondering if I could have a chat with you,¡± Jason said after looking around Lin Li¡¯s tent curiously.

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips. Although the smile on his face did not fade, he had already started tosh out at Jason internally. <i>Goddammit, why would you want to chat at such a timing? Besides, both of us are men¡ªdo you think I¡¯m such a casual person?</i>

    ¡°Although I¡¯ve known you for a while, I realized that I still do not know your upation...¡± Jason said casually. ¡°Erm, I¡¯m just asking. You can choose not to tell me if you are ufortable with it.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, there¡¯s nothing to be ufortable about...¡± Lin Liughed, and did not conceal it from Jason. ¡°I¡¯m a mage.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you are a mage! Apologies for the rudeness...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just an ipetent mage. There¡¯s nothing to be proud of.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Mage Felic, you are too humble...¡± Although Jason wasplimenting Lin Li, he could not help belittling him. He had been in Dnd for many years. How could he not know all the skillful mages who had already gotten the permission to enter Dnd¡¯s library? Since he had never seen Felic there, Felic had to be a really ipetent mage...

    If it had been before, Jason would not have minded Lin Li¡¯spetency. As long as he would not prevent him from attaining wealth, it would not matter if he was a cripple. Yet, the problem now was that Lin Li had promised a task that was worth 300,000 gold coins, and it entailed ensuring Lin Li¡¯s safety.

    What was the most scary thing in this sort of mission? The employer. Those that did not have any ability but were determined to travel to dangerous ces. These people dared to go everywhere with the thought that they had the protection from Adventurers. In the end, not to mention that they would lose their lives in the process, they would implicate the adventurers too...

    Jason was not worried about the safety of them three, though. Since they were all level-15 Adventurers, they would always have the means of ensuring their personal safety. However, if this useless mage were to lose his life, whom should he find to im the remaining 20,000 gold coins?

    Just when Jason was having a splitting headache over this issue, they heard footsteps outside the tent.

    ¡°Come out, Jason! I think there¡¯s something there!¡±

    That voice belonged to Bandit Weathor. Lin Li frowned. Since Bandit Weathor was in charge of safety tonight, it meant trouble if he were to call Jason at such a timing.

    The two men went out of their tent in a hurry, and saw Weathor running towards them frantically. ¡°Jason, trouble¡¯s big!¡±

    ¡°Calm down and tell us slowly.¡± Jason frowned. It was as though he had been used to his teammate¡¯s anxiety.

    ¡°Y-you, you... Listen to me...¡± The Bandit took in several deep breaths. ¡°Around half an hour ago, there was a... there was an adventuring team that went into that forest in front...¡±

    ¡°Continue.¡± Jason¡¯s expression turned into that of concern. Why would there be an adventuring team in a ce like the Dragon Mountains, which humans would not usually visit?

    Weathor swallowed his saliva. ¡°Then... Then, I think they had provoked an Ice Howler...¡±

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Jason cursed. To an Adventurer, this was a very tricky situation. It was not them whomitted any mistake, yet despite having avoided almost all the danger zones, they were still endangered by other reckless Adventurers. It was like sitting at homefortably but getting killed by a meteorite that fell from the sky for no reason...

    The disaster thatnded on them due to others...

    ¡°What should we do, Weathor? Should we...¡± Weathor did not continue his speech. But, as he spoke, his gaze had already fluttered to the path back home. He wanted to ask Jason if they should escape now...

    ¡°Erm...¡± Jason hesitated.

    Lin Liughed to himself. What a joke Weathor was! Ice Howlers were level-17 magical beasts that usually lived and slept in caves. Despite beingzy and retarded, they could be really deadly once provoked. If there really was an Ice Howler in the forest, where would they be able to escape to? Unless they had the ability to teleport, they would still be found by the determined Ice Howler...

    Furthermore, it was more dangerous to run off in the Dragon Mountains at such a dark night aspared to battling an Ice Howler. No one knew what other things were hiding in the dark.

    ¡°No, Weathor. Let¡¯s get ready for battle.¡±

    It was fortunate that Jason did not waste time hesitating. He knew that it was obviously unwise to escape in such conditions. There were too many lurking dangers in the night in the Dragon Mountains. These dangers would overweight the danger brought about by a single agitated Ice Howler.

    ¡°Oh, Mage Felic. We might not be able to help you much in the battleter. So¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I understand. Don¡¯t worry, I will take care of myself.¡±

 Chapter 317 - Start of Battle

    <h4>Chapter 317: Start of Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Alright then, Mr. Felic. Please be careful. If something¡¯s not right, you... you can go find a ce to hide...¡± In fact, Jason would not want to arrange it like this if he could. However, this fe had be a burden now¡ªknowing him itself had be bad luck. But, for that 20,000 gold coins, he could not let him die just yet. If he got into danger, whom should they im the money from?

    If it were before, such a burden would not matter to them, as they all had level-15 ability. Yet, the situation was grave tonight. How did they even provoke the Ice Howler? That was a level-17 magical beast. They could try to avoid it on normal days, but now, they had to drag a burden along and start a battle...

    ¡°Okay, I know,¡± Lin Li replied and nodded. After he went back to his tent, he tidied up his things. Since the Ice Howler had appeared, this ce was naturally not safe. He had brought along many scrolls, forms, and maps, among many others. It would not be nice if those were to get damaged...

    After doing that, Lin Li went back to the campfire. At this time, the growls of the Ice Howler were much louder. The dense forest trembled, and groups of wild animals scurried in fear. In face of such danger, lions and tigers would have to escape too.

    Jason gripped the rune¡¯s adamantine sword tightly and fixed his gaze on the dense forest. Weathor had smeared a toxic substance on the de of his dagger, and was crouching on the ground in the darkness. Rotiah had begun to recite some prayers. The melodious voice of the blonde beauty was quite prative, and echoed throughout the Dragon Mountains like an euphonious piece of music. At the same time, Jason¡¯s rune¡¯s adamantine sword glowed even more radiant.

    Aspared to the performance of the three adventurers, the employer¡¯s action was really embarrassing. While the adventurers had already begun their preparations to defend themselves from the beast, the employer just started to take out his staffzily and recite a spell slowly. It took him around 20 seconds to call out that spell which no one recognized...

    <i>What the hell is he doing...</i>

    The sudden magical wave caused much frustration in Jason. It was definitely his worst luck throughout his time being an adventurer to have met such an employer. How could he use such a long time to cast a spell that had no particr effect? Jason was confident that a scroll would be more useful than Lin Li¡¯s recitation.

    Alright, he would just take it that his employer was a rich man. How would an Archmage or Legendary-mage even need to hire bodyguards?

    Yet, since he was an ipetent employer, all the more he should not interfere in the battle so recklessly.

    <i>That is a freaking level-17 Ice Howler! My God... Do you think all creatures with four hooves are herbivores?</i>

    ¡°Liars, you liars!¡± Just when Jason was feeling vexed with Lin Li¡¯s ¡®nosy¡¯ action, he heard somebody crying at the edge of the dense forest.

    ¡°What is it now?¡± Lin Li was surprised, and looked towards the sound¡¯s source. He saw 20 to 30 adventurers dashing out of the thick forest anxiously. While they escaped, they kept looking back in fear. It was as though the Ice Howler had wings and had the ability to swoop behind their backs immediately.

    There was a youngdy aged around 19 staggering among this group of Adventurers. Her linen-colored hair had been ruffled up messily by the wind, and her elegant dress had been torn by tree branches. She held the hem of the dress while running behind the group.

    ¡°You... You guys said you could deal with any magical beast! You liars!¡±

    The group of Adventurers was very patient with her. Those who were bolder took some time to exin to her that the Ice Howler was too powerful for them to challenge it. Those who were more timid, however, chose to ignore her whining and focus on escaping themselves.

    ¡°Miss Yvonne, I think you¡¯d better run. This Ice Howler is too mighty. We wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat it...¡± That was a middle-aged Adventurer, the only person who cared to stop in his tracks to attend to her.

    ¡°But you had promised¡ª¡±

    ¡°Little Miss, please. That was just marketing tactics! Any Adventurer team would promise the same thing. Did you really think that we could defeat a level-17 magical beast? If we are that great, we would have been hired by your father at your house as VIPs. How would we be here to risk our lives in the Dragon Mountains?¡±

    ¡°What about my little brother?¡±

    ¡°Your brother¡ª¡± The speech of the middle-aged man got interrupted by an enraged growl. That ear-piercing sound caused his expression to change.

    ¡°QUICK, RUN!¡±

    What followed was white mist that spread like a gue. At once, a bone-chilling sensation could be felt. It was as though they had dropped into an icehouse during a cold winter.

    Thanks to his fast reaction time, they escaped the fate of being buried in the snow. The white mist swallowed the forest in an instant and turned the trees into crystallite ice sculptures, and the white and furry Ice Howler made a grand appearance as it trampled its way out of the forest. It was 10 meters tall, and had a body that resembled a hill. The Ice Howler was definitely a behemoth aspared to other magical beasts. The hideous pair of horns on its head was like a pair of bays that crushed everything that blocked its way.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Jason gripped the sword made from the rune¡¯s adamantine. Although he was one of the best Adventurers of Dnd, his eyes were filled with trepidation when he looked at that gigantic existence.

    The raging Ice Howler was like a streak of lightning that caught up with the two adventurers that weregging behind. In a split second, the two bay-like horns prated the unfortunate adventurers. Their blood spilled on the ground, and made the Ice Howler go into frenzy. It created more bone-chilling mist, while its two unruly horns worked their way towards the group of Adventurers...

    Two other Adventurers fell.

    ¡°F*CK, STOP IT!¡± That was a young man aged around 20 years old. He was shouting with all his might. He had to be the leader of the group of Adventurers, for the rest of the Adventurers finally made one or two decent counterattacks under his guidance.

    However, the difference in abilities was fated to be a hindrance to their battle. In the group of 30, the mightier ones were only at level-13 or level-14, and the weaker ones were not even level-10. Their attacks were as insignificant as scratching the itch to a level-17 magical beast. The Archers¡¯ continuous volleys of arrows could not prate the fur of the beast at all, while the Warriors and the Bandits did not even have the courage tounch any attacks against it.

    The Ice Howler was like a meat grinder that could turn any living thing into minced meat in the blink of the eye. 10 Adventurers would not be enough to be a dish of that beast.

    Despite recitating desperately, the spells that the three mages unleashed on the Ice Howler was like a joke. With it having a natural resistance to magic, spells that were lower than level-15 were insignificant to it. Only spells at the level of an Archmage and beyond would have a real opportunity to threaten its life.

    Jason frowned, and held the rune¡¯s adamantine sword in his hands even tighter. The situation was clear. If no one were to step in to help, the entire Adventurer team would perish here.

    ¡°LET¡¯S GO!¡±

    Jason had no choice. It was impossible for the three of them to fight an Ice Howler. In order to survive this battle, they had to work together with this team of troublemakers. Although they were detestable, now was not the time to settle the score. They had to first get rid of this terrible beast...

    After Jason spoke, Weathor took his dagger and snuck into the darkness, while Rotiah hastened her recitation and released the Energy-enhancing Theurgy onto her teammates. The strong rush of Divine Power was like the tidal waves. Jason¡¯s rune¡¯s adamantine sword also generated a zing wave of Combat Energy...

    At the same time, Lin Li hadpleted his second spell. After that, he patted the dust on his long robe and called Norfeller over. ¡°Norfeller, I will leave the rest to you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master.¡± The high-ranking Vampire nodded. He pulled on his ck hood and transformed into a ball of ck mist.

    The interference from Jason¡¯s team improved the one-sided battle. The powers of a level-15 Warrior was great. What made it incisive was the help rendered by a high-ranking Priest behind him. It was as though Jason managed to take on the invincible Ice Howler by himself.

 Chapter 318 - Eternal Frost

    <h4>Chapter 318: Eternal Frost</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With the help of the theurgy from the high-ranking Priest, Jason¡¯sbat potential was maximized. It looked like a one-man show after that. The Combat Energy given off by his rune¡¯s adamantine sword instantly changed the situation on the field. While Jason helped to battle the Ice Howler, the young leader used the opportunity to redirect the team.

    Under his leadership, the attackunched by the Archers were not as blind as before. All of their attacks were targeted at the eyes and other critical regions of the Ice Howler. It gave time for the three mages to take a breather and replenish their drained mana. Seeing that things were going in a good direction, the charismatic young man shouted, ¡°EVERYONE KEEP GOING! LET¡¯S GET RID OF THIS WHITE-HAIRED MONSTER!!!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li, who had been enjoying the scene at the side, felt cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

    <i>How could these few people think they can kill an Ice Howler with just their fingers?</i>

    <i>These people really don¡¯t know what the word ¡®death¡¯ looks like. How can the Ice Howler die as you hope it to? If not for the timely help rendered by Jason and his team, the horns of the Ice Howler would have made all of you into skewers already!</i>

    Furthermore, Jason and his team might not be able tost long...

    Almost everyone saw hope for the first time since they joined the battle. At this time, Lin Li might be the only person who knew that it was just a superficial and short-lived achievement. The change in tide brought about by Jason and his teammates was not meant tost. Although the situation looked optimistic on their side, it would not take them more than five minutes to be defeated by the Ice Howler.

    Of course, if everything were to go smoothly, the Ice Howler should not be able to live after five minutes.

    Lin Li took a glimpse of the battle scene. While the wrestle between Jason and the Ice Howler continued, Norfeller, who had transformed into a ball of ck smoke, took his position in the air quietly.

    As the bloody battle went on, a thin sense of magical wave crept towards the Ice Howler. With it being sly and discreet, no one was able to notice its presence at all.

    Jason might be the only person who would have the ability to perceive the sense of magical wave. Since he was a level-15 Warrior, he should be far more observant than other people. As long as he calmed down, he should be able to discover it.

    However, how would Jason have the time to care about it?

    Like what Lin Li had expected, the presence of a high-ranking Priest was not able to cover the difference between Jason and the Ice Howler. One Eternal Frost was all it took to crush that superficial sense of imminent victory.

    The difference in physical strength could be alleviated by Rotiah¡¯s theurgy. However, the natural power of the Ice Howler was not what theurgies could ovee. A bone-chilling sensation could be felt as the Ice Howler growled. Then, Jason realized that something was not right. He felt a sudden fall in the surrounding temperature, and then saw a thickyer of ice growing under his feet like a stalk of crystal flower blooming there...

    But, it happened too quickly. Before he could react, the ice had already spread to his whole body...

    Jason could only watch the Ice Howler wave its sharp ws.

    ¡°POM!¡±

    At that instant, Jason thought that all of the bones in his body had been crushed. The strength of the deadly ws was absolutely beyond human tolerance. To think of it, being attacked by a 10 meters tall object... a metal wall would have been cut through by that w, so how could a human body withstand that?

    Everyone saw Jason fly off into the air with a loud noise and drop down like a kite with broken strings...

    Fresh blood flowed out profusely and dyed the ground red. Jasony on the ground weakly. His face was ashen and he breathed with difficulty, like an old and ailing man. A blood-red glow was glistening violently. That was the Sacrificial Blessing¡ªa unique theurgy that only high-ranking Priestsmanded. It was a glow that would ensure protection of its target after being injured. Unless it was the mind or the soul that was damaged, the protected people would be able to survive any other fatal attacks with the Sacrificial Blessing...

    In reality, it was this Sacrificial Blessing that saved Jason¡¯s life. If not for Rotiah¡¯s fast response, to cast an instantaneous Sacrificial Blessing before the w touched him, Jason would have lost all of his lives¡ªif he had more than one.

    However, the Sacrificial Blessing was a level-15 theurgy, and the most it could do was to protect Jason¡¯s life. It was impossible for him to recover his ability to continue fighting in such a short period of time. The only thing Rotiah could do was to keep reciting the Holy Light prayers and use that dimmed blood-red light to heal Jason who was badly injured.

    Instantly, the change in tide rendered the hopeful Adventurers helpless. Now that Jason, the only man who had the ability to challenge the Ice Howler, was down, they could only battle that terrible beast by themselves.

    ¡°Oh, freak...¡± The young leader stood there in a daze as he looked at Jason who was lying lifelessly on the ground while the Ice Howler stomped towards him.

    At this time, he even felt like dying. <i>Wasn¡¯t everything going well just now? How did it be like this?</i>

    Unfortunately, no one could answer him now...

    The second growl resounded.

    There was another Eternal Frost unleashed onto the crowd. To the frantic Adventurers, that pure white snow was like the reaper¡¯s funeral bell. There were shrieks and calls for help among all the mor, and the group of people who had just regained their confidence in the battle started to escape from that terrifying snow...

    However, how could they even escape an attack cast by a level-17 magical beast? When the crystal flower bloomed, it was like multiple waves that crashed onto the shore for as far as 10 meters. Almost all of the Adventurers got buried deep under the snow. They could only keep on screaming as they watched the ice crawl all over their body...

    ¡°Damn...¡± At this time, almost all the Adventurers felt that they were doomed.

    Jason¡¯s mind buzzed when he saw what was happening. ¡°Oh sh*t...¡±

    Being one of the top Adventurers in Dnd, Jason naturally knew that the strongest power of the Ice Howler was not the Eternal Frost, but the destructive Frost Shock. The innate characteristic it inherited from the Wild Age gave it an almighty set of ice element powers. It was said that the Frost Shock was even more terrifying than the Thousand Miles of Ice. It would be especially dangerous if there was a group of enemies caught in it together. The consequences were as heavy as the Legendary-level. Once it got unleashed, no one from this group of weak Adventurers would be able to survive.

    The growl from the Ice Howlering from afar made Jason close his eyes hopelessly. He had already felt a strong, vigorous wave of ice element. Jason knew that it was the sign that the Ice Howler was going to use the Frost Shock...

    Suddenly, time seemed to pass really slowly. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds...

    Then, Jason felt that something was amiss. The expected attack had not yete, but what surrounded him was all shrieks and calls for help from the other Adventurers.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird...¡± Jason muttered, and looked above him.

    Then, he saw a dark figure that appeared behind the Ice Howler discreetly. It did not create huge magical waves or hold any deadly weapon. Instead, it had a pair of arms with long nails. This figure dashed towards the Ice Howler with its long nails, and blood started to spill everywhere...

    ¡°My gosh! How could that be possible!¡± Jason could not believe his eyes. Did that ck figure used mere physical strength to tear the firm skin of that Ice Howler?

    <i>T-that¡¯s crazy!</i>

    Since Jason had a violent exchange with the Ice Howler just now, he was naturally clearer than any other people how freakish the skin of the monster was. Before that, he had to channel all of his Combat Energy as he worked his tough rune¡¯s adamantine sword to bring the slightest harm to the Ice Howler. Jason could not fathom how exactly a mere pair of arms could even hurt the Ice Howler.

    Wait a minute...

    Before Jason could regain hisposure, his expression froze. That was due to his sudden realization that that ck figure looked rather familiar...

 Chapter 319 - Arcane Combustion

    <h4>Chapter 319: Arcane Combustion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Then, Jason covered his mouth in shock. He now knew who the ck figure was!

    ¡°Freak, this can¡¯t be!¡± Jason gasped in disbelief. That ck figure which tore the body of the Ice Howler with its bare hands was really the man whom he saw these two days, the one they just had dinner with in front of the campfire today?

    That was right. The person who tore the Ice Howler was Norfeller¡ªthe man who always followed behind a certain someone like a shadow!

    ¡°Oh my Gosh...¡± Jason¡¯s eyes were wide open and filled with incredulity. It was as though he did not see Norfeller fight the Ice Howler, but a mouse rape an elephant.

    Jason was not the only man who was stunned...

    The wretched Bandit, the pretty Priest, and the team of Adventurers that had appeared out of nowhere were all gaping as they watched Norfellernd from the sky and tear the Ice Howler¡¯s body...

    That was oundish...

    No one knew what had happened, and no one knew where the young man in a ck cape gained his formidable powers to challenge a deadly beast.

    The huge wound on its backpletely triggered the Ice Howler¡¯s frenzy. Although the man and beast just started fighting, the battle had already been pushed to a feverish climax. Compared to this, the earlier half of the battle led by Jason was a mere warm-up for the beast. Although it was provoked then, the revenge it took was instinctive. In other words, this magical beast that sat at the apex of the Dragon Mountains¡¯ food chain did not treat the Adventurers as its enemies initially. In its eyes, they were like a few irritating flies that it could choose to either blow away with a sneeze or wringle its toes to kill them.

    But, the entrance of Norfeller changed everything.

    Although that dagger-like blow on the back of the Ice Howler was not fatal, the pain it gave the Ice Howler allowed it to realize that Norfeller was a real enemy for it.

    The growls of the Ice Howler became husky and deep gradually. Its pair of red eyes was not as frenzied as before, but filled with hostility and vignce, and fixed on Norfeller. Any moron would have sensed the dangerous atmosphere.

    Anyone who saw their intense and bloody battle would feel that they had walked into a Colosseum. Norfeller was like a ghost that constantly swooped in front of and behind the Ice Howler. His sharp nails also ripped the skin of the Ice Howler every time they went past it. The growls were continuous. Every kind of ice element spells was unleashed like a flood gate towards Norfeller, and despite being powerful, he could only persevere amidst the spells. It was as though Norfeller was a lonely boat in the vast ocean¡ªa little carelessness would bring himself irreversible danger...

    In the snowing sky, flying ice cubes flew and slit deep wounds all over Norfeller¡¯s body. Crystal-like ice walls stained with blood of both Norfeller and the Ice Howler were pulled off from the ground. The presence of the deep growls and mad chilly wind intensified the solemness of the battle. From the Eternal Frost to the Frost Shock, all these spells cast instinctively by the Ice Howler turned everything within the radius of a hundred meters into ice and snow.

    Although it was like doomsday, Norfeller showed no signs of cowardice. He maintained his ghostly speed as he trapped the Ice Howler with his attacks. No ice walls or ice cubes were able to stop Norfeller¡¯s sharp nails. The high-ranking Vampire continued to tear the flesh of the Ice Howler, staining the snowy white ground with fresh red blood. At the same time, his hoarse recitation never stopped. The oppressing and suffocating magical waves were like a surging tide...

    At this time, not to mention the three mages, even an experienced man like Jason was dumbfounded by Norfeller¡¯s extraordinary magical powers. It was filled with a suffocating sense of evilness that gave him the feeling as though he was walking into an ancient tomb that had been sealed for a thousand years. The scariest part was his ability to injure an Ice Howler!

    The weakest Adventurer would know that the skin of an Ice Howler was extremely firm, and its innate resistance to magic could render all spells below level-5 insignificant. Only Archmages above level-15 had the ability to injure Ice Howlers. In other words, that Norfeller with superbbat abilities and wicked speed was indeed a true Archmage...

    ¡°Oh God...¡± Jason gasped, and realized he was beyond speechless. That was so scary. How could a talent so proficient in hisbat skills and magical spells appear in front of him just like that...?

    To other Adventurers, that was totally an out-of-the-world battle. They were all so immersed in watching the exciting battle that almost all of them forgot that the Ice Howler had actually cast a fatal Frost Shock just before Norfeller¡¯s interference...

    Of course, no one would realize that a man was sitting by the campfirefortably in such a freezing weather.

    That certain someone was no doubt Lin Li, who was squatting by the campfire. He cast nces at the battle ahead of him while he reached his hands in front of the fire for warmth.

    ¡°F*ck, why is it so cold...¡± Lin Li shrivelled.

    ¡°Are you very cold?¡±

    Lin Li heard a clear voice. Looking back, he saw the girl that was chased by the Ice Howler previously. She was staring at Lin Li curiously with her big eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, very!¡± Lin Li replied as he huffed a puff of warm breath on his hands. Only he knew that he was he not lying this time. The temperature that was close to 0 degrees Celsius nearly froze him alive. He had no other choice, either; although the Arcane Combustion he invented himself was powerful, it could only alleviate damage brought about by magic, and was not as invincible as to eliminate the cold...

    Of course, the reason for it had a lot ofplicated implications. If Lin Li wanted to endure the hassle which was to exin it, he had to talk about things like the sh between the elements of ice and fire, the conversion between mental strength and magical elements, as well as the difference between the instinctive spells and the normal spells. Hence, he just kept his mouth shut, and reached his hands towards the campfire as he focused on enjoying the warmth of it.

    From his reaction, a fool would have sensed that he did not feel like chatting anymore.

    The strange thing was, that littledy seemed not to perceive Lin Li¡¯s bodynguage. She even leaned nearer to the campfire casually and continued the conversation. ¡°By the way, I heard that that man battling with the beast is your partner, right? He is so powerful! But, since he is your partner, why don¡¯t you go and help him?¡±

    ¡°...¡± If it was other people without a clear mind, they would think that the girl¡¯s desperation in striking a conversation was an act of ingratiation. Yet, Lin Li was not this type of man. He was always suspicious of anyone who treated him passionately. If a meat pie were to fall from the sky one day, he would be testing the meat pie with Detection Spell to detect if there was a bomb hidden in it.

    ¡°Hahaha, I know! You are scared, right? Actually, it¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t be embarrassed to admit it. Let me tell you a secret: I was really afraid too. Hahaha...¡±

    He couldn¡¯t help but admit that this beauty was indeed a talent. From the beginning, she was like performing a one-man stand-upedy. It was as though she felt no awkwardness when Lin Li¡¯s gaze was fixed on the campfire throughout her monologue. Sheughed as she continued, just as if she wasughing at her own jokes.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Erm...¡± After the beauty talked for a good 10 minutes, she finally got to the main point. She fiddled with the hem of her dress and said in a voice only a mosquito could hear, ¡°Erm... Could you introduce your partner to me?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li eximed in confusion as he rubbed his nose. He could not think of a reasonable exnation for the girl¡¯s interest. Had the world changed? Why would a girl be seduced by Norfeller, a man as cold as ice?

    ¡°Heh, don¡¯t be so surprised. Rest assured, I will pay you sufficientmission for that...¡± The beauty waved her arm generously, and continued speaking, ¡°How about fifty thousand gold coins? As long as you can save my brother, I will pay you fifty thousand. It¡¯s gold coins, by the way, a huge sum of money...¡±

    ¡°Your brother?¡± asked Lin Li.

    ¡°Yes, my brother was taken away by the robbers. I want to save him!¡±

    ¡°Wait... Your brother...?¡± Lin Li paused as he thought of something...

 Chapter 320 - Magic System

    <h4>Chapter 320: Magic System</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li frowned. If he had remembered correctly, Kaman told him that the casten of Rnd City had a son and a daughter, called Cyndor and Yvonne, respectively. Yvonne... Indeed, Lin Li remembered clearly that the middle-aged Adventurer called her Yvonne when he ran out...

    <i>Hell, what kind of a father is he...</i>

    Lin Li could not believe this. Why did this casten allow his daughter to venture into Dragon Mountains after his son had been kidnapped? What kind of a joke was this? This was the hiding spot of the Syer Bandits! How could this unarmeddye here with a bunch of Adventurers who were barely level-14? Did she think Vanskore needed another hostage?

    ¡°I can¡¯t help you with this...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips as he rejected her right away. Seriously, she was the daughter of Rnd City¡¯s casten! Wouldn¡¯t he be asking for trouble if something happened to her while they were in Syer Town?

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°You coward!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee...¡± Lin Li smiled humbly, and ignored the sulking girl as he cupped his hands next to the fire for warmth.

    Norfeller¡¯s fight with the Ice Howler was reaching a climax at this point. The Ice Howler¡¯s roars filled the air as endless ice magical element flew by, almost as if the air was bing frozen. Walls of ice sprouted up and cones of ice wheezed past; no matter how much confidence the Adventurers had in Norfeller¡¯s abilities, they could not help breaking out in a cold sweat for him now.

    Anyone who paid a bit of attention would notice that even though Norfeller still moved and attacked at the speed of lightning, he was slowly cornered. The seemingly clumsy ice walls and blind ice cones were upying more and more space around him; coupled with the Eternal Frost, it was like arge whirlpool, slowly dragging Norfeller into the abyss of death in the center...

    The scariest part was the dropping temperature. A suffocating chill was spreading like a gue as the Ice Howler¡¯s eyes grew redder and its low, angry cries grew louder. Almost everyone knew that the next Frost Shock was near...

    Lin Li looked at the battlefield from afar and smiled unexpectedly. <i>That¡¯s right, the next Frost Shock shouldn¡¯t be too far away...</i>

    ¡°You know, Yvonne, Dragon Mountains are not a fun ce. You should hurry back to Rnd City, or else your dad might punish you for being out sote...¡± After the annoying fight ended, Lin Li¡¯s spirit was lifted, which put him in a mood for teasing.

    ¡°Worry about yourself...¡± the girl retorted. Almost simultaneously, a deafening sound rang out like thunder out of the blue, scaring the girl. As pale as a sheet, she flew behind Lin Li and held the corner of his shirt in a death grip, only peeking out from behind him after a while. ¡°What... what happened?¡±

    ¡°Something bad!¡±

    Something bad did happen on the distant battlefield.

    While Norfeller was as quick as lightning, he sumbed to the ice magical element eventually. The Ice Howler roared suddenly and released all its ice magical element at once, even at the expense of injuring itself. All at once, the ice walls shattered and the ice cones pierced through the air, covering the world in ayer of snow...

    Then, a deathly silence followed.

    All the Adventurers, including Jason, held their breath as their eyes fell upon the same ice sculpture; a pale face and a familiar ck cloak could be seen embedded in the crystal-clear ice...

    ¡°This is it...¡± Jason¡¯s heart sank. <i>This is it, we¡¯re really done for this time...</i>

    The Ice Howler was a magical beast with ancient blood indeed; itsst explosion of magic was truly horrifying. It was not talent or technique, but purely an explosion of strength leading to this depressing scene...

    Indeed, it was utterly depressing.

    Even Jason had to admit at this point that everyone was doomed. Neither the unlucky group of Adventurers nor his group, which was unknowingly dragged into this, were a match for the Ice Howler. The only one who could go against the Ice Howler, Norfeller, had already been frozen in ice. Right now, a Frost Shock was what awaited them...

    Everything was as Jason predicted. The Ice Howler did not hesitate to continue after freezing that annoying enemy, and continued roaring lowly. The ice magical element around them tightened, and the Adventurers could clearly see the ice walls melting as the ice cones withered to the floor. The snow covering the ground was as piercing as a re while it turned into water in a sh...

    On the other hand, a suffocating wave of ice magical element was brewing next to the Ice Howler.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions slowly turned to ones of great devastation, and even Miss Yvonne who stood far away from the battlefield continued to hold Lin Li shirt in a death grip.

    Only Lin Li remained unaffected as he slowly dusted off his long robe amidst the suffocating situation before reaching over for the Aether Staff thaty next to the fire.

    ¡°What... what are you doing?¡± Yvonne carefully peeked over Lin Li¡¯s back as her gaze fleeted around curiously. This scaredy-cat in a long robe was a strange character indeed; she couldn¡¯t decide if he was brave or cowardly, for even though he stayed far away from Norfeller¡¯s fight with the Ice Howler, he did not run away, either. Even now, while the Ice Howler was charging towards them, Lin Li was still mumbling nonsense she did not understand...

    Yvonne could not see Lin Li¡¯s face from her angle; otherwise, she would have seen this entric guy looking unusually serious.

    As Lin Li chanted, an almost indiscernible wave of magic slowly started to spread, creeping stealthily like a snake without anybody taking notice, until it reached its target and bared its venomous fangs...

    The chanting was low and raspy like the sound of rustling leaves, so barely anyone in the stifling battlefield heard it. The only one who heard it was Yvonne, but she did not know what he was doing, even wondering if Lin Li had been scared out of his mind, mumbling nonsense at such a critical time...

    Time seemed to slow down dramatically in the tense atmosphere; seconds crept by as the ice magical element gathered next to the Ice Howler expanded. Norfeller remained motionless as he was trapped in the ice, just as though he had fallen into a deep slumber.

    Lin Li continued chanting as he willed his mind to concentrate on a single wave of magic and ignored everything else. He knew that this wave of magic was getting close to the Ice Howler, much, much closer...

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A tremendously loud noise tore through the silence just as the wave of magded on the Ice Howler. The ice magical element erupted endlessly, nketing the surroundings in ayer of snow all of a sudden. Fragments of ice flew across the air as everything was covered in ice in a sh...

    Then...

    Everything disappeared without a trace.

    Everyone had the same expression on their face, their mouths agape as though they were screaming but could not make a sound. Their eyes bulged as they stared at the ce where the explosion had taken ce. Norfeller was slowly picking the ice off of himself as his pale face remained void of emotion¡ªit carried not a trace of relief or shock, as though none of it had affected him, as though it was normal for him to suddenly be trapped in ice and for the Ice Howler to die a sudden death.

    Nobody knew how much time had passed as time seemed toe to a standstill.

    Only when Norfeller walked out of the snow did the crowd break into a cheer. Almost everyone looked at him with heartfelt gratitude and utter respect; he was like a hero in the eyes of these Adventurers who had escaped death, and they naturally cheered as he returned in victory.

    As they were lost in their happiness, nobody noticed that the guy who sat by the fire had returned to his tent.

    Everyone rejoiced in the Ice Howler¡¯s sudden death as they had all survived a near-death experience tonight. Seeing the world again after escaping death made everything seem that much better, and even the night breeze in the Dragon Mountains seemed to carry a fragrance with it.

    All the people crowded around Norfeller and repeatedly thanked him for saving them from the wrath of the Ice Howler. No words seemed too cheesy at this point, as nothing could express the gratitude they had for this hero who had saved their lives. Finally, the leader of the unlucky group of Adventurers suggested a campfire celebration in honor of the hero and their sessful escape from the Ice Howler.

    His suggestion was quickly met with the support of everyone, including Jason and hispanions. The celebrationsted until midnight, leaving everyone apart from Norfeller drunk and dead to the world. Hence, nobody questioned how Norfeller escaped the ice and managed to kill the Ice Howler at the end...

    Lin Li¡¯s tent seemed especially quietpared to the celebration outside as nobody told him about it nor had anyone bothered to invite him. Some of the Adventurers even looked on in disgust when they passed by his tent.

    It was dangerous to be an Adventurer as they had to fight all kinds of magical beasts and might lose their lives anytime. Hence, they had very, very high expectations of their partners. What they could not stand at all was betrayal and desertion.

    Everyone had clearly seen what happened during the battle earlier.

    Even though this fellow was Norfeller¡¯s partner, he hid by the fire and did nothing as Norfeller fought the Ice Howler in a battle of life and death. Thankfully, Norfeller managed to defeat it in the end, or else this guy wouldn¡¯t be able to face the world if Norfeller died...

    Of course, Lin Li did not know any of this.

    Honestly, even if he did, he could not be bothered, as he was busy recalling the events of the fight. While it was a life and death experience for the Adventurers, it meant something more to Lin Li¡ªit meant something about his own Magic System...

    Every mage went through the same journey¡ªfrom not knowing anything to vaguely knowing something, from imitating others awkwardly to having their own unique style. The mark of maturity for a mage was to create their own Magic System, which was a journey full of unknowns. While some mages only needed a couple of decades to finish this journey, it might take some a lifetime. Still, no matter how long it took, any mage whopleted the journey would no doubt be top of their ss, and¡ªwithout exception¡ªtheir names would leave a mark of glory in the history of magic.

 Chapter 321 - Arcane Combustion and Countercurrent Vortex

    <h4>Chapter 321: Arcane Combustion and Countercurrent Vortex</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was a mark of maturity for mages to have their own Magic System. It signified wless technique in the use of magic as well as a thorough understanding of magic rules. It was an entirely different realm in itself, and meant that the mage was on their way to reaching the peak of their strength. Nobody knew where the end of this journeyy, nor did anyone knew if there would be countless obstacles along the way, but one thing was certain¡ªany mage who walked on this path was a truly powerful one in the field of magic.

    They were like ascetics trying to figure their way out alone on a path littered with unknowns; nobody would be there to give them any guidance, nor would there be anyone with past experiences they could learn from. Everyone walked a different path, and their Magic System belonged only to themselves. There was no way for anyone to emte them, and even if they did, they would only fail trying...

    Even a mage like Andoine would never give Lin Li any advice on this as he knew that it was a journey Lin Li had to embark on alone¡ªit was up to him to scale the peak of magic. Of course, Lin Li did not disappoint him. He was only in his twenties, but already had his own Magic System; this was definitely a rarity even in the whole of Anril.

    Furthermore, Lin Li used two kinds of level-16 magic to support his Magic System.

    He was probably the only one since the Dark Ages ended 1,300 years ago to be able to create two kinds of level-16 magic at once. This was no small feat, as the Magic System Lin Li would have would be incredibly powerful since it was supported by two sorts of level-16 magic. Well, his starting point was already too advanced: Arcane Combustion directly targeted mana, while Countercurrent Vortex targeted mental strength. Mana and mental strength were the two most essential elements of magic, so how powerful would a Magic System created from these two be? Even the God of Mages Geresco might not be able to predict the extent of Lin Li¡¯s future achievements had hee back to life.

    The campfire celebration only ended in the dead of the night. Lin Li had been silently sitting in his tent the whole time, repeating the events of the fight in his head. It seemed like Lin Li had nothing to do with the fight in the eyes of Jason and the rest as they thought that Norfeller had won purely by his own means and rescued them from the Ice Howler. Nobody had paid any attention to the cowardly employer...

    This fellow had done nothing besides using two lowly kinds of magic before sitting beside the fire the whole time, not moving an inch even when Norfeller nearly died in the hands of the Ice Howler. Who would associate him the Ice Howler¡¯s death?

    Nobody would guess that this cowardly fellow who seemed to have been a free rider the whole time was actually the main contributor to the Ice Howler¡¯s death. He had neutralized the Frost Shock with an Arcane Combustion, and killed the Ice Howler with a Countercurrent Vortex. By using the two spells together, he changed the oue of the fightpletely.

    Honestly, even if Jason and the rest knew of this, they would find it hard to believe that this fellow had mastered such terrifying magic, what more be their creator...

    The principle behind Arcane Combustion was notplicated: to put it simply, one had to release arge amount of mana at once to form a dense field with it. Any magic that passed through the field would be strongly stimted, which caused the magical elements to be more vtile. Once the stimtion was strong enough, it would create an evaporation effect and cause any magic to disappear immediately, just like the Frost Shock earlier...

    The Countercurrent Vortex was much moreplicated as it required an immensely strong mental strength as well as a thorough understanding of magical mantras. Only those who mastered the core magical mantras would be able to forcefully reverse the flow of magical elements. This was a meticulous andplicated process, and a tiny mistake could change the magic in unpredictable ways. Sometimes, even Lin Li did not know what would happen when he released a Countercurrent Vortex...

    Actually, Lin Li had already thought to create such magic back in nna. He had enriched his knowledge of magic in the Omniscient Tower and learned a great deal of advanced spells. All the copying and emting had given him ideas to create his own magic. It was just that Lin Li had not been equipped with the ability to do so then...

    The match in the Aurora Square came next.

    Lin Li suddenly obtained a dozen core magical mantras during the match. It was a windfall bestowed upon him by the heavens as this was immeasurable wealth to any mage. All he needed to do was learn how to use this wealth, and he had spent his time in ck Clouds Town trying to master the core magical mantras. At the same time, his knowledge of magic and techniques of using magic had reached an unimaginable level. It was only natural that he started creating his own magic...

    Lin Li had only wanted to cause some trouble for his enemies, using a nearly unlimited amount of mana when he first created the Arcane Combustion, but after some tests, he slowly realized that instead of forcefully oppressing his opponents, he could give them a hand instead. By increasing the speed of release of their magic and forcing it past a certain threshold, he could create a Brand Of Dusk effect and cause their magic to vanish.

    Of course, the two kinds of magic varied in nature as one elerated the meltdown, while the other used a channel to redirect the magic. However, they both resulted in a simr oue, which was basically to extinguish the effect of his opponents¡¯ magic.

    Moreover, the biggest advantage of the Arcane Combustion was that it worked regardless of his opponent¡¯s level. As long as Lin Li¡¯s mana was stronger, he could attempt to engulf their magic with Arcane Combustion.

    Then, the Countercurrent Vortex...

    Quite honestly, more than half the credit for creating this magic went to Darian. He had slightly altered the Inscription Structure of the Aurora Square back in nna and attempted to use this trap to trip up Lin Li in the finals. Little had he known that Lin Li¡¯s aplishments in Inscriptions were far beyond what he could imagine, and the young mage was able to ruin Darian¡¯s carefully nned ploy and take Matthias his life as well with just a small change.

    The Countercurrent Vortex worked quite simrly to the change in Inscription, which was by using the advantage he had in mental strength to forcefully change the flow of magical elements. If it worked, he would be able to kill almost any of his enemies.

    s, both of these kinds of magic carried fatal ws.

    Firstly, it took too long to use Arcane Combustion as it required toorge an amount of mana. Even with Lin Li¡¯s technique, he had to recite the spell for at least 20 seconds before switching to a guiding mode immediately. He had to constantly remain in a guiding mode as he could not allow the field ofbustion to detach from him, or else, all the mana he had painstakingly released would vanish in a second...

    The w in the Countercurrent Vortex was even more fatal as using mental strength to forcefully alter the flow of magical elements was already dangerous in itself. It might be alright if his opponent was a magical beast like the Ice Howler if he was identally caught in it. However, it could be devastating against a mage as their battle could turn in so many directions at once that even Lin Li was not confident of constantly suppressing his mental strength.

    He could easily make a long list of ws, and every single one of them was enough to cost him his life.

    Well, it was two kinds of newly created magic, after all, and they had too many areas to be improved uponpared to magic that had been passed down and perfected for thousands of years. If thetter was a carefully crafted piece of art, his magic could only be described as the doodling of a child, messy and unrefined, with ridiculous loopholes everywhere.

    However, it was these ridiculous loopholes that gave the two unlimited potential as even Lin Li might not know the extent of power they could achieve after repeated improvements and modifications.

    Lin Li spent the night racking his brains for ideas to improve them, and only drifted off into a deep sleep when the sky started to be bright.

    Not long after he fell asleep, Lin Li heard Jason¡¯s voice from outside the tent.

    ¡°Are you awake, Mage Felic?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to inform you that we are setting off soon.¡±

    ¡°Why so early...¡± Lin Li rubbed his eyes as he peered outside the tent, only to realize that the sun was already shining brightly.

    ¡°No choice, the Dragon Mountains are the Syer Bandits¡¯ territory, after all, and after the ruckus we caused fighting the Ice Howlerst night, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯ll be trouble if the bandits came over... ¡±

    ¡°True...¡± Lin Li thought for a bit, and realized that Jason was right. He quickly crawled out of his sleeping bag and put on his robe, only to get a shock when he emerged from his tent. He clearly saw a few dozen people encircling his tent¡ªthere were even some familiar faces among them. Norfeller, the Priest, the mousy-looking bandit and the young leader... Last but not least, he saw the helpful middle-aged adventurer and the young missus of the casten¡¯s family...

    ¡°Are you kidding me!¡±

 Chapter 322 - Radar

    <h4>Chapter 322: Radar</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Jason, care to exin what¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression darkened as he nced outside the tent. <i>Isn¡¯t this too much? I only napped a bit and you appear with over 30 people who are nothing but a burden? If I took a longer nap, wouldn¡¯t you have called on the entire city of Dnd?</i>

    Lin Li really wanted to ask Jason if he knew what kind of ce they were heading to. They were going to the ruins of Syer Town, the base Vanskore had painstakingly managed for thest 20 years! <i>Even the Legendary mage Basel was somewhat wary of it, and you, Jason, want to stroll in with 30 or so people who are nothing but a burden to us? You going to a pic or something?</i>

    ¡°Well...¡± Jason brushed his nose sheepishly and avoided looking at his grumpy employer as he mumbled while looking down. ¡°Leader Sienna is going to the ruins of Syer Town as well, so I thought there would be safety in numbers. If anything happens, we can look out for one another...¡±

    When he mentioned ¡°look out¡±, Jason gave Lin Li a nce, and even though he did not say anything more, his expression and demeanor gave him away. He was trying to say that traveling with the weak and cowardly Lin Li gave him tremendous burden; hence, now that he was presented with a group of men willing to join them for free, of course he jumped at the opportunity to travel with them...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost exploded in anger. Of course, he understood what Jason was getting at. He was definitely alright with getting free manpower since he did that often himself, but the problem was, could Jason have better taste when doing that?

    <i>Do these adventurers look like decent manpower to you? The highest of them all is only level-14, while the lowest barely over level-10! Besides, is Syer Town a ce for the missus of the casten¡¯s family to stroll? It may be one thing for these Adventurers to die there, but if the missus died as well, I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯re going to answer for it to the casten of Rnd City...</i>

    ¡°Leader Sienna, you¡¯re going to the ruins of Syer Town too?¡± Lin Li finally asked after staring at Sienna for a long while. Honestly, this young man was quite promising indeed: level-14 yet he was only in his twenties, and was the leader of such a big mercenary corps too. If presented with an opportunity, he might well be a distinguished figure in the Breezy ins.

    However, Lin Li was not interested in helping young talents or growing a mercenary corps. He¡¯d only intervened in the battle against the Ice Howler because it threatened his safety as well. He¡¯d never thought of bringing them along to the ruins of Syer Town. This was as ridiculous as a girl holding on to a guy after a one night stand and crying that she was pregnant with his child¡ªonly Jason would buy this and think himself lucky too.

    ¡°Yes...¡± Sienna was aware that he was not really wee, and looked somewhat embarrassed as he spoke.

    ¡°You know, Leader Sienna... as far as I know, the ruins of Syer Town are not a peaceful ce, are you sure about going there?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Sienna hesitated, but before he could speak, the casten¡¯s missus anxiously replied, ¡°Sienna, you promised me to rescue my brother!¡±

    ¡°Of course, Miss Yvonne, don¡¯t worry...¡± Sienna quickly cated the casten¡¯s missus, and looked at Lin Li again. ¡°Well, Mage Felic...¡±

    Everyone naturally looked at Lin Li following Sienna¡¯s question. Everybody had heard from Jason that this cowardly employer had paid 30,000 gold coins to hire them to apany him to the ruins of Syer Town. Courage and morals aside, he had already paid the money, so of course he was the one to call the shots. It was up to him to decide if the Adventurers could tag along with them.

    Lin Li nced at him, but did not reply. Instead, he turned to the casten¡¯s missus. ¡°Miss Yvonne, if I¡¯m not wrong, you said yesterday night that your brother was taken by the Syer Bandits. Shouldn¡¯t you go to the Dragon Mountains if you want to save him? What are you going to Syer Town for?¡±

    ¡°No, I know Cyndor is not there, he¡¯s at the ruins of Syer Town!¡±

    Lin Li only wanted to test the waters, and did not expect to receive such a firm reply as the youngdy looked him in the eye unwaveringly.

    ¡°How do you know it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do!¡±

    ¡°Well, Mage Felic...¡± Lin Li wanted to press more, but Jason suddenly coughed at the side. ¡°Miss Yvonne and Master Cyndor are twins, and have always had a mysterious telepathic connection. Everyone in Rnd City knows this...¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lin Li was shocked. He had heard people talking about the telepathic connection that twins shared¡ªif one was in trouble, the other would be able to feel it immediately. He¡¯d never thought that he would be able to witness it, much less in such a situation...

    If this was true, Miss Yvonne¡¯s value would have to be reconsidered. Bringing her along would be like bringing along an incredibly sensitive radar; they wouldn¡¯t even need to search in Syer Town, for all they had to do was go in the direction pointed out by her, and they could easily save the young master. This was much better than searching for a needle in a haystack...

    ¡°Alright Leader Sienna, wee...¡± Lin Li paused suddenly. ¡°But I have to say this first, the ruins of Syer Town are far more dangerous than what you would expect, and even Jason may not be able to fend for himself. You and your Adventurers would have to look out for yourselves...¡±

    Sienna heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly assured Lin Li, ¡°Of course, we will look out for ourselves...¡±

    How dangerous could mere ruins be? As long as he had Jason and Norfeller when they crossed the Dragon Mountains and left the Syer Bandits¡¯ territory, everything would go ording to the n.

    Sienna had already thought of everything. Once they reached the ruins of Syer Town, he woulde up with an excuse to leave and bring Miss Yvonne along so that they could go and rescue her brother. He could not share the credit of rescuing Cyndor with the rest for nothing...

    Lin Li nodded, and it all became easier as they only used 10 minutes to get ready before they set off. He had to admit that it was easier to travel with so many people; it became more convenient to do some things as well since Sienna had over 30 men with him. Other things aside, they had more food and drinks now than when Lin Li and the rest were alone. Even the magical beasts were taken cared of by the other Adventurers who charged at them and shed blindly, which usually took care of everything. Hence, Jason and hispanions did not even have the chance to step in.

    Their journey was unusually smooth as they barely ran into any trouble, which allowed them to reach the foot of the Dragon Mountains very quickly. ording to Jason, they only had to travel for another hour to reach the perimeters of Syer Town. Lin Li held the Aether Staff in his hand as he walked at the end of the group, a frown never leaving his face.

    After passing through a dense forest, they reached an open field, and as they looked from the edges of the forest, they could start to make out the outline of Syer Town. The once prosperous town had been reduced to ruins after 20 years, and all they could see were remnants of it. Even the skies of Syer Town seemed to be filled with gloomy clouds. Most of the adventurers already heard of the tragedy that had happened years ago in Syer Town, and they were all talking about it. Their discussions mainly revolved around how prosperous Syer Town had been, and how many people died back then, but none of them realized that there appeared a faint stench of decay ever since they walked out of the forest...

    Norfeller and Lin Li seemed to be the first ones to notice that.

    Norfeller noticed it because it was an all too familiar smell to him seeing as he was a high-ranking Vampire who had spent a thousand years in an underground pce where there were countless Undead creatures. Lin Li only noticed it because he had always kept Basel¡¯s warning in mind; while him saying that he did not dare venture into Syer Town might have been a bit of an exaggeration, the warning hidden in his words was clear. Even a fool would know that the ruins of Syer Town were not as harmless as they seemed.

    Indeed...

    The stench of decay carried to them by the wind was no doubt the aura of the Undead.

    Well, thinking of it, thousands had died in the epidemic that happened in Syer Town years ago, and even without any external factors, the grievance of thousands of ghosts would have been sufficient to create a nightmarish monster. Surely it would make sense for some Undead creatures to appear after such a tragedy?

    Only Lin Li could not understand why Vanskore chose this ce as his hiding spot, since he was one of the survivors of the tragedy and should know very well that Undead creatures had upied the town. Could it be that they had found a way to control the Undead creatures, or could they havee to an agreement with the leader of the Undead?

    Bloody hell, an agreement between humans and the Undead...

    Lin Li continued to ponder as he quickened his steps, and the group quickly crossed the field. As they got closer to Syer Town, the death aura became stronger, and even the few weeds on the sides of the barren path looked close to wilting. It was a deste sight: the sky above the town was gloomy as it was filled with dense gray clouds, and made them feel suffocated even when just standing there. The entire town seemed to be wrapped in a ck fog; Lin Li, who had been to both the Shadowglen and the underground pce, knew that this was because the death aura had solidified. Only a ce with arge number of Undead creatures would have such dense and intense death aura.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, these are the ruins of Syer Town...¡± Sienna said after staring at a map for ages before smiling at Lin Li. ¡°Mage Felic, we were lucky to have you along the way, but I¡¯ll save my words of thanks for when you guys drop by Rnd City. I shall thank you properly then.¡±

    Of course, Lin Li knew what Sienna was thinking. He wanted to save the casten¡¯s son once they reached Syer Town, and did not want to share the credit with other people. Honestly, Lin Li would have dly sent them on their way if they were anybody else since they would only get in his way and dy their escape.

    Only, he could not do that now. Well, there was an incredibly urate radar amongst this group of people who were nothing but a burden.

    So, Lin Li onlyughed, and said, ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Leader Sienna, it was only a small matter. Oh, right, I think I heard people mention that there are many Undead creatures in this town, I wonder if that¡¯s true...¡±

    ¡°Undead creatures?¡± Sienna froze as soon as he heard it as he nced around nervously before forcing out a smile. ¡°Ha... haha, Mage Felic you¡¯re so humorous, why... why would there be Undead creatures in a pile of ruins...¡±

    ¡°It was just something I heard, you don¡¯t have to take it to heart...¡± Lin Li said with a smile, but Norfeller suddenly moved next to him.

    Norfeller moved so quickly that nobody could react to it, and all they saw was a ck shadow before they heard some noise. Suddenly, a pile of white bones flew over, and a rusty machete coincidentallynded between Lin Li and Sienna.

    ¡°I wonder which bastard made up this rumor. Why would there be Undead creatures in Syer Town? Don¡¯t worry, Leader Sienna, I¡¯ll teach the bastard a lesson when we go back! How dared he make such a rumor, no conscience at all...¡± Lin Li denounced the culprit behind the rumor angrily, and never once turned to look at the Skeletal Warrior that had been torn apart.

    ¡°...¡± Sienna stood with a nk look as he opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss for words. All he could do was stare at the shadow that was Norfeller as he tore apart the Skeletal Warriors that sprouted from the ground.

 Chapter 323 - Bell Tower

    <h4>Chapter 323: Bell Tower</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sound of bones cracking continued, making everyone¡¯s blood run cold as they stared at the scene in front of them dumbfounded. Neither Jason nor Sienna had ever seen so many Undead creatures at once¡ªthey were in the barren fields, in the withered forest, underneath the decayed barrow, and next to a few houses that had copsed. The Skeletal Warriors came pouring in from every direction, and all they could see was a sea of eerie white gathering towards them, much like a sea of locusts.

    Norfeller had turned into a ck spirit by now, weaving his way around countless Skeletal Warriors as he tore them to shreds mercilessly with his sharp ws, making him resemble a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper. The quietness of the night made the human group short of breath as silence loomed over the world; they stood still as they stared with big eyes and mouths wide agape, and all was silent save for the sound of cracking bones and their own beating hearts...

    ¡°Prepare to fight...!¡± It felt like an eternity before Sienna, who almost went into shock from fear, gave a throatymand.

    Almost at the same time, Jason brandished his rune¡¯s adamantine sword, and it glowed blindingly after being infused with a strong dose of Combat Energy. His fighting techniques remained simple, neither showy nor mboyant, and even seemed clumsy at times, but it was precisely this that made the explosion of power all the impressive. The rune¡¯s adamantine sword was like a fire dragon in Jason¡¯s hands, slicing through any Skeletal Warrior that dared toe near him.

    Behind Jason, the mousy-looking bandit held a dagger that glittered blue in each hand as he crept silently in the dark, and while he did not fight much, each time he did something, it was at a critical juncture. It could be a lone Skeletal Warrior that broke through the barrier as Jason fought and endangered the Archer and the Mage, or maybe Jason made a mistake and his back was made vulnerable to an attack. The Priest continuously chanted prayers, and Divine Magic rained down as a holy light lit up the sky, her face beginning to turn a sickly shade of white due to nerves as well as from her immense concentration.

    ¡°Fight...! Fight...! You idiots, are you waiting for death...!¡± Sienna¡¯s voice had turned unusually throaty, and he sounded like he was being choked. Thankfully, the Adventurers who had turned pale from fear finally heard themand, and the Warriors and Archers raised their weapons while the Mages started chanting frantically...

    Well, they did fight an Ice Howler, and while they were no match for a level-17 monster, dealing with Skeletal Warriors that were no more than level-5 was a breeze to them, especially with Sienna¡¯s throatymands. The group fell into position as they once again showcased their impable teamwork honed from fighting many battles together. The Skeletal Warriors continued pouring in, and they could only rely on the Mages to cause explosions amidst them, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

    Everyone was inbat mode... except Lin Li.

    Lin Li stood away from the fight, and while he held the Aether Staff in his hand, he did not use many magic at all. He looked on like a bystander while everyone was busy fighting the Undead creatures; the most perplexing thing of all was that Lin Li kept staring into the distance...

    Syer Town was not a big ce, and he could clearly see a long street from where he stood at the entrance of the town. The street was filled with debris and weeds, evidence that nobody had walked through it in a very long time. Both sides of the street were lined with fallen houses, and Skeletal Warriors asionally emerged from gaps between the walls. The only building in sight that seemed in a somewhat good condition was the bell tower of Syer Town. It stood next to the za, and while it was only around evening time, the surroundings of the bell tower were eerily dark as though trapped in a thick fog.

    The eerie bell tower was what caught Lin Li¡¯s attention.

    Lin Li had already sensed a strange magical wave when they neared Syer Town¡ªit wasing from the bell tower. It was filled with the energy of a death aura, simr to the one which Lin Li had experienced in the Shadowglen and the underground pce. Of course, he had also sensed it on the legendary Necromancer, Sendros...

    It seemed that old man Basel was not just scaring him...

    ¡°Huh?¡± The magical wave given off by the bell tower intensified suddenly just as Lin Li lost focus for a moment. It made him feel a little suffocated as though arge python had suddenly coiled itself tightly around him and was continuously tightening its hold.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been discovered...¡± Lin Li came back to his senses immediately. This was a Mental st in its purest form; Lin Li gripped his Aether Staff tightly, returning fire with a Mental st of his own.

    In a second, two huge bodies of mental strength made contact in the air.

    Lin Li thought he heard a cry, but he could not be sure. Thereafter, it all disappeared into nothing. Whether it be the strong force of mental strength or the magical wave that seemed toe from deep within the bell tower, none of it seemed to have existed as even the fog shrouding the bell tower had disappeared without a trace.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Li was shocked. While he had a small advantage when the two Mental st made contact, it was so marginal that even he was not confident in beating his opponent for sure. Why would the other party retreat all of a sudden, then? The whole situation seemed premeditated as he had won so easily that it was not in the least bit convincing.

    With that suspicion in his mind, Lin Li¡¯s gaze fell upon the battlefield once again.

    He then realized that something was off with the Skeletal Warriors as well.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone too?¡±

    Lin Li had not seen wrongly¡ªthe Skeletal Warriors that poured in like a flood had retreated like one too. Just a moment ago, there was barely a spot without a Skeletal Warrior, but now, not one of them could be seen, and this all happened in a split second too. If not for the pieces of bones that littered the floor, Lin Li would have thought that it was all just a dream, that there wasn¡¯t any Skeletal Warrior or Mental st to begin with.

    ¡°What... what the heck is this?¡± Sienna held a machete as he stood frozen with a look of shock on his face. He had yet to fully process the events earlier. The presence of Undead creatures was already beyond hisprehension as an Adventurer, let alone a ce covered with them...

    ¡°They¡¯re called Skeletal Warriors, a kind of low-level Undead creatures... ¡± Lin Li frowned deeply as he answered Sienna¡¯s question. He was not surprised by their appearance, since he had already predicted it before entering the town. The only thing he had not thought of was that they would vanish so suddenly; also, their attack and retreat were terribly well coordinated, much like those of a well-trained troop.

    This was the nerve-wrecking part. Lin Li had been to the Shadowglen and the underground pce¡ªhe had even had an encounter with a Legendary-level Necromancer¡ªso it was only natural that he knew more about Undead creatures than Sienna or Jason.

    Controlling the Undead creatures had always been the trickiest issue for Necromancers, even for those outstanding ones like Sendros. Well, Undead creatures were born from all kinds of negative emotions, and did not have thoughts nor consciousness of their own; they were only guided by these negative emotions to kill and destroy. Necromancers were only able to control them because they had mastered a special way to do so, and not because they could directlymunicate with them.

    Even if one was skilled in Necromancy, it would only guarantee that the Undead creatures they controlled were more powerful andrger in numbers instead of having any effect on the Undead creatures themselves. This was why there were alwaysrge numbers of Undead creatures present in fights between Necromancers as they couldn¡¯t control these creatures effectively and could only win with numbers.

    The only thing that could control them was another Undead creature, just like the Undead Lords in the Shadowglen who were able to easily manipte every skeleton and corpse there was in that ce. They could make these Undead creatures their ves and make them do anything to their heart¡¯s content, which was like what Lin Li saw during the war of the Undead creatures back then¡ªboth armies behaved like proper soldiers as they were well-trained and followed every order.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be fun...¡± Lin Li sighed resignedly.

    Things would be veryplicated if the one controlling them was an Undead creature. They were detestable creatures, and since they were born from negative emotions, they remained filled with hatred for the world even if they had surpassed a certain point and gained consciousness and the ability to think on their own. They hated those who were alive, and their desire to destroy everythingpletely was what kept them going. They were capable of neithermunicating norpromising, and were basically the epitome of stubbornness.

    Thest thing Lin Li could tolerate was a stubborn fellow as they werepletely impossible to negotiate with, and he could only rely on violence to solve any issue.

    ¡°Damn it, I seriously hate using violence!¡± Lin Li cursed angrily, and just as he was going to exin the situation to Jason, the casten¡¯s missus suddenly stood up. ¡°I hear my brother, he¡¯s there!¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Lin Li was shocked as his gaze unconsciously followed the direction where the youngdy was pointing...

    ¡°What the heck!¡± Lin Li felt a headacheing as soon as he took a nce¡ªthe youngdy was pointing right at the eerie bell tower!

 Chapter 324 - The Deal

    <h4>Chapter 324: The Deal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If there was anybody feeling more perplexed by the situation than Lin Li, it would have to be Sienna...

    Sienna felt his legs turn to jelly at the thought of the thousands of Skeletal Warriors. He would have left this ce as soon as he could, as far away as he could get from these Undead creatures. However, he knew very well that not only could he not leave this ce, he would have to lead his men into the eerie ruins of the town as well. Well, he did ept Miss Yvonne¡¯s payment...

    That was 50,000 gold coins worth of deposit¡ªshe could have easily hired the best Adventurer in the whole of Rnd City with so much money. When he epted the mission, he had secretly been celebrating, thinking that he had stumbled upon an easy mission, one that could easily earn him so much money at that.

    Only now did Sienna know that he had actually stumbled upon something else...

    He did not know if he would be able to receive the remaining payment of 15,000 gold coins, but the most important question was whether he and his men would make it back alive to Rnd City. Damn it, to think that there would be so many Undead creatures hiding in the ruins of Syer Town. It would be a most difficult task for him and his men to save someone from this ce.

    He had already witnessed the ability of these Skeletal Warriors. It was safe to say that they were only slightly trumped by Rnd City¡¯s army in terms of agility. There were thousands of Skeletal Warriors, which meant they would have to go against thousands of soldiers¡ªfor 30 Adventurers to fight against such an army, it was like trying to break a rock with a stone.

    Sienna looked at the bell tower in the distance, and then at the casten¡¯s missus, who stared at him, and felt a headacheing. Barging in blindly was out of question since he had no idea what other monsters could be hiding there, and he could not abandon the mission, either, since it was already clearly written in the files that he had epted Miss Yvonne¡¯s payment. If he dared make a run for it, he could bid farewell to his career as an Adventurer since nobody would even hire him for menial tasks in future.

    ¡°Mr Jason...¡± Sienna could not help looking to Jason for help after much pondering. ¡°Can I have a word with you?¡±

    Honestly, Sienna had no one else to turn to for help. While he and his men were thergest group here, they were no match for Jason and hispanions. Jason was a level-15 Warrior who was the top adventurer in Dnd, and hispanions were all level-15 too. A group as strong as theirs would be hard toe by in the Breezy ins, not to mention that they had the incredibly powerful Norfeller, who had killed the Ice Howler with his bare hands. Sienna thought that Norfeller was much stronger than Jason, so if he could get their help, they might stand a bit of chance facing their mission after all.

    Sienna could not be bothered whether he was endangering them by asking for their help, since he was standing at the edge of a cliff himself. How would he have time to care about others?

    ¡°Well...¡± Jason looked around him and at his employer standing in the distance before nodding his head reluctantly. ¡°Alright...¡±

    Everyone was minding their own business after the fight, and nobody noticed the two of them creeping away to the decaying barrow to make a deal...

    ¡°Let me think about it...¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure...¡± Sienna¡¯s voice was filled with anxiety and trepidation.

    Jason frowned as he weighed his options.

    Frankly speaking, Sienna¡¯s offer had very good terms: a reward of 10,000 gold coins in exchange for their help, and it was paid on the spot. Even if the mission was notpleted, he would still get to keep the payment, and most importantly, Sienna promised him that he could leave with hispanions without regard for Sienna and his men if they met with any unexpected danger.

    This meant that the 10,000 gold coins were as good as his if he epted it; there was no reason for him not to ept the offer.

    Jason hesitated a bit before making a decision. However, he wanted to leave an alternative for himself, and thus did not agree right away. ¡°Well, Mr Sienna, as you can see, Mage Felic makes the decisions in our group. I¡¯ll tell him what you proposed, but I cannot guarantee he will ept your offer...¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course, as long as you¡¯re willing to speak for us, we would be beyond grateful.¡± While Sienna thanked him, he could not help cursing him in his mind. <i>Damn this hypocrite, ¡°Mage Felic makes the decision in our group?¡± Whom are you kidding? He¡¯s as cowardly as a mouse, how could he possibly lead Adventurers like you and yourpanions? Besides, all he does is hide away in his tent, anybody can tell he has no experience with the life of an Adventurer. You say he¡¯s your employer, but he does nothing at all. Isn¡¯t it you who calls the shots? You can fool others with this, but there¡¯s no use doing it in front of me...</i>

    Jason returned to the camping ground nonchntly, and found Lin Li, who was meditating. ¡°Mage Felic, I have something to discuss with you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Well, you see, Mage Felic, Sienna just told me that they will be heading to the ruins in half an hour to rescue Miss Yvonne¡¯s brother, and after thinking about it, I thought that it will be a great chance for us to head inside with the protection of 30 Adventurers. Why don¡¯t we go in with them since it will be easier for us with their help?¡±

    ¡°Is that it...?¡± Lin Li nced at Jason cynically. To be honest, he would go in with the mercenary corps even if Jason did not mention it. He had also intended to help them if he could since he would have future dealings with the casten of Rnd City anyway; wouldn¡¯t it be awkward for him to face the casten¡¯s daughter if he didn¡¯t help them today?

    However, this did not mean that Jason could have agreed on his behalf.

    Sienna and Jason thought that nobody knew they had left. Unfortunately, Jason did not know that when a mage went into a state of meditation, his senses became incredibly sensitive¡ªeven more so for someone with almost unlimited mental strength like Lin Li. Once he went into a state of meditation, his strong mental strength would take over his senses¡ªin other words, Lin Li used his mental strength to connect with the world then. In that state, he would be all-knowing, and could even hear the roars of magical beasts in the Dragon Mountains as well as the chanting of spells from the bell tower. Given that he could hear all that, Sienna and Jason sounded as if they had been speaking right next to his ear...

    It seemed like he had been way too nice these past few days, and now Jason thought he was a pushover. He could tolerate the fact that Jason had decided on his own to travel with the mercenary corps, but for him to ept the 10,000 gold coins as reward in exchange for their safety, Lin Li could not ept that. The only reason he did not lose his temper was because the time was not right yet. He would have to discuss this issue with Jason at another time and ce...

    ¡°We can go with them, but, Jason, I have to tell you this: as far as I know, there are hidden dangers in Syer Town, and if you spare too much thought caring for yourpanions, you may not be able to guarantee your own safety...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mage Felic, I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    Jason heaved a sigh of relief after gaining Lin Li¡¯s approval. He had the 10,000 gold coins now, what danger could there be? In Jason¡¯s eyes, there was nothing more dangerous there than the Skeletal Warriors, and while he had no idea where they came from, he was not afraid of them. Having fought them previously, he was aware that while he could not exterminate them all, he more than capable of fending them off long enough to guarantee his escape. Furthermore, Sienna had given him his word that he could leave with hispanions if they met any danger.

    ¡°Alright then, you can go tell Sienna that we¡¯ll leave in half an hour.¡±

    Half an hour went by in the blink of an eye. The mercenary corps gathered and set off towards the eerie long street.

    It was strange that they had not met a single Undead creature after walking for over 10 minutes. They had originally thought that the ce would be filled with dangers, but it was unusually quiet, with nothing but the suffocating stench of decay surrounding them. It looked like any other ruins, and Sienna could not help thinking that all the Undead creatures in the town had been summoned during the fight, which was why there was none now.

    Sienna could not help regretting his decision when he thought of this. If he had known earlier, he would not have asked Jason for help. Not only had he lost 10,000 gold coins, he also owed him a big favor, and the worst thing of all was he would have to share the credit of rescuing Young Master Cyndor if they did manage to do so.

    Soon, however, Sienna¡¯s regret turned into joy.

    As the town square of Syer Town came into view after the group walked through the long street, a swish could be hearding from one of the precariously shaking houses. Then, a strong stench of decay started spreading nearby, and before Sienna understood what happened, a loud cry could be heard from Jason as the rune¡¯s adamantine sword shed with a blinding light...

    ¡°Whoosh!¡±

    The strong Combat Energy from the sword tore open the doors of the house, and before anyone could react, a ck puff of smoke rushed into the air, apanied by a piercing cry.

    ¡°My God...¡± Sienna covered his mouth as his eyes were filled with disbelief. He clearly saw arge bat fly into the sky amidst the fog under the light of the sword. The blurry outline of its body seemed to meld with the fog; it looked terrifying in the dark with its long fangs and blood-red eyes.

    Jason gripped the rune¡¯s adamantine sword in his hand as he stared fixedly at the monster in front of him. He knew it was a true Vampire, a level-15 Undead creature. Vampires were creatures of the dark, and once they had the cover thereof, even the best of Bandits might not be able to detect their whereabouts.

    Jason felt his heart turn cold when he thought of this. Thankfully, he had heard the sound...

    If not for that faint sound, he would not have dared imagine what would happen then. If a Vampireunched an attack from the dark, even someone as strong as level-17 might not survive it.

    Of course, that was another matter.

    After losing the cover of the dark, the Vampire was like a fish out of water as it had lost its natural protection. Its strength was no more than an average Undead creature¡¯s now, and since hispanions were all level-15 as well, coupled with the fact that he had the rune¡¯s adamantine sword, it was only a matter of time before they killed it.

    ¡°Unfortunately for you, you¡¯ve got terrible luck.¡± Jason smiled confidently as the rune¡¯s adamantine sword shone brightly again.

    ¡°Jason is much too careless...¡± Lin Li paid no heed to the fight that they would surely win. After taking a look at the house that had nearly toppled due to Jason¡¯s attack, he hesitated for a while before silently calling over Norfeller. ¡°Norfeller, go and settle the rest of the problem for him.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Right, Norfeller...¡± The high-ranking Vampire was just about to leave when Lin Li suddenly recalled something. ¡°Are they... are they your kind as well?¡±

    ¡°Not really, they are not pure-blooded, and are merely subsidiary creatures.¡± After giving a rare exnation of more than a couple of words, Norfeller disappeared into a ck puff of smoke before Lin Li¡¯s eyes.

    Jason was right. Having lost the protection of the dark, the Vampire was not much stronger than any other Undead creature at the same level. With the Holy Light of the Priest at their disposal, it was even more suppressed, and Jason was able to wield his rune¡¯s adamantine sword with Combat Energy effortlessly. Furthermore, the mousy-looking Bandit who hid in the dark was like a venomous snake as he dealt a lethal blow from the dark. It was only a moment before the level-15 Vampire fell under their consecutive blows.

    ¡°Amazing, Mr Jason is the strongest adventurer in Dnd indeed...¡± As Jason tore through the Vampire with his sword, Sienna hurried to give his praises.

    Everybody loved praises, and Jason was no exception. He could not help the smile as he listened to Sienna singing hispliments, and only replied with false humility. ¡°You¡¯re too kind Mr Sienna, I¡¯m just lucky...¡±

    ¡°Haha, Mr Jason is humble indeed.¡±

    The two of them were going back and forth before a faint noise came from the house, and Jason turned around shocked before he saw blood stter...

    Then, he saw the back-cloaked Norfeller walking out slowly.

    Jason¡¯s face paled. He was drenched in cold sweat as he could clearly see two corpses lying behind Norfeller. The same bodies that looked like they were made out of ck fog, the same long fangs and blood-red eyes...

    Once he saw this, he naturally understood everything.

    No wonder it had all been such a coincidence¡ªit¡¯d been a carefullyid trap. One of the Vampires had made a sound to attract their attention, while the other two hid in the dark, waiting to deal a lethal blow when they were engaged in a fight.

    If Norfeller had not helped them in time, Jason would have be food for the three Vampires, yet he wasughing about his luck...

    ¡°Thank... thank you, Mr Norfeller.¡±

    Jason thanked him repeatedly with a pale face, but Norfeller seemed not to hear it as he wiped the blood on his nails without any expression and quietly returned to stand behind Lin Li.

    Jason did not mind Norfeller¡¯s indifference, and only smiled before forgetting about his embarrassment. Norfeller had been like this the whole journey, and Jason thought that this was befitting a powerful individual like him anyway. He was able to kill the Ice Howler with his bare hands and kill two Vampires in a sh¡ªwith such capabilities, nobody would fault him for being cold and proud, for he had good enough reasons to.

    Or what? Should he smile like a hawker as his useless employer did?

    The attack of the three Vampires had only been a small interlude. The group continued walking to the town square of Syer Town after dealing with them.

    The eerie bell tower was on the other side of the square; they could clearly see ck fog shrouding the bell tower from where they stood.

    ¡°Such strong death aura...¡± Lin Li stood a distance in front of the bell tower as he frowned unconsciously. The intense death aura made him slightly breathless. In his opinion, it was probably stronger than the death aura when he¡¯d encountered the Lich in the Shadowglen.

    Just as Lin Li was secretly taken aback, a hoarse voice could be hearding from within the bell tower. It was not a clear voice, but everybody in the square heard it very well.

    ¡°Wee, my guests from afar!¡±

 Chapter 325 - Tide of Death

    <h4>Chapter 325: Tide of Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As that horse voice sounded, a bone-chilling wind spread. The ck smoke that filled the surroundings was like ck tentacles that swam in the air of the empty public square. The Six-pointed Star Arrays among the ck tentacles reflected an ominous flickering glow. Lin Li, a man who was well-versed in Inscription and Alchemy, naturally recognized it to be an arrangement to activate the Six-pointed Star Array and summon a powerful creature. From that suffocating death aura, the object summoned was likely to be as powerful as the Ice Howler in the Dragon Mountains...

    Lin Li gripped on his Aether Staff and let out a sense of mental strength discreetly while he followed the crowd out. As he walked towards the side of the square, he let this mental strength seep into the Six-pointed Star Array.

    ¡°Damn...¡± Lin Li cursed. He knew he was going to get into trouble the moment the mental strength seeped into the Six-pointed Star Array.

    The surging death energy within the Six-pointed Star Array had already reached a terrifying height. The death energy engulfed the mental strength before the Six-pointed Star Array system had the time to assimte the information. It was fortunate that Lin Li was an extraordinary species. If he was a normal man, the loss of this mental strength would have brought irreversible damage to his soul!

    Because of that, Lin Li did not dare to continue taking such risk. While he stared at the Six-pointed Star Array that was growing brighter and brighter, he held the Aether Staff horizontally against his chest and made use of the powers of the Dragon¡¯s Eye to create a barrier that could withstand the death aura.

    Being inside of the protective region, Lin Li could clearly see that while the crowd moved backwards hastily, the entire square had already been filled with ck smoke. The glow from the Six-pointed Star Array flickered, and a series of shrieks could be heard. Lin Li knew those cries belonged to the souls that died with resentment. These souls that were under the control of the Necromancer were killed with the cruelest methods so that they could remember it eternally. Although they did not have a conscious mind, they had the most primitive ability to bring anything in the world to the abyss of suffering.

    As the cries of suffering echoed from that ck haze, Lin Li could not help but rejoice for his decision to find extra help when he was at Syer Town. At least he had the help from a high-ranking Priest. Or else, it would be troublesome...

    Vengeful Spirits were ssified as neither imaginary nor real beings. They did not have a physical body, or an actual soul. Attacks physical and magical would both have minimal effects on the Vengeful Spirits. From the sound of the cries, Lin Li knew there would be at least a few hundreds of them. Even though he was a level-16 Archmage, he would not have the ability to get rid of thempletely in a short period of time. The only way was to use the theurgy of a Priest, the Purge Spell, to purify these souls that were drowned in suffering and pain.

    However, while Lin Li was rejoicing, the ck haze suddenly started to stir violently, and loud shing sounds could be heard. To Lin Li¡¯s dismay, white humerus fell from the sky out of nowhere. There were Skeletal Warriors and Hell Ghouls in the sea of bones. On top of that, Lin Li also noticed four Liches somewhere near the edge of the Six-pointed Star Array...

    ¡°Screw this...¡± Lin Li cursed in frustration.

    Now that the matter had escted into such a mess, no matter how silly Lin Li was, he would have guessed that this Six-pointed Star Array was definitely what Sendros had once mentioned¡ªthe legendary ¡®Tide of Death¡¯. In Sendros¡¯ words, the Tide of Death was the most powerful necromagic. It could allow the Necromancers to summon all types of Undead creatures without any limits until they finished their mana. The scariest thing was that the abilities of the Undead creatures would take after whatever Necromancer summoned them. This meant that the greater a Necromancer was, the mightier the Undead creatures he summoned were. For Sendros¡¯ skills, he had the true ability to summon a real Humerus Wyrm!

    ¡°This is really troublesome...¡± Lin Li watched the distance with a daze. He swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. The only thing he could hope for was that the ability of the creature in the bell tower was not as strong¡ªat least not as invincible as Sendros. Otherwise, Lin Li could only be prepared to die if he were to meet a Humerus Wyrm...

    The sea of bones in the square stirred amidst the ck haze like surging waves. The vast amount of Skeletal Warriors trod menacingly towards the group of people with their machetes. Behind the troops of Skeletal Warriors, there were huge crowds of Hell Ghouls. They all had ghastly white Skeleton Staves and a set of glowing will-o-the-wisp in their eye sockets. A hoarse recitation echoed off as well...

    Just when Lin Li felt goosebumps on his scalp, there were nearly 10 bats swooping towards them...

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    It was as though the thousands of Skeletal Warriors, huge crowds of Hell Ghouls, and Vengeful Spirits were not enough. Now that there was an addition of around 10 Vampires, would there be Death Knights ambushing themter?

    ¡°What the f*ck is that?!¡± Sienna¡¯s voice was filled with trepidation. To this Adventurer who had never left Rnd City, the past two days had been too much of a crazy ride. When Sienna took on the mission, he had never expected to encounter the Ice Howler in the Dragon Mountains or the ruins in the scary public square.

    That was a true nightmare.

    Countless Undead creatures were like tide water, surging towards them from all directions. The presence of Skeletal Warriors in such a hazy ck environment carried a pungent smell of decay. The numerous Skeletal Warriors had machetes in their hands. They marched towards them in neat rows like real troops...

    ¡°BACK OFF, EVERYONE, BACK OFF!!¡± What Sienna could do now was only to use his hoarse voice to warn the people around him. However, his warning was lost in the chaotic crowd like a pebble dropped into a river full of crazy currents. No one could hear what he was shouting, and no one paid attention to him. At this time, almost all of the Adventurers were focused on fleeing for their own lives. They abandoned their weapons and ran off like headless houseflies.

    The shrieks that followed immediately caused them to be quiet.

    Their source was an Adventurer no more than 30 years of age. He was the fastest runner among everyone. Unfortunately, that did not let him escape the horrifying ce, but rather caused himself to be surrounded by at least 10 Skeletal Warriors...

    The frantic Adventurers were surrounded by the Skeletal Warriors that only knew how to kill. Shrieks could be heard from afar. Before they could gasp, that unlucky Adventurer had already turned into minced meat under that dozen pairs of machetes. Blood sttered all over, staining their white humeri crimson. With those phosphorescent lights, these Undead creatures emitted a great amount of intimidation and menace...

    Then, the second and third one followed...

    In a split second, there were already 10 casualties in the team 30-plus men strong. Even Sienna himself could only watch his men dash into the sea of monsters just to be chopped into minced meat. The bloody scene caused Sienna to be stupefied.

    ¡°Step back!¡± Since he had epted the money from Sienna, Jason took the great responsibility of leading the battle with a sigh.

    Jason¡¯s voice calmed the Adventurers down a little. After all, as one of the top Adventurers of Dnd, his words did weigh in the hearts of people. Under his leadership, the team started to withdraw from the scene. Albeit challenging, the 20-odd survivors managed to retreat to the sides of the square. As long as they could move another several hundred meters, they would be able to leave those freakish ruins...

    Being faced with such an unprecedented pressure, Jason also exerted his full potential. The energy showed by this top Adventurer of Dnd could only be described with the word ¡°scary¡±. His magnificent sword slew all the Skeletal Warriors, turning them into pieces, while his raging Combat Energy could always send the Skeletal Warriors back to the embrace of hell. His supreme ability allowed him to create a in field amongst the many Skeletal Warriors.

    The Adventurers who had been looking at Jason for guidance all the while finally saw a strand of hope. They were all ted. As long as they could return home from this nasty mess, they would pay anything for it.

    At this time, there was a hoarse voice that sounded from the bell tower. ¡°How is it, my honorable guests? Hope you are pleased with the wee ceremony. HAHAHAHA...¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck...¡± Lin Li nced at the bell tower from afar and frowned in loathe. <i>What a disgustingughter!</i>

    ¡°Alright, the grand wee ceremony will stop here. Now, let me discuss some serious things with you...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Sienna asked as he walked out of the crowd boldly. Perhaps it was the voice of the host that gave him a sense of confidence and hopefulness.

    ¡°I have a deal. A deal that would surely benefit all of you...¡± Unlike the anxious Sienna, that voiceing from the bell tower was not frustrated at all. After a spell of hystericalughter, he continued speaking. ¡°That girl in your hands... I¡¯m interested in using her for an experiment. Bring her here and you can leave this ce alive.¡±

 Chapter 326 - Internal Strife

    <h4>Chapter 326: Internal Strife</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was fixed onto the casten¡¯s daughter. After the crude battle, this missy who came from a noble background seemed to be like any other Adventurer now. Her long dress had long been torn in the battle, stained with soil and blood. Her face was pale, and her stare was filled with trepidation that could be found in a fearful little bunny. Anyone that saw her would feel really pitiful.

    ¡°How is it, my noble guests? Time is running out. You¡¯d better make your decision quickly. Do you want to be killed by my pets or hand over the girl? The choice is yours...¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Sienna knew that the voice¡¯s owner was not joking. They really had not much time left. Although the Undead creatures around them had calmed down for the time being, that stirring death aura was bing more and more concentrated. It felt like they would dash up to them and tear them into numerous pieces without warning.

    He would not be able to bear the consequences of sending Miss Yvonne away, either. She was the only daughter of the casten. What if something were to happen to her? Even if he were to reach Rnd City alive, there would be a gibbet waiting for him there...

    ¡°Are you hesitating? Alright, alright. Let me guess what your concern is... Hmm, are you worried that I will break the promise after you hand the person over?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sienna remained silent. His head was bent to look at the soil below his feet.

    ¡°Regarding this point, I actually don¡¯t need to exin. You don¡¯t have any choice but to believe me...¡± The voice took a pause after saying that. ¡°But, since it is the first time we are dealing with each other, let me give you a gift...

    ¡°See that building beside you? There is a secret passageway that would lead you to the Dragon Mountains in it. After you hand the girl over, you can leave this ce using it...¡±

    <i>I knew it...</i>

    Amongst the group of people, Lin Li might be the only person who was certain that the voice from the bell tower was not lying. There was really a secret passageway from the ruins of Syer Town to the Dragon Mountains.

    ¡°Oh, I understand now...¡± The hoarseughter now had an additionalyer of sarcasm. ¡°You are afraid of retribution after handing the girl over to me, aren¡¯t you?

    ¡°Hahaha... That¡¯s very simple. After you hand the girl over to me, I¡¯m going to cast a spell to wipe away the memory of everyone in the ruins of Syer Town. Everything that happened here will be a secret, and nobody will know who handed this girl over to me...¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± This time, Sienna was finally moved as he heard that condition.

    The conditions the other party gave were indeed very attractive. To leave the ruins alive, and not bear any consequences... Could there be a solution more perfect than this? Instead of the lives of over 20 people, the only thing they had to sacrifice was Miss Yvonne!

    ¡°Think it through and choose wisely. You don¡¯t have much time left...¡± The hoarse voice vanished after the reminder. The Undead creatures around them were still quiet, like a well-trained military troop that trapped everyone at the corner of the street.

    Sienna looked at the soil beneath him for quite a while. Nobody knew what he was thinking. After some time, Sienna finally lifted his head.

    ¡°Apologies, Miss Yvonne.¡±

    Immediately, the surroundings became silent...

    Everyone looked at Sienna in shock, including Jason and his teammates.

    The only one who was still himself would be Lin Li. Heughed casually and held his Aether Staff in his hands. ¡°Captain Sienna, are you not afraid of getting into trouble?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Felic, please do not interfere in something that does not concern you.¡± Sienna brushed the ipetent mage off. His tone was not as polite as before.

    ¡°Then can you tell me,¡± Lin Li said as he shook his head seriously, ¡°after you hand his little girl over, whom should I im my chariot of Ice Crystal Metal from?¡±

    ¡°W-what Ice Crystal Metal?¡±

    ¡°Ice Crystal Metal is a type of precious... Erm, I can¡¯t really exin it in such a short period of time. But, Captain Sienna, the Ice Crystal Metal is not the main point. The crux now is that I want you to stop your n. You can rebut me, but I will treat all of your words as nonsense...¡±

    ¡°What rights do you have?¡± Sienna asked with hostility. <i>The fe is too cocky! </i>If not for Lin Li¡¯s good rtionship with Norfeller, Sienna would have dealt with him long ago when he first entered the town. How could he think he could stop these over 20 Adventurers from sacrificing Miss Yvonne?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try me?¡± Lin Li smiled as usual. The only difference was the sense of ridicule and provocation in his gaze.

    ¡°You!!¡± Sienna gripped his machete. An ominous glint appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°Mr. Felic...¡± Just when the two men were in a deadlock, Jason pulled on Lin Li¡¯s sleeve discreetly.

    Lin Li frowned and turned to look at Jason.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Lin Li.

    ¡°Erm...¡± Jason hesitated before continuing, ¡°Mr. Felic, could you not make things difficult for us? That¡¯s a rule for us Adventurers. Let¡¯s not intervene in how Captain Sienna arranges it for Miss Yvonne...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips.

    <i>Do you think I feel like interfering? If it was any Tom, Dick, or Harry, I would not care about how Sienna arranges it. The problem is that this little girl is the daughter of the casten of Rnd City! If I watch her be taken hostage by that dude, it will be too embarrassing to ask her father for the grain I need. That will be worth a whole chariot of Ice Crystal Metal! If those were gold coins, their weight would be enough to kill them. Did that bastard Sienna just said he want to hand Mis Yvonne over? Has he asked me for my permission?</i>

    Seeing that his employer did not say anything, Jason casually took it that it was because Lin Li felt threatened by him. Heforted him, saying, ¡°Furthermore, Mr. Felic, you have heard what the guy in the bell tower said. He just wanted Captain Sienna to hand Miss Yvonne over, and not harm her. Why don¡¯t we put this matter aside first and think of a way to save Miss Yvonne after Captain Sienna and his team leave this ce safely...?¡±

    As Jason was engrossed in his speech, he suddenly felt a crossbow¡¯s belt¡¯s tip being pressed against his chest. Its sharp edge reflected a fluorescent blue light. How would Jason, a man who had been in the adventure industry for all many years, not know that there was potent poison smeared on that crossbow bolt?

    ¡°M-Mr. Felic... What are you doing?¡± Jason asked in fear as he broke out in cold sweat. ¡°C-c-can you stop joking?¡±

    ¡°Joking?¡± Lin Li pushed the crossbow in his hands against Jason¡¯s chest. The sharp part of the crossbow immediately slitted Jason¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°What else do you mean, then?¡±

    ¡°What do I mean? Hehe...¡± Lin Li asked smilingly as he added more force to the crossbow. ¡°Jason, tell me the truth. Do I look like a generous man that is easily deceived?¡±

    ¡°N-no, you don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°Then, I¡¯m really confused now. Since I don¡¯t look like I¡¯m prone to be deceived for my generosity, why do you always treat me as though I am? You toiled so hard to earn the 20,000 gold coins from Sienna, but for the same amount of gold coins you are always plotting to push me into the fire pit? Do you suspect that I will mix sand inside my gold coins?

    The moment Lin Li said that, Jason¡¯s face was washed white.

    He did not expect the mage to be aware of the secret deal between him and Sienna already. The mage even knew the exact numbers!

    ¡°I did not want to mention it at first. Yet, your burning passion for that 20,000 gold coins motivated you to push me into the fire pit. If I don¡¯t show you some things, you will really think I¡¯m using the innocent...¡±

    At this time, almost everyone¡¯s focus was on Lin Li. Apart from Sienna, no one realized that while this young mage was scolding Jason, there was an unnatural distortion at the corner of the street.

    ¡°This fe is doomed...¡± The sight of the distortion let Sienna to guess it that that was the mark left behind by Bandits who sneaked in the dark. Among over 20 people present, the only Bandit who had the ability to enter the darkness instantaneously would naturally be one of Jason¡¯s teammates, the level-15 Weathor...

    Of course, knowing was knowing. Sienna was not interested in warning the mage. If he could, he really hoped Jason could get rid of that fe immediately so that he would not create bigger trouble for him in the future.

    ¡°M-Mr. Felic, please listen to me...¡±

    Almost immediately, they could see a sword whip out in the dark.

    What followed was a shriek...

    Before the people had time to react, they saw a bodynding in the middle of the street.

    ¡°H-how could this be!?¡± Sienna gazed at the street in a daze. His eyes were filled with incredulity. How could he believe that Weathor, a level-15 Bandit, got thrown off by a Lin Li so easily...

    <i>W-what a monster...</i>

    After Weathor flew off due to an Air Bomb, Lin Li did not even look back. He gripped onto the Aether Staff and gray clouds started to gather above Weathor. Instantly, lightning fell from the clouds. The pitiful Bandit did not even have time to sit himself up before he got struck by the continuous lightning. His squeals of pain made the previously quiet street noisy again.

    ¡°Goddammit, how could you attack such an honest man like me? Do you even have any morals?¡±

 Chapter 327 - Nemesis of the Undead

    <h4>Chapter 327: Nemesis of the Undead</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sudden changes caused everyone to stand rooted to the ground in a daze. They stared as the Air Bomb exploded and the Cloud Storm roared. This time, Weathor really got into trouble. The sparks, which were like countless golden snakes that slid down, started to burn the unlucky Bandit in the blink of an eye. It was fortunate that the female Priest reacted promptly. She cast a Purge Spell and saved Weathor¡¯s life. However, despite the timely Purge Spell, Weathor was still on the edge of death. His skin was burnt and he was severely wounded. He gave off a pungent stench as he whined in pain. If they did not witness it for themselves, they would not have believed that the fe who was on the verge of death was a level-15 high-ranking Bandit...

    ¡°Mr. Felic, what do you want?¡± Jason asked impatiently. The party¡¯s partnership in numerous battles had caused them to have a rtionship that surpassed that of normalrades. Now that Weathor was suffering from such a serious injury, how could Jason be able to turn a blind eye to it? He did not care about the crossbow put against his chest as he summoned his glowing rune¡¯s adamantine sword, prepared to fight Lin Li.

    ¡°What do I want?¡± Lin Li nced at him as he repeated Jason¡¯s question. ¡°I just wanted to give you a little warning. I hate sneak attacks. The next person who dares to do it will not be as lucky as Weathor...¡±

    Right after he spoke, the Aether Staff in Lin Li¡¯s hand let out a blinding light. Before Jason had the chance to speak, he felt a wave of heat engulfing him. Then, he saw a zing me flying towards him...

    Then...

    What followed immediately was a ¡°POM!¡±

    A gigantic ball of fire went past Jason¡¯s chest. The long me that trailed behind it was like a zing sun on a scorching day. Suddenly, it was as though time had slowed down. Everybody held onto their breaths. Their gazes were fixed on that Pyrost thatnded in the crowd of Skeletal Warriors.

    At once, a gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud shot up the sky. Despite being an earth-shattering spell, the apanying silence was suffocating. Apart from the sound when the ball of fire exploded, nothing else could be heard. They just saw a dazzling glow of fire spread and engulf the group of Skeletal Warriors at a crazy speed. Then, the warriors were like snow that melted almost instantaneously...

    ¡°Oh my gosh...¡± Sienna could not believe his eyes. Was that spell really cast by a human? It took himself and 30-plus men, as well as Jason and his two level-15 teammates, to kill hundreds of Skeletal Warriors. Yet, that crazy man had the ability to turn thousands of Skeletal Warriors into ashes.

    <i>H-h-how could this be done by a human being...?</i>

    Sienna broke out in a cold sweat. He would never have imagined there to be such a powerful man among the team.

    <i>What a freakish man! No... he should not be described as ¡°freakish¡±. This fe is not even human at all!</i>

    The thought of Lin Li¡¯s identity gave Sienna shivers down his spine...

    Sienna was not the only man who was bbergasted by Lin Li¡¯s Pyrost...

    Jason gripped onto the rune¡¯s adamantine sword. While the Combat Energy within the sword radiated a blinding glow, Jason¡¯s gaze towards Lin Li was filled with trepidation. He could not believe that the young mage whom he thought was an honest and ipetent employer was able to turn the army of Skeletal Warriors into ashes...

    Although Jason had his rune¡¯s adamantine sword in his hands, he did not dare to move away from Lin Li¡¯s cold crossbow bolt that was against his chest. That was because Jason could never be certain of the consequences of doing so. To him, that young mage who had his crossbow against his chest was more threatening than the Undead creature inside the bell tower.

    At once, the atmosphere turned really strange.

    No one dared to speak. Jason and his teammates and Sienna and his men did not dare to make any move or any sound. They stared at the young mage in fear. Weathor seemed to be the calmest of them all. Being seriously wounded, he was already unconscious. Unaware of all the terrifying happenings, hey on the ground weakly, and his voice could barely be heard.

    ¡°Hehehe, this is interesting. How, my guests? It seems that you are having a conflict between yourselves?¡± It was the hideousughter from the bell tower that broke the tense atmosphere. Underlying the hoarse voice was a sense of sarcasm and gloating.

    ¡°Shut up, moron!¡± Lin Li scolded the other party without turning his head. His eyes scanned the 20-plus Adventurers.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to give you two choices. One, to listen to me and not do anything funny. Although there may be some risk, I believe that if nothing idental were to happen, you will be able to return home alive.

    ¡°Two, you can rely on yourselves. If you are confident with your abilities, you can try to kill your way through these Undead creatures...¡±

    Lin Li paused, and turned to look at the daughter of the casten.

    ¡°As for this little girl, I warn you not to have any ill intentions toward her. She is already under the protection of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. Any offensive actions towards her would be a challenge to the guild and also myself.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sienna swallowed his saliva with difficulty. The expression on his face became very ugly.

    He was not afraid of the guild of magic on the Breezy ins. Since it was something he had never heard of, there was nothing to worry about. But, that freakish mage was a serious issue. From how he turned the army of Skeletal Warriors into ashes in the blink of an eye with a single ball of fire, Sienna knew Lin Li was not a man to be challenged. Not to mention himself, that top Adventurer, Jason, would also not have the chance to escape the crossbow against his chest as well.

    Yet, if he did not hand the daughter of the casten over, could the over 20 men under him be able to escape the ruins of the Syer Town?

    Sienna hesitated as he gazed at Jason again as though he was seeking for his help.

    ¡°I will listen to you, Mage Felic.¡±

    Lin Li would not have expected that Jason would make up his mind so readily. That top Adventurer did not even hesitate before he showed his obedience to Lin Li. The moment Lin Li finished his words, Jason dispersed the Combat Energy on his rune¡¯s adamantine sword and knelt down on one of his knees before Lin Li and announced his submissive stance to him.

    ¡°We... we will take your orders, Mage Felic.¡± Since Jason had made his promise, Sienna had nothing to hesitate about.

    ¡°Very good...¡± Lin Li smiled in satisfaction. He helped Jason who had been kneeling on one of his knees to stand up, and put away the crossbow he had been threatening Jason with.

    That was a reaction that Lin Li wanted. Although punishing an individual as an example to others might be an overused tactic, it was indeed useful in many circumstances. For instance, the Cloud Storm that severely injured Weathor as well as a Pyrost that ughtered the army of Skeletal Warriors caused the two fes who had ill intentions to be obedient immediately.

    Lin Li had no other choice, either. At the start, when Lin Li had an encounter with the mental strength, he had guessed it a little. Then, the Tide of Death ascertained Lin Li¡¯s suspicion. Lin Li was sure that the creature hidden in the bell tower had to be a real Lich¡ªone that had reached the legendary level-20. Being a real Undead creature, it might even be more powerful than Sendros who was just a human being!

    To Lin Li, level-20 was an unreachable existence. One would never know how the Legendary Realm was before he entered it. Yet, that level-20 Undead creature might still be manageable for Lin Li. He had an object that could resist Undead creatures. In another world that he had once battled in, the object was considered the natural enemy of the Undead. This object would be able to deal with a level-20 Lich easily...

    However, this thing had a fatal disadvantage to Lin Li now. The force within it was too massive. Lin Li would never be able to really take control over it. Even if he wanted to use a tiny bit of energy, he would need a very long time...

    How would one have sufficient time to prepare for a battle that was undergoing myriad changes in the twinkling of an eye?

    Hence, Lin Li had to find a few helpers...

    Although the few helpers were not very obedient, Lin Li believed that both Sienna and Jason were clever people. It would only take a little trick to let them be more harmonious with each other. Yeah, like they were now...

    ¡°Now, let us see if the legendary Tide of Death is indeed something that will never dry up...¡± Lin Li said as he raised the Aether Staff in his hands high up in the sky. Complicated recitation poured out of his mouth like tidewaters. As that obscure recitation sounded, a chilly air started to spread...

 Chapter 328 - Humerus Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 328: Humerus Wyrm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the sound of the chanting gradually increased in volume, the huge ice magical element also roared deafeningly in the ruins. The town square that was previously filled with Undead creatures was now filled with snow instead. In a sh, the snow covered the sky as it slowly spread throughout the ce like a monster swallowing the whole world in an instant. In the face of this doomsday blizzard, the Tide of Death seemed weaker than usual. The Skeletal Warriors were trembling in the wind, while the Vampires screamed pitifully as they spread their wings in the sky. The Liches and Vengeful Spirits hid in the ck fog, refusing to take another step forward. The looming darkness dissipated suddenly, leaving only a gorgeous scene of crystal and snow...

    ¡°My God...¡± Jason could not believe that the one to summon this snow of death was the employer he had thought useless all along¡ªthe one who always had a smile on his face and seemed terrified of everything. Not even in his wildest dreams did Jason imagine that this seemingly useless employer would have such capability. To think that he had paid no regard to him the whole time and even wanted to fight him just now. Jason felt himself breaking into sweat at the thought...

    Sienna waspletely shocked as a dull, nk look filled his eyes. He even failed to dodge a flying ice shard, and if not for the quick reflexes of an Adventurer standing next to him, who knew what would have happened to his face.

    ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s amazing!¡± The casten¡¯s missus clenched her small fists as her face was flushed with excitement. Their encounters from the Dragon Mountains to Syer Town had been the most exciting string of events to have happened in her nearly two decades of life. Especially after they had entered Syer Town, the young mage named Felic had triumphed over an entire mercenary corps alone and destroyed a troop of Undead creatures in a sh. The young mage she had previously called a ¡°scaredy-cat¡± was now unbelievably powerful in her mind.

    Lin Li could not be bothered with anything else now as the Thousand Miles of Ice had taken up all his concentration. He was only concerned about distributing and releasing his mana as the torrential ice magical element exploded in the town square, tearing apart countless Undead creatures at once while the crystal embedded in the silver shone with gory colors.

    Time seemed to have lost its meaning now as everybody was immersed in the ethereal snow. When thest snowke fell, the Undead army that had once covered every inch ofnd seemed to have evaporated into thin air. There were only a few lingering Vampires and hunchbacked Liches dragging their bone magic staves around as they stuck their heads out of the ck fog to look around, only to find arrows and magic awaiting them. Sienna¡¯s men were not stupid, and knew to take advantage of the beaten Undead army. Since the young mage had single-handedly wiped out almost the whole army, they knew they should take care of the remaining few.

    While none of the Adventurers were particrly highly skilled, the impact of over 20 people attacking at the same time was by no means weak. It was even more effective against the Undead creatures that had been terrified by the Thousand Miles of Ice, and it was only a moment before the Undead creatures had fallen into a heap.

    The oue of the battle had been overturned by Lin Li¡¯s Thousand Miles of Ice. The Adventurers who had previously been on the losing end all fought valiantly now as they easily swept up the remaining Undead creatures. While many Undead continued to emerge from the dark, they were fewer in numbers and weakerpared to the Thousand Miles of Ice previously.

    The 20 of them fought along the way, and it was only a moment before they closed in on the center of the town square...

    The sessful turn of events gave everyone hope as even the shocked Sienna brandished his machete and joined in fighting the Undead creatures. Thetter fell one by one, and the Adventurers stepped over their bones as they slowly approached the bell tower on the other end of the square.

    Lin Li was the only one who did not join in the fight, and in fact, he had not done anything to help after releasing the Thousand Miles of Ice. He was like a stingy miser now, unwilling to spend the energy to release even a single Wind de. But of course, nobody could fault him for it as after the Thousand Miles of Ice, his status had risen from a good-for-nothing fellow to a strong and mysterious mage in the eyes of the Adventurers. He had exterminated countless Undead creatures with one spell, so why couldn¡¯t he rest? If anyone had capabilities like that, they could rest too...

    Of course, Lin Li was not really resting. Ever since he set his foot in the town square, he had been walking within six dots of blood-red light. Strong and pure mana continued to flow into the Aether Staff as the Dragon¡¯s Eye atop the staff shone blindingly. If anyone looked closer now, they would notice that the six dots of light dimmed slightly every time the Dragon¡¯s Eye shone brighter. In the end, they became hidden in the ck fog surrounding the area...

    There were many ways to stop a Tide of Death, and Lin Li chose the most straightforward method of all. He was using strong and pure mana to forcefully destroy the internal configuration of the Tide of Death; when the Death Energy within it lost bnce, the Legendary level-20 magic would be destroyed as well.

    <i>Seems like not every Lich¡¯s powers are as scary as they are made out to be in legends... </i>Lin Li secretly heaved a breath of relief after seeing thest of the blood-red lights disappear. Tide of Death was a strange spell indeed; its scale wasrgely tied to the mana of the person wielding it, and¡ªto some extent¡ªcould be seen as an extension of one¡¯s mana. The stronger the user, therger the scale of the Tide of Death. Lin Li had chosen to use such a crude method to destroy the Tide of Death simply because he was trying to test the capabilities of the Lich in the tower.

    From this Tide of Death, he could tell that while the one sitting inside the bell tower was a Lich, he was not devastatingly powerful, and as far as Lin Li could tell, both Aldwin and Andoine were much stronger than him...

    After finding out his opponent¡¯s capability, Lin Li became more confident in this rescue quest. He used a Gravity Spell to trap the Vampires flying in the air beforeunching Arcane Missiles consecutively from his Aether Staff. It was only a moment before the Vampires were all shot down.

    Once the Vampiresnded on the ground, the blood-hungry Adventurers all came running forth with Jason, who held the rune¡¯s adamantine sword in his hand, in the front. All the Vampires fell under a flurry of shes before they even had the chance to put up a fight in a sh.

    By then, Lin Li had crossed the town square, and gently pushed open the door of the bell tower.

    The old door creaked as it opened, and an eerie chill hit him straight in the face. It was dark inside the bell tower, and Lin Li could only make out what was inside with a great deal of effort. There was an empty hall upon entering; there were a few tables and chairs scattered around, most of which had decayed due to age, which exined the strong moldy smell. There was a flight of stairs leading up a little further away from the door. Algae covered the steps¡ªfrom a distance, it looked like a python that had curled up.

    ¡°Jason, Sienna, bring your men and follow me.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The slimy stairs were narrow and eerie, and while Lin Li had a calm expression as he was climbing up, he could not help feeling slight trepidation. It was the nest of a Lich, after all, and after a hundred years, the ordinary bell tower was now filled with danger. Lin Li had even thought of some spells to use in case any Undead creature decided to attack the from the dark...

    It was worse for the others. The previous fight had already left a deep enough impression on them as the scene of countless Undead creatures surging forth at once was enough to make their skin crawl. Even though a powerful mage was leading the way, who was to say that the mage would be able to look out for them the whole time?

    Everyone walked carefully, and the short hundred or so meters of stairs took them close to 10 minutes to finish climbing.

    Then...

    The 20-odd people froze all at once.

    There was a room at the end of the stairs with its door left ajar. Through the crack in the door, they could clearly see that the room was empty save for a short and slim ck figure...

    ¡°W-w-what is this?¡± Lin Li felt his brain turn nk after seeing the ck figure. He had never thought that it would be this easy to meet the Lich. They had not met any obstacles along the way, and no danger as well¡ªbesides the annoying algae on the stairs, everything had been as easy as a field trip.

    It was like a punch falling through into thin air, and took Lin Li by surprise.

    Just as he was wondering if this was a trap, a hoarse voice could be heard from the room. ¡°Wee, my guests from afar. To be honest, I¡¯m quite shocked that you made it here...¡±

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Lin Lin Li frowned as he wondered why he found this short and slim fellow somewhat familiar...

    ¡°Haha, young mage, be patient, I¡¯ll introduce myselfter... but first, allow me to introduce my pet to you...¡±

    ¡°Pet?¡± Lin Li was taken aback.

    Then, he heard the growl of a dragon from above him.

    ¡°What... what is that?¡± Lin Li was shocked before his expression suddenly changed. ¡°Damn it, a Humerus Wyrm?¡±

    Lin Li was almost scared out of wits. Why hadn¡¯t he thought that this guy¡¯s ¡°pet¡± would turn out to be a Humerus Wyrm? <i>Damn it, does it have to be so exciting? Isn¡¯t this just a simple kidnapping that hadn¡¯t been violent at all? Why is there suddenly a Humerus Wyrm?</i>

    This was no joke¡ªthe Humerus Wyrm¡¯s position amongst Undead creatures was not much lower than that of a Lich. While a Lich was powerful in Necromagic, a Humerus Wyrm represented the highestbat capabilities present among Undead creatures.

    Of course, it was not a real dragon, as Undead creatures did not inherit bloodlines. The bones that made up their bodies could be from magical beasts or humans, but one thing for sure was that every Humerus Wyrm inherited a soul fire Dragon Crystal...

    This inherited soul fire Dragon Crystal was the life source of the Humerus Wyrm.

    The scariest part was that the Humerus Wyrm also gained the knowledge and strength that came with the Dragon Crystal, and this meant that the strength of the Humerus Wyrm was not far off from an actual Dragon...

    ¡°Damn it, we¡¯re in huge trouble...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, hope you have a good time together.¡± Just as Lin Li wanted to bang his head against a wall, the Lich started chanting hurriedly.

    Then, a strong magical wave appeared around them.

    It all happened too quickly, and nobody could react to it. Lin Li had just tightened his grip on the Aether Staff when the magical wave surged towards them. Then, a strong twisting sensation appeared¡ªit was as if an invisible hand was contorting their bodies, and Lin Li could not respond well enough to it quickly. The only thing he could do was to conjure up a Magical Barrier to protect himself and the Adventurers behind him as it wrapped around them tightly...

    Luckily, the twisting onlysted for a short while, and stopped just as Lin Li conjured up the Magical Barrier. He then realized that their surroundings had been defaced¡ªthere was no Lich and no bell tower, only the dark sky and ghastly white bones. Furthermore, there seemed to be a huge bulky figure rushing down from the dark sky...

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li raised up his head, only to see a spread out wing made of bones. It was no doubt the Lich¡¯s pet...

    While the Humerus Wyrm was huge, it moved at an incredible speed. Just as Lin Li looked around, the huge figure had descended on top of their heads as its bone wings swept up a strong wind, making their faces ache as it blew at them. The stench of decay unique to Undead creatures started spreading from the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s body, only adding on to the stifling fear everybody felt.

 Chapter 329 - Humerus Domain

    <h4>Chapter 329: Humerus Domain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Run!¡±

    As they watched the huge shadow swoop down towards them, Lin Li felt his hair stand on ends. It all happened too quickly, and nobody had the time to prepare for it. The huge shadow had already covered the sky just as the wind started blowing.

    Thankfully, these Adventurers were quite experienced with fights and quickly dispersed just as Lin Li shouted ¡°run¡±. Lin Li turned back, and after seeing thest of them at least a few dozen meters away, he heaved a sigh of relief. He then held his Aether Staff tightly as he allowed the force of the Levitation Spell to spread around the area as he flew up into the sky like an arrow...

    The huge shadow gradually became bigger, and the chill cut into his bones as the wind blew right at him, making his face ache. The figure of the Humerus Wyrm became clearer now; Lin Li could even distinctly see every bone as well as the huge Dragon Crystal that shone with an icy glow...

    Then, he heard another growling from the sky.

    Amidst the strong waves of death aura, Lin Li brushed past the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s wing as he flew past it before all he could see was ck mes...

    ¡°F*ck, such powerful dragon breath...¡± Lin Li stopped in midair as he looked down and saw the ck mes sweep past the ground. Even with Lin Li¡¯s capabilities, he could not help feeling shocked at the surging Death Energy.

    However, what really made Lin Li¡¯s skin crawl was the bones scattered on the ground¡ªthey started stirring as the dragon breath swept past them. The scattered bones started to twist around as though the dragon breath had gifted them life and came together like puzzles. Finally, they turned into machete-wielding Skeletal Warriors right in front of Lin Li¡¯s eyes...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡±

    These words had forced their way out of his throat. Lin Li finally understood what this damn ce with the Humerus Wyrm was as he watched the Skeletal Warriors stand up one by one...

    Even the lowest of mage apprentices knew that once a mage surpassed level-20, crossing into the Legendary-realm, they would have their own Magical Domain, where the mage could change, ignore, or even create their own rules.

    It was safe to say that a mage had a nearly terrifying level of control over what happened in their own Magical Domain, and the stronger the mage was, the more control they had. Lin Li had once heard from Andoine that the God of Mages Geresco could single-handedly create a world of his own; Lin Li did not dare imagine what kind of realm that was. He had, however, seen Andoine¡¯s Magical Domain before as Andoine had once shown it to him in the Sunset Mountains in order for Lin Li to experience such magic for himself...

    That was a whole different world: everything there was decided by Andoine. In that world, the wind could stop and rivers could burn, the water could flow upwards and flowers could bloom even when they had already withered...

    Unfortunately, not many knew that not only Legendary-mages had their own Magical Domains¡ªin Andoine¡¯s words, Magical Domains were an extension of one¡¯s use of Rules¡ªit had nothing to do with intellect nor bloodlines. Even a savage magical beast could have its own Magical Domain after it mastered enough Rules. Take the Smander from the Fire Plume Ridge for example: its control over the me Energy was an indication of it having its own Magical Domain. Unfortunately, it had not been able toplete its Domain before it had died a wrongful death in Lin Li¡¯s hands. Given time, however, Lin Li was sure that it could create its own Fire Domain.

    If the Smander could do it, then Undead creatures would be no exception...

    A dragon breath held the power to destroy everything, and it was the same for the Humerus Wyrm which represented death. However, the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s dragon breath made the Skeletal Warriors stand up earlier¡ªhow could Lin Li not understand what this meant? If he was right, this was a Magical Domain. Once created by a Lich, in this Magical Domain, not only could the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s dragon breath destroy everything, it also had the ability to give life to countless Undead creatures...

    <i>Right, this must be the Humerus Domain Sendros had mentioned... </i>Back in nna, Lin Li had heard Sendros mention that there were two Rules at the core of Necromagic¡ªlife and death. However, most Necromancers only knew of the Death Energy, while only those who truly understood Necromagic knew that life and death were of equal importance. Only they had the chance to take the most crucial step, to step into the abstract and elusive Legendary-realm...

    And their Magical Domains were centered around these two core Rules, much like the Magical Domain in front of them now¡ªlife and death coexisted, and the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s dragon breath that had the power to destroy everything also had the power to give life to Undead creatures here.

    <i>We¡¯re in big trouble... </i>Lin Li felt his head throb as he looked at the Skeletal Warriors that covered the surroundingnd. A Humerus Domain was no child¡¯s y, for it strengthened the Combat Energy of Undead creatures endlessly, especially that of the already terrifyingly powerful Humerus Wyrm. Once it was under the cover of the Humerus Domain, it would be able to defeat anything beneath Legendary-level, including the level-17 Vampire, Norfeller, as well as himself, who was at level-16...

    Unless...

    Unless Jason and the rest could get him an opportunity.

    Wherever the dragon breath swept past, a ck me burned passionately as crowds of Skeletal Warriors sprung up from the mes like mushrooms. Lin Li silently opened the Ring of Endless Storm as he hovered in the sky and retrieved the Cross Sniper crossbow that he had not used in a long while...

    Jason was on the brink of insanity now as everything that was happening was far beyond what he was capable of dealing with. He prided himself on being the best Adventurer in Dnd, but right now, he found himself unbearably weak as he faced the legendary Humerus Wyrm. He suddenly realized that he was as good as an ant in front of it, so weak that he was incapable of something as basic as protesting...

    There were ghastly white Skeletal Warriors everywhere as they surged towards them in waves. The only thing Jason could do was to channel Combat Energy with all he was worth and bank on the rune¡¯s adamantine sword to help him catch a breather in the midst of the mountains of bones surrounding them. Countless Skeletal Warriors had been torn to pieces under the attack of the surging Combat Energy, but more of them rushed forth thereafter. The speed at which they recovered their numbers was devastatingly quick, and as the Adventurers looked at the growing numbers of Skeletal Warriors, even Jason could not help feeling his heart sink.

    Sienna stood somewhere not far off from him. The de of his machete had already turned blunt from his constant shing, but he did not dare rx his nerves. He was clearly aware that he had to persevere in such circumstances as even a moment of ckness could cause him to drown in the midst of the Undead creatures.

    <i>Bloody hell, can that guy really handle this or not... </i>Sienna looked up to the sky once again as he caught his breath in a short moment of rest. This was his third time ncing up; there was a ck-cloaked figure hovering silently where he was looking...

    Ironically, Sienna had never once genuinely worried about this fellow ever since they met in the Dragon Mountains. Well, he was everyone¡¯sst hope, and even though he secretly detested this young mage, he had to admit that he was indeed the strongest out of them all. The previous scene in the town square had left a deep enough impression in Sienna¡¯s mind, and he even believed that this young mage was perhaps much stronger than Norfeller, who had ripped the Ice Howler apart with his bare hands...

    If someone was capable of leading them out of this damned ce, it was probably this young mage named Felic.

    Unfortunately, the young mage was in a sticky situation himself. Sienna could clearly see from where he was standing that the legendary Humerus Wyrm had spread its massive wings less than a hundred meters from where the young mage was...

    <i>What are we going to do? </i>Sienna panicked slightly as he had seen what the dragon breath was capable of. He knew very well that the Humerus Wyrm was unbelievably powerful and even if all of them joined forces, they would still not stand the slightest chance against it. No matter how strong Felic was, there was no way he would be able to go directly against the Humerus Wyrm. If something were to happen to him, all 20-odd people including him would probably die here...

    No way, he had to think of something.

    Sienna looked at the ck figure in the sky, and then at his men around him. After an unimaginably difficult struggle, he finally made a decision even he himself had not thought he would make.

    ¡°All the mages and archers, attack the monster in the sky now!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± At least half of his men stared at him with a dumbfounded look. There were Skeletal Warriors everywhere, and the Adventurers were already having a hard time keeping up with the fight. While the archers were having it slightly better since they were only physically tired from pulling their bows, the mages were not even highly skilled to begin with, so how could they cope with exhaustion from constantly using spells? Some of the weaker ones had already started using the Recovery Potions they had spent a lot of money on, yet Sienna wanted them to attack the monster above them at this crucial point in time?

    This wasplete sphemy to them!

 Chapter 330 - Holy Light

    <h4>Chapter 330: Holy Light</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Not only were they too weak to deal any damage to the monster in the sky, even if they were able to, so what? Without the support of Mages and Archers, the Warriors ahead would definitely be attacked from every direction, and once their men were down, the entire team would copse. By then, they would have fallen to the Skeletal Warriors everywhere around, much less the Humerus Wyrm...

    ¡°Cut the nonsense, if you want to make it back alive, do as I say!¡± The Humerus Wyrm had already spread its wings, and the Skeletal Warriors pouring in from every direction were making Sienna suffocate. He did not have the time to hesitate now, much less exin what he was thinking to his men. The only thing he could do was to shout at them in this rough manner.

    After Sienna shouted at them, the Mages decided to listen to hismand instead of bothering too much about it as they retreated one by one, increasing the distance between them and the Skeletal Warriors. Then, the highs and lows of chanting could be heard from the crowd as the Archers abandoned their previous targets to aim at the terrifying monster in the sky.

    Once the two most powerful teams left the fight, the rest felt the burden on their shoulders increase suddenly as the flow of Skeletal Warriors pouring in from all directions never seemed to cease. Every time they chopped one into pieces, more would appear in its ce; it felt like being trapped in quicksand as the more they struggled, the deeper they seemed to sink...

    The space they freed up had to be reced by Sienna as he wielded his blunt machete for all he was worth, exerting all he was capable of as a level-14 Warrior. Large beads of sweat continued to fall from his forehead, and he looked drenched like he had just got out of water. After chopping apart a Skeletal Warrior, Sienna panted heavily as he looked up into the sky again...

    The ck-cloaked young mage was still hovering silently in the air. He had put away his magic staff some time ago, and in its ce was a delicate crossbow. In the slot of the crossbow was a razor-sharp bolt, gleaming blindingly...

    ¡°Bloody hell, what¡¯s this guy up to...?¡± Seeing as the Humerus Wyrm had spread its wings and was blowing up huge winds in the air, Sienna felt his heart lodge itself in his throat. He had two paths to pick from now: one was to let his men continue attacking the Humerus Wyrm to help buy Felic some time, while the other one was to leave him be and focus on the Skeletal Warriors pressing in on them...

    This was a gargantuan decision for Sienna to make, but he did not have a choice¡ªhis men were too weak, and even if they were to attack the Humerus Wyrm, it would be hard for them to stall it for long. Even a gust of dragon breath would probably be enough to decimate them.

    But what could he do? The young mage called Felic was already the strongest amongst them all, so if he were to be killed by the Humerus Wyrm, then death would surely be the only thing awaiting the rest of them.

    Sienna quickly made a decision despite the immense pressure as hended his machete heavily and sliced an iing Skeletal Warrior into two with a crack. At the same time, he turned his head back and, without a second thought, loudlymanded, ¡°Attack!¡±

    Following Sienna¡¯smand, a dozen sharp arrows wheezed into the sky, and strings of chanting could be heard. The vivid magical lights lit up from the middle of the crowd, and the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s body was covered in a vibrant array of fireworks in a second.

    Then, an angry growl could be heard from the sky. Hardy as the Humerus Wyrm might be, it did not escape unscathed from the sudden attack. A few fireballs exploded consecutively on its wings, bringing away a few bones with them. Meanwhile, the sharp arrows lodged in the cracks of its bones brought it great pain. Of course, what the Humerus Wyrm could not tolerate was the provocation brought by these attacks. It had inherited the strength and wisdom of a true dragon along with the pride of one, so how could it allow other creatures to provoke it? These miniature humans who looked like a group of ants... how dared they attack and cause it harm?

    The Adventurers heard a growling from the sky. The huge shadow made a sudden turn as it gave up the easy target in front of it and swooped down where the Skeletal Warriors had gathered without hesitation...

    ¡°Oh no...¡± The Adventurers all shared the same thought.

    The terror that was the Humerus Wyrm had long been engraved in their minds, and now that they were facing this horrifying creature, they did not even have it in themselves to try and retaliate. At that moment, everyone was scared out of their wits as they only stared wide-eyed at the looming figure in the sky swooping down towards them. The Mages had forgotten their chanting, and the Archers had forgotten about pulling their bows; even the Warriors surrounded by Skeletal Warriors had forgotten about the machetes about to fall down on their heads...

    It only took a moment of shock for cries to be heard from the crowd¡ªsome of the Warriors had been shocked out of their minds, and had fallen to the ground under the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ machetes.

    The deaths of theirpanions intensified the spreading fear amongst them as the team that had already been unusually separated was now on the brink of copse. Almost all of them wanted to run for their lives, and the Adventurers shoved and jostled each other, making the entire scene chaotic suddenly.

    Fortunately, Jason and the Priest had managed to break free from the Skeletal Warriors surrounding them by then, and met up with Sienna and the rest. They had only managed toe back from the brink of copse with the help of Jason¡¯s rune¡¯s adamantine sword...

    However, the looming figure above their heads continued to grow, and they could all start to smell the dragon breath.

    ¡°What... what do we do?¡± Sienna, who was panting heavily, sounded like a broken wind machine. He really feltpletely hopeless as he watched the Humerus Wyrm fly closer towards them. Perhaps death would drown them all in the next second; he had already done what he could, but the young mage called Felic was still hovering silently in the air as though none of this had anything to do with him...

    Damn it, he shouldn¡¯t have trusted this kid.

    Sienna cursed in his mind before he looked towards Jason for help.

    ¡°Let me...¡± Nobody thought that it would be the Priest Rotiah, who had not spoken much,ing forth now. She slowly walked out from behind Jason as her delicate face was filled with determination and confidence.

    ¡°But...¡± Jason opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but stopped suddenly before finally nodding his head. ¡°Alright...¡±

    As Rotiah slowly walked out, her snowy white robes were being blown around by the wind, making a whipping noise. The melodious chanting of prayers flowed like water as she was covered in a sacred aura under the blinding Holy Light. Almost everyone held their breaths as they immersed themselves in the earth-shattering beauty. At that moment, everyone had forgotten about the Humerus Wyrm in the sky as well as their impending doom...

    Then, a growl could be heard from the sky. The Humerus Wyrm opened its mouth and ck mes spewed out of it. At the same time, the Priest finished her chant, and in a sh all they could see was a blinding explosion of Holy Light which seemed to galvanize the world in ayer of gold...

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A deafening soundter, the world suddenly quieted down.

    ¡°What... what¡¯s going on?¡± Sienna was the first to return to his senses. He touched his face unconsciously and looked around nkly. At that moment, Sienna thought he was in a dream as he could not believe that he was still alive after the dragon breath attack...

    But everything around him seemed much to real¡ªall 20-odd of his men, and not one less, were staring at him in confusion. The crowds of Skeletal Warriors, however, seemed to have disappeared into thin air, making the world much too empty. Besides the mage and the Humerus Wyrm in the air, all that was left were the confused faces of the Adventurers...

    Oh, no, no, no... there was also the pale-faced Priest, who had fallen into a heap on the floor. Her pale face was void of any color, and Sienna could not detect any more Divine Power from her... not even a trace of life, actually. If not for her weak breathing, he would have thought she was dead.

    Sienna then looked at the grieving Jason, and suddenly understood everything. The Priest had used a theurgy that required arge sacrifice¡ªonly such theurgy would save them from the dragon breath and allow them to survive, but the Priest would have to pay arge price.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Sienna¡¯s voice was soft, but even a deaf person would be able to tell that it came from the bottom of his heart.

    Lin Li continued to hover silently in the sky, and his posture had not changed at all. It was as if nothing in the world had anything to do with him besides the Cross Sniper crossbow in his hands. Time was of utmost importance to him right now as he was releasing mana with all his might. Only when he released all the mana would he have a chance to use the Holy Light from the Meteorite Debris...

 Chapter 331 - Stupid Plan

    <h4>Chapter 331: Stupid n</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    This was Lin Li¡¯s most powerful weapon yet, one of the seven crossbows of the Stars of Fury. Legend had it that it could destroy stars using ¡°Holy Light¡± with one gentle blow...

    It was precisely because of this ¡°Holy Light¡± that Lin Li dared to enter Syer Town where Undead creatures roamed freely and go against the Legendary-level Lich and Humerus Wyrm. Nobody knew the extent of power of the ¡°Holy Light¡± better than Legendary-level¡ªeven the most powerful Undead creatures would be reduced to ashes with one blow from this tiny crossbow.

    Of course, provided Lin Li was capable of maneuvering it...

    The debris of the seven stars held the purest of Elemental Powers: earth, water, fire, wind, light, dark, and chaos. Once these seven Elemental Powers exploded all at once, they were powerful enough to destroy the world, so how could one man maneuver such terrifying powers easily?

    Even Lin Li would have to resort to such a stupid n if he had not had the Stars of Fury on hand... The only advantage he had was that he might be able to control it.

    This was a really stupid n indeed, channeling mana continuously to strike the debris so that the Elemental Powers within would be released once the mana umted to a critical point. Even the lowest of Mage Apprentices knew of this method, and it could be used with virtually any magical equipment. Theoretically speaking, the power of any magical equipment could be released as long as there was sufficient mana.

    Of course, this was only feasible theoretically...

    How many people in Anril had such Herculean mana? Even ordinary magical equipment would deplete a Magic Shooter¡¯s mana, much less the debris of the stars. It would probably require an astronomical amount of mana to power even the tiniest portion thereof, and most mages would never dare dream of doing it before reaching the Legendary-realm.

    This was akin to forcefully recing the strength of the Stars of Fury with a mortal¡¯s, and even someone with nearly unlimited mana like Lin Li was not confident in seeding. The only thing he could do now was to try his best to channel all the mana he could into the debris of the stars and leave the rest to luck...

    This was ast gamble of sorts which Lin Li detested the most as he was the type to favor ns with a dozen alternative routes where he could slowly narrow down his choices. Unfortunately, the Lich did not give him the chance to choose¡ªLin Li could only surrender and die a certain death by the dragon breath, or he could risk it all and either side would perish...

    As more mana was channeled into the debris of the stars, it started emitting a strong Holy Scent. It was unusually strong, but not suffocating at all; instead, it gave the Adventurers a sensation like that of a gentle breeze caressing their face. At the same time, the debris of the stars grew brighter and brighter, looking like a shining star in the night sky at first and finally lighting up the entire sky like a rising sun...

    As the Holy Light grew brighter and brighter, more and more sweat dripped down from Lin Li¡¯s forehead; his panting became heavier, making him sound like a tired bull. Perhaps only Lin Li knew how much mana he had channeled into debris of the stars in the past two minutes...

    It was truly an astronomical figure: in terms of magic, it would trante into over a hundred Pyrosts. To top it all off, he did not use any techniques while doing it, only maintaining it at a mind-numbing speed. It was basically suicidal; if not for Lin Li¡¯s gargantuan source of mana as well as his Herculean mental strength to replenish the loss, he would have been a corpse a long time ago...

    But even then, Lin Li was finding it hard to continue...

    The continued process was as horrifying as if somebody decided to slice open their arteries to allow the blood to gush out like a flood¡ªthe huge loss of mana made Lin Li weak, and the symptoms began to show on him. His consciousness became blurry, and he could not see in front of him clearly. The world seemed to have turned into ck and white as a ringing sound persisted in his ears, while colored spots seemed to be dancing in front of his eyes...

    Lin Li had lost his ability to generate basic thoughts now as his mind was a nk page save for a trace of consciousness. <i>Keep pushing, keep pushing, fill up this never-ending ck hole called the debris of the stars before my mana runs out...</i>

    As Lin Li felt the Holy Scenting from the debris of the stars be stronger, Lin Li knew he was not far away from sess. Perhaps all it would take was ast spur of mana before the Divine Power within it would be released.

    ¡°Just a little more...¡±

    As the Holy Light lit up the sky, Lin Li¡¯s mana was on the brink of depletion as he held on with thest trace of his consciousness and proceeded to wring his mental strength almost in a suicidal manner. This was the only way he could squeeze out thest of his mana. The pain it brought was far more than an average person could withstand¡ªit felt as though there was a nail in his brain, stirring up his insides...

    If Jason and the rest could fly in the sky with the Levitation Spell, they would clearly see that the seemingly peaceful mage was suffering much torture as his face had already turned pale under his cloak. Sweat was dripping off him, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his nails had sunk into skin and drew blood that was now flowing off his palms...

    Time seemed to go by even more slowly in the midst of immense torture. Lin Li felt like he was walking along a never-ending path and could neither struggle nor surrender. The only thing he could do was to grit his teeth and press on, using all his strength to channel thest of his mana into the debris of the stars...

    The, the sky lit up...

    The terrified Adventurers could clearly see a ray of light spreading throughout the sky. It looked like a shooting star, and at the same time resembled a rising sun. In the pitch-ck darkness of the night sky, the ray of light seemed even more blinding...

    There was no surging magical wave, nor any earth-shattering explosion¡ªeverything happened in silence as though someone had secretly lit up amp in the dark. However, thismp was akin to the clock on doomsday for the world of the Undead. The Humerus Wyrm let out a whimper the moment the sky lit up as it wrapped itself up in its wings; its huge body trembled in the sky, looking like prey in front of a predator.

    At that moment, the powerful wings of the Humerus Wyrm seemed very weak as it was unable to defend itself from the spreading light at all. The bone wings melted in a sh like snow in the sun. No... not just the wings¡ªas the light continued bing brighter, the entire body of the Humerus Wyrm seemed to burn like a candle as it melted quickly. Should one look from afar, they might not even recognize that this rapidly melting pile of mass was the powerful Humerus Wyrm from before. The only proof of its existence now was the pathetic whimpersing from it...

    ¡°W-w-w... what the heck is this?¡± Jason pulled at his hair as the sight before him was driving him nearly mad. He was seeing things for sure: the Humerus Wyrm... was melting!

    ¡°I-I-I... I¡¯m not seeing things, right?¡± Sienna was staring with wide eyes as well, and was even stuttering too. In order to ascertain that he was not dreaming, he pinched himself harshly, only for the intense pain to pull him back to the scary reality. Right... the Humerus Wyrm was indeed melting...

    ¡°My God...¡± The two groaned at the same time.

    The two Adventurers on the brink of copse stood there frozen as they stared at each other for a good minute before Jason carefully said, ¡°That fellow, h-h-he... he killed a Humerus Wyrm?¡±

    ¡°I guess...¡± Sienna gulped as his eyes remained fixed on the sky. ¡°I guess so...¡±

    ¡°... ¡±

    The two of them watched as the Humerus Wyrm melted before their eyes and disappeared in a green puff of smoke, leaving only a huge Dragon Crystal which shone with a bright red light in its ce.

    ¡°Bloody hell, what the heck is that?!¡± Sienna eximed suddenly just as the two of them thought the whole ordeal was over.

    ¡°What?¡± Jason paused before he followed Sienna¡¯s gaze and saw a crack in the sky...

    It began with small cracks, but as the light became brighter, the cracks erged as well. Finally, it resembled an endless ditch. The sky looked like a shattered mirror now as it broke into countless pieces all of a sudden...

    Then, a loud booming sound was heard.

    The whole world vanished...

    Jason furiously rubbed his eyes. Right, the world had disappeared indeed: the Skeletal Warriors that covered thendscape earlier as well as the ghastly white bones and corpses that littered the ground all seemed to vanish without a trace. There was no blinding light in the sky, and there was no endless ditch¡ªthere was only an empty room and a trembling skeleton...

 Chapter 332 - Peculiar rate of mana recovery

    <h4>Chapter 332: Peculiar rate of mana recovery</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone stood in the room with a nk expression as they were still deep in shock due to what had just happened. It was the most mind-blowing experience of their whole lives¡ªcould a human really cause a Humerus Wyrm to melt? Was this a joke... Well, even if they did tell someone about it as a joke, they would probably beughed at for being childish.

    But this was the truth: the young mage named Felic had melted a Humerus Wyrm just like that, and it all happened right in front of their eyes¡ªthey even remembered all the details clearly. From the melting of the first bone to the Humerus Wyrm disappearing into a green puff of smoke, it was all too real to be a dream...

    And amongst the 20-odd people in the room, Jason was the most overwhelmed.

    As one of the best Adventurers in Dnd, he had seen and heard more than the average person, and while he could not decipher what that light from before was, he knew how terrifying the power of a Humerus Wyrm was. Right... and the world covered in corpses, he was sure that it was the legendary Magical Domain...

    Jason felt a chill run down his back at the thought of the word ¡°Magical Domain¡±...

    Think about it...

    That bit of light had killed the Humerus Wyrm and tore through the Magical Domain of a Legendary-mage! What kind of strength was that? That was no strength a mortal should possess.

    Jason did not dare imagine what kind of monster could hold such strength. Perhaps this monster would shake up the whole of Dnd, and even Breezy ins, soon...

    He would have to report this to the Adventurers Guild when he returned. This fellow was much too dangerous. Jason even thought that he was probably more so than the nightmare of the Breezy ins, the Ashen Warlock. While the Ashen Warlock held devastating power, he lived a solitary life and disliked contact with people¡ªas long as nobody was dumb enough to trifle with him, they would not have to worry about his existence. The fellow in front of Jason, however, looked nothing like a solitary man...

    Right, this fellow had mentioned something about Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic...

    Jason had thought nothing of his words at first, but after the Humerus Wyrm was melted and the Magical Domain torn open, Jason felt like something was not quite right as he repeated it in his mind. His expression suddenly changed. <i>My God, don¡¯t tell me that the Supreme Council has finally decided to extend their influence to the Breezy ins?</i>

    <i>No way, I have to report this to the Adventurers Guild soon... </i>Jason could not keep a calm expression as he thought of the scary tales from the Dark Ages.

    At this moment, however, Sienna was silently rejoicing at the side.

    He could not believe that he was still alive.

    One had to know that he was nowhere near friendly towards this young mage, and even though he looked respectful at times, he was always thinking of something else. Given the intelligence of this young mage, there was no way he could not tell, which was why he had suddenly turned against Jason and him just before entering the Bell Tower. Sienna could not help breaking into sweat at the thought of it¡ªhe had already drawn his machete, waiting for Weathor to grab this guy before he sliced through him...

    Fortunately, Weathor had been too weak, and was hit by magic before he could even retrieve his daggers. Otherwise... Sienna would have been dead by now if he had really shed at Lin Li with his machete...

    Sienna mopped the sweat on his forehead as he silently celebrated.

    The over 20 Adventurers were still deeply in shock, while Jason and Sienna were both lost in thought. At that moment, the atmosphere in the room seemed unusually strange as everything seemed toe to a standstill save for the trembling skeleton.

    ¡°Right, where is Mage Felic...?¡± The strange silence was broken by Jason after some time. After his enquiry, everybody suddenly realized that the person who had single-handedly killed the Humerus Wyrm and saved them all was lying in a heap on the floor, with Norfeller standing guard by him.

    ¡°Oh no...¡± Jason and Sienna were dumbfounded as they quickly gathered around him. Lin Li¡¯s face was pale and his breathing was weak; if not for the faint heartbeat, everybody would have thought he was dead. The scariest thing was that neither Jason nor Sienna could detect any magical wave from him¡ªit was like the person lying on the floor was no more than a weak man instead of a powerful mage.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Panic was evident on Sienna¡¯s face. They had met a Humerus Wyrm. Who knew what other scary creatures could be hidden in Syer Town? It would not be an issue if Mage Felic was around, but should anything happen to him, it would be difficult for Sienna and his men to return to Rnd City alive...

    While Jason said nothing, he was no less strung up than Sienna. Of course, he was not worried about whether he could return alive. In fact, he was worried about the legendary Supreme Council¡¯s reaction should anything happen to this young mage...

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Mage Felic has overdrawn his mana while using magic previously...¡± Rotiah¡¯s voice was weak, but her words set Jason and Sienna at ease immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great...¡±

    Time went by. Nobody knew how longter it was before they heard a faint whimper as the sky was just turning bright.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re awake!¡± Norfeller was the first to realize that Lin Li had awoken, and a rare expression of happiness appeared on the high-ranking Vampire¡¯s face.

    ¡°Wonderful, Mage Felic, you¡¯re finally awake! How do you feel?¡± Jason and Sienna quickly gathered around him again as they, too, sported expressions of happiness.

    ¡°Well, terrible...¡± Lin Li rubbed his temples as he frowned deeply. It was a terrible feeling; he had never exhausted his mana so thoroughly ever since hising to Anril. He even had to tear at his mental strength to squeeze out thest of his mana, and after it had been released, Lin Li felt empty, like everything in him had been sucked away...

    Lin Li had never understood why Andoine ced much importance on how he used every ounce of his mana, nor had he understood why all the other mages were so passionate about techniques to conserve the use of mana until today. Only after he experienced the feeling of truly exhausting his mana did he understand how pathetic a mage who had lost all his mana was¡ªit was like turning from a god to a helpless mortal, like he had just died once...

    But this should only be temporary.

    After all, it was just the usual exhaustion of mana that every mage would encounter; it was only because Lin Li¡¯s mana was somewhat different that he had not encountered this before. Now that he had, he was finding it hard to adjust to it, but given his mental strength, he should be able to make aplete recovery soon.

    Truth was, as Norfeller was helping him up, Lin Li could already feel that his mana was slowlying back.

    In fact... the speed of recovery was much faster than usual: it felt as though he had broken past another bottleneck, and now that he had, more and more water was gushing out of it at once...

    Lin Li thought it was a misconception at first, but soon he realized that it was not the case¡ªhis mana was indeed recovering at a much faster speed than he expected, probably boasting more than 30 percent increase in speed. It was too huge an increase for Lin Li to think it false.

    <i>What¡¯s going on? </i>Lin Li¡¯s brain was muddled. He knew that, based on his mental strength, the usual speed at which his mana recovered was already shockingly fast, but to think that such a strange thing would happen after exhausting his mana this time round. It seemed like he would have to discuss this with Andoine some time soon after they returned.

    While his mana was recovering at a frightful speed, the effects of depleting his mana were still lingering. Truthfully, Lin Li felt his head throbbing ever since he had woken up. It was like somebody had knocked him out with a hammer, and there was a constant buzzing sound in his ear that resulted in him having to tilt his ear toward the person speaking in order to try and hear them. This made Lin Li look at Jason and Sienna with some suspicion. ¡°The two of you didn¡¯t beat me up while I was unconscious, right?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no...¡± This question almost scared the two of them out of their wits as they denied repeatedly while shaking their heads, their faces turning pale. <i>Is this a joke? No matter how brave we are, we would never do such a thing! Isn¡¯t it just like suicide?</i>

    ¡°It was just a joke, don¡¯t be so nervous...¡± Lin Li had never thought that his joke would scare the two of them so much, and could not help feeling awkward all of a sudden. Fortunately, he was a shameless guy, so afterughing at it, he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, where¡¯s the old Lich?¡±

 Chapter 333 - Origins of the Lich

    <h4>Chapter 333: Origins of the Lich</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Only after asking did Lich realize that there was only a trembling skeleton besides the Adventurers in this empty room, while the Lich that¡¯d summoned the Humerus Wyrm was nowhere to be seen...

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression was frozen, though he¡¯d already known that the Lich would be heavily wounded after the Humerus Domain was destroyed by the debris of the stars. He might even be ousted from the Legendary-realm after the injury. However, Lin Li had never thought that the debris of the stars would cause such damage that a Lich who had reached the Legendary-realm would vanish.

    <i>That¡¯s not right, it can¡¯t be...</i>

    Soon, however, Lin Li refuted this assumption. While the debris of the stars held the power to destroy all Undead creatures, it was only when all its power had been released. Lin Li had only used a small portion of its power¡ªa very small portion, in fact. It would suffice to kill the Humerus Wyrm as well as destroy the Humerus Domain, but it was too ridiculous to say that it could also turn a Lich into ashes...

    Unless...

    A trace of suspicion appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind. When he nced at the skeleton again, there was a hint of a smile on his face...

    ¡°Seems like he has really died. What a pity, I had a few questions for him... never mind, then. Sienna, go get a few people to tie up this skeleton, we¡¯ll bring it back to Rnd City. I heard there are some Priests in Rnd City who have ways to deal with Undead creatures. Perhaps we can ask them for help and see if we can find out some secrets from its soul fire.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mage Felic.¡± Sienna nodded, and called a few of his men. What the young mage said was true indeed. Rnd City was near the borders of the Fn Kingdom, and thus right next to the holy kingdom that was Ledin. Many Priests who took it upon themselves to spread the gospel chose Rnd City as their first stop. Hence, in this border city, one could find the grandest church as well as the highest number of people doing holy work in the whole of the Fn Kingdom.

    ¡°As for the rest...¡± Lin Li¡¯s gaze swept around the room. ¡°Look around and see where the young master is hidden.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Hang on...¡± The trembling skeleton suddenly asked for mercy at this time. ¡°Mr Mage, you can¡¯t do this to me...¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± The skeleton was talking! Everyone jumped in shock, and the Adventurers holding the rope even retreated a few steps. This was sphemy¡ªa skeleton was the lowest of Undead creatures, so how could it speak thenguage of humans? Only the highest-ranked Undead creatures like Vampires and Liches could do so. Even the Humerus Wyrm which was the strongest of all Undead creatures could not do it, much less a skeleton...

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Li calmly smiled. He was the only one who was not shocked by it; it was as though he had already guessed that it would happen. When he looked at the skeleton again, he looked directly at the flickering light in its eyes. ¡°And why can¡¯t I do that, Mr Lich...?¡±

    ¡°My God...¡± Everyone inhaled at Lin Li¡¯s words as they all had the same expression of disbelief. H-h-how... how could this be? This frail skeleton was the Lich who¡¯d created the Humerus Domain and summoned the Humerus Wyrm!?

    When they thought back on how they had let their guard down and spent a few hours with the Lich, they could not help but feel their skin crawl. If he had done something earlier, they would probably have died a long time ago...

    ¡°Why¡¯s that, Mr Lich, don¡¯t you want to say something?¡± Lin Li smiled as he stared at the skeleton as a bit of silver light danced on his fingertips¡ªit was a remnant of the power from the debris of the stars. It was only a tiny bit, but the Divine Power of the debris of the stars was so powerful that even the tiniest amount would be enough to turn any Undead creature below level-18 into ashes.

    ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re not willing to say anything, I¡¯ll help you do it...¡± Lin Li started without waiting for the Lich to reply. ¡°You¡¯re surely upset about the Humerus Domain being torn apart. If I¡¯m not wrong, you¡¯ve fallen from the Legendary-realm, right? Or the Divine Power had hurt your soul fire and caused you to be very weak, so while you have knowledge of the Legendary-realm now, your strength is beneath that of a Lich; otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have turned into a skeleton to fool us.¡±

    ¡°...¡± The skeleton stood dumbly as the light in the hollows of its eyes flickered.

    Lin Li gave it a nce before carrying on. ¡°But you seem to have forgotten something important: you¡¯re of high status, and a Lich of Legendary strength. The aura you give off does not have the stench of decay that Undead creatures possess...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s it?¡± The light in the skeleton¡¯s eyes withdrew suddenly. It could not believe that that was the reason for its ploy¡¯s failure¡ªtheck of a decaying stench!

    ¡°Yeap, that¡¯s it, haha, aren¡¯t you regretting it now, Mr Lich? Given your power, even if you have fallen from the Legendary-realm and hurt your soul fire, you would still be around level-15, am I right? If you had been bold enough and took a chance to fight it out with Jason and the rest, perhaps you would have gotten away before I woke up...

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said all there was to say. Now, let me ask you a few questions. I hope you can answer me truthfully...¡± Lin Li smiled kindly, but the silver me on his fingertips danced lightly; the sheer Divine Power emitting from it caused the skeleton to take a few steps back. ¡°Right, before I ask you these questions, I have to remind you of something. I¡¯m up for discussion of any kind, but I hate it when people lie, so I¡¯ll advise you to keep any funny ideas to yourself lest I cause you a lifetime of regret by being too heavy-handed...¡±

    ¡°I... I understand...¡± The skeleton eyed the silver me carefully. The Holy Scent it gave off was lethal to him, and even the once Legendary Lich could not help being in fear, standing before the silver me .

    ¡°First, your name.¡±

    ¡°U... Ujfalusi...¡±

    ¡°My god...¡± Sienna could not contain his surprise when the skeleton uttered his name. ¡°You¡¯re Ujfalusi?¡±

    ¡°What is it, Sienna?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, nothing...¡± Sienna only realized that what he had done was slightly inappropriate after Lin Li questioned him, and hurried to exin himself while shaking his head. ¡°I just didn¡¯t think that he would be Ujfalusi...¡±

    ¡°Why, is Ujfalusi a well-known name?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li¡¯s interest was piqued after hearing this. ¡°Do tell.¡±

    ¡°Well you see, Mage Felic...¡± Sienna gulped before his words began flowing.

    Legend had it that 400 years ago, the casten of Rnd City had a head mage called Ujfalusi, who was only 36 years old, but was already at level-18. He was the closest to the Legendary-realm in the whole of the Breezy ins, and his presence gave Rnd City an important status in the Breezy ins. He served the casten mansion for 10 years, and had astounding achievements. The most well-known of those was the story of how he had single-handedly wiped out the threergest bandit organizations!

    Everyone thought that he would surely surpass the Legendary-realm before the age of 50.

    Only, who would have known that an illness would turn it all to naught.

    The second year after he had wiped out the bandits, the head mage fell heavily ill, and although the casten had called all the doctors he could, and even asked the Pharmacists Guild for help, he could not stop death from taking what its due. Thus, Ujfalusi met the end of his life and died in his own bed that winter.

    Ujfalusi¡¯s death left a deep regret in the hearts of the people in Rnd City, and people remembered him dearly even after 400 years. They had always thought that Rnd City would have a true Legendary mage as their guardian if not for his illness.

    Sienna had thought so too, only, he¡¯d never expected to meet him personally in Syer Town after 400 years. To think that Ujfalusi would turn into an Undead creature after 400 years...

    ¡°Not bad, Mr Ujfalusi, very interesting life you had...¡± Lin Li only smiled after hearing the story. ¡°Seems like the illness not only brought you death...¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± The skeleton¡¯s voice was throaty. It did not even have the strength to lie in front of the silver me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous, Mr Ujfalusi. I have no interest in what happened 400 years ago. The only thing I wish to know now is this: where have you hidden the young master of the casten¡¯s family??¡±

    ¡°Right... right below the Bell Tower, in the basement...¡±

    ¡°Very well¡± Lin Li nodded his head with satisfaction after finding out the young master¡¯s whereabouts and turned to Sienna. ¡°Sienna, get a few people to go to the basement with you and save Miss Yvonne¡¯s brother.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mage Felic.¡±

    After watching Sienna and his men leave, Lin Li¡¯s gaze fell upon Ujfalusi once again. ¡°As for you...¡±

 Chapter 334 - Loyalty

    <h4>Chapter 334: Loyalty</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not hesitate for long, as Ujfalusi¡¯s presence itself was a tricky problem. He was a true Lich; while he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, his knowledge of it remained. Even though Lin Li had mentioned bringing him back to Rnd City, he was only trying to scare Ujfalusi since he would never dare do that. Ujfalusi might surrender without a fight, but Lin Li still would not dare do that, as he could not guarantee that they could bear the consequences if anything happened...

    Thankfully, Lin Li had always been straightforward with such matters. If he was unable to control it, he might as well destroy it.

    ¡°As for you, Mr Ujfalusi...¡± Lin Li drawled as he brought the silver me in front of Ujfalusi.

    In a sh, a blinding light filled the room, and the Holy Scent became almost tangible as it loomed there. Almost everyone felt pressure like nothing before, especially Ujfalusi, who was an Undead creature. He let out a terrible screech. ¡°No... no... you can¡¯t do this to me... I can¡¯t die yet... there¡¯s so many things I have yet to do...¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I do that to you?¡±

    Seeing as the silver me was slowly approaching him, Ujfalusi trembled. The fear he felt now was unlike the one he¡¯d pretended to be in earlier¡ªhis senses of an Undead creature told him that the Divine Power in this bit of silver me was definitely enough to cause him to perish instantaneously, and that knowledge made him copse mentally under the immense fear he felt. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me... don¡¯t kill me... as long as you¡¯ll let me go... I swear... I swear on my soul fire that I won¡¯t hurt you at all... I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll even be your servant!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The silver me that was almost on Ujfalusi froze. ¡°You can be my servant?¡±

    Suspicion was evident in Lin Li¡¯s gaze. To be honest, Ujfalusi was quite attractive to Lin Li in terms of his capabilities. He was a true Lich that had lived for 400 years. It let him umte vast knowledge and power, making him a perfect assistant to anybody.

    Just like Norfeller...

    Whether it was Jarrosus or nna, Lin Li had to do everything himself, and while this decreased the risks, it also gave him more problems. Only after the battle at the Demon Fall Valley did he get Norfeller on his side, and things became much easier from there. Sometimes, Lin Li did not even have to step in personally¡ªall he had to do was say the word, and it would be done for him.

    Moreover, Norfeller was only level-17, while Ujfalusi was formerly a Lich above level-20. Even if he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, that was only temporary since he had once surpassed the Legendary-realm¡ªit would not take him long to recover his lost strength!

    Of course, this was all provided that Ujfalusi was not fooling him...

    Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t he be in trouble if he got a servant who might turn against him anytime?

    ¡°Alright, Ujfalusi, tell me what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯m interested...¡±

    ¡°I... I can sign Soul Contract with you.¡± Ujfalusi did not hesitate this time.

    ¡°Soul Contract?¡± Lin Li paused. He was not well-versed with the various contracts Undead creatures had.

    Thankfully, Norfeller came over from behind him, and whispered in his ear. ¡°A Soul Contract works as follows: an Undead creature breaks its soul fire into pieces and hands over a piece to the owner of the contract. Through the piece of soul fire, you can attain a portion of its knowledge and strength, as well as haveplete control over it, even deciding if it lives or dies. In terms of restrictions, the Soul Contract is just behind the blood oath we made.¡±

    ¡°So impressive?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    After getting Norfeller¡¯s confirmation, Lin Li smiled cunningly. ¡°Very well, Ujfalusi, I¡¯m interested in the Soul Contract. Should we discuss the details?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Ujfalusi nced at this guy, and for a split second doubted if this person who was smiling like a hawker was really the one who held the scary Divine Power and destroyed the Humerus Wyrm and Humerus Domain.

    Of course, he kept it for himself. He did not dare provoke this guy¡ªwouldn¡¯t that be suicidal? If the guy lost his temper and let the silver me fall, Ujfalusi would surely turn into ashes.

    Honestly, when Ujfalusi instantly released his soul fire, he looked so eager as though he was afraid that Lin Li would take back his words.

    Undead creatures were undead because they did not have a soul¡ªeverything they had including their power, knowledge, and memories all came from their soul fire. As long as the soul fire was still burning, then their lives would be eternal.

    And right now, Ujfalusi was handing over his power, knowledge, and memories...

    A bit of fire started burning in Ujfalusi¡¯s skull as he chanted in a low, throaty voice. Through the cracks in the skull, Lin Li could see that the me was burning brighter and brighter. Every flicker of the me brought Ujfalusi great pain, and the heavy breathing and whimpers made him sound like a cornered beast...

    A ball of mes suddenly jumped out of his skull, followed by a shattering cry.

    In a split second, a strong death aura filled the room even though the silver me dancing on Lin Li¡¯s finger had already filled the room with a Holy Scent. The death auraing from the ball of fire was as heavy as a rock, weighing down on everyone¡¯s breathing.

    ¡°Oh powerful mage, your servant Ujfalusi pledges you his loyalty...¡± Once the soul fire had been separated, Ujfalusi¡¯s voice became very weak. Lin Li would not have heard him clearly if he had not been paying close attention.

    The soul fire hovered silently in the air as time seemed to stand still. Even Lin Li could not help being in shock as he faced this strange sight. He did not dare move as he stared nkly at the ball of fire. Only Lin Li knew that the phenomenon before them was not as calm as it seemed to be¡ªthe moment the ball of me had jumped out form Ujfalusi¡¯s skull, Lin Li could already feel his mental strength boil. It felt like the flowingva from a volcanic eruption; his mental strength was already freakishly strong, but now it had the ferocity of a starved wolf in front of fresh, bloody meat. The moment it saw the bit of me, it seized it tightly...

    Then, Lin Li felt countless scenes and voicesing from the bit of me. His mental strength had coiled tightly around it, and the countless scenes and voices also melted within, finally bing part of Lin Li. He hadpletely forgotten about everything around him now as he was immersed in this peculiar state; the world seemed to have vanished as there was only one thought left in the nk of his mind. It was to milk all the knowledge, power, and memories he could from that soul fire...

    Time ticked by. Nobody knew how long it had been before a loud crashing sound appeared in Lin Li¡¯s ears. It felt like he suddenly saw a bright light after walking through endless darkness, and in the bright light, Lin Li suddenly grabbed something. In a split second, he saw many vivid colors sh before his eyes as well as heard countless voices in his ears; when it all disappeared and silence returned, Lin Li knew that he was now a totally different person...

    Lin Li knew that the bit of soul fire did not only bring him Ujfalusi¡¯s knowledge and memories, it also gave him power in its purest form. The power had melded with his mental strength, and might have brought him past level-17¡ª oh no, that was not right! The difference between level-16 and level-17 was not that obvious, so it should be the peak of level-17, or maybe... he had reached level-18!

    ¡°Ujfalusi, I ept your loyalty.¡± Lin Li closed his eyes as he felt the change spread throughout his body. Only when the change was sealed did he slowly open his eyes and extinguish the silver me on his fingertip.

    As the remnant of the debris of the stars vanished, so did the Divine Power in the air, but Lin Li was not bothered by it. Ujfalusi¡¯s soul fire was burning within him, and Lin Li was able to control Ujfalusi¡¯s life and death through this soul fire.

    ¡°Mage Felic, we found Miss Yvonne¡¯s brother...¡±

    Just then, footsteps could be heard at the door, and when Lin Li opened his eyes, he saw a few Adventurers push open the door. A young man around 16 years old followed behind them. He had silky golden hair and a delicate face; from his looks, he did resemble Yvonne.

 Chapter 335 - Church of Dawn

    <h4>Chapter 335: Church of Dawn</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Brother, is that really you?¡± Yvonne¡¯s eyes turned misty as soon as the young man appeared in the door. After all, hadn¡¯t she suffered all the shocks and dangers along the journey just to bring her brother home?

    The pair of siblings had just escaped death, and had many things to tell each other after reuniting. As they talked about their experiences, their voices became teary. Unfortunately, Lin Li had been used to acting indifferent, and this emotional scene looked terribly whiny to him. Hence, he waved his hand in annoyance. ¡°Alright, alright, save this for when you¡¯re back and pack your things. We should leave this damn ce first...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The youngdy could not help turning red after being chided by Lin Li, and wiped her tears before tugging her brother¡¯s hand to stand up, nning on waiting till all of them had left Syer Town.

    ¡°Who are you, how dare you speak to my sister like that?¡± The young man pulled his hand away unexpectedly and red at Lin Li. Paired with his disheveled blond hair, he somewhat resembled an angry lion cub. ¡°Right, you must be an Adventurer my sister hired to save me? Since when have the Adventurers in Rnd City be so unprofessional? How dare you speak to your employer in this manner! Let me tell you, you¡¯d better apologize to her right now, or you¡¯ll regret this attitude when we return to Rnd City!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Everyone suddenly took a breath in sharply at the young man¡¯s words as they looked at him as though he had just sprouted wings...

    Almost everyone was wondering if this rascal really did not know better. <i>Damn it, is he courting death?</i>

    ¡°Brother, that¡¯s enough...¡± The youngdy became anxious now. Even if she was any dumber, she would realize what kind of a figure this guy who was supposedly a coward really was. He killed the Humerus Wyrm and destroyed the Humerus Domain, as well as wiped out an entire army of Undead creatures in a sh. Such a guy would be rare in the whole of Breezy ins, much less Rnd City.

    What scared Yvonne the most was that this guy was unusually petty...

    Yvonne had seen it for herself outside the Bell Tower earlier¡ªhe turned against hispanions so easily, and heavily injured the Bandit in one move. If not for Jason and Sienna¡¯s immediately repenting, he would have killed the Bandit. If he did that to the people who have apanied him along the way, what would he do to her brother?

    ¡°Sister, don¡¯t stop me! This guy is so rude to his employer, how can you tolerate that? Did he threaten you with something? Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll have father deal with him when we return!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, I told you to stop!¡± Yvonne was terrified, hearing her brother rattle on.

    The room fell silent suddenly as everyone lowered their heads and dissociated themselves from the unfolding scene¡ªexcept Yvonne, who was scared out of her wits. They would be crazy to go trifle with Mage Felic now; they might get dragged into this too...

    The youngdy stared wide-eyed at Lin Li with fear and pleading eyes. Time seemed to pass by very slowly. Yvonne did not know how much time had passed before the scary mage suddenly smiled. She then let out a long breath of relief because she clearly heard him say, ¡°Sienna, get your men to prepare to return to Rnd City and try to find the bodies of those who have died. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t like this creepy ce...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic.¡±

    When the sun rose to the highest point, a dozen carriages were beginning their journey out of the ruins of Syer Town.

    Almost at the same time, something big happened in the Ledin Kingdom.

    The City of Dawn, Dno, was home to the grandest church in the whole of the Ledin Kingdom as well as Anril¡ªChurch of Dawn¡ªand owed it its moniker. The person helming it was none other than the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine, Rosario.

    Legend had it that he was the incarnation of the Holy Light. He became the pope at only 30 years old, and spread the gospel throughout the whole of Anril within a century. Even the stubborn magical kingdom of Fn had built a dozen churches of varying sizes. This was a great achievement that none of the previous popes had been capable of. Thus, to the followers of the Brilliance Shrine, Rosario was the embodiment of the Holy Light itself¡ªespecially in the holy kingdom of Ledin, where Rosario¡¯s words were akin to the will of the Holy Light. The king was nothingpared to him as everything in the royal household of the Ledin Kingdom had to be discussed with the pope before a decision could be made.

    Moreover, none of the kings in the Ledin Kingdom found anything wrong with it as this was the case ever since the Dark Ages ended over a 1,300 years ago. If not for the protection of the Brilliance Shrine, the Ledin Kingdom would have fallen prey to their ferocious neighbors 800 years ago already. How would they have been able to enjoy their status as one of the four strongest kingdoms of Anril today?

    The Church of Dawn was especially quiet today. There were 40 Pdins, 12 Cardinals, seven Head Referees and two Archbishops present in the meeting room. They were headed by the pope.

    Rosario, who looked to be about 50 years of age, and had rosy cheeks and a warm smile, was the picture of an amiable old man. On his left and right sat the two Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine. They were just beneath him in terms of authority. Lin Li was actually familiar with one of them¡ªit was the Archbishop Englos, who was well-versed in Pharmaceutics...

    For some reason, though, tension was high in the meeting room as everybody held their breaths and looked at Rosario silently. Their expressions of horror would have been mistaken for those of people awaiting an impending attack by the Darkness Shrine if it had been 700 years ago.

    Of course, nobody would think that now.

    The Darkness Shrine had been crippled 700 years ago, and did not have the means to challenge the Brilliance Shrine today. Now, their only association with each other was the fact that their names had contrasting meanings, ¡°darkness¡± and ¡°brilliance¡±...

    The Darkness Shrine had once been their archnemesis, but today, it was nothing to the Brilliance Shrine. Rosario had turned a blind eye to the friendship between Englos and Sendros, which meant that the Brilliance Shrine did not hold the Darkness Shrine in high regard at all. The truth was that it was indeed the case¡ªjust look at the people sitting in the meeting room...

    The 40 Pdins and 12 Cardinals were powerful individuals who were near the Legendary-realm. The seven Head Referees and two Archbishops had surpassed the Legendary-realm long ago. As for the living legend, the Pope Rosario himself, he surpassed the Legendary-realm at 30 years old, and never fought anybody for the century toe. Perhaps even his most trusted Archbishops did not know what he was truly capable of...

    At a nce, there were 10 individuals who¡¯d surpassed the Legendary-realm in this meeting room, so how powerful would they be? Even in the whole of Anril, perhaps only the Supreme Council could go against them. As for the Darkness Shrine.... well, let the past stay in the past...

    ¡°Your Holiness, is what you said true?¡± The Cardinal who broke the silence was a man in his forties. He had mustache on both sides of his mouth, the favored look of a Ledin man. It seemed he was a true blue Ledin.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, Anko.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s impossible!¡± The Cardinal¡¯s voice rose half a pitch as he stood up abruptly before realizing that everyone was looking at him. It only urred to him then that he had been disrespectful to the pope, and he hurried to exin himself. ¡°Uh... Your Holiness, I don¡¯t mean to doubt your words, it¡¯s just... it¡¯s just too unbelievable that... that the Son of the Holy Light would descend so suddenly.¡±

    ¡°Have a seat, Anko, I understand what you mean...¡± Rosario looked at the youngest Cardinal without a hint of annoyance in his eyes, only a warm smile on his face. ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t just you, even I find this too... too unbelievable indeed...¡±

    ¡°Then¡ª¡±

    ¡°Let me finish, Anko.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Holiness.¡±

    ¡°Everyone here is a devoted follower. I believe you have sensed that there was an explosion of a strong Divine Power southeast of the Ledin Kingdom yesterday at midnight. This morning, I went to study the Book of Dawn about what¡¯s written on the Son of the Holy Light, and it coincides with the Divine Power fromst night: strong and pure, just like the Holy Light itself...¡±

    The meeting room with dozens of people fell unusually silent; everyone hung over his every word as they were afraid of missing out any detail.

    Rosario¡¯s gaze swept across all their faces before he let out a tired smile. ¡°Actually, when all of you were on your way to the Church of Dawn, I had already performed the Great Prophecy thrice...¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± After Rosario said that, everyone including the Cardinal and the two Archbishops as well as the seven Head Referees reacted even though they had remained silent so far. Englos was the most emotional of them all¡ªthe dignified Archbishop who was also a Legendary individual suddenly stood up, worry and anxiety written all over his wrinkled face. His actions were no longer poised, and he resembled a restless young man. ¡°Your Holiness, you said... you said that you have performed the Great Prophecy thrice?¡±

 Chapter 336 - Heathen

    <h4>Chapter 336: Heathen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Englos, you need to calm down...¡±

    ¡°How can I calm down, Your Holiness!? You know your own condition the best. For the past 30 years, you have been gued by viper¡¯s poison, and not once has it ceased to corrode your body. Every time you perform a theurgy, it adds on to the danger! You must recall that the Great Prophecy you performed 10 years ago nearly caused the viper¡¯s poison to escape control! If not for Mr Burnside from the Pharmacists Guild, I dare not imagine what would have happened...¡±

    ¡°Am I not fine now? Listen to me, Englos, the viper¡¯s poison is not that scary. What happened 10 years ago was merely an ident as I did not think that it would be able to absorb divine strength. We have nothing to worry about now, for I have found a way to curb its effects, and I believe I will be able to neutralize itpletely soon.¡±

    ¡°I hope that is the case...¡± Since the pope had already said so, Englos decided not to press further, but when he heard that it could bepletely neutralized, he suddenly thought of something. ¡°Your Holiness, I know of a person who might be able topletely neutralize the viper¡¯s poison...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Even the ever poised Rosario could not help showing an expression of shock when he heard this. The viper¡¯s poison had been lurking in his body for 30 years; perhaps no one else other than the pope himself knew the pain it brought. The poison of the wild beast had been constantly tormenting his body and soul; the seemingly never-ending pain was something hard to imagine for anyone who had not experienced it for themselves.

    ¡°About two months ago, I went to nna to attend a convention held by the Pharmacists Guild, and there I met a truly genius pharmacist. You wouldn¡¯t guess, but that a young man of barely 20 had such a great understanding of pharmaceutics that he put Balbo to shame. Sendros¡¯ and my abilities absolutely paled in front of his, and we saw for ourselves that he had easily solved a daunting question that had left the entire Pharmacists Guild helpless...¡±

    ¡°There is such an outstanding young man in the Fn Kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Holiness...¡± Englos took a deep breath at this moment. ¡°He is truly a genius pharmacist. Sendros and I share the same sentiments on this. He will definitely be a pharmaceutics Guru within the next five years; it is only a matter of time for him toe up with the antidote for the viper¡¯s poison.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Surprise was evident in Rosario¡¯s gaze. It was not because he realized that the viper¡¯s poison could be neutralized, but because he¡¯d never thought that Englos would hold a young pharmacist in such high regard. This Archbishop was the best pharmacist in the whole of Brilliance Shrine, and even the whole of the Ledin Kingdom¡ªhe was already a master in pharmaceutics, and there were barely any other pharmacists in the whole of Anril that left him in awe. Hence, to think that the best pharmacist would speak words of such high regard for a young man barely 20 years old...

    Rosario was really curious about this genius pharmacist Englos spoke of.

    ¡°I really want to meet this young man after hearing your words. How about this, Englos, find out when he¡¯s free, why don¡¯t you invite him to visit the Church of Dawn?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Englos nodded. This was not a difficult thing to do, as Felic had by now most likely reached the Breezy ins, which was the border between the two great human kingdoms of Fn and Ledin. It was also not far from the City of Dawn, so they would likely meet quite often in the future. Moreover, Felic owed him a favor from back in nna, so it should not be too difficult to get him to pay a visit to the City of Dawn.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set this matter aside for now. I called all of you here today because of something important...¡± Rosario raised his hand and gestured for the Archbishop to take a seat. ¡°We must find the Son of the Holy Light as soon as we can, for he is the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth. We must not let any harm fall on him.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Englos frowned. ¡°How do we know who is the Son of the Holy Light?¡±

    ¡°This is why I performed the Great Prophecy. It will be my honor to wee the incarnation of the Holy Light personally and it is for this honor that I may close my eyes with a smile even if I shall be consumed by the viper¡¯s poison.¡± Rosario smiled as his eyes were filled brimming with devotion and determination.

    ¡°For some reasons, however, the Son of the Holy Light looked unusually blurry. I performed the Great Prophecy thrice in order to ascertain his true identity, but for now, all I know is that he is in the Breezy ins and is around 20 years old. He is also a mage...¡±

    ¡°Mage?¡± An uproar broke out in the meeting room as soon as Rosario finished speaking. Everyone from the Pdins to the Cardinals, as well as the Head Referees and Archbishops, had never expected that the incarnation of the Head Referee would be a mage!

    While the Brilliance Shrine served the Holy Light, they did not refute the existence of other religions nor deities. Especially so after Rosario had taken over¡ªhe had silently acknowledged the Darkness Shrine, which allowed them to co-exist harmoniously. That was because he believed that the Holy Light was magnanimous and benevolent, and any devoted follower deserved respect, no matter if they served the light or the dark.

    If anybody was considered a heathen in Anril, it would be the damned mages. That was right, the damned mages¡ªthey were the only ones considered heathens in Anril as they had inherited magic and the arrogance of the High Elves at the same time. They constantly preached that anyone who held enough power could be considered a deity even if they were mere mortals. Just listen to that; what heinous teachings...

    Additionally, the first person to say that was the one that mages hailed as the God of Mages, Geresco. Yes, the one who mored to be a God yer, the pompous heathen...

    Everyone thought they had seen a ghost upon hearing Rosario¡¯s words. The only incarnation of the Holy Light was a damned heathen? T-t-this... this is too ridiculous of a joke...

    The group of people stared at each other as they all had expressions of disbelief.

    ¡°That was all I saw in the Great Prophecy. As for why the Holy Light chose a mage as its incarnation, I do not know any better than any of you. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll need more time before we can confirm the Son of the Holy Light¡¯s identity.¡± Rosario rose up from his chair and concluded the meeting simply. ¡°Englos, reach an agreement with the Supreme Council, we need the details of all mages under the age of 20 in Breezy ins.

    ¡°Anko, gather all the Priests who are well-versed in Astrology, we shall hold an Astrological ritual in the City of Dawn in a month¡¯s time.

    ¡°Rodrigos, have your Pdins enter the Breezy ins... wait, before you do that, send a heads-up to the royal family of Fn lest they mistake this as a crusade again.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Holiness!¡±

    The whole Brilliance Shrine got busy as the instructions came one by one.

    At this time, on the other side of the Breezy ins, a group of Adventurers had entered the perimeter of Rnd City.

    ¡°Mage Felic, Rnd City is just ahead.¡± The head of the Adventurers, Sienna, was sitting next to Lin Li in the carriage. To be honest, he did not wish to share a ride with this fellow¡ªit was pure torture. Sienna felt as though he was a mouse tied to a cat the entire journey, and he could lose his life to this sadistic cat at any time...

    Unfortunately, Lin Li left him with no other choice.

    Well, the carriage was spacious enough, but there were already Norfeller and Ujfalusi, the two Undead creatures, inside, making him feel uneasy. The other two carriages were upied by Jason and hispanions as well as the twins from the casten¡¯s family. No matter how Lin Li thought about it, he could only share Sienna¡¯s carriage...

    ¡°We¡¯re finally here...¡± After the exhausting two-day journey, and having the boring Sienna as apanion, Lin Li was way past being annoyed. When they finally reached Rnd City, Lin Li immediately jumped out of the carriage, yawning.

    Lin Li was not the only one excited at the prospects of reaching the city. He had only just gotten out of his seat when he saw the twins of the casten¡¯s family jumping out as soon as their carriage came to a stop.

    ¡°Good morning to the both of you.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s this unprofessional fellow again...¡± The young master had just alighted before he looked up into the sky as he refused to look at Lin Li, only scoffing at him. ¡°We¡¯re entering the city soon. Just you wait, I¡¯ll have Father deal with you...¡±

    ¡°Cyndor, can you please shut up...¡± Yvonne clenched her fists as she stood at the side. She silently swore to teach this mouthy fellow a lesson once they got home. She had no idea what was with this fellow¡ªhe had not once stopped ranting throughout the journey. Yeah, he enjoyed running his mouth off, but Yvonne had not been able to catch a single wink as a result...

 Chapter 337 - Time Consignment Store

    <h4>Chapter 337: Time Consignment Store</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Situated southwest of the Breezy ins, Rnd City, also known as the City of Abundance, enjoyed a widespread reputation for having fertilend and hundreds of farms. The crops produced here far exceeded what was needed by the whole Breezy ins. Every autumn, long lines of carriages would line up outside Rnd City to barter for crops. They hailed from many smaller human kingdoms nearby; even the Elves and Dwarfs, the two big races, would secretly dispatch middlemen to obtain supplies.

    As the carriages with food left the city,rge amounts of wealth and other resources flowed endlessly into the City of Abundance. Ever since the Dark Ages ended 1,300 years ago, perhaps nobody knew exactly how much wealth the City of Abundance had umted.

    Arathor ascended the position of casten at the age of 24, and it had now been over 20 years since that moment. With his intelligence, Arathor had managed the City of Abundance in a highly organized manner in thest 20 years, which was seen as a nearly impossible feat to many. When he took over as casten, the City of Abundance was trapped in chaos. When the previous casten, the old Arathor had passed on, his men were scrambling for power, and the City of Abundance was as good as scattered sand. Powerful forces around the city were also eyeing this fertile piece ofnd like hungry beasts.

    Almost everyone was waiting to see Arathor be aughingstock. The castens of nearby cities were even betting with each other to see if he couldst a month as casten. Perhaps nobody had known that not only would hest more than a month, he would do so spectacrly. After bing the casten, the first thing Arathor did was to open the city¡¯s doors and wee a powerful Elven Army which had dealt with the chaos in Rnd City within 10 days. Not only that, for the next 20 years, they served as a powerful deterrence for any nearby forces who threatened to make a move.

    Nobody knew where the Elven Army came from, and nobody knew how Arathor was able to control them. Anyway, Arathor had managed to secure his position as casten thanks to this army even though everybody had thought he would fail. For the next two decades, he also held the power over the City of Abundance tightly in his hands.

    All of this was something Sienna had told Lin Li along the way...

    The over dozen carriages entered the city easily, and headed straight to the base of the mercenary corps. Only then did Lin Li realize that Sienna¡¯s mercenary corps had been established barely two weeks ago, and did not even have a proper name, much less a proper base. They only had a few houses in the southwestern district of Rnd City; the most spacious one was turned into a meeting room, also doubling as a waiting room, while the other two on the side were turned into living quarters. Of course, it was guaranteed to be crowded; one would be lucky to be allocated a room with only four to five people, and even the leader Sienna had to live with others.

    However, Sienna was sure that it would not be long before they found an escape to this...

    This was because when they entered the ce, Sienna clearly heard the young mage tell him, ¡°Sienna, if you¡¯re free this afternoon, find some time to send the twins back to the Casten Mansion. Remember, do this in the name of your mercenary corps; you can decide what to ask for as a reward, but remember to get me one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food. I need to use it to exchange for something else.¡±

    When he heard this, Sienna¡¯s first reaction was... <i>Am I hearing things?</i>

    How was that possible...

    As a person from Rnd City, how could Sienna not know what Casten Arathor¡¯s rewards meant? They meant that it didn¡¯t matter what you wanted¡ªbe it money or authority, anything you want¡ªArathor could satisfy you! Sienna could not believe that anybody in the world would give up such a great opportunity. It was something everybody dreamt of; nobody in their right mind would reject it...

    However, Sienna had clearly heard the young mage say that he would give him this chance, only asking for one million gold coins¡¯ worth of food. That was no big deal to Sienna¡ªhe did save the casten¡¯s son. Rnd City was also known as the City of Abundance, and was well-known for producing ample crops¡ªone million gold coins¡¯ worth of food would merely fill up a thousand carriages, equaling about a year¡¯s produce of a dozen farms. There were hundreds of such farms everywhere in Rnd City!

    When Sienna heard what Lin Li said, he was dazed and had a nk look on his face as though he had been possessed, yet he was strangely excited at the same time. He felt as though he was a beggar who got a windfall and was worried about losing his wealth while racking his brains over how he should spend it.

    ¡°Actually, I have a suggestion. I wonder if you would like to hear it...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The sound scared Sienna. When he raised his head to see who had been speaking to him, he sheepishly nodded when he realized it was the person who had given him the fortune. ¡°If you have any instructions for me, Mage Felic, of course I will listen to it...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, this is not any instruction for you, merely a suggestion. Actually, I think you should not ask for any mary rewards. While funds are important for Adventurers, and can help you build up your mercenary corps, it is merely a single important factor, and does not determine your sess as a mercenary corps. If you can, ask for special privileges... maybe the privilege to hire Adventurers from retired veterans, or having the army¡¯s help inpleting missions. You could also have the casten send army instructors to help train your subordinates. Anyway, you¡¯re going to want to build up the ability of your mercenary corps...¡±

    Sienna listened quietly as Lin Li spoke, and did not hurry to tter Lin Li as he usually did.

    ¡°This is going to sound bad, but after the trip to Syer Town, I realized your men are really bad, and are not capable of dealing with any real danger at all. If you really ask for great wealth from the casten, then you¡¯re not far from a crisis yourself, because you¡¯re unable to fend off those who will covet your wealth. It is a mercenary world in the Breezy ins, and you onlymand respect if you are strong and powerful. Take Jason for example. It would not be too much to say that he can live happily in Dnd City even if he doesn¡¯t have a penny on him, and why is that? That¡¯s because he has the capability¡ªwith hispanions, they are one of the most outstanding group of Adventurers in the whole Dnd City, and nobody would dare belittle them, not even the casten of Dnd City himself. Don¡¯t you want to enjoy the same status as Jason, Leader Sienna?¡±

    ¡°I think I understand what you mean, Mage Felic...¡± Sienna froze for a minute before he slowly raised his head and looked at Lin Li with sincerity. ¡°Thank you for your advice.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that is no advice, merely a suggestion. As for what you should do, it is ultimately up to you to decide.¡± Lin Li seemed to have forgotten about this whole issue after he said that, and never mentioned it again.

    Of course, Lin Li could do that, but Sienna dared not.

    The young mage¡¯s words hit close to his heart. Before this, he had indeed decided to ask for great wealth or some kind of authority, but he had never thought of how he would be able to defend what he would receive. This was the Breezy ins, after all, and if Arathor¡¯s father, the previous casten, could die in his own house for some reason, how did he know he would not meet the same fate?

    Lin Li looked at Sienna, who seemed to be deep in thought, and smiled satisfactorily. He had already shown him the path; now, it was up to his fate to finish it.

    This was only a few words to him, after all. Even if Sienna chose not to follow this path, it would do Lin Li no harm, but if he did, and managed to build a strong mercenary corps, he would be of great help in the future. There were many things the Guild of Magic could not intervene personally in; hence, nearly every Guild of Magic would maintain good rtions with a mercenary corps. The Guild of Magic in Jarrosus did so, and so the one in nna. They had to be on good terms with a mercenary corps¡ªthe friendlier, the better...

    Lin Li knew Sienna and his men well. Unfortunately, they were terrible in terms of ability, and would not be able to fend for themselves, much lessplete tasks for him. Lin Li thought about it, and decided to give this opportunity to them as there was not really anything he wanted besides the food. Whatever he wanted, the casten could not give him, and whatever the casten could produce, Lin Li had no interest in. Why not give this chance to Sienna as a casual favor, giving him a chance to be powerful while also getting in his good books? Then, if Lin Li had any favors to ask of Sienna in the future, could thetter refuse him?

    This was a win-win situation, especially to Sienna¡ªit was a godsend for him. After getting Lin Li¡¯s approval, Sienna was grinning from ear to ear, and was in a terribly good mood the whole afternoon, giving everybody he met a suspiciously warm smile. Lin Li could not continue watching him like this, so he coughed dryly after lunch, and said, ¡°Hey, Leader Sienna, is there something you should be doing now?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, right...¡± After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the smiley Sienna suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly changed his clothes before calling for a carriage and heading off to the Casten Mansion with the twins.

    Lin Li felt bored after Sienna left as there were only that many people in their base, and all of them were so afraid of him that they could not speak more than a few words to Lin Li before stuttering. Anybody would have thought that Lin Li had done something to them. The only person who dared speak to him was Jason, who was acting strangely too, annoying Lin Li greatly. After pacing around the base, he decided to call for Norfeller and Ujfalusi.

    ¡°If the both of you have nothing better to do, then go out for a walk with me.¡±

    ¡°Ok...¡± What could a couple of Undead creatures be doing? Whatever you say...

    This was how Lin Li led a high-ranking Vampire and a Lich as well as someone he called to act as a guide from the base, and started their walk down the streets of Rnd City. The streets looked nothing too different from the ones in Dnd City; they were full of buildings left from the Dark Ages and full of the aura of the High Elves. Even the districts were simr; there was the Adventurers Guild about 200 meters south of the base, and many Adventurers frequented the building. The street facing the door of the Adventurers Guild had shops lined on both sides of it¡ªsome selling weapons, some selling armors, and some selling magical items, while others sold poisons and concealed weapons... Anyway, as long as it was something an Adventurer might find some use for, it could be found in the streets.

    ¡°Gilded Rose?¡± Lin Li saw a familiar name as they turned a corner, and could not help finding it amusing. Ysera¡¯s business was doing well indeed, even Rnd City which was far away in the Breezy ins had fallen prey to the Mannes Family¡¯s business.

    ¡°You have good taste, Mage Felic...¡± Lin Li had called the Adventurer who was the least afraid of him out of the whole mercenary corps to be his guide. This fellow was called Barov, and was a level-10 Bandit. Strangely, he looked nothing like a Bandit should, and was helpfully pointing out things to Lin Li along the way like a tour guide. Now that they were standing outside the Gilded Rose, Barov¡¯s chatter had been taken up a notch. ¡°The Gilded Rose is the best magical equipment shop in the whole Rnd City, and while their prices are a little high, you can be sure they sell only good stuff. Would you like to take a look, Mage Felic? Don¡¯t worry about the prices. Sienna knows their boss, so if you see anything you like, just mention Sienna¡¯s name, and you¡¯ll be sure to receive the best deal...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose, too embarrassed to tell Barov that he actually knew the boss of the Gilded Rose quite well too.

    He did not have to look around the Gilded Rose, as he knew very well that they kept the best things they had in Jarrosus. Lin Li was one of their biggest customers too...

    ¡°Right, Barov, are there any other ces in Rnd City that sell magical equipment?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s difficult to say...¡± Barov hesitated. ¡°Depends on your luck...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°You see, Mage Felic, somewhere not far ahead there is a Consignment Bank that has been around for centuries. Many Adventurers who are short on cash like to put their things up for sale there, and it became a small marketce after some time. If an Adventurer wanted to, they could also sell their things to the Consignment Bank and have them sell it for them...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose. Wasn¡¯t this the ce they said you would be guaranteed to earn a profit at as long as you had good taste¡ªa pawnshop?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡±

    Lin Li had never seen anything like a pawnshop after being in Anril for so long, and he could not help his excitement, dragging two Undead creatures and a Bandit along with him as they rushed to the shop.

    The ce Barov mentioned was not too far indeed. After they rounded a couple of streets, they saw a low-rise building situated at the corner of a street. A busy junction was at the door of the building, and passersby often nced in the direction of the shop. Lin Li could see marble steps and two open doors from where he stood; many Adventurers went through that door. Some of them looked quite strong, at least from what Lin Li could tell. They were around level-15, and while not nearly as strong as Jason, they were rare talents amongst normal Adventurers.

    The group only stepped in when a man in his forties weed them warmly.

    ¡°Good evening, distinguished guests, anything I can do for you? Let me introduce myself, I am Brook, one of the people in charge here at the Time Consignment Store. You guys are Adventurers, right? If you¡¯re looking to increase your powers, you¡¯re in the right ce. We sell all kinds of weapons, armors, and magical equipment here at the Time Consignment Store...¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need the magical equipment for now, but my friend here iscking a weapon...¡± Lin Li pointed at Norfeller who stood next to him. ¡°I wonder if Mr Brook has anything to rmend?¡±

    ¡°Weapons? Of course... of course I do!¡± Brook¡¯s smile widenedically as he led the group in while rattling on. ¡°We had a new shipment of weapons these few days. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the Marathon¡¯s Forging Workshop? These weapons are masterpieces from them. Should I bring you to take a look?¡±

    ¡°Marathon Forging Workshop?¡± Lin Li stopped when he heard this, and his expression darkened. ¡°Mr Brook, you¡¯re kidding me, right? The weapons from them might be good enough for city guards, but it will be a disgrace for my friend. They can cut open magical beasts, but are they good enough to shield him against magical attacks?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± The middle-aged man could not help being embarrassed after Lin Li¡¯s remark, and realized he met people who knew their stuff. The Marathon Forging Workshop was well-known throughout the Fn Kingdom, but not many knew that the best of their weapons were for the Three Great Armies, and they usually sold inferior goods to others. While they were not merely good enough for city guards like Lin Li had said, they were definitely not enough for an Adventurer above level-10...

    However, the middle-aged man was experienced, and while he knew he had been exposed, he did not panic, and merely smiled apologetically with a bit of sheepishness, intending to let this matter rest. Seeing as he had smiled an apology, Lin Li decided not to pursue the matter, and was waiting for him to exin himself when he heard a sarcastic voice from behind.

    ¡°The heck, which bastard dares to be so arrogant? Even the Marathon Forging Workshop¡¯s weapons are only good enough for city guards? I wonder what is good enough for you, why don¡¯t you enlighten me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li froze for about 10 seconds as he found the situation amusing and ridiculous. He had been in Anril for about a year, and had made many enemies, but not once had he encountered somebody who spoke so haughtily without reason...

    No... no, he had...

    Lin Li turned around and realized he was wrong.

    There was a young man around 20 standing behind him, short and fat, but he just had to wear a glittery silver armor too. His helmet was in his right hand, so he looked like a big disco ball carrying a small disco ball from afar...

    ¡°Bloody hell, so it¡¯s you, idiot!¡± Lin Li did not have the chance to speak before Lasorick had started shouting away. ¡°Alright, no wonder I could not find you in Dnd City, you¡¯re hiding away in Rnd City now, aren¡¯t you? Why, you realized how powerful I am that you know to hide first, huh? I¡¯ll tell you what, there¡¯s no use hiding, you... you people over there, catch this bastard now!¡±

    Lasorick shouted away at the top of his voice, but he secretly took a few steps back...

    Unfortunately, his followers were not dumb, either. They had clearly heard Master Garza say that the ck-cloaked fellow was a level-17. <i>What a joke, you want us to die? Why don¡¯t you go ahead instead?</i>

    ¡°Damn it, never mind, I¡¯ll let you go this time...¡± Lasorick had been shouting away, but none of his followers made a move. Even a fool would have realized that something was not right; hence, he could only yell away while taking back what he said about catching him...

    ¡°Shut up...¡± Lin Li gave him a nce and could not be bothered to deal with the glittery disco ball any longer. Heughed and turned back to Brook, apologizing, ¡°I¡¯m sorry we were interrupted by that fool. Well, Mr Brook, any other rmendations for my friend?¡±

 Chapter 338 - Bloodlust Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 338: Bloodlust Mageweath</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Now, Brook was not as direct as before...

    Brook worked at the Time Consignment Store for over 20 years. Throughout the years, he rose from a minor receptionist to one of the major executivemittee members. Having met many kinds of customers, he knew that the young mage before him was not to be trifled with.

    Furthermore, Brook did not have the guts to challenge him, either.

    Other people might not know who that sparkly melon was, but definitely not Brook. That man was one of the VIPs of the Time Consignment Store¡ªYoung Master Lasorick! From the conversation between them, it was obvious that Lasorick was really reserved when he interacted with that young mage. Hence, how could Brook belittle that mage? He would not want to lose his future by offending Lin Li!

    Brook hesitated for quite a while. ¡°Indeed, we have a batch of good magical equipment. However, their prices are much higher as well. If you are keen to see them, I can bring you to take a look...¡± Brook said.

    ¡°I hope Mr. Brook will not disappoint me this time...¡± Lin Li replied as he nodded. He called Norfeller and the others, and followed Brook along the long walkway. After reaching the third floor, Brook stopped in front of a tightly locked door.

    He fished out a bunch of keys from his pocket and opened the door. What came into the view of everybody was a huge showroom with all kinds of weapons and armor on disy. Some of the weapons were emitting vigorous magical waves. Lin Li found at least 10 sets of magical equipment with just a casual nce.

    ¡°Please follow me...¡± Brook said. While he led the people through columns of shelves, he described the features of the different weapons patiently. ¡°Look at this double-edged sword. It was made from real thunderbolt adamantine. If its user summons the force of thunder when he uses it, he will be able to break through any magical shield. A firm and tough skin of a beast would be like a thin sheet of paper when ites into contact with this sword!

    ¡°Erm...¡±

    Lin Li tried to imagine Norfeller with the double-edged sword. He could not help but feel awkward at that thought of it.

    ¡°Mr. Brook, do you have other rmendations?¡±

    ¡°What about this...¡± Brook responded promptly by directing Lin Li¡¯s attention to a machete beside him. ¡°Have you heard of Dnd¡¯s Guild of cksmiths?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li smiled, not saying more. He¡¯d definitely heard of Dnd¡¯s Guild of cksmiths. In fact, he even nearly had Norfeller get rid of their president...

    ¡°This machete was created by Dnd¡¯s Guild of cksmiths. Being the brainchild of over 10 high-ranking cksmiths, it even involved the consultation with a real Smithing Master, Mr. Garza, in some vital areas. Despite its ck color and unappealing appearance, it was made from the most valuable Abyss Fiendish Iron. Once it tears the skin of the enemy, the power of the curse will infiltrate their body at once. Under the corrosion of the curse, the ability of a sword sage would have been greatly affected.¡±

    At this, Brook paused. Then, he took the machete before Lin Li. ¡°There¡¯s this mageweath here too...¡±

    ¡°Bloodlust?¡± Lin Li recognized the mageweath on the machete immediately. The striations on the weapons were all in the color of blood. From how the 27 striae were entangled like a menacing monster, it had to be a high-ranking mageweath by the name of ¡®Bloodlust¡¯.

    ¡°Mr. Mage has a sharp eye indeed...¡± Brook ttered Lin Li with a thumbs-up.

    ¡°Hehe...¡±

    The Bloodlust Mageweath did not have aplicated construction. With such an obvious characteristic, not to mention a Guru like Lin Li, any low-level Inscriber would recognize that mageweath easily. Hence, Lin Li only smiled, and did not take Brook¡¯spliment to heart.

    But, Lin Li indeed had some interest in that machete.

    It was notmon to find weapons made of the Abyss Fiendish Iron. Those sold in the markets would easily cost up to 10 or 20 thousand gold coins. On top of that, the Bloodlust Mageweath was definitely suitable for Norfeller. Among the high-ranking mageweaths, the principle behind the Bloodlust Mageweath had to be the most evil. Although it did not have much of a special feature during normal use, if it were toe into contact with blood, its desire for blood would be activated. It would seek to absorb the blood of its enemies and convert it into the purest force, turning the user of the weapon into a bloodthirsty beast...

    To a Guru Inscriber, it was not hard to summon the Bloodlust Mageweath. In fact, Lin Li had already mastered the skills to create the Bloodlust Mageweath many years ago. Yet, he did not have the chance to create it. The evil nature within the Bloodlust Mageweath required the warm fresh blood of humans. This meant that in order to create the Bloodlust Mageweath, one to two humans had to be sacrificed for it. A hypocrite like Lin Li certainly would not want to do such a thing. <i>I¡¯m not bored enough to kill people just for a darn mageweath!</i>

    He would rather do less of such ill-natured deeds. Yet, if someone really wanted to do it for him, he would definitely ept the offer.

    It was like the situation now...

    Since someone had already created the Bloodlust Mageweath for him to purchase it with his own money, both parties would stand to benefit.

    ¡°Mr. Mage, I know you have great knowledge of these things. Since you know the difference between the Abyss Fiendish Iron and the Bloodlust Mageweath, I¡¯m not going to say anything further.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li nodded. At the same time, he was trying to predict the price of such a good weapon.

    Just when Lin Li was still thinking if he should bargain with Brook, he felt a thin sense of cold airing from the corner of the wall. Being a man with sensitive mental strength, Lin Li could absolutely catch it without a mistake.

    It was normal for the different magical equipment ced in the showroom to emit magical waves. However, that feeling the chill gave off was too familiar, In fact, he had felt it in the ruins of Syer Town.

    That was the purest death aura ever.

    ¡°Mr. Mage, I will just sell it to you at the lowest price: 40 thousands gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li stopped Brook. He did not catch the price Brook offered the weapon for. His attention was all diverted to that death aura. He pushed the machete away and made his way towards the corner of the room...

    ¡°I knew it...¡± Lin Li eximed upon seeing a pair of daggers leaning against the wall. They were covered in a thickyer of gray dust, and he could not tell what they were made of. If one did not look properly, he might not spot them.

    But, there was something the mage was certain of. That chilly death aura had to be emitted by the pair of daggers. When Lin Li held onto them, he could sense a familiar wave of death energy flowing within. Although it was not very strong, it was extremely pure. Lin Li had seen a simr force in Syer Town, when they were having a battle with the army of Undead soldiers. Simrly, when he was at the ruins of Syer Town, he felt it when the Humerus Wyrm came down from the sky. However, even if it was the Legendary Lich, Ujfalusi, none of them carried a death aura as pure as this.

    ¡°M-Mr. Mage...¡± Seeing that Lin Li did not reply when he disclosed the figure, Brook actually thought it was due to the huge cost of the weapon.

    When he was silently regretting, that young mage asked, ¡°How much do these two daggers cost?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Brook gasped in shock. His gaze towards Lin Li was filled with perplexity. Was that young mage kidding? How would he be interested in these two pieces of scrap leaning against the wall when he showed no interest in weapons created by the Marathon Smithy?

    ¡°I was asking about the cost of these two daggers.¡± Lin Li had to repeat his question.

    This time, Brook finally heard the question clearly. Yet, that didn¡¯t mean that he formed the answer to it. For a long period of time, he was looking at Lin Li with a weird expression...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li did not know if he shouldugh or cry. When he was about to repeat his question, the door of the showroom was pushed open.

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    The man who entered resembled a silvery winter melon. Apart from the usual followers, Lin Li could spot an unfamiliar young man behind the melon too. He looked younger than 30, and was very handsome. His appearance was great, but his slightly thin lips and small eyes made Lin Li not veryfortable. Especially when his eyes were closed, Lin Li felt as though he was stared at by a snake.

    ¡°Sir Lasorick, what brings you here?¡± Brook greeted Lasorick promptly upon his arrival.

    ¡°I¡¯m just here for a walk, and to meet the person who had no interest in weapons created by the Marathon Smithy,¡± Lasorick replied, and red at Lin Li challengingly.

 Chapter 339 - Legendary Assassin

    <h4>Chapter 339: Legendary Assassin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li looked at the two people in the distance quietly. He could not help but feel suspicious at how familiar they looked.

    ¡°So, Brook. Do you not wee us?¡± Lasorick asked menacingly after he brought his men into the showroom. He stared at Lin Li challengingly before looking at Brook.

    ¡°Hehe, Sir Lasorick, y-you... you really like to tell jokes...¡± Brook¡¯s smile froze. A blind man would have been able to sense that there had to be a deep grudge between Lasorick and that young mage. Now that the former brought a group of men into the showroom without warning, he had to be seeking trouble.

    In fact, Brook was not really weing of Lasorick now. He was in the middle of a highly promising transaction! Now that Lasorick barged in so recklessly, he knew that the deal had to be put off. Unfortunately, he did not have the guts to show any hostility. Lasorick was the son of the casten of Dnd. If he were to offend him, he might be unable to stay in the Breezy ins anymore.

    At this moment, Brook could only squeeze all the smiles on his face.

    ¡°You are a really rare guest. How would I not wee you...?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it...¡± Lasorick said as he nodded in satisfaction. He and the young man walked to one of the shelves and started discussing the different weapons. Then, their gazesnded on the pair of daggers in Lin Li¡¯s hands...

    This time, Brook really misunderstood him...

    Lasorick had no intentions to create any trouble. He knew that Lin Li was not an easy opponent. That young mage might still be alright to deal with, but the attendant beside him might not. Garza told him clearly in the carriage the other day that the fe donned in ck robe was at least level-17. Lasorick knew he wouldn¡¯t be a match for him...

    Since he was not in Dnd, and he only had the usual attendants who could only bully normal people, it meant death if their opponents were above level-15. Although Lasorick was not a bright man, he was not that dumb. He knew he could not seek death like this.

    Actually, if he did not chance upon a friend on his way back, he would have left the Time Consignment Store. While they chatted, Lasorick talked about what had happened previously, and couldn¡¯t help but feel angrier. Then, he reasoned out that he should not leave the matter as it was...

    Honestly, the way Lasorick liked to vent his anger was excusably cute.

    <i>Didn¡¯t you want to buy weapons and armor? Weren¡¯t you uninterested in those manufactured by the Marathon Smithy? Good, I¡¯m going to beat you with my wealth!</i>

    ¡°Brook, how much does this pair of daggers cost?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Brook was pleasantly surprised. The pair of daggers had been ced in the showroom for at least a century. Nobody had inquired about them at all. What made the two men interested in this weapon? Could it be that all the assessors of the weaponry in the shop failed to see its value before this?

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. What, do you not think I can pay for it?¡±

    ¡°N-no, no... Sir Lasorick, please don¡¯t misunderstand me. I didn¡¯t mean it. I wanted to tell you that this mage beside me had already showed interest in this pair of daggers. You might want to look at other weapons instead...¡±

    ¡°I say, Brook. Did you turn stupid? Why can¡¯t two customers be interested in the same thing in your shop?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡±

    ¡°Why are you hesitating?¡±

    ¡°15 thousand gold coins...¡±

    ¡°15 thousand gold coins? Damn, that¡¯s cheap...¡± Lasorickmented as he reached for his pocket. He took out a crystal card and ced it on the table. ¡°There¡¯s 50 thousand gold coins inside, and I¡¯m buying both daggers.¡±

    After Lasorick entered the showroom, Lin Li had been standing there quietly. He only smiled when Lasorick took out his crystal card.

    ¡°I say, Lasorick, you are not ying by the rules, are you?¡±

    ¡°Phew, what broken rules? Since the Time Consignment Store is open for business, my money is the rules. If you are unhappy, use your own money to set the rules yourself...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right...¡± Lin Li nodded. He did not say anything more. Lin Li fished out his crystal card and said, ¡°Mr. Brook, I¡¯m not sure how much money I have in there, you can check it out yourself. I¡¯m buying that pair of daggers.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright...¡± Brook replied nervously. But, the moment he received the crystal card, he drew a cold breath. ¡°Oh my God...¡±

    Then, Brook¡¯s eyes were wide opened.

    ¡°G-G-Glittergold Trade Union!¡±

    ¡°Yup, I think it is...¡± Lin Li replied as he rubbed his nose awkwardly. He felt a little ashamed. If he had not extravagantly spent the money he earned from the auction of the Arcane Magic Potion at Jarrosus, he could have formed a hill of gold coins. Now that much of the hill had been used up on random purchases he had made during his journey from Jarrosus to nna, he realized that he did not have much left in the crystal card Gerian had given him. Hence, he had no choice but to use Hoffman¡¯s crystal card just to buy a pair of daggers...

    While Lin Li was still feeling the great sense of embarrassment, Brook had almost peed his pants in fear. Crystal cards distributed by the Glittergold Trade Union were always guaranteed by the currency in Fn Kingdom. Anyone with a good background would prepare a card for himself. If the Glittergold Trade Union were to crash overnight, two-thirds of Fn would have to dere bankrupt too. It was a fact that the crystal card from the Glittergold Trade Union was used almost universally, and had integrated into the lives of everyone.

    But, Brook knew that the card in his hand was absolutely different...

    Brook would bet his life that the VIP card he was holding had to be given out personally by that decision-maker of the Glittergold Trade Union. It was not something he would see frequently. In fact, he had only seen the card twice throughout the 20 years he had been working for the Time Consignment Store. The first time was 10 years ago, when Brook had just been raised to assist his boss in the transactions. There was a big shot from the capital of nna who showed his boss a simr card. Brook could still remember very clearly the expression of his boss. It was definitely more exaggerated than his now...

    After that, his boss told him that anyone who owned that card had the ability to withdraw any amount of money from any Glittergold Bank. It meant that he had the wealth equivalent of the entire nation. If he wanted, he could purchase the entire Time Consignment Store too...

    The second time he saw the card was now.

    Brook would never have dreamt that he would see that type of card again. His teeth chattered in fright as he stood in a daze...

    ¡°Brook, why are you standing there for? Do I have to get Uncle William here?¡± Lasorick asked impatiently.

    Brook¡¯s voice trembled as he replied, ¡°S-Sir Lasorick, t-this is the VIP card of the Glittergold Trade Union...¡±

    ¡°Darn it, what VIP card are you talking about?¡±

    When Lasorick was prepared to scold him, he was stopped by someone. Then, he realized that it was that young man beside him. The man whispered something into his ear, and when Lasorick raised his head again, his face was full of shock.

    ¡°The VIP card is so powerful?¡± Lasorick asked the young man again after he looked at Lin Li from the distance.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± The young man nodded firmly, and did not say more.

    ¡°What the f*ck...¡± Lasorick cursed as he put away his crystal card.

    Then, there was nothing more to be said...

    Brook did the transaction for Lin Li without any further obstructions. The pair of daggers cost 15 thousand gold coins, and he did not dare to charge him even a bit more. He would not dare to do anything funny to a customer who had the VIP card of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    After getting the daggers, Lin Li looked around the showroom again. Unfortunately, nothing worthy caught his eye. Seeing that it was dinnertime soon, he bid Brook goodbye, and decided to return to the mercenary station. But, before leaving, he nced at Lasorick again.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Sir Lasorick, you are definitely right. Only people with money can set the rules...¡±

    ¡°You watch out, bastard!¡± Lasorick said through gritted teeth, and red at Lin Li¡¯s back...

    After returning to the base of the mercenary corps, Lin Li saw Sienna engaged in a discussion with a group of people, and did not want to disturb him. Hence, he went back to his room and called Norfeller and Ujfalusi over.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, what do you think if this pair of daggers?¡± Upon entering the room, Lin Li ced the daggers on top of the table.

    Ujfalusi picked one of them up. After sizing it for a while, he ced it back carefully. ¡°Master, if I¡¯m not wrong, this pair of daggers should have belonged to a powerful Undead creature...¡±

    ¡°Tell me more about it,¡± Lin Li responded earnestly. It was a wise decision to ask Ujfalusi to assess the daggers. Being a Lich previously, that guy had lived a few hundred of years. Having a wisdom that was beyond any other human being, he could certainly give a satisfactory exnation for an object filled with death aura.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you had heard of an assassin by the name of Holler active in the Breezy ins 200 years ago?¡±

    ¡°Holler? Do you mean the person who killed the Sword Sage, Ulysses?¡± Lin Li asked as he frowned. He had heard that during the final stage of the Dark Ages around 1200 years ago, when the High Elves Dynasty fell, mankind was trying to rebuild their homes in this piece ofnd. After the war, Anril was not as harmonious as today. The rest of the High Elves was desperate in trying out various methods to use their remaining strength to create upheavals.

    It was Ulysses who camped at the borders of Fn Kingdom. Being one of the three Sword Sages of Fn Kingdom, he and his warriors were regarded as the most powerful force in the kingdom. No one had expected him to die three days after he arrived in the Breezy ins. It was Holler who killed him in his own military camp...

    Ulysses¡¯ death led to chaos in the whole Fn Kingdom. The royals of the kingdom were enraged, and three groups of imperial guards were sent after Holler. In the next decade, almost all the people¡ªeven ants¡ªwere interrogated. Yet, it was as though Holler had evaporated into thin air. Although 1200 years passed, the whereabouts of Holler after that incident remained a mystery...

    ¡°Yeah, it was that Holler...¡± Ujfalusi nodded, and pulled a chair to sit before Lin Li. ¡°But, I presume not many people know that Holler was an Undead creature...¡±

    ¡°Undead creature?¡±

    ¡°Yup. To be exact, Holler was a true high-ranking Vampire who surpassed level-20 at that time. Hence, he did not need to y dirty tricks to defeat Ulysses. The weapon Holler used back then was this pair of daggers...¡± The Lich paused.

    ¡°Actually, the reason why I became a Lich was rted to Holler too...¡± Ujfalusi muttered.

    Since Ujfalusi did not talk about how he became a Lich due to Holler, Lin Li did not insist on knowing the reason. Also, it did not matter to him if Ujfalusi was an evil Lich or not. Knowing that everybody had their own secrets, he understood the need to respect Ujfalusi¡¯s privacy as well. He knew very well that Ujfalusi would naturally tell him his story in the future if he wanted to.

    So, Lin Li only smiled. ¡°It seems like this pair of daggers indeed suits Norfeller...¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. There was this rumor that the pair of daggers was given Holler by the Immortal King. The massive death energy in it allowed Holler¡¯s ability to reach the peak of the Legendary Realm!¡± Ujfalusi said.

    Then, he suddenly shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, the daggers you have in your hands are iplete. Theyck the most important energy source¡ªthere were supposed to be two Cursed Gems etched into their handles. Only Cursed Gems have unlimited death energy necessary to bring the best out of the daggers...¡±

    ¡°Cursed Gems?¡± Lin Li eximed smilingly. He opened the Ring of Endless Storm and fished out something shiny...

    ¡°My God...¡± Ujfalusi was stupefied by that shiny object. Although he had lived as a Lich for 600 years, he did not expect there to be such arge Gem of Curse in this world. With it being as big as a fist, Ujfalusi could not imagine how much death energy could be stored within the gem. But, he was confident that if he owned such a big Gem of Curse, he would have the ability to turn everybody in the Breezy ins into Undead creatures after their death...

    ¡°But, I think it is very troublesome to cut the Gem of Curse into smaller pieces. I have to do some research...¡± Lin Li said as he scratched his head. Then, he pushed the daggers before Norfeller. ¡°Norfeller, you can take these daggers first. I will help you put the gems in them when I find the method to cut them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. ¡±

    After putting the Gem of Curse into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li was still thinking if he should ask about the Immortal King. Then, he heard someone knocking on his door.

    ¡°Mage Felic, are you inside?¡±

    ¡°Sienna, what brings you here?¡± Lin Li asked as he got up to open the door.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, Mage Felic. Casten Arathor wants to hold a feast to thank the mercenary corps. He is inviting every member in the team, so I¡¯m wondering if you are free too...¡±

    ¡°Dinner?¡± Lin Li paused, and took some time to think over it. <i>It is too boring to stay here. Since I¡¯m free tonight, why don¡¯t I go and take a look at the Casten Mansion?</i>

    ¡°I should be free at night. You can let me know the time we set off.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, I will let my men prepare the carriage!¡±

 Chapter 340 - Paladin

    <h4>Chapter 340: Pdin</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were many luxurious carriages parked outside the casten¡¯s mansion, and the guests who came in those vehicles had donned gorgeous outfits. Anyone would be able to tell that they were big shots with noble background and status. That night, the mansion guards were really busy. They had no time to rest since the afternoon, and were busy with nodding their heads and bowing to all the guests.

    The guests that visited tonight were not limited to the nobles in the capital of nna. There was also Lasorick¡ªson of Dnd¡¯s casten¡ªas well as William, the legendary figure of Dnd City, a well-known collector and appraiser who lived a modest life as the owner of the Time Consignment Store...

    However, the arrival of several guests confused the guards. Although those three men and one woman seemed to keep a low profile, the casten, Arathor, actually went to wee them in person. When the casten of Dnd visited them a few years ago, he did not even enjoy such a grand wee.

    ¡°Could they be the secret envoys sent by His Highness?¡± one of the guards asked the others. Although the guests had already gone into the mansion, the guards still could not get over it.

    ¡°Mage Felic, we¡¯re here.¡± Sienna¡¯s voice could be heard after the carriage stopped outside the casten¡¯s mansion.

    ¡°Sure,¡± responded Lin Li. He did not forget to neaten the long robe he was wearing. With the unhappy experience back at the mansion of the Jarrosus¡¯ casten, he wore a tailored rune robe made from the Gilded Rose. With its delicate craftsmanship, it looked very smart on Lin Li, just as though he was really a nobleman...

    Behind Lin Li was Norfeller. The high-ranking Vampire was Lin Li¡¯s only attendant tonight¡ªhe had no other choice but to leave Ujfalusi at home. That dude was a set of bones that emitted heavy death energy. Although it was usually covered by his long ck robe, if anything were to go wrong at the gathering, people were bound to be scared to death.

    ording to Ujfalusi, the pair of daggers was named Heaven¡¯s Wrath. They emitted a faint sense of death energy under Norfeller¡¯s ck cape. Lin Li let Norfeller test the powers of the Heaven¡¯s Wrath when they got in the coach.

    To his surprise, the daggers were simply too powerful. Norfeller did not have to use any force to break Lin Li¡¯s Water Shield. It was lucky that Norfeller withdrew the daggers quickly, or else Lin Li would be in real danger.

    Of course, Lin Li did not forget that the Heaven¡¯s Wrath daggers were still iplete. ording to Ujfalusi¡¯s, he still had to embed two Cursed Gems in the Heaven¡¯s Wrath to demonstrate its true powers. Even Lin Li was curious to know how freakish the Heaven¡¯s Wrath actually was...

    It seemed like he had to find an opportunity to chat with Andoine soon. The skill of the crystal sculptor who helped to cut the Crystal of Eternity was rather proficient. If he could get his help again, there should be ways to cut the gem...

    While Lin Li was still calcting, Sienna was shing the invitation card to the guards.

    The guards looked at the card, and then at the people in the coach. Then, their gaze went back to Sienna. <i>Are they really the casten¡¯s guests? </i>They had no choice but to suspect them: the carriage was too run-down. The hair of the horse was not well-trimmed, and they could not spot any decorations on the coach. It was pitch ck as though it had just run through some mud. They reasoned that coach to be the cheapest one sold on the market. It would surely not cost more than 50 gold coins for one to get both the coach and the horse...

    ¡°Please wait outside for a moment while I check with the people inside...¡± The guard was very careful. The guests today were all big shots. One could easily be the boss of some trade union. If these people before him had ill intentions towards other guests, it would be too much for them to take responsibility for...

    Luckily, it did not take too long. The guard was out with someone after two or three minutes.

    ¡°Captain Sienna, you are the star of this party. How can you be sote? You¡¯ll have to drink moreter!¡± That someone was a middle-aged man around 40. The clothes and essories he was wearing were not very luxurious, but gave people a simple and harmonious impression. His actions carried a special charisma of a middle-aged man.

    ¡°Greetings, Lord Casten.¡± Sienna stepped forward hurriedly. He knelt down on one knee, and bowed before the middle-aged man.

    ¡°Captain Sienna, you are too formal. You are the benefactor of my family. Not to mention that you saved Cyndor from the Syer Bandits, you also brought my dear Yvonne back safely. I haven¡¯t even thanked you properly yet...¡± The middle-aged man helped Sienna up, and looked at the people standing behind him. ¡°Come,e. Captain Sienna, introduce these people under you to me, please.¡±

    Although the entire mercenary team was invited, how could Sienna bring everyone here? Apart from himself, there were only Jason and his team, as well as Lin Li and his attendant. Of course, Sienna did not have any people under him here...

    ¡°Lord Casten, they are not my attendants...¡± Sienna denied hurriedly.

    <i>Is he joking? I would be dead if I called anyone here my attendant!</i>

    ¡°This is Mr. Jason from Dnd City...¡±

    ¡°Jason?¡± Arathor gasped. ¡°Dnd¡¯s Jason, the young Adventurer who led his team and brought back the beheaded leader of the Blood Bandits? A rare guest indeed! I have always wanted to meet this capable Adventurer of Dnd who had never failed any of his missions. I can¡¯t believe that Captain Sienna actually brought you here today! I have to give you a toastter...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Lord Casten is too kind,¡± Jason replied calmly. Being known for his achievements at such a young age, Jason had encountered many simr situations. He was not ttered by Arathor¡¯s friendliness, and instead introduced the two teammates of his.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Captain Sienna, who are these two gentlemen?¡±

    ¡°This is Mage Felic, and this his attendant, Mr. Norfeller.¡±

    ¡°You are a mage at such a young age? That¡¯s really impressive...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you tter me.¡±

    ¡°Come to think of it, my two children at home have always been pestering me to get them a magic mentor. But, all the matters at hand always make me postpone their request. If you are free, can you help by giving them some advice on magic?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯d be my honor, Lord Casten.¡± Lin Liughed as he brushed the matter off. A fool would have known that the casten was only trying to be polite towards Lin Li. The casten was not as ingratiating aspared to how he acted towards Jason. He had to think that Lin Li had much less worth. In terms of coaching his children in magic... Why would the casten let the heirs of Rnd City be mentored by a random mage?

    With Casten¡¯s politeness, the atmosphere was unusually harmonious. The group found themselves in the grand hall very quickly. After leading them in, Arathor excused himself apologetically before going off to greet other guests.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a formal gathering...!¡± Sienna eximed in excitement. He had been looking around eagerly after he sat down. ¡°Oh God, even Mr. William is here!¡± he gasped after seeing the man streaming in with the other guests.

    ¡°Mr. William?¡± Lin Li repeated that name. It sounded very familiar to him. Just when he wanted to ask Sienna who he was, Lin Li suddenly felt something amiss with Norfeller, who was beside him.

    ¡°What happened to you, Norfeller?¡± Norfeller had been with Lin Li ever since they came out of the Demon Fall Valley. How could he not be close enough to notice the change in Norfeller¡¯s mood? Furthermore, although he was sitting in his seat obediently, Lin Li could sense an ominous feeling from Norfeller. He seemed possessed from his grave disposition as well.

    Norfeller appeared not to hear Lin Li¡¯s question. His hand tightly gripped the Heaven¡¯s Wrath underneath his ck cape, and his pair of red eyes was deadly fixed on something in front of him.

    Lin Li followed the direction of Norfeller¡¯s gaze, and saw four people seated in the distance ahead. Three of them wore long white robes and were emitting a strong sense of holy aura, which Lin Li had encountered when he was with Archbishop Englos. From that, Lin Li could tell that they had to be the followers of the Brilliance Shrine, and that their positions should be higher than normal Priests, such as a Bishop¡¯s...

    As for thest person, Lin Li could not decipher her background.

    She was a youngdy in her 20s. Despite being in the splendidly decorated hall, her long golden hair stood out like the dazzling sun. Herplexion was as smooth as jade, and the silver armor on her bodyplemented her appearance very much. Like the legendary Seraph, she was incredibly attractive. Even a cold-blooded fe like Lin Li could not help but find his eyes glued to that beauty...

    But, the weirdest thing was her aura. Although she emitted a strong holy aura, it waspletely different from herpanions¡¯. When she stood up from the chair, she was like a sharp sword that just got unsheathed. Her intrusive holy aura was like a heavy chain that could cause suffocation.

    <i>Sh*t, this is bad... </i>Lin Li had a bad premonition.

    It was no joke. When Lin Li was at nna, he stayed with the Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos, for a period of time. He was clearer than any other people about how much the believers of the Brilliance Shrine despised Undead creatures. They forever had the intention to y any Undead as long as they spotted one.

    <i>Smells like trouble is brewing...</i>

    Lin Li could really feel a strong headache. He saw the three men and one woman stand up, and their gazes were all on Norfeller. Lin Li was incredibly clear that their gazes were filled with hatred and disdain¡ªit absolutely was not any special method of socializing...

    At the same time, Norfeller¡¯s red eyes were fixed on the four people too, murderous and foreboding. Underlying his heavy breathing were growls, just as though he was a helpless beast that had been forced to the edge of death.

    ¡°Calm down, Norfeller...¡± In order to ensure that the gathering proceeded normally, Lin Li tried to pat Norfeller¡¯s shoulders.

    Lin Li¡¯s attempt tofort Norfeller managed to hold him back a little, but Norfeller¡¯s body was still stiff, and his hands were still gripping the Heaven¡¯s Wrath.

    Then, he saw the four people walking towards them.

    <i>Goddammit, why did they really walk here...?</i>

    Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He stood up from his chair smilingly and blocked Norfeller with his body casually. The Pyrost spell waspleted very quickly. He was ready to cast it on anyone if they were to confront Norfeller violently. As for whom the Pyrost would harm or what it would destroy, Lin Li was not concerned at all.

    After he readied himself with the Pyrost, the four people with divine upation had gotten in front of them too.

    ¡°Darn Undead creature! How dare you show yourself at Casten Arathor¡¯s banquet? Do you think you can escape being purified by the Holy Light?¡± A cold but clear voice left the scarlet lips of the sexy female Pdin. That was supposed to be a beautiful scene, but Lin Li did not have the time to appreciate it. The only thing he felt was headache. A true headache...

    <i>Sh*t, these devotees were really risking their lives...</i>

    While Lin Li was cussing internally, he was all smiles on his face. ¡°Hello there, I¡¯m wondering if there is any misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°Yucks!¡± Who knew that his face full of friendly smiles would be faced with a face filled with disgust. It belonged to that pretty female Pdin. It was as though she was not interacting with a living human, but dirty trash fished out from the drain.

    ¡°As a human being, are you not ashamed to align yourself with Undead creatures?¡±

    Lin Li was not enraged by how harshly those people scolded him. He rubbed his chin casually and smiled at them. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    The surroundings became quiet at once. The female Pdin stood there in shock, not knowing how to react. Being one of the strongest believers of the Brilliance Shrine, she had ughtered countless Undead creatures in the 20-plus years of her life. She had also encountered many Necromancers who wallowed in degeneration. But, it was her first time seeing such a prideful Necromancer, who portrayed himself as a righteous man...

    <i>H-how could there be such a person in this world?</i>

    ¡°Y-You... you...¡± At that moment, the gaze of the female Pdin became very uncertain.

    ¡°What are you trying to say...?¡± Lin Li asked as he rubbed his nose. He moved a step forward to close the distance between him and the sexy Pdin. He then lowered his voice teasingly as he asked, ¡°I heard that this prettydy wants to purify us?¡±

    ¡°T-that¡¯s right!¡± The female Pdin stuttered as she took a step back subconsciously. Although she was a true follower of the Brilliance Shrine, she could not help but be intimidated when that stranger closed up on her.

    ¡°Is that so? Then that¡¯s great! But, I¡¯m unsure of a thing...

    ¡°Can this beautifuldy enlighten us about the theurgy of the Brilliance Shrine? I¡¯m so curious to know if it¡¯s really powerful enough to purify any high-ranking Undead creature without rming anyone around them?¡±

    Lin Li took a pause before he shamelessly continued, ¡°I¡¯m dying to know how many innocent lives would the righteous and holy theurgy implicate when you are purifying me and my friend! Would it be one life, or two...? Hmm, I think that¡¯s too little, isn¡¯t it? Since there are at least a hundred people at this banquet, it will be lucky if half of them can survive that righteous and holy theurgy.

    ¡°I wonder how lucky would Casten Arathor be? If his luck is bad, it is going to be troublesome...¡±

    As Lin Li finished his speech, the other three Priests looked at their surroundings uneasily. All of the guests were immersed in joyous exchanges. sses of wine were clinked politely, and no one had noticed the tension brewing between the light and the dark in that corner.

    When they turned back to look at Lin Li, their gazes were all filled with hesitation. Then, a senior-looking Priest spoke something to the ear of the female Pdin in a low voice.

    Before she left, the female Pdin told Lin Li angrily, ¡°You won¡¯t beughing for long.¡±

    ¡°Phew...¡± After seeing the four people return to their seats, Lin Li took a long deep sigh in relief...

    <i>Eek, that was close.</i>

    Brave fronts were not to be put on recklessly.

    The three Priests could easily have the ability of Archbishops. If a battle were to break out, they should be no weaker than Archmages of around level-17 or level-18. On top of that, with a Pdin whose ability he could not decipher, Lin Li did not have the confidence to match them even though his ability was at the peak of level-17.

    Furthermore, the Brilliance Shrine was an outpost in the Fn Kingdom. Hence, they had many believers living in Rnd City. If they were to know that he was on good terms with the Undead, what mattered was not all the gossip, but the possibility of him losing his food worth a million gold coins...!

    Lin Li could only gamble. He still remembered what Englos said to him when he was in nna. He said that the devotees of the Holy Light would not leave anyone at his peril, or harm the innocent due to their own interest. At that moment, Lin Li could¡¯ve only bet that they were indeed firm believers. It was a lucky and wise decision. Otherwise, the banquet would really be turned upside down.

    Yet, the fact that there was no trouble now did not mean that there would not be issues happeningter. In fact, Lin Li could expect those fes to find trouble with him after the banquet. Hence, while they were seated, Lin Li was already devising ways to ovee the potential threat...

    He indeed had zero chance against a group of three level-17 or level-18 Priests and a Pdin. But, if he couldunch a sneak attack against one of them, the rest would be less threatening. Now that Norfeller had the Heaven¡¯s Wrath with him, he was definitely stronger than he¡¯d been in the ruins of Syer Town.

    To Lin Li, the easiest target tounch a sneak attack had to be that sexy female Pdin. Aspared to the three other wily old foxes, the little girl should be the most innocent one, and thus the most likely to step into his trap.

    Lin Li had neither morals nor tenderness toward women. Chivalry,passion, and righteousness were traits that were definitely missing in his dictionary.

    <i>However, what trap should I set? It might be too obvious if I try to lure the tiger away from itsir. If they are not tricked by me, I will be exposing myself! Should I just use poison? I still have half of the Manticore¡¯s tail in my Ring of Endless Storm...</i>

    Time passed very quickly; when that fe was still harboring ill intentions, the banquet officially started. The first person who raised his cup to everyone was the casten of Rnd, Arathor.

    ¡°A toast to my all of my distinguished guests!¡±

 Chapter 341 - Emerald Dream Gem

    <h4>Chapter 341: Emerald Dream Gem</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was not listening to the casten¡¯s speech at all. He could not help it. That type of speech was meant to be polite and friendly, but without any meaning. Instead of getting bored with the casten¡¯s speech, Lin Li would rather use the same time to observe the four guests from the Brilliance Shrine...

    Then, Lin Li realized that the four guests were actually no different from himself. None paid attention to the casten. After returning to their seats, they had been talking among themselves softly. Then, it seemed like they had some disagreement among them. Lin Li clearly saw how the female Pdin got agitated!

    <i>Is that an internal strife? Looks like heaven¡¯s on my side!</i>

    Lin Liughed at their misfortune. But, the female Pdin saw his smile as soon as it appeared on his face.

    ¡°What a hideousughter. Watch outter...¡± the female Pdin eximed angrily through her gritted teeth. At that moment, she really felt like using the sword in her hand to purify Lin Li. She had never seen such an egoistic Necromancer. How could he be so arrogant with that dirty magic and evil religion?

    Unfortunately, the banquet had not ended...

    In fact, it was this matter that created a conflict between Bishop Loren and herself. The former firmly thought that they should prioritize the interests of the Brilliance Shrine before the purification of any darn Undead creature.

    To think about it carefully, Bishop Loren was being reasonable too. The fact that the Brilliance Shrine had the chance to bring their teachings to the people of Rnd City was all thanks to Casten Arathor. The change of the casten would mean a threat to the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s influence. Who knew if the next casten would be in support of their teachings?

    Although the ability of that Necromancer was not outstanding, the Undead creature by his side was definitely a true opponent. When Rina stood in front of him just now, she could feel a very dangerous tension. Although she had three Bishops with her, she did not have the confidence to defeat them with ease.

    That was what Bishop Loren was concerned about. He feared that the two darn fes would escape when the situation got uncontroble, or in the process implicate Casten Arathor or other guests.

    Hence, Rina could only be patient...

    The casten ended his speech very quickly. Melodious music resumed, and the guests soaked in a joyous atmosphere once more. No one noticed anything unusual with the two tables of guests. Arathor had a tall crystal ss with him as he greeted the other guests while he made his way over to Lin Li¡¯s table.

    ¡°Apologies, everyone, please pardon me anyck of cordiality due to therge number of guests...¡± The casten addressed his guests. Then, he put his gaze on Sienna.

    ¡°Captain Sienna, can I have some of your time to introduce you to some people?¡±

    ¡°Oh, of course...!¡± Sienna replied. His eyes lit up instantly as he put down his goblet and followed behind Arathor immediately.

    <i>It seems like this casten is rather interested in grooming Sienna... </i>Lin Li smiled. The casten would not take the trouble to introduce Sienna to the others, or even invite him to the banquet if he simply wanted to reward him.

    It was good news to Lin Li. When he decided to give Sienna this opportunity to im credit, he was already nning how to make use of Sienna¡¯s mercenary team in time toe. Lin Li did not need a team of 30 men with the stronger ones being only level-10. Now that Sienna could gain the support of the casten, the ruler of Rnd City, the weak foundation of the team would definitely be strengthened and developed for the better...

    Just when Lin Li was still immersed in his delight, a disgusting voice reversed his pleasant feelings entirely. ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t this Mage Felic? I didn¡¯t expect you to be here at the casten¡¯s banquet! Oh, yes. Do you mind telling me whom you stole the invitation card from? Haha...¡± Lasorick dissed Lin Li.

    <i>Sigh, what a spoilsport... </i>Lin Li really felt like cussing out loud as he turned over to the owner of the voice reluctantly.

    Actually, he did not need to do that. Although there was a lot of annoying people in the world, the most annoying one would no doubt be the son of the casten of Dnd, Sir Lasorick.

    ¡°Why are you silent? Haha, is it because you are feeling shame after I exposed you? I can¡¯t believe you can feel embarrassed too!¡± Lin Li was right: the man behind him was indeed Lasorick!

    But, it was still alright for him. Lasorick had already toned down a lotpared to how he previously was, and wasn¡¯t wearing that silvery armor anymore. Despite that, the suit he was wearing now was definitely one that cost a bomb. Looking at it from the distance, Lin Li could tell from the delicate craftsmanship that it was the work of a reputable seamstress.

    Unfortunately, Lasorick was the model this time, and the fine suit looked extremely awkward on his short and plump figure, especially when he wasughing arrogantly¡ªit was as though he was butchering a pig. Lin Li really had the urge to give him a tight p...

    Of course, Lin Li was still able to control himself. That was because Lasorick was not alone. There were two other people beside him.

    One was a handsome man in his 20s with thin lips. ording to Gerian, that was a symbol of a mean personality. After taking a closer look at him, Lin Li realized that he was the man he met at the Time Consignment Store earlier this afternoon. Now that he saw him again, the sense of familiarity struck him once more. Lin Li just could not remember where he¡¯d met him before that...

    The other person was a man around 50 years old. Although his body was small, lean, and wrinkled, the ck robe on his body was tidy and modest. Beside Lasorick and that young man, he absolutely looked like a normal old man.

    But, Lin Li did not dare to treat him that way.

    He saw the ring on the old man¡¯s right hand. The gem on the ring was not big, and was not very glossy. From afar, it just seemed like a normal green gem thatcked quality, yet Lin Li knew it was not what it appeared to be.

    <i>Wings don¡¯t make one an angel, do they? A birdman has wings too.</i>

    <i>Being green may not mean it is any random green gem, but an Emerald Dream Gem.</i>

    The difference between an Emerald Dream Gem and a normal green jewel could be seen from the degree of brightness of their surface. For a normal green jewel, extra polishing would allow it to gain radiance regardless of its quality.

    Unlike any other green jewels, the Emerald Dream Gem had a stubborn surface that would stay cloudy regardless of polishing. It would cause people to be unable to discover its identity from its looks. At first nce, it would look like a dull crystal...

    But, if anybody were to think that it was a random green jewel of bad quality, it would be a major mistake. The Emerald Dream Gem was so rare that even Lin Li could not add it into his collection despite having all the riches in the world.

    In reality, that was the most regretful thing for Lin Li when he entered the Anril World. As a mage, the Emerald Dream Gem was what all of them dreamt of having. It was said that the Emerald Dream Gem had the powers to calm Wyrms. When a mage used the Emerald Dream Gem to calm himself down, it would actually allow him to enter a state of meditation that endowed him with unlimited mana. This meant that he would avoid the risk of the bite of mana, and be unbeatable. The only thing he had to do was to wait for his opponent tomit a mistake...

    How could a normal old man own the Emerald Dream Gem?

    While Lin Li was still surprised, the old man made his way towards him. His wrinkled face was smiling, and seemed to bear no enmity.

    ¡°Young man, I presume you are Mage Felic, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Felic. But, elder, how did you know me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m William. The Time Consignment Store you patronized this afternoon is one of my properties. Hehe, fret not. Let us sit down to discuss it. You know, I¡¯m too old to have the stamina you youngsters have...¡±

 Chapter 342 - Adamantine of Bad Luck

    <h4>Chapter 342: Adamantine of Bad Luck</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I heard from Brook that Mage Felic purchased a pair of daggers from my shop?¡± That was the first thing the old man said after taking a seat beside Lin Li.

    Lin Li could not help but feel wary. Could it be that this elder knew something about the daggers? Otherwise, why did he mention them? With such a suspicion, Lin Li nodded cautiously.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But, Mr. William, is there anything wrong with that?¡± Lin Li replied.

    ¡°No, no, no. I didn¡¯t mean there to be anything wrong...¡± William responded. Lin Li¡¯s question did not take away the smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯m only curious about the reason that attracted you to them. They had been in the showroom for around one or two decades. If Brook had not mentioned them to me just now, I would have forgotten about them...¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Lin Li nced at the elder suspiciously. He was still wondering if the old dude got his courage to ask that sensitive question from drinking too much. Although there was no big secret hidden in the pair of daggers, why would the old man think he would let him know the reason behind his purchase when they were not even close to each other?

    Hence, Lin Li responded with a light-hearted question. ¡°Mr. William, what do you think about the weather today?¡±

    ¡°...¡± William had never been so speechless. Actually, although he knew that he had asked a sensitive question, he really asked out of curiosity.

    That pair of daggers had been ced in the showroom for one or two decades. No appraisers could tell the origin of the daggers since his grandfather¡¯s generation. As the heir of the Time Consignment Store, William was extremely keen to know what was so special about them.

    Yet, he did not expect Lin Li to change the topic so brazenly. For his reputation, there were many people who would try their ways to get close to him. Nobody was like this young mage who treated William like a thief, just as though he feared William would steal money out of his pocket...

    Being totally clueless about Lin Li¡¯s personality, it was not William¡¯s fault. To Lin Li, reputable people were not worth a penny. He was a man who would never want to be at any disadvantage, so he would not feel like entertaining people who could not promise him benefits. Of course, this principle applied to the owner of the Time Consignment Store, and the legendary figures of Rnd City as well...

    But, since William was a cultured man, he was not angry at Lin Li¡¯s attitude. Despite his awkward position, William merelyughed it off.

    ¡°Bastard, are you tired of living? How dare you treat Uncle William so rudely?¡±

    William¡¯s calmness did not mean that other people would not be angry.

    Lasorick stood up at once, and his agitation made him topple a few sses of wine on the table. His face was crimson and his arms were waving vigorously. A timid man would have been scared by him.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li did not have a cowardly personality.

    Hence, when Lasorick stood up, he did not even pay any attention to him. To Lin Li, that man with exaggerated actions was not a human, but a buzzing fly.

    ¡°Watch your words, Lasorick. You¡¯re too rude,¡± said William with an ashen face.

    ¡°But, Uncle William...¡±

    Although Lasorick was usually arrogant and unreasonable, he did not dare to be too arrogant before this man. From how his father usually treated William with extreme politeness, he knew that this skinny old man should not be just an elder who owned the Time Consignment Store. His status would not be as what he portrayed it to be.

    Just when Lasorick was still thinking of excuses to defend himself, he felt somebody tugging on his sleeves. He stole a nce and saw hispanion gesturing to him. Lasorick hesitated before sitting down unwillingly. Only after that did the young man stand up from his seat slowly.

    ¡°My apologies, Mage Felic. As you see, Lasorick is a straightforward man. If his words offended you, please don¡¯t be appeased. I will help him apologize to you in advance. But, your attitude towards Mr. William indeedcks proper respect...¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lin Li said as he nced at the man casually. He became clearer of the man¡¯s identity now. This fe had to be rted to someone he knew of. Otherwise, he would not have stepped out to create such an incitement between William and him. Although that man seemed to be apologizing for Lasorick, his actual intention still surfaced in thest line he spoke.

    ¡°Argus, could you help me take the wine I left on the way here?¡± William spoke.

    ¡°Alright, Mr. William...¡± The young man froze. His smile became very awkward. But, he was definitely not as foolish as Lasorick. After a short moment of hesitation, he excused himself from William and Lin Li.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mage Felic. These kids are still learning. Please do not hold it against them.¡± William smiled apologetically after the young man by the name of Argus walked away.

    ¡°Hehe, Mr. William is too nervous...¡± Seeing that the elder was really sincere in his apology, Lin Li started to form a good impression of William.

    ¡°The question I asked earlier on was indeed too abrupt. But, I hope that you don¡¯t misunderstand me. I¡¯m just asking as a curious appraiser. When I was very young, my father kept on reminding me that a sessful appraiser has to have a curious heart, and not be satisfied with the knowledge he already gained.¡±

    ¡°You really want to know?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± William replied and nodded seriously.

    After thinking for a while, he called Norfeller over. ¡°Norfeller, lend me the Heaven¡¯s Wrath for a while.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Norfeller did not ask anything. He took down the pair of daggers that was hanging at his waist, and ced it on the table.

    ¡°Mage Felic, this is...¡± William gasped after he saw Norfeller.

    ¡°His name is Norfeller, apanion I met in Dnd.¡± Lin Li naturally did not reveal Norfeller¡¯s true identity. After introducing Norfeller to William briefly, Lin Li picked up one of the daggers. ¡°Mr. William, what material do you think these two daggers are made of?¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± William thought for a while. ¡°From its dull and ck appearance, it should be made of Hell Iron.¡±

    ¡°No, no...¡± Lin Li shook his head in disagreement. He turned the dagger around and showed its edge to William. ¡°Look at this edge closely. It is not as sharp as fel metals.¡±

    ¡°Is that due to the long period of time it was left unused? You know, they have been in the showroom for one or two decades. That would be enough to blunt its edges.¡±

    ¡°It is not rted to how it was left behind. Magical weapons are not any normal weapons. The magical elements within them have a fluidity that can affect the way these weapons rust. The rusting of normal weapons starts from their de as it is the weakest and thinnest part that will alwayse into contact with moisture.

    ¡°A magical weapon, however, will protect the edge from rusting due to the magical elements that are the most vigorous in its edge. Hence, although the result is the same, the process is reversed.¡±

    ¡°So that was the reason...?¡± William nodded reflectively. To be honest, the concepts the young mage had shared with him just now was notplicated. In fact, they were all very shallow. William knew for sure that the mage was speaking the truth. The rusting process for a magical weapon and a normal one was indeed different.

    Yet, it was this shallow knowledge that caused him to overlook it. Who would look at a rusty weapon? Furthermore, the decay had been going on for hundreds of years. How many people in the world would be so free to take time to observe the way in which a weapon decayed?

    ¡°Then, Mage Felic, what magical metal is it made of?¡±

    ¡°Adamantine of Bad Luck. A type of magical metal that has a lot of weaknesses. To an extent, it is no different from a normal metal. Among all the different magical metals, it is the least tough as well. If one does not employ a special forging technique, all it takes for it to break is a trivial battle. Look at this edge carefully. Apart from the Adamantine of Bad Luck, I really cannot think of any other magical metal that would be like this.¡±

    Lin Li took a pause before he continued speaking.

    ¡°But, an advantage that the Adamantine of Bad Luck has that outweighs any other magical metals¡¯ strong points is its capacity for storing unlimited magical elements. The Adamantine of Bad Luck would be able to ovee any source of mana and mageweath regardless of how menacing they are.¡±

 Chapter 343 - Stupefied Guests

    Chapter 343: Stupefied Guests

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°I understand it now...!¡± William eximed in enlightenment.

    Although Lin Li had only exined it briefly to him, it was sufficient for him to get the whole picture. As the chief appraiser of Rnd City, no other people could have more experience and better ability than him. Furthermore, being the owner of the Time Consignment Store, he had seen many weapons that were out of the norm.

    William might not have heard of the Adamantine of Bad Luck, and did not know the origin of that magical metal, but it did not affect his judgement towards the value of the metal. Its capacity to house unlimited amount of mana could exin everything.

    ¡°So, how is it, Mr. William, do you have any other queries?¡± Lin Li asked William smilingly as he returned the dagger to Norfeller.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. Thank you, Mage Felic,¡± William replied while he shook his head. Then, he stood up from the chair slowly.

    ¡°Hehe, you are too courteous...¡±

    Lin Li smiled. Just when he wanted to reply William with some formalities, he saw William bowing before him.

    ¡°Thank you for your advice.¡±

    ¡°W-what are you doing...?¡± Lin Li asked in a daze. The old dude was too easily excited! All Lin Li did was mention a few characteristics of the Adamantine of Bad Luck. If he were to exin the forging process of the Heaven¡¯s Wrath to the elder, would it cause him to have a heart attack for him?

    Damn, he would not have talked to him if he¡¯d known it earlier...

    Lin Li rubbed his nose andughed bitterly. The bow was nothing to Lin Li. What mattered now was the result thereof¡ªLin Li did not need to raise his head to know that all eyes were on him...

    William¡¯s bow was like a sudden strike of thunder in the banquet hall. The entire hall instantly turned silent. Everybody¡ªincluding the host and the guests of different statuses¡ªhad their gazes on this old and young duo. They were bbergasted. No one could expect that the legendary figure of Rnd City and the owner of the Time Consignment Store, William, would bow before a 20 years old youngster.

    H-has the world turned crazy?

    The banquet hall was unusually silent. The guests had forgotten that they were in the midst of conversation, and the musicians had forgotten that they were in the midst of a performance. It was as if everything had turned stale, including time.

    ¡°M-Mr. William... What are you doing...?¡± After what seemed like an eternity, the voice of the casten broke the eerie silence.

    The casten had a ss of wine in his hand as he walked towards them in shock. Perhaps he was too stunned by what he saw, but the casten did not even notice that he had nted the ss, and the red wine was flowing out of it...

    ¡°Hehe, my apologies, Arathor. I guess I might have stunned your guests...¡± Williamughed, then he leaned closer to Arathor. ¡°It is nothing special. I was just thanking Mage Felic for his guidance...¡± he told Arathor in a low voice.

    After he finished speaking, William did not make sure if the casten understood his words. He turned back to Lin Li, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, I¡¯m very impressed by your wisdom and profound knowledge. If there is a chance in the future, I would love to hear more advice from you. But, there are too many people today. Should you have the time after this banquet, please visit the Time Consignment Store. I have a lot to consult you on.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course...¡± Lin Li responded uneasily as he tried to avoid everybody¡¯s eyes. It was too awkward! Lin Li felt like an animal exhibited in the zoo. He regretted answering William¡¯s question. Now that he did that, Lin Li was really treated like a rare animal under the scrutiny by the public.

    After he got Lin Li¡¯s assurance, William nodded in satisfaction, and left with Lasorick.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Lin Li could finally breathe after seeing William take his leave. Just when he wanted to call on Norfeller and escape, the casten approached him passionately.

    ¡°Hehe, I can¡¯t believe that Mage Felic is such a talented individual that even Mr. William has a good impression of you. Oh, yes. Mage Felic, what do you think of my proposal just now?¡±

    ¡°What proposal...?¡±

    Lin Li could not recall when he actually had a discussion with Arathor. He thought they were just acquaintances.

    ¡°Hehe, Mage Felic must be a busy man. Have you forgotten that I suggested that you could help guide my two children on magic before the banquet started?¡±

    ¡°Oh....¡± Lin Li suddenly recalled that Arathor had indeed made that request before the banquetmenced...

    But, it was just part of formalities. Neither of them actually took the words said by the other seriously. Lin Li could not believe that Arathor could mention it again after two hours. At that moment, Lin Li did not know if he shouldugh or cry.

    William was the reason why Arathor tried to mention this matter again. Lin Li could tell from everyone¡¯s reaction when he received that bow that the elder had to be someone of great importance. Otherwise, the guests would not be so bbergasted.

    Unfortunately, apart from how he gave Old William some advice, the casten was not aware of other trouble Lin Li had gotten himself into. The four people from the Brilliance Shrine had been staring at him intensely, especially the Pdin named Rina. Lin Li was absolutely certain that this sexy Pdin would surely use her sword to y him as soon as she found a chance.

    Lin Li rubbed his nose, and did not give Arathor an immediate reply. He was just wondering what would Arathor¡¯s expression be if he let him know the truth...

    Arathor interpreted Lin Li¡¯s hesitation as reluctance to take up his proposal. He knew it had been his fault not to show Felic more kindness. He was so blinded by Jason¡¯s reputation in Dnd that he overlooked Sienna¡¯s attitude toward this young mage. Sienna definitely showed more respect to this mage aspared to how he treated Jason. That was certainly a genuine attitude. If he¡¯d been clever enough then, he would have realized that this mage was definitely somebody of authority. Why else would a man like Sienna be so respectful towards him?

    Unfortunately, he¡¯d overlooked Sienna¡¯s formal attitude towards this mage. He had been too focused on getting close to Jason, and neglected Felic¡¯s existence...

    ¡°How should I put it...¡±

    Arathor rubbed his hands awkwardly. He was nning a few scripts in his mind, but dismissed them as theycked conviction. Just when he could not make up his mind, the young mage spoke.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time, as I¡¯m returning to Dnd City tomorrow. But, I still have some time tonight. Why don¡¯t you bring your children to me after the banquet? I would be with Sienna. Then, I can teach them some basic knowledge about magic. The rest could be discussed again the next time I visit Rnd City.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Arathor asked in surprise. Felic¡¯s swift reply was outside his expectations. ¡°Yes, then that¡¯s that. Mage Felic, I will bring them over to you after the banquet!¡± Arathor said as he nodded his head profusely.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Hearing that, Lin Li nearly burst outughing. He even tried to bite his teeth to prevent himself from doing that. In fact, he did not expect Arathor to be so agreeable. He had gotten himself an amulet without much effort.

    Now, everything¡¯s settled...

    Since the casten was going to send Lin Li off after the banquet, how could the four people from the Brilliance Shrine find a chance to attack him?

    While Lin Li wasughing internally, Lasorick was scratching his head in confusion.

    The situation that happened at the banquet was tooplicated. His IQ could not allow him to understand the reason why Uncle William had not taken his side. Although Lasorick had told William about the conflict he had with Lin Li that afternoon, his uncle could still chat so sincerely with that fe...

    ¡°Uncle William, why are you... so nice to that fe...?¡± asked Lasorick. Although he was a foolish man, he had a strength of his own too. It was this straightforward personality that brought him to ask this question.

    ¡°Lasorick, when are you returning to Dnd?¡± William asked casually.

    Lasorick¡¯s question was ignored.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lasorick was stunned by his sudden question.

    ¡°Lasorick, go make arrangements and return to Dnd tomorrow.¡± After saying that, William waved his hand tiredly. ¡°Alright, Lasorick. Look, I need to take some rest now. You can leave now...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Uncle William...¡±

    As he watched Lasorick leave, William sighed. What a foolish son Beckham has! If this goes on, Lasorick will definitely get himself into trouble one day...

 Chapter 344 - Warning

    Chapter 344: Warning

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    William was really annoyed. Beckham¡¯s idiotic son seemed to be causing a lot of trouble every time he came to Rnd City. Although he was very annoyed, having to give Beckham face, he had no choice but to help clear up the mess. Thankfully, he had some influence in Rnd City; otherwise, he would have no way to clear things up.

    However, William knew that he could not handle it himself this time round...

    That young mange called Felic was not as nice as Lasorick had imagined.

    It did not matter that Lasorick was clueless how powerful the other party was. After all, he was just an idiot. Other than having a rich and powerful father, he had nothing else. However, William realized something clearly: how could somebody that owned the VIP Card of the Glittergold Trade Union be so casually provoked?

    How could William not know what the VIP Card of the Glittergold Trade Union meant? It represented that this Mage Felic was being supported by the whole Glittergold Trade Union. Under all sorts of circumstances, he would receive full assistance from the Glittergold Trade Union, be it financial or military support.

    In other words, being an enemy of this Mage Felic would also mean being an enemy of the whole Glittergold Trade Union. Even if it was Lasorick¡¯s father, Dnd City¡¯s Casten Beckham, he would have to lower his head in front of such a strong power such as the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Furthermore, this young mage called Felic was no ordinary person himself. Just look at the attendant beside him. Even though William was old, he wasn¡¯t blind. He believed that he could still recognize a powerhouse that was level-17 and above. If that youngster called Norfeller was active in Rnd City, he would be one of the top powerhouses there. Even Casten Arathor would have to speak politely when conversing with him. Yet, he was just an attendant for Mage Felic. Then, Mage Felic¡¯s status...

    William sat quietly, thinking about the frightful power that this young mage could possibly have, that he was only in his twenties, and about the deep knowledge he¡¯d disyed during their conversation. After thinking about it over and over again, he could not understand¡ªwhere did such a terrifying persone from? He had not heard from anyone in the past that there was such a powerful young mage called Felic in the Breezy ins...

    After thinking about this, William slowly stood up, and called a middle-aged man in his forties over. He quietly ordered, ¡°Rode, go find out the background of this Mage Felic. But, remember, do not rm anyone, especially Mage Felic himself...¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The middle-aged man was short and looked in. He was naturally somebody that could not be found after being thrown into a crowd.

    ¡°Yes...¡± William thought about it for a while, and remarked, ¡°I heard the ent of this Mage Felic. He seems to be from Jarrosus. Just start from there...¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    The sky started to darken, and the guests were dispersing. When William was leaving, the banquet hall was almost empty. Other than Lin Li¡¯s group sitting in the corner, there were a few guests from the Brilliance Shrine seated at the other end of the banquet hall.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s time we left...¡± Lin Li slowly stood up and tidied up the robe he was wearing. He nced at those guests from the Brilliance Shrine while speaking.

    Sienna looked at the empty banquet hall, and stood up after nodding his head. ¡°Then I¡¯ll say goodbye to the casten.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to, Sienna. The casten will return with uster.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Sienna was immediately dazed.

    Lin Liughed, but did not exin the reason. He simply brought Norfeller along and walked towards those four guests from the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°Excuse me. I¡¯m really sorry, but I think I¡¯ll make a move first.¡±

    ¡°You really think that you can leave the Casten Mansion?¡± The beautiful Pdin stood up quickly. Her delicate face was cold. She was like a sharp sword that just got unsheathed, and a chilling aura was being emitted from her whole body.

    ¡°Won¡¯t I find out after trying?¡± Lin Li¡¯s face still carried a polite smile, but his immense mana surged out impolitely. In an instant, there was an intense magical wave spreading throughout the banquet hall. Even with the powers of these four guests, they could not help but feel uneasy when they were in the midst of this intense magical wave.

    Rina¡¯s fair face showed a sh of panic. The strength of this magical wave far surpassed her imagination. When it had suddenly appeared, the feeling it gave her was like arge mountain was on top of her. Luckily, she reacted just in time, and invoked her Combat Energy to defend the moment the magical wave started to spread. Otherwise, Rina doubted that she could stand right now...

    Although this was the case, this magical wave was still too powerful. Rina could clearly feel that the Combat Energy that she was so proud of could not spread out under the leeward side of this magical wave no matter how she invoked it. That silver me could only remain a thinyer, barely protecting her body...

    The most frightening part was that Rina distinctly saw that this damned Necromancer¡¯s face had a fake smile throughout the whole time. He had a rxed and cozy expression as though this iparable magical wave had nothing to do with him.

    ¡°How... How could this be....¡± This time, Rina was somewhat panicking.

    The collision between magic and Combat Energy had immediately alerted the three bishops. The three of them had stood up simultaneously, and three equally powerful holy auras started to spread out.

    But, it was at this time...

    ... that the iparable magical wave suddenly disappeared...

    Without the suppression from magic, the silver Combat Energy was released with a ¡°boom¡±. Rina, who was showered in silver mes, was like the legendary Seraph, filled with an elegant yet pure aura. Unfortunately, that dumbfounded expression ruined the beauty of it. The current Rina was like a kid that had run into trouble, standing there in bewilderment and staring at the chairs that had been flipped over by the Combat Energy...

    As for that damned Necromancer, he had turned around and walked far away as though he had nothing to do with all of that...

    ¡°The hell...¡±

    When Rina had snapped out of it, that damned Necromancer had already walked to the casten. From afar, the two of them seemed to be like old friends that had not seen each other for a while, and were now enthusiastically talking in a soft voice.

    ¡°This a*shole...¡± Rina was gritting her teeth while cursing, and then she unsheathed her sharp sword...

    ¡°Pdin Rina!¡± It was at this time that Bishop Loren suddenly called out to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Bishop Loren.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this ce first. As for the issue of Undead creatures appearing at Rnd City, I will write a report and hand it over to the Brilliance Shrine. I believe the pope will quickly send people over to handle it.¡±

    ¡°Why? Bishop Loren, could it be that you¡¯re... you¡¯re...¡± Rina gently bit her lip, but she still asked, ¡°Could it be that you¡¯re... you¡¯re afraid?¡±

    Rina¡¯s question was rather rude. If it was somebody else, they would most likely lost their temper. It was lucky that she asked Bishop Loren. This bishop was already in his seventies this year, and Rina was just like a granddaughter in his eyes. Although Rina had questioned him rudely, Bishop Loren did not get angry. He just kindly smiled. ¡°Pdin Rina, in the heart of the Holy Light¡¯s followers, there is nothing called fear.¡±

    ¡°Then, why do you give up on purifying this Necromancer? Could it be that you do not know that he could very well bring a huge disaster to Rnd City? Bishop Loren, this is a rare chance. He does not have a chance to summon Undead creatures to aid him in Rnd City, and he also does not have any escape routes...¡±

    The old man smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, no, no, Pdin Rina. Did not you already notice? That magical wave just now was a warning from him. He warned us not to take action lightly.¡±

    ¡°I admit that he had the advantage just now, but don¡¯t you forget, I am the only Judge Pdin amongst all of the Pdins. In a real battle, I have an eighty percent chance of winning against him. With the strength of you three bishops, it is impossible for them to win!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, Pdin Rina. They do not need to win. All they need is merely a little time...¡±

    Rina was in a daze, but she was not stupid, either. It was just an instant before she understood...

    ¡°Damn...¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Bishop Lorenughed. ¡°This Necromancer is not simple. If I am not mistaken, the magical wave he released just now was indeed to warn us that he has enough power to bring forth a great disaster to Rnd City before we can purify him.¡±

    Indeed, there was something that Bishop Loren left out. From Bishop Loren¡¯s perspective, the advantage that the Necromancer had was not small. After all, he had lived for tens of years. Be it judgment or experience, they all surpassed Rina¡¯s. There were some minute details that Rina might not have picked up, but he had urately done so.

    That magical wave was definitely not the limit of that Necromancer, because he looked too rxed and casual. He suppressed Rina¡¯s Combat Energy without breaking a sweat. It was especially so at the end. Although this Necromancer backed off, there was no sign of it at all. Bishop Loren, who had conversed with some mages before, knew that this required a rather terrifying mental strength as well as a perfect control that was precise to every single thread of mana.

    The prowess of this Necromancer was far beyond Rina¡¯s imagination. If there was a real battle, it would be hard to say who would emerge victorious.

    ¡°Are we going to let it slide just like that?¡±

    ¡°We must look at the bigger picture, Pdin Rina. We must first find the person that the Pope asked us to. As for how to deal with these two Undead creatures, we should let the Pope decide.¡±

 Chapter 345 - The Presidentéˆ¥æªš Inauguration Ceremony

    Chapter 345: The President¡¯s Inauguration Ceremony

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Based on Lin Li¡¯s current magical attainments, it was more than sufficient for him to be a mentor for an Archmage, not to mention those two apprentices that had just started learning. Lin Li was somebody that had mastered more than ten core magical mantras. His understanding of magic surpassed that of an average Archmage. In this aspect, even those powerhouses that lived for more than a hundred years like Andoine might not be better than he.

    That night, the casten had brought his son and daughter along, and Lin Li did not waste time. He quietly spoke with the casten for a bit, and took out a notebook from his pocket. This notebook had been kept since Lin Li had just arrived at Anril and started learning magic from Andoine in the Sunset Mountains. There were a few low-level spell incantations written in the notebook, as well as some know-how and skills that Lin Li hade up with.

    Of course, these skills and know-how were not very profound. After all, Lin Li had been a total newbie in magic back then, even though he had a terrifying talent. When he first came to Jarrosus, he only had superficial understanding even when it came tomon knowledge. The know-how and skills that he came up with back then could only be described as ¡°crude¡±.

    However, for the casten¡¯s son and daughter, these crude know-how and skills were more than sufficient. After all, they were just apprentices that had just started. Even entering the state of meditation was hard for them. What they required was not profound magical knowledge, but the interest and passion for magic. Only passion and interest would allow them to tide through the boring journey that was learning magic.

    Actually, Lin Li did not have to spend so much effort. Just casually teaching these two newbie mage apprentices some basic knowledge would upy them for months. After all, everyone did not take all of these was something important. Even the casten himself was just trying to use this rtionship to overtake William.

    However, Lin Li did not want to do that...

    One of the reasons was because he wanted to return the favor to the casten. No matter how it is phrased, it was only through the casten¡¯s help that Lin Li had managed to escape from that Pdin¡¯s group of four during tonight¡¯s incident. If the casten had not provided any cover for him, both parties might have already shed after the banquet has ended. A Pdin as well as three Bishops... Lin Li did not have the confidence that he would definitely be victorious. Furthermore, he did not wish to provoke the Brilliance Shrine through this incident. This was the Breezy ins, which was in the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s vicinity. It was not wise to provoke the Brilliance Shrine in this area.

    As for the other reason, it was moreplicated. It could be that Li Li did not do things sloppily, or maybe it was that Lin Li could not bear to see the two take the wrong path. The casten¡¯s son and daughter had a rather decent talent for magic. It was especially so for that kid called Cyndor, whose talent could be described as splendid. Lin Li, who had been through all of those things, naturally understood it better than anyone else. The fundamental knowledge was always the most boring one. Out of all the youngsters that had just be mage apprentices, nine out of ten of them would give up at this point. Rather than teaching them the fundamental knowledge, why not teach them some interesting know-how and skills as well as some low-level spell incantations? It would then be easy to make them entranced by this mysterious form of art.

    The only thing that made Lin Li somewhat unhappy was that Cyndor¡¯s attitude was really odious. Ever since he had entered the room, he was sulking. No matter how Arathor prodded him, he did not speak a single word to Lin Li. The only time he smiled was when he was flipping through the notebook. However, being unhappy was just being unhappy; Lin Li did not take it to heart. The child was sulking, but surely it did not mean that he would have to stoop down to the same level?

    Afterwards, Lin Li taught them some simple things. For example, how to improve the efficiency of their meditation and how to avoid the bite of mana when casting spells. When Lin Li stopped speaking, it was alreadyte at night. Arathor saw that it was gettingte, and was too embarrassed to continue holding them back. He thanked Lin Li again, and then brought his son and daughter into the carriage...

    ¡°Cyndor, what happened to you just now?¡± Once they got up the carriage, the casten¡¯s face started to frown.

    Seeing that the casten¡¯s face was gloomy, Cyndor started to get frightened. He just looked down while speaking in a soft voice. ¡°I don¡¯t like that fe...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The casten¡¯s voice immediately rose. His hand was shaking because he was too angry. ¡°These few years, you always bugged me to find you a magic teacher. Now that I have found one for you, you actually said you don¡¯t like him. Are you trying to be the death of me?¡±

    ¡°But... But I just dislike that guy...¡± Cyndor lowered his head; he did not dare to look at his father¡¯s face.

    ¡°Let me tell you. I don¡¯t care if you like him or not. Mage Felic was personally invited by me. You had better have respect towards him!¡±

    ¡°Father, you don¡¯t even know how detestable that guy is. He is rude and crude. When he returned, he actually dared to order my sister around like a maid¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Seeing that the casten was about to lose his temper, Yvonne, who was at the side, hurriedly protected her brother. ¡°Father, don¡¯t be angry. My brother is still young and immature. Give him some time and let him spend more time with Mage Felic. He wille to his senses.¡±

    ¡°This little bastard, he will be the death of me one of these days...¡± Arathor let out two deep sighs, and started to calm down slowly. This son of his was indeed immature. He only knew how to create trouble for Arathor. It was just like that recently¡ªhe had sneaked out of the Casten Mansion by himself and got caught by members of the Syer Bandits. Luckily, Mage Felic rescued them. Otherwise, something worse might have happened.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Yvonne. I haven¡¯t had the chance to ask you since you returned. How much do you know about this Mage Felic?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The casten was stunned for a bit. His expression was somewhat confused. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hire Sienna and the rest? How can you not know?¡±

    ¡°No, Father. This Mage Felic is not somebody from a mercenary corps.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± The casten was shocked, and then he spoke softly, ¡°Yvonne, tell me everything again. Remember, do not leave out a single details.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, Father. That night, we encountered a monster in the Dragon Mountains...¡±

    ¡°What kind of monster?¡±

    ¡°It was a very scary monster. It was as tall as a hill, and covered in white fur. Oh, yes, it could even use magic to freeze everything...¡±

    ¡°What the hell, that¡¯s an Ice Howler...¡± The casten was extremely surprised. He was not like Yvonne, a clueless youngdy. After hearing about those several characteristics, he immediately guessed what monster she referred to¡ªthe legendary Ice Howler. The casten was thoroughly shocked this time. Although he¡¯d known that it would not be smooth sailing when Yvonne went to rescue others, he had not thought that it would¡¯ve been so dangerous. That was the Ice Howler, a descendant of an ancient magical beast¡ªa terrifying magical beast that had savageness flowing in its veins.

    ¡°Yes, Captain Sienna seemed to have recognized it as well. That monster was called Ice Howler. Initially, Captain Sienna and the rest could not defeat the Ice Howler, but thankfully, we bumped into Mage Felic and the rest...¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, Yvonne...¡± The casten swallowed hard, and his voice turned somewhat coarse. ¡°What you mean is that Mage Felic killed the Ice Howler?¡±

    Arathor was really shocked. He was clearer than many others about how terrifying the Ice Howler¡¯s strength was. A few years ago, Arathor had brought an army with him to venture into the Dragon Mountains, wanting to exterminate the Syer Bandits that had settled there. In the end, they were stopped by a group of magical beasts that had suddenly appeared. Amongst this group of magical beasts was an Ice Howler. The Ice Howler had left a deep impression on Arathor back then. The immense physical strength and the omnipresent ice attribute magic of it were just like a nightmare. Arathor knew that that Mage Felic was indeed powerful, but Arathor could not believe that he was strong enough to kill an Ice Howler.

    ¡°No...¡± Yvonne gently shook her head.

    ¡°I knew it, how could it be possible...¡±

    Just when Arathor had let out a sigh of relief, the youngdy spoke again. ¡°It was Mage Felic¡¯s attendant that killed the Ice Howler...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The casten almost went mad on the spot...

    If these words were not said by Yvonne, Arathor would definitely not believe them. Just a mere attendant could kill the Ice Howler? Then what kind of powers does Mage Felic himself own? Ok, ok, let¡¯s take a few thousands step back. Even if Mage Felic does not have much power himself, and maybe just has such powerful attendants, then wouldn¡¯t he have an even more terrifying background?

    Arathor really did not dare to think about it. Just what kind of a person one had to be to have such powerful attendants...?

    Unfortunately, Arathor did not imagine that that was just the start...

    Yvonne¡¯s ount afterward almost made Arathorpletely break down.

    The thousands of Undead within the ruins, the Lich upying the bell tower, and the soaring Humerus Wyrm. All of them were terrifying entities. For Arathor, it was just like a myth. It was half an hour¡¯s journey from the mercenary corps¡¯ camp to the Casten Mansion, but during this half an hour, Arathor¡¯s mouth was not shut once. His frightened expression seemed to have solidified on his face, and it continued so until the carriage entered the Casten Mansion.

    ¡°This... How can this be possible?¡± After returning to the Casten Mansion, Arathor did not sleep at all. He had been repeating the same phrase over and over again throughout the night. It was only when dawn almost broke when Arathor wore his jacket and came out of his bedroom.

    The Casten Mansion¡¯s garden was really huge, and had all sorts of nts. Every time when it was dawn, it would give off a scent that makes people feel rxed and joyful. However, it was somewhat weird today. Today, Arathor was not like how he was usually, taking a break after walking through the garden. Instead, Arathor¡¯s footsteps were hurried. After he came out from his bedroom, he hastily walked past the garden, and arrived in front of a wooden house that was covered in green vines...

    This wooden hut seemed somewhat simple and crude, just like it was made from a few simple pieces of wood. Yet, it was filled with a harmonious sense beauty as though it hadpletely blended in with the garden around it.

    Arathor stood in front of the wooden hut, and gently knocked on the door twice.

    ¡°Master Bettany, can Ie in?¡± Arathor¡¯s voice was abnormally respectful. Luckily, there was no one in the garden; otherwise, they would be shocked until their mouths were wide open...

    ¡°Arathor, I remember that I told you before: if there is nothing important, it¡¯s best that you do not disturb me...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, Master Bettany. I came over because I have something very important to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Come on in and we¡¯ll talk...¡±

    Meanwhile, Lin Li had already packed his luggage.

    The issue at Rnd City had already reached the end of a phase. The food that was worth a million gold coins had already been dealt withst night¡ªSienna did his job swiftly. Before the banquet endedst night, he had already settled this issue with the casten. The food that was worth a million gold coins would be delivered to Dnd City within a week.

    Since the issue of food could be settled, there was no need to stay in Rnd City any longer. Furthermore, Lin Li did not forget that the four fes from the Brilliance Shrine were still concerned about him. If he stayed longer, there mighte a day when he would be stopped by them. By that time, there might be another problem that could not be avoided.

    This was a ce where one was apt to get into trouble. The earlier he left, the better.

    After packing up his luggage simply, he called up Norfeller, Ujfalusi, Jason, and the rest. He spoke to Sienna for a bit before he entered the carriage that would take him to Dnd.

    A tower at the outskirts of ck Clouds Town was piercing through the clouds. From afar, it looked mysterious and solemn. Lin Li had just gotten off the carriage when he met Herza. After not seeing this old man for more than ten days, he clearly saw thetter had be thinner.

    However, this was understandable. When Lin Li left, almost everything was thrown onto the old man. He had to handle all sorts of chores and supervised the construction of the tower. It was already a feat for him not to copse from exhaustion after all those days.

    ¡°Felic, you are back...¡± When the old man saw Lin Li, he greeted him anxiously.

    ¡°What happened, Mr Herza? Did something happen at ck Clouds Town?¡±

    ¡°No, no, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll tell you as we walk...¡± The old man dragged Lin Li into ck Clouds Town. ¡°It will be your President¡¯s Inauguration Ceremony in five days. There will be a lot of prominent figures invited at that time. I have already settled the invitation letters. Come with me and see if there is anything that I have missed...¡±

    ¡°So fast?¡± Lin Li had a shock.

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. This is the decision of the Supreme Council.¡±

    Herza brought Lin Li to his living quarters, and quickly brought out a thick stack of invitation letters. ¡°Take a look at these invitation letters first. If there is nothing missing, I will get somebody to deliver them tomorrow. Additionally, there are some details about the President¡¯s Inauguration Ceremony that I need you to confirm yourself.¡±

    ¡°Let me say this, Mr Herza. Why is the Supreme Council so anxious this time?¡± Lin Li flipped through the invitation letters in his hands while chatting with Herza.

    ¡°I have just received the order as well. As to why it was decided so, this is something I cannot know. Perhaps you should consult your Mentor Andoine. He is somebody that has the highest chance to be an adjudicator. He should be well-informed about this aspect...¡±

 Chapter 346 - Guest List

    Chapter 346: Guest List

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Lin Li looked at the invitation letters in his hand. The presidents of the 24 Guilds of Magic were all invited. Balbo of the Pharmacists Guild, Al¡¯Akir of the Adventurers Guild, and Hoffman of the Glittergold Trade Union were invited by the Supreme Council as well. Additionally, the royal court and the military of Fn would also send their own representatives for this celebration. Representing the Fn royal court was the current king¡¯s second son, His Highness Arthur. As for the Fn military, it was Lin Li¡¯s old acquaintance, Mr Sagre¡ªthe captain of the Sky Knights.

    Thinking about this middle-aged pervert that molested a female adventurer in the ck market, Lin Li shook his head while smiling. He thought to himself, It¡¯s better to appoint two men to watch over him during this inauguration ceremony. Otherwise, if he were to set his sights on a pretty female guest, wouldn¡¯t that cause some big trouble?

    What shocked Lin Li the most was that the Supreme Council actually invited two guests from the Ledin Kingdom. The difference between them was that one was Archbishop Martin from the Brilliance Shrine, and the other was High Priest Ritchie from the Darkness Shrine.

    It was no big deal about the Darkness Shrine. After all, after that disaster, the Darkness Shrine was just an empty title. Other than Sendros being rather reputable due some attainments in pharmaceutics, few heard anything much about the Darkness Shrine in thest hundred years. However, it was different for the Brilliance Shrine. Ever since Rosario became the Pope, the influence of the Brilliance Shrine was like the sun at high noon. Devout followers had filled every corner of Anril, and the Pdins¡¯ Inquisition hadrge numbers of Legendary powerhouses. With Pope Rosario setting his sight on the whole Anril, there was no longer any force that could go against the Brilliance Shrine except for the Supreme Council.

    The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine were two strongest factions in Anril. They ruled all sorts of territories, and controlled the fates of countless people. Many times, they just needed to say a single sentence, and it could affect the arrangement of the whole Anril. Without their support, at least two of the four great human nations would disappear. It was probably because of their respective positions, but the two forces had never had any sort of conflict between them in thest 1300 years. Yet, they did not have any dealings with each other, either. The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine seemed to havee to a tacit agreement¡ªone party would amass followers in the Ledin Kingdom, while the other pass on magical knowledge in the Fn Kingdom. It was just a thin wall between them, but they each stayed in their ownne. They would still show some restraint during the asional minor disputes. Even though 1300 years passed, the two forces were like strangers.

    It was also what gave Lin Li a shock. If they did not contact each other for 1300 years, why did the Supreme Council suddenly think of inviting somebody from the Brilliance Shrine now? Furthermore, the Brilliance Shrine was willing to respect them, and even sent an Archbishop to attend the inauguration ceremony? Lin Li knew that this was a rather high standard. In the Brilliance Shrine, the position of the six Archbishops was only below the Pope himself. The words of three Archbishops were almost equal to the will of the Pope. A person like this had actually been sent to attend his inauguration ceremony... It had to be known that when the kings of several nations were enthroned, the Brilliance Shrine only sent out a Cardinal...

    F*ck, why did they make it so grand...?

    When he saw the invitation letters, the first thought that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind was not to be overwhelmed by an unexpected favor. It was the exact opposite. Lin Li was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat immediately. He did not think that this was because he was so well-known that even the Brilliance Shrine of the Ledin Kingdom that was so faraway knew about him. He did not believe that he was so shocking a personage in the Fn Kingdom that even the Archbishop from the faraway Ledin Kingdom would have to bow his head to the ground. This Archbishop Martining to the Breezy ins would not simply be there to attend the Inauguration Ceremony. It was just that Lin Li, for the time being, still did not know the other reason. However, it had better not be for Norfeller or Ujfalusi, these two fes. Otherwise, something big was going to happen during this Inauguration Ceremony.

    Herza had always done his job without leaving out a single detail. This thick stack of invitation letters¡ªwhether their addressees should be invited or not¡ªrepresented people that had already been invited. Lin Li flipped through it for a long while, but could not think of anything that had to be changed. The only concern was that a few of the Breezy ins guests were missing.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Mr Herza. Is there no need to invite the castens of the Breezy ins?¡±

    ¡°They are still not worthy...¡±

    That was what Herza said...

    The President¡¯s Inauguration Ceremony was no small matter. To put it in Herza¡¯z words, this time the Supreme Council had taken it seriously like never before. Not only had they invited all of those they could, even the Supreme Council itself sent an Arbitrator to host the President¡¯s Inauguration Ceremony!

    Herza could also be considered a sly old fox that never let his feelings show, but when he spoke about the Arbitrator, he could not help but show some excitement on his face.

    The Supreme Council had a total of three Arbitrators. They directed the Supreme Council together, and decided the fates of the thousands of mages in Anril. All of them had experienced the battle that happened 1300 years ago. They even battled alongside the God of Mages, Geresco, before. They were living legends, the creators of miracles!

    The three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council were universally epted by Anril as the three strongest mages. In this world, there was not a single mage that dared to challenge their dignity. There was also not a single mage that dared to question their orders. They were living gods in the world of magic!

    As to how strong these three living gods were, there was nobody that could clearly describe it now. People only knew that these three Arbitrators had already transcended the Legendary-realm in the battle 1300 years ago. After 1300 years, their true strength could only be properly judged by a true god...

    As to what sort of realm was above the Legendary-realm, even Lin Li only had a superficial knowledge of it. He had faintly heard about it from Andoine. Once mages transcended the Legendary-realm, they would take a final step and enter the true Sanctuary-realm. It was a realm that was omnipotent, a realm where rules could be changed or created ording to one¡¯s will. With just a short incantation, one could create a cataclysmic power...

    However, even Andoine¡¯s understanding of the Sanctuary-realm¡¯s power was only at the imaginative level. The gap between the Legendary- and Sanctuary-realm was almost infinite. It could be ovee with a sudden epiphany, or it could end with spending the rest of your life without thest step ever taken.

    Thinking about the fact that he would have a chance to meet an Arbitrator in a few days, even Lin Li could not help but feel somewhat excited.

    However, Lin Li quickly did not have the time to be excited anymore. It was because he was so busy that he almost died in the next few days...

    After the guest list was settled, Lin Li waspletely swamped. The Breezy ins Guild of Magic started from scratch, so how could it be an easy task to steer it? Lin Li, as the president, faced the issues that required his decision in short session.

    The first thing, without a doubt, was the tower that had just beenpleted. Before going to Ruins of Syer Town to rescue people, the Master of Inscription, Moke, had asked Lin Li what sort of mageweaths needed to be inscribed on the insides of the tower, and Lin Li¡¯s answer back then was rather simple: ten Wards of Bad Luck. As of now, the ten Wards of Bad Luck had already been inscribed. As to what to do after inscribing, Moke insisted on waiting for Lin Li to decide it...

    No sooner had the dawn of the second day broken than Moke knocked on Lin Li¡¯s door. The expression of this Master Moke was filled with unconcealed disdain. Moke looked down upon this guild president that had been appointed by the Supreme Council. Not only was it because he had some resentment towards the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, but also mostly because this youngster was really disappointing.

    To be appointed a guild president at a tender age was a once-in-a-blue-moon chance for any mage. Furthermore, this ce was the Breezy ins. It was the Supreme Council¡¯s focus of development for hundreds of years. Whoever could be the president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic would also take over a position that yed a decisive role in the Supreme Council. Furthermore, there was a high chance to be like Andoine and Rosen, and be a powerful contender for the seat of an Arbitrator...

    If it was any other mage that got such an opportunity, they would be grateful towards the Supreme Council while desperately researching magic and making decisions for the guild. However, with this young mage called Felic, it had be another thing. Ever sinceing to the Breezy ins, it could be said that Moke had seen everything. Let¡¯s see... in these two months, what has this Felic done? The first month was still eptable. Although this guy was not hardworking, he was still staying indoors. But when it was the second month, the true nature of this guy appeared. He went to Dnd every day, and even got acquainted with scum like Roman. It was even worse these few days. He knew that the president inauguration ceremony is round the corner, and he still insists on going out with others, causing thepleted work on the tower to wait for his settlement, unable to conclude. Moke really could not understand why the Supreme Council would choose such azy good-for-nothing to assume the role of president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.

    The thing that Moke could not tolerate was that this fe actually dared to doubt his professional standards!

    He was a Master of Inscription. If you were to search the whole of Anril, there would only be a few Inscribers that were more professional than himself. Yet, this fe¡¯s request for him was only ten Wards of Bad Luck. Wasn¡¯t this implying that he was looking down on Moke?

    Moke had never received such humiliation ever since he¡¯d be a Master of Inscription!

    ¡°Hmph, I really want to see what you can do with these ten Wards of Bad Luck...¡±

    After Moke entered the room, he was not courteous with Lin Li at all. He just went to straight to point. ¡°President Felic, I have already inscribed for you the ten Wards of Bad Luck that you wanted. I¡¯m wondering if there is anything else that you want, President Felic?¡±

 Chapter 347 - Psionic Crystal

    Chapter 347: Psionic Crystal

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°Why is it so fast...¡± Lin Li softly mumbled. Honestly, Moke¡¯s visit had surprised him. He had actually thought of going to Dnd to visit Basel, that old con man, while he had the time today. That old con man had actually agreed to help him recruit a batch of strong mages. He was very cunning, so if Lin Li did not go over to press him, who knew when he would go back on his word...

    Oh yes, this old con himself as well. This fe was a genuine Legendary-mage. If he could be pulled into the Guild of Magic, Lin Li would not have to worry about anyone being a threat to himself for at least one and a half years.

    Hence, Lin Li called for Norfeller and Ujfalusi early in the morning, preparing to bring them to Dnd¡¯s library again.

    Who knew that his door would be blocked by Moke before he could even wash up...

    ¡°President Felic, do you want to take a look now?¡± Moke¡¯s expression was not looking good. To make a Master of Inscription inscribe ten Wards of Bad Luck was a very humiliating thing. Moke did not think that after forcing himself to inscribe it, Lin Li would actually say ¡°why is it so fast¡±. Wasn¡¯t this clearly doubting his professional standards?

    Moke held it in again and again before he finally suppressed the urge to let loose and curse. It was just that when he spoke again, his tone was clearly stiffer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look, then...¡± It was a pity. Lin Li was having a headache now, wondering when he would have the time to go to Dnd. That batch of mages under the Breezy ins was the only power that he could rely on for support. If this thing was going to be messed up, his days in the Breezy ins would no longer be peaceful.

    It was also why he did not even realize that Moke¡¯s tone had be stiffer. Naturally, given Lin Li¡¯s nature, even if he noticed it, he would not bother about. No one was bound to each other by ties, so why should he try to curry favor with him? What, he said he was a Master of Inscription? F*ck, Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription...

    Lin Li was wrecking his brains while walking out of ck Clouds Town. When he stood at the entrance of the town, he could already see some of the outline of the tower. The tall and rugged tower was covered in magical runes. Under the early morning sunlight, it emitted a mysterious yet solemn aura. A short Herza was standing at the main entrance of the tower, chatting with a few of the engineers while raising his head and looking over at the town¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°Morning, Mr Herza.¡±

    ¡°Morning, Mage Felic... Oh, no, no, no, it should be President Felic now...¡±

    Herza greeted both of them with a face of smiles. He made jokes while introducing the engineers beside him to Lin Li. These engineers were all sent over by the Supreme Council. At least 20 towers out of the 24 Guilds of Magic in the Fn Kingdom were made by them. Although their magical power was not strong, they still received courteous reception from the presidents of the bigger guilds no matter where they went.

    Naturally, Lin Li was no exception. He was rather courteous towards these engineers. Of course, such courtesy was not only because of the other party¡¯s identity. It was mostly because they hadpleted all of his requests. When the construction of the tower had just begun, Herza asked Lin Li if he had any requests for the structure of the tower. Back then, Lin Li did not think much about it. He just requested for several things right off the bat. When he thought about it again, he suddenly realized that those requests were rather harsh.

    Initially, he thought that these engineers would shout and curse, but who knew that when the tower was slowlypleted, Lin Li would suddenly realize that those requests had been meticulously carried out by these engineers. It was also why Lin Li still felt embarrassed until now...

    Actually, this was not weird at all...

    The engineers sent by the Supreme Council this time were all people that were devoted to the field of construction. Their character was rather weird by nature. When they heard of those requests, the first thought that appeared in the minds of these engineers was not ¡°this fe is trying to take me for a ride¡±, but ¡°this fe actually had the guts!¡±.

    People that were brave had always been able to leave a good impression on them. Furthermore, the current Lin Li was definitely worthy of being described as a promising young mage no matter which perspective he was viewed from. The most distinguished young mage out of all the 24 Guilds of Magic and the victor of the finals in the Aurora Square already had the powers of the Archmage level at such a young age. Currently, he was being appointed as the president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. This was the youngest president of any Guild of Magic in the past 1300 years. Furthermore, he had a unique understanding of architecture. Naturally, the engineers were happy to deal with such a person.

    Herza only casually gave a few words of introduction, and everyone started chatting very passionately. That harmonious atmosphere was simr to that between old friends that had not met for a long while. As for Moke, who was at the side, he could not help mumbling, ¡°When did this fe turn into a social butterfly? Why is he able to converse with these temperamental and stubborn engineers immediately after meeting them for the first time?¡±

    Actually, this was not weird. Although Lin Li was not proficient in architecture, as the saying went, ¡°I have seen enough to manage on my own¡±. For Lin Li who was proficient in the five arts of survival, it was not difficult to converse with these engineers. The knowledge in his brain was sufficient for him to deal with the current circumstances. He could even use the foundation of his five arts of survival and give out some suggestions that would light up the eyes of the engineers...

    Anyway, no matter what Moke mumbled, Lin Li had indeed built up friendship with the engineers within a short time. One of the engineers called Luke even made a promise on the spot¡ªif the tower of the Breezy ins needed any modifications in the future, he would be willing to help out at any time.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Moke¡¯s mouth was immediately wide open. He could not believe what he had just heard. These engineers were well known in the Supreme Council for being temperamental and stubborn. Nobody could order them around except for a given few. Even if it were the presidents of the bigger guilds asking for their help, they would still have to ask for it with tactful words. As for whether the engineers would ept in the end, it would still depend on their mood...

    Moke had not imagined that these temperamental and stubborn fes would actually be so kind to Felic. They even took the initiative and promised to help when the other party did not even mention anything.

    The group of people chatted while they walked into the guild hall. In the middle of the guild hall, the engineers ced arge crystal ball as per Lin Li¡¯s request. There were three spells already fixed on the crystal ball: Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Mirror of Truth, and Mana Hallucination. The design of this crystal was simr to the one at the Emerald Tower, for it linked the Mana Hallucination to Warlock¡¯s Eyes. Through this crystal ball, Lin Li would be able to clearly see every single movement within a hundred miles from the tower.

    Of course, there were some differences between the two. The Mirror of Truth was deliberately added by Lin Li. In order to add on a Mirror of Truth other than fixing those two spells, the engineers had really wrecked their brains. However, after seeing the effects today, they all felt that their efforts were not in vain.

    The Mirror of Truth was a level-six spell, and most mages could easily master it. But when it was fixed onto a crystal ball, receiving support from the tower¡¯s mana supply, its effect wouldpletely change. The effect of the level-six Mirror of Truth only had a radius of at most ten meters. It was specially used for dealing with invisible effects. For example, the mages¡¯ Invisibility, or a high-ranked Bandit¡¯s Sneak. For a magician, this was essentially a method to prevent assassination... but when its radius was extended to hundreds of meters, it would be a wholly different matter. The Mirror of Truth would cover the whole tower, and when somebody harboring ill intentions came near, their primary form would immediately show up on the crystal ball...

    Really gutsy... After seeing this crystal ball with his own eyes, even Moke could not help but silently feel admiration for Felic¡¯s guts. Fixing two spells on the crystal ball had long been a rule that was epted asmon practice among mages. This did not mean that they were unwilling to fix more spells, but it was just that the tolerance of the crystal ball for magical elements had its limits. Every addition of a strand of magical elements would increase the chance of failure. Even if it was just a level-6 spell, it would also require thousand of tries before it would work. The price of a crystal ball would easily be a hundred thousand gold coins. Who would be so free as to part ways with astronomical amounts of gold coins?

    However, Moke did not realize that this crystal ball in front of him was not exactly the same as the one he had seen before...

    There was no difference to detect just by scanning it, but if he were to scrutinize it, he would realize that the crystal ball¡¯s luster was slightly darker, and the brightness was a little brighter. But, all of these differences were not obvious. Actually, if Moke were to reach out and touch it, he would immediately realize that this crystal ball was actually a little warm...

    However, even if Moke really were to touch it, he would probably only find it a little odd. After all, things like Psionic Crystals were notmon knowledge. In fact, it was not only Moke¡ªeven those engineers that installed the Crystal Ball themselves only knew that it was rather weird. As to why was it weird, they could not exin it. After all, they were only well versed in architecture. It was outside of their field when it came to the magical crystalloids.

    Out of so many people present, only Lin Li knew why it was possible to fix three spells onto this crystal ball.

    It was because... this crystal ball was taken out by Lin Li himself!

    When the construction of the tower had just begun, Herza had already reminded Lin Li that it was best to install a crystal ball in the tower. This way, surveince of the surroundings would be very convenient. After listening to this, Lin Li almost immediately thought about the Psionic Crystal inside the Ring of Endless Storm. An iparable ability to amplify magic and an outstanding characteristic to contain elements that surpassed an average crystal¡¯s. No matter which aspect it was, it was the best choice to be the Crystal Ball...

    But, Lin Li was not satisfied...

    How could monitoring the tower¡¯s surroundings bepared to monitoring the whole ck Clouds Town?

    Lin Li took a look around the Crystal Ball and, with a smile, asked Moke, ¡°Oh, yes, Mr Moke. Could you do me a small favor?¡±

    ¡°What small favor?¡± Moke was clearly in a daze for a bit...

 Chapter 348 - Countercurrent mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 348: Countercurrent mageweath</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°This ce...¡± Lin Li¡¯s finger lightly glided across the crystal ball, and finallynded on the base that was cast from brilliant thorium. ¡°I wonder if I can add a Countercurrent mageweath at this ce...¡±

    ¡°Countercurrent mageweath?¡± Moke was in a daze again when he heard it. Of course he knew the Countercurrent mageweath. It was one of the high-level mageweaths that had the simplest structures. It included a total of 13 magic nodes as well as an element amplifying circuit. Most of the times, the Countercurrent mageweath would be in a hibernation state, but once it was triggered by mana, the Countercurrent mageweath would amplify that mana and release powerful magical elements instantly.

    Moke was all too familiar with the Countercurrent mageweath. Out of 10 magic staffs, at least nine would use the Countercurrent mageweath. As for the magic staves that Moke had dealt with so far, he could not even remember how many of them there were. However, Moke could not understand why Felic would suddenly have this request.

    Could it be that he did not know that the Countercurrent mageweath should not even be ced at the base of a crystal ball? The unique property of the Countercurrent mageweath was to suddenly increase mana and use that instantaneous explosive strength to injure opponents. But if it were to be inscribed on the crystal ball¡¯s base, what could it harm other than the crystal ball itself?

    ¡°Let me try...¡± Of course, Moke was not stupid enough to remind the other party of it. In fact, to be able to see the other party make a big fool out of himself was all Moke wished for. <i>Don¡¯t like you ying games? Ok then, I¡¯ll help you inscribe the Countercurrent mageweath. When the crystal ball can¡¯t bear the burden and explodes, I¡¯ll see how you¡¯ll apply for another one from the Supreme Council. This is hundreds of thousands of gold coins. You will not be able to pay for it even if you sell your pants...</i>

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you in advance, Mr Moke...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee...¡± Stimted by the idea of gloating over Lin Li¡¯s imminent misfortune, the smile on Moke¡¯s face widened significantly. He incessantly asked Lin Li what he wanted from the Countercurrent mageweath while asking somebody to bring his tools over.

    Moke¡¯s tools were notplicated¡ªa glittering and translucent crystal pen and a bottle of sky blue ink. For a Master of Inscription, this seemed rather scrubby, but Lin Li did not see it that way. The crystal pen did not seem special when scanning it, but if it was closely inspected, it would be easy to realize that there seemed to be some mist revolving around the tip of the pen.

    Lin Li knew that most likely it was a Twilight Crystal that was associated with a few mineral veins. Crystal pens made from the Twilight Crystal had one big advantage, and that was that they could distribute mana with great uracy. Inscription itself was an art that was meticulous in every way. A sessful mageweath did not tolerate a single mistake, especially so when the Inscriber was distributing mana. Just a single deviation would result in apletely different result.

    Thus, Inscribers used crystal pens to draw mageweaths. It was because crystals themselves were the most sensitive magical crystalloids. Any small changes in mana would appear in the most representative visual manner. As for Twilight Crystal, it was the most sensitive type among all of the crystals. With crystal pens made from Twilight Crystals, one could almostpletely eradicate any mistakes in mana distribution!

    <i>The Supreme Council is indeed wealthy... </i>Looking at that Inscription pen made from Twilight Crystal, even Lin Li could not help but silently gasp in admiration. This was not something that wasmonly seen. Even in the Endless World, Lin Li only saw it twice. Once, it was already made into a crystal pen, and was being held in the hands of the Inscriber Apprentice Altolia. The other was at the cave of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas. After a dragon blood adamantine mineral vein had been dug up, a piece of Twilight Crystal was sitting amongst the rocks. It¡¯d almost made Lin Li salivate on the spot...

    It seemed like monsters that had survived since the Dark Ages like the Supreme Council were not something any normal forces could bepared to. Ignore their monstrous strength that was like something from myths and the influence they had over thousands of mages. Just the wealth that had been umting for 1300 years was sufficient for most forces to give up all hope of contending with them.

    This was no longer a matter of a sum of money. Something as precious as the Twilight Crystal could not be bought with money. The Mannes Family was rich, right? The Marathon Family was rich, right? But, who among those two families would be able to take out a piece of Twilight Crystal? Of course, even if they had one, they did not have the guts to take it out, either. It was fine to be rich, but once they held a treasure that could only be found by luck, who knew whether it would cause some powerhouse to cast greedy eyes on it. An Archmage might not be able to snatch it, but a Legendary-mage should be able to, right? Anril had countless powerhouses, but not all of them were as polite as Andoine...

    However, Moke was definitely not afraid of anyone snatching it...

    It was because one of the two strongest forces of Anril¡ªthe Supreme Council¡ªstood behind him!

    Hence, he could peacefully take out the Twilight Crystal pen and draw outlines on the brilliant thorium base. No matter whether Lin Li liked this middle-aged man with a stiff tone, he still had to admit this time that Moke¡¯s attainments in Inscriptions had already reached the Master level. He held the Twilight Crystal pen in one hand and gently dipped it in the sky blue ink. After that, he hastily started drawing. In an instant, he had announced that the Countercurrent mageweath has beenpleted.

    ¡°This time was really too sudden, I was not prepared. President Felic, why don¡¯t you take a look first. If there is any unsatisfactory ce, please let me know...¡± After drawing out thest element amplifying circuit on the brilliant thorium base, Moke gently ced the Twilight Crystal pen on the table and looked at the young guild president proudly.

    Moke understood himself very well. He knew that he did not have any incredible talent in magic. He was already in his forties, and he had only just broken through to the Archmage realm. But in the field of Inscriptions, Moke did not believe there was anyone that could surpass him. Even if it was the first universally epted Inscriber, nna Guild of Magic¡¯s Aldwin, he only became a Master of Inscription in his sixties. Compared to the current Moke, he was only better in terms of experience. In terms ofprehending Inscriptions per se, he was not Moke¡¯s equal...

    Although Moke had asked Lin Li to point out any errors, his gaze towards the other party was totally different. Today, Moke had contentedly vindicated himself. The Countercurrent mageweath that he just drew was definitely one of the few proud works he had recently. Not only did he use the Twilight Crystal pen that he did not usually use, he also added a few skills that he created during the process for drawing. Moke believed that even if Aldwin were to be present, he would not even able to find any faults.

    ¡°Mr Moke really likes to crack jokes. You are the person of authority for Inscription in the Supreme Council. How would I, a young junior, dare to point out what is unsatisfactory...¡± Lin Li¡¯s face still had a smile that was brimming with enthusiasm, but as he spoke, he frowned slightly. ¡°But Mr Moke, isn¡¯t this element amplifying circuit too near to the source of mana?¡±

    Moke was so confident that he almost thought he misheard when Lin Li really pointed something out...

    He, he, he... He was actually giving directions to Moke? Moke simply could not believe that this young brat actually wishfully thought of trying to point out his faults!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mr Moke? You do not look well, are you sick?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Moke almost choked on his breath. If it was not because Herza was at the side, Moke would already spit his saliva. All of this was in a mess, and it was too near to the source of mana. Moke really could not imagine how clueless a person had to be to say such things...

    Anybody that possessed general knowledge about Inscription knew that under the circumstances where the mageweath¡¯s structure allowed it, the nearer the core circuit was to the source mana, the better it was. It was because only through that the avoidance of depletion was at its highest. <i>Damn it, so this fe does not know anything. What Ward of Bad Luck, what Countercurrent mageweath. God knows where he heard of these. No wonder he¡¯s so stupid, stupid enough to inscribe Countercurrent mageweath on to the base of the crystal ball...</i>

    In an instant, Moke really did not know if he should cry orugh. A Master of Inscription¡¯s time had actually been wasted by a brat that did not know anything. Moke had even held his breath and disyed the Inscription skills that he was most proud of just to subdue the opposition. But, he did not think that the opposition was just ayman who did not even know the basic general knowledge. The Inscription skills that he was proud had entirely been seen as ¡°unsatisfactory¡± in the other party¡¯s eyes...

    ¡°Thank you, President Felic. I am very well!¡± Moke seeminglypleted this sentence in blocks.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. That¡¯s good...¡± Lin Li only then heaved a sigh of relief. He sized up Moke thoroughly with concern while saying, ¡°I thought that it was because Mr Moke just arrived in the Breezy ins and fell sick because of not being limatized...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Moke almost choked on his breath again. This time, he held in again and again before he finally held back the impulse to curse and swear. It was just that although he squeezed out an awkward smile on his face, he had already started swearing in his heart. <i>Only you are f*cking unlimatized, your whole family is unlimatized!</i>

    ¡°Oh yes, Mr Moke. I seemed to have heard it from someone, but Brilliant Thorium tools have the property of warping mana. I¡¯m not sure if that affected the Countercurrent mageweath that you inscribed just now?¡± After Lin Li showed concern with a face of sincerity, he walked around the crystal ball again.

    The words that Lin Li said were asked in a very casual manner. It was just like asking ¡°have you eaten¡± or ¡°how¡¯s the weather today¡±, but when it fell on Moke¡¯s ears, it immediately scared him till he started having cold sweat.

    Indeed, the Brilliant Thorium did have the property of warping mana. Usually, this property was not an issue, but when a Countercurrent mageweath had been inscribed on Brilliant Thorium, this property would suddenly be fatal...

 Chapter 349 - A False Alarm

    <h4>Chapter 349: A False rm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Moke was narrow-minded, he was not an idiot like Lasorick. Furthermore, he was also a genuine Master of Inscription. Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription, aside, the attainments Moke had in Inscriptions would definitely be of the top standard even if it waspared to the whole of Anril.

    With Moke¡¯s attainments in Inscriptions, how could he not understand what the Brilliant Thorium¡¯s property of warping mana would do to the Countercurrent mageweath that he had just inscribed...

    Brilliant Thorium warping mana was just a more ambiguous way of putting it. An urate way to put it would be that Brilliant Thorium would use a twisting method and purify mana. This was also the reason why many precision magical devices used Brilliant Thorium as the base. No matter what kind of crystal was mounted on the base, it would all change into the cleanest and purest mana after undergoing the twisting by the Brilliant Thorium.

    For crystal ball type precision magical devices, the Brilliant Thorium was the best match. Maintaining the cleanliness and purity of mana would extend the lifespan of the crystal ball to the greatest degree. It could also minimize the chances of failing the most.

    However, for the Countercurrent mageweath that Moke had just inscribed, the Brilliant Thorium could bring about an almost destructive blow...

    The theory behind Countercurrent mageweath was actually very simple. With 13 magic nodes connected to the source of mana, the mana stored in the source would immediately surge forth once triggered by external forces. At the same time, the element amplifying circuit would start to work, breaking the operating mode of Countercurrent mageweath. On one hand, there was continuous influx. On the other, there was continuous efflux. The originally stable mana flow had immediately turned into two forces of mana colliding, so an instantaneous explosion would naturallye about...

    But the fault was that the Countercurrent mageweath that Moke had inscribed did not have its own source of mana. It was inscribed on the Brilliant Thorium base. This also meant that this Countercurrent mageweath was sharing the same source of mana with the crystal ball. When the Countercurrent mageweath was triggered by external forces, it would not be supplied with mana by the source of mana, but it would be passively epting the mana surging from the Brilliant Thorium base.

    This would be troublesome. Once it had undergone the Brilliant Thorium¡¯s twisting, mana would be clean and pure. It would not be possible to reverse it with the Brilliant Thorium¡¯s operating mode.

    Of course, there was a solution...

    All it needed was 13 magic nodes on the Countercurrent mageweath to let the mana escape from the Brilliant Thorium¡¯s constraint, restoring the original operation mode. This seeminglyplicated problem would naturally be resolved.

    But in Moke¡¯s design, space had long been reduced to the maximum. How could it be easy to add another 13 magic nodes?

    Unless...

    Unless it was going be as how that fe said it. Adjust the position of the element amplifying circuit, and thus gain some space for the 13 magic nodes in exchange...

    Originally, Moke was waiting for the other party to be a joke, but he had carelessly forgotten about the property of Brilliant Thorium, and had actually fallen to the state of being seen as a joke by ayman. In a moment, Moke really did not know how to describe his feelings. That feeling of having no ce to hide oneself was like he had been pped. Moke stood there, his face pale. His mouth was wide open for a while, but he did not know how to answer the opposition¡¯s question...

    This time, Moke really did not dare to answer it haphazardly, because he suddenly realized that he could not figure out this young mage called Felic anymore. Calling him an outsider to Inscription was hard, for everything he had said was about the most crucial point. But to say that he was an expert in Inscription... Moke did not dare believe it. Any expert would have to go through countless failures in exchange for a broad and profound knowledge of Inscriptions. Without tens of years of thorough research, nobody would be able to get such knowledge out of thin air.

    Indeed, this young mage in front of him could be a true genius, but so what? <i>Isn¡¯t Aldwin from nna¡¯s Guild of Magic a genius? Am I, Moke, not a genius? </i>No matter how much of a genius, it was impossible to be sessful without going through failure. Furthermore, based on the information that Mr Rosen had provided, this Felic should be a genius in magic. Moke believed that there was nobody in this world that would have everything when born. A person that was proficient in magic and Inscription... How could there be such a good deal in this world?

    Moke silently told himself that he would have to be careful about everything he said or did before figuring out the truth about this fe. The mistake he made with the location of the element amplifying circuit just now could still be chalked up to his forgetting about the property of Brilliant Thorium. But, if he were to make any more mistakes, he wouldpletely throw his old face in the Breezy ins.

    Moke looked around. Be it Herza or those engineers, they were all looking at him with faces of anticipation. This time, Moke really did not dare to say anything else. It was still easy to speak for Herza, but those engineers did not have much propriety in speech. If he were to do something stupid, they would definitely not mind helping spread the word. By that time, it would only take a few days for the word of his stupidity to spread among the Supreme Council...

    ¡°This... this...¡±

    Moke said ¡°this¡± more than several times, and did not borate on any reasons. Instead, it was Lin Li, who had cocked his ears to listen, that became impatient. He shook his head and walked around the crystal ball. In the end, his gaze was set upon the Countercurrent mageweath again.

    ¡°This... Mr Moke. I am just casually saying. If I were to be mistaken, please don¡¯t take offense...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it... President Felic really knows how to joke...¡± If it was before, Moke would most likely roll his eyes and disy a disdainful look. He would most likely scold him, saying, ¡°Your hair has not even grown yet, and you dare to give me directions?¡±

    Well, things like that...

    But now, Moke did not dare to do that. He was ambiguous even when he spoke, for he was scared he would create another joke.

    Luckily, Felic did not realize his awkwardness. After scanning through the mageweath once, he then pointed at the Brilliant Thorium base again with a hesitant look, and said, ¡°It¡¯s because I have also seen President Aldwin draw a Countercurrent mageweath back when I was at nna. It was somewhat different from yours...¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s voice got softer and softer, but Moke¡¯s eyes lit up as he listened.

    When Lin Li had finished speaking, the awkwardness on Moke¡¯s face hadpletely disappeared, and in its ce was a look of sudden realization.

    No wonder...

    No wonder he said that there were deviations in the element amplifying circuit that Moke had inscribed. The questions that Moke had were suddenly answered in that moment. <i>Like I said, this fe is only in his twenties. How could he be proficient in Inscriptions? </i>That small mistake could only be seen if Aldwin was here. After all, he was more than a hundred years old. In terms of experience, he would definitely be better than Moke. This fe had been giving directions illogically for the whole day. So, it was because he had seen Aldwin inscribe the Countercurrent mageweath before back then at nna...

    For a stranger to Inscriptions, it was only natural that the Countercurrent mageweath that this Master of Inscription, Aldwin, had inscribed was the only benchmark. Some people that had seen the Countercurrent mageweath that Moke had inscribed would of course think that he was wrong, but they did not know that he had used some special skills and slightly changed the position of the element amplifying circuit. <i>F*ck, it all boils down to doing something extra. Of all things to do, I had to show off my skills in front of an outsider. In the end, I did not even get a single praise, but instead almost had a heart attack...</i>

    After thinking in this manner, Moke had somewhat calmed down. When he looked at Lin Li again, his gaze was no longer as nervous before. With an unfathomable look, he said, ¡°President Felic, I need to remind you that I am me, and Aldwin is Aldwin. Masters of Inscriptions have their own styles. The things we are good at are different...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡±

    Lin Li nodded. It was just that his tone was in¡ªit did not sound sincere. Luckily, Moke did not mind after being frightened just now. Now, he was wrecking his brains to find an excuse to leave. Otherwise, if he were to wait for this kid to suddenly think of asking him to activate the Countercurrent mageweath for a trial, he might really throw his face away.

    Others might be clueless, but how could Moke not know about the mageweath that he had inscribed himself? This Countercurrent mageweath was already useless. It did not have more support from magic nodes when inscribed on the Brilliant Thorium base. The element amplifying circuit had no way of functioning. It was still alright if nobody inputted any mana to activate it, but if somebody were to try and input mana to activate it, they would realize that the Countercurrent mageweath was just a decoration.

    No matter what it was, he still had to leave first. As for the aftermath, he could just wait for everyone to leave and sneak back in to make a new inscription. After all, it was just a Countercurrent mageweath. For Master of Inscription, making one was just a matter of seconds.

    Unfortunately, that fe called Felic was not tactful. Moke had already covered his mouth and yawned for a long while, and this fe still did not understand his cue. He just kept dragging on and asking questions. Could it be that he did not realize that Moke did not want to talk to him?

    <i>F*ck, he is too thick-skinned... </i>Moke silent cursed in his heart. He did not want to give this fe any more respect. <i>You just have to drag me along and not let me leave, right? Fine, I¡¯ll show you a joke first...</i>

    ¡°Oh, yes, President Felic. About the ten Wards of Bad Luck that you asked me to inscribe, I have alreadypleted them. Do you want to take a look at them now?¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course...¡±

    ¡°Haha. Well then, President Felic, Mr Herza and engineers, please follow me...¡± Seeing that this fe was being reckless, Moke could not help but feel contented. He thought, You almost gave me a heart attack just now. This time, I wanna see what kind of tricks you can still pull off. What an idiot. You actually asked a Master of Inscription to inscribe Wards of Bad Luck. Don¡¯t you know just a single Ward of Bad Luck would cause arge piece ofnd to be barren? You actually recklessly asked for ten... I really want to see how are you going to exin yourself to the Supreme Council...

 Chapter 350 - Ward of Bad Luck

    <h4>Chapter 350: Ward of Bad Luck</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Moke guided the group through the hall, and they soon entered the basement of the tower after going down a series of steps. The thick walls blocked off the morning sun rays, and the surrounding air was turbid. However, the spooky aura could not shield that intense magical wave. This was the nucleus of the whole tower, and all of the magical devices in the tower were supported by these tightly shut secret rooms.

    The engineers that had designed the tower personallyprehended everything here the best. Of course they knew that out of all these secret rooms, there was one meant for providing energy for the tower. To this day, they still remembered that this President Felic hade to the iplete tower by himself on a night with a clear moon and few stars, and mounted a fiery red magical crystal on the source of mana. After that, the whole tower was surrounded by an enormous magical power.

    The engineers did not understand what sort of magical crystal it was, but they knew that the magical power it contained was definitely enough to make most of the mages in this world go crazy...

    However, the room that everyone was going to enter this time was not the secret room that source of mana was ced in. It was the room beside it...

    Moke personally opened the door of the secret room, and a swathe of crimson brilliance appeared in front of everyone. From afar, it looked like a pool of blood under the night sky. It was filled with a bloody but mysterious aura.

    Lin Li stood in front of the crimson light. There were exactly ten Wards of Bad Luck before him.

    ¡°President Felic, those are the ten Wards of Bad Luck that you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and did not mind the provocation in Moke¡¯s gaze. He just quietly stood there and felt the magical wavesing from the crimson light.

    Moke was indeed a Master Moke. These ten Wards of Bad Luck werepleted rather beautifully. Be it in terms of mana distribution or drawing skills, they could be described as a rare and excellent product. From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, these ten Wards of Bad Luck only had one weakness. It was that they were too near to each other...

    This could be due to Moke¡¯s character¡ªhis natural pettiness. He liked to use cyclicpression when dealing with space. The Countercurrent mageweath outside had already proven this point. Of course, it could also be that Moke¡¯s magical attainments were not sufficient. He had only just broken through to the Archmage realm when he was already in his forties. Naturally, he would be different from Lin Li who had an instinctive sensitivity to mana. Ack of magical attainments as well as being too devoted to Inscription design had caused Moke to make a small mistake. These ten Wards of Bad Luck were rather independent, but the overlypact design would cause them to interfere with and reject each other. The chaos of the magical waves could possibly trigger some unforeseen idents...

    But all that did not matter to Lin Li...

    What Lin Li needed was not some Ward of Bad Luck...

    The uses for the Ward of Bad Luck were indeed very evil. Normally, those Necromancers that did not have enough power would borrow the strength of the Ward of Bad Luck. The only use for the Ward of Bad Luck was that it would change everything in its surroundings into barrennd. Be it nts or animals, they would all lose their lives in this barrennd.

    This was what the Necromancers loved the most. They needed such evil power. By relying on the Ward of Bad Luck, their necromagic would be stronger. Be it summoning or control, it would all be many times stronger than before. From a certain point of view, the Ward of Bad Luck was like a Humerus Domain that¡¯d been weakened several times!

    Other than that, the most useful part about the Ward of Bad Luck should be being a magical trap.

    It was especially so when hunting strong magical beasts. Mages needed a special way to weaken the monsters¡¯ strength and resistance. At this point, the curse of the Ward of Bad Luck coulde into y. Magical beasts affected by the Ward of Bad Luck¡¯s curse would lose a portion of their strength for a short period of time. By using this chance, it would be much easier to capture or kill them...

    However, this was not what Lin Li wanted.

    The Ward of Bad Luck could strength Undead creatures, but Norfeller and Ujfalusi weren¡¯t included among them. Norfeller was a high-ranking Vampire, and thus relied on naturally powerful physical strength as well as the Dark Magic vampires were born with. It was needless to talk about Ujfalusi. He could summon Humerus Wyrms and create Noble Liches from the Humerus Domain. Why would he be affected by a small, little Ward of Bad Luck?

    As for magical traps...

    If Lin Li was willing, he could inscribe magical traps that were ten times stronger than the Ward of Bad Luck.

    What Lin Li needed was a more powerful weapon...

    ¡°Moke, may I borrow your inscription pen for a bit?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± This request of Lin Li¡¯s was really too random. Moke was stunned for a long while before he nodded with hesitation, and took out an inscription pen from his tool bag.

    Lin Li took a look. The one that Moke took out was that inscription pen that was made from Twilight Crystal. It seemed like this Master of Inscription was rather generous other than being narrow-minded. However, Lin Li still shook his head after being in a short daze. ¡°This one will not do, Mr Moke. Do you have something bigger?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Moke almost puked blood on the spot. After being an Inscriber for so many years, Moke had never seen someone that would not know how to appreciate what was good. Didn¡¯t he know that the inscription pen that Moke had lent him was a treasure that Inscribers could only dream of? He still asked if there was something bigger... <i>F*ck. Does he think that the inscription pens are like carrots, the bigger, the better? Something bigger... If it¡¯s too big, can your mom handle it...</i>

    Moke could feel the veins on his forehead swelling at that moment. He took in deep breaths forcefully before he could hold back the impulse to curse and swear.

    ¡°Take it!¡± After taking out another inscription pen from his tool bag, it was as if Moke had thrown it at Lin Li¡¯s face...

    ¡°Thank you.¡± But Lin Li did not mind it. After receiving the inscription pen, he still politely thanked him.

    Afterward, Lin Li stood in front of the crimson light.

    This time, he stood there for ten minutes.

    Suddenly, the secret room got quiet...

    Although Moke was filled with rage, at this time, he could not help but feel curious. He really wanted to see what this fe was trying to do by borrowing his inscription pen.

    Could it be...

    Could it be that he wanted to make amendments to the Wards of Bad Luck that Moke had inscribed? This thought had just surfaced in his mind, but Moke could not help but smile. His smile was filled with self-mockery. It seemed like the false rm just now had totally scared him if he actually had such a ridiculous thought.

    Of course, Moke himself knew the Wards of Bad Luck that he had inscribed the best. Even if Aldwin were toe over personally, he would not even have the ability to improve anything, not to mention this outsider that knew nothing. Everybody was a master. How could trying to amend the other party¡¯s work be as easy as talking? Unless... Unless it was the legendary Guru of Inscription taking action, only then it would be a slim chance...

    Not only Moke, the engineers were the same. The few of them stood there and nkly looked at Lin Li. Their natural profession sensitivity had told them that most likely something one could never imagine was about to happen. They really wanted to see what kind of shocking things this young and mysterious guild president was going to do...

    Out of so many people present, only Herza was looking normal. This old man that had witnessed the finals in the Aurora Square and heard several stories from Macklin was probably the one that understood Lin Li the most out of everyone else here. Herza knew that this young mage called Felic was a genuine miracle creator. No matter how impossible it was, as long as it happened to him, it would all suddenly make sense.

    In fact, back when Moke had inscribed the Countercurrent mageweath, Herza had already acutely perceived something. It was just that firstly, he was not confident, and secondly, he was trying to protect Moke¡¯s reputation. He just held it back, and did not ask...

    An outsider that knew nothing? If Andoine heard this, who knew how hard he would beughing right now...

    Time seemed to pass by unusually slowly. Everything in the room seemed to be frozen in ce. Everyone¡¯s gazes simultaneously fell on Lin Li, or on the hand that was holding the inscription pen...

    After that, they saw that this young mage suddenly moved...

    The glittering and translucent crystal pen was gently dipped into the bottle of sky blue ink. After that, a stream of sky blue light lit up everyone¡¯s eyes.

    Lin Li¡¯s movements were shockingly fast. Even those genuine high-level Bandits might not be able to keep up with them. The crystal pen in his hand seemed to transform into a stream of light, painting lines amidst the in of crimson red. It was as if some sort of life power had been given to the right hand that was holding the inscription pen at this moment. It made everything have a lethal sense of beauty. At this point, even those lines that were as dry as sawdust were also filled with life, pulsating along with the inscription pen and creating a dreamy scene with the crimson red and sky blue color.

    ¡°Sh*t...¡± After seeing Lin Li moving, Herza immediately knew something was wrong. This was not a joke. Even if Herza was not proficient in Inscription, he also knew that modifying the work of an Inscriber was the taboo of all taboos. This was like giving another Inscriber a p, but this time, the Inscriber was someone of authority from the Supreme Council, Master Moke...

    <i>I¡¯m doomed...</i>

    If these two had some small disputes before, then from now, these two wouldpletely be enemies with each other. With Moke¡¯s narrow-mindedness, how could he tolerate such a humiliation? There was going to be big trouble this time. Herza just hoped that it would not affect the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony that was in few days¡¯ time...

    However, the expression on Moke¡¯s face could be described as unusually brilliant.

    It shifted from shock to anger, and then from anger to realization. In the end, it all became pale. A type of pale filled with despair...

 Chapter 351 - All-Kill Array

    <h4>Chapter 351: All-Kill Array</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    While all this sounded like a long story, the truth was that it had happened in an instant.

    In that instant, 10 Wards of Bad Luck had been changed.

    The sky blue ink seeped into it, and brought about a 180 degree change¡ªthe unique magical wave of the Ward of Bad Luck seemed to have suddenly disappeared without a trace. In its ce was an aggressive magical wave, and everyone felt its powerful strength as they stood before the light.

    They stared at it wide-eyed and dumbfounded, struggling to open their mouths, only to find that they had lost the ability to speak...

    The 10 Wards of Bad Luck that Moke hadid down personally were altered by someone else in an instant. However, Moke did not feel insulted nor angered over it; instead, he felt a deep sense of hopelessness and shock...

    This was impossible...

    A hallucination, this had to be a hallucination!

    Moke could not find it in himself to believe that what he saw was real. Someone had to be ying a joke on him! There had to be a mistake somewhere, or how else was this possible? An amateur who did not even know what a Countercurrent mageweath was used for had tampered with the Ward of Bad Luck heid down, and even turned it into a mageweath array in an instant...

    Soon, however, Moke realized that all of this seemed to be real as the scene before his eyes showed so sign of vanishing no matter how much he rubbed his eyes.

    Bloody hell, this was not a hallucination¡ªit really was a mageweath array, and one made out of 10 Wards of Bad Luck at that...

    All color disappeared from Moke¡¯s face, and in its ce was a sickly shade of white.

    He was a true Master of Inscription, and knew better than anyone else what a mageweath array meant. It was the highest level of Inscription, the ultimate extension of the power of Inscription! Even though Moke was a Master of Inscription himself, the closest he could get to mageweath arrays was to pay homage to one.

    Inscription making was born during the Dark Ages. In its 1,300 years of history, few had been able to master mageweath arrays. All of them deserved their positions at the peak of Inscription, and they were known as Gurus of Inscription...

    Moke gulped as he tried to digest everything before him...

    While the Wards of Bad Luck continued to shine, the magical wave they emitted waspletely different. Actually, they should not be called Wards of Bad Luck anymore, as their core circuit had beenpletely changed earlier. Lying before Moke was now 10 brand-new mageweaths; they were all tightly interlocked, forming an incredibly strong mageweath array...

    There was little wonder in how Moke had thrown away his dignity¡ªthis was all beyond his imagination. Not even in his wildest dreams did he think that he would one day see a mageweath array before him.

    In Inscription, three mageweaths were enough to form a mageweath array, and that was already the peak of Inscription. Whenever mageweath arrays were involved, there would be countless permutations of every magic node and magic circuit, and no Inscriber would be able to grasp them fully, as it was an astronomical figure that was simply impossible for a human brain to handle.

    Besides that, there was the distribution of mana to consider¡ªthe distribution of mana required in a mageweath array was nothing short of strict. If the margin of error allowed in amon mageweath was the size of a grain, then the margin of error allowed in mageweath arrays was that of the width of a strand of hair¡ªa mosquito¡¯s hair, at that...

    Moke had already be a Master of Inscription in his forties, and while he was confident in himself, he knew that there was no way he would be able to create a true mageweath array in his lifetime. It was simply too insane a task, and was impossible for a mortal to achieve.

    Today, however, somebody he had thought of as an amateur, a young mage who probably could not even grow a proper beard yet, hadpleted a mageweath array in an instant.

    On top of that, it was a mageweath arrayprising 10 mageweaths. If three mageweaths was already as difficult as scaling a mountain, what about 10? Moke felt his skin crawl just thinking about it; he did not even dare to think about the 10 mageweaths, as it was way beyond hisprehension. If the difficulty of three mageweaths could bepared to being a Magic Shooter, then 10 mageweaths would without a doubt correspond to being a Sanctuary Master!

    The 10 shiny mageweaths stunned Moke. His gaze was unfocused as he skimmed through the 10 mageweaths before his eyesnded on the young mage he had thought was an amateur.

    ¡°Felic, this...¡± Herza¡¯s voice sounded forced. While he was not well-versed in Inscription, in that instant, even a fool could tell that Moke who they had thought of as an authoritative figure in Epigraphy was so stunned by the young mage that he was now lost for words.

    Herza felt that he should give Moke a hand...

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li smiled as he did not bother to hide anything from them. ¡°This is just something I came up with while I was bored in the past. I like to call it the All-Kill Array.¡±

    Perhaps Lin Li was the only one who knew that he really was not lying this time. Back when he had participated in the trials in nna, he had coincidentally followed Andoine into the Nightmare Mountains, and also coincidentally found a strange piece of crystal. Since then, Lin Li toyed with the idea of creating mageweath arrays. Only, the advanced mageweath arrays required too many things, and were impossible even for a Guru of Inscription. Hence, he thought of more basic mageweath arrays...

    Besides entertaining it, he had even tried it personally.

    The difficulty in constructing a basic mageweath array was much smaller than that of making an advanced mageweath array. Hence, Lin Li had managed to create his first mageweath array on his first try. While it was not as powerful as he would have liked it to be, it was a mageweath array, after all, and being able to create one was already a huge achievement per se.

    If he wanted it to be more powerful, that was simple enough. Since five mageweaths were not enough, he would just add another five!

    It was after all only a basic mageweath, and even if he were to add a few more, the level of difficulty did not rise too much except for the process bing slightly moreplicated. Given Lin Li¡¯s abilities now, he could create at most 10 mageweaths.

    Thus, the All-Kill Array which consisted of 10 mageweaths was born!

    As for why he had let Mokey down 10 Wards of Bad Luck first...

    <i>It¡¯s boring to create a mageweath, and if Mr Moke doesn¡¯t mind helping, why don¡¯t I just let him do it?</i>

    Of course, Lin Li kept this to himself. If Moke heard this, then things were going to turn ugly...

    ¡°All-Kill Array?¡± Herza nodded, but did not seem to understand. He had no idea what an All-Kill Array was, but one thing he was sure of was that the name definitely suited it as its strength was terrifying indeed. Herza even thought that if its strength was released, even he himself would turn into dust immediately...

    Herza could not even recall where he had felt any strength as powerful as this. It wasparable to that of Legendary-mages; perhaps only the three Arbitrators could surpass it easily...

    Herza felt assured of that...

    Frankly speaking, he had his concerns about Lin Li squandering his time, even though he had yet to make ament about it. Lin Li did not even seem to care about a position as important as that of being the president of Breezy ins Guild of Magic, and after the tower had been built, he had only been here twice or thrice. Herza heard that he had even gone to Rnd City some time ago. Thankfully, he managed to return in time for the inauguration ceremony...

    However, Herza felt assured now that he had seen the All-Kill Array. Seeing as the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was so capable, he should not have to worry for now.

    ¡°P-President Felic...¡± Just as Herza was silently letting out a breath, Moke had walked over some time ago, and although his face remained pale, there was determination and a wild passion in his eyes. ¡°Can... can I ask you a question?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about the Countercurrent mageweath youid down in the bottom of the crystal ball?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li paused. To be honest, he had not expected Moke to ask this question. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he patiently exined, ¡°This is just something I thought of¡ªsince the crystal ball can monitor the whole tower, why don¡¯t I try and see if it can monitor the whole ck Clouds Town, and even the whole Dnd?¡±

    ¡°...¡± While Moke liked to think that he already had nerves of steel, after all the scare he had had for the day, he still nearly stopped breathing when he heard this. Let the crystal ball keep watch of the whole ck Clouds Town, and even the whole Dnd? What kind of lunatic was capable of uttering such words?

    The only magic spells in the crystal ball were the Warlock¡¯s Eyes and the Mirror of Truth. It was definitely beyond insane to use them to control the whole ck Clouds Town and Dnd. Fortunately, it was Lin Li who had said it¡ªMoke had apletely different perception of him after seeing the All-Kill Array. If it had been anyone else, Moke would have spat in their face for patronizing him.

    But even so, Moke could not help the disbelief on his face. ¡°Is... is that true, President Felic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not strange, Mr Moke. If you study the Countercurrent mageweath carefully, you will not be as shocked as you are now. Yes, the Countercurrent mageweath has its faults, it¡¯s not consistent enough and notsting enough, and it¡¯s even unable to magnify mana enough, but don¡¯t forget that the circuit of magnifying elements is the true core of the Countercurrent mageweath. As long as the circuit of magnifying elements is slightly tweaked, it will not be impossible to control the whole ck Clouds Town, or even Dnd...¡±

    ¡°But... but if that¡¯s so, wouldn¡¯t it damage the crystal ball?¡±

 Chapter 352 - Crystal Cannon

    <h4>Chapter 352: Crystal Cannon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Heheh...¡± Lin Li merely smiled without saying anything.

    ¡°Oh... I understand now, I understand it now...¡± Moke was not stupid, after all. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly understood it. He had asked a dumb question¡ªwhile that was an impossibly difficult problem for most Inscribers, President Felic was a freak who had mastered mageweath arrays and created the All-Kill Array, after all!

    So what if the Countercurrent mageweath resulted in damage from mana? This guy coulde up with at least 10 solutions for that!

    ¡°Thank you.¡± After saying that, Moke bowed deeply to Lin Li.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Lin Li merely smiled, and did not feel it inappropriate that Moke bowed to him, for he knew that the bow was not to show respect for him, but to show respect to the power of knowledge.

    Then, Moke turned around and left the tower...

    ¡°Would you like to look at other ces?¡±

    ¡°Of course...¡± Everything that happened today had been too unbelievable, and a look of disbelief remained on the faces of some of the engineers. As members of the Supreme Council themselves, they knew Moke¡¯s personality better than anyone else¡ªhe was not someone who yielded to others easily. Even in the Supreme Council, where there were many powerful individuals, he rarely conceded defeat willingly; unless the other person awed him with their knowledge of Inscriptions, it would be difficult for them to gain his respect even if they were much more powerful than him.

    Without a doubt, this young president had made Moke concede defeat willingly in terms of their knowledge of Inscription...

    But why was he so young?

    The door to the secret room closed once again, and buried the light of the All-Kill Array in the dark. The gloomy basement room returned to its original state, and nothing seemed to have changed. However, Herza and the engineers knew that it merely looked liked nothing had changed as they could all feel the power that made them tremble in this dim lighting and musty air...

    The group followed the stairs up, and returned to the guild hall. The light of dawn was just seeping into the tower, and shone colorfully due to the refraction of the crystal ball. Lin Li stood quietly in the center of the guild hall and raised his head slightly, squinting as he surveyed the tower he had built along with the Supreme Council.

    True, Lin Li had not been there more than a few times during the months it took to build the tower, but that did not mean that he was unfamiliar with it. On the contrary, Lin Li knew it like the back of his hand as every critical point was designed by him. For example, he waspletely clear which underground room was used to store the source of mana for the power. In order to provide enough mana for the tower, Lin Li had even used the Smander magical crystal¡ªthe Legendary-level magical crystal Lin Li had stolen from under the nose of the Sword Sage of the Storm back in the Fire Plume Ridge...

    Fortunately, this had all been done secretly, or he would have driven many mages insane with anger if they knew he was using a Legendary magical crystal as the source of mana. A Legendary magical crystal was a priceless treasure indeed, and it was not an exaggeration in the least bit. To put it simply, if there was a level-19 magical crystal and a level-20 magical crystal on the market, then thetter would definitely be sold at a price at least a thousand times that of the former!

    Magical crystals above level-20 were much too rare, but there was nothing that could be done about it. There were only so many people in the Legendary-level in Anril, and even if one was at Legendary-level, it did not guarantee that they would definitely be able to obtain a Legendary-level magical crystal. Both Legendary-level magical beasts and people at Legendary-level wereparable, after all, so who was to say that they would definitely win in a fight to death? Back in the Fire Plume Ridge, the level-21 Sword Sage of the Storm and a few thousand Adventurers from various mercenary corps were still forced into a corner by the Smander, and if not for Lin Li suddenly striking, nobody knew who would have won in the end...

    But the strength of a Legendary magical crystal was deserving of its price.

    Any Legendary magical crystal had a nearly endless supply of mana, and was a treasure cove of mana truly coveted by mages. Gerian had once said that if he owned a Legendary magical crystal, he would never go meditate again.

    Gerian had not been exaggerating, as the mana in a Legendary magical crystal was enough tost an Archmage for life. Moreover, that mana was renewable...

    Each Legendary magical crystal came from the most powerful magical beasts in this world¡ªit was the continuation of their life, the inheritance of their soul. On some levels, Legendary magical crystals had their own life and soul, and were vastly different from average magical crystals. They could even meditate like a real mage in order to gather magical elements from the air and turn it into mana!

    And that was what made Legendary magical crystals truly valuable.

    Of course, the mana in the tower was awfully abundant with such an insane source of mana.

    But was it a little too abundant?

    Honestly speaking, Lin Li had been racking his brains over this for a while. Thankfully, it was not long before he came up with a solution, and he added a few interesting designs to the tower...

    ¡°Right, President Felic, this is...¡± Herza suddenly stopped when the group reached the fourth floor. The fourth floor was strange indeed. The second and third floors had merely been libraries, pharmaceuticalbs, and alchemybs¡ªalthough the facilities were all unnecessarily refined due to the strict requests of Lin Li, they had not exceeded the boundary of what was normal.

    However...

    The fourth floor was an entirely different story, and Herza even thought he had walked into a prison made from refined iron when he stepped into it. Everything he saw before him was covered in refined iron¡ªfrom the railings on the stairs to the floor beneath their feet.

    Herza looked at the engineers questioningly, but they all shrugged their shoulders indignantly. Truth was, they had no idea what was going on, either. All they knew was that the young president had a special request, and had even provided all the materials¡ªcorrect, all the materials!

    And thus, it resulted in everything they saw before their eyes...

    Lin Li smiled, but did not answer Herza¡¯s question, and only pushed open the iron door. A narrow room appeared before them, butpared to normal rooms, this one was insane. Herza could not help rolling his eyes as soon as the door was pushed open; there was no doubt that everything inside was made of refined iron, be it the thick walls or the floor they were standing on. The room was tightly sealed save for one window opposite the door. Herza could clearly see a bottom piece made of refined iron under the window; it looked like it was used to hold something...

    ¡°I heard someone mention that the Dwarf Kingdom produces an incredibly powerful Crystal Cannon rivaling level-18 magic, so I was thinking it would be interesting if I had about 10 to 20 Crystal Cannons firing around...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Herza nearly lost his mind...

    Setting up Crystal Cannons in a tower filled with mages? And 20 Crystal Cannons at that...

    What kind of lunatic was capable of spouting such words?

    Herza handled the external affairs of the Supreme Council, and had been to every corner of Anril in the past few decades. Of course, he had been to the Dwarf Kingdom as well, and was not unfamiliar with Crystal Cannons. The truth was, thest time he had been to the Dwarf Kingdom, His Majesty Madoran had even personally demonstrated the power of a Crystal Cannon to him.

    He had to admit that it was indeed a terrifying weapon.

    But no matter how terrifying it was, surely Lin Li had to be able to use it first? Crystal Cannons used nothing but mana, which could only be supplied by magical crystals, and not just any magical crystals. A level-10 magical crystal could only let the cannon fire a few times, and even a level-15 one could only guarantee a few dozen shots. It took all the Dwarf Kingdom had to offer to set up 18 cannons in their royal castle, and even then there were strict orders for everyone in the Dwarf Kingdom to not use Crystal Cannons unless they were really threatened by a formidable enemy.

    Yet this President Felic wanted to set up 20 of it...

    Did he really think he could fire Crystal Cannons like fireworks?

    <i>Wait a minute...</i>

    Herza was shaking his head when he suddenly recalled something. Earlier on in the basement, he had felt a shockingly powerful magical wave.

    Moreover, the engineers had mentioned that the young president requested for the source of mana in the tower to be ced in the basement.

    Could it be...

    The sudden thought that appeared in his mind scared Herza. The old man could distinctly feel a chill running down his back.

    After inhaling deeply with a pale face, Herza asked, ¡°P-President Felic, s-surely you have not gotten yourself a Legendary magical crystal?¡±

    Lin Li continued to smile, and did not answer Herza.

    ¡°Alright, President Felic, since you¡¯re unwilling to admit it, I shall not force you, but I have to tell you this: even a Legendary magical crystal cannot withstand the expenditure caused by 20 Crystal Cannons...¡± Herza¡¯s gaze became solemn. ¡°This usage of mana is too scary, and even the speed of recovery of a Legendary magical crystal would not be able to keep up with it. Besides, that Legendary magical crystal of yours still has to provide mana for other uses. Perhaps it will work for a decade or two, but it will be depleted one day. By then, that Legendary magical crystal would bepletely destroyed...¡±

 Chapter 353 - Tower of Dusk

    <h4>Chapter 353: Tower of Dusk</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°President Felic, I hope you can give it a more serious thought. This is a Legendary magical crystal after all, something every mage dreams of owning. It has countless uses, and can even create a dozen Archmages for your Guild of Magic. If you use it to fire Crystal Cannons, isn¡¯t it too... too...¡± Herza was beginning to sound worked up, and kept repeating hisst word before he finally settled for an adjective. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too much of a waste of natural resources? President Felic, you¡¯ll definitely destroy it, this is a crime!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright Mr Herza...¡± Lin Li never thought that the old man would get so worked up. ¡°I have to remind you that this is all your conjecture and I never said I did that, moreover, how do you know if I really have a Legendary magical crystal?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Herza paused, and only then did he realize that he had indeed crossed a line.

    But, how many mages could keep calm when Legendary magical crystals were concerned? How was using a Legendary magical crystal to power a Crystal Cannon any different from getting a dainty beauty to work as a construction worker? Any mage with a sense of shame would not let this happen...

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go look at other ces?¡± Lin Li dared not touch this topic any further after he finally got Herza to calm down. Thetter was already quite old; if anything happened to him, Lin Li would never be able to live it down.

    Of course, not everything Lin Li had said was a lie.

    One thing was for sure: he was not going to use the Smander¡¯s magical crystal to power the Crystal Cannons...

    The reason was simple¡ªthe Smander¡¯s magical crystal was not powerful enough...

    Lin Li knew this better than Herza as his mental strength was much more sensitive than anyone else¡¯s, and he was able to tell easily what a magical crystal should be used for. For example, the Smander¡¯s magical crystal was definitely more than enough to provide mana for the tower¡¯s operations.

    It would be too much for it to power 20 Crystal Cannons, however. Additionally, there were weapons much more powerful than Crystal Cannons in Lin Li¡¯s ns, and they¡¯d require even more mana to run them.

    For example, the All-Kill Array in the basement. That was more than 10 simple mageweaths; when they were in operation, they used a few hundred, or even a few thousand, times the amount of mana required for just one mageweath. Right, and the crystal ball in the middle of the guild hall was another issue too¡ªit would be alright to use it to watch the area around the tower, but the amount of mana required for the surveince of the whole ck Clouds Town or even Dnd would be an astronomical figure.

    If it was all powered by the Smander¡¯s magical crystal, then this treasure coveted by all mages would definitely be destroyed within 10 years.

    The Eternal Furnace in the Void Crack would have to be brought out sooner orter, and when Lin Li was designing the building, he had already saved a spot for it on top of the tower. There was a tform there, and 12 mageweaths were alreadyid down on it. These 12 mageweaths would fuse the tower with the Eternal Furnace and share the endless supply of mana from the Fire Wyrm magical crystal.

    That was the true core of Lin Li¡¯s design¡ªonce he had the support of the Eternal Furnace, the defense system of the tower would be trulyplete.

    But it was still not the right time yet...

    Even though Lin Li had already gained control of the Eternal Furnace, he was stillcking a key. Hence, Lin Li decided that he would have to go to nna three monthster andplete the final agreement he¡¯d made with Macklin during the trial. When that was done, he thought that he should make a deal with nna¡¯s Guild of Magic.

    If it had been in the past, he definitely would not have the capability to do so, but it was different now. He held the key figure that was Connoris, the great Soul Trader who had personally experienced the building of the mausoleum and was much more useful to have than a map that could not speak.

    Of course, there was no need for him to tell Herza that...

    After bringing them through thest level, Lin Li stopped at the terrace on the rooftop.

    ¡°Right. President Felic, ording to the rules, you have the right to name this tower.¡±

    ¡°Name it?¡± Lin Li grabbed the safety railings around terrace as he looked down onto ck Clouds Town. There was a tform filled with 12 mageweaths above him. Perhaps in the near future, there would be a true Sky Castle floating up there. The power of the Eternal Furnace was enough to bring the defense of the tower to an extreme level, and there were 20 rooms made of refined iron beneath him, and there was even arge amount of Eternal Adamantine mixed into the refined iron. Each of those rooms would hold a Crystal Cannon, forming a formidable battery of Crystal Cannons. Last but not least, in the dark of the basement was the light of the All-Kill Array. Lin Li was just like a ferocious beast waiting to take his pick of victims¡ªwhen he brandished his ws and fangs, even if the three great armies of the Fn Kingdom attacked all at once, they would have to pay a bloody price.

    Lin Li stood quietly on the terrace as he let himself feel the mana flowing through the tower, finding himself thrilled at the thought of it. While he did not personally build this tower, he had put into it no less effort than these engineers. Of course, besides putting a lot of thought into it, he also provided arge amount of rare materials. It was no exaggeration to say that he had used almost half of the contents in the Ring of Endless Storm, and had devoted nearly all the money he had umted ever since he arrived in Anril to building the tower...

    But Lin Li did not regret this...

    Many said that attack was the best form of defense, but Lin Li disagreed¡ªhow was he going to attack if he could not protect himself?

    Take the war 1,300 years ago as an example: the High Elves managed to put a stop to the human army¡¯s attack with just six Sky Castles, and if Geresco had not reached the Sanctuary-realm, perhaps it would still be the High Elves ruling over Anril now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call it the Tower of Dusk, then...¡±

    Herza frowned slightly as he muttered to himself, ¡°Tower of Dusk? That¡¯s a rather inauspicious name...¡±

    This young mage was only in his twenties, so why would he give his tower such a gloomy name?

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s just a name...¡± Lin Li smiled, and did not exin himself to Herza. He was not referring to when the sun set in the west, but to the bloody dusk 1,300 years ago during the battle against the six Sky Castles.

    When Lin Li walked out of the Tower of Dusk, it was almost noon. Before he left, Lin Li asked Herza again if there was really nothing he had to do in the evening before he headed to ck Clouds Town. He intended to bring Norfeller and Ujfalusi with him to visit Mr Basel in Dnd.

    Who knew that just as Herza was setting out, Lin Li saw a few carriagesing over. They did not seem to be headed for ck Clouds Town, but for the newly built Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Li paused. He had not had the chance to give out the invitations for the inauguration ceremony yet, and nobody besides the Supreme Council knew of the newly set up Guild of Magic. As for the Tower of Dusk... well, although he had spent a great fortune on it, the appearance of the Tower of Dusk remained shabby, and it looked just like an illegally built building, so there was no way it had anything to do with mages...

    Then what were those carriages about?

    Feeling suspicious, Lin Li did not bother returning to ck Clouds Town, and only stood outside the Tower of Dusk as he watched the carriages draw nearer.

    Lin Li was right¡ªthose carriages were headed for the Tower of Dusk indeed, and stopped outside of it. A middle-aged man wearing a gray robe alighted from the first carriage. He looked to be in his forties with his thick beard and his strong figure, and if not for the intense magical wave pouring off him, Lin Li would have thought that he was a Warrior.

    Besides this mage who did not resemble one, more and more people alighted from the carriages. Lin Li counted about a dozen, and all of them looked to be pretty decent mages. The strongest amongst them was the strong-looking middle-aged man from earlier, whom Lin Li thought to be at least an Archmage.

    The dozen of them headed straight for the Tower of Dusk after alighting from their carriages.

    ¡°Good evening, Mr Mage. I wonder what I can I help you with?¡± Lin Li asked very politely as he stood outside the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Good evening.¡± The middle-aged mage nodded his head in greeting as his gaze stopped on the young man for a moment. Not bad, the ce rmended by Mr Basel was not bad indeed, and even a mage apprentice standing guard at the door could afford to dress in such nice robes. This Breezy ins Guild of Magic was indeed better than the average force.

    When he thought of that, the middle-aged mage cheered internally. He heard from Mr Basel that this Breezy ins Guild of Magic was newly set up, and was in need of manpower. He was an Archmage himself, and if he showed a skill or two, wouldn¡¯t this President Felic immediately make him his right-hand man? The middle-aged mage did not doubt this at all, as there were not many in the whole Dnd City who were stronger than him. Well, Mr Basel was one, and the few of those in the Casten Mansion too, but he simply did not care for any of the rest...

    It seemed like the welfare here at the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was not bad indeed, seeing as a mage apprentice standing guard at the door was dressed so vibrantly. The visitor was an Archmage, and if he decided to offer his services, surely he would be treated much better than a mere mage apprentice? If this President Felic acted right, he might as well join the Breezy ins Guild of Magic and let Mr Basel owe him a favor.

    ¡°I would like to see President Felic.¡±

 Chapter 354 - The First Batch of Members

    <h4>Chapter 354: The First Batch of Members</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°May I know who you are...¡± Lin Li¡¯s smile was mixed with a bit of uncertainty as he could not remember if he knew this buff mage. Why were his first words ¡°I¡¯m looking for President Felic¡± as if he knew Lin Li very well...?

    ¡°My name is Gavin, you can call me Archmage Gavin or Mr Gavin.¡± The middle-aged man frowned as he felt somewhat ufortable. How dared a mage apprentice guarding the door question him? This Guild of Magic was reallywless.

    He was a dignified Archmage, so how could he be questioned by a mage apprentice? Of course he would look annoyed. Moreover, he was one of the strongest mages in Dnd, and was respected by people everywhere. To think that he would receive such treatment in this obscure town.

    What annoyed Gavin the most was the fact that he had already been standing outside the door for a long time, but whoever that President Felic was had yet toe out to receive him. Did this fellow really think that Gavin had nowhere else to go besides his Guild of Magic?

    When he thought of that, Gavin became more annoyed.

    If it were any other time, given Gavin¡¯s temper, he would leave in a huff long ago instead of wasting his time on a mage apprentice.

    However, he could not do that this time, as this was something that Mr Basel had instructed him on. No mage in Dnd City dared go against Mr Basel¡ªnot so much because they feared him, but rather out of respect and gratitude.

    Mr Basel was someone truly deserving of respect to all the mages in Dnd as he had been looking after Dnd¡¯s library for the past 50 years and shared his knowledge generously. In everybody¡¯s eyes, including Gavin, Mr Basel was a teacher to all the mages. Only, he had always refused to acknowledge it...

    However, even Mr Basel had to admit that he was the most influential of all mages in Dnd City. There was no question that the mages would do anything Basel asked of them¡ªeven if he wanted them to destroy the Casten Mansion with magic!

    Of course, Gavin did not dare protest against anything that Mr Basel had asked of him; he was not against it, either. Well, he did have more freedom in the past, studying in the Dnd library and receiving Basel¡¯s teachings, andpleting a few missions every month for the Adventurers Guild to earn a living.

    Gavin had spent the past 20 years like this, but he was not satisfied. He craved more power, and coveted expensive medicine, rare magical equipment, and the advanced magical books. These things came with a hefty price, and he would not be able to afford them with the money he got frompleting missions for the Adventurers Guild. He knew the only way for him to enjoy ess to such things free of charge in Anril was to join a Guild of Magic.

    WIth the support of the Supreme Council, most Guild of Magics provided resources including medicine, magical equipment, and books to their mages. This was lethal temptation to Gavin, who craved to be more powerful...

    The most important thing was that he did not want to spend the rest of his life in the library. He was already an Archmage, and definitely one of the strongest in the whole of Dnd. However, the name Gavin remained not known by most people...

    Be it ambition or desire, whatever it was driving his actions, Gavin simply wanted to be respected like the head mage in the Casten Mansion, to sit in a luxurious carriage and have robes and a magic staff that cost millions. He wanted to enjoy the looks of envy and jealousy as he walked past others just like the head mage. Gavin had always thought that this was what it was like to be considered a sessful mage.

    Thus, Gavin did not walk away in a huff even after being questioned by a mage apprentice.

    ¡°Very well, Mr Gavin, may I know why you wish to meet me?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Gavin picked at his ear unconsciously, and said nkly, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s smile was somewhat indignant, but he repeated himself. ¡°I said, why do you wish to meet me, Mr Gavin?¡±

    This time, Gavin heard him clearly, but he still took a minute to process it.

    ¡°You¡¯re... you¡¯re President Felic?¡± Gavin felt his brain stop as he stared nkly at the person in front of him as though he had been hit in the head.

    ¡°Yes, I am Felic.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Gavin¡¯s expression froze.

    He had been making guesses about President Felic¡¯s character and capabilities, but he had never once thought about his age. In Gavin¡¯s opinion, anyone who could receive the recognition of the Supreme Council and lead a Guild of Magic definitely had to be a respectable elderly man. He had even been racking his brains over how he should address this elderly man to express his respect without downying his own status...

    Then Gavin realized that his previous concerns were all unnecessary...

    President Felic was much too young, much too young...

    Gavin gulped, and stuttered when he spoke, ¡°You¡¯re... you¡¯re really President Felic?¡±

    ¡°Yes Mr Gavin, I am Felic. If you still have doubts, you can always ask the people in ck Clouds Town, many of them know of me. But, Mr Gavin, perhaps you should tell me why are you here in ck Clouds Town.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, right, right...¡± Gavin came to his senses after Lin Li¡¯s question, and hurriedly retrieved a letter from his pocket as he rushed to introduce himself to Lin Li. ¡°My apologies, President Felic, your age gave me a shock. If I may, please allow me to introduce myself again. I¡¯m Gavin, and Ie from Dnd. Mr Basel rmended me here; this is a letter from him exining the situation.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li opened the letter and nced through the contents briefly.

    Basel¡¯s letter was not lengthy, and Lin Li finished reading through it in a short while. There was not much in it, merely simple greetings and an introduction of Gavin and the rest. ording to Basel, these people were from the library at Dnd, and were some of the best mages. Gavin was the strongest of them, and had already passed level-16, while the weakest they had was already level-14. Basel hoped that Lin Li could make arrangements for them, and expected that they would be able to contribute to establishing the Guild of Magic.

    As for Basel, he was tied up by some matters, and would only be able to head to ck Clouds Town to fulfill his obligations in a couple of months.

    While Basel did not go into details of what he was tied up with, Lin Li could tell that it had to be a tricky problem to dy a Legendary-mage by months. It could not be an easy matter.

    ¡°Mr Gavin, Mr Basel has exined everything in the letter...¡± Lin Li folded the letter carefully and tucked it into his pocket before he extended a hand to Gavin. ¡°I wee all of you on behalf of Breezy ins Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°It is our honor...¡± Gavin silently celebrated the fact that he had not said anything rude when he mistook the President for a mage apprentice, or he would not know how to exin himself to Mr Basel.

    But to think of it, he could not be med¡ªwho had ever seen such a young President?

    Gavin still could not believe it till now. A 20-year-old President... was he crazy, or was the Supreme Council crazy?

    Whatever, it was the Supreme Council¡¯s decision anyway, and had nothing to do with him. A young President might be a good thing too¡ªPresident Felic was only 20 years old, and definitely had much to learn from the other mages in terms of magic. Perhaps he was still trying to reach the realm of an Archmage.

    Adding the fact that this Guild of Magic was newly established, and probably did not have many capable people, it would be really easy for Gavin as a level-16 Archmage to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities. Young people were less stubborn too, and he might be able to influence this young President¡¯s decisions with his capabilities and reputation, and be the true holder of power in this Guild of Magic...

    Gavin continued his daydreaming as he followed Lin Li into the Tower of Dusk...

    Gavin was immersed in his daydream, and waspletely unaware of his future fate as well as what kind of lunatic he was following at the moment...

    Lin Li carried out their registration as members personally. To be honest, he was in a pretty good mood. They were the first members of the Tower of Dusk, which meant that the Tower of Dusk was no longer empty now¡ªthe Guild of Magic was properly established, even though this was all due to Basel. From their previous conversation, Lin Li knew that Basel was heavily regarded by all these mages, and if he were to ever fall out with Basel, the majority of those members of the Tower of Dusk would not hesitate to attack him with magic, while the rest would most likely be chanting away...

 Chapter 355 - Rectifying A Mistake

    <h4>Chapter 355: Rectifying A Mistake</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was not concerned about that, however, as he knew this was only temporary. Such was the world¡ªeven the most unyielding of faith would not be able to stand the test of time. Their respect and gratitude for Basel was nowhere near the devotion that the lunatic followers of Brilliance Shrine had. With a bit of time, Lin Li was sure he could change their minds...

    Of course, he would have to pull some tricks, and he would need an appropriate opportunity as well...

    As for a breaking point, he knew it would be Gavin. He was the most ambitious of the group, and Lin Li could clearly tell from their conversation that he was deliberately trying to be polite and fawn over Lin Li. He clearly did not think much of Lin Li yet he tried to downy himself. What did it say? It meant that he had something to ask of the Guild of Magic.

    His ambition and greed were weak points Lin Li could make use of. Lin Li weed such ambitious fellows as they were like greedy magical beasts, willing to put their lives on the line for a random carrot even without a stick.

    And Lin Li was nowhere near short of carrots...

    Lin Li twisted the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger. <i>It seems like it is time to churn out some medicine...</i>

    After settling down the first batch of new members, it was nearly evening, and the sun was setting as thest ray of sunlight fell on the balcony of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li stood quietly next to the crystal ball as he contemted the inauguration ceremony in three days and how he was going to win Basel¡¯s men over.

    At this moment, a flurry of footsteps came from the door.

    ¡°Mage Felic... Mage Felic... I... I beg of you, please save my father...¡± Just as Lin Li was bing suspicious, a young man covered in blood rushed through the door.

    ¡°Garso?¡± Lin Li felt his heart skip a beat when he recognized the young man. He was Uncle Stt¡¯s son, the thug from Dnd, Garso. Lin Li panicked. He hurriedly helped Garso sit down as he checked his injuries, and asked, ¡°What happened to Uncle Stt?¡±

    ¡°My father... he was injured by the Syer Bandits, heavily injured... Mage Felic, I... I beg of you, hurry and save him...¡±

    ¡°What happened exactly?¡±

    ¡°Just now... my father and I were going to have our meal just now when a group of men suddenly barged into our house, they... they said they were from the Syer Bandits, and were looking for the mage who injured their men. They asked father where you were, but father refused to tell them, so they...¡±

    Lin Li checked Garso¡¯s injuries and realized they were all superficial injuries. While they looked serious, his internal organs were not injured. Lin Li let out a breath of relief, and retrieved a Recovery Potion from his pocket as he called Gavin over. ¡°Gavin, could youe over? Please look after him. I have some matters I have to attend to in ck Clouds Town.¡±

    ¡°Alright, President Felic...¡±

    Lin Li was already clenching his fists as he stood up, but then another flurry of footsteps could be heard from the door. It was louder and messier this time¡ªit seemed like a group of men was rushing to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t need to make a trip...¡± Lin Li stopped as he passed the Recovery Potion to Gavin. ¡°I¡¯ll go receive some guests, help me make sure he drinks this.¡±

    Sunlight fell on Lin Li as he stood outside the tower. Not far ahead, about a dozen men were rushing over. They were already nearing, and Lin Li could clearly see that most of them were armed and looked ferocious. One look and he could tell that these people killed for a living.

    Lin Li was not worried about them, however. He was more concerned about the blood-covered old man in the middle of the group.

    ¡°I heard you were looking for me?¡± Lin Li stood outside the tower with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s this fellow, Captain Pierre! This fellow injured us and stole our clothes!¡± someone from the group shouted immediately after hearing Lin Li¡¯s voice. From afar, Lin Li found the man familiar, and after taking a close look, he realized something: wasn¡¯t he one of the bandits he forced to run around naked in ck Clouds Town?

    ¡°You¡¯re Felic?¡± The groups of bandits surrounded the tower¡¯s door. Their leader was a buff man in his forties; with a thick beard and hairy chest, he looked just like a bear standing on two legs.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Felic.¡± Lin Li nodded his head as his gaze skimmed past the bear and fell on the old man. ¡°I thought the Syer Bandits were reputable, howe you have resorted to kidnapping old men?¡±

    ¡°Pfft, this old man is not worthy of our abduction.¡± The bear spat on the ground, disdain evident on his tanned face. ¡°We merely wanted to know your whereabouts, but who knew this old fellow did not know what¡¯s good for him¡ªhe did not tell us, and even bit me. If I did not teach him a lesson, how can I survive in the Breezy ins? But this guy is pretty tough, I beat him up for half an hour, yet he still refused to speak. Thankfully, his son is stupid enough, and brought me here after I pulled some tricks...¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lin Li continued smiling as though he was looking at a group of neighbors instead of armed bandits. ¡°You went to such lengths to ask about my whereabouts? Isn¡¯t that a little too much?¡±

    ¡°Cut your crap, I have no time for your nonsense. I¡¯m here today to inform you that you¡¯re in luck, kid, my boss wants to meet you!¡±

    ¡°You mean Vanskore?¡± Lin Li paused when he heard this. He had thought that these men were here to seek revenge, but in the end, it was because Vanskore wanted to meet him.

    ¡°Good that you know, my boss said that he will be waiting for you in the Dragon Mountains. If you don¡¯t turn up, you know what will happen...¡± Pierre left a fierce warning before he waved his hand for his men to release Old Stt. He thought for a while, and threw a few gold coins in front of Old Stt. ¡°Take this aspensation for this old fellow. Actually, I did not want to beat him up, but he was too stubborn for his own good. Damn it, I¡¯ll pay for his medical bills. Right, my boss said to ask you when you¡¯ll be going. We¡¯ll send a carriage for you...¡±

    ¡°Gavin, please help Uncle Stt over.¡±

    ¡°Sure, President Felic.¡±

    When Gavin brought Old Stt over, Lin Li carefully surveyed his injuries.

    It¡¯d seem like the bear was right¡ªhe did beat Old Stt up for half an hour, so thetter was more heavily injured than Garso. One of his arms was broken, and his internal organs were heavily injured as well. If he did not receive immediate treatment, he might notst the night.

    Lin Li hurriedly retrieved a bottle of Recovery Potion, and had Gavin bring him a ss of water from the tower before he mixed the potion with it and carefully fed it to Old Stt. After thetter downed a bottle of the Recovery Potion, some color returned to his pale face, and his bloody wounds started to close. Only, his injuries were too heavy, and even with the magical healing powers of the Recovery Potion, he would still require some rest topletely recover.

    Lin Li held the unconscious Old Stt, and silently regretted being too soft the first time. He had stolen the bandits¡¯ clothes but only killed one of them. If he had been harsher back then, perhaps this would not have happened.

    Thankfully, he had the chance to rectify his mistake today...

    ¡°Hey kid, are you done? I have no time to waste on you, I still need to report back to my boss after you give me your answer!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Captain Pierre, I regret to inform you that...¡± Lin Li slowly stood up, not a trace of a smile on his face now. ¡°You¡¯re not going back...¡±

    ¡°Bastard, how dare you toy with me!!¡± Pierre was famous amongst the Syer Bandits for his bad temper, and only wasted his time on this young mage because of his boss¡¯ orders¡ªhe evenpensated the old man¡ªonly to find out that he was toyed with. How could he take this insult given his bad temper?

    ¡°Go, damn it, all of you attack, tear down this tower!¡± Pierre waved his machete, but in his rage, he retained a bit of rationality and remembered his boss¡¯ orders. ¡°Right, leave that bastard, boss wants him alive!¡±

    The group of bandits rushed ahead following Pierre¡¯s orders, brandishing their weapons. Even Gavin was somewhat worried¡ªhe could deal with them without a problem as an Archmage, but he was worried that they might hurt President Felic. How would he answer to Mr Basel then...?

 Chapter 356 - Death Frost

    <h4>Chapter 356: Death Frost</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gavin was an Archmage, however, and had always been carrying out missions for the Adventurers Guild, so he was the most experienced in fights out of all the mages in Dnd¡¯s library. Thus, he quickly made a decision after a moment¡¯s pause. He raised his magic staff and conjured a shield in front of them before he tugged at Lin Li. ¡°President Felic, let¡¯s retreat first...¡±

    Gavin originally wanted to drag the young President into the tower. While no defense had beenid down, it was still better than facing a dozen Bandits.

    But Gavin did notplete his sentence before his voice trailed off...

    He suddenly felt a terrifying magical wave around him.

    There was no premonition nor any sign as the previously calm magical elements suddenly turned violent without reason. It felt like a storm brewing suddenly on a sunny day as dark clouds gathered and thunder roared all of a sudden. The torrential magical wave was brewing a storm outside the Tower of Dusk like a surging wave!

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Gavin paused before he suddenly remembered something, and whipped his head around...

    Then, Gavin paled in shock...

    Gavin clearly saw the young President standing beside him and raising his magic staff as he chanted indiscernibly. The torrential magical wave hade from him! Gavin could not believe his eyes. He just could not believe that this young man who looked frail and somewhat pale and always had a warm smile on his face could wield such powerful magic...

    Not only Gavin could not believe his eyes¡ªthe bandits could not, either. They waved their machetes wildly and cursed filthily as they tried to pounce on the young mage, only to realize to their horror that they could not take a step further no matter how much they tried to...

    This was because their legs were sealed in ice.

    The sun had yet to set in the west, and the evening sky was painted red. Some sunlight still fell on them, and they could feel its warmth still. Yet, outside the door of the Tower of Dusk, there was a thickyer of ice that not only froze the earth, but their legs as well¡ªthis strange sight left everybody¡¯s skin crawling...

    Gavin paled...

    This was level-16 magic, Death Frost!

    Even he had only started learning it two months ago, and had only managed to remember the chant. As for the working of the magic, he was still in the midst of figuring it out. Yet, this young mage was able to unleash it so easily...

    Could a young mage in his twenties really be capable of such magic?

    ¡°Thank you for giving me the chance to rectify a mistake...¡± A polite and warm smile remained on the young mage¡¯s face, but this smile was scarier than a magical beast brandishing its ws and teeth in the eyes of the bandits.

    ¡°What... what do you want?¡± Pierre gulped. Perhaps to mask his fear, or maybe because he remembered Vanskore¡¯s bidding, this beefy captain mustered thest burst of courage in his life. ¡°I-I-I... I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t do anything weird... If you kill us, my boss will avenge us for sure!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about such things...¡± The young mage continued smiling as though he was not facing ferocious bandits, but waving hello to his neighbors. However, in the midst of this conversation, a slicing sound made everyone¡¯s hearts clench.

    All they could see was the stter of blood before the beefy bear copsed like a rag doll...

    Everyone outside the Tower of Dusk was scared out of their wits as their eyes fell onto the body of Pierre. Nobody could believe that the powerful Pierre had died just like that...

    The sight before their eyes was undoubtedly real, however, and they could not refute it. The wound on Pierre was not big, merely a slit on his throat like that of a strangle mark, yet blood gushed from it like water out of a broken dam, spurting out of the thin wound. It was only a moment before the crystal-clear ice was dyed a scarlet red...

    ¡°My God...¡± Gavin could not help hissing sharply as he took in a breath. Only he knew what had truly happened...

    That was a light and thin Wind de¡ªonly a light touch, and it had slit Pierre¡¯s throat. The one who had unleashed the Wind de was none other than the smiley President.

    Gavin stared nkly as he felt his skin crawl.

    Gavin only realized then that the seemingly mild and polite young President was a ruthless killer.

    He did not offer bandits a chance to exin themselves or plead. Instead, he had turned a person into a corpse with a wave of his hand. He was basically a cold-blooded beast, and even though Gavin had killed countless magical beasts and seen countless bloodshed, Gavin still paled at the sight of this young President¡¯s cold-blooded killing.

    He should not be a mage; he should have been an assassin, or even an executioner!

    At that point, Gavin suddenly realized that his previous thoughts were beyond naive...

    He had to be blind to think that this young President would be a pushover. To think that he¡¯d thought of using his age as a weakness to try and control the Guild of Magic... It sounded ridiculous now¡ªhow could such a person be a pushover? Thankfully, he had merely thought of it, and did not expose his intention, or else the corpse lying on the ground might well have been him...

    No wonder Mr Basel had repeatedly warned him not to go against President Felic.

    He had thought that Mr Basel did not dare go against the Supreme Council, but now he knew that this was out of concern for his life...

    ¡°Gavin,e give me a hand and help Uncle Stt in.¡± Lin Li showed no change in his expression after he sliced Pierre¡¯s throat with a Wind de as though it was something he did all the time. He only rushed Gavin to help him as he supported the unconscious Old Stt.

    ¡°Yes...¡± Gavin finally came to his senses after Lin Li spoke to him, and stretched out his hand to support Old Stt before slowly helping him into the tower.

    ¡°As for all of you...¡± After handing Old Stt to Gavin, Lin Li turned his head around, and smiled at the bandits who were still terrified out of their souls.

    Pierre¡¯s death still loomed over them, and as the cold-blooded sadist stared at them, even the bravest of bandits could not take the immense pressure.

    ¡°Have mercy, Mr Mage...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, please spare us, Mr Mage, we were forced to do this...¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, that bastard Pierre forced us to do this. Mr Mage, just treat it as charity and let us go...¡±

    Sounds of pleading were the only thing one could hear as the ferocious bandits hurried to bow before Lin Li. If not for their legs being sealed by the ice, they would have rushed to kneel before Lin Li to cry for mercy.

    ¡°I do want to let you off...¡± Lin Li slowly raised his magic staff as the bandits looked on in despair. ¡°Unfortunately, I only need one of you to bring the message..¡±

    Then, the Dragon¡¯s Eye on the magic staff glowed...

    ¡°My God...¡± Gavin had just settled Old Stt, and came back intending to ask President Felic if he needed help when he saw the chilling scene.

    The Dragon¡¯s Eye on the magic staff glowed, and the magical wave that made him tremble filled the air once again. A cracking soundter, the once stagnant ice seemed toe to life and spread out on the bandits¡¯ bodies. The ice climbed up their legs and to their chests before engulfing thempletely; it was only a moment before there were more than a dozen life-like ice sculptures at the door of the Tower of Dusk.

    Fear was evident in Gavin¡¯s eyes as he covered his mouth with his hands, scared to make a sound. Even in his worst nightmares, Gavin had not imagined such a scary sight; he was even somewhat angry at Mr Basel for rmending him here. Did he not know that this fellow was a ruthless executioner?

    Gavin could not believe it. What would happen to him if he offended this fellow one day? He always prided himself on his magic, but even that would be of no use to guarantee his life. Before this young President who wielded the Death Frost so easily, his own magic seemed like child¡¯s y.

 Chapter 357 - Vanskore

    <h4>Chapter 357: Vanskore</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, Lin Li noticed Gavin¡¯s fear. His previous actions had to have worried the ambitious Archmage...

    However, Lin Li had no intention of exining himself. He lived in ck Clouds Town and was far more aware of what kind of group the Syer Bandits were aspared to someone who spent their time in Dnd¡¯s library. They were true bandits who engaged in arson and robbery, and there was no crime they had yet tomit. They attacked viges and robbed merchants for years, and everyone of them had at least a dozen lives on their hands, most of which were defenseless civilians!

    This was what truly infuriated Lin Li!

    In Lin Li¡¯s eyes, they were inhumane for harming civilians. Thus, killing them was no more than exterminating magical beasts, and he did not feel guilty about it at all. Moreover, they harmed Old Stt, who was his neighbor for two months, an Old Stt who gave him a share whenever he made something to eat. Lin Li could not forgive them based on that alone...

    Of course, Lin Li had no intention to tell Gavin this.

    ¡°Gavin, get people to clean this up and bring the one who¡¯s still alive to me.¡±

    ¡°Ok, President Felic...¡± Gavin was still in fear, but nodded his head regardless, and carried out the young President¡¯s orders immediately.

    Gavin was in awe and fear after seeing what the young President was capable of¡ªin awe because Lin Li possessed such power at such a young age, and in fear because he might end up in their position. Hence, when Lin Li had him clean up after the fight, he agreed without hesitation.

    Gavin quickly called a few people from the tower, but as they started cleaning up, he suddenly thought of something: the young President said to bring him the one who was still alive...

    Did he hear wrongly...?

    Gavin was a level-16 Archmage himself, so how could he not know the power of Death Frost? That was the most powerful level-16 magic one could use in a small area. At absolute zero, the frost became sturdy ice and froze all enemies who attempted toe near. It could also freeze the enemies¡¯ hearts and blood in a split second. Even a magical beast would find itself in a simr state if it was ever caught in the Death Frost.

    The Death Frost had clearly frozen all the bandits, so where was he going to find one still alive?

    <i>What do I do? Should I let President Felic know?</i>

    The thought was dropped by him as soon as it appeared. <i>Wouldn¡¯t that be questioning President Felic¡¯s orders? </i>Gavin had no intention of doing that...

    ¡°Crunch...¡±

    Just as Gavin was hesitating, he heard a faint noise.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Gavin could not believe his ears. The faint noise had definitelye from the cracking of ice!

    Gavin froze.

    <i>How could ice at absolute zero crack?</i>

    Gavin unconsciously looked over toward the source of the noise.

    Then, the expression on Gavin¡¯s face froze...

    He clearly saw a crack in one of the ice figures¡ªit started out as a thin crack, but as the crunching noise continued, the crack became bigger and bigger until it resembled a deep scar.

    ¡°Crunch...¡± After thest noise sounded, the sturdy ice formed by the Death Frost really cracked open and shattered like ss. Through the fog, Gavin saw a pale face¡ªthe man looked really young, probably in his twenties. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gavin recalled that he was one of the bandits. When everybody had brandished their weapons and tried to pounce on President Felic, for some reason, this guy had remained on his spot...

    <i>Could that be why he had been spared?</i>

    This sudden thought scared Gavin out of his wits.

    <i>That¡¯s impossible, impossible, it was most likely a coincidence...</i>

    The Death Frost was a true level-16 magic, and even Archmages near the Legendary-realm had trouble executing it, yet President Felic could do it with precision and spare one person while instantaneously freezing over a dozen others. This alone was driving Gavin crazy from shock; to think that Lin Li had even had the time to take notice of who had not picked up their weapon...! Gavin really could not find it in himself to believe it!

    <i>Coincidence, it must be a coincidence!</i>

    Gavin desperately tried to convince himself, but for some reason, a voice in his brain kept telling him that there was no such thing as a coincidence in the world of magic...

    ¡°Mr Mage, have mercy!¡± The young bandit¡¯s cry attracted Gavin¡¯s attention. Although his lips have turned blue from the cold, he still knelt in front of Gavin when the ice cracked and hugged Gavin¡¯s legs. ¡°Mr Mage, please spare me, I was really forced into doing this, that bastard Pierre forced me toe here...¡±

    ¡°Stand up ande with me. President Felic wishes to meet you. As for whether he will let you go, I¡¯m afraid it depends on your luck.¡±

    The young bandit¡¯s luck was good indeed. After a near death experience, his life was really spared. The terrifying young mage allowed him to go after asking him a few questions on the condition that he brought a message to his boss.

    ¡°Tell Vanskore that if he wants to meet me, he has toe to the Tower of Dusk himself. Also, I¡¯m not happy with what happened today. If anybody else from ck Clouds Town is harmed, I won¡¯t mind tearing down his hiding ce in the Dragon Mountains.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s message was given to Vanskore word for word, and the former militiaman of Syer Town and now head of the Syer Bandits was livid. He could not believe that there would be such an arrogant person in the world. Did this mage called Felic really not know what was good for him? He killed one of his men the previous time, and Vanskore had yet to settle the score with him for that, yet he killed another dozen of his men this time and dared to threaten him about tearing down his hiding spot in the Dragon Mountains? <i>Who does he think the Syer Bandits are?</i>

    ¡°Loke, gather all our men. I want a bloodbath in ck Clouds Town tonight. Let¡¯s see whether this mage Felic is really capable of tearing down our ce here in the Dragon Mountains!¡± Vanskore was fuming, but after shouting hismand, he realized his most trusted captain, Loke, didn¡¯t move. This made him even angrier, and he thrust his leg into Loke¡¯s abdomen. ¡°What the hell are you still standing there for?¡±

    ¡°Boss, that Felic... Mage Felic you speak of, is he from Jarrosus?¡± Loke had only joined the Syer Bandits two months ago, but he was quite capable and witty. Hence, he had quickly earned Vanskore¡¯s favor and rose to the position of a captain. With a hundred men under him, he was quite the figure amongst the Syer Bandits.

    However, for some reason, he had been dazed and pale after the news from ck Clouds Town was passed on to them, even stuttering when he spoke.

    ¡°How the hell would I know?¡±

    ¡°Then... then is he in his twenties, and always having a polite smile when he speaks?¡±

    Vanskore frowned, and finally realized that something was wrong with the man he had groomed personally. While he had only joined them two months earlier, he was far more capable than any of his previous captains. He had to have his reasons for asking these questions. Unfortunately, Vanskore had never seen this mage Felic; hence, he turned around to look at the young bandit who was tasked with passing on the message.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, that¡¯s so...¡± The young bandit hurriedly nodded his head.

    ¡°It is him indeed...¡±

    ¡°Why, do you know him?¡± Vanskore frowned. He might be quick to anger, but he was no rash fool, or he would not be able to lead the Syer Bandits till today. He knew there had to be more to it after hearing Loke¡¯s words.

    ¡°Of course I know this executioner...¡± Loke¡¯s face was pale, and his eyes were filled with fear. ¡°Boss, do you remember when I told you that I was from the Shadow¡¯s Nest before I joined the Syer Bandits...?¡±

    ¡°Mm-hm.¡± Vanskore nodded his head. Of course he knew Loke¡¯s origins; this rascal was a high-ranking bandit from Jarrosus, but his little group had offended an important figure, and their group was extinguished. Only a few of them escaped, including Loke.

    Vanskore could not helpughing when he heard this as he had guessed what Loke was about to say. He certainly wanted to tell him that this mage Felic knew some important figure, but so what? The Shadow¡¯s Nest was the Shadow¡¯s Nest, while the Syer Bandits were the Syer Bandits. The former had merely had a few hundred men, while the strongest of them was only level-15. How could they everpare to one of the top 10 bandit groups in the Breezy ins?

    So what if the mage Felic had an important figure backing him? Was he really going to destroy the Syer Banditspletely in one go? What a joke! Could that important figure be more powerful than the casten Arathor of Rnd City? Moreover, Syer Bandits hade a long way from the past, and he had recently found a new backer, one that could shake up the whole of the Breezy ins with a nudge of his leg...

 Chapter 358 - Business at the door

    <h4>Chapter 358: Business at the door</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°The one who wiped out the whole Shadow¡¯s Nest in one go was this Felic...¡± Loke¡¯s face paled as he recalled what happened, including that hellish sight by the ck River. It was a nightmare to him, and even though it had already been a couple of months since that incident, the nightmarish scene continued to haunt him, reying in his mind every time he closed his eyes.

    The frozen ck River, the snowstorm that covered the ce, as well as the familiar faces frozen in ice...

    Shadow¡¯s Nest was the strongest force in Jarrosus City then, and with Patriarch Merlin¡¯s help, they had been able to take over the Demon Fall Valley, attack the Emerald Tower, and heavily injure the Archmage Gerian. The 10 greatest families as well as the six greatest underground forces quivered before the de of Shadow¡¯s Nest. Loke had even thought back then that barging into the Casten Mansion and recing the casten Isaac would not have been a difficult feat!

    Then, the nightmare began...

    And this was all because of the young mage named Felic. The first night he¡¯d returned to Jarrosus, he had managed to rein in the 16 ambitious forces, and the next day, he brought a group of people to attack the Demon Fall Valley. He had carried out a great massacre on the banks of the ck River, and wiped out the hundreds of members of the Shadow¡¯s Nest, leaving only a few who managed to escape the tragedy.

    Loke was one of the lucky few as he had been heavily injured at the start of the battle. He¡¯d thought he was going to die, but after the Shadow¡¯s Nest had fallen, nobody took notice of him, and thus hey in a bush as he witnessed the chilling massacre. The mage in the ck cloak was like the legendary Grim Reaper, wielding both ice and fire as he brought deathly fear to the masses...

    ¡°Loke, are you f*cking kidding me...?!¡± Vanskore stood up suddenly. Under the yellowish light, the scar on his face made him seem all the more ferocious. ¡°I think you must be scared silly if you can¡¯t think properly, that¡¯s why you¡¯re spouting nonsense. Wiping out the whole Shadow¡¯s Nest alone? Is he a Sword Sage or a Legendary-mage? Shadow¡¯s Nest might¡¯ve been a small bandit group, but surely you had at least a few hundred people; even if all of you just stood there, he would have to spend the whole day killing all of you one by one...¡±

    ¡°Boss, listen to me¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Loke, shut the f*ck up!¡± Vanskore red angrily at Loke. He had thought this kid was smart, and wanted to groom him, but to think he would be such a coward, afraid because of a young mage. <i>Such nonsense, what do you mean he destroyed the whole Shadow¡¯s Nest alone? Who would believe such words?</i>

    But after he had angrily scolded Loke, Vanskore did not mention anything about presenting ck Clouds Town with a bloodbath anymore.

    Of course, the leader of one of thergest bandit groups in the Breezy ins was no boorish fool. While Vanskore did not buy the story about wiping out the Shadow¡¯s Nest alone, he knew he had to find out more about this mage Felic¡¯s background. Whatever it was, he was definitely from Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic, and definitely had some status there. If Vanskore were to really kill him, the people from Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic mighte to him for revenge...

    While he was not afraid of Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic, he could not help thinking it was not worth it. He did not have any deep hatred for him, after all, nor was he losing anything. It was merely a matter of getting even...

    Vanskore thought about it, and decided to let the matter rest for now. He would have to find out more about Felic before doing anything else.

    Just when Vanskore thought he had handled this matter very prudently, another middle-aged man came in through the door. This man in his forties was one of Vanskore¡¯s most trusted men; a group of militiamen had followed Vanskore to set up the Syer Bandits after the gue, and he was one of them. Over the years, Vanskore had trusted him deeply, and sent him to Dnd these few years so that he could build up a rtionship with the officials and nobles there. Usually, he would not return to the Dragon Mountains unless something was up.

    ¡°Gabri, why are you back?¡± Vanskore turned solemn at seeing the middle-aged man enter. Compared to carrying out a bloodbath at a small town or killing a mage, this was a more serious matter.

    ¡°Boss, I got another deal at Dnd...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Vanskore¡¯s eyes lit up. Gabri had been overseeing some underground business while he socialized with wealthy merchants and nobles in Dnd. After all, the Syer Bandits had over a thousand men, and they definitely needed more sources of ie than just robbery. Hence, they did everything the wealthy merchants and nobles could not do, like kidnapping, ckmailing, and assassinating. Gabri was the one to oversee these dealings; they had allowed the Syer Bandits to enjoyrge revenue for the past few years.

    Vanskore had always trusted Gabri in his work, and when he heard that they got another deal, his face lit up.

    ¡°Two days ago, Lasorick approached me...¡±

    ¡°Lasorick...¡± Vanskore frowned at the mention of him before surprise was seen on his face. ¡°You mean the casten¡¯s son, Lasorick?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him, he wants us to help him get rid of a guy...¡±

    At this point in time, Lin Li was at the Tower of Dusk, handling the level certifications of the dozen members who had just joined earlier in the day. This was not usually the President¡¯s work; unfortunately, the Tower of Dusk was severelycking in manpower, and there was only Gavin helping him out.

    Gavin recorded down the changes in brightness in the crystal ball as he asked Lin Li worriedly, ¡°President Felic, will we be in trouble after provoking Vanskore?¡± Honestly, he could not decipher what the young President was thinking. He was clearly able to kill all of them, but he deliberately left a bandit alive to bring a taunt of a message to Vanskore. Wasn¡¯t he afraid of trouble?

    They were one of the strongest bandit organizations in the whole Breezy ins, and if they really carried out an attack, perhaps even the casten of Dnd City would be uneasy. The Tower of Dusk only had a dozen mages now, so how were they going to go against the Syer Bandits? Gavin was really curious as to what the President was thinking...

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯te for revenge...¡± Lin Li smiled, but gave no further exnation. Gavin was right; he was intentionally provoking Vanskore. Well, the Syer Bandits were tricky to deal with, and if they had to bring the fight to the Dragon Mountains, even Lin Li couldn¡¯t guarantee that he would be able to escape unscathed.

    But, if the fight was at the Tower of Dusk, it would be a different story. While they did not have the Magical crystal cannons, nor the Eternal Furnace, they did have the All-Kill Array set up...

    ¡°But...¡± Just as Gavin was going to press further, the light on the crystal ball vanished, and he had to pick up his pen to record the result of the level certification. ¡°n, level-14 Magic Shooter.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s got potential...¡±

    Gavin nodded. ¡°Yes, Mr Basel said that n has the best potential out of us all.¡±

    ¡°A pity he¡¯s somewhat off.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Gavin was shocked. If it had been any other day, he would have brushed that off as nonsense. n had improved the fastest out of all the mages at Dnd¡¯s library, and even Mr Basel had said that he would definitely be an Archmage within a year. How was that ¡°off¡±?

    But Gavin did not dare say that now...

    This young President¡¯s abilities could only be described as beyond one¡¯s expectations after the spectacle he had pulled at the door of the Tower of Dusk that afternoon. Not only could he easily unleash a Death Frost, he could control it precisely and miraculously leave a young bandit unscathed. Gavin had been confident in his own abilities for a long time, but now, he felt as insignificant as a speck of dust in front of this young mage...

    n might really be somewhat off...

    ¡°He¡¯s too caught up in controlling his mana; he was controlling it even when he had to release mana into the crystal ball for the test on mana strength. That is not a good practice, a good mage should know when to control their mana and when not to.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed a problem of his...¡± Gavin pondered over it, and had to agree. n was fond of controlling his mana, and if a spell required 80 percent, he would never use 90. Even Mr Basel had said that this was a stingy method, and if he continued to be so stingy with his mana, he would definitely sufferter on. Unfortunately, this was a bad habit n had had for over a decade, and it was not easy to change. See, he did it again during the mana test...

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not difficult to change this bad habit. Have hime look for me tomorrow, I¡¯ll give him some tips...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, President Felic. I¡¯ll thank you on his behalf.¡±

    The level certification of the mages was onlypleted at midnight, but Lin Li was in a good mood. At least he was now aware of the capabilities of the first batch of members the Tower of Dusk had. Including Gavin, there was a total of 17 mages. They were two Archmages¡ªone level-15 and one level-16¡ªand 15 Magic Shooters, of whom n was the strongest, having reached the peak of level-14. If all went well, he would definitely be an Archmage within a year.

    It seemed like this group of mages sent by Basel was carefully selected by him¡ªevery one of them was of pretty decent standard. If Lin Li could make them loyal to him, these mages would definitely serve as a great source of strength for the Breezy ins Guild of Magic in the near future.

 Chapter 359 - How About We Discuss A Deal

    <h4>Chapter 359: How About We Discuss A Deal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Afterpleting the level certification for everybody, it was nearly midnight, and it took Lin Lite into the night to settle the amodations for the mages before he could go and rest himself. He walked down the stairs back to his bedroom as heined to himself that it was no wonder that old fellow Gerian had tried to con him into bing the President of Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic¡ªthis position was not an easy one indeed...

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Who knew that somebody would appear in the guild hall.

    Lin Li turned around, and realized that the person who called him was Old Stt¡¯s son, the thug from Dnd. Lin Li could not help feeling puzzled for a moment. ¡°Garso, is anything the matter?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Garso opened his mouth to speak, looking hesitant.

    ¡°Just tell me, what is it...?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes were incredibly sharp, and he did not have to think too much to know what Garso was thinking of¡ªthis rascal most likely had a favor to ask of him. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. Uncle Stt takes such good care of me, and you¡¯re his son, so if there¡¯s anything you need, just tell me. I¡¯ll help you as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡±

    ¡°I... I want...¡± Garso gritted his teeth before mustering his courage. ¡°I want to learn magic from you...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded his head, but neither rejected him nor gave his consent as he merely looked at Garso. ¡°Tell me, why¡¯s that so?¡±

    ¡°Because... because... ¡± Garso kept repeating, but failed to continue his sentence.

    ¡°Is it because of today?¡±

    ¡°Not just today, the previous time too, it has always been like this. Every time I get into trouble, Father is always protecting me, but I don¡¯t want this to continue. He¡¯s old, and I should be the one protecting him instead. Today, when the bandits appeared, I wanted to protect Father and escape, but I couldn¡¯t do it... I just couldn¡¯t, I¡¯m too weak, they could kill me with one hand...¡± Garso started tearing up as he spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote today, go and rest. Come find me in the study tomorrow and I¡¯ll teach you some basics. But before that, I have to remind you that magic is tiring and dry, and dangerous too. If you are not mentally prepared for it, then we shouldn¡¯t waste our time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of it being difficult, Mage Felic!¡±

    ¡°Very well...¡±

    The next afternoon, Garso came indeed. Magic Shooter n was with him.

    ¡°Good, both of you are here, have a seat...¡± Lin Li nodded and grabbed a heavy book on magic from his desk. ¡°Garso, this is a book on magic, go and memorize it. You will recite it to me in a month. If you get a word wrong, you don¡¯t need toe back to the Tower of Dusk in the future.¡±

    Garso received the book and merely flipped through a few pages before his expression changed. ¡°But, Mage Felic, I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t know a lot of these words...¡±

    ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot...¡± Lin Li thought about it, and retrieved another book from a shelf next to him. ¡°Take this too, it¡¯s an introduction to the High Elves Print. It¡¯ll help you with the words you don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    ¡°Ok, you can go.¡± When Garso left, Lin Li turned around and looked at the young Magic Shooter n. ¡°n, I need your help with something.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± n paused. <i>Didn¡¯t Gavin say that the President was going to fix my weakness? Howe he¡¯s asking for my help instead?</i>

    <i>Maybe President Felic does not know how to correct it, and is looking for a reason to brush me off? </i>n could not help the doubt seeping through from his gaze when he thought of that. To be honest, he did not believe that this young President in his twenties could be capable of changing his bad habit, either. After all, even Mr Basel had not been able to do that.

    n had been exposed to magic since the age of eight, and that had been over 20 years ago. His habit of controlling his mana was one that he had developed very early on, and it had turned into a second nature for him. He knew it was not a good practice, but he had failed to change it this whole time; hence, he slowly forgot about it.

    He could not believe it at all when Gavin told him about this today, but as he thought about it, he decided to make a Hail Mary effort. Even if they did not manage to change it, he was not going to lose anything. Hence, he came somewhat reluctantly.

    ¡°I wonder what is it, President Felic?¡± While n doubted him silently, he did not let it show on his face.

    ¡°Nothing much...¡± Lin Li retrieved a crystal from his pocket. ¡°This is a rechargeable crystal that will be needed for the inauguration ceremony two dayster, but neither I nor other mages have the time to charge it with mana. Hence, I was hoping you could help me with it. Best do it quickly, it will be needed in a couple of days.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± n looked at it and realized it was indeed an ordinary rechargeable crystal, usually used to replenish a mage¡¯s mana. Given his ability, all he would need to do was to pump some mana in, and it would be good to go. Thus, he nodded his head and took it from the young President.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you with it, then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    After watching n leave, Lin Lizily stretched. ¡°Basel, this old fellow, is bing muddle-headed. Howe he doesn¡¯t know how to correct a simple mistake? If you want to deal with a miser, then all you need to do is exhaust his money and leave him starving on the streets for a couple of days. Sigh, it¡¯s so boring to deal with all this shady nonsense. My dear Mr Vanskore, when are you ever going toe...¡±

    Nobody knew when Vanskore would arrive, but someone else did arrive pretty quickly...

    ¡°President Felic, there is a guest outside who wishes to meet you.¡± Just as Lin Li was feeling bored, Gavin came to knock on the study¡¯s door.

    ¡°What an arrogant person...¡± Lin Li muttered to himself as he brushed his nose and opened the door, and then saw Gavin¡¯s bearded face before his eyes.

    ¡°President Felic, would you like to go take a look?¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°He said... he said he¡¯s your great Macklin...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li¡¯s knees gave way, and he nearly fell to the ground as he clutched Gavin and hurriedly asked, ¡°Where is he at?¡±

    ¡°In the lobby.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Lin Li nearly jogged over, and saw Macklin¡¯s mousy face as soon as he opened the door to the lobby. The old man was smiling as he chatted with Herza, but as soon as he saw Lin Li enter, his smile disappeared, and he started cursing him out. ¡°Damn it, you little a*shole, what an ingrate, it¡¯s been two months yet you haven¡¯t written a damn letter to me!! I have taught you in vain, you a*shole...¡±

    ¡°I was too busy. After the as*holes of the Supreme Council sent me to this godforsaken ce, I have yet to enjoy a day of peace. Someone is here to give me trouble every day. See, I just got rid of a bunch yesterday, why don¡¯t you ask Gavin...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, aren¡¯t those a*sholes from the Supreme Council being too much?¡±

    ¡°See, if you must, go after the as*holes from the Supreme Council; it¡¯s got nothing to do with me. I was even nning to visit you in nna these few days...¡±

    The young and old cursed happily. They left Herza speechless since he could never be serious with them. Forget Macklin, he was already bold enough to steal from the Supreme Council¡¯s library decades ago, and had left a few Arbitrators with a headache¡ªone would be a fool to try and talk sense with him. Right, and the younger one was no better¡ªfor some reason, he was a talented mage that the Supreme Council had high hopes for. Even a few Arbitrators paid great attention to him...

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Mr Herza, I¡¯m not talking about you...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, Herza, we¡¯ve been friends for decades, why would I scold you? I¡¯m talking about the bunch of a*sholes from the Supreme Council...¡±

    ¡°... ¡±

    It would have been better for him not to exin himself, as he only left Herza more speechless now. He decided that what he did not see could not hurt him and fled the lobby, leaving the twowless fellows to themselves.

    ¡°Alright, rascal, what is it you want to talk about? I don¡¯t believe you went to such lengths to chase Herza away only to chit-chat with me.¡±

    ¡°Heheh, I could never fool you, old man...¡± After Macklin saw through his ploy, Lin Li was not in the least bit embarrassed, and merelyughed shamelessly before he brought his face closer with an unreadable expression, and continued, ¡°How about we discuss a deal?¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got something on my hands that nna¡¯s Guild of Magic would be interested in, but given my capabilities now, I can¡¯tplete it alone, so I wonder if I can work with nna¡¯s Guild of Magic instead...¡±

    ¡°The Highlord¡¯s Mausoleum?¡± Macklin was a man of great intelligence, and had already guessed what it was.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Lin Li nodded, and retrieved a new piece of sheepskin from his pocket, presenting it like a treasure. The sheepskin contained the trantion of a High Elves Print, done by Andoine after the Pharmacists Guild convention. ¡°This is the blueprint of the Highlord¡¯s Mausoleum, all the hidden levers and traps are recorded clearly...¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡± Macklin was in shock. He was well aware of what the blueprint meant¡ªas long as they had it, nna¡¯s Guild of Magic could avoid almost half of the casualties inevitable during exploration!

    Before Macklin recovered from his shock, Lin Li mysteriously added, ¡°Also, I have a soul from the Dark Ages, he supposedly knows the designer of the Mausoleum very well...¡±

 Chapter 360 - Bad News

    <h4>Chapter 360: Bad News</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The two of them only exited the meeting room when it was time for lunch. Nobody knew what they had been discussing this whole time. However, everyone¡ªincluding Herza and Gavin¡ªsaw the two of them linking arms and looking chummy as they exited the meeting room, the smiles on their faces looking slyer than usual...

    ¡°Right, I forgot to ask you. The inauguration ceremony is in two days, surely you¡¯ve more to do besides scolding me since you¡¯vee to ck Clouds Town so early?¡± After having lunch at ck Clouds Town, Lin Li invited Macklin into the study at the Tower of Dusk, and they started chatting away.

    ¡°Why, you mean I can¡¯t scold you?¡± Macklin red at him haughtily.

    ¡°Of course you can...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose. ¡°But besides scolding me, I¡¯m sure there are more meaningful things in your life?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense...¡± Macklin gave him a petty nce. ¡°I rushed over here from nna because I wanted to warn you, rascal...¡±

    Lin Li paused. ¡°What do you mean warn...?¡±

    ¡°The Marathon Family and the Dwarf Kingdom made an agreementst month to build a Forging Workshop in Breezy ins. The Marathon Family will provide the funds, and the Dwarf Kingdom the skills. Wilhelm¡¯s nephew, Gaud, will be sent here to oversee it. Oh, and Wilhelm¡¯s second son, Lauren, will be sent here too...¡±

    ¡°Gaud?¡± When Macklin mentioned this name, Lin Li suddenly recalled the teen who had resembled Matthias back in the Fire Plume Ridge. If there was somebody besides Wilhelm in the Marathon Family that Lin Li was cautious of, it was undeniably Gaud. Back when Argus managed to trap him in a cave, he had only managed to do so thanks to Gaud¡¯s advice. He was no fool like Matthias...

    ¡°And there¡¯s another piece of bad news...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± Lin Li jumped. He secretly wondered if this old man was a jinx of some sort. <i>Does he have nothing better to do besides bringing me all sorts of bad news...?</i>

    ¡°Andoine came to me a few days ago, saying that the people of the Brilliance Shrine seem to be asking the Supreme Council about you. While they did not mention any names, the characteristics they provided were simr to yours. Have you offended any of them recently?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so...¡± Lin Li subconsciously replied, but then he recalled the banquet at Rnd City and the young and beautiful Pdin...

    <i>It can¡¯t be...</i>

    <i>It was merely a couple of Undead creatures, did they have to be so extreme? Fancy bringing in the Supreme Council...</i>

    ¡°Anyway, kid, you¡¯d better watch out. The Brilliance Shrine is not something to be trifled with, so don¡¯t ask for trouble. If those weirdos are annoyed, even the Supreme Council would be worried...¡± Macklin was well aware of his apprentice¡¯s personality¡ªhe could not go one day without getting into trouble. Honestly, he would not be surprised if he really did offend the Brilliance Shrine...

    ¡°Got it...¡±

    ¡°Hey why don¡¯t you ask Englos about it? That fellow is the Archbishop of Brilliance Shrine, after all, maybe he knows a thing or two...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll ask him about it when I see him in a couple of days.¡±

    Macklin¡¯s news was bad, but Lin Li did not have the time to think about it anymore, as he found out something even worse the next morning¡ªhe was going bankrupt!

    Never had he been in such a predicament since he arrived in Anril. At the Arcane Magic Potion auction in Jarrosus, he had easily made one million gold coins, and after that, he worked with the Mannes and Saruman Families to run an insanely profitable Pharmaceutical business, earning him 10,000 gold coins a month. It was enough to make any businessman green with envy, and that was merely the start of it¡ªafter they got recognition and built up their reputation, as well as managed to settle down and secure major clients, his profits were definitely 10 times that amount!

    Logically speaking, there was no way he could be so short on money, as he had always lived simply, not too different from an average civilian. While studying magic might have cost him a bit, he had the Ring of Endless Storm, which allowed him to obtain magical ingredients from another world¡ªever since he was an apprentice, he had never had any need to purchase ingredients.

    Now, it was different, and it was all because of the Tower of Dusk.

    Having millions of savings and an ie of 10,000 gold coins was arge sum to most, but in the eyes of the Guild of Magic, it was barely sufficient. The Tower of Dusk had cost Lin Li way too much money because he had way too high expectations, and the cost of building the Tower of Dusk was way more than the Supreme Council¡¯s budget allowed. They were no charitable organization; hence, most of the excess had been paid by Lin Li, and he soon realized that his pockets were nearly empty...

    ¡°Since when have I be so poor?¡± This was the second time Lin Li found himself desperate for arge sum of money ever since he arrived in Anril.

    Well, the Tower of Dusk was built, but quite honestly, it was merely a shell. There were too many areas that had yet to bepleted, which would again require arge sum of money. Others aside, even the 20 Crystal Cannons alone were going to cost Lin Li a great deal, and he had to buy them, or else the cannon room that had been built using arge amount of Eternal Adamantine would go to waste.

    Thankfully, he was going to receive arge amount of Ice Crystal Metal soon. If he used it wisely, he might be able to solve some of his problems soon.

    The next morning, Lin Li went to Dnd to look for Kaman, who was busy with his trading shop.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯re just in time. I was going to look for you at ck Clouds Town this evening...¡± Kaman hurriedly set his things down when he saw Lin Li, and weed this god of fortune with a smile.

    ¡°I have some matters too, but I¡¯m not in a hurry, you can speak first...¡±

    ¡°I received a batch of food from Rnd City yesterday. I heard them say that it¡¯s for you...¡± Kaman seemed excited when he said this. He really had good taste, working with such a resourceful god of fortune.

    The food was sent by a group of soldiers. They were all armed and well-trained, and probably the best army of Rnd City. This god of fortune had to really be resourceful to have such an army send him the food. Could he really have rescued the son of Rnd City¡¯s casten from the Syer Bandits?

    Kaman felt himself shake with excitement when he thought of this. If he could get to know Rnd City¡¯s casten, it would be like striking the jackpot...

    ¡°It arrived so quickly? Seems like Rnd City is efficient indeed...¡± When he heard that the food had arrived, Lin Li felt his spirits were lifted. He had heard too much bad news thest few days; finally, there was something good today. ¡°If you¡¯re free this evening, get the dwarf over and exchange for the Ice Crystal Metal quickly...¡±

    If it had been in the past, Lin Li would not have been so anxious, but it was different now. He had heard from Macklin yesterday that the Marathon Family was going to build a Forging Workshop in the Breezy ins. If they knew of the existence of the Ice Crystal Metal, who knew what would happen.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, I have something else to ask of you...¡± Lin Li stopped Kaman quickly. ¡°How much do you earn from the mining business in a year?¡±

    ¡°If things are good, about one million gold coins...¡± Kaman did not dare hide anything from this god of fortune, and told Lin Li everything earnestly. ¡°It depends on luck too. To be honest, I have a group of miners myself, and if I find good mineral veins, I can do the mining myself, then the profits will be bigger...¡±

    ¡°You have miners of your own?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, get those miners here, and I¡¯ll lead you to a fortune within three days.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Kaman¡¯s eyes glowed, and he agreed without hesitation.

    When Lin Li left the trading shop, he had already given Kaman a bunch of instructions, of which the most important one was to buy a forging workshop in Dnd, but ording to Kaman, that would be quite difficult. Recently, for some reason, the rates of cksmiths had skyrocketed. They used to be able to hire a low-level cksmith for one hundred gold coins a month, but now it had risen to two hundred, and even then you might not be able to hire one...

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, no idea which bastard is behind this...¡±

    Lin Li knew which bastard it was¡ªit had to be the Marathon Family. They were building a forging workshop in the Breezy ins, and while the Dwarf Kingdom would be providing the skilled workforce, they could not rely entirely on the dwarves for cksmiths. Given their wealth, the Marathon Family could even have hired all the cksmiths in the whole Dnd.

    Lin Li was not worried, however, for the number of low-level cksmiths they had merely determined the amount they could produce, while the fate of a forging workshop ultimately relied on the best cksmith it had. The Time Consignment Store would hold an auction in a month¡¯s time; they would see if the Marathon Family was really able to monopolize the cksmithing industry of the Breezy ins.

    When Lin Li returned to the Tower of Dusk, it was around evening. Everyone knew that the inauguration ceremony was the next day, and thus nobody went to disturb him¡ªeven Macklin. Hence, Lin Li enjoyed a rare night of undisturbed sleep.

 Chapter 361 - Arbitrator

    <h4>Chapter 361: Arbitrator</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The sound of hooves hitting against the ground could be heard as a few carriages flew past, causing dirt to fly in their wake. In one of the carriages was Rina. This young Pdin d in a silver armor was thinking about what her teacher Englos had said these past two days. It had been more than a decade, but Rina had yet to see him give such high regard to anybody.

    Her teacher seemed to be constantly going on about the genius named Felic and the convention held by nna¡¯s Pharmacists Guild for the past two days. In his words, this genius pharmacist named Felic could achieve the impossible; he had solved a difficult problem for the Pharmacists Guild in merely minutes, and her teacher even thought that this Felic was the only one in the world who coulde up with an antidote for the viper¡¯s poison.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Rina was the only Judge Pdin out of all Pdins, and was a disciple of the Archbishop Englos as well. She had had ess to ssified secrets of the Brilliance Shrine these few years, and knew that His Holiness had been gued by the viper¡¯s poison for decades and that the Brilliance Shrine had been searching for ways to neutralize the poison. Nearly all the well-known doctors and pharmacists in Anril had been invited to try and do so, but decades had passed, yet His Holiness was still tortured by the viper¡¯s poison...

    Rina could not believe that some 20 years old genius would be able to do something no doctor or pharmacists could.

    Perhaps her teacher was exaggerating this time...

    Right, her teacher mentioned as well that this genius pharmacist was also the youngest President of a Guild of Magic in Anril to date, and today was his inauguration ceremony as President.

    The carriages slowly came to a stop outside the Tower of Dusk. Rina alighted, following closely behind her teacher as they headed to the open doors of the tower. The morning rays fell on Rina¡¯s golden hair, and made them shine all the more brightly.

    ¡°Englos, it has been a long time!¡± They had just alighted the carriages when Herza weed them from afar. The old man was wearing a new robe today, and his usually unkempt hair had been neatlybed down, making him look at least a decade younger from a distance.

    ¡°Haha, it has been a long time, Herza.¡±

    ¡°Oh, where¡¯s Archbishop Martin? I thought he¡¯sing with you?¡±

    ¡°Martin was held up by something, and will onlyeter. He asked me to apologize on his behalf,¡± Englos said apologetically before he introduced Rina. ¡°Let me introduce you to her, she¡¯s my disciple, Rina, currently a Pdin.¡±

    ¡°Ms Rina is a Pdin at such a young age? Englos, the Brilliance Shrine has an abundance of geniuses indeed, how I envy you for having a genius disciple...¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t met for years, and you¡¯re still a hypocrite, Herza? The freakiest genius in the whole of Anril is in the Supreme Council, why would you envy anyone else?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing much...¡± Herza spoke humbly, but the smile on his face was practically shining with glee.

    ¡°Oh right, Rina, let me introduce you to Mage Herza. Aren¡¯t you interested in pharmaceutics? You can learn from Mage Herza, he¡¯s an authority in pharmaceutics at the Supreme Council...¡±

    ¡°Pfft, don¡¯t joke with me, you and I both know who¡¯s the real authority...¡±

    ¡°Haha, how¡¯s Mage Felic? I haven¡¯t seen him in months since the convention. It¡¯s his big day, so howe we don¡¯t see him?¡±

    ¡°That kid is in the study. No choice, Arbitrator Apophis wanted to meet him. Even Hoffman is still waiting in the guild hall, why don¡¯t you got chat with him?¡±

    ¡°Apophis is here too?¡±

    ¡°Mm-hm, he came this morning and dragged Felic into the study. You know they have an extraordinary rtionship...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡±

    The two of them chatted and Rina did not talk, only listening by the side.

    If she had thought her teacher was exaggerating earlier, then now she was more and more curious about why this genius pharmacist Felic so different from others.

    Of course, besides being curious, she was a tiny bit jealous...

    ording to what her teacher had said, this Felic was even younger than her, merely 20 years old, yet he had already gained everybody¡¯s recognition. Ever since she¡¯d alighted the carriage, everybody had been talking about this Felic, and their words were filled with praise. What she heard along the way intrigued her, and she really wanted to know whether Felic really lived up to his name...

    The two of them followed Herza into the guild hall, and saw Hoffman squatting on the floor as he studied a huge crystal ball. He was already a short and plump man, and the position he was in made him look all the more amusing.

    ¡°Why are you here so early, Hoffman?¡± They were all Master Pharmacists, and interacted often. Hence, Englos¡¯ greeting was much more casual that it would usually be.

    ¡°Englos, you old fellow, you¡¯re here too? Take a seat, I need to study this crystal ball first...¡± Hoffman yelled without turning his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s with this crystal ball?¡± Englos questioned as he stuck his face over, only for his expression to freeze after taking a look. ¡°Impressive...¡±

    While Englos did not know much about Inscription, he was a Master after all, and when things reached that level, most of them were linked. He did not know what was a magic circuit nor what a magic node was, but when he saw the mageweath, Englos knew that this had to be the work of a Master.

    ¡°Heheh, now you know. I¡¯ve been working on it the whole afternoon...¡± Hoffman pursed his lips as he stood up shakily. ¡°The Supreme Council is more than it seems indeed, a mere crystal ball packs such a powerful mageweath, I wonder which bastard came up with it...¡±

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Lin Li was in the study when he sneezed all of a sudden. Rubbing his nose, he silently wondered who was so despicable to scold him behind his back...

    There was a petite old man sitting in front of Lin Li. He had a messy beard and unkempt hair, and his gray robes were stained with dirt as well, making him look like a deste fellow. However, everyone who knew him, including Lin Li, did not dare use that word to describe him.

    He was Apophis, one of the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council. He had already surpassed the Legendary-realm 1,300 years ago, and was one of the only Sanctuary Masters left in Anril. Who would dare use the word ¡°deste¡± to describe him?

    ¡°Andoine, that useless fool, he¡¯s taught you for so long, but look at how you¡¯ve turned out. When I get back, I¡¯m going to break his legs...¡± The old man was staring at Lin Li, disappointed that he had not turned out like he should have. ¡°Look at yourself, such talent for magic, but you¡¯ve wasted it. If I were you, I would be too embarrassed to stay on earth...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li did not know if he shouldugh or cry. This old man¡¯s temper was beyond entric, scolding everybody whenever he spoke, yet Lin Li could not rebut him for the simple reason that this old man named Apophis was Andoine¡¯s teacher¡ªin other words, his grand-teacher...

    Even if he feared nothing in this world, he was going to have to endure this old man¡¯s scoldings...

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking of just because you¡¯re keeping quiet. You¡¯re feeling indignant, aren¡¯t you? Let me tell you, you¡¯re wasting your rare talent by learning magic from that good-for-nothing Andoine. If I had the crazy mental strength you had, I would surpass that bastard Geresco...¡±

    ¡°Actually...¡± Lin Li brushed his nose and defended himself carefully. ¡°Actually I¡¯m not that bad, right...?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Who knew that it would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut. The old man jumped up from his seat at his words. ¡°Is your ce protected by mageweaths? Bring me there, I¡¯ll let you know immediately how bad you are!¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± His ce was protected by mageweaths, quite a bit of them, in fact. Honestly speaking, all Lin Li had to do was utter a spell, and the All-Kill Array would protect the entire Tower of Dusk, but he did not wish to let this entric old man know. He was a Sanctuary Master, and if he really did fight him, even with the protection of the mageweath, he would probably be picking his teeth off the floor...

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll just keep my strength in check...¡±

    ¡°I do, of course I do, couldn¡¯t have more of it...¡± Lin Li nearly died of a heart attack. Even if a Sanctuary Master kept their strength in check, it would at least be above a Legendary-level. If they really fought, Lin Li would no doubt be left paralyzed. Why not find some ce where he would be protected by mageweath¡ªat least with the mageweaths Element Annihtion and Mana Liquefaction, he would suffer lighter injuries...

    He was not going to escape this, anyway; hence, Lin Li gritted his teeth and uttered some spells.

    As he finished his chanting, the energy of the All-Kill Array loomed over the Tower of Dusk immediately, and everybody could feel a strong energy dissipating within the Tower of Dusk. Only, most of them had no idea where this energy wasing from.

    ¡°Oh?¡± After experiencing the energy of the All-Kill Array, the old man who initially brushed off Lin Li¡¯s magical abilities suddenly looked surprised. ¡°What¡¯s this mageweath?¡±

 Chapter 362 - Sanctuary

    <h4>Chapter 362: Sanctuary</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°This mageweath is impressive...¡± Lin Li lit up as he spoke about this All-Kill Array and his lies came pouring in too. ¡°This is the work of Master Moke of the Supreme Council, I had to spend thousands of gold coins to bribe him and send him rare magical ingredients before he agreed to...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Apophis was on the verge of tears. This kid was really as shameless as they said he was; nothing he said was true. What did you mean Master Moke? How could he not know what Moke was capable of? He was at most as good as Aldwin! Sure, themon mageweaths would not be an issue for him, but for him toe up with one so powerful that even Apophis was taken aback? What a joke...

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Master Moke yourself...?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less; since it had alreadye to this, worsening it made no real difference. It was not like Apophis was going to question him on the real origin of the All-Kill Array anyway given his status.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Apophis nearly blew his nose off in anger. Moke had left a couple of days ago; where was he going to look for him now?

    The pair of young and old left the study, and followed the stairs up to the fifth floor. There was supposed to be a library here, but because the books on magic had yet to arrive, the room remained empty. Still, it was just nice for the two mages to have a friendly fight in.

    ¡°What about here?¡± Lin Li uttered a spell, and opened the doors to the room while he used his mental strength to control the All-Kill Array in the basement, allowing the energy from the Elemental Power and Mana Liquefaction mageweaths to circte in the library.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± Apophis nodded his head as praise was evident in his gaze. Of course, he was not talking about the library, but the All-Kill Array in the basement. At his level, he had be acquainted with everything, and did not even need knowledge of Inscription to know the flow of mana in the All-Kill Array, which was also why he knew better than anybody else how powerful this unusual mageweath was...

    ¡°You really fought Geresco?¡± Lin Li asked with a look of curiosity as he entered the door.

    ¡°Of course...¡± That was the most glorious period of Apophis¡¯s life, and he still looked proud and reminiscent even when people brought it up 1,300 yearster. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve known him since I was young, we learned magic together, and¡ª damn it, you despicable bastard...¡±

    Apophis never thought that a huge fireball woulde hurling at him just as he was lost in his memories...

    This was a level-16 fireball, and even a Sanctuary Master panicked seeing as he was not under any protection. He only cursed loudly before conjuring an Elemental Shield; the fireball crashed into the Elemental Shield with a booming noise, and sparks flew everywhere, lighting up the empty library and a messy beard...

    ¡°Damn it, how dare you sneak an attack on me?¡± The fireball came too suddenly, and even with Apophis¡¯s abilities, he was barely able to conjure an Elemental Shield to protect his torso, not having the time to care about his beard and hair, leaving the dignified Sanctuary Master somewhat disheveled in front of an Archmage.

    ¡°Why, is it against the rules?¡± Lin Li retorted haughtily as he smiled shamelessly while chanting away, making another fireball appear...

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± Apophis nearly exploded from anger. This kid was shameless indeed, making him recall the past with a sentence and using that opportunity to send a fireball in sneakily. Thankfully, he was a Sanctuary Master, and could use any magic below level-20 in an instant. It would have been embarrassing for any Legendary-mage...

    However, Apophis was a Sanctuary Master, after all, and after doing away with the fireball with an Elemental Shield, he started taking control of the situation. He did not chant nor use any magic, but strong mana started spreading throughout the room and made Lin Li feel as though a heavy weight was resting on him, taking away his ability to move or breathe.

    ¡°Right, Arbitrator Apophis, when the allies attacked the Sky Castle, did you fight the Queen of the High Elves?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I used to be the¡ª damn it, why am I even talking to you about the past? I¡¯m going to beat you up, you little bastard...¡± Apophis lost focus and nearly fell into another trap. In a fit, he kept his mouth shut and refused to speak.

    When the old man shut his mouth, Lin Li suddenly found himself suffering from tremendous torture...

    In a second, Lin Li felt the surrounding mana contract and coil tightly around him like a huge python. No, not just his body, but his mental strength as well¡ªit was coiled into a tight ball under this terrifying strength, and even his shockingly powerful mental strength seemed to melt like snow in the sun and disappear without a trace in front of this Sanctuary Master...

    The door of the library was shut tightly, but the terrifying magical wave made every guest outside pale. Even though Apophis was barely using any strength, and the All-Kill Array was doing all it could to suppress his strength as well, the power of the Sanctuary Master was clearly felt by everybody.

    Everyone present for the ceremony was at the very least a President of a Guild of Magic, or at least an Archmage, so they were well-aware how terribly powerful the magical waveing from the library was.

    ¡°Damn it, the demons from the Supreme Council are such sadists...¡± Having felt the strength that made them tremble, even Englos, Sendros, and Hoffman silently cursed. The three old demons from the Supreme Council had not fought for 1,300 years, and only today did everybody realize that their capabilities were well beyond what anybody could imagine...

    Of course, everybody was thinking of something else¡ªwhich idiot dared to fight this old demon?

    Englos scanned his surroundings before looking at the tightly shut doors on the fifth floor, a look of disbelief appeared on his face. ¡°Could it be Felic?¡±

    The terrifying magical wave only settled down after half an hour...

    ¡°Well, are we continuing?¡± Apophis dusted his robes as he smiled satisfactorily.

    Lin Li slumped on the floor as he retorted weakly, ¡°Only an idiot would...¡±

    Damn it, this old man was a sadist indeed¡ªhe did not use anything besides a simple Elemental Shield, merely using his mana to crush him easily. If he had used any other magic, Lin Li probably would not have the energy to even lie here on the floor.

    ¡°Do you know where your mistakes lie now?¡±

    Lin Li retrieved a bottle of Recovery Potion from his pocket as he muttered, ¡°I was wrong in sneaking in an attack toote. If I had done so earlier, maybe I¡¯d have got your hair too...¡± Damn it, the Sanctuary Master was no human; how could he injure him like that even with the All-Kill Array¡¯s protection...

    ¡°Nonsense, what good would attacking earlier do? Once you¡¯ve reached a Sanctuary-realm, magic bes part of you, and even the slightest change in magical wave would cause a reaction in your magic. It will conjure a protection naturally... You think I made the Elemental Shield? I¡¯m already so old, how can I possibly have such quick reflexes? Can¡¯t you use your brain...¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t it protect your beard?¡± Lin Li nced cheekily at the old man. He was looking at his half-burnt beard...

    ¡°Damn it...¡± Apophis jumped with anger as Lin Li pointed out his weakness. That was indeed a moment of error. He¡¯d never thought that this rascal would be able to conjure up a fireball instantaneously at level-17, and allowed him to burn his beard.

    ¡°But then again, you¡¯re amazing indeed, Sanctuary Master. With only an Elemental Shield, you managed to withstand 10 fireballs from me, how did you do it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing...¡± Apophis¡¯ spirits lifted again after Lin Li¡¯s praise. Stroking his messy beard, he said, ¡°If I want to, I can take 100 fireballs from you with just an Elemental Shield. This is because I am well-versed in the Rules of magic. That is the true essence of magic. I¡¯m telling you, no matter how powerful you are or how fast you can recite spells, it is nothingpared to a Wind de that truly reflects the spirit of magic.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that exaggerating too much? I¡¯m well-versed in many magical Rules too, and many of them are core magical mantras. Howe I cannot take 100 fireballs with an Elemental Shield like you did?¡±

    ¡°Pfft, how dare you say you are well-versed with Rules with your abilities, even core ones too! From what I see, you¡¯re nowhere near the edge of it. Yes, you have a rare talent for magic, but you don¡¯t know how to use it. You¡¯re just a smart kid with a sharp weapon and absolutely no idea how to use it. One day, you¡¯re going to hurt yourself...¡±

 Chapter 363 - Inauguration Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 363: Inauguration Ceremony</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was dazed at hearing that. Ever since he had obtained the core magical mantras, he spent a great deal of time studying them. When he arrived in the Breezy ins, he even locked himself at home for a month to focus on studying them, and had created the Arcane Combustion as well as the Countercurrent Vortex, both of which were magic unique to him. Lin Li always thought that while he had notpletely grasped the core magical mantras, he had learned something from them at the very least, yet this old man imed that he was nowhere near the edge of it...

    However, Lin Li knew that Apophis did not say anything without reason.

    After spending the afternoon together, Lin Li started to gain some understanding of the Sanctuary Master. He was quick to anger and was entric indeed; sometimes, Lin Li even thought that he resembled Gerian, but one difference between them was his understanding of magic. This grumpy and entric old man might have the best understanding of magic in the whole Anril!

    This old man had led a long life. Back when the High Elves still ruled over thends in the Dark Ages, he had already surpassed the Legendary-realm. He fought alongside the God of Mages, Geresco, and personally killed the queen of the High Elves, Azshara. He had even taken down an entire Sky Castle using magic; as he lived through his long life, Apophis was slowly bing magic itself.

    Apophis had not been merely toying with Lin Li during the fight. In fact, he took the time to give him some pointers here and there. While he did not say too much, nor was the teaching done in a nurturing manner, they were all critical issues for Lin Li to fix, giving him instant enlightenment each time he heeded Apophis¡¯ advice.

    ¡°What should I do then?¡±

    ¡°Well, hehehe...¡± Apophis suddenly looked at him cunningly, his burnt beard bouncing as he spoke. ¡°I wanted to tell you this when I came to the Breezy ins, but turns out you¡¯re a bastard who doesn¡¯t know how to respect the elderly. How dare you fool such a nice old man as I. Damn it, what do you mean a masterpiece of Moke? You really think I¡¯m a fool?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s called a mageweath array...¡± Lin Li did not want to reveal this for fear that he might appear on the Supreme Council¡¯s radar and bring himself trouble, but seeing as he was asking a favor from someone now, he couldn¡¯t care less if he did get exposed...

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a mageweath array, what¡¯s the big deal, fancy bringing in Moke...¡± The old man finally won the verbal fight, and could not help the smug grin on his face, only for his smile to suddenly freeze. He then jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. ¡°Mageweath array?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, I don¡¯t believe you, how can there be such things as a mageweath array?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just some lowly mageweath...¡±

    ¡°Even that¡¯s not possible!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes, and decided to keep his mouth shut.

    The old man iled around before he realized something was off. He stared for some time at Lin Li, who had gone quiet, before carefully asking, ¡°It really is a mageweath array?¡±

    ¡°It really is...¡±

    ¡°Seems true, a normal mageweath cannot be that powerful. It looks like an Alchemy Array from the flow of the mana... that¡¯s right, it must be a mageweath array indeed...¡± Apophis stared at Lin Li for a long time before he smiled happily, his cunning face looking angelic all of a sudden. ¡°Hahaha, I knew that Andoine was not that capable, but at least he is a good judge of character. See, he struck gold this time. Quick, tell me kid, are you a Master of Inscription or a Guru of Inscription? Damn it, mageweath array? You can¡¯t be a Divine Smith, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exaggerating too much, these are merely some lowly mageweaths...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re lowly or not. Kid, how about we make a deal? I¡¯m going to need a powerful mageweath soon, get it done for me and I¡¯ll teach you the way...¡± The old man seemed to worry that Lin Li would not buy his words at this point, and thus confidently assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if you follow the way I teach you, given your talent, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll surpass the Legendary-realm in less than a year!¡±

    Lin Li stared at the old man for some time before he said, ¡°You have to give me the ingredients...¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡±

    The two stayed in the library until afternoon. It was somewhat impolite for the host to hide away in the library, leaving the guests alone. Moreover, these guests were all important figures, like the two Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine, the prince of the Fn Kingdom, as well as the boss of Glittergold Trade Union... none of them were guests any ordinary person could afford to invite...

    However, everyone knew who the people in the library were, and nobody dared say a word. Well, given their status, even if they had to wait a couple of days instead of one afternoon, they would have to continue waiting too.

    The young-old pair only slowly came down the stairs when it was time for lunch.

    ¡°Kid, remember what you promised me, or you¡¯ll feel my wrath!¡± Apophis walked ahead as he threatened Lin Li with his cunning smile.

    ¡°Alright, alright...¡± Lin Li, however, was limping behind him. His face was swollen on one side, and he looked pathetic.

    As Herza was preparing for the ceremony, Lin Li slid away to his room to change into a new robe and tend to the wounds on his face. He applied some balm, and cursed inwardly. This old man was rude indeed, why did he have to go for the face of all ces? A dozen Wind des came flying at him and turned his face into a swollen mess. Thankfully, he had prepared a Recovery Potion, or else he would not know how to face his guests...

    When Lin Li exited his room, the ceremony had officially begun.

    Lin Li was wearing a new robe which entuated his nice figure, making him look nicer than usual. A ck pointed hat sat atop his head, and the Dragon¡¯s Eye on his Aether Staff glowed faintly. Lin Li looked impable apart from the unsightly bruises on his face, and even the grumpy Apophis could not help but utter his praises reluctantly. ¡°Really can¡¯t tell that this kid is as shameless as theye based off his looks...¡±

    ¡°Good afternoon, distinguished guests. It is my honor to announce that the Supreme Council will appoint a new president for a Guild of Magic. It will be his mission and responsibility to ensurew and order in the Breezy ins...¡± Herza walked on stage amidst the audience¡¯s apuse. ¡°Now, allow me to introduce you to the new president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, the most talented of young mages, the Archmage Felic!¡±

    ¡°Mr Herza, you humble me...¡± Lin Li walked on stage with a smile as he recited a few well-rehearsed phrases of formality.

    At this time, Rina discreetly frowned as she stood in the crowd.

    She thought that she had seen the person standing on the stage somewhere before, but when she tried to take a closer look, she was hindered by therge patch of bruises on his face. Why did this President Felic choose his big day to get in a fight? Now, he was stuck with his face swollen on one side...

    The more she looked, the more she wanted tough. His face was truly amusing. Apart from being red and swollen, it was blue and purple all over as well, looking as though somebody had spilled paint all over his face.

    Honestly, Rina was not the only one who was trying to see past the bruises as President Amman of Thunder City¡¯s Guild of Magic also found this person familiar.

    <i>Strange, why do I find him familiar...? </i>Amman had been wondering where he had seen this young President before ever since the ceremony had begun. This was all too strange; he had been studying a rare prescription he had chanced upon for the past decade, and had never left Thunder City. Judging from this young president¡¯s ent, he did not seem to be from Thunder City, either, so why did he find him familiar?

    Oh, no, he did leave once a few months ago...

    The convention of the Pharmacists Guild. He had brought Milo along and attended the convention. It was also at that convention that he had suffered the biggest embarrassment of his life, and the person who had embarrassed him seemed to be called Felic as well!

    When memories of the event came to his mind, Amman suddenly felt a chill run down his back. That was right, it was the Pharmacist called Felic, and they were exactly the same in terms of age and build. Amman suddenly realized why the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine were invited to the inauguration ceremony of the president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. Damn it, Englos and Sendros were here because of the young pharmacist!

    Amman felt his hands turn mmy all of a sudden. He had never thought that this Felic would climb the ranks so quickly. He became the President of Breezy ins Guild of Magic at such a young age, and seemed to be well acknowledged by the Supreme Council. Even Arbitrator Apophis attended this ceremony, and from the way they had walked down the stairs, Amman would have to be a fool not to notice that their rtionship was definitely more than met the eye...

 Chapter 364 - Starlight Herb

    <h4>Chapter 364: Starlight Herb</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The ceremony for taking up the President position was notplicated. After a simple speech by the new President, Herza announced the official establishment of the new Breezy ins Guild of Magic. Then, it was Apophis¡¯s turn to present a symbolic gift to Lin Li. The old man had changed into a new gray robe; although it was not as formal as Lin Li¡¯s ck robe, it was filled with a sense of mystery and authority when they were surrounded with that massive magical wave.

    The ck staff in Apophis¡¯s hands had an enormous magical crystal that was reflecting a blinding yet eye-catching ray of light. Lin Li was surprised to see the magical energy within it. He saw a magical crystal of a beast that was definitely above level-18, and one that had certainly undergone vigorous mageweath treatment before it was set onto the staff. Now, the mana it could provide would without a doubt be close to a Legendary magical crystal!

    ¡°Archmage Felic, I represent the Supreme Council to announce that you are now officially the first President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic,¡± the elder said as he brought the tip of the staff that had the magical crystal against Lin Li¡¯s forehead gently. ¡°May the force of magic guide you eternally.¡±

    Finally, Apophis handed the staff to Lin Li. This marked the official recognition of Lin Li¡¯s authority. From now on, the 25th guild of magic had been established in the Breezy ins, and it was going to be protected under the name of Supreme Council. This meant that any organization¡¯s hostile actions against the Breezy ins Guild of Magic would be treated as a challenge towards the Supreme Council.

    The Guild could even have their own piece ofnd, including the authority over it. Hence, they would be able to collect taxes, and also have a pool of human resources there. All in all, everything would go ording to the wishes of the Guild of Magic, with no interference from the royalty of the Fn Kingdom. That was an agreement put in ce 1300 years ago¡ªall guilds under the Supreme Council would be able to acquirend they could call their own. In return, the kingdom would be able to employ mages who were below the Legendary level as soldiers if they were to be invaded by enemy forces.

    Of course, the royalty of Fn would not provide thatnd without any conditions. They had no choice, actually. Asnd was limited, their younger generation would be left with nothing if they decided to givend away to another 20 guilds.

    Whether the guild of magic could acquire that piece ofnd would depend on their true abilities. As long as they were powerful enough¡ªeven if they merely took over the Ledin Kingdom¡ªthe royalty of Fn would not mind offering them the legal authority to rule. Since they were not required to provide resources for their soldiers, they had nothing else to lose.

    However, to the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, it was still a distant dream. They only had around 10 mages. While their majority was at least Magic Shooters of level-13, their strength was too weak in numbers. Even if they were to take over a piece ofnd, they would not be able to protect it well. It was like how the Jarrosus Guild of Magic was not only robbed of the Demon Fall Valley, but also lost their Emerald Tower due to a fire. Although they managed to rebuild it with the help of Lin Li, it was still Jarrosus. The power of the Shadow¡¯s Nest was too insignificant; any other forces in the Breezy ins would have been able to crush his guild of magic into pieces. If Lin Li were to make any mistake on thisnd, he would not be able to deal with them alone.

    The ceremony was an incredibly simple one. Ending with Lin Li¡¯s act of epting the staff, it did not have any boring and long speeches, andcked the bustling excitement as well. But, the simple ritual was not shocking to any of the guests. Being all big shots of different statuses and positions, the process of the ceremony was not important. What mattered was the meaning behind the ceremony itself.

    When the young man received the staff, it meant that there would be another force that was not to be belittled in the Breezy ins. Although it seemed that this force was still very weak, at least half of the number of guests present had absolute confidence in Lin Li. They believed that as long as the young President was in his position, this force would grow to be an invincible one...

    After the ceremony ended, Hoffman went over to Lin Li with a smile. ¡°Hehe, big congrattions to Mage Felic... Oh, I should call you President Felic. As I¡¯ve said, if the Supreme Council wanted to build a guild of magic in the Breezy ins, you were the most suitable candidate for the President. To me, only a rare talent like you would have the right to be in this position here in the Breezy ins! I¡¯m absolutely certain that the elders in the Supreme Council have made the best choice...¡±

    ¡°Nothing like that, Mr. Hoffman. The Guild of Magic has just been established, so we will still need the support from the Glittergold Trade Union...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. As long as it is something I can help you with, feel free to tell me!¡± Hoffman promised Lin Li without thinking.

    ¡°I will thank Mr. Hoffman in advance then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee...¡±

    After that, Hoffman called an attendant over. He gave him some instructions in a low voice before turning back to Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, yes. President Felic, apart froming to congratte you, I had prepared a gift as well. I hope you will like it.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Hoffman, you are too courteous...¡±

    As the two men conversed, an attendant entered the room with a box made of jade. From the first look, there was nothing special about it, but after Hoffman opened the lid of the box, it caused many to gasp in shock...

    ¡°This...¡±

    Lin Li was one of those who were stunned. Frankly speaking, he had expected Hoffman to present him with a gift at this ceremony, yet he had not expected it to be such a precious treasure.

    ¡°So many Starlight Herbs?¡±

    He did not believe that Hoffman could present him with a few hundred stalks of Starlight. It was definitely an exorbitant gift. To a Master Pharmacist, such an amount of Starlight Herb meant riches in astronomical figures. A bottle of Radiance Potion that could prevent the bite of mana would sell for up to tens of thousand gold coins, and the whole lot of Starlight in that jade box would certainly let him create more than 50 bottles of Radiance Potion!

    Furthermore, it was just the simplest Radiance Potion. If he could get ahold of the rare Moonlight Flower, andbine it with Starlight Herb, he could create the Heroic Potion, a potion that even Sword Sages dreamed of¡ªa treasure that could increase one¡¯s Combat Energy unlimitedly. Compared to a level-17 magical crystal, it would definitely not be any less valuable...

    ¡°Hehe, hope President Felic can appreciate the small gift...¡±

    Although Hoffman seemed to be very humble when he said that, he was actually really nervous. The Glittergold Trade Union might be wealthy, but it¡¯d taken a lot of effort to collect hundreds of Starlight Herb stalks. However, it did not matter to Hoffman. He was certain of one thing: the herbs would be a dozen of bottles of Radiance Potion in his hands, but a dozen of bottles of Heroic Potion in Lin Li¡¯s.

    If Lin Li could gift him one or two bottles of the second potion at that time, it would overwrite the cost of these several hundred herbs...

    ¡°Mr. Hoffman, I¡¯m epting your gift. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not a forgetful person. If I am sessful in using them to create the Heroic Potion, half of them will go to the Glittergold Trade Union!¡±

    ¡°Then I will thank President Felic in advance...¡± Hoffman said gleefully. He would have been content with a bottle or two, and had not expected the young President to be so generous to promise him half of what he¡¯d produce. If he could really get half the amount of it, how would this single box of Starlight matter?

    ¡°Oh, Mr. Hoffman. Are you free these two days? I have a business proposal to discuss with you...¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course! I will be in Dnd in the next two days. Just call me over when you are free.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a deal then.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    While the two people chattered with each other, Englos brought Rina over.

    ¡°Hoffman, you really ced me in a difficult spot by giving such a valuable gift. If mine doesn¡¯t match the standard you set, isn¡¯t it an embarrassment for myself?¡± Englos remarked yfully. ¡°Luckily, I am well prepared...¡±

    ¡°Old man, stop acting mysterious. If you have anything good, just show it to us...¡± Hoffman said jokingly. Being Pharmaceutical Masters who had known each other for a very long time, their interaction was devoid of any formalities. Hoffman was not offended by Englos at all. ¡°How could I not know how your Brilliance Shrine is? It was my Glittergold Trade Union that helped to fund your shrine when it was being built in the Breezy ins. I really doubt that you can offer anything good...¡± he said in disdain as he pursed his lips.

    ¡°Hehe, Hoffman, you have guessed it wrong this time. You stingy man...¡± Englosughed. Then, he fished out something from his pocket...

 Chapter 365 - Magic Lamp

    <h4>Chapter 365: Magic Lamp</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°F*ck...¡± The sight of that object stunned Hoffman. He stared at it for quite a while. ¡°Old dude, how could you take this out just like that? Aren¡¯t you scared that Rosario will fall out with you?¡±

    Although both of them were Master Pharmacists, they were closer than any other people. Hence, they were very straightforward with each other, and Englos did not mind being called like that as well. He only smiled back at Hoffman.

    Rina at the side, however, could not stand that attitude. ¡°Mr. Hoffman, please mind yournguage,¡± said the pretty Pdin in a frown.

    ¡°...¡± Hoffman knew he was not polite too. Yet, being a thick-skinned man, he only rubbed his nose awkwardly.

    ¡°Rina, it is alright. You can go first...¡± Englos tried to help ease the situation. ¡°This fat mouthy dude is like that. Now that I teased him, it is only normal for him to act salty towards me...¡±

    ¡°What a fierce little girl!¡± Hoffmanmented as heughed the matter off. ¡°Although I¡¯m teased by Englos, there¡¯s nothing to be embarrassed about...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Englos, your gift is too valuable...¡± Lin Li hesitated. He did not reach out his hands to receive Englos¡¯ present. He had no choice. Compared to it, the entire box of Starlight Herb was nothing.

    Englos was holding a golden oilmp around the size of a fist. Perhaps because of its age, the oil inside had long dried up, and the surface pattern of themp was also somewhat fuzzy. It looked smooth and sleek, and quite antique. If it was ced in an antique shop, it would definitely be sold for a good price.

    But, Lin Li knew that the value of the oilmp was not only limited to that...

    That almighty Soul Trader had once told him a story.

    Rumors said that when Osric led the Magic Legion to invade the abyss, 23 Abyssal Demon Lords were killed. Among the 23 of them, at least half was sealed up by Osric.

    Connoris was one of them too. He was not killed, but was sealed in a hammer for his great knowledge. His memory was not taken away, as it was required for the construction of the Eternal Furnace. The other 12 Demon Lords were not as lucky. After their consciousness and memory were wiped off by Osric, their souls and energy were sealed in 12 oilmps.

    These 12 oilmps had been enchanted by Osric. By rubbing against the surface of the oilmps, one would be able to summon the soul of the Demon Lord inside. Although they were not as almighty as before, and did not have their consciousness and memory, the energy they were left with was still terrifying. All of their souls were incredibly close to the Legendary-realm.

    Furthermore, under Osric¡¯s magical enchantment, they would live on eternally, and their energy would never dwindle, either. Even a man who had reached the Legendary-realm would not have much chance of defeating a Demon Lord.

    Unfortunately, before the oilmps could be used, the High Elves Dynasty fell. At the same time, the life of Osric came to an end too. No one knew what happened to the 12mps thereafter...

    Lin Li did not expect one of themps to be with the Brilliance Shrine.

    And now, Englos was giving it to himself as a gift...

    Lin Li would be lying if he said he was not moved by such a huge temptation. That was an oilmp that sealed the soul of a Demon Lord! With such a rare treasure, it was like Lin Li got a bodyguard in the Legendary-realm.

    But, Lin Li did not dare to reach his hands towards it...

    Lin Li had always believed the idea that ¡°one who was unountably solicitous would be hiding evil intentions¡±. Since Englos was not a generous and bighearted man, only ghosts would believe that he had no ulterior motive in offering Lin Li such a treasure.

    That was reality. The greater the benefits, therger the problems.

    The motive behind this gift had to be a favor Englos wanted to ask of Lin Li. Such a powerful present could only mean one thing¡ªthe favor Englos wanted to ask of Lin Li might not be even achievable by normal men in the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°Hehe, President Felic, don¡¯t listen to the crap that darn fatty is talking about. The gift was personally chosen by His Holiness, Rosario. You don¡¯t need to worry about anything...¡± Englos exined to Lin Li sincerely. It was as though he saw Lin Li¡¯s concerns. ¡°Of course, President Felic, the Brilliance Shrine has a favor to ask of you. We are sure that it will be an easy task for you...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li frowned. ¡°Mr. Englos, can I know what matter made you so anxious first?¡± he asked suspiciously.

    Before Englos could start talking, Hoffman smiled. ¡°Hehe, two of you can continue without me. I still have something to settle there...¡±

    After saying that, Hoffman waddled off with his plump body before the two other people could react. He was the decision-maker of the Glittergold Trade Union. As a businessman known for his wickedness, how could he not know that the matter the other two were about to discuss would be a confidential one? If he were to know of it, he would certainly get himself into trouble. Thus, he¡¯d rather suppress his curiosity and escape from the scene first...

    ¡°Hehe, that fatso is clever...¡± Englos could naturally read Hoffman¡¯s intentions. But, that was what he wanted too. Englos proceeded to bring Lin Li to an isted corner.

    ¡°President Felic, you should be aware of the tragedy that happened in the Sunset Mountains 32 years ago, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li nodded. In fact, Andoine had told him about it when he¡¯d firste to Anril World.

    There were many poisonous snakes and deadly beasts in the huge area the Sunset Mountains covered. The scariest thing was that there would be a ck tidal flood during the seventh month of each year. This ck water would make all the magical beasts living in the Sunset Mountains go berserk, and they would attack and devour each other. Even if it was the lowest-ranking Three-eyed Blood Wolf, it would dare to pounce at any poisonous python it saw. That was the effect of the ck Current. The craze would continue for a period of seven days, and only dwindle at the seventh night...

    The Sunset Mountains would be the most dangerous when the ck Current struck. A Legendary-mage like Andoine would have to leave his wooden house before the seventh month, and only return after the mad massacre ended.

    However, aspared to the ck Current 32 years ago, these were just small ripples...

    The ck Current 32 years ago was a true catastrophe. Yet, only few knew about it.

    Lin Li was one of them.

    No one in Anril knew when the phenomenon called ck Current began. People only knew that ck Current was recorded in the history during the Dark Ages by the High Elves. However, due to the passage of time, human beings had gradually epted the ck Current as it would only affect the magical beasts in the Sunset Mountains, and not interrupt their daily lives. No matter how crazy the beasts were, they had never brought the madness out of the Sunset Mountains. It was as though there was an invisible shield that separated the Sunset Mountains from the outside world.

    This phenomenon went on for many years, until that fateful event 32 years ago...

    One day, a traveling mage was attacked by a pack of Three-eyed Blood Wolves when he passed by the Sunset Mountains. But, being an Archmage, that mage eliminated the pack of wolves very easily. After he returned to the guild of magic, he did not let the matter bother him. He told a few colleagues around him, and they brushed it off as a joke.

    No one had expected that the Guild¡¯s President got to hear about the ¡°joke¡± too. He realized the gravity of the matter, and reported the incident to the Supreme Council.

    After an urgent meeting, the Supreme Council made a decision to send a team of Archmages into the Sunset Mountains to look into the matter. Then, they discovered a terrible secret¡ªthey found out about the offspring of prehistoric magical beasts. These beasts had made use of the brand on their souls to control the tens of thousands of magical beasts forcefully...

    The prehistoric magical beasts had been endangered before the Dark Age, and the remaining of their offspring had been living on inds in the Endless Ocean. No one knew how horrifying the prehistoric magical beasts were. Theter generations could only derive from the records passed down by the High Elves that during the era when the Dragons and Titans werepeting for hegemony, the prehistoric magical beasts managed to make use of their strong lifespan to stay alive. From that, they learned how formidable the beasts were...

 Chapter 366 - Viperéˆ¥æªš Poison

    <h4>Chapter 366: Viper¡¯s Poison</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If not for the rise of the High Elves, these prehistoric magical beasts might havepletely taken over Anril, but even then, the High Elves who considered themselves deities paid dearly in their fight against the prehistoric magical beasts. Many of them died under the ws and fangs of these beasts which possessed incredible strength and inherited the power of magic by blood when they were born. They did not have to learn their magic, nor did it have spells¡ªthey merely had to roar or think of it to harness devastating power.

    More than once, the blurry records of the High Elves had mentioned how savage and powerful these prehistoric magical beasts were. They were cruel and crafty, possessing thoughts of their own just like the High Elves. Every fight they fought caused them to be stronger, and if they were allowed to evolve for thousands and thousands of years, a race like that of the Titans or the Dragons might be born.

    But in the end, the High Elves emerged victorious even though they had to pay for their sess with blood and lives as they ughtered all the prehistoric magical beasts on thend. Only a small percentage of the beasts managed to survive as they escaped into the endless ocean and lived on tiny inds scattered around it.

    Strictly speaking, the descendants of these prehistoric magical beasts today could not be considered true prehistoric magical beasts, as the blood in their veins had been diluted through thousands of years of evolution. The only thing that remained unchanged within them might well only be a tiny brand in the depths of their souls.

    However, it was this tiny brand that allowed them to control other magical beasts easily as they were like kings to othermon magical beasts. The hierarchy in the world of magical beasts was incredibly strict, even more so than that of humans, and it was a rule that had been followed through thousands of years of evolution. Even a magical beast that had surpassed the Legendary-realm would not dare think of going against a prehistoric magical beast due to their innate fear, just as a rat would never think to go against a python no matter how strong or ferocious it was.

    When news from the Sunset Mountains arrived, the Supreme Council was shaken to its very core. Once the prehistoric magical beasts overcame the Supreme Council, a cmity would await Anril. If an army of thousands and thousands of magical beasts marched down the Sunset Mountains, they would cause unimaginable damage. Even though they were not as strong nor had the ability to form thoughts like prehistoric magical beasts and fight the humans for power to rule Anril, they were still able to wreak havoc and kill like locusts destroying a field. Perhaps it would only take a year for the whole Fn Kingdom to fall under their attacks.

    The only cause for celebration was that there were not one but three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts. While it sounded contradictory, that was the truth. These three descendants did not stand on the same line, but instead each wanted to kill the other two as well as the magical beasts they controlled. This ck Current had be their battlefield as thousands of magical beasts died in the fight, staining the Sunset Mountains red with their blood.

    Due to this ck Current, the three Arbitrators who had never personally intervened made a trip to the Ledin Kingdom. That night, the Supreme Council reached a consensus with the Brilliance Shrine to send the most powerful fighters of theirs; the mission was to ensure the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts were killed in the Sunset Mountains at all costs.

    These were the two most powerful forces of Anril, and this was the first time they were working together. The end result was as everybody saw: the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine remained in Anril, while the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains remained an annual event, except they could no longer see any trace of the descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts amongst the magical beasts.

    The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine both kept their lips tightly sealed, so not many people knew about that fight. Even Lin Li had only managed to hear bits and pieces of it from Andoine after much probing; hence, Lin Li could not understand why Englos chose to mention it out of the blue.

    ¡°One of the three descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts was a descendant of a prehistoric viper. Its lineage had been the least diluted, and it had inherited the poison of the prehistoric viper nearly in full...¡± Englos sighed heavily as pain could be seen in his eyes. ¡°Who knew that just before it died, it would bite His Holiness Rosario...¡±

    ¡°...¡± The smile on Lin Li¡¯s face froze. Even in Lin Li¡¯s knowledge, the prehistoric viper was merely something he had seen only in books, and while he was not unfamiliar with viper¡¯s poison, something that was a target of many guru¡¯s antidotes, it was because the viper¡¯s poison was probably the most sinister and crafty poison in the world.

    The prehistoric viper had a diet that consisted mainly of poison. It umted numerous types of poison, and they allbined in its body, forming an unimaginablyplicated kind of new poison. Only when this novel poisonbined with the poison that already existed in the body of the prehistoric viper did it form true viper¡¯s poison, though. The viper¡¯s poisony somewhere between a poison and a curse, neither purely a poison nor purely a curse, and was virtually incurable. No amount of purifying the body or the mind would be sufficient neutralize the viper¡¯s poisonpletely.

    Perhaps the strongest in the world, the likes of Rosario and Apophis, could suppress it using their strength, but this did not solve the root of the problem. The more strength they used to suppress the poison, the greater the harm they suffered. Whether it was after a couple of years or a couple of decades, the viper¡¯s poison would rpse once again, and when that happened, even a true deity would not be able to do anything about it...

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li wanted to say that it was no wonder Rosario never left the Church of Dawn for the past few decades, but changed his mind. This had to be the Achilles heel of the Brilliance Shrine, and he would only make things awkward by pointing it out...

    ¡°No, His Holiness Rosario stays in the Church of Dawn not because of the viper¡¯s poison, but due to other reasons...¡± Englos seemed to have read Lin Li¡¯s mind, and hurried to continue before Lin Li could speak. ¡°But that¡¯s not important, I¡¯m here today to ask you something besides bringing you a gift...¡±

    ¡°Mr Englos, surely you¡¯re not thinking of asking me to cure him of the viper¡¯s poison?¡± Lin Li was shocked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you thinking too highly of me?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, you misunderstand, President Felic, we both know how sinister the viper¡¯s poison is; unless a pharmaceutics guru appeared, nobody would be able to cure it. I¡¯m here today to ask you for a promise... I hope you can promise me that one day, if you be a pharmaceutics guru¡ª¡±

    ¡°Say no more, Mr Englos...¡± Lin Li shook his head and cut him off before Englos could finish his words. ¡°My apologies, but I cannot promise you this, because even a pharmaceutics guru would not be able to cure it. Please don¡¯t ask me why I am so sure of it, because I have my reasoning. However, I can give you my word that if one day I possess the knowledge to cure the viper¡¯s poison, I will make it a priority to save His Holiness Rosario.¡±

    ¡°Alright, President Felic, I¡¯m assured by your words.¡± Englos seemed to fear that Lin Li would go against his words, and thus when he finished, he shoved the oilmp into Lin Li¡¯s hands. ¡°President Felic, since it hase to this, you would be looking down on this old man if you continued to reject me!¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Honestly, if he could, Lin Li would choose not to ept the oilmp, as even though it was a treasure, with it came heavy responsibility. epting it meant that he had to find the cure for the viper¡¯s poison whether he was willing to do it or not. This was not a matter of his own interests, but that he could not skive after epting something from somebody, which Lin Li knew he could not do.

    It was one thing to fool others, but another to fool yourself.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to reject him again, a voice appeared in his brain.

    ¡°Idiot, do you know how many people covet the treasure in your hands? How did I get to know an idiot like you! Let me tell you, if you don¡¯t ept the oilmp, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll open the Eternal Furnace!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, since you have said so, then I shall ept it, or else it would be really rude of me. Don¡¯t worry, Mr Englos, I¡¯ll try to find a cure for the viper¡¯s poison as soon as I can...¡± With Connoris¡¯ reminder, Lin Li epted the oilmp again even though he had pushed it away, but as he spoke to Englos, he willed a bit of mental strength into the Ring of Endless Storm. ¡°Connoris, I¡¯m going to have to remind you that if you¡¯re fooling me this time, you¡¯re dead meat!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m the noble Soul Trader and only do fair deals, I would never fool you. If you have timeter, let me out of this damn Dimensional Space and I¡¯ll tell you the story of the oilmp. You¡¯d better hurry, I¡¯m suffocating in this damn ce...¡±

    Connoris¡¯ voice became softer and softer, and when itpletely disappeared, Lin Li turned around and smiled at Englos. Just as he was going to thank the archbishop again, he suddenly heard a yell full of surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

 Chapter 367 - Gryphon Egg, Potion Bottle

    Chapter 367: Gryphon Egg, Potion Bottle

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Rina finally realized that the genius pharmacist her teacher spoke of, the new president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, was the Necromancer she¡¯d met a few days ago at the casten¡¯s banquet. With a cry, Rina unsheathed her sword unconsciously, and the guild hall quieted down with a nk of her sword...

    ¡°You damn Undead creature, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Why is your memory so good...¡± Even though he saw the sword, Lin Li was not worried about it¡ªthere was nothing he should be concerned about, after all. Think about it: where were they? This was the Tower of Dusk, and even Englos would not be able to hurt him, much less Rina who was merely a Pdin. Lin Li would not need to use any magic¡ªall he had to do was use some mental strength, and the All-Kill Array would turn this beautiful Pdin into ashes.

    However, this was quite embarrassing in front of an audience, and even the thick-skinned Lin Li brushed his nose sheepishly. He suddenly realized why the Pdin had recognized him¡ªdamn it, why did this Recovery Potion work so well? It took barely any time for his bruised face to recover. No wonder this woman recognized him...

    Whatever, since she already recognized me... this is my turf, don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s going to attack me?

    As he faced the shining sword, Lin Li merelyughed. ¡°A pity that brain of yours could use some help...¡±

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± His words were like adding fuel to a fire, and angered the already emotional Rina further as she tightened her hands on her sword.

    ¡°Rina!¡± At the same time, Englos recovered from his shock and his expression darkened. He bellowed, ¡°Do you know what you are doing?¡±

    Englos could not believe it. He had been fawning over Lin Li this whole time, and even gave away the valuable Demon Magic Lamp to get the promise of the genius pharmacist, only for his cherished disciple to ruin it by drawing her sword and calling him an Undead creature!

    At that moment, Englos was trembling with anger.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr Englos, it is only a misunderstanding. We can just clear it up...¡± Lin Li patted him on the shoulder not only to calm him down, but also to let him know that he was not angered by this and that he remembered their promise.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Englos nodded, and his anger somewhat subsided, but he still looked sternly at Rina. ¡°Rina, apologize to President Felic now, or you can forget about calling me teacher,¡±

    In the world of Anril, everything from magic to martial arts was taught from teacher to disciple, and the rtionship between a teacher and their disciple was probably the closest thing to that between a parent and their child. Unless their disciple hadmitted a heinous crime, no teacher would willingly sever such ties, and even though Englos was merely saying it out of anger, it conveyed the severity of the situation. He would not say such words unless he was truly mad with anger.

    ¡°But, Teacher, he... he really is a Necromancer!¡± Rina was pale from shock and even stuttered when she spoke.

    ¡°So what if he¡¯s a Necromancer?¡± Englos had just calmed down slightly thanks to Lin Li, but after hearing this, he was suddenly hopping mad again.

    However, he calmed down again after a second. It seemed like he was muddled by his anger, and forgot that his disciple was unlike other people. She was the only Pdin with a Brand of Judgement, and was baptized by the Fire of Judgement the day she was born. Hence, she held an innate hatred towards any presence of the Darkness, and had in countless Undead creatures over the years.

    She was truly a devoted follower!

    Even Englos felt his head throb at Rina¡¯s devotion and passion.

    ¡°I already said it is a misunderstanding!¡± Since they had alreadye to this point, Englos had to use his authority as a teacher. After that, he shot Lin Li a look secretly. ¡°Am I right, President Felic...?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Lin Li was a smart person, so when he saw Englos give him a look, he immediately guessed that the old man had some unsaid difficulties, and while he had no idea what it was about, he was an a*shole used to spinning lies¡ªwhat was one more going to cost him? That a*shole immediately put on a painfully constipated look. ¡°Mr Englos, this is really a misunderstanding...¡±

    ¡°I clearly saw...¡± Seeing the shameless Necromancer finding excuses for himself, Rina frowned.

    ¡°What did you see?¡± Lin Li pursed his lips, and without waiting for Rina to continue, he went on, ¡°You saw me bringing along an Undead creature to attend Casten Arathor¡¯s banquet, right? How does that make me a Necromancer? What a joke... But it¡¯s ok if you don¡¯t believe me. Surely you trust your teacher, Mr Englos, right? I already knew him back when I was in nna. Ask him yourself, do I look like a Necromancer? Also, ask everyone in the guild hall, ask the Arbitrator Apophis if I¡¯m a Necromancer!¡±

    ¡°Stop joking with me, how can President Felic be a Necromancer? He is Andoine¡¯s disciple, and even President Aldwin praised him for being a genius!¡± Englos quickly nodded his head from the side.

    Lin Li spoke confidently, and with Englos testifying his words, even Rina who was adamant about the issue could not help but be swayed. However, she did not give up, and asked Lin Li, ¡°Then why were you at the banquet with an Undead creature?¡±

    ¡°Pdin Rina, please watch your words. I¡¯m merely exining the misunderstanding to Mr Englos, I¡¯m not obliged to answer your question.¡± After giving Rina a look, Lin Li continued, ¡°But since you asked, I shall tell you. You¡¯re aware that Casten Arathor has a son called Cyndor, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know that Cyndor was kidnapped before you went to Rnd City?¡±

    ¡°What has that got to do with Undead creatures?¡±

    ¡°Calm down and let me exin it to you. The ones who kidnapped Cyndor were from the Syer Bandits¡ªthey hid him in the ruins of Syer Town. You¡¯re such a devoted follower, surely you know what kind of ce Syer Town is? It is full of Undead creatures, and there is even a Lich there. Mypanions and I headed into Syer Town, and were nearly killed by the Lich. Thankfully, we met Norfeller... yep, the Undead creature you were speaking of. Unfortunately, you only know him as an Undead creature, and didn¡¯t know that he was a glorified knight when he was alive. Even though his body has been overtaken by the evil darkness, his soul is untainted. He helped us to defeat the Lich and saved Arathor¡¯s son, so since the banquet was held by the Casten Arathor to thank us for saving his son, shouldn¡¯t the hero Norfeller be present?¡±

    ¡°Are Undead creatures so kind?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you to believe it...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips with an expression of indifference. He said all this to help Englos, and whether Rina believed it was none of his business. So what if she doesn¡¯t? Is she going to attack me in the Tower of Dusk? If she really does, then she cannot me me for not showing mercy...

    ¡°Wait...¡± Englos had a thoughtful expression then. ¡°Felic, you said the ruins of Syer Town?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the ruins of Syer Town, why?¡±

    Lin Li said it indifferently, but he¡¯d never thought that Englos would have such a big reaction to what he mentioned. The old man was in shock, his face was void of any color, and his lips trembled as he muttered to himself as though possessed. ¡°It really is... really is the ruins of Syer Town, the Holy Light... the Great Prophecy was right indeed...¡±

    ¡°Teacher, what happened to you?¡± Rina looked at Englos anxiously as her worried voice wasced with tears.

    ¡°Mr Englos, are you alright?¡± Lin Li could not help but worry. Englos was a powerful person who had reached the Legendary-realm, and could not be reduced to such a state easily.

    10 minutes passed before Englos seemed to return from his possessed state. He then mopped the sweat off his forehead before squeezing out a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine...¡±

    ¡°Teacher, what is it, why did you suddenly... suddenly be...¡± Rina realized suddenly that her next words would sound disrespectful; hence, she hesitated and swallowed the word ¡°possessed¡± that was right on the tip of her tongue.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there is nothing wrong with me...¡± Even though his disciple was overly devoted and prejudiced against Undead creatures, she was a disciple he had spent a lot of effort teaching and nurturing. Seeing her worry for him now, Englos feltforted, and a warm smile appeared on his pale face. ¡°I just thought of something all of a sudden...

    ¡°President Felic, I am so sorry, I just thought of something important that I have to see to. I must return to the Church of Dawn with Archbishop Martin immediately. It is urgent, so I hope you understand. Also, if Arbitrator Apophis asks, please help me exin it to him as well.¡±

    ¡°Do you need help?¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but no...¡± Englos shook his head. As he was turning to leave, he stopped in his tracks suddenly. ¡°Oh, right. President Felic, if you can, help me look after Rina for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll go back with you!¡± Rina panicked.

    ¡°No, Rina, this is too important, and Archbishop Martin and I have to rush back to the Church of Dawn immediately. Given your abilities now, you won¡¯t be able to keep up with a person in the Legendary realm. Just stay at the Tower of Dusk first. Once Archbishop Martin and I are done with the matter, we¡¯lle back for you.¡±

    ¡°This...¡±

    ¡°Listen to me, alright?¡± Englos gaze became somewhat stern again, and he hurriedly apologized to Lin Li before he walked to Archbishop Martin without looking for Rina¡¯s reaction, and whispered something in his ear.

    ¡°Really?¡± Just as Englos finished speaking, Archbishop Martin raised his head in shock, and even though he tried to conceal his look of disbelief, Lin Li could still see it from afar.

    The two Archbishops left, but it did not affect the others. To them, the young mage in a ck cloak was the real highlight of the day, and while they found the absence of the Archbishops a pity, it was merely a pity...

    Lin Li received a lot of gifts after that. Those who were invited had high status, and so the gifts they brought were naturally on a different level. The prince of Fn, Arthur, brought a Ghost Python magical crystal¡ªit was level-18 just like the magical crystal on Lin Li¡¯s magic staff. However, the Ghost Python ate souls, and if the strength in the magical crystal was harnessed properly, it could even be a weapon used to attack souls!

    The captain of the Sky Knights, Sagre, was even more generous, giving Lin Li a Fire Feather Gryphon egg. This was no joke: a Fire Feather Gryphon was an anomaly amongst Gryphons, and was said to have the blood of a fire-feathered prehistoric magical beast. It was at least a level-16 magical beast when it hatched, and wasparable to an adult Dragon Hawk in terms ofbat abilities. Sagre even gave him a manual for taming a Fire Feather Gryphon¡ªit was a secret guarded by the Sky Knights, and not many people in Anril knew of it besides them.

    Lin Li knew that Sagre gave him such avish gift not only to congratte him on bing the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, but also because he wanted to bribe Lin Li. After all, Lin Li had shown the captain of the Sky Knights his forging skills, and for a Sword Sage whomanded one of the three biggest armies of Fn, giving a gift of such caliber was nothing much if it meant he could get on the good side of a Smithing Master.

    The gift Balbo brought was merely a crystal-clear potion bottle. Besides the fact that it was shinier than other such bottles, it did not look like anything much. The fatty Hoffman evenughed at him. Only Lin Li knew that Balbo¡¯s gift was as valuable as the Demon Magic Lamp, and definitely more valuable than Hoffman¡¯s box of Starlight Herb...

    The potion bottle was way more valuable than Andoine¡¯s Crystal of Eternity as it was made of something much more valuable than that. Legend had it that the Dream Crystal was found under the Tree of Eternity, which was also known as the Tree of Life, for it was the source of life for all High Elves¡ªeven they who thought of themselves as gods regarded the Tree of Eternity as a mother.

    The Tree of Eternity only existed in legends for most pharmacists as a small leaf would allow them to make a potion to bring back the dead¡ªeven the legendary ck lotus was no match for a leaf from the Tree of Eternity. Unfortunately, the tree had been destroyed in the battle 1,300 years ago, which also destroyed the High Elves¡¯ dynasty...

    The effect of the Dream Crystal definitely could notpare to that of the Tree of Eternity...

    It was not a fair match to begin with. The Tree of Eternity was formed from the umtion and purification of all life in Anril, and the Dream Crystal had merely been exposed to a bit of its aura. However, even that tiny bit of aura made it a coveted item for pharmacists¡ªa potion bottle carved from Dream Crystal could magnify the effect of a potion many times over, and if a pharmaceutics master had a potion bottle made from Dream Crystal, the potion they made would have the effect of one that was made by a pharmaceutics guru.

    Moreover, the life aura in the Dream Crystal could rid a potion of all impurities and make it extremely pure. As it was known, all medicines were drugs¡ªit was something even a new pharmaceutics apprentice would know. No pharmacist could guarantee that their potion had no side effects; hence, no matter how powerful a potion was, it could not be taken in excess. Otherwise, an Archmage could well carry hundreds of bottles of the Awakening Potion and never exhaust their mana¡ªwouldn¡¯t they be able to defeat a Legendary-mage then?

    Besides a Divine Smith, the Dream Crystal was the only thing that could give the same effect¡ªany potion could bepletely rid of impurities simply by leaving it in the potion bottle made from Dream Crystal for a month. It¡¯d never cause the body any harm no matter how much of it was taken.

    Even Lin Li was somewhat shocked by Balbo¡¯s gift, and received the potion bottle while stunned. While he was a pharmacist, he did not belong to the Pharmacists Guild, so why would Balbo present him with such a rare treasure?

    ¡°Only in your hands can the potion bottle reach its true potential...¡± Balbo merely left him with a few words.

    Besides that, there was other valuable magical equipment given by the 24 Guild of Magic presidents. Gerian gave him a ring, said to be left behind by a past president of Jarrosus Guild of Magic who was a Guru of Inscription. There were a few unusually powerful mageweaths on it, and even Lin Li who was also a Guru of Inscription could not decipher it after taking a look.

    Onlyte in the evening could Lin Li escape atst.

    ¡°Mr Herza, can you help me entertain the guests? I had some alcohol and feel a bit unwell, perhaps I¡¯ll lie down for a bit...¡±

    ¡°Not too long.¡±

    Lin Li jogged back to his room. The second he closed his door, he opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and a ck shadow wheezed past. When he came back to his senses, the great Soul Trader was already lying on his desk.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lin Li was shocked. ¡°Connoris, howe you appeared on your own? Bloody hell, you can wield hammer now?¡±

    ¡°Hm, hm, hm...¡± There was a hint of pride in Connoris¡¯ voice. ¡°I¡¯m the greatest Soul Trader there ever was, how can a mortal like you understand my powers...¡±

    ¡°Really...?¡± Lin Li looked at Connoris, and decided not to argue with him. He spoke mildly, ¡°I haven¡¯t forged anything in a while, I wonder if I¡¯ve turned rusty...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Connoris lost his voice.

    ¡°Well, Connoris, want to give it a try?¡±

    ¡°He... hehe, I was only joking, surely you¡¯ll not be angry given your magnanimity?¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap...¡± Lin Li was toozy to argue with him, and took out the Demon Magic Lamp from his pocket, cing it on the desk in front of Connoris. ¡°I got the thing you wanted. I said if you can¡¯t give me a satisfactory answer, then you¡¯re dead meat, Connoris...¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for so long, when have I ever lied to you?¡± There was a hint of indignation in Connoris¡¯ voice.

    ¡°Then tell me, what kind of demon is in this Demon Magic Lamp?¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Connoris shrieked in surprise as Lin Li finished speaking. ¡°How are you so lucky? The first Magic Lamp you got, and it¡¯s one of the three strongest of the 12 Demon Lords! This is the Magic Lamp sealing the Lord of Nightmares. You know, with his powers back then, he wasparable to Osric, and if not for the help of the Magic Legion, Osric would not have been able to kill him.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a Lord of Nightmares?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not just anybody. He¡¯s the master of the 21st floor of the Abyss, with powers way above mine. Because of some business back then, I had the chance to meet him a few times; hence, I know the powers of this Abyss Lord quite well. Great, if you can control this Magic Lamp and get the help of the Lord of Nightmares, with the key of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, you can control the Eternal Furnace and make me a new body!¡±

    ¡°This Magic Lamp needs controlling? I thought all I had to do was to rub its surface and summon the demon sealed in it?¡±

 Chapter 368 - Lord of Nightmares

    Chapter 368: Lord of Nightmares

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°Pfft, how is that controlling? I wonder which idiot spread that rumor. Rubbing themp merely summons a soulless shadow, which is nothingpared to the true Lord of Nightmares. You think the grand master of the 21st floor of the Abyss is only close to the Legendary-realm? The person who spread such rumor didn¡¯t know how powerful the Lord of Nightmares was in his prime; even in my prime, I was probably already at the Legendary-realm...¡±

    ¡°Then the Lord of Nightmares was much stronger than someone in the Legendary-realm in his prime?¡±

    ¡°Of course. When I spoke to you using the Spiritual Force outside, I sensed a few strong auras. I suppose they are what you call someone at the Legendary-realm? Don¡¯t me me for being frank with you, but even if theybined forces, they probably would be no match for the Lord of Nightmares in his prime...¡± Connoris paused here and hesitated a bit. ¡°But I did sense a really strong aura. He¡¯s no match for Osric then, but he might stand a chance against the Lord of Nightmares. Say, when did you start getting to know such powerful people?¡±

    ¡°I just got to know him today...¡± Lin Li replied simply. The strong aura Connoris referred to had to have been Apophis. The old man was indeed so strong that he was nearly above being a mortal; he had only used a bit of mana in the library, and had beat Lin Li to a pulp. If he used all his strength, Lin Li might just turn into ash.

    When he thought of this, Lin Li turned to look at the Demon Magic Lamp on the desk again, and his gaze became fervent. If what Connoris said was true, then the Brilliance Shrine really gave him an invaluable gift indeed...

    Of course, the gift had to be usable for it to really be valuable...

    ¡°Well, Connoris, what should I do topletely control the strength of the Lord of Nightmares?¡±

    ¡°Completely control the strength of the Lord of Nightmares? Stop dreaming, that¡¯s impossible given your current abilities...¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve just been spouting nonsense?¡± Lin Li was on the verge of tears with how ridiculous the situation was. This Connoris had been going on and on and tempting Lin Li, but in the end, all he said was something like ¡°don¡¯t even dream about it¡±...

    ¡°How¡¯s that nonsense?¡± Connoris¡¯ voice rose in pitch. ¡°I¡¯m the greatest Soul Trader there ever was! Why would I say anything I¡¯m not sure of? Yes, you¡¯re not powerful enough now to control the strength of the Lord of Nightmares, but you can borrow it...¡±

    Lin Li paused. ¡°Borrow?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Connoris paused before continuing. ¡°You think Osric sealed me in here for nothing? For the past 1,300 years, I¡¯ve been studying, and now I have deciphered the seal on this hammer as well as mastered the 12 Magic Lamps. The seal on it is not just any seal: it contains a part of Osric¡¯s mental strength. He used his mental strength to restrain the 12 powerful Demon Lords and sealed all their souls and memories, only leaving a bit of pure strength for people to summon. If you want to borrow the strength of the Lord of Nightmares, of course you have to start by using mental strength...¡±

    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±

    ¡°Very simple, from today onwards, whenever you have the time, summon the shadow from the Magic Lamp. You can leave it be after that, just assign it some task like washing your clothes or cleaning. Whatever it is, make sure you infuse some of your mental strength into the seal. That¡¯s when the seal is at its weakest, and you can use this chance to infuse your mental strength into it. Perhaps you won¡¯t see results in a day or two, but after some time, the seal would have some of your aura, and then there will be a small crack in it...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the small crack, the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ soul and memoriese out from that crack, and once the shadow has these, it will instantly have the true strength of the Lord of Nightmares. Even though it is only a really small portion, it is unimaginably powerful. By then, you will not just have a creature near the Legendary-level, but a truly Legendary one. Moreover, it cannot be injured or die¡ªas long as the magical crystal in the Magic Lamp is not depleted, this Legendary creature will not tire of fighting!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this... a little too exciting?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, exciting? There¡¯s more...¡± Connoris snorted before continuing, ¡°The bigger the crack, the stronger the shadow you summon, and when you reach the Legendary-realm yourself, you can even use half the strength of the Lord of Nightmares! That is truly the peak of the Legendary-realm, and none of your friends outside besides the powerful old man will be able to withstand that strength!

    ¡°Then you can use that strength to control the Eternal Furnace and make me a new body...¡±

    ¡°Hm, don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t forget what I promised you.¡± Lin Li nodded his head and picked up the Demon Magic Lamp from the desk. As Connoris had said, he lightly rubbed the surface of the Magic Lamp.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A dull sound followed, and ck fog appeared. It was thick and heavy in the air, just like ck ink. A strong force was emitting powerful waves from the fog, which made Lin Li frown lightly¡ªthis force was unusually evil, and as it spread out in the room, Lin Li could hear devastating cries in his ears and see gory scenes sh before his eyes...

    ¡°It¡¯s powerful indeed...¡± Lin Li hurriedly put up a Mental Protection Field to separate the nightmarish scene. That was probably the strength of the Lord of Nightmares; Lin Li had not thought that it would be so powerful that even a soulless shadow without any memories would be able to affect him, who was already at the peak of level-17. If it had been a Magic Shooter instead, they might be stuck in the scary nightmarish realm as soon as they met this force.

    Just as Lin Li was silently in awe, the ck fog contracted. Previously upying an area of roughly 10 meters in diameter, it formed the shape of a human head and hovered silently above the Magic Lamp. The already thick fog looked almost opaque and palpable after contracting, and as Lin Li looked at it, he saw a pair of ck eyes looking at him from the darkness...

    ¡°Iminia awaits your bidding, Master.¡± A buzzing voice came from within the ck fog.

    ¡°Hang on...¡± Lin Li paused, and only then did he remember that he did not have anything for him to do¡ªthere was no enemy he needed to get rid of, nor did he have any unfulfilled wishes. Surely he wasn¡¯t really going to get him to do theundry and clean the ce? Hence, Lin Li turned his gaze to Connoris. ¡°Hey, Soul Trader, what do I do now?¡±

    ¡°Of course you get him to go back, you¡¯ve got nothing for him to do now. Well, unless you want to chat with him? Aside from the fact that he¡¯s a shadow without memory or soul, you can¡¯t afford to chat with him, either¡ªeven if he does, do you know how much mana is needed to summon him? The magical crystal in this Magic Lamp is a level-15 one, right? If I¡¯m not wrong, it¡¯ll probably onlyst you 10 minutes before the magical crystal is exhausted...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li almost jumped at the words.

    The mana in a level-15 magical crystal could be used for at least 10 Thousand Miles of Ice, yet it would onlyst for 10 minutes when used to summon the shadow of the Lord of Nightmares. How much mana would it cost to summon the true Lord of Nightmares, then? Lin Li finally understood why Connoris had added ¡°provided the magical crystal is not exhausted¡± when he¡¯d mentioned that he would not tire of fighting...

    Thankfully, it was only a shadow they summoned. While a level-15 magical crystal was valuable, luckily, Lin Li had a few more on hand, and if he used them wisely, he should be able to summon the shadow at least a dozen times. However, once he made a crack in the seal and released the soul and memory of the Lord of Nightmares, he would need something more powerful than a level-15 magical crystal¡ªwhatever he summoned was going to be something much more powerful, after all, and needed something equally powerful to sustain it. Perhaps he was going to have to use a Legendary magical crystal...

    But these were distant worries, and he could worry about themter.

    Lin Li shook his head, and brushed the worries aside. At the same time, he released a bit of mental strength, and let itbine with the seal on the Magic Lamp following the ck fog.

    ¡°Alright, Iminia, you can go back first.¡± After that, Lin Li waved his hand, and the ck fog returned into the Demon Magic Lamp.

    Once the shadow disappeared, Connoris rushed to ask excitedly, ¡°Well, how does it feel?¡±

    ¡°Feels... weird.¡± Lin Li recalled earnestly the time when hebined his mental strength with the seal. For some reason, he felt something, but it was hard to put into words. ¡°There seems to be more than just Osric¡¯s mental strength there...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯ve been sealed in here for 1,300 years, and have studied these seals inside out. When I say mental strength, I mean mental strength, how can there be anything else!?¡±

    ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s talk next time. I¡¯ve been resting for so long; if I don¡¯t go back, Mr Herza is going to be mad...¡± Lin Li could not think of anything else but to stuff the Demon Magic Lamp back in his pocket.

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡± Just as Connoris was about to be sent back into the Ring of Endless Storm, the great Soul Trader jumped suddenly. ¡°You¡¯re going to throw me back into that damned Dimensional Space? No, no way, I¡¯m telling you, I swear, I¡¯m not going back into that damned Dimensional Space ever again!¡±

    ¡°The heck...¡± Lin Li did not think that Connoris would have such a big reaction to it. He was just asking him to hide in the Dimensional Space, not asking him for his life! Lin Li was left helpless toward Connoris¡¯ reaction. ¡°Connoris, good sir, you¡¯re a hammer now, one that jumps and talks too. If I don¡¯t put you back into the Dimensional Space and somebody sees you, aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯ll take you for a magical beast and capture you?

    ¡°Wait...¡± When Lin Li said this, he suddenly recalled something. ¡°Connoris, since when can you control the hammer? I remember you were nearly melted by the Dragon Hawk and you didn¡¯t make the hammer run away when we were in Cinder Woods. What¡¯s going on now?¡±

    ¡°This is why I¡¯m never going back to that damned Dimensional Space!¡± The usually dignified Soul Trader Connoris suddenly spilled expletives. ¡°Damn it, that stupid Ring of Endless Storm of yours has the scariest Dimensional Space on earth. There is a frightening force in it, and it is constantly tormenting my soul; it¡¯s even scarier than the strength of the Lord of Nightmares. In order to escape the torment, I had to force myself to tear away a bit of the seal, and you know what¡¯ll happen if I do? I¡¯m not as powerful as the Lord of Nightmares, and when Osric killed me, my soul should have already dissipated, but in order to keep the knowledge I have, Osric forcefully sealed me into this hammer with magic. Other than to restrain me, it also protects my soul. Once this seal is broken, my soul will dissipate!¡±

    ¡°So now you...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. A small crack won¡¯t destroy the seal left by Osric, but if you keep me in that damned Dimensional Space again, I cannot guarantee that I won¡¯t destroy the seal to escape. The torment on your soul is something you won¡¯t understand unless you¡¯ve experienced it for yourself...¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bring you with me, but you have to promise that you will act like a real hammer...¡± By then, Lin Li¡¯s mind was a mess. Too many things happened today¡ªfrom the Demon sealed into the Magic Lamp to Connoris who had torn the seal, as well as the strange power hidden in the Ring of Endless Storm. The consecutive scares left Lin Li unable to react to it, and he could not be bothered to argue with Connoris, only epting his demand for now.

    Sigh, a mage with a hammer, how ¡°outstanding¡± indeed...

    After the inauguration ceremony, the Tower of Dusk became quiet again as most of the guests had left. Even Hoffman who had made an appointment with Lin Li was now discussing a deal in Dnd City. There were few people left in the Tower of Dusk. They included Gerian: the fatty was having it easy nowadays as the Guild of Magic was nearly unbeatable in Jarrosus City¡ªnot a single force dared to show them the slightest disrespect.

    Well, Lin Li did leave them with a very serious warning before he left...

    The scene with hundreds of ice sculptures at the ck River was still vivid in their minds. Which force would dare to provoke the Guild of Magic? If they messed with the old fatty Gerian, they might not be in much trouble, but if they annoyed the one in the Breezy ins, and he came back with another Thousand Miles of Ice, then it was not going to be a pretty sight.

    Hence, Gerian was not worried at all, leaving the matters at the Guild of Magic to Kevin while hezed around. Now that he was in the Breezy ins, he did not even want to leave, constantly bugging Lin Li to give him a position here.

    ¡°The heck, how can I give you a position?¡± Lin Li was perplexed. He was the president, and it would not be an issue for him to assign a position; moreover, given his rtionship with Gerian, he would even give up his position as president to him. But sir, you¡¯re the president of Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic, that is assigned by the Supreme Council, how would I have the guts to give the president of another Guild of Magic a position here? If I did, wouldn¡¯t that old man Apophis break my legs?

    Lin Li¡¯s head starting aching more when he thought of Apophis.

    Apophis should have left the Tower of Dusk after the inauguration ceremony since he was one of the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council, and should have many things to worry about. Usually, he did not even attend inauguration ceremonies, and even if he did, he would only say a few words of congrattions before leaving.

    This time, however, the old fellow seemed to have got up on the wrong side of bed as he stayed at the Tower of Dusk for 10 days straight, even teaching Lin Li magic every day, resulting in thetter leaving the library bruised all over each day...

    Today was the same¡ªApophis had called Lin Li into the library bright and early in the morning, and gave him a good beating, leaving him bruised before he decided to be kind and let him go.

    ¡°Damn it, is this karma?¡± Lin Li muttered to himself as he sat on the bed and applied the Recovery Potion on the bruises he had on his face.

    ¡°This is a dreame true for most people, yet you don¡¯t know how to cherish it at all. I wonder what Mr Apophis sees in you...¡± Connorisy quietly in the center of the desk, yet his words were unbelievably savage.

    ¡°Pfft...¡±

    ¡°Admit it, your abilities have improved tremendously in thest 10 days, and you¡¯re almost at level-18 now, aren¡¯t you? Even I can tell, so surely you feel something?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Lin Li was at a loss for words. Connoris was right: he was constantly beat up in thest 10 days, but his abilities had improved considerably too. Apophis was a Sanctuary Master, and much more powerful than Andoine. It was a dreame true for every mage to be able to receive his teachings. But of course, while he knew that, he could not take it lying down. Lin Li applied the Recovery Potion and gritted his teeth. When I reach the Sanctuary-realm, I¡¯m going to have fun beating up this old man...

    ¡°Right, besides getting beaten up, did you summon the Lord of Nightmares these days?¡±

    ¡°Every day. I¡¯ve even used up a few level-15 magical crystals. Hey, Soul Trader, is your method really feasible? Why do I feel like the seal is not loosening at all?¡±

    ¡°Just summon it every day. You can¡¯t rush whether the seal will be opened or not. Do you know how powerful Osric was? How can you break open a seal he made with his mental strength in a day or two?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Lin Li thought for a while, and decided that Connoris¡¯ words made sense. He nodded his head before suddenly recalling something. ¡°Hey, Soul Trader, you said that there is a scary force in my Ring of Endless Storm?¡±

    ¡°Hm...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was unusually certain. ¡°While I have no idea where it¡¯s from, it gave me a sense of familiarity for some reason. Can you tell me where this Dimensional Space is from?¡±

    ¡°A very faraway ce...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips without paying regard to what Connoris said. He was sure whatever Connoris thought of as familiar was merely an illusion since he had brought this Ring of Endless Storm from the Endless World. Even if Connoris was a powerful demon, he could not have travelled through time and space ande into contact with the Ring of Endless Storm, right?

    However, this made Lin Li recall something. Back in the Endless World, there was a legend about the Space Artifact¡ªthe Ring of Endless Storm. There was a secret hidden within it, and anyone who got ahold of this secret would have powersparable to a god¡¯s.

    Lin Li never paid much attention to such sayings, as he was the owner of the Ring of Endless Storm and knew better than anyone that it was purely a Space Artifact with no huge secret nor powersparable to that of a god. Hence, every time he heard such a rumor, he merely smiled.

    But this time, Lin Li did not smile.

    Even Connoris said that there was a scary force hidden in the Ring of Endless Storm... Could that Space Artifact really be hiding a huge secret?

    Seems like it¡¯s time to study it...

    Just as he was going to ask Connoris what the force was like, a knock sounded on the door.

    ¡°President Felic, Mr Hoffman is here, do you want to meet him?¡± Gavin knocked on the door. Aside from the fact that he was a tad ambitious, this beefy Archmage was a talent indeed. Lin Li had been busy being beaten up and being dragged into conversations with Gerian for the past 10 days, and had no time for official business, all of which was handled neatly by Gavin.

 Chapter 369 - Lava adamantine

    <h4>Chapter 369: Lava adamantine</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Lin Li applied more Recovery Potion on his face before opening the door and heading down with Gavin.

    As the pair walked, Gavin gave him a brief update on the Guild of Magic. Seven mages had just joined, but they were mediocre in terms of abilities. Hence, Gavin prepared their level certifications and gave out robes and magic staves to them before he had them train under an Archmage for the past few days.

    ¡°Nothing is easy from the start...¡± Lin Li was frustrated at the current situation too. It had been about 10 days since the inauguration ceremony, but the Tower of Dusk remained empty. Only seven mages who were not even Magic Shooters arrived¡ªthis was worlds apart from the Guild of Magic of his dreams...

    Of course, Lin Li knew that this was inevitable.

    There were quite a few mages in the Breezy ins, and many of them were powerful Magic Shooters and Archmages. However, most of them have already been bought over by powerful forces, and it would not be easy to have them join the Tower of Dusk.

    That aside, Lin Li believed that even the seven new mages with their mediocre abilities would not have joined the Tower of Dusk if they had had another choice.

    Well, such was the profession of a mage. Everything they needed¡ªlike magical equipment, spells, potions, magical gemstones, and crystals¡ªcost dearly, and without a powerful force supporting them, it would be difficult even for the most talented of them to improve. After all, not every mage could be like Lin Li and turn the cheapest of ingredients into a treasure¡ªthere could only be one versatile crafting master, after all...

    An offer of joining a new Guild of Magic and a young President in his twenties? Most mages would brush it off the minute they heard it. Who would dare gamble their future the way Gavin had?

    Lin Li knew that if everything went normally, the situation would continue until the Tower of Dusk became influential and attractive enough to the mages who were more shrewd than businessmen. Only then would theye to the Tower of Dusk to get their level certifications. This was a gradual process, and something that every new Guild of Magic had to face. Even if he held resources that other Guilds of Magic coveted, he was not spared from this, either.

    When Lin Li walked into the meeting room, Hoffman had already been waiting for a long time, but there was not a trace of annoyance on his chubby face. On the contrary, he was smiling gleefully as though something great had happened.

    ¡°Mr Hoffman, you seem to be in a pleasant mood?¡±

    ¡°I just clinched a deal. If I¡¯m lucky, I can earn some money from it...¡± Hoffman said casually as though he had just sold some cabbage, but anyone who knew him would not dare think so. He was one of the bosses of the Glittergold Trade Union; ¡°some money¡± to him would mean at least a million gold coins...

    ¡°Right, President Felic, what happened to your face?¡± Hoffman asked curiously after he sat down.

    ¡°This... I got this after I identally hit my face whileing down the stairs...¡± Lin Li said simply, and hurriedly changed the topic lest Hoffman pressed any further. ¡°Mr Hoffman, you came at the right time. I was nning to look for you in Dnd. I wonder if you recall that I told you I had a deal to discuss with you during my inauguration ceremony? Well, do you have time today? If you do, how about we take this opportunity to talk about it?¡±

    ¡°Heheh, I¡¯m here because of that. I was going to head back to Breezy City after discussing the other deal, but I recalled what you said, and decided toe here instead. After all, I believe President won¡¯t disappoint me...¡± Hoffman finished with a smile after casually showering Lin Li with some ttery.

    ¡°Hehe, Mr Hoffman, you¡¯re too kind...¡± Frankly speaking, it felt good to be ttered by someone like Hoffman, and Lin Li was grinning widely for a while before he lowered his voice. ¡°I wonder if the Glittergold Trade Union is interested in pharmaceutics?¡±

    ¡°Pharmaceutics?¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes lit up at that. He was speaking to a true genius pharmacist who was way above him in terms of skills or knowledge even though Hoffman himself was a Master Pharmacist. If they worked together to sell potions, it¡¯d be like hitting the jackpot. However, Hoffman was someone who had seen it all; while he was beyond ted, he did a good job schooling his expression. ¡°President Felic, could you fill me in on the details?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s simple...¡± Lin Li smiled, and retrieved a red potion bottle from his pocket before cing it on the table. ¡°This is a new potion I learned that is very suitable for mages below level-10. I can make about 30 bottles a month, but as you know, potions can cause harm to the body when taken in excess. I¡¯ve only got so many mages below level-10, and can¡¯t possibly use that much of it. I have no idea what to do with the leftovers... hence I thought, why not exchange it for some gold coins? But since I can¡¯t spare that much time, I wonder if you have any ideas, Mr Hoffman...¡±

    ¡°Huh, what kind of potion is this, howe I haven¡¯t seen it before...?¡± Hoffman opened the bottle and took a whiff before a look of surprise could be seen on his face.

    He was after all a Master Pharmacist. With the financial backing of the Glittergold Trade Union, he had gathered countless potion recipes, be it themon ones, or the ones used by the High Elves royalty. Hoffman dared say that he might even have more potion recipes than the Pharmacists Guild itself.

    ¡°This is called the Arcana Potion, and can be used to stimte growth in mana, helping mages who have reached a bottleneck in their growth.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Arcane Magic Potion?¡± Hoffman sounded doubting. As a Master Pharmacist himself, he knew that there was indeed a potion that could be used to stimte mana growth. It was used by mage apprentices below level-5 who could not break through, bing a true mage. <i>Wasn¡¯t that called the Arcane Magic Potion? Howe it¡¯s called the Arcana Potion now? </i>Moreover, this Arcana Potion he held in his hand was blood-red, and didn¡¯t seem to be the Arcane Magic Potion, either...

    ¡°Yeah, it is like the Arcane Magic Potion, but there is a small difference. The Arcane Magic Potion is targeted at mage apprentices below level-5, but the Arcana Potion targets mages below level-10...¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that this Arcana Potion can turn a mage into a Magic Shooter?¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes grew as wide as saucers as his hands holding the bottle of Arcana Potion trembled. He could not believe his ears; a potion capable of turning a mage into a Magic Shooter? Was there something scarier that this?!

    In the vast Breezy ins, there were tons of mages at the peak of level-9 dreaming to surpass it and be a true Magic Shooter, but even they knew that most of them would not be able to aplish that in their lives. It was much harder for one to go from a mage to a Magic Shooter¡ªmore so than transitioning from a mage apprentice to a mage. Out of 10 mage apprentices, perhaps one of them would be a mage, but even amongst 100 mages, perhaps not one of them would be a Magic Shooter. No matter how well-equipped or talented they were, they dared not say that they would be able to reach the realm of Magic Shooter.

    But now...

    This young President took out a potion bottle and told everyone that if they drank it, they could go from being a peak level-9 mage to a true Magic Shooter.

    What would happen then? Hoffman did not even need to think to know that the mages of the Breezy ins would go crazy over the potion. None of them would be able to resist it, and they would spare no cost to get their hands on the Arcana Potion.

    ¡°Well, Mr Hoffman, are you interested?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Hoffman was lost in thoughts about the Arcana Potion, and could notprehend the meaning behind the sentence, only suddenlying back to his senses when Lin Li repeated himself. Good heavens, this young president was handing the rights to the Arcana Potion to him!

    ¡°Of course... Of course... Of course I¡¯m interested!¡± Hoffman repeated himself thrice before finally getting his meaning across. He was too excited indeed, and had even forgotten the usual negotiating when it came to discussing deals. Truth be told, he was not nning on negotiating, either¡ªthis was a nearly miraculous potion, and no matter what kind of terms were offered, he was sure he could earn them back by selling it to the other mages.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and took out another dozen bottles of Arcana Potion, cing them on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time recently; hence, I¡¯ve only got a dozen bottles. Why don¡¯t you sell these first? I¡¯ll let you decide how to go about doing it since you¡¯re the expert here. I only have one request: I want 70% of the earnings, and if possible, I hope the Glittergold Trade Union can provide me with some herbs...¡±

    Lin Li paused here. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not some rare herbs. They¡¯re just hard to find in Dnd, and I don¡¯t have time to visit other cities. If the Glittergold Trade Union has connections, I hope you can help me buy more. I¡¯ll pay you ording to the market price.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal, President Felic. Give me a list of the herbs you wantter, and I¡¯ll have them sent to the Tower of Dusk within a week,¡± Hoffman agreed without thinking, because he knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he did not want to miss due to a moment¡¯s hesitation.

    Lin Li busied himself after sending Hoffman off. The Arcana Potion was way moreplicated than the Arcane Magic Potion, and even with his abilities, he could only make at most a few bottles a day. If he did not hurry and make more while he had time in the next several days, he would not have the time to do it once he really started bing busy.

    For the next few days, Lin Li cooped himself in the pharmaceuticalb. Besides receiving his daily ¡°teaching¡± from Apophis, he spent all his time working on the Arcana Potion. The potion was critical to the Guild of Magic: besides bringing them great wealth, it would also attract troops of mages to join them. By then, it would be the mages begging the Tower of Dusk to ept them instead.

    Besides that, Lin Li sent Norfeller to Dnd to pass a message onto Kaman.

    Of course Kaman would listen to what the God of Fortune had to say. The next morning, Kaman had sent over a few dozen miners to start working on a spot less than a kilometer from the Tower of Dusk. This was a spot that Kaman originally had his eye on, but he had been toote¡ªwhen he¡¯d brought his men over, Lin Li had already bought the title deed. They even got into a scuffle over it, which almost cost Kaman his life.

    Now that so much time had passed, Kaman no longer thought of revenge. Actually, if anyone wanted to take revenge on Lin Li now, he¡¯d probably be the first to jump at the person. <i>Seriously? I¡¯ve lived for so long and only met one God of Fortune. If you kill him, who else is going to give me wealth?</i>

    When he thought of this, Kaman could not help but congratte himself for his luck. Ever since he¡¯d got to know this young mage, his business became better each day. Now, every Adventurer in Dnd City knew that if they wanted to buy the best magical equipment, they should go to Kaman¡¯s weapon shop. The earnings from his weapon shop in the past two months had even surpassed those of his mining business!

    Ever since he got a taste of the benefits, Kaman became more diligent in his work, and when Lin Li asked him to send people to mine refined iron from mineral veins nearby, Kaman sent over 40 miners when a dozen would have been enough. Even then, he came from Dnd to inspect the mining personally from time to time.

    That evening, Lin Li had just finished a bottle of Arcana Potion before a knock sounded on his door.

    ¡°Damn it, these two old fellows really have nothing better to do. Why do they keeping to mess around in my pharmaceuticalb? Tsk, I¡¯ll putxatives in their food soon...¡± Only Apophis and Gerian would knock at this time. They seemed possessed, acting like curious kids at their old age and alwaysing to watch Lin Li in the pharmaceuticalb, annoying him to no end...

    Lin Li set down a beaker while cursing angrily before swinging open the door to the pharmaceuticalb, only to realize that it was not the two old fellows knocking on the door, but Gavin and Kaman.

    ¡°Howe you¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°Mr Kaman said he had something urgent he needed to talk to you about...¡± Gavin nced at Kaman who stood next to him. Frankly speaking, he did not think much about this corrupted businessman who re-sold quarry stones. He had lived in Dnd for so many years, after all, so how could he not know what kind of person Kaman was? But President Felic seemed to think highly of this man; hence, Gavin did not say more, but instead decided to find an opportunity to tell President Felic that Kaman was not a good man and to caution him against being cheated by him...

    ¡°Alright, you can go, Gavin. I¡¯ll talk to Mr Kaman.¡± Lin Li knew that Kaman would note find him if there was nothing important. He was unlike the two crazy old men, and would never dare do this.

    ¡°Noted.¡±

    After sending Gavin off, Lin Li brought Kaman to the meeting room.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°You see, Mage Felic...¡± Kaman gulped; he looked nervous. ¡°My men have been mining for the past few days, and I¡¯ve been there a few times... Things have been going well, but when I went there earlier, I heard they ran into some problems...¡±

    ¡°What problems?¡±

    ¡°After digging six meters deep, they couldn¡¯t dig any deeper, as though something was in their way. I heard them say it was a mineral vein, but much harder than refined iron. They¡¯ve already gone through a few dozen shovels...¡±

    ¡°Let them rest for a while, then. The refined iron they got is enough tost some time anyway...¡± Lin Li did not think much of it, as refined iron mineral veins usually came with other mineral veins as well¡ªthey were usually magical metals. Truth be told, this was why Lin Li wanted to mine for refined iron as he actually wanted the magical metals that came along with it. Otherwise, it was too little refined iron for him to personally get Kaman to send miners to work on it.

    However, he could not let miners mine for magical metal, or it would be disastrous if they damaged it...

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too...¡± Kaman nodded his head, but fear was still evident in his eyes. ¡°I heard them say that the mineral vein is strange indeed. It feels like a furnace when they stand on it...¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression changed when he heard that. ¡°You¡¯re saying that the temperature is high around the mineral veins?¡±

    ¡°Very high. I haven¡¯t been there personally, but I could feel the heat standing outside the cave. It was as though something there is burning...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, bring me there!¡± Lin Li stood up suddenly, pushed open the door, and left the room without waiting for the confused Kaman.

    Existing alongside refined iron mineral veins and incredibly hard, also scalding hot at the same time... what else could it be besides Lava adamantine? To think that he would find it in Dnd when he could not find it in the Fire Plume Ridge, and at such an obscure ce too...

 Chapter 370 - Sky-breaker

    <h4>Chapter 370: Sky-breaker</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The mineral veins were situated in a barren hill where the surrounding soil was so dry and hard that not even weeds could grow. Beneath the hill, there was a mine shaft about the height of a person, and Lin Li could feel the scalding heating from the opening even from far away.

    From a distance, he could even see a glowing red light from the opening of the mine shaft, and there was a pile of messy discarded mining equipment next to it. Due to the extremely high heat, the miners have stopped working for a while, and most of them had already left, leaving the bold ones to stare inside the opening...

    ¡°The redhead is called Duncan, he¡¯s the leader of my miners. He has been in charge of most of the mining of the Rosen Union.¡± As they walked, Kaman introduced Lin Li to the red-haired youth looking into the mine shaft. He looked to be in his twenties, and was extra eye-catching with his red hair. After the introduction, Kaman shouted from afar, ¡°Hey Duncan,e over for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Howe you¡¯re here, Boss?¡± Duncan stopped moving when he heard Kaman¡¯s voice from afar before he brought the two miners beside him over. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s really dangerous there now, you shouldn¡¯t go too close.¡±

    ¡°I brought Mage Felic over to take a look...¡± Kaman said while looking over to the glowing mine shaft opening. ¡°Say, Duncan, what¡¯s going on now? Can you continue mining? Why do I feel like the temperature has increased?¡±

    ¡°The temperature is indeed much higher now. I went to take a look, and it¡¯s hotter than a volcano crater at this point. If we go in, we¡¯ll be cooked in a matter of seconds. I¡¯m afraid this mineral vein cannot be mined anymore, Boss...¡± The young miner shook his head helplessly.

    ¡°You went in?¡± Lin Li was a little shocked. While this red-haired teen looked strong, he did not look to be well-versed in martial arts, much less be at level-10 with Combat Energy. Given the temperature now, only a Warrior of at least level-10 could go in using their Combat Energy to protect themselves, or else they would be scalded.

    Only now did Duncan realize that his boss had brought a mage along, and he could not help feeling curious. Why did his boss bring a mage now? Surely he didn¡¯t think that he could depend on a mage to mine the refined iron?

    However, this was someone his boss had brought along, and even though Duncan found it strange, he answered honestly, ¡°I went in three hours ago, when the temperature was much lower. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy to go in again...¡±

    ¡°Hm...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not say more.

    There was probably a Lava adamantine mineral vein hidden in this mine shaft after all, as this only happened with Lava adamantine mineral veins. When they were buried underground, they were just like any other mineral vein, but once they came into contact with the air, the fire magical element in them was released, and would start spreading faster and faster. If not mined, the fire magical element would be depleted in at most five days, and by then, the precious magical metal mineral vein would be just like any ordinary stone...

    ¡°Kaman, get someone to bring me there and have a look.¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic, isn¡¯t that too dangerous?¡± Kaman jumped in shock. The mine shaft was already boiling hot, yet he still wanted to go in? What if something happened?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lin Li smiled. The Lava adamantine¡¯s temperature was scary only to an ordinary miner; it was nothing to him as an Archmage and a Master of mining. He had a whole bunch of methods to deal with the heat; even with just a me Shield he would be able to guarantee his safety in the mine shaft.

    Of course, if he were to bring someone else along, it¡¯d be a bit moreplicated...

    ¡°Alright, then...¡± Kaman hesitated, but did not continue. This was the resourceful Mage Felic, after all, and any danger Kaman was concerned with was probably nothing to him. After thinking for a bit, Kaman called Duncan over. ¡°Duncan, bring Mage Felic down to have a look.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Although Duncan still could not decipher who this young mage was, his boss had already given the word, and Duncan could not say anything more. He nodded his head before picking up his shovel as he prepared to head down to the mine shaft with the young mage.

    ¡°Duncan, hang on...¡± After taking a few steps forward, Kaman stopped him, and whispered quietly, ¡°Protect Mage Felic carefully once you¡¯re there, nothing must happen to him, or else you and I will be in big trouble, you understand me?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Duncan gave Kaman a look, and although he said nothing, he was filled with suspicion. Who was this Mage Felic, and why did he make his boss so nervous? Could he be a son of an important figure?

    Kaman¡¯s miners were good indeed. They had only been mining for a couple of weeks, but they have already dug quite a bit. After Lin Li followed Duncan into the mine shaft, before them was a long slope where it shone bright red, and the temperature was scalding. Sparks were flying around the steep slope, and painted the dim mine shaft a fiery red like that of a volcano.

    The roof of the cave seemed to be reinforced with wood, which made the structure of the mine shaft look unusually sturdy. After entering the mine shaft, Lin Li uttered a spell and covered himself with the light from a me Shield.

    As the me Shield was released, Lin Li was immediately shielded from the scalding heat of the mine shaft; even the flying sparks seemed to feel the obstruction as they disappeared beforending on Lin Li¡¯s body. The strange scene shocked the red-haired miner. Was this the legendary art of magic?

    ¡°It¡¯s just magic to protect myself.¡± Lin Li smiled, and uttered another spell without waiting for Duncan toe back to his senses. A blue light engulfed him¡ªit was a level-15 magic, Frost Barrier. While it could not absorb any attack of magical elements like the me Shield, the powerful ice magical element could still prevent Duncan from being harmed by the heat.

    The slope was not too steep, and the pair walked about 50 meters before they saw a burning ball of me. At the core of it was a fiery-red boulder, which looked to be about a meter tall. Rays of red light seemed to be caressing the stone...

    ¡°My God, what a huge piece...¡± Even Lin Li was shocked. This Lava adamantine was at least half a ton in weight, and from the red light pouring off it, it seemed to be of a very good quality. If it was used to forge weapons, it would be enough for at least 10 magical weapons, and each of them would be a rare masterpiece...

    ¡°Duncan, go notify the other miners and have them gather here with their equipment in five minutes.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    After watching Duncan leave, Lin Li took a deep breath and clutched the Aether Staff in his hand tightly. Then, he started chanting away, and a chilling cold started filling the mine shaft as he continued...

    Duncan brought everyone over in less than five minutes. As the over 40 miners entered the mine shaft with their shovels, all of them looked like they had seen a ghost. They could not believe that the boiling hot mine shaft was suddenly filled with a bone-chilling cold; there were thickyers of ice everywhere around the mine shaft, as well as icicles hanging off the cave walls. The world seemed to have turned into a winter wondend at that moment.

    ¡°Duncan, what¡¯s going on?¡± Kaman followed behind a group of miners, and his mouth still hung agape. The sight before him was so peculiar as though a bearded muscle-man had suddenly turned into a dainty beauty...

    ¡°Boss, I really don¡¯t know...¡± This was Duncan¡¯s third time replying. To be honest, he was more confused than Kaman. When he left the mine shaft, it was clearly boiling hot. How did it be like that so quickly?

    Just like that, the group of confused people continued going forward following the slope. There was no raging fire at the end of the slope, nor any strange mineral vein covered in mes. There was only icy snow and a young mage holding onto a magic staff.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what... what¡¯s going on here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much, I just sealed the ce up with magic for a while. It should be fine now, but get them to mine quickly while I find a ce to rest...¡± Lin Li was somewhat pale, and tiredness was evident in his voice. Well, he had just used five Thousand Miles of Ice in one go¡ªeven the most hardy of mages would feel it...

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lin Li shook his head, and carried on giving instructions. ¡°Oh, right. Ask them to be careful when they mine, be sure not to damage the outeryer of ice. Once you¡¯re done, have them send it to me at the Tower of Dusk, and I¡¯ll see to the rest.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    He had not even been back in the Tower of Dusk for an hour before Kaman had someone send over the boulder still covered in ice.

    Now, the scarily huge Lava adamantine was sitting in the basement of the Tower of Dusk. Its high temperature was gradually melting the ice encapsting it, and Lin Li stared at it as he was stuck in a dilemma.

    This huge boulder of Lava adamantine was rare indeed. Even back in the Endless World, where Lin Li had a lot of mineral veins, he had never seen such a huge amount of Lava adamantine. It was a rare magical metal, and even a portion the size of a fist held a shocking amount of fire magical element. Even adding a tiny bit of it when forging a magical weapon was enough to raise the quality of it to a whole new level. Meanwhile, the magical weapons crafted entirely from Lava adamantine held terrifying power¡ªany of them would have sold for at least a million gold coins.

    The amount of Lava adamantine Lin Li had now could be used to craft 10 magical weapons. In other words, this boulder of Lava adamantine was worth at least 10 million gold coins...

    And because of that, Lin Li was stuck at a crossroad.

    Lava adamantine had many uses, and using it to craft weapons was undoubtedly the most wasteful of all. For example, he could use a mageweath to extract the fire magical element from it¡ªusing this incredibly pure fire magical element, he could even rece the Legendary magical crystal of the Smander as a new source of power for the Tower of Dusk.

    Besides that, Lava adamantine powder was also a great ingredient to use when using magic. Level-18 magic like the Endless mes would be scarily powerful with the help of Lava adamantine powder as it could prevent the bite of mana.

    Anyway, this was a treasure indeed...

    Lin Li pondered over it, yet he could not think of anything to do.

    ¡°Hey, Lava adamantine!¡± At this time, a yell of surprise could be heard from behind. Lin Li looked around, only to see Apophis. God knew when the old fellow had arrived; he was now standing behind Lin Li and looking at the huge boulder of Lava adamantine. ¡°Hey, kid, where did you get so much Lava adamantine? Bloody hell, this must be at least half a ton...¡±

    ¡°Mined it, of course...¡± Lin Li looked at him before realizing that something was wrong. Damn it, he forgot about this old fellow¡ªif he had known, he would have hidden the Lava adamantine better...

    ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± Apophis did not buy it at all. ¡°This costs a fortune! If you can dig it just from anywhere, then why doesn¡¯t a fortune drop on me when I walk on the streets?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense, you little bastard, nothing true everes from that mouth of yours...¡± Apophis scolded angrily before he started smiling deviously. ¡°Say, kid, why don¡¯t we make a deal?¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡± Lin Li looked at the old man¡¯s smile, and suddenly became wary of him. He spread out his hands, and shielded the Lava adamantine behind him like a hen guarding her chicks. ¡°Anything but this, you hear me, definitely not this!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, you little bastard, why are you stingy? You¡¯re exactly like that bastard of a teacher you have. I am a Sanctuary Master, will I ask you for something without giving anything in return? Moreover, I only want a bit of it, at most the size of a fist...¡± The old man broke into a rage suddenly, and afterining furiously, he sulkily said, ¡°How about this: you give me a piece of that Lava adamantine, and I¡¯ll give you a blueprint so that you can make good use of this stuff unlike the morons who use such precious magical metal to make weapons and armor. What an utter waste!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need blueprints...¡± Lin Li rejected the offer without even considering it as he thought, <i>I have plenty of blueprints, and each of them is at least of a divine level, why would I need your blueprint?</i>

    ¡°Don¡¯t regret this, kid, I have the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. Only I have it in the whole of Anril!¡±

    ¡°Not even for the Sky-breaker¡¯s blueprint...¡± Lin Li finished his sentence, but he found it strange. Wait... Sky-breaker? Could this old man be talking about the Sky-breaker that was more powerful than the magical crystal cannons and had blown down a Sky Castle during the war back in the Dark Ages? Damn it, this was going too far¡ªthe Sky-breaker was a closely guarded secret of the Dwarf Kingdom! Back then, during the war, six Sky Castles had been blown down by the allies, and one of them was blown down by the Dwarf Kingdom using the miracle that was the Sky-breaker.

    There was no blinding magic light, nor the Wyvern Army that covered the sky andnd¡ªonly a hundred Sky-breakers firing at once. Then, the purportedly infallible Sky Castle fell just like that...

    However...

    The skill of crafting the Sky-breaker had been lost after the war. Even the Dwarf Kingdom did not have the blueprint, so where did this old fellow get it from?

    ¡°Howe you have the blueprint for the Sky-breaker?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s from the dwarves...¡± The old man did not seem keen on telling him where he got it from, and only briefly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t bother about where it came from. I¡¯m just asking whether you want to exchange for it. If you do, I¡¯ll give you another gift...¡±

    The old man then retrieved a ring from an inner pocket. The ring looked nothing out of the ordinary, and was made frommon silver. There was no magical waveing from it, either. Besides being a little old, it looked just like rings that cost a few silver coins sold on the street. If he did not see it for himself, Lin Li would never believe that amon silver ring would be kept so carefully by the Sanctuary Master.

    ¡°Take this ring to a dwarf named Gern, and pass him the blueprint. Tell him an old friend is asking a favor, and he will help you turn this Lava adamantine into a Sky-breaker...¡± After finishing, the old man did not care whether Lin Li agreed to it before shoving the ring in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve held onto the blueprint for more than 1,300 years. It¡¯s time to return it to the dwarves. You¡¯re in luck kid, I¡¯m taking a piece of Lava adamantine from you, but I¡¯m doing you a huge favor...¡±

    ¡°Heheh...¡± Lin Li knew that the favor the old man was referring to was the blueprint¡ªit was more importantpared to the Sky-breaker as it was something that the Dwarf Kingdom had lost for over 1,300 years. If he brought it back to them, they would probably agree to any of his requests given their straightforward attitude.

 Chapter 371 - Crimson Python

    <h4>Chapter 371: Crimson Python</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    A couple of weeks passed in the blink of an eye, but the Tower of Dusk remained as empty as ever. asionally, a few mages woulde in to obtain their level certifications, but they were mostly level-5 or level-6. The most ridiculous thing was that a few days ago, they even got a mage apprentice in his thirties. Lin Li was utterly bewildered, and really wondered what was the driving force that led him to continue learning magic if he had not even be a mage by the age of 30.

    The only good news to Lin Li was that Apophis had finally left.

    After giving the blueprint and ring to Lin Li that day, Apophis took a piece of Lava adamantine. He did keep his word, however, only taking a piece the size of a fist, and even helped Lin Li by using an Eternal Snow Storm to freeze the Lava adamantinepletely before he left.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li was pretty grateful to him for it...

    The biggest issue with Lava adamantine was that it could not be exposed to air, or its fire magical elements would bepletely depleted in at most five days. By then, the precious Lava adamantine would be no more than a piece of rock. The only thing they could do was to freeze it up.

    While the Thousand Miles of Ice was powerful, it was only a Level-16 magic spell, and given Lin Li¡¯s abilities now, he could only freeze it for up to a day. Once the time was up, he would have to use the Thousand Miles of Ice again. Lin Li was not worried about wasting his mana, but this was an annoying issue indeed. What happened if he needed to leave for an extended period of time? Surely he was not going to hire a couple of Archmages to use the Thousand Miles of Ice every now and then?

    It was different with the Eternal Snow Storm, however. It was a level-24 magic, and besides Apophis, not many in Anril were capable of using it. It had an incrediblyplicated elemental structure and an insane level of mana use. The result? A nearly eternal state of frost that would not change unless someone forcefully tampered with it.

    Lin Li actually knew that the old man was good to him. The great Sanctuary Master had stayed for about half a month at the Tower of Dusk for the sole purpose of teaching him. While his methods were strange, they did let Lin Li¡¯s magic improve tremendously. Three days ago, Lin Li managed to securely reach level-18, and while the Soul Contract he¡¯d made with Ujfalusi yed a part, it was still mostly thanks to this old man...

    Nobody knew better than Lin Li how much he had learned in this half a month. While he was getting beaten up daily, he could clearly feel himself gaining a deeper understanding of magic with every beating. This improvement was absurd even to Lin Li; he was clearly being beaten up, but as he received more beatings, he was suddenly at level-18...

    Of course, the most important thing to Lin Li was the conversation they¡¯d had in the library during the inauguration ceremony. That was something only Lin Li and Apophis knew about, and nobody would know that Apophis had been telling a story the whole afternoon...

    He was talking about his journey from being a mage apprentice to bing a Sanctuary Master...

    This was a long story spanning 1,300 years, and some of its contents had actually been told as a legend. It had been painted with glory with the fairytale-like battle and weaved into folk songs by travelling poets. Now, it could be heard in every corner of Anril.

    Buting from Apophis himself, it took on another form. The old man was not particrly eloquent, and the content and emotions of the story sounded rather monotonousing from him, just as though he was talking about how he¡¯d won a few copper coins while gambling yesterday instead of participating in the war that changed the fate of Anril.

    That was how Lin Li spent the whole afternoon¡ªlistening to this old man who lived in a fairytale himself tell his story, asionally adding in expletives the way he usually did.

    Apophis shared more than what had happened during the battle, including things nobody besides him knew of. He talked about how he¡¯dpleted his first meditation after being exposed to magic, how he¡¯d cast his first spell, and what it¡¯d felt like to be an Archmage as well as how he¡¯d felt like as he became a Legendary-mage...

    All of this came from Apophis himself in its truest form with no distortion or whatsoever¡ªeverything was from his own point of view, and it was all the emotions he truly felt.

    Even though Lin Li was a poised person, he could not help getting breathless as he listened to the story as he knew that this was a great fortune in itself¡ªa priceless treasure indeed.

    Lin Li had received many gifts on the day of the inauguration ceremony, like the potion bottle carved from Dream Crystal and a Fire Feather Gryphon egg; there was also a box of Starlight Herb and an oilmp capable of summoning a Demon Lord. However, to Lin Li, the story he¡¯d heard from Apophis was the most valuable gift of all...

    It contained the life experience of a Sanctuary Master, and would allow a mage to avoid many errors in their journey of magic. For the insanely talented Lin Li, knowing this alone would be sufficient for him to continue on smoothly and be a Sanctuary Master!

    Even though Lin Li refused to admit it, he was actually very grateful to Apophis...

    After Apophis left, Lin Li¡¯s days became long and boring once again. Besides making a few bottles of Arcana Potion every day, all he did was chat with Gerian and whatnot. It continued for half a month, until a certain evening...

    That evening, Lin Li was speaking to n.

    It was about a month after the inauguration ceremony. n had been feeling perplexed all this time as he realized that the crystal Felic had given him seemed to be an endless pit: no matter how much mana he channeled into it, it never seemed to fill up.

    If it¡¯d onlysted a couple of days, it would not been an issue, but this had been going on for a month. Finally, n could not take it anymore.

    That afternoon, he brought the crystal to Lin Li, wanting to consult the young president about the crystal. Besides, what n wanted to know more was how he could change his bad habit of being stingy with his mana.

    ¡°Not bad, Magic Shooter n, this crystal is almost full, keep it up.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± n nodded. He wanted to ask about how he could change his bad habit, but he did not know where to start.

    After being in the Tower of Dusk for a month, n realized that the more time went by, the less he understood this young president. At the start, he¡¯d thought that the Supreme Council was ying a joke¡ªhow could they make a young mage in his twenties the president of a Guild of Magic?

    Slowly, however, n realized something was wrong. As he stood before this young president, he felt a deep and profound auraing from him. It was as though he was trapped in fog, and could never decipher his true abilities no matter how he tried. He could only distinctly feel that this young president was very, very strong...

    n knew that only mages way more powerful than himself would give him such a feeling, and now that he was already a level-14 Magic Shooter, those who were way more powerful than him would have to be a level-15 or even level-16 Archmage. n felt his skin crawl when he thought of that; an Archmage in his twenties! No wonder he became the president of a Guild of Magic at such a young age.

    In thest few days especially, n could feel that there had been a sharp growth in the young president¡¯s abilities. If he¡¯d felt like he¡¯d been separated by fog when standing before him in the past, then now it felt like there was an insurmountable peak in front of him.

    Even Gavin had only one word to describe the young president: unfathomable!

    ¡°Honestly, being too precise with your use of mana isn¡¯t too bad a habit. It¡¯s merely somewhat petty. Mana is just like money: of course you should use it sparingly when you¡¯re tight on it, but if you do that too when you have one million gold coins, then you¡¯ll never turn that one million gold coins into 10 million...¡±

    Lin Li was halfway through his words when he heard a growl from afar. Then, a strange magical wave filled up the space, and the magical wave became hotter and fiercer. Even though Lin Li was far away from it, he could detect its violent aura.

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± The magical wave wasing from ck Clouds Town, and Lin Li felt his heart clench. He hurriedly uttered a spell, and the crystal ball in the guild hall lit up. They could see a red figure sweep past in the crystal ball¡ªit had a slender figure and long wings, leaving a streak of red light in the skies above ck Clouds Town...

    Seeing the red streak of light, Lin Li lost all color on his face. That was an adult Crimson Python without any doubt! Legend had it that it was a level-18 magical beast, and if itnded in ck Clouds Town, it would turn the whole ce into a sea of fire in a second. This was not something Lin Li wished to see. Since the Tower of Dusk was located in ck Clouds Town, it was their responsibility to protect it¡ªsuch was the rule agreed upon by the 25 Guilds of Magic in the Fn Kingdom.

    His only constion was that Norfeller and Ujfalusi were still in ck Clouds Town. He only hoped that they would be able to stop the destructive mes of the Crimson Python.

    ¡°n, call Gavin, we need to go take a look at ck Clouds Town!¡± After giving some instructions hurriedly, Lin Li grabbed his Aether Staff, quickly uttered a Levitation Spell, and flew like an arrow to ck Clouds Town without waiting for n to reply.

 Chapter 372 - A Mutant At That

    <h4>Chapter 372: A Mutant At That</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    n felt his hair stand in shock as well when he looked into the crystal ball. The Crimson Python was at least a dozen meters in length, and when it spread its fleshy wings, it covered the whole sky. On top of its head was a pair of blood-red eyes, glowing icily, while a couple of fangs protruded from the corners of its mouth. As it opened and closed its jaws, thick puffs of smoke and mes spewed out...

    How could n not know about the infamous Crimson Python? It was one of the strongest magical beasts of the ckstone Mountains; it was said that an adult Crimson Python was at least level-18, and some mutants could even surpass level-20 and be a truly Legendary magical beast!

    ¡°Oh no, President Felic went alone, what if something happens?¡± The Crimson Python was at least level-18. No matter how optimistic n was, he would never think that President Felic alone could hold off the Crimson Python.

    n hurriedly told Gavin the news.

    ¡°What?¡± Gavin jumped in shock. Even though he was aware that the young president was highly skilled, he knew that would not be sufficient to deal with the Crimson Python. It was a level-18 magical beast, after all; if it went berserk, it would well be near a Legendary-level.

    ¡°n, gather everyone now, we need to go and help President Felic! Hurry up, or we might not make it!¡± Gavin was even more anxious than n. Mr Basel had instructed him to follow the young president, and if he allowed something to happen to the young president before his eyes, he could forget about ever returning to Dnd.

    Moreover, he had had a great time in the Tower of Dusk for the past month. The young president trusted him very much, and entrusted most of the authority in the Guild of Magic to him. Hence, seeing as he had be second in power in the Guild of Magic, he did achieve the ambitions he¡¯de with on some levels. While his position did not look like much, as he was merely overseeing over 30 mages, Gavin had be very confident in the young president after the inauguration ceremony. Thetter was fawned over by so many important figures, so how could he be amon man? Gavin was sure that it was only a matter of time before the young president would lead the Guild of Magic into such prosperity that even he would not dare imagine it!

    However, all of this would turn to naught if something happened to President Felic. Perhaps the Supreme Council would send another president over, and perhaps this new president would also lead the Guild of Magic to new heights, but who was to say whether or not the new president would trust Gavin the way President Felic did? Without that trust, none of this sess would concern him.

    After finishing his sentence, Gavin took out his magic staff, and was about to utter a Levitation Spell when someone else appeared in the guild hall.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too!¡±

    Perhaps even Lin Li would not guess that the person who said that was Englos¡¯ disciple, the young and beautiful Pdin. Rina had already donned her heavy armor, and the sword in her hand was shining icily; her pale and delicate face was filled with determination.

    ¡°This...¡± Gavin hesitated. He knew who Ms Rina was. President Felic had personally decreed that she was a guest from the Brilliance Shrine, and he was to ensure her utmost well-being. However, the guest seemed to be on bad terms with President Felic as she rarely left her room in the Tower of Dusk for the past month, and even when she did, she was hostile to President Felic when they met. Gavin was unbearably curious about what had happened between them...

    However, no matter how curious he was, she was a guest from the Brilliance Shrine, after all, and if there were any mistakes, President Felic would not be able to answer to them.

    ¡°That will not do, Ms Rina, you are a guest here at the Tower of Dusk...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine besides being a guest of the Tower of Dusk!¡± Rina said resolutely. After that, she held her sword and walked out of the Tower of Dusk without waiting for Gavin to continue. A crisp whistle sounded, and a snowy white unicorn flew down from the sky.

    ¡°This...¡± Gavin stared with his mouth agape. While he knew that Ms Rina was a Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine, it was his first time seeing a unicorn. If she rode a unicorn, didn¡¯t it make her the only Judge Pdin of the group of Pdins? Legend had it that they were the Bearer of the Holy Light and wielded a sharp de, purifying the earth with the pure Fire of Judgement...

    As he thought back on the young president he served, Gavin sighed. Why were all the youngsters so powerful nowadays?

    Just as he was dumbfounded, another person flew down the stairs, and Gavin saw a chubby figure that made his head throb yet again. <i>Damn it, howe this guy is here too?</i>

    ¡°Damn it, this rascal, how dares he keep such big news from me!¡±

    ¡°...¡± The only two people in the Tower of Dusk who dared to curse at President Felic were the Arbitrator Apophis and Gerian. When Gavin thought about the rtionship between this fatty and President Felic, he felt his head hurt.

    Just as he was about to dissuade him from going, Gerian had already uttered a Levitation Spell, and his chubby figure flew like a cannonball in the direction of ck Clouds Town, leaving the shocked Gavin standing with his eyes as wide as saucers and his mouth agape.

    ¡°Uh... let¡¯s go too...¡± As he watched the fatty and the unicorn fly further away, Gavin did not dare dy any further. He called all the Magic Shooters in the Guild, and the group of over 20 people hurried off to ck Clouds Town.

    By then, the situation in ck Clouds Town was unusually intense.

    The Crimson Python had fallen from the sky due to a Gravity Spell, but that did not mean that the terrifying magical beast had lost itsbat capability. Quite the contrary¡ªthe Crimson Python was the most formidable onnd as its wings were merely for flight and served no purpose in a fight. The reason why the Crimson Python was one of the most powerful magical beasts of the ckstone Mountains was because of the immense strength it held in its body, its blood-vicious fangs, and the fire magic it inherited by blood.

    Norfeller was covered in wounds of various sizes, some of them from scrapes, and some of them from fire; blood was running from his wounds, and his already pale face was nowpletely void of color, making him look as sickly pale as a sheet of paper. Ujfalusi was not in a better state, either, as the intense fight had depleted too much of his mana. Right now, he was desperately trying to recover his mana under Lin Li and Norfeller¡¯s cover.

    The only good thing was that they had managed to aplish what Lin Li had instructed them to do before he got there, which was to protect ck Clouds Town. Otherwise, the Crimson Python would have already turned ck Clouds Town into a sea of fire with its strength.

    However, Norfeller was only a level-17 Vampire, after all, and Ujfalusi had already been seriously injured due to his Humerus Domain¡¯s destruction. Even if they joined forces, they were still no match for a Crimson Python; moreover, this damned Crimson Python was a mutant, a terrible existence that had already reached the Legendary-realm...

    When he thought of that, Lin Li could not help but curse loudly.

    Which bastard provoked this Crimson Python and made it leave the ckstone Mountains, enraging it so much it went berserk...?

    Lin Li felt his skin crawl just imagining how scary a Legendary-level Crimson Python could be when it was angry...

    But that was not important now, and the only thing Lin Li could do was to drag the Crimson Python down with all his might and buy enough time for Ujfalusi to recover his mana. As long as this ex-Lich recovered half of his mana, he would be able to use a level-18 Necromagic, Soul¡¯s Cage. If they could trap the Crimson Python using the Soul¡¯s Cage, he would have time to make preparations. If all went well, perhaps they might really be able to kill this Legendary-level Crimson Python...

    The vibrant red snake¡¯s tail swept by, producing a gust of strong wind that reeked of decay. Every time the Crimson Python attacked, many of the houses surrounding them would copse. Thankfully, the nearby civilians had already evacuated, and there were only two Undead creatures, a human, and a crazy Crimson Python on the empty streets.

    But even then, the Crimson Python made Lin Li breathless as the terrifying monster hadpletely given up on flying, going as far as to ignore the fact that its wings were tied down by the Gravity Spell. Honestly, given its strength, it would not be an issue for it to escape the Gravity Spell.

    It was only swinging its tail around now as it shattered the surrounding buildings. As it spewed mes that smelled heavily of sulfur, their surroundings were turned into a sea of fire in a matter of seconds.

    At this time, Lin Li was like a lonely boat struggling among the ocean waves as he used the Power of Flight while using magic to divert the Crimson Python¡¯s attention.

    However, these magic spells were mostly level-5 or level-6, which was nothing to the Crimson Python that had most likely surpassed level-20. Most of the time, Lin Li did not manage to go beyond the thick scales of the Crimson Python; his only purpose was to make the Crimson Python even angrier so that it would focus its attention on him.

    That was what Lin Li wanted to do¡ªhe wanted to stall the Crimson Python so as to buy more time for Ujfalusi. However, even though he had achieved his goal, it was followed by an even more ferocious attack of the Crimson Python, which made Lin Li lose his breath.

    The worst thing was that Lin Li was already using the Power of Flight at an extraordinary level. If other Archmages saw him now, they might really think they were looking at a Legendary-mage. Lin Li continued to change his course and speed as he flew pursued by the Crimson Python, and was as agile as a butterfly. This was far beyond a Levitation Spell, and perhaps even a Legendary-level Power of Flight would not be any better than this.

    One was a level-15 magic spell, while the other one was a level-20 one. Even a fool could tell the difference between the two. Lin Li was merely relying on his monstrous mental strength to forcefully propel this level-15 spell so that it could have the effect of a level-20 one, but even though he had a seemingly endless amount of mana and mental strength, he was unable to keep it up for long.

    Lin Li could feel that his mental strength was terribly distorted, and if he did not stop to rest, he might suddenly drop from the sky...

 Chapter 373 - Dead Knot

    <h4>Chapter 373: Dead Knot</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Forcefully distorting his mental strength to use a Levitation Spell was in itself going against thews of magic, and even though Lin Li had incredibly strong mental strength, he could not keep it up for long. It was just like how a mouse could never bear the offspring of an elephant, and even if it did, it would surely die during the birth. That was the situation Lin Li was in right now¡ªhe was flying very quickly indeed, but the mana was flowing uncontrobly within him. If he did not put a stop to this as soon as possible, he would surely suffer great injuries.

    Unfortunately, he did not have the time to attempt to control it, as he had used up all his mental strength by forcefully propelling it to a level-20 Levitation Spell. There was no way he could control the impending bite of mana unless he stopped right now.

    The crazed Crimson Python chased after him at an increasingly fast pace; as it dragged its tail across the streets, it left a slimy trail and gave out a thick stench of decay. When the slime came into contact with the roaring mes, it evaporated instantly, leaving behind a piercing stench. The Crimson Python weaved through the streets; it was at least 10 meters long, and the strength it showcased was incredible, turning the surrounding houses into rubble in a matter of seconds.

    The Crimson Python hissed. Its beady triangr eyes held a crazed gaze as it crushed a building with a gentle twist of its scaly body. A loud crashing sound was heard, and all they could see the next moment was a pile of rubble instead of the street from earlier; it was Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing such a mind-numbing disy of pure strength. Surely even the Smander from the Fire Plume Ridge would be no match for this Crimson Python...?

    The mana in Lin Li¡¯s body was out of control, and was tugging and tearing at Lin Li¡¯s body like a whirlpool. The effect of his overly distorted mental strength was starting to show; the intense pain felt like his brain was being pierced by thousands and thousands of needles, but the only thing Lin Li could do was to grit his teeth and hold onto hisst trace of consciousness.

    Time seemed to pass really slowly, and he did not even seem to feel the harsh wind blowing on his face. He felt his surroundings were bing more and more blurry as the raging mes and scattered debris seemed to float around him as though they might fly any moment.

    Lin Li knew that he had reached his limit; if he continued with this, he was going to get in trouble in no time.

    Thankfully, Ujfalusi was able to recover quickly as he had once been a Lich, after all¡ªa Necromancer who had reached the Legendary-realm. Even though he was greatly affected by the destruction of his Humerus Domain, his mental strength remained untouched, and the speed at which his mana recovered was way above that of any Archmage.

    While many things seemed to have happened, it had actually only been 10 minutes. In that time, Ujfalusi¡¯s mana had recovered almostpletely; Lin Li could clearly feel the return of the strong death aura from Ujfalusi through the mental connection they had established using the Soul Contract. Although the death aura was not as strong as it had been at its peak, he should have no problem using a level-18 Soul¡¯s Cage.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, don¡¯t rush to strike, be careful as you only have one chance!¡± Lin Li did not even have to speak; he sent his words into Ujfalusi¡¯s brain directly using the mental connection. ¡°Tell Norfeller that the only weak spot of the Crimson Python is its heart.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Ujfalusi nced into the sky before he turned around to speak into Norfeller¡¯s ear.

    Then, a ck puff of smoke appeared as Norfeller turned into a Vampire bat once again. It spread its wings as it flew into the sky; like a spirit, he seemed to be one with the inky ck sky. If one was not using magic like the Eye of Truth, they would not be able to tell that there was a high-ranking Vampire hidden in the night sky, holding two daggers left behind by a legendary assassin...

    ¡°You¡¯ve been going after me for a while, well, not for long now...¡± After settling everything, Lin Li forced himself to use the level-20 Levitation Spell again as he weaved through the debris.

    This street was leading towards the town square, and not too far in front of it was an abandoned clock tower. Lin Li remembered that the bottom of the clock tower seemed to be made of refined iron...

    <i>Since the clock tower is already abandoned anyway, why don¡¯t I make another contribution for ck Clouds Town...</i>

    The searing pain tormented Lin Li to no end, and his pale face was dripping with cold sweat. When he mopped his sweat, his face was cold to the touch. His surroundings started looking blurry, and his body felt heavier with each passing second. Lin Li knew that he did not have much time left; if he was still unable to get rid of the Crimson Python this time, then he would end up meeting the fate he nned for it instead.

    Seeing as the abandoned clock tower was just right in front, Lin Li harshly bit his tongue, and managed to regain his consciousness with the pain. The Crimson Python was nearing him from behind, and as itsrge body swept along the street, the houses on both its sides copsed immediately. Meanwhile, as its blood-red tongue flickered, it spewed mes¡ªthis was the magic that coursed through is blood, as powerful as that of an Archmage of level-16 or level-17. Even though Lin Li had the me Shield, it was still incredibly dangerous as the light from the me Shield dulled immediately once it came into contact with the mes.

    Even though it only took him a short amount of time to fly through the streets using the Levitation Spell, Lin Li had used at least five Source Shields, and it was all at times when he thought his magic would fail. If he¡¯d made even a small mistake when casting the spell, he would have turned into a pile of ashes now.

    The clock tower already half-copsed because of the Crimson Python, and the remaining half was also leaning precariously. Lin Li had just flown nearer to it when he saw the exposed clock¡ªits originallyplicated structure was now nothing more than a scattered mess of parts on the floor. Only the sturdy bottom part made of refined iron remained as it stood in its spot still. Apparently, even the vast strength of the Crimson Python was insufficient to destroy the refined iron bottom easily.

    When Lin Li neared the clock tower, he took a sharp turn and flew like an arrow as he skidded along the surface of the clock. However, the Crimson Python was unable to avoid it, and its hardy skull crashed into the clock. A loud ringing noise was heard before the remaining half of the clock tower copsed...

    Then, Lin Li stopped.

    Apparently, even the relentless Crimson Python could not have guessed that he would stop; hence, after crashing into the tower, the Crimson Python scraped past the young mage...

    The Crimson Python was quick to react, however. When it scraped past Lin Li, it spread its wings and its long body made a turn in the air almost at the same time. The speed at which it pounced towards Lin Li did not seem any slower than before, as ferocious as it had been when it crashed into the abandoned clock tower.

    This time, however, Lin Li did not move away.

    Lin Li¡¯s face was pale, and his eyes were bloodshot. He did not attempt to move away from the attack of the ferocious Crimson Python as he stared directly at it, a hint of madness in his gaze.

    The Crimson Python approached him. Lin Li could even smell the stenching from the Crimson Python; he could also see the sharp fangs and its skull clearly before him.

    Then, an earth-shattering cry rang out as the Crimson Python opened its mouth again, and its fangs glowed terrifyingly in the light from the mes.

    This time, Lin Li moved.

    His mental strength had already been pushed to its limit, but at that instant, it experienced another bout of sharp growth, and this insane peak in his mental strength propelled the Levitation Spell to a shocking level. Lin Li seemed to have turned into a beam of light as he flew away while skimming the surface of the refined iron bottom of the clock tower.

    At the same time, the Crimson Python spread its wings and moved at an even faster speed than before. It was not much slower than Lin Li, who had forced his mental strength to new heights, but in terms of agility, it wascking a bit. Its wings were only meant for flight, after all, and did not hold much power. When its wings were spread, it made the creature that was already over 10 meters long even bigger than before, and now that it had lost the advantage its slender body brought it, its handicap became even more pronounced in the narrow space they were in.

    Both the human and snake moved at a shocking speed, and in the blink of an eye, they had already circled the bottom of the clock tower many times.

    Then, the Crimson Python was trapped...

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk had arrived just then. When they arrived in ck Clouds Town and rushed to the clock tower, what they saw left them dumbfounded.

    It was so ridiculous nobody would ever believe them if they told them about it.

    One of the strongest magical beasts of the ckstone Mountains, a Crimson Python of at least level-18, had trapped itself. It was like someone had slit their throat with a shaving knife while grooming their face. The great Crimson Python had managed to trap itself around the bottom of the clock tower, and it was trapped for good at that¡ªjust as if invisible hands had tied its body into a dead knot around the bottom of the tower...

 Chapter 374 - Frost-fire Storm

    <h4>Chapter 374: Frost-fire Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°This...¡± Gavin¡¯s mouth was open, and his face was filled with disbelief. This was too ridiculous; how could the Crimson Python possibly trap itself like that? Who would believe this?

    Gavin was not the only one who found this hard to believe, as the people who had arrived from the Tower of Dusk were no newbies. The worst of them was already a Magic Shooter, and amongst the group were also two Archmages, Gerian and Gavin, as well as the Judge Pdin Rina¡ªeven Lin Li was unable to gauge how powerful she was. How could they not know how powerful was the Crimson Python of the ckstone Mountains? Especially one as ferocious as the one lying before them¡ªonce it went berserk, even someone at Legendary-realm would have some qualms about going against it...

    They could not imagine how the young mage had managed to tie a dead knot with such a scary existence. This was way beyond the limits of magic and above a mortal¡¯s strength; this Crimson Python was clearly near the Legendary-realm, and if it went berserk, even a person in the Legendary-realm would only be able to kill it, and not tie a dead knot with it.

    This was truly a miracle; perhaps only a few in the Sanctuary-realm could manage it in the whole Anril...

    However, the scene before their eyes was undoubtedly real, and the Crimson Python was trapped there securely. No matter how it struggled or growled, its body did not seem to loosen from the tight knot it was in.

    ¡°Damn it, what else are you keeping from me, you little bastard...¡± Gerian nagged angrily.

    ¡°Let¡¯s kill it first!¡± Rina was the calmest of them all, and did not remain dazed for long looking at the peculiar scene before her. As everyone was still staring dumbly, Rina had already raised her sword, and her unicorn neighed as it spread its wings. Her golden hair and shiny silver armor shone blindingly in the light from the mes...

    However...

    Even Rina could not have guessed that someone else in ck Clouds Town had moved faster than her.

    Just as the unicorn spread its wings, a magical wave filled with a strong death aura spread out. As the only Judge Pdin amongst the Pdins, Rina was all too familiar with this evil death aura. She frowned as the magical wave spread out, while her unicorn which was just about to fly into the sky also paused...

    This was a natural reflex she could not help, as she had been baptized by the Fire of Judgement, and was an utterly devoted follower of the Holy Light, the natural enemy of Undead creatures. This animosity toward Undead creatures had already been instilled into her from a young age, and had be her second nature by now, enforced by over a decade of devotion and faith!

    However, Rina managed to keep it together, and realized the situation they were in was not suitable for her to fight an Undead creature after a moment of hesitation. It was not the Undead creatures harassing ck Clouds Town, but a crazed Crimson Python, after all, and protecting the innocent was of utmost priority to a Pdin. Her teacher Englos had said that even the fight between the Light and Darkness had to take a backseat when innocents were in danger.

    However, with that moment of hesitation, the magical wave filled with a strong death aura rose like a tide crashing into the shore. The nearly tangible aura was strong and evil, making Rina cringe. Just as she was shocked, another surprising turn of events happened in the debris of the clock tower. Cracks appeared amongst the debris on the floor, and skeleton arms reached out from the cracks, growing so quickly in numbers that she soon lost count of them. A dense sea of skeletons had trapped the Crimson Python, just like a prison made of bones!

    ¡°Soul¡¯s Cage!¡± The expression on Rina¡¯s face changed immediately. That was a level-18 Necromagic that used up a lot of mana and required a long chant, so powerful that it rivaled Legendary magic!

    <i>There¡¯s such a powerful Necromancer in ck Clouds Town?</i>

    Rina had never thought of it¡ªa Necromancer would have to be at least level-18 or level-19 to use the Soul¡¯s Cage, and ck Clouds Town was merely an obscure little town in Dnd. If not for the Tower of Dusk being built here, she would never have known of its name. Why would a such a powerful Necromancer be here?

    Unless these damned Undead creatures had something up their sleeve?

    Just as Rina was being paranoid, the light reflected off the de of a sword lit up the sky, and fresh blood sttered everywhere with a crisp sound...

    ¡°My God...¡± Rina could only now see clearly that the person holding the sword was a ck-cloaked young man, lean and with a pale face. Upon a closer inspection, she realized that it was the high-ranking Vampire she¡¯d met back at the Casten Mansion in Rnd City.

    Norfeller had leaped from the sky holding the Heaven¡¯s Wrath daggers in his hands, piercing the weakest spot on the Crimson Python¡¯s body. Immediately afterwards, they heard an earth-shattering cry!

    The Crimson Python finally met with the first fatal blow of the night from Norfeller. The tough scales covering the Crimson Python were imprable to most weapons, even those that cost millions of gold coins. The only weak point it had was its heart¡ªwhile it was still protected by scales, it was so pathetically weak that it could not withstand a single blow from a high-ranking Vampire.

    Moreover, this high-ranking Vampire was using the Heaven¡¯s Wrath left behind by a legendary assassin, something said to be a pair of the most powerful weapons rted to Necromagic. Although itcked the most essential Gems of Curse, it was still incredibly powerful, and that was enough for Norfeller to drive the daggers into the Crimson Python¡¯s heart while descending from the sky...

    Perhaps it felt the pressure of death, but the Crimson Python retaliated so violently after it was stabbed that everyone feared for Norfeller. He held on tightly to a scale with one hand, while the other held the Heaven¡¯s Wrath dagger as he drove it into the Crimson Python¡¯s heart repeatedly. The Crimson Python¡¯s wails were full of anger and devastation as it struggled to throw Norfeller off its back. Unfortunately, its body was tightly trapped, and its strength was suppressed by the Soul¡¯s Cage. No matter how much it struggled, it was merely ramming its head into the bottom of the clock tower time and time again...

    After a few rounds of bashing its head into it, deep marks could be seen left behind on the bottom of the tower made of refined iron...

    ¡°Such incredible physical strength...¡± Everyone was thinking of the same thing now. The bottom of the clock tower was made of the best refined iron, and had been there for hundreds of years. It had withstood the test of time without any noticeable change in its appearance, but was now left covered in scratches because of the magical beast that had gone berserk...

    ¡°Still so energetic?¡± Norfeller drove the dagger through the heart of the Crimson Python again, and Lin Li knew that the tiring fight was finally over.

    Lin Li heaved heavily as he stood up with difficulty; his head still ached, although pain was less intense than before, and the mana in his body was now under his control again. He dusted off his robes and picked up the fallen Aether Staff.

    Then came a long chant...

    It was a long chant, but it was notplicated, only consisting ofmon words without making use of a single word from the High Elves¡¯nguage. Even the weakest of the over 20 mages present knew what this young mage was chanting, and could understand every word to the extent of knowing what effect each word would have on the magic and how much mana it would use up.

    However...

    When all the words were strung up to form an entire spell, nobody could understand what it was supposed to do.

    Only Gavin and Gerian, the two Archmages, knew what it meant...

    It was a new magic, one that had never been made known to others; hence, nobody could understand it or use it.

    In other words, this was magic that belonged only to Lin Li!

    If Gavin and Gerian were not wrong, this was indeed magic that belonged only to Lin Li, or more urately, the third kind of magic that Lin Li had ever created: Frost-fire Storm!

    The first two kinds of magic Lin Li created were targeted at mages: one was the Countercurrent Vortex, and the other was the Arcane Combustion. They both made use of his incredibly strong mental strength to suppress the enemy as well as to attack; they were violent by nature, and were purely using force to counteract force, with no use of techniques or luck per se.

    However, the previous two kinds of magic were way too mildpared to the third one.

    The moment Lin Li finished his chanting, two vastly different but equally powerful magical waves surrounded the debris of the clock tower. One was icy cold, while the other was scorching hot, yet theybined wlessly at that instant as though it was natural for raging mes and the frosty cold to appear together, just like a fault might appear if one of it was missing.

 Chapter 375 - The Other One

    <h4>Chapter 375: The Other One</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The bone-chilling frost and the zing me element gave off contrasting vibes that filled the ruins of the clock tower entirely. When they shed, everyone could hear explosions in the air. At that moment, all mages could not help but open their eyes wide. They knew that they were going to be the witnesses of magic history. They were going to witness the birth of apletely new spell!

    It was a magic spell that none had seen before. Anyone who had minimal knowledge of magic would know that there were no spells that couldbine the magical elements of frost and mes ever since the prehistoric times. Not only that, no one had even imagined it to be possible before. Now, the concept was like a castle in the air, suddenly built up without any foundation...

    Only real mages could understand such an absurd moment. Although Rina could sense that this spell was rather powerful, she did not know what it actually entailed...

    It meant that the entire magic history would be rewritten today, with the birth of a brand-new method of spell-casting. After other people got ahold of this knowledge, even its most basic theory would create an outcry in the entire Anril World. All of the mages would be crazy over it, including Apophis¡ªthe living legend that had already entered the Sanctuary-realm!

    The casting of the Frost-fire Storm was incredibly long¡ªit took much longer than many Legendary spells. But, none of the mages was upset about that. To them, the spell itself was a priceless treasure. It was like an invisible door, and behind it was a magical world that none of them could have imagined.

    Every one of them was immersed in the recitation. Lin Li¡¯s hoarse voice became the world¡¯s most melodious music in their ears.

    Immediately after the recitation ended, the sky of ck Clouds Town lit up.

    There were no shocking explosions or mes-filled air, just a brilliant glow that turned the night sky of the ck Clouds Town as bright as day.

    Then, everything became silent...

    The dark-red body of the python was still in a dead knot, tangled up around the tower made of refined iron. Its thick and long tail stopped struggling, and was drooping on the ground that was covered with pungent red blood. That hideous head was gone too, leaving behind a glowing magical crystal in the pool of blood...

    If they did not witness it themselves, how would they ever believe that the mightiest magical beast in the ckstone Mountains that probably had Legendary-level powers had just been ughtered like that in an isted town in Dnd that had no more than a thousand people?

    Supporting himself with his Aether Staff, Lin Li bent to pick up the magical crystal from the pool of blood. Then, he moved two steps backwards, thinking he could rest against the tower. Yet, the moment he let go of his staff, he stumbled and nearly fell down on the spot. After he finally bnced himself, Lin Li started to breathe heavily. His pallid face was filled with weakness and fatigue.

    Lin Li¡¯s energy had been thoroughly consumed by the battle that night. His forceful distorting of his mental strength to raise his Levitation Spell to level-20 was already pure madness, and he still disregarded his tiredness to cast the Frost-fire Storm afterwards. It pushed Lin Li to his limits, and after the death of the python, Lin Li could endure no more. He fought for his breath while he leaned against the tower behind him. Lin Li was so weak that he did not even have the energy to move his finger.

    Norfeller went over to Lin Li with his Heaven¡¯s Wrath, and Ujfalusi walked towards him from the distance as well. Thepelling death aura his staff emitted made Rina tighten her grip on the long sword in her hands immediately. The unicorn beneath her neighed warily too.

    Unicorns symbolized brilliance and holiness, not to mention the sacred unicorn that had been baptized by the Fire of Judgement. If not for Rina¡¯s inaction, it would have dashed towards the two evil Undead creatures...

    Ujfalusi stumbled when he heard the growl of the unicorn, but he soon regained hisposure as if nothing had happened. He walked past the Pdin and bowed submissively before Lin Li.

    ¡°Master, are you alright?¡±

    Those words were like grenades in Rina¡¯s ears. <i>How can that be? How can a level-18 Necromancer be someone¡¯s servant? </i>At once, Rina felt that Felic¡¯s identity was extremely mysterious. How many secrets could there be behind this man who had been crowned as the ¡®Genius Pharmacist¡¯ by her mentor, and was also the youngest President of a guild of magic and the master of a level-18 Necromancer?

    Lin Li was not aware of the burning doubt within Rina. He only knew that he was really tired. If he could, he would really want to find a ce to have a nap. Unfortunately, right after the Crimson Python died, the ruined street became bustling with life again. Some of the trembling folks who had been hiding at homes stuck their heads out of their windows carefully, while others started to step out of their houses vigntly. Then, their cheers at the death of the Crimson Python sounded through the entire ck Clouds Town...

    ¡°Everybody¡¯s safe now! The monster is dead!¡±

    ¡°Look, look! I think that¡¯s Mage Felic!¡±

    ¡°Mage Felic has saved us!¡±

    It only took 10 minutes for the crowd to form outside the abandoned clock tower. Under the illumination of the fire, the smiles of joy on their faces were even more brilliant. Among the group, the most conspicuous man had to be Old Stt¡ªhe had a hammer in his hands and was running faster than the youngsters.

    ¡°I knew it! You have saved us again...¡± Old Stt¡¯s wrinkled face was filled with pride. He was the first person the young man had met in ck Clouds Town, and Old Stt had always treated him like a close kin. Now that Felic became the hero of the entire ck Clouds Town, it was no doubt the time for Old Stt to be proud of him.

    ¡°Uncle Stt, please don¡¯t be so courteous. I¡¯m just doing what I should do...¡±

    Lin Li tried to prop himself up with his Aether Staff. Yet, he was stopped by Old Stt. ¡°Please don¡¯t move yet. You are seriously injured, and should take a rest first...¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t rest now...¡± Lin Li struggled to get up. ¡°I still have an important thing to rify before it is toote...¡±

    ¡°Felic, listen to me. Please have a seat and take a break first. If there¡¯s anything, uncle can ask on your behalf with my authority in this ck Clouds Town.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Uncle Stt, please help me to find out the person who attracted the Crimson Python here. This is very important because Crimson Pythons usually travel with their partners. Now that this python had been killed by us, the other one might not be far away from ck Clouds Town. We have to find it before it arrives here...¡±

    Lin Li could not help but feel afraid. It was lucky that only one of the Crimson Pythons came. If there were two, it would spell doomsday even if he tried to further distort his mental strength and get the help from Norfeller and Ujfalusi...

    ¡°Alright, please take a good rest. Uncle will find out about it as soon as possible.¡± The elder patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulders gently. Then, he turned to look at the dumbfounded fence-sitter, the mayor.

    ¡°Mayor Alexir, have you heard what Felic said? Shouldn¡¯t you start sending some militiamen to every household to ask about it now?¡±

    ¡°E-e-erm...¡± Old Stt¡¯s words caused the fence-sitting mayor to break out in cold sweat. He stuttered in fear, and could only agree to do it. ¡°Old Stt, don¡¯t worry. I know what to do,¡± the mayor replied. He had no other choice anyway.

    When the mayor said that, Lin Li could guess what he was thinking. But, it was not the right time to deal with him. After some hesitation, Lin Li stopped caring about Mayor Alexir. He gestured to Norfeller to help himself back to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°E-erm, Mage Felic, thanks for your help...¡± Seeing that Lin Li was finally taking his leave, Alexir wiped away his cold sweat in relief.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Mayor Alexir...¡± Lin Li nced at the fence-sitter. ¡°Oh, yes. Mayor Alexir, where¡¯s Granger? It¡¯s so noisy tonight...¡±

    Granger was the 27-year-old son of the fence-sitting mayor. It was said that he had been learning martial arts from an esteemed Warrior since a very young age. He became rather popr, and it was only recently that he returned to ck Clouds Town as a level-14 Warrior. With that, Alexir was really proud of his son¡¯s achievement, and had been telling the entire town and everybody how sessful his son was. Even Lin Li had heard about it at the Tower of Dusk...

    ¡°Why are you asking this?¡± Alexir did not expect Lin Li¡¯s question, but he regained hisposure very swiftly. He squeezed out a smile, and said, ¡°Granger is sick. I let a doctor prescribe him some medication; he is resting at home now...¡±

    ¡°Is that so...?¡± Lin Li smiled, and did not ask further. How would a level-14 Warrior need medication prescribed by a doctor? The body of a level-14 Warrior was much fitter than anymon folks¡¯ bodies. Minor illness would not pose any threat to him at all.

    Lin Li saw through Alexir¡¯s lies, but he had no intention of exposing him. After nodding at Alexir, he stood up with his Aether Staff and bade goodbye to some acquaintances among the townspeople. Then, he had some people bring the corpse of the Crimson Python back to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Gavin, ask some men to bring the body of the python to the cold storage at the basement. Then, find me at the meeting room...¡± After Lin Li gave Gavin his instructions, he called Norfeller over.

    ¡°Norfeller, return to ck Clouds Town and help me keep an eye on Alexir, and especially his level-14 Warrior son. Record down everything they do and every single word they say, and report back to me tomorrow morning.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Felic.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master. ¡±

    After instructing Gavin and Norfeller, Lin Li was prepared to return to his room for a nap. The battle had been really energy-consuming. The weakness in his limbs and throbbing in his head could still be felt. But, he realized that the sexy Pdin was still here. She stood by the gigantic crystal ball, staring at him.

    ¡°Pdin Rina, why are you still here?¡±

    ¡°Why do you have a Necromancer with you?¡± Now that the guild hall was empty except for the two of them, Rina finally got the chance to ask the question that had been bothering her. ¡°Also, why did that Necromancer address you as his master?¡±

    ¡°It is a long story...¡± Lin Li replied as he sighed in grief.

    At this moment, if Gerian, Macklin, or other people who knew Lin Li well were around, they would definitely roll their eyes and leave the scene. A fool would know that once that fe put on that expression, he was definitely prepared to bullsh*t a story out of nowhere. The words he was going to speak should not be believed, and it would be best not to even listen to him.

    Unfortunately, Rina was neither Gerian nor Macklin. Not only did she listen to Lin Li speak, she even paid full attention to his words...

    ¡°Actually, Ujfalusi had been my servant many years ago. But, a catastrophe turned him into what he is now. Pdin Rina, although Ujfalusi became an Undead creature, he had never injured any human before. You saw it yourself just now. He has always been protecting ck Clouds Town too. If not for his swift reaction along with Norfeller, ck Clouds Town would have turned into debris...¡±

    ¡°But, he is still an Undead creature!¡±

    ¡°So what if he is an Undead creature? To me, he is more upright than many humans. Even though I was once his master, Ujfalusi is still incredibly loyal to me. How can his kind deed of stepping out to help when ck Clouds Town got attacked be overlooked due to his status as an Undead creature? Miss Rina, are the teachings of the Brilliance Shrine like this? That¡¯s too disappointing...¡± Lin Li¡¯s agitation grew as he talked. Then, he ended his conversation with Rina by waving his sleeves coldly before walking away. He did not care if Rina was still the guest of the Tower of Dusk.

    Rina stood by the crystal ball in a daze. She had been baptized by the Fire of Judgement the day she was born. She was brought up in an environment that berated Undead creatures as the root of evil, and was taught to eliminate every one of them. She thought that only the pure Fire of Judgement could redeem them from their sins after they turned into ashes. In reality, that was what Rina had been doing. Ever since she¡¯d be a Judge Pdin, she killed countless Undead creatures.

    Yet, when the young mage that even Mentor Englos respected just told her how Undead creatures could be upright and loyal to their masters, and stand out for the innocentmon folk, Rina¡¯s firm belief started to waver. The scene at ck Clouds Town tonight was still fresh in her memory.

    Unfortunately, being immersed in her deep thoughts, Rina did not notice the smirk on that righteous young mage¡¯s face when he turned his back...

    <i>Goddammit, lucky that I¡¯ve escaped. Otherwise, it¡¯d be the end if she were to ask further. I have to send this woman away as soon as possible. It will be troublesome if she is to stay at the Tower of Dusk every day. If the Brilliance Shrine discovered that I¡¯m rted to that darn Immortal King, wouldn¡¯t they treat me like a pagan and burn me to death?</i>

    After experiencing so many coincidences, Lin Li could tell that that damn Immortal King should be a mighty Undead creature, or even the leader of an Undead faction.

    Actually, it was not hard to guess it. From nna to the Demon Fall Valley, and from the Demon Fall Valley to the Breezy ins, everything rted to the Undead race was always linked to the Immortal King. From the ghosts in the Shadowglen, the Vampire in the Dark Age, the Legendary Assassin¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Wrath... If Lin Li still could not guess it, he should just kill himself by crashing into a piece of tofu.

    It was noughing matter. Yes, the Brilliance Shrine could tolerate normal Necromancers, or even allow Englos to be friends with Sendros, but once things concerned a certain leader of an Undead faction, such as the three Undead Lords at the Shadowglen, it would be hard for the Brilliance Shrine to exin itself if they didn¡¯t do anything. At that time, they would not have the support from the Supreme Council anymore...

    While Lin Li was grinning internally, he entered the meeting room of the guild. He saw that Gerian had been sitting there for quite a while.

    ¡°Say, what do you need my help with?¡± The fatso sat there arrogantly as he rested one of his legs high on the table, just like how he would in Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Just a small matter...¡± Lin Li replied mysteriously. He went over to lean toward Gerian¡¯s ears, and whispered, ¡°I feel like killing the other Crimson Python...¡±

    ¡°Goddammit!¡± Gerian eximed, and nearly sprang out of his seat. ¡°Little bastard, did you lose your mind?¡±

 Chapter 376 - Dragonéˆ¥æªš Tongue

    <h4>Chapter 376: Dragon¡¯s Tongue</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Why are you so agitated? It¡¯s just the ckstone Mountains, and not a mountain of swords...¡±

    ¡°Damn, are you feigning ignorance?¡± Gerian asked in a rage. ¡°Do you know what kind of ce the ckstone Mountains are? There¡¯s no other ce more dangerous than that within 500 hundred square miles of Dnd. That¡¯s right, you have two powerful servants with you who can defeat the Crimson Python, but do you know that you are not going to encounter only the Crimson Python in the ckstone Mountains? There are mightier beasts out there. I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s even a ck dragon at the summit of the ckstone Mountains...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. ¡°I say, Sir Gerian, how could you believe such a childish rumor? The ck dragon at the summit of the ckstone Mountains is just a story used by themon folk to scare their children. If a ck dragon was really there, wouldn¡¯t the other magical beasts pee their pants in fright and escape? Do you think there are so many beasts that can withstand the presence of a Wyrm?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know...¡± Gerian replied as he flushed. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t care whether there are any ck dragons or not. Don¡¯t you just have to admit that the ckstone Mountains are a dangerous ce? Although you and your men could kill a Crimson Python, don¡¯t think that you could treat Legendary beasts like big cabbages. If you really travel to the ckstone Mountains, I fear that you might not even know how you die...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I really have high confidence that I¡¯m able to kill the Crimson Python if I find it. Do you want to bet?¡±

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s bet! Do you think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± replied Gerian. Then, he suddenly realized he might have agreed to it too hastily. He knew that Lin Li was a coward who treasured his life so much that he could wear his armor everywhere he went. On top of that, Lin Li had a lot of tricks up his sleeves too. Any minor move of his could create an impact that could result in a heart attack. It was dumb for him to agree to the bet. What if luck were to allow Lin Li to y that Crimson Python? <i>I can¡¯t admit defeat. No, no. I shouldn¡¯t bet with him...</i>

    Since Gerian¡¯s face was very thick, he revoked his promise very quickly. ¡°But, never mind. At such an age, there¡¯s no point for me to bicker with a youngster like you...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Gerian stood there and thought for a moment. He could not hold his curiosity anymore. ¡°Hey, fe. Are you really confident to do that?¡± Gerian whispered.

    ¡°Of course...¡± Lin Li pursed his lips unhappily. Then, he stared at Gerian weirdly, which made thetter feel really awkward. ¡°Since when did you see me doing things I¡¯m uncertain about?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Gerian hesitated. He could not remember any instance that the fe did somethingcking solid assurance. Many times, the things he did seemed impossible and absurd, but could always bring about stunning results as though everything was in his grasp...

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always wanted to visit the ckstone Mountains. Apart from killing the other Crimson Python, I have another motive...¡±

    ¡°What motive?¡± Gerian asked curiously. His eyes lit up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know more about the origin of the Crimson Pythons than I do. Although they are descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts, the blood they inherited will only allow a few of them to undergo mutation. The rest will be like the usual Crimson Pythons that have not much difference aspared to normal magical beasts.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know that,¡± Gerian said and nodded his head. There were some mutated Crimson Pythons that would have an awakened blood lineage. It was that small amount of inherited blood from the prehistoric magical beasts that would turn them into Legendary beasts. Once their lineage had been awakened, the Crimson Pythons would gain a massive amount of energy and break into the Legendary-realm. That python just now had to be a mutated one to have such a terrifying power...

    ¡°If the other Crimson Python also has an awakened lineage, we are going to hit the jackpot...¡±

    ¡°What jackpot?¡± Gerian asked in confusion.

    ¡°You are an experienced mage. I believe you know more about Crimson Pythons than I do, right? Crimson Pythons usually travel with their partners. Unless it is under a special circumstance, they would certainly not separate from each other. Do you still remember what that special circumstance is?¡±

    ¡°Damn, how could I not remember that only male pythons would leave the nest to search for food when the female pythonsy eggs? Wait... Lay eggs...?

    ¡°I say, fe, are you thinking of stealing their offspring? Let me tell you, it¡¯s impossible! Crimson Pythons are terrible beasts that only know to kill and create destruction. Even if you manage to catch a young python, you might not even be able to tame it. Many people had the same intention as you, and were all swallowed by a python on a random night while they were asleep!¡±

    ¡°Rest assured. How would I be interested in young pythons? Although their parents are Legendary beasts, it does not mean they are too. As long as their lineage has not awakened, they are still normal level-18 magical beasts. They¡¯re not worthy of me taking that risk...¡±

    ¡°What do you want then?¡±

    ¡°I want to find a herb that only grows in the nest of Crimson Pythons to create a potion. It is called the Dragon¡¯s Tongue...¡±

    ¡°What potion?¡± Gerian pricked his ears upon hearing the mention of a ¡®potion¡¯. He still remembered the Arcane Magic Potion auction at Jarrosus...

    ¡°A potion that can turn people into Archmages...¡±

    ¡°WHAT THE?!¡± Gerian¡¯s jaw nearly fell off from shock. <i>How can one be an Archmage so easily? That is a status that requires innate talent, good luck, the guidance from esteemed mentors, and decades of mundane practice of magic!</i>

    Gerian stared at Lin Li for quite a while. He was even considering the possibility that the child in front of him had turned into a dumb kid after the trauma caused by fighting the Crimson Python. <i>What is he bbering about? If there is really such a potion, why are there not many Archmages in the Anril World?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be surprised. It is not easy to get ahold of this potion, after all. Apart from the Dragon¡¯s Tongue, we also need many other valuable herbs, such as ck Lotus and the fruit of the Moana tree. To gather these ingredients, we will need at least a few hundred of thousands. The most important thing is, although the potion can bring teauing Magic Shooters up to the level of an Archmage, they will not be able to progress further in the future.

    ¡°This status of an Archmage needs to be exchanged with one¡¯s potential in life. Also, the process of creating this potion would not be as easy as creating the Arcane Magic Potion in Jarrosus...¡±

    ¡°Is there really such a potion?¡± Gerian asked in excitement. He did not expect that fe to be so serious as he talked about it. After reflecting on Lin Li¡¯s ability in pharmaceutics, he recalled that Lin Li was a freak who could cure the copse of mana. Gerian could not help but believe that Lin Li could really create a potion that could turn people into Archmages.

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Lin Li nodded firmly. ¡°But, the Dragon¡¯s Tongue only grows dead inside the caves of two mutated Crimson Pythons. Only their awakened blood can expedite the growth of the real herb, and the time it matures will be around the time the eggs areid by the female python...¡±

    ¡°I understand it now...¡± said Gerian. <i>It is no wonder this fe insisted that he wanted to go to the ckstone Mountains!</i>

    ¡°But, before that...¡± Lin Li paused. ¡°I have to make clear who exactly was the one who lured the Crimson Python to ck Clouds Town. The ckstone Mountains are 200 kilometers away from ck Clouds Town. A simple hatred would not cause the Crimson Python to chase someone for such a long distance. This is crucial information. The magical beasts in the ckstone Mountains are not scary at all. I fear that there are other people like me who have their eyes on the Crimson Python which has justid its eggs. It would be really troublesome then...¡±

    ¡°You suspect that it is rted to that Mayor Alexir?¡± asked Gerian. Now, he finally understood why this fe did not have any strength to walk when he was at ck Clouds Town. It was because Felic had a long conversation with that Alexir.

    ¡°Just a tentative suspicion. We will know the details when Norfeller returns.¡±

    The weather the next day was great. Lin Li was lying in his recliner on the balcony of his room, basking in the morning sun as he read a magic book leisurely. When he flipped to the fifth page of the book, Lin Li saw a ck bat flying from afar. It stopped at the railings of the balcony, and transformed into a young man wearing a ck cape.

    ¡°How is it, Norfeller? What did you find outst night?¡±

    ¡°The appearance of that Crimson Python is really rted to the son of Mayor Alexir.¡± Norfeller¡¯s report was very straightforward. He took no more than 30 minutes to tell Lin Li everything he saw the day before.

    Yesterday, Norfeller transformed into a bat and hid in Alexir¡¯s house. He heard the anxious fence-sitting mayor urging his son to leave ck Clouds Town immediately. Apparently, Alexir feared that if the fact that it was his son who was the cause of the appearance of the Crimson Python, he would lose his position as the mayor.

 Chapter 377 - Recognition

    <h4>Chapter 377: Recognition</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Aspared to the trembling mayor, Granger was rtively calm. ording to Norfeller, the level-14 Warrior was not anxious at all. He evenughed when the mayor urged him to escape.

    ¡°What is there to be scared of? I¡¯ve done well luring the Crimson Python away. Boss Gregory promised me that he would groom me as long as I did my part well. Hehe, now that my efforts were recognized by Boss Gregory, it really doesn¡¯t matter whether you are the mayor of this town anymore. Why don¡¯t you go to Aminya and live a luxurious life with me...?¡±

    ¡°He really said that?¡± Lin Li said as he frowned.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li nodded before closing his eyes slowly. Although it seemed as if he was resting his eyes, the smirk at the corner of his lips screamed that this young mage was nning to kill.

    At the start, Lin Li had only thought that this Granger had attracted the Crimson Python to ck Clouds Town by ident. Initially, Lin Li had thought Granger could still be forgiven¡ªalthough it was a dumb act, Granger had had no intention to harm anyone. Hence, when he sent Norfeller to spy on them, he was just expecting to find out what exactly attracted the python over. He did not have any intention of doing anything to Alexir¡¯s family.

    But now, it seemed that it was not like what he had thought. Since Granger had admitted himself that his act of luring the Crimson Python away from its nest was an achievement, it implied that he¡¯d known about the deadliness of the python long before he did it. It meant that he had an ulterior motive in attracting it to ck Clouds Town!

    ck Clouds Town was such an isted town, with less than a thousand people living in it. There were even instances where the tax officials from Dnd would forget to visit ck Clouds Town for taxes. A fool would know what would happen if an agitated Legendary beast were to dash into such a small town. It would not take more than half a day for the entire ck Clouds Town to turn into ashes under the python¡¯s mes of rage.

    <i>And it was due to Granger¡¯s selfish hope to get recognized by that darn Boss Gregory...?</i>

    Lin Li had never seen himself as a righteous man, but he was certain that he would not partake in something that would implicate a thousand lives like that...

    ¡°It seems like this Granger is a more promising man than his dad...¡±

    ¡°Master, do you want me to get rid of him?¡± Norfeller asked. After being with Lin Li for quite a while, Norfeller knew that every time Lin Li had that expression, it meant that he already had ns to kill...

    ¡°No, no...¡± Lin Li shook his head, and stood up from the rattan chair. He walked to the side of the balcony slowly, and looked at ck Clouds Town beneath him. ¡°I have a sudden urge to know which boss¡¯ recognition is more important than the lives of a thousand... Norfeller, call upon Ujfalusi. I have something for him to do.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    Shortly after Norfeller left, there was knocking on Lin Li¡¯s room door.

    ¡°Enter, Ujfalusi.¡± The magical wave of a Lich was quite special¡ªit was always a suffocating death aura. Lin Li did not need to think much to conclude that it had to be Ujfalusi who was knocking on his door.

    The door creaked open. It was indeed Ujfalusi who stepped into the room. He was in his usual torn and tattered ck robe; his wide cape covered his head very nicely, leaving two balls of green ghost-fire on his face that caused him to emit an extremely eerie vibe.

    ¡°Master, I heard from Norfeller that you wanted to see me?¡± Ujfalusi bowed and stood very ingratiatingly in front of Lin Li. Although he was standing before a very young master, he did not dare to show any sign of disrespect or arrogance. It was not only due to the fact that they had signed a soul contract, but also because of Ujfalusi¡¯s knowledge that this young master had a terrifying strength within him.

    The young master had used the same energy as the force in the bell tower in the ruins of Syer Town. He took little effort eliminating the Humerus Domain and destroying the powerful Humerus Wyrm.

    That was a true Humerus Wyrm! Ujfalusi knew that it was impossible to defeat the Wyrm by himself. His ability to summon it was all due to a miraculous encounter a century ago, when he added his scent into the soul of the Wyrm. It was this very scent that allowed his level-20 ability of a Lich to summon the simrly level-20 Humerus Wyrm...

    The Humerus Domain of a level-20 Lich, together with a level-20 Humerus Wyrm, was child¡¯s y before this young master. He could remember how the young master had turned everything to dust with a ray of light. After bing an Undead creature, Ujfalusi was afraid of very few things, yet he was really fearful of this young master.

    ¡°Have a seat.¡± Lin Li smiled after seeing the two balls of ghost-fire in the Lich¡¯s eyes.

    To be honest, after returning from the ruins of Syer where he signed a Soul Contract with Ujfalusi, Lin Li could still not trust Ujfalusi fully, at least not as much as he trusted Norfeller. Unlike Ujfalusi, the blood oath Norfeller had with Lin Li was initiated by Norfeller, without the presence of any threat. On this basis, Lin Li felt that Norfeller genuinely wanted to follow him.

    As for the Soul Contract with Ujfalusi, it was not signed willingly. It was signed when they were at the ruins of Syer, where Lin Li threateningly held his sword at Ujfalusi¡¯s neck. Now that his powers hadn¡¯t yet recovered, Ujfalusi naturally would be very respectful to himself. But, what would happen after he regained the power he lost and his status as a Legendary Lich? Lin Li could not be certain that he would be as obedient as he was now...

    Hence, Lin Li rarely let Ujfalusi do anything for him on normal days. He would hand most of the tasks to Norfeller on the days he really needed manpower. The reason behind Lin Li¡¯s decision to let them stay at ck Clouds Town was not only to ensure that the two Undead creatures would not stir up trouble elsewhere, but also for Norfeller to watch Ujfalusi...

    However, Lin Li was rather satisfied with Ujfalusi¡¯s performance the night before.

    It was Ujfalusi and Norfeller who¡¯d worked together to hold back the Crimson Python before Lin Li arrived in ck Clouds Town. Due to that, Ujfalusi drained all of his mana, and required Lin Li¡¯s help to cast a level-18 necromagic spell: Soul¡¯s Cage. It would not be wrong to im that Ujfalusi was a key contributor to at least half of the sess that night.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Ujfalusi, after that Crimson Python died, it left this behind...¡± After asking Ujfalusi to take a seat, Lin Li took out the magical crystal of the Crimson Python from his pocket.

    It was a magical crystal left behind by a mutated Crimson Python. Although it was a Legendary-level crystal itself, the natural ability of the python caused its crystal to be a little weaker aspared to the crystal of the Smander. Despite that, this magical crystal was an exorbitant treasure. If it were discovered by others, it would drive numerous mages crazy.

    ¡°Legendary magical crystal!¡± eximed Ujfalusi. As a Lich who had once reached the Legendary-realm, he was aware of the massive amount of mana contained within such a magical crystal. Ujfalusi also knew the miracles a mage could create with that crystal.

    That was something every mage dreamt to own. It was simr for the Lich who¡¯d once reached the Legendary-realm¡ªwhen he saw the crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hands, the two ghost-fires in his sockets lit up significantly...

    Then, he saw the young master throw that crystal to him...

    ¡°I¡¯m giving it to you.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The ghost-fire in Ujfalusi¡¯s eyes froze. He did not even realize it when the Legendary magical crystal flew towards him. Ujfalusi watched as itnded on the ground and rolled to the side of his feet. It was lucky that the crystal fell on thick carpet...

    ¡°M-Master, do you really... want to give this to me?¡± Ujfalusi asked with much difficulty after a minute. His already rough voice became even more hoarse. It was as though his throat was filled with sand. If one did not listen properly, one might not be able to listen to what he was exactly talking about.

    Until now, Ujfalusi was still in disbelief. How could this young master give the Legendary magical crystal away so easily? Did he not know that a mage would be able to raise his ability by a grade despite being one himself?

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The news was so shocking that Ujfalusi actually forgot to address Lin Li as his master.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a stingy man. Since you helped me do things, I will not ill-treat you. Ujfalusi, your performancest night was worth rewarding with a Legendary magical crystal.¡±

    Although Lin Li had made his stand very clearly, Ujfalusi used around 10 minutes to digest what his master was talking about. Then, he slowly stood up from the rattan chair and bowed deeply before Lin Li.

    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    ¡°Alright, have a seat...¡± Lin Li smiled. He knew that he had won the loyalty of this Lich entirely this time.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ujfalusi picked up the magical crystal carefully and used his ck robe to clean off the dust on it. The process was slow and delicate. It was as though he was not holding a magical crystal, but his own eyeball.

    Lin Li smiled as hey in the rattan chair and patiently waited for Ujfalusi. He only started speaking after Ujfalusi finished polishing his crystal.

    ¡°I heard that there is a spell by the name of Haunted Spirit which can let evil spirits possess living people. Then, the Necromancer will be able to know what these spirits saw, and even sacrifice the evil spirits in order to control the possessed. Is that true, Ujfalusi?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. Haunted Spirit is a level-18 Necromagic. I have the ability to cast it, but require some time to prepare. Other than that, I need some magic ingredients to aid me too. Master, do you need to use this spell on someone?¡± Ujfalusi replied politely after putting away the Legendary magical crystal carefully.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded. ¡°The mayor of ck Clouds Town, Alexir, has a son named Granger. I¡¯m interested to know whom Granger has been seeing recently.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will prepare it immediately.¡±

    ¡°If you need any materials, you can approach Gavin. He will help you gather them.¡±

    ¡°Noted.¡±

    The next day, Lin Li found an excuse to bring Ujfalusi and Norfeller out to visit the mayor and that level-14 Warrior.

    Perhaps it was due to guilt, but Alexir was unusually polite to the three of them. Compared to him, his son who dreamt to gain recognition treated the guests coldly.

    It was alright for Lin Li, though. Since Lin Li did not have any good intention to begin with, he might feel guilty if that fe was too friendly towards him...

    Aftering back from the mayor¡¯s house, Lin Li stopped mentioning the Crimson Python. However, he called Ujfalusi over to discuss matters in private very frequently these days. Even Gavin was clueless about the topic of their discussion.

    After a few days, the Tower of Dusk returned to its normal peace. Like usual, Lin Li locked himself in the pharmaceuticalb every day to create a potion that nobody knew. When he had time, Lin Li would have short conversations with Gerian, or give the low-level mages in his guild some advice. On the whole, his days were ratherfortable.

    This situation continued for around a week. Kaman visited once to report about the progress of their purchase of magical equipment. During this period of time, Kaman bought a total of three weaponry shops, and used around 30,000 gold coins. To him, it was an extremelyrge sum of money. When the profiteer came over to the guild, his expression screamed solemnity and grief. But, after chatting with Lin Li in the meeting room for a few minutes, that profiteer exited the room full of glee. A few mages who had seen the profiteer¡¯s transformation even thought that their President cast a Mental Spell on him...

    The second evening after Kaman was sent off, Ujfalusi entered Lin Li¡¯s room again.

    ¡°Master, Granger is going to leave home tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Very good...¡±

    On the morning of the next day, Lin Li gathered all mages in his guild who were at least above level-10, and gave them a bottle of Awakening Potion each.

    The distribution of the potion immediately created amotion within the Tower of Dusk!

    How would the mages not know what the Awakening Potion was? That was a high-grade potion that could let any Archmage recover most of his mana. If one were to sell it in the market, he would surely earn more than a million gold coins.

    The young President was too generous to offer over 20 bottles to these people! That was over a million gold coins! The wealthiest Glittergold Trade Union in the Breezy ins would not have dared to do that. Furthermore, even though it was worth a million gold coins, there had to be a ce to buy the Awakening Potion first. Being a necessity to every mage, once the potion entered the market, there would be countless mages who would be dying to purchase it.

    One had to be a Pharmacist to have over 20 Awakening Potions with him...

    <i>Wait, Pharmacist?</i>

    A few brighter ones immediately recalled that their young President had been locking himself in the pharmaceuticalb these days. Could it be that he was not doing any research, but actually creating potions?

    This moment, the mages in the Tower of Dusk were really excited.

    The young President whom they were following was actually a true Pharmacist, and a high-ranking one at that! Otherwise, how could he create over 20 bottles of Awakening Potion in such a short time frame?

    At the beginning, although they were silent about it, the mages in the guild were actually disapproving of their young President. After all, they came to the Tower of Dusk not only because of Basel¡¯s orders, but also for their own ambitions. Since they were mages with legitimate abilities, they felt that it was too unfair to stay in the Dnd library every day. Now that they got support from Mr. Basel to enter a new guild of magic, they could finally find a way to learn from the President and have a chance to obtain greater achievements with the President.

    But, they did not expect there to be such azy President. As they saw it, if Felic was not in the pharmaceuticalb the entire day, he would be chatting with that fat Gerian. Not only that, their darn President even left all the paperwork and guild matters for Gavin to handle. Almost all mages who came from Dnd¡¯s Library felt that they followed a useless President.

    However, this flippant President had prepared a huge surprise for them.

    A bottle of Awakening Potion for each of the 26 Magic Shooters!

    It was a most generous act that¡¯d never happened before in the Breezy ins. No leader of any force would distribute potions worth more than a million. This act of generosity was enough to convince all of the mages present that regardless of his ability, they would definitely not suffer under the leadership of this young mage!

    ¡°Alright, guys, calm down first. I have to go out to settle some matters, and require help from some of you. If you are interested in joining me, you can go tell Gavin.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s request gained enthusiastic response from the people.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go...!¡±

    ¡°You must count me in. I¡¯m deeply honored to be able to help President Felic with his work!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! Count me in as well!¡±

    ¡°Me too, me too!¡±

    <i>This bunch of morons. Do you really think it is so easy for Felic to give you such benefits? Be careful not to get a diarrhea from the 26 bottles of Awakening Potion... </i>Gerian could not resist his urge of dissing them internally under the smiley facade he had while he stood beside the crystal ball. If these fes knew the matter they had to help out with was to get rid of a Crimson Python, would they still be so excited?

    But, Gerian did not expect there to be more surprises afterwards.

    After the 26 bottles of Awakening Potion, Lin Li had people carry out another two boxes of things from the storage.

    ¡°What are these?¡± asked Gavin doubtfully. The two boxes that were delivered by Kaman had been in the storage room since they arrived here. Since President Felic did not ask him to open them, he had no idea what was inside. Yet, the situation now caused him to feel that the content of the boxes was not the usual gifts. Could they be more valuable aspared to the 26 bottles of Awakening Potion?

    ¡°Since everybody is still rather new to the Tower of Dusk, and I¡¯m not familiar with your abilities, I¡¯ve prepared some magical equipment for you inside these two boxes. Although it might not suit your respective specializations in magic, I hope it could raise somebat energy within you...¡± After addressing the team, Lin Li turned to look at the skeptical Gavin. ¡°Gavin, distribute the magical equipment to everybody. There are 26 Magic Shooters, and each of them will get one staff and one robe.¡±

    ¡°Noted, President Felic...¡± Gavin nodded, and opened one of the boxes.

    Then, he was stunned.

    He saw many Sky Robes stacked neatly on top of each other, and each of them emitted a vigorous magical wave. Gavin could not tear his gaze away from the things inside the box. Sky Robes were high-quality robes bought from Gilded Rose! Each of them was worth at least 100,000 gold coins. Even a wealthy Archmage would not be able to understand why President Felic could distribute these treasures to a bunch of Magic Shooters...

    The scariest thing was, the mageweaths on these Sky Robes had all undergone intricate treatment. Aspared to the others sold in the Gilded Rose, they were much more powerful.

    ¡°P-President Felic, aren¡¯t these... aren¡¯t these too valuable?¡± Gavin asked in surprise. He wanted to appear calmer than he actually was, but it was in vain. Gavin just could not rx after seeing so many Sky Robes in front of him.

    Lin Li smiled, and did not reply to Gavin¡¯s question. ¡°Gavin, open the other box too,¡± ordered Lin Li.

    ¡°Okay...¡± Gavin nodded mechanically. He was totally stunned by the 26 bottles of Awakening Potion as well as a box full of Sky Robes.

    But, when he opened the other box, he could not help but gasp due to its contents again.

    ¡°My God... ¡±

    There were dozens of Storm Staffs shining radiantly, and on top of every staff was a blue magical crystal. A blind man would be able to tell that those magical crystals belonged to level-15 Frost Wolves. Staffs with the crystals of the Frost Wolves could not only supply massive amount of mana to mages, but also greatly raise the impact of ice element spells. If a level-14 Magic Shooter had such a staff, the ice element spells he cast would be dangerously near the level of an Archmage!

    <i>F*ck, did our President Felic just rob the Gilded Rose? </i>Gavin thought as he stared at the box of Storm Staffs. These staffs were also from the Gilded Rose, but were even more precious inparison to the Sky Robes. The Gilded Rose would not have that many Storm Staffs in their inventory, especially those with the magical crystals on them. Even an Archmage would have to ce a deposit and order those staffs in advance...

    <i>To think of it carefully, there is really such a possibility...</i>

    When he¡¯d firste to the Tower of Dusk, Gavin saw himself how President Felic managed to kill dozens of people from the Syer Bandits with a wave of his hand. This Felic was not aw-abiding citizen. If he set his eyes on Gilded Rose¡¯s magical equipment, he might really dash over to threaten them with a hostage.

    ¡°Gavin, what are you waiting for? Please distribute these things quickly. We are setting off soon,¡± urged Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li¡¯s impatience brought Gavin back to reality. Trembling, he distributed the staffs and robes to the mages who had been salivating to get them.

    ¡°Hey fe, you are too mean to Ysera...¡± Gerianmented. How could Gerian not know where the magical equipment came from?

    ¡°I¡¯m mean?¡± Lin Li red at that darn fatso in annoyance. ¡°I used my own money to buy these 50 sets of Storm Staffs and Sky Robes!¡±

    ¡°How much did you spend?¡± Gerian asked in suspicion. He just could not believe Lin Li.

    ¡°A hundred gold coins... Erm, and another two bottles of Arcana Potion for his younger sister, although I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s his biological sister...¡± Lin Li replied and scratched his head in embarrassment.

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    The team that was traveling to the ckstone Mountains was unprecedentedly powerful, including Lin Li, Gerian, Norfeller, Ujfalusi, and Gavin. Even Rina, the Pdin who despised Undead creatures to the core, was riding on her unicorn too. Behind them was the group of 26 fully equipped Magic Shooters, each of them donned in a Sky Robe and holding a Storm Staff.

    Not only that, they had the Awakening Potion in their pockets as well. This improved outfit boosted the confidence and morale of the Magic Shooters to a level never seen before. They were all shouting in enthusiasm as though Lin Li had made them consume an aphrodisiac. Now, they would not frown even if President Felic were to ask them to kill a Wyrm!

    ¡°It¡¯s another bunch of idiots...¡± Gerianmented under his breath as he shook his head disapprovingly. When he was at Jarrosus, the group of Magic Shooters under him got themselves a tragic ending after being tempted by trivial benefits. In fact, they were noble Magic Shooters who turned into Felic¡¯s henchmen...

    The distance between ck Clouds Town and the ckstone Mountains was at least a hundred kilometers. The group of people bought a few carriages from Dnd before traveling in the direction of the ckstone Mountains.

    Ujfalusi was on the same carriage as Lin Li. Throughout the journey, Ujfalusi was using the Haunted Spirit to spy on Granger, who was on his way towards the ckstone Mountains.

    ¡°Master, Granger alighted at a spot not far from the ckstone Mountains. It seems like he was greeted by a mage of around level-15 or level-16.¡±

 Chapter 378 - Masquerade

    <h4>Chapter 378: Masquerade</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Seems like the boss behind Granger is not an insignificant figure...¡± Lin Li was a little shocked. Archmages of around level-15 were considered powerful enough in the Breezy ins. Lin Li knew that the force Granger sought for himself was definitely notparable to the useless Syer Bandits. But,e to think of it, how would weaklings dare to meddle with the Crimson Pythons anyway?

    ¡°This Archmage seems to be someone who has a rtively high standing. Granger is extremely polite to him, even to the point that it appears ingratiating...¡±

    The magical wave emitted by Ujfalusi was very vigorous when he was controlling the evil spirit on Granger, telling what he saw to Lin Li at the same time. ¡°But, this Archmage does not seem to have a good attitude towards Granger. The things he asked Granger were all rted to the Crimson Python, and now they are walking into a campsite...

    ¡°This campsite is situated near ckstone Town...¡± Then, Ujfalusi¡¯s tone suddenly carried some elements of surprise. ¡°Master, I think that there are a lot of Adventurers in this campsite. Oh, that Archmage was telling his men that they have too few Adventurers, and has a n to hire more...¡±

    ¡°How powerful are those Adventurers?¡±

    ¡°Not bad. They¡¯re all above level-10. Apart from those, there are six Archmages above level-15 and seven high-ranking Warriors above level-15... Wait. I think that Archmage brought Granger into a tent in the middle...¡±

    Suddenly, Ujfalusi stopped talking. The vigorous magical waves around him calmed down by a lot too.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. There is a very powerful figure inside that tent, and I¡¯m afraid he might notice the Haunted Spirit I put on Granger. Hence, I just let the evil spirit sleep for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s good,¡±plimented Lin Li, impressed with Ujfalusi¡¯s vignce.

    Ujfalusi was indeed a Lich who had lived for a few centuries. Knowing when to do things at the right time, he was aware it was too risky to continue spying on Granger. Although they might be about to make discover the real identity of the ¡®boss¡¯ Granger was talking about, they might expose their identity to them as well.

    However, after saying that, Lin Li could not help but frown at the thought of the seemingly impregnable force behind Granger. Not to mention the numerous Adventurers above level-10, the fact that there were six Archmages and seven high-ranking Warriors was not a matter to be joked about. Furthermore, they did not know who was the mighty person Granger was meeting in that tent.

    It seemed like Lin Li had made the right decision to let Ujfalusi cast the Haunted Spirit on Granger. Yet, if they were to visit the campsite now... Lin Li could really not imagine the consequences if they were to have a conflict with the people there.

    ¡°Stop the carriage,¡± Lin Li ordered the driver when they were only ten kilometers away from the campsite. He exited the carriage with Ujfalusi and found Gerian, who was napping inside his carriage.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± asked the old man groggily as he woke up when Lin Li entered his carriage. Gerian did not really feel like responding to the two men who had just entered his carriage.

    ¡°We¡¯re in trouble.¡±

    ¡°What crap...¡± The old man pursed his lips prophetically. ¡°From the start when you said you wanted toe to the ckstone Mountains, I knew that you were going to face some kind of trouble¡ªbig trouble!¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lin Li shook his head. ¡°This trouble might berger than you expect...¡±

    ¡°Oh? Tell me more about it.¡± Gerian was drawn to the topic.

    ¡°It¡¯s like that...¡± Lin Li told Gerian about Ujfalusi¡¯s concerns.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Gerian eximed after hearing that there were six Archmages.

    ¡°It is indeed great trouble. Damn, the Breezy ins is such a tricky ce to thrive in. How can a force that popped out of nowhere be able to gather six Archmages? That is more than the total number of Archmages in the entire Jarrosus! Fe, what are your ns? Are you really thinking of fighting them just like that? You have to think carefully. There are six freaking Archmages and seven high-ranking Warriors. If there is going to be a battle, the men under you might notst...¡±

    ¡°I am not worried about fighting. Although the six Archmages and seven high-ranking Warriors are indeed powerful, my Tower of Dusk is not to be trifled with as well. It will be hard to determine the winner just like that. But, why should I fight them? There¡¯s no benefit to gain anyway. Why should I waste my energy on that...?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Gerian nodded, and became moreposed. <i>This fe looks more and more like a guild¡¯s President now! </i>¡°Then what do you n to do?¡±

    ¡°We are going to sneak into their group. Aren¡¯t they hiring Adventurers? It sounds good, let¡¯s bring Ujfalusi and Norfeller in to earn extra cash. Since I don¡¯t know where the nest of the Crimson Python is, it will be easier for me to follow them around. As for the rest... ¡± Lin Li hesitated.

    ¡°I used the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to take a look around this area. There is a small road nearby that leads to the top of the mountain. Why don¡¯t you do me a favor by bringing the men up the mountain to wait for me? But, you¡¯d better find a safe ce, and don¡¯t get noticed by any magical beasts...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. However, please be careful yourself. Don¡¯t be recognized by anyone, or else we are going to be doomed...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry...¡± Lin Li said as he fished out something from his pocket. It was a piece yellowish parchment and a crystal clear crystal. ¡°Hold onto these two things first. This is the map of the ckstone Mountains which I used a huge sum of money to buy from Dnd¡¯s Adventurers Guild. There are some markings on it that show you the areas where magical beasts usually roam. Although they are mostly low-level beasts, it is good to know that for safety reasons.

    ¡°Oh, yes. There¡¯s this too. I¡¯ve inserted some of my mental strength into this crystal. Break the crystal if you were to face any problem as I will sense it instantly.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Gerian received the two items from Lin Li and carefully put them away.

    ¡°Good, I will return to my carriage to make some preparations.¡±

    After discussing with Gerian, Lin Li returned to his carriage and took out a tattered robe from the Ring of Endless Storm. If Gerian was here, he would be able to recognize that it was the Robe of Wrath Lin Li had worn when he had just reached Jarrosus.

    This robe was indeed the best outfit Lin Li could disguise himself with. It was old and tattered, and had a few big patches sewn on it to cover some torn areas after some intense battles. Now that Lin Li put it on again, he really looked like a down-and-out Adventurer.

    After he wore the Robe of Wrath, Lin Li called Ujfalusi up the carriage again. Then, he threw a magic robe to him casually. ¡°Change into this,¡± he instructed.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Ujfalusi saw that Lin Li passed to him amon type of Arcane Robe sold in the market. Apart from its capacity to store two scrolls, it was no different from a normal robe. It was something an ordinary poor mage apprentice would get for himself. But, there seemed to have an additional mageweath on the Arcane Robe.

    Since Ujfalusi was not well versed in Inscription, he put on the robe after ncing at it casually.

    Then, he realized some transformation urred on his body. The previously bare skeleton became filled up instantaneously. Although his bones were still ash-white in color, it was not obvious that he was a skeleton now. Tomon folks, Ujfalusi would only appear like a man with paler skin. Furthermore, with the help from the long ck robe, the former Lich looked like a true mage...

    ¡°This is a Shapeshift Mageweath; its concept is simr to the shapeshifting skills of Druids. As long as you put it on, it will be very hard for ordinary people to realize your true identity. But, be careful not to let any blood stain it. Once blood touches it, the Shapeshift Mageweath will lose its effect, and you will turn back into a Lich. Also, you must transfer mana into the mageweath every day. With your abilities, you should have no problem with it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, noted.¡±

    After the Shapeshift Mageweath changed the appearance of Ujfalusi, Lin Li was going to inform Norfeller to get prepared. But, the moment they got down the carriage, they saw Pdin Rina waiting outside.

    ¡°What brings you here, Miss Rina?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡±

    ¡°What are you going there for?¡± Lin Li asked in shock. Ever since the Crimson Python attacked ck Clouds Town, this Pdin became more and more absurd. She seemed to want to meddle in every single matter, just like this time¡ªLin Li did not invite her at all, but she insisted on apanying him to the ckstone Mountains. Now, she even wanted to disguise herself as an Adventurer and sneak into the mysterious force with Lin Li...!

    <i>It seems like I have to find some time to make Englos ask his dear disciple to return to the Brilliance Shrine...</i>

    ¡°I am the Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine. My duty is to purify all evil Undead creatures. Although till now, your two attendants haven¡¯t done anything worthy of my purifying them, no one can guarantee that they will not do any evil deeds when I¡¯m not around. So, I have to go with you!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m not from the Tower of Dusk. I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s permission to do what I want to. I¡¯m here just to inform you about it.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, if you want to, juste...¡± Lin Li could not think of any reason to stop Rina. Since her abilities were not bad, as a Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine, she should be above level-15. Being the one and only Judge Pdin, she should not be weaker than someone at level-15...

    ¡°But this time, we are going to disguise ourselves as Adventurers. You should change out of your armor. I¡¯ve never heard of a rich Adventurer who can wear such an expensive set of armor to participate in battles.¡±

    ¡°Give me 10 minutes.¡±

 Chapter 379 - Malfa Family

    <h4>Chapter 379: Malfa Family</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After 10 minutes, thedy who got down the carriage was a totally different person. Her heavy armor had been put away, and what reced it was an ordinary ck armor. This armor seemed to have been unworn for quite a few years, and its edge had be rather rough due to wear and tear.

    However, it looked really good on Rina. Her slim figure that had been covered by her heavy metal armor was entuated with the help of the ck leather. Her golden hair that was hastily tied behind her head helped to reduce the menacing vibe she previously had, and gave her a kind of refreshing disposition youngdies like her should have. With her usual sword behind her, she really resembled a young and pretty female Adventurer.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rina asked worriedly aftering down from the carriage. She found Felic staring at herself in a daze. At that moment, she thought there was some problem with her disguise.

    ¡°Very well, like a true Adventurer...¡± Lin Li stared at Rina with a look of a critic. He sized her up for a while, but could not find anything to nitpick about.

    ¡°It will be better if you can make your face tanner. Female Adventurers who are too pretty may get into trouble easily...¡±

    Upon hearing this young mageplimenting her beauty, Rina flushed. She decided to ignore the part about Lin Li asking her to tan her skin. How could a youngdy in her 20s be willing to make her face as dark as the base of a cooking wok?

    Lin Li did not insist. He would feel really guilty if he were to let such an attractive face turn any darker...

    The four people arrived at ckstone Town in less than half an hour by carriage.

    The campsite Ujfalusi was talking about was not far away. Lin Li could clearly see over a hundred tents set up ahead of him; thergest of them was the one in the center. From that distance, this campsite was livelier than the market ce. There were people of different gender and age groups, Mages and Warriors, as well as a Priest...

    The person was not just a Priest. From the robe he was wearing, he looked like a Bishop from the Brilliance Shrine. That was not a joking matter. Bishops from the Brilliance Shrine were at least level-15 and above. They had ultra strong belief, and would rarely be willing to follow anyone. In the Breezy ins, only colossuses like the Glittergold Trade Union could hire a Bishop-level Priest...

    ¡°Seems like a big shot...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose and jumped down from the carriage. He led Norfeller and the others towards the campsite slowly.

    When they were outside, Lin Li found an Adventurer in his 30s. He asked, ¡°Brother, can you let us know something...?¡±

    ¡°You are...?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an Adventurer from Dnd, and these are my teammates. We heard that a big shot has been hiring people, so we are thinking to try our luck here...¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why. Haha! Brother, let me tell you, you are in for a treat. Do you know who is hiring the Adventurers?¡±

    Lin Li did not expect to meet such a chatty man. He only said a few words, and that dude continued the conversation so readily.

    ¡°I bet you don¡¯t! Let me tell you, it is the Malfa Family that is behind all this.¡±

    ¡°Malfa Family?¡± Lin Li was stunned. ¡°The Malfa Family from Aminya City?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said the middle-aged Adventurer proudly. ¡°It is the Malfa Family from our Aminya City. I just found out two days ago too. The Malfa Family has been gathering Adventurers from ckstone Town, and the reward they promised was huge too. As long as an Adventurer participates in a mission, they would earn 10,000 gold coins. Adventurers who performed well will even have the opportunity to join the mercenary corps under the Malfa Family. That¡¯s far better than being an Adventurer who battles magical beasts all day.¡±

    ¡°That sounds good...¡± Lin Li replied smilingly, but he could not help but feel surprised. So it was the Malfa Family from Aminya City that wanted to battle the Crimson Python! The Malfa Family was really a big shot in the Breezy ins, and they were not far behind the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Although Lin Li had only been in the Breezy ins for a few months, he had heard about the different families in the area. Among them, the Malfa Family was the most special one. The people in their family were not nobles, and the family had no long history. In fact, it did not even exist 200 years ago in the Breezy ins. There was only a super Adventurer by the name of Leo Malfa back then. He was a true genius who had reached level-18 before the age of 30, and thus was the brightest newbie in the Breezy ins.

    At that time, all the forces in the Breezy ins tried many different ways to persuade the talented level-18 Warrior to join them. The benefits all of them promised were so attractive that even Lin Li would waver if he were to hear them. Yet, Leo Malfa did not join any of the forces. Instead, he did something nobody could have imagined possible.

    He used a period of two years to take over the underground forces of Aminya. Leo Malfa would appear in thepound of every dark business such as casinos and brothels. After gaining control of all of the underground businesses, Leo Malfa rewrote the rules, and reallocated the way the business reaped their profits. Finally, the chaotic Aminya transformed into the most orderly city in the entire Breezy ins.

    Under the support from all the businesses that had huge profits, the Malfa Family grew in power as days passed. In a short period of two years, the gangster family climbed to the position of a true ruler of Aminya City. Everyone knew that the political strength in Aminya did not lie in the hands of any casten, but was hidden in the darkness, where the Malfa Family resided. As long as the leader of the Malfa Family opposed anything, the casten of Aminya City sent by the country¡¯s ruler would be kicked back to nna.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother, you haven¡¯t signed up for it yet, right? Let me bring you to the registration room. The man in charge of registration is my rtive. The process will definitely be easier if I help you talk to him.¡±

    ¡°We will trouble you, then... By the way, brother, I haven¡¯t got your name. My name is Felic, a mage from Dnd. These are my teammates: Norfeller, Ujfalusi, and Rina...¡±

    When he was doing the introductions, Lin Li used his real name. Since they were a few hundred miles away from Dnd, he was not afraid that people would recognize them.

    ¡°Cut the formalities. Brother, you can just call me Johnathan.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Brother Johnathan.¡±

    Johnathan was very friendly. He brought the group for registration while he shared some gossip and hearsay with them. After arriving, they saw that the person in charge of hiring was a middle-aged man in his 40s. That man was short and skinny, and his sharp face made him resemble a monkey that could talk.

    ¡°Cousin Hahn, I¡¯ve brought more people to you.¡± Johnathan smiled brightly to a middle-aged man at the registration counter.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. Whom did you bring this time? Don¡¯t bring a number of trashy level-7 and level-8 who imed to be experts to me. Although the Malfa Family is wealthy, we don¡¯t believe in feeding useless people. You¡¯d better not find trouble for me again,¡± sneered the middle-aged monkey disdainfully. Lin Li could tell that he did not think highly of his younger cousin <sup>1</sup> , Johnathan.

    ¡°How could they be...¡± Johnathan replied, and the smile on his face froze.

    ¡°So you are the people Johnathan was talking about, aren¡¯t you?¡± the middle-aged monkey asked. ¡°This time, the Malfa Family is really hiring real Adventurers who can battle high-level magical beasts. After thepletion of the mission, everyone will be able to get 10,000 gold coins as reward. Then, if your performance is good, you will have the chance to enter the Malfa mercenary corps. That being said, if you¡¯re notpetent, please don¡¯t expect to earn the 10,000 gold coins when you could lose your life any moment...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Hahn, rest assured. If we didn¡¯t have that ability, we would not dare to risk our lives like this¡ª¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap...¡± interrupted Hahn impatiently with a wave of his arm, and threw a few pieces of paper towards them. ¡°I¡¯ve heard so many Adventurers say so that I¡¯ve calluses in my ears. We will know your true abilities when timees.

    ¡°These are some forms for you to fill out. You can pass them to Johnathan uponpletion, and he will arrange your amodation.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mr. Hahn.¡± Lin Li bent his back to pick up the paper from the ground. Instead of feeling angry, he could not help but feel curious at the strength of the Malfa Family. What could make the man who was just in charge of administration so arrogant?

    ¡°Brother Felic, the temper of my cousin is just like that. Please don¡¯t mind it... Oh, yes. I will settle your amodation after you get that filled out.¡± Johnathan exined the situation to Lin Li awkwardly. No one knew if it was because of his elder cousin¡¯s bad attitude or for his bragging earlier on.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Lin Li replied in a friendly tone. It was just the usual form that required them to fill in things like their names, age, address, upation, and level. Lin Lipleted the form very quickly, but when he was about to submit it to Johnathan, he saw the door curtain open, and there was someone he knew among the people walking into the tent...

 Chapter 380 - Pervert

    <h4>Chapter 380: Pervert</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    And the man who came into the tent was Jason...

    Come to think of it, Lin Li¡¯s visit to the ruins of Syer was in fact a good journey. Apart from obtaining arge amount of grain for himself, he had also brought huge benefits to two groups of people.

    The first group of people was the mercenary corps under Sienna. Being ¡®the hero¡¯ of the rescue of the casten¡¯s children, Sienna earned Arathor¡¯s recognition very quickly. He and his mercenary corps naturally became newly appointed officials in Dnd. They could easily participate in missions that could reap high rewards, and could also select retired soldiers to join their team of Adventurers. Not only that, the casten also sent a few high-level Warriors to Sienna to help train his mercenary team.

    Another group that gained a significant amount of benefits had to be Jason and his teammates. The news of the casten¡¯s son being kidnapped was known in the entire Breezy ins. When Cyndor returned, everyone took it for granted as they normally knew it had to be Jason¡¯s effort. It was expected too. They knew that although Sienna¡¯s mercenary corps received official positions in Dnd City, the mercenary corps was actually an empty shell. Their ability was not worth mentioning, and it would only make sense for Jason and his friends to be the true heroes in the rescue of Cyndor from the Syer Bandits...

    They heard that there was a young mage with the rescue team too. But, what could a young mage do at age of 20? After all, Mages were not Warriors. Before one became a Magic Shooter, he would not be able to create much impact with magic.

    Jason¡¯s reputation peaked after he came back from the ruins of Syer. He became the most popr Adventurer in the whole Dnd. Numerous high-paying missions would appear at his doorstep without reporting to Dnd¡¯s Adventurers Guild.

    Even Johnathan who lived in Aminya knew about the top Adventurer of Dnd. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Jason walking out from the tent, looking just like a crazy fan who chanced upon his idol. Johnathan grabbed onto Lin Li excitedly and squealed, ¡°Brother Felic, brother Felic...! D-did you see that? That¡¯s really Jason!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes...¡± Lin Li did not know if he shouldugh or tear at his excitement. Since he could not reveal much about Jason, he could only go along with his enthusiasm.

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Brother Felic! We are really lucky this time. We can not only get 10,000 gold coins, but also fight alongside Jason! Haha, that¡¯s the dream of every Adventurer. I will let all of my friends know when I return to Aminya!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that exaggerating...?¡± gasped Lin Li.

    ¡°Exaggerating? Brother Felic, this is not exaggerating at all. You must know that Jason is the top Adventurer of Dnd. It will be an honor to take part in the same battle with him...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose and sensibly shut his mouth.

    ¡°Brother Felic, you are from Dnd, aren¡¯t you? Have you met Jason before?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I didn¡¯t...¡± Lin Li scratched his head. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been living in a small vige, and rarely had the opportunity to go to Dnd City,¡± added Lin Li after seeing that Johnathan did not seem to believe him.

    He had no choice but to tell this white lie. Lin Li felt too embarrassed to tell Johnathan that he¡¯d not only met Jason before, but also used a Cloud Storm to turn his Bandit teammate into a cripple.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s such a regret...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, such a waste...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose and went along Jason with insincerely.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother Felic, have youpleted the form?¡± Jason¡¯s leave brought Johnathan back to the reality.

    ¡°I¡¯vepleted it long ago...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes secretly. <i>He has to be a crazy fan to only remember the form now...</i>

    ¡°Brother Johnathan, the Malfa Family must be hiring over a hundred Adventurers, right?¡± Lin Li brought the topic back as he handed the form to Johnathan.

    ¡°Over a hundred? Hehe, I think it is not less than two hundred. Look at all those tents, they were set up to amodate all the Adventurers. People from the Malfa Family will only arrive tomorrow...¡± Johnathan replied as he flipped through the forms in his hands. Then, he showed some amazement. ¡°Brother Felic, I didn¡¯t expect you to be a Magic Shooter at such a young age! That¡¯s so impressive. Haha, please don¡¯t forget your Brother Johnathan when you progress higher in the future...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Brother Johnathan has to be joking. How would I be more sessful than you? Although there is a lot of Adventurers in Aminya, I presume that there are not many people who could be a level-14 Warrior at 30 years old...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Johnathanughed and tacitly epted Lin Li¡¯spliment. It was indeed an achievement Johnathan was proud of. Reaching level-14 before the age of 30 meant that he had the chance to be a high-ranking Warrior in the future.

    Although the gap between level-14 and level-15 was just a single level, the difference in their respective ability was actually very far apart. One would only gain true respect from the others when he reached level-15. Otherwise, no matter how hard he worked, he would only be potential cannon fodder to be sacrificed.

    While Johnathan was looking through the forms, Lin Li tried to ask other questions to discover more about the contents of the mission. Johnathan was very friendly and nice to talk to, and told Lin Li everything he knew unreservedly.

    But, Johnathan knew too little, so Lin Li did not obtain much information from him despite a lengthy exchange. Just when he was prepared to find an excuse to leave, he suddenly heard a yfulughter behind him.

    ¡°So there¡¯s a sexydy here. I was still wondering what¡¯s smelling so sweet...¡± It was a young man in his 20s. He had a fairplexion and sharp and clean features. From his fashionable dressing, Lin Li could tell that he was a rich dandy with an influential background. His breath reeked of alcohol when he staggered past them.

    ¡°Hi, prettydy, tell brother, what¡¯s your name...¡± The youth had his eyes fixed dangerously on Rina as he burped and smiled lewdly.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. He had seen enough perverts, but this man was the most unlucky pervert he had met. How could he seduce the Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine...?

    ¡°Back off,¡± Rina warned as she frowned slightly.

    The small action made by Rina did not reduce her beauty in the drunkard¡¯s eyes a single bit.

    ¡°It is a waste for such an attractive girl like you to be an Adventurer. Fighting is for the peasants. Since you are so pretty, why don¡¯t you follow this brother? I¡¯m from the Malfa Family¡ª¡±

    Before he could finish speaking, the sound of a sword being drawn could be heard. When he realized it, the cold and shiny sword was already pressed against his neck. Then, the chilliness of the sword woke the drunk man up.

    ¡°You... What do you want?!¡± the dandy asked in a shock. He thought that the youngdy was just a new Adventurer without much background. On top of that, he was certain that with his background, Rina would repress her anger if she was angry, or even submit to him if she was timid...

    Never had he expected that the girl was a rose with thorns. She drew her sword without saying anything! From the deadly vibe emitted by the de, a fool would have known that the woman was serious about it...

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯d better put down your sword. Do you know who this is? If you were to injure Sir Harvey, 10 lives are not enough for you to repent!¡±

    The followers around were also stupefied. How could the heir of the Malfa Family be threatened with a sword? If the patriarch were to know that, the girl might not even know how she was going to die!

    ¡°I... I warn that you calm down. There¡¯s no benefit if you were to injure me. If you do, your teammates wouldn¡¯t be let off easily. Why don¡¯t you... put down your sword first? We can discuss...¡±

    The other frantic followers also nodded their heads profusely. ¡°Yes, yes! This is the second young master of the Malfa Family, and it is your honor that he decided to talk to you. If you injure the second young master of the Malfa Family, your family members are going to be doomed. Think of your parents, and your rtives...¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡±

    After the sharp sword was put down, Harvey retreated cautiously. Only after he got behind his followers did he holler to Rina, ¡°I will not let this pass!¡±

    This incident urred at the corner of the campsite. Apart from a few people around, the matter did not create muchmotion. After Harvey and his followers left, the surrounding people resumed their normal activities very quickly. Rina put away her sword very slowly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have controlled my emotions better,¡± she said to Lin Li in a low voice as she walked past him.

    Lin Li looked into Rina¡¯s eyes carefully for quite a while.

    ¡°As my teammate, I hope that you can understand that to me, my teammates are the most important.

    ¡°Yes. Although I want to make use of the Malfa Family to find the nest of the Crimson Python, if this requires my teammates to repress their emotions and suffer, I¡¯d rather climb the ckstone Mountains to look for it alone. Next time, I hope you don¡¯t put down your sword so quickly...¡±

 Chapter 381 - Finding Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 381: Finding Trouble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°That¡¯s weird, why is Sir Harvey here...¡± Johnathan muttered as he walked over with a few sleeping bags. While he said that, he turned to look at Harvey¡¯s back. Earlier on, when Rina had her sword against Harvey¡¯s neck, Johnathan went back to submit the forms and collect some sleeping bags for them. Hence, he did not see the conflict a few minutes ago.

    Since Johnathan was not aware of it, Lin Li naturally did not mention it to him.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother Felic, I hope Sir Harvey did not create any trouble for you?¡± Johnathan said with concern as he handed the sleeping bags to them.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Lin Li shook his head and smiled. Then, he asked curiously, ¡°Brother Johnathan, you mean that this Sir Harvey tends to stir up trouble?¡±

    ¡°Erm... Actually, he doesn¡¯t do it frequently...¡± Johnathan smiled bitterly. ¡°But, Sir Harvey is more... arrogant, and doesn¡¯t think highly of usmon people. People who offend him would be in trouble...¡±

    Lin Li could tell that Johnathan was trying to phrase his words really carefully. How would he not know the idea that undey them? To boil it down, Harvey was a rich and pampered man who had zero respect for the Adventurers. Hence, Johnathan feared that Lin Li¡¯snguage would offend Harvey, and cause thetter to seek revenge.

    Lin Li smiled. With his status right now, he did not need to give Harvey any importance. So what if he were to offend the Malfa Family? Would they be heading to the Tower of Dusk for revenge? If so, the All-Kill Array might not be that kind to them, either...

    Yet, Lin Li was really grateful to Johnathan. Although he was trying to rephrase the words, Lin Li could clearly tell that underlying Johnathan¡¯s words was genuine worry and concern. When he looked at Johnathan again, Lin Li was determined to ensure the man¡¯s safety when they journeyed to the ckstone Mountains.

    Johnathan was naturally unaware that his casual words earned himself a gold amulet against death.

    At the same time, Harvey was fuming with anger in his tent.

    ¡°What¡¯s the use of having you dumb*sses around me? My father invested so much in all of you, and this is how you protect me? You guys only know how to brag about being experts all day long. You must be bragging experts, eh? You actually allowed a random woman to hold her sword against my throat? If I were to meet a truly powerful beast, can I still count on you guys?¡±

    ¡°...¡± The attendants in the tent were all Warriors around level-14, and one of them had even reached level-15. In many other ces, he could have been considered an expert Warrior, but now, he had to let the raging Harvey scold him, and even was afraid to lift up his head.

    Honestly, these followers felt very wronged too.

    They were not close enough to their master when the matter happened. Furthermore, who would expect that a small Adventurer would dare to challenge the second young master of the Malfa Family? When they finally reacted to the situation, a sword had already been pressed against Sir Harvey¡¯s throat. What could they do? They surely did not want their reckless action to provoke the unhappy female Adventurer back then. If that woman felt threatened, she might¡¯ve applied more force on the sword...

    ¡°Are you all mute?¡± Aftershing out at his followers, the anger of the second young master of the Malfa Family did not seem to subside. ¡°I will give you guys another chance to think of a way to bring that woman to me. If you seed, I will let this matter pass. However, if you don¡¯t, be prepared to exin yourselves to my father!¡± he said as he paced around the tent in frustration.

    Upon hearing that, the attendants became pallid with fear. Sir Harvey¡¯s scolding was nothing to them, but if their failure to protect Sir Harvey were to be known by the patriarch, there would be dire consequences.

    At once, the attendants were all wrecking their brains for ideas.

    ¡°Sir Harvey, why don¡¯t we spike that woman...?¡±

    ¡°Are you a f*cking idiot?¡± The lousy idea made Harvey even angrier. He raised his hand and gave the attendant a tight p on his face. ¡°How could you suggest that when my elder brother Hutton is here? If I f*ck that woman tonight, I¡¯m going to be sent back to Aminya tomorrow!¡±

    When that pnded on his face, the attendant who gave the stupid idea was suddenly reminded that the eldest young master of the Malfa Family, Hutton, would be here too. Hutton was the real heir of the family, and was known to be cruel and inhumane when he got rid of people. If Hutton were to know that he was the mastermind behind that foolish suggestion, not only would he not be able to go back to Aminya, he would be hanged on the spot as well.

    ¡°Actually, Sir Harvey, it is not impossible to get that woman here. But, it would require some time...¡±

    ¡°Continue!¡±

    ¡°Although that woman is pretty, she is, after all, an ordinary Adventurer with neither status nor background. Now that she is in our territory, she is in our hands too. If you can¡¯t bear it, why don¡¯t you let her suffer a little first? It should let her understand that her life would be at stake without you, Sir Harvey. Then, she would be begging to meet you...¡±

    ¡°How are we going to make her life difficult?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I asked Hahn about it just now. Her teammates and she are foreigners from Dnd who do not have any close kin in Aminya. Even if anything were to happen to them, nobody would back them up...¡± That was a lean and short level-14 Warrior who resembled a mouse.

    ¡°We do not need to do it ourselves, either. Just get a few Aminya Adventurers to give her three male teammates a bashing, and that woman would naturally be scared. It would then seem like a conflict between the Adventurers, and none of our business...¡±

    ¡°Sounds good...¡± Harvey nodded, and became more resolved. ¡°Go get Hahn here!¡± he added.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    At the same time, Johnathan prepared a ce for Lin Li and his teammates to settle down. Rina frowned when she saw the four sleeping bags being ced in the middle of a spacious tent. She nced at Norfeller, then at Ujfalusi, and shook her head. Then, Rina took her sleeping bag to the innermost corner of the tent.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, you can wake the evil spirit up now,¡± Lin Li said as he nced at Rina, who was already inside her sleeping bag. He took out a crystal pen from his pocket and used the star sand ink to construct a simple mageweath.

    The mageweath had only one function¡ªto cover the aura emitted by the Undead. That was the only thing Lin Li could do for Rina. That girl in the corner was a Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine, after all. It would be very unpleasant for her to be surrounded by the Undead aura.

    ¡°Alright, Master.¡± Ujfalusi nodded, and drew a weird picture with his bony finger in the air. A hoarse recitation sounded, and the Undead aura filled the tent.

    As the sky darkened gradually, Ujfalusi started to describe Granger¡¯s movements.

    Now, Granger had returned to his tent. By his side was the same Archmage they¡¯d seen in the morning.

    ¡°That Archmage told Granger to return to ck Clouds Town to open the basement of the cathedral after he finishes his task here...¡±

    ¡°Cathedral?¡± Lin Li scratched his head. He knew that there was a cathedral in ck Clouds Town. It was himself who ordered the Syer Bandits to strip in the Cathedral Square when they were there to collect protection fees. But, what could there be in the basement of the cathedral? Would there still be secrets there?

    ¡°Ujfalusi, did that Archmage mention what¡¯s there at the basement of the cathedral?¡±

    ¡°No...¡± Ujfalusi replied while shaking his head before resuming his eavesdropping business.

    ¡°Granger agreed to do it, but he raised a condition. He wanted that Archmage to ensure the safety of his father.¡±

    ¡°Ensure Alexir¡¯s safety?¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression darkened. Although there seemed to be not much context in the exchange between the two men, Lin Li had a bad premonition¡ªthere had to be something dangerous inside that basement...

    ¡°Now, they are discussing the task tomorrow...

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s people outside.¡±

    ¡°I got it. Let the evil spirit sleep first.¡± After instructing Ujfalusi, Lin Li let out the Warlock¡¯s Eyes and controlled it with his mental strength. He let it glide on the ground and out of the tent. He was very curious to know who were the damn bastards who were trying to disrupt his rest.

    With the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, he saw a group five Adventurers walking towards his tent. They were all level-13 and level-14 Warriors, carrying weapons in their hands as though they were prepared to bash people up. Lin Li regained hisposure very quickly after he realized that this group of people had to be acting for that Sir Harvey. It made sense too¡ªhow could the second young master of the Malfa Family let the matter rest after he got threatened by a woman with her sword? It was no wonder Johnathan was worried that that dude would not let people off easily...

    Lin Li felt a bit of a headache when he saw the approaching Adventurers. He was a level-18 Archmage, whose ability was in stark contrast with those people¡¯s. If he wanted, he could turn these five Adventurers into ashes with a wave of an arm.

    But, it was not the time...

    He had just sneaked into the Adventurer team of the Malfa Family, and only heard a part of a secret about ck Clouds Town. If he were to get rid of them now, wouldn¡¯t his efforts be wasted?

    <i>Free meals are cool, but never freebor!</i>

    ¡°Forget it, I shall be merciful and let you fall asleep for a while. It shall not be my problem if you get nightmares, though...¡± Lin Li muttered, and took out the Magic Lamp from his Ring of Endless Storm. He rubbed themp gently and called out a puff of ck smoke. Under the dim light, the ck smoke distorted, and gradually turned into a hideous face.

    ¡°Master, Iminia is here to serve you.¡±

    Lin Li could tell that the hideous face seemed even mightier aspared to the time he saw it at the Tower of Dusk. Connoris was right. The phantom left behind by the Lord of Nightmares had grown to be more powerful after he instilled his mental strength into the seal every day. Perhaps one day, it would be strong enough to summon the real Lord of Nightmares...

    ¡°Go, Iminia, help me wee the guests outside. Make them fall asleep, but be careful not to harm them.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master. ¡±

    Iminia dissipated in the air right after he answered Lin Li. His hideous face transformed into ck smoke and left the tent through a small opening. In the twinkling of an eye, this ck smoke surrounded the five Adventurers. Iminia was a phantom left behind from the Lord of Nightmares, who was skilled in using spiritual force to attack souls. A gust of mental strength entered the minds of the five people; Iminia did not even face any obstruction when he dealt with these low-level Warriors...

    What followed was the sound of five level-13 or level-14 Adventurers falling to the ground, asleep in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Not bad...¡± Lin Li smiled in satisfaction. The power of the Lord of Nightmares was stronger than he¡¯d expected. He knew that therge amount of magical crystals did not go to waste.

    After settling the meddlesome Adventurers, Lin Li could finally have a good night¡¯s sleep. However, he woke up again in the early morning due to Johnathan.

    ¡°Brother Felic, brother Felic! Wake up, there¡¯s trouble!

    Lin Li was in deep slumber when Johnathan dashed into the tent. Although he finally woke up due to Johnathan, he did not manage to make clear of the situation.

    ¡°What happened, Brother Johnathan...?¡± asked Lin Li groggily.

    ¡°Last night, there were a few Adventurers who fell asleep outside, so everyone is suspecting that they got cursed. So, they are arguing over that now. Do you want to go and take a look?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li nearly went crazy. Johnathan was too nosy! Instead of waking him up to watch somemotion, why didn¡¯t he do other things that would reap more benefits?

    ¡°I say, Brother Johnathan, I don¡¯t think this matter is rted to me. Why don¡¯t you let me sleep a few more minutes?

    ¡°Nope, even if you¡¯re not interested in the conflict, you are not to sleep already!¡±

 Chapter 382 - Emendas

    <h4>Chapter 382: Emendas</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The campsite was indeed very lively. The moment Lin Li stepped out of his tent, he saw a big crowd of Adventurers engaged in some sort of discussion.

    ¡°Brother Johnathan, what are they doing?¡±

    ¡°I heard that someone attacked these unlucky fesst night. Fortunately, they did not lose their lives. They had been hypnotized, sleeping here the entire night. No one knows who was the cruel bastard, and even Bishop Avate failed to wake them up...¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose awkwardly. He was too embarrassed to tell Johnathan that he was the cruel bastard Johnathan was talking about...

    Yet, at the same time, Lin Li was shocked himself. Although he had summoned the phantom of the Lord of Nightmares a few times,st night was his first time letting it deal with humans. He did not expect it to be so powerful. A casual act of hypnotizing could actually let five level-14 Warriors fall into such a deep slumber that even a Bishop-level Priest had no ability to wake them up! Lin Li felt that what Connoris had said had to be true¡ªLegendary figures would probably be as vulnerable before the real Lord of Nightmares!

    While the two men conversed, there was another ruckus among that group of people again. There was a young man in his 20s who walked towards the five sleeping Adventurers. Strangely, when the man walked over, the other Adventurers automatically cleared a path for him. Their gazes were also filled with respect as they looked at that man.

    ¡°Brother Johnathan, who¡¯s that?¡± asked Lin Li curiously.

    ¡°What? Brother Felic, you don¡¯t know him?¡± Johnathan rolled his eyes as though Lin Li was a caveman.

    ¡°I don¡¯t...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Emendas, the most powerful Adventurer in Aminya. I heard that he is a level-17 Archmage now.¡±

    ¡°So talented?¡± Lin Li gasped in shock. A level-17 Archmage was a rare talent for the Supreme Council. What was more, this Emendas was not even 30 years old! Lin Li could not believe that such an aplished man would work for any organization.

    Just when the two men were chatting, Emendas walked into the crowd. He bent his back to check the breathing of the five unlucky fes, and cast a Detection Spell.

    ¡°How is it, Mage Emendas? Is there any problem with them?¡± That was Hahn, who was in charge of human resources. This middle-aged man seemed unusually nervous when he looked at Emendas.

    <i>Please don¡¯t blow up the matter...</i>

    That was what Hahn was the most afraid of. If that matter blew up, Sir Hutton would find out about them very quickly. What would be of Hahn while Sir Harvey got reprimanded? He was just an insignificant housekeeper!

    ¡°It is not very serious. If I¡¯m not wrong, they should¡¯ve been hypnotized by some sort of force...¡± Emendas exined as he picked up his magic staff. The crystal on the staff emitted a blinding ray of light.

    Under that glow of light, the messy breathing of the Adventurers gradually became calmer.

    ¡°The force was not very strong. It seems like the person that attacked them did not really want to harm them. He only used a force to trap them in a nightmare...¡± Emendas said and smiled gently.

    Emendas¡¯ voice was extremely gentle. Apart from the anxious Hahn, Lin Li was the only one who could hear his words with the Whisperwind Spell he¡¯d cast right before that. The Whisperwind Spell was a very interesting technique for any user¡ªit let you listen to anything, especially in a spacious ce.

    Hahn did not react to Emendas¡¯ assurance, for he had absolutely no idea about such aplicated matter. Instead, it was Lin Li who was pleasantly surprised with Emendas¡¯ ability to use the Detection Spell to urately deduce the matter. <i>He must be someone impressive...</i>

    ¡°Alright, Mr. Hahn, I shall trouble you to find some men to carry these Adventurers into my tent.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Hahn replied as he wiped cold sweat off his forehead. He was secretly d for Emendas¡¯ presence. Otherwise, the matter would really be aggravated.

    Hahn found a few men very quickly, and they carried the unlucky fes into the tent swiftly.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Brother Johnathan, when are we setting off?¡± Lin Li asked after the Whisperwind Spell lost its effect. The spell required wind energy to work, but how would there be any wind inside that darn tent?

    ¡°We are setting off in the afternoon. Mr. Hahn instructed that Adventurers would move in groups. One team would be led by Mr. Jason, while the other by Mage Emendas. We would be setting off from ckstone Town in the afternoon, and aim to reach the ckstone Mountains before the sky darkens.¡±

    ¡°Who is leading our team?¡±

    ¡°We should be led by Mage Emendas...¡±

    ¡°Very good...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not continue asking.

    At the same time, the five Adventurers were already awake. They were pallid, and seemed unusually weak. Their energy had been drained away by torture of the nightmare. They really wanted to take a good rest if they could.

    Unfortunately, they did not dare to rest...

    That was because apart from Hahn and Emendas, there was an angsty young man together in the same tent.

    ¡°Can you tell me what exactly happened?¡± Harvey¡¯s tone was very calm, and there was even a smile on his face. Yet, there was obvious fury in his eyes. The repressed rage gave the Adventurers shivers down their spines.

    ¡°I am dying to know who was so powerful to hypnotize four level-14 Warriors...¡±

    ¡°We...¡± one of the Adventurer said as he swallowed his saliva nervously. ¡°We don¡¯t know, either...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Harvey raised his voice by a few octaves, and his eyes nearly shot out mes.

    ¡°Are you saying that you morons don¡¯t even know who was the person who hypnotized you?¡±

    ¡°We... We only felt that there was a gust of wind. And then... we lost our consciousness...¡±

    ¡°Scumbags!¡±

    ¡°Sir Harvey...¡± Emendas who had been keeping quiet spoke up suddenly. ¡°I personally feel that it is not their fault this time.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Harvey¡¯s attitude toned down a little after he saw that it was Emendas speaking. After all, he was the most powerful Adventurer in Aminya whom even his father, the patriarch of the Malfa Family, respected. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± asked Harvey.

    ¡°ording to what I know, it was indeed a powerful figure who hypnotized them. From the magical waves on their bodies, it seems that it was someone around level-16. It is only reasonable that these Adventurers who are only level-14 didn¡¯t realize they were being hypnotized...¡±

    ¡°Alright, since Mage Emendas has spoken, I will let these underlings off... Scram!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Harvey, thank you, Mage Emendas...¡±

    The unlucky dudes scurried off hastily.

    ¡°Oh, Mage Emendas, I heard that one of the teams that is going to the ckstone Mountains is personally led by you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that was what Sir Hutton arranged.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Mage Emendas, do you mind doing me a small favor?¡±

    ¡°As long as it is within my ability, Sir Harvey, you can tell me any time.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a few people here whom I do not wish to see again,¡± Harvey said as he handed Emendas three slips with personal particrs. The uppermost form belonged to somebody by the name of ¡®Felic¡¯.

    ¡°My pleasure.¡± Emendas scanned the forms, and remembered their particrs quickly. To him, getting rid of two level-10 Magic Shooters and a level-10 Warrior was as easy as killing three ants with his finger. Furthermore, since he was in charge of leading a team in such a dangerous ce like the ckstone Mountains, where all kinds of magical beasts roamed, it would be exceptionally easy for him to let these people get into an ident...

    Emendas was not interested in Harvey¡¯s motive in getting rid of them. Although he had no respect for this foppish good-for-nothing, he was the second young master of the Malfa Family, after all. If Emendas wanted to thrive in Aminya City, he had to show Harvey some deference.

    When Emendas exited the tent, the Adventurers in the campsite were already busy with their preparations for the mission. They had their weapons ready, and were listening to Hahn¡¯s sharp-pitched voice. He was standing in the middle of the campsite, and giving many different orders.

    All of the Adventurers had been split into two groups. Lin Li and his team, as well as Johnathan, were all allocated under Emendas.

    ¡°The mission¡¯s exact objective will be revealed by Mr. Jason and Mage Emendas when you reach the ckstone Mountains. What you need to do is just to heed their orders strictly. Every one will be getting 10,000 gold coins after the mission, and promising Adventurers will have the chance to join the Malfa¡¯s mercenary corps. I hope everyone will treasure this opportunity!¡±

 Chapter 383 - Barbecue in the Forest

    <h4>Chapter 383: Barbecue in the Forest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li and the team arrived in the ckstone Mountains in the evening. There, the Adventurers set up a shabby campsite on a teau halfway up a mountain using tents and stones under Emendas¡¯ orders. A few bonfires were set up, and the Adventurers gathered around them as they ate their dry rations and drank hard liquor, taking the time to recoup after the exhausting day.

    The ckstone Mountains were a dangerous ce indeed. While it only took less than three hours for them to reach the midpoint of the mountain from the bottom, they met many magical beasts¡ªall of them were at least level-15, including some powerful level-17 and level-18 ones. After dealing with all of them, even a level-17 Archmage like Emendas could barely hold up, and he quickly retreated into his tent to meditate after the shabby campsite was set up. But, before he did so, he assigned Lin Li with a task...

    ¡°So cold...¡± Lin Li curled up under a tree and rubbed his red nose as he muttered to himself, ¡°How is this wretched ce so cold at night, is it trying to kill me...¡±

    The chilling wind blowing in the pitch-ck forest made Lin Li pale from the cold, his thin robe doing little to help even though he wrapped himself in it a few times. The cold prated his entire body, making him feel like he was submerged in ice. This damned forest was like a maze; no matter where he was, it seemed like he was going around in circles as all he could see was the eerie shadows of trees. The howling wind could be heard asionally from somewhere deep in the forest, making his skin crawl.

    ¡°Damn it, you¡¯ve got guts, Emendas!¡± Lin Li said through gritted teeth. He should have been sitting next to a bonfire, satisfying his hunger with the dry rations and drinking the hard liquor to fend off the cold while he listened to the well-traveled Adventurers boast as they told their stories.

    Unfortunately, all of this vanished into thin air with a sentence from Emendas.

    ¡°You¡¯re Mage Felic, right? There might be magical beasts in the forest in front. Go and take a look. If you¡¯re in any danger, let out the signal, and we¡¯ll rush there as soon as we can.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li wanted to p him back then...

    This was the ckstone Mountains, where high-ranking magical beasts roamed freely! Even an idiot would know what he was up to, asking a level-10 Magic Shooter to go into the forest alone. <i>Signal? Rush over as soon as they could? What nonsense! If I was really a level-10 Magic Shooter, I wouldn¡¯t even have the time to scream in front of a magical beast, much less let out a signal and wait for you to save me!! You really take me for an idiot, don¡¯t you?</i>

    As he thought of the second young master of the Malfa Family as well as the unlucky adventurers, Lin Li would have to be an idiot not to guess what was going on. Emendas was probably instructed by someone to make his life difficult¡ªor, even better, kill him off...

    Thankfully, he was not really a level-10 Magic Shooter...

    While the ckstone Mountains were dangerous, it was not too much of a threat to him. However, what he really hated about this ce was that it was really too cold!

    ¡°Once we¡¯re done with this whole Crimson Python nonsense, I¡¯m going to make that bastard suffer!¡± Lin Li rubbed his red nose as he tugged at his thin Robe of the Void to wrap it tighter around himself.

    Well, Emendas deserved it¡ªall he thought of was the second master of the Malfa Family. Little did he realize that he had brought great misfortune upon himself...

    Of course, Lin Li was not really looking for any magical beast in the forest, knowing that Emendas had a hidden motive.

    Less than half an hour into the forest, Lin Li found a rock blocking the wind and hid behind it, warming his legs as he opened the Ring of Endless Storm. He took out a sleeping bag and some fire-starting tools that he had prepared earlier before lighting a small bonfire behind the rock where it was shielded from the wind.

    Lin Li had already decided before entering the forest that he was not going to look out for any magical beast¡ªsince he was going into the forest anyway, he would hang around for a few hours, and then tell that bastard Emendas that the forest was empty and very safe.

    Lin Li did not really care whether it was really safe.

    Anyway, even if they met a powerful magical beast when they entered the forest the next day, Lin Li would have a good enough excuse for not finding it¡ªhe was supposed to be a level-10 Magic Shooter, after all, so it made sense that he was not able to detect the presence of a magical beast, didn¡¯t it?

    After the bonfire was up and going, Lin Li sat at the side and drank some of the hard liquor he had brought from the camp as he finally felt his cold body warm up.

    ¡°If only I had some food...¡± Lin Li could not hold his liquor well; after taking it on an empty stomach, he felt his insides burn. Unfortunately, all he could find in the Ring of Endless Storm was a great deal of condiments and seasonings instead of actual food.

    These condiments and seasonings had been in the Ring of Endless Storm for a long time as they were left behind from when Lin Li practiced cooking when he was bored in the Endless World. He had put in a great deal of effort to practice cooking, and besides trying all kinds of ingredients, he had tried all the animals he could find in the Endless World except for dragons.

    And then there was all the seasonings.

    These were not just your everyday seasonings like salt and vinegar¡ªonce someone became a Master at cooking, the seasonings they used were nothing short ofvish. Many of these were precious magic ingredients; one of them was the Blue Grass, which could be used to remove the bloody taste of meat and make tough meat amazingly tender.

    However, Blue Grass itself was a precious magic ingredient, and mages often dried it to grind into powder. If a little bit of Blue Grass powder was used during magic, a mage could easily execute a level-15 spell without wasting their mana.

    Back then, Lin Li had caused quite a stir in the Endless World when he bought a lot of Blue Grass in one go. All the mages were making conjectures that some twisted union wanted to monopolize the trade of Blue Grass, and many mages formed protest groups because of that. Unfortunately, they had been chanting their slogan ¡°stop corrupt businessmen, stop monopoly¡± for a month, only to find out that some bastard had bought a bunch of Blue Grass simply because he was trying to perfect his barbecuing skills...

    ¡°Oh, right, so what if I don¡¯t have food? I can just make some myself, right? It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve done so anyway...¡± When he thought of that, Lin Li grabbed a bunch of Blue Grass from the Ring of Endless Storm and muttered a spell: Life Detector.

    Given his abilities now, he was able to detect all life forms within a 100-meter radius with just one Life Detector spell. He had initially thought that there should be quite a few magical beasts in this gloomy forest, only to find out that there was nothing within a 100-meter radius¡ªnot even a single rabbit...

    ¡°That¡¯s strange...¡± Lin Li inhaled, and his expression froze.

    This was the ckstone Mountains, where magical beasts roamed, after all. Wasn¡¯t it strange that he could not find even a single magical beast in this forest?

    Lin Li refused to believe it, and pumped in more mana to increase the Life Detector¡¯s radius to 200 meters. However, the result was the same: there was no trace of life in the area he searched.

    ¡°How can this be...¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth, and decided to fly above the forest with a Levitation Spell. Then, he flew to the other end of the forest.

    As he was flying, he continued to use the Life Detector to scan the forest beneath him.

    He spent about half an hour to scan the entire forest before reaching the edge of the forest, where he finally found a trace of a magical beast¡¯s Scent of Life. It was a level-10 Blood-toothed Wild Boar, one of the lowest-level magical beasts of the ckstone Mountains. The Blood-toothed Wild Boar was already low in level, yet it did not even inherit any magic of its own; the only thing worth mentioning was probably the brute force hidden within its body.

    But this brute force was no match for a mage¡ªespecially a starving mage. The boar met a sad end...

    Served the Blood-toothed Wild Boar right for its bad luck¡ªit had juste out of its den when Lin Li rushed down from the sky. The boar had just lifted its head before it felt a bone-chilling cold...

    Lin Li had not evennded before he used a Death Frost spell, and a white fog started spreading throughout the ce. The poor Blood-toothed Wild Boar could not even make a sound before it waspletely frozen by the Death Frost. Lin Li then tightened his grip on the Aether Staff again before another loud booming noise followed as something exploded within the white fog...

    At the same time, Lin Linded on the ground. When he emerged from the fog and mes, he was already holding onto a bare Blood-toothed Wild Boar!

    Even Andoine would smile reassured if he saw this disy of fire and ice magic¡ªthis fellow was now able to execute these two kinds of magic almost perfectly. He used a Death Frost to freeze the Blood-toothed Wild Boar, and followed up with an Endless mes spell to melt the ice¡ªthey were both level-16 magic, yet he was able to control them with incredible precision. The Endless mes could be used to melt the ice, and at the same time rid the Blood-toothed Wild Boar of its thick coat of fur while not harming its flesh at all. Besides the fact that the Blood-toothed Wild Boar¡¯s heart ceased to beat and its blood no longer flowed through its body, it was no different from when it was alive, its body remaining warm for a long time after that.

    WIth his Master-level cooking skills, Lin Li only used 10 minutes to prepare the Blood-toothed Wild Boar. He had made a simple roasting rack with just a few branches and rocks, and the Blood-toothed Wild Boar was stuffed with Blue Grass and skewed on a sharp wooden rod as it sizzled beautifully above the fire.

    The fragrance of the Blue Grass prated the meat and fused with it, forming a mouth-watering aroma. Lin Li rotated the wooden rod carefully to roast the boar evenly as he retrieved a small silver knife from his pocket to slice off a piece of meat from its hind leg.

    ¡°Not bad...¡± He was surprised that he still had his skills¡ªthis Blue Grass roasted boar tasted as good as those he had made before. If he had to find something bad to say about it, it would be that there was not enough seasonings to really emphasize the taste of the meat.

    But, he could not help it. The Ring of Endless Storm was only used to store valuable items, andmon ingredients like salt and vinegar were not carried in it. Well, since he was in the wilderness, he could settle for this, and make up for it by making some more roasted boar meat another day. He had enough Blue Grass in the Ring of Endless Storm to make a few dozen more roasted boars anyway.

    Just as Lin Li wasmenting about this, he heard a soft noiseing from the forest.

    Lin Li froze immediately after hearing the soft noise. After all, he did not retract the Life Detector he¡¯d used earlier, and no movement within the area surrounding him could escape his knowledge. How could there still be something approaching him without him knowing?

    There were only two possibilities...

    One, it was a high-ranking Bandit skilled at shadowing and able to escape the Life Detector with his well-honed techniques, or two, it was something way more powerful than him if it was able to escape the Life Detector¡¯s detection unknowingly...

    The scariest thing was that Lin Li could feel a huge forceing from the forest¡ªit was a fierce and especially majestic aura, making him want to submit unconsciously. Lin Li knew that such a ferocious aura could only belong to a magical beast, but the auraing from the forest was unlike that of any magical beast that Lin Li knew of. Besides being a fierce aura, it was majestic andmanded absolute respect¡ªnot even the aura of the Crimson Python and the Smander made Lin Li feel so oppressed. If he really had to find aparison, it would have to be the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, that had died a wrongful death in the Endless World...

    Many thoughts shed through his mind, and while it soundedplicated, it had only taken no longer than a second. Just as he heard the sound, Lin Li grabbed his Aether Staff unconsciously, and arge fireball was hurled into the air with a loud ¡®boom¡¯ as the Dragon¡¯s Eye glimmered...

    This was the Pyrost Lin Li had stored long ago in the Dragon¡¯s Eye, and was meant for unexpected situations like this. Mages were not as physically strong as Warriors, after all, and they could only rely on high-level magic already stored in their magical equipment like that.

    A loud booming noise was heard¡ªthe forest turned into a sea of fire as the Pyrost exploded in it. Red red in the pitch-ck darkness as a blinding trail of fire shot up into the night sky.

    Lin Li dared not stop at just a Pyrost, and used a Levitation Spell to fly into the sky before throwing out a Warlock¡¯s Eyes as he floated soundlessly into the forest under the cover of the mes.

    Through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see what was happening within the raging fire¡ªthere was a ck-cloaked figure strolling casually towards him...

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a magical beast?¡± Lin Li could not believe his eyes. He¡¯d never thought that a human¡ªand not a magical beast like he had thought¡ªcould give off such a ferocious aura...

    This was not good...

    Lin Li brushed his nose as he felt embarrassed.

    He had thought that it was a powerful magical beast, and did not bother reasoning with it as he thought that it was to his advantage to strike first no matter what creature it was. However, little did he know that it was a human walking out of the forest. This wasplicated now¡ªthey might just have been passing by and meant him no harm, but it might be a different story after the Pyrost he pulled off earlier...

    Then, Lin Li saw the figure reach out a hand and wave gently before the Warlock¡¯s Eyes fell into their palm like a falling leaf...

    Lin Li could not see anything after that...

    His heart sank as the Warlock¡¯s Eyes disappeared...

    If Lin Li had doubted the capabilities of the other person earlier, he was nowpletely sure that this person was way more powerful than he was. While the Warlock¡¯s Eyes was called an ¡®eye¡¯, it was not actually one¡ªinstead, it was formed from a mage¡¯s mental strengthbined with mana and thereby forming an extension of his senses. Through this sliver of mental strength, the mage was able to get a clear grasp of their surroundings, and in order to destroy the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, one would have to be able to grab this sliver of mental strength.

    Mental strength was in itself an incredibly abstract existence, especially for someone as talented as Lin Li¡ªhe had already trained his mental strength such that he could wield it easily as he pleased. As long as he wished to, nobody would be able to catch that sliver of his mental strength even if they set up an borate trap to do so.

    Earlier, however, that ck-cloaked figure merely gave a gentle wave before that sliver of mental strength seemed to be sucked in by a vortex and fell easily into their grasp...

    <i>How powerful must this person be.</i>

    Lin Li had seen many powerful people, even Legendary-realm ones, after arriving in Anril, but he was confident that not even those Legendary ones would be able to catch his mental strength as easily as the ck-cloaked figure had.

    Perhaps Apophis would be able to...

    But how many Apophises were there in the world?

    Just as Lin Li was staring wide-eyed, the figure slowly walked out of the forest. As he looked at the ck cloak, the raging mes as well as the strolling figure, Lin Li felt his skin crawl. This person had just emerged from the burning fire, yet he lookedpletely fine.

    ¡°You¡¯re attacking me, little mage?¡± The man looked to be in his forties, and had a strong figure and tan skin. His squarish jaw made him look very majestic, and while his voice was not loud when he spoke, every word sounded like thunder in Lin Li¡¯s ears. If not for Lin Li¡¯s incredibly strong mental strength, he would have been done for after hearing just a sentence.

    The moment the man emerged from the forest, Lin Li knew he was right¡ªthe violent auraing off him was ferocious, and simr to that of a prehistoric magical beast. The only difference was that this man¡¯s aura held a deep prestige unlike that of a prehistoric magical beast. Lin Li could feel the almost concrete pressure pressing on him even from where he stood.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li gulped as he tried his best to withstand the attack of the pressure. His once clear thoughts seemed to have frozen up now, and even if he tried toe up with an excuse, he found his brain as nk as a sheet of paper.

    ¡°Little mage, do you know what will happen if you attack me?¡± The man¡¯s voice still sounded as calm as ever, and there was no trace of anger on his squarish face. Anyone else would have thought that they were merely having a conversation about the weather.

    But for Lin Li who was being oppressed by the immense pressure, he knew clearly how scary the pressure brought to him by the man was. It felt like he was under a mountain, and even though he was a level-18 Archmage, he had to use all his might to suppress his fear using his mental strength. He knew that if he let up a bit, he would definitely crumble under the immense pressure.

    The man looked at Lin Li quietly. There was a hint of a smile on his face, but the immense pressure continued rolling off him, and it was bing stronger. Even the raging mes withered down as though a gust of wind had just blown past them as they crackled quietly in the otherwise silent forest.

    The forest seemed eerily quiet for a second as there was no sound besides the quiet crackling of mes and the asional dripping of sweat from Lin Li. Lin Li¡¯s mental strength had been pushed to a limit from trying to withstand the scary pressure, and his face was now as pale as a sheet, whilerge beads of sweat dripped from his face. Lin Li knew that he could not continue like this for long, as he was strung up tightly like a bow now¡ªhe could draw the bow tighter and tighter but end up breaking it, or he could shoot an arrow while his mental strength and mana were pushed to their limits...

    Lin Li gritted his teeth and pushed his already strained mental strength to an even greater height, one that was beyond his limits. In that instant, an incredibly strong magical wave spread out in the forest¡ªit was like waves in the sea, and each wave was higher than the previous and continued to crash into the surroundings. For a split second, even the mysterious man¡¯s expression was frozen.

    After he pushed his mental strength to an extreme, Lin Li could clearly feel that the magical waveing off him formed many invisible vortexes, and although they seemed calm, it only took a thought from him for these vortexes to release the gargantuan power contained in them.

    Even experienced mages like Aldwin and Andoine would be staring with open mouths at this. For the magical waves to form vortexes was a sign of reaching the Legendary-realm, but a level-18 Archmage was able to forcefully make it happen simply by using his mental strength. How could anyone achieve such a scary feat?

    But Lin Li did not have time to think about that; the man¡¯s expression froze when Lin Li¡¯s mental strength waspletely released, and he could finally catch a breather from the oppressive pressure. Lin Li immediately stopped the Levitation Spell, and descended from the sky.

    For the first time, Lin Li found it wonderful to step on the ground again...

    ¡°Firstly, let me apologize for my rashness...¡± As Lin Linded on the ground, the oppressive pressure that seemed to fill up the ce seemed to have vanished. Lin Li knew that the first test of his capabilities had ended, and this man would not try and make things difficult for him for the time being.

    Since he knew the other person would not do anything to him now, Lin Li happily sat next to the bonfire as he rotated the Blue Grass roasted boar, smiling as he said, ¡°But I have a question...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What would you do if you heard something behind you while you¡¯re alone in the wilderness at night?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that fellow isn¡¯t capable of making another noise in his life.¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Liughed dryly as he was silently in awe that only someone like him could make such arrogant words sound not disgustingly pompous. It was as if being arrogant was second nature to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re interesting, little mage.¡± The man stared at Lin Li for a long time before he smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each other, my name is Tutankhamun.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Felic.¡± Lin Li stretched out his hand and shook Tutankhamun¡¯s as he let out a long sigh in his mind. He knew that the smile on this man¡¯s face now was a genuine one, unlike those from before that seemed to mock and test him. This smile truly represented a sense of friendliness; it seemed like his previous disy of power with his mental strength had gained the other person¡¯s approval.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to invite me to have a taste?¡± Tutankhamun pointed at the Blue Grass roasted boar after introducing himself, a sheepish look appearing on his squarish face for the first time. ¡°To be honest, I was lured here by the smell of this...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was nearly in tears from how amused he was¡ªhe had been wondering what was Tutankhamun¡¯s motive for approaching him, and he had even thought that he was helping Emendas. Never had he thought that Tutankhamun was here because of the Blue Grass roasted boar he had made on a whim...

    If he had known earlier, he would have rather starved to death than roasted a boar...

    But it was toote for regrets now, and the boar was sorge there was no way he could finish it alone anyway. He might as well invite Tutankhamun to eat with him and do him a favor that way.

    ¡°Hehe, why wouldn¡¯t I...¡± Lin Liughed and took out his small silver knife again to cut off a tender piece of meat from the boar¡¯s hind leg, drawing a small cross on the meat with his knife before sprinkling some salt on it from the bottle of salt he carried around. As the salt dissolved into the meat, a meaty aroma permeated the forest.

    ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°I will not stand on ceremony, then...¡± Tutankhamun did not hold back after taking the piece of meat from Lin Li, and started eating to his heart¡¯s content, praising the food as he ate. ¡°Wow, little mage, you can cook better than I thought. This food is so delicious! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever tasted anything like that ever since prehistoric times...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li smiled, but did not hurry to deny the praise. He was a Master of cooking, after all, so if his food was anything less than ¡®delicious¡¯, how could he be deserving of the title?

    <i>Wait a minute...</i>

    Lin Li¡¯s smile froze halfway through hisugh.

    <i>This Tutankhamun said... prehistoric times?</i>

    <i>My God...</i>

    Lin Li stared dumbly at Tutankhamun. What kind of era was the prehistoric times? That was when the Dragons and the Titans fought to rule over thends! The unimaginably proud High Elves were only just born under the Tree of Eternity, and they were still far from a tribe yet. To put it simply, they were merely food for the powerful beings of the prehistoric times...

    Lin Li felt his skin crawl.

    He had thought that he had seen more than enough, seeing as he had a Vampire from the Dark Ages as well as a Lich that had died hundreds of years ago as his followers... moreover, he hade from another world himself.

    But, Lin Li had never thought that he would one day be sitting next to a bonfire with a powerful being from the distant prehistoric times, enjoying roasted meat and hard liquor while heined about how wretched the weather was these days in the ckstone Mountains...

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, little mage?¡± Tutankhamun asked after making quick work of the boar¡¯s hind leg as he rubbed his mouth, savoring its taste.

    ¡°No... nothing.¡± Lin Li smiled, and only after that did he realize that his voice was unusually scratchy, just like something was stuck in his throat.

    ¡°It really has been years since I¡¯ve tasted such delicious food...¡± Seeing as Lin Li did not wish to speak of it, Tutankhamun dropped the subject, and only licked his lips as he still looked longingly at the food.

    ¡°Hehe, if you like it, feel free to have more, there¡¯s so much anyway...¡± Lin Li did not eat much to begin with, and he was almost full from the piece he had earlier. Moreover, after hearing Tutankhamun say that he was from the prehistoric times, Lin Li had lost his appetite, and was more interested in guessing Tutankhamun¡¯s identity as he chatted aimlessly with him.

    The two of them sat next to the bonfire and chatted for about an hour. Lin Li had only eaten a small piece of meat from the boar¡¯s hind leg, while the rest had been polished off by Tutankhamun. Lin Li was not shocked by his appetite¡ªinstead, he was shocked by how seemingly endless Tutankhamun¡¯s knowledge was.

    He knew a great deal indeed, and Lin Li even wondered if there was anything in this world that this mysterious mad did not know of. Tutankhamun casually spoke of everything from the prehistoric times to the Dark Ages and the present day as though the history of Anril was merely everyday objects he could find at home. He ate the roasted meat as he told Lin Li stories, including details that could not even be found in the most respected publications, yet they sounded like a personal encounter from Tutankhamun himself.

    The only thing that made Lin Li suspicious was that Tutankhamun¡¯s memory was strange¡ªhe remembered distant events far more clearly than he did the recent ones. It was especially so for events that had happened after the Dark Ages. For some reason, he knew less of them than a foreigner like Lin Li...

    But even then, his knowledge was nothing short of spectacr. It was not just on history, as he had an incredible understanding of topics like magic and martial arts, especially magic. Honestly, Lin Li had thought that he already understood magic very well since he had always been around formidable mages of Anril in his time here. After spending so much time with them, there was no way he could not be well-versed in magic.

    But for the first time, Lin Li felt unbelievably ignorant before Tutankhamun.

    There were many techniques on the use of magic that he had never even heard of.

    Lin Li had thought that Tutankhamun was making these things up, but after he pondered over the technicalities behind it, he found that it all seemed doable. While it was incredibly difficult to execute it, it was not entirely impossible, and Lin Li found himself perking up at the mention of the techniques used by the High Elves¡¯ royalty.

    Surprisingly, Lin Li was the one who had gained more from this as they ate their roasted meat...

    ¡°Right, little mage, I realized your mental strength is somewhat strange. I remember there was a mage like you during the Dark Ages¡ªhe had very powerful mental strength as well, but he was a bit more powerful than you. He had reached an impressive level in terms of controlling his mental strength, and even came up with a method of training it...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Lin Li jumped in shock. It was every mage¡¯s dream to improve their mental strength as itrgely determined how powerful they could eventually be. If there was really a way of improving it, then he was sure that more than half of the mage apprentices in the world would be able to be Archmages.

    Unfortunately, it had been proven that all of these were just a fantasy. Mental strength represented a mage¡¯s talent for magic. It was predetermined, and only in rare cases like surpassing a level or a sudden change urring in their mental strength would there be a chance of change.

    Yet Tutankhamun said that a mage had left behind a method of training mental strength...

    ¡°It is a coincidence indeed. I have these notes, but I did not bring it with me today. When you have the time, you cane visit me, and I¡¯ll give it to you as thanks for this meat.¡± Tutankhamun stood up and let out a loud burp.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t find it in himself to believe it. ¡°Is there really such a method?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tutankhamun nodded his head firmly before tilting his head as though he was thinking. ¡°Right, that mage was called Geresco. He seems pretty well-known amongst you humans... you should know him, right?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li felt his brain buzzing...

    A method of training mental strength left behind by the God of Mages, Geresco!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving. It was nice to meet you, little mage. Come and visit me when you have time. I live at the top of the ckstone Mountains, but it¡¯s difficult to reach my house, so you might have some problems given your abilities now. How about this, you can go look around for a magical beast called the Crimson Python and try to enter its nest. At the end of their nest, you¡¯ll find a secret passage that leads to the top of the mountain. You can reach my house that way.¡±

 Chapter 384 - Scar of Death

    <h4>Chapter 384: Scar of Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Emendas was so shocked upon seeing Lin Li return to the camp unscathed that his jaw hung wide agape.

    Emendas was no stranger to the ckstone Mountains. To be honest, about two months ago, he hadpleted a mission in the exact same ce he had sent Lin Li to check. Nobody knew better than Emendas how dangerous that ce was¡ªalthough not many magical beasts appeared there, it was a hot spot for magical beasts above level-18. When they appeared, even a level-17 Archmage like him had to seek cover...

    Emendas racked his brains, trying toe up with an exnation for how Felic coulde back unscathed. Could it be that he was really so lucky to have spent a night without any high-ranking magical beast appearing?

    Or was this guy more powerful than he let on?

    When that thought appeared in his head, Emendas could not help butugh at it. His mental strength was too strong¡ªEmendas knew better than anyone else that only Legendary-mages would be able to hide their abilities in front of him. This Felic was only in his twenties, so how could he be a Legendary-mage? Emendas would be the first tough that thought off.

    Moreover, if he really was a Legendary-mage, then why would he need to hide his abilities? All he had to do was say a word, and the whole Malfa Family would be at his feet. Why would he still need to pretend to be a weak Adventurer and suffer in the ckstone Mountains?

    In the end, Emendas merely nodded his head without saying a word, but Hahn, who had been following beside him the whole day, suddenly looked stern as he mocked Lin Li. ¡°You¡¯re done scouting so fast? What, did you fly?¡± Hahn stood with his hands behind his back; his face was solemn, and he was speaking in an unusually derisive tone. ¡°Don¡¯t think I have no idea what you¡¯re up to. You found some ce to hide beforeing back to say there was nothing nearby, didn¡¯t you? Whom are you fooling? Let me tell you, this mission concerns the safety of the whole group, and if you know better, you¡¯ll quickly admit your mistake now. Don¡¯t make me report this to Young Master Hutton, or it¡¯ll be toote for any regrets!¡±

    ¡°There really is nothing in that forest, Mr Hahn. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go take a look for yourself. I¡¯m only a mage, not a magician. I can¡¯t possibly conjure up a magical beast for you, can I?¡± Lin Li gave Hahn a nce before ignoring him. Frankly speaking, he had not thought much of this short and sly butler of the Malfa Family. It was one thing to be materialistic, but how could he be so tant about it? He even yelled as he pleased at his distant rtive, Johnathan, not caring at all whether he had embarrassed him. Did he really think he was almighty just because he worked for the Malfa Family?

    Lin Li never paid much regard to people like that. After replying curtly, he chose to ignore Hahn.

    Only, he did not think that his words would enrage Hahn.

    The short and sly butler suddenly jumped angrily. ¡°Who are you to speak to me like that? Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll treat you any better just because you know that country bumpkin Johnathan! You really believe that he¡¯s my distant cousin? Pfft, my family has been the Malfa Family¡¯s butlers for three generations! How can that country bumpkin be my rtive?¡±

    Hahn was hopping mad, but Lin Li could not be bothered to spare him another nce. The best way to deal with such fools was to ignore them, or they¡¯d pull you down to their level and beat you with experience...

    Emendas was much better in that sense.

    Even though Emendas held bad intentions as well, at least he knew to put on a facade, and was skilled in the art of putting him in dangerous situations in such a way that Lin Li could not refuse.

    ¡°Alright, Mr Hahn, please quiet down.¡± Emendas finally spoke just as Hahn was losing his mind in anger, cating the enraged man before he turned to Lin Li, and said calmly, ¡°Ok, Mage Felic, I just want to make a final confirmation with you... There really isn¡¯t anything in the forest?¡±

    Lin Li nodded resolutely. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then. You can go rest, Mage Felic.¡± Emendas waved his hand and gestured for Lin Li to leave, but just as Lin Li was about to step out of the tent, he heard Emendas¡¯ voice again. ¡°Oh, right. Mage Felic, I have to remind you that your reconnaissance mission tonight concerns the safety of the whole team. If I find out that your report was false, you might run into some trouble...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯ll find that it is all true.¡± Lin Li turned around and smiled at Emendas before he turned again and left.

    Lin Li was not in the least bit worried about what Emendas said, for he had seen it for himself¡ªthere was really nothing in that forest besides the boar Tutankhamun and he had eaten. Lin Li was sure that Emendas¡¯ eyes could not be more urate than his Life Detector covering an area 200 meters in radius.

    Furthermore...

    Even if there had been any magical beasts, they would have fled in fear after Tutankhamun¡¯s appearance. The pressure from him was scarier than that of Legendary magical beasts, and even Lin Li had to force his mental strength to an extreme to remain conscious back then.

    <i>Oh, right... </i>Lin Li suddenly remembered how the forest had been so strangely silent that he could not even see a single fly. Could it be because of Tutankhamun? The more Lin Li thought about it, the more he thought that was the case. Otherwise, why was he unable to spot a single magical beast in a forest halfway up the ckstone Mountains¡¯ tallest peak? It was merely a legend for one to emerge from mud without being soiled; it made sense that only those who were close enough to it would be affected.

    It seemed like this man who had said he was from the prehistoric times was much more powerful than Lin Li thought...

    Emendas led his men out already at the crack of dawn.

    They had to cut through the forest in front of them, but before the whole group went in, Emendas sent a few level-15 Bandits to survey the surroundings. This was an issue concerning the safety of over a hundred people, after all, and even though he wanted to find a way to get rid of Lin Li, he could not entrust such an important task to him now.

    The level-15 Bandits were impressive indeed as they had all returned within an hour, but the results of their survey gave Emendas a shock.

    There was really nothing in the forest...

    ¡°How is that possible...?¡± Emendas paused for a minute before he waved his hand for the group to continue forward.

    Their progress was naturally much faster without the hindrance magical beasts presented, and they managed to cut through the forest within two hours. The smoothness of the journey was beyond Emendas¡¯ imagination¡ªthey had not even met a single magical beast. Emendas even wondered if they had gone on the wrong path. Was this quiet ce really the ckstone Mountains where magical beasts roamed everywhere?

    The adventurers set up their campsite in the evening once again using tents and stones.

    ¡°Mage Emendas, Second Young Master has sent a message through magic in the evening, asking when the rascal can be dealt with.¡± Emendas¡¯ tent was spacious, and the floor was lined with thick sheepskin rugs. There was a tea table set in the middle of the tent, and there were four people surrounding it¡ªEmendas, Hahn, Granger, and the Archmage.

    There was a map drawn on sheepskin paper on the tea table, and a closer look would tell you that it was a map of the ckstone Mountains. Emendas had been studying the map, and only lifted his head after Hahn stopped talking.

    ¡°Mr Hahn, please let the second young master know that he should rest assured as we have plenty of opportunities. I¡¯ll make sure to give him a satisfactory result after we enter the Scar of Death tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°After we enter the Scar of Death?¡± Hahn¡¯s face was gloomy. ¡°Mage Emendas, aren¡¯t you being too cautious? Given your abilities now, there should be no problem for you to get rid of a level-10 Magic Shooter. Why go through all that trouble? Are you worried that he might have backup? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already asked Johnathan about them. They are from Dnd, and have applied for this mission for the sake of the reward: one million gold coins. Think about it, how much backup would an adventurer bought over by one million gold coins have?¡±

    ¡°Heheh...¡± Emendas nced at him. Honestly speaking, he despised this short and scrawny fellow. He was dumb and materialistic, and never seemed to think before he spoke. If not because he represented the second young master of the Malfa Family, he would have hit him with a Pyrost to the face.

    Why couldn¡¯t this dumb*ss think about how this mediocre level-10 Magic Shooter could be linked to so many strange happenings? Starting from the first night in ckstone Town, when five level-14 Adventurers went to attack him, yet ended up sleeping the whole night in the tent¡ªif not for Emendas intervening, they would probably still be stuck in dreand¡ªto the scoutingst night, which was even weirder.

    Magical beasts clearly roamed that forest, but they all seemed to have disappeared after this fellow went there. Even the road after the forest had been unusually empty.

    Perhaps once would be a coincidence, but if it happened twice or thrice, then it warranted suspicion. Even though he could not tell how powerful this Felic was, Emendas believed that he was definitely more than the simple level-10 Magic Shooter he appeared to be...

    Of course, he could not tell the fool Hahn that, as he knew very well that this fool would not believe him, and might even mock him for being cowardly. He had no interest in exining such matters to a fool like him.

    ¡°Well, Mage Emendas? If you continue like this, Sir Harvey will be very unhappy...¡± Hahn¡¯s face was unusually somber¡ªhe was still upset over the conversation the previous day. That Felic fellow was absolutely arrogant. How dared a level-10 Magic Shooter boast in front of him!!

    If Hahn had merely been following Sir Harvey¡¯s orders at first, then now he could not wait to see this Felic being dealt with.

    Hahn had grown used to doing as he pleased in Aminya City as the butler of the Malfa Family, and even people like Emendas, who was the strongest Adventurer in the whole Aminya City, had to treat him with respect on the Malfa Family¡¯s ount. Yet, to think he was disrespected like that by a lowly Adventurer in the ckstone Mountains.

    How could Hahn take it lying down?

    ¡°Mr Hahn, I have my own way of doing things. Surely I do not need you to teach me how I should go about it?¡± Emendas frowned when he heard the underlying threat, and dropped his former politeness.

    ¡°...¡± After hearing this, Hahn suddenly recalled that he was facing the strongest Adventurer in the whole Aminya, and even the patriarch and the two young masters treated him with respect, yet he unknowingly offended him. If he enraged Emendas, he would be in a sticky situation.

    But, Hahn had already spoken, and he could not find it in himself to retract his words. Hence, after hesitating for a while, he stood up without saying a word, and left with Granger.

    ¡°Sigh, this Hahn...¡± Emendas shook his head; he looked frustrated.

    ¡°Forget it, Emendas, we¡¯re going to enter the Scar of Death tomorrow. We don¡¯t need more to worry about. This Hahn is trusted by the second young master, and if we get into a fight with him now, I¡¯m sure the second young master will be unhappy.¡±

    ¡°I know...¡± Emendas rubbed his brow painfully. ¡°This mission is of great importance to the Malfa Family, and if we screw it up, that young master Hutton of ours might really abandon us...¡±

    After leaving with Granger, Hahn suddenly stopped in a secluded corner.

    ¡°Granger, you know Reggie well, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr Hahn.¡± Granger nodded. The Reggie Hahn spoke of was one of the Bandits sent out by Emendas this morning; they did know each other very well back in Aminya.

    Hahn gritted his teeth. ¡°Then call him over, we¡¯ll help Emendas do what he¡¯s too afraid to do.¡±

    Granger hesitated. ¡°Mr Hahn, should we notify Mage Emendas?¡±

    ¡°Notify him? Forget it, he¡¯s so cowardly that he¡¯s afraid even of a level-10 Magic Shooter. It¡¯ll be useless to notify him. Don¡¯t worry, as long as Reggie does a good job, there won¡¯t be trouble.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Lin Li was staring wide-eyed now.

    Lin Li could hear and see everything through the evil spirit hidden in Granger¡¯s body. He had never thought that Hahn would bear such a huge grudge over just a few words, wanting to kill him despite Emendas¡¯ instructions.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, are you done with the map? We don¡¯t have much time, there¡¯ll be guestster...¡±

    ¡°Almost done, Master.¡± Ujfalusi was drawing quickly on a piece of sheepskin paper in the corner of the tent. If Emendas was here, he would be able to tell with one nce that Ujfalusi was drawing the map of the ckstone Mountains... or, more urately, he was copying the map from the tea table.

    This was the greatest gain of the night¡ªbesides hearing about the nned murder of Lin Li, they had also seen the map of the ckstone Mountains. When Lin Li saw the map, he knew that this was no lowly good sold by Adventurers. It was too detailed¡ªevery location was described in depth, especially the ce called the Scar of Death...

    ording to the map, the Scar of Death spanned the entire boundary of the ckstone Mountains. After passing through the Scar of Death, they would reach the most dangerous ce in the ckstone Mountains. There were countless powerful magical beasts there, and level-15 magical beasts were at the bottom of the local food chain. The ones who ruled over thend were those powerful above level-20¡ªthey were known as Legendary magical beasts. It was said that some of these Legendary magical beasts had gained sentience, and could assume human form for a short time!

    But it was not easy to reach the Scar of Death, as it was a canyon spanning nearly 10,000 meters in length, and covered the whole length of the ckstone Mountains. Looking at it from the sky, one would see something resembling a scar covering the ckstone Mountains, hence its name, the Scar of Death. Inside it lived countless magical beasts that were violent andcked rationality; anything that stepped into the Scar of Death was regarded as a trespasser, and the magical beasts would not hesitate to tear them into pieces with their fangs and ws.

    In other words, the magical beasts in the Scar of Death were as though they had been controlled by some insanity, and they did not fear death, nor did they retreat. Even if a Legendary magical beast stepped into it, these magical beasts would not hesitate to attack it.

 Chapter 385 - The Wind is Strong Outside

    Chapter 385: The Wind is Strong Outside

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Nights in the ckstone Mountains were unbearably cold, and after a tiring day, the adventurers returned to their tents and enjoyed a good night¡¯s sleep, cocooned in their sheepskin sleeping bags.

    ¡°Damn it, that bastard Granger is a nothing but a jinx, nothing good happens whenever we see him...¡± A young Adventurer dressed in ck armor was rubbing his hands for warmth as he stood near a mountain behind the campsite,ining furiously as he did so. ¡°And that Mr Hahn, why did he make use here in such a cold weather...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Marko, enough said. This is an order from Mr Hahn himself. If we don¡¯t do it well or offend Mr Hahn, we¡¯re done for.¡±

    ¡°Got it, Brother Reggie...¡±

    The two of them were young. If Lin Li was here, he would be able to recognize them as the Bandits Emendas had sent to survey the forest in the morning.

    ¡°Oh, right. Brother Reggie, did Mr Hahn say anything about this fellow?¡±

    ¡°I heard he¡¯s an Adventurer from Dnd. They are three guys and a girl, all around level-10. They don¡¯t seem to have a formidable background... oh, and Mr Hahn said the youngest mage must be gotten rid of, but we shouldn¡¯t touch the rest, especially the girl¡ªI think Sir Harvey has his eye on her...¡±

    ¡°Around level-10?¡± Marko¡¯s eyes widened at that. He had thought that they were powerful people when Granger approached him. After all, Granger hadid out pretty good terms: each of them would receive arge sum of money and a rmendation to the family¡¯s mercenary corps, and be core members of the Malfa Family. This was something that every Adventurer in Aminya dreamed of.

    Marko had never thought that Mr Hahn merely wanted them to get rid of a level-10 Adventurer...

    How powerful was a level-10 Adventurer? Probably like those from the Adventurers Guild in Aminya, risking their lives every day for a few hundred gold coins and fighting low-level magical beasts. That amount of money was not even enough to pay for a meal for Marko and his friends...

    Marko shook his head as he felt incredulous¡ªthis Mr Hahn was really something. Did he have to take these level-10 Adventurers so seriously? Fancy having Granger gather all of them for this¡ªall four of them here were the best Bandits among Aminya¡¯s Adventurers, and all of them were at least level-15. Reggie especially had reached level-16 a month ago, and would be considered pretty strong even in the whole Breezy ins.

    ¡°Say, Brother Reggie, isn¡¯t Mr Hahn being too cautious...?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk so much, just do as Mr Hahn said. Anyway, we should wrap this up quickly and go rest soon. We¡¯ll be going into the Scar of Death tomorrow, and that should be more than enough work for us.¡±

    ¡°True...¡± Marko nodded.

    After the short conversation, the four of them followed along the side of the mountain behind the campsite, and vanished into the night like ghosts.

    Lin Li was studying a map in the tent. It was the map that Ujfalusi had copied down through the evil spirit; every tree in the ckstone Mountains was indicated clearly on it, and it included details like which magical beasts appeared at which ce, where rare herbs grew, and where there were rare mineral veins to be found. Everything had been clearlybelled on the map.

    ¡°This Malfa Family is something indeed...¡± Lin Li stared in awe at the map. If the Malfa Family could produce such a map, then it meant that someone amongst them had been able to explore the ckstone Mountains. This was no joke¡ªthere were countless magical beasts in the ckstone Mountains, and the magical beasts in the area after crossing the Scar of Death were especially powerful. Needless to say, even someone in the Legendary realm might not be able to guarantee their own safety after passing through the Scar of Death...

    But the Malfa Family managed to do it¡ªsomeone amongst them had to have crossed the Scar of Death and explored nearly the entirety of the ckstone Mountains, or he would not be holding this map right now.

    But what shocked Lin Li the most was the patch of white at the top of the map...

    It was strange as there was a clearly unfinished line that was abruptly cut off as though someone had poured ink on a priced painting.

    Lin Li knew that the patch of white was the main peak of the ckstone Mountains, and it was not white because it had not been drawn, but because someone had wiped it away for some reason.

    Lin Li was willing to bet his head that someone in the Malfa Family had indeed scaled the peak of the ckstone Mountains!

    After having fought the Crimson Python and eating with Tutankhamun, Lin Li knew better than anyone now what a truly dangerous ce the ckstone Mountains were. He believed that even if his teacher Andoine were toe here, he might not be able to climb to the peak of the mountain range, either. Luck aside, the person who had drawn this map might be much more powerful than Andoine...

    Another thing looked strange to Lin Li.

    Everything was recorded on this map¡ªeverything except the nest of the Crimson Python...

    ¡°This is too strange...¡± This question had haunted Lin Li for a long time as a map that recorded even mineral veins and herbs should definitely disy the location of the Crimson Python¡¯s nest as well. It was a Legendary magical beast, after all. How could the person drawing the map be so careless? Wasn¡¯t he afraid that someone from the Malfa Family might stumble upon a Crimson Python¡¯s nest one day?

    Moreover, the Malfa Family was here for the Crimson Python, so what use would a map without any information on it be?

    But the map had a detailed description of the Scar of Death. ording to it, that ce was a living hell¡ªthere were even Undead creatures alongside crazed magical beasts there. Hence, Lin Li found it weird that the Malfa Family had the confidence that a bunch of Adventurers around level-10 would be able to cross through such a living hell.

    ...Unless Emendas had far more powerful tricks up his sleeve?

    ¡°Ujfalusi, don¡¯t let the evil spirit sleep tonight, keep an eye on Granger instead. I feel like the Malfa Family is going to do something big...¡± Lin Li held the map, deep in thought, but failed to think of anything. Hence, he decided to just give an order since he was tired of trying to understand it anyway¡ªhe might as well try his luck. This Granger seemed to be deeply trusted, so if Ujfalusi continued to keep an eye on him, maybe they would uncover more secrets...

    ¡°Alright, Master.¡±

    ¡°Oh, those rats are here...¡± Just then, a few shadows appeared on the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. Lin Li smiled; it seemed like Hahn was bent on getting rid of him...

    ¡°Master, shall I do something?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lin Li shook his head. If Ujfalusi did something, those people would most likely be turned into Skeletal Warriors; it would be tricky if anyone became suspicious because of that. Lin Li thought for a while before he took out an oilmp from his pocket.

    ¡°F*ck, there¡¯s only half of it left?¡± Lin Li felt his heart clench when he looked at the magical crystal encrusted on the oilmp¡ªit was a level-15 magical crystal he had just ced in the oilmp before he left the Tower of Dusk. It onlysted him for one or two summonses before there was only half left. Damn it, this possession of Osric was not for everybody indeed...

    Lin Li gritted his teeth, and ignored the pain in his heart before he rubbed the oilmp.

    Then, ck fog engulfed the tent...

    ***

    At the same time, the four Bandits stopped in their tracks.

    ¡°Marko, bring them in. I¡¯ll stand guard outside. Remember, the youngest mage only; don¡¯t touch the rest, especially the girl. Oh, and make sure you do a neat job. Don¡¯t make much noise, or we¡¯ll be in trouble if anyone hears it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Reggie, it¡¯s only a few low-level Adventurers. How much time can I take? Just wait here for the good news. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    Marko was smiling as he said this, and clearly did not take the other¡¯s words to heart. If it were any other time, the serious Reggie would probably chide him for it, but this time, he did not say anything and nodded his head. ¡°Mm-hmm.¡±

    Frankly speaking, even Reggie was sure that a few level-10 Adventurers were no cause for worry. Given Marko¡¯s level-15 ability, he could easily deal with 10 of them if he did not make any major errors.

    In a sh, Marko disappeared into the night with twopanions.

    Reggie found a spot out of the wind, and surveyed the campsite quietly as he waited for news from Marko. But, it soon had been over half an hour...

    As he waited, Reggie felt uneasy. While he did not think that a few level-10 Adventurers would bring Marko and the rest any problems, he did wait a long time. ¡°Could they be in trouble...?¡±

    Reggie took a look at the quiet campsite before he gritted his teeth and blended into the dark as he inched towards the tent...

    Then, Reggie heard a blood-chilling voice.

    ¡°Come in, the wind is strong outside...¡±

 Chapter 386 - Benefactor

    Chapter 386: Benefactor

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    As a level-16 Bandit, Reggie¡¯s reaction was astonishingly fast. No sooner had the voice been heard than he brandished the dagger at his waist and sliced the thick fabric of the tent as though it was paper. The tent fell in a heap, and at the same time he retreated quickly, diving into the shadows of the mountains...

    ¡°Bloody hell, this guy is more than he seems indeed...¡± Reggie pressed himself into the mountain behind him and blended into the dark around him. Nobody would notice that there was someone hidden in the darkness if they did not take a closer look. This was a skill every Bandit had to know, and a high-ranking bandit like Reggie had long perfected this skill of his.

    But even a high-ranking Bandit like Reggie could not help breaking into a cold sweat as he hid in the dark. Never in his dreams had he thought that someone could hide their abilities so well.

    Reggie knew better than anyone else how powerful hispanions were. They were the three most powerful Bandits in the whole Aminya City besides him! Even an opponent a few levels higher than them would not be able to hold their ground if the three of them struck at once, or else Reggie would not have let Marko lead them into the tent...

    But Reggie knew he was wrong now...

    The people in the tent were much more powerful than he had imagined. Marko and the rest had probably been subdued almost as soon as they had entered the tent. They had not even been able to let out a warning call. Reggie knew that the targets were way more than he could handle alone.

    The good thing was, he managed to get out...

    Reggie believed that not all was lost, since he made it out. He was a level-16 Bandit, after all, and once he was hidden in the darkness, even someone at level-17 or level-18 might not be able to find him. He thought it best to tell this to Mr Hahn; if Mr Hahn was willing to step forward, then the people in the tent would most probably let hispanions go¡ªthey were only four people, after all. They would never be able to fight the whole group.

    Perhaps even Lin Li might be in awe of his n. This Reggie was something indeed; he had managed to slice open the tent and jump into the darkness in the blink of an eye. But, in that short period of time, Reggie had already managed to think this through ande up with the most effective and simple n...

    Unfortunately, no matter how effective or simple a n was, it had to be feasible...

    Just like what was going on now. Reggie had only just taken a step before he felt his chest tighten, and as he looked down in shock, he realized that there were red vines climbing up his body.

    ¡°Sh*t, the Blood-vine Spell!¡± Reggie paled as he watched the vines spread like wildfire. The name Blood-vine Spell was not even familiar to most mages, as there were too few people who knew of this spell. It was so unheard of that Reggie had never even thought he would actually ever see this spell himself.

    Yet, to think that he would see these blood-red vines in the ckstone Mountains tonight.

    Reggie finally understood now why the voice from the tent had sounded so confident¡ªit was because they knew that he would never be able to escape. His long perfected skill of sneaking around in the darkness was nothing more than a joke in the face of these vines that covered the whole mountain...

    The existence of the Blood-vine Spell was a nightmare to every Bandit as it meant that the enemy mage did not even have to find out where they were hiding¡ªall they had to do was to chant the spell and wait for the blood-vines to grow everywhere, killing the Bandit in the darkness.

    Even though Reggie was capable of breaking free from the vines, what good would it do? It was meaningless to break free from the vines as it would expose his location and make him vulnerable to a powerful mage. It would not save him, and might even anger the mage more.

    Hence, after seeing the blood-vines on his body, Reggie wisely ceased his struggles.

    ¡°I already said the wind outside is strong, stop running around...¡±

    The voiceing from the tent chilled Reggie to his bones, and he gulped down with difficulty, trying to say something, only to realize that his throat was blocked off and he could not make a noise no matter how hard he tried to.

    ¡°Alright,e in.¡±

    The only good thing was the mage in the tent did not seem to want to kill him now. Just as the voice was heard, the blood-vines on Reggie dropped and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. It only took a moment before all that was left of the vines were the ones tightly binding his hands, preventing him from disying his power as a level-16 Bandit.

    But Reggie did not darein, as he knew that the vines were merely a warning. The mage in the tent was using this as a way of telling him not to resist. Since he could use the vines to bind his hands, then he was capable of making them constrict his throat as well...

    Reggie inhaled deeply before he walked out of the darkness and into the tent.

    When he walked in, the fallen tent had already been propped up again, and it was done by hispanions. Marko¡¯s face was even sickly pale as he trembled helplessly while holding up the tent as though he had been through a traumatic experience.

    When he saw this, Reggie felt all his hair standing on ends. Nobody knew Marko better than Reggie did here, and he was well aware that this reckless level-15 Bandit had a lion¡¯s heart. Even when he was facing the ws of magical beasts up close, he never trembled when he held his dagger.

    Reggie could not imagine how traumatizing something had to be to scare Marko like that.

    The tent was not spacious. Because it had fallen earlier, everything was in a mess, looking shabby and trashed. However, Reggie felt like he was walking into a Demon Lord¡¯s pce when he walked in as the ce was filled with a mysterious and powerful aura.

    ¡°Norfeller, go and teach those fellows how to fix the tent...¡± Standing a bit to his right was a young mage, carefully studying a map on a piece of sheepskin. He could tell that it was a newly drawn map from the fresh ink. The young mage raised his head, and only gave him a nce when he walked in before telling one of hispanions, ¡°Go and get the other Bandit over. I need to ask him for help on something...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master.¡± Norfeller nodded his head and walked over slowly.

    For some reason, Reggie felt his hair stand on ends when the pale-faced young man walked over. It was an almost instinctive fear¡ªjust as though Reggie was a magical beast that met its natural predator¡ªbut he did not know why this was so.

    Only when he saw the light reflecting off a de as the vines binding his hands were cut did he recall that this man did not make a sound when approaching, and did not even seem alive, but like a floating spirit. Reggie could not believe that there would be someone better in the art of sneaking than him. He was clearly right in front of him, yet he could not even hear his footsteps. If they had been in any other ce and were all hiding in the darkness, he might have already died with just a flick of his knife...

    Even though Mr Hahn had said that this Norfeller was a level-10 Warrior, Reggie now knew that he was definitely a Bandit of at least level-17 or even level-18 in some areas. Reggie was as harmless as an unarmed child in front of him, not even having the power to retaliate.

    Wait a minute...

    What did he say just now? Reggie frowned before he suddenly realized that this devastatingly powerful Bandit had called the mage ¡®master¡¯...

    ¡°My God...¡± Reggie could not believe his ears. A Bandit at the peak of level-17 was definitely one of the most powerful people in the Breezy ins. He could not believe that such a powerful person was merely a servant!

    Then how powerful of a mage must his master be...

    Reggie stood and stared wide-eyed. His face was as pale as a sheet too. Although the vines binding his hands had been cut, he still could not move a finger in front of this scary young mage.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense, Mr Bandit, I only asked you toe in because I have something I need your help with...¡± Lin Li lowered the map in his hands. When he looked at Reggie, his face was filled with such warmth and smile that it did not seem like he was speaking to a Bandit that had been trying to sneak an attack on him, but to an old friend instead.

    ¡°What... What orders do you have?¡± Reggie gulped. The warm smiled looked even scarier than a growling demon in his eyes.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, Mr Emendas will send the few of you to survey the Scar of Death tomorrow morning. Coincidentally, I am very interested in the Scar of Death. If you can find a way to satisfy my curiosity, then I¡¯ll be happy to forget whatever happened tonight...¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡± Reggie gritted his teeth and agreed without hesitation. He was well aware that he was in no ce to negotiate, and the other party would not give him a chance to do so anyway. Even though the young mage looked mild, the auraing off him was much scarier than that of the Bandit. If he had so much as struggled a bit earlier outside, he had no doubts that the vine would have strangled him immediately...

    ¡°Very well.¡± Lin Li nodded his head with satisfaction. This Bandit was smart, and it was always easier to talk to smart people. He was sure he would get what he wanted from the Scar of Death, or he would not have been at such ease; if this Bandit wanted to put up a fight, he would have to deal with him the hard way. Ujfalusi was a Lich, after all, and was good at interrogation involving tortures...

    ¡°Oh, right. Mr Bandit, you¡¯re good friends with Granger, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Reggie answered honestly. It had alreadye to this, and he did not care about hiding his rtionship with Granger.

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. You see, as an Adventurer from Dnd, I¡¯m a huge admirer of him. Can you tell me how is Granger doing in Aminya?¡±

    Lin Li stared wide-eyed, and his face was filled with such curiosity that Reggie wanted to roll his eyes...

    Damn it, you admire Granger? Whom are you fooling? Given your abilities, he¡¯s not even deserving of being your shoe carrier, so why would you admire him?

    Of course, this was all merely Reggie¡¯s internal thoughts, and he would never dare say it out loud...

    ¡°When I got to know him, he was still a low-level Adventurer...¡±

    Lin Li did not interrupt Reggie at all, and merely listened from the side quietly.

    ording to Reggie, Granger was merely at level-8 when he¡¯d arrived in Aminya, but for some reason, he got to know a benefactor from the Malfa Family, and his journey had been incredible smooth sailing from then on. That benefactor had led him into the Malfa Family, made him an official member, and arranged for him to learn from a high-ranking Warrior. Hence, Granger jumped from level-8 to level-14 in a few short years, being only a step away from bing a true high-ranking Warrior.

    ¡°What benefactor?¡± Lin Li was suspicious. He had met Granger a few times, and even though thetter seemed quite smart, he was nowhere near talented, and his personality was even worse. Lin Li knew from the way he had led the Crimson Python to ck Clouds Town that he was a greedy man who supported those in power. Such a person could never achieve anything great in life, and any benefactor who had their eye on him was definitely not looking to groom a talent...

    Hence, Lin Li was very curious as to what this benefactor¡¯s motive was.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, either. I¡¯ve merely heard this from others, but the benefactor seems to be a Legendary mage...¡±

 Chapter 387 - Working Together

    Chapter 387: Working Together

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°The heck...¡± Lin Li jumped in shock. Wasn¡¯t the Malfa Family too powerful? They even had a Legendary mage... No wonder they had been in control of the whole Aminya for so many years yet the royal family of Fn had turned a blind eye to it. Unless they really had no choice, who was willing to offend a Legendary mage?

    ¡°After joining the Malfa Family, Granger rarely hung out with us, and we only said hello asionally. I heard Mr Hahn even specially asked him for help this time...¡±

    ¡°Hm...¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not press further, as he knew that Reggie was probably telling the truth. Why would Granger care about old ties if he was the kind of person who would be willing to give up ck Clouds Town in order to gain recognition? It was a difficult task for any Adventurer in Aminya to join the Malfa Family, especially Granger, who was now being groomed by a Legendary mage¡ªit was good enough that he even said hello to Reggie when they passed by each other in the streets...

    ¡°Oh, right. Mr Bandit, how much do you know about the Malfa Family¡¯s mission?¡±

    ¡°I know nothing...¡± Reggie winced as he shook his head. He was afraid that the young mage would not believe him, so he hurriedly exined, ¡°Oh, dignified mage, I¡¯m afraid you misunderstand. Adventurers have low status in Aminya; besides powerful ones like Mage Emendas, the rest of us are merely sacrificial pawns in the eyes of the Malfa Family. They would never tell us the details of such a mission...¡±

    Lin Li thought about it and realized that if these Bandits could get ess to ssified information and important figures, how would Hahn dare to send them to kill easily? Hahn was merely the butler of the Malfa Family, after all, and was nowhere near the core circle of the Malfa Family. The people he could dispatch were probably only the likes of Reggie...

    ¡°Alright, then. Fix the tent and you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Reggie paused. He thought he heard wrong. How could it be so easy? This young mage was not kidding him, right? Reggie stood there as he stared nervously at Lin Li, not daring to take another step...

    After saying that, Lin Li took his map again, and started reading as he rubbed between his brows. They were going into the Scar of Death tomorrow, so how would he have time to care about a few pesky Bandits? But after staring for some time, he looked up again and saw Reggie and hispanions were still around, making him frown.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving? Surely you do not intend to stay for breakfast?¡±

    ¡°We are... leaving... we¡¯re leaving now...¡± Reggie finally believed him now, and quickly called hispanions to leave the scary tent. However, just as he stepped out, Reggie suddenly recalled something. ¡°Oh, right. Dignified mage, I did hear something about this mission...¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°I heard people say that not only the Malfa Family is here in the ckstone Mountains. Other forces will be arriving in a couple of days as well.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li frowned when he heard this. The Malfa Family had a Legendary mage; in terms ofbat ability, they could probably rival Rnd City and Dnd City. They had even spent a few million gold coins to hire close to 200 pretty decent Adventurers. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, this was more than enough to ensure they could pass through the Scar of Death easily. Why would they still work with other forces?

    After all, there were pros and cons to working together¡ªit lowered their profits while lowering risks. When it came to a powerful force like the Malfa Family, their every move could influence the whole Breezy ins, and if they could achieve their goal here alone, they would never work with anyone else.

    Could it be that their real objective was not that mutant Crimson Python?

    ¡°Yeah, it can¡¯t be...¡± Lin Li found it more strange the more he thought about it. The mutant Crimson Python was only level-20, yet they had already engaged almost 200 pretty decent Adventurers as well as the Malfa Family¡¯s mercenary corps and the Legendary mage grooming Granger. Even two mutant Crimson Pythons were no match for all these people, so why would they need to work together with other forces?

    But if the Malfa Family was not targeting the mutant Crimson Python, what else could be their goal?

    After sending off the Bandits, Lin Li wrapped himself in his sleeping bag and thought for a long time, but failed to think of anything, only falling asleep after he could not withstand the exhaustion when it was close to dawn.

    The next morning, the adventurers packed their things and set off for the Scar of Death under Emendas¡¯ orders. However, the journey was much more tiring today as the magical beasts of the ckstone Mountains seemed to have returned from their break¡ªthey all appeared today...

    The group had taken nearly half a day to travel less than a few dozen kilometers from their campsite. It was a bloodbath throughout the journey; even themander Emendas had suffered a few light scratches. There had been a group of about 100 Strigid Gryphons attacking them¡ªthese magical beasts were about level-10 to level-15, and were a nightmare when they attacked in the forest. Although the adventurers had killed all of the Strigid Gryphons after a tough battle, they had lost almost 30 people, which was by far the most men they had lost after setting off...

    The good thing was that not long after the adventurers had left the forest, they met the other team led by Jason. Lin Li saw him from where he was hidden amongst the crowd, and saw the mousy-looking Bandit and the beautiful Priestess by his side. It had only been a little more than a month, but they had be considerably stronger. The Bandit and the Priestess looked to be around level-16, while Jason had reached level-17. Even when he was standing next to Emendas, he did not look any less formidable.

    Seems like the fight at Syer Town helped them quite a bit.

    After the two teams reunited, they did not leave for the Scar of Death immediately. Instead, they set up a campsite about three kilometers away from it.

    After Lin Li finished his lunch in his tent, he was intending to go out for a breath of fresh air, but he saw a group of people entering the campsite hurriedly. Amongst them was a teen in his twenties; he was wearing a long, green robe, and he looked clean. Put together, apart from his somewhat small eyes, he was quite good-looking.

    ¡°The heck, why is this guy here?¡± Lin Li paused after looking from afar. Harvey? Didn¡¯t Rina have her sword against his neck in ckstone Town?

    After Harvey entered the campsite, he did not say anything, but hurried towards Emendas¡¯ tent. Following behind him were the butler of the Malfa Family, Hahn, as well as four Mages, four Warriors, and Granger, who had allegedly caught the eye of a Legendary mage.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, wake the evil spirit.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Emendas was talking to Jason when Harvey led them in. The two of them were each leading a group, after all, and it made sense for them to be in discussion in this sensitive period just before they entered the Scar of Death.

    ¡°Oh, why are you here, Sir Harvey...?¡± Emendas¡¯ heart skipped a beat when he saw Harvey enter looking very grim.

    When Harvey entered the tent, he looked unusually grim, and did not even bother greeting Jason before he sat down somewhere, shooting a question right off the bat. ¡°Mage Emendas, I wonder how is that matter going?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Emendas¡¯ face fell. ¡°Sir Harvey, I hope you can give me another two days...¡±

    ¡°Another two days?¡± Harvey¡¯s face darkened when he heard that. ¡°Have I been too nice to you, Emendas? Do you no longer pay me any regard? Why are you dilly-dallying over such a small matter? Seems like I need to have a talk with Father...¡±

    ¡°Sir Harvey, you¡¯ve misunderstood. It¡¯s not like that...¡± Emendas jumped when he heard that. It was not a joke; Harvey was the second young master of the Malfa Family, after all, so if he disrespected him, it was akin to disrespecting the Malfa Family. If their patriarch heard of this, he could forget about staying in Aminya in the future...

    ¡°Then what is it like?¡±

    ¡°How can I forget what you said? Actually, I already tried to get rid of Felic the night we entered the ckstone Mountains, but he was too lucky, and did not even meet a single magical beast in the forest where magical beasts roamed, so he came out unscathed just like that...¡±

    ¡°And after that?¡±

    ¡°After that...¡± Emendas¡¯ face froze. ¡°Sir Harvey, you¡¯ve seen for yourself when you arrived. We have suffered heavy casualties in these few days. We¡¯re down to only over 120 adventurers from over 170. We really cannot afford to deal with Felic now, but don¡¯t worry, Sir Harvey. We¡¯ll be entering the Scar of Death this evening. I¡¯ll have an arsenal of ideas to solve your problem then...¡±

 Chapter 388 - Advance Party

    <h4>Chapter 388: Advance Party</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Emendas, are you kidding me?¡± Harveyughed coldly. ¡°You should be clearer than me why the Adventurers are going to the ckstone Mountains. What¡¯s so hard in letting a few others die? If you¡¯re giving me this excuse, does it mean you think I can¡¯t do anything to you since you know my brother?¡±

    ¡°Sir Harvey!¡± Emendas eximed after he opened his tired eyes wide. The calm atmosphere turned tense at once, and although his voice was not loud, it carried a definite and firm tone. ¡°You drank too much.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m...¡± Harvey was surprised by that Archmage who suddenly got very serious. ¡°I... I was only joking...¡± he said softly.

    ¡°Some things are not to be joked about,¡± said the Archmage as he closed his eyes again. He had a veryposed and rxed expression as if nothing in the tent concerned him.

    Due to the shock from Emendas¡¯ sudden reaction, Harvey lost his interest in reprimanding him. Then, he left with Hahn and Granger.

    After watching the three men leave, Emendas sighed in relief. He picked up the map from the coffee table and started to discuss with Jason when they should depart.

    ¡°Brother Jason, I¡¯m thinking of reorganizing my team before we set off. You know, we met many kinds of trouble these few days. We even got attacked by the poisonous Strigid Gryphons this afternoon, and lost dozens of brothers...

    ¡°Actually, we still have sufficient time. If we set off after lunch, we would have the entire afternoon to go through the Scar of Death...¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Jason nodded distractedly. Although his eyes were fixed on the map, his mind was upied by the conversation between Harvey and Emendas.

    Could the Felic they were referring to be... <i>that </i>Felic?

    The thought of it made Jasonugh at himself. How could it be possible? How could that young mage be willing to be an Adventurer who worked for money? Alright, even if the world had gone mad, and that young mage really became an Adventurer, who would dare to employ him? Not to mention the Malfa Family, even if it was Fn¡¯s royals, no one would have the means to hire a mighty man who could kill a Humerus Wyrm...

    In fact, he even had a Lich as a servant...

    Moreover, Jason knew very well that this young mage definitely had a very powerful background...

    After he returned from Syer Town¡¯s ruins, Jason tried to ask around to find out more about Felic¡¯s identity. Coincidentally, he had a friend from his hometown who was also an Archmage in the nna Guild of Magic. Thinking that his friend should know some relevant information about Felic since he was a mage as well, Jason attempted to meet up with him when he returned to the hometown for a visit.

    However, he did not expect that mentioning Felic¡¯s name would cause his friend to open his eyes widely and question Jason how he knew of that freak...

    After Jason told his friend about his encounter at the Syer Town ruins, he was stupefied. He stared at Jason for quite a while before eximing, ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still alive!¡±

    Then, that friend started to talk with Jason about the magic trial at nna Guild of Magic, where he witnessed the craziest mage apprentice in history...

    Jason¡¯s mouth was open wide when he heard about the happenings at the nna Guild of Magic. Although he had seen Felic y a Humerus Wyrm, and how a Lich was his servant, Jason could not imagine there could be such an extraordinary human...

    When the friend finished his story, Jason also secretly wiped off his cold sweat. Looking back, when he was at the ruins of Syer Town, his discussion with Sienna was as good asmitting suicide. It was fortunate that nothing happened afterwards. Otherwise, the rage of Felic¡¯s mentor, the Legendary-mage Andoine, would be enough to burn Sienna and himself into ashes.

    ¡°I believe you have heard about the Sanctuary-realm mage, Apophis, one of the three arbitrators in the Supreme Council? I heard that the old man had been living in the Tower of Dusk for half a month...¡± That was a vital clue about Felic¡¯s background, which Jason¡¯s friend gave him before he left...

    Who would dare to employ such a man as an Adventurer?

    ¡°Oh, yes. Emendas, regarding the Felic you were talking about...¡±

    ¡°Felic?¡± Just mentioning the man gave Emendas a headache. He massaged his temple and sighed helplessly. ¡°He¡¯s just an unlucky mage who offended Sir Harvey for God knows what reason. Now, Sir Harvey has been nagging at me all day to get rid of him in the ckstone Mountains...!¡±

    ¡°Mage?¡± Jason¡¯s heart skipped a beat. What were the odds for this name to match this upation? ¡°How old is he?¡± asked Jason frantically.

    The frustrated Emendas did not notice Jason¡¯s unusual expression. He frowned and tried to recall Felic¡¯s particrs. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, he is around 20, with ck hair and eyes. He seems to be very cheerful, and is very polite when he speaks. I really don¡¯t understand how he offended Sir Harvey...¡±

    ¡°Damn...¡± Jason gasped. He knew it meant trouble.

    <i>A man that is 20 years old, has ck hair and eyes, is always smiling and speaks politely... Which other Felic can he be?!</i>

    ¡°Brother Jason, what¡¯s with you?¡± Emendas asked. He wanted to continue their discussion on the reorganization of troops, but noticed Jason staring at him nkly as though he had been possessed.

    ¡°N-nothing, nothing...¡± Jason could not sit still anymore. ¡°Apologies, Emendas, I suddenly remembered I still have tasks at hand. I will take my leave now. As for the reorganization of troops, you can settle it yourself. I have no opinion on that...¡±

    Then, Jason left the tent in a hurry.

    At the same time, Lin Li was frowning in his tent.

    Lin Li heard everything about the conflict that happened inside Granger¡¯s tent through the evil spirit. He was not surprised by the reason behind Harvey¡¯s desire for his death. He knew that only a moron like Harvey could¡¯ve thought of getting rid of himself in order to get closer to Rina...

    But, Lin Li was still very curious about that Archmage.

    He understood that although Harvey was a idiotic man, he was still the second young master of the Malfa Family. This reason alone was sufficient to let him do anything he wanted in many ces. Now that he evenshed out at Emendas... What could Emendas¡¯ background be to let him reprimand Harvey like that?

    ¡°Master, Harvey had his men call upon Johnathan...¡± Just when Lin Li was still at a loss, he suddenly heard Ujfalusi¡¯s voice. His servant had been spying on Harvey with the evil spirit.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li stood up. ¡°Why did he look for Johnathan?¡±

    ¡°It seems that...¡± Ujfalusi hesitated. ¡°It seems that he wants Johnathan to bring an advance party into the Scar of Death...¡±

    ¡°Whose idea is that?¡±

    ¡°Hahn¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Goddammit...¡± Lin Li cursed angrily.

    The Scar of Death was a ce filled with danger. Not to mention Johnathan, there wouldn¡¯t be much hope for even Emendas if he were to lead a team into that ce by himself. Hahn was indeed an inhuman bastard if he would send his distant cousin to death like this.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find Brother Johnathan.¡± Lin Li picked up the Aether Staff beside him, and brought his team out of their tent.

    After a while, Lin Li found Johnathan, who was packing his luggage sadly.

    ¡°Brother Felic, what brings you here?¡± Johnathan asked in surprise when he looked up to see Lin Li and his teammates walk into his tent.

    ¡°We just heard the news that you have to lead an advance party into the Scar of Death. We are here to ask if you can bring us along as well. We might be able to help you...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. Brother Felic, I can agree to everything except this. You should be aware that being in the advance party entering the Scar of Death is no different from sending yourself to straight death. It will be lucky if one person can survive out of 10 that go in. I¡¯m just unlucky to receive this suicide mission. I can¡¯t drag you along, Brother Felic...¡±

    ¡°Hehehe...¡±

    After he was rejected by Johnathan, Lin Li did not insist further. He smiled and went straight to Hahn, and volunteered to join Johnathan¡¯s advance party and enter the Scar of Death together.

    ¡°Really?¡± Hahn could barely contain his joy when he heard that. At first, his sudden n of letting Johnathan lead the advance party was part of his intention to get rid of that man who had been bragging about his cousin rtions with himself to everyone. He wanted to make use of this chance to shut his mouth eternally.

    Yet, he had not expected that this Felic would actually volunteer to join Johnathan...

    <i>Damn, I¡¯ve hit the jackpot. I actually aplished the task Emendas found difficult! Sir Harvey should be delighted if I send that fe into the Scar of Death. Later, I would not need to worry about my life with the Malfa Family...</i>

    ¡°Sure, when do you n to set off?¡± asked Hahn. He agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request straight away.

    ¡°Right now.¡±

 Chapter 389 - Silencing People

    Chapter 389: Silencing People

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    This was probably the first time Hahn agreed to something so readily. Before Johnathan finished packing his luggage, his team increased by four people. Johnathan tried to object Hahn¡¯s arrangement, but to no avail. He shook his head and brought the four new members towards the Scar of Death.

    The advance party consisted of 12 people. Apart from Lin Li¡¯s team and Johnathan, there were seven other Adventurers, and Lin Li knew four of them...

    ¡°Hehe, Mr. Bandit, what a coincidence...¡± Lin Li greeted Reggie the moment they left the campsite.

    ¡°A-ah, yes...¡± Reggie gasped in shock, and nearly slipped and fell onto the ground. When he finally calmed down, his was still trembling like a mouse that met a cat...

    ¡°Mr. Bandit, why are you shaking so much? Are you feeling unwell?¡±

    ¡°No... It¡¯s nothing...¡± Reggie replied. He nearly cursed all the 18 generations of Hahn¡¯s ancestors. F*ck that Hahn! Why didn¡¯t he warn me that the advance party has such a boss? If I¡¯d known, I wouldn¡¯t have joined this darn team. How¡¯s this different from trapping a cat and a mouse together in the same cage?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be so coincidental...¡± To be honest, Lin Li was actually quite surprised to meet Reggie here. He¡¯d thought that the advance party was just an excuse for Hahn to get rid of people he didn¡¯t want. Lin Li had not expected to see Reggie and his friends being a part of it. Could it be that the advance party had a very crucial role to y?

    Reggie and his teammates were all Bandits above level-15, and were proficient in investigation and assassination. Anybody in Emendas¡¯ position would never agree with Hahn to sacrifice them. Even if people like Reggie and his teammates were to be cannon fodder, they would be the most valuable and crucial cannon fodder. They shouldn¡¯t be here to die with a level-14 Warrior like Johnathan...

    Lin Li greeted Reggie before going to the front to find Johnathan. He hoped to know from the puppet leader what mission the advance party had in the Scar of Death.

    He did not expect Johnathan to address his doubts before he had a chance to speak.

    ¡°Brother Felic, how do you know Reggie and his friends?¡± Johnathan questioned curiously. Reggie and his teammates were known as the strongest Bandits of Aminya. It could be said that Reggie and his friends had to be the most popr Adventurers of Aminya apart from Emendas and a few others.

    Although Brother Felic had a good personality, he was just an average Adventurer. How would he know people like Reggie?

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story...¡±

    If there were people who knew Lin Li well around him now, such as Mason, Orrin, Gerian, or Macklin, they would know not to trust any word Lin Li would say thereafter. The phrase ¡®It¡¯s a long story¡¯ marked the point whereby Lin Li would start to weave lies and nonsense...

    Unfortunately, Johnathan was unaware of that...

    ¡°It was a year ago, when I was in the Dragon Mountains. I saw somebody stung by the Manticore; coincidentally, I had the medicine to treat the Manticore¡¯s poison. Hence, I gave them a bottle of medication, and knew them from then on...¡±

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why...¡± replied Johnathan. He was a simple-minded man who had great trust in Lin Li. Hence, he did not detect anything suspicious in his speech. Being experts in the use of poison, the Bandits should be able to treat the Manticore¡¯s poison even with their eyes closed. How would they need Lin Li¡¯s medication?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to still remember that. They even offered to reward me after weplete this mission...¡±

    While Lin Li was sprouting his nonsense irresponsibly, Johnathan¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Frankly speaking, when he knew that Reggie and his teammates would be in his advance party, Johnathan feared that he might not be able to click with them. They were the best Bandits of Aminya City and the top Adventurers after Emendas. Compared to them, he was just a random level-14 Warrior that could bemonly found in Aminya City.

    The status of Adventurers was always decided by their abilities. Only the words of skillful Adventurers carried weight. Now that a level-14 Warrior was the leader, and the stronger Bandits became mere team members, it was easy for anyone to feel indignant at that.

    That being said...

    It was fortunate that Brother Felic seemed to be on good terms with them. Johnathan looked around before he brought Lin Li to an isted corner. ¡°Brother Felic, can I discuss something with you...?¡± he asked discreetly.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, and I feel that I¡¯m not suited as the team¡¯s leader. You know, I¡¯m a stupid person. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d drag everyone down if we were to face any issues. Look, why don¡¯t you be the leader instead? With your rtionship with Reggie and his friends, I¡¯m sure they would support you...¡±

    ¡°Brother Johnathan, are you afraid that they won¡¯t listen to you?¡± Lin Li asked. How could such a bright person not know what was on the man¡¯s mind?

    ¡°I¡¯m a little worried...¡± Johnathan replied with hesitation.

    ¡°It will be alright,¡± Lin Liforted Johnathan before he went to find Reggie. ¡°Oh, Reggie, I forgot to introduce Brother Johnathan to you. He¡¯s the leader of the advance party.¡±

    ¡°So, you are Johnathan. I have wanted to meet you for a very long time...¡± Reggie greeted Johnathan very passionately as he stretched out his hand to shake Johnathan¡¯s. His attitude and friendliness would even mislead bystanders into thinking that they were friends who had not meet for a long time.

    ¡°Mr. Reggie, you are too polite...¡± Johnathan was shocked. He could not understand how a person like Reggie could even know him...

    No matter what, it was still a good thing for Reggie to be so friendly to him. Being the best Bandit in Aminya, he was a man many Adventurers dreamt of getting close to. If Johnathan could be protected by Reggie, his life in Aminya would be good.

    He didn¡¯t know Reggie was secretly happy with that friendship being forged too.

    Johnathan¡¯s abilities might not be outstanding, but from how he saw mage Felic address him as ¡°Brother Johnathan¡±, Reggie felt that the rtionship between them had to be extraordinary. If he were to be friendly to Johnathan, it would be useful if he needed Johnathan to help him say some good word in front of Mage Felic...

    Since both of them had the intention to fawn over each other, their conversation was unusually very pleasant. The more they conversed, the more they realized they clicked well with each other, and soon half an hour passed by without them realizing it. Only when they were about to enter the forest did Reggie suggest bringing his men to explore it first.

    After he watched the four Bandits enter the forest, Lin Li turned to Johnathan. ¡°Brother Johnathan, I forgot to ask you about our role as the advance party. Why are we here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, either...¡± Johnathan said doubtfully as he fished out a map from his pocket. ¡°Hahn gave me a map before he sent me here, and told me to find this ce marked here...¡± Johnathan said as he pointed to a location on the map. Lin Li saw that it was a region filled with a huge number of high-level magical beasts...

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea...¡± Johnathan said as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes. What messy sh*t is this? Has Hahn gone crazy? So he sent Johnathan to risk his life to enter the central region just to feed himself to the high-level magical beasts? That¡¯s too absurd...

    ¡°Or, you could ask Reggie. I¡¯ve heard them mention that Emendas had talked to them before they came here. They might know some information...¡±

    ¡°Will do...¡±

    While the advance party entered the forest, Jason walked into Lin Li¡¯s tent at the same time.

    To his disappointment, the tent was empty. From theck of sleeping bags, it was obvious that the owner of the tent had left the campsite. Then, something struck Jason.

    Didn¡¯t Emendas send an advance party to the Scar of Death half an hour ago?

    Could it be that...

    Goddammit, what a moron! Emendas will cause Felic to kill everybody if he does that! The thought of it made Jason restless. He sprung up and ran across the campsite, and dashed into Emendas¡¯ tent directly without informing him.

    ¡°Emendas¡ª¡± Jason noticed something different about Emendas the moment he called his name. Emendas was very patiently sitting upright, just like an obedient student in ss.

    That brought Jason¡¯s eyes to where Emendas¡¯ attention was focused. Jason saw a young man around age 27 or 28 sitting opposite Emendas. He was wearing a ck robe that emitted strong magical waves, and although the cape he was wearing covered his face, and Jason could not tell his expression, he could feel a solemn familiarity from him...

    ¡°S-Sir Hutton, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m just here to check things out...¡± The man was the first heir of the Malfa Family, the biological brother of Harvey, who was seated opposite Emendas. Harvey¡¯s brother was more aplished than him; his ability was something even Lin Li could not fathom. Not only that, the top Adventurer of Aminya, Emendas, also did not have the guts to look that man in the eye as he sat in front of him.

    ¡°How is it? I presume there were no idents thus far?¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Sir Hutton, everything is going ording to the n,¡± Emendas said politely; his gaze was filled with respect. ¡°We have just sent an advance party there as well. If there is no ident, they should arrive at the destination before evening.¡±

    ¡°How is the ability of this advance party?¡±

    ¡°They are all at most level-15, and not really strong in ability. But, in order to ensure that they reach the destination safely, I¡¯ve asked Master Adelo to tag along with them.¡±

    ¡°Adelo went too?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I had Master Adelo disguise himself as a level-10 Magic Shooter.¡±

    ¡°Very good, I always trusted Adelo. But, Emendas, I don¡¯t want many people to know about the secret at the Scar of Death.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Sir Hutton. Adelo promised that he will have everyone in the advance party protect the secret eternally.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    When he heard that, Jason drew a deep breath. He knew what it meant when they said to protect the secret eternally. These people... these people want to silence all of them!

    Jason was not a righteous man. He had seen many cases of silencing people, but they all did not matter as long as he was not the victim. Usually, Jason tried his best not to interfere in situations that did not concern him. But, not this time. How could they even n to kill Mage Felic?

    He couldn¡¯t let it be. Otherwise, if the matter were to be discovered by Mage Felic, he might think that Jason was one of the masterminds. Mage Felic was not a reasonable man. If that mage was determined to seek revenge, the Malfa Family and himself would be doomed. It was not worth it for him to take such a risk in order to earn those 10,000 gold coins.

    But, how could he inform him?

    If Adelo wasn¡¯t there, it would be an easy job. He could just stop them before they reached the Scar of Death.

 Chapter 390 - Strange Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 390: Strange Magical Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    But, Jason knew he could not do it now. Having known Adelo for quite some time, he noticed that this Archmage had been tagging along with Emendas for the longest time he could remember. Jason even suspected that everything was just a fa?ade, and that Archmage had to be the real leader of the team, whom Emendas and Hahn had to take orders from. Even Hutton, the first heir of the Malfa Family, would be especially ingratiating when Adelo¡¯s name was mentioned. That closeness he portrayed from within, and it was a type of closeness that he didn¡¯t treat his biological brother with...

    He would be caught by Adelo and be seen as a traitor if he were to chase after Felic now. Then, he would not even be able to inform Felic about it.

    <i>Should I find a mutual friend to convey the message?</i>

    <i>But, whom should I find...?</i>

    Weathor and Rotiah would not be able to take on the task, as they could be easily recognized by Adelo. If he were to find out about it, Jason would be unmasked as the obvious mastermind.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Jason, are you interested in venturing into Aminya after youplete this mission? I can arrange for you to work under the Malfa Family then,¡± Hutton asked Jason smilingly.

    ¡°Huh...?¡± Jason was shocked by the sudden offer.

    Being an astute and shrewd man, Hutton did not show his unhappiness with Jason¡¯s hesitation. He frowned slightly, and adopted a gentle stance to continue persuading Jason.

    ¡°You are concerned about the staff¡¯s benefits, aren¡¯t you? Check with Emendas. Rest assured that I would never take advantage of any men working under me. After this mission, I¡¯m going to invite Emendas into the core organization of the Malfa Family; he would be my personal assistant, whereas my father would have no right to interfere with him. If you¡¯re willing toe over, I can give you the same benefits as I gave Emendas.¡±

    ¡°Sir Hutton, I need some time to decide. As you know, I¡¯m not like Emendas. Apart from myself, I have to discuss it with my two teammates before we can make a decision.¡± Jason crafted a reasonable excuse after a moment of hesitation.

    To be honest, if Hutton had given him the offer earlier, Jason would have agreed to it without any hesitation. After all, he couldn¡¯t imagine himself as an Adventurer for a lifetime. It would be a good way out to enter the Malfa Family. Moreover, Hutton was a better superior aspared to his younger brother¡ªhe knew how much to expect from his men, and always treated them with the respect they deserved.

    Unfortunately, the offer came in a littlete...

    Jason knew very well how determined the young mage would be when he sought revenge. When he was at Dnd City, the friction during the banquet caused him to fall out with people from the Brilliance Shrine. If Adelo were to create trouble for him, it¡¯d implicate the entire Malfa Family...

    At this time, Jason was really tempted to persuade Hutton to give up on that n. <i>The person you n to silence is not an easy man to deal with! He is the student of the Legendary-mage Andoine, the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, and the person who slew the Humerus Wyrm single-handedly...</i>

    Unfortunately, he could only keep everything to himself...

    It would be impossible for Jason to clear his name if he were to show his acquaintance with a mage who had been disguising his ability. That was a very serious and sensitive matter as he might be seen like a traitor or a spy. Then, his entire career as an Adventurer would be going down the drain.

    Furthermore, Jason had no guts to expose Lin Li, either. If he were to do it without that young mage¡¯s permission, he would be digging his own grave...

    At this time, the safest approach was to keep his mouth shut...

    But, before he did that, he had to inform Mage Felic about Adelo¡¯s identity. Although it was a risky move, he could actually create a good impression of himself.

    Jason became really restless as he thought of that. He got up from his seat to leave after he conversed with Hutton for a short while.

    Fortunately, Hutton¡¯s words seemed to be just a casual invitation as he did not insist that Jason give him a reply immediately. ¡°Alright, Jason, you can discuss it with your friends and get back to me again. If you are interested,e look for me anytime. As long as I¡¯m here, the gates of the Malfa Family will always wee you,¡± Hutton said in a disappointed tone as he sent Jason out of the tent.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Jason got to his two other teammates very quickly after he left the tent.

    Then, he told them what he had heard from Hutton.

    ¡°So, do you have any ideas what we can do?¡±

    In reality, Jason was just anxious, and was asking for the sake of asking. He knew that his friends would be equally clueless what action to take.

    Little did he expect that they¡¯d respond positively.

    Weathor smiled hideously after hearing Jason. ¡°Well, I have an idea...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, didn¡¯t you have me take a look around a valley earlier this morning?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jason said as he nodded his head. ¡°Are you going to tell me that you discovered a secret in that valley?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. When I returned, I forgot to tell you that I¡¯ve met someone familiar in that valley...¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember that mage named Gavin? He was that mage who tagged along with Mr. Basel when he was at the Dnd library.¡±

    ¡°Gavin?¡± Jason paused, and tried to recall this memory. There definitely was a mage named Gavin at the Dnd library. When this mage visited the Adventurers Guild to look for another mage, it was Weathor and himself who helped him out.

    But, what did that have to do with Adelo?

    ¡°Now, Gavin joined the Tower of Dusk, and I¡¯ve heard that he is quite trusted by Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Weathor, please go to that valley and tell Gavin about the situation here. He would have his ways to contact Mage Felic.¡±

    It was around noon when the advance party entered the forest. When they returned, Lin Li tried to ask about the mission. However, their answers were confusing as well.

    ¡°Mr. Hahn only had us bring this there...¡± Reggie did not dare to hide anything from Lin Li. He even took out six magical crystals from his pocket as evidence that he was saying the truth.

    ¡°Eh...?¡± Lin Li was shocked when he saw the magical crystal.

    Everyone would know that a magical crystal was the essence of a magical beast. It not only contained the mana of the magical beast, but also carried the brand of the soul. Any magical crystal would have a bit of life essence that lingered in it.

    But, the magical crystals in Reggie¡¯s hand werepletely different. Lin Li could not sense any bit of life essence from them. They were like six ordinary stones without anything special about them.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird...¡± Lin Limented, suspicious. He took one of the ck magical crystals from Reggie for a closer inspection...

    Lin Li¡¯s expression changed as his fingers came into contact with the ck crystal. It was as if the magical crystal had transformed into a huge ck hole that started to engulf his mana.

    ¡°Sh*t!¡± Lin Li gasped as he threw the magical crystal onto the ground at once.

    It was unusual as the Devouring Force of the magical crystal vanished the moment it left Lin Li¡¯s hand. The magical crystal looked just like a real ck stone as ity among the sand on the ground.

    <i>Where did the Malfa Family acquire such eerie crystals...? </i>Lin Li thought as he looked at the ck magical crystal on the ground.

    But, there was something Lin Li was very certain about...

    Sending the advance party into the Scar of Death was definitely not just a way for Hahn to silence the people he despised. From the map in Johnathan¡¯s hand and the six magical crystals in Reggie¡¯s, Lin Li could deduce that the real person in charge of the mission had to be somebody else.

    It was not difficult to guess who that person was...

    There were 12 people in the advance party. Apart from his and Reggie¡¯s friends, there were three other suspicious men. Among the three of them, there would only be one who would fear the Devouring Force of the crystal...

    Yes, there was a mage aged around 40.

    Only this could exin why Reggie was in charge of those six important magical crystals. Those crystals had the power to engulf mana, and any mage who came into contact with them would have their mana drained by them, being turned into a cripple with zero amount of mana.

    Thinking of it, Lin Li nced at that mage skeptically.

    That mage seemed to be a normal man. He was just like many other mages at his age, and had the ability of a level-10 Magic Shooter. Lin Li could not tell if he had any outstanding talents, and it had to be many years of practice that brought him to where he was right now. He was like any othermon mage in Anril World who would join the Adventurers¡¯ ranks to earn enough money to support his magic research. If Lin Li had to use a word to describe him, it would only be ¡°ordinary¡±...

 Chapter 391 - Red Leopard

    <h4>Chapter 391: Red Leopard</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was probably also because of such ordinariness that Lin Li did not pay him much attention right from the beginning.

    But now, it was definitely different. How could Lin Li not figure out the truth behind this middle-aged mage when Lin Li knew that he was the key role of the n?

    ¡°Eh...?¡± Who knew that this nce would immediately cause Lin Li to be rather shocked. This middle-aged man was indeed somewhat weird. He had actually concealed his power like Lin Li!

    Furthermore, his method of concealing his power was rather brilliant. Even with Lin Li¡¯s powerful mental strength, he had thought that he was genuinely a level-10 mage at the beginning. If it was any other person, they would not know how this level-10 mage had transformed and changed into a genuine Archmage even when they were dead.

    Luckily, Lin Li had asked Reggie...

    ¡°Ok, it¡¯s fine now. Leave first.¡± Lin Li waved his hand, signaling to Reggie that he could leave. But before he left, Lin Li again reminded, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to stir trouble, it¡¯s best that you pretend that nothing happened.¡±

    Reggie nodded. ¡°Ok, I know what to do.¡±

    After seeing Reggie leave, Lin Li again nced at that middle-aged mage from afar.

    Lin Li had to admit that this middle-aged mage had concealed his power ingeniously. Even with his immense mental strength, Lin Li had to probe very cautiously before he could determine his true strength. If Lin Li was not mistaken, this middle-aged mage¡¯s strength was simr to that of Emendas, or it might be even more powerful. This also meant that he was at least an Archmage at the peak of level-17...

    Even Lin Li could not help but feel afraid when he thought about it. A level-17 Archmage that had sedulously disguised himself was too dangerous. When he tore off his disguise and suddenly released a lethal strike, even a Legendary-mage would be shocked and covered with cold sweat.

    Luckily, Lin Li discovered him early...

    Things were much easier now. The enemy¡¯s disguise had been torn apart, and his own disguise was still perfect. As long as Lin Li was willing, he could take him out anytime. A high-ranking Vampire, an ex-Lich, and a level-18 Archmage. When these threee together, even a mutant Crimson Python could be killed, what more an Archmage that was merely at the peak of level-17...

    Of course, Lin Li was in no hurry to make his move.

    As long as he continued disguising himself, he would have a chance at any given time or location. There was no need to hurry. Even if he really wanted to take out this middle-aged mage, he would have to wait till he reached his destination tomorrow. However, he really wanted to know what were those six strange magical crystals actually used for...

    ¡°These six magical crystals are troublesome. Just a single mistake carries the danger of mana loss. I need to think of a way...¡± While Lin Li was rubbing his nose and thinking of a solution, an intense magical wave was suddenly released from his pocket.

    ¡°It¡¯s Gavin¡¯s gang...¡± Lin Li hurriedly took out a crystal ball the size of a fist. The crystal ball was made as a copy based on the one at the Emerald Tower¡¯s Hall. It could also be linked to a fixed Warlock¡¯s Eyes; it was just that it could not be sustained for long. Usually, three minutes was the limit. When it went past three minutes, the crystal ball would no longer be able to tolerate the surge of mana, and would self-destruct.

    After considering that the trip to the ckstone Mountains this time would be dangerous, Lin Li took two more at the same time¡ªone for Gavin and one for himself. In this way, both parties would be able tomunicate momentarily with each other if they were to encounter danger.

    ¡°Gavin, what happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, President Felic...¡± Following this familiar voice, Gavin¡¯s face that grew arge beard also appeared in the crystal ball. Probably due to enduring the hardships of an arduous journey, the bearded Gavin looked rather untidy. His hair and beard were in a mess, making him look more like an adventurer than a mage.

    Thankfully, Gavin¡¯splexion was rather calm. It did not seem like he had encountered any danger. ¡°Just now, a Bandit called Weathor came looking for me. He said he had something very important that he must tell you.¡±

    ¡°Weathor?¡± Lin Li was stunned immediately. He did remember Weathor. Back then at Syer Town¡¯s ruins, the one that almost got crippled by his Cloud Storm was precisely Weathor. But, wasn¡¯t this guy always at Jason¡¯s side? Why would he suddenly look for Lin Li?

    ¡°Weathor, tell President Felic yourself, but you¡¯d better hurry¡ªthis crystal ball can only sustain the connection for another two minutes.¡±

    Gavin¡¯s voice had just fallen, and he was already pushed to the side. In his ce appeared a face that was iparably wretched. ¡°Mage Felic, it¡¯s like this. Jason asked me to tell you that you must be careful of that level-10 mage called Adera. He is now part of the advance party, but he is probably using another name. ording to Jason, this guy is actually a level-17 Archmage. He is shouldering a very important mission as he follows you to the Scar of Death this time. After he haspleted his mission, he will definitely take action against you.¡±

    ¡°Ok, understood.¡± Lin Li nodded his head; he did not look surprised. For him, this was just verification of what he had already guessed. ¡°Weathor, thank you for telling me all of this. When you return, help me thank Jason for his trouble as well. When I return to Dnd, I will definitely thank him properly.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. It¡¯s our honor to be of service to you...¡±

    After chatting with Weathor for a bit, Lin Li called Gavin over again.

    ¡°Gavin, I have a map. Hurry and copy it down. After that, follow the marks on the map and hurry to the area near the Scar of Death before night falls today,¡± Lin Li said as he took out the map from his pocket. Through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes that was linked to the crystal ball, he sent over the route on the map. ¡°After entering the Scar of Death, I will leave a mark. You just have to follow the mark, and you shouldn¡¯te across any danger.¡±

    ¡°Sure, President Felic.¡±

    The advance party was moving very quickly. In less than half an hour, they had already reached the border of the forest. Lin Li knew that it was not too far from the Scar of Death. After exiting the forest, there would only be an hour¡¯s journey left.

    After Lin Li had made all of the arrangements, he turned into a level-10 mage and followed Johnathan the entire time. Those that were clueless would mostly think that this young mage was hoping that Johnathan would protect him, but those that understood the exact details about him would understand that Johnathan would not meet with any danger when those two walked together...

    ¡°Honestly speaking, Brother Felic... Sometimes, I really don¡¯t understand what you are thinking about. The advance party is so dangerous that others would run immediately, but you, you actually courageously rushed over. You¡¯re still so young, aren¡¯t you afraid of dying at all?¡± While walking, the two of them just casually chatted away.

    ¡°Haha, this is the ckstone Mountains, how would it have any safe ce. Is the base safe? There might be a powerful magical beasting anytime, and those fes hiding at the base would be out of luck¡ª watch out!¡±

    Before Lin Li could finish speaking, there was a gust of winding from behind. Luckily, Lin Li reacted fast enough. When the sound of the wind had just sounded, Lin Li had already raised his hand and pushed Johnathan forcefully away. After that, he cast Spell of Frost, and a brilliant and transparent ice wall was erected with a ¡°boom¡±.

    Everything had happened too quickly. Even with Lin Li¡¯s reaction, he could only release a Spell of Frost.

    After that, a bright red shadow shed by. It was like a red thunderbolt as it struck the ice wall. In an instant, a loud ¡°boom¡± could be heard.

    After that, a ¡°swish, swish¡± was ringing endlessly in their ears. There were countless cracks on the thick ice wall. They were just like a flower that had bloomed, covering the whole ice wall instantaneously.

    ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s the Red Leopard...¡± Lin Li took a look while turning his body to retreat. On the other side of the ice wall, there was a crimson beast that was letting out low and angry roars. The strike that cracked the ice wall just now had caused it to sustain significant damage, and fresh blood was dripping down from the wound on its forehead. Its two eyes revealed a menacing light, and narrowed as the crack in the ice wall grew bigger...

    After that, there was a loud crashing sound. Ice kes filled the air, fluttering around; the thick ice wall had been shattered by the Red Leopard¡¯s first strike.

    ¡°This fe is really ferocious...¡± However, this was no longer important for Lin Li. It was because when the ice wall was blocking the Red Leopard, he had already used the chance to retreat more than ten meters with Johnathan. Even if the Red Leopard were to attack again, Lin Li would have sufficient time to react.

    ¡°Fel... Brother Felic. What is this monster?¡± That attack just now had totally scared Johnathan. If it were not because this young mage had pushed him away, his neck would most probably have been broken.

    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s the Red Leopard, a level-17 magical beast...¡± Lin Li managed to find time to answer Johnathan while reciting his incantations silently.

    At this time, four level-15 Bandits and two Warriors were all scouting in the forest. Other than Lin Li¡¯s group of four, there were only Johnathan and Adelo left. Johnathan was only a level-14 Warrior, and Adelo was definitely not willing to show his power. In order to block the attacks of the Red Leopard, Lin Li could only make moves in the dark.

    Thus, Lin Li prepared a level-15 Dark mes. At least on the surface, it was very simr to the level-eight ming Storm. If this Adelo¡¯s judgment were to be slightly bad, he might not be able to tell the difference between the two.

    Of course, this was thest resort. Lin Li would not take this risk until the final juncture...

    Luckily, those two Warriors that were originally in front of the force rushed back on time. Currently, they were facing away from Lin Li, and whispered something to Adelo. The two Warriors then took out their weapons and charged ahead toward the Red Leopard that was leaping forward through the shattered ice after Adelo shook his head.

    Everything happened inconspicuously to the side. The two Warriors had proper limits for their actions¡ªthey did not attract any attention from others. Even if somebody had seen it, they would most likely think that this was just basic concern shown betweenpanions.

    However, Lin Li knew that it was not the case...

    It was because Lin Li had already cast Whisperwind Spell when the two Warriors had returned, and the conversation between the three of them was heard clearly by Lin Li.

    Lin Li remembered that what those two Warriors asked was: ¡°Master Adelo, are you alright?¡±

    In response, Adelo shook his head, and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. The two of you, hurry and y this Red Leopard. It most likely came from the Scar of Death.¡±

    <i>Seems like this Adelo knows quite a lot... </i>Lin Li slowly dissipated the mana he had gathered. He became even more curious about the status of that Adelo. There was at least one thing that Lin Li could confirm¡ªit was that this Adelo did not have the same status as Emendas. He was very likely a core member of the Malfa Family, the type that could be involved in the deepest secrets...

    Lin Li even felt that this Adelo was very likely rted to the Legendary-mage of the Malfa Family...

    If that was the case, then it would be very interesting to enter the Scar of Death this time...

    At the same time, when Lin Li was dissipating his mana, one of the Warriors wielding a machete charged towards the Red Leopard with a raging Combat Energy. Amidst the low and furious roars, glints of the de shed by. In an instant, both the man and beast were shing with each other.

    <i>He really is a level-17 warrior... </i>Once he saw that raging Combat Energy, Lin Li knew that he¡¯d made the right guess. As expected, these two Warriors that seemed like they did not know each other were Adelo¡¯s true bodyguards. Reggie¡¯s group of four might be very famous amongst the adventurers, but their strength was only at level-15. Furthermore, they were Bandits that were not good at face-to-facebat. Relying on them to barge into the Scar of Death was not practical. It was these two Warriors that seemed to be strangers that were the ones sent by the Malfa Family to protect Adelo.

    ¡°Move aside. You two pieces of trash, stop being a drag!¡± Just when Lin Li was staring nkly, another Warrior that was wielding a double-edged greatsword rushed over with his Combat Energy as well. It was just that this fe was more hot-temperedpared to his reservedpanion. When he moved past Lin Li and Johnathan, he most likely felt that the two of them did not contribute much, so he even used a tone that had a mixture of contempt and disdain to scold them...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose, and obediently pulled Johnathan, moving back a few steps. There was no choice¡ªyou couldn¡¯t possibly bite back if a dog bit you, right?

    ¡°Mage Felic, are you alright?¡± It was at this time that Reggie and the rest returned. When they saw what happened, Reggie was so frightened that his hair stood on its ends.

    Of course, what scared him was not that Red Leopard...

    Although that level-17 Red Leopard was powerful, if four level-15 and above Bandits were to team up, killing it was not difficult. What frightened Reggie was what that Warrior had said.

    ¡°F*ck, this fe really has some guts...¡±

 Chapter 392 - Spirit Wolf

    <h4>Chapter 392: Spirit Wolf</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Two strong level-17 Warriors and four Bandits that were level-15 and above. Even if a Legendary magical beast were to meet them, it would have some trouble, what more a mere level-17 Red Leopard?

    Hence, after Lin Li rubbed his nose, he retreated, feeling at ease...

    Whenpared to that battle that was full of blood shed, Lin Li was more interested in that middle-aged mage that was concealing his true strength. He was a true master of disguise. Even in such a chaotic situation, he still maintained his cover¡ªhe had a somewhat panicked look that could not be concealed, and Lin Li even heard him make a few mistakes in his incantations...

    An Archmage at the peak of level-17 would definitely not make mistakes in his incantations...

    Lin Li pouted his lips, and mumbled, ¡°Pretty good disguise. It¡¯s a pity his luck is just too bad...¡±

    The whole battle only carried on for a few minutes. The Red Leopard had smashed the ice wall with its head, and got stabbed in the chest by Reggie. After that, everything ended, and the level-17 magical crystal hadnded into Reggie¡¯s pocket. This was an unspoken rule: whenever two groups of Adventurers were taking part in a battle, whoevernded thest hit would be rewarded with the best loot.

    Less than an hour after the Red Leopard died, the advance party entered the Scar of Death.

    To their sides were steep mountain walls, and beneath their feet was dark brown mud, which felt wet and slippery when they stepped on it. In between, it even gave off a smoky smell. When they looked up, the sky above them seemed to be rather dark. The Scar of Death seemed like a wound that was carved out by a very sharp knife in the body of the ckstone Mountains, and it always gave off a thick scent of blood.

    The first feeling that Lin Li got from the Scar of Death was destion. The steep cliffs on both sides felt like a cage, separating the Scar of Death and the ckstone Mountains into two different worlds. The soil below seemed to have died, and the dark brown mud constantly gave off a dpidated aura. Even though the canyon was very wide, it gave off a stifling feeling when it was looked upon. Lin Li knew it was because the colors in the canyon were too monotonous. It was always so dull, just like the sky before a storm, a dried up pond, or a dead nt. There was only dark brown earth as well as asional bones exposed in the mud...

    Johnathan took out the map from his pocket. He gesticted for a while before he confidently pointed out a direction. ¡°Based on the map, this should be the right path...¡±

    However, after he had spoken, even he could not help but swallow his saliva...

    In front was a cliff that had been cut by a knife and axe, and the only paths were those cracked openings on the cliff. A natural three-way fork was in front of everyone. All three paths seemed ghastly, but the one that Johnathan had pointed out was the ghastliest one of them¡ªbones covered the ck earth wherever they looked, and they could tell some came from humans, while some were from magical beasts. There were also several rusty sets of equipment and armor scattered at the side. Some of them even had a faint magical wave. Looking at it all, even an idiot would know how much blood had soaked this ck earth and what sort of intense battles had taken ce on this path...

    ¡°This... Brother Felic. Do you think we should enter?¡± Johnathan looked at those white skeletons, and could not help but stare nkly.

    ¡°It seems rather dangerous...¡± Lin Li could not help but swallow his saliva. This time, he was not being a pretentious pr*ck. This route was really dangerous. Perhaps what others saw were just the skeletons, as well as a thousand years of intense battling between humans and magical beasts, but Lin Li saw more than that...

    For Lin Li, this aura was all too familiar. The Shadowglen from the trials, the Demon Fall Valley¡¯s underground pce, and Syer Town¡¯s bell tower all had a simr aura. Indeed, this was the death aura that was unique to all Undead creatures. It was just that the death aura here was much stronger than those Lin Li had seen before...

    Honestly, Lin Li was rather doubtful. Even Ujfalusi did not have such a powerful death aura during his heyday. Furthermore, it was at such an iparably strange ce, the Scar of Death. Who knew what would be hiding behind such a powerful death aura?

    Lin Li hesitated along with Johnathan, and they could not decide if they wanted to go in. Finally, the two bodyguards of Adelo got impatient. ¡°What was Master Hutton thinking, sending you pieces of trash over? If you are afraid of dying, just hide behind us obediently. Don¡¯t be a nuisance while holding the map...¡±

    Both of them were powerful level-17 Warriors, and had terrifying strength allowing them to rip magical beasts apart with their bare hands. They walked over with a disdainful look, and a light shove from them was enough to push Lin Li and Johnathan to the side. It was especially so for Lin Li, a mage with a weak body¡ªhe stumbled a few steps backwards. If it were not because Johnathan had supported him in time, he most likely would have tripped, sprawling all over the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s always better to be careful...¡± Lin Li, who almost fell after being pushed, was not angry. He just smiled rather awkwardly.

    ¡°Careful my a*s, can being careful feed you?¡± The bodyguard that was carrying a double-edged greatsword sneered. ¡°Those that are afraid to die, scram. The Malfa Family does not need useless trash.¡±

    After saying this, they did not care about Lin Li¡¯s reaction. They protected Adelo on both sides as they walked towards the gorge that was filled with skeletons. For these two high-level Warriors, a level-10 Mage was not any stronger than an ant. They could squash him with just a finger if they felt like it. It was fine to push away such a small fry; who would even bother about how he felt?

    ¡°Brother Felic, are you alright?¡± Johnathan looked concerned. The power of a high-level Warrior was noughing matter¡ªeven he himself was pushed away so easily. This young mage¡¯s body seemed rather frail, so who knew if he was injured...

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lin Li smiled. Even though he was not a high-level Warrior, he was a genuine cksmith Guru. How could a body that was tempered by the furnace and hammer be so easily injured just with a push? In fact, if he was not willing, even a level-17 Warrior would not be able to push him aside so easily.

    As to why he¡¯d stumbled back in such a pitiful manner, it was just because he wanted to give way to these two fes...

    It was a bit like lining up to withdraw cash¡ªwhoever was at the front would be able to get more money. However, it was also the opposite¡ªthis was the Scar of Death, a ce full of danger. Whoever rushed in first would be more likely to be attacked by magical beasts.

    <i>I can¡¯t wait to hide from something like that. Only idiots wouldpete with you... </i>Looking at the stalwart backs of the two high-level Warriors, Lin Li smiled despicably.

    This smile was rather strange, and Johnathan and Reggie could not understand it at all. They merely guessed that maybe this young mage underwent some sort of stress. Norfeller and Ujfalusi understood it, but for these two cold-blooded Undead creatures, how did it matter who died? As long as that young mage did not die, they would not even bother to bat their eyelids no matter who died.

    Only Rina rolled her eyes at Lin Li with contempt. If Master Englos were to know that the genius pharmacist that he spoke of was actually so despicable, would he be so angry that he would roll his eyes...?

    But facts proved that it was logical for Lin Li to be despicable. The road ahead was not smooth. The advance party had just entered this path for less than ten minutes, and they had already encountered their first battle after entering the Scar of Death.

    It was a pack of at least 100 Shadow Wolves.

    Those that had never experienced it before would never understand what sort of feeling it was to be surrounded by a pack of 100 Shadow Wolves under the evening sky. Pairs of green eyes were dancing around in the darkness like phosphorescent light, which made anyone that saw it have goosebumps. The Shadow Wolf¡¯s level was not high¡ªit was just level-12¡ªso even Lin Li and Adelo who had disguised themselves as level-10 mages would be able to take out a few of them easily without exposing their true strength.

    But no matter how low-level a magical beast was, it would be frightening when inrge numbers. This was the conclusion that Lin Li hade to after he was attacked by hundreds of Three-eyed Blood Wolves back in nna.

    This logic could also be applied to the Scar of Death. When over 100 Shadow Wolves charged in from every direction, they made for a sight that sent chills down everyone¡¯s spine. Their bodies were a mix of Undead and magical beast, which looked like a fog under the night sky. Normal attacks weren¡¯t suited to kill them. In legends, they were monsters that were born from the resentment of a wild wolf that had died. They were born with an ability to negate some physical damage, and one had to use a weapon with elemental power, or rather magical weapons, to kill them...

    Magical weapons were umon, especially among Adventurers that had no power or influence. It was even harder for them to get their hands on a decent magical weapon. Otherwise, Jason would not have spent his whole fortune on a rune¡¯s adamantine longsword back then. In the end, he had no choice but to take on a mission at Syer Town Ruins that he would not have epted in the past.

    The two high-level Warriors did have such weapons¡ªthe greatsword and machete in their hands were decent magical equipment. The magical elements harbored by the machete and greatsword just happened to be ice and fire, and wielded by these two powerful Warriors, the fire and ice elemental power were pushed to the limits, and barely any Shadow Wolf could get within five meters of them. Amidst the almost tangible Combat Energy, the blue and red shine were iparably brilliant.

    There were also some magical weapons in the hands of Lin Li and the rest. For example, Norfeller had Heaven¡¯s Wrath, and Rina¡¯s Radiance de never left her side. Unfortunately, they could not use them at this point. Adventurers that had a magical weapon naturally attracted attention, especially when they were low-level adventurers like themselves. If they really used them now, it would scare Adelo to death even if they were to exterminate these Shadow Wolves.

    As for Johnathan, Reggie, and the rest, the weapons they used could only be barely described as sharp weapons. Each was sharp as it was, but it was thousands of miles apart from genuine magical weapons. At most, it was just goods that was sold for 30,000-50,000 gold coins at a weapons store. Naturally, it was not sufficient to deal with Shadow Wolves...

    However, this did not hamper Lin Li. He searched his pockets, and quickly took out a few scrolls.

    ¡°Here¡¯s a scroll for each of you, just activate it with your Combat Energy.¡±

    ¡°What is this scroll?¡± Johnathan took one of the scrolls. He had a rather doubtful expression.

    ¡°The Sword of mes magical enchantment scroll. It allows your weapon to harbor me Energy, but it onlysts for an hour. After an hour, this type of me Energy would disappear.¡±

    ¡°My God...¡± Johnathan immediately got so frightened that his hands were shaking; he almost dropped the magical enchantment scroll in his hands.

    ¡°Hush... Don¡¯t disclose this, I stole it from my teacher...¡± Lin Li was worried this fe would be loose-lipped; hence, he came up with a lie.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Only then did Johnathan let out a sigh of relief with a look of sudden realization. <i>I knew it. Brother Felic is just a level-10 Magic Shooter, how could he have gotten so many magical enchantment scrolls?</i>

    One ought to know that although magical enchantment scrolls did not have a permanent effect, they came with a rather expensive price tag in the market. A scroll like this Sword of mes scroll was at least 10,000 gold coins apiece. Furthermore, one could notin that it was expensive. It was fine if you did not buy it¡ªthere were many others lining up to buy it. For an Adventurer, an hour¡¯s effect could very likely save a life during the most crucial points.

    It could not be helped. The market for magical items was like that. If this was a magical weapon or a permanent magical enchantment, the price would be shockingly higher¡ªit could easily be in the tens of thousands of gold coins, and if it was really high, it could even exceed a million. Adventurers that were not at Jason¡¯s or Emendas¡¯ level simply had no right to ask about them at all.

    But, if he said that it was stolen from his teacher, it should be believable...

    Seeing that the other party was in his twenties yet having the standard of a level-10 Magic Shooter, Johnathan knew that Brother Felic¡¯s teacher would most likely be an Archmage. Furthermore, it should be an elite Archmage at level-17 or 18. Otherwise, he would not be able to cultivate such a young and promising student.

    ¡°Brother Felic, would you get into trouble?¡± But after the sudden realization, Johnathan was rather concerned. In the eyes of this Adventurer that had not been exposed to society much, mages were the weirdest bunch of people in this world. They locked themselves in a cold and cheerless tower, researching mythical knowledge that only they understood. Year after year and day after day, such a boring life would eventually devastate their minds, turning each of them into psychopaths. Furthermore, they got stronger as they aged, so they would definitely be even more psychopathic. Following this thought process, Brother Felic¡¯s teacher definitely had to be a fe that couldn¡¯t get any more psychopathic. If he were to discover that the magical enchantment scrolls were stolen, would he conduct magical experiments on Brother Felic in a fit of anger?

    ¡°Rx, my teacher has a lot of such scrolls. He definitely would not find out that I sneakily took a few...¡± Lin Li went against his conscience and consoled him. There was no choice; he was really shy to tell Johnathan ¡°That¡¯s right. That old Andoine does indeed have a lot of magical enchantment scrolls, but they were all given to him by myself...¡±.

    With Johnathan and the rest joining, the battle situation instantly changed. Even though there was a lot of Shadow Wolves, they only had the strength of level-12. Initially, they could struggle with their half Undead and half magical beast body, but now there were five more fresh fighters that suddenly joined, and each of them had sharp magical weapons. Fire magical element, other than light magical element, was naturally the energy that Undead creatures feared the most. When five weapons enchanted with the Sword of mes started dancing, it was a total massacre for the Shadow Wolves.

    The Shadow Wolves¡¯ numbers got lower and lower. Even an idiot could tell that the advance party¡¯s victory was near.

    But at this time, Lin Li frowned.

    Although the 100 Shadow Wolves did not bring much danger to the advance party, they had affirmed Lin Li¡¯s hypothesis. The most dangerous thing about the Scar of Death was not some crazy magical beast, but the dark power that made magical beasts go crazy...

    It was because Lin Li knew that the Shadow Wolf was actually not some monster that was born out of the resentment of a dead wolf. They were just normal Three-eyed Blood Wolves, or a species of wolf that was weaker than the Three-eyed Blood Wolf. However, there was a very strong king in a pack of Shadow Wolves. This king could even be said to be their father. It was precisely because of the existence of this king that they could transform into a level-12 Shadow Wolf from a Three-eyed Blood Wolf no more than level-five.

    The king of the Shadow Wolves was called the Spirit Wolf.

    Spirit Wolf was just a name. When it was alive, it could possibly be just a level-five Three-eyed Blood Wolf, or a level-15 Night Demon Wolf, but when it returned into the embrace of death and underwent the maniption of the Dark Force, it only had one name, which was: Spirit Wolf...

    Spirit Wolves were genuine Undead creatures. In essence, it was even purer than a Vampire like Norfeller or a Lich like Ujfalusi. It was because be it Vampire or Lich, they still retained some of the characteristics they had had when they were alive. If they were more careful, they could even live like normal humans.

    But Spirit Wolves were different...

    Only the purest of Dark Force could hasten the birth of such a frightening monster. They might retain some of their memories from when they were alive, but those were just merely instincts from the soul fire. Once they transformed into Spirit Wolves, they were already another entity altogether.

    When Spirit Wolves were born, they had the strength of at least level-18. Not only were they proficient in all sorts of Necromagic, they also had a strange body that was half Undead and half magical beast, which gave them an iparable strength. In this aspect, even a Vampire like Norfeller could not bepared to them.

    Indeed, Norfeller was a strong person that could rip apart the Ice Howler with his bare hands, but Lin Li believed that even Norfeller would be unable to handle the Spirit Wolves without using the Heaven¡¯s Wrath. This was because the Spirit Wolf¡¯s body naturally did not have a definite form, just like the Nightmares from the Nightmare Mountains¡ªthey were a shapeless existence, and pure physical strength was unable to deal much damage to them.

    That natural instinct from the soul fire caused Spirit Wolves to constantly summonpatriots. Wolves were naturally social animals, and even if they were remade into Spirit Wolves by the Dark Force, this natural instinct that came from the soul fire was still unchangeable. There was not a single wolf pack that could resist this summoning, just like how not a single magical beast could resist the control of a prehistoric magical beast. It was the fear and submission towards the strong that was inborn among the weak.

    Those simr species that were summoned might not undergo any changes at the beginning, but as the days went by, the Dark Force within the Spirit Wolf would slowly change them. It would cause them to be a monster simr to the Spirit Wolf, transforming these monsters into the Shadow Wolves that Lin Li was looking at now.

    But, the thing that made Lin Li frown at this moment was not the father of these monsters, the legendary Spirit Wolf. What made Lin Li truly worried was the Dark Force that gave rise to the Spirit Wolf¡¯s emergence...

    Back then at nna, Lin Li was on good terms with Sendros, and had this High Priest from the Darkness Shrine talk about some stories about the Spirit Wolf. In the legends of the Darkness Shrine, the Spirit Wolf was a pet of the gods, and the aim of their existence was to search for offerings to gift to the gods.

    But, even Sendros had never seen a real Spirit Wolf before. In the ancient books of the Darkness Shrine, there had not been a single record about the Spirit Wolf for hundreds of years. The most recent one dated back to at least 700 years ago, the age when the Darkness Shrine was at its prime. That Spirit Wolf had caused a terrifying disaster in the north of the Ledin Kingdom. In the end, it was the four Archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine that took action before this disaster that could¡¯ve possibly engulfed the whole Ledin Kingdom was extinguished.

    Of course, that Spirit Wolf was extremely powerful. ording to the Darkness Shrine¡¯s ancient records, that Spirit Wolf had existed since the middle of the Dark Ages. After being infused with Dark Force for countless years, it already had the power of almost level-20.

    This one at the Scar of Death was definitely not that powerful. It had been less than 1300 years since the Dark Ages, so it would definitely not be some level-24 freak no matter how suffused with Dark Force it was. Even though it was strong, it was not unbeatable provided Lin Li was willing to work hard...

    If there was some cannon fodder willing to sacrifice themselves and buy some time for him, he would still have the chance of killing the Spirit Wolf after drinking all sorts of potions, summoning the Lord of Nightmares, and having the Holy Light of all Evil Forces.

    <i>But the Malfa Family did not give me a sry, so why would I work so hard?</i>

    Lin Li had never been a person that faced death with no regrets. It was the exact opposite. This a*shole was possibly one of the people most fearful of death; hence, he came to Anril to try and be stronger. Be it through stealing, snatching, or lying, as long as he could be stronger, he would use any means necessary. It was all just so that he could continue living...

    Asking a person like him that was afraid of death to go up against the Spirit Wolf?

    Why wouldn¡¯t you cut off a piece of his flesh instead...

    Lin Li looked at Adelo, who was reciting spells, and started calcting. <i>Should I bring this fe along with me? This guy seems to know quite a bit about the ns of the Malfa Family. If I were to bring him back to the Tower of Dusk for interrogation, it should be a decent choice...</i>

    ¡°F*ck, what happened!?¡± It was at this moment that Lin Li felt that his finger was suddenly scorching hot.

    The instant the heat came about, Lin Li had already reacted. It was the Ring of Endless Storm!

    This sudden change almost scared Lin Li to death. This heat was too abnormal. The Ring of Endless Storm had been worn by him for so long, but nothing like this had happened before. Even Connoris, that despicable and cunning fe, could not do much in the Ring of Endless Storm. Why did the Ring of Endless Storm be like this when it had been fine so far?

    Panicking, Lin Li did not care about the Shadow Wolf. He just inserted a sliver of mental strength into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    After that, he saw a dumbfounding scene.

    The Holy Light that had been sitting silently inside the Ring of Endless Storm had suddenly gone into a frenzy. Just like a rampaging bull, it was charging all about in that boundless Dimensional Space. The iparably zing white light had illuminated the whole world, while the terrifying Divine Power had been emitted in a disorderly manner, causing the almost infinite Dimensional Space to be in tremors.

    That sliver of mental strength had just been inserted, and it had been already bound by that frantic Divine Power, turning into fragments in an instant.

    ¡°Why... Why is this happening?¡± Luckily, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was abnormally powerful. Although some had been ripped into shreds by the Divine Power, it did not have any effect on his body. If this was an average mage, just the loss of mental strength would be sufficient for him to permanently lose part of his ability (level).

    But, there being no effect on mental strength did not mean that Lin Li did not feel surprised.

    This terrifying scene was something that Lin Li had not seen before, or even thought of...

    How was this happening? Why had the quiet and peaceful Holy Light suddenly be so frantic?

    ¡°Could it be... that it¡¯s because of the Dark Force that spawned the Spirit Wolf?¡± Lin Li spoke to himself, but then shook his head. <i>It should not be. </i>Although the Dark Force that created the Spirit Wolf was powerful, it was not powerful enough to send the Holy Light into a frenzy. It should be known that even when he was in the Endless World, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were not so frantic when he had shot the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, dead.

    The only simr situation should be the one at the Well of the Sun.

    At that point, Lin LI had just acquired the Stars of Fury. He still had not known how to control this weapon used by gods, and a very idental mistake caused him to fuse Holy Light and Gloomy Dark together. An elemental storm that almost destroyed the whole Well of the Sun had been created under the collision of the forces of Light and Darkness back then.

    <i>Wait, Gloomy Dark? </i>When Lin Li thought about this, he had a stunned expression on his face that was hard to conceal. <i>Could it be that the Dark Force that was giving rise to the Spirit Wolf... is Gloomy Dark?</i>

    In the legends, the gods used the seven elemental powers of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Chaos to create the seven bolts of Stars of Fury. They only needed a small hit, and it could shatter the stars. One of the Holy Light had been used by Lin Li at Syer Town¡¯s ruins. Although it did not shatter stars like the legends, it had shattered the Humerus Domain of a Legendary-realm Lich, thereby killing a Humerus Wyrm that was equally powerful.

    The Holy Light¡¯s power came from Light, and the Gloomy Dark¡¯s power came from Darkness.

    After thinking through everything, the death auraing from depths of the canyon was not as pressurizing as before. Lin Li could faintly feel a familiar sense of warmth, and even heard a small voice calling out to him in his ears. This voice had transcended time and space; in his ears, it was identical to the one at the Well of the Sun.

    ¡°I understand now...¡±

    Following this clue, Lin Li had realized a lot. Aftering to the ckstone Mountains, he had suddenly be enlightened about all the things that he could not understand, be it the ns of the Malfa Family, or the goal of the advance party. Lin Li even somewhat guessed the true identity of Tutankhamun, who had once eaten roasted boar with him.

    <i>Seems like the ckstone Mountains are to be more interesting...</i>

    Lin Li had a smile on his face. When he entered the canyon, his steps were as firm and steady as before.

    ...

    Meanwhile, a small silhouette shed by the camp that was not far from the Scar of Death. Under the shadow of the evening sky, this small silhouette was like a spirit as it entered into Hutton¡¯s tent stealthily.

    ¡°Young Master Hutton, I have returned.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hutton had a thick woolen nket wrapped around his body, and held a magic book with a ck cover. When the small figure entered the tent, Hutton, who was focused on reading, did not even raise his head. He just casually asked, ¡°Where did Weathor go this afternoon?¡±

    ¡°Weathor did not go too far. He just went to a forest near the Scar of Death, and then saw a mage called Gavin over there.¡±

    ¡°Gavin?¡± Hutton frowned, and gently put down the magic book in his hands. ¡°Tell me what happened in detail. Remember, do not leave out a single word.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The small silhouette bent forward slightly. With a respectful posture that was almost humble, it recounted everything he had seen to this young heir of the Malfa Family.

    The process of Weathor and Gavin meeting was naturally long, plus Hutton had ordered him to absolutely not leave out a single detail. Hence, this small silhouette spent almost half an hour before he hadpletely recounted everything.

    ¡°You mean, the Breezy ins Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Bring Hahn over. Oh, yes. Emendas as well...¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    Not even five minutester, there were hurried footstepsing from outside of the tent.

    Hahn and Emendas entered the tent almost simultaneously. Both their faces were full of confusion¡ªit was already sote, so why did Master Hutton call them over?

    ¡°Hahn, is there a mage called Felic among the adventurers that you have recruited this time?¡±

 Chapter 393 - Brother

    <h4>Chapter 393: Brother</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Y-yes.¡± Hahn swallowed his saliva with difficulty; his face was covered in cold sweat. Hahn, who had worked for the Malfa Family for more than ten years, knew the temperament of Young Master Hutton better than anyone else. If thetter were to know that Hahn had helped Sir Harvey do those things, even having ten lives would not save him. It was especially so for the issue of the advance party...

    Back at ckstone Town, Hutton had already repeatedly emphasized that the advance party entering the Scar of Death was the most important part of the whole n. The members of the advance party had to be those that were known through and through. They could not be too strong or too smart, and their background could not be tooplicated. It was best that their past could be discerned easily.

    Initially, Hahn had indeed acted ording to these strict standards when picking candidates. He chose Reggie and then Johnathan, but after that, that mage called Felic actually came forward. He volunteered to go to the Scar of Death with Johnathan. Hahn was obsessed back then, and only wanted to please Sir Harvey. Thus, he actually agreed to it. He thought that it was courting death to go to the Scar of Death anyway. Sir Hutton would not notice a young mage with no status or background like him, either. Back then, he thought that he had done things without anyone knowing, but he did not imagine that Sir Hutton would look for him for answers in just half a day...

    Hahn knew that this was the biggest taboo for Sir Hutton. Just thinking about the methods of this first heir of the Malfa Family, Hahn could not help but shed cold sweat. <i>What do I do, what do I do? Should I push all the responsibility to Sir Harvey?</i>

    ¡°Where is he right now?¡± Hutton gently put down the magic book in his hands. His expression was abnormally calm, and even Emendas, who was nearest to him, did not know what this first heir of the Malfa Family was thinking about.

    But Hahn knew...

    After working for the Malfa Family for so many years, Hahn could not be any clearer about the personality of the first young master. The calmer his expression was, the more furious it meant he was. Just thinking about the terrifying rage that was behind such calmness, Hahn did not care much anymore. With a ¡°plop¡±, Hahn knelt down. Without waiting for Hutton to speak, he pped himself with ¡°pak, pak, pak¡± while sobbing to beg for mercy. ¡°I deserve to die... I deserve to die... Sir Hutton, please be merciful. Please spare me this time... on the ount that I have worked for the Malfa Family for so many years...¡±

    ¡°Spare you this time?¡± Hutton¡¯s expression was as calm as before, but his tone slowly started bing colder. ¡°Back at ckstone Town, I have already told you before. The members of the advance party must be known through and through. This n involves the whole Malfa Family¡¯s gains; there absolutely mustn¡¯t be any uncontroble factor involved. You promised me there would not be problems, but now, a stranger has appeared within the advance party. Hahn, can you exin to me what is going on?¡±

    ¡°I deserve to die... I deserve to die...¡± Hahn slumped onto the ground just like a pile of mud; only his hands were desperately pping himself. Furthermore, each p was harder than before. His sharp and long face had been pped till it was swollen and round. ¡°This really has nothing to do with me. Sir Hutton... It... It was Sir Harvey that made me do this!¡±

    ¡°Harvey?¡± Harvey¡¯s face ckened. ¡°Bring Harvey to me!¡±

    After a short moment, Harvey walked into the tent with a sleepy look.

    ¡°Big Brother, why are you looking for me?¡± Harvey had just walked into the tent when he saw that Harvey¡¯s face was purple with rage. In an instant, his head tightened. The second young master of the Malfa Family was not afraid of anything, and did not even care much about his own father. Yet, in the face of his own brother, he had never dared to be presumptuous.

    Harvey was only two years younger than Hutton. It could be said that both of them grew up together, but it was also because of this that Harvey could be said to understand Hutton the most. He had seen this brother that was two years older than him seek tutge under Master Cheyenne, and then he saw him use 20 years to transform from a mage apprentice into a level-18 Archmage. He watched him take part in the management of the family at the age of 12, and watched as he made the Malfa Family stronger every day. In Harvey¡¯s eyes, his own brother was somebody omnipotent.

    In an average family, thepetition between the first son and younger sons was always bloody and cruel. It was because once the first son died, the position of the heir would definitely fall into the hands of the younger son.

    But the Malfa Family did not have this problem, because Harvey would definitely not fight with Hutton for the position of the heir. It was not that he did not want to¡ªit was because he did not dare to. When he was very, very young, Harvey already knew that the gap between Hutton and himself was giant. Thus, Harvey never dared topete with Hutton for anything. Other than respect, Harvey also had a deep-rooted fear of this older brother that was two years older than him...

    ¡°I heard that you let Hahn enlist a mage called Felic into the advance party?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Harvey was not really an idiot. Although he looked like he was miles apart from Hutton usually, this was also because of Hutton¡¯s judgment. In terms of intelligence, he had not reached the stage of being an idiot beyond help. When he heard Hutton¡¯s question, Harvey¡¯s expression was stiff because he knew that something had to have happened regarding the matter he had asked Hahn to handle...

    ¡°Speak!¡± Hutton¡¯s voice abruptly rose.

    The fear that was deep-rooted since young immediately made Harvey¡¯s knees weak. ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    After that, there was a crisp ¡°pak¡±...

    Hutton¡¯s pnded right on Harvey¡¯s face.

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Hutton¡¯s face was purple with anger, and his hand was trembling. ¡°I said this long ago. I told you not toe, but you insisted oning! Great, look at it yourself. What have you done?¡±

    ¡°I...¡± Harvey held his face with one hand; he was lost in an instant. Indeed, he had been beaten by Hutton quite a number of times since he was young, but there was not a single time he had been beaten in front of so many people. Harvey looked at Hutton with a shocked expression as though he did not really understand why his big brother had suddenly be so furious.

    ¡°Tell me, why did you do this?¡±

    ¡°I... I took a liking to the female adventurer that was with him...¡±

    When Hutton heard this, he was so angry that he almost had a heart attack. He raised his hand and almost let loose another p, but luckily his hand was stopped by Emendas.

    ¡°Sir Hutton, please calm down. Sir Harvey is still young and clueless. Just tell him nicely. Everyone is family, there¡¯s no need for things to be so rigid...¡±

    After being pulled back by Emendas, Hutton¡¯s p didn¡¯t follow. After Hutton calmed down for a bit, he also remembered that this younger brother that had grown up together with him had always been respectful even though he was not too smart. After thinking about this, Hutton¡¯s expression became warmer.

    Seeing the change in Hutton¡¯s expression, Harvey let out a sigh of relief quietly. He carefully gave off a smiling face while pitifully trying to justify himself. ¡°Big Brother, that¡¯s just a low-level mage. What can he possibly do to you...¡±

    ¡°A mage?¡± When Hutton heard this, the rage that he had suppressed just now surged up again. ¡°Idiot, do you still remember thatst month, Father told us that the Supreme Council had finally set its sights on the Breezy ins and established a new Guild of Magic at Dnd? Back then, Father told us worryingly that this time round, the Supreme Council¡¯s involvement would very likely change the hierarchy of powers in the whole Breezy ins!¡±

    Harvey was instantly stunned. ¡°What you mean is that Felic is a member of the Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°Member?¡± Hutton¡¯s face gave off a cold smile. ¡°If he was just a member of the Guild of Magic, why would I call you over in the middle of the night? I told you long ago to pay attention to the news of the border regrly, but you just spend your days willfully with those idiotic friends. If you are to continue to this, Father will chase you out of the Malfa Family sooner orter. Did you not hear anything about such a huge news such as the establishment of a Guild of Magic?

    ¡°What news?¡±

    ¡°The President of the Guild of Magic is a young mage in his twenties, and... his name is Felic!¡±

    ¡°How can this be!?¡± Harvey almost jumped up. ¡°You¡¯re saying that this Felic in the advance party is the President of the Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Hutton nodded his head, and red at Harvey fiercely. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m pulling your leg. This was heard by Ba today in the afternoon. This Felic that you have assigned to the advance party to be sent to his death... There is 80-90% chance he is the owner of the Tower of Dusk, the newly appointed President of the Guild of Magic...¡±

    When Harvey heard this, he suddenlyughed. ¡°I still wondered what was going on. So, the Guild of Magic that you and Father have been worrying about had appointed such an inferior mage to be the president. In the end, you and Father have been worrying for nothing. Big Brother, don¡¯t say that I caused trouble for you. In this world, everything requires strength. So what if this Felic is the president of the Guild of Magic? He¡¯s just a level-10 Magic Shooter at the very most. After entering the Scar of Death, Adelo would be able to deal with him with just a finger, and coincidentally help you and Father settle this big problem...¡±

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Hutton was so angry that he stomped his feet. ¡°Do you think that the Supreme Council would be as stupid as you and assign a level-10 Magic Shooter to be the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic?¡±

    ¡°Ok, I know that you are trying to tell me that this Felic is hiding his true strength...¡± Harvey pouted, and turned a deaf ear to Hutton¡¯s words. From his perspective, this brother of his was excellent in everything, but he was too careful when dealing with issues. He was afraid tomit himself, and was just scaring himself in the end. ¡°But no matter how he conceals it, he would not be stronger than Adelo, right? Big Brother, don¡¯t forget that Adelo is your senior. He is also Master Cheyenne¡¯s disciple. With his peak level-17 power, could it be that he can¡¯t handle a mage in his twenties?¡±

    ¡°Know my...¡± Hutton held it back again and again before he stopped himself from cursing. Looking at this useless younger brother of his, Hutton started bing annoyed. In the end, he let out a long sigh, and patiently exined, ¡°When the Guild of Magic had just been established, Father had already deployed people to investigate it. This president was not assigned randomly. Apparently, in order to select this guild¡¯s president, the Supreme Council had organized a trial. The 24 Guilds of Magic in the Fn Kingdom had each sent forth their best disciple. In the end, it was this Felic from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic that emerged victorious. Think about it yourself: how could this Felic that stood out from all of the genius mages be an average person?¡±

    When Harvey heard this, he could not help but panic. ¡°What should we do now?¡±

    ¡°What to do?¡± Hutton heaved a sigh, and called Emendas over. ¡°Emendas, notify Adelo immediately. Tell him to be careful of that Felic. If there really is a need, then just use that gem that I have given him.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    ¡°Big Brother, you... you mean <i>that </i>gem?¡± Harvey swallowed his saliva, and his eyes were filled with disbelief. ¡°That gem was given to you by Master Cheyenne to be used at the most crucial moment...¡±

    ¡°And you still dare to talk about it. If you hadn¡¯t got Felic into the advance party, how would we have ended up in such deep waters?¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Harvey opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything...

    Still, Harvey did not approve of Hutton¡¯s decision.

    From Harvey¡¯s perspective, no matter how hard a 20-year-old mage tried to conceal his strength, it would not be much. Unless he really was an Archmage? A 20-year-old Archmage, what a joke! Was he supposed to be the next Geresco...?

    Take a thousand steps back¡ªso what even if he really was an Archmage? Could it be that he could escape from Adelo¡¯s grasp? Adelo was Hutton¡¯s senior, and a disciple of Legendary-realm mage, Cheyenne. He apparently already was an Archmage at the peak of level-17 a few months ago. Other than Hutton, Harvey had not seen any mage stronger than him.

    How many geniuses, like Hutton, were there in Anril?

    After lecturing Harvey, Hutton looked at Emendas again. The face that was originally furious and annoyed slowly started smiling. ¡°Emendas, you¡¯ve done well. You did not cause problems together with Harvey.¡±

    Hutton was an intelligent person. Even though he did not know that Harvey looked for Emendas, and did not know how Emendas rejected Harvey, after connecting dots together, he could immediately guess most of what had happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Hutton. It¡¯s my fault for not stopping Sir Harvey in time and letting things escte to this degree...¡±

    ¡°No, this has nothing to do with you...¡± Hutton shook his head. ¡°Furthermore, the situation doesn¡¯t seem so bad at this point. Adelo just needs to hang on for another night. Just one more night would do. When our allies set off tomorrow morning, this Felic would not be able to do anything much even if he really has exceptional capabilities...¡±

 Chapter 394 - Mutant Skeletal Warriors

    <h4>Chapter 394: Mutant Skeletal Warriors</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After the advance party had entered the canyon, Lin Li finally experienced how formidable the Scar of Death was. The 100 Shadow Wolves at the start was just the appetizer; they were nothing much whenpared to the dangers that followed next. After turning thest shadow wolf into ashes with a ming Storm, Lin Li did not even have the chance to catch his breath when he heard a faint sounding from the earth beneath his feet...

    Lin Li had undergone a trial at the Shadowglen, and rescued a casten¡¯s son at the Syer Town¡¯s ruins. Of course, he was clearer than anyone else what this faint sound meant.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Before the first Skeletal Warrior crawled out, Lin Li only had the time to say that single word before his vision was obscured by thick and ck dust. Countless Skeletal Warriors were pushing the earth aside as they clumsily crawled out of the soil slowly. Numerous green will-o-wisps were flickering in the air, and there were waves of shrieks and groansing through. The pale skeletons spread an atmosphere of unusual terror all over under the moonlight.

    Lin Li started reciting the ming Storm without even thinking.

    Countless fire dragons baring fangs and brandishing ws let out roars. They crashed into the bodies of the Skeletal Warriors fiercely.

    After that, there was a deafening st. The brilliant res lit up most of the sky...

    But after the brilliant re shed by, Lin Li¡¯s expression changed. Although that ming Storm was just a level-eight spell, it could destroy at least 20 Skeletal Warriors even despite him deliberately suppressing his strength, but looking at the numerous Skeletal Warriors in front, less than ten had been struck down.

    ¡°What... What is going on?¡± Lin Li was immediately somewhat confused. Could it be that several days of pretending to be a level-10 Magic Shooter had actually caused his power to deteriorate? Lin Li did not believe this, and released four or five consecutive ming Storms. In the end, the destructive power did not change much. The ming Storm that originally could destroy at least 30 Skeletal Warriors had once again destroyed less than 10. Such a loss was negligible for these numerous Skeletal Warriors. With a barrage of ming Storms, the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ numbers did not decrease, but instead increased more and more because of Lin Li¡¯s recitation...

    It was at this moment that a thought shed past Lin Li¡¯s mind...

    <i>Or is it because of Gloomy Dark?</i>

    <i>Indeed, this really could be a possibility... </i>Thinking about this, Lin Li suddenly understood. The legendary sharp weapons, debris of the stars, naturally had their own souls. Even if there was no Stars of Fury to operate them, they would still release their power automatically. Back then, in the underground pce in the Demon Fall Valley, didn¡¯t Holy Light kill off a Lich that justpleted transformation? Gloomy Dark had been hidden in the Scar of Death for so many years, so the Undead creatures that it created were definitely stronger than the normal ones.

    But, this was not good news for Lin Li...

    There were at least hundreds of Skeletal Warriors climbing out of the ground at the moment, and their number seemed to be increasing. Almost every inch of the ground in every direction had Skeletal Warriors crawling out incessantly of it. The scene looked like a swarm of locusts, and gave Lin Li goosebumps.

    Furthermore, they were no longer normal Skeletal Warriors after they had been strengthened by Gloomy Dark¡¯s power. Gloomy Dark itself was the purest and strongest Dark Force. For Undead creatures and demons, it was a source of power that they were dying to obtain. Under bathing in the darkness of Gloomy Dark for thousand of years, even the lowest-level Undead creatures, the Skeletal Warriors, had also be an iparably nasty existence.

    Based on Lin Li¡¯s judgment, these Skeletal Warriors were at least level-eight...

    If it was under normal circumstances, a level-eight Skeletal Warrior was nothing much. Forget Lin Li, even the weakest of those present¡ªJohnathan¡ªcould take down tens of them easily. But right in front of their eyes, how could there only be tens of them? If they were to really count them, then there were at least a hundred times more than tens of them...

    Furthermore, Lin Li believed that if this were to continue, it would only take a few minutes before they multiplied by 200 times or even 300 times. The Skeletal Warriors of the Scar of Death were endless. Only pale skeletons could be seen climbing out of the ground continuously, swinging their rusty machetes about and approaching the group with clumsy and slow footsteps...

    ¡°Master, they seem to be different.¡± This time, even Ujfalusi, this ex-Lich, could not help but feel rmed. A growth from level-five to level-eight was noughing matter. It was an increase of three whole levels, and was especially serious when it applied to thousands of Skeletal Warriors, bing even more terrifying. It was as though a flock of sheep had transformed into a pack of hungry wolves. What was a situation that could have been easily resolved had now been changed into a scene of despair.

    ¡°Yes, I noticed...¡± Lin Li nodded, and then looked at Adelo, who was far away. At this time, Adelo seemed to have heard something. Hisplexion was focused and serious. The two high-level Warriors beside him were using their greatsword and machete to protect him steadfastly.

    Adelo raised his head as though he had felt Lin Li¡¯s gaze. He looked towards Lin Li from afar, and then softly gave out orders to the two bodyguards.

    After that, Lin Li saw the two high-level Warriors nod their heads and start to intentionally draw closer to Lin Li while protecting Adelo.

    ¡°Fel... Brother Felic, I really implicated you this time...¡± After cutting down tens of Skeletal Warriors consecutively, the double-edged greatsword in Johnathan¡¯s hand, which had not been sharp to begin with, started to be blunt. Luckily, the magical enchantment effect of the Sword of mes was still present. Although it could not splice Skeletal Warriors apart directly, the fire magical element attached to it could still do some damage.

    However, the Skeletal Warriors were too many. After cutting down one, there would be more to fill up its spot immediately. No matter how hard Johnathan fought, there was still an endless number of Skeletal Warriors in front of him. This feeling invoked a sense of stifling despair in Johnathan.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying this...¡± Lin Li could not help but show a bitter smile. He softly recited low-level spells while observing Adelo, who was drawing closer to him.

    All the while till this point, Lin Li still did not expose his true power. He still dutifully carried on acting as a level-10 Magic Shooter, but it was not because he had confidence in oveing this crisis. Instead, he was just waiting¡ªwaiting for Adelo to expose his true power.

    All of this carried a certain element of a gamble. Everyone was a Magic Shooter, so on what basis were you more precious? You were not willing to show your true power, right? Then I¡¯d continue putting on a show...

    The high-level Warriors¡¯bat strength was indeed valiant. In less than five minutes, Adelo, under the protection of the two high-level Warriors, had managed to pull out from the heavy encirclement and join up with Lin Li and the rest, who were trapped in a dead end.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± This was the first time Adelo spoke to Lin Li ever since they¡¯d entered the Scar of Death. This middle-aged mage¡¯s voice was rather hoarse, but it was not so bad if not listened to closely. ¡°I believe you have seen it as well. These Skeletal Warriors are not normal. I think it¡¯s time we cooperate for once...¡±

    ¡°Haha, Mage Adelo really knows how to make jokes. I am a young junior, how could I have the qualifications to cooperate with you? But if you were to have any solution, I would try my best to coordinate with you...¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Adeloughed. He did not argue with Lin Li whether it was cooperating or coordinating.

    ¡°I wonder what sort of solution does Mage Adelo have?¡±

    ¡°A terrifying Dark Force is controlling these Skeletal Warriors. As long as this Dark Force is around, these Skeletal Warriors will never be totally eradicated. Furthermore, based on my knowledge, there are other stronger Undead creatures in the Scar of Death other than Skeletal Warriors. It could be Vampires, Death Knights, or Liches... Anyway, this Dark Force¡¯s strength is above anyone¡¯s imagination...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li almost drew in a breath of cold air. Under the enhancement of Gloomy Dark, the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ power had been raised from level-five to level-eight. This was still barely eptable, but if it was a Lich, then it would be raised from level-20 to level-23. Even if his own mentor, Andoine, were toe here personally, wouldn¡¯t he run away in fright as well?

    ¡°There is only one way to exterminate them...¡±

    Lin Li smiled, and finished his words. ¡°...Cut off the Dark Force that is controlling them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, we are clueless about that Dark Force. We don¡¯t know where is its source, and neither do we know how to disrupt its control over the Skeletal Warriors...¡±

    ¡°I know...¡± Adelo smiled mysteriously. He used the magic staff in his hands to point out a direction. ¡°There is a cave in that direction. Deep inside the cave, there is an altar. All we need to do is break through the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ encirclement, enter that cave, and destroy the altar inside.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it was...¡± Lin Li had a look of realization, but he cursed on the inside. <i>I would be an idiot if I believed you...</i>

    Frankly, Adelo¡¯s words were pretty wless. Although it might not work when deceiving an average person, under the pressure of countless Skeletal Warriors, most of them would nod and agree. After all, everybody knew that these Skeletal Warriors could not be exterminated. They could only listen to Adelo and do ordingly if they wanted to survive.

    Unfortunately, it was Lin Li that Adelo met this time...

    Lin Li was clearer than anybody else where the source of this Dark Force was. What altar? Bullsh*t...

    However, Lin Li did not expose Adelo¡¯s lies on the spot.

    It was because Lin Li himself was skilled in lying. He was clearer than most people what was the key factor in telling lies¡ªout of ten sentences, at least eight of them had to be true. Only the most crucial two sentences were lies.

    The altar that Adelo spoke of was definitely a lie, but that cave part was mostly true. Furthermore, Lin Li could faintly feel that Gloomy Dark¡¯s aura wasing from that direction...

 Chapter 395 - So Many Bats

    <h4>Chapter 395: So Many Bats</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Things had already developed to this stage, and Lin Li had already understood that the Malfa Family¡¯s goal was mostly rted to Gloomy Dark that was in the Scar of Death. Even if this was not their final goal, it was at least a crucial step. Otherwise, they would not have dispatched Adelo, this Archmage at the peak of level-17.

    But Lin Li was very curious. The understanding that the Malfa Family had of the Gloomy Dark was not as simple as he had heard. Adelo could even urately point out Gloomy Dark¡¯s location.

    Could it be that everything was rted to that map?

    If this was the case, then the Malfa Family had quite a number of clues in their grasp. There could even be someone in the Malfa Family that had seen Gloomy Dark with their own eyes before. Otherwise, Adelo would not be able to remain so confident. Lin Li even dared to bet on his brains that what Adelo knew was far more than what Lin Li had ever imagined.

    But there was another thing, and it was something that Adelo would never, ever know about...

    Adelo would never have imagined that this young mage standing in front of him was the previous owner of Gloomy Dark!

    Lin Li, who used to own the seven debris of the stars, knew more about them than anybody else. If there was anybody that could still operate Gloomy Dark in this world, then that person would undoubtedly be Lin Li.

    Of course, Lin Li would never tell Adelo that...

    Now, Lin Li was waiting. He was waiting to give this Archmage, who was good at disguising himself, a very big surprise!

    ¡°I wonder what sort of solution Mage Adelo has?¡±

    ¡°I know that there is a path nearby. It can allow us to temporarily escape from the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ pursuit.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Once Lin Li heard this, he knew that he had guessed correctly. Adelo indeed did know quite a bit...

    Under Adelo¡¯s guidance, the 12 of them continued fighting while retreating. They used about half an hour before they reached the location that Adelo spoke of. That ce did indeed have a path. It was narrow and steep, and the entrance of the path was a cave that barely had space for two to walk side by side. Adelo was right¡ªthis cave¡¯s entrance would be able to stop the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ pursuit. After all, those Skeletal Warriors were just level-eight. If they did not charge over and swarm them, even Johnathan could be a hero that took on a hundred of them. By that time, they would be dyed for a long while just by any random summoned creature.

    Adelo had done just that. The 12 of them had just entered the cave in a single file when Adelo took out a scroll from his pocket. After a short recitation, the scroll immediately vaporized, turning into a ck fog. After that, an Ironback Blue Wolf appeared, guarding the entrance of the cave steadfastly.

    <i>Why is he so stingy... </i>Lin Li pouted in secret. Nowadays, there were two types of summoning scrolls that were mostmonly seen on the market. One of them was the level-12 Ironback Blue Wolf, and the other was a level-14 Storming Bear. From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, the level-14 Storming Bear was the most suitable for blocking the cave¡¯s entrance. Its powerful physical strength as well as the wind attribute magic it was born with was the most suitable for being the rear guard. Lin Li believed that everybody would not have to worry about the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ pursuit till dusk set in tomorrow if there was a level-14 Storming Bear standing at the entrance of the cave...

    Inparison, the Ironback Blue Wolf which was cheaper by about 10,000 gold coins was much weaker. It could only hold out till the next morning because its physical strength was insufficient. Lin Li¡¯s opinion was simple: since they were all summons, why not summon a Storming Bear to save strength? After all, Adelo was able to purchase the scroll for summoning the Ironback Blue Wolf. There was no way he could not purchase the one for summoning the Storming Bear.

    Luckily, Adelo did not know what this fe was thinking about. Otherwise, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood...

    The scroll for summoning the Ironback Blue Wolf cost at least 20,000 gold coins. Furthermore, it was a consumable¡ªafter using it once, it would lose its effect. Even though Adelo did not have a low position in the Malfa Family, he only had three of these scrolls, and usually treated them like treasure. He only took one out to use it today, yet this fe mocked him for being stingy...

    The Ironback Blue Wolf stood at the entrance of the cave. The surging Skeletal Warriors seemed to crash into an iron wall, losing the advantage in number, and the ws of the Skeletal Warriors were instantly exposed. Three to five ordinary Skeletal Warriors werepletely not a match for the Ironback Blue Wolf. Before they could charge forward, they had already been ripped into pieces by the sharp ws and teeth.

    ¡°Ok, everybody take a break first...¡± After Adelo brought everyone into the cave, he continued moving forward for another hour before he stopped at an empty hillside. ¡°The Ironback Blue Wolf can hold out for one night. We should take this chance to rest up, and leave tomorrow first thing in the morning.¡±

    A whole day of walking as well as continuous battles had longpletely exhausted everyone. Now, they finally escaped from those Skeletal Warriors with difficulty. Everyone seemed to have fallen asleep right away, asionally giving rhythmic snores. However, neither Lin Li nor Adelo slept. It was not that they did not want to, but rather they did not dare to. Things had already developed to this stage, and there was not much secrecy left between these two mages that were good at disguising themselves. They both knew that the other was concealing his true strength, and neither was rxed at all. If they were to sleep now, wouldn¡¯t the other party seize this opportunity?

    ¡°Mage Adelo, aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡±

    ¡°No, no. Everyone is rather worn out from being busy the whole day. I did not exert much strength today, so I¡¯ll just keep a lookout for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Lin Liughed, but he was cursing in his mind. <i>Lookout your f*cking *ss. If I dared to sleep, you would definitely harm me...</i>

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Felic, why aren¡¯t you sleeping, either?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li looked at Adelo with a despicable smile. ¡°I¡¯m not used to spending the night in the wild. I am worried that I will have nightmares when I sleep. For example, getting shed by somebody, being bombarded by magic while being tied up, or something like that. It¡¯s very scary...¡±

    ¡°Haha...¡± Adelo curled his lips, and hisughter was drier than sand. ¡°Mage Felic really loves to crack jokes...¡±

    In the end, both of these fes with devil tails did not sleep. They each found a space in a corner, and meditated for the whole night.

    ...

    The next morning, while Lin Li and the rest had not departed yet, the base camp near the Scar of Death had weed some guests.

    There were more than ten people seated within Hutton¡¯s tent. Other than some important personnel from the Malfa Family, there was Vanskore, the leader of the Syer Bandits, as well as his best subordinate Rnd. Additionally, Garza¡ªthe president of Dnd¡¯s cksmith Guild¡ªwas here as well. A Warrior in his thirties apanied him, and from the way Garza addressed him, he should be the strongest Adventurer in Dnd other than Jason¡ªRolf.

    Other than them, there was a mage from the Ledin Kingdom¡ªif Lin Li was here, he would most likely be able to recognize him with just a look. This bony mage that was emitting a strong death aura was actually the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine, Mr. Sendros¡ªthe Legendary-realm necromancer.

    It was just that Sendros was much more refined today aspared to when he¡¯d been nna. At least he did not bring along his magic staff that was made of bone, and he did not summon a few skeletons as his henchmen. He just wore a gray robe and held an ordinary magic staff. He did not look any different from an average mage.

    Of course, this was just on the surface...

    No one present dared to look at him as though he was just an average mage.

    ¡°Master Sendros, if Mentor Cheyenne were to know that you are here as well, he would be very happy.¡± Hutton had a pleasantly surprised look on his face. Back when he was sending an invitation to Sendros, he was only trying. After all, he was a genuine Legendary-realm powerhouse. Although the Malfa Family had an immense power, it was not at the point where a Legendary-realm powerhouse would have to respect them. Back when he sent the invitation, he was only hoping that Sendros would take Mentor Cheyenne¡¯s reputation into ount and offer to help.

    ¡°I am here for another reason, it has nothing to do with Cheyenne.¡± Sendros¡¯ voice was cold and hoarse. The words he spoke did not have any regard for Hutton¡¯s feelings, but there was nobody in the tent that felt that it was improper. Even Hutton himself did not think that Sendros¡¯ words were disrespectful towards Mentor Cheyenne.

    With Sendros¡¯ strength and position, he naturally did not have to respect anyone.

    ¡°Be at ease, I will definitely deliver on what I have promised.¡± Hutton smiled. He did not mind Sendros¡¯ rudeness. In fact, Sendros being able to attend was the best news for Hutton. At this time, he was just being rude with his words. Even if Sendros were to p him, he would just smile and offer the other cheek.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    After greeting Sendros, Hutton then chatted with a few others. After that, he called Jason and Emendas over.

    ¡°Pass down the order. Everyone prepare to move out.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    After half an hour, a gigantic adventurer party started to advance towards the Scar of Death.

    ...

    At this point, Lin Li and the rest had already left the cave. They were moving along the steep and narrow path, advancing towards the canyon below the hillside.

    The road ahead was even, and the surroundings were extraordinarily clean. During the journey, Lin Li and the rest did not see a single bone, and even that thick death aura had be much fainter. It was worlds apart whenpared to yesterday¡¯s gloomy and ghastly scene.

    But Adelo¡¯s expression did not rx a little at all.

    On the contrary, Adelo seemed to have be another person after he had passed through the cave. His every move was very careful.

    Lin Li did not dare to be careless after seeing him in this state, and was constantly using the Warlock¡¯s Eyes for surveince. They had only left the cave and walked for a few miles, and he had already used at least 50 Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Who knew that this surveince would really allow Lin Li to detect something.

    ¡°F*ck, so many bats!¡±

 Chapter 396 - Multicolored Potion

    <h4>Chapter 396: Multicolored Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were a lot of bats...

    Within the Warlock¡¯s Eyes¡¯ field of vision, there was pitch-ck flock of bats flying out from behind the hillside, which looked like a thunderclouding before a storm.

    This nightmarish scene made Lin Li¡¯s mouth wide open. This was not a joke! Every bat was a Vampire, and there were at least a hundred of them in this pitch-ck patch. This also meant that more than 100 Vampires were waiting for them!

    ¡°This is too much of a joke...¡± In an instant, Lin Li felt that his mind was nk.

    ¡°So... So many?¡± At this time, Adelo started to panic as well. His face immediately turned pale when he looked at the flock of pitch-ck bats, and beads of sweat the size of beans started to trickle down his forehead.

    Vampires were in the Scar of Death. They had a terrifying speed like spirits, and were naturally proficient in all sorts of Dark Magic, causing them to be born with strength of at least level-10. Furthermore, one could not forget this was the Scar of Death, the Scar of Death that Gloomy Dark was lying in the depths of. Under the influence of Gloomy Dark¡¯s power, even Skeletal Warriors could reach level-eight. What about Vampires that were much more powerful than Skeletal Warriors? Duh.

    This was just a tragic ending...

    They had expanded a Herculean effort, and even used a Ironback Blue Wolf Summoning Scroll that was worth 20,000 gold coins before they finally escaped from the Skeletal Warriors¡¯ encirclement. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, they had encountered more than a hundred Vampires. Was there anything more ironic in this world than this?

    If they¡¯d known it was going to turn out this way, they would¡¯ve rather fought it out with the Skeletal Warriors...

    Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now. Just when everyone was dumbfounded, a few bats already descended from the sky. A ck fog rose up, and instantly transformed into the shape of a Vampire with a pale face and razor sharp ws.

    The Vampires were emitting a thick scent of blood from their bodies. They arched their bodies and gave out a low roar as though they were starving wolves. Lin Li knew that they werepletely different from Norfeller¡ªeven though Norfeller was a Vampire, he had retained perfect memory and soul. Furthermore, he had formed a blood oath with Lin Li, making him not any different from a real human. As for those in front of them, they were totally Undead creatures. They had no thoughts nor consciousness, and only knew ughter and destruction. The only thing that could control them was Gloomy Dark that was hidden within the depths of the Scar of Death.

    The number of bats descending from the sky grew. In the midst of the ck fog, there were bats transforming into the figures of Vampires, while the scent of blood in the surroundings grew thicker and thicker. In the blink of an eye, those Vampires had blocked off the escape route of the advance party.

    Everything happened so quickly that nobody could react to it. The two high-level Warriors had just drawn their weapons when arge group of Vampires charged over. The razor-sharp ws tore the air, and the sizzling sound of the air being ripped apart were like venomous snakes swimming when heard. The strength of the Vampires was on a whole new level whenpared to the Skeletal Warriors that were on the other side of the hill, and the high-level Warriors that could originally sweep through hundreds of Skeletal Warriors single-handedly were now out of breath when entangled by more than ten Vampires. The Combat Energy that was protecting their bodies could not defend against the Vampires¡¯ razor-sharp ws. In just an instant, the two high-level Warriors had shes all over their bodies.

    What was more frightening was that these Vampires did not attack blindly. At the same time when more than 10 Vampires were holding up the two high-level Warriors, even more Vampires used their speed to rush over. After that, those razor-sharp ws scattered the entire advance party. Almost every member of the advance party was surrounded by more than 10 Vampires. It was especially so for those two mages that had weak physically strength¡ªthey were surrounded by even more Vampires.

    ¡°F*ck, are you guys not embarrassed?¡± Lin Li was almost driven mad. It was as though these Vampires had taken stimnts and were risking their lives. A very thick ice wall was erected, yet they charged over without any hesitation. After that, they used their razor-sharp ws to tear open a pathway through the ice wall.

    Li Li continued reciting and desperately strengthening the shaky and crumbling ice wall, but under the constraints of the spell¡¯s cooldown, the speed of strengthening the wall could not keep up with the Vampires¡¯ destruction thereof. In mere moments, the thick ice wall was battered.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s situation was not the worst. Reggie, Johnathan, and the rest had it worse. Bandits were not a profession that excelled in directbat, plus Vampires naturally had the speed of spirits. Although they were iparable to Norfeller, it was more than sufficient when dealing with a few level-15 Bandits. In a series of sneak attacks, three out of four of the Bandits had suffered heavy injuries. Only Reggie was left, desperately holding on...

    Even level-15 Bandits were in this plight, so there was no need to mention a level-14 Warrior. From the start of the battle, Johnathan could barely hold back a few, but the number of Vampires around him grew. This level-14 warrior was soon forced into a corner.

    Other than them, Adelo was not having a great time, either. Arge group of Vampires held him back, and the spells that required recitation could not be cast at all. At this time, Adelo really thought that he was going to die. Even though he had the power of a level-17 Archmage, he could not use it at all. There were too many of these damned Vampires. Without the cover of the two high-level Warriors, Adelo could not stop fighting to start reciting. He could only continuously use instantaneously cast low-level spells and hope that it could dy his opponents till the two high-level Warriors came back to rescue him.

    Unfortunately, Adelo did not receive the high-level Warriors¡¯ assistance. Instead, he received an attack to his back by razor-sharp ws...

    In the moment that Adelo had cast a ming Storm, a Vampire had already sneaked up to his back. With a ¡°tchh¡±, razor-sharp ws pierced through Adelo¡¯s body. In an instant, there was warm blood spewing everywhere. After that, this Vampire pounced over just like a hunting dog that caught its prey, and using the powerful momentum, it pushed Adelo to the ground.

    After that, Adelo saw two white fangs...

    <i>It¡¯s over... </i>Adelo immediately thought as everything in front of him turned ck.

    ¡°Boom!¡± But just as those two fangs were about to descend, arge fireball had flown over from afar, andnded directly on the Vampire that was about to bite him.

    The power of this fireball was terrifyingly strong. A Vampire that was at least level-13 had instantaneously turned into ashes upon impact.

    ¡°Pyrost!¡± Adelo, who had not recovered from his shock, raised his head and saw that young mage wielding a staff and firingrge fireballs...

    One, two, three, four... 10!

    Looking at those fireballs roaring past, Adelo waspletely stunned. The shock that these 10 fireballs gave him far surpassed the shock from those two white fangs.

    As an Archmage at the peak of level-17, Adelo was very clear what type of spell the Pyrost was. The depletion of mana after one Pyrost wasparable to that after two level-17 and above spells. Even with his own abilities, he could cast only five of them before he had to rest. To release 10 at once, he would require stimnts...

    But today, there was young mage in his twenties that had fired 10 Pyrosts in his face.

    Plus it was almost simultaneous...

    After temporarily escaping from the Vampires¡¯ entanglement, Adelo had enough time to observe that young mage¡¯s spell-casting. This time, he clearly saw that that young mage¡¯s recitation speed was something that he had never seen before. From the beginning till the end, there was not a single pause. A recitation that should be 10 seconds long had beenpletely in just five seconds, and from the sound of it, there was not a single w. It was natural and effortless, and had a bizarre but smooth rhythm.

    The young mage gripped his magic staff tightly. Theplex and mysterious incantations were spilling out of his mouth smoothly as though every word had a mysterious power, and the gigantic fireballs were like the judgment on doomsday, sting open a bloody pathway in the encirclement of countless Vampires...

    At this point, Adelo even thought that he was dreaming...

    ¡°Mage Adelo, are you alright?¡± It was only when this young mage had charged through the encirclement of Vampires and reached Adelo¡¯s side before this Archmage that was good at concealment finally regained his senses.

    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine.¡± Adelo¡¯s voice suddenly became rather hoarse, and the gaze he fixed on Lin Li started bing intricate.

    ¡°Seems like we really have to cooperate for once...¡± Lin Li smiled; he looked rather exhausted. While the Multicolored Potion could stimte mental strength, it also pushed the body to its limits. However, there was no other choice¡ªLin Li had no other way out. The 10 Pyrosts had killed 10 Vampires, which seemed rather perverted and violent, but looking at the surroundings, one would realize these 10 Vampires were just a drop in the bucket. It totally did not dampen the power of this Vampire army. Lin Li had no choice but to borrow the power of the Multicolored Potion if he wanted to escape from so many Vampires...

    ¡°I really did not think that Mage Felic¡¯s true abilities were so powerful...¡± Adelo looked at Lin Li with an intricate expression; when he discovered that the other party looked rather weak, his mind felt more stable. This Archmage that was good at concealing promptly thought that this type of exhaustion was due to those 10 Pyrosts...

    Unfortunately, Adelo did not know that it was the Multicolored Potion that worked this way¡ªas the body got weaker, mental strength would get stronger.

    ¡°Mage Adelo, you praise me too much...¡± Lin Li spoke as he raised the magic staff in his hands. He erected a thick ice wall in front of the both of them. ¡°Ok, this ice wall should be able to hold off those damned Vampires, but it won¡¯t be for long. Mage Adelo, we need to think of a solution quickly.¡±

    ¡°How do you want me to cooperate?¡±

    After hearing this sentence, Lin Li smiled, satisfied. ¡°I need you to be honest...¡±

 Chapter 397 - True Abilities

    <h4>Chapter 397: True Abilities</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If Lin Li had said this at the start, Adelo would have just ignored him. Even though he had known from Harvey that this young mage was not simple, and that his true abilities were at least those of an Archmage, what was Adelo¡¯s status? He was a Legendary-realm mage¡¯s disciple, and he himself had the abilities of an Archmage at the peak of level-17. Why would he hold an average Archmage in high regard?

    From Adelo¡¯s perspective, this Felic only had a decent talent at best. He was still far from being truly powerful.

    However, Adelo did not dare to look at it this way anymore...

    A mage that could shorten the recitation of the Pyrost to five seconds and consecutively cast ten Pyrosts was definitely worthy of being called ¡°powerful¡± no matter which aspect he was viewed from. Furthermore, it was not an average sort of powerful. At least Adelo doubted whether he had the capability to do so. Master Cheyenne was able to, but what was the status of Master Cheyenne? He was a true Legendary-realm mage that was standing at the peak of the Magical Domain.

    Hence, Adelo only hesitated for a moment before he asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°I want to know that cave really exists¡ªdon¡¯t be in a rush to deny it. Mage Adelo, you and I both know each other¡¯s backgrounds. There is no meaning in lying right now. If that cave actually does not exist, I hope that you can tell me earlier so that I can think of another solution sooner...¡± After he said this, Lin Li paused. ¡°Of course, if it¡¯s real, then it¡¯s even better. It would mean the best chance for us to escape from the Vampires...¡±

    ¡°It is real.¡± Adelo nodded with certainty. It was as this young mage had said: there was no need to lie at this point anymore. It could be said that everyone was in the same boat; even though there were inevitable conflicts between them, that would have to wait till everyone escaped from the Vampires¡¯ ws...

    ¡°Very well.¡± When Lin Li heard this, he immediately heaved a sigh in relief. As long as Gloomy Dark was really hidden in that cave, and not in some damned ce that was hundreds of meters underground, these damned Vampires did not pose much of a problem. After finding Gloomy Dark, Lin Li would have hundreds of ways to make them disappear. ¡°Where is that cave?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s further ahead, about two kilometers from here. That is the end of the Scar of Death. If we can escape from these Vampires, we will be able to find it quickly. Back then, my teacher went in once, and made a map of the terrain of this area...¡±

    Adelo took out a map from his pocket as he spoke.

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li opened the map and took a look. His expression immediately had a shred of realization.

    The map in Emendas¡¯ hands was, as expected, iplete...

    Once these two maps werepared, the differences were immediately apparent. They both had the terrain of the Scar of Death, but the one in Emendas¡¯ hands was far too different. It had simple routes and monster distribution, but had none of the finer details, whereas the one that Adelo took out waspletely different¡ªit was especially so for the information about the Scar of Death. From the three-way crossroad to the Skeletal Warriors, and from the Skeletal Warriors to the entrance of the cave, not a single detail was left out. It even had fine print reminding the map¡¯s owner to be careful of certain ces and what to take note of in certain areas. It gave a feeling that it was like holding their hands and teaching them how to walk.

    These Vampires were probably the only thing that was left out in the map...

    Based on the map, the ce where these Vampires lived should be pretty far away. With the speed of the advance party¡¯s movement, it should be almost impossible to encounter them, but something happened in the process, which actually allowed the Vampires to discover the advance party¡¯s tracks. Thus, it resulted in this battle that was full of danger everywhere and Adelo cooperating with Lin Li...

    No matter what it was, it was still better to have a map than having none.

    After Lin Li looked at it, he was not polite with Adelo, either. He just conveniently rolled up the scroll and ced it in his own pocket. After that, he shouted at Norfeller and Ujfalusi, ¡°Hey, you two. Stop cking, we have work to do.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Adelo was rather confused. He thought to himself, <i>The battle has already progressed to this stage, who still dares to ck? </i>But after that, Adelo¡¯s face had a shocked expression.

    It was because he clearly saw that those three Adventurers that had been in a stalemate with the Vampires in a corner suddenly erupted with powerfulbat strength. That sort of feeling was like a gentle sheep had suddenly transformed into a man-eating tiger. The pale-faced young man among those three took out two daggers mysteriously. After that, he transformed into an afterimage. The two daggers had an impressive radiance, and they instantaneously pierced through two level-14 Vampires on the left and right.

    That young man¡¯s speed was too fast¡ªhe was just like a stroke of ck lightning. When those Vampires that were like Spirits werepared to him, they instantly became slow like snails. Adelo did not even see his movements clearly, and two Vampires already copsed below the daggers.

    Additionally, that mage that had been reserved had started to be different as well. Initially, the magical waveing from his body was only at the standard of a level-10 Magic Shooter, but his magical waves started bing stronger and stronger after the pale-faced youngster unsheathed the daggers. In just an instant, it had broken through to the Archmage level...

    ¡°What the hell, another Archmage!¡± Adelo¡¯s jaw almost hit the floor. He did not imagine that two Archmages were actually disguised as noobs under his nose. Furthermore, they were in disguise for several days, and he actually did not notice it.

    Just when Adelo thought that he had enough surprises, that mage¡¯s magical waves continued surging...

    ¡°Level-15, level-16, level-17... F*cking hell, it¡¯s actually level-18!¡±

    At this point, Adelo was pale from fright. This reserved and bony fe was actually a level-18 Archmage!

    ¡°How could this be... How could this be...¡± Adelo stood there, dumbfounded, and repeated the same words over and over again.

    Now, Adelo could not fathom that there was an even greater surprise waiting for him...

    When Adelo was dumbfounded, a shimmering radiance suddenly erupted amidst the Vampires!

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Adelo felt that everything in front of him was pitch-ck at that point...

    Adelo dared to bet on his brains that that sudden eruption of light was definitely the purest Divine Power that he had ever seen. Even an idiot would know that this type of Divine Power only belonged to the Brilliance Shrine¡ªonly the most loyal and strongest believer could release such a terrifying Divine Power...

    Adelo was not an idiot, thus he was very clear that it was at least the strongest Bishop, even if not at the Archbishop, level to be able to release this type of Divine Power.

    At this moment, Adelo had even forgotten about the precarious situation that he was in. He was totally lifeless, and his mind nk. He was totally submerged in this shock that had suddenly arisen.

    In the face of this powerful strength that had suddenly erupted, the Vampires that were unbeatable were now weak and ipetent. In the blink of an eye, the Vampires that surrounded the three Adventurers were wiped out. Most of their deaths were due to that radiance of the female adventurer¡¯s Holy Light. When she wielded the Radiance de and released Fire of Judgement, not a single Vampire could withstand her attacks.

    At this point, Adelo finally understood why this Felic knew that he had concealed his true abilities, but did not take any action from the start.

    Because there was absolutely no need to...

    Two level-17 Warriors and a level-17 Archmage. This seemingly powerful group was just a joke. There was no need to mention that young mage that could shorten the Pyrost¡¯s recitation to five seconds¡ªeven those threepanions of his could easily kill Adelo. He would not even have a single chance to retaliate when facing them...

    Luckily, these Vampires appeared at the right time...

    Thinking about this, Adelo could not help but rejoice silently. If everything was smooth sailing, he should have entered the cave now, and he might have used those six magical crystals to temporarily seal that artifact. After that, he would¡¯ve definitely followed Harvey¡¯s n and tried to kill the other Adventurers.

    What would happen if he were to take action and silence them? Adelo did not dare to imagine it at all. Once four peak powerhouses that were at least level-18 were provoked, he would be destroyed even if he had ten lives...

    Just when Adelo was silently rejoicing, Norfeller and the rest had already broken out of the Vampires¡¯ encirclement.

    ¡°Mage Felic...¡± Adelo had originally totally given up, but when he saw these several adventurers were so extraordinarily brave, he started harboring some hope in his heart. At this point, he even felt that with the advance party¡¯s currentbat power, they would not have a hard time even if they were to sh head on with these Vampires. ¡°Actually, we are not hopeless with you and yourpanions¡¯ abilities...¡±

    ¡°No...¡± But it was out of Adelo¡¯s expectations that that young mage would actually shake his head. ¡°We don¡¯t have a chance, not a single bit...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Adelo. He did not expect that.

    ¡°It¡¯s because somebody ising.¡± Lin Li had a forced smile on his face. Honestly, with the current abilities of the advance party, plus himself who had drunk the multicolored potion, there was at least an eighty percent chance to exterminate these Vampires. In fact, this was all within his calctions after drinking the multicolored potion. Otherwise, who would be so willing to use his body as a joke?

    Unfortunately, the opportunity had been already missed...

    In the Warlock¡¯s Eyes¡¯ field of vision, there were a few red stallions galloping over. The problem was just that there were patches of searing mes on the hooves of these red stallions...

 Chapter 398 - Death Knights

    <h4>Chapter 398: Death Knights</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Crimson eyes, surrounding mes, and a body made from infinite resentment. If this wasn¡¯t a Shapeshifter, then what was it? Even an idiot in Anril would know that it might not be a prince riding a white horse, but it was definitely a Death Knight riding a Shapeshifter. Only these warriors that had immense strength in their past life while retaining theirbat skills could tame a Shapeshifter, a terrifying monster that was formed from infinite resentment.

    Death Knights were the most unique type of Undead creatures. Although their bodies and souls had been corrupted by the corrosive Dark Force, they still retained some things from their lifetime. For example, theirbat abilities. Thanks to that, they seemingly had the powers of at least level-15 when they just emerged. Some that were especially strong could even reach level-18 or 20 and above.

    This was no joke. In the history of Anril, there was some data that recorded the appearance of at least 10 level-20 and above Death Knights. These 10 Death Knights were all famous individuals, and even the worst of them had led their army of knights and razed a city. They were like scythe-wielding Grim Reapers, using blood and darkness to bring disaster to the whole of Anril.

    Other than being born with immense strength, the Death Knights even had sentience...

    Dark Force had corroded their bodies and souls, but it did not turn them into monsters that only knew destruction and ughter. They still retained perfect consciousness and thoughts. Although they had been corrupted by the Dark Force, these thoughts and consciousness had long undergone aplete change.

    Thoughts and consciousness were not something every Undead creature had. Only those that truly stood at the top of the pyramid of Undead creatures¡ªsuch as a high-ranking Vampire like Norfeller or a Lich like Ujfalusi¡ªwould be able retain sentience under stringent conditions.

    However, Death Knights already had their own thoughts and consciousness from the day they were brought into the world.

    Hence, Death Knights were the most unique Undead creature.

    They even overthrew the rules of sses between Undead creatures. Unless they were willing, no other Undead creature could force them to submit. Even Ujfalusi, this ex-Lich, could not summon two Death Knights to aid him in the battle at the Syer Town¡¯s ruins.

    The Death Knights were a totally separate entity amongst the Undead creatures. They were not restrained or controlled by any force. Only a Death Knight couldmand a Death Knight, and only those Death Knights that had broken through to level-20 could order theirpatriots. They were called Retribution Knights...

    Luckily, there wasn¡¯t a single Retribution Knight in this group of Death Knights.

    This more or less allowed Lin Li to heave a sigh of relief...

    ¡°What the hell, those are Death Knights...¡± At this point, Adelo¡¯splexion changed. A level-17 Archmage would naturally be able to use a spell like Warlock¡¯s Eyes. There was no reason for Adelo to be unable to see whatever Lin Li could see.

    There was a plume of dust ahead of them. The sounds of hooves were as dense as rain drops. Looking from afar, there were at least 20 Death Knights¡ªthey were all powerful existences that were at least level-15. With the addition of a Shapeshifter that was simrly level-15, it was a total nightmare to encounter them under any circumstances.

    Furthermore, there were so many Vampires around them...

    ¡°How... How could Death Knights appear here?¡± Adelo opened his mouth; he was stunned for a minute...

    Adelo wrecked his brains, but he still could not understand how those 20 Death Knights appeared. The map did not have any markings rted to them, so why would they suddenlye here? Could it be that the map in his hands was inurate?

    <i>How¡¯s that possible...</i>

    Adelo simply could not believe the map in his hands had any mistakes. It had to be known that this map was personally made by Mentor Cheyenne! If there was anyone in this world that dared to say they were well acquainted with the ckstone Mountains, then that person would undoubtedly be Mentor Cheyenne. In the past tens of years, Mentor Cheyenne woulde to the ckstone Mountains almost every year, and knew every single bit of this ce like the fingerprints on his fingers. If the map that Mentor Cheyenne personally made had issues, then wouldn¡¯t men be able to give birth?

    ¡°I think this is a coincidence...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose; he looked rather guilty.

    Adelo didn¡¯t know what was happening, but Lin Li had already made a guess...

    Be it the Vampires or the Death Knights, it mostly had to do with him...

    There was a conflict that could not be soothed between Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Back at the Well of the Sun, when Lin Li had just obtained the Stars of Fury, the sh between the powers of light and darkness had even triggered an intense explosion. Although Holy Light was now hidden by him in the Ring of Endless Storm, just a shred of its aura being released would be able to invoke Gloomy Dark¡¯s response...

    This was actually very normal. You had brought rat poison into somebody¡¯s house to kill them, and you still did not allow them to respond?

    However, once Gloomy Dark responded, things would get very troublesome...

    It could not be helped. All of the Undead creatures in the Scar of Death were born from the powers of Gloomy Dark. Once it responded, wouldn¡¯t underlings make their way over and kill them?

    Just watch. Right now, it was just Vampires and Death Knights, but if Gloomy Dark was not taken under control quickly, there might even be Liches or Humerus Wyrms appearing as well...

    ¡°Ujfalusi, I need to prepare a spell for about two minutes.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    The conversation between these two mages made almost everyone confused.

    It was especially so for Adelo, whose heart was burning with anxiety. When he heard the conversation, he was so angry that he stomped his feet. Youngsters really knew nothing about crises and danger. Usually, they were not like this, so why did they make reckless decisions when it was a critical stage? One should know that this was the best chance to escape! More than half of the Vampires had already died, and 20 Death Knights were rushing over. At this point, if they were to run away, they would have some chance of escaping from those damned Undead creatures.

    Adelo had not thought in his wildest dreams that this Felic would actually prepare a spell at such a crucial time, and he even had to prepare it for two minutes.

    <i>F*ck, two minutes... Do you think we are on a stroll now?</i>

    At this point, Adelo really wanted to ask this young mage: ¡°Two minutes, what kind of spell are you preparing? Is it the legendary Judgment Day? Ok, ok, even if you really do know Judgment Day, those are Death Knights in full fury. They wouldn¡¯t give you a chance to use it. Could it be that you think you would be able to hold off 20 Death Knights for two minutes just with your mage subordinate?¡±

    However, Adelo did not say anything in the end. He merely sighed in annoyance...

    It could not be helped. Even an idiot would know that the right tomand the advance party nowy in the hands of this mage. Be it Johnathan¡ªthemander on paper¡ªor Adelo¡ªwho was shouldering a secret mission¡ªnone of them had the right to disagree. At such times, ability was everything. Lin Li had three subordinates that were powerhouses level-18 and above, and his own abilities were fathomless. Who would dare to go against them?

    Next, Adelo saw that the bony mage walk out from the crowd. He gripped his magic staff tightly, and his recitation came deep and hoarse, just like a form of prayer in the olden days.

    <i>What spell is this? </i>Adelo was studying under a Legendary mage, and he himself was an Archmage at the peak of level-17. His research on magic incantations was more advanced than that of an average mage, but at this point, his mind was full of question marks when he heard it. The incantation that this mage was reciting was something that Adelo had never heard of. He could not even decipher what the characters that were used in it meant.

    However, his confusion onlysted less than ten seconds.

    When a ck gate suddenly opened, Adelo¡¯s face instantly turned pale...

    ¡°Tide of Death!¡±

    At that point, Adelo really thought he was seeing things. How could this be? The legendary level-20 spell, Tide of Death, that even Legendary-realm powerhouses had no choice but to retreat from, and which could constantly summon Undead creatures to serve the caster. How could it have appeared here?

    Soon, Adelo knew that he was not seeing things.

    It was because he clearly saw a group of ck skeletons walking out of the ck gate. They were wielding rusty machetes in their hands, and their bones did not have a single bit of luster. Everything about them was exactly the same as the Skeletal Warriors on the other side of the cave. There was a thick fog surrounding the ck gate, and thick yet powerful death aura was being emitted by it, which made everyone hold their breath. Arge number of Undead creatures surged out of the ck gate like floodwater¡ªSkeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, Liches...

    Adelo even saw a few bats flying into the sky...

    ¡°It really is the Tide of Death...¡± Adelo¡¯s voice was like he was sleep-talking. In the face of this nightmarish scene, he even lost the ability to think. He could only stare as the ck fog pervaded the area, and then watch as the two forces of Undead creatures got entangled with each other...

    Although the battle between Undead creatures did not entail blood and flesh spewing everywhere, it was simrly intense. Countless Skeletal Warriors were like moths rushing towards a light. They charged incessantly, and then continuously got ripped into fragments by the numerous Vampires. The Hell Ghouls waved their bone staff and continuously shot out Deathfire Bombs. The Liches¡¯ recitation united, and caused the magical wave in the area to surge like boiling water...

    The battle between the two forces of Undead creatures were like Mars had crashed into Earth. They had just collided with each other, and it had already produced dazzling res. At this point, almost everyone ced their focus on this intense battle. Almost nobody realized that that young mage was cing magical crystals on the ground...

    Ever since Ujfalusi had been reciting the incantations, Lin Li never lifted his head once. He had been focused on positioning the magical crystals. The expression on Lin Li¡¯s face was iparably focused, and he ced every magical crystal meticulously as though he was afraid the magical crystal would shatter with just a tiny bit of carelessness.

    The sounds of hooves that were like raindrops drew closer. When Lin Li ced down the seventh crystal, the 20 Death Knights riding on Shapeshifters finally appeared in everyone¡¯s field of vision. Looking from afar, they were like thunderclouds that were red and ck¡ªthe red was from the mes, and the ck was from their armor. When the 20 or so Shapeshifters simultaneously neighed, almost everyone¡¯s heart tightened...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Adelo¡¯s face waspletely pale as he looked at the Death Knights that were rushing over like a gale. The strength of these Death Knights surpassed his expectations: at least 10 of them had reached level-17. There were even two of them that had the strength at the peak of level-17...

    This was no longer a level of strength that the advance party could resist. Just those two Death Knights at the peak of level-17 would be able to go against the whole advance party. Furthermore, they had over 20panions as well as tens of Vampires¡¯ assistance...

    ¡°What do we do, Brother Reggie?¡± Looking at the power of these Death Knights with their own eyes, a few Bandits could not help but lose their confidence. If they¡¯d known this was going to happen, it would have been better to escape earlier. They would not even care so much if they were to face the Skeletal Warriors after retreating back into the cave. After all, although the infinite Skeletal Warriors were horrifying, it was not as bad as 20 Death Knights. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make use of the chaos and escape quickly...¡±

    ¡°Wait, Mage Felic will have a solution.¡± At this point, other than Norfeller and Rina, Reggie was the only one that trusted Lin Li. That night in the tent, this monstrous young mage had left too deep of an impression on him. Thus, he still believed in the other party even though they had encountered such a situation.

    However, even Reggie who trusted Lin Li the most did not realize that after the Death Knights had charged into battle, that young mage still leaned forward, meticulously positioning the magical crystals. When the number of magical crystals on the ground reached 13, he finally stood up slowly and wiped the sweat off his forehead. His face actually had an exhausted but satisfied smile...

    After that, the reciting of a long incantation began.

    The quietness of the Scar of Death had been obliterated. The footsteps of Skeletal Warriors, explosions of the Deathfire Bomb, neighing of Shapeshifters, shrieks of the Vampires, and Liches reciting incantations... Countless noises had been mixed together, causing the Scar of Death to be like a bustling city. When 20 Death Knights charged into battle, more than 100 Skeletal Warriors had been smashed into smithereens. That feeling was like a red-hot knife slicing through butter as thetter had been cut with a sizzle...

    There were still countless Undead creatures continuously surging out of the ck gate that was surrounded by fog. Ujfalusi was still reciting incantations, but that abnormally pale face was now as white as a sheet. To forcefully activate a level-20 Tide of Death with the abilities of a level-18 necromancer even after taking the potions that Lin Li had given him... This type of self-harming casting method still made him be on the verge of having his mana copsing at any time...

 Chapter 399 - Level-21 Magic

    <h4>Chapter 399: Level-21 Magic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Ujfalusi temporarily had the ability to cast the Tide of Death with a bottle of Arcane Magic Potion, this was not the genuine Legendary-realm. The current Ujfalusi was still a level-18 Necromancer, and he was still far from the Lich in the Syer Town¡¯s ruins that could summon Humerus Wyrms.

    Just by taking a closer look, one could tell that the Undead creatures surging out from the Tide of Death were still far from being as powerful as the ones back at the Syer Town. There wererge numbers of Skeletal Warriors and Hell Ghouls, but there were actually very few Vampires and Liches with powerfulbat prowess...

    The full might of 20 or so Death Knights was almost on par with the power of the Legendary-realm. If it was theplete Tide of Death, it would still be alright. Withrge numbers of Vampires and Liches, it could still hold up against these 20 or so Death Knights. But, it was apletely different thing now. The Death Knights had just charged into the fog, and the battle became lopsided. Be it Skeletal Warriors or Hell Ghouls, they could not defend against the charge of the Death Knights. In just the blink of an eye, the twenty or so Death Knights had already forced their way near the core of the ck fog...

    Ujfalusi was standing at the core of the ck fog, using his hoarse and deep recitation to maintain the operation of the Tide of Death. All sorts of Undead creatures were still continuously surging out of the ck fog, but at this point, Adelo also knew that this Necromancer could not hold up any longer. The magical wave on his body was getting weaker and weaker. It was poles apart whenpared to the magical wave he had initially.

    Once the magical wave on mage¡¯s body started to weaken, it also meant that his mana was almost depleted.

    ¡°Mage Felic, yourpanion is about to fall...¡±

    Adelo¡¯s voice was unusually filled with anxiety, but it seemed like Lin Li did not hear it at all. He continued focusing on reciting the incantation. His expression was calm and focused as though whatever was happening around him had nothing to do with him. At this point, there was only one thought in Lin Li¡¯s mind...

    <i>Faster, faster!</i>

    Even though Lin Li had drunk the Multicolored Potion, temporarily gaining the ability to cast spells above his level and an infinite mana, but when casting this level-21 spell, he still felt powerless. This feeling was like an ant carrying an elephant. Every step taken had to be very careful, and with just a single misstep, the elephant woulde crashing down, crushing him into a meat sauce...

    The Multicolored Potion could indeed allow a person to have the ability to cast spells above his own level, but one could not forget that Archmages and Legendary mages were in two different realms. Casting a Legendary spell with the abilities of an Archmage was no different from ying with fire. With just a slight mistake, he would turn into ashes.

    The current Lin Li was as if walking through a torrential river alone. He had to desperately maintain bnce while slowly advancing. A slight misstep while going against the torrential river would result in him being flushed far away by the turbulent waters...

    Meanwhile, the four Bandits quickly lost theirbat capability under the violent charge of the Death Knights. They sustained heavy injuries, and were now leaning against the cold hillside. Blood was flowing incessantly from their wounds, and even their breathing was bing weak. If they didn¡¯t receive treatment on time, then even if they did not die, their power level might deteriorate...

    The two high-level Warriors that Adelo had brought along fared not any better. Their bodies were filled with wounds, which were all left behind by the encirclement of Vampires just now. Therge loss of blood had made theirplexions abnormally pale, and every move they made seemed to have lost the agility they had had. Although they were still putting up a fight, Adelo knew that they could not hold out any longer...

    Adelo scanned everyone, and his mind began to be filled with despair. In the whole advance party, other than himself, there were only two people left that still maintained theirbat capability, and they were bothpanions of Mage Felic. Adelo remembered that one was called Norfeller, and the other was Rina...

    At this time, Adelo more or less understood why this Mage Felic had only brought a few people, yet dared to sneak into the Malfa Family¡¯s party under disguise. Furthermore, he was not afraid that he would face the Malfa Family¡¯s wrath if he were to be found out. It could not be helped. The fighting ability of these several people was indeed too strong.

    There was no need to mention Ujfalusi. Even Adelo¡¯s mentor, Cheyenne, would have to be serious if he came across a Necromancer that could cast Tide of Death. As for the other two, they were each stronger than the other. That Norfeller was more like a Vampire than Vampires. His speed made him look like a ck lightning, and he was having little difficulty under the encirclement of numerous Vampires. The two unusual daggers he wielded were like the scythes of a Grim Reaper. Every time there was a sh of the de, there would definitely be a Vampire shrieking. Adelo counted: there were at least 20 Vampires that had fallen to his daggers since the start of the battle...

    But this was nothingpared to that woman called Rina...

    When she stood there, wielding her sword with both hands, Adelo could feel a dazzling ray of Holy Light being emitted. The whole world seemed to be bathed in a holy radiance, and even those Death Knights that were giving off a cold aura did not dare to look directly at this type of dazzling holy light.

    She did not attack much. It was only when the Death Knights had forced their way into the core of the ck fog that she used the sword in her hands to protect Ujfalusi who was maintaining the operating of the Tide of Death. Adelo saw her deflecting the attacks of these 20 or so Death Knights with his own eyes.

    Under the dazzling radiance of Holy Light, Adelo even thought that he was dreaming...

    <i>If I cane out of this alive, I need to speak to Hutton properly... </i>After witnessing the valiantbat power of this group of people, Adelo had already made up his mind. If he coulde out of this alive, he had to try his best to persuade Hutton to hire this group of people at all costs.

    The fighting prowess of this group was truly terrifying. If they offered their service to the Malfa Family, then Malfa Family¡¯s status in the Breezy ins would skyrocket.

    However, all of that would have to wait till he returned alive...

    The ck fog of the Tide of Death got thinner and thinner. The Undead creatures that were surging out also no longer included the silhouettes of Vampires and Liches. Even the Hell Ghouls that could release Deathfire Bombs started bing fewer and fewer. A level-20 Necromagic had now be an average Undead summoning spell. Only a group of sparse Skeletal Warriors were suicidally charging towards the Death Knights from the ck fog with their clumsy and slow footsteps while wielding their rusty machetes...

    Norfeller and Rina disyed tremendousbat prowess, and Adelo used up all his options including the scroll that his mentor had given him for protection, but the tide of the battle was still inevitably swinging towards the worst...

    With a resounding recitation, 10 Vampires had finally appeared from the ck fog.

    ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± After seeing the appearance of the long awaited Vampires, Adelo¡¯s expression did not have a shred of joy. Instead, it suddenly became pale because Adelo knew that this was the final bit of strength of that Necromancer...

    Adelo was right. Almost in the instant when these 10 Vampires charged out of the ck fog, Ujfalusi¡¯s recitation stopped. It was as though an invisible hand was choking him all of a sudden. The ck fog once so thick it seemed solid suddenly started bing thinner and thinner before ending uppletely blown away by a gust of cold wind...

    Those 10 Vampires shrieked loudly and charged over in a frenzy, but what was waiting for them was a scarlet fog. This was followed by incessant shrieks. In just an instant, those 10 Vampires fell to the Withering Death that was used jointly by the Death Knights.

    When the 20 Death Knights raised their swords to move the Shapeshifters into formation and charge, only Rina was standing before them, wielding the Radiance de. At this time, that beautiful Pdin was like a statue, gripping the Radiance de tightly. Her snow-white face was painted with persistence and steadfastness. The ck armor, red mes, neighing of Shapeshifters, and hooves looked magnificent yet solemn under the dazzling radiance of the Holy Light...

    <i>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over... </i>Everyone¡¯s mind had the same thought simultaneously. Adelo slowly shut his eyes, and Reggie shifted his body with difficulty, trying to stand in front of the three brothers that he grew up with...

    But it was at this point when the surrounding magical wave suddenly erupted like a tsunami...

    In an instant, a surge of tempestuous mana blew like a storm, and even the whole Scar of Death seemed to shake. Even Adelo, who had the ability of the peak of level-17, could not help but show a terrified expression in the face of this mana storm. This was not power a mortal should have. Even his own mentor, Cheyenne, would not be able to go up against this divine-like power...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± When Adelo opened his eyes again, he saw that young mage was holding a magic staff that had a pale yellow gem socketed in it, walking towards the charging Death Knights with slow and steadfast steps in midst of this storm-like magical wave.

    And that magical wave that was shaking the entire world was being emitted by his body...

 Chapter 400 - Eternal Light Spell

    <h4>Chapter 400: Eternal Light Spell</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    These 20 Death Knights that were spawned by Gloomy Dark could be said to be the elites of the elites. The weakest of them was level-16, while the strongest already reached level-18. When they rode the Shapeshifters in a charge, a ck Combat Energy started to arise. It looked like flowing ck steel when observed from afar...

    And standing in the way of this flowing steel was a young mage wearing a ck robe. He naturally had a rather weak figure, but it looked even weaker and smaller in the face of this flowing steel.

    The distance between both parties got smaller and smaller. The Death Knights had already raised their swords, and there was a white frost circling around their des. The ck Combat Energy was like a searing me, the Shapeshifters neighed, and the dense sounds of the hooves were seemingly knocking on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    At that moment, time seemed to have been frozen in ce. Even the air had a smell that suffocated people pervading it, and everyone¡¯s hearts started to tighten. Be it Adelo, Johnathan, Norfeller, or Rina, everyone from the advance party had their gaze set on that weak figure simultaneously.

    100 meters became 10 meters in just the blink of an eye...

    The searing Combat Energy that pervaded the air looked like a thundercloud that covered the sky. At this point, even that weak figure seemed rather blurry. Everyone could only faintly see that he slowly raised the magic staff in his hands. That bit of pale yellow light looked dim and weak in the ck fog, just like an oilmp that was swaying amidst a storm.

    The Shapeshifters¡¯ charging speed was faster than lightning. The ck torrent was like an open mouth of a gigantic beast. It was as if that weak figure was going to be swallowed in an instant.

    <i>It¡¯s over... </i>Adelo¡¯s gaze was full of despair. There was nothing to be concerned about anymore. This group of Death Knights was too powerful. There was even one among them that had the chance to be a Retribution Knight. When they ordered the Shapeshifters to start charging, they were like an invincible existence. It was impossible for an Archmage to resist their full force no matter how powerful he was.

    Only a Legendary mage could defend against them.

    Indeed, the mysterious aura being emitted from this young mage¡¯s whole body was very strong. Adelo even felt that out of all the young mages he had seen before, this Felic would be the strongest other than Hutton.

    However, he was just an Archmage no matter how powerful he was...

    Such a pity...

    At this point, Adelo¡¯s gaze carried a tinge of sympathy.

    <i>You were just unlucky... </i>Adelo sighed, and reached into his pocket, grabbing the scroll that he had prepared...

    But, at this point...

    ...there was a sudden gleam of light emerging from the ck fog.

    At the start, that glimmer of light was rather dim, but Adelo very quickly felt that that gleam of light started getting brighter and brighter. In the end, it was as brilliant as a zing sun in the sky.

    ¡°This... This is..¡± The expression on Adelo¡¯s face immediately froze, and he could not shut his mouth. His eyes were filled with disbelief. ¡°This is... This is Eternal Light Spell!¡±

    The legendary level-21 spell: Eternal Light Spell!

    When that glimmer of light started to bloom, Adelo had once thought that it was some powerful magical equipment as well as that it was a spell where both sides perished together. But, Adelo definitely hadn¡¯t thought that it actually was a level-21 Holy Light spell!

    Once mages broke through level-21, they would enter a mysterious realm. This realm was called Legendary-realm. Every mage that could step into the Legendary-realm was an iparably strong existence, and their stories became true legends. In Anril, there were many legends about Legendary mages being circted. The most famous ones were undoubtedly those few mages from the Dark Ages that personally struck down the Sky Castle.

    Geresco, Apophis, Hesselink...

    All of these names were a shining bright star in the history of Anril.

    As the disciple of a Legendary mage, Adelo was clearer than anyone else what sort of terrifying powers a mage would have once he stepped into the Legendary-realm. It was apletely different power whenpared to an Archmage¡¯s.

    Adelo even remembered that band of bandits that was ced at the top five in the Breezy ins ten years ago... Back then, this band of bandits had a quite a few powerhouses level-15 and above. They had Warriors and Mages amongst them, and their leader was a level-18 Demonic Archmage, but when they entered into a conflict with the Malfa Family, his mentor Cheyenne obliterated this powerful band of bandits in an instant. He only used 10 spells from the beginning to the end, and he killed 10 of the most important core members including the leader. After that, the whole band instantly copsed, allowing the Malfa Family toplete the trade route with the Dwarf Kingdom...

    This was the power of a Legendary mage...

    In his youth, Adelo had once yearned for this sort of power. In that period of time, he fervently researched magic, including all of the knowledge that could be researched. This continued till Adelo was forty years old when Adelo finally gave up on his dream. He had no choice but to admit dishearteningly that he could at most be an Archmage at the peak of level-19 after spending his whole lifetime researching magic. As for the Legendary-realm above that, he would never be able to reach it...

    Only geniuses like Mentor Cheyenne and Hutton could step into the Legendary-realm.

    There was a lot of people called genius mages in Anril, but in Adelo¡¯s heart, only Hutton was worthy of that moniker. Adelo could even say that he¡¯d seen his progress with his own eyes. Hutton hade in contact with magic at the age of eight, and he had already reached the realm of level-18 Archmage in less than 20 years that have passed since then. Every improvement of his was witnessed by Adelo. Other than being envious, he was also jealous as well.

    From Adelo¡¯s perspective, Hutton was a person born for magic. As long as there was anything rted to magic, it would not trouble him at all. No matter how profound the theory of magic was, or howplicated the spell execution was, it would be solved easily once it was in Hutton¡¯s hands. Even the mentor that was very strict would have no choice but to give a smile full of praise when facing Hutton.

    However, today...

    Adelo had no choice but to add the name ¡°Felic¡± to the list of genius mages...

    Since the advance party had set off, the battles and shocks made Adelo have no choice but to admit that the magic talent of this Felic was on par with Hutton¡¯s...

    Adelo never dreamed that he would be able to witness a level-21 spell.

    <i>Oh my God, this was a power that even Mentor Cheyenne never had before...</i>

    However, it was very likely he did not possess such a power in his body. Most likely, he had used some powerful magical equipment or some sort of mysterious ritual so that he could temporarily use such a terrifying spell. It was because a level-21 spell did not require three minutes to recite the incantations.

    But so what?

    It was a genuine level-21 spell. No matter what sort of methods Lin Li had used, he still executed it. Surely it did not mean that one should criticize the other party because of this in a battle of life and death? Who would say ¡°Mate, it¡¯s not right to cast the spell this way. You broke the rules!¡±?

    Wasn¡¯t this bullsh*t...

    Furthermore, Adelo, as the disciple of a Legendary mage, was clearer than anyone else what was the difference between Legendary-realm spells and normal spells. Once spells had reached this level, it was no longer a question of whether there was sufficient mana. Many times, Legendary spells relied on the understanding and application of rules. Only with sufficient understanding and application of magic rules could one use those spells that only existed in legends.

    No matter how powerful a mage was, as long as his understanding and application of magic rules was not profound enough, he would still not be able to use Legendary spells or be a genuine Legendary-realm mage.

    The opposite was true as well. If a mage¡¯s understanding and application of the rules was profound enough, then it was only a matter of time before he became a Legendary mage. All he needed was merely sufficient build-up. Once all the conditions were met, the Legendary-realm would be an unlocked gate. With just a slight push, the mage would be able to enter the world that every mage dreamt of.

    Without a doubt, Felic was thetter...

    Irregardless of whether he used some powerful magical equipment or underwent some sort of mysterious ritual, the incantations were recited by his mouth, and the elemental structure was sequenced by his mental strength. This also meant that his understanding and application of rules had already reached the Legendary-realm standard. Bing a Legendary mage was just a matter of time for him.

    Furthermore, he was younger than Hutton. He was just 20 years old...

    Maybe within a few years, there would be another Legendary mage appearing in the Breezy ins. A Legendary mage that was shockingly young...

    ¡°Eh...¡± Just when there countless thoughts revolving around Adelo¡¯s mind, that ck fog had been dispelled by the light. The whole world had suddenly be clean, and even the sky seemed to be brighter. The Undead creatures summoned by the Tide of Death and remaining tens of Vampires had evaporated in the midst of the Eternal Light just like snow under the sun.

    However, those 20 Death Knights were fine.

    All of that instantly caused Adelo to have a rather shocked expression.

    Even Liches could not defend against the level-21 Eternal Light Spell, so how could it fail to exterminate 20 Death Knights?

    This time, it was not just Adelo. Even Norfeller, Ujfalusi, Rina, and the rest were stunned. Could it be that these 20 Death Knights were so strong that such a powerful magical power could not kill them?

    This strange sight made everyone¡¯s heart tightened after they became rxed.

 Chapter 401 - Holy Light, Gloomy Dark

    <h4>Chapter 401: Holy Light, Gloomy Dark</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After being baptized by the Eternal Light Spell, the Scar of Death became unusually bright, and looked like a piece of pure sapphire. Warm sunlight fell on it, filling the Scar of Death with the aura of life. All the Undead creatures summoned by the Tide of Death had disappeared, and so had the Vampires that had previously forced them into dire straits. Even the stench of decay that had once permeated the air seemed to be expelled by the Eternal Light, and the whole world was suddenly purified.

    However, the 20 Death Knights were unscathed...

    They rode their Shapeshifters and held a sharp sword each; they looked like ck statues as they surrounded the young mage and trapped him in the center...

    The scene scared everyone silly, and all of them suddenly became fully alert after having let down their guard earlier.

    Nobody would have thought that this would happen. Could these Death Knights be made of steel? Alright, even then, shouldn¡¯t they have melted under the scary strength of the magic earlier? How could they be unharmed?

    ¡°What do we do...¡± Adelo looked nkly as he felt utter fear and devastation while looking at these ck statues.

    Adelo could see from between these Death Knights that the young mage was now very weak¡ªhis face was pale, and his breathing was shallow as he barely propped himself up with his mage.

    Yet, his opponents, the 20 Death Knights, stood there unscathed.

    <i>What do I do, what do I do, do I attack?</i>

    Adelo mopped his sweat as he felt anxious while being caught in a dilemma. He had two choices now: one was to help, and another was to escape with the Teleportation Scroll. The first choice was undoubtedly a gamble, a gamble that the powerful 20 Death Knights might be close to being defeated. However, if he bet wrongly, he¡¯d have to pay with his life. The second option was much safer, but if he did that, then his mentor Cheyenne¡¯s entire n woulde to an end...

    Adelo was not the only one in a dilemma, as Rina, Ujfalusi, and the rest were also stuck at a crossroad themselves. They realized that the 20 Death Knights did not do anything after surrounding Lin Li, but remained there quietly, almost as if they were protecting him.

    Hence, both parties carried on without making a move...

    Perhaps Lin Li was the only one who wasn¡¯t nervous at all, for only he knew what kind of magic he had used earlier.

    That was a level-21 Eternal Light Spell, known as the holiest of all magic. It wasparable to the Holy Cleansing Spell of the Brilliance Shrine when used against Undead creatures and demons. With just one blow, even a Lich or a Demon Lord would be heavily wounded, much less a mere Death Knight.

    They had not been purified simply because he had had no such intention.

    But, Lin Li did not have the time to exin this...

    He was really busy.

    Adelo thought that Lin Li looked very weak, but, on the contrary, Lin Li felt stronger than ever. After using the Eternal Light Spell, Lin Li was immersed in a strange state; it was hard to describe it, but if he had to do so, he could only say that he felt unimaginably powerful¡ªscarily so. He felt as though he held the world in his hand, and even the Death Knights that he had been no match for were now as tiny as ants to him. He could easily crush them with a finger if he wanted to...

    Lin Li even felt that if he used the Eternal Light Spell again, he would not even need three minutes, no, not even two minutes for it to light up the whole Scar of Death.

    The once incrediblyplicated elemental structure was now clear to him, and the power of the magic that he had been once incapable of manipting suddenly yielded to him. It was as if all he had to do was say the spell, and this level-21 magic would do as he wished...

    Lin Li knew that this was a gift from the Eternal Light Spell...

    Even though he was still at the peak of level-18, and his abilities did not change much from before, after he used the Eternal Light Spell, his understanding and grasp of magic were entirely different from before. This had to be what they called experience¡ªthere was a difference between having used a Legendary-realm magic and not having done so, definitely a difference.

    Even though he¡¯d relied on the power of the Multicolored Potion, the spell came from his mouth, and the elemental structure was pieced together by his mental strength. This couldn¡¯t be changed, so this level-21 magic had left a deep mark in his brain.

    There was no greater wealth than this in the eyes of a mage.

    If he did not have enough mana, he could supplement it with potions, and if hecked mental strength, he could also make up for it with magical equipment. If hecked the knowledge, he could also rely on his books. However, if he did not have enough experience, there was nothing he could rely on.

    Why was a good magic teacher so important? It was because they could pass an entire lifetime¡¯s worth of experience to you, which could help save you from many wrong turns in your journey of learning magic. If magic was like a vast sea with no boundaries, then a mage apprentice was like a tiny boat in the middle of the sea, and the teacher was like a guiding light pointing him in the right direction...

    But, some experience couldn¡¯t be taught even with the brightest light.

    Many things could only be understood, but not verbally taught. Only after one had experienced them would one truly understand what they were like.

    Just like Lin Li¡ªhis teacher was Andoine, a Legendary mage renowned in Anril, who even had a good chance of bing an Arbitrator.

    Logically speaking, Lin Li had talent and passion, even mastering close to 10 core magical mantras, so coupled with the Legendary-realm teacher he had who was not afraid to teach him everything he knew, Lin Li should have reached the Legendary-realm by now. Why had he not done so, then? That was because he did not umte enough experience...

    The Legendary-realm was like a pavilion in the air¡ªmany mages spent an entire lifetime trying to reach it, but they might not even get close, only standing on the side faraway as they looked at it respectfully and longingly. Only the lucky ones who found the stairs were able to reach it by following the steps.

    And these stairs were called experience...

    After absorbing the gift of the Eternal Light Spell, Lin Li might still be at level-18, and would not look too different, but his understanding of magic would be entirely different. The Legendary-realm was no longer mysterious to him now, and everything was within reach. As long as he umted enough experience, he would be able to take the life-changing step.

    This was aplicated and slow process, and merely re-living the moment had taken Lin Li an hour.

    In that hour, the advance party gradually realized that the 20 Death Knights did not look like they were intending to harm the young mage.

    Still, nobody dared to lower their guard...

    They were powerful Undead creatures that could rival Liches and Humerus Wyrms. Who knew how long this strange situation would continue? What if they decided to do things differently all of a sudden? One attack from them would leave everybody with devastating regrets! With that in mind, everyone remained highly strung up and ready to go.

    Until an hourter...

    ¡°Alright, the fight is over, keep your weapons...¡± Lin Li said something that nobody would have thought of as he suddenly opened his eyes.

    What surprised them more was that after Lin Li said that, the 20 Death Knights really did as he said and kept their weapons. The strongest of them even jumped off his Shapeshifter and knelt on one knee before Lin Li.

    ¡°We await your orders, Master.¡± The Death Knight¡¯s voice was hoarse and deep, but everyone heard it clearly.

    ¡°My God...¡± Adelo¡¯s eyes were as round as saucers now. This was even scarier than the level-21 magic from before! How could this Felicmand the Death Knights? <i>Has... has this world gone mad?</i>

    Even the Tide of Death was not able to summon them, and even Liches could not control them. Even a fool knew that only a Retribution Knight could give orders to them!

    Could it be that the magic from earlier was not the Eternal Light Spell, but a mysterious ritual that could make a human a Retribution Knight?

    Of course, Adelo could not be med for thinking that way...

    He was only an Archmage at the peak of level-17, after all, and even though he had a Legendary-realm teacher, he was still far away from the Legendary-realm himself. He had only heard of level-21 magic like the Eternal Light Spell, and all he knew was at most that the Eternal Light Spell was the bane of all evil existences...

    When it came to the details regarding the Eternal Light Spell, perhaps even his Legendary teacher would not be able to give a detailed exnation, as in the Legendary-realm, a level could make a whole lot of difference. Naturally, a level-20 mage would not know a level-21 spell in detail.

    Only Lin Li who had used the Eternal Light Spell himself knew that this level-21 magic was called the bane of all evil existence not only because of its devastating powers.

    Legendary magic was called Realm Magic because all the rules besides time and space could be altered in this realm.

    And that applied to light and darkness as well...

    Under the cover of the Eternal Light Realm, even the Holy Light could be the Gloomy Dark...

 Chapter 402 - For the sake of being there

    <h4>Chapter 402: For the sake of being there</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, this change was not a longsting one. The Holy Light abided by the Holy Rules, and even though it was not the strongest in the world, it was definitely the purest. The purer the Rules, the harder it was to alter them, and even if it was a domain created from the Eternal Light Spell, it merely allowed the change between Light and Dark tost a short while.

    But even a split second was enough for Lin Li.

    In that split second, the Holy Light became the Gloomy Dark.

    In that split second, Lin Li was the incarnation of the gloomy dark itself, a Retribution Knight born from the Gloomy Dark. None of the Death Knights could go against his wishes, and everything became much more simple¡ªhe could easily brand their soul fire using his mental strength.

    The most straightforward and effective method of controlling an Undead creature was to use one¡¯s mental strength to leave a brand on their soul fire. This was much easier than a blood oath or a Soul Contract as no spells or rituals were needed. All it needed was a little bit of mental strength, but this was provided that the mental strength was not met with resistance by the other party.

    Of course, this nearly instantaneous way of doing it had a fault as the brand would weaken over time and eventually vanish. The Undead creature it controlled would thus be freed as a result.

    However, this was not important to Lin Li, as his motive was merely to have these 20 Death Knights protect him for the time being. This was the Scar of Death, where there were countless creatures born from the Dark, after all. Dangers hid at every turn along the way; who knew if he might suddenly be surrounded by hundreds of Vampires again? He would be stuck in a predicament if he did not have the Death Knights¡¯ protection.

    Thus, Lin Li spared their lives when he used the Eternal Light Spell, and used the domain energy of the Eternal Light Spell to change the Holy Rules of the Holy Light instead. He turned the Holy Light into the dark in a split second, and then used that dark energy to control the 20 Death Knights.

    He did not need a long time, either. A couple of days would be more than enough, and if he could find the Gloomy Dark, it would not matter even if the Death Knights were no longer under his control.

    All of this happened and ended within a second. Nobody but Lin Li knew what had actually transpired.

    Even a seasoned Archmage like Adelo only knew that the young mage had used magic of devastating powers in that second, but he was perplexed as to what happened with the 20 Death Knights.

    But whatever it was, he definitely needed to change his original ns.

    ording to his ns, this young mage and hispanions, as well as the four Bandits including Reggie, were supposed to be sacrificed when they destroyed the altar.

    But now, Adelo dared not even think of doing that...

    Sacrifice a mage who could use a level-21 Legendary magic and control Death Knights? That was crazy...

    The advance party suddenly became incredibly powerful after the Death Knights joined. They had been running away to escape the thousands of Skeletal Warriors previously, but their journey through the Scar of Death was now unbelievably smooth. Even thergest groups of Skeletal Warriors could not withstand a blow from the Death Knights, and often all they heard was a crushing sound before the Skeletal Warriors turned into a scattered pile of bones.

    As Lin Li looked at thisndslide victory for their side, he could not help but secretly feel thankful that he had taken the Multicolored Potion earlier and had studied the Eternal Light Spell prior to this, and also thankful that Ujfalusi¡¯s Tide of Death had bought him those three minutes of time earlier. If something had gone wrong in this whole process, he would have been squashed into a pulp by these Death Knights...

    ¡°Mage Felic, look...¡± The advance party moved at an astonishing speed, and they had passed through the danger zone filled with Undead creatures in just under two hours. After they carried on for another 200 meters or so, Adelo stopped suddenly.

    Lin Li looked where Adelo was pointing. There was a lot of weeds, something umon in the Scar of Death, growing underneath the mountain wall ahead of them. Amongst the weeds was the opening of the cave that looked like a beast opening its maw; a chilly aura came from within the cave...

    ¡°Indeed...¡± As Lin Li stopped in his tracks, he knew immediately that Adelo had not been spouting nonsense¡ªthe auraing from within the cave was the Gloomy Dark¡¯s aura that he was familiar with. It was profound and mysterious, just like the nature of the Dark itself...

    The opening of the cave was unusually narrow, and even the Death Knights had to abandon their Shapeshifters to continue on foot. They wore heavy ck armor and held swords crafted from ice, and when they walked into the cave, it was like a drop of cold water in a boiling pot of oil, making the oil sizzle immediately...

    Everyone felt the earth shaking as swarms of Skeletal Warriors appeared from the ground with their eerie white bones and swinging machetes. The silence in the cave was broken all of a sudden; just like how the fights with Undead creatures usually were, there was no shouting or screaming, only the mind-numbing sounds of weapons hacking away at bones.

    A dense ck fog continued toe from deep within the cave. Many Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the fog fired Deathfire Bombs at them...

    ¡°The heck...¡± Lin Li was shocked by the sudden attack as the Undead creatures that had appeared just now were vastly different from the ones outside, be it the Skeletal Warriors or the Liches. These Skeletal Warriors were at least level-8, and the Liches were even somewhere near level-18.

    What kind of an existence was a level-18 Lich? Even Bhaskar that had used a Death Sentence back in the Shadowglen was only level-16...

    Lin Li chanted spells with all his might as he angrilyined, ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s the Gloomy Dark again...¡±

    This fightsted for a whole hour, and Adelo was near the point of exhaustion before these Skeletal Warriors close to level-10 had all been wiped out. However, the Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the ck fog did not seem harmed at all, and, for some reason, disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. When Lin Li was done with the Skeletal Warriors and wanted to deal with them, he could not find even a trace of them.

    <i>Don¡¯t let me bump into you again...</i>

    Cursing at them internally, Lin Li never thought that he would not only bump into them shortly afterward, but more than once as well.

    Honestly, the advance party had been bumping into them continuously throughout their nearly half a day¡¯s journey. Each time there had been an influx of Skeletal Warriors sprouting from the ground and many Hell Ghouls and Liches hidden in the ck fog, all the while hurling Deathfire Bombs at them with an infuriating half-heartedness as though they were only doing so just for the sake of being there.

    The advance party had entered the cave in the afternoon, but they were still stuck in the maze-like tunnel all the way until the evening. In Adelo¡¯s words, they had only traveled less than 10 percent of the journey, yet their party encountered more than 20 battles. Every fight was as big as the next one, and they never won easily. It was always a few hundred Skeletal Warriors, a few dozen Hell Ghouls, and a few Liches who fought merely for the sake of being there. Although they did not lose anybody in these fights, everyone was nearing exhaustion, including Lin Li.

    Fights of this level were the most torturous as they always thought they had lost all hope, and that they would never be able to see the end of their enemies. Lin Li even thought that someone was bound to be driven to the brink of insanity if this continued.

    ¡°Mage Adelo, we can¡¯t carry on like this. Let¡¯s have a talk.¡± After one of the fights, Lin Li really could not bear it any longer, and silently pulled Adelo aside to talk during a break.

    ¡°Well...¡± Adelo hesitated before he nodded quickly.

    He was a man of reason, after all, and he knew very well that they were all in this predicament together. If this young mage was to meet with any harm, Adelo¡¯s life would not be smooth sailing, either. Even though he had the Teleportation Scroll that could protect him, he would not be able to face Teacher Cheyenne if he failed his task...

    Moreover, this young mage was a worthy partner indeed¡ªcapabilities aside, the 20 Death Knights alone were the strongest amongst the advance party, and the sess of his mission depended on them.

    Hence, Adelo did not hesitate for long.

    ¡°Alright, Mage Felic. If you insist, I can tell you the truth...

    ¡°I¡¯m here at the Scar of Death toplete a task given to me by my teacher. My teacher is called Cheyenne. He is the Legendary Mage of Aminya City, but not many know that he was the previous patriarch of the Malfa Family. He had already been to the ckstone Mountains many years ago; after that, he would return every year to stay here for some time...¡±

    ¡°I knew it...¡± Lin Li was not really surprised to hear this, as he had long guessed that the Malfa Family had close rtions to a Legendary Mage. Now, Adelo was merely confirming his suspicions. However, he was not expecting this close rtion to be of such a level¡ªif Cheyenne was the previous patriarch of the Malfa Family, wouldn¡¯t that make him that idiot Harvey¡¯s grandfather?

 Chapter 403 - Cycle

    <h4>Chapter 403: Cycle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When he thought of this, Lin Li began to feel somewhat cautious. ording to what Adelo said, Cheyenne was already a powerful mage of the Legendary-realm, and there were few things in the world that could make him visit the ckstone Mountains every year.

    Could it be the Gloomy Dark in the cave...

    It was not good news that he had his eye on the same thing as a Legendary mage...

    ¡°Oh, right. Mage Felic, I wonder what you think of the Scar of Death?¡± After giving a simple introduction of his teacher, Adelo did not continue, but instead changed the topic abruptly.

    ¡°The Scar of Death?¡± Lin Li frowned. ¡°I think that there is a strange energy flowing through this ce, it seems capable of fueling an endless supply of Undead creatures, and...¡±

    ¡°...And Undead creatures fueled by this energy will be stronger than ever.¡± Adelo smiled as he finished the sentence. ¡°Mage Felic, you share the same thoughts with my teacher. He was here 20 years ago, and said the same thing you just did...¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°We met with two fights the other time we went into the Scar of Death. During the first fight, we had to deal with a lot of Skeletal Warriors, and barely made it out by escaping through the cave fromst night. The second fight was in the cave, but unfortunately, I was already unconscious, and did not witness the fight. I only knew that I was back in Aminya City when I woke up; my teacher had brought me back. His magical wave became very weak after that, not much different from that of an Archmage...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li was surprised, though he knew that it was possible. Wasn¡¯t that just like what had happened to Ujfalusi? After the battle in Syer Town, he¡¯d dropped from a Legendary Lich to a level-18 Archmage, but this was because of the powerful Holy Light that was used to destroy the Humerus Domain, causing Ujfalusi to drop from the Legendary-realm.

    But what had happened to Cheyenne?

    Lin Li was filled with questions, but he did not ask anything, merely nodding his head as he listened quietly to Adelo. He knew very well that since Adelo had started his story with this incident, he¡¯d definitely exin everything to himter.

    Truth was that Lin Li was right about that. After heaving a gentle sigh, Adelo continued, ¡°Teacher Cheyenne did not tell me much about what happened in the cave. The only thing he told me was that he met a very powerful enemy there, the strongest he had ever met, and the fight was a really tough one. My teacher did win in the end, but it was a marginal win, almost negligible, and he realized that this opponent¡¯s power was very strange, just as though it was linked to the Scar of Death. It could not be killed no matter what my teacher did, and in the end, he had to sacrifice his Legendary power to seal it temporarily. Even then, he has toe back every year to reinforce that seal.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a very interesting story...¡± Lin Li smiled, and then asked a strange question. ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? Why send the advance party to the Scar of Death, then?¡±

    ¡°Because a few yearster, my teacher found something about the Scar of Death in some of the ruins left behind by the High Elves...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°It was a diary written by a High Elf noble. Maybe because it is too old, most of the writings have be blurry... The only discernible portion was about studies on Necromagic. Arge number of High Elven nobles had allegedly been swayed by the idea of a ¡®living god¡¯, and started looking for ways to pursue immortality. Hence, Necromagic appeared on their radar, and they thought that this was the only way to immortality.

    ¡°Some of those High Elven nobles set up a base in the ckstone Mountains to conduct research. Unfortunately, they only just got started before the war broke out, and they had to devote their limited resources to the fight while putting their research on hold...¡± Adelo paused for bit here. ¡°As for what happened after that, it was all written in the books. The allied army defeated the six Sky Castles and killed the High Elves¡¯ Queen next to the Tree of Eternity, ending the dark and cruel rule of the High Elves. The research base remained hidden in the ckstone Mountains, lost forever in the river of time...¡±

    Lin Li listened quietly as though it had nothing to do with him. If anyone saw how calm he looked, they would never guess how emotional this young mage actually was...

    Lin Li took a long breath before he finally managed to somewhat calm himself down, but Adelo¡¯s words continued to echo in his mind.

    His words immediately brought a person to Lin Li¡¯s mind¡ªor, should he say, a High Elf. Indeed, it was Norfeller¡¯s previous master, the half-brother of the Highlord, the one who had turned himself into a Lich in the underground pce at the Demon Fall Valley, Giovanni!

    Lin Li did not know much about Giovanni. All he knew was that he was the first one to study Necromagic amongst the High Elves, and he was the first person to treat Necromagic as the way to immortality. ording to Norfeller¡¯s memory, this was all because Giovanni had stumbled upon the grave of the Immortal King...

    As for the location and the secrets hidden in the grave, Norfeller knew little of it. The existence of the Immortal King itself was a mystery that the High Elves had had yet to uncover, and even the unlucky Lin Li who was mistaken for the Immortal King twice in a row only heard something about it from Ujfalusi after he made a Soul Contract with the Lich...

    The Immortal King had probably appeared somewhere between the Dark Ages and the prehistoric times, when the fights between the Dragons and the Titans had just ended and the High Elves born from the Tree of Eternity had just risen. In the tales of the High Elves, the Immortal King was said to be the strongest existence in the whole Anril, and even the High Elves Dynasty was established because they had the Immortal King¡¯s help...

    Only, for some reason, there were very few ounts about the Immortal King in the High Elves¡¯ records. Even very important incidents had merely been sloppily recorded, and thus, schrs in the Dark Ages had debated endlessly over the origins of the Immortal King.

    Some thought that the Immortal King was thest surviving Titan, while some thought that the Immortal King was the incarnation of a deity. Some even thought that the Immortal King was another persona of the Queen herself. All their views differed, but none could convince the others due to theck of evidence.

    Their debates continued for a long time, all the way until the High Elves Dynasty was destroyed, and humans upied more than 80 percent of Anril. The Immortal King¡¯s name also became lost in the passage of time.

    Perhaps Giovanni knew something...

    Of course, he could not possibly have known much, or Norfeller would not have mistaken Lin Li for the Immortal King in the underground pce at the Demon Fall Valley. The powerful soul from the Shadowglen was probably misguided just like Giovanni had been...

    Lin Li always thought that this was merely a coincidence, but now, he started feeling some doubts. If this was all a coincidence, wouldn¡¯t that be too much of a coincidence, then? They were both High Elven nobles who were looking to Necromagic to achieve immortality, and both had one of the seven pieces of debris of the stars. The Immortal King appeared here as well. It looked like he¡¯d have to study this thoroughly...

    Thoughts were running wild in Lin Li¡¯s mind, but Adelo continued his story. ¡°But my teacher realized that all of this has not ended. The High Elves nobles have left, but the research base continues to run.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li was thinking of something when he heard this, and it scared him suddenly. ¡°M-Mage Adelo, surely you¡¯re not trying to tell me that a High Elven noble is still running that ce after 1,300 years?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, the one running the ce is not a High Elf noble, but the altar at the center of the research base camp...¡±

    ¡°The altar you spoke of at the start?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Adelo nodded, and continued, ¡°ording to my teacher, the design of the altar was at the state-of-the-art level then, and would surely leave anyone in awe. The Scar of Death is covered in a strange energy because of that altar as it holds the power to turn living spirits into Undead spirits. Every time a living spirit is turned into an Undead spirit, it provides power for the altar in the form of a sacrifice, and this power allows the altar to continue working...¡±

    This convoluted chicken and egg logic confused Lin Li to no end, and he really wanted to curse at Adelo now.

    Of course, Lin Li did not do so, as he could somewhatprehend everything Adelo had just said...

    Adelo¡¯s words were a mess, but the idea was there. To put it simply, the altar created a cycle between living and Undead spirits, a cycle that never ended

 Chapter 404 - The Humerus Wyrm in the dark

    <h4>Chapter 404: The Humerus Wyrm in the dark</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The worst thing was that Lin Li realized from Adelo¡¯s words that this was not an unchanging cycle. Rather, it had a snowballing effect, and the Undead creatures created by this Gloomy Dark would be increasingly powerful, and one day overpower the restraints of the Gloomy Dark. They¡¯d walk out of the Scar of Death and turn the ckstone Mountains into thend of the Undead. They might even head down the ckstone Mountains and attack nearby viges and cities...

    If things got to that state, then the Malfa Family would be in for a ride. The ckstone Mountains were only half a day¡¯s journey from Aminya City, and if the Undead creatures left the ckstone Mountains, their first target would definitely be Aminya City. It¡¯d then be toote, for the Undead creatures were not like the army of the Ledin Kingdom, where negotiation was an option if they could not beat them¡ªonce these Undead creatures attacked a city, even the most prosperous one would be turned into ruins overnight.

    Aminya City was the root of the Malfa Family¡¯s existence, and if it was destroyed, so was the Malfa Family.

    The Malfa Family would never allow such a thing to happen, and even though not many things in the world could attract the Legendary-realm Cheyenne, even he was concerned over this matter, and was trying all sorts of ways to stop this tragedy before it became toote.

    ¡°Let me think...¡± Lin Li¡¯s mind was in a mess now. He had already sorted out his thoughts earlier, but was now confused again by Adelo¡¯s words.

    It seemed like this whole thing about the Scar of Death was much moreplicated than he had originally thought. Initially, he¡¯d thought that the Gloomy Dark was the ruler of the Scar of Death, and once he had control over the Gloomy Dark, he would be able to control the whole Scar of Death, but that did not seem to be the case anymore.

    The altar that Adelo spoke of seemed to be the one that truly controlled the Undead creatures, and it was the true core of the research base. The Gloomy Dark was at most a source of power for the research base, just like Wyrm Magical crystal in the Eternal Furnace.

    Lin Li was well aware that the power of the Gloomy Dark was nowhere beneath that of the Wyrm Magical crystal, and that this research base powered by the power of the Gloomy Dark was probablyparable to the Eternal Furnace as well. How could the altar at the center of it be easily destroyed?

    And not to forget, there was a powerful being sealed in the research base, one that was able to battle it out with Cheyenne...

    ¡°This is soplicated...¡± Lin Li massaged the ce between his brows in anguish as he could not think of a solution at all. In the end, he gritted his teeth, and took out the Holy Light from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Honestly, Lin Li did not want to use the Holy Light at all. It was too dangerous, for once Light and Darkness came in contact, the explosion it¡¯d cause would beparable to that of Legendary magic¡¯s power. Back in the Endless World, the explosion caused by the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark had blown off nearly half of the Sun Pce. If that happened in the cave now, the dozen of people in the advance party would be blown to bits.

    But, he had no other choice...

    There were too many Undead creatures in the cave, and every step they took was strenuous. It had been an entire afternoon, but they could not even cover 10 percent of their journey. And this was only the start. Who knew whaty ahead of them? Especially after they entered the research base, unimaginable dangers could await them there¡ªeverybody knew that the High Elven aristocrats were sadists. The group could only counter whatever they¡¯d left behind with an even more sadistic method, the Holy Light.

    This was all they could do now¡ªthey¡¯d st their way through these Undead creatures using the powerful Holy Light so that they could enter the research base and destroy the altar before getting their hands on the Gloomy Dark.

    Lin Li was hell-bent on getting the Gloomy Dark this time!

    It was not just because the Gloomy Dark was very powerful...

    The Gloomy Dark held something more important to Lin Li.

    Coincidence after coincidence from the Daylight Square to the Scar of Death made Lin Li feel something¡ªthe seven scattered pieces of the debris of the stars and the Immortal King whose name was the only thing he knew about him were both intricately linked to him. However, he could not say for sure what was the rtionship between them. The only thing Lin Li knew was that the only way he could solve this mystery was to find the seven pieces of the debris of the stars as well as the long lost Stars of Fury. The moment this mythical weapon was in his hands once again would probably the moment everything was revealed.

    Light filled the cave when the Holy Light was taken out. It was like the sun was rising in the east, finally escaping the restraints of the dark and bringing warmth to the earth. The entire cave lit up suddenly as every corner and crevice of the cave was filled with the Holy aura. All the Undead creatures, be it the brimming Skeletal Warriors or the cowardly Liches, melted like snow in the sun in front of the Holy Light.

    ¡°This... this is?¡± Adelo was stunned. He¡¯d never thought that this unbelievably difficult fight could have been ended in such a way. After all, every Skeletal Warrior here was close to level-10, and the Liches hiding in the ck fog were all at least level-16. Even the 20 Death Knights would have a hard time against them.

    But they did not evenst a second in the face of the Holy Light...

    With a sizzle, the world descended into silence.

    It was all like a dream. Perhaps even an Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine would not be able to create such a miracle in this battle.

    Adelo was not the only one baffled. Besides Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who had witnessed the power of the Holy Light themselves, everyone was in a daze. Even the 20 Death Knights he had just conquered revealed looks of fear.

    And the one who was most surprised was no doubt Rina...

    As a Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine, she knew better than anyone else what the ray of light meant. That was Divine Power even stronger than the Great Prophecy. Perhaps even Rosario would not have been able to cleanse all the Undead creatures so easily like this young mage had done.

    <i>Could it be... </i>Rina suddenly thought of that meeting¡ªthat time when Rosario had used three Great Prophecy spells.

    ¡°Till now, the only thing I know is that he is in the Breezy ins, and is around 20 years old. He is also a mage...¡±

    That was what His Holiness Rosario had said...

    <i>Could it be that this self-deprecating guy who spends all his time with Undead creatures is the Son of the Holy Light that His Holiness Rosario spoke of, the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth? </i>Rina stared at Lin Li for a long while, feeling incredulous. As they spent more time together, Rina gained a deeper understanding of this young mage that her teacher thought highly of. Honestly speaking, she had to admit that this fellow was not as infuriating as she¡¯d thought. At least he did act like a true Pdin when ck Clouds Town was attacked by the Crimson Python.

    Of course, that did not mean that Rina agreed with his ways. For example, she could not stand the fact that he had two Undead creatures as servants. She had received the teachings of the Holy Light since she was young, and could not ept the fact that a human had two Undead creatures serving him.

    Rina found it absolutely insane that a human with two Undead creatures as servants was the Son of the Holy Light that Rosario spoke of and the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth. It was even recorded in the writings of the Brilliance Shrine.

    If this was what the incarnation of the Holy Light was, he was better off insane...

    But Rosario¡¯s words rang true in her ears, and so was the Holy Light she had just seen. She could not refute this; all of a sudden, the young and beautiful Pdin was at a loss. After she debated with herself for some time, the decision she made was to ask her teacher Englos about this after she returned.

    The sudden appearance of the Holy Light cleansed the world in a moment, and there was no longer any trace of ck fog before them, nor a sign of any Undead creature. There was only a long and dark tunnel leading to God knew where...

    Without the hindrance posed by the Undead creatures, the speed at which the advance party moved became faster, and they had already gone through the windy andplicatedwork of tunnels.

    Then, there was nothing but empty space in front of them...

    This had to be the mountain¡¯s belly¡ªall they could see was a vast empty space as though they were looking at an endless in. The walls surrounding them were shockingly smooth and glossy. There would be intricate and mysterious carvings on these smooth walls every dozen meters or so, just as though they held some mystical powers. Anyone would know that these walls were not shaped by nature¡ªthere was no way nature could have created something like that or leave such smooth and glossy walls.

    And the ones who did this were of course the High Elven aristocrats 1,300 years ago.

    ¡°How grand...¡± Lin Li looked from afar, and could not help but feel awed. Carvings aside, this huge granite wall would have taken a lot of manpower and time to polish until it was so smooth and glossy. The High Elven aristocrats were sadists indeed¡ªsuch a strict sense of perfectionism could only be described as that. Even an eerie cave used to house a simply built researchb had to be done so perfectly.

    ¡°The altar is just ahead...¡± Adelo stopped before the smooth walls. ¡°But be careful, my teacher said that the Undead creatures here are different from the ones outside...¡±

    ¡°Mm-hm.¡± Lin Li nodded his head. While there were no bones around, and no disgusting stench of decay, Lin Li felt an aura of danger in the air. The Holy Light in the Ring of Endless Storm was also going berserk¡ªjust like it had when it¡¯d first met the Gloomy Dark in the Well of the Sun.

    This feeling of impending danger made Lin Li tense up. His mental strength was pushed to its limit as the Warlock¡¯s Eyes continued to scan around for any suspicious signs.

    The 20 Death Knights summoned their Shapeshifters again as they spread incredibly cautiously around the advance party, forming a defensive formation. Adelo¡¯s right hand remained in his pocket as he held tightly onto the Teleportation Scroll that could save his life. Nobody knew better than him how dangerous this seemingly quiet ce was. Even his teacher Cheyenne had said that if he met any danger here, he could immediately use the Teleportation Scroll to escape.

    Almost everybody was tense as nobody knew what kind of dangersy before them. The only thing they could do was to remain on guard so that they could react quickly once they met any danger.

    This tension continued for a long time until they saw a glimmer of light in the darkness.

    ¡°There is the altar!¡± When he saw the light, Adelo¡¯s furrowed brows rxed atst. After two grueling days and countless close fights, he had finally found the altar hidden in the mountains. Even though Adelo was a dignified person, he could not help expressing his joy and happiness.

    ...So much so that he forgot that he was in the perilous Scar of Death.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression changed almost at the same time, for he heard a familiar sound...

    Just as Adelo quickened his steps to run towards the light, a strong wind started blowing in the air, and everybody felt as though they had been thrown into a pile of bones. The strong stench of decay the wind carried was like that of countless corpses piled together.

    ¡°My God...¡± Adelo looked up in shock, and the look of happiness on his face froze...

    Arge being swept past in the air, and its huge wings spread, covering everyone in its shadow. In his shock, Adelo seemed to have heard a long growl, and saw ice blue mes fall from the sky. In a second, all he saw was a world of blue lights...

    Only when the icy blue mes fell from the sky did Adelo realize that it was a Humerus Wyrm...

    But it was all toote.

    The me of a Humerus Wyrm wasparable to Legendary magic in power, and once he was hit, he would crack instantly even if he was made of steel.

    All of this happened too quickly. Adelo had been lost in happiness, and had never thought that there would be a real Humerus Wyrm hidden in this dark. Moreover, this Humerus Wyrm was incredibly sinister, creeping up on them without a sound before attacking.

    <i>This is it... </i>As the icy blue mes fell, that was the only thought in Adelo¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 405 - Frost Dragon Gun

    <h4>Chapter 405: Frost Dragon Gun</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Almost at the same time the icy blue mes fell on him, Adelo felt his body be light as though he was rammed by a running horse, and his body felt like it was shattering into pieces. Adelo saw ck before his eyes, and a gush of blood rushed out from his throat...

    Before he could even throw up the blood from the impact, Adelo felt himself flying far away like a kite with broken strings.

    It was quite a fall indeed, having been from a height of at least 17 meters. Even if it were a hardy high-ranking Warrior in his ce, he would not have fared much better, much less a physically weak mage like Adelo. Adelo felt his head spin from the fall, and saw lights dance before his eyes as though the world was spinning around him.

    When Adelo came back to his senses, the huge shadow in the sky was long gone. There were only ice shards lying on the ground as well as a crater of at least 10 meters it left behind...

    ¡°...¡± Adelo¡¯s mouth was wide open, but he could not make a sound. All of this was too overwhelming. If the ice me had fallen on him instead, he would have been dead by now even if he was 10 times stronger than he was...

    Standing not far away from the crater was the young mage holding a magic staff. There was a light magical wave circling around him, and the crystal embedded on the top of his magic staff was glowing brightly.

    Adelo was an experienced Archmage, after all, so even though he had just suffered a huge fall, he was still able to guess what had happened after seeing all of this. There was no doubt that he had the young mage to thank for the fall, but Lin Li¡¯s intention was not to hurt him¡ªrather, it was to save him from the ice me...

    Adelo was well aware that that was the best method to use in the situation earlier.

    The ice me came at them too quickly for anybody to react to it, and even an Archmage like him would not have been able to conjure up a shield when the ice me fell upon them. The only thing he could do was hope that someone from the advance party would save him. Thankfully, the young mage had done just that¡ªhe had used Power of Repulse to save him from the ice me.

    When Adelo thought about what circumstances the Power of Repulse had been conjured up in, he could not help breaking into cold sweat. This was all too strange...

    How was Lin Li able to hit him with the Power of Repulse in such circumstances? Was this Felic still human? Adelo did not dare imagine what kind of mentality and reflex was needed to achieve such a feat, much less casting magic at such a speed!

    How was Lin Li able to think of hitting him with the Power of Repulse in the face of this Humerus Wyrm? How did he finish the elemental sequencing as well as mana release all in a fraction of a second? That was far beyond what a human should be capable of! If Adelo really had to describe this feat, he could think of no better word than ¡°miraculous¡±...

    Adelo had lost track of the number of times the word ¡°miraculous¡± hade to mind after meeting Lin Li.

    And yet, Adelo would have never thought that this young mage who seemed to keep creating miracles in his eyes was nowining as he stared at the disappearing figure of the Humerus Wyrm.

    <i>Damn it, why am I so unlucky...? </i>Lin Li held the Aether Staff as he stared at the figure in the sky as he cursed at it in his mind.

    This was all because the Warlock¡¯s Eyes had captured a tiny detail when the Humerus Wyrm swooped down from the sky...

    There was a slender figure on the back of the Humerus Wyrm!

    Even an idiot would know that it meant they were in huge trouble...

    How mediocre could this person be if they rode a Humerus Wyrm? Ujfalusi had looked so powerful back in Syer Town, but that was all because he managed tobine a sliver of soul fire many years ago, allowing him to somehow summon a Humerus Wyrm...

    While a Humerus Wyrm was not a true Wyrm, it was given life by a true Wyrm magical crystal. The ways of a Wyrm were infused into its soul fire. How could a Dragon which had fought the Titans and ruled the sky at one point, being the most powerful creature in Anril, allow just anyone to ride on its back?

    All of the ones in the history of Anril who were able to ride a Wyrm were great men of their era, and many of them were still praised in folk songs today. The most well known of them was the Night Dragon Knight, who had fought alongside Geresco during the Dark Ages.

    Lin Li finally understood why Cheyenne lost so badly in the Scar of Death even though he was very powerful.

    This was incredibly normal¡ªwho else could say they would be able to go against a Humerus Wyrm and its rider unless they were as insanely powerful as Apophis?

    That was akin to going against two Legendary beings alone! Cheyenne was lucky enough to merely be severely injured. If he was slightly unlucky, he would have lost his life instead.

    Unfortunately, it was now toote for regrets. Lin Li could clearly see that when he had frozen in his spot, the Humerus Wyrm had made a turn in the air, and the bone-chilling cold as well as the stench of decay was now approaching them. The slender guy on the back of the Humerus Wyrm had also stood up. Lin Li saw that he was wearing a ck cloak, and was holding a long and thin magic staff. When he stood up on the back of the Humerus Wyrm, a strong magical wave suffused with death aura filled their surrounding...

    ¡°Another Lich...¡± Lin Li felt his heart clench as he could feel that this Lich was way more powerful than Ujfalusi.

    Besides Lin Li, Ujfalusi and Norfeller had also felt the strong magical wave. Ujfalusi was especially sensitive to this magical wave filled with death aura as he had once been a Lich. Just as the Humerus Wyrm let out a long growl, Ujfalusi¡¯s face became pale with fear.

    ¡°Master¡ª¡± Ujfalusi opened his mouth, wanting to tell this the owner of their Soul Contract.

    ¡°Yeah, Ujfalusi...¡± Without waiting for the ex-Lich to speak, Lin Li cut him off as he knew what he was about to say. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, I know that he¡¯s a Lich. Damn it, we¡¯re really in trouble, these bloody High Elven nobles really had nothing better to do,ing up with this damned ce and these two freaks...¡±

    Lin Li cursed angrily as he took out the Holy Light from the Ring of Endless Storm...

    However, once Lin Li did so, he could not make up his mind whether to channel mana into it, as this ce was far too near the Gloomy Dark. If he activated the Divine Power in the Holy Light, there was a high chance that he might wake the Gloomy Dark as well. When the two forces of Light and Dark collided, it¡¯d instantly bring disaster. By then, the whole advance party would be buried in the copsed cave without needing these two freaks to do anything...

    But if he didn¡¯t...

    Instant death was probably a better idea than having the dozen of people here fight a Humerus Wyrm and a Lich...

    It was a dead end both ways. Lin Li felt his head ache at the thought.

    The worst thing was that the Humerus Wyrm in the air did not intend to give him any time to ponder any further, as it spat another gust of ice me at them just as he was speaking to Ujfalusi..

    ¡°Damn it, you¡¯ve got guts!¡± The burst of ice me came at them too suddenly, and Lin Li did not have time to react. Hence, he could only put up an ice wall hurriedly while he cursed at the Humerus Wyrm in a frenzy.

    But it was merely a level-15 Ice Wall Spell, and could not withstand the ice me of the Humerus Wyrm at all. A secondter, they could see the ice blue me explode, followed by a crunching sound as many cracks appeared in the ice wall. Before anyone couldprehend what was going on, the thick wall of ice fell down with a loud boom...

    Thankfully, all of this had been within Lin Li¡¯s expectations. After he¡¯d conjured up the ice wall, he continued to chant, and the Dragon¡¯s Eye atop his magic staff glowed brightly as walls of ice sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a rain.

    In a short period of time, Lin Li had conjured up seven walls of ice. The Humerus Wyrm¡¯s ice me destroyed them in an equally short amount of time, and the ground was soon covered in pieces of shattered ice as the whole ce became a mess even though it¡¯d been spotless just moments ago.

    But, they did block off the ice mes atst...

    ¡°Norfeller, Gravity Spell!¡± After saying that, Lin Li raised his head and chugged a bottle of Multicolored Potion.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Vampires were naturally gifted in Dark Magic, and high-ranking Vampires like Norfeller were especially talented at the Gravity Spell. As Norfeller started chanting in a deep and husky voice, a ck light appeared around the Humerus Wyrm, and its flying speed decreased...

    How could a Humerus Wyrm with a Wyrm magical crystal be tied down by a Gravity Spell? With a long growl, therge wings spread out in the sky, and a strong wind started blowing. Everyone felt a bone-chilling sensation, and the weaker ones on the team like Johnathan and Reggie immediately felt as though their blood was freezing up. Even the stronger ones like the level-17 Warriors had to channel all their Combat Energy to withstand the sudden surge of cold.

    Lin Li was the only one who was not fazed by the cold. He¡¯d already started chanting immediately after Norfeller used the Gravity Spell, and when the Humerus Wyrm spread its wings, Lin Li was finished with thest line of the spell. The Dragon¡¯s Eye glowed brightly, and a huge Frost Gun appeared...

    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you to spit at me!¡±

    The Frost Dragon Gun <sup>1</sup> sliced through the air with a deafening noise, the projectile flying towards the Humerus Wyrm in the sky...

    The Dragon Gun was called so because it was a gun used to y dragons. The weapons used by the Titans to fight against the Wyrms were called Dragon Guns; the only difference was that the Dragon Guns used by the Titans were forged from lightning, and even a Wyrm would not be able to escape an attack from the Dragon Gun unscathed.

    Meanwhile, the Frost Dragon Gun used by Lin Li was created by generations of mages, who had taken inspiration from the only surviving Dragon Gun of the Titans. While it was far less powerful, it was particrly effective when used againstrge creatures... like the Humerus Wyrm in the sky now.

    Even though the Humerus Wyrm was quick to escape its restraints, it was still not quick enough to escape Lin Li¡¯s Frost Dragon Gun, and just as it had spread its wings, the attack was already right before it eyes. In a split second, all they heard was a deafening noise before the meters long Frost Dragon Gun¡¯s attack exploded violently. Therge amount of magical elements it contained was released in the explosion, causing an earthquake to ur in the cave.

    Even though the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s body was incredibly tough, it still suffered a big injury after being hit by a level-20 magic out of the blue. Shattered pieces of bones fell down like rain, followed by a long, pathetic whimper issued by the Humerus Wyrm. Norfeller¡¯s Gravity Spell could no longer hold down the enraged creature, and the huge figure swept past above their heads as it disappeared into the endless darkness.

    The Frost Dragon Gun conjured with the help of the Multicolored Potion had allowed them to fend off the ferocious Humerus Wyrm for now, and they finally managed to catch their breath after having been suffocated by the cold. By then, even the wary high-ranking Warriors were fully convinced that if they wanted this mission to be a sess, they could only rely on this young mage...

    He was able to fend off the powerful Humerus Wyrm with just a spell. Surely even a Legendary mage was no better than that?

    However, Lin Li had no time to celebrate his victory, as he knew very well that even though the Frost Dragon Gun was powerful, it was still not a true Titan Dragon Gun, after all. While he¡¯d managed to injure the Humerus Wyrm earlier, that injury was far from lethal. Moreover, there was Lich far stronger than Ujfalusi standing on the back of the Humerus Wyrm...

    He was a true Master of Necromagic. If he was willing, all he had to do was spend some time to make the Humerus Wyrm as powerful as it was in its prime.

    The real fight had only just begun...

 Chapter 406 - All-Knowing Potion

    <h4>Chapter 406: All-Knowing Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After firing the Frost Dragon Gun, Lin Li hurried back a few steps so that he was back under the protection of the Death Knights. Honestly speaking, the 20 Death Knights were not as powerful as he would have liked them to be. They were not real Retribution Knights, after all, and so were nowhere near the level of a Humerus Wyrm or a Lich in terms of magic or melee capability. However, Lin Li could not be bothered much; he only hoped that they¡¯d be able to buy him enough time...

    Enough time to drink this potion...

    After retreating a few steps, Lin Li slowly reached into his pocket, and took out a sky blue potion bottle.

    This sky blue potion bottle was made from the Dream Crystal that Balbo had given Lin Li during the inauguration ceremony¡ªthe Life Bottle that was coveted by every pharmacist. The Life Bottle was precious because any potion that was ced in it would be infused with some of the aura of the Tree of Life, which would increase the potency of the potion as well as purify it so that the potion could be taken continuously without any harmful effects on the body.

    Even Lin Li had to admit then that he was very lucky to have it.

    Lin Li had used the ck lotus immediately after the inauguration ceremony, and spent an entire weeking up with an All-Knowing potion.

    Honestly speaking, the name ¡°All-knowing¡± sounded very tacky, but it had always been a legend amongst mages. Every mage knew that the effect of this ¡°All-Knowing¡± was that it¡¯d allow the potential of the mage who drank it to skyrocket, raising their abilities to a shocking level. Moreover, this effect could allow one to cross realms from a Magic Shooter to an Archmage, and from an Archmage to a Legendary-realm mage...

    This upgrade was not to be belittled, as it was different from the effect that came along with the Multicolored Potion. The Multicolored Potion merely allowed the mage who consumed it to have unlimited mana as well as cast magic beyond their level for a short period of time¡ªjust like Lin Li had done earlier. He had been able to cast a level-21 Eternal Light Spell with the help of the Multicolored Potion even though he was only a level-18 Archmage.

    However, this was all attributed to the power of the Multicolored Potion, and Lin Li did not experience any increase in his abilities. He was still a level-18 Archmage, and would not be a Legendary-mage just because he had taken the Multicolored Potion.

    Truth be told, the Multicolored Potion only pleased the eye of many mages. Even though it had great effects of allowing the user to have unlimited mana and cast magic beyond their level, one had to have the ability to enjoy these benefits. How could one hope to cast a Legendary spell if they did not have mental strength powerful enough to withstand it?

    Even Lin Li who had an immensely powerful mental strength took three minutes before he finished chanting the Eternal Light Spell. If he had not had the help of Ujfalusi¡¯s Tide of Death to buy him some time, he would have been smashed into mush by the Death Knights.

    But the All-Knowing potion was different.

    After taking that potion, Lin Li¡¯s abilities would experience a true increase¡ªhe¡¯d stay at either level-19 or a level-20 for the full one hour of the potion¡¯s effect, and he¡¯d have aplete grasp of that power due to the potion.

    As a true pharmaceutics guru himself, Lin Li was well aware what kind of effect the All-Knowing Potion would have on him given his current abilities. If he took a bottle of that potion, he could probably surpass the Legendary-realm.

    And not to forget, the potion was kept in the Life Bottle...

    After being purified and refined by the Life Bottle, the effect of the potion would reach a shocking level, and might even give him the power akin to level-21.

    What kind of concept was being at level-21? Well, think of Aldwin...

    Without a doubt, the All-Knowing potion had to be one of the most powerful trump cards that Lin Li had. This was why Lin Li had used the ck lotus and the Life Bottle, as well as many other rare and precious ingredients, to make this potion¡ªit was so that he could have a trump card that would allow him to turn the tables in the most dire and dangerous of situations.

    This All-Knowing Potion was too precious, and Lin Li could not bear to use it even though he was surrounded by arge number of Vampires and the 20 Death Knights earlier. He had preferred risking injury to perform a level-21 Eternal Light Spell with the help of the Multicolored Potion.

    But now, Lin Li could only twist open the cap of the bottle and down the cooling liquid...

    He had no other choice...

    He was facing much too strong an enemy. Humerus Wyrm aside, there was also a Lich much more powerful than Ujfalusi had been. This was basically sending him to his death. He was willing to bet his head that even Cheyenne did not meet with such a horrifyingly powerful opponent, or else he would not have just suffered heavy injuries¡ªno matter how powerful Cheyenne might have been, he would meet his death if he was faced with a Humerus Wyrm and a Lich...

    As soon as the cooling liquid poured into his mouth, Lin Li felt as though the mana in him was boiling over!

    That was a strange feeling, just as though someone lit a fire within him, and he burst into mes; the mana in him was originally like a flowing river, but it had suddenly turned into a raging sea. When Lin Li opened his eyes again, the world suddenly became incredibly clear, and the endless darkness did not seem as indiscernible now. Lin Li was even able to clearly see the huge wings of the Humerus Wyrm in the sky and the Lich on its back holding a magic staff as he chanted aplicated spell. As the words came out of the Lich¡¯s mouth, the huge wound in the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s chest the Frost Gun had left was also healing at a speed he could see with his naked eyes...

    This was not there the effects of the potion ended. It was more of an indescribable feeling; at that moment, Lin Li even felt as though he had suddenly been enlightened. Theplicated and profound theories of magic were now clear to him as though he had suddenly found the end of a string in a snarl. As long as he followed the string, he¡¯d be able to unravel the whole thing.

    He suddenly had the answers to questions he had long had troubles with as well. In that instant, Lin Li felt as though the whole Magic System was presented right before his eyes. While he and magic were still separate entities, it felt as though their positions had been switched. In the past, he was used to looking up at it, and no matter how he craned his neck, he could only manage to catch a glimpse of a small part of the whole Magic System, but now, he was looking from above and could see everything beneath him clearly.

    Lin Li knew that this was the Legendary-realm.

    Nothing else besides the core magical mantras mattered to a mage who had reached the Legendary-realm. Everything¡ªbe it techniques or knowledge¡ªwas seen as receable, for the Legendary-realm itself represented the most thorough insight of things. Legendary-mages paid no heed to the most profound of casting techniques and the most mysterious magical knowledge as they could always do better than that if they so wished to.

    This was all because they were already standing at the peak of magic, and as they looked downwards, they would naturally be able to see everything clearly. Any magic they cast was able to demonstrate the most profound of casting techniques as well as the most mysterious of magical knowledge, and the only things that remained above them in the whole Magic System were the core magical mantras. Once they were able to climb this peak, they¡¯d enter the Sanctuary-realm that only existed in legends...

    And right now, Lin Li felt as though he was looking down from above.

    As Lin Li held the Aether Staff, he felt a strong burst of strength run through his body. Never had he felt so powerful¡ªnot even when he drank the Elixir of the Sages and was able to predict the future, nor when he had taken the Multicolored Potion and was able to conjure up dozens of Pyrosts anytime he wished. This was because this powerful strength was now held securely in his hands...

    The Lich was a master well-versed in Necromagic indeed. In the blink of an eye, he had managed to repair the damage caused by the Frost Dragon Gun. The Humerus Wyrm spread its wings again, and rushed with an angry cry towards the advance party at an rming speed thanks to Necromagic. Before anyone had the time to react to it, the huge shadow had already been cast on everyone beneath.

    As the blue ice mes covered the ground, half of the Death Knights had fallen in a sh.

    It was not worth it at all to have Death Knights go against the Humerus Wyrm, as it was akin to having one¡¯s hands and feet tied in a fight while the other party was free to hit him as he wished. These 20 Death Knights were the fools with their hands tied now as even though they had the powerful Shapeshifters and their sharp frost des, they were unable bring even a bit of harm to the Humerus Wyrm. The only thing they could do was to use their pathetic Dark Magic to attack the Humerus Wyrm while they shielded Lin Li, who was absorbing the effects of the potion, with their bodies...

    Even a true Legendary-realm powerhouse would be no match for the Humerus Wyrm, much less the 20 Death Knights that were not truly in the Legendary-realm yet. While they looked as sturdy as walls of steel, they still copsed under the attack of the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s ice me. The weaker ones were even engulfed by the ice me, and when the blue light dissipated, a few of the Death Knights were already lying on the floor as their soul fire quickly seeped out from cracks in their armor...

    ¡°What do we do, what do we do...¡± Adelo was worried sick. He had thought that the Frost Dragon Gun was able to heavily injure the Humerus Wyrm, only for that damned Humerus Wyrm to so quickly return as good as new. <i>What do we do, can that Mage Felic still hold up or not...</i>

    The situation before their eyes was really at its worst as the Death Knights that were supposed to protect that young mage were all falling one by one. The Humerus Wyrm had only breathed ice mes at them twice before half of them fell. The ones still standing were only holding onto scraps of armor, and perhaps would all be engulfed by the next breath full of ice mes...

    Besides the Death Knights, there were only a few people who could really be of help. Adelo was one of them, the ex-Lich Ujfalusi was one as well, and Norfeller who was well versed in Dark Magic was another. Even Rina, who had disyed impressivebat prowess before, was of no help now, as a Judge Pdin was helpless facing a flying Humerus Wyrm unless they had already reached the Legendary-realm.

    Flying was indeed the best advantage creatures like a dragon could have as even the Titans, who were the strongest creatures physically in all history, were no match for the flying Dragons, which was why the Titans¡¯ Dragon Gun was born. After countless tries, it had been proven that the first step to beating a Dragon was to make it fall from the sky.

    Just like what Lin Li was doing now...

    After the ice mes had engulfed half of the Death Knights, Lin Li was finally done absorbing the potion. When he walked out from under the Death Knights¡¯ protection, holding the Aether Staff in his hand, he gave everyone a strange feeling when they saw him. Nothing had changed, but it felt like he was a whole new person.

    Even his two servants, Norfeller and Ujfalusi, who knew him the best found him unfamiliar as though they had never met him in their life.

    It was because this mage with the magic staff was really too powerful, so powerful he felt unfamiliar. If they thought that he had merely been pretending to be powerful when he used the Eternal Light Spell after a conducting a mysterious ritual, then he could only be truly powerful now. None of that power was fake, and even a fool could tell that all that strength came from him.

    It was just like a tiger shedding the sheepskin it had been hiding beneath, all ws and sharp teeth as the king of beasts.

    ¡°Mr Lich, your pet has been flying for so long. Doesn¡¯t it feel tired?¡± Lin Li looked up at the Humerus Wyrm diving towards him with an unusually calm expression.

    However, the magical wave around him was thrown into a sudden frenzy after he finished speaking...

 Chapter 407 - The Lichs strength

    <h4>Chapter 407: The Lich¡¯s strength</h4>

    <b>Trantor:</b> As Studios <b>Editor:</b> As Studios

    Everyone held their breath at seeing the scene before them¡ªeven Norfeller, who used to serve a High Elf aristocrat, and Ujfalusi, who had led a long life and upied Syer Town for centuries, and even the only Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine, Rina, as well Adelo, who had followed the Legendary-mage Cheyenne for decades... Everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost as they stared at the scene with a zed expression and fear...

    This was something that only appeared in their dreams...

    Who had ever seen a young mage in his 20s make a flying Humerus Wyrm fall from the sky with just a spell?

    To exin, just as the Humerus Wyrm was spitting ice mes, the young mage started chanting. His chanting was notplicated, nor was it long and windy. It was as simple as a greeting, but in that instant, everyone felt a strong magical wave that made all of them tremble. The young mage¡¯s chant and the spell he cast gave everyone the illusion that the whole world seemed to be falling in that instant...

    But, they soon realized that it was not the world that was falling, but the flying Humerus Wyrm in the air...

    The huge figure grew increasingly bigger, and the Humerus Wyrm crashed onto the ground with a heavy ¡°thud¡±...

    The world seemed to shake when the Humerus Wyrm fell down; dust flew everywhere, and thousands of bone fragments sttered in the dark. The sound of gravel falling, the stone walls cracking, and the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s growling all blended together, and transformed the quiet cave into a bustling city. Yet, the only sound in everyone¡¯s mind now was the chanting of the young mage as it even covered the sound of the Humerus Wyrm crashing on the ground...

    That was the voice of a Legendary-mage...

    The world quieted down suddenly as everyone turned unanimously towards the young mage. Be it Norfeller, Rina, Adelo, or Johnathan, they all felt a sense of unfamiliarity from him. Was this Legendary-mage who held such terrifying power and was able to defeat the Humerus Wyrm easily really the polite young mage who always had a warm smile on his face?

    It felt as weird as seeing an ant turn around and suddenly be an elephant¡ªa strange and abrupt process that felt surreal to everyone who had witnessed it.

    ¡°Stand back!¡± Just as everyone was staring wide-eyed, the young mage suddenly let out a shout before he disappeared into a shadow and retreated at a mind-numbing speed.

    A mage experienced great changes when they reached the Legendary-realm. This change was not only in terms of strength, but also in the way they cast a spell. This was because magic had be an innate ability for them at this point, and had fully integrated into the life of the mage, making it something as easy as breathing for them.

    Legendary-realm mages did not even have to chant nor put in any mana to use spells like the Wind de or the ming Storm, as a gesture or even a thought sufficed for them to extinguish their enemy. Even strengthening magic like the Hastening Spell, Power Spell, or the Stone-Skin Spell hadpletely solidified within them and became a part of them.

    A Legendary-mage was no less hardy than a level-15 or level-16 Warrior, which was why Macklin and Aldwin were able to work in front of a furnace even though they were already so old. It was also because of this that Andoine was able to survive an ident when brewing a potion.

    Lin Li moved like a leopard. He was shockingly quick, and was already meters away before the dirt could rise in his wake.

    As Lin Li moved back, Norfeller and the rest reacted as well. Thankfully, the advance party was made up of all the elites of the mercenary corps, and even Johnathan who was the weakest was at level-14. Even though Lin Li had shouted abruptly, everyone reacted just as quickly; they were not much slower than Lin Li.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Mage Felic...?¡± Adelo was a mage, after all, and did not have any strengthening magic he could use. He only managed to catch up with the rest by quickly casting a Hastening Spell. However, when the Archmage stopped next to Lin Li, he still looked somewhat doubtful...

    ¡°The fight has just started...¡± That was all Lin Li said.

    ¡°What...?¡± Adelo looked shocked before his expression changed quickly because he clearly saw the fallen Humerus Wyrm spread its huge wings and stretch its long body while it let out an earth-shattering roar...

    When he heard the growl, Adelo paled. He finally remembered that he was facing a true Humerus Wyrm, the most powerful of Undead creatures, and one that carried a Wyrm magical crystal at that. While falling from the sky was ufortable for it, that was all it felt as that little setback did not deal it any damage at all.

    And as its enemy, he now had to be prepared to feel its wrath...

    Everything was just like Adelo thought. After the roar, ice mes spread everywhere, and even though its wings were restrained and it could not fly, they were enough to cause a strong gust of wind to blow in the spacious cave. In a second, all they could see was dust flying all around, and even an Archmage like Adelo had to put up a Four-element Shield to withstand it.

    The scariest thing was that the Humerus Wyrm started moving again...

    A loud thump apanied every step the Humerus Wyrm took, and it sounded like mountains moving. Even though it moved slowly, every step it took covered at least a dozen meters, and even though 100 meters looked like a far enough distance, it was nothing more than 10 steps to the Humerus Wyrm. They were all still catching their breaths, but in the blink of an eye, they had to face the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s ice mes again.

    Adelo only now understood why the young mage said that the fight had only just begun...

    While restraining a Humerus Wyrm with magic seemed like a victory in itself, it was actually just giving them a chance to fight against the Humerus Wyrm.

    Adelo looked at the Humerus Wyrm pressing closer as he added silently, <i>A rather slim chance...</i> The odds of winning were low given their current situation. The Humerus Wyrm was too strong physically; only the Retribution Knight couldpare to it amongst all Undead creatures. Once it exploded in anger, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    And everyone was stuck in a cave too. While it looked spacious, there was a limit to the space, and given the distance the Humerus Wyrm could cover with a step, escaping would only turn this into a game of catch.

    Adelo racked his brains, and realized that he had to admit that they could only rely on this Mage Felic. He only hoped that this young mage could continue creating miracles like in the previous fights...

    Unfortunately, Adelo did not know that while he was putting all his hopes on Lin Li, Lin Li was silently groaning.

    It was because he could feel that the Lich was about to strike...

    The magical waveing off the Lich was boiling with anger, and even though Lin Li had Legendary-realm strength now, he still had to concentrate all his attention on going against the Lich. Hence, Lin Li did not even spare the Humerus Wyrm another nce, as he knew that the Lich was behind everything. Exterminating the Lich was the only option if he wanted to resolve this...

    The same ck cloaks, and the same powerful strength. When the Humerus Wyrm neared the advance party, the two Legendary powerhouses also made their first contact as the fight of their lives was starting.

    On one side was a master of Necromagic who had lived for an eternity, while the other was a talented mage who held terrifying power because of the All-Knowing Potion. The fight between them was bound to create an explosion of sparks like meteors hitting earth.

    The two of them moved at the same time. The Lich greeted Lin Li with a Bone Spear, and Lin Li returned the greeting with a wall of ice, which turned into many icicles after shattering.

    After having Legendary strength, the way Lin Li used icicles also became different. He¡¯d had to conjure them with magic before, and even though he had incredibly powerful mental strength, there would¡¯ve been a dy nheless, but now, with the All-Knowing Potion, he could skip the process of conjuring them with magic as using the icicles had be an innate ability for him. All he had to do was think of it, and the water magical element would take on any shape he wished, forming dense crowds of icicles...

    If Lin Li was going against an Archmage now, the thousands of icicles would kill him on the spot as no matter how strong a Four-element Shield was, there was no way it could hold up against thousands of icicles at once. Unfortunately, Lin Li was going against a Lich now¡ªone that had already reached the Legendary-realm, and could ride a Humerus Wyrm...

    The Lich only used one spell to block the attack of the icicles.

    In a sh, all everyone heard was a ¡°boom¡± before a wall made of bones shattered between the Lich and Lin Li.

 Chapter 408 - Corpse Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 408: Corpse Explosion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There were way too many mages in Anril. Even Andoine, who held an important position in the Supreme Council, could only describe their number as ¡°hundreds of thousands¡± when he talked with Lin Li...

    However, hardly a thousandth of them had seen a Legendary-mage in person, much less witness a fight between two Legendary-mages.

    This was not an exaggeration, as most mages in Anril did not know how Legendary-mages dueled; they were not much different from an average person in that aspect. Many mages thought that a fight between Legendary-mages would be as grand as the battles in historical records, where they hurled Legendary-level magic at each other, and that the Elemental Power would be enough to shatter the ground. Hence, they were thought to only use Archmage-level magic sparingly as an ent to the fight.

    The truth was the opposite, however, as Legendary-mages rarely used Legendary-level magic when they fought each other, and even if they did, it was often for other reasons¡ªthey would use them to distract their opponent or to pressurize them. These were merely tactics, however, and did not determine if they would win in the fight. They still relied on level-18 and level-19 magic to truly win.

    This was because when a mage entered the Legendary-realm, their understanding of magic also reached new heights. They started to realize that they could simplify all theplicated theories, and began to take on a more straightforward approach towards magic. However, this did not mean that their approach became crude or superficial, as it was a blend of their profound understanding ofplicated techniques as well as the most essential of core magical mantras, thus resulting in a new style of magic.

    This style of magic could never be replicated, as it was something that developed naturally after one reached the Legendary-realm.

    Just like Lin Li now...

    Even though he had the help of the All-Knowing Potion, as soon as he had the strength of the Legendary-realm, he adopted such a style almost immediately. If the mages from the Daylight Square were witnessing this, they would find it hard to believe that this young mage who cast spells without an additional syble in his chanting or an additional movement in his gestures was the same young talent who had demonstrated various fancy techniques of casting spells back in the Daylight Square.

    Lin Li was like a different person now as there was no trace of the Archmage from the Daylight Square on him now. Each of his spells was filled with a beautiful simplicity, and nobody would think he was a young mage only in his twenties based on the way he cast spells. The way he simplified his techniques effectively was something that one would see once in a while observing mages who had studied magic for decades.

    The Lich that rode the Humerus Wyrm was like that too. He had always hidden in the Scar of Death, and once fought the Legendary-mage Cheyenne, resulting in both suffering heavy injuries. In this fight, he, too, demonstrated his great understanding of magic.

    The thousands icicles had just melted when the Lich chanted one line, and green toxic fumes started spreading nearby. They seemed to have a life of their own as even though the cave was spacious, the fumes did not spread everywhere, but stayed concentrated in one spot, looking from afar like a moving snake.

    This was a level-15 Withered Fog, one of the most infuriating Necromagic of all as it¡¯d poison any living person who came in contact with it. If one did not have at least Theurgy of level-15 and above or a potion that could save their life, they¡¯d be dead in seconds. The worst thing was that the Withered Fog was made up of death aura, which was naturally sensitive to the Scent of Life. Hence, it¡¯d search for living creatures upon release and cling to them relentlessly.

    As soon as the Withered Fog was released, almost half of whatever they could see was now covered in it as there were patches of green everywhere.

    ¡°This bastard...¡± Lin Li felt a headacheing when he saw the green fumes as even though it could not hurt a Legendary-realm powerhouse, it could deal damage to others. That was the infuriating part of the spell as even though it was not very powerful, it was horribly clingy, and required a long time to neutralize. Hence, he had no choice but to be wary of it.

    Thankfully, he had reached the Legendary-realm with the help of the All-Knowing Potion...

    Lin Li cursed angrily in his mind as he quickly started chanting a level-20 Great Purge Spell. Aldwin had used it back in the Daylight Square to get rid of the Blood-vine Spell that Gryffindor was trapped in. On some levels, the Great Purge Spell was like the Eternal Light Spell, but it was easier to execute and less powerful. However, they were both used to deal with evil creatures. Be it Undead creatures or demons, they would all be exterminated by the light of the Great Purge Spell.

    The Withered Fog was no exception...

    Lin Li chanted very quickly. Before the green fumes even spread outpletely, the light from the Great Purge Spell already shone everywhere as the whole ce was lit up by the blinding rays of light. Once the whole ce shone brightly, the green fumes also disappeared like dust in the rain as they dissolved into the light.

    <i>That¡¯s not right... </i>For some reason, however, Lin Li did not feel settled at all after the Withered Fog dissipated, for he felt his heart clench as though there was an impending danger...

    Then, Lin Li smelled a stench of decay...

    <i>F*ck! </i>Lin Li lowered his head unconsciously, and immediately cursed as he saw that the ground beneath his feet had loosened after the Withered Fog disappeared. There was even a decayed arm sticking out of it¡ªit was reaching for his right foot.

    This was a level-15 Death Revival, an unpopr Necromagic spell which made use of death aura to create corpses. Necromancers rarely used it as Necromagic was not too adept in the process of creating, and even creating corpses would require way too much mana. Moreover, these corpses created from death aura were not very powerful, and even though they were created by a level-15 spell, they could easily be wiped out by normal level-10 fighters.

    However, when these corpses appeared under one¡¯s feet, they still made people break out in cold sweat¡ªeven a Legendary-mage...

    Lin Li did break out in cold sweat when he discovered the corpses beneath his feet.

    ¡°Retreat, quick!¡±

    There was another use for corpses summoned by Necromancers in fights, which was to cause explosions!

    While the level-14 Corpse Explosion was not of a high level, it was scarily powerful, especially when executed by a level-20 Lich. This was because the scale of the explosion depended on the number of corpses¡ªthe more there were, the bigger the explosion. The Corpse Explosion back at ckhills Town almost blew up the whole inn; one would be a fool not to run away if the level-20 Lich used a Corpse Explosion right now...

    Lin Li had actually discovered the corpses in time as they were only just appearing, and had yet to surround the advance party. If the Lich were to use the Corpse Explosion now, it would only be the few ones that had already surfaced exploding, which would not be very powerful, as the ground would act as a buffer for the explosion from those that were still buried underground.

    The Lich would have to wait a moment for all the corpses to surface if he wanted the Corpse Explosion to reach its full potential. This was provided that the Lich was willing to wait as even a few seconds would suffice for the whole advance party to retreat to a safe distance.

    Everyone¡¯s reflexes had be incredibly quick after having spent the past few days fighting in the Scar of Death. All of them¡ªthe ones he had brought from the Tower of Dusk, Adelo and his men, and even Reggie and the rest¡ªwere very alert to their surroundings. Shortly after the warning echoed, they all sensed that there was impending danger, and managed to evacuate to a safe distance in just a split second.

    But then, the Humerus Wyrm turned around...

    Since the fight between the two Legendary-mages had started, the Humerus Wyrm was no longer under the Lich¡¯s control, and because its wings were still restrained by Lin Li¡¯s magic, flying was no longer an option as well. Hence, the dozen or so people in the advance party as well as the remaining Death Knights were able to hold it off for a while.

    But now that the advance party was running for their lives, the remaining Death Knights were unable to handle the Humerus Wyrm alone. Thus, the Humerus Wyrm suddenly turned around, and its long whip-like tail swept over abruptly. In that second, everyone heard a low sound breaking through the silence...

    The Humerus Wyrm was dozens of meters long, and its tail made up half of that length. Everyone only saw a shadow sweep by when that low sound was heard, and the cave suddenly started shaking with a booming noise.

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± All Lin Li saw before his eyes was darkness. The Humerus Wyrm¡¯s tail had shattered the smooth walls of the cave, causing debris to fly everywhere. Due to the strength of the Humerus Wyrm, this debris flew like cannonballs, and even the incredibly hardy Death Knights were forced to take cover.

    But the moment that happened, a problem arose.

    Without the Death Knights tying it down, the Humerus Wyrm regained its freedom, and it spread its wings as its huge body swooped over like an attacking hawk, moving dozens of meters towards them in just the blink of an eye.

    Then, another low sound was heard...

    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Even Lin Li paled at that. If the walls of the cave were destroyed by one sweep of the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s tail, how was the advance party supposed to survive that? It would be a miracle if even half of them made it out alive.

    Luckily, Adelo reacted quickly. Just as the sound was heard, he had already broken the scroll in his hands, and a golden light appeared, enshrouding everyone.

    <i>What a waste of a Divine Prevention Scroll... </i>Lin Li immediately saw that it was a Divine Prevention Scroll from the Brilliance Shrine. That was level-18 Theurgy, and was able to shield the user against one attack from a Sword Sage. It was a priceless treasure, and even Pdins in the Brilliance Shrine were given only a small number thereof. If outsiders wished to get their hands on it, they would have to use very unusual means...

    But this precious scroll was misused by Adelo. There were many other ways they could deal with an attack from the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s tail, and it was unnecessary to resort to wasting the precious Divine Prevention Scroll. This was something that could not even be bought with money, and when it asionally appeared in the ck market, it would be sold for close to a million gold coins.

    But that was not the worst part, as the disadvantage thaty in using the Divine Prevention Scroll was that it formed a shield of divine energy, which would also limit the movement of the user while protecting them. In other words, everyone was forced to remain in their spot for at least five seconds after the Divine Prevention Scroll had been used...

    In other circumstances, five seconds would not have been much, but now, it could force them to take a passive stance...

    Just as Lin Li was silently worrying, the long tail of the Humerus Wyrm directly struck the golden light, causing an explosion of lights. Sparks flew everywhere, making this eerie ce light up as brightly as fireworks in the night sky would.

    The dozen or so people of the advance party narrowly escaped death thanks to the Divine Prevention Scroll, and all held grateful expressions, thankful that Adelo had used it quickly enough...

    All except Lin Li...

    And truth was, Lin Li was right. After the golden light dissipated, hundreds of corpses surfaced from the ground...

    Moreover, these hundreds of decaying corpses wereing at them from every direction.

    Lin Li felt his hair stand on ends at the sight. God knew how scary it¡¯d be if hundreds of corpses exploded at once...

    Lin Li knew very well that he could not allow the Lich to use the Corpse Explosion. Even if he was capable of protecting himself, the rest would surely perish.

    He could not care less now. He had already retreated out of the area using the Power of Flight, but he paused in midair as he concentrated all of his mental strength before speeding towards the area with the most corpses, chanting quickly at the same time...

    It was an Ice Wall Spell. After mastering level-18 magic, Lin Li had been using it quite often as he found it more sturdy than the Four-element Shields. Besides neutralizing most magical attacks, it could also block physical attacks, which made it more practical than the Four-element Shields.

    Of course, it was merely practical...

    He would be dreaming if he thought that an Ice Wall Spell would be able to shield them against the explosion of hundreds of corpses. Even though Lin Li now had the ability of a Legendary-mage, and was able to conjure 20 Ice Walls at once, there was no way that would be enough to resist the terrifying Corpse Explosion.

    Luckily, it was not Lin Li¡¯s aim topletely neutralize the Corpse Explosion. All he wanted was to buy some time to stop the Lich from casting his spells.

    The speed at which he moved thanks to the Power of Flight was astonishing indeed as he moved as quickly as lightning. In a sh, he had flown into the center of the corpses. At the same time, Ice Walls appeared everywhere, and shielded the advance party reliably.

    Just as these Ice Walls appeared, the Lich in the sky had raised his magic staff, and the corpse nearest to these Ice Walls exploded with a booming noise...

    What more, this explosion spread like wildfire, and continued endlessly. In a short span of time, nearly a dozen corpses exploded, and this was done by the level-20 Lich too. The scale of this explosion was worlds apart from what the Necromancer did back in ckhills Town. A hole had appeared in the half a meter thick Ice Wall in a split second, and as sounds of explosion continued endlessly, this hole grew bigger...

    ¡°This... this is too scary...¡± No matter how brave he was, Adelo was still scared half to death as he heard the loud sounds of explosions from where he stood at the center of the Corpse Explosion.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lin Li had his hands tied with continuously re-enforcing the Ice Walls. At the same time, he channeled mana into the Aether Staff like his life depended on it so as to activate the Dragon¡¯s Eye at the tip. He had no time at all to care about how scared Adelo was.

    As Lin Li channeled mana into it, the Dragon¡¯s Eye began glowing brighter and brighter. Finally, faint yellow light seeped through the thick walls of ice, and was reflected off the glossy walls of the cave.

    The Lich raised his magic staff as well, and a thick death aura started spreading from the ck crystal at the tip of the magic staff. More and more corpses appeared from the ground, and exploded right before the Ice Walls. This was the impressive thing about Legendary magic¡ªhe was executing a level-15 Death Revival and a level-14 Corpse Explosion at the same time wlessly.

    While they were both Guided Magic, there was no need for elemental sequencing during the process of guiding it; besides that, they were not that much different from average magic. They still required the control of magical elements and the channeling of mana, and any mistake in that process would immediately result in the bite of mana.

    Neither of these spells was high in level, as one was level-14, and the other was level-15. This might seem like nothing much to others, seeing as these were merely Magic Shooter-level spells, which were seemingly iparable to level-20 magic of the Legendary-realm. However, people who truly understood magic would know that the Lich had demonstrated casting techniques of the highest level, for even amongst Legendary-mages, only the most experienced and the most powerful would be able to pull off such an impossible feat.

    Using the most profound of casting techniques would naturally result in the most terrifying effect. The Death Revival continued to produce corpses by gathering death aura, and the Corpse Explosion continued to cause explosion after explosion. This meant that as long as the Lich was continuously guiding the spells, this attack would never cease, and even walls of steel would be blown up by it.

    Truth was, that was the case...

    Corpses continued to appear everywhere amidst the earth-shattering explosions. There were now close to 300 corpses even though there had previously been less than 100 of them. These creatures created from death aura continued to grow in numbers, and inched closer and closer to four walls of ice...

    In the end, the whole ce was densely covered by corpses.

    If theypletely surrounded the four Ice Walls, perhaps even Lin Li would not be able to withstand the effects of thest Corpse Explosion, much less the people of the advance party.

    In the end, it was an expletive that ended all of this.

    ¡°For f*ck¡¯s sake, are you done?¡±

    As the expletive left Lin Li¡¯s mouth, a faint yellow light enshrouded the Lich as the Arcane Wall Spell within the Dragon¡¯s Eye was released atst. As the faint yellow light shed, the Lich¡¯s chanting ended abruptly, and the endless sounds of explosion suddenly stopped. The ground beneath their feet did not rumble anymore, and the stinky corpses copsed before Lin Li¡¯s feet as though they were controlled by an unknown force at the same time...

    Then, they heard a crunching noise as Ice Walls that had held up against over 30 Corpse Explosions finally fulfilled theirst mission after the Arcane Wall was released. Cracks appeared in the walls following the crunching noises, and they grew into deep gashes in the blink of an eye. When these cracks intersected with each other, the Ice Walls finally gave in to the pressure, and fell down with a loud boom.

    ¡°Alright, I take back my words. This bastard isn¡¯t more troublesome than Ujfalusi...¡± Lin Li mopped the cold sweat on his forehead as he walked out from amongst the shattered pieces of ice. ¡°Bloody hell, he¡¯s so much more than just troublesome!¡±

    Ujfalusi had been way too predictablepared to this Lich as all the Necromagic he used right from the first Tide of Death to the Humerus Wyrm failed to pose much of a problem to Lin Li. While the Tide of Death was a level-20 magic, the Undead creatures it¡¯d summoned were too dumb, and could easily be dealt with using a Thousand Miles of Ice. The Humerus Wyrm was slightly more impressive, but unfortunately for him, Lin Li had the Holy Light with him, and managed to blow up the Humerus Wyrm with just a light blow, even bringing down the Humerus Domain with it. In the end, even the Lich himself was forced to make a Soul Contract with a human.

    This Lich was different, however...

    Lin Li was willing to bet his head that this bastard had received the most proper kind of education in magic possible!

 Chapter 409

    <h4>Chapter 409: Level-19</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Only the most proper education in magic possible would produce a clingy bastard of such caliber!

    This Lich and Ujfalusi were both level-20 Necromancers, and were both able to summon a Humerus Wyrm, yet they were worlds apart in terms ofbat skills. While Ujfalusi had once ruled over the ruins of Syer Town, he was nothing more than a harmlessmbpared to this clingy bastard¡ªthere was no way topare them at all.

    This bastard was awfully difficult to deal with because while he was skilled in Necromagic, he did not use any summoning spells, which were the most effective spells Necromagic had to offer. Even though he conjured hundreds of corpses using death aura, they were only meant for thest Corpse Explosion.

    There was only one reason why a Necromancer did not summon Undead creatures¡ªit meant that he had far more powerful tricks up his sleeve.

    That was what happened indeed. The Lich had only used three level-15 spells, but they formed a wless trap, one that made the advance party inch closer and closer to their death. If Lin Li had not used the Dragon¡¯s Eye at the veryst minute, there would be less than three people from the advance party still alive now.

    Even the usually calm Lin Li could not help but shudder as he recalled the earlier events carefully.

    What would happen if he had not taken the All-Knowing Potion? What if he did not have the Dragon¡¯s Eye? What if he had been a tad too slow in channeling his mana...

    Many ¡°what ifs¡± appeared in his mind...

    If any of these ¡°what ifs¡± became a reality, there would be unimaginable consequences.

    Luckily...

    Lin Li celebrated internally while he sized up the Lich with a strange look. For some reason, Lin Li found this Lich¡¯s power a bit strange, but did not know what was strange about it, either. Yet, it felt somewhat familiar to him.

    <i>What¡¯s with this bastard...</i>

    Lin Li racked his brains, but could not think of any reason behind this feeling. Hence, even when he got the upper hand using the Arcane Wall and the Lich was experiencing the bite of mana for the time being, Lin Li did not take the chance to nail his victory. Instead, he stood there with a doubtful look as he pondered this question.

    Strictly speaking, this was a mistake. Duels between Legendary-mages were of a different caliber, and opportunities came and went in such duels. If Lin Li continued his attacks after using the Arcane Wall, he would definitely get the upper hand in no time, but unfortunately, Lin Li had forgone this rare chance because he was dumbfounded by this strange feeling.

    He could not me anyone for that...

    The bite of mana caused by having his magic being interrupted was nothing to a true Lich, and just as Lin Li hesitated for a while, the Lich had already brushed off the effects of the bite of mana, and chanted in his hoarse voice to summon numerous Bone Spears.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m such a fool!¡± As the sound of the Bone Spears wheezing through the air reached his ears, Lin Li immediately came to his senses, and realized that his previous hesitation had caused his loss of a rare opportunity.

    But Lin Li was different from when he¡¯d just arrived in Anril. He had experienced many life-threatening fights from the Sunset Mountains to the Breezy ins, and had just as much experience in fights as those the likes of Andoine. Even though he was kicking himself for his mistake, it onlysted a second before he immediately calmed down as he devoted all his concentration to the resuming duel.

    The fight had only just started as they were merely testing the waters in their previous exchanges. Both Lin Li and the Lich had gotten a rough idea about the other from the previous exchanges, and now they moved without hesitation as the strength of the Legendary-realm was truly unleashed, causing a crazy wave of magic to break out in the cave.

    Now that the fight had reached this stage, there was no room for luck. They could only depend on their abilities to win. Hence, both Lin Li and the Lich brushed away any thought of winning by chance, andpletely unleashed everything they were capable of.

    Amidst the endless chanting and the torrential magical waves, there were only two figures moving at lightning speed in the spacious mid-mountain area. The both of them moved from the ground to the air and back to the ground again using the Power of Flight, moving as fast as lightning as they perfectly showcased the capabilities of the Legendary-realm.

    Some rapid chanting could be heard between most of the instantaneous magic they used, and the momentum of the duel was unimaginably fast for most. The constantly changing gestures, magical waves on the brink of exploding, and mental strength that was being pushed beyond limits added a tinge of craziness to the fight, but in the midst of this craziness, there was also a sense of discipline and precision that left the onlookers in awe. Should one be watching the duel at this moment, they¡¯d realize that while this human and Lich were constantly in a trance-like state as they cast spell after spell, every step was carried out wlessly as every chant and every gesture they made looked like they would not be out of ce in a magical textbook.

    They were like two machines, operating at incredibly high speed but with impable precision.

    Adelo was truly stunned now. As he was a level-17 Archmage, nobody in the advance party knew better than him that this was truly a fight of its own caliber. Not many mages had an opportunity to witness for themselves something as exciting.

    Adelo stared at the two lightning-like figures greedily as he paid close attention to every gesture they made and every spell they uttered. He was well aware that being able to witness such a fight would be the greatest fortune of his lifetime. Every gesture and every chant in this duel epassed the lifetime experience and aplishments of both of these Legendary powerhouses, and would allow any mage with the opportunity to witness this to save themselves from many wrong turns during their journey through magic.

    He was entirely engrossed in his happiness as he had thought that in old him was lucky enough to have a Legendary-mage as his teacher, but had resigned himself to the fact that he¡¯d probably remain at the peak of level-17 all his life. It would depend on his luck to reach level-18, or even level-19.

    Yet, to think that he would be so lucky as to witness the fight between two Legendary-mages in the Scar of Death. This was fortune beyond the wildest dreams for an Archmage stuck at a bottleneck; Adelo was convinced that he would definitely be able to reach level-18 within the next three years with this alone.

    Adelo did not know whether tough or cry at this windfall of his. Never had he guessed that he would be the one to profit the most from this fight.

    Of course, little did he know that someone else had profited more from this.

    That someone was Lin Li without any question.

    Lin Li had had the opportunity to train with a Legendary-mage a long time ago as Old Grimm had volunteered to practice with him at the Guild of Magic in Jarrosus to express his apology. Lin Li had only been level-9 then, and was able to advance quickly to be a level-10 Magic Shooter thanks to Old Grimm.

    However, Old Grimm had forcefully restrained his strength back then, and even though he still had experience at the Legendary-level, his strength was only less than level-15, and he focused more on giving Lin Li pointers during the training which had been very proper.

    Moreover, Lin Li had not even been a Magic Shooter then, and his understanding of magic was incredibly superficial. While he¡¯d had a Legendary-mage to train with him, there was still a limit to how much he could learn from it.

    But, it was all different now. He now had the strength of the Legendary-realm thanks to the All-Knowing Potion, and was now dueling a Lich who had received most proper magical education¡ªdirectly from the High Elves themselves. Adding on to that, he had had 1,300 years to practice. In terms of their understanding of magic, he was most likely well above the level of Old Grimm back then.

    There was no limit to how much Lin Li would learn from experiencing a life-and-death fight against such an opponent.

    Lin Li still felt a little uneasy at first; he clearly had the strength of the Legendary-realm now, but he was unable to fully utilize it. It was like he was a starving Sword Sage who, although he had skills and Combat Energy of the highest level, was unable to fully demonstrate his capabilities due to being weak.

    But as time passed and their fight became intense, Lin Li started to shake off this uneasy feeling as he wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm with increasing ease. It was like this strength hadpletely infused within his blood now.

    As he wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm with increasing ease, Lin Li began to sink into an obsessive state as every chant and every gesture taught him something new, evenbining with the core magical mantras in his head and forming a new Magic System unique to Lin Li.

    Lin Li¡¯s abilities experienced a shocking growth in that time...

    While many required a lifetime to go from level-18 to level-19, Lin Li had only used half an hour in this peculiar circumstance.

    When Lin Li felt himself reaching level-19, he even stopped casting spells for a moment as he inhaled the air deeply.

    This was because Lin Li knew that he was not far away from the Legendary-realm...

    The effect of the All-Knowing Potion onlysted an hour. After the effect vanished, so would the potential it ignited. This meant that after an hour passed, Lin Li would be at the peak of level-18 again. However, Lin Li did not find this to be a pity, as he knew that it would not be long before he obtained simrly terrifying strength again.

    There was a devastating gap between a level-19 Archmage and a level-20 Legendary-mage, and while there had been many magical talents in the history of Anril who had be a level-19 Archmage at a young age, many of them had never set foot into the Legendary-realm their whole life.

    This gap had once caused great devastation to many mages...

    But to Lin Li, this gap was not all that big.

    Lin Li had already wielded the strength of the Legendary-realm twice with the Multicolored Potion and the All-Knowing Potion. The once unfamiliar Legendary-realm was now bing clear before his eyes.

    This was not too different from Ujfalusi¡¯s case¡ªeven though this ex-Lich¡¯s Humerus Domain was destroyed and he had fallen from the Legendary-realm, he¡¯d be able to return to his original level in a short period of time. This was just like walking the same path twice¡ªone would already know of any impending danger, and would be able to avoid taking the wrong turn. All they had to do was to follow along this familiar path until they reached the end of it...

    Of course, this was all provided they could leave the Scar of Death alive.

    But, Lin Li believed that time actually was not far away.

    That was because at the same time he was bing familiar with the strength of the Legendary-realm, he also found the answer to another question that had been bugging him.

    He had found the Lich¡¯s strength strange because that strength was noting from the Lich himself.

    Lin Li had not realized it at first, but as the duel became more and more intense, Lin Li began to find it strange. This duel had be impossibly fast, and most of the instantaneous magic they used was at least level-15.

    What kind of concept was that? Using a level-15 magic instantaneously a couple of times would probablypletely drain an Archmage of his mana. Only a true Legendary powerhouse would be able to keep up with such expenditure.

    However, even a Legendary powerhouse would suffer from lethargy after using instantaneous level-15 magic for an extended period of time. And yet, this human and Lich seemed to be more and more energetic, with no sign of mana exhaustion at all.

    There was no wonder why Lin Li could keep up with this, as he was different from anybody in this world, after all. Even Andoine had been envious of his seemingly endless reserve of mana.

    But what about this Lich...?

    How could he withstand this expenditure? Was he like Lin Li, and hade from another world?

    As this suspicion appeared, Lin Li started noticing the changes in the Lich¡¯s mana, and soon realized that the flow of his mana was strange.

    Mages¡¯ mana usually came from within themselves, and when they used their mental strength, it¡¯d form a unique magical wave.

    But this Lich was different. When he used his mental strength to cast spells, there indeed was a strong magical wave, but the Lich was not at the center of it; rather, it was from the endless darkness.

    <i>The altar! </i>A thought appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Indeed, it had to be the altar, or this Lich would not be so strange. It was as though he had dozens of magical crystals on him as he never seemed exhausted. If the Lich¡¯s source of mana was the altar, it would make sense as the source of mana of the altar was one of the seven Debris of the stars, the Gloomy Dark. It was Dark Force in its purest form, and would definitely suffice to fuel a level-20 Lichfortably.

    This sudden discovery made Lin Li ecstatic. If the Lich¡¯s strength really came from the Gloomy Dark, it would be all too easy to get rid of him...

 Chapter 410 - Channels and Domains

    <h4>Chapter 410: Channels and Domains</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The fight between the two Legendary-mages was red-hot now. Magical runes covered the space, and made the cave shine as bright as day. Magical elements were boiling over everywhere, and it even felt as though time itself would tear in half.

    Countless spells raged like torrential waves threatening to destroy the world as frost and mes filled up their sight. Chunks of stone were sliced off from the walls surrounding them, while the ground shook beneath their feet, and shattered pieces of stone fell on them from the sky. No matter where they looked, it felt as though Doomsday wasing.

    The intensity of this fight had exceeded everyone¡¯s imagination¡ªeven Lin Li¡¯s...

    Even Lin Li had not thought that a fight between two Legendary-mages would be so scary. It was like a scary vortex that was constantly pulling him into the dark; in order to resist its pull, he was exerting all the strength he had in the Legendary-realm.

    There was no room for mistakes in such fights, as even a mage who had reached the Legendary-realm could lose their life from an instance of bite of mana. The Lich and human in the duel were both powerful individuals standing at the peak of magic, and the pace of their duel was enough to send any other mage reeling. With just a simple gesture, they could cast over 10 spells, and the duel took a turn in various directions in every moment. Everything¡ªfrom attacking or defending, chanting or casting instant spells, how they should allocate their mana or go about the elemental sequencing, how their opponent would react to what they did and what they should do in return¡ªhad to be considered in a split second before they had to make a decision.

    However, despite being in such a nerve-wrecking duel, Lin Li found himself unusually calm.

    Lin Li found himself in a miraculous state as though everything around him had been slowed down by a thousand times. Every gesture, every chant, and even the most minute change in magical waves were presented to him in an incredibly clear manner.

    It was especially so after he detected the strange urrence.

    He was right¡ªthe source of the Lich¡¯s mana was the altar indeed. It was as though there was an invisible channel that continuously pumped mana into the Lich¡¯s body, thus giving him the ability to rival Lin Li¡¯s insane amount of mana.

    In order to get rid of this Lich, he would naturally have to cut off this channel...

    <i>Holy Light? </i>Lin Li hesitated. If he wanted to cut off this channel, his best bet would be to use the Holy Light as it was the only thing in the world that could fend off the Gloomy Dark.

    But, if he chose to do that, it would mean putting himself in danger as even a Legendary-mage might not be able to withstand the force of Light and Darkness colliding. He would have at most a 20% chance of surviving the near-fatal explosion. Meanwhile, the people from the advance party would most probably perish along with the Lich...

    Lin Li brushed this idea away quickly as it was a one-way ticket to hell. He would never do that unless he was truly left with no other option. It was one thing for Adelo and the rest to die, but what about those from the Tower of Dusk? Norfeller and Ujfalusi were his most capable men, and had always been loyal to him, so how could he sacrifice them just like that? And then there was Rina, the only Judge Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine and Archbishop Englos¡¯ cherished disciple. If he sacrificed her too, Englos and Rosario would have his head...

    But what could he do if the Holy Light was not an option?

    The flying Bone Spears and toxic fumes as well as the suffocating magical waves in the cave weighed down on him. While Lin Li was still capable of holding his ground, the endless Necromagic still felt like a python that was coiling tighter and tighter around him...

    <i>What do I do, what do I do...</i> Lin Li was dripping with sweat as the duel was taking an unfavorable turn for him. With the power borrowed from the Gloomy Dark, the tireless Lich was beginning to get the upper hand in the fight; if Lin Li still did not make a decision, he would be dragged into the abyss of failure. Even if he was willing to use the Holy Light then, there was no way he could kill the Lich that already held the fate of the duel in his hands.

    ¡°Oh, right!¡± Just as the fight was taking a bad turn for him, a thought shed through his mind. ¡°The crystal!¡±

    <i>That¡¯s right, that crystal...</i>

    That crystal that fed on Shapeshifters and Vampires and almost got him killed. Even though Lin Li was still unsure what purpose the crystal served, he remembered very clearly that the crystal had shown a peculiar ability back in the Shadowglen. It was able to devour death aura¡ªeven the death aura that was emitted when the Undead Lords were controlling the Undead creatures.

    <i>If it is used to devour the power of the Gloomy Dark... </i>That sounded like an absolutely bewildering idea, but Lin Li did not hesitate to reach into the Ring of Endless Storm, as he was left with no other choice. Unless he wished to perish with everyone by using the Holy Light, this bewildering idea was the only one he had...

    Even though the crystal had been lying around in the Ring of Endless Storm for over half a year, it still looked no different from before. The moment he grabbed it, Lin Li immediately felt a chill run through him. It was as though he was not holding onto a crystal, but a piece of ice that had been frozen for over a thousand years.

    ¡°I knew it!¡± Just as the crystal was exposed to the air, Lin Li knew that he was right as he could clearly feel a strange distortion in the surrounding magical waves.

    This crystal could devour the power of the Gloomy Dark indeed!

    While this was not sufficient to cut off the channel instantly, it was enough for Lin Li as all he needed now was an opportunity¡ªan opportunity toy down a trap using the crystal so that he could lure the Lich into it.

    Lin Li held the crystal tightly in his hands, seemingly unbothered by the chill as he chanted rapidly to form a powerful high-level magic. Even the level-18 Icest had been shortened down by him into an instantaneous magic. In a split second, the entire cave was filled with the contrasting forces of the Icest and the me Energy, and even the green toxic fumes that covered the air were now wiped out.

    This was an explosive attack with no warning sign at all¡ªit appearedpletely out of the blue. Even the Lich that had lived for over 1,300 years was taken aback and lost his bearings in the face of such an attack.

    The chilly wind and the shattered pieces of ice took the shape of an Icest Wyrm in the sky as it raced towards the Lich with an ear-shattering cry. All of this happened too quickly, and the Lich was barely able to conjure up a Bone Cell to encase himself in. But, how could a mere Bone Cell hold up against the strength of an Icest? With a crisp crunch, the seemingly sturdy Bone Cell broke open.

    Then, the Ice Wyrm devoured the Lich...

    The intense magical wave calmed down all of a sudden as the cave became silent. The 11 members of the advance party stared with wide eyes. They all had expressions of joy when they raised their hands in the air and waited to celebrate once the icy fog dissipated.

    The only one who remained unaffected was Lin Li as he had already pushed his mental strength to its limit, using the mental strength that even Andoine was envious of to weave around the crystal in his hand to form an unusual mana channel around them.

    It was an extremelyplicated and dangerous job topletely release his mental strength to form a mana channel as a mistake could result in the bite of mana. Even Legendary-mages had to be careful to prevent any mishaps while they were doing it.

    However, Lin Li was exceptionally anxious, and released all his mana at once toplete this mana channel as soon as possible even though he risked having his mana dissipate.

    He knew that he did not have much time.

    He was right¡ªjust as the mana channel was formed, a crisp sound could be heard from the icy fog...

    The smiles froze on the faces of all 11 members of the advance party.

    They saw that the frozen Lich had moved suddenly, and even though it was only a slight movement, the crisp sound rose in intensity like a spreading disease.

    Then, a loud booming noise was heard, putting an end to this.

    Ice shards flew everywhere and blocked their vision as everyone felt their heart sink. The hovering Lich was like a spirit; there seemed to be no change in his appearance, be it the slender magic bone staff he held, the shabby ck cloak he wore, or his pale face.

    The only difference was theyer of ck fog surrounding the Lich¡¯s body. It was not a thick fog, being only slightly darker in color than his cloak, and made it seem as though there was just ayer of dirt on him if one did not look closely.

    But this thinyer of ck fog was as scary as a magical beast in the eyes of a mage like Adelo, making this Archmage at the peak of level-18 let out a surprised yell. ¡°Magical Domain!¡±

    Once a mage surpassed level-20 and entered the Legendary-realm, they became connected to their Magic System, and thus were able to create their own unique Magical Domain.

    That was the most powerful ability of a Legendary-mage.

 Chapter 411 - Lich Falling to Death

    <h4>Chapter 411: Lich Falling to Death</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Lin Li gained the ability of a Legendary-mage temporarily due to the All-Knowing Potion, he was not able to gain any Magical Domain. He had not been a Legendary-mage long enough, and thus did not have much opportunity to discover the Magic System within him.

    Yet, it was not the case for that Lich. Having lived for 1300 years, he had plenty of time to understand and explore his Magic System and create his personal Magical Domain.

    As the Lich appeared in front of everybody with his Magical Domain, Adelo felt totally hopeless...

    It was a domain which even an Icest could not break into. How would that young mage Felic have the chance to do so?

    ¡°I have to admit that you are one of a kind that I¡¯ve never met in these 1300 years. Your ability topress the 10-seconds Icest recitation into 1 second would¡¯ve let you be an esteemed mage 1300 years ago. Unfortunately, everything ising to an end. The Icest will be thest spell you are going to cast in your life...¡±

    The voice of the Lich sounded as though it came from hell. Not only was it hoarse and eerie, it was also bone-chilling...

    The Lich was not in a hurry to attack after he established his Magical Domain in the air. His gaze on Lin Li was cold and prating as though he was trying to have a good look at the appearance of this human whom he had been battling for almost the entire day.

    He was not in a hurry to attack, because he was confident that victory was already his.

    The level-18 Icest was one of the most powerful Archmage-level spells. Its effects were the closest to Legendary-level spells if it were to be unleashed. However, one would require a good 10 seconds of recitation to cast such a magnificent spell. A Legendary-mage would also have to exert a great amount of effort topress the recitation timing by half.

    But, that human mage actually cast that spell almost instantaneously.

    To the Lich, it was an act of meaningless struggle before death. Only pitiful weaklings who were on the brink of death would see it as thest straw and try to grab onto it desperately.

    What happened next ascertained the Lich¡¯s predictions.

    After casting an Icest, the mana of that human mage became noticeably unstable. The magical waves around him were unusually violent, like a pot of boiling water. The Lich could tell that the depletion of Lin Li¡¯s Mental strength caused him to lose control over his mana.

    Mental strength and mana were everything to a mage, and had greater importance than one¡¯s mouth and hands. Despite having the mysterious Elemental Power, a mage would be as useless as a farmer without his hoe once he lost control over them.

    Although he paid his own price by establishing the Magical Domain, it was insignificant aspared to the human mage, who lost power over his mana. Unlike that mage who was going to end his life in this cave, a little time was all he needed to recover.

    Hence, the Lich was not worried at all. He hovered in the air quietly, and looked at the human who had forced him out of his Magical Domain.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± The young mageughed. Underlying theughter was an iprehensible sense of calmness. ¡°Your Magical Domain is indeed powerful to be able to counter the Icest instantaneously...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing unusual. How could lowlifes like humans be able to outperform a true High Elf in the field of magic? If the 1300 years of entrapment did not prevent me from improving my ability in magic, I would¡¯ve easily smashed you with a finger.¡±

    ¡°Well, then you have to really live for 1300 years first...¡± Lin Li said as he pursed his lips. He was not intimidated by that Lich at all. When he looked at that ck figure in the sky, his gaze was not even a little filled with the anxiety brought about by his uncontroble mana. ¡°Alright, Mr. Lich, since we are not magic apprentices anymore, there¡¯s no use in acting now. If you¡¯d had the ability to kill me with a finger, I would have been dead by now.¡±

    Lin Li took a short pause. ¡°I¡¯m just curious, why did you establish your Magical Domain only after I cast the Icest?¡± he asked smilingly.

    ¡°...¡± There was no response.

    The silence did not matter to Lin Li, as he was not expecting any answer from the Lich. Lin Li smiled calmly, and continued his speech. ¡°Since Mr. Lich is keeping quiet, let me make a guess myself.

    ¡°The Magical Domain you had that could allow you to counter the Icest almost immediately is not as simple as it seems. Being a cautious man, I presume that you had paid a price to establish that domain, and it is not difficult to guess what it was. As mages, the biggest price we have to offer is no doubt mana and mental strength. Since you had the stamina to fight in such an intense battle, you are definitely notcking in mana. Thus, by elimination, you certainly had used up a great deal of your mental strength in constructing the Magical Domain.¡±

    The silence in the cave was deafening. Other than the breathing of the advance party, Lin Li¡¯s voice was the only sound.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Icest just now caused me to lose control over my mana. But, what about you, Mr. Lich? I suppose that you don¡¯t feel well, do you? A great deal of your mental strength has been drained, and you have lost control over your ability as well, am I right? Or else, you would not be chatting with me right now...¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha...¡± The Lich broke his silence with a sudden burst ofughter. ¡°Human, you are definitely the most powerful human I¡¯ve met in the 1300 years of my life. Your ability and intelligence have surpassed any of your fellow species. You¡¯re absolutely right in your reasoning. To say the truth, I am still in disbelief that you gathered all that information from mere observation...¡±

    ¡°Mr. Lich, you are too generous with yourpliments...¡± Lin Li bowed politely as he thanked the Lich. At once, he put away his smile, and turned sarcastic. ¡°Now, are you going to say that my luck ends here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, you luck ends here. Hahahaha...¡± replied the Lich as he raised his Skeletal Staff. When everyone shut their lids hopelessly, that ominousughter that resembled the cry of an owl stopped abruptly. What followed was a ¡°Despicable!¡±

    Then...

    The 11 members of the advance party witnessed a scene they would remember for life.

    The Master Necromancer who had already reached the Legendary-realm 1300 years ago and had magnificent Magical Domain fell down in front of everybody. The terrifying Mr. Lich waved his arms desperately as he fell. His shrieks were bone-chilling...

    Unfortunately, it did not matter much now. Without the help of magic, any mage¡ªregardless of how invincible he was¡ªwould not be able to resist gravity. That was the simplest concept of all. It was the same for a powerful Lich who had broken into the Legendary-realm as well.

    ¡°Pom!¡±

    The loud sound reverberated in the cave...

    That was reality. A Lich who had horrifying abilities would face the same fate as a farmer with a hoe if he were to fall several hundred meters down. The only difference was the scene they would create after theynded onto the ground. While the farmer would spill his blood all over the ground, the Lich¡¯s bones broke into fragments, and were strewn all over the ce.

    It was as though the world fell silent. At the moment, all 11 members of the advance party did the same thing¡ªthey were rubbing their eyes intensely, trying to make sure that everything was not an illusion.

    Yet, no matter how many times they rubbed their eyes, the sight before them would never change.

    The impact from the big fall shattered the body of the Lichpletely. There were bs of decayed flesh, piles of moldy bones, and lumps of ghastly white organs. Those were everything left behind by that menacing and powerful Lich who had lived for 1300 years...

    Of course, in theory, the Lich was not entirely dead yet. What was gone was just his physical body, while his soul was still intact, well-preserved in his life case. Perhaps it would awaken after a few hundred or a thousand years, and revive the poor Lich who had just experienced an absurd death.

    Unfortunately, the luck of Mr. Lich was just so bad...

    Frankly speaking, this Lich was not as clever as Ujfalusi. Unlike Mr. Lich, Ujfalusi had his life case hidden in a ce even Lin Li was not aware of. It was, however, obvious that Mr. Lich kept his life case at that altar. Or else, he would not be able to tap into the force of the darkness.

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to inform you that your luck ends here,¡± Lin Li said as he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not nice to steal my lines...¡±

    Then, Lin Li turned to look at that Humerus Wyrm that was nearly forgotten by everybody...

    It was indeed an absurd battle that only appeared inedy. The thought of how the Lich had fallen to death, and how the Humerus Wyrm had been forgotten by everyone were like part of the script, all to incite insaneughter in its audience.

 Chapter 412 - Wallet

    <h4>Chapter 412: Wallet</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was unbelievable indeed. How could a powerful level-20 Undead creature be forgotten by everyone?

    The first impression the Humerus Wyrm gave was one filled with prestige and pride. Not only did it manage to stir up trouble for an Archmage with its Ice mes, it nearly killed 10 Death Knights in the process as well.

    Unfortunately, after Lin Li had downed the All-Knowing Potion that gave him the ability of a Legendary-mage, he¡¯d made the Humerus Wyrm fall from the sky, and it lost its ability to fly for quite a long time.

    Then, the battle between Legendary-mages started.

    The tempo of the battle was freakish. Even Adelo who was at the peak of level-17 lost count of the number of the spells cast by the two men. No matter how almighty the Lich was, it could not find a chance to summon the Humerus Wyrm to help him.

    Being a summoned creature, the Humerus Wyrm could only rely on its instinct when the Lich did not give it any instructions in battle.

    Having lost its ability to fly, the Humerus Wyrm could only use its instinct to fight. Like a tiger without its teeth, the level-20 Undead creature was no match for the group of Death Knights.

    Hence, things resulted in such an absurdity.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, are you interested in this fe?¡± Lin Li asked the Necromancer as he rubbed his nose. His casual tone made it sound as though that was not a Humerus Wyrm, but some carrots that were left on the road.

    Lin Li¡¯s arrogance was not unjustifiable. The Humerus Wyrm now was definitely no different from carrots. Although its powers were formidable, it could only use them when it was summoned by the Lich. It was certainly an invincible level-20 Undead creature when it was alive, but now that the Lich had died, it lost its right to live as well. It was noughing matter. When the contract lost its functionality, the summoned wyrm would either get lucky and be sent back where it was summoned, or could only wait for its soul fire to go out...

    Most importantly, the Humerus Wyrm would lose its support with the death of the Lich. Until it established another pact with a new Necromancer, it would be weaker than the lowest-ranking Skeletal Warrior.

    The Humerus Wyrm was like a wallet that somebody dropped. Any Necromancer would be able to pick it up if they wanted to bend their back.

    If Ujfalusi had the interest, Lin Li was very willing to let him pick it up.

    ¡°Thank you, Master, but... there¡¯s no need to do that...¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Lin Li. He did not expect that.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this, Master. I¡¯m only one step away from level-19, and my ability would be back to normal in a year¡¯s time...¡± Ujfalusi hesitated, and nced at Lin Li. ¡°If you allow it, I hope to help Crimson create a new body.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    Ujfalusi was referring to that Humerus Wyrm which was destroyed by the Holy Light when they were at the ruins of Syer Town. ording to Ujfalusi, Crimson had a powerful wyrm crystal that was mightier than Ujfalusi himself.

    Since Lin Li had that wyrm crystal with him, it was not difficult for Ujfalusi to create another body for Crimson. As long as Ujfalusi could recover his original ability, he could use that crystal to create a Humerus Wyrm that looked exactly like Crimson.

    ¡°No problem with that. I will pass that magical crystal to you when we get back.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li smiled. He did not feel that he was at any disadvantage by giving the wyrm crystal to Ujfalusi at all, as it was still a profit to be able to garner the loyalty of a Lich in return. Furthermore, the contract Ujfalusi had signed with him was one that forbade any form of betrayal. The Humerus Wyrm under Ujfalusi¡¯s control would be as good as his.

    The only thing that troubled Lin Li was the Humerus Wyrm in front of him. What should he do with it?

    Ujfalusi was the only Necromancer there. If he had no intention to bend his back, no one else would have the right to do it.

    But, that was a level-20 Undead creature. Any Necromancers who were to sign a summon contract with it would have theirbat capability raised to a whole new level. Lin Li could not expect himself to be so vexed over the meat pie that fell from the sky. How could he let this huge wallet vanish just like that?

    ¡°Norfeller, you...¡± Lin Li called out to him, but held himself back quickly. ¡°Forget it.¡±

    The thought of the blood oath he had with Norfeller reminded Lin Li that Norfeller would not be able to sign a simr contract anymore.

    As the Lich¡¯s magical wave grew fainter, the remaining force allowing one to summon the Humerus Wyrm became weaker as well. Lin Li could sense that the energy within the wyrm was depleting at rocket-like speed. He knew that it might vanish from the earth any time soon...

    <i>Goddammit, it is hard to leave that wallet there just like that...</i>

    ¡°Yeah, what a torture...¡±

    That was a voice that rang in Lin Li¡¯s head.

    ¡°F*ck you, Connoris! You are such a shameless Peeping Tom! Did I not warn you not to ever peep again? Do you really hope to be thrown into the furnace?¡± Lin Li cussed angrily.

    <i>That bastard is getting more and more perverted these days. </i>In the past, Connoris only attempted to use his mental strength tomunicate with Lin Li. Now, did he just use it to peep at Lin Li¡¯s thoughts? <i>Damn this Spiritual Communication! If this continues, Connoris is going to dig all my dark secrets out...</i>

    ¡°You¡¯re too rude. Don¡¯t forget that you are speaking to the almighty Soul Trader...¡± Unlike before, Lin Li¡¯s threats did not terrify Connoris this time. This demonic soul that had been around for God knew how many years did not seem to sense Lin Li¡¯s rage. ¡°Not just that, I have a solution for this difficult situation as well. Can¡¯t you show me some respect?¡±

    ¡°Damn you Soul Tr¡ª¡± Lin Li wanted to cuss, but he held himself back with an ingratiating smile. ¡°Erm... Almighty Soul Trader, do you really have a way?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± snapped Connoris.

    ¡°That¡¯s great! Almighty Soul Trader, your wisdom and intelligence certainly make you the role model of all abyssal demons. I believe no legendary Demon Lords would beparable to you. Since you are a forgiving man, can you advise me on what to do?¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Connoris finally replied after all the ttery. ¡°Alright, since you are so sincere, I shall bless you with some advice...¡±

    ¡°Yes, please continue...¡±

    ¡°Since that Necromancer is the only one who has the right to sign a summon contract with the Humerus Wyrm, you can stop thinking about that...¡± Connoris scoffed. ¡°But, the contract is not the only solution. Did you forget that you still have an oilmp created personally by Osric in that weird dimension?¡±

    ¡°You are referring to the oilmp that sealed the Lord of Nightmares?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Lin Li hesitated. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that oilmp used to seal the Lord of Nightmares?¡±

    ¡°Who told you that an oilmp could only seal one thing?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I was there with Osric when he created thismp. He even consulted me about the characteristics of souls...!¡±

    Lin Li nearly burst outughing. The sales pitch of the trader was so eloquent that he remembered to rece the word ¡°interrogate¡± with ¡°consult¡±...

    ¡°Almost everybody thought that Osric created the 12mps just to seal the 12 Demon Lords. How would they know what that crazy fe had in mind? That lunatic once told me his intention was to put the entire Abyss into these oilmps!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li took a deep breath.

    ¡°Osric nearly used up all the things he won from the abyssal battle when he was creating the 12 oilmps. Each of them could seal unlimited number of demons and Undead creatures.¡±

 Chapter 413 - Seal

    <h4>Chapter 413: Seal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Are the 12mps that powerful?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking crap?¡± Connoris snorted. ¡°Let me tell you another secret, then. Osric¡¯s motive behind the creation of the 12mps was to turn them into one of the most powerful weapons of the Eternal Furnace. Hehe, if not for the early death of that madman, the High Elves might have had the eighth Sky Castle. Or else, how could you humans defeat the High Elves so easily and dominate Anril?¡±

    ¡°Weapons? Do you mean that the 12 oilmps are exactly part of the Eternal Furnace?¡±

    ¡°Of course, did you just assume that that madman had no better things to do, and just wanted to go to the Abyss for an expedition?¡±

    Although Connoris told him the secret in a very calm manner, Lin Li was still utterly stunned by it. Lin Li had entered the Eternal Furnace before, and seen for himself the freaky Infernal Pce which hovered in the air. No one could be clearer than Lin Li about it.

    And, that was still an iplete Eternal Furnace.

    If what Connoris said was true, if the Eternal Furnace were to recover its prime condition, and be integrated with the 12 oilmps that had the Demon Lords sealed within them, it would definitely turn into the eighth Sky Castle...

    Lin Li could only agree with the view that Osric was indeed a crazy man.

    This was the only title that suited that talented High Elves. While the High Elves only managed to construct seven Sky Castles after countless years, Osric had the ability to almostplete one by himself...

    ¡°Oh, yes. Almighty Soul Trader, you haven¡¯t advised me on the way to deal with that Humerus Wyrm...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, to be honest, it is really your luck to have met me. Since I witnessed the entire process when Osric created the 12mps, I¡¯m confident to say that I¡¯m the person that has the best understanding of the 12mps. It is very simple to seal that Humerus Wyrm. All you need is a recital...¡±

    Connoris said a recital in the High Elves¡¯ Language. Perhaps it had been long since he heard it, for he stuttered along the way, and was not very clear at certain parts of the recital.

    Fortunately, it had been over a year since Lin Li came to the Anril World. He was well-versed in the High Elves Language now, and had developed deep insight from the 10 core magical mantras. It was not difficult for him to analyze any magical recitation.

    Lin Li memorized the recital in less than a minute. Along the way, he did not forget to correct Connoris¡¯ mistakes in pronouncing certain parts of the recital.

    ¡°Very good. Almighty Soul Trader, you must be tired now. Why don¡¯t you go back to take a rest? We will discuss politeness and respect when we get back to the Tower of Dusk...¡±

    With that, Lin Li cut off the Spiritual Communication between Connoris and himself immediately.

    ¡°Despicable...!¡± That was the only word Connoris managed to say before the mental strength was disrupted.

    ¡°Politeness and respect? I¡¯m going to settle the deal with you after getting back...¡± Lin Li muttered in irritation as he walked towards the Humerus Wyrm. Now, the magical wave of the Lich was incredibly weak. If he was not an Archmage, Lin Li would not be able to sense such a minute magical wave...

    The Humerus Wyrm had been forced into a corner by the surviving Death Knights who had ceased their attacks.

    When Lin Li got to the wyrm, it was incredibly weak. Its gold skeletal structure was white-washed like any other Skeletal Warrior¡¯s. There was no sign on the poor wyrm that suggested it was a level-20 Undead creature. ¡®Pitiful¡¯ would be the most adept descriptor for the wyrm¡¯s remaining energy, and this pathetic amount was depleting at the speed of light...

    The Humerus Wyrm continued to struggle. Its voice that sounded from the cavecked the usual power; it was as though it was a low-level magical beast, wimping before its death...

    ¡°I¡¯ve found a new ce for you to live...¡± Lin Li took out themp from his Ring of Endless Storm, and started the recitation.

    As the huge chunks of High Elves Language came out from his mouth, the level-15 magical crystal etched in the oilmp glistened as well. It emitted a gentle white ray of light, which grew brighter as the seconds trickled past. It gradually lit up the entire cave.

    Under that white light, the limp Humerus Wyrm suddenly stood up energetically. Its 10 meters long tail brushed against the ground and swept up arge amount of dust in the air. Its loud roar nearly led Lin Li into thinking that the menacing level-20 beast had returned...

    But, after that roar, the Humerus Wyrm lowered its head unwillingly, like a gentle and obedient kitten. It soaked itself in the white light and let its body fade into it...

    ¡°Oh my goodness...¡± gasped Adelo. He should be the only person out of the entire advance party who knew what the sight before them meant...

    It meant that the young mage had not only defeated the Lich, but also took over his summoned creature¡ªa level-20 Humerus Wyrm. Adelo could not believe what he had seen. Who would dare to challenge that young mage if he could summon that beast?

    <i>This is too frightening...</i>

    <i>I must tell Hutton to remind everyone from the Malfa Family not to find trouble with this freak. Oh, yes. There¡¯s Harvey too. I remember that Harvey had a conflict with him before we set off. Hope this doesn¡¯t create any trouble for the Malfa Family...</i>

    While Adelo was still trembling, Lin Li hadpleted his seal on the Humerus Wyrm.

    The oilmp in Lin Li¡¯s hands did not seem to look any different after it sealed the Humerus Wyrm. It had the same antique appearance that resembled an aristocrat¡¯s teapot. The only thing that changed was the level-15 magical crystal on top of themp that seemed to have used up a great amount of mana to produce that white light. Lin Li could sense that there was not a lot of mana left in the crystal even though it had been socketed in themp only a few days ago...

    ¡°Thismp is good, it just drains too much mana...¡± Lin Li muttered unbearably as he thought of the hefty sum he¡¯d paid for the level-15 magical crystal. It was good that he rarely got a chance to seal things. Otherwise, he would not have enough money to sustain such high usage.

    After the Lich shattered into pieces, and the Humerus Wyrm got sealed up by themp, the ominous and eerie cave became clean and ordinary again. Nobody could smell any scent of decay when the cold wind blew pass asionally. Lin Li led the group of men who had yet to recover from their shock across the piles of rubble and towards the altar.

    Their journey there was incredibly peaceful, without any more interruptions from the Undead creatures. Yet, Lin Li was not at peace with himself. In fact, he was boiling with excitement. Lin Li knew that he was getting closer and closer to Gloomy Dark. Now that the Lich had fallen to death, and he had sealed the Humerus Wyrm up, there would not be anything that could prevent him from acquiring Gloomy Dark!

    That was the best thing he had discovered at the Scar of Death.

    The Humerus Wyrm sealed in hismp was insignificant aspared to acquiring Gloomy Dark. Gloomy Dark and Holy Light owned the two purest forces in the world¡ªdarkness and light, respectively. To others, they were just two sets of powerful magical weapons. To the formal owner of the Stars of Fury, however, they had the potential to generate an invincible amount of energy.

    Not to exaggerate, even if he was a weakling, as long as he were to get his hands on both Gloomy Dark and Holy Light, he would certainly be unrivaled in the Legendary-realm!

    ¡°It¡¯s been long, Gloomy Dark...¡± Lin Li mumbled as he stopped in his tracks 10 meters away from the altar. That altar was indeed a masterpiece of the High Elves. It was constructed entirely of moonstone, which produced a gentle glow in the dark.

    The entire altar was 30 meters tall. It was not much smaller than the gigantic Humerus Wyrm. It looked like a tall tower with a pointed roof, and its summit had a moonstone sculpture of a High Elf from the waist up.

    The unique magical wave of Gloomy Dark seemed to be emitted by that half-bodied sculpture.

    ¡°That...!¡± Lin Li gasped. His suspicion rose as he saw the face of the High Elf sculpture. Although it had the eyes and ears like any other High Elves, it just looked too familiar...

    Lin Li cast the Warlock¡¯s Eyes skeptically.

    As the Warlock¡¯s Eyes approached the sculpture, Lin Li had a closer view of its face. However, despite the clear sight thereof, Lin Li just could not recall where he saw someone who resembled this High Elf.

 Chapter 414 - Diary

    <h4>Chapter 414: Diary</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    <i>Damn it, did it appear in my dreams?</i> Lin Li shook his head helplessly. Just when he was about to give up on further investigation and get his hands on Gloomy Dark straightaway, he heard Ujfalusi¡¯s gasp.

    ¡°M-M-Master, that¡¯s the Immortal King!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li eximed in surprise. ¡°You mean, that half-bodied statue depicts the Immortal King?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s... that¡¯s right,¡± Ujfalusi replied. The mentioning of the legendary figure of the High Elves Dynasty terrified Ujfalusi. He even swallowed his saliva like a real human when he looked at that half-bodied statue in awe...

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li nced at the statue resting on the summit of the pointed tower and froze for a few minutes. When he regained hisposure, vulgar words exited his mouth. ¡°F*ck, why is it that bastard again...?¡±

    Lin Li could not help it.

    The name ¡®Immortal King¡¯ had be a curse ever since the finals in the Aurora Square. It was like an annoying spirit that continued to haunt him wherever he went. From the Aurora Square to the Demon Fall Valley, and from Dnd to the Scar of Death, Immortal King¡¯s name came up everywhere.

    Even Ujfalusi, whom he had signed the Soul Contract with, seemed to have some connection with that bastard...

    Although Ujfalusi did not tell him anything about the Immortal King, it did not mean Lin Li was totally unaware of it. The Soul Contract Ujfalusi signed with Lin Li was one which forbade secrecy. The moment the bond was established, fragments of Ujfalusi¡¯s memory were transmitted to Lin Li¡¯s mind. Although Lin Li could not gather much useful information from those disorganized fragments, he saw the shadow of the Immortal King in them...

    Since Ujfalusi did not reveal any details about the Immortal King to him, Lin Li knew it had to be something that could pose a threat to Ujfalusi.

    Hence, Lin Li still did not ask Ujfalusi about it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s this altar!¡± Adelo eximed excitedly, and was unable to repress his joy. But the next moment, Adelo was looking at Lin Li in hesitation. ¡°Mage Felic, could we have a talk?¡±

    ¡°Of course...¡± Lin Li replied after ncing at Adelo. He knew very well what that Archmage from the Malfa Family had to say. The lies about wanting to destroy the altar earlier on were all a child¡¯s y. How could his ultimate goal be destroying the altar when he agreed to bring a group of people into the Scar of Death tirelessly in hopes of finding the altar that was located deep within the cave? Lin Li would be a moron to believe those words...

    But, he weed Adelo¡¯s invitation to talk.

    How could Adelo have zero knowledge of the altar he took so much risk to locate? His mentor, Cheyenne, was the one who¡¯d personallye to the altar that year to battle the Lich. If one were to say that Adelo was ignorant of that altar, Lin Li would be the first person to get suspicious.

    In fact, Lin Li had nned out what to do long before Adelo spoke. Since what he wanted from the beginning was just the Gloomy Dark, he did not mind knowing more secrets from Adelo, and then negotiating the splitting of benefits...

    Of course, if Adelo wanted the Gloomy Dark like he did, it would be another story...

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing Mage Felic would know that my main motive of entering the Scar of Death is not to destroy this Altar...¡± Adelo admitted to his lie immediately.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Liughed, and did not say anything. Yet, he was secretly shocked. <i>When did this dude who has been disguising himself as a Magic Shooter be so straightforward with his words?</i>

    Lin Li would not have guessed that Adelo was actually governed by his fear when he spoke to him.

    That was right. Adelo was indeed scared...

    Adelo¡¯s fear of the young mage grew as they survived the different battles that seemed to increase in difficulty as they journeyed towards the Scar of Death. How would anyone have the guts to lie to a young mage who made 10 Death Knights submit to him, had the ability of a Legendary-mage to defeat the Lich, and had skills to seal a Humerus Wyrm? It might have cost him his life...

    ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t entirely lying when I said that just now¡ªI just forgot to say some details... When I went into the cave with my mentor that year, I really lost my consciousness. He only told me what happened in the cave after I woke up again...¡± Adelo said defensively.

    ¡°That year, my mentor indeed battled with the Lich. But, ording to him, there wasn¡¯t any Humerus Wyrm in the cave. Hence, he had an advantage when he battled the Lich. At the end of the battle, my mentor sacrificed a level of his ability to inflict great harm on to the Lich...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li could not help but feel surprised. He was extremely well aware of the ability of the Lich. Not to exaggerate, having received the most formal education in magic, the Lich was almost perfect in hisbat techniques. He made zero mistakes in his tactics, and his life case that was safely stowed in the altar allowed him to absorb unlimited amount of force produced by the Gloomy Dark. Hence, it was extremely difficult to battle an opponent who had never-ending supply of mana like him.

    Lin Li knew very well that the All-Knowing Potion could only give him the powers of a Legendary-mage temporarily. It was not sufficient for him to defeat such a terrifying Lich. The victory he¡¯d got unexpectedly was all due to that crimson crystal. The Devouring Force within it allowed him to create a vacuum for the reckless Lich to fall from the air like that.

    Otherwise, Lin Li would be the one who had his body ripped into pieces instead...

    But, the mentor Adelo was telling him had to be something. How could anyone have the ability to sacrifice a level of his ability to critically injure a Lich?

    That was even more powerful than him downing a bottle of the All-Knowing Potion himself...

    It seemed that there was still a difference between Legendary-mages. Lin Li knew he would only figure out that difference after he reached the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°My mentor has been telling me that he hadmitted a grave mistake in that battle. That was, using a spell to restrict the Lich instead of destroying his bodypletely...¡±

    ¡°This mistake is really serious...¡± Lin Li knew it meant trouble.

    ¡°That was because my mentor found the altar located deep within the cave at the same time...¡± Adelo recalled the story with veryplicated feelings. ¡°This fault made him regret for decades. If not for his carelessness, it would not lead to the subsequent consequences, and dy his breakthrough into level-21 by 10 years...¡±

    Adelo sighed.

    ¡°However, it was no doubt natural for Mentor to feel anxious then. I believe anyone would have done the same thing if he had discovered the huge secret within the cave.¡±

    ¡°It seems that Mage Adelo wants to tell me about the secret hidden within this altar now...?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Adelo. ¡°My mentor went into a historical building owned by the High Elves, and got to know that the Scar of Death has this altar and about the great secret hidden within it. This secret is rted to the Immortal King...¡±

    ¡°Immortal King?¡±

    ¡°I presume you should have read many articles written during the High Elves Dynasty. Don¡¯t you realize that those articles barely mention the Immortal King? Even if there is information that might be rted to him, it¡¯s only mentioned vaguely as though the author was trying to avoid the topic. For the parts that speak of the King, they were mixed with too many rumors and hearsay. 1300 years had gone by, and the only thing people of Anril knew of him was just that he was the creator of the entire High Elves Dynasty...¡±

    ¡°Mage Adelo, this means you know a lot about that Immortal King?¡±

    ¡°Since what I know of him is all stories my mentor told me, it would be an overstatement to say that I understand him well. I believe there would only be a handful of people in the entire Anril who would know the Immortal King well.

    ¡°My mentor found a diary that belonged to a high elf royal in that historical building. On thest few pages of the diary, this royal mentioned that his grandfather was actually one of the servants working under the Immortal King.

    ¡°In fact, the establishment of the High Elves Dynasty transformed the servants of the Immortal King into prominent aristocrats. Many truths about that age gradually disappeared in the river of time. The owner of the diary only found out about the Immortal King while he was tidying his grandfather¡¯s relics. Apart from this secret, his grandfather left him two other relics: a crossbow with a strange energy as well as a map that was said to lead to infinite amount of treasures... ¡±

 Chapter 415 - Treasure

    <h4>Chapter 415: Treasure</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It seems that that treasure map is not an ordinary one, then...¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± admitted Adelo, but did not go further with the topic. Instead, he continued the story from earlier. ¡°The diary was nk for around a period of three months. My mentor only knew what happened in that three months after reading the contents afterward. It was just the High Elf royal trying to find the treasure on the map tirelessly, but there was no mention of the progress. Yet, from the tone and information written after the three-month gap, my mentor found out that this royal appeared to be crazily interested in Necromagic. He used at least 10 pages to narrate how he studied different types of Necromagic, and how he built a secret ground with the other royals in a canyon. While he talked about those things, he repeated a certain phrase in particr...

    ¡°What phrase?¡±

    ¡°¡®We are going to inherit the Immortal King¡¯s business¡¯... ¡±

    ¡°What sort of crap is that...?¡± Lin Limented in disappointment. He¡¯d been expecting that he would hear some secrets. <i>Did that royal burn his mind while studying Necromagic?</i>

    ¡°Hehe, I remember that my mentor said the same thing as Mage Felic when he told me that phrase...¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°After that, the war started. The royal High Elves researching in the secret grounds put aside their work, and led their team into battle. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on their side when they met Geresco during their first battle. Thest part of the diary was written in hisst breath...¡± When he got here, Adelo smiled.

    ¡°These divine-like High Elves really resembled us humans when they were on the edge of deaths. It is evident from his tone and words that he had already fallen apart mentally before he died. He reiterated in a hysterical and frenzied state at the end of the diary that Geresco was the Immortal King!¡±

    ¡°It seems like Mr. Royal was really petrified...¡± Lin Liughed with Adelo. The Immortal King and Geresco was one High Elf and one human being, respectively, who had lived a thousand years apart from each other. Furthermore, the Immortal King was the creator of the High Elves Dynasty, while Geresco was the destroyer of the High Elves Dynasty. If it was what that royal said¡ªthat Geresco was the Immortal King¡ªhow different could that battle be from a fight between a left and a right hand?

    Lin Li was more interested in the other contents of the diary aspared to that absurd story.

    ¡°Mage Adelo is saying that the crossbow with special powers and that map to infinite treasures are both hidden in this altar?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This was the reason why my mentor was so hasty after defeating the Lich. Having read the diary, he was clearer than anybody in Anril World that the treasure left behind by the Immortal King was no jewelry, riches, valuable resources, or any rare magical equipment. ording to the diary, it was a treasure that would make the entire Anril World crazy over it. It was said that in this treasure, there was a passageway that would lead one to heaven. Anyone who obtained the treasure would acquire unlimited strength and even be a living god...¡±

    After hearing the long story, Lin Li did not give an immediate reply. He lifted his head to gaze upon the tall standing tower, and filtered through every single detail in the story.

    ¡°I want to hear Mage Adelo¡¯s views,¡± Lin Li said as he nced at Adelo after a good 10 minutes of silence.

    ¡°Hahaha...¡± Adelo suddenlyughed upon hearing that. Hisughter was one which was full of relief.

    Adelo had been waiting for that question. Frankly speaking, Adelo was very afraid that the young mage had the intention to take everything. He had no choice too¡ªalthough the team 12 men strong was sent by the Malfa Family, the person with authority would only be the young mage who¡¯d defeated the Lich single-handedly.

    Anril World was like that. The right to speak would always belong to whoever had arger fist.

    At the beginning, Adelo had thought that his fists were thergest. He¡¯d thought that a level-17 Archmage and two high-ranking level-17 Warriors were enough to defeat that Lich injured greatly by his mentor. He¡¯d thought he could silence all the other members in the advance party uponpleting the mission.

    Adelo absolutely did not expect things to progress so out of ce. Not only had the Lich recovered his ability early, the Humerus Wyrm he¡¯d summoned was a problem as well. The most absurd thing was, when he¡¯d thought he could treat the other members in the advance party as cannon fodder, there suddenly appeared a mage in the Legendary-realm. It was like a nightmare. How could a well-prepared n be destroyed by so many idents like this?

    To be honest, if this young mage had the intention to keep everything for himself, Adelo would have no ability to go against him. How could Adelo survive a battle as horrifying as the one earlier?

    Adelo had everything to believe that that young mage could kill him with just a finger, not to forget that the dude sealed a Humerus Wyrm right after the battle... If he really wanted to keep everything for himself, summoning that Humerus Wyrm to attack them would suffice...

    It was already a blessing for this young mage to be willing to discuss the matter with himself. Otherwise, he really did not know how to get back to Mentor Cheyenne...

    ¡°Look, Mage Felic,¡± Adelo called Lin Li cautiously. ¡°Can you let me make a copy of the treasure map afterward? I need to bring it back to Mentor Cheyenne...¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± replied Lin Li generously. He agreed without any hesitation.

    ¡°Y-you... You really mean it?¡± The swift reply gave Adelo a shock. He actually readied himself with a script in his mind to persuade the young mage. He was even prepared to help his mentor to promise some benefits given by the Malfa Family just to exchange for a chance to obtain a copy of the treasure map from him.

    After all, it was a wholly different concept for a treasure map to be owned by a single man instead of two. If another man were to find the treasure first, the map in his hands would be a piece of trash immediately.

    Adelo hadn¡¯t expected that he would not at all need to use his script for the young mage to nod his head in approval.

    He was dumbfounded for quite a while, and even asked a very stupid question. ¡°Can you tell me why...?¡±

    ¡°Because I need a partner to coborate with me.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean...?¡±

    ¡°It is still too early to say anything now. I¡¯ll head to Aminya City in person to look for Master Cheyenne after the ckstone Mountains mission...¡± replied Lin Li. Then, he nced at the peak of the tower. ¡°For now, I think we should think of a way to retrieve the crossbow and map from the altar...¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Lin Li¡¯s words reminded Adelo of his original n. Adelo turned to call Johnathan over. ¡°Mr. Johnathan, you can take out the thing Butler Hahn entrusted you with.¡±

    Johnathan froze for a moment before he began to flip his pockets in a hurry. After a while, he took out the six ck magical crystals from a close-fitting pocket.

    ¡°You mean... these?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Johnathan. Now, I need your help...¡± Adelo reached out his finger, and pointed at the half-bodied statue on the tip of the tower. ¡°Please climb to the top and ce these crystals on that statue. I will use magical markings to show you exactly where to arrange them.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± replied Johnathan obediently. He asked no further questions, and started to walk towards the stairs with the six magical crystals in his hands.

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li woke up from his daze when he noticed Johnathan was about to head up the steps. ¡°Stop there!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Look at this...¡± Lin Li said as he directed the two men¡¯s attention to one of the moonstones. ¡°Do you know what this pattern means?¡±

    Johnathan was not alone. Even Adelo who had more experience could not tell what Lin Li wanted to tell them. He stared in the direction where Lin Li¡¯s finger pointed for quite a while.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what¡¯s so special about this pattern?¡±

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s nothing special about this pattern. But look, this is not the only one here. In fact, each and every moonstone has a different pattern carved on it, and <i>that </i>makes them extremely dangerous...¡±

    The situation at the altar was just like what Lin Li said. Every moonstone had a unique and delicately carved design, which might appear to be no more than an extravagant decoration to ordinary eyes. To a Guru of Inscription, however, it was an entirely different story. If Lin Li was right, the 13 patterns would form a mageweath array when they were joined together...

 Chapter 416 - Mageweath array

    <h4>Chapter 416: Mageweath array</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Even Lin Li¡¯s expression changed after he had analyzed all 13 of the mageweaths. This was definitely the work of a Guru, and wasparable to the All-Kill Array of the Tower of Dusk. In fact, it was even more cleverly designed than the All-Kill Array.

    The 13 mageweaths epassed decay, gravity, deadly poison, fear, hallucinations, seduction, and the dark. Under the control of the mageweath array, these seven different kinds of energy were able to take on any formation and be frighteningly powerful. Moreover, the mageweath array relied on the Gloomy Dark as a source of mana¡ªin other words, the 13 mageweaths were able to directly absorb energy from the Gloomy Dark.

    That was the highlight of the entire mageweath array in Lin Li¡¯s opinion.

    This was because the Gloomy Dark was the purest form of Dark Force in the world, and thus, the 13 mageweaths could just use the absorbed energy directly without having to convert it into another form. This meant that there would never be a risk of mana exhaustion.

    ¡°Impressive...¡± As a true Guru of Inscription himself, Lin Li knew better than anyone else that in terms of mageweath design, it was much harder to harness the strength of a mana source the more powerful this source was. Take Lin Li for example, the biggest problem he¡¯d encountered while designing the All-Kill Array was not how to bnce the 10 unique mageweaths, but how to integrate the All-Kill Array into the power system of the Legendary magical crystal.

    It was hard enough with one Legendary magical crystal, but what about the Gloomy Dark that was much more powerful?

    <i>Seems like Osric was not the only genius in the once unparalleled and morous dynasty.</i>

    Lin Li was staring so intently at the mageweath on the moonstone that Adelo could not help but ask, ¡°Mage Felic, why are you...?¡±

    ¡°Do you still have Summoning Scrolls?¡±

    ¡°I do...¡± Adelo paused in surprise before he searched his pockets and retrieved a white Summoning Scroll. ¡°But I¡¯m only left with the one used to summon the Three-eyed Demon Wolf, those above level-15 have already been used against the Skeletal Warriors. I wonder if...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Lin Li shook his head as he took the Three-eyed Demon Wolf Summoning Scroll, and gently tore the seal in the middle. The Summoning Scroll immediately turned into a puff of smoke, and the blurry outline of a Three-eyed Demon Wolf appeared. Lin Li could not be bothered to wait until the smoke dissipated; hence, he only used his mental strength to give amand. ¡°Go down the stairs.¡±

    The Three-eyed Demon Wolf was merely a low-ranking magical beast, after all, and with its pathetic intelligence, it did not understand how scary the altar was. Hence, Lin Li had barely given hismand before the Three-eyed Demon Wolf rushed down the stairs.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what are you¡ª¡±

    Adelo had just started speaking when ck fog engulfed the surroundings of the altar. While the fog was not too thick, it did loom over the ce. Then, it was followed by the cry of the Three-eyed Demon Wolf from within the ck fog...

    Everyone besides Lin Li was stunned by the cry as they would never have thought that the altar that had been abandoned for over 1,300 years would have such terrifying traps hidden within. Johnathan was especially affected as he broke out into cold sweat. If Mage Felic had not stopped him earlier, it would have been him letting out the cry instead...

    ¡°I understand...¡± Adelo stared at the altar with a pale face and evident fear in his eyes. ¡°So my teacher has been wrong all this time. He always thought that it was the Lich attacking him, but to think that it was a trap within the altar itself...¡±

    ¡°This trap is called the mageweath array,¡± Lin Li said with a smile, but did not continue exining how powerful the mageweath array was. There was no way he could do that anyway¡ªthere were less than 10 people in the world of Anril that understood the concept of a mageweath array, and of course neither Adelo nor his teacher were part of those 10. No matter how he exined it to him, there was no chance of Adelo getting it...

    Moreover, Lin Li had more important matters to see to now.

    It was true, the person who designed the mageweath array was a genius indeed, and even Lin Li did not think he would be able toe up with such a cleverly designed mageweath array. But, even if he was not able toe up with it, it did not mean that he could not replicate it. Once an Inscriber reached the realm of a Guru, there was not much difference in abilities; the only differencey in whether or not one was able to think of it. As long as he copied down the mageweath array, he would be able to replicate it perfectly after studying it for a couple of days at most.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, you have half an hour to copy down the patterns on this.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Master. ¡±

    Ujfalusi finished copying after half an hour, and Lin Li raised his Aether Staff as he slowly walked over to the altar.

    ¡°Everyone, stand back.¡± Lin Li started chanting after he warned them. It was still a Pyrost, and was still executed so fast that it had been nearly instantaneous.

    ¡°BOOM...!¡±

    Large fireballs were hurled against the surface of the altar with a bang. Amidst the blindingly bright mes,rge pieces of moonstone flew out¡ªa hole was blown in the mageweath array. Then there were two and three, until the number reached 13...

    Lin Li used 13 Pyrosts, and blew 13 holes in the altar. If there were other Inscribers here, they would be cursing angrily because the 13 Pyrosts were aimed exactly at the core circuits of the 13 mageweaths. In other words, the 13 Pyrostspletely destroyed this ingenious mageweath array.

    ¡°Alright, Brother Johnathan, you can go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Johnathan nodded his head, and headed up the stairs with the six ck magical crystals. Under the guidance of Adelo¡¯s magical marker, he quickly lodged the six ck magical crystals in appropriate positions.

    After thest ck magical crystal was lodged into position, the entire cave seemed to be clear. The oppressive and annoying weak magical wave seemed to have been stopped by a mysterious force, and they could no longer feel it.

    Even Lin Li could feel that the Holy Light in the Ring of Endless Storm had stopped pulsating, andy quietly and peacefully instead of its earlier restlessness.

    ¡°These six ck magical crystals were left behind by the High Elven royals, and were said to havee from an ancient magical beast. The only thing special about them is that they have an insane ability to devour mana, and even an Archmage at their peak will have their mana depleted in an instant. Hence, I had Mr Johnathan hold onto them. Besides, it is written in the High Elven royal¡¯s diary that the bolt in the altar has a strange energy that could only be suppressed by these six ck magical crystal. Now, we can safely retrieve the treasure map.¡±

    As the six ck magical crystals were devouring the mana, Adelo patiently exined things to Lin Li. The nearer they got to the treasure map within the altar, the more careful Adelo became as he was very afraid that he might do something to cause a misunderstanding between him and the young mage. Adelo was well aware that any misunderstanding that might arise now would not only hurt him, but also the entire Malfa Family...

    ¡°Alright, Mage Felic, let¡¯s head up.¡± Only when the aura of the Gloomy Darkpletely disappeared did Adelo and Lin Li head up the stairs.

    The process of retrieving the belongings of the royal was simple as the Gloomy Dark was held in the left hand of the Immortal King sculpture, while the treasure map that Adelo spoke of was a yellowed piece of sheepskin lying next to the Immortal King¡¯s sculpture.

    Adelo was so emotional that his hands trembled when he picked up the treasure map from beside the Immortal King. This was the key to the Immortal King¡¯s treasures, and there was more than endless wealth in it. There were also instructions on how to achieve the greatest strength, and once he was able to get ahold of that, there was a chance that he might reach the Legendary-realm in his lifetime, perhaps even reaching the peak of the Sanctuary-realm...

    <i>It¡¯s been a while, Gloomy Dark...</i>

    Lin Li¡¯s hands were trembling slightly too. He already held two out of the seven Debris of the stars: one Light, and the other was the Dark. If he was able to use them well, the Light and Dark would be his most powerful strength, and now that he had both the Light and the Dark, it would be much easier for him to search for the rest as the Debris of the stars resonated with each other, so he would no longer have to wait until he was in the vicinity of one of them to detect its presence.

    It was only a matter of time before he found the other five pieces of the Debris of the stars...

    Lin Li exerted a huge amount of effort before he finally managed to calm himself down. Then, he gingerly reached out with his still trembling right hand, and took the Gloomy Dark from the hand of the Immortal King¡¯s sculpture...

    Now that the six ck magical crystals were no longer devouring its mana, the strength of the Gloomy Dark was released immediately. It was powerful and profound, just like the Dark itself. Lin Li held it in his hand as he savored this familiar force. In that moment, it felt as though he was back in the Endless World...

    ...

    By then, the Malfa Family¡¯s team had already crossed the Scar of Death, and set up a campsite in the vast ins. The team seemed entirely different from when they left as they had not only been reced with many elites from the Malfa Family, but they had also gained a few powerful allies. There were the Syer Bandits that ranked in the top 10 in the Breezy ins as well as the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine, Sendros.

    Frankly speaking, Hutton was taken by surprise when he heard that Sendros wasing as even though the Darkness Shrine could no longer rival the Brilliance Shrine, Sendros was still a powerful individual who stood at the peak of magic. Hutton had long heard from his teacher how scary a Necromancer in the Legendary-realm could be...

    Of course, Hutton was aware that the Malfa Family was definitely incapable of hiring someone like Sendros, and the only reason he was here was because his teacher had got acquainted with him in the past.

    Hence, Hutton was exceptionally hospitable towards Sendros in these days, and arranged a luxurious tent for him. He also personally brought Sendros his meals, and was incredibly respectful to him when he spoke. One thing was certain: the first heir of the Malfa Family was definitely gifted in some ways as he could interact very well with whoever it was. Even the gruff Sendros asionally gave a stiff smile when he spoke to Hutton.

    The tent that Hutton set up for Sendros was in the center of the campsite, and looked luxurious and spacious. Soft, warm carpets lined the floor of the tent, while the furniture was crafted by well-known masters. It was like walking into the emperor¡¯s moving pce when they walked into the tent; it was hard to imagine that this was in the middle of the ckstone Mountains with their hostile environment.

    The only bad thing was that it was too empty¡ªthere was only a ck-robed Sendros in the big tent. Besides Hutton, who brought him his meals every day, nobody was willing to go near the tent.

    It was because this Legendary-mage had a naturally chilly aura, and even the ruthless head of bandits, Vanskore, could not help but tremble in front of Sendros. He had wanted to establish a good rtionship with this Legendary-mage the first day he arrived, but after that, this ruthless head of bandits found himself regretting his decision for a good couple of days.

    That feeling was too scary...

    He was a short and skinny old man; besides having a title of Legendary-mage, there was nothing out of the ordinary about him. However, one could feel a chilly aura seeping into their bones simply by standing in front of him, which felt like falling into an ice cer and feeling your blood freeze up.

    The scariest part, however, was his eyes. Vanskore felt as though there was a venomous snake staring him down every time he recalled his eyes. That feeling made his hair stand, and gave him nightmares for a few nights spent in the ckstone Mountains. Ever since then, Vanskore never dared to go near the scary Necromancer; he even silently swore that he would never want to see this fellow again if it was possible...

    Even the ruthless Vanskore was scared out of his wits, much less the rest. Soon, nobody dared to step into Sendros¡¯ tent besides Hutton.

    However, Sendros did not care whether anyone stepped into his tent, as he was only here with them in the ckstone Mountains to return Cheyenne a favor. More importantly, he was here for the prophecy that had been passed down for 1,300 years in the Darkness Shrine. As for anything else, Sendros could not be bothered about it at all.

    Since there was no one around to disturb him, Sendros spent most of his time in meditation, but at his level, meditating was no longer just a means to recover his mana. Most importantly to Sendros, meditation was a way to let him quiet down his thoughts to focus on thinking.

    Geresco had long said 1,300 years ago that a Legendary-mage would spend most of their life thinking.

    This was no exaggeration at all, as thinking was the most important thing to any mage who entered the Legendary-realm. This was because there were too many things that required their attention. Once they entered the Legendary-realm, they had the right to familiarize themselves with many secrets of the world, and there were too many things that they had to think about, like the constituency of magic and the truth of the world. Thinking in itself was a journey of learning, and just as a mage apprentice thought that meditation was the most important task of all, mages thought memorizing spells was the most important thing, and for Magic Shooters it was studying techniques, Archmages stressed understanding the Rules. It was merely the task that differed depending on which stage they were in...

    Like any other day, Sendros started his daily meditation after eating lunch.

    But just as he entered a state of meditation, Sendros opened his eyes suddenly.

    ¡°How can that be...¡± His eyes were filled with disbelief, and he looked just like a child who was frightened by lightning.

    Luckily, Vanskore was not around, as he would never believe the fact that those snake-like eyes could express such human-like feelings.

    What was more unbelievable was that Sendros opened his eyes and immediately rushed out of the tent, even tripping slightly on a few chairs. Thankfully for him, he was quick to react, and while he stumbled, he did not end up falling. However, this still gave everyone a shock as they could not believe that this elderly man running frantically was really the High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°How could such pure Dark Force exist in the world...¡± Sendros rushed out of his tent with a panicked look as he stared fixedly in the direction of the Scar of Death with a look of shock and doubt.

    With his keen senses of a Legendary-mage, Sendros was 100% sure that the sudden burst of Dark Force wasing from that direction. However, even though Sendros had seen many things in his lifetime, some of which nobody would dare imagine existed, he still found it hard to believe that Dark Force as near perfection as this actually existed in the world of Anril...

    This was against thews of the world¡ªthere was no way a force could be without a w. Anything as perfect as this was surely on its way to its own demise.

    But the Dark Forceing from the Scar of Death was so genuine that Sendros could clearly feel every pulse of it; it was a rhythm so perfect it was almost like music.

    <i>Could that prophecy be true? </i>The thought shed like a ray of light in his mind, and the most powerful High Priest of the Darkness Shrine was suddenly stunned...

 Chapter 417 - Killing with a borrowed sword

    <h4>Chapter 417: Killing with a borrowed sword</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, just as Sendros was about to use his mental strength to trace the source, this nearly perfect Dark Force disappeared all of a sudden. There was no sign nor trace at all, just as though it¡¯d never existed in the first ce and all of it had just been Sendros¡¯ mind ying a trick on him...

    Of course, Sendros knew that this was not the case.

    The Dark Force from the Scar of Death was so real and utterly clear that even though it had now disappeared, Sendros could still feel it in his soul.

    ¡°There is no other force that can triumph Darkness in the art of concealing indeed...¡± Even though this nearly perfect Dark Force had disappeared, Sendros was not affected by it at all, and a rare smile appeared on his pale face.

    It was enough for Sendros to know that such a Dark Force existed in the world, and that the Darkness in the prophecy had arrived. As for why the Dark Force disappeared, or where did the Darkness go, none of that mattered as much...

    By the time Sendros returned to his tent, someone was already waiting there for quite a while.

    Hutton was the only one out of the whole Malfa Family who dared enter Sendros¡¯ tent.

    There was a friendly and respectful smile on Hutton¡¯s face. ¡°How are you, Master Sendros?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± The smile had disappeared by the time Sendros returned to his own tent; he was back to the half-alive state he had been in before. His gaze was dull and cold, and if not for the halfhearted sound he made in reply, anyone would think that he was a walking corpse.

    Hutton was perhaps the only exception. The first heir of the Malfa Family had a strange gift¡ªit was as though he was naturally able to interact with everyone, even with a strange half-spirit, half-human creature like Sendros. He was still able to maintain a good rtionship with him.

    ¡°Oh, right. Master Sendros, how do you find it here so far?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Sendros¡¯ hostile attitude did not seem to affect Hutton at all as the heir of the Malfa Family still maintained a friendly and respectful smile even after he faced Sendros¡¯ tant indifference. ¡°Heheh, I¡¯m actually here this time because I have something that I need to ask for your help with, Master Sendros...¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± For the first time, Sendros spoke more than a word in reply.

    This was because he had been waiting to hear this for a few days.

    Back when Sendros had yet to break into the Legendary-realm, he owed Cheyenne a favor. He tried to return the favor after he reached the Legendary-realm, but there was little that a Legendary-mage could not do, and he did not find it easy to repay Cheyenne...

    It had been a few decades of waiting before Cheyenne wrote to him recently, asking if he could go to the ckstone Mountains to help his disciple at a critical moment.

    ¡°This is what happened, Master Sendros. I just received a magical message from Brother Adelo that he has returned from the Scar of Death, and will reach the campsite in about an hour. However, the mage he is with seems to be a threat to the Malfa Family; hence, I was hoping that you could help us resolve this issue for the Malfa Family on ount of Teacher Cheyenne...¡±

    Honestly speaking, Hutton was a little in shock after he¡¯d received the magical message from Adelo...

    Adelo¡¯s message had been simple, and there was nothing about the mage being a threat to the Malfa Family. All he said was that the mission had beenpleted, there were no casualties in the advance party, and that they would reach the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite in an hour.

    However, the simple message made Hutton worry as ording to their n, Adelo was supposed to have killed the advance party after retrieving the two relics so as to stop the news from spreading.

    There was, after all, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map amongst the relics. This was no small matter. If any news of it leaked, it would be catastrophic for the Malfa Family. Who in Anril would not want to get their hands on the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map? There might even be Legendary-realm individuals fighting for it then.

    Even though the Malfa Family was powerful, only Cheyenne was in the Legendary-realm. If a few other Legendary powerhouses joined the fight, then the Malfa Family was sure to perish.

    Thankfully, Hutton quickly calmed down, and although he did not know much from the magical message, based on his understanding of Adelo, he was able to guess what had happened at the Scar of Death.

    Without question, this was all because of that President Felic.

    It seemed like both he and Adelo had belittled this young president. They had originally thought that with an Archmage at the peak of level-17 and two other level-17 Warriors, the young president would not be able to escape death even if he was not as weak as they thought. But, to think that Adelo was not able to kill him even with the help of two level-17 Warriors... This meant that this young president was at least of level-18, or perhaps even level-19...

    It would be scary if he was a level-19...

    Unless his teacher Cheyenne personally stepped in, there might not be a single person in the whole Malfa Family who would be able to stop him, and even if he deployed all the elites of the Malfa Family currently in the ckstone Mountains as well as all of the adventurers, they might not be able to win against him.

    A level-19 powerhouse was just one step away from the Legendary-realm, after all. Even if they had numerical advantage, there was no way they would be able to kill him.

    That was not what Hutton wanted to happen.

    If he was allowed to leave the ckstone Mountains, then the Malfa Family would not only have to face powerful people who wanted the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map, but would also have to face the Supreme Council¡¯s retaliation.

    This President Felic was personally appointed by the Supreme Council, after all, and was able to hold such an important position only in his twenties. How could he not have considerable backing?

    Sigh, if only Adelo could get rid of him in the Scar of Death...

    There were dangers everywhere in the Scar of Death anyway, and even if the young president died, Hutton could always me it on the Undead creatures or the magical beasts.

    A pity that both he and Adelo had belittled the young president¡¯s abilities, and thetter was thus able to leave the Scar of Death alive. The Malfa Family would not dare strike outside, as there were too many eyes watching, and if they dared do anything to the president of the Guild of Magic, it would be a provocation aimed at the Supreme Council. How many had survived after doing so in the past 1,300 years?

    Hence, Hutton went to Sendros instead.

    This was because Sendros was the most appropriate person for the job.

    Firstly, Sendros was powerful enough as a Legendary Necromancer, and would be able to get rid of that young president in a sh. Even if Felic was really one step away from the Legendary-realm, there was no way he would be able to take that step in his life.

    Furthermore, Sendros was from the Ledin Kingdom, and did not think much about the Supreme Council. This was because the Ledin Kingdom was the only country that was not under the Supreme Council¡¯s control. Even if the Supreme Council wanted to exact revenge, there was no way they could do anything to him.

    Of course, it was not enough with Sendros alone. He would still have to go look for Vanskore after this, and if he was able to offer enough benefits to him, this materialistic fool would most probably not disappoint him.

    ¡°I will.¡± Sendros¡¯ voice was still cold and hostile, but hearing this, Hutton let out a breath of relief immediately. President Felic¡¯s fate was decided the moment Sendros agreed...

    If Hutton could do otherwise, he did not want to turn against the young president of the Guild of Magic, as he was too dangerous an enemy.

    Unfortunately, the two idiots, Harvey and Hahn, made a grave mistake while he was not around, and put him in a difficult position. Hence, he had no choice but to get Sendros to kill him.

    ¡°Thank you, Master Sendros. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave...¡±

    Sendros did not even bother answering this time as he closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation.

    Thankfully, Hutton was already used to this. After he left the tent respectfully, he quickly summoned Vanskore.

    ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡± One was an heir with a deep history in the underground, while the other was the head of a bandit chief who made a living by robbing and killing. Hutton and Vanskore could not be more familiar with each other; in fact, Vanskore had participated in all the Malfa Family¡¯s dealings in Dnd City and Rnd City all these years.

    Of course, his participation was a secret as the Malfa Family traced back a long way, and they would never dare openly associate with a bandit group. Hence, not many knew that these two forces had much closer ties than it appeared on the surface.

    ¡°You¡¯re in such a rush to look for me, did something happen?¡±

    ¡°Nothing...¡± Hutton shook his head. ¡°I just have a small problem that I need you to help me resolve.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°This is what happened...¡± Hutton did not hide anything this time, and told Vanskore about everything. Well, besides the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map of course...

 Chapter 418 - Trap

    <h4>Chapter 418: Trap</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the mage¡¯s name is Felic?¡± Vanskore had only heard half of it before he stood up suddenly.

    ¡°Why, you know him?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do...¡± Vanskore teeth were clenched in anger. ¡°Do you remember the previous time I came to Aminya City? I told you about this unknown mage in ck Clouds Town who seemed pretty powerful, and that I was trying to get him to join the Syer Bandits...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±

    ¡°In order to get him over to have a talk, I even sent a group of trusted men, but guess what? That bastard did not even bother with my invitation, and killed all 30-odd men! Damn it, that bastard does not respect the Syer Bandits at all. If not for your letter asking for help, I would have brought men to ck Clouds Town to teach him a lesson!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that great? You won¡¯t have to make a trip to ck Clouds Town now that Felic will arrive at the campsite in about an hour¡¯s time. You can do whatever you wish then...¡± Hutton lowered his voice, and added, ¡°Also, Master Sendros will be helping out as well, so don¡¯t worry about this Felic escaping...¡±

    ¡°Sendros?¡± Vanskore could not help feeling a chill run down his spine when he heard this name...

    Honestly speaking, it would be an honor for Vanskore to fight alongside a Legendary-mage, but why did it have to be Sendros? There was no trace of life in this man, and he was a creature that seemed more like a corpse than a human. Even looking at him gave Vanskore nightmares, much less fighting alongside him...

    When he thought of how scary Sendros was, Vanskore could not help but grumble at Hutton. Fancy doubting what the Syer Bandits were capable of after having worked together for so many years! He had even brought all the elites of the Syer Bandits in order to help Hutton this time, and they would be more than enough to deal with 10 mages, much less a young mage in his twenties! Why did he have to bring that monster Sendros into the picture?

    ¡°Master Sendros has already agreed.¡± Hutton could tell what this ruthless bandit was thinking with just one look, but he could not exin anything to Vanskore in such circumstances, and thus that was all that he could say.

    ¡°...¡± Vanskore lost his voice after hearing that.

    There was no way he could say no to this. Who was Sendros, after all? A Necromancer in the Legendary-realm, and the most powerful High Priest of the Darkness Shrine! Who would dare go against his words? They would have to be tired of living...

    Vanskore was both happy and afraid when he walked out of the tent¡ªhappy because he would finally have a chance to vent his anger, and afraid of the monster that was Sendros at the same time. While gathering his men, Vanskore could not help but think that he would be gued by nightmares for a while after this...

    Vanskore was indeed a good working partner as he had brought along almost all the elites of the Syer Bandits to help the Malfa Family. There were over 300 men, and they were all above level-10, including a dozen who were above level-15. They were a formidable force no matter where they were.

    All 300-plus men were Bandits who were experienced with breaking into homes, and thus they were naturals at sneak attacks. Vanskore only used 10 minutes to arrange everything, and soon, the road leading from the Scar of Death to the campsite was covered with traps.

    As the sky darkened and the blood-red sun sank beneath the horizons, all the bandits held their breath as they waited quietly for the fight to start.

    There were suddenly another dozen or so figures alone the rocky mountain road of the Scar of Death.

    ¡°Mage Felic, thank you so much for your help and for letting me copy down the treasure map of the Immortal King. I¡¯ll be sure to tell my teacher Cheyenne everything when we get back.¡± Adelo thanked him continuously as he had owed him a huge favor indeed. After all, this Mage Felic could very well have taken both relics at the Scar of Death and killed Adelo and the other two Warriors...

    No choice. The difference between their strength was too huge indeed, so there was no way they could have defended themselves. A Legendary-mage and a Humerus Wyrm, that was power far beyond what an Archmage like him couldprehend. The Legendary-mage did not even have to lift a finger, either, as all he had to do was to summon the Humerus Wyrm, and they would be smashed to pieces.

    Luckily, this Mage Felic was merciful indeed...

    He did not attack them after getting both relics, and even graciously allowed him to replicate the map.

    It seemed like he would have to tell Hutton that this Mage Felic was a man worthy winning over. It would be worth any price they had to pay if they could do it.

    Oh, right, he would have to get Hutton to teach his brother a lesson this time. That was a stupid move on Harvey¡¯s part indeed. How could he offend him without making sure whom he was dealing with? He almost got himself into huge trouble. Thank goodness that this Mage Felic was merciful, and did not take what Harvey and Hahn did to heart...

    ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯re very gracious indeed...¡± Adelo was in a good mood, and could not help praising the man in his heart again.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Mage Adelo...¡± Lin Li had a humble smile on his face, but he already sent a Warlock¡¯s Eyes to scan the surroundings of the rocky mountain road.

    After he reached level-19 in the fight with the Lich, Lin Li realized that his mental strength became much more sensitive. It was as though he suddenly had another pair of eyes, allowing him to react quickly to whatever happened around him¡ªjust like earlier, when he stepped on the rocky mountain road, for he could already sense that there were hundreds of pairs of eyes staring him down, full of malicious intent...

    Lin Li would not feel it so clearly in the past, but after he reached level-19, all of this could be seen clearly by him. He could even tell for certain how powerful the owners of those eyes were.

    Under his control, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes swept through the bushes at an incredible speed, and it was only a moment before it detected nearly 10 traps ahead of them.

    <i>So much effort too. </i>Lin Li chatted with Adelo as though nothing was happening while he silently praised them in his mind.

    Much effort had been put into making these traps indeed. Unfortunately, this effort was misced. While these traps stood a chance against an average person, they were useless against a level-19 Archmage¡ªterribly futile.

    Lin Li was perfectly capable of destroying all of them with just a snap of his fingers.

    The only reason he did not do so was because he was in no rush...

    He thought that it was too time-consuming to seek them out one by one. Why not just wait for all of them to reveal themselves...?

    Of course, he could pull a few tricks to make them reveal themselves faster...

    It was about 200 to 300 meters away from the road leading to the Scar of Death. This was where the first toxic fume trap wasid¡ªright at the end of the road. When Lin Li neared the trap, he coincidentally tripped on a rock, and fell unceremoniously...

    Then, a ¡°pop¡± was heard before greenish toxic fumes started spreading along the mountain road, and covered the surroundings in a pungent stench. Lin Li was entirely engulfed by the fumes as he was right at the front.

    Then, a piercing sound followed as hundreds of arrows flew towards the green toxic fumes.

    Adelo had been walking alongside Lin Li, but just as they were reaching the trap, Lin Li picked up his pace and created a gap of a few meters between the two. It was only because of this gap that Adelo had been spared from the burst of toxic fumes.

    When the hundreds of arrows came firing, Adelo conjured up a Frost Shield, and thus even though he was the nearest to Lin Li, he was left unscathed even after the violent attacks.

    ¡°Mage Felic, are... are you alright?¡± Adelo¡¯s face was pale, and his voice trembled as he already guessed who was behind these attacks.

    The Malfa Family¡¯s campsite was less than 300 meters away. Given how cautious Hutton was, how would he allow anyone else to set up a trap here? Adelo was willing to bet his life that this attack was permitted by Hutton.

    Adelo was ready to die at this moment...

    What was Hutton thinking? How could he think of attacking now, and even use such terrible methods? He was dealing with a Legendary individual who¡¯d got rid of a Lich by himself! What good would such terrible methods do besides angering him?

    Unfortunately, it was all toote now as the terrible ambush had be reality, and Adelo could not stop it even if he wanted to. He could only pray that this merciful young mage could be merciful yet again and forgive Hutton for being a fool.

    However, just as Adelo was praying, a strong wind started blowing within the green fumes, and Adelo heard the young mage he¡¯d thought merciful begin chanting...

 Chapter 419 - Murder

    <h4>Chapter 419: Murder</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Then, Adelo saw a beautiful snowke...

    Nobody knew how many icicles sliced through the air in that instant as a piercing sound rang out, sending a chill down their spines. The crystal-clear icicles painted an ethereal picture against the backdrop of a blood-red evening sun, yet beneath the facade of this ethereal beauty were heart-wrenching cries.

    There was originally woond with short shrubs at the end of the mountain path. It was jade-green, but as the beautiful snowkes fell on it, the picturesque jade-green was painted with spots of bright red, almost as if a careless artist had sttered paint on his canvas.

    The scary thing was that these bright red spots were growing in numbers at a frightening speed, and in a split second, more than half of the jade-green had been covered in bright red...

    The word quieted down all of a sudden, and it was as if time stood still at that instant. Everyone was shocked by the gruesome sight as they knew that every bright red spot meant that a life had been lost to the icicles. They were unable to imagine how many people had to have died to the icicles in that short period of time for half of the hill to be painted bright red...

    Lin Li was the only who knew that there were 137 of them.

    That was the difference between level-18 and level-19. While a level-18 Archmage was powerful, their mental strength was somewhat slower, but this would all change once they reached level-19. Their mental strength was now akin to another eye for them, and an incredibly sharp one at that. They would be able to clearly tell what was going on with just a nce.

    In that split second, there were 137 arrows fired at him; hence, Lin Li released 137 icicles.

    The arrows fell on the floor just as the icicles pierced their chest.

    None of the 137 people ambushing him were spared¡ªall of them lost their lives in that split second.

    Such was the power of a level-19 Archmage. Once a mage attained this level, it would be hard to ambush them as their incredibly sensitive mental strength would be capable of detecting and locating anyone harboring ill-intent towards them.

    The bandits might have been able to live for another 10 minutes had they not made the first move. They were the elites of the Syer Bandits, after all, and there were over 300 of them. Lin Li would have to take some time to search for them one by one.

    Unfortunately, the moment they released their arrows was also the moment they handed their lives over to the Grim Reaper...

    It had not taken more than a few seconds from the moment Lin Li stumbled upon the toxic fume trap to the moment the bandits were killed. Everything had happened so quickly that nobody was able to react in time. To put it simply, the greenish toxic fumes had yet to dissipate even when half the mountain was painted a bright red...

    It was at this moment that Adelo knew that he had made a mistake, a grave mistake...

    Adelo was the one who had interacted the most with Lin Li after the advance party entered the Scar of Death. While everyone held their guard up at first and plotted against each other, even getting into minor conflicts at times, Adelo still had a rtively good impression of this young mage when they left the Scar of Death.

    Truth be told, the young mage had put on an impable facade in the Scar of Death as he was always calm, while his attitude was never overbearing or cowardly in any sense. However, it was his gentle and friendly smile that¡¯d left asting impression on Adelo as it felt like he was meeting an old friend when he was with Lin Li. He never had to worry about identally provoking him.

    It was that same delusion that led Adelo to think that he would still be magnanimous and forgive Hutton when the ambush happened.

    However, the mountain slope painted in red reminded Adelo once again that this was no old friend of his, but a powerful mage who had defeated a Lich!

    Adelo finally realized that he was wrong¡ªthis young mage was definitely nowhere as gentle and friendly as he seemed to be. Even though he still had a smile on his face, there was not a trace of pity or hesitation in his eyes, and he looked just like a seasoned executioner as he took more than a hundred lives in mere moment...

    And the most terrifying thing was that this executioner did not look like he was going to stop after taking those lives. He held the magic staff with the huge gem at the tip and slowly walked out from the toxic fume trap while four Sr Spheres of yellow, blue, red, and green circled around him quickly.

    Once he saw the four Sr Spheres Adelo knew immediately that this young mage was out for blood. Those four Sr Spheres were the ultimate form of the earth, water, fire, and wind Four-element Shields. That was a level-19 Elemental Shield, and purely in terms of defense was equal to at least 10 Source Shields. Only Legendary-level magic or a blow from a Sword Sage would be able to prate the Elemental Shield...

    However, the Elemental Shield required more than 10 times the mana expenditurepared to a Source Shield. When a mage used an Elemental Shield, it meant that he was about to do something big.

    The toxic fumes still had yet to dissipate, but with the Elemental Shield, Lin Li did not even fear Archmage-level magic, much less that bit of toxic fumes. Hence, Lin Li walked right through the toxic fumes without giving them a second look.

    ¡°You idiots, what are you waiting for, start... start moving and get rid of this fellow!¡± Vanskore was scared silly, and only managed toe back to his senses now, yelling wildly while he retrieved his crossbow from his back.

    Perhaps it was because of Vanskore¡¯s orders, or the fear of imminent death, but after hearing Vanskore¡¯s yelling, the equally stunned Syer Bandits all came to life at once, roaring. Thousands of arrows sliced through the air as they came flying towards Lin Li like a swarm of flies; at the same time, about 30 mages hidden behind the mountain started chanting...

    Unfortunately, none of this held any meaning in front of a level-19 mage...

    The four Sr Spheres circled quickly as they formed an imprable shield around Lin Li, rendering the swarm of arrows and magic hurled at him useless. The arrows ttered as they fell to the ground, and the magic was engulfed by the shield in an instant while Lin Li continued walking through the toxic fumes and up the mountain amidst the torrential attacks...

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare stand back, all... all of you move at once and get rid of this fellow!¡±

    Vanskore¡¯s yells continued to resonate on the mountain slope, and the torrential attacks continued pouring down on Lin Li, yet none of this seemed to exist to Lin Li.

    Then, the gem on the Aether Staff suddenly glowed...

    The stunned bandits were unable to react before they were hit by the gory stench of blood, which was then followed by pathetic cries. A bandit who was well-concealed in the shrubs did not even have time to struggle before a blood-red vine coiled tightly around him. Then, it was followed by two and then three vines, until there were dozens of vines coiled around him...

    In the blink of an eye, this unlucky bandit was covered in at least a few dozen vines that coiled tightly around him, covering him from head to toe without a single gap. The vines then grew and dragged him over until he was in front of Lin Li.

    With a wave of his hand, the vines loosened, and revealed the terrified bandit.

    ¡°Syer Bandits again?¡± Lin Li knew immediately by looking at his armor that it was the bandit group ranked in the top 10 in the Breezy ins.

    ¡°You... Help!¡± This bandit was unlucky indeed as he had just crawled out from the mess of vines, only to see that it was the scary mage before him. He had got out of the frying pan, only to fall into fire indeed. Thus, he cried for help without thinking twice in the midst of his shock and devastation.

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lin Li frowned while lowering the Aether Staff in his hand, and with a dull thud, the unlucky bandit fainted on the spot.

    After knocking out the unlucky bandit, Lin Li turned around to look at the people wildly attacking him. One of them was a tough-looking man with a crossbow in one hand and a machete in the other, screaming hysterically. Lin Li secretly guessed that he had to be Vanskore, who had been summoning him repeatedly...

    ¡°I¡¯m in luck...¡± Lin Li looked at Vanskore from afar, and suddenly smiled.

    Honestly speaking, Lin Li was very happy to bump into the Syer Bandits, who had attacked ck Clouds Town twice. Even if he had not met them here, he would have searched them out in the Dragon Mountains and got rid of this bandit group that dared challenge the authority of the Tower of Dusk.

    For a force to be one to be reckoned with, it would have to be done at the expense of getting rid of another in a ce like the Breezy ins. Lin Li already had his eyes on Syer Bandits as they were quite well-known in the Breezy ins, and did not have aplicated background. On top of that, they were not too powerful. Lin Li could not think of a better target than the Syer Bandits even after racking his brains...

    And to add on to that, they had attacked ck Clouds Town twice, and left a terrible impression on him. The Syer Bandits would meet a horrible end, be it for official reasons or his personal vendetta.

    This was great¡ªhe had not even had the time to seek them out himself, and they came to him instead...

    ¡°But there are too many people. It¡¯ll be bothersome for me to do this myself,¡± Lin Li muttered to himself before retrieving an oilmp from his pocket...

 Chapter 420 - You once took off my pants

    <h4>Chapter 420: You once took off my pants</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The bandits were all on the verge of breakdown at this point, but the most depressing thing on earth was not some ruthless demon lord, but annoying pests. Even though Lin Li had killed more than a hundred men right from the start and frightened the whole Syer Bandits, they did not copse entirely, as they knew that Lin Li was scarily powerful, and they would not have a chance to escape. Hence, all they could do was to grit their teeth and fight it out with him.

    However, once the bandits realized that they could not harm him at all no matter what they did, their initial resolution started to waver...

    The feeling of futility spread like an epidemic and infected all of them. They started to panic and lose hope, and began to look for ways to escape. If not for the presence of Vanskore, the remaining 200-some bandits would have been reduced to an army of headless chickens.

    But even Vanskore was unable to prevent the breakdown of the bandits.

    Thest straw was a cloud of ck fog that started spreading.

    A cloud of ck fog started appearing after Lin Li channeled his mental strength into the oilmp, and the space around the mountain slope contorted weirdly. Before they could figure out what kind of magic this was, a deafening growl shook up the ce...

    ¡°My God!¡±

    ¡°Monster, it¡¯s a monster...¡±

    ¡°Good heavens, what kind of a creature is this?!¡±

    ¡°Run, my brothers...!¡±

    The Humerus Wyrm was at least a few dozen meters long, and took up half the space on the mountain slope the minute it appeared. As it spread its bony wings, it took up the other half of the space on the mountain slope. Apart from Vanskore, the rest was at most at level-15, and some of them were only at level-10. How could they have seen anything as scary as a Humerus Wyrm?

    They had initially nned on holding out for a little more, but as soon as the Humerus Wyrm appeared, they broke downpletely. In an instant, their cries for help intensified; the bandits were scared out of their wits, leaving their weapons to run for their lives. They feared that the terrifying creature would catch up with them.

    What a pity that they would never outrun a Humerus Wyrm¡¯s ice me given their abilities.

    After letting out a deafening growl, the Humerus Wyrm opened its mouth, and the mountain slope was soon covered in its ice mes...

    The Humerus Wyrm¡¯s ice me was so powerful that even a level-17 Archmage like Adelo nearly fell prey to it, much less these level-10 Bandits. All they saw was a blue light sweeping over the mountain slope before dozens of ice sculptures appeared.

    This was a massacre as the level-20 Humerus Wyrm was in itself an undefeatable existence. Even the level-18 Vanskore was insignificant in the face of the Humerus Wyrm, much less the other bandits. Moreover, Vanskore was unable to do anything as he was bound by Lin Li¡¯s Gravity Spell.

    Even though Vanskore was a powerful level-18 Warrior, he was unable to retaliate before he was bound by Lin Li using a Gravity Spell. This was not unusual, as Lin Li was indeed terrifyingly powerful as he had benefited a lot from the fights in the Scar of Death. While he was still a level-19 Archmage in terms of strength, he wasparable to Legendary-mages in many other ways. Coupled with his seemingly endless mana and mental strength, Lin Li was only a step away from the Legendary-realm at this point.

    Purely in terms ofbat abilities, Lin Li was definitely the most powerful in the whole of Anril apart from the Legendary-realm individuals, and this was merely in terms of his ownbat abilities. He might even be able to go against those in the Legendary-realm if he used both the Holy Light and Gloomy Dark as well...

    This was way beyond what a level-18 Warrior like Vanskore was capable of going against, and it was merely a matter of wasting more energy for Lin Li.

    ¡°Good evening, Mr Vanskore. I didn¡¯t think we would meet in such circumstances...¡± After binding Vanskore using a Gravity Spell, Lin Li was in no hurry to make a move; hence, he happily struck a conversation with the bandit leader.

    ¡°What... What do you want?¡± Half of his most elite men had died, and he was now bound by magic. It was no wonder that Vanskore¡¯s usually calm demeanor was nowhere to be seen.

    Vanskore was filled with utter regret after seeing for himself how powerful this young mage was.

    If he¡¯d known it woulde to this, he would never have sent men to harass ck Clouds Town. To think that he had thought that this young man was a rising talent, and had even thought of buying him over for the Syer Bandits.

    He had to have been blind, and should have known better than to mess with this young mage after he killed 30 of his men. Why had he not realized it earlier? To think that he¡¯d even volunteered to help Hutton get rid of him. Look where this brought him? Even though he finally knew how powerful this young mage was, he had already paid too heavy a price. All of over 300 elites of the Syer Bandits were going to die here, and even if he did make it out alive of the ckstone Mountains, the Syer Bandits would have lost their position as one of the top 10 bandit groups in the Breezy ins...

    ¡°Calm down, Mr Vanskore. I just want to ask you something...¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Vanskore¡¯s heart skipped a beat as his initially dull gaze suddenly brightened up. He already knew what kind of a person he was going against even before the fight. This mage was unusually ruthless, and even though he was young, he was a seasoned executioner who did not hesitate to kill. Vanskore never thought that he would make it out alive if he were to ever fall in the hands of such a person.

    But this person seemed to be asking something from him...

    This discovery made Vanskore heave a sigh in relief as this made everything easier. While he was merely a bandit leader, he had umted considerable wealth after all those years, and would be able to give Lin Li a satisfactory answer regardless of whether it was wealth or equipment that he desired. If Lin Li was still not pleased, Vanskore could well give him everything he had. It was alright, nothing was more important that staying alive...

    As long as he was still alive, it was only a matter of time before he would get it all back.

    He would not even have to wait long. All he had to do was make it alive to the Dragon Mountains, where he could agree to Master Lucin¡¯s terms. As long as he had the help of Master Lucin, he would be able to take back everything he had lost¡ªeven the life of this young mage...

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, actually...¡± Lin Li had no idea what Vanskore was thinking, and he did not care about it, either. Why would he bother with whatever a dying man was thinking?

    ¡°Rest assured that if it is anything I own, I will give it to you without any hesitation as long as you¡¯ll let me go. I can even give you the whole of Dragon Mountains, there is a treasure cove that I¡¯ve had for over a decade, and you can easily buy half of Dnd with all the riches inside...¡± Vanskore hurriedly added, fearing that Lin Li would change his mind.

    ¡°Alright. Since you¡¯re so generous, Mr Vanskore, I will cut to the chase. I¡¯m interested in taking over your men. Well, I¡¯ve got no choice, you see, I was forced to be the President of some Guild, and there are matters that I¡¯m unable to see to myself. So, I¡¯m going to need some help, but then there¡¯s a problem. As you know, your men are immensely loyal to you, and may not listen to my orders, so I¡¯d like to discuss with you to see if I can threaten them with your death...¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Vanskore¡¯s face paled, and he suddenly channeled all of his Combat Energy to try and break free from the Gravity Spell. Unfortunately, his struggle was toote. Just as he channeled all his Combat Energy, a blood-red vine crept up his neck...

    And thus, the Combat Energy of a level-18 Warrior eventually lost to a tiny blood-vine.

    The thorn in the heart of Rnd City and the head of one of the most powerful bandit groups in the Breezy ins had been vanquished by a tiny blood-vine...

    The killing on the mountain slope came to stop just as Vanskore took hisst breath. Only 10 of the over 300 bandits were spared. Even then, they were spared only because Lin Li had given the Humerus Wyrm orders to do so, allowing them to leave the ckstone Mountains alive.

    It was because Lin Li needed people to bring the message back to the Dragon Mountains.

    Lin Li could not care less as to what reaction the people at the Dragon Mountains would have to such a message, because he had more important matters to see to at the moment.

    ¡°Hey, wake up, the sun¡¯s shining on you...¡± After turning the whole Syer Bandits upside-down, Lin Li was in no hurry to return to the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite. Instead, he kicked the unlucky bandit who had fallen next to him.

    ¡°Ah...¡± After a few consecutive kicks from Lin Li, the unlucky bandit finally woke up, but his sight was still blurry as he was out for a while.

    Of course, that did notst long, as he quickly realized who had kicked him awake...

    The unlucky bandit paled as soon as he saw Lin Li. ¡°I-I-It¡¯s... It¡¯s you!¡±

    ¡°Why, you know me?¡±

    The unlucky bandit did not even dare to look at the smiling man as he buried his head and gulped with difficulty, hesitating for a while before he chose to answer truthfully. ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°You once took off my pants in ck Clouds Town...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 421 - Special Welcome

    <h4>Chapter 421: Special Wee</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Lin Li did not know if he shouldugh or cry at those words, they reminded him of his deed of stripping the Syer Bandits bare when they first came to the ck Clouds Town. If he did not remember wrongly, the fe before him was the one who was the first to pull his pants down and the fastest to flee...

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Roger, Roger Garcia...¡±

    ¡°Hi Roger, nice to meet you,¡± Lin Li said, and reached out his hand smilingly. ¡°Oh, yes. I just want to know your position in the Syer Bandits,¡± he said to the robber whose pants he had once striped.

    ¡°H-hi there...¡± Roger stuttered. Lin Li¡¯s smile was terribly horrifying to him. Roger remembered it was with the same smile that he¡¯d in the hundreds of people earlier on. The thought of that magnificent icy flower made his knees tremble.

    After greeting Lin Li cautiously, Roger swallowed his saliva with much difficulty. ¡°I... I am just a small team leader of around 10 men.¡±

    ¡°Do you have the confidence to let everyone follow your orders if I increase the strength of your men by a few thousands?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I will let you be the next Vanskore,¡± Lin Li affirmed at ease with the same smile and very casual voice. It was as though he was not talking about one of the top-10 bandit groups in the Breezy ins, but a work that required one to run errands and do odd jobs across a few hotels.

    ¡°You...¡± Roger gasped as he opened his mouth wide. Even Adelo who was a distance away could hear the rough breathing of the unlucky Bandit. ¡°Y-y-you mean... You want me to be the chief of the Syer Bandits?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s simr to that. But, we are not going to use the name of that organization. It sounds toome. Moreover, your previous upation that required you to rob seems not to allow you to reap good ie when you offend other people due to it. I have to find other things for you to do. We are not in a rush now. The priority right now is to gain the respect from the thousand of men...¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Roger¡¯s mouth went dry as he heard the young mage¡¯s words. He realized that a rare opportunity hadnded before him...

    That was right. It was indeed a rare opportunity.

    If that mage was not joking, it would mean that he had the intention of raising him as the new chief of the Syer Bandits...

    It had always been his dream to be like Chief Vanskore, who could march through the Breezy ins unhindered with his thousands of men. Still, Roger never dared to think about it frequently. But now, an opportunity was actually right before him in reality...

    Roger believed that the mage had the ability to support him.

    The 300 people who nned the sneak attack that day were already the elites of the entire Syer Bandits, but they were defeated instantaneously without a chance of fighting against him. From how Lin Li killed the seemingly invincible Chief Vanskore, Roger knew that it would not take much effort for Lin Li to back him up.

    Roger gaped in a daze after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. That wasn¡¯t surprising, for those words were even more impactful aspared to the battle earlier on...

    Roger needed some time to digest the situation...

    Since it was not an urgent matter, Lin Li did not insist that Roger give him an immediate reply. Lin Li stood there patiently, and waited for Roger to recover from his shock.

    Roger finally reacted after a minute. ¡°I have the confidence, Mr. Mage. I have confidence that they would listen to me...¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Lin Li said as he nodded. ¡°From now on, you are my man. Follow me for the time being. When I settle the things here, I will tell you how to be the new Vanskore.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Mr. Mage...¡±

    After sealing the fate of the Syer Bandits in a few words, when Lin Li wanted to call upon some of his men from the Tower of Dusk to introduce them to Roger, Adelo rushed towards him from behind.

    ¡°M-Mage... Mage Felic, could you please listen to my exnation for the matter just now...?¡± Adelo said anxiously. The sight of that hill covered with blood and dead bodies caused Adelo to feel reallyplicated. He was nervous, but at the same time relieved...

    Adelo was nervous due to the fact that it was Hutton who allowed the sneak attack. It was that obvious. Adelo had been participating in most of the secret projects of the Malfa Family for a few decades. He knew that there was a partnership between the Malfa Family and the Syer Bandits, and that Vanskore was on good terms with Hutton. If Hutton was not the mastermind behind the sneak attack led by Vanskore, he at least had to have given his seal of approval for it...

    Adelo would not have dared to imagine what would happen if Mage Felic were to know about everything behind the scenes.

    But, Adelo felt a sense of relief at the same time.

    Thank goodness! Although Hutton did a foolish thing, he was clever enough to know he could silence people. Since neither the Adventurers hired from ckstone Town nor people from the Malfa Family had direct involvement in it, one could not simply tell that the sneak attack was nned by the Malfa Family.

    That made things easier. As both parties had yet to engage in any direct confrontation, Mage Felic¡¯s suspicions would not be able to stand without sufficient evidence. With that, the authority of the Malfa Family in the Breezy ins and Mentor Cheyenne¡¯s powerful influence would have their effect...

    Furthermore, if he could tter Felic a little, the issue of the sneak attack might even be resolved.

    Yes, Adelo had clever ideas. However, hemitted another unfortunate mistake...

    Who was Lin Li? To Gerian, he was a fe who would never take a loss willingly. How would such a troublemaker give in obediently?

    In fact, knowledge of the partnership between the Malfa Family and the Syer Bandits and of the shady deal between Hutton and Vanskore was nothing. Lin Li just needed to know that he was currently two kilometers away from the Malfa campsite, and that Hutton had sent a message through magic to tell Adelo to get rid of himself...

    Hence, Lin Li did not give Adelo any chance to exin himself. While they looked like they were chatting very casually and harmoniously as they walked down the hill, the topics discussed were all meaningless...

    ¡°Look, there has to be a misunderstanding...¡± said Adelo. He grew more and more anxious as they got closer to the Malfa campsite. How could Adelo not know the young mage¡¯s personality after several days spent journeying with him in the Scar of Death? Even though he¡¯d been unaware of it in the beginning, how could he not get a clear picture after witnessing that huge massacre? Furthermore, if that young mage really meant it when he said he did not mind the sneak attack, why did he let that gigantic Humerus Wyrm stay in the air till now...?

    As Lin Li¡¯s pace got increasingly faster, the sense of foreboding grew for Adelo as well.

    <i>Sh*t. Trouble is huge...</i>

    ...

    Hutton walked into Sendros¡¯s tent almost at the same time.

    Hutton had a very grave expression. Just a few minutes ago, this first inheritor of the Malfa Family suddenly sensed that there was a shocking magical wave at the borders of the Scar of Death. With his wealth of knowledge about magic, Hutton knew it was the work of a level-19 Archmage.

    The instant he felt the magical wave, Hutton realized that he hadmitted a mistake.

    The only people who could be at the border of the Scar of Death would only be either Vanskore and his Syer Bandits or that advance party he wanted to silence. However, Hutton was certain that there was no level-19 Archmage in Vanskore¡¯s team. Among the 30 mages Vanskore brought along, the stronger ones were at most level-12. He knew it would not be Adelo, either. How could he not know the abilities of hisrade?

    By elimination, the suspicious ones would be those who came from ck Clouds Town...

    Hutton was quite certain that the young President of the Tower of Dusk was actually that level-19 Archmage.

    That was definitely bad news. To Vanskore and his Syer Bandits, a level-19 Archmage was actually formidable. The Archmage would have the ability to deal with the sneak attack by himself. Even if the bandits were to gain the upper hand at the beginning, it would not be what he¡¯d hoped for¡ªtrapping the young President in the ckstone Mountains forever.

    That was what Hutton was really worried about. The background of the young President was too scary. It would mean immediate trouble after he came down from the ckstone Mountains.

    Hence, Hutton had no choice but walk into Sendros¡¯ tent again. He hoped the Legendary-level Necromancer could fulfill his promise and help him resolve that terrible mess.

    ¡°Master Sendros¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it already,¡± Sendros said as he reached out his bony right arm for the staff that had been leaning against the table.

    Hutton felt it very clearly when that gust of magical waves was sent out. How could a Legendary powerhouse like Sendros not realize it? To be honest, when he felt that, Sendros was actually rather curious. Since when was there such a powerful mage in the ckstone Mountains? He knew that the wave was generated by somebody who was at least level-19 and a step away from the Legendary-realm.

    What could be more interesting to a Legendary-mage other than that? Even if Hutton was not going to find him, Sendros would take his magic staff out to look at the situation. That was neither to repay Cheyenne¡¯s favor nor to fulfill his promise to help get rid of anyone. It was purely his desire to meet a potential colleague who was about to break into the Legendary-realm...

    Sendros held his magic staff in his hands and muttered a spell. He then transformed into a puff of ck smoke, and vanished from the tent.

    ¡°Hopefully he can make it in time...¡± Hutton¡¯s expression became calmer as he watched Sendros leave. Yet, he decided to follow behind Sendros after a moment of hesitation...

    ...

    ¡°Mage Felic, could you please give me a chance to exin...?¡± Seeing that the Malfa campsite was just a short distance away yet the menacing Humerus Wyrm was still in the air while the magical waves from the mage became more rigorous, Adelo was really anxious.

    ¡°Such bad luck. I guess I really need to listen to your nagging...¡± Lin Li said as he stopped in his tracks. His eyes were fixed on the sky...

    ¡°Huh?¡± Adelo was stunned. He looked in the direction of Lin Li¡¯s gaze and gasped.

    ¡°My Lord...¡±

    That was a bony figure with a long ck robe. Its massive magical wave was suffocating. If he did not witness the Lich shatter into pieces, Adelo might have thought that the Lich had reappeared.

    However, although the one in the sky was not a Lich, the magical waves it emitted was not any weaker. He could tell that it was mightier than a Lich.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± That feeling made him breathless. ¡°Why is there another Legendary character...?¡±

    ¡°How would I know...?¡± Lin Li replied as he rubbed his nose. While his expression stayed the same, he reached his hand to open the Ring of Endless Storm discreetly. Although he had not taken a good look at who that threatening neer was, he was certain that it was a powerful person in the Legendary-realm.

    Lin Li could guess the motives of that man. To soar above him so cockily, that Legendary powerhouse should not be a mere passer-by.

    A level-19 Archmage could easily wipe out the entire Syer Bandits and kill Vanskore, but he might face some difficulty if his opponent were someone in the Legendary-realm. Perhaps Holy Light and Gloomy Dark could be of help to him. Oh, if he were to summon the Humerus Wyrm, he would have good odds...

    At this point, even Lin Li failed to discover the shift in his mindset. If it was a few days ago, the first thing Lin Li would think of when he saw somebody in the Legendary-realm would be to escape.

    However, defeating that level-20 Lich in the Scar of Death gave Lin Li tremendous confidence. It not only brought him up by a level, but also enabled him to battle as a Legendary figure. Although it was with the help of the All-Knowing Potion, the experience he acquired was the most valuable gift.

    Hence, when Lin Li faced another man in the Legendary-realm, the first thought that appeared in his mind was not to escape, but to get rid of him...

    As the dark figure loomed closer, the magical waves became even more vigorous and suffocating. The massive Death aura which it emitted was not as pungent as the Lich¡¯s. Instead, it was like a boulder that caused people to be extremely breathless.

    At the same time, Lin Li also pushed his mental strength to the limits.

    The two equally able mages confronted each other in a very unusual way. Although it was not a physical exchange, their confrontation was one that was more threatening. Under the demonstration of the two great forces, the magical elements in the environment fell apart, and the sky started to distort. However, despite the risky interaction between the two forces, Lin Li¡¯s posture was not affected at all. The huge gust of mana was like tide waters, pouring out of his body...

    Seconds trickled by. Beads of cold sweat trickled down Lin Li¡¯s forehead as well. His method of calling out his mana was a self-destructive act. Even though Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was stronger than normal people¡¯s, he would not be able to sustain it for long. Yet, he knew he had to press on. If he were to show any sign of faltering, Lin Li would be greatly disadvantaged. How could an Archmage with a drained mana be able to fight a real Legendary-mage?

    Hence, Lin Li could only persevere, no matter how hard it was...

    One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

    Although only 10 minutes passed by, it seemed like an eternity to Lin Li. Every second was tortuous to him. At that point, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was like a taut bowstring that had been stretched to its limits.

    Simultaneously, it was the same for the figure in the sky. The suffocating conflict between them weakened by a great extent and vanished gradually...

    ¡°Phew...¡± Lin Li sighed, and fell weakly to his feet when thest bit of pressure went away. It was a terrifying encounter that ced a great deal of stress on his physical body and mental capacity. If not for his extraordinary mental ability, Lin Li would have gone entirely berserk.

    It was fortunate for him to be able to withstand that challenge...

    Lin Li drew several big breaths, and fished out an energy potion from his pocket.

    Lin Li downed a whole bottle of the Awakening Potion, and regained some energy for his weakened body. However, he did not have any way to replenish his mental strength, as it was impossible for people under the level of a Divine Smith to do so. His Awakening Potion could only trigger existing mental strength to hasten the rate of mana recovery. It was of no use to him now when hecked mental strength.

    Lin Li¡¯s current weakness was no secret to the man from the Legendary-realm. As the ck figure descended from the sky, it symbolized the official beginning of the battle between them.

    Yet, Lin Li was not afraid at all. Right from the beginning, he had no intention of using his energy to defeat that opponent.

    The Humerus Wyrm had been pping its long and bony wings in the air. Lin Li knew he could let it spit out terrifying ice me at any moment. Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light could be triggered at any time from the Ring of Endless Storm, which had been opened long ago.

    Seeing that an earth-shattering battle was just a step away from them, everyone held their breath in anticipation and fear.

    No one realized that there was a menacing presence hidden in the thicket not far away...

    It was Hutton, who had followed Sendros all the way here...

    In reality, Hutton had reached that ce very early, and witnessed the start of the indirect confrontation. Yet, he was hiding in the thicket so as not to rm Sendros. Hutton had to admit that the exchange was not one that he had expected.

    As a level-18 Archmage, he was one of the more powerful mages in the whole Breezy ins. Even Adelo had to bow to Hutton¡¯s superiority despite entering the industry earlier than him. Hence, Hutton generally gathered more understanding from that exchange aspared to the others.

    <i>Sendros¡¯s ability is actually on par with that dude¡¯s!?</i>

    Hutton had to admit that the young President of the guild of magic was the most powerful talent he had ever met...

    How could a young man aged around 20 be able to emit such a threatening aura?

    Not to forget, his opponent was the most powerful High Priest from the Darkness Shrine¡ªNecromancer Sendros in the Legendary-realm...

    Hutton could not believe that the 20 years old young President could be on par with a mighty man like Sendros.

    Hutton had mixed feelings about that absurdity. He was not only impressed and jealous, but was also filled with awe and fear. Having be a level-18 Archmage before the age of 30, and been recognized as the first mage with a huge potential by the strictest Mentor Cheyenne, Hutton had always thought himself to be the most talented magic genius in this world. He believed Cheyenne¡¯s words that it was only a matter of time for him to reach the Legendary-realm.

    His belief stayed the same even when he sensed the vigorous magical waves earlier on, which made him wonder if that young President of the guild of magic was really a level-19 Archmage.

    Hutton had felt that his being at the peak of level-18 made him not a bit weaker than that President. Estimating himself to be able to reach level-19 in half a year¡¯s time, Hutton was certain that he could get closer to the Legendary-realm if he were to devote his time spent on the management of the Malfa¡¯s business to research on magic.

    But now, Hutton finally realized the existence of that wide gap between people of the same level...

    At least, he did not have the guts to challenge Sendros. He even had to muster all his courage and energy to engage in a casual conversation whenever he stood before Sendros. The ability of a Legendary-mage was horrifying¡ªespecially for Sendros, who did not care to suppress his energy. Any slight sense of energy he emitted would suffice to create nightmares for a powerful man like Vanskore for a few days.

    <i>Therefore, how did that 20 years old President do it to even be on par with Sendros??</i>

    Hutton felt a sudden disappointment when he witnessed that exchange between Lin Li and Sendros. To a genius, the hardest thing to ept was the existence of a more talented individual. It was the same for Hutton now. He¡¯d never felt so ashamed and insulted, as he understood very well that he would never catch up to Lin Li¡¯s standard. Hutton knew he would fall further behind Lin Li as time passed by.

    To him, it was a fact he could not ept.

    Hutton was ted when he saw Sendros descending from the sky. He knew that it would be the death of the mage the moment Sendros touched the ground. No matter how talented Lin Li was, he would never be able to defeat Sendros before reaching the Legendary-realm.

    If the motive behind Hutton¡¯s decision to silence Lin Li at the start was to keep the secret of the treasure map, his reason now would be to get rid of this rival. As long as this talent existed for one more day, it meant another day of insult and disappointment for Hutton.

    Hutton¡¯s eyes lit up when Sendros¡¯ feet came into contact with the ground.

    At that instant, Hutton imagined countless Undead creatures crawling out from the soil, and tearing that young talent into pieces...

    Unfortunately, it did not happen as Hutton had expected. He saw a friendly Sendros walking towards that young mage. ¡°I¡¯m very d to meet you here, Mage Felic. Aspared to thest time I met you in Dnd, your abilities have improved a lot...¡± said Sendros as he patted the young President.

    Hutton could not believe his ears.

    That was not the hardest thing for Hutton to ept. Hutton¡¯s jaw dropped when he saw Sendros¡¯ genuine smile¡ªit was as though Sendros had met an old friend.

    ¡°Master Sendros, you gave me a very special greeting...¡± Lin Liughed as he red at Sendros. Internally, he was condemning both the Lich he met in the cave as well as the man before him. <i>Why isn¡¯t Necromagic practiced by any neurotypical being?</i>

 Chapter 422 - Spy

    <h4>Chapter 422: Spy</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I was only curious to find out how much you have improved after leaving nna...¡± said the Necromancer as heughed. That was perhaps the only time for that corpse-like being to have a human-like smile on his face.

    His genuine smile was a symbol of trust Sendros only showed certain people.

    Strictly speaking, the young and old were very far apart in terms of their ability and position. In terms of ability, while Sendros had broken to the Legendary-realm decades ago, Lin Li had only reached the doorstep of the realm. In terms of position, while Sendros was the most powerful High Priest in the Darkness Shrine, and had created true legends, Lin Li had just be the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, which even the Casten of Dnd City might not be aware of...

    However, there was something Sendros would never be able to match Lin Li in¡ªthe attainments in Pharmaceutical studies. It was this achievement that made Sendros consider Lin Li to be on the same level as him.

    In reality, Sendros was not alone. People like Balbo, Englos, and Burnside would never dare to disy their pride as a Legendary powerhouse in front of Lin Li, or treat the young man like an inferior. They would converse with Lin Li like normal friends, and consult him humbly if they were to face any issues.

    Of course, that was only known to only a few Master Pharmacists.

    People like Hutton and Adelo would naturally not be able to ess such secrets...

    Hutton nearly spat blood when he watched Sendros smiling cautiously at Lin Li.

    He could not believe his eyes at all. Did that President Felic gobble a bear¡¯s heart or a leopard¡¯s gut? How could he have the courage to disy such a stance before Sendros? Did he not acknowledge Sendros¡¯s influence and power? Sendros was a man whom even his mentor Cheyenne would not dare to offend.

    <i>What¡¯s wrong with this President Felic?</i>

    The wait was what agitated Hutton the most. When was Sendros going to show any sign of anger towards Felic? How could this renowned legend be so meek in front of him?

    At that moment, Hutton thought he saw the sun rising from the west...

    ...

    ¡°Call Adelo over,¡± said Hutton the moment he stepped into his tent.

    Hutton was not as useless as Harvey. Once he found out that Lin Li might have a strong rtion with Sendros, the first heir of the Malfa Family stopped to brainstorm about the implications thereof immediately.

    It was very obvious that matters had gone out of his control.

    He suspected the support behind President Felic to be more than what he could imagine. Otherwise, the conversation between Felic and Sendros would not be so friendly. Apart from the president from nna Guild of Magic, which president from the other 23 guilds would have the guts to speak so casually to Sendros?

    Furthermore, it seemed that President Felic had terrifying powers as well.

    Hutton witnessed the scuffle between the youth and the elder first-hand. Although he was hiding a few hundred meters away from them, Hutton could sense the threatening force emitted by Sendros very clearly. The President Felic had to be very powerful to be able to match Sendros¡¯ energy.

    <i>Where on earth did that Felice from?</i>

    When he thought of that question, Hutton was stunned.

    He suddenly realized that he knew nothing about President Felic.

    Although the Malfa Family had a strongwork of connections, it seemed insignificant before President Felic.

    As of now, Hutton only knew that President Felic was from Jarrosus Guild of Magic. He heard that this man performed very well in nna, defeating Gryffindor and also Matthias from Nightfall City. His achievements were acknowledged by the Supreme Council, and got him his position today¡ªthe President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.

    What about other information?

    As of now, Hutton admitted that he had no idea who Felic¡¯s mentor was. He wouldn¡¯t be the President of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, Gerian, would he? That plump old fe was just a level-15 Archmage, who suffered a loss fighting a team of bandits not long ago, and should be in a very bad state now. How could that man produce such an outstanding disciple?

    Furthermore, how did the young President even know Sendros...?

    It was a well-known fact in Anril that Sendros did not have many friends due to him being an entric and unsociable man who studied Necromagic. That certainly did not exin the close-knitted rtionship between the old and young duo. Sendros¡¯ cautious smile before Felic¡¯s rage was a scene that should only appear in a dream.

    Hutton could not fathom Felic¡¯s identity at all. To him, it was as though the young man was birthed from a rock and got to be a President without any reason. If he had not witnessed that situation today, Hutton would never have believed that the young mage aged 20 owned such a formidable strength...

    He could not help but feel threatened by that terrifying strength.

    On the way back, Hutton just could not step out of his state of disbelief. He called Adelo over to learn about what Felic did throughout the journey in the Scar of Death.

    Adelo entered Hutton¡¯s tent after a minute.

    ¡°Brother Adelo, you must be tired.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Although Adelo entered the trade many years before Hutton, he never dared to treat Hutton as an inferior. While Hutton might be addressing Cheyenne as his mentor, that man was actually his biological grandfather. On the other hand, Adelo was just another high-ranking servant of Hutton despite working for the Malfa Family for over 10 years.

    But, Adelo was especially disgruntled with Hutton. How could he have instructed Vanskore tounch a sneak attack without discussing it with the team, and at such a critical timing at that? Now that things had been done, the rtionship Adelo had previously built with Felic was lost as well.

    Although it did not seem like Mage Felic had any intention of starting amotion yet, Adelo did not dare to be reckless when he interacted with him. The examples of the Lich and Vanskore made evident that it all ultimately depended on Felic. If Felic decided to confront them overtly, he would not give them any chance to regret.

    The 20-year-old mage was indeed a frightening man...

    ¡°Oh, yes, Senior Brother. How¡¯s the trip to the Scar of Death? I hope things went well?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it was good...¡± Adelo replied as he nodded his head. ¡°But, why did you let Vanskore do it?¡± Adelo asked after a moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Why did I let Vanskore do it? Senior Brother, did you forget what Mentor Cheyenne told us before we went to the ckstone Mountains? This time, our target is the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map. If the information were to be leaked to other people, it might bring about the fall of the Malfa Family...¡± Hutton replied Adelo in a condemning tone. ¡°Do you not understand I¡¯m trying to cover up for your mistake?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know the situation at the Scar of Death at all...¡±

    ¡°What happened at Scar of Death?¡± Hutton¡¯s rage simmered as he asked Adelo curiously. Although he had been using magic tomunicate with Adelo all the while, he did not know more about the Scar of Death trip than the others. Otherwise, he would not have instructed Vanskore tounch such a foolish sneak attack.

    ¡°You ask me what happened?

    ¡°Have you met thousands of Vampires, over 30 Death Knight riding on Shapeshifters, a Humerus Wyrm that¡¯s a dozen meter long, or a Lich with unlimited powers? I had seen all that in the Scar of Death...¡± Adelo listed the incredible urrences like a bullet train. ¡°And because of that, it ascertained my stand that instructing Vanskore tounch that attack was the worst mistake you have evermitted in these few years.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Since you have never experienced Scar of Death yourself, you would never be able to imagine how terrifying and formidable Mage Felic was. I understand what you were thinking. You must have thought that a level-19 Archmage would not be able to fight back. You must have thought that you could employ Mentor Cheyenne to get rid of this man who had greater powers than you.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that so?¡±

    ¡°If Mentor Cheyenne were to interfere, I¡¯m not very certain that it would seed. But, that Master Sendros you employed to deal with Felic is for sure not going to be able to help us...¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be!¡± Hutton sprang up front his seat. He was both angry and amused by his senior brother¡¯s senseless words.

    That was right. Hutton could admit that Felic¡¯s ability was absurd and almost impossible to believe. Yet, how could he even reach Sendros¡¯s proficiency? Hutton was an Archmage at his peak. How could he be unaware of the great difference between level-19 and level-20? Not to exaggerate, even if Felic was really a level-19 Archmage, he wouldn¡¯t be able defeat the Legendary powerhouse. This was general knowledge to every mage. How would Adelo sprout such an absurd nonsense?

 Chapter 423 - I Donéˆ¥æª› Believe

    <h4>Chapter 423: I Don¡¯t Believe</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Furthermore, Hutton had personally witnessed the exchange between the two people. Although Felic managed to achieve a draw with Sendros, it was a fact that he had his mental strength drained in the process. If Sendros cast another spell on Felic upon descending from the sky instead of patting his shoulder friendly, that mage should have turned into a corpse by now.

    The difference between level-19 and level-20 was not one that could be bnced out by strong mental strength. This fact should bemon sense to Adelo. How could he spout such a childish nonsense? Could it be that he damaged his brain due to the dangerous journey?

    ¡°Nothing is impossible...¡± Adelo emphasized. He knew that it was difficult to convince Hutton. In hindsight, the happenings in the Scar of Death were so unrealistic that it was hard for himself to believe everything. Hence, Adelo did not insist that Hutton be on the same page as him.

    ¡°At the beginning, my thinking was simr to yours. I thought that a mage aged 20 would not be able to be a hindrance to us, for I could easily pin him down with my abilities. But, my mindset changed shortly after we encountered arge group of Vampires...¡±

    ¡°A group of Vampires? Didn¡¯t teacher Cheyenne tell us that most of the Undead creatures in Scar of Death had already been eliminated?¡±

    ¡°Mentor Cheyenne was wrong,¡± Adelo said as he shook his head. ¡°Throughout these 20 years, the Undead creatures in Scar of Death actually multiplied. It was as if there was a mysterious force that enhanced the abilities of those Undead creatures. The Skeletal Warriors there were around level-8, and the horrifying Vampires we met were level-13...¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Hutton frowned. If those words came from other people, Hutton would ignore it casually, or take a revenge on them for harming Mentor Cheyenne¡¯s credibility. However, when the man before him was Adelo, he could not help but consider those words seriously...

    Adelo started following Mentor Cheyenne since he was a teen. Now that 20 years had passed, his loyalty to Cheyenne had surpassed that of anyone else. He would adhere to anything his mentor say, even if it would cost him his life. Now that he was saying that Mentor Cheyenne was wrong, it meant that he was really wrong...

    However, the thought of level-8 Skeletal Warriors and level-13 Vampires was one that seemed impossible.

    It was not umon for Undead creatures to level up. As long as they could obtain an unlimited supply of soul fire, they would be able to surpass their present capacity and reach the next. For instance, one of the three Skeletal Lords of the Shadowglen rose to where he was from engulfing sufficient soul fire. Yet, how many Skeletal Lords could there be in Anril? Soul fire could strengthen the abilities of ordinary Skeletal Warriors. For one to rise to a Skeletal Lord, it had to engulf many other Undead creatures that were at the same level in the process.

    These Skeletal Lords were lucky enough to have survived to this stage, and thus were one in a million. Hence, how could Adelo be making sense when he said that the entire ce was filled with Undead creatures that had reached the cap of their abilities?

    ¡°Furthermore, apart from Vampires, there were many Death Knights, among which the stronger ones had reached level-18. I thought we were dead... Then, it was Mage Felic who stepped out. He used a level-21 spell and eliminated all the Vampires...¡±

    ¡°Twen... twenty-one?!¡± Hutton eximed in shock.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, level-21, the Eternal Light Spell.¡±

    ¡°I... I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    Hutton felt as though he was turning crazy. It was already absurd enough for a 20 years old mage to reach level-19. Hence, it had to be impossible for him to cast a level-21 spell! Adelo should have suffered a trauma in the Scar of Death to spout such a nonsense. That should be it!

    ¡°I did not believe it at first, but that is the reality. He used the level-21 Eternal Light Spell to eliminate hundreds of Vampires instantaneously, and made a group of Death Knights submit to him. Oh, yes... I forgot to tell you that Mage Felic brought the group of Death Knights out of the Scar of Death as well. Amongst them, the weaker ones are at level-15, and the stronger ones are at level-18...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nasty...¡± Huttonmented as he drew a deep breath.

    ¡°That was what made Vanskore¡¯s attack so foolish. Even if Mage Felic were not to interfere, the group of Death Knights would kill them within 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡°What happened afterwards?¡±

    ¡°We went into that cave, and met a Lich at the spot Mentor Cheyenne talked about. That Lich summoned a Humerus Wyrm there...¡±

    Adelo started to talk about how they discovered the altar, how the Lich fell from the sky, and how surprising the battle was. Along the way, Adelo also answered Hutton¡¯s questions. The recount of his journey in the Scar of Death ended only in thete evening.

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m really shocked. Although we have been together in the Scar of Death for so many days, I still could not judge how powerful he is. He has too many secrets. Every time I thought I knew his background, he would give me a bigger surprise, such as casting a level-21 spell and employing Legendary-realm powers. This makes me start to wonder if there is anything in the world he is not capable of...¡±

    ¡°That is because he hasn¡¯t met someone stronger than him...¡±

    ¡°I know what you want to tell me...¡± Adelo said as he smiled helplessly. He had been with Hutton for more than a decade. How could he not know what was on Hutton¡¯s mind? ¡°Do you think that Mage Felic would have died if Sendros had had the same perspective as you?¡±

    ¡°Could that not be so?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you have only met Sendros, and not the Humerus Wyrm. I saw it with my very own eyes that when I was standing behind Mage Felic. When Sendros descended from the sky, one of Mage Felic¡¯s hands was already on that oilmp, ready to summon the Humerus Wyrm. Yet, the crucial part lies in his other hand. I don¡¯t know where he hid it, but every time he did so, he would create impossible urrences like the level-21 Eternal Light Spell and the sudden appearance of Legendary-realm powers...

    ¡°I dare bet my life that if Sendros had attacked Felic back then, he would¡¯ve been the one to die instead of the mage.¡±

    Hutton remained silent. He stared at Adelo in a daze as though he was trying to figure out Felic¡¯s real identity in his eyes.

    After 10 minutes of silence, Hutton spoke. ¡°Senior Brother, it is not that I do not want to believe you, but what you said sounds really unbelievable. Why don¡¯t you return to Aminya first to speak to Mentor Cheyenne?

    ¡°Oh, yes. Senior Brother, did you suffer an attack from any mental spell when you were in the Scar of Death?¡± Hutton asked in a serious tone.

    ¡°Forget it, I knew you wouldn¡¯t believe me...¡± Adelo said as he shook his head in disappointment. How could he not know what Hutton was implying? By suggesting that he return to Aminya City, it meant that Hutton hoped Adelo would stop interfering with the activities in the ckstone Mountains.

    Adelo did not have a strong objection to it. Furthermore, he nned to hand the Immortal King¡¯s treasure map over to Mentor Cheyenne.

    ¡°I will return to Aminya tomorrow...¡± Adelo replied. ¡°Hutton, please stop going against Mage Felic. Now that Vanskore is dead, and Sendros¡¯s action turned out to be a misunderstanding, I feel that he shouldn¡¯t be greatly offended. If you were to challenge him, I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t give you any chance to regret...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I will be careful,¡± promised Hutton.

    Even without Adelo¡¯s reminder, Hutton had no ns to challenge Felic for the time being. Now that he knew that Sendros had a close-knitted rtionship with that fe, it would be the end for him if he were to enrage that Necromancer in the Legendary-realm.

    There would be a lot of chances for him to deal with that Felic in the future.

    ...

    ¡°That fe wanted to kill you...¡± Sendros spoke in a very casual tone. It was as if the matter was not one which concerned life and death, but a possibility that somebody had the intention to borrow some money.

    ¡°I knew it long ago...¡± Lin Li replied as he pursed his lips unaffectedly.

    One would not expect from their calm expressions that they were discussing something as serious as murder. No one would have expected that the ¡°fe¡± mentioned in their conversation was the first heir of the Malfa Family, the mage with the greatest potential in the Breezy ins, Hutton.

    It could not be helped, though. Sendros¡¯ rationale was different from that of normal people to begin with. To him, this type of things did not deserve to be invested greatly. If Hutton had the intention of challenging Felic, he could just kill him with ease. If the Malfa Family were to show any sign of disapproval, he could also eliminate them in the process.

    As for the small favor he owed Cheyenne, he could repay it easily through other means. It certainly was not as important as Felic¡¯s safety. Sendros knew that Felic was the strongest Pharmacist of Anril in history, and could very well break into the Guru realm within 10 years.

    He was a man born to rewrite the history of pharmacy! The Malfa Family would be nothing inparison to Felic.

 Chapter 424 - Eternal Shrine

    <h4>Chapter 424: Eternal Shrine</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Even if Sendros did not tell him, Lin Li also knew Hutton wanted to kill him. Things were obvious. Vanskore led a group of 300 and went undercover at the border of the Scar of Death. Even if the guards of the Malfa Family were blind and deaf, they would have known that something was wrong. Why didn¡¯t they take any action?

    All in all, it was just that Sir Hutton who did not want to take any responsibility for killing him. His n of making use of somebody to do the deed was great, but that person being Vanskore... was just a bad idea...

    Come to think of it, Sir Hutton was a really calm man. Despite the fact that the advance party returned to the camp quite some time ago already, Hutton never followed up with the team at all. It was as though Hutton had not dispatched any advance party in the first ce.

    When Adelo came over in the afternoon to speak for the Malfa Family, he tried to convince Lin Li that Vanskore had nned the attack all by himself. Of course, Adelo also promised that the Malfa Family would investigate into the situation as soon as possible.

    Lin Li literally turned a deaf ear while Adelo was telling him all those things. He entertained him smilingly and sent him away smilingly. He did not care to wait for any evidence of the mastermind. Did one even need an evidence for something as serious as a murder or an arson?

    Of course, Lin Li did not seek trouble with Hutton after sending Adelo off...

    Lin Li stayed in Sendros¡¯ tent for the entire afternoon. They chatted about magic, pharmacy, and many other things¡ªeverything but the sneak attack that had happened that afternoon. To both the old and the young man, that was a trouble that could be solved easily. It would be a waste of time to talk about that.

    Knowing the mastermind would suffice.

    It was only natural for the two pharmacy talents to discuss pharmacy when they were together. Sendros was not an amateur like Gerian. He¡¯d spent a few decades studying pharmacy, and had be a master in his study. Lin Li secretly admired him for his insightfulments and perspectives. Furthermore, as someone in the Legendary-realm, Sendros could travel everywhere in Anril to broaden his horizons. He was like a living encyclopedia. The thrilling anecdotes and entric pharmaceutical forms shared by him expanded Lin Li¡¯s worldview as well.

    Of course, Sendros gained much more knowledge aspared to Lin Li...

    Despite having less experience than Sendros, as a real guru of pharmacy who mastered all pharmaceutical concepts and forme, his practice had reached the point of near perfection.

    The longer Sendros talked to Lin Li, the more shocked he grew...

    Although he knew that the young man was a genius in pharmacy, it was only after the deep conversation that Sendros realized he had underestimated Lin Li. Not only didplex pharmaceutical information be like a simple math equation to Lin Li, the young man was also able to analyze the principle behind every underrated and umon form and give substantial evidence to back it up.

    In the beginning, Sendros only had intended to discuss knowledge with Lin Li. However, as they conversed, guilt grew within the esteemed pharmaceutical master. By the time the sun set, the casual chat between the old and young man turned into Sendros¡¯ consultation with Lin Li...

    With that, something scary happened in that tent...

    Sendros, who was both a Legendary-mage and a master in pharmacy, became like a disciple who¡¯d just entered the world of pharmacy. He sat upright, and wrote down notes while Lin Li told him about many case studies and usedyman¡¯s terms to describe the mostplex pharmaceutical knowledge.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li¡¯sck of patience made him a brute mentor. When Sendros expressed his doubts in an attempt to rify things, Lin Li would re up at that poor man with coarse words and vulgarities. Sendros was so very ashamed that he did not dare to lift his head despite having lived life for close to a hundred years.

    The terrible thing was, Sendros seemed to have transformed into a masochist. The harsher Lin Li treated him, the more excited he grew. That pallid and corpse-like face actually turned pink due to his excitement. The whole afternoon was just Sendros bombing Lin Li with a lot of questions and frantically taking notes. His gaze resting on Lin Li was feverish beyond description.

    It was good that Sendros¡¯ tent was not a ce anyone would have dared to enter...

    Otherwise, the scene inside would have scared them insane.

    Only Sendros knew how greatly he had benefited that afternoon. Not to exaggerate, the knowledge he¡¯d gained from all theshings from Lin Li was equivalent to 10-year-long research if hepletely retreated from civilization!

    Sendros could not help but ask, ¡°Felic, have you... have you reached the Guru-realm already?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not sure...¡± Lin Li patronized Sendros¡¯ query.

    ¡°It has to be the Guru-realm...¡± Sendros did not know Lin Li was so wicked, lying to him when he had been scolding him for the entire afternoon.

    Of course, Sendros could not help believing him, either. It was an extremely honorable achievement to be able to break into the Guru-realm. Their names would be recorded in history and mentioned even after a thousand years. To Sendros, no Pharmacist in the world would reject such noble recognition. Hence, Sendros believed Lin Li when thetter said he was unsure about his progress. Sendros even tried to help that wicked man n his career growth.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you visit the Darkness Shrine when you are free? I have a few rare Guru-level pharmacy forme there. If you have the ability to create those potions, you are going to rock the entire Anril World...¡±

    ¡°A pharmaceutics guru is all it takes to rock the entire Anril World?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that a few centuries passed since a pharmaceutics guru appeared in Anril World...?¡± Sendros nced at Lin Li suspiciously. ¡°If you could really reach that realm, you would be the first pharmaceutics guru in several centuries. Wouldn¡¯t that rm the whole Anril?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. If I have the time, I¡¯ll head to Darkness Shrine,¡± Lin Li agreed readily; this was indeed his first time knowing about the prestige of a pharmaceutics guru.

    As he had not met any pharmaceutics guru previously, Lin Li used to think that it was because the Pharmacist Guild had a low standard. With Anril being a very huge piece ofnd, who would know where a Guru-level Pharmacist hid? Now that Sendros told him that, Lin Li finally knew that it was because a Guru had not appeared for a few centuries.

    It was no wonder that those old men at the Pharmacist Guild treated him like a Buddha despite their high status.

    It seemed that the pharmacy standard in Anril was lower than he had imagined.

    Although he was not sure whether there were any Divine Smiths in the Dark Age, he knew the only way for him to progress to that level was to use the rare historic treatises from the Dark Age. As pharmaceutical concepts were created by the High Elves, Lin Li was sure that there were plenty of pharmaceutics gurus in the Dark Age. Out of the 10 Gurus mentioned the historical records, one was Osric...

    ¡°But...¡± Sendros paused and smiled. ¡°If you really break into the Guru-realm, you can gain some benefits from the Brilliance Shrine...¡±

    ¡°Brilliance Shrine?¡± Lin Li was confused why Sendros would mention the Brilliance Shrine. Then, he remembered the matter Englos told him about during his presidential ceremony. ¡°You mean the viper¡¯s poison the Pope suffers from?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It seems that Englos has told you about it long ago...¡±

    ¡°He only mentioned it briefly during the presidential ceremony. I¡¯m not very sure what it is about.¡±

    ¡±The reality is actually very simple. Very long ago, this Pope identally got infected with the viper¡¯s poison. He would have died if not for the constant support from the force of divine. The Brilliance Shrine has been searching for a pharmaceutics guru who has the ability to cure the viper¡¯s poison. They even promised a huge reward...¡±

    ¡°What reward?¡±

    ¡°A request. A request that does not go against the teachings of the Holy Light...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li was speechless. He felt that the Brilliance Shrine had put too much importance on the matter. He could easily think of over 10 requests that would not go against the teachings of the shrine. He would be able to gain great benefits from any one of them...

    ¡°Felic, please remember what I am going to tell you now...¡± While saying that, Sendros¡¯ expression became very grave and a little bit devout. ¡°If you were to rid Pope of the viper¡¯s poison one day, please request the Pope to hand the Helios¡¯ Scepter to you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± asked Lin Li. He did not expect that.

    ¡°That¡¯s because there is a secret within the Helios¡¯ Scepter. It is a secret only known to the High Priests. Don¡¯t you wonder why the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine would know the secret of the Brilliance Shrine?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, indeed...¡±

    ¡°The reason is very simple. That¡¯s because there was no Darkness Shrine or Brilliance Shrine 1300 years ago. There was only the Eternal Shrine!¡±

 Chapter 425 - Reincarnation of Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 425: Reincarnation of Darkness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Eternal Shrine?¡± Lin Li frowned upon hearing the familiar name. <i>I must have heard about this before...</i>

    <i>Oh, yes. Jarrosus...</i>

    When he was in the dungeon of the Merlin Family, the middle-aged man who had given him a lot of help once held his hand and requested that he bring Ina to the Eternal Shrine to meet her mother.

    <i>That¡¯s right. It is that Eternal Shrine...</i>

    Apart from that, the middle-age man gave him half of a crossbow bolt, and said that it was the only clue to find the Eternal Shrine. However, Lin Li had not gathered much information despite having asked many people about the bolt.

    ¡°That¡¯s another secret. A secret that no one hope to believe. Almost everyone in the whole Anril thought that the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine had been created only after the fall of the High Elves Dynasty...¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that so?¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Sendros shook his head. ¡°But, there wouldn¡¯t be more than 10 who know about this secret in this world. Even for me, I only know it after bing the High Priest.

    ¡°Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine were initially part of the Eternal Shrine. The only difference now is that one subscribes to the Holy Light, while the other the Gloomy Darkness...¡±

    ¡°What the f*ck...?!¡± Lin Li could not help but turn vulgar after hearing the thousand-year secret.

    ¡°It might sound surprising, but if you think about it, don¡¯t you realize both the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine already had their teachings from the first day they were established? That¡¯s against thew of nature. It is impossible for any teaching to be established in a single day, not to mention radical teachings that the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine subscribe to...¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to tell me that the teachings of the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine were... from the Eternal Shrine?¡± Lin Li said as he swallowed his saliva. He restrained himself from saying the word ¡°copied¡±.

    Sendros¡¯ words were too shocking. Lin Li could not help but look at Sendros in a different light. <i>Damn, why didn¡¯t I notice his daring personality in the past? He actually dares to share his skepticism about the two great shrines like that?</i>

    It was lucky that he was a mage. If the devotees of the shrine were to hear such a criticalment, they would flip the table. Had Sendros been so blunt with his words during the Prehistoric Age, he would have been burnt by fire!

    ¡°Copied.¡±

    Just when Lin Li was still bbergasted, Sendros said the word without batting an eyelid. That was the word Lin Li did not dare to say...

    ¡°You have to be crazy...¡± Lin Li replied as he rolled his eyes.

    ¡°That was not originally said by me...¡± After saying that notorious word, ¡®copied¡¯, Sendros did not seem to have any sense of guilt. ¡°The writings of the Darkness Shrine state very clearly that brilliance and darkness originated from the eternal, hence they belong to the eternal. That is not a shameful secret. Besides me, all of the High Priests of the Darkness Shrine knew about it. I presume that the Archbishops of Brilliance Shrine should know it too...¡±

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the use of telling me such a huge secret? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll spill the beans when I dream?¡±

    Sendros smiled. Then he looked at Lin Li for a period of time. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m certain that you are the Reincarnation of Darkness as prophesized...¡±

    ¡°What type of darn prophecy is that...?¡±

    ¡°That is a prophecy only known to the High Priests. It had been recorded in the writings of the Darkness Shrine. I can let you have a look when you are free to visit. The record says that one day the Reincarnation of Darkness will bring the most powerful force of darkness to Anril...¡±

    ¡°What has it got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Of course it does have something...¡± Sendros replied with a calm smile. ¡°Do you still remember the exchange between us this afternoon? You exerted a massive Dark Force...¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Lin Li mumbled. He knew where the problem had gone wrong. It was true that he used the force of Gloomy Dark that afternoon, but it was to hide the Humerus Wyrm from Sendros. Or else, how would he even be able to hide that gigantic wyrm from a Legendary-realm powerhouse?

    Did his unfulfilled n turn him into a Reincarnation of Darkness instead?

    But, thinking about it, it made sense too. The force of Gloomy Dark was extremely pure. It indeed could bebelled as the deepest of darkness in the world...

    However, Lin Li did not want to be the Reincarnation of Darkness at all...

    Why did he have to be the Reincarnation of Darkness? As a Master Pharmacist who was on good terms with both of the shrines, he could reveal his identity as the pharmaceutics guru whenever he felt like it. He could rid the Pope of his viper¡¯s poison and turn himself into the great benefactor of the Brilliance Shrine whenever he wanted as well. At that time, they would not dare to give him a moon if he were to request a star.

    How could the job of the Reincarnation of Darkness be so easy? The Brilliance Shrine was not as forgiving as they seemed. They might have the ability to maintain a good rtionship between the Archbishops and the Bishops, but wouldn¡¯t the devotees go mad and provoke another grand battle? He would not know what to do at that time...

    ¡°Goddammit, why am I so unlucky...?¡±

    ¡°You will think differently after hearing me out...¡± Sendros said calmly. Having known Lin Li for such a long time, how would Sendros not know his personality? To put it nicely, the best word to describe Lin Li was ¡®pragmatic¡¯. Benefit was the only thing that could move him. ¡°You have to know that in the scriptures of the Darkness Shrine, the identity of the Reincarnation of Darkness is the most honorable and respected. Even the three High Priests would have to adhere to your wishes...¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do you mean I can make the people from the Darkness Shrine resolve any trouble for me?¡± Lin Li said as his eyes lit up. That was a reaction Sendros had expected.

    ¡°Of course...¡±

    ¡°Very good. From today onwards, I am the Reincarnation of Darkness!¡± Lin Li said excitedly with all righteousness he could muster. His mood had changed faster than one could flip the pages of a book. Then, he shamelessly added, ¡°Oh, yes. If you were to meet Englos, please help me ask if the Brilliance Shrine needs any reincarnation too. I am willing to join their side as well...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sendros was beyond speechless. Although he was a man with a good temperament, he nearly burst due to a heart attack upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words.

    <i>Damn, how can a man be so shameless?</i>

    After that spell of narcissism, something struck Lin Li. ¡°Oh, yes. Did you say that I could request help from the Darkness Shrine if I were to have any problem? I just remembered that I needed some help. Sendros, can you help me think of a way to solve it?¡±

    ¡°What trouble?¡±

    ¡°I want to get rid of a Crimson Python as soon as possible...¡±

    ¡°Crimson Python?¡± Sendros froze. ¡°Isn¡¯t a Crimson Python a level-18 magical beast? Why do you need my help when you have the ability to get rid of it very easily yourself?¡±

    ¡°That is a level-20 Crimson Python.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it has been mutated...¡± Sendros understood Lin Li¡¯s concerns immediately.

    ¡°What do you think? Are you going to help me?¡±

    ¡°When do you n to set off?¡±

    ¡°As soon as possible. This Crimson Python is very important. I don¡¯t want the Malfa Family to get there before I do.¡±

    ¡°It is toote today. The sky is really dark now. If we were to barge into the nest of the Crimson Python, I¡¯m afraid it might be dangerous. Why don¡¯t we do it tomorrow afternoon?¡± After saying that, Sendros gazed curiously at Lin Li. ¡°Why is the Crimson Python important to you? It is not like you need the Legendary magical crystal...¡±

    Lin Li stared at Sendros. It was only once he saw the guilt in the eyes of the Legendary-mage that he asked, ¡°Have you forgotten what you just learnt? How many times did I tell you that in the nests of legendary beasts¡ªespecially those that turned into Legendary creatures due to mutation¡ªthere is a high chance for rare herbs to grow? For example, two mutated Crimson Pythons would spur the growth of the Dragon¡¯s Tongue. If we have the Dragon¡¯s Tongue, ck lotus, and the fruit of Moana tree, we would be able to create a Legendary-level Rune Potion. I presume you know the effects of the Rune Potion.¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡±

    In the whole Anril World, Sendros and Lin Li had to be the only pair of senior and junior who shared such an extraordinary rtionship. Despite all the harsh condemnations, the Legendary-mage was not a bit angered by the young man. Instead, he took out his notebook and scribbled down all the words he heard.

    ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯m returning to Ledin Kingdom after we settle that Crimson Python. The descent of the Reincarnation of Darkness is extremely important to us. I have to go back to announce this crucial information. If you need anything, you can send people to Darkness Shrine to look for me.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Hey, don¡¯t forget to help me tell Englos that I am really willing to join their side if they need a reincarnation too!¡±

 Chapter 426 - Blueprints of the Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 426: Blueprints of the Sky Castle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Naturally, the ones who returned from the Scar of Death were treated differently. The four of them from the Tower of Dusk were each assigned a spacious andfortable tent. While it could notpare to the one that Sendros stayed in, it was vastly different from what the other adventurers enjoyed.

    The four tents were all at the edge of the campsite. They were about a dozen meters apart from each other, neither too far apart nor too close together¡ªclearly all Adelo¡¯s doing. The sun had just set, and the bustle had yet to die down at the campsite. The adventurers gathered around the campfires as they drank and ate, chatting with old friends and new acquaintances.

    However, not one of them dared to go near the four tents at the edge of the campsite, as they were closely guarded by 20 Death Knights who were dressed in ck armor and armed with des, looking like statues. The chilly death aura they gave out could be felt from a distance, and thus not a single adventurer was willing to bother them.

    Even the braver ones only stared from a distance before talking about it with their friends...

    Their conversations did not differ much in content¡ªLin Li and the rest who came back from the Scar of Death had been a popr topic of discussion ever since they returned. The adventurers discussed their origins, why they were given such exceptional treatment, and how powerful the ck-armored Death Knights were. So diverse was the range of topics that it could have beenpiled into a book.

    Meanwhile, the main topic of their discussion was now wrapped in a nket as he studied the map on the table.

    It was the treasure map of the Immortal King. Lin Li had been studying it fervently ever since he returned from Sendros¡¯ ce.

    Lin Li was someone who had seen many things, but after studying it for a good part of the day, he could barely even recognize the material the map was made of. It was delicate and smooth, and was neither paper nor leather, but not silk, either. The map was squarish and about a meter in length. There were streets and houses depicted on it¡ªas far as he could tell, it was a city he had never seen before. Apart from the pictures, the map was covered in fine High Elves Print, and it looked like there had to be at least 10,000 words.

    The High Elves Print was known for being simple and concise; hence, manyplicated spells had to be cast using High Elves Print. If it were done using everyday speech, even chanting the spell would take days, and the mage would have died from exhaustion before the magic was even released...

    One could only imagine how much content 10,000 words of High Elves Print contained. When Lin Li saw the map covered in fine print, he was shocked, and thought that he had hit the jackpot. Who knew how many secrets he¡¯d uncover after reading it all...

    But after reading it closely, he immediately cried foul.

    ¡°Damn it, is this a joke...?¡±

    There were thousands and thousands of High Elves Print words, but none of it made any sense...

    <i>T-t-this... This is simply incorrigible!</i>

    Which bastard came up with this damned treasure map that was covered in thousands and thousands of High Elves Print words? It would take half a day to even copy it down, yet there was not even aprehensible sentence in the lot¡ªnot even a clue as to how the words were connected...

    Lin Li did not believe that it was entirely iprehensible at first, and was determined to uncover the hidden message. Unfortunately, that did not end well, as he had only managed to decipher the meaning of a fewmonly used words after spending half a night on it.

    That was how the High Elves Print worked¡ªthere was only a few hundred words in the whole vocabry, but each word had a different meaning depending on where it was used. In the case of the treasure map, there were thousands and thousands of words, but not a singleplete sentence. Even if a true High Elf was present, he would not fare much better than Lin Li.

    After a torturous night, Lin Li decided to give up, and tossed the High Elves Print he had scribbled down aside as he decided to focus on studying the drawing on the map.

    After working on something else, Lin Li finally made a small breakthrough as he realized that the city depicted on the map seemed to differ from an average city. Theyout of the city was overlyplex as it waspletely unnecessary in some ces, but it seemed as though someone had insisted on building streets in a certain location even if it resulted in having to walk all the way around the city when the ce they were heading to was only a few steps away.

    Of course, not all the streets were like that as it was only a few of them on the outskirts. However, Lin Li still realized the importance of it.

    <i>Could it be that these streets signify something?</i>

    Lin Li stared at the map for a long time before he suddenly discovered that there were quite a few towers in this city, and the strange winding streets linked all the towers together.

    ¡°My God, Conquering Mageweath!¡± Lin Li pped his hands as he suddenly recalled a Guru-level mageweath...

    That was right, there were 36 towers on this map, and they coincided with the 36 magic nodes of the Conquering Mageweath, while these strange intersecting streets formed a perfect magic circuit. If there was a source of mana as well, this would be a huge Conquering Mageweath!

    Even amongst Guru-level mageweaths, the Conquering Mageweath was at the top. The Inscribers in the Endless World even had a saying that if onepletely mastered the Conquering Mageweath, they would be able to touch a trace of the realm of the Divine Smith. Of course, that was an exaggeration¡ªLin Li had alreadypletely mastered the Conquering Mageweath, but he still knew nothing about the realm of the Divine Smith.

    However, this still went to show how important the Conquering Mageweath was in the hearts of Inscribers.

    The Conquering Mageweath wasmonly used in magical weapons¡ªin the extremely powerful ones, at that. For instance, when Lin Li got ahold of the Stars of Fury in the Well of the Sun, he had personally drawn a Conquering Mageweath on it, thanks to which the power of the Stars of Fury was intensified to an extreme. Not only did its attackse with all kinds of magical attributes, it even allowed the Stars of Fury tobine with Lin Li as one so that Lin Li would be able to tap into its power anytime, anywhere. When the Conquering Mageweath was activated, Lin Li was the Stars of Fury, and the Stars of Fury was Lin Li...

    Lin Li was basically invincible then...

    But even the invincible Lin Li had never thought of using the Conquering Mageweath in a city...

    This was an insane n. When the Conquering Mageweath was magnified and drawn in a town, every resident of the town would be able tobine themselves with the town and tap into its power anytime they wanted to. What kind of a concept was that?

    It was way scarier than a Lin Li who held the Stars of Fury...

    The Conquering Mageweath had a peculiar feature¡ªtherger the area it spanned, the more powerful it was. This was because the Conquering Mageweath was drawn using Wyrm¡¯s blood, and the blood of the Wyrm itself was filled with terrifying power. Hence, the more Wyrm¡¯s blood was used, the more powerful the Conquering Mageweath was.

    It was not an exaggeration to say that this Conquering Mageweath was capable of making every resident a living deity...

    ¡°What a lunatic...¡± Lin Li stared wide-eyed at the map in his hands. This was something that only a lunatic coulde up with. Looking at these intersecting streets and the 36 towers, even over 100 Wyrms would barely suffice if they all required Wyrm¡¯s blood...

    In other words, hundreds of Wyrms would have to be killed in order to build a city like that...

    What kind of concept was that? Even during the prehistoric times when the Titans and Wyrms ruled over Anril, 100 Wyrms would have been a formidable force, one powerful enough to tear open the sky!

    Moreover, the amount of mana required for the Conquering Mageweath to operate was beyond what Lin Li could imagine. How many Legendary magical crystals were needed to form the source of mana?

    What was the Eternal Furnacepared to a city like that? The life¡¯s work of Osric was merely a toy in front of such a city. As for Lin Li¡¯s Tower of Dusk, it was nowhere near a toy, but more like a negligible speck of dust in the air...

    This city would be invulnerable if it was ever built.

    <i>Wait, unsinkable? </i>When he thought of this Lin Li drew a breath of cold air.

    Wasn¡¯t the Sky Castle supposed to be invulnerable?

    In the distant Dark Ages, the High Elves hadbined forces to build seven Sky Castles and ruled over the whole of Anril from them. Nobody knew how many attempts to take down the Sky Castles had been easily foiled over the long and gloomy era. It was only 1,300 yearster, when the others could no longer stand the cruel rule of the High Elves, that they started a war, with the humans leading the rest. Six of the once ¡°invulnerable¡± Sky Castles fell, leaving thest remaining one lost between the cracks of time and space...

    Lin Li¡¯s hands trembled as he held the map as he stared closely at every building in the city. Time passed, but Lin Li felt more and more emotional as he looked¡ªit was truly a miraculous city, and the wisdom of the High Elves was perfectly evident in it. Architecture, Alchemy, Epigraphy, Engineering, and Forging... almost every form of art was expressed in this city, the out-of-the-box thinking and the raw talent of them easily apparent. This city could only be described as miraculous.

    This was only what Lin Li could gather from the map¡ªthe true Sky Castle was probably worlds apart from this.

    ¡°I understand now...¡± Lin Li finally put down the map after an entire hour as he had finally understood this time.

    The Immortal King¡¯s treasure was hidden in the final Sky Castle.

    SIx Sky Castles had fallen during that war, but even after the war had ended, there was no news of the treasure. It was a war that took the whole Anril by storm, and nothing was spared from it¡ªnot even a Three-eyed Demon Wolf living in a ditch...

    A war of that caliber had no secrets to speak of, as every minute detail would be recorded down in history, much less the Immortal King¡¯s treasure! Even the God of Mages Geresco was unable to hide the fact that he had taken it for himself.

    In the end, thest Sky Castle fell through the cracks between time and space with the Immortal King¡¯s treasure in it. That was the only logical exnation...

    ¡°This is it, this is it...¡± Lin Li paced around the tent uncontrobly after setting down the map on the table as he repeated the same thing to himself over and over again.

    This map was worth far more than the Immortal King¡¯s treasure to Lin Li.

    This was because Lin Li knew that the map on table was the blueprint of thest Sky Castle!

    After all, however precious it was, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was merely an intangible existence. Even if one found enough clues to lead them to it, they would still have to enter the cracks between time and space in order to have a chance to look for thest Sky Castle. That was the realm of the spirits, and even if someone from the Sanctuary-realm forced their way in, they would be shredded instantly due to the distortion.

    The blueprint of the Sky Castle was much more practical inparison. It was tangible, after all, and given enough time and resources, he might even be able to build another Sky Castle based on this blueprint!

    Of course, it would be unimaginably difficult...

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, building another Sky Castle would not be much less challenging than to enter the crack between time and space.

    FIrst of all, it was going to take too long...

    The High Elves prided themselves on being living gods and the most perfect beings in the whole of Anril, but even they had taken more than a thousand years to build seven Sky Castles.

    <i>Let me see how long it¡¯s going to take if it was me... </i>Lin Li looked at his fingers and his toes beforeing to a conclusion that it would be better if he just used his hair to count...

    Then there was the problem of procuring materials. Everything else aside, just the fact that it required the blood of a hundred Wyrms would be enough to drive anyone from the Sanctuary-realm insane.

    But to Lin Li, the worse thing was that the blueprint in his hands was notplete...

    If he guessed correctly, the High Elves Print also included instructions for constructing the Sky Castle apart from clues about thest Sky Castle.

    Unfortunately, the person who crafted the map was some lunatic who scattered the most crucial content. Lin Li could hardly even piece together a sentence, much less find the way to build a Sky Castle!

    Indeed, this blueprint was filled with all kinds of ws like taking too long, requiring insane materials to build, and also missing keywords. It was impossible to build a Sky Castle based on it.

    But even then, the blueprint was immeasurably valuable to Lin Li.

    This was because Lin Li himself was a miraculous existence, the only one in the world who was a Guru of all five trades. There was a lot that Lin Li could gain from this iplete blueprint, and while he would not be able to recreate the glory of the Sky Castle, there were many aspects that could be applied in the Tower of Dusk and even to the Eternal Furnace. Even 10% of the skills would be sufficient to make the Tower of Dusk and the Eternal Furnace unmatched in the Breezy ins.

    Of course, Lin Li was probably the only one in the whole Anril who had the ability to make use of the blueprint as the skills needed to build the Sky Castle were too advanced. Almost every aspect was at least at the Guru-level, and the areas involved spanned from Inscription to Architecture to Alchemy and Metallurgy. Any of them would require a lifetime of studying for anyone else, so who else besides Lin Li who was naturally a Guru in all these aspects would be able to showcase the skills needed to build the Sky Castle?

    Hence, Lin Li was not worried about the Malfa Family at all. So what if Adelo made a copy of the blueprint? They would find themselves on one hell of a ride trying to figure out the Conquering Mageweath, much less make use of the skills on this blueprint. Which one of them was beneath Guru-level?

    If there¡¯d been such an able figure in the Malfa Family, Cheyenne would not have foolishly been injured at the altar all those years ago...

    Then again, if the Malfa Family had such a figure, Lin Li would not mind working with them, either, as this blueprint was an endless treasure, and it would be better to enjoy it with someone than to spend his entire life working on it. There was a limit to how powerful one person could be, after all.

    Of course, he would have to ensure that the Malfa Family would listen to him before he decided to work with them...

    Besides, the High Elves Print here was the most crucial, and he had to find a way to decipher it¡ªeven a few words would be great. He would be able to uncover more advanced skills with just those few words.

    ¡°Seems like I will have to pay Teacher a visit. I wonder how are his pharmaceutical skills now...¡± Lin Li mumbled to himself while he carefully rolled up the blueprint lying on the table before cing it back in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    When this was done, the sky had just begun to brighten, and Lin Li finally felt sleeping. Thus, he wrapped himself in the nket and fell asleep at the table.

    He was woken up by the sound of frantic footsteps the next day.

 Chapter 427 - Black Front Fortress

    <h4>Chapter 427: ck Front Fortress</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li only realized that there was hardly anyone left in the campsite after he got up and looked around. Besides the Death Knights who continued to stand guard where they were, there were only a few adventurers who had overslept just like he did, now hurriedly packing up their things. From their panicked expressions, it seemed as though there was danger knocking at their doors.

    ¡°I... I¡¯ve been stood up!¡± Lin Li understood what had happened the minute he saw how empty the ce was.

    Young Master Hutton of the Malfa Family was a rare talent indeed. He knew when to let things go when needed, which was exactly what he did to Lin Li and Sendros the minute he realized that things had spiraled out of his control. There was not an ounce of hesitation, and while it left the other bewildered, they could not help but to admire him for it too.

    After all, it was not only Lin Li that he left behind, but Sendros too. How many would be willing to leave behind someone as powerful as Sendros? Sendros could probably deal with anything in the ckstone Mountains besides ck Dragon that was said to have been trapped at the peak.

    But Hutton was willing to...

    Lin Li could probably guess what Hutton was thinking¡ªthey had all started holding a grudge against each other from the moment Vanskore struck, and while Lin Li had yet to strike, who knew if he would not do so in the future? Keeping him in the Malfa Family¡¯s team was like carrying around a ticking time bomb. Besides, Lin Li¡¯s rtionship with Sendros meant that if he chose to strike, Sendros would definitely help him. By then, it would be toote for Hutton to regret.

    But, if he left both of them behind, the situation would take on a different turn. It was like taking on a stance of sorts, one that showed he was backing off and saying ¡°alright, alright, it was wrong of me to let Vanskore ambush you yesterday, and I have realized my mistake. I can¡¯t afford to offend you, and now I¡¯m going to avoid you, so please forgive me for my mistake¡±...

    Hutton had given him a way out¡ªif Lin Li did not want to ruin his rtionship with the Malfa Family entirely, he would drop this matter. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable of him...

    It would seem as though Hutton had suffered a huge loss giving up someone as powerful as Sendros, but in hindsight, he had in fact made a huge gain. He removed two ticking time bombs from the team before any danger eventuated, and even used it as an opportunity to apologize and reconcile such that they would be too embarrassed to bring it up even when they met in the future.

    This Young Master Hutton was something else indeed. He was much better than those who did not know when to put a stop to something, or worse, the fools whoughed unaware that they were facing imminent danger.

    ¡°Oh well, I will let it slide on Cheyenne¡¯s ount...¡± Lin Liughed and shook his head. Since Hutton had already gone so far as to avoid any conflict, it would not be nice of him to pursue it further. The Tower of Dusk had just established itself in the Breezy ins; it was not wise to offend a Legendary-mage so early on.

    Just as he was thinking of sending a few Death Knights to wake Ujfalusi and the rest, Sendros suddenly walked into his tent with Rina, Norfeller, Ujfalusi, and the rest behind him. The old man stared coldly at the campsite, and started exining before Lin Li could even open his mouth to speak.

    ¡°They left in the morning. Your men wanted to wake you, but I stopped them. The Tower of Dusk has just been established, and there are other things you should do than fight it out with Cheyenne. That is no wise thing to do.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hm, I understand.¡±

    ¡°Right, the Crimson Python...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go now!¡± Lin Li did not hesitate at all. He was alright with letting Hutton off, and he did not care for the Crimson Python¡¯s magical crystal, either. When it came to the Dragon¡¯s Tongue, however, he was hell-bent on getting it!

    A stalk of Dragon¡¯s Tongue could be used to concoct 10 bottles of Rune Potion. If used well, it could produce 10 Archmages at once. What did that mean? It meant that the meager manpower of the Tower of Dusk could be doubled!

    The five of them packed their things and led the 18 Death Knights out of the empty campsite. Sendros seemed to be in a good mood as they traveled, and even discussed Necromagic with Ujfalusi. One of them was a Legendary-level Necromancer, while the other had once been a level-20 Lich, so both of them stood at the peak of Necromagic in the whole of Anril. Naturally, there was much for them to talk about.

    Lin Li took the Crystal ball that solidified the Warlock¡¯s Eyes from his pocket, and gave an order to another team from the Tower of Dusk. They were to get to the Crimson Python¡¯s nest before noon to meet with him.

    ¡°Right. Felic, where did you get these Death Knights from?¡± After chatting with Ujfalusi for a while, Sendros suddenly became interested in the 18 Death Knights who led the way in front of them.

    ¡°I summoned them in the Scar of Death. There were over 30 of them at first, but we¡¯ve met with battles, and now there is about half of them left...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity indeed, but you¡¯re lucky anyway...¡± Sendros¡¯s voice wasced with a tinge of envy. ¡°I wanted to summon a group of them, but a pity that these guys are too stubborn, and would not listen to anybody but the Retribution Knight, even disregarding the hierarchy rules of Undead creatures...¡±

    ¡°Why would you do that? These fellows look menacing, but they are only mediocre in terms of abilities. You¡¯re a Legendary-mage. What is there that you cannot do? They would only drag you down...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t belittle them, they may not be high in level like the group you have here¡ªthe highest is probably level-18, while the lowest is perhaps level-15¡ªand they may not be as useful as Humerus Wyrm in battle, but don¡¯t forget, they were powerful Warriors and Knights when they were alive, and have the ability to evolve. They have much more to gain from swallowing soul fires than other Undead creatures. You have 18 of them now, right? If you allow them to swallow soul fire as they please, you might even end up with 18 Retribution Knights...¡±

    ¡°R-Retribution Knights?¡± Lin Li stared nkly. That was like having 18 Legendary powerhouses who would never betray him! With them, he could basically rule over the whole Anril...

    Of course, that was likely to be an arduous endeavor as the process of evolving by consuming soul fire for Undead creatures was one that could drive anyone insane. Even if what Sendros said was true¡ªthat the Death Knights had far more to gain from consuming soul fire than other Undead creatures¡ªhow much more could they stand to gain? Even if it was 10 times more...

    From his calction, even if it was the level-18 Death Knight he was speaking of, and he evolved 10 times faster than other Undead creatures, he would still have to consume 1000 level-15 corpses to reach level-19. Of course, if there was a chance that he could consume a Humerus Wyrm, there was a possibility that he could surpass level-19. But, how many Humerus Wyrms were there in Anril for him to consume?

    However, just because the process was tedious, it did not mean that it was impossible, as given enough time and enough Undead creatures, these Death Knight would all definitely be Retribution Knights.

    That was the scariest part. Most mages would never surpass the Legendary-realm, as they were confined by their talent. No matter how much they tried, there was no way they could break into the Legendary-realm even if they could live forever, and that was the biggest difference separating them from Death Knights...

    If what Sendros said was true, then these 18 Death Knights were all geniuses who could break into the Legendary-realm...

    <i>I-i-isn¡¯t this too big of a joke?</i>

    ¡°You think I¡¯m joking with you? Death Knights are the most unusual existence amongst Undead creatures. Just go flip through the books yourself. You think the Retribution Knights of Anril simply appeared out of nowhere? It is only through endless battles and endless consuming that they may be Retribution Knights...¡±

    ¡°However, there were merely a dozen or so Retribution Knights throughout the entire history of Anril...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because there can only be one Retribution Knight amongst the Death Knights, and when that one Retribution Knight appears, all the other Death Knights will give up on their evolution. They will give up all the power they derive from consuming soul fire to that one Retribution Knight, and that is why every Retribution Knight to ever appear in Anril has been terrifyingly powerful...¡±

    When Sendros got to this, he sighed with envy. ¡°That is why I said you¡¯re lucky. You now haveplete control over these 18 Death Knights, and you¡¯re the only Retribution Knight to them. Even if the real Retribution Knight appears, they will still listen to you. Moreover, you can allow them to continue consuming and evolving, and one day, you¡¯ll have a scary teamprised of Retribution Knights...¡±

    ¡°That day seems pretty far away...¡±

    ¡°Of course, before that happens, you have another problem to solve.¡± It seemed as though Sendros did not hear Lin Li¡¯sints as he continued in his rough voice. ¡°When one of them nears level-20, you should be careful. The Death Knights will be able to sense that one of them is about to break through, and will try to stop it from happening. You might have to face a true Retribution Knight and his army of thousands of Death Knights then...¡±

    ¡°...¡± After Sendros said that, Lin Li nearly suffered a heart attack.

    A level-20 Retribution Knight and his army of thousands of Death Knights? Even the Legendary Sendros would run away in fear, so how was he going to face them?

    Thank goodness this was all far away in the future as the most powerful Death Knight he had was only level-18. Who knew when he would consume enough soul fire to reach level-20? If Lin Li was unlucky and could not live to Andoine¡¯s age, he might not even live to see the Retribution Knight appear.

    ¡°If you can summon a Retribution Knight, that will be even more perfect as the Death Knights will be twice as powerful with a Retribution Knight leading them...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li rolled his eyes at that as he thought how this fellow could speak with no qualms at all. <i>Even summoning a group of Death Knights almost cost me my life, how am I going to summon a Retribution Knight? Why don¡¯t you do it instead?</i>

    ¡°Right...¡± Sendros was particrly helpful today¡ªcould it be the Death Knights? After he closely reminded Lin Li what he should look out for, he reached into his pockets, retrieved a sheepskin map, and gave it to him. ¡°This is the blueprint for a ck Front Fortress, take it...¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a ck Front Fortress?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a campsite specifically designed for Death Knights. You¡¯re a President, after all, and your actions will be closely watched. These 18 Death Knights will attract too much attention, so you cannot ce them at the Tower of Dusk. My suggestion is that you build a ck Front Fortress near the Tower of Dusk and leave them there. The good thing about it is that it can convert mana into Death aura, and will strengthen the Death Knights while speeding up their absorption of soul fire.¡±

    Lin Li scratched his head, and asked, ¡°Why are you suddenly so nice to me..?¡± He knew what Sendros was like, after all, and while they were always on good terms, he was never like today, giving him advice voluntarily and even gifting him something as valuable as the blueprint of a ck Front Fortress.

    This was not a blueprint of any random ck Front Fortress, but one that could convert mana into Death aura, and would be useful for any Undead creature, not just Death Knights. The extent to which a Necromancer could use this was unimaginable, so why would Sendros give it to him?

    ¡°I dug this out from a grave, and have kept it for over 30 years. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to summon real Death Knights, so it has merely been lying around. Since you¡¯re lucky and were able to summon so many Death Knights, I¡¯ll give it to you as a gift...¡±

    ...

    As they left the campsite, they hardly met with any trouble... Of course, nothing much could be considered trouble for Sendros. When they encountered magical beasts, he did not even lift his finger, and merely summoned Undead creatures to tear them into pieces.

    After they scaled another mountain, Lin Li retrieved the map from his pocket.

    They were very close to the Crimson Python¡¯s nest. Judging from the map, it was at most another two hours of travel left.

    Just as he wanted to let the team rest, the crystal ball in his pocket started letting out violent magical waves.

    Lin Li hurriedly retrieved the crystal ball from his pocket, and saw a flustered Gavin appear.

    ¡°Gavin, what is it?¡± Lin Li knew Gavin well¡ªhe was always calm and cautious, and never looked this flustered no matter what happened.

    ¡°P-President Felic, we were attacked!¡±

    ¡°Who was it?¡±

    ¡°My apologies, President Felic, we have no idea...¡±

    ¡°Tell me what exactly happened.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s like this, President Felic...¡± Gavin panted heavily before he started recounting what¡¯d happened.

    It was nothingplicated, actually. Gerian and Gavin had led the mages of the Tower of Dusk quickly to the Crimson Python¡¯s nest as Lin Li instructed them to do. However, they soon realized that there were other adventurers there as well.

    This was not something strange, as magical beasts roamed the ckstone Mountains, and it naturally was a ce adventurers came to seek wealth. Hence, both Gerian and Gavin did not pay much attention to them, and merely sent a magical signal as a greeting as per the usual practice of adventurers.

    Who knew that that would be the start of a tragedy.

    Before anyone had time to react, numerous magical attacks and arrows came flying towards them and injured a dozen mages there and then. Luckily, Gerian and Gavin realized something was amiss, and immediately ordered the group to flee, thus avoiding further casualties.

    ¡°Who in the world would dare do that?¡± Lin Li almost burst out in anger upon hearing that.

    His own mages, attacked by a group of adventurers somewhere less than a two-hour journey away from him!

    ¡°No... No idea.¡±

    ¡°Never mind, as long as nobody¡¯s dead, that¡¯s all that matters. Find a ce to hide and don¡¯t fight with them for now. Wait till I¡¯m there before doing anything else.¡± After rushing through his instructions for Gavin, Lin Li shoved the crystal ball back into his pocket, and turned to face Sendros. ¡°The rest from the Guild met with some trouble, we have to hurry over there.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Following Lin Li¡¯s orders, Ujfalusi conjured up a Levitation Spell, while Norfeller turned into a bat. Rina also summoned her Unicorn, and the 18 Death Knights rode on their Shapeshifters, reaching the Crimson Python¡¯s nest in less than half an hour instead of a journey that would have taken two hours.

 Chapter 428 - Dark BladeDark Blade

    <h4>Chapter 428: Dark de</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With his incredibly sensitive mental strength as a level-19 Archmage, Lin Li quickly detected the magical waves his men emitted.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk were hiding amongst the dense bushes then, and perhaps because they had just met with an attack, they seemed slightly sheepish. Those who were more heavily injured even needed the support of others as they could not stand at all. Gerian was unharmed save for the obvious charred marks on his gray robes and the sweaty dirt streaks on his round face. He was panting heavily while he cursed away at the damned adventurers.

    Gavin, on the other hand, looked calm as he settled those who were injured before sending out about 10 Warlock¡¯s Eyes to survey the surroundings. After this was done, he divided the remaining mages into two groups to take turns patrolling. He was a man of talent indeed. While he was not very powerful andcked leadership abilities, he was very meticulous, and almost always made sure he did not leave any loopholes.

    After making sure that he did not miss even a single loophole, Gavin sighed before he leaned against a tree tiredly...

    ¡°Gavin.¡± Just then, a familiar figure emerged from amongst the trees, with an unfamiliar old man following closely behind.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here, President Felic...¡± Gavin heaved a sigh of relief, and went to wee him happily, at the same time wondering why that old man seemed to have an aura of danger...

    Lin Li did not bother doing the introductions after he emerged from amongst the trees; he asked about the situation immediately. ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡±

    ¡°Very bad. God knows where these adventurers came from; they¡¯rerge in numbers, and powerful as well. I fought with one of them as we were retreating, and he was an Archmage of at least level-16. There seems to be more than one level-16 Archmage too. ording to Mr Gerian, there are at least four of them...¡± Gavin looked concerned. ¡°To be honest, President Felic, I really doubt whether they are actually adventurers. They seem more like a private corp sent by one of the strong powers out there...¡±

    ¡°Why do you say so?¡±

    ¡°Logically speaking, adventurers will not attack unnecessarily, as there isn¡¯t a mercenary corps in the Breezy ins that is powerful enough to do as they please as of yet. They will be in huge trouble if they offend anyone not to be trifled with. We already showed them that we meant no harm earlier, but they still went ahead with their attack and even pursued us as we were retreating, looking for clues of our whereabouts nearby the whole time. It seems as though they were out for blood...¡±

    ¡°Hm, you¡¯ve got a point there...¡± Lin Li nodded his head as Gavin did make some sense. Mercenary corps had always stressed keeping peace with each other so that they could all make a living. This meant that they would never deeply offend any other force unless absolutely necessary. After all, no matter how powerful the mercenary corps was, they would find it hard to make a living if they made too many enemies.

    They might really be a private corp sent by a strong power somewhere out there...

    But who were they...?

    Lin Li scratched his head before he paused suddenly. Could it be the Malfa Family?

    Upon further thought, he realized that this could be a possibility. Who else but they would have the ability to hire atst four level-16 Archmages? Moreover, the young master in charge even went to the trouble of luring the Crimson Python to ck Clouds Town. It seemed like the Malfa Family could really be after the Crimson Python...

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence...?¡± Lin Li brushed his nose, thinking that Hutton could not be that unlucky to have gone through all the trouble of avoiding him and giving up a helper as powerful as Sendros only to bump into him again. Furthermore, he was unlucky enough to have injured people from the Tower of Dusk...

    If the Malfa Family was really behind this, they could not me him for taking revenge.

    ¡°President Felic...¡± Gavin quietly reminded him seeing Lin Li remain silent for so long. ¡°We have already been hiding in the forest for some time as there were too many people. They will probably be here soon. Do you think we should shift our location...?¡±

    ¡°Shift our location?¡± Lin Li nced at Gavin in doubt.

    ¡°I mean to retreat...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li did not even say anything this time as he turned to Sendros. ¡°Do you think Hutton could be so unlucky?¡±

    ¡°How would I know...?¡± Sendros gave Lin Li a look, and hurriedly said, ¡°I am short on time now and still have to return to the Darkness Shrine after helping you get rid of the Crimson Python. Quickly settle everything and don¡¯t waste my time. If there is really someone after us, then just kill all of them.¡±

    Gavin was still wondering who this old man was, and almost choked when he heard what Sendros said out of the blue.

    J-just kill all of them!?

    Who was this old man, and why was he so sure of himself?

    Did he not hear a word Gavin had just said? There were at least four level-16 Archmages and at least a dozen or so Warriors and Bandits above level-15. Even the Tower of Dusk had to retreat in front of such a powerful group. <i>Who does this old man think he is, a Legendary-mage?</i>

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li thought about it and decided not to waste any more time on this. He nodded in agreement and called Gavin over. ¡°Gavin, gather everyone.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President.¡±

    Even though Gavin still had doubts, he did not dare go against Lin Li¡¯s words. He had stayed at the Tower of Dusk long enough to know that President Felic was resourceful in his own ways.

    Gavin quickly gathered everyone. There were 26 Magic Shooters¡ª28 people in total including Gerian and Gavin. Having been in a fight earlier, there were cuts all over them, but none too serious. Lin Li quickly spotted a disheveled Gerian sitting in the midst of the crowd.

    ¡°Gerian, my good sir, you¡¯re not that young anymore, so why would you join in the fight? Look at how charred you look! You¡¯re not hurt, right?¡±

    ¡°You little bastard, how dare you look look down on me! I¡¯m not even 60 yet! Watch me, I¡¯ll be equally active even 10 years from now!¡±

    ¡°...¡± It was futile to try and talk over it with this old man. Lin Li shook his head as he retrieved a few bottles of Recovery Potion from his pocket, intending to have Gavin pass them to the injured mages, but suddenly heard the sound of footstepsing from the forest.

    The originally calm forest suddenly became chaotic as the frenzied sounds of footsteps and shouts broke the tranquility. Lin Li could also feel powerful magical waves in the sky moving towards the forest at an rming speed.

    ¡°That¡¯s fast...¡± Of course, no matter how powerful the magical waves were, they were only rushing to their death with Sendros here. Lin Li paid no heed to them, and merely gave the forest a look before he gave Gavin the potion bottles. ¡°Let those who are injured drink it.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Gavin hesitated, and then left with the potion bottles.

    Then, Lin Li saw a group of people run into the forest.

    The person leading them was a Warrior who looked to be in his thirties. He wore an armor of red and ck, and wielded a sword shining red. Arge ruby was sitting on his finger, emitting red-hot magical waves. Even Lin Li could tell that his magical equipment was of good quality, and would easily fetch tens of thousands of gold coins at the Gilded Rose. This man was pretty decent in abilities too, and from what Lin Li could tell, he was probably around level-17. He was probablyparable to the two Warriors who had been guarding Adelo at the Scar of Death.

    There were about 50 people following behind this Warrior¡ªall Warriors and Bandits from level-10 to level-15. They moved orderly, and one could tell at a nce that they were a trained group and might even have trained together for a long time. Even a fool would know that they were no adventurers...

    There were now over 50 people in the once empty forest, and it suddenly appeared crowded. In order to give himself some space, Lin Li had to take a few steps back...

    ¡°Ha, I¡¯m in luck. I found all of you so quickly...¡± The leading Warrior saw the Magic Shooters the minute he entered, and a sinister smile appeared on his face immediately.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Lin Li could not help but frown when he saw them run into the forest. They looked unfamiliar, and did not seem to be from the Malfa Family.

    Could he be wrong?

    ¡°Damn it, you bastards run pretty fast indeed. To think I¡¯ve had to chase after you for so long...¡± He seemed to know the abilities of the people from the Tower of Dusk after crossing hands with them earlier, and did not bother to strike immediately. Instead, he continued rambling on before looking at Lin Li in disdain. ¡°Who the heck are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Felic...¡± Lin Li replied honestly before he turned over to Gavin and the rest. ¡°Their President. I have no intention to do anything besides asking how they have offended you. Why did you attack them out of the blue?¡±

    ¡°Stop messing around with me. Since the bastard Malfa Family sent you here, surely they¡¯ve told you why you¡¯re here? If not, then me it on your bad luck. Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter even if you know. You see, my mission is to kill anyone who darese near the cave. So if you must, go me it on the bastards of the Malfa Family for sending you to your death but not telling you what is it about...¡±

    Lin Li frowned. It seemed like the Malfa Family was not behind the attack on Gavin and the rest...

    He brushed his nose sheepishly at this, embarrassed about the fact that he had wrongly used Hutton...

    Just then, Lin Li heard Gavin¡¯s sudden exmation. ¡°You¡¯re from the Dark de?¡±

    ¡°How could you tell?¡± Even though Gavin saw through them, the Warrior did not bother refuting his im, and even looked somewhat proud.

    Well, the Dark de did have something to be proud of.

    The Dark de was the most powerful bandit group in the whole Breezy ins, and even in the whole Fn Kingdom for thest hundreds of years. The Syer Bandits were merely lowly thugs inparison with the Dark de, and could have been exterminated by the Dark de if only thetter so wished. Even Vanskore would be considered mediocre in the Dark de.

    It was said that the Dark de was headed by three Legendary powerhouses, just like the Glittergold Trade Union.

    It was just that they were much more mysterious inparison to the bosses of the Glittergold Trade Union as people had yet to see all three of them at once.

    Actually, for the past hundred or so years, the Dark de had moved on from being just a bandit group. They had influence over the whole Breezy ins, and had more than 10,000 members; hence, they never resorted to robbing.

    However, that did not mean that they would have trouble getting money. It was quite the opposite for them, actually. At their level of influence, they did not have to resort to robbing; instead, their reputation alone was enough for businesses to offer them protection money and bribes. Even big names like the Glittergold Trade Union would work with them asionally to prevent unnecessary trouble.

    Of course, in exchange, the Dark de sent men to protect these businesses, and even to escort them sometimes so as to deter foolish bandits from eyeing their wealth.

    Their annual earnings alone were more than what the Syer Bandits made in a decade. On top of that, they had ventured into different fields and almost every business. So vast was their wealth that perhaps even the Glittergold Trade Union would not dare belittle them.

    Their abilities were even more astounding as they were the Malfa Family¡¯s biggest enemy since they were situated in Aminya as well. All the conflicts that happened between them in the past few hundred years resulted in a deep feud between the two powerful forces.

    However, even though the Malfa Family basically controlled Aminya, they still could not do anything about the Dark de. In fact, the Dark de had gained an upper hand for a period of time, and if not for Cheyenne suddenly breaking into the Legendary-realm, the Malfa Family would have became a myth a long time ago.

    Gavin couldn¡¯t help frowning as soon as he thought of the Dark de¡¯s reputation, sighing as he thought that President Felic was simply too stubborn for being such a fine young man. He was young, after all, and did not know the virtue of holding back his anger. That was such a great opportunity for them to escape, but it seemed that would be nearly impossible now...

    ¡°Alright, enough of this nonsense. I will send you on your way so that I can finish my work for the day...¡± The Warrior seemed to have lost his patience as he waved at the men behind his back without turning back. ¡°Finish them off. Remember to be quick, or else Young Master will be mad.¡±

    ¡°Why so impatient...¡± Lin Li shook his head in pity seeing the Warrior so impatient.

    Despite his pity, the over 50 people behind the Warrior still came charging at them. One could definitely tell that they were a trained unit now as they were able to stand in a formation surrounding the mages of the Tower of Dusk even in such a confined space.

    The Warrior wielding the huge sword started moving, and all they could see was red light. With the help of his Combat Energy, the level-17 Warrior moved at an astounding speed, and a scorching hot aura charged towards them along with a shining red light. It only took a fraction of a second for the red-hot sword toe flying down on Lin Li¡¯s head...

    ¡°Oh no...!¡± Gavin¡¯s heart sank as he watched the sword fall. He thought that President Felic was really in trouble this time. How could he forget the huge taboo for mages: going too close to a high-ranking Warrior¡¯s weapon?! He was basically courting death!

    Unfortunately, it was toote for him to remind Lin Li as Gavin watched the swordnd....

    However, he soon realized that there was no blood sttering where the swordnded, but only a crisp sound as blinding sparks flew. It was as if the swordnded on a sturdy block of steel instead of flesh.

    ¡°What!?¡± Gavin¡¯s eyes were as round as saucers as he realized that there were four rapidly spinning Sr Spheres flying around the young president.

    ¡°My god, Elemental Shield! A level-19 Archmage Elemental Shield!¡±

 Chapter 429 - Thousand Soul Spell

    <h4>Chapter 429: Thousand Soul Spell</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gavin was in shock looking at the four Sr Spheres...

    He thought he was seeing things for a moment. How could this President Felic be human? His level rose at such an rming speed that it could only be described as otherworldly. When he¡¯d first joined the Tower of Dusk, President Felic was only at level-17, but during the attack of the Crimson Python in ck Clouds Town, he became level-18. Then, he suddenly became a level-19 only after a few days!

    Gavin wondered if this freak would suddenly break through to the Legendary-realm if he closed his eyes for a moment...

    Gavin then thought he understood why this President Felic could remain so calm in the face of danger.

    A level-19 Archmage was indeed so powerful that even the top bandit organization in the Breezy ins with three leaders at the Legendary-realm would not easily offend him. He was, after all, a level-19 Archmage who was just a step away from the Legendary-realm, and even a Legendary powerhouse could not be certain to kill him. If he survived, there would be more trouble if he sought revenge...

    Of course, that was what Gavin believed...

    He would never have thought that the situation was far more insane than he thought.

    That was because he did not understand something: a lunatic would only be insane because there was an even crazier lunatic by his side.

    A curse left Sendros mouth just as Lin Li conjured up the Elemental Shield, and an intense death aura started spreading through the space. The world seemed to have been covered by a shadow then as the green forest that was once brimming with life suddenly looked sinister and dark. A bone-chilling cold filled the air, and devastating cries could be heard. Even the sky seemed to be covered by gloomy clouds...

    ¡°My God...¡± Gavin had already been scared out of his mind by the Elemental Shield, and the death aura that filled the space now nearly gave him a heart attack...

    The instant the clouds covered the sky, Gavin immediately understood the old man¡¯s origins. He was a Legendary-mage¡ªhe was definitely a Legendary-mage well-versed in Necromagic.

    Gavin was even willing to bet his life on that. He had only ever felt magical wave of such caliber in the library of Dnd, from the owner of the library Basel himself...

    Needless to say, the Warrior leading the Dark de¡¯s group was much more taken aback than Gavin who was already familiar with Lin Li. While he did not showcase any borate techniques in wielding his sword earlier, he prided himself on the simplicity of his techniques. Moreover, he had moved closer to them in order to speak. Why else would he have walked so near to someone who was bound to die?

    The moment he struck, they were merely a dozen meters apart.

    The Warrior was sure that his strike wouldnd true¡ªhe had never once missed while attacking from such a close distance. Coupled with his Combat Energy that was particrly effective at prating magic shields, even if he was faced with a much more powerful Archmage, he would be able to slice him in two. However, it seemed as though his sword had struck a rock; sparks flew, but there was no stter of blood that he¡¯d pictured...

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Seeing that he missed, the Warrior became stunned. After he calmed down and took a closer look, he realized that there were four Sr Spheres revolving around the young mage...

    ¡°Bloody hell, it¡¯s a level-19 Archmage!¡± The Warrior was from the Dark de, after all, so once he saw the Sr Spheres, he realized that he was facing a powerful opponent.

    But it was toote...

    The second the Warrior struck the Elemental Shield, Sendros had just finished chanting, and before the Warrior could even raise his sword to strike again, thousands of Vengeful Spirits emerged from a block fog. Their distraught looks and chilly cries made it seem like they were in the depths of hell.

    The second they emerged from the ck fog, they made a beeline for those alive like sharks chasing the scent of blood. In an instant, the forest was filled with the cries of terror.

    The Vengeful Spirits were an obscure existence, and were merely an amalgamation of vengefulness. While they resembled spirits in characteristics, they were far more aggressive, and although they feared the Holy Light and magic, they were practically immune to physical damage. If Warriors and Bandits wished to harm them, they would have to possess incredibly powerful Combat Energy or an extravagant magical weapon.

    The people of the Dark de were all around level-15, and the Combat Energy they had was nothing to the Vengeful Spirits. Moreover, they only had about a dozen magical weapons, and that was simply not enough for them to use against the Vengeful Spirits. Besides that, Sendros had used a level-20 Thousand Souls Spell on them and summoned thousands of Vengeful Spirits at once; even the level-17 Warrior leading the group might not be able to escape unscathed...

    The rest was not so lucky, and even dying with dignity had be a luxury. The countless Vengeful Spirits swarmed over in the hundreds the second they detected a trace of life. In an instant, all everyone could see was the stter of blood and flesh as sinisterughter and the sounds of tearing and pathetic cries permeated the air. Adding on to the fact that the ground was now covered with blood, it was quite appropriate to describe the setting as hell on earth...

    The massacre merelysted three minutes before the forest quieted down.

    Sendros remained in his ce with no expression on his pale face. Even the folds of his long robe did not appear to have moved at all. Nobody would have thought from the way he looked that this seemingly innocent old man had killed dozens of Dark de¡¯s members in merely three minutes.

    ¡°Just kill all of them...¡±

    That was what Sendros said, and that was what he did. None of the 50-odd members of the Dark de had been spared by Sendros¡¯s Thousand Souls Spell.

    Oh, wait...

    Someone survived¡ªit was the Warrior leading them. However, he did not survive because he was powerful enough to survive the Thousand Souls Spell. It was because of Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill this one, I want to ask him something.¡±

    And now, the Warrior leader who¡¯d managed to escape was vomiting non-stop in a puddle of blood.

    He was pale and trembling; the mind-numbing sounds of vomiting made it seem as though he might throw up his intestines as well.

    Lin Li stared quietly, and didn¡¯t bother to stop him from vomiting, because he knew that this unlucky guy was terrified of Sendros. He was lying there and throwing up not because he found the sight disgusting, but rather because he was unconsciously trying to release his fear...

    He only stopped throwing up after 10 minutes, but he was still pale and trembling, while his eyes were zed over. He looked just like a walking corpse, and even in this state, he was still subconsciously wary of looking up to look at Sendros...

    ¡°Alright, get up. I have some questions for you.¡± Lin Li slowly walked to him only after he stopped throwing up.

    ¡°Yes...¡± The Warrior had lost all of his previous arrogance, and looked like his soul had left his body, only nodding mechanically when Lin Li asked him a question.

    ¡°I already told you not to hurry. If you couldst a few minutes more in front of a Legendary-mage, wouldn¡¯t that be something you could be proud of? Why hurry to your death...¡± Lin Li could not help feeling indignant on seeing the state that the Warrior was in. This old man was too much¡ªwhy did he have to use such a gory method? <i>Now that the only survivor has been scared out of his mind, how am I going to ask him questions...?</i>

    Lin Li gave the enemy leader an exasperated look and gritted his teeth before giving him a bottle of peacebloom extract. Peacebloom extract had the effect of calming the mind, and even if it was not made into a potion, it was still sufficient to treat this unlucky Warrior.

    After taking a small bottle, the warrior finally looked better, and was not trembling as badly as earlier. However, as he looked up and made eye contact with Sendros, he still recoiled as though he had been bitten...

    ¡°Alright, alright, stop coiling into a ball like you¡¯re a rope of some sort. I¡¯m going to ask you a few questions, and if you can give me satisfactory answers, I¡¯ll let you return alive. You will bring a message for me. Of course, if you don¡¯t give me satisfactory answers, you¡¯ll still be bringing back a few words for me, but it¡¯ll be your corpse doing the work. You know a Necromancer has many ways to deal with a corpse, right...?¡±

    ¡°Go... Go ahead...¡± The survivor could not help throwing up again when he heard the mention of a corpse.

    ¡°Why are you here in the ckstone Mountains, how many people do you have, and who is leading them? How powerful is the most powerful person you have... um, alright, that¡¯s about it. You¡¯d better think about it before answering. I don¡¯t tolerate wrong answers...¡±

 Chapter 430 - Confession

    <h4>Chapter 430: Confession</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Actually, Lin Li had been somewhat worried at the start¡ªworried that he would need to expend a lot of effort before he could find out the truth from this warrior leader¡ªbut he had not expected that Sendros would give him a surprise. He immediately used the cruelest and bloodiest Thousand Soul Spell and scared that poor Warrior until he went mad.

    The Warrior¡¯s psychological defenses were totally crushed, and interrogation became much easier. Lin Li did not even use much effort, and already managed to get the information he wanted.

    The Warrior answered while trembling with fear, yet Lin Li whispered a ¡°thank you¡± to Sendros.

    It was because Lin Li knew that Sendros¡¯ Thousand Soul Spell was used to help him. Although the old man was one of the most vicious Necromancers, he was not some merciless demon king. In fact, when one had reached the level of those like Lin Li and Sendros, killing was not so simple. They no longer willfully ughtered just to satisfy their thirst for blood, but they would not be irresolute and hesitant because of their virtue and morals, either. To them, killing was just a method to strike fear into their enemies.

    Just like Lin Li had done in the Demon Fall Valley and Scar of Death¡ªa single spell caused hundreds to lose their lives. If it was an average person, they would feel that their body and hands were filled with sin. However, in Lin Li¡¯s mind, this was merely a method to continue surviving.

    If he had not used Thousand Miles of Ice on hundreds of bandits in the Demon Fall Valley, the second Shadow¡¯s Nest would¡¯ve definitely emerged from one of those ambitious forces in Jarrosus, causing the Emerald Tower to be in danger at any given time or ce. It was the same at the border of the Scar of Death. Although Lin Li had lookedposed, he was afraid on the inside. Who would not be afraid after being watched by a gigantic entity such as the Malfa Family? Hence, Lin Li had to use Vanskore¡¯s death to warn Hutton that if it were to happen again, the next person to die could be Hutton himself...

    Facts also proved that Lin Li was right. The destruction of the Shadow¡¯s Nest caused all of the forces of Jarrosus to submit. So far, there was not a single force that dared to disrespect the Emerald Tower. Vanskore¡¯s death had also simrly allowed Hutton to feel Lin Li¡¯s ruthlessness. Otherwise, he would not have stood up Lin Li and Sendros on the next day...

    It was the same for Sendros¡¯ Thousand Soul Spell.

    After being driven mad with fear by the Thousand Soul Spell, the surviving Warrior leader did not dare to hide anything. He answered whatever questions Lin Li asked. He simply said everything he knew, and he said it without reserve. He held nothing back and told them everything he knew.

    The overall situation was not far from Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. Indeed, the strongest band of bandits in the Breezy ins, the Dark de, had three Legendary powerhouses inmand. They had also followed the Malfa Family¡¯s footsteps and arrived in the Breezy ins.

    It was just that there was only one difference from the Malfa Family. The Malfa Family had recruited hundreds of adventurers to use them as cannon fodder, and they killed their way through. Whereas for Dark de, they only sent forth a contingent of 100 or more men, and they used a route that only they knew to reach the peak of the ckstone Mountains without a single battle.

    Based on numbers, it would seem that the Dark de was in a disadvantageous position. After all, this time the Malfa Family had hundreds of sacrificial pawns. The total number could even reach 1,000 if their own men were added in. As for the Dark de, they only had over 100 men.

    But in terms ofbat ability, the Dark de was not on the losing end. They could even be stronger than the Malfa Family.

    Based on what this Warrior said, the 50-odd men that he¡¯d led had the worst abilities in the whole contingent. Other than himself, the others only hadbat abilities of level-15 and below. It was also because of this that he had been ordered to just keep a lookout in the vicinity of the Crimson Python¡¯s nest this time.

    Other than this group, thebat prowess of the other 100 men was not average at all. At least 50 were powerhouses above level-15, and the strongest among them were 10 level-18 Archmages. The one in charge ofmanding these 10 level-18 Archmages was a genius mage, Singh, who was as famous as Hutton.

    Upon hearing that this Singh was equally famous as Hutton, Lin Li was rather curious. He knew of Hutton¡¯s magical talents. Hutton was at the peak of level-17 before his thirties, and this was achieved by him while being busy attending to the family¡¯s matters. Even that Gryffindor who was developed with priority was somewhat worse than Hutton. Just what was the background of this Singh that he could actually bepared to Hutton?

    He found out after asking. This Singh¡¯s father was no ordinary man. He was one of the three leaders of the Dark de. He was also one of the leaders that had disyed his powerful abilities, the Legendary-mage Borg!

    This name, Borg, could be said to be known far and wide in the Breezy ins. 10 years ago, he had barged into Aminya and used the identity of a level-20 Legendary-mage to challenge Cheyenne, who had just broken through to level-21 at the time. Although he lost to Cheyenne by a thin margin, he still retreated safely. At the end, even Cheyenne had to admit that Borg was just a thin line away from being level-21. Even he himself did not dare to say that he wonfortably.

    It was also because of this duel that Borg gave up his ns to dere war against the Dark de when he had originally wanted to use the chance of breaking through to level-21 to give it ago. Cheyenne also did not take a step away from Aminya, because he knew that once he left, the three Legendary powerhouses from the Dark de would maul the Malfa Family heavily in a short period of time.

    From this, it was no longer something weird for Singh to be held in the same regard as Hutton.

    That should be all that the Warrior leader knew.

    After all, he did not have a high position in the Dark de. There were way too many leaders with 100 men under them within a gigantic entity such as the Dark de.

    Although he followed Singh to the ckstone Mountains this time, he did not partake in any top-secret activities. Themand he received was merely to guard the Crimson Python¡¯s nest with a group of men. Once they noticed somebody was near, they would immediately attack. Average adventurers were easy to kill, but if they were to meet somebody powerful, they had to notify Singh.

    ¡°10 level-18 Archmages...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. He was rather shocked.

    This was noughing matter. 10 level-18 Archmages. This was almost the same as nna¡¯s Guild of Magic. No wonder Dark de was called the strongest band of bandits in the Breezy ins. Just this group of men was more than enough to wipe out the Syer Bandits...

    Without summoning the Humerus Wyrm and Lord of Nightmares, even Lin Li would have to run nine out of 10 times...

    After the Warrior confessed what he knew, Lin Li started thinking. What was hiding in the ckstone Mountains that it could attract both the Malfa Family and Dark de at the same time?

    Unfortunately, this minor enemymander knew too little. Lin Li could not get any information that exined anything. In the end, he looked at this survivor with annoyance, and then he turned, opening a path. ¡°Okay, you can leave now...¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± The Warrior that had already gone mad with fear because of Sendros was stunned when he heard this. <i>What...? I can leave now?</i> He thought back for a while before he understood it. What this young mage meant was... that he wanted to set him free?

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± Lin Li stared at him in annoyance. ¡°You still want me to make you stay for dinner?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... I didn¡¯t mean that...¡± The Warrior instantly ran away when he was red at by Lin Li...

    Only after the enemy survivor ran out of the forest did Sendros curiously ask, ¡°Why did you release him?¡±

    ¡°Because I started to get curious...¡± Lin Li smiled, but did not answer Sendros¡¯ question directly.

    Actually, since the matter had already reached this stage, Lin Li¡¯s goal ining to the ckstone Mountains was almostpleted. The battle with the Lich at the Scar of Death not only allowed him to subdue more than 10 Death Knights as well as a Humerus Wyrm, he had also obtained Gloomy Dark, which he had always dreamed of getting. The rewards were beyond his imagination. Additionally, he obtained Sendros¡¯ assistance. To gather the Dragon¡¯s Tongue would be very simple. He just had to kill and silence a few enemymanders and call for Sendros. The two of them would stealthily enter the Crimson Python¡¯s nest. It would not be an issue if they were to kill the Crimson Python as well after gathering the Dragon¡¯s Tongue...

    It was just that Lin Li had started bing curious again all of a sudden.

    He was curious what sort of secret was hidden in the vicinity of the Crimson Python¡¯s nest. Just what was it that it could attract the greedy eyes of gigantic entities such as the Malfa Family and Dark de?

    Of course, other than being curious, Lin Li also thought of proving something else...

    On the first night he came to the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li had treated a middle-aged man to barbecue. If Lin Li was not mistaken, the middle-aged man had once said that his house was located at the peak of the ckstone Mountains. It would be easy to find once they went through the Crimson Python¡¯s nest.

    In fact, Lin Li was close to the mark when guessing this middle-aged man¡¯s identity. The only thing left to do was to prove whether this mysterious middle-aged man that knew Anril¡¯s history thoroughly by heart was, as Lin Li guessed, that iparably powerful existence...

    To prove it was actually simple. A magical brand would more or less achieve that goal.

    The Warrior that had been driven mad with fear by Sendros naturally would not discover that when he escaped, a certain mage had sneakily left a magical brand on him.

    A magical brand would not cause any injury, and it would not result in adverse statuses. The only effect it had was to leave behind a trace of one¡¯s magical aura. Average mages could use this trace of magical aura to determine the location of their target, but an Archmage at level-18 and above could use the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to stalk the target with the magical brand.

    Hence, Lin Li immediately cast Warlock¡¯s Eyes when the Warrior had just stepped out of the forest.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li did not answer directly, and Sendros did not question any further. He just gave off an ¡°oh¡± and shut his mouth. It was because to him, the Dark de was not something worthy of racking his brains. Although it was rumored that there were three Legendary powerhouses within the Dark de, one could not forget that there were differences between those in the Legendary-realm. The current Sendros was even stronger than Cheyenne. There were only a few that could threaten him in the whole Breezy ins...

    Not long after the Warrior had left the forest, Norfeller and Ujfalusi had already arrived with tens of Death Knights. Lin Li asked a few simple questions about the situation on the road ahead, and called Gavin over. ¡°Gavin, rally the men and follow me.¡±

    Lin Li constantly had that Warrior under surveince with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes while on the move.

    Lin Li had originally thought that this Warrior would bring him to members of the Dark de within a short period, but had not thought that the first thing to appear within the Warlock¡¯s Eyes¡¯ field of vision would actually be a raging battle.

    ¡°It really is the Malfa Family...¡± Using the Warlock¡¯s Eyes¡¯s vision, Lin Li could already identify a few familiar faces in the battle without much effort. For example, that level-15 Bandit called Reggie, the eldest son from the ck Clouds Town¡¯s mayor¡¯s family, and the two high-level Warriors that guarded Adelo...

    Naturally, it was the members of the Dark de that were fighting with the Malfa Family. These two forces had suddenly met each other in the vicinity of the Crimson Python¡¯s nest for some unknown reason. The result was naturally an iparably intense battle.

    The Malfa Family had at least 400 men on their side. Most of them were Adventurers recruited from different ces. As for the side of the Dark de, it would be much fewer. All in all, there were only 100 or so men. It was just that they were really powerful.

    Lin Li hastily took a look, and could see that there were at least tens of powerhouses level-15 and above. Among them, the 10 level-18 Archmages that the Warrior leader had mentioned were currently using Levitation Spell to fly in the sky, constantly bombarding the ground with spells...

    Although the Adventurers that the Malfa Family had recruited were many, only 10 or so were truly level-15 and above. Once they met a true powerhouse, their inferior strength was immediately exposed. There were hundreds of Adventurers that were pressured by the 10 Archmages till they could no longer lift their heads. They werepletely suppressed, passively taking a beating. If it were not because they relied on the terrain advantage, they would have beenpletely overrun by the Dark de by this point.

    ¡°Weird, where is Hutton...?¡± The Warlock¡¯s Eyes searched around the battlefield, but could not locate Hutton.

    Furthermore, it was not just Hutton. That young level-17 Archmage from the Dark de had apparently never participated in the battle. Lin Li looked on and started to feel curious. Anyone would know that the Malfa Family and Dark de were two big forces that could not coexist. Why was it that their subordinates were fighting for their lives, yet these two were hiding somewhere...?

    Unless...

    Just when Lin Li¡¯s mind was full of questions, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes drifted past the Crimson Python¡¯s nest. In an instant, a thought shed past Lin Li¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 431 - Heart of the Fallen

    <h4>Chapter 431: Heart of the Fallen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The cave was pitch-ck. However, when the Warlock¡¯s Eyes went closer, it started to tremble. It was like a small boat sailing in the midst of crazy wind and heavy storm. It could not withstand the presence of the strong magical wave.

    Yet, the magical wave was unrted to the Crimson Python.

    Having battled a Crimson Python at ck Clouds Town, Lin Li was naturally more familiar with it. Like zing mes, the scorching wave emitted by a Crimson Python would turn anything in close proximity to ashes.

    However, the force that the cave emitted was a massive pressure that could cause the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to lose control.

    The Warlock¡¯s Eyes swerved past the entrance of the cave. Although the unusual tremble was short-lived, it was what informed Lin Li of the death of the Crimson Python...

    He could not sense any Crimson Python in the cave. Apart from the strong and eerie pressure, there was only a deadly silence...

    Lin Li was not taken aback by that. Although a mutated Crimson Python could reach above level-20, it was not a Legendary creature, after all. There ought to be a natural deficiency in both its strength and intelligence. Aspared to that of the true Legendary magical beasts, the Combat Energy of the Crimson Python was at least one realm behind.

    If it had been before, the difference would not have been a great deal. However, thebined force from the 1000 Adventurers from the Malfa Family as well as the 10 Archmages from the Dark de in the ckstone Mountains was impregnable. A Legendary magical beast would have normally realized itsck of power and escaped from them. How different would it be for a mutated Crimson Python?

    Lin Li knew that he waste...

    But, Lin Li had no regrets.

    In this world, there were many people with the ability to defeat Crimson Pythons, yet only a few Pharmacists could recognize the Dragon¡¯s Tongue. As long as the Dragon¡¯s Tongue was still there, losing that Legendary magical crystal was no big deal.

    Anyway, the Dragon¡¯s Tongue was Lin Li¡¯s ultimate motive ining to the ckstone Mountains.

    Although Lin Li did not appear serious when he mentioned it to Gerian, it was a matter he had been contemting ever since he¡¯d won the finals and known that he would be sent to Breezy ins to take charge of an unestablished Guild of Magic.

    At that time, Lin Li already had the idea to create a batch of Rune Potion...

    Breezy ins did not have a single established political system. No one¡ªnot even the Supreme Council, the Brilliance Shrine, or the royals of Fn Kingdom¡ªwas able to gain total control over the territory. How would it be possible for a guild of magic thatcked reputation to survive there easily?

    Even though he was indeed esteemed in the field of magic, was already an Archmage at the age of 20, and had the potential to reach the Legendary-realm in 10 years¡¯ time, Lin Li¡¯s influence had a limit. Unless he was as powerful as Geresco, Lin Li would never be able to even the ying field with forces like the Malfa Family and the Dark de, which had been around for centuries.

    For the Tower of Dusk to survive in the Breezy ins, the only way was to make his organization more powerful.

    The current number of Magic Shooters in the Tower of Dusk would not suffice.

    The Tower of Dusk had nearly lost to the 50-odd men from the Dark de in the earlier battle. If Sendros and Lin Li had not arrived in the nick of time, the consequences would¡¯ve been dire...

    The Rune Potion was the best solution.

    Although the Rune Potion would cause the skills of the Magic Shooters to stagnate for the rest of their lives, it was actually tempting for them to upgrade themselves through that potion. After all, what were the odds for all of them to reach the Archmage-realm in their lives? Not to exaggerate, it was a fact that 90% of Magic Shooters in the world would never be able to progress to the Archmage-realm. Losing the ability to progress further would not matter to them.

    Lin Li¡¯s life would be much easier with the 10 Archmages in the Tower of Dusk, for they would have the capability to deter forces like the Syer Bandits. Furthermore, with the various magic defense systems in ce, such as the All-Kill Array, Crystal Cannons, and the Sky-breakers, just to name a few, even Legendary-level figures would need to think twice before attacking the organization...

    Furthermore, that was just the beginning.

    The benefit of having 10 Archmages was to buy time for the Tower of Dusk.

    It needed not be long¡ªa year would suffice.

    If there were no hindrances from external forces, Lin Li had the confidence to bring the Guild of Magic to a higher ground within a year. If he was lucky enough, they would be as powerful as the Glittergold Trade Union and the Dark de!

    Time was the only factor that theycked the most. As long as they first had a few peaceful months, Lin Li had the confidence to gain enough profits from his partnership with the Gilded Rose and the Glittergold Trade Union for their equipment and pharmaceutical business, respectively. In addition, the business he¡¯d entrusted Kaman with would also ensure great inflow of money for the Tower of Dusk...

    Sufficient financial support would enable the rate of the development of the Tower of Dusk to speed up by a hundred fold. Which mage would reject a guild withid-back guild rules, vast knowledge in magic to ess, generous support in resources, as well as a Legendary-mage like Basel as its advisor?

    Lin Li did not need a lot, either. As long as he could attract 20 Archmages, create 10 more Archmages with the Rune Potion, and employ seven to eight men who had potential to surpass level-15 sent by Basel, he would have a team of 40 Archmages. With the help from the two Legendary-mages¡ªUjfalusi, who was regaining his position as a Lich, as well as Basel, who was arriving at the Breezy ins¡ªnot to mention the insignificant Syer Bandits, hooligans like the Dark de would also not dare to mess around with the Tower of Dusk...

    All of this could only be possible if he could acquire the 10 bottles of Rune Potion. The Dragon¡¯s Tongue in that cave was the real deal.

    At the same time, the battle of the two forces hade to an end. The 10 Archmages from the Dark de got the upper hand, making 1000 men and Adventurers under the Malfa Family helpless.

    After losing around 200 Adventurers, the people from Malfa Family started to retreat.

    Just when Lin Li thought the victor had emerged, something queer happened on the battlefield. It was true that the Malfa Family retreated. However, they were still a few hundred meters away from the cave.

    ¡°Damn, what is it now?¡± Lin Li gasped after seeing 1000 men gathering together. <i>Are these people joking? How could they dare to gather within such a short distance from their enemy? How different are they from ady who decides to do a strip dance in front of a pervert at night?</i>

    Lin Li rubbed his nose and lowered his head. He could not bear to witness that perverted, brutal, and XXX-rated scene...

    ¡°Huh?¡± Yet, he lifted his head very quickly again. That was because Lin Li was certain that he saw Dark de retreating as well.

    ¡°Goddammit, do you not know how to be a pervert??¡± Lin Li hollered.

    It was not Lin Li¡¯s fault that he felt agitated. If it were other men, they would also be cussing in rage if the spicy film they expected became just amon romance.

    How twisted would that be?

    Lin Li could not help but cuss when he saw the two groups of bastards staring at each other. Now that the two opposing teams were looking into each other¡¯s eyes with passion fervently, Lin Li knew he had no chance of making use of themotion to sneak into the cave...

    ¡°My ns are crushed...¡± eximed Lin Li in disappointment.

    It would not work if he were to sneak into the cave under the eyes of 1000 men. Even if he were to turn into a housefly, he would be swatted down by that group of bastards.

    <i>Should I try to anyway?</i> Lin rubbed his nose uneasily. He was in a dilemma.

    ¡°You can summon the Humerus Wyrm...¡± said Sendros.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li froze. Then, he nodded, and took out the magicmp from his pocket...

    When the Humerus Wyrm was summoned, everyone from the Tower of Dusk, including Gerian, were bbergasted. The pallid and gigantic body, and that dragon crystal which emitted a chilly blue glow confirmed that it was a terrifying beast above level-20...

    The Humerus Wyrm was a very powerful existence. Being an incarnation of evil and death, itsbat ability was on par with that of a Lich, andparable to a Retribution Knight¡¯s. With it starring in numerous folkloric legends of Anril, even a man as knowledgeable as Gerian would never have expected that he could witness a Humerus Wyrm, much less how it was being summoned.

    As long as one could summon a Humerus Wyrm, it would not matter if he were a mage or an apprentice. In theory, he would already have a Legendary-level Combat Energy...

    Furthermore, that fe who had just summoned the Humerus Wyrm was not a weakling. He was not just powerful, but terrifying. It was a fact that Gerian had seen this man progress from a level-8 mage to a level-19 Archmage in less than a year. It was not something most mages could achieve in the duration of their life. The thought of it was horrifying enough.

    Now, this fe had a Humerus Wyrm with him...

    The sight of that creature at least 10 meters in height caused Gerian to be at a loss for words. Fortunately, Gerian was already used to such surprises.

    Unlike him, the other mages from the Tower of Dusk were dumbfounded. They stood rooted to the ground, and were all in a daze, their gazes fixed on that Humerus Wyrm. If not for the fact that it was a bright and sunny day, they would have thought that they were all in a dream...

    ¡°Your luck is really great...¡± said Sendros as he gazed at the Humerus Wyrm.

    There was indeed a way to summon a Humerus Wyrm through Necromagic. In fact, any Necromancer in the Legendary-realm would be able to do it. However, only one in 10 Necromancers would be willing to pay the hefty price necessary to summon a Humerus Wyrm. He¡¯d have to use a massive amount of mana to bring the Humerus Wyrm from an alternate dimension to the Anril World. Even Sendros would never ept falling by one level just to summon a Humerus Wyrm...

    The reason why Ujfalusi could summon Crimson was purely due to the coincidence¡ªhe¡¯d left a mark on Crimson¡¯s soul fire. The reason why the Lich at the Scar of Death was able to summon the Humerus Wyrm was because he linked his life case with Gloomy Dark to tap into an unlimited amount of mana. Otherwise, how could any other Necromancer be endowed by such an ability?

    Of course, Lin Li had the best luck.

    The Humerus Wyrm he¡¯d sealed in the magicmp came for free. Apart from a level-15 magical crystal, he did not have to lose anything else.

    ¡°Is this too risky...?¡± Lin Li asked hesitantly even after he summoned the Humerus Wyrm. To be honest, if it weren¡¯t for Sendros, he would prefer not to summon the Humerus Wyrm in such a situation.

    Lin Li thought that it was very risky. He knew that the Humerus Wyrm was going to be one of his strongest weapons in the future with its Legendary-level Combat Energy. He had to rely on the Humerus Wyrm to protect the Tower of Dusk. If anything were to happen to the Humerus Wyrm, all his ns would be destroyedpletely.

    He wouldn¡¯t mind if it were the usual battle. Yet, his present enemies were the two great forces¡ªthe Malfa Family and Dark de. That being said, he was incredibly worried about that level-18 Archmage. He was a man who truly had the ability to injure the Humerus Wyrm, or even destroy the magical crystal and extinguish the soul fire of the Humerus Wyrm!

    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Sendros said to the concerned Lin Li sinctly. Afterwards, he fished out a delicate box from his pocket.

    The box was around the size of a fist, and seemed to be carved from wood. It had a delicate, quaint, and graceful design, and had two streaks of mageweath produced with navy sand ink. Just when Lin Li was feeling doubtful why the box had mageweath that could withstand mana, the old man pressed a button on the box gently.

    Then, the lid opened...

    ¡°What... What is this?!¡± Lin Li eximed the instant the box was opened.

    There was a ck gem resting inside the box. It was emitting a mysterious and profound glow under the afternoon sun. However, what surprised Lin Li was the magical wave emitted by that ck gemstone. It was a pure death aura that could cause people to undermine a gigantic Humerus Wyrm...

    ¡°This is the Heart of the Fallen, a treasure that could drive any Undead creature crazy¡ªincluding myself. I¡¯ve only seen six Hearts of the Fallen in my entire life before. Three of them are in the bodies of the three Undead Lords, while the other three are in the Darkness Shrine. Only that High Priest who practices Necromagic has the right to use them...¡±

    ¡°Is it very powerful?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... To an Undead creature, acquiring a Heart of the Fallen is equivalent to engulfing soul fire from millions of other Undead creatures. That Heart of the Fallen can transform any Undead creature...¡± exined Sendros. ¡°But, the value of the Heart of the Fallen is not in the enhancement of abilities, but in giving the Undead creature a brand-new life...¡±

    ¡°You have to be joking!¡± eximed Lin Li. He nearly bit his tongue.

    Thankfully, the words belonged to Sendros. If he were another man, Lin Li wouldsh out at him.

    ¡°Hehe, how could the fallen have any heart? The word ¡®heart¡¯ here means to have a life...¡±

    Lin Li stared Sendros for a good moment. Then, he decided that the old man did not seem to be joking. ¡°What would happen if Undead creatures are given a life?¡± asked Lin Li with apprehension as he swallowed his saliva.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only met three Undead creatures that own a Heart of the Fallen. They are the three Undead Lord of the Shadowglen. You might not believe me, but the three Undead Lord are as good as the living. If they were to hide their identity from you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize them even in close proximity...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. I¡¯ve forgotten to tell you that the power of each of the three Undead Lords is at least level-25...¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be...¡± Lin Limented skeptically. ¡°ording to Mr. Macklin, the ability of the three Undead Lords should be at level-23...¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to that Macklin from the nna Guild of Magic? How would he know how terrifying the three Undead Lords are when he had not even meet them before? ¡®Level-23¡¯ was just a prediction by the nna Guild of Magic. I¡¯m certain that no more than five people in the entire Anril would have seen the three Undead Lords...¡±

 Chapter 432 - The Tribute of Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 432: The Tribute of Darkness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hey, you really have some great luck...¡± repeated Sendros. ¡°I really can¡¯tprehend how you managed to do that. Although it had only a level-20 magical crystal, it had the purest soul fire that isparable to those of the three Undead Lords. If it acquires the Heart of the Fallen, it is going to have a real life within a decade!¡±

    ¡°It is a long story...¡± Lin Li said as he grinned at Sendros. Just when he intended to create a sense of suspense, the sight of the Heart of the Fallen in Sendros¡¯ hand caused Lin Li to freeze. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are thinking of...¡±

    ¡°You are right. As long as it integrates the Heart of the Fallen into its soul fire, the Humerus Wyrm would get a certain level of intelligence. Although it is not going to be extremely clever, it would still be stronger than anymon Humerus Wyrm. With its overwhelming strength, defeating 10 Archmages shouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem...¡±

    While Sendros was speaking with much confidence, Lin Li shook his head, and nced at him skeptically. ¡°You don¡¯t look a single bit like a generous person, though...¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I initially wanted to leave the Heart of the Fallen for myself. In fact, I have been wanting to do that for these few decades. One intelligent Humerus Wyrm is enough for me to surpass the sesses of all the formal High Priests.

    ¡°However, the price I have to pay to summon the Humerus Wyrm is tremendous¡ªenough to bring me down from the Legendary-realm. I haven¡¯t had the confidence to take this risk for the past few decades. It was only just now that I realized it would be easier to strike a deal with you...¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°I need a bottle of the Tribute of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Lin Li muttered as he rubbed his nose. <i>This old man is indeed not as generous...</i>

    That was true. The Heart of the Fallen was indeed valuable. If one had good luck, they might be able to create an Undead Lord with it. However, if he were to exchange that for a bottle of the Tribute of Darkness, there wouldn¡¯t be any loss for him.

    If the Heart of the Fallen could create another Humerus Wyrm Lord, the Tribute of Darkness would be able to produce another Lich Lord. While the former had incrediblebat skills, thetter was a greatly esteemed master of Necromagic. As both creatures were at their ultimate level, there was nothing for Sendros to lose regardless of which he chose.

    The Tribute of Darkness was also known as a sacred undead potion. The production thereof would require the Everchill Flower from the Arctic, as well as the fruit of the Heart-devouring Tree that grew as deep as 33 levels into the Abyss. Although Lin Li had not seen the two herbs before, he had heard that the Everchill Flower might exist in the Arctic ins that was located at the north of the Endless Ocean. As for the fruit of the Heart-devouring Tree, 33 levels deep into the Abyss was a ce even the mad Osric would not dare to step into.

    However, the effects of the Tribute of Darkness were true to its nature as a sacred undead potion. It was said that anyone who consumed the Tribute of Darkness would instantly be converted to a form of darkness¡ªthe closest to a type of primitive magic. Under the form of darkness, one could manipte the elements of Dark Magic to his desires with perfect control, just like the Reincarnation of Darkness.

    Even if the one to consume the Tribute of Darkness was a mage apprentice below level-5, he would be able to make amazing achievements in the field of Necromagic. Not to exaggerate, he would be the most powerful Necromancer in the world, and reach the Legendary-realm within a decade.

    To Necromancers, the Tribute of Darkness was a dream-like treasure. No Necromancer¡ªnot even the powerful Sendros¡ªcould resist the temptation of acquiring it. If he were to get his hands on that potion, there was a high chance for him to surpass level-25...

    Of course, the difficulty of making a Tribute of Darkness was equally terrifying.

    The Everchill Flower and the fruit of the Heart-devouring Tree were extremely rare ingredients¡ªeven more so than the ck lotus. Although Lin Li was well-versed in the field, he had never seen either of them before. He also felt guilty for not having sufficient skills to produce the Tribute of Darkness.

    Among the forme of all the potions at the Guru-level, the difficulty in creating the Tribute of Darkness was the greatest. There were many Pharmacists who believed that anyone who could produce the Tribute of Darkness would have the skills of a Divine Smith. Although Lin Li knew the steps to create the potion, he knew that his sess rate would not exceed 30%...

    ¡°I do not have confidence in making the Tribute of Darkness. Why don¡¯t you suggest something else?¡±

    ¡°I have a lot of time. I can wait for you to reach the Guru-realm, until you have gathered all the materials and have enough confidence...¡±

    ¡°Why me...?¡± Lin Li cast a doubtful nce on Sendros. He could notprehend the stubbornness of the old man. The value of both goods was exactly the same, and it was not what he could produce now. It was as if Sendros had decided to exchange a real Heart of the Fallen for a chance to get the Tribute of Darkness.

    ¡°I have no choice...¡± Sendros replied smilingly. ¡°You are the Pharmacist with the greatest potential to reach the Guru-realm in the whole of Anril. I can only strike a deal with you if I want the Tribute of Darkness...¡±

    ¡°Alright, then,¡± agreed Lin Li. Since Sendros had already put his statement across so directly, there was no reason for Lin Li to reject his request. ¡°Oh, yes. How do I integrate the Heart of the Fallen into the soul fire of the Humerus Wyrm?¡±

    ¡°Let me help you,¡± offered Sendros.

    ¡°I will trouble you, then,¡± replied Lin Li as he took a step back. He saw Sendros open the box gently while reciting a spell in his hoarse voice. He emitted a strong death aura that caused the Humerus Wyrm to nce around before bending over...

    The soul fire of the Humerus Wyrm was like a ball of blue me at its chest. Within it was its dragon crystal. Sendros reached his hand to gently pat the Wyrm¡¯s head. Then, he took out the ck gemstone from the box. When the gemstone hovered above his palm, Lin Li could see very clearly that the Heart of the Fallen was beating like a real heart...

    Lin Li watched the situation quietly. How would a Humerus Wyrm look like if it were to have its own life? Unfortunately, he had not met the Humerus Wyrm Lord at the Shadowglen the other day. Otherwise, it might be like real dragon...

    ¡°Wait a minute...¡± Lin Li spoke. The thought of the trial battle at the Shadowglen made Lin Li realize something.

    Darn, how did the bastards of the Supreme Council gain the confidence to dump the 24 trial students into a dangerous ce like the Shadowglen? It was a ce where the three Undead Lords of at least level-25 resided. The three lords had the ability to destroy the earth, let alone the potential deaths they could im among the 24 students. How different would it be to smash 24 ants?

    Being the representatives of the 24 guilds, more than half of the 24 trial students were already seen as the sessors of the respective guild Presidents. In the event of any disastrous happenings, wouldn¡¯t the 24 guilds turn the tables against the Supreme Council?

    Not to mention the Teleportation Scrolls...

    As Lin Li had been only level-15 then, he had been totally clueless about the spells above level-20. When the people from the Supreme Council told him that the Teleportation Scroll was a reliable tool, Lin Li could only believe them foolishly. His realization only came when he scaled the ckstone Mountains and battled the Lich at Scar of Death...

    ¡°Goddammit, I¡¯ve fallen into their trap the other time...¡±

    How would the level-20 Lin Li not know that the darn Teleportation Scroll was just a piece of waste paper in the eyes of true Legend powerhouses?

    No matter how reliable the Teleportation Scroll was, it was just a spell that helped to seal a realm. In this world, all magic would be affected by the limitations ofws. Once thews were forcefully altered, the Teleportation Scroll would be a useless piece of paper. People from the Legendary-realm had too many methods to do just that...

    The thought of it caused Lin Li to break out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°Did the Supreme Council have no better things to do?¡± Lin Li uttered in rage. Then, he realized something was amiss...

    He had met many people from the Supreme Council. There were Herza, Andoine, and also Apophis¡ªan arbitrator who had been around for 1300 years. Apart from the muddle-headed Andoine, the others were all seasoned old veterans.

    How would the Supreme Council be foolish enough to send the trial students to their deaths in the Shadowglen, and wait for the 24 guilds to turn against them?

    Oh yes, there was also the battle trial in the Aurora Square.

    Lin Li thought he had gotten the answers quite some time ago. He understood that the Death Energy from the Shadowglen had to be an underhand trick to make use of Garat¡¯s body. Otherwise, the difference in Garat¡¯s abilities would not be that great.

    What followed was even more queries...

    Lin Li had been wondering how the Death Energy descended upon the Aurora Square ever since he met Apophis. It was because that man once said that nna Guild of Magic was the first Guild of Magic of Anril, and that its first President was Geresco. Before the man departed Anril, he left his magic staff in nna Guild of Magic. Ever since, it had been protecting the guild.

    Alright, even if that Death Energy was from one of the Undead Lords, it was true that a level-25 Undead Lord would not have the ability to defeat Geresco¡¯s magic staff. After all, an Undead Lord was just an Undead creature no matter how almighty it was.

    Geresco was a real divinity!

    Unless, somebody made it descend upon the Aurora Square deliberately...

    Lin Li could sense very vaguely that he hade even closer to the truth. Although what he was guessing might not be entirely correct, he had much confidence in it.

    Oh yes, there was Andoine as well...

    The old man brought himself to the Nightmare Mountains right before the trial at the Shadowglen, where he found that dark red crystal.

    <i>The timeliness is getting suspicious...</i>

    <i>It seems that I have to speak to Mr. Mentor...</i>

    Just when Lin Li was deep in thought, a high-pitched sound reverberated in the air. Lin Li jerked his head up instinctively, and saw the soul fire at the chest of the Humerus Wyrm had transformed into a beating heart. The thick death aura of the Humerus Wyrm simmered almost instantaneously. What reced it was a faint sense of solemnity and authority, just as though it was the king of all the beasts. Its majestic posture and demeanor took away the fighting spirit from its enemies. It was just like when Lin Li met Tutankhamun in the forest the other night!

    Apart from that, the two will-o-the-wisp in the eyes of the Humerus Wyrm grew brighter. They were not as void and ominous as before. Lin Li could sense that underlying the flickering was excitement.

    <i>It is alive now...</i>

    <i>The Humerus Wyrm hase alive!</i>

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve paid you the rewards for the Tribute of Darkness in advance.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After thanking Sendros, Lin Li tried to give the Humerus Wyrm an instruction through the summon contract. He realized how different things had be. He did not have to control every action of the Wyrm through the summon contract anymore.

    ¡°Attack those humans!¡±

    The Humerus Wyrm caught on the vague order almost perfectly. A thunderous dragon cry reverberated as it spread its wings and swooped down above the nest of the Crimson Python. What followed was an overspread of ice me...

    At once, shrieks sounded outside the nest of the Crimson Python. The ice me turned most Adventurers into ice statues, wreaking havoc among the people from the two forces. There were shrieks, cries for help, gasps, sound of footsteps, and many other noises. Amidst the chaos, many also injured their allies unknowingly.

    Only the 10 Archmages were still alert. They cast the Levitation Spell and swooped towards the Humerus Wyrm in the sky as soon as the ice me was cast.

    ¡°Alright, it is our time to shine!¡± It was natural for the two great forces to put their attention on their battle at hand. At the same time, there were two ck figures speeding out from the forest in a distance away, running towards the nest of the Crimson Python.

 Chapter 433 - Mutated Dragonéˆ¥æªš Tongue

    <h4>Chapter 433: Mutated Dragon¡¯s Tongue</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The shadow of the Humerus Wyrm seemed to turn the entire world gray. Amidst the crazy wind was countless flying debris mixed with fallen leaves. When the blue ice me came from the sky again, it was as if doomsday had arrived. Despite being level-18, the 10 Archmages from Dark de immediately became inferior to the Wyrm. None of them had the ability to battle the Wyrm by himself.

    The gap between level-18 and level-20 was tremendous. It did not allow any chance for mistakes. They had to exert full powers to try to be on par with the Humerus Wyrm.

    If that was the case for the 10 Archmages, the rest of the Adventures naturally fell out of the picture. In such a battle, people below level-15 were like cannon fodder. They would not be able to threaten the Wyrm in the slightest. The only thing they could do was to struggle and call for help while they were attacked by the ice mes...

    The two forces that were still orderly a while ago were plunged into chaos at once. With that, the lightning speed at which Lin Li and Sendros were moving at did not matter anymore. Even if they were to stroll, they would be able to enter the nest of the Crimson Python with ease.

    ¡°The Crimson Python is really dead...¡± Lin Limented after he cast the Illuminating Spell and saw the fresh blood on the walls of the cave. He brushed his fingers against it, and held them to his nose. It smelled like the blood of the Crimson Python he¡¯d encountered at ck Clouds Town. From that, he could conclude that there was a high chance that the python in this cave had been attacked.

    Lin Li surveyed the surroundings, but could not find the body of the Crimson Python. He was not surprised. Lin Li knew very well that even the dead the body of the Crimson Python was worth a fortune. Its skin could cost above a hundred million. Being durable and a natural instor of magic, it would be ideal for it to be sewn into a leather armor. Its two fangs could also be used to enhance magical weapons. If a bit of its venom were to be smudged onto a Bandit¡¯s Dagger, the poisoning effect would be more deadly than the toxin of the Smander...

    Of course, the most important object was still the magical crystal of the Crimson Python. That was a Legendary magical crystal that would excite even a Lich like Ujfalusi. Being a priceless existence in the market, Legendary magical crystals had led many mages to bankruptcy.

    Whoever had killed the Crimson Python¡ªregardless of whether it was the Malfa Family or the Dark de¡ªwould never let such a massive fortune slide past them.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s main goal was not the Crimson Python. While it was great to acquire the body of the python, his eyes were on the ultimate prize¡ªthe Dragon¡¯s Tongue. In fact, he still did not have the time to tidy up the body of another Crimson Python that he kept frozen in the Tower of Dusk...

    In Lin Li¡¯s eyes, the value of a Dragon¡¯s Tongue Herb was 10 times greater than that of 10 Crimson Pythons.

    The nest of the Crimson Python was very bizarre. The entrance of the nest was entrically narrow, making Lin Li doubt for a moment whether it was a space a huge Crimson Python could be lugged out from. This skepticism decreased when the space of the nest widened as they traveled deeper into the nest. The dimension of the nest was as wide as to house at least 10 Crimson Pythons after Lin Li walked for 700 to 800 meters into the cave. Throughout the journey, he saw many human corpses, and from the consistency of their blood, it seemed like they did not die too long ago.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li gasped when his gazended on something other than the human corpses.

    There were 10 human-sized python eggs within a hundred meters of the ce where he was standing. However, the sight of the broken shells on the ground caused Lin Li to realize that they had all been intentionally broken by people. The egg whites and yolks were mixed together and emitted a pungent stench.

    ¡°How unfortunate...¡± Sendrosmented in disappointment. The 10 eggs might not be that much of a deal tomon people. However, to an Undead Master like Sendros, those eggs had the great potential to hatch Haunted Pythons. The power of 10 Haunted Pythons would certainly not lose to a Humerus Wyrm¡¯s. In fact, obtaining the eggs of the Crimson Python to hatch the Haunted Pythons was in Sendros¡¯ calctions when he agreed to apany Lin Li here...

    Unfortunately, the despicable deed done here had eliminated Sendros¡¯ hopes.

    ¡°This is weird...¡± Lin Li said frowningly as he nced at the broken eggs. Usually, the eggs would be located where the Crimson Python rested. As the growth of the Dragon¡¯s Tongue should be activated by their presence, it would only make sense for Lin Li to spot them here. However, despite engaging the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, he was unable to locate any traces of the Dragon¡¯s Tongue...

    ¡°Are we toote?¡± Lin Li asked anxiously. That was the first thought that came to his mind. Although there shouldn¡¯t be more than 10 Pharmacists who would know the effects of the Dragon¡¯s Tongue in the entire Anril, Lin Li could not rule out the possibility that there might be some lucky ones who picked it anyway, thinking it was a normal herb.

    Furthermore, the intense battle earlier imed more than 100 lives from the two forces. What if they had destroyed the Dragon¡¯s Tongue in the process?

    The thought of such possibilities made Lin Li turn pallid.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Sendros asked in concern. He could sense Lin Li¡¯s uneasiness.

    ¡°The Dragon¡¯s Tongue might not be here...¡± said Lin Li. Just as he was about to exin further, he noticed something unusual with the cloudy substances ahead...

    The mixture of egg whites and egg yolks from the 10 broken eggs covered a few dozen meters. At his first nce, Lin Li did not pay much attention to the pythons that died prematurely due to the disastrous scene. However, Lin Li realized very quickly that the spige that had initially covered a few dozen meters appeared to be smaller in surface area aspared to before.

    At the start, Lin Li thought he had seen it wrong. However, he realized very quickly that the coverage of the sticky substances was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was as though there was a gigantic sponge that was soaking up those substances!

    ¡°Could that mean...¡± Lin Li gasped. The unusual sight hinted at another possibility...

    The Dragon¡¯s Tongue was a very rare herb. Although Lin Li was well-versed in pharmacy and herbalism, he only knew that the growth of the herb had to be enhanced by one female and one male mutated Crimson Python. They would be providing the herb with the energy necessary to grow, and the Dragon¡¯s Tongue would only mature after the female Crimson Pythonid her eggs. However, he knew nothing about the mechanics behind the phenomenon.

    Hence, when he saw that scene, he could only make wild guesses.

    Could the gigantic sponge be the true form of the Dragon¡¯s Tongue Herb?

    It was very easy to ascertain that hypothesis. Lin Li engaged the Warlock¡¯s Eyes and flew it above the cloudy mess. What he saw was a Dragon¡¯s Tongue with 10 leaves, covered in the mixture of egg white and egg yolk...

    However, the Dragon¡¯s Tongue before him seemed to be a little... entric. Its 10 leaves were huge and plump, twice the size of the regr Dragon¡¯s Tongue¡¯s leaves. When covered by the egg mixture, it squirmed like 10 lobes of lungs. What stunned Lin Li was how quickly the cloudy substance got absorbed while the leaves squirmed. A huge patch of substance was absorbed for every breath Lin Li took.

    ¡°Goddammit, is this the legendary making of a spirit?¡± Lin Li asked with his mouth agape. Despite being a Guru in five series, Lin Li was like an illiterate. He had absolutely no idea what implications the phenomenon was going to bring about...

    Lin Li could only stand still and watch the 10 squirming leaves in a daze.

    The Dragon¡¯s Tongue submerged in the sticky substance was really like a huge sponge. It soaked up all the substance around it entirely, and turned the moist and wet ground dry. When Lin Li walked towards it, he deliberately stomped hard on the ground, and discovered that it was definitely all dry and hard under his shoes. If not for the broken eggshells strewn all over, Lin Li might have thought that what he saw a while ago was just a hallucination...

    ¡°Nasty...¡± Lin Li cussed.

    <i>How strange for the Dragon¡¯s Tongue to be able to absorb the contents of 10 python eggs so efficiently!</i>

    At the same time, something abnormal happened. The already plump leaves grew bigger, reaching the size of a palm. Its green pigments disappeared. What reced it was a satanic shade of red. At a nce, it looked like a burning me.

    Lin Li could not sense the supposed Dragon¡¯s Tongue anymore. Instead, he detected a menacing and scorching feeling. It was as though he was standing under the afternoon summer sun, where he exposed his skin to toxic light rays. Lin Li knew that it was not the Dragon¡¯s Tongue he knew anymore...

    Lin Li could not exin the situation. He only knew that the magical energy from the monstrous shrub was thrice what the normal Dragon¡¯s Tongue could produce. If he were to use it to create the Rune Potion, he might not produce something as simple as level-15 Archmages...

    Of course, that was on the condition that he had the ability to control the properties of the herb.

 Chapter 434 - The Door of Truth

    <h4>Chapter 434: The Door of Truth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Regardless, Lin Li had fulfilled his greatest goal ining to the ckstone Mountains. That shrub of Dragon¡¯s Tongue meant that the Tower of Dusk would have an addition of at least 10 Archmages. With such a strongbat force, the ability of the Tower of Dusk would rise to the middle upper range in the Breezy ins. Lin Li certainly had the confidence to groom the Tower of Dusk into a force as mighty as the Glittergold Trade Union and the Dark de.

    Lin Li recited a spell as soon as the roots of the mutated Dragon¡¯s Tongue left the soil. The white fog that rose from his palms engulfed the entire Dragon¡¯s Tongue at once. It released a chilly force thatpletely suppressed the hotness of the herb...

    After Lin Li was done with the recitation, the mutated Dragon¡¯s Tongue in his hands had also transformed into an ice sculpture. Within the translucent crystal-like ice, the 10 crimson leaves emitted an ominous ray of light...

    Only after all that was done did Lin Li have a chance to look around the nest of the Crimson Python carefully. He was certain that the nest belonged to the male and female Crimson Python. The underground flow ofva located at around 200 meters away emanated vicious fire magical element that lingered in the air. This was the most conducive environment for any Crimson Python to live in. Lin Li put the herb into his Ring of Endless Storm and looked in the direction of the deepest part of the nest...

    That was the end of the undergroundva. The dancing sparks and vicious fire magical element were so hot that it caused dizziness. There were two gigantic stone pirs amidst the flickering mes. To Lin Li, those two pirs were the greatest mystery. How could one end of the pirs be bubbling withva, and the other end shrouded in infinite darkness?

    The two stone pirs were like a magical gate that directed the undergroundva into a world of unknown.

    ¡°Damn, doesn¡¯t the small path Tutankhamun mentioned look narrower than expected...?¡± said Lin Li as he rubbed his nose in a daze.

    In fact, his stay at the ckstone Mountains allowed Lin Li to understand a great part of Tutankhamun¡¯s identity. When he was giving the Heart of the Fallen to the Humerus Wyrm, the force he felt was simr to that of Tutankhamun. That caused Lin Li to realize that it was a majestic force unique to a Wyrm...

    Without a doubt, the almighty middle-aged man with the vast knowledge of Anril¡¯s history was the legendary ck Dragon that had been in captivity in the ckstone Mountains...

    However, what Lin Li did not expect was that the legendary peak of the ckstone Mountains was an alternate dimension. On top of that, he did not expect the space to feel so familiar...

    The two stone pirs before him were covered with numerous patterns. It looked delicate and intrinsic from afar, and the spells contained within were of great levels. Itsplicatedness could only be described as terrifying. There were at least sevennguages used in the spell, which the dragonnguage and high elvennguage dominated. At the less obvious partsy the legendary Titannguage¡ªor thenguage that people called ¡°divine¡±. The mageweaths on the pirs were beyond imagination. There were hundreds of mageweaths glowing brilliantly behind the mes!

    Yet, the scene was extremely familiar to Lin Li.

    He had encountered many of thoseplicated patterns when he still had the Stars of Fury.

    When he just came out from the Well of the Sun with the most powerful weapon, with the mission of hunting down the most powerful living being in the Endless World, he took countless attempts to aplish the task. Every time before he entered the nest of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, he would see simr patterns outside.

    Coincidentally, Anril, too, had a legend about the Dragon of Destruction...

    It was said that in the prehistoric times, there was a fatal battle between Dragons and Titans which nearly destroyed the whole Anril. It was also said that Titans were the descendant of the gods. They had the earth as their shields, the lightning as their spears, and the ability to manipte crazy winds and vicious mes to tear the sky and crack the earth.

    On the other hand, there were five Dragons that acted as the guardians of Anril. The Dragon of Time controlled thews of time and space; the Dragon of Dream controlled the rules of nature and bnce; the Dragon of Life had power over kindness and brightness; the Dragon of Destruction had influence over evil and darkness;stly, the Dragon of Chaos controlled thews of origin and end.

    The Dragon of Life was also known as the Holy Wyrm. While it was unfortunate that the Dragon of Life fell during the battle in the prehistoric times, it did not result in the disappearance of the rules of kindness and brightness. Instead, they transformed into a ray of light that shone over the entire Anril. This ray of light was the Holy Light that the Brilliance Shrine believed in...

    There was another dragon that fell together with the Dragon of Life. That was the Dragon of Destruction. The only difference between the dragons was that the Dragon of Destruction controlled thews of evil and darkness, which were inherited by his sons. One ruled over evil, while the other over darkness. The influence of the force was definitely not whatmon level-20 dragons could battle against. Even if each of the two sons of the Dragon of Destruction inherited half of their father¡¯s powers, they were definitely an almighty existence in Anril. No one below the Sanctuary-realm could be on par with them.

    Lin Li could ascertain Tutankhamun¡¯s identity when he saw the numerous patterns on the pirs. The only thing left for Lin Li to ponder was which of the two sons was Tutankhamun.

    ¡°That¡¯s weird...¡±

    While Lin Li murmured to himself, Sendros had also realized the unusual characteristics of the two pirs. He waved his Skeleton Staff and summoned a Vengeful Spirit from the corpses in the distance. Under Sendros¡¯ control, this Vengeful Spirit let out a shrill scream and charged into that infinite darkness.

    What followed was another ear-piercing cry.

    Before Sendros could react, that Vengeful Spirit, together with Sendros¡¯ mental strength that he¡¯d ced on the spirit, was engulfed by the infinite darkness instantly. Although that bit of mental strength was not crucial to the Legendary powerhouse, the outrageous engulfing ced a frown on Sendros¡¯ face.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. No magic can pass through the Door of Truth. That is because it is a totally different world at the other side of the door. The rules there are crazily different from Anril¡¯s. You can only distort thews when you reach the Sanctuary-realm.¡±

    While Lin Li spoke, he cast a Levitation Spell. He swerved towards the Door of Truth slowly under the force of the magical elements.

    ¡°Wha... What are you going there for?¡± Sendros gasped.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it. One of my old friend¡¯s sons lives there and wanted to meet me. I wille back in a bit!¡± After telling Sendros that, Lin Li picked up his speed and disappeared into the infinite darkness instantaneously...

    ¡°Son of an old friend...?¡± Sendros repeated after Lin Li, but could not fathom who that old friend might be.

    It was not his fault. The old friend Lin Li was referring to was actually Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction that died under the Stars of Fury...

    Lin Li had spent nearly a year in Anril. He journeyed from the Sunset Mountains to the ckstone Mountains, and had long discovered the unruly parallel between Endless World and Anril. Although it did not seem that the two worlds had much simrity on the surface, with a little more effort, it was not difficult to realize that it was as if both of the worlds were like straight lines that shared the same starting point, just going in absolutely different directions.

    At this time, Lin Li was very confident that Azardas was the name of the Dragon of Destruction in Anril World...

    That was why Lin Li had a strong urge to discover the reason why the son of the old man would want to invite him over...

    Of course, Lin Li was even more curious about the rtionship between the two worlds. Why did he even transmigrate to Anril? That was a question that surfaced in Lin Li¡¯s mind when heid his hands on Gloomy Dark when he was at the Scar of Death. This doubt grew stronger exponentially overtime. When Lin Li saw the Door of Truth, his decision to go through it was made without any hesitation. It had caused him to deny any possible dangers behind the door...

    Behind the Door of Truth was infinite darkness. Rules had lost their meaning in the darkness that was void of time and space. Lin Li did not know how far or long he had flown. His consciousness was very low in the infinite darkness. Perhaps after a second or a year, when he opened his eyes again, Lin Li was in apletely different world.

    ¡°Greetings, little mage. You are here as expected...¡± A familiar voice rang by Lin Li¡¯s ear. He turned to see Tutankhamun, the man who had once eaten his barbecue without paying...

    Beside Tutankhamun were one familiar person and another unfamiliar person.

    The familiar one was Hutton, the first heir of the Malfa Family. On his face was a mixture of dismay and shock. It was obvious that he had not expected Lin Li¡¯s sudden appearance.

 Chapter 435 - A Promise from 1300 Years Ago

    <h4>Chapter 435: A Promise from 1300 Years Ago</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The other stranger was very young, and looked the same age as Hutton. He was also wearing a long ck robe. When he stood by Hutton, the magical wave that he emitted was not behind that of the proimed magic genius of the Breezy ins.

    However, he did not know why, but that mage did not have a friendly vibe...

    Lin Li realized that the moment Tutankhamun spoke. The gaze that young man ced on him was one that was riddled with enmity. It was as though they were magical beasts that went out hunting and had their eyes set on the same prey.

    ¡°What the f*ck...¡± Lin Li muttered as he pursed his lips. He thought that the gaze should belong to Hutton, whose family he had greatly offended. What did that fe mean by that sneer?

    ¡°P-President Felic, what a coincidence...¡± That was Hutton, who looked very surprised when he spoke.

    After the annihtion of Vanskore¡¯s bandits, the rtionship between both men became very awkward. They were neither friends nor enemies; although they were not friendly with each other, there had not been any direct confrontation between them. They would have forgotten about each other after a few months if not for the sudden meeting in the ckstone Mountains.

    Unfortunately, fate brought them together in less than a bit. To be honest, if he could, Hutton really did not want to meet that young president anymore.

    That man was too dangerous...

    Although he had not entirely believed what Adelo told him, it did not mean that he paid no attention to Adelo¡¯s words. He was very clear about Adelo¡¯s personality. That senior apprentice of his was not somebody who would exaggerate so much. Even if things that happened at the Scar of Death were not entirely the same as what Adelo told him, his words would be very close to the truth.

    Even if Adelo spoke a lot of lies, the lives of the over 300 elite bandits would not be a lie.

    Those 300 esteemed bandits, including their chief, the level-18 Warrior, Vanskore, got wiped out in 30 minutes. It was a brutal and powerful fight that gave people goosebumps just at the thought of it.

    That was the reason why he would retreat overnight. He wanted to avoid the impending confrontation. He even gave up on iming the favor Sendros promised him. It was true that Sendros was a true Legendary powerhouse. If he were to render his help, he would be the only man that would walk through the Door of Truth...

    He could not believe that he would meet him again behind the Door of Truth after everything that had happened...

    The first sight of Lin Li caused Hutton¡¯s heart to skip a beat.

    <i>Damn it, my ns are ruined...</i>

    Hutton did not have time to think otherwise. He only had one thought in mind: he had to think of a way to forge a good rtionship with that young president.

    ¡°Yeah, what a coincidence...¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s reaction gave Hutton a sense of relief. It seemed that the young guild president had already forgotten the unhappiness that happened between them previously. After hearing his greeting, that man answered him with a very friendly smile.

    ¡°Oh, yes, President Felic. I nearly forgot to ask you. What brings you here?¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li smiled with the same friendly expression. However, he nced at that stranger as he spoke, ¡°I had quite some bad luck. I just encountered a sneak attack when I passed by the nest of the Crimson Python. I had no other choice but hide in that nest. Who knew it¡¯d bring me here...¡±

    The expression of the young man changed the moment Lin Li opened his mouth.

    ¡°Oh, yes. This is...?¡± asked Lin Li deliberately after ranting as he nced at that stranger nkly.

    ¡°Oh, right. If not for President Felic¡¯s reminder, I would have forgotten to introduce you to each other...¡± By this time, Hutton¡¯s smile became extremely awkward. ¡°This is Stephen from the Dark de. He is a level-17 Archmage, the best magic talent in the Breezy ins.¡± Hutton turned to Stephen, and continued, ¡°This is President Felic, the owner of the Tower of Dusk, a mage that even Senior Adelo respects.¡±

    ¡°It is my pleasure to meet you...¡± Lin Li greeted Stephen. In fact, that introduction was redundant. Lin Li had guessed it right. Not to mention that there were few Archmages in the Breezy ins who were younger than 30 years old, there were even fewer who were at level-17. Furthermore, his change in expression upon the mention of a sneak attack gave him away. He knew that this man should be the sworn enemy of the Malfa Family, the heir of the Dark de.

    ¡°What is the Tower of Dusk? I¡¯ve never heard of it...¡± Stephen remarked as he looked at Lin Li slightly. ¡°As for trash like Adelo, he is still a level-17 even though he followed Cheyenne for 10 years. If he were to show respect to someone, I guess there¡¯s nothing to be proud of anyway...¡±

    Stephen¡¯s words brought out sparkles in Hutton¡¯s eyes.

    That was right. Hutton nned to sow discord between both men. Otherwise, he would not have thought of introducing Stephen to Lin Li after the mention of the sneak attack. That was as good as telling Lin Li inly that the mastermind behind the sneak attack was the man before him, and that he could take the chance to take revenge immediately.

    To Hutton, the personality of the young guild president would bring him to flip the table as soon as he knew the truth. Having killed 300 people in the split of a second, how could he show any respect to somebody from the Dark de?

    However, Hutton¡¯s optimism did not allow him to expect Stephen to be so amodating to his ns.

    He just said that he had not heard of the Tower of Dusk...

    That was a in insult that could enrage anybody, not only that young President Felic.

    Now it was great. One was an Archmage that was almost on par with himself, and another was a powerful mage that Adelo admired... If both of them were to start a battle, he was certain that one of them would be dead. By then, it meant that he managed to get rid of one opponent without much effort.

    Even if Tutankhamun interfered in the confrontation, there was still nothing for Hutton to lose, either. The two people would notbine forces against him once their rtionship had been damaged. To him, that was the most ideal situation.

    Unfortunately, Hutton¡¯s hopes were dashed very quickly. Stephen¡¯s words did not affect the bright and passionate smile on President Felic. It was as though the words were apliment instead of insult.

    ¡°Hehe, I like how Mage Stephen is so straightforward...¡±

    How would Lin Li not understand Hutton¡¯s intention of sowing discord between him and Stephen? Hutton had to be waiting for both men to fight and get rid of either opponent...

    Of course, Lin Li had no objections to getting rid of Stephen. He was the guy that had sent people tounch a sneak attack on Gavin and his team. That was a score that he would be settling in the future. Now, he did not have the time to do so. How could he think about revenge when he was standing before the son of the Dragon of Destruction?

    ¡°Howdy, Mr. Tutankhamun. I can¡¯t believe that we met so quickly again...¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I know you have a lot of burning queries...¡± Tutankhamun replied. It was as though he knew what Lin Li was thinking about. The mysterious middle-age man was able to predict what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind as soon as he opened his mouth.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Tutankhamun. Could you tell me the reason behind all these happenings?¡±

    ¡°It is because of a promise.¡± Tutankhamun¡¯s gaze swept past the three men before stopping on Lin Li. ¡°It is a promise that was made more than 1300 years ago. Alright, now that everybody is here, let¡¯s find a nice ce to talk about it...¡±

    As Tutankhamun finished his sentence, the scenery around them took a change. The previously desertednd transformed into luscious greenery. The three men saw a wooden cottage hidden behind the thickets, and followed Tutankhamun in its direction. Their eyes were filled with amazement.

    Being rare talents in the field of magic, the three men would naturally not take the transformation of their surroundings as an illusion. In fact, the situation was not something that could be exined by an illusion. There was not a single tree or stone that was imaginary here. Even the fragrance carried by the flowers, grass, and soil was as in the real world. That was not what any illusion in the world could achieve. That could only be reality. A reality that changed ording to Tutankhamun¡¯s intentions...

    ¡°Since you are all here, I bet you have heard about the promise...¡± Those words were directed to Hutton and Stephen.

    Hutton nodded his head respectfully.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Tutankhamun. ording to the records, the Malfa Family would be able to reim some things from you after 1300 years.¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Tutankhamun smiled and shook his head. ¡°There is a problem with your family¡¯s ancient books...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°The real owner of those things is not the Malfa Family you were referring to. They were Geresco¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°G-Geresco!?¡± The three young mages let out a gasp as soon as Tutankhamun finished talking.

    Geresco¡¯s name carried some sort of charisma that only the Immortal King had the privilege to challenge in the entire history of Anril.

 Chapter 436 - Book of Eternity

    <h4>Chapter 436: Book of Eternity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Geresco was born in thest year of the Dark Age. In that century, the cruel rule of the High Elves reached its peak. Revolts and repression were omnipresent, and every inch ofnd in Anril was stained with fresh blood.

    The parents of Geresco were the two most famous mages of Fn Kingdom. Such a family background gave Geresco the best and strictest magic education from young. He became an Archmage at the age of 20, reached the Legendary-realm being 23 years old, and entered the Sanctuary-realm at the age of 30. His talent in magic was unprecedented.

    In the final battle, Geresco defeated the entire Magic Legion alone. He killed the invincible queen of the High Elves and put a stop to the legendary period, the Dark Age.

    That battle raised Geresco¡¯s reputation to the peak. He became the strongest mage in all history and the mortal who was the closest to God. He was the living magic god.

    However, the magic god rejected all requests for him to stay, and returned to nna alone. He lived in a tall tower in the northwest of nna for two decades, and modified the Magic System. Apart from making magic more suitable to be studied by humans, Geresco established the Supreme Council and the magic guilds under it. He made improvements to the environment for learning magic so that it would be essible to all human beings.

    Those were the two most important things that happened in the history of Anril. In Andoine¡¯s words, the two deeds done by Geresco had helped to speed up the development of magic in the human world by 1000 years. If not for him, human mages would have still been exploring the concept of magic ignorantly. It meant that humans would need another 1000 years to achieve the same glory as the High Elves.

    Geresco¡¯s outstanding contributions sped up the development of human study of magic. The human mages now were not as strong as the High Elves. The High Elves were seen as the most perfect creatures that ever lived, and had a great natural advantage. In that era, High Elves who reached adulthood would at least have the ability of a Magic Shooter. Reaching the Archmage-level was asmon as a stage of growing up. Amongst the nobles of the High Elves, it was verymon to be at the Legendary-realm. The royalty was also expected to reach the Sanctuary-realm to have the right to the throne.

    Furthermore, High Elves had a very long lifespan. That was not what human beings couldpare themselves to¡ªunless they reached the Archmage-realm, they would only live for 50 or 60 years. Even if one were to be an Archmage, he would only live up to 100 years. Only the Legendary-realm would allow one to live up to 500 years. Of course, once a human entered the Sanctuary-realm, he would be like a High Elf. Just like Apophis: if he wanted to, he could live another 1300 years.

    The two advantages naturally gave the High Elves incredible strength.

    However, humans had their own perks as well...

    First and foremost, humans were more numerouspared to the High Elves. There were at least 1000 times more humans than High Elves. ording to the records from the Dark Age, the heyday of the High Elves barely saw a poption count of 220,000. On the other hand, there were already a few billion people in the Fn Kingdom. Even if there was only one outstanding mage from every 100,000 humans, humans would be more powerful than the High Elves.

    Furthermore, unlike humans, the High Elves did not have the ability to improve.

    The magic of the High Elves Print was all inherited from the ancient Dragon and Titannguages. That was the strongest force of magic in the world. In the words of the High Elves, this ability came from the gods. However, apart from Osric and a few geniuses, no other High Elf made any alterations or innovations to magic throughout the entire Dark Age.

    Humans, however, had been enhancing magic theories and concepts ever since the Magic System had been established by Geresco 1300 years ago. Talents from the subsequent generations used their own intelligence to improve that system. Although human magic was not more powerful than the magic the High Elves had inherited from the Dragon and Titannguages, it was the most suitable magic for humans to study.

    Although humans had yet to recreate the glory and civilization that the High Elves had established in the field of magic after 1300 years, their refinedbat skills wereparable to, or rather, better than the High Elves¡¯. After all, the human poption was greater than that of the High Elves. The death of a mage would see him reced by many new mages.

    Everything was due to Geresco¡¯s efforts.

    The establishment of a Magic System for humans, and the building of the Supreme Council and magic guilds, allowed human magic to develop so excellently till today.

    In the entire history of Anril, there was no other name more glorious than Geresco¡¯s. Even the creator of the High Elves Dynasty, the Immortal King would not have been able to surpass Geresco¡¯s fame. After all, it had been ages since the Immortal King¡¯s era. That honorable past had already sunk deep beneath the dust of history.

    ¡°I had a bet with Geresco 1300 years ago. However, I have lost...¡± There was a sense of dismay underlying Tutankhamun¡¯s voice. ¡°ording to the deal, I have to stay in the ckstone Mountains to protect some of his things until people arrive to im them.¡±

    ¡°You mean... You mean that those things... those things...¡± Hutton¡¯s voice shook terribly. He nearly bit his tongue while talking.

    Any mage would know that although Geresco did not leave behind many things in Anril, each of his possession could be described as a priceless treasure. One of the most valuable item would be the magic staff in nna Guild of Magic. That magic staff had been protecting nna Guild of Magic for a period of 1300 years. That guild maintained its noble status ever since, and everyone who entered the guild had to bow to the magic staff. These people included the king of Fn, the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine, and the arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    The inheritance from the magic god not only embodied extreme mystery, but also gave anyone in possession of it the recognition of the magic god, just like the Supreme Council and nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is you two...¡± Tutankhamun said as he reached out his finger and pointed at Hutton, and then at Stephen. ¡°Your ancestors were disciples of Geresco. Me and Geresco had a bet that required me to pass his inheritance to the descendants of his disciples after 1300 years if I lost the bet¡ª¡±

    ¡°Mr. Tutankhamun, may I ask what item it is?¡± Stephen interrupted excitedly. The inheritance of Geresco would be enough to let the Dark de rule over the entire Breezy ins.

    ¡°Geresco left behind three items. A magic book, a key, and a magical crystal.¡± Tutankhamun told the men openly.

    ¡°Magic book?¡± Hutton¡¯s eyes was wide open. He was filled with bewilderment. ¡°Y-you mean... The Book of Eternity?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Hutton eximed, dazed. He could not say another word. The Book of Eternity was a legend by itself!

    It was said that each human mage of the Dark Age owned a unique magic book. It was extremely challenging for humans to practice magic during that era. Unlike the High Elves, they could neitherprehend the dragon scripture nor thenguage of the Titans. Having no opportunity to enter any guild of magic then, they could only learn directly from human mentors. Apart from Geresco, the other human mages only had one mage apprentice as they only had one magic book each.

    To the human mages then, the magic book represented the knowledge and experience they had gained in their life. While Geresco¡¯s book simrly recorded his knowledge about magic and experience from his research, his book had another function.

    Geresco, the man who was born on thest year of the Dark Age, had a unique magic book. That book was called the Book of Eternity. Its pages were made from the Tree of Eternity, while the ink used to write the spells in the book was personally extracted from the Tree of Eternity by Geresco.

    People who had experienced that era would know the value of Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity. The book itself had infinite powers. There were also many human mages who treated the book as the strongest magical weapon of that era!

    However, no one knew where the book vanished when Geresco disappeared. That was a concern shared by mages in Anril. Many Legendary-mages believed that anyone who couldy his hands on the Book of Eternity would make it to the Sanctuary-realm in a breeze.

    Of course, that belief might not be entirely true. After all, no one other than Geresco had seen the Book of Eternity. Yet, there was something that would not be doubted: the powers of the Book of Eternity would definitely not lose to nna¡¯s magic staff¡¯s.

    As Tutankhamun nodded his head gently, the air within the wooden house became very stale. No one expected that Geresco had left behind such a treasure. Now, even Lin Li, who was not involved in the matter, could not help but hold his breath...

 Chapter 437 - Careless Thrusting

    <h4>Chapter 437: Careless Thrusting</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    To Hutton and Stephen, it was definitely a meat pie that fell from the sky!

    Although they knew from their families¡¯ scriptures of the benefit the ckstone Mountains would bring them very long ago, they did not expect the benefit to be so amazing. It was the Book of Eternity left behind by the God of Mages, Geresco!

    However, after that great surprise, both mennded their doubtful and cautious gazes on Lin Li.

    It was only normal to react this way. As the matter was rted to the Book of Eternity¡ªa book that could bring any mage the highest achievements with just a step¡ªany generous mage would be stingy because of it.

    Of course, these two were not generous to begin with...

    The records on the Book of Eternity was the God of Mages Geresco¡¯s knowledge and experience. It was a treasure any mage dreamt to attain. The possession of the Book of Eternity would mean that one had acquired the shortcut to heaven. This shortcut could let any mage enter the Sanctuary-realm without much effort. One might even reach the realm higher than that...

    Furthermore, the Book of Eternity had an invincible strength that no one could describe. However, it would definitely be no less powerful than the magic staff that guarded nna Guild of Magic. After all, the magic staff was what Geresco used in his younger days, while the Book of Eternity was the work of his entire life.

    Who could be generous when such a huge profit was just right in front them?

    Hutton was fine. He gave Lin Li a weird nce before lowering his head in silence. He knew that the young president was not somebody to be trifled with.

    Unlike Hutton, Stephen cared less about Lin Li. Stephen was the youngest mage that grew up in the most powerful bandit organization of the Breezy ins. He had always been showered with the love and guidance of the three elders, and had not experienced many setbacks in his life or feared anybody. Overtime, he started to look down on everybody. There were few people he respected in the Breezy ins. Especially in the younger age group, Hutton was the only one he felt respect for...

    As for the guild president who emerged out of nowhere, Stephen had absolutely no interest in him. Since he had not heard of Lin Li¡¯s name, he assumed that he was a man with no background or much ability. How could such a man put his hands on Geresco¡¯s inheritance?

    ¡°Mr. Tutankhamun, I have a question... Since Geresco only had two disciples, does that mean that people who are not involved in this matter should leave this ce earlier?¡± Stephen asked politely, but his gaze resting on Lin Li was filled with obvious enmity.

    ¡°...¡± Lin Liughed awkwardly at Stephen¡¯s query. He did not rebut his words.

    By this time, if there were people who knew Lin Li around, they would think that they had lost their eyesight. How could the fe who would seek revenge for the smallest grievance be so easy to talk to? That was a more unusual scene aspared to watching flowers grow on an iron tree and a roostery eggs!

    Could it be that the fe suddenly understood the virtue of restraining his anger?

    Of course not...

    The reason behind his calmness was the simr curiosity Lin Li shared...

    Lin Li could not understand why Tutankhamun included him in the conflict for Geresco¡¯s inheritance. Tutankhamun might not have known Lin Li¡¯s origin, but Lin Li knew very well he was from other world. That world was totally unrted to the God of Mages in Anril.

    ¡°It is true that Geresco only had two disciples. However, I added another condition into the bet then. That is, apart from the descendants of the two disciple, I have the right to appoint another talented mage to join thepetition...¡± Tutankhamun said as he stood up from the table. ¡°Alright, I have finished what I had to say. Wait here and let me retrieve some things for you to see.¡±

    The three men sat for another minute doubtfully. Then, they saw Tutankhamuning out of his bedroom with a ck crate. The crate was around two square feet. From the dull metallic glow, it seemed that the box was made from a type of metal. However, the ckness of the box looked very unsightly after all the years. There was no magical wave. It seemed to be just a normal metal crate.

    ¡°The three things Geresco left behind are all in this box...¡± Tutankhamun said smilingly as he ced the box on the wooden table gently. He was not in a rush to open it.

    ¡°M-Mr... Mr. Tutankhamun, could... could we take a look at the Book of Eternity?¡±

    The gazes of Hutton and Stephen became tense as they looked at the crate with a burning excitement. They could not help but hope Tutankhamun would open the metal box immediately to let them have a look at the relics of the God of Mages.

    ¡°Since they are yours, there is no harm showing them to you guys...¡± Tutankhamun said before showing an uneasy expression. ¡°But, I suddenly recalled that Geresco did not pass the key to this box to me. So... If you want to look at the Book of Eternity, I¡¯m afraid you have to think of a way to open the crate yourself...¡±

    ¡°How difficult could it be?¡± Stephenughed in relief. He was still nervous about what Tutankhamun wanted to tell them. So it was just to open a locked metal box.

    One of the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de was a Legendary-level Bandit. Although he chose to be a mage, he had learnt many skills exclusive to Bandits. He had long mastered the skill of lock-picking. Not to mention a small metal crate, if it were the door to Fn¡¯s treasury, he had the same confidence to unlock it if he was given enough time to do so.

    ¡°Alright...¡± Tutankhamun replied as he pushed the metal box towards Stephen. ¡°You shall open it, then...¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡± Stephen put one of his hands on the box, and fished out a thin iron wire from his pocket. Very quickly, the iron wire entered the rusty keyhole. After turning the wire twice, Stephen slowly leaned over and put his ear against the box. How he tried to analyze every sound from the keyhole was just like a masterful Bandit.

    <i>Oh sh*t...</i> Hutton groaned to himself. The Malfa Family and Dark de had beenpeting with each other for a few centuries. How could he not know about the existence of the Legendary-level Bandit in the Dark de? Now that he watched Stephen pick the lock skillfully, Hutton knew that Stephen had to have been trained in that domain.

    That was not a good thing to Hutton. He knew very well that the items within the box were the relics of the God of Mages, Geresco. Although Tutankhamun did not say much when he took out the box, everyone knew thepetition had begun. As long as one of them could pass the tests Tutankhamun gave them, the person would be able to acquire the three relics within the metal crate.

    The unlocking of this box had to be one of the tests...

    Once Stephen managed to open that box, President Felic and himself would be greatly disadvantaged in thatpetition.

    While Hutton was silently dreading that possibility, Lin Li was totally at peace with himself. He shifted his gaze from Stephen back onto the ck metal crate. Lin Li was not the least bit concerned about himself being at disadvantage if Stephen were to open that box...

    That was because Lin Li knew very well that Stephen would not be able to open that box...

    Just when Stephen was picking the lock, Lin Li let out his mental strength to inspect the box for quite a while. There were no magical waves on the surface of the box at all.

    That was usually what normal people would expect when they saw that dull metallic surface. It looked just like any othermon metal box. It was not strange for it tock magical waves.

    However, the fact that the box contained the Book of Eternity changed everything.

    The Book of Eternity had the knowledge that was the essence of Geresco¡¯s whole life. Every page was created from the Tree of Eternity that had incredibly strong magical force. Not to mention that the box was made from a normal metal, even if it had been crafted from the Eternal Adamantine, it would not have been able to conceal the powerful magical waves within it.

    Although Lin Li still had no idea as to how the box functioned; he was only sure that knowledge of magic was required to open it. One would never be able to seed just by thrusting a random iron wire into the keyhole like Stephen even if he had a hundred years to do so...

    <i>This is weird...</i> Lin Li¡¯s doubts grew bigger the longer he looked at the box. <i>How could amon metal crate be able to conceal the magical wave of the Book of Eternity? Could it be that the box had been treated by mageweaths?</i>

    <i>That couldn¡¯t be it. There are neither obvious mageweath markings on the box, nor the source of mana that could supply the box with power. Even if the box had been treated by a mageweath, it would not havested for 1300 years.</i>

    ¡°F*ck!¡±

    Just when Lin Li was still trying to figure out the workings of the box, a bit of rust flew into his eyes. Then, he saw a bright glow in front of him. When he looked at Stephen again, his gaze was filled with sympathy.

    <i>Trouble definitely would follow such careless thrusting...</i>

 Chapter 438 - Elemental Iron

    <h4>Chapter 438: Elemental Iron</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was right. Such careless thrusting would definitely lead to trouble...

    Just when Stephen was putting all his attention on turning the iron wire in his hands, there was suddenly an entric magical wave that radiated from the metal box. The magical wave was as unusual as one could possibly imagine it to be. There were no signs to tell the source of the magical wave. It was as if the magical wave had appeared out of nowhere.

    Furthermore, that magical wave changed very quickly. At the beginning, it was nothing but a trace of magic. Immediately after, it was amplified and changed into a surging tide of magic. It was like a huge wave, and was rushing towards Stephen at top speed!

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Stephen eximed. Being a high-ranking Archmage who had good and urate control over the flow of mana, Stephen could sense the danger when the magical wave rushed towards him.

    However, danger came too quickly. A high-ranking Archmage like Stephen could not keep up with the changes happening at the speed of light. It was faster than the speed at which mana usually flowed at. At that instant, Stephen only managed to cast a Water Shield before getting engulfed by numerous beams of light...

    Lin Li witnessed everything very clearly. The beams of light were actually numerous magic arrows. Among the offensive spells, the impact of magic arrows was not the weakest, but it was one of the weaker spells. It couldn¡¯t be helped. This was a very simple and shabby spell that did not require any elemental sequencing. One just had to let the magic out for the spell to take effect.

    This was the only spell a mage apprentice could instantaneously cast. However, it was not frequently employed by them as it was really weak.

    That was no exaggeration. There was a mage who did the calctions very long ago. If one were to use a magic arrow against a Four-element Shield, it would require him to cast it 100 times for cracks to appear in the shield. As for shields that were stronger than the Four-element Shield... It would be almost impossible.

    However, there were millions of magic arrows that shot out. Collectively, they looked like a meteor shower. Quantitative change led to qualitative change. That overwhelming volley of magic arrows broke Stephen¡¯s Water Shield instantaneously!

    That was a fatal crisis. No Archmage could survive in such a situation. Unless he had his own Magical Domain after he reached the Legendary-realm, he would not be able to make use of thews of magic to alter the direction of the mana within the magic arrows.

    However, everything would have an exception...

    Although Stephen was not in the Legendary-realm, he survived the attack of the million magic arrows miraculously...

    Stephen plucked out his ne at the instant when the magic arrows broke the Water Shield.

    Lin Li could not believe how that action allowed Stephen to create severalyers of Elemental Shields instantaneously. He counted sevenyers of the shield, and saw that the shields stacked on top of each other, creating an impregnable magic wall. Lin Li assumed that the wall would also be able to resist a Legendary-level powerhouse for quite a while.

    It was this magic wall that saved Stephen...

    However, even if the Elemental Shield had sevenyers, it did not have the ability to protect Stephen entirely. In fact, Stephen looked totally different when that meteor shower ended.

    He looked as if he was just trampled by 100 elephants. There were big and small wounds that looked especially terrifying in critical regions. If some had hit a little more to the side, Stephen¡¯s small life would have ended.

    Stephen breathed heavily and struggled to drink a bottle of Recovery Potion. He looked more resolved after that, but the bloodstains on his face and tattered long ck robe made him really wretched.

    ¡°This... What happened?¡± Hutton eximed worriedly after seeing Stephen¡¯s miserable state.

    ¡°Geresco did not say anything when he passed the box to me. Other than wanting me to wait for you guys here to retrieve the things, I¡¯m not aware of other matters,¡± Tutankhamun said as he waved his hands indifferently.

    ¡°Are you saying that you don¡¯t know?¡± Stephen snapped in rage. ¡°This box has been with you for 1300 years. How could you not know anything?¡±

    Stephen¡¯s rage was justified. He¡¯d nearly died from those magic arrows that rained on him. If it were not for his quick reflexes to cast sevenyers of the Elemental Shield, he would not have been able to stand there alive anymore.

    ¡°You should ask Geresco...¡± Tutankhamun still sounded unaffected. However, Lin Li knew that if Stephen still continued to make a fuss, he would be in trouble. Tutankhamun was a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction. Being one of the invincible ck dragons of the world, how could his honor be challenged by a mere Archmage?

    To be honest, Lin Li would not mind if Tutankhamun intended to punish Stephen...

    <i>But, now is not the time...</i>

    There was no time to waste now. The mana depletion would onlyst for a maximum of five minutes. If they were to miss the chance, there would only be another unlucky fe...

    ¡°I shall try it, then...¡± Lin Li said as he stood from the table.

    ¡°You?¡± Stephen questioned disdainfully.

    First-hand experience gave Stephen the clearest understanding of how impactful the magic force within the metal box was. That nket of magic arrows had the ability to pierce through the Four-element Shields. Despite employing the Dark de¡¯s strongest magical equipment, the Element Sigh Ne, it could only act as a temporary defense mechanism. Only a Legendary-level individual could bnce the force of the attack.

    <i>As for that President Felic... He still needs another century to do that...</i>

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lin Li replied, and did not care about Stephen¡¯s disdainful gaze. He took his time to search his pocket.

    Shortly after, Lin Li fished out a dark metal rod.

    Lin Li had not used this rod that had been coated with deep mithril ever since he defeated Cromwell in the battle in Jarrosus. Magical enchantment required a huge amount of magical crystals, and Lin Li only took interest in magical enchantment at least at Master-level. He would need to use dozens of level-15 magical crystals and drain half of his energy for the enchantment. Furthermore, there was no need for Lin Li to employ any enchantment spells now. Andoine once advised him against heavy reliance on magical equipment. He was afraid that the illusion of strength would lead Lin Li astray, and he¡¯d lose the opportunities to improve.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to use mere magical enchantment this time...

    The dull gold rod was not least eye-catching. It only emitted faint magical waves in Lin Li¡¯s hands like a low-level magic scroll or some lousy magical equipment. At this time, not only Stephen, even Hutton who knew the abilities of President Felic started to be confused...

    Hutton could recognize the gold rod as specialized equipment used by magical enchanters. However, he could not fathom the intention behind President Felic bringing it out. Did he think the magic arrows weren¡¯t powerful enough? Did he want to make the magic arrows more deadly with magical enchantment?

    ¡°I still thought you would have a good idea...¡± Stephenmented. He could not suppress his sense of disdain for Lin Li. ¡°I say, President Felic, are you intending to use that metal rod to open the box?¡±

    ¡°Hush...¡± Lin Li whispered, not affected by the meager insult. He did not even lift his eyelids when he turned to look at Stephen. ¡°Mage Stephen, don¡¯t you want to change into a new set of clothes? Or do you think it is nicer to expose your whole buttocks to the world?¡± Lin Li asked sincerely.

    ¡°...¡± Stephen¡¯s expression changed. He touched his behind subconsciously and realized his skin had gotten exposed from the attack. Although it was only a palm-sized hole in his robe, and nothing as exaggerated as what Lin Li said, this had be his most embarrassing moment in his entire life which he had been living in utmostfort and luxury.

    As the young leader of the Dark de, and the top Archmage in the Breezy ins, it was an extreme insult to be pointed out for his exposed bottom in public. Stephen¡¯s palish face turned green, and his veins surfaced on his tightly clenched fist. If not for Tutankhamun and Hutton, he would haveunched an attack.

    Lin Li did not even look at Stephen. He held on to that mithril-coated gold rod and ced it on the metal box gently.

    What followed was a brilliant glow of light...

    The air in the wooden house became stale. It was as though Stephen, Hutton, and Tutankhamun¡ªtwo humans and one ck dragon¡ªwere trapped by a mysterious force. They could not help but rub their eyes.

    The metal box was gone...!

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Hutton cussed as he held his head.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be! This can¡¯t be!¡± Stephen shrieked. It sounded as though he was being strangled. ¡°This is an illusion. Illusion!¡±

    Tutankhamun was the calmest among the three. After casting a quick nce at the space where the metal crate disappeared, he put his gaze on the gold rod.

    Although the gold rod still had the same dullness, there was an additional foggyyer of halo around the tip of the rod. If one had not looked at it carefully, he would have thought that it was just a reflection of the light earlier on.

    However, Tutankhamun was no average man. Having lived for countless years, that ck dragon had in-depth knowledge about magic aspared to most mages in Anril. How could he not know that the halo was left behind by Geresco¡¯s metal crate?

    <i>That </i>was the essence of magic...

    Only an enchanter¡¯s gold rod could extract the purest source of mana.

    However, even Tutankhamun would not have thought that a young mage would open the box with such a technique.

    In fact, Geresco actually wrote down the way to open the box when he passed the metal crate to him. It was Tutankhamun who decided to use the box to test the three young mages. Stephen¡¯s failure was within his expectations. How could a metal crate that was made from elemental metal be opened by a normal lock-picking technique?

    The elemental iron was also known as a living magical metal. It had very incredible mana that grew with time. As though it had an ability to meditate, the iron could grow in strength every second. There were also elemental iron mineral veins that had been around for a thousand years that were as powerful as an Archmage.

    However, that was not the most entric part of elemental iron. The reason that made elemental iron known as magical metal was its innate ability to cast spells. The presence of external factors could trigger the iron to cast spells independently, and the way it cast them would be determined by the way it had been forged. During the Dark Age, there were many High Elven Smithing Masters that could forge many weapons with different magical attributes just by using a piece of elemental iron.

    Initially, the method that Geresco left behind was to destroy the Magic Suppression spell that was cast on the metal crate. Then, one had to solve three quizzes that required entry-level Inscription knowledge to unlock the metal box to retrieve the Book of Eternity.

    Unfortunately, Geresco could not have expected somebody to use such a violent method to open the crate after 1300 years.

    The use of a gold rod to directly disassociate the elemental iron was a very unreasonable technique. However, Tutankhamun had to admit that it was a very effective way.

    Of course, one had to be a Master-level enchanter and own a powerful gold rod to be able to seed. Otherwise, such a forceful method would only trigger the elemental iron and get himself submerged in raining magic arrows...

    ¡°Hold on...¡± Tutankhamunmented. He suddenly realized that the young man ced his gold rod during the time of depletion of the elemental iron. This meant that he would never have been harmed even if he¡¯d failed to disassociate the elements. Hence, Stephen had merely be cannon fodder by taking lead so enthusiastically!

    <i>Damn, this fe is sly...</i>

 Chapter 439 - Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 439: Magical Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    <i>That gave that kid a huge advantage...</i> Tutankhamun thought to himself. He was not an amateur like Hutton and Stephen. Although he did not specialize in magical enchantment, the vast knowledge and experience he had umted over the years allowed him to grasp critical aspects of any issue. Elemental iron was one of the most valuable magical metals in Anril. During the Dark Age 1300 years ago, only the royals of the High Elves had the right to use magical equipment made from elemental iron.

    Furthermore, the powers of elemental iron grew with time. When Geresco created this crate, the elemental iron mineral vein he used was at least a few thousand years old. The mana within it wasparable to a magical crystal¡¯s.

    By itself, the essence of magic had neither form nor substance. It would only radiate dazzling beams of light after undergoing aplicated elemental sequencing. Although the halo on the tip of the gold rod was faint, its mere existence was terrifying enough.

    If one were to make good use of that essence of magic, he would be able toplete at least three magical enchantments at the Master-level!

    Furthermore, it being extracted from the elemental iron allowed the essence of magic to inherit qualities unique to the elemental iron. This meant that if one were to use that essence for magical enchantment, the equipment undergoing the enchantment would also grow in power as time passed. Over time, it would be as great as the legendary Divinity Metal!

    <i>If we let this essence of magic take its effect on a magical weapon that was made of the Divinity Metal...</i>

    The thought made Tutankhamun smile. How could the Divinity Metalnd in the hands of a mortal? All of the Divinity Metal had been dug out during the prehistoric times, when the Titans battled with the Dragons. Those metals were used to create 12 Titan Dragon Spears. Now, anybody who wanted to get their hands on any magical weapon made from that metal could only enter the Pantheon to look for the remains of the 12 Golden Titans.

    Tutankhamun still did not know that it was exactly what Lin Li intended to do. By this time, Lin Li had already nned out what magical equipment he wanted to forge. He just had to bring that essence of magic back to start work immediately.

    ¡°Oops, I opened it identally...¡± Lin Li said as he smiled hypocritically, and put away the gold rod with the essence of magic casually.

    ¡°...¡± Hutton nearly went out of breath. <i>Can you put more effort into your pretense of humbleness? How could you say that you unlocked the box when you actually let such a big crate disappear? What a shameless man!</i>

    On the other side, Stephen realized that he would never see Felic embarrass himself. He realized he was the joke. If that happened to any other man, it would be nothing to fuss about. However, Stephen was a man who experiencedfort and luxury ever since he was born. No one in the Dark de would go against his wishes. This included his three elders. They would dote on him and fulfill all of his requests. Over time, he had grown to be a man who could never handle any failures.

    Stephen had thought that he would be the first to im all the objects within the metal box. He had not expected himself to be attacked so miserably by the numerous magic arrows when he actually employed the utmost refined skill of lock-picking which most mages did not know.

    How could that Mage Felic resolve all issues with just one gentle touch of a metal rod? The stark difference between himself and Felic naturally induced hate within him...

    However, Stephen had not been blinded by anger. He knew that there was still a Hutton who came from the Malfa Family by his side. If he were to start a battle, Hutton would be very happy to join forces with Felic to get rid of himself. Hence, Stephen only gave Felic one deadly re before lowering his head again. No one knew what was on his mind...

    After the blinding light beams faded, the relics of the God of Mages appeared.

    There were three items lying quietly on the wooden table. They were namely a book, a key, and a magical crystal. There was a handwritten sentence on the cover page of the book: ¡°Knowledge is the most powerful belief of a mage!¡±.

    ¡°This is really the Book of Eternity...¡±

    That sentence was a well-known quote by the God of Mages. He said it while standing on the top of the Omniscient Tower on the day nna Guild of Magic was established. Ever since, it had be a quote every mage held dearly by.

    The three young mages would believe the book on the table to be the real Book of Eternity even without that quote. There was a chance for every thing in the world to be fake, but not magical waves. In Anril, mages were always referred to as prophets and intellectuals. That was because mages used their hearts instead of their eyes to make sense of the world. There were many things that could lie to the eyes, but not the heart. Hence, a mage could identify the issue of any topic critically even if there were thousands of strands and loose ends before him.

    It was like the Book of Eternity before them. Although the three men had not met Geresco before, the sight of the book enabled them to understand that it was the true copy left behind by Geresco lying on the table.

    In that moment, Hutton and Stephen could not help but disy burning passion and excitement in their eyes. That was very normal. Any mage who saw the relics of the God of Mages would have the same expression on their face. Furthermore, those were no ordinary relics. The Book of Eternity alone had the entire record of the knowledge and the experience of the God of Mages!

    Lin Li was no exception. The only difference was that the excitement in Lin Li¡¯s eyes only stayed there for a split second. His gazended on that magical crystal next to the book very quickly.

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Lin Li gasped when he saw the crystal.

    The magical crystal was as big as a fist. It was definitely much bigger than the other crystals Lin Li had handled before. It would be good if the magical crystal of amon magical beast could be the size of a thumb. Even the crystal he got from killing the Crimson Python at ck Clouds Town was just twice the normal size.

    Lin Li had seen truck loads of magical crystals throughout his journey from the Endless World to the Anril World. That would include high-end ones that were at least level-10, if not level-20. However, he had only seen one and a half pieces of a crystal as big as this...

    One was the heart of the Eternal Furnace¡ªthe rare legendary magical crystal of the Fire Wyrm. The crystal was the size of a human head, and contained massive amount of mana sufficient for the furnace to function. In fact, the Eternal Furnace was a piece of war equipment made after Osric referenced the structure of the Sky Castle. The number of magical weapons, magical devices, and mageweaths and the amount of mana needed to create the Eternal Furnace were astronomical. After Lin Li had descended into the furnace to put his Spiritual Brand on the Fire Wyrm magical crystal, he gained huge benefits. One of them was reaching the Archmage-level immediately.

    The remaining half of the crystal he had seen would be the one dug out from Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. The reason why it was ¡®halved¡¯ was because Lin Li still could not extract any bit of mana. He had tried everything he could for the past one year he travelled from the Endless World to Anril, but to no avail. It was as if that was just an ordinary stone.

    Lin Li remembered very clearly that he had skinned Azardas and had ridden it of its veins. He had searched Azardas¡¯ body very thoroughly. He went through its skin, bones, veins, blood, and even fur, but could not find any other objects rted to the Wyrm Crystal other than that stone.

    Furthermore, how would there be a stone within the Dragon of Destruction? Unless it got gallstones from a sedentary life by sleeping in its cave... Alright, even if that happened, it did not make sense for the stone to be growing in its head...

    After eliminating everything else that would never happen, there could only be one conclusion: the stone-like object Lin Li had got from the dragon was a real magical crystal. That was thergest magical crystal Lin Li had seen in his life.

    <i>Oh, yes. I shouldn¡¯t let Tutankhamun know this. Who knows if he is the son of the Dragon of Destruction? Although it was a different world, it would definitely offend him.</i> For his Sanctuary-level abilities, he would be able to seek revenge for his father any time he wanted. Even if Lin Li had 10 lives, the result would be his death.

    That thought caused Lin Li to steal a quick nce at Tutankhamun guiltily. After realizing that the expression of the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction remained unaffected, he managed to calm down gradually and direct his focus on the magical crystal again...

    Lin Li discovered that Stephen and Hutton were all looking intently at the Book of Eternity. They were not a bit interested in that magical crystal which came together with the book.

    That was because the magical wave emitted by the magical crystal was definitely iparable to that of the Book of Eternity. If the Book of Eternity was a bright moon, then the magical crystal had to be a firefly. Although its magical wave was not weak, it was certainly ordinary. Judging from the frequency of the wave, the maximum would only be around level-15.

    A level-15 magical crystal would be an umon treasure to the usual mages, yet when it came to Stephen and Hutton,ing from the Dark de and the Malfa Family, respectively, their taste had long surpassed that ofmon mages. To them, a level-15 magical crystal was good. But, it was just ¡°good¡±. They would rather pay more attention to the Book of Eternity...

 Chapter 440 - A Long Trip

    <h4>Chapter 440: A Long Trip</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the beginning, that was what Lin Li thought. One really shouldn¡¯t be so bothered by a level-15 magical crystal...

    But shortly after, Lin Li realized something was amiss. If it was a level-15 magical crystal, how would it deserve to be ced together with the Book of Eternity? It was even one of the items included in the bet for Tutankhamun to help protect for 1300 years!

    Who was Geresco? He was the most invincible mage in the entire history of Anril. How could such a powerful man face any challenge in finding any magical crystal? Why would he care to put in so much effort for a level-15 crystal?

    <i>This magical crystal is really strange...</i>

    At this moment, Hutton and Stephen had their gazes fixed on the Book of Eternity. Only Lin Li had the mood to direct all his focus on the strange magical crystal.

    ¡°Goddammit, I know it now!¡±Lin Li eximed out loud. His voice startled the two men beside him.

    Hutton was less affected. He nced at Lin Li and gave him an awkward smile. Stephen, on the other hand, had his brewing fury towards Lin Li surge over the limits. He shot up from his seat and hollered at Lin Li, ¡°Are you crazy??¡±

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, I¡¯m just excited...¡± Stephen¡¯s reaction allowed Lin Li to realize that the crystal had made him forget himself.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li was not a man that would apologize. Anybody who was familiar with him would know that Lin Li¡¯s apologies were the calm before the storm. If he were to do that, you¡¯d have to be cautious about him suddenly falling out with you...

    However, Lin Li was really sincere in his apology this time. Firstly, he recognized his inappropriate reaction. Secondly, his mind was still full of the crystal. If he guessed it right, the value of the magical crystal would be greater than that of the Book of Eternity.

    Normally, Stephen would have calmed down when things reached this point. Since it was a trivial matter, and the apology had been given, it would not make sense to make things difficult.

    However, Stephen probably ate the wrong medicine today. Despite the fact that Lin Li said the word ¡°sorry¡± twice, Stephen continued tosh out at him like a wretch. He lost the demeanor he prided himself for.

    ¡°I say, Mage Stephen, do you think you have said enough?¡± snapped Lin Li after he collected himself, only to realize that Stephen was stillshing out at him. Stephen¡¯s words were very unkind. He called Lin Li a moron and retard, and even cussed at Lin Li¡¯s parents...

    At the start, Lin Li could still treat those words like an annoying house fly buzzing around. Now that his parents were brought up, though, anybody with a good temperament would have been affected<sup>1</sup>. What was more... Lin Li was not a person with good temperament to begin with...

    Lin Li naturally was very eloquent. While he still decided not to stoop to Stephen¡¯s level at the start, the anger within him let him unleash all his coarse and harsh words...

    ¡°Beforeing to the Breezy ins, I¡¯ve heard many people say that Master Borg was an incredibly amiable elder. As a Legendary-mage, he¡¯d never once put on any air before others. Mage Stephen, as Master Borg¡¯s son, don¡¯t you think it is too much to sulk over such a trivial matter? To be honest, I would like to suggest that you ask your mother if Master Borg went for a long trip when she had you...¡±

    ¡°Pfft...¡±

    Hutton and Tutankhamun nearly spat their saliva when they tried to hold back theirughter. Especially Hutton, who came from the Malfa Family¡ªthe two great forces of Aminya had been fighting each other for over a century, and their rtionship was like that between fire and water. Hutton naturally had to show some support to the person who had the guts to criticize Stephen so harshly...

    ¡°What long trip are you talking about...?¡± Stephen had a slower processing time. He thought about that phrase for quite a while before bursting in rage. His re towards Lin Li nearly shot out mes.

    If Lin Li said that his father left for a long trip when his mother was having him, did that mean he was calling him a bastard?

    ¡°Are you calling me a bastard?¡± Stephen¡¯s face turned from red to white, and then from white to green. His fists were clenched so tightly that the sound of his knuckles cracking could be heard. He would not have dreamt that he would be called a bastard once in his entire life...

    ¡°You said that yourself, not me...¡± Lin Li replied as he pursed his lips indifferently.

    Ordinary people would not have dared to offend Stephen because of the three Legendary powerhouses behind him, and the fact that the Dark de was the most powerful bandit organization in the Breezy ins. However, who was Lin Li? Lin Li was a man who had the guts to touch the buttocks of every tiger. How could he be afraid of the Dark de? Furthermore, his character had always been open to persuasion, but not to coercion. Even if he feared the Dark de, it would not be a reason to bend his back to them. On the contrary, if it reached that stage, the only thing Lin Li would do was to get rid of Stephen without a word...

    ¡°No one dares to insult me like this in the Breezy ins. You are the first...¡± Stephen¡¯s gaze turned colder, and his hand was clutching his magic staff very tightly. A massive magical wave made the surrounding air seethe. Stephenpleted this sentence in blocks, and his gaze resting on Lin Li was as though he was looking at a dead man. ¡°You will pay dearly for what you said...¡±

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A muffled sound could be heard.

    Stephen flew off like a bullet, mming into the wooden wall behind him. Thankfully for Tutankhamun, although the wooden house looked very simple and crude, the walls he built were as firm as those in a fortress. Stephen¡¯s nding¡± did not break Tutankhamum¡¯s hut¡¯s walls, but just made the entire wooden house greatly vibrate...

    However, that was the problem. The firmer the wooden house, the greater the impact of Stephen¡¯s crash. Stephen spat a mouth of blood the moment that dull sound reverberated in the room...

    ¡°Moron...¡± Lin Li said as he patted the dust off from his robe, and put the oilmp away into his pocket.

    Stephen¡¯s state was miserable...

    Stephen had thought he could vent his anger with his own strength. He did not expect his opponent to be shameless enough to employ such powerful magical equipment. When he felt that his efforts were in vain, he realized that it was as though he was beaten up by an intable doll.

    Lin Li had a lot of such intable dolls. One of the most powerful ones was that oilmp he just put back in his pocket. Within it was the owner of the 20th level of the Abyss, the legendary Lord of Nightmares. Lin Li had been summoning the Lord of Nightmares every day. Results had shown ever since he started to follow Connoris¡¯s instructions. Lin Li¡¯s Lord of Nightmares was at level-19 currently, and he thought that it was a waste to use it the to bully a level-17 or level-18 Archmage.

    ¡°...¡± Hutton witnessed the confrontation that started and ended swiftly. The expression on his face was veryplicated. It looked as if he wanted to burst outughing, but was trying very hard to hold in thatughter at the same time. Frankly speaking, Hutton was feeling extremely delighted at Stephen¡¯s plight. The sight of Stephen crashing into the thick wooden wall and spitting big mouths of blood was really satisfying. The lives of 300 bandits and the possibility of aid from Sendros had all stopped bothering Hutton at this moment...

    To a heir of the Malfa Family, what would be more satisfying than to watch the son of the leader of the Dark de be punched like a sandbag?

    Even Hutton, who had suffered bitterly and nursed deep hatred, would think that Lin Li should withdraw from the confrontation now. After all, Stephan was the son of the leader of the Dark de. The organization would not have dared to challenge the Supreme Council to seek trouble with the Guild of Magic over a minute matter. However, if Stephen were to die, the Dark de would certainly dere war against the Guild of Magic even if all the Arbitrators begged them not to.

    Unfortunately, Hutton guessed it wrongly again...

    After putting the oilmp into his pocket, Lin Li immediately walked over to Stephen and stepped on his chest. ¡°Mage Stephen, I told you that you should stop...¡±

    ¡°You... Don¡¯t think you can get away with this for long...¡± Stephen said with clenched teeth. Although he was under Lin Li¡¯s foot, the sense of toxic hatred in Stephen¡¯s eyes did not decrease. He gave Lin Li an intense and piercing stare. ¡°You will pay for what you have done. Not just you, but your friends, kin, and everyone rted to you will be hunted down by the Dark de eternally...¡±

    ¡°Hmm...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. ¡°Mage Stephen, is that a threat?¡± asked Lin Li as he looked at him with a serious gaze.

    ¡°Moron...¡± Stephen gave a dryughter on the ground. ¡°Do you think you can do whatever you want in the Breezy ins with just a single piece of powerful magical equipment? Fat hope! If not for my carelessness, do you think you¡¯d have the opportunity to defeat me? We have much of the simr magical equipment in the Dark de. You should go back to wash your neck while you wait for us. You will be hunted down by the Dark de the moment I leave the ckstone Mountains. No matter where you hide, the assassins will have their ways to dig you out. They would not kill you immediately when they catch you. Instead, they will torture you slowly until thest drop of your blood is drained. Then, you will die in suffering...¡±

 Chapter 441 - Black Current

    <h4>Chapter 441: ck Current</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°If you kneel down and beg, I might consider letting you off, or else...¡±

    ¡°Or else?¡± asked Lin Li. He looked at Stephen and lifted his foot before stepping on him with full force...

    Stephen shrieked. Apart from being a mage, Lin Li was a real Guru in cksmithing. His deep experience from smithing gave him great body strength. If his strength was considered outstanding amongst the Warriors, the force he ced in his leg was as if a huge boulder hadnded on Stephen¡¯s chest.

    The critical thing was that the boulder did not only fall once onto Stephen...

    Before Stephen could catch his breath, Lin Li gave him another blow with his leg. What followed was the third and the fourth one...

    To Stephen, this might be the darkest time of his life. How could the heir of the Dark de, the son of a Legendary powerhouse, and the most talented mage of the Breezy ins be stepped on like mud?

    Despite having the determination to fight back, Stephen was not sure why he could not channel the mighty mental strength he had prided himself on. It was as if the strength had gone into hibernation. It couldn¡¯t take effect no matter how hard Stephen tried to awaken it.

    There was no other thing more terrifying than this. The mental strength was everything to a mage. Without the support of one¡¯s mental strength, a mage would be more useless than a farmer who had lost his hoe.

    Stephen was very shocked by such a blow. The arrogant and vengeful gaze in his eyes disappeared. Instead, it was reced by fear and confusion. He had always been priding himself on his strong background and powerful abilities. When his background and powers failed to instill fear in his opponent, his arrogance would naturally be extinguished...

    Although he had his teeth tightly clenched together, the fear and confusion grew within his eyes. Atst, underlying his gaze was a hint of plea.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li had no mood to entertain Stephen¡¯s thoughts. To Lin Li, since he had already offended the Dark de, he should just take the chance to vent all his unhappiness. Otherwise, he would regret this moment when the three Legendary individuals started to hunt him down.

    That convinced Lin Li to make use of the Lord of Nightmares. Thebined ability of a level-19 Lord of Nightmares and a level-19 Archmage was extremely close to the Legendary-realm. It was not impossible to lock the mental strength of a level-17 Archmage.

    At that moment, the wooden house became very silent.

    Stephen fainted four times from all the humiliation and suffering¡ªhe helplessly fainted again and again every time he woke up. It was like a nightmare. Even Hutton who was supposed to be Stephen¡¯s enemy started to sympathize with him after seeing his misery...

    Of course, other than sympathy, there was delight...

    Hutton was proud of his decision to introduce them to each other. Senior Adelo had been right. President Felic was a scary man that no one would dare to offend. Once an enmity had been established with him, one had to take all precautions to prevent him from taking revenge. He was like a venomous snake hiding in the grass. He would not have anything against you on normal days, but would go for your throat when you let your guard down.

    On top of that, this venomous snake was a little too strong...

    While Stephen was still thinking that Lin Li had defeated him because he made use of a magical weapon, Hutton, who was viewing the confrontation from the side as a third party, held a different view. Yes, there was the use of magical equipment. There was, however, true ability as well...

    The mental strength of President Felic had reached a terrifying extent. Hutton could sense the pressure of the magical waves even though he stood many meters away from them. He could feel resistance when was trying to channel his mana. The only thing that would result in this would only be the suppression of mental strength. That being said, it would not be the usual mental suppression. As long as someone had twice the amount of mental strengthpared to the others, it would create a difficulty for the others to activate their mana.

    <i>Thank goodness...</i> Hutton wiped off his cold sweat discreetly. It did not matter if Felic was a man with great power. The fact that he was a daredevil caused him to negate Master Borg¡¯s existence. Although Stephen was Master Borg¡¯s son, Lin Li gave him over 10 kicks. No one would know if Stephen would still have the guts to leave home in the future...

    ¡°Alright, little mage...¡± said Tutankhamun, breaking his silence when Stephen fainted for the fifth time. ¡°Hold on first, I haven¡¯t finished my piece...¡±

    ¡°Sure...¡± replied Lin Li as he gave Stephen onest kick. The pain woke Stephen up again.

    After giving him thatst blow, Lin Li wiped his sweat off the forehead. He smiled in satisfaction and went back to the table.

    ¡°Hutton, go and help that... that unlucky fe over...¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    After 30 minutes, the three young mages and the ck dragon went back to sit around the wooden table. However, everyone looked greatly different aspared to before. Stephen had a trace of blood at the corner of his lips, and his long robe was very messy. He was in a daze when he went back to the table. His gaze was soulless, and no one knew what was on his mind.

    Hutton¡¯s expression was as usual. Although he still had asional conversations with Lin Li, his body was always nted in another direction. It was as if he was trying to keep a distance from Lin Li subconsciously...

    ¡°Alright, now that you have seen all of Geresco¡¯s relics, I will adhere to the promise made 1300 years ago and give them to one of you. However, I must remind you that Geresco said this is a transaction. In other words, if you want to receive these relics, you have to help him with something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It was something Geresco wanted but didn¡¯t have the chance to do...¡± said Tutankhamun as he proceeded to recite something in the ancient dragonnguage. The spell was not very long. When it reached only four to five sybles, a dazzling ray of bright light shone out. The trees, grass, and flowers within the light constructed a scene that resembled a dense forest.

    ¡°Spacetime Beacon Spell!¡±

    The three young mages were all well-versed in magic. They were not unfamiliar with the spell Tutankhamun cast. The Spacetime Beacon Spell was a level-20 Legendary spell that allowed mages to leave their own markings in both time and space. After that, they would be able to rey the situation that happened there as and when they wished to, like in a novel.

    ¡°Oh damn, that¡¯s the Sunset Mountains!¡± Lin Li eximed after the scene before him grew clearer. That was right, the scene that appeared from the Spacetime Beacon Spell was the Sunset Mountains Lin Li was extremely familiar with!

    Lin Li had lived in the Sunset Mountains for two months when he first entered Anril World. Having battled different monsters every day, he was incredibly clear with the environment in the Sunset Mountains. When he saw the forest projected from the Spacetime Beacon Spell, he immediately recalled that that was the peak of one of the mountains, a region that many level-15 magical beast roamed.

    Lin Li remembered very clearly that that was the region Andoine did not permit him to enter due to the presence of dangerous beasts. It wasn¡¯t until Lin Li managed to use the Nightmare Seed he found at the borders of the forest to produce some bottles of Water Spirit Potion that it tempted Andoine to bring him there.

    Because of that, Lin Li got the chance to witness the greatness of a Legendary-realm mage. Those level-15 beasts that he could not defeat then became as insignificant as ants. It did not matter whether there was one, 10, or 100 beasts. Andoine managed to turn them into ashes instantaneously with just a few fire spells. To the Lin Li then, that was absolutely out of the world...

    Hence, the forest had left a deep impression on Lin Li.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the Sunset Mountains...¡± Tutankhamun said in low voice while he controlled the spell. ¡°However, it was the Sunset Mountains 300 years ago...¡±

    Tutankhamun¡¯s words were followed by a shift in the scene as projected by the Spacetime Beacon Spell. Booming steps could be heard from that forest, and their volume was increasing exponentially as though it was just beside their ears.

    There were noises from booming footsteps, growls of beasts, and shrieks of the wind. It was as though the entire forest was trembling. Huge crowds of magical beasts dashed out of the forest in a frenzy. Amongst them there were the Three-eyed Demon Wolves and Wyverns, and Lin Li even saw the shadows of two Crimson Pythons...

    There were too many magical beasts that were rushing out of the forest. The scene was like a water current that was surging out of the forest...

    ¡°Wait a minute. Current...?!¡± Lin Li eximed. ¡°Could this be the ck Current Andoine was referring to?¡±

    In reality, Andoine was not the only person who had spoken of the ck Current. The Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine mentioned it once during the ceremony when Lin Li was taking over as President...

 Chapter 442 - Four-headed Chimaera

    <h4>Chapter 442: Four-headed Chimaera</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Andoine told Lin Li many things about the ck Current when he was in the Sunset Mountains. However, Lin Li could not understand the horror of the ck Current, as he did not experience it firsthand. He could not get why Andoine would want to avoid the mountains temporarily when it happened despite being a Legendary-realm mage.

    Now that it was incredibly rare to find people who were in the Sanctuary-realm, people in the Legendary-realm were considered the most powerful people in the world. Was there anything they could be afraid of?

    However, Lin Li understood everything now...

    The beam of light projected when the Spacetime Beacon Spell activated was like a mirror. It reflected everything that happened during the ck Current. The Sunset Mountains before their eyes were dark and gloomy. There were not only gray clouds, but also countless flying magical beasts. The scene was a foreboding omen of a storm. There were Thunderbirds, Dragon Hawks, Gryphons, and Wyverns. Countless violent magical beasts spread their wings and swooped to fill the air. They nearly covered the entire sky. Their piercing whistling resembled that of mad winds, just as though doomsday had arrived.

    Cracks started to appear on the ground, and boilingva seeped out from within. The trees and the other nts started to catch fire. The vast greenery before them became an orange area where mes surged wildly. Huge groups of magical beasts were fighting one another, causing strong magical waves to growl amidst the fire. It was as if the entire world had turned into a pot of boiling water.

    It might be tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands. Nobody would be able to count the magical beasts present in that scene. Since the Spacetime Beacon Spell had its limitations, what they could see in the projection was not the entire Sunset Mountains.

    The projected image made Lin Li admit that the ck Current was a phenomenon that even Legendary powerhouses should avoid. There were far too many magical beasts. The thought of it would give one goosebumps all over his scalp. Hundreds of thousands of Ghost Sabers could easily appear as a group, and create a lot of trouble for people in the Legendary-realm. And, that was just one of the less threatening groups of animals in the ck Current. There were many stronger and more daunting magical beasts present. If one did not escape with the Power of Flight immediately, even if he were at the Legendary-realm, he would be in for great trouble.

    ¡°What a monstrous ce...¡± The doomsday-like scene instilled fear in Lin Li. He was thankful for his luck that day. If he had encountered the ck Current, he would have been devoured by all those magical beasts...

    Just when Lin Li was secretly grateful for his good fortune back then, the scene in the mirror changed abruptly. When the mes surged into the air, there was a gigantic figure that swooped past the sky. Lin Li looked up in shock, only to see that there was a huge beast that flew above all the fire.

    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s the four-headed Chimaera!¡±

    He was right. It was a four-headed Chimaera that was flying above the forest!

    The Chimaera made frequent appearances in a variety of folklore of Anril, one of which was that during the Dark Age, the High Elves had many Chimaeras to guard the seven Sky Castles.

    Chimaeras were like Dragon Hawks. They were dragons that inherited the blood of the Wyrm. Yet, they were much more powerful aspared to the Dragon Hawks. In reality, the Chimaeras were the only type of dragon in Anril that had an ability that was closest to Wyrms¡¯. What they had inherited was the magical force of the Wyrms.

    Every Chimaera was born with a pair of wings and a head that were simr to the Wyrm¡¯s. However, their magical force was still very weak, and they could only cast one type of low-level spell. It would take the Chimaera a century to grow its second head, and thus be capable of casting another type of spells. Only at that moment would its magic ability be raised to level-5.

    In that case, the magical force of the Chimaera was simr to a Magic Shooter¡¯s, but with the wind-like speed it was flying at, and the innately strong resistance to magic, two Magic Shooters wouldn¡¯t defeat this double-headed Chimaera.

    The third head would make a Chimaera really invincible as it would be able to instantaneously cast most spells that were under level-15. Then, it would have the ability to master three types of magic and be known as the overlord of the air. Having Combat Energy of at least level-18, 10 three-headed Chimaeras would be a nightmare for somebody in the Legendary-realm!

    The type of Chimaeras the High Elves used to guard the Sky Castles was that with three heads...

    However, no one¡ªnot even the High Elves¡ªhad managed to tame a four-headed Chimaera. What was a four-headed Chimaera? Every four-headed Chimaera would be at least 1000 years old. It had mastery over four types of elemental spells, namely earth, water, fire, and wind. Apart from its inability to create Magical Domains, its ability to cast spells wasparable to that of a level-20 Legendary-mage. In an actual battle, a level-20 Legendary-mage might not even have the ability to fight it.

    It was fortunate that it was rare to meet a four-headed Chimaera. There weren¡¯t many that appeared in the history of Anril. After the Dark Age, it wasmonly perceived that the Chimaeras had lost the ability to grow their fourth head.

    Lin Li would not have thought he would see the figure of a four-headed Chimaera appearing in the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains.

    It seemed that the four-headed Chimaera was gravely injured as well...

    Although the fast speed with which the four-headed Chimaera flew made the figure blurry on the projected screen, Lin Li could identify two bright balls of fire that circled the wings of the Chimaera. He had no idea what caused it to happen. The two balls of fire did not seem to extinguish when the Chimaera swooped at top speed. In fact, they grew stronger amidst the mad winds...

    However, this four-headed Chimaera had a critical wound in one of its head.

    Yes. The four-headed Chimaera that had the ability to use four types of elemental magic had lost one of its heads. Lin Li could see it reflected very clearly on the mirror the Spacetime Beacon Spell created. There was a head that resembled a Wyrm¡¯s handing floppily at the side of its neck. There was fresh purple blood running down its neck as well...

    The four heads of a four-headed Chimaera did not only take charge of one type of elemental magic each. They affected the ability of a Chimaera to cast spells. Once it lost one of its heads, the Chimaera would not only lose the ability to use one type of magic, but also fall from the Legendary-realm immediately. That was the most critical point. The Chimaera would strive to protect all of its heads in any battle so as to prevent itself from suffering any critical hits. The inability to protect its head could only mean one thing: its enemy was far stronger than it...

    ¡°Damn, what other magical beasts could be so powerful...?¡± Lin Li muttered. He really could not think of any other magical beast with the ability to make the four-headed Chimaera cut such a sorry figure.

    However, Lin Li got his answer very quickly...

    It was not a powerful beast that wounded the Chimaera. It was a human. To be exact, it was a human mage...

    When the Chimaera was soaring above the forest, Lin Li could see a ck figure flying out from the woods. If not for a long ck robe and the magic staff the figure held in his hands, Lin Li would have thought that it was a magical beast that flew out from the forest. He could not help it. His speed was too fast. He caught up with the four-headed Chimaera almost immediately, andnded on its back like a ck thunderbolt...

    What followed was Hell Fire.

    The Hell Fire that covered an area of 10 meters square was like a red-hot piece of soldering iron thatnded on the back of the four-headed Chimaera with no apologies. At that instant, there was a thunderous growl that suppressed all the sounds of panic made by the countless magical beasts...

    It did not stop there. No one knew where that human mage managed to get such an abundant flow of mana, but he did not take an extra breath before he cast the Starfall Spell immediately after Hell Fire...

    ¡°What a pity...¡± Lin Li gasped as he saw brilliant sparkles erupting above the forest. He could not help but sympathize with the beast. To be honest, the four-headed Chimaera was definitely on the peak of the food chain in the Sunset Mountains. The ability of a level-21 was not to be trifled with. It would even have the chance to defeat two Legendary-mages alone.

    Unfortunately, the luck of that four-headed Chimaera was still on the worse end to have encountered such an unreasonable freak. The two spells he cast were namely the level-22 Hell Fire and the level-23 Starfall. Even Apophis would need to take 30 minutes of rest before he regained his energy to cast the next spell. However, the freak before him cast Starfall immediately after he cast Hell Fire without a pause. Yet, there was not a hint of tiredness in his expression. It was as though he did not cast two spells that were above level-20, but rather took two sips of in water...

    One could only me the Four-headed Chimaera for having such a bad luck to meet a freak like that.

    ¡°W-who... Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°He is Geresco...¡±

    It was Tutankhamun who replied to Lin Li.

    The mention of ¡®Geresco¡¯ made Lin Li take in a mouth of cold breath. After a moment of silence, he spat out one word...

    ¡°F*ck!¡±

 Chapter 443 - Evil Eye Tyrant

    <h4>Chapter 443: Evil Eye Tyrant</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Following the shrieks of the Four-headed Chimaera, the brilliant starlight in the sky had also torn through the dark clouds that blotted out the skies. In an instant, there were countless meteors descending from above, and every meteor was as dazzling as a diamond. When all of the countless meteors were connected, they made for a breathtakingly beautiful spectacle.

    The level-23 Starfall could definitely be described as one of the hardest spells to execute amongst the Legendary-realm spells. Even a Legendary-mage that was just a single step away from the Sanctuary-realm would not dare to cast it recklessly. It was because the mental strength and mana required to cast this spell were simply too much, so nobody dared to try it casually. Once it failed, the recoil it brought could cause a Legendary-mage to lose his life. It was also why there were very few Legendary-mages that dared to demonstrate the level-23 Starfall after 1300 years.

    However, once this frighteningly hard to execute Legendary spell was sessful, the force it brought forth was simrly top-notch amongst the Legendary spells. It had an area of effect of more than hundreds of meters, making it unique in that regard, and there were no blind spots. Other than hiding underground, there was no way to escape from the magic power of Starfall.

    If there were any weaknesses of Starfall, it was just that it could not differentiate friend from foe. Those meteors falling from the sky were like a level-eight spell each. Do not look down on a level-eight spell. A single one might not amount to much, but when tens or even hundreds of them bombarded a single target...

    Even an Archmage might not be able to handle it...

    Furthermore, in the hundreds of meters that were the area of effect of Starfall, how could it be just tens or hundreds of meteors descending? If anything, it was thousands or tens of thousands. They could not be counted. Once somebody was caught within it, it was impossible not to be struck by those countless meteors.

    Even Legendary-mages had no choice but to fear this drawback. After all, Legendary-mages were not gods. When hundreds or thousands of level-eight spells were bombarding their bodies, they would still be unable to bear the consequences...

    Of course, this only concerned Legendary-mages. For people like Geresco, this shoring of the Starfall was not an issue.

    Geresco stood firmly on the back of the Four-headed Chimaera, his ck robe pping in the wind. The star light above his head was ring, and the mes of the earth below his feet were raging. Countless dazzling meteors descended and caused a in of shimmering light to surge forth in the Sunset Mountains. All of this was like a nightmare. There wererge numbers of magical beasts dying every second with this Starfall for minutes. As long as they were struck by Starfall, they would immediately be sted into smithereens by that cataclysmic magical force no matter if they were flying ornd-born. In an instant, shrieks and roars rang out in the sky, while blood seemed to have dyed the whole forest red...

    Countless Wyverns were spewing venom in the surroundings. Large numbers of Gryphons were running amok. The Thunderbirds were calling down thunderbolts, and Dragon Hawks were spewing raging hot mes. All of these were like a Magical Storm which instantly engulfed the whole forest, but Geresco, who was in the middle of this storm, did not seem to be concerned. He remained standing firmly on the back of the Four-headed Chimaera, and looked at his surroundings with a gaze so calm that it was unfeeling.

    It would be easy to notice if one took a closer look, but Geresco was not being left alone. In fact, being in the center of the storm, Geresco was the one suffering the most attacks in the whole forest. The sky full of descending stars<sup>1</sup> and the fervent attacks of the magical beasts were like a giant vortex, swallowing everything in a frenzy...

    It was just that Geresco, who was in the middle of the vortex, was not affected at all. His position¡ªincluding the Four-headed Chimaera below his feet¡ªhad entirely turned into an illusory shadow. Although it looked like they were still there, when countless spells descended, it did not invoke any ripples. It was as if theynded on a space of nothingness, and passed through it...

    ¡°F*ck, Void of the Stars!¡± Looking at this abnormal scene, Lin Li could feel his skin crawl. Ever since he came to Anril, Lin Li was already sick of hearing the name of Geresco. This God of Mages could be found in almost every single myth, each praising how powerful and terrifying he was. It was only today, however, when he had seen Geresco cast Void of the Stars through the Spacetime Beacon Spell, that Lin Li finally understood that those myths over 1,000 years old were still underrating this God of Mages...

    In today¡¯s Anril, there was no longer a single mage that knew what level the Void of the Stars was. Even more so, there was not a single mage that could have a shred ofprehension of this spell. Even a knowledgeable person like Andoine could only find a trace of the Void of the Stars just in myths. Using Andoine¡¯s words, it was already a realm that only deities could walk in. Even the High Elves that considered themselves deities had not stepped into this realm before.

    ording to myths, mages that could control Void of the Stars would be able to ce their bodies and souls into nothingness. They would no longer suffer damage from swords and spells. Strictly speaking, mages that could control Void of the Stars no longer belonged to Anril. They would not be injured by the power of mortals.

    Once mages reached this realm, there was not much difference between them and true deities.

    As for the current Geresco, he had undoubtedly reached this realm.

    Geresco rode on the Four-headed Chimaera and charged to the skies through the forest like a gale. The almost instantaneous Starfall was like the grim reaper¡¯s scythe, mercilessly harvesting the lives of the magical beasts. It looked like the whole world had been devoured by the dazzling star light...

    ¡°This... Is this still a f*cking human?¡± Lin Li looked at everything shown by the Spacetime Beacon Spell, and only felt shivers in his limbs. All of this had already transcended the limits of human imagination. Geresco had actually single-handedly massacred tens or hundreds of thousands of magical beast. This was exactly the same as the legendary Divine Judgment.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken... when this battle urred, Geresco was still purely human, but...¡± The one that replied to Lin Li was still Tutankhamun.

    ¡°But what?¡± Lin Li heart tingled when he heard it. <i>Could it be that the legends are true?</i>

    ¡°Nothing...¡± But Tutankhamun did not look like he wanted to continue this topic. He just shook his head. ¡°Continue watching, there is something more interesting at the back.¡±

    ¡°More...?¡±

    Lin Li only knew when he lifted his head and watched. Tutankhamun was right indeed. There was something more interesting at the back. After Starfall¡¯s harvest, the number of magical beasts outside the forest was halved. As for those flying magical beasts in the sky such as Dragon Hawks, Gryphons, and Wyverns, they seemed to have noticed the terror of Geresco. At this point, they fought to be the first to escape from the Four-headed Chimaera. What had once been a dark sky now cleared up...

    After doing all of that, Geresco did not steer the Four-headed Chimaera to leave, but instead floated quietly above the forest. From his patient gaze, it seemed like he was waiting for something...

    After that, a world-shaking roar was heard.

    Before Lin Li could understand what was happening, a shadow suddenly flew out of the forest, and struck the Four-headed Chimaera¡¯s body heavily.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes were wide open. It ought to be known that the Four-headed Chimaera was a powerful level-22 magical beast. It could definitely be said to be an existence at the top of the food chain even during the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains. However, it actually came crashing down with an attack of this shadow...

    ¡°This, this, this... This is just like an adult fighting a child. With just a p, the child immediately fell...¡±

    This speed of this shadow was too fast. It was so quick that the God of Mages was almost thrown off his guard. Geresco only cast Void of the Stars again in time when the Four-headed Chimaera had crashed to the ground, causing his body and soul to be ced into nothingness.

    It was almost at the same time that the three young mages could finally see clearly what was that shadow that attacked the Four-headed Chimaera.

    After that, the three young mages seemed to have drawn in a breath of cold air simultaneously...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡±

    Through the lights of the Spacetime Beacon Spell, the three young mages could clearly see that that shadow was not some ferocious magical beast, nor was it some powerful spell. It was something like a tentacle.

    This... This was an absolute joke...

    One had to know that the Chimaera was flying hundreds of meters in the sky just now, but this tentacle smacked it down from the sky. What did this mean? It meant that this tentacle was at least several hundred meters long.

    A magical beast¡¯s tentacle that was longer than 100 meters? This was already something that could drive people mad. Furthermore, this magical beast could make this tentacle iparably nimble. It could still easily take down a Four-headed Chimaera from a distance of more than a hundred meters. Such a magical beast, even without any spell casting abilities, was an existence that was definitely scarier than a Wyrm!

    <i>Could it be... </i>After watching till this point, Lin Li suddenly felt shocked. He thought of the story that Englos had told him...

    Englos had once said that during the ck Current on a certain year, a few descendants of prehistoric magical beasts had appeared. These descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts controlled the magical beasts of the Sunset Mountains and started a prolonged massacre. This massacre had shocked the whole Anril, and even the Supreme Council and Brilliance Shrine sent out their strongest powerhouses. Although they had sessfully stopped the ck Current from spreading, Rosario, who partook in this battle, paid a most painful price...

    Lin Li suddenly felt that this could be another descendant of the prehistoric magical beasts when he saw that the tentacle striking the Four-headed Chimaera. There was even a chance that... it was a prehistoric magical beast itself. It was because the force of that strike was too frightening. A level-22 Four-headed Chimaera did not even have the power to resist that strike. It had been struck down from the skies in an instant.

    Furthermore, even the strongest ever mage in Anril that was called the God of Mages, Geresco, could not help but look at that tentacle withdraw into the forest with caution in his eyes.

    Just when Lin Li was shocked, the forest that had just calmed down started to rumble again. After that, there were countless trees being broken. Parts of the trees, mud, and rocks filled the sky in an instant. It was as though somebody had used an iron plow and plowed through the whole forest...

    Before Lin Li couldprehend what was happening, more than 10 shadows reached out from the forest and reached out towards the spot where Geresco hadnded with a speed that was faster than lightning...

    The speed of these 10 or so tentacles reaching out had even surpassed the speed that was used to strike the Four-headed Chimaera previously. In just an instant, they had covered a distance of hundreds of meters. At this point, Geresco had just used Void of the Stars, so his body and soul had notpletely been ced in the nothingness yet. Even if he did not die once he had been struck by these tentacles, he would be heavily injured.

    However...

    The God of Mages was still the God of Mages. This strongest mage ever had finally demonstrated a casting ability that did not belong to mortals at this point.

    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom...¡±

    Amidst the earth-shattering sts, more than 10 gigantic ice pirs appeared from the ground!

    What Geresco summoned were not normal ice pirs. Every pir here was at least 100 meters tall and required more than 10 people to surround it. When the pirs were erected, they gave off a mythical feeling, just like the giant pirs that the gods used to support the heavenly vault.

    Those tentacles that reached out of the forest were as fast as lightning. The speed at which Geresco summoned the ice pirs could also make any mage watching it dumbfounded. The speed of both parties was already at the maximum. In just a single breath, both the man and magical beast had alreadypleted their first exchange.

    The ice pirs covered every angle in an instant. Those tentacles could not dodge them at all. With just a ¡°boom¡±, they struck the ice pirs ferociously, and white fog permeated the area in just an instant. Countless ice fragments flew out from the fog with a screeching sound. Although these tentacles could easily strike down a Four-headed Chimaera, they were still made of flesh. When going head to head against the sturdy pirs, flesh and blood sttered instantly...

    After that, a deafening shriek could be heard from the depths of the forest. Countless broken trees flew, and arge meatball floated out with a thunderous sound. Only the meatball¡¯s tentacles that were slumping down could be seen. Each one of them was hundreds of meters long, while a singr gigantic eye was emitting a glimmering light in the middle of the meatball...

    ¡°F*ck, Evil Eye Tyrant!¡±

 Chapter 444 - Staff of Time

    <h4>Chapter 444: Staff of Time</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    For most of the Adventurers of Anril, the Evil Eye was probably one of the hardest level-18 magical beast to deal with. They spent most of their lives living in dark and moist underground areas. For example, the ruins of the High Elves deep underground were usually forcibly upied by the Evil Eyes and made their nest. Even if these High Elves¡¯ ruins had been discovered by Adventurers, most of them would be marked as restricted areas because it was too dangerous...

    An Evil Eye itself was a level-18 magical beast, so an average Adventurer could not afford to provoke it. Furthermore, they had a damned habit of living in groups. This was the most dangerous part. The would easily be tens or even hundreds of Evil Eyes living together. Once provoked, it was equivalent to poking a ho¡¯s nest. How many Adventurers were willing to risk being so unfortunate?

    Even the likes of Silver Hand, a titan known as the strongest mercenary corps in Fn, would not dare to venture into a High Elves¡¯ ruins upied byrge numbers of Evil Eyes if they did not manage to hire some high-level Priests to hold the line, not to mention average Adventurers. There was no helping it. This was no longer a problem that tactics andmands could solve. No matter how well-trained or disciplined they were, they could not ovee this absolute difference in power.

    The strongest weapon of the Evil Eyes was their tentacles that were tougher than steel and nimbler than fingers. Usually, they would use this eight tentacles to walk upright. Their speed was like a gale, and they could close up on their target in an instant. After that, these eight tentacles would strangle their target like eight pythons...

    However, if anyone were to be cautious only about their eight tentacles and forget about that single eye, then they would not be far from demise. A so-called magical beast was a beast that had a talent for using spells. Since the Evil Eye was a level-18 magical beast, then it naturally would have its own talent in spells. All of the Evil Eye¡¯s magical talents came from its gigantic singr eye.

    The Evil Eye could use that eye to shoot out a level-18 spell, Aestus Beam. The Aestus Beam¡¯s temperature could reach up to hundreds of degrees celsius. It could be said that whatever it went past would leave nothing behind, for even a thick steel armor would be instantly pierced through.

    Of course, this was not the most powerful ability...

    The strongest forte of the Evil Eye was being skilled in Mental Spells. A mature Evil Eye that had reached level-18 could easily control the minds of magical beasts that were level-15 and below. Although it was more troublesome for it to deal with humans, human Adventurers that were level-10 and below would definitely not be able to resist it. It was especially so when arge wave of tens or hundreds of Evil Eyes appeared. Large number of Mental Spells was simply impossible to guard against. Furthermore, it was hard to remain immune to these Mental Spells unless there was a high-level priest present to provide Mental Barrier. Otherwise, it would just be a disaster!

    But, those level-18 Evil Eyes were no different from ants whenpared to this monstrosity in front of their eyes...

    In legends, the Evil Eye Tyrant was one of the lucky survivors from the prehistoric times. The battle between the Dragons and Titans had caused the heavens and earth to crumble, but the Evil Eye Tyrant that lived in the undergroundbyrinth with the Minotaurs had escaped from everything with luck. It was only after the cmity that the Evil Eye Tyrant and Minotaurs were seen in Anril again. It was just that at that point, it was no longer the Dragons or Titans, but it was the High Elves that had been born from the Tree of Eternity ruling over Anril.

    The appearance of the Evil Eye Tyrant and Minotaurs had brought forth a full-blown disaster to the High Elves. Large numbers of High Elves were burnt to ashes by the Aestus Beam. If they did not rely on the Tree of Eternity¡¯s protection, this race that was destined to create the magnificent magic civilization afterwards could have been wiped out in that disaster.

    Even the proud High Elves could not avoid mentioning this part of history. The records of this disaster could be found in a lot of the literature passed down from that period.

    It was just that after that disaster, history seemed to have a nk page. People knew that after the battle between the Dragons and Titans ended, the surviving prehistoric magical beasts almost became the rulers of Anril. They even drove back the High Elves that had just been born back to the Tree of Eternity, and almost caused this nearly perfect race to go extinct.

    Finally, the surviving prehistoric magical beasts and the newly born high elves engaged in a prolonged decisive battle under the Tree of Eternity...

    After a long period of time, the truth of this battle was buried in the flow of time. Currently, even the most authoritative schrs researching the Dark Age could not urately tell what had happened during that battle. People only knew that the High Elves standing one step from annihtion had actually achieved a miraculous victory...

    Furthermore, the High Elves seemed to have been reborn after the battle. After repelling the prehistoric magical beasts that were besieging the Tree of Eternity, the High Elves started to counterattack. Within a short period of 10 years, they exterminated countless prehistoric magical beasts, including the Evil Eye Tyrants and Vipers. Even if it was the Herculean Minotaurs, they all had been trapped in the undergroundbyrinth for eternity...

    With regard to this part of history, there had been no definite answer found in Anril. Even Andoine, who was the most authoritative about High Elves, only spoke of this vaguely. Currently, the most authoritative and widely epted theory was that it was the Immortal King that saved the High Elves. Even more people felt that it was this unsurpassed powerhouse that single-handedly exterminated the Evil Eye Tyrants and trapped the Minotaurs for eternity.

    It was because based on the chronological order, the time when the prehistoric magical beasts besieged the Tree of Eternity was not far from when the Immortal King made his first appearance in Anril.

    As for what was the truth, only the Immortal King himself would know it...

    However, one thing was certain. In the battle that year, countless prehistoric magical beasts were wiped out. Be it the Evil Eye Tyrants or the Vipers, they had all disappeared after that battle. They were not to be seen in Anril ever again. As for the Minotaurs that were forever trapped within the undergroundbyrinth, asionally there would be rumors that they had surfaced...

    But this gigantic creature that appeared in the Spacetime Beacon Spell... if it was not an Evil Eye Tyrant, then what could it be?

    Lin Li rubbed his eyes, and did not dare to believe what he just saw...

    What the hell. It was not an illusion. It really was an Evil Eye Tyrant!

    Tens of tentacles that were longer than 100 meters, a head that was asrge as a mountain peak, and a singr eye that was always radiating an ice-cold glow. All of these were identical to the description of the Evil Eye Tyrant that was mentioned in myths...

    ¡°F*ck, it really is the Evil Eye Tyrant...¡± Lin Li immediately drew in a breath of cold air. When he looked at Tutankhamun, his eyes were filled with confusion. <i>Haven¡¯t the Evil Eye Tyrants been exterminated by the High Elves? Why did it appear at the Sunset Mountains during thest years of the Dark Age?</i>

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I did not personally experience what happened back then...¡± The current Tutankhamun seemed especially patient. After answering Lin Li, he seemed to worry that Lin Li would not believe him. He then patiently exined, ¡°Everything that you are seeing now was recorded by Geresco using the Spacetime Beacon Spell. I am just using the coordinates to rey the situation that happened back then. If you really want to know the truth, I think you have to ask Geresco himself...¡±

    Just as they were discussing, the battle showed by the Spacetime Beacon Spell became abnormally intense. One was a ferocious prehistoric magical beast, and the other was an unsurpassed God of Mages. The battle between the Evil Eye Tyrant and Geresco was destined to be shocking from the start.

    The 12 ice pirs that could lift up the Vault of Heaven did not stop the Evil Eye Tyrant in its tracks. Almost at the same instant the tentacles crashed into the ice pirs, the singr eye of the Evil Eye Tyrant also started to shine...

    This ray of light was the Aestus Beam that every Evil Eye was skilled in. It was just that the same Aestus Beam would be a totally different spell depending on whether it was used by an Evil Eye Tyrant or an Evil Eye. The Evil Eye¡¯s Aestus Beam only reached hundreds of degrees¡¯ temperature, instantly prating armor forged from steel. This was already a magnificent result. If it were to encounter magical metals like the Eternal Adamantine, the metal would not be able to resist it, either. But, the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s Aestus Beam waspletely different...

    The tens of tentacles pushed down violently, and the head that was as big as a mountain peak was immediately propped up. After that, a ray of light that was brighter than the sun immediately sted off. In just an instant, it swept past a distance of hundreds of meters. In the next second, there was a loud sizzling sounding from the forest. Countless trees had been vaporized by the ray of light, and even the ground underneath had been split by a deep new ravine that was hundreds of meters long...

    Even Geresco who was called the God of Mages had no choice but to fully focus in the face of such destructive force. Geresco hastily recited incantations, and a rainbow suddenly appeared in the sky. This rainbow was not leaning towards any direction; it was just like a ring that was protecting Geresco steadfastly.

    After that, there was a deafening boom. The sh between the Aestus Beam and the rainbow was as if Mars had crashed into Earth. In an instant, the ground rumbled and dazzling lights showered the entirend, while countless res descended from the skies. That scene was more terrifying than the ck Current.

    After the echoes rumbled past, there was a short period of peace. Be it the Evil Eye Tyrant or Geresco, they both needed some time to understand the aftermath of the sh that¡¯d happened just now.

    Looking from the Spacetime Beacon Spell, the sh just now should not have any victors. The rainbow had negated the Aestus Beam¡¯s attack, but dimmed a few shades at the same time.

    <i>Powerful...</i> After Lin Li saw this, he could not help but admire it silently. The power of the Evil Eye Tyrant was indeed not any other magical beast¡¯s. Even a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse like Apophis might not be a match for it.

    One had to know that that rainbow was most likely Geresco¡¯s Magical Domain. A single attack from the Aestus Beam had actually been able to damage Geresco¡¯s Magical Domain and make it dim somewhat. Just based on this point, it was already no longer something any magical beast couldpare to. No matter how powerful an average magical beast became, it would definitely not be able to damage a Legendary-mage¡¯s Magical Domain. It was much less so for one facing a monstrous existence like Geresco.

    At this point, Lin Li even silently guessed that it might even be that Geresco was at a disadvantage in the exchange just now...

    After all, the Aestus Beam only expended mana. Although the Evil Eye Tyrant was not known for having an immense pool of mana, it should not be a problem to fire a hundred or so Aestus Beams. If a Magical Domain was damaged, on the other hand, it would take a long time to fully recover. It was especially so at Geresco¡¯s realm¡ªrecovering was exceptionally difficult.

    The situation proved Lin Li to be right...

    After the Aestus Beam was negated by the rainbow, the Evil Eye Tyrant only took a short pause before it fired off another Aestus Beam.

    The most lethal thing was that when the Evil Eye Tyrant fired off the Aestus Beam, those tentacles were not idle, either. They attacked Geresco from all sorts of angles. That terrifying power and skill could almost bepared to a level-20 Sword Sage and above.

    At this time, Geresco finally demonstrated his magical powers that totally did not belong to humans. With the support of Power of Flight, Geresco seemed like a ck sh of lightning. He was constantly turning and twisting around those tentacles. He was constantly moving and casting spells. If it was not because Lin Li saw it with his own eyes, he would never believe that there could be a human capable of casting spells while moving at such terrifying speeds on this...

    Furthermore, every single spell could not be any faster. Legendary spells at levels above 20 werepleted with just a few casual recitations. There were numerous times when Lin Li felt that Geresco was simply casting low-level magic. When the spells exploded on the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s body, demonstrating fearsome power, Lin Li finally could not help but believe that was a Legendary spell that couldpletely drain most mages of their mana...

    With one Aestus Beam after another, the battle seemed to havee to a standstill. Be it the Evil Eye Tyrant or Geresco, they did not show any signs of fatigue. If they were to be judged from their appearance, anybody would think that this was going to be a prolonged battle.

    However, Lin Li did not think so, because he knew that Geresco¡¯s Void of the Stars was about to bepleted.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Another Aestus Beam swept past, leaving a deep crevice in the ground, but this time, Geresco did not use Power of Flight to dodge it. He just took his time to recite the incantations and summoned 12 gigantic ice pirs again.

    A loud ¡°boom¡± was heard, and the 12 ice pirs were instantly sted into smithereens...

    But at the same time, Geresco¡¯s body had suddenly started to be blurry.

    Indeed. After going through the arduous exchange, Geresco had finallypleted Void of the Stars, and once again caused his body and soul to be ced in nothingness.

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Lin Li knew that Geresco was definitely going to win.

    The current Geresco was an almost invincible existence. He was no longer vulnerable to magical or physical attacks. He would even not suffer from abnormal statuses like bite of mana. Even the control of the magical elements would be at his own free will, following the activation of Void of the Stars.

    After this Void of the Stars was activated, Geresco¡¯s spell casting methods hadpletely overturned everything that Lin Li understood about magic. Every time he made a move, it was a spell that was level-20 and above, and they were all almost instantly cast. It was like the elemental sequencing and mana control had all lost their influence on Geresco. There was no need to have time for preparation. Just a wave of his hand, and another Legendary spell was sted off.

    Even though Lin Li was mentally prepared, when he saw such a monstrous way of casting spells, he still could not help but freeze up. This was definitely not a magical ability that belonged to humans. At this point, Lin Li suddenly felt that the name ¡°God of Mages¡± could not be any more appropriate. It was because only a true deity could use such unfathomable way of operating magical power.

    Geresco¡¯s casting speed was terrifying. In less than a minute, he had already used at least 10 Legendary spells. The magical elements that were immense enough to destroy the world were mercilessly poured onto the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s body.

    A shred of panic could finally be seen in the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s singr eye. Prehistoric magical beast were not average magical beasts. Their intelligence was above a human¡¯s. How could the Evil Eye Tyrant not know that that human mage was not something it could go against? Be it the steel-like tentacles or the cataclysmic Aestus Beam, all of its attacking methods seemed like child¡¯s y in front of that human mage...

    Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now. How could Geresco, who had finally taken the advantageous spot, give the Evil Eye Tyrant a chance to retreat? With the cover of Void of the Stars, Geresco seemed to have fused with the magical elements, and destructive Legendary spells were summoned and mercilessly poured onto the Evil Eye Tyrant one after another.

    When another Hellfire had descended, Lin Li¡¯s gaze resting on the Evil Eye Tyrant was somewhat filled with sympathy. The God of Mages was indeed the God of Mages. Even the prehistoric magical beast mentioned in myths could not escape from death and defeat in the face of this unsurpassed magic powerhouse...

    But, just at the point where everyone thought that Geresco was going to unleash a lethal strike and finish the enemy off, this mage suddenly took out a staff and a book.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Lin Li immediately froze.

    Unfortunately, even Tutankhamun could not answer this question...

    The staff was the Staff of Time, and the book was the Book of Eternity. After these two magical artifacts that were the most famous during the Dark Age were taken out, Geresco¡¯s expression became imposing. The God of Mages held the Staff of Time in one hand, while the other was holding the Book of Eternity. Countless rainbow-colored magic symbols danced around in the skies like countless rainbow-colored butterflies. Large chunks of incantations were spewed out by Geresco; some were using the humannguage, and some were in the High Elves¡¯nguage. Some were even the ancientnguage of the dragons and the divinenguage of the titans...

    The world seemed to have suddenly became silent, and the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s singr eye suddenly showed a look of terror.

    Geresco silently floated in the sky, fully focused on chanting this incantation that was unfathomably long. When thest incantation had beenpleted, the magic staff in Geresco¡¯s hand suddenly rose up and drew across the sky...

    Suddenly, the sky was torn apart...

 Chapter 445 - Tear of Space

    <h4>Chapter 445: Tear of Space</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After the Staff of Time gently drew past, a long tear suddenly appeared in the sky. It was dark and deep. It was as if the sky had been torn apart.

    ¡°F*ck...¡± After this tear had appeared, there was another round of gasps heard in the hut. At this point, Stephen, Hutton, and Lin Li, these three young mages, seemed to be in a delusion that they were dreaming.

    These three simply did not dare to believe that Geresco had single-handedly torn apart space and opened a tunnel to the multidimensional space.

    This was simply too shocking...

    Even Lin Li had not imagined that the power of magic could reach such a terrifying degree. In just that instance, Geresco definitely used magic powers to tear open space. What seemed like a gentle stroke hadpletely overturned every single rule of Anril.

    Indeed. Magic did have the power to operate and overturn rules. A mage could tamper with and even create rules after he had broken through to the Legendary-realm, obtaining the magical domain. However, the rules here were not some superficial rules. The eight true core rules of Anril were a domain that even deities were simply unable to touch.

    Time and space. Nature and bnce. Kindness and light. Evil and dark... These eight core rules were controlled by Anril¡¯s four great Dragon Aspects. Unless someone had a power that was greater than these four great Dragon Aspects, they would not be able to touch these eight domains that even deities couldn¡¯t easily set foot in.

    That gentle stroke by Geresco could only mean one thing...

    The power of this God of Mages had already surpassed the four great Dragon Aspects!

    Roars could be heard from the forest. Every single roar of the Evil Eye Tyrant was filled with despair and fear. The tentacles were frantically waving about. All its struggles made it seem like a drowning person trying to grab onto thest straw. In an instant, a scene of flying sand and rolling stones could be seen in the forest. Countless dirt, pebbles, and branches were held by the tentacles of the Evil Eye Tyrant and thrown at Geresco like a storm.

    Unfortunately, Geresco was like an invincible existence under the protection of Void of the Stars. Even a full-on st by the Aestus Beam would not be able to leave a scratch on Geresco, not to mention the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s tentacles.

    The ck silhouette peacefully floated in the sky. The dazzling sun rays came down from the top and ted ayer of divine golden hue over the God of Mages, while an inexhaustible magical aura started spreading. Geresco held the Book of Eternity in one hand and the Staff of Time in the other. The quiet and gentle incantations were flowing like running water, and every single rune was filled with boundless energy. Every single syble contained deepest secrets of magic. Geresco¡¯s did not have arge body frame¡ªit was rather weak if put in stricter terms. However, looking at the brilliance of the Spacetime Beacon Spell, the current God of Mages was like a god that had existed for eternity.

    The tear in the sky got bigger and bigger, while the struggles of the Evil Eye Tyrant got weaker and weaker...

    Following Geresco lifting up his Staff of Time again, the Evil Eye Tyrant also gave off its final roar of despair...

    In an instant, the tear in the sky suddenly grew and closed.

    Then...

    The whole world became silent.

    The Evil Eye Tyrant disappeared. The magical beasts that were littered all over had disappeared too. Other than Geresco who was silently floating in the sky, the whole Sunset Mountains had been restored to the former peace. From the cloudless blue sky, golden rays of the sun rained down...

    ...

    After this cataclysmic battle ended, the light from the Spacetime Beacon Spell started to be dimmer. The silhouette of the God of Mages also started to blur. With a wave of Tutankhamun¡¯s hand, this battle that had happened 1300 years ago also disappeared like smoke.

    ¡°Look closely, Tutankhamun, just now... was that the Tear of Space?¡± Hutton was a true genius under a Legendary powerhouse. With his experience, how could he not know what was that tear that suddenly tore the sky apart? As to why he would ask this now, it was simply because he did not dare to believe it...

    He really did not dare to believe it...

    In fact, if it were any other mage that saw the scene in the Spacetime Beacon Spell, he would also not believe that the power of magic could reach such a terrifying level, not to mention Hutton. That was simply a domain that was directly challenging the gods. A person that harnessed such terrifying power would no longer be a mortal.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Tear of Space...¡± Tutankhamun nodded his head, and signalled the three young mages to take a seat first before he started speaking again. ¡°In fact, before this battle began, I also did not believe that Anril still had a mortal that could single-handedly tear apart space.¡±

    After taking a seat, Lin Li could not help but ask, ¡°Then, Mr Tutankhamun, may I ask, where does that Tear of Space lead to?¡±

    ¡°That is a good question...¡± Tutankhamun turned around and looked at Lin Li before suddenly smiling. ¡°Do you still remember the battle from 1300 years ago? Humans and High Elves battled each other under the Tree of Eternity. The immense power finally destroyed the Tree of Eternity...¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded his head. Whatever that Geresco said could be learned from a lot of books in Anril. The battle that year was like Geresco¡¯s individual performance, attaining the title as God of Mages that had never been matched by anyone. He also destroyed the Tree of Eternity that supported the whole race of the High Elves.

    ¡°Many people know that the copse of the Tree of Eternity was a disaster for the High Elves. The High Elves headed towardsplete extinction after losing the Tree of Eternity that gave birth to them. But, I fear that very few people know that the copse of the Tree of Eternity was also a disaster for the whole of Anril. The Tree of Eternity not only supported the High Elves, but also maintained the bnce of Anril.¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Tutankhamun just finished speaking, yet Lin Li could not help but spew vulgarities. This was not a joke. Forget about the High Elves since they were already extinct. Being able to support them did not matter, but the point about maintaining the bnce of Anril caused Lin Li to have a shock...

    This feeling was like a skyscraper with more than a hundred floors suddenly had its foundations removed.

    At this point, Lin Li seemed to have guessed something...

    After being dazed for a moment, Lin Li did not continue questioning, but just nodded his head and silently listened to Tutankhamun.

    ¡°If you have noticed the history of Anril, you would definitely discover that the centuries after the Dark Age were days when Anril was filled with disasters. All sorts of natural disasters emerged in an endless stream. Typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. All sorts of disasters almost wiped out a third of Anril¡¯s poption!¡±

    ¡°Because of the Tree of Eternity¡¯s copse?¡±

    ¡°Yes... The copse of the Tree of Eternity was the source of all the disasters, but this was not the most terrifying part...¡± When Tutankhamun reached this part, he took a short pause, and then continued, ¡°The truly terrifying part was that the Tears of Space started appearing. After all of you return, carefully look through information. Then, you will realize that of the 13 known Tears of Space in Anril, at least 10 formed after the copse of the Tree of Eternity, and it does not include the Sunset Mountains...¡±

    ¡°What... What you mean is that there is another tear in the Sunset Mountains that can connect to another space?¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva with difficulty. Maybe the others did not know what Tutankhamun¡¯s words meant, but Lin Li understood clearly...

    It was because Lin Li himself came down from the Sunset Mountains¡ªbefore this, he was living in another world...

    All of a sudden, Lin Li felt that his palms were sweaty, and his heart rate increased a lot. It was because Lin Li felt that the answer he had been searching for was very likely going to appear now.

    ¡°Indeed, there exists a Tear of Space at the peak of the Sunset Mountains, and it could very likely be the most dangerous in Anril. It¡¯s because a lot of prehistoric magical beasts are living on the other end of this Tear of Space. These prehistoric magical beasts are not just Evil Eye Tyrants, but also include Minotaurs, Hydra¡ªthe king of the swamps¡ªas well as the venomous Viper. I believe that all of you have heard of the notorious names of these prehistoric magical beasts. If they were allowed to enter Anril, the civilization of the whole Anril would bepletely destroyed...¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡±

    ¡°The thing that¡¯s worth celebrating is that this Tear of Space is not big. It¡¯s still not enough for a prehistoric magical beast to pass through. That¡¯s why Anril is still safe after 1300 years...¡±

    ¡°Then Geresco...¡± When Lin Li heard this, he could not help but feel curious. Since it was a safe Tear of Space, why did Geresco still ughter the Sunset Mountains¡¯s beasts?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, let me continue. The first to discover the Tear of Space was Geresco. When the Tree of Eternity copsed, Geresco already felt that the bnce of this world had been destroyed. Hence, he traveled across Anril, looking for the Tears of Space that appeared because of the copse of the Tree of Eternity. When Geresco arrived at the Sunset Mountains, he discovered the existence of this Tear of Space almost immediately. There was no helping it. This Tear of Space was too dangerous. If an ident were to happen, it could almost immediately destroy the civilization in the whole Anril. Hence, Geresco stayed in the Sunset Mountains, and spent almost 10 years on research...

    ¡°After iparablyplicated calctions, Geresco came up with a theory. This Tear of Space still could not allow prehistoric magical beasts to pass through, but after a certain period of time, the magical tides of Anril could affect the Tear of Space, causing it to widen. This time, the prehistoric magical beasts would be able to seize the chance...¡±

 Chapter 446 - Magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant

    <h4>Chapter 446: Magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What would happen if the Tear of Space grew bigger?¡± Hutton instinctively asked, but when his words fell, Hutton already knew that he asked something stupid. Prehistoric magical beasts were not mere cats or dogs. Once they escaped from the Tear of Space, what good could it do?

    There was no need to talk about the others. Just a single Evil Eye Tyrant was enough to cause chaos in the whole Breezy ins. Its power was at least at the Sanctuary-realm. There were only three powerhouses that could match up to this power in the Breezy ins, and one of them was the Ashen Warlock, a monster that was more of a demon than a human.

    Furthermore, there wasn¡¯t just a single Evil Eye Tyrant at the other end of the Tear of Space. Tutankhamun just said that there were a lot of prehistoric magical beasts trapped in that terrifying space. Minotaurs, Hydras which were Kings of the Swamps, the most venomous Vipers, etc.

    Their numbers could reach up to the thousands. Once they rushed out of the Tear of Space, all that awaited the whole Fn Kingdom and the world of Anril would just be a cataclysmic disaster.

    Tutankhamun did not answer Hutton¡¯s question. He just looked at the three young mages. ¡°Which one of you still remembers the time when the three magic tides happened in Anril?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Naturally, Stephen was rather happy to see his rival, Hutton, doing something stupid. Even an idiot knew that whatever Tutankhamun was doing now was to help those three treasures find an heir. Every single word the three rivals said could possibly affect to whom these three treasures would belong to.

    The stupider things Hutton said, the lower the chances of him obtaining the treasure. A mage like Geresco would definitely not allow his treasures to go to an idiot.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear you talk.¡±

    ¡°The first magic tide happened in the first decade after the copse of the Tree of Eternity. During that year, Geresco set up the Supreme Council, and numerous Magic Councils were being established. With the arrival of the magic tide,rge numbers of mages broke through their original realms. The number of Archmages reached the highest ever in history. Yet at the same time, the first ck Current¡¯s flow arrived at the Sunset Mountains, and countless magical beasts went on a rampage. In a single night, they destroyed 13 outposts of the Fn Kingdom, and there was a casualty count of tens of thousands of soldiers. From then on, the Sunset Mountains became a true forbidden zone. Even the Legendary-realm powerhouses did not dare climb the Sunset Mountains during the overflow of the ck Current.¡±

    ¡°Indeed...¡± Tutankhamun nodded his head. That expressionless face of his gave off a rare look of praise.

    ¡°As for the second magic tide, there has not been a single exnation with authority in Anril. Some said that it was the year when the Church of Dawn was established, and some said that it was the year when Geresco became a god...¡± These words received Tutankhamun¡¯s praise. Stephen was happy on the inside. This was a good start. As long as he gave himself another push, he would definitely leave a good impression. ¡°However, there is another saying in Dark de...¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°This would have to start from the origin of the Dark de. The origin of the Dark de is actually a secret that was made known to the public. A lot of people know that it is the Darkness Shrine supporting Dark de,¡± Stephen spoke while ncing over at Lin Li and Hutton. His gaze had a tinge of arrogance that was hard to hide. ¡°So, we know a little of the Darkness Shrine¡¯s inside stories...¡±

    No wonder Stephen was so proud. Although the current Darkness Shrine was no longer one of the three great factions in Anril, how could a mere disasterpletely obliterate something that had been around for more than 1300 years? The Darkness Shrine had been keeping a low profile in the recent centuries¡ªso much so that the Brilliance Shrine no longer saw them as a rival¡ªbut the Darkness Shrine¡¯s true powers were iparable. It was just that they did not have the same goal as the Supreme Council or Brilliance Shrine¡ªbeing able to rule Anril.

    Stephen was the only heir of the Dark de, and he had such a terrifying faction backing him up. Of course he had the right to be arrogant.

    Naturally, Stephen definitely would not know that the true High Priest of the Darkness Shrine was currently waiting at the Crimson Python¡¯s nest for a certain rival to give him some pointers...

    ¡°Mr Tutankhamun, surely you know that the decline of the Darkness Shrine was actually due to a terrifying disaster. During the disaster, the Darkness Shrine lost hundreds of powerhouses level-15 and above, 13 Legendary Priests, as well as a High Priest that¡¯d just broken through to the Sanctuary-realm. All of the Darkness Shrine¡¯s elites seemed to have beenpletely lost overnight.¡± After Stephen reached this point, he took in a deep breath. ¡°A few years ago, I found the records pertaining to this disaster in the diary of one of my ancestors. ording to the memories of that ancestor, the disaster back then was due to the magic tide. It was just that this magic tide was not the same as the first one, bringing prosperity to Anril. This magic tide tore open a Tear of Space in the Ledin Kingdom. Tens of thousands of magical beasts surged forth from that Tear of Space and attacked the Darkness Shrine. This was a true disaster. The Darkness Shrine was dyed in blood overnight. Countless elites fell victim to the magical beasts¡¯ attack. The battle raged on for seven days and seven nights before the Darkness Shrine finally killed all of the magical beasts, but they also paid a very heavy price...¡±

    ¡°This definitely sounds interesting. If there is a chance, I would have to ask somebody in the Darkness Shrine...¡± Tutankhamun smiled without showing any opinion, signaling Stephen to continue speaking.

    ¡°As for the third magic tide, it was the most bombastic one. The descendants of the prehistoric magical beast descended upon the Sunset Mountains, causing the whole of Anril to fall into panic. The Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine, the strongest factions in Anril, worked together for the first time. Back then, it was Archbishop Rosario and Arbitrator Apophis that led the most elite attack force of the two strongest factions to attack the Sunset Mountains. They even killed all of the prehistoric magical beast descendants before the ck Current, finally stopping this terrifying disaster.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Tutankhamun nodded his head, and then he suddenly changed the topic. ¡°Then, can you tell me if there was anything special about the time when these three magic tides appeared?¡±

    ¡°Something special?¡±

    Stephen was dazed when he heard it, but Lin Li, who was at the side, instantly reacted. ¡°A magic tide every 400 years?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°So the next time...¡± Lin Li calcted silently for a while before hisplexion changed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be within the next few years?¡±

    ¡°Thetest would be five years, and the earliest would be three years...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li drew in a breath of cold air.

    ¡°Now do you know why I asked for the three of you toe over? I have to admit, you humans are a really lucky race. A monster like Geresco has appeared amidst all of you. Geresco had left you a way to deal with it a long 1300 years ago already. Now, let me tell you what these three treasures are used for...¡± Tutankhamun picked up the Book of Eternity and quickly flipped to thest page.

    ¡°Wa!¡± Lin Li instantly froze. Thest page of the Book of Eternity only had an incantation, and this incantation was not too long. There were only 100 runes or so. For a mage, an incantation with a segment of roughly 100 runes did not have any difficulty at all. Most Archmages couldplete it within 10 seconds. Those that were stronger, such as Lin Li, could evenpress to the casting time to within 5 seconds.

    But seeing this incantation, Lin Li could not help but swallow his saliva...

    It was because thenguage for this incantation was actually the ancientnguage of the dragons and the divinenguage of the titans.

    ¡°Damn it, Geresco, this monster...¡± Lin Li really had not imagined that Geresco could actually create such a scary incantation. One had to know that this was a magnificent feat that even High Elves would not dare to think about attempting. The ancientnguage of the dragons contained the eight Rule Powers, and the divinenguage of the titans contained the seven Elemental Powers. These twonguages themselves were the strongest and most mysterious incantations. Every single rune had infinite valiance. Using them to create incantations was simply something only a madman could do...

    Geresco was indeed a madman...

    ¡°This incantation was left behind by Geresco. Any mage that has the Book of Eternity would be able to use this incantation to seal the Tear of Space.¡±

    Tutankhamun¡¯s words that were casually spoken were like a bomb sting in Lin Li¡¯s ears.

    As to the methods that Geresco left behind, Lin Li thought of a lot of possibilities, but Lin Li definitely did not imagine that this lunatic would actually use runes to seal the Tear of Space.

    What did this mean? The Tear of Space was activated by the magic tide, and it also involved the Rule Power of Time and Space. To seal this Tear of Space, the magic tide in Anril had to be controlled, thus controlling the Rule Power of Time and Space. Yet to do all of this, Geresco actually used a short incantation...

    Once this incantation was grasped, it also meant that the Rule Power of Time and Space had been controlled, thus resonating with the magic tides of Anril andpletely understanding all of the secrets of the magic world. Any actions would be able to invoke infinite powers. Once a mage reached such a realm, he would more or less be a living deity.

    From the looks of it, Geresco did not just leave behind an incantation only¡ªthe three young mages all knew that this was actually a path towards immortality that was left behind. In an instant, Hutton, Lin Li and Stephen, all three young mages, had a look of passion and yearning that was hard to hide on their faces.

    It was just that after things calmed down, some more doubts appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind. ¡°About this, Mr Tutankhamun, I still don¡¯t understand. Why us? There are many other brilliant mages in Anril. Legendary and Sanctuary powerhouses. Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for them to control this incantationpared to us?¡±

    ¡°I knew you were going to ask this...¡± Tutankhamun smiled. ¡°The reason is actually very simple. It¡¯s because only a mage that has not formed the Magical Domain can learn this incantation that Geresco left behind. Once a mage has formed his own Magical Domain, he would have a lot of achievements in the future. Everything is decided the moment when the Magical Domain is formed. They gained immense power at that moment, but at the same time lost the chance to be the next Geresco.¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°As to why I looked for the three of you, the reason is actually very simple. It¡¯s because the three of you are the three young men with the best talent among all the mages I know. You have the best chance to meet the requirement for sealing the Tear of Space in three to five years...¡±

    ¡°The requirements to seal the Tear of Space?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. To use this incantation to seal the Tear of Space requires the abilities of the Sanctuary-realm at the very least...¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± This time even Lin Li almost fainted from shock, not to mention Hutton and Stephen. To break through to the Sanctuary-realm in three to five years? Was this some kind of a f*cking joke?

    Even though the three young mages present were all filled with talent, none of them would be so arrogant. Was there any difference between sleep-talking and breaking through to the Sanctuary-realm in three or five years? How many Sanctuary-realm powerhouses were there in total in Anril? They could be clearly counted with just two hands. Before experiencing the power of Geresco, these three young mages even thought that the Sanctuary-realm was the limit of the magical powers.

    But now, Tutankhamun instead told them that if they wanted to seal the Tear of Space at the Sunset Mountains, they would need to attain the Sanctuary-realm in three or five years...

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to lose hope...¡± Tutankhamun finished speaking and smiled. It was as though he knew what those three young mages were thinking about. He ced down the Book of Eternity and picked up a weird magical crystal. ¡°It¡¯s not as hard to step into the Sanctuary-realm as you imagine... because Geresco left behind this magical crystal...¡±

    Actually, Lin Li had long been staring at that magical crystal while Tutankhamun was speaking. It was because Lin Li always felt that this magical crystal was rather familiar... it was just that he could not remember where he¡¯d seen it before.

    It wasn¡¯t until Tutankhamun ced down the Book of Eternity that Lin Li suddenly remembered that the aura radiating from this magical crystal was very simr to the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal. It was just that this aura was much stronger and purer!

    The Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal had always been a bestseller in the ck market. A good Evil Eye magical crystal could make countless mages go for it like a flock of ducks. It was because the Mental Spell proficient Evil Eye had immense mental strength by nature. After the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal had been processed with special techniques, it could be worn as an essory. Although this essory didn¡¯t provide any offensive or defensive abilities, when it was worn, it could increase a mage¡¯s mental strength!

    For a mage, what else could be more important than mental strength?

    Unfortunately, the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal had always been rare. Its numbers absolutely could not fulfill the wishes of these numerous mages. Thus, the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal¡¯s price had been increasing. ording to the Gilded Rose¡¯s Ysera, a single Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal could be worth up to 800,000 gold coins in the market currently. Furthermore, this price was not often followed by purchase. There were a lot of times when it could not be bought even if you had the money...

    Back at the Endless World, Lin Li had a few of these high-quality Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystals, prepared for his mage smurf ount all along. A perfect initial mental attribute with the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal could allow the mage smurf¡¯s mental strength to be pushed to a terrifying state.

    However, whenpared to this abnormal magical crystal, those few high-quality Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystals did not amount to much. This magical crystal¡¯s aura was simply too powerful and pure. If Lin Li was not mistaken, there was an 80-90% chance that the magical crystal held in Tutankhamun¡¯s hands was the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Thinking about this possibility, Lin Li could not help but swallow his saliva. This was really too terrifying. The Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal was an item mentioned in myths even at Endless World. Even a person that stood at the peak of the game, Lin Li, had not seen one with his own eyes, not to mention those average yers.

    Lin Li had asionally seen it mentioned briefly in the libraries. The Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal had the same effect of raising mental strength. Furthermore, this effect would rise by 100 or even 1000 times whenpared to a normal Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal. If the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal was a water pipe, then the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal was without a doubt a raging river!

    Even if it was a mage apprentice that had the worst talent, he would definitely be at least a level-19 Archmage if he was able to get the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal. Furthermore, his mental strength would definitely surpass that of an average Archmage. As to why it was just a level-19 Archmage but not a Legendary-mage, it would be because the Legendary-realm was no longer decided by mental strength and mana. The Legendary-realm required the understanding and control of Rule Power.

    Without any exaggerations, the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal was more valuable than the Book of Eternity for a mage!

    This time, Lin Li believed that Tutankhamun was not spouting nonsense. If the three young talented mages present were to have the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal in their hands, they would then not be as far from stepping into the Sanctuary-realm as they thought.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and looked at Tutankhamun dully. ¡°This... This wouldn¡¯t be the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal, right?¡±

    ¡°Good judgment.¡± The smile on Tutankhamun¡¯s face was very pleased. ¡°This is the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal. Back then, Geresco set forth for the Sunset Mountains to block the Tear of Space and obtain this magical crystal.¡±

    ¡°So it really is...¡± In an instant, countless thoughts revolved in Lin Li¡¯s mind. The temptation that Tutankhamun took out this time was really too intense, so much so that Lin Li could not hold back anymore.

    An incantation that pointed to the path of bing a god and a magical crystal that could amplify mental spells to no end. Not a single mage could resist such temptation. Not Hutton, not Stephen. Likewise for Lin Li...

    All of this could no longer be described as benefits. Tutankhamun was right. Whoever were to obtain Geresco¡¯s three treasures, they really had a chance to be the next Geresco!

    ¡°As for this key...¡± Just when the three mages were dumbfounded, Tutankhamun took up the remaining key. ¡°Geresco left a set of space-time coordinates in this key. One of you is able to use this space-time coordinates set to find thest Sky Castle that the High Elves left behind, and this key is used to open the Sky Castle.¡±

    ¡°Sky Castle!¡± At this point, Lin Li only felt his mind go ballistic...

 Chapter 447 - The Abyss of Tharlen

    <strong>Chapter 447: The Abyss of Tharlen</strong>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    It was actually the key of the seventh Sky Castle...

    This time, Lin Li really understood everything. No wonder the High Elves only mobilized six Sky Castles all the way till the end of the battle, while the most destructive and powerful seventh Sky Castle was not seen during the battle at all. So this was the cause of everything. Activating the seventh Sky Castle required a single key, and this key was just nice in Geresco¡¯s hands!

    But one thing was weird. Why did Geresco have the Sky Castle¡¯s key?

    It ought to be known that the seventh Sky Castle was built by the High Elves after expending countless years and infinite effort. For the High Elves, this seventh Sky Castle was not only their strongest weapon, but it was also the key to the final step for them to ascend into the domain of gods. The seven Sky Castles had always been in the control of Azshara, the queen of the High Elves, ever since they werepleted.

    Although Geresco was known as the God of Mages, back in those days when the High Elves were ruling the world, it was not Geresco that was epted as the strongest mage in Anril. Instead, it was the queen of the High Elves, Azshara. This female High Elf that carried the Moana Magic Staff when being born under the Tree of Eternity was the strongest in magic in Anril. Geresco was powerful back then, but to steal the key of the Sky Castle from Azshara was equivalent to sleep talking...

    But for Lin Li, how all of this happened was actually not important...

    It was because Lin Li was very clear that no matter how many secrets or doubts there were in this, he had to get these three treasures in his hands.

    There was no need to mention the Book of Eternity. Thest page recorded an incantation that could overturn the whole magic system, and could be described as omnipotent.

    The magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant was equally important. There was no mage that did not want to have more and stronger mental strength. It was especially so for a monster such as Lin Li that had mental strength in the abnormal range. Once he obtained the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal, it could only be described as redoubling his might. This terrifying strengthening of mental strength, coupled with all of the knowledge found within the Book of Eternity, meant that Lin Li almost had a 100 percent chance to reach the realm of Geresco. It was not impossible for him to surpass Geresco, either...

    Furthermore, there was a key that opened up the seventh Sky Castle here...

    For an average person like Hutton or Stephen, the key was just an icing on the cake at the very best. Its purpose was significantly lesser than those of the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal and the Book of Eternity. They could, at best, only hope that they were lucky enough and find the Sky Castle that was lost in space and time one day.

    But for Lin Li, the purpose of this key was not so simple.

    It was because the blueprints of the seventh Sky Castle were currently within the Ring of Endless Storm...

    Ever since he found the blueprints in the Scar of Death, Lin Li had always been researching their secrets. Numerous parts of High Elves Print had already been tranted by him. Even though he was worlds apart from deciphering everything in the blueprints, Lin Li understood a few secrets thoroughly just from the few tranted sentences.

    These secrets might not have much use now, but with the passing of time, Lin Li¡¯s strength would grow stronger and stronger. Breaking through to the Legendary-realm was just round the corner, and even breaking through to the Sanctuary-realm was no longer impossible. At that point, Lin Li could use the coordinates in the key to enter the turbulent flow of time and space and find the Sky Castle that was lost was for 1300 years, thus gaining control over this unparalleled war machine!

    A Sanctuary Master controlling a Sky Castle would not have any fear even when going face to face against a deity...

    ¡°As for who will obtain these three treasures amongst the three of you, you three would have to decide yourselves.¡± After introducing the history of these three treasures of Geresco, Tutankhamun seemed to have let out a sigh of relief, and slowly retreated to the wooden chair after cing down the key in his hand.

    ¡°What should we do?¡±

    ¡°What you need to is actually very simple...¡± Tutankhamun suddenly smiled, but this smile was rather weird. ¡°You just need to enter apetition with killing prohibited. Whoever can get the final victory will be able to obtain these three treasures.¡±

    ¡°Competition?¡±

    ¡°Yes, apetition that is race with death...¡± After Tutankhamun smiled weirdly. He suddenly stood up from the chair, and then he used a roaring voice to recite an incantation. When the incantation resounded, Lin Li could clearly hear that this was an incantation in the ancientnguage of dragons...

    After feeling the ancient aura permeating from the incantations, Lin Li could feel something was wrong. Tutankhamun¡¯spetition might not be as safe as what he said...

    Indeed...

    Just when the roaring voice settled, the three young mages suddenly felt that their surroundings changed. The lustrous forest disappeared with a ¡°whoosh¡±, and in its ce were fiery mes that blotted out the sky and earth. This was an iparably weird world. Be it the sky or earth, they seemed to have been lit up by the ck mes. Everything within sight was just a world on fire.

    The thing that made one¡¯s blood curdle was that these ck mes were not hot at all, but instead were icy cold. Standing at the side felt like ice was being stuck on. Furthermore, Lin Li could clearly feel that an iparably heavy death aura was permeating these ck mes. This death aura did not have the stench of the Undead, but it was heavier and purer. When one stood there, it immediately felt like the blood all over the body had stopped flowing...

    ¡°F*ck...¡± When the ck mes appeared, Lin Li¡¯s face immediately turned pale.

    Icy cold ck mes. A death aura that was pure and heavy. If this wasn¡¯t the 27th floor of the Abyss, then what was it?

    The 27th floor of the abyss was called the Abyss of Tharlen. In the ancientnguage of the dragons, Tharlen also meant destruction. This was a world that was filled with darkness and evil. Lin Li was not sure about Anril, but there was a saying in the Endless World: the Demon Lord that ruled the Abyss of Tharlen was actually the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas. This ancient dragon that controlled the rules of darkness and evil ced one of its shadows into the Abyss of Tharlen. This shadow did not have thoughts or consciousness. It only had a portion of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s power, and it was loyal to Azardas¡¯ will.

    Azardas used this method to break through the limits of rules in Anril, allowing his shadow to constantly absorb powering from the Abyss while undergoing countless expeditions in the nes of the Abyss.

    Although the Abyss of Tharlen was only the 27th floor of the Abyss, the demons within were definitely more terrifying than those from the 30th floor, or even the 35th floor...

    Back then, Lin Li¡¯s hunter that wielded the Stars of Fury received a mission to enter the Abyss of Tharlen after killing Azardas. It was just that this mission did not mention what he had to do after entering the Abyss of Tharlen, and nobody told Lin Li whether the Abyss of Tharlen had any rtion with Azardas. Furthermore, Lin Li had too many issues afterward, such as training the mage¡¯s survival skills and using the Scroll of Wishes to make a wish, etc...

    All in all, it was dyed in the long run. When Lin Li was swallowed by the ck hole, he never had the time toplete this mission that filled him with doubts.

    He did not think that he would enter the Abyss of Tharlen in another world after a year or so...

    ¡°Things are going to get spicy....¡± Thinking about this possibility, Lin Li could not help but frown.

    The Abyss of Tharlen was still that Abyss of Tharlen, but he was no longer the same person. The Lin Li that was wielding the Stars of Fury in Endless World could¡¯ve been said to be an invincible entity. Even one of the four great Dragon Aspects, Azardas, was in by him. Although the Abyss of Tharlen was iparably dangerous, it was not enough to make him flinch.

    But now...

    Lin Li lowered his head and looked at the ck robe on his body. How was sending a mere level-19 Archmage to a ce like the Abyss of Tharlen any different from using meat buns to hit dogs? Level-10 Minion Demons, level-15 Demons, and Greater Demons ranging from level-18 to 20 could all be forgotten. With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, he would be a match even for a Greater Demon that was level-20. But what if he were to encounter Azardas¡¯ shadow?

    That was the shadow of one of the four great Dragon Aspects...

    Even if it were to inherit a fraction of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s powers, it was definitely not something the current Lin Li could resist. Azardas controlled the dark and evil forces of the whole of Anril. Even if it was a shadow with 10% of his power, it would still be a terrifying existence that was close to Sanctuary-realm.

    Although Lin Li was now rated as the first person under the Legendary-realm, and he could still go up against a Legendary powerhouse like Sendros when he controlled both Holy Light and Gloomy Dark while having a Humerus Wyrm behind him, this did not mean that he had the power to challenge someone at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Lin Li could rely on the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark to close the gap between him and someone at level-20, 21, and even 22, but when the opponent reached level-24, the power of both sides could be said to be miles apart. Holy Light and Gloomy Dark would no longer be able to protect him from the Legendary-realm powers. As for the Humerus Wyrm... It would just be aughingstock when facing a powerhouse that was close to the Sanctuary-realm...

    ¡°This is the 27th floor of the Abyss. It is mentioned in many legends in Anril, and it¡¯s also called the Abyss of Tharlen. Now, what the three of you need to do is to think of a way to find a pce located in the deepest depths of the Abyss of Tharlen. After that, use the Teleportation Portal in the pce to teleport back here. Whoever is able to win thispetition will win the three treasures that Geresco left behind.¡±

 Chapter 448 - Aztek

    <h4>Chapter 448</h4>

    <h4>: Aztek</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Is this... Is this the Abyss of Tharlen?¡± asked Lin Li. Like him, the expressions of the other two young mages changed as well. Although they did not know what the Abyss of Tharlen looked like, they knew the ce from the many legends of Anril. That was a ce filled with darkness and evil. No one knew how many brutal and devious demons hid within those burning ck mes.

    ¡°Fret not, the Abyss of Tharlen now is not the same as in the past. The two forces¡ªDarkness and Evilness¡ªthat had been supporting the Abyss of Tharlen had been deteriorating since the Dark Age. Did you not realize that the power of these ck mes is not as scary as what was said in those legends?¡±

    Tutankhamun¡¯s words struck Lin Li. He was right. The intensity of those ck mes was really not as scary as in the Endless World. In fact, the ck mes of the Abyss of Tharlen were as terrifying as the Undead gue in the Endless World. They had a corrosive quality that could engulf normal humans in close proximity with their Darkness and Evilness.

    The pure ck mes before his eyes did not bring any other danger apart from the intense death aura they were emitting. No one would be harmed from standing near it or from putting his hands through it.

    It seemed that it was true that the Dragon of Destruction in Anril had fallen...

    The thought of it gave Lin Li a clearer picture. Now that the Abyss of Tharlen was deteriorating by the day, even if the Dragon of Destruction existed, it would not be as daunting as the invincible lord that resided 35 levels deep into the Abyss.

    ¡°When do we start?¡± That was the only question Lin Li asked.

    ¡°Anytime...¡± As Tutankhamun spoke, the surroundings started to distort. What followed was the vanishing of the figure that donned a long ck robe. ¡°The Teleportation Portal is just on top of the throne. Wish you luck!¡± That voice reverberated the sky filled by ck mes.

    After watching Tutankhamun disappear, the three young mages were not in a hurry to find the pce in the Abyss of Tharlen. They stood in their spots agreeably, and each had a gaze filled with vignce and enquiry as they nced at the other two buddies.

    The three young men were the top young mages in the entire Fn Kingdom. Firstly, the speed of Lin Li¡¯s progress was unprecedented. He rose from a mage apprentice to a Legendary-mage in less than two years<sup>1</sup>. The two other young men had grown up in the Dark de and the Malfa Family, respectively. They were both heirs of the two huge forces. How could the three of them not understand the meaning behind this situation?

    The Abyss of Tharlen was located 27 levels deep into the Abyss. Even if there was no shadow of the Dragon of Destruction there, it was not a ce for ordinary men to challenge. Not to exaggerate, the danger level of the Abyss of Tharlen was not lower than that of the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains. Not to mention the great demons above level-20, there were hundreds and thousands of Minion Demons and normal demons in that Abyss. Even if the three young mages were talented, they would not be any better if they had to battle with those demons.

    Even Lin Li, the most powerful of the three, did not have the confidence to find that pce by himself.

    The three young mages were all very clear that the only way to go far in the Abyss of Tharlen was to coborate with one another. If they were to split up, it would be heart-stirring in every step they were to take alone. Lin Li did not have full confidence to battle hundreds of demons. How different could Hutton and Stephen be?

    On the other hand, the three mages were rivals. If one of them took one step ahead of the rest, it would mean a smaller chance for the other two to acquire the three relics. It would not matter if they were other items, but Geresco¡¯s relics had tremendous importance that no mages would offer to others. Even Geresco once said, ¡°I will not let God hinder my pursuit of the truth of magic.¡±

    Hence, the three young mages stood there in silence. No one offered to coborate.

    That was a very hrious scene. The first difficulty that the three top mages of the entire Fn Kingdom, or even Anril, faced was not a frightening demon, but an issue that would not be a problem to ordinary people...

    ¡°Hey, you two...¡± The heir of the Malfa Family finally broke the silence with an awkward cough. Just when he wanted to suggest a temporary coboration, Hutton noticed tremors in the ck mes around them...

    What followed was a booming noise mixed with roars and growls. At the start, it sounded distant. However, the sound grew exponentially while causing the ground to shake. It was as though there were thousands of soldiers and millions of horses charging towards them.

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Stephen gasped in shock. Everyone knew the dangers in the Abyss of Tharlen. However, none of the three mages had expected Lady Luck to bring such a massive number of demons to them the very moment they set foot into the territory of the Abyss of Tharlen...

    The booming noise shook the ground. A fool would have known that a troop of demons would be hundreds and thousands in strength!

    What did hundreds and thousands of demons entail?

    It would be easy if they were all Minion Demons. If they were Demons or Greater Demons, the three mages would have no ce to put their tears...

    Lin Li took a quick nce at the situation. The ck mes that filled the ce gave them no ce to hide. ¡°Let¡¯s fly up,¡± said Lin Li in a low voice after a moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Alright.¡± That was Stephen. Everyone knew that was the only option when this man did not voice out any opposition to Lin Li¡¯s ideas.

    The battle with the hundreds and thousands of demons would be simr to digging their own graves. Archmages did not have the unlimited ability to cast spells. They would be immediately drowned in the tide of demon troops once they took a break from the recitation of spells.

    The Levitation Spell was the only way to get to safety. Apart from the more unusual species, ordinary demons had no ability to fly. These demons would only develop a pair of wings and know how to fly when they reached level-18.

    The three men cast the Levitation Spell and swerved up 100 meters into the sky almost at the same time.

    The troop of demons was like tide waters when viewed from 100 meters up in the sky...

    ¡°Holy sh*t...¡± Lin Li gasped as he broke out in a cold sweat. That was a troop of Azteks, one of the notorious demons that resided 20 levels into the Abyss. They were birthed from fire and lived near the mouth of active volcanoes. They could move through zing fire, bathe inva, and had natural resistance to all fire element spells. The explosion of the powerful Pyrost on their body would be like a tickle to their skin...

    The Minion Demons of Aztek type were easier to deal with. They had not learned any spells, and did not have high intelligence. Without the orders from a Greater Demon, they could only attack instinctively. Their hotva-like bodies were their only weapons. They would pounce on their enemies when they felt threatened, killing either themselves or their enemies...

    The Azteks would acquire some fire element spells such as the ming Storm and Hell Fire once they reached level-15. Although the impact of these spells was not as powerful, it would be another story if hundreds of Azteks were to cast those spells together...

    That was not the scariest part. Azteks above level-15 had a spell called ¡®Live Bomb¡¯. It was a spell that could terrify even Greater Demons. However, the target of this spell was not an enemy, but rather themselves. Azteks above level-15 could turn their body into a bomb and cause an explosion that could rival Pyrost. It could break apart any type of magic defense and magic shields. Lin Li might not be able to withstand more than five Live Bombs even with his Elemental Shield.

    There were at least 100 level-15 Azteks on the ground, and around 10 of them had a pair of red wings...

    That meant the 10 demons were at least level-18...

    ¡°Phew, at least I¡¯m in the air...¡± Lin Limented as he broke out in a cold sweat. If he had cast the Levitation Spell anyter, he would have been caught up by the horrendous number of Azteks, which would tear his body to shreds.

    Lin Li knew his safety would notst long, for he saw a few Azteks with red wings flying up from the ground...

    ¡°Hey, you two. Let¡¯s escape...¡± Lin Li made a very wise decision as he rubbed his nose...

    It was not that the three young mages did not have the ability to defeat the 10 level-18 Azteks, but that there was no need to do so. To Lin Li, there was a great risk to take part in the battle. It would be noughing matter if the level-18 Azteks cast the Live Bomb. Not to mention Stephen and Hutton, even Lin Li had no confidence that his magic shield of be of help then.

    It was fortunate that demons like Azteks had a natural weakness: even if they were in level-18, their slow flying speed would make it a challenge for them to catch up with the young mages.

 Chapter 449 - Drawing Circles

    <h4>Chapter 449: Drawing Circles</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    While Lin Li was the only person in Anril who could use the Levitation Spell like the Power of Flight, Stephen and Hutton were not to be trifled with as well. They were the disciples of mentors in the Legendary-realm and heirs groomed by the tworge forces. The Levitation Spell they cast was not what amon mage could imagine.

    When the group of Azteks had just discovered the mages in the sky, the three ck figures had already sped off like lightning and covered a few hundred meters immediately. Their speed was faster than the time necessary to use a Live Bomb or cast spells like the ming Storm. The several hundred Azteks had to watch the three humans flying above their heads; apart from the 10 demon leaders with red wings, the Azteks were left helpless.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hide somewhere in front!¡± Lin Li suggested nervously when he saw 10 Azteks flying menacingly after them. Although they wouldn¡¯t be able to get to them within a short amount of time, Lin Li knew their mana would not suffice when they were exerting their mental strength to fly at a faster speed. It would not be worth it to drain all their mana when they werepeting with the stamina of the Azteks.

    <i>We need to think of a way to shrug these demons on our tail off!</i>

    The Abyss World had 99 levels, and there was aplete world on every level. All of the Abyss World was also known as the Endless Abyss. Although the Abyss of Tharlen was just one of the 99 levels, it was very spacious. Apart from the ck mes that could be seen everywhere, it had mountains, rivers, and forests. It was not very different from an actual world.

    Despite flying for at least 10 minutes, the three young mages were still unable to break away from the Azteks. Lin Li also realized that the mana of Hutton and Stephen was starting to dwindle. It was not unusual for long-distance flights to be consuming a huge amount of mana. Lin Li was already surprised that the two of them could endure so long. After all, not all mages had the ability to cast 10 Pyrost instantaneously...

    However, that did not matter. They would be able to shrug that bunch of Azteks off very quickly.

    Because... Lin Li saw a forest ahead of them with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    The forest was two to three kilometers away. At their speed, they would be able to reach it in three minutes.

    Although Azteks that were above level-18 were troublesome, the forest was still better than normal ins. Once they entered the forest that hadplex topography and a huge bunch of trees and grasses, Lin Li was certain that not only would the Azteks not be able to transform into Live Bomb, it would also turn them into the hares that would submit to them<sup>1</sup>.

    The three men reached the region above the forest very quickly. Lin Li slowed down, and asked, ¡°Hey, should we go pick up a few dead hares from thend?¡±

    ¡°Dead hares?¡± Stephen and Hutton looked at Lin Li skeptically. How could he think of ying with hares when the mes of the Azteks were going to burn their butts?

    ¡°That¡¯s right, stupid dead hares...¡± Lin Li plunged into the thick forest without giving further exnation.

    Hutton followed in his wake right after Lin Linded on the ground. Although Hutton was unsure what was going on with President Felic, consistent interactions with him gave Hutton confidence that President Felic had different brain structure from normal humans. His seemingly baffling actions would always have stunning results, causing the people who did not agree with him to feel regret.

    Hutton did not dare to disagree with Lin Li. He did not want to regret it...

    Hence, Hutton stood behind Lin Li obediently.

    Unlike Hutton, Stephen was less agreeable. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to protest when the two others had already entered the forest. What could he do other than follow behind them? He was not Geresco. He would not have the ability to fight with a group of Azteks above level-18...

    ¡°I shall let you guys off this time...¡± Stephen muttered under his breath as he nced at that figure d in a ck robe a distance away. After some hesitation, he reduced his mana usage and made his way towards the ground slowly...

    ¡°Hey, President Felic, what are you doing...?¡± Hutton asked when he saw that mysterious President Felic pouring a bottle of star sand on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought too much star sand with me, and it hindered my flying speed. I want to pour some of it away for fun...¡± said Lin Li in a patronizing tone.

    ¡°Felic... President Felic really likes to crack jokes...¡± The only thing Hutton could do was tough awkwardly at the outright patronization.

    He had no other choice. Lin Li was not a man he could trifle with...

    He had no idea where this Felic came from, but was really stunned by what Felic did in the ckstone Mountains. He was a butcher who got rid of a huge bunch of bandits. He could summon dozens of Death Knights any time he wished to. With his Humerus Wyrm, anybody who were to trigger his wrath would never be able to leave the Abyss of Tharlen alive.

    Furthermore, the fe had a great rtionship with Sendros...

    Who was Sendros? He was a Legendary-realm mage of at least level-20. As one of the High Priests of the Darkness Shrine, which once had the same influence as the Brilliance Shrine or the Supreme Council. Even though a century had passed, the Darkness Shrine still had greater power than the Malfa Family. Hutton was one of the few who was aware of the true abilities of the Darkness Shrine. Wasn¡¯t Darkness Shrine behind the Dark de, the forcepeting with the Malfa Family for thest several hundred years?

    After a few interactions, Hutton was certain that the freakishly young President Felic was really not someone to challenge. Being a man with a lot of secrets, he might even be scarier than Sendros...

    ¡°It¡¯s actually nothing much. I¡¯m just setting a small trap...¡± Lin Li grew embarrassed when he saw how awkward Hutton was. While continuing to pour the star sand, Lin Li started to exin it to him.

    ¡°Hehe, I knew it. President Felic must have thought of how to deal with the Azteks...¡± said Hutton. The exnation given by Lin Li was a positive signal to Hutton that Lin Li had intentions to ease the rtionship with him.

    Although it was not a good rtionship to start with, to Hutton, it was pleasurable enough if that fe did not treat him as an enemy. It meant that he did not have to worry when Felic was going to take revenge on him.

    Just when Hutton wanted to take the chance to patch things up for his wrongs in instructing the Syer Bandits to sneak attack, he saw Stephen approaching them from the sky. The expression of that young mage from the Dark de became uneasy when he saw the star sand on the ground.

    ¡°Goddammit. So you lured us into this forest to watch you draw circles?¡±

    ¡°If you are not interested, I don¡¯t mind if you leave this ce any time... ¡± Lin Li said as he pursed his lips without looking at Stephen. He did not take Stephen¡¯s attitude to heart, as he was sure that Stephen would not have the intelligence necessary to learn the Maze Mageweath and mageweath array...

    Lin Li might be the only person who knew that the Maze Mageweath was what gave him the confidence to suggest they pick up dead hares. Of course, Lin Li did not have the time to exin it to Stephen. The Maze Mageweath was a high-level mageweath array that involved mental and spiritual strength. It was a challenging mageweath array that not all high-level Inscriptors had the confidence to establish. Furthermore, Lin Li intended to construct a mageweath array with three Maze Mageweaths. This increased the difficulty by many levels. Who would have the ability to multitask by giving Stephen an exnation? Whom could he put the me on if he were tomit any mistakes?

    However, the difficult mageweath array was the best solution to deal with the Azteks.

    The Maze Mageweath was a special existence in the category of high-level mageweaths. Although it was not life-threatening, it could create illusions for the living beings within its boundaries. A mageweath array that was made of three Maze Mageweaths would increase the strength of the illusions. Lin Li presumed that three Maze Mageweaths were sufficient to affect the Azteks that had innate resistance to mental spells.

    Since one could easily crash into trees with his eyes wide open, Lin Li felt that the many trees in the forest helped to construct an environment easy for them to deal with the Azteks. Yet, it was not exactly foolproof. He still had to add another Maze Mageweath and use the mageweath array to create different types of illusions.

    ¡°Alright. Mage Hutton, let¡¯s find a ce to rest...¡± Lin Li said as he patted the dust off his long robe. He had put a level-10 magical crystal on the source of mana carefully, andpleted thest magic node.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Mage Stephen, do you want to take a rest too? You can also take the chance to have a look at how I draw circles...¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Stephen snorted without looking at Lin Li.

    ¡°It seems that Mage Stephen has no interest in drawing circles. Mage Hutton, shall we go take a break there...?¡± Lin Limented grinningly after ncing at Stephen. After that, Lin Li and Hutton found a seat at a dry spot. They took the chance to replenish their mana that had been drained from the long flight.

 Chapter 450 - Digging

    <h4>Chapter 450: Digging</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although their long-distance flight consumed a lot of mana, recovery was a matter of just a few minutes for mages like Lin Li and Hutton. They recovered most of their mana before they could finish drinking a sack of water. At this time, Stephen, who had been standing a distance away, looked rather awkward.

    He thought Felic was the only man who had gone crazy, but did not expect Hutton to be infected as well. Stephen could not bring himself to approach the two of them with his ego, but he seemed rather foolish, standing still at his spot. In that moment, Stephen was really at a loss for what to do...

    However, his awkwardness did notst long.

    Right after Lin Li and Hutton finished their water, the sky started to rain fire.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Hutton eximed as he grabbed the magic staff by his side, and started reciting a spell. At that instant, a translucent blue glow filled the entire forest. The forest became chilly, and there was now a protectiveyer over Hutton and Lin Li. At the same time, there were countless mes tearing through the sky.

    A level-18 Aztek was only one step from being a Greater Demon. Its innate fire element spell would¡¯ve already evolved to the final stage. If 10 of them were to cast a spell together, it would be as powerful as a Legendary-level spell. Every me harbored massive fire magic element. The moment they came into contact with the blue glow, they emitted a blinding beam of light...

    At that instant, the magical elements within the forest looked as if they were boiling. Wind blew madly, and the zing mes danced wildly. Colorful magic symbols fluttered like rainbow butterflies around the men.

    This portrayed the vast umtion of abilities by the Malfa Family. The blue beam of light cast by Hutton was obviously not part of his magic energy. Instead, it came from powerful magical equipment. Lin Li could see that the Blue Shield remained still amidst the Legendary-level Fire Rain. Apart from asional small ripples, it looked as though it was not facing any magic attack.

    Although Lin Li knew that he could be safe if he were to cast the Elemental Shield, he was certain that it would not be as effortless as Hutton¡¯s method. He thought that the defense mechanism of the Blue Shield would be at the Legendary-level...

    <i>It is true that no snakes in the Breezy ins are easy to challenge...</i>

    While Lin Li was analyzing the situation, his pair of despicable eyes stole a nce at the other snake a distance away from them.

    <i>Hehe, the other snake seems to be out of luck...</i>

    Lin Li expected it. Although Stephen could withstand the Fire Rain, this snake from the Dark de looked especially miserable if one were topare him with the effortless Hutton. Stephen used the same ne again. However, the effect of the ne was much weaker than before.

    When they were trying to unlock the elemental iron crate the other time, Stephen¡¯s Elemental Sigh Ne could construct sevenyers of Elemental Shields instantaneously. It managed to block the millions of magic arrows then. However, there were only three Elemental Shields this time. They were dull in color, and were totally unlike the firm and radiant ones in the Prehistoric Age. After all, it was an iplete Elemental Sigh.

    It did not withstand the Fire Rain for long. The first droplet of Fire Rainnded on Stephen within 10 seconds before the second, third, and fourth dropletnd on him...

    Despite his robe being good magical equipment, it caught fire from the scorching hot rain.

    <i>Sh*t...</i>

    Stephen¡¯s mind nked out when he saw the droplets of fire.

    ¡°Come here quickly!¡± A frantic voice called out.

    That was Hutton. He was trying his best to expand the coverage of the Blue Shield.

    Stephen regained his focus after hearing Hutton. He endured the pain from his shoulders and cast a Hastening Spell on himself. With the boost from the spell, Stephen scurried towards the Blue Shield with all the fire sparks and thick smog.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Stephen sighed in relief after he had gotten himself to safety. That was a terrifying moment. If Hutton had called out to him one or two secondste, he would have either burned to his death or be paralyzed from the Fire Rain.

    That being said...

    Just when Stephen was secretly gloating, he heard a voice by his ear. ¡°Mage Stephen, I see that you have a unique fetish...¡±

    ¡°What fetish?¡± asked Stephen subconsciously. He was still in a daze, and could notprehend Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°Your fetish of exposing your body...¡± Lin Li replied grinningly as he looked at Stephen¡¯s back wickedly.

    ¡°You...¡± Stephen¡¯s sudden realization made him reach with his hands behind his back. He felt a cold gust of wind...

    No, it was not just his back... After taking a close look, Stephen realized that his robe had been burnt really badly by the Fire Rain. Apart from that piece covering his chest, he was in a mess. This caused Stephen to wish for a hole to hide in...

    How could a high-ranking Archmage, and the only heir of the Dark de, be as miserable as a beggar? Moreover, he had disyed this broken side of his to the irritable Felic. His ego had now dropped into the other side of the Endless Ocean.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be shy. Mage Stephen, me and Hutton are very open-minded. Although we do not really approve of your fetish, we would not discriminate you because of it...¡± Lin Li said hypocritically. He unleashed his bitchy side by aggravating the situation.

    ¡°...¡± Stephen nearly spat blood. His embarrassment and rage was visible on his face that was covered by thick ash.

    ¡°If you¡¯d known better, you would have joined me in the investigation of the drawing of circles...¡±forted Lin Li regretfully while snickering wildly inside...

    It was because that was a hole he¡¯d dug for Stephen.

    Aspared to the other demons the roamed in the Abyss, the Azteks were actually very low in rank. Although they could reach level-20 to be a Greater Demon, they were never known for their prowess in magic. The reason why it was challenging to deal with them was their natural resistance to fire element spells as well as their ability to transform into Live Bombs tounch suicide attacks against their enemies. In terms of magic attributes, they might not be as strong as some other level-15 demons.

    The natural disadvantage left them with their visual and olfactory senses when they chased after their enemies. Unlike other demons, the Azteks could not use magic to locate their opponents.

    The Azteks would onlyunch their attack when they saw the three humans enter the forest.

    When Lin Li was in the Endless World, he took on a mission to enter the Abyss of Tharlen alone. Although he did not really enter the Abyss of Tharlen in the end, he managed to gather a lot of information about the ce. He was very clear on the attributes of the Azteks. Hence, after establishing the Maze Mageweaths earlier, he did not stay at their original spot for too long. Instead, he found a hideout to watch the show begin.

    That was the pitfall. With Stephen¡¯s personality, how would he ept Lin Li¡¯s invitation to draw circles together?

    To sum up, it was a deliberate act of revenge that was of an extremely bad intention and extremely serious nature...

    This was Lin Li¡¯s personality. His ssic vindictive nature would help him remember any trivial offense. Although he could be very smiley on normal days, he would repay it a hundred times more when he meet the right opportunity. This type of revenge might not im lives, but it would definitely make someone extremely miserable...

    The miserable appearance of Stephen delighted Lin Li. He gazed at the entric fashion style Stephen boasted, and estimated the timing the Fire Rain wouldst...

    Azteks that were below level-20 could only cast level-15 Fire Rain. Only when they surpassed level-20 and became a Greater Demon would they be able to turn Fire Rain into the powerful Fire Storm.

    Fire Rain would normallyst for three to 10 seconds.

    The most important part was the depletion of mana after the Azteks cast the Fire Rain.

    However, three to five seconds would suffice for a mage like Lin Li.

    ¡°Three, two, one!¡±

    The continuous Fire Rain came to a stop immediately. What followed was a rushed recitation. Before Stephen and Hutton could react, a Frost Dragon Gun had shot into the air...

 Chapter 451 - Death Pit

    <h4>Chapter 451: Death Pit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    What followed was a shrill cry that pierced through the sky. Before Stephen and Hutton could react, there was a loud ¡°POM!¡±, and they saw an Aztek that was caught in the Fire Rain. It fell from the sky and created a huge dent in the ground. The men could only see zing fire and sparkles that filled the air.

    Hutton was the first to be shocked. He shot a cautious nce at the gigantic pit, and saw all scales and hideous face. There were also two horns on the head, a pair of wings on the ribs, and a pungent smell of sulfur. What could it be other than an Aztek that was close to level-20?

    However, this Aztek was lying there lifelessly. Its chest had been pierced through by a Frost Dragon Gun. Fresh red blood oozed out of its wound profusely...

    ¡°Oh God...¡± Hutton eximed; his jaw dropped. ¡®Profound¡¯ was the only word he could use to describe the abilities of President Felic. How could he kill a level-18 with just a single strike? It seemed that Senior Adelo was not exaggerating, after all.

    ¡°Hutton, how much longer can your magical equipment work?¡± Lin Li asked without even looking at the Aztek in the pit.

    An Aztek that cast the Fire Rain would have three to five seconds of mana depletion. In that three to five seconds, its magic abilities and defense mechanism would be at their weakest. If his Frost Dragon Gun was unable to kill the Aztek with one strike, he should just pack his luggage and return to Jarrosus for retirement immediately.

    ¡°Five more minutes.¡± Hutton¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he heard President Felic¡¯s question. The fact that he was asking about the ¡®magical equipment¡¯ and not the ¡®spell¡¯ meant that he had seen through him. The blue projection he had used did not require mana. It was magical equipment that had been passed down for generations in the Malfa Family.

    <i>What a sharp eye President Felic has...</i>

    ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and did not say more. He secretly transmitted a bit of mana into the source of mana of the mageweath array.

    The introduction of this wave of mana lit up the level-10 magical crystal. Then, the entire Maze Mageweath Array transformed into a gigantic whirlpool as it tried to absorb the mana within the level-10 magical crystal...

    Under normal circumstances, such a Maze Mageweath Array would require an astronomical amount of mana and a magical crystal of at least level-18 to function. The mana within a level-10 magical crystal would be depleted within five minutes.

    However, that was sufficient for Lin Li. From the start, he¡¯d never thought of giving the optimal conditions for the mageweath array to function. That was the second pit Lin Li had dug.

    The first pit helped to punish Stephen, while the second one would function to kill the group of Azteks. Five minutes should be enough...

    After one Aztek was struck by the Frost Dragon Gun, close to 10 Azteks were spreading their red wings and rushing towards the forest.

    They found the three humans as soon as theynded. To the evil beings that lived in the Abyss, any living beings that did not belong to the Abyss were considered their enemies. They only knew that killing the intruders of the Abyss would make their powers stronger.

    That was a battle between the hunter and prey. However, they would only know who was the hunter and prey after the battle. There was neither verbalmunication nor psychological tests needed. It was the most primitive and brutal battle from the beginning. It started off with the growl of the biggest Aztek, which signaled the 10 other Azteks to spread their wings. They swooped towards the three young mages like a boiling wave.

    ¡°We only have five minutes,¡± said Lin Li as he prepared his Frost Dragon Gun. What followed was the fall of one of the Aztek in front.

    However, the Frost Dragon Gun did not kill the Aztek in a single blow this time. After all, it was an Aztek above level-18 that was not undergoing the depletion of mana. This allowed it to use its me Shield against the Frost Dragon Gun. Although the Frost Dragon Gun was powerful, it would be close to impossible for the Frost Dragon Gun to pierce through the me Shield right away.

    A thunderous ¡°POM!¡± erupted as the Frost Dragon Gun collided with the me Shield. There was a bunch of dazzling sparks, while the Aztek in the front line had to slow down. Lin Li made use of the opportunity to mutter all his recitations. Immediately, there were three walls of ice standing on the ground that was filled with zing mes.

    These three walls of ice were harder to deal with aspared to the Frost Dragon Gun...

    Compared to the Frost Dragon Gun that could be countered by the me Shield, these walls of ice obstructed their way. They had to use Pyrost on the walls before moving forward.

    Time was required for them to cast the Pyrost.

    The three young mages would never win against the Azteks with their physical strength. Not to mention Hutton and Stephen, even a Smithing Master like Lin Li, who had the strength close to a level-15 Warrior, would never be able to wrestle with an Aztek. However, it would be another story if he were to use magic...

    It was a fact that the three young mages standing here were the top mages in the entire Fn Kingdom. If they had sufficient space and time, the lethality of their spells could definitely be described as ¡®shocking¡¯.

    Thanks to Lin Li¡¯s three ice walls, Hutton and Stephen won precious time to cast the spells. Immediately, there were sounds of abstruse and mysterious recitation. The raging magical elements were like tidewater that umted at their sides.

    The Thousand Miles of Ice and Winter Horn were unleashed very quickly. At that instant, the surroundings were like a snowy scene. The ground froze within a diameter of 100 meters. The zing fires were extinguished immediately, and there were huge snowkes falling from the sky. While the icy ground was firmed up, it trapped the few Azteks that were closest to the ice walls...

    The Thousand Miles of Ice was the most powerful spell among the others below level-20. Its effects were amplified with the support from the Winter Horn. It was beyond imagination. Although the Azteks had me Shields on their bodies, they were unable to respond to it quickly.

    After the Thousand Miles of Ice seeded, Hutton and Stephen grew more unreasonable. They continuously cast Frost Spears onto the Azteks that were trapped by the ice.

    If it was before, such a level-12 spell would never be able to harm Azteks that were above level-18.To them, the me Shield would only turn the Frost Spears into itches on their body. Unfortunately, the goal of these Frost Spears was not to kill these Azteks, but to trap the Azteks in the firm ice...

    Although they were only level-12 spells, Hutton and Stephen were casting them instantaneously. They aimed dozens of Frost Spears on the Azteks in every single strike. No matter how firmed up the ice was, there would always be the moment it would crack.

    ¡°Crunch...¡±

    That was a gentle sound in that intensive battle. However, what followed was terrifying results. As the first crack appeared in the ice that trapped an Aztek, more appeared. These cracks deepened like drain tunnels...

    ¡°POM!¡±

    The moment the firm ice shattered, the frozen Aztek burst into pieces. Red pieces of flesh stuck within the ice looked rather striking in the midst of a snowy area...

    However, after one of their kind died, the other Azteks used Pyrost to shatter the ice walls. Hutton and Stephen had to stop the recitation of the Thousand Miles of Ice and utilize different types of magic spells to control the scene. Among the many spells, there were the Earthbind Spell, Blood-vine Spell, and the Thorny Entanglement...

    The battle became fierce and entered a stalemate. There was constant spell casting to control the situation. Hutton and Stephen were so engrossed that they did not realize that the youngest mage had not been doing anything after he established the three ice walls. Instead, he cast the Levitation Spell and hovered 10 meters up the sky. He looked as though he was waiting for something...

    Lin Li was indeed waiting.

    He was waiting for Hutton and Stephen to provoke these Azteks further so that they would transform into Live Bombs.

    The effect of the Maze Mageweath Array would be maximized the moment they turned into Live Bombs. It did not require all of the Azteks to transform, though. As long as one or two did so, it would be sufficient for Lin Li to kill them in the gigantic pit.

    In reality, Lin Li did not wait too long. The opportunity came three minutes after the death of the first Aztek.

    The inability to break away from the magic control of the humans finally agitated the biggest Aztek. Its loud growl made the other Azteks seem as though they were high on drugs. They started to cast the fire spells that were innate to them.

    ming Storm, Hell Fire, Fire Rain, Pyrost... At that instant, the entire forest turned into a ming world...

 Chapter 452 - Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 452: Explosion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The strength in numbers created a great destruction. The ground that was still frozen started to burn. Dragons of fire growled amidst the pouring Fire Rain. The mes created a Six-pointed Star Array that seemed to have a crimson glow. At a nce, it seemed like the entire world was on fire...

    The magic attack that was close to madness made Hutton and Stephen incredibly exhausted. They had no choice. The attack was too intense. The Earthbind Spell, Ice Wall Spell, and Blood-vine Spell lost their effects in that battle. They did not have the time to expand the spells before being engulfed by the mes of the Fire Rain...

    ¡°Stephen, this doesn¡¯t work...¡± Hutton said in a low voice as he cast another wall of ice. There was a distinct worry on his pale and exhausted face.

    ¡°You should say that to Felic instead...¡± Stephen enforced the ice wall with great difficulty. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. While he said that, he took a nce back that Lin Li, who was in the air. There was a disdainful tone in his voice. ¡°That coward created all this mess himself, but he is now hiding up there with the Levitation Spell like a tortoise. Hmph, I am interested to see how he is going deal with these Azteks alone when we use up our mana...¡±

    ¡°Maybe... Maybe President Felic is still trying to figure things out...?¡± Frankly speaking, Hutton was guilty when he replied. Although Stephen was irritating, he was not talking nonsense this time. President Felic did not do anything after he used the Frost Dragon Gun. Instead, he was levitating in the air quietly...

    <i>Could it be that he is really nning an escape? This is the Abyss of Tharlen. Even if he wants to leave, where could he go?</i>

    ¡°Figure things out? Cut the crap. If he had a way, he would get rid of these Azteks. Does he need to hide so far away like a coward?¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Hutton opened his mouth to defend Lin Li, but could not find any words. He could only take a long sigh and put his focus back to the battle at hand.

    A minute passed. Two minutes passed. Three minutes... Four minutes...

    The battle was going on for close to five minutes.

    After another ice wall was broken by the Pyrost, the ice shards darted like angry bullets. This time, however, the Aztek that smashed the ice wall stopped its magic attacks. It rolled up its red body. Immediately, the tidal-like fire elements around the Azteks bubbled vigorously like boiling water...

    <i>It¡¯s here!</i> Lin Li prepared himself the moment the Aztek rolled itself up...

    Lin Li moved to the top of the ice wall like a ck streak of lightning. What followed was a ¡°ZUK!¡± as a Frost Dragon Gun that had been prepared long ago bolted out...

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    That was an earth-shaking sound.

    The unlucky Aztek got shot by the Frost Dragon Gun the moment it turned into a Live Bomb. The vigorous fire elements within its body had nowhere to go, so it exploded on the spot.

    The effects of a Live Bomb could be described as terrifying. The explosion of this Aztek shattered down the seven ice walls immediately...

    The seven ice walls were painstakingly established by Hutton and Stephen, who spent most of their mana on them. In the earlier battle, it required at least 10 Pyrost to break one wall. Now, however, one Live Bomb was enough to knock down seven of them.

    The mages turned pallid.

    <i>Sh*t...</i>

    The effects of the explosion were not what Archmages of level-19 could handle. As long as they had not reached the Legendary-realm, no mage could survive such a horrific explosion without a Magical Domain.

    The seven walls of ice were supposed to dy the Azteks for a while. They did not expect them to shatter instantaneously with such a terrifying explosion. Now that a great portion of their mana had been drained, and that the only thing they could rely on had been turned to smithereens, were they going to use their magic staff to fight the Azteks physically?

    ¡°What now?¡±

    Hutton and Stephen looked at each other anxiously after the thunderous explosion.

    The group of Azteks was in shock as well. Although their intelligence was not any higher aspared to the normal magical beasts, they were clear on the present situation: one of their kind used a Live Bomb, but did not kill anything. Instead, it only knocked down a few walls of ice...

    Very quickly, the biggest Aztek let out a ferocious growl...

    Aspared to its previous growl, it was clearly filled with fury and madness. Three humans had made them lose three of their kind. For the leader of the Azteks, it was beyond tolerance. It had decided to eliminate the three humans regardless of what it would take.

    Immediately after the growl, five out of 10 Azteks curled up their wings. Then, fire elements in the entire Abyss of Tharlen vibrated vigorously. Both Hutton and Stephen could very clearly feel the energy of the balled-up Azteks increasing exponentially. It rose from level-18 to level-19, then from level-19 to close to the Legendary-realm...

    <i>Damn...</i>

    The anxiousness in their eyes turned into hopelessness. The explosion from the five Azteks that were dangerously close to the Legendary-realm was a terrifying thing that Hutton could not bring himself to even imagine. That was a force that could lead to the end of the world, not to mention if the force were to hit him. The aftermath of the explosion would suffice to turn him into broken bones.

    Just when he was in despair, there was a gust of wind that approached him. Hutton turned to see President Feld by his side slowly.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what are you doing...?¡± Hutton froze. He could not fathom the thought processes in the dude¡¯s mind. He could have left the battleground with his Levitation Spell anytime. Why would he want to approach at such a critical moment?

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask so much...¡± Lin Li interrupted Hutton with a wave is his hand. He wasn¡¯t interested in what Hutton was thinking about. ¡°Can you use that magical equipment for another time?¡± Lin Li asked with a hurried voice.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Lin Li replied as he let out some of his mana...

    The mana was entering the source of the Maze Mageweath Array. As this wave of mana entered, the dull-colored source of mana lit up. There was a dazzling glow of light, and the mana within the level-10 magical crystal flowed through the Maze Mageweath Array at once.

    Each magic node lit up as the mana flowed through it. As each magic circuit was activated, the true force of the high-level mageweath array finally got unleashed.

    Then, Hutton¡¯s and Stephen¡¯s expression froze.

    They suddenly saw that the several Azteks that were dangerously close to the Legendary-realm suddenly turned against one another. They were eyeing their own kind with a re that was filled with craze and despair.

    ¡°What the f*ck are they doing...?¡± Hutton gaped.

    It was like a dream. One of the Azteks pounced towards its own kind... No, no, no. Not only one. That instance, all of the Azteks started to battle each other. Two of the Azteks even forgot the rank between demons and pounced on that biggest Aztek...

    Could this be the work of President Felic?

    The thought of that possibility created cold sweat on Hutton¡¯s forehead. <i>That force... is too scary...</i>

    The ability to let his enemies turn against themselves made him more demon than demons...

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Quick, use your magical equipment now.¡±

    ¡°O-oh!¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice ascertained Hutton¡¯s suspicion.

    However, Hutton did not dare to ask more. Sometimes, it wouldn¡¯t be good to know too many secrets. His curiosity about President Felic¡¯s secrets might make him a suspicious person...

    It would be good to maintain their present rtionship. It had improved greatly aspared to before. Although they were not close, Hutton had the confidence that he would be able to let the Malfa Family form an alliance with this powerful man.

    With that in mind, Hutton transferred some mana into his bangle. It called up the Blue Shield which covered the three men securely.

    Immediately after the earth-trembling sound, the mountains and ground started to tremble. A mushroom cloud that created infinite heat waves shot up to the sky. Hutton could feel the warmth through the Blue Shield.

    The aftermath of the explosion lingered for a while. When the three men opened their eyes again, the forest had already been changed beyond recognition. There wasn¡¯t one intact leaf within 100 meters. Even the ground beneath their feet appeared as though it had its topyer ripped off. The soil and ashes that flew in the air that was mixed with the thick and heavy smoke seemed like gray clouds.

    ¡°That¡¯s too scary...¡± Hutton muttered in a shaky voice. The fear on his face was not one that could be concealed. If he did not have the protection from the family¡¯s bangle, a tiny bit of repercussion from the explosion was sufficient to turn him into smashed bones.

    Even though the bangle was a hand-me-down, Hutton could not help but smile bitterly as he nced at his right wrist, where was the bangle that had been passed down for four generations. The Crescent Bangle was supposed to defend the wearer against critical blows on the Legendary-level, yet it was damaged by that one explosion...

    ¡°What a pity...¡± Hutton slowly removed his bangle. However, his expression did not match his words. As the first heir of the Malfa Family, he knew something better thanmon mages: life was everything. Any powerful magical equipment would be an idle talk if lives had been lost.

    ¡°It is really a pity...¡± Lin Li agreed. He knew very clearly how the massive explosion earlier on was made up of five Azteks that were above level-18. It was a force that could destroy everything. Thebined force of the Lich at the Scar of Death and the Humerus Wyrm would not have been able to rival it. Although Hutton¡¯s bangle only protected them from the aftermath of the explosion, it was already considered good magical equipment.

    ¡°As long as we¡¯re alive, we can always create more magical equipment,¡± replied Hutton. There was a hint of sadness underlying his smile.

    ¡°Why not...?¡± said Lin Li after a moment of hesitation. ¡°Pass me the bangle for the time being, and I¡¯ll think of a way to fix it when I¡¯m back at the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± asked Hutton in surprise.

    If it had been before, Hutton would not have believed his ears. The Crescent Bangle had been passed down for four generations, and was definitely one of the Malfa Family¡¯s top five magical equipment. Unless absolutely necessary, the bangle would always be locked in the family¡¯s treasury for safekeeping.

    Once such magical equipment got damaged, it would be nearly impossible to fix it. Not to mention the young mage of the age 20 before them, even if it were the renowned Gilded Rose that monopolized the alchemy<sup>1</sup> industry, it would not have the ability to repair the damaged bangle.

    However, Hutton did not dare to doubt Lin Li now...

    He had witnessed the extraordinary talents of President Felic ever since he met him in the ckstone Mountains. Sometimes, Hutton suspected that there should be nothing in this world that could challenge this man.

    If he said that the Crescent Bangle had a chance to be fixed, Hutton¡¯s hope shot up from zero. He could not help but believe in that slight possibility.

    ¡°I can try, but you can¡¯t me me if it fails, alright?¡± Lin Li replied with a humble smile.

    To be honest, it would not be difficult for Lin Li to repair such a bangle. He was a man who would be able to reproduce all the legendary magical equipment of Anril if he needed to. His offer to repair the bangle for Hutton was merely out of gratitude for his efforts in defending from that explosion.

    The Maze Mageweath Array could ensure the Azteks turned against one another, but it would not ensure Lin Li¡¯s safety. It was in his ns to use the Elemental Shield to protect himself while he distorted his mental strength to escape from the exploding forest at top speed when the Azteks started to fight their own kind.

    However, Lin Li knew that he would never escape unharmed. After all, the impact created from the explosion of several Azteks that were above level-18 would be terrifying. If he had not reached the Legendary-realm, he would not have the ability to resist such a force.

    Hutton¡¯s Crescent Bangle saved them.

    The blue projection let Lin Li amend his ns immediately. The process was smooth-sailing as well. It not only eliminated the 10 Azteks, but also ensured that he remained unharmed within the sphere of protection. Apart from the Maze Mageweath Array, Hutton¡¯s Crescent Bangle yed a significant role. He would return him that favor if he could repair the bangle for him.

    Hutton was not aware of Lin Li¡¯s thoughts. He only knew that since President Felic said it himself, it meant that the Crescent Bangle could really be repaired.

    ¡°Could a person like you be able to repair the Crescent Bangle?¡± That was Stephen, who interrupted before Hutton could express his gratitude to Lin Li. His words were as straightforward as expected. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on your mind. You must be nning on stealing the Crescent Bangle from Hutton. Although the Crescent Bangle is damaged now, the mana left in it is sufficient to make it good magical equipment that can defend against level-11 spells. These types of magical equipment would be worth a million gold coins. How is it, Mage Felic? Am I right?¡±

    ¡°Is it worth that much money...?¡± Lin Li muttered as he rubbed his nose, and stopped paying attention to Stephen. Lin Li knew that the more attention he gave to people like Stephen, the stronger they would be yapping away at him. The best way was not to give him any attention, unless he meant to smack Stephen to death with a rod to prevent future trouble.

    After all, Lin Li was really busy now...

    Although the Azteks had been killed by the explosion, their corpses were still in the forest. Those were valuable treasures to Lin Li. The body of an Aztek contained extremely powerful fire elements. Its red wings were especially good ingredients for magic armors. Once such a magic armor had been created, it could be used to firm up a me Shield. Then, its magic defense would be as strong as an Archmage¡¯s!

    The horns on the head of the Aztek could be used to enable weapons to have the ability to damage any type of magical weapon and magic shields. That would be injurious to enemies that were close to level-20.

    It was rare to see Azteks that were above level-18. Even if he were to see them on normal days, he might not have the chance to get their corpses. Now that 10 dead Azteks were in front of him, how could Lin Li miss such a valuable opportunity? Lin Li busied himself with the collection of the Azteks¡¯ wings and horns, and paid no attention to Stephen.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li did not expect Stephen to be so absurd today. Although he did not show his interests in Stephen, that dude did not have the intention to let him off.

    ¡°Stop there!¡± That was Stephen when Lin Li was walking around to find the bodies of the Azteks. ¡°Stop feigning ignorance. Mage Felic, isn¡¯t it time to tell us the truth? What is your motive in luring us into this forest?¡±

    ¡°Stephen...¡± Hutton called Stephen uneasily. Stephen¡¯s words were not to be trivialized. He was outright using Felic of plotting against everyone. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he could damage his rtionship with Felic, and when they started to turn against each other and be injured in the process, it would be even harder for the three of them to locate the pce Tutankhamun was talking about...

    ¡°Hutton, I¡¯m not trying to lecture you, but you should have your limits as a nice person. Didn¡¯t you see that fe hiding above after he lured us into the forest? If not for our good luck in the group of Azteks turn against one another, we would have been killed in that explosion,¡± Stephen said as he fixed his deadly re onto Lin Li. It was filled with anger and injustice. ¡°Also, thepetition for Geresco¡¯s relics was supposed to be between me and Hutton, who are the real descendants of Geresco¡¯s disciples. What are you topete with us?¡±

    ¡°Stephen, this is Tutankhamun¡¯s idea!¡± Hutton replied anxiously after seeing Stephen getting out of hand. He could not help but speak with a higher pitch.

    Unfortunately, Stephen did not pay attention to Hutton. His re did not move away from Lin Li. ¡°Don¡¯t be so cocky just because you have the support of the Supreme Council. I¡¯m not bragging, but let me tell you that the Supreme Council is really nothing in the Breezy ins. Offending us Dark de only mean death. Do you know that the Darkness Shrine is behind the Dark de? Do you think that the Supreme Council would want to offend the Darkness Shrine just because of you? Quit being na?ve. Why don¡¯t you be more tactful and leave thispetition? Or else, you would not be the only one going to regret all this. Your so-called Guild of Magic would be implicated and buried with you when the timees!¡±

    ¡°Have you finished talking?¡± Lin Li asked smilingly. He had been listening to Stephen silently as thetter had nagged. Only when Stephen took a pause did he ask that question.

    ¡°What?¡± Stephen said as he recalled the experience he had in the wooden house. The sight of that smile caused him to lose all of his words. He took a step back subconsciously. ¡°I¡¯ve finished my piece. What do you want?¡± Stephen added on unnaturally.

    ¡°Shut up when you are done...¡±

 Chapter 453 - Mephistos

    <h4>Chapter 453: Mephistos</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Even if I have the mood to listen to your nagging, that Greater Demon might not have this patience...¡±

    ¡°G-Greater Demon?¡± Stephen¡¯s heart tightened. Only after looking left and right for quite a while did he guiltily reply, ¡°What Greater Demon are you talking about? Don¡¯t think that I will be scared when you weave that story. I haven¡¯t settle that score earlier on with you!¡±

    ¡°You can settle the score when you engrave the te for your grave...¡± Lin Li did not look once at Stephen when he spoke. Right after speaking, he cast a Levitation Spell and swerved into the sky at top speed!

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk after we leave this ce.¡± Hutton looked at that blurred view of Lin Li¡¯s back and started to recite the spell for levitation.

    ¡°You really believe there would be a Greater Demon in such a ce?¡± Stephen looked at Hutton in shock. He suddenly felt that the mage that had the same status with him had be very foreign to him. Hutton had not been like this before. He used to be a man who did everything with confidence and mastery, and always carried a confident disposition. Stephen¡¯s father had once told him during their first meeting that Hutton would be his strongestpetitor in the Breezy ins in the future.

    However, the present Hutton was void of his past character. Now, Hutton had be an extremely agreeable man before that Felic. How could Hutton stay by Felic so religiously when thetter wanted to make use of a group of Azteks to get rid of himself and Hutton?

    ¡°Actually, Stephen...¡± Hutton, who was about to fly into the air, turned back. He stared at Stephen for about a minute. ¡°I feel that you should believe what Mage Felic said. At least, there is no need for Mage Felic to turn against us before we find the pce. That being said, if Mage Felic had the intention to do that, we would not be able to find that pce. In this world, there are always a few people that are beyond yourprehension...¡±

    After he finished his line, Hutton swooped into the sky.

    In reality, the speech he gave to Stephen was actually more for himself.

    Hutton could not verbalize the feelings he got from the battle. This was the first time Hutton saw Lin Li participate in a battle. This was also the first time Hutton felt that there would always be some monsters in this world that he could not understand. Before this, no matter how miserable the Syer Bandits were when described by Adelo, Hutton was firm in his belief that he would be able to achieve the same results if he were to put in more effort.

    However, when Hutton witnessed the Azteks fall under the hands of President like a dozen marites, he changed his perspective. The dozen Azteks that were above level-18 werepletely wiped out in 10 minutes. It was then that Hutton realized that no matter how hard he worked¡ªeven if he were to toil his entire life¡ªit would be always impossible to bridge the gap between himself and the young President.

    This gap was not only about magic powers. It was about confidence. Hutton felt that the young President was invincible and too impable. President Felic had carefully considered every move from the start to the end of the battle. He executed all ns perfectly. The dozen Azteks turned into mere puppets in the hands of President Felic, manipted ording to his will.

    Hutton remembered that when he reached the Archmage-realm, Mentor Cheyenne once told him that it was not magic that made mages powerful. It was the mind.

    Hutton was not yet capable of understanding these words then, but everything was clear now. One would never be able to defeat a mage who could control a situation perfectly.

    Although the young President had not reached the realm Mentor Cheyenne was speaking of, Hutton knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before that happened...

    It was a fact that one¡¯s magic powers could be enhanced, and magic realms could be surpassed. However, talents would not be imitable. The thought of the battle earlier assured Hutton of one thing: even if he had the ability to let the Azteks turn against each other, and if he had the powers of President Felic, he would never be able to achieve such perfect results.

    ¡°Hope Stephen can be cleverer...¡± Hutton muttered. He could not help but grin.

    Hutton knew that Stephen would never understand the terrifying side of President Felic. This was the difference between the Malfa Family and the Dark de. The former knew the importance of rtionships. If one could not defeat an enemy, he would try to be friends with that opponent. Contrarily, if thetter could not win against an opponent the legal way, he would devise another way to defeat his enemy...

    Of course, Hutton did not think Stephen would ever understand that. The reason for his reminder was to prevent himself from being implicated by Stephen¡¯s foolishness. Hutton would not be interested to know whether Stephen was really silly.

    ¡°Beyond myprehension? I would like to see if there¡¯s such a powerful person in the world...¡± Stephen muttered coldly as he watched Hutton leave. He took out his right hand from his pocket slowly and cast a Levitation Spell.

    Despite distorting his mental strength unnaturally, and increasing the speed of his Levitation Spell, Lin Li needed more than one hour to reach the edge of the vast forest.

    After making sure that the frightening existence had vanished, Lin Li slowed down his flying speed and waited for Hutton to catch up with him.

    His words were not to scare Stephen...

    Lin Li was at least 80% certain that there really was a Greater Demon of at least level-21 in the forest. Although Lin Li did not really explore the Abyss of Tharlen when he was in the Endless World, he did enough research. One piece of information was rted to the Spirit Walkers. It was said that the shape of a Spirit Walker was like a puff of cloud. Apart from its heart, the body of a Spirit Walker was an illusion created by its magnificent mental strength. Spirit Walkers were born with the mental strength of Magic Shooters, and could use different types of mental spells. Their ability in Spiritual Force was more powerful than that of a Priest above level-15.

    If the Azteks were the demons beneath the Abyss, the Spirit Walkers would be the royals of the demons. No other demon apart from the Spirit Walker in the 99 levels of Abyss would have the ability of level-15 right from birth<sup>1</sup>. This strength wasparable to the High Elves¡¯.

    However...

    The Spirit Walker had a critical weakness. It would be very difficult for them to surpass level-20. Lin Li had not heard of any Spirit Walker that was above level-20 anywhere in the whole of Endless World.

    No, no, no. He had heard of one...

    This Spirit Walker was mentioned in the library of Bright Moon City. When Lin Li was researching about the Abyss of Tharlen, he stayed in the library for a couple of days. It was where he came across an encyclopedia of the Abyssal demons. This book had records about a Spirit Walker by the name of Mephistos. It was once the Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen, at least of level-21.

    Unfortunately, no one knew what happened to the legendary Spirit Walker. It was as though it had vanished from the Abyss of Tharlen. The author of the encyclopedia even predicted that one of the reasons had to be rted to Azardas. That Dragon of Destruction descended upon the Abyss of Tharlen and killed the former Lord.

    However, while there would be a chance for them to defeat him, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to kill him.

    Lin Li was 100% sure that that frightening Spiritual Force had toe from a Spirit Walker. There were only Legendary-realm Spirit Walkers in the whole of the Abyss of Tharlen. Only they had the ability to emit such a daunting force. What if the Legendary-level Spirit Walker was the true Mephistos himself...?

    That was not a joke. Although Lin Li had the ability to challenge a normal person from the Legendary-realm, it would be incredibly dangerous if he were to meet the Mephistos. Mephistos was a terrifying existence. As the formal Lord of Tharlen, even if he were not as powerful as the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction, he was not someone he could trifle with.

    ¡°Mage Felic, may I ask you a question...?¡± Hutton asked as he caught up with Lin Li when he was plotting his moves quietly.

    ¡°What question?¡± Lin Li replied. His impression of the heir of the Malfa Family had changed for the better after the earlier battle. Although it was not sufficient to let him forget the shes they had before, Hutton was a man he could hold conversation with. After all, unlike Stephen, Hutton was a clever man.

    ¡°Is there really a Greater Demon in that forest?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Lin Li looked at Hutton for a long time before nodding his head gravely. ¡°A Greater Demon that is beyond your imagination...¡±

 Chapter 454 - To be a thief or a bandit?

    <h4>Chapter 454: To be a thief or a bandit?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°We need to leave this ce as soon as possible.¡± That was Lin Li, with his first nervous expression so far. Mephistos was a really terrifying being. It had lifespan longer than any other High Elves¡¯, and ruled the whole of Tharlen for many years. No one knew how much power Mephistos had acquired over those countless years.

    Furthermore, Mephistos was well-equipped with the Spiritual Force, and the scariest thing about the Spiritual Force was very¡ªif the three men were to be defeated by Mephistos, their souls would be Mephistos¡¯s ves eternally. It was a consequence more frightening than death.

    <i>Oh yes, Spiritual Force...</i>

    Lin Li suddenly remembered something.

    ¡°Hutton, go and see if Stephen hase yet. We are pressed for time, and only can wait two, three minutes. If not, we can only go and find the pce ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let me check on him.¡± Hutton nodded as he made a reverse trip with the Levitation Spell.

    Lin Li only opened his Ring of Endless Storm when he saw Hutton disappear into the distance. ¡°Get out, Connoris!¡±

    ¡°F*ck you!¡± That was Connoris when he dashed out of the Ring of Endless Storm impatiently. ¡°You are too much! How could you lie to the great Soul Trader another time? Do you know what credibility is? Do you know what respect is? How could you seal such an almighty Soul Trader in this darn dimension? You are going to get retribution!¡±

    Lin Li was unaffected by Connoris¡¯s raging growls. He rubbed his nose and smiled innocently...

    ¡°Let me tell you. From now on, don¡¯t think that you can receive any benefits from my side!¡± Connoris nagged on. However, his tone changed very quickly. ¡°Goddammit, why are you in the Abyss of Tharlen? Are you trying to seek death?¡±

    ¡°You came here before?¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap! Quick, leave this darn ce immediately. The Darkness Lord in the Abyss of Tharlen is a shadow of the Dragon of Destruction. His strength would be beyond your imagination. Your pathetic powers would dig a grave for yourself...¡± Connoris¡¯s voice was filled with terror. ¡°Sh*t. I¡¯m really going to die because of you... Can you not implicate me if you are seeking death? I don¡¯t know where you get your courage to enter the Abyss of Tharlen. Do you know that the level-21 Spirit Walker, Mephistos, did not even have a chance to counter any attack made by the Lord of Darkness? Now that you are not even in the Legendary-level, how could you enter such a dangerous ce?¡±

    ¡°Mephistos?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it is Mephistos. He is the first Spirit Walker in the Legendary-realm in these countless years. Before the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction defeated him, he was the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, and was known as the Lord of Souls. Unfortunately, as the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction descended, Mephistos¡¯ rule came to an end. The Lord of Darkness defeated him with ease and sliced his soul into countless pieces, which he sealed in all corners of the Abyss of Tharlen separately. The shadow of the Dragon of Destruction once said that unless the force of Dark Force and Evilness stopped shadowing the Abyss of Tharlen, Mephistos would always be sealed there, all until the fall of the Endless Abyss...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. Oh, almighty Soul Trader, let me tell you some good news.¡±

    ¡°What news...?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve met Mephistos.¡±

    ¡°Holy, why is that good news...?¡± Connoris spat as he spoke. ¡°Wait, what did you say...? You met Mephistos?¡± he asked anxiously to confirm his hearing worked properly.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li nodded his head and told Connoris about his experience in the forest.

    ¡°That¡¯s right... That¡¯s really Mephistos¡¯ strength...¡± Connoris muttered nkly as he hovered in the air. ¡°The Lord of Darkness once said that unless Darkness and Evilness stop shadowing the Abyss of Tharlen, Mephistos would always be sealed here. Furthermore, with the influence the Lord of Darkness has, how could the seal be faulty? Unless...¡± he said as though he had been possessed.

    ¡°Unless what?¡±

    ¡°Unless the Lord of Darkness has fallen?¡±

    ¡°Let me think...¡± Connoris¡¯ words jolted Lin Li¡¯s memory. He remembered how Tutankhamun had told him that the powers of the Lord of Darkness had been dwindling. Even the Abyss of Tharlen had lost the influence it had had in the past.

    Lin Li did not take Tutankhamun¡¯s words to heart when he¡¯d said that. To Lin Li, regardless of how weak the Lord of Darkness was, it was at least above the Legendary-realm. With thews of Darkness and Evilness, it was not what Lin Li could deal with.

    Now that Lin Li heard what Connoris had to say, he could not help but feel excited. The situation would differ greatly depending on whether the strength of the Lord of Darkness dwindled orpletely fell. If it was just the deterioration of power, Lin Li could only resort to sneaking into the Pce of Darkness and leave the ce via the Teleportation Portal discreetly.

    However, if the Lord of Darkness had fallenpletely...

    It would be a totally different matter. Lin Li could very well be like a bandit. He could swagger his way through the pce towards the throne, and im all the treasures in the pce.

    After all, that was the Pce of Darkness...

    The Endless Abyss had 99 levels, where each of the levels was an independent world governed by one Demon Lord. However, these 99 worlds followed the samew: <i>survival of the fittest</i>. It was a world that followed a strict hierarchy. The Netherspawns were at the bottom of the food chain, followed by Minion Demons, Demons, Greater Demons, and Demon Lord. The Demon Lord at the peak of the food chain had the exclusive privilege to enjoy all resources. That was more thorough than the aristocratic system of human beings. After all, there was only one Demon Lord in each level of the Endless Abyss. It was not obliged to share with anyone else.

    The Abyss of Tharlen seemed to be filled with ck me, which made it appear rather deserted. However, that did not mean that the Abyss of Tharlen was an impoverished ce. On the contrary, it had been said that Tharlen was a rich and prosperousnd. Compared to the Breezy ins, it had numerous valuable mineral veins and countless types of rare herbs. Many mineral veins and herbs were unique to the Abyss of Tharlen. It would be impossible to find them in any other part of Anril.

    The variety of these herbs and mineral veins was vast. Lin Li knew two types of mineral veins and three kinds of herbs that grew in it. The two mineral veins were perfect forging materials that had the ability to help produce powerful weapons. The three kinds of herbs had even more importance. Each of them was a necessary ingredient of three respective different types of Guru-level potions.

    Lin Li was very certain that he would be able to find loads of magical crystal in the pce of the Lord of Darkness!

    The Endless Abyss was a ce where massacres and battles weremonce. Every Lord from each level of the Abyss had ambition to conquer the other levels, which made the entire Abyss of Tharlen a huge battlefield. There would always be fights and battles happening every second, resulting in a vast number of deaths every day. As years passed, the number of deaths had be astronomical. Even if just one-thousandth or one-millionth of the demons¡¯ magical crystals had been left behind, it would definitely be a terrifying number.

    The Lord of Darkness was the only creature in the Abyss of Tharlen that had the right to assign these magical crystals. There would definitely be a surprising number of magical crystals in his pce, and their level would certainly amaze any mage. Since the Lord of Darkness was a powerful existence, how would he be interested in magical crystals of only level-15?

    These were not Lin Li¡¯s wild assumptions.

    There was a bandit in the Endless World who got his hands on the map of the sixth level of the Abyss, the Abyss of Suffering. With that treasure of a map, he entered the pce of the Abyss of Suffering miraculously and gained a huge fortune.

    This bandit left a deep impression on Lin Li. After that, he participated in an auction with his fortunes, and became Lin Li¡¯s onlypetitor there.

    Although Lin Li won the auction, the victory was not easy. If the bandit had a little more gold coins than him, Lin Li would have to lose his pants.

    The bandit was able to use the fortunes he earned from the Abyss of Suffering to get most of the things he wanted. Now imagine. If Lin Li were to sweep the Abyss of Tharlen empty, how invincible would he be?

    Before that could happen, however, he¡¯d have to first think of a way to deal with Mephistos...

    Lin Li became clearer on the situation after he heard Connoris¡¯s words. The Abyss of Tharlen had to have undergone an undesirable challenge that year. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction to fall. As for what difficulty it entailed, Lin Li had totally no idea. He only knew that the seal restraining Mephistos had lost its effect with the fall. After many years, Mephistos had finally found its soul fragments.

    Mephistos was the former Lord of Tharlen. It found its soul fragments after countless number of years. It was a coincidence for its enemy to have fallen. A fool would have been able to guess what Mephistos would want to do next.

    Lin Li would bet his life that Mephistos would want to return to the Pce of Darkness and reim the position he had lost.

    Connoris had brought a good and a bad piece of news to Lin Li.

    The good news was that the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction had fallen. The bad news was the existence of Mephistos. This Legendary-level Spirit Walker had always been eager to return to the Pce of Darkness.

    Lin Li could even imagine the situation after Mephistos regained its throne. If it were to happen, he would not have a chance to go near the throne, let alone sweep the pce clean. Mephistos would definitely deploy a continuous stream of demon troops if it were to sense anything amiss.

    How dangerous could even a dozen Azteks be? Yet as long as Mephistos wished to, it could summon millions of Azteks to drown them if their sea of Live Bombs.

    ¡°Connoris, help me think of a way. I have to find the Pce of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°Why should I help you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve decided to release you from the Ring of Endless Storm after we return and try to create a new body for you.¡±

    ¡°That was what you said previously!¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Lin Li replied theshings without a sense of guilt. ¡°Then, this ascertains my sincerity. Look, I¡¯ve made the same promise twice. Where would you find a person sincerer than me?¡±

    ¡°...¡± It was fortunate that Connoris did not have a heart. Otherwise, his rage would have given him a heart attack.

    ¡°How is it, almighty Soul Trader? Do you want to consider the deal? I¡¯m not always this sincere...¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you have not even reached the Legendary-realm. How would you be able to create a new body for me?¡±

    ¡°I say, Connoris. How could a Soul Trader ask such a dumb question? Couldn¡¯t you tell that I¡¯m only a step away from the Legendary-realm? I could take that step anytime. What if I reach that realm after I find the Pce of Darkness? Connoris, do you not want a new body soon?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li¡¯s words made Connoris hesitate. It was as Lin Li had said. As a Soul Trader, how would Connoris not be aware of Lin Li being dangerously close to the Legendary-realm? Connoris even knew that the Pce of Darkness would be the young mage¡¯sst step to reach the realm.

    That was because Connoris was aware of the secret hidden within the Pce of Darkness...

    However, Connoris was still very hesitant. He felt that the young mage was still too weak to challenge a terrifying existence like Mephistos.

    If it were before, it would not be a concern for Connoris.

    However, things became different after Mephistos¡¯ seal broke.

    Mephistos had been released from the seal and had found its soul fragments. It would only make sense for it to want to return to the Pce of Darkness. His return would renew its rights as the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen and it¡¯d be the real Lord of Souls.

    It would be more dangerous than treading on a tightrope if the young mage were to enter the Pce of Darkness at such timing. It would only mean death if Lin Li were to meet Mephistos. If that were to happen, Connoris knew he would be implicated as well.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you aware that we might bump into Mephistos...?¡±

    ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    ¡°Pfff, you have an idea? What idea can you have? That is Mephistos, the Lord of Souls that had surpassed level-21 a million years ago!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you believe in me for once? Didn¡¯t you sense a strange Divine Power in the Dimensional Space recently?¡±

    ¡°Divine Power?¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Lin Li nodded his head grinningly. Lin Li was not boasting. He was aware that he would not have a chance if he were to meet Connoris with his current powers. However, the knew there was still a piece of the debris of stars in his Ring of Endless Storm...

    Although the Holy Light would not be able to ughter Mephistos directly, it would definitely help to buy time for him...

    ¡°I hope that you really have an idea, then...¡± Connoris said reluctantly. He finally agreed to help after a period of hesitation.

    ¡°Congrats, you¡¯ve made a very good decision,¡± Lin Li replied with a smile of satisfaction.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Cut the crap...¡± Connoris said impatiently. ¡°The Pce of Darkness is deep inside the Abyss of Tharlen. This is not really a secret, though. But, I presume few people knew where the depths of the Abyss of Tharlen is located...¡±

    ¡°You have to know it...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I do.¡±

    Afterward, Connoris told Lin Li everything.

    Although Lin Li knew that Connoris had a very mysterious background and a lot of hidden secrets, it was only today that Lin Li realized how surprising were the secrets Connoris knew...

    Connoris was not only aware of the exact location of the Pce of Darkness, but also the way to enter the ce. He had a clear and distinct memory of each and every alley and secret chamber inside the Pce of Darkness. As he listened to Connoris, Lin Li could not help but suspect Connoris to be like himself¡ªdid he also have the intention to loot the pce clean in the past?

    <i>It seems that I have to find time to talk to this Soul Trader properly soon...</i> Lin Li was utterly amazed by the information Connoris knew. It was as though there was nothing in the Abyss of Tharlen Connoris was unaware of.

    <i>No, no, no. Not just the Abyss of Tharlen...</i>

    Lin Li remembered how Connoris told him about the origins of the Lord of Nightmares not long ago...

    <i>This fe who ims to be a Soul Trader does not seem like a simple man...</i>

    Just when Lin Li was having those suspicions, he saw Hutton flying back.

    ¡°Why, you can¡¯t find Stephen?¡± Lin Li asked Hutton who had flown back alone.

    ¡°Yeah, I searched all likely ces, but could not find him at all...¡± Hutton replied as he shook his head worriedly.

    Of course, Hutton was definitely not worried for Stephen¡¯s safety. Not to mention the enmity the Malfa Family had with the Dark de, the fact that he had topete with Stephen for Geresco¡¯s inheritance was enough to let Hutton ignore his safety.

    Hutton feared that the two of them might not be able to find the Pce of Darkness without Stephen.

    Although Stephen was not an affable man, he was still an Archmage. He would be of great help at critical moments.

    ¡°Forget it, it can¡¯t be helped. Why don¡¯t we treasure the time we have and leave his horrendous ce as soon as possible? I don¡¯t know when that Greater Demon mighte out...¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    The two young mages cast the Levitation Spell and flew towards the edge of the forest.

    Lin Li keptmunicating with Connoris with his mental strength. Even Hutton who was physically close to Lin Li did not realize him conversing with the hammer on his back as they flew.

    ¡°Did you see that river in front? You would see a waterfall if you travel two to three kilometers along that river. The Pce of Darkness is located below that waterfall.¡±

    ¡°The water is very strange...¡± Lin Li said as he nced at the torrential river from the top. It was crimson, and seemed as ring as fresh blood.

    ¡°Do not belittle that river. It was named the Water of Death for a reason. Every droplet of that river carries lethal toxicity. A droplet would suffice to im the life of any demon with a strong life force...¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the Pce of Darkness is hidden below the waterfall? How will we be able to¡ª¡±

    ¡°How to enter, right? Heh, you wouldn¡¯t be able to enter that waterfall if not for the guidance of the almighty Soul Trader. You don¡¯t need to worry about it now. As long as you follow my instructions, I can assure that you will enter the Pce of Darkness with ease.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Li nodded, and did not probe further.

    Connoris was the only one Lin Li knew he could rely on in the entire Tharlen. Since the fate of this Soul Trader had been tied with himself, Connoris would not dare to create any chances for mishaps. If anything undesirable were to happen to Lin Li, the best oue for Connoris would be external entrapment in the Ring of Endless Storm. Now that Connoris had the confidence that they could find the pce, Lin Li could only give him his trust.

    The two young mages flew along the Water of Death. Two or three hours had passed, but not only did they not see the waterfall Connoris mentioned, they also did not see Stephen catching up with them. Could it be that this unagreeable man had been in by Mephistos?

 Chapter 455 - Palace of Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 455: Pce of Darkness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the Abyss of Tharlen had no day and night, the sky above was a constant dull gray. While the ck mes could be seen everywhere, they did not provide any warmth in the world filled with haze and cold. Staying here for a long period of time made one feel as though their body was rotting away.

    Lin Li could barely remember how long he had been flying along the Water of Death; the only thing he knew was that the sky above him was always a dull gray and the water beneath his feet was a dark red. As the world seemed to only consist of two colors, the whole journey was dry and boring.

    If he had to think of anything that added a little something to their journey, it would be the fact that Hutton¡¯s mana would be depleted every once in a while, and the two of them would have no choice but to take a rest by the Water of Death. The low-ranking demons that would appear then were the only excitement in their boring journey.

    Hutton had to take a rest 14 times throughout the whole journey....

    The 14th time he took a rest, Lin Li finally noticed that the river started flowing faster.

    ¡°I finally made it to the end...¡± Lin Li could hardly wait to fly into the sky after Hutton regained his mana.

    Indeed, Lin Li noticed that the Water of Death ceased to flow after they flew another 2000 or so meters. A massive waterfall appeared before Lin Li¡¯s eyes as water fell with a deafening noise from the top of the waterfall. There was no end to the waterfall that they could see, just as if it was a never-ending abyss.

    ¡°The Pce of Darkness is down there.¡± After getting Hutton¡¯s attention, Lin Li plunged into water and dived down while closely following the edge of the waterfall.

    The scenery whizzed past them on both sides like a movie on fast-forward. Lin Li dived for a good half an hour before he finally saw a hugeke.

    He cast a Levitation Spell and slowed down the speed at which he was diving beforeing to a stop and lightlynding at the edge of theke.

    After waiting for Hutton tond, the two of them circled theke.

    ¡°This ce is little strange...¡± Lin Li said as he brushed his chin with a face filled with doubt.

    This ce was strange indeed as they could not hear the sound of water even though there was clearly a waterfalling down from the sky. There was not even a ripple in sight; it was as if the waterfall did not end at theke, but went through an invisible door to another world instead.

    ¡°Mage Felic, look... look here!¡± Hutton eximed and pointed at the middle of theke just as Lin Li was deep in thought.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li paused before he looked at where Hutton was pointing at.

    Then Lin Li¡¯s eyes became big...

    There was a reflection in the middle of theke!

    ¡°What... What¡¯s going on?¡± In his surprise, Lin Li did not even bother to think about whether theke might be poisonous before he flew over to the center of theke with a Levitation Spell.

    Then, he inhaled sharply. The reflection in the center of theke was clearly that of a towering pce. It was mysterious, solemn, and eerily enchanting, all at the same time. What else could this be if it was not the legendary Pce of Darkness?

    But where was this reflectioning from?

    Lin Li looked around with wide eyes, but there did not seem to be anything besides the gloomy gray skies, dark red water, and raging ck mes. Even the demons that roamed everywhere seemed to have disappeared without a trace, much less the Pce of Darkness!

    ¡°I must be seeing things...¡± Lin Li stared with wide eyes as his mouth hung agape. Wasn¡¯t this too strange? The legendary Pce of Darkness did not exist, so why was there a reflection in the middle of theke? Wasn¡¯t this too much of a joke?

    ¡°See, I told you! If not for my help, you might not even find the true Pce of Darkness even if you ask around all your life.¡± After staying quiet the whole time on Lin Li¡¯s back, Connoris finally spoke. ¡°Huh, I¡¯m not tooting my own horn, but besides the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, there could not have been more than three people in the whole of Anril who knew where the true Pce of Darkness is!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes...¡±

    Perhaps it was because he had been cooped up in the Ring of Endless Storm for too long, but there seemed to be no end to Connoris¡¯s singing his own praises. Unfortunately, Lin Li had a favor to ask of him, and thus he did not dare to cut him off out of frustration, and even had to add a few words of affirmation asionally so as to satisfy this lonely hammer¡¯s twisted sense of achievement.

    Connoris¡¯ praises for himselfsted a good 10 minutes¡ªuntil Lin Li thought his ears might drop off and Connoris realized there was nothing more that he could praise himself about. Only then did he happily say, ¡°Alright, step aside, both of you!¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Lin Li nodded before he quickly came up with an excuse and dragged Hutton to the side of theke.

    Then, Lin Li heard an incredibly convoluted string of chantsing from afar...

    The chant was incredibly strange: it was not said in themonnguage, nor was it in thenguage of the High Elves. It was not even innguage of the ancient deities nor that of the ancient dragons. It was anguage that Lin Li had never heard of. However, thenguage had simple sounds, and was merely a mix of repeated vowels and consonants. There were even a few sounds that sounded like the growls of magical beasts; based on that, Lin Li wondered if it could be the legendarynguage of the demons?

    Hutton fared no better than Lin Li. In fact, he had been in a constant state of shock ever since Connoris made his appearance.

    It was not that Hutton was making a big fuss out of nothing¡ªanybody in his position would have the same reaction. After all, hispanion had suddenly produced a hammer that could chant spells! Anyone else would have been terrified to the point of insanity, so he was quite impressive to only be in a state of shock...

    ¡°Mage Felic, this... this...¡± Hutton had a zed look the whole time, and he even stuttered when he spoke.

    ¡°Well, this...¡± Lin Li scratched his head before seriously replying, ¡°I picked it up along the way. At first, I thought it was left behind by a human cksmith, but I didn¡¯t think that this fellow was capable of speaking. I think this must be some twisted demon, so you should be careful not to ever go too near. Who knows whether this fellow will hurt anyone...¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Hutton nodded firmly, but he started cursing away in his head. <i>Damn it, I knew you wouldn¡¯t speak the truth, but could you at least put in a bit of effort when you¡¯re lying? What do you mean a twisted demon, you think it¡¯s the first day I met you?</i>

    But of course, this was all in Hutton¡¯s head, and he would never dare say it aloud...

    Connoris¡¯ chantingsted a long time, almost as long as the ritual at the altar.

    He finally ended the long and mysterious chanting with a loud growl after a good 10 minutes.

    Then, Lin Li realized that the calmke water started boiling over.

    It started out with a few ripples, but then the surface of theke started bubbling. In the end, the water started churning, and the deafening sounds of the thrashing water filled their ears. It looked as though the wholeke was boiling.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    In an instant, a loud noise could be heard, and it sounded as if the world was copsing. When Lin Li came back to his senses, a towering pce had abruptly emerged from the surface of theke, spanning across nearly half of theke. The sight of it emerging from the surface could only be described as breathtaking. Even though Hutton and Lin Li had seen many things in their life, they still couldn¡¯t help but stare with their mouth agape at that instant. It did not even cross their mind to dodge the sshing water as they were still in shock.

    Thankfully, Connoris had thought of that, and had the both of them stay aside and out of the water¡¯s way.

    Nobody knew how long it was until Lin Li started to regain his senses as he studied the pce that had suddenly appeared with a face of disbelief.

    Mysterious, solemn, and eerily enchanting all at the same time. It was as if the reflection in theke had suddenly been turned around.

    ¡°This... This is the Pce of Darkness?¡± Hutton gulped, and his voice seemed to be unusually hoarse.

    ¡°I guess so...¡± Lin Li was not much better than Hutton in that moment. After wondering what he should do for a while, it finally urred to him that he should call Connoris over to ask him a few questions...

    Lin Li calmed himself down before he picked Connoris up and ced him on his back again, and used his mental strength to ask, ¡°My noble Soul Trader, where exactly is this chant from?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t bother asking where this chant is from, since you won¡¯t get it anyway. This chant has to be recited in thenguage of the demons, and unless you are of a devil¡¯s lineage, your chant won¡¯t have the same effect. As for why I know this chant, there¡¯s an interesting story behind it...¡±

    ¡°What story?¡±

    ¡°Something that can drive the lord of the Abyss crazy...¡± Connoris suddenly stopped here. ¡°Alright, stop asking so many questions I won¡¯t answer anyway. You¡¯re a person of questionable credibility, so before you help me create a new body, I will not tell you this secret. Of course, if you can make me a new body as soon as possible, I may reconsider and tell you a part of it...¡±

    ¡°What secret could be so powerful?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not blowing my own horn, but if you know this secret, you¡¯ll be able to do whatever you want in the endless Abyss, and not one Demon Lord will dare disrespect you. Why else do you think Geresco tried so hard to capture me then...?¡±

    ¡°Wait a second, what did you say just now? Geresco tried so hard to capture you?¡± Even though Connoris spoke quickly, Lin Li still picked up on the tiny detail. ¡°Say, noble Soul Trader, didn¡¯t you tell me that you were once the lord of one of the levels of the Abyss and that Geresco sealed your soul in this hammer after attacking your pce?¡±

    ¡°Did I say that...?¡± Connoris sheepishly said before he realized that he might as well continue with his bluff. ¡°Alright, alright, take it that I did say that. This happened so many years ago, so how could I remember everything clearly? You must know that this happened over 1,300 years ago! Would you remember what you had for breakfast today 1,300 yearster?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, stop wasting time asking questions like that. If you don¡¯t hurry into the Pce of Darkness, I won¡¯t help you if Mephistos catches up with you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± After hearing what Connoris said, Lin Li realized that now was not the time to ask questions. Mephistos was after the Pce of Darkness as well, and wouldn¡¯t he be inconveniencing himself if he met him here?

    ¡°Alright, Hutton, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lin Li intended to head into the Pce of Darkness after calling upon Hutton, but he suddenly heard the sound of winding from the surface of theke. Lin Li looked up in shock, and saw a ck figure flying over from afar. It was a thin figure in a ck long robe¡ªwho else could it be but Stephen?

    ¡°You finally caught up, Stephen.¡± Hutton was pleasantly surprised to see that Stephen had caught up with them. There was no telling what was hidden in the Pce of Darkness, after all, and it was better to have Stephen¡¯s help if they met with any danger.

    ¡°Yes, I was dyed on the way.¡± Stephen nodded at Hutton in a greeting, but did not even spare a nce at Lin Li.

    However, Lin Li did not mind it this time. Oh, no... more than that, Lin Li even warmly weed him despite his apparent nonchnce. ¡°Could it be that you met demons along the way? Mage Stephen, I nearly forgot to ask you: how did you manage to find your way here?¡±

    After finishing his question, Lin Li stared closely at Stephen.

    ¡°Only a few Minion Demons.¡± A trace of panic shed across his face, and if not for Lin Li staring closely, nobody would have noticed that. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I, too, am an Archmage. It is a basic skill for an Archmage to track others using magical waves.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I see...¡± Lin Li smiled and nodded as though he never noticed that trace of panic.

    The door to the Pce of Darkness was still wide open, and after the trio finished their short chat, they flew into the open doors of the Pce of Darkness with the Power of Flight.

    As they passed through the door, Connoris moved on Lin Li¡¯s back. ¡°He¡¯s lying, I sense Mephistos¡¯s aura on him!¡±

 Chapter 456 - Soul Fragments

    <h4>Chapter 456: Soul Fragments</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Mephistos?¡± Lin Li was only slightly taken aback before he masked his expression. This was not too big of a surprise, as he had already noticed a couple of loopholes in Stephen¡¯s words. Firstly, there could not be Minion Demons in the forest, as every level of the Abyss was a closely guarded world. If a Demon Lord appeared somewhere, even themon Demons would avoid the ce, much less the Minion Demons.

    Furthermore, Stephen mentioned that he followed them here by tracking their magical waves. That was not incorrect in itself, as shadowing through tracking magical waves was indeed a basic skill that every Archmage ought to know. Unfortunately, Stephen was dealing with Lin Li this time.

    Lin Li was a cautious man... well, one could say he was paranoid. He was never without a magic shield when dealing with magical beasts below level-10, much less an existence as terrifying as Mephistos! He had already been taking notice of his magical waves along the way here, and every time Hutton stopped to recover his mana, Lin Li would inconspicuouslyy down a Magic Dissipating Field to silently get rid of any traces of his magical wave.

    Of course, this was not a foolproof solution, and anyone in the Legendary-realm would be able to disregard the existence of the Magic Dissipating Field and locate him with just a bit of Spiritual Brand when tailing them.

    However, Stephen was quite clearly a good distance away from the Legendary-realm, and it was almost impossible for him to trace Lin Li with just a bit of Spiritual Brand.

    It would be unusual for Lin Li to not realize that something was off based on the loopholes in Stephen¡¯s words.

    Connoris¡¯ reminder was merely affirming Lin Li¡¯s conjecture...

    ¡°I got it.¡± After replying to Connoris, Lin Li continued ahead without confronting Stephen, carrying on as if nothing had happened.

    Lin Li had only ever seen a pce as massive as this once¡ªit was the Eternal Furnace that was hidden in a spacetime crack in the Fire Plume Ridge. However, the two equally massive pces were vastly different in style.

    The Eternal Furnace was modelled in the ssical High Elves style: grand, extravagant, and morous. Walking into the Eternal Furnace was like entering a High Elves art gallery as every nook and cranny was wlessly crafted thanks to the High Elves¡¯ almost twisted sense of perfectionism. Even though it had been left vacant for over 1,300 years and Osric had taken every valuable and ced it in his own mausoleum, Lin Li was still in awe over the artistic grandeur of the ce.

    The Pce of Darkness before him was a different story. The second he walked into the ce, Lin Li felt as though he had entered an eerie and sinister world. The walls on both sides were stered with greenish algae, while the ground beneath him was wet and slimy. A cold draft swept past his ears and made his hair stand on ends. While he was nked by corpse candles on both sides, the flickering white light only served to make the ce even more eerie than it already was, and did not help in lighting up the ce at all.

    There was no trace at all of the attics, balconies, gardens, and corridors that were so abundant in the Eternal Furnace. The Pce of Darkness gave off the vibe of an abandoned massive tomb from the prehistoric times as the huge pirs were the only decorated pieces in the whole ce. They came across two huge pirs every 100 meters or so, each one at least 100 meters in length, and requiring at least 10 humans to surround each of them.

    Somehow, the sculptures had been carved into the pirs, and each one of these sculptures looked ferocious and was filled with a vicious aura. Some of them had wings of flesh on their back, while others had horns on their heads; the only thing all the sculptures had inmon was that they had at least one or two weapons in theirs hands. There were swords, machetes, hammers, chains, daggers... almost every weapon that Lin Li could think of could be found on one of the sculptress.

    ¡°What demon is this...?¡± Lin Li had been studying the Abyss of Tharlen for some time, and even though he might not be of at Guru level in terms of knowledge about demons, he was definitely at Master level. Still, he found that he did not recognize any of the sculptures carved on the huge pirs. There were 50 pirs and 50 sculptures, yet Lin Li did not know any of them.

    Connoris¡¯ voice held a rare admiration as he said, ¡°These are ancient demon deities...¡±

    ¡°Ancient demon deities?¡±

    ¡°None of you humans know that during the prehistoric times, when prehistoric magical beasts roamed while the Dragons and Titans fought to rule the world and the High Elves were born from the Tree of Eternity, there were also 99 ancient demon deities who created the 99 levels of the Abyss World.¡±

    ¡°99 ancient demon deities? There are only 50 here...¡±

    ¡°These 50 ancient demon deities have fallen.¡±

    ¡°What about the other 49?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re able to enter the 50th level of the Abyss, you might get a chance to meet them...¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me??¡± Lin Li retorted angrily. The Abyss beyond the 50th level was no ce for a human. Even the great Highlord Osric and his Magic Legion could not go beyond the 20th level when they attacked the Abyss, much less a measly mage like Lin Li.

    The difference between the 20th and 50th level of the Abyss World was so vast that they might as well have been different worlds. Before the 20th level, some Greater Demons had a chance to be the local Demon Lord, yet after the 50th level, they were merely spawns that could be readily disposed of.

    Nobody in the whole of Anril had any idea what it was like after the 50th level of the Abyss. After all, not one person had managed to return alive from beyond the 40th level of the Abyss since the Dark Ages. Hence, anything beyond the 40th level was a mystery to humans.

    ¡°Come to think of it, my great Soul Trader, I see that you¡¯re pretty familiar with the Pce of Darkness...¡±

    ¡°Nonsense...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice brimmed with disdain. ¡°But I¡¯ll advise you to drop it and not ask questions. If you¡¯re meant to know, I¡¯ll let you know with time, but what you¡¯re not meant to know I¡¯ll never tell you no matter how much you press me.¡±

    ¡°Say, Connoris, you¡¯re a great Soul Trader, after all, surely you know that the heart of doing business lies in being honest? If you¡¯re always so mysterious, it¡¯s not going to help our partnership...¡± Lin Li said unhappily.

    Even an idiot would be able to detect the threat in his words, much less a freak like Connoris, who had been around since who knew when.

    After being silent for about half a minute, Connoris visibly rxed as he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you about it, it¡¯s just that those profound secrets are beyond what you canprehend at your power level now. So what if I let you know that there is a branch of the Tree of Eternity in the 30th level of the Abyss that could be crafted into a magic staff much more powerful than the one you wield now? Well? Do you have the guts to venture down there to retrieve it?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there anything more practical than that?¡±

    ¡°Something more practical?¡± Connoris thought for a moment. ¡°There is, it¡¯s in the Pce of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to start from the origins of the Lord of Darkness. I told you earlier that the Lord of Darkness is actually the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction, but do you know why the Dragon of Destruction had cast its own shadow into the Abyss?¡±

    ¡°If my guess is correct, it¡¯s because the Dragon of Destruction wanted to absorb the energy of the Abyss of Tharlen.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve guessed it...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice held a trace of surprise. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Dragon of Destruction had cast its own shadow into the Abyss of Tharlen in order to absorb the Dark Force and Evil Force of the Abyss of Tharlen. This is the only way it could hide from the other four Dragon Aspects.¡±

    ¡°Why does it have to hide from the other four Dragon Aspects?¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten what the five Dragon Aspects are for? They are guardians of the 10 basic rules of the whole of Anril, including light, kindness, darkness, evilness, time, space, start and end. These 10 rules stand against each other yet rely on each other to coexist while maintaining an incredibly peculiar bnce. Do you dare imagine what would happen should this bnce be disrupted?¡±

    ¡°If the bnce between the 10 basic rules is disrupted?¡± Lin Li paused for a second before he broke out in a cold sweat. It would be nothing short of a tragedy for Anril if the bnce between the 10 basic rules was disrupted. It would be scarier than if prehistoric magical beasts charged out from a crack between time and space.

    That would be an upturned world with no order at all...

    ¡°So the Dragon of Destruction has fallen?¡±

    ¡°Nobody in Anril knows for sure why the Dragon of Destruction has fallen, but ording to a High Elves Highlord¡¯s from when I was still following Osric, the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s fall was most likely linked to the Immortal King...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡±

    ¡°But Osric thought that the Dragon of Destruction had notpletely fallen, and that the two basic rules it watched over had to have been inherited by somebody, or else Anril would have descended into chaos. Anyway, Osric made many conjectures like this, and if you have an opportunity to enter the Highlord¡¯s mausoleum one day, try to find Osric¡¯s diary. There are many secrets in that diary, some of which even the High Elves¡¯ queen was not aware of.¡±

    ¡°Mm-hmm, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Lin Li nodded before revealing a look of doubt. ¡°But what has this got to do with the practical benefits you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Patience, my friend, let me tell you about it slowly...¡± Connoris paused before continuing, ¡°I was managing a huge deal in the Abyss of Tharlen, one that involved more than 10,000 souls, the year the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s shadow descended into the Abyss of Tharlen. The Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen then was still Mephistos as the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction had not had the opportunity to overthrow him yet. I had an opportunity to catch a glimpse of this future Lord of Darkness, and as the great Soul Trader you know I am, I was able to tell with just one nce that this powerful demon¡¯s soul was notplete. It was almost as if this was just a soul fragment of an even more powerful existence...¡±

    ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°Heheh, what happened after that proved that my guess was right. The Lord of Darkness was not a demon born in the Abyss, but the projection of Azardas, one of the five great Dragon Aspects.¡± Connoris boasted happily before sighing as he added, ¡°Azardas was definitely one of the most powerful beings to ever roam Anril¡ªeven a fragment of his soul could easily triumph Mephistos and take over the throne as the Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen. Heheh, whoever can obtain the power held in this soul fragment would be...¡±

    ¡°Is Azardas¡¯ soul fragment the practical benefit you were talking about?¡± Lin Li gradually understood as he listened.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Stop joking with me! Yes, you¡¯re right, a mage can absorb power from a soul fragment, but that must be done under the owner¡¯s consent. You think I¡¯ll be capable of stealing a Dragon Aspect¡¯s power given my capabilities now? Moreover, the Dragon of Destruction had fallen so many years ago, and I¡¯m afraid the soul fragment from so many years ago would already have disappeared without a trace...¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m joking? No, no, no, the great Soul Trader I am would never say something without meaning it. Think about it, the Dragon of Destruction fell during the prehistoric times, when the High Elves were only beginning to rise, but the shadow in the Abyss of Tharlen had lived on even till the Dark Age...¡±

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about how you¡¯re going to obtain the power from the soul fragment. I dare say that I¡¯m the greatest Soul Trader to ever live. I¡¯ll definitely help you find a way to obtain the power form the soul fragment. What you need to do now is to find that soul fragment and leave the Abyss of Tharlen safely. No matter what you do, do not get caught by Mephistos, or else even I dare not imagine the consequences...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about how to do it.¡± Lin Li¡¯s heart started palpitating after he listened to Connoris. That was the soul fragment of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas! It held more than just a portion of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s strength; it also contained much of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s memories and experience which was what was the most important to Lin Li.

    Lin Li was now a stone¡¯s throw away from the Legendary-realm, and all he needed was onest step for him to break into the Legendary-realm. If he could get ahold of this soul fragment, he would be able to easily break through to the Legendary-realm just with the experience and memories it held alone, without even having to absorb any of its powers.

 Chapter 457 - Abyss Arena

    <h4>Chapter 457: Abyss Arena</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Mage Felic, look... look at this quickly...¡± Just as Lin Li was muttering to himself, Hutton suddenly stopped in front.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Li paused when he heard his panicked voice. Hutton was a high-ranking Archmage, after all; just what could make him lose his cool like this?

    Lin Li hurried over with a look of doubt before he realized that this was a dead end!

    Oh, no...

    Well, not quite a dead end.

    It was just that it would be quite tricky to move on...

    There was a massive, circr structure in front of Lin Li¡ªit looked like one of those fighting arenas that weremon in the Dark Age, only it was far bigger than any of those from the Dark Age. It had to be the size of at least a few ck Clouds Towns and the arena was about 200 meters below the tform where the spectators sat. It was as though they were looking down the edge of a cliff...

    The worst thing was that all was not calm beneath this cliff. As Lin Li looked down from the spectators¡¯ tform, he could clearly see that there were hundreds of cages at the edge of the arena, and there were many demons and magical beasts in each cage. Howls and growls came from every direction, making Lin Li frown when he heard it.

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Lin Li felt his head throb suddenly. The Pce of Darkness was a strange ce indeed. Lin Li was still wondering to himself why they hadn¡¯t seen a single guard at all as they walked into this ce. The only thing they had seen were the sculptures on the pirs. Now, he knew that the Pce of Darkness did have guards, after all, and not just a few of them, but a whole army...

    This arena filled with demons and magical beasts was more powerful than any guard. Moreover, this was a path that they had to take in order to enter the inner parts of the Pce of Darkness. They had to cross through the arena, and there was no shortcut they could take.

    Well, an Archmage could fly, but this arena was filled with Anti-flight Mageweaths. If they still went ahead and used the Levitation Spell, they would risk a drop of more than 100 meters if their mana was disrupted by the mageweaths. They would fall to their deaths before they even got to face the demons and magical beasts.

    ¡°Hey, Connoris,e out for a minute!¡±

    ¡°What is it...¡±

    ¡°Come take a look, do you know this ce?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do...¡± The hammer with Connoris¡¯ soul sealed in it floated suddenly and twirled around the spectator tform before firmly saying, ¡°This is the Abyss Arena.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°There are 99 levels in the Abyss, and countless demons live in each level. Some of these demons will only remain a Netherspawn or a Minion Demon, but some of them will keep evolving to be a true Demon, or even a Greater Demon... Once they be a Greater Demon, they will have the opportunity to fight for the throne to be the Lord of the Abyss. That was what Mephistos did then, and so did the Lord of Darkness. Anyway, the Abyss is a fair but cruel world: every demon born in the Abyss has a chance to sit on the coveted throne as long as they are able to triumph over the current Lord of the Abyss. However, before they can do that, they will have to go through a test, and that is the Abyss Arena...¡±

    ¡°This is it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, only the Greater Demons that make it out of the Abyss Arena alive have the chance to challenge the current Lord of the Abyss!¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell, I thought you said that the Lord of Darkness had already fallen?¡± Lin Li felt his head throb suddenly. <i>Are you kidding me? So this is something used to test Greater Demons...</i>

    ¡°I did say that the Lord of Darkness had fallen, but I never said that the Abyss Arena disappeared after his fall. Truth be told, the Abyss Arena has nothing to do with the Lord of Darkness, as this is something left behind by the ancient demon deities, and so are the rules of the fight. Unless the Lord of Darkness became an ancient deity himself, his fall would not affect the Abyss Arena in any way. The Abyss Arena will continue to exist until the ancient demon deities havepletely fallen...¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell!¡±

    No way, this was too risky for them. This ce was used to test Greater Demons; it¡¯d be too dangerous for three Archmages to barge in like that. If something were to happen, Lin Li might not make it out alive even if he had the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark to protect himself.

    Lin Li thought about it, but refused to give up, so he secretly let out a Warlock¡¯s Eyes to try and find a shortcut. Unfortunately, countless Greater Demons had tried to do the same for thousands of years, only to fail. How could Lin Li seed just like that? The Warlock¡¯s Eyes circled around the Abyss Arena once before returning to Lin Li¡¯s hand again.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. If there was any other way to get past the Abyss Arena, there would be way more than just 37 Greater Demons that fought for the throne of the Abyss of Tharlen. See those mageweaths? Those were left behind by the Lord of the 72nd level of the Abyss, Kazakh, the Lord of the Purgatory. With the cover of these mageweath, even a Legendary-mage would not be able to pass through the Abyss Arena using the Power of Flight, much less the few of you...¡±

    ¡°That damned Kazakh...¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth and cursed. This was because Lin Li knew that whatever Connoris said was true¡ªunder the cover of these Anti-flight mageweaths, even a Legendary-mage would not be able to use the Power of Flight to pass through the Abyss Arena.

    How ironic. Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription himself, yet here he was, stumped by an advanced mageweath...

    It was not difficult for Lin Li to get rid of these Anti-flight mageweaths. There were at least 50 methods he had at his disposal. The problem was that none of these methods allowed him to work from a distance, as every single method required him to be within 10 meters of the mageweath.

    That was sure death...

    ¡°Alright...¡± Lin Li stood there for a good minute before he epted his loss, and indignantly spoke to Connoris, ¡°What the hell is the rule for this bloody Abyss Arena?¡±

    ¡°The rule of the Abyss Arena is that there are no rules. The second you enter the Abyss Arena, the fight begins. Those cages you see below will open and release the demons and magical beasts inside. Remember, this is truly a fight to death, and there is no victory or defeat¡ªonly life and death. Only when one of you falls will the fight end.¡±

    ¡°Then what kind of monsters will we meet?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, even the Lord of Darkness has no say over which cage will open...¡± Connoris suddenly started smiling with gloating. ¡°But one thing for sure is that no matter which cage opens, your enemy will be nothing less than a level-18. Well, that is the most scary thing about the Abyss Arena. Every magical beast here was hunted down by the Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen, and it was even said that there was once a level-21 two-headed poison me dragon closed in one of these cages. The Greater Demons here are even more formidable: almost all of them are prisoners of war from the Abyss battles. Heheh, when the Lord of Darkness was still sitting on the throne, he had basically burned down the first 35 levels of the Abyss with his battles, and there were countless demons taken prisoner. Even Greater Demons and Demon Lords have once appeared in these cages. Hah, who knows if you might meet one of the previous Lords of the Abyss...¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you hurry along to your death...¡± Lin Li cursed angrily.

    ¡°But you do have an advantage...¡±

    ¡°What advantage?¡±

    ¡°When the Lord of Darkness was still in power, the Greater Demons could only enter the Abyss Arena alone, so no matter how powerful the armies of the Greater Demons were, they had to rely on themselves to win against the magical beasts and demons in the Abyss Arena. Since the Lord of Darkness had fallen, the three of you may enter together and increase your chances of survival...¡±

    ¡°F*ck...¡± Lin Li nearly cursed again. Now that Connoris mentioned that, Lin Li suddenly remembered that Stephen had been acting suspiciously. Who knew what he was up to? It would not be an issue in other circumstances, but now that they were about to enter the Abyss Arena, there would be huge trouble if this fellow tried something funny...

    <i>Why don¡¯t I just get rid of Stephen first?</i> A thought shed through Lin Li¡¯s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

    It would only arouse Mephistos¡¯ suspicion if he got rid of Stephen first. Lin Li did not want to have to deal with this ex-Lord of the Abyss so early.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, it was a good thing that there was Mephistos¡¯ aura on Stephen. He would be able to use this aura to deceive Mephistos through Stephen and stall this Legendary-level Spirit Walker.

    It sounded almost too good to be true to trick a level-20 Greater Demon<sup>1</sup>, but it was not nearly as hard as it seemed¡ªespecially for Lin Li. After all, he had a Demon Magic Lamp that had the Lord of Nightmares sealed in it!

    The greatest strength of the Lord of Nightmares was that he could manipte dreams and soundlessly create false memories.

    Mephistos was not here himself, after all, and everything he heard and saw had to be done through the aura on Stephen. It would not be as easy to see through the dream created by the Lord of Nightmares, then...

    It was not an issue for Lin Li to create the dream, either. All he had to do was use a sleeping potion, and Stephen would be out for weeks. The Lord of Nightmares would be able to do whatever he wanted in that time.

    With this reason alone, Lin Li decided he was not going to get rid of Stephen. Moreover, he was presenting Lin Li with a chance too¡ªa chance to kill Mephistos...

    But this was too risky, and if he was not left with no alternative, Lin Li would never consider taking such risk.

    After discussing with Connoris, Lin Li then spent another several minutes to go through the situation with hispanions.

    ¡°Anyway, this Abyss Arena is kind of tricky, and there is no way we will be able to avoid it. The two of you should start preparing, it will be a difficult fightter on.¡±

    ¡°Why should we believe what you said?¡± Stephen continued to stand against Lin Li as usual.

    ¡°You can choose not to.¡± Lin Li had no intention to exin at all, and all he did was spare Stephen a hostile nce before he took out the Demon Magic Lamp and chanted softly. Before Hutton and Stephen even realized what was going on, the growl of a dragon could be heard...

    ¡°Hume... Humerus Wyrm!¡± Hutton¡¯s eyes grew as wide as saucers. This was his second time seeing a Humerus Wyrm. The first time was with the Syer Bandits, when the Humerus Wyrm suddenly appeared and killed hundreds of the Syer Bandits in the blink of an eye.

    Hutton still held onto a trace of hope that this Mage Felic was able to summon a Humerus Wyrm only because of some special circumstances, like giving offerings, or perhaps there was a limit to how many times he could summon one. After all, it was unheard of for an Archmage to be able to summon a Legendary-realm creature...

    However, now it seemed like this fellow was able to summon a Humerus Wyrm as and when he liked. There was even no need for any summoning ritual¡ªall it took was a chant. This fellow was even more terrifying than Sendros.

    The appearance of the Humerus Wyrm came as a shock indeed as even the usuallyposed and self-assured Stephen could not hide his stiff expression with a hint of fear when he saw the Humerus Wyrm.

    While he might not know what the Supreme Council meant nor the power of a Maze Mageweath, he surely knew the extent of damage a Humerus Wyrm could inflict.

    Such was the power of a Legendary creature: everyone else who was not of the Legendary-realm would fear it.

    A Legendary creature, even one as basic as a Humerus Wyrm, was as strong as an army. Any Archmage above level-15 would be able to destroy a city easily with the help of a Humerus Wyrm, and they could even be as powerful as a Legendary-realm powerhouse together.

    There was no way Stephen did not fear something as powerful as this.

    Stephen had mixed feelings¡ªenvy, jealousy, regret, fear... Even he could not describe what he was feeling.

    This Felic was too lucky indeed to own a Humerus Wyrm he could summon. <i>How could this be? How could he gain the recognition of a Humerus Wyrm just as an Archmage? He must have used some tricks, that¡¯s right, that must be it! His contract with the Humerus Wyrm can¡¯t be a true summoning contract...</i>

    When he thought of this, Stephen¡¯s eyes lit up, and he began to look at the Humerus Wyrm with greed in his eyes.

    The contract that a mage had with their summoning creatures was crucial. The most reliable one was a Soul Contract, where they each left a Spiritual Brand on each other, which would allow them tomunicate using mental strength and share memories and knowledge. Once the Soul Contract was signed, even death would not terminate it.

    There were other less binding contracts other than the Soul Contract, for example, a Summoning Contract, an Equals Contract, an Offering Contract, etc...

    These contracts were not very binding, and as long as a criterion was fulfilled, it could be terminated anytime. Also, if the summoner died, the contract would be terminated immediately as well.

    <i>Hmph, wait and see. Mephistos promised me, after all...</i> Stephen couldn¡¯t help letting out a sinisterugh when he thought of this.

    How could his greed escape Lin Li¡¯s eyes? Truth be told, Lin Li had summoned the Humerus Wyrm not only for battle, but also to test Stephen. With the change in his demeanor alone, Lin Li was at least half sure that Stephen had the intention of killing him.

    But this was not a good time to deal with Stephen; hence, Lin Li merely spared him a nce before he climbed on the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s back.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± After sitting down firmly on the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s back, Lin Li tightly held his Bone magic staff and grabbed onto a bone of the Humerus Wyrm with his other hand. Using his powerful mental strength, Lin Li coaxed the Humerus Wyrm into charging towards the center of the Abyss Arena with a strong chilly aura.

    Hutton flew with Lin Li, but Stephen hesitated for a moment before he cast a Levitation Spell as well.

    The three young magesnded in the center of the Abyss Arena, and the door to one of the cages immediately opened...

    ¡°We¡¯re in luck!¡± Lin Li looked from afar and felt his heart rx.

    There were three magical beasts charging out from one of the cages.

    They were not unfamiliar to Lin Li. Level-18 Rainbow Manticore King, said to be the servant of Minotaurs.

    The rainbow-colored spike on their tail was their greatest weapon as besides containing deadly poison, it could also release seven types of elemental magic. The level of the magic was determined by the level of the Rainbow Manticore King, but the beast was usually below level-10. Even though it was released at an incredibly fast speed, the spells were usually of no threat to an Archmage.

    However, once they reached level-18, they would be true Rainbow Manticore Kings, and while they¡¯d experience great improvements in strength, their elemental magic could also reach level-15. Some mutants might also master destructive magic like Thousand Miles of Ice and Pyrosts.

    But mutant or not, these three Rainbow Manticore Kings were not too big of an issue for Lin Li. Well, not quite as much as a dozen of Azteks above level-18...

 Chapter 458 - Same Soul, Different Bodies

    <h4>Chapter 458: Same Soul, Different Bodies</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The three Rainbow Manticore Kings moved incredibly fast. They had only just charged out from their cage a moment ago, but they were almost at the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s side now...

    However, what awaited them was a mouthful of ice mes. The Humerus Wyrm was a Legendary creature, and even though it was under the control of an Archmage, it was still incredibly powerful. The ice me immediately covered an area of at least 100 meters in radius, and the ice and Death Energy permeated the ce so densely that even the magical wave felt stifling. Even though the three Rainbow Manticore Kings were powerful magical beasts above level-18, they still could not help but shy away from the powerful Legendary-level creature.

    However, even though the three Rainbow Manticore Kings retreated, they did not back off too far away, as they still hovered about the edge of the Abyss Arena. With a blood-chilling look, they kept their eyes on the Humerus Wyrm as well as Lin Li on its back. The Rainbow Manticore Kings were crafty magical beasts by nature, and had a natural knack for hunting. Moreover, the three Rainbow Manticore Kings before them were above level-18, and their intelligence was not far off from humans¡¯.

    The Humerus Wyrm made them feel threatened with its aura; hence, they retreated to the edge of the Abyss Arena.

    However, that did not mean that they had given up...

    Truth be told, even the weaker Hutton and Stephen could detect that the magical wave around them was bing more intense¡ªespecially the earth, water, fire, and wind magical elements. They seemed to be boiling over. Hutton and Stephen¡¯s expressions soured immediately. It was no secret that the Rainbow Manticore King was well versed in elemental magic; how could these two Archmages not know that given their experiences? As they looked at the magical elements around them be more and more intense, it would be a lie to say that they were not anxious...

    Even Lin Li did not dare let down his guard.

    This was how powerful the reputation of the Rainbow Manticore Kings was¡ªthey were the servants of the prehistoric magical beasts, the Minotaurs, and were powerful magical beasts born in the Maze. There might be a Thousand Miles of Iceing from one of those spikes in an instant...

    Lin Li stood firmly on the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s back and held the Aether Staff in his hand. Without needing a word, an Elemental Shield had appeared. It was made up of the earth, water, fire, and wind Sr Spheres that circled endlessly around Lin Li. Even if a Legendary-mage were to attack Lin Li now, they would have to use at least two spells to break the shield.

    However, Lin Li was not in a rush to attack even after conjuring up the Elemental Shield. Instead, all he did was to stand on the back of the Humerus Wyrm and carefully observe the three Rainbow Manticore Kings from afar.

    The Rainbow Manticore Kings were difficult to deal with because they were impossible to see through. Nobody knew what magic woulde out of the spikes on their tails; it would not be much of an issue if they were simple spells, but one would be in trouble if they were mutants who could use powerful magic like Thousand Miles of Ice or Pyrost. Hutton and Stephen aside, even Lin Li would be done for if he met with such destructive instantaneous magic without a magic shield.

    Moreover, Lin Li had a hunch that these three Rainbow Manticore Kingsmanded magic that was not as simple as mere Thousand Miles of Ice or Pyrost...

    This was the Abyss Arena, after all, and it was used to test the prospective Lords of the Abyss. All the Greater Demons that had sat on the throne of the Pce of Darkness had survived this test. Who knew how many earth-shattering fights had urred here throughout all these years? The Rainbow Manticore Kings could not be as simple as they appeared if they could survive for so long...

    Hence, Lin Li did not dare to attack carelessly. After all, he was still an Archmage, and not a true Legendary-mage. Once his Elemental Shield wore off, he¡¯d need another 10 seconds to replenish it, and if the three Rainbow Manticore Kings suddenly unleashed their magic and it was a powerful one, Lin Li would be done for.

    And truth was, Lin Li had every right to worry...

    The three Rainbow Manticore Kings had only retreated for about 10 seconds before the Abyss Arena¡¯s magical wave changed drastically. There was suddenly a chilly and sinister aura amidst the boiling magical elements, and this aura was growing at a tremendous speed. It was only in the blink of an eye that this aura covered the four magical elements...

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Lin Li¡¯s expression changed¡ªhe was very familiar with this chilly and sinister aura. Ever since he¡¯de to Anril, he experienced many encounters with energy simr to this¡ªin the Shadowglen, Syer Town, Scar of Death... That was right, this sudden and strange aura was Death Energy in its purest form.

    This Death Energy devoured the other four magical elements in the arena in less than 10 seconds, and started growing at a frightening speed.

    Lin Li could even feel that this Death Energy was so powerful that it rivaled Legendary-level beings the likes of Sendros.

    ¡°Goddammit, why am I so unlucky...?¡±

    Lin Li understood everything atst.

    These three Rainbow Manticore Kings were rare mutants indeed. Their very existence would change what everyone knew about Rainbow Manticore Kings. If he lived to tell the tale of the Abyss Arena, he would create a sensation in the whole of Anril. There had not been such a strange Rainbow Manticore King in Anril for thousands of years. Their innate magic was not of earth, water, fire, or wind elements, but of true Necromagic!

    Setting the issue of the Rainbow Manticores aside, this was impossible if they considered the timeline of events...

    There were many views regarding the origins of Necromagic in Anril, but there was one thing that they were unanimous about. It was that the first appearance of Necromagic was slightly after the birth of the High Elves, which was to say that Necromancers first appeared somewhere in the prehistoric times and the Dark Age.

    But what about the Rainbow Manticores?

    Legend had it that they were the servants of Minotaurs, and had spent an eternity in the Maze. Only when the High Elves appeared and the prehistoric magical beasts started to decline in numbers did some of the Rainbow Manticores manage to escape the control of Minotaurs and leave the Maze.

    In other words, the Rainbow Manticores had a longer history than Necromagic...

    Magical beasts were not mages, and all their magic was innate rather than learnt. This magic came from a brand on their soul, and was passed on through generations. This inheritance was something that transcended time and space¡ªeven after thousands of years passed, there¡¯d be no change in this inheritance. Of course, there might be mutants along the way, like these Rainbow Manticores. There would be a Rainbow Manticore that could conjure Thousand Miles of Ice or use Pyrost every few centuries or so, and it¡¯d be called a mutant.

    But no matter how they mutated, there was no way the mutation could be so drastic. The Rainbow Manticores inherited Elemental magic from their ancestors, so how could there suddenly appear one that used Necromagic? This overthrew the veryw of inheritance¡ªthey were as good as two different species.

    However, that was not the worst part for Lin Li.

    After all, no matter how a Rainbow Manticore mutated, it did not have much to do with Lin Li. Necromagic was powerful, but it was nothing he could not deal with.

    What perplexed Lin Li the most was that these three Rainbow Manticore Kings shared the same soul!

    Now that was tricky...

    The same soul but in different bodies¡ªthis was not hard toprehend, for it literally meant that different bodies were sharing the same soul. This was something that Lin Li had just discovered as well. He did not notice at first, but after the Death Energy devoured the other magical elements, Lin Li suddenly noticed something amiss.

    At that instance, the magical wave in the Abyss Arena seemed unusually unified. Besides the slight disturbance caused by the Elemental Shield, it was as though all the magical waves were emitted by one person.

    It was not unusual to see magical beasts sharing the same soul, as there had been at least 10 such cases in the Fn Kingdom since the Dark Age. However, none of these magical beasts lived past 20 years¡ªfor a simple reason. It was too much for one soul to take if it was shared by different bodies, especially so for magical beasts whose innate magic came from a brand in their soul. Even the most powerful of souls would not be able to withstand this.

    But now, these three Rainbow Manticore Kings sharing the same soul stood before Lin Li, and were conjuring up some very powerful magic.

    Now that was a problem for Lin Li...

    These Rainbow Manticore Kings were only round level-18, or at most level-19, but after Lin Li realized that they were sharing the same soul, his expression changed.

    Three Rainbow Manticore Kings sharing the same soul would be unusually powerful, and even by the most conservative estimate, they would be at least level-20 in terms ofbat strength, but the fact that they could use Necromagic made it even worse. Who knew, they might even be close to level-21! Moreover, Lin Li could not even be sure that these damned Rainbow Manticore Kings were not hiding any more secrets...

    While all of this soundedplicated, it had happened merely in the blink of an eye, and the Death Energy had devoured all the Elemental Power within 10 seconds. Now, darkness loomed over the Abyss Arena...

 Chapter 459 - Dark Decay

    <h4>Chapter 459: Dark Decay</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Why am I so lucky...?¡± Lin Li¡¯s face turned green the minute darkness exploded. <i>This damned luck, I could strike lottery with it. How is it that these Rainbow Manticore Kings are all well-versed in Necromagic and it has to be level-20 Dark Decay too...?</i>

    Necromagic had always been viewed as magic of the fallen in Anril as mages thought that only those who were evil at heart would pursue something like that. The number of mages studying Necromagic started declining 1,300 years after the Dark Age, and Necromagic became more and more mysterious in the eyes of the people...

    So much so that the words Dark Decay had be unfamiliar to most mages, and they had even forgotten about the very existence of Necromagic.

    Only someone like Sendros who was incredibly well-versed in Necromagic and had spent a lot of time researching about Necromancers would know something about Dark Decay.

    Or perhaps someone like Apophis, a freak who had lived for over 1,300 years and had experienced the war in the ending years of the Dark Age. Someone who had personally seen the damage that the Dark Decay could do on the battlefield...

    Lin Li was probably the only one besides them who knew about the Dark Decay...

    This was because Lin Li had seen what the Dark Decay was capable of for himself.

    Lin Li was still a hunter who used a bow then. He had been carefully treading at the edge of the Well of the Sun, trying to look for a way into it. Lin Li came across the soul of a High Elf then¡ªhe had already forgotten the name of the High Elf, and the only thing he remembered was that the soul of the High Elf was capable of incredibly powerful Necromagic, including the Dark Decay...

    The soul of the High Elf had used the Dark Decay to wipe out the whole of Lin Li¡¯s team, and that was a team of 80 high-ranking people. They were so powerful inbat that they would have been capable of taking down a small city.

    Lin Li could still remember that the whole world seemed to have fallen into darkness when the soul of the High Elf used the Dark Decay. The howls and cries of spirits filled the darkness, while toxic fumes permeated the air and Bone Spears flew from every direction. In the dark, his team members seemed to have lost every ounce of theirbat abilities: the mages were unable to chant, the warriors could not hold their weapons in their hands, the priests seemed to lose faith in their prayers, and the hunters could not hit their targets at all...

    The Dark Decay was like a vicious spiral, pulling the whole team into the abyss of despair.

    It was hardly even a fight as Lin Li¡¯s team was unable to retaliate at all. The team that was capable of taking down a small city was wiped out in merely 20 minutes; hence, for a very long period of time, nobody dared to go near the Well of the Sun. Even Lin Li himself only dared to challenge it again after he spent two months gathering all the information he could about Necromagic and found a way to curb the effect of the Dark Decay.

    While the Dark Decay was not as infamous as the Tide of Death or the gue of the Undead amongst level-20 Necromagic spells, it was no easier to deal with than either of these in Lin Li¡¯s opinion.

    The Dark Decay already had some features of a Magical Domain on some levels. For example, it consisted of many other spells. Lin Li knew from personal experience that once someone fell into the Dark Decay, they¡¯d be tormented by countless Vengeful Spirits that were hard to deal with. Besides theurgy and magic, the only thing that could do any damage to them was a magical weapon. Moreover, there were also flying Bone Spears and toxic fumes in the Dark Decay, making it a ce worse than hell.

    To make things worse, the Dark Decay also greatly reduced one¡¯sbat abilities, and if one did not have mental strength that was strong enough, it became incredibly difficult to cast spells and use theurgy under the influence of the Death Energy. Mages at lower levels might even find that they¡¯d take 10 times longer to cast the same spell. Besides that, the Dark Decay also weakened the mind and the body; hence, Warriors and Bandits would find it nearly impossible to move an inch when they were caught in the Dark Decay. If they were not careful enough, they might even be possessed by the Vengeful Spirits and turn on their own teammates.

    <i>Damn it, what the hell¡¯s wrong with these Rainbow Manticore Kings? </i>Lin Li could notprehend why these Rainbow Manticore Kings which were supposedly gifted with Elemental magic were suddenly using such ghastly Necromagic.

    <i>Could it be the incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction messing with me? </i>Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up when he thought of that.<i> That¡¯s right, that must be it! No matter the fact that these Rainbow Manticore Kings are mutants or share the same soul, there¡¯s no way that they would be able to go against the rule of innate magic inheritance and suddenly be capable of using the Dark Decay.</i>

    Magical beasts inherited magic through a brand in their soul, and this rule was one that was set in stone. Even the High Elves who proimed themselves to be deities could not change this fact, so the only way this nearly miraculous feat could be possible was if it was done by the Dragon of Destruction.

    Lin Li suddenly smiled when he thought of this...

    It was notmon to see Rainbow Manticore Kings sharing the same soul, and while these two Rainbow Manticore Kings were only around level-18, their magical crystal was definitely well above level-18 due to the fact that they were sharing the same soul. ording to Lin Li¡¯s guess, it might even be a Legendary magical crystal, and a special one at that.

    The mana in the magical crystal was not so important to Lin Li; what he cared about more was whether there was a trace of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s power in it. While it might not be much, Lin Li might be able to use this trace of power to decipher the properties of both Darkness and Evilness after hebined both mana and Rule Power. Of course, this would be after he reached the Legendary-realm. In the future, he might even be able to incorporate these two Rule Powers into his own Magical Domain.

    <i>This Dragon of Destruction is a pretty loyal fellow, already dead for so long, yet he still left his old friends such a huge gift...</i> Lin Li could not help but smile at the thought of what he could do with the Magical crystal.

    As for how he was going to get the magical crystal, Lin Li was not worried about it at all.

    The Dark Decay was really nothing much to Lin Li who had spent two months studying it...

    Of course, this was only Lin Li¡¯s opinion, and not quite what Stephen and Hutton thought. While these two young Archmages were not familiar with the Dark Decay, they could still feel the strong Death Energy that felt like a downward spiral...

    They both knew that this matter concerned more than just two<sup>1</sup> level-18 magical beasts. The torrential Death Energy felt as though it might devour the world any second, and even though they were both rare talents in magic and most prominent Archmages in the whole of Breezy ins, they still felt somewhat helpless before this Death Energy that seemed to drag them in. At that moment, they felt as though they were mes flickering in a storm, as though they might be extinguished by a gust of wind any moment.

    They held up a me Shield almost simultaneously...

    Then, the ce was suddenly enveloped by darkness as the Abyss Arena was plunged into pitch-ck darkness in a split second. Painful howls and cries filled their ears, while sharp Bone Spears sliced through the air, the sounds ringing in their ears. Toxic fumes started spreading everywhere, and their inky-green hue made them resemble poisonous snakes. In the overwhelming presence of the Dark Decay, even the two high-ranking Archmages could not help losing their cool for a moment.

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Hutton kept chanting as he used Arcane Missile to shoot at Vengeful Spirits that were near him, but the Dark Decay was a level-20 Necromagic spell, and could create thousands and thousands of Vengeful Spirits. No matter how fast he could conjure up Arcane Missiles, there was no way he would be able to wipe them out all at once.

    Furthermore, the gargantuan strength of the Dark Decay never ceased to erode Hutton¡¯s mental strength, which made chanting more and more difficult as though he was trying to walk through a swamp. Each Arcane Missile took more effort to conjure, and the me Shield on his body became weaker and weaker...

    Stephen was in no better state at the moment. The me Shield was of no use against the piercing Bone Spears at all, and Stephen had no choice but to force the time it took to replenish his mana to a minimum so as to keep up with the speed it took to replenish his me Shield. However, everyone including him knew that this was not sustainable for long, as it caused great damage to his mental strength every time he did that, and might even cause him to drop by one level.

    ¡°Hutton, think of something, we have to leave this ce!¡± Stephen¡¯s voice was filled with panic; the Death Energy of the Dark Decay basically forced one into hopelessness. Stephen had never felt so afraid before in his life¡ªit was like he had stepped into quicksand, and the more he struggled and cried for help, the deeper he sank...

    ¡°It¡¯s no use, Stephen, we can¡¯t run...¡± Hutton gave a forced smile. He was much calmerpared to the panicking Stephen. This whirlpool-like darkness had sealed the Abyss Arena; it was hard to even move, much less escape.

    ¡°Then... Then what do we do?¡±

    ¡°Wait for Mage Felic to do something.¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell, what kind of situation are we in? Yet you still...¡± Stephen was so agitated that he almost could not catch his breath as he struggled to keep up the me Shield while angrily pointing at the center of the Abyss Arena. ¡°Look for yourself, that guy can barely defend himself! How do you expect him to save us?¡±

    Stephen was pointing at the only bright spot in the center of the Abyss Arena. The mage Hutton regarded as their savior was standing there unmoving and trying all he could to maintain the Illuminating Spell...

    ¡°Ridiculous...¡± Stephenughed in anger, for he could notprehend what this was about at all. After all, they could not even withstand the Death Energy with me Shields; what made this fellow think that he would be fine with an Illuminating Spell? Was he crazy or just stupid?

    ¡°Wait and see.¡±

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t afford to wait anymore...¡± Stephen said with a panicked look as he retrieved a purple Crystal form his pocket.

    Hutton used Arcane Missiles to shoot at the spirits while turning back to exin himself to Stephen. ¡°These two Rainbow Manticore Kings are very unusual. If I¡¯m not wrong, they must be sharing a soul as in the legend. Magical beasts sharing the same soul are much more powerful than their birth level when they use their innate magic, and I reckon that they are already at Legendary-level. You and I are not enough to go against them, we can only wait for Mage Felic to do something...¡±

    Unfortunately, it was in vain...

    This was because all of Stephen¡¯s attention was on the purple Crystal in his hand. He remembered clearly that the powerful Greater Demon once told him that when he was in danger, he could crush the Crystal, and the Greater Demon would help him once.

    Stephen originally wanted to save this chance for the end...

    He had been picturing a scene in his mind ever since he got hold of the crystal... Once the three of them found the throne in the Pce of Darkness, he would suddenly crush the purple crystal and summon the powerful Greater Demon. How exciting would it be to see the expression on Hutton¡¯s and Felic¡¯s face...?

    A pity that he could not afford to wait any longer. The strange magic released by the two Rainbow Manticore Kings rendered him hopeless, and if he waited any longer, he might even lose the chance to crush the crystal. Was he going to wait for that Felic like Hutton, then?

    ¡°Pfft...¡± Stephen spat angrily. All he knew was to summon the Humerus Wyrm, but this fool did not know how to use it! Surely a powerful Greater Demon would be better than that? <i>Wait and see, after the Greater Demon saves me from this damned Necromagic, I¡¯ll ask for his help once again to snatch the Humerus Wyrm from this fool...</i>

    <i>Of course, it will be even better if the Greater Demon¡¯s willing to get rid of these two as well...</i>

    But even if the Greater Demon was not willing, Stephen had other ways to do it too. After all, the Darkness Prophecy Spell scrolls were still in his hands. Even if he had to use a scroll to get rid of them, he would. This concerned the relics left behind by Geresco, after all, so he could not afford any mistakes.

    Unfortunately, just as he was silently plotting, the bit of light in the center of the Abyss Arena suddenly became brighter!

    ¡°How... How is that possible?!¡± Stephen thought he was seeing things. The Illuminating Spell had had only a faint light, so how could it be so bright suddenly?! This level of brightness wasparable to the sun¡¯s! How could it be from an Illuminating Spell!?

    It seemed like the faint light had turned into the blinding sun in the blink of an eye, and this blindingly bright sun was even growing brighter still...

    Stephen was frozen in his spot, and did not know what to do with the Crystal in his hands, either...

    ¡°Mage Felic is finally doing something...¡± Hutton mopped at the sweat on his forehead as he watched the light grow brighter, a relieved expression on his face.

    But even though he had every confidence in Lin Li, he still could not understand how the light that seemed toe from the sun was conjured up...

    This was against the rules of magic¡ªhow could an Illuminating Spell be so blinding? Not even a Legendary-mage would be able to use an Illuminating Spell in such a shocking manner. This was no longer a problem of mental strength, as there was no way one could distort the spell in such a way in the face of the rules of magic that were set in stone¡ªnot even if they had the strongest mental strength and the most abundant mana.

    Moreover, this light was shining within a Legendary-level Necromagic, which was even scarier. Hutton was very sure that the Necromagic was of Legendary-level as only magic of such caliber would suppress Stephen and him, two high-ranking Archmages, so badly. Even mage apprentices would know that once Legendary-level Necromagic was used, it would not permit the existence of even the faintest trace of light, as the powerful Death Energy would instantly devour any trace of it, the sun included<sup>1</sup>.

    Hence, Hutton could not understand how this Mage Felic who stood on the back of the Humerus Wyrm at the moment was able to achieve this...

    One could not me Hutton for being so dumbfounded. After all, this was too unthinkable. Hutton aside, no other mage would be able toprehend this, and the only ones who would were Lin Li¡¯s teammates who¡¯d once charged into the Well of the Sun with him and Lin Li himself...

    This was a loophole in the Dark Decay that Lin Li found after countless research and experiments over two months. No matter how much of a genius Hutton and Stephen were, there was no way they would be able to understand it immediately.

    The Dark Decay was the closest to being a Magical Domain out of all level-20 Necromagic spells, or in other words... the Dark Decay was actually a Magical Domain that incorporated a few basic Rules.

    Once a fight reached the level of a Magical Domain, mental strength and mana became secondary as the fight truly depended on one¡¯s understanding and grasp of Rules. While Lin Li might not exactly be waiting for death given his abilities if it were another Magical Domain, there was no way he would be able to gain an advantage, either. Well, even though Lin Li was the closest person to reaching the Legendary-realm, he was still beneath it, and there was definitely a gap between him and the Legendary powerhouses.

    Luckily, the Dark Decay was only nearing a Magical Domain, and incorporated but a few basic Rules. When dealing with the soul of the High Elf back then, Lin Li had spent a million gold coins on an Eternal Light Spell scroll to destroy the Dark Decay. Now, although he did not have the Eternal Light Spell scroll, he had something that even the Eternal Light Spell scroll could notpare with: the Debris of the stars!

    The Holy Light was incredibly powerful and direct. In a split second, it tore through the endless darkness and allowed a mere Illuminating Spell to light up the whole Abyss Arena.

    Then, everything else was simple...

    Back in Syer Town, when Ujfalusi¡¯s Magical Domain was broken, not only did the Humerus Wyrm start to melt, but Ujfalusi himself also fell from the Legendary-realm. From this, it was evident that the damage done to the creator of the domain was massive when the Magical Domain was destroyed.

    Even though the Dark Decay was not a true Magical Domain, the damage done to the two Rainbow Manticore Kings was still severe when it was broken.

    All they heard was a pathetic cry before the two Rainbow Manticore Kings fell to the floor. While sharing a soul gave them incredible strength, it also meant that they had to suffer together. The damage from the destruction of the Dark Decay was so severe that they lost theirbat ability almost immediately as theyy helplessly on the floor, watching as the Humerus Wyrm walked towards them...

    Then, a thunderous ¡°BOOM¡± was heard.

    The Humerus Wyrm¡¯s wsnded heavily, and the two Rainbow Manticore Kings were reduced to a puddle of flesh and blood before they could even utter a sound.

    <i>It is the aura of the Dragon of Destruction... </i>The moment the ck magical crystalnded in his hand, Lin Li knew he was right. It was the aura of the Dragon of Destructioning from the magical crystal, an aura that Lin Li was incredibly familiar with. He had fought the Dragon of Destruction so many times back in the Endless World, so how could he not be familiar with this Dragon Aspect¡¯s aura? The second the magical crystal was in his hand, Lin Li knew that this trip to the Abyss of Tharlen was not in vain...

    This was power left behind by the Dragon of Destruction, and once he entered the Legendary-realm, he would be able to use this power to master Evilness and Darkness Rules and incorporate them into his own Magical Domain.

    After all, the strength of a Magical Domainy in whichever Rules were incorporated into it. Just take the Dark Decay for example: it merely had a few basic rules in it, so how could itpare with Darkness and Evilness? Once he was able to incorporate these two Rules in his Magical Domain, it would be no less powerful than Sendros¡¯ Magical Domain...

    Unfortunately, the self-proimed Soul Trader Connoris was too crafty, and would not let him in on too many secrets, or he would have been able to master the Soul Rule from him. Once he incorporated these three major Rules, he would easily surpass Sendros.

    RIght, Soul Rule...

    Lin Li suddenly remembered that Mephistos proimed himself to be the Lord of Souls. Who knew if this Legendary-level Spirit Walker held a part of the Soul Rule...?

    <i>Looks like it¡¯s a good time to talk to Stephen...</i> The sudden thought reminded Lin Li of it.

    It did not escape his notice that Stephen had sneakily retrieved a Purple Crystal from his pocket when Lin Li was destroying the Dark Decay using the Holy Light.

    Perhaps others could not feel it, but Lin Li did¡ªthe auraing from the purple Crystal was that of the Lord of Souls!

 Chapter 460 - Or else there would be a lot of trouble

    <h4>Chapter 460: Or else there would be a lot of trouble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°How... How could this be...¡±

    Hutton and Stephen were still in extreme disbelief when Lin Li walked towards them. The shock was terrifying. The Legendary-level Necromagic had been broken instantaneously, and that was not what people would expect an Archmage to be able to achieve.

    It was obvious that the frightening Necromagic had formed a Magical Domain. Only a stronger Magical Domain would be able to bnce it out. No powerful magical equipment or casting technique could cover that unbridgeable gap.

    The two young men were both very talented Archmages in the Breezy ins. Coming from a family of magic and the Dark de, their knowledge and experience was not a little behind that of the old men who had been around for more than a century. The different exposure and information they had would be beyond the imagination ofmon men.

    However, even the two knowledgeable young Archmages had no idea how an Archmage would have the ability to break a Magical Domain. That was absolutely a subversion of their general knowledge. Even the most foolish mage apprentice would know that that should be impossible.

    Those impossibilities were disyed before their eyes. The young Archmage that was standing on the back of the Humerus Wyrm had just used an Illuminating Spell to counter a Legendary-level Necromagic, and in two Rainbow Manticore Kings instantaneously.

    ¡°There is no perfection in this world, let alone for Magical Domains. Once people find any fault with the seemingly perfect Magical Domain, it will be like a bubble with a multitude of colors, bursting upon gentle contact...¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice was very gentle. No one knew whether he was speaking to Hutton and Stephen or just to himself...

    The time the battlested was extremely short. It ended as quickly as it started, and was neither thrilling nor intense at all. Aspared to the many battles Lin Li had experienced before, it was definitely not worth mentioning. Strictly speaking, the battle did not really concern Lin Li. The Dark Decay shattered like ss immediately after the Holy Light was released.

    To Lin Li, however, that neither thrilling nor intensive battle had a very special meaning...

    Lin Li had always been dealing with difficult battles with mere strength even when his opponents were in the Legendary-level, such as Ujfalusi and the Lich in Scar of Death. This was his first battle where he dealt with a Magical Domain directly.

    Nor was the victory of the battle or that Legendary magical crystal too important. To Lin Li, the real reward was the process of the battle. The interaction between the Holy Light and the Dark Decay allowed Lin Li to gain a light taste of the Legendary-realm.

    That slight feeling was not to be belittled. In fact, the current Lin Li had already reached the limits of an Archmage. His mental strength, skills in magic casting, as well as his knowledge in magic theory were at the maximum any Archmage could achieve. Even without the use of magical equipment and the Humerus Wyrm, Lin Li was already the most invincible man under the Legendary-realm...

    Furthermore, when he was at the Scar of Death, he once used the All-Knowing Potion to break into the Legendary-realm temporarily to aid his battle with the Lich. That gave him valuable experience. Not to exaggerate, Lin Li already had one of his hands on the door leading to the Legendary-realm. If he were to give it a gentle push, Lin Li would be able to enter the dream realm.

    Thatst step, however, had been troubling Lin Li for a very long time despite the fact that he had umted the maximum level of knowledge and skills set. The earlier battle enabled Lin Li to discover his deficiencies the moment he witnessed the sh between the Dark Decay and the Holy Light.

    That slight inspiration was like a brightmp that lit the path ahead of him. Lin Li knew that that was the first time he felt so enlightened and clear about the road to the Legendary-realm.

    Apart from Lin Li, nobody else was aware of the benefits he¡¯d gained from the battle just now...

    That was a period of epiphany. Although Lin Li was still an Archmage who still could not make use of the force of the Magical Domain, he understood that he was dangerously close to the realm. All he needed now was time. A day would suffice for Lin Li to rte his life experience and knowledge together, and follow the clear path towards the Legendary-realm!

    But before this could happen...

    There would be a need to defuse the time bomb: Stephen.

    After using the Power of Dispel to get rid of the Vengeful Spirits, Lin Li called the Humerus Wyrm back into the Magic Lamp. ¡°Alright, now that the trouble in the Abyss Arena is settled, let¡¯s head out from the entrance opposite us towards the Throne of Darkness.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s action brought out a spark in Stephen¡¯s gaze. Things seemed to be like Stephen had predicted: Felic¡¯s ability to summon the Humerus Wyrm was not due to personal strength, but with the help from amp-like magical equipment.

    It was rational for Stephen to be so certain about his predictions. Generally, the contract between a mage and a summoned creature was determined by the abilities of both parties. Under normal circumstances, an Archmage would never have a chance to summon a Legendary-level creature due to the huge disparity in ability. Even if the bond was signed by force, the Legendary creature would be able to escape the restraint easily. Unless powerful magical equipment was involved to forcefully draw the difference in abilities together, it would be nearly impossible for one to establish such a contract.

    In Stephen¡¯s eyes, Felic had relied on that magical equipment to summon such a majestic Humerus Wyrm.

    For Stephen, who had been eyeing on the Humerus Wyrm, that was most delightful news. If Felic used his personal strength toplete the summoning process, it would be extremely difficult for him to snatch the Humerus Wyrm. Apart from killing the summoner to destroy the contract, he would need to be recognized by the Wyrm as well.

    However, if the process had relied on magical equipment, things would be much simpler. The Humerus Wyrm would immediately be his possession as long as he could get his hands on the equipment...

    The thought of such a possibility brought sparks to Stephen¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Oh, yes, you two...¡± Lin Li walked towards them for a few steps before stopping again. ¡°From my past readings, we have to walk through a passageway after exiting the Abyss Arena. There would be countless Vengeful Spirits of deceased demons of the Abyss under the control of the Lord of Darkness present in the passageway. They would be waiting to tear apart any creature that dares to thread on the path...¡±

    ¡°Then... Then what should we do?¡± Hutton asked anxiously. He had just survived a confrontation with numerous Vengeful Spirits, and had yet to recover from the formless terrors. Lin Li¡¯s words worried him.

    ¡°I have a way to deal with these Vengeful Spirits. But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°I can make use of the Transcend Spell to disperse the Vengeful Spirits, but both of you should know that the Transcend Spell would require me to stay focused throughout the recitation. Once the recitation gets interrupted, the effects of the spell would vanish. Hence, I am not to be distracted...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I understand what you mean...¡± Hutton replied as he nodded his head knowingly. ¡°If there are going to be other demons or magical beasts in the passageway, Stephen and I will be in charge of getting rid of them. Mage Felic, you just have to do your best in maintaining the effects of the Transcend Spell.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Lin Li said as he fished out the Robe of Light from his Ring of Endless Storm. He passed the robe to Hutton. ¡°You should wear this Robe of Light now. If you were to face too many Vengeful Spirits, transfer some mana into this robe and it will ensure that you won¡¯t be hurt by any of them for a period of 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Hutton said as he received the Robe of Light with trembling hands. As a high-level Archmage, how would Hutton not be aware of the value of the Robe of Light? The ¡°10 minutes¡± concept would assure the person who donned the robe total safety from Vengeful Spirits when entering and exiting anywhere.

    Lin Li nced at Stephen after passing the Robe of Light to Hutton.

    ¡°As for Mage Stephen...¡± Lin Li hesitated exaggeratedly before fishing out the Magic Lamp from his pocket. ¡°Mage Stephen, I will leave this Summoning Lamp in your safekeeping for the time being. You can transfer your mana into themp to summon the Humerus Wyrm to deal with Legendary-level enemies when we enter the passageway. However, please be mindful not to activate themp if there is no need to, or else...¡±

    Lin Li did not say what were the consequences. He knew it would be a waste of effort....

    ¡°No... No problem...¡±

    Stephen¡¯s face lit up the moment he came into contact with the Summoning Lamp. This was unbelievable. Stephen was still devising strategies to snatch the Summoning Lamp from Lin Li, and did not expect that fe to hand it over to him automatically.

    Stephen really felt likeughing. He wanted to grin at his awesome luck and snicker over Felic¡¯s foolishness.

    How could there be such a stupid mage in this world who would hand a Magic Lamp that could summon a Humerus Wyrm to others?

    <i>What a dumbass!</i> Stephen dissed Felic quietly. The ownership of a Legendary-level creature like the Humerus Wyrm could grant any mage apprentice the right to challenge any Legendary-level figure. No one would think of letting his closest kin or friend handle such a treasure.

    With that, he would not need to crush the crystal to summon that powerful Greater Demon for help. As long as he transferred mana into the Magic Lamp, the Humerus Wyrm would smash Felic into minced meat immediately.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set off now. We should pass through this passageway and find that darn throne as quickly as we can...¡± Lin Li said after passing the two powerful magical equipment to both men. Lin Li tidied his crumpled robe and started to lead them towards the passageway that was filled with countless Vengeful Spirits.

    ¡°Wait a minute...¡± That was Stephen with an insidious expression. He did not move after he received the Summoning Lamp. The glisteningmp turned brighter. ¡°My apologies, Mage Felic. I fear that you might not get to find the Throne of Darkness anymore...¡±

    ¡°Stephen, what¡¯s on your mind?¡± Hutton, who became more serious, questioned the teammate cautiously.

    ¡°What¡¯s on my mind? Of course it¡¯s sending Mage Felic to death! I¡¯ve seen too many morons, but this is my first time seeing a moronic mage that would hand his most powerful magical equipment to other people. Did you not expect that I could kill you with your own magical equipment?¡± Stephen ratted out slyly. The thirst for revenge had been suppressed within Stephen¡¯s mind for a very long period of time.

    Who cared where Felic came from! Not to mention that Felic had been creating entric troubles for Stephen, he was also a more capable mage. Stephen had been feeling oppressed by this darn man ever since he¡¯d met him in the ckstone Mountains. Felic was the man who had been making Stephen feel powerless despite having a good set of magic skills he had prided himself on.

    To a man that had received education from three Legendary figures since he was young, as well as was the sole heir of the Dark de, it was not a matter he could tolerate.

    Stephen gained immense pleasure from venting his deep hatred for Lin Li. He raised the Summoning Lamp in one hand and started to transfer mana into themp continuously.

    ¡°Damn it, Stephen, control yourself. Please do not forget that we are here to find the Throne of Darkness. That is our only way to leave the Abyss of Tharlen!¡± Hutton urged Stephen anxiously. How would he not know what Stephen wanted to do? Hutton had witnessed the powers of the Humerus Wyrm. It¡¯d turned the two Rainbow Manticore Kings into minced meat with just a leg.

    Although the young President was powerful, he was not yet a Legendary-mage. There would be a possibility for him to be killed by the Humerus Wyrm.

    It would be too humiliating for such an invincible Archmage to be killed by a creature he¡¯d summoned.

    ¡°Throne of Darkness? Hahahaha, stop joking, Hutton. Do you really think that I¡¯m here to find that darn throne with you guys? Hahahaha, let me tell you, Hutton. I knew of its location when we were in that forest just now. However, why should I reveal it and share Geresco¡¯s three relics with you? I only have one motive foring here: to kill both of you!¡± Stephen¡¯s hideousughter apanied his act of transferring an endless stream of mana into the Summoning Lamp. Blinding light filled the entire Abyss Arena, and a force that threatened to tear the void started to spread...

    ¡°Oh sh*t...¡± Darkness rushed up to Hutton. As a high-level Archmage, Hutton knew very well that that was a force used to summon the Humerus Wyrm. When the force reached its maximum amount, the Humerus Wyrm would break out from the void and appear in the Abyss Arena, where it¡¯d tear himself and the young President into pieces with its unbeatable strength!

    ¡°Stephen...¡± Lin Li spoke. He had been standing at his spot and looking at Stephen with a very strange gaze. It was a gaze filled with not only sympathy, but also mockery. It was as though he was not looking at an enemy that was trying to summon a Humerus Wyrm to kill himself, but a moron that was about tomit an idiotic act.

    ¡°Hahahaha, are you going to ask for mercy? It is toote now. Even if you were to kneel before me, you wouldn¡¯t be able to change your fate of being killed by your own summoned creature...¡±

    ¡°Not that...¡± Lin Li replied as he shook his head, and his gaze turned more uneasy. ¡°I remember telling you to be careful not to transfer any mana into that Summoning Lamp...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Stephen¡¯s expression took a turn, and he realized something was amiss. Unfortunately, it was toote. He had transferred a great amount of mana into the Summoning Lamp, and it activated the mageweath for sealing living creatures. At once, an unbearable force broke the space...

    However, the space did not bring them the Humerus Wyrm that Stephen wanted...

    Strictly speaking, it was not a real summoning process. It created a puff of thick fog that resembled gray clouds before an impending storm. The Abyss Arena became silent. There were neither gasps nor shrieks, just dead silence.

    Immediately after the dark fog emerged from the void, it twirled tightly around Stephen. They saw how the ck fog changed into different forms continuously, while the man in the middle stood rooted to the ground. Stephen became like a wooden puppet that lost his human qualities.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve told you that long ago. You shouldn¡¯t add mana in so recklessly...¡± Lin Li sighed and shook his head. ¡°Or else there would be a lot of trouble...¡±

    Frankly speaking, Stephen had some really bad luck to have put his trust in a hypocrite...

    Who was Lin Li? He was a b*tch that might plot against anyone that he gave his copper coin to. After all, the Summoning Lamp was a powerful piece of magical equipment. Anyone who knew Lin Li well, such the boss of Gilded Rose, Ysera, would definitely not immediately ept Lin Li¡¯s offer to put his Summoning Lamp with him. His first reaction would be to inspect themp with a magnifying ss to see if there might be a bomb hidden in it.

    Unfortunately, Stephen was absolutely unaware of it...

    That caused him to step into Lin Li¡¯s trap very easily. He was right, the Summoning Lamp was still a Summoning Lamp. It would definitely be able to summon a powerful creature if one were to transfer mana into it. However, Lin Li did not tell Stephen that the Summoning Lamp did not just seal a Humerus Wyrm. In fact, there was also the former Lord of the Abyss within it.

    Stephen would never have dreamed that the bond Lin Li signed with the Humerus Wyrm would not require the powers of the Magic Lamp. In fact, the Summoning Lamp was just a living space for the Humerus Wyrm.

    It was lucky for Stephen be still of use to Lin Li. Otherwise, he would not be just trapped by the Lord of Nightmares, but turn into minced meat under the feet of the Humerus Wyrm.

    ¡°T-this... What is this...?¡± Hutton gaped. He could notprehend the ongoing events.

    ¡°Nothing much, I¡¯m just borrowing Mage Stephen¡¯s dream...¡± Lin Li replied as he retrieved the Summoning Lamp from Stephen.

    Of course, he would never reveal more. It concerned too many secrets.

    However, these words were enough to drown Hutton in his sweat.

    The treachery of the young President was beyond the imagination ofmon men. Every single word could be one of his traps, and every single action might let his enemies fall beyond redemption. Hutton knew he had made a wise decision to please the man after realizing the danger involved. Otherwise, he would be the other person being trapped in that ck fog.

    ¡°But, Mage Felic, what should we do next? Are we going to leave Stephen here?¡±

    ¡°Leave him here? Hmph, how would there be such an easy way out? I¡¯ve spent so much time digging this pit, and you want me to give all the space to Stephen? Now that the bastard Lord had been watching the free show for quite a while, it¡¯s time to pay for the ticket now...¡± Lin Li smirked as he found the crimson piece of soul fragment very quickly...

    ¡°Connoris, go and unlock all the cages.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, how do you know...?¡± Connoris jumped on Lin Li¡¯s back. His voice was filled with disbelief.

    ¡°Are you curious about why I knew you can unlock these cages?¡± Lin Li responded Connoris¡¯s shock with a smile. ¡°Because I want to know...¡±

    ¡°F*ck you...¡± Connoris cussed, but proceeded to get down from Lin Li¡¯s back. He started to open the cages with some unusual recitation.

 Chapter 461 - Ancient Demon Deities

    <h4>Chapter 461: Ancient Demon Deities</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As Connoris recited the spell, the gates of the cages opened. Immediately, pungent stench of blood filled the air. Hideous demons and ferocious magical beasts rushed out from the cages like tidewater. There were growls, shrills, footsteps, and many other sounds ovepping. The sight of the mess gave Lin Li goosebumps on his scalp.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get ready to leave this ce!¡± Lin Li was not joking. They were in the Abyss Arena, a ce used to get rid of any of the Abyss Lord¡¯s enemies. There were innumerable Minion Demons, and Demons locked in every cage were at least level-18 or level-19. Despite being close to the Legendary-realm, Lin Li could not help but get anxious when the hundred of cages were unlocked at the same time.

    Furthermore...

    Since that was supposed to be a gift for the Lord of Souls, why should he help the Lord receive it? The moment Connoris unlocked the cages, Lin Li cast a Hastening Spell on himself and rubbed the Summoning Lamp to call back the Lord of Nightmares from Stephen¡¯s dreand.

    Afterward, Lin Li grabbed Hutton, as well as Connoris that was on the verge of escaping, and dragged them into the only passageway in the Abyss Arena.

    ¡°Oh yes, where is Stephen?¡± Hutton asked as he panted heavily. Underlying his tone was a lingering fear.

    Actually, Hutton should have known that President Felic would never forgive Stephen so easily, especially for his undesirable actions. President Felic was a man that could ughter the entire Syer Bandits with a strength of more than 300 men. How would President Felic deal with a traitor like him?

    However, it might not cost Stephen his life...

    After all, Stephen had the strong backing of the Dark de, as well as the support from the three Legendary powerhouses. Even the Malfa Family would never dare to provoke them¡ªespecially after theirtest battle. Hutton could also sense the obvious fear and dread from his mentor upon mentioning the three Legendary figures...

    To be honest, Hutton could tell that the abilities of President Felic would definitely be beyond what he could imagine. Sometimes, Hutton even thought that the young mage had the ability to outsmart those Legendary figures who had been respected for more than a few decades. That was just Hutton¡¯s pure intuition, one that bloomed out of his experience after encountering a multitude of shocking interactions...

    Yet, personal strength was still the most important...

    In the entire Breezy ins, there was only a handful of people who had the ability to use their personal strength to get what they wanted. These people were Ashen Warlock, Shadowmoon Sword Sage, as well as the Mage from the Tower of Darkness¡ªjust to name a few. They were powerful existences who had strength beyond the imagination of humans in the Breezy ins.

    Before one could get to their level, all was still dependent on the degree of influence one had.

    Felic¡¯s Guild of Magic had just been built in the Breezy ins not long ago. Without any foundation, it was like an infant who was still trying to learn to walk slowly. Any impulsive or foolish man would have known that offending the Dark de was not a wise decision on their part, and that it would be as good as digging their graves.

    If Stephen were to lose his life here, awaiting the Guild of Magic would be the Dark de¡¯s rage of fury. Then, this force thatcked foundation would be uprooted by the Dark de. <i>President Felic is a clever man. He should have thought of this...</i>

    ¡°Stephen still needs to wait for an old acquaintance. He won¡¯t be continuing this journey with us,¡± Lin Li replied as he nced at the center of the Abyss Arena. Stephen had just woken up from his dreams. He was rubbing his groggy eyes and looking at his surroundings with trepidation and confusion...

    <i>It should be enough...</i>

    Lin Li calcted the time. After being sure that those cages had been unlocked, he flung the soul fragment onto the ground and gave it a hard step...

    A crisp sound could be heard, and a strange and unexinable force was released.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lin Li urged as he pulled the confused Hutton into the passageway.

    He never looked back...

    Being built by the ancient deities, the Abyss Arena itself had a magical force. The moment both men entered the narrow passageway, the entrance behind them was blocked by red glow. This red glow was not a ring one. It looked like a thin sheet, but acted as a barrier between the passageway and the Abyss Arena which became like two separate worlds. Numerous magical beasts and demons that dashed towards the two humans that trespassed the arena could not get past the red shield no matter how hard they tried...

    ¡°President Felic, isn¡¯t this too harsh...?¡± Hutton asked Lin Li uneasily. Frankly speaking, Hutton really felt that President Felic had just made a reckless decision...

    Stephen was the heir of the Dark de, after all. If they were to leave Stephen here, Hutton would turn into President Felic¡¯s aplice. Then, the Dark de would be going after both the Malfa Family and the Guild of Magic. It wouldn¡¯t matter for the Malfa Family. Since they had been enemies for more than a century, another bit of hatred wouldn¡¯t be any different.

    ¡°Chill, Stephen won¡¯t die...¡± Lin Liforted Hutton. He knew what thetter wanted to say, but unfortunately, he was really busy now...

    Since he entered the passageway, Connoris never stopped nagging. This almighty Soul Trader continued to disturb Lin Li via mentalmunication.

    ¡°Freak, how did you know that?¡±

    ¡°Know that you could open those cages?¡±

    Connoris¡¯s voice trembled as he said, ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s one of my greatest secrets that even Osric was oblivious to. How... How would you know it?¡±

    This almighty Soul Trader could not help but feel really petrified. He couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Due to his current disadvantage of not having a body, his greatest fear was to be seen through by people. After he got his powers taken away by Osric, knowledge was the only asset he was left with¡ªthe secrets he¡¯d umted over countless years. If he failed to protect those precious pieces of information, this former Demon Lord would really turn into a ve to humans...

    ¡°I say, Connoris, as an almighty Soul Trader, do you not know what a fair trade is? You have your secrets, I have my secrets. Imagine how many secrets you have kept from me ever since we met at the Eternal Furnace? Do you really think that I¡¯m oblivious to everything?¡± Lin Li asked. Although he did not sound angry, his words shot out unapologetically. After taking a pause, he continued, ¡°Alright, Connoris, let¡¯s strike a deal. If you want to know why, use your own secrets to trade with mine.¡±

    ¡°What... What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Your background. Oh yes, stop patronizing me with the title ¡®Almighty Soul Trader¡¯. A fool would have known the Greater Demons that existed before the Dark Age had many shadows of themselves. Do you all have a fetish for role-ying...?¡±

    ¡°You... What did you know?¡± Connoris asked in a voice that trembled harder than before. He stopped maintaining his fetish for role-ying. <i>It is no great secret that Greater Demons reincarnated countless times since the Dark Age. Most who are above the Lord-level would have known that. Yet, how did this information get to a human...?</i>

    ¡°Actually, Connoris, I just want to know which of the 99 beings you are...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li¡¯s words turned the conversation into a daunting silence.

    If Lin Li¡¯s words only made Connoris worry earlier on, his words now really made the almighty Soul Trader fearful.

    The 99 beings Lin Li was referring to had to be the 99 ancient deities...

    ¡°You have to be curious where I got this information, right...?¡± Lin Li asked smilingly. He did not care what was on Connoris¡¯s mind. ¡°Am I right, almighty Soul Trader?¡±

    ¡°H-how do you know that...?¡± Connoris had lost count of how many times he asked Lin Li this question.

    ¡°I guessed it.¡±

    ¡°F*ck you...¡± That was the first vulgarity the polite Connoris hurled at anyone so far. The day had been filled with developments beyond his imagination. The powerful Greater Demon had never lost hisposure like this before.

    ¡°Scolding me will not work...¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose tantly. He was now a little awkward. ¡°Actually, it is not difficult to guess that you are an ancient deity. Only their souls could stay in the Eternal Furnace for such a long period of time. Do not lie that your soul was protected by any seal. Do not forget that it is a Wyrm¡¯s magical crystal that was etched on the furnace. It was a crystal of at least level-24. The fire element within it could even deter Legendary powerhouses, what more a soul sealed within...¡±

    ¡°J-just... Just because of this?¡± Connoris cried. He was about to go mad.

    The unreasonable fact that gave away the ancient deity¡¯s past made him frustrated. He could not defend himself at all. After all, he was the one who¡¯d used the spell to open the cages in the Abyss Arena.

    The Abyss Arena was created by the ancient deities. Only the ancient deities had the knowledge of thews and forces of the Abyss Arena. Even if the Lord of Darkness had reincarnated, he would not have been able to use his spells to unlock the cages. While people unaware of it would not have noticed the ability Connoris had, people like Lin Li would be able to easily guess that Connoris had to be an ancient deity.

    That darn cycle was like how a chicken could hatch from an egg and how an egg could hatch into a chicken¡ªbecause he was an ancient deity, he should be able to unlock the cages; because he could unlock the cages, he should be an ancient deity.

    <i>Goddammit...</i>

    ¡°Of course, there were other factors as well. But... I¡¯m keeping those secrets to myself,¡± Lin Li said arrogantly. He had always felt inferior to Connoris ever since he met him at the Eternal Furnace. On the surface, he had the ability to trap Connoris in the Ring of Endless Storm, and acquire some information of the Dark Age from him, but Lin Li always felt that the self-proimed Soul Trader had always been dominating a lot of interactions between them. He always felt like a marite in the unruly hands of Connoris.

    Lin Li had finally gotten the upper hand in this rtionship.

    Lin Li only discovered the true identity of Connoris just now. However, the Wyrm crystal in the Eternal Furnace was just one of the factors that supported his hypothesis. Lin Li had used that information to patronize Connoris. In fact, there were many reasons that could contribute to the preservation of one¡¯s soul. There was no evidence that could prove Connoris was a real ancient deity.

    The key determinant of Connoris¡¯s identity was the spell he recited when they were at the river. To normal people, the spell that Connoris recited was just a random ancient and obscure recitation. Even Andoine who had good understanding of the Dark Age wouldn¡¯t have understood thenguage Connoris was reciting in.

    In fact, Lin Li was clueless as well...

    However, that was not the main point. Lin Li could make guesses...

    To a freaky versatile crafting master like Lin Li, too much information could be garnered through a recitation that sounded ancient and obscure.

    Being well-versed in the Demon Language, it was easy for Lin Li to recognize the 17 types of Demon Language in the Endless Abyss. They were just like human dialects that were unique in their own ways and cultural dimension. Many a time, they sounded very different from one another, yet if one were to study them closely, he would be able to find a strand of simrity that existed across thosenguages. Connoris¡¯ recitation was what allowed Lin Li to make such a bold guess.

    However, since it was spoken by a demon, and had the features of the Demon Language, the fact that it waspletely different from the other 17nguages helped to narrow the boundaries by a lot...

    Despite it, Lin Li was not entirely certain that Connoris was a legendary ancient demon that had powersparable to the Titans and Wyrms¡ªa terrifying existence that once lived in the prehistoric times yet was not known to many.

    That was the reason for the rest of the story...

    It was supposed to be a test when Lin Li let Connoris unlock the cages for him. In that pressing situation, no one, not even an ancient deity, would have wasted the time to disguise himself. To Connoris, that was just revealing a bit of his secret. As an ancient demon, he had many other simr secrets. So what if he let a human know a few pieces of such information? In fact, he had been considering finding a suitable time to reveal his true identity to Lin Li.

    Connoris never would have dreamt that all it took to give away his identity was one recitation...

    ¡°Alright...¡± After a long period of silence, Connoris said, ¡°I admit that I have hidden some information from you. You¡¯re right, I was indeed one of the 99 ancient deities many years ago. However, those are all bygones. I am now just a pathetic soul that had been sealed within a hammer...¡±

    ¡°Then, almighty Soul Trader, is it time to be honest with me about some things?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Everything!¡± Lin Li¡¯s eximed in an absolute tone. ¡°However, before then, I really want to know which of the 99 deities you were.¡±

    ¡°Countless years ago, I was once the Lord of the 90th level of Abyss who governed thews of conspiracy and deceit. My real name was stripped the moment my soul was shattered into innumerable fragments. Unless I retrieve the fragments, I won¡¯t be able to use that name myself.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Lin Li nodded his head, and did not insist further. The names of ancient deities embodied massive powers. Just like the Titan and the ancient Dragon Language, a single syble would suffice in creating a destructive force. If there had been enough power to shatter a soul of an ancient deity like Connoris, who could imagine the impact of that invincible name?

    ¡°Oh yes, Connoris. I don¡¯t understand one thing. Since you were once an ancient deity, how did you get caught by Osric? I presume it shouldn¡¯t have been that hard to deal with him when he was just a beginner at level-25?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that darn Osric...¡± The mention of Osric caused Connoris¡¯ tone to carry an obvious note of hatred. ¡°I was still searching for my soul fragments before I was caught by Osric. In fact, I¡¯ve recovered one-third of them. If given more time, I would have been able to reacquire thew of conspiracy. By that time, 10 Osrics would be nothing to me...¡±

    ¡°So impressive?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, do you think ancient demons are called ancient deities for no reason? The ancient demons in the Prehistoric Age were as good as real divinities. Osric would never have been able to challenge the force of the divine no matter how powerful he was. Even though I had only recovered one-third of my powers, it made me no easy target for Osric and his Magic Legion. Unfortunately...¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately what?¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, Osric had an artifact that was left behind by the Immortal King...¡±

    ¡°Artifact?¡± Lin Li was stunned. But, he regainedposure very quickly. Artifacts were nothing to him. The artifacts in Anril were just like the seven artifacts of Fn Kingdom¡ªmerely magical equipment that was more powerful. When he was at nna Guild of Magic, Lin Li had seen an artifact called the Thunderlord Staff. It was presented to the Guild of Magic 200 years ago by the king of Fn. This Thunderlord Staff became one of the seven artifacts of Fn, and was said to have belonged to a High Elf Sanctuary Master during the Dark Age.

    The weapon of the Sanctuary Master was incredibly powerful. Lin Li could tell that the craftsmanship of the Thunderlord Staff would be at least at Guru-level.

    To ordinary men, the Guru-realm was something beyond imagination. To a versatile crafting master like Lin Li, however, the realm was actually nothing to be proud of.

    Not to exaggerate, as long as he had enough materials, Lin Li could create as many simr artifacts as he wanted.

    Connoris had once been an ancient deity. Even though his soul had been shattered, causing him to lose two-thirds of his powers, the power he was left with was still not what an artifact could measure up to trap him.

    ¡°To be honest, Connoris, if what you said was true, I really cannot believe a so-called artifact would have the ability to harm you when you have recovered one-third of your energy level.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no... The artifact I was referring to was a <i>real </i>artifact...¡± Connoris paused. It was the first time his voice carried so much fear. ¡°It was created by the divine...¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li could not help but draw in a mouth of cold breath. <i>A weapon created by the divine... Isn¡¯t it like the Stars of Fury?</i>

    ¡°It was this artifact that enabled Osric to capture me when we were at the 20th level of the Abyss...¡±

    ¡°I see...¡± Lin Li nodded his head. Just when he was about to ask another question, Connoris suddenly trembled on his back.

    ¡°The Lord of Souls is here!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li was stunned. His gaze was filled with surprise and curiosity. He turned to look at the thin red film. Through it, Lin Li saw a Greater Demon that appeared out of nowhere. It had a sharp horn, hideous face, and a body covered in countless purple scales. The sight of it gave him goosebumps. Around its two insidious paws were purple electric arcs that revolved around its sharp ws. What could it be other than the legendary Spirit Walker?

    It had been said that the purple arcs that revolved around their ws were the source of energy for the Spirit Walkers. The innate spell of the Spirit Walkers was the Soul Storm. It was a spell that resembled a heavy storm that could drive anyone to lunacy. Any living creatures stuck in the Soul Storm would have their soul engulfed, and literally turn into walking corpses.

    Furthermore, the souls that were swallowed by the Spirit Walker would be enved eternally. Every soul that the Spirit Walkers engulfed would also increase their powers. There were also people who said that once the Spirit Walker had taken enough souls, it would be able to attain the genuinew of souls, and be a semi-divine and semi-demon monster.

    Of course, that was just an exaggeration.

    Mephistos from Tharlen was the only Spirit Walker that got to the Legendary-realm over the countless years. In fact, he became the Lord of Tharlen when he just reached level-20 many years ago. If not for the sudden descent of the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction, there was a high chance for Mephistos to rule over the Abyss of Tharlen until today.

    Being located at the 27th level of the Abyss, it would only be normal for the ce to be filled with Greater Demons above level-20. There was a possibility for level-21 or level-22 to exist as well. The fact that Mephistos could rule over the Abyss of Tharlen at just level-20 was a testimony to the power of Spirit Walkers.

    However, it would be impossible for Mephistos to reach the Sanctuary-realm. The evolution of a Spirit Walker was dependent on the type of souls it engulfed. Unless a Spirit Walker swallowed a soul of a level-27 or level-28 creature in the Sanctuary-realm, it would never attain the same realm. What could a level-27 or level-28 creature do? That was an invincible indomitable existence that could crush Mephistos with a finger. As for other Spirit Walkers, there would not be a ce for them...

    Unfortunately, Mephistos appeared at a very untimely moment, emerging from the void in the middle of the Abyss Arena, and the countless demons and magical beasts dashed towards him like tide water.

    ¡°F*ck this...¡± Mephistos was stunned by the encounter. ¡°Darn you human! How dare you deceive the Lord of Souls!¡± growled Mephistos. His voice made the space tremble.

    ¡°W-what... What is happening?¡± Hutton gasped as he stared nkly at the scene before him.

    ¡°To put it simply, I¡¯ve covered the eyes of the Lord of Souls with some small things...¡± Lin Li smiled as he gave an indirect reply. The existence of the Lord of Nightmares was a great secret Lin Li kept to himself. Although the Lord of Nightmares sealed in the oilmp was not the powerful Lord of the 18th level of the Abyss, and its power had fallen to around level-19, its ability to alter dreams was a very important weapon to Lin Li. If it was put into good use, it would be more terrible than the Humerus Wyrm.

    Lin Li would naturally not want to reveal such a secret to Hutton...

    ¡°Is that the work of the Lord of Nightmares?¡± asked Connoris. He had seen through the trick Lin Li did.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, the two Rainbow Manticore Kings that shared the same soul had died. Otherwise, we really could¡¯ve given Mephistos a grand surprise. As for now, I think that we should take the chance to escape this monstrous ce before Mephistos shrugs off those prisoners.¡±

    ¡°Hope the prisoners can help us buy time...¡± Lin Li agreed with Connoris. Mephistos was a Spirit Walker in the Legendary-realm, after all. This former Lord of Tharlen had an ability to cast the most powerful Soul Storm. It would be too optimistic if one wished to use a bunch of level-18 or level-19 demons and magical beasts against it.

    However, buying a bit more time would suffice...

    His main goal of stepping into the Abyss of Tharlen was not to conduct any massacre. He would be getting a huge windfall just by finding the Throne of Darkness and getting the three relics left behind by Geresco. How would he have the mood to tussle with Mephistos?

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s leave this ce,¡± Lin Li said, and proceeded to recite the Transcend Spell. ording to Connoris, they would need around 10 minutes to get through the passageway. Since they would be encountering many Vengeful Spirits, he would need to maintain the Transcend Spell all the way. If he happened to break the spell, they would be drowned by the Vengeful Spirits immediately.

    The Transcend Spell was a level-18 spell that most Archmages struggled to cast, and to sustain it for 10 minutes would be almost impossible. Only a freak like Lin Li, who had the experience of sustaining the maximum mana output for a long time during the magic trial, would have the confidence to undertake such an impossible mission.

    Even so, Lin Li dare not to becent. He did not forget to let Hutton wear the Robe of Light before he started the recitation. That was a Master-level magical equipment. Although it might not be totally resistant to the attack from the Vengeful Spirits, it would definitely be useful to alleviate any crises.

    After all preparations, Lin Li started his recitation of the Transcend Spell.

    The two young mages and one ancient deity began to walk towards the end of the passageway.

    Connoris was right. It was definitely the greatest number of Vengeful Spirits Lin Li had seen in his entire life. His first encounter with the Vengeful Spirits in the ckstone Mountains that were summoned by Sendros with the Thousand Souls Spell would never have been able to rival this.

    The entire passageway was filled with Vengeful Spirits. Lin Li could see countless of them vanishing with the Transcend Spell for every step he took forward. The resentment and thirst for vengeance released by the spirits as they were transcended rushed towards both men like a crazy tidal wave. The resentful scenes produced by them were filled with blood and gore, which continued to challenge the mental limits for both men. The varied sorrowful wails rang in their ears. It was as though they had walked into the Ten Courts of Hell that only appeared in myths. If not for the protection of the Transcend Spell, anyone would have be a lunatic due to those horrific scenes, no matter how resolute their minds were.

    Hutton was considered a reputable man in the Breezy ins. He was an Archmage in his 20s and the eldest heir of the Malfa Family. Yet, when he walked through the passageway that was filled with numerous Vengeful Spirits, he could not help but turn pallid immediately. Huge beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, and his hand gripping his staff started to tremble uncontrobly out of fear and nervousness.

    Although he was a distance away from Hutton, Lin Li could hear the faint sound of his teeth chattering...

    If he did not have the Transcend Spell, even Lin Li would never be able to imagine the consequences of going ahead...

 Chapter 462 - Hatching a Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 462: Hatching a Magical Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The 10 minute-long travel felt like 10 years to both men. They were exhausted by the time they reached the end of the passageway. When they stopped to look at each other, they could see that their pallid faces were covered in cold sweat.

    ¡°Phew...¡± Lin Li panted heavily. When he turned to look back, he couldn¡¯t help but distastefully exim, ¡°I will never set foot into this darn ce even if there needs to be a second time...¡±

    ¡°Same here...¡± Hutton agreed as he wiped his sweat off with his sleeves dramatically.

    The two of them rested against the cold stone wall. Only after half an hour did they muster enough strength to raise their exhausted bodies and push the pitch-ck gate open...

    The gate creaked open, and ring light made both men hold their breaths. At that instant, the entire passageway was lit up by the glow.

    The dazzling light forced Lin Li to shut his eyelids. He only opened his eyes again after adjusting to the change in his environment.

    After that, Lin Li saw a whole new world...

    ¡°This looks like the real Pce of Darkness...¡±

    The sky behind the door was full of glistening stars. It was an extremely vast and empty world. The emptiness extended beyond boundaries as though it would reach the end of the world. From Lin Li¡¯s position, he could only see a sky full of stars and a pathway that could turn anyone crazy...

    ¡°Oh my God...¡± Lin Li swept his gaze pass that pathway and could not help but swallow his saliva.

    There were countless corpses piled up in the void which made it seem like a pathway leading towards the end. Those corpses belonged not only to demons and magical beasts, but also High Elves and other creatures that Lin Li did not know. Lin Li could sense very clearly that each of the bodies had great powers despite the fact that thousands¡ªmillions¡ªof years had passed since their death.

    However, the most horrid problem for Lin Li was the fact that there were plenty of treasures lying together with the corpses. There were gold ingots, gems, crystals, magical crystals, magical equipment, and magical metals. It was as though he had entered a huge treasury. The magnificent glow from the treasures was so ring that made it difficult for him to open his eyes.

    ¡°If... If we were to bring them back, we would be able to buy the entire nna...¡± Lin Li mumbled nervously, and was really curious to know what other treasures had been hidden in that pathway. However, it would be impossible to do so. That spread of treasures that knew no boundary was not for anyone to measure its value. Even if Lin Li were to carry the treasures back to tabte their worth, he would need to spend three to five years doing it...

    A strike...!

    The infinite riches gave Lin Li excitement stronger than the fear given by the countless number of Vengeful Spirits. Lin Li stood still, and his mind was entirely upied by those infinite magical crystals, gems, and gold ingots...

    Strictly speaking, Lin Li was not a poor man. As a man who was versatile in every type of craft, the jackpot of one million gold coins he had gotten in Jarrosus had enabled him to spend all those riches on building his Guild of Magic without batting an eyelid. Lin Li was confident that his talents in pharmacy, forging, magical enchantment, and other life skills would provide the funds needed for the construction of his guild...

    Despite being a tough man with a very thick and inhumane nervous system, Lin Li was close to sh*tting his pants at the sight of all the fortunes. He couldn¡¯t help it. That was a terrifying amount of wealth. Lin Li could spot at least 1000 magical crystals that were above level-15 from where he was standing. He even witnessed level-18 magical crystals that rarely appeared in the ck market strewn all over like big white cabbages here.

    Lin Li found nearly 10 Legendary magical crystals as well. Each of them had the ability to make any mage go bankrupt...

    Not to mention other things like crystals, gems, and magical metals. When Lin Li was in the Endless World, he was a rich man who owned several private mineral veins. Yet, the sight of that pathway made him feel that his possessions were insignificant...

    He couldn¡¯t help it. There were just too many magical metals and apanying gemstones, and each of them had undergone the necessary treatment and was ready to be used in forging and iying. Lin Li made a modest estimation and discovered that if he were to sell these treasures, he would be able to earn more riches than the worth of the entire Gilded Rose. If he were to process the treasures further, he would be able to multiply their value by two or three times.

    The magical weapons as well...

    Lin Li could tell that each of those magical weapons was definitely an authentic and high-quality object that had great magical ability. If one were to use them wisely, he would be able to revive the glory the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion had gained.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m going to swallow all these riches even if I¡¯m going to die of fullness!¡± Lin Li swallowed his saliva resolutely, and prepared to open his Ring of Endless Storm to contain all the treasures.

    However, before he could open the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li suddenly spotted a ck figure.

    He could vaguely see a ck figure at the end of the path filled with corpses and treasures...

    There was a sense of evilness and darkness emitting from that ck figure. To Lin Li, the powerful strength from the force wasparable to Gloomy Dark. Yet, Gloomy Dark never gave Lin Li such a huge pressure. After all, Gloomy Dark was just magical equipment. Although it was one of the strongest pieces of magical equipment in the world, the threat magical equipment could pose would always be determined by its user¡¯s ability...

    ¡°Freak, how could that be possible?¡± Connoris eximed as he jumped down from Lin Li¡¯s back. The voice Lin Li received from the mental strength was riddled with astonishment.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lin Li asked uneasily. After all, Connoris was an ancient deity who had witnessed many kingdoms rise and fall. There shouldn¡¯t be anything in this world that could surprise him.

    However, the voice of this ancient deity sounded as though he was a girl who had just woken up from a hangover and realized she had lost her virginity...

    ¡°T-That... That¡¯s the Lord of Darkness!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be....¡± Lin Li gasped in bewilderment. Despite being a bold man, he could not help but feel surprised upon hearing that.

    Lin Li had to put away his desire for those riches at once. He knew that the priority was to leave the darn ce as quickly as possible. Yet, when Lin Li turned to look back, the ck gate as well as the path behind it had already vanished without a trace. The world that was made up of stars and void seemed to be in another dimension. The road behind Lin Li was distorted after he set foot into this space...

    ¡°Dammit, trouble¡¯s huge now...¡± Lin Li muttered. He could few buckets of cold sweat on himself...

    Even if Lin Li had experience in defeating two Liches, and could appear bold in front of the Lord of Souls, Lin Li could not help but feel intimidated by the Lord of Darkness.

    That was the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction! Having fought with Azardas when he was in the Endless World, Lin Li naturally knew better about the powers of the Dragon of Destruction. Being a Dragon Aspect, the Evilness and Darkness it governed were part of Anril. It was a dreadful existence¡ªeven more so than any deity. After all, deities that descended upon Anril would have their powers greatly diminished. However, it was not the same for the Dragon of Destruction. Its powers would only get stronger, and not a bit weaker.

    Not to mention the current Lin Li...

    It was pure luck and the possession of the Stars of Fury that allowed the previous Lin Li emerge victorious in the battle against Azardas. The Stars of Fury yed a huge role in summoning hundreds of High Elves¡¯ spirits to aid him in the fight. If not, surviving the battle would¡¯ve already been a great problem for the vulnerable Super Hunter, let alone winning it.

    The Lord of Darkness was the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction. Even with one-tenth of Azardas¡¯ powers, it was enough to create great troubles for the current Lin Li. He couldn¡¯t help it. Not only had the current Lin Li yet to reach the Legendary-realm, he had also lost the invincible artifact, Stars of Fury. If he were to engage in a battle with the Lord, he would not be able to measure up to one-tenth of his own past self.

    However, the ck gate had been shut now. The path back to where they came from had vanished. There wouldn¡¯t be anywhere for Lin Li to escape to.

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Lin Li asked nervously as he stood rooted. He was at a loss of what to do.

    ¡°Goddammit. Is that a ghost...?¡± That was Connoris, the former ancient deity who governed over conspiracy and deceit. He was rid of his usualposure. <i>Didn¡¯t the Dragon of Destruction fall countless years ago? He only left behind two descendants that are far less powerful. As the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, how could the Lord of Darkness exist after the Dragon of Destruction had fallen?</i>

    ¡°Hey, Connoris...¡± Lin Li said as he watched the unmoving ck figure in the distance. ¡°Could it... Could it be that... that the Dragon of Destruction has not fallen from the start?¡± he asked, and swallowed his saliva uneasily.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡± Connoris retorted Lin Li without hesitation. ¡°I am the only person in this world who knows about the whereabouts of the Dragon of Destruction. Let me tell you a secret...¡±

    ¡°Shoot...¡± Lin Li nearly rolled his eyes in frustration. How did this bastard still have the mood to create suspense at such a crucial timing?

    ¡°Do you know where Highlord Osric got his powers from?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Lin Li tried breathing deeply to calm himself down. ¡°I only know that if you are still not going to speak, I¡¯m going to turn you into bait for the Lord of Darkness. Since the Lord of Darkness is the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, he should be interested in the soul of an ancient deity...¡±

    ¡°W-wait! L-let me tell you now...!¡± Connoris grew anxious at Lin Li¡¯s threat. ¡°The reason why Osric was as powerful as Geresco and the queen of the High Elves during the Dark Age was because he inherited magic from the Immortal King...¡±

    ¡°No wonder...¡± Lin Li was not surprised by Connoris¡¯ secrets. He just felt enlightened.

    This might be the only exnation for why a normal noble like Osric could be the second most powerful High Elf.

    The extreme difference between the nobles and royals of the High Elves was a hard truth. The royals were endowed with the abilities of an Archmage from birth. Their long lifespan made it highly probable for them to break into the Legendary-realm. Unlike the royalty, the nobles of the High Elves were born with the ability of Magic Shooters. Moreover, their innate talents and lifespan weregging far behind the royals¡¯. Those with a better potential had a chance to go past level-15, while the rest might not even reach anywhere above level-15 even if they were given eternity to live.

    Before Highlord Osric appeared, there was no noble who had the ability to surpass the royals. This was also the reason why the royal family always had the greatest power in the kingdom.

    ¡°But, what has this got to do with the Dragon of Destruction?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that it was Immortal King that contributed to the fall of the Dragon of Destruction? As Osric acquired the magic abilities from the Immortal King, he got to know many of his secrets as well...

    ¡°These secrets include the fall of the Dragon of Destruction. If you had the chance to enter Osric¡¯s mausoleum one day, you would be amazed to see how a pair of dragon eyes hangs in the center of the mausoleum. They act as the lighting of the mausoleum...¡±

    ¡°You mean, Osric acquired the remains of the Dragon of Destruction?¡± Lin Li gasped.

    ¡°Just a part of it. When the Immortal King killed Azardas, he used up most of the dragon¡¯s remains to built his seven Sky Castles. The only things he left for Osric were the pair of dragon eyes and some scales. Unfortunately, the eyes had been left behind in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and the scales had been used to create Osric¡¯s armors. If not, we might¡¯ve been able to avoid the troublesing our way...¡±

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li interrupted Connoris. ¡°Did you mean that we would be able to escape this ce if we had the remains of the Dragon of Destruction?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. Not escape...¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Just when Lin Li was feeling a sense of disappointment, Connoris continued talking. ¡°If I did not guess it wrongly, the current Lord of Darkness should no longer be the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction. After all, it is a fact that the real Dragon of Destruction had fallen. No matter how powerful that reincarnation was, it would definitely not exist so many years after the Dragon of Destruction had fallen...¡±

    ¡°Damn it, so what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°I mean, although that fe in front looks he scary, it is only a monster that is made up of thews of Darkness and Evilness and a few soul fragments. It does not have its own consciousness. Although it can continue to exist in such a special dimension, everything about it would be instinctive. If we have the remains of the Dragon of Destruction, we would be able to take in this fe instead of escaping.

    ¡°Sigh... It would be great if Osric had left the eyes of the Dragon of Destruction at the Eternal Furnace...¡±

    ¡°The eyes of the Dragon of Destruction...¡± Lin Li thought through Connoris¡¯ words carefully. ¡°Damn it, where the f*ck can I find that...?¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap, I know it obviously¡ª¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was riddled with the same frustration. However, this ancient deity did not expect that before he couldplete his sentence, Lin Li had already reached into his Ring of Endless Storm and fished out many things...

    Connoris saw a pile of things before his eyes within a few minutes. There were many scales, glossy and firm skin, mountain of bones, incredibly sharp horns, as well as a bald skull...

    From the shape of the skull, one could easily tell that it was from a Wyrm...

    ¡°This...!¡± Connoris eximed in bewilderment.

    ¡°Ugh, I wouldn¡¯t be able to find the eyes of the Dragon of Destruction...¡± Lin Li said as he rubbed his nose awkwardly. ¡°If I¡¯d known how precious those things are, I would not have smashed them under my feet... But, Connoris, quick, help me see if these things can rece the eyes. I presume that we wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything with the scales. If I¡¯m the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, I would not be enticed to enter the scales. What do you think of the skin? That was from its belly, the firmest and softest part of its body... Oh! There¡¯s this skull as well! Since it could contain the brain, it should be able to contain a reincarnation, right?¡±

    While Lin Li rattled off his questions loquaciously, Connoris remained silent.

    ¡°F*ck you!¡± Connoris snapped after he stayed silent for close to a minute.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± Lin Li was stunned by Connoris¡¯ remark. He raised one of the dragon horns and asked, ¡°Are these useless as well?¡±

    ¡°You... You... You...¡± This time, Connoris was really on the brink of madness. Even though he was an ancient deity that had lived through the prehistoric times, Connoris could not help but feel breathless at this experience...

    The remains of the Dragon of Destruction were piled into a hill before Connoris. The unique aura of the Dragon of Destruction screamed authenticity to Connoris. As an ancient deity, he had made several appearances in the battles between the Titans and Dragons when they contended for dominance over Anril. Having interacted dozens of times with the Dragon of Destruction, how could Connoris not recognize its unique aura?

    However, this was what drove Connoris mad...

    The fall of the Dragon of Destruction happened near the end of the prehistoric times. Its body had been used by the Immortal King to construct the Sky Castles. The only remains today would be its eyes and some scales.

    <i>But look... What are these things?</i>

    There were countless scales scattered on the ground, a dozen sheets of dragon skin that were neatlyid out, dragon bones and horns, and the skull that could drive anyone insane. <i>Where the hell did he get these things?</i>

    <i>Could it be that there was still another Dragon of Destruction in Anril?</i>

    The most freakish issue was the presence of undried bloodstains on the pile of dragon bones...

    ¡°Holy, holy, holy! W-w-what... What are these?!¡±

    Connoris¡¯ shrieks came deep from his heart. It stunned Lin Li. Lin Li stopped digging through the remains of the Dragon of Destruction. ¡°This is a long story. Unfortunately, it happens to be one of my secrets. If you are keen to know about it, you can trade your secrets with mine when I am in a good mood. It will depend on the value of your secret for me to decide to reveal it to you...¡± Lin Li only replied Connoris smilingly, and did not answer his questions.

    ¡°Deal, I will tell you all my secrets the moment we return. But, in exchange, you¡¯d better tell me the origin of these remains!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I will consider that...¡± Lin Li grinned. That being said, deep inside Lin Li was resolution to uncover all of the ancient demon¡¯s secrets, as well as determination to weave a good story regarding the origins of the dragon¡¯s remains...

    Although Connoris could use mental strength tomunicate with Lin Li, it was impossible for him to read Lin Li¡¯s mind. How would this poor ancient deity imagine that the b*tch in front of him was set on patronizing him with a fictional tale in exchange for all of his secrets?

    ¡°Oh, yes...¡±

    After retrieving the entire Dragon of Destruction from the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li proceeded to take out a stone. It was dull in color and had the size of a human¡¯s fist. ¡°Connoris, what do you think of this?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Connoris asked. After all the surprise he had gotten earlier on, he could not help but feel skeptical when he saw such an uninteresting object.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what this thing is for. But, if I didn¡¯t remember it wrongly, I found it in the brain of the Dragon of Destruction... Yeah, you did not hear it wrongly. It was located at where magical crystals are normally located...¡±

    ¡°Holy, could this be the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction?¡± Connoris jumped.

    ¡°By right, this should be the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. But, Connoris, you are an ancient deity. I presume that you can¡¯t feel any wave of mana, right? After all, we shouldn¡¯t gauge a freak like the Dragon of Destruction withmon sense...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right... Can you tell me the specifics of how you encountered this dragon? You know, if you don¡¯t tell me anything, I wouldn¡¯t know how to reply to your question, either...¡±

    ¡°Definitely not the details...¡± Lin Li rejected Connoris¡¯ request without hesitation. ¡°But, there is one thing I can tell you. That is, my collection of the dragon¡¯s body is definitelyplete, and this stone is the only thing I found in its corpse that might be rted to magical crystals...¡±

    ¡°My God, if this is really the crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, it will be... it will be...¡± Connoris stammered excitedly. He lost his previous state of calmness, and continued to repeat the phrase ¡°it will be¡±, but did not finish the sentence...

    ¡°Cut the crap,¡± Lin Li said as he pursed his lips. He was very dismayed by Connoris¡¯ck ofposure. ¡°A fool would have known that there is unlimited mana within the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Any mage that were to acquire the crystal would never need to worry about theck of mana again.¡±

    Actually, Lin Li was watching his words very carefully...

    He understood that the Dragon Crystal was not as simple as a mere source of unlimited mana. It was a fact that the Dragon Aspect was one of the four Dragon Aspects that surpassed the greatness of the divine in Anril. The mana within it would be beyond imagination. 10 Sanctuary Masters would require 100 years to absorb the mana within it, let alone a normal mage.

    ¡°Moron!¡± No one expected Connoris to bash Lin Li with such anger. That thunderous rage made Connoris seemed like a terrifying prodigal. ¡°Who told you that you should use the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction like that? Absorb mana? Only you foolish humans would think of such a dumb method. Do you know that that is a huge waste of a magical crystal?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li was stunned.

    ¡°Ah...¡± Connoris sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t me you humans, either. It is no wonder that you humans and the High Elves were the only two entric races in Anril. Not knowing what is Soul Inheritance, you only see magical crystals as a source of mana. You are unaware of how to utilize magical crystals.¡±

    Lin Li was still stupefied from theshing. ¡°Then how should we use the crystals?¡±

    ¡°It is not a crime to use the magical crystals of the magical beasts for mana. After all, you humans had already mastered most of their natural magic powers. However, for the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction you have in your hands... You should actually think of a way to hatch it...¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute...¡± Lin Li felt the the conversation was making an absurd turn. ¡°If I didn¡¯t hear wrongly, are you saying I should... ¡®h-hatch¡¯ it?¡± He repeated Connoris¡¯ words again.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Hatch...¡±

    ¡°Are you joking?¡± Lin Li nearly burst outughing. ¡°I say, almighty Soul Trader, can you be clear on the situation? This is the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Are you saying we should hatch it...? Alright, if that is so, teach me how to do it...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m joking with you! Think of it yourself. Are there any legends of Anril that tell you that the Dragon of Destruction needed a mate?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li thought for a moment. He can¡¯t help but admit, ¡°I don¡¯t think there is... But, since it is just a legend, it does not mean that it is true that the Dragon of Destruction did not need a mate. Otherwise, Tutankhamun would have been birthed by a random stone.¡±

    ¡°Heh... And that stone is what you are holding now...¡± Connorisughed inwardly. ¡°Although I have no idea where you have gotten the stone from, I¡¯m now even more sure that the magical crystal in your hands belonged to the Dragon of Destruction. I¡¯ve read the diary of the Immortal King with Osric before. One of the entries was about the birth of the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction...¡±

    ¡°You mean Tutankhamun?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was Tutankhamun. Heh... To be honest, the rtionship of this descendant of the Dragon of Destruction with the dragon was not as close as he is to the Immortal King...¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to tell me that Tutankhamun was hatched by the Immortal King?¡± Lin Li gasped. He felt breathless as he tried to maintain his mental strength in the conversation...

    ¡°Bingo! The Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction, and dug out the magical crystal from his brain. After that, he hatched a pair of twins from the magical crystal. Each of the twins governed over the rules of Darkness and Evilness, respectively. One of the twins was the Tutankhamun you had met before...¡±

    ¡°The f*ck...?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t hold his surprise. ¡°Immortal King is Tutankhamun¡¯s dad?¡±

    ¡°Erm, it makes sense to phrase it that way as well...¡± Connoris replied. It was obvious that he had no interest in thinking about such aplex rtionship. He ended the topic with augh. ¡°But, don¡¯t you dare to think that the Immortal King only wanted to end the bloodline of the Dragon of Destruction by hatching the pair of twins...¡±

    ¡°What else could he have wanted to achieve?¡±

    ¡°The hatching process could give the Immortal King more benefits than just mana...¡±

 Chapter 463 - You Win

    <h4>Chapter 463: You Win</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°B-benefits...?¡± Lin Li repeated Connoris¡¯ words. He could not understand what Connoris was speaking about. The hatching of magical crystals alone was a strange topic to begin with. Could a magical crystals hatch into another Dragon of Destruction?

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Connoris affirmed Lin Li¡¯s doubts with a softughter. ¡°The term ¡®hatch¡¯ is just ayman¡¯s term. The actual process is moreplicated. I¡¯m not scaring you. Although you are extremely close to the Legendary-realm, it will take you very long to hatch this magical crystal...¡±

    ¡°Why did you even tell me, then??¡± Lin Li snapped at Connoris in disappointment. That fe was a real ancient deity. His vast living experience had definitely allowed him to witness many invincible existences. If he were to say that the hatching of the crystal would take a long time, it would certainly be longer than what Lin Li could imagine.

    ¡°But, you don¡¯t have to be disappointed. Although your current ability would not allow you to hatch the magical crystal, it does not mean that you won¡¯t be able to gain any benefits... Didn¡¯t I tell you that the Immortal King chose to hatch the magical crystal over absorbing its mana? That is because the process of hatching gave him greater benefits aspared to doing thetter...¡±

    ¡°What benefits?¡±

    ¡°There is only one method to hatch the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, which is to input your mental strength into the crystal to activate the bit of Spiritual Brand left in the magical crystal. This might sound very simple, but do know that it is like using droplets of water to prate a b of stone. It would be a long and arduous process. The Immortal King used a century toplete the task, and I can estimate that you would need roughly two decades to do the same¡ª¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go and die?¡± Lin Li interrupted Connoris in agitation. Even if he were to reach the Legendary-realm and extend his lifespan by 100 years, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive two more centuries. It would be a waste of energy to transmit his mental strength just to hatch another Dragon of Destruction for such a long period of time...

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let me tell you slowly...¡±

    ¡°What other things can you talk about?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me what benefits were there to gain? The magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction not only contains a massive amount of energy, it also has thews of Darkness and Evilness, as well as the experience and knowledge of the dragon. However, all such information is hidden within the Spiritual Brand. Instead of absorbing it from the magical crystal directly, you can just transmit your mental strength to awaken the lingering Spiritual Brand. The amount ofws, experience, and knowledge to seep out depends on the strength of your mental strength. A stronger mental strength would allow you to get more information from the Spiritual Brand. Immortal King failed to hatch the magical crystal within a few years, because he had not understood the Dragon of Destruction well...¡±

    ¡°I understand it now...¡± Lin Li said as he nodded his head. He really understood it now. In fact, it was not just the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. The same applied for the crystals for normal magical beasts. Innate spells could be passed down through the Spiritual Brand, and the best method to acquire them was to use mental strength to engulf that Spiritual Brand. That was what many mages would do. However, their mental strength was only enough to devour magical crystals below level-10. The process would be incredibly dangerous if the magical crystals were to be level-15 or higher. Carelessness would lead to the copse of mana. Hence, the treatment for magical crystals above level-15 was usuallypleted through mageweaths, as well as the moreplicated Alchemy Arrays.

    As for Legendary magical crystals... Lin Li had never heard any mages having the courage to devour them.

    However, the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction was different. Comparable to the divine, the existence of the dragon itself was as powerful as the Dragon Aspect. Even if the Immortal King and Geresco were toe back to life, they would not have the ability to devour the innate power within the magical crystal. In fact, it was not a skill within the crystal, but a mantra¡ªthe core magical mantra of Anril!

    Lin Li and Connoris had been conversing through their mental strength. Although it seemed to have been quite a while, it only took a blink of an eye. The interaction between mental strength could happen instantaneously. When Lin Li nodded to express understanding for the situation, Hutton had not yet registered the situation around him...

    ¡°M-Mage... Mage Felic, erm... Is that... Is that the...¡± Hutton stammered as he fixed his gaze on the ck figure at the end of the pathway. It emitted such an incredibly strong force that anyone would know that it was at least a Legendary existence...

    Although Hutton was the first heir of the Malfa Family, as well as a level-18 Archmage, he had met a limited number of Legendary powerhouses in his life. Now that he had trespassed the territory of a Legendary figure, Hutton¡¯s fear was to be expected. Furthermore, the Legendary powerhouse was the Lord of Darkness that ruled over the Abyss of Tharlen...

    ¡°That¡¯s right, he is the Lord of Darkness...¡± Lin Li said as he nodded. He held the Aether Staff in his hands. Lin Li knew that words would be meaningless before the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction. How would the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen be moved by a few words?

    Anyway, the ck figure before them was just part of the Dragon of Destruction. After the fall of the dragon, the consciousness of the Lord of Darkness had shattered entirely. What was left was just strong power and a bit of instinct...

    Lin Li finally understood Tutankhamun¡¯s intention behind sending him here...

    After the fall of the Dragon of Destruction, Immortal King had used the magical crystal to hatch Tutankhamun and his brother. They governed over the mantra of Darkness and Evilness. It was as good as saying that the summation of the brothers was equal to another Dragon of Destruction. But, neither Tutankhamun nor his brother was entirelyplete.

    The reason was rted to the Lord of Darkness...

    At this time, Lin Li even started to suspect if the Dragon of Destruction had predicted his own fall. If not, why would he let his reincarnation enter the Abyss of Tharlen for just a bit of power? It was this action that caused Tutankhamun and his brother to be unable to truly grasp the mantras of Darkness and Evilness.

    It seemed that the motive of Tutankhamun in sending the three of them into the Abyss of Tharlen was not only a test, but also a trick to use them to recover his lost powers.

    Of course, it was unlikely he wanted to do something to them. Otherwise, Tutankhamun could very well use his powers to threaten the three men to help him. He was the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction. Having inherited half of Azardas¡¯ powers, it was incredibly easy to go against Archmages in their 20s...

    In conclusion, a battle would be inevitable.

    The World of Void would only disappear when thest trace of the Dragon of Destruction vanished. There was neither the Teleportation Portal nor the Throne of Darkness. The real Throne of Darkness was this entire world!

    ¡°Mage Felic, what should we do...?¡± Hutton asked in a trembling voice. After all, although the first heir of the Malfa Family was talented, this would be the first time he was going to wrestle with a Legendary creature...

    ¡°Erm...¡± Lin Li smiled helplessly. ¡°I only can say: let¡¯s do this!¡± Lin Li replied after downing a bottle of potion.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Before Hutton couldplete a sentence, he saw the space around him distort. A Humerus Wyrm broke out from the void majestically with a sense of evilness and coldness. An earth-trembling growl reverberated. Instantly, death aura filled the entire world.

    ¡°Hutton, help me hold onto this...¡± Lin Li threw the Summoning Lamp over to Hutton as he cast a Levitation Spell, andnded on the back of the Humerus Wyrm gracefully. Lin Li gripped onto his Aether Staff tightly and emitted an outrageous amount of magical wave...

    ¡°L-Legendary-realm!¡± Hutton eximed in shock. His confusion made him ignore the fact that Lin Li gave him his Summoning Lamp. Hutton had always thought that the young President was on par with himself in terms of ability, and that as long as he worked harder and put in more effort, he would be able to catch up with his back view...

    However, Hutton now knew he¡¯d been utterly wrong...

    Even if it was the talented Geresco, he would never be able to enter the Legendary-realm at the crazy age of 20. If that were to spread, it would create a bigmotion in whole Anril, let alone in the Fn Kingdom. The news might even let the High Elves that had been dead for 1300 years jump out of their graves.

    Hutton felt that he was a magic talent himself. Being an Archmage in his 20s, there was 70% chance for him to reach the Legendary-realm. Even his mentor, Cheyenne, had once said that he and Stephen were the only two such young talents in the whole of Breezy ins.

    But, when Hutton watched that young President ride on the Humerus Wyrm, he could only feel his face getting warmer. If Mentor Cheyenne said he was a talent, what about this Legendary-mage who was just 20 years old?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised.¡± That was the young President. He had seen through Hutton¡¯s thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m not as powerful as you think. It was the potion...¡± Lin Li said as he flung an empty potion bottle onto the ground.

    After that, the Humerus Wyrm spread its wings and soared into the air. It was like a humongous gray cloud, hanging above the ck figure.

    ¡°The effect of a potion?¡± Hutton gasped as he bent his back to pick up the bottle the young President threw on the ground. He held it before his nose and took a sniff...

    Although Hutton was not too aplished in the study of pharmaceutics, and was not a Guru-level monster like Lin Li, he had a talent that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to imagine.

    The Malfa Family had been known for their business in the ck market. The great wealth they had umted over the century wasparable to the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s. As the first heir of the family, Hutton had lost count of the different types of potions he had drunk from a young age. Although Hutton was not an expert in pharmaceutical studies, with the personal mentorship of the Legendary-mage Cheyenne, he was still well-versed in pharmaceutical knowledge.

    He recognized the pungent smell as soon as he picked up the bottle. That was the Seethe of Mana Potion.

    ¡°It is indeed not as absurd as what I imagined...¡± Hutton put down the potion bottle slowly. He had a bitter smile on his face. How could he not know the effects of the Seethe of Mana Potion? The potion was just a simplified version of the All-Knowing Potion. The All-Knowing Potion could increase the level of a mage by a single level, and would give a level-19 Archmage the powers of a Legendary-mage.

    Aspared to the All-Knowing Potion, the effect of the Seethe of Mana Potion was much weaker. It could help expand the mana of the mage and activate his optimal potential. If the mage was lucky and his powers were close to reaching the next level, he would be able to lift his abilities to that level instantaneously.

    However, the Seethe of Mana Potion had a huge disadvantage. While the effect of a bottle of All-Knowing Potion couldst for half an hour, a bottle of the Seethe of Mana Potion could onlyst for a minute. Its effects were too short-lived.

    The only advantage of the Seethe of Mana Potion was its minimal side effects. Mages who were healthier could afford to consume a few bottles of it together, and not worry that the side effects would be detrimental to their health.

    The young President was definitely not at the Legendary-realm. However, Hutton could really not imagine the difference between a mage that entered the Legendary-realm with the help of a Seethe of Mana Potion and a mage who already was in the realm itself.

    If a mage could use the Seethe of Mana Potion to enter the Legendary-realm, it meant that he really was one step away from the realm. In reality, this was a fact that could be overlooked. As long as this Archmage wanted to invest his time, he could break into the realm any time he wished to.

    Hutton had always been very curious about the true powers of the young President. He did not stop wanting to test his abilities ever since he¡¯d met him in the ckstone Mountains, yet he was always tamed by his own fear for the President.

    Finally, Hutton had his doubts cleared...

    However, the answer made him feel utterly hopeless.

    It was the realization that he would never be able to catch up with this young guild President...

    There was an indescribable difference between an Archmage in his 20s, and a monster who had one leg in the Legendary-realm. Although it was rare to meet Archmages in their 20s in the 1300 years after the Dark Age, there were many of them in Anril now. There were at least a hundred of them in just the Breezy ins<sup>1</sup>.

    However, who had met a Legendary-realm powerhouse who was 20 years old? Even Geresco, the man who was known as the God of Mages, only reached the Legendary-realm at the age of 30. Aspared to him, this young President was exactly a decade early...

    <i>It is 10 years...!</i>

    If Geresco was really the human god he was known for, he probably woulde to the mortal world in rage after knowing someone surpassed him like that.

    Yet, why did the President chose the Seethe of Mana?

    In normal cases, if that young President wished to enter the Legendary-realm forcefully, he would need to use the All-Knowing Potion. It wouldst for half and hour, and was a more stable and powerful potionpared to the Seethe of Mana. With that, it would be sufficient for him toplete the entire battle.

    Alright, if the All-Knowing Potion only existed in legends and President Felic had absolutely no way of acquiring it, he should have the Quick-Thinking Potion. That was simrly a high-level pharmaceutical product. Although it did not have the ability to let the young President reach the Legendary-realm, the extra mana he could gain from the enhancement would be twice the amount of what he currently had. Could it be that a minute of Legendary-realm powers was far more powerful than doubling his mana?

    Yet, it was a fact that the Quick-Thinking Potion wouldst for close to an hour!

    Hutton always thought that the Seethe of Mana Potion was merely a joke. The only advantage it could bring was only the fact that somebody could drink arge amount of it in a short duration of time. But, who would be so sick to do that? The Seethe of Mana Potion was a high-level potion that might not be manufactured in the Breezy ins, and had a retail price of a dozen thousand of gold coins. Only lunatics would drink it like in water...

    ¡°What the f*ck, could that be what President Felic is thinking of?¡± A thought shed past Hutton¡¯s mind. His already pallid face became ashen.

    Just when Hutton¡¯s face was turning white, the ice me Lin Li cast while he rode on the Humerus Wyrm signaled the start of the battle...

    The moment the ice me shot out of the Wyrm¡¯s mouth, the ck figure that had been staying quiet growled as well.

    The thunderous growl cleared Lin Li¡¯s doubts. He was absolutely positive that the ck figure was not the real Lord of Darkness. Lin Li could hear from the growl that it was filled with pure killing intent. He knew that any living being¡ªregardless if it were a magical beast or a demon¡ªwould have additional emotions within their growl. These emotions included anger, hatred, fear, hesitation, and many, many more...

    Such a pure desire to kill could only prove that the ck figure before them was not only not a living being, but also not the real Lord of Darkness.

    The thought helped to calm Lin Li down...

    Although the Lord of Darkness was powerful, it had lost the intelligence of the Dragon of Destruction. That was definitely great news. An enemy that had skills but was without intelligence would never be able to maximize its potential.

    Lin Li¡¯s view was filled with the ice me that covered the sky. At the same time, there was a ring light shining through the ice me. Lin Li bent down and saw a sharp sword tearing the void...

    ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± It was Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing such a powerful sword attack. He did not even see the level-21 Sword Sage of the Storm use one like it against the Smander when he was at the Fire Plume Ridge...

    The Humerus Wyrm was a real Legendary-level Undead creature. Moreover, after it signed the summon pact with Lin Li to allow it to use Lin Li¡¯s massive mental strength, itsbat ability rose to greater heights aspared to how it¡¯d been in the Scar of Death. Although the ice me could not kill Legendary powerhouse instantaneously, Lin Li did not expect the Lord of Darkness to be able to counter it with just a sword attack.

    That was not an act of defense. That outrageous sword strike was an attack that effectively countered the ice me!

    Furthermore, things did not end after it went through the ice me. The sword aimed at the Humerus Wyrm with a chilly aura.

    Despite the fact that Lin Li entered the Legendary-realm with the help of the Seethe of Mana Potion, he could not help but let his heart skip a beat when he saw that sudden attack. It was toote to make the Humerus Wyrm dodge the sword. Lin Li proceeded to drink another bottle of the potion without further ado. At the same time, he cast three bs of ice walls...

    Ice Wall had been Lin Li¡¯smonly used spell ever since he got to level-18. Not to deny, the spell was very good defensively. Geresco cast the same spell when he appeared in the Spacetime Beacon Spell. His ability to also stay in the void demonstrated the reliability of the spells he chose to use.

    However, such a reliable spell got countered almost instantaneously. The sword of the Lord of Darkness could make many Sword Sages tremble with fear. This sword filled with killing intent created ck mes that nothing could stop. The three ice walls that Lin Li built crashed with a loud sound...

    ¡°That¡¯s powerful...¡± Lin Li gaped. Despite being mentally prepared for this, Lin Li could not help but break out in a cold sweat.

    Fortunately, the spell that was filled with killing intent and force of destruction wound down after it countered the ice me and broke the three ice walls.

    Lin Li made use of the down time to cast an Elemental Shield. However, this shield was revolving around his body. The ability to cast such a shield away from the user¡¯s body was unique to Legendary powerhouses. In reality, only Legendary-mages had the ability to partake in such a battle. Lin Li was clearly aware of this, and it was what motivated him to drink the Seethe of Mana Potion.

    Lin Li was not unaware of the effects of the All-Knowing Potion. Unfortunately, he only created one All-Knowing Potion, which he had already used it up when he was at the Scar of Death. Although the Quick-Thinking Potion was a good product, it was not feasible to use it in this situation.

    There was a high chance for the Lord of Darkness to have level-21 powers. Although he had lost his previous consciousness and intelligence, and could only rely on his killing intent and instincts to continue the battle, it was definitely not what an Archmage could give a run for his money. Despite having close to unlimited mana and tremendous mental strength, Lin Li could only have still unlimited mana and greater mental strength however he tried to enhance them. He would never be able to increase hisbat energy to the next level.

    The current situation once again testified for Lin Li¡¯s rightful decision to use the Seethe of Mana Potion.

    The Elemental Shield turned into four Sr Spheres that represented earth, water, fire, and wind. They were like a durable and firm shield in front of the Humerus Wyrm.

    At that instant, fire sparks sttered all over the space, and there was a loud ng that gave people goosebumps on their scalps. The noise sounded as though there were two thick pieces of metal scraping against each other.

    ¡°Arooo!¡± The growl of the Humerus Wyrm echoed through the entire world.

    <i>What the hell, why isn¡¯t the Lord of Souls here to usurp the throne yet? I¡¯m really losing my energy... </i>Lin Li thought as he let the wyrm dive forward. Yet, they brushed past the Lord of Darkness. Before Lin Li had time to react, he saw a deep wound on the wyrm¡¯s forehead...

    This was the way a Legendary-level battle was supposed to be¡ªmalignant. That blow was deadly to the max. Despite the presence of an Elemental Shield and three ice walls, the wyrm could still not avoid being injured. If not for the aforementioned protection, that blow would¡¯ve definitely sliced the wyrm¡¯s head apart...

    That being said...

    As a Legendary-level Undead creature, even if the strength of the Humerus Wyrm was not as great as that of the Lord of Darkness, it still had the ability to fight back. The moment the swordnded on its head, its wsnded on the body of the Lord of Darkness...

    When it was at the Scar of Death, the Humerus Wyrm could easily smash stone walls into powder with its ws. Even if the Lord of Darkness inherited the powers of the Dragon of Destruction, it would still suffer under the ws of the wyrm. That ws made the Lord of Darkness fly 100 meters away. Although it did not seem like the Lord of Darkness sustained any injury, Lin Li¡¯s sharp mental strength told him that the aura from the Lord of Darkness had weakened a little...

    The confrontation was detrimental to both parties. The crack on the head of the Humerus Wyrm would only be healed if Lin Li sought Sendros¡¯s help. Otherwise, the powers of the Humerus Wyrm would definitely decrease by a realm. On the other hand, although the state of the Lord of Darkness was slightly better, it would also be impossible for it to recover from the injuries it had suffered, either instantaneously or eternally.

    ¡°Goddammit! Do you know that you are ying with fire?¡± Connoris jumped on Lin Li¡¯s back while the two terrifying existences took a slight breather.

    ¡°I know my limits,¡± Lin Li replied, and tightened his grip on the Aether Staff. He drank his third bottle of the Seethe of Mana Potion. This meant that the battle hadsted for three minutes.

    ¡°What the f¡ª¡± Connoris held back his urge of cussing at Lin Li. ¡°Do you know who is your enemy? That is the Lord of Darkness that had governed the Abyss of Tharlen for 1000 years! It is even the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas! Do you really think you could challenge it just by relying on that hrious potion? I beg you to wake up from your dream. Not to mention that you are using a potion to enter the Legendary-realm, even if you really got into the realm naturally, you wouldn¡¯t be able to challenge that monster before having aplete Magical Domain.¡±

    ¡°I know that... But, how would that matter? I don¡¯t n of killing it with my own hands. I only want to buy some time...¡±

    ¡°Buy time? Darn it, are you crazy? Your enemy is the Lord of Darkness, and you have the Lord of Souls that could appear anytime behind you. Now is really the prime time for you to engulf the Lord of Darkness with the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Don¡¯t me me for not warning you. It would be toote for anything when the Lord of Souls arrived. Do you think the demons and magical beasts at the Abyss Arena can really be an obstacle for the Lord of Souls?¡±

    ¡°Of course not...¡± Lin Li replied, shaking his head. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m buying the time to wait for the Lord of Souls to arrive...¡± Lin Liforted Connoris by giving him a pat.

    ¡°...¡± Connoris drew a deep breath. ¡°Y-you... You are waiting for the Lord of Souls toe? Do you think that there is too little trouble...?¡±

    ¡°I always pondered this question: when the Lord of Darkness defeated Mephistos that time, why did he not kill him, or use the Permanent Suppression on him? Why did he have to insist on slicing his soul into infinite fragments and scattering them across the Abyss of Tharlen? You may not know this, but the Lord of Souls is truly an existence that could be killed and suppressed. Since the Lord of Darkness is the reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, he would have 100 ways to kill the Lord of Soulspletely. Why would he choose to destroy his soul instead of killing that beast?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, why would that matter to us? As long as we use the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction to engulf it, and return to Anril safely, all will be good. Why do you have to create so much trouble?¡±

    ¡°Connoris, are you still unclear on the situation? We wouldn¡¯t be able to leave this ce the moment the Lord of Darkness gets swallowed by the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. If I didn¡¯t guess it wrongly, the Lord of Souls should have long shrugged off the demons and magical beasts at the Abyss Arena...¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice shook. ¡°You mean...¡±

    ¡°I mean, the Lord of Souls has in fact been here for quite some time. It failed to act because of the Lord of Darkness. I dare to bet my life that Mephistos would take action the moment we use the magical crystal to swallow the Lord of Darkness. At that time, we really wouldn¡¯t have the time to regret anything. Do not forget that Mephistos does not only have the ability of a level-20 Legendary powerhouse; I wouldn¡¯t be able to survive his Soul Storm even with the help of countless Seethe of Mana Potion and the Humerus Wyrm if I didn¡¯t use my brains...¡±

    ¡°Freak! Since when did that bastard Mephistos be so sly...?¡± Connoris sulked. At this time, he could not help but admit that Lin Li¡¯s logical analysis was correct. Spirit Walkers were known to be crafty demons. As a Legendary-level Spirit Walker, Mephistos¡¯ craftiness was bound to be beyond other Spirit Walkers¡¯...

    ¡°But...¡± Connoris spoke after a short moment of silence. He had a new doubt. ¡°So what if you manage to buy enough time? Mephistos would never keep waiting forever, and the battle between you and the Lord of Darkness would definitely have a winner and loser. When the timees, wouldn¡¯t Mephistos take action as well?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you can rest assured about this... I can¡¯t promise other things, but there is something I am very confident about. As long as I can create the illusion that both parties are severely injured, and lure Mephistos out, I have 70% certainty that I can get rid of that sly fox...¡±

    ¡°What is your idea?¡±

    ¡°It is very easy...¡± Lin Li said as he smiled craftily. Just as he was about to share the secret with Connoris, he saw the ck figure that was holding a sword move. This time, the murderous vibes became stronger and heavier. Despite being a few hundred meters away from it, Lin Li knew that it was going to be a tough battle. ¡°Forget it, I will tell youter. You should help me to tackle the Lord of Darkness now, and stop patronizing me with the seal you have. You won¡¯t benefit if I¡¯m dead. I presume that the Lord of Souls would be very d to swallow the soul of an ancient deity, though...¡±

    ¡°Damn it. You win!¡± Connoris hollered through gritted teeth.

 Chapter 464 - Magical Domain

    <h4>Chapter 464: Magical Domain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Connoris¡¯ scolding did not receive a reply, for Lin Li did not want to waste any more time. The Lord of Darkness rose up again. The strong sense of Darkness and Evilness were like gray clouds that covered the sky, taking away Lin Li¡¯s breath. The ck me revolving around the sword was like a ck hole that had power to engulf anything in the void. It moved closer to the Humerus Wyrm.

    ¡°Damn it, that bastard Azardas really had nothing better to do. Why did he create such a strong reincarnation? It is his karma to be killed by the Immortal King...¡± Despite getting into the Legendary-realm with the help of the Seethe of Mana Potion, Lin Li could not help but feel the stress. The Lord of Darkness was too powerful. Every move of his sword let Lin Li break out in a cold sweat.

    That was right. Although the current Lord of Darkness did not have the intelligence of a Legendary powerhouse, or any sense of consciousness, its killing intent and instinctive skills alone made it surpass the powers of normal level-20 Sword Sages. In reality, the attack of the Lord of Darkness was without n. Every move wascking in dexterity and precision. It was no different from a low-level Warrior¡¯s.

    Even if the Lord of Darkness had such a weakness, it was still not what the current Lin Li could challenge. The power that came from the Dragon of Destruction Azardas was too inestimable. Even though itcked coordination and dexterity, it was not whatmon Sword Sages could be on par with. Just thest blow itself was sufficient to let the Humerus Wyrm risk a deadly injury...

    Lin Li cast the Elemental Shield in front of the Humerus Wyrm the moment he saw the Lord of Darkness swing its sword. It was followed by seven defensive spells¡ªFossilizing, Celestial Blessing, and Earth Armor, just to name a few... If not for Lin Li¡¯s quick casting of spells that turned the head of the Humerus Wyrm into a metal wall, the attack made by the Lord of Darkness would¡¯ve definitely inflicted another wound on the wyrm¡¯s head.

    Although the Humerus Wyrm was a Legendary Undead creature, a wound on its head could be fatal. It was lucky that the wound it suffered was just two meters in length and of a palm¡¯s width. If Sendros was willing to help when they returned, there would be an opportunity for the wound to heal. However, if it were to suffer another blow from the Lord of Darkness in the same area, it would really be a deadly one. That blow might destroy the magical crystal within the brain of the wyrm and result in immediate death. Not even the Immortal King would be able to heal the wyrm then.

    Most of the seven defensive spells were between level-10 to level-15, and were not any high-level spells. However, as they were cast by Lin Li, a counterfeit Legendary-mage, the effects were rather surprising. Although the Lord of Darkness had tremendous strength, it could only destroy six shields with its sword, and was not able to get through Earth Armor.

    Lin Li made use of this opportunity to cast another spell...

    The battle continued at a constant stunning pace. Be it Lin Li or the Lord of Darkness, none of them had a chance to take a breather. The sword of the Lord of Darkness was like a ck streak of lightning that created anxiety in Lin Li. His recitations were allpressed to their limits. He only used one syble toplete the recitation for the seven defensive spells. If one did not listen to it very carefully, he would be able to hear the seven phrases within it...

    However, this time, Lin Li used the entire paragraph of spell that had at least 20 sybles...

    That void that was filled with a magnificent spread of stars suddenly became like a sky cast with gray clouds. Snowkes poured from the sky. Under the control of Lin Li¡¯s mana, the snowkes came alive. Each of them had a unique shape, and the numerous icicles they transformed into turned into sharp weapons, dancing in the sky with the glimmer of magic. Snow that umted on the ground continued to transform into entric shapes and forms. The previous world of white ice suddenly changed into a trap that was filled with murderous vibes.

    There were snowkes that floated down by the Humerus Wyrm as it hovered in the sky of glittering stars with its wings spread wide. Lin Li stood on the back of the wyrm silently. He had his Aether Staff in his hands and was totally rid of his previous miserable state. None of the snowkesnded on Lin Li¡¯s body. It was as though there was an invisible sheet of armor on him that protected him from all the snowkes.

    The only thing that was unusual was that these snowkes did notnd on the ground, but hovered by Lin Li¡¯s side, and continued to transform into different forms...

    Ultimately, these countless snowkes changed into 100 snow monsters. Each of them had a pair of wings on its back, and was holding a long spear...

    ¡°W-what... What is that?¡± Connoris asked. As a former ancient deity, and having lived through the prehistoric times and the Dark Age, Connoris had witnessed first-hand the battles between the dragons and the titans, as well as the war between the High Elves and the humans. Connoris was one of the more knowledgeable existences left in this modern world. Yet, this being who was nearly as old as Anril World could not help but be stupefied by this situation...

    Connoris could not tell what those monsters that were created from the snow were...

    To Connoris, that was a totally unbelievable scene. This ancient deity who had been living since the prehistoric times could not help but gasp...

    If these things were only unusual in appearance, it would not be of much concern for Connoris. Yet, he was certain that these spells were at least level-18, and had a very strong aura of both light and darkness.

    ¡°That is something you have never seen...¡± Lin Li replied smilingly as he put the Holy Light and Gloomy Dark back into his pocket. ¡°I created them just now. If you like, you can call them... the Angels of Light and Dark.¡±

    ¡°A-Angels... Angels of Light and Dark?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will tell you the details when we return. What you should do now is to help me think of a way to reduce the powers of the Lord of Darkness. Damn it, I¡¯ve drunk four bottles of the Seethe of Mana Potion. Why is that bastard still so energetic? No wonder that cowardly Mephistos dares not take any action...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure, let me think of a way...¡±

    Just when the demon Connoris and the human Lin Li were chattering, Hutton, who had been standing a distance away, was dazed...

    <i>Oh my gosh, that¡¯s the Magical Domain... </i>The battle between Lin Li and the Lord of Darkness was far beyond what Hutton could interfere with. That was a battle between two Legendary powerhouses. Although Hutton was a level-18 Archmage, he knew that he would only end up with broken bones if he were to interfere.

    Therefore, Hutton had been a bystander from the beginning of the battle. It was not that he did not want to help, but that he did not have the ability to do so. The result of a battle between Legendary figures was not something an Archmage could make any impact on. It was like how an ant couldn¡¯t try to join in a weight contest between two elephants. The results would not change no matter how heavy the ant was...

    Hutton was not a fool. He knew that even if he were to go all out in such a battle, it would be impossible for him to create any positive impact on it. One magical explosion and sword attack would be sufficient to shatter all of Hutton¡¯s bones. Hence, Hutton could only hide on the side obediently and take on the bystander role, watching as Lin Li cast all the snow...

    Hutton would be able to tell that that was the force of the Magical Domain even if he was a blind man...

    To any mage, the Magical Domain would be the final magic power they acquired. When a mage stayed within the Magical Domain, he would have the ability to challenge real divinities. This was a strictw established by countless mages from 1300 years ago.

    However, it was equally difficult for Legendary-mages to master the Magical Domain. In fact, reaching the Legendary-realm was only the first step to the peak of the magic power. The road to the mastery and integration of thews would be arduous, and could take up the entire life of a mage.

    Mentor Cheyenne once told him that usually, Legendary-mages only truly acquired the Magical Domain when they were at level-21 or level-22...

    The eerie situation left Hutton¡¯s mouth wide open. He was shocked that a 20-year-old Archmage could create a Magical Domain that integrated thews of ice, light, and darkness. If he¡¯d heard of this possibility from others, he would have thought it to be an absurd joke...

    However, this joke happened right before his eyes. It carried an earth-shattering growl that pounced towards the Lord of Darkness...

    Lin Li stood on the back of the Humerus Wyrm quietly, and nced satisfyingly at the world of ice he had created.

    <i>That¡¯s right. This is a Magical Domain...</i>

    Lin Li had experienced many battles throughout his journey from the ckstone Mountains to the Abyss of Tharlen, and there were even a few battles that required him to confront Legendary powerhouses directly. The knowledge he had umted over those battles had enabled Lin Li to understand the Legendary-realm thoroughly, and he did not stop learning when he got to the Abyss of Tharlen. The sh between the Holy Light and the Dark Decay helped Lin Li understand the mysterious Magical Domains a little bit better.

    Apart from Lin Li, no one knew how meaningful that battle was. To Lin Li, it was as though he had pushed open the gate to the Legendary-realm and put one of his feet in it.

    Through that battle, Lin Li even came into contact with the secrets of Magical Domains.

    Of course, only Lin Li knew that this Magical Domain was not yetplete...

 Chapter 465 - Light and Dark

    <h4>Chapter 465: Light and Dark</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Earth, water, fire, wind, light, dark, and chaos were not only the seven main elements of Anril, but were also seven majorws. There could be numerousws that extended from each of these elements, whereas thews of three elements¡ªnamely light, dark, and chaos¡ªwere the hardest to master. The ones who could master these most fundamental rules would be as great as the five Dragon Aspects. Despite being talented and having great potential, it would be impossible for Lin Li to grasp these outrageous rules before reaching the Legendary-realm.

    In fact, it would be unlikely for him to do so even if he got into the Legendary-realm.

    By estimation, Lin Li felt that he would only be able to master these two fundamental rules<sup>1</sup> when he got closer to the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, even if he did not have the ability to grasp these two fundamental rulesprehensively, it did not mean that he could not make use of their forces. Both Holy Light and Gloomy Dark gave him great possibilities, and they were the most crucial aspect of the Stars of Fury. If the seven star debris¡ªof namely earth, water, fire, wind, light, dark, and chaos¡ªdid not exist, the Stars of Fury would merely be a strong weapon. Only thebination of the Stars of Fury with the debris of stars could let it be a true epic weapon¡ªa weapon that only existed in myths...

    Lin Li had the Stars of Fury when he was at the Endless World, and he could cast the force of any of the seven Elemental Powers and create seven miraculousws as he wished. To an extent, Lin Li was no longer a real Hunter at that time. Apart from the bow and arrow that he had with him for a long time, Lin Li still had the invincible Elemental and Rule Power.

    It was this that protected Lin Li when he was at the Well of the Sun, and allowed him to confront one of the scariest existences of Endless World¡ªthe Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, who governed over thews of Darkness and Evilness!

    That was the greatest secret of the debris of the stars...

    Lin Li was the only one who knew this secret. The living legend Sendros might have known that there was the purest Dark Force embedded within Lin Li¡¯s tiny crossbow, yet he was definitely unaware that this purest force had the ability to let a mage create a Magical Domain constructed from thews of Darkness!

    Strictly speaking, the real thing that Lin Li mastered was just one of thews of ice...

    Thew of ice was notplicated. Every mage who had just started to learn magic would be exposed to a huge pool of ice element magic. Some of the spells included the Icemist Spell and Icest, and when the mages attained a higher level, they would be able toprehend the Frost Dragon Gun and the Thousand Miles of Ice. These spells were the most direct and simplest boration on thews of ice. Years of experience would allow every mage to develop an individual interpretation of thews of ice. Hence, the mostmon Magical Domain that most mages would develop after they had reached the Legendary-realm would be rted to thews of ice.

    The reason was very simple. Thews of ice were not whatever basic rule, but a superficial variation of the rules of water. Regardless of whether it wasprehension or mastery, it could be considered as one with the least difficulty.

    That made thews of ice the least powerful among the different Magical Domains. The fact that it involved superficialws and had a simplistic structure restricted the potential for this Magical Domain to be enhanced and modified. A clever Legendary-mage would never settle on just thews of ice as his Magical Domain.

    However, it was not the case for Lin Li...

    With both the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark with him, Lin Li could borrow the mantras from either of them and integrate them into thews of ice. That would change everything.

    The enhancement to the Magical Domain made the effects that were cast a challenge for the Lord of Darkness.

    That was the current situation...

    There was a portentous killing intent within the snowy scene that could erupt anytime and would be able to engulf the Reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction.

    That was the force of a Magical Domain. Even if Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain was not yetplete, the presence of the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark was sufficient to terrify the Lord of Darkness. The force erupted instantaneously in that treacherous scene of snow. Countless icicles shot out from the void like sharp weapons. A maleficent glow of magic appeared, making everyone feel dizzy and the magical beasts and demons start growling...

    Although their bodies were all made of ice, they were no longer pure ice. Lin Li became the God-like creator of the world in the Magical Domain. The Magical Domain had given everything within it real life and energy. As long as the weapons and magical beasts were within it, they would have to adhere to all instructions he gave... at least until a greater existence broke the Magical Domain. It was like what Lin Li did to Ujfalusi when he was in Syer Town...

    Therge masses of demons and magical beasts started to rush towards the Lord of Darkness like a never-ending powerful tide. Sharpened weapons tore across the air and entrapped the terrorizing sword that Lin Li was afraid of.

    At once, there were de auras, ck mes, and ring glow of magic everywhere. It was like a mirror reflecting the sky full of glittering stars. Despite having a set of supposedly impregnable powers, the Lord of Darkness lost its ability to deal with the situation. It couldn¡¯t help it. There was too much life force within the Magical Domain that was created by the three differentws. They had enabled Lin Li to control a force that no other level-21 Legendary-mages could imagine.

    Every sword strike that the Lord of Darkness made managed to destroy magical weapons that had been icicles, as well as y the magical beasts and demons that had been integrated with snow particles. There was a continuous stream of snowkes and icicles that sted through the air with every sword stroke. Unfortunately, the Lord of Darkness met with a monster with close to unlimited mana. Under the disconcerting support of mana, the life within the Magical Domain never died down. The present Lin Li was even more spooky than Sendros who had the ability to summon Undead creatures. After all, although Sendros was like a fortress, the number of Undead creatures he could control still had a limit...

    Lin Li, however, was different. He was like the God that created a world within the Magical Domain. Everything in that world had to submit to his desires, and numbers wouldn¡¯t be an issue at all. Not to exaggerate, as long as Lin Li¡¯s mana did not get exhausted, he would be an unconquerable force within the Magical Domain.

    Although the sword of the Lord of Darkness would destroy hundreds of magical weapons, and kill dozens of magical beasts and demons in a single stroke, it was still far from adequate. The lord could only ensure that the rate at which it was killing all the enemies matched up to the rate at which Lin Li was creating those creatures and objects. The tide-like magical beasts and weapons seemed to be never-dwindling, and the magical weapons that danced in the air seemed to be ever-multiplying...

    The scariest thing was, those hundred of creatures that each had a pair of wings and a long spear in their hands¡ªthe Angels of Light and Dark that even Connoris had not met before¡ªwere still hovering behind Lin Li and not yet taking any actions...

    Although the Lord of Darkness had lost its intelligence and consciousness, and was just a creature which only knew how to destroy and kill, the instincts of a powerhouse helped him realize that those hundreds of monsters with wings and spears were the strongest magical weapons within the Magical Domain...

    The Lord of Darkness could feel that those hundreds of monsters each had the ability beyond level-18. There would be dire consequences if they were to participate in this battle.

    ¡°Damn it, Connoris! Are you really confident?¡±

    Even if the Lord of Darkness had had both intelligence and consciousness, it wouldn¡¯t have expected the human mage who was already gaining an upper hand to be more anxious than itself.

    Lin Li might be the only one who knew how anxious he was. It was impossible to continue to borrow force from the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark. Both of them were the most basic rules of Anril. Any real Legendary-mages who wanted to get ahold of them would require invincible powers. As somebody who was still a step away from the Legendary-realm, it would be impossible for him to sustain his powers.

    In reality, Lin Li risked the bite of mana each time he borrowed the Light and Dark Force. That was no joking matter. The bite of mana was as scary as floods and monsters. A little bit of carelessness would result in the copse of mana for any mage. The reason for Lin Li¡¯s good condition was his massive mental strength. He had been using this huge pool of mental strength to suppress the bite of mana. There would be great trouble when he lost the control of the mental suppression...

    Furthermore, the Legendary skills Lin Li had was a temporary fleet he acquired from the Seethe of Mana Potion. Although Lin Li was not stingy in the use of such a high-level potion, there was still a limit to all the drinking. Despite having an enormous space within the Ring of Endless Storm, it would be unreasonable to fill it with the Seethe of Mana Potions when each of the bottles would onlyst him for a minute. Anybody would be too shocked to know anyone who could drink these bottles like in water...

    In fact, Lin Li had only brought along 30 bottles of the potion. If he failed to resolve all the mess after he finished the 30 bottles, Lin Li would have bad luck.

    It might have seemed that Lin Li was gaining an upper hand in the battle, but he knew that he was in an extremely precarious state. He would only have 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, he could only submit to fate...

 Chapter 466 - Ancient Demon Language

    <h4>Chapter 466: Ancient Demon Language</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Goddammit, stop rushing me!¡± Connoris snapped at Lin Li. Actually, the ancient deity would have sensed the urgency of the situation without Lin Li saying anything. But, what could he do? He was not an ancient deity anymore. In fact, he was just a pathetic soul that had been sealed by Osric...

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to rush you...¡± Lin Li smiled helplessly as he stood on the back of the Humerus Wyrm. ¡°But, I can only urge you on... Hey, almighty Soul Trader, can you do something about this? How could you not have a way to weaken the powers of the Lord of Darkness? What about your spells that are written in the ancient Demon Language? You can just recite any of them. I just need your help to weaken the Lord of Darkness by a little, and I would be able to create the illusion of both parties suffering a great injury...¡±

    ¡°What on earth are you saying? Recite any of them?¡± Connoris nearly jumped on Lin Li¡¯s back in rage. Damn it, what was this fe thinking of the demonic runes? Were they white cabbage that could be sold by weight? Although Connoris was a bona fide ancient deity, how could he have retained his strong powers when all the High Elves had been turned into the dust of history? If it were before, why would a Lord of Darkness matter? As long as the Dragon of Destruction did not descend, he would have the ability to smash the Lord of Darkness with a finger...

    ¡°You really have no idea?¡±

    ¡°Let me think...¡± Connoris muttered under his breath, and stayed silent for a moment. He was racking his brain, trying toe up with a way to deal with the Lord of Darkness.

    ¡°F*ck you! I knew that you couldn¡¯t be trusted...¡± Lin Li cussed. He had no other choice but to continue to raise his mental strength to suppress the threat of the bite of mana, and continued to empty more potion bottles like in water.

    The mana within him continued to stir, and Lin Li felt as though his organs were stirring as well. The sense of dizziness and nauseousness came in waves, and the pain from exerting too much mental strength was like countless needles pricking his brain. There was even a moment that Lin Li felt like he was going to die. People who had not experienced it would never know how horrifying it felt to have to depend on potions to raise their magic powers and exert their mental strength to suppress the bite of mana...

    Time trickled by. The Lord of Darkness was like a ughtering machine that would never get exhausted. Its sharp sword that carried zing ck mes was like the scythe of a Grim Reaper as it continued to destroy Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain. There were numerous lives being destroyed and numerous lives being created at every point in time, and it was as though the two Legendary powerhouses were battling on a thin thread...

    At this time, it was not a contest that celebrated whoever that would win, but rather whoever could endure longer...

    Being an invincible force within the Magical Domain he created, Lin Li would stay uninjured as long as his Magical Domain did not copse. With the powers of the Dragon of Destruction, the lord was an insurmountable presence. With the force of the Abyss of Tharlen entering the body of the lord consistently, it would never get exhausted.

    That battle was fated tost.

    The fact that Lin Li had the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction but could not use it to swallow the Lord of Darkness was insulting. After all, the Lord of Darkness was merely a form of energy. The body of the Dragon of Destruction could be engulfed instantaneously without the Dragon Crystal, regardless if it was the dragon horn or bones. It couldn¡¯t be helped. His unjust fate was determined the very moment the Dragon of Destruction sent his reincarnation to Tharlen. Being the main body of the Lord of Darkness, the Dragon of Destruction could withdraw the force any time he wished.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li would never dare to do that...

    Mephistos was hiding in the shadows, and could appear anytime. His sole reason for not doing that was only out of fear of the Lord of Darkness. The Lord of Darkness had to have a certain way to control Mephistos. Otherwise, the terrible Mephistos would not be that afraid of him.

    Hence, Lin Li had to create an illusion that both the Lord of Darkness and himself were greatly injured, misleading Mephistos into thinking that neither of them had the ability to threaten him... Lin Li had yet to send the 100 Angels of Light and Dark onto the battlefield as he was worried he might lose his final card. If both the Lord of Darkness and himself were to be really worn out, that would be a great advantage for Mephistos...

    Lin Li had already drunk his 20th Seethe of Mana Potion. After feeling the number of potion bottles left in his pocket, his expression turned awful. ¡°Oh gosh, trouble is really huge...¡±

    Just when Lin Li was hesitating whether not to use the Dragon Crystal to swallow the Lord of Darkness before he proceeded to gamble with Mephistos, Connoris suddenly jumped on his back.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it! I¡¯ve got it!¡±

    Since he acquired the hammer from the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li had never felt that the demon that was full of lies could be so adorable. Tears welled up in Lin Li¡¯s eyes as soon as he heard Connoris¡¯ voice. All of his bbering turned into a single sentence in that very moment...

    ¡°Goddammit, speak!¡±

    ¡°...¡± Connoris might be the only ancient deity who had ever suffered a scolding. His heavy panting managed to help him suppress his urge to return the scolding to Lin Li. ¡°I can tell you the method, but you have to promise not to spread this word to anyone. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be any more demons in the entire Tharlen...¡± Connoris spoke in a negotiatory tone.

    ¡°What could be so powerful?¡±

    ¡°It is a paragraph of demonic runes that had been passed down from the prehistoric times, otherwise known as the ancient Demon Language. I¡¯m not very sure who was the creator of thisnguage, though. I¡¯d only vaguely heard that its creator might be the father of us, the 99 ancient deities...¡±

    ¡°Are you certain that it is not the mother?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, that is just a salutation!¡± Connoris snapped angrily. He could not help it. No matter how astute and shrewd Connoris was, he would not allow people to make such jokes. ¡°To the demons in the Endless Abyss, this paragraph of demonic runes is like a sharpened sword hanging above their heads. If it dropped, it would mean doomsday to all of the demons in the Endless Abyss. During the prehistoric times, the 99 ancient deities had sworn together not to divulge this paragraph of the demonic runes to external parties... Alright, although I¡¯ve not seen myself as an ancient deity since a long time ago, I still do not wish that a human mage could make use of this demonic rune to create havoc in the Endless Abyss for my kind...¡±

    ¡°Sure...¡± Lin Li replied in a grave tone as he put away his earlier trickster figure. This had to be the concept of provincialism. No matter how many years had passed, and how many things had happened, it would be impossible to remove that sense of homesickness and nostalgia for his birth ce. Connoris¡¯ words made Lin Li think of that familiar world he came from...

    ¡°I hereby swear that if I were to divulge this paragraph of demonic runes, I will never be able to progress in the field of magic in my whole life!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it...¡± Connoris sounded very satisfied. To a mage, there would be no other vow that could be as serious. Every mage had the ambition to progress to a higher realm and attain greater magic powers. The failure to improve in the field of magic would be more terrifying than death for any mage.

    ¡°So, can you tell me what demonic runes they are faster? I¡¯m really not going tost if there is any more dy. I¡¯m not sure what that bastard lord consumed not to feel any exhaustion. If this continues, I¡¯ll really have to use the Dragon Crystal...¡± Lin Li urged Connoris as he touched thest two bottles of the Seethe of Mana Potion in his pocket. He had no time to waste.

    ¡°Do you think you can understand what I tell you when you don¡¯t know the ancient Demon Language? The only way now is to open your mental strength entirely and let me transfer this paragraph of demonic runes into it.¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Connoris¡¯ request made Lin Li hesitate. For a mage, opening his mental strength was a very dangerous action. He had to risk being controlled by Connoris. Even if the intruder¡¯s mental strength was not powerful enough to control the mind of a mage entirely, it might still leave behind a trap to prevent the mage from perfecting his mental strength and making further progress in the field of magic. Unless there was absolute trust involved, no mage would expose his mental strength to otherspletely.

    However, the situation now required him to open his mental strength to receive the demonic runes. If not, he had to utilize the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction and face Mephistos¡¯ sneak attack directly. Having been left with two bottles of the Seethe of Mana Potion, Lin Li really had no confidence to face Mephistos as a level-19 Archmage...

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Lin Li agreed after weighing the pros and cons of both sides. He gritted his teeth and chose to believe Connoris. After all, he had little choice left. He could only decide between waiting for death with closed eyes and gambling on his luck...

    Lin Li did not like to gamble, but if it was required for him to make crucial decisions, his readiness to gamble would surpass anyone else¡¯s.

    Lin Li did not give himself any room for regret. He opened his mental strength immediately after replying to Connoris. Even an ancient deity like Connoris could not help but admire how swiftly Lin Li made his decision to expose his vast sea of mental strength...

    Lin Li could feel a wave of obscure ideas rushing into his mind like a tide. There were countless pictures and information that overwhelmed Lin Li. Despite having a powerful mental strength to begin with, Lin Li had no ability to understand all the data. He could only ept the information passively.

    <i>The ancient Demon Language is reallyplex. It is indeed an ancient script worthy of being next to the ancient Dragon and Titan Language...</i>

    Lin Li could not help but feel amazed by all the information. Although the ancient Demon Language was not known to humans, any knowledgeable mage would know that it was one of the three most powerful ancient scripts of Anril. Each and every rune conveyed invincible powers.

    If the High Elves Print was the most appropriatenguage to record the magic spells, the Dragon Language and Titan Print that were more ancient than it had to be magic spells per se. Both of them were even stronger than magic spells.

    It was a dream of every mage to learn the three ancient scripts. The mastery of these scripts would render all spells and gestures useless. Each and every rune within the scripts had infinite powers. Anyone would be able to cast Legendary-level spells instantaneously with just a few sybles...

    And now, what Lin Li was learning was one of these three scripts<sup>1</sup>, the ancient Demon Language!

    Although it was a short paragraph, it was sufficient for a man who was about to break into the Legendary-realm. After he reached that stage, he would have all the time to study thenguage. As long as he had enough patience and precision in the research, and had the advice from the formal ancient deity, Connoris, he would be able to derive the entire ancient Demon Language. When that time came, anyplicated or difficult magic spells would pose zero challenge to him.

    Would there be any other fatal temptation to a mage who was in pursuit of higher powers?

    It was this reason that motivated Lin Li to open his mental strength to risk a mission he had no confidence in. If he were to lose the gamble, he could drag Connoris down to hell with him. If he were to win it, however, not only could he resolve all problems before him, he could also gain an opportunity to learn the ancient Demon Language. Lin Li, who had always been cautious, could never resist this temptation.

 Chapter 467 - Legendary-Realm

    <h4>Chapter 467: Legendary-Realm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not like to gamble in the past, because there was ack of sufficient temptation. This time, the temptation was huge enough...

    Lin Li definitely would not expect that just when he was feeling overwhelmed by all the ancient Demon Language, the former ancient deity, Connoris, was also feeling overwhelmed by Lin Li¡¯s vast mental strength. When he was transmitting the demonic runes through his mental strength to Lin Li, Connoris developed a new fear of that man...

    The moment when the two¡¯s mental strength integrated let Connoris feel like a small boat sailing in the vast ocean. Despite having his usualposure, Connoris could not help but feel confusion he had never experienced. It was like he had lost his way and was without a sense of direction...

    At that instant, Connoris was very grateful to have resisted his vile temptation...

    As a soul, it would be a much awaited opportunity for Connoris if there was a powerful Archmage willing to open his mental strength entirely. He could use the chance to gain control of the Archmage and take over his body. This body would be more useful and better than what the Eternal Furnace could create. To Connoris, Lin Li¡¯s offer was filled with temptation.

    Connoris did not know how that thought appeared in his mind. However, Connoris gave up on the intention so quickly that he did not know why he did that...

    Connoris started to feel really fortunate...

    He was lucky for not giving in to that temptation. If not, there would be dire consequences. There weren¡¯t any ancient deities in the Prehistoric Age who could challenge such powerful mental strength. One could only describe the mental strength of Lin Li as horrifying. It was not what any being¡ªeven God¡ªcould take over, not to mention control. Even if one wished to leave a trap in his mental strength, they would be repelled immediately. When that happened, even if Lin Li¡¯s mental strength¡¯s was totally exposed, he would have a way to drag Connoris to hell with him.

    In the end, the Soul Trader was a businessman. True businessmen would pursue mutual benefits, and notmit themselves to a deed that wouldn¡¯t be advantageous to the parties involved...

    The thought of that encouraged Connoris to loosen the knot of that mental strength package and release the paragraph of the demonic runes into Lin Li¡¯s mental strength.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    At that moment, Lin Li thought he heard a loud ng. Yet, it was as though he had not heard it too. There were too many things going on in his mind. Suddenly, the world became silent. It was as though the snowkes in the air and the stars in the sky had quieted down. The crazy winds stopped howling, the snowkes stopped dancing, and the ck mes stopped burning. Lin Li could feel that even time had stopped trickling...

    Lin Li opened his eyes slowly, and used a renewed gaze to look at the world before him. Nothing changed, but it felt as though everything had be full of vicissitudes.

    The Humerus Wyrm was still the Humerus Wyrm, and the Lord of Darkness was still the Lord of Darkness. But, they were not as inessible to Lin Li as before.

    Lin Li tried to mutter a spell. He felt a never-ending stream of Legendary-level energy...

    ¡°This can¡¯t be...¡± Lin Li suddenly felt something was amiss. He had finished thest bottle of the Seethe of Mana Potion, but...

    <i>Why is the Legendary power still within me? And it has be stronger and more real. Could it be...</i>

    ¡°I know. It is the Legendary-realm. The Legendary-realm...¡± Lin Li repeated his words. Then, he looked at the Lord of Darkness below him and smiled suddenly.

    ¡°You have finally reached the Legendary-realm...¡± That was Connoris, the former ancient deity. His tone was sour and riddled with jealousy. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Despite being an ancient deity that was born with tyrannical powers, Connoris would require a long time before he could reach the Legendary-realm. Yet, the human mage 20 years old had already acquired a set of powers desired by countless demons. An ancient deity like Connoris could not help but feel envious of Lin Li who could reach the realm at such an age...

    ¡°I should thank you instead.¡± Lin Li was right. If not for Connoris, he would still need quite a few days or a month to reach the Legendary-realm. After all, that integration between their mental strength was not as simple as a lesson about demonic runes. Although its duration was short, Connoris¡¯s memory and knowledge were transmitted into Lin Li¡¯s mind through mental strength. That memory and knowledge belonged to an ancient deity, and the message within it would never be whatmon mages could imagine.

    Of course, this was closely rted to how Lin Li reached the Legendary-realm. Before this, he was already extremely close to the realm. When he acquired Connoris¡¯s memory and knowledge, it would only be reasonable for him to achieve it...

    ¡°Alright, it is time to discuss things with the Lord of Darkness...¡± Having acquired the demonic runes from Connoris and reached the Legendary-realm unexpectedly, Lin Li was extremely confident regarding the rest of the battle. He was certain that both the Lord of Darkness and the Lord of Souls were going to be his prizes from Tharlen.

    As Lin Li raised the Aether Staff slowly like a g of an army, the 100 Angels of Light and Dark spread their wings. Snowkes fell from the sky as they raced towards the Lord of Darkness...

    The entrance of the Angels of Light and Dark transformed the stagnating battle.

    Before this, the Lord of Darkness still had a chance to escape despite being cornered by his enemies. However, things changed when the Angels of Light and Dark made their entrance. After all, although these angels seemed a little frail, each of them was created with thews of light and dark. They were the strongest life force within the Magical Domain. The sharpened magical weapons and vicious demons and magical beasts were nothingpared to them.

    These angels were at least level-18, and their energy would never dwindle as long as they stayed within the Magical Domain. If Lin Li¡¯s mana could be sustained, they could continue their battle until the Magical Domain copsed...

    Theirbat strategy was akin to that of the Azteks. They had almighty physical strength that could give anyone goosebumps, and the movements of their spears were as orderly as a well-trained troop¡¯s. They were a challenge to the Lord of Darkness. Most importantly, these Angels of Light and Dark would be ready to pounce fearlessly onto the lord as soon as they got injured. What followed would be a loud eruption of the force of light and dark. The impact would be even greater than that of the Live Bombs of the Azteks...

    The Azteks and their Live Bombs were what inspired Lin Li. Dark and light were originally two types of mantras. What Lin Li did was just merge Gloomy Dark with Holy Light forcefully. When the two forces exploded, their impact would surely be more powerful than that of the Live Bombs...

    Even if the Lord of Darkness gained its powers from the Dragon of Destruction, and even if it could absorb unlimited powers from the stars and void, it could not help but feel pressured by the Angels of Light and Dark. It could not help it. There were hundreds of level-18 monsters that were both unafraid of death and never exhausted. To a Legendary powerhouse, they were extremely threatening enemies. Furthermore, there was a Lin Li who had really acquired abilities from the Legendary-realm...

    And that was not the most fatal issue...

    To the Lord of Darkness, it was the spell that human mage was reciting...

    The spell was obscure and short. Although it only contained mere 18 sybles, the recitation of it made the lord who only knew to kill shriek in fear...

    This was the first time any emotions appeared in the shrieks of the Lord of Darkness... Of course, it could very well be thest time...

    Lin Li held the Aether Staff tightly. His long ck robe was pping violently and noisily due to the crazy winds. Each of the 18 demonic runes Lin Li spat carried massive and mysterious energy from the prehistoric times. Every rune was like a nail that nailed the Lord of Darkness in his coffin securely!

    Finally, the Lord of Darkness let out a heart-rending growl. A sense of hopelessness reverberated across the entire world...

    What followed was the melting of the thick snow that had been umted. Snowkes stopped dancing, and the entire world returned to its original state. There was the pathway that was filled with corpses and treasures, and the sky filled with bright shining stars. The Humerus Wyrm descended and brought the pallid Lin Li down slowly. The Lord of Darkness knelt on the ground with a knee and stuck its powerful sword into the ground to support its frail body...

    That once formidable Lord of Darkness lost its former ruthlessness. It became like a helplessmb at its feet, and was subjected to its butchers.

    That paragraph of demonic runes was scarier than metal wires and chains. It had the ability to restrain souls. As long as it was a demon from the Abyss of Tharlen, it would never be able to escape this force that existed since the prehistoric times. Even if it was a reincarnation of the Dragon of Destruction, the Lord of Darkness was no exception...

    The Lord of Darkness had lost all of hisbat energy. Lin Li would be able to erase it from this world if he wanted.

    However, Lin Li was not much better off than the lord. His face was white, and his massive magic waves had been reduced to the minimum after creating the Magical Domain and casting the demonic runes. Anyone who saw him would have thought that this young mage had depleted hisst bit of strength...

    Of course, no one would know that when Lin Li stepped down from the back of the Humerus Wyrm, the hammer on his back actually jumped.

    ¡°He¡¯s here. Mephistos is here...¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Lin Li acknowledged Connoris¡¯s words cautiously. In fact, he had seen Mephistos the moment Connoris jumped on his back. There was a sudden distortion in the void. A creature with two horns on his head, a body covered with scales, and a long tail appeared. He sneaked into the world constructed by void and stars silently like a ghost...

 Chapter 468 - Who is the backstabber?

    <h4>Chapter 468: Who is the backstabber?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Lord of Darkness that¡¯d been so overbearing was now like an old dying dog, using a sword to prop up its body. Its mouth was letting out reluctant roars, but it seemed as powerless as mumblings of somebody about to die. As for Lin Li, the cause of everything, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. The magical wave on his body was as weak as a candlelight that was about to be extinguished in the wind.

    As long as one was not blind, they could see that both sides were undoubtedly injured. At such a time, nobody would even suspect that Lin Li was faking anything. In fact, to achieve mutual destruction with the Lord of Darkness was already something that made people feel ridiculous. Even those old men that had entered the Legendary-realm for a long time might not able to achieve this.

    Everyone would be greedy. If greed was steered properly, it would be motivation. Otherwise, it would be a sin that destroyed themselves. Even Hutton, who was just watching from the sidelines, could not help but feel moved when he saw this scene. But when he thought of Stephen was left behind in the arena, he could not help but be in a dilemma. The budding greed within Hutton instantly vanishedpletely. Of course, he quickly rejoiced that he did not take any action, because the person that was the most qualified to benefit from this had appeared.

    In the world of void and stars, a certain section of space was contorting without a sound. It was like the surface of water that a rock was thrown into. An inhuman existence had submerged into this world within the ripples. With this, a powerful aura that made people shudder had appeared.

    The Lord of Souls, Mephistos, had once lost the battle for reign over the Abyss of Tharlen. This poor thing had been bombarded till his soul was suppressed from all directions. But now, nobody dared to rte ¡°poor thing¡± to him.

    His head had two horns that were curved and threaded. He had a tall forehead and deeply set eyes. The rims of his eyes were peerlessly ck. The closely woven scales were made indistinct by the cyan-colored soul mes that surrounded him. Just like most Demons, there was a pair of gigantic wings growing on his back. It was just that the wings were enveloped by the soul mes as well, and seemed to be constantly burning. Although the long tail was not thick and muscr, it was serrated till the end. An average person would not be able to handle a hit.

    ¡°It¡¯s been 1,300 years. I¡¯ve long waited for this day. I can finally take back what belongs to me!¡± Mephistos, who showed his whole body, threw his head back and roared as though he was venting.

    It was definitely a pleasant moment for anybody that was suppressed for more than 1,000 years. Excitement and agitation... All sorts of feelings inteced when the wait of 1,300 years to reap rewards had finally ended. This made the soul mes that enveloped his body flicker constantly.

    ¡°Me... Mephistos...¡± Hutton covered his mouth forcefully, fearing that any noise would attract Mephistos¡¯ attention. His current mood was like he had just ced his clothes in the sun to dry after the rain but another rain cloud overshadowed the sunpletely. Despair, especially despair that came after hope, was something unbearable that was far beyond anybody¡¯s tolerance.

    Now, he could only fight, but could he win? Hutton turned around and saw the feeble Mage Felic. Could it be that this miracle creator in his eyes could create even more miracles?

    Up till this point, Hutton suddenly thought of everything he had experienced since entering the Abyss. How could they be pleasant scenes if not for this young president that was constantly creating miracles? Thinking about this point, he could not help but be in a dilemma again. It was as though everything that happened was unexinable to him¡ªexcept for encountering the Azteks. Be it locating the Throne of Darkness or going through the Ancient Arena, and then the encounter with the overwhelming Lord of Darkness, if it were not because of this Mage Felic, it was as though he would not have aplished anything. The arrangement that the family had passed down was not like a treasure passed down to future generations, but instead more like a trap with no way out.

    ¡°Grrrr!¡± Mephistos let out a roar that echoed in the whole space, and the soul me covering his body was restrained. ¡°Lord of Darkness, have you already be so useless? You actually got beaten up to yourst breath by a little mage that had just entered the Legendary-realm!¡± Seeing the current state of this enemy that had suppressed him for 1,300 years, his heart was indescribably ted.

    It was as though the Lord of Darkness understood the mockery within Mephistos¡¯ words, for it dragged its body and replied with a furious roar. It was just that when it was heard by Mephistos, that roar no longer had any threat. It was just so amusing andical.

    ¡°Little human mage, you really prepared a decent gift for me.¡± Cyan soul mes appeared on both Mephistos¡¯ hands. He turned his face slight and looked at the feeble Lin Li. Everything was progressing smoothly, and it was all within Mephistos¡¯ calctions. Originally, he nned to let them weaken the Lord of Darkness by a bit and save himself some strength. He had not thought that this young human mage would¡¯ve actually fought with the Lord of Darkness till both were worn out, and all he needed to do now was to reap the rewards.

    Reaping rewards was the most exciting thing, especially after waiting for a millennium. Especially so when he could collect the rewards without doing anything¡ªjust like now. ¡°Lord of Darkness, you¡¯ve humiliated me 1,300 years ago. Now, it is time for me to return the favor. Your soul shall enjoy eternal sorrow and pain within the storm!¡± Mephistos brutally roared and pped the soul mes in his hands furiously. Immediately, a wave was produced in the space.

    The soul me was like thunderclouds covering the entire sky above everybody¡¯s head. The cyan mes burned the void overhead. Actually, none of this could be seen by the naked eye, but it was reflected in the audience¡¯s souls. With that, there was a suffocating pressure and a soul-tearing pain.

    Nobody thought that the Lord of Souls, Mephistos, would be so impatient. He actually did not investigate further, and used a powerful spell even though he was facing two enemies that were heavily wounded to try settle things within the shortest time.

    ¡°Roar! Offer your souls and be my, the almighty Lord of Souls Mephisto¡¯s, strength. This is the highest honor I confer to you!¡± Mephistos excited roar and the cyan fiery clouds in the sky produced a giant vortex. The tearing force became even more irresistible.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The final hope in Hutton¡¯s heart had beenpletely shattered by the descent of the Soul Storm. That pain of soul being torn apart made him curl up on the ground. All of the muscles in his body were tense, shivering while waiting for the final moment to arrive.

    <i>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s really over this time.</i> Fear and despair took over Hutton¡¯s whole mind, and he suddenly felt powerless. Facing the battle of the Legendary level, he was too weak, weak like an ant that was constantly stomping on an elephant¡¯s head. The elephant wouldn¡¯t even notice its existence...

    ¡°Hey, stop acting. If you continue acting, we are all goners!¡± Connoris shouted at Lin Li in panic. His hopes of escaping were resting on this kid¡¯s shoulders. If he were to be finished, Connoris would definitely not have a good ending when he ended up in Mephistos¡¯ hands.

    Lin Li, too, was suffering under the Soul Storm, but he had to wait for an opportunity¡ªan opportunity to make a move. Whether this opportunity was correctly grasped by him could be said to be the most crucial part of this n. If there were any slight mistake, it would end in self-destruction. The current Lin Li was now like walking on a tightrope. On his left was the Lord of Darkness, and on his right was Mephistos. If everything proceeded smoothly, then there¡¯d be nothing to discuss. But if anything were to go wrong, Lin Li would definitely die without leaving any remnants even if he now had Legendary-realm powers. The battle between Legendary powerhouses was too dangerous. Every move had a cataclysmic power. To enter the vortex without ample preparation was no different from courting death...

    The Lord of Darkness roared continuously, venting the anger and unwillingness within. However, that level-18 curse made from demonic runes was like 10,000 mountains crushing its body, making it impossible for it to stand straight. It could only allow Mephistos¡¯ Soul Storm wreak havoc above it.

    Mephistos had been suppressed for 1,300 years, so his powers were far from his peak¡¯s. Other than taking back the position of the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, it was more important for him to regain his powers. In his eyes, the Lord of Darkness that had been severely injured by Lin Li was the best source of power. If he devoured the Lord of Darkness¡¯ soul, not only would it immediately replenish his strength, but he would also master thews of darkness, allowing his power topletely change.

    Mephistos shifted the eye of the Soul Storm to the Lord of Darkness while holding onto this thought. The two human mages were irrelevant to him. Even if one of them had already reached the Legendary-realm, the Lord of Darkness was better whenpared.

    The Soul Storm was wreaking havoc in between the void and stars. Light, Darkness, and Ice. The magical domain created by three magical elements was like a cottage shaking and crumbling in a storm. Mephistos¡¯ powers grew stronger and stronger. Every swirl of the Soul Storm was directed at the depths of the soul. This was a fatal test for any living being. Even with Lin Li¡¯s strength, he could only desperately raise his mental strength to protect the Soul Brand.

    For a mage at Lin Li¡¯s realm, forcibly raising mental strength was already something very harmful. Every time hepressed, his mental strength, it would bring great harm to his body. Such harm would require a lot of time to recover from.

    But Lin Li had no choice. If he were not to be desperate at this time, he would no longer have a chance to when Mephistos hadpletely swallowed the Soul Brand.

    The Soul Storm was like a vortex in the sea, deep and gloomy yet irresistible. Initially, it only covered an area of 100 meters, but as Mephistos¡¯ powers grew, the area of the Soul Storm grewrger. In just under 10 seconds, the raging Spiritual Force had already covered the whole world constructed by the stars and the void.

    ¡°What the hell...¡± Connoris¡¯ voice was filled with panic. A being like himself that had survived for countless eons, he would be beyond redemption if his Soul Brand had beenpletely consumed.

    ¡°Its over...¡± The distant Hutton¡¯s face grew pale. The powerful Spiritual Force was like a chain that locked down Hutton¡¯s body. He could not even summon the strength to cast a low-level spell at this time. The only thing he could do was look at Mephistos wreaking havoc with a face full of despair.

    But for Lin Li, this overwhelming Soul Storm made him see a dawn of victory.

    ¡°Now!¡± Lin Li¡¯s acutely sensed the change in the Soul Storm. When Mephistos¡¯ ced its center on the Lord of Darkness, Lin Li furiously released the bindings fettering the Lord of Darkness.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Lord of Darkness¡¯s body immediately be light. The powers that disappeared re-emerged in its body. This happy feeling that enveloped it made it roar into the sky. It stood up while making use of this opportunity, and the sword in its hand was raised again.

    If it was a mentally sound person, the target with the highest priority would be the one that threatened him the most. In this case, it would be Lin Li that grasped the ancient demonic runes that could suppress the Lord¡¯s powers. However, the current Lord of Darkness was a killing machine running on basic instincts. It could not be reasoned with. Whoever was attacking it would have to suffer its rage. Thus, Mephistos who was trying to swallow it became the biggest target in its eyes.

    ¡°What!?¡± Mephistos saw the Lord of Darkness stand up. Coupled with the tragic experiences of the past, it immediately gave him a shock, but he calmed down after a while. He would not imagine that Lin Li was using the ancient demonic runes to suppress the Lord of Darkness. He only thought that the Lord of Darkness used some sort of desperate means to recover a bit of strength.

    ¡°Stop struggling, your powers belong to me!¡± he shouted hideously. The soul mes on his body abruptly erupted. The vortex in the Soul Storm became smaller throughpression, but the soul tearing power became stronger, and it was directed at the head of the Lord of Darkness.

    The Lord of Darkness was inside the Soul Storm, but its majestic body did not move. Its destructive aura constantly rose, and the sword in its hand was umting terrifying power.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The Lord of Darkness¡¯ cataclysmic strike shed at Mephistos¡¯ Soul Storm. With this strike, Mephistos¡¯plexion finally changed. The destruction it brought reminded him of an identical strike that had shattered his soul 1,300 years ago.

    Even though the destruction this time was not like before, this heaven-splitting strike split apart Mephistos¡¯ Soul Storm from within.

    ¡°Sh*t, you actually plotted against me with a human!¡± Mephistos yelled in exasperation. At the same time, he lifted both his fists and the soul fire on his body abruptly exploded. ¡°I want to trap your soul and use the Soul Fire to burn it for thousands of years!¡±

    Seeing that the Lord of Darkness and Mephistos were fighting each other and causing loud booms as their bodies moved, Lin Li finally let out a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Hehe, they are fighting. Although the Lord of Darkness isn¡¯t as powerful as before, there shouldn¡¯t be any issues for it to fight against Mephistos, who had been suppressed for over 1,000 years, on its home grounds.¡± Connoris sheepishlyughed. As Lin Li¡¯s aplice, seeing that notoriously cunning Lord of Souls Mephistos falling into Lin Li¡¯s trap gave him a sense of achievement.

    Lin Li did not carry on the conversation. Although he was still pale, he was constantly watching the battle between the two rulers¡ªpast and present¡ªof the Abyss of Tharlen. Such a scene was not something that could be seen every day. The two powerhouses¡ªeven though one had lost all reason, and the other had his shattered soul sealed for 1,300 years¡ªweren¡¯t something that an average Legendary-realm powerhouse couldpare to.

 Chapter 469 - The one with the last laugh

    <h4>Chapter 469: The one with thestugh</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li reached the Legendary-realm at the age of 20. In the aspect of magical talent, he could be said to be a genius among geniuses. Many people evenpared him to Geresco. However, there was one thing that was not rted to talent involved, and that was experience. In fact, the amount of time that Lin Li had spent practicing magic was also used for umting experience. This included individual research as well as learning from people like Andoine, Old Grimm, and Apophis. One should know that these people had easily researched magic for at least 100 years. Apophis was even an old monstrosity that had lived for over 1,000 years. In terms ofbat experience, it was simply more than many people that had experienced eating and battling with masters ever enjoyed, and it was also one of important avenues where he gathered experience.

    How could Lin Li, who grew up this way, not know that witnessing a high-level battle was important for improving his own abilities?

    The battle of the two rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen undoubtedly was at a genuinely high level. For Lin Li, the potential benefits that this battle brought about would definitely be better than his researching magical techniques in solitude for months.

    Hutton, who was already prepared to die, wiped off the sweat on his face. His body was already drenched in sweat. He nced at the two rulers of the abyss, and turned his bewildered face to look at Lin Li. He could not describe what exactly he was feeling. He just inwardly screamed, <i>Could it be that this was also his n? If it is so, then that man is simply too terrifying, be it his schemes or abilities!</i>

    President Felic was a person that could not be made an enemy even if he could not be a friend. Hutton thought of his worthless brother, and could not help but feel hatred. <i>If it was not because of the issues he¡¯d caused, I would be able to be closer with this Mage Felic by quite a bit just from this expedition into the Abyss. Seems like I¡¯ll have to teach that worthless fellow a lesson when I return before he causes a disaster for our family one day.</i>

    During the battle between the rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen, the whole space was constantly shaking, and the shes of energy produced ear-rupturing explosions. It was just that during this constant shing, the cyan soul mes of Mephistos looked like snow slowly melting under the rays of the sun.

    ¡°Damn. I¡¯m not convinced, I¡¯m not convinced!¡± Mephistos¡¯ roars tore through the entire space. It was just a few exchanges, and the soul mes on his body dimmed considerably already. He could not understand why the Lord of Darkness would scheme with a human mage against him.

    Mephistos gathered all of his strength, and his entire body was like a sun radiating cyan light. Now, it was no longer an issue of reaping rewards. Facing the pressure of the Lord of Darkness, he no longer had a way to retreat. Only by fighting with all of his might would there be a way out.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Lord of Darkness let out an angry roar. It did not give a single chance for its opponent to catch his breath as the sword in its hand shed at Mephistos. It was a single cataclysmic strike that seemed enough to destroy the whole space, and itnded heavily on Mephistos.

    Time seemed to have stood still for a moment, and afterward came a loud ¡°boom¡±. Mephistos¡¯ body was like a shattered mirror, and he was once again sted into smithereens.

    ¡°Hutton, I¡¯ll leave these fragments to you. Use the Summoning Lamp to collect them. Not a single one can escape.¡±

    Lin Li did not wait for Hutton to reply after speaking. He jumped onto the Humerus Wyrm and soared into the sky. After that, the light and darkness magical domains appeared again.

    The tone of Lin Li¡¯smand would have made Hutton resentful if it¡¯d been at the beginning of their expedition into the Abyss of Tharlen. However, after going through so much, Hutton had seen Lin Li enter the Legendary-realm and saw him scheme against two rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen. His heart could not produce any form of resentment.

    This was respect for the strongest.

    Just as the voice fell, an iparably strong mental strength surged into Hutton¡¯s mind. Countless memory fragments as well as a transcendental incantation were etched clearly into his mind.

    This was the strength of a Legendary powerhouse. Once humans entered this realm, it also meant they were half a step into the domain of deities. Many methods deemed unimaginable by humans were avable to them¡ªjust like what Lin Li just did. He directly used mental strength to affect Hutton. No matter how hard the incantations were toprehend, they were all mastered by Hutton in an instant.

    When the incantations entered his mind, Hutton also used the Levitation Spell. His whole body was flying like a gigantic bird. The Summoning Lamp in his hands steadily gave off a dazzling radiance along with the recitation, and countless soul fragments appeared in the radiance. When each rune came out of Hutton¡¯s mouth,rge amounts of soul fragments would be sucked into the Demon Magic Lamp. Looking from afar, it was like countless moths were flying straight into the fire...

    This time, Lin Li would not have to expend so much strength when facing the Lord of Darkness. In fact, with the ancient demonic runes that Connoris had provided, he did not have to exchange many blows with the Lord of Darkness at all.

    The storm clouds were rolling above his head, and snowkes were floating down, immediately turning Lin Li¡¯s surroundings into an icy world. It seemed like there was a life form gathering the snowkes. Angels of Light and Dark with ck and white wings appeared beside Lin Li one by one. Their bodies had conflicting auras of Light and Darkness, yet it all harmonized so naturally it did not look out of ce at all.

    Everything seemed to have repeated itself. Lin Li raised the magic staff in his hands high up and countless Angels of Light and Dark surged upwards, binding the Lord of Darkness on the ground. When the Lord of Darkness let out a roar of despair, Lin Li slowly recited the 18 ancient demonic runes.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Lord of Darkness roared gloomily. It did not know what that human did, but the power within its body escaped its control again. No matter how it summoned it, not a single shred thereof could be invoked.

    Lin Li maintained the Magical Domain and asked, ¡°Connoris, how do I keep this guy in the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction? Hurry up and say something.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. I¡¯ll tell you now,¡± Connoris said while he sent a segment of demonic runes bound to mental strength into Lin Li¡¯s mind. Creating and using a clone to do things in ce of the actual body was not the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s expertise. Ancient deities like Connoris would usually use their clones to move around Anril and even take part in wars that could change the world, gaining benefits for themselves that way. Hence, receiving a clone back into the original body was something difficult.

    The current Lord of Darkness was like a goat waiting to be ughtered with its four hooves tied to the board, only waiting for the cut at its throat. Lin Li took out the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction and recited the demonic runes that he¡¯d just learned. The magical crystal that was originally in like a rock was now slowly emitting faint light.

    ¡°Roar!¡± The Lord of Darkness seemed to have sensed something, and instinctively struggled desperately, trying to avoid the knife that was aimed at its throat. Maybe after tens of thousands of years, it could actually gain its own sentience while retaining the identity of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s clone. Unfortunately, it only had some basic instincts. It could not produce any significant resistance against the absorption from the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal. With a sad cry, the Lord of Darkness¡¯ body disintegrated, losing all semnce of a human form. It transformed into a patch of ck energy, and flew towards the magical crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hand.

    Huttonnded on the ground and raised his head, looking at Lin Li in the sky with shock and a wide open mouth. He had already absorbed Mephistos¡¯ soul fragments into the Summoning Lamp without leaving a single one behind, and was ready to watch how Lin Li dealt with the Lord of Darkness. However, he did not think that what¡¯d appear before him was a shocking scene. An unknown stone in Lin Li¡¯s hand was swallowing the Lord of Darkness like a whale swallowing water, and the overbearing Lord of Darkness did not have any power to resist.

    Finally, thest bits of the Lord of Darkness¡¯ strength were absorbed into the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal. The rock that was radiating light returned to its original state, without anything looking unusual except for it being ugly.

    ¡°This thing really can hatch into something like Tutankhamun? What did the Immortal King do as a nanny back then?¡± No matter how much he knew Connoris would not lie to him, Lin Li could not imagine a scene where this rock would hatch into a two-headed dragon.

    ¡°Hoho, I like this name, ¡®nanny¡¯. Of course, what the Immortal King provided was not milk, but mana and mental strength.¡± Connorisughed twice, and continued, ¡°To hatch the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, the mana and mental strength required are immense. Mana can be reced with other magical crystals. It¡¯s not too much, about 100 Legendary level magical crystals would be enough.¡±

    ¡°100...? It¡¯s not too much...?¡± Lin Li almost choked on his saliva. Were Legendary magical beasts so fun to provoke? Even if he could deal with Legendary level magical beasts, where would he be able to find 100 of them? The Summoning Lamp from the Brilliance Shrine was already something only for avish spender of magical crystals. Now, there was a magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, and it required Legendary magical crystals. Each and every one of them was a bottomless pit.

    ¡°Be content with that. Think about the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s power and Tutankhamun that sent you here. 100 Legendary magical crystals really do not amount to much.¡± Connoris words somewhat meant that talk was cheap.

    ¡°Fine. After all, it does not require so many at once. Continue speaking. What¡¯s next?¡± Lin Li knew that what Connoris said was the truth, so he could only resign himself to his fate.

    ¡°So far, I¡¯ve mentioned the requirements in mana. As for mental strength, only you can bear the burden. Use mental strength to slowly awaken the Soul Brand within the magical crystal, and make it develop a feeling of reliance and intimacy throughmunicating at the pure mental level. This is something that others can¡¯t rece. After all, you wouldn¡¯t want to let others enjoy your hard work¡¯s fruits.¡± Connoris had merely seen the records of hatching the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal in the Immortal King¡¯s diary. He was rather interested in seeing the process and results of hatching it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve talked about how mana and mental strength could only be done by you. The best way is the keep this magical crystal by your side so that every time you utilize mental strength when casting a spell, it will bathe the magical crystal in your mental strength waves. During this process, you willmunicate with the magical crystal at the pure mental level, and the Soul Brand in the magical crystal will be slowly awakened, thus developing a sense of reliance and intimacy towards you. Of course, this is a work like grinding rocks with water. It is not something that can bepleted in a few days.¡±

    ¡°So troublesome...¡±

    ¡°During this process of hatching, you will obtain the knowledge, experience, and rules contained within as your mental strength and the magical crystal¡¯s Soul Brand aremunicating. Of course, how much you will obtain depends on how strong your mental strength is. At the same time, the power of your mental strength will also affect the length of time before you sessfully hatch it. Back then, the Immortal King needed 100 years. As for you...¡± Reaching this point, Connoris thought of the scene when he directly sent demonic runes into Lin Li¡¯s consciousness. He had not seen the consciousness of the Immortal King or Geresco, but Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was definitely the strongest he had ever seen. As for whether Lin Li would surpass the Immortal King or Geresco, it really was worth waiting to find out.

    Lin Li ced the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal back into the Ring of Endless Storm. This hatching process was the work of grinding rocks with water, so this little bit of time was insignificant. What was the most important now was how to find the Throne of Darkness and exit this ce. Of course, before leaving, the good stuff here could not be left behind and continue to collect dust.

    ¡°Do you know where the Throne of Darkness is?¡± Lin Li gazed into the distance, but the world constructed of the void and stars was the same everywhere. There seemed to be no end. Only God knew where the Throne of Darkness was.

    ¡°The Throne of Darkness is actually this world constructed of the void and stars,¡± Connoris said.

    ¡°F*ck, why couldn¡¯t they find a chair? Which stupid person gave it this name, actually calling this ce a throne without thinking who would dare to have such arge a*ss...¡± Lin Li swore with resentment. No wonder he saw the Lord of Darkness standing when he first entered. There was no throne at all.

    ¡°Uh... This space was created by the Dragon of Destruction for his clone. Here, the Lord of Darkness¡¯s abilities would be strengthened immensely, while other demons would suffer from suppression. Hence, as long as the Lord of Darkness was here, the whole Abyss of Tharlen would be almost an unbeatable area. Previously, you were able to go against the Lord of Darkness, and other than the demise of the Dragon of Destruction and the Lord of Darkness¡¯ powers weakening, it was also because you had your own magical domain. While being in this world, you also created a mini world where you called the shots, causing the influence of the Dragon of Destruction to be at the lowest,¡± Connoris exined.

    It really was ¡°you have to listen to me when you are in my territory¡±. This was the power of the Magical Domain. Lin Li thought for a bit, and asked, ¡°Then, how are we going to get out?¡±

    ¡°As the Dragon of Destruction has already fallen, this space exists because of the Lord of Darkness. Once the Lord of Darkness disappears, this ce would naturally copse and disappear.¡±

    ¡°F*ck! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier!?¡± Lin Li was shocked when he heard this exnation, and quickly said, ¡°What about the treasures over there? When is this space disappearing? I have to collect those items.¡±

    After all, he was now a president. The Tower of Dusk was a gold-guzzling machine. Making potions was profitable, but he could not just stay in the pharmaceuticalb and concoct potions all day while doing nothing else. If he could obtain these treasures, he would not have to be flustered over money for a long period of time. He could focus on consolidating his magic practice and do what he wanted to do.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty. I did not aim for these treasures for just a few days. I prepared the solution a few thousand years ago.¡± Connorisughedcently.

 Chapter 470 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 470: Return</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Connoris sent another segment of ancient demonnguage into Lin Li¡¯s consciousness, and said, ¡°Because the Lord of Darkness has already been fused into the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal, this Throne of Darkness has already lost its master. You can leave behind your own Soul Brand on the Throne of Darkness by using this demonnguage phrase and be the new master of the Throne of Darkness. As for those treasures, won¡¯t they belong to you?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I wouldn¡¯t be kept here forever, right?¡± Lin Li asked carefully.

    ¡°This Throne of Darkness is actually simr to the Eternal Furnace. They both float within a Crack of Space. As long as you find another Crack of Space outside, you can summon it whenever you like.¡±

    Hutton saw Lin Li steer the Humerus Wyrm tond and quickly brought the Magic Lamp over, saying, ¡°President Felic, we have to find the Throne of Darkness next. I wonder if you have any suggestions?¡±

    Lin Li took over the Magic Lamp, and smilingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty, we can¡¯t leave immediately.¡±

    All of their experiences after entering the Abyss of Tharlen had allowed Lin Li, this young President of the Guild of Magic, to leave an impression in Hutton¡¯s mind that he was omnipotent. Achieving the Legendary-realm by 20 years of age, single-handedly defeating the Lord of Darkness left behind by the Dragon of Destruction, and screwing over the notorious Lord of Souls, Mephistos, while he was at it. From Hutton¡¯s point of view, this was no longer considered human. Only the word ¡°demonic¡± could be used to describe this monstrous young president. Hutton was even unable to imagine whether there was anything in this world that this monster could not achieve...

    Since this monster already had ns, then Hutton would naturally be at ease and patiently wait. After all, everything had already surpassed his imagination. Even if he wanted to worry, he did not have the ability.

    Lin Li nced at Hutton and did not do much. He just gently closed his eyes, and the ancient demonic runes that Connoris had sent in appeared in his consciousness. His lips moved, and obscure sybles escaped his mouth...

    The magical elements in the surroundings started seething. The light and darkness of the countless stars in the void started superseding each other. The whole world was filled with a mysterious yet powerful energy.

    All of a sudden, all of the stars dimmed. After that, they suddenly erupted with a brilliance that was 1000 times bigger than before. It was like the destruction of the world and the stars shattering. It was like thousands of suns had emitted light steadily all of a sudden. At that instant, Lin Li suddenly felt that he fused together with the Throne of Darkness. A shred of understanding appeared spontaneously in his mind.

    ¡°This is the power of the Lord of Darkness¡¯ domain...¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This Throne of Darkness was originally made by the Dragon of Destruction for its own incarnation. There¡¯s even a portion of the Evilness and Darkness rules included inside. The Lord of Darkness just needs to be within the area of the domain, and its power would always be at its peak. Unfortunately, the Dragon of Destruction fell, and the domain got weaker day by day as it lost its source of power. If not, do you think you would have had any chance just now?¡± Even at this point, Connoris¡¯ voice still had a tinge of lingering fear.

    It was only at this point that Connoris understood that he¡¯d been wrong all along. This young mage was definitely not as gentle and harmless as he seemed. Only after this incident did Connoris find out that this fe was a true lunatic, because only lunatics would be so reckless.

    Just look back at the situation previously. This fe was inside the Throne of Darkness. In front of him was the raging Lord of Darkness, while behind him, Mephistos was eagerlying in for a backstab. What this fe thought about was not escaping, but how to kill of Mephistos and the Lord of Darkness at the same time. This, this... If this wasn¡¯t being a f*cking lunatic, then what was it?

    And he did it...

    Just thinking about this, Connoris could not help but curse.

    ¡°The rules of Darkness?¡± At this point, Lin Li did not have time to care what Connoris was thinking about, because Lin Li had already fused his mental strength with the Throne of Darkness, leaving his own brand on this powerful domain that the Dragon of Destruction had created. From this point on, this powerful domainpletely belonged to Lin Li.

    Lin Li could control the powerful energy at will, and he could even fumble around the portion of the Rules of Darkness that was contained within the domain itself.

    Although the Rules of Darkness contained within were iplete, they were still miles apart whenpared with Lin Li¡¯s Laws of Ice. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Even though the Ice Domain was formidable in his hands, in the end, it was still the most superficial and low-level use of Rules. There was absolutely no room forparison when ced beside fundamental Rules like Light and Darkness.

    Lin Li could even confirm that when hepletely mastered the included Rules of Darkness, the Gloomy Dark in his hands would be an even more terrifying weapon...

    ¡°How¡¯s it, not too shabby, right? This is the Magical Domain that the Dragon of Destruction had created. The Rules of Darkness contained within are moreplete than the mastery of any mage in this world. If you are topletely master these Rules of Darkness, you might be able to infuse them into your own Magical Domain too.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I don¡¯t n on fusing these Rules of Darkness into my own Magical Domain...¡± Lin Li shook his head, disapproving of what Connoris said.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Power that belong to yourself is the best. I would never reach the peak of magic if I relied on engulfing and fusing.¡± This time, Lin Li was not lying. Although fusing Magical Domains could bring powerful strength, it would also produce some very troublesome side effects. The worse ones could even cause Rule Disorder.

    It was not that the more rules there were, the better the Magical Domain. Only one genuinely powerful rule was required, and it was enough to push the powers of the Magical Domain to the peak.

    Lin Li did not understand these principles before, but after observing Geresco¡¯s battle through the Spacetime Beacon Spell, Lin Li slowly felt that he seemed to have discovered something.

    ¡°If that is the case...¡± After hearing what Lin Li said, Connoris did not continue convincing him. He just took a pause, and then again suggested, ¡°I do have a n that can allow you to execute this Magical Domain¡¯s power fully.¡±

    ¡°What is your idea?¡±

    ¡°Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°What you mean is... to fuse the Throne of Darkness into the Eternal Furnace?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The current Eternal Furnace does not have muchbat power other than the ancient dragon¡¯s magical crystal. If you are able to fuse the Throne of Darkness into it, it should be able to restore some of the Floating Castle¡¯s former glory.¡±

    ¡°This is worth considering...¡± After being reminded of it by Connoris, Lin Li could not help but nod his head. Thest time, he saw that the blueprints of the Sky Castle seemingly used a gigantic Conquering Mageweath. Unfortunately, even though the Conquering Mageweath¡¯s strength was monstrous, the blood of 100 dragons necessary for it made people feel too hopeless. Although the Throne of Darkness could not bepared to that monstrous Conquering Mageweath, its powers after fusing into the Eternal Furnace couldn¡¯t be underestimated. <i>Seems like I have to do some research when I get back...</i>

    ¡°Oh, yes. Once you have fused the Throne of Darkness into the Eternal Furnace, don¡¯t forget to build a new body for me...¡±

    ¡°I know, I know...¡± After Lin Li impatiently brushed off Connoris, he turned around again and called out to Hutton, who was dozing off. ¡°Mage Hutton, start preparing. We can leave now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ok...¡± After Hutton nodded his head, he suddenly remembered something. ¡°Oh, yes. President Felic, Stephen...¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that. Maybe Mephistos knows, do you want to ask him?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Hutton almost choked on his breath, and scolded himself for being an idiot that had nothing better to do. Of all things to ask, he had to ask about Stephen. He did not think who this young president was. He was truly coldhearted. If he were to think that Hutton were coborating with Stephen and really made Hutton ask Mephistos, then wouldn¡¯t that be equal to shooting himself in the foot...

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go...¡± Lin Li nced at Hutton. His mental strength surged out like raging waters and activated the Throne of Darkness that had his Spiritual Brand on it. In an instant, a crack tore open in the dark void and Lin Li walked out...

    ...

    Their surroundings started bing clearer. When the two of them regained their senses, they had already returned to the small wooden hut. Everything was the same as when they¡¯d left. Tutankhamun was sitting at the side of the table, smiling.

    ¡°Wee back.¡±

    ¡°Mr Tutankhamun, we have found the Pce of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen as per your instructions. Does this mean we have passed your test?¡± Lin Li knew there was nothing much to say. With Tutankhamun¡¯s abysmal abilities as well as the ambiguous rtionship with the Dragon of Destruction, he had to have already known everything that happened in the Pce of Darkness.

    That aside, Lin Li was actually a little worried. He¡¯d once suspected Tutankhamun made him go to the Abyss of Tharlen to help Tutankhamun retrieve a part of the Rules that the Dragon of Destruction had left for the Lord of Darkness, but now this whole Magical Domain was in Lin Li¡¯s hands. If Tutankhamun were to ask for it, should Lin Li return it or not?

    Lin Li definitely would not give it up for free. Was this a joke? It was something that he¡¯d snatched from Mephistos and the Lord of Darkness while cing his life on the line, so how could it be given to anyone for free?

    But, it didn¡¯t seem like he could reject it...

    Tutankhamun still held the three treasures of Geresco...

    Tutankhamun seemed to have seen through Lin Li¡¯s worry. He shook his head while smiling, and said, ¡°Yes, you have passed. Indeed, you are the chosen one.¡± As for Stephen who did not return together with them, he did not mention him at all¡ªjust as though he had never seen that person before.

    ¡°What? Choose what?¡± Lin Li, who was conflicted in his heart, did not return to reality at that point, so he failed to hear Tutankhamun properly.

    Hutton heard it more clearly at the side. It was something about an arrangement from 1,300 years ago and that this something was to be done as a formality. Hutton cupped his ears, wanting to listen to more secrets, but Tutankhamun did not allow him to do so. He waved his hand and sent Hutton off.

    Lin Li shot a nce at the spot where Hutton disappeared, and continued, ¡°Mr Tutankhamun, you said ¡®the chosen one¡¯. What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°You will know about thister. Since you¡¯ve passed the test, then these three items will be passed to you as arranged.¡± Tutankhamun did not answer Lin Li¡¯s question, but gave him the three items that Geresco had left behind instead.

    Lin Li was finally at ease. It seemed like he did not have to exchange anything. Since it was like this, there was no need to stand on ceremony. Lin Li impolitely pocketed the items with excitement.

    ¡°You still remember what we talked about, right?¡± Tutankhamun asked.

    Lin Li, who just kept the items, nodded his head, and said, ¡°Yes, the issue about the Crack of Space.¡±

    This time, he also thought that these three items were not given for free. No matter how much he did not want to be a savior, there were some things that he had to do for his own survival.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You must remember that there is not much time left. If you are unable to reach the Sanctuary-realm before the Crack of Space opens, then there¡¯ll be dire consequences...¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li nodded his head and did not ask what the consequences were.

    After all, those consequences surely would be something like the total destruction of Anril...

    Lin Li was not concerned whether Anril would be destroyed or not, and he had no interest in bing some great hero that saved the entire world. But the issue was that once the Tear of Space opened, countless prehistoric magical beasts would charge into Anril. This was not something funny. If it was not dealt with properly, it could be fatal to everyone...

    Lin Li was not willing to save the world, but if he could save his life by saving the world, Lin Li would not mind it...

    But, wasn¡¯t the Sanctuary-realm a little too far? Furthermore, it had to be within three to five years. This was simply forcing him to do the impossible...

    Although he had already obtained the three treasures of Geresco, only a mage that had truly broken through to the Legendary-realm would know how hard it was to proceed to the Sanctuary-realm from the Legendary-realm. Every level from level-20 to level-24 had a gigantic gap before it. For many Legendary-mages, one such gap was sufficient to spend their life on.

    Which mage that had entered the Legendary-realm was not a person filled with talent? But how many of these people filled with talent had advanced past level-20 in their lives?

    Tutankhamun raised three fingers, and said, ¡°Three years. You¡¯d better be prepared that you only have three years. Geresco estimated the next magic tide¡¯s arrival time, but he could not urately pinpoint the year. There were too many anomalies, and thus he could not take everything into consideration. Hence, although it is said to be within three to five years, you need to prepare based on the shortest deadline possible so that no idents will happen.¡±

    To attain Sanctuary-realm within three years. This was something impossible no matter whom you asked. There was not a single person that dared to say that he¡¯d reach Sanctuary-realm in 30 or even 300 years, not to mention three years.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best...¡± Lin Li¡¯s face had a wry smile. Time was running out.

 Chapter 471 - Messenger

    <h4>Chapter 471: Messenger</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The journey back to the Tower of Dusk from the ckstone Mountains only took Lin Li a couple of days, but when he returned to ck Clouds Town with Norfeller and Ujfalusi, he realized that a bloodbath had urred in ck Clouds Town. There were copsed houses everywhere, and bloodstains could be seen on the streets.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where did everybody go?¡± When he saw this, Lin Li immediately assumed the worst. He tried to scan the whole ck Clouds Town using his mental strength, only to realize that he could not detect a living soul at all.

    He could not be bothered to conceal the fact that his servants were Undead creatures and led them to the Tower of Dusk straight away. Thankfully, there were no signs of an attack on the Tower of Dusk, but when he entered, he realized that the ce was empty, and there was no trace of the mages.

    ¡°Mr President? The President is back!¡± Just as Lin Li stood in the center of the great hall, trying to find someone to ask about the situation, a middle-aged mage ran out, looking emotional.

    ¡°Beckley?¡± Lin Li could barely remember his name. There were two kinds of people in school who left a deep impression on others: the kind that topped the rankings in school and those who were at the bottom. Beckley belonged to thetter¡ªhe was of mediocre magical talents as he was still only a level-8 mage even though he was in his forties.

    ¡°Mr President, it really is you! I¡¯m Beckley.¡± Beckley was rather emotional that the President remembered his name.

    ¡°Oh, Beckley, what happened while I wasn¡¯t here? Where did everybody go?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°You see, Mr President...¡± As he did not usually have a chance to talk to this young president, Beckley was having a hard time controlling his excitement. ¡°A couple of months ago, just after you left, the Syer bandits attacked ck Clouds Town, destroyed the church at the center of the town, and dug out something from beneath it.¡±

    ¡°The Syer Bandits again? These idiots don¡¯t know any better.¡± Lin Li frowned as soon as he heard this. The Syer Bandits were getting too bold, weren¡¯t they?

    When he heard of their origins, he sympathized with them, but this did not mean that they could do as they pleased. Moreover, after the ambush at the Scar of Death, Lin Li had lost all sympathy he had for them.

    It seemed like he would have to go to the Dragon Mountains to finish off every bit of the Syer Bandits...

    ¡°They attacked the ck Clouds Town? I passed by there on my way back, could it be that everybody...¡±

    Beckley, who knew that the President was close to the people in the ck Clouds Town, hurriedly exined, ¡°Mr President, we rushed over the minute we got the news, but still many people fell victim to them. We¡¯ve only managed to save a small portion of them, and settled them somewhere safe.¡±

    ¡°What about Uncle Stt and the rest?¡± The time Lin Li spent in the ck Clouds Town was the most peaceful time he had experienced ever since he had arrived in Anril, and it made him feel as though he was back where he¡¯d been before. The people in the town were like his old neighbors, and were all friendly and amiable. Just like Old Stt, the friendly old man who opened a small cksmith shop, and hisndy Aunty Susan, and little Jack who brought him fruits.

    Beckley¡¯s expression changed as he stuttered. ¡°M-Mr President, when... when we got there, Old Stt had already...¡±

    ¡°I got it...¡± Lin Li nodded his head. The expression on his face did not change much, either, yet the words he spoke felt as chilly as ice to Beckley and made his hair stand on ends...

    ¡°Right, what about the rest?¡± Lin Li looked puzzled as he looked around the Tower of Dusk. Sendros said that his mages had returned two months ago, so why did the Tower of Dusk look so empty?

    Even though he knew that it was not aimed at him, the President¡¯s hostile tone still made Beckley break out in a sweat as he hurriedly replied, ¡°President Gerian and the rest returned a month after the incident, and when they heard about it, he said he was going to bring them to settle scores. The rest could not persuade him against it, hence they followed along.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Lin Li rxed a bit when he heard this as this sounded like something Gerian would do, but immediately after that, a look of doubt appeared on his face. ¡°When did they leave?¡±

    ¡°They left a few days after they heard about it, so maybe about two months ago,¡± Beckley said, looking worried himself.

    ¡°What, two months ago?¡± Lin Li was shocked by the news. The boss of the Syer bandits, Vanskore, had ambushed him along with the elites of the bandit group, and they were all killed by him. The Syer bandits had to hardly have anyone left. While the Tower of Dusk was not incredibly powerful per se, they should be more than enough to deal with the remnants of the bandits. When he thought of this, Lin Li quickly asked, ¡°Do you know what happened to them? Why aren¡¯t they back yet?¡±

    Beckley shook his head, and said, ¡°When President Gerian left, he only instructed me to wait for you to return. I haven¡¯t heard from him in the past couple of months.¡±

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Lin Li cursed quietly. Things could not be clearer. Gerian was an Archmage himself, and along with him were a few other Archmages and a group of mages, so how ridiculous was it if they had to take more than two months to get rid of a bandit group that was already on the brink of extermination?

    Lin Li was willing to bet his life that Gerian and the rest were not only dealing with the remnants of the Syer Bandits there.

    Needless to say, there was a decently powerful force supporting the Syer Bandits!

    But who could it be...?

    Lin Li was pretty familiar with all the forces that had made a name for themselves around Dnd, and there were many who could go against the Tower of Dusk, but not many of them would dare to. The guest list from his inauguration ceremony had spread throughout the whole of Dnd, and there was no way that these forces would not consider the consequences of going against a Guild that was bing stronger every day in order to help a bandit group on the brink of extermination. Who would be so much of fool as to offend a Guild that had good rtions with so many powerful individuals?

    Lin Li¡¯s expression was unreadable, and made Beckley panic as he was worried that the young president would vent his anger on him. ¡°Mr... Mr President, I asked to go along, but...¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not about you...¡± Lin Li was pulled back from his thoughts as he watched Beckley stutter, trying to exin himself. He quickly waved his hands to get the less than talented mage to stop worrying. ¡°Keep guarding the Tower of Dusk, I need to go to the Dragon Mountains again.¡±

    But just as he was about to step out of the door, Lin Li suddenly recalled something. Weren¡¯t the Syer Bandits on good terms with the Malfa Family? From what Hutton said, it seemed as though they had good rtions and many business dealings, which was why Vanskore had listened to Hutton¡¯smand to ambush him back in the Scar of Death.

    Could the Malfa Family be behind this?

    Right, he remembered hearing the mention of something below the church from the Malfa Family¡¯s underlings...

    ¡°Beckley.¡± Lin Li halted in his stride when he thought of this.

    ¡°Yes, Mr President?¡± Beckley quickly jogged in front of Lin Li.

    ¡°Write a letter in my name and have someone send it to the Malfa Family in Aminya.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Beckley nodded his head respectfully before he carefully asked, ¡°Mr President, what should I write about...?¡±

    ¡°Tell the Malfa Family that their ally, the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, intends to exterminate the remnants of the Syer Bandits next week, and is requesting that they adhere to our agreement by sending out mages of at least level-10 to assist us.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Beckley was obviously stunned. Since when did the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family be allies?

    The Malfa Family was not just any random force, either. Even though Beckley had never left Dnd, he still knew enough about this triad family far away in Aminya.

    The Malfa Family was founded 200 years ago by the most powerful Adventurer in the history of Breezy ins: Leo Malfa. He was the first patriarch of the Malfa Family. Since then, this triad family had monopolized all the underground dealings of Aminya, and became the true power ruling over Aminya.

    They were truly a powerful figure, and besides the Dark de that also hailed from Aminya, no other force in the whole region could go against the Malfa Family.

    The newly set up Tower of Dusk was insignificant inparison to the Malfa Family.

    And because of this, Beckley looked more doubtful. ¡°Erm... M-Mr President, do you think we should m-make... a few changes to the letter?¡±

    ¡°That will not be necessary, just write it like I said it.¡± Lin Li shook his head as he gave a strange look to Beckley, wondering what was wrong with what he said.

    ¡°Then shall I make a trip to Aminya myself...?¡±

    ¡°If you go, then who will guard the Tower of Dusk? Don¡¯t bother, just get someone to do it...¡± Lin Li hurriedly replied before he called Norfeller and Ujfalusi, who were waiting at the side, and turned to leave the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Beckley shook his head somewhat indignantly as he watched Lin Li leave, silentlymenting the fact that President Felic was indeed too young...

    While he had slowly realized that this young president was unlike other young mages, this time, Beckley felt that the president¡¯s w of being too young was incredibly evident...

    Who were the Malfas? They were the ones ruling over the whole of Aminya, so how could a small Guild of Magic order them around? And President Felic was basically ordering them around based on what he said, and he was even specifying what kind of people he wanted them to send. If Beckley had been the patriarch of the Malfa Family, he would not even have bothered to reply and would¡¯ve just thrown the letter in the thrash...

    Only when he could not see Lin Li anymore did Beckley shake his head and return to the Tower of Dusk. Heid out a pen and a sheet of paper in front of him before he started pondering how he could phrase the letter better. President Felic might be young and not know better, but he could not afford to botch this, or they might end up with another powerful enemy instead of an ally...

    ...

    A dusty carriage stopped in front of the Malfa Family¡¯s gate in Aminya City, and a tired-looking middle-aged mage alighted from it, paying his fare before he walked up the steps. If Lin Li had been here, he would have immediately recognized him as the mage he had instructed to stay behind and guard the Tower of Dusk.

    Even though he¡¯d been instructed to stay, Beckley decided that given the influence and status of the Malfa Family, it would not be beneath the President for him to pay a visit himself. It was already disrespectful that he, a low-ranking mage, was doing the job, so he could not imagine what would happen if he had someone random do the job instead...

    ¡°Hold up, what is it?¡± The guards in front of the door stopped him rudely.

    ¡°I¡¯m Beckley, a level-8 mage from the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, the Tower of Dusk. I would like to meet the patriarch of the Malfa Family.¡± Beckley did not dare to dy at all after receiving instructions, and hurried over to the Malfa Family¡¯s house by travelling day and night.

    One guard stared at Beckley before disdainfully saying, ¡°What Tower of Dusk, why haven¡¯t I heard of it before?¡±

    While mages had a high status, Beckley was only a level-8 mage, and it was true that he was somewhat insignificant in the Breezy ins. Even though they were merely guards, they were standing guard in front of the Malfa Family¡¯s house, and thus they did not care much about a level-8 mage.

    ¡°How dare you lie to the Malfa Family?? It seems as though you¡¯re tired of living!¡± another guard said as he ced his hand on his sword.

    ¡°Gentlemen, please let me pass, I have urgent matters to discuss...¡±

    ¡°Leave now! You think just anyone can enter the Malfa Family? If you don¡¯t leave now, I¡¯ll cut off your head!¡± The guards half-drew their swords out and reflected the sunlight into Beckley¡¯s eyes with the des.

    ¡°Why are you causing such a ruckus at such a ce? Is it not embarrassing!?¡± A voice came from behind Beckley suddenly.

    The two guards quickly stood up straight and bowed before chorusing, ¡°Young Master Hutton!¡±

    Hutton walked up the stairs with two people behind him before he looked at the guards and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    A guard pointed at Beckley while he said, ¡°Young Master Hutton, this man ims to be a messenger from the Tower of Dusk and has been yelling that he wants to see the patriarch.¡±

 Chapter 472 - An Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 472: An Opportunity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Oh?¡± Hutton¡¯s expression turned serious as he looked at Beckley more cautiously. ¡°You¡¯re from the Tower of Dusk?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Hutton gave Beckley a look. There indeed was the Guild of Magic¡¯s unique crest on the ck robes, and from this, it seemed that this messenger was not an impostor. Since the fact that the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk were allies had not been made known to the public yet, the only ones who would know this secret beside himself were the people of the Tower of Dusk.

    But if President Felic sent a messenger now, could it be that there were problems on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side?

    Hutton was secretly pondering this question, but he did not realize that the two guards had taken notice of his expression andpletely misunderstood it. They thought that Hutton was getting annoyed, and that the Guild of Magic called Tower of Dusk was most probably just another force trying to get the Malfa Family¡¯s help. Having worked in the Malfa Family for over a decade, they had seen their fair share of such situations, and already knew how to handle it without Hutton having to give orders.

    ¡°Alright, alright, whosoever you are, just leave the letter and go. Young Master Hutton will look at it some timeter.¡±

    Well, Hutton was to me for being too deep in thought. When he realized what was going on, he was toote. The two guards had already nked Beckley and escorted him out...

    ¡°Bloody hell...¡± Hutton felt his mind go nk, and thought he really might be better off dead...

    <i>Damn it. I¡¯ve gotten myself into hot water now...</i>

    Hutton looked up in a daze, and saw the two guards who looked incredibly proud of themselves, as though waiting to be praised. He really did not know whether he should burst out inughter or tears...

    But above it all, he really wanted to break open their skulls to see if there was anything inside their heads. Did they know who that Felic of the Tower of Dusk was? Damn it, he was a 20 years old Legendary-mage, and had just gotten hold of three of Geresco¡¯s relics. He was sure to enter the Sanctuary-realm in his lifetime! No other force in the Breezy ins would dare to offend such a lunatic, much less the Malfa Family...

    Besides, Hutton knew what kind of attitude this young president had towards him after interacting with him in the ckstone Mountains. The Dark de was powerful, huh? Stephen had an incredibly strong backing, right? But just because they had injured a few of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages, they had lost about 10 Archmages. He did not even know whether Stephen was alive...

    If Beckley were to tell on them when he got back, who would be able to deal with the consequences? This was not something that could be solved with some bickering or a few fights. Given the personality of President Felic, he would most likelyugh it off but silently take note of this. When he got an opportunity, he would make sure that the Malfa Family would never be able to make aeback. What was worse was that he definitely had the means to make sure this happened...

    Hutton could not help turning pale when he heard this, and did not even bother to deal with the two idiots. Instead, he rushed to Beckley¡¯s side and helped him up just as he was about to fall. ¡°Are you alright, Mage Beckley?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m fine.¡± Beckley finally regained his bnce, only to realize that the person who had helped him up was the young master of the Malfa Family, the genius mage who was said to inherit the entire Malfa Family in the future. He could not help but forget his anger as he was pleasantly surprised, and quickly thanked him. ¡°Thank... Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Mage Beckley. Since you¡¯re a messenger from the Tower of Dusk, then you are an honored guest of the Malfa Family. It was a small misunderstanding earlier, I hope you won¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Hutton smiled as he quickly soothed Beckley before waving over a few men. ¡°These two gentlemen are no longer fit to be guards, take them away and settle it.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    A few Warriors of at least level-15 charged over on Hutton¡¯s orders and dragged the shocked guards away...

    ¡°This...¡± Cries for help came from a distance, and Beckley would have to be a fool not to know that this would not end well for the two guards. His expression froze. This Young Master Hutton¡¯s attitude was somewhat unlike what he had expected...

    Beckley walked with cautious steps as his head was filled with questions. He followed Hutton into the study, and was served tea and snacks while he exchanged greetings with Hutton before Hutton finally coughed dryly. ¡°Say, mage Beckley, I wonder why President Felic sent you?¡±

    ¡°You see, Young Master Hutton...¡± Beckley retrieved the letter he had written on behalf of Lin Li from his pocket before presenting it to Hutton while he briefed Hutton on the situation at the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Hutton quickly nced through the letter before nodding his head. ¡°Which is to say that the Tower of Dusk is intending to exterminate the Syer Bandits and needs the Malfa Family to supply some manpower?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s about it...¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡± Hutton nodded, and did not say more.

    This was not simply a request for manpower...

    How powerful was the Tower of Dusk? While others might not know, surely Hutton did! The Legendary-level President alone was enough to cause a sensation in the Breezy ins, and he was only 20 years old¡ªhis potential could only be described as immeasurable. Moreover, he had the three relics of Geresco, and it was almost certain that he would reach the Sanctuary-realm. He would be of the level of the Ashen Warlock then, and not many forces would dare trifle with him.

    The young President also had a group of decent mages under him. Also, many forces were said to have good rtions with the Tower of Dusk¡ªlike the Glittergold Union, the Brilliance Shrine, oh, and the Darkness Shrine... Hutton had seen with his own eyes that the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine, Sendros, had been chatting away with the young President...

    Needless to say, while the Tower of Dusk had only been around for a short while, they were almost destined to be one of the strongest forces of the Breezy ins.

    Inparison, the Syer Bandits were pathetic...

    The most powerful person in the entire Syer Bandits was Vanskore, who was at level-18, but where was he? He had already died at the hands of the young President in the Scar of Death, and amongst those who died with him were also the 300 most elite warriors of the Syer Bandits...

    What would happen if the two forces collided? Hutton did not even need his brain to know that it was not going to be much of a fight, if any at all...

    If that President Felic still sent someone with a letter even though the difference in strength was so extreme, then there had to be more to this than it appeared to be.

    He wanted the Malfa Family to make their stance clear...

    This was indeed President Felic¡¯s way of doing things. On the surface, he was low-key and mild, but only those who had interacted with him would know that this person was beyond arrogant. He had sent a letter over, and while he appeared to be friendly, the only thing the letter was trying to say was that the Malfa Family could either choose to be closely rted to the Tower of Dusk, or they could choose not to have anything to do with the Tower of Dusk at all... Wait, Hutton suddenly remembered something, the handwriting was off...

    <i>Damn it, this bastard can¡¯t even write his own letters!</i>

    But still, none of that anger could be seen on Hutton¡¯s face. On the contrary, there was no anger on Hutton¡¯s face at all¡ªall he did was smile even more widely at Beckley...

    Well, that was how things were now.

    The Malfa Family and the Dark de had been feuding for the past century or so, and even Cheyenne, who had entered the Legendary-realm, could not lead the Malfa Family out of this predicament. Only during Hutton¡¯s time did an opportunity present itself in the form of the newly set up Tower of Dusk.

    After experiencing the journey into the Abyss of Tharlen and seeing how the young President had pulled off a miracle after miracle did Hutton regret his decision back then. The biggest mistake of his life was convincing Vanskore to set up an ambush in the Scar of Death.

    He had had to put in 100 times more effort to make up for that wrong decision, and only when they left the Abyss of Tharlen and the ckstone Mountains did his effort result in a small payoff. The young President finally decided to make the Malfa Family an ally, but Hutton knew that this rtionship was incredibly fragile, and a small mistake could render it moot.

    When that happened, he would surely face more trouble than he had in the ckstone Mountains. That young President of the Guild of Magic was definitely a paranoid man, one who would not hesitate to strike first if he felt threatened. He was the kind who would deal a fatal blow that¡¯d ensure that the threat never had the chance to surface before it waspletely wiped out. The only reason he was still fine was because he had put in enough effort after the incident and was lucky...

    He had to admit, he¡¯d been incredibly lucky back in the ckstone Mountains.

    Stephen¡¯s timely appearance had diverted the young President¡¯s attention, and Hutton could not help but celebrate the fact. If not for Stephen¡¯s arrival, he would most likely have been the one to meet with Stephen¡¯s tragic fate...

    Looking back at the letter, he saw that he was to send out 50 mages who were at least level-10 to help the Tower of Dusk in their quest to exterminate the Syer Bandits. It was a difficult feat for the Malfa Family indeed¡ª50 mages of at least level-10 would make a decent troop anywhere, and it was a difficult task to send out a troop like that just because this young President gave the word. What if the Dark de suddenly struck? The Malfa Family would be in huge trouble...

    But still, this was a rare opportunity for the Malfa Family to be tied closely to the Tower of Dusk¡ªan opportunity for the Malfa Family to be set free of the Dark de!

 Chapter 473 - Discussion

    <h4>Chapter 473: Discussion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The rise of the Malfa Family in Aminya only took ce in the recent two or three decades. Although they had been involved in all kinds of underground businesses, they had maintained a good rtionship with all the other forces except the Dark de. They couldn¡¯t help it. Ever since the two forces had their eyes on Aminya¡¯snd, the direct sh of their interests made them unable to see eye to eye with each other.

    Apart from that, other forces, such as a big shot like the Glittergold Trade Union, or the criminal organization Syer Bandits, would have a good rtionship with the Malfa Family.

    To some extent, this was the real reason behind the rise of the family. Before they managed to rise above everyone else, they experienced intense battles and had enemies everywhere. Simr to the Dark Age, the reign of a powerful force like the High Elves meant enough authority to enve all the other races, and massacres weremonce. Yet, the conclusion was the fall of the entire race, and even the uprooting of the Tree of Eternity...

    The Malfa Family was not High Elves, and had yet to offend the Tower of Dusk. The Tower of Dusk was fated to rise to power, and even the big shot like the Glittergold Trade Union would not have dared to offend them. That reason was: no one knew when their hard work they had taken years to achieve would get destroyed by a Sanctuary powerhouse after many years...

    Furthermore, Mage Beckley had given himself an opportunity...

    ¡°Alright, Mage Beckley. You have traveled a long way from the Tower of Dusk to Aminya, and have to be feeling rather tired. Why don¡¯t I let my servants bring you to the guest rooms? As for Mage Felic¡¯s requests, I will give you a reply as soon as I discuss it with my father.¡±

    ¡°No need for that trouble. Sir Hutton, most of the mages from the Tower of Dusk are having a battle in the Dragon Mountains now. I have to rush back to help rebuild the ck Clouds Town,¡± said Beckley as he nced at Hutton. ¡°This is Mage Felic¡¯s instructions...¡±

    ¡°I see... I won¡¯t insist, then...¡± Knowing that it was Lin Li¡¯s orders, Hutton did not try to hold Beckley back. ¡°As for President Felic¡¯s request, I will give you a reply right after discussing it with my father,¡± Hutton said passionately as he showed Beckley to the door.

    ...

    ¡°What, the Tower of Dusk had sent their people here? Damn it! If that lucky fe was still here, I would...¡± Harvey scoffed under his breath. He got furious after hearing the news of the visit from the servants when he was returning home. The encounter he had in the ckstone Mountains was the biggest humiliation he had received in his entire life.

    Harvey had heard from his father that the bastard who had insulted him was the President of some guild of magic. His intention in rushing back today was to humiliate that messenger from that guild of magic to vent his anger. He had not expected him to be clever enough to have fled before his return...

    At the same time, Harvey heard a piece of good news.

    ¡°Haha! That guild of magic was humiliated by the Syer Bandits?¡± Harvey snorted happily.

    Unfortunately, before he could express all his joy, he heard another bad news. ¡°What? That guild of magic wants the Malfa Family to help them eliminate the Syer Bandits? Are they not awake? What are they to make such a request?!¡±

    ¡°Brother, Brother...¡± Harvey found Hutton in a hurry. He wanted to rify the news he had heard.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Hutton ascertained Harvey¡¯s doubts. ¡°I¡¯m about to discuss this with father.¡±

    ¡°Oh, God...¡± Harvey eximed in exasperation. ¡°I say, Brother, are you having a fever? The guild of magic and the Malfa Family are two different entities. Now that their guild has been humiliated by the Syer Bandits, why should we help to back them up? Anyway, Brother, do not forget that we have been doing a lot of business with the Syer Bandits over the recent years. What benefits would it bring if we help that guild of magic eliminate them?¡±

    ¡°Benefits? Not offending the guild is a benefit by itself...¡± Hutton replied after sizing Harvey up. He shook his head helplessly.

    Hutton did not know if his father had made a good decision by appointing him as the heir of the family. Although this prevented the two brothers from turning against each other due topetition for the position of the next patriarch, it turned this brother who was just a few years younger into apletely useless blockhead. He had not been doing anything meaningful, and had always been abusing his authority as a member of the Malfa Family. Things would still be fine if he did them in Aminya City as the family would generally have the power to wipe his buttocks for him.

    However, the problem now was that the trouble had been created in the ckstone Mountains... No one knew what was wrong with that dude to have the guts to offend that young President...

    The thought of this created fear in Hutton...

    President Felic was not somebody Harvey could offend. Even a person like Stephen, an Archmage in his 20s, and the only heir of the Dark de, failed to escape retaliation from that young President despite having the backing of a few Legendary powerhouses.

    Hutton really felt that it was a miracle for Harvey to still be alive!

    ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Harvey. We can talk more about it after Ie back. I¡¯m going to Father¡¯s study now. Are you keen on joining me?¡±

    ¡°Erm... Forget it...¡± Harvey¡¯s expression changed upon the mention of his father¡¯s study. He was not afraid of the study, but of his grandfather, Cheyenne, who would be present in the room as well. He was not to be trifled with. To Harvey, this old man who personally taught his brother was the scariest existence on earth. He could feel his blood freezing every time he stood before him.

    ¡°Sigh...¡± Hutton shook his head as he watched Harvey leave. He proceeded to head towards the study with the letter in his pocket.

    Sorenson Malfa was in his 40s. As the patriarch of a mighty organization, it was supposed to be the prime of his life. But, he suddenly felt that he had aged...

    His eldest son had always been nurtured as the next patriarch of the family. To prevent the brothers from fighting over the position, Sorenson even made a sacrifice by letting his youngest son turn into a real blockhead. These years, Sorenson had been watching Hutton¡¯s actions. He was d that Hutton did not fall behind his expectations. Hutton¡¯s magical abilities were outstanding among the other mages of his same age. In fact, Hutton was a son whom even Cheyenneplimented smilingly despite being a man who was hard to please. Cheyenne said that Hutton had great potential and would have a chance to reach the Legendary-realm by the age of 50 as long as he did not go astray.

    Hutton had always been managing the family¡¯s business well. Although he was in his 20s, the tricks up his sleeves were in fact superior to those of many sly and crafty men.

    Sorenson had no one to me but himself, for he had sessfully led Harvey where he was today with an intentional upbringing. Furthermore, all the troubles Harvey had been creating were all situated in Aminya. No matter how serious the matters were, they could always be settled by the Malfa Family easily.

    If it was the usual, Sorenson shouldn¡¯t be that unsatisfied with Harvey...

    Unfortunately, Hutton handed him a letter today...

    This letter was from Dnd, and the sender was a young mage with a few followers. ording to Hutton, that man was about 20 years old.

    Usually, such letters would never get to Sorenson. Yet, it was formally handed to him by his eldest son.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Sorenson asked in a low voice. He was not in a hurry to give his opinion.

    ¡°I feel that this is an opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Sorenson asked in shock. ¡°What opportunity?¡±

    ¡°An opportunity for us to get away from the Dark de. Although I did not get the relics mentioned by our ancestors when I headed to the ckstone Mountains this time, I met this guild President. Honestly speaking, Father, he really surprised me. I¡¯m afraid even Mentor Cheyenne would not have the ability to see through President Felic¡¯s abilities...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Sorenson asked in wonder. ¡°You mean your grandfather...¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Hutton nodded his head. He had always been addressing Cheyenne as his mentor ever since he started learning magic from him when he was young. The salutation ¡®grandfather¡¯ had be foreign to him.

    ¡°H-how... How could it be? On the day of the President¡¯s inauguration ceremony, didn¡¯t our people tell us that that President was only 20 years old? Hutton, you cannot be so reckless in your words. Your grandfather is a Legendary-mage¡ª¡±

    ¡°Same for President Felic...¡±

    ¡°Same in what way?¡± Sorenson paused before starting to breathe faster. ¡°You mean... You mean... Legendary-mage?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± Hutton nodded. ¡°In fact, I witnessed it with my very own eyes. I saw this President Felic progress into a Legendary-mage from an Archmage...¡±

    ¡°This can¡¯t be... It is absolutely impossible. Not to mention the Breezy ins, I¡¯m certain that there was never a 20 years old Legendary-mage in Anril before. The God of Mages, Geresco, was only a Magic Shooter when he was 20 years old. How could this Felic...¡±

    ¡°This is the reality...¡± Hutton rubbed the end of his brows in frustration. In fact, he had expected his father¡¯s response. Who would believe that there would be a Legendary-mage who was only 20 years old? The news was as absurd as a man getting pregnant. Yet, Hutton knew how true everything was. This incredibly young President had broken through to the Legendary-realm before his very own eyes, and had used an impregnable Magical Domain to get rid of the terrible Lord of Darkness of Anril.

    Although it had been some time since it happened, to Hutton, every detail was undoubtedly clear.

    ¡°Oh, yes. The relics in our ancestor¡¯s will had been acquired by President Felic...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    If Sorenson was only in a state of disbelief before this, then this patriarch of the Malfa Family was really petrified now...

    Despite not knowing what the several relics in the ancestor¡¯ will were, Sorenson had always believed that they had invincible powers. It was a fact that the ancestor was an existence in the Sanctuary-realm. How could the relics be something that could be described in simple terms?

    ¡°The three relics left behind by the God of Mages, Geresco, were namely the Book of Eternity, the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, as well as the key to the Sky Castle... Haha, what Geresco gave us was the pathway to be a god... Unfortunately, I did not have this luck...¡±

    Sorenson could feel his heart being struck by an unknown object every time Hutton mentioned one relic. He was leaning against his chair with a pallid face by the time Hutton told him about these three relics.

    Although Sorenson¡¯s potential was limited, and he did not have much achievement in the magical domain, his abilities as a level-15 Archmage and lessons from his father who was a Legendary-mage gave him sufficient knowledge of the significance behind the three relics. That was indeed the path to heaven. Just the Book of Eternity itself was said to be the strongest weapon of Geresco, and had the ability to destroy the world. Compared to the book, the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s crystal was scarier. The possession of it could allow any fool to get close to the Legendary-realm. As for the key to the Sky Castle, it was an item that only appeared in the legends of Anril. The seven Sky Castles were what the High Elves used as impregnable fortresses when they ruled over Anril...

    And now, the three relics were all in that Felic¡¯s hands...

    This means that one should never describe the guild of magic as represented by Felic as simply a new force.

    Furthermore, ording to the information the family had gathered from all over using their connections, it was a fact that this President Felic was on incredibly good terms with many strong forces. When he was taking over as President, the guest list of the ceremony included not only the shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union, but also the Archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine and the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine...

    ¡°Alright, I understand it now. I will convince the elders of the family...¡± Sorenson replied solemnly as he ced the letter down slowly. It was as though the letter was not a thin sheet of paper, but a boulder that weighed a thousand kilograms.

 Chapter 474 - Difference

    <h4>Chapter 474: Difference</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Alright, I will talk to Mentor Cheyenne.¡±

    Just when Hutton was about to leave the study, he heard frantic footsteps. Then, Hutton saw three elders of the family entering the room in rage, as well as a panicking Hahn...

    ¡°Good morning, Elders.¡± Hutton greeted the elders with courtesy as soon as he saw them. He had no other choice. Although he was appointed as the sessor of the patriarch by the family, the three elders were biological brothers of Cheyenne. Their status and positions were not what Hutton couldpare with. Not to mention Hutton, even the present patriarch, Sorenson, had to be very polite to them.

    ¡°Hmph...¡± The three angry old men scoffed as they saw Hutton. They showed zero basic courtesy as they walked past Hutton.

    Huttonughed awkwardly before leaving the study. He knew what brought the three elders here, but he had no intention to meddle in the situation. Hutton had the confidence that his father Sorenson would have the ability to resolve the situation. Yet, he could not help but feel secretly affected. <i>Are they not afraid to damage their old health by being so angry...?</i>

    ¡°What brings the three elders here? Come, quickly have a seat...¡± Sorenson stood up in shock. He politely invited them to sit down.

    ¡°Hmph! If us three old men would note, were you plotting to sell out the Malfa Family with your son?¡± That was the chief elder, Gromm Malfa. He had been assisting Cheyenne when he was still the patriarch of the Malfa Family.

    It was only 20 years ago when Cheyenne finally got a glimpse of the Legendary-realm, and decided to pass the patriarch¡¯s position to Sorenson. He chose to explore the entire Anril World alone and finally entered the dream realm of all mages. As the right-hand man of Cheyenne, Gromm naturally became the chief elder of the family.

    Gromm had always put in his best in all of the family¡¯s matters, and the present patriarch Sorenson also showed a lot of respect for the chief elder. As the young Hutton grew up to be a man of great potential, the Malfa Family also managed to maintain their status against the Dark de. It could be said that a great part of Malfa¡¯s achievement could be credited to the three elders.

    ¡°Elder Gromm, w-why... why do you say that? After I took over as the patriarch, I have always been prioritizing the family¡¯s interests. How could you say that I am selling the family out?¡± Sorenson was dismayed by Gromm¡¯s remarks despite all the respect for him.

    After that, a sense of regret hit Gromm. He felt that he had been too direct with his words. Since Sorenson became the patriarch, he had been working very hard for the family. Although he did not have too much significance in the rise of the family, his efforts were great. Yet, that sense of guilt was quickly reced by anger.

    ¡°Always prioritizing the family¡¯s interests? If not for Harvey, we three would be kept in the dark about your ns. How could you and Hutton want to send the family¡¯s elites to assist that Tower of Dusk? What¡¯s the Tower of Dusk? Is it even in the Breezy ins? Could your assistance bring the family gold coins or territory? Stop joking, Sorenson. That is just a force that has been established half a year ago. They only have a dozen men including their President. I presume they wouldn¡¯t even be able to pay our travel fees if we were to go there...¡±

    ¡°Elder Gromm, please hear me out... This time, when Hutton went to the ckstone Mountains¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop mentioning Hutton!¡± The elder snapped upon hearing the name. His fury was on the verge of burning down the study. ¡°The three of us were always in approval of your decision to appoint Hutton as the heir of the family for his careful and thoughtful attitude. But, this time, he really disappointed us. How could he make such a ridiculous decision without us?¡±

    ¡°Elder Gromm...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Sorenson. I will be straightforward with you. Hutton¡¯s decision is too absurd. We do not believe that it could be a decision made by the future patriarch of the Malfa Family. As for the reason behind it, we cannot help but suspect there to be a shady deal going on between Hutton and the Tower of Dusk. And you, Sorenson... since you are Hutton¡¯s father, I presume that you should know it very well. Hence, our intention in visiting you today is to request that you temporarily step down from the position of the family¡¯s patriarch. The three of us will take over the management and hand the seat of the patriarch to a more suitable person.¡±

    ¡°Elder Gromm, you... you must be joking... That¡¯s right, the elders of the family have the power to impeach the patriarch, but it must be during a critical phase. Do you think the people in the Malfa Family would agree that I step out of my seat over an undecided matter?¡±

    Sorenson could not help but feel a sense of injustice when he talked to Gromm. Although he¡¯d expected that the visit from the three elders would not end well, he had not expected that things would be as serious as to reach an impeachment. The power of the Malfa Family had always been shared between the patriarch and the three elders. It was a rule that continued for centuries. There wasn¡¯t any instance where a party would try to overturn the other. The elders rarely tried to impeach the patriarch in the past hundreds of years. When it happened, it would really mean no turning back for both parties.

    He could not believe that the three elders were serious in their decision of impeachment...

    ¡°Alright, Sorenson. We will be holding a council after three days. The 13 stakeholders of the Malfa Family will collectively decide if you have the ability to continue in the role of the patriarch. Until then, you have to give up assistance for that Tower of Dusk, together with your participation in the family¡¯s affairs.¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree to do so?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t...¡± Gromm stood up slowly. ¡°You are going to carry the crime of betraying the family!¡± he said crudely.

    ¡°You...¡± Sorenson nearly lost his breath. He had managed the Malfa Family for a dozen years, and had never thought he would one day be a traitor to the family.

    ¡°Who is going to betray the family?¡± Just when the two parties were in a deadlock, the door of the study was pushed open.

    The creaking of the door made everyone freeze¡ªincluding the chief elder...

    There was only one person in the whole Malfa Family or even the entire Aminya who dared to open Sorenson¡¯s door without knocking...

    He was Hutton¡¯s grandfather, the father of Sorenson, the eldest brother of the three elders, and the man who had been managing the Malfa Family for decades¡ªLegendary-mage Cheyenne!

    That was right. It was Cheyenne...

    This Legendary powerhouse of Aminya looked a lot younger than his age suggested. He was well-built and good-looking. Apart from the slightly gray hair, he looked like a 30 years old man. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he rarely smiled, but that handsome face of his looked as cold as marble, which struck fear in anyone who looked at him. He did not say anything when he entered the room, but nced at the three elders.

    The three elders did not dare to start speaking before Cheyenne. Sorenson stayed in his ce and did nothing to greet Cheyenne. At once, the atmosphere in the study became extremely stale.

    ¡°Sorenson, I heard that you are intending to betray the Malfa Family?¡±

    ¡°No, Father. As the descendant of the Malfa, I would never betray the family.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Cheyenne nodded. No one could tell what was on his mind through his expression. This Legendary-mage gently put down the magic staff he always had with him. Then, he asked something that terrified the three elders. ¡°Does that mean that Gromm and the others are spreading false rumors?¡±

    ¡°B-Big Brother... We... We did not spread any rumors!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Cheyenne nodded again before ncing at the three elders once more. ¡°Why don¡¯t the three of you exin why Sorenson wants to betray the Malfa Family?¡±

    ¡°It is like this, Big Brother...¡± Gromm spoke as he suppressed the terror within him. He told Cheyenne about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s request for Malfa¡¯s assistance. He took 10 minutes to finish his speech. Only after finishing the story did he add his piece in self-defense. ¡°Big Brother, the rule was set by the ancestors. The three of us did not want to make things difficult for Sorenson. Why should the Malfa Family form an alliance with the Tower of Dusk when they have been established half a year ago? They only have a dozen of people, including their President! Look, Brother, this might agitate you, but I¡¯m still going to say it: Hutton and Sorenson have already damaged the interests of the Malfa Family!¡±

    After struggling to finish his piece, Gromm felt that his back was wet with cold sweat. He could not help it. There was simply too much stress involved when he faced Cheyenne. So what if they were brothers by blood? Not to mention the dignity he had built as he took charge of the family over the years, his ability as a Legendary-mage alone was enough to instill fear in his brothers. It was fate that prevented his brothers frommunicating with him like natural brothers.

    Once a person entered the Legendary-realm, he would not be treated like a mortal. That realm was close to the divine. It did not matter if Cheyenne was the former patriarch of the family. The distance between a Legendary-mage and mortals could bepared to that between the sky and the ground. To some extent, he was void of emotions of normal humans. That was evident from how he treated Hutton. Despite being his grandson by blood, Cheyenne banned Hutton from calling him ¡°grandfather¡±. Hutton had always addressed him as ¡°mentor¡±...

    This was the difference between Legendary powerhouses and mortals...

 Chapter 475 - A Bit of Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 475: A Bit of Trouble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Average humans would never be able to understand the thinking of Legendary powerhouses. Even if the three elders had great authority in the Malfa Family, such as impeaching the patriarch, all of their power would be meaningless before a Legendary powerhouse. Any slightest mistake would render them eternally doomed.

    The atmosphere in the study turned solemn. The three elders who were there to condemn the patriarch cowered at a side, not daring to breathe in too much air...

    ¡°The alliance Hutton formed in the ckstone Mountains was approved by me. We are not going to talk about it anymore...¡± Cheyenne was extremely calm when he said that, just as though he was not talking about an alliance that would affect the family¡¯s survival, but about a burnt bread they had for breakfast.

    ¡°Noted.¡± The three elders agreed to Cheyenne¡¯s calmly spoken words without further ado.

    ¡°Alright, Sorenson. Let me look at the letter Tower of Dusk sent us.¡± After helping Sorenson out of his difficult situation with a few words, Cheyenne requested for the letter of assistance from the Tower of Dusk.

    The letter was not long. It only had a hundred words. In fact, if Beckley did not try to make the content more fancy, the length of the letter would be even shorter...

    Cheyenne finished reading the letter very quickly. Then, a rare smile appeared on that cold marbled face.

    ¡°Hehe, this President Felic is very interesting...¡±

    ¡°Mentor...¡± Hutton gasped. He wanted to help to speak for President Felic. Hutton had read the contents of the letter. Although the word choice was nuanced and full of euphemism, the aggression and coercion within it was obvious. How could the wise and clever mentor not understand the real meaning behind those words?

    The letter was a risk for great trouble. How would any Legendary powerhouse be able to tolerate such coercion? Their pride reached deep into their bones...

    ¡°It¡¯s alright...¡± Cheyenne shook his head smilingly, and unlike what Hutton expected, he had zero rage in his expression. ¡°Having stepped into the Legendary-realm at the age of 20, it is only normal for President Felic to have such a temperament... Don¡¯t worry, I will not object to the alliance between the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk just because of how the letter is written. To reject such a formidable ally just because of that would be an impulsive act that could only happen between you youngsters. I¡¯m far from that impulsive age...¡±

    When he was speaking, Cheyenne¡¯s smile carried an unabashed sense ofpliment. No one knew if he appreciated the potential of that young President or was impressed with how overbearing the letter was.

    ¡°Alright, we will let Hutton be in charge of the assistance we provide to the Tower of Dusk. Hutton, I will let you decide on the date and manpower.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mentor.¡±

    ¡°Brother...¡± Gromm turned anxious upon seeing how that decision was going to be fixed. ¡°I beg your pardon. We are not even clear about the background of the Tower of Dusk. How could we bet the future of the Malfa Family on them? Why don¡¯t we postpone the decision? We can wait till they settle their scores with the Syer Bandits. They will have to seed to earn the right to form this alliance with the Malfa Family...¡±

    ¡°Right? Haha...¡± All Cheyenne did was smile. Yet, that smile instilled a sense of terror in Gromm. ¡°Gromm, I think that you are bing more and more muddle-headed as you age...¡±

    ¡°W-wha... What...?¡± Gromm was stupefied by Cheyenne¡¯s response.

    ¡°Did you not hear what I said? The President of the guild of magic you were referring to is a Legendary-mage at the age of 20. Do you know what it entails? This means that it is fated for him to enter the Sanctuary-realm in his lifespan... That¡¯s the Sanctuary-realm, an invincible realm that even I have fear for. Did you not realize what it would mean for the future of the family if we were to offend a young Legendary-mage with great potential?¡±

    ¡°I-I... I only suggested to postpone the agreement to observe them, and did not have the intention to offend...¡±

    ¡°Observe? Haha! I¡¯m not sure if I should call you naive or foolish. Do you not know what drove President Felic to write us this letter? Do you think a Legendary-mage does not have the ability to eliminate the entire Syer Bandits? Do you think the ambition of such a talented mage is only limited to one Syer Bandits, or a mere Dnd?¡±

    ¡°Big Brother, what do you mean...?¡±

    ¡°Wait and see. This is just the beginning. The elimination of the Syer Bandits is just a wee gift President Felic intends to give to all the forces in the Breezy ins... Believe me, Gromm, the Tower of Dusk with only a dozen men is fated to be one of the strongest powers in the Breezy ins. They would not give any importance to forces like us and the Dark de... Why don¡¯t you predict who will be their next target after Dnd City? It is obviously Rnd City that is in close proximity to Dnd. And, after that, it will be Aminya. If we were to decline their request for assistance, we would never have the chance to form an alliance with them anymore. They might be in cahoots with the Dark de and turn against us, or even engulf both Dark de and the whole of Aminya...

    ¡°The motive of this letter is not to request assistance, but an instruction for the Malfa Family to choose our side now!¡±

    Cheyenne finally concluded his speech in a self-derogatory note.

    ...

    At this time, Lin Li had reached the Dragon Mountains. He found the camp set up by the mages from the Tower of Dusk very quickly with the help of his massive mental strength.

    Lin Li who had descended from the sky attracted the attention of the mages standing on guard. Gerian and the other mages came out of their tents, and were all looking into the sky vigntly.

    ¡°That¡¯s... Felic? Haha! Why are you sote?¡± Gerian recognized Lin Li very quickly.

    Lin Li greeted Gerian before entering the campsite with other mages.

    ¡°Tell me quickly, what is happening?¡± Lin Li asked eagerly the moment he entered the tent.

    ¡°Those bastards, the Syer Bandits, attacked ck Clouds Town while we were away from the Tower of Dusk. I heard that they dug something out from the church, and had harmed many vigers. Even Old Stt...¡± Gerian scoffed with anger. Even the flesh on his plump face trembled with rage. Gerian looked as though he had a strong urge to burn the bandits into cinders.

    In fact, Gerian did not know much about the situation. He only heard it from Beckley. After giving Gerian some time to cool down, Lin Li again asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Syer left with a few fishes? I¡¯ve gotten rid of Vanskore and his 300 men in the ckstone Mountains. What took you so long?¡±

    ¡°What could we do about it? We have beaten that group of scoundrels up the moment we entered Dragon Mountains. The weird thing is, when we were about to burn their nest down, it was as though these fes had consumed something indigestible. They became more aggressive than usual. Our 100 mages battled them over the span of a few consecutive days, but failed to make any progress. The most absurd thing was, their team suddenly had 10 level-18 Archmages. Goddammit, if I had not reacted fast enough, we would have lost,¡± Gerianined with a sense of injustice.

    ¡°What, 10 level-18 Archmages?¡± Lin Li jumped. He felt bad for letting Gerian and the team suffer such a long deadlock with the bandits. The powers of 10 level-18 Archmages would not be weaker than anymon guild of magic¡¯s.

    ¡°Yeah, and they are all unfamiliar faces. I presume there are other forces in it as well,¡± said Gerian angrily.

    ¡°Other forces...¡± Lin Li could not understand the link within. The leader of the Syer Bandits, Vanskore, as well as the 300 elites had died long ago. Although the Tower of Dusk had just been established, anyone could see the potential it had. It was like a rising star in the Breezy ins. Lin Li could not think of any force that had their head mmed on by the door hard enough to assist a organization that had bad reputation and risk enmity with the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°I suspect there to be a cave.¡± Gerian shared his guess.

    ¡°Cave?¡± Lin Li asked doubtfully.

    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about that first...¡± Gerian said as he took a seat. ¡°Things were still going quite smooth at the beginning. Thanks to you, we located the darn nest of this bunch of rascals easily. It is no wonder that the troops of the casten of Rnd City always fail to eliminate them. Look at this unlucky ce that they chose.¡±

    Lin Li looked where Gerian was pointing his finger. There was a newly drawn map on the table that was ced in the middle of the tent. The map was rough, and only had a few territories drawn on it. It was mainly the region where the nest of the Syer Bandits was located, as well as the surrounding areas.

    ¡°Look at this part...¡± Gerian stood up and gestured Lin Li over. He pointed on the map with his short and stubby finger. ¡°There is a canyon here, and we predict it is where their kennel is located. They have three lines of defense outside the canyon, which acts as a fortress for the organization. They actually have six ballistae and two catapults on the first line of defense here.¡±

 Chapter 476 - Alchemy Colossus

    <strong>Chapter 476: Alchemy Colossus</strong>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°Come to think of it, although our Tower of Dusk has just been established, we do not have many outstanding mages under us. It is their luck to meet such a generous President like you who does not mind spending money on them. Damn it, I¡¯m jealous of all the magical equipment,¡± Gerian eximed enviously as though he saw a child who drank valuable potions like soda drinks...

    ¡°Oh, then how are they performing?¡± Lin Li asked curiously. ¡°No matter how good the equipment is, it ultimately lies with their users. Amb that is fully donned in armor would never defeat a lion.¡±

    The batch of people in the Tower of Dusk was all referred by Basel, and not directly trained or brought up by the organization. Although he had interacted with them for some time, it was not to the extent that he could understand all of their background and personalities.

    Speaking of this, Lin Li remembered that Basel still owed him an answer. That mage who resembled a Legendary powerhouse actually requested to join the Tower of Dusk that had just been established. He could not bring himself to believe the credibility of this man. After negotiating with Basel, that man promised to tell Lin Li the truth after two months. Afterwards, the Tower of Dusk had to deal with the mission in the ckstone Mountains and the leftover bandits from Syer. Thesemitments had postponed his interaction with Basel.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask that old man to tell me everything when I return!¡± Lin Li said with determination. Although he knew Basel had no ill intentions, Lin Li did not feel secure leaving this matter hanging.

    ¡°What are you saying? What old man?¡± Gerian asked curiously as Lin Li spoke to himself.

    Lin Li waved his arms. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Please continue. How are these people?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Fe, did you hear how a group ofmbs led by a lion could defeat a group of lions led by amb? Under my wise leadership, what are those leftovers from the Syer Bandits? I¡¯m not boasting, but as soon as I entered the battle, I put down more than half of the 2,000 men. The rest of them had no choice but to scurry off like rats.¡± This achievement made Gerian beam with pride.

    ¡°Oh? So the rest of them were the reason that held you and yourmbs here for the next two months?¡± Lin Li asked as he nced at Gerian skeptically.

    ¡°This...¡± Gerian¡¯s faced dimmed immediately. He smacked his palm on the map in frustration. ¡°Damn it, that is when my luck took a turn...

    ¡°Do you know how long it took me to chase them to this canyon? Two days. Not to mention that they split their men between the two lines of defense on the left and right side, even if they had ballistae and catapults on thest line of defense, it would not be much of an obstacle for us. You wouldn¡¯t imagine what we met when we got really close to their nest.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li asked curiously. He really could not imagine what treasure the leftovers of the Syer Bandits could have.

    ¡°The Alchemy Colossus! Do you know? There were four freaking Alchemy Colossuses at least 10 meters tall!¡± Gerian gestured wildly with his four short and stubby fingers.

    Lin Li was shocked by what he heard. How could somebody with alchemy background not know what an Alchemy Colossus was? If the practice of magic was to develop the limits of one¡¯s potential, then the practice of alchemy would no doubty in maximizing the use of external forces.

    Speaking of the Alchemy Colossus, one just had to talk about the extinction of the Goblin race in Anril. The Goblins did not have mighty powers or notable talents in magic, so they had to depend on external forces to survive. In order to make up for their natural shorings, the Goblins used their clever and innovative minds to create the Alchemy Colossus, and integrated it with machinery. They paved the way for a short-term magic civilization called Magic Machinery.

    When Lin Li was ying this type of game in the Endless World, he once attempted to explore a relics mission of the Goblin City. It was like a duplicate of the humans¡¯ steampunk era. The products of Magic Machinery weremonly seen in the Goblin¡¯s living environment.

    Of course, in a world that believed in the survival of the fittest, the products created were mostly used in wars. They not only had human-sized alchemy puppet warriors, but also many different kinds of alchemy machinery beasts. The most famous battle machine was the Alchemy Colossus mentioned by Gerian.

    The extinction of the Goblin race happened before the Dark Age. When the High Elvesunched their ns to conquer Anril, the Goblins were exiled to the extreme north for their ugly appearance. They had gonepletely extinct after thousands of years. As for the alchemy the Goblins founded, part of it was also passed down to the future generations. Although the High Elves would never admit it, they had indeed employed a lot of technology created by the Goblins when they constructed the Sky Castles.

    The Alchemy Colossus was considered a high-end war machinery during the Goblins¡¯ era. It was created from the remains of magical beasts and magical metals. Dependent on magical crystals as the source of energy, the numerous Alchemy Arrays were like the soul of the Alchemy Colossus. Apart from employing the Alchemy Colossus to make physical attacks, the Alchemy Array could convert the mana within its magical crystal into different types of spells, and attack the enemies with magic.

    The Alchemy Colossuses yed a great role in making up for the Goblins¡¯ deficiencies. If one were topare the abilities of mages with an Alchemy Colossus, it could be said that thetter had the ability of an Archmage. During the peak of the Goblins¡¯ era, a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus had simr status with the ancient dragons and giant titans. Unfortunately, despite being the founders of Magic Machinery, the Goblins did not have the ability to create many Alchemy Colossuses of the Titan-level. Otherwise, they would not have been eliminated by the High Elves. If a human wished to create a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, he had to be a Divine Smith.

    The greatest strength of humans was the ability to learn. Despite the rapid development of magic civilization, humans did not let the Goblins¡¯ advancement in magic machinery be buried in the dust of history. However, due to the great amount of skills that were lost with the fall of the Goblins and High Elves, there was still a difference when humans studied the Alchemy Colossus. One of the most significant areas was the requirement for the user of the Alchemy Colossus to be at least a Magic Shooter. Yet, in the Goblin¡¯s era, the Goblins did not need to learn any magic to use it. The controlling of the Alchemy Colossus was like how anymon man could learn to drive a vehicle. Not to exaggerate, even if it was a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, as long as one got the permission, any Goblin would be able to control it well.

    However, human potential in the field of magic was gradually discovered after a few magic tides. As magic became a key focus of human study, magic civilization officially entered a period of rapid development. Hence, the Alchemy Colossus that was easy neither to pilot nor create was gradually given up by humans.

    ¡°Oh, yes. I bet you don¡¯t know what the Alchemy Colossus is,¡± Gerian said as he thought of Lin Li¡¯s experiences, and decided to take on the role of a mentor. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you don¡¯t. Before this, I¡¯ve only read about and not seen a real Alchemy Colossus. This Alchemy Colossus is actually a¡ª¡±

    ¡°Just like what you said, the Alchemy Colossus is at least 10 meters tall, and has thebat energy of an Archmage. I wonder if you still remember any other specific information. Were there obvious symbols on the Alchemy Colossus, or unique characteristics in the Alchemy Array?¡± Lin Li interrupted him immediately. He gave no room for Gerian to boast using his knowledge.

    ¡°Erm...¡± Gerian was lost for words. Bastard, do you think you are going to die if you let me show off some of my knowledge?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see any markings. As for the Alchemy Array... What characteristic could it have? It was just very messy.¡±

    Forget it, it was as good as Gerian remaining silent. Lin Li knew that it would be impossible for ayman like Gerian to spot the patterns within the Alchemy Array. ¡°Forget it, I will go and take a look myself when I have the chance...¡±

    It had been some time since Lin Li arrived in the maind of Anril, but he had yet to see a real Alchemy Colossus. From the day he transmigrated to the Sunset Mountains and met Andoine, then entered Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and established the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins, he had travelled to many ces. But, he had yet to leave the borders of Fn Kingdom.

    Although Fn was the first magical kingdom in the maind of Anril, it did not have many achievements rted to the study and use of the Alchemy Array. It could be said that the Alchemy Array had been a forgotten study in Fn Kingdom. The most obvious reason was that it was a kingdom filled with mages, and this made the study of magic orthodox. After all, humans had much greater potential than Goblins in the field of magic. They did not have to forgo the entire study of magic just to work on its details.

    The Breezy ins was located at the borders of Fn Kingdom, while on the other side was Ledin Kingdom. Although Ledin Kingdom was not as developed in magic as Fn Kingdom, it majored in the study of magic, and put no importance on the study of the Alchemy Array. In reality, few people in the entire Anril would want to engage in the study anymore.

    ¡°Who would want to study that thing nowadays?¡± Lin Li understood it very well. The four Alchemy Colossuses the Syer Bandits had were definitely not the relics of the Goblins. It was a fact that the Goblins were not even half the height of humans, and were even diminutive aspared to the Dwarfs that majored in smithing. Hence, humans would never be able to fit in the driver seat of the Alchemy Colossuses that were created by Goblins. Not only that, Lin Li absolutely did not believe there would be anyone in the Syer Bandits who had the ability to modify the Goblin¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses to fit a human inside. After all, that was the Alchemy Colossus, and not something the alchemy mechanical beasts or alchemy puppets could bepared to.

    ¡°Although many kingdoms in the maind of Anril prioritized the study of magic, I¡¯ve heard a particr kingdom that invested a significant amount of energy in the field of Alchemy Array,¡± Gerian said as he stroked his nonexistent beard.

    ¡°Is that so? Tell me more,¡± Lin Li replied with interest.

 Chapter 477 - Rotterdaméˆ¥æªš Alchemist

    <h4>Chapter 477: Rotterdam¡¯s Alchemist</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°It is said that the Rotterdam Kingdom is situated in the region where the Goblins had lived. They had discovered a great number of relics from the Goblins¡¯ era before.¡± Gerian did not forgo any opportunity to show off his knowledge. His two plump lips did not stop moving. ¡°I heard that Rotterdam Kingdom had always been doing rted research into it, and has already seeded in manufacturing their own Alchemy Colossus and employed it in their military. Wait, does that mean the Rotterdam Kingdom is supporting the Syer Bandits...?¡±

    Gerian was not the only one in disbelief. Although the Syer Bandits was a famous organization in the Breezy ins, it was a bandit association, after all. Geographically, it made the most sense for Ledin Kingdom to support them if there were to be any intervention from any external force.

    ¡°Tell me what you know about Rotterdam Kingdom.¡± Lin Li prompted Gerian. He was really keen to know more about the ce. If a kingdom on the maind of Anril would want to study the Alchemy Colossus, it would be possible for the Syer Bandits to do it as well.

    It was rare for Lin Li to have something he did not know of. Gerian forgot the unhappiness he¡¯d felt previously, and continued to st his saliva with excitement as he started to introduce Rotterdam to Lin Li. ¡°This Rotterdam Kingdom is situated in the north of the maind, and more than half of itsnd is covered in snow all year round. Hence, it is called the Land of Eternal Frost. Of course, most of its citizens are living in the southern part of Rotterdam, where it is rtively warmer. On the west of Rotterdam is the Dwarf Kingdom, and I heard that both kingdoms are on very good terms with each other since the Dark Age ended.

    ¡°The Rotterdam Kingdom provided many rare resources for the Dwarf Kingdom. This not only included crops, but also magical technology and its products. Simrly, the Dwarf Kingdom helped Rotterdam forge quality weapons and armor, as well as provided them with rare magical minerals. It could be said that the two kingdoms are role models for an establishment of mutually beneficial rtionship.

    ¡°Speaking of the strength of the Rotterdam Kingdom... Maybe you will not believe it, but ording to various estimates, the Rotterdam Kingdom should rank third in power among the countries in the maind of Anril. Yet, despite having such a formidable strength, Rotterdam had never entered any disputes with the other kingdoms on the maind ever since the end of Dark Age, and no one knows why. It was as though they had zero interest in the other territories. The only conflict it intervened in was when the Dwarf Kingdom got invaded. The Rotterdam Kingdom sent their troops to the aid, and it was said an Alchemy Colossus was part of the team. But, this is just hearsay, and not from the official historical records.¡±

    ¡°Oh? It seems that this Rotterdam Kingdom is really low-key,¡± Lin Limented casually.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, low-key is the word. They were low-key to the point that many people from other kingdoms would never hear that there is such a kingdom existing on the maind.¡± Gerian took a sip of water before ending his speech helplessly. ¡°I only know this much.¡±

    Lin Li shook his head after hearing it. To be honest, anyone would be able to acquire such information easily from books. But, ording to Gerian¡¯s words, the four Alchemy Colossuses from the Syer Bandits might be closely rted to the Rotterdam Kingdom. After all, Alchemy Colossuses were considered high-level magic machinery during the Goblins¡¯ era. No one could recreate them just by conducting some simple research. The production of an Alchemy Colossus required high-quality machinery and forging techniques, which conditions could be easily met with the rtionship between Rotterdam and the Dwarf Kingdom.

    Lin Li really could not think of any other kingdom in the maind of Anril which could create an Alchemy Colossus. He was also extremely curious why Rotterdam would provide aid to the Syer Bandits.

    ¡°Forget it, I will make it a point to see the Alchemy Colossus myself. Let¡¯s talk about how the battle went. Since the power of the Alchemy Colossus isparable to an Archmage, I presume that our mages had no trouble dealing with it?¡± Lin Li stopped thinking about the rtionship between Rotterdam Kingdom and the Alchemy Colossus, and directed his attention to the team¡¯s battle information.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯d be good if there were only four Alchemy Colossuses. That big guy was so dumb. As long as we strategize, they would be done for. After I brought the men for a temporary retreat, I managed to lure them into a trap. But, just when I was about to smash those big guys, 10 freaking level-18 Archmages appeared out of nowhere. Goddammit, if I had had such a force, I would have swept Jarrosus clean,¡± Gerian said affectedly. If he had had 10 Archmages, how would he have let the Shadow¡¯s Nest attack his Jarrosus? Being a guild President, the fact that his guild was always looked down on just because of its geographical location made Gerian very embarrassed.

    ¡°What? There were 10 level-18 Archmages?¡± Lin Li eximed in shock. Although Gerian was standing in front of him as a breathing man, Lin Li could not help but feel concerned for him.

    Not to mention a broken guild like in Jarrosus, few strong guilds of magic or families in the whole Fn Kingdom would have the ability to defeat 10 level-18 Archmages. If Lin Li had not been generous in equipping his mages with all the armor and weapons, they would have been sted into pieces by those Archmages.

    ¡°I¡¯ve confronted them many times enough to be sure that I¡¯ve seen them correctly. Do you think it was easy for me to hold up the four Alchemy Colossuses and 10 Archmages?¡± Gerian said with lingering fear. The opponents felt like 14 Archmages, after all.

    ¡°So you had many exchanges with them? How was the casualty rate? Why didn¡¯t you retreat?¡± Lin Li asked doubtfully. Since they had a great difference in power, why did Gerian choose to stay? He knew Gerian was not a rigid person.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know that youck manpower, and that makes it seem like your actions are mere harassment. Look, the good thing is that we are all alive.

    ¡°I did not call for retreat as I realized they appear to be preparing for something. Especially the 10 Archmages, they would only appear when we got close to the bandits¡¯ nest. It was as though they were busy with something, and could not leave far. Otherwise, they would have driven us out of the Dragon Mountains.¡±

    <i>What could be the matter that would upy the 10 Archmages?</i> Lin Li thought about how the Syer Bandits dug something out of the church in ck Clouds Town. <i>Could the Archmages be protecting that treasure? But, what treasure could it be? I¡¯ll ask the people from the Malfa directly when theye over.</i>

    After hearing the updates on his guild, Lin Li left the tent with Gerian. As the President of the guild, as well as the owner of the Tower of Dusk, it was only natural for him to go and have a look at the condition of his men. At least three months had passed since he was away from the guild. He noticed some new faces in the Tower of Dusk, but knew that there was still no one with outstanding abilities.

    ¡°President Felic, let me introduce the new people to you.¡± That was Gavin, whose role in Tower of Dusk was like a majordomo¡¯s. Although he had no official duty, he took charge of most of the matters.

    There was an addition of 13 new members in Tower of Dusk over the three months Lin Li was away. However, the most able among them was only a level-14 Magic Shooter, while the less able ones were two Magic Shooters who had just reached level-10. It couldn¡¯t be helped, since the guild of magic had just been established in the Breezy ins, and the stronger mages had all been attracted by the other forces long ago. If not for Basel¡¯s introduction, Lin Li would have to bring a group of people under level-10 on all of his missions. It would be like a child ying around then.

    Gavin was a level-16 Archmage, and was considered the strongest mage after the President. Of course, that was excluding Basel, who was the Head Referee of the guild. After them would be n. He had just quit his habit of being a miser with mana, and sessfully be a level-15 Archmage. The rest of the people were mostly Magic Shooters of level-10 to level-13, but it was still considered a significant force after being equipped with quality gear.

    At this time, the new members of the Tower of Dusk were all looking at their young President. Although they had all heard that their President was a young man, they only knew how outdated they were when they saw the President in person. Usually, a young guild President would be around 40 to 50 years of age. None of them had imagined that he would look so young.

    Of course, despite the fact that their President was really young, no one dared to doubt his ability. Although the existing members did not tell them his age to prevent people from provoking the President, they¡¯d frequently tell them how terrifying his powers were.

    After meeting the new members, he went to visit the injured members with Gavin, and had a cordial chat with them. Lin Li tried to understand the details of their injury and asked them if they had any problems and difficulties. Then, he reassured them to focus on the treatment and wished them a speedy recovery...

    It was a blessing none of them had been severely injured despite having faced four Alchemy Colossuses and 10 level-18 Archmages. After visiting the wounded, Lin Li took out some Healing Potions and instructed Gavin to hand them to the others.

    The sight of the Healing Potions changed the expressions of the new members. Healing Potions were very different from vulnerary. Thetter had very general and basic functions like treating inmmation and clotting blood. The Healing Potions, however, were considered high-level magical potions that could rapidly heal injuries. Things that could be used to save lives were usually not cheap. One such Healing Potion could be sold from 8,000 to up to 1,000,000 gold coins in the market.

    But, this young President not only gave the potions to them, but also did it without any sign of hesitation despite the hefty price. This won the favor of new members by a lot.

    ¡°Mr. President, your tent has been prepared. You may take a rest now,¡± Gavin said as he went back to Lin Li after he distributed the Healing Potions.

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go,¡± Lin Li replied gently, and followed Gavin to the tent.

    ¡°Mr. President, feel free to call me if you have any needs,¡± said Gavin respectfully. When he first entered the Tower of Dusk through Basel, he had thoughts of supnting the young President, yet he did not dare to entertain such thoughts anymore. He was present in the ckstone Mountains when he first saw the young level-19 Archmage use his powers. Now that he was back, Gavin could feel a stronger power within the young President. Gavin could hardly imagine what could be stronger than a level-19 Archmage. Mr. President was only 20 years old! 20 years old!

    That night, the young and mysterious President was the main topic in discussions of all the guild members. No one dared to belittle him for his young age. The existence of the young President gave everyone ample confidence in themselves and the future of the Tower of Dusk.

    It had been some time since Lin Li had a good rest. He remembered it had been nearly four months since he¡¯dst slept in his tent in the ckstone Mountains. This time, despite being dangerously close to the enemies, he felt extremely carefree when he slept.

    Lin Li took an extremely long rest. He slept for three days and three nights. It was not that he waszy, but that his mental strength had been greatly depleted from his journey to the Abyss of Tharlen. Using Connoris¡¯ ancient demonic runes had consumed a great amount of his mental strength. If it had been other people, their brain would have burst.

    It was noon when Lin Li woke up. When he wanted to get some food, he saw Gavin standing outside his door. It seemed that Gavin wanted to look for him. ¡°Hey, Mage Gavin. When did you arrive? What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Mr. President, Hutton from the Malfa Family is waiting outside the campsite. He is looking for you.¡± Gavin had an unusual expression. He did not know that Lin Li had sent an invitation to the Malfa Family. Gavin knew about the tension the President had with the family. Hence, he felt very confused when he saw Hutton extremely polite when he brought his men over.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s alright. I sent Beckley to the Malfas to request assistance,¡± said Lin Li casually.

    But, Gavin still could not regain hisposure. That was the Malfa Family¡ªone of the top forces of the Breezy ins! How would the young master of the family personally attend to the President¡¯s request just because of a letter?

    Lin Li did not care what was on Gavin¡¯s mind. ¡°Leave him alone for the time being. Bring me my breakf¡ª lunch.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, Mr. President,¡± Gavin replied after a short pause. But, thinking of how his President was treated by the Malfas, Gavin thought that it was only right for them to leave Hutton hanging for a while.

    Hutton and a few of his followers were standing in front of the entrance of the campsite. It had been some time since he sent the message of his arrival. Yet, there was no more response from the campsite. He did not see their President anywhere, either.

    ¡°Sir Hutton, they are too rude. How could they let you wait here when they are the ones who summoned us?¡± One of the followers sulked with a great sense of injustice.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Sir Hutton, why don¡¯t we return to the campsite first?¡± another follower asked.

    ¡°Shut up, we will wait here silently,¡± Hutton snapped at the two followers in a low voice.

    Finally, after some time, a burly mage with the built of a Warrior came out of the campsite. ¡°I suppose you must be Mage Hutton from the Malfa Family. Our President is waiting inside. Please follow me in,¡± the mage said to Hutton.

    That made Hutton¡¯s followers very indignant. This was the first time they saw anyone treat the Malfa Family like that. Not only did they not wait at the door for the arrival of the young master, they also sent no one to greet him. Now, did they just let a servant call them in? Who did they think they were?

    The two men looked at their master expectantly. They were waiting for Hutton¡¯s order so they could dash into the campsite. They were so prepared to bring that darn President before Hutton for an apology. But, they did not expect the arrogant young master to take a step back.

    ¡°Oh, sure. I¡¯d trouble you to bring me there then,¡± said Hutton politely.

    Hutton got increasingly shocked as he entered the campsite behind Gavin. Since the Tower of Dusk had only been established less than half a year ago, Hutton had not expected to see the campsite and mages to be so different from his expectations. He knew how great the young President Felic was. But, he just could not believe his eyes.

    The moment he entered the campsite, he looked at the arrangement of the different facilities. Although it was a temporary campsite, it had a simple arrangement that was extremely orderly and well-nned. Hutton was a clever man. He could tell that the scattered formation of the tents had the ability to counterrge-scale magical attacks and provide great support to one another in emergency.

    What surprised Hutton the most was the mages from the Tower of Dusk.

    Mages had incredibly high social status in this world. Hence, it made most of them verycent andcking discipline and respect for others. It was the same for the mages in the Malfa Family¡ªthey would feel very insulted if they were asked to train their battle formation like the Warriors.

    Yet, the mages in the Tower of Dusk reminded Hutton of a group of well-trained Warriors despite their differing magic abilities. He even felt that the elites in his family might not even have much chance of winning if they were to challenge this group of mages.

    The main reason was not that the mages in Tower of Dusk had great abilities, but Lin Li¡¯s willingness to invest heavily in them. Lin Li¡¯s action made them feel that they needed the Tower of Dusk, and not the other way round. Hence, in order not to be given up by the Tower of Dusk, they had to put in effort to adapt to their rules.

    Unlike them, mages in local forces such as the Malfa Family were hired and paid. These forces did their best to amodate them for fear that they would quit and join other forces if they were unhappy with their treatment. How would they dare to let them participate in training just like Warriors?

    It couldn¡¯t be theirck ofpetency, either. To Hutton, although none of those mages other than that monstrous President could impress him, all of them were at least level-10. Together, they would be a significant force that couldn¡¯t be ignored.

    Although a team made up entirely of mages was not something to be amazed with, what about the military-style discipline they had? Then, Hutton suddenly realized another difference between the mages in the Tower of Dusk and his own family¡¯s. Each of the mages here was wearing and using high-level magical equipment which his family could not bear to give their employees. To them, only the core team of the family had the right to own these items. Even the elites he¡¯d brought along only had a few pieces of normal magical equipment.

    Damn it! Could it be that there was a sale going on at the stores recently? Look at those magic robes! That magic staff! And that jewelry! Hutton felt a little resentful when he looked back at the status of the elites of the Malfa Family. They were like poor beggars rtive to the people in the Tower of Dusk.

    Hutton was even thinking if he should think of a way to ensure that his men did not meet the mages in the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, they would be fighting to enter the Tower of Dusk beforepleting their mission.

    Hutton had mixed feelings when he followed Gavin to Lin Li¡¯s tent.

    Gavin gestured to Hutton to wait outside as he entered to notify Mr. President of Hutton¡¯s arrival. Then, Gavin came out of the tent. ¡°Mage Hutton, our President would like to invite you in.¡±

    Hutton smiled as he nodded his head, and walked towards the tent.

    This time, one of the followers sped in front of Hutton. He reached out his arms to help Hutton open the entrance of the tent.

    But, his arms were blocked by Gavin. ¡°Our President only invited Hutton in,¡± Gavin reminded sternly.

    ¡°You!!¡± Hutton¡¯s follower shouted. He was enraged. <i>How rude! Why is the host not yet out to receive us? </i>He felt that it was as if the darn President was calling the young master of Malfa like a servant.

    Since Hutton really wanted to butter up to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, how would he care to haggle over such trifles with them? Hutton waved his arms at his men. ¡°You two... return first. Tell them no one is to leave the campsite without my orders.¡±

    Initially, Hutton had ns for his men to wait outside the tent. But, he feared the two men might wreak havoc in the campsite of the Tower of Dusk.

    The followers of the Malfa Family were oblivious of the conversation that happened in Sorenson¡¯s study. One of the reasons was to protect the pride of the family, and the other was out of fear that the leakage of the secret might trigger that young President. Geresco¡¯s three relics were extraordinary. If one revealed they had a new owner, it would create amotion. Then, the Malfa Family would be the first to get into trouble.

    Hutton could not exin his concerns to his men. All he could do was to give them orders so they minimize any interaction with the people in the Tower of Dusk. Without interaction, there would be no conflict.

    Hutton¡¯s gave them an extremely wisemand. But, many a time, people were affected by their so-called mon sense¡¯. Who would think highly of a 20-year-old President and a guild of magic which was incapable of dealing with the leftovers of the Syer Bandits?

    Lin Li had just finished his meal when Hutton entered. He gestured at the seat beside him, and said smilingly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be here so early, Mage Hutton.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, as a force of the Breezy ins, it is our utmost responsibility to deal with the bandits affecting the stability and peace of our region. Hence, I¡¯ve mobilized the elites of my family immediately as soon as I received your message. We have traveled here at twice our usual speed to assist you. Hope we would be of help in the operation to eliminate the bandits,¡± Hutton replied ingratiatingly the moment he sat down.

    <i>Bullsh*t, I¡¯d be a moron if I were to believe your fanciful words. Weren¡¯t you in cahoots with the Syer Bandits before this?</i>

    Despite his natural distrust in Hutton¡¯s words, Lin Li did not expose Hutton directly. ¡°Then I shall trouble you, Mage Hutton. I believe that the elites of the Malfa Family have to be extraordinarily strong.¡±

    ¡°You are too kind with your words. I¡¯ve seen for myself how capable your men are as well. I¡¯m really envious of you,¡± Hutton responded tteringly.

    The two men Hutton had brought along, Yeric and Waldo, turned towards the exit of the camp without giving Gavin a second look. Both of them were outstanding figures in the team of mages under the Malfa Family. Their capability was simr to that of Emendas, and they were both level-16 Archmages. They would have the ability to eliminate all the forces in Jarrosus and take control of the entire ce if they wanted.

    The two men discussed Sir Hutton¡¯s unusual behavior as they walked towards the exit. They could not understand why Hutton had to be so cautious with this newly established guild. As the first heir to the Malfa Family, Hutton was quite an esteemed man in the Breezy ins.

 Chapter 478 - The Arm of the Immortal King

    <h4>Chapter 478: The Arm of the Immortal King</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hey, look at that.¡± Yeric suddenly stopped in his tracks. He gestured to Waldo with his elbow.

    Waldo looked in the direction Yeric was signaling him to. He saw a plump mage teaching a youth mage apprentice in one of the empty fields in the campsite. The scene was hrious to both men. They could not believe a man in his 20s would still be a mage apprentice. They thought it had to be either the young man¡¯sck of potential or the failure of that plump mage.

    The fatso in the campsite of the Tower of Dusk would naturally be Gerian. Meanwhile, the youth mage apprentice who had been terribly reprimanded was Garso, the son of Old Stt.

    Despite all theshings Gerian gave his student, it was a fact that he really treasured Garso. This was not only due to Gerian¡¯s rtionship with Old Stt, but also his recognition of the bit of potential Garso had for learning magic.

    The death of his father caused by the Syer Bandits motivated Garso to put in more effort into learning magic. He was driven to avenge his father. It was indeed ridiculous to still be a mage apprentice at this age, but it was a fact that Garso had progressed close to level-5 in just a few months of practice. He would be a real mage when he reached level-5.

    However, although Garso had good potential in magic, he started toote. This would put a limit to what he could achieve in the future as well. After all, Old Stt was just an old cksmith in ck Clouds Town. He struggled to make ends meet with his business. How would he have the ability to let his son learn magic? Furthermore, mages were considered divine in the eyes ofmon men. Many people would never dare to wonder whether they could attain that seemingly unattainable status of a mage.

    How would Yeric and Waldo know Garso¡¯s background? To them, it was as if they were watching a lowly mentor educating a lowly student. They ridiculed the stark contrast in body size between the mentor and student.

    ¡°Ha! So this is the standard of the Tower of Dusk? It is no wonder that they had no ability to fight the Syer Bandits. I think that apprentice would be better off being a bandit,¡± ridiculed Yeric gloatingly. He made no effort in lowering his volume. To him, it would not matter if the other party could hear him. What could possibly happen if they did? Their President was in need of the Malfa Family¡ªnot the other way around.

    ¡°Moron,¡± Gerian muttered under his breath. As the President of his guild of magic, his hearing had been perfected from listening in on all the gossips of himself between his men. His sense of hearing was so sharp that even the sneezing of a mosquito would never escape Gerian¡¯s ears. However, he was toozy to care about Yeric. He treated Yeric¡¯s gloating as a dog¡¯s barking on the streets.

    Unfortunately, the two men who Gerian did not feel like giving attention to had nowhere to vent their pent-up anger. How would they give up on any opportunity to ridicule the Tower of Dusk?

    Yeric took a few steps forward. He waved his magic staff and sized Garso up with a belittling expression. Then, he turned to look at Waldo. ¡°Some mage-apprentice-for-life just cannot understand the reality, and thinks that magic is for everyone. The worst part is not the student, but the deceitful mentor that sacrifices the future of his student for his personal interests.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t that a really fantastic bandit material? To be able to continue to deceive a 20-odd years old person into learning magic. The Tower of Dusk really has all sorts of talents!¡± Waldo chimed in.

    As somebody who had experience in living independently, even if Garso did not mind being made fun of, how would he be willing to let people mock his mentor? He red at the two men andshed out at them. ¡°Who are you to talk bad about my mentor? Listen carefully. My mentor is the President of Jarrosus Guild of Magic.¡±

    It had only been a few months since Garso started learning magic. As the priority for him was to focus on his study, Gerian would never bother telling him any other information unrted to magic. Hence, it was not unusual for him to be unfamiliar with the happenings in the mage industry. To him, since magic guilds were organizations that mages attended, then guild Presidents would naturally be the people who led the mages. There wouldn¡¯t be any other people who could be more capable than the President of a magic guild.

    ¡°Jarrosus? Where is that? Why have I not heard about that ce? Waldo, do you know Jarrosus? This person is actually the President of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic!¡± Yeric jeered. He really had zero respect for the guild President of a countryside like Jarrosus.

    ¡°Goddammit, scram if you have finished your piece. I don¡¯t have the responsibility to educate you bastards. That is the duty of your parents,¡± Gerian snapped in disapproval.

    Gerian¡¯s words enraged Yeric. As a level-16 Archmage, he had not been scolded by such a country bumpkin before. ¡°You darn fatso! Whom are you scolding?¡± Yeric shouted in agitation.

    ¡°Idiot...¡± Gerian remarked. His temperament had allowed him to filter out people of lowly moral standards. ¡°I will be responsible for teaching my own student. It is not going to help if you continue with your crap at the side...¡± Gerian continued speaking after he rolled his eyes. He still did not give them any attention.

    ¡°Teaching your student? Haha! You are the one full of crap. I presume that this mage apprentice is in his 20s,¡± Yeric retorted, and sized Gerian up arrogantly. ¡°It is no wonder that your President would be requesting help from the Malfa Family just to deal with those several bandits. You good for nothing!¡±

    Garso felt extremely awkward. He felt that he had not only ruined the reputation of the Tower of Dusk, but also embarrassed Mentor Gerian. No matter what the reason was, the fact that he was a mage apprentice in his 20s was not something glorious to talk about.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Gerian nced at Yeric. He said nothing as he walked towards him emotionlessly. Then, down came a tight p on Yeric¡¯s face.

    Yeric held his hand to his cheek in shock and eximed, ¡°You... You!!¡± His gaze fixed on Gerian was filled with disbelief. How... How could this fatso p him before the eyes of so many people?

    ¡°What do you want to say exactly?¡± Gerian rolled his eyes again. ¡°Although I had told you that I did not wish to educate you on behalf of your parents, I did not tell you that it¡¯d be the same if you were to trigger me...¡±

    Yeric¡¯s face flushed with color. He started to recite a spell hurriedly. The red magical crystal on his magic staff became unusually bright...

    But, Yeric quickly noticed his failure to gather his mana. Then, he saw about 20 to 30 mages from the Tower of Dusk circling around him when he lifted his head again.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk were not devout people. They had done all sorts of malicious deeds ever since they had started to follow their wicked and ruthless President. Not to mention that their opponents were a group of mages from the Malfa Family, so what if they came from the Glittergold Trade Union? The mages from the Tower of Dusk would not care as much when it was time to act. They only knew to unleash all their spells before finding time for other matters.

    Furthermore, who was Gerian? He was the most unique existence in the Tower of Dusk, a man whom even the President of the tower showed tremendous respect. It was said that Mr. President knew Gerian when he was still a low-level mage. Who would be able to deal with the rage of Mr. President if anything were to happen to Gerian?

    The atmosphere in the campsite turned extremely tense. The two forces that were supposed to be battling side by side became like two bulls that were ring at each other with their red eyes filled with enmity.

    Fortunately, it was just tension...

    Although both parties were filled with anger, they were not void of reason. Both of them knew that no one would benefit if they were to start a fight.

    The people in the magic guild knew that although their President frequently smiled and was usually gentle, he would be more frightening than an enraged wyrm if he were to get angry...

    It was the same for the Malfa Family. There was no guarantee that they would be able to defeat the dozen of Magic Shooters from the Tower of Dusk. Apart from that, before setting off, Hutton had made it clear that they were not to start any gunfire easily.

    At the same time, the conversation in the tent was going on very pleasantly.

    ¡°We have six Archmages¡ªtwo of them level-16 and four of them level-15. For Magic Shooters, six of them are level-14, while the other 26 of them are level-12 and level-13.¡± Hutton was telling Lin Li of the ability of the team he had brought along with him. He was trying his best to portray the sincerity of the family in the partnership.

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good. The Malfa Family is really powerful...¡± Lin Limented, and nodded his head.

    Hutton quickly replied, ¡°President Felic, you are too kind to say that. I¡¯ve met the mages in the Tower of Dusk. They are the real elites...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li smiled and waved his hands. He thought of the reason why he¡¯d invited the Malfa Family. ¡°Oh yes, Hutton. Other than inviting the Malfa Family to participate in our operation to eliminate the nest of the bandits this time, I have a question to ask as well¡ª¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s speech was interrupted when Gavin pulled the entrance of the tent open and dashed in anxiously. ¡°Mr. President, there is trouble outside! The two mages from the Malfa Family and Mage Gerian got in a fight.¡±

    Gavin was an honest man...

    But, there were instances that honest men would lie as well. There was no fight happening outside. It was just the old man Gerian giving people a tight p...

    Yet, this was amon sight. The mages in the Tower of Dusk had always been sickly biased toward their own people. It did not matter who was at fault. As long as their own people were involved, their first instinct was to fight it out with magic.

    This could not be helped when their President was somebody who was the best in siding with his people.

    Mr. President had the most ridiculous reaction. ¡°What happened? Did the old man injure himself?¡± the concerned President asked. He had stood up the moment he heard Gavin speak.

    ¡°...¡± Despite being by the young President¡¯s side for such a long time, and being used to seeing the President cover up for various faults, the President¡¯s question gave Gavin an urge to puke blood at his obvious act of being partial to their guild of magic. Instead of asking about the reason behind the fight, his President was actually asking about that old man! And, the old man was the one let Malfa¡¯s mage lose his teeth with a single p...

    Fortunately, Hutton did not have that much time to think about the problem with Lin Li¡¯s attitude. Gavin¡¯s words triggered him. <i>Goddammit, didn¡¯t I let the two morons return first? How did they start a fight?</i>

    <i>I should not have brought the two idiots over! Damn it, do they know who our partner is? Is that someone we can offend? Our partner is somebody who could easily eliminate 300 men from the ruthless Syer Bandits in a single sneak attack!</i>

    <i>Are the two fools here to dig a pit for the Malfa Family?</i>

    ¡°Nope, they are in a deadlock now...¡±

    Lin Li felt better after knowing that Gerian was not injured. ¡°Mage Hutton, should you go and take a look with us?¡± He turned towards Hutton.

    ¡°Of course, of course. I¡¯m terribly sorry. My people are not sensible enough. I¡¯ll definitely punish them when I return...¡± Hutton replied in relief. He knew the alliance could be secure as long as his men did not injure Gerian. The two subordinates did not matter to him anymore.

    ¡°It¡¯s a small matter...¡± Lin Li waved his arms. ¡°A little punishment will do. Please do not use any tortures on them, for they are two living people, after all. It is not easy to have lived to this age,¡± he said casually.

    ¡°...¡± Gavin nearly choked on his saliva. He knew that the young President would win the award for being the most shameless mage of the Breezy ins...

    Lin Li took Hutton¡¯s attempt to be polite for granted. It was as though it was the fault of the Malfa Family¡¯s and no one else¡¯s. <i>My dear Mr. President, the cheeks of the two living men are already swollen from Gerian¡¯s p...</i>

    The three men got to the scene very quickly. They saw the mages of the Tower of Dusk in a circle, and inside the circle were Gerian, Garso, and the two mages from the Malfa Family.

    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know that the people of the Tower of Dusk are not only impolite, but also shameless viins... What do you guys want? To besiege your ally?¡± Yeric said as heughed coldly.

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    Yeric suddenly felt a hard kick on his back. He had to stumble a few steps forward to maintain his bnce. After regaining his posture, Yeric turned back and red behind him. He wanted to see who was the shameless man who¡¯d dared to attack him from the back. But, his angry re turned into a fearful gaze when he locked eyes with Sir Hutton. Sir Hutton had a re so cold it could freeze even air.

    ¡°Y-Young Master... What brings you here...?¡± Waldo stuttered. He did not expect Hutton to be here.

    ¡°Did you forget what I just told you?¡± Hutton said coldly. He swept his gaze over the two men. Other than frustration, there was a sense of helplessness. He just realized the mages in the Tower of Dusk were really obedient aspared to the Malfa¡¯s.

    ¡°Sir Hutton, they were too rude. How could they show such a strong attitude when they were the ones begging for our assistance? They are acting as if we owe it to them!¡± Yeric retorted defiantly.

    <i>What sh*t are you talking about? Since when did I tell you they begged for our aid? But, you are right to say that we owe it to them!</i>

    Hutton stole a quick nce at Lin Li awkwardly. He only felt a little relieved when he saw that the young President did not disy any sign of unhappiness. However, he could not allow his men to continue to speak any more nonsense.

    ¡°Alright, enough is enough! This matter had been approved by the elders of the family, and I know what I¡¯m doing. Both of you just need to follow my instructions without any questions. I want you to apologize to Mage Gerian and his student right now,¡± chided Hutton affirmatively.

    Yeric and Waldo stole a nce at each other and saw extreme disbelief and dismay in each other¡¯s eyes. Their inferiority to Lin Li required them to follow Hutton¡¯s orders. They apologized to Gerian and Garso unwillingly.

    ¡°Please do not let this happen again. Go back and remind the others about this, or else I will make you pay for it.¡± Huttonshed at them angrily.

    ¡°Noted, Sir Hutton,¡± the two men replied with their heads down.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what do you think?¡± Hutton asked Lin Li cautiously.

    Lin Li did not want to make things difficult for the men who had already lowered their status so greatly. ¡°Mage Hutton, since you have dealt with this matter, I think we can continue our previous conversation.¡±Read more chapter on vi pnovel

    To be honest, Hutton¡¯s rage came from the trouble caused by the two men. However, he would not have dared to give the two level-16 Archmages any physical punishment. He looked at Gerian and Garso apologetically before following Lin Li back into the tent.

    When they were back, it was as if nothing had happened. Lin Li let Hutton return to his seat and resumed the conversation on a serious note. ¡°Mage Hutton, I have a question, and I need you to tell me the truth. I suspect that this matter is rted to the Syer Bandits¡¯ transformation.¡±

    ¡°Sure, please ask freely,¡± Hutton replied very sincerely. He was relieved that the two rascals did not waste his previous efforts of buttering up to the President.

    ¡°Mage Hutton, you might have thought that my n of eliminating the Syer Bandits was onlyunched after my return,¡± said Lin Li. He did not raise his question immediately, but decided to tell Hutton of his reasons.

    ¡°Oh, is that not the case?¡± Hutton asked curiously.

    Lin Li shook his head. ¡°In fact, this operation against the Syer Bandits has started two months ago. It was led by the President of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, Gerian. He brought the mages from the Tower of Dusk to the Dragon Mountains. That¡¯s because we had allowed for the time we would need to locate their nest.¡±

    Hutton felt even more curious. He had seen the abilities of the mages from the Tower of Dusk himself. If what President Felic said was true, why did the operation drag on for such a long time? Hutton frowned. ¡°Could it be that there are still powerful people in the remains of Syer Bandits?¡±

    ¡°You have had interactions with the Syer Bandits. Do you know if they own any Alchemy Colossus?¡± Lin Li had been stunned when Gerian had broken the news to him. Hence, he was determined to surprise Hutton as well.

    As expected, Hutton was stupefied by Lin Li¡¯s words. He gaped, and Lin Li could see his lips trembling. ¡°President Felic, what did you just say? Did I hear it wrongly? Did you just mention the Alchemy Colossus? Did you mean that the Syer Bandits own an Alchemy Colossus?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They have four Alchemy Colossuses. I¡¯m sure Mage Hutton understands what that means.¡± Lin Li smiled. He was satisfied with Hutton¡¯s response.

    Hutton was in extreme disbelief. While the ability of an Alchemy Colossus wasparable to an Archmage¡¯s, theirbat energy was actually more powerful. How would such treasures end up in the hands of the Syer Bandits? Vanskore did not tell him about the Alchemy Colossuses at all.

    Hutton frowned even harder. He looked at Lin Li doubtfully. ¡°President Felic, I¡¯ve seen the strength of your team. Although I¡¯m not sure how the Syer Bandits acquired the Alchemy Colossuses, I doubt you would take more than two months to wrestle with them...¡±

    ¡°What if there were 10 more level-18 Archmages?¡± Lin Li asked enviously. He knew that if the Tower of Dusk were to have a team of 10 level-18 Archmages, no other force in the Breezy ins would dare to speak loudly in front of his tower.

    However, his envy did notst. The thought that he could create the Rune Potion from the Dragon¡¯s Tongue he acquired in the ckstone Mountains reaffirmed Lin Li of the potential of his tower. The effects of the potion would be absolute. Who knew if he was going to have 10 more Archmages from it?

    The side effect of the Rune Potion was very obvious. The consumption of it would end all possibilities of further advancement in the field of magic. Yet, how many mages had the confidence that they had the ability to be an Archmage in the course of their lives? There were too many Magic Shooters stuck at the gate of level-14 for life. Lin Li was certain that no one would reject the potion. But, he would have one condition: loyalty to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°What are you saying?!¡± Hutton gasped. He knew that his family would never have the ability to gather 10 level-18 Archmages. He was also certain that the team would not be the remains of Syer Bandits.

    ¡°Yes. Although I don¡¯t know which force the 10 level-18 Archmages belong to, I¡¯m sure they are not under the Syer Bandits. But, why would there still be forces behind the Syer Bandits? What are they plotting?¡± Lin Li verbalized his thoughts to Hutton, his fingers tapping on the table gently.

    ¡°That¡¯s true... What are they plotting?¡± Hutton was in a daze. The fact that there were 10 level-18 Archmages shocked him. Although the Malfa Family had their personal Legendary powerhouse, but Legendary powerhouses were like nuclear weapons. They were meant to incite fear in their enemies. Unlike them, Archmages were like conventional missiles. They really could be used to attack people.

    ¡°This brings me back to the reason behind my decision to raid them. They attacked ck Clouds Town. I presume Mage Hutton is not unfamiliar with this ce? I heard that the Syer Bandits dug something out from the underground of the church in ck Clouds Town.¡± Lin Li knocked his fingers against the table twice. He noticed Hutton shivering in fear.

    ¡°I-is that so... W-what was it?¡± Hutton asked with fleeting nces.

    Lin Li locked his gaze with Hutton¡¯s persistently. ¡°You should tell me what was hiding beneath the church in ck Clouds Town!¡±

    ¡°Erm...¡± Hutton was hesitating. Since there was no hope for him to acquire Geresco¡¯s three relics, it made it even more important for him to protect the information on that item. However, if he were to hide it from President Felic, the rtionship between the Malfa Family and Tower of Dusk would really be damaged.

    ¡°Mage Hutton, no matter what hid beneath the church of ck Clouds Town, it is a fact that it had been dug out by the Syer Bandits or a mysterious force. What¡¯s the use of hiding it from me?¡± Lin Li spoke cynically in a t voice, raising his eyebrows.

    Hutton shook his head helplessly. He could not help but admit the truth. Since the item had been acquired by other forces, and there was the alliance between his family and the Tower of Dusk, what was the use of concealing the information?

    ¡°It was one of the arms of the Immortal King,¡± Hutton replied bitterly.

    ¡°What?!¡± Lin Li was prepared to remainposed no matter how extraordinary the item was. However, he did not expect it to be so fantastical. Hutton had to be joking. How could someone throw the arm of the Immortal King in such a random ce?

    Hutton coughed gently. ¡°In the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction, although the Immortal King eventually killed his enemy, he lost one of his arms in the process. He could very well reattach his arm with the power he had. However, no one knows why, but the Immortal King did not choose to do so. He ditched that arm on the battlefield¡ªthe Breezy ins of today.¡±

    ¡°There have to be many people fighting over the arm of the Immortal King,¡± Lin Li said as he rubbed his chin.

    Hutton shook his head. ¡°No one knew of this at first. It wasn¡¯t until an unforgettable catastrophe happened in the Breezy ins that people knew the Immortal King had left his arm here. A Death Knight acquired that arm.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s brows twitched. He thought of the dozen Death Knights under him. They were really troublesome to train.

    Hutton was oblivious to what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind. ¡°With the help from the Immortal King¡¯s arm, that Death Knight became the first Retribution Knight in the whole Anril. He gathered a group of powerful Death Knights under him very quickly and started a raid on the Breezy ins. All living creatures on thend became their enemies. The poption of the Breezy ins was reduced by more than one-third in a mere decade. Even a few cities, including Rnd, were turned into ruins.¡±

 Chapter 479 - Secret

    <h4>Chapter 479: Secret</h4>

    Lin Li had previously had a discussion with Sendros about the Retribution Knight. The Retribution Knight was a legendary Death Knight, and the special thing about the Retribution Knight was that there could only be one Retribution Knight at any point in time. Once a Death Knight became a Retribution Knight, all the other Death Knights would stop evolving and voluntarilye forth to pledge their loyalty to this new Retribution Knight no matter how far away they had to travel to find it.

    As these Death Knights became the loyal subjects of the Retribution Knight and stopped evolving, all the power they gained from battles would be transferred to this Retribution Knight so as to help it evolve faster. Hence, every Retribution Knight was scarily powerful, and merely the word legendary was not enough to describe them.

    Lin Li had recruited a group of Death Knights by chance back in the Scar of Death, and in the eyes of these Death Knights, he was their Retribution Knight. However, Lin Li was not a true Retribution Knight, and thus did not require these Death Knights to stop evolving so as to help him evolve. Thus, there was a very high possibility that he¡¯d be able to groom all these Death Knights into Retribution Knights.

    Since the Immortal King¡¯s arm had created a Retribution Knight before, it might be of help to Lin Li¡¯s n to groom a team of Retribution Knights. The thought of that heightened Lin Li¡¯s interest in that Immortal King¡¯s arm; hence, he asked Hutton, ¡°What happened after that? What about the Retribution Knight and his team of Death Knights? How did the Immortal King¡¯s arm end up in a small church in ck Clouds Town?¡±

    ¡°Breezy ins became a living hell under the tyranny of the Retribution Knight and his team of Death Knights.¡± Hutton looked into the distance with a sigh as he recounted. ¡°Then, thest Prophet of the Brilliance Shrine, Willen, came to the Breezy ins and purified the Retribution Knight and his Death Knights using the Holy Light, and sealed the Immortal King¡¯s arm in the only church in the Breezy ins, hiding it below the church in ck Clouds Town.¡±

    Hutton was a skilled storyteller indeed; his poetic ount of this secret was so captivating that Lin Li thought he was listening to somebody review a book.

    However, Lin Li found something strange while listening, so he frowned lightly and said, ¡°Mage Hutton, as far as I know, while the Malfa Family is one of the most powerful magical families in the Breezy ins, it has only been around for about 200 years, and is considered a new family in the Breezy ins.¡±

    The Breezy ins had a long history, and many families and forces of varying sizes had been set up over the years. Just 200 years ago, there was no ce for the Malfa Family in the Breezy ins. The founder of the Malfa Family was an adventurer named Leo Malfa, who was already at level-18 in his thirties, a genius of his own. When he first stepped out onto the scene of the Breezy ins, various forces tried to pull him over, but he was a descendant of Geresco¡¯s disciples, so how could he be a subordinate to others? Out of respect for his ancestors, Leo Malfa chose not to serve any force, and set up the Malfa Family by himself. Then, there was another Legendary-mage in the Malfa Family, Cheyenne, and their standing in the Breezy ins was firmly locked since then.

    Hutton paused before he quickly smiled, and humbly said, ¡°You tter us, President Felic. In my opinion, the Tower of Dusk will surely do much better than us and be the youngest yet most powerful force in the Breezy ins even though it has only been around for a short while.¡± As he said this, Hutton could not help butment the fact that he was now the one who had to sing another¡¯s praises even though he was used to being on the receiving end of it so far.

    No doubt there was ample reason he was chosen as the heir of the Malfa Family as he was able to move on quickly.

    Lin Li waved his hand andughed. ¡°That¡¯s not what I was referring to, I just wanted to confirm that the news is urate. After all, the Malfa Family has only been around for 200 years, and others who have been around for longer do not even know of this. I wonder where you heard this from, Mage Hutton.¡±

    ¡°Oh... This secret was written down in the diary of the ancestor. President Felic, you might recall that our ancestor was once the disciple of Geresco.¡± Hutton could not help his look of pride at the mention of his ancestor. Geresco was the most powerful mage to have ever lived, after all, and he was known as the God of Mages. It was such great honor to Hutton that his ancestor was once the disciple of Geresco.

    While the Immortal King and Geresco lived during different times, Geresco was someone who stood at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and was called the God of Mages. It was no wonder that he might know of such secrets.

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Lin Li nodded before saying, ¡°Since this a secret that has been passed on in your family for so long, why hasn¡¯t anyone tried to retrieve the Immortal King¡¯s arm?¡±

    Given Geresco¡¯s achievements, the arm of the Immortal King was not very beneficial to him, and it was understandable that he never bothered to retrieve it, but why did the Malfas wait so long after Geresco left?

    ¡°We had no choice,¡± Hutton said with a face of indignation and sighed. ¡°We know that we should¡¯ve got our hands on it sooner too, but Willen was thest Prophet of the Brilliance Shrine, and we were unable to break his seal. The only thing we could do was to wait for it to weaken with time.¡±

    This made sense, Lin Li mused as he secretly observed the expression on Hutton¡¯s face while looking nonchnt. He suddenly knocked his knuckles on the table before saying, ¡°I get it now, but I have another question...¡±

    ¡°What question?¡±

    Lin Li smiled, and asked, ¡°As far as I know, Master Cheyenne is not well-versed in Necromagic...?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Hutton¡¯s expression stiffened when he heard this.

    Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°I remember you said that the arm of the Immortal King created a Retribution Knight, and from this we can see how powerful the Death Energy in it is. I guess only Necromancers would be interested in this arm, right?¡±

    This was the Breezy ins, after all. No matter whether it was the magical kingdom of Fn or the holy kingdom of Ledin, both of them were extremely biased against Necromagic. Studying Necromagic was akin to seeking one¡¯s own death, and even given the Malfa Family¡¯s power and influence in the Breezy ins, they would never daremit this taboo.

    While the Malfa Family had a Legendary-mage holding their ground, Cheyenne was really not as powerful as one might expect him to be if they considered all the powerful people there were in the whole Anril. Only someone like Sendros who had Legendary powers and was also the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine could research Necromagic without any qualms.

    If the Immortal King¡¯s arm could create a Retribution Knight, then the Death Energy in it had to be incredibly powerful and pure. Lin Li could not think of any use for it besides Necromagic. For a powerful family like the Malfas, the Immortal King¡¯s arm might be of an impressive origin, yet would not serve any practical purpose. No matter how powerful it was, if it did not have any use, who would dare go against the Tower of Dusk over something worthless?

    If there was a Necromancer or Undead creatures amongst the Syer Bandits, then it would all make sense, but there were only Colossuses and 10 orthodox level-18 Archmages in their camp. There was nothing about Necromagic, and thus Lin Li had no reason to suspect them.

    Hutton¡¯ gaze was sheepish. After all, there were some temptations that were just too difficult to resist. He was the first heir to the Malfa Family, though, and was above many in terms of his thinking and knowledge. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he said, ¡°Forgive me, President Felic, but this concerns a family secret, and I did not disclose everything. Alright... the Immortal King¡¯s arm¡¯s existence is absolutely true, but it is actually also holding onto a powerful magical weapon...¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Lin Li smiled and nodded his head. That was it¡ªno matter how much power of death was held in the Immortal King¡¯s arm, it was of no use to most. The magical weapon, on the other hand... Now that would truly be what attracted others the most.

    No matter what the magical weapon was, it had to be something extraordinary if it was what the Immortal King had used to kill the Dragon of Destruction. A magical weapon of that caliber had to be irresistible to anyone, and even the Malfa Family would not hesitate to sacrifice the whole Dnd to get their hands on it, much less a small ck Clouds Town.

    Hutton broke out in a cold sweat as he saw the young President Felic smile while watching him. What is this guy smiling about, and why does his smile look so creepy? Does he think that the Malfas are involved in this?

    The first heir of the Malfa Family, breaking out in a cold sweat just because someone was smiling at him ambiguously? Everyone who did not know the context would bellow inughter upon seeing this, but Hutton did not feel embarrassed at all. After all, this young man was not merely a President of a Guild of magic, but also the youngest Legendary powerhouse ever in history. This was a matter concerning the survival of the Malfa Family, and it was not at all embarrassing for him to fear a Legendary-mage.

    ¡°President Felic, the Malfa Family does covet the Immortal King¡¯s arm and... and the magical weapon, but I swear that this has nothing to do with us,¡± Hutton exined with a panicked expression.

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re thinking too much, Mage Hutton. Since you have epted my invitation, then we are allies, and there must be trust between allies.¡± Lin Li could tell that Hutton was not lying, so he tried to appease Hutton in order to preserve their working rtionship.

    Hutton breathed out a sigh of relief. Having a good rtionship with this young President was much more practical than pursuing the mythical magical weapon. He was the youngest Legendary-mage in history and the holder of three of Geresco¡¯s relics, as well as the chosen one ording to Tutankhamun¡ªall of this suggested that he was a person with endless potential. How the other forces would dream about having such a person as an ally! Why would he want to stand against him?

    The questions Lin Li had were somewhat answered now, and even though he did not know who the ones supporting the Syer bandits were, at least he knew the root of the issue. Lin Li really hoped that the Immortal King¡¯s arm and the magical weapon did not fall into the wrong hands.

    While the ancestor of the Malfa Family did not record what the magical weapon was in his diary, Lin Li could make a guess even though he¡¯d had no idea about it previously.

    Lin Li had Gavin, who had been standing guard at the entrance, call Gerian over. Since the people of the Malfa Family had arrived and his mages had also recuperated and were in good condition, it was now time to n an attack on the Syer Bandits.

    ¡°President Felic, let the Malfa Family lead the attack,¡± Hutton offered as a show of his sincerity. Even though he had heard Lin Li tell him about the situation with the Syer Bandits, and knew that there were Alchemy Colossuses and Archmages, he was not worried. After all, even the few people from the Tower of Dusk had been able to keep them upied for two months. He figured these Colossuses and Archmages were nothing too difficult to deal with.

    ¡°Heh, thank you, Mage Hutton,¡± Lin Li said with a smile, agreeing to Hutton¡¯s offer. Of course, he did not take it seriously¡ªwhile others might not know how powerful an Alchemy Colossus was, he knew.

    Hutton rxed upon seeing that Lin Li had agreed to it. While it might sound a little harsh, this was a proof of allegiance of some sort, and seeing that Lin Li had agreed to it, it seemed that there was hope that they could improve their rtions.

    Hutton gathered his courage and carefully said, ¡°Well... President Felic, there are some things that I need to discuss with you...¡±

    ¡°Oh, please go ahead. We are allies. If it is within my power, I will definitely help you.¡± Even though the Malfas had set him up before, they had now submitted to him, and he did not suffer any loss; hence, Lin Li could not be bothered to be petty.

    ¡°You see, I heard that there is a new batch of potions in Dnd that came from the Tower of Dusk. Hence, I would like to ask if you could supply the Malfa Family with some of it,¡± Hutton said as he stared closely at Lin Li¡¯s face to observe his expression, ready to change the topic as soon as he noticed something was wrong.

    After they heard about the new potion in Dnd, the Malfa Family could not stop talking about it, as their main fighting power was their mages, and their requirement for potions was naturally an astronomical number. The worst thing was that they might not even be able to obtain the potions they needed even if they could afford it.

    Lin Li was a generous man to his own people¡ªas evident from the benefits the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages enjoyed. Since the Malfa Family was an ally, but not quite his own people, he could not just offer them the potion without gaining anything in return.

    Lin Li thought for a moment before he said, ¡°I can ede to your request, but as you know, the Tower of Dusk has only been set up for a few months, and I am not very familiar with the Breezy ins, which makes it hard for me to gather ingredients needed for potions. I heard that the Malfas have a plot ofnd growing many herbs in Moon Scar Valley. If you¡¯re able to supply me with herbs at base price, then it will save me a lot of trouble, and the supply of potions will be guaranteed.¡±

    ¡°No problem, no problem.¡± Hutton was overjoyed¡ªit was nothing for him to supply herbs at base price, as they did not rely on the profits from selling these herbs. They did not have a pharmacist, either, and they would not earn much by selling it to the Pharmacists Guild. Hence, it was much more valuable to exchange them for potions from the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Alright, then it is set. Once all this ends, we can discuss the details of our business.¡± Lin Li was satisfied with this oue as well as he thought to himself that the Tower of Dusk really needed to groom a few pharmaceutics apprentices.

    Ever since they started working with the Glittergold Trade Union and the Gilded Rose in potion business, Lin Li had to spend a lot of time making potions. He was without a choice as he had been too much of a perfectionist and spent too much money on the Tower of Dusk. After he returned, Gavin briefed him about the potion business, and as the business did better, the demand for potions grew as well. Even though he still had a lot of stock left, his two partners had already started to sell these potions on a limited basis a month ago.

    While Lin Li obtained arge amount of wealth from the Throne of Darkness, he could not give up the business just because he had arge reserve. Since the business had to go on, he had to groom a few pharmaceutics apprentices so that he¡¯d have more time to study magic.

    But he would have to seriously consider whom to groom. If he chose from within the Tower of Dusk, he could be sure about the person¡¯s character, but that¡¯d mean that he might not have enough gifted apprentices to groom. He could also get people from the Pharmacist Guild¡ªsurely the two old men would not give him trouble given his reputation.

    After discussing some details, the two men returned to their tents to rest before they dealt with the Syer bandits the next day.

    At the crack of dawn, before anyone from the Malfa Family or the Tower of Dusk had woken up, thunderous noise came from afar, and was graduallying closer. It startled the birds and shook the earth as though the mountains were about to copse.

    The strong magical wave shocked the mages from both camps awake as they frantically grabbed their magic staves and rushed outside their tents. Even a fool would know that it was an enemy attack given the situation, but the Malfas were still puzzled¡ªhow could there be such powerful mages among the remaining Syer bandits?

    As they rushed outside and looked up, they saw that the sky above them was covered in dull red fire clouds. The fire clouds continued to churn as the powerful magical wave made every mage quietly gasp in awe. Everyone knew that an unusually strong spell was brewing, and this was not something any single mage was capable of.

 Chapter 480 - Alchemy Colossus

    <h4>Chapter 480: Alchemy Colossus</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Boom!¡± A burning meteor fell from the sky in the direction of the two camps before hundreds more followed, covering the earth in a thickyer as though it was never to end. The booming sounds of explosions sounded again and again, making Lin Li feel as though he was standing in the middle of a battlefield. But then again, the unending fall of the Pyrost meteors wasparable to real cannons.

    Ripples appeared in the sky above the Tower of Dusk¡¯s camp as the invisible magical defense stopped the Pyrost meteors from falling on them. The flying sparks immediately set the surrounding forest on fire, and all they could see was sparks flying everywhere. The fire cast ayer of red on everything, making them feel as though they were standing in a furnace.

    Chaos broke out in both camps, but in the camp of the Tower of Dusk, the mages were not in panic even though they moved quickly, and they all quieted down after a while. Meanwhile, in the Malfa Family¡¯s camp, the mages rushed around like headless chickens and caused a ruckus.

    From this alone, it was evident that the quality of mages from both camps was different, and Hutton looked over at the other camp with envy in his eyes.

    ¡°Is it the Syer bandits?¡± Lin Li asked from where he stood in front of the tent seeing as Gerian was not far away.

    Gerian stood beside Lin Li while looking in the direction of all the noise as he angrily said, ¡°Bloody hell, it must be those bastards from the Syer bandits. They look greater in numbers now, they must havee in full force.¡±

    ¡°Well, they lost their patience first.¡± Lin Li looked into the distance where the noise and quaking wasing from. That had to be the four Alchemy Colossuses.

    It was important to be able to remain calm when faced with unexpected situations as many people would be at a loss when they met an unexpected development. The mages of the Tower of Dusk dd not need Gavin or Gerian to shout instructions at them as they quickly quieted down and took their positions. Then, they channeled mana into the magic nodes beneath their feet as they worked together to fend off this violent attack.

    Hutton¡¯s side was a little embarrassingpared to the Tower of Dusk. As nobody knew how powerful the enemy was, they had not set up defense mageweaths, thinking that they were facing merely a bunch of bandits. Nobody would have thought that this bunch of supposedly bandits would have the guts to strike first, and so violently too.

    Without the help of defense mageweaths, the mages of the Malfa Family had no choice but to defend against the enemy¡¯s attack themselves. While nobody was injured so far, judging from the state they were in, there was no doubt that they¡¯d notst long.

    ¡°Gavin, let the Malfas in.¡± Lin Li did not wish to see his allies perish so soon. After all, they had yet to make themselves useful.

    Before long, an ashen-faced Hutton came to Lin Li¡¯s side, and gratefully said, ¡°President Felic, thank you.¡±

    Letting in an outsider during an attack¡ªeven an ally¡ªwas something dangerous as it came with risks. Firstly, they had to deal with the possibility that their ally might turn against them. After all, there was no telling whether that would happen as the agreement between allies was not known for being reliable. Secondly, even though an ally could be very loyal, letting them into his camp could disrupt the order and affect his people negatively. There was a reason why people said that one should not fear godly opponents, but rather their foolish teammates.

    Hence, nobody could me Lin Li even if he did not allow Hutton and the rest into his camp and watched them perish instead. They had ced themselves in such a situation because of their own stupidity, and others were not obligated to provide any assistance.

    Of course, Lin Li had a lot of faith in the capability of his men, which was why he offered to let Hutton and the rest in. Besides, Lin Li was a Legendary-mage, after all, and if they chose to turn against him, it would be impossible for anyone here to stop him from leaving. Hutton was a clever man, and it would not be hard to know what choices he would make in this situation.

    Regardless of what Lin Li thought, Hutton was immensely grateful to Lin Li for letting his people into his camp as it showed how much trust he had in Hutton.

    Lin Li got goosebumps from the way Hutton looked at him; hence, he quickly said, ¡°Mage Hutton, take a rest and let your men join in defending the camp.¡±

    ¡°Alright, President Felic, just tell them what to do and they will cooperate.¡± After he finished saying that, Hutton called Yeric over, and told him, ¡°Yeric, go tell our people that they must listen to the arrangements made by the Tower of Dusk from now on so that we can defend from the enemy attack together.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master Hutton,¡± Yeric answered, and turned to leave, but not before he shot a look at Lin Li, who stood at the side. Even though the Malfa Family was saved by Lin Li, who let them into his camp, he was still filled with distaste for Lin Li.

    It was evident from this that this young President was still too naive and childish in the way he thought. How could such a man be the leader of a force? In Yeric¡¯s opinion, there was no way the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of magic wouldst with such a President.

    After Yeric passed Hutton¡¯s words to the mages of the Malfa Family, Gavin immediately sent them to their positions so that they could work alongside those from the Tower of Dusk to hold up the magical defense border together. Given their circumstances, the people from the Malfa Family had to rely on the defense border of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s camp to protect themselves; hence, none of them was foolish enough to protest against Gavin¡¯s arrangements.

    When they were setting off, Hutton had already emphasized to his men that they were to lower their stance when dealing with the mages from the Tower of Dusk so as not to offend anyone. However, not many of them followed Hutton¡¯s instructions when they met the people from the Tower of Dusk in the Dragon Mountains.

    As the elites from the magic squad of the Malfa Family, the feeling of superiority had long been embedded in them, and it was hard to change with just a few words from Hutton. This feeling of superiority was even harder to suppress after they saw the strength of the mages from the Tower of Dusk and how shabby their tents and campsite were.

    Thankfully, Hutton had instructed his men not to leave the campsite so as to prevent them from meeting the other party anding into conflict. Now that both sides were finally standing together, the people from the Malfa Family had lost all traces of that feeling of superiority.

    This shabby-looking camp had made use of a magical defense border, something that required arge amount of rare magic ingredients and technology. Meanwhile, their luxurious andfortable tents had been burnt to ashes now.

    Superiority? How would the mages of the Malfa Family dare to think of that now? But that was not the end, as they stood with the mages from the Tower of Dusk and saw their magic robes, magic staffs, and magic equipment, and they could not help feeling inferior.

    Damn it, how could this be? They were a Guild that had been around for merely a few months, yet every one of them used equipment that they could only admire through the windows of a shop. If it had been in different circumstances, they would even have thought to steal from them!

    Hence, the mages of the Malfa Family followed the people from the Tower of Dusk to their job of maintaining the magical defense barrier with a heavy heart. Even though they did not receive prior training in this, they were able to keep up as the task was notplicated for them¡ªall they had to do was to channel their mana into it.

    The magical defense barrier that loomed over them flickered like a me in a storm under the attack of various magic spells and seemed to be on the verge of copsing. However, it recovered after the mages from the Malfa Family joined in, and those who looked on did not feel as nervous as they had before.

    Perhaps the enemy could tell that the magical defense barrier could not be prated so easily, for the Pyrost meteors falling from the sky decreased in number until stoppingpletely. Without the mes clouding their vision, the magical defense barrier became clear once again, and they could see that the trees around them were still burning as the fire spread, whilerge plumes of smoke rose into the air.

    ¡°Disperse the smoke and get ready to counterattack,¡± Gerianmanded the mages awaiting his instructions.

    A few of the mages heard themand and worked together to cast a Gale Spell. In an instant, the smoke twisted in the sky before it was sent far away by the strong gale. The sky temporarily turned clear, and everyone could finally see the situation in the sky.

    They saw 10 mages in ck robes hovering in the sky somewhere not far from the campsite, but there was no insignia they could see on their robes. Besides that, their faces were hidden in the dark by the wide-brimmed hats they wore. The only thing that revealed they were Archmages were four Sr Spheres revolving around each of them.

    ¡°President Felic, this, this must be the 10 Archmages you were speaking of!¡± Hutton frowned. He had thought that Felic had been merely trying to get the Malfa Family to confirm their stance using the situation, but now that he was facing these 10 Archmages, he realized that things were not as simple as they seemed.

    The 10 mages in back robes hovered in the air and chanted while their faces remained hidden under their wide-brimmed hats. They waved their magic staffs in the air as all kinds of magic spells rained down upon the camp. This was no simple Pyrost meteor; it was as though they were in a demonstrative ss as all kinds of advanced magic was shown. It was a me one moment, and then lightning before it was followed by a blizzard.

    It was not easy to retaliate at all. The saying ¡°one must strike first in order to gain the upper hand¡± aptly described their situation now. Actually, there were more than 10 Archmages in the Malfa Family¡¯s camp and the Tower of Duskbined, but level-18 Archmages were another story. While they were all Archmages, every level was very different from the next, just as a level-17 Archmage was worlds apart from a level-18 Archmage.

    The 10 level-18 Archmages made offensive spells fall down like rain upon them, making it very hard for them to find a chance to retaliate. Hence, the only thing they could do was to allow the spells to rain down on them and rely on the magical defense barrier for protection.

    Hutton smiled wearily as he nced at Felic, silently rejoicing in the fact that the people from the Tower of Dusk had set up a magical defense barrier, or else they would have lost half their men by now. Then again, if not for Felic¡¯s invitation, he would not have to suffer through this with his men.

    Right then, trees started falling down in front of the campsite. Then, the trees at the edge of the campsite went flying as well, and four massive steel like figures appeared in their field of vision.

    ¡°A-Alchemy Colossuses...¡± Hutton stared with wide eyes at the area in front of the camp, especially at the four massive steel figures.

    As the heir of the Malfas, Hutton was quite knowledgeable, and knew quite a bit about the Alchemy Colossus, but then again, that was the extent of his knowledge as he had never seen them for himself, and thus did not have any real impression of them. When he heard from Lin Li that the enemy possessed Alchemy Colossuses, he did not give it much thought. These were dead creatures, after all, and not as great of a threat to him as the 10 Archmages<sup>1</sup>.

    Now that he had seen the Alchemy Colossuses for himself, he realized how overwhelming their presence was. All the records he had read about the Alchemy Colossus came shing vividly in his mind.

    The four Alchemy Colossuses before him were all at least 10 meters in height, and they had a bright golden glow as gold was the main material used to build them. Even then, they were smooth in appearance and without edges as they were covered in aplicated pattern all over their bodies.

    These four Alchemy Colossuses were not shaped like humans; they were in the shape of a magical beast from the Eternal Frost ins, the Icefield Troll, instead. This was thought to be the most appropriate shape for an Alchemy Colossus.

    Lin Li had seen how Icefield Trolls looked from some sources: they were like white chimpanzees or white goris. These Alchemy Colossuses were massive and broad; when they moved, they relied on their hind legs to support them so that when they stood up, their long arms would allow them to attack a wide area around them.

    After manyparisons and tests, many thought that an Alchemy Colossus wasparable to an Archmage in terms ofbat power, but even then, there were differences between an Archmage level-15 and level-19¡ªa huge difference, in fact. After factoring in aspects like defense, casting efficiency, and durability, an Alchemy Colossus was probably much harder to deal with than an Archmage.

    The only thing was that Alchemy Colossus could not hide their true power like humans, and the only things determining their ability were the power source and the Alchemy Array. Hence, with the information from the Alchemy Array, Lin Li was able to quickly determine how powerful these Alchemy Colossuses were.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯ve heard that there are differences between Alchemy Colossuses. Do you think these Alchemy Colossuses are...?¡± Hutton asked Lin Li, but did not make himself too clear, as this was a difficult line to draw. While a level-15 and a level-19 Archmage might be different, so would be two level-15 Archmages.

    Lin Li smiled as he looked into the distance, and calmly replied, ¡°Below level-19.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank goodness.¡± Hutton was influenced by Lin Li¡¯s calmness and heaved a sigh of relief as he mopped the sweat on his forehead. But after that, he froze and his handkerchiefnded on the floor before he looked up with his eyes as wide as saucers and his expression stiff. ¡°What... What did you say? Below level-19?¡±

    Lin Li nodded his head. ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t think that they are of Legendary level yet, hence below level-19. Even though they may beparable to a Legendary magical beast in terms of theirbinedbat prowess, it is still onlyparable.¡±

    Comparable to a Legendary magical beast, and four of them at once? Hutton was so scared he turned pale. He¡¯d never thought it would be so risky prior toing here. If it were only the 10 Archmages earlier, that would be easier as he was sure that they could defeat them even with theirbined forces... though it might not be an easy fight. Now, however, they even had four Alchemy Colossuses that wereparable to a Legendary magical beast. Were they not courting death?

    The mages of the Malfa Family were terrified by the appearance of the Alchemy Colossuses. This was just a small campsite and not some city, so why did they have to use such powerful weapons? Damn it, how could the Syer bandits have something like this?! They could have taken down a few cities and made their own kingdom! Why even be bandits...?

    The mages from the Tower of Dusk were much calmer inparison as they had seen much more in thest months. They had been no better than the mages from the Malfa Family at first, but after a while, they got used to it, and those who had fought these creatures were even more confident now.

    The booming sounds of the steps rang in their hearts as the ground shook beneath the Colossuses, and they felt their hearts sink. They could not find it in themselves to fight back against the Alchemy Colossus, and all they felt was a sense of helplessness.

    ¡°Boom!¡± Arge tree as thrown at them and fell heavily on their defense barrier.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t let them get too near. The defense barrier is limited in its ability to defend against physical attacks, and those are used to attack cities!¡± Gavin was from the library indeed as he knew quite a bit about the Alchemy Colossus.

    No matter how well the camp was set up, it was still a temporary camp, after all, and these Alchemy Colossuses were battle machines, always on the winning side in battles. Even a blow from one of them was sure to destroy the defense barrier, much less from all four of them.

    Nothing could be wless, after all. The magical defense barrier¡¯s main purpose was to defend against offensive spells, and it could not endure much impact from physical attacks. A mirror could deflect light, but not a blow from a hammer¡ªsince the nature of the attack was different, so was the defense.

 Chapter 481 - Only one can live

    <h4>Chapter 481: Only one can live</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Syer bandits were very surprised now too as they were not aware that the Tower of Dusk had brought in the Malfa Family as backup. They had thought that they would have been able to wipe out at least half of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team with the offensive spells earlier andpletely finish them off with the Alchemy Colossus.

    A Guild that had only been around for a few months was insignificant in their eyes as any of the 10 Archmages was capable of leading a Guild themselves. However, even after the 10 Archmages did all they could to attack them, the magical defense barrier of the Tower of Dusk remained operational, albeit barely.

    That was embarrassing for the people hovering in the sky as the amount of mana they had depleted in the short attack was astonishing. It would have been alright if they had gained something, but it seemed like the mana they had depleted earlier waspletely useless. Even an Archmage could be easily defeated if they had depleted their mana too early on.

    Now, they could only rely on the Alchemy Colossuses to break down their defense barrier. Without that, they were sure that it was only a matter of time before they achieved victory. After a short discussion, they decided to change their tactics and focus on shielding the Alchemy Colossuses.

    The people from the Tower of Dusk were aware of how scary the Alchemy Colossuses were as well. They formed a group whose main focus was to do all they could to halt the approaching Alchemy Colossuses. Unfortunately, they were limited in what they could do¡ªeach Alchemy Colossus was already well-equipped to defend itself, and with the 10 Archmages shielding them from the sky, it seemed almost impossible to slow them down. While it had been an exciting fight filled with Sludge Spells and Frost Spells, the Alchemy Colossuses continued to move closer despite their efforts.

    The archers of the Syer bandits, who were behind the Alchemy Colossuses, all raised their bows and aimed their arrows at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s campsite even though it was useless. Some of these arrows fell before they even reached the camp, while some of them were repelled by the defense barrier, but these people did not seem to care, just as though their only goal was to annoy the others as they continued to shoot their arrows.

    What good was this? It was like attacking a Wyrm with wooden sticks...

    The mages from the Tower of Dusk had experience dealing with Alchemy Colossuses; hence, they were not as flustered as the mages from the Malfa Family who began to panic as the Alchemy Colossuses moved closer.

    That was hardly their fault as the mages from the Tower of Dusk were barely any better when they¡¯d first faced an Alchemy Colossus.

    They did not spend thest couple of months in the Dragon Mountains in vain, however. Hence, as Gerian led them against the Syer bandits, Hutton could not help but watch in envy how well-trained they were.

    ¡°This can¡¯t go on, the defense barrier will be destroyed sooner orter.¡± Seeing as Lin Li did not mention anything, Gerian took the initiative to lead. As they were not in an advantageous position, he decisivelymanded, ¡°Give up the defense barrier and form small groups to fight the enemy.¡± Since it¡¯d be destroyed anyway, they might as well give it up now and take the initiative.

    It was natural to be reliant on something that could save their lives; hence, nobody would want to give it up. The Malfas thought that since there was a barrier that could block attacks, there was no sense in them having to fight. Even if the barrier would not hold up for long, they could always wait until it was down before they fought.

    However, the mages from the Tower of Dusk were already used to following orders immediately and saving their questions forter. Seeing as those from the Tower of Dusk had already given up on holding up the barrier, the Malfas could not do anything but follow along and curse inwardly.

    ¡°What!? Damn it, what kind of order is this?? We can barely survive, yet you want to give it up now?!¡± Yeric was in charge of passing the message to the Malfa Family, and he could not help but scream in anger, yet he could not do anything about it. There was no ce for him to act out of anger, as he might put himself in danger.

    The enemy attack did not stop even though the defense barrier had vanished, and they wreaked havoc in their campsite. The tents were swept away and torn into pieces, and the traces of offensive spells could be seen on the ground, be it charred ck or frosted white. There were even holes and cracks.

    Thankfully, the mages form both sides had already prepared themselves; hence, there were no casualties from these attacks. After the attacks, they followed Gerian¡¯s instructions and formed groups to head towards their targets.

    Thud.

    An Archmage from the Malfas had just begun using a Levitation Spell when an Alchemy Colossus reacted with speed ill-befitting of its size and smacked him down like a fly.

    ¡°Idiot! Does he think he is a Legendary-mage? Fancy using the Levitation Spell in front of an Alchemy Colossus,¡± Gavin silently mocked him. He was not in the least bit sorry for this unbearably arrogant guy.

    Still, they were allies, and they could not afford to stab each other in the back in the face of an enemy. Seeing as the Alchemy Colossus was heading towards the guy who had fallen, Gavin hurriedly brought hispanions and headed towards it. While the people from the Tower of Dusk were unable to defeat the Alchemy Colossus, they were able to dy it for some time based on their experience in dealing with it.

    The Archmage Carter who¡¯d been shot down sheepishly climbed up, thankful that he had used a defensive spell earlier, which saved him from being beaten into mush. Shaking his head, he looked around and could not help but admire those from the Tower of Dusk.

    It was amon sight to see on a battlefield. While the mages from the Tower of Dusk were not as powerful as those from the Malfa Family individually, they were much more powerfulbined.

    While working together might mean deciding what to do in terms of attacking and defending after looking at what theirpanions were doing, it might mean that their actions would be dyed. On the other hand, those from the Tower of Dusk seemed to be able to predicts theirpanions¡¯ actions and worked wlessly together like an incredibly precise machine.

    With such teamwork, they were able to protect themselves even though they could not cause any harm to the Alchemy Colossus. This was an achievement in itself as the Alchemy Colossus was not only incredibly hardy, but it could also easily break a wall with its power with movements that were not restricted by their size as they were as nimble as a man¡¯s. Hence, it was not an easy feat to be able to escape an Alchemy Colossus unscathed, much less be able to do so while fighting it.

    Hutton saw how well the people of the Tower of Dusk worked together, and was as impressed with it as he had been with the Alchemy Colossus. Was this not the team he had dreamt of? Moving his gaze towards his own mages, he could not help but turn red.

    There were differences in cooperating styles. The Tower of Dusk made use of a method that allowed them to make up for their individuallycking power with sheer numbers. This was something that Lin Li hade up with based on games he had yed, and its main purpose was to make up for theck of high-leveled mages in the Tower of Dusk. With their fancy footwork, they led the Alchemy Colossus in circles and escaped at the veryst second from what looked to be a fatal blow.

    Meanwhile, the Malfa Family¡ªlike most forces¡ªtrained their mages to cooperate like soldiers. All themands and formations focused on firing spells at the same time and defending using formations. Their goal was to win by oppressing the enemy with magic, which was by winning in power. Even then, most mages were not motivated to train even such simple maneuvers, as they enjoyed a high status and nobody could force them to do what they did not want to.

    The mages from the Malfa Family stood in a formation and were trying to defeat the Alchemy Colossus using magic, but the problem was that their magic did not work on the Alchemy Colossus. Seeing that it did not have an effect, all they could do was gather around the Alchemy Colossus and attack together, yet due to theirck of teamwork, they were a mess, even obstructing their teammates¡¯ escape sometimes.

    The situation in the sky was much like what happened on the ground as the 10 Archmages wereparable to an Alchemy Colossus. As theycked powerhouses, the allies could only make up for it with numbers and maintain a deadlock for now.

    But anyone could tell that this was not sustainable, as a small mistake could be fatal in battle, and they were facing level-18 Archmages too. While level was not everything, these Archmages were great at seizing opportunities, and casualties appeared amongst the Malfa Family¡¯s mages due to their inability to cooperate well with each other.

    While the fight was exciting, everyone was clearly aware that the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were merely holding on. Yet, the strange thing was that an outsider would not have been able to tell which side had the upper hand.

    After the fight started, the first to die were the foot soldiers of the Syer bandits¡ªthose from the Tower of Dusk were already angered from being oppressed for so long, so they directed their anger at these foot soldiers who were far too easy to deal withpared to the Alchemy Colossus.

    Hence, something strange happened¡ªeven though the Syer bandits had the upper hand, they were the ones who screamed for help. Those foot soldiers did not have the ability to go against mages, while the 10 Archmages and the Alchemy Colossuses could not be bothered to deal with them.

    Sadly, they could not even measure up to ashes, as even though these foot soldiers were exterminated, that made no difference for the situation. The 10 Archmages and the Alchemy Colossuses were an unbeatable presence on the battlefield.

    ¡°Sheesh, what the hell are these things made of!¡±

    Seeing their magic leave no trace on the Alchemy Colossuses made everyone feel hopeless, yet they could not stop. It was as futile and depressing as an ant trying to chew through an elephant¡¯s skin, only to realize that it was merely a tickle for thetter...

    These Alchemy Colossuses were difficult to deal with as they were too well-equipped to defend themselves. The materials and magic used to make them were very powerful, and the Alchemy Array also provided magical defenses, which was anotheryer of defense. They were designed for use on the battlefield, after all, so they could not be too frail.

    There were about 20 Archmages from both the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family, but the most powerful of them was only level-17. The Tower of Dusk did not have as many Archmages as the Malfa Family, as they had only been around for a couple of months, and even these Archmages were introduced by Basel.

    Lin Li was not in a hurry, however, as the only problem he had was ack of time. He already had the ingredients for the Rune Potion ready; all he needed was time to make it. With the amount of Dragon¡¯s Tongue he had, he could make at least 10 Rune Potions, and that meant 10 Archmages. The Tower of Dusk would surely experience a huge increase in power then.

    This was the reason why Pharmacists enjoyed a higher status than mages in Anril. Even if someone was limited by their talent and could only remain a mage apprentice, all they had to do was take a potion, and they would be a mage. Even if they could not do anything in the future, this business was profitable. There were potions for every bottleneck a mage could meet on their journey; it only depended on whether someone coulde up with it. While this might be difficult for other pharmacists, it was nothing to Lin Li, who was a pharmaceutics guru.

    Dressed in the Sunset robes, n hovered in the air as he held the Sunset magic staff tightly in his hands, looking at the enemy. Even though he knew that they were level-18 Archmages, he was not afraid. He had only joined the Tower of Dusk because of Mr Basel, his teacher, but now he knew that it was a blessing for him to be able to join the Tower of Dusk.

    Sunset robes, Sunset magic staff, and the Sunset ring¡ªthis was the Sunset set, one of the highest quality sets there were. It was far more expensive than what any mage could afford. If not because he had joined the Tower of Dusk, there would¡¯ve been no way he would be able to touch any of them in his life.

    The material gains were not the most important to n, as he had been stuck at a bottleneck because of a bad habit¡ªsomething that even his teacher could not do anything about. Yet, that young President was able to get rid of this bad habit with a seemingly simple method. Having been in the Dragon Mountains for two months and with the umted experience he had from the bottleneck, he was finally able to break through it and reach level-15, bing a true Archmage.

    Now, the young President Felic enjoyed a simr status as his beloved teacher Basel in n¡¯s heart. President Felic was watching from the ground now, and even if his opponent was a level-18 Archmage, he could not afford to embarrass the Tower of Dusk in this fight.

    An orange light lit up on the Sunset ring as n struck first. Even though he was at lower level, he could make up for it by fighting as though his life depended on it. The worst thing one could face was an opponent who fought with disregard for his own life, but this was not something just anyone could do. If n still had been a level-14 Magic Shooter, it would have been futile even if he fought that way, but now that he was a level-15 Archmage, it was different. Even though it was only one level higher, it was vastly different. Besides, he also had the Sunset set, and that was why he was able to stop a level-18 Archmage when he fought like his life depended on it.

    The fight in the sky was far more exciting that the one on the ground as the dozen or so Archmages fought, and sparks flew like fireworks in a celebration. Once in a while, someone could be seen falling from the sky with a loud cry, but unfortunately, none of them were the enemy.

    The four Alchemy Colossuses stood up suddenly as though they were annoyed at having theirpanions in the sky stealing the limelight. Theplicated Alchemy Array on their bodies lit up randomly, and it shone brightly as though a magical machine gun was getting ready to fire.

    The surrounding people were sent flying instantly, but thankfully, they remembered their shields, the most important thing to remember when fighting an Alchemy Colossus. While you might not be able to touch or hit it, you had to make sure that you did not die when it did.

    The enemy had the upper hand, be it on thend or in the sky, and the allies were only barely holding on. This could notst long, as they might all suffer aplete defeat the next second.

    ¡°President Felic, what do we do now...?!¡± Facing such a powerful enemy, Hutton was incredibly anxious. He¡¯d brought all the elites from the Malfa Family, and if they were to all die here, the Malfas would be quiet for a long time. However, when he tried to ask Felic, he nearly lost his mind in anger.

    <i>How could the owner of the Tower of Dusk, the young President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, be toying around with something on the ground at a time like this?! Does he think that he can draw a few circles and curse the enemy, and they would leave of their own ord? Hey, you¡¯re the leader for a reason!</i> If not because he knew that Lin Li was a Legendary-mage, Hutton would have jumped on him and given him a beating. However, he could only think about it in his head as he would surely die a death much worse than being stepped on by the Alchemy Colossus if he did try it.

    While Hutton did not have the guts to say that, he had men who feared nothing. They did not know what Felic was capable of anyway. Yeric in particr hated Lin Li very much, especially because he had just been scolded by Hutton earlier.

 Chapter 482 - Steal them

    <h4>Chapter 482: Steal them</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Young Master Hutton, we cannot hold on for long, let¡¯s retreat so that we can at least preserve some strength.¡± Yeric came before Hutton, embarrassed as his eyes nced towards Lin Li, who seemed to be busy with something for no reason, and felt his anger rise. ¡°Hey you, everyone is fighting with their lives out there. If I had to die for the Malfa Family, I would ept it, but what are we doing this for?¡±

    Hutton was conflicted as well. Who knew this would be such a difficult task? Weren¡¯t they the remnant of the Syer bandits? Why were there Alchemy Colossuses and 10 Archmages? His only hope was in President Felic, but there he was, toying with something randomly.

    Actually, so what if he did something? Right, he was a Legendary-mage, but he had only been one for a few days. Those Alchemy Colossuses were all nearly equal to a Legendary magical beast; even if his teacher Cheyenne were here, he might have to order a retreat as well. If they were to go hard against them, then there would be a hefty price to pay¡ªthey were sure to suffer huge losses.

    ¡°Wait a while longer, have them all hold on for a bit more,¡± Hutton told Yeric. If they were to retreat now, then his potions deal with President Felic made the day before would be moot.

    ¡°Hey you, this might be rude, but you call yourself the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic?¡± Yeric said a little louder on purpose so that he would be heard over the sounds of explosions even far away. He wanted those from the Tower of Dusk to know that while they were fighting with their lives, their President was hiding in the back, doing God knew what.

    ¡°Yeric, that¡¯s enough! President Felic has his reasons!¡± Hutton scolded with a frown before he looked over at the busy President Felic, not knowing how to describe the way he felt. Ever since he had helped his father manage the family¡¯s affairs, he had never been at a loss as much as today.

    Logically speaking, it was evident that they were on the losing end, and there was no way out besides to retreat. Yet, there was a tiny voice inside his head, telling him to persist and that a miracle would happen.

    Could the young President who created many miracles continue doing so today? if there was going to be a miracle, what would it be? How could they survive this?

    No matter how they thought about it, four Alchemy Colossuses seemed like too difficult a task. Unless that young President suddenly broke into the Sanctuary-realm or if someone from Sanctuary-realm came forth to help them...

    Hutton was on the verge of tearing out his hair; this was too torturous!

    Yeric saw Hutton hesitate; hence, he disregarded the previous scoldings, and continued yelling, ¡°Humph, the Supreme Council must be crazy to let such a nobody be the President of Guild, yet there are so many people willing to risk their lives for him.¡±

    To his dismay, the mages from the Tower of Dusk were not affected by it, and only hispanions from the Malfa Family were distracted and injured as a result of it.

    ¡°Ridiculous, our people are sacrificing themselves for you, so what are you doing right now?!¡± Hearing the cries of hispanions, Yeric¡¯s anger rose, and he turned towards the young President, wanting to give him a piece of his mind even though he might be scolded by Hutton.

    ¡°Yeric, what are you doing?¡± Hutton was shocked, and quickly pulled Yeric aside forcefully. Lin Li was a Legendary-mage, so even if he might not be able to deal with the four Alchemy Colossuses, he was more than enough to deal with Yeric.

    ¡°Young Master Hutton, don¡¯t stop me. How can this cowardly fellow be a President? I must show everyone what he truly is!¡± Yeric shouted in anger.

    ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you go and help yourpanions instead of worrying about things like that??¡± Hutton said angrily. Even though he was upset with Lin Li, he dared not trifle with the Legendary-mage.

    Hutton had intentionally allowed Yeric to say more so as to make Lin Li do something; even if thetter was upset, Hutton could just say that his subordinate was not thinking straight.

    But the worst thing was that even after all Yeric had said, this President did not seem to care, just as though he had not heard anything. He continued to gather ingredients as though he was preparing for an experiment, but his men and allies were out there, risking their lives; was it really time to experiment now?

    Truth to be told, Lin Li had no time to care about what anyone said or Yeric¡¯s outburst, so he paid no attention to any of that. Everything around him, from the battle in the sky and on the ground to the explosions and the cries of the injured, had been blocked out by him. All his focus was on the magical ingredients in front of him.

    Lin Li had not thought that the Syer bandits would have the Alchemy Colossuses, somethingparable to a Legendary magical beast in terms ofbat power. With four Alchemy Colossuses, even he would not be able to deal with them quickly, and to top it off, there were also 10 level-18 Archmages.

    He could have summoned his Undead servants, Humerus Wyrm, Ujfalusi, Norfeller, and the 18 Death Knights, and the battle could be easily won, but then he would have to suffer a big loss, and his Death Knights would definitely decrease in number again.

    He could not bear to! While he might seem generous, always giving out potions and magical equipment to others and providing his men with high-quality equipment, these were all investments to him¡ªhigh return investments, in fact. He was never one to get involved in a business that would bring him losses. Take those Death Knights for example. He deeply regretted it after some of them had died in the Scar of Death¡ªthey were all potential Retribution Knights! While these Death Knights were not that significant as they were currently, with the most powerful one only at level-18 and some of them were even level-15, they could all be groomed into Retribution Knights...

    Lin Li used to think that it was impossible to groom all 18 Death Knights into Retribution Knights, but now that he had an opportunity to get the arm of the Immortal King, it did seem like he had a chance.

    Of course, he would do so if he was left with no other choice, but now he had a better alternative to going head-on with the enemy.

    Disintegrating Array, an Alchemy Array used by many alchemists. Its main purpose was to disintegrate an Alchemy Array, such as the one modifying an Alchemy Colossus. Many precious ingredients were needed to make an Alchemy Colossus, and were not readily avable most of the time. Hence, they¡¯d be reced with normal ingredients first, and those reced with others once avable. Often, many modifications were needed to craft an Alchemy Colossus, especially when it was built by an individual Alchemist.

    Many Alchemists only used normal ingredients to craft the Alchemy Colossus at first, and only reced the parts bit by bit when they obtained more appropriate ingredients.

    The recement was also unlike a simple recement of parts, as the material could be different and have different tolerance. Hence, in order to maximize the effect of each ingredient, the Alchemy Array also had to be continually modified, or else the recement of ingredients would have no effect.

    As the Alchemy Arrays on the Alchemy Colossus were not separate but closely connected to each other, modifying one of them often required the modification of a dozen others as well. It was like recing a gear in a machine¡ªit had to fit right in with the rest, and then... a chain reaction was inevitable.

    Sometimes, one was better off starting all over again rather than modifying an Alchemy Array. If only normal ingredients were used, then it would be easy to start over when making an individual part. Nearer the end, however, there would be more precious ingredients that would require modifications, and the losses from a mistake would be bigger¡ªmore than an average person could afford. Hence, an Alchemy Master created the Disintegrating Array, which would allow them to wipe away part of the Alchemy Array without harming the ingredients.

    Science was a double-edged sword, however, and it was also the case in Anril. The Disintegrating Array was merely an auxiliary array that would make the job of an Anril easier. However, someone thought of using it in war, and made winning far too easy.

    In order to protect themselves against such unscrupulous tactics, Alchemist started looking for ways to prevent their Alchemy Array from disintegrating, while those who studied the Disintegrating Array studied new ways to modify the Disintegrating Array. This conflict continued until today, and now the Disintegrating Array was not a foolproof method, but depended on who was using it and on what.

    The four Alchemy Colossuses were all near the Legendary level, but they were not quite there yet, which meant that the Alchemist who made them was merely an Alchemist Master. Since an Archmage and a Legendary-mage were worlds apart, so was an Alchemist Master and an Alchemist Guru.

    A Disintegrating Array created by an Alchemist Guru like Lin Li was more than enough to deal with the creations of an Alchemist Master. After all, the creations of an Alchemist Master were too amateurish in the eyes of an Alchemist Guru.

    Lin Li squatted unceremoniously on the ground, a huge double-edged sword in front of him serving as a tabletop. He ced each ingredient carefully on the wide surface of the sword and started working once the ingredients were allid out, his hands moving so quickly they blurred.

    Firstly, he mixed the ingredients¡ªblood of a high-ranking magical beast, juice of a rare magical nt, and the powder of a crushed high-ranking magical crystal, all measured precisely before they were mixed. If other Alchemists saw this, they would scold Lin Li for wasting precious ingredients¡ªfancy using these only to make a Disintegrating Array, something that was no longer as powerful in the eyes of other Alchemists.

    While Lin Li might not be able to create the most perfect Disintegrating Array in a hurry, he would be able to get rid of the problem before him now with these precious ingredients. This was no waste to Lin Li as long as the ingredients did what they were supposed to. Moreover, this was nothing to him; he had yet to count the riches umted over the years in the Throne of Darkness.

    After setting aside the mixture, Lin Li took the standard equipment of the Tower of Dusk, a Sunset magic staff. In his opinion, this was the most suitable equipment to modify, and he intended to turn it into a Disintegrating Array equipment as the Sunset magic staff should be able to cope with the changes in array<sup>1</sup>.

    Lin Li then took out a crystal pen and filled it with the mixture before using it as a fountain pen and writing on the Sunset magic staff. A sizzling sound could be heard when mixture touched the magic staff, leaving slightly translucent silver markings on the magic staff.

    ¡°Young Master Hutton, we cannot fight anymore, let¡¯s retreat!¡± Yeric hade back to Hutton again, but this time not of his own ord¡ªhe had been forced back by the enemy. He was not alone; the mages from the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were all forced to retreat into a tiny space.

    Hutton did not waste any time and waved the magic staff in his hand, sending a spell at the enemy. He was a level-19 Archmage, after all, and him joining alleviated the burden on the others. But still, it did not change the situation at all.

    ¡°President Felic, please do something, or else we¡¯re all going to die.¡± Seeing his men fall one by one, Hutton could not help but panic¡ªthey were all the elites he had.

    ¡°Young Master, let¡¯s retreat, we¡¯ve already done our part. What else could he do even if he joined the fight?¡± Yeric red at the busy Lin Li before a thought surfaced in his head, and he quickly whispered in Hutton¡¯s ear. ¡°Young Master, this is a chance for you.¡±

    Hutton frowned before he lowered his voice, confused, and asked, ¡°What chance?¡±

    ¡°Young Master, this Felic is not acting like a President at all. He does not care about his men at all, and they may already be upset with him. Why not take this chance to help them? As long as half of them remember our help, then the Malfa Family can...¡± While Yeric did not fancy Lin Li, he could still tell that the mages of the Tower of Dusk were useful, and thus he plotted to steal them from Lin Li.

 Chapter 483 - Disintegrating Array

    <h4>Chapter 483: Disintegrating Array</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hutton was taken aback, and could not help ncing over at Lin Li, afraid that thetter heard what they were talking about. Seeing that Lin Li showed no reaction, he breathed out a sigh of relief before ring angrily at Yeric, and said, ¡°Shut up. We are allies, how can we do this? You¡¯d better get this thought out of your head.¡±

    Hutton was envious of the mages that the Tower of Dusk had, but he reminded himself that this Felic was a monster; how could you even think about offending a 20 years old Legendary-mage? While he knew that Yeric had good intentions, and that this method could be used on other groups, just because they could not escape from the 10 level-18 Archmages and the Alchemy Colossuses did not mean that this Felic could not.

    Damn it, where did the decisive young master from their past victories who was the one who could not keep their eyes off these mages as if they were beauties go to? Yeric was incredibly frustrated; he hade up with such a good idea, yet his young master was too preupied with respecting his ally. Where did being loyal get you to these days? An ally was meant to be betrayed!

    ¡°Young Master, I have the good of the Malfas at heart! You see, this President may be cowardly, but his mages are really quite decent. If we can win them over, then at least we would have gained something from this trip.¡± Yeric continued persuading Hutton.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Hutton was so afraid that he felt his soul leaving him and forced his words out through gritted teeth. <i>Damn it, cowardly? Even the Highlord of the Abyss of Tharlen has fallen in Felic¡¯s hands, what is there that he cannot do? You want to steal his mages? I will be thankful if he does not steal mine!</i>

    Yeric could notprehend the way Hutton was acting, and could not help thinking that Hutton had to know something about this President Felic after spending so much time with him. Why else would he be so defensive about this fellow? Seeing that his persuasion was futile, Yeric could only take a step back and consider the alternatives. If he could not steal these mages, surely he had to make sure that he did not die here as well? Hence, he tried again. ¡°Young Master Hutton, no matter what, we must retreat! If all the elites die here, what are you going to tell the council?¡±

    They were already at conflict with the council when they set off on this trip, and if the elites really all died here like Yeric said, Hutton would be in huge trouble with the council. Hutton hesitated and looked over at the battlefield, and saw that both the mages from the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were struggling to hold on against the enemy who had already gained the upper hand. It was only a matter of time before they suffered aplete defeat. Looking at those injured, he could not help being angry that most of them were from the Malfa Family, with only three mages from the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Young Master, give themand now, we cannot afford to dy any longer!¡± Yeric shouted anxiously.

    Hutton raised his hands slowly and let it drop heavily, all while Yeric watched on, but his next words made Yeric feel faint. Hutton¡¯s voice was a little hoarse, but his attitude was firm when he said, ¡°Endure a little more, my friends. If we can get through this together, I¡¯ll surely reward you ordingly after this.¡±

    ¡°Young¡ª¡± Yeric opened his mouth, wanting to continue persuading, but he was cut off by a voice that suddenly came from the side.

    ¡°Thankfully, I made it...¡±

    Lin Li finally finished thest stroke and linked the Disintegrating Array to the Sunset magic staff. Light seemed to flow through the writings to the magic array. The 24 nodes covering the staff lit up one by one, while the silvery translucent substance that formed the lines connecting the entire magical array seemed to glow with a faint silvery light as the light flowed through it.

    When Lin Li had first arrived in Jarrosus, he had feuded with the local magical family and arranged a duel with their heir. Before the duel, he had crafted a gold rod with deep silver, and used this gold rod to dissolve the advanced magic of his opponent into nothing. But still, this was not something used in fights, and he did not use it much after that. How was he going to touch another mage with a rod in a fight, after all?

    The effect of the Disintegrating Array was different from yet somewhat simr to the way the gold rod worked, but they were both unorthodox methods in duels. While there were people who used it for a period of time when the Alchemy Array was in vogue, it was still only an auxiliary method, and ultimately something used chiefly in production.

    However, there was no rule saying that he couldn¡¯t use it for something else; thus, the Disintegrating Array was no longer a tool of production in Lin Li¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re awake! What a time to be awake, though. If you were anyter, you would be the only one left here.¡± Yeric had been chided by Hutton because of Lin Li, so although he spoke sarcastically, he was already holding back quite a bit.

    Hutton red at Yeric before anxiously telling Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, you are finally done. I guess there is no need for further introduction of the situation. I wonder what our next step should be?¡±

    Yeric was quite upset with Hutton, and thus he ignored the re and continued mocking, ¡°Yeah, President Felic, I hope you can turn the tables around and allow our men to retreat now.¡±

    ¡°Yeric, shut up!¡± Hutton quickly shouted at him to stop in shock, and silently scolded him in his mind. <i>Damn it, you can go ahead if you¡¯re courting death, but don¡¯t drag the Malfa Family down with you!!</i>

    ¡°Young Master, wake up, do you really think he can turn the situation around? Who knows how he became President, but I know for sure it was not by ability. Look at him now, his allies and men are fighting with their lives on the line, yet he is not doing anything, and even left the job ofmanding them to someone else. What is there that he can do??¡± Yeric was furious, and even his attitude towards Hutton was bad. Whom was he kidding? Even if Master Cheyenne was here, it would not be an easy task to deal with these people¡ªeven a Legendary-mage would have trouble with the four Alchemy Colossuses because they were too hardy. President Felic was a 21 years old youth, and at most an Archmage, so it would make no difference if he did anything.

    Hutton was a sight to behold! What was he to do with such a disrespectful subordinate?! Fearing that Yeric might have annoyed President Felic, it would not have been an issue if this was a wasted trip, but now he did not know whether his subordinate hadn¡¯t deeply offended President Felic.

    Hutton was so angry that he raised his magic staff and was about to hit him with it, but just as he raised his magic staff, he saw that Yeric had turned pale and froze like a statue, almost as though he had seen something terrifying.

    Hutton cursed in his mind. <i>Damn it, you were happily chiding away and even asked me to wake up; now who is the one who looks like an idiot?</i>

    But soon Hutton realized Yeric wasn¡¯t scared of him. A figure flew ahead¡ªit was President Felic, who had been busy with God knew what earlier.

    Yeric was on the verge of breaking down, or perhaps he already had, and it took all his strength to remain standing there. He never thought that the supposedly cowardly and incapable fellow he was scolding was... a damn Legendary-mage.

    An Archmage could only use a Levitation Spell to fly, but a Legendary-mage was different. Yeric saw that Lin Li did not even utter a word, nor did the magical wave around him change before he flew into the sky as though it was second instinct for him.

    He had offended a Legendary-mage! The person he had been making snide remarks about for the whole day was actually a Legendary-mage! This 20-odd years old President was actually a Legendary-mage! All these unbelievable thoughts seemed to hammer away at his nerves, and it was only a matter of time before they snapped.

    Yeric was very regretful now. Even though there was another Legendary-mage, Cheyenne, in the Malfa Family, yet Yeric had offended a Legendary-mage because of something trivial. He had seen many conflicts in such a big family, and he was aware of what would happen in the end¡ªhe would inevitably be sacrificed in order to appease the other party. But whom could he me? He was the cause of this, and Hutton had tried again and again to stop him, yet he could not contain his anger enough to see through this.

    Hutton felt his worry settle a little as he watched Lin Li fly into battle. While any other Legendary-mage would have made no difference against 10 Archmages and the four Alchemy Colossuses, this President Felic was no ordinary Legendary-mage¡ªanyone would be a fool to think so.

    Since President Felic had made a move, he did not have to worry no matter what he decided to do. Hutton was no longer worried about the battle, but the moment he turned to look at Yeric, who still stood there stunned, he felt his anger rising again. ¡°Yeric, what do you think of this dream of mine? Am I awake or not?¡±

    What a nightmare; how he hoped that he was in a nightmare! Yeric felt like he might be better off dying¡ªnot only had he offended a Legendary-mage, he had also offended his young master. He silently scolded himself for it¡ªnow he did not even have someone to stand up for him, damn it.

    ¡°Yeric, I thought you had a lot to say earlier. Why are you not saying anything now??¡± Hutton became angrier the more he thought about it¡ªnot only because Yeric had been rude to him earlier, but also because he was worried that his rtionship with President Felic would sour due to this bastard.

    ¡°Young Master Hutton, I-I-I... I really didn¡¯t know that President Felic was a Legendary-mage...¡±

    <i>Damn it, so you know you¡¯re wrong now, huh. </i>¡°Humph!¡± Hutton snorted, and said, ¡°If you want to apologize, you should wait until President Felic is back before you say it yourself.¡±

    <i>But a sorry might not work...</i> Hutton silently added. He knew that young President¡¯s personality better than anyone else¡ªhe might ignore youpletely and smile at whatever you do, but when things became serious, you¡¯d better start praying. Sorry? Even a kowtow might not work...

    The young President Felic was a Legendary-mage! Not only Yeric was shocked, even those from the Tower of Dusk were stunned. 20 years old, even the God of Mages Geresco did not reach the Legendary-realm by the age of 20!

 Chapter 484 - Element Annihilation

    <h4>Chapter 484: Element Annihtion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian the fatty forgot to close his mouth as he looked on. He, who knew Felic better than most, secretly thought to himself, <i>Damn it, he was only a level-7 or 8 mage when he first arrived in Jarrosus, and only started learning magic not too long ago. He seems to improve at a tremendous speed, and just like that, he has be a Legendary-mage.</i>

    Ever since Andoine, there had not been a figure like that in Jarrosus, and Gerian was upset that he had nothing boast about whenever he met other mages.

    ¡°Damn it, this Felic is from Jarrosus¡¯ Guild of Magic; if we were to trace it all the way back and his teacher is Andoine, that old fellow¡¯s from Jarrosus too.¡± After recovering from his shock, Gerian immediately started happily picturing what he could boast about in the future. ¡°A Legendary-mage at the age of 20? None of the geniuses that the Guilds of Magic in Fn boast about can measure up to him.¡±

    While the old fatty Gerian was happily thinking about everything he could boast about, the others in the Tower of Dusk saw hope. They saw how wonderful the future of the Tower of Dusk could be. A good background and backing were important in every upation, and if one¡¯s boss was influential, then they would be able to enjoy the benefits of it too, but if one¡¯s boss wascking, then there was a limit to how far one could go as well.

    ¡°Legendary, Legendary-realm indeed!¡± Gavin initially only joined the Guild of Magic because of Mr Basel¡¯s request, and he was ambitious too. He had thought about taking over after seeing that Lin Li was so young, but after seeing how Lin Li dealt with the Syer Bandits, this thought had been banished.

    The fact that the President was now a Legendary-mage did not only concern him. The Malfa Family was able to flourish because they had a Legendary-mage. The Tower of Dusk had only been established not long ago, and they had thought that they would have to work incredibly hard for a long time before they could enjoy some fame. Now that their President was a Legendary-mage, it would not only serve as deterrence to others, but also attract many mages who wished to receive some guidance from a Legendary-mage even at the expense of paying for it.

    Gavin was ted and thankful at the same time; thankful because he had been discerning and did not leave a bad impression on the President, and ted because the reputation of the Tower of Dusk would be better now that the President was a Legendary-mage. Since he was the President¡¯s right-hand man, his status would also rise ordingly.

    Mr Basel was said to join as the Head Referee too, and then, once the Tower of Dusk had two Legendary-mages leading them, who would dare belittle them? Gavin was still an ambitious man, except that now, his ambition had be motivation for him to help the President manage the Guild of Magic well instead of vying for the President¡¯s spot. When the Guild of Magic became more influential, so would he as the right-hand man of the President.

    The other mages of the Tower of Dusk were all thinking about the same thing as Gavin as they all knew that having a Legendary-mage in the organization made a world of difference. No matter how powerful an organization was, if itcked a Legendary powerhouse, then it would always seem to becking in foundation as though it might fall any time.

    The mages of the Malfa Family finally understood why Hutton had emphasized time and again not toe into conflict with the people of the Tower of Dusk. They had thought that the Malfa Family had a Legendary-mage backing them, and thus they did not care much for a newly established Guild of Magic. Now, however, they realized that the Tower of Dusk also had a Legendary-mage, and a young one of only 20 years old at that.

    Nobody could say for sure whether they would be an Archmage or a Legendary-mage or a Sanctuary Master. However, it was almost certain for a 20 years old Legendary-mage to be a Sanctuary Master as all he needed was time. After all, the God of Mages Geresco had received top-notch education when he was younger, yet he had only be a Legendary-mage at 30 years old.

    The mages of the Malfa Family stared at the mages of the Tower of Dusk with envy and a tinge of awe.

    Nothing was perfect in the world, and even though the Alchemy Colossuses were so powerful that even Lin Li would have a hard time going against them, he was an Alchemy Guru who knew everything there was to know about the Alchemy Colossus. There was no need to go head-on against them.

    Lin Li immediately flew towards the four Alchemy Colossuses after he finished making the Disintegrating Array instrument. It was tedious to make an Alchemy Colossus, because it was very time-consuming, and that was not considering the various magical ingredients that were needed. It would be much easier to just steal them, especially since he did not have to disintegrate all the Alchemy Arrays on the Alchemy Colossuses, since he could just use the Disintegrating Array to disintegrate some of the core ones for the machine to be useless.

    Given that Lin Li was an Alchemy Guru, it was all too easy for him to locate the core arrays on an Alchemy Colossus¡¯ body.

    Damn it, this was good stuff. Even though there were ws in the arrangement of the Alchemy Arrays, it would save him a lot of timepared to actually building one. He could just modify it a bit, and maybe it would reach the Legendary level. Then, he would have another trump card he could use. Lin Li held the Disintegrating Array instrument in his hand, already regarding the four Alchemy Colossuses as his new possession.

    These four Alchemy Colossuses could be controlled by any Magic Shooter, and if he could have four nearly Legendary-level Alchemy Colossuses to help him in battles, then they would definitely be a treasure of the Tower of Dusk.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was on Lin Li as they wondered how this young Legendary-mage was going to turn the tables around. Some of them thought that a Legendary-mage would easily capture the Alchemy Colossuses, but others were worried that he would not be able to do so, since even Legendary-mages differed from each other. While Lin Li was definitely a Legendary-mage, he was only 20 years old, and surely he must have only been in the Legendary-realm for a short while¡ªit was worrying to think about how he was going to face four Alchemy Colossuses which wereparable to a Legendary magical beast each.

    Even the enemy had stopped as the 10 Archmages hovered in the air, holding their magic staffs tightly in their hands as they anxiously watched Lin Li. The wide brim of their hats hid their expressions from the others, but if one were to look closely, they would notice that they were slightly trembling, and their hands were white from gripping their magic staffs too tightly. They had not thought that their opponent had a Legendary-mage, and nobody could ignore the strength of a Legendary-mage.

    The four Alchemy Colossuses stood in a straight line beneath the 10 Archmages as the Alchemy Arrays shone on their bodies. Each machine was controlled by a human, after all, and even though their Alchemy Colossuses were almost as powerful as a Legendary magical beast each, the person controlling it was only an average Magic Shooter of about level-14, or maybe they had just reached level-10. The fear of a Legendary powerhouse was deeply ingrained in their souls, something that they would not forget even though they were sitting inside an Alchemy Colossus.

    The whole battlefield became quiet, and even the injured had forgotten their moans of pain. Everyone¡¯s attention was on the young man¡ªthe President of the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic, the owner of the Tower of Dusk, and the 20 years old Legendary-mage. The Legendary-realm meant that anyone who attained that level could be a legend in Anril, leaving their awe-inspiring story behind for others. Everyone present, no matter which side they were on, had to admit that Lin Li was indeed a legend amongst the legendary.

    After the initial shock, however, Lin Li¡¯s age made everyone¡¯s fear of a Legendary powerhouse lessen in this case. He was only 20 years old, and even if he was born in Legendary-realm, then it would only mean that he had been in the Legendary-realm for only 20 years¡ªnot like that was possible. Sendrospletely disregarded Cheyenne who was from the Malfa Family even though they were both Legendary-mages because Cheyenne had only been in the Legendary-realm for a few decades, while Sendros was much more experienced.

    If the 10 Archmages ran into a Legendary-mage as experienced as Sendros, they would definitely run as far away as they could¡ªor perhaps they would not be able to run at all. However, since they were facing a newbie Legendary-mage, and they also had four Alchemy Colossuses which wereparable to a Legendary magical beast, nobody could say for sure who would win. Hence, even after the shock, the people on both sides did not think that this Legendary-mage could really turn the tides of the battle.

    The 10 Archmages hovering in the air exchanged a look with their leader, not needing any words based on the chemistry they had developed over the years. They raised their magic staffs in front of their chest almost at the same time, and the magical crystals on their magic staffs started glowing with a faint light as they chanted. The four Alchemy Colossuses also raised their arms and aimed them at Lin Li, the Alchemy Arrays on their arms lighting up one by one as mana was channeled into them.

    The 10 Archmages and the four Alchemy Colossuses all aimed at Lin Li, waiting for him to approach before they¡¯d strike quickly. Maybe it would not be a fatal blow, but it would definitely show the opponent that even a Legendary-mage would not fare much better against them.

    As Lin Li flew closer and they were getting ready to release their magic, they suddenly heard Lin Li chant. They were in shock, but they could not stop their magic spells, either, and thus an avnche of magic was hurled at Lin Li.

    A flurry of magic rained down on Lin Li as though he was at the bottom of a funnel. Yet, none of those spells¡ªbe it ice, fire, wind, or lightning elements, and no matter how powerful they were¡ªcould approach within half a meter of Lin Li. They could not see what was blocking the spells, as thetter seemed to dissipate naturally.

    ¡°Element Annihtion!¡± some people eximed in shock at the sight.

    Element Annihtion was not a foreign magic to mages; more urately, it was not usually in the form of magic that most mages knew it, since it was usually used in mageweaths. The Element Annihtion worked as its name suggested, eliminating the effect of magic within a certain area. In ces where mages practiced magic or dueled, Element Annihtion mageweaths were often used to prevent damage to the buildings.

    While this magic wasmonly seen, it was hardly used in the form of spells, as the chants were difficult even for a Legendary-mage. There were many Archmages present, and the 10 Archmages from the Syer Bandits were close to the Legendary-realm, so while they did not know how to use this magic, they definitely had a deeper understanding of it than others.

    Seeing that their magic had no effect on the opponent at all, the ck-robed Archmages all had a look of shock on their faces. They were aware just how difficult this magic was as even the difficulty in casting the spell would ce it in the top 10 most difficult spells amongst all the spells in Anril. The unusually long andplicated chant was not the main reason why this was such a difficult spell¡ªthe truly intimidating thing about it was its ridiculous elemental structure. This meant that more mental strength had to be devoted to it, and it required more mental strength than an average Legendary-mage had.

    This Element Annihtion spell was forcefully converted from the field of Inscription, and that resulted in the difficulty of casting it. It was like linguistic trantion¡ªwhile it only took one word to describe something in onenguage, it might require a few words to describe it in othernguages.

    One had to have an incredible understanding of the element structure in order to use the spell, and understanding the element structure of an Element Annihtion spell would require a deep understanding of the study of mageweaths. Lin Li did notck mental strength, and he had devoted a lot of time and effort to understand element structures. On top of it all, he was also a Guru in mageweaths; hence, the Element Annihtion spell was really nothing particrly difficult for him.

    What were they to do now?! No matter what spell the ck-robed Archmages used, they could not cause any harm to Lin Li at all. If he had used a magical shield of sorts, he might be dizzy due to the impact of the explosions, but due to the Element Annihtion, the magic dissipated even before it had the chance to do anything. They could only curse at him silently while they watched Lin Li fly towards the Alchemy Colossuses on the ground.

    Someone could not help but ask, ¡°What is he trying to do!?¡±

    It was something everyone wanted to know as well. This was because the Element Annihtion prevented the user from casting spells aside from rendering others¡¯ spells harmless. This was the reason why the spell version of the Element Annihtion was not highly regarded by people, and thus nobody thought to improve on it.

 Chapter 485 - Despair

    <h4>Chapter 485: Despair</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Could it be that they are luring us to attack the Alchemy Colossuses? Do they take us for idiots?¡± Whoever saw this scenario all thought like that. Since they did not have the strength to fight, they would use themselves as bait and lure the firepower of others to attack.

    The Archmages donning ck robes in the sky continuously attacked Lin Li with spells, but they simply could notnd any hit on Lin Li. There was always a point where magic would lose its effectiveness; they were just waiting for the point when Element Annihtion gave out.

    The spellcasting standards of these 10 Archmages were decent. No matter how Lin Li maneuvered around those four Alchemy Colossuses, not a single spell hadnded on the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ bodies.

    A Legendary-mage¡¯s Power of Flight was much better than an Archmage¡¯s Levitation Spell, be it in terms of speed or maneuverability. If the Levitation Spell was like a balloon in the sky, then the Power of Flight was truly like a bird, soaring as it pleased.

    Lin Li only took a short pause of one to two seconds beside every Alchemy Colossus. He would smack the Alchemy Colossus on the spot where the core arrays were located after the Disintegrating Array instrument in his hands had been activated. Soon, the four Alchemy Colossuses fell to his machinations, and as luck would have it, the power of the Element Annihtion was about to disappear.

    ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡± The leader of the Archmages in ck robes had foreseen this moment. He hastened the spellcasting with a shout.

    Yet at this point, something weird happened. Screeching scraping could be heard from within the four Alchemy Colossuses. Theplicated Alchemy Arrays on their bodies gave off a dazzling radiance, which was followed by flickering lights. Those that could lit up numbered less and less, until they finally all darkenedpletely. The four Alchemy Colossuses that had strongerbat prowess than Legendary magical beasts had suddenly broken down for no rhyme or reason under everyone¡¯s shocked gaze.

    Nobody knew what happened to the Alchemy Colossuses; they only knew that the change had to be caused by that young Legendary-mage. The covers on the backs of the Alchemy Colossuses opened up, and the operators inside jumped out with panicked looks. One of the Archmages descended closer and interrogated one of them furiously, but the answer he got was full of confusion.

    Even a driver might not know how to repair a car, what more a high-end machinery like the Alchemy Colossus. Although the kingdom of Rotterdam was known as the best in Alchemy in the whole Anril, those that knew how to build an Alchemy Colossus were very few. High-level Alchemists were like national treasures in Rotterdam. A loss of even one of them would cause tremendous heartache for the king of Rotterdam, so how could theye to such a ce?

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk looked at their own President with worship. Although nobody had doubted the President¡¯s abilities before, they did not imagine that these four Alchemy Colossuses would be disabled without a fierce fight. With such an omnipotent President, the Tower of Dusk needed not worry about prosperity, and the members needed not worry about advancing.

    Truth be told, the principles of right and wrong or good and evil were all empty. They did not have any meaning at all. How could something like having one¡¯s cake and eating it too exist in this world. Humans were superficial animals; it was very normal for them to work for whoever offered the most gains. To rope them in, the most important thing was to give them enough of the gains that moved them the most. Money, fame, future. They were all gains.

    If the Tower of Dusk did not give the people hope, these people would not have a sense of belonging after joining even with Basel¡¯s help. They would not treat the Tower of Dusk as an organization they were willing to work for. If it was just about throwing money, the rtionships maintained by money was still weak. But now, a Legendary powerhouse, a President that could create miracles, had shown them hope.

    It was inconceivable from the others¡¯ perspective, but Lin Li did not think it was anything special. Since he had the key to the door, why would he need to spend energy to smash the lock? This was what ¡°one thing goes with another¡± meant, just like how spiced water went with bean curd. One Disintegrating Array had easily removed four Alchemy Colossuses from the equation.

    <i>Are we still fighting?</i> The Archmages in ck robes were hesitating. The four Alchemy Colossuses were their biggest reliance when they dared to take action against the Legendary-mage. Although they no longer had the four Alchemy Colossuses, they still thought that they would not lose if the 10 of them worked together.

    However, it was unclear how many of these 10 would survive. Furthermore, excluding this young Legendary-mage, the other opponents were not weak, either.

    Few humans were not afraid of death. The higher they stood, the more they feared losing it all. In Anril, Legendary and Sanctuary realm powerhouses were rare. Archmages could be considered the peak of the profession of mages. A level-18 mage received respect no matter which faction they belonged to. Nobody would be willing to lose all of this.

    ¡°Hmph, we¡¯ll settle the score another day!¡± The leader of the mages in ck robes harshly left these words and turned around, wanting to lead hisrades away. After all, he was an Archmage, so he could not throw his face away even when facing a Legendary powerhouse.

    <i>It¡¯s finally ending!</i> The members of the Tower of Dusk and Malfa Family let out a sigh of relief at the same time when they heard the enemy¡¯s words. After all, their enemies were 10 level-18 Archmages. Chasing them away was already enough. If they were to fight to the death with them, at least half of the allies would perish with them even if they had a Legendary powerhouse on their side.

    ¡°Another day?¡± Lin Li rubbed his nose. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for after I f*ck you guys...¡±

    Lin Li still remembered that no matter if it was the arm of the Immortal King or the mysterious magical weapon, they were all not the reason he came here. The real motive for the members of the Tower of Dusk and himself toe here was to seek revenge for those that died at ck Clouds Town. Hence, be it the leftovers of the Syer Bandits or the 10 Archmages in front of him that came from another faction, none of them could be let off.

    Few people had seen a Legendary-mage take action in their lives before. Even if it was the mages from the Malfa Family, they rarely saw Master Cheyenne take the field. Of course, it was needless to say that he was mobilizing against another Legendary-mage. But from this point of view, these 10 Archmages were considered lucky to be going against Lin Li.

    ck Clouds Town¡¯s disaster had definitely provoked Lin Li. For Lin Li, a maniac that protected short rtionships, it was intolerable if anyone that had a friendly rtionship with him before was hurt. The Merlin Family had hurt McGrenn, and thus Old Merlin and Grenville died. The whole Merlin Family hadpletely fallen, reduced to an inferior force in Jarrosus. Granger had hurt Orrin, and so Granger¡¯s fate had long been decided¡ªit was useless even when Aldwin took action to stop it. Now, the Syer Bandits and this mysterious faction had harmed the townspeople of ck Clouds Town. Then, they were not far from death...

    Lin Li mobilized all his might. He did not consider giving the opposition any chance; he instantly deployed the Magical Domain he¡¯d grasped. Not only were they fighting a Legendary-mage, they even had the chance to experience a Legendary-mage¡¯s Magical Domain. The luck of these 10 Archmages was at the extreme.

    ¡°Oh God, it¡¯s a Magical Domain!¡± The members of the Tower of Dusk looked on with excitement. Originally, they thought it was extraordinary that the President had stepped into the Legendary-realm. They did not think that the President had actually already grasped the Magical Domain. This was hardly something that a mage that had just stepped into the Legendary-realm could do.

    ¡°F*ck, I really need a strong heart when I¡¯m with this little bastard,¡± Gerian said while staring nkly into the sky. Of all the people present, nobody had a deeper impression of Lin Li¡¯s demonic talent than him. When they first met, Lin Li was only a little level-eight mage, and how much time had passed since?

    ¡°He is only 20!¡± Hutton¡¯s face was rather downcast. This was the second time he had seen Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain. The previous time was in the Abyss of Tharlen. Every time, this would make him feel depressed. In the past, he was a genius that was well known by everyone in the Breezy ins, but now he felt that this title of ¡°genius¡± was a joke.

    The current feelings of the magicians of the Malfa Family were extremelyplicated. Their sense of superiority had already been obliterated. It was especially so for that Archmage called Yeric. Initially, he¡¯d been rude to Lin Li (and Hutton) before he actually realized that the opponent was actually a Legendary powerhouse, and had even grasped the Magical Domain. This was simply too crazy.

    Everyone present was a mage; everyone knew what a Magical Domain meant for mages. It was the peak power of magic. It was a small world, and he was the god of that world. Only with the Magical Domain was one a true Legendary powerhouse.

    The sky that¡¯d been originally clear and cloudless was instantly filled with thunder clouds. Pure white snowkes fell and instantly changed the small space into a snowy world. The snowkes were fine and closely woven, causing the whole space to look like fog appeared. The sky and the earth was dyed a silvery white color. The nts that had been covered by the domain had been turned into ice sculptures, and after that, crisp shattering sounds filled the ce.

    Simrly, although the mages from the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family that were in this snowy world did not feel cold at all, and the snowkes did notnd on their bodies, the power of the domain still made them shiver. Even though they knew that the Legendary-mage in the sky with a blurry silhouette was on their side, the pressure produced by this disy of peak magical strength still made everyone feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.

    In an instant, the earth gained a thickyer of silver makeup. That thickyer of snow seemed like it had a life of its own¡ªit looked like the surface of a raging silver sea when it tossed and squirmed. A frost magical beast was formed every time a wave surged. All of them soared and charged towards those 10 Archmages wearing ck robes no matter if their original forms had the ability to fly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Frost Domain.¡± The leader of the Archmages let out a sigh of relief when he saw the form.

    Although they were only Archmages, and did not have their own Magical Domain, they still knew how it worked. After all, they were level-18 Archmages, so it could be said that they were very close to the Legendary-realm. It was not weird for them to know about the Magical Domain.

    Rules formed domains. The Frost Domain was naturally formed by thews of ice, and thews of ice were notplicated. When a mage learned magic, arge number of spells that they came in contact with had the ice attribute, from the most basic Icicle to the Thousand Miles of Iceter. Through learning these spells, mages would gain a very good understanding of thews of ice. This was why many mages would use thews of ice as the foundation to create their own Magical Domain after entering the Legendary-realm.

    The reason for its being ¡°poprized¡± was because thews of ice were derived from the rules of water element, and were not fundamental rules that constructed an element. In terms of understanding and mastery, thews of ice were naturally much easier. Magical Domains that were made from simple rules could only be described as simple and low-level. The prowess of such a Magical Domain was imaginable. Hence, smart Legendary-mages would not choose a singlews of ice Magical Domain.

    Seeing that it was the Frost Domain, the 10 Archmages in ck robes felt hope reignited in their heart. After all, Lin Li was still a young Legendary-mage. It was not impossible to break through the domain with the strength of their 10. They huddled tightly together and descended to the ground as standing on the ground could at least reduce by one the directions they were attacked from. The magic staffs in their hands waved constantly, and every spell destroyed the frost magical beasts that were surging forward.

    After that, the snow petals in the sky stopped floating down, and were fusing together in midair when they thought that they had seen hope. In an instant, hundreds of humanoids with ck and white wings on their backs that were wielding spears and swords appeared beside the Legendary-mage.

    ¡°God, what is that? You know what I felt?!¡± The spectators on the ground once again issued some surprised sounds because they felt that it was too incredible and appalling.

    <i>God... could you let us rest our weak hearts for a bit? Do you still want to let us live?</i> If he was a Legendary-mage, then so be it. He actually also had Magical Domain! If it was the Magical Domain, then so be it, but it was actually a Magical Domain of thews of ice. But then...

    <i>Light and darkness!</i> the mages of the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family shouted in their hearts. The wave after wave of excitement was simply unbearable.

    The 10 Archmages that were surrounded by the frost magical beasts now had expressions of despair and horror. They felt an aura of thews of light and darkness on some of the bodies of those humanoids with ck and white wings. Within the Frost Domain, they still had some chance with their abilities, but the appearance of thews of light and darkness made thempletely lose hope.

    Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Chaos were the seven fundamental elements that made up this world. Every element represented a set of fundamental rules. Aspared to the simplews like thews of ice derived from thews of the water element, every single fundamental element¡¯s Rules were the hardest to master. It was especially so for light, darkness, and chaos. These three were the hardest to master.

    With the abilities of these 10 Archmages in ck robes, it was not impossible topletely see through the abilities of the Legendary-mage, Lin Li. But after seeing this Magical Domain made from three Rules, their hearts already had an answer that gave them despair. Level-20 would be called Legendary. Level-21 could master thews of ice and create the Frost Domain. Then what about controlling the ice, light, and darkness¡ªthese three rules? Those abilities should be at level-22 or 23!

 Chapter 486 - Shackled

    <h4>Chapter 486: Shackled</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    How could they have known that although Lin Li created the Frost, Light, and Darkness Magical Domain, the Rules that he really masteredprised only thews of ice? The usage of both thews of light and darkness was based on the help from the two pieces of debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Otherwise, there was no way to master such unbelievable fundamental Rules.

    Under the gaze of the Archmages in ck robes filled with despair and horror, Lin Li pointed the magic staff in his hand forward in their direction, just like the g of a generalmanding thousands of troops. The hovering Angels of Light and Dark surrounding him moved out when they received themand. They spread open theirrge ck and white wings, breaking through the snow-filled sky, and charged towards the enemy.

    The 10 Archmages in ck robes could barely make it while facing the frost magical beasts that were surging forth just now, and thus they¡¯d had a bit of hope that they could escape in the end. But now, although these Angels of Light and Dark looked weak on the surface, being constructed by thews of Light and Darkness, they were the strongest magical beings in the Magical Domain. Within the Magical Domain, every Angel of Light and Dark had the power of at least level-18. As long as Lin Li¡¯s mana was not exhausted, their strength would not weaken a single bit.

    Shrieks echoed, and then stopped abruptly. Under the siege of the Angels of Light and Dark, the 10 Archmages did not have a chance to hold on. They were Archmages, and level-18 Archmages in Anril were already at the peak of the mage profession, yet this time, they did not have a chance to retaliate while their bodies were within the frost, light, and darkness Magical Domain and facing the onught of the Angels of Light and Dark.

    From afar, the Angels of Light and Dark danced around while wielding their spears just like a group of predators hunting their prey. The Archmages that¡¯d originally been overwhelmingly arrogant asionally showed aplexion full of fear and despair.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family felt a chill in their hearts. This was the difference between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage!

    Before anyone noticed, it stopped snowing.

    The dark clouds in the sky dissipated at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye. The silhouettes of the Angels of Light and Dark started to be more transparent until they totally disappeared. What was left on the ground were the 10 Archmages in ck robes that had beenpletely frozen solid as though their bodies were encapsted in ice coffins, and the fear on their faces could be seen clearly. The piled-up snow on the ground quickly melted, and quickly became a stream that flowed off towards the lower grounds.

    ¡°H-has it ended? J-just like that?¡±

    Yeric swallowed his saliva with difficulty. What sort of person had he offended! The impressive enemy Archmages had actually been toppled so easily. Furthermore, it was like a pounce of a beast...

    Please, those were level-18 Archmages. Although they were not as rare as Legendary-mages, in the whole Fn Kingdom and Anril, level-18 Archmages were not plenty.

    ¡°Clean up the battlefield.¡± Lin Li descended slowly to the ground from the air and gave a reminder to those mages that were in a daze.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk immediately cheered with excitement. In the past two months or so, even though there were no casualties under the leadership of Gerian, it was too suffocating to be constantly pressured by the enemies. However, the President was actually a Legendary-mage, and he had the Magical Domain! Great! The grudge in their hearts dissipated along with the enemy¡¯s defeat.

    ¡°F*ck, how could you kill them? We still do not know where they are from.¡± At this point, only a thoughtless person like Gerian would dare to speak to Lin Li in this manner. Everyone else looked at Lin Li with a face full of respect.

    Walking, Lin Li chuckled and said, ¡°Rx, how could I forget this? There are three survivors there.¡±

    ¡°Three? Why did you leave so many? These fes aren¡¯t easy to control,¡± Gerian said with a frown. After all, they were level-18 Archmages. It was not easy to take (and keep) them prisoner if there were no tricks involved.

    ¡°Naturally, there was a reason behind my leaving three of them...¡± Lin Li did not say much, nor did he refute Gerian, because Lin Li knew that Gerian¡¯s worries were reasonable. When dealing with Warriors, solid shackles would cause them to lose all strength to resist; breaking some limbs, to be a little more cruel, would also do the job. However, mages could still use some spells to create quite a bit of trouble even if they could not make any noise. Furthermore, it was three level-18 Archmages they were talking about here. If they were to use some tricks, an average person would not be able to take it.

    The ice coffins melted quickly and revealed the enemies that were frozen solid. As expected, the seven that died could not be any more dead, and there were three that were still breathing weakly.

    Lin Li walked to the front of those Archmages that were still unconscious, murmuring incantations. The magical crystal at the tip of the magic staff before his face radiated following the casting of the spell. After that, Lin Li gently knocked the magic staff on the forehead of an Archmage. The radiance of the magical crystal on the tip of the magic staff converged as though it had been knocked into the brains of the other party.

    ¡°Oh...¡± That Archmage slowly regained consciousness. He immediately panicked as he saw the situation in front of him, retreating backwards while still on the ground. However, he just moved two to three meters, and he felt his back hitting something. Raising his head to take a look, he noticed the mages of the Tower of Dusk were grinning at him with their teeth shown.

    The two mages of the Tower of Dusk immediately kicked the prisoner down and tied him up with a rope.

    ¡°Ah, my... my mana!¡± The Archmage instinctively wanted to resist, but he realized at this point that there was a barrier blocking and not allowing him to feel a shred of mana no matter how he used his mental strength, just as though he had be an average person.

    Actually, the method to limit a mage¡¯s spell casting abilities had be the topic of research for many. It was indeed not a simple issue topletely suppress a mage¡¯s powers, especially under the premise of not harming the mage.

    Taking a mage prisoner and preventing him from escaping the whole day. Furthermore, they could not be humiliated or mistreated under the tacitly eptedw of Anril. They could only be treated with good food and wait for the opposition they belonged to pay the ransom. It was too aggrieving to be a victor. Hence, there was this Mana Shackle spell.

    However, one had to have a deep understanding of the Rules of magic in order to seal a mage¡¯s spell casting ability. It was only Legendary-mages that grasped the magic Rules and created the Magical Domain that had the ability to cast the Mana Shackle spell.

    Upon hearing the screams of the Archmage, the onlooking mages of the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family did not show much surprise on their faces. Although it was harder to seal a mage¡¯s ability to cast spells than to kill the mage, that young President was a Legendary-mage.

    However, their calm expressions changed quickly. The mages in the area were so shocked that their mouths did not know how to close anymore after Lin Li sealed the mana of the other two Archmage prisoners. Even if he was still a Legendary-mage, it should be impossible to single-handedly seal the mana of three Archmages. Was he still human?

    There were three essential factors when mages cast spells¡ªmental strength, mana, and the structure of elemental sequencing¡ªbut the most fundamental one was still mental strength. Adjusting mana when casting spells and sequencing elemental structure both had to go through mental strength. Mana increased with levels, and the elemental structure sequencing was perfected through practice, but it was widely believed that everyone had a fixed amount of mental strength¡ªthere was almost no way to practice and increase it. Hence, the strength of the mental strength basically determined a mage¡¯s potential for development.

    All of the mages present knew that this spell, Mana Shackle, was said to shackle a mage¡¯s mana, but in actual fact, it was sealing mental strength to cause a mage to be unable to adjust mana. Hence, this spell did not require much mana, but the required mental strength was extremelyrge. At the same time, the more mental strength the user employed, the stronger the effects of this shackle.

    Under the premise of not affecting one¡¯s own body, an established Legendary-mage could only shackle one Archmage. If two Archmages were shackled by him, his body not only would not be able to unleash powers at the Legendary-level, but he could even fall off from the Legendary-realm identally. After all, it was hard to recover from damage to mental strength.

    Three level-18 Archmages had actually had their ability to cast spells sealed, and yet the young President looked like he had just done something trivial. There was not a single sign of mental exhaustion. Everyone was silent; they even did not dare to look squarely at Lin Li. They only dared to size him up from the side sneakily; just how strong this young Legendary-mage President was!?

    How would they know that Lin Li was simply a mental strength monster? Whenpared to that vast mental strength, the mental strength used to shackle the three Archmages was simply like a drop of water in the sea. Yet, it was this drop of mental strength that made other Legendary-mages¡ªor even Sanctuary Masters¡ªunable to dispel the shackles he cast.

    Lin Li shackled the mana of the three Archmages and caused them to lose the ability to cast spells. He waved his hands to get his subordinates to lock up the three of them. Once they sensed something abnormal in their bodies, the three Archmages¡¯ faces immediately turned pale, and they lost all thoughts of trying to escape.

    There was actually nothing much to clean up on the battlefield. All there was to do was to treat the injured allies and finish off the injured enemies while gathering the bodies of the fallen allies to be brought back and burning the corpses of the dead enemies. As for the spoils of war, there were still items on those few Archmages other than the four Alchemy Colossuses that Lin Li had disabled. The pockets of the rest were cleaner than their faces.

    Hutton stood next to the bodies of those from the Malfa Family; he looked at them with heartache. These were all elites of the family, and each of them had a significant value. Originally, he¡¯d thought that this was a sideshow. He had not thought that the enemies they encountered were going to be so strong. He only hoped that the Malfa Family would be on good terms with the Tower of Dusk through this incident. In that case, these deaths would not be in vain.

    Seeing the bodies being collected, Hutton spoke to Yeric and walked towards Lin Li to ask what was their next move. However, he only took two steps and felt something was wrong. He turned round and saw that Yeric was still standing at the same spot with an expression of biting his tongue.

    Seeing that expression of his, why would Hutton not know what he was worried about? He thought, <i>F*ck, I already told you before that that President Felic and the Tower of Dusk should not be provoked. You just wouldn¡¯t f*cking listen. Now what, you¡¯re scared, right!?</i> Hutton actually felt some tion, and said, ¡°Yeric, why are you in daze? Follow me to look for President Felic and see what he ns next.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Yes, yes...¡± Yeric¡¯s face was full of internal conflict. He slowly walked over to Hutton, and finally he could not help but say, ¡°Master Hutton, although I was being rude to President Felic previously, it was all for the Malfa Family. You can¡¯t stand by and just watch me die.¡±

    ¡°Yeric, what are you saying? What¡¯s this about leaving you to your demise? Did you forget that I didn¡¯t remind you only once? You didn¡¯t want to heed my advice, so what else can I do?¡± Hutton spoke with an innocent look.

    ¡°Master Hutton, it¡¯s my fault. Please, don¡¯t lower yourself to my level and help me out,¡± Yeric pleaded with an anxious look.

    No matter what, Yeric was a level-17 Archmage. Although he could not bepared to that monster Lin Li, he was still a talent. Hutton thought for a bit. He did not wish for the Malfa Family to suffer any more losses, so he said, ¡°Ok, go apologize sincerely, and I will follow up for you. President Felic is a Legendary-mage, he shouldn¡¯t make a fuss with you.¡±

    Although Yeric was still ill at ease, it was better than doing nothing at all. He immediately nodded and walked over with Hutton. When he had just walked over, he rushed to the front and bent forwards at a 90-degree angle. His attitude was as sincere as it could get, he said that he was blind, that President Felic was magnanimous, and asked not to make a fuss, and so on.

    Although Lin Li tended to avenge grievances big and small, he still had to give some face to Hutton. They hade to help, and quite a few of them had perished. It was also still unclear if there were any spoils to find in the Syer Bandits¡¯ hideout. As a result, he benevolently waved his hands, and said to Hutton, ¡°Mage Hutton, after this battle, be it the remnants of the Syer Bandits or the mysterious organization supporting them, I believe the main force is no longer here. From here on, I n to attack the Syer Bandits¡¯ hideout immediately. Think about it.¡±

    Currently, it was sufficient to take down the Syer Bandits¡¯ nest with just the strength of the Tower of Dusk. Their hideout might even be empty. However, after this battle, the loot so far was not enough. The Malfa Family had losses there, so Lin Li was rather embarrassed to just send off Hutton and the rest empty-handed. More importantly, he could not bear to give the Alchemy Colossuses to the Malfa Family, so he thought that it was impossible not to find some good items within the Syer Bandits¡¯ hideout to send off Hutton with.

    Lin Li did not specifically mention forgiving Yeric, but since he talked about cooperating for the next n, it also meant that he would not look into it anymore. Yeric finally settled down his anxious heart and stood up straight beside Hutton, listening obediently to their conversation and turning a blind eye to the gazes of the other members of the Tower of Dusk.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not make a fuss about Yeric¡¯s rudeness previously, Hutton also let out a sigh of relief. If Lin Li wanted to look into it no matter what, he could only sacrifice Yeric for the sake of the rtionship between the two factions. He also sensibly did not mention anything about it. As for Lin Li¡¯s next n, he said, ¡°We will follow President Felic¡¯s arrangements. The Syer Bandits have been threatening the Breezy ins for a long period of time andmitted countless murders and arson. Being able to eradicate thempletely this time, we of the Malfa Family will not shirk responsibility in order for the Breezy ins to gain some peace.¡±

 Chapter 487 - Diary

    <h4>Chapter 487: Diary</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was not a single shred of embarrassment on Hutton¡¯s face as heunched his righteous spiel. This fe had been in contact with Lin Li for a while, and he spoke whatever came to his mind,pletely forgetting that the Malfa Family and the Syer Bandits were in cahoots not too long ago...

    In order to prevent the leftover Syer Bandits in the hideout from escaping after they received the news of the battle¡¯s oue, the force of the two factions had a short break before they gathered together and set forth for the hideout of the Syer Bandits. During the journey, not a single other person was seen. It did not take long before they reached the entrance of the gorge where the Syer Bandits¡¯ hideout was located. A few lines of defense at the front seemed not to have been used again after Gerian brought men to destroy them.

    The front gates of the Syer Bandits¡¯s base were tightly shut. The gates that were made of wood only had two old bandits dozing off on top. Without Lin Li¡¯smand, a spell blew open the gates and shocked the two old bandits till they almost fell off the gates. When they saw the mages charging over, they immediately panicked and started screaming and sounding the gongs.

    However, almost all of the bandits on this mountain had already been defeated. Even if the two old bandits were to break apart the gongs, only a sparse group of 10-20 weak, old, and frail bandits woulde out. Only a few remained standing with a single spell shot over.

    They thought that attacking the Syer Bandits¡¯ hideout would be easy, but they did not think that it would be this easy. A single spell sted the gates apart, and another struck the bandits down. This was all it took to take down the hideout. These bandits left as guards did not have any value, and thus Lin Li did not let his underlings take prisoners. After that, the members of the two factions started to clear out the estate until not a single bandit was left.

    In the storage of the Syer Bandits, other than rations, there were weapons and armor of inferior quality. With a single look, it was clear that they were equipment given to the average bandit. However, everyone had the habit of hiding valuables. As the boss of the Syer Bandits, how could Vanskore not have a treasure vault of his own?

    ¡°Search carefully, do not leave out a single corner!¡±

    The Syer Bandits had been rampant in the Breezy ins for several years. The savings of this bandit, Vanskore, should not be too shabby.

    Indeed, within a short period, somebody came to Lin Li and Hutton and said that a tunnel was found. Lin Li generously invited Hutton to take a look together. He even said that the Malfa Family were guests and they should pick their spoils of war first. It made Hutton so touched that he was speechless.

    Actually, Hutton¡¯s objective this time was to build up a good rtionship with this young Legendary-mage. As for any material benefits, they were originally not within the scope of his consideration. It could be said that even if Lin Li were to send them off now, Hutton would not have a single grudge.

    Furthermore, from Hutton¡¯s point of view, the four Alchemy Colossuses and the 10 level-18 Archmages were defeated by President Felic single-handedly. Even if President Felic did not give him any benefits, it would be normal. To receive rewards based on the contribution was something very normal. But, President Felic did not intend on not sharing. He even allowed Hutton to go in together and let him choose the spoils of war.

    Hutton declined, but seeing Lin Li¡¯s determined attitude, he could only ept with gratitude.

    They walked in the tunnel in a single file and arrived in an underground warehouse. The surface area of the warehouse wasrge. It was not much smaller than the public warehouses outside. After exiting the tunnel, the first thing that came into view wererge amounts of metal ingots arranged neatly. Naturally, those that were kept here were not normal metal, but something like shadowforged siderite, winter iron, and ming red copper.

    Although these materials did not amount to much in the eyes of Lin Li, the expression on Hutton¡¯s face was more interesting. It was not like Hutton had not seen these things, but, after all, the value was still there. Thisrge amount of wealth was enough to stuff the mouths of those old men...

    However, this was just a small portion of the goods in the warehouse. Behind the magical metals, there was another pile of valuable lumber used for making magic staffs. Hutton was almost dazzled by what he saw¡ªthere were Rainbow Sycamore, Sunset Wood, Crystal Wood, etc. Each and every one were polished semipleted products.

    Afterward, there were several specimens of flora. They were all herbs that had been semi-processed crudely. These attracted Lin Li¡¯s attention. His recent source of ie was the potion industry; as it happened, getting these herbs would be able to save him a lot of trouble.

    As they ventured deeper, thepleted magical weapons, armor, magic robes, and magic staffs all had a rather powerful magical wave. Who knew how many merchants Vanskore had robbed that he actually had so many good items? Whenpared to those items to the front, the wooden crates filled with gold coins stacked up in the corner did not have as much allure to the audience.

    ¡°Check all items in detail¡± Lin Li said to Gavin, then he turned his head, and asked, ¡°Mage Hutton, ask your men to check as well.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, there¡¯s no need. I trust President Felic.¡± Hutton promptly waved his hand while speaking. If he were to take the kind words of others seriously, then he would be an idiot.

    Lin Li smiled while saying, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Mage Hutton. There¡¯s so many items here. We can¡¯t finish checking if it¡¯s just the people from the Tower of Dusk. It¡¯s better if we do it together.¡±

    Hutton saw that Lin Li¡¯s expression was sincere, so he calmed his perturbed feelings and nodded as he said, ¡°Ok then...¡±

    The members of the two factions checked everything together and quickly finished checking the little vault of Vanskore. They took the inventory list above and passed it to Lin Li and Hutton, who were conversing. Since the items had been checked, then the next step would be the decision how to split them.

    How much would they receive? It wasn¡¯t just Hutton. The other members of the Malfa Family were anxious as well at this point. After all, the facts were in front of them. The Alchemy Colossuses and the Archmages were dealt with by the President of the Tower of Dusk. Some people from their side did die, but contribution was not based on the number of casualties.

    Lin Li looked through the list once, and gently ced it on the table before saying, ¡°Mage Hutton, since the items have been checked, let¡¯s discuss the issue of distribution in order to conclude the matters early.¡±

    ¡°I dare not. I will leave the distribution to you, President Felic.¡± Hutton lowered his attitude extremely. After all, the other party was a Legendary-mage. There was nothing shameful about it.

    Lin Li¡¯s finger knocked on the table gently, and he thought over it while looking at the list. He said, ¡°Since Mage Hutton said so, then I¡¯ll take charge of the distribution. If Mage Hutton has any suggestions, please say it.¡±

    After speaking, he looked through the list while going through the distribution method.

    First, it was magical metals. Lin Li did not have ack of these items, and currently, he did not have any ns to earn money with cksmithing. Hence, these were split evenly. It was the same for the magical lumber. After that, it was those herbs. These things were not useful to the Malfa Family, so Lin Li simply took them all.

    To reimburse Hutton, most of thepleted magical equipment was given to the Malfa Family. After all, there was nothing of the highest quality. The best could not bepared to the Sunset Set that the mages of the Tower of Dusk wore. As for the armor and swords, of what use would they be to the Guild of Magic. Lin Li only saved one set for Sword Master, and the rest was given to the Malfa Family.

    While listening to the distribution that Lin Li was drawing up, Hutton was constantly screaming in his heart. <i>It¡¯s fake, right? I must be dreaming, it can¡¯t be real!</i>

    Forget about Hutton, the others from the Malfa Family that were qualified enough to enter did not dare to believe what they heard at this point. They looked at each other with eyes wide open, and the shock they felt was hard to miss on their faces. <i>This young President is joking with us, right? Or does he really not know the value of those things?</i>

    Hutton grew more cautious as he continued watching. <i>This, this, this... this is too fake, right? Who is this person in front of me? He¡¯s a miser that would pluck out a few feathers when a sparrow flew past him, so how could he be so generous, and how could he be willing to talk about brotherhood with me? F*ck, this fe shouldn¡¯t be nning on trying to silence us by killing us, right...?</i>

    ¡°No, no, President Felic. This distribution would be too unfair for the Tower of Dusk. Although we, the Malfa Family, are not wealthy, we do not do things such as taking advantage of our allies. Do you want to change the distribution method?¡±

    God, what had happened to this world? Why was everyone so modest now? Most of the people present had seen profit sharing before, from the members of small adventurer groups to the big factions like the Malfa Family. Be it on a personal scale or an organization¡¯s scale, which of them were not flushed with agitation when it came to the discussion of profit sharing? Yet currently, one was giving the other party more, and the other was declining. No wonder everyone felt it was unbelievable.

    After all, they were not Hutton...

    How could they understand Hutton¡¯s current feelings? F*ck. No matter how good these items were, they had to be brought back with their lives. A miser had suddenly be so generous; wouldn¡¯t you feel a chill down your spine?

    ¡°Then, why not do it this way?¡± Lin Li thought for a bit before he said, ¡°Aren¡¯t there four Alchemy Colossuses left? If you, the Malfa Family, do not have a high-level Alchemist, or you are unable to employ the help of a high-level Alchemist, then I will just keep the four Alchemy Colossuses. Then, this equipment would be thepensation for the Malfa Family.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course...¡± How could Hutton still refuse? Although he was envious of the Alchemy Colossuses, high-leveled Alchemists were the national treasure of the Kingdom of Rotterdam. Although the Malfa Family was considered one of the top two families in the Breezy ins, it was basically impossible for them to hire one. Furthermore, the other party mentioning that he wanted the corpses of those Alchemy Colossuses more or less made Hutton no longer so worried. Why would Hutton be reluctant...?

    Lin Li nodded his head, and then split the gold coins and the magical crystals equally. The home of Vanskore had basically been redistributedpletely.

    The Malfa Family was in a daze for a long while before they realized how much they had earned. Everyone had a dreamy feeling, and they shouted in their hearts, <i>President Felic is a good man!</i>

    On the other hand, the members of the Tower of Dusk were not looking too good. They all looked at the members of the Malfa Family with unkind gazes, and inwardly grumbled, <i>What gives them the right? What did they contribute that allows them to have half of the spoils of war?!</i>

    ¡°President...¡± Gavin spoke to Lin Li while standing up anxiously.

    Lin Li raised his hand and stopped Gavin from speaking. ¡°Enough. Stop talking, just distribute it all ording to what I said.¡±

    Gavin did not have anything else to add upon hearing the President saying so. He could only bring men to distribute the items unwillingly.

    While distributing the items, the Malfa Family members felt their faces burning. When they fought for benefits with the other factions previously, they did not feel embarrassed when picking up the items after they managed to get more. However, now the other party took the initiative to give out more benefits, and they did not fight for it, why was it that they were so embarrassed to take them?

    Although they did not feel happy, the members of the Tower of Dusk still carried out the orders of the President strictly. They were not friendly towards the members of the Malfa Family, but they did not exploit them during the distribution of the items.

    The items were distributed quickly, and the matters at hand had beenpleted. The Syer Bandits, a cancer that had been wreaking havoc in the Breezy ins for many years, had finally beenpletely wiped out today. Hutton was outside,manding his men to move the spoils of war. There were only Lin Li and Gerian remaining in the hall of the hideout.

    ¡°Let me say this: this is definitely out of character for you. Why did you throw the items that you just received?¡± Gerian asked Lin Li with an expression as though he was seeing a stranger.

    ¡°What else could it be about? It¡¯s to let them leave earlier. Otherwise, if there were anything good within the cave, are we supposed to split that as well?¡± With Lin Li¡¯s current status, he really did not think much of those items. The items within the Throne of Darkness had not been taken out by him yet. How could Vanskore, a bandit,pare to the Lord of Darkness?

    Gerian snickered while saying, ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re so sure that there¡¯s something good in the cave? If there isn¡¯t any, then I have nothing for you to cure your regret.¡±

    ¡°Then what of it? If there¡¯s nothing in the cave, I have already gained enough just from obtaining those four Alchemy Colossuses.¡± Lin Li was a little proud for a moment. Knowledge was power. He was an Alchemy Guru. Those four Alchemy Colossus would be decorations if given to the Malfa Family. Only he could bring out their power. He then added, ¡°Oh yes, let¡¯s talk about what¡¯s going on with that cave.¡±

    ¡°Based on my spection, that cave has a high chance of being rted to the High Elves. It might be some ruins of the High Elves,¡± Gerian spoke softly as though he was trying to sound mysterious.

    ¡°High Elves again! What did you infer from that it has links to the High Elves?¡± Lin Li did not believe it fully. The Dark Age had ended long ago, so how many more High Elves¡¯ ruins could remain undiscovered?

    ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense, there¡¯s proof for it all.¡± Gerian showed his dissatisfaction with Lin Li¡¯s doubts, and then he said, ¡°In my hands, there is a diary passed down from the Dark Age. Based on the owner¡¯s ims, he was the underling of the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric.¡±

    Seeing that Gerian was not joking, Lin Li¡¯s expression started bing serious. He thought, <i>Since Gerian has already said so, then the diary¡¯s age should have been confirmed. Since it has been passed down from the Dark Age, then the owner¡¯s identity should not be fake.</i>

 Chapter 488 - Night Demon Bat

    <h4>Chapter 488: Night Demon Bat</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gerian, who was very satisfied with Lin Li¡¯s performance,ughed with pride. ¡°That diary mentioned a snippet of Osric¡¯s secret information. It said that when Osric was in hister years, he once used a whole Magic Legion to guard a transport of resources to the Breezy ins secretly.¡±

    ¡°Oh, do you know what he had been transporting?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°This... Haha.¡± Gerian scratched his head with embarrassment, and said, ¡°This diary didn¡¯t specify such details. Its owner spected that it must have been a very valuable load of resources.¡±

    ¡°Erm... Isn¡¯t this nonsense? Since Osric could use a whole Magic Legion as guards, the contents must have been valuable! What else did that cliffhanging guy say?¡± Evidently, Lin Li was a little unsatisfied with this fe who¡¯d written the diary. However, he also knew that in the Dark Age, this fe was considered a capable man to have some clues about things that a man as powerful as Highlord Osric did.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so short-tempered, young man, I haven¡¯t finished speaking,¡± said Gerian, taking out a notebook from his chest. He flipped a few pages, and said, ¡°Although the owner of this diary didn¡¯t specify any details, ording to information inferred, this bunch of resources was extremely likely to have been gathered to construct something.¡±

    ¡°This diary in your hands is that dairy?¡± Lin Li was quite surprised. That diary was so new, and didn¡¯t even have any protective magical wave.

    ¡°Of course... not! If this were the one passed down from the Dark Age, even if there was magic as protection, it¡¯d be impossible for it to be so new! I¡¯ve only seen that diary a very long time ago. After realizing the unusualness of the cave uponing here, I recalled this incident, and wrote down these things from memory. It¡¯s only for the ease of analysis. Look at it yourself,¡± said Gerian as he threw the notebook in his hand to Lin Li.

    Magicians all had pretty good memory, but the reason Lin Li did not doubt the authenticity of this document at hand was not because of his faith in Gerian¡¯s memory, but the fact that nothing in this document was written with a certain tone. Rather, it was filled with spective expressions like maybes, perhaps, and what-ifs. This kind of thing wouldn¡¯t affect much, even if Gerian had remembered some things wrongly. Maybe he would even score a lucky hit!

    ¡°Building something?¡± Lin Li¡¯s fingers knocked on the table, producing soft ¡°tap tap¡± sounds. He was contemting this issue in his heart. Honestly speaking, those High Elves were too damn frustrating. Why couldn¡¯t they just vanish without putting up a struggle instead of using so many tricks to torment people?

    Gerianughed with pride. ¡°You see, even the materials used for construction were high-ss goods escorted by the Magic Legion. How can the things stored inside be bad?¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t impossible. Maybe Osric died even before it could bepleted, so there¡¯s nothing much inside,¡± Lin Li said jokingly.

    ¡°I have considered this problem too, but ording to the timeline of the diary, this possibility can basically be eliminated, unless they were building something even bigger than Osric¡¯s mausoleum,¡± said Gerian.

    ¡°Those things were transported to the Breezy ins... doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s about the Scar of Death. Other than the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains, where else can things be hidden in the Breezy ins? Looks like there¡¯s only the Dragon Mountains left,¡± said Lin Li as he looked at the information at hand.

    ¡°Let me tell you something. You probably haven¡¯t noticed that after we entered the mountain hideout of the remnants of the Syer Bandits to search it, but I discovered a few construction foundations deep in the heart of the hideout. Those foundations are probably pretty old, at least 300 to 500 years old,¡± said Gerian, immensely proud of himself.

    ¡°The Syer Bandits were probably established no earlier than 100 years ago. Since there are such ancient building foundations in their hideout, seems like they are not the first ones to live there,¡± said Lin Li.

    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ve asked Gavin and friends. They are all from the Breezy ins and familiar with the history and environment here. They told me that before the Syer Bandits, there hasn¡¯t been any news that other bandits ever upied this valley. Although no news doesn¡¯t mean there definitely hadn¡¯t been any, at least this fact made the ce more suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of this, it¡¯s indeed quite suspicious. There¡¯s no point in guessing; no matter what it is, we will know once we¡¯ve seen it for ourselves.¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to guess blindly. The cave was just at the base of the valley, anyway. Whether it was the remains of the High Elves¡¯ constructions or a Magical Beast¡¯s nest, he would know once he scouted the cave.

    Hutton didn¡¯t know why Lin Li and the fes from the Tower of Dusk were still here, but he didn¡¯t dare to ask them. Seeing that he had no business here, he packed up and said goodbye to Lin Li. This certainly wasn¡¯t a wasted trip. Not only was he able to secure an even firmer rtionship with the Tower of Dusk, he also acquired arge amount of rewards from the battle. Although there had been some casualties, the rewards were enough to shut those old codgers up.

    Hutton left with his men in satisfaction. Lin Li calcted for a while. As long as it was rted to the High Elves, nothing was easy to deal with. It¡¯d be better to explore the cave himself. Those from the Tower of Dusk weren¡¯t going to be of much help, either¡ªbetter for them to bring back the rewards first.

    ¡°No, I object. Why are you not bringing me along? We¡¯re talking about the High Elves¡¯ Relics here.¡± Gerian was displeased. This secret was discovered by him, yet he couldn¡¯t even see it. That little rascal was so exasperating.

    Lin Li had his reasons for thinking this way. Just speaking of those two pieces of debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark¡ªhe had, they were from the ruins of the High Elves. Which one of those ventures wasn¡¯t filled with dangers, ending with him barely making it back alive? If he were to encounter a crisis that even he couldn¡¯t ovee, so what if he brought along so many people? He would have to protect them eventually.

    Of course, for the sake of Gerian¡¯s ego, Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell him straight out that he was too weak and would hold Lin Li back. Therefore, Lin Li contemted for a while, and earnestly said, ¡°Actually, I feel so regretful that you can¡¯t apany me, but there is a crucial matter concerning the development of the Tower of Dusk. I have no choice but to ask you to personally help with it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± After hearing these words, Gerian got interested. He raised his eyebrow slightly and proudly said, ¡°Tell me what you need me to help with. Just say it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like this. This time, when Hutton from the Malfa Family came, we also talked about the potion business other than dealing with those Syer Bandits. Basically, they wanted some quota, and I needed them to provide some cheap medicinal ingredients. So, we just briefly talked about coboration. I¡¯ll need to trouble you to help settle the specifics.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t lie¡ªspeaking of business negotiation, nobody in the Tower of Dusk was talented in this aspect. Meanwhile, Gerian coincidentally had the potential of an unscrupulous merchant. If he took charge, the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t suffer any loss no matter what happened.

    ¡°Alright, I will settle this.¡± Gerian thought for a while, knowing that Lin Li didn¡¯t lie to him. The Tower of Dusk primarily relied on the potion business to gain ie they needed to survive; this matter naturally concerned the development of the Tower of Dusk as well. Since there was a proper matter to settle, it definitely took priority over exploration. Anyway, whaty in the cave at the base of the valley was still a mystery. Maybe it was the High Elves¡¯ ruins, but maybe it wasn¡¯t anything important.

    Lin Li also found it a little funny. It was just a spection; could he really find the relics of the High Elves just by randomly walking around...?

    However, to prevent any idents, Lin Li still decided to settle the Tower of Dusk¡¯s matters before going there. Thest time he went to the Abyss of Tharlen, three months passed unknowingly in the blink of an eye. If he encountered something this time too, then it would hold up things too much.

    Actually, there were not many matters to take care of. The potion business was left to Gerian; the chores in the Tower of Dusk were managed by Gavin. The only matter that Lin Li needed to settle personally was the issue of the pharmaceutics apprentices. In the beginning, there were two choices to this, one being to train their own people from the Tower of Dusk, the other being to borrow people from the Pharmacist Guild. However, a pharmacist trained from scratch wouldn¡¯t be able to do much in the short term, so the best option currently was to borrow apprentices from the Pharmacist Guild.

    Borrow people? No, wouldn¡¯t Lin Li owe them a favor if he did so?! Lin Li wasn¡¯t someone willing to lose out. He dipped a pen in ink and wrote a letter to the Balbo, the President of the Pharmacist Guild, choosing every word with care.

    ¡°Training entrustment? What does it mean?¡± Since Lin Li did not have any intention to hide it, Gerian naturally impolitely looked over his shoulder, but what he saw was a big heading ¡°Pharmacist Training Entrustment n¡± at the top of the letter. Lin Li didn¡¯t reply, so Gerian continued to read the letter, his eyes widening more as he read.

    In the letter to Balbo, Lin Li didn¡¯t even mention the fact that he was short on manpower. Instead, he disyed a totally selfless and altruistic attitude and suggested a very thoughtful n: the Pharmacist Training Entrustment n.

    Lin Li wrote thus...

    ¡°Concerned about the shortage of talents in Anril¡¯s pharmacist industry, I have decided to establish the Entrusted Pharmacist Training ss. The following details are for the reference of President Balbo...

    ¡°Advanced pharmaceutics lessons will be taught in this ss. Students need to be at least medium-tier pharmacists, and the duration of training is one year. No school fee is charged; food and housing needs to be settled on your end. After one year of training, at least half of the students are guaranteed to advance by a level. ces are limited, register now!¡±

    ¡°This... Felic, you are suffering such great loss, how can you not charge any school fees!¡± Gerian couldn¡¯t react at that moment and was quite worried about Lin Li.

    Lin Li blew the ink dry andughed. ¡°So you also think that I¡¯m losing out. That¡¯s how it¡¯s supposed to be.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re losing out, why did you even... Haha, you are such a cunningd.¡± Gerian was also an old fox, and he figured out the trick behind this very fast. Thisd was really a little fox, he thought. He obviously wanted people to do work for him, yet he didn¡¯t even have to pay them their wages and care about their food and housing in the name of training. What was more important was that not only would this avoid owing Balbo a favor, but also make Balbo owe Lin Li one instead. Who knew what Balbo¡¯s reaction would be after seeing this letter...

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t afraid that Balbo would reject it. After all, this deal was beneficial to both Balbo and the Pharmacist Guild. The reason behind using the pretext of a training entrustment was entirely due to his own wicked sense of humor. In addition, it was always good not to owe anyone favors.

    There was another reason, which was for thoseing pharmacists to put down their pride from the start. Given the status of the pharmacists in Anril, even medium-tier pharmacists were treated like masters by every faction wherever they went. However, Lin Li was summoning people for hardbor, and not for them to enjoy life like a master. So, given their status as students, who¡¯d dare to act like a master?

    The next day, Gerian left with the people from the Tower of Dusk. That letter would be sent to nna¡¯s Pharmacist Guild, into the hands of President Balbo. If not for the fact that he needed to do business with the Malfa Family, Gerian would have gone himself to see what Balbo¡¯s expression would be after reading the letter.

    After the people left, Lich Ujfalusi and Vampire Norfeller, who had been hiding nearby, came to Lin Li¡¯s side. Both of them had watched the battle yesterday from start to end; now, they looked at Lin Li with more admiration.

    Lin Li briefly told them the gist of the matter. These two Undead henchmen certainly didn¡¯t have any objections. They followed along everywhere their master went.

    The cave that Gerian had mentioned was located deep in the valley. It was identally discovered when they prepared to attack the Syer Bandits from the back. Lin Li brought the two Undead creatures into the cave, released a few Warlock¡¯s Eyes as he went exploring, and ventured further into the cave.

    Not knowing how long they had walked, Lin Li just felt that they had walked a very long way. It was good that there wasn¡¯t any fork in this cave; if not, he would think that he was going in circles. Using the Illuminating Spell to light up the surrounding walls, Lin Li was surprised to find no evidence of excavation. Could it be that this was just an ordinary cave formed by nature?

    Just as Lin Li was losing his patience from the long walk, ¡°h, h¡± sounds suddenly came from the darkness ahead, just as if something was flipping its wings. Before Lin Li could see it clearly with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, that unknown creature somehow managed to deactivate the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t wait for long. Those ¡°h, h¡± sounds ahead drew nearer, and the unknown creature finally appeared in front of his eyes. It was in fact a group of palm-sized ck bats.

    Seeing the bats, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of Vampires. He turned and looked at Norfeller beside him.

    However, Norfeller looked quite tense at this moment. His eyes were fixed on the flying bat in front. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°They are not Vampires, they are Night... Night Demon Bats.¡±

    ¡°These are the Night Demon Bats?¡± This was the first time Lin Li saw Night Demon Bats with his own eyes, but he had heard many stories about them.

    COMMENT

    Although Night Demon Bats looked like incarnations of Vampires, they were in fact not rted to Vampires at all. They were unable to take human form, and no matter how high-level they were, they were always palm-sized. However, one shouldn¡¯t think that they were easy to deal with given their small size. Those bats could definitely make you die without burial ground.

 Chapter 489 - Underground Palace

    <h4>Chapter 489: Underground Pce</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    An adult Night Demon Bat¡¯s individual ability typically reached Level-17 to 19. A Night Demon Bat King could likely reach Legendary level. What was more important was that these magical beasts lived in groups. Even smaller groups consisted of about 30 of them. Thinking about it, 10 level-18 Archmages could rival an ordinary Legendary powerhouse, so what would it look like to fight with 30 of them? Even a Legendary magical beast would avoid confronting a group of about 30 adult Night Demon Bats.

    Night Demon Bat¡¯s favorite food was Vampires, so wherever there were Night Demon Bats, Vampires certainly wouldn¡¯t get close. Even a Legendary-realm Vampire wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke those Night Demon Bats in groups. However, if a Vampire was lucky enough to obtain the fresh blood of Night Demon Bats, then it would be extremely beneficial for its personal growth in abilities.

    Lin Li looked at Norfeller. This vampire that was merely level-17 could do less for him by day. Since they had encountered the Night Demon Bats this time, it could be considered an opportunity for Norfeller. Lin Li was never stingy towards his men.

    That group of Night Demon Bats was close to 30. Their flight patterns appeared to be somewhat clumsy, wobbling from side to side as if they would fall to the ground or bump into the wall at any moment. However, with careful inspection, one would realize that when they moved forward, their bodies were shining. This shine wasn¡¯t referring to the brightness of the light, but the sparkle caused by the disappearing and reappearing of bodies. This was an inborn talent of the Night Demon Bats: the ability to move between the Shadow Dimension and the Main Dimension. This was also their only way of moving around.

    ¡°Master, they are more interested in Vampires. I will try my best to hold them up, please leave this ce quickly, sir!¡± When Norfeller identified the number of Night Demon Bats, he didn¡¯t dare wishfully think of escaping anymore. Even though his master was already a Legendary-mage with Magical Domain, his chances of winning against nearly 30 adult Night Demon Bats were slim.

    ¡°Norfeller, I¡¯ve heard that the Night Demon Bat¡¯s fresh blood can strengthen the abilities of Vampires. If I can provide you with arge amount of Night Demon Bat¡¯s blood, what kind of state do you think you can reach?¡± Lin Li asked Norfeller as the Night Demon Bats flew increasingly close.

    ¡°Master...!¡± Norfeller shouted anxiously.

    ¡°Reply to my question,¡± remarked Lin Li calmly as he raised his magic staff.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll probably level up to level-19, but if I want to reach the Legendary level, I have to evolve on my own.¡± Moved by his master¡¯s emotions, Norfeller miraculously calmed down while facing his approaching natural enemies.

    Noticing a most delicious Vampire on the other side, that group of Night Demon Bats screeched with excitement. Their bodies shone with increasing frequency, and then vanishedpletely all of a sudden. It was as if they used Invisibility, only theirs was far superior.

    Invisibility could be immediately destroyed with a sprinkle of Sparkling Powder. These Night Demon Bats, however, could shuttle into the Shadow Dimension. Not to mention Sparkling Powder, even bombarding this whole area with magic wouldn¡¯t harm them an inch.

    Unfortunately, these Night Demon Bats didn¡¯t encounter an ordinary Legendary-mage, but one who could use thews of light and darkness. Although Lin Li had yet to truly master thews of light and darkness, with the two pieces of debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark¡ªhe could totally bring out the expected effect of thews of light and darkness.

    Night Demon Bat¡¯s ability to shuttle through the Shadow Dimension was actually also a type of dark elemental Rule. Competing with Lin Li who owned the debris of the stars¡ªGloomy Dark¡ª however, was pretty much showing off skills in front of a master.

    Just as the Night Demon Bats disappeared, Lin Li¡¯s surroundings suddenly turned ck and white; thews of light and darkness from the Magical Domain were used in istion. After that, those Night Demon Bats that entered the Shadow Dimension were forced out. Thew of light immediately confined them. Without shadows, they had lost their ability to move.

    Still the same old saying: one thing went with another. In the Abyss of Tharlen, even the most overbearing Lord of Darkness was defeated by a single ancient demonic rune spell. How horrid these Night Demon Bats were definitely wasn¡¯t a baseless rumor fabricated by people. Their ability to travel through the Shadow Dimension provided them with an unbeatable advantage from the start, not mentioning their attacks which left their opponents unable to defend themselves effectively.

    ¡°Norfeller, it¡¯s your turn next. Suit yourself and bite whichever is more pleasing to the eye...¡± said Lin Li generously.

    Norfeller¡¯s heart was filled with gratitude at that moment. He obviously also knew that he wouldn¡¯t be helpful to his master anymore should he fail to enhance his abilities, so he didn¡¯t object. Mumbling spells characteristic of Vampires, he made his sharp nails slice through the throat of a level-18 Night Demon Bat. A stream of blood oozed out and gathered into a sphere in the mid air. Next, that sphere of blood shrank until it became a droplet the size of a bean. Norfeller sucked the blood essence into his stomach.

    Seeing that Norfeller stopped after sucking the blood from one Night Demon Bat, Lin Li teased, ¡°Yo, help yourself, there¡¯s still so many.¡±

    Norfeller respectfully replied, ¡°Thank you, Master. This drop of blood essence is enough for me to absorb for a period of time.¡±

    ¡°Ujfalusi, do you want to have some too?¡± Lin Li was aware of Norfeller¡¯s situation, and so turned to Ujfalusi.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, but this is useless to me,¡± replied Ujfalusi immediately.

    Since those bats were already caught, then naturally there was no reason to give them up. This world didn¡¯t have animal protectionws anyway. Lin Li wasn¡¯t in a hurry to continue exploring the caves, so he attended to the 20-plus Night Demon Bats on the spot with the help of the two Undead helpers. Night Demon Bat¡¯s blood essence was beneficial to Vampires, but its magical crystal was also a rare treasure to mages.

    Due to the small size of Night Demon Bats, their magical crystals naturally weren¡¯t big. It was hard to imagine that a level-18 or 19 magical crystal was only the size of a green bean, but precisely because of the magical crystal¡¯s small size, it was the best material for crafting magical essories since magical crystals weren¡¯t cuttable.

    For the crafting of most magical essories, only the magical crystal from the bodies of magical worms were used to deal with the size problem. Most magical worms, however, had extremely low levels, the highest being no more than level-10¡ªthe worms won by numbers in the first ce. If one were to socket a more advanced magical crystal in a pair of magical earrings¡ªlevel-18 or 19 for example¡ªthen using the magical crystal from a magical beast was the only option. This kind of crystal was usually fist-sized; using it on earrings could possibly pull the ears of the wearer off.

    For the same level of magical crystals, those of the Night Demon Bat could be sold at more than 10 times the price because of their rare quality of being both small in size and high in level. With 27 Night Demon Bats¡¯ magical crystals in his pocket, even if there was nothing deeper in the caves, Lin Li¡¯s trip was certainly already worth it.

    ¡°Continue forward!¡± eximed Lin Li in high spirits with a wave of his hand. He thought that even if there were some more groups of Night Demon Bats, he could always catch more Vampires as subordinates. How cool would it be tomand a troop of level-19 Vampires!

    Actually, Lin Li wasn¡¯t able to get anything much as he continued to survey the cave. After encountering the Night Demon Bats, Lin Li seemed to have used up all his luck. At some unknown point in time, more low-level Undead creatures like skeletons and vengeful spirits started blocking the way. Lin Li had some premonition at the moment.

    It was funny, but the High Elves who had a so-called irreconcble grudge with the Undead creatures also lowered their prideful heads when faced with the merciless time to investigate the way to eternity using Necromagic. Therefore, as Lin Li concluded, he had to see if Undead creatures were actually present in order to find out whether the ruins and High Elves were rted. This certainly wasn¡¯t drivel, but words of experience. Looking at Norfeller¡¯s previous owner, or the one who fell to his death from the Scar of Death, which hadn¡¯t been a High Elf investigating Necromagic?

    So many years had passed since the end of the Dark Age. For the High Elves ruins to remain undiscovered until now, it was impossible that there wasn¡¯t anything to guard this ce.

    ¡°This...¡± Suddenly, the scene waspletely revealed. Lin Li waspletely mesmerized by what he saw.

    An elegantly designed andvishly, intricately decorated underground pce stood before the trio. No matter from which aspect, this magnificent underground pce was totallyparable to the royal pce of Fn Kingdom. The obvious architectural style from the Dark Age further confirmed Lin Li¡¯s spections.

    In front of the pce was a small square. Hundreds of Skeletal Warriors armed with helmets and body armor dragged their rusted swords, walking aimlessly back and forth. Those swords had been dragged along repeatedly for so long that the stone floor was left with numerous deep marks.

    The appearance of the trio immediately drew the attention of the Skeletal Warriors. Although all the Skeletal Warriors were scattered around, orderless, almost all of them stopped in their tracks and turned towards the trio simultaneously. After a moment of stagnation, the Warriors trod in the direction of the trio slowly while shaking their bodies.

    Aftering here, there was nothing much to say. No matter whether Osric was really involved here, the pce was 80% sure to be rted to the High Elves judging by its architectural style.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even have to fight off these Skeletal Warriors which didn¡¯t even reach level-10 himself; Norfeller zoomed into the crowd of Skeletal Warriors and instantly sent broken arms and bone fragments flying everywhere.

    Lin Li kept walking towards the pce gate, never slowing down. When he stood before the pce gate, Norfeller came to his side. The hundreds of Skeletal Warriors had all been smashed to pieces.

    ¡°Ah, such decadence! Those High Elves have fallen to such a state.¡± Lin Li gazed at the intricately designed pce gate. The same mageweath of the Song of Death was simr to the one found at Norfeller¡¯s previous master¡¯s ce. However, a few details proved that the two mageweaths weren¡¯t drawn by the same person. There was also a bigger difference: the mageweath on this gate either wasn¡¯t working, or had already been destroyed.

    ¡°Am I toote?¡± Lin Li was a little worried that some people had found this ce before him. That would be too tragic. He inspected it carefully again to make sure there wasn¡¯t any trap on the gate. Then, he instructed Norfeller to push the gate open.

    Behind the gate was a courtyard of considerable size. Skeletal Warriors were still present in the courtyard, only of slightly higher levelspared to those at the gate. They were more agile and their attacks weren¡¯t merely aimless stabs with their swords, but rather had some hints of military training and techniques.

    However, this minor hindrance was unable to stop Lin Li. It was still Norfeller who made the move. 40-odd Skeletal Warriors in the courtyard instantaneously turned into bone fragments strewn all over the ground. Walking past the corridor of the courtyard, Norfeller suddenly caught a few bone arrows and returned them backhandedly, crashing a few soul fires of level-12 Skeletal Archers.

    Walking along, the Undead creatures they met were of increasing levels. However, they didn¡¯t meet any Vampires, be it because they had already turned to bat feces or simply didn¡¯t dare to live here.

    When Lin Li finally reached the main hall gate of the pce, he was met with 20 level-16 Undead warriors. These warriors were reserves for the Death Knights. After they had subdued the Shapeshifters and owned their own mounts, they could be considered Death Knights.

    20 Undead warriors all armed with tailored magical equipment. The equipment still shone as if it was brand-new even after so many years. Their weapons were also thin sharp magical longswordsmonly used by senior officers in the military. These warriors held their sheathed swords with grayish, shriveled hands, keeping them in the position to strike at any moment. They stood as still as statues, orderly and quiet on the steps of the main hall gate.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. He held his magic staff close to his chest and slowly recited a spell.

    Sensing danger ahead, those 20 Undead warriors finally moved. They pounced down the steps like shing lights.

    ¡°Thousand Miles of Ice!¡± As the spell reachedpletion, Lin Li waved his magic staff.

    On the ground in front of Lin Li, crystal clear white frost condensed, and then spread forward rapidly like oil dripped in water. When the white frost reached the feet of the Undead warriors, those warriors still in midair froze instantaneously and heavily fell to the ground, shattering into pieces like ceramics. Out of the 20 level-16 Undead creatures, not even one dared toe close to Lin Li.

    Whatever was in the pce would be revealed soon. Lin Li walked up the steps with the two Undead servants. Striding past the remains of the Undead warriors, they came to the front door of the main pce hall.

    The massive and extravagant door wasn¡¯tpletely closed; the slit in it revealed deep darkness inside the pce hall. Norfeller and Ujfalusi walked forward and pushed the heavy doors open from both sides. The inside of the grand pce hall was finally unveiled in front of Lin Li¡¯s eyes.

    When seen from the entrance, the center of the hall wasid withvish red carpet with gold decorative patterns. The pirs on its two sides were only half visible in the darkness. The carpet extended from the entrance all the way to the heart of the pce. On the other side of the carpet stood a tall, wide throne. On the throne sat a person¡ªit was, surprisingly, a knight wrapped in thick armor...

 Chapter 490 - Retribution Knight

    <h4>Chapter 490: Retribution Knight</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the pce gate got pushed open, the magicmps on top of the pirs lit up one by one. Perhaps the passage of time had diminished the energy of the magicmps to the minimum, for the light emitted from eachmp could only illuminate the space around up to the radius of a palm. It was as though they could be extinguished any time.

    Lin Li and his two Undead servants stood at the door vigntly. They saw a figure on the throne deep into the pce. Although the aura was very strong, it felt stagnant within the darkness. This reassured Lin Li. After all, if the other party was ¡°living¡±, he could have rmed the person the moment he pushed open the doors.

    Lin Li could see the interior of the pce vaguely with the help of the faint glow emitted by the magicmps. There was nothing much for him to look at. Apart from the ck shadow seated on the throne that was located deep into the pce, the ce was empty.

    <i>Should I enter this ce? Of course!</i> Lin Li thought. Even if the thing in the pce was ¡°alive¡±, he would have the ability to protect himself with his power as a Legendary-mage and the trump cards in his hands. This encouraged Lin Li to lead Ujfalusi and Norfeller on that luxurious red carpet and venture into the pce.

    Lin Li advanced towards the throne slowly under the faint glow from the magicmps. It was then that he got to take a better look at the structure of the tform that held the throne. While the tform was made up of a pile of human bones, the throne was created from the bones of a Humerus Wyrm. It didn¡¯t look like one, of course, but it was still obvious to anyone who saw it.

    Aspared to the gigantic throne, the person seated on it was rtively frail. To Lin Li and his team, however, it did not feel that there was any disconcertment about the contrast of the two. The person was seated on the throne with his upper body slightly leaning forward. There was a sword in his right hand, and one of his feet was on top on the bones of the wyrm in front of him. Although the body was still, there was a strong sense of dignity that continued to fill the surroundings.

    Although Ujfalusi and Norfeller tried to stand in front of their master in an attempt to protect him, their bodies could not help but tremble due to the powerful aura. That was the obvious difference among Undead creatures of dissimr abilities. Despite having courage, the pressure felt from the superiors was not something that could be ignored.

    The figure of the person on the throne came into greater rity as they proceeded closer. He had silver and white hair and de-like brows. His eyelids were hung low, and he had a straight nose and broad mouth. Despite being ashen and pallid, he was still a very good-looking man, and donned a dull golden full-body armor that had been detailed with intricate mageweath. There were head bones of hideous single-horned demons decorating his joints, and on his back was a crimson cape that seemed to be stained by dried-up blood. The contrast in colors with the in white throne created even more trepidation within people.

    Lin Li was reminded of his experience at the Scar of Death with the sense of the aura emitted by the man. He thought of the bunch of Death Knights he¡¯d taken under himself. Although there was a stark contrast in power between them and the man on the throne, he was able to confirm that the man on the throne was a Retribution Knight with his distinct aura. The strength of his aura was only something that could be emitted by Legendary powerhouses. Lin Li was absolutely certain that the man before him was that Retribution Knight.

    Gerian had never mentioned to him that there would be a Retribution Knight here. Lin Li, however, was certain that Gerian would not be somebody who had ill intentions for him. Despite calling him a little bastard, the concern Gerian had for Lin Li was definitely authentic. Lin Li could be sure that Gerian would have told him everything mentioned in that diary without reservations. Hence, it would simply mean that this information wasn¡¯t recorded in the diary.

    Actually, encountering a Retribution Knight here was both within and outside Lin Li¡¯s expectations. It would only be unusual for Lin Li not to encounter any Undead creature here when he had already met so many others outside the pce. However, the man was a Retribution Knight, after all. Where could possibly be his team of Death Knights? If there was an ambush of Death Knights here, the only action Lin Li could take was to escape.

    Despite having the team of Death Knights he¡¯d acquired in the Scar of Death, Lin Li knew that Death Knights under a Retribution Knight would definitely be different. These knights would naturally be rid of the chance for further progress when they pledged their allegiance to a Retribution Knight, for they had to surrender all Spiritual Force they¡¯d acquired to him. Yet, they also got to rise in power with the progress of their Retribution Knight when they participated in battles.

    Just when Lin Li was deducing the origin of that Retribution Knight, a voice sounded in his head. ¡°Oh, it is the rare Retribution Knight! Hold on... That dude looks very familiar...¡±

    That was the self-proimed all-knowing and almighty Soul Trader.

    Lin Li¡¯s heartbeat elerated when he heard Connoris¡¯s words. Connoris was an ancient deity who had been around for God knew how many years. If he were to find that fe familiar, he wouldn¡¯t be anymon passerby.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen him before? Where?¡± Lin Li asked Connoris as he cautiously sized up the Retribution Knight who was sitting on the throne.

    ¡°Fret not. Let me think... Where have I seen him...?¡± Connoris racked his brains in an effort to recall it. However, the fact that he had been living as a soul for a significant amount of time, a soul that had suffered some damage, prevented him from remembering who the Retribution Knight before him was.

    ¡°Hey, have you recalled who he was? One word, and we will either be leaving or staying here. Tell me quickly,¡± Lin Li urged Connoris on impatiently. Although he was not certain if that fe was asleep, he was, after all, a Retribution Knight. As a Legendary-mage, Lin Li could not help but feel stressed if he had to deal with a Retribution Knight.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong... I think I saw him in the Breezy ins. Other than that... I can remember no more...¡± Connoris replied vexedly. For an ancient deity, his state was really pitiful.

    ¡°Retribution Knight... Breezy ins...¡± Lin Li muttered after Connoris. Suddenly, he recalled the secret Hutton had shared with him. There was a Retribution Knight who, after acquiring an arm of the Immortal King, led a team of Death Knights in ransacking the Breezy ins. The death toll they brought about was a third of the entire Breezy ins¡¯ poption.

    Could the figure before him be the Retribution Knight who had ransacked the Breezy ins and turned it into a living hell? Wasn¡¯t he purified by Prophet Willen from the Brilliance Shrine? Why would hee to this ce? Lin Li¡¯s mind was buzzing with questions. He told Connoris the secret Hutton shared with him, hoping it might trigger Connoris¡¯s memory.

    ¡°Before this, Hutton has once told me about the Retribution Knight. But, he said that the Retribution Knight had been purified by Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine. Could this be that Retribution Knight?¡± Lin Li asked. He thought the process of purification would have allowed the holy light or fire turn the knight into dust. How could he be sitting here like a statue?

    Sure enough, Lin Li¡¯s words lifted Connoris¡¯ memory gate. The recovery of memories was a very beautiful feeling for this pitiful fe, especially when those memories could portray himself as knowledgeable. ¡°Are you referring to the Retribution Knight, Rodhart? Now that you mention it, I think that this fe really does look like him,¡± said Connoris.

    ¡°He is called Rodhart?¡± Lin Li was intrigued. Hutton did not tell him the name of the Retribution Knight. ¡°What else do you know about Rodhart?¡±

    Connoris¡¯s current favorite pastime was to boast his knowledge to Lin Li. Especially after Lin Li experienced tremendous growth, the only thing left for Connoris to prove his worth was the knowledge he¡¯d gained over the years. ¡°You have to be clueless about what Rodhart did before that. He was the most powerful Pdin ever since the establishment of the Brilliance Shrine...¡±

    ¡°Pdin!? You are saying that this Retribution Knight was a Pdin in the past?¡± Lin Li stared at the Retribution Knight who was seated on the throne before him and had yet to move an inch. He realized how crazy this world could be. The High Elves who were supposed to have a deep-seated hatred for the Undead creatures actually had all sort of connections with the Undead, and a Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine actually turned into a murderous Retribution Knight that killed the innocent.

    Before, Connoris had loved to create a sense of suspense with his words to satisfy his ego. However, things were different now. He did not dare to keep anything from Lin Li for fear that the man would deny his wish for a new body. Hence, before Lin Li could ask further, Connoris told him everything he knew about Rodhart in detail.

    The stories of Rodhart were not well known to the people of Anril. It was not only due to the fact that a long time had passed, but also the cruel irony for the Brilliance Shrine whose Pdin had transformed into a Retribution Knight.

    Rodhart¡¯s background was simple. His life was as in as a cup of tap water before he became famous. He was under the care of a Priest in the Brilliance Shrine when he was young, and he and his peers were orphans who were educated under the strictures of the Brilliance Shrine. These people would be the most loyal in any organization. They were known as the fanatical devotees to religious forces, as well as Death Knights to secr forces. In the entire Brilliance Shrine, fanatical devotees were the ones who everyone thought wouldn¡¯t betray the organization. Their beliefs were supposed to be the strongest and most extreme due to their strict religious upbringing. Hence, most of the talented ones were chosen by the Priest to be the des for Brilliance Shrine to eliminate heresy.

    When Rodhart was 15 years old, he got through all of the tests held by the Referee of Heresy, and entered the organization with a few other talented youths. During this period of time, the inquisition was the most mysterious organization under the Brilliance Shrine. It made it almost impossible for his exploits to be made known to the public, at most with the exception of the records of his participation in missions, as well as the date and results of his achievements in the cleansing of any heresy.

    People only started knowing Rodhart when he reached the Legendary-realm at 32 years old. That was the first time he led a mission as the Referee of Heresy, where he tried to purify a Legendary Lich who owned a Humerus Wyrm. In that mission, Rodhart did not rely on any of his men. He became famous after he slew both the Lich and the Humerus Wyrm single-handedly.

    The tremendous power the young Pdin demonstrated in the subsequent missions elevated his position in the Brilliance Shrine. Crowned as the most indomitable Head Referee of the Brilliance Shrine ever since its establishment, there were many people in the Shrine who viewed him as an idol.

    ¡°Oh? How did he be a Death Knight when he was supposed to be one of the fanatical devotees?¡± Lin Li asked curiously. How could a Head Referee of Brilliance Shrine brought up as a strong believer be converted into an Undead creature? Not to mention that he was a Head Referee. Anymon Priest who believed in brightness would not have been easily converted into an Undead creature.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. But, it is not unusual, either. No one would be able to reject the temptation of immortality. Didn¡¯t the arrogant High Elves go study Necromagic? To Pdins, their ability would be as good as stagnant once they reached the Legendary-realm. If not, they would have to seek other ways to improve themselves,¡± said Connoris disdainfully.

    Rodhart entered the mausoleum of the Immortal King in hopes of finding the path towards the Sanctuary-realm. No one knew what he experienced in Immortal King¡¯s mausoleum or what he experienced when he was on his journey there. They only knew that Head Referee resigned from his position and never set foot in Brilliance Shrine again.

    Some people said that Rodhart was inspired to retreat into a century of seclusion to look for the path into the Sanctuary-realm, but there were also others who thought that he left to treat his serious injuries. No matter what happened, the news of the death of the strongest Pdin of Brilliance Shrine¡ªthe Legendary powerhouse¡ªbroke out after a century. Rodhart¡¯s will asked for burial in the grounds of the Breezy ins¡ªthe ce where he had been adopted.

 Chapter 491 - Prophet Willen

    <h4>Chapter 491: Prophet Willen</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Rodhart¡¯s story was gradually forgotten with the passing of a few centuries. This Legendary powerhouse was like a shooting star that zed across the sky of Anril. He did not leave behind many achievements for the future generations to remember him by. It wasn¡¯t until one fateful day when Rodhart walked out of his grave that he reminded people of his existence.

    ¡°What followed was what you heard. Regardless of whether Rodhart was willing to or not, it was a fact that he was the first Retribution Knight of the maind of Anril. Sensing the birth of this Retribution Knight, Death Knights from all over the world gravitated towards him.

    ¡°They appointed Rodhart as their leader, and the team of Death Knights started a massacre in the Breezy ins under his leadership. There was no one who had the ability to stop them. All elite armies were merely toys to them. Under their attacks, any formidable fortress would be immediately destroyed like a y sculpture,¡± Connoris narrated excitedly. As an ancient deity, the existence of humans had zero significance to him. Hence, it was as though he wasn¡¯t recounting a horrible bloodbath, but a thrilling event he would love to partake in.

    ¡°Almighty Soul Trader, should I remind you that the hopes of your new bodyy in the hands of a human being?¡± Lin Li asked slyly. Although he would not im that he was a kindhearted man, he could not help but remind Connoris about it.

    ¡°Erm...¡± Connoris suddenly recalled that the monster-like Lin Li was indeed a human as well. ¡°Oh, yes, you are a human as well? My memory is failing me...¡± Heughed awkwardly.

    ¡°Cut the crap. Tell me about other things that you know, such as Rodhart¡¯s ability.¡± Lin Li understood that it was only normal for Connoris to have no sympathy for humans. It was the same as how humans would not drop a tear for the death of ants.

    ¡°The Breezy ins then was pathetic. Although Rodhart turned into an Undead creature, he acted as the Head Referee of the Brilliance Shrine, after all. This Ex-Head Referee waved the butcher¡¯s knife at the pitiful human beings without hesitation. It was really...¡± Connoris wanted to squeeze a tear or two out of his eyes, but he suddenly came to the realization that he wascking a body. How could he shed any tears?

    ¡°Rodhart had started to look for the pathway into the Sanctuary-realm when he was a Pdin in the Legendary-realm. How different were his powers when he turned into a Retribution Knight? Did he really enter the Sanctuary-realm?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m not sure of his abilities, I¡¯ve heard that he had fought three Legendary powerhouses without his team of Death Knights. He defeated thebined forces from the three level-23 powerhouses using a single attack. This is enough to show that the ability of Rodhart then was at least level-24. But, I feel that it is more likely for him to have been level-25.¡±

    ¡°W-what? Level-25?!¡± Lin Li was stunned. He gave the unmoving man on the throne an anxious but fleeting nce. The sight of that still figure reassured him slightly. Level-25 meant that the Retribution Knight had already reached the Sanctuary-realm. It was no wonder that he had the ability to bring about such a huge cmity in the Breezy ins. If he were a normal Retribution Knight in the Legendary-realm, he would have been eliminated by Legendary powerhouses. It was rare to find enough opponents in the Sanctuary-realm.

    This was also one of the characteristics of a Death Knight. As long as he reached the Legendary-realm to be a Retribution Knight, the Death Knights from all over the world would gather by his side as fast as they could regardless of the distance they had to travel. Then, these Death Knights would stop their personal growth in power, and transfer the Spiritual Force they¡¯d acquired from the massacres to their leader.

    Hence, the Spiritual Force from killing one-third of the poption of the Breezy ins would have been given solely to Rodhart. It would only be natural for his abilities to be improving at a rapid pace. As he was the first Retribution Knight of the Breezy ins, it was toote for the Legendary powerhouses to stop him when they missed the best timing.

    ¡°Although he really entered the Sanctuary-realm, this method is really...¡± Lin Limented vexedly. Although he was not one of the fanatical devotees of the Brilliance Shrine, he knew he would not have born to do the same like Rodhart. That was a man who had ughtered a third of Breezy ins¡¯ poption! Lin Li found it really hard to believe that he¡¯d been a Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine in the past.

    ¡°Him using this method is not surprising. Since he was a Retribution Knight, and an Undead creature, he already had no rtionship with humankind. If he seeded in bringing his team of Death Knights into the Endless Abyss, the throne in any of the Abyss levels would definitely belong to him,¡± Connoris said optimistically.

    ¡°You have said a lot. But, can you be sure that this man before us is Rodhart?¡± Lin Li asked.

    ¡°If this Retribution Knight is really Rodhart, then the sword in his hand has to be the Eternal Frost de. In other words, if that sword is the Eternal Frost de, we would be able to make his identity clear,¡± exined Connoris. After all, he had only seen Rodhart from afar. He could not tell if the man before him was Rodhart or another Retribution Knight.

    ¡°Eternal Frost de?¡± Lin Li repeated after Connoris. Only then did he notice the sword in the hands of the Retribution Knight. He had thought it to be a normal sharp de. After looking at it closely, he realized that it was because the aura of the Retribution Knight had overwhelmed that of the sword.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. When Rodhart was still a Pdin, the weapon he used was not the Eternal Frost de, and the Brilliance Shrine would never put such a powerful weapon in his grave. No one knew where he had gotten the Eternal Frost de after he became a Retribution Knight. There was a probable theory that Rodhart had nned for his return from the Immortal King¡¯s mausoleum. If not, he would not have requested to be buried in the Breezy ins. It being a ce he had been adopted in would be a valid excuse. This Eternal Frost de was what he took out from the mausoleum of the Immortal King, which he then hid in the Breezy ins as he waited for the arrival of the Death Knights.¡±

    ¡°How should we verify if that is the Eternal Frost de? Although I can sense its magical wave, there are many other weapons that emit the same wavelength,¡± Lin Li asked again.

    ¡°The two main materials needed to create the Eternal Frost de were the Eternal Ice Crystal Metal and the Space Sand. During forging, it required the use of the cold ck mes from the Endless Abyss. However, Eternal Frost des that are created using this method do not have a significant ice attribute. The real effect of the Eternal Frost de is to create a temporal gap in the space that could distract the enemies. Then, the sword would pierce the enemies¡¯ bodies directly.¡±

    This was absolutely a weapon made to kill mages! The defensive equipment mages had, such as the Elemental Shield and Ice Wall, were never directly worn on their bodies. Established a distance away from the mages, they helped to create safe buffer zones between the enemy¡¯s weapon and the mages¡¯ bodies. This was due to the fact that the defense equipment would create a depression upon contact with intrusive attacks, regardless of whether it was a magical or a physical attack. If they were to be set up closely against the skin, without any cushioning of the impact, then while the user would not be immediately split in half with a strike of the enemy¡¯s sword, he was bound to suffer some wounds.

    That being said, the Eternal Frost de was a weapon that could create the gap in space to let the sword prate the magical defense system built up by mages. Then, it wouldnd on the mages¡¯ bodies like a sneak attack.

    ¡°I think that we should leave this ce as soon as possible...¡± Lin Li muttered. How could the Smithing Guru not recognize weapons created from the Eternal Ice Crystal Metal? It was very obvious that the sword in the hand of the figure on the throne was constructed from the same material. This meant that the sword was the Eternal Frost de, and the Retribution Knight was Rodhart himself.

    Lin Li did not want to be made an example of how men got themselves killed due to greediness for the future generations. Even though he had reached the Legendary-realm, and he had a lot of trump cards with him, he knew his enemy was a level-25 Retribution Knight who had a mage-killing sword. To be honest, Lin Li really had no confidence in battling such a figure.

    ¡°Hold on, are you sure that that is the Eternal Frost de, and he is Rodhart?¡± Connoris questioned. He was not willing to retreat.

    ¡°Of course, I would not make a mistake in recognizing that material. Unless there is another Retribution Knight who acquired the Eternal Frost de, this sleeping fe has to be Rodhart. Therefore, we¡¯d better get ourselves out of here quickly before he wakes up.¡± Lin Li conversed with Connoris via mental strength while cautiously observing Rodhart who was sitting still.

    ¡°Ha! If he was Rodhart, why should we escape? Have you forgotten that he had been purified by Prophet Willen? He would have lost his previous power.¡± Connoris snickered.

    ¡°Is that so? To be honest, I¡¯m very skeptical of the concept of purification. Didn¡¯t you say that this Rodhart is level-25? That¡¯s the Sanctuary-realm! How would there be anyone who could purify him? I doubt even the Pope of Brilliance Shrine could do that,¡± Lin Li rebutted in suspicion.

    There were many a time that legends were found to be false. Lin Li could ept the story that Rodhart had been purified by the Prophet Willen if the Retribution Knight was in the Legendary-realm. But, it was different now that the knight was in the Sanctuary-realm. Prophet Willen really needed to have great powers to purify a Retribution Knight in the Sanctuary-realm.

    How could Connoris not know what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind? ¡°Do not belittle Willen. He was not only the Prophet of Brilliance Shrine, but also the Son of the Holy Light. He held the purest holy force in this world, having the ability to purify any foulness or evilness. Even the Pope would not have the ability topare to him.

    ¡°After Geresco left the Supreme Council, the organization had been run by Apophis and his team. After having a battle with Prophet Willen, Apophis admitted his inferiority publicly, and confessed his admiration for Willen¡¯s ability. Because of this battle, and the existence of Prophet Willen, Brilliance Shrine became the most powerful force¡ªeven the Supreme Council had to settle for the second in rank.

    ¡°At that time, only Geresco had the ability to deal with Willen. Unfortunately, Willen disappeared mysteriously after battling Rodhart. Without the leadership of Willen, the glorious Brilliance Shrine suffered attacks from the surrounding forces and suffered a dip in powers. They nearly got taken over by the waning Darkness Shrine.¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be it...¡± Lin Li muttered doubtfully. ¡°The Brilliance Shrine had only been established after Dark Age, and it had been a few centuries since the end of it when Willen purified Rodhart. That was when the High Elves had long been overthrown, and a few centuries since the death of Osric. During that period of time, you should be in the Eternal Furnace. Why would you even know about these matters?¡±

    Lin Li was not doubting the credibility of Connoris¡¯s words, but his identity. From being a pathetic soul trapped in a furnace, to being an almighty Soul Trader, then an Ancient deity... Lin Li really couldn¡¯t trust Connoris fully.

    ¡°Have you forgotten that I have taught you how to engulf of the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction?¡± Connoris asked. ¡°I have created multiple shadows in the maind of Anril before being caught by Osric. At that time, I tried to use myst shadow to help me look for somebody to release me from the Eternal Furnace. In the end, neither did I find my savior, nor did that shadow survive. Goddammit, I don¡¯t even know my enemy!¡±

    Lin Li knew that creating a shadow and collecting the demonic runes from it did not need much effort. As long as one had the ancient demonic runes, he would be able to create a shadow with part of his energy. Same for Lin Li¡ªhe had the ability to do that as well. However, as a Legendary-mage, how could hepare himself to the Dragon of Destruction? He knew he would be falling out of his realm if he were to create his own shadows. Not to mention a Legendary-mage, a Sanctuary Master would not have chosen to weaken himself with such a boring idea.

    The issue of shadows was totally irrelevant at this juncture. However, Lin Li had an idea after hearing Connoris¡¯s introduction of Prophet Willen. Didn¡¯t Sendros say he was a shadow of Darkness? Lin Li knew that was because he owned the debris of the stars¡ªGloomy Dark. Then, could Holy Light turn him into the shadow of Holy Light?

    Lin Li loved everything that could allow him to take an advantage. A simple mistaking him as the shadow or somebody¡¯s son could give him a huge bunch of coolies to run errands for him without a price. He was always worried when Sendros addressed him as the shadow of Darkness as he feared that it might turn him into the target of the Brilliance Shrine. Now, he was really proud of the fact that he was the shadow of both Darkness and Brightness. This meant that he could gain advantages from both sides!

 Chapter 492 - Secret Chamber

    <h4>Chapter 492: Secret Chamber</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li nced at the man before him. Could his present state be a result of Prophet Willen¡¯s purification? If Rodhart had lost the power he had with the purification, Lin Li would be able to use his Holy Light on Rodhart.

    No matter what, he still could not determine if Rodhart was dead or all alive. Since he had the Holy Light, Lin Li knew that his journey to this pce shouldn¡¯t be a wasted trip. Lin Li stood there and cautioned himself against Rodhart while letting his Warlock¡¯s Eyes survey the entire pce.

    The scenes the Warlock¡¯s Eyes travelled to see were reflected in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel happy that he didn¡¯t escape in fear of Rodhart. The entire pce was a treasury! It seemed that he had made a wise decision in dismissing Hutton. Aspared to this ce, Vanskore¡¯s treasury was nothing.

    Apart from jewelry and all sorts of magical materials, there were also high-quality and delicate weapons and magical equipment. Lin Li could not help but secretly jump in joy. Thetter would save him a lot of effort!

    What made Lin Li feel really excited was the different magical books, as well as huge piles of spells written in the High Elves¡¯ script that he saw through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. Despite being a knowledgeable Legendary-mage, more than half of those spells were something he had not encountered before.

    If he did not guess wrongly, there would be a huge portion of them that had been lost to the maind of Anril with the passing of time. This made them iparable to the jewelry and equipment. He would be able to make all the mages in Anril crazy if he were to use any of the lost spells.

    Lin Li subconsciously opened his mouth and started drooling excessively. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes was also known as the third eye mages owned. It was purely constructed from mana, and could travel anywhere within the reach of Lin Li¡¯s magical elements. However, there was something blocking the Warlock¡¯s Eyes now. Could it be that there was a ce even his magical elements could not enter?

    Lin Liposed himself, and decided to venture to that ce personally. He was very curious about the thing that could obstruct his magical elements. After confirming that there were no signs of Rodhart awakening, he brought the two Undead followers towards a secret chamber in the basement.

    There was no reason to stay here. If Rodhart woke up, Ujfalusi and Norfeller would not have the ability to deal with him at all. Hence, Lin Li could only bring them along with him, and if Rodhart were to wake up, he would ept his misfortune.

    Lin Li walked past the tall tform that was built with bones, and led the other two through the side entrance behind it. After passing through a considerably short corridor, they found themselves in a room. If the structure of the pce was like amon pce¡¯s, the room should be for guests to rest in, which meant it was just a normal room.

    There was a tall bookshelf by the wall. Apart from magic books, there were also many biographies written in the High Elves¡¯snguage. Lin Li found the hidden levers very quickly with the help of the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. He walked towards one of the thicker books and gave it a hard push. What followed a noisy sound of some mechanism was the opening of a secret door below the table in the room, revealing a passageway leading down.

    They saw a wall at the end of the passageway when they walked along the path. There were no more doors or hidden levers. It was as though they had encountered a dead end. If not for Lin Li¡¯s Warlock¡¯s Eyes¡¯ck of ability to pass through it, Lin Li would have thought that there wasn¡¯t anything behind that wall.

    ¡°Master, should we st this wall to pieces?¡± Ujfalusi asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lin Li as he nodded. Yet, after giving the wall a closer look, he waved a hand to stop Ujfalusi who was about to cast his spell. ¡°Wait, there¡¯s no point. It is a Magic-resistant Gem.¡±

    There were many dim-colored gems etched on that wall. People who were unaware of it might have thought that those were somemon stones due to their grayish hue. However, Lin Li was very sure that these dark gray stones were authentic gems.

    The function of the Magic-resistant Gem could be inferred from its name. It had a strong resistance to magical elements, and each one of them was as good as an Elemental Shield. With the help of inscription, the gems were arranged ording to the magic-resistant mageweaths. For each additional Magic-resistant Gem used, the resistance to magic would be raised severalfold. When hundreds of such gems were iid into the same wall, the power would be as strong as 1,000 Elemental Shields. Not to mention a Lich like Ujfalusi who was as powerful as an Archmage, even a Legendary-mage like Lin Li himself or a powerhouse from the Sanctuary-realm would have to sigh when they were faced with such a wall.

    Lin Li could not help butment Osric¡¯s wealth. It was no wonder that he was overthrown as the ruler of the Fn Kingdom. How many acts of extortion did it take for Osric to umte such wealth? Each of the Magic-resistant Gems was worth up to a million gold coins, and they were rare on the market. Anyone who was not working in the magic industry would definitely want to hide the Magic-resistant Gem if they were to find one. It would act like an Elemental Shield for them against mages.

    It would be a total nightmare to a mage if a Warrior were to possess any equipment that had a Magic-resistant Gem. The magic that the mage prided himself on would not be able to harm even a hair on the Warrior, giving the Warrior full confidence tounch all of his attacks against the arrogant mage.

    It would be totally impossible for anyone to use physical strength to break the wall that was iid with 1,000 Magic-resistant Gems. What would possibly be hiding in the secret chamber behind the wall that would warrant such powerful protection? The wealth these Magic-resistant Gems were worthy of was enough to turn any man crazy. What could possibly be more valuable than these Magic-resistant Gems? Lin Li was full of anticipation for the items behind the wall. But, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to get past it.

    It was an extremely ordinary wall just like the others. After having 1,000 Magic-resistant Gems set up on it, however, the wall became something even Sanctuary powerhouses couldn¡¯t use their physical strength to break apart. Yet, Lin Li was not somebody who only knew how to use physical strength. He believed that there should be many other ways to solve this problem. It would be the matter of whether he could find one or not. There was a well-known figure who once said, ¡°Knowledge is power¡±, and power was one thing that Lin Li nevercked.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller stood at the side quietly. They knew that they were of no help in such situations. What they could do was to stand by vigntly and not disturb their master¡¯s thoughts. While they watched out for safety, Lin Li was standing before the wall, and was observing the patterns those gems were arranged in as well as the mageweaths that connected them together.

    It would not require hundreds of Magic-resistant Gems if the Inscriptor only wanted toy them into the wall, for one would be more than sufficient. Osric wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to use this wall as a disy for the gems given that the hundreds of them would only be as effective as just one gem.

    Could it possibly be a mageweath array? Yet, Lin Li was not able to rte any of the mageweath on the wall to any array in his knowledge. Lin Li stroked his chin with his hand and lifted his head slightly, and ran his gaze along the different lines at top speed. He knew that any mageweath array had to require three important materials, namely magic nodes, magic pathways<sup>1</sup>, and the source of mana.

    ¡°Nope, this doesn¡¯t look like a mageweath array...¡± Lin Li muttered as he shook his head after looking at the formation on the wall. ¡°If it¡¯s really a mageweath array, then the arrangement of the source of mana and the magic nodes is really terrible. Apart from the mess, how could the source of mana and magic nodes be ced so far away from one another? Even if one were to use a Legendary magical crystal as the source if mana, it wouldn¡¯t withstand such a great exhaustion of mana.¡±

    Being developed as a subject together with traditional magic, there were many ces that the study of mageweath and traditional magicplemented each other. In fact, mageweaths were as rigorous as traditional magic. Furthermore, as mageweath had always been a mainstream subject, there were naturally many people who studied them. As a result, there were plenty of chances people could make refinements to them. Up to the current generation, there had already been thousands of interpretations developed for dozens of theories. Together with the innumerable forme derived over time, the subject had long been perfected.

    Lin Li was wondering if there was a possibility for the arrangement on the wall to be a mageweath array, but the Inscriptor of the system would have to be a horrible apprentice. Such a design would only be seen in the work of the newbies. The level of mess and tedious details had caused the mageweaths to lose their original simplicity and gracefulness.

    Of course, this would be impossible...

    How could Osric, who had engaged innumerable manpower and resources, as well as the Magic Legion to take all precautions against attacks, decide to create such a trashy mageweath array? It would really be a joke...

    Osric might not be as well-versed as Lin Li across the different upations, but he was the great leader of the High Elves. How could he be unable to find any inscription talents?

    ¡°Connoris, can you tell what¡¯s happening on this wall?¡± Lin Li asked Connoris casually.

    ¡°Nope. In fact, the design looks rather aesthetic. Are you thinking too much? What if these are just beautiful patterns?¡± Connoris sounded guilty when he said that. Frankly speaking, he knew that Osric was not a man who pursued luxury. Hence, he had to have his reasons for arranging the mageweaths in such a manner.

    If these were mere decoration, it would be a waste to use so many Magic-resistant Gems on the wall. Lin Li shook his head, and did not me Connoris for hisck of knowledge. After all, he did not expect there to be a legitimate answer. But, that reminded him of the purported mageweath arrays that people discovered on the four Alchemy Colossuses. Lin Li thought that it might be the Alchemy Array on the four figures instead as it was something that could provide the Alchemy Colossuses with a source of energy.

    Lin Li knew that despite being an ancient deity, it was impossible for Connoris to be an expert in everything. He was content with the information he had acquired.

    The source of mana would make sense if it was the Alchemy Array, yet when Lin Li tried to look at all the patterns in detail, he gradually frowned. Even though he had never seen a real Alchemy Array, his knowledge in the basic theory behind it was really solid. However, the patterns before his eyes were very different. He wasn¡¯t able to form any connections between them and the theories.

    It would be useless trash even if it was an alchemy array on the wall. If Lin Li were anymon man who considered that, he would be finding ways to acquire these gems. However, Lin Li subconsciously felt that even if there was no sign of energy in the seemingly harmless wall, it might not be appropriate for him to act so recklessly.

    Lin Li lowered his head and closed his eyes gently. Although he stopped looking at the patterns on the wall, he put his fingers on the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. He didn¡¯t believe that Osric would leave behind a useless pattern on the wall. If it was neither a mageweath array nor an alchemy array, what could it be?

    Apart from the sound of Lin Li¡¯s breathing, the entire secret chamber was filled with silence. While the two Undead creatures never dared to disturb the thought process of their master, Connoris, who felt guilty, simrly did not want to make any noise in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Lin Li organized the information he¡¯d gathered about the underground pce. In fact, there wasn¡¯t any mention of the underground pce in the diary Gerian told him about. The parts about how there had been valuable objects and important construction works being conducted in the ce were mere guesses. Not only did it seem that there might not be any useful information from the diary, Lin Li felt that the author of the diary was unsure if Osric was building an underground pce or it was only a one-time transportation of goods. Although the ce was the Breezy ins, the Dragon Mountains weren¡¯t named in the diary. Hence, Lin Li did not have high hopes about gaining any information about the interior of the pce.

    He knew that if he couldn¡¯t verify the information Gerian told him, it would be a waste of time to delve into the matter. After all, there were too many legends that circted over thousands of years. There were people who tried to verify those tales arduously, but were turned into fools by the others. Gradually, no one cared about such stories anymore.

 Chapter 493 - Magic Gears

    <h4>Chapter 493: Magic Gears</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was certain that Gerian was not the first person to have read the diary in the thousand of years. The content of the diary was full of vague hypotheses. Anyone would have deemed it as something created to trick people.

    However, now that Lin Li had found the underground pce, he could be sure that its author had to be somebody who had lived in the past. Then, might he be able to glean some clues from the diary? Although Gerian did not bring the original diary with him, he had written down all of its contents based on his memory into a notebook and passed it to Lin Li when they parted ways.

    <i>Did I miss any information?</i> Lin Li thought as he took out that notebook and flipped through it casually despite the fact that he had already remembered all of its contents. Suddenly, his hands stopped, and a smile appeared on his face. Although the diary did not have a detailed description of the events, there was something he could use a diary to ascertain¡ªthe dates.

    Dates were to be in any diary entry. Yet, what was the use of knowing the date the underground pce had been established?

    The underground pce had been built a century before the extinction of the High Elves. Lin Li could remember reading from a book, titled <i>The Book of the Forgotten,</i> that the previously unknown study of the magic gears that did not enjoy much importance had been popr for a period of time then.

    Although no one could verify the origin of the magic gears, most people believed there to be a rtionship between the study of magic gears and alchemy, or that both of them originated from the Goblins¡¯ Era. Indeed, there were a lot of technical skills necessary to produce the well-known Alchemy Colossuses that were rted to magic gears.

    There was also a product from the application of the magic gears called the Gear Puppets. From their appearance, they resembled the Alchemy Colossuses, yet both items had vastly different powers.

    The energy of the Alchemy Colossuses came from the numerous alchemy arrays on their bodies. Each array was responsible for different types of functions, and the area on magic attack and defense was just one of them. The alchemy arrays were in charge of many fundamental functions that included the drive for the movement of the colossuses¡ªwhich would be simr to human muscles.

    With that, there were the Gear Puppets that used gears and the force of transmission to rece some of the basic alchemy arrays. The main mechanism was not magic, but the gears. Unlike most of the people in maind Anril who saw it as unorthodox, Lin Li was really familiar andfortable with them.

    Of course, this special characteristic made the absolute distinction between the puppets and the colossuses. To most people, the study of magic gears was useless; they¡¯d rather pay a lower price for their servants, whom they could easily find. What was the use of those boring gear puppets?

    It was this perspective that turned the study of magic gears into a disdained one. Hence, in the world of magic civilization, such a skillset had little demand despite it being novel. If not, the civilization of Anril would have been on a different path.

    In reality, the Gear Puppets were only one of the many basic applications in the study of magic gears. Conservation of energy was a very unique advantage of magic gears. While it might sound absurd, it was really powerful under special circumstances.

    Both mageweath arrays and alchemy arrays depended on magical crystals for energy. The effects of mageweath arrays and alchemy arrays, however, would decrease as time passed due to the weakening of any magical crystals¡ªregardless of their initial strength. When it finally reached its lowest threshold, beyond the needed amount for activation, it would be as good as opening the door wide for any enemy inside.

    Aspared to those arrays, the effects of magic gears would never dwindle as long as they were deactivated. Magic gears could unleash their original effects despite the passing of time. Hence, they would be rather useful when it came to protecting tombs.

    If it were real magic gear, then the wall of Magic-resistant Gems would not be a challenge to Lin Li. When he used the Scroll of Wishes to wish for all of his life skills to be raised by one level, although he did not manage to raise his skills in magic gears to the Guru level, it was pushed to the Master level together with his knowledge in minerals. The Master-level was sufficient for making Lin Li a real talent in such a forgotten area of study.

    Lin Li went back to the wall, and started recalling everything he knew about magic gears. He inspected the wall very carefully. The change in perspective helped him to have a clearer view of the situation.

    Lin Li was really grateful that it did not require any knowledge beyond his abilities. There were two ways to destroy those magic gears. One, settle it once and for all: locate and damage the energy source. Without the source of energy, the magic gears would naturally be deactivated. Two, outwit all the traps: either deduce all the loopholes of the magic gears, or activate the traps prematurely to eliminate them.

    However, Lin Li chose to settle the issue once and for all. He felt that it would be more realistic for him to locate and damage the source of the energy so as to prevent future implications. Usually, people would think that the long-living Amethyst Turtles would be best sources of energy.

    The Amethyst Turtles were considered one of the magical beasts with the longest lifespan in Anril. People had discovered a 70,000 years old Amethyst Turtle in the vestige of the Titans that had lived through the years. Of course, that Amethyst Turtle was not any source of energy for the magic gears then, but a Titan¡¯s pet.

    The Amethyst Turtles were very powerful. Those that were older than 20,000 years old would be able to reach the Legendary-realm¡ªthe peak of their potential. They would never get to enter the Sanctuary-realm even if they were to live another 200,000 years. Their temperament was much gentler than any other Legendary beasts¡¯, which made them incredibly easy catch. Hence, Lin Li could tell that nine out of 10 trap makers would use Amethyst Turtles as the core of the mechanism. Thest trap maker might have had some bad luck, being unable to find an Amethyst Turtle.

    Since the underground pce was built by Osric, Lin Li believed that the supply of energy would not be weaker than one Legendary-level Amethyst Turtle. Therefore, how could he let go of such an invaluable treasure?

    Despite not having any source of mana or magic pathways, there still were traces that helped Lin Li deduce the setup. Although the instation of gears and chains had been intentionally hidden from sight, they were sufficient to lead a gear master like Lin Li to its energy source.

    As Lin Li paced around the wall, he scrutinized every line on it, and made huge calctions. Finally, a bulb lit up in his mind. He stepped out of the secret chamber and followed the clues.

    Although Ujfalusi and Norfeller could not understand why their master left the secret chamber, they followed him without a word. By now, both were rather crestfallen. The inability to help their master made them feel like they had failed as Lin Li¡¯s followers.

    After following the clues given by the magic gears, and walking past a few rooms, Lin Li found a room filled with useless junk in the basement. However, everything was disyed in an orderly fashion, without even a hint of disarray.

    ¡°Move those things away,¡± said Lin Li as he pointed to the pile of trash by the wall. Ujfalusi and Norfeller took action immediately. The wait for instruction had finally ended.

    After clearing the junk, the wall was in full view. Tomon people, the wall might be an ordinary one. However, nothing could hide from Lin Li¡¯s eyes. He was an expert in magic gears!

    Lin Li found a discrete door behind the pile of trash very quickly. On the surface, it seemed that there was nothing special about that door. Yet, Lin Li knew very clearly that the magic gears functioning behind it were enough to im the life of any Archmage. After getting through the secret door, Lin Li noticed another passageway sloping downward behind it.

    The passageway was pitch-ck and incredibly narrow; it wasrge enough to fit only one person. Norfeller decided to take the initiative for the team. ¡°Master, let me help to survey this ce,¡± said Norfeller as he walked to the front.

    Lin Li smiled and waved his hands. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to help in this. Just stay here and wait for me toe back.¡± He let out a magic Sr Sphere that levitated in front of him, and started to venture forward.

    It was not Lin Li¡¯s kindness that prevented him from letting his followers survey the ce for him. The main reason for his rejection was his belief that there was no need for them to do so. Through his experience in dealing with the magic gears earlier on, he had gained the confidence to deal with more of them if any appeared. Lin Li felt that it would only implicate the matter at hand if he were to let Norfeller, who was clueless about the mechanism, into this area first.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller gave each other a disappointed and helpless nce as they watched their master disappear into the passageway.

    Although Norfeller was not dissatisfied with Lin Li¡¯s decision, he could not help but feel disappointed. He remembered how he could still help his master get rid of some trouble when he started out as a level-17 Vampire. But, as his master became more powerful, the enemies they faced became more challenging as well. He felt that his identity of a level-17 Vampire was getting really useless.

    Aspared to Norfeller, Ujfalusi should not have felt any disappointment. After all, he was a Lich that fell from the Legendary-realm. He knew very well that it would take him another two or three months to recover his lost power. At the start, he thought that he would be of a tremendous help to his master when he returned to the Legendary-realm. However, after following the man for a period of time, and seeing how rapidly he made progress, Ujfalusi conviction started to waver.

    Actually, it was not a bad thing that his master was a powerful being. The stronger the master, the easier the rewards came to the followers. Yet, only people who had no dreams would settle for such a life. Although both of them were Undead creatures, they had the minds of humans, and had the desire for fame and recognition like most humans.

    Since it was fated that their master was going to leave a huge mark on the history of the maind of Anril, it would only be natural that, as his followers, they¡¯d be able to leave their own names there as well. However, a prerequisite was that they had to be well-known and gain the chance to disy their ability in front of the public. At the same time, Ujfalusi feared that he would be condemned by posterity the minute he showed his face to the public. Therefore, the only way for him to gain fame was to raise his power. Then, he would be able to leave his name in his master¡¯s story.

    Lin Li was clueless that his two Undead followers had such great dreams. After entering the passageway, he walked along the narrow path. Indeed, it was filled with multiple precarious magic gears and traps. If it were anyone else¡ªeven experts of magic gears¡ªthey might not have the ability to walk through a few of them; apart from the magic gears, there were also traps created by mageweath and alchemy arrays.

    These traps were incredibly insidious. If it had been a team that entered this ce, they might still be able to bring one expert in magic gears. However, the size of the passageway was only sufficient for one person to pass through, and not everyone would be proficient in all the unfamiliar domains that were involved. That would endanger the experts at magic gears and other domains in the team easily.

    Unfortunately, these magic gears and traps posed no threat to Lin Li. He understood that before he could gain the control of the core of the magic gears, the key was to trigger and suspend the traps intentionally. To Lin Li, his Guru-level skills in magic gears made him immune to all these traps. Despite the fact that much effort had been put in to set them up, it was totally useless against Lin Li, merely dying him. The traps that utilized the mageweath and alchemy arrays were even more useless. As Lin Li was a Guru in mageweaths, alchemy arrays were even simpler for him to deal with. After all, he had in his possession a tool to dissolve alchemy arrays.

    1

 Chapter 494 - Crimson Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 494: Crimson Dragon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The journey was a long and arduous one. After approximately an hour, and a few turns, Lin Li spotted ahead of him a glow that seemed like the end of the secret passageway. However, Lin Li did not dash towards it immediately. He felt that it would be too reckless to do that. Indeed, as he moved closer to the end, Lin Li was met with more and more traps that grew increasinglyplicated. Hence, it took him more than half an hour to finish thest part of his journey.

    When Lin Li reached the end of the passageway, he was really jubnt... until the smell of something hot and pungent rushed up his nostrils. Lin Li saw bright and yellowva bubbling underneath his feet. He was standing in the tunnel of a spacious underground cave.

    This was a world of fire. There was a huge concentration of fire element, and it was as though he had stepped into a natural magical domain filled with mes. The fire element here was so strong that it suppressed the other elements. Lin Li even had difficulty activating his mental strength in that environment.

    <i>Wait a minute. This is not a ce that the Amethyst Turtles could live in. Could it be that Osric had other magical beasts more suitable than the Amethyst Turtles to act as the energy source for the magic gears? </i>Lin Li could not help but feel that he was in a strange ce.

    While the lifespan of the Amethyst Turtles was extremely long, they needed a particr environment as well. Being magical beasts with the water attribute, the Amethyst Turtles should be ced in an underground river where they could live for more than 100,000 years. In such an environment that was suffused with fire element, however, Amethyst Turtles would not be able to survive.

    It was impossible for Osric tomit such a mistake or fail to capture a Legendary-level Amethyst Turtle. There had to have been a more suitable choice for Osric. However, as Lin Li went through his entire memory bank, he could not think of any magical beast with fire attribute that had a longer life than the Amethyst Turtle.

    Among the seven major elements, the fire element was the most vigorous one. Hence, fire attacks were always the strongest among other types of attack at the same level. Their violent nature caused the magical beasts with the fire attribute to have a shorter lifespan aspared to those with the water attribute.

    Under most circumstances, magic gears would be used to protect ces for a prolonged period of time. Therefore, it was more important for one to find a magical beast that had a long lifespan rather than one that was the most powerful. If not, the magic gears would be wasted with the death of any beast.

    <i>What magical beast could it be?</i> Lin Li thought as he flew out of the passageway with the Power of Flight. Lin Li was shocked by Osric¡¯s fortune after he scrutinized the surroundings carefully. The energy source chosen by the High Lord indeed had great powers and a long lifespan.

    Osric¡¯s choice was not something normal people would dare to think of. A Crimson Dragon that had its wings prated by 18 chains was growling and struggling on a tform at the center of theva river. It was trapped on a ck tform 1,000 meters square in size. From its craftsmanship, Lin Li could tell that the stone tform was made artificially. Despite being only as thin as a human wrist, the chains seemed rtively thick against the thin body of the Crimson Dragon. Although the dragon¡¯s struggle resulted in loud noises from the chains, they showed no signs of loosening up.

    Deafening noises also came from the ck tform following the dragon¡¯s movements. Although it sounded like the tform could shatter anytime, Lin Li knew that it was not because it was weak. The gears within it were converting the force of the Crimson Dragon into energy.

    How did Osric think of letting such a Crimson Dragon be the energy source for his magic gears? While Lin Li was stunned by what he saw, he could not help but gasp at Osric¡¯s wealth again. For the gears to function for a thousand or a million years, the dragon with a great lifespan would be a very good choice. While the dragons had simr lifespan aspared to the Amethyst Turtles, dragons were much more powerful.

    Furthermore, there was another advantage to that Crimson Dragon acting as the energy source for the magic gears. It helped to dy intruders who were here to destroy the mechanism. Not to mention, the power of an adult dragon in such an environment was not what an Amethyst Turtle couldpare to.

    Theva cave was an optimal ce for Crimson Dragons to live in. The high concentration of fire element not only acted as an immediate and unlimited source of energy for the dragon to replenish what it lost, but it was also a great help in extending its lifespan. If not for the 18 chains that prated its wings, the Crimson Dragon might really love to live in such an environment.

    No one knew if Osric¡¯s intention behind the construction of the magic gears was to make use of the Crimson Dragon, or if Osric captured a Crimson Dragon just to build those magic gears. This question was akin to the philosophical debate about whether eggs came before chickens. Lin Li, however, was not interested in mulling over this question. However, since it was a Crimson Dragon used as the source of energy, Lin Li believed that it wouldn¡¯t supply only the magic gears in the wall. He knew that the energy of the dragon was more than sufficient to support an entire underground pce filled with magic gears.

    When he thought of that, Lin Li was stunned. He realized that although he had met many Undead creatures on his way, their abilities were way too lousy to be the guards of the pce. This meant that it was not only possible that the pce would be filled with magic gears, but rather that it had to be so.

    Lin Li was secretly d that he actually used the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to survey the ce before heid his hands on those treasures. If not, he would have activated those magic gears unknowingly. He felt that it was really insidious for Osric to use the unpopr magic gears to defend the underground pce. If it were other people, they wouldn¡¯t have thought of the magic gears. Even if they did, who would have the confidence to deactivate them? After all, there was still a Crimson Dragon that acted as their energy source.

    In fact, Lin Li knew that he had made a mistake. He did not expect Osric to use magic gears in that underground pce. Although he was at the Master-level when it came to magic gears, it was such an unfamiliar and unpopr study that he had no confidence in finding anyone in Anril who was proficient in it.

    The current situation exceeded Lin Li¡¯s expectation. He did not expect to see a Crimson Dragon. Being the direct descendant of the four Dragon Aspects, the Crimson Dragon was born with a fire attribute, and had an ability above level-21. This would make deactivating the mechanism really challenging if Lin Li wanted to deal with it starting from the energy source.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the Crimson Dragon. I¡¯m really fearful of your luck. We have met a Retribution Knight outside, and now, it¡¯s a pure-blooded Crimson Dragon.¡± Connoris¡¯ snicker sounded in Lin Li¡¯s mind. He had always been jealous of Lin Li¡¯s luck. After all, Connoris had experienced a terrible time in the past. Theparison between himself and Lin Li made him really frustrated.

    <i>Should I retreat? If I chose not to deal with this Crimson Dragon, I would be wasting the time I¡¯ve spent dealing with all the magic gears outside!</i> Lin Li thought as he dispersed the glowing Sr Spheres. He took out his magic staff from the Ring of Endless Storm, and flew towards the Crimson Dragon.

    ¡°Hey, what are you trying to do? That is an adult dragon! Are you out of your mind?¡± Connoris shrieked on the sight of Lin Li¡¯s apparent intention to challenge the Crimson Dragon. He was shocked. How would he be able to get a new body when Lin Li always risked his life for such matters? ¡°I say, please do not dig your own grave! Why would you want to provoke that dude? I¡¯m pitiful enough to be trapped like a coolie here!¡±

    While the Crimson Dragon might not be stronger than the Lin Li in Tharlen, Connoris had no confidence that Lin Li could battle the Crimson Dragon himself. After all, they were out in the Endless Abyss. Connoris could not make use of thews of the Abyss and his ancient demonic runes to help Lin Li anymore.

    However, Lin Li had set his mind on the matter, ignoring Connoris¡¯s warnings. He waved his magic staff as he flew to give himself an Elemental Protection. Colorful Sr Spheres revolved around his body like lively pixies.

    Lin Li did not choose to challenge the Crimson Dragon because he thought it was a pushover. It was not that he was a lunatic, either. While the solving of the magic gears took the trap master some time, it was not a bit dangerous, and he gained nothing out of it.

    While it was indeed dangerous for him to challenge the Crimson Dragon, there were also massive potential benefits that enticed Lin Li. The first would bebat experience. Although Lin Li had managed to enter the Legendary-realm,pared to the old-timers like Sendros and Andoine, he wascking a lot of battling experience. It was too difficult for him to meet suitable opponents or find the old men to practice with him. Hence, the exchange with the Crimson Dragon would be a rare opportunity for Lin Li.

    Another reason was less honorable. To Lin Li, the Crimson Dragon was not only a dragon, but also a living treasury from its head to its tail, and from its skin to its bones. Although the Crimson Dragon was more powerful than the Amethyst Turtle, its value was not to be belittled. How could Lin Li give up easily?

    Suddenly, the struggling and growling Crimson Dragon fell silent. There was a hint of seriousness reflected in his eyes. It knew that a mage in the Legendary-realm was not an insignificant human. Despite being a proud dragon, it dared not be reckless in front of a Legendary-mage. In the past, Legendary powerhouses treated killing dragons as an honorable deed to be recorded in their life stories. People who were less able would approach the dragons with impure blood. It was akin to how the Immortal King headed for the Dragon of Destruction directly.

    The Crimson Dragon could feel that the human who had just flown out of the precipice was an incredibly strong Legendary-mage. Although the scent emitted by that human was less powerful than himself, he knew very well that human beings were the most cunning creatures on earth.

    ¡°Are you not going to negotiate with him? It doesn¡¯t look like he hopes to fight with you. Who knows, you might convince him!¡± Connoris persuaded Lin Li enthusiastically, hoping it would help him understand the situation more clearly, and not attract unnecessary trouble.

    However, Connoris¡¯s efforts vanished the moment the dragon breathed out a puff of dragon fire.

    ¡°Hey, did you see that? He spat saliva at me! I can¡¯t tolerate this!¡±

    Of course, Lin Li was only joking with Connoris. He dodged the Crimson Dragon¡¯s mes with agility, and waved the magic staff in his hands. A spell was cast instantaneously, aiming for the dragon beneath him.

    Actually, Lin Li had another advantage. Unlike Lin Li who had the ability to fly freely in the sky, the poor Crimson Dragon was like a malicious hound chained in the garden. He could only let nasty children outside his reach throw pebbles at him helplessly. Of course, this Crimson Dragon was more capable than unfriendly dogs¡ªhe could spit!

    Hold on... He also had the me Domain!

    The Crimson Dragon lifted his head to roar. Powerful magical waves spread all over the ce as the dragon unleashed its me Domain. The mes spread wildly and engulfed the entire underground cave. As the environment itself was already a natural magical domain of fire, the activation of the dragon¡¯s domain only made the scale and impact of his powers even stronger.

    Theva around the ck tform bubbled vigorously. Hundreds of flying dragons formed with the redva pped their wings and flew towards Lin Li. Theseva dragons were at least a thousand degrees in Celsius hot!

    Lin Li was reminded of when he used Angels of Light and Dark to surround the Lord of Darkness back in the Throne of Darkness, except he was now the one being surrounded. The only thing thatforted him was the fact that theseva dragons were nowhere as beautiful as the Angels of Light and Dark that he had created.

    Lin Li held his magic staff and swept it across in a circle in front of him with the magical crystal on the tip of it facing outwards. A dozenva dragons that had been charging at him were immediately frozen and fell into theva river by the side. However, the frozenva dragons did not evenpletely submerge in the river before they were thawed by the high temperature and flew up again.

    In fact, there was no one element in Anril that could absolutely counter another element directly. However, it was normal for the elements of fire and water to have the ability to overwhelm each other. That being said, the surroundings were heavily concentrated with fire element due to theva river. It helped to raise the powers of the dragon greatly.

 Chapter 495 - Ice Flame

    <h4>Chapter 495: Ice me</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Humerus Wyrm that Lin Li had sealed into the Summoning Lamp could not actually be considered a Wyrm. It was merely an Undead creature that possessed the skeleton of a Wyrm and a Dragon Crystal. The dragon¡¯s power was only from the Dragon Crystal as well as the remnant Wyrm aura left on the Wyrm skeleton.

    Lin Li felt as though his limbs were bound fighting in such a situation as he had to do his best to defend against the powerful dragon while devoting more effort to adjusting the other magical elements apart from the fire element. Fire element magic did not cause any harm to a pure-blooded Crimson Dragon; hence, the abundant fire element was not only useless to Lin Li, but also posed a great hindrance.

    Perhaps this gave the Crimson Dragon the home base advantage; however, Lin Li had an advantage as well. He was able to fly around as he pleased, while the Crimson Dragon was like a dog chained in the yard, unable to do anything about the children throwing stones at it because it was limited by the length of the chain.

    Only, this Crimson Dragon could do more than just gross others out by spitting¡ªit could actually kill with it. Even though Lin Li had Legendary powers now, his shield could not hold up for longer than a few seconds in the face of the Crimson Dragon¡¯s fiery breath. The only thing Lin Li could do was to employ his honed Power of Flight to circle around the Crimson Dragon.

    Abruptly halting, suddenly changing directions... Lin Li¡¯s movements were not graceful. In fact, he looked clumsy as he dodged the fatal dragon¡¯s breath time and time again only in the nick of time. Despite that, the spells he cast while dodging the Crimson Dragon¡¯s attacks would always hit the Crimson Dragon without fail. Unfortunately, the Crimson Dragon was too resistant to the impact of spells; thus, none of them seemed to have any effect on it.

    The explosion of spells and the Crimson Dragon¡¯s howls rang in the cave as the situation became tense. Nobody could say for sure how long this tense situation couldst, since it seemed like Lin Li might be engulfed by the dragon¡¯s breath at any time as he weaved around in the air.

    Then, the Crimson Dragon on the ck stone tform at the bottom seemed to have started breathing fire. Well, anyone would be annoyed to the point of breathing fire if there was a fly that wouldn¡¯t stop flying around them.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    The slow flowingva surrounding the ck stone tform turned boiling hot following the roar of the dragon, and the temperature in the cave began rising. The yellowva turned blinding silver so quickly that the change was visible to the naked eye; it was a sign that the temperature was reaching an extreme.

    me Domain!

    The Crimson Dragon threw its head back, roaring once again as the powerful magical wave spread out in all directions. The me Domain expanded in an instant and engulfed the whole cave. Thework of tiny cracks on the glossy, mirror-like walls of the cave disappeared as the walls were melded together once again by the high temperatures.

    The environment in the cave was already like a natural me Domain before; thus, when the Crimson Dragon¡¯s me Domain was unleashed in such circumstances, it would exponentially increase both in range and power.

    Theva around the ck stone tform continued churning like waves in an ocean as flying dragons formed with the silverva flew into the sky, pping their wings as they charged towards Lin Li. Theseva dragons were at least level-15 each and their temperature was 1000 degrees Celsius. While one or two of them was nothing much, it was a sight to behold with hundreds of them appearing at once.

    Lin Li was reminded of when he used Angels of Light and Dark to surround the Lord of Darkness back in the Throne of Darkness, except he was now the one being surrounded. The only thing thatforted him was the fact that theseva dragons were nowhere as beautiful as the Angels of Light and Dark that he had created.

    Lin Li held his magic staff and swept it across in a circle in front of him with the magical crystal on the tip of it facing outwards. A dozenva dragons that had been charging at him were immediately frozen and fell into theva river by the side. However, the frozenva dragons did not evenpletely submerge in the river before they were thawed by the high temperature and flew up again.

    There was no absolute order in which the major elements that constituted the world of Anril triumphed over each other. The water element might dominate fire element, but it was alsomon for the fire element to oppress water element when it was at its peak. As ava river flowed beneath the ground here, the density of fire element here was high, which allowed the Crimson Dragon¡¯s me Domain to be even more powerful.

    1

    ¡°Damn it, this is its home base and I am unable to lure it away!¡± Lin Li said to himself angrily as he dodged theva dragons. Fire element magic did not work on the Crimson Dragon, and now ice element magic was being suppressed as well that he could not even unleash his Frost Domain here. He wanted to lure the dragon away, yet it was chained here. Well, the dragon would have fled long ago if it could instead of working like a ve here.

    As a descendant of the four Dragon Aspects, the Crimson Dragon was born possessing the me Domain. The Frost Domain used the basic Rule that constituted the world, and the me element was the most violent and aggressive out of all the major elements. Inparison, Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain was weaker, and on top of that, they were in an environment that could be considered a natural me Domain. In such circumstances, the Crimson Dragon that had been chained up for 1,000 years was likelyparable to level-24 in power.

    ¡°I already told you not to trifle with it; anyway, it won¡¯t be able to chase after you, so we should go back and think of something else.¡± Connoris was very worried even though he knew Lin Li could not be killed that easily. Still, they were facing an adult Crimson Dragon, and besides, it was far more dangerous here than in the Throne of Darkness.

    ¡°Since it can¡¯t catch me, I¡¯m going to see who gives up first! How is it so difficult to deal with even though it is chained up?!¡± Lin Li unleashed a Thousand Miles of Ice, which caused dozens of otherva dragons to drop from the sky.

    No other Legendary-mage, not even those at the peak of the Legendary-realm, would dare stay any longer if they had to face off with a Crimson Dragon in a ce so densely filled with fire element. Only Lin Li would dare do this as he did not have to worry about mana depletion due to his insane amount of mental strength.

    Of course, Lin Li did not really mean to fight with the Crimson Dragon to the end, as the Crimson Dragon still had the advantage of fighting in an advantageous environment and would not give in so easily even though Lin Li had insane mental strength and did not have to worry about mana depletion. If they were to really fight it out, who knew how long that would take.

    Brute force alone would not work if he was going to deal with this Crimson Dragon. Lin Li weaved through the air as quickly as lightning while the gears in his head turned at an equally fast speed, trying toe up with a way to get rid of the Crimson Dragon. If anybody could hear Lin Li¡¯s thoughts now, they would be sure to burst out inughter as it was simply daydreaming. Even Connoris, who had seen Lin Li make many miraculous feats, did not believe that he would be able to think of a way to get rid of the Crimson Dragon. He had to be near the Sanctuary-realm to do that.

    Still, humans were the ones who came up with all these brilliant ideas, and the knowledge in Lin Li¡¯s head was put to good use now. A vague idea surfaced in his head, and after a vast amount of calctions, it gradually became clearer.

    However, there was more to the Crimson Dragon than just that. Whileva dragons continued to appear and fly into the air, theva river beneath them turned a brilliant gold, and a huge whirlpool began to form on the surface of the river. The golden whirlpool was an enchanting sight, but it was as pretty as it was deadly. Something huge was brewing, and in an instant, the fire element in the air became more and more violent¡ªeverything was getting distorted. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t the only whirlpool.

    Connoris had stopped persuading Lin Li to stop, and merely weakly remarked, ¡°Hey, be careful. It¡¯s Dragonnguage magic.¡±

    Dragonnguage magic was an innate magic of the Wyrms<sup>1</sup> and one of the oldest magic in the world as well. It was quite like the Demonic runes that Connoris had mentioned. However, while it was old, it was not obsolete, as it was actually simpler than magic that used High Elves Print and humannguages. In short, it was a more direct understanding and use of the Rules of the elements.

    As a descendant of the Dragon Aspects, the Crimson Dragon used a dragonnguage magic that was even purer and closer to the original form of the magic and main source of the Elemental Power.

    The giant whirlpools on theva river seemed to have a life of their own as they receded before suddenly exploding. Blinding balls of silver shot out from the center of the whirlpools at a speed that could not be matched by theva dragons. They were basically cannonballs. Lin Li nced at the top of the cave as he dodged the cannons, suddenly recalling a game he had yed before he time travelled¡ªmarble throwing. The balls of fire element cannonsnded on the ceiling of the cave and immediately burst into mes before the sparks fell down like rain.

    Lin Li weaved through theva cannons like a fly, and while it was dangerous, Lin Li avoided the projectiles so expertly using his flight skills that not even the corners of his clothes were burned. He started to do things that looked pointless, like shooting magic at the balls ofva. Sometimes, he attacked those that were flying towards him, but at other times, he attacked those that were flying a distance away, confusing Connoris to no end.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Leave quickly, can¡¯t you practice your magic somewhere else?¡± Connoris yelled.

    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯ll see.¡± Lin Li did not give any exnation as he stubbornly continued what he was doing.

    While the Crimson Dragon was chained up, it still called the shots in the world of mes. Soon, the entire cave was covered in ayer ofva; it trickled down all the way from the ceiling to the cave walls, making it seem as though the entire cave was melting.

    As the Light and the Darkness Rules depended on the Holy Light and the Gloomy Dark, and neither was a domain that Lin Li mastered, the dragon had to be lured out using the Frost Domain as a foundation to create a magical domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness. However, if he were to unleash his Frost Domain in this world of fire, he would be swarmed byva dragons andva cannonballs even before the ice had solidified. His Frost Domain would be dissolved into nothing by therge amount of fire element in an instant.

    Hence, Lin Li was not in a hurry to use his Magical Domain, and only used normal ice element magic to attack the restrained Crimson Dragon instead. Or perhaps it was more fitting to say that he was provoking the Crimson Dragon and causing it to use more fire element magic to attack him. While he seemed kind of clumsy trying to dodge all the fire element magic thrown at him by the Crimson Dragon, this was all part of his n.

    While the Crimson Dragon¡¯s magic seemed endless as its attacks chased Lin Li around in the air, Lin Li¡¯s Levitation Spell had already been simr to the effect of the Power of Flight even when he was still an Archmage. Now that he was truly a Legendary-mage, his Power of Flight was far more powerful than most other Legendary-mages¡¯. He twisted and turned in the air and performed many difficult stunts, and the Crimson Dragon¡¯s magic that seemed to fill the air could not even touch the hems of his clothes.

    With one flying in the air and the other shooting from the ground, the tense situationsted two days just like that. Perhaps the Crimson Dragon was tired of such a boring game of shooting, but the frequency at which it shot at Lin Li finally started to decrease.

    Lin Li detected this with his urate senses, and inwardly shouted, <i>Here¡¯s my chance!</i> He suddenly dived and flew towards the Crimson Dragon, holding out his magic staff as the magical crystal glowed brightly. Meanwhile, he chanted an incredibly condensed form of a chant quickly in a sharp voice. ¡°Thousand Miles of Ice, Thousand Miles of Ice...¡±

    In less than a minute, Lin Li released over 100 Thousand Miles of Ice consecutively using his almost limitless mental strength and insane way of condensing chants. While a single Thousand Miles of Ice was nothing to the Crimson Dragon, over 100 of them stacked together brought about such a sharp decrease in temperature that its me Domain fell apart in an instant.

    The sudden drop in temperature caused the slowly flowing goldenva to cease and turn into ck igneous rocks. Not only did the cave lose its heat, but the solidifying of theva and the mes being extinguished also caused the cave to plunge into darkness.

    As the Wyrm was incredibly hardy, the bite of mana did not cause much harm to it, but the damage caused by the destruction of its Magical Domain was something that even a Wyrm could not take. As the me Domain was destroyed, the Crimson Dragon whimpered, and the chains on its fleshy wings rattled sadly.

    Lin Li was aware that this would notst long, as only theva¡¯s surface was hardened. The fire element would soon regain its position as the dominant element, and given the Crimson Dragon¡¯s ability, it would only need a short while to recover from the damage. However, even an instant was enough as the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness spread out immediately, looming over the Crimson Dragon as it did so.

 Chapter 496 - Endless Frost Seal

    <h4>Chapter 496: Endless Frost Seal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As Lin Li hovered opposite the Crimson Dragon, snowkes fell slowly and formed a thickyer over the ck stone tform in the blink of an eye. Beyond the ck stone tform, even though theva had already hardened into rocks, the snowkes that fell upon it still could not survive as they were turned into steam immediately, forming a thickyer of steam around the ck stone tform.

    The Crimson Dragon howled as it struggled, its cries deafeningly loud as they shook up the world. How it wished that time would stop for a second so that it could recover from the damage it¡¯d suffered, but unfortunately, time continued to pass like the most cruel curse, taking away its life as it did so...

    Lin Li would not have mercy now. While he did not know how Osric had managed to make this Crimson Dragon work as a ve here, he did know that as the descendant of a Dragon Aspect, it would not swallow its pride to submit to him and take him as the owner or anything like that.

    It wasn¡¯t the Angels of Light and Dark that Connoris had started bing familiar with that appeared next to Lin Li now. It was a ck-robed freak that carried a sickle and wore a wide-brimmed hat that hid his face. While there was only one, it was so massive that it was nearly as big as the Crimson Dragon.

    Connoris, who could not contain his curiosity, asked, ¡°Hey, where did your bird people go? What¡¯s this?¡±

    Lin Li raised his eyebrow lightly and smiled. ¡°This? I call him the Bearer of Death.¡±

    The Bearer of Death waved his sickle and dived towards the Crimson Dragon, slitting its throat using the sickle. However, there was no wound when he did so, and only a blurry shadow was drawn out by the sickle. That was the soul of the Crimson Dragon. With a pounce, the Bearer of Death gulped down the soul of the Crimson Dragon before it dissipated into the Magical Domain.

    ¡°You learned... this from Mephistos, right? Can¡¯t believe you actually manage to tire out the Crimson Dragon,¡± Connoris said with a tinge of awe in his voice.

    ¡°Tire out? It wouldn¡¯t be tired out even if we carried this on for another two months,¡± Lin Li said as he looked at the carcass of the Crimson Dragon gleefully, not bothering to tell Connoris what was the true reason behind it. It was quite simple, actually. He was not just a mage, but an all-around master who was at least of a Master level in fields like potions, forging, mageweaths, and alchemy. Nobody knew magical element theories like he did.

    After elements were sequenced and the magic was released, the elements that resulted in the magic would be released again after the restraints were lifted. This endless cycle of recycling of elements allowed mages to have a never-ending supply of elements to use. Otherwise, there would be a great imbnce in magical elements if mages generally preferred a certain elemental magic.

    However, the magical elements that had just taken part in releasing a magic spell would be inert for a period, and only after this period passed could these magical elements join the elemental sequencing again to release magic. As the fire element was the most violent, fire element magic had always been regarded as the most powerful of all, but few knew that fire element also had the longest inert period after taking part in releasing a spell.

    Lin Li kept using ice element magic to provoke the Crimson Dragon and circled it intentionally while using magic seemingly aimlessly to intercept the Crimson Dragon¡¯s magic. If all the spots at which the Crimson Dragon¡¯s spells ended were marked, one would realize that they formed a hemisphere around the Crimson Dragon. The Crimson Dragon was unable to leave, and was at the center of a hemisphere formed by inert fire element which hindered the entrance of active fire elements. This made casting spells increasingly difficult and lessened the suppressive effect it had on Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain.

    Hence, Lin Li took the chance and used over 100 Thousand Miles of Ice to suppress the surround fire element as best as he could before unleashing his Frost Domain to destroy the Crimson Dragon¡¯s Frost Domain. Then, he used the Bearer of Death to swallow its soul.

    While it sounded simple, nobody besides Lin Li would be able to aplish this even if they knew of this method. It was easy to understand the nature of the fire element inert period and set up a trap aiming for it. This was all knowledge that could be learned and replicated, but there was one thing that nobody else could replicate. That was to cast the Thousand Miles of Ice over 100 times in less than a minute.

    The inert period of fire element would notst forever, and if one was not able to create an environment that was advantageous to themselves before the inert period of the fire element ended, then all of this was empty talk. Only Lin Li was able to cast so many Thousand Miles of Ice in such a short time using his insane mental strength and create an environment that was ideal for his Frost Domain.

    Connoris was right regarding the part about devouring the Crimson Dragon¡¯s soul, however. While it was not Mephistos who taught him that, Lin Li did learn it from him. The Lord of Souls soul fragment was sealed in the Summoning Lamp, anyway, and thus it was easy to retrieve information from it. The main reason why he chose to kill the Crimson Dragon by having its soul devoured was because he did not want to lose the valuable dragon blood. In such an environment that was densely filled with fire element, the dragon¡¯s blood would instantly be swallowed by the fire element before Lin Li could contain it in a sk.

    ¡°This Crimson Dragon¡¯s body is a real treasure, don¡¯t waste it!¡± Connoris was not bothered by the fact that he did not receive a reply from Lin Li, once again being in awe of Lin Li¡¯s luck.

    ¡°Duh. Why else do you think I went to such great trouble to deal with it?¡± Lin Li stretched out his hand to tap at the Crimson Dragon¡¯s body. This was a priceless treasure indeed, and it was a blessing for it to end up in Lin Li¡¯s hands. If it were tond in someone else¡¯s hands, one mistake in handling it would have been a great insult to something so valuable. Only someone like him who was a Master in almost every profession there was could skin and debone the Crimson Dragon¡¯s carcass properly without damaging it.

    Lin Li was not exaggerating at all. As the Crimson Dragon¡¯s carcass was very valuable, the methods needed to process the carcass properly were also very specific. It was not as easy as simply butchering a pig. He circled the carcass delightedly as he already started nning what he was going to do with it, deciding which parts would be best used to make potions, and which would be best used as ingredients for mageweaths or magical enchantments.

    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking? You¡¯re thinking that only you¡¯re able to make full use of this based on your capabilities, and that only in your hands would this not go to waste, right?¡± Connoris said with a tinge of mockery in his voice.

    Lin Li stopped before saying, ¡°Why, am I wrong?¡± He did not think that anyone else in the world was more resourceful and knowledgeable than he was. Even if someone were to learn about every field, could they reach the level of a Master like he had? The only way he managed to be a Master at every aspect was thanks to the heaven-defying scroll of Wishes.

    ¡°I knew it. Well, it¡¯s just tearing things into pieces; how much better do you think you can dopared to someone else?¡± Connoris responded condescendingly instead.

    ¡°You mean that you have a better idea?¡± Lin Li had always been quick to lower his stance as long as he had something to gain from it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a Humerus Wyrm sealed in that Summoning Lamp? It was quite a decent helper to you in the past, but it has be increasingly obsolete now. It is still a Humerus Wyrm, though, and after losing the powerful body of the dragon it also lost much of its power and all its potential to evolve. Now that you have the Crimson Dragon¡¯s body, things will change.¡± Lin Li did not have to press further now, as Connoris would willingly offer any information that¡¯d benefit Lin Li now. This was because he understood Lin Li¡¯s personality very well after spending so much time together.

    It was no use forcing him or threatening him for help. Only if you willingly helped him and had Lin Li owe you a favor would he be forced to keep your matters in mind. This was what Connoris concluded after spending time with Lin Li.

    It was all very simple indeed. If you wanted others to respect you, then you had to learn to respect others first. It was something easy to understand, yet not many were capable of actually doing it.

    ¡°What do you mean? You...¡± Lin Li was taken aback, and quickly asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying that the Humerus Wyrm can take on another body?¡±

    The truth was exactly like what Connoris had said. While the Humerus Wyrm sealed in the Summoning Lamp was a level-20, it was not very useful in a situation like the one earlier. The Humerus Wyrm¡¯s level did not reflect its power as it did not have the protection of scales and the powerful strength that a fleshly body would have. It was merely a rack of bones, or perhaps like an erged Skeletal Warrior.

    Hence, it was kind of tricky to use the Humerus Wyrm now. It was not of much help, yet it pained Lin Li to see it destroyed¡ªa level-20 Humerus Wyrm was hard toe by, after all. But if he were to keep it and not use it, wouldn¡¯t it be as good as not having it?

    ¡°Of course!¡± Connoris said proudly. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I used to be an ancient deity. The magic we used then is far beyond what you can imagine now. It is nothing much to transfer a creature¡¯s soul into another body. Why else do you think I asked for you help in creating a new body?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then what do I do now?¡± Lin Li¡¯s interest was piqued, for even though the Humerus Wyrm was intimidating, it did not have a good image. If he were to pose as the reincarnation of the Holy Light in the Brilliance Shrine, it would not look good on him. It would be much grander if he could summon a real dragon, but a Wyrm was too proud to sign a servant contract with a human, and thus giving a Humerus Wyrm a dragon¡¯s body was the next best thing he could do.

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple and you don¡¯t have to do anything. Just hand the Humerus Wyrm and the Crimson Dragon to me and I¡¯ll see to it. Just wait until you can summon a real Crimson Dragon to scare others,¡± Connoris said confidently while he thought to himself that this would be preparation for himself in the future.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave it to you, then.¡± Lin Li removed the chains on the Crimson Dragon before cing the whole carcass into the Ring of Endless Storm. He did not discard the chains, for they could shackle a Wyrm, and thus had to be made of high-quality materials.

    Lin Li nced around and saw that there was nothing more that he could take; thus, he stomped on the ck stone tform beneath him indignantly. It was capable of turning the Crimson Dragon¡¯s power into a power source for the magical traps in the whole underground pce, so it had to be made of expensive materials too.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The entire tform was ced into the Ring of Endless Storm, and theva immediately flowed out in its ce, creating a majestic whirlpool ofva.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t let anything of the tiniest bit of value go, do you?¡± Connoris could not bear to watch this anymore. This kid was worth millions; he had the Eternal Furnace and the Pce of Darkness, and there were so many treasures waiting to be collected in this underground pce, yet he had to take this stone tform too.

    ¡°Without the Crimson Dragon, the magical traps here would be useless. It will be a waste to leave this tform here then, and it¡¯s a shame to be wasteful. Since I can take it away, it might be of use in the future,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly as he flew towards the entrance of the cave.

    ¡°Fine. There¡¯s nobody here now, but don¡¯t do this in front of anyone in the future. It¡¯s too embarrassing!¡± Connoris could not help but feel embarrassed for Lin Li. <i>What do you mean it¡¯s a shame to be wasteful? Are you that broke? Why do you have to take everything from this ce?</i>

    ¡°Who cares what others think as long as I get what I want?¡± Lin Li pursed his lips in annoyance.

    Lin Li returned to the basement filled with junk after going along the secret tunnel. Ujfalusi and Norfeller hurriedly rushed to wee their master when they saw him emerge from the secret tunnel. One of the had a blood-oath with him, while the other had a Soul Contract, so the magical wave that came from the secret door nearly scared them out of their minds.

    ¡°What happened to the two of you...?¡± Lin Li was in shock too as Ujfalusi and Norfeller looked somewhat disheveled. Their clothes had many tears, and the stuff that littered the basement seemed to have been swept by a typhoon.

    ¡°Master, we don¡¯t know what happened, either. We were attacked not long after that strong magical wave disappeared,¡± Ujfalusi said with a confused face.

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Lin Li immediately knew that this was yet another sinister trapid by Osric. Since somebody had destroyed the main power source on the inside, then there¡¯d be another one-time attack by the other traps outside to take the people waiting there by surprise. Ujfalusi was nearly Legendary, while Norfeller triumphed in his speed; hence, while the trap left them a little disheveled, it did not cause them much harm. If it were arge group of men searching this underground pce, then the losses would be serious.

 Chapter 497 - Polar Snow and Raging Flames

    <h4>Chapter 497: Pr Snow and Raging mes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Now that the magical trap had been destroyed, there was nothing else in this underground pce besides Rodhart that could stop Lin Li from taking whatever he wanted, and nobody knew if Rodhart was alive or dead. As Lin Li left the basement with his two Undead servants, the underground pce looked nothing like it had before.

    Firstly, all of the lights had dimmed, and without light, the underground pce was plunged into darkness. It seemed like these magicalmps were also powered by the Crimson Dragon which was the core energy source. It was easy to understand why it looked so dim as though it wascking energy before. Anyone would struggle at first if they were captured and then their fight would gradually die down, and if anyone touched the trap, then there would be a way for them to stimte the trap to start working.

    Even though they knew that their master had destroyed the magical traps¡¯ mechanism, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were still shocked when they saw the situation in the pce. It seemed like many of the magical traps had been activated as the locations of all the traps were revealed. It did not feel like much to them when they were in the basement, but now that they were looking at it, they could not help the chill that ran down their spines.

    Now, everything they were looking at was theirs! Nobody would mind getting too much money, and even though Lin Li had already gained a lot from the Throne of Darkness, he was still in a good mood to have anotherrge sum of money going into his pockets.

    As he had already scanned the ce using a Warlock¡¯s Eyes previously, Lin Li knew where everything was located, and thus he did not have to search any further. He merely led his two servants around from ce to ce, gathering everything they saw and cing it in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    He could contain the entire underground pce with the Ring of Endless Storm, much less just the treasures. However, Lin Li was not that in need of money, and thus he decided to have mercy and leave the underground pce whole. The same could not be said for the things that he could move; not even a chair was spared as everything went into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller were servants, and thus could notment much on what their master was doing. On the other hand, Connoris had had enough, and was screaming in Lin Li¡¯s mind by now. ¡°Hey kid, you¡¯re too much! How is that chair of value to you?¡±

    ¡°What do you know? This is an antique. Do you know how much Elven-style furniture is worth on the market?¡± Lin Li casually pocketed a bookshelf, and just like that he emptied yet another house.

    ¡°Are you short of that money?¡± Connoris asked incredulously.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was going to sell it. Anyway, the Tower of Dusk needs this furniture, so I might as well let them use it. Which other Guild of Magic would be able to use only Elven-style furniture like us?¡± Lin Li replied delightedly.

    Lin Li did not think much of it at first, as he simply wanted to collect everything he saw. Besides, the furniture was very beautiful, so it would be a waste to leave it here anyway. However, after he gave Connoris a few patronizing replies, he realized that his idea was in fact a pretty decent one. If he wanted to attract more mages to join the Tower of Dusk, then he not only had to provide them with impable magical equipment and precious potions, he also had to make sure that their learning environment wasfortable.

    That was especially the case for a Guild of Magic, which was actually a very loose organization as opposed to a closely knit one. If he wanted to increase the mages¡¯ sense of belonging, then just providing them with material benefits was not enough¡ªbuilding upon their mental well-being was important too, hence why having a Legendary-mage as the president was so influential: it meant that joining would give them a chance to be taught by a Legendary-mage. Having an elegant environment was also important for the mages as it would soothe their minds and increase their productivity at work.

    Even though the High Elves were cruel dictators and were overthrown by humans as a result, nobody could refute the fact that they had an understanding of the word ¡°elegance¡± like no other. Every artifact left behind by the High Elves was a masterpiece highly valued by everyone. Many people, even mages, thought that owning a piece of Elven-style furniture was something to be proud of.

    Now, if all the furniture used in the Tower of Dusk was of the Elven-style, it would be a lethal temptation to many mages. Nobody would refuse an elegant environment to work and learn in, and when they truly liked a ce, that was when they¡¯d start to develop a sense of belonging.

    ¡°Alright, you always have a reason for things.¡± Connoris admitted defeat. Nobody knew that he was with this fellow anyway, and even if it was embarrassing, it had nothing to do with Connoris.

    Various precious magical ingredients, powerful magical equipment, and the lost chants that were written in the High Elves Print were all collected and ced in the Ring of Endless Storm. Lin Li was like a locust swarm, devouring everything he could without leaving a single thing behind. Well, he had taken over the entire Throne of Darkness back in the Abyss of Tharlen, so he was actually showing Osric respect by leaving the underground pce be.

    After taking away everything, Lin Li led his two servants back to that wall again. Even after taking all that he had taken, it was the things here that were of the most value to Lin Li.

    Lin Li stretched out his hand and pressed a Magic-resistant Gem. When he took his hand away, the Magic-resistant Gem bounced off the wall. He gave a slight nod of his head before he told Norfeller, ¡°See what I did just now? Take all these stones off.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Norfeller¡¯s figure swerved, and a blurry figure could be seen gliding around the wall, apanied by the sound of the Magic-resistant Gems bouncing off. He returned to Lin Li¡¯s side and handed over the bag filled with Magic-resistant Gem, the wall behind him bare save for the hundreds of holes that were once outfitted with Magic-resistant Gems.

    Lin Li tapped the wall with his hands. These Magic-resistant Gems were no less valuable than the things he had collected earlier, but what could there be behind this wall? Without the Magic-resistant Gems, the powerful aura that seeped through the wall seemed even more powerful than that of the Crimson Dragon. Lin Li was not afraid, however. He even felt a sense of familiarity from that powerful strength.

    ¡°You sure you want to knock down this wall?¡± Connoris asked with a bit of worry.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller could not hear Connoris, but they were thinking the same thing as they looked at Lin Li questioningly. The energy waves that came from the other side made them tremble uncontrobly as they were well aware of the fact that they were incredibly insignificant in front of this powerful strength.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do,¡± Lin Li said as he waved and cast a spell. The once hardy wall was now incredibly weak without the Magic-resistant Gems. With just a simple spell, the wall fell as easily as shattered ss. As the wall copsed, it revealed a 1000 years old secret.

    What appeared before Lin Li and the rest was a ce much more spacious than the underground cave that the Crimson Dragon was in. It was also a world that made everyone feel strange. There were frozen mes and burning snow; it was a world of fire and ice whererge blocks of ice floated inva. The two extreme forces were in conflict with each other as they continued to oppose each other, yet they were reborn again and again. They repeatedly suppressed each other, but strangely enough, none of them gained the upper hand.

    ¡°This is...¡± Even Connoris was stunned. Two forces that could not coexist with each other but were trapped in the same ce... What exactly was this Osric thinking?

    Lin Li lifted his head, only to see a stream of blue and a stream of red light zip across the sky, sometimes entangled with each other as they took turns to y catch.

    No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity from here. Lin Li was now sure that the two streams of light that were chasing after each other were two of the seven pieces of debris of the stars¡ªthe Pr Snow which represented the water element and the Raging mes which represented the fire element.

    That was right, that was it¡ªthe Pr Snow and Raging mes! Lin Li¡¯s feelings were indescribable as he was shocked that the Pr Snow and the Raging mes would be here. He was also trying to contain his emotions and felt a hint of nostalgia upon seeing them. He had once been in possession of them when he was still in another world. Now that he was seeing them again, he was already a true mage.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained the basic elemental Rules that the world was constructed of. Pr Snow and Raging mes were also the two most powerful pieces of them. The Pr Snow contained the water elemental Rule, and as water had no fixed shape, the Pr Snow could take on many different forms. It could turn into tidal floods and swallow the earth, or be invisible frost to freeze up everything in the world. The Raging mes contained the fire elemental Rule and was violent, using its strength to sweep through everything, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

    As the Pr Snow and the Raging mes were two of his favorite pieces of the debris of the stars, many powerful magical beasts in the Endless World had died a horrible death to them. He had aplished the highest-paying mission back in the Endless World thanks to the Pr Snow and Raging mes, leaving behind a legend as he did so.

    While others thought that he had finished the mission with a tinge of a legendary vor, Lin Li thought that there was much more he could have improved on.

    It had been a fight with a Magma Python that lived in the deeper parts of a volcano. As it lived in a scalding environment, it not only had powerful physical strength, but was also gifted with fire element magic of all kinds. Having spent years in magma, it was also covered by a hardyyer of crystallized armor, which not only protected it from ordinary weapons, but also made it very resistant to magic. Even striking at it with full force using a magical weapon could not break through the Magma Python¡¯s defenses.

    For some reason, the Magma Python had left the volcano it lived in, and Bright Moon City at the foot of the mountain was turned into a sea of fire overnight as the Magma Python crazily attacked everything in its sight. Not even the gamers¡¯ organizations and the city militia could stop the Magma Python¡¯s attacks, and so the casten announced an unprecedented mission reward of 1,000,000 gold coins to the person who killed the Magma Python in order to protect the city.

    Lin Li had just emerged from the Well of the Sun then. In order to obtain the legendary weapon, the Stars of Fury, he had devoted all his assets, so when he saw the mission announced by Bright Moon City, he was tempted as the huge reward was a timely financial aid for him. He rushed overnight to reach the city engulfed in mes and faced the Magma Python alone. While everyone thought that he was going to meet his death, he had taken down the Magma Python that left everybody helpless with just a strike from the Pr Snow and the Raging mes, making it disappear in a puff of smoke in an instant.

    While others thought that it was a legendary feat, Lin Li thought that it was far from one. The Pr Snow and the Raging mes were so incredibly powerful that that was hardly a fight at all as there was no danger in it whatever.

    The Pr Snow could take on countless forms, while the Raging mes was capable of burning down everything. Once Lin Li had both of these pieces of the debris of the stars, his power would increase tremendously, marking an otherworldly difference. After all, just one strike of the Pr Snow and the Raging mes wiped out the Magma Python that not even its bones were left.

    Even though Lin Li did not have the Stars of Fury now, and could not maximize the effect of the two pieces of the debris of the stars, he still had the light and dark pieces of the debris of the stars, and that was usually enough to make other Legendary powerhouses avoid him.

    Actually, the most important thing to Lin Li now was not to use these pieces of the debris of the stars as a weapon. He was, after all, no longer the hunter from the game, but a true mage. The most important thing for him now was to understand and use the elemental Rules, and the pieces of the debris of the stars were brimming with the purest elemental Rules.

    Lin Li had understood the darkness and light Rules from the Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light, and even though it was only a shallow understanding, he had been able to use the Gloomy Dark and Holy Light to create a Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness. With that Magical Domain, he was able to take down a powerful opponent like the Lord of Darkness even though he had just entered the Legendary-realm.

    A Magical Domain¡¯s power was not determined by its purity, as too extreme of one kind of power would only result in one losing the others. Hence, the most powerful Magical Domain in the eyes of mages was the world they lived in. It was thus every mage¡¯s dream to create a Magical Domain as close to the world as possible.

    However, it required an incrediblyrge amount of effort for a mage to understand every Rule, and it required luck as well. It was hard to even understand, much less master, even one of the seven Rules that governed the world of Anril, so who could master all seven of them? Hence, creating a Magical Domain that wasparable to the real world was still something that only existed in theory.

    Lin Li did not know whether humans were capable of creating the world, and he did not bother thinking that far, either. What he knew was that now that he would once again be in possession of the Pr Snow and the Raging mes, he could use their strength to understand the water and fire elemental Rules and make his Magical Domain even more powerful.

 Chapter 498 - Natural Magical Domain

    <h4>Chapter 498: Natural Magical Domain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness that Lin Li had created, the frost Rule was the one that he had truly mastered, and it was also the one that he had based his Magical Domain on. The other two Rules, light and darkness, were only there because he had external aid, and he could only depend on the frost Rule to form the Magical Domain.

    As the frost Rule was a secondary Rule derived from the water Rule, ts power was limited aspared to the seven basic rules. Amongst the three Rules that the frost, light, and darkness Magical Domain was constructed of, the frost Rule could be said to be a short board of the Magical Domain.

    However, once he had gotten hold of the Pr Snow, he would be able to use the power it contained to perfect the frost Rule and even transform it into the primary and original form of water elemental Rule. Ultimately, he would be able to turn his Frost Domain into a Water Domain.

    As a Legendary-mage, Lin Li knew very well what a Magical Domain created from a primary Rule entailed. Hence, all the Magical Domains created from secondary Rules would lose their purpose to him.

    Every mage knew that the different elements had a suppressing effect on each other, but this was not an absolute. In the fight with the Crimson Dragon, for example, it should have been the water element suppressing the fire element, yet the water element had no chance of truly retaliating. If not because he had fashioned an area of inert fire element, there would have been no opportunity for him to unleash his Frost Domain.

    However, a secondary Rule and a primary Rule had a rtionship like that of a master and a servant, a rtionship that would not change no matter how powerful either of the Rules was. A secondary Rule that was derived from a primary Rule would always have to submit to a primary Rule no matter how powerful it was.

    Which was to say, when Lin Li was able to create a Water Domain, all the Legendary-mages with a Frost Domain would have to submit to him no matter how powerful they were. Besides, due to the poprity of ice element magic in this world, many mages would choose to create a Frost Domain after they reached the Legendary-realm.

    As for the other piece of the debris of the stars, the Raging mes, Lin Li could use it to create a me Domain, and with Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light, he would be able to create a Magical Domain that consisted of four primary Rules. Anril was only made out of seven primary Rules, and he had four now; while he could not be certain if he would be able to create a world of his own, a Magical Domain that consisted of four primary Rules was already pretty close to the real world.

    Be it the suppressing effect that elements had on each other or the rtionship between primary and secondary Rules, with the four primary rules he possessed, Lin Li was now capable of dealing with Legendary-mages who were level-22 or level-23 without any problems. Such was the reality of Legendary-mages¡ªthey no longerpeted in terms of strength, but in their understanding of the Rules in this world.

    Hence, it was of utmost importance for Lin Li to obtain these two pieces of the debris of the stars. Nobody would refuse to be stronger, just like nobody would refuse riches. Moreover, based on the information he got from Tutankhamun, he would have to save the world in another couple of years.

    However, the sight before him was somewhat strange as the Pr Snow and Raging mes were not sitting there quietly, waiting for him to collect them. Instead, they had turned into two streams of light chasing each other in the sky like children ying together. This was hard to believe as they were of opposing natures; the Pr Snow and the Raging mes were just like the Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light. The Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light would fight each other to death if they met, and the Pr Snow and Raging mes should not be much better. Looking at this now, however, it seemed that the Pr Snow and the Raging mes hadpletely abandoned their nature.

    The surroundings were even more peculiar as burning mes and chilling cold seemed to coexist perfectly in this strange world despite being of opposing natures. Lin Li could even feel that the water element and the fire element in this world were so high in terms of purity that they were well on the way to form a Magical Domain.

    <i>Natural... A naturally urring Magical Domain!</i> Lin Li was taken aback; even Geresco appearing before him would not make him feel so surprised. A naturally urring Magical Domain? Perhaps nobody in Anril had witnessed something like that, much less him. Even people who had not learned magic would know that water and fire opposed each other just like light and darkness. For them to coexist, there had to be a third element to serve as a mediator. Usually, it would be the earth or the wind element for water and fire, while it would usually be chaos for light and darkness.

    Without the mediating element, the opposing elements would definitely not be able to coexist, and the consequences of forcing them to would be unthinkable. There was a very powerful magical trap that forced two opposing magical elements together but kept them separated using some method. When the trap was activated, one could finish off a Magic Shooter using just a very simple spell that made use of magical elements. However, due to the danger and difficulty of forcing two opposing magical elements together, anybody had yet to be able to create a magical trap capable of killing an Archmage.

    If the world before him where fire and water coexisted was a magical trap, then an explosion of this trap would wipe out the whole Dragon Mountains, or even the whole Breezy ins. Not even Lin Li, a Legendary-mage, or a Sanctuary Master would be spared from being blown into the tiniest specks of dust.

    The good thing was that Lin Li could tell that even without a mediating element, both the fire and water elements were coexisting in harmony, with no trace of a conflict at all; hence, there was no need to worry.

    However, it was the very fact that he did not need to worry about an impending explosion that made Lin Li even more curious as to what could be capable of leading to this phenomenon before him. How did something allow two opposing elements to form a naturally urring Magical Domain? This was like a miracle! Or perhaps, it <i>was </i>a miracle! This was something that even the Dragon Aspect that mastered the primary Rules was not capable of.

    Everyone knew that a Magical Domain represented the peak of magic, and thus only the powerful Legendary-mages would be able to possess one. This was because a Magical Domain was created with powerful magic by a Legendary-mage after they understood the Rules of the world.

    The God of Mages Geresco had once said that what a mage asked for in their life was simply to understand the truth of the world.

    The truth was that a human¡¯s power was limited, and no matter how he trained and became physically strong, he would still be unable to escape the inborn constraints. A Warrior trained his Combat Energy, while a Mage trained his magic, but this was just like how a human trained his physical strength¡ªhe would still be unable to escape his bodily constraints.

    In order to do things that they were not physically capable of, humans, or perhaps intelligent life, learned to make use of tools to aid them in aplishing their goals¡ªjust like the goblins who managed to create the Alchemy Colossus without the talent for magic nor physical strength.

    The only way mages could escape the constraints of their body and achieve greater strength was to learn to use the power of Rules. No matter how powerful their magical equipment, even if it was able to raise their abilities by over 100 times, it was still limited. Hence, only by understanding the truth of the world and knowing how to use the Rules of the world could one be a true Legendary-mage.

    A Legendary-mage and an Archmage differed not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of their understanding and use of the truth and the Rules of the world. While 10 Magic Shooters might defeat an Archmage, 10 Archmages were nothing in front of a bona fide Legendary-mage. This was because while an Archmage and a Magic Shooter were worlds apart in terms of strength, they both had the same superficial understanding in terms of the usage of Rules, and only wielded their strength ording to prescribed rules.

    A Legendary-mage was different in that they were able to use the Rules of the world ording to their understanding of the truth of the world. Their opponent faced not just the strength of one human, but also the strength of the Rules and the strength of the world. This was not a gap that could be made up for using numbers¡ª10 Archmages just would not make the cut, and not even 100 of them would.

    Take Lin Li for example. After he unleashed his Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness, he was able to create Angels of Light and Dark that were eachparable to an Archmage. 100 of these Angels of Light and Dark were equivalent to 100 Archmages; moreover, they were not at risk of being injured or dying. Such was a Legendary-mage¡ªhe was not actually a human now, but someone who had already stepped into the realm of the deities and spirits, someone who was able tomand the strength of the world at his will.

    Nobody apart from a Legendary-mage¡ªno matter if it was the most powerful Sword Sage or the most powerful magical beast, even if it was one that had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm¡ªwould be able to possess a true Magical Domain. Perhaps they could use their Combat Energy or mana to replicate a Magical Domain, but the power it held would be much less than that of a true Magical Domain, and it would cost them an unimaginable amount of mana or Combat Energy every second. Hence, no Sword Sage or magical beast would be willing to do something like that unless they really had to.

    The requirements to create a Magical Domain were unusually strict; hence, it was unusual for there to be naturally urring Magical Domains, much less one that was created from two opposing elements.

    The sight before Lin Li stunned him as even though he was a Master or a Guru in many aspects, he was unable to exin the phenomenon. This was something that went against everything he knew and everything that thews of nature stood for. It was hard to exin what was going on here with the knowledge he had.

    Looking at the two streams of light that continued to y tag in the sky, Lin Li could only silently associate all of this with the Pr Snow and the Raging mes. They both represented the most primary water and fire Rules, respectively, and nobody knew how long they had coexisted in this ce. While he could not find any theory to back this, it did not seem all that impossible to attribute everything he saw to the creation of the Pr Snow and the Raging mes.

    While they were both opposing elemental Rules, fire and water had a different rtionship from that between light and darkness. Light and darkness opposed each other in the sense that only one of them could exist at any one point in the same ce. In the presence of darkness, there could be no light; in the presence of light, darkness would cease to exist. Hence, shadows only existed in ces that light could not reach, and when light did, the shadows would disappear.

    However, water and fire were different. Rather than saying that they opposed each other, it would be more urate to say that they affected each other. Water could extinguish mes, but water element could not exterminate fire element, only suppressing the explosion thereof. While fire could dry out water, it could not exterminate water element, either, as it would only be able to change the form that the water element assumed.

    Hence, while these two elements appeared to oppose each other, it was, in fact, not impossible for them to coexist. Only, the fact that they could coexist did not mean that they would be able to create a Magical Domain; hence, with Lin Li¡¯s knowledge, he was still unable toe up with an exnation for the Magical Domain created from both water and fire elemental Rules.

    Anyway, no matter what the truthid out in front of him was, the most important thing was still to secure the Pr Snow and the Raging mes. As for the more profound reasoning and theories behind this phenomenon, that was something he could ponder another day.

    Lin Li closed his eyes slightly as he released arge amount of mental strength to feel this peculiar world. Even though he had a Magical Domain that consisted of three Rules, he still could not help but be moved by the strength contained in this world.

    <i>This is a Magical Domain created from primary Rules! </i>He was in silent awe. A Magical Domain created from two primary Rules still held such strength that it made him fear it for some reason even though it was not controlled by anyone.

    Even Connoris, who always maintained that there was nothing he did not know, was in shock at this miracle. Having lived for thousands of years, he still could not recall anything like this in his memory. Nowhere else in Anril could there be a naturally urring Magical Domain. God created a massive and wless Magical Domain that was Anril, and only God could create a miracle like the one before their eyes.

    ¡°Hey, what are you going to do next?¡± Connoris asked Lin Li somewhat sheepishly.

    Was there a need to ask? Of course, Connoris knew what was the next step: it was to obtain the magical weapons¡ªthe two streams of light in the sky. Even though he did not know about the debris of the stars, but with his incredible sensitivity to strength, he could clearly tell that the two streams of light in the sky that appeared to have a life of their own were not magical beasts, but two very powerful magical weapons.

    ording to his predictions, while the two magical weapons had yet to reveal their true from, they were no less powerful than the Titan Dragon Spear used during the prehistoric times, a magical weapon that was hard toe by, yet there were even two of them here. He was really insanely jealous of Lin Li¡¯s luck.

 Chapter 499 - Hesitation

    <h4>Chapter 499: Hesitation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, the question of how to collect magical weapons that were as powerful as these two was something that haunted Connoris since the start. He was sheepish because if Lin Li were to ask him how he was going to collect these magical weapons, he would not know how to answer him. He was the all-knowing Soul Trader, yet today alone he hade across too many things that he did not know. This would be terrible for his reputation if it continued.

    Connoris did not know that Lin Li did not have to ask him how to collect the Pr Snow and the Raging mes. He¡¯d once been the owner of the seven debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, after all, so nobody knew the two pieces of the debris of the stars better than him in this world. It was nothing for him to collect them. He had managed to collect all these legendary weapons back when they had formed aplete world in the Well of the Sun, much less just a naturally urring Magical Domain formed from just the Pr Snow and the Raging mes.

    ¡°Oh? You can tell that these are magical weapons.¡± Lin Li did not hurry, and merely frowned slightly as though there was nothing he could not achieve in the world.

    ¡°Nothing in this world can escape my eyes.¡± Connoris started tooting his own horn out of habit before continuing, ¡°In my opinion these two magical weapons are no less powerful than the Titan Dragon Spear from the prehistoric times, and if you were to really collect them, then you¡¯ll really have it all. Unfortunately, if it was the Titan Dragon Spear, I would be able to help you, but these two... Oh right, do you know what the Titan Dragon Spear is? That was the weapon the Titans used to kill the Wyrms¡ª¡±

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m talking about the present, so why are you talking about the Titan Dragon Spear?¡± Lin Li said, annoyed.

    Connoris was silent for a while, defeated, before he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just say it. Even though I can tell that these are powerful magical weapons, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy to collect them, and I don¡¯t have any idea how to do so, either. So, I would suggest you give it up since it¡¯s not very likely for you to be able to ovee the strength of these magical weapons to subdue them, and you might even be wounded by them.¡±

    Connoris could not think of any method to collect them, and did not think that Lin Li would do better, either. He was an ancient deity that had lived for thousands of years, after all, and no matter how gifted Lin Li was, he just had not seen as much as Connoris had. Now, he was worried that Lin Li would be too stubborn; while there was no one using these magical weapons, it did not look like they were just waiting to be collected, either.

    Lin Li could hear Connoris¡¯s concern, and thus heughed as he replied, ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about. There¡¯s something else.¡±

    Connoris did not calm down when he heard Lin Li. Instead, he became even more worried that something would happen to Lin Li and he would suffer along with him. He anxiously persuaded Lin Li in his mind. ¡°I know that everything has been going smoothly for you, and even if there were dangers, you managed to avoid them, which is why you think you have everything under your control now, but I have to emphasize that you are unable to suppress the power of these two magical weapons.¡±

    Connoris¡¯s nagging was incredulous to Lin Li; hence, he only repeated, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Am I someone who goes in without thinking? If I say that I know what to do, then I really do, so don¡¯t worry about that. I have another problem that I need you to give me ideas for. Maybe I will be able to solve it then.¡±

    The real problem to Lin Li was what he was going to do about this naturally urring Magical Domain after he was done collecting the Pr Snow and Raging mes. It was such a miracle that there might only be one such Magical Domain in the whole Anril, and if he were to bid it goodbye, it might be next to impossible to see another one like this again.

    It was a miracle because it was something possible only with the power of God, but it did not mean that it had to be the work of God. One thing for sure was that this could not possibly have been done by humans, because a naturally urring Magical Domain had very strict requirements that could not bepared with a Magical Domain created by a Legendary-mage.

    A Magical Domain created by a Legendary-mage could have different Rules, and as the Legendary-mage could serve as a mediator, these Rules did not have to exactly bnce out. As long as it was within the means of the Legendary-mage, the construction of the Magical Domain would not be affected even if one Rule was weaker or stronger than the others.

    It was just like how Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain created from frost, light, and darkness had three Rules that coexisted with each other. The frost Rule was the weakest, and while the light and darkness were primary Rules, they were opposing ones. In other circumstances, light and darkness could not coexist, but with Lin Li¡¯s powerful mental strength and his understanding and use of Rules, the three vastly different Rules were able to exist in wless harmony.

    It was different with natural Magical Domains as there was no Legendary-mage to serve as a mediator. It was like bncing on a thread; one imbnce could destroy the whole Magical Domain. There were too many factors that could affect the bnce in a natural environment. There were natural phenomena that could affect the bnce, and even a small fly could shatter that immacte bnce that was required to keep the Magical Domain intact.

    Hence, a natural Magical Domain was not something that was achievable by a human, and thus a miracle. But, even God might not be able to perfectly replicate this natural Magical Domain.

    This world where fire and water coexisted was probably the most well-bnced Magical Domain in the world as both the water and fire primary Rules were able to coexist so wlessly here. Even though arge part of it was due to the Pr Snow and the Raging mes, such wless harmony was already so impressive that even someone from the Sanctuary-realm might not be able to replicate it.

    As all of this was naturally formed without any interference from external factors, this could not simply be attributed to luck. A coincidence might result in a surprising incident, but who knew how many coincidences were needed to create such a naturally urring Magical Domain.

    And Lin Li had a gut feeling that if he were to leave the Pr Snow and the Raging mes here, this Magical Domain would one day evolve into aplete world, one where there were only two primary Rules: water and fire. By then, the Magical Domain would be steady on its own, and no external factor would be able to affect it. When Lin Li took the Pr Snow and the Raging mes then, it would not cause any damage to this Magical Domain, either.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li did not have the time to wait for that day toe based on the situation now. ording to Tutankhamun, he only had a couple of years or so, and in that short amount of time, he had to do all he could to increase his power. The Legendary-realm was simply not enough, and the Sanctuary-realm was only a minimum that he had to attain. If he wanted to be able to protect all he wanted to protect when the disaster struck Anril, then he could not hesitate in the least.

    He would not mind much even if he was not the savior, as it was not in his nature to hide when that day really came, either. It was hard to find an egg intact in a destroyed nest, after all, and if such a disaster befell Anril, it would not be possible for him to escape unscathed alone.

    Moreover, Lin Li had not attained the level of not having any worldly attachments, either. He hade from another world, and did not have any kin in Anril, while due to his pursuit of magic, he did not have a lover, either. However, be it the amateur pharmacist Andoine who¡¯d taught him magic when he¡¯d first arrived in Anril or Gerian, the bad-tempered fatty, or even the old fellow who took care of him after that, they held an important ce in his heart even though they were always rude to him when they spoke. If he was able to let these old fellows continue spending their days pondering over pharmaceutics, then what was a bit of hard work on his part?

    Since he had to do something anyway, why should he tire himself over a dilemma? He would only mess up everything if he were to refuse being the savior on one hand, while tiring himself out trying to save everyone on the other. There was nothing bad about being a savior to Lin Li, as it was a proper title anyway. A title that he could use to ask those old fellows for something in return. He was already the incarnation of the darkness in Sendros¡¯ eyes, and he could always use the Holy Light to pretend to be the Son of the Holy Light too¡ªonly a fool would reject such a good deal.

    Hence, Lin Li had to obtain the Pr Snow and the Raging mes as soon as he could no matter what. These were two incredibly powerful weapons, and were also the shortcut for him to understand more powerful primary Rules. There was also an even more important reason, and that was that he would now have four of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars along with the Gloomy Dark and the Holy Light, but it was not just the number that mattered.

    The truth was that back in the Demon Fall Valley at Jarrosus, when he had obtained the Holy Light in the underground pce, Lin Li had already had a peculiar feeling. He did not think that when he arrived in Anril, he would once again see the debris of the stars that he¡¯d once possessed. He did not think that he was once again in possession of the Holy Light just because of sheer luck, but rather that there was something leading him along.

    The feeling intensified when he came across the second piece of the debris of the stars, the Gloomy Dark, in the Scar of Death. Looking at the Pr Snow and the Raging mes now, Lin Li believed that he would soone to possess all seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury.

 Chapter 500 - Field Integration

    <h4>Chapter 500: Field Integration</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Until then, whether one held three or four pieces of the debris of the stars would be totally different situation. No one could guarantee whether Stars of Fury and the remaining three pieces of the debris of the stars would be quietly lying around at some corner, waiting for collection just like Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, and Raging mes. Maybe they were in the hands of a powerful opponent, whereas he needed to exhaust all his knowledge and experience from the Endless World to obtain them.

    It was imperative to collect Raging mes and Pr Snow, but the collection of these two would certainly lead to the destruction of the entire natural Magical Domain. For a natural wonder with such uncanny craftsmanship, Lin Li couldn¡¯t bear to destroy it sopletely. It was an utter sin for a mage like Lin Li.

    ¡°Do you mean to take away those two magical weapons and also maintain this natural magical domain?¡± Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Connoris secretly cursed Lin Li for throwing such a conundrum at him. A hard problem like this was even more troublesome than collecting the two magical weapons.

    ¡°Yes, think about it. I could use something like those ancient demonic runes you¡¯ve given me back at the Throne of Darkness.¡± Lin Li suppressed his anxiety and tried to give Connoris some inspiration, be it useful or not.

    ¡°This is a divine ce! I am not a god...¡± Connoris felt extremely helpless, but he had no choice but to help. He could only rummage through all his memories, hoping to find a solution.

    ¡°What about that demonic runes from the Throne of Darkness? Is that useful here?¡± asked Lin Li.

    ¡°No, no! That Throne of Darkness was the Magical Domain created by the Dragon of Destruction for its clone, but since it¡¯s generally out of the sphere of Magical Domain and can be considered a magical item, it¡¯s totally different from this natural magical domain,¡± said Connoris. He was getting a headache from all this.

    ¡°Then what should we do? This may be the only natural magical domain in the whole Anril. Are we really going to destroy it with our hands?¡± said Lin Li regretfully as he stared at this bizarre water and fire world before him.

    Just then, an idea suddenly came to Connoris¡¯ mind. He said, ¡°How about we shift this natural magical domain inside the Eternal Furnace?¡±

    ¡°Shift it to the Eternal Furnace?¡± Lin Li contemted. It was indeed a way, but the difficulty of its execution was immense.

    Naturally urring Magical Domains weren¡¯t like the Throne of Darkness left behind by the Dragon of Destruction. The Throne of Darkness was sustained by the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s power and had already been formed way back in the Dark Age. Even after the fall of the Dragon of Destruction and disappearance of the Lord of Darkness, the Throne of Darkness still remained standing. This natural magical domain was different. It was a nearlyplete realm by itself. Pr Snow and Raging mes were the two core mantras and also the center of this realm. It was even right to say that they were the strongpoints of this entire realm. Once they were taken away, the entire realm would naturally copse as a result.

    Therefore, even if this natural magical domain was shifted to the Eternal Furnace, it would inevitably copse after Pr Snow and Raging mes were collected, unless one was powerful enough to create another strongpoint. However, Raging mes and Pr Snow were true artifacts representative of the powerful presence of the basic Rules of the water and fire worlds. Not to mention his current self, even if Lin Li could one day reach the Sanctuary-realm, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to create a new Raging mes and Pr Snow.

    Connoris felt that his thoughts were finally clear. He quickly said, ¡°Though we can¡¯t possibly create new strongpoints for this realm, we possess the Eternal Furnace and the fire wyrm¡¯s magical crystal...¡±

    Lin Li was stunned, and doubtfully asked, ¡°So what?¡±

    Judging from his tone, Connoris was pretty pleased with himself. He exined, ¡°Though fire wyrm¡¯s magical crystal isn¡¯t as powerful as Raging mes, it fundamentally disys the same fire elemental Rule. If you can get one more identical ice wyrm¡¯s magical crystal, maybe we can rece Pr Snow and Raging mes with them!¡±

    Lin Li shook his head andughed bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s an ancient fire wyrm¡¯s magical crystal! Ancient wyrms are all at least level-25 in strength. Do you think it¡¯s realistic for me to fight another ancient ice wyrm that¡¯s at least level-25 with my current abilities? Besides, even if I really killed a level-25 and above ancient ice wyrm and got its magical crystal, how do I ensure that these two magical crystals can reach a true equilibrium here? You should know that this is a natural magical domain! Other than Raging mes and Pr Snow, nothing can possibly maintain this absolute equilibrium.¡±

    Aware of Lin Li¡¯s doubts, Connoris wasn¡¯t dejected in the slightest. Instead, he smiled andmented, ¡°Heh heh, I¡¯ve thought of it already! There¡¯s no need for absolute equilibrium in the first ce, you just need a bit of time. Hmm, that¡¯s right, at most one second is enough.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How¡¯s that?¡± Lin Li was stunned by Connoris¡¯ words.

    Connoris asked, ¡°Do you remember what I told you before about shifting the Darkness Domain to the Eternal Furnace?¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and replied, ¡°I remember that, but we didn¡¯t have time for that since we got out of the Abyss of Tharlen.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know what¡¯s the most distinct feature of the Throne of Darkness, or in other words, the Darkness Domain?¡± Connoris continued to show off.

    ¡°Is it Engulfment?¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t annoyed by Connoris¡¯ showing off. As long as he could get what he wanted, it didn¡¯t hurt to satisfy Connoris¡¯ emotional needs.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s Engulfment.¡± Connoris was very pleased that Lin Li yed along. He continued, ¡°The most distinct feature of the Darkness Domain is Engulfment: the ability to engulf everything. No matter how powerful this natural magical domain is, as long as the Eternal Furnace can integrate the Darkness Domain, you can use that one second for the Darkness Domain to engulf itpletely. But after Engulfment...¡±

    Hearing that Connoris stopped all of a sudden, Lin Li asked, ¡°What happens after Engulfment?¡±

    As a mighty ancient deity who had lived for millions of years, to say that there was anything one didn¡¯t know was a total humiliation; at least the know-it-all Connoris thought so. Before this, he felt really embarrassed that he failed to recognize the magic gears beforehand. Later, he was even more ashamed and furious that he knew not how to collect the two powerful magical weapons.

    Now, it was finally time to prove himself. Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Connoris felt so at ease. He proudly replied, ¡°The Engulfment of the Darkness Domain is different from that of magical domains like fire and water. The aim of its Engulfment isn¡¯t destruction, but embrace.¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°I know about this. Go on.¡±

    Speaking of Engulfment, any type of magical domain was capable of some ability that could be considered Engulfment, just that the characteristics of each ability were different. For example, fire usedbustion as means to engulf things to enhance its own power. Meanwhile, water used infiltration as means of Engulfment. Be it horrendous floods or narrow streams, all of them were insidiously engulfed via infiltration. Wind used corrosion, and earth used burying. Every element had its own unique engulfment ability. However, under current circumstances, nothing was more suitable than Darkness Domain¡¯s Engulfment.

    Lin Li wanted to preserve this natural magical domain instead of destroying it to obtain its power. Thus, the all-embracing Engulfment of the Darkness Domain was the most suitable. To exin it roughly with a metaphor, when night fell and darkness loomed everywhere, did everything disappear in darkness? No, after darkness receded, everything was still there. Although this was only a metaphor which had many loopholes, it was good enough to show the all-embracing characteristic of the Darkness Domain.

    Lin Li had quite some knowledge about the engulfing abilities of each domain, especially that of the Darkness Domain. This was because he held onto the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark, which had helped him toprehend thews of darkness greatly. However, to use a magical domain to engulf another magical domain was something Lin Li had never done, and he found it quite hard to imagine. Therefore, how to engulf, what would happen after engulfment... such questions had to be answered by Connoris who gave him this suggestion.

    ¡°It will be remarkable after Engulfment! The natural magical domain willpletely integrate with the Eternal Furnace. That would be as good as the Darkness Domain!¡± The knowledgeable ancient deity Connoris was unable to contain his excitement just thinking about this.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li raised his eyebrows and wasn¡¯t too convinced. He said, ¡°But the Throne of Darkness is a magical domain created by the Dragon of Destruction...¡± What was the Dragon of Destruction? That was the Dragon Aspect of the Anril World! It held the purest power of thews of darkness, and stood at the top of the pyramid in this world. Although the Dragon of Destruction was killed by the Immortal King, that didn¡¯t mean that the Dragon of Destruction was weak. It only meant that the Immortal King was too powerful. There was also a significant element of luck involved in his victory.

    ¡°No matter how perfect and powerful the Darkness Domain is, it¡¯s only created by the Dragon of Destruction. Unless you have truly mastered thews of darkness or you¡¯re an incarnation of the Dragon of Destruction like the Lord of Darkness, it¡¯s impossible to release the true abilities of the Darkness Domain even after shifting it to the Eternal Furnace.¡± Connoris couldn¡¯t conceal the pride in his voice.

    After hearing this, Lin Li suddenly understood that Connoris wasn¡¯t trying to say that the Darkness Domain created by the Dragon of Destruction was weak, but that a powerful item that couldn¡¯t release all its power was no better than a weak one. The Throne of Darkness was created by the Dragon of Destruction. Even though Lin Li had obtained the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction and upied the status of Lord of Darkness and the Throne of Darkness, he didn¡¯t create them by himself using the Rules overall. Hence, he couldn¡¯t release the true powers of the Throne of Darkness naturally.

 Chapter 501 - Endless Possibilities

    <h4>Chapter 501: Endless Possibilities</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The power and strength of the Throne of Darkness were not to be doubted. If it weren¡¯t because of the fact that the Lord of Darkness had lost his sentience and sunk in the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t even have had the chance to chant the ancient demonic rune. As the Dragon of Destruction, he actually let a Legendary-mage who had just broken through dominate him. That also signified how much power the Throne of Darkness would have if there was no one to control the throne.

    Lin Li definitely had a stronger control over the Throne of Darknesspared to the Lord of Darkness. However, in order to fully exert the power of the Throne of Darkness, he would still have to master the Rules of darkness. With his current abilities, there was still a long way to go for him before he could fully exert the power of the Throne of Darkness, even with the help of the debris of the stars. Besides, if he were to attain that power, he would be able to create a darkness domain that solely belonged to him. There wouldn¡¯t be a need for him to use a domain created by others.

    The issue was that he could not control or use it to its greatest potential. So what even if it was the best magical weapon in the world? Besides, strictly speaking, a weapon that could only unleash part of its power was not as good as one that could exert its full power, because the extent of control would usually be a deciding factor duringbat even if the weapons had exactly the same power. It would determine the life and death of its user.

    That was particrly true and apparent when it came to the Throne of Darkness because the Throne of Darkness was not just a weapon, but was also a darkness domain that wasposed of regr forces. It was extremely strong even though it was created by the Dragon of Destruction, and had a corresponding extent of power that could be controlled. After understanding the different features and uniqueness of the weapon, one would be able to use it well. However, one would not be able to perfectly control a darkness domain if they could notpletely control its power, let alone make any changes.

    Before Lin Li could even continue probing, Connoris took the initiative to exin, ¡°This naturally urring Magical Domain is different. It is all natural and wless, and could be said to be the biggest miracle in the world of Anril. Once it¡¯s transmitted to the Eternal Furnace, it would be one with it as if it were a magical domain that belonged to the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes widened in shock upon hearing his words. It was not that Lin Li was superficial and ignorant, but rather that the idea was too absurd, and there would at most be a cumtive effect when fusing the Throne of Darkness and the Eternal Furnace together. However, the results would definitely be beyond that if the naturally urring Magical Domain was fused with the Eternal Furnace.

    Lin Li could vaguely imagine what everything meant, but he still found it difficult to trust his imagination. The Eternal Furnace itself was an extremely powerful flying battle fortress. Although it was only a semi-finished product in his hands, ording to Connoris, he would have the opportunity toplete the Eternal Furnace and develop itsbat power as long as he entered the tomb of Osric.

    However, Lin Li did not actually know how strong the Eternal Furnace would be in its final andplete form, because everything he knew about it was based on Connoris¡¯ ount. Due to the fact that the Eternal Furnace had never beenpleted, it had never shown its true power or appeared in front of humans before.

    The Eternal Furnace would be much stronger than it already was after fusing with the naturally urring Magical Domain. However, Lin Li was extremely curious about how strong it really was; hence, he had no choice but to ask Connoris about it.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m the only person who can answer such a question now. No one knows this clearer than I do,¡± Connoris said smugly.

    In reality, there was really no one who knew the Eternal Furnace better than Connoris, because it was likely that no one knew that Osric was the one who¡¯d created the Eternal Furnace¡ªincluding Apophis who hade from that era. Even Geresco might not know about the existence of the Eternal Furnace.

    Connoris understood the power of the Eternal Furnace very well because he had stayed in it for thousands of years.

    ¡°The simple word ¡®strong¡¯ is not enough to describe the Eternal Furnace¡¯s power, because there are too many things that could be considered strong in this world.¡±

    Connoris was well aware that Osric had referred to Sky Castles when creating the Eternal Furnace. He wanted to build another¡ªthe eighth¡ªSky Castle that belonged to the High Elves. Although the High Elves had already fallen more than 1,000 years ago, contemporary humans could still guess how scary Sky Castles were just by reading history.

    ¡°Back then, the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves were suspended in the sky of Anril, and they managed to keep plenty of rebels in line. Each was almost an invincible entity. Even during thest years of the Dark Age, the rebels still felt helpless because of the power of the Sky Castles.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t because of the dwarves who joined in the rebellion and brought about such dangerous weapons like Sky-breaker, and had Geresco not broken through to Sanctuary-realm at the right juncture and fought against the three Legendary-mages who were on the same level as Apophis, Anril would still have been in the control of the High Elves.

    ¡°Even Geresco, who is termed the God of Mages, was helpless when ites to a Sky Castle. That¡¯s how terrifying it is. I suppose I don¡¯t need to exin to you how strong the Eternal Furnace built as the Eighth Sky Castle would be in terms of numbers...¡± Connoris said excitedly.

    ¡°Wait a minute. There seems to be something wrong with what you said!¡±

    While listening to Connorispare Sky Castles with the Eternal Furnace, a question suddenly popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind. Connoris had once told him about the origin of the Sky Castles, which he still remembered clearly. Sky Castles were a masterpiece created by the Immortal King. In order to build seven Sky Castles, the Immortal King used up almost all of the bones of Azardas. Osric only inherited some dragon scales and two dragon eyes since he could not seed the throne of the Immortal King.

    Hence, Eternal Furnace could notpare to a Sky Castle in terms of material alone. Although Osric was an outstanding figure of the era, whether or not he could have the same achievements as the Immortal King remained debatable.

    Connoris did not grow angry because of Lin Li¡¯s suspicions, and instead said in an extremely disdainful tone, ¡°So that¡¯s what you think? You¡¯re really disappointing!¡±

    Before Lin Li could even ask, he immediately exined.

    As it turned out, Lin Li had actually also been misled. Although Osric indeed could not hold a candle to the Immortal King in terms of power, it did not matter, since power was not important when it came to building a Sky Castle. Not to forget, Osric was second only to the queen amongst the High Elves. He alsomanded a powerful Magic Legion. In terms of scouring for all sorts of precious materials, he was not too inferior to Immortal King, and was, in fact, much more privileged than him.

    In terms of materials, the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction was indeed a notch higher than other precious materials. However, the skeletal remains of the Dragon of Destruction were not the only material needed during the construction of the Sky Castle. How could there¡¯ve been seven Sky Castles if the skeletal remains were the only material necessary to build them?

    Since Sky Castle was named a castle, one could only imagine howrge it had to be. It had over 100,000 inhabitants. Even if everyone only upied a single bed, it would still take up an immeasurable amount of space.

    The skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction would greatly increase the power of the Sky Castle, even though it was used in the core area. Its presence would greatly affect the power of the Sky Castle, though it would not result in drastic changes.

    Hence, Connoris was sure that the difference would not be too drastic even if the final form of Eternal Furnace was not as powerful as a Sky Castle. But what would happen if the Eternal Furnace wasbined with the Magical Domain?

    Lin Li had once acquired a blueprint of a Sky Castle. A huge mageweath on the blueprint gave him a huge shock. Even those mageweaths which belonged to the Guru level couldn¡¯t match it. The erged Conquering Mageweath was sketched in the Sky Castle, and the inhabitants of the city could merge into the city and to let it make use of their power.

    The massive Conquering Mageweath seemed to be much more formidable than the Magical Domain. After all, only the creators and controllers of Magical Domains would be treated the same.

    However, such a huge Conquering Mageweath would require the blood of hundreds of dragons to start functioning. If the Conquering Mageweaths of the seven Sky Castles had been sessfully activated in the past, the dwarves might¡¯ve not been able to destroy them even with Sky-breakers and the help of Geresco, who broke through to the Sanctuary-realm. Unfortunately, the Conquering Mageweath would only remain an ornament if it wasn¡¯t activated.

    Although the Eternal Furnacebined with the Magical Domain would not have such an exaggerated power, it did not have such strict requirements. The power of the Magical Domain came from the world, and was the Elemental Power that was derived from controlling the world. The juxtaposition showed the stark differences.

    Of course,prehending the Rules and the creation of the Magical Domain were not exactly easy, and Lin Li would still have to personally and constantly maintain the Magical Domain that he had created unless he reached the level of the Dragon of Destruction. However, the Throne of Darkness would never be able to achieve such effects.

    If the Throne of Darkness was fused with the Eternal Furnace, it could only create a space that was overpowered by the Rules of darkness. With his current ability andprehension of the Rules of darkness, there was no way Lin Li could make amendments to the Throne of Darkness that was created by the Dragon of Destruction. Even if he was the owner of the Eternal Furnace, he would still have to act ording to the rules once he plunged into the Darkness Domain.

    However, it was apletely different matter for the natural Magical Domain with two jarringly different elements. They could not be affected by any power or Rules when fusing with the Eternal Furnace. If the natural Magical Domain was fused with the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li had to use the fire and ice element magical crystals topletely control the natural Magical Domain. In other words, he would possess the Magical Domain of the fire and ice elements as long as he was in the Eternal Furnace.

    Hence, the Magical Domain in front of him could also be called a miraculous one. The reason it was so precious could also be seen easily. Actually, a natural Magical Domain was much rarer than the blood of hundreds of dragons. However, Lin Li had already run into a natural Magical Domain; hence, it was easier for him to integrate the natural Magical Domain into the Eternal Furnace.

    Although the natural Magical Domain needed not be controlled by anyone, it still possessed a rare feature: the ability to evolve continuously. It was an advantage that could not bepared to the Darkness Domain.

    The Darkness Domain created by the Dragon of Destruction was naturally very powerful, but simply using the Rule of darkness to make the power of the Throne of Darkness stronger yielded only a temporary effect. The Dragon of Destruction had made the Dark Throne so strong that even if it fell, it did not affect the Throne of Darkness. Because of this, the possibility of evolution in this Darkness Domain had almost turned it into powerful magic equipment. Improving the Throne of Darkness was akin to adding better materials to a weapon. Hence, the only thing they could do was to refine the weapon. Ordinary iron weapons were naturally easy to refine, but it¡¯d be different if it were a superb magical weapon made by a Guru.

    The magic field created by the mage himself would not be static unless the magician had limited talent orcked an aggressive mindset. The deeper the understanding of the mage, the stronger their Magical Domain would be¡ªon the condition that they possess enough power andprehend some Rules.

    It was much easier for one to make amendments to their own masterpiecepared to improving the works of others. Although Lin Li did not create the fire-water Magical Domain, he would be able to perfect it slowly with its continuous evolution as long as he was powerful enough.

    Lin Li had been thinking about how powerful the magical domain would be if he were to fuse the seven pieces of the debris of the stars with the natural Magical Domain.

 Chapter 502 - No Ifs

    <h4>Chapter 502: No Ifs</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At the beginning in the Endless World, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars containing the basic Rules of the world had formed a rtivelyplete World Domain without human intervention. The World Domain was the holy grail of mages. However, Lin Li used to be a hunter; hence, he opted for violent objects and immediately collected the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, thus leading to the copse of the emergent World Domain.

    The natural fire-and-ice Magical Domain made Lin Li see the hope resurfaced. Even if it were an average human being in control of the Eternal Furnace, they would be on par with the deities.

    Powerful, infinite possibilities were a fatal temptation that no one could refuse. Lin Li was no exception, either, and his thirst for power was no less than that of others, especially after he found out from Tutankhamun about the devastating disaster that woulde in two, three years. Even if it was because of his own selfish needs, he had to try his best to make himself stronger.

    Reaching the sacred Sanctuary-realm within two, three years was a task that seemed impossible to aplish to most, especially for Lin Li who had just reached the Legendary-realm. Even a strong man who had reached the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm could not be certain of how long they would take to reach the Sanctuary-realm.

    Actually, even Lin Li was not that confident himself. The Sanctuary-realm could not be reached easily, and simple hard work would no longer pay off once one reached the Legendary-realm. Talent and luck were absolutely necessary to reach the Sanctuary-realm. Lin Li remembered being told by a strong, sessful man that sess consisted of 99% sweat and 1% talent. However, in order to reach the Sanctuary-realm, one would need 1% sweat and 99% talent and luck.

    Besides, reaching the Sanctuary-realm was only a basic goal. Tutankhamun said that it would take two or three years to get to the Sanctuary-realm. Actually, Lin Li was well aware that the stronger he was, the better he would be at oveing the pending disaster and staying safe.

    Lin Li still remembered the images of the terrifying battle between the God of Mages and the Evil Eye Tyrant that he saw through the time tunnel when he was in Tutankhamun¡¯s hut. Back then, Geresco was no longer as weak as he was when he¡¯d just broken through to the Sanctuary-realm. It was that power that made it difficult for him to get rid of the Evil Eye Tyrant. This time, the disaster that Lin Li would face was definitely muchrger than that of Geresco. God knew how many perverted guys woulde through the cracks in time and space. By then, given his weak abilities, all he could do would probably be just to escape.

    Hence, improving his own strength was the most important thing to do now, and gaining more external help and power was mandatory too. Thus, Connoris¡¯ crazy ideas were absolutely tempting for him.

    ording to Connoris, the incorporation of the natural Magical Domain into the Eternal Furnace was indeed an excellent design. However, deep down, Lin Li also knew that those were just his imagination; he had to realize the design topete with the Sky Castles and make it on par with the gods. He still had a long way to go.

    The first thing that urgently had to be solved was the problem of a giant magical crystal which was an extraordinary one.

    Although the engulfing of the Darkness Domain was equivalent to adding insurance to this natural Magical Domain and reducing the risk of copse due to external influences during the fusion with the Eternal Furnace, that did not mean that one could take the natural Magical Domain lightly or think that it would never copse regardless of how they manipted it.

    If there was no engulfing of the Darkness Domain during the fusion of the Magical Domain and the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li would need to find a magical crystal that had the same energy as the dragon¡¯s magical crystal at the core of the Eternal Furnace. He needed an identical ice element magical crystal to ensure that the fire-and-ice Magical Domain would not copse.

    There was a saying that went ¡°There are no two identical leaves in the world, regardless of how many leaves there are¡±. Not to mention, dragon magical crystals were rare in the first ce. A slight difference in energy inside would directly lead to the copse of the natural Magical Domain.

    The conditions in the natural Magical Domain could be made less harsh using the engulfing power of the Darkness Domain. However, if Lin Li were to find a random water-alignment Legendary magical crystal from a magical beast, the natural Magical Domain would still end up copsing. Although the crystals needed not be exactly the same, it did not meant that there could be a huge difference between them. Lin Li still needed a magical crystal that was of an appropriate energy type.

    ording to Connorris, Osric had utilized the power of the entire Magic Legion to kill the ancient dragon that was residing in the Fire Plume Ridge in order to obtain therge and unparalleled giant magical crystal, which was the dragon magical crystal in the Eternal Furnace.

    An ancient dragon was not to be taken lightly, for each and every one was above level-25. Even an iconic figure like Osric had to rely on the Magic Legion to stay alive and kill the ancient fire dragon. From every perspective, Lin Li seemed to be unable to hold a candle to him.

    The thought of that Crimson Dragon that was shackled next to ava river made Lin Li feel absolutely terrified. It was shackled with chains that pierced through its flesh. Not only was it prevented from flying, all its movements were restricted. It was trapped to power the magic gears in the underground pce for more than 1,000 years, and had long lost the power that it had had during its pinnacle in the Prehistoric Age. It was forced into a pathetic plight. Besides, it was just an ordinary fire dragon. What would happen if it were an ice dragon?

    Hunting and killing an ancient ice dragon that was above level-25! The thought of the terrifying task made the timid Lin Li get the chills. Not to mention, he could notpare with Osric. Even if his actual power was the same as Osric¡¯s, where was he supposed to find an elite Magic Legion?

    In terms of magic, the High Elves were inherently superior to humans. Human mages were notparable to the legions of magicians of the High Elves, especially the elites under Osric. Compared to the elite Magic Legion of Osric, the mages at the Tower of Dusk were far too inferior. They¡¯d be just feeding themselves to the ancient ice dragons by grouping up to kill the dragons.

    The magic crystal of the ancient ice dragon had yet to be ced in front of Lin Li, though it was not the only challenge at hand. The other problem he was facing was moving the Throne of Darkness to the Eternal Furnace. Although Connoris did not mention the details, Lin Li could guess that the process would definitely be a great hassle.

    The Throne of Darkness was a Magical Domain left behind by Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. The Dragon of Destruction wouldn¡¯t have been killed by the Immortal King if it had been easily manipted by others. Instead, the Dragon of Destruction would have long been dead because of the Titans who wielded dragon guns in the early days of the prehistoric times.

    Lin Li heaved a sigh and looked at the natural Magical Domain in front of him before shaking his head resignedly. In this world, not everything would be smooth sailing, and there would definitely not be any free lunch, either. The fact that one could exist in this world was already a huge blessing. However, luck was not everything, and hard work was still important most of the time.

    Without a doubt, the natural Magical Domain was a true treasure that was even more precious than the Eternal Furnace. Only the Evil Eye Tyrant or the Eternal Scroll that Lin Li owned could bepared to the Domain.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, it would still be difficult for him to acquire the treasure and make it his own. Obtaining the magic crystal of the ancient ice dragon and moving the Throne of Darkness were extremely troublesome and difficult tasks. They were enough to make an average person feel hopeless.

    However, Lin Li was not too worried, because he felt that when there was a will, there was a way. He believed that he would one day seed. Since the Immortal King could kill Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, he would definitely have the power to kill the ancient ice dragon.

    The only regret that Lin Li felt was having to keep Pr Snow and Raging mes here for a period of time. He could only take them back after the fusion. Otherwise, the Magical Domain would copse once the debris of the stars was taken away.

    ¡°Seems like we have to leave first,¡± Lin Li said resignedly.

    ¡°But... Don¡¯t, don¡¯t!¡± Connoris eximed, snapping out of his trance. He was well aware that the things that he¡¯d mentioned were just ideas. With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, it would be impossible to do it. He hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°I think... we¡¯d better leave with the two magical weapons. If others trespass, they might just take everything with them, including the Magical Domain.¡±

    Even Connoris who had once been an ancient deity could not remainposed when faced with the formidable weapons like Pr Snow and Raging mes, especially since he heard that Lin Li was going to leave them there. It was a crazy idea. How could he not be aware of how precious the natural Magical Domain was? However, if Lin Li could not acquire them for his own use, it would be more in Lin Li¡¯s interest to destroy it.

    ¡°Since you can find this ce, others probably can too. In the past, there were the magic gears to help guard the two magical weapons, but now, you have killed the Crimson Dragon and removed the power supply of the magic gears, causing them to be useless. If you leave these two magic weapons here, you are just paving the way for others, and there is nothing to stop them from taking what should have belonged to you,¡± Connoris persuaded anxiously.

    ¡°Hah, rest assured, I¡¯m not that selfless. Have you forgotten about my abilities?¡± said a confident Lin Li who did not change his mind just because of Connoris¡¯s persuasion.

    Lin Li was not a pure mage. The magic gears alone were already on a Master¡¯s level, what more the mageweath and alchemy. Lin Li indeed did not have the time to redesign an underground pce, but it was not a tough order for him to make amendments to the existing magic gears in the underground pce.

    ¡°But even then, if someone were to... ¡± Connoris was still feeling extremely worried. After all, the two magical weapons were too powerful, and no one would be able to resist the temptation.

    ¡°Firstly, I doubt anyone can really find this underground pce. Secondly, even if someone managed to enter the underground pce, they might not be able to make it here because of how strong my magic contraptions are. Thirdly, even if they make it here, there is only one Eternal Furnace, and it lies in my hands. How are they supposed to obtain the natural Magical Domain...?¡± Lin Li was not lying nor deceiving Connoris. It was unlikely that someone would be able to acquire the natural Magical Domain or Pr Snow and Raging mes, even if they were left untouched.

    It was extremely difficult to collect the natural Magical Domain of ice and fire, and it was almost impossible for others to acquire Pr Snow and Raging mes, both of which were powerful debris of the stars. Besides, they were now in the natural Magical Domain, and if one had no special means, they would have to deal with them using power in order to acquire them. However, those two magical weapons possessed the purest fundamental Rule power. Even the strongest ones of Sanctuary-realm would not be able to subdue them forcefully.

    Since Lin Li had already decided to leave Pr Snow and Raging mes there temporarily, he proceeded to get Norfeller and Ujfalusi to begin constructing a wall with stones on the ground to protect the Magical Domain from external factors. The two Undead were rather skilled. Unfortunately, the simple wall was weaker and more fragile because there was no cement.

    Staring at the two Undead who were getting busy, Lin Li took a nce at the unfinished wall before regretfully saying, ¡°Had I known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have broken the wall. How did I not realize that there was a magical presence behind the wall? It was an entity that was too powerful for me.¡±

    ¡°Is there really going to be no ifs? Kid, you must consider carefully! Don¡¯t end uping back empty-handed,¡± said Connoris who could not stop worrying and continuously nagged at Lin Li.

 Chapter 503 - Reconstructing Black Clouds Town

    <h4>Chapter 503: Reconstructing ck Clouds Town</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about...¡± Lin Li said calmly.

    Actually, Lin Li had a hunch that the Retribution Knight Rodhart, who was seated on the throne made of bones, was not as simple as he seemed on the surface. Although the once-formidable Retribution Knight seemed to be dead ever since Lin Li entered the underground pce, Rodhart remained for Lin Li a sword of Damocles which seemed like it would fall someday.

    There were also some fishy parts about the underground pce, for it was too easily essible and unguarded, even for a ce that was protected by magic gears. As the leader of the High Elves, Osric had plenty of talented, elite subordinates. Hence, how could he have constructed an underground pce that only contained magic gears? Lin Li did not think that Osric would build such a great underground pce just for the sake of waiting for the right person to collect the two magical weapons, Pr Snow and Raging mes¡ªthe debris of the stars. It was not like Osric to y hide-and-seek with a fire dragon in ava river.

    It was for now inadvisable for Lin Li to seek the other secrets present in the underground pce. There were still no mishaps yet, even though he had already plundered so many treasures, killed the Crimson Dragon underground, and damaged the magic gears. That was lucky for him. However, it could not be guaranteed that he would be safe if he were to continue delving deeper and exploring. There was still a Retribution Knight Rodhart outside.

    He was the first fallen knight in the history of Anril, the nightmare that disrupted peace. Even after being purified by the Holy Light belonging to the Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine, he still was the legendary and powerful Rodhart. Lin Li could not guarantee that he would not awake Rodhart if he were to continue delving deeper into the underground pce. With his current abilities, there seemed to be a long way to go for him before he could battle such a legendary powerhouse.

    Hence, Lin Li resolutely decided to retreat since he had already taken everything that he could. As for the rest, he had no choice but toe back for it another time.

    After the two Undead rebuilt the wall, Lin Li began to decorate it simply. Although making modifications to the stone wall was not a difficult task for Lin Li, since he had destroyed the power core of the magic gears, he still had to supply it with another energy source in order for them to work again.

    Those magic gears that had been activated could no longer be used. Fortunately, there were quite a few that hadn¡¯t been activated before, and only had to be modified a little. There were a few magic gears that shared a dozen or more magical crystals that could be sustained for a few years. After four of five days of effort, Lin Li finally reorganized the magic gears in the ces that he had been to. As for those that he had not gone to yet, he would return and research all of it again once he made another breakthrough in increasing his abilities.

    ¡°Are you really going to leave? Aren¡¯t you going to give it some more consideration?¡± Although it would be impossible for him to acquire the other items, Connoris was still rather worried about it.

    Toozy to exin it further to Connoris, Lin Li brought the two Undead servants along and took the same path back to the front of the pce.

    The Retribution Knight, Rodhart, was still seated on the throne in the same way he¡¯d been when Lin Li and the rest arrived, exuding his immeasurably powerful aura.

    There were definitely more secrets in the underground pce than what met the eye. However, his current abilities were not enough for him to deal with the crisis that could appear at any time. Lin Li nced at Rodhart and turned around to leave the underground pce together with the two retainers of his.

    When they were entering the underground pce, there were basically no obstacles in sight, except some Skeletal Warriors, Archers, and other Undead creatures, all of which Norfeller could get rid of easily. By the time they exited, there were no longer any Skeletal Warriors anywhere, and Lin Li returned peacefully using the same route which led him to the underground pce from the unassuming cave.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Should we do something to hide this cave¡¯s entrance?¡± said the worried Connoris when Lin Li reached the cave opening. It was not that he was old and naggish, for he wouldn¡¯t be in such a dilemma if it were the Titan¡¯s Dragon Guns instead of Pr Snow and Raging mes. Although he did not know of their origin, he could tell from experience that they were formidable and possessed pure Rule power. They were far more powerful than Titans¡¯ Dragon Guns.

    Connoris began to regret his decision after realizing that the two rare magical weapons had been left in the cave by Lin Li. He felt that he shouldn¡¯t have given Lin Li the idea of ??collecting the natural magical domain. No matter how great an item might be, it was the best when one possessed it himself. The natural magical domain was indeed an unprecedented miracle. However, just because Lin Li could not bear to ruin it, it didn¡¯t mean that others would not sumb to the temptation of those two magical weapons.

    Lin Li was confident enough not to be as worried as Connoris. He casually responded, ¡°Alright, stop being so worried. You¡¯d better give the matter of moving the Throne of Darkness some thought instead. I know that the people here will definitely be able to find the cave even if I cover the entrance. Those who don¡¯t know about this ce will only grow curious if I conceal this cave. So, let¡¯s forget it!¡±

    After spending nearly 10 days in the underground pce, Lin Li reckoned that the magicians of the Tower of Dusk should have already left, even if they had brought along plenty of supplies with them. Hence, there was no need to pay special attention to the underground. He headed straight to the Tower of Dusk.

    When Lin Li descended on the small za in front of the Tower of Dusk, a big bunch of mages dashed out of the Tower of Dusk while screaming in shock, not bothering to keep their image up, either. They stared at him with looks of respect and admiration, and hurriedly arranged themselves in two rows, weing the return of the President. There was no contrition or hypocrisy in their reverent expressions¡ªthey werepletely genuine. They truly respected the young President.

    After this time, no matter how arrogant some of them once had been, no one dared to question Lin Li¡¯s abilities and rights to be the President. He was the youngest Legendary-mage in the history of Anril, who even Geresco, the God of Mages, could notpare to. If Lin Li wasn¡¯t qualified, no one else would be.

    ¡°Wee, President!¡± the mages chorused, giving Lin Li a great shock.

    Surrounded by the magicians, Lin Li walked into the Tower of Dusk, after which he waved his hand at the crowd. ¡°Okay, everyone, let¡¯s get busy. Don¡¯t kick up such a huge fuss. It¡¯s as if you guys are afraid that others won¡¯t know about this. You are dismissed.¡± Although it felt good to be the subject of admiration and worship,pliments were not what Lin Li needed the most at this moment.

    After the crowd dispersed, Gavin was left alone with Lin Li. While walking, he reported to him about everything that happened before, saying, ¡°President, I also have to tell you about ck Clouds Town. Once we returned from the Dragon Mountains, I¡¯ve immediately arranged for people to help them with the reconstruction.¡±

    Lin Li suddenly stopped in his tracks and asked Gavin, ¡°Reconstruction? How?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll be helping them repair the damaged buildings, and some of the destroyed buildings have also begun being rebuilt. Besides, the funerals for those who have died during the attack are also in preparation,¡± Gavin frantically answered. He knew that although ck Clouds Town¡¯s poption consisted of ordinary people, they were all very close to the President. Hence, Gavin handled the matter personally, for he reckoned that Lin Li would definitely be pleased.

    However, Gavin did not expect Lin Li to frown in displeasure after hearing the report. ¡°President, is there something wrong with my arrangements?¡± Gavin asked with a trembling heart.

    Actually, talents like Gavin were rare in Anril. In this world, mages had a high societal status, and ordinary people could be said to be insignificant ants in the eyes of mages, so much so that their lives did not matter to thetter at all. As the secretary of Lin Li, Gavin understood his intentions very well; hence, he decided to help him with the reconstruction of ck Clouds Town. Otherwise, no one would care about the existence of ck Clouds Town.

    However, Lin Li was definitely a different kind. He did not belong to this world at all. In fact, the ordinary people of ck Clouds Town were not inferior to the Legendary Sendros in his eyes; he even found them more approachable.

    ¡°Not enough, it¡¯s barely enough. I don¡¯t want such an attack to happen again.¡± Lin Li was not worrying for nothing. He was well aware of what his own temper was like, and his ill temper was also the reason he had made plenty of enemies not long after he arrived in Anril. As the Tower of Dusk developed, there would definitely be a conflict of interests in the Breezy ins. Hence, no one could guarantee that there would be no power or authority that shifted their attention onto the normal people of ck Clouds Town.

    After giving it some thought, Lin Li said to Gavin, ¡°How about this? Come and look for me in the afternoon, and I¡¯ll tell you about the n for the reconstruction of ck Clouds Town.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President.¡± Gavin heaved a sigh of relief and immediately retreated.

    Lin Li spent a long time redesigning ck Clouds Town, after which he turned his design into a detailed blueprint. All of the details of the architecture and structure of ck Clouds Town were included.

    Gavin returned in the afternoon to get the blueprint. After giving it a quick nce, he was instantly dumbfounded. ¡°Oh my God, this is not a town! It¡¯s not a town!¡±

    Although Gavin could not understand the drawings, he could tell that they were extraordinary. Judging from the materials alone, he was almost sure that the new ck Clouds Town would be able to deal enemies and criminals a lethal blow. However, the problem was that the cost of the reconstruction was exorbitant. Although the total was not calcted yet, he knew that the price would definitely be a hefty sum after estimating the costs of the materials.

    Although Lin Li had only spent half a day on sketching the blueprint, the new ck Clouds Town would definitely be the nightmare of beleaguers. Lin Li chose not to use alchemy and mageweaths in building the new ck Clouds Town. Instead, he opted to build it like the underground pce that contained therge magic gears.

    There were plenty of benefits to using magic gears. Firstly, it would guarantee that almost no one would be able to break it. Although Lin Li had already attained the level of the Grandmaster in the field of mageweath theory, the requirements of the Grandmaster¡¯s magic pattern were very high, and even he couldn¡¯t use it casually.

    The second advantage would be that Lin Li needed not participate in the construction of ck Clouds Town from the beginning to the end. Regardless of the use of mageweaths or alchemy, Lin Li could not afford the time to do it personally nor find anyone to help. Mageweath masters and alchemists were much rarer than mages. Who would bother going through all thatbor to help him provide a residence for ordinary people?

    It was different for the magic gears. Although those learning the usage of magic gears were few and far between, the most important aspect was that they could be constructed andpleted by ordinary humans. In the construction of magic gears, the most important thing would be the design sketches and blueprints. As long as the constructors built the ce ording to the blueprint, Lin Li would only need to make some final adjustments.

    Another important advantage would be that they could cut back on resources. At this point, Lin Li did not have the time to capture a magical beast and use it as the power core of the magic gears. However, he could use some magical crystals to achieve the same results. It would be suitable for living and still be taken care of.

    ¡°Mr. President, that...¡± said Gavin. He felt a little hesitant with how much money was needed to build ck Clouds Town into a superb one.

    ¡°If you have no questions, get to it immediately. The faster, the better. Hurry and get the people of the town to move back there.¡± Lin Li, who knew what Gavin was about to say, waved his hand nonchntly. Be it the acquisition of the Throne of Darkness, the loot from the base of the Syer bandits, or what they had gained in the underground pce, Lin Li had gained enough that he could not be bothered by however much it would cost to build the new ck Clouds Town.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President, I¡¯ll arrange it immediately.¡± Gavin decided not to say anything else after seeing that Lin Li had already made up his mind.

    When Gavin was about to leave, Lin Li suddenly stopped him to give him a reminder with a serious expression. ¡°By the way, pay close attention and don¡¯t leak the blueprint to anyone irrelevant. Besides, all standards must be strictly in ordance with the blueprint, and no errors are allowed.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll remember it,¡± Gavin answered solemnly before handing out some instructions for the construction to others.

 Chapter 504 - Progress

    <h4>Chapter 504: Progress</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was not too worried about Gavin who was ambitious. It was not a bad thing to be ambitious. In fact, it could also be called being a driven and motivated person. Ever since the Tower of Dusk was built, Gavin arrived and registered to be one of the members. He had always been very attentive and serious whenpleting tasks, and would always be at Lin Li¡¯s beck and call without anyints. Hence, Gavin was the best candidate for the leader of the reconstruction of ck Clouds Town.

    Lin Li was certainly confident in his own designs. After the new ck Clouds Town waspleted with the instation of the Grandmaster-level magic gears, raiding bandits would not be able to break through even if there were 10 groups of them. Hence, the new construction would definitely be able to guarantee the safety of the citizens of the town.

    Hence, Lin Li handed the construction over entirely to Gavin, after which he instructed the rest of his subordinates not to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary. He locked himself in the room and ignored everything that went on outside.

    Gavin¡¯s status in the Tower of Dusk was akin to that of a senior majordomo. In the Guild of Magic, a majordomo was not an official position, and to put it crudely, he was just the President¡¯s errand boy. However, all Presidents of the various Guilds of Magic would definitely have a right-hand man like him. Hence, the majordomos did enjoy immeasurable power and authority even though they did not hold any official position.

    Gavin was a powermonger, but he was not the kind to resort to despicable means for the sake of obtaining power and authority. He knew that the young President, Lin Li, did not like handling all of the misceneous matters of the guild. Hence, Gavin¡¯s power would not be taken away from him as long as he paid attention and performed all of his tasks conscientiously. As the construction of the Tower of Dusk progressed, Gavin¡¯s status would increase greatly, and he¡¯d be a huge authority in the entire Breezy ins.

    After obtaining the blueprint from the President Lin Li, Gavin knew that it was the best opportunity for him to prove his abilities.

    He usually handled trivial and misceneous matters, but the construction of the new ck Clouds Town this time was definitely not one of them. The thought of it made Gavin feel extremely excited. He immediately gathered some subordinates and arranged the tasks appropriately.

    If it were purely a project to create a small town where humans could live, the manpower and wealth of the Tower of Dusk would definitely be enough for the small town to bepleted. However, the problem was that the ck Clouds Town designed by Lin Li was not only meant for people to live in.

    Gavin brought the blueprint home and analyzed it carefully, only to realize that it had given him a huge headache. If the builders were of mediocre caliber, they would require more than two decades toplete the construction of the small town based on the blueprint, unless... a mage took part in the process.

    However, mages would usually only join the construction when they were building a mage tower. Even during the construction of pces, the royals could notpel the mages to perform such lowly tasks. Yes, there was a social hierarchy in every part of the world, and that included the workforce. To the mages, construction work was lowly and cheap, for it would make them tired and dirty.

    However, in Tower of Dusk, Gavin was not the only smart one, and one had to be smart in order to be a mage. Everyone in the Tower of Dusk knew that Lin Li was different from others and that he was attached to the citizens of ck Clouds Town. Most importantly, he was very generous too.

    It was no secret that Lin Li was an incredibly talented pharmacist who could concoct limitless potions. Those who were stuck as adepts could be promoted to be a mage, while those who were stuck at being a mage could be promoted to be a Magic Shooter. They even heard that thetter could depend on pharmacy to be an Archmage.

    <i>How much is pride worth? I may be a construction worker, but regardless of how prideful you may be, can youpare to me, a Magic Shooter!?</i> he thought.

    Although Gavin was power-hungry, he detested mages who were obsessed only with gaining power. Those who were out to get into the good books of Lin Li were usually not inferior to Gavin. The young and promising Lin Li was a Legendary powerhouse who could create a Magical Domain. Even without the lofty potions and the borate magical equipment, a few enlightening tips from him would be enough.

    Therefore, there was no need for Gavin to recruit construction workers. After finding out that Gavin was responsible for the construction of ck Clouds Town, the mages actively searched for him and asked to participate in the construction work. No one cared about their pride, for all they wanted was to give the young President Lin Li a good impression of themselves. There were more than 40 mages in the Tower of Dusk, and all of them decided to lower their pride and join in the construction work.

    With the additional help of the mages, Gavin finally did not have to worry about the speed of construction, but there was still another problem that had to be resolved before the construction could begin. He also remembered being warned by Lin Li to never leak the blueprint to any third party.

    That could be considered a w of the magic gears, for the blueprints were like keys to opening the magic gears. If someone got their hands on the blueprint of the magic gears, even if it was master-level magic gears, they would find out how to deactivate or break the mechanism as long as they could decipher it.

    Hence, it was a taboo to leak the blueprints during the construction of magic gears. After the construction waspleted, the blueprints would usually be destroyed. However, sometimes, they might have already been replicated or memorized by those who harbored ill intentions. The wicked ones like Osric, called the butcher by people, would basically kill all the people involved in the construction. Otherwise, where did the Skeletal Warriorse from?

    Of course, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯tunch a massacre like Osric would. Anyway, there was almost nobody who could understand magic gears left in this world. They could just seal the blueprints at the end. Hence, he only reminded Gavin to be more careful.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s words were like a royal edict to Gavin. He put in a ton of effort into ensuring that the blueprints would not be leaked. He split the blueprints up and messed up the orders before handing them to the people in charge to get them to carry out the construction works ording to the blueprints.

    As long as the numbers were urate and remained unchanged, the magic gears would still work when the correct parts were assembled in the end. If they were to do that while building a Mageweath Array or an Alchemy Array, the result would be destructive. Even the same person would not be able to split the Mageweath or Alchemy Array into parts andplete them slowly afterwards. Every Mageweath Array and Alchemy Array had topleted in one sitting.

    Everyone who got the blueprints felt that the designer was out of his mind. Even if each of them had only obtained one out of dozens of blueprints, it was enough to build 10 ck Clouds Town whenbined together. Of course, none of them dared to call the designer crazy after finding out that their noble President was the one who had designed everything. However, their gazes betrayed them and showed their innermost thoughts.

    However, they were secretly overjoyed with the crazy idea because they felt that they had made the right decision this time. The fact that Lin Li had put so much thought and effort into building a small town for the ordinary humans meant that the citizens of ck Clouds Town meant a lot to him. Some even wondered whether or not they should go see the children from ck Clouds Town and pick one of them to be their own student.

    Under Gavin¡¯s lead, the construction of the new ck Clouds Town had finally kicked off. Large batches of construction materials and workers were transported. Others might just think that they were building a pce.

    Despite being the designer of the new ck Clouds Town, Lin Li didn¡¯t even attend the foundationying ceremony, and instead cooped himself up in his room.

    It was actually inevitable. When he¡¯d returned from the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li¡¯s powers and abilities heightened rapidly¡ªfrom level-19 to level-20. Although it was just a level¡¯s difference, it was an impressive achievement that other mages might never make in their life. Yet, Lin Li managed to do it within just a few months.

    It was good to make rapid progress, but if it was too rapid, it¡¯d inevitably lead to hidden dangers caused by instability. Nothing was perfect in this world, and although those who were naturally gifted were said to be blessed, they had to go through many more tests.

    Since ancient times, there was more than one talent like Geresco in thend of Anril. There were many other geniuses who died young because of how conceited they were. An example would be the Dark de¡¯s heir, who was much more talented than Hutton. It had been only a matter of time before he became a Legendary-mage. However, he died young, and Lin Li could not even remember his name anymore.

    Ever since Lin Li came back, he was keeping himself cooped up in the room so as to summarize what he had gained over the past few months, find the possible hidden dangers within himself, and then solve them one by one. He wanted to internalize his new knowledge and make it his own. He wanted to truly be familiar with the power of the Legendary-realm.

    He advanced from the 19th to the 20th level and progressed to the Legendary-realm based on his own changes. It was not a result of umted energy and experience. The process was not as easy as the theory books made it seem, either. In the eyes of most magicians, this was an invisible divide that could hardly be crossed. Once the gap was crossed, one would face a huge disruption and experience drastic changes in his previous knowledge and experiences.

 Chapter 505 - New Black Clouds Town

    <h4>Chapter 505: New ck Clouds Town</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Ever since Lin Li went to the ck Rock Mountains, he experienced battles that most people had probably not encountered in their lifetime. The first significant battle to his ascension was the one against the Death Knights. Under the oppression of the Death Knights, and with the help of powerful potions, he touched the Legendary-realm¡¯s boundary subtly and exhibited spells that were up to level-21, like the Eternal Light Spell.

    The greatest gain from that battle seemed to be the acquisition of the ten-odd Death Knights who came under his control. However, in reality, the biggest benefit that Lin Li had reaped was the enlightenment regarding the Legendary-realm, which many mages longed for in their lives. If the mages who were stuck at the pinnacle of the Archmage-realm could ever be fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of Legendary-realm and experience such enlightenment just once, they would definitely have a higher chance of breaking through to the Legendary-realm.

    Lin Li was now trying to recall the battle and the changes before and after that trace of perception. Although he was now a Legendary-mage, that touch of insight and enlightenment was still invaluable to him. Although he still had had a battle with a Legendary powerhouseter, the gains from that battle were slightly inferior.

    After a close shave with death, the attack by the Syer Bandits seemed to have be absolutely insignificant inparison. Actually, it could not be considered a battle, but rather was just a bunch of fools courting death. Hence, that pathetic battle was not worth Lin Li¡¯s time and memory at all.

    To Lin Li, the only battle in the past few months worth pondering over was the one against the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. It was during that battle that Lin Li managed to reach the Legendary-realm through the perception and enlightenment brought about by the ancient demon runes.

    It was during that very moment in the battle that Lin Li¡¯s body changed drastically together with everything else around him, including the way he used his magical powers and executed his spells. Lin Li had only roughly experienced the changes, and only now had the time to recall and reflect on everything carefully.

    The ancient demonic runes were perhaps not the strongest demonguage, but it was definitely one of those that were closest to the energy source. Through the ancient demonic runes taught to him by Connoris, Lin Li could understand the true meaning of the Legendary-realm and achieve the transformation from an Archmage to a Legendary-mage smoothly.

    During the battle against the Lord of Darkness, Lin Li would not be a match for him even as a Legendary-mage, let alone when he was still weak and powerless. The Lord of Darkness was almost invincible as he owned the Throne of Darkness created by the Dragon of Destruction. Even if the Lord of Darkness had lost his sentience, he could still use his own instincts and abilities to utilize the Throne. That was how he¡¯d subdued the Lord of Souls, Mephistos.

    The purpose of the ancient demonic runes taught by Connoris was not to increase Lin Li¡¯s powers or promote his realm to the Legendary-realm. Instead, it was to make use of the power of the abyss to control the Lord of Darkness.

    The Endless Abyss was created by the ancient deities. To the Endless Abyss, the ancient deities were like the Dragon Aspect to Anril. After all, no matter how powerful the Dark Lord was, the Dragon of Destruction had already fallen. Since the Dark Lord had already be the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, he would not be able to escape the control of the ancient deities, even if he was in the Throne of Darkness¡¯s separate space.

    The greatest difference between a Legendary-mage and an Archmage was that no matter what magic thetter did, it would have to depend on his own power. It could be said that in the Archmage-realm, the umtion of magic power would have already reached the limits of the human body. On the other hand, in the case of the Legendary-mages, not only did the magic power in the body undergo a qualitative change¡ªjust like gas turned into liquid, so did magic power be Rules¡ªbut most importantly, it allowed the mage to mobilize and use the power of the world through their own magical powers and the Rule power.

    The ancient demonic runes were a magicalnguage the closest to the origin of power, whose function was to borrow the power of the abyss, which was in line with the rules of the Legendary-mages¡¯ enlightenment. It was a pursuit that borrowed the power of the world. Although these particr ancient demon runes were anguage of the ancient demons, they were also a description of the ancient demons¡¯ understanding of power. However, ever since history began, everyone had the same pursuit of and desire for power, regardless of their race.

    Connoris directly instilled the demon runes into Lin Li¡¯s consciousness with spiritual force, which was more thorough than any detailed narrative. That was to say, Lin Li¡¯s consciousness and memory pce were almost infinite. No one else would have been able to withstand the impact at that moment.

    Lin Li broke through to the Legendary-realm with the understanding of this ancient demon runes, coupled with the previous umtion of knowledge and a trace of enlightenment that had oncee to him. Once again, Lin Li experienced the demonic runes and realized that he could still understand a lot and get more enlightenment about the origin of power from the runes.

    After making a trip to the Abyss of Tharlen, the battles that Lin Li had been through could¡¯ve helped him get used to the power of the Legendary-realm. In hindsight, Lin Li realized that the intense battle in the underground pce with the Crimson Dragon gave him a better understanding of the Legendary-realm. He summed up his shorings and the areas for improvement that he could work on. Lin Li felt as if he had teleported back to his school days, when he would analyze the questions and reflect on his knowledge at the end of every test and exam in school.

    In fact, the effectiveness of the summary and reflection was obviously great, for it would allow one to realize what their ws and shorings were, and let them know what they should work on in order to make up for what theycked. Lin Li still remembered the ancient proverb that he learned before traveling through time: ¡°I reflect on three of my experiences daily¡±.

    Apart from summing up the knowledge gains in the previous days, Lin Li also wanted to use the opportunity to understand the Rules of the Holy Light and the Darkness. Pr Snow and Raging mes had been left in the underground pce, and he had no idea when he could collect them, but regardless of whether he could sessfully acquire the Ice element magical crystal of the ancient dragon or not, he would have no choice but to give up on the magical domain when necessary.

    Even if the natural Magic Domain could not be fused with the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li felt that he had to at least master the seven debris of the stars and Stars of Fury in order to cope with the cmity that would happen in the near future. Even though he had some of the debris of the stars, understanding its Rule power required more than just a few days. Hence, for safety purposes, Lin Li decided to understand the debris that he had as well as he could now lest he ran out of time when all seven pieces were gathered by him.

    While Lin Li was settling down to sum up the gains and losses that he¡¯d made in the past few months, the construction of the new ck Clouds Town was in full swing. Although those involved in the construction, be it ordinary artisans or magicians, were not clear what exactly they were constructing, they could still vaguely guess based on theplicated and exquisite design that after the new ck Clouds Town was built, it would definitely be an indestructible fortress.

    Lin Li designed the new ck Clouds Town to be hexagonal, which was a rathermon arrangement in mageweath and alchemy. Although the design was themed around the magic gears, some arrangements were reserved for adding Mageweath or Alchemy Arrays in the future.

    In order not to affect the lives of the residents of the town, Lin Li decided to design the new ck Clouds Town in such a manner that it did not be a closed fortress lest it became like a prison. If that were the case, they would be better off living in a normal city. When they were not facing any invasions, the entire town would be open, and one would be able to look across the town and enjoy a panoramic view when standing at the entrance.

    When encountering an enemy attack, the entire town would immediately be changed in structure and the fort defense form would emerge as a result of a switch in the magic gears. The outermostyer of the construction was made of a particrly strong material that was not only strong, but also very durable and resistant to magical powers. Theyer would be the fortress¡¯ wall after the magic gears were activated, and at the same time, the 36mp posts in the town would prop up the dome magic shields that were only found in bigger cities.

    These two defense mechanisms alone were strong enough to defend against enemies. Even the Syer Bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to break through the defensive walls.

    However, it was not like Lin Li to stay submissive and allow others to attack him. If his sole intent was to provide a better defensive system, there would be no need to design so many borate magic gears. He had designed a total of 10-odd blueprints. If anyone were to attack the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would perhaps let his enemies die a better death. However, they would never be forgiven if they were audacious enough to harm the ordinary citizens of ck Clouds Town.

    The first would be the most basic attacking method. Each wall was equipped with 200 magical crossbows, and theplementary wind magic could make it harder for one to dodge the crossbow bolts once they were shot. The town was rather small in the first ce, and the length of every side was also very limited. There were basically no blind spots when 200 magical crossbows fired continuously in different directions. With the clever settings of magic gears, they could also automatically track moving objects within the shooting range.

    The magical crossbows were also shooting first-ss enchanted bolts no inferior to a level-10 spell each. All of the crossbows were automatically reloaded by magic gears, which could guarantee that 20 bolts could be fired in a row. In other words, 4,000 enchanted crossbow arrows could be consecutively fired from each wall. There definitely would not be any survivors after the salvo was shot.

    That was also why everyone who had seen the blueprints thought that the designer was insane. Even bustling big cities could not be equipped with so many crossbows, be it enchanted or magical. Six walls, 1,200 magical crossbows, 24,000 first-ss enchanted crossbow bolts. The money spent alone was enough to buy 100 ck Clouds Towns.

    These magical crossbows could be considered weapons that were used to deal with the enemy¡¯s small fries; of course, that was on the condition that one could call people at level-10 small fries. If the enemy managed to survive such an attack, what awaited him next would be a hopeless journey to hell. Don¡¯t forget that in addition to being an inscription master and a magic gears master, Lin Li was also a pharmacist Guru.

    Medicine and potions could be used to save lives, to help practice martial arts or magic, and of course to harm people. As a pharmacist, Lin Li possessed fascinating forms that could make one feel like they were in a living hell. He also had those that could poison someone to death immediately, as well as those that could weaken the magic shield, deplete magical powers, and induce hallucinations, or cause severe dposition of living human bodies.

    Basically, there were only a few people who could survive a conflict with a pharmaceutics Guru. Unless he had the help of a strong Legendary-realm powerhouse, even an Archmage would be at a huge disadvantage. He might survive if he was lucky, or regret and get shot to death right from the start if he was not. Most people would not get to even catch a glimpse of the potions concocted by pharmaceutics Gurus, and they could be considered fortunate to be able to die in the hands of a pharmaceutics Guru.

    It would require quite a bit of time for the new ck Clouds Town to adopt its defense form through the switching magic gears¡ªat least one minute. If other magic gears experts and researchers were present, they would definitely find it incredible, since the transformation of this form transpired on arge scale even though the principle was simple. One minute was truly the bare minimum.

    In order to solve this problem of conversion time and prevent the residents of the town from being caught off guard by an attack, surveince gears were set up 10 kilometers away from the town. Although the Warlock¡¯s Eyes was a simple spell, the magical waves were easily discovered. Using the magic gears would eliminate that problem.

    In addition to the supervision, copies of the surveince data would be sent to the Tower of Dusk as well as the town so as to avoid mistakes that could result from the negligence of the person in charge of monitoring. Besides, it would also make it more convenient for the tower to send rescue teams to provide aid and relief in time.

    Once danger was detected and the hostile intentions of the enemy were confirmed, a surveince officer in the town or the Tower of Dusk would be able to activate the magic gears and allow the entire town to go into defense mode in a minute. Even an Archmage would not be able to fly the distance of 10 kilometers to the town within just a single minute.

    Even if the enemy was a strong powerhouse of the Legendary-realm, there were still hundreds of Magic-resistant Gems Lin Li had brought from the underground pce that would render the enemy helpless once 10 of them were arranged in a magic drainage pattern. Although 10 Magic-resistant gems would not be enough to resist the powerful blow of a Legendary powerhouse, they could at least reduce the intensity of the enemy¡¯s offensive spells. The magical drainage could then be used to transmit the power absorbed from the magical attack into the power core of the magic gears, operating without any wastage.

 Chapter 506 - Rumors Arise

    <h4>Chapter 506:</h4>

    <h4>Rumors Arise</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was not at all worried that others would say that he was making a mountain out of a molehill during the construction of ck Clouds Town. No one said that mages had to be ruthless and resolute. By improving one¡¯s abilities, wouldn¡¯t one be able to prevent others from bullying them and protect the ones they love?

    The reconstruction project of new ck Clouds Town was ratherrge in scale, and it was just as tedious as building a fortress.

    While Lin Li locked himself up, Gavin proceeded to focus on the construction project of the new ck Clouds Town, the new authority that possessed endless potential. After destroying the Syer Bandits, they suddenly enjoyed peace.

    Peace was rare in ck Clouds Town. Lin Li kept the door of his room tightly shut, and almost never left the room. ck Clouds Town was rapidly rebuilt after a tough battle, with the tremendous effort put in by Gavin and the other mage.

    The news of the Syer Bandits being destroyed seemed to spread like wildfire outside of the Tower of Dusk and ck Clouds Town, in the Breezy ins.

    After all, they were one of the top 10 bandit groups in the Breezy ins, and the news of them being destroyed all of a sudden was undoubtedly shocking. Everyone who heard the news was extremely curious, trying their best to find out what had actually happened.

    What had happened in the Dragon Mountains was no secret, and they soon found out that the vanquisher of the Syer Bandits was one of the new factions, the Tower of Dusk. It was situated in ck Clouds Town in Dnd, and was also known as Breezy ins Guild of Magic that was supported by the Supreme Council. The special part about them was that their president turned out to be a greenhorn who was only 20 years old.

    Although it was a new Guild of Magic that had been established for less than a year and was led by a 20-year-old chap, it actually destroyed the Syer Bandits who had been acting brazenly andwlessly in the Breezy ins. It was indeed astonishing, and everyone eating spat their food out when they heard about it.

    It was absolute nonsense!

    The news were rapidly spread by the intel department of all factions who began investigating the truth behind the matter.

    ¡°I was just wondering about it. Turns out they have the support of the Malfa Family!¡±

    Soon, the leaders of the various factions began to hear of the news. The Malfa Family and the people from the Tower of Dusk entered the Dragon Mountains together and destroyed the Syer Bandits as well as the Alchemy Colossuses.

    ¡°It¡¯s Master Cheyenne, it must have been Master Cheyenne from the Malfa Family!¡±

    There were plenty of knowledgeable factions who knew how terrifying and overbearing the Alchemy Colossuses could be. To their knowledge, only a strong Legendary-realm powerhouse could destroy a powerful Alchemy Colossus. They did not think that the young President of the newly established Guild of Magic, Lin Li, would be able to do it.

    ¡°Damn it, I paid you to go find out some news, not fabricate such an absurd story and fool me with it!¡±

    One of the investigating men, who was good at sourcing for insider news, managed to find out the truth. However, he was kicked out by his leader after telling him that the attack wasunched by the young President.

    He was just a 20-year-old, and yet he managed to get rid of four Alchemy Colossuses effortlessly before activating a Magical Domain and getting rid of 10 Archmages. No one would believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes!

    Although they did not believe that a young President would be that capable, they could tell that the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were close now. Otherwise, the Malfa Family wouldn¡¯t have agreed to collude with them and destroy the Syer Bandits. How could the Legendary-mage, Master Cheyenne, possibly help them get rid of the Alchemy Colossuses otherwise?

    The reason for that was actually not very important. What was the most important was that the Tower of Dusk was obviously significant to the Malfa Family. The Malfa Family was the most powerful faction in Aminya, and only the Dark de couldpete with it because it had Legendary powerhouses that were enough to make the other faction forgo the idea of dering war on them.

    Master Cheyenne rarely left the Malfa Family, mainly because he wanted to avoid being attacked by the Dark de. Yet, for the first time, he actually left the Malfa Family for the sake of the Tower of Dusk. Clearly, the Tower of Dusk mattered greatly to the Malfa Family, so much so that they¡¯d take the risk for it.

    Not everyone could suck up to the powerful Malfa Family. Besides, there was now a new faction that had gained the respect of the Malfa Family and, most importantly, that of Master Cheyenne. Those who were weaker all shifted their attention to the Tower of Dusk.

    It would be impossible for the Tower of Dusk not to develop well in the Breezy ins in the future, for they now had the support of the Malfa Family. Since those weaker did not have the rights to suck up to the Malfa Family, it might be great to build a good rtionship with the Tower of Dusk.

    Thus, all of the factions in the Breezy ins shifted their attention onto the newly built Tower of Dusk in Dnd.

    The rumors about the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk spread like wildfire. As the top faction of the Breezy ins, the Malfa Family had definitely heard them too.

    Others wouldn¡¯t have guessed that the young master of the Malfa Family broke out in a cold sweat after hearing the rumors. What a joke. If it were true that the Tower of Dusk led by the young President was reliant on the Malfa Family, wouldn¡¯t that be trouble for the Malfa Family...?

    How did the news spread!? The Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk were the only people who joined the operation, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t have said that they relied on the Malfa Family. Someone in the Malfa Family definitely leaked the news, then.

    <i>I must find out! Could it be that there are spies from the Dark de among us, trying to sow discord between the Malfa Family and Tower of Dusk? That¡¯s unforgivable!</i> Hutton thought to himself in anger as he decided to carry out a strict investigation to find those people.

    However, he could not find any spies at all. Although someone had indeed spread the news, they did not embarrass the Malfa Family. Hence, the rumors were rather vague, though the vagueness was what left much room for imagination.

    Hutton was worried and anxious about the matter for an entire month. He only calmed down after confirming that the young President, Lin Li, didn¡¯t react to the rumors at all.

    The elders finally stopped nagging after seeing the rewards and gains that they had brought from the battle. Although the Malfa Family was the top faction in the Breezy ins, Hutton managed to bring back more than half of the Syer Bandits¡¯ assets and collection. That was a huge gain for the Malfa Family too.

    Time flew fast, and in the blink of an eye, the construction of the new ck Clouds Town was almostpleted. Lin Li finally left his room after a long time. After he had made some conclusions, he discovered and resolved many of the hidden dangers caused by the excessively rapid rise in realm. Although there was not enough time for him to fully understand the Rules of the Holy Light and the Darkness, his usage of the debris of the stars was still improved, and the Frost Domain had also be more perfect.

    Upon exiting the room, Lin Li discovered that there were plenty of fresh faces in the Tower of Dusk. It seemed the Tower of Dusk had gained quite a bit of fametely. Otherwise, how could there be so many new members all of a sudden?

    Those people should have joined ording to the instructions of their elders. Upon seeing Lin Li, whom they recognized to be the young and promising President, they immediately greeted him politely.

    Lin Li cocked his head towards the side to greet them, feeling pleased because the new members seemed to be strong andpetent. There were six level-15 Archmages and dozens of level-13 and level-14 Magic Shooters.

    Trying his best to control his expressions, Lin Li headed to the entrance of the Tower of Dusk and took off into the sky, after which he flew towards ck Clouds Town. Once he was up in the air, he finally burst intoughter. He was d to see his own team developing healthily.

    Two days ago, Lin Li exited his room for a while and asked Gavin about the progress of ck Clouds Town¡¯s reconstruction. Upon hearing that it would bepleted two dayster, he headed straight to ck Clouds Town to take a look at the project once the time was up.

    Soon, Lin Li was greeted with the sight of the new hexagonal ck Clouds Town, just like he had designed it. He descended in the middle of the town, and immediately caught sight of Gavin, who¡¯de greet him. He smilingly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? How¡¯s the progress of the project?¡±

    Gavin finally felt relieved after seeing Lin Li smile. Honestly, he had be increasinglycking in confidence because he had no idea what the purpose of the blueprints¡¯s various parts was. Hence, he¡¯d been very worried that he might make a mistake and owe Lin Li an exnation.

    ¡°President, the reconstruction of ck Clouds Town has basically already beenpleted,¡± Gavin answered.

    After scanning his surroundings, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, summon our people and dismiss the construction workers.¡±

    Gavin dismissed the construction workers and summoned the mages who¡¯d helped build the new ck Clouds Town just like Lin Li had instructed. He was waiting for the next order.

    At this point, it was already Lin Li¡¯s job toplete the rest of the construction works. He had to assemble the magic gears and then connect the power transmission between them,y down the power core, and set the magic drainage and mageweath...

    Gavin and the mages involved in the construction work finally knew what theplicated settings were for. Fortunately, during the construction process, they strictly adhered to the designs on the blueprints, and did not make any presumptuous modifications.

    Gavin and the other mages were dumbfounded upon sight of the open-spaced town turning into a defensive fortress with a creak and rumbling sounds. They couldn¡¯t believe that they were the ones who had created such amazing things.

    ¡°Well, if anyone like the Syer Bandits dares toe again, they don¡¯t have to go back in one piece...¡± Lin Li smiled. Although he had master-level knowledge of magic gears, he still felt a strong sense of aplishment when he saw the magic gears that he had built for the first time.

    Gavin finally closed his mouth. Although Lin Li did not specify the detailed settings of the various magic gears, Gavin could guess the uses of the magical crossbows. He thought to himself, <i>With over 1,000 magical crossbows and tens of thousands enchanted bolts, it would be impossible for 10 groups of Syer Bandits to invade the town, let alone one. </i>

    ¡°By the way, President, regarding the herbs that you have requested, they have already been shipped to the Tower of Dusk. They¡¯re in the storeroom.¡± Gavin finally snapped out of his trance.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Lin Li felt the need to ensure the town¡¯s defense was even better, so he had asked Gavin to purchase a batch of herbs that he could use to prepare the poison. However, he needed not be dog tired this time, because Gerian was about to return from nna soon, together with a batch of pharmacists. Hence, he could leave them to do the strenuous alchemical work.

    ¡°Do you have any more orders for me, Mr. President?¡± Gavin asked. The new ck Clouds Town had already beenpleted, and they would have to move the residents back. Hence, they would still need Lin Li¡¯s instructions.

    Lin Li stroked his chin as he scanned the town, and said, ¡°That¡¯s all. Let them move home. I hope they¡¯ll be pleased with this new ck Clouds Town.¡± He felt rather guilty toward the residents of the town. Although the attack had not been directed at him and the Tower of Dusk, he still felt bad because he¡¯d failed to protect them while they were in his territory.

    Gavin brought the residents who¡¯d helped with the rebuilding of ck Clouds Town back to the small town while Lin Li returned to the Tower of Dusk.

    The other day, Lin Li heard from Gavin that the old residents of Wuyun Town were very satisfied with the new ck Clouds Town. In fact, for ordinary people, it was enough to have a roof that could shelter them from the wind and rain over their head. No one really cared whether it was splendid or not. However, the residents were indeed very happy and satisfied because the houses were new, stronger, and brighter than before, and so was the furniture.

 Chapter 507 - Pharmacist Training

    <h4>Chapter 507: Pharmacist Training</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In addition, they also heard from Gavin and the magicians of the Tower of Dusk that this small town was not just for living. If they were to encounter an attack like thest time again, it would guarantee that no one was harmed again. They were certain that it was true since the senior mages were the ones who said it. The new Tower of Dusk was almost like paradise in Anril, for there was a new environment to live in, with new furniture and guaranteed safety.

    Lin Li got ready to go to the new ck Clouds Town to visit the residents. However, he was attracted to a strange image before he arrived at the door.

    <i>Is that... a mage?</i> The robe on his body had already been heavily discolored and altered. Clothes in such poor condition would rarely be worn even by normal people. Yet, a mage was wearing them.

    ¡°I heard that food and lodging are provided here, as well as clothes and magical equipment. I wonder if it¡¯s real,¡± asked a mage who was trying to find out about the welfare of Tower of Dusk, appearing extremely dejected.

    ¡°You...¡± said the mage in charge of reception. He scanned him from head to toe and asked apprehensively, ¡°Are you really a mage?¡±

    The only person in charge of the reception was a ninth-level magician, but he dressed even better than the man who imed to be a mage. Although he did not mean to insult that man, he was really in doubt of the mage¡¯s identity. How unlucky did he have to be to end up in such a plight?

    The receptionist might not have been able to tell, but Lin Li who had already reached the Legendary-realm could tell that the dismal mage was actually an Archmage whose power was about level-19. It was absolutely suspicious, for it wasn¡¯t likely that a high-level mage would be so unkempt and shabby. Even members of smaller factions would have a better appearance.

    ¡°Mr. President, this man is called Apuda,¡± said Gavin, who was about to apany Lin Li to the new ck Clouds Town.

    ¡°Do you know him? He seems to be very capable. Why is he in such a shabby state...?¡± Lin Li asked.

    ¡°Shabby? He¡¯s always been this shabby. It¡¯s said that his teacher is a Legendary-mage whose identity he refuses to reveal.¡± Gavin stared at Apuda resignedly.

    Gavin and Apuda knew each other, but they did not contact each other much. In fact, very few people have contacted Apuda because of his entric personality. Although Apuda had the strength of an Archmage, no one would want to stand next to someone who looked like a beggar, for it was way too embarrassing.

    Apuda was 44 years old this year, but it had been more than a decade since he reached level-19. It was said that his teacher was a Legendary-mage, but he refused to disclose the identity of his teacher, regardless of who asked him. Due to the fact that he had always been tight-lipped about it, everyone began to think that it wasn¡¯t true.

    Gavin introduced the peculiar mage Apuda to Lin Li.

    Everyone knew that being a mage was an expensive profession, for the costs of all the necessary food, supplies, and apparel were exorbitant. Even if one could pinch and scrimp on magical equipment and gear, they still had to spend a significant amount of money on necessary items. Otherwise, it would make the learning process much tougher.

    The ir that humans had for magic was not as good as that of the High Elves in the first ce. However, how did humans end up rebelling against that natural disparity and overthrowing the rule of the High Elves? One of the main reasons was that humans had found a way to break free from the shackles of the magical world. They had also gained the capital that allowed them topete with High Elves in terms magic, and that was Activating Potions.

    It was said that when humans first began to learn magic, the news of it was presented to the elven queen. When discussing whether to forbid humans from learning magic, several highlords agreed that humans who had a short lifespan would never surpass the High Elves in terms of magic. Hence, the fact that humans were learning magic did not phase the High Elves at all. Another reason was that humans had closed mindsets which were not suitable for learning magic.

    Activating Potions were used for changing a person¡¯s mental state, and they were also the very reason humans could make it so far in the field of magic. Not everyone had the extraordinary mental strength of Lin Li; hence, the Activating Potions were like a key to the gates of magic for mages. It was absolutely necessary for advancing in the field of magic.

    However, anything that was indispensable would note at a cheap price, let alone something that was necessary for mages. Each high-level Activating Potion cost thousands of gold coins, and even the inferior ones would cost at least hundreds of gold coins. However, for the average magician, spending hundreds of gold coins per month on several activating potions was manageable. It was the same even for a mage who was down and out.

    However, Apuda was so downcast that he could noty his hands even on a few hundred gold coins. Hence, he seemed to have teaued after reaching level-19 more than a decade ago. He also showed no signs of reaching the pinnacle.

    In fact, the mage industry was very lucrative even though it was expensive. It didn¡¯t matter which organization he joined. Even if Apuda joined a team of Adventurers toplete quests, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a pathetic and shabby state.

    After listening to the rest of Gavin¡¯s words, Lin Li finally realized the reason for Apuda¡¯s plight.

    A level-19 Archmage was bound to be poor if he did not join any organization. Normally, an Archmage at that level was definitely in demand in the Breezy ins. It was said that in the past, the head of the Malfa Family, Sorenson, who was also Hutton¡¯s father, had personally visited Apuda at his house to solicit his services. However, he was rejected by Apuda despite offering attractive conditions and very good treatment.

    In somerge and medium factions, Activating Potions were not considered precious, and were actually part of welfare that would be distributed to the mages regrly. If Apuda were to join some small and lowly force, he would probably directly be its leader. However, he was extremely entric, and would turn all solicitors down regardless of which faction or organization they were from. He even hid in the Dragon Mountains for several years because of that.

    There were also some mages who refused to join any organization. For example, the ancestor who had founded the Malfa Family had not joined any organization at first, and instead used his own strength and ability to gain a foothold in the Breezy ins where he established the Malfa Family. Apuda might not be able to achieve such a great feat, but he would at least be able to live well so long as he put in a little bit of effort, especially since he was a level-19 Archmage. However, that was also the reason he deserved to be in such a plight.

    Not only did he not join any organization, but he also refused to take the risk and go to the Guild of Magic to take on any tasks. No one knew the reason for his peculiar behavior, and the only exnation they coulde up with was that he waszy, causing himself to end up in such a miserable state that he could not even afford Activating Potions with the money he made in a year, let alone magical equipment.

    Mages would stagnate in their progress without the help of Activating Potions. Apuda was named the most bizarre magician in the Breezy ins, for he had been stuck at level-19 for more than a decade.

    Lin Li shook his head, for he felt that Apuda absolutely deserved his plight, even though he also deserved sympathy. A level-19 Archmage would not end up in such a pathetic situation even if he only put in a tiny amount of effort. With 10 years, he would at least reach the peak of level-19 too.

    ¡°Mr. President, look...¡± Gavin pointed at the door while speaking softly to Lin Li.

    Lin Li sighed, and said, ¡°Take him to settle the administrative procedures. After all, we¡¯re all mages, and the purpose of the Guild of Magic is to help everyone solve their problems.¡±

    The Supreme Council set up the Guilds of Magic with the original purpose of supporting magicians who didn¡¯t care about what went on in the world and only focused on studying magic. Compared to the mages who served various factions or ran around all day to go on quests with Adventurers, mages who were dedicated to magic research would definitely make greater contributions to the development of magic. Although they couldn¡¯t make any money on their own or fight for the interests of the Guild of Magic, their research results would benefit all magicians.

    It was just that no one seemed to even remember the original purpose of the Guild of Magic anymore. All the Guilds of Magic had be as ordinary as those local factions which schemed and fought battles for the sake of their interests.

    Of course, the Presidents of the guilds were not to be med. After all, society was developing, and if all of the Guilds of Magic wereprised of magicians who were only devoted to research, what were they supposed to do if they were to get bullied? For example, the Jarrosus Guild of Magic had been overwhelmed by several local factions, and even got invaded by the Shadow Nest. That happened because they did not have any powerful faction to support them.

    At the beginning, the Supreme Council would give the Guilds of Magic some support. However, the Supreme Council stopped interfering with the Guilds of Magic after some time.

    Since the Supreme Council could not uphold justice for the guilds, they were in no ce to restrict them from going against the motto of the Guild of Magic. Hence, the guilds became more and more interest-oriented and mercenary, because they no longer needed to use benefits to attract superior mages.

    Humans were all pragmatic, and the only purpose of picking up a skill was to give one some hope of making it rich. Since they could live well as a part of the local factions, there was no need for them to join the Guild of Magic and live a mundane life at all. Hence, the Guilds of Magic would require a strong force in order to gain the upper hand in the battle for interests, and they would need plenty of money in order to be stronger.

    Anyway, Lin Li was not cash-strapped for now, and he felt that Apuda would be worth nurturing, for he was a level-19 Archmage, though he had no idea if Apuda waszy or just obsessed with research.

    Gavin pretended to suddenly recognize Apuda, and¡ªmuch to his bewilderment¡ªpulled him directly toplete the administrative procedures of joining the Tower of Dusk. Afterpleting the administrative procedures, Gavin casually asked Apuda for his reason for joining the Tower of Dusk, since he¡¯d refused to join any organization in the past.

    Apuda answered his question truthfully. Actually, his reason was simple. He imed that he would have joined the Guild of Magic a long time ago¡ªhad there been one in the Breezy ins.

    After seeing Apuda, Lin Li asked Gavin to take Apuda to get familiar with the people and environment of the Tower of Dusk while he left alone and flew to the new ck Clouds Town to meet the new residents, after which he attended a bonfire party to celebrate thepletion of the new ck Clouds Town.

    Although mages were masters and superior ss to ordinary people, the 20-year-old Lin Li did not make them feel pressured. They could not associate the young Lin Li who was dancing with the girls around the campfire with the formidable masters who were stern and austere.

    The bonfire party only ended at midnight, and Lin Li had also received plenty of handicrafts from the affectionate girls who were smitten with him. However, he didn¡¯t have the time, nor was in the mood, to think about those things now.

    Lin Li returned from ck Clouds Town to the Tower of Dusk, only to see dozens of luxurious carriages parked in the small square in front of the gate of the Tower of Dusk. He knew for sure that Gerian had to have returned with everything settled. He entered the Tower of Dusk and was greeted with the sight of a radiant Gerian.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve duped the person you wanted for you,¡± Gerian said with a smug smile upon entering Lin Li¡¯s room.

    ¡°How could you say that it¡¯s duping? It¡¯s their fortune to be able toe here,¡± Lin Li said self-righteously.

    Lin Li was speaking the truth, but Gerian could not be bothered with it at all, for he had alreadypleted his task and returned from nna in glory.

    Gerian had previously made various trips to the Pharmacists Guild for the supply of herbs for the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, but to the people of nna, Jarrosus was just a backwater, and the President of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic had never been a remarkable person in their eyes¡ªhe was just like what ordinary humans were like to mages. Gerian, who was the President of the backwater Guild of Magic, was naturally never regarded highly by pharmacists.

    However, things were different this time. Gerian arrived at the entrance of the nna Pharmacist Guild and asked to see their President, Balbo. However, he was mocked by a few pharmacists who acted like he was a beggar asking to meet the king. However, no one, including Gerian himself, expected that Balbo would go downstairs to meet him personally. The expressions of the rest were absolutely interesting.

 Chapter 508 - Bone Erosion Powder

    <h4>Chapter 508: Bone Erosion Powder</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The pharmacists were all sneering when Gerian brought up the topic of training. They were all staring at him in contempt as if they were staring at an idiot. Balbo was the only one who was acting like he had just obtained a treasure, making the pharmacists feel like they were almost going to pass out.

    Balbo was well aware of how experienced the 20 years old Lin Li was in pharmaceutics. In fact, Balbo was no match for him at all. Although Lin Li had never admitted it, Balbo knew that he was a pharmaceutics Guru.

    In the eyes of others, the training session was just a chance for Lin Li to take advantage of the Pharmacist Guild, and was also conveyed in an idiotic manner. However, Balbo knew that the benefits that the pharmacists would gain were indescribable.

    Although Lin Li mentioned in the letter that the trainees would be guaranteed to rise to the next level after the training, the trainees would definitely improve greatly after receiving some tips from a pharmaceutics Guru. Hence, Balbo ignored the opposition of the other pharmacists and quickly agreed to the training n that Lin Li had suggested.

    Although Gerian kept a straight face when staring at the expressions of the pharmacists, he wasughing uncontrobly deep down. In the past, he¡¯d frequently been mocked by those pharmacists; hence, he felt extremely satisfied after seeing how ufortable they were.

    ¡°30 junior pharmacists and five intermediate pharmacists. Balbo really trusts me,¡± Lin Li said while staring at the name list that Gerian had handed to him. Although they did not seem to be high-level mages, they were all around just 20 years old. In other words, these pharmacists were genuinely interested in learning and not performingborious tasks.

    It was obviously easier to teach and educate someone who was like nk canvaspared to pharmacists who had been in the industry for years, because habits die hard.

    There were plenty of low-level pharmacists who were aged 40-50 in the Pharmacist Guild. If Balbo had not believed in Lin Li¡¯s abilities, he would have sent some low-level pharmacists who had no hopes of bing promoted instead of promising youths.

    However, there was barely anyone who understood Balbo¡¯s good intentions. The young pharmacists who had been allocated to their rooms were gathering together in groups of three or five and chatting with each other. They were undoubtedly gossiping about the silly President Balbo and the despicable President Felic of the Tower of Dusk.

    Mages enjoyed a high societal status, yet pharmacists were superior to mages. Even the strongest mage would need the help of pharmacists whom they had to depend on to acquire some potions.

    Yet, the members of the dignified Pharmacist Guild had to be trained by a Guild of Magic. No one would believe that it was purely training; it was obviously free help from the pharmacists!

    Everyone thought the same, be it the pharmacists who had arrived for training or those who did not.

    Lin Li did not n tofort or cate the feelings of those arrogant and haughty young chaps. Since he had already gotten thebor he needed, the pharmaceutical work would have to begin.

    ¡°Hey, Felic, how¡¯s that matter that I instructed you to handle? Has there been any results yet?¡± Gerian began to talk about the diary after getting reminded of it.

    Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s true, we found the ce.¡±

    ¡°Really!? Hey, hurry and tell me what you saw. Did you chance upon anything interesting?¡± Gerian asked excitedly with raised brows.

    Those who did not understand Gerian would simply think that he was trying to fish for some advantage. However, Lin Li had spent enough time with Gerian to know what his personality was like. He knew that Gerian was just asking those questions so excitedly out of pure curiosity.

    Lin Li did not hide the events that they had experienced after entering the cave, and instead told Gerian about everything, including the Retribution Knight, Rodhart, as well as the Crimson Dragon that had been locked for more than 1000 years. He even told him about the miraculous Magical Domain.

    Gerian¡¯s eyes lit up, and he shrieked in horror. ¡°Oh my God, the Retribution Knight! What? Crimson Dragon!? Oh my... a natural Magical Domain!?¡±

    Lin Li continued to talk to Gerian all the way until midnight, after which he finally got to the topic of the underground pce. Of course, there were some things that could not be exined, like the Eternal Furnace and the soul trader Connoris.

    Gerian was extremely thrilled while listening to his stories, though he also found it a pity that he did not manage to see it with his own eyes. He also felt thankful that he did not bring trouble for Lin Li. Hence, he was filled withplicated emotions.

    The next day, Lin Li summoned the pharmacists, who all looked hostile and unfriendly¡ªthough Lin Li was not at all bothered by it. He turned around to leave after telling them to follow him. After some hesitation, they suppressed their anger and did as they were told. After all, it was a task arranged by President Balbo.

    Next, Lin Li dered that the first pharmacist training course had begun. ¡°You are all talents of the Pharmacist Guild, so you must know the basics of formting potions. What we need to do today is to prepare a potion called Bone Erosion Powder. The specific preparation method, as well as the things you must take note of, are all written on this ckboard. I hope everyone will prepare the potions carefully. Each person has only three chances of failing without penalty. If any losses are caused afterwards, you mustpensate at the corresponding price.¡±

    ¡°What!?!¡±

    The 35 pharmacists were instantly bbergasted after hearing his words.

    <i>God, is there still any justice in this world!? I have never seen such a shameless person before! You obviously know what we¡¯re here for! You made us do all theborious work under the pretext of it being a training session. You may deceive others, but you can¡¯t deceive yourself,</i> some of them thought.<i></i>

    <i>This is such a joke. The Pharmacist Guild is the best ce in Anril for learning about pharmaceutics. The top pharmaceutical Gurus were all from the Pharmacist Guild in Anril. You¡¯re just the President of a newly established Guild of Magic who does not have any fame in the pharmaceutical industry, or any remarkable achievements and dissertations. Who are you to train us? </i>

    1Even the blind could tell what the training program was really about. However, they had no choice but to go for the training regardless of how shady it was, because Lin Li was rted to their President Balbo. Everyone knew that they were just mixing chemicals and concocting potions to generate ie for others. They thought, <i>We can stay silent for the sake of Master Balbo, but you can¡¯t take us for fools.</i>

    <i>We are pharmacists, and even the junior ones are also pharmacists. Wherever we go, everyone treats us with courtesy. Yet, when we arrived, not only was there no weing ceremony, the amodations actually had to be shared in groups of four as if we were in a school dorm. We don¡¯t even get to rest after a long journey, and there¡¯s already a task assigned to us on the second day.</i>

    The most infuriating thing was that they had topensate for the wastage of materials if they were to fail more than thrice. There would be plenty of trial and error involved in the concoction of a new potion, and the form would require plenty of experiments to master. ording to industry practice, the eptable failure rate was at least 50%. When a pharmacist was hired to prepare a potion, the pharmacist should not be med even if all of it was wasted¡ªregardless of how difficult the process and how precious the medicinal materials used might be.

    <i>Yes, we admit, we have indeed thought about using this as an excuse to waste half of the resources so as to teach you a lesson, but we haven¡¯t done it yet. How could you threaten us and disrespect our profession with such a lowly stiption all of a sudden? </i>

    The 35 young pharmacists red daggers at Lin Li as if he were their enemy. Oh, actually, they indeed treated him like their enemy because they felt that they were actually sent here to carry out chores for him instead of undergoing the so-called training. They could not continue to learn with their teacher, Balbo, and were worried that they wouldg behind their peers after they returned to the guild. They obviously med the shameless Lin Li for it.

    ¡°If you¡¯re done ring, maybe you can now proceed to look at the form and start thinking about the preparation of the potions?¡± Lin Li said coldly in a derisive tone, not bothered by their glowering at all.

    Although Lin Li liked taking advantage of others, he did not like to owe anyone favors. There was no contradiction between the two. He felt rather good about the old fogy Balbo. Hence, he was not out to take advantage of the training this time, and had, in fact, initiated it with the intent of making it a win-win situation.

    However, Lin Li had never quite been a teacher before, and had no experience in being a motivating and kind teacher. In fact, he didn¡¯t know how to be one at all. Hence, his teaching method was just to tell them everything they needed to know andy the ground rules, as well as inform them of what he wanted. He would at most do some demonstration. If they couldn¡¯t understand or remember what he taught, he would have no other solution, either... apart from giving them a scolding. So what if they were pharmacist? They were not Legendary-realm powerhouses. Even the high priest of the Darkness Shrine would have to be scolded.

    Such a simple and crude teaching method would definitely be criticized by many if executed in the world that Lin Li had lived in before he traveled through time. However, in the world of Anril, there would be plenty of people seeking to be taught by you as long as you had a convincing ability. While allowing you to scold them, they would gaze at you in awe, assent to everything you said, and even me their mistakes on their own stupidity.

    Lin Li came up with the training program because he didn¡¯t want to owe Balbo and the Pharmacist Guild a favor, but it didn¡¯t mean that he really intended to work hard for it. Hence, he was toozy to think about what he ought to improve in terms of teaching methods, and he believed that the pharmacists would just listen as long as they understood it. He knew Balbo wouldn¡¯t have sent fools to him.

    However, for now, the young pharmacists obviously didn¡¯t think that the shameless Lin Li actually had any skills in pharmacy. They had already inquired about it when they arrived, and found out that the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was actually only 20 years old. When they were 20, they¡¯d been mostly apprentices, and at best had just be junior pharmacists.

    After what Lin Li said, one of them wanted to re up, but was stopped by those around him. They wished they could pin the shameless Lin Li down onto the ground and beat him to a pulp. However, they reckoned that if they were to do so, they would have to face the music when they went back, because Lin Li was closely affiliated to Balbo after all. If they were to offend him, they might not even have the opportunity to return to the Pharmacist Guild.

    Lin Li obviously knew what they were thinking. Hence, he pointed at the form of the Bone Erosion Powder that was written on the ckboard with a sinister smirk. Although he remained silent, his intentions were clear. They¡¯d better start thinking about the form and concoction.

    All of them gritted their teeth in anger, and the sound of their teeth could almost be heard. However, they had no choice but to swallow their pride and shift their gazes away from Lin Li and onto the ckboard in front of him.

    <i>Fine, it¡¯s just three chances. You¡¯ve belittled us. We¡¯ll show you what real pharmacists are like! </i>

    The 35 people sent by Balbo seemed to have been exiled in the eyes of others and even their own. However, Balbo had sent out the best pharmacists amongst the younger generation of the Pharmacist Guild in order to maximize the effects of this training. Although they were only low-level and intermediate pharmacists, they had a strong foundation and solid basic knowledge of pharmaceutics. Even if they had not seen the form before, they could quickly master the preparation phase and minimize the chance of failure because they had a solid foundation.

    Everyone shifted their gazes onto the ckboard and flew into a rage again, though they were initially nning to showcase their talents.

    Bone Erosion Powder!

    They knew that potion. Although they didn¡¯t know the form, they had heard its name when they were studying the history of pharmacy, and it left a deep impression on them.

    The duty of pharmacists was not just to save patients.

    A terrible disaster would follow every time the Bone Erosion Powder was mentioned in history. Could you imagine what a person would look like without any bones? It would be such a horrifying scene if all 3,000 residents of a small town became boneless overnight.

 Chapter 509 - Formula

    <h4>Chapter 509: Form</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In reality, pharmacists had the same potential for spawning disasters as Necromancers. However, pharmacists were in higher demand; hence, they still had some value. If necromancers were needed, all their past sins and mistakes would be forgiven and ignored, regardless of how many there were.

    However, the Pharmacist Guild had also madepromises. For example, potions like Bone Erosion Powder were listed as forbidden concoctions, and members of the guild were prohibited from learning about and researching them. They were only strict about it on the surface.

    At this moment, the faces of the 35 pharmacists grew sullen, for they felt angry at Lin Li for making a fool out of them. Their anger did not arise from the fact that he wanted them to concoct shady potions, but rather it was because Bone Erosion Powder was a high-level potion which could only be concocted by a senior pharmacist or pharmaceutics Master.

    Yet, he requested them to concoct such a difficult potion, and only allowed them three chances of failure each despite the fact that they were only intermediate and low-level pharmacists. Even their mentors might not able to concoct the potion with just three failed attempts, let alone them. They felt that Lin Li was obviously out to take advantage of and exploit them.

    ¡°President Felic! We think that you¡¯re intentionally trying to humiliate us,¡± said a pharmacist who seemed to be extremely young.

    ¡°Oh, why is that so? Is there anything about you people that¡¯s worth humiliating?¡± Lin Li asked provokingly.

    Most of the pharmacists were also mages, though they might not be that great at it. Hence, a few of the pharmacists immediately began chanting a spell as soon as Lin Li finished speaking.

    ¡°What are you guys trying to do? Stop it!¡± interjected an intermediate-level pharmacist who seemed to hold some authority among the group even though he was much younger than his peers.

    After hearing him, the pharmacists who¡¯d begun chanting spells had no choice but to stop reluctantly. However, they were still keeping their eyes fixed on the man who had humiliated them.

    Lin Li stared at the young pharmacist and finally remembered that he still didn¡¯t know the names of these pharmacists. He realized that it seemed to be inappropriate for him to scold them if he had not been polite in the first ce. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Hey, did you hear that? He doesn¡¯t even know Wilkinson!¡±

    ¡°Wilkinson is Balbo¡¯s best apprentice. He became an intermediate pharmacist at the age of just 21 years old...¡±

    ¡°No one in nna canpare to Wilkinson in terms of pharmaceutics.¡±

    ¡°How ignorant...¡±

    The crowd rushed to introduce the young intermediate pharmacist, sounding extremely dignified and proud of him while staring at Lin Li provocatively. In the history of the pharmacist industry, Wilkinson could be said to be an absolute genius for bing an intermediate pharmacist at 21 years old, so much that the other talented and young pharmacists were in absolute awe of him, without feeling jealous about him at all. They were instead proud of him because they were well aware that they would only be frustrated if they were to get jealous of Wilkinson.

    However, there was one thing they couldn¡¯t figure out. Why was he, too, exiled to such a ce despite being the proud disciple of Master Balbo? Had he lost his favor? Impossible! Even Elin who had made a huge mistake had now been forgiven by Master Balbo. How could Wilkinson be exiled too?

    Several pharmaceutical Masters of the Pharmacist Guild, including President Balbo, had all given Wilkinson a very positive evaluation, and they were all certain that he was very likely to reach the Master level in pharmacy before the age of 30. Clearly, the pharmaceutical Masters regarded Wilkinson highly; he even could be said to be the hope of the Pharmacist Guild.

    Even Wilkinson himself had no idea what mistake he hadmitted to deserve such treatment. Someone said that Elin had bad-mouthed Wilkinson in front of Teacher Balbo, but Wilkinson was well aware that Teacher Balbo wouldn¡¯t be easily affected by thements of others, unless he was truly displeased with Wilkinson. But then again, what had he done wrong!?

    ¡°Wilkinson, I don¡¯t agree with you guys if you think that I¡¯m deliberately humiliating you. You guys are not worth my time. Besides, what evidence have you got to prove that I¡¯m deliberately humiliating you?¡± Lin Li said nonchntly to Wilkinson while ignoring the gazes of the other pharmacists.

    ¡°Well, then I shall ask you this, President Felic. You should know that we people have limited abilities. In this case, why are you making us concoct an advanced potion and only allow us to make up to a maximum of three failed attempts? Is your agenda to use such a lowly trick to get some funds for your guild?¡± Wilkinson asked in a calm but sarcastic tone. He was just trying to say, ¡°Are you so poor that you have to use such a method to get money from us?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, an advanced potion? If this is advanced to you, your abilities are really limited and disappointing,¡± said Lin Li who continued to provoke them instead of getting angered by their words.

    Wilkinson frowned, but reached out to stop hispanions who were about to lose their temper and attack again. He could sense that there was something fishy about Lin Li¡¯s words. At the thought of it, he turned around to look at the ckboard, only to see the words ¡°Bone Erosion Powder¡± written clearly in arge font. However, the content below began to look strange.

    Bone Erosion Powder was listed as a banned potion, and only a few people were likely to see its ssified form. Although Wilkinson was a proud disciple of President Balbo, he was not allowed to look at the form, either. However, as a pharmacist, especially one who had a solid foundation and rich knowledge, Wilkinson was certain that the form was a low-level one.

    At this moment, the others noticed that Wilkinson was staring at the ckboard without saying anything. They couldn¡¯t help but look at it too. Wilkinson was not the only one who could tell that the form for the potion was simple. The others could too, for they were all talented pharmacists. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been selected by Balbo. In fact, if they had not been affected by the anger, they should have been able to tell that there was a problem in the form.

    ¡°Is this... the form for Bone Erosion Powder?¡± The rest of them could not believe their eyes at all. How could the legendary banned potion have such a simple form? They could totally believe that it was just a simple and low-level potion.

    Bone Erosion Powder would probably be regarded as a weapon of mass destruction in the world of Anril. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t consider himself to be an upright role model, he did not want to spread the form of the poisonous banned drug. Besides, it would be very troublesome if there were to be any ident during the process of preparing it. Only Master-level pharmacists would have the confidence to concoct it, and it would be impossible for low-level and intermediate pharmacists to do it.

    Noticing the looks of bewilderment on everyone¡¯s faces, Lin Li walked towards the ckboard, and said, ¡°Strictly speaking, this should be called an improved Bone Erosion Powder, or rather a weaker version of the original one. The toxicity of the powder has been greatly reduced after swapping out some of the materials, though the effects are still the same. Given your capabilities, concocting this potion shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Although these pharmacists were very dissatisfied with Lin Li, in the end, he was still rted to President Balbo. Unless they didn¡¯t want to be part of the Pharmacist Guild anymore, they would have to endure the harsh treatment and indignity. The group did not answer, and instead looked at Lin Li, who was standing in front of the ckboard. They decided to ignore him so as to vent their frustration.

    Only Wilkinson, who had just spoken, was acting differently from the rest at this moment. He shifted his gaze onto Lin Li with a look of apprehension on his face. As a proud disciple of Balbo, the President of the Pharmacist Guild, Wilkinson got to where he was not only because of his talent in pharmacy, but also his extraordinary efforts. Although he had only been promoted to an intermediate pharmacist less than a year ago, he had already collected nearly 1,000 pharmaceutical forms, all of which he had memorized.

    However, Wilkinson was puzzled now¡ªthe form of the Bone Erosion Powder on the ckboard did not exist in his memory at all. In other words, the form of the so-called weakened version of Bone Erosion Powder had never been published before.

    <i>Did he...</i>

    Wilkinson was greatly taken aback by his own crazy idea, and immediately put his thoughts away and shifted his gaze away from the young President. He nced at the ckboard and began to find his own ideas rather amusing.

    The form of every potion would be tested several times by the pharmacists, who often risked their lives and put in tremendous effort to formte them. The more advanced the pharmaceutical form, the more difficult the process would be. Everyone knew how poisonous the Bone Erosion Powder was, but who knew how many pharmacists had gotten a taste of it during researching it?

    The research of pharmaceutical forms wasplex and difficult, and it wasn¡¯t easy to modify the forms, either. A ton of effort had been put into every form, and it could be said that modifying a pharmaceutical form was even more difficult than researching to develop a new one¡ªespecially when it came to advanced potions like Bone Erosion Powder where modifications were dangerous for the pharmacist.

    Wilkinson could say with certainty that even his own teacher, Master Balbo, would not be able to make any beneficial changes to the form of the Bone Erosion Powder. Therefore, he did not believe that President Felic, who was the same age as him and was not an official pharmacist, would be able to make any modification to the Bone Erosion Powder form in his own capacity.

    Hence, the name of the so-called improved Bone Erosion Powder form was just borrowed from the original Bone Erosion Powder, and did not have anything to do with the original at all. Having figured it out, Wilkinson took a deep breath and felt amused by his crazy thoughts. He¡¯d never thought that he was the best genius in pharmacy, but he felt that there would be a limit to how capable one could be in pharmaceutics.

    Wilkinson would definitely be amazed by how talented the young President of the Guild of Magic was if he were to be a middle-level pharmacist. However, if he were a Master of pharmaceutics, Wilkinson would have to recall his ¡°crazy¡± idea.

    The rest of the pharmacists thought the same as Wilkinson. A pharmaceutics Guru should be an elder like President Balbo, and not a 20-year-old.

    Lin Li, who had beenpletely disregarded, simply smiled indifferently and turned to leave the room without saying anything. He left the group of young pharmacists to study the form of the potion by themselves. Since they were talented individuals who had been sent by Balbo, it should not be a problem for them to formte such a low-level pharmaceutical form.

    This Bone Erosion Powder which had been greatly weakened was what Lin Li nned to use for defending ck Clouds Town. Although it would be better to deal with the enemy using a greater power, it ought not to be left with the citizens of ck Clouds Town for too long lest the form was leaked. There would be no way to salvage it at all. Although it was to be used to deal with the enemy, Lin Li needed to reduce the effect of the potion for the safety of the residents while ensuring that it worked too.

    COMMENT

    In fact, there were also some poisonous forms amongst the low-level potions that would result in things like lethargy, vomiting, or itchiness, but those effects were really minor and might miss the spot. Therefore, Lin Li chose a somewhat troublesome method to improve an advanced potion.

    The effects of the Bone Erosion Powder were powerful and overbearing, and reducing the dosage would only slow down the attack while the damage caused would still be incurable. The improved form of Bone Erosion Powder, which had been altered by Lin Li, required less materials and was simpler to prepare. It also had a stronger prating power. Most importantly, the damage caused by it could be cured by another medicine. Although it was a low-level potion, the effects were middle-level.

    Lin Li intended to make amendments to a few more forms. Although the effects shouldn¡¯t be too strong, the toxicity of a few potionsbined together would make even the strongest Legendary powerhouse sumb to them.

    After Lin Li left, the pharmacists, who were initially focusing on the ckboard, immediately broke into boisterousughter like students who were left alone without their teacher.

 Chapter 510 - A Bunch Of Idiots

    <h4>Chapter 510: A Bunch Of Idiots</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Pharmacists had a higher social status than mages. Although the pharmacists here were all low-level ones, they had beenbeled as talents ever since a young age, and were also the sessful pioneers of their generation. Hence, they were obviously proud and arrogant.

    The biggest problem that they were facing now was their uncertainty about the situation and President Balbo¡¯s stand. Although they¡¯d been told toe here for training, none of them believed that it was true. Although they couldn¡¯t think of any other possible reason, they still felt that they had been exiled.

    That was precisely the reason for their anger and dissatisfaction. However, a small bit of their rationality was telling and reminding them not to get into a conflict with the young President who was rted to President Balbo. Well, at least they were still members of the Guild of Magic, and if they were to anger President Balbo, they might just be chased out.

    At this moment, the young pharmacists were all feeling extremely conflicted and more frustrated than they had ever been. They desperately wanted an outlet to vent their frustration, but they had no choice but to wait until Lin Li had left to gather together and curse him.

    ¡°Everyone, there¡¯s no point in cursing our hearts out now. No matter what, let¡¯s get down to business seriously. Maybe this is Teacher¡¯s test for us,¡± Wilkinson said out of the blue, after which the sounds of gossip vanished.

    As President Balbo¡¯s proud disciple, Wilkinson was still their leader even though they were now in Lin Li¡¯s territory. After hearing his words, everyone calmed down and gave it some thought, only to realize that his words did make some sense. Regardless of whether they had been exiled or not, they would still have to depend on Lin Li in order to return to the Pharmacist Guild.

    They sighed and resigned themselves to fate, after which they turned to look at the form written on the ckboard. There was pharmaceutical equipment on the tables in front of them, and beside them, there were medical shelves level with their waists which all contained medicinal herbs and materials. Everything that they needed had already been prepared, and the form had also been written clearly on the board. Their job was fairly simple, and that was to mix the half-finished materials together to concoct the potion.

    Morning passed in the blink of an eye.

    Lin Li put down the pen in his hand, and stared at the parchment paper that was ced in the middle of the table, which was the result of his efforts this morning. There were also dozens of other pieces of parchment paper on the side. He nced through the forms written on the paper carefully. Once the pharmacists concocted a suitable amount of Bone Erosion Powder, they would be able to gather the Bone Erosion Powder.

    After some consideration, Lin Li decided that the defense of ck Clouds Town was the first problem that had to be solved. Since the amount of potions required was notrge, he decided to let those pharmacistsplete them first. After they were done, he would then teach them some things and get them to make some potions for sale.

    At this moment, the door was flung open loudly. Lin Li frowned and looked at the door, only to see Wilkinson entering together with two other pharmacists.

    Before Lin Li could even say anything, Wilkinson snapped, ¡°Mr. Felic, we don¡¯t know what grudges you bear against us, because we have never heard of you before. No matter what rtionship you have with Teacher Balbo, or what kind of deal you¡¯ve struck, we will do whatever you ask us to do since we are here. There is nothing toin about, but what you are doing is too much. We are not here to be your toys!¡±

    Lin Li was dumbfounded. <i>How am I going overboard? </i>

    ¡°President Felic, although President Balbo hasmanded that we must all listen to you at the Tower of Dusk, you must not forget that we are pharmacists!¡± said another angry pharmacist.

    Feeling bewildered, Lin Li frowned, and said, ¡°Wait a minute. Why don¡¯t I get what you¡¯re saying? I just wanted you to make some Bone Erosion Powder. Why are you making it seem like I¡¯m bullying you?¡±

    ¡°Bone Erosion Powder! Are you still insisting that you were just going to make us concoct some Bone Erosion Powder?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there an issue? The effects of this potion may be weaker than Bone Erosion Powder¡¯s, but the form is just a modified version of the original one. It¡¯s not wrong to call it Bone Erosion Powder,¡± said Lin Li, who was getting more and more confused. He thought to himself, <i>I¡¯m just making you people make some low-level potions. It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t made them in the Pharmacist Guild before. Why are you making it seem like I abuse you? You guys aren¡¯t childborers. All of you are in your twenties. </i>

    ¡°Wilkinson, I told you right from the start that we shouldn¡¯t havee to see him. Let¡¯s go home now. I believe President Balbo is not going to me us,¡± said another pharmacist.

    Thud.

    ¡°You two, shut up!¡± Lin Li hollered angrily, finally losing his temper and standing up after mming his hand against the table. He then said to Wilkinson, ¡°Tell me, what exactly is going on? Make things clear. Besides, you¡¯re free to go wherever you want here, no one ispelled to do anything. Don¡¯t threaten me with your departure.¡±

    Lin Li was actually not angry. He was just finding it rather amusing and frustrating at the same time. It seemed the pharmacists had been spoiled rotten by the Pharmacist Guild, so much that they were all childish brats.

    Although Lin Li did not deliberately make his identity known, they all knew that he was a Legendary-mage; hence, the two intermediate pharmacists immediately shut up. Although they soon snapped back to reality, they still felt rather ashamed and exasperated. However, they could not bring themselves to speak.

    Wilkinson¡¯s heart dropped out of exasperation, though he still pretended to be calm on the surface. ¡°Fine, President Felic, since you won¡¯t admit it, we¡¯ll do it on your behalf.¡±

    Lin Li instantly felt speechless after hearing the reason for their behavior. It turned out he was really at fault for having too much faith in their abilities.

    The matter was actually very simple. During the concoction process, six or seven pharmacists passed out because of their own concoctions. At the start, they thought that they had just made some mistakes. However, the other pharmacists who followed the form carefully all ended up in the same plight.

    At this juncture, everyone began to find it fishy. After looking through the form over and over again, they discovered some strange issues with it. There was one main problem that led to the entire form bing useless. Even if Balbo took over, he might not be able to concoct the potion sessfully.

    From a normal perspective, this was just a w in the form, and if it were a conspiracy, it would be a trap. Due to their disdain for Lin Li, almost everyone gravitated towards the possibility of it being a conspiracy, for they felt that it was just one of Lin Li¡¯s tricks to y them again. It was an error that should not have been made, because it was a no-brainer. It was a mistake that went against the basic theories of pharmacy, and would be obvious even to junior pharmacists.

    Those who had learned the basics of pharmaceutics would be able to spot the mistake. Yet, Lin Li included it in the form, which all of them followed out of trust in Lin Li. However, they ended up falling for the trick.

    Lin Li was very surprised after hearing their words, though he was not shocked that his form had a problem. The form had been carefully checked and formted without any low-level errors. He was surprised that the geniuses of the Pharmacist Guild couldn¡¯t even make such a low-level potion. Their abilities were way too horrible.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m sorry, but in order to treat mypanions as soon as possible, we have to leave immediately to go back to nna. We will report this to President Balbo truthfully,¡± Wilkinson said with a sullen expression before turning around to leave.

    ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Lin Li stood up and walked away from his desk. ¡°It¡¯s your freedom to leave and I won¡¯t stop you from leaving. However, you can¡¯t let me act as your shield.¡± He then pushed the three pharmacists away from the door and left the room.

    Wilkinson had no idea what Lin Li meant, but he left before they could even re up. Hence, they had no choice but to follow him unwillingly.

    Soon, Lin Li arrived at the pharmaceutical room and pushed the door to enter. The young pharmacists were all gathered together, and there were also a few who were lying on the ground, motionless and unconscious. Fortunately, there was a venttor under every work desk. Otherwise, there would be more affected pharmacists.

    Upon sight of Lin Li, the pharmacists pulled a long face, for they had long begun disliking Lin Li. If they weren¡¯t in his territory, they would have already begun attacking him.

    Lin Li walked towards one of the workstations with a nonchnt look on his face. He then rummaged through the materials and equipment that belonged to a Pharmacist who had unfortunately passed out.

    After looking at the materials and chemicals, he understood what went wrong and which mistake the pharmacist had made.

    At this moment, Wilkinson chased after him with some of his peers. The Pharmacists in the room had no idea what he was there for, and they immediately surrounded Wilkinson in a bid to find out more about their concerns as soon as they saw him. However, Wilkinson stopped them and instead stared at Lin Li in bewilderment.

    Lin Li was busy mixing the chemicals and half-finished products with finesse at the workstation, giving them a great shock. They could tell from Lin Li¡¯s actions that he had a strong foundation in pharmaceutics.

    Lin Li was actually feeling very frustrated as well, for he had not expected them to be so mediocre even though they were touted as geniuses. However, he could not leave them in the lurch; after all, the problem arose from his form. Since it didn¡¯t take too much time or effort, he decided to do it himself and concoct some antidotes for them.

    Although the modified Bone Erosion Powder had be a low-level potion, it required a high-level antidote. Fortunately, they had gotten poisoned during the concoction process by one of the materials, and not the Bone Erosion Powder itself. Lin Li immediately ced a small ss of blue liquid on top of the stove and used a pipette to suck up some golden liquid, which he then gently released into the ss.

    Bang! All of a sudden, glittery blue fumes wafted into the air, soon sucked away by the venttor below the desk. Lin Li grabbed the ss which contained a silvery powder that used to be the blue liquid.

    ¡°What else are you trying to do!?¡± one of the pharmacists questioned while shielding his unconscious peer.

    ¡°A bunch of idiots!¡± Lin Li sighed and shook his head, after which he suddenly flicked the powder towards the side, causing the pharmacists to be engulfed by it.

    They immediately started hollering and yelling at Lin Li.

    Wilkinson dashed out of the white fumes, and questioned, ¡°President Felic, what exactly are you trying to do!?¡±

    Lin Li pointed at the man behind him, and nonchntly said, ¡°This, of course. Are you guys really nning to carry all of them back?¡±

    Wilkinson turned around to see that the silvery white fumes had vanished, and the pharmacists who had passed out had also regained their consciousness and stood up. They were looking around in bewilderment.

    Noticing the peculiar look in Wilkinson¡¯s eyes, the pharmacists quickly stopped cursing and instead scanned themselves from head to toe before turning to look at theirpanions who seemed to be behaving normally. They then turned around to look behind, after which they were dumbfounded, just like Wilkinson.

    It¡¯d only been a while since Lin Li entered, yet he already managed to formte an antidote, which was absolutely shocking. Of course, his rapid formtion did not indicate how highly skilled he was, though it showed that he was familiar with the formtion of such potions. Others might not be able to do it so quickly even after practicing for 1,000 times. All of the pharmacists were secretlyforting themselves with theme exnation because the other possibility was terrifying and uneptable.

    All of a sudden, they began to hear some noises, and Wilkinson and his peers quickly snapped back to reality. They turned around to see Lin Li stirring the contents of a ss bottle.

    Everyone turned to look at Lin Li, who put down the ss rod, and calmly said, ¡°I proposed this training n to President Balbo with one principle, and that was to keep everything voluntary. However, it seems that you don¡¯t want to stay here. It doesn¡¯t matter to me: stay or go, just decide it yourselves. However, one thing¡¯s certain, and that is that I don¡¯t want to be med when I meet President Balbo again.¡±

 Chapter 511 - Is It Possible Or Not?

    <h4>Chapter 511: Is It Possible Or Not?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s faces remained silent. In their opinion, he was just spouting nonsense and making excuses. They knew without a doubt that President Balbo would definitely not spare them.

    Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t be bothered whatever they thought. He came up with the training n because he didn¡¯t want to owe Balbo a favor. Hence, it did not matter who the training candidates were. Even if they were middle-aged pharmacists who were not advanced in level, he would still be confident in helping them improve as long as they were not fools.

    However, Lin Li was not obliged to shield them and allow them to use him to exin their premature return to Balbo, either. Hence, he said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys say that I was making a fool out of you guys with a fake form? Didn¡¯t you say that this was impossible? Watch carefully what happens next.¡±

    <i>Geniuses of the Pharmacist Guild? They¡¯re all so ignorant!</i> Lin Li¡¯s method was simple, and he decided not to talk much. Since they¡¯d decided to bring in some pharmaceutics jargon and theories, and insisted that his form was not feasible, he decided to give them an eyeopener.

    Wilkinson and others had witnessed the young mage skillfully formte the antidote with his own hands. However, they could tell from the process that it was just a basic, low-level potion. It could only mean that he had a certain foundation in pharmaceutics. However, it seemed now that Lin Li was really going to begin preparing the potion that they, the geniuses of the Pharmacist Guild, could not.

    Wilkinson and the rest found it to be extremely incredible. Could this young President of the Guild of Magic really be a pharmacist? However, Wilkinson quickly snapped out of his thoughts, thinking that Lin Li and his teacher Balbo had some rtions, after all. Even if he disliked his personality, he couldn¡¯t let Lin Li suffer an ident.

    ¡°President Felic, ording to the Paparog¡¯s theorem, your form is really impossible. If you don¡¯t believe it, we can get you a book on pharmacy theory.¡± Wilkinson hurried forward in a bid to persuade him.

    Someone pulled Wilkinson away, and softly told him, ¡°Wilkinson, just ignore him and let him go ahead. We¡¯ll see what he cane up with.¡± None of the pharmacists liked Lin Li, and everyone wanted to see him suffer the effects of the potion. Well, it wouldn¡¯t kill anyway.

    Wilkinson stopped talking, and the young pharmacists looked at the stage with anticipation, watching as Lin Li prepared the potion step by step. They were waiting to cheer and vent their frustration once he made a fool out of himself.

    However, reality disappointed everyone and took them by shock. What seemed to be a trap at first was actuallypleted easily. There was no ident, and Lin Li mixed the liquids together ording to the instructions of the form. Of course, it came as a great shock to the pharmacists.

    After recovering from the shock, Wilkinson immediately sensed that something was amiss. He could not understand why the pharmaceutical theorem that he was extremely familiar with turned out to be wrong. After giving it some careful thought, he tried to recall what Lin Li did during the most crucial step.

    Thick white vapor wafted up into the air, and soon, some earthy yellow powder appeared in Lin Li¡¯s cup¡ªit was the modified Bone Erosion Powder. He raised the ss in his hand, and said, ¡°This is the potion I want you to formte. Who else here still thinks that the form is fake?¡±

    Silence filled the room. The young pharmacists could not believe their eyes at all, because the theories that they had been familiar with were defied at this moment.

    ¡°Impossible! This is a clear vition of the Paparog¡¯s theorem. How can it really be possible to realize this form?!¡± Everyone felt the same.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ve already proved the feasibility of the form. I won¡¯t force you to leave or stay, but don¡¯t act like I bullied you lest President Balbo gets the wrong idea.¡± Lin Li ced the cup on the table and looked at everyone in disdain.

    Although the pharmacists were young and full of vigor, the truth was still clear as day. The so-called trap was there just because of their own ipetence. After being despised, they were obviously too ashamed to air their displeasure again.

    Wilkinson knew that it was time for him to stand up and make his stand. He coughed awkwardly, and said, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m sorry. We misunderstood you. However, can you exin to us why the Paparog¡¯s theorem is not applicable in this form? Otherwise, we really can¡¯t sessfully formte this potion.¡±

    Since Wilkinson had already swallowed his pride and admitted to their mistake, Lin Li decided to forgive them after seeing how sincere Wilkinson was. After all, Lin Li was not an unreasonable person. He nodded, and said, ¡°The so-called theorem is the summation of previous experience of others who had been testing it through generations. In the process of this verification, some of these theories have been passed down, and some have been overturned because of some new discoveries. Therefore, the theorem is not the definite truth, and it may not necessarily be absolutely correct or wrong. Perhaps the discoveries necessary to prove it wrong just haven¡¯t been published yet.

    ¡°As for why the Paparog¡¯s theorem you know is invalid for this form, it¡¯s because of the change in medicinal properties,¡± Lin Li said while pointing at Wilkinson and the rest, who were now awestruck. They returned to their seats quietly and listened like they usually would during Teacher Balbo¡¯s lessons, afraid that they would miss a single word.

    However, it was all just elementary knowledge, after all. Just like magic that became worthless after it was cracked, there was nothing too strange about the Paparog¡¯s theorem being untrue after Lin Li exined it. Well, at least that was the case for the mages.

    ¡°Turns out it¡¯s so simple. I thought that there was something miraculous and unfathomable about it. So I just didn¡¯t expect it.¡±

    They were unwilling to believe that the President of the Guild of Magic, who was younger than them, would surpass them in pharmacy. It was actually a normal mentality. Whenever humans encountered something that they couldn¡¯t believe, they would always try to exin it using their own concepts until they could finally ept it, just like those who liked to crack magic tricks.

    Lin Li stood on the stage, where he could clearly see that the young pharmacists under the stage were experiencing variations in their expressions while they listened to his exnation. However, he didn¡¯t pay much attention, for these pharmacists were not his actual students, anyway.

    Lin Li stopped after talking about what he ought to, not nning to say anything more. He knew that if he spoke too much and if there was something that contradicted the theory that they were familiar with, he would not have the patience to persuade them.

    The main problem was that Lin Li had no idea what the pharmacists didn¡¯t know. Since he was in Anril, he had not actually studied pharmacy, and his own pharmaceutical knowledge was obtained through the Scroll of Wishes. The incident happened this time because he hadn¡¯t considered the fact that the Paparog¡¯s theorem was still regarded as true by these people, though it had long been overthrown¡ªfor as long as he could remember.

    Wilkinson and other pharmacists did not mention the matter of going back to nna anymore, and Lin Li left the room. Instead, they obediently began to prepare the potion using the skills that they had newly learned. They didn¡¯t have another choice. Since the form was real, they didn¡¯t have an excuse to report to President Balbo.

    During the preparation of the potion, the topic of their discussion was undoubtedly Lin Li, the young President who took them by surprise, especially with his knowledge in pharmaceutics. Unfortunately, Lin Li¡¯s performance was not an indicative factor of his level in pharmaceutics. After all, the Bone Erosion Powder was just a low-level potion.

    ¡°Even if he knows techniques that defy thews of the Paparog¡¯s theorem, that can¡¯t show what his level is. I¡¯m sure you know that the technique is notplicated. It just didn¡¯te to mind at first.¡±

    ¡°But, even we, the geniuses of the Pharmaceutics Guild, didn¡¯t think of it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the Masters didn¡¯t think of it, either, but that can¡¯t prove that he¡¯s superior to them. I bet he¡¯s just a low-level pharmacist.¡±

    ¡°I can tell that he has a strong foundation. Perhaps he might already be an intermediate pharmacist. Wilkinson, what do you think?¡±

    After hearing his peers¡¯ question, Wilkinson calmly answered, ¡°Has none of you thought about the reason we¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°Does he actually want us to learn about pharmaceutics from him? What a joke,¡± a low-level pharmacist said in disbelief.

    Wilkinson shook his head gently, and said, ¡°Although this technique is inconspicuous, it can overthrow Paparog¡¯s theorem, and no one in our guild knew about this. How did this President Felic even find out? Clearly, there must be a knowledgeable pharmacist behind President Felic.¡±

    After hearing Wilkinson¡¯s spection, the crowd suddenly felt enlightened, and everything seemed to make sense. It turned out that Master Balbo did not actually banish them, and instead just wanted to let them learn from pharmacists outside the guild. Obviously, President Felic was the disciple of the unknown master, but he was more inclined towards learning magic, and so his master had to have asked him to find some disciples...

    Humans had unlimited imagination, and the pharmacists began to specte after receiving Wilkinson¡¯s prompts. However, none of them mentioned returning to nna again. They decided to stay of their own ord, and not because of Balbo¡¯s pressurizing them. Even if someone wanted to drive them away now, they would not leave.

    For the next two days, they continuously tried to guess the identity of the mysterious man behind Lin Li. However, the mysterious pharmaceutics Guru had never appeared before, and they were all just making wild guesses. Hence, they were all actively discussing Lin Li.

    However, they no longer felt so resentful towards him after finding out that they had not been exiled and were not there for an hical transaction.

    Even an untalented person would improve greatly with the guidance of a pharmaceutics Guru. They could tell from the two demonstrations that Lin Li had performed that he had a good foundation in pharmaceutics.

    However, the young President Felic had only turned 20 years old, and although they were all young people, the true pharmacists were mostly in their thirties and older than him. Besides, they also knew that he was extremely talented in magic. Although he was only 20 years old, he had already reached the Legendary-realm.

    No one was invincible, and even talented individuals had their limits. Since he had made such a remarkable achievement, it meant that he had put in plenty of effort into learning magic. Since he was a genius in magic and pharmaceutics, he was one of a kind. Even the powerhouses who had stepped into the Legendary-realm would only have time to learn pharmaceutics after their lifespan increased with that breakthrough.

    The pharmacists felt that he was an absolute genius, for he was an expert in both pharmaceutics and magic at the age of 20.

    Lin Li had no idea that he had given the pharmacists something to talk about. He thought they should be honored that he was helping them.

    With so many pharmacists working together, they should soon be able to prepare a sufficient amount of weakened Bone Erosion Powder. Although most of the 35 pharmacists were low-level ones, they were all excellent talents of the Pharmacist Guild, after all. It should be a piece of cake for them to prepare low-level potions.

    Over the next two days, the pharmacists who had gotten familiar with the preparation of the potion worked extremely hard, which was much to Lin Li¡¯s pleasure. The medicinal materials that he had prepared beforehand were depleted rapidly, and the room was soon filled with the finished product.

    Lin Li was not intending to sell the Bone Erosion Powder, so he just had to make enough for the magic gears in ck Clouds Town. He had also prepared to use a few other poisons in the magic gears. Thus, he got ready to provide a new form for pharmacists to prepare now that they had already gotten enough Bone Erosion Powder. He decided to proceed with teaching them after all the potions required for ck Clouds Town were ready.

 Chapter 512 - Nitpicking

    <h4>Chapter 512: Nitpicking</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just as Lin Li was about to enter the pharmaceutical room, he heard the sounds of an argumenting from inside. After listening carefully, he discovered that the pharmacists seemed to be having a heated argument about the concoction of a potion. He pushed the door and entered. However, they were all still crowding around each other and debating about the problem in two separate groups. None of them noticed Lin Li¡¯s presence at all.

    Lin Li stood by the side to listen to their argument carefully for a while. He finally realized the reason for their argument. It turned out that they were discussing modifying advanced potions to weaken them after witnessing the effects of the modified Bone Erosion Powder.

    Actually, the concoction of advanced potions was not a fresh topic, and was easy to understand too. Right from the beginning of the concoction process of an advanced potion, one would have to collect and prepare all of the necessary materials, which were hard to find, for they ranged from extinct nts to menacing beasts. In order to acquire them, one would have to pay a hefty price.

    Those who couldn¡¯t find the required medicinal materials, but wanted to obtain the effects of a specific potion, could rece the missing medicinal materials with othermon ones. In fact, examples of sessful weakening of advanced pharmaceuticals did ur amongst thousands of pharmaceutical formtions, but the number was pathetically small¡ªthe medicinal properties of various medicinal materials changed infinitely, and were subject to the effects of varying temperature and differences in different medicinal properties during the preparation of pharmaceuticals.

    If one did not grasp the changes in the medicinal properties of various medicinal materials when formting potions, there would be no way to find any alternatives. Perhaps one might think at first that amon medicinal material was weaker than the precious medicinal material. However, when one added themon medicinal material during the preparation, it was likely that it¡¯d change in appearance, resulting in unexpected changes.

    Throughout the history of pharmaceutics, there had been plenty of pharmacists who had lost their lives while concocting and researching advanced potions. At some point, some even thought that modifications could never be made to advanced potions to weaken them, because the changes of advanced potions were far too unpredictable, just like lottery. No one would know the winning numbers.

    Of course, the pharmacists here were just low-level and intermediate ones, who wouldn¡¯t actually discuss the concoction of an advanced potion. They were just discussing a low-level one. It was not that they were bored, but rather that they felt that the discussion process would help them gain a better understanding of pharmaceutics.

    They were discussing a low-level potion, the Insight of the Owl that would mainly heighten one¡¯s observation and visual senses. Since mages had the Wizard¡¯s Eye, they didn¡¯t need such a potion. However, the potion would be very beneficial for archers.

    The main ingredient of that potion was known as the Dragon¡¯s Eye, though it was not actually an eye of a dragon, and was actually an extremely rare nt that grew on peaks. The young pharmacists were also discussing what kind of low-grade medicinal herbs they could use to rece it.

    One of them suggested that they use bitterfruit to rece it, while another suggested the Eye of the Skrk. Both of them were intermediate pharmacists, and neither of them could convince the other. They both turned hot and angry while arguing with each other.

    ¡°Actually, there are problems with both.¡±

    A voice that sounded exceptionally clear amidst the argument suddenly filled the air. The two of them quickly looked over as they fell silent, only to see the young mage called President Felic.

    Although the pharmacists no longer treated Lin Li like an amateur after the concoction of Bone Erosion Powder, they guessed that Lin Li was at most a low-level pharmacist even though he had a mysterious pharmaceutics Guru as his master.

    ¡°President Felic, we¡¯re talking about the formtion of a weakened intermediate-level potion. Stop being unreasonable,¡± one of the Pharmacists said smilingly in a hostile manner, though he did not have any ill intentions.

    Actually, Balbo had put in plenty of effort into sending them there for the training program. He knew what Lin Li¡¯s temper was like, and hence decided to send these young pharmacists who were not too arrogant andcent even though they were outstanding talents of the Pharmacist Guild.

    Lin Li smiled and ignored his mockery. Slowly and calmly, he continued, ¡°We¡¯ll start from the results first. Between bitterfruit and the Eye of the Skrk, bitterfruit is closer to the Dragon¡¯s Eye. However, there is a bitter element in bitterfruit that makes the Insight of the Owl...¡± After the Dragon¡¯s Eye was reced, there had to be further recements of other materials because of the change and the reactions.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s exnation, everyone was dumbfounded. One would have to be very knowledgeable in pharmaceutical forms in order toe up with such a detailed and urate analysis that could not be made by a low-level pharmacist. This world was crazy. How could someone be able to do so much?

    ¡°President Felic, so you mean these two ingredients cannot be used to rece the Dragon¡¯s Eye at all. Do you have a better choice, then? Or is it that the Owl¡¯s Insight can¡¯t be weakened at all?¡± one of the intermediate pharmacists asked indignantly.

    ¡°I said that bitter fruit is actually very suitable for recing Dragon¡¯s Eye to produce the same effect, but the substitution cannot be achieved because of the arbutin in it. However, there is a kind of green worm in the bitter fruit tree that feeds on bitter fruit. Arbutin will be broken down in its body while the otherponents are absorbed.¡±

    ¡°You mean, we should use those worms to rece the Dragon¡¯s Eye?¡± some people asked in apprehension.

    ¡°Do you not believe me? Well, there is a bitter fruit forest that is not too far to the north from the Tower of Dusk. Why don¡¯t you guys go catch some green worms and try using them for your concoctions?¡± Lin Li said confidently.

    The pharmacists were all young people who had no reason to turn Lin Li¡¯s suggestion down, be it because of the fact that pharmacists ought to be passionate about learning or the curiosity of youths.

    Lin Li then headed to the podium of the room and erased the Bone Erosion Powder form on the ckboard before writing down a new form carefully on the side. He said to Wilkinson and the rest, ¡°Although the form for Devouring Mist is harder than the previous one, it¡¯s still considered a low-level potion. Familiarize yourselves with it and raise any questions that you have. Don¡¯t mistake it for a fake form again.¡±

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists could not help but feel embarrassed because of the things that happened before. In order to avoid causing such a problem again, they decided to analyze the form carefully and discuss it, even though they were all feeling eager to start concocting.

    Just as they were analyzing the new form, someone returned with some fat green worms. Lin Li did not bother being too polite, and instead gathered all of the materials for the Owl¡¯s Insight and began concocting the potion while everyone else watched in anticipation.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, concocting the original version of the Owl¡¯s Insight would be a piece of cake for him, let alone a modified version.

    The pharmacists watched in awe as the young President Felic mixed the chemicals with finesse, as if they were watching an art exhibition. He was showcasing his incredible abilities in pharmaceutics.

    After cing the concocted potion on the table, Lin Li pped gently, and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s done. I¡¯ll leave the potion here. Anyone who¡¯s interested may came forth to take a look.¡± He then turned around and left the room, leaving them behind.

    The potion was proven to be effective, and the concoction of the weakened version was also urate. Once again, they began to discuss and specte about Lin Li¡¯s level of knowledge in pharmaceutics. They could not take it any longer. Not only was he a Legendary-mage, he had also achieved the level of an intermediate pharmacist at least, which was absolutely incredible. Was he a senior pharmacist? Only a lunatic would assume so. The young mage and President was only 20 years old!

    A long whileter, they finally recovered from the shock. Staring at the form written on the ckboard, Wilkinson eximed, ¡°Another new form!¡±

    At this point, pharmaceutics had be very advanced, and the medical properties of various medicinal materials had all been proven. In other words, the quantity of forms had already reached its limit in the eyes of various pharmacists. Coming up with a new form was profoundly difficult.

    The form of a potion was not a randombination of several medicinal material. Otherwise, any random mixture could¡¯ve been called a potion too, and there would have been countless forms. The effects of the form and its feasibility were the deciding factors of a form¡¯s survival.

    Lin Li¡¯s low-level form gave Wilkinson a greater shock than forms given by pharmaceutics Masters and Gurus would. Low-level medicaments were the most developed due to the fact that their ingredients were easily obtainable, and they could be prepared without much effort or danger. Simply put, they wouldn¡¯t feel the pinch regardless of how many experiments they conducted, since the materials were not expensive. Hence, there were more forms which were allprehensive. Since the variousbinations of chemicals had all been tried and tested, it would be difficult toe up with a new one. In fact, there were plenty who had tried before the form that Lin Li now came up with. However, they had probably given up because of the inexplicable questions that came along with the form, just like with that weakened Bone Erosion Powder.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wilkinson? Is this form new too?¡± one of them asked curiously after hearing Wilkinson¡¯s words. Not everyone paid attention to his speech, and people would usually only use (and therefore know) a few dozens of types of recipes.

    Wilkinson nodded, and said, ¡°It seems that Teacher¡¯s decision was right. Based on these two forms, we can be sure that President Felic¡¯s teacher must be an extremely knowledgeable master. I really hope to ask him for advice. ¡±

    ¡°Is he that impressive?¡± Wilkinson¡¯s peer who was next to him was skeptical. After a moment of thought, he said, ¡°We haven¡¯t met President Felic¡¯s teacher yet. Why don¡¯t we find an excuse and see if we can meet him? If he doesn¡¯t have any skill at all and had only gotten these two forms by dumb luck, we will be able to go back and exin it to President Balbo.¡±

    ¡°This... doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate,¡± said Wilkinson, but was actually a little tempted. For a pharmacist, nothing was more appealing than getting a master¡¯s advice. Although his teacher Balbo was also a Master of pharmacy, each Master had his own area of ??expertise and different perception of pharmacy.

    Although a sufficient amount of Bone Erosion Powder had already been prepared, Lin Li did not immediately ce the Bone Erosion Powder in the magic gears of new ck Clouds Town. Instead, he nned to wait until all the required potions were prepared beforepleting everything once and for all, lest someone noticed the magic gears. Besides, it would be rather troublesome to open the magic gears again and again.

    Upon returning to the room, Lin Li immediately grabbed a book on magic from the bookshelf, and sat in the study room where he read it carefully, not wasting any time at all.

    However, someone suddenly knocked. Lin Li put the book down, stood up, and called the person outside to enter. It turned out to be Wilkinson, giving Lin Li a surprise. After all, he had just parted with Wilkinson and the rest. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Wilkinson. Is there something wrong with the form?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not an issue with the form. I Just have some questions about pharmaceutics. Could you get your teacher to give me some guidance, President Felic?¡± Wilkinson frantically said with an awkward expression.

    Lin Li was caught off guard for a moment, wondering why he suddenly had a master. Even Andoine might not be able to answer Wilkinson¡¯s questions.

    ¡°I know this request may be a little too much. Forget it if it¡¯s going to disturb your teacher.¡± Wilkinson thought that Lin Li spaced out because he was put on the spot, and thus began to feel embarrassed.

    ¡°Ah, nothing, it¡¯s nothing much. Do you mind sharing with me the questions that you¡¯d like to ask?¡± Lin Li asked.

    ¡°Well... the thing is... ¡± Wilkinson could not reject it; hence, he whipped out a piece of paper. ¡°I¡¯ve written them down on this piece of paper. When your teacher is free, please help me ask those questions.¡±

    Lin Li grabbed the piece of paper on which the questions were written, nced at the contents, and nodded secretly. He could tell from the questions that Wilkinson was indeed very talented in pharmaceutics, and it would be difficult for normal people to grasp the key points of the questions. Once the questions were answered, Wilkinson¡¯s knowledge would be taken to greater heights.

 Chapter 513 - A Letter From Balbo

    <h4>Chapter 513: A Letter From Balbo</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°In that case, I shall not disturb you any longer, President Felic,¡± Wilkinson said while staring at Lin Li, who he felt would not be able to answer the pharmaceutical questions that he had just asked. Hence, he left in disappointment.

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± said Lin Li, who decided to tell Wilkinson the answers to his questions since there was nothing important for him to do at the moment. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything urgent to do now, do you? I know how to answer your questions. If you¡¯re not in a hurry, take a seat and hear me out.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Wilkinson asked in astonishment, thinking that he had heard wrongly.

    Lin Li immediately shook his head, and said, ¡°It¡¯s just questions about the double-helix cold extraction technique and the nine-color qualitative theory. What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡±

    Wilkinson shrieked in shock after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words just as he was about to turn around to leave. He almost thought that he was out of his mind.

    Wilkinson himself was already an intermediate pharmacist, and a proud disciple of Master Balbo. Hence, he would obviously raise substantial and difficult questions. Actually, ever since Wilkinson arrived and gained some inspiration from the concoction of process of the modified Bone Erosion Powder, Wilkinson could vaguely sense that only a senior pharmacist would be able to answer his questions.

    Those two questions belonged to the scope of advanced pharmacy, and could only be answered by the senior pharmacists. Yet, the young Lin Li who had just been deduced by them to be an intermediate-level pharmacist actually said that he could answer his questions. Wilkinson refused to believe it at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll just tell you guys about it all together.¡± Lin Li walked out of the door with a piece of paper. Although he initially nned to officially begin teaching the pharmacists some knowledge only after all of the potions required by ck Clouds Town had been concocted, since Wilkinson had already asked him those questions that were rather symbolic, he decided to tell them about it lest they asked him those questions again.

    ¡°Wait a minute, President Felic...¡± Wilkinson was at a loss. Could it be that this young mage turned out to just be an old demon who had a young appearance? He could no longer tell if he was out of his mind or this mage was just too crazy.

    How much could one achieve at the age of 20? Wilkinson became an intermediate pharmacist at the age of 21, and the entire Pharmacist Guild was taken by storm back then. In the history of pharmacy, there had never been such a young intermediate pharmacist. Although Wilkinson had a reserved and humble personality, he was also a young man, after all, and it made sense for him to be proud of his own achievements.

    But now...

    ¡°Everyone, wait a minute...¡±

    Wilkinson finally snapped back to reality after hearing his words, only to discover that he had somehow followed President Felic to the pharmaceuticalb. President Felic was walking towards the podium while all of Wilkinson¡¯s peers stared at him peculiarly.

    ¡°Wilkinson, go back to your seat.¡± Lin Li arrived at the podium. Although he had never been a teacher before, he knew what teachers were like because he had seen them before he traveled through space and time. However, he sounded like a teacher.

    Wilkinson expressed assent and did not reject at all. While everyone stared at him peculiarly, he obediently returned to his seat.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter? Didn¡¯t you go to consult him? Why is he here?¡± one of them asked Wilkinson softly.

    Wilkinson smiled wryly, and said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t gotten the clear idea yet. We¡¯d better look at it together.¡±

    Lin Li cleared his throat, and said, ¡°Wilkinson came to look for me just now, saying that he had encountered some tricky issues. Although you guys can¡¯t apply it yet, it¡¯s better to know more.¡±

    Everyone finally realized that President Felic, who was standing on the podium, was actually going to give them a lecture. It was way too crazy, absurd, ridiculous, and uneptable. Although the pharmacists were only low-level and intermediate ones, their teachers were senior pharmacists, and they often attended lectures by Masters. What rights did he have to lecture them from the podium!?

    The pharmacists below the podium did not actually open the door to storm off angrily. Instead, they just remained seated and waited to see him make a joke out of himself. Some of them had already secretly gotten ready to make things hard for Lin Li and let him know that not everyone could be a teacher.

    However, as Lin Li proceeded with the lecture, the audience¡¯s mindset began to change slowly. They were all known as geniuses, and none would reject a chance to learn just out of spite.

    Lin Li was the only one speaking in the room; the young pharmaceutical geniuses below the rostrum had already beenpletely convinced by him. They were in absolute awe, and were entirely focused. They were afraid that they would miss even a piece of information taught by Lin Li. In fact, their breathing even began to slow down.

    In the eyes of the pharmacists, Lin Li¡¯s figure began to get blurry, and they began to forget his age and identity. At this moment, he was purely a lecturer. They didn¡¯t wish to think about anything at all, and were just listening to him attentively. No one would say no to additional knowledge.

    Lin Li stood on the podium and continued to rattle on and on while scanning the faces of the pharmacists below the podium. He was rather pleased with their attitude for now, especially since they were interested in learning and their passion was so strong that they could not be distracted at all. Although he wasn¡¯t a teacher to begin with, he believed that it would be easier to teach them from now on.

    Lin Li carefully analyzed and exined the questions posed by Wilkinson from every aspect. He only stopped after two hours. At this moment, the pharmacists below the podium were engrossed in new knowledge, and none of them was saying a single word.

    By the time Wilkinson snapped back to reality, he discovered that Lin Li had already vanished. Everyone broke into an uproar, and shock and disbelief were written all over their faces.

    ¡°Just now... Was I dreaming just now!?!¡±

    It was way too absurd. Was that young president really only 20 years old? Everything that he had seen just now made him suspect that he was just a High Elf who was surrounded by humans. Pharmaceutics were different from magic, which required talent and ir. It was an umtion of knowledge. Talent would only allow one to learn quickly and understand things better. However, it would still require some time for knowledge to be picked up.

    ¡°Oh God, the... the things that he said just now. Surely he can¡¯t be a senior pharmacist?¡±

    Everyone shared the same doubts. Words were not enough to describe the ster achievements that the young mage, Lin Li, had made.

    ¡°Actually, intermediate pharmacists might have that kind of knowledge too.¡±

    Others soon began to rebut, especially Wilkinson who had raised the questions.

    ¡°The fact that he could exin the questions so clearly means that he must be an intermediate pharmacist who¡¯s about to advance soon,¡± Wilkinson murmured.

    ¡°Who is the pharmaceutics Guru who taught him? He nurtured such a monster,¡± they said enviously. Everyone felt that they had gained a lot from the lesson this time, and began to get more curious about Lin Li.

    It was extremely difficult to teach and nurture one into a senior pharmacist, what more a 20-year-old. Although the pharmacists there were all intermediate and low-level ones, none of them were senior pharmacists. However, they could tell that the content of the lecture was genuine.

    The pharmacists were busy gossiping about Lin Li and discussing the knowledge that they had gained during the lecture. They seemed rather rowdy in the room.

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    Wilkinson mmed his hand against the table and stood up, after which everyone fell silent.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wilkinson?¡± one of his peers asked concernedly.

    Sensing that he had acted inappropriately, Wilkinson frantically said, ¡°Nothing much. I just suddenly thought about something.¡± He then left his seat and walked out of the room.

    Everyone looked at each other in shock and dismay. They had no idea what was wrong with Wilkinson.

    Wilkinson ignored their spections and exited the room, after which he immediately returned to his room to rest. He then began fumbling about and ransacking his suitcase, pouring all of his clothes and items onto the bed. It looked as if a burr had just broken into his room.

    A long whileter, Wilkinson finally found a crumpled and tattered letter in the pocket of his clothes.

    ¡°Damn it. How did I forget Teacher¡¯s instructions and caused thetter to end up in such a state? How am I supposed to bring this to President Felic?¡± Wilkinson murmured in frustration.

    As it turned out, when Wilkinson and his peers were brought to the Tower of Dusk by Gerian, Balbo handed a letter to Wilkinson and instructed him to hand it to Lin Li. However, Wilkinson, like everyone else, thought that he was exiled to the Tower of Dusk by Balbo, and naturally didn¡¯t take his words seriously.

    After everything that happened in the past few days, Wilkinson already knew that he and others were not exiled, but were actually sent there to receive training. He could say confidently and truthfully that the trip was worth it. He only remembered about the letter now.

    Wilkinson read the letter over and over again for a while, after which he felt a sudden movement in his heart made him curious about the content of the letter. He felt a strong urge to sneak a peek at the letter since there was no one else around him.

    There was no magical seal or glue on the envelope. Clearly, the letter was not meant to be confidential; hence, he reckoned that it should be fine to sneak a peek. Wilkinson finally persuaded himself to open the letter.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡±

    Wilkinson almost fell off his chair in shock.

    In the world of Anril, not everyone could be called a Master, for it was an honorific and not just a polite term.

    <i>I must have seen wrongly. Perhaps this letter is for President Felic¡¯s teacher? </i>Wilkinson dared not believe his eyes. He rubbed them, but realized that there were no changes in the letter at all.

    Suppressing the shock within him, Wilkinson continued to look at the rest of the letter, only to get more and more shocked. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had already met President Felic, he would have thought that the letter was for an elder who was as senior as Balbo.

    However, the truth was that the letter was written to a young mage who had just turned 20 years old. Still, Balbo did not sound like an elder who was speaking to his junior, and it was as if the two were friends instead. Balbo often spoke to his juniors condescendingly. However, he seemed to look up to Felic.

    Wilkinson could no longer continue thinking about it, for the shock the letter brought him was indescribable. He thought that that was all. However, he only realized that everything was not over yet when he flipped to the second page of the letter.

    <i>What is this!?! Teacher Balbo... is actually seeking help from President Felic? </i>

    Was there anything more absurd than this? Wilkinson was about to copse. Teacher Balbo was not only the President of the Pharmacists Guild, but also a senior pharmacist. No one knew his academic aplishments better than Wilkinson did. Yet, he was asking President Felic about pharmaceutics with utmost sincerity!

 Chapter 514 - Master

    <h4>Chapter 514: Master</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yes, he was not just trying to discuss pharmaceutics with Felic, and Wilkinson could obviously tell what Balbo meant. Balbo seemed to be sure that Felic could answer all the questions.

    ¡°It turns out there was no mysterious master at all. Felic was the pharmaceutics Master,¡± Wilkinson muttered to himself.

    Wilkinson did not doubt the abilities of the young President Felic; the letter that he read today was the best answer for his question.

    Just as Wilkinson was deep in thought, his friends scurried towards the room, only to see that he was staring nkly out of the window. Someone stepped forth to pat Wilkinson on his shoulder, and asked, ¡°Wilkinson, what¡¯s wrong? Why are you so deep in thought?¡±

    Wilkinson finally snapped out of his trance and stared at his peers, wondering how he should talk to them about it. He did not wish to lose the learning opportunity in a moment of anger. However, he couldn¡¯t let them read the letter. Hence, he folded it, and said, ¡°It¡¯s a letter from Teacher to Master Felic!¡±

    ¡°Wait... Wait, what did you say? Master Felic!?¡±

    President Felic was the only Felic they knew. How could he be a Master!?!

    They all thought that there was something wrong with their ears. They nced at the letter immediately. If it¡¯d been something else, they would have long snatched it away to take a look. However, it was a letter from Teacher Balbo, and it would be inappropriate for them to look at it since they were not Teacher Balbo¡¯s students¡ªunlike Wilkinson.

    ¡°Yes, Teacher Balbo said in the letter that although President Felic has not registered with our Pharmacist Guild, his aplishments in pharmacy have definitely reached the Master level...¡± Wilkinson said in a shaky voice, clearly yet to recover from the shock.

    Upon hearing Wilkinson¡¯s words, the expressions on the faces of several pharmacists suddenly became sullen, and their eyes slowly began to widen together with their mouths. It was as if their jaws were about to dislocate.

    What a joke. No one would be able to keep calm after hearing such news. It could be said that a pharmaceutics Master was the highest position in the world of Anril. Even Legendary powerhouses would have to be polite and courteous to him.

    ¡°He...¡± they said in a shaky voice. ¡°Could it be... real? That President Felic... He¡¯s only 20 years old. How could he be a pharmaceutics Master?¡±

    It was unbelievable and beyond their imagination. If he were an intermediate pharmacist at 20, he would be a genius. However, if he were a Master, it would be absolutely incredible. However, the truth was that he was indeed a 20-year-old pharmaceutics Master!

    Pharmaceutics Master!

    The news soon spread amongst the 35 pharmacists, all of whom could not believe their ears. However, they felt excited and overjoyed after recovering from the immense shock.

    They spent the past few days concocting an advanced potion, after which Lin Li answered Wilkinson¡¯s questions. After two lectures by Lin Li, they hadpletely begun admiring and respecting him. At this point, they finally understood Balbo¡¯s reasons for sending them there. They knew that Balbo had their best interests at heart when he decided to send them there. They finally knew that the training program would be beneficial to them.

    Wilkinson held onto the crumpled letter and handed it to Lin Li with a heavy heart. The rest finally got reminded of their tasks. However, things were different this time. They were much more hardworking because they all knew how precious the advice of a Master was.

    ¡°President Felic, this is a letter that Teacher wanted me to give you, but because... of some reasons, I only managed to give it to you now. I¡¯m very sorry,¡± Wilkinson said with an awkward expression on his face. He had no idea how he should exin the dy in handing the letter over to him. He couldn¡¯t possibly say that he had forgotten about it because of how frustrated he was.

    However, Lin Li was not bothered by the appearance of the letter. Anyway, there was no magical seal on the envelope, and it was clearly not an important letter. ¡°Thank you.¡± He thanked Wilkinson and put the letter away before asking, ¡°Is President Balbo doing well? It has been some time since I left nna.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, President Balbo is doing well.¡± Lin Li did not talk about the appearance of the letter, so Wilkinson finally heaved a sigh of relief. After all, he knew that he was not just facing the President of a guild of magic. In fact, he was facing a pharmaceutics Master. It was inevitable for him to feel stressed.

    Lin Li was just asking about Balbo out of courtesy. After all, he ought to ask about Balbo since he had asked his student to bring a letter to him. After speaking to Lin Li for a while, Wilkinson still did not dismiss himself. Noticing that Wilkinson seemed to want to say something, Lin Li asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Pharmacist Wilkinson? Is there something else you have to say?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just...¡± Wilkinson decided to forgo his pride. Staring at Lin Li enthusiastically, he said, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯d like to know when I can receive a lecture from you again.¡±

    It seemed Balbo¡¯s letter had given him plenty of help. Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°You guys should know that the potions that you¡¯re making now are to be used in ck Clouds Town¡¯s defense system. Hence, the proper lessons will begin after the potions are ready.¡±

    Wilkinson was rather disappointed with the answer. However, after giving it some thought, he felt that it would only be right for him to run errands for Lin Li since thetter was teaching them for free. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to make Lin Li put off his work for the sake of teaching them. In that case, if they were to finish concocting the potions earlier, they would get to receive his teachings sooner. The thought of it made him feel excited again. He hurriedly bade Lin Li goodbye and excused himself.

    When Wilkinson returned, he was immediately surrounded by his peers who kept probing about Master Felic and when thetter would start teaching them. Even though they were the pioneers of the Pharmacist Guild, they might not be able to receive a lecture from a Master.

    Upon hearing Wilkinson¡¯s answer, everyone immediately scurried back to their workstations. Just like what Wilkinson had thought, they were all eager about helping Master Felicplete the potions at the soonest so that they could receive his teachings as soon as possible.

    Hope was the motivation that would spur humans to continue striving forwards. Hence, the pharmacists began to work rapidly with maximum efficiency.

    About six dayster, the potions that Lin Li had designed for ck Clouds Town¡¯s defense system werepleted. All of the potions were modified and made weaker, mainly because Lin Li did not intend to make the potions lethal, and instead just wanted to use them to deal with his enemies by incapacitating them. The poisonous potions had a high pration rate and were extremely dangerous. However, the weakened versions would not cause too much harm to the residents of ck Clouds Town.

    Once the potions were ced in the magic gears, the defense system of ck Clouds Town would finally bepleted. The pharmacists¡¯ jobs would then be to concoct some potions that were meant for sale. Of course, Lin Li did not forget about the promise that he had made earlier. He would arrange a two-hour lecture for them every day.

    After all, Lin Li had to do his own tasks that were rtively important as well. It would be impossible for him to be a full-time teacher, and there was only a short period of time left before the deadline given by Tutankhamun arrived. It was hard for him to squeeze out two hours for lectures.

    The two hours of lecture time was not to be belittled, for it was far more effective than the lessons they received in the Pharmacists Guild. However, the Masters were way too busy to lecture them.

    Besides, Lin Li had more knowledge than most pharmacists did, and he also knew about plenty of techniques and theories that many other Masters, including Balbo, did not know about. Although the pharmacists had already deduced that Lin Li was a pharmaceutics Master, Lin Li was actually a pharmaceutics Guru.

    Before the lessons officially began, the young pharmacists were feeling rather worried; most people tended to think that good things didn¡¯te cheap. Besides, the training program was free. No matter how capable Lin Li might be, or how much more knowledge he hadpared to President Balbo, there would be no point if he refused to help.

    However, the question that Lin Li gave them during the first lesson immediately cleared their doubts.

    What was the most important thing to a pharmacist?

    The forme of potions.

    The forme of potions were mandatory, just like spells for mages. In order to master a form, one would have to be familiar with the ingredients it required. If one only knew how to collect ingredients, they would forever perform just one task.

    What Lin Li taught was the deduction of the medicinal properties through the analysis of the form so as to allow one to thoroughly grasp the form. In fact, that was also the method that he used to modify those banned forms and weaken them. Through the medicinal deduction method, the pharmacist could not only discover the medicinal properties of the medicinal materials right from the beginning, but also understand the medicinal properties of various medicinal materials during the preparation process.

    For these young pharmacists, the medicinal deduction method was definitely a precious piece of knowledge that could benefit them for life. Perhaps the effects were not too obvious for them yet, since they were not skilled enough for now. However, when they came into contact with advanced formster, (again) with this method, they would be able to understand them quicker and more thoroughly than others.

    The pharmacists were skeptical about learning such advanced skills rtively early, and were also feeling ashamed about the worries that they had. Such valuable pharmacological knowledge might not be imparted or taught to them even by their own teacher. However, it now seemed to be normal knowledge that they were free to pick up.

    As long as they mastered the method of deducing medicinal properties, the road to bing senior pharmacists would be smooth sailing. Therefore, none of them felt aggrieved about having to prepare the potions for sale every day while they were studying. They would be willing to learn for 10 years if they could master the technique.

    It was all just the beginning.

    Everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses, including the pharmacists. However, the young pharmacists discovered that Lin Li seemed to be an expert at pharmaceutics and was not just dabbling in them.

    As the lesson progressed, they began to learn about many theories and techniques that they had never heard of in the past, all of which gave them a new perspective of the world. However, the young pharmacists could not tell where the limit of Lin Li¡¯s knowledge was.

    There was even one time when the young pharmacists bet in private to see who could find questions that Master Felic couldn¡¯t answer. If it were President Balbo and not Master Felic, they definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to do so. However, this Master Felic was only 20 years old.

    However, they were only intermediate-level paper pharmacists, and it was a tall order for them to find a problem that would stump Master Felic. Hence, after one of the lectures, Wilkinson came up with a question about the Hopper conjecture, a very famous problem in pharmacy, and decided to ask the young Master Felic about it.

    Lin Li had not really studied the pharmaceutic theories of this world, nor did he have an urate understanding of the standards of pharmacy there. He could only extrapte them from what the pharmacists in Anril he had interacted with so far knew. Hence, how could he have known that Wilkinson had given him a well-known unresolved problem in the history of pharmacy in Anril? He simply thought that it was a problem that only intermediate pharmacists would encounter, and would at most just involve advanced pharmacology.

    ¡°Oh, this problem...¡± Lin Li murmured after looking at it.

 Chapter 515 - Getting Poached

    <h4>Chapter 515: Getting Poached</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Wilkinson waved behind and gestured to his peers that he had seeded in getting Master Felic to answer their question. However, he ended up being despised by his peers who kept saying that the questions was impossible to solve. There were barely any pharmacists who could answer such a question.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s words gave everyone a great shock, including Wilkinson.

    ¡°Enough, this question is interesting. There happens to be some time now. I shall tell you guys about this.

    Lin Li ignored their reactions and instead turned around to walk towards the rostrum. He then wrote down the solution while saying, ¡°In order to solve this problem, we¡¯d have to apply intermediate pharmaceutics knowledge. However, it¡¯s good for you low-level pharmacists to take a look.¡±

    Staring at Lin Li who was scribbling on the ckboard, Wilkinson and the rest fell speechless. They finally realized that the pharmaceutics Master Lin Li did not belong to the same world as them at all.

    Ever since then, the young pharmacists were dumbfounded, and they began to see President Felic as Master Felic. No one felt awkward about addressing a junior using an honorific term. In fact, they genuinely began to admire him.

    Three months flew by.

    A young pharmacist was dripping some transparent liquid into a crystal cup using a pipette. All of a sudden, silvery fumes of smoke and glitter filled the air while the transparent liquid in the crystal cup turned silver, resembling mercury.

    ¡°We¡¯ve seeded!¡± The young pharmacist gently ced the crystal cup down and jumped for joy in excitement.

    The sessful concoction of an advanced potion meant that the young pharmacist was far more experienced than senior pharmacists. However, he was the 22nd pharmacist who had sessfully advanced to a senior rank.

    After three months of learning under Lin Li, the 35 pharmacists experienced major changes. The first were Wilkinson and five other intermediate pharmacists, who advanced within less than a month. The rest was notgging behind, either. They advanced rapidly from low-level to senior pharmacists. Their speed was in fact unprecedented.

    So far, 20 out of the 35 young pharmacists had already reached the level of senior pharmacists, while Wilkinson, Balbo¡¯s proud disciple, had already internalized all of the advanced pharmaceutics knowledge. He would be a Master soon.

    Although it¡¯d only been more than three months since the Syer Bandits had been eradicated, the reconstruction of ck Clouds Town was the only thing that followed. However, the factions of the Breezy ins did not stop paying attention to the Tower of Dusk. After all, the Tower of Dusk was an important faction rted to the Malfa Family.

    Hence, the news of there being a group of senior pharmacists at the Tower of Dusk began to spread. It was so astonishing that no one could ept it calmly.

    An Archmage could still be affected by some factions, like the Adventurer Emendas, who got recruited by the Malfa Family. However, a senior pharmacist was rarely recruited, unless by an extraordinary and powerful authority like the Supreme Council. Simrly, a pharmaceutics Guru would rarely be recruited unless by the Pharmacist Guild.

    Hence, to most of the powerful authorities, senior pharmacists could be said to be their limit when it came to recruitment. Every one of them was an invaluable treasure. There were more than 20 senior pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk, so everyone in the Breezy ins was jealous and envious of the Tower of Dusk.

    The mercenary corps were only a small group in the Breezy ins, but their leader, Ona, was very ambitious. He was also famous for a period of time during the establishment of the Tower of Dusk. Although he was just the leader of less than 200 mercenaries, he still managed to instruct some of his subordinates to pay attention to the Tower of Dusk.

    Actually, the mercenary corps did have somements and opinions of their own about Ona wasting humanitarian and mary resources. After all, there were less than 200 members in the corp, and they were perhaps only a little bit stronger than the Adventurers in the Breezy ins. What would the situation of the Tower of Dusk have to do with such a small faction?

    However, Ona had a different opinion. He felt that the Tower of Dusk had to be rather powerful since it could grow so rapidly within a short period of time. Even if Ona did not gain any benefits, it would be advantageous to his mercenary corps if he could find out the secrets behind their development.

    It was the day of receiving the news, and just like in the past, Ona was in the middle of a swordsmanship routine in the backyard. Later on, he wiped his sweat and picked up an intel report that he had received just now. After examining the seal on it, he tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter inside. His wrist vibrated a little, and the letter was removed from the envelope. He then sat on the chair and picked up the cup of tea that he had prepared beforehand.

    He then immediately snorted withughter!

    He spat his tea out at the same time, but, fortunately, he had taken the intel report away in time. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to read it anymore. After coughing a few times, he finally got a grip on himself and shifted his gaze onto the intel report.

    ¡°Damn it, do these two jerks think that their tasks are too easy? How dare they crack such a joke with me?¡± Ona stared at the intel report, which contained news of the Tower of Dusk recruiting 20-odd pharmacists. There were plenty of factions in the Breezy ins which were looking to recruit a senior pharmacist. Although the Tower of Dusk had gotten associated with the Malfa Family, the Malfa Family did not have that many senior pharmacists.

    ¡°Leader, what¡¯s wrong?¡± his subordinate asked upon seeing his leader spitting the tea out.

    Ona threw the report onto the table with a wave. ¡°Damn it, seems like those two rascals have to be dismissed. How dare they give me such absurd intel?¡±

    The subordinate nced at the report on the table, after which his expression turned a little peculiar.

    Feeling a little displeased, Ona rebuked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? If there¡¯s something you have to say, say it. Stop acting so weird.¡±

    ¡°Leader, this... this intel is real,¡± said the subordinate.

    ¡°Really? How did you find out?¡± Ona asked with a frown.

    ¡°Leader, the news of there being 20-odd senior pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk has spread all around the Breezy ins. I have a friend¡ª¡±

    Ona dismissed his subordinate angrily with a sullen expression, after which he gritted his teeth and turned around to leave. <i>How infuriating. I sent people to keep an eye, and yet I received the news two dayster than everyone else. Why should I even keep them around!?</i>

    However, after getting angry, Ona remembered the content of the intelligence report. How could he let the Tower of Dusk keep all 20 senior pharmacists? He worked hard for the development of the mercenary corps, but it turned out he still wasn¡¯t as lucky as others.

    Ona suddenly remembered that he had a childhood friend who was now the chairman of a business association. He recalled chatting with him a while ago and talking about his self-made fortune and sess. The friend said that he sold one fruit for the price of two fruits, and then sold two fruits for the price of four fruits. However, he revealed in the end that he could achieve all he had because he inherited the legacy of an elder.

    <i>Luck had to be the trick for the rapid rise of the Tower of Twilight. Otherwise, how could they have gotten the favor of the Malfa Family with a small organization that they had just established? </i>Ona suddenly felt a little discouraged, for he realized that there were many things that could not be achieved just by putting in effort. The development that he wanted for his team would be a huge leap for them; unfortunately, an insignificant organization like theirs could not afford to even hope for a senior pharmacist, not to mention 20 or so of them.

    In fact, after the news broke, there were plenty of leaders of minor factions who had the same idea as Ona. They had worked hard to do everything they could for the development of their factions, but even after many years of hard work, they still could not bepared with others. No one would be able to stay calm under such circumstances. Plenty of people began cussing their hearts out andmenting about their plight.

    Ona vented his anger and thought about the 20 senior pharmacist, after which he couldn¡¯t help but fantasize. If his team could get the support of 20 or so senior pharmacists, they would definitely be able to stand up to the Dark de and the Malfa Family¡ªif they ever had to one day. He couldn¡¯t help but shiver, because it was all just a fantasy of his, while the Tower of Dusk did have more than 20 senior pharmacists. Well, this newly established Tower of Dusk was not far from their rise in the Breezy ins.

    There were countless small forces like Ona¡¯s corps in the Breezy ins, and all of them could only dream about having as many senior pharmacists as there were at the Tower of Dusk. However, there were many others apart from them who had the audacity to covet the senior pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk and think that they had the capital to fight the battle.

    How much could a newly established minor force offer to the senior pharmacists even if they were to get into the good books of the Malfa Family? Plenty of powerful forces thought that way. They felt that they could offer the same conditions and benefits that the Tower of Dusk had.

    Gaget, the leader of the ambitious White Shadow, could acutely sense an opportunity to rise.

    How had the Tower of Dusk attracted those senior pharmacists? Was it money? Although the White Shadow was not exactly a merchant organization, they owned many shops and businesses in cities of all sizes in the Breezy ins. Hence, as far as money went, they might not be inferior to the Tower of Dusk at all.

    Or was it because of some attractive promises that they¡¯d made? That couldn¡¯t be. The Tower of Dusk was just a small force that had been established less than a year ago. Regardless of how well it had been managed, it did not have a strong foundation, and was destined not to undergo any major development.

    The only possibility could be that they had pulled the personal rtions card and done the pharmacists a favor. Everyone knew how hard it was to return favors. However, it would be impossible for so many senior pharmacist to owe an insignificant mage huge favors.

    Gaget analyzed the situation for a while, and was stunned by the results of his analysis. He was suddenly overwhelmed with euphoria. Yeah, in that case, those 20 or so senior pharmacists were basically prepared for others to take over. He smacked his hand against the armrest of his chair. Since the other forces might have thought of what he did too, he decided that he had to act fast.

    For a moment, the word of this group of senior pharmacists seemed to have swept the Breezy ins like a hurricane. The various forces were like sharks that had smelled blood. They wished they could dash into the Tower of Dusk to snatch the pharmacists away. Of course, they also had to be mindful. After all, the Tower of Dusk had the formidable Malfa Family to support them.

    Compared to the past, the atmosphere in the Tower of Dusk was much livelier, and all forces had sent their people to try and approach the senior pharmacists in a bid to poach them. Although it was not as bustling as Mentingruo City, ck Clouds Town had indeed be much more prosperous.

    The Tower of Dusk was bing more and more lively. As the majordomo of the Tower of Dusk, Gavin was feeling extremely anxious, for he knew clearly what the senior pharmacists meant to Tower of Dusk. If any of them got poached, it would definitely be a huge loss that couldn¡¯t bepensated for.

    However, what was rming was that the young President seemed to know nothing, and had yet to take any measures at all, let alone investigate who¡¯d leaked the news. After seeing an outsidermunicate with one of the senior pharmacists, Gavin finally couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore, and barged into the President¡¯s office in a hurry.

    ¡°President, this can¡¯t go on. Those outsiders are absolutely dauntless. They actually had the guts to poach our people in our hall. They¡¯repletely disrespecting us.¡± Gavin was feeling extremely anxious and displeased with the fact that others were trying to poach their pharmacists.

    ¡°Oh, what else do you want me to do? Those pharmacists are not our ves. We can¡¯t hide them from others,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly, seemingly not worried at all. It was as if the ones being poached were not his pharmacists.

 Chapter 516 - Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 516: Visitor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°But we should at least do something. Why don¡¯t I assemble some people and chase those outsiders away at least?¡± Gavin actually knew that Lin Li was right. Even the members of the Pharmacist Guild enjoyed the freedom of going wherever they wanted. Hence, they couldn¡¯t lock the senior pharmacists up like ves.

    ¡°Nah, let them be. They can¡¯t poach my people unless they have what it takes.¡± Lin Li was extremely confident. He thought, <i>They¡¯re trying to poach my pharmacists? What a joke. They might be able to do so if they have a pharmaceutics Guru.</i>

    Gavin wanted to say something else, but could not think of a better idea even after racking his brains. He had just chased the people away, but he was just saying those things in a moment of spite. Although they were openly poaching the pharmacists, there would definitely be a public outrage if they were to get into a physical fight. Regardless of how strong the Tower of Dusk was, they might not be able to secure a footing in the Breezy ins.

    Hence, the young owner of the Tower of Dusk, President Felic, allowed the matter to go on without doing anything. Not only did he not take any precautions to prevent the pharmacists from interacting with others, he even instructed the receptionists who were in charge of receiving the mages to summon people to help him as long as the outsiders tried to bribe him.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡± Wilkinson yelled at the end of the lecture, trying to stop Lin Li who was about to leave.

    ¡°Oh, is there a problem?¡± Lin Li asked as he turned around, though he already knew what Wilkinson was about to say.

    ¡°Master Felic, there is a sudden increase in the number of people outside. Could we trouble you to arrange for us to get some help? Whenever we go out, we end up getting harassed, and it takes us a lot of effort to shake them off,¡± Wilkinson said resignedly.

    ¡°Yeah, Master Felic, we don¡¯t know them, either. They¡¯re making us scared to go out,¡± the rest chimed in.

    It was just like Lin Li had expected. He smiled, and asked, ¡°Did they give you presents too?¡±

    Wilkinson and the rest hurriedly exined, ¡°They did, but we didn¡¯t ept them.¡±

    Lin Li pped with a regretful expression, and said, ¡°Why not? Who says no to gifts? I¡¯ve been teaching you guys for so long, yet you didn¡¯t even pick up such an important mindset!¡±

    ¡°So... we should ept it?¡± Wilkinson asked apprehensively, as dumbfounded as his peers.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯d be a waste if you don¡¯t. Since they¡¯re willing to give you gifts, just ept them. It¡¯s no big deal,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly.

    ¡°But...¡± Wilkinson and the rest, who had never done something like that before, were extremely shocked. However, Lin Li left before they could even ask him another question.

    <i>Since Master Felic said that we should ept them, I shall not stand on ceremony, </i>Wilkinson thought to himself. After having been led astray by Lin Li, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists eagerly epted the gifts, which was to the joy of those who gave them gifts.

    ¡°Sir, the targets have already epted the gifts; they seem to have wavered.¡±

    ¡°Leader, the target has chatted with me for a longer duration than yesterday. I suggest that we continue to curry favor with them.¡±

    Both the givers and recipients of the gifts were on cloud nine. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were living in fear every day, afraid that they would wake up one day and realize that there were no longer any senior pharmacists.

    However, there was an exception during the sucking up. Whenever the outsiders badmouthed Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, they would relentlessly throw the presents onto the ground.

    Although the pharmacists were not good in magic, they were all ancestors<sup>1</sup>. Even if they went overboard, no one would dare to disrespect them.

    The outsiders might disregard the Tower of Dusk, but they wouldn¡¯t dare to ignore the presence of the pharmacists. Perhaps there were only a few capable ones in the Pharmacist Guild, but there were plenty of forces that were waiting to stand up for them.

    The leader of the White Shadow, Gaget, was feeling extremely smug about his great foresight. A force would have to stay ahead of others in order to develop well. It was his great foresight that would give him an edge in recruiting other senior pharmacists. The White Shadow would be taken to greater heights as long as they had one senior pharmacist in their team.

    At the beginning, many forces had concerns about the Malfa Family supporting the Tower of Dusk, but Gaget had a strong feeling that perhaps the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family was not so close. However, the Tower of Dusk actually had more than 20 pharmacists. It could be said that it would not be impossible to surpass the Malfa Family as long as they had enough time. Could the Malfa Family possibly watch their position being undermined?

    Gaget couldn¡¯t guess what the Malfa Family was thinking, but he was certain that he would have definitely taken action against the Tower of Dusk and acquired the 20-odd senior pharmacists if he had the support of the Malfa Family. Even if he were to offend the Supreme Council, it would be worth it. Besides, the Supreme Council wouldn¡¯t fall out with the Malfa Family because of the newly established Guild of Magic.

    Gaget could not figure out the reason for the Malfa Family¡¯s silence, but he was certain that he felt tempted about the 20-odd senior pharmacists. No matter what concerns the Malfa Family had, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back for too long. Hence, he decided to act first and send his able subordinates to the Tower of Dusk in hopes of getting his hands on a senior pharmacist before the Malfa Family could.

    Gaget was not afraid of offending the Malfa Family at all. Senior pharmacists were precious gems, but they were not inanimate objects, after all, and were in fact humans who enjoyed a high status. Not all powerful factions were allowed to resort to violence. They still had to consider the opinions of the pharmacists. Besides, there was only one solution they could use to deal with the pharmacists, and that was to win them over using personal rtions and offering them benefits. They might not stand to gain if they were to resort to violence.

    Indeed, Gaget received the news that he wanted. 10 days after arriving at the Tower of Dusk, Gaget¡¯s confidante informed him that he had sessfully gotten associated with a senior pharmacist who had epted four of his gifts without hesitation. That would make things easier for them. Rtionships were built through mutual respect and kindness!

    Gaget¡¯s greatest worry was that they might refuse to ept his gifts, thus leaving him with no way to nurture and build a good rtionship with them. However, it seemed that the senior pharmacists were not ascetic and thick in the head, after all. They could actually be tempted by gifts.

    Gaget was thinking that the pharmacist definitely knew his intentions for giving him the gifts which he had all epted without hesitating or turning down. Since the pharmacist had already epted his gift, it meant that the pharmacist did not have that strong of a rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. Although the White Shadow wasn¡¯t powerful, they had put in plenty of effort into the gifts, and it was now Gaget¡¯s turn to recruit the pharmacist personally.

    The pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk were definitely showered with gifts, something that had never happened before in the Pharmacist Guild. Of course, when they were in the Pharmacist Guild, they still had yet to advance to the rank of senior pharmacists, and thus wouldn¡¯t receive such fanfare.

    Although some of the gifts were very tempting, the pharmacists dared not ept them at the start because they were well aware that Lin Li was the one who had given them the glory and sess that they had today. It was indeed a far-fetched idea for them to advance to the senior level without the training program. They did not want President Felic to get the wrong idea. If they were to get chased out, the gifts would not be able to make up for it.

    The young pharmacists admired President Felic for being magnanimous instead of holding it against them. He even encouraged them to ept the gifts as much as they wanted. That made things easier because they wouldn¡¯t feel emotionally burdened when receiving gifts now that President Felic didn¡¯t mind it.

    Although the young pharmacists did not talk about it explicitly, Wilkinson could vaguely tell what they were thinking since he was their leader. Hence, plenty of forces saw Wilkinson as their greatest target. The White Shadow was one of them.

    Plenty of forces and factions were all trying to cast their and see how many pharmacists they can get. They would give every pharmacist that they saw a gift. They were thinking that they could at least recruit one. However, the White Shadow decided to take a different approach. Gaget chose to gather all of his resources and make a heavy bet in hopes of being sincere enough to move the senior pharmacist called Wilkinson.

    Gaget knew his weakness. Although he ran businesses all over the Breezy ins, he was not the wealthiest. If he were to choose to cast his, they might end up not getting a single pharmacist. Hence, he felt that it would be better to bank on just one pharmacist to beat all of theirpetitors.

    It was a decision that made Gaget feel extremely smug. Unlike others, he handed out one hefty gift on four separate asions instead of several minor ones. He naturally had to stand out from the other forces since he had to give the pharmacist a good impression.

    Every day at daybreak, all the forces would gather in the parade square of the Tower of Dusk. There were also people sent by the external forces<sup>1</sup>, but were all chased away by the more powerful forces. They camped in front of the Tower of Dusk and would immediately try to bootlick whenever they saw a pharmacist exiting. They would then go through the process of giving a gift and currying favor with them.

    In the eyes of the people who had no idea what was going on, this scene was indeed too weird and absurd. There had to be a proper time and ce for gift-giving and recruiting. How could they be so unconcerned about the location? However, everyone knew that the problem was that there was no decent venue in this small ce, and that the pharmacists did not ept any invitations at all. One of the forces put in plenty of effort by hiring a chef to whip up delicious dishes with the finest ingredients in a bid to sit down and have a chat with a senior pharmacist. However, the pharmacist responded by telling them to leave the gifts at the door because he was toozy to receive them.

    They had no choice but to suck it up, since the pharmacists were big shots. Hence, everyone began bootlicking and sucking up to everyone for the sake of presenting the gifts.

    Gaget rushed to the Tower of Dusk with a hefty gift and waited quietly for the doors to open together with the rest of the crowd. He saw plenty of people, some of which were allies, while others were archenemies. However, everyone was a fellowpetitor, be it friend or foe.

    Looking up at the towering Tower of Dusk, Gaget could not help but sigh. Although this tower had just been established, its foundation was indeed solid, and it was no wonder that it was favored by the Malfa Family. If the senior pharmacists were to spend more time in the Tower of Dusk, the rise of the Tower would be inevitable. However, Gaget felt that they did not have what it took to keep them around.

    Gaget began to feel a little nervous, for the recruitment of a senior pharmacist would affect the rise of the White Shadow, yet he had so manypetitors.

    Time passed while he waited anxiously, and the doors of the Tower of Dusk finally opened slowly. Everyone in the za immediately sobered up, but they did not rush forth at once. After all, they were all figures of status, and still had to maintain their image during the recruitment. Hence, they slowly made their way into the hall of the Tower of Dusk in an orderly fashion.

    As everyone walked into the Tower of Twilight, the spacious and elegantly decorated hall immediately made Gaget¡¯s eyes light up¡ªespecially the furnishings, which exuded a strong and refined elegance. However, Gaget soon shook his head secretly, and sighed in his heart while thinking to himself, <i>Such a delicate elven-style decoration may not be bought even with an exorbitant amount of money. It¡¯s such a pity that the President of the Tower of Dusk can¡¯t afford to enjoy such a luxury at all<sup>1</sup></i><i>. What is he thinking?</i>

    Next, Gaget witnessed another strange thing. Although he had heard it from his close friends, he still couldn¡¯t believe it. As it turned out, they could register an appointment with the mage who was in charge of the reception at the Tower of Dusk. Although their attitude seemed hostile, they did not make things too difficult for them.

 Chapter 517 - Youéˆ¥æª™e Welcome

    <h4>Chapter 517: You¡¯re Wee</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Seems like they, too, know that they don¡¯t have the means to keep these senior pharmacists,¡± Gaget said with a cold smirk. The President of the Tower of Dusk was protecting himself by doing this. That was the sad truth about smaller forces and factions. They¡¯d never be able to save the good things that they had. Most of the time, it might even lead to a tragedy of destruction.

    After going down to register an appointment, Gaget waited for the senior pharmacist to arrive, just like everyone else. At this moment, something happened that made everyone feel exasperated. There was not a single chair in the spacious hall that the guests could sit on. Although the guests were not that weak and could manage standing for a while, it was too embarrassing to just stand and wait.

    In fact, there was a special reception room in the Tower of Dusk, but the mages simply couldn¡¯t wait to use magic to destroy those outsiders. How could they possibly provide them with a resting area? Made to stay in the hall, they would probably leave sooner, and the chances of the pharmacists being poached would be greatly reduced. What was not to love?

    Fortunately, the first pharmacist appeared a short whileter. ording to n, one of the forces smiled and walked towards them in preparation to present them with the gifts. After one of the pharmacists epted the gift, the person who presented the gift tried to speak. However, the pharmacist waved his hand in annoyance, turned around, and left the hall, leaving the other party behind.

    However, no one got displeased with his standoffish attitude. To them, it was normal for senior pharmacists to be short-tempered. It would be strange otherwise. They might even doubt the capabilities of the pharmacists if they did not have an entric attitude. Hence, the person who presented the gift did not mind it, and instead just shook his head regretfully and left, feeling a littleforted that the pharmacist had epted his gift.

    The pharmacists began to walk down one by one while the forces presented the gifts in an orderly fashion. It was finally Gaget¡¯s turn.

    In fact, when others saw the leader of the White Shadow, Gaget, arriving in person, they could already guess what he was going to do there. Everyone was suspicious, and they shifted their attention onto Gaget. Although they hoped to see him prove that it was possible to recruit senior pharmacists, they did not want him to seed in recruiting any, either.

    Everyone stared at Gaget while he walked towards the senior pharmacist Wilkinson. Staring at the handsome and arrogant face in front of him, Gaget began to get a little distracted, and he sighed while thinking to himself, <i>He¡¯s so young, yet he¡¯s already a senior pharmacist. When will he be a pharmaceutics Master?</i>

    ¡°Respectable Mr. Pharmacist, please let me introduce you to the President of White Shadow...¡±

    Upon hearing the introduction by his confidante, Gaget snapped back to reality, and quickly put a smile on his face. He respectfully said to Wilkinson, ¡°Dear Mr. Pharmacist...¡±

    Gaget and castens could be considered buddies and brothers. However, Gaget had no choice but to suck up to the pharmacists for the sake of the White Shadow.

    His confidante gasped in shock and turned red after thinking about the words that his leader had said and the things that he had done to bootlick.

    However, Wilkinson was not that interested, as all he could think about was pharmaceutical theories. He frowned in annoyance, and coldly said, ¡°Did you ask to see me for the sake of this? I don¡¯t have that much time to waste talking to you about these pointless things.¡± He then turned around and left.

    Gaget wished he could give himself two tight ps. <i>He¡¯s a senior pharmacist. He has heard all kinds ofpliments. Since when does he have to listen to my praises?</i> Seeing that Wilkinson was about to leave soon, he frantically said, ¡°Please wait a minute, Mr. Pharmacist. I was being too long-winded. I do have something to discuss with you, Mr. Pharmacist.¡±

    Wilkinson pinched his nose and turned around to say to him, ¡°Cut straight to the chase, then. Stop talking to me about such rubbish. Be careful, I might just get someone to chase you out.¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡± Gaget replied. Although he was the leader of the dignified White Shadow, he had no choice but to swallow his pride now. However, despite being reprimanded by a young man, he didn¡¯t feel ashamed at all, because everyone here had experienced it more than once before, be it an ally or a rival. He grabbed the prepared gift from his confidante, and presented it respectfully while saying, ¡°Dear pharmacist, this is a gift I specially prepared for you this time. I hope you can ept it.¡±

    <i>Why did he have to beat around the bush? He could have just said that he was going to give me a present,</i> Wilkinson thought to himself with a look of displeasure. He grabbed the gift from Gaget to see that it was a t ck-colored sandalwood box, on which there were designs painted in gold, making the box look exceptionally exquisite. Fortunately, the pharmacists were not powerless. Wilkinson held onto the box with one hand, and removed the lid with a loud thud using the other.

    Opening the gift in public immediately upon reception was another offensive, provocative tactic that Lin Li had deliberately taught to the pharmacists. By doing so, others would be able to see the value of the gift; hence, the next time another person gave them a gift, it¡¯d have to be of a higher value. Although the young pharmacists could not be bothered to tease those who brought gifts, they decided to do it since it was Master Felic¡¯s request. They wouldn¡¯t lose anything anyway. It was not even the pharmacists¡¯ concern whether it was rude to open the gifts right away.

    At the instant that the box was opened, everyone else gasped in shock, while Wilkinson remainedposed because he had seen enough not to be phased by it. Gaget had indeed spent a bomb on the gift.

    The oblong wooden box contained a set of test tubes that were often used by pharmacists when preparing chemicals and potions, though they were not made of ss. Wilkinson recognized at a nce that the test tubes were made of very precious Crystal of Clear Skies. Although it was not as precious as the Crystal of Eternity, it was also a rare and precious material.

    The carved test tubes that were made of the Crystal of Clear Skies had an excellent catalytic effect on the medicinal materials during the preparation of potions, and could shorten the reaction time, especially for those which required a long one. Simply put, it might take just two or three days for Wilkinson to prepare a potion sessfully with such a set of such test tubes while others might need 10 days to prepare the same potion.

    The test tubes were absolutely attractive for pharmacists. It was no wonder that Gaget would select them as a recruitment gift. Gaget had spent a hefty amount on them, but it was not an issue of money, because the test tubes could not necessarily be bought with money.

    It could be said that in the battle for the pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk, some of the merchants who had made mistakes in their investments now indirectly benefited from them together with the other residents of ck Clouds Town. There were barely any senior pharmacists in the Breezy ins, and the expensive pharmaceutical equipment was rarely sold. They were mostly just precious gems that added glory to the store. But now, not only were there plenty of people who were rushing to buy those items, the prices were soaring all the time too. Hence, those merchants who¡¯d almost bankrupted suddenly got a new lease on life.

    If the forces could sessfully poach the pharmacists, they would benefit the most, but if they failed...

    Wilkinson put the lid back onto the wooden box, nodded, and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s a superb present. Someone,e over and help me bring this back to my room.¡± He called a mage apprentice of the Tower of Dusk, and instructed him to send the set of Crystal of Clear Skies test tubes back to his room.

    Seeing that Wilkinson had taken things away, Gaget secretly heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he epted the gifts, there would be a chance for discussion. At this moment, everyone around him was feeling rather regretful because everyone knew that Wilkinson was the best pharmacist here.

    ¡°What else do you have to say?¡± asked Wilkinson, who sounded just as aloof and annoyed as previously, even after epting the gift. It was as if epting gifts was a waste of his time.

    Gaget looked around, and finally said the things that he had prepared earlier on. ¡°Dear Mr. Pharmacist, may I have the honor to invite you to the White Shadow? We may not have the best conditions, but we¡¯re very famous in the Breezy ins. I can assure that you¡¯ll be our most valued guest.¡± He then introduced Wilkinson to the status of the White Shadow in the Breezy ins and promised to give Wilkinson a higher position than he had now if he were to join the White Shadow.

    Of course, Gaget was not nning to give his position to Wilkinson. In fact, despite their extremely high status, unlike Archmages and level-16 or 17 Warriors, pharmacists could not pose a threat to a leader even though they had a great influence. The greatest concern for leaders during recruitment was the fear of getting reced by powerfulbatants. As for pharmacists? No way.

    After Gaget had finished speaking, he looked at Wilkinson with anticipation, feeling his heart pounding rapidly in his chest as if was about to jump out of his throat.

    Silence filled the air in the hall; everyone was waiting to hear Wilkinson¡¯s answer withplex emotions. They hoped that he could answer straightforwardly, but at the same time, they also didn¡¯t want to see the White Shadow gaining an advantage.

    ¡°What for? I don¡¯t have the time!¡± Wilkinson answered without hesitation. <i>What a joke. I¡¯m receiving guidance from Master Felic here. What can I do over at your ce? I might as well return to nna.</i>

    Gaget was dumbfounded, and he began to wonder if his words were too vague for Wilkinson¡¯sprehension. ¡°Mr. Pharmacist, what I meant was... I hope that we can receive your help. I promise you¡¯ll definitely make great progress in the White Shadow and we¡¯ll provide the best resources for you.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Wilkinson scanned Gaget from head to toe condescendingly before continuing in a hostile manner, ¡°The White Shadow? Who do you think you are!?¡± Before giving Gaget the chance to even speak, he turned around and left the hall.

    Was that it?

    Gaget stood rooted to the ground in shock while a ringing sound formed in his ears. He felt like his soul had left his body, and he suddenly couldn¡¯t sense anything.

    After seeing what had happened, the people of the other forces had no idea if they should be happy or worried themselves. <i>Should we continue to send the gifts? </i>Was it really possible that these pharmacists would be recruited by their own forces? Every gift cost a significant amount of money. If their efforts were to be in vain, it would be a huge loss for all of them.

    Gaget snapped back to reality, and said to his subordinates, ¡°Seems... Seems like we¡¯re not showing enough sincerity...¡±

    <i>Yes, the rejection faced by the White Shadow does not mean that we won¡¯t seed in soliciting some pharmacists. Their sincerity has not moved that pharmacist, but we can show more sincerity than they did!</i> Regardless of the purpose of Gaget¡¯s words, those people whose faith had been somewhat shaken once again grew determined to poach some pharmacists. Besides, they couldn¡¯t quit at this point. After all, they had invested so much into the n, and would have nothing left if they were to give up. It was a gamble where one would be eager to recoup their losses because leaving would mean losing everything for good.

    ¡°Master Felic, this is a set of test tubes they just sent that are made of Crystal of Clear Skies. I think you¡¯re the only person eligible to use it.¡± Wilkinson, who had been treating the gift-givers hostilely in the hall just now, gazed at the test tubes in awe and handed them to Lin Li.

    Lin Li reached out and took out a test tube from the wooden box nonchntly before staring at it beneath the sunlight. He then put it back again while saying, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s made of Crystal of Clear Skies, but the craftsmanship is inferior. Leave it behind for a while. I¡¯ll help you fix it.¡± As a master of working with gems and diamonds, the test tubes indeed weren¡¯t too attractive to him.

    At first, Wilkinson thought that Lin Li was embarrassed to ept his gift, and thus said that he would fix it. However, not long after, he knew that every word Lin Li said was true when he saw a pristine test tube ced in front of him.

 Chapter 518 - Thriving

    <h4>Chapter 518: Thriving</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The gift-giving went on, and the forces were continuously expressing their sincerity, after which they were faced with various obstacles. However, not everyone returned empty-handed.

    It was said that the head of a small group of mercenary corps called the Red Army had sent several less hefty gifts, and did not request any pharmacist to join his army. Instead, he asked for two potions that would help with strengthening Combat Energy. With the help of Yuanli Elixir, both the father and the son broke through after teauing in their Combat Energy practice and became level-15 Warriors.

    For a small mercenary group that only consisted of hundreds of people and had a low status in the Breezy ins, the appearance of two level-15 Warriors was equivalent to the strength of the entire mercenary group increasing several times over. However, such gains did not mean much to the middle-ss forces, for all they were coveting was the chance to recruit a pharmacist.

    Gaget, the leader of the White Shadow, had been mercilessly rejected. However, despite the lesson he¡¯d got, he was still as eager about recruiting the pharmacists. In the eyes of those forces, the failure of the White Shadow was because of overeagerness and ack of sincerity. They believed that they would one day be able to convince the pharmacists as long as they expressed enough sincerity.

    While the forces and factions of the Breezy ins were dreaming about recruiting the pharmacists, the Tower of Dusk was using them to make a fortune.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s training, the bunch of young pharmacists advanced to senior pharmacist level, and although they were not exactly experienced veterans, they could be said to be familiar with concocting potions for sale and were highly efficient.

    The pharmaceutical business of the Glittergold Trade Union and Gilded Rose had been facing issues regarding Lin Li¡¯s supply due to the fact that they had a huge saleswork throughout the entire Fn. Although it was said that things became more precious and valuable when they were scarce, there was still a limit. Things that were worth 10 yuan<sup>1</sup> might be sold for 1,000 yuan based on scarcity. However, it would be extortion if they were sold for 100,000 yuan. Absurdly high prices would just mar the reputation of the seller¡¯s entire business. However, if prices were kept within the eptable range, the items would often sell out too quickly, and there would then be a deficit in supply of goods. When demand outweighed supply, the business would be med for ipetence.

    However, the leaders of the two trade unions could finally heave a sigh of relief because the production capacity and volume of the pharmacy of the Tower of Dusk had been greatly improved. It could now entirely fulfill the demand of the two trade unions. Under the operation of the tworgest trade unions in the two Fn Kingdoms, the prices of medicine and potions had not decreased too drastically despite the increased production, thus maximizing the benefits.

    As the supplier of the two trade unions, the position held by the Tower of Dusk in this partnership could not bepared to that of ordinary suppliers. The leaders of the two trade unions also knew that if they were to leave the Tower of Dusk, even the Pharmacist Guild would not be able to provide so many high-quality potions. Hence, they took the initiative to make a hugepromise in the collection of revenue from pharmaceutical sales even though Lin Li didn¡¯t mention anything.

    While business was at its peak in the Tower of Dusk, the manager of the Rosen Union of Dnd was feeling smug about his decision.

    Although the Rosen Union had imed to control more than 80% of the ore transactions in Dnd at the beginning, it was in fact only because of the low profit of the ore transaction and the many other misceneous and trivial matters that the other forces could not be bothered to vie with them. Even the retarded son of the leader of Dnd City could reprimand Kaman, the President, like a dog, let alone the rest of the Breezy ins...

    However, things were different now. Ever since Kaman had sucked up to the young President of the Tower of Dusk (Yeah, sucked up. Kaman didn¡¯t dislike the term at all, because others might not even get the chance to do so. Those fools who¡¯d tried desperately failed because they aimed for the wrong target, and choosing the wrong target resulted in a waste of efforts), he seemed to have struck a huge fortune, for the distributorship of magical equipment had brought him a ton of profits.

    Now, the weapons and equipment partnership with the Tower of Dusk had begun to take off and was on a good track. Who would have thought that the Rosen Union, which did not have a great reputation in Dnd, had now already established enough capital that would allow them to go against the cksmith Guild?

    This did not only bring about mary changes, it also gave Kaman a better reputation in Dnd City and the Breezy ins. Although Kaman was known as the tyrant of Dnd, he¡¯d not even been qualified to speak in front of Lord Anjay of Dnd in the past. But now, Anjay would definitely send him an invitation to every banquet he held without fail. They were almost like brothers.

    Kaman knew who the person who¡¯d given him all of this was. Hence, despite being a money-grubber, he dared not be greedy at all during the cooperation with the Tower of Dusk. He knew very well that the young President Felic was not as difficult to serve and please as other nobles. As long as Kaman was willing to do things seriously, he would definitely stand to gain some benefits without having to use any tricks.

    Although Lin Li dealt in the weapons and equipment business, he did note up with a cksmith training course. However, that did not affect the development of the business. Although Smithing Masters and Gurus were rare finds in the cksmithing industry, there were far more intermediate and advanced smiths than pharmacists. Moreover, unlike potions, magic weapons and equipment were not consumables. When a sophisticated magical weapon and equipment was in the hands of those who knew how to maintain it, it could practically remain pristine for the rest of the wielder¡¯s life. Therefore,pared to potions, there was a lower demand for magical weapons and equipment. Given the abilities of Smithing Masters, they could create one piece at a time without wasting too much time.

    Gerian imed to be here for free food, but in fact, he barely enjoyed a few days of real leisure. First, he spent more than two months fighting the Syer Bandits in the Dragon Mountains, after which he headed back to nna to help Lin Li find the pharmacists. After sending the pharmacists to the Tower of Dusk, he took a break for two days before going to the Malfa Family again to discuss the pharmacy partnership.

    Lin Li was very grateful to Gerian, the fat old man who had a bitchy character. Although he had never mentioned it explicitly, he was well aware that Gerian was the only other person in Anril who genuinely cared about him apart from his teacher Andoine. Gerian cared about him in a different way from Andoine, though. He was more like a big brother to Lin Li. Although he was not verypetent or capable, he was genuinely concerned about him.

    Lin Li felt a sense of urgency and anticipation regarding the cmity that was about to happen soon. If he were lucky, he would be able to acquire some extraordinary medicinal materials from the magical beasts.

    Arcane potions had the ability to promote mage apprentices to mages, while mysterious potions could promote mages to Magic Shooters, and rune potions could promote Magic Shooters to Archmages. Did that mean that there was a potion that could promote an Archmage to a Legendary-mage?

    There was no answer to this question in the world of Anril, for everyone would think that it was a question that only lunatics would ask. However, as a master of pharmacy, Lin Li knew very well that although pharmacy was not invincible, it could make many impossibilitiese true.

    With Gerian¡¯s potential, he would at most remain an Archmage, and it would be impossible for him to reach the Legendary-realm. Although the lifespan of an Archmage had been greatly extended, it was far from that of a Legendary-mage. Hence, Lin Li hoped to help Gerian enter the Legendary-realm as far as possible. Whenever someone treated Lin Li genuinely well, he would do his best to treat them well too.

    Of course, it was still too early to be talking about it. After all, Lin Li might not be able to concoct an extraordinary potion with his current abilities.

    However, Gerian had never onceined about the hassle of having to travel around after he returned from the visit to the Malfa Family. Instead, he told Lin Li excitedly about the superior treatment that he received as well as how he made the Malfa Family abandon their pride and give in.

    After the operation to annihte the Syer Bandits ended, Hutton acquired plenty of loot. After all, the Syer Bandits were rather powerful and wealthy since they had seized the assets of plenty of tycoons in the Breezy ins over the years. The elders of the Malfa Family did not object to the cooperation after seeing the loot that he had brought home, and also began to grow less hostile towards the newly established Tower of Dusk.

    Gerian visited the Malfa Family as the messenger of the Tower of the Dusk. Hutton knew the importance of this fat man in Lin Li¡¯s heart. They could not afford to make any mistakes at all, especially during this cooperation which mattered greatly to the family. Hence, he informed his family not to act rashly right from the start. He even locked his younger brother Harvey up for a few days.

    Gerian and the Malfa family held harmonious negotiations and sessfully finalized all the details of the cooperation. The Malfa Family did not harp on a minor profit, and Gerian wasn¡¯t unreasonable and wouldn¡¯tpromise Lin Li¡¯s interests for the sake of his own joy.

    Those business gains were enough to ensure that the Tower of Dusk would maintain a stable and big momentum of development in the future. However, Lin Li still had higher requirements for the Tower of Dusk, which seemed to involve a crazy design. He hoped that thepleted Tower of Dusk would not be a simple shelter for the mages that would shield them from the wind and rain, but also a sanctuary that could stand strong even during the worst disaster in the world.

    It was absolutely a crazy idea. Even Legendary-realm powerhouses might fall during the iing cmity, and even the sacred Sanctuary-realm ones might not be able to fend for themselves easily. The Darkness Shrine which had once been as strong as the Brilliance Shrine was severely damaged by the magical beasts. This time, the imminent cmity was going to be farrger than the previous one, and it was very likely to destroy the entire Anril.

    Hence, in order to create a sanctuary and ce of refuge for the world, he had to be prepared to face the impact of the powerful magical beasts, something that perhaps only the High Elves with their Sky Castles could do. Everyone would probably think that Lin Li was being crazy and delusional, but he was well aware that it was possible for him to realize his ns with the resources he now had.

    Although the pharmaceutical and weaponry business could continue to bring a lot of benefits, it could only help slowlyplete the construction of the Tower of Dusk in a cumtive manner. Even if it took a century to build the Tower of Dusk into what Lin Li wanted, it would seem like an absolutely short period of time to others. However, Lin Li knew that there was only two or three years left for him to prepare for the cmity. If construction could not bepleted before the disaster, everything would be a waste of effort. Hence, it all seemed too slow to Lin Li, be it 100 years or five to 10.

    Fortunately, the benefits that Lin Li had reaped recently were far beyond imagination, and he finally had the time to organize his loot.

    During the trip to the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li had not only broken into the Legendary-realm, he also directly encroached the home of the Lord of Darkness, and took the Throne of Darkness created by the Dragon of Destruction. However, what he had to sort out now was not the Darkness Domain, but the umtion of resources collected by the Lord of Darkness over millions of years<sup>1</sup>.

    The Lord of Darkness was the ruler of the Abyss of Tharlen, and naturally umted a ton of resources over millions of years, but they were also limited by the environment. Among the resources were various magic crystals as well as the medicinal materials and minerals produced by the Abyss. There were not too many magical weapons and other pieces of magical equipment, and most of them were in horrible condition. The medicinal materials and minerals produced by the abyss each had their own uses, and could not be immediately exchanged forrge sums of money.

    On the other hand, there was only a very small amount of gold and silver that were often present when it came to treasures. After all, in the endless abyss, there wasn¡¯t aplete economic system like that of Anril. Those demons had no choice but to resort to bartering for what they wanted.

    Arge number of magic crystals could be exchanged for money, but Lin Li needed the magical crystals desperately at this moment. The original Lord of Nightmares in the Summoning Lamp was like a vortex that sucked in endless amounts of magical crystals. Besides, he would require Legendary magical crystals in order to hatch the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s descendant. Moreover, the Tower of the Dusk would be equipped with magical crystal cannons in the future; hence, magical crystals were equivalent to ammunition reserves that couldn¡¯t be sold.

 Chapter 519 - Williaméˆ¥æªš Visit

    <h4>Chapter 519: William¡¯s Visit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Next, it would be the loot that he had obtained from the Syer Bandits. Unfortunately, Lin Li had not taken the gold coins and gemstones into consideration when splitting the loot with Hutton back then, and instead chose raw materials and various semi-finished products. If he wanted to convert the raw materials and semi-finished products into funds, they had to be processed into finished products and then sold through a proper sales channel. The entire process was rather slow.

    However, that was not all that Lin Li had gained. Not to forget, he had also acquired a massive amount of treasures and gems from the underground pce, most of which could be exchanged for arge amount of money. In the era of the High Elves, there was already aplete currency system. In addition to the value of precious metals themselves, exquisite elven-style gold and silver coins were still artwork quite widely sought after.

    Except for the coins from the elven era, all kinds of elven-style weapons and equipment, as well as elven-style furniture and essories, were absolutely valuable, as with all other elf-rted items. The elven-era items acquired in the underground pce, which were once considered to be useless by Lin Li, were actually enough to give him arge amount of money for the construction of the Tower of Dusk alone.

    The construction of the Tower of Dusk would be a great improvement for the mages of the Guild of Magic in terms of abilities, on top of providing better facilities. Although Lin Li had a rune potion that could forcibly help an Archmage advance, he still had to consider the interest of the Tower of Dusk when selecting someone to use the potion on.

    The topic was inevitably rted to the majordomo of the Tower of Dusk, Gavin. His management abilities were so superb that even Gerian, who had been a President for years, took his hat off to him.

    As for ambition, Lin Li had never worried about it ever since he delegated the management of the tower to Gavin. Only the useless and ipetent ones would worry about their subordinates posing a threat to their status and betraying them, thus resulting in irreparable damage to themselves. Those were the kind of people who would use various excuses to limit the performance of their subordinates.

    Gavin¡¯s performance also gained him Lin Li¡¯s trust. He had efficiently used the massive amount of operating funds and turned them into a powerful driving force for the development of the Tower of Dusk. More and more mages, including those outside the Breezy ins, were attracted to the Tower of Dusk which provided splendid amodation and offered great benefits.

    Of course, the generous treatment was not just for anyone who came. In order to tackle this issue, Gavin had initiated the contribution system where only the mages who had contributed significantly to the Tower of Dusk and the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic could enjoy the treatment they deserved after umting a certain contribution value.

    The system did not scare away the mages who were interested in joining, because the requirements were not an issue at all whenpared to the huge benefits that were being offered. Some of them had calcted it carefully, and finally came to the conclusion that with the abilities of an average mage, they would enjoy better treatment than Archmages of other forces did¡ªas long as they were notzy in contributing and were serious about their work.

    Magic equipment, magic essories, and even expensive potions all had to be exchanged using contribution values in an open and fair manner so that no one had to worry about fairness and the issue of prejudice. They didn¡¯t have to push beyond their limits at all. Instead, they just had to perform their duties well, and they would enjoy generous treatment that they couldn¡¯t get elsewhere.

    How enviable!

    The magicians of the other forces were full of grief and indignation as they thought to themselves, <i>Why wasn¡¯t the Tower of Dusk established sooner!?</i> Although not all loyal retainers would serve just one master in this world, going back on one¡¯s word would give them a bad reputation and cause them to be outcasts.

    In addition to providing members with generous treatment, the massive wealth that Lin Li had also enabled the construction of various magic facilities and continuous transport of various rare materials to the Tower of Dusk inrge quantities. The n wasing to fruition ording to Lin Li¡¯s ideas, and Lin Li¡¯s intention to purchase magic crystal cannons had also been put on the agenda. The wealthy Tower of Dusk nned to purchase more than 20 of those expensive weapons which were notmon even in the defense systems of somerge cities. There were only 18 of them even in the Dwarf Kingdom.

    In fact, with the current financial resources of the Tower of Dusk, it was not a problem for them to buy twice as many magical crystal cannons even though their price was exorbitant. The problem was that the magical crystal cannons were not swords, after all, and the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s cannon production was limited, which was very much to Lin Li¡¯s dismay.

    However, it didn¡¯t matter at all. It was a part of Lin Li¡¯s n to go to the Dwarf Kingdom himself one day because he still held a long-lost blueprint of Sky-breaker, which used to belong to the Dwarf Kingdom. As long as he had the blueprint, he would be able to make the craftsmen of the Dwarf Kingdom create the magic weapon which once shot down a Sky Castle.

    Yes, the design of the Tower of Dusk was now rather simr and close to Lin Li¡¯s ideal one, and it was no longer a simple tower for mages. It had 10 sides of defense, Legendary magical crystal powering it, and countless mageweath arrays. It was a magic fortress that¡¯d definitely be daunting to enemies.

    With such a defensive force alone, Lin Li was confident that he could easily defeat his foes and render them helpless even if he was to face attacks from the stronger ones at the Legendary-realm. However, once the 20 or so magical crystal cannons purchased from the Dwarf Kingdom were in ce, it would be a piece of cake for them to deal with the enemies as long as there were less than 10 of them.

    However, those were not the limits of the Tower of Dusk. Not to forget, Lin Li still had a trump card. Once the time was right, he would be able to summon the eternal furnace from the cracks in space, which had beenbined with the Darkness Domain and the fire and ice elements. By then, the Tower of Dusk would truly be worthy of being deemed formidable.

    The rapid and sessful development of the Tower of Dusk had given Lin Li a lot of confidence in dealing with the impending cmity.

    At the end of yet another lecture, Lin Li caught sight of n striding towards him from the other end of the corridor as soon as he exited the pharmaceuticalb.

    Lin Li waved and gestured for the pharmacists who had walked him to the door to leave. He then turned around calmly, and asked n, ¡°n, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you so anxious?¡±

    ¡°Master Felic.¡± n bowed and stood up straight before continuing, ¡°Master Felic, Mr. William from the Time Consignment Store would like to see you. He¡¯s waiting for you in the parlor now. Would you like to see him?¡±

    n was now a level-16 Archmage. When he first arrived in the Tower of Dusk because of his teacher Basel¡¯s request, he did not take the Guild of Magic seriously. However, to his surprise, the young President Felic actually used a seemingly in method to help him ovee the problem that had troubled him for many years, and gave him hope for promotion to an Archmage.

    However, that incident only made n grateful to the young President Felic. What really convinced him was when he saw the young Felic exert his Legendary-realm power at the mere age of 20 in the Dragon Mountains with his own eyes.

    Actually, n was not alone in that. From then on, everyone in the Tower of Dusk changed their opinion of the young Legendary-mage of a President, whom they genuinely admired now.

    ¡°Time Consignment Store?¡± Lin Li asked with a frown, finding the name very familiar.

    However, n misunderstood his frown, and quickly said, ¡°Master, if you don¡¯t want to see him, I¡¯ll send him away.¡± Although n had a high status in the Breezy ins, he was second to the Legendary-mage President Felic.

    ¡°Wait, I remember it now.¡± Lin Li suddenly stopped n. He finally remembered that he had once bought a pair of daggers which were said to be weapons used by the legendary Assassin Holler for Norfeller at the Time Consignment Store. As for that Mr. William, he also remembered that the two of them had had a brief conversation at the banquet held by the casten of Rnd City.

    Although they had only met each other once, Lin Li had a good impression of the old man. William did not speak to him condescendingly just because he was older, unlike some other elderly men.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go see him. I don¡¯t have anything on anyway,¡± said Lin Li.

    Since William didn¡¯te to give a gift to the pharmacists, he was allowed to enter the formal parlor. He was awestruck by the beautiful and exquisite elven furnishings around him, and sat on an elven-style wooden chair.

    William got to where he was today all thanks to his eyes and his knowledge regarding authentication and appraisal. However, he began to doubt his eyes now that he was staring at the beautiful elven-style furniture. Suchplete elven-style furniture was almost nonexistent nowadays, and was something that money could not buy. How could it be so casually ced in the living room? Well, unless it was all just replicas. However, even perfect replicas could not fool him.

    William obviously had no idea that Lin Li had looted a lot of elven-era furniture from Osric¡¯s underground pce. To him, those shy and fancy items were nothing too precious, so the beautiful elven-style furniture that normally was a rare find had all be ornaments and furniture that could be seen everywhere in the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Mr. William, is our furniture easy on the eyes for you?¡±

    William finally snapped out of his trance after hearing a young mage¡¯s voice. He stood up and got a great shock because he found the young mage rather familiar. He thought, <i>Isn¡¯t he that young chap who spoke to me about Adamantine of Bad Luck at the banquet held by the casten of Rnd City previously?</i>

    ¡°Mr. William, didn¡¯t you ask to see our president?¡± n prompted.

    ¡°Oh, oh, yes, you... I¡¯m really sorry, but I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d be the President of this ce. I¡¯ve heard that the President of the Tower of Dusk was a young and powerful mage, but I never expected that we¡¯ve met before.¡± William recovered from his shock and quickly apologized for his rudeness.

    ¡°Haha, young and promising, is that what they say about me? Mr. William, please have a seat.¡± Lin Li smiled and stretched his hand out to gesture for William to sit while he walked towards the host¡¯s main seat together with n. ¡°Mr. William, did you return from Rnd City?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was established in Dnd City, but I haven¡¯t had the time toe and pay you a visit. Please don¡¯t hold it against me, President Felic,¡± William said with a calm expression, though he felt rather fortunate deep down. He was thankful that he had not disrespected the young Mage Felic during the banquet held by the leader of the Dnd City back then. Otherwise, he might not be able to achieve his goals this time.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Mr. William. It was my fault for failing to consider it properly. After all, the guild has just been established. I didn¡¯t send any invitations, because I didn¡¯t want to disturb anyone.¡± Of course, Lin Li was just making a casual remark. Even if he were to send out invitations, there would barely be anyone willing to turn up.

    ¡°Well, there hasn¡¯t been a Guild of Magic here for many years. The establishment of the Tower of Dusk is something worth celebrating for the mages here too, I believe.¡± Although William sounded polite on the surface, he was trying to figure out how he could ask about something that he wanted to know. He didn¡¯te to have a chat with President Felic. However, it¡¯d be inappropriate for him to make his intentions clear before finding out what he wanted to know.

    ¡°The guild has just been established. It¡¯s not as influential as you make it out to be. If it weren¡¯t for Mr. Basel¡¯s help, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d be the only one here now,¡± Lin Li said modestly.

    Upon hearing Lin Li mention Basel, William frowned, and asked in shock, ¡°You know Mr. Basel too?¡±

    William obviously knew about Basel. Before the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins was established, Basel¡¯s library was like a Guild of Magic in the eyes of the mages. Although Basel was just a librarian, he was said to be a Legendary-mage. <i>Yet, Young Master Felic has actually gotten acquainted with the Legendary-mage? </i>

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li nodded, and decided not to talk about Basel any further.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not seem interested in talking about Basel, William decided to change the subject, especially since the matter didn¡¯t have anything to do with him and his agenda. ¡°Young Master Felic, it¡¯s very crowded here. I got a great shock when I arrived.¡±

 Chapter 520 - A Few Formulae

    <h4>Chapter 520: A Few Forme</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the past, Lin Li would¡¯ve really continued beating around the bush with him, but he did not have the time to do so now. He knocked his fingers against the table gently, and half-jokingly said, ¡°Mr. William, do you have the same agenda as those people out there?¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, William smiled. Good eyesight was the means of living for an appraiser. Although he didn¡¯t know how the pharmacists were rted to the young President, he could tell from various signs that it was not easy to poach them. Those who tried would probably not have their wishes granted even after going bankrupt.

    William stared at Lin Li smilingly, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is Young Master Felic that confident? I¡¯m sure you know better than me how important senior pharmacists are to a force. Aren¡¯t you worried about those people out there at all?¡±

    ¡°Hah, this is not a prison. Everyone here is free to go where they want to. If they can get what they want, it just means that they¡¯re capable enough. Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t seen any sessful cases yet. Perhaps you might be the first to seed, Mr. William,¡± Lin Li said with a calm smile, seemingly not bothered by the fact that someone else was trying to poach his pharmacists.

    William began to feel more and more confused as he wondered to himself just why Lin Li was so confident about it. Human character was the hardest thing to grasp in this world; what made him think that those pharmacists were fools? Or was he really not restricting the freedom of those pharmacists, and was simply letting them do as they pleased?

    It would be impossible not to be tempted by the 20-odd pharmacists who had just appeared in the Tower of Dusk. Although William¡¯s most famous business was the Time Consignment Store, he was actually involved in other industries, especially the pharmaceutical one. It was a lucrative industry, and some people who had the ability and connections could not resist the temptation of making profits. William was not blinded by temptation, however. Although the news of these senior pharmacists was spreading like wildfire in the Breezy ins and causing a major uproar, the forces participating in the pursuit were working extremely hard as if they would be able to solicit sess at any time as long as they worked hard.

    If it were really that easy to recruit the pharmacists, it wouldn¡¯t be up to them to do it. The Malfa Family would have long brought them to Aminya! No one in the Breezy ins would have the audacity to say that they were much stronger than the Malfa Family, and no one couldpare to the Glittergold Trade Union in terms of wealth. They were all just dreaming. Besides, there were many powerful forces in this world, and the Malfa Family was only dominating Aminya. Since when was it their turn to poach the pharmacists, especially when the Glittergold Trade Union didn¡¯t even dare to im to be the richest in the world?

    His subordinates had repeatedly suggested and proposed that they recruit a few senior pharmacists before the rest did, but they were all turned down by the decisive William, who had seen through everything clearly right from the start.

    Most of the gifts given by the forces to the pharmacists were acquired from the Time Consignment Store. However, William¡¯s sharp senses told him to forgo the benefits despite them being ced right in front of him. Although William refused to participate in recruiting pharmacists, it did not mean that he had given up the pursuit of benefits. There were many ways to obtain benefits, and it was not necessary for him to make the pharmacists his own.

    Many people looked down on Ona¡¯s mercenary corps because they were too insignificant in the Breezy ins. Such a small mercenary group that could not even be considered a faction actually had the cheek to go to the pharmacists and present them with gifts, hoping to get into their good books? They were just overestimating their own abilities. Even if Ona had obtained a potion that allowed his and his son¡¯s strength to advance to level-15, they were still considered embarrassing and unworthy to the other forces.

    However, if everyone¡¯s efforts and gains werepared to each other, Ona would be the one who really stood to gain. Although Ona used the potion to break through to level-15, it was far more valuable than the gifts that Ona had given away.

    Besides, had Ona only gained some benefits in terms of personal strength? Although the Warriors who had broken through to level-15 would still be very different from the Archmages in terms of strength, the extension of their lifespan was almost the same. For a small group of mercenary corps, having two level-15 Warriors was almost equivalent to doubling their strength, which meant that there would be more opportunities for them to obtain more benefits.

    However, it was just a potion that was casually concocted during an experiment, though it was life-changing for some. That was also the reason for the pharmacists¡¯ superior status.

    William¡¯s agenda this time was not to hire the pharmacists or discuss partnership with Lin Li. Instead, it was for something else. However, before he broached the topic, he would still have to find out what was the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the senior pharmacists.

    Ripples formed in William¡¯s heart, and he tried to think of an appropriate way to pose his question. If he were too careless with his words, he might end up offending Lin Li.

    At this very moment, the door of the hall was suddenly opened, and a youth who was dressed in a pharmacist¡¯s coat poked his head through the crack. He seemed to have something to say to Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, Wilkinson, is there a problem? Come on in,¡± Lin Li said smilingly while waving at Wilkinson.

    Lin Li was being a little disrespectful by allowing his subordinate to interrupt the meeting with a guest. However, William did not feel in the least bit displeased, because he had heard of Wilkinson before. Hence, he knew that he was the most important among the batch of senior pharmacists. William was tempted because he felt that he might be able to find out about the pharmacists¡¯ rtionship with the Tower of Dusk from Wilkinson.

    ¡°Mr. Pharmacist, it¡¯s my honor to be able to see you here,¡± William said as he stood up while Wilkinson walked towards them.

    However, Wilkinson ignored William, and instead nced at Lin Li inquisitively.

    ¡°This is the owner of the Time Consignment Store, Mr. William. We¡¯ve met once before,¡± Lin Li introduced.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Wilkinson said while scanning William from head to toe condescendingly without saying anything else. Since Lin Li said that they had only met once, Wilkinson¡¯s nce was enough.

    ¡°Wilkinson, if there¡¯s nothing too important or urgent, take a seat and wait for me there. Mr. William hasn¡¯t told me about the purpose of his visit yet.¡± Lin Li pointed at the chair beside him and poked fun at William.

    Wilkinson did not say much, and instead took a seat while staring at the old man William with displeasure.

    Feeling extremely awkward, William began sweating, and droplets of sweat trickled down from his forehead. However, there was nothing he could do, since he was the one asking for a favor. Besides, he was at fault for beating around the bush. He smiled awkwardly while seated on the chair, knowing that there was no point in saying anything more. The young President would probably re up and lose his patience if he were to continue saying some nonsense.

    ¡°Please forgive me, President Felic. I do need your help this time,¡± William said earnestly. Actually, there was no need for him to try and find out anything more at this point. Wilkinson¡¯s attitude towards Lin Li had already spoken for itself.

    ¡°Mr. William, you don¡¯t have to do this. I can¡¯t guarantee that I can help you for sure. What exactly is the matter? Feel free to tell me about it.¡± Actually, Lin Li could already tell that William was there for the pharmacists.

    ¡°Well, because I run the Time Consignment Store, I often get the chance to get in touch with peculiar and strange things. It was also through a very idental opportunity where I acquired several potion forme from the Dark Age from an adventurer,¡± William said as he stared at Wilkinson who was sitting opposite him.

    Wilkinson¡¯s eyes lit up as he heard William talk about the forme of the potions from the Dark Age. For a pharmacist, nothing was more attractive than a pharmaceutical form, especially one from the Dark Age when the war that swept the entire Anril urred, bringing huge damage to pharmaceutics-rted legacies. Many forme and pharmaceutical techniques were lost then.

    Sensing the change in Wilkinson¡¯s attitude, William silently heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he could pique Wilkinson¡¯s interest, he would have a shot at it. In fact, the real reason for his visit at the Tower of Dusk was not to meet Lin Li or Wilkinson.

    Just as William had said earlier, he happened to get some forme from an adventurer by chance. Although he could tell from the forme that they were really from the Dark Age, he could not understand them.

    William also ran a pharmaceutical business. Although he was not involved in pharmacy, he knew that if those forme were genuine, they would be priceless.

 Chapter 521 - Absurd Potion Formula

    <h4>Chapter 521: Absurd Potion Form</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In order to know the authenticity and value of these potion forme, William made use of a great amount of connections, and finally found a pharmaceutics Master from the Pharmacist Guild. With the discernment of that pharmaceutics Master, William¡¯s guess was confirmed. These potion forme were indeed from the Dark Age, and differed from any known forme from the Pharmacist Guild.

    William couldn¡¯t contain his excitement upon obtaining this knowledge. He felt like he had picked up a gem, which hadn¡¯t happened to him for a long time.

    However, what that pharmaceutics Master said next dampened William¡¯s enthusiasm like a bucket of cold water. ¡°The forme are probably authentic, but they involve a few concoction techniques that were lost in time. Even I can¡¯t make the potions sessfully by following these forme,¡± the pharmaceutics Master told him candidly.

    Upon hearing these words, William was immediately stunned. A form that couldn¡¯t allow you to concoct a potion sessfully was just a piece of waste paper. So what if it was from the Dark Age? When the corresponding concoction techniques were lost and even a pharmaceutics Master couldn¡¯t concoct them, what was the use of holding onto them himself?

    William had somewhat given up at first. After all, this pharmaceutics Master was publicly acknowledged as a very knowledgeable man. Even he couldn¡¯t concoct the potions, let alone the others from the Pharmacist Guild.

    However, not long after this incident, the news about a great number of high-level pharmacists appearing in the Tower of Dusk spread like wildfire in the Breezy ins. Every faction immediately started to pursue these high-level pharmacists. How could this kind of widely known news escape the ears of William, who was in charge of the Time Consignment Store?

    In fact, severalpetent subordinates had suggested that Time Consignment Store should also join in this pursuit...

    William, however, was clearly more farsighted than the other factions. He immediately felt something was amiss about this emerging Tower of Dusk; it wasn¡¯t as simple as it appeared to be. Without understanding the situation, it was unwise to offend the Tower of Dusk for the sake of a few pharmacists...

    Thus, William didn¡¯t hesitate to reject the suggestion by his subordinates. At the same time, he thought of the potion forme from the Dark Age which were lying in the attic...

    Although the price that he¡¯d paid for the forme was so insignificantpared to his worth that it wouldn¡¯t hurt him to throw them away, he just couldn¡¯t ept it knowing that the forme were authentic. It was as if seeing a gem buried in dust.

    William didn¡¯t have high hopes that those high-level pharmacists could help him concoct the potions. Although he didn¡¯t employ any high-level pharmacists personally, he didn¡¯t have to wait till now if he wanted to find high-level pharmacists to help him with the potions given his abilities.

    Moreover, even that Master from the Pharmacist Guild acknowledged that he couldn¡¯t concoct the potions from the forme. He even imed that there wasn¡¯t possibly anyone in the entire guild who could concoct the potions. If so, was there any high-level pharmacist even more knowledgeable than a pharmaceutics Master? It was clearly impossible.

    When the other factions only saw those frenzy-inducing high-level pharmacists, what William noticed was the Tower of Dusk that was behind these high-level pharmacists. Why was there a sudden appearance of high-level pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk, a newly established faction? Though the Tower of Dusk was a Guild of Magic supported by the Supreme Council, the Supreme Council was, after all, not the Pharmacist Guild. Even the Pharmacist Guild wasn¡¯t able to get so many high-level pharmacists in such a short time, let alone the Supreme Council.

    In this world, not all mages belonged to the Guild of Magic. Simrly, not all pharmacists belonged to the Pharmacist Guild. Hence, William made a bold guess that this batch of high-level pharmacists might not be from the Pharmacist Guild, but rather from another less known pharmacist organization. There was likely to be one or two pharmaceutics Masters behind these high-level pharmacists. If not, it¡¯d be impossible to nurture so many high-level pharmacists.

    Since that pharmaceutics Master had said that nobody in the entire Pharmacist Guild could possibly concoct the potions using those forme, what about people outside the Pharmacist Guild? If he could think of a n, maybe he could get the help of a certain pharmaceutics Master through the Tower of Dusk to concoct the potions sessfully from the forme! This thought was too tempting for William to ignore.

    So, with this thought in mind, William arrived at the Tower of Dusk, hoping that he could revive the glory the forme had during the Dark Age with the hands of a pharmacist Master behind those high-level pharmacists.

    ¡°What potion form is there that nobody in the entire Pharmacist Guild can concoct? You must be exaggerating, Mr William. Tell me about it! I¡¯m interested to know what these forme that nobody can concoct look like.¡± Upon hearing William¡¯s full story, Wilkinson was more unconvinced. He wasn¡¯t someone that William was looking for¡ªa pharmacist from an unknown pharmacist organization. He belonged to the Pharmacist Guild since the very start, and was a proud disciple of President Balbo. How could he tolerate other people doubt his teacher¡¯s pharmaceutic abilities?

    William noticed Wilkinson¡¯s displeasure, but didn¡¯t know why he incurred it. He merely thought that Wilkinson didn¡¯t believe him, and said, ¡°If you want to know, let me tell you about a form here. The name of this form is long lost, only the ingredients needed and a few concoction techniques remained. The herbs needed are: Abyss Blood Crow Tongue, Heaven Three Leaf Grass, Sword Bamboo fruit, Autumn Bell flower, Dark Shadow Flower stamen, Icefield Seaweed... A total of 47 herbs.¡±

    ¡°Haha, this is ridiculous! How is this a form? Even a pharmaceutics disciple knows that this form can¡¯t possibly let you concoct any potions.¡± Wilkinson felt so cheated right after hearing what ingredients were needed for that form, and began to criticize it mercilessly.

    Normally, Wilkinson would onlyugh it off if he got such a potion form, and not be so fed up. However, William had aroused his interest and provoked him by doubting the abilities of the Pharmacist Guild, yet Wilkinson ended up realizing that the so-called potion form was a scam. How could he not be angry?

    ¡°First, there is an extremely foolish mistake that can be spotted at first nce. This form needs 47 herbs? Looks like the person who faked it is brainless, and didn¡¯t have any pharmaceutics knowledge. To say that this thing is a potion form and take it to us is a total disgrace!¡±

    Wilkinson was angry over the fact that even the basicmon knowledge was gotten wrong. Even if one wanted to cheat, couldn¡¯t he do it using more technicalities? Did he really think that everyone was a fool? Wilkinson doubted if William had even looked for other pharmacists, and wondered what kind of people he had sought out to look at the forme. Even an old man who swept the floors of the Pharmacist Guild would never make such a mistake.

    ¡°Mr William, you are an appraiser, and a manager of a consignment shop. Maybe I cannot demand too much from you regarding pharmaceutical knowledge, but you should know at least some basic pharmaceutical knowledge as an appraiser! The characteristic of appraisers is being a jack of all trades but master of none. If you don¡¯t even have such general knowledge, how can you be a jack of all trades?¡±

    Appraising was quite an awkward upation. One needed to know a bit of everything, yet couldn¡¯t be an expert on anything due to constraints of time and effort. To be a jack of all trades but master of none was the best description of appraisers.

    If this was said by any other person, William would have 1,000 methods for him to die miserably. However, since the one who spoke was a high-level pharmacist, he wasn¡¯t offended at all.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, I can tell you that in this world, the most fundamental and important rule of pharmaceutics is the rule of bnce. It is right to say that any potion form is a reflection of the art of bnce. To lose bnce would result in losing everything. This is something that even pharmaceutics disciples know because it¡¯s the first piece of pharmaceutics knowledge they learn.¡±

    Facing Wilkinson¡¯s consecutive rebuttal, whether he was right or wrong, William had no motivation to refute him, and could only agree with embarrassment.

    However, William¡¯s attitude couldn¡¯t cool Wilkinson¡¯s anger. For any pharmacist, pharmaceutics was a solemn affair, and the slightest negligence would lead to detrimental effects.

    Pharmaceutics in the Anril World wasn¡¯t just grinding a pile of herbs and throwing them into a pot to make a soup. It was about the interaction between different kinds of energy. A seemingly insignificant grass might contain sufficient energy to explode a house. Even the slightest mistake could seriously harm the pharmacist who made it. For example, if Lin Li hadn¡¯t destroyed that dangerous potion in time when he¡¯d first visited the Pharmacist Guild, the entire Guild would have exploded.

    ¡°Just talking about the rule of bnce, your so-called potion form is untenable. But let me tell you, there¡¯s a more fatal problem.¡± Wilkinson had always detested such behavior that put other people¡¯s lives at stake. Of course, anyone who really attempted to concoct the potion ording to this idiotic form was a fool. Although Wilkinson didn¡¯t know who came up with William¡¯s potion form, he rightfully scolded William since he was the one who had it.

 Chapter 522 - Divine Potion

    <h4>Chapter 522: Divine Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°How stupid must you be to put the Heaven Three Leaf Grass and Dark Shadow Flower together! The Heaven Three Leaf Grass contains the purest light energy, while the Dark Shadow Flower is formed from the purest darkness energy. To put these two together is sure to cause death!¡±

    With shaking hands, William took out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead, yet just after he did, he began to sweat again. Although he didn¡¯t know the two herbs Heaven Three Leafed Grass and Dark Shadow Flower, the conflicting characters of light and darkness weremon knowledge for even people with no pharmaceutics background.

    Water and fire were conflicting energy formsmonly known by people. However, anyone with a slightly better understanding of magic would know that these two were not always conflicting, but rather initiated change and integration. In contrast, light and darkness were always conflicting forms of energy, with no chance of any integration or peaceful interaction.

    Wilkinson learned not only pharmaceutics knowledge from his teacher Lin Li, but also his way of teaching. One needed to know that Lin Li¡¯s pedagogical methods were scolding and punishment. Though he had never beaten Wilkinson before, scolding was also part and parcel of it during those days. Now he could be considered applying what he had learned. Since he was also angry at William in the first ce, Wilkinson¡¯s words were incredibly savage.

    ¡°Nobody can concoct the potion? Indeed, nobody can. Do you think that a bunch of random herbs written together can be considered a form? You are not a kid, how can you do such a thing? Do you really think that a random stone you¡¯ve picked up is a gem?¡±

    Wilkinson¡¯s scolding was merciless. Though Williamughed bitterly upon hearing the scolding, he didn¡¯t have any intention to defend himself. Meanwhile, as the only one who could stop Wilkinson, Lin Li didn¡¯t say a word after hearing that the form required 47 herbs.

    Lin Li, who appeared to be calm on the outside, was actually very shocked. This form that William was talking about was very simr to the one he had seen back in the Endless World, and was likely to be the same one.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had once met a pharmaceutics Guru who lived in seclusion during a mission. As the smurf ount was specially for developing an avatar with every profession maxed out, he had purposely interacted with that pharmaceutics Guru. He used many ways to fill up the ¡®rtionship bar¡¯ of the Guru, and frequently got lots of goodies from him.

    After they became friends when the rtionship bar filled up, the pharmaceutics Guru spoke of a potion called Divine Potion. However, he wasn¡¯t sure of the specifics of the form, either, and only told him a few characteristics of this form such as the number of herbs needed.

    A true form was not only listing of all the ingredients, but¡ªmore importantly¡ªspecified the amount of each ingredient used, the preparation method for each ingredient, the special techniques used during concoction, etcetera. The making of a potion was a very serious process where a slight mistake could result in immeasurable oue. The less serious would be wastage of precious ingredients, while the more serious threatened the life of the pharmacist. Therefore, only knowing the ingredients needed for a potion was of no value in regards to the concoction of that potion.

    If it was only a half-finished form, that pharmaceutics Guru didn¡¯t have to tell Lin Li about it only after the rtionship bar had filled up. The truly important thing was that thest potion that a certain Divine Smith had concocted before he rose to be a Divine Smith was the Divine Potion.

    Though Lin Li¡¯s Hunter ount didn¡¯t have pharmaceutics as a sub-upation, he still had quite some knowledge about pharmaceutics¡ªat least more than William. Upon hearing the pharmaceutics Guru¡¯s description of the form, he had exactly the same thoughts as Wilkinson now, thinking that such a form was impossible.

    Yet, Lin Li witnessed the true power of the Divine Potion not long after that conversation.

    It was a Level-B mission issued by the system. The goal was to escort an important personage from a certain kingdom, and they needed to travel through what was known as the untraversablend¡ªthe Rift Valley of Hell. Everyone who saw this mission thought that it was too difficult for a Level-B mission since any mission that was rted to the Rift Valley of Hell was generally a Level-S mission. Even Lin Li dared to go to the Rift Valley of Hell twice only after obtaining the Stars of Fury.

    Lin Li had obtained neither the Stars of Fury nor the seven debris of the stars at that time, and could only be considered a high-level Hunter with pretty good equipment. He had epted this likely bugged<sup>1</sup> mission only for the sake of escaping the pursuit of other yers who wanted to kill him.

    When the escort team had reached the Rift Valley of Hell, arge number of hell creatures swarmed out, and instantly surrounded the 1000-man team. Out of those hell creatures, the most terrifying were the dozen-plus three-headed hell dogs guarding the Gate of Hell that even a Legendary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t provoke easily. The team with close to 1,000 people couldn¡¯t even defend themselves for 15 minutes. Even Lin Li had prepared to give up.

    Just then, a court mage beside that important personage suddenly drank a tube of light golden potion. A golden light beam pierced through the night sky andnded on that court mage, and powerful aura emerged from the body of that court mage.

    Seeing it with his own eyes almost made Lin Li shout out a certain famous movie line. That court mage was still thin and feeble, but nobody thought he was weak. Instead, he seemed to be towering over everyone<sup>1</sup>.

    Within seconds, the world waspletely changed. The entire dimension seemed to be in the hands of that mage. Thousands of ferocious hell creatures, including the dozen of three-headed hell dogs no weaker than Legendary powerhouses, all turned into ashes under such devastating powerparable to that of the gods.

    Lin Li then realized why this mission was only Level-B in difficulty¡ªif they could survive the first round of attack by the hell creatures, they didn¡¯t have to worry about anything after that. After that incident, Lin Li racked his brains, and finally got the information from the court mage that the golden potion was actually the Divine Potion that the pharmaceutics Guru had told him about.

    Back at the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li had only been an Archmage who relied on the All-Knowing Potion to reach the Legendary-realm. That court mage from the Endless World, however, relied on the Divine Potion to reach the Sanctuary-realm instead. It was indeed rightfully named ¡®Divine¡¯.

    This was the terrifying ability of pharmacists, and also the reason why they had always towered over mages no matter what status they had.

    Since then, Lin Li had always wanted to find theplete form of the Divine Potion. Besides the fact that this heaven-defying potion could turn a human into a god, it could also help to prepare his smurf ount for the rise into a Divine Smith. This was because Lin Li had a vague feeling that this Divine Potion was likely to be the key for a pharmaceutics Guru to be a Divine Smith.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li hadn¡¯t been sessful in his search even when his Hunter ount had gotten the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of debris of the stars, when he had smashed the eyeballs of the Dragon of Destruction, and when he had exhausted all means and put out all kinds of rewards to get theplete form. After he had traveled to the Anril by using the scroll of Wishes, this issue was naturally forgotten by him.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe that the problem that had perplexed him all this while was so easily answered in this world. He had originally given up all hope of finding the form for the Divine Potion, yet it appeared by itself now. Life was simply intriguing.

    How could Lin Li let this benefit that was delivered to the door escape just like that? However, this enormous benefit didn¡¯t make Lin Li lose hisposure. His face didn¡¯t reveal any desire.

    Though Lin Li didn¡¯t have any business skills, he knew that he had the upper hand since William had some favor to ask of Lin Li. However, once he had shown even a tinge of eagerness, William would have spotted that with his acute sense of judgment as an appraiser and reim the upper hand. Since Lin Li wasn¡¯t close to William in the first ce, it was wise to optimize his own interests.

    ¡°Wilkinson, don¡¯t be mad. I think William didn¡¯t do this on purpose. Why don¡¯t we hear what Mr William has to say?¡± Lin Li feared that Wilkinson would scold William too much, turning him away. This fe was not only quick to learn pharmaceutical knowledge, but also scolding people.

    Now Wilkinson and hispanions regarded Lin Li¡¯s words as the absolute truth. No matter what Lin Li said, they would follow it without any questions. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Though everyone had their own personality, after the countless experiences of being taught lessons for not obeying, it was now a reflex action to listen to Lin Li.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Wilkinson reacted quickly. He shut up before he finished scolding William as if something got stuck in his throat.

    William nced at the two of them. Astounded, he felt that he had underestimated this young President. What was his rtionship with these high-level pharmacists? He even dared to speak to these pharmacists as if they were his subordinates.

    ¡°Mr William, do you really have nothing to say?¡± Lin Li prompted William while he stood there, stunned.

    William snapped back to his senses, and immediately replied, ¡°Ah, yes, President Felic, Mr Pharmacist. Please allow me to exin it to you.¡±

    Although William was scolded by Wilkinson, he felt much more at ease. He still believed that those potion forme were authentic. After all, they¡¯d been appraised by a pharmaceutics Master, and he had personally verified the ingredients needed in the forme.

 Chapter 523 - Trade

    <h4>Chapter 523: Trade</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Wilkinson scoffed. If the form had been given him by Lin Li, Wilkinson wouldn¡¯t have doubted it at all, but rather thought about what he didn¡¯t know. However, since this came from another person¡¯s mouth, he wouldn¡¯t believe it no matter what.

    William could onlyugh bitterly at Wilkinson¡¯s attitude. After all, this form was said not to be feasible ording to a Master from the Pharmacist Guild. Thus, it surely contained a conundrum that most pharmacists couldn¡¯t solve. He came to the Tower of Dusk precisely looking for a pharmaceutics Master or an organization simr to the Pharmacist Guild. If a high-level pharmacist could sessfully concoct the potion with the form, then why would he even need toe this far?

    ¡°Mr Pharmacist, you¡¯re right. In the field of pharmaceutics, how can my little knowledgepare to yours? However, I am still a little confident with my judgment skills. It¡¯s almost definite that the paper used to record this form is a typical product from the Dark Age.¡± William chose his words carefully before he spoke, fearing that he would enrage this pharmacist again should he say anything wrong.

    ¡°Hah! How¡¯s your business at the Time Consignment Store, Mr William? At this rate, it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯ll be good. A piece of paper from the Dark Age, no matter how rare it is, is just a piece of paper. But if there¡¯s a so-called lost potion form written on it, its price would probably be hundreds or even thousands of times higher!¡± Wilkinson couldn¡¯t help but speak to William with sarcasm.

    Actually, Wilkinson had a point. Making counterfeit artifacts wasmon everywhere. Even if people didn¡¯t like artifacts, there was always something they liked, so people would make counterfeits to obtain mary gains. A piece of paper from the Dark Age with a lost potion form written on it was a pretty convincing trick. If a magic spell was written on the paper, it was easy for a mage to judge its authenticity by testing it out. It was not easy, however, to judge the authenticity of potion forme, especially ones with precious herbs necessary, since it would take a long time to collect most of those herbs in the first ce.

    ¡°Mr Pharmacist, you seem to be thinking that someone had written a counterfeit potion form on this piece of paper from the Dark Age. Indeed, I was concerned about this too, so I made use of many connections, and finally found a pharmaceutics Master from the Pharmacist Guild. He helped me to analyze these forme. Though I cannot reveal his name, this Master confirmed that the forme were authentic, just that there are many problems in the forme that current pharmaceutics cannot solve yet.¡± Since he finally had the chance to exin himself, William told them all he had wanted to say in one go.

    However, Wilkinson still didn¡¯t believe William despite his exnation. If not for what Lin Li had said earlier, Wilkinson would have taught this old man a lesson already.

    Lin Li sat there quietly, tapping the table softly with his fingers. He was unbothered by all themotion, andmented, ¡°I also feel that Mr William wouldn¡¯te all the way here just to joke with us. However, if you, Mr William, think that your forme are real, what do you want us to do for you?¡±

    William didn¡¯t sense anything strange about Lin Li¡¯sment, but Wilkinson felt a tug in his heart. William didn¡¯t know Lin Li¡¯s abilities, but Wilkinson had undergone training in the Tower of Dusk for such a long time that he was fully aware of Lin Li¡¯s capabilities in pharmaceutics. Though he was very respectful towards his teacher Balbo, he couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that Lin Li was superior to his teacher in every aspect of pharmaceutics.

    Now, judging from how he spoke, Lin Li seemed to be quite excited about that counterfeit potion form. Or rather, maybe it wasn¡¯t even a counterfeit; could William be right? Wilkinson and hispanions all worshiped Lin Li¡¯s abilities to the point that they almost blindly believed in him.

    ¡°President Felic, I came to visit because I hope that you can introduce me to a pharmaceutics Master to see if he can get anything from these forme.¡± William didn¡¯t want to test the waters anymore, so he revealed his intentions ining here. If not, he might not have any more chances to speak.

    ¡°Pharmaceutics Master? Whom did you hear it from? Our tiny Tower of Dusk doesn¡¯t have any pharmaceutics Masters.¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t wrong to say this. The Tower of Dusk really didn¡¯t have any pharmaceutics Masters¡ªit had a pharmaceutics Guru.

    Since William had already lowered himself to seek help of a junior, that was Lin Li, he naturally wouldn¡¯t give up so easily. He continued, ¡°Of course, I cannot ask you to help me for nothing. How about this: if this potion can be formted sessfully, both of us can coborate in its sales. What do you think about this suggestion?¡±

    ¡°The herbs listed by the form are all extremely rare. Even if it can be made into a potion, it¡¯s very difficult to collect enough ingredients for even one or two tubes. How is it possible to produce it in bulk? Is there even any point in coborating?¡± Wilkinson attacked with no courtesy.

    The Divine Potion was a heaven-defying potion that allowed the user to borrow godly powers. The ingredients needed to make it were naturally super rare. Even with the abundant storage from the Pharmacist Guild, it was probably difficult to get half of the ingredients needed. It was impossible to produce this potion in bulk.

    William smiled, and replied, ¡°Mr Pharmacist, the form that I have told you about is just one of the many that I have. I also have a few other high-level forme which don¡¯t require such precious herbs. However, it¡¯s the same case as this one. That pharmaceutics Master said it¡¯s impossible to make the right potions out of them.¡±

    William had talked about the Divine Potion form as a starter because he wanted to spark the interest of that pharmaceutics Master behind the Tower of Dusk. By listing out those ingredients previously, he could indirectly prove that the forme he had were of a high level. After all, for a person like a pharmaceutics Master, typical potion forme would hardly pique their interest, even if they had never seen them before. They pursued a higher level, and only those potion forme they deemed useful for rising to that higher level would spark their interest enough to examine them.

    ¡°It¡¯s too early now to talk about coboration. If you don¡¯t mind, Mr William, how about telling us what forme you have in detail? Our pharmacists can help you examine them.¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in anything else William had. He urgently wanted to know whether that form William had was really the Divine Potion form.

    ¡°This...¡± William felt a little conflicted. After all, potion forme were unlike weapons or equipment. Those things still had to be bought from him even after the buyer had looked at them, yet potion forme were something the buyer could easily remember after seeing them. Although it would still be with him after the buyer returned it, its value would be totally gone.

    Seeing that William was hesitant, Wilkinson was a little displeased, and said, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that Master Felic is interested in your forme. If they are real, the only one in the entire Anril who can possibly make the potions from the forme is Master Felic!

    ¡°It looks like you think that pharmacists like us are not worthy of your trust! Mr William, do I need to arrange a room for you to think about this for a few days in peace?¡±

    These words were a little harsh. What did it mean if they were unworthy of trust? William¡¯s heart jumped. If this got leaked, he would be an enemy of all pharmacists! It couldn¡¯t be helped; pharmacists were quite unreasonable. What could he do? They were sufficiently capable to be arrogant.

    Even Lin Li was momentarily stunned by Wilkinson¡¯s words. What Wilkinson had said seemed to be quite subtle, but in fact, anyone who wasn¡¯t a fool could sense that this was an undisguised threat.

    Other than those living legends at the Sanctuary-realm, only pharmacists who were capable of making the impossible possible could be so boldly unreasonable. With Wilkinson¡¯s status as a high-level pharmacist, even true Legendary-realm powerhouses would treat him as an equal.

    ¡°Wilkinson, they are Mr William¡¯s forme. Although we don¡¯t know the authenticity of the forme yet, Mr William is their owner, and has the freedom to decide whether he wants to let us see them. It¡¯s too much to say such things.¡± Lin Li pitied William, so he lectured Wilkinson a bit. He then turned to William, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, Mr William. His personality is just like that, and he speaks whatever he wants. You see, we don¡¯t really have much time. Do you want to think about this back at home?¡±

    William didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. This President Felic appeared to be extremely reasonable, and was subtle in his speech, but was in fact more vicious of the two, and directly attempted to chase him out.

    Thinking about this carefully, William knew that it was meaningless whether he held back a trick or not. Those forme were already deemed impossible to formte by the pharmaceutics Master from the Pharmacist Guild. Now, the only hope remained in the Tower of Dusk here. If the Tower of Dusk was also unable to concoct these potions, so what if he gave all these forme to them? However, if the Tower of Dusk could really concoct these potions, he still had to rely on them and give them these forme in the end. What else could he do butply? Kidnap that pharmaceutics Master?

    This meant that even if the Tower of Dusk had decided to pocket these forme and hang him out to dry, William wouldn¡¯t lose anything from the deal. At most, he would have felt happy over them for nothing.

    To get them was luck; to lose them was fate. Thinking of this, William calmed down, and replied, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking, President Felic. I didn¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t trust you. I will pass you the forme now.¡± He stood up and passed Lin Li a wooden box carved with patterns.

 Chapter 524 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 524: Invitation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li grabbed the wooden box, but didn¡¯t open it immediately. Instead, he ced it on the table, and said, ¡°Mr. William, although I said that the form may or may not be genuine, and I don¡¯t know if the potion can be prepared ording to the instructions of the form, there is always a possibility. Since I don¡¯t have anything on now, let¡¯s assume that the form is genuine, and talk about the cooperation that you mentioned. Do you have some ideas already?¡±

    Lin Li was a very straightforward person. If William had been his enemy, he would have immediately killed him and snatched the forme away without feeling a sense of guilt. However, he decided to act appropriately since William was rather polite. In order to earn the respect of others, one would first have to respect others too. Lin Li would respect whoever respected him.

    Staring at the wooden box that he had just given Lin Li, William suddenly felt as if he had fallen into a trap. It seemed like President Felic was very confident about these forme. Otherwise, no one would be willing to take the time out of their busy schedule to discuss cooperation that was based on an assumption.

    Honestly, when William had first arrived, he had considered what kind of partnership he should have with the Tower of Dusk, as well as the ideal conditions he aimed for and the bottom line that he would maintain. However, it seemed that he could only push his bottom line further down.

    He had already handed over the forme and the initiative for the business cooperation. It would be impossible for him to have a true share in the profits, and he could only hope to be offered a tiny amount of benefits. William sighed deep down, though he politely continued, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to call it a cooperation. The forme would go to waste in my hands.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, so you do have some self-awareness, after all,¡± Wilkinson sneered coldly.

    Although Wilkinson had ruthlessly rejected William¡¯s im regarding the authenticity of the form, and even scolded him a lot, Wilkinson had a sudden change in attitude after Lin Li expressed a faint interest in the form. After interacting with Lin Li for three months, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists learned that some rules were meant to be broken.

    However, Wilkinson did not feel ashamed about scolding William just now, because he felt that his words aligned with pharmaceutical theories, and whether or not it was right would depend on the abilities of the omnipotent Master Felic. In the eyes of Wilkinson and the other pharmacists, Master Felic was indeed omnipotent, for he was the only one who could concoct a potion using such a form.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel sorry or embarrassed, Mr. William. Feel free to speak your mind. We¡¯re just making an assumption, aren¡¯t we?¡± Lin Li said magnanimously with a smile.

    Although most of the forme in the wooden box did not appeal to Lin Li, he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to formte the potions with his incredible skills. The only difficulty that he might face would be concocting the Divine Potion that would make one possess godly abilities. However, it was not necessary to tell that to William. After all, they had only met twice so far.

    ¡°Well... alright then, I will just say it.¡± William paused for a moment. After seeing that Lin Li was not just patronizing him, he continued, ¡°If the Master you know can really formte the potions, I hope to get the franchise for these potions.¡±

    William¡¯s request was indeed not overboard. After all, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to produce the potions without the forme that William had provided. Likewise, his forme would be useless if Lin Li refused to help him formte the potions. Hence, they both needed each other to establish a fair partnership which offered mutual benefits.

    However, William had already surrendered his dominant position, and it would be too unrealistic to think that he could share the profits with the pharmacists. Hence, he chose to forgo the rights to the forme, and put himself in a position where he was purely a businessman.

    In fact, William had put in some thought and effort into this. He owned the Time Consignment Store, and apart from the powerful Divine Potions, the rest of the potions that he sold weren¡¯t advanced. In other words, those potions were eligible for auction. Given how popr and in-demand the long-lost potions from the Dark Age were, it should not be a problem to sell them at sky-high prices.

    When faced with a huge temptation, not many people would be able to see the harsh reality and hold back. Even Wilkinson gave a nod of approval with a look of satisfaction on his face after hearing William¡¯s request, though he could not hide his intentions from Lin Li.

    From Wilkinson¡¯s point of view, the potions had to be sold even though they could also use the potions themselves. They would be up for sale regardless of whom they hand the potions to. After all, the forme were William¡¯s, and although Wilkinson was unreasonable, he was well aware of that. Therefore, after hearing William¡¯s request, he felt that the old man was quite sensible to give up on the ownership of the forme.

    Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t be duped so easily. What William wanted was sole franchise and distributor rights to the potions, which was enough to maximize the profits from the potions. Although the other benefits seemed insignificantpared to obtaining the Divine Potion, profits were still profits. Besides, Lin Li didn¡¯t want others to think that he was a pushover who could be duped easily.

    Lin Li smiled faintly and looked at William with a yful look. ¡°Mr. William, in that case, what is the price that you¡¯re willing to pay when you take the potions from us? Is it going to be proportional to your sales revenue or our cost price?¡±

    Monopoly meant that they would reap huge profits, not to mention the auction sales method. Although there was a possibility of the potions not getting auctioned off, it would not be considered a loss. Besides, there¡¯d always be a demand for magical potions in this world.

    ¡°That... would have to be tabted ording to our sales revenue,¡± William said upon realizing that the young mage was indeed not easy to fool.

    ¡°Haha, just kidding. Everything is simply an assumption for now. As for the details of the future cooperation, we¡¯ll let Archmage Gavin of the Guild of Magic discuss them with you carefully.¡± Lin Li was pleased with William¡¯s willingness topromise, and he believed that Gavin would definitely be able toe up with a profit ratio that would be beneficial to the Tower of Dusk.

    No one would say no to more money, not even Lin Li, who had a stable means of earning plenty of money that was continuously invested in the Tower of Dusk. However, the Tower of Dusk was not using up more money than Lin Li could make. The more investors there were, the quicker their abilities would increase.

    As the master of the Tower of Dusk, he would obviously ce the interests of the Tower of Dusk first, especially since he was not close to William at all. They had only met each other twice.

    Although William was forced to make apromise in the end, and did not manage to confirm the details of the cooperation, it was at least not a wasted trip for him. William could tell what Lin Li implied, and he knew that he was about to end the conversation. Hence, he said, ¡°President Felic, there will be an auction at the Time Consignment Store next month. I would like to take the liberty of extending an invitation to you. Would you allow me the honor of having you participate in this auction?¡±

    ¡°Auction...¡±

    Auctions were not something new to Lin Li. The Jarrosus Guild of Magic suddenly popped up in his mind. When he¡¯d auctioned his potions, the forces and leaders from Jarrosus all rushed to call their bids like madmen because the prices of the potions were not too high. Auctions were events where something could be sold at 10 times their original value. One would be allowed to rip someone off openly during auctions.

    ¡°This auction is held once a month. I¡¯m not boasting, but we do have some influence in the Breezy ins. Therefore, it often attracts sellers who have rare items that they want to sell for a good price. All those castens, captains, and leaders love attending my auctions to purchase some items of their desires.¡± Although William had just been criticized for his pharmacological knowledge, he still sounded prideful.

    In order for auctions to be influential, they would have to sell top-grade items, which naturally had to be discovered and authenticated by the appraisers. Although William had been criticized by Wilkinson for hisck of knowledge, he was confident that it was not superficial.

    Just like pharmacists would be delighted to get a potion form and magicians would be excited to get a new magic spell, an appraiser would be d to find new knowledge. Hence, William decided to befriend Lin Li after hearing his description of the Adamantine of Bad Luck during their meeting at the banquet in the main city of Rnd.

    At that time, William had also believed that Lin Li would be pleased to befriend him once he found out about his identity and reputation in the Breezy ins. However, he¡¯d never expected that he would go back and end up receiving no news despite having waited for a long time.

    He¡¯d only found out during his visit to the Tower of Dusk that the young chap was actually the reputable and renowned genius young mage and President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins. William sighed and thought to himself, <i>No wonder he didn¡¯t take me seriously. He has the support of an esteemed Pharmacist Guild, while I¡¯m just an inferior appraiser. What am I to him? </i>

 Chapter 525 - Returning To Roland City Again

    <h4>Chapter 525: Returning To Rnd City Again</h4>

    This time, William didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity again. Although there was a possibility of cooperating, that waspletely different from friendship. In order to convince Lin Li to attend the auction, he again began to talk about the items that would appear during the uing auction, such as some rare magical materials, equipment, and medicinal materials.

    ¡°Last but not least, please allow me to keep you in some suspense. The finale of this auction will be a mystery object from the elves¡¯ kingdom,¡± William said vaguely.

    Lin Li knew that the Time Consignment Store auction was actually very famous in the Breezy ins, so much so that even outsiders would specially rush to the Breezy ins for the auction. Lin Li would often hear his mages talking about it too. However, since he left Rnd City back then, he proceeded to battle in the Dragon Mountains and the Scar of Death. He then spent three months in the Abyss of Tharlen. Hence, he did not have the time to pay attention to the auction.

    Although he was still very busy now that the operations of the Tower of Dusk and the pharmaceutical business were in full swing, it was not impossible for him to find some time. Moreover, Lin Li still remembered the pair of daggers which had been used by the Legendary assassin that he had acquired for Norfeller from the Time Consignment Store previously. ording to Ujfalusi, those daggers were produced by the Immortal King. Clearly, there were still superior items that could be purchased at the Time Consignment Store, and he reckoned that it wouldn¡¯t be a waste of his time.

    Just as Wilkinson was about to speak and make things clear to William as a pharmacist, he was stopped by Lin Li, who smilingly said to William, ¡°Since you¡¯ve invited me personally, how can I turn you down, Mr. William? Besides, I¡¯m also looking forward to that mystery item from the elven kingdom that you have mentioned.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will await your arrival,¡± William said, standing up to leave after seeing that everything had been settled.

    ¡°Mr. William, please wait a minute,¡± said Lin Li, who did not n to end the conversation just like that. Instead, he extended his hand to gesture for William to take a seat again. ¡°Since you¡¯ve invited me to an auction, I can¡¯t turn you down or let you leave without giving you something in return. I do have some things here. Please arrange for them to be put up during the auction.¡± He then whipped out a few bottles of potions and ced them on the table.

    ¡°These are...?¡± William asked apprehensively.

    ¡°These are the potions that Wilkinson and the other pharmacists have concocted during their practice. However, you can rest assured about the results and effects of the potion. These two silvery white potions are Sacred Potions, these five are mystical potions, while this one is the Power of Achilles... ¡±

    Staring at the 20-odd potions in front of him and listening to Lin Li¡¯s introduction, even William, who had gotten used to seeing rare items, could not help but feel astonished. Although the colorful potions served different purposes, they were rather simr in the sense that all of them were highly coveted by Archmages and Sword Sages, who would be willing to do whatever it took to obtain them.

    Yet, President Felic imed that they were just the practice pieces of the pharmacists even though they were powerful enough to drive anyone crazy! William could not help but feel a little jealous when he saw Lin Li whipping out the potions nonchntly as if they were just bottles of water.

    The displeasure caused by being forced to hand over the form of the potions and make concessions on the issue of cooperation vanished from William¡¯s heart at that instant. Staring at the potions on the table, he thought to himself, This must be the advantage of having the support of pharmacists. The potions that are highly coveted yet hard to acquire by many are actually the byproduct of the training sessions of the pharmacists. William made his mind up, and was determined to build a close rtionship with the young mage.

    William was an appraiser and a businessman. He was also old in his years and way past the age where he would act rashly. To him, going toe-to-toe with each other for power and interests were things that were meant for youths. Although they could win their dignity and gain pride, they wouldn¡¯t be able to acquire other benefits, and might even bring about damage to their family. It absolutely was a silly behavior.

    There¡¯s no harm in makingpromises as long as I can still reap some benefits at the end, William thought to himself. He was sure that he would be able to gain massive profit as long as the potions were put up for sale during the auction. Even if he could only enjoy the revenue from auction fees, he would gain a huge boost in his reputation, which would make up for the mary loss that he might incur.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master Felic. These potions will definitely be sold at a price that does their value justice,¡± William said solemnly.

    ¡°Mr. William, I hope that our cooperation will be sessful,¡± Lin Li said smilingly while standing up to see him off.

    For the next several days, the representatives who were waiting in the hall of the Tower of Dusk continuously discussed the purpose of William¡¯s visit. Some of them suggested that William was probably there to recruit the pharmacists too. After all, he was reputable in the Breezy ins. The conjecture and spection made them feel like they were pressed for time because none of them was confident in trumping William.

    It had been a few days since William visited, and the auction that he¡¯d mentioned was just round the corner. Lin Li decided to use this chance to unwind and rx, and see if he could get his hands on some superior-grade items at the same time.

    When he¡¯d held a pharmaceuticalpetition previously, Lin Li promised to take the winners to the auction. Unsurprisingly, Wilkinson earned himself a spot. Several senior pharmacists, including Wilkinson, as well as two Undead creatures, Lich Ujfalusi and the Vampire Norfeller, headed together with him to Rnd City.

    It had been almost a year since he went to Rnd City; this time, he actually didn¡¯t have much to feel emotional about. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, this world was progressing and evolving too slowly, unlike the city that he¡¯d lived in before he arrived in Anril.

    Rnd City was one of the most developed ones in the Breezy ins, and was even known as the granary of the Breezy ins. Lin Li recalled the time when he¡¯de here and exerted plenty of effort to obtain a million gold coins¡¯ worth of food. He managed to rescue the daughter and son of the casten of Rnd City, took Lich Ujfalusi under his wing, and even met the pious and religious female Pdin. He hoped that he wouldn¡¯t meet another loony again.

    ¡°Hello, you must be President Felic from the Tower of Dusk. Our boss, William, has instructed me toe here to wee you,¡± a person said politely after showing up abruptly in front of Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Mr. Brook. Thank you for waiting for me,¡± Lin Li said while staring at Brook, who was also the person who had sold him the pair of daggers at the Time Consignment Store.

    Brook hurriedly said, ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, President Felic. Our boss has already... arranged for amodation and lodging for you and yourpanions. Pleasee with me.¡±

    Due to the fact that William had no idea which day Lin Li would arrive in Rnd City, he decided to let Brook, who knew Lin Li, stay at the entrance of the city to receive him lest he gave Lin Li a poor impression.

    After Lin Li entered the city, Brook, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately recognized him as the young mage who had bought the pair of daggers from him using the crystal card from the Glittergold Trade Union and the master of the Tower of Dusk. That made Brook feel thankful for the fact that he had not offended the young President of the Guild of Magic.

    Although Brook was not a big shot, he liked paying attention to the affairs of various forces; hence, he was very familiar with the fact that many factions had gathered together at the Tower of Dusk. He initially just wanted to gloat and watch the senior pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk being poached.

    However, after finding out that Lin Li, who was a holder of the VIP crystal card issued by the Glittergold Trade Union, was the master of the Tower of Dusk, Brook knew that he wouldn¡¯t get to gloat anymore. The Tower of Dusk was a newly established Guild of Magic, and even though they had the Malfa Family¡¯s support, they couldn¡¯t overpower all of the other forces in the Breezy ins. However, who knew that he¡¯d be a VIP member of the Glittergold Trade Union?

    It was no wonder that his boss kept reminding him not to be impolite. The thought of it made Brook treat Lin Li with more respect.

    Brook had initially already prepared a luxurious carriage that was parked by the side, and was just waiting for Lin Li to arrive so that he could usher him to the resting area. However, the young mages in Lin Li¡¯s team insisted that they head there by foot so that they could take a look at the scenery in Rnd City.

    ...Wilkinson and the other senior pharmacists were the center of attention of the many factions; they were just like superstars in the Breezy ins. Hence, Lin Li decided to make them dress like mages.

    Despite feeling displeased, Brook had no choice but to agree to giving up on the carriage, since the mages were part of President Felic¡¯s entourage. Hence, he instructed the people who were manning the carriage to follow them closely while he proceeded to walk in the direction that he had nned to.

    Rnd City was bustling and lively as usual. However, it did not phase or entice Lin Li, who felt that it was insignificant because he had experienced much livelier crowds than this. Unlike Lin Li, Wilkinson and the rest looked around fervently, like curious country bumpkins who were visiting the city for the first time. Lin Li felt extremely embarrassed because of them.

 Chapter 526 - The Auction

    <h4>Chapter 526: The Auction</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Actually, Rnd City was not that much more developed than nna; in fact, it was actually inferior in various aspects. However, the unique Dark Age architectural design of Rnd City was what piqued the interest of Wilkinson and the rest.

    Such architectural style was present in Dnd City too. However, Wilkinson and his peers were too obsessed with the pharmaceutical knowledge that was imparted to them by Lin Li, so much that they practically did not leave their amodations at all. Without a thirst for knowledge like theirs, even the most talented individuals would not be able to attain the achievements that they had.

    Wilkinson and the rest scanned their surroundings in curiosity; meanwhile, the two Undead creatures remainedposed, seemingly treating everything around them like it was transparent. Lin Li looked extremely bored, causing Brook who was in charge of reception to feel a little worried.

    Lin Li¡¯s purchasing the daggers using the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s VIP crystal card was still fresh in Brook¡¯s memory, and he clearly remembered that Lasorick, the son of Dnd City¡¯s casten, had some feud with President Felic.

    Lasorick and his friend, Argus, would definitely be present during the auction, and if they were to run into Lin Li, Brook would be put on the spot because he could not afford to offend any one of them. It would be unlucky if he got into trouble.

    Ironically, one would be bound to end up offending both parties whenever they tried to avoid offending either of them. When one tried to please both parties, it would usually backfire, and they would end up failing to do so. Brook was just an insignificant figure who knew that he would definitely be chased out if anything severe were to happen. Hence, it would be impossible for him to maintain a neutral position.

    He stole a nce at the bored President Felic, and began to form ideas of his own. Although he was not going to take sides, he just wanted to take precautions in case something really happened. He would at least have someone to defend him.

    President Felic was a Glittergold Trade Union VIP crystal card holder and the President of a Guild of Magic who had recently gained the support of the pharmacists. Even William regarded him highly, and visited him personally at the Tower of Dusk. Since William respected him so greatly, Brook reckoned that President Felic¡¯s words were definitely significant and impactful.

    Anyway, the stubborn Lasorick was just being tyrannical and haughty because he had a casten for a father. In fact, he was ipetent, and even William could not be bothered to meet him. How could his fatherpare to the Glittergold Trade Union?

    ¡°President Felic, you don¡¯t seem to be too interested in the scenery here. Why don¡¯t I introduce you to the uing auction?¡± Brook asked, trying to suck up to him.

    Feeling extremely bored, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to introduce it to me, Mr. Brook.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to do so, President Felic.¡± Brook deliberately stopped in his tracks to bow to him respectfully. He then continued to show Lin Li the way while introducing the auction to him.

    Since the scale of the auction wasrger than before, they decided to hold it in the Elven Theater in Rnd City.

    Just like its name suggested, the Elven Theater was a building from the Dark Age, and also one of elven-style buildings preserved the best after the war. The Elven Theater was very famous in the Breezy ins, as well as the entire Fn Kingdom. It could be considered andmark of Rnd. In the Elven Theater, there were 2,000 ordinary seats and 150 VIP rooms. Clearly, the auction was going to be held on arge scale.

    Some might think that 2000 guests were not a big deal, and it could not mean that the auction was definitely conducted on arge scale. However, they had to remember that it was an auction, not a concert. Besides, it was an auction held by the Time Consignment Store, where only the prestigious and strong deserved to be given a seat. Those who were leaders of 500-member-strong forces might not even be worthy of a standing ticket.

    Indeed, the strong forces in the Breezy ins would not be enough to fill up all 2000 seats, and there were only a few forces in Fn Kingdom which could meet the standards. There were also forces from Ledin Kingdom, which bordered the region on the other side.

    Although William modestly mentioned that the auction held by the Time Consignment Store had a little bit of influence, it actually had great influence over various countries.

    Of course, not all forces woulde to participate in the auction every month. The Time Consignment Store would always prepare a catalog of items that would be up for sale during the next auction one month in advance, and distribute them to the VIP customers. That way, they wouldn¡¯t have toe all the way for the auction if there wasn¡¯t anything that they were interested in.

    By right, the potions that Lin Li had handed over to William should only be put up for auction next month because they had missed the catalog registration window. However, the auction this time wasrger in scalepared to the previous years; hence, all of the VIP guest would be present. There was thus no need for the potions to be registered in the catalog.

    After hearing William¡¯s words, Lin Li began to admire him for being able to manage the auction of the Time Consignment Store so excellently. It was a feat that could not be done simply with good eyesight and taste. The idea of a pre-issued catalog was undoubtedly a smart move, which was enough to win him a group of loyal customers.

    Actually, a catalog was not quite mandatory in order to allow the guests to find out the items that would be put up for auction in the following month, because the forces could totally hire people to keep close tabs on the monthly auctions and feed them with information beforehand. It was something that most medium forces did.

    However, the catalog was no longer meant to be just a notice, and instead had gradually be a status symbol, just like the Glittergold Trade Union VIP crystal card and the membership cards of various industries that Lin Li had owned before he traveled to Anril.

    Regardless of whether those who received catalogs were interested in the items on the catalog or not, receiving a catalog monthly meant that they were valued by the Time Consignment Store. It meant that the Time Consignment Store was certain that they had the ability to purchase the items that were to be auctioned off. It was a form of respect that was enjoyable for them. Unlike others, they didn¡¯t need to send their people to keep close tabs on the auction every month. That gave them a sense of superiority.

    Without a doubt, there was only a small amount of people who would receive catalogs each month. There were 2,000 ordinary seats and 150 VIP rooms in the Elven Grand Theater. Those who received catalogs every month would be eligible to sit in the VIP rooms. However, there would be less than 100 VIP guests in the uing auction.

    ¡°President Felic, Boss has already added your name to the VIP list personally when he returned. From now on, a catalog will be sent to the Tower of Dusk every month,¡± Brook said earnestly and respectfully.

    ¡°Oh, please thank Mr. William on my behalf,¡± Lin Li said courteously. Although the catalog was not a necessity that he couldn¡¯t do without, he acknowledged it as a token of goodwill from William.

    Finally, the group arrived at the abode that William had arranged for them. It was a castle! The castle was not meant for all the guests, and was only allocated to Lin Li and his entourage. Although it was only a small castle, it did not seem cheap, and was in fact very posh and luxurious.

    ¡°This is the castle used by us to host the royal family. The boss knew that President Felic may arrive with numerouspanions, and that it wouldn¡¯t be convenient to arrange for you guys to live in ordinary hotels. Hence, he borrowed this ce from Lasorick. We hope that you will have a pleasant stay for the next few days.¡± As a subordinate, it was necessary for Brook to ry William¡¯s intentions.

    Lin Li shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, <i>This old man William has even borrowed a castle. How can I have the cheek to shortchange him again during the cooperation?</i>

    Although both magicians and pharmacists had a higher social status than nobles, their living standards were far worse than those of the nobles. The purpose of the castle that was used for amodating the royal family members was to give the upants as pleasant of an experience as possible. Lin Li and the rest seemed to have be country bumpkins all of a sudden.

    After arranging for Lin Li and the rest to settle into the castle and fulfilling his boss¡¯s instructions, Brook bade them goodbye and left.

    The auction was to be held the next day. After Lin Li and others explored the castle thoroughly, Wilkinson began to get extremely jittery and fidgety. Although he had already seen most of the scenery of the streets of Rnd City, he still found it interesting.

    Lin Li sipped on some royal tea, while the two Undead creatures stood by his side, exuding a cold and daunting aura.

    Wilkinson and the other pharmacists seemed to be gossiping about something while standing together. Atst, Wilkinson smiled and walked towards Lin Li.

    ¡°Wilkinson, try this tea. The aristocrats really know how to enjoy life,¡± Lin Li said while raising his cup.

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s alright,¡± Wilkinson frantically said while waving his hand.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Lin Li took a few more sips, and looked up to see that Wilkinson was standing in front of him. Staring at him peculiarly, Lin Li asked, ¡°Is there an issue?¡±

    Although Wilkinson was two years older than Lin Li, after several months of training, he and the other pharmacists had begun respecting and admiring Lin Li, especially after all the scoldings and lectures.

 Chapter 527 - Seven Leaf Grass

    <h4>Chapter 527: Seven Leaf Grass</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Wilkinson hesitated for a moment and stole a nce at his friends, all of whom seemed to be gloating over his misfortune. One of them even mouthed the words ¡°let me do it if you don¡¯t dare to¡±.

    Gritting his teeth, Wilkinson said, ¡°Master Felic, here¡¯s what happened. Teacher once mentioned to me a herb store called Seven Leaf Grass before we headed to the Breezy ins, and instructed me to help him find some medicinal herbs. Look, do you think I can...¡±

    ¡°Seven Leaf Grass?¡± asked Lin Li as he ced his teacup down, interested.

    Wilkinson nodded profusely, and said, ¡°Yes, Teacher told me that there is a wide variety of herbs avable at this store, and they¡¯re always in stock. This store has lots of rare herbs that can¡¯t be found elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Since I don¡¯t have anything else to do, I¡¯ll go check it out together with you. I shall see what¡¯s so special about the store that Master Balbo has rmended.¡± Lin Li did not probe any further, and instead resolutely stood up to get ready to leave. Actually, he was well aware of Wilkinson¡¯s intentions. If Balbo really needed some herbs, he would have a million ways to obtain them. He wouldn¡¯t have to resort to getting his student to search for them on his behalf.

    However, Lin Li had only agreed to go explore with him out of boredom. There was nothing much to see in the castle, and there was nowhere for him to practice magic, nor was there a pharmaceuticalb. He couldn¡¯t possibly spend the entire afternoon having tea.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. What¡¯s wrong with them?¡± Lin Li asked upon sight of a few other pharmacists, who were hanging their heads low dejectedly and doing nothing.

    ¡°Hah, they¡¯re just tired and don¡¯t wish to go out. We¡¯ll just let them stay behind to get some rest,¡± Wilkinson said smugly while staring at his several friends.

    ¡°Well, they have to pay the price for losing. Let¡¯s go, then,¡± Lin Li said smilingly.

    Wilkinson smiled wryly and followed Lin Li.

    After thanking the butler of the castle and turning down his offer to provide them with a carriage, Lin Li and Wilkinson left the castle, and headed to the address given by the butler on foot together with the two Undead creatures.

    Along the way, Wilkinson told Lin Li the legendary stories about Seven Leaf Grass.

    In the myths of Anril, there was once a bunch of Seven Leaf Grass that grew on the Tree of Eternity. It had the ability to resurrect a dead person due to the fact that it had been grown with the essence of eternity.

    It was said that the queen of the High Elves had once got injured by a magical beast named Sphinx that had a goat¡¯s head and a lion¡¯s body. The ws of the Sphinx carried a poison that was more intense and lethal than the poison of vipers. It was said that even the gods couldn¡¯t resolve this poison.

    However, just as the Queen of the High Elves was about to choose her sessor, a powerful figure that was like the incarnation of a god picked some Seven Leaf Grass from the tree, which he then used to formte a detoxifying potion for the Queen. The poison was finally removed.

    ¡°Powerful like the incarnation of a god...¡± Upon hearing the description, Lin Li immediately thought of two individuals¡ªthe Immortal King and Geresco. The first person who gave the Queen an antidote could very likely be the Immortal King, he reckoned. Apart from the fact that the chronological order was urate, the Immortal King was also an all-round individual who could use the remains of the Dragon of Destruction to build the Sky Castles for the High Elves. Hence, it was not surprising that he could formte a potion like that.

    The Seven Leaf Grass was located at the side of a small za in the southern corner of Rnd City. The three-storied building with a white dome had seemingly gone through more vicissitudes than the buildings surrounding it. There were no words written on the signboard of the store, and there was only a picture of the legendary Seven Leaf Grass. It seemed to show the confidence of the store owner.

    The entrance of the store was rather small. After all, pharmacists were much rarer than mages and warriors. Besides, pharmacists were the target consumers of herbal stores; hence, there would obviously be very few customers.

    When they entered the medicinal store, they didn¡¯t smell the kind of mixed herbal scent that would usually be found in amon medicinal store. That just meant that the staff of the store had conducted appropriate management of the herbs. The scent indicated the diffusion of energy, and the mixed medicinal fragrance indicated that there was a problem with the preservation of multiple medicinal materials. When high-level potions were formted, a minor change would lead to failure.

    Standing in the lobby of the medicinal store, they could see a neat medicine cab that was made of neatly arranged crystals. The transparency of the cab allowed others to see what was inside, but sunlight could not prate it, and thus wouldn¡¯t destroy the medicinal herbs inside. The design could be regarded as meticulous, for the visitors could carefully pick the herbs that they wanted without wasting any. However, there was a hefty price to pay for such a meticulous design. Hence, no one dared to use crystals for storing herbs.

    Lin Li formed a good impression of the Seven Leaf Grass medicinal store. The only issue was that the middle-aged man who was manning the shop did not once stand up or even speak up to wee them. He felt that the middle-aged person had to be the manager because he could tell from the decor andyout of the store that the owner should be one who cared about the feelings of the shop¡¯s customers. In that case, how could it be the same person who had remained still even after seeing the customers enter?

    They were in Seven Leaf Grass medicinal store, which was well-known throughout the entire Breezy ins. Although it was alwayspared to the Time Consignment Store, Seven Leaf Grass did seem rather noble and prestigious because its main clienteleprised mostly lofty aristocrats. The manager felt that the Seven Leaf Grass was prestigious for serving only esteemed pharmacists, while the Time Consignment Store was cheap in his opinion because it peddled potions or magic weapons and equipment, and served warriors and mages.

    As the manager looked up at the four people who had juste in, his heart turned numb. Who would be willing to give you a free meal!?! Although the four of them were all wearing magic robes, mages weren¡¯t significant here, let alone the ones who were dressed shabbily.

    Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were now the stars of the Breezy ins, whom all the forces knew about. Hence, they had deliberately disguised themselves as mages on this trip out with Lin Li.

    Lin Li only cared about his own well-being, and was not bothered about what others thought of him. Before he came to Anril, he¡¯d been just a homebody who didn¡¯t care about his appearance at all.

    It was much worse for Ujfalusi and Norfeller. Due to the fact that they were Undead creatures, their strong Undead aura could not be hidden at all. Hence, they seemed distasteful regardless of how well they were dressed.

    After confirming their identities with a nce, the manager who despised the Time Consignment Store felt nothing but disdain for them. He was nning to let them take a look and scram, and could not be bothered to waste his time talking to them at all. The manager humphed coldly in displeasure and lowered his eyelids as if he were going to sleep.

    Wilkinson wasn¡¯t an oblivious and unscrupulous nerd. He could obviously tell that the manager was looking down on them with contempt. After joining the Pharmacist Guild, he was epted as a student by Teacher Balbo all thanks to his hard work and talent. Who would dare to despise Balbo¡¯s student in such a disrespectful manner? He had gotten to where he was today based on his own talent, hard work, and ster performance. Those who were jealous of him did not have anything to say at all.

    Although calmness was the basic requirement for a pharmacist when preparing a potion, Wilkinson was still in his twenties, after all. Being young and vigorous, how could he tolerate letting others look down on him? However, when he was about to react, he discovered that Master Felic was looking at the medicinal herbs nonchntly, while the two Undead creatures remained calm and unfazed.

    The Undead obviously wouldn¡¯t have any emotional fluctuations, for they had already lost their lives, and were nothing but empty shells. Hence, why would they care about the opinions of others? To Ujfalusi and Norfeller, their only concern was the safety of their master. Unless someone threatened Lin Li¡¯s safety, nothing had anything to do with them.

    Lin Li was not bothered by the manager¡¯sck of enthusiasm. He was just there to buy medicinal herbs anyway, not to perform a stand-upedy. He didn¡¯t have the time to teach the manager a lesson, either. He walked along the rows of crystal medicine cabs in the hall, after which he realized that he was in need of several kinds of medicinal materials.

    Lin Li took the time to study and analyze the forme that William had given him. The Divine Potion was difficult to formte, and even though he was a pharmaceutics Guru, he still wasn¡¯t that confident. Besides, the required medicinal materials were not that easy to gather.

    Staring at the different medicinal materials that were to be used for other forme, Lin Li felt that the forme were not mixed randomly. It seemed that formting the other forme, one would very possibly be enlightened, and then have more confidence in preparing the Divine Potion.

    Although the crystal medicine cabs were arranged like supermarket shelves, the medicinal materials in them were not easy to obtain. Lin Li wrote down some of the medicinal materials required by the form on paper, after which he walked towards the middle-aged person, and said, ¡°Please help me get these medicinal materials.¡± He then slid the piece of paper towards him.

 Chapter 528 - Donéˆ¥æª› Be Silly

    <h4>Chapter 528: Don¡¯t Be Silly</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Pursing his lips, the manager stared at the newspaper on the table impatiently, thinking to himself that he would have to walk around the whole hall in order to get all the herbs that Lin Li asked for. Remaining seated, he pressed his finger against the sheet of paper, rubbed it back and forth twice, and cocked his head sideways as he nced at Lin Li in contempt. ¡°You want these herbs? Do you know how much they cost?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Lin Li asked with a frown as he thought to himself, <i>Why do you have so much nonsense to say? Hurry up, get me the herbs I want and scram. It¡¯s none of my business even if you die sleeping.</i>

    ¡°Hey, young man. You¡¯d better be more pragmatic. You can¡¯t afford to be a pharmacist.¡± The manager slid the piece of paper back to him and closed his eyes again in a bid to take a nap.

    Lin Li mmed his hand against the table and urged, ¡°Could you hurry and get me my herbs?¡±

    Thud!

    The manager mmed his hand against the table too, and stood up to say, ¡°You want these herbs, eh? Pay up first. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to sell the damaged herbs after they¡¯re exposed to the air if you go back on your word once I retrieve them for you. Do you know how strict pharmacists are with expensive herbs and ingredients? Do you think you can make potions just by pouring the herbs and ingredients all into one pot?¡±

    Lin Li found being questioned about his pharmaceutical knowledge absolutely ridiculous and absurd. However, he could not be bothered to argue with the manager, either. He asked, ¡°How much do they cost?¡±

    ¡°Hah, fine, I¡¯ll calcte it for you.¡± The manager stared at the paper on the table, and looked up at Lin Li before continuing, ¡°20,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡± 20 thousand gold coins was nothing to Lin Li. Had the manager weed them warmly and politely when they entered, Lin Li would have been more than willing to give him a 20,000-gold-coin tip after purchasing the herbs that were worth 2,000 gold coins. However, the manager actually had the audacity to charge him 20,000 gold coins for the herbs. He would be a fool if he were to pay.

    ¡°You can¡¯t afford it, eh? Didn¡¯t I already tell you that you¡¯re too poor to be a pharmacist? Look at you people. So what if you¡¯re mages? Do you even know what pharmacy is about? Have you ever seen real potions before? You¡¯re just a bunch of country bumpkins, and yet you¡¯re thinking of bing pharmacists. Do you even know how to use these herbs? Are you going to cook them into porridge?¡± the manager sneered.

    Upon hearing his words, Lin Li¡¯s frown vanished, and his lips curled into a smirk. Actually, it was not that infuriating to be mocked by an ignorant person who was blowing his trumpet ridiculously. In fact, it was absurd and hrious.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, concocting potions is meant for pharmacists to do. You country bumpkins should just go back where you came from. You can¡¯t even fork out 20,000 gold coins, yet you¡¯re thinking of bing pharmacists. Psht...¡± the manager rebuked.

    Wilkinson couldn¡¯t take it at this point of time anymore. Master Felic was a Master of pharmacy who was more knowledgeable than Teacher Balbo. He should be respected by everyone. How could he be insulted by such a horrendous person? Boiling with fury, he felt an urge to reveal his identity and berate the manager who didn¡¯t know any better. He wanted to let him know that mages were not to be insulted.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± the manager barked angrily after seeing that Lin Li still had the cheek to smirk. He ripped the piece of paper into shreds, crushed them, and got ready to throw them at Lin Li.

    However, at this very moment, a sharp and icy cold dagger was ced against his throat before he could even open his palm.

    Although the dagger was only ced against the skin of his throat, its chilliness seemed to have prated his skin. He wanted to swallow his spit, but had no choice except to stop for fear that the movement of his Adam¡¯s apple would cause his skin to be slit by the dagger. He had no idea when he released his hand, but all of the broken bits of paper had already been cast all over the ground, appearing extremely obvious against the clean and bright marble flooring.

    <i>How dare these barbaric bumpkins treat me like this!?</i> The manager could hardly believe the reality. Although he was not a remarkable person in the city of Rnd, no one dared to underestimate the Seven Leaf Grass medicinal store. Even a reckless Warrior and an arrogant Mage would have to address him politely as Mr. Manager!

    ¡°You... You people!¡± Despite trembling uncontrobly, the manager still tried to suppress his fear, and yelled in a shrilling voice, ¡°What are you people trying to do!?! Don¡¯t forget where this is. My boss is acquainted with Casten Arathor. If you darey a finger on me, you can forget about leaving Rnd City!¡±

    The manager did not have any skills in magic or martial arts, and was actually terrified beyond words at this point now that he had a dagger ced on his throat. In fact, his legs became weak, and he couldn¡¯t stand straight anymore. If Lin Li had been dressed impably, he would have thought that he was a powerful and prestigious Archmage, and knelt down before him to beg for mercy. Even if he hadn¡¯t, he would¡¯ve spoken to him in a mellower tone, and things wouldn¡¯t havee to this.

    However, he felt that the four of them were definitely not mages that were supported by a powerful force. The manager was very confident in his judgment, and although he dared not move, he could not hide the panic in his eyes, and his mouth kept moring for a moment.

    ¡°Open your eyes and see clearly. This is not your country. Seven Leaf Grass is not a ce for you to cause a stir or make trouble; you¡¯d better consider the consequences of your actions. Don¡¯t mess with people you shouldn¡¯t be provoking.

    ¡°Let me tell you, I am a person who serves noble pharmacists and lords. So what if you¡¯re mages? You¡¯re just fooling those ignorant vigers. We¡¯re not short of mages here.¡±

    <i>They¡¯re just bumpkins who haven¡¯t seen the world. Once I show them my prowess and assert my dominance, they¡¯ll definitely be terrified and apologize immediately</i>!

    However, the manager¡¯s judgment was obviously not as good as he had imagined, because he had no idea that the person holding him down was actually a Vampire. Vampires would never hesitate to kill, just like how humans would never hesitate to kill chickens.

    Although Lin Li, Norfeller¡¯s master, was a human being, and he¡¯d not easily kill because of some trivial matter, once he decided on a target, he¡¯d never hesitate to kill him. Norfeller, who was closely associated to his master through the blood oath, would obviously be influenced by it and follow the example set by his master.

    Once Norfeller increased the force applied on the dagger, he would be able to slit the throat of whoever dared to offend his master. When that happened, even a pharmacist would not be able to save the other party.

    The manager¡¯s throat had already begun bleeding. At this moment, someone at the stairwell raised his voice as he made his way down.

    ¡°Larry, what are you doing? Why is there such a ruckus? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m discussing an important deal with some guests upstairs!?!¡± barked the owner of Seven Leaf Grass, who was a handsome middle-aged man in his fifties.

    He¡¯d initially been talking upstairs with the guests, and when it was time to talk about the important things, there was a ton of noiseing from downstairs, which made him feel embarrassed. Everyone in Rnd City knew how prestigious Seven Leaf Grass was, and even the casten would have to speak to him politely. <i>Who¡¯s the person who has the audacity to cause a stir at my ce!?</i> he thought.

    As soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, he was greeted with a clear sight of themotion. The owner¡¯s face grew sullen when he saw the manager of his store being held down with a dagger ced against his throat. He¡¯d initially thought that it was just a verbal argument, and med the manager Larry for not handling the matter appropriately. However, it seemed that Larry was being bullied.

    When the skin of his throat was cut, the manager knew that he had encountered a ruthless person who wouldn¡¯t care about his status or background, and would simply kill without hesitation or consideration of the consequences. At this point, the manager had already begun regretting what he¡¯d said, and was on the verge of begging for mercy.

    At this moment, the boss of Seven Leaf Grass made his way downstairs while Lin Li hollered for Norfeller to stop.

    When the manager saw this scene, he knew that the dismal magicians were definitely daunted, and rejoiced over the fact that he had not begged for mercy. Since they dared not do anything to him, there was nothing for him to be afraid of. The thought of it made him feel energized, and he beganining to his boss while ignoring the wound on his neck.

    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s not that I defied you, but these foreigners are just too tyrannical! Look at my neck, it¡¯s bleeding because they cut me. I was kind enough to reason with them, but they don¡¯t take Seven Leaf Grass seriously at all. They whipped out their daggers and threatened to kill me.¡± The manager struggled to break free while yelling, ¡°Let go of me, let go of me!¡± He knew that they wouldn¡¯t kill him anyway.

    ¡°Dear guests, I don¡¯t know how my manager offended you, but we can talk things out nicely. There¡¯s no need to kill. Could you let go of him first? Tell me, what rude and offensive things has he done to make you so angry?¡± The owner was a businessman, and naturally had a good temper since he could manage Seven Leaf Grass so well. However, he definitely had a sullen expression now since his subordinate had gotten bullied.

    Lin Li knew clearly what the owner meant, but he was toozy to argue with him. He smiled and instructed Norfeller to let go of the manager.

    The owner humphed coldly, and chided the manager, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry ande here to tell us what happened. How did you offend these customers?¡±

 Chapter 529 - Leader Sienna

    <h4>Chapter 529: Leader Sienna</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The manager scurried towards the owner while holding his neck with one hand as it bled. He miserably said, ¡°Boss, you can¡¯t me me. They came in to buy some things, but when it was time to pay up, theyined that the prices were too expensive. He even used us of being swindlers.¡±

    Staring at Lin Li and the rest, the owner turned and chided the manager, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell them that we only supply herbs to pharmacists?¡±

    Upon hearing his boss¡¯s words, the manager was certain that he would definitely be med if the owner were to ask for the exact quote that he had given Lin Li. However, if he were to mention that the herbs were to be supplied to pharmacists, the problem would then lie with pharmacists. He reckoned that they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to get a pharmacist toe here and confront them.

    The manager quickly added, ¡°I saw that they were foreigners, and kindly reminded them that the herbs here are only to be used by the pharmacists. However, not only did they not listen, they even threatened me unreasonably. Look at my neck... Had you been a minuteter, I would probably never have seen you again...¡± He then moved his hand away and revealed his bleeding wound.

    Seven Leaf Grass had been operating in Rnd for numerous years, and various professional guilds, mercenary squadsrge and small, and aristocratic families¡ªbe it upstarts or those which had a long history of more than 1,000 years¡ªall had to show him some respect. The owner¡¯s face became more and more gloomy as he stared at the wound on the manager¡¯s neck. Although the wound was not serious, Lin Li and hispany¡¯s behavior was equivalent to giving the boss an insult.

    However, the owner was a self-proimed person of status who wouldn¡¯t yell and scold them like the manager did. ncing at the four shabbily dressed mages, the boss turned his head and reprimanded the manager, ¡°How many times have I told you, even though most of our guests are noble pharmacists, we will inevitablye into contact with people from all walks of life. If you insist on serving only aristocrats, you will definitely cause a misunderstanding sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, Boss. It was negligence on my part,¡± the manager hurriedly chimed in. Actually, the bleeding had already stopped long ago, and he was only keeping his hand on his neck for the sake of gaining sympathy.

    ¡°Enough. Just take this as a lesson to remember. If you make such a mistake again, I¡¯ll chase you out of Seven Leaf Grass,¡± the owner barked sternly.

    Even a fool could tell what the manager and owner were driving at. Wilkinson was simmering with anger that was threatening to explode. Damn it, how dared he allude to nobility when he was yelling like a barbarian just now? What aristocrat spoke in such an uncouth manner?

    Wilkinson felt a strong urge to lose his temper and reveal his pharmacist identity. However, he dared not do so after staring at Lin Li, who was remainingposed. <i>Yeah, we¡¯re senior pharmacists. Why should we stoop to the level of these merchants? Even if we reveal our identities, so what? All we would get is an apology and end up seeming like petty people,</i> he thought.

    After reprimanding his subordinate, the owner turned his face to the side and said to Lin Li and the others, ¡°Dear mages, I¡¯m really sorry. We run a herbal medicine business here, and we usually interact with pharmacists more frequently aspared to mages. It may be that the manager Larry didn¡¯t exin things to you clearly, and thus caused a misunderstanding, resulting in you guys feeling offended by him. But now that I have punished him, can you hear me out calmly?¡±

    Although the owner of Seven Leaf Grass sounded kind and polite, everyone could understand the true meaning behind those words. He was just trying to say, ¡°We are here to serve the noble pharmacists. You mages are no big deal to us here in Seven Leaf Grass. You didn¡¯t earn any respect, because you don¡¯t know your ce at all.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boss. This is indeed my fault. I just didn¡¯t want them to waste their money. After all, 20,000 gold coins are all of their savings. However, I forgot to consider their pride. I deserved to be misunderstood as offending them,¡± the manager yed along, pretending to be reflecting on his mistakes sincerely.

    ¡°Dear magicians, you have heard it. My manager has only done that out of goodwill. After all, these herbs can¡¯t be used by just anyone. We can do without these 20,000 gold coins, but we¡¯ll feel bad for letting our customers spend their life savings on some herbs that they can¡¯t use. So, I¡¯d like to ask you to kindly forgive me if we have offended you in any way.¡± However, the owner was holding his head high and chin up in a condescending manner as if Lin Li and the rest ought to thank him.

    Staring at the owner and the manager, Lin Li did not at all feel angry despite their arrogant and contemptuous attitude. The battles that he had fought after reaching the Legendary-realm ever since he had arrived in the Breezy ins had not only given him a boost in strength, they had also helped him build his character and trueposure.

    Should this have happened in the past, Lin Li would¡¯ve definitely thrown a tantrum and taught the people who had disrespected him a huge lesson. He wouldn¡¯t try to kill them, however.

    Yet, Lin Li only smiled calmly and got ready to leave with Wilkinson and the rest despite having been mocked by others.

    The owner and the manager were both insignificant to Lin Li, who would remainposed even if he were faced with an opponent in the Legendary-realm. How could he let a small fry affect his mood?

    At this moment, a figure scrambled from the stairs to the main hall.

    Lin Li stared at the person who was making his way down the stairs. It was none other than Sienna, the leader of the mercenary corps that had cooperated with Lin Li in rescuing the son of the casten of Rnd City.

    At the time, Senna had just been the leader of a useless mercenary group that wasprised of 30-40 ipetent mercenaries. However, he had actually dared to take on the task of rescuing the casten¡¯s son from the Syer Bandits, and even took the casten¡¯s daughter together with them. It¡¯d definitely been a stereotypical case of risking one¡¯s life for the sake of money. In the end, they had encountered a horrifying level-17 magical beast before they even reached their destination. Had they not been fortunate enough to run into Lin Li, the group would have been devoured by the magical beast.

    It waster proven that meeting Lin Li was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to Sienna. Compared to the experience he had in the ruins of Syer Town, the Ice Howler was just like an appetizer. When he battled the hordes of Vampires and the Lich, Sienna and his ipetent corps seemed to have beplete bystanders.

    Sienna, who had rushed down the stairs so hastily he tripped, stood on the floor with surprise and bewilderment written all over his face. He had never thought that he would actually see that young mage who had given him an unforgettable memory again in such a ce after almost a year of separation.

    The owner, who was about to send Lin Li and the others away from Seven Leaf Grass, was dumbfounded after seeing how shocked and flustered Sienna was. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t figure out what happened, for Sienna was behaving very differently than before.

    Back then, Senna and Lin Li had escorted the pair of casten¡¯s children safely back home. Lin Li¡¯s goal at the time had just been to acquire a giant supply of food from Rnd City, so he¡¯d let Sienna take the credit for saving the children without hesitation. He had even kindly put forward a suggestion which gave Sienna the idea how to maximize the opportunity to ask for reward, and propelled him to his current position in Rnd City.

    When he had learned that he could send the pair of children back to the casten, as a mercenary, Sienna had thought about using this credit in exchange for massive wealth and greater authority. However, Lin Li suggested him to use the credit in exchange for the support of Arathor.

    If he weren¡¯t strong enough, wealth and authority would end up bing a disaster that would inevitably destroy him. Here in the Breezy ins, it was a survival of the fittest. Even the father of Arathor, the esteemed and formidable previous casten of Rnd City, ended up dying in his own home for a mysterious reason. Not to mention, Sienna was just an insignificant mercenarymander. The reality then proved Lin Li¡¯s suggestion to be apt and urate.

    The priority of various officialmissions was just one of many preferential conditions, and being allowed to recruit retired soldiers from Rnd City was an important reason for the rapid development of the mercenary corps. However, it wouldn¡¯t be deemed a privilege elsewhere. The quality of the soldiers in Rnd City that was led by Arathor was second to none in the entire Breezy ins.

    A mercenary regiment¡¯s high-endbat capability was not the only deciding factor in measuring its strength and capabilities. Its basicbat capability was crucial too. That was also the difference between mercenaries and Adventurers. After all, a mercenary regiment didn¡¯t often take on unusually dangerous tasks¡ªunlike Adventurers. Although bloodshed was inevitable for mercenary corps too, they valued their lives far more than Adventurers did.

    The recruitment of retired soldiers would greatly improve the quality of the mercenary regiment. Although the mercenaries might not be outstanding individually, they would form a force that should not be underestimated when hundreds or thousands of them stood together.

    Sienna felt thankful that he had made an intelligent decision, which allowed him to gain the recognition and approval of the casten, Arathor. Later on, he was granted privileges that were far beyond what he deserved and had been promised initially.

    Sienna was now no longer the head of the useless team of 30-40 ipetent mercenaries. With the various privileges provided by the casten, his team had grown tremendously within less than a year, and had also expanded into thergest mercenary regiment in Rnd Cityprising thousands of mercenaries.

 Chapter 530 - Iéˆ¥æª“ Not That Close To Them

    <h4>Chapter 530: I¡¯m Not That Close To Them</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Apart from a few retired soldiers who were skilled andpetent, the rest who had never been in the military before was put through vigorous training by Sienna. Of course, excellentbat skills were necessary for mercenary corps. It was said that Sienna had already recruited a man at level-18 to work for him. Given Sienna¡¯s current abilities, the news should be reliable.

    With Sienna¡¯s current abilities, he definitely had the means to monopolize all of the mercenary business given by the top factions. Regardless of the fact that Rnd City was known for being one of the most developed cities in the Breezy ins, the other mercenary regiments could only run errands and struggle as each day passed.

    For example, this time, the owner of Seven Leaf Grass was interested in sending over a batch of rare and precious medicinal herbs from the north. Hence, he had no choice but to spend a huge amount of money on hiring Sienna¡¯s mercenary corps to protect it. On top of spending a huge sum of money, he also had to try and persuade Sienna to take on his offer and do him the favor. This time, Sienna was in Seven Leaf Grass to sign the contract with the owner his mercenary corps would be providing protection services too. To his surprise, something like that happened.

    Sienna¡¯s unusual behavior made the owner of Seven Leaf Grass feel rather bewildered. However, after being slightly stunned, he soon recovered from the shock, and realized that he still had some things to settle. He thought, <i>How atrocious. Do they not know how difficult it is to get Sienna to agree to providing some help? How dare they cause a ruckus at such a crucial moment?</i>

    Seeing that Sienna had already made his way downstairs because of themotion, the owner of Seven Leaf Grass grew even more annoyed and resentful towards Lin Li andpany. At this point, it no longer just concerned his pride. If Sienna were upset, where was he supposed to find such a powerful mercenary regiment to take on the mission?

    ¡°Why are you people still here? Did you not hear what I said earlier on!? You people have hurt and injured the manager of my store, but I just took that as a misunderstanding and I chose not to hold it against you. However, you¡¯d better not take mypromise to be a sign of weakness. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m a pushover. If you continue to pester me because of this, I can clearly tell you that you¡¯ll be in trouble!¡± the owner hollered impatiently with a frown.

    ¡°Damn it, there¡¯s really going to be trouble!¡± Sienna eximed as soon as he recovered from his shock. However, he was dumbfounded again after hearing the harsh words that the owner said to Lin Li.

    Actually, Sienna followed the owner all the way to the stairs and looked down curiously in a bid to see who the person who had caused a stir at Seven Leaf Grass was. However, he got a great shock which made him almost scream in horror. He had never once expected to see the young mage who had given him everything that he had today.

    Sienna was extremely grateful to Lin Li, who had allowed him to im credit for rescuing the children of Rnd City¡¯s casten, because everything that he owned was given to him by Lin Li that way. However, he felt a sudden sense of fear deep down, which he could not ovee.

    The experience that he had in Syer Town was so horrifying that Sienna could not forget it at all. Mage Felic¡¯s shrewdness sent chills down his spine too.

    When Senna was hesitating toe out to meet Lin Li, he heard the owner and manager of Seven Leaf Grass mocking Felic and the rest. It frightened him and immediately made his legs turn into jelly, causing him to roll down the stairs. The incident that took ce in the ruins of Syer Town back then was deeply etched in his mind. The mysterious fear within him seemed to have overwhelmed him when the young mage appeared.

    However, what made Sienna feel hopeless were the harsh words that the darned owner said to Lin Li just as he was thinking about how he should exin himself to Felic. He thought, <i>You really don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to court death, do you!? No one is more ruthless than Mage Felic! </i>

    The owner was just about to call out to Sienna, only to see thetter standing beside the manager, Larry.

    Feeling much more confident after seeing Sienna, the manager stared at the four of them smugly, and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling you people, this is the reputable¡ª¡±

    Unfortunately, he heard the sound of someone swallowing their spit before he could even finish speaking...

    The manager, who was rattling on and on, was then greeted with a bizarre sight. Sienna, the leader of the strongest mercenary regiment in Rnd City and the casten¡¯s most trusted confidant, was swallowing his spit nervously while stuttering, ¡°Fe... Mage Felic, I¡¯m actually... actually not that close to them... ¡±

    ¡°Leader Sienna... you... What do you mean?¡± the manager asked as his face stiffened.

    The sudden change made the owner freeze in shock as he wondered, <i>How did Leader Sienna¡¯s attitude change so quickly and suddenly?</i>

    At this moment, Sienna suddenly turned to look at the owner, and barked, ¡°Charles, I think you¡¯re in hot soup this time!¡±

    <i>Had I not hesitated, ande downstairs earlier, things wouldn¡¯t havee to this. But the thing is, isn¡¯t he afraid at all? This scoundrel Charles is indeed such a jinx. Whoever gets acquainted with him is bound to suffer from bad luck.</i> Sienna¡¯s face turned pale, and he cursed Charles in his head continuously.

    <i>Damn, you¡¯re just the owner of a pathetic medicinal store. Can you afford to offend Mage Felic? He¡¯s a strong mage who had killed countless Vampires and a Humerus Wyrm all by himself. Look, that Lich is still so devoted and is following him around like an errand boy! </i>

    Sienna nced at Ujfalusi carefully, feeling daunted by thetter¡¯s gaunt figure which he could never forget.

    <i>I¡¯m finished. I¡¯m really going to get implicated by that a*shole Charles this time!</i> Sienna thought to himself, well aware of what Lin Li¡¯s temper was like. Back then in the ruins of Syer Town, Jason, who was Dnd¡¯s best Adventurer, was a level-15 Warrior just like two of hispanions. In the end, President Felic managed to subdue him by cing a hand on his chest. The level-15 Thief, Weathor, had it much worse. He¡¯d been electrocuted by that spell resembling electric snakes.

    The thought of it made Sienna feel absolutely regretful as he thought to himself, <i>Why did I give in to temptation and stupidly signed the contract with this bastard just for the sake of 100,000 gold coins? If Mage Felic were to find out that I worked with him, what would he think of me? Should I just kill this idiot and secretly destroy the contractter? </i>

    After giving it some thought, Sienna decided to forgo the idea¡ªnot because he was afraid that Charles might have a formidable supporter, but because he felt that Mage Felic would definitely find out the truth even if he were to kill Charles and Larry.

    <i>I just hope that Mage Felic will be able to discern right from wrong, and not let his anger make him turn against me, the innocent party. That bastard Charles¡¯s life has nothing to do with me. The contract that we signed is only limited to escorting his business¡¯ vehicles anyway! </i>Sienna could not help but pray for himself. Standing in front of Lin Li in fear, he respectfully eximed, ¡°Mage Felic, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. It¡¯s such a great honor!¡±

    The store¡¯s owner had witnessed every detail of Sienna¡¯s behavior, and finally understood what was going on.

    Charles¡¯ heart wrenched up. Although Sienna had only be famous in the recent year, he had already be a reputable figure in Rnd City. Everyone knew how much the casten valued him. In fact, he seemed to treat Sienna like a member of his family.

    Sienna¡¯spetency and ability were not to be doubted, either. Within less than a year, his mercenary regiment had developed into a massive unit with thousands trained by soldiers and level-18 Warriors. To Charles, they were almost a legendary formation.

    More importantly, Charles heard that even William who owned the Time Consignment Store had forged some ties with Senna. William was not a simple person, and had connections to powerful figures all over the world. In other words, only a powerful and prestigious person would have the chance to be acquainted with William.

    COMMENT

    Although he always expressed his disdain whenparing the Time Consignment Store with his Seven Leaf Grass, Charles also had to admit that the Seven Leaf Grass was actually inferior to the Time Consignment Store in every aspect. The Time Consignment Store was not just a small business. Hence, even Arathor treated William respectfully, and not just courteously. They were actually worlds apart.

    The reputable and respected Sienna, who had a high status, had to act politely in front of Lin Li, just like a ve who was facing his master who could decide whether he lived or not. Even the casten, Arathor, wouldn¡¯t get to enjoy such respect from Sienna. The thought of it made Charles feel more and more astonished and bewildered. He secretly wondered if he had gotten into trouble.

    Charles began to grow increasingly terrified. It took him a long and hard time to build the Seven Leaf Grass and develop it the way it was now. If he were to end up destroying the Seven Leaf Grass by offending a big shot, he would be devastated.

 Chapter 531 - Impressive Background

    <h4>Chapter 531: Impressive Background</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With just this thought in mind, Charles¡¯ attitude changed drastically in a sh. He lowered his high-raised chin and bent down his straightened back humbly. His lofty and arrogant expression was reced by shock and fear. In a trembling voice, he asked, ¡°C-Captain Sienna, can you please tell me... tell me who this esteemed Mr Mage exactly is...?¡±

    Sienna was afraid of that Mage Felic from the bottom of his heart. Though Felic hadn¡¯t shown any signs of displeasure, Sienna knew very well that Felic could kill him easily with the tip of his finger. Whatever powerful emerging talent or top mercenary corp in Rnd City was nothing to Mage Felic. A Lich summoning a Humerus Wyrm was enough to destroy Sienna¡¯s entire mercenary corps which he had so painstakingly built.

    Sienna hated Charles wholeheartedly. Although Sienna appeared to be polite all the time, he couldn¡¯t care less about the Seven Leaf Grass herb store once he was burdened by it. Seeing that Charles asked him so humbly, Sienna¡¯s emotions exploded like a volcano. He yelled, ¡°If you f*cking want to die, don¡¯t drag me down with you! You think that your stupid herb store is very amazing? Once you¡¯ve offended Mage Felic, that herb store of yours also can¡¯t save that life of yours! You understand?¡±

    Charles was a man of status in Rnd City. However, even though he was scolded right in his face by a junior who was only 20-plus years old, he didn¡¯t dare to show any signs of discontentment. He had to put on a smile no matter what Sienna said and agree with a string of ¡°yes¡±.

    It was indeed impressive to serve noble pharmacists. However, these pharmacists wouldn¡¯t help to escort Charles¡¯ merchant caravan. In fact, those pharmacists had paid for the herbs they bought from Charles, so they didn¡¯t owe him any favor. He had only spoken of his rtionship with these pharmacists to elevate his status, but whatever path-blocking bandits wouldn¡¯t care about this.

    Charles had no other choice¡ªhe was the one asking for help. Only Sienna¡¯s mercenary corps was capable of providing this escort service. Charles had tugged many strings, and finally got Sienna to agree to ept thismission. Moreover, though Sienna was a warrior by upation, he was Casten Arathor¡¯s favorite. Be it ability- or influence-wise, Sienna was not to be overlooked by a merchant like Charles.

    The harsher Sienna scolded, the more Charles felt afraid. He knew very well that Sienna¡¯s reaction revealed his innermost, uncontroble fear. Fear, not caution. There was a big distinction between the two. If the person Charles had offended had been merely someone to be cautious of, Sienna would have asked Charles to be more humble and make peace between the two. However, Sienna was trying so hard to separate himself from Charles, fearing that he had the slightest connection with Charles. Who were those four Mages dressed in humble clothes? How could they make Sienna so fearful?

    With these thoughts, Charles¡¯ face turned as white as sheet. His back was drenched in cold sweat. When he finally found a chance to speak while Sienna was taking a breath, he replied in trembling voice, ¡°Captain Sienna, it¡¯s all my fault! Please don¡¯t be angry. Looking at our friendship in the past, can you please tell me the backgrounds of these four esteemed Mr Mages so that I can die without doubt in my heart?¡±

    ¡°Friendship? Don¡¯t even mention this word! If I¡¯d known that I¡¯d be burdened by a stupid fe like you, I wouldn¡¯t have agreed to thismission no matter what. I¡¯m too damn unlucky!¡± Sienna didn¡¯t want to care, but since he was already involved, he could suffer as well if things really reached an irreconcble stage. So, for his own sake, he had to care.

    ¡°Captain Sienna.¡± Charles looked at Sienna with pleading and bitterness, not daring to shift his vision an inch.

    ¡°Damn it, Charles. Listen to me very carefully!¡± Sienna cautiously peered at Lin Li and hispanions on the other side, and made sure his actions didn¡¯t displease that terrifying Mage Felic. He then clenched his teeth, and said to Charles, ¡°Where¡¯s your wit? Why did you choose my mercenary corps out of all in Rnd City?¡±

    ¡°Because your mercenary corps is the best in Rnd City. The difficulty of thismission is very high, and only your mercenary corps can ensure the safety of my merchant caravan.¡± Charles quickly ttered him.

    ¡°Good. Since you know that only my mercenary corps is capable of escorting your transport, do you know who I was a year ago? Do you know how I turned from an unknown mercenary to who I am now?¡± Sienna asked, sticking his finger close to Charles¡¯ nose.

    Charles didn¡¯t dare to step back. He forced out a smile, and said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely because of your capabilities, Captain Sienna...¡±

    ¡°Stop putting on that stupid smile! You think I don¡¯t know what the others say about me? They say I got to where I am because of the casten¡¯s support. They are right, the casten supported me to my current position. But why did he support me?¡±

    ¡°Many bards are reciting now that you¡¯ve saved the casten¡¯s son and daughter from the hands of the Syer Bandits cleverly together with your loyal subordinates.¡± Merchants were all capable of speaking what others liked to hear. Charles had listened to almost all the versions sung by the bards in order to please Sienna so that he would agree to escort his caravan. Now, these bard songs were finally useful.

    ¡°What the f*cking sh*t! Let me tell you, if I hadn¡¯t met Mage Felic, my brothers and I would have been beast sh*t by now! Save other people? You should know what an Ice Howler is with your knowledge.¡± Sienna still shivered even now when he thought of the incident that day.

    ¡°Ice Howler! Do you mean the magical beast Ice Howler?¡± Charles shivered. That was a terrifying descendant of the legendary ancient beast that had savagery flowing in the blood vessels of its body. Though Charles had never seen an Ice Howler before, many ounts had recorded its horror. Its incredibly strong muscles and inborn ice element magic made it a nightmare for anyone who chanced upon it.

    The most recent and credible information came from the diary of a soldier from Rnd City. The diary recorded that a few years ago, Casten Arathor led an army deep into the Dragon Mountains to encircle the Syer Bandits. However, their mission failed because they had encountered an Ice Howler on their way.

    Charles knew that not to mention Sienna a year ago, even if Sienna gathered all his powers now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat an Ice Howler. So how did Sienna manage to survive the attack a year ago? Could it be... Charles thought of why Sienna told him this story. Was Mage Felic the one who¡¯d saved them?

    ¡°Do you mean that Mage Felic defeated the Ice Howler?¡± Charles asked in a soft voice, feeling incredulous. How could a 20-odd years old mage defeat the Ice Howler which even Casten Arathor and his elite army couldn¡¯t ovee?

    ¡°No, Mage Felic didn¡¯t do it,¡± replied Sienna, shaking his head.

    Hearing Sienna¡¯s reply, Charles heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that it was impossible for someone as young as Mage Felic to defeat the Ice Howler given its terrifying power. Maybe Felic had used some trick to lure the Ice Howler away. After all, no matter how powerful the Ice Howler was, its intelligence couldn¡¯t bepared to that of humans.

    Charles¡¯ slight change in facial expression didn¡¯t escape the eyes of Sienna. Sienna sneered, ¡°The person who defeated the Ice Howler was Mage Felic¡¯s attendant. The one who caught Larry just now.¡±

    ¡°Cough!¡± Charles barely caught his breath. That pale fe had defeated an Ice Howler? What kind of joke was that! He had to have been mad to demand for Larry from that fe. Charles felt a gush of cold air behind his throat. If he had known that fe had defeated an Ice Howler earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have cared about that bastard Larry¡¯s life.

    ¡°What? Now you are afraid!? Do you think this is all?¡± Sienna looked at Charles with mockery, and slowly said, ¡°Do you know what a Humerus Wyrm looks like? Do you know how powerful a Lich that can summon a Humerus Wyrm is?¡±

    Charles¡¯ body shivered more intensely as Sienna threw out more questions. Even the sound of his teeth chattering against one another was audible. Although Charles had never seen a Humerus Wyrm before, everything in this world that was associated with Wyrms had themon characteristic of being powerful. Charles didn¡¯t have a clear idea of how powerful a Lich that could summon a Humerus Wyrm was, but the possession of a domain meant the abilities of Legendary-realm. In the eyes of ordinary people, Legendary powerhouses were like gods.

    ¡°You... You mean...¡± Charles couldn¡¯t believe it. ording to what Sienna said, didn¡¯t it mean that the Humerus Wyrm and Legendary-realm Lich were all defeated by that Mage Felic!? That had to be a joke. Was it so easy to defeat a Legendary powerhouse? How old was that Mage Felic? How could he defeat a Legendary powerhouse so easily?! Oh God, did he just offend an incarnation of a god? Was that bastard Larry dead by now? If he wasn¡¯t, Charles would kill Larry himself.

 Chapter 532 - City of Late Winter

    <h4>Chapter 532: City of Late Winter</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Sienna wanted to tell Charles just that. Be it the Humerus Wyrm or the Legendary-realm Lich, all of them were defeated by Mage Felic, who was heaven-defyingly powerful. However, he nced at Ujfalusi before he said so, and immediately decided to shut up.

    Nobody liked other people talking about their failures and defeats, even if the one who defeated him had be his master. Sienna didn¡¯t know if this was a taboo topic for Ujfalusi, but putting himself in Ujfalusi¡¯s shoes, he wouldn¡¯t want others to talk about it. Although Ujfalusi was already an attendant of Mage Felic, he could still kill Sienna easily at the snap of his fingers as a powerful Lich.

    ¡°So, let me tell you. The one who saved Master Casten¡¯s children is Mage Felic. He is also the one who protected my followers and me, bringing us back to safety. This Mage Felic is the real savior of the Casten¡¯s children.¡± Sienna decided to skip the part regarding Ujfalusi and let Charles figure out the details himself.

    Though Sienna didn¡¯t specify the fact that the Humerus Wyrm and the Legendary-realm Lich had been defeated by Mage Felic, wasn¡¯t it obvious judging from the ending of this story? Charles suddenly felt his legs were shaking, and stumbled a bit. He didn¡¯t fall down only because he had held on to a cupboard.

    Charles felt very desperate. There were many other possible exnations to this matter. Maybe that Mage Felic only repelled the Humerus Wyrm and Legendary-realm Lich; maybe his teacher or some other person had helped him. But what was the difference for Charles?

    Charles had said that Felic didn¡¯t understand nobility. Wasn¡¯t that using him of being a low-born? Damn it, he had to have gone crazy today. How could he have made such a silly mistake? Charles had managed the Seven Leaf Grass for so many years, and had never made the mistake of judging a book by its cover.

    The reason for making such a mistake was firstly because of his trust in his subordinate. Furthermore, he also didn¡¯t think that these four mages were very powerful. Next, he was unhappy that he had to put on a smile andpromise when making the deal with Sienna. Due to all these, he had forgotten about the principles he had always adhered to all these years. Unfortunately, this only time had brought him and his Seven Leaf Grass to the depths of despair.

    Upon knowing how powerful Mage Felic was, Charles looked at the four mages again. The more he looked, the more he felt they were iprehensible. No wonder he couldn¡¯t recognize their abilities. If he had known it in the beginning, he would have gotten rid of that bastard Larry even before Sienna.

    That pale youngster was probably the one who had defeated an Ice Howler. Now Charles felt that the youngster radiated a powerful aura. One needed to know that the Ice Howler was a terrifying magical beast that even the elite army under Arathor couldn¡¯t defeat. That rather thin and small mage¡¯s body also surged with magical waves. The fear that Charles felt because of him wasparable to that the previous youngster instilled in him. These two powerhouses would be treated like treasures by whichever factions they were put into. However, they were merely subordinates of this Mage Felic here.

    Regarding Mage Felic himself, Charles still couldn¡¯t urately judge his abilities. He just appeared to be always polite and peace-loving, and always had a smile on his face. Even when Charles attempted to chase him away, he didn¡¯t seem to show the slightest bit of annoyance.

    At the start, Charles didn¡¯t feel anything. However, after listening to Sienna¡¯s introduction, he thought of several big shots he had interacted with before¡ªthey didn¡¯t show their true feelings on their face, either. Charles naturally knew that such people were scarier, because he never knew when they would stop smiling and what they would do to him then.

    Charles knew that he could hesitate no longer. If he didn¡¯t hurry up and do something, things might reach an irreconcble stage. He tried his best to calm down and bowed to Sienna very courteously. No matter what, Charles would have been in deep trouble unknowingly if not for Sienna¡¯s presence.

    After thanking Sienna, Charles walked towards Lin Li with a trembling heart.

    Charles used the most formal etiquette in Anril World for the first time in his life towards this smiling young mage. He said, ¡°Dear Mr Mage, I apologize for being rude to you previously. I know that my apology is far from enough to make up for my offense. Thus, I am willing to receive any punishment as long as you can forgive me this time.¡±

    After saying all this, Charles stood there with his head lowered, waiting for Mage Felic¡¯s decision uneasily. Every second was a torture for him. He was so nervous he could hear the beating sound of his heart.

    Sienna was equally nervous. Though he had scolded Charles harshly, he might still be affected if Mage Felic was really fed up. He regretted agreeing to Charles¡¯mission and following this fool here. This was such an unexpected disaster!

    Meanwhile, Lin Li couldn¡¯t have cared less about this matter. After all, who would haggle over trifles with such weaklings? He just smiled, and said ¡°never mind¡± to these two fes who were so nervous they were going to faint.

    Charles couldn¡¯t believe his ears, but also didn¡¯t dare to ask again. How could he let the esteemed Mage Felic repeat his words? How much courage must that require. He only turned to look at Sienna, hoping that he would get a clearer answer from him.

    ¡°Charles, are you f*cking blockheaded? Hurry up and thank Mage Felic for his forgiveness,¡± Sienna yelled with annoyance.

    Charles almost cried. He had even thought of making the arrangements for after his death. He couldn¡¯t believe that a casual word from Lin Li made him feel like he had risen to heaven from hell. When facing a true powerhouse, he didn¡¯t even have the right to be angry at him. He was as insignificant as an ant in front of Mage Felic. Who would care about an ant¡¯s attitude?

    Could this be considered surviving a disaster? Charles felt very weak, but this wasn¡¯t the time to rx yet. Ants needed to know what ants should do. He forced himself to concentrate and put on an obsequious smile. He asked Lin Li, ¡°Esteemed Mr Mage, may I know what herbs you need? I have quite a lot of different herbs here. Please feel free to tell me what you need. Don¡¯t waste your time because of my mistake.¡±

    ¡°Charles, is this a ce for you to speak?¡± Sienna reminded. He heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that Mage Felic didn¡¯t really care about Charles¡¯ rudeness. Even Charles was let go, so Sienna would definitely not be punished. However, that fe Charles was really dumb. How could he talk to a big shot like Mage Felic without even offering a ce to sit?

    Charles lost hisposure after the consecutive shocks. Though he tried his best to concentrate, his mind was still messed up like a pot of glue. This could be considered an escape from death, after all. It was not wrong to say that he was still badly shaken. After Sienna¡¯s reminder, Charles quickly ushered Lin Li to the parlor on the second floor while apologizing for his rudeness.

    After everyone had sat down, Charles stood in front of Lin Li, his face full of ttering smile. He then asked again if Lin Li needed any herbs.

    Charles was quite confident regarding herbs. After all, the Seven Leaf Grass could reach its current status because of the wide range of herbs it offered. Be it rare herbs growing on dangerous grounds or cheap ones found everywhere, you could find them all in the Seven Leaf Grass. Charles¡¯ motto for his store was: for pharmacists to find everything they needed to make a potion in the Seven Leaf Grass. Of course, this only applied to ordinary potions.

    The potion form that Lin Li had gotten from William had been lost since the Dark Age. It also contradicted many traditional pharmaceutics theories in use currently, and required some herbs rarely used in traditional potion forme. Lin Li had surveyed almost all the herbs in the Seven Leaf Grass just now, but he didn¡¯t know if Charles had stored anything in private. Thus, he named a few herbs that he didn¡¯t have.

    Charles had originally wanted to make use of this opportunity to please Mage Felic. He had thought that this young and powerful mage only researched pharmaceutics out of interest, so he was at most a beginner at it. The potions he could make at this level required mostlymon herbs. With the Seven Leaf Grass¡¯s abilities, he wouldn¡¯t put himself in an awkward position.

    However, after hearing Lin Li list the herb names one after another, Charles¡¯ smiling face turned bitter. The herbs that Lin Li needed were not only rare and precious, but also very seldom used in traditional pharmaceutics. At least since Charles had started the business of the Seven Leaf Grass, very few people bought these herbs from him.

    Although Charles wasn¡¯t learned in the field of pharmaceutics himself, he knew a little about the levels of herbs and forme since he was doing herb business. He knew from the names of these herbs that the level of this form wasn¡¯t low. This surely wasn¡¯t something a young mage could make; maybe he knew a pharmaceutics Master. After all, abilities determined status, while status determined the kind of social circle. With the abilities of Mage Felic, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to know a pharmaceutics Master.

    Lin Li saw that Charles looked troubled, and asked, ¡°What? Is it difficult for you?¡±

    Charles shivered, and exined, ¡°Dear Mr Mage, it is indeed a little difficult. These herbs that you need are not only rare, but also seldom used by other pharmacists. Not to mention my ce, even the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter may not have it always sold.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Li frowned. Not because of any displeasure due to the fact that Charles didn¡¯t have these herbs, but rather because of what Charles had saidter¡ªthat even the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter might not necessarily have it always avable for sale.

    Lin Li, who had lived in the Breezy ins for a year so far, had naturally heard about the Tree of Emerald in the City of Late Winter that Charles was talking about. As the owner of the Tower of Dusk and President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins, Lin Li had subordinates who collected all kinds of information about the Breezy ins despite being extremely busy the whole year and having little spare time himself.

    The City of Late Winter was a well-known city. Just like Rnd City being called the City of Abundance and the granary of the Breezy ins, the City of Late Winter was named the City of Nature and Treasure-house of the Breezy ins.

    As the City of Late Winter was located at the border of the Breezy ins, close to the Elven Kingdom, it housed the biggest herb market in the entire Breezy ins. In fact, the true treasure house wasn¡¯t City of Late Winter, but rather its neighboring Elven Kingdom, because the precious herbs traded in the market weren¡¯t produced in City of Late Winter.

    The Emerald Forest where the Elven Kingdom was located was also known as the Heaven-bestowed Land. Legend had it that the Goddess of Nature Monferra<sup>1</sup> had bestowed that fertilend to the Elves. In the endless stretch of Emerald Forest, almost all the herbs pharmacists needed, excluding those that grew under extreme conditions like the ck lotus, could be found. The quality of these herbs was also much better than those found in other ces, so the Emerald Forest could definitely be considered a vast and fertilend.

    There had been a joke circting in the circle of pharmacists, iming that one could judge the sess rate of one¡¯s potion by checking what proportion of herbs originated from the Emerald Forest when one made a certain potion. Of course, this was just a joke. The major factor that determined the sess rate of a potion wasn¡¯t the quality of ingredients, but rather the abilities of the pharmacist. However, the quality of ingredients used stillrgely affected the final quality of the potion. Thus, herbs from the Emerald Forest were very popr among pharmacists.

    Other than herbs, the Emerald Forest also had all kinds of animals, but due to the respectful attitude the Elves held towards nature, few of them would be sold. The only way to get them was through poaching.

    However, the consequence of poaching in thend of Elves was no better than the fate of the animals poached. This was because in the forest, Elves were the best hunters in the Anril World, only that their prey weren¡¯t animals living in the forest, but poachers from the outside.

 Chapter 533 - Elven Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 533: Elven Kingdom</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Even for the collection of herbs, the Elves had their own set of rules. Different sets of restrictions had limited the annual production. In fact, it was precisely the presence of the Elves that allowed the Emerald Forest to continue producing precious herbs 1,000 years after the end of the Dark Age. Without the Elves¡¯ protection, a forest 10 times bigger than the Emerald Forest would have beenpletely exploited by greedy humans.

    Actually, Elves weren¡¯t the first inhabitants of the Emerald Forest. During the Dark Age, Elves lived as the ves of the High Elves. Though Elves were simr to the High Elves in almost every aspect, even the names of their race, these names were only used by humans and other non-elven races. During that time, Elves had a status even lower than humans, who were also controlled by the High Elves.

    The beauty and gentle nature of Elves didn¡¯t bring them good luck. They were beloved by the High Elves, but the way High Elves showed their love for Elves was by possessing them as their own ves. Of course, losing freedom was still a little better than extinction.

    As Elves were often close servants of the High Elves and had appearance that High Elves liked, something that often happened in the human race became amon urrence among the High Elves. The oue of this was that the bloodline of Elves and High Elves started to mix, and a group of Elves with the blood of High Elves emerged.

    The truth was that how the High Elves and Elves reproduced remained a mystery to many people. However, due to the strikingly perfect appearances of Elves and High Elves, many spections and wild guesses began to spread. After all, Elves with the blood of High Elves really existed.

    There was even a rumor that said the current Elf Queen was the illegitimate daughter of thest Queen of High Elves. Of course, this was just a rumor with no concrete evidence. After all, nobody dared to look for evidence, as he would be subjected to the wrath of all the Elves.

    Elves were never friendly to humans even 1,000 years after the Dark Age. The dislike Elves had towards humans was even greater than that of dwarves, those messy alcoholics. The reason for that, many knew, was that the appearance of Elves made them desirable to humans as well.

    Towards the end of the Dark Age, humans and other races coborated to oppose the control of the High Elves. Elves also made use of this opportunity to break loose from very. However, this wasn¡¯t the end of the Elves¡¯s suffering. What they had the face was all the other races who had lost their sanity, overwhelmed by the joy of victory after defeating the High Elves.

    The overthrow of the High Elves signified the end of their cruel hegemony and the Dark Age. However, this was the real beginning of the Dark Age for Elves. After defeating the High Elves, Elves became themon target of all intelligent species on the continent. Nowhere in the whole of Anril was the Elves¡¯ home.

    That was certainly the darkest period of Elven history. Though the High Elves had restricted their freedom, they¡¯d still ensured the continuity of their race. Other races, including humans, however, vowed to kill off the entire Elven race just like what they¡¯d done to the High Elves. Although there were some people who captured Elves as ythings for humans, nobody dared to keep Elves in secret, fearing the wrath of the whole Anril...

    During that darkest period, escape was the main problem to the Elves. Yet, even the powerful High Elves couldn¡¯t escape the fate of extermination, so how could Elves survive the attacks from all other races? As a result, there were only a few hundred Elves alive during the most difficult period, barely surviving in the depths of the forest.

    For any race, a poption of merely several hundred was already equal to extinction. However, due to the longevity of Elves, which they were envied by every race including humans, the search for Elves didn¡¯t end even after years of not discovering any new Elf.

    Legend had it that the Elves finally got the sympathy of Gods after being driven to the depths of desperation during that period. The Goddess of Forest Monferra performed a miracle, and granted arge piece of fertilend in the east of the Breezy ins to the Elves. She also bestowed upon them the ability tomunicate with nts and animals, allowing them to use the power of the forest and nature.

    When the coalition of humans and other races finally found the tracks of Elves in the Emerald Forest, they realized that the Elves had be the most terrifying hunters of the forest, just as if they were possessed by Gods.

    Of course, even with these abilities, the Elves couldn¡¯t turn the tables facing such a coalition. However, there was hope as long as they didn¡¯t give up.

    The Elves didn¡¯t have to wait for long. The conflicts among different factions escted, ultimately leading to the copse of the coalition when they were splitting up the leftover wealth of the High Elves. At that time, the entire Anril was torn by wars. Nobody was concerned about the 100-plus Elves in the Emerald Forest anymore. The Elves finally had a chance to revive their race.

    The entire Anril faced a power-shift among factions. Wars and exploitation continued between races and nations. Nations were built and destroyed. Peace finally arrived when an equilibrium was reached among nations.

    Elves only existed in legends by then. Almost nobody could remember the hundreds of Elves left in the Emerald Forest. Maybe this was because the Elves didn¡¯t want to be reminded of the suffering they had been through during the darkest period. Or maybe it was because Elves were optimistic in nature. They loved life and nature, and didn¡¯t want their descendants¡¯ hearts to be filled with hatred. Thus, new Elves born after that catastrophe didn¡¯t know much about what had happened during that period, and showed their kindness to the wrong people.

    A beautiful Elf had once helped an expedition that lost its way in the Emerald Forest. The team also got a lot of precious herbs from the Elves. This news spread like wildfire throughout Anril. Each faction swarmed to the Emerald Forest, no matter if they were looking for wealth or Elves.

    The peaceful life of Elves was once again disrupted. The ones they were facing this time, however, were no longer an elite coalition of different nations. After so many years of plotting and scheming, different races could no longer form a coalition even if the High Elves were to appear again.

    Those factions that swarmed to the Emerald Forest wanting to get benefits were no longer faced with a weak and frightened poption of hundreds of Elves. They faced an Elven Kingdom over 100,000 strong, with each Elf being an excellent hunter and mage by birth.

    Due to the constant harassment from the outside world, the Elves knew that they could retain their peaceful lives no longer. Hence, they did what humans and other races had done¡ªthe Elven Queen announced to the entire Anril the founding of the Elven Kingdom. With the founding of a nation came the right to diplomacy. The internal management of the Elven Kingdom, however, was still the same as before. The rulers were still the Queen and elders; there were no other governmental positions of any sort.

    After getting the right to diplomacy, the first thing that the Elven Kingdom did was to formalize its territory. The Elven Kingdom announced that any trespassing into thend of the Elven Kingdom would be considered an intrusion.

    The Emerald Forest was a giant treasure box. Nobody wanted to see it be somebody else¡¯s possessions, so the human nations were the first to oppose this decision. After knowing that the Elven Kingdom wouldn¡¯t back down, nations mobilized their troops and entered the Emerald Forest in order to force the Elf Queen to back down.

    But the truth was, the human nations no longer had the ability of the past coalitions, even though the Elves were far weaker than the High Elves as well. Furthermore, the human nations no longer had legendary powerhouses like Apophis and Geresco.

    With their natural blessings and the blood of High Elves, the Elves possessed amazing abilities that left humans in awe, not to mention their longevity, which left many races very jealous, including humans.

    The natural aptitude of the Elves in magic came from their High Elven bloodline. This allowed every Elf to learn and use magic¡ªunlike humans, of whom only a small proportion had talent for magic.

    However, the real obstacle that hindered the intruders weren¡¯t powerful mages, because the majority of the Elves in the Elven Kingdom hadn¡¯t even reached adulthood. Even with their natural talent in magic, their magic wasn¡¯t powerful enough to defend themselves.

    For a typical army, bow and arrow were just secondary equipment. However, thebination of the bow and magic made for a very formidable weapon in the hands of the Elves. Moreover, the Elves possessed the ability tomunicate with nts and animals due to the Goddess of Forest Monferra, as well as the natural terrain advantage: the Emerald Forest. Every Elf was an excellent hunter. This meant that in Elven Kingdom with a poption of 100,000, there were 100,000 excellent hunters.

 Chapter 534 - Gale Bandits

    <h4>Chapter 534: Gale Bandits</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Maybe the cold-blooded genes present in the bloodline of the High Elves were finally awakened. Facing the attack from enemies, the life-loving Elves didn¡¯t hesitate to kill. Large numbers of human soldiers died under sharp arrows. Human corpses could be seen even outside the Emerald Forest. After many nations had suffered huge losses, they finally gave up the attempt to take down the Elven Kingdom by force, and expressed their intention to negotiate with the Elf Queen again.

    The details of the negotiation were unknown, but the truth was that the Elves made their position as the masters of the Emerald Forest clear via their bows and arrows. However, with the negative example set by the High Elves, the Elves weren¡¯t unreasonable. After all, they still voluntarily provided herbs for the outside world even with the entry into theirnd restricted. The advantage of doing so was not only the ability to exchange herbs for necessities which the Emerald Forest couldn¡¯t produce, but also to prevent themselves from bing themon enemies of Anril again.

    Time had proven that such a change was necessary. Although it couldn¡¯t stop all illegal poaching and herb-picking activities, most people wouldn¡¯t risk their lives for herbs they could buy with money. Therefore, the well-known herb exchange market in the neighboring City of Late Winter appeared.

    The current Elven Kingdom was said to have a poption of over a million. Although the quantity was still small whenpared to big nations like the Fn Kingdom, the quality wasparable to any big nation¡¯s. It was hard to imagine that the Elves were only a few hundred in strength when they¡¯d first reached the Emerald Forest.

    All this was attributed to the Goddess of Forest Monferra and described as a miracle. At the start, many people regarded this legend with contempt. However, this story had now be a topic of songs for the bards. What was the difference if it was true or not? Looking at the entire Anril, who had the ability to chase a million of Elves away from the Emerald Forest?

    Precisely due to the close proximity to the Elven Kingdom, the City of Late Winter was named the herb treasure house of the Breezy ins. The economy of the entire city was supported by the herb business, and the tax from herb exchange made up more than 80% of the city¡¯s total ie.

    Among the many herb stores, the most famous and highest in standard was the Tree of Emerald that Charles had mentioned. As the biggest herb store in the City of Late Winter, Tree of Emerald was also known as the Source of Life. It was said that this was the only ce in Anril where one could use money to buy lives.

    Lin Li would have scoffed at such a saying before he had traveled to Anril. However, the Guru-level pharmaceutics knowledge in his memory had taught him that everything was possible in the field of pharmaceutics. Not to mention potion forme which cured all kinds of injuries, even incurable symptoms like aging could be mitigated by forme in Lin Li¡¯s memory. Of course, the difficulty of making such a potion which prolonged life, the ingredients required, and the price of such potions were all too much for an ordinary person.

    The Tree of Emerald monopolized almost 80% of the herb business in Anril. No matter how precious the ingredients were, they could be found in the Tree of Emerald. Of course, on the condition that one could afford them. The more precious and rare the ingredients were, the higher the amount they were sold for, naturally. It was said that a small amount of Purple Lotus Flower pollen was sold at a whopping 5,000,000 gold coins.

    The Tree of Emerald wouldn¡¯t have reached its current status just selling herbs. Just like what Sienna had scolded Charles for, it was almost impossible to get the pharmacists to help in times of need no matter how big Charles¡¯ business was and how many pharmacists he knew. All Charles could do was to use such connections to elevate his own status. After all, the herbs were sold to the pharmacists, and they didn¡¯t owe him any favors. How was it a friendship at all?

    However, how did the Tree of Emerald manage to monopolize 80% of the herb business in Anril and reach its current position? Was it absolutely because of its abilities? The reason seemed to be that the Tree of Emerald possessed its own pharmacists whose standards were no lower than of those in the Pharmacists Guild.

    There had always been various talk about what background the Tree of Emerald had. However, there was one spection that was mostmonly acknowledged by people. That was, the Tree of Emerald was supported by the Elven Kingdom. Other than its name, this spection stemmed from the fact that its herbs needed toe from a well-founded source for it to monopolize 80% of the herb business on the Anril Continent. This was of course just spection as nobody had ever seen an Elf in the Tree of Emerald.

    When Charles spoke of the Tree of Emerald, he couldn¡¯t help but feel envy. The Tree of Emerald could be considered a role model in the herb business. Yet, everyone knew that it was almost impossible to aplish even half of what the Tree of Emerald had. The biggest obstacle was the fact that most pharmacists were very proud. How could they easily work for others?

    ¡°Speaking of this, I heard that there¡¯s a newly established Tower of Dusk in Dnd. I don¡¯t know why they were so lucky to get a batch of pharmacists to work for them. However, I¡¯ve heard that many other factions were trying to poach these pharmacists. Seems like they won¡¯t be happy for long,¡± said Charles with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°Oh, why not send some of your men to try too?¡± Wilkinson, who had been quiet for a while, asked. He found it funny that hispanions and he had been receiving so many presents these days.

    Charlesughed awkwardly, and replied, ¡°I know myself well. Those high-level pharmacists won¡¯t choose me for sure. However, Captain Sienna, I think you can give it a try with your abilities.¡±

    In order to lighten up the atmosphere, Sienna half jokingly asked, ¡°Is it? Not to hide, I have been considering this recently. Charles, since you¡¯ve interacted with pharmacists more, do you know what pharmacists like?¡±

    Obviously, he didn¡¯t know that the owner of the Tower of Dusk was beside him. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have made such a joke no matter what.

    ¡°Pharmacists like anything that¡¯s expensive enough.¡± Only Lin Li could joke about pharmacists like this. He then asked Charles, ¡°Those herbs that I wanted really can¡¯t be found here?¡±

    Charles was rather unsettled as he looked towards Sienna, and hesitantly said, ¡°There¡¯s a way. I can find a way to find a few of the herbs you want, but...¡±

    ¡°But what? Don¡¯t worry about the price. Tell me what other problems there are,¡± said Lin Li.

    Charles didn¡¯t dare to make Lin Li wait, so he immediately exined, ¡°Speaking of this, it¡¯s rather coincidental. A few days ago, I¡¯ve gotten a batch of precious herbs from the Elven Kingdom via other means. A few of them are what you want. However, it is very dangerous and difficult to transport those herbs safely from the Elven Kingdom. Thus, whether this batch of herbs can be transported here safely depends on Captain Sienna¡¯s help.¡±

    Sienna scolded the bastard Charles for involving him in this. However, he didn¡¯t show any signs of displeasure, and nodded. ¡°Indeed. The path from the Elven Kingdom is very long, and there are several dangerous locations which we must pass by. Especially recently, I¡¯ve heard that a batch of high-value magic staff material from the Lude magic equipment store was robbed. The second master of the Holly Family in the Eastern ins, who was in charge of the escort, was also kidnapped. The Holly Family had not only lost all their goods, but also spent arge sum of money to ransom him. ording to the ones who went to redeem him, this stretch of road is now owned by the Gale Bandits.¡±

    Everyone in the Breezy ins knew about the Gale Bandits. With abilities only below the Dark de¡¯s and ced second on the so-called Top Ten Bandits ranking of bandits in the ins, the Syer Bandits who¡¯d ced 10th on that list couldn¡¯t match the Gale Bandits at all. Of course, that was talking about Vanskore¡¯s Syer Bandits, without the allies which joined inter.

    Some spected that there was at least one Legendary powerhouse leading the Gale Bandits. However, there was no way to prove this spection right or wrong. The truth was, the Gale Bandits had been rife in the Breezy ins for years, and many missions had been dispatched to destroy them, including teams which were no short of powerhouses, yet all of them failed in their mission or contact with them was lost.

    Though the Dark de was the top in the Top Ten Bandits rankings, it almost didn¡¯t engage in any robbing activities now. The true top bandits in the Breezy ins were in fact the Gale Bandits.

    The room was silent after Sienna mentioned the Gale Bandits.

    Charles already knew that he was nothing in the eyes of Mage Felic, so his fear had subsided quite a bit. This was because he knew that as long as he did what he needed to do obediently, Mage Felic couldn¡¯t be bothered to find faults in him.

    Merchants were merchants. Upon knowing that he needn¡¯t worry about his life, Charles immediately started worrying about his business. He had put a lot of money into this collection of herbs from the Elven Kingdom. If it was robbed by bandits halfway, it would immensely affect the business of the Seven Leaf Grass. He didn¡¯t have to worry about this if he directly sold them in the City of Late Winter, but that meant that he would only be able to earn very little.

    In fact, Charles didn¡¯t have any hope upon hearing the Gale Bandits that Sienna talked about. Everyone knew that the Gale Bandits were only second to the Dark de. Judging from Sienna¡¯s mercenary corps¡¯ abilities, it was almost impossible for them to protect Charles¡¯ merchant caravan from the Gale Bandits until it reached safety.

 Chapter 535 - Escort

    <h4>Chapter 535: Escort</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    How could Sienna be unsure of something even Charles knew? Though Sienna led the so-called biggest mercenary corps in Rnd City, it was nothingpared to the Gale Bandits. He had the chance of seeding only if he used all his men and the Gale Bandits didn¡¯t send in a big force on this path.

    However, Sienna didn¡¯t want to risk his everything betting on a possibility. If he bet wrong, he would lose everything he had. Therefore, he would definitely not walk this path despite agreeing to Charles¡¯mission. Mercenaries weren¡¯t fools. They would only risk their lives if there was a chance of winning. Against the Gale Bandits, the chance of winning was close to zero.

    Meanwhile, Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to be listening. He gently rubbed his chin, and said, ¡°How about this? You see if you can get some other herbs I need. If you can get them, I can transport them back together.¡± Then, he told Charles the names of a few other precious herbs.

    Didn¡¯t Mage Felic hear Sienna talking about the Gale Bandits? Charles was confused, but he didn¡¯t dare to ask. What he had nned was to sell those herbs cheaply at the City of Late Winter. Since the Gale Bandits were the ones blocking the way, he didn¡¯t have high hopes of transporting his herbs safely back to Rnd City. Though he might lose some money this way, it was better than losing everything to the Gale Bandits...

    Though this Mage Felic and his two attendants seemed to be very powerful ording to Sienna, Charles didn¡¯t think he could get Mage Felic to help with escorting his merchant caravan. Even if Mage Felic was willing to let his attendants follow his caravan, it was still hard for one or two level-17 or 18 powerhouses to protect them.

    Though Lin Li¡¯s attendant could defeat an Ice Howler single-handedly, how many could they kill by themselves when faced with thousands of bandits? When they were upied by some of the bandits, others could easily ransack the entire merchant caravan and escape. Moreover, it was said that the Gale Bandits had at least one Legendary powerhouse as their leader. Even if that wasn¡¯t true, there had to be a few level-17 or 18 powerhouses. If not, the Gale Bandits wouldn¡¯t be ced second on the rankings.

    Charles looked at Sienna, signaling him to exin to Mage Felic that he couldn¡¯t do such a thing. After all, Sienna was closer to Mage Felic.

    Sienna knew what Charles meant. He cleared his throat and prepared to exin to Lin Li about the capabilities of the Gale Bandits despite his fear.

    ¡°Will 10 Archmages be enough?¡± Lin Li asked Sienna in a low voice after a moment of contemtion.

    ¡°...¡± Sienna swallowed his words before he could even start upon hearing what Lin Li had said.

    What did he mean by asking if 10 Archmages were enough? Although Sienna wasn¡¯t a mage, he still knew quite a bit about mages as an upation. It was hard to be a mage, and even harder to level up in the study of magic. Every stage and its obstacles blocked the footsteps of a batch after batch of mages. Therefore, Archmages could be considered the top of this upation. Any Archmage would be deemed an important existence in any faction. What did Mage Felic say just now? 10 Archmages!

    Levels existed in any upation, but simr levels didn¡¯t mean simrbat prowess. Mages above level-15 were Archmages, but a level-15 Warrior was iparable to a level-15 Archmage in fighting ability. So, one couldn¡¯t necessarily be able to recruit an Archmage even if he could recruit a level-15 Warrior. The presence of an Archmage could drastically change the power of a faction.

    Sienna¡¯s desire to get an Archmage was as strong as any other faction¡¯s. However, with his current abilities, it was very hard for him to recruit any. That Mage Felic could recruit 10 Archmages at once? If that was true, he didn¡¯t have to worry about this escort even with the presence of the Gale Bandits.

    ¡°10...¡± Charles swallowed. He was really grateful that Sienna had scolded him just in time. If not, he wouldn¡¯t have known what a big shot he had offended. What kind of ability was needed to recruit 10 Archmages at once? The Malfa Family¡¯s? The Dark de¡¯s? Even these two powerful groups in the Breezy ins couldn¡¯t send 10 Archmages to escort a merchant caravan so easily.

    Charles was exhrated after recovering from his shock. He wasn¡¯t close to Lin Li yet, but he was already starting to get some benefits. No wonder getting to know big shots meant an opportunity to develop. Charles couldn¡¯t imagine how powerful 10 Archmages would be. Although he wasn¡¯t sure of the power of the Gale Bandits, he firmly believed in the ability of 10 Archmages to escort his goods back to safety.

    What Lin Li was the most concerned with was how to get the herbs he needed without idents. He didn¡¯t really care about what Charles or Sienna thought. The Gale Bandits, despite being second to the Dark de in power, were definitely a force to be reckoned with. Thus, Lin Li said to Sienna, ¡°How about I let Ujfalusi go with you?¡±

    Sienna suddenly had the urge to vomit blood. How could he be unsure of Ujfalusi¡¯s abilities? He could still vividly remember what had happened back at the ruins of Syer Town. Humerus Wyrm and Legendary Lich... their power was sufficient to destroy an entire city. Add in the 10 Archmages, and this was totally bullying! A caravan escorted by such a team wouldn¡¯t have to fear even if everyone belonging to the Gale Bandits attacked them.

    Seeing the weird expression on Sienna¡¯s face, Charles was rather puzzled. Who was Ujfalusi? How could he make Sienna so shocked? Sienna didn¡¯t have such an expression even when Mage Felic mentioned the 10 Archmages.

    Seeing Charles¡¯ confusion, Sienna¡¯s mouth twitched, and he softly said, ¡°When rescuing the casten¡¯s daughter... and he became Mage Felic¡¯s attendant. He was the one...¡±

    Although Sienna didn¡¯t tell him the whole story, Charles associated this with what Sienna had scolded him for earlier. An immense fear flowed through his veins. A Lich! Legendary Lich! Being Mage Felic¡¯s other attendant! Charles yelled uncontrobly in his heart but didn¡¯t even dare to look Lich Ujfalusi in the eyes. Undead creatures were terrifying to anyone.

    ¡°How is this? If not, how about increasing¡ª¡± Lin Li wanted to propose activating the four Alchemy Colossus. One should know that a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus needed not fear even a Legendary powerhouse.

    However, Sienna couldn¡¯t withstand any more shocks. Before Lin Li could finish his sentence, Sienna said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mage Felic, that¡¯s more than enough!¡±

    The owner of the Seven Leaf Grass Charles was already stunned beyond his wits. Shock, surprise, joy, fear... All kinds of emotions gushed from his heart.

    ¡°Sigh, are you stunned again?¡±

    Sienna¡¯s voice rang beside his ear. Charles felt someone nudging him, and suddenly came back to his senses. Only then did he realize everyone had already stood up. ¡°Ah! Dear Mr Mage, I am terribly sorry! I...¡± Charles immediately started apologizing to Lin Li, and looked at Sienna for help, hoping that Sienna could remind him what he had missed out on just now.

    ¡°Mr Wilkinson here needs some herbs. Your manager had spoiled the deal just now. How about you go take them yourself?¡± remarked Sienna mockingly.

    Charles didn¡¯t dare to hesitate, and immediately asked Wilkinson what herbs he wanted. Though he really wanted to butter up to Wilkinson, he didn¡¯t dare to suggest giving him any discount or free gifts. However, after knowing the names of the herbs he wanted, Charles hated that bastard Larry even more. Being the boss of Seven Leaf Grass, Charles was very clear of the prices of each herb. He calcted in his mind and realized those herbs only cost 2000-plus gold coins. However, that bastard Larry had asked for 20,000 gold coins just now!

    Damn it! How Charles wished that bastard Larry wasn¡¯t dead from Sienna¡¯s kick. How could Charles vent his anger now?

    After going downstairs, Charles personally packaged all the ingredients needed while cursing that bastard Larry who had almost put his life at stake secretly in his heart.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t get all the herbs he needed, he had secured a portion of them. With Ujfalusi and 10 Archmages¡¯ presence, he believed that the Gale Bandits wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Lin Li was pretty satisfied with this trip, and didn¡¯t want to waste any more time here.

    ¡°Right, inform me at the Tower of Dusk when you¡¯ve decided on the date to go. I will send Ujfalusi and the Archmages over then,¡± Lin Li said to Sienna and Charles when he reached the doorstep.

    However, Sienna and Charles, who had sent Lin Li and hispanions off to the doorstep, were dumbfounded. They could only turn their abnormally stiff necks and stare at each other with fear long after Lin Li had disappeared from their sight.

    ¡°Oh God! Did he just say the Tower of Dusk?¡± Charles almost fainted. Was he talking about the Tower of Dusk which¡¯d just recruited arge number of high-level pharmacists?

 Chapter 536 - Master-level Ring

    <h4>Chapter 536: Master-level Ring</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I... I should have thought of it earlier. At Dnd, it isn¡¯t surprising to recruit pharmacists with such abilities! Tower of Dusk, Guild of Magic...¡± Sienna was at a loss for words. Although he had worked with Lin Li once, Lin Li didn¡¯t mention anything about the Tower of Dusk, and said little about the Guild of Magic. Sienna didn¡¯t take this to heart, since it wasmon for mages to mention the Guild of Magic. However, how could he not think of the Guild of Magic after knowing Lin Li¡¯s abilities?

    ¡°Did we talk about pharmacists just now...¡± Charles¡¯ voice was obviously shaking. He still couldn¡¯t believe that the one who stood in front of him was the owner of the Tower of Dusk, President of the Guild of Magic and the mastermind behind recruiting so many pharmacists...

    ¡°Yes!¡± Sienna nodded stiffly. His tone was rather sympathetic, and he said, ¡°You even said that the Tower of Dusk won¡¯t be happy for long, and asked why I didn¡¯t join in poaching.¡±

    Charles¡¯ face turned pale. He seemed to be inches shorter. He replied, ¡°Yes, you also asked me how to please the pharmacists, saying you were preparing to give it a try.¡±

    ¡°...¡± Sienna looked afar and forced himself to stayposed. He said, ¡°I know that a big shot like Mage Felic wouldn¡¯t mind my words, since he had even forgiven your rudeness.¡±

    Upon leaving the Seven Leaf Grass, Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in walking around Rnd City anymore, so he brought Wilkinson and otherpanions back home. This wasn¡¯t because that manager of the Seven Leaf Grass had ruined his mood, but because Rnd City was rather dull in the eyes of Lin Li. Though this world was considered bustling, it was nothingpared to the metropolis Lin Li had seen before.

    Back at the luxurious castle, those extremely bored pharmacists crowded around curiously upon seeing Lin Li¡¯s return. Of course, they didn¡¯t dare to waste Lin Li¡¯s time, so they bombarded Wilkinson with questions.

    Lin Li returned to his room and reminded the Undead servants not to let anyone disturb him. He then closed the door and started doing what he had always done at the Tower of Dusk¡ªhe retrieved the Book of Eternity that Geresco had left behind from the Ring of Endless Storm and read it attentively.

    The greatest gain from the trip deep into the Abyss of Tharlen in the ckstone Mountains was not the Throne of Darkness, but rather the three items left behind by thete Geresco Lin Li had gotten from Tutankhamun: a key, a magical crystal, and a book. It was hard to say which of the three items was more valuable, but any one of them was more valuable than the Throne of Darkness.

    The key was for opening the seventh Sky Castle of the High Elves. Nobody knew how Geresco had gotten hold of it, but no doubt the absence of the seventh Sky Castle during the war had yed an important role in ending the Dark Age. Maybe the power of the missing seventh Sky Castle was still a mystery for most people, but Lin Li clearly understood how terrifying it was because he possessed a blueprint of a Sky Castle.

    From this Sky Castle blueprint, Lin Li had a clear idea of how powerful a Sky Castle was despite never experiencing the Dark Age and seeing a Sky Castle himself. Compared to the Sky Castle, the Eternal Furnace that Highlord Osric had built was like a child¡¯s toy.

    Although Lin Li nned to follow Connoris¡¯ suggestion and integrate the Throne of Darkness with the Eternal Furnace, its power was still limited and iparable to the powerful seventh Sky Castle¡¯s. However, Lin Li was quite eager to know what it would be like after the natural Magical Domain from the underground pce had integrated into the Eternal Furnace. Could that create an eighth Sky Castle?

    However, no matter how powerful the Sky Castle was, Lin Li couldn¡¯t gain much from it now. Out of the three items, the ones that had constantly benefited Lin Li were the other two¡ªthe magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant and the Book of Eternity made from Leaves of Eternity.

    The Evil Eye that was good at Mental Spells possessed extremely strong mental strength. An essory made from an Evil Eye magical crystal using special processing techniques could increase the mental strength of the wearer, though it couldn¡¯t provide mages with powerful magical strength.

    The degree of mental strength was often used to judge the talent and potential of a mage in terms of magic. This was because it was very hard to increase mental strength through any kind of training. Thus, it was almost impossible to change a mage¡¯s magical potential. Some people were destined to be mage apprentices for their entire lives, while others could easily reach the Sanctuary-realm. All this was determined by the degree of mental strength.

    Hence, nothing was more important to a mage than mental strength, and nothing was as attractive to mages as the Evil Eye magical crystal which could increase one¡¯s mental strength. If there was any, it had to be this magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant owned by Lin Li now.

    The magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant had far greater effect on increasing mental strength than any ordinary Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal. Even the most ordinary mage apprentice could at least be a level-19 Archmage with the presence of a magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant. Moreover, his mental strength would be far greater than that of other Archmages.

    However, one could not simply put it close to the chest for the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant to show its greatest effect. There was a special upation in Anril for that, just like pharmacists, cksmiths, and inscribers, who were well respected by powerhouses despite being weak in strength. They were the crystal sculptors, who could make magical essories.

    One should not think that someone who merely made a ring or embedded a gem could be considered a crystal sculptor. Crystal sculpting required the arrangement of different ingredients and different carving methods for different gems and magical crystals, and even involved the use of the mageweath and potions. It was not wrong to say that the upation of crystal sculptor was extremely profound, and not as straightforward as pharmaceutics or inscription.

    If this magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant were taken by Hutton or Stephen, they probably wouldn¡¯t know how to use it. If the crystal was processed by an ordinary crystal sculptor, it would be a blessing if even half of its power could be unleashed. If they were unlucky, they might even destroy this magical crystal.

    However, it was different in the hands of Lin Li. If the crystal couldn¡¯t even be processed by a crystal sculptor master, then nobody could possibly process it in the entire Anril. Yet Lin Li had an advantage that a normal crystal sculptor master didn¡¯t¡ªhe was also a pharmaceutics Guru, Guru of inscription, and cksmith Guru!

    The magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant was the size of a palm when he¡¯d obtained it. Only with special master-level potions did Lin Li manage to shrink the crystal until the size of a pea without damaging it in any way. Ordinary crystal sculptors couldn¡¯t do this. They could shrink a magical crystal by half at most, but how could a magical crystal half the size of a palm be used to make essories?

    The metal used to make rings was also better than the others. It was one of the treasures found in the Ring of Endless Storm¡ªa metal brought from the other world. Even though it was said to be a treasure, the Divinity Metal wasn¡¯t a super raremodity to Lin Li. After all, he was only using one of the 20 bars of Divinity Metal to make the ring.

    Lin Li had all kinds of metals stored in the Ring of Endless Storm. However, he had chosen the Divinity Metal as the material for the ring not because it was the most expensive, but because rings made with it wouldn¡¯t have additional properties.

    The magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant only had one use¡ªto greatly increase mental strength. Not considering this most important property, this magical crystal was even worse than a typical level-15 magical crystal. Therefore, Lin Li was only using this magical crystal to make an essory that could increase his mental strength when worn. He didn¡¯t need any other irrelevant properties like attack or defense buff for something as precious as the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant. After all, Lin Li wasn¡¯t short of level-15 magical crystals.

    The value of the Divinity Metal was its growth property. Equipment made from the Divinity Metal seemed ordinary at first as it didn¡¯t have any striking properties. However, as time passed, the growth property of the Divinity Metal was revealed. During the growing process, equipment made from the Divinity Metal would increase the abilities of the user consistently. Thus, all equipment made from the Divinity Metal was likely to be an artifact.

    So, Lin Li chose the Divinity Metal and personally made a ring with fine mageweath. The shrunken magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant was embedded on top of the ring. After this ring was made, Lin Li always wore it. He seemed to clearly feel that his mental strength was increasing rapidly.

    The magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant could make an ordinary mage apprentice quickly grow into a level-19 Archmage due to its help in increasing mental strength. However, it couldn¡¯t guarantee that the user would reach the Legendary-realm with ease. This was because one needed not only the increase in mental strength and magic, but also understanding and grasp of world¡¯s Rules in order to reach the Legendary-realm.

    The increase in mental strength could only help Lin Li increase his power. It wouldn¡¯t help with leveling up his realm. Hence, the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant still wasn¡¯t the most useful item for him out of the three.

 Chapter 537 - Reading the Book of Eternity

    <h4>Chapter 537: Reading the Book of Eternity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages, had said something that was still regarded as the golden rule by all mages.

    ¡°Knowledge is the true faith of a mage!¡±

    This sentence was written on the cover page of the Book of Eternity, which Lin Li was holding now.

    People nowadays couldn¡¯t imagine how difficult it was for humans to learn magic, and how much people desired knowledge during the Dark Age.

    Under the control of the High Elves, humans couldn¡¯t expect the High Elves to teach them magic, although learning magic was not forbidden for humans. Humans could only explore the misty realm of magic on their own, and record everything down in their own magic books. These books were then passed down generations after generations and perfected along the way.

    During that time, the typical items that a human mage had were a magic staff and a magic book; even Geresco was no different. Now, Geresco¡¯s magic staff was housed in the Guild of Magic at nna, shielding the guild from harm for over 1000 years. The Book of Eternity, a book which recorded all of Geresco¡¯s findings in his lifetime, was now gently flipped open in Lin Li¡¯s hands.

    The pages of the Book of Eternity were made of leaves from the Tree of Eternity. The ink used in the book was the tree sap that Geresco had gotten from the trunk of the Tree of Eternity. The Tree of Eternity which once supported the entire Anril had leaves and trunk that held more power than any ordinary person could imagine. The Book of Eternity made from these things contained so much power that it could easily be considered the most powerful magical weapon during the Dark Age.

    However, just like what was written on the cover page of the book, its value didn¡¯te from its power, but rather the knowledge, experiences, and revtions the God of Mages Geresco had throughout his lifetime about magic. This was the true priceless treasure to mages. Be it the powerful seventh Sky Castle or the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant which could increase mental strength, neither and nothing was more useful to mages than the knowledge in their minds.

    This famous Book of Eternity was lost in Anril for more than 1000 years until Lin Li obtained it, making many mages actively searching for it. Though nobody had ever seen the Book of Eternity before, based on the fact that it belonged to Geresco, many a Legendary-mage had announced that whoever held on this book wouldn¡¯t face difficulty in reaching the Sanctuary-realm.

    This was just a wild guess by people who had never seen the Book of Eternity before. However, Lin Li knew after he had gotten the book that although those people¡¯s guess seemed to be an exaggeration, the truth was moreplex than that.

    The Book of Eternity could be considered the mostplex magical book Lin Li had ever read. Before obtaining this book, Lin Li had spected more than once what kind of content Geresco would write in his magical book. When Lin Li had flipped open the book for the first time after getting it from Tutankhamun, he finally knew that the contents of this book were very diverse.

    For 1000-plus years, all kinds of spections about the contents of the Book of Eternity existed. Even the most absurd and exaggerated guesses didn¡¯t cover 0.01% of its real contents. Anyone who had read the book would know that Geresco didn¡¯t rely on the slightest bit of luck to be the God of Mages. He had achieved it through hard work.

    As a mage, Lin Li was concerned about magical spells the most. When he was at the small wooden hut of Tutankhamun, he had watched a battle between Geresco and an Evil Eye Tyrant through a Spacetime Beacon Spell. During that battle, Lin Li had seen Geresco use a level-23 Legendary magic spell¡ªStarfall, but what he was more shaken by was the Void of the Stars which only existed in legends.

    There was no mage who had the slightest knowledge of the Void of the Stars now in Anril. Nobody even knew about the existence of that magic spell. Even knowledgeable people like Andoine could only find remnants of the Void of the Stars from legends. They only knew that was a realm only gods could reach.

    Legend had it that mages who mastered the Void of the Stars could entrust their bodies and souls to nothingness, and were no longer subject to any harm from earthly magic and weapons. How could Lin Li not be interested in such powerful magic? From the first time he had opened this book, Lin Li had been looking for information about the Void of the Stars. He didn¡¯t want to learn it immediately, though. After all, despite not knowing the exact level of this magical spell, he guessed that it wasn¡¯t something an ordinary Legendary-mage could aplish.

    This kind of curious mentality wouldn¡¯t change with people or the level of ability a person had. The only thing that differed among people was whether they could control such mentality well. In fact, curiosity was not a bad thing. For any intelligent race, curiosity drove development. It was precisely curiosity that made people explore and learn. The act of learning magic, in some sense, was precisely for fulfillment of curiosity.

    Lin Li wanted to know how much Geresco knew about a magic spell like the Void of the Stars which only existed in legends. However, he soon realized that he had never seen at least 90% of the magical spells recorded in the Book of Eternity before.

    These spells contained Ancient Dragonnguage, Demon Language which Connoris had mentioned, and even some Titannguage. In contrast, thenguage of the High Elves and modernnguages were rarely used in them. It was evident from these spells that Geresco was extremely knowledgeable.

    One needed to know that Connoris had directly passed a paragraph of Demonic runes to Lin Li with mental strength back at the Throne of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. This had allowed Lin Li to break through all barriers and step into the Legendary-realm. However, the Demon Language was merely a small part in this book. Be it Demon Language, Ancient Dragon Language, or Titan Language, all of them pointed directly to the origins of power and core knowledge about Rules. It wasn¡¯t surprising that people spected that reading this Book of Eternity would allow a person to reach Sanctuary-realm effortlessly.

    Other than arge number of spells which Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand, the more important part of this book was Geresco¡¯s thoughts on magic. Geresco had handed this book to Tutankhamun because he wanted to create a powerhouse who could save humanity in time of crisis. Thus, Geresco had recorded his thoughts and experiences down to every magical spell, every word, every syble, every way of mana distribution, and every kind of elemental sequencing. It was right to say that reading this Book of Eternity was like being taught by Geresco personally.

    However, everything that Lin Li could see was just a small portion of this thick book. Lin Li could see more nk pages than he could see words. Of course, Lin Li was aware that they weren¡¯t truly nk. He couldn¡¯t see what¡¯s written on those pages, because he hadn¡¯t reached the realm required to see those words.

    Though Lin Li had already reached the Legendary-realm which most people couldn¡¯t, he was still far behind Geresco during his time. Lin Li knew that he could only get to see everything in the Book of Eternity when he had reached the same realm as Geresco.

    Since Lin Li had gotten the Book of Eternity, reading this book had be a daily task for him. Though he could only see a small part of it now, every sentence in this limited portion he could see was worth analyzing repeatedly.

    The room was exceptionally quiet. The thick Book of Eternityy on the table, and its pages made from the leaves of the Tree of Eternity radiated a faint fragrance. Lin Li recited the contents on the book word by word, carefully inferring ideas and thoughts between the lines.

    Compared to Connoris directly passing Demonic runes to Lin Li¡¯s mind via mental strength, reading this book word by word and thening up with his own thoughts had slowed down the process of learning. However, though Lin Li was able to rise to the Legendary-realm through obtaining Connoris¡¯ understanding on that paragraph of Demonic runes, his own understanding of Demonic runes was still very much limited.

    Lin Li could possibly be a second Geresco with just passing of mental strength. However, if he wanted to exceed the achievements of Geresco, he needed to continuously umte knowledge by trying to understand and appreciate knowledge by himself in the long run. This way, there wouldn¡¯t be any limitations to the knowledge he had obtained. In addition, maybe Lin Li could even discover something Geresco had missed out on and work on it. Eventually, when Lin Li reached Geresco¡¯s level, he wouldn¡¯t be just another Geresco, but someone far greater than Geresco.

    Actually, this was part and parcel of human development. No matter how great the forefathers were, they all served to lead the way forter generations and build a strong foundation for their descendants to walk even further on the path of development. This applied not only to mages¡ªpharmacists, cksmiths, and all other upations all followed the same principle. This was the so-called inheritance of knowledge.

    More often than not, Lin Li had an illusion that Geresco was standing in front of him, answering his queries regarding magic when he read the Book of Eternity carefully. Whenever Lin Li encountered a difficult question, he could certainly find an inspiring paragraph in the book which would clear up all his thoughts.

    Stars hang in the night sky outside the window, The magicmp in the reading room was already automatically switched on, and bright light illuminated the room. Lin Li was still reading the Book of Eternity with full concentration. He seemed to have chanced upon a difficulty. He frowned slightly, murmured a few sybles, and repeatedly chewed on the contents in the book.

    Suddenly, Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up, and his murmurs became quicker as if heavy rainnding on leaves. With the sudden cease of recitation, Lin Li¡¯s brows rxed, and a smile spread on his face. Lin Li could clearly feel that hisprehension of magic was deepened, which was brought by the resolution of one problem. He could vaguely sense that his true realm was close to level-21 now.

    The next morning, William came to the castle and personally invited Lin Li and hispanions to attend the auction.

    When Lin Li¡¯s carriage had reached the City Square of Rnd City, the entire square was filled with all kinds of luxurious carriages. Although the carriages varied in design, they were arranged in an orderly manner, and didn¡¯t seem messy despite therge number. Perhaps it was due to the tendency for people topare with others. Even for a vehicle, the carriages were luxuriously decorated. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that a gem taken from any carriage would be enough to support an ordinary person for a lifetime.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s carriage didn¡¯t stop there, and drove directly into the courtyard behind the Elven Theater. There were already some carriages stopped there, and they appeared much humbler than those outside. However, after some inspection, Lin Li knew that they were more expensive than the ones outside which were adorned with gems.

    To ask an Inscriber to inscribe mageweath for a horse-carriage wasn¡¯t something that could be achieved with money alone. One needed to have sufficiently high status and power so that the Inscriber wouldn¡¯t feel insulted. Among these carriages, Lin Li saw one that made use of Alchemy Arrays and even one that used magic gears. If the carriages outside werepleting for money, then these carriages in the courtyard werepeting for status.

    1However, those mageweaths that the carriages used were too rough and rudimentary for Lin Li. The purpose of these mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays was no more than making the carriage morefortable and less drowsy, or adding some defensive properties. The carriage that used magic gears, however¡ªif it could even be considered a carriage, since it didn¡¯t even need to be driven by horses¡ªmade Lin Li think of cars which existed before he traveled to Anril. Unfortunately, it looked too unsightly, just like a plus-sized box.

    ¡°The owner of this carriage is Prince Hry of the Ledin Kingdom. Prince Hry¡¯s greatest interest was to find and recover lost technologies from the Dark Age. If President Felic is interested, I can help to introduce you to him,¡± William suggested upon seeing Lin Li looking at the ugliest carriage.

    Lin Li smiled and shook his head. This kind of introduction was rather meaningless. That Prince Hry could greet him a bit because of William¡¯s introduction at most and forget who Lin Li was immediately after. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t necessary, as Lin Li wouldn¡¯t need to deal with the Ledin royals for a long time toe.

    Even in the unlikely case that Lin Li had to deal with them, he still had Englos and Sendros. Lin Li could always ask them to introduce Prince Hry to him when necessary...

 Chapter 538 - Twilight Dragon Armor

    <h4>Chapter 538: Twilight Dragon Armor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Seeing that Lin Li shook his head, William was rather disappointed. However, he didn¡¯t say anything more, and led Lin Li and hispanions to the front hall of the Elven Theater. The massive front hall was filled with people who had arrived early, all waiting for themencement of the auction and chatting with people they knew about various topics.

    Although some were sharp enough to spot William enter with another person, nobody dared to approach, as they knew very well that they didn¡¯t have the right to speak to William. At the same time, they were very curious about the background of the youngster who came with William as it was clear that William was the one leading the way for him.

    One needed to know that even the guests of honor on the second floor had never received such treatment from William. After all, William was even respected by Casten Arathor of the Rnd City. But now, this eminent William led the way for a youngster whom nobody had seen before. Perhaps even the king wouldn¡¯t receive such treatment if he were toe!

    Most people at the front hall were mostly leaders or representatives from the various factions. Some were from families with over a thousand years of heritage, some were new factions that emerged in the recent centuries. Any one of them had power no worse than Sienna, yet they didn¡¯t even have the right to speak to William.

    Lin Li scanned his surroundings, and saw some familiar faces who seemed to have given presents to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s pharmacists. Were they here to present Wilkinson with gifts? Lin Li found it rather funny.

    On the second floor was a small butvishly decorated hall. The ceiling sported a delicate magical crystalmp, while the ground wasid with ash purple sheep yarn carpet. All those Elven-style decorations could probably only be otherwise found in the underground pce that Osric had built.

    There were also some people talking in this hall. There seemed to be more familiar faces herepared to downstairs. The Casten of Dnd City led his son Lasorick to talk with Casten Arathor of Rnd City joyously. That bastard Lasorick kept staring at Arathor¡¯s daughter Yvonne, and didn¡¯t even want to move his eyes an inch. It was better this way. If not, heaven knew what fuss he would throw if he saw Lin Li.

    The President of the cksmith Guild, Master Garza, tapped on the shoulder of a bitter-looking young man with full strength. He spoke loudly and seemed to be saying some words of encouragement to the young man. The young man was full of despair, yet he didn¡¯t dare to show any displeasure to his father.

    ¡°President Felic, do you want to have a chit-chat here, or directly proceed to your guest room?¡± William had wanted to introduce these people to Lin Li at first, but he rejected this idea once he saw that the Casten of Dnd City had brought his son Lasorick along.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t close to any of the people in this hall to the extent that he would sit down and have a conversation with them. So, he greeted a few people and proceeded to the guest room with William.

    The guest room wasn¡¯t small at all. Lin Li had brought Wilkinson and a few other high-level pharmacists along, yet the room didn¡¯t feel packed at all. William exined as if seeking praise that his guest room was different from others in the sense that it was built for the king. How could the king watch a show alone? There needed to be at least a dozen attendants serving him.

    William didn¡¯t feel there was anything wrong with letting Lin Li use the VIP guest room. After all, just in the team that had followed Lin Li here, there were six high-level pharmacists. Moreover, those pharmacists were all very respectful to Lin Li.

    If Lin Li was just the owner of the Tower of Dusk and the President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins, William would not have lowered his stance so much. He wouldn¡¯t have done this even for the six high-level pharmacists. What made William do this was the fact that the existence of these six pharmacists meant that there was a pharmaceutics powerparable to the Pharmacist Guild out there.

    Moreover, how could a person these six high-level pharmacists looked up to be just a President of an ordinary Guild of Magic? William had witnessed the arrogance of high-level pharmacists before, and he knew very well that they wouldn¡¯t lower their heads even to typical Legendary powerhouses. There was only one type of people who could gain their respect. Though William hadn¡¯t gotten the exact answer from Lin Li, he knew very well that this young mage was not simple.

    After Lin Li and hispanions had been seated, William called for attendants personally. Delicate containers with precious fruits and drinks were served onto the table. It was right to say that in terms of service, William had used the highest standards, hoping that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t feel the slightest bit neglected.

    ¡°President Felic, please do tell them if you are unsatisfied with something. Now, please excuse me for the moment,¡± William said politely. After all, he was the master here, and couldn¡¯t leave the other guests by themselves no matter how much he valued Lin Li.

    Lin Li waved his hands, unbothered. He didn¡¯t feel too shocked at such treatment. His mentality was now at the stage where the external environment could no longer affect him. Meanwhile, from the perspective of Wilkinson and others, Lin Li deserved such treatment given his status as a pharmaceutics Master.

    After William had left, Wilkinson and other pharmacists made use of the time before the start of the auction to ask Lin Li questions regarding pharmaceutics. Nobody¡¯s sess was coincidental. Though Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were more talented than ordinary people, they could only get where they were today because of their attitude to learn anytime, anywhere.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t annoyed by Wilkinson and the other pharmacists¡¯ questions at all even though he wasn¡¯t their actual teacher. After all, wouldn¡¯t life be better for him if their abilities were higher?

    Shortly after William left, the first floor got noisier. Those people waiting in the front hall starteding in. It seemed like the auction was starting soon. In just 15 minutes, the 2,000 seats in the main hall downstairs were all filled.

    As this was a theater, the side of the guest rooms facing the stage waspletely open. Lin Li looked around, and he could see everyone in the other guest rooms clearly.

    Unlike the totally filled seats downstairs, the guest rooms were not even half filled. However, this didn¡¯t mean that William¡¯s auction would fail. It was because who could be a distinguished guest was dependent on their status, so there was no need to fill up the guest rooms for the sake of doing so. If the standards were put too low, the status of a ¡®distinguished guest¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be that valuable anymore, and some might even find it insulting.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in the background of other guests, so he briefly scanned the surroundings and focused on the stage with closed curtains.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time William had organized an auction at the Elven Theater. However, unless the king came, nobody was allowed to use that special guest room. Yet today, it was obvious that the one seated in that room wasn¡¯t the king, but a very young mage.

    Due to spatial limitations, the people around couldn¡¯t really see Lin Li clearly. However, people who had interacted with Lin Li before, like Casten Arathor of Rnd City and cksmith Guild¡¯s President Garza, found him rather familiar. Yet, they wouldn¡¯t have guessed that the one William deemed as so important would be the President of the Guild of Magic which was established not more than a year ago.

    The curtains of the stage were slowly drawn back. William smiled and strode to the center of the stage. He bowed to all the guests, and started with an opening speech. He didn¡¯t say much, though, just some words of thanks and wee. After his speech, he left the stage to the chief auctioneer, and the auction officiallymenced.

    Meanwhile, as the organizer of this auction, William still returned to Lin Li¡¯s guest room. He knew that no matter how much power and potential the mysterious pharmaceutics organization behind the Tower of Dusk had, it was still established for no more than a year, after all. This auction that William had organized would be a great chance for the young President of the Tower of Dusk to get to know different people since many factions within and without the Breezy ins hade.

    William wouldn¡¯t waste any opportunity to build a closer rtionship with the Tower of Dusk, so he came here right after making sure the auction could run smoothly.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t too bothered about this. With the Tower of Dusk¡¯s current abilities, the so-called medium or big factions couldn¡¯t threaten the Tower of Dusk at all. However, since William had alreadye, it didn¡¯t harm to listen to him.

    William sat down beside Lin Li. Meanwhile, the first item had just been brought to the center of the stage. It was a rectangr box about half the height of a person. It seemed to be pretty old from its color and texture, and some patterns carved on it also seemed to be worn out. Looking at this rather shabby wooden box, those people seated downstairs who didn¡¯t have the auction book with them started to guess what might be inside this box.

    The auctioneer didn¡¯t make everyone wait for long, as this was only a starting item which didn¡¯t deserve too much time wasted on it. Opening the box, the auctioneer stepped back, and a beam of light shone on the contents. The audience gasped.

    In the open wooden boxy a set of dark gold Dragon Armor which shone with a peculiar light in the presence of the light. Without further introduction by the auctioneer, everyone in the audience recalled an incident from the distant past.

    When the Dark Age just ended, the coalition made up of every repressed race started to split up the fruits of their victory. However, everyone thought that they contributed the most, and nobody could convince the others otherwise. Hence, everything was resolved by violence eventually.

    After humans had gained control ofrge areas of Anril, people thought that the long awaited peace had finally arrived. However, war erupted among the human ns. While the period dominated by the High Elves was known as the Dark Age, this period of war after the Dark Age was known as the darkness before dawn.

    Of course, that period wasn¡¯t totally useless. As the saying went, ¡°a hero emerges from chaos.¡± That war period was also when a lot of legendary heroes came into history. They had provided the bards with a lot of stories that were recited for over a thousand years.

    The owner of this dark gold Dragon Armor on the stage belonged to that dark period in history. He was Duke Hedrick, who had defeated the Ledin Kingdom countless times, and defended the Breezy ins for the Fn Kingdom. Now, many libraries in Dnd still hang an oil painting of Hedrickmanding in war. What he wore in those paintings was exactly this Twilight Dragon Armor.

    Thus, although this Twilight Dragon Armor had disappeared for close to a thousand years after the death of Duke Hedrick, it still evoked memories of that period of history and legendary stories about its owner when it was shown in front of everyone.

    Duke Hedrick was one of the many Legendary powerhouses loyal to the Fn Kingdom, and his abilities was about level-22. During that time, almost all Legendary powerhouses were overshadowed by the God of Mages Geresco. Duke Hedrick, however, was certainly an exception to the people in the Breezy ins.

    After a person had reached Legendary-realm, he was in some sense considered out of the realm of ordinary people. Hence, ordinary people were like ants in the eyes of Legendary powerhouses, and nobody would care about an ant¡¯s life or death. Though Hedrick was only a Sword Sage as a Legendary powerhouse, and his abilities couldn¡¯t match that of Legendary-realm mages, he still had a very long life.

    Although the Sanctuary-realm seemed very distant, it was not impossible to reach if one was still alive. Hence, every Legendary powerhouse valued his life even more than an ordinary person despite their powerful abilities. Unless it was for irresolvable hatred, Legendary powerhouses rarely fought till their lives were threatened.

 Chapter 539 - Bidding

    <h4>Chapter 539: Bidding</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Unfortunately, the Duke of Hedrick encountered Rodhart, the condemned Retribution Knight who almost destroyed the entire Breezy ins. Rodhart made the level-22 Legendary Sword Sage seem insignificant even though the two of them were both powerful. Although Hedrick relied on the Twilight Dragon Armor to increase his strength by one level, he was still worlds apart from the level-25 Retribution Knight Rodhart.

    Actually, Hedrick could have avoided the battle at first. Although he was no match for Retribution Knight Rodhart, he could¡¯ve still escaped death easily. However, not only did he not shun the fight, he even voluntarily battled Rodhart despite knowing that he was no match for him. He did that all for the sake of buying some time before Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine arrived.

    The Twilight Dragon Armor, famous for its impable durability, unfortunately did not protect Hedrick from Rodhart¡¯s attack. In fact, no armor would be able to shield its wearer from the Eternal Frost de, regardless of how strong it might be. During that disaster in the Breezy ins, Hedrick was not the only one at the Legendary-realm who had fallen. However, he was deeply remembered by everyone who still argued and discussed whether or not his sacrifice was worth it.

    The material used for the Twilight Dragon Armor was not actually the scales of a real ancient dragon, but the body of a magical beast that descended from an ancient dragon. Dragons were amorous by nature, and there were plenty of them on the entire maind. That magical beast was considered to be a pure-blood that had descended from the ancient dragon. Its firm and hard scales were not inferior to those of the dragons.

    One of the most powerful attributes of the Twilight Dragon Armor was that it could amplify Combat Energy, and Hedrick could use the boost to increase his strength from level-22 to level-23. The difference of one level was actually very significant, for it was enough to multiply his Combat Energy several times. That alone was an irresistible temptation for a Warrior.

    Hedrick died after being stabbed by Rodhart¡¯s sword. Ever since then, the Twilight Dragon Armor disappeared. Some said that Rodhart had absconded with the loot, while others said that Prophet Willen might have taken the armor away. There were also those who said that it might be hidden in the treasure vault of the Brilliance Shrine. In short, there were all sorts of spections, and apart from the VIP guests who had obtained the auction catalog in advance, no one else had expected that the Twilight Dragon Armor, which had been missing for nearly a thousand years, would actually appear at this auction.

    ¡°I know that at the instant that the box was opened, there must have been lots of questions and doubts that arose within you guys. I can clearly answer everyone... Yes, this is Twilight Dragon Armor which had once been worn by Duke Hedrick, and had gone missing for nearly a thousand years,¡± the auctioneer said to the audience.

    The auctioneer¡¯s firm assertion caused a huge uproar amongst the audience. The showstopper of the auction turned out to be the Twilight Dragon Armor which had been worn by Duke Hedrick, and had gone missing for nearly a thousand years. Apart from feeling astonished, everyone else was also feeling excited and curious.

    ¡°This is the Twilight Dragon Armor that the Grand Duke Hedrick had used before. Red scales from the ribs of a dragon were used for the breastte. The rest of the armor was made using the selected scales of the adult Twilight Dragon magical beast...¡± The auctioneer paused for a while before continuing, ¡°Bidding starts at 200,000 gold coins. The auction begins!¡±

    ¡°210,000 gold coins!¡±

    As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, a man who had thick brown beard began calling his bid eagerly below the stage. Everyone began to get riled up.

    ¡°It¡¯s the captain of the An Mercenary Regiment,prised of 1000 mercenaries,¡± William said nonchntly to Lin Li. He kept the introduction brief because he felt that the captain was rather insignificant.

    Lin Li only nodded after listening to what he said. In fact, he was equally uninterested in the Twilight Dragon Armor as he was in the captain. Although they were seated quite a distance away from the stage, Lin Li could see the texture of the Twilight Dragon Armor very clearly.

    Although the first impression that most people would have of the Twilight Dragon Armor was that it was a highly durable and strong armor made of scales, the scales were not made of metal, and were, in fact, natural ones of the magical beast. The durability of the scales on various parts of the body was also different. Lin Li could tell that the scales on the armor were only of middle-grade quality, and that those on the breastte of the Twilight Dragon Armor were not the scales of a mature Crimson Dragon. After all, the magical beasts were only descendants of the dragons, and were not pure-blooded. If it had really beenparable to the massive dragon¡¯s scales, the designer wouldn¡¯t have opted to use the scales of a Crimson Dragon.

    The only thing worth mentioning was the armor¡¯s ability to increase the wearer¡¯s Combat Energy. However, the effects would be more obvious if the armor was donned by a powerful Warrior. A level-9 Warrior would at most have his strength increased to level-10 after putting on the Twilight Dragon Armor. Only a Legendary Sword Sage like Hedrick would be able to unleash the potential of the Twilight Dragon Armor to the fullest and maximize its attributes.

    Although plenty of skills had been lost during the Dark Age, the world had undergone development for over 1000 years; hence, the Twilight Dragon Armor might not be able to entice Legendary powerhouses. To put it simply, Lin Li felt that the Twilight Dragon Armor was more of a collectible thatcked practicality. Although it¡¯d been a Legendary-level armor, it was now more suitable for level-15 to level-19 individuals.

    After calling his bid, the bearded man returned to his seat and looked around continuously because he knew that it definitely wouldn¡¯t be that easy to purchase the Twilight Dragon Armor.

    A redhead who was seated in the front row raised his hand, and calmly said, ¡°250,000 gold coins.¡±

    250,000 gold coins was not a huge sum for those who could be granted entry to the auction. However, the bearded man¡¯s face grew sullen while he nced at the eye-catching redhead from behind. After much consideration, he patted his knees dejectedly, and decided not to stand up to bid.

    The redhead might not be too daunting to others, but the captain of the An mercenary regiment who was also from the Breezy ins did not have the courage to stand up to the strongest force in the east of the Breezy ins, the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association, for fear of getting into a conflict.

    The Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association was established by three brothers. The eldest brother, Quito, was a level-17 Warrior, while the second and third brothers were a level-15 Mage and level-16 Bandit, respectively. Although their force had only been established for over 10 years, they had already secured a footing in the east of the Breezy ins.

    Although all three of them were red-haired, that particr redhead was still recognizable from the back, and the bearded man could tell who he was. Unlike the other two brothers who were less unreasonable, Sarde could not tolerate anyone going against him. He was a level-16 Bandit who was good at ambushing and assassination. When the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association had been just established, many of his opponents died under his dagger.

    ¡°270,000!¡±

    Although the bearded man was afraid of the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association, the Breezy ins was huge, and there were plenty of other people who disregarded the Wolf Brothers even though the VIPs on the second floor remained silent.

    ¡°300,000!¡± Sarde continued to bid. He was not that silly to think that everyone was afraid of him, and that he could assert dominance over everyone here like he did in the east of the Breezy ins. If he were to resort to other means to force others not to vie with him, he would probably end up angering William.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, could you please show some sincerity? This is the Twilight Dragon Armor that had been used by Duke Hedrick. Please don¡¯t insult it by increasing your bids by such pathetic amounts. I call 400,000 gold coins!¡± one of the guests said, standing up while scanning the crowd. Although it seemed silly to call a bid of 400,000 gold coins, the bidder was rather shrewd.

    In the VIP room upstairs, William witnessed the scene, and smilingly said to Lin Li, ¡°That man is Rickermay, thergest grain merchant in Rnd City. Although he is a little bit snobbish, he¡¯s got good judgment.¡±

    Indeed, 400,000 gold coins was a reasonable price for the Twilight Dragon Armor¡ªany higher, and it would exceed the value of the armor. Anyone who called for a higher bid would either be desperate or just doing it out of spite. By calling a bid of 400,000, Rickermay was not only pleasing William, he also put himself in a risk-free position. It was no wonder that he was a businessman.

    ¡°420,000!¡±

    Someone else called for a higher bid. However, William actually didn¡¯t have to introduce him this time, because Lin Li had just heard his voice yesterday.

    Not knowing that Lin Li had already known Sienna beforehand, William started to introduce thetter to Lin Li enthusiastically.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to introduce him. We know each other,¡± Lin Li said smilingly.

    ¡°Oh?¡± William could tell from Lin Li¡¯s expression that he did not dislike Sienna. Suddenly curious, he began to recall that the Tower of Dusk was established at the same time that Sienna¡¯s mercenary regiment rose in Rnd City, and could not help but wonder if the two of them were in close contact.

    ¡°450,000!¡± Sarde eximed while shifting his cold gaze away from Rickermay before staring at Sienna, who had just ced his bid, though not in a threatening manner. The strong would not have to be afraid of the powerful locals. Not to mention, Sienna was not any weaker than the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association.

    Rickermay wiped the cold sweat off of his head. Sarde¡¯s eyes which resembled that of a venomous snake made him feel a little frightened. Although he was fortunate to have been invited to the auction, he was only a businessman, after all; hence, he was afraid of the ruthless Bandit.

 Chapter 540 - The Blood Of Nature

    <h4>Chapter 540: The Blood Of Nature</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Sienna smiled radiantly while staring at Sarde, and said, ¡°500,000.¡±

    While William was still guessing at the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and Sienna, the first item of the auction had already been sold sessfully. In the end, the Twilight Dragon Armor was sold for 500,000 gold coins.

    After the fanfare and congrattions that sounded around Sienna had died down a little, the second item of the auction was brought onto the stage as a small wooden box was ced on the disy.

    Silence was restored, and everyone was looking forward to seeing the auctioneer open the box. The first item was the Twilight Dragon Armor, which had gone missing for over 1,000 years. What would be the second?

    Everyone waited excitedly while waiting for the auctioneer to open the wooden box slowly. Inside it was a golden ring that was embellished with gems.

    ¡°This is the ring that the senior jeweler Mr. Joanne has specially created for this auction!¡± the auctioneer said loudly while showcasing the ring.

    Perhaps the ring was not as shocking as the Twilight Dragon Armor, but everyone was still excited after hearing that it was created by Joanne. They shifted their gazes onto the ring that the auctioneer was holding while waiting for the auctioneer to introduce it in further detail.

    Everyone in the Breezy ins had heard about the jeweler Joanne before. Hence, everyone would cheer and rejoice over every piece of jewelry that he created. In addition to being a jeweler, he was also the sessor of the Fasetti Family of the Northern ins and a level-15 Archmage.

    1Although the Fasetti Family was not as formidable as the Malfa Family, which had a Legendary figure to support them, no one had dared to challenge their authority. The Fasetti Family mainly dealt in the pharmaceutical industry, while Joanne was the descendant of the founder of the Fasetti Family. He was currently the one who was the most likely to attain the level of a jewelry Master.

    ¡°The gemstones that embellish the ring are high-quality Sparks Blue Stones that have been meticulously polished to perfection by Mr Joanne. The spiritual power of the gems has been maximized as well. It can be considered to be the jewelry piece of every mage¡¯s dreams.¡± The auctioneer took the ring out of the wooden box and held it high above his head, allowing it to sparkle as light was reflected off its shiny surface.

    For a mage, the most important thing was magic and spiritual power. Spiritual power directly determined the development potential of the mage and the level of advancement that he could attain. Even a normal Evil Eye magical crystal was considered invaluable, let alone the crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant.

    The Sparks Blue Stone also had spiritual-power-elevating properties. However, the difference was that the magical crystal would genuinely increase the mage¡¯s spiritual power, while the Sparks Blue Stone would only strengthen the foundation of the mage. In other words, when one had equipped the Evil Eye magical crystal for a long time, the spiritual power of the mage would be improved and remain at a high level after it was unequipped. However, the mage would immediately return to his original state once he was away from the Sparks Blue Stone. His spiritual power would also decrease back to the original level.

    Of course, the Sparks Blue Stone was undoubtedly the best choice for mages in the absence of the Evil Eye magical crystal. Even a slight increase in strength would increase the power of mental strength and, subsequently, the power of magic. Hence, the auctioneer was not exaggerating at all.

    ¡±The auction for Mr. Joanne¡¯s masterpiece, the Sparks Blue Stone ring, will begin with a minimum bid of 200,000 gold coins!¡± The auctioneer ced the ring on a magic hologram projection device, which projected an erged image of the ring in midair. He then rotated it slowly to allow everyone to catch a clear glimpse of the beautiful and alluring Sparks Blue Stone.

    Immediately after the auctioneer announced the start of the auction, the audience began bidding immediately. The bids increased from 200,000 gold coins to 300,000 gold coins, and then to 400,000 gold coins. When the bid exceeded 500,000 gold coins, the speed of the increment in bids began to slow down. After all, 500,000 gold coins was not a small sum.

    ¡°650,000!¡±

    In one of the VIP rooms on the second floor, someone ced a higher bid, which caused a huge uproar amongst the audience in the hall. However, there was nothing they could do, since all of the VIP guests were filthy rich; hence, no one dared to vie with them at all.

    ¡°The person who called that bid is a representative sent by the Dark de, the level-18 Archmage Tedya. It¡¯s said that their original heir, Stephen, had disappeared in the ckstone Mountains, and Tedya is the one who has the greatest potential of bing the next sessor.¡± The Malfa Family dared not disclose the incident that took ce in the ckstone Mountains; hence, even the well-connected William had no idea what¡¯d happened.

    Since the VIP rooms¡¯ open sides were facing the stage, Lin Li could easily see Tedya, the potential next sessor of the Dark de, whose room was located at the side. There were four or five people in that room. Tedya looked to be in his thirties, and he looked malnourished, with his eyes sunken deep in his sockets. His mustache was rather neatly trimmed, however.

    ¡°A necromancer?¡± Lin Li could sense his Undead aura which was simr to that of Ujfalusi.

    ¡°Yes, it is said that the Dark de has the support of the Darkness Shrine. Hence, it¡¯s not strange that there are a few necromancers among them.¡±

    After all, they were in the Breezy ins. William frowned slightly at the mention of the necromancers.

    ¡°700,000!¡± another person from the other VIP rooms yelled.

    William pouted his lips and shook his head. ¡°This is Prince Hry from the Ledin Kingdom. Most of the people from the Ledin Kingdom believe in the doctrine of light. Well, they wouldn¡¯t get into a fight here...¡±

    Lin Li looked over to see a middle-aged man who had a goatee, d in luxurious and expensive clothes, sitting inside the room. He was holding a ss of red wine in his hands, while an alchemy puppet massaged his shoulders. When he noticed Lin Li staring at him, he raised his ss deliberately and put on a noble smile.

    Lin Li thought to himself, <i>What ame person. Isn¡¯t he afraid that the alchemy puppet might crush his shoulders? </i>

    The alchemy puppet was way inferior to the Alchemy Colossuses that Lin Li had acquired in the Dragon Mountains. The alchemy puppet was at most level-10 in strength; besides, alchemy puppets were usually byproducts of alchemists¡¯ work which did not serve much of a purpose.

    ¡°750,000!¡± Tedya yelled.

    The highest price that an essory made with the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal had ever been sold at was 800,000 gold coins. Although it was said that the Evil Eye was priceless, that did not mean that its value could increase too drastically.

    ¡°780,000!¡± Hry eximed without hesitation.

    Silence filled the air in Tedya¡¯s room. It was not an issue of affordability, for 800,000 was peanuts to the Dark de. However, they still wanted to spend their money on something that was worth it. One would certainly be ripped off if they were too generous.

    ¡°780,000! Is there a higher bid? 780,000 once...¡± The auctioneer raised the gravel high in the air and continued to try and stir the audience. ¡°This is Sparks Blue Stone, the masterpiece of the senior jeweler, Mr. Joanne! Is there a higher bid? This ring can help increase magical attributes greatly, and the current bid is 780,000 gold coins! 780,000 twice...¡±

    ¡°850,000!¡± Tedya yelled, no longer able to hold himself back. He even ced a bid that was 50,000 gold coins higher than the record price the Evil Eye magical crystal was sold for.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m not a mage anyway. You may have it,¡± said Prince Hry.

    ¡°Thanks a lot, then,¡± Tedya replied, sounding a little angry. 850,000 gold coins was actually insignificant to the Dark de. However, he felt like he had been ridiculed because Hry had deliberately made him ce an absurdly high bid.

    After asking for the third time, the auctioneer mmed his gravel down forcefully to close the auction for the ring. The Sparks Blue Stone ring was then sold to Tedya from the Dark de at 850,000 gold coins.

    Upon hearing the gasps of shock, Tedya could not bring himself to be happy at all, for the guests¡¯ reaction simply meant that he had been ripped off.

    Although the auction was of arge scale, the items that would be put up for sale were not exorbitantly priced like Twilight Dragon Armor and Sparks Blue Stone. The nearly 2,000 people below the stage were not just there to watch the auction, and William didn¡¯t want them to go home empty-handed, either. Hence, he arranged for a few other items that were of poorer quality to be put up for auction.

    Although the average auction price for the items was about 800,000 gold coins, the process made everyone riled up.

    ¡°The items that will be showcased next are not included in the catalog, because they were added to the auction rather recently. The itemse from a ce that you often hear about, and in fact, most of you have probably visited it before...¡± The auctioneer paused for a moment before removing the red cloth, and saying, ¡°They are magical potions from the Tower of Dusk!¡± The auctioneer removed the red cloth to reveal the potions which had been stacked like a pyramid.

    As the auctioneer said, the guests were indeed no strangers to the Tower of Dusk. Those who wanted to recruit senior pharmacists had all scrambled to the Tower of Dusk, while those who had not been there before had long heard of it. Hence, it was a well-known fact that there were senior pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk, and no one doubted it at all.

    Every row of the pyramid was of a different color, and the potions were obviously arranged from the lowest to highest grade. There were 16 crystal potion bottles in the first row, all of which contained some light green liquid. Since they were simr, they wouldn¡¯t be sold individually. The auctioneer grabbed one of the bottles and ced it in the middle of the stage.

    ¡°This is made by the pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk. It¡¯s an intermediate-level potion named the Blood of Nature.¡± The auctioneer held up the potion in his hand, and said to the audience, ¡°The effect of this potion is to quickly heal any damage caused by magic, and at the same time restore the body that had been weakened by the injuries. It¡¯s definitely a necessity for adventurers. Having a bottle of this healing potion is akin to having an extra life. The auction of the first bottle begins at a minimum bid of 20,000 gold coins.¡±

    20,000 gold coins was considered expensive for a healing potion. However, the people at the auction were no fools, and had immediately caught the main point after listening to the auctioneer¡¯s introduction.

    There was a huge difference between normal damage and damage caused by magic. Magic damage would leave some brutal magic elements in the wounded body which couldn¡¯t be removed by generic healing potions, thus making it difficult for the injury to heal quickly.

    The next effect of restoring the body¡¯s strength was even more attractive. Usually, the injured would have to rest for a long time after being treated with a regr Recovery Potion. Well, at least damage caused by excessive blood loss could not be healed that quickly. However, the Blood of Nature could restore the body, which was akin to giving the injured some of their fighting ability back duringbat.

    Hence, the potion was definitely worth 20,000 gold coins since it could heal magic damage and restore one¡¯s health. Some people might think that the price of 20,000 gold coins was too expensive for a potion that could only be used once. However, it was akin to buying another life with money. Was 20,000 gold coins for an extra life still expensive? A shorter healing time was at least a better chance for one to escape, regardless of whether it could restorebat power or not.

    Everyone understood that. Hence, as soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, someone ced a bid of 30,000 gold coins, which was peanuts to them. The price surged quickly, and the potion was finally sold at a price of 100,000 gold coins.

    The following bottles were sold in packs of two or three bottles. Atst, they were sold together in a pack of six for a price of 700,000 gold coins, which made William feel rather emotional. Out of all the potions, Blood of Nature was of the lowest grade, and they were just the products of the pharmacists¡¯ practice sessions to Lin Li...

 Chapter 541 - Vitality Potion

    <h4>Chapter 541: Vitality Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    William and the bidders, including those who had failed to win, were all shocked by the price. They had also seen the other potions that were of superior grade on disy and waiting to be auctioned. The Tower of Dusk was definitely going to make huge earnings just from this auction. Those who were jealous of the Tower of Dusk for having a group of senior pharmacists previously were now even more envious and jealous because of the auction.

    ¡°The next item that is going to be up for auction is the Vitality Potion, which can help Warriors break through to level-15. Just like the previous item, the quantity sold in each round will increase gradually. The auction for the first bottle begins now with a minimum bid of 50,000 gold coins.¡± The auctioneer grabbed a bottle from the second stack, which was now the bottommost stack.

    In thend of Anril, Warriors were the mostmon profession, and it was much easier for one to be a Warrior than a Mage. As long as one was able-bodied and did not suffer from any mental disabilities, they would be able to learnbat skills and develop Combat Energy to be an impressive Warrior who could wield a sword. However, the journey to bing a Warrior was not always smooth sailing, and talent was also an important factor.

    When the forces of the Breezy ins gathered together at the Tower of Dusk, everyone was thinking of recruiting the senior pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk, and hence continuously sent gifts after gifts. However, the oue was, to their dismay, just that one of them only managed to receive a potion which would increase his strength after presenting the gift.

    Hence, Ona, who led the Crimson Mercenary corps, managed to obtain two potions which he shared with his son. The two of them then broke through to level-15 after being stuck there. The sudden addition of two level-15 Warriors in a mercenary regiment which started off with only a few hundred mercenaries was akin to multiplying the strength of the regiment twice. It could be said that Ona was the only one who had gained anything from the pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk.

    The potion that was being auctioned now was also one that would result in a breakthrough to level-15. Six Vitality Potions would mean that there was going to be six level-15 Warriors who could reach level-19. In fact, the advancement requisites for Warriors were not as strict as those for mages. The potion was not necessary for one to be a Sword Sage, either. Although Warriors could notpare to Mages who were of the same level as them, it was still an incredible power that could not be disregarded.

    The Blood of Nature was used for prevention purposes; hence, its effects would not be seen immediately, and they wouldn¡¯t show at all in some people. The effects of the Vitality Potion were very substantial, however. Every bottle contained a single dose of potion that would significantly increase one¡¯s power and abilities. Hence, a hugemotion broke out amongst the audience as soon as the auction began, and they began vying with one another for the six bottles avable.

    Within a short period of time, the six potions were sold at a high price, with the average price being 200,000 gold coins per bottle. However, it was definitely not expensive for a potion that would transform an ordinary Warrior into a level-15 one.

    ¡°Congrattions, President Felic. These two potions are very popr amongst everyone here,¡± said William, who could not help but begin to feel a little jealous. However, he thought to himself, <i>Luck really is such an important thing. Hard work can never beat luck at times. </i>

    ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Mr. William. These are just potions that they¡¯ve concocted during their practice sessions. It¡¯s not a big deal at all,¡± Lin Li said modestly.

    Wilkinson and the rest were also discussing the oue of the auction while shaking their heads and sighing. Had they known earlier that the potions could be sold for such hefty prices, they wouldn¡¯t have poured away the various amounts of potions concocted during their practice sessions for the sake of saving on the bottles.

    William almost vomited blood as he thought to himself, <i>Could you guys please show some sincerity? Those potions are worth tens of millions of gold coins. Stop acting so loft and provoking others! Damn it, how could you say that? These two types of potions are worth more than two million gold coins! Yet, they were just concocted during your practice sessions, and you even poured away plenty of them. Why don¡¯t I gift you with some bottles!?</i>

    William was so agitated that he almost spat blood out.

    Meanwhile, the auctioneer had already begun auctioning the next item. There was a huge uproar.

    The sky-high prices gave everyone a huge shock, and they were all green with envy, all wishing that they could go to the Tower of Dusk and kidnap the pharmacists. While some were feeling jealous, some were wondering if they should put in more effort to recruit the pharmacists. Others were also wondering if they had not worked hard enough. Actually, Ona was a good example. He only spent a small amount of money on gifts, yet he received two potions which cost more than 200,000 gold coins in return.

    ¡°The next potion up for auction is the most magical one that I¡¯ve ever seen throughout the years I was an auctioneer. It¡¯s also from the Tower of Dusk, and was concocted by the respectable senior pharmacist, Wilkinson.¡± The auctioneer grabbed thest potion that was on disy.

    Silence filled the air while everyone fixed their eyes on the small potion bottle for fear that they might miss a single word of the auctioneer. What were the effects of this potion? What about it was so magical that even the head auctioneer of the Time Consignment Store couldn¡¯t help but be in awe? They¡¯d never once heard about it before, let alone seen it.

    The auctioneer scanned the audience in satisfaction. Although he remainedposed on the surface, the excitement that he felt deep down was intense beyond words. The sky-high prices made him look forward to the auctioning of the next potion. If it weren¡¯t because of William¡¯s words, he wouldn¡¯t have believed that such potions existed in this world.

    ¡°This potion is called Origin, because its purpose is to lead you to find the origin of magical power!¡± the auctioneer eximed, trying to suppress the excitement in his heart. He carefully held the potion with both hands, and stared at the curious guests before continuing, ¡°Once a mage takes this potion, he will soon slip into a mystical trance that willst for about a month. It will seem like a dream, in which the mage will possess five magical powers that will stay fresh in the mage¡¯s memory even after he wakes up. The auction for Origin Potion begins with a minimum bid of 550,000 gold coins!¡±

    However, no one dared to make a single sound after the auctioneer announced the start of the auction.

    The auctioneer¡¯s introduction gave everyone a great shock. The thought of the sky-high prices of the items that had been sold off previously made them find it all to be rather surreal. They felt like they were dreaming, and plenty of people found the effects to be rather unbelievable and ridiculous. Learning about magic during a dream? How absurd!

    The auctioneer was stunned by theck of reaction. There had been countless auctions held by the Time Consignment Store, and there was bound to be a hugemotion during every auction, all thanks to William¡¯s good judgment and taste. There had never been silence before.

    Just as the silence was getting peculiar, someone yelled, ¡°600,000!¡±

    The person who ced the bid was none other than Sienna. He had previously bought the Twilight Dragon Armor, which was rather useful to him¡ªunlike this potion. However, he knew how formidable Lin Li, the owner of the Tower of Dusk, was. Even if no one ced a higher bid and Sienna ended up purchasing the potion, 600,000 gold coins would be worth it if he could forge closer ties with the young President Felic.

    Sienna¡¯s bid had indeed had some effect on the audience. His words were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples on the surface of the water.

    Everyone snapped out of their trance, and decided to stop worrying about how the effects of the potion could be made possible, and whether or not the desired results could be achieved, because the pharmacists were the only ones who knew the answers. They would just be making things hard for themselves by trying to specte and dwell on the theory behind the potions. All they needed to know was that the potion would work and they ought to be careful.

    Actually, the theory behind the potions did not matter to others at all. What was important was that the potions had already been put up for auction in the Time Consignment Store by William. The Time Consignment Store and William were both very reputable, and William obviously wouldn¡¯t put at risk the reputation that he had painstakingly built. The thought of the effects that the auctioneer had mentioned made them break their silence.

    ¡°1,000,000 gold coins!¡± Tedya eximed, cing a bid which made everyone fall silent again.

    Learning andprehending the five magical powers at an advanced pace was undoubtedly a tempting and irresistible offer to mages. Magic and spiritual power were the foundational elements of a mage, but the strength of a mage was not all determined by the foundation. Only by mastering more advanced magic spells could they better use their magic and spiritual power to increase their strength and abilities.

    If the only effects of the Origin potion were to help the mages master the five magical powers, it would not really be worth its price. Although magic spells were important, there were still plenty of other things to learn. The keyy in advancement, and advancing to greater levels in magic was not as simple as just reading some books about magical spells.

    In reality, it was possible to learn magic at an advanced pace, but there would be huge risks involved. By biting more than they could chew, the mages would risk falling into an abyss. A limited understanding of the Rule Power would make it impossible for one to amodate the requirements of being at a higher level. It would then inevitably result in dire consequences.

 Chapter 542 - Starting Bid Of 1,000,000 Gold Coins

    <h4>Chapter 542: Starting Bid Of 1,000,000 Gold Coins</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, everything would take ce in a mystical and bizarre dream through the use of the Origin Potion. Everything would remain a hallucination, though it could happen in real life too. It aligned with the Rule Power.

    ¡°1,200,000!¡±

    The person who vied with Tedya was once again Hry, the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, who was out to provoke Tedya.

    However, another guest from one of the VIP rooms immediately ced a bid of 1,500,000 gold coins before Tedya could even ce a new bid.

    The guests below the stage were all dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, the current bid had surged from the minimum of 500,000 to 1,500,000 gold coins. Even though they came from formidable forces in the Breezy ins, 1,500,000 gold coins was still not a small sum. Besides, 1,500,000 gold coins was not the final price. There was still a higher bid that was offered.

    ¡°2,000,000!¡±

    To everyone¡¯s surprise, the person who had ced the bid was not one of the VIP guests. Everyone turned to see that thest two rows of seats were empty, and the bidder was the only one who was seated alone in the middle of thest row. He was wearing a hood which hid all of his features.

    William was seated in the VIP room together with Lin Li, which was right above thest row. Hence, he, too, had no idea who the bidder was.

    The bidding price of 2,000,000 gold coins was unlikely to shock everyone. What was surprising and peculiar was where the bidder was seated. The seating arrangements were made ording to the strength and status of each of the guests. Those who were allowed to sit in the VIP rooms were all extraordinary representatives of the various forces. For example, the Dark de was known to be the top bandit organization of the Breezy ins which had three Legendary figures and the support of the Darkness Shrine. Another was the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, Hry, followed by the representative of the Glittergold Trade Union and the casten of Rnd City, Arathor.

    Due to the fact that it was an auction, those like Sienna who enjoyed high status in Rnd City and the Wolf Brothers who were influential in the Breezy ins sat in the front rows, and were rtively higher in power and statuspared to the rest. The further behind they were seated, the weaker they were. Hence, the bearded leader of An Mercenary Regiment was worlds apart from the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association, whom he could not vie with.

    In that case, how could the person seated in thest row be powerful or formidable?

    ¡°2,100,000!¡± Tedya hollered while gritting his teeth angrily and staring at the man below.

    Tedya was a necromancer who had a stronger thirst for advancing in magicpared to the average mage. Although the Dark de had the support of the Darkness Shrine, which provided a ce for him to learn necromagic, it was 10 to 100 times more dangerous to advance in necromagicpared to other magic. Undead spells were damaging to the soul, which was much more agonizing than the side effects of normal magic.

    ¡°2,400,000!¡± the mysterious man yelled again calmly without emotion.

    Thud.

    Tedya mmed his hand against the barrier and stood up in exasperation. ¡°Mr. William, you¡¯re the host of the auction. Shouldn¡¯t you be verifying if this bidder has the means to purchase the item?¡±

    Tedya¡¯s request was not overboard. If any random person was allowed to ce their bids nonsensically, the auction wouldn¡¯t be fair at all. It wasmon for a penniless person to raise the bids to a ridiculously high price and make thest bidder pay an absurd price for no reason.

    William chuckled wryly and stood up in resignation, after which he apologized to Lin Li. ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, but I have to excuse myself.¡± Not everyone had the ability to pay millions for an item to be auctioned. Hence, he felt the need to personally verify if the bidder could afford it.

    William did not cause any dy. Not long after he left, he proceeded to make his way onto the stage before announcing to everyone that the auction would proceed because he had already verified the purchasing power of the mysterious bidder.

    Tedya had a sullen expression on his face. Since William said that the bidder definitely had the ability to purchase the item, it had to be the truth. Although Tedya was the most likely to be the new sessor of the Dark de, he was well aware of his own financial abilities. 2,000,000 gold coins was actually already beyond his limits. Not to mention, he had already spent 850,000 gold coins on the Sparks Blue Stone ring earlier on.

    The auctioneer had already called twice, and was about to knock the gravel anytime soon.

    ¡°2,600,000!¡± Tedya yelled in exasperation while being filled with a mix ofplicated emotions. He could not bring himself to be happy at all, regardless of whether the bid was sessful or not. If the bid was sessful, he would have to pay an exorbitant amount of 2,600,000 gold coins. However, if it wasn¡¯t, he would lose the opportunity to advance rapidly.

    ¡°3,000,000!¡± the mysterious bidder eximed once again.

    Everyone fell silent, while Tedya moved back to his seat. 3,000,000 was far beyond what he could afford.

    The auctioneer mmed the gravel down heavily, and Wilkinson¡¯s Origin Potion was finally sold at a sky-high price of 3,000,000 gold coins. The absurd reality shocked everyone. To their knowledge, there had never been such an expensive potion before. The price was truly record-breaking.

    Wilkinson¡¯s name was all that was on their mind, and from now on, it would definitely spread around the entire Breezy ins too. 3,000,000 gold coins for a single bottle of potion was an unprecedented price in the Breezy ins.

    After a long silence, everyone seemed to have burst into boisterous chatter again. They pped and gave a standing ovation to William, the Time Consignment Store¡¯s owner, and to the senior pharmacist, Wilkinson, after witnessing such a noble record-breaking transaction.

    However, William remained extremely calm on the stage, for he didn¡¯t seem too happy about breaking the record. After a long round of apuse from the audience, William extended his hands and pressed them down to gesture for them to quiet down. ¡°Thank you for your support, thank you! But the auction is still going on, and the item that we will be showcasing next is definitely going to be more exciting.¡±

    After hearing this, everyone had no choice but to stop and return to their seats, after which they casually nced at William who was on the stage. They tried to guess what he was referring to, and what the next item that was up for auction would be. What would be more exciting than the 3,000,000-gold-coin Origin Potion? Everyone knew that there would be a mysterious auction item from the Elven Kingdom. However, they doubted that the item would break the record price of 3,000,000 gold coins even if it were the crown of the Elven Queen.

    William raised his head and nced at the VIP room on the second floor. Before his subordinate even made his way onto the stage with the item, William whipped out a blue-colored potion and carefully ced it on the disy.

    Upon catching sight of William¡¯s actions, all of the guests, including the VIPs on the second floor, began to get confused. It seemed to be another bottle of potion, but what potion could be so formidable that it would garner William¡¯s attention like that? Everyone¡¯s curiosity was piqued, and they waited quietly for William to introduce the item.

    ¡°This potion was concocted by President Felic. Bidding starts at a minimum of 1,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    They were all surprised that William did not make any further introduction of the name and effects of the potion apart from mentioning that it was made by Mage Felic of the Tower of Dusk.

    All the guests below the stage looked at each other in shock and dismay. They could not believe it at all. Could it be that William had forgotten how to be an auctioneer after not being one for a long time!?

    ¡°Well... is Mr. William cracking a joke with us?¡± someone asked impatiently.

    As everyone began gossiping amongst themselves, the sounds of chattering filled the entire hall.

    ¡°Hey, did you hear that? Mr. William said that it¡¯s a potion that was concocted by a mage, yet the potion doesn¡¯t have a name at all. What a joke.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this Mage Felic? I¡¯ve never heard of him before!¡±

    There were plenty of pharmacists who were also mages because the preparation of potions itself required the acquirement of the magic elements in the herbs. Sensitivity to magical elements would aid one in preparing potions. The social status of a pharmacist was higher than that of a mage, a fact that was recognized by almost everyone. Hence, when a mage was good at preparing potions, they would definitely be more willing to be known as a pharmacist. All humans were vain creatures who liked showing their most glorious side.

    However, William had made it very clear during his introduction that the potion had been made by Mage Felic. Putting the source of the potion aside, everyone was shocked to hear that it was made by a mage, and not a pharmacist! Mages were not all pharmacists. Hence, it was very likely that this Mage Felic person had nothing to do with pharmaceutics.

 Chapter 543 - Origin Potion

    <h4>Chapter 543: Origin Potion</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Of course, there was another possibility, and that was that Mage Felic had already attained an impable achievement in magic. Perhaps he was a Legendary-mage? Legendary-mages were often known as Masters. Although it was not wrong to call him a mage, it was not as respectful.

    ¡°The problem is, whether or not he¡¯s Legendary-mage has nothing to do with the auction of the potion. A Legendary-mage is not a Master of pharmacy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, why does his nameless potion have a higher minimum bid than Master Wilkinson¡¯s Origin Potion? That potion concocted by Master Wilkinson will enable mages to master five magical powers!¡±

    The simple difference in the way William addressed him was enough to make them all confused. The minimum bid of 1,000,000 gold coins made them feel like they were being fooled.

    Damn it. Everyone¡¯s money was hard-earned, and they all had to pay a huge price to earn a whole 1,000,000 gold coins. They thought, How dare you ce a random potion on the disy and put it up for auction at a minimum bid of 1,000,000? William doesn¡¯t seem to be poor and out of his mind, does he? Everyone stared at William like he was a lunatic. No one except a lunatic would be able to do something like that.

    The potion which would allow one to learn the five magical powers and advance during a trance was sold at 3,000,000 gold coins, an absolute sky-high price. After calming down, the people began topare the effects of that potion with those of the ones that they knew about.

    Those who understood pharmaceutics hade to a shocking conclusion¡ªthe senior pharmacist Wilkinson was probably already a Master, or about to be a Master. However, the minimum bid for the Origin Potion was only 500,000 gold coins.

    Yet, the minimum bid for the nameless potion was twice the price of Origin Potion. The effects of Origin Potion were already unbelievably magical. Could the effects of this nameless potion rival those of Origin Potion!?

    ¡°Hey, do you really think the effects of this potion are better than Origin Potion¡¯s?¡±

    Some of the guests could not figure it out at all. The Time Consignment Store had been around for hundreds of years, and a smart person like William wouldn¡¯t have made such a stupid mistake that would inevitably ruin the business that he had painstakingly built.

    However, those words made everyone else feel rather amused as they mocked him, ¡°Are you silly? Could it possibly let someone learn 10 magical powers? Even if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s probably a potion concocted by a Master. But even then, why would a Master-level potion be put up for auction?¡±

    It was no longer considered a doubt. Although no one knew the reason and answer, or what had gotten into William, they were certain that William was definitely going crazy.

    ¡°Damn it, I wouldn¡¯t dare to drink it even if it was given to me for free. The potion was concocted by a mage. Maybe he doesn¡¯t even know what he had put into the potion,¡± said one of the Warriors.

    They were disgusted with the 1,000,000-gold-coin potion because their money was hard-earned, unlike that of businessmen. Every gold coin they had was earned through blood, sweat, and tears.

    ¡°Mr. William doesn¡¯t seem like a silly person, either. Maybe he just did this for the sake of giving someone a favor. Maybe the starting bid is so high because he¡¯s afraid that someone might die after drinking the potion. That¡¯s why he¡¯s making it unlikely for anyone to purchase it. At most, the item will just not be auctioned off, and he¡¯ll be able to answer to that person.¡± There were also those who had made some rational analysis.

    When Wilkinson¡¯s Origin Potion was put up for auction just now, Sienna was the first to ce his bid and had disrupted the peace of the auction. Although he was well aware that Mage Felic, whom William mentioned, was the terrifyingly daunting young mage, he did not have the courage to disrupt the peace again.

    Upon hearing the discussions around him, Sienna was certain that everyone would treat him like a fool if he were to stand up and ce his bid now. However, that was not the most important factor. Actually, there was nothing wrong with being a fool for once if it meant that he would be able to get into the good books of Mage Felic. The problem was, what would happen after he called his bid?

    1,000,000 gold coins was not a small sum. Sienna knew that he would definitely be in hot soup if he were to intervene now. When he was auctioning for the Origin Potion, everyone else around him was in doubt, and the bnce would be disrupted as long as someone spoke up.

    However, he realized that no one would vie with him for the item after hearing all of their controversialments and their disbelief in the reputable William. Sienna dared not take the risk at all. Even though they had been developing well in the past year, it was still 1,000,000 gold coins, after all.

    The guests in the hall could no longer keep their cool in the face of such an absurd auction. They talked, mocked, and prepared to see how William was going to clean up the mess. Although they dared not offend William, they were aware that there were still distinguished VIPs upstairs who were the actual big shots. How would they react after knowing that they were being tricked? Even William probably wouldn¡¯t be able to keep their anger down.

    Reality was just that cruel. Those who were respectful on the surface might just be cussing at you beneath their courteous facade. While they were congratting you on your achievements, deep down, they might just be looking forward to seeing you face defeat.

    ¡°Damn it, what nonsense is William up to? Is he too old and all muddled?¡± Tedya jeered, feeling exasperated because he did not manage to buy anything substantial during the auction today. Although he had managed to purchase the Sparks Blue Stone, he had bought it at a sky-high price because of Hry, who had deliberately raised the price beyond the actual value of Sparks Blue Stone. Next was the bidding for the Origin Potion. To his anger, some scoundrel who sat in a corner downstairs actually ced a bid of 3,000,000 gold coins.

    Just as Tedya was throwing a tantrum about the auction, his follower leaned closer towards him and whispered into his ear.

    Tedya¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and he turned his head towards the side. ¡°Really? You should know the consequences of lying to me.¡±

    His follower shivered, and nodded firmly before saying, ¡°Absolutely. Ever since Master Sendros returned to the shrine, he told lots of people about this Mage Felic whose pharmaceutical skills Master Sendros really admires.¡±

    Tedya was well aware of what kind of person Master Sendros was. He was the high priest of the Darkness Shrine, the necromancer who had entered the Legendary-realm many years ago. His aplishments in pharmacy were said to be no worse than those of professional pharmacists. Since an esteemed and reputable person like Master Sendros regards Mage Felic so highly, thetter¡¯s pharmaceutical skills are definitely trustworthy, he thought.

    Although Tedya could choose not to trust William¡¯s reputation, he definitely wouldn¡¯t doubt Sendros¡¯ judgment. Hence, he was certain that the nameless potion was definitely worth 1,000,000 gold coins. However, he was still contemting if he should bid for it; he still didn¡¯t know what benefits the potion offered. William did not mention a word about the medical properties of the potion, and no one knew if the potion was meant to be used by Mages or Warriors. Even if no one ced a higher bid, he would seem like a fool for purchasing a potion that he could not use for 1,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sure Master Sendros would be pleased to receive it as a gift since he¡¯s so passionate about pharmaceutics,¡± the follower said softly and courteously.

    Tedya raised his brows, and smilingly eximed, ¡°1,100,000!¡±

    ¡°1,200,000!¡±

    Those who were gossiping incessantly fell bizarrely silent after hearing the bids all of a sudden.

    Tedya, who had just ced a bid of 1,100,000, pulled a long and sullen face. He thought that he would be able to gain the upper hand and beat everyone else to the potion for once during this auction, yet someone went against him!

    Unlike Tedya, Hry from the Ledin Kingdom was smiling delightfully while being seated in the VIP room opposite him. He had heard about Mage Felic from his close friend, Englos. He found out that Mage Felic was an impressive pharmacist, and he reckoned that the rascal from the Dark de had to have heard about Mage Felic from Sendros.

    As the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, Hry believed in the doctrine of light since a young age, and had even practiced in the Brilliance Shrine for a period of time. It was at that time that he became close friends with the bizarre and entric follower of Light, Englos, who was also the head of necromancers1.

    Ever since Englos had visited the Pharmacist Guild of nna to attend a pharmaceutical exchange, he often talked about an extraordinary young chap who had an insane ir for pharmaceutics and had made various extraordinary achievements. Hry had gotten so sick of hearing about him. This time, he attended the auction with another intention: to visit Dnd and find out what the young chap Englos sang praises about was like.

    However, Hry didn¡¯t expect to encounter a potion made by Mage Felic during the auction. If he didn¡¯t purchase it, Englos would definitely me him if he were to find out.

    1,200,000 gold coins was nothing to the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, and it would be a surprising gain if he were to be able to teach Tedya a lesson this time. Prince Hry was in a good mood. He casually sipped on some wine while waiting for someone else to make another bid.

 Chapter 544 - Surge

    <h4>Chapter 544: Surge</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Tedya¡¯s face grew sullen as he knew thatpetition was going to be inevitable. He initially thought that he had gained an advantage, and was getting ready to reap the benefits.

    ¡°One million three¡ª ¡±

    ¡°1,400,000!¡±

    As soon as Tedya ced his bid, he was interrupted by another voice, and thus fell silent immediately. He almost got wounded from holding his words back.

    <i>Damn it! Damn it! What was I spacing out for!? This is a potion concocted by Mage Felic! </i>Robbio cussed in his head after he frantically ced his bid.

    As the person in charge of the Glittergold Trade Union in the Breezy ins, Robbio clearly remembered his boss Hoffman reminding him solemnly to win the biddingpetition for the potion concocted personally by Mage Felic regardless of the price and effects.

    Robbio obviously knew that apart from being the owner of the Glittergold Trade Union, his boss Hoffman was also an actual pharmacist. In that case, Master Felic¡¯s magical and pharmaceutical standards were definitely not to be doubted.

    ¡°One million five¡ª¡±

    ¡°1,600,000!¡±

    Tedya was about to vomit blood as he thought to himself, <i>What a damn bully. Can¡¯t you wait till I¡¯m done cing my bid!?</i>

    He then decided to mimic the two other bidders and raise his bid by 200,000 gold coins. He eximed, ¡°One million eight¡ª¡±

    ¡°2,000,000!¡±

    The Glittergold Trade Union had never failed in bidding for anything they wanted. Although Hoffman was not paying with his own money, he spent it without hesitation because he had already gotten permission from his boss, Hoffman.

    After hearing the bid of 2,000,000, Tedya took a deep breath, and turned around to ask his follower, ¡°Do you think leaders will agree with what I did after finding out about the situation?¡±

    He could no longer afford topete with the other two bidders, because he had already hit his limit. Hence, he would have to rely on the support of the Dark de in order to purchase the potion.

    ¡°Well... if we can use this potion to earn the approval of Master Sendros, the three leaders will definitely approve,¡± the follower answered after a moment of hesitation.

    Although there were three Legendary powerhouses in the Dark de, they all behaved like children who had low status whenever they were in front of Sendros. The Dark de had been going against the Malfa Family for countless years, and the three Legendary figures had to work together in order to have enough power to battle the Legendary-mage of the Malfa Family, Cheyenne. Clearly, the two Legendary-level factions were worlds apart.

    Hence, the three Legendary figures definitely wouldn¡¯t let go of a chance to suck up to Sendros, just like Tedya. Tedya spun the ring around his finger, gritted his teeth angrily, and eximed, ¡°2,400,000!¡±

    ¡°2,800,000!¡±

    ¡°3,000,000!¡±

    Tedya involuntarily swayed unsteadily, feeling extremely indignant and exasperated. He had been devising his n for a long time, and finally decided to continue bidding. Yet, the other two bidders refused to give in at all.

    Silence filled the air in the theater as no one dared to make a single sound. Although the voices of the VIP bidders upstairs were not loud, they echoed rather clearly in the hall.

    <i>What a joke. Are these big shots out of their minds too? Do they even know what the potion is? How could they spend money so maniacally!?</i> Everyone was bewildered by the bids. It was truly an unprecedented urrence.

    3,000,000 gold coins! The transaction price of the Origin Potion which was concocted by Master Wilkinson and sold at 3,000,000 gold coins had already broken the previous sales record set by the Time Consignment Store. However, the current situation was absolutely absurd. In the blink of an eye, the price of the potion was actually raised to 3,000,000 gold coins.

    <i>Damn it, who is this guy named Felic? He¡¯s just a mage, yet his potion is worth 3,000,000 gold coins? Could it be that they¡¯re in cahoots with each other and are raising the prices deliberately to make a joke out of us paupers? </i>

    Sienna began to regret his decision not to show his intention to bid just now. Unfortunately, his hesitation caused him to miss the chance to curry favor with Mage Felic. <i>As expected of Mage Felic. Look how much these potions are worth now. Both the Origin Potion and the nameless one are worth a total of 6,000,000 gold coins!</i>

    However, the few big figures upstairs clearly did not want to let the others off.

    ¡°3,500,000!¡±

    The price was increased by 500,000 immediately. However, the bidder was not one of those three.

    Arathor, the casten of Rnd City, had also begun to find Mage Felic¡¯s name familiar. He could not remember where he had heard that name before, and then suddenly realized that Mage Felic was the one who taught his children magic! He actually had no idea that Mage Felic had the ability to concoct potions. However, the three bidders were obviously not in cahoots with each other. Hence, he decided to join in the bidding.

    Rnd City was known as the granary of the Breezy ins, and as the casten, Arathor was just as wealthy as the three other bidders. If the four of them were to bepared to each other, Tedya would be the weakest. The Dark de might be wealthy, but he was not even the rightful sessor.

    ¡°3,800,000!¡± Tedya gritted his teeth angrily and ced his bid again, though he was sighing to himself and wondering if this was the highs and lows of life.

    Tedya had initially thought that he was the only person who realized the mystique of Mage Felic¡¯s potions. He¡¯d thought that he could use the potion to get into Sendros¡¯ good books in hopes of bing his student. Even if Sendros didn¡¯t want to take him in as his student, he would at least obtain some knowledge and tips about magic, which was far more beneficial than taking the potion. Well, Sendros was a Legendary necromancer.

    However, Tedya could tell from the progress of events that his wonderful dreams were about to be shattered. Staring at hispetitors¡ªthe prince of the Ledin Kingdom, the person in charge of the Glittergold Trade Union, and the richest casten in the Breezy ins¡ªhe realized that they were all not to be trifled with.

    As expected, someone else ced a higher bid after Tedya ced his.

    ¡°4,000,000!¡± another new bidder yelled.

    <i>Damn it! What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you think you can intervene with everything just because you¡¯re rich!?</i> Tedya¡¯s teeth were almost broken because of how hard he was gritting them. He refused to believe that the potion concocted by Mage Felic would be incredible enough to be worth the price.

    ¡°4,500,000!¡±

    The wealthy Robbio increased the bid by 500,000 gold coins in a bid to scare off the otherpetitors. Although his boss Hoffman had given him instructions before, 4,000,000 gold coins was not a small sum. If there were to be any issues, he might not be able to take on such a huge financial responsibility.

    After all, he ought to be cautious with spending other people¡¯s money. He did not expect the price of the potion surge so quickly. Hence, he had to n carefully for their future development. In fact, his worry was not uncalled for, because he did not know a thing about pharmaceutics at all, and William did not even mention the name of the potion during the auction, let alone its properties. How could he deduce the value of the potion when he did not know its properties? Surely he couldn¡¯t acquire it blindly regardless of price just because his boss told him to?

    Compared to Robbio and Tedya, Arathor did not have as many concerns. All he cared about was whether or not it was within his financial means. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t ignore the prerequisite of being able to take it<sup>1</sup>.

    ¡°5,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Arathor followed suit and increased the bid by 500,000 gold coins at a time. He thought to himself, <i>If you people still refuse to stop, I¡¯ll have to continue increasing the bids. I hope it will be worth it. </i>

    The hall was so silent that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard. Everyone was already gasping in shock, and they seemed to have been struck by a fossilizing spell. Some thought, <i>Damn it, I thought that William was out of his mind, but it turns out everyone is crazy. This hallucination feels so real. I can¡¯t sober up at all.</i>

    Actually, the other guests downstairs were rather displeased with William¡¯s arrangements. At the end of the day, they were still authoritative figures who had high status in the Breezy ins. They should not be too far off from the big shots of the Breezy ins.

    However, there were only a few forces in the VIP rooms. There were plenty of VIP rooms, but only half of them were upied. Most reckoned that it should be alright for them to upy the VIP room that was of the lowest grade. However, it seemed that no one would have the cheek to sit in one even if William arranged it for them.

    It was a torture to just sit in the main hall and listen to the absurd bids. No one bothered to specte regarding the genuineness of the potion anymore, and they were all hoping that the auction would be over as soon as possible so that they would be able to put an end to the misery.

    Someone had already called a bid of 5,000,000 gold coins. That was not too far off from 6,000,000! The Origin Potion concocted by Wilkinson had already been auctioned for a sky-high price of 3,000,000 gold coins. The nameless potion actually had a starting bid of 1,000,000 gold coins. They reckoned that it would likely reach a price of 6,000,000 gold coins.

 Chapter 545 - 10,000,000

    <h4>Chapter 545: 10,000,000</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    To everyone¡¯s despair, the bidding continued even after the price had exceeded 6,000,000 gold coins. However, the bidders slowed down in cing their bids.

    Tedya from the Dark de was the first to give up, even though it was a good opportunity for him to curry favor with Sendros. However, because of how unpredictable Sendros was, he was not confident that he would receive benefits from Sendros that were equal to the price that he¡¯d have paid.

    When the bidding price reached 7,000,000 gold coins, Arathor, the casten of Rnd City, also decided to back out. Although he wasbeled the youngest and richest casten of the Breezy ins, 7,000,000 gold coins was already his limit. Arathor was not a gambler, and it was impossible for him to spend everything he had on a potion whose effects he was clueless about.

    Although the auction was still going on, Hry, the prince of the Ledin Kingdom and Robbio, the person in charge of the Glittergold Trade Union in the Breezy ins, were the only ones who were still bidding.

    At this point, Hry¡¯s face had begun to grow sullen. Although he was extremely affluent because he was the prince of the Ledin Kingdom, he often splurged on entric items that he would add to his collection.

    Hry rubbed his throbbing forehead with his finger as he continuously calcted the total amount of assets he had. He was not afraid of spending money at all, and even if he were to squander away all of the assets that he currently owned, he would be able to make an enviable amount of money again in a few more days. However, the problem was that an installment payment n was not allowed by the Time Consignment Store, and he would have to pay for the item that he won the bidding for in full.

    William had already announced the bid of 850,000 gold coins twice. Hry took a deep breath, got a grip on his emotions, and nonchntly said, ¡°9,500,000 gold coins!¡±

    Although Hry had put all of his assets on the line, he still sounded nonchnt and rxed as if he still had plenty of money, and would have no problems with paying even if the price doubled. He was hoping that he could give thepetition a great shock with his attitude.

    However, the problem was that Robbio had the Glittergold Trade Union to support him, and in this world, no one was richer than the Glittergold Trade Union. Well, it might be an exaggeration to say that the Glittergold Trade Union was the wealthiest in the world, but the Glittergold Trade Union could do more than just allocating money. Anyway, all he had to do was hand the money to William once the auction was over. No one needed to know whom the money belonged to.

    ¡°10,000,000 gold coins!¡± Robbio eximed, cing a highly anticipated bid.

    Ever since the price passed the benchmark of 6,000,000 gold coins, it continued to surge higher and higher. Ever since then, everyone began to think that it was possible for the price to exceed 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Now, it finally happened! It was unlikely that anyone would be able to break that record again in the future. The potion concocted by an amateur pharmacist who was neither famous nor authoritative actually had got an offer of 10,000,000 gold coins. Was everyone in Anril crazy!?!

    Hry shook his head, and returned to his seat dejectedly. He thought to himself, <i>I must be an idiot. Why did I even botherpeting with the Glittergold Trade Union in wealth!?</i>

    Actually, he had always been feeling lucky and fortunate. If Robbio¡¯s boss, Hoffman, was the one whopeted for the Glittergold Trade Union instead, there would be no need for the auction to continue any longer. Their money was still deposited in the Glittergold Trade Union, and if they were to continue vying with them, God knew if thetter wouldn¡¯t threaten them with their own money.

    William mmed the gravel down while everyone else looked on. The auction could be considered the best one that he had ever had in his life. The 10,000,000-gold-coin transaction could very likely be a record that no one would be able to break in the future.

    Lin Li closed his mouth after opening it for a long time. He turned to look at Wilkinson and the rest whose gazes were full of awe, feeling extremely amused. Actually, he had never expected the potion that he had concocted casually during an experiment would sell for 10,000,000 gold coins.

    However, Lin Li did not feel any guilt at all despite finding it to be rather strange. He was the concocter; hence, he was the only one who knew that the effects of that potion were definitely worth 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Lin Li was definitely not blowing his own trumpet, because the potion was not concocted based on a preconceived form, but rather a form that he suddenly thought of when he was reading the Book of Eternity. He found a link between magic and pharmaceutics, and had also gotten a better understanding of them. After finding a few simrities between the two, he vaguely felt that he had touched the realm of a Divine Smith. In a moment of excitement, he decided to concoct the Myth Potion.

    Although Lin Li had never let anyone take the Myth Potion before, the effects of the potion could be discerned after the concoction wasplete.

    Once a mage drank the Myth Potion, he would experience changes and distortion to his mental strength that would stimte the growth of his mana. The effects wouldst a long, long time, perhaps one or two years. The long duration would cause a rapid growth in mana that would allow a mage to reach the realm of an Archmage.

    It seemed that the effects of the Myth Potion were simr to those of the Rune Potion that Lin Li had concocted before¡ªthetter would help mages who were stuck in a bottleneck to break through and reach the realm of an Archmage.

    However, the Arcane Magic, Arcane, and Rune potions were all used for breaking through to the next realm. The principle behind it was to overdraw the potential of the person to achieve the effect of breaking through. The side effects were clear as well¡ªone¡¯s progress would be halted and remain stagnant forever.

    It was different for the Myth Potion. Just like the Evil Eye¡¯s magical crystal, its effects were to stimte the growth of one¡¯s mental strength to allow the user to break through. It could be said that the purpose of the Myth Potion was to increase the user¡¯s potential greatly.

    The Myth Potion was concocted by Lin Li alone. There had never been such a potion before, not even in the Endless World he¡¯d been in before he came to Anril. Once the rumors spread, it would definitely cause a huge uproar in the pharmaceutical world of Anril.

    Although Lin Li, the master of the Tower of Dusk, had such a powerful potion, he did not allow his mages to use it. It was not because he couldn¡¯t bear to, however. Although the potion was sold for 10,000,000 gold coins, Lin Li could afford the cost of it.

    The main problem was that Lin Li had never concocted this potion before, and hence was not certain about its effects. For now, he did not know how serious the side effects could be.

    However, it did not matter whether or not he knew of the side effects, because someone had already bought the experimental potion for 10,000,000 gold coins and given him the glory. If there were no severe issues or terrible side effects after consumption, Lin Li would consider providing the mages at the Tower of Dusk with a limited supply of the potion.

    However, Lin Li found it a hassle to have to find and mix the ingredients required by the form of the Myth Potion. The most important ones were Heart Of Winter and Sunny Rose, which could not be found in the Breezy ins.

    ...It was not just in the Breezy ins. If Lin Li remembered correctly, those two ingredients could only be found in the Fn Kingdom. Just like ck Lotus, they only thrived in extreme conditions...

    He had no choice but to wait for the business trip to Seven Leaf Grass to end, or find the time to head straight to the Tree of Emerald to take a look.

    Just as Lin Li was pondering the matter, he heard the sounds of someone knocking on the door.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m Robbio from the Glittergold Trade Union. I would like to see you. Are you free now?¡± asked Robbio, who was standing politely by the door. He had spent 10,000,000 gold coins on a potion whose name he did not even know. He only found out that Mage Felic from the Tower of Dusk was present at the auction after speaking to William to ask about the properties of the potion.

    ¡°Oh, Mr. Robbio, pleasee in,¡± said Lin Li, who knew that Robbio was the person in charge of the Glittergold Trade Union in the Breezy ins. The Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union had always been cooperating, but they¡¯d never met each other, because Gavin was the one in charge of managing the business.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, but I only just found out from Master William that you were present at the auction too. I finally got the chance to rush here and visit you,¡± Robbio said courteously.

    Lin Li gestured for Robbio to take a seat before asking about Robbio¡¯s purpose.

    ¡°President Felic, here¡¯s the thing. I have something to consult you about.¡± Robbio decided to get to the main topic after all the polite talk. Although he was just following orders from Hoffman, Robbio was still a businessman at the end of the day. The most prominent characteristic of businessmen was that they would find a reason for every penny spent.

    Besides, it was not just a penny, but 10,000,000 gold coins.

    If they were to be withdrawn from the vault of the Glittergold Trade Union, they would be enough to form a pile.

    Robbio felt the need to understand what he had spent his money on. Otherwise, he would never get to sleep peacefully again.

    ¡°I call this potion Myth Potion. It will greatly increase the mental strength of a mage after he consumes it.¡±

 Chapter 546 - Branch

    <h4>Chapter 546: Branch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Robbio was also a mage, but his limited potential meant that he couldn¡¯t have many aplishments in terms of magic. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s introduction about the benefits of the Myth Potion, Robbio¡¯s eyes widened and lit up. As a mage with limited potential, nobody was clearer about what increasing mental strength meant than him.

    ¡°However, this is my first time making this potion. So, I cannot guarantee anything. If anyone suffered from any repercussions after drinking this potion, you need to find me at the Tower of Dusk immediately. Maybe you can still be rescued,¡± Lin Li reminded kindheartedly.

    ¡°But...¡± Hearing this ¡°however¡±, Robbio was stunned. 10,000,000 gold coins! He didn¡¯t know if Master Hoffman would pay for this potion. However, he had followed Master Hoffman¡¯s order to buy whatever potion Lin Li had made at all costs. Yet, since the potion¡¯s effect wasn¡¯t guaranteed, he couldn¡¯t repay the 10,000,000 gold coins even if he sold himself!

    Robbio didn¡¯t have the mood to sit still anymore. He said goodbye to Lin Li and left the room anxiously.

    William was rather pleased with the new record-breaking auction. As for the effect of the potion, that wasn¡¯t something he needed to worry about. He wondered if the treasure from the Elven Kingdom could break another record. He hadn¡¯t been in such a good mood for a while.

    First, it was an Origin Potion which allowed people to learn five magic powers that broke the record of the Time Consignment Store for many years. A mysterious man had bought it at the whopping 3,000,000 gold coins. Everyone thought that this record wouldn¡¯t be broken for many years.

    However, much to everyone¡¯s surprise, the very next item auctioned was a nameless potion concocted by an unknown mage. This mage didn¡¯t even specify the effect of the potion clearly, yet many rich and powerful factionspeted during the bidding.

    This auction today would be destined to be unforgettable for everyone who attended. The new record of 3,000,000 gold coins was broken after just 15 minutes. Afterwards, every bid surpassed the record a little. Everyone on the first floor turned from surprised to shocked, and finally totally numb. A record of 10,000,000 gold coins was not just a record for the Time Consignment Store or Anril, but rather a first in history.

    However, the theme of this auction wasn¡¯t just selling the Tower of Dusk¡¯s wares. The real thing hadn¡¯t evene out yet. Everyone suspected if William still had the confidence to take out the so-called mysterious treasure after the record-breaking auction of 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Actually, William was rather nervous during the auction just now. If that Myth Potion hadn¡¯t been auctioned off just now, William¡¯s reputation would have certainly been damaged. However, William wasn¡¯t a fool to auction such a strange item without introduction for no reason¡ªhe had his own intentions behind doing so.

    The news of high-level pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk had spread throughout the Breezy ins. Every faction swarmed towards this newly established Guild of Magic like sharks that smelled blood. Everyone had the same intention: to poach those pharmacists for their own faction from a small influence like the Tower of Dusk.

    However, William had noticed something else. The several rich and powerful families didn¡¯t do anything amidst this fiercepetition for pharmacists. This was truly unbelievable, since these rich and powerful families usually couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of pharmacists, much less high-level pharmacists.

    What those rich and powerful families were worried about was the mysterious pharmaceutics organization behind the Tower of Dusk and the young President of the Guild of Magic. William had done detailed research on this President Felic, but he got more confused the more he researched. He seemed to have found out a lot¡ªthat Felic came from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, what he did in nna, how he got the opportunity to establish the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins, etcetera. However, William still couldn¡¯t figure out who he exactly was in the end.

    From the information that he had collected, William could see that this President Felic was somewhat associated with those rich and powerful families. However, he had no chance of asking directly exactly what their rtionship was. If they were close, why didn¡¯t the rich and powerful families speak up for the Tower of Dusk when the other factions attempted to raid the pharmacists? Even the Malfa Family who had participated in the destruction of the Syer Bandits didn¡¯t do anything.

    William actually wanted to use this ridiculous auction as an opportunity to know how important Mage Felic was to those rich and powerful families. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t risk his long umted reputation for something so trivial.

    Though William didn¡¯t know the actual effect of that potion, he could see with his experience as a master appraiser that the potion was extraordinary. Moreover, even if nobody bid for it, he could always say, ¡°Let us wee Mage Felic to introduce the effect of his potion!¡±

    Although he realized the extraordinariness of the potion, William was still very surprised that it could fetch a price of 10,000,000 gold coins. However, unlike the shock from the audience, William had prepared to break the record with that mysterious treasure. Even with the new record of 10,000,000 gold coins, William was still confident that hisst item would fetch an even higher price.

    After everyone had calmed down, William stood emotionless at the center of the stage as if the 10,000,000-gold-coin deal had nothing to do with him. Everyone in the audience admired William greatly for that. No wonder William was the most esteemed master in the Breezy ins. He hadn¡¯t depended on luck to get to where he was today given his way of managing the Time Consignment Store.

    While people admired William, they were more curious about the main course of this auction¡ªthe mysterious treasure from the Elven Kingdom¡ªeven though they didn¡¯t think anything could possibly break the record of 10,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°I am extremely honored that such a record could be achieved during this auction. However, let us not forget the theme of today¡¯s auction. Yes, the mysterious treasure from the Elven Kingdom! I am sure it will end this auction on a perfect note!¡± Unlike during the auction of the potion just now, William finally behaved like an auctioneer now.

    A rather heavy gray metal box was lowered onto the disy stage. Its exterior was adorned with rose-gold mageweath, and light waves traveled through them. Just looking at this box, many people were curious what was inside. Though they didn¡¯t know what the mageweath was for, they knew that the use of mageweath meant that the item inside was definitely impressive.

    Sitting in the guest room, Lin Li¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the so-called mysterious treasure from the Elven Kingdom being loaded onto the stage. While other people didn¡¯t know, how could a Guru of Inscription and cksmith Guru like him not understand what it meant?

    The metal from which the box was made was Frost-gray Thorium that was extremely insting to magical elements. Though Frost-gray Thorium was rare, it didn¡¯t have many uses. Most of the time, it was used to inste magical elements, stop the corrosion of items by magical elements, or prevent the dispersion of certain item¡¯s magical elements. As for the sealing mageweath on the box, it was also used to inste magical elements, and was often used interchangeably with Frost-gray Thorium.

    Clearly, the use of both Frost-gray Thorium and sealing mageweath were for preventing the dispersion of magical elements of something in the box. Yet the problem was that any of these two could serve the purpose of insting magical elements. Now that both were used together, Lin Li could still feel slight waves of magical elements from the box. How powerful did this magical object have to be that even this box couldn¡¯t totally seal off its magical wave?

    ¡°This is the next item we will be auctioning: a treasure that¡¯s been passed down to generations of elves for countless years. As for its origins... Sorry, I can¡¯t reveal the owner¡¯s name due to his requirements. I seek your understanding. Now, let us appreciate this treasure from the Elven Kingdom!¡± William walked towards the box and opened it on all four sides.

    After the box was opened, everyone couldn¡¯t help but gasp. It wasn¡¯t because of some treasure inside the box, but rather the fact that the box was a dozen centimeters thick. Rather than saying that it was a box, it was more urate to say it was a piece of metal with a hole dug inside. No wonder people struggled to carry it up the stage.

    Lin Li secretly shook his head. The density of Frost-gray Thorium was very high, and ordinary thickness was enough to inste magical elements. However, this box was so much thicker. No wonder Warriors carried it up¡ªa normal person wouldn¡¯t even be able to move it an inch.

    Everyone was shocked at this outrageous box. However, they were dumbfounded again upon seeing the so-called treasure in the box. They even thought William was joking with them to put it up for auction.

    When the box was open and the so-called treasure from the Elven Kingdom was revealed, everyone sighed. No doubt it was from the Elven Kingdom! Was it for magic or an ingredient waiting to be processed? Or maybe it was a herb from the Elven Kingdom? Whatid in the box was a branch.

 Chapter 547 - Elven Legend

    <h4>Chapter 547: Elven Legend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although that branch radiated a strong magical wave, it was still just a branch. How could it be considered a treasure?

    ¡°W-what kind of treasure is this? Is it used to make magic staffs? But judging from its length and thickness, it doesn¡¯t seem to be enough for one.¡±

    In people¡¯s impression, a treasure should at least be simr to the Twilight Dragon Armor even if it wasn¡¯tparable to the 3,000,000 gold coins worth of Origin Potion. Looking at the recording-breaking nameless potion that was auctioned off at 10,000,000 gold coins and this branch here, what was William trying to do?

    Though Glittergold Trade Union had bought the nameless potion concocted by some unknown mage at 10,000,000 gold coins, nobody believed that the potion was really worth that much. Whom were they kidding? 10,000,000 gold coins were enough to build a faction with considerable strength. What kind of potion would be worth so much?

    ¡°Indeed! What¡¯s so special about this branch? Even if ites from the Elven Kingdom, it¡¯s too much to say it was passed down across countless generations...¡±

    ¡°There are so many nts in the Emerald Forest that possess mana. Who knows which tree he has gotten the branch from? If it¡¯s a branch, then maybe he wasn¡¯t lying that it¡¯s been through countless years. Who knows if there¡¯s a tree that lived for this long?¡±

    Everyone in the audience started discussing this branch, but all they were expressing was their skepticism. What Elven Kingdom, what countless decades, what treasure? Wasn¡¯t it just a magical-element-containing branch? Any kind of magic staff making material was like that! And this branch wasn¡¯t even enough to make a single magic staff!

    However, some people among the crowd looked contemtive upon seeing that branch, totally unaffected by the noises the people around them were making.

    A person and another on his left mocked William with much enthusiasm, but they saw Sarde, the third brother of the Wolf Brothers¡¯ Association, looking quite uneasy. They curiously asked him, ¡°President Sarde, what do you see in this item? Do you know its origin?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Sarde sneered with contempt. He didn¡¯t even look that the two, and sounded rather pleased with himself as he replied, ¡°Captain Cole, have you not heard about this person called Legs before?¡±

    1¡°This... You must be kidding, President Sarde. How can I not know Legs? He¡¯s the most famous Elven Legendary-realm powerhouse!¡± Cole seemed a little displeased, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face, and stillughed. ¡°Do you mean that branch on stage is associated with Legs?¡±

    In the Breezy ins, Legs was so famous that he even exceeded Duke Hedrick in fame. This wasn¡¯t just because he was an Elf who possessed an appearance that made even women jealous. More importantly, he was a powerful Legendary-mage.

    Though a Legendary-mage and a Legendary Sword Sage were both Legendary powerhouses, a Legendary-mage was stronger, and not just by a bit. To most people, a Legendary Sword Sage was very powerful, but a Legendary-mage could be considered a god. This showed the difference between the two Legendary powerhouses.

    Hedrick¡¯s story was indeed moving, but almost a thousand years had passed since. When people heard about his legends, they no longer felt touched by his stories as before. However, Legs was different. Although people all knew about the Elven Kingdom, fewer and fewer people actually entered it. A mysterious powerhouse of a mysterious Kingdom. Wasn¡¯t that all the more appealing? Moreover, Legs was active in history only about a few hundred years ago, so people had not forgotten about him.

    ¡°Hey, do you need my reminder? This branch is no ordinary branch.¡± Sarde, whose chin hung high, confidently said, ¡°You think that William is an old fool? Maybe for you, the magical energy in this branch isn¡¯t too powerful. But let me tell you, you are dead wrong if you think so, because the magical energy in this branch is the purest form of elemental power. Purest, do you understand?¡±

    Sarde wasn¡¯t a mage, but as an excellent Bandit, he was equipped with detection skills required for dealing with traps and other things. As such, he was even more sensitive to magical energy than many ordinary Mages. Compared to the dabbler-mage beside him, Sarde could more urately sense the magical energy of the branch.

    Low frequency waves and energy too pure could be hardly detected by people. Thus, most people found the branch on the stage very ordinary, while in fact, the purest magical energy was the most powerful. Even the lightest such energy could lead to a mana storm.

    ¡°This... What do you mean?¡± Cole was puzzled. How was this branch rted to Legendary-mage Legs?

    ¡°After the end of the Dark Age, the Elves had been living in the Emerald Forest to recover. From the founding of the Elven Kingdom till now, Elves who truly appeared in the human kingdoms were less than 10. The most powerful of them all was Legendary-mage Legs. I don¡¯t believe that there¡¯s anyone who has the ability to sneak into the Elven Kingdom and smuggle out this treasure. So, the only ones who could¡¯ve brought this treasure out were the Elves themselves.¡±

    Cole listened to Sarde¡¯s speech attentively. People around them also stopped what they were doing and listened to the conversation, nodding their heads in agreement.

    Although the Elven Kingdom was mysterious, people knew very well that it was also powerful. It was rumored that a Legendary powerhouse didn¡¯te back alive after entering the Emerald Forest. It was right to say that every Elf was a warrior. With their longevity and talent derived from their High Elves¡¯ blood, heaven knew how many Legendary-realm, or even Sanctuary-realm, powerhouses they had. Perhaps only Geresco could steal something so important from the Elven Kingdom!

    ¡°So I think that Legs had brought this branch out of the Emerald Forest then, and always carried it with him.¡± No wonder Sarde was an excellent assassin. Before assassins went on any missions, they would always design a well-thought-out n in detail. After thoroughly considering all kinds of scenarios to prevent idents, they would then finally arrive at a conclusion.

    Everyone nodded. With regard to why this treasure wouldnd in this auction, there were just too many possibilities. Maybe it was lost, or maybe Legs had already been killed by somebody.

    ¡°President Sarde, what you¡¯ve said makes sense, but how can you be so sure that this branch came from the Elves?¡± Cole asked all of a sudden. Everyone turned and stared at him like a fool.

    ¡°Whom are you kidding? How can you doubt Master William¡¯s abilities so easily? Look at the appearance, feel that purest magical energy! If you can¡¯t judge by yourself, listen to the master appraiser!¡± someone mocked. After hearing Sarde¡¯s analysis, some people immediately changed their attitude from doubting to firmly supporting William.

    Out of almost 2,000 people in the seats, Sarde wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d thought of Legs. After all, Legs was too well-known as a Legendary-mage; some people even found some so-called evidence from poetry that proved Legs once held on to a treasure in the shape of a branch.

    ¡°What a joke! Those people dare to say anything!¡±

    Upon listening to the report of his subordinates, Tedya sneered at the people downstairs with contempt. He had originally wanted to see if anyone could recognize this branch, yet he couldn¡¯t imagine these people would bring Legs into this.

    Although the Dark de hadn¡¯t been established when Legs had got famous, there was still the Darkness Shrine which had a history as long as the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s.

    In order to learn necromagic spells, Tedya had visited the Darkness Shrine several times, and stayed there for quite a while. This kind of information about hearsay and events was open for everyone to read in the Darkness Shrine. Thus, Tedya was confident that he knew Legs¡¯ life story more urately and with greater detail than anyone else.

    If it had been about anyone else, maybe Tedya would have briefly contemted it. However, it was absolutely impossible that an Elven Legendary-mage named Legs had owned the branch.

    There was indeed some aura of the Elves on this branch, and the magical energy it contained could be considered rare and precious, but this treasure would be useless in the hands of Legs.

    When William opened the box himself, Wilkinson suddenly felt a pure stream of Elemental Power overwhelming the entire theater. He originally was not interested in thisst item, but this branch got all his attention.

    Wilkinson was very familiar with the aura of thisst item. However, he was unsure what this branch really was.

    Just then, the discussion downstairs got louder. Wilkinson could vaguely hear someone mentioning the Elven Legendary-mage Legs. He thought he had heard it wrongly. However, after listening carefully, he could make out what they were talking about from the bits and pieces he could hear.

    Hearing the buzzing sounds of discussion, Wilkinson found it rather funny. It seemed like these locals of the Breezy ins were worse than an outsider like him. Although Wilkinson had always been at the Pharmacist Guild in nna until he had finally seen the outside world after being sent to the Tower of Dusk for training, it was important to note that the kind of people the Pharmacist Guild interacted with were all Legendary powerhouses like Legs whom people looked up to.

 Chapter 548 - Specializing in Fire Magic

    <h4>Chapter 548: Specializing in Fire Magic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Wilkinson had never met Legs. Yet, as the student of the Pharmacist Guild¡¯s President, Balbo, he frequently heard conversations between his mentor and other Legendary powerhouses. Hence, he naturally had knowledge of many random things. One of them was regarding the Legendary elf mage.

    Legs first entered the human world many centuries ago. He was a diplomat for the newly established Elven Kingdom who wanted to negotiate matters regarding an armistice as well as the issue of hostages.

    All the kingdoms suffered significantly in that prolonged war. Hence, when they heard that Legs from the Elven Kingdom was there for negotiation, they wanted to establish their dominance. How could an elf be any threat to them without his forest?

    A bandit organization made up of elites nned to ambush the elven delegation by hiding along the path they would take. The initial n was to take those arrogant elves hostage, and bring them to the king even if they did not manage to eliminate them.

    Although the different kingdoms had suffered great losses in the Emerald Forest, they were not interested in the elves¡¯ ns to discuss foreign affairs. To them, since they could not invade the Emerald Forest, they were going to ensure that the elves did not leave their sanctuary.

    The bandit organization was formed by people from different upations of above level-15. They did not belittle the abilities of the elves. However, when fire that dyed the night sky red erupted in the bandits¡¯ chosen ce of ambush, an elf with a silver-colored ear walked out of the zing mes slowly. There were no shrieks to be heard, only the cracking sound of fire that erased the team of bandits.

    It was then that all the kingdoms realized that the Elven Kingdom had only sent one diplomat on the quest¡ªLegs, an elf mage. When the friendly Legs politely greeted and graciously informed the council that he had helped the humans to get rid of a bandit organization, the king of Fn nearly spat blood.

    The king of Fn arranged for Legs to tour the nna Guild of Magic, the Pharmacist Guild, and other notable ces during his visit. Apart from showcasing the ability of a human kingdom, it was part of a n to gauge Legs¡¯s ability as well as the strength of the Elven Kingdom.

    The couple of catastrophes that brought the species near extinction had caused them to be more vignt and wary. Legs gravitated between exaggerating the ability of the Elven Kingdom and staying silent. That confused everyone. Yet, he did not conceal anything about his powers when he conversed with the Legendary-mages at nna Guild of Magic.

    Only then did the king of Fn understand the intentions of Elven Kingdom in sending Legs for the negotiation. Legs was not only a freak amongst the elves, but also a freak in the magic industry.

    After getting the protection from Monferra, the Goddess of Forest, the love the elf species showed for nature surpassed that of anyone else. However, Legs that came from the Elven Kingdom was not only a powerful Legendary-mage, but also a Legendary-mage that specialized in fire magic. Anyone who had heard of this news would find it hard to gasp. It was a miracle for Legs not to burn the Emerald Forest when he progressed from a mage to a Legendary-mage. It was no wonder that their kingdom would send Legs here to kill time.

    In fact, it was not rare for elves to study fire magic. Elves had natural talent for magic, and mages were naturally knowledge seekers. Regardless of whether one was a human or an elf, he would want to learn everything rted to the seven main elements.

    It was even more so for Legendary-mages. In order to study the origin of thews, they had to thoroughly understand the Combat Energy used by Warriors as well as the spiritual force and force of curse used by the Necromancers. To the Legendary-mages, all the forces in the world could be rted to the seven major elements. The understanding of the source of any of the forces would mean a better understanding of the fundamentalws.

    Hence, any Legendary-mage would definitely have a sea of knowledge. The vastness of their mind was not something anybody could imagine. Legs was the only Legendary-mage who could specialize in a magic attribute 1,300 years after the Dark Age.

    In fact, mages would usually focus on a particr set of magic spells even when they reached the Archmage-realm. However, after they got into the Legendary-realm, they would naturally grasp the magic spells from other attributes. The forces had simr essence. Spells which the Legendary-mage had not handled before would be familiar to them as if they had studied them for a decade.

    The ultimate goal of magic was the essence of the different forces. The deciding factor was whether Legendary-mages could have the ability to understand and use the fundamental Rules of magic without a recitation.

    Normally, Legendary-mages were free to specialize in anything. Instead of specializing in any magical attribute, they might first be enlightened by the elementalws that would then be demonstrated in their magical domain. For example, most Legendary-mages would first use thews of ice to create their magical domain. However, that wouldn¡¯t be their ultimate goal. They would strive toprehend more elemental Rules and push their magical domain to the extreme.

    Yet, Legs was different. Not only could he eliminate the entire team of human elites with just a blow of fire, he was also able to demonstrate hispetence in his interaction with human Legendary-mages. Legs created an illusion that he had already reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, and shocked everyone with an undwindling set of fire element in other type of magic spells.

    No one had seen such use of magic. Legs was able to disy the seven majorws with fire element as the basis. Legs was aspetent as any Legendary-mage in the foundation of elementalws.

    No one knew how and why Legs did it. They only knew that in one of his records, there was a very long prefix in front of his name that read: ¡®Legendary-mage, Specialist of Fire magic¡¯.

    It had been said that there was a Legendary-mage that asked Legs that question during their interaction, and Legs did not give a very clear reply. He gave a totally unrted exnation, saying he¡¯d already lived for more than 470 years. By living for more than 470 years, it meant that Legs had lived through the war at the end of Dark Age and the catastrophe that nearly eliminated all of the elves.

    No matter the reason, it was clear that although Legs was a Legendary-mage, he always used fire element to cast all of his spells¡ªjust like a magical beast with a fire attribute. Hence, if that tree branch on the stage could emit such a strong and pure force of fire element, it was very likely for it to be an important treasure that Legs carried with him.

    In fact, the tree branch with tender leaves had been emitting a refreshing magic aura ever since William opened that exaggerated box. The peaceful atmosphere created made people neglect the presence of the strong and pure force. They thought that the tree branch was too ordinary to be auctioned. If not, there might not even be audience after William opened the box.

    Although it could be certain that the tree branch was not a treasure used by Legs, the refreshing scent emitted by the object really made it seem like a treasure from the age of the High Elves.

    Wilkinson and the other Pharmacists looked at the unsightly tree branch on the stage. Although they weren¡¯t sure of its origin, they knew that the aura it emitted was not least bit artificial. The powerful aura was especially good to people like Wilkinson, who were soon to be Masters in pharmacy.

    Pharmacists had always been working with many types of herbs. While they attempted to formte different types of potions with those herbs, their pursuit was never wealth. To the Masters of pharmacy, as well as a high-ranking pharmacist like Wilkinson, creating potions would not only help them practice their skills and raise their standards, but also enable them to be more knowledgeable in the field of pharmacy. Their end goal was simr to that of Mages and Sword Sages.

    Of course, there were still the other pharmacists who were of a lower level, and had lost all hope of improving. For them, they¡¯d rather invest their time in creating low-grade potions to make their living. They were just like any other less-able people in the other upations. There were Mages who joined adventurer teams, Warriors who became explorers, and the others who chose to work as soldiers or thieves.

    Wilkinson and the others, however, were not pharmacists without ambitions. Their goal ever since they received training from Lin Li at the Tower of Dusk was to be Masters in pharmacy. The Origin Potion Wilkinson put on auction alone was a Master-level potion. Yet, being a Master of pharmacy did not mean that one¡¯s knowledge had reached the maximum.

 Chapter 549 - Debris of Rebirth

    <h4>Chapter 549: Debris of Rebirth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although pharmaceutics Masters stood at the top of the pyramid that was the profession of pharmacist in Anril now, one must not forget the existence of pharmaceutics Guru and even Divine Smiths, who were above the pharmaceutics Masters. Actually, a pharmaceutics Master was just a beginner in pharmaceutics as that was when one had the right to start truly researching. Though there was a big difference in social status from a disciple to a high-level pharmacist, it was still only a stage of foundation building.

    Precisely because of this reason, pharmaceutics Masters usually owned a private farm. They didn¡¯t grow crops or vegetables, but rather all kinds of rare herbs. For example, President Balbo of the Pharmacist Guild, chief pharmaceutics Master Burnside, and some other pharmaceutics Masters all had their personal farms which grew precious herbs for their research.

    Wilkinson could be considered half a pharmaceutics Master now. He absolutely had the right to own his own herb farm like his teacher Balbo. It was also necessary for him to own a personal herb farm as a pharmaceutics Master.

    And this was why Wilkinson and hispanions were so interested in the branch on stage. Although they didn¡¯t know what the branch was, or what it was fundamentally used for, they already had an idea what to do with it.

    Merely judging from the natural fragrance of the branch, Wilkinson could see that this treasure would be hugely beneficial to the growth of his herbs just by putting into his future farm. Especially for those herbs that were hard to grow, such fragrance filled with vitality would certainlyrgely increase the chances of these herbs¡¯ survival, and might even increase the effects of potions made from them. Just this alone was enough to entice a pharmacist, not to mention that if the branch possessed immense vitality, maybe it possessed some powerful effects?

    While the discussion downstairs continued, Wilkinson unwillingly turned his eyes away from the branch, and respectfully asked Lin Li, ¡°Master, what is this branch exactly? I have never heard anything about it before, but just from its fragrance, could it really be an Elven treasure like William said?¡±

    Wilkinson started by asking Lin Li what the branch was, and not if he knew what the branch was, because Lin Li had left an impression of being very knowledgeable in Wilkinson¡¯s mind after this period of interaction. Not just in the field of pharmaceutics, either¡ªWilkinson thought that this young mage about the same age as he knew about everything.

    Master Felic could answer any question that Wilkinson could think of¡ªfrom any domain and any aspect. Sometimes, Wilkinson even wondered if there was anything in this world that Master Felic didn¡¯t know. Perhaps the feeling of childbirth was the only thing Master Felic didn¡¯t know.

    Of course, if Wilkinson had really asked, Lin Li would immediately tell him that the pain of childbirth was about level-12, the threshold of human pain tolerance, etcetera...

    1However, Lin Li didn¡¯t answer Wilkinson immediately this time. He just stared at the branch and its young leaves. Pure and powerful magical elements radiated from the branch, and every young leaf seemed to contain vitality. He could even smell the slight tinge of mud. This smell was so familiar Lin Li felt he had gone back to the Endless World.

    Indeed, this was another piece of debris of the stars¡ªRebirth, which contained the Rules of earth and nature.

    Legends said that when the world was first formed, one of the two saplings which sprouted first was made into the Stars of Fury bolt by the gods, and it contained the purest vitality in the world. The other sapling grew into an enormous tree¡ªthe Tree of Eternity, which the High Elves identified as their parent.

    When talking about magic that applied the seven elemental Rules, people usually thought of heftiness when mentioning Earth magic. They would then think of the attack techniques in the form of boulders. Very few people would think of the earth beneath their feet which bred all lives in the world. In traditional magic ssifications, Earth magic was more often characterized by Earth-moving skill, Wall-building skill, Earth-breaking skill, etcetera. Out of all types of Earth magic, the usage of vitality was known as Nature Magic, and the Elves were the true masters of this type of magic.

    This piece of debris of the stars known as Rebirth contained theplete Rules of earth element and nature which bred all lives. If Lin Li were to choose only one from the seven pieces of debris of the stars, other than Origin which contained the power of chaos, he would definitely choose Rebirth.

    Though every piece of debris of the stars except for Origin was simr in strength, their different properties meant that they would hold different ces in Lin Li¡¯s heart.

    Speaking of healing, most people would think of light and water out of the seven elements. However, the healing abilities of magic from these two elements were actually very limited. Light possessed strong dispelling properties. The so-called healing was actually a dispelling spell which would dispel the effects of harmful magic and some illnesses. Meanwhile, water¡¯s healing ability was more limited than light¡¯s as it could only speed up the healing of wounds, or rather, stop bleeding by freezing the wound.

    Peoplemonly knew about the healing effects of light and water magic because these two kinds of low-level healing magic were well liked by explorers, especially water healing magic. Hence, people from other professions and even some low- or medium-level mages wouldn¡¯t associate healing with the hefty earth magic. Only people who had touched the essence of earth magic would know that the healing ability of earth magic was iparably superior to that of light or water magic.

    Rebirth, which possessed the Rules of earth and nature, represented the purest form of life and vitality. Holding onto Rebirth was equivalent to having an undying body. No matter how serious one¡¯s injury was, he would recover under Rebirth¡¯s light. Even people suffering from incurable diseases could recover after bathing in the light of Rebirth.

    The powerful healing ability didn¡¯t mean that Rebirth didn¡¯t possess any offensive properties. For opponents, the life-control Rebirth was undoubtedly a deadly weapon. A single strike from Rebirth could immediately take vitality away from any ferocious Legendary beast. Even the High Elves known for their longevity would age rapidly under the power of Rebirth.

    Rebirth not only possessed the ability of giving, but also forceful exploitation. How could Lin Li let anyone else get this powerful life-maneuvering ability?

    ¡°The base price of this Elven treasure is 1,000,000 gold coins. The auction begins now!¡±

    William again didn¡¯t give much of an introduction. After all, the more he said, the more mistakes he would make under the circumstances. It was better to let the guests estimate the value of this item themselves.

    Just like the Myth Potion auctioned earlier, William had wanted to set the base price for this branch higher. However, since the Myth Potion had been auctioned at a whopping 10,000,000 gold coins, it was enough to show the rich and powerful families¡¯ interest in President Felic¡¯s potion. William didn¡¯t want to displease this young mage because of such a trivial matter.

    ¡°5,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Immediately after William announced the start of this auction, a loud and clear voice rang in the rather noisy hall. Everyone couldn¡¯t react at the moment, but the hall waspletely silenced after two to three seconds. However, the crowd erupted into chatter just seconds after the silence.

    Everyone had the same thoughts in their mind. This auction was too damn fake! How could the much reputed William do something like that? With William¡¯s reputation and esteem umted from managing the Time Consignment Store for so many years, did he even need to do such lowly things to increase his influence?

    It couldn¡¯t be helped that people thought this way. After all, the things that happened during this auction were too ridiculous to be true. It was still eptable that the Origin Potion had fetched a price of 3,000,000 gold coins, since everyone knew that a potion that could allow a mage to learn five magic powers would be worth this price. However, what about the others? Who could imagine that a potion whose name and effects nobody knew could fetch a sky-high price of 10,000,000 gold coins?

    Now, William had yed the same trick for a branch of unknown origin and properties. Without any introduction, he had set the base price at 1,000,000 gold coins. Even the Twilight Dragon Armor of Duke Hedrick which could increase a person¡¯s power by one level was sold at 500,000 gold coins.

    What about this branch? Even if it contained pure magical energy, even if it¡¯d once belonged to the Elven Legendary-mage Legs, and even if a Legendary-mage was more powerful than a Legendary-realm Sword Sage, it was probably only worth 1,000,000 gold coins. How daring did William have to be to start the auction at 1,000,000 gold coins? How much did William want it to be sold at? Another 10,000,000 gold coins?

    The most fake thing about it was that somebody answered and directly raised the price to 5,000,000 gold coins. Could this capper have some professional integrity? Did he think the audience were all fools? How arrogant to start with 5,000,000 gold coins! <i>Let¡¯s see how William will deal with him if nobody else ces a bid!</i>

 Chapter 550 - Sky-high Price

    <h4>Chapter 550: Sky-high Price</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Unlike the people downstairs, Wilkinson and hispanions had given up upon knowing that Master Felic was determined to get the branch¡ªit was clear as he had bid at such a high price. In fact, if even they could think of putting this branch in their herb farms, how would Master Felic not know given his expertise in pharmaceutics?

    Though Wilkinson didn¡¯t get Master Felic¡¯s reply for the earlier question, this bid of 5,000,000 gold coins had proved the problem sufficiently. Given their understanding of Master Felic¡¯s personality, he wasn¡¯t someone who would waste even a bronze coin on useless things. Now that he had bid, it only meant that this branch was worth more than 5,000,000 gold coins no matter what its origin was. In other words, they perceived Master Felic as someone who wouldn¡¯t do a losing business.

    However, Wilkinson and hispanions wouldn¡¯t be sad if this branchnded in Master Felic¡¯s hands. After all, they could be considered students of Master Felic, although Master Felic wasn¡¯t their real teacher. This rtionship was much closer to friends orpanions, so they could certainly get some benefits from this.

    Meanwhile, in the other guest room, Tedya of the Dark de shut his mouth with resentment. His bid was stopped by the sky-high 5,000,000 gold coins just as he had wanted to respond.

    As a Necromancer, Tedya resented the vitality from this branch. The so-called natural fragrance made him feel like vomiting. However, the branch was still very useful for him.

    Necromancers faced dead creatures on a daily basis, so it was inevitable that death aura would intrude their bodies. Thus, most necromancers looked very peculiar. To say it nicely, they looked extremely thin. To say it not so nicely, they looked like a skeleton wrapped in ayer of skin, and definitely scarier than real skeletons.

    Image was only secondary since this world admired the strong and powerful, and didn¡¯t care about appearance much. After all, who dared to say that Sendros looked ugly? The real problem was, the umted corrosion by death aura day and night was detrimental to health. This wouldn¡¯t be a problem if one reached Legendary-realm. However, if one wasn¡¯t able to be a Legendary necromancer like Sendros, then he¡¯d have to make a choice.

    One of the choices was to wait for death, which nobody would choose. The other was to turn himself into an Undead creature such as a Lich like Ujfalusi. This transformation, however, had a very low sess rate. If Tedya possessed this treasure filled with vitality, he could use it to dispel the death aura in his body frequently. This wouldrgely increase his lifespan.

    Moreover, such a powerful treasure rich in vitality wasn¡¯t only useful for extending lifespan of a necromancer. Although life and death were conflicting kinds of energy, the understanding of such vitality would help with the understanding of necromagic.

    However well Tedya thought it through, the reality gave him a p in the face again. His hopes were killed offpletely when Lin Li raised the bid directly to 5,000,000 gold coins. The Dark de had the ability to take out 5,000,000 gold coins. However, he didn¡¯t have so much money to bid for it himself. After all, he couldn¡¯t make decisions for the Dark de now.

    The one who had given up on the bid because of Lin Li wasn¡¯t just Tedya. Prince Hry of the Ledin Kingdom had originally been interested in this branch. Despite not knowing its use, 1,000,000 gold coins were nothing to him. However, just as he wanted to bid, he was stunned by Lin Li¡¯s bid of 5,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°He¡¯s still too young!¡± Hry sighed and shook his head. His good friend Englos admired this Mage Felic very much. However, that was just for his talent in pharmaceutics. In Hry¡¯s eyes, this young mage was still too young and impulsive.

    To raise the bidding price from 1,000,000 gold coins to 5,000,000 was an extremely unwise move. Even if Lin Li had wanted the branch urgently, he shouldn¡¯t have been so quick to raise the price by so much. This was a taboo during auctions. Not only did it tell others about your strong desire to possess this object, it might also spark thepetitiveness in some people and push the final transaction price to an uncontroble high.

    This young mage, pharmacist, and President of the Guild of Magic might have spent all his efforts on learning magic and pharmaceutics such that he wasn¡¯t equipped with basicmon knowledge. A young genius couldn¡¯t be a genius in everything. Some things still needed umtion of time, and not just knowledge from books.

    This was not only Hry¡¯s opinion. Others who knew Lin Li, including Robbio who had bought the Myth Potion just now, and even William who was hosting the auction,ughed bitterly at Lin Li¡¯s bid. It wasn¡¯t because they had anything against Lin Li, but rather that they felt that it was a wrong move to bid 5,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°What? He¡¯s the one who made that potion?¡±

    ¡°Did they gang up to deceive us? I don¡¯t believe that potion was worth 10,000,000 gold coins. Now, there¡¯s even this 5,000,000-gold-coins branch!¡±

    After a potion had been sold at a sky-high price, the people downstairs were curious what its effect was. They couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of potion would be worth 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Although these people were sitting downstairs, all of them were influential in their own fields and knew one another. Hence, it wasn¡¯t difficult for them to find out about this.

    The Glittergold Trade Union had won the bidding for the potion, so some people immediately approached Robbio to see what exactly he had spent 10,000,000 gold coins on.

    How could Robbio tell the truth? How could he say that he had spent 10,000,000 gold coins on a potion that hadn¡¯t even been tried and tested? He could say this to his boss Hoffman, as Hoffman was a pharmaceutics Master himself and respected President Felic¡¯s pharmaceutics abilities very much. However, he would be viewed as a fool if he had told the truth to other people. Therefore, he had told everyone who came to ask the effect of the potion with much certainty, not mentioning a word about the fact that it was still in an experimental stage.

    After the people returned from Robbio, everyone gasped. A potion that allowed a mage to reach the realm of an Archmage without suffering from the side effect of depletion of potential meant that the possibility of reaching the Legendary-realm wasn¡¯t cut off. In other words, 10,000,000 gold coins were extremely worth it. Of course, the precondition was that only a wealthy organization like the Glittergold Trade Union could afford to fork out 10,000,000 gold coins. Others wouldn¡¯t make up their minds to pay so much.

    What was more surprising was that Mage Felic, the one who had concocted the Myth Potion and who was currently sitting in the VIP guest room, had just bid for the branch at 5,000,000 gold coins.

    Just then, some people recalled that William had led the way for a group of people back at the front hall before the start of the auction. They had never seen William so respectful to anyone before.

    ¡°Wait, the Tower of Dusk? Isn¡¯t that the Guild of Magic we were trying to poach the pharmacists from?¡± The fact that they only thought of this now showed their attitude towards the Tower of Dusk. Much as they valued its pharmacists, they couldn¡¯t have cared less about the Tower of Dusk itself.

    ¡°That little brat is the President? No wonder he bid for that branch at 5,000,000 like a nouveau riche just after he earned 10,000,000 gold coins,¡± someonemented sourly.

    Although these people were green with envy towards the Tower of Dusk, they couldn¡¯t help but reevaluate the value of this seemingly typical branch on stage. Nobody doubted William upon knowing the real identities of the bidders anymore. Mage Felic aside, at least Master Wilkinson wouldn¡¯t do something that would damage his own reputation.

    Even though these people didn¡¯t trust that this young President of the Tower of Dusk would be an esteemed pharmaceutics Master deep in their hearts, at least Wilkinson was in that guest room too. Maybe Wilkinson had recognized the identity of that branch? Unfortunately, most of them were blocked by the barrier of 5,000,000 gold coins even though they had realized the extraordinariness of that branch by now.

    The price of 5,000,000 gold coins was beyond the imagination of everyone. After all, this branch wasn¡¯t an astonishing potion, precious material, or even magical equipment. Though everyone knew how valuable the natural magical energy it radiated was, wasn¡¯t 5,000,000 gold coins still too much?

    Theoretically, every faction would be quite anxious about the things they did to the Tower of Dusk after knowing more about it and its young President. After all, even someone as reputable as William could lower his attitude while hosting President Felic and lead the way for him personally. Moreover, the Glittergold Trade Union, the Dark de, Casten Arathor of Rnd City, and even Prince Hry of the Ledin Kingdom had shown much interest in the Myth Potion during the previous auction.

    However, thinking of the nouveau-riche-like bid just now, people immediately rxed, and eximed that Lin Li was still just a kid. In the eyes of many, Lin Li was just an immature child too young to intimidate them. The reason why he would be treated with so much respect by Master William was probably because of the apanying Master Wilkinson and the other high-level pharmacists.

 Chapter 551 - Castellan of Roland City

    <h4>Chapter 551: Casten of Rnd City</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    By immediately calling out such an unreasonable and astonishing price, he thought that it would make him look more powerful. However, he didn¡¯t know that he had alreadymitted the big taboo of auction. All of these people were people of status in the Breezy ins. Which one was easily frightened? To show such urgency over this item only told other people how badly he wanted it. At the very most, it could make some bidders who had close rtionship with him give up bidding.

    However, he didn¡¯t have to raise the price so high if he had wanted to dissuade close friends from bidding; just adding to the base price by a little would achieve the same effect. If it was something not so important, close friends would certainly give him some face by not bidding for it. If it was something very necessary, then 5,000,000 wouldn¡¯t be able to scare those rich families off.

    As the people downstairs kept looking in his direction, how could they hide their expressions from Lin Li? However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about others¡¯ opinions, and wouldn¡¯t tell them his true thoughts. After all, how could he tell them that he didn¡¯t want to waste time? That would be too hurtful...

    Of course, Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t tell them that this seemingly ordinary branch was actually a piece of debris of the stars which possessed the power to manipte life. Getting hold of it was equivalent to having an undying body, so nobody would be able to resist this temptation. If anyone else knew about this, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the confidence to win the bid over Glittergold Trade Union. Any kind of rtionship was nothingpared to this. Those unscrupulous merchants didn¡¯t care about rtionships. To them, money was their closest friend.

    ¡°Mage Felic from the Tower of Dusk bid 5,000,000 gold coins...¡±

    William was rather disappointed. He had high hopes for the branch, but it didn¡¯t induce any waves in the audience. If Mage Felic hadn¡¯t raised the bid to 5,000,000 directly, the oue would¡¯ve been even worse.

    ¡°Going once, going twice...¡± William raised his gravel, ready to seal the deal after asking for the third time. However, just then, another bid came from upstairs and made him withdraw his gravel.

    ¡°6,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    This voice caused an uproar in the auction hall. Nobody could imagine who would be interested in this ordinary branch other than the nouveau riche who had just earned 10,000,000 gold coins.

    However, Lin Li could clearly hear that the bidding voice hade from outside his door. He instructed Norfeller to open the door.

    Outside the door, Casten Arathor of Rnd City was about to knock. He put down his arm and smiled apologetically. ¡°President Felic, I seek your understanding. This item is very important to me.¡±

    ¡°Pleasee in, Casten Arathor.¡± Lin Li looked veryposed. He wasn¡¯t at all angry that someone waspeting with him for the item. Whoever with the highest bid would get the lot. Nobody had the right to snatch another¡¯s freedom to bid.

    Wilkinson and hispanions, however, didn¡¯t seem as calm as Lin Li. Although the casten of Rnd City held considerable power and reputation, Wilkinson and hispanions didn¡¯t think he was anyone important. Seeing that Arathor hade in with his two attendants, Wilkinson and hispanions didn¡¯t hide the displeasure on their faces, though they didn¡¯t doubt Lin Li¡¯s decision.

    Arathor didn¡¯t dare to show any negligence to Wilkinson and hispanions. Although they didn¡¯t look pleased with his visit, Arathor still put on a smile and greeted every pharmacist respectfully. Of course, Arathor¡¯s attitude wasn¡¯t reciprocated. He wasn¡¯t bothered by this, though. After all, it was universally acknowledged in the Anril World that every capable pharmacist had a bad temper.

    ¡°Seems like Casten Arathor is also interested in this treasure.¡±

    Lin Li raised his bid to 7,000,000 before turning to Arathor with keen interests, making William put down his gravel again.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t angry with Arathor¡¯s sudden participation in the bid, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling very curious. This was because he hadn¡¯t called for 5,000,000 gold coins randomly. He had made this decision only after thorough contemtion.

    Lin Li was very clear about what this branch was for. However, other people probably didn¡¯t know its use until now. Even the sharper ones only knew that the natural fragrance of this branch contained powerful vitality.

    How could Lin Li as a pharmaceutics Guru not know that Wilkinson had wanted the branch for his herb farm? Maybe a lot of other high-level pharmacists or pharmaceutics Masters would have the same idea.

    Hence, Lin Li had raised the bid to 5,000,000 as it was the highest price this branch could take if it had only this effect. If the price was any higher, it would be over the presumed value in people¡¯s eyes. So, this 5,000,000 was to dissuade these so-called sharp-eyed people from bidding and save some time.

    This was why Lin Li was curious. Why would Arathor participate in this bidding? He wanted to raise the production of crops? 5,000,000 was already the most any pharmacists would be willing to pay if they wanted to put the branch in their herb farms. Arathor, however, had started with 6,000,000 gold coins. If he wasn¡¯t a fool, he most likely knew something about the branch.

    ¡°This...¡± Arathor turned around and peered at his attendants inadvertently. He then sat on an empty chair, and said to Lin Li, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry, Mage Felic. This treasure is really very important to me, so can you...¡±

    Although Arathor¡¯s cheap shot didn¡¯t catch the eye of others, it didn¡¯t escape Lin Li¡¯s eyes. After Arathor had sat down, Lin Li scanned Arathor¡¯s attendants while he listened to Arathor.

    Downstairs on the stage, William asked about the bid twice and held up his gravel again.

    ¡°8,000,000 gold coins!¡± eximed Arathor immediately.

    ¡°Good! 8,000,000 gold coins is the current bid for this treasure from the Elven Kingdom. Anyone wants to raise the price even higher...?¡± William announced with passion, but he was also secretly worried. Though it was good to see peoplepeting for the bid, did Arathor even know what he was doing bypeting with Mage Felic?

    Lin Li scanned every one of Arathor¡¯s attendants not just to look at them, but, more importantly, to feel their energy waves. He could sense from Arathor¡¯s actions that it wasn¡¯t Arathor¡¯s own intention to bid for the branch. However, what kind of person would Arathor willingly serve as the casten of Rnd City?

    ¡°Mage Felic, Rnd City will always be your loyal ally if you are willing to give this item to me.¡± Arathor convinced Lin Li with sincerity.

    ¡°Who are you to be the ally of our Tower of Dusk! You are just a little casten. Do you think you are so important?¡± Wilkinson couldn¡¯t help but mock him. Though he didn¡¯t sound polite, anyone who knew the Tower of Dusk would know that what he said was very true.

    Arathor wasn¡¯t angry upon hearing Wilkinson¡¯s words. Instead, he was shocked that Wilkinson said ¡°our Tower of Dusk¡± when he mentioned the Tower of Dusk. He had thought that the Tower of Dusk had recruited these pharmacists, but did it now mean that all these pharmacists belonged to the Tower of Dusk?

    Lin Li was very surprised that Arathor had raised the bid to 8,000,000 gold coins. Could it be that the one behind Casten Arathor had already known the secret to this branch? Although Rnd City was prosperous, and the casten had control of all taxes other than ie tax paid to the Fn Kingdom, Lin Li knew that 8,000,000 was definitely not a small sum to Arathor. If he hadn¡¯t known something, Arathor wouldn¡¯t have agreed to pay so much for a branch.

    With this question in mind, Lin Li examined Arathor¡¯s attendants more carefully, hoping to catch every bit of unusual energy wave. Downstairs, William had asked about the bid twice and raised up his gravel again, all ready to seal the deal with the third inquiry. Lin Li frowned unobservably at that moment.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s Myth Potion had been auctioned at a whopping 10,000,000 gold coins, he would only get about 8,000,000 gold coins of ie after deducting the transaction fee he needed to pay William. Hence, everyone thought that it was highly likely that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to afford 8,000,000 gold coins. Nobody believed that Wilkinson and hispanions would give all their earnings to the Tower of Dusk.

    Maybe because of this spection, the person behind Arathor felt that victory was already in his hands after Arathor had raised the bid to 8,000,000 gold coins. Thus, his emotions couldn¡¯t help but register a slight wave. As a Legendary-mage, Lin Li was very sensitive to magical energy, and managed to catch this wave. He fixed his attention on one of Arathor¡¯s attendants and finally spotted some clues.

    Back at the Endless World, Lin Li had been a Hunter. One of the necessary skills that Hunters needed to learn was camouge. Unlike the stealth movement skills of the assassins which emphasized hiding their identities and attacking their enemies stealthily, Hunters could change their appearance using the camouge skill.

 Chapter 552 - Elven Mage

    <h4>Chapter 552: Elven Mage</h4>

    Low-level camouge could make magical beasts lose their target. This was known as dispelling aggro in the game. It was one of the best skills to use when trying to escape from a group of magical beasts. Medium-level camouge could change one¡¯s appearance and behavior, and also make oneself appear to be the target, either in human or magical beast form. High-level camouge was Lin Li¡¯s favorite. It could not only change one¡¯s appearance, but also change faction in the game, and even allowed the imitator to use some low-level skills that the person imitated had.

    Although the above was referring to things in the Endless World game, Lin Li already knew that the Endless World was somewhat linked to Anril by now. For example, the appearance of the debris of the stars could prove this point. Now, Lin Li discovered traces of camouge on one of Arathor¡¯s attendants after careful inspection.

    Nothing in the world was perfect, and there were always two sides to things. Assassins could use their stealth movement skills to blend into the background. However, they could only move at very slow speeds to achieve that. Hunter¡¯s camouge was also not undiscoverable. Lin Li had frequently used this skill back in the Endless World, and had unlocked the achievement ¡°Camouge Master¡± as a result. Hence, his understanding of this skill was much better than that of normal people in Anril.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even move. He was able to find every trace of camouge that attendant was using just from his experience with camouge alone. As if pulling threads of silk off a silkworm cocoon, Lin Li peeled off the attendant¡¯s disguise to find his true identity bit by bit. Though this might sound rather troublesome, it was just a matter of scanning the person from head to toe for Lin Li to expose all the camouge he was using.

    However, Lin Li was shocked after seeing through the attendant¡¯s camouge. This exined why Lin Li hadn¡¯t been able to see through his identity at the start¡ªthe true identity of Arathor¡¯s attendant was an Elf!

    Lin Li suddenly recalled another thing about Casten Arathor. It was back when Arathor had just be the casten of Rnd City.

    Back then, Rnd City which was now honored as a city of abundance had been in chaos. Arathor¡¯s father, the former casten, had been assassinated in the Casten Mansion. All his subordinates had been busy fighting for power and wealth. The entire Rnd City had been in so much turmoil that there hadn¡¯t been any sign of it being a city of abundance. Meanwhile, outside Rnd City, other factions had been eyeing it like wolves, all hoping to snatch this granary of the Breezy ins into their own possession.

    Everyone had thought that Rnd City would inevitably fall, and would be pressed hard to recover to its glorious old days. The seeding casten, 20-year-old Arathor, hadn¡¯t been seen as capable enough to settle this mess in Rnd City.

    Thus, everyone had been waiting to see Arathor fail. The castens of several neighboring cities had even bet on whether Arathor could secure his position for more than a month. However, much to everyone¡¯s surprise, Arathor had not only secured the position for more than a month, he had also secured it to the extent that almost nobody could bring him down.

    Arathor had achieved this with the help of the Elves. An Elven Army had swept all rebels in Rnd City clean in under 10 days. Nobody knew where this Elven Army hade from. Nobody knew why those arrogant Elves would help Arathor. They only knew that Arathor had firmly secured his position as the casten of Rnd City with the help of this Elven Army, even when nobody had thought he could do so.

    Looking at this right now, Arathor had not only relied on the Elves to suppress the rebels, he never ceased the contact with the Elves even after securing the position of casten. What surprised Lin Li more was not the identity of this attendant being an Elf, but the fact that he couldn¡¯t make out the magical waves on this Elf. It was evident that this Elf¡¯s magical abilities were rather strong.

    However, it was impossible for Lin Li to give up on this piece of debris of the stars, Rebirth, just because of this. Lin Li¡¯s eyes met those of the attendant for a second, and he gently curved his lips, smiling with much interest. Since Lin Li already knew that an Elf was participating in the bid, it was now understandable why Arathor waspeting for this branch with Lin Li.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t answer Arathor directly, but raised the bid again. ¡°9,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    The crowd downstairs erupted into an uproar again. There had already been a record-breaking transaction of 10,000,000 gold coins just now. Could that record be broken again so quickly given that the bidding was already catching up to that price? This Mage Felic really didn¡¯t treat money like money. He had just earned 10,000,000 gold coins from auctioning off the Myth Potion. Now, he had spent it on this branch. William must have earned a lot from all these transactions.

    Not to mention 10,000,000 gold coins, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t flinch if he had to pay 20,000,000 or even 30,000,000 gold coins in order to prevent this piece of debris of the stars fromnding into the hands of others. As someone who had owned the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of debris of the stars, he knew very well how terrifying these weapons were. These were divine weapons that could even kill the Dragon of Destruction!

    Arathor¡¯s face turned pale. He had heard from his daughter that this Mage Felic was very powerful. His attendant could kill an Ice Howler single-handedly. Mage Felic even defeated a Lich and the Humerus Wyrm that the Lich had summoned. Now, this Mage Felic was not only the owner of the Tower of Dusk, but also the President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins, and even obtained the support of a batch of high-level pharmacists. With all achievements and abilities, Mage Felic probably couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about a mere casten like Arathor himself.

    ¡°10,000,000 gold coins!¡± Arathor wouldn¡¯t want to be Mage Felic¡¯s enemy if it wasn¡¯t necessary due to certain circumstances. Even as the casten of Rnd City, he still often couldn¡¯t make his own decisions.

    The entire hall was silent. How fast was it that the new lot had caught up with the record-breaking auction price of the previous one. More importantly, it seemed that the record of 10,000,000 gold coins could not be maintained much longer given how this auction was unfolding.

    Damn it, was this lousy branch even worth it all? Was it because the crowd was too ignorant, or because these big shots were too stupid and rich? The audience all thought that they had learned something new that day. If they had known that these big shots were so easily tricked, they might¡¯ve as well chopped some branch and auctioned it.

    Those sitting downstairs were rather reputable people outside. However, they were surprised to see these people who didn¡¯t treat money like money. They had felt that although their power and influence weren¡¯t as great as those of the Malfa Family or Dark de, and their wealth didn¡¯t match that of the Glittergold Trade Union or Gilded Rose, the difference wasn¡¯t so big. It wasn¡¯t impossible for them to catch up or even overtake these powerful families with enough hard work and some luck.

    However, those people downstairs felt this gap between themselves and the rich families widening after witnessing their bids. Their hopes were getting further away, and were eventually smashed. This was too upsetting. How much time and effort did they have to put in to earn 10,000,000 gold coins? How could these people just spend it all on a branch? It was understandable to spend it on the Myth Potion, but what was the use of the branch? Did they really think it came from the Tree of Eternity?

    ¡°Mage Felic, I know that you have just auctioned the Myth Potion that you¡¯ve concocted, and it was bought by Mr Robbio from the Glittergold Trade Union at 10,000,000 gold coins. So, you have much more money than a mere casten like me. However, I urge you to carefully consider if it¡¯s worth it to spend so much on something that pharmacists can only put in their herb farms. This 10,000,000 gold coins are enough to buy a lot of precious herbs and diversify the types of herbs in your herb farm. Why are you even fighting for this rather useless thing with me?¡± Arathor attempted to convince Lin Li politely after raising the bid to 10,000,000.

    ¡°11,000,000 gold coins!¡± Lin Li first raised the bid, then turned, smiled at Arathor, and said, ¡°Casten Arathor, why are you fighting with me since you¡¯ve said it¡¯s rather useless? Have you forgotten that the first one to bid was me? You are the one who¡¯speting with me.¡±

    The crowd downstairs erupted into a mor. They couldn¡¯t believe that the record just created during today¡¯s auction hosted by the Time Consignment Store was renewed so fast. From 3,000,000 to 10,000,000, and still rising... How high would the new record reach? What was so special about this insignificant branch that so many people were crazy after it?

    Arathor¡¯s face turned even paler. Meanwhile, his Elvenpanion seemed to be trying hard to suppress his anger. Though Rnd City was honored as the city of abundance, Arathor¡¯s family wealth had been long gone after the chaos 20-plus years ago. Even after the reconstruction of the city afterwards, the umtion of wealth was still very limited.

    Arathor couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. Taking out 10,000,000 would already greatly affect Rnd City. Though Rnd City was owned by Arathor¡¯s family to a certain extent, this didn¡¯t mean that Arathor could y around with this city and its people at will.

    More importantly, the responsibility Rnd City held as the granary of the Breezy ins was crucial. Any changes would greatly affect the entire Breezy ins. If Arathor had done anything that harmed the interests of Rnd City, its inhabitants, various factions in Rnd City, castens of neighboring cities, and even the royal family of Fn Kingdom wouldn¡¯t spare Arathor so easily.

    Seeing Arathor¡¯s hesitation, the Elf beside him showed obvious signs of anxiety. This anxiety was worsened with every inquiry William made downstairs.

    ¡°11,000,000 gold coins! This treasure from the Elven Kingdom is now at 11,000,000 gold coins, bid by President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Anyone with a higher bid?¡± William sounded rather excited.

    Not to mention the crowd downstairs, even the guests in the guest rooms were stunned by Lin Li¡¯s bid. Although everyone knew that Lin Li had earned arge sum from the Myth Potion, it still took a lot of boldness to spend everything just like that.

    How much had this Tower of Dusk developed since its founding less than a year ago? Given that this young President was willing to spend so much, it could at least show that the wealth he possessed wasn¡¯t just the 10,000,000 he had earned just now. If not, he wouldn¡¯t have spent everything he had just earned on a branch of unknown origin. After all, 10,000,000 was so important to a newly established faction!

    ¡°So young!¡± Prince Hry shook his head and sighed. It seemed like this geniusd who Englos admired so much wasn¡¯t all that perfect. In this world, geniuses weren¡¯t so rare. Talented people often faced the same problem. That was, certain ws were also magnified just as their talents in certain aspects were magnified. Due to this reason, many geniuses couldn¡¯t develop to their full potential before being ovee by this problem.

    Hry¡¯s biggest hobby was to collect all kinds of strange objects and investigate forgotten skills. He was well-known in Anril because of this. Although he believed that he could afford to spend 10,000,000 gold coins, he definitely wouldn¡¯t spend it all on an insignificant branch.

    Judging from the current circumstances, this geniusd that Englos admired had fallen into a fight over reputation¡ªa mistake young people oftenmitted. If not, any rational person wouldn¡¯t have made such a decision. Hry suddenly felt bored, and dispelled the idea to visit the Tower of Dusk in Dnd. This geniusd most likely couldn¡¯t escape his eventual downfall.

    Robbio of the Glittergold Trade Union, however, had another thought in mind. Since his boss Hoffman admired this Mage Felic so much, couldn¡¯t he seek this chance to forge a closer rtionship with Mage Felic by lending him some money? After all, the Glittergold Trade Union could lend its money to anyone. It was too much that Glittergold was attending this auction anyway, since itspeting bidders¡¯ money was most likely lying in the gold reserves of the Glittergold Trade Union!

    ¡°11,000,000 gold coins! Anyone with a higher bid? 11,000,000 gold coins going twice!¡± William¡¯s voice had covered the noises of the crowd.

    The deal would be sealed when William struck down with his gravel after the asking for the third time. Arathor wasn¡¯t willing to risk Rnd City¡¯s future on this bid. However, the Elf standing behind him could hide no longer. After William¡¯s second inquiry, he stood forward and shouted, ¡°12,000,000 gold coins!¡±

 Chapter 553 - Gamble

    <h4>Chapter 553: Gamble</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°15,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Before Arathor and the Elf could evenmunicate, Lin Li had already chased up to them and ced his bid without hesitation.

    As soon as he ced his bid, the misceneous noises ceased, and there was a sudden explosive sound that seemed like it was going to break the roof instead. It was just like a volcano that had erupted after staying dormant for a long time. No one bothered about William and the rules of the auction, for the bid was shocking enough to make everyone lose their mind.

    <i>15,000,000 gold coins! Damn it, he actually wants to pay so much just for this broken branch, and that without hesitation! Is there something wrong with this Mage Felic¡¯s brain!?</i> Those people had already be jaded after hearing the sky-high bids, but the new bid of 15,000,000 was already beyond what they could ept.

    <i>Damn, if I had those 15,000,000 gold coins, I would rather use them to buy better magic equipment and solicit stronger subordinates. This money is enough to double my abilities and strength. That madman Felic¡¯s Tower of Dusk has only been established for a year, and he should be in need of arge amount of funds now. Yet, he wants to spend all of the money that he had just earned on some useless tree branch.</i>

    Lots of people thought the same, and they all felt that they would rather invest their money in their own forces in his ce.

    In fact, all of them had seen big money before. After all, they also owned powerful forces which dominated their respective fields. Theirbined assets were definitely more than 10,000,000 gold coins. However, owning 10,000,000 gold coins was not the same as spending 10,000,000 gold coins. 10,000,000 gold coins could be put to various uses, yet Lin Li spent it all on a tree branch that was definitely not worth that much money even if it were taken from the Tree of Eternity.

    <i>What would the mages of the Tower of Dusk think if they were to find out? Anyway, if I were them, I would definitely kick him out of the damn Guild of Magic. I doubt the Tower of Dusk canst long with such a selfish President. It¡¯s only a matter of time before they disband. </i>

    Almost all the people in the audience were agitated. Although Lin Li had nothing to do with them, they were really anxious. Indeed, the lives of everyone were different.

    <i>I worked so hard to manage the forces under me for the sake of a small territory, and I even had to stain my hands with blood for the sake of earning money. Yet, I still don¡¯t have 10,000,000 gold coins. If you think you have too much money, I can spend it for you. If you like tree branches, I¡¯ll give you all of the branches in my territory. </i>

    While seated in the VIP room, Lin Li immediately ced a bid of 15,000,000 gold coins, giving Wilkinson as well as everyone else a great shock. They reckoned that they were the only ones who knew the use of the tree branch and what it was really worth. They knew that the estimated value of the branch was probably just 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 gold coins. After all, the effects still had to be tested. However, they did not expect Master Felic to bid such a huge sum for the treasure.

    At this point, there was no need for Arathor to be calctive with the Elves, either. Even the casten of Rnd City had no choice but to think to himself, <i>If you Elves are rich, you may continue bidding and vying. This is all that I can do.</i>

    The Elf who had stood forth was instantly dumbfounded as he froze and stood rooted to the ground. How could he have expected to meet such a ruthless person? He angrily thought to himself, <i>You¡¯re just a filthy and lowly human, how dare you covet the treasures of us elves? It¡¯s such an insult to our treasures and to us. Unforgivable! </i>

    The Elves were not to be trifled with¡ªthey were no pushovers. Perhaps they used to be ones a long time ago, but after experiencing the disaster that almost wiped their entire race out, they became jaded, and were no longer kind or peace-loving. They began to think that those qualities were ridiculous.

    There had been countless humans who entered the Emerald Forest where the Elves had fled. Most died in the Emerald Forest, though some deaths might have been caused by misunderstandings. For human beings, the Emerald Forest should be regarded as the only forbidden area in thend of Anril.

    A menacing gaze formed in the eyes of the Elf as he stared at the human who waspeting for his treasure and remaining seated leisurely with a look of contempt.

    ¡°15,000,000 gold coins. Is this going to be a new record, or is someone else going to continue breaking it? This is thest chance. 15,000,000 gold coins going thrice.¡± Actually, 15,000,000 gold coins was way more than William had expected. He followed the procedure and asked thrice. Atst, he raised the gravel and prepared to seal the deal.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± the Elf yelled in a bid to stop William from mming down the gravel. He did not ce a new bid, however.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir, but if you¡¯d like to postpone the transaction, ording to the rules of the auction, you¡¯ll have to gain the approval of Mage Felic beforehand,¡± William said loudly. Actually, under normal circumstances, his words would have been considered to be rejection, and only a fool would allow his rival to have more time to raise his bid.

    ¡°Mage Felic, I was just wondering if you could give me some time to discuss something with you. I hope to gain your approval,¡± said Arathor. Unlike Arathor, the Elf would never swallow his pride and stoop that low.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Lin Li nodded nonchntly. Had he not discovered that the Elf was disguising as a follower, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to waste his time. However, he was now interested in seeing what tricks the Elf was getting up to.

    Arathor and the Elf were actually standing rather close to each other. However, when they approached the entrance, they began to talk to each other about something in soft yet agitated voices. They had deliberately lowered their volume so much that even the sharp-sensed Lin Li could not hear their conversation clearly, though he heard that they were talking about Master Bethany or something of sorts. Next, Arathor shook his head profusely, and seemed to be put on the spot. The Elf had no choice but to sigh and turn around to return to his room. However, he ran into Lin Li.

    ¡°Mage Felic, do allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vidas, and I¡¯m a mage too. It seems you¡¯re probably also a pharmacist, and you¡¯re purchasing the branch for the sake of using its natural aura to influence the growth of herbs, right? However, you should know that the price of 15,000,000 gold coins has already surpassed its practical value. If you let me have the branch, I promise to supply you with the seeds of some extremely rare herbs.¡± The Elf offered a tempting deal that was exceptionally attractive for mages.

    If the tree branch was really just full of life, Lin Li would definitely agree to it because the Elves lived in the Emerald Forest, and they could certainly obtain extraordinary herbs. However, the problem was that the branch was one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and contained the Rule power of nature and earth. It was extremely tempting to Lin Li, and it was a treasure that could not be reced by anything else.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this branch is very important for me too. If you¡¯d like to have it, please offer a higher bid. I¡¯ll definitely continue bidding for it with you too.¡± Lin Li turned down the Elf¡¯s offer without hesitation because he had already made up his mind toy his hands on that piece of debris of the stars, even if it was going to set him back by 30,000,000 or 50,000,000 gold coins.

    Vidas¡¯ good will had been turned down. He had never felt so disgusted with humans before. He felt that they were absolutely shameless and foolish for paying a huge and unnecessary price for the sake of pride while causing inconveniences for others.

    Vidas took a deep breath, tried to suppress his anger, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Mage Felic, you and I are both mages. Since we can¡¯te to a consensus on this issue, why don¡¯t we use magic? Whoever obtains victory can take the branch away!¡±

    Before Lin Li could even answer, Wilkinson stared at Vidas in amusement as if he was staring at an idiot. ¡°Hey, is there something wrong with your brain? This is an auction, not a casino. It¡¯s not like President Felic can¡¯t afford to pay that price. As long as William seals the deal, we don¡¯t even have to vie with you.¡±

    <i>These Elves are really naive</i>, Lin Li thought to himself, feeling extremely amused too. Trying to suppress hisughter, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mage Vidas, this item belongs to me until you ce a new bid. Since it¡¯s mine, why do I have to bet with you?¡±

    Vidas could no longer suppress his anger after being rejected again. He humphed, and immediately stormed into the VIP room.

    Lin Li moved towards the side and stood in front of Wilkinson and the rest to stop them from embarrassing themselves in front of the Elf.

    Wilkinson broke out in a cold sweat. Although pharmacists had high status, there was nothing they could do when it came to people who didn¡¯t buy it.

    There was a sudden magical wave that came from the VIP room, and everyone fell silent immediately. It was too strong¡ªeveryone thought the same, including plenty of level-17 and level-18 Archmages. They¡¯d clearly already sensed that the massive magical wave was from a Legendary figure.

    The auctioneer William¡¯s heart suddenly wrenched up. <i>Is the discussion going to turn into a brawl?</i> That would be terrible for the auction. Most importantly, who was going to pay 10,000,000 gold coins for the tree branch if the paymaster were to flee!?

    ¡°Legendary-realm!¡± Hry sprung up from his seat and shifted his gaze onto the VIP room opposite, contemting if he should intervene. Although he did not feel great about Lin Li, he felt that he ought not to die, since he was the pharmacist Englos spoke highly of. He thought, <i>Wait a minute, Englos seemed to have said before that this chap is extremely perverted and sickly talented. I¡¯d better observe how perverted he may be. </i>

    Arathor wanted to step forward to persuade him, but the overpowering aura of the Legendary figures made it almost impossible for him to move or speak. He had no choice but to curse in his head. <i>Damn it, these Elves have been living out there for a long time. Why are they still so reckless?</i>

    However, Lin Li did not show any signs of difort at all. Instead, he said in a rxed manner, ¡°But, Mage Vidas, your suggestion is not bad. Of course, I¡¯m not going to give in. How about this? I¡¯ll purchase the branch and you can bet items that you think are of equal valueter. I wouldn¡¯t mind trying my luck then.¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s suggestion, Vidas paused and considered it for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go ahead with your suggestion.¡±

    Vidas suddenly lost his confidence and assertiveness, causing plenty of people to feel regretful. They were suppressing his envy and jealousy while waiting to see a good show, yet it ended before it even began.

    ¡°Master William, you may proceed with the auction. We¡¯re giving up,¡± Arathor said.

    <i>It seems that the problem has already been solved.</i> William heaved a sigh of relief. Although the new record of 15,000,000 gold coins had not been broken, he was content to know that there would be no unnecessary trouble. ¡°The item has been sessfully auctioned off to President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Let¡¯s congratte him.¡± He raised the gravel and knocked down forcefully. The auction had finally beenpleted.

    Be it sincere or not, everyone in the audience stood up and pped to celebrate the birth of a new record. However, most of the people paid attention to the VIP rooms upstairs instead. Had the conflict really been resolved? It made them feel rather indignant.

    ¡°Fine, the transaction has beenpleted. Mage Vidas, what do you n to use to bet with me?¡± asked Lin Li who could tell that the Elf was very strong¡ªperhaps even more powerful than him.

    What Lin Li needed now was a strong opponent.

    It had been a long time since Lin Li broke through the Legendary-realm in the Abyss of Tharlen. Lin Li had three of Geresco¡¯s relics, and his umtions were shockingly massive, especially after his seclusion. Lin Li had even subtly sensed that he had already reached the brink of level-21. He only needed a little bit more to push his power to another realm.

    However, it bothered Lin Li for a long time. Ever since the seclusion ended, Lin Li discovered that he still needed an opportunity to break through... or rather, he needed a strong opponent. Perhaps the challenge today would push him to level-21.

    Of course, there were definitely risks involved.

    Although Lin Li had still yet to witness Vidas¡¯ true abilities, he could guess from the strong aura that Vidas exuded that the Elf¡¯s ability was definitely at least level-21.

    There was at most a 10% chance of him winning. Not to mention, he still had to stick to the rules...

    However, Lin Li was notpletely unprepared...

    He had once stood at the pinnacle of the Endless World and battled the Moon Shrine. Hence, he did have some experience in battling with elves...

 Chapter 554 - Battle

    <h4>Chapter 554: Battle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Vidas clearly remembered his elders telling him that humans were the most shameless of all in Anril before he left Emerald Forest. Hence, he had to think of a way not to let the human go back on his word.

    ¡°Casten Arathor, please help us arrange a suitable ce to begin the battle. On top of that, Mage Felic, I hope to let the audience witnesses our battle. So, why don¡¯t we allow them to be the spectators of our bet?¡± Vidas knew that apart from having poor integrity, humans also ced great emphasis on their pride. Hence, if there were lots of spectators, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Lin Li going back on his word.

    Actually, the elves were not the only race that saw humans as sly and scheming beings. Even the demons who often tempted humans into selling their souls racked their brains for the sake of the soul contract because they did not want to let humans take advantage of them.

    Hence, every young member of a tribe or race would often be warned against evil humans by an elder before they left. Actually, Vidas was not considered young, even though the elves had extremely long lives. However, he still belonged to the first batch of greenhorn elves; hence, he would inevitably receive pointers from his elders before leaving the Emerald Forest.

    ¡°Vidas, don¡¯t you think that nothing can threaten you just because you possess Legendary power. Those sly and cunning humans are best at pulling scheming tricks and devising conspiracies to increase their strength. They will pretend to be your friend, win your trust, and convince you to do dangerous things for them. Atst, they might event stab you in your chest from the back while pretending to rejoice and celebrate your sess with you.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe their promises. Even if they swear to the gods, they might just turn their backs on you and go back on their oaths in the blink of an eye. They have no respect for the gods at all. They only believe in maximizing their own interests, and they will not hesitate to betray even their own brothers for the sake of their personal benefits.¡±

    The elves who had always considered themselves elegant and refined actually sounded so callous and harsh when describing human beings. Their choice of words was so crude that even listening to them speak was a torture. Vidas was even made to repeat his elders¡¯ words several times before they finally felt relieved enough to let him leave the Emerald Forest.

    Vidas was confident that he would be able to deal with a young human chap with his Legendary-realm power even if thetter came up with some conspiracy. He felt that no conspiracy would be able to withstand the test of genuine power, and that it would make all of Lin Li¡¯s efforts futile. However, throughout his stint in the human world, he had read a lot of historical documents about the human race, and he also knew that the words told by the elders were not groundless. In the history of humans, it was rathermon for nations to turn against each other right after signing a treaty.

    Vidas was not afraid that Mage Felic would go back on his word, because there was no way the dead could do so. However, he heard from Arathor that Mage Felic was also the owner of the Tower of Dusk and the President of the Guild of Magic of the Breezy ins. Although he did not regard the Tower of Dusk seriously, the Supreme Council was in great support of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he requested for more bystanders to be the witnesses of the battle.

    Although the elves were arrogant, they were not conceited to the point of ignoring everything else and thinking that they were above all. Apophis of the Supreme Council was a strong figure of the Sanctuary-realm. The elders of the elves, including the elven queen, dared not offend the Supreme Council for no reason.

    Vidas did not wish to cause the queen and the elders any trouble because of such an insignificant human magician. Hence, his purpose of roping in so many bystanders was to prove to the Supreme Council that the battle was fair. In that case, the Supreme Council would not be able to say anything else to object. Although the bystanders were all humans, Vidas was not afraid that they would get into cahoots with them, because everyone knew that internal conflicts were the most rampant amongst humans.

    Upon hearing that the two people settled the bet just like that, Arathor began to get a little anxious. They¡¯d initially thought that Mage Felic was a smart person, and felt that there would be no need for a battle, since he had enough money to buy the auction item. However, no one expected him to take on the bet despite having already bought the item.

    <i>C¡¯mon, you don¡¯t seem like a retarded person! Couldn¡¯t you tell that Vidas was giving off a Legendary aura!?</i>

    Arathor was put on the spot. Things would perhaps not be that terrible if it were another Legendary figure. However, the issue was that Vidas was not just a Legendary-mage, but was also an elf. Elves had always harbored animosity for humans.

    If the other party of the bet was reced by someone else, such as those mercenarymanders downstairs or the leaders of various organizations, forces, and associations, Arathor would feel less conflicted. However, Mage Felic was someone who those leaders could notpare to even though the Tower of Dusk was not that famous yet. After all, thetter still had the support of the Supreme Council which helped them with their establishment. Although the Breezy ins Guild of Magic had only been founded less than a year ago, Lin Li was still the President of the Guild of Magic, and if anything were to happen to him in Rnd City, Arathor would have a hard time exining it to the Supreme Council.

    Regardless of whether the Supreme Council would be concerned or not, Master Felic was not only the President of the Guild of Magic of the Breezy ins, he was also a pharmacist. William¡¯s attitude towards him was clear evidence of how important he was. The very fact that the potion that he had prepared was auctioned at a sky-high price of 10,000,000 gold coins meant that he was obviously not an ordinary pharmacist.

    He then stared at the senior pharmacists around him, and wondered, <i>Are these senior pharmacists crazy? Plenty of major forces can¡¯t even recruit them no matter how hard they tried, yet they¡¯re staying with a small force that had just been established? </i>Arathor was sure that William had to know something that he did not. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have arranged for Lin Li to sit in the VIP room at the expense of possibly offending the other VIPs. William was almost sucking up to the young mage, and not just intentionally getting close to him.

    There were only very few people William would suck up to, and Arathor was definitely not one of them. Although he had a good reputation in the Breezy ins, he was well aware of his own status and identity. However, the problem now was that he waspletely helpless because he could persuade neither of the parties.

    ¡°Master Felic, we can all sit down and talk about what¡¯s going on. There¡¯s no need to get into such disharmony. You may not know this, but Master Vidas has some ties with the Emerald Forest. You just want the branch for the sake of herbs, right? Master Vidas can definitely get you any herbs you want from the Emerald Forest,¡± Arathor said in a bid to persuade him. He was also trying to hint that Vidas was a Legendary-mage.

    However, Lin Li not only knew that Vidas had Legendary strength, but also had seen through his facade, and knew that he was an elf disguised as a human. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the Legendary-realm power that Vidas had exhibited just now, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have bothered with him. The bet was toome and pointless by his standards, and he felt that it was aplete waste of time. However, Lin Li did not wish to miss a learning opportunity since he had already found out that Vidas was a Legendary-mage. It was a rare chance to have a duel with a Legendary-mage.

    Moreover, Lin Li was also very interested in Vidas¡¯s bet and his treasures. No one would turn down more treasures, though people often said that one ought not to rely too much on the help of external forces in the pursuit of genuine power, especially in the Legendary-realm, where one had to genuinely be enlightened in order to understand the Rule power. However, the effects of treasures could not be ignored, because they could at least allow one to pursue the true meaning of power with greater assurance that would help one keep going. Moreover, what could be considered a treasure by the Legendary figures often contained an immense Rule power, which was also the reason for the user¡¯s increased enlightenment.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t think that the value of the treasures that Vidas had mentioned could really bepared to that of the branch, which was absolutely valuable because it was one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. It was the treasure that grew together with the Tree of Eternity at the beginning of the world. If there were any treasures in this world that couldpare to it, it would be one of the other six pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Lin Li smiled nonchntly after hearing Arathor¡¯s attempt at persuasion. Like Vidas, he told Arathor to arrange a suitable venue where they could carry out the battle. He believed that there were plenty of guests who had nothing better to do and would be willing to be the witnesses of the battle. As long as the news of the battle was announced, they would definitely swarm towards the venue.

    Seeing that the other party didn¡¯t seem to hear what he said, Arathor knew that his efforts would be futile even if he were to continue persuading Vidas or Lin Li. Although he did not hear of Vidas¡¯ status in the Elven Kingdom before, he knew that the Legendary-mage Vidas was definitely a big shot in the Elven Kingdom.

    Arathor could already almost guess the ending of the battle. If Mage Felic had made his achievements in pharmacy while having mediocre power, it would be easy to deal with the matter. However, the problem was that Mage Felic was a real piece of work; he had killed a Legendary Lich as well as a Humerus Wyrm, after all, regardless of what method he used. Even if he were not a Legendary-mage, he was a very powerful powerhouse.

    If the two powerful parties were to go toe-to-toe against each other, things would definitely get heated in no time, especially since Vidas was an elf, and elves were known to detest humans. It was obvious what would be of Mage Felic in the end.

    ¡°Alright, in that case, please wait a moment while I arrange a venue.¡± Arathor sighed, for all he could do now was pray to the heavens that he wouldn¡¯t have to clear up the mess.

    Filled with anxiety and nervousness, Arathor headed downstairs. The first thing he did was to instruct his subordinates to arrange a venue for the bet before looking for William. After all, he reckoned that William would definitely know Mage Felic better than he did. He thought that William would perhaps have a way to stop the battle.

    This mysterious treasure that appeared as the finale really did live up to its high expectations, and actually set a sales record of 15,000,000 gold coins. It was the highest set record in the entirend of Anril, and not just in the Time Consignment Store. After the deal was sealed, William suppressed his excitement and announced the end of the auction.

    However, just as everyone in the audience was about to get up and leave the venue, they unexpectedly saw Casten Arathor running to the stage anxiously. Upon sight of that scene, everyone couldn¡¯t help but stop. Although they didn¡¯te forward to listen to what Arathor and William were saying, they didn¡¯t intend to leave, for they were all curious and waiting for something to happen..

    ¡°What... What!?!¡± William was overwhelmed with dejection after hearing Arathor¡¯s words as his joy vanished instantly.

    ¡°Master William, could you think of a way to persuade that Mage Felic?¡± asked Arathor, who was staring at William with hope in his eyes.

    William nced down at the audience, who were waiting to see amotion, after which he pulled Arathor to the side of the stage and said softly yet resentfully, ¡°Arathor, you should know the rules of the auction. How could you take someone to look for Mage Felic? Aren¡¯t you creating trouble for me!? You should have seen the scene when the potion was auctioned just now. Mage Felic is not an ordinary mage. There are a lot of distinguished VIPs at this auction. Why did you think I arranged for him to sit in the VIP room?¡±

    Smiling wryly, Arathor said, ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I tell that? Things have alreadye to this. You should have heard what happened upstairs just now. No matter how impressive Mage Felic may be, he¡¯s only in his twenties, after all. You¡¯d better help to persuade him.¡±

    <i>Persuade? How!? Mage Felic has properly used his money to purchase the items, and he has really spent 15,000,000 gold coins. Do you want me to persuade him to give away something that he has bought with his own money to someone named Vidas, or simply forfeit this auction and sell the item to Vidas!?</i>

 Chapter 555 - The Harvest Square

    <h4>Chapter 555: The Harvest Square</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    William did not expect Arathor to create such a twist of events just as he thought that the auction was going toe to a perfect close. He was fuming beyond words, so much so that even his beard began to quiver. However, Arathor was still the casten of Rnd City, after all, and William couldn¡¯t just berate him harshly. Although William did not want to get involved, he still needed Mage Felic to help him concoct the potions based on the Dark Age forme that he had given to thetter a few days ago. Besides, he was the one who had invited Mage Felic to the auction, and both he and Arathor would be held responsible if something were to go wrong.

    Regardless of whether or not he could persuade Mage Felic, he still had to give it a try. No longer bothering to care about the auction, William and Arathor frantically scurried to the VIP room on the second floor where Lin Li was seated. The guests who had yet to leave immediately thought about the formidable aura that¡¯d been exhibited just now.

    Although everyone downstairs had not seen anything back then, they had already guessed what was going on after thinking about their bidding conversation. It was undoubtedly a nouveau riche show-off who was trying to brag but ended up encountering a Legendary figure and facing a tragic end. Or so they thought.

    Those who were long green with envy were obviously not going to miss the chance to watch a good show. They were all craning their necks and looking upstairs in a bid to catch a good glimpse. Sienna stood among them, disdainfully thinking, <i>Damn it, a bunch of bumpkins and silly folks. Back then, Mage Felicpletely destroyed a Legendary Lich and a Humerus Wyrm.</i>

    William headed upstairs in a bid to persuade them. However, the oue was obvious, and he knew that nothing he said would stop the two from fighting it out today.

    William and Arathor looked at each other helplessly in dismay. They had no choice but to do as Lin Li and Vidas asked. Arathor was responsible for arranging the venue, while William announced to everyone that a duel would begin.

    Contrary to William¡¯s and Arathor¡¯s concerns, the guests downstairs began apuding loudly after hearing that there was going to be a battle between a Legendary figure and nouveau riche. While William and Arathor were praying that nothing would happen, those downstairs were hoping that the owner of the Tower of Dusk would be taught a lesson by the Legendary powerhouse. That way, the sess rate would definitely increase greatly when they went to recruit those pharmacists again.

    Arathor was the casten of Rnd City, which could be considered to belong to him. It was too easy to arrange a venue for the bet. Considering that Vidas was a Legendary-mage, while Mage Felic was extremely strong too, Arathor decided to arrange the venue to be in the Harvest Square.

    The Harvest Square was situated in the center of Rnd City. When looked at from above, the entire city would be centered around the Harvest Square, and seem like a spider web that spread outwards. The Harvest Square was called a square, but it was not like other open-space zas, though it was notpletely covered, either.

    The area covered by the Harvest Square was about the size of 10 football fields. It was surrounded by 84 stone pirs, all of which were more than 10 meters tall. There wereplicated mageweaths carved on every pir to prevent the overzealous warriors from damaging the surrounding architecture.

    The square was oval, and there were two four-story-high viewing decks on two ends, while the other two sides were open. It allowed one to look opposite; hence, there would be no obstructions when not in use. After the mageweaths on the stone pirs were activated, the strong preventive aura would cover the entire square.

    The square which had been built more than 1000 years ago had always been a ce that people used for making offerings to gods and deities. During every harvest season, there would be a series of offerings and sacrificial rituals, which wouldprise a special performance that was a favorite of many¡ªit was a diatorial battle that allowed everyone to showcase their dauntlessness and bravery.

    The diatorialpetition had originally been a dance performance in the sacrificial event where the appearance of ugly beasts and demons symbolized various disasters. Led by heroes, humans began to rise and retaliate before finally gaining victory by defeating the menacing beasts. However, humans also gradually began to get greedier, for they could no longer be satisfied with the monsters that were yed by humans during the performance. Hence, they began to use real beasts, which were subsequently reced by magical beasts, in the celebration. Over time, man-vs-man diatorialpetitions were introduced to the celebration.

    The sacrificial ceremony for the Goddess of Abundance was the most solemn and important annual festival in Rnd City. Wrestling and diatorialpetitions had gradually be the highlight of these events too. At the beginning, diatorial fights were only meant for some death row prisoners to fight for a chance to have their death penalty cancelled. However, humans soon discovered a shocking truth: the surviving prisoners would also receive unimaginably massive fame and wealth. As a result, diators became a profession, and the prisoners would also get a chance to change their destiny. The diatorial field had be a renowned venue, and the victorious diators would receive invitations to join various forces in addition to a massive mary reward.

    Although Arathor knew that Vidas was an elf, while Mage Felic was rather powerful as well, he still had some faith in the defensive mageweaths in the square. Although the Harvest Square was usually used for sacrificial celebrations and events, the diatorialpetitions and events were not just used for entertainment purposes. Well, at least Legendary figures and those who were close to Legendary-realm often settled their conflicts in that square.

    The mageweaths on the pirs surrounding the Harvest Square had already been activated, thus covering the initially grotesque pirs in a faint, blue luminescent glow. The pirs seemed to be linked together by an undetectable membrane that shielded the square from the viewing decks.

    All of the guests followed them to the Harvest Square. Although pharmacists had a high societal status, and people dared not provoke them at all, that did not mean that no one was jealous of them, especially since they were forced to respect the pharmacists. Humans would definitely feel thrilled to see someone else being braver than them and dealing with the person they detested.

    Those people had been feeling jealous of Lin Li for more than just a day of two. They had been green with envy ever since they found out that the Tower of Dusk had sessfully recruited numerous senior pharmacists, especially after seeing the potions concocted by them being auctioned off at sky-high prices. They wished they could strangle the scoundrel Lin Li.

    Although one of the potions might not be worth 10,000,000 gold coins, the Origin Potion concocted by Wilkinson was definitely worth the 4,000,000 gold coins that it had been sold for. Coupled with the previous batch of potions, the massive wealth that the Tower of Dusk had generated from this auction alone was enough to make others crazily jealous.

    All of the senior pharmacists were solely working for the Tower of Dusk, and none of them was willing to get poached even after all the hefty gifts that they had received from the various forces, all of whom they rejected without hesitation. Hence, they were all feeling resentful and jealous of Lin Li.

    Thest straw was Lin Li¡¯s 15,000,000-gold-coin purchase of the branch that was inconspicuous in the eyes of others. In the eyes of those people, Lin Li was simply being too arrogant, and they all hoped that someone would teach him a lesson for being haughty.

    The Harvest Square was used to hold celebrations. Although almost 2000 people had filled the Elven Theater, the same number only upied a small area in the stands of the Harvest Square. However, the other seats were not left empty, either, because some had long seen the mageweaths being activated, and knew that a good show would be put up soon. It didn¡¯t take long for the stands on both sides to be filled up.

    As instructed by Arathor,rge amounts of magical crystals were continuously added to the energy core of the mageweath, maximizing its power. Although Arathor was worried, there was nothing he could do apart from hoping that Mage Felic could save himself. Since the battle had to happen anyway, he could only hope that no one died.

    William and Arathor had already resigned themselves to fate because they were well aware that even though the battle was open and there were plenty of witnesses, none of Mage Felic¡¯s supporters, be it the Supreme Council or whatever, would bother to consider if it were a fair contest if something were to happen to him.

    Actually, everyone including Arathor and William had already guessed what the oue would be, and they all felt that the arrogant nouveau riche would end up losing his life.

    He was just 20 years old. Even if he were extremely talented in magic, how could hepare to the legendary Geresco!? Geresco was the God of Mages no one couldpare to. They refused to believe that anyone in the world of Anril coulde close to Geresco¡¯s level, let alone surpass him.

    The defensive aura that shielded the square seemed to have given it a crystal cover. For the battle, Lin Li and Vidas stood in the middle of the square, keeping a distance of about 100 meters away from each other.

    Those who were knowledgeable also discovered that the energy field of the defensive mageweath in the square had already been activated to the highest limit by Arathor, who did not care about the wear and tear. The energy required to support such a strong defensive energy field was a lot. A level-10 magical crystal would be depleted in the blink of an eye, and level-15 magical crystals were required to support it even for a while.

    Many people thought that Arathor was making a mountain out of molehill because they felt that the defensive energy field was strong enough to withstand even an attack by a Legendary figure. However, the issue was, was it necessary? Although everyone knew that the mage who was preparing to vent for everyone else was a Legendary-mage, how much of his power could he be forced to exhibit? Even an Archmage who had reached the pinnacle would not be able to fight a Legendary-mage.

    If it were just for the sake of watching the diatorialpetition, the people around the stage wouldn¡¯t bother to stay behind, because they were certain of what the oue would be. In order for a battle to be interesting, both opponents would have to be of equal power. Otherwise, the significantly stronger party would easily destroy his ipetent opponent, and there wouldn¡¯t be any show.

    The magical geniuses who everyone in the Breezy ins recognized were Hutton from the Malfa Family and Stephen from the Dark de, both of whom became Archmages when they were in their twenties. The two had already been recognized as elite mages; no one knew that mages relied on enlightenment and luck to get to the Legendary-realm.

    Hence, everyone reckoned that Mage Felic of the Tower of Dusk was probably at most a level-15 or 16 mage even if he really were a genius. After the battle began, the Legendary-mage would be able to destroy the arrogant upstart effortlessly. Hence, Arathor was just wasting his resources by using so many magical crystals for defense.

    The replenishment of energy in the defensive energy field made everyone feel amused, and some guests around the stage had even started betting on how long the battle wouldst. However, everyone still found it to be rather pointless, and most felt that it would end within seconds.

    <i>Why is Arathor going through all that hassle? What a waste of everyone¡¯s time. There¡¯s no need to set up this defensive mageweath at all, because that Felic probably won¡¯t even get to put up a fight,</i> the guests thought to themselves in frustration, unable to understand why Arathor was being so conscientious.

 Chapter 556 - The Descendant Of Helios

    <h4>Chapter 556: The Descendant Of Helios</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Since it involved a gamble, they naturally had to inform the notary public of the stake clearly. Otherwise, the people wouldn¡¯t know what happened after the fight came to an end. How could they be the witnesses then?

    Vidas nced at Lin Li, who was standing at a short distance away, and raised his chin with a look of arrogance on his face. He slowly said, ¡°I, Vidas Dalisma, invite you to a battle on behalf of the elven Dalisma Family. We¡¯ll use this gamble to decide the final oue and the fateful owner of my elven treasure, the branch of the Tree of Eternity.¡±

    Although they were rather far away from the viewing deck, their conversation could still be heard clearly by everyone on the viewing deck.

    As soon as they heard Vidas¡¯ words, an uproar instantly broke out on stage. Everyone, including the big shots who had attended the auction and gossipmongers who were just interested in watching a show, all knew that Arathor could be the casten all thanks to the support by the elves. However, even after all these years, there was almost no one who had ever seen an elf. In fact, people even began to wonder what the actual situation was back then.

    It was time for those who came from the auction to hear the name of the unassuming branch straight from Vidas¡¯ mouth. It was no wonder that it was sold at an insanely high price of 15,000,000 gold coins, for it was a branch from the Tree of Eternity. It was an entity that was formed at the beginning of the world, and every leaf and branch of the Tree of Eternity which was full of vitality was absolutely precious and valuable.

    Although everyone was very surprised, they all yearned for the so-called eternal branch. However, it was priced at 15,000,000 gold coins; hence, it was not something that they could afford to covet. Of course, that also made them feel even more jealous of the arrogant upstart, though they reckoned that he definitely wouldn¡¯t leave the square in one piece.

    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Arathor, who was supposed to be the closest to the elves, actually stood up after hearing the self-proimed elf Vidas¡¯ words.

    Everyone knew by now that the elf named Vidas was brought to the auction by Casten Arathor. Through the fact that Arathor inherited the position of the lord of the city, the close rtionship between him and the elves became a widely known fact in the Breezy ins. However, why did he behave that way at this moment?

    Arathor soon discovered that he was not behaving appropriately. He coughed awkwardly and returned to his seat.

    William, who was seated at the side, seemed to be deep in thought. When Arathor took a seat, he hesitantly asked, ¡°Arathor, Dalisma sounds familiar to me. Could it be...¡±

    Everyone was feeling surprised and bewildered about Vidas being an elf as well as the branch of the Tree of Eternity, whose name they had just learned. They did not feel anything much about Dalisma Family. However, not everyone understood the Elven Kingdom well. Arathor knew a bit about the Elven Kingdom since he had interacted with the elves for several years.

    In fact, Arathor had already realized that Vidas had an extraordinary status in the Elven Kingdom, though he did not expect him to be a member of the Dalisma Family. Arathor began to get increasingly worried. If Vidas were a low-level elf instead, he would perhaps think twice before taking action, but since he was from the Dalisma Family...

    Upon hearing William¡¯s question, Arathor knew that he definitely couldn¡¯t fool the knowledgeable authenticator and appraiser, William. He slowly turned to look at him, and exined, ¡°Master William, Vidas¡¯ true identity... I actually didn¡¯t know about it beforehand. Had I known earlier...¡±

    ¡°So what if you knew earlier? Would it make a difference!?¡± William snapped. All he could think about now after watching Arathor nod was that Mage Felic had to be in hot soup.

    Arathor knew that he was at fault too. Although the two parties were bent on carrying out the battle, the entire problem stemmed from the fact that he had presumptuously brought Vidas to look for the buyer. That behavior of his had already flouted the rules of the auction. Lin Li then openly purchased the branch with his own money. Yet, Vidas asked for it back. After failing to purchase the item or snatch it, Vidas even had the cheek to make him surrender the item. That was another vition of the rules.

    Staring at the middle of the square, where the two parties were getting ready to hit each other, Arathor began to feel troubled and worried. Since Vidas belonged to the Dalisma Family, he probably had a higher status in the Elven Kingdom than they had imagined. However, the more powerful Vidas was, the less hesitant he would be about taking action, since he would less likely to be held ountable for his actions. In that case, Arathor would be held liable if the Supreme Council were to pursue the matter.

    Arathor was not overthinking it. As the casten of Rnd City, he often interacted with all sorts of people from the aristocratic circles. For example, an aristocratic heir would not get into trouble for killing another person with some background. Instead, his assistant would take the me for failing to persuade his master against the matter.

    Hence, it was obvious that the Supreme Council would definitely put the me on Arathor, and not the Dalisma Family or the well-connected William. The problem was, what kind of background did this Mage Felic have? That was a factor that affected his learning.

    The auction was supposed toe to a perfect end. Yet, a sudden twist urred. William rubbed his forehead and looked at the two of them. Those who had studied the Dark Age before would definitely be familiar with the Dalisma Family of elves. It was an importantst name in the Dark Age.

    During the Dark Age, the High Elves ruled the entire world of Anril, and the elves became the ves of the High Elves because they fitted thetter¡¯s beauty standards. The Dalismas were one of the six greatest families of the Elven Kingdom, and had always been a family of geniuses. Although they¡¯d still ended up being ves in that era, the appearance of an elf changed their entire circumstances.

    The name of that elf was Hollisas Dalisma, a name which rarely appeared in the history of the Dark Age. However, his nickname was rather well known, for he was the famous Helios. The elf Hollisas Dalisma was named Helios by the Elven Queen, and the Dalisma Family was then named the Helios Family.

    Bloodline and hierarchy mattered greatly to the High Elves. Hence, it was 10 times harder for them to change and receive somethingpared to the ordinary elves. Yet, Hollisas managed to earn the title of the Helios just because of his capabilities despite his identity of a lowly elf. Apart from being verypetent, he had put in plenty of effort as well.

    Since Vidas belonged to the Dalisma Family, one could only imagine how high of a status he had in the Elven Kingdom. Although he was not as authoritative as the elders, the gap was a result of many different factors. Even in the Elven Kingdom that advocated nature, it was impossible for everyone to be equal.

    Although the Elven Kingdom was known as a kingdom to outsiders, the internal management was actually the same as that of a tribal alliance. Second to the queen, the elders were actually like leaders of the tribes, and there were various authorities who had varying powers amongst the tribe. Those directly determined the right of an elder to speak.

    After the Dark Age, the elves faced an attack carried out by various races, which almost exterminated them. The Dalisma Family did not escape that fate at all. In fact, to some extent, the reason why various races tried to destroy the elves was because of the Helios Family. During that crisis, the Dalismas incurred huge losses, and there were only a few hundreds of elves out of the entire Elven tribe which fled to the Emerald Forest. The prominent Dalisma Family was obviously one of them.

    However, for the elves, it was not the poption of a race that determined the strength of a group, but the blood of the members of the family. As one of the six greatest elven families, the Dalismas proved themselves to be outstanding. Therefore, even if the Dalisma Family only had one elf left back then, the family¡¯s bloodline did not vanish. Hence, it was only a matter of time before they rose again.

    The Emerald Forest was the best ce for the elves to live in¡ªit was an excellent ce for recuperation after being attacked by humans. More than 1,300 years had passed since the end of the Dark Age by now. It was difficult to imagine the extent to which the Dalisma had developed.

    In the middle of the Harvest Square, Lin Li remained still andposed even after hearing the famous name of the Dalisma Family which Vidas introduced proudly. If the debris of the stars was called the branch of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li could be only amused. If he were to calcte it in detail, the new piece of the debris of the stars and the Tree of Eternity could be said to be twins.

    Lin Li was truly interested in the stake that Vidas mentioned, which thetter imed to be equal in value to the branch of the Tree of Eternity. The value of the branch was exorbitant. Hence, he reckoned that the arrogant elf wouldn¡¯t fool him with some garbage.

    ¡°Mage Vidas, can you take out your stake now? Since you want to battle me, you ought to let me see what you have to offer.¡± Lin Li ignored his introduction, and instead inquired about the other side¡¯s wager.

    In fact, just like the people who were watching, Vidas didn¡¯t think that there¡¯d be any suspense in this fight, because humans were naturally less talented than elves, and since Lin Li was much younger than him, he felt that Lin Li would have at most practiced magic for only ten-odd years if he started to learn magic from a sensible age. The time Vidas had spent since arriving at the Legendary-realm alone was much longer than the time Lin Li had spent learning magic.

    Although Vidas did not think it was necessary for Lin Li to look at the stake, there was no need for him to be so calctive about such trivial matters. He gave it some consideration, and reckoned that the treasure would be returned to him at the end of the day anyway. Hence, he decided to showcase the most valuable one since it was just for show.

    At the thought of it, Vidas nced at Lin Li, who was opposite him, and humphed before whipping out a magic staff that had a length of 50-60 centimeters. The dark red magic staff had a white tip that was embellished with gemstones.

    When Vidas whipped out his magic staff, Lin Li¡¯s left eyelid began to twitch despite being someone who had seen plenty of what the world had to offer. Although the surging magical power in the staff could notpare to that of the debris of the stars, it was indeed a treasure.

    ¡°This staff is the scepter of Helios left behind by the ancestors of the Dalisma Family. I believe its value is enough for it to be a stake in this battle.¡± Vidas held onto the gemstone on the top of the staff. The value of Helios¡¯s scepter in his heart was even higher than that of the branch.

    In fact, Vidas knew that Lin Li had to be rather knowledgeable in order to be the President of a local Guild of Magic. During the auction earlier on, he identally exuded his powerful aura in a moment of impatience. He reckoned that even a fool must have already estimated his abilities, what more a human mage. But why did Lin Li still initiate the battle? Clearly, it was because he knew that he had some abilities and solutions that he could use to defeat a Legendary powerhouse.

    However, Vidas was not a novice Legendary-mage. Hence, he was well aware of the gap between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage. He knew that it could not be closed easily.

    In fact, when it came to the special means of advancing in strength, there were not many other methods apart from potions and spells that would stimte one¡¯s potential to advance in level. For example, a Warrior might get to advance and gain massive mana through a mental spell. He reckoned that Mage Felic must have relied on potions to advance in level, especially since he had a legion of pharmacists with him.

 Chapter 557 - Scepter

    <h4>Chapter 557: Scepter</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, the problem was that the distance between a Legendary-mage and an Archmage was not measured by their differences in mana, but by their difference in knowledge and understanding of the Rule Power. No matter how hard one tried to increase their mana, it would be impossible to close the gap between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage without understanding the Rule Power well enough.

    Vidas did not think that a potion that would allow one to directly advance to the Legendary-realm actually existed in this world. Even those pharmacists who imed to be omnipotent would not be able to formte such heavenly potions. Perhaps the legendary pharmaceutics Gurus would be able to concoct such extraordinary potions, but there was no pharmaceutics Guru amongst the pharmacists in Anril.

    The reason Vidas could use Helios¡¯ Scepter as a bet without concern was because he was confident that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be invincible even if he had a potion that would lead him directly to the Legendary-realm. In fact, he would be insignificantpared to Vidas, who had entered the Legendary-realm hundreds of years ago.

    However, entering the Legendary-realm did not mean that one had crossed the threshold and would be able to enjoy smooth sailing in the future. In fact, every advancement in power would require another level of understanding of the Rule Power, and the difficulty of each point of progress was no less than the threshold preceding it. Therefore, a Legendary-mage would still have a hard time advancing further after entering the Legendary-realm. Vidas had already been in the Legendary-realm for hundreds of years, and had already got to level-22. However, he was vastly stronger than when he¡¯d first entered the Legendary-realm.

    Hence, Vidas was not at all worried. Regardless of what tricks Lin Li pulled, it would be impossible for him to surpass Vidas by advancing three more levels after entering the Legendary-realm. His true intention in putting Helios¡¯ Scepter at stake was because he wanted to use this invincible magic staff to bring out the greed existing within humans.

    Even William, the host of the auction, did not know the specific information about the branch of the Tree of Eternity. However, he guessed from the exterior appearance and aura of the branch that it was likely to be a piece lost by the elves over 1000 years ago. It had been bestowed to the queen as a treasure that she could keep with her wherever she went. After the end of the Dark Age, the elves met with their biggest cmity, and the branch disappeared.

    Whether it had been retrieved from the Tree of Eternity or not, that actually was not important. The pure and natural aura within it was the reason Vidas was bent on getting it. With the exception of Legs who specialized in fire magic, most of the elven mages practiced nature spells. When Vidas reached the Legendary-realm, he was allowed to create his own Magical Domain. He then created a nature domain.

    Judging from the natural aura of the branch, it was extremely beneficial for the nature domains of elves. If Vidas could incorporate the branch into his natural domain, he would effortlessly break through to level-23. In fact, advancing to level-24 would be possible too.

    Every advancement in any realm above the Legendary-realm would be extremely challenging. Plenty of extraordinarily talented Legendary-mages never got to the Sanctuary-realm despite having used up their entire lifetime to attempt it. Vidas had already lived for almost 1000 years, which was amon phenomenon amongst the elves because they enjoyed long lifespans. However, after they entered the Legendary-realm, there was little to no difference between them and human Legendary-mages. He had stayed in his current realm for several months, but could actually already tell that it would be difficult for him to advance further. The branch had now be all of his hope.

    When Vidas whipped out Helios¡¯ Scepter and introduced it, all of the big shots, including Arathor and William, as well as the leaders of the smaller forces, gasped in shock and fascination. Although they did not know of the elven Dalisma Family, they definitely knew of Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    This staff was a well-known piece of magical equipment during the Dark Age, especially during theter years of it. After the Dark Age ended, humans attacked the elves, but the Helios¡¯ Scepter dealt great damage to the human forces. Hence, Helios¡¯ Scepter was described and mentioned rather frequently in plenty of war reports at that time.

    Of course, when Vidas mentioned Helios¡¯ Scepter, everyone suddenly remembered and thought about the surname Dalisma. The humble elf who was born as a ve managed to be known as Helios, recognized by the elven queen all based on his own abilities and hard work. Later on, she even personally gifted him the scepter. He was a member of the Dalisma Family, and since then, his family became raved about in Anril during the Dark Age.

    William shook his head resignedly, and stared at the figures in the middle of the square. Helios¡¯ Scepter was indeed a tempting treasure to mages, but the problem was that Lin Li had to win the battle against Vidas who was a Legendary-mage who held Helios¡¯ Scepter. Was there even a need to proceed with the battle!?

    However, both William and Arathor were powerless at this point. All they could do was pray that the elven mage Vidas would refrain from going overboard on the ount of the Supreme Council. Anyway, they were betting items, and there was no need to take each other¡¯s life.

    The energy fluctuations exhibited by Helios¡¯ Scepter had really aroused Lin Li¡¯s interest. The set of inviting lines was recited by him in front of everyone, thus signifying the official start of the battle.

    Upon hearing that Lin Li had epted the battle, Vidas sneered coldly in contempt. Although he did not overestimate his own abilities like Lin Li did in his opinion, he did not hesitate tounch his attack. A strong magical wave instantly surrounded the entire square¡ªthat was the so-called dominance of a level-22 Legendary-mage. It even caused a massive energy whirlpool in the air over the square.

    It was a virgin experience for many of the spectators, for they had never witnessed the powers of a Legendary powerhouse before. In their imagination, Legendary-mages were just one level higher than level-19 Archmages, and calling them Legendary was just a form of address. However, after watching what Vidas had just done, they finally realized how ridiculous they were in their assumptions. They could tell just by looking that Vidas was extremely formidable, so much so that they began to shudder in fear¡ªespecially the ones who were weaker. They dared not imagine what it would be like to face his wrath.

    At this moment, Vidas had already removed his disguising spell and exposed his true identity. Since it was a battle, and there had to be spectators and witnesses, there would be no point in concealing his identity anymore. Although the feud between Helios and humans had already ended centuries ago, Vidas did not n to simply win the battle. He wanted to use this opportunity to dere to everyone that the glory of the Vidas Family had yet to end. Those who had the audacity to offend Helios¡¯ family would face severe punishment.

    Vidas¡¯ performance shattered everyst bit of Arathor¡¯s hopes. It was a battle between a Legendary-mage and a supposed Archmage. Was there a need to go to such great lengths just for the sake of winning? <i>They¡¯re indeed different from humans. Can¡¯t they spare a thought for humans who can¡¯t fathom their logic!?</i>

    Arathor began to regret his decision. Who would have thought that a broken branch would cause so much trouble? If it were other elves instead of Vidas, he perhaps wouldn¡¯t agree to hosting the battle and save himself some face. However, Vidas was a descendant of Helios.

    William was just as dejected. He closed his eyes slightly and leaned backwards against the seat, for he no longer wanted to watch the battle that was going on in the middle of the square. There was no doubt or suspense at all. All efforts and scheming tricks would be rendered useless in front of a strong Legendary-mage. Although Mage Felic was an aplished pharmacist, there didn¡¯t exist a potion that would allow him to enter the Legendary-realm directly. Vidas was an elf who had been in the Legendary-realm for numerous years. Hence, a beginner Legendary figure could notpare to him at all. Besides, William had never heard of a powerful potion that would allow one to directly enter the Legendary-realm. If it really existed, he was certain that people would vie to the very end for that potion even if it were auctioned at 150,000,000 gold coins.

    Almost everyone on both viewing decks had prepared to watch the battle. They were all very sure that the young human mage, Lin Li, would be horribly defeated by the Legendary elven mage with just a simple and effortless spell.

    Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were the only ones who were nervously staring at the middle of the square, though Wilkinson had already made up his mind to go back immediately and seek Balbo for help if anything were to happen to Lin Li. He was bent on making Casten Arathor and Vidas pay for what they had done.

    After spending time learning from Lin Li, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists had long been convinced by Lin Li¡¯s pharmaceutical knowledge and respected him for it. They absolutely believed that he knew everything about pharmaceutics, but they were not confident in his magical skills.

    No matter how gifted one might be, his energy would still be limited, especially since Lin Li had just turned 20 years old. Since he had already attained so much knowledge and aplishments in pharmaceutics at such a young age, how could he have had the energy to learn magic properly? Those pharmaceutics Masters who had legendary abilities did not pick their skills up over just one or two days. Most of them started by learning magic first and used their magical abilities to bring them to the Legendary-realm, where they enjoyed increased longevity, after which they started to learn about pharmaceutics.

    Wilkinson and the other pharmacists could not bring themselves to watch the battle any longer. However, they could all tell that the elven mage Vidas was out to kill. They were certain that Lin Li would lose the battle; hence, they were considering how they should take revenge for him.

    Sienna was the only person who had faith and immense confidence in Lin Li, and, unlike the rest, felt that Lin Li would win the battle.

    He thought, <i>Damn it, so what if he¡¯s a Legendary figure? Does he know that Mage Felic had already destroyed a Legendary Lich and a Humerus Wyrm one year ago? He can definitely take on a Legendary elven mage! Yet, all of these people are betting on how long it will take for Vidas to destroy Felic. What a bunch of fools!</i>

    In Sienna¡¯s opinion, thebination of a Legendary Lich and Humerus Wyrm was the most powerful one in the Legendary-realm. Hence, he felt that no one would pose a threat to Lin Li, even if he was a formidable elven Legendary-mage.

    Everyone had amon opinion¡ªthere would ultimately be a distinct winner in the battle, though Sienna¡¯s candidate was different from the rest. Hence, when someone he knew asked him if he wanted to bet how long Lin Li wouldst, Sienna asked, ¡°Can I bet on Mage Felic winning?¡±

    Despite feeling the tension of being in the presence of a strong and dominant Legendary-mage, everyone who heard Sienna¡¯s words burst intoughter as if they had never heard a funnier joke. They actually forgot about their stress and began guffawing loudly, garnering the attention of others who were also curious. Sienna¡¯s words then spread like wildfire throughout the viewing deck.

    ¡°Leader Sienna, you are too humorous. We were all feeling oppressed at first, but you really cracked us up!¡± said the person next to Sienna.

    ¡°My foot. I¡¯m for real. Is there such a bet? I¡¯ll bet on Mage Felic winning,¡± Sienna said in annoyance.

    ¡°Wait... What... what did you say?¡± that person said while suppressing hisughter and staring at Sienna in shock.

    ¡°Cut the crap. Do you dare to take on the bet or not? I¡¯m betting 500,000 gold coins. Mage Felic will win!¡± Sienna eximed, disregarding the power of Vidas. After witnessing and experiencing the power of a Lich, he could take more shock than others.

    In everyone¡¯s opinion, Sienna was just acting like an idiot! They could not figure out how a fool like him managed to win the favor of Casten Arathor, who even appointed him as the leader of the top mercenary corps regiment in Rnd City! There was such a stark contrast between Vidas and Lin Li, yet Sienna failed to see it. He ought to have sensed the formidable aura of the Legendary Vidas.

 Chapter 558 - Legend VS Legend

    <h4>Chapter 558: Legend VS Legend</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°500,000 gold coins. You said it yourself,¡± said Jefferson, a gambling addict who monopolized several gambling dens in Rnd City. He was initially just joking. However, after hearing that Sienna was willing to bet 500,000 gold coins, he decided to take on the bet without hesitation. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll hold you to your word and start the bet for you.¡±

    It was as good as free money.<i> Is Sienna¡¯s brain fried? </i>Everyone surrounding him was actively discussing him. Hundreds of thousands of gold coins were bet on Vidas winning. They were not trying to earn any money, but rather were trying to embarrass the nouveau riche of Rnd City.

    Actually, there was no longer a need for the bet anymore. Sienna was the only one who bet on Lin Li winning. Those who bet on the Legendary-mage Vidas winning were expecting to gain more than 2,000,000 gold coins effortlessly. Sienna obviously knew that they were staring at him like a fool. However, he sneered, and thought to himself, <i>C¡¯mon, keep cing your bets. We¡¯ll see who really is the fool! </i>

    The news soon spread like wildfire on the stage, and the stakes were continuously rising. In fact, Sienna hoped that Lin Li would dawdle beforeunching his attack. By the time they were done, he could perhaps win 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Lin Li had seen and dealt with plenty of Legendary powerhouses before. In fact, he even got insulted by Apophis, a figure of the Sanctuary-realm, on the day that he became the chairman of the Guild of Magic. However, regardless of how Burnside, Apophis, or Sendros undermined him, he would often be confident about how much he could take.

    Although the Lord of Darkness was fierce, he had lost his sentience, after all, and the Crimson Dragon had been imprisoned in the Underground pce for more than 1000 years. When faced with the aura of a level-22 Legendary-mage, Lin Li could clearly sense the huge impact on the transfer of his magical power, which was far less smooth than usual.

    However, Lin Li was not a normal level-20 Legendary-mage, after all. He didn¡¯t study the Book of Eternity for so long for no reason. Besides, he had extraordinary mental strength that would allow him to exhibit his powers when faced with an oppressive level-22 Legendary-mage.

    Just as everyone was cing their bet and mocking Sienna, there was a sudden burst of energy in the Harvest Square, and everyone instantly fell silent. Apart from Sienna, everyone was dumbfounded. Since there were only two people in the square and Vidas had already exhibited his power, whom could that energye from?

    William stood up with surprise written all over his face. It was definitely the aura of a Legendary figure.<i> Could it be that the young Mage Felic is also a Legendary-mage, in addition to being an aplished pharmacist!? Unbelievable. He¡¯s only 20 years old!</i> It was way beyond their imagination.

    At this moment, Arathor, who was still feeling rather worried, thought differently from William. He did not stop worrying just because of Lin Li¡¯s sudden outburst. He frowned and stared nkly at the middle of the square. No matter how formidable Mage Felic might be, he still wouldn¡¯t phase Arathor even if he were a Sanctuary Master.

    Lin Li¡¯s sudden outburst made Vidas feel rather astonished. He¡¯d initially thought that Lin Li was just trying to use a potion to increase his abilities. To his surprise, the human mage Felic managed to hide his power very well; he turned out to be a Legendary-mage. However, even then, Vidas still did not feel any less confident about winning.

    ¡°There are still differences between legends!¡± Vidas remained calm andposed as if he were speaking to himself. He then waved Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand and caused waves to form in the surface of the water.

    The Harvest Square was paved with hard and durablepiszuli, though there were small gaps in between the tiles. The ground of the square was smooth like the surface of rivers during winter. However, the smooth, hard, and t ground was quickly stained with green after Vidas released his Nature Domain. The tender grass grew wildly on the hardzuli tiles and covered the entire square in the blink of an eye.

    Everyone in the Breezy ins was not new to such a sight. However, they could not help but feel shocked to witness it in the Harvest Square. The elves were undoubtedly lovers of nature as evidenced from their beautiful natural magic and domain.

    The grass stopped growing when it reached waist level. However, there were several shoots which grew in the patches of grass rapidly. They seemed to have shot up from the ground and grown into huge trees. At this moment, the Harvest Square turned from a patch of grass into a dense forest. All itcked was some birds and bees.

    When Vidas showcased his Nature Domain, it was just like a wet nket for William whose heart sank to rock bottom. Legendary-mages who could create their own magical domains were at least level-21 and above. Vidas¡¯ natural domain was clearly not newly created. In other words, he had to be above level-21. What about Mage Felic who had continuously been suppressed by Vidas¡¯ aura?

    When Lin Li exhibited his power, those who were betting on Vidas winning were shocked, and began to doubt their conjecture. They began to wonder just whom they should bet on. Those who bet on Mage Felic would only win 500,000 gold coins from Sienna, while those who bet on Vidas would very likely obtain nearly 3,000,000 gold coins. In other words, if Felic were to win, Sienna would get to keep 3,000,000 gold coins.

    However, when they were hesitating, Vidas exhibited the Nature Domain that he¡¯d created, and turned the entire Harvest Square into a dense forest in the blink of an eye. Although birds were missing, he was definitely not inferior to the young mage Lin Li. Hence, everyone felt much more confident. Not only did they increase their bets, they even bet on Vidas winning. They didn¡¯t care for a few hundred gold coins, but they felt that it would be a good idea to embarrass the nouveau riche of Rnd City.

    Sienna was still worried that they might change their minds. To his surprise, the elf Vidas exhibited his Nature Domain, which made them stop hesitating. The bets then increased rapidly to 5,000,000 gold coins like the sprouting shoots in the Nature Domain.

    <i>Damn it, how can there be such a wonderful deal in this world? They¡¯re actually giving me money voluntarily</i>, Sienna thought to himself gleefully, not at all worried that Lin Li might lose. He was not worried that Lin Li would lose, because he was a ruthless person who had managed to break through even the Legendary Lich¡¯s Humerus Domain. What damage could a mere forest do?

    All of the bystanders on the viewing deck, including Wilkinson and the rest, were certain that Lin Li would lose, unlike Sienna who remained positive. Back then, Ujfalusi gave him too strong of an emotional trauma; since then, Ujfalusi had be his greatest fear. Since Lin Li could defeat the terrifying demon, the former was obviously deemed invincible by Sienna.

    Actually, Sienna was rather simr to Wilkinson and the other pharmacists, who felt that Lin Li could solve all pharmaceutical problems. The only difference was that Sienna saw Lin Li as an invincible mage. He was Lin Li¡¯s die-hard fan.

    At this moment, Lin Li had already flown up into the sky and was suspended in the air, with the thick and dense forest beneath him. The leaves rustled in the wind, and seemed to resemble waves in an emerald sea. Vidas¡¯ power indeed did not disappoint Lin Li, who reckoned that elf should be a level-22 Legendary-mage.

    Lin Li¡¯s true abilities were actually only at level-20. However, a level-22 Legendary-mage did not intimidate him at all. He felt that if he were to alwayspare himself to someone weaker, he would never, ever make any progress. Only bypeting with a stronger opponent would he train and improve.

    Opponents were sometimes rarer than friends, especially for Legendary figures who would rarely be able to find a suitable opponent who could let them exert all their power without consideration. Besides, such opponents would usually be useful only once.

    After Vidas released his Nature Domain, the entire Harvest Square was filled with waist-level grass and trees which blocked the view. Had Lin Li not flown up into the air, it would¡¯ve been impossible for the audience to even catch a glimpse. They felt rather dissatisfied because they could not see anything.

    However, at that moment, the dense trees shook vigorously and swayed from side to side before standing up from the ground. They turned into Ancient War Trees which were guardians of the elves. Although they had freshly sprouted, the wrinkled bark made them look aged.

    Those trees were deemed as the guardians of elves after the elves fled into the Emerald Forest while being chased byrge armies. The hundreds of elves who fortunately survived the ordeal no longer had the means to retaliate. At this moment, the Goddess of Forest showed her miracle and turned century-old trees into Trees of War, which helped the elves defeat the tens of thousands of men of coalition forces that chased them down.

    However, there was also another theory, which suggested that the Trees of War were actually indigenous to the Emerald Forest, and had surfaced during the same age as the Dragons and Titans. After the elves entered the Emerald Forest, they broke into the territory of the Trees of War and reached a certain consensus with them. The Trees of War agreed to provide some shelter for the elves. At the same time, that also exined the other theory of Monferra giving the Emerald Forest to the elves.

    Of course, it did not matter which theory was real, because the truth was that the Trees of War were strong guardians of the elves, and made it impossible for any other forces to harm the Emerald Forest. Although the power of the Trees of War was extremely strong, they would never leave the Emerald Forest. Otherwise, just with these hundreds of Trees of War, the elves would have enough strength to wipe out all humans.

    The Trees of War had been around for tens of thousands of years, and each of them had incredible strength that couldpare to that of dragons. However, for the elves, the power of the Trees of War was not the most important. Although the Trees of War had always been bound to Emerald Forest, their long lives allowed them to umte extremely profound knowledge.

    The elves were originally the ves of the High Elves. Although they were not forbidden from learning magic, the magic they had learned was actually the same as what humans learned. However, after entering the Emerald Forest, they were not only shielded by the Trees of War, they even learned the nature magic that was more suitable for their race from the Trees of War.

    At this moment, the Trees of War which had been born in Vidas¡¯ Nature Domain naturally weren¡¯t the actual Trees of Wart that guarded the Elven Kingdom.

    Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have agreed to the battle even if there was just one of them. He would instantly flee as far as he could. There were limits to training, and he would be a masochist if he were to go on and battle them.

    The Trees of War in the Nature Domain could only be considered treemen, which belonged to an advanced nature magic that would turn normal trees into intelligent tree people. Moreover, in nature magic, there were also techniques that would turn beasts into orcs.

    The spectators began to find it peculiar after feeling amazed. Since Lin Li had already started to hover in the air, what could the Trees of War do? They couldn¡¯t possibly fly too, could they? Most of them knew that it would be impossible for the actual Trees of War to be the ones that appeared here, because they had heard that the Trees of War were capable of capturing even dragons, let alone a levitating mage.

    Vidas stood on top of the tallest tree and looked up at Lin Li, who was in the sky. He sneered with contempt, and thought, <i>Although this human mage has reached the Legendary-realm at such a young age, which is rather admirable, this genius mage is destined to be only a piece of history because he has met me today.</i>

 Chapter 559 - Crimson Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 559: Crimson Dragon</h4>

    Although the world was peaceful now, and there hadn¡¯t been anyrge-scale conflict between the Elven Kingdom and human nations for almost 1,000 years, Vidas felt that it was his responsibility to decrease the power of humans as much as possible as an elf. That human mage named Felic was indeed a rare genius, but he had only just reached the Legendary-realm judging from his aura. Level-20 and 22 weren¡¯t just different in terms of numbers. This also meant the difference in grasping of Rule Power. Even a slightly better understanding of Rule Power would result in unimaginable change in power and strength.

    Vidas waved his Helios¡¯ Scepter, and a series of gigantic tree men which were extremely agile shot towards Lin Li. These tree men¡¯s arms were wrapped in thick ck vines. When they leaped into the air, they threw these ck vines in Lin Li¡¯s direction. Lin Li¡¯s tiny body was immediately swallowed in this sea of ck vines that seemed like giant cobras.

    Everyone gasped at this scene unfolding above the Harvest Square. This was the power of a Legendary powerhouse and that of the Magical Domain. Vidas was the king in this Magical Domain that he had created. He controlled everything in this domain. Even though his opponent was also a Legendary powerhouse, a Legendary powerhouse who did not possess a Magical Domain was not ¡°Legendary¡± enough.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Captain Sienna. Although everyone won¡¯t get much, we still thank you for your generosity.¡± The oue of this bet was clear. Some people were already making their way out. Of course, they didn¡¯t forget to mock this newly appointed official of Dnd. It just felt too good.

    Arathor sighed deeply. William stared above the square mindlessly. Thick vines loomed over the entire sky above the square. That Mage Felic was nowhere to be found. That powerful aura distinct to Legendary-mages was also gone in a split second.

    Did everything really end? Wilkinson and hispanions looked up and felt a sense of despair. Where else in Anril could they find another pharmaceutics Master as knowledgeable as Master Felic? Though they had only learned from Mage Felic for a few months, all of them had made great improvements. However, the more they improved, the more they felt that Mage Felic¡¯s pharmaceutics skill was so great it was immeasurable. Although Wilkinson had almost reached Master level, he still didn¡¯t feel like he¡¯d caught up to Mage Felic at all.

    Such a noble pharmaceutics Master had fallen in a meaningless bet shamelessly initiated by a human and an elf in cahoots. This was not just a great loss for Wilkinson himself, but also the entire pharmaceutics industry, and even the entire Anril.

    Be it Casten Arathor of Rnd City, William who¡¯d invited them to the auction, or that wretched elf who was the descendant of the Helios, all of them had to pay for this! Wilkinson swore in his heart that he would definitely punish these scoundrels with his own power even if the Pharmacist Guild wouldn¡¯t avenge Mage Felic because of selfish interests.

    Just as everyone thought that everything was over, a spark of fire erupted from the sea of ck vines hanging over the Harvest Square as if a tiny spark in a tub of oil. However, it grew into a massive fire and engulfed all the vines in the sky. Those ck vines disappeared in a matter of seconds, and dark ash fell to the ground like snow.

    Everyone turned to the sky and got a shock at what they saw. They couldn¡¯t help but exim that it was no wonder this young mage dared to bet with that elf. His life was guaranteed at the very least just relying on this creature.

    Those obstructing vines were cleared from the sky. Where Mage Felic had been, a full-grown Crimson Dragon now stood, pping its wings. Damn it! This trip was really worth it. They got to witness a fight between Legendary powerhouse, the legendary Nature Magical Domain, and now even a full-grown Crimson Dragon!

    This fully grown Crimson Dragon wasn¡¯t the one Lin Li had killed in the underground pce, but rather was created with that Crimson Dragon as foundation. It grew new flesh over the bones of a Humerus Wyrm. It seemed quite redundant to do this. After all, why not directly turn the corpse of the Crimson Dragon into an undead dragon since he had obtained theplete corpse?

    Lin Li had gotten this Humerus Wyrm at the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains. If the Crimson Dragon¡¯s corpse was in the same state as back then, it would indeed be better to turn it into a Humerus Wyrm. However, Lin Li had encountered High Priest Sendros after getting out of the Scar of Death, and Sendros had given him the extremely rare Heart of the Fallen.

    Heart of the Fallen was a treasure that could make any Necromancer go crazy. Even the Darkness Shrine¡¯s High Priest Sendros had only seen six in his lifetime. Three of them belonged to the three Undead Lords of the Shadowglen, while the other three were stored in the Darkness Shrine. The one that Sendros had given Lin Li was one of the three stored in the Darkness Shrine.

    For Undead creatures, integrating a piece of Heart of the Fallen was equivalent to swallowing thousands of soul fires. The only way for Undead creatures to raise their levels was to swallow the soul fire of other Undead creatures continuously. Hence, a Heart of the Fallen was even enough for a Death Knight to rise to a Retribution Knight.

    However, the preciousness of the Heart of the Fallen wasn¡¯t simply that it allowed Undead creatures to improve their power. It wouldn¡¯t be so rare if it could do just that. The real reason why the Heart of the Fallen was so precious was because it could bring life to Undead creatures!

    Although the Humerus Wyrm that Lin Li had gotten from the Scar of Death only possessed a level-20 Dragon Crystal, its soul fire was so pure that even Sendros praised it. ording to Sendros, the purity of this Humerus Wyrm¡¯s Dragon Crystal matched that of the three Undead Lords¡¯s soul fire in the Shadowglen.

    Following Sendros¡¯ rmendation, Lin Li integrated the Heart of the Fallen with the soul fire of that Humerus Wyrm, giving the Wyrm some level of intelligence. Hence, Connoris had advised him to use the Crimson Dragon¡¯s corpse on this intelligent Humerus Wyrm when Lin Li had killed the dragon in the underground pce instead of splitting it up to use for magical equipment.

    Of course, Lin Li hadn¡¯t gotten this precious Heart of the Fallen for nothing. Sendros had received a chance to concoct the Tribute of Darkness in return. It seemed like Sendros was on the losing side since he had used such a precious treasure in exchange for a mere chance. However, if the Tribute of Darkness was sessfully concocted, it¡¯d be far more useful to a Necromancerpared to the Heart of the Fallen.

    The Tribute of Darkness! Lin Li felt rather guilty upon recalling his promise. That was a super potion that even pharmaceutics Gurus couldn¡¯t guarantee to concoct sessfully. If one could guarantee sess, he would probably be stepping into the Divine Smith realm already! Unfortunately, although Lin Li knew the form, he had only a 30% sess rate given his current ability.

    After integrating the Heart of the Fallen into the Humerus Wyrm, it possessed intelligence and life. After Lin Li used the Crimson Dragon corpse yet again and gave the Humerus Wyrm a body, this Humerus Wyrm was no different from a real Crimson Dragon. Perhaps the only difference was that a real Crimson Dragon was so incredibly proud that it wouldn¡¯t let itself be a human¡¯s pet.

    A Crimson Dragon which had integrated the Heart of the Fallen radiated such pure dragon aura that even Vidas who was the closest to Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell that it was an Undead creature, let alone those spectators in the audience. Of course, this Crimson Dragon shouldn¡¯t be considered an Undead creature, but rather a true Crimson Dragon.

    With a dragon¡¯s roar, every animal in Rnd City copsed onto the ground, and every viger started to tremble for no apparent reason.

    Sienna tapped his thigh. Pointing towards the sky, he excitedly yelled to the surrounding people, ¡°Look! Look! I have said this before! How could that elven mage match Mage Felic? Haha! Look at it! It¡¯s a Crimson Dragon, a Crimson Dragon that Mage Felic summoned!¡±

    Seeing how proud Sienna was, some people gnashed their teeth with resentment, some looked towards the sky in contemtion, and some weren¡¯t convinced at all and refuted Sienna. That elven Legendary-mage possessed his own Magical Domain, while Felic was a mage who had only just stepped into the Legendary-realm. Even if Felic had a Crimson Dragon, it would only take the elven mage more effort to defeat him.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Sienna scorned that opinion, and contemptuously said, ¡°No more nonsense! Let¡¯s continue the bet and see who gets thestugh.¡± Sienna didn¡¯t care what level the elven mage was. He firmly believed that Mage Felic could easily handle this elf given that he was able to defeat a terrifying Lich.

    William tapped his chest. Today was such an eventful day! His heart was still beating with perseverance even though it suffered a lot today. Looking at that Crimson Dragon in the sky, he could tell as an appraiser that its power was only of level-21.

 Chapter 560 - Domain Collision

    <h4>Chapter 560: Domain Collision</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After reaching the Legendary-realm and above, the difference between every level in terms of power wasn¡¯t something that could be made up for with numerical advantage. That was because thepetition was no longer about the strength of magical power or mental strength, but rather the understanding of Rule Power. This was like a group of primary-school kidsparing with a university student in terms of general knowledge. 1,000 primary-school kids wouldn¡¯t be a match for a university student. Vidas was a level-22 Legendary-mage who possessed a powerful nature Magical Domain. Even if Lin Li was a level-20 Legendary powerhouse, and had the help of a level-21 Crimson Dragon, the difference in abilities still couldn¡¯t be made up for.

    This was also why the Dark de that possessed three Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t do anything to the Malfa Family, who had only one Legendary powerhouse. The difference in power between Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t be made up for using numbers, even if it was just a difference of one level or even a tiny difference in understanding of Rule Power.

    William was very clear on this. Hence, he wasn¡¯t too optimistic about the situation even after the appearance of the Crimson Dragon. Its appearance could at most increase the Mage Felic¡¯s chance of survival, but it was still impossible for Mage Felic to win this battle.

    Since even William could see this, Vidas, who was on the other side of the bet, was even more aware of it. Vidas was indeed quite shocked at the appearance of the Crimson Dragon. He had thought Lin Li would use potion to increase his abilities, and hadn¡¯t expected him to summon a Crimson Dragon out of nowhere. However, to be very honest, the effect of summoning a Crimson Dragon was even worse than increasing his own abilities.

    ¡°Just a Crimson Dragon! Do you really think you can burn my entire Nature Domain?¡±

    A level-21 Crimson Dragon was nothing to Vidas. One should not think that fire was definitely the Domain¡¯s natural enemy upon seeing the lush forest. The so-called restraint of elements was never absolute. More importantly, it depended on what kind of abilities their users possessed.

    ...Especially so for Nature Magic, which was actually the amalgamation of various elemental rules, and fire element was one of the mandatory items among those. The essence of Nature Magic could be said to be a disy of World Rules. It was every mage¡¯s life goal to create a domain that was simr to the world. Even though the Nature Magical Domain was just based on thebination of derived rules, the magnitude of its Rule Power shouldn¡¯t be underestimated.

    Of course, nothing in this world was perfect¡ªthere were always two sides to everything. Although the integration of Rules of many elements could form a powerful Small World Rule, it was much harder for the creator of this nature Magical Domain to analyze the essence of every elemental Rule deeplypared to realizing the fundamental elemental Rules directly. Hence, it was 100 times harder for the creator of a Nature Magical Domain to understand the essence of World Rules via the Small World Rulepared to an ordinary Legendary-mage.

    In order for a Legendary-mage who created a Nature Magical Domain to understand the essence of World Rules via the Small World Rule, he had to analyze the derived Rule of every single element, and use this analysis to trace back to its origin¡ªthe fundamental elemental Rules. However, immense effort was required in order to gain a thorough understanding of just one Rule, not mentioning the various derived rules from the Small World Rule.

    There was yet another way. That was to constantly strengthen one¡¯s own Nature Magical Domain. Once the Nature Magical Domain was powerful enough, the Small World Rule would naturally be the true World Rule, and its owner wouldn¡¯t even have to analyze the essence of elemental Rules at all.

    These two ways required talent and hard work, respectively. However, both also needed a simr condition¡ªgood luck. Vidas chose the second way as his bloodline of the Helios Family enabled him to gain more from his hard work. The effect of the bloodline was still very limited. Even though he could gain many times more than others from his hard work, he still teaued at level-22.

    In order to improve his Nature Magical Domain as a whole, he needed a treasure which contained powerful and pure nature energy. Vidas had put all his hopes on the branch now. This wasn¡¯t just a wild guess; rather, he had a strong sense that this branch would be the key to his improvement.

    Not to mention that Lin Li was weaker than him, Vidas would have given his all to seize this rare opportunity even if his opponent had been stronger than him.

    The appearance of the Crimson Dragon didn¡¯t affect Vidas. Fire magic couldn¡¯t pose any threat to the Nature Magical Domain created by a level-22 Legendary-mage. A series of gigantic tree men leaped into the air as if there were springs in their feet. If one were to look at it from afar, he would think that there was a locusts gue in the Harvest Square. However, the spectators sitting in the square watched everything with shock and fear. They feared that the shield of the square would be broken, but they also didn¡¯t want to miss this exciting battle.

    In the air, a scorching dragon¡¯s breath swept past the attacking tree men, and engulfed them with mes. However, the tree men didn¡¯t just turn into ash this time. They continued to attack with their burning bodies like torches, appearing to be even more frightening.

    The Crimson Dragon roared in wrath, and swept out with its muscr tail. The torch-like tree men all fell into pieces with a thud. Explosive sounds came from the sky like fireworks, and sshes of fire immediately followed. The Humerus Wyrm that had integrated the Heart of the Fallen hadpletely recovered thebat instincts of a Wyrm, and didn¡¯t require Lin Li instructions at all.

    Lin Li stood on the Crimson Dragon¡¯s back steadily. The dark clouds above his head loomed even lower. Due to the shielding field of the Harvest Square, the view in front of the spectators¡¯ eyes was rather bizarre. Lush forest covered the ground, while dark clouds only covered the portion of the sky outside the shield<sup>1</sup>.

    Everything withered in the cold winter. Crystal-clear snow fell from the sky, and the lush green was instantly covered by white snow. Everything seemed really beautiful, but this was the collision between Magical Domains. It was apetition between the understanding of Rule Power of mages, and a real battle between Legendary powerhouses.

    However, seeing that Lin Li had disyed his Magical Domain, other than those people purely watching for fun, everyone with some understanding of Magical Domains was rather confused.

    The Frost Magical Domain wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to many, as it was the first domain that the majority of Legendary-mages would create. In other words, the Frost Magical Domain was an extremely ordinary, fundamental, and primitive Magical Domain.

    This was because what mages, especially human mages, learned the most before reaching the Legendary-realm were ice magic spells. Hence, it was easier for mages to understand the Rules of the ice element.

    Many people present knew about this, but this didn¡¯t mean that they looked down on Legendary-mages who used Frost Domains. After all, many of them hadn¡¯t even reached Legendary-realm themselves. The real reason why they were confused by Lin Li¡¯s action was because the opponent he faced was a Legendary-mage who¡¯d created a Nature Magical Domain.

    Although Nature Magical Domain wasn¡¯t exclusive to the elves, almost nobody could match the talent of the elves in terms of learning Nature Magic. Nature Magical Domain was also called a Small World Domain as it included the derived Rules of all fundamental elemental Rules¡ªearth, fire, water, wind, light, and darkness. This formed a Magical Domain that possessed the fetus of a world.

    Comparing Frost Magical Domain to the Nature Magical Domain, the difference in strength was evident. Hence, the spectators all felt that Lin Li should have sacrificed the Crimson Dragon to attack Vidas by surprise in order to get a chance to escape. After all, a 20-year-old Legendary-mage still had a long way to go. Though nobody wanted to acknowledge it, there was a high chance that Lin Li might reach the Sanctuary-realm eventually. With such a bright future ahead, why should Lin Li ruin his future just for some reputation?

    Vidas originally had the same thought as the spectators. The frost Rule, which was also a derived rule from the fundamental elemental Rules, had no advantagepared to Natural Magical Domain. However, Vidas¡¯ heart trembled when these two Magical Domains really collided.

    This Frost Domain definitely was somehow wrong! Vidas didn¡¯t know what the problem was, but the obvious truth was that there was somegging when he used the Rule Power as the controller of his Nature Magical Domain. It felt as if he had gone back to the time when he¡¯d first created the Nature Magical Domain. However, it hadn¡¯t happened for a very long time.

    It was utterly unbelievable that a simple Frost Domain could develop resistance to his Nature Magical Domain. Vidas didn¡¯t dare to underestimate this young human mage anymore. No matter what hid behind this Frost Domain, the undeniable truth was that Vidas felt it more and more difficult to use the Domain¡¯s power, and was unable to bring out his true potential.

    Obviously, Lin Li hadn¡¯t just used a simple Frost Domain. The appearance of this Frost Domain was just to make way for the Light and Darkness Domain like before. The two pieces of the debris of the stars Lin Li had gotten¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark¡ªhad helped him to create this Light and Darkness Domain with the Rule Power they contained.

 Chapter 561 - Surpassing Level-21

    <h4>Chapter 561: Surpassing Level-21</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Light and darkness were two of the seven fundamental elemental Rules. Vidas¡¯ Nature Magical Domain also involved the Rule Power of light and darkness. However, he only made use of the derived Rules of these two elements. Fundamental elemental Rules were closer to the essence of Rule Power, so they naturally suppressed the power of Vidas¡¯ Magical Domain to a certain extent.

    With the difference in levels in the Legendary-realm, it was almost impossible to establish one¡¯s own Magical Domain in another party¡¯s Magical Domain forcefully. However, Lin Li had done it. Although he struggled to control the usually tame magical elements that started resisting his control now, his Light and Darkness Magical Domain still expanded in the Nature Magical Domain slowly but steadily.

    <i>Damn it! Level-22, that¡¯s two levels of difference! It¡¯s not a joke...</i> Lin Li cursed internally, but he didn¡¯t dare to rx even a bit. He gritted his teeth, and blood vessels popped up near his temples. Even with his powerful mental strength, he still had to use all of it under such circumstances. With this continuous exhaustion of mental strength, Lin Li started to feel a little dizzy even though it was just the start of the battle.

    Lin Li could feel that the pressure he encountered in his Light and Darkness Magical Domain increased as the domain expanded more. The speed of expansion also slowed down in the process until the threshold of his resistance was reached. However, just then, the pressure from outside the Light and Darkness Magical Domain suddenly increased immensely. The level-22 Legendary-mage had retaliated. Lin Li¡¯s face darkened instantly. Fresh blood flew from his eyes, nose, and ears due to the forceful exhaustion of mental strength. The Light and Darkness Magical Domain was withdrawn suddenly under the pressure.

    If it had been another person, he probably would have fainted by now. However, Lin Li¡¯s consciousness suddenly became very clear with the external pressure despite the exhaustion of mental strength. The ring made from the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal had not only increased Lin Li¡¯s mental strength every minute, but also made his mental strength purer and more concentrated.

    Under the powerful pressure imposed by a level-22 Legendary powerhouse, Lin Li, who had exhausted his mental strength beyond means, surprisingly fell into a fascinating realm. The entire world of magical elements was presented clearly in front of his eyes. Although he endured even greater pressure than before, he was now able to control magic with more ease. The magical elements strictly followed his instructions, and executed each magical sequence with precision like trained soldiers.

    Lin Li could even feel many things that he had never felt before from the waves of the external pressure. The magic of this level-22 elven Legendary-mage was no longer mysterious. It was as if he had grasped the pulse of his opponent¡¯s magic. Even a minute change couldn¡¯t escape Lin Li¡¯s eyes.

    This felt like a spark of light in the darkness. Lin Li consciously wanted to grasp something, but there seemed to be a veil in between. He could see it, but couldn¡¯t touch it.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Vidas snorted. He was rather surprised that a human level-20 Legendary-mage could still remain standing under his powerful aura for so long. At the same time, he felt rather ashamed. Moreover, he had the Helios¡¯ Scepter with him. Even though it didn¡¯t help to increase his level, the magical attacks from it were far beyond the capacity of a level-22 Legendary-mage.

    Vidas raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter up high, and recited a string of whimsical Elven Language quickly. Powerful magic rippled through the defense shield of the square, and made the spectators experience a moment of suffocation. It was not hard to imagine how much pressure Lin Li would be experiencing inside the defense shield as Vidas¡¯ opponent. The spectators could clearly see that the pathetically small Magical Domain surrounding Lin Li¡¯s bodypletely disappeared under Vidas¡¯ powerful eruption of power. Was this the end? Everyone had this thought in their minds.

    At that exact moment, Lin Li clearly felt theyer of veil hindering him was sliced apart by a sharp knife, and everything became clear.

    Perhaps Lin Li looked no different from just now from a spectator¡¯s point of view. However, Lin Li knew very well that his umtion of all this time had finally led to a qualitative change under the strong pressure of the level-22 Legendary-mage at that very second. He had broken through to level-21.

    Though the difference of one level between level-20 and level-21 seemed insignificant, it meant two different worlds to the Legendary-realm, especially for Lin Li. The understanding of World Rules and usage of Rule Power were totally different upon reaching level-21, and he was like a frog leaping out of a well. With a different view, the perception of the world in and out of the well werepletely different.

    1The mysterious and pressuring magic applied by the level-22 elven Legendary-mage seemed to have taken off all its camouge and exposed its core essence. The magical elements¡¯ sequence, the waves of mana... no detail could escape Lin Li¡¯s eyes.

    After deciphering every detail of his opponent¡¯s magic and domain, Lin Li could reconstruct his Light and Darkness Magical Domain under the strong pressure of his opponent¡¯s domain through his understanding of Rule Power, although he couldn¡¯t directly alter the rules of the Nature Magical Domain.

    The snowden forest slowly lost its original green, and those leaping tree men turned gray and dull. What surprised people more was the fact that the Crimson Dragon that was fighting with the tree men lost its red color too. The entire Harvest Square slowly turned into a ck-and-white world.

    People were used to seeing a vibrantly colored world, so they were not ready to see this ck-and-white world at all. The spectators gasped. They had never seen anything as peculiar as this. Could it be a Magical Domain? Then was it Light or Darkness? In people¡¯s understanding, light and darkness were two conflicting elements. How could they be used to form a Magical Domain together? Moreover, Lin Li¡¯s abilities made many puzzled. He didn¡¯t seem to be behaving like a Legendary-mage who had just reached the Legendary-realm recently.

    Lin Li strengthened the powers of Light and Darkness continuously, and even gave up on the control of the Frost Domain. Without the support of the Frost Domain, the thickyer of snow melted quickly, revealing the charred trees beneath.

    From this moment onwards, in fact, Vidas was no longer fighting with Lin Li, but rather the two pieces of the debris of the stars that Lin Li held onto¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark. Vidas was fighting with the pure and powerful Light and Darkness Rules that these pieces contained. Lin Li wasn¡¯t as unfamiliar with the usage of the two pieces of the debris of the stars as before. His understanding of the two Rules was also much better than during the several times he¡¯d used them before.

    ¡°Knowledge is the most powerful belief of a mage.¡± This was the true gift Lin Li had gotten from the ckstone Mountains. The Book of Eternity was not just a tool for bing a god, but also contained a lifetime of experiences and thoughts of the God of Mages, Geresco. The ¡°Eternity¡± in the Book of Eternity wasn¡¯t referring to the leaves of Eternity, from which the book was made, but rather the deep knowledge inside the book. Only knowledge was truly eternal.

    As the God of Mages, Geresco certainly had god-like magical skills. His magical skills shouldn¡¯t even bebeled as skills, as they had surpassed the levels of an art, and truly reached the divine realm. Lin Li read the Book of Eternity ever since he hade back from the ckstone Mountains, and he gained so much from every single read. His understanding of magic itself as well as its usage now was far beyond what he had had when in the ckstone Mountains.

    With the umtion of knowledge through constant study, Lin Li naturally became more powerful by the day. The power that Holy Light and Gloomy Dark could release under his control was far greater than when he¡¯d been in the ckstone Mountains. Holy Light and Gloomy Dark were not just magical weapons now, and were not even limited to constructing the Light and Darkness Domain.

    Back at the Endless World, Lin Li was only a Hunter when he had gotten the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, his usage of the debris of the stars was very simple: he¡¯d install them on the Stars of Fury and pull the trigger. Back then, he had never thought that the debris of the stars could be used for anything other than shooting.

    To a certain extent, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had integrated with Lin Li as one. However, they also seemed to be gifted with life, and became individual presences. Even without Lin Li¡¯s control, they still followed their own Rules and unleashed their Rule Power to deal with the various changes in the Rule Domain.

    Although others saw a battle between Lin Li and Vidas, the actual battle yed out between Vidas and the two pieces of the debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark¡ªwhich made use of Rule Power. Lin Li just waited in silence at the side, waiting for an opportunity to truly threaten this level-22 Legendary-mage.

    After all, Vidas was still a level-22 Legendary-mage who had created a Nature Magical Domain with Small World Rule. Hence, he had immense advantage even when battling a human mage of simr level, not to mention Lin Li, who had just reached level-21<sup>1</sup>.

    The series of shocking moves that Lin Li had made, including summoning the level-21 Crimson Dragon and the two pieces of the debris of the stars, were just to cause some trouble to Vidas while ensuring his own safety. In order to truly defeat Vidas, this was far from enough.

 Chapter 562 - Nightmare

    <h4>Chapter 562: Nightmare</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everything in the square turned ck and white. The Crimson Dragon turned into a ck dragon, and the fire it spat out became white. Those leaping tree men turned charcoal-ck when they didn¡¯t even reach the mes. Although the battle in this ck-and-white world seemed dullpared to the vibrant world earlier, it was still something new for the spectators who had never seen a ck-and-white world before.

    Before Lin Li had released his Light and Darkness Domain, the tree men smashed by the Crimson Dragon and the grass burned by the dragon¡¯s fire all returned to their original state instantly. However, in this ck-and-white world now, the recovery of the Nature Domain was evidently much slower. This made Lin Li gradually rx his locked eyebrows. With William¡¯s vision, he could naturally see that Lin Li¡¯s life wasn¡¯t threatened at the very least.

    ¡°How is that? Continue the bet! Nobody wants to increase his bet? Hey, old gambler, you¡¯d better be clear with that betting list. If there¡¯s any problem, I will go to your casino every day with my men,¡± Sienna yelled excitedly. He couldn¡¯t help but feel excited, since those people who had bet against him had bet a total of more than 7,000,000 gold coins. Although these coins were not his yet, he believed that they were just temporarily in the hands of others now.

    Seeing Sienna¡¯s arrogance, the others didn¡¯t mock him like before. Instead, they stared at the center of the square tensely, praying that the elf named Vidas wouldn¡¯t disappoint them. They had thought the oue of the battle was clear, and wanted to mock Sienna. That was why they had bet so much money, thinking it would still be in their pockets in the end. However, judging from the current situation...

    They regretted their decision so much. They had outsmarted themselves.

    Wilkinson and hispanions stared at the center of the square with admiration. Nobody would believe the person standing on the back of the ck dragon was just 20 years old. Nobody would also believe that he had already reached the level of a pharmaceutics Master. Though being a pharmaceutics Master and a Legendary-mage wasn¡¯t conflicting, and was even a typical phenomenon, it was still unbelievable when it came to a youth who was just 20.

    Wilkinson thanked his teacher who had sent him to the Tower of Dusk all the more in his heart. This training was a chance for him to achieve a meteoric rise in abilities. If not for this chance, he would still be a medium-level pharmacist, epting all the ttery from others in the Pharmacist Guild.

    The spectators each had different thoughts in mind, but all of them locked their eyes above the square to concentrate on the ck-and-white but vigorous battle, not wanting to miss a moment of it.

    Suddenly, everyone thought they had seen an illusion. The ck-and-white scene shed quickly for a few times as if they had blinked. Many people robbed their eyes hard simultaneously, only to realize the frequency of the shing had increased.

    Vidas finally retaliated. No matter how bizarre Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain was, the difference in level wasn¡¯t so easily made up for. As he increased the power of the Nature Magical Domain by giving his all, the shes turned longer, changing the scene from ck-and-white to green for an instant each time. Even people who weren¡¯t sure of the situation could see that Vidas had regained the upper hand now.

    However, what Vidas was battling wholeheartedly was in fact merely the two pieces of the debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark. Vidas¡¯ real enemy, Lin Li, didn¡¯t suffer much pressure from Vidas, and just stood there like a spectator.

    This was the chance Lin Li had been waiting for. When Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had taken up all of Vidas¡¯ attention and strength, withdrawing it all at once wasn¡¯t an easy task.

    Lin Li¡¯s Summoning Lamp shed, and the Magic Lamp that was first sealed¡ªLord of Nightmares¡ªwas summoned. This Lord of Nightmares was first used by Lin Li to deal with those mercenaries sent by Harvey back in the ckstone Mountains. However, the Lord of Nightmares wasn¡¯t so weak given the fact that it had once been a true Demon Lord.

    However, the Lord of Nightmares didn¡¯t pounce at Vidas directly. Its body spread all around the area like fog. Lin Li put away his Summoning Lamp, and resumed control over the Light and Darkness Domain. He exerted more pressure on Vidas in a bid to prevent him from being able to deal with external factors.

    The Lord of Nightmares hadpletely lost its original form, and blended into the Light and Darkness Domain. It turned into a faintly discernible fog, slowly expanding in the Light and Darkness Domain. Nobody noticed that the fog the Lord of Nightmares had transformed into expanded more and more with every sh between the colorful and ck-and-white world. The area it covered was even approaching the tree crown Vidas was standing on.

    Only when the shing stopped and the world was fixed as ck-and-white did people realize in shock that a thick fog had enveloped the spot that Vidas was standing at. This fog didn¡¯t stop just right there. After the Light and Darkness Domain stabilized, it spread throughout the entire domain with astounding speed.

    ¡°Finally no more shes!¡± Many spectators groaned as they rubbed their foreheads. The high-frequency shes between a colorful and ck-and-white world had made all low-ability spectators very dizzy. They even thought they were under some magical curse. Now that the world was fixed as ck-and-white, they felt much morefortable and less worried.

    These people were just dazed by the shes, but didn¡¯t understand anything about the battle at all until now. A battle between Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t be understood by people who hadn¡¯t reached the Legendary-realm yet. They could only know something about the battle from legends and hearsays.

    Not to mention these people, even the knowledgeable appraiser, Master William, couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on now. Arathor¡¯s lips moved, but he didn¡¯t dare to ask William, and only stared at the center of the square with many thoughts in mind.

    Everyone was staring at the square, but the square had nothing to see. There was no sign of Vidas or the lush forest in the Nature Domain. Only thick fog was visible.

    ¡°Hmph! This is ridiculous! Do you think you can defeat me just like this?¡± Vidas sneered in the fog. This sudden change didn¡¯t affect his confidence. He mocked, ¡°The difference between level-20 and level-22 is upensable. I acknowledge your abilities and techniques. After all, you were able to reach Legendary-realm at such a young age. However, don¡¯t forget that there¡¯s still different standards in the Legendary-realm. With your current abilities, you can¡¯t control aplex domain well. Give up! If you persist, you will only be injured by your own domain. I won¡¯t be harmed at all.¡±

    As Vidas¡¯ voice rang out, those people who were worried about their bet now jumped in joy. Although they weren¡¯t sure about the Legendary-realm, everyone knew what the difference in levels meant given that Vidas had said it so outright.

    However, Lin Li neither responded to Vidas nor stopped his actions. The fog in the Light and Darkness Domain continued to toss and turn. It didn¡¯t get thinner as it spread over arger area, but rather became thicker till it turned opaque. Under the puzzled nces from the spectators, the fog tossed and turned until Lin Li was also engulfed by it.

    Everyone watched the square with a stunned face. That area was like a crystal jar filled with thick fog. Other than fog, all they could see was still fog.

    The Lord of Nightmares was originally the Abyssal Demon Lord sealed in this Summoning Lamp after being defeated by the Magic Legion led by the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric. ording to Connoris, there were 12 Summoning Lamps at first, prepared by Osric to be used as weapons for the Eternal Furnace. However, the High Elves¡¯ regime waspletely overthrown before he could finish building the Eternal Furnace. Hence, the 12 Summoning Lamps all disappeared without a trace.

    Thismp Lin Li held onto now was a gift from Englos from the Brilliance Shrine, given to Lin Li when he was appointed the President of the Guild of Magic. However, he hadn¡¯t gotten it for nothing. Pope Rosario had been poisoned by a prehistoric viper, and needed a cure, which was a potion hard to concoct.

    Though the Lord of Nightmares had only been the Demon Lord of the first few levels of the Abyss, it still had the power of the Legendary-realm. However, its strength decreased immensely after being sealed by Osric. Although Lin Li was the owner of the Summoning Lamp, he couldn¡¯t gain full control of the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ power. He could only borrow a fraction of its power every time he summoned the Lord of Nightmares.

    Instead of saying summoning the Lord of Nightmares, it was more urate to call it unsealing. After all, Vidas was a level-22 Legendary-mage, and just summoning a shadow of the Lord of Nightmares wouldn¡¯t do any harm to him.

    After the Lord of Nightmares had integrated itself into the Light and Darkness Domain, its sealed power was immediately recovered, and its strength increased exponentially, making it even more powerful than at its peak. An endless dream was created, and trapped both Lin Li and Vidas inside. This power wasn¡¯t violent, but it seamlessly reached the bodies of people without any defense.

    The spectators stared at the center of the square, stunned, but they couldn¡¯t see anything other than that jar of fog. Moreover, they hadn¡¯t heard anything else after Vidas had spoken. Hence, nobody knew what was happening inside.

 Chapter 563 - Victory

    <h4>Chapter 563: Victory</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was undoubtedly making a huge and dangerous gamble bying up with such a move. He was putting Vidas and himself in a situation that was extremely dangerous. Although he had the Summoning Lamp, the effects of themp would be greatly decreased and hindered when the Lord of Nightmares maximized his abilities. However, it was indeed the best way to deal with Vidas at this juncture.

    Lin Li had just broken through to level-21, but the difference between him and the level-22 Vidas could not bepensated for at all. Although Lin Li had summoned the Crimson Dragon and activated Holy Light and Gloomy Dark¡ªthe debris of the stars, there was still a huge distance between them that could not be closed.

    1Hence, not only did Lin Li release the Lord of Nightmares, he also controlled the Light and Darkness Domain, allowing the Lord of Nightmares to absorb all of the energy and advance from a fallen creature of the Legendary-realm, a level-22 legend. Although the Lord of Nightmares was on the same level as Vidas now, with thebination of the characteristics of the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ domain and the Light and Darkness Domain, there was no way Vidas could resist; hence, he sunk deep into a trance.

    Although Lin Li also ended up getting attacked by the Lord of Nightmares because he had lost control over him, the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ level-22 power seemed to have be insignificant. It would mean that Lin Li and Vidas were put on the same level, and they both had to face an endless dream induced by the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ domain.

    Lin Li had no idea what Vidas would be meeting with, nor did he have the time to make any guesses, because he had already begun a surreal journey in a dream.

    The spectators were staring foolishly at the center of the square even though they could not see anything because of the thick fumes of smoke. Besides, everything seemed to havee to a standstill after Vidas spoke. No one knew what went on in there.

    All Arathor could do was order his subordinates to supply the power core of the mageweath with more magical crystals to maintain the defensive force of the entire protective barrier. God knew what damage the two Legendary figures might do to the entire city if there wasn¡¯t a protective barrier to protect it.

    Wilkinson closed his eyes slightly, and leaned back in the seat. Although he seemed to be resting, he had never felt so nervous before. Wilkinson and the other pharmacists were also staring at the square nervously. Although Sienna was extremely confident in Lin Li, he still felt nervous because he could not see anything at all.

    The others on the viewing decks were feeling nervous and worried because they had bet heavily on Vidas. The power and abilities exhibited by the young Lin Li were extremely formidable and daunting. If the 20-year-old Legendary-mage, Lin Li, could win the battle, the Tower of Dusk would definitely be one of the strongest forces of the Breezy ins. That would greatly affect the structure of the Breezy ins. If he were to lose, no one would be surprised as to what it would entail, because they all thought that it was impossible for him not to have the support of some major force. If anything were to happen to him, there would definitely be a major shuffle in the forces of the Breezy ins.

    Everyone was feeling nervous, but the center of the square was bizarrely quiet, and nothing could be seen. All the spectators could do was wait patiently for the revtion at the end.

    Lin Li had already lost track of time. His dreams seemed to be a microcosm of life where there were highs and lows, ups and downs, happiness and misery, and peace and danger. The initial absurdity began to fade as everything started to seem realistic. The Lord of Nightmares continuously adjusted the scenes in the dreams.

    Before Lin Li decided to release the Lord of Nightmares, he had indeed considered his immunity to the dream, and felt that the greatest joy and most entertaining aspect of transmigration was the opportunity to experience a different life. For example, novels, movies, television dramas, and online games were actually opportunities for others to experience a different life.

    However, when Lin Li truly sunk into the dream conjured by the Lord of Nightmares, he finally realized that it was possible for one to be fully immersed in a dream despite being aware that it was not reality. When one was yelling for a dream to stop, it was perhaps just the beginning, and when came the end of the dream would forever be unknown.

    Lin Li had once been an Abyssal Demon which had been subdued by Osric¡¯s Magic Legion<sup>1</sup>. He had also been one of the hideous and grotesque goblins which got destroyed in a massacre carried out by the High Elves. He had been a dwarf who spent his entire life refining iron. He had also assumed other identities, like a soldier, bandit, aristocrat, and even king. He had experienced all types of lives, and had even once be an elf in the Emerald Forest. He¡¯d learned magic under the strict guidance of his elders, respected and admired by his peers.

    There were plenty of strange dreams, each one more dangerous than the one preceding it. One careless mistake would cause the dreamer to end up losing himself and bing the ve of the Lord of Nightmares. If that were to happen to Lin Li, he would be the first unlucky fool to be enved by the creature that he summoned.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s transmigration experience had indeed given him some immunity to all sorts of dreams, and his strong willpower allowed him to wake up from the dream in the end. In fact, Lin Li even gained more tenacity through the training and experiences he had in the dream. His mental strength increased, and he also discovered plenty of unknown secrets.

    ¡°Hey, hurry and look. The fog is dissipating, and the people within are appearing!¡± someone from the viewing deck yelled.

    Actually, everyone on the deck had already noticed it even before that person reminded them about it. Although it was rather boring to stare at fog, everyone on the viewing deck never stopped paying attention to the scene. The ck fog within the barrier gradually dissipated, and turned from ck to gray, and then finally colorless. It revealed plenty of scenes.

    The lush Nature Domain had long disappeared, and the square was also restored to its original appearance, including the tiles on the ground, which remained seamless. In the vast and t square, there were only two figures remaining. Although none of them had fallen, it was obvious who the victor was.

    Everyone could see how pale Vidas was, and they also noticed the horror in his eyes. He was just like a frightened bird that had already lost the demeanor that he ought to have as a Legendary level-22 figure. On the other hand, Mage Felic walked towards Vidas, smiling, and extended his arm towards him.

    ¡°Mage Felic, please show some mercy, please show some mercy!¡± Arathor shrieked in terror as he flew down the deck and dashed towards the square. However, he had forgotten that there was a protective barrier that even a Legendary figure could not break.

    Thud.

    Arathor¡¯s body mmed against the wall, which he then slid down along, leaving behind a clear trail of blood.

    Lin Li cocked his head towards the side and smiled. However, he did not stop, and instead grabbed the Helios¡¯ Scepter from Vidas and yanked it free from Vidas¡¯ hold.

    The protective field was shut down. Arathor wiped the blood off of his nose before scurrying towards them.

    ¡°Casten Arathor, ording to the bet, this item belongs to me now. Surely you won¡¯t oppose it, will you?¡± Lin Li asked while fiddling with Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    ¡°Go ahead, go ahead...¡± What else was there for him to oppose? Lin Li had already defeated a level-22 Legendary-mage; hence, there was no reason for Arathor to oppose it at all. He was just concerned about Vidas¡¯ current condition.

    However, when he walked towards Vidas, he discovered that thetter had lost his usual arrogance and his eyes had turned ssy. Fear was written all over his face, and he seemed to have gotten a great shock.

    Wilkinson and the other pharmacists and William frantically chased after Arathor, scrambling towards the middle of the square. Their greatest concern at the moment was Lin Li¡¯s safety. After all, the battle had been way too intimidating, and it made them think that the young and ingenious Lin Li had already faced his defeat.

    William scanned Lin Li from head to toe, and only heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that he did not sustain any obvious injuries. Still feeling a little worried, he said, ¡°Master Felic, are... you alright...?¡± He sounded servient, and seemed to be trying to suck up to Lin Li. However, Wilkinson and the rest pushed him away in a hostile manner before Lin Li even answered.

    Wilkinson and the rest had already considered Lin Li to be their teacher. Although the elven mage Vidas was the one who¡¯d started the bet, they definitely didn¡¯t have a good impression of William. If it weren¡¯t because of William¡¯s invitation, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have brought Wilkinson and the other pharmacists to the auction. If it weren¡¯t because of the auction, would the battle have happened? He didn¡¯t send the branch of the Tree of Eternity to the Tower of Dusk, and Wilkinson was infuriated by that. He thought, <i>Did William think that Master Felic would shortchange him? Who else would be able to afford to pay 15,000,000 gold coins for it?</i>

    Of course, even though Wilkinson was displeased with William, his main concern at the moment was still Lin Li¡¯s condition. The bunch of pharmacists frantically surrounded Lin Li and asked about his condition and whether he was alright. They wanted to know if he was unwell and if he needed some potions. They even offered the potions that they had concocted themselves, and introduced him to their respective effects, all for fear that Lin Li had sustained internal injuries from the battle.

    Lin Li did not react much, but the other guests who rushed forth stared at him with their eyes wide open, all green with envy. Unfortunately for them, they did not have the rights to step forth to chime in, and could only watch from the side.

 Chapter 564 - Set In Stone

    <h4>Chapter 564: Set In Stone</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    No one had expected that the battle whose oue they had been extremely certain of at first would turn out to have such a surprising end...

    Actually, it was not everyone, for there were some who believed right from the start that Master Felic would win...

    The thought of it made the gamblers¡¯ faces grow sullen, and they thought to themselves, <i>Where the heck did Sienna get that insider information from? How did that scoundrel know that that Mage Felic would definitely win for sure? Damn it, he even won so crushingly. The level-22 Legendary-mage even almost got beaten into a nutcase by that pervert. </i>

    Lin Li triumphed over the elven Legendary-mage Vidas in the end. Apart from winning Helios¡¯ Scepter, he also achieved a breakthrough, which bestowed his abilities with a massive change. He was undoubtedly the greatest winner that day. The other winner was none other than Sienna, who was grinning widely from ear to ear...

    No one had believed that Lin Li would win, and they were all waiting to see Sienna make a fool out of himself. Apart from those who dared not offend Sienna, everyone else ced bets that were worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, causing the cumtive pot to end up amounting to almost 10,000,000 gold coins. Sienna ced a 500,000-gold-coin bet, and even if they were to win, they would only receive a few gold coins. However, now that Sienna had won, he would be receiving the entire pot of almost 10,000,000 gold coins. Of course he¡¯d be thrilled about the windfall.

    After reaching an agreement with the old gambler Jefferson, Sienna stepped onto the square with happiness written all over his face, and walked towards Lin Li. He obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to keep the gold coins without saying anything. Although he had already ced a bet, Master Felic was the one who allowed him to win it.

    Those who were feeling upset, unlike Sienna, were unhappy not only because they had be fools because of Sienna, but rather because they discovered how formidable Lin Li was. Master Felic was the owner of the Tower of Dusk and the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, which housed the pharmacists they¡¯d wanted to poach earlier on. Had they known earlier that the Legendary-mage Felic was the owner of the Tower of Dusk, they would have never dared to poach the pharmacists, for it was akin to courting death.

    Some of them had long broken out in a cold sweat, and were nervously wiping the sweat off of their foreheads while feeling fortunate. They were not kindhearted people, and when the branch was auctioned off for 15,000,000 gold coins, they were thinking about snatching the branch from the upstart Lin Li after he left. They thought that Lin Li was just an arrogant idiot who knew nothing, and felt that the security in Rnd City was insignificant.

    However, in reality, the ridiculous thing was that the idiot turned out to be them instead. If it weren¡¯t because of Vidas, perhaps they would have been destroyed for trying to rob Lin Li. There was nothing more absurd and silly than that.

    Although they were all leaders of strong, major forces, everyone knew that they were just an absolute joke in front of the Legendary powerhouses. Those Legendary-mages had the ability to destroy them and their citypletely without much effort. It was apparent from the way the Harvest Square looked now. The millennium-old Harvest Square couldn¡¯t even withstand the damage that resulted from the two extraordinary mages¡¯ battle despite the mageweath arrays. It was ruined beyond recognition...

    Only legends couldpare to legends, especially those who had attained Magical Domains. Those below the Legendary-realm were all insignificant.

    Not to mention, the owner of the Tower of Dusk was not only a strong Legendary-mage, he had also defeated another Legendary-mage. However, he was only 20 years old. Although the guests had all lost the bet to Sienna, none of them were fools, especially since they had received an invitation to the auction. They were well aware of what the 20-year-old Lin Li signified.

    Upon sight of Sienna walking towards the middle of the square, the people standing by the square looked at each other. Although there was no verbalmunication involved, they shared tacit understanding through eye contact. Since their mistakes had been made, what they had to do now was not to escape reality, but to find ways to make up for it. Otherwise, their forces might just disappear from the Breezy ins one day. At the thought of the tragic end that they might face, everyone could not help but shiver and step into the square.

    Click!

    The smooth and cleanpiszuli of the square¡¯s ground shattered loudly and clearly like ss despite having endured countless diatorpetitions over the past years. The cracks seemed to have spread like a cobweb from the feet of the guests and towards the rest of the tform on the square. Next, everyone felt themselves losing bnce and sinking downwards involuntarily. The firm ground seemed to have be hollow too.

    Before they could even react, the 84 stone pirs surrounding the square also copsed in all directions, causing thickyers of dust to fill the air. The huge stone pirs mmed heavily onto the ground, causing a loud and explosive sound that was apanied by sshing stone debris. The pirs near the viewing deckspletely ruined the decks too.

    Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and the initially perfect Harvest Square was destroyed before them.

    Everyone knew that the Legendary-mages were strong and formidable to the extent of being unparalleled. However, at the start, everyone had had no clear idea exactly how strong they were. They finally had a deeper understanding of how strong they were after the experience.

    It would be easy to destroy a square, but not if the square was surrounded by a strong defensive mageweath. Achieving thetter would be an incredible feat. As the casten of Rnd City, Arathor was well aware of the strength of the mageweath of the Harvest Square. That was also the very reason he¡¯d chosen to host the battle there. He¡¯d been confident that the mageweath could withstand the damage inflicted by the two of them, but the Harvest Square was clearly in need of maintenance. Arathor stood in the pit and looked at the run-down square that had been destroyed on all sides, feeling extremely agonized.

    Lin Li was not surprised by this situation at all. Although the nature domain used by Vidas was termed as a Magical Domain of the Small World Rules, the foundation was based on elemental Rules of earth element. When Vidas exhibited the nature domain just now, he also manipted the earth element in addition to putting his mana to use. Hence, it was not surprising that the square had been destroyed.

    This sudden change caused many people to be affected and dirtied by the debris, though Lin Li managed to use magic to protect Wilkinson and the other pharmacists in time. Hence, Lin Li and the pharmacists were the only ones in the square, standing on a small, circr patch that remained unaffected. Lin Li stood still and spoke to Wilkinson and others indifferently. He would asionally respond to William, and did not seem like he had just fought a thrilling battle.

    However, in his heart, Lin Li was constantly thinking about the Legendary battle that had been absolutely daunting. He was the only one who knew how tough and dangerous that battle had been just now. The elven Legendary-mage Vidas was undoubtedly a descendant of Helios. A level-22 Legendary-mage was definitely a powerhouse who would be at the top of the hierarchy in Anril. Except for those Legendary powerhouses that only existed in myths and tales, elven Legendary-mages were almost invincible. In fact, even a Legendary-mage could not afford to provoke them...

    Lin Li was actually rather well aware of his own strength and abilities, though his self-awareness did not affect his confidence. Although he used to be a top level-20 Legendary-mage, he held three pieces of the debris of the stars, and had a terrifying advantage of being a master of all trades. However, he really was not as good as the elf, Vidas. The gap between them was not just in level, but also in terms ofbat experience and understanding of the Rules. Even the magic that he was proud of was inferior whenpared to the elven Legendary-mage¡¯s.

    That was how formidable and unique the elves were. Apart from the High Elves who were deemed as the most perfect creatures in the world, the elves were perhaps the most unique mages. Their natural physical affinity with elements allowed them to umte magic at an unimaginable speed. Even a newborn elf would easily be recognized as a mage. That was impressive even ifpared to the High Elves.

    What made the human race even more jealous was the fact that the elves were the apple of the Goddess of Nature Monferra¡¯s eye. They had extremely long lives that granted them the opportunity to be formidable and unrivaled even if they were to use just one-tenth of their time studying magic. The only good thing was thatpared to the huge poption of humans, the number of elves had always been small. Otherwise, they would have long ruled the entire world of Anril like the High Elves.

    As the descendant of Helios, the Legendary-mage Vidas was clearly a ssic elf. His extremely long life had brought him iparablebat power, and let him suppress Lin Li during the battle just now.

 Chapter 565 - Terrifying Dream

    <h4>Chapter 565: Terrifying Dream</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Despite being under that unbearable pressure and suppression, Lin Li had actually made a breakthrough, and advanced from level-20 to level-21. That was an absolute difference in strength. Even though Lin Li had broken through to level-21, the Light and Darkness Domain that he had created actually was not on par with Vidas¡¯ Nature Domain.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had already seized the opportunity to turn the situation around by using the Summoning Lamp to summon the Lord of Nightmares from the Abyss, the oue of the battle might have been different. The thought of it made Lin Li feel terrified even though he remained calm on the surface.

    Although the Lord of Nightmares who used to be a Demon Lord did not show too strong of abat prowess in the previous battles, Lin Li actually knew that the true power of the Lord of Nightmares should not be reflected in this aspect. The most brilliant thing about the Lord of Nightmares was that he could manipte dreams. This advantage had never impressed Lin Li; hence, that ability had rarely been showcased on his orders.

    For example, the Lord of Nightmares would be doomed to be powerless when faced with the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. At the end of the day, the Lord of Nightmares was still just a top-tier Demon Lord who could neverpare to the level-27 Lord of Darkness of the Abyss of Tharlen¡ªregardless of how well he could manipte dreams. That was the Level Rule that had existed since a long time ago. It could never be changed, even if the Lord of Nightmares had already been sealed and contained in the Summoning Lamp.

    When Lin Li faced the Crimson Dragon in the underground pce back then, the Lord of Nightmares could not cause the simple-minded wyrm to slip into aplicated nightmare. In fact, it was still a debatable issue as to whether or not simple-minded beasts like wyrms could slip into nightmares and dreams...

    That was the limit of the Lord of Nightmares¡¯ abilities, which was also the reason he could only dominate the first few levels of the abyss. However, things were much different during the battle between Lin Li and Vidas. Although the Level-22 Vidas was impressive and formidable, he was still an elf at the end of the day.

    Although it sounded rather contradictory, it was indeed very interesting. Vidas possessed such great power mostly because he carried the elven blood. However, his identity of an elf was also the very reason he¡¯d lost the battle and the gamble.

    Nothing was perfect in this world, and the elves were contradictory entities to begin with. They were unique, and had element affinity as well as long lifespans that humans were jealous of. However, they also had some handicaps, which was rather ridiculous.

    Even a mage apprentice in Anril would know that the best way to deal with an elf was to use Mental Spells, be it a level-5 Delirium or a level-20 Soul Puppet. As long as Mental Spells were used on elves, there would definitely be unexpected effects. This was a characteristic of elves, a race that was inherently full of contradictions. They were born with the power to pursue all the good things, and detested all the ugly beings. The world of elves was always ck and white, and their outlook on life was much weaker and worse than that of (human) children.

    The Lord of Nightmares¡¯ strongest ability was his proficiency in mental spells, of course. As a true master of Mental Spells, the Lord of Nightmares could manipte dreams as and when it wanted to. Even though the Legendary-mage Vidas was level-22, he was extremely fragile in terms of mental strength when faced with the Lord of Nightmares who could easily invade his dreams, especially when Lin Li incorporated the Lord of Nightmares into the Light and Darkness Domain and lent its power to the Lord of Nightmares. It then possessed a terrifying power that was unprecedented. That power was close to level-22, and it wouldn¡¯t be inferior evenpared to Vidas.

    Under such circumstances, it was only normal for the Legendary-mage Vidas to be controlled by the Lord of Nightmares.

    If it were to happen during other times, such dream maniption wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. After all, a level-22 Legendary-mage wouldn¡¯t be destroyed as long as his domain was still intact, regardless of whether his dreams were manipted. No matter how horrifying and absurd the dream might be, it would be rather difficult to inflict actual harm on Vidas.

    Unfortunately, Vidas ran into Lin Li this time.

    The dreams that Lin Li had created through the Lord of Nightmares were terrifying enough to scare even historical figures like Apophis and Rosario.

    The terrifying world that was made of reinforced concrete contained big steel birds that flew in the sky and poor human beings who were locked in boxes. As if that wasn¡¯t daunting enough, there were still Sword Sages who could contort their bodies into horrifying shapes. The handsome demon, Brother Zeng, the Legendary-mage who controlled meteor showers, and the prophet Phoenix Lady whom no one could match up to in the past 500 years<sup>1</sup>...

    Everything was beyond Vidas¡¯ imagination; he could not understand how the young President of the Guild of Magic would have such a shameful past<sup>1</sup>.

    Although the battle had already ended, people like Vidas would be able to figure out the reason for their loss with some brief analysis. However, he had no choice but to admit that the young President of the Guild of Magic was indeed a true genius.

    His talent went far beyond magic, and although it was horrifying that he had be a Legendary-mage despite being only 20 years old, what truly shocked Vidas was the incredible talent that the young Lin Li had showcased during the battle. It was an impressive ability that Vidas had never seen before, be it Lin Li¡¯s usage of magical power or his grasp of the changes in magical waves, as well as his determination.

    There was no doubt that the young mage had defeated him by manipting dreams, but as a level-22 Legendary-mage, Vidas obviously knew that dreams were not created out of nowhere, and there must have been an actual source to make it possible. He was sure that the realistic dreams he had were experiences that Lin Li had gone through.

    That was what scared Vidas the most¡ªhe couldn¡¯t imagine how tough a person had to be to remain normal after such terrible experiences. Although Vidas did not lose in terms of magical abilities, he was convinced by the young human Legendary-mage. Therefore, although Lin Li took away Helios¡¯ Scepter which he could not bear to give away at all, his pride as an elf prevented him from going back on his word.

    As the winner of the Legendary-realm battle, Lin Li¡¯s gains today were undoubtedly the biggest. However, achieving a breakthrough under the massive pressure and suppression of one¡¯s opponent was not that great of a gain or aplishment, since he¡¯d already been at the peak of level-20, and it had only been a matter of time before he¡¯d break through to level-21.

    Lin Li was very clear that the benefits that the battle had brought him went far beyond the advancement to level-21. A battle between Legendary powerhouses, especially those like Vidas, was rather rare for most, and one might never experience one in their entire life. Hence, it was an extremely valuable experience for Lin Li.

    Fighting with a Legendary-mage who was also an acquaintance could at most only be regarded as a spar because no one would exert their full power. However, many things could only beprehended when one was on the brink of death. What Lin Li had beencking after bing a Legendary-mage was exactly an actual opponent.

    The impact of the Legendary-realm battle was absolutely great on Lin Li. Although the effects had yet to show, Lin Li was well aware that the impact on himself left by this battle was far more than just the seemingly simple increase of control of strength and familiarization with Rules. The near-death experience would take him to greater heights in his magic journey.

    <i>Oh, and this... </i>

    Lin Li took Helios¡¯ Scepter out of his hand. The gains of the battle extended beyond just valuable experience, and the scepter was definitely an unexpected surprise. Originally, he¡¯d believed that if Vidas could not recognize the new debris of the stars, he wouldn¡¯t have known the true value of the branch. Hence, the so-called stake of equivalent value would not have been too great. However, Lin Li could immediately tell the extraordinariness of the scepter.

    The rod of Helios¡¯ Scepter was not as borate as the currently existing staffs. Instead, it was rather simple, awkward, and had a typical Dark Age style. The material that the scepter was made of was mentioned in many historical books, and was said to havee from the Tree of Life of the Emerald Forest.

    Legend had it that in the era when the High Elves ruled the world of Anril, there were countless Trees of Life growing next to the Tree of Eternity. The Trees of Life were just like subjects clustered around the king of trees¡ªthe Tree of Eternity. In fact, the rtionship between them was almost the same as it seemed. The Tree of Eternity possessed endless power, and had brought about a major cmity and disaster to Anril when it copsed back then. The energy was actually provided by the Trees of Life, which continuously absorbed the Elemental Power between Heaven and Earth, and supplied it to the Tree of Eternity. They were like worker bees and their queen bee.

    Therefore, the branches of the Trees of Life were undoubtedly one of the most suitable materials for making staffs. The natural element absorption ability of the trees was sufficient for the mage holding the staff to cast any spells as he pleased.

 Chapter 566 - Little Plan

    <h4>Chapter 566: Little n</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was just like the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand which possessed an astonishing ability to absorb the magical elements of the world. Usually, a level-13 or level-14 mage would be able tomand magic close to the Archmage level by using the scepter. Not to mention, Lin Li himself had once experienced it himself. Vidas had managed to give him a hard time just now by using Helios¡¯ Scepter...

    The top of Helios¡¯ Scepter was encrusted with a milky white gemstone that was the size of an egg. It emitted a mellow glow, but do not be fooled by its appearance and think that it was as weak as its appeared. When Vidas whipped out Helios¡¯ Scepter, Lin Li instantly recognized it to be the brilliant Sun Stone which contained the most vigorous sr power.

    It was said that the brilliant Sun Stone was a fragment of the sun. Had it been before he came to Anril, Lin Li would have definitely disregarded the mythical backstory. However, he was now in Anril, and had no idea how the sun above him hade about. He was clueless as to whether it was a celestial body or a real deity<sup>1</sup>. Hence, it didn¡¯t seem impossible for the Sun Stone to be a fragment of the sun. After all, its appearance indeed had something to do with the sr activity of this world.

    In this world, brilliant Sun Stones were rare, and those that had been found every now and then were all pea-sized. However, every tiny gemstone contained enough power to render itparable to level-15 magical crystals. The egg-sized Sun Stone encrusted on the top of Helios¡¯ Scepter was by no means inferior to a Legendary magical crystal.

    The brilliant Sun Stone had two magical attributes: light and fire, both of which had great strengthening effects on Light Magic and Fire Magic. Even if it were ced in the Brilliance Shrine, it would definitely be a treasure. If it were to be put up for auction, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for it to be sold for tens of millions of gold coins. In fact, any Legendary-mage who had obtained such a gemstone would never be willing to put it up for auction. Such a brilliant Sun Stone was definitely a rare treasure.

    In addition to the branch of the Tree of Life being the body of the Helios¡¯ Scepter, there was also a huge, brilliant Sun Stone encrusted on the top. The mageweath used by the scepter was also a highlight that couldn¡¯t be ignored. Lin Li, who had the judgment of a Guru, felt that the mageweath of the Helios¡¯ Scepter could be considered a rare work of art, and was definitely the masterpiece of a master.

    Mageweaths of such high standards were rare in Anril. Several wars broke out at the end of the Dark Age, and although the High Elves were overthrown, the wars resulted in session issues in various professions and industries. Although there were also masters in various professions, like Master Pharmacists and Master cksmiths, they were obviously inferior to those of the Dark Age. Even after thousands of years of research and improvement made by humans, Lin Li could still confidently assert that there was absolutely not a single Master who could draw the mageweath on the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    In the eyes of Lin Li, who was a Guru, the mageweath on the Helios¡¯ Scepter was only a masterpiece of a Master, though there were plenty of highlights about it which he could learn from. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that if a Master of inscriptions thoroughly studied the mageweath on the Helios¡¯ Scepter, he wouldn¡¯t be far from being promoted to a Guru.

    This Master-level mageweath had closelybined the brilliant Sun Stone and the branch of the Tree of Life. It was not just abination of gemstones, but was also the forging of the powers of the two throughmunication between mageweaths. The merging would mean that they were no longer individual entities, and the fused body would exert power that was far moreplicated than just one plus one.

    The Helios¡¯ Scepter could be considered second to none amongst all of the magical equipment currently owned by Lin Li in terms of power. The staff that Lin Li had been using was already the best one in his inventory. However, it seemed to pale inparison to the Helios¡¯ Scepter, which overshadowed it immediately. Even the debris of the stars was not as powerful as the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    While Lin Li was rejoicing, he could not help but secretly feel thankful for summoning the Lord of Nightmares in time. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to suppress Vidas who was using the powerful Helios¡¯ Scepter that could probably only be rivaled by a Legendary-mage who was at his peak or a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Harvest Square had been ruined beyond recognition. Lin Li immediately ced the Helios¡¯ Scepter in the Ring of Endless Storm without asking for Vidas¡¯ opinion, after which he walked down the ruined square with Wilkinson and the other pharmacists.

    Arathor looked at Vidas, who was still a little embarrassed and shocked. The oue was not too bad, because there wasn¡¯t a major problem, after all. Vidas¡¯ loss of the Helios¡¯ Scepter would be a problem between them that had nothing to do with him, since he was just a casten. Seeing that Lin Li and the others had left, he frantically chased after them in a bid to invite them to Casten Mansion where he could make it up to them.

    Lin Li actually didn¡¯t hold anything against Arathor. After all, he was the greatest winner of the battle, and had not only gained preciousbat experience, but also attained the Helios¡¯ Scepter. He even joked about having to thank Arathor, the middle-man...

    However, he did not ept William¡¯s invitation to the auction with the intention to go on a holiday. He could not afford to waste any time at all, and he felt like he was racing against time every single day.

    After turning down Arathor¡¯s invitation, Lin Li, Wilkinson, and the other pharmacists got inside a luxurious carriage prepared long ago for them, and followed William to the Time Consignment Store.

    The auction had already ended, and Lin Li was the ultimate winner. However, William made plenty of gains as well. Putting aside the total amount that he had earned from the auction, the record-breaking sale of the potion and the tree branch which were each sold for millions of gold coins gave the Time Consignment Store and William a boost in reputation. That alone was a massive gain.

    Actually, William ought to be happy about making such gains. However, at this moment, he felt more disturbed and anxious than ever. He thought that he had already overestimated Lin Li, but it seemed now that he had actually underestimated him. Hence, he had behaved inappropriately, and probably offended Lin Li earlier on.

    ¡°Master Felic, you should know how precious those potion recipes are. Hence, I didn¡¯t bring all of them along previously,¡± William exined conscientiously to Lin Li while seated in the carriage.

    Thest time William visited the Tower of Dusk, he was there mainly with the intention of getting Lin Li to take a look at the pharmaceutical forms that had been passed down from the Dark Age, in addition to inviting Lin Li and others to participate in the auction. Of course, at that time, William had had no idea that Lin Li was so learned in pharmaceutics, and he simply thought that the Tower of Dusk had merely gained the support of a team of pharmacists.

    Due to the fact that William had been requesting help from Lin Li at that time, he¡¯d felt pressured and obligated to give the form to Lin Li. As he exined just now, the forme were way too precious, and it was naturally impossible to bring them all with him. After all, he¡¯d merely wanted to verify the feasibility of the form. The problem was that he¡¯d originally thought about sending those forms to Lin Li and just forgetting about it since he had plenty of other items that he could offer in exchange for a deal. However, after he returned and looked at those forms, he discovered a half-form based on the nuances of the texture of the paper. In other words, he had only given half a form to Lin Li.

    In fact, William ought not to be med. After all, he was not a real pharmacist, and his understanding of the forme of potions was only limited to the names of herbs. ording to logical reasoning of most ordinary people, a form would usually be written on both sides of the paper. However, he had no idea that one of the forms he had bought was very likely to help a Pharmaceutics Guru to be promoted to a Divine Smith. It was a form that was known to be the one for the Divine Potion, and could not be written on a simple piece of paper.

    The forme of potions included more than just the types, amounts, and proportions of herbs required. There were also instructions on the processing and extractions of required essences of herbs, the method of preparation, and the special issues that required further attention. In fact, it also included a list of necessary equipment, some of which had to be exclusively customized. The design sketches of the equipment were also part of the pharmaceutical forms.

    Ordinary pharmaceutical forms naturally did not require so many trivial things and details, because the processing of herbs could be universal, and standard equipment was used most of the time. However, the Divine Potion had the ability to promote a pharmacist to a Divine Smith.

    Lin Li had obtained two pieces of paper, on which the form of the potion was written. However, there were six other pieces of paper in William¡¯s vault, which included forme and the sketches of the necessary equipment.

    Originally, William had thought that this matter was not important, and he was even a little thrilled about the fact that he was not to be med. He only managed to deduce from the texture of the paper that they perhaps belonged to the same set. He believed that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t hold it against him once he exined himself clearly. However, he had never once expected that Lin Li would create a potion that ended up being sold for millions of gold coins, and even be followed by a daunting Legendary battle. Lin Li had even managed to defeat the elven Legendary-mage Vidas.

    Either of the two titles, Master of Pharmacy and Legendary-mage, signified an extremely honorable status, yet the young 20-year-old Lin Li actually possessed both. Even a fool wouldn¡¯t believe that the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic had a normal rtionship with the Supreme Council. The more noble people were, the more they bothered about their pride. Hence, William was now worried that he might have mistakenly offended Lin Li.

 Chapter 567 - Vault

    <h4>Chapter 567: Vault</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In reality, when William invited Lin Li to the vault of the Time Consignment Store, he had the intention to atone for his mistakes and get closer to Lin Li. The vault contained treasures that had been umted and collected by more than 10 generations over hundreds of years. It could be said to be the foundation of the Time Consignment Store, and the treasures in the vault were priceless. Lin Li was the first outsider to visit the vault in hundreds of years.

    That alone showed how important the cooperation was to William.

    Along the way, they were all heavily guarded. The guards of the Time Consignment Store protected the Time Consignment Store seamlessly with numerous magic gears and mageweaths, which made Lin Li feel a little daunted. If William did not lead the way, he would probably have to pay a huge price to get into the vault with the current abilities of the Tower of Dusk.

    The passageway of the basement continued to extend all the way down, and when they reached almost 100 meters below ground, they finally saw a huge metal gate which was almost 10 meters high. They had no idea what kind of metal it was made of, but there was an icy cold, metallic luster that showed some magical waves on it. However, they did not know if the waves hade from the metal gate itself, or from the treasures hidden behind.

    William stopped in his tracks when he was in front of the entrance, and whipped out a bunch of keys from his chest pocket with a solemn expression.

    There were hundreds of keys in the bunch, and William began to insert these keys into the keyhole one by one, and twisted them each time they were inserted. William looked just like an old man whose vision was blurry trying hard to find the key to his own home.

    <i>Are you kidding me... </i>Lin Li was secretly amused, and he even chuckled. However, he could no longer chuckle soon enough, because he discovered that the angle and strength applied by William was different each time he twisted the key.

    <i>Damn it, so it¡¯s a Magical Thousand-contraption Lock. How generous of the Time Consignment Store... </i>By the time William stuck the key inside the keyhole, Lin Li could already tell that the lock of the vault was a Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, which was rumored to be unbreakable even for the Legendary-realm Bandits.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t research too much about magic gears; he was at most just a Master. There was a definite gap between his knowledge of magic gears and that of magical enchantment and potion-making. However, when Lin Li was in the Endless World, he had heard of such locks. Legend had it that there were countless variants of Magical Thousand-contraption Locks, each of which could generate countless possibilities. Even the omniscient deities could not unlock them by calction alone.

    The only way to open the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock was to use hundreds to thousands of keys which were to be twisted in different angles. There must not be any errors throughout the process.

    Of course, only a hundred-something keys were used for this lock, and it was not the mostplicated one of all. A truly impressive Magical Thousand-contraption Lock would require more than a thousand keys, and some absurd ones would require more than 10,000 ones. Of course, such locks only existed in legends. Lin Li remembered that the Magical Thousand-contraption Locks were also known as Vientiane.

    Although it was only a basic Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, it still took William half an hour to unlock. By the time William stopped, he had already broken out into sweat that stained his forehead. ¡°Alright, Mage Felic, we can go in now.¡±

    William opened the door slowly after speaking apologetically.

    Everyone was instantly greeted with a clear view of what was inside the vault. It was not luxurious or full of gems; most of the items were peculiar and bizarre collectibles instead. There was a plethora of magical equipment, magical gemstones, and other gear used by various professions, such as pharmaceutical tools, and furnaces and hammers used by cksmiths. There were also inscription brushes for mageweath-inscribing and various tools for the crafting of magic gears.

    The group took a sweeping nce at the items, and soon arrived in the area where forms were kept. William carefully opened a magic chest, and retrieved some scrolls. He specially took out six scrolls which he then handed to Lin Li, and conscientiously said, ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m really sorry. These six scrolls should be a part of the potion form that I had given you previously. Please check that it¡¯s correct.¡± Had he known earlier that the form was for such an impressive potion, he wouldn¡¯t have given it away so willingly.

    Before Lin Li even extended his hand, Wilkinson and the other pharmacists grabbed the scrolls and opened one of them before handing it to Lin Li.

    Lin Li had already studied the form, and after taking a quick nce at the scrolls, he was certain that it was the form for the Divine Potion. The scroll contained the design sketches for some equipment to be used for the preparation. Although Lin Li remained calm on the surface, he was actually secretly feeling happy about it. it contained various principles of pharmaceutics, and it was indeed a recipe that could help one be promoted to a Divine Smith.

    Of course, the form alone was not enough. Lin Li had studied the form he had thoroughly, and discovered that all of the required herbs were rare and hard to find. However, it was just one of the problems. The materials that were to be used with the specialized equipment and tools were extremely rare, and the crafting process was tedious too. The process of concocting potions required more than just precision in technique. It also required the mastery of the Rule Power.

    Lin Li knew that if the tough conditions were met, he would probably get to be promoted to a Divine Smith, which was the pinnacle of the pharmaceutical industry. It was said to be a level that only gods and deities could reach!

    Next, Lin Li proceeded to look at the other forms. Although none of them impressed him, their effects were still rather attractive.

    For example, one of the forms that was for a Dragon¡¯s Clout potion was actually rather rare, and the potion formted using it would allow the user to temporarily obtain the power of a Wyrm. There would be huge improvement in physical strength and power, and the herbs required by that potion were not that difficult to obtain. The cost price of one serving of that potion was at most 20,000 gold coins. A weak army of soldiers would experience a massive increase and battle power ifbined with arge supply of Dragon¡¯s Clout potion.

    The Withering Potion was a natural magical buff that would allow one to be almost immune to magic after consuming it. Although the effects would onlyst for a short period of time, a mere minute was enough to cause terrible damage to a mage who was an expert in nature magic.

    For example, if Lin Li had had a bottle of Withering Potion during the battle just then, he would have been able to defeat Vidas more decisively.

    As Lin Li browsed through the forms in his hand one by one, his grin became wider and wider. They were precious gems that could not be bought with money. Besides, he already had a team of capable pharmacists, and the Tower of Dusk would have plenty of formidable potions once the batch of herbs from Seven Leaf Grass arrived.

    At this moment, William could tell from the look on Lin Li¡¯s face that he was confident of making potions out of these forms which had been said by pharmaceutical Masters to be impossible to concoct. Hence, he took the opportunity to smilingly say, ¡°Master Felic, do consider cooperating with us.¡±

    Lin Li nodded silently without even looking at William.

    William did not find anything wrong with his attitude, because he knew that a pharmacist would be greatly enticed by a form that he had never seen before, just like mages who were attracted to new magical spells.

    Hence, William cleared his throat again gently, and then, with a smile on his face, said, ¡°Master Felic, I already have a n for our cooperation. I shall tell you about it. Forms are the most important when ites to pharmaceutics, followed by the herbs required during the concoction. Hence, after I gave it some consideration, I suggest that I supply you with all of the herbs that are required by the forms, while the Tower of Dusk provides the concoction technique. We shall split the sales proceeds of the potions in a 60:40 ratio, with the Time Consignment Store enjoying a 60% share and 40% for Tower of Dusk. What do you think?¡±

    Lin Li smiled and waved at Wilkinson, gesturing for him and his peers to put the forms down. He then turned around and looked at William quietly, after which he turned around and walked towards the vault¡¯s exit. Wilkinson and the rest hurriedly cast the forms aside and chased after Lin Li.

    William panicked, for the forms would go to waste if there wasn¡¯t someone to use them to concoct potions. He frantically chased after Lin Li and begged, ¡°Master Felic, please don¡¯t go, please don¡¯t go. If there¡¯s anything that you¡¯re upset about, we can always talk things out. Business is all about discussing.¡±

    Lin Li stopped in his tracks and nced at William derisively. He then said with a faint smile, ¡°That¡¯s right, business deals happen after discussion. However, Mr. William, you seem to have forgotten that I¡¯m not a businessman. I¡¯m just a mage, and discussion doesn¡¯t exist in the dictionaries of mages.¡±

    William felt his heart contracting vigorously, and he finally realized what the problem was. The young man in front of him was not his usual business partners. He was a powerful mage who had defeated Master Vidas from the Elven Kingdom in the Harvest Square not too long ago. He was a level-22 Legendary-mage¡ªa terrifying existence.

 Chapter 568 - Forging Design Sketch

    <h4>Chapter 568: Forging Design Sketch</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the winner of the battle in the Harvest Square, there was indeed no need for the young Lin Li to negotiate with anyone. He only decided toe not because of William or the Time Consignment Store, but because he was interested purely in the forms.

    In fact, Lin Li could easily snatch the forme from the Time Consignment Store if he really wanted to. There was nothing William could defend himself with, especially since Lin Li had the ability to defeat Vidas.

    William scolded himself for being silly in his head. Why did he even pull his business tactics on the 20-year-old Lin Li? Wasn¡¯t he just asking for death!?! He coughed awkwardly, and adjusted his mindset before respectfully saying, ¡°Master Felic, why don¡¯t I supply the forms and herbs, while the Tower of Dusk carries out the formtion? You shall have 60% of the proceeds while I take 40%. Will that do?¡±

    Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°Mr. William, I don¡¯t think you understood what I meant. I¡¯m not here to discuss a business deal with you. What I¡¯m interested in are these forms. As for the business deal, there¡¯ll be someone else to discuss with you.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, William immediately pointed at the box of recipes without hesitation, and said, ¡°Please, these forms are only going to go to waste if they¡¯re left in my hands. Only you can realize their value.¡±

    Norfeller ced the scrolls in the box and put the lid on as if it belonged to him.

    After receiving the forms, Lin Li nodded in satisfaction, and said, ¡°Rest assured, Mr. William. I won¡¯t take these forme from you for nothing. From today onwards, the Time Consignment Store shall have the sole, exclusive right to auction these potions. Don¡¯t underestimate this right, because a 10%mission will bring you massive wealth. Although it can¡¯t bepared to the Glittergold Trade Union, you should have no problem surpassing Casten Arathor.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I hope so, I hope so...¡± William chuckled, though he felt different deep down.

    He believed in the power of the pharmacists and the fact that several precious pharmaceutical forms would bring any force a massive amount of wealth.

    However, William did not think that the exclusive auction right alone would allow him to surpass Casten Arathor, for the Arathor Family had already been the castens for more than 100 years. Who couldpare to the experience and wealth that they had umted for hundreds of years? Not to forget, they were in Rnd City, the richest ce in the entire Breezy ins. The huge grain production of countless farms brought immeasurable wealth to Arathor.

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Lin Li smiled and shook his head, well aware of what William was thinking. He simply did not want to expose William. Hence, he smiled, and casually said, ¡°By the way, Mr. William, if there¡¯s not much for you to dotely, you may start preparing for the publicity and advertisement matters. As for the content... you may revolve it around the theme of Dragon¡¯s Clout potion...¡±

    ¡°Alright...¡± William nodded. Just as he was about to confirm the publicity details, his face stiffened, and he gaped like a cat which had just gotten its tail stepped on. He screeched, ¡°What... What!?! Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion!?!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion. One of the forms that you had given me was used by the elves to create the Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion for the nurturing of the Ghost Warriors.¡±

    William swallowed his saliva forcefully and stood still as if he had been struck by a spell.

    Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion...

    William had never expected one of the forms which he had casually chucked in the vault to turn out to be that for the Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion.

    William had never seen a real Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion in the flesh before, but it was a magical potion that was mentioned several times in legends of the Dark Age, together with the formidable Ghost Warriors. The High Elves had always been known for their magic. In fact, they even had a Magic Legionprised of Archmages.

    However, the High Elves did not rely on their mages to gain dictatorship over the world. The Ghost Warrior Army was their strongest asset.

    Everyone knew that the High Elves ruled Anril, and that the Ghost Warriors were all selected from various races. They needed not have extraordinary magical talent or stunning looks, but they had to have powerful physical strength and great courage. After being selected to join the army, they would enjoy great respect and a high status that was worlds apart from their former identity, which was akin to ves. If they could make a great contribution to the army, they would even have the opportunity to be low-level aristocrats, which was incredible in Anril at that time.

    The Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion was one of the enviable privileges enjoyed by the Ghost Warrior army back then. Therge amounts of Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion would allow Ghost Warrior Army to enjoy immeasurable strength and power on the battlefield.

    Unfortunately, the Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion was lost as the Dark Age passed and the High Elves got buried by time.

    William had never expected to hear a young mage tell him in the vault of the Time Consignment Store that the form he had just given him was for the Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion...

    William absolutely regretted it...

    That was the form of the Dragon¡¯s Clout Potion. In today¡¯s world, where most forme had already gone missing, it could be considered a priceless treasure.

    Wilkinson seemed to have seen through William¡¯s thoughts. He coldly said, ¡°Mr. William, are you thinking that you should have sold these forms to the Pharmacists Guild if you¡¯d known how impressive they were from the start?¡±

    ¡°H-how could that be?¡± William denied, turning as red as a tomato.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Wilkinson sneered in contempt, and continued, ¡°Actually, Mr. William, if you¡¯d like to back out, you still have time to do so. We¡¯ve never liked forcing others against their will. If you think that you¡¯d prefer to sell these forms to the Pharmacists Guild, you may change your mind now. However, I have to remind you that no other pharmacist in Anril, apart from President Felic, can formte the potion perfectly... By the way, my name is Wilkinson, and I¡¯m the apprentice of Mr. Balbo, the President of the Anril Pharmacists Guild. When I said that no other pharmacist can formte that potion, I meant that even my teacher Balbo can¡¯t do so.¡±

    ¡°No, no, not at all!¡± William said frantically with an awkward expression upon hearing Wilkinson¡¯s harsh sarcastic remark. At the start, he¡¯d indeed been patronizing them, but when he heard Wilkinson¡¯s words, he began to feel terrified.

    Even though Lin Li¡¯s potion was auctioned off at a sky-high price of more than 10,000,000 gold coins, William still did not pin any hopes on him. William had always thought that there was an independent pharmaceutical team behind the Tower of Dusk because he could not figure out where the senior pharmacists hade from.

    Senior pharmacists were destined to be the brightest shining stars who couldn¡¯t be overshadowed by anything else in this world. That was also the reason William had not thought about the Pharmacist Guild. No one would believe that a bunch of low-level and intermediate pharmacists would be able to advance to senior pharmacists after just a few months of training. That was a crazy and absurd idea.

    However, William knew that Wilkinson was a true senior pharmacist who was going to be a Master of pharmaceutics. Hence, he was definitely not insane, and his words ought not be doubted. Actually, William also knew that the forme would just end up going to waste in his hands. It was not that he had not inquired about them from the Pharmacist Guild before. The Master of pharmaceutics from the guild told him that there might not be a single pharmacist in the entire world of Anril who could formte the potions.

    It seemed that this cooperation would be a loss for William, who would be earning less money. The problem was that he would not earn a single cent if there was no one to concoct the potions based on the forme. Sometimes, he ought to be content with whatever he earned, even if it was just a small amount of profit. After all, it was at least better than nothing.

    William was not a greedy person, and he soon figured it all out.

    They left the underground vault, and William ushered them upstairs. Since they¡¯ve already decided on cooperation, they had to discuss the details thoroughly.

    The Archmage Gavin had always been the one in charge of business-rted matters for the Tower of Dusk, and this time was no exception. Lin Li, who had nothing to do, whipped out the forms and scrutinized them carefully, scroll after scroll.

    Lin Li unfolded one of the scrolls slowly, and frowned as soon as he saw the content. He thought, <i>This damn scroll is not a pharmaceutical form at all.</i> Although the forms of advanced potions often included the assembling method of specialized equipment, the scrolls were clearly just design sketches of certain equipment.

    Initially, Lin Li was not that bothered by it. However, his face began to grow sullen as he continued to read the rest of the scroll. With his outstanding abilities as a forging Guru, he soon discovered the amazing aspect of the sketch. It turned out to be a Master-level forging design sketch that he was not confident of mastering.

    Besides, it was the sketch for an extremely rare manual crossbow...

 Chapter 569 - Enchantresséˆ¥æªš Howl

    <h4>Chapter 569: Enchantress¡¯s Howl</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Judging from the blueprint, Lin Li spected that this rather delicate crossbow would be at most the size of a palm after it was made. This was good news to Lin Li. For a very long time, Lin Li had wanted to get a long-range weapon for self-defense. He had two reasons, one being the fact that he used to be a Hunter, and personally favored long-range weapons, and the other being that long-range weapons were more convenient and suitable for a mage¡¯s use.

    However, what annoyed Smithing Guru Lin Li was the fact that although he knew countless forging blueprints, there were few that truly suited him. Even if there was one or two that were suitable, Lin Li would give up on them due to his strict selection criteria.

    Up till now, Lin Li had only chosen this forging blueprint from the pile of potion forms.

    Lin Li spent just 10 seconds to confirm that the crossbow on the blueprint was the defense weapon he had always wanted.

    ording to the High Elves Print introduction of the blueprint, the crossbow was named Enchantress¡¯s Howl, and had been designed by a royal Smithing Guru in the Dark Age. It was said that when this High Elf Smithing Guru was designing this crossbow, he had wanted to give it to a mage friend for defense. Unfortunately, that mage friend had died during war when the blueprint had just been drawn and hadn¡¯t even been tested. Moreover, the materials needed to make this Enchantress¡¯s Howl were so outrageously expensive that even this Smithing Guru who got his sry from the royal family couldn¡¯t collect all of them which would reduce any powerhouse to extreme poverty at once. With these two reasons, the making of this crossbow was dyed. The Enchantress¡¯s Howl still remained in the blueprint stage till the death of this Smithing Guru.

    ¡°Luckily, I have some savings...¡± Lin Li nced at the materials listed on the blueprint, and drew a few cold breaths with much heartache.

    While Lin Li was examining this crossbow blueprint with much interest, Gavin and William¡¯s negotiation hade to consensus too. Gavin was undoubtedly very talented in the field of business. Once he had sat down in front of the negotiation table, he instantly forgot all his excitement during the earlier battle, and only thought about how to maximize the benefits of the Tower of Dusk.

    1The aim of this negotiation wasn¡¯t about exploiting the other party. If the other side couldn¡¯t get any benefits from it, all the benefits he could get now were just short-term benefits. The aim of the negotiation was to achieve a win-win scenario and maximize his own benefits while making sure that the other side could also gain from the deal.

    Gavin knew on what he couldpromise and on what he couldn¡¯t. He knew what the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t really care about but the other side could gain from. Hence, both sides finally came to a consensus after the negotiation.

    The content of the agreement was briefly as such: the Tower of Dusk would provide technical support, while William would provide the funding and avenue. The revenue would be divided with the Tower of Dusk getting 70% and the Time Consignment Store getting 30%. This appeared to be the Tower of Dusk bullying William. Therefore, aspensation, the Tower of Dusk could send two pharmacists who were above the medium-level to the Time Consignment Store whenever possible.

    Lin Li was very clear that one could have a strong stance, but certainly couldn¡¯t be tyrannical. Not to mention that he was a Legendary-mage now, and he couldn¡¯t make everyone work for him for free even after he reached the Sanctuary-realm. Since this was a coboration, he had to make sure that the other side was profiting too and got its fair share.

    Upon hearing Gavin¡¯s report, Lin Li was quite satisfied with this deal. Although another condition was added in the end, it could be considered advantageous for the pharmacists in the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li couldn¡¯t teach them much more theoretical knowledge. What they needed now was practice. Since the Time Consignment Store was willing to take charge of the supply of herbs, Lin Li was naturally willing to let his subordinates have a try. This could also increase the Tower of Dusk¡¯s reputation.

    This was called everyone got what they wanted. Lin Li was d that the pharmacists had a ce to practice, while William hoped that these pharmacists could stay at his store forever. After all, why did all the factions abandon focusing on the bustling Breezy ins and go to a small ce like Dnd? Wasn¡¯t it just to poach the pharmacists from the Tower of Dusk?

    Although he was on the lower end in terms of the splitting of revenue, William was secretly rejoicing over the fact that two high-level pharmacists wereing to his store, not at all feeling that he¡¯d lost out. Hence, upon hearing that Lin Li was leaving soon after the negotiation, William sincerely urged him to stay.

    The next day, Casten Arathor of Rnd City visited Lin Li with much unease. Other than bringing expensive gifts, he had invited Lin Li and hispanions to the Casten Mansion as guests again.

    Actually, Lin Li was the biggest winner of this incident. Although he didn¡¯t need to thank Arathor, there was also no need for him to be petty with what had happened earlier. Doing that would also be unsuitable with his status as a Legendary powerhouse. So, when Arathor had shown enough sincerity and personally visited him, Lin Li didn¡¯t pick on Arathor on purpose.

    Honestly speaking, Arathor was quite proud of himself to have such foresight. How many 20-year-old Legendary-mages had there been till now? Even the God of Mages Geresco only reached the Legendary-realm at the age of 23. Even if this Master Felic couldn¡¯t reach Geresco¡¯s standards, his achievements now were already unreachable for the majority of the people. Everyone wanted to pull strings with this Legendary-mage after witnessing the Legendary battle in the Harvest Square. Arathor¡¯s foresight came from the fact that his children were already considered this Master Felic¡¯s students since a year ago.

    1Although the biggest reason why Lin Li had agreed to it was to hide from that female knight who was a crazy devotee of the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li still had to take up his responsibility as a teacher no matter why he¡¯d agreed to teach Arathor¡¯s children. Moreover, Arathor¡¯s children were both quite talented in magic, and Lin Li didn¡¯t want to see their talents go to waste.

    Of course, Lin Li also asked about the Elven Legendary-mage Vidas while teaching the two students. After all, not only did Vidas not get the debris of the stars Rebirth, but also lost a Helios¡¯ Scepter. Probably nobody could ept such an oue.

    However, Arathor seemed to be hiding something about this. He always avoided the question, and had a rather awkward expression. Lin Li thought it was funny, and didn¡¯t question him further. He knew that this casten also had things beyond his control.

    Just when Lin Li had reached his house, that noble-looking and stern old housekeeper reported that close to 100 different factions hade to visit just today alone. Though these people didn¡¯t get to meet Lin Li, they still left precious gifts behind. In fact, they felt it was better not to meet Lin Li. Otherwise, even their gifts would be directly rejected.

    After the Legendary battle in the Harvest Square, the saddest ones were certainly those who had wanted to poach pharmacists from the Tower of Dusk. For them, every minute and every second was a torture. They feared that their painstakingly built faction would disappear from the Breezy ins in the blink of an eye.

    What people could do when facing a Legendary powerhouse was just keep sending gifts. Obviously, the target of this gift-sending was changed to this young President of the Tower of Dusk and Legendary powerhouse, Master Felic, whom many had looked down on before. Not to mention these factions, even those who believed they had never offended the Tower of Dusk and Master Felic before also wanted to gain some connections with this young Legendary powerhouse.

    Nobody could ignore a Legendary powerhouse, not to mention a young Legendary powerhouse who had just turned 20. Almost everyone who William had invited for the auction stayed after the auction. Outside Lin Li¡¯s house, it was crowded beyond words. Everyone brought along gifts, all hoping to meet Lin Li with sincerity no matter how high their status was in the Breezy ins was.

    Of course, they didn¡¯t want to discuss the weather when meeting Lin Li. Lin Li wasn¡¯t so free. He also didn¡¯t meet some of these people because of the expensive gifts they had brought along. In fact, these people wouldn¡¯t possess any gifts that were truly precious to a Legendary powerhouse. Other than miracles like the debris of the stars, what could entice Lin Li was only things that could benefit the Tower of Dusk¡¯s development.

    One weekter, Lin Li returned from Rnd City full of prizes.

    Even Lin Li was surprised that he had gained so much from this trip to Rnd City. Although he had spent all the gold coins that he had earned from the auction of potion on the debris of the stars Rebirth, he felt it was totally worth it. Rebirth was the one and only in the whole of Anril, and was a piece of debris of the stars. Not to mention 15,000,000 gold coins, he could have paid 30,000,000 or even 60,000,000 gold coins to get it.

    Moreover, Lin Li had also unexpectedly gained a Helios¡¯ Scepter that was worth the same as the debris of the stars as well as experienced fighting with a level-22 Legendary-mage. Just talking about the Helios¡¯ Scepter¡¯s power, it was even stronger than the debris of the stars, and on a totally different levelpared to the Aether Staff that he¡¯d used so far. Not only had he gained precious fighting experience from the battle with Legendary-mage Vidas, he had also used this opportunity to gain more control over the Lord of Nightmares.

 Chapter 570 - A Friendéˆ¥æªš Visit

    <h4>Chapter 570: A Friend¡¯s Visit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    These were just personal gains for Lin Li. The trip to Rnd City was also very rewarding to the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li and hispanions brought back many contracts of every type. There was the herb supply contract, potion sales contract, mage training contract, and magical items purchase priority contract. These contracts were all negotiated by Gavin personally. Lin Li was quite trusting of Gavin¡¯s negotiation skills. Evidence had shown that Gavin had done a great job and had maximized the interests of the Tower of Dusk in every negotiation.

    These contracts would bring consistent flow of cash into the Tower of Dusk for its future development and sustainability. It was right to say that the Tower of Dusk had stepped into a positive developmental path from today. Before this, Lin Li had been supporting the Tower of Dusk all by himself. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that the Tower of Dusk would have disappeared from the Breezy ins within days if not for Lin Li.

    Lin Li had obtained the Throne of Darkness, discovered the underground pce, and wiped out the Syer Bandits. These, however, were only one-off events. Nobody could rely on just discovering ruins to ensure the survival and development of a faction. In addition, Lin Li would be so lucky to always find treasures and ruins. Once all ruins were discovered, how would the Tower of Dusk survive?

    However, everything was different starting from today. The Tower of Dusk could now touch on every single area of the Breezy ins through these contracts. A third of all the notable factions in the Breezy ins now had some kind of business connection with the Tower of Dusk. This meant that the Tower of Dusk had truly integrated into the Breezy ins now.

    Aftering back to the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li didn¡¯t waste any time, and got busy with the matters in Tower of Dusk in an orderly manner. First, he had to send 10 Archmages to protect the Seven Leaf Grass¡¯s caravan like he had told its boss Charles before. With the current abilities of the Tower of Dusk, sending out 10 Archmages was a piece of cake. With Lich Ujfalusi going as well, the caravan of the Seven Leaf Grass woulde back from the Elven Kingdom unharmed even if they faced the second-ranked Bandit n on the way.

    Fortunately, Gavin, who was a mage talented in business, could help out so that Lin Li didn¡¯t have to waste precious time on all thoseplicated business contracts. Be it the business with Glittergold Trade Union, Gilded Rose, and the Malfa Family, or the coboration with the Time Consignment Store and the business contracts with various factions, Gavin managed all of them meticulously.

    Of course, Wilkinson and hispanions became busier as the amount of business increased. Lin Li was also stricter with them. Be it high- or medium-level pharmacists, all the pharmacists didn¡¯t ck at all. They spent every day in the potionboratory. However, none of them had anyints despite being so busy, as therge amount of practice had brought about great improvements in their pharmaceutics capability...

    Beckley, who had sent letters to the Malfa Family as the messenger of the Tower of Dusk, received a secret mission from the President again. He had to go further for this mission than thest, to thend of cksmiths and wheat wine¡ªthe Dwarf Kingdom. He had to go there to discuss the purchase of Crystal Cannons.

    Lin Li wanted to build the Tower of Dusk into an indestructiblebat fortress. Hence, the highly destructive Crystal Cannons were an indispensable item in this n. Nobody could imagine how a Magical Tower equipped with 20-plus Crystal Cannons would look like. After all, even the royal pce of the Dwarf Kingdom only had over 10 Crystal Cannons.

    However, although the Crystal Cannons were very powerful, they weren¡¯t easy to construct. Even the Dwarf Kingdom which possessed the greatest number of cksmiths couldn¡¯t construct 20-odd Crystal Cannons in a short time. Beckley was going to the Dwarf Kingdom this time mainly to negotiate the price of these Crystal Cannons as well as to push the production forward. He couldn¡¯t just disassemble the Crystal Cannons on the walls of the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s city walls, after all.

    With the end of the auction, the leaders of each invited faction all left Rnd City and returned to their respective areas. What happened during the auction also spread like fire throughout the Breezy ins. If it weren¡¯t these reputable people telling the tale, nobody would believe that it was true.

    A potion auctioned at 10,000,000 gold coins and a Legendary-mage only 20? Those had exceeded the limit of people¡¯s imagination. Countless people especially yearned to see the Legendary battle in the Harvest Square with their own eyes. Nowadays, it was very hard to see a true Legendary powerhouse, not to mention witnessing a battle between two Legendary powerhouses.

    Everyone in the Breezy ins changed their attitude towards the Tower of Dusk radically almost overnight. Before this, everyone was just very scornful and jealous that some luckyd who had established a small Guild of Magic for less than a year had garnered the support of a batch of high-level pharmacists. However, no one dared to show any disdain for the Tower of Dusk now, as that would make themselves appear to be extremely stupid.

    Moreover, nobody felt any jealousy, as they were clear that it was totally natural for this young Master Felic to achieve everything he had with his abilities. The reason why people had got jealous was because they had felt that they were better than Lin Li in some aspects, but didn¡¯t get the same kind of results as Lin Li. This had made them feel very wronged and get green with envy. However, nobody dared topare themselves to this young Master Felic now. Just his current Legendary-realm power was unattainable for many people, not mentioning the fact that he was only 20, and it was only a matter of time before he reached Sanctuary-realm.

    Before this, people knew about the Tower of Dusk only because of the high-level pharmacists in it. However, anyone who didn¡¯t know who the owner of the Tower of Dusk was by now would be mocked by everyone. Almost everyone in the Breezy ins knew about Master Felic and the Legendary battle in the Harvest Square. There were even bards who wrote epic poems about this battle. The whole Breezy ins got into a frenzy over the deeds of Master Felic like a pot of boiling water for the moment.

    A month passed just like this. Much to the relief of various factions, the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of settling old scores with them. It still epted their gifts and did business with them as usual. Thinking about it, Master Felic didn¡¯t just be a Legendary-mage. If he had really wanted to settle the old scores, he wouldn¡¯t have had to wait until now.

    Lin Li had just been a homebody who gamed at home every day before he came to Anril. Thus, he didn¡¯t like the feeling of being known by everyone now. It was his personality to amass wealth while keeping a low profile. However, he also knew that he was the current owner of the Tower of Dusk and President of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins, so it was hard to keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

    In fact, Lin Li reputation in the Breezy ins skyrocketed after the incident, and this was a great pushing force for the development of the Tower of Dusk. The most direct evidence of this was that many mages requested to join. It was a stark contrast to the deste scene when the Tower of Dusk had just been established.

    A young mage stood by the entrance of the potionboratory, and looked at Lin Li who was walking out with inconceble admiration. He said in a trembling voice, ¡°President Felic, Hutton of the Malfa Family wants to see you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li was rather surprised, and couldn¡¯t think of a reason why Hutton would suddenly want to meet him. Though the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family had business connections, there were people in charge of the specific businesses. Since he hade back from wiping out the Syer Bandits, this was the first time Hutton came to the Tower of Dusk to meet him.

    This wasn¡¯t Hutton¡¯s fault, actually. From seeing Lin Li defeat the Lord of Darkness at the Abyss of Tharlen to witnessing him kill 10 Archmages with a single blow in the Dragon Mountains, Hutton feared Lin Li from the bottom of his heart. Even though the Malfa Family now coborated with the Tower of Dusk, and the incident in the ckstone Mountains had long ended, that uncontroble, intrinsic fear made Hutton tremble involuntarily every time he thought of Lin Li.

    When Lin Li came to the reception room, other than Hutton, there was also a stern-looking middle-aged man in the room. Though they were talking about something, Hutton had to turn his body slight when he talked, and the middle-aged man just sat upright and still. When they saw Lin Li enter the room, both rose and walked towards Lin Li with smiles.

    ¡°Master Felic, I am so sorry! I should havee for a visit officially after wiping out the Syer Bandits in the Dragon Mountains. However, I only came today.¡± Hutton¡¯s face was all smiles, but he heldplex feelings. This person standing in front of him was even younger than him, but he couldn¡¯t even call himself a genius whenpared with Lin Li.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t respond to Hutton immediately, but looked at the middle-aged man. He smiled, and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Master Cheyenne to visit me personally. Please excuse me for my impropriety in making you wait so long.¡±

    There were just two people Lin Li respected in the Malfa Family. One of them was the current patriarch and Hutton¡¯s father, Sorenson; the other was Hutton¡¯s teacher and the pir of the entire Malfa Family¡ªLegendary-mage Cheyenne. Although Cheyenne was a middle-aged man as old as Hutton¡¯s father, the aura of a Legendary powerhouse radiating from his body couldn¡¯t escape Lin Li¡¯s senses, as he was also a Legendary powerhouse.

 Chapter 571 - Haiga Mountain Range

    <h4>Chapter 571: Haiga Mountain Range</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Cheyenne didn¡¯t show any signs of surprise when Lin Li saw through his identity. If Lin Li couldn¡¯t even do that, then he should probably doubt the authenticity of the hearsay. Cheyenne didn¡¯t exin much, and just replied, ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re too courteous. It¡¯s myck of manners to visit you without telling you beforehand.¡±

    Though Cheyenne and Lin Li had an age gap of almost 100 years, and Cheyenne might be even older than Lin Li¡¯s great, great-grandfather, the age gap was unimportant given that both were Legendary-mages. The reality of Anril was just like that. Ability was everything. Be it status or age, everything was nothingpared to power.

    Moreover, Lin Li had a greater chance of reaching Sanctuary-realm. Therefore, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t pull rank in front of Lin Li even though he had reached the Legendary-realm earlier.

    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the pleasantries. Have a seat.¡± Lin Li smiled and led the two of them back to their seats before sitting down himself. He asked, ¡°Master Cheyenne, you¡¯re not just here to visit me, right?¡±

    ¡°Haha, Hutton will tell you more. I haven¡¯t been settling family affairs for a long time,¡± replied Cheyenne while sizing up this young Legendary-mage. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart. Was this the difference in talent? Cheyenne had experienced so much hardship, and reached the Legendary-realm with so much difficulty at every step he took. In contrast, this young Master Felic had sessfully reached the Legendary-realm in the ckstone Mountains, and just defeated the Legendary-mage of the Elven Kingdom. He was probably already level-22.

    Lin Li could feel Cheyenne¡¯s prying eyes, but he didn¡¯t care about it. He turned his eyes to Hutton, waiting for him to reveal the intention behind this visit. Lin Li was curious what matter would have brought Master Cheyenne here. After all, Cheyenne had never left the territory of the Malfa Family before.

    It was not a small matter for Master Cheyenne to leave the territory of the Malfa Family, since the Malfa Family and Dark de were always on opposite sides. The survival of the Malfa Family till now depended on Master Cheyenne. If not for him, the entire Malfa Family would have been destroyed by the Dark de. The Malfa Family was put in a dangerous situation after Cheyenne left its territory. If the Dark de were to know of this news, the Malfa Family would probably be wiped out.

    Hutton knew that Master Felic was a Legendary-mageparable to his teacher. Hence, he lowered his attitude very much, and chose his words carefully before saying, ¡°Master Felic, I have to express my gratitude for sharing the treasure map that you¡¯ve got at the Scar of Death with us. From then, our family concentrated all our resources on uncovering the mysteries hidden in the map, and finally saw some results not long ago. As the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk are allies, and we have also benefited because of your generosity, we should share our findings with you on our part, no matter what they are.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li raised his eyebrows. This news was indeed quite a surprise. Lin Li had known from the start that the treasure map was a blueprint of a Sky Castle. It was the strongest Sky Castle out of the Seven Sky Castles of the High Elves¡ªthe Seventh Sky Castle which possessed Conquering Mageweaths. Legends said that the Immortal King¡¯s treasures were hidden on top of this Seventh Sky Castle.

    Lin Li had obtained three items left behind by the God of Mages Geresco after visiting the Abyss of Tharlen¡ªthe Book of Eternity, a magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, and a key to the Seventh Sky Castle. From his inference, the reason why the Seventh Sky Castle didn¡¯t participate in the war at the end of the dark age was most likely because Geresco had stolen and hidden it in a crack between time and space.

    On the treasure map, there was not only the blueprint of the Sky Castle, but also thousands of words in High Elves Print. This writing was extremely difficult for humans to understand. Even those mages who specialized in researching High Elves¡¯ magic only investigated magical-spell-rted words, and few would investigate unrted narratives.

    Lin Li had been reading the Book of Eternity for a while. Other than learning about profound magic, he had also gained a much better understanding of thenguage of the High Elves. Hence, he had been examining the High Elves Print on that treasure map as well. Though he couldn¡¯t understand every word, he got the gist of the passage by inferring and guessing some words. From the passage, Lin Li could approximately infer the position of the crack between time and space as well as some other things, although the picture on the treasure map was the blueprint of the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Do you mean the Immortal King¡¯s treasure?¡± asked Lin Li without a change in expression.

    Speaking of the research findings, Hutton couldn¡¯t help being pleased with himself, and nodded. ¡°Yes. After putting in great effort in examining the High Elves¡¯nguage, we¡¯ve finallye to a rather credible conclusion. The Immortal King¡¯s treasure is likely to be hidden in¡ª¡±

    Just as Hutton was about to reveal the location they had discovered through their research, Lin Li suddenly cut in and said something iprehensible in a peculiar tone as if reciting a spell.

    Hutton was slightly confused, and had no idea what Lin Li was talking about. He only felt that his tone sounded like he was reciting a magical spell. However, why did he even need to use magic when they were just chatting here so peacefully?

    Unlike the baffled Hutton, Cheyenne, who was observing Lin Li quietly, looked rather shocked after hearing the strange words that Lin Li had muttered. He replied, ¡°Indeed, the location that we¡¯ve found is the Haiga Mountain Range...¡±

    A Legendary-mage would certainly have some knowledge of the High Elves¡¯nguage. However, most Legendary-mages only researched parts of thenguage rted to magical spells. Cheyenne had flipped through countless documents, and inferred the location written on the treasure map after much analysis. He then found the corresponding name of the location in High Elves¡¯nguage.

    As long as he knew the location, whether he knew what it was called in the High Elves¡¯nguage or not wouldn¡¯t matter. However, the fact that Lin Li could spontaneously give the location¡¯s name in the High Elves¡¯nguage showed that this 20-year-old mage had much higher expertise in the High Elves¡¯nguage than typical Legendary-mages.

    Upon hearing his teacher¡¯s words, Hutton finally realized what Lin Li meant when he said those strange words. He felt a sense of despair at the same time. He had originally thought that he could get the upper hand in the negotiation by knowing the location in the map. After all, the Malfa Family had invested so much effort into analyzing this treasure map. However, judging from the current situation, Lin Li had already known the location in the map even without Hutton¡¯s help.

    Also, Hutton saw this as Lin Li probing if the Malfa Family had the capability to coborate with him. Why hadn¡¯t Lin Li just told them that the location was the Haiga Mountain Range? If the Malfa Family wasn¡¯t able to find the real location of the treasure, they naturally would have no right to do business with Lin Li anymore.

    Hutton felt quite dejected. After looking towards his teacher, he turned to Lin Li, and said, ¡°Yes, Master Felic. Judging from our analysis and research, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure is in the Haiga Mountain Range.¡±

    The Haiga Mountain Rangey on the border between the Breezy ins and the Emerald Forest. It spread across thousands of miles throughout the Breezy ins, forming a natural border between the humans and the elves.

    The Haiga Mountain Range was also a unique existence. In the recent centuries, Fn Kingdom, Ledin Kingdom, and the Elven Kingdom all imed that they were the true owner of the Haiga Mountain Range. However, none of the three kingdoms also sent any soldiers to the Haiga Mountain Range.

    The most eligible and suitable candidate should be the Fn Kingdom. After all, the Haiga Mountain Range bordered the Fn Kingdom. However, the Fn Kingdom was powerless over this issue even if they wanted to get involved in it. It was already quite difficult for the royal family to control the Breezy ins in the recent several hundreds years, let alone the distant Haiga Mountain Range at the border of the Breezy ins. This wasn¡¯t Jarrosus or nna; the sovereignty of royal family couldn¡¯t reach thisnd. The Fn royal family couldn¡¯t even control the appointment of castens for Aminya, which was the Malfa Family¡¯s territory, not to mention sending the military over to the Haiga Mountain Range.

    COMMENT

    Compared to the Fn Kingdom, the Ledin Kingdom just wanted to mess up the situation. These two human kingdoms were foes since more than 1000 years ago. They would even fight for a pack of tissues, not to mention a vast piece ofnd like the Haiga Mountain Range.

    Of course, the Ledin Kingdom faced the same problem as the Fn Kingdom. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it even if they wanted to upy the Haiga Mountain Range. For starters, how could its army even enter the Breezy ins? How could they get away from all the different factions? How could they climb up the Haiga Mountain Range? The Ledin Kingdom also had to figure out what to do if the Fn Kingdom suddenly attacked when all the defensive armies on the borders were gone...

    In conclusion, the two human kingdoms were like two sulking kids over thest centuries.

    ¡°You dare to attack me?¡±

    ¡°Why should I attack you? Do you even dare to attack me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to attack you today! You wait for me! I¡¯m going to call more people!¡±

    The Elven Kingdom on the other side of the Haiga Mountain Range, however, not only had the intention of controlling the Haiga Mountain Range, but had actually taken action. It¡¯d attempted to assert control over the Haiga Mountain Range thrice in thest centuries. Unfortunately, they also had problems they couldn¡¯t solve. No matter how well they nned, their efforts in controlling the area had all gone to waste.

 Chapter 572 - Thunderbolt

    <h4>Chapter 572: Thunderbolt</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    To understand why the Elven Kingdom wanted to gain control over the Haiga Mountain Range, one had to start from the Great Escape after the Dark Age. Back then, the Goddess of Forest Monferra created a miracle¡ªshe made the Haiga Mountain Range to help the elves escape from human troops<sup>1</sup>. Hence, the Haiga Mountain Range was a sacred mountain range to the elves starting several hundred years ago.

    Every elf wanted to get back the sacred mountain range, but the Elven Kingdom was weaker than the two human kingdoms in every aspect. These two human kingdoms didn¡¯t give it their all, but the Elven Kingdom failed terribly even after doing so.

    The reason why they failed was rather funny.

    Who would imagine that a ce deemed the sacred mountain range by the elves would repel all forms of Nature Magic? The thousands-miles-long of Haiga Mountain Range was like a naturally urring Magical Domain, and waspletely immune to all Nature Magic. Once any Monferra devotee entered the Haiga Mountain Range, he would change from a powerful mage to a totally defenseless person.

    This could be said to have reduced the power of the elves by half. Although there were many archers in the Elven Kingdom too, it was impossible to control the entire Haiga Mountain Range without mages. The Haiga Mountain Range was one of the oldest ces in Anril, and had existed since the prehistoric times. There were many powerful magical beasts residing in it. Thus, it was even more dangerous than the ckstone Mountains. There were even news circting inside the Elven Kingdom that a few true prehistoric magical beasts were hidden deep in the Haiga Mountains.

    Actually, Lin Li wasn¡¯t very interested in the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t regard the Sky Castle as important. After all, the Seventh Sky Castle was the strongest out of all Sky Castles. He wasn¡¯t too interested, because he knew more information about it than the Malfa Family, and in greater detail.

    Back when he had just gotten the treasure map, Lin Li had already known that the so-called map to the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was actually the blueprint of the Seventh Sky Castle. After his research of the High Elves¡¯nguage these days, Lin Li also realized that the map recorded the fact that the Seventh Sky Castle used to be in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    However, since Geresco had the key to the Seventh Sky Castle before, it meant that Geresco had likely possessed the Seventh Sky Castle, and nobody could guarantee that the Sky Castle was still in the same spot. The Immortal King¡¯s treasure was likely hidden on top of the Seventh Sky Castle. However, if the Seventh Sky Castle had been shifted to another location, would the treasure still be in the original ce?

    Just talking about the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, there wasn¡¯t much significance to the location shown on the treasure map. However, Lin Li had already added the trip to the Haiga Mountain Range into his calendar despite all that. Even if Hutton and Cheyenne hadn¡¯t visited today, Lin Li intended to tell the Malfa Family about this news and persuade them to go to the Haiga Mountain Range with him.

    The reason why he still decided to go was because Lin Li could faintly sense the location of the other pieces of the debris of the stars after he had acquired three pieces of them, including Rebirth which he had just gotten.

    Aftering back from Rnd City, Lin Li now possessed Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, and Rebirth. When these three pieces of the debris of the stars were put together, other than Raging mes and Pr Snow which were hidden in the underground pce, Lin Li could faintly sense another piece of the debris of the stars located around the Haiga Mountain Range. Moreover, with his memories from the Endless World, Lin Li guessed that piece of the debris of the stars was likely to be Thunderbolt, which contained the intrinsic rules of wind.

    Lin Li clearly remembered that Thunderbolt was the most destructive out of all seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Given that he could only sense it with the help of three pieces of debris of the stars, the only possibility was that it was sealed by something.

    Whatever could seal Thunderbolt was certainly not easy to deal with. Lin Li was confident, but not arrogant. Although the Legendary-realm was powerful, it wasn¡¯t invincible in the whole world. If he were to go there unprepared, he mighte back with nothing but injuries. Cheyenne hade at the right time. Since the Malfa Family was so interested in the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, it wasn¡¯t impossible to coborate with them.

    One should not think that the Malfa Family hade really because they valued the alliance with the Tower of Dusk, and wanted to share their findings altruistically. Although the Malfa Family didn¡¯t know about Thunderbolt or the debris of the stars, Cheyenne was still wary of the dangers lying in the Haiga Mountain Range. If the Immortal King¡¯s treasures were hidden in another ce, like the ckstone Mountains or Scar of Death, for example, the Malfa Family wouldn¡¯t be polite at all, and would get the treasure all for themselves.

    ¡°Since we¡¯ve already confirmed the location of the treasure, does the Malfa Family have any ns?¡± Lin Li asked calmly, not taking the Immortal King¡¯s treasure to heart.

    Cheyenne, who was observing everything quietly from the side, was shocked at Lin Li¡¯s reaction. If this Legendary-mage was a 100-year-old elder, theposure he had during a time like this wouldn¡¯t be surprising. However, this Master Felic was only 20 years old. He showed no signs of arrogance despite all his achievements, and was calm facing a temptation like the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. This kind of temperament was too terrifying. Even Cheyenne himself had spent a long while to suppress the excitement in his heart upon finding out that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was hidden in the Haiga Mountain Range. Even now, he still felt a tinge of excitement whenever he thought about it.

    Hutton had no idea what his teacher was thinking. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, he immediately politely replied, ¡°Yes, Master Felic. We already have a n.¡± In fact, the so-called n wasn¡¯tplicated. The focus was still organizing a team of adventurers. It was impossible to use trickery in the Haiga Mountain Range. They needed to rely on powerful strength.

    Given that both sides had the intention to coborate, the deal was sealed immediately. As for other things such as splitting the gains, it was too early to talk about them. Heaven knew whaty inside there, but Lin Li wouldn¡¯t give up Thunderbolt no matter what... Also,pared to the thing that sealed Thunderbolt, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure wasn¡¯t important anymore. It wasn¡¯t even guaranteed that they could find it.

    ¡°Master Felic, you see, we still need some time to organize the team of adventurers. How about youe to Aminya with us? The Malfa Family wees you with open arms.¡± Seeing that the deal was sealed, Hutton sincerely sent out an invitation to Lin Li, hoping that he could visit the Malfa Family in Aminya. After all, he really needed more time to organize the team of adventurers.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t ept Hutton¡¯s invitation. No one knew how long they would be in the Haiga Mountain Range. Back in the ckstone Mountains, they had spent three months in the Abyss of Tharlen alone. Thus, Lin Li knew he had better make the necessary arrangements for the Tower of Dusk before going to the Haiga Mountain Range.

    A few dayster, the Malfa Family located in Aminya City recruited adventurers on arge scale yet again. They organized a powerful team of adventurers by promising them attractive rewards. Unlike the previous time when going to the ckstone Mountains, when any Tom, Dick, and Harry could get money as long as they participated, the requirements for the adventurers this time were very high, and even seemed to be unreasonable to some.

    All the participating adventurers were required to be at least level-15 regardless of whether they were Mages, Warriors, or Bandits. In fact, nobody questioned this requirement anymore after knowing that the destination was the Haiga Mountain Range. No matter how many people there were, everyone below level-15 would only be a burden in a dangerous ce like that.

    After making arrangements for the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li went to Aminya City with his subordinates. The current Patriarch Sorenson, his son Hutton, and other important people in the family all came to the gate to personally wee Lin Li as they had known that Lin Li wasing beforehand. The scene of the wee was so grand that countless people started gossiping about it. However, nobody found it strange after knowing that the famous Master Felic was the one visiting.

    In the entire Breezy ins, even the farmers who only knew about farming knew about Master Felic now. That 20-year-old Legendary-mage was like a god. Thus, there was nothing inappropriate if Patriarch Sorenson of the Malfa Family went to wee him.

    Hutton didn¡¯t just realize that he was less capable than Lin Li. He hadn¡¯t felt the difference so clearly before, but felt it so deeply in this period of time after seeing how his father and teacher behaved towards Lin Li. First, his most respected teacher treated Lin Li as an equal when they visited the Tower of Dusk. Then, his father lowered his attitude to wee Lin Li personally at the city gate even as the patriarch. All these were like a ruler, making the difference more obvious and making Hutton¡¯s feelings clearer.

    Hutton sighed in his heart upon seeing Master Felic, who was currently greeting his father. Back in the ckstone Mountains, Hutton looked down on this mage called Felic when he had first heard about him. Now, Mage Felic had be Master Felic in less than a year, and even defeated a Legendary-mage from the Elven Kingdom said to be level-22 in the Harvest Square.

    This was what it was like to be far inferior. Thinking back on those years when he¡¯d been immeasurably self-satisfied to be called a genius, Hutton was so ashamed of his old self. Compared to the young Master Felic, his so-called talent was nothing. How dared he even call himself a genius? Regarding the so-called seeing only the other rider¡¯s dust and having no hope of catching up<sup>1</sup>, one could at least see the dust left behind by the other rider. However,pared to Master Felic, Hutton couldn¡¯t even see the dust left behind by Felic.

 Chapter 573 - Meeting Again

    <h4>Chapter 573: Meeting Again</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    On the other hand, Hutton¡¯s father, Patriarch Sorenson, was more resigned about this matter. After all, someone as heaven-defying as Master Felic only appeared once every 1000 years. Hence, there was no need topare his son Hutton with Felic. Sorenson looked at his son. He knew that Hutton had led an easy life so far, and heard too much ttery. Though Hutton tried his best to keep hisposure, he still liked to go down a dead-end as a youth.

    Although this fact was very clear to an outsider, Hutton still needed to figure it out himself and free himself from this psychological barrier. It was useless for others to tell him what to do. After he had figured out everything, maybe he would break through in magic. Of course, if he insisted to put this matter to heart, his magic would remain where he was for the rest of his life.

    Members of the Malfa Family revolved around Lin Li as if a myriad of stars surrounding the moon. Patriarch Sorenson personally led Lin Li into the Malfa Family mansion. Although Master Cheyenne didn¡¯t wee Lin Li at the gate, he was already waiting for Lin Li in the parlor. After all, Legendary powerhouses had their own dignity. Even though everyone knew that Lin Li had boundless prospects, Cheyenne was Lin Li¡¯s equal as of now.

    In the luxurious parlor, only Master Cheyenne, Patriarch Sorenson, and the internally conflicted Hutton remained in the room¡ªthe other members of the Malfa Family all left. What they needed to discuss was very simple: the situation of the team of adventurers, how their abilities were, how they would enter the Haiga Mountain Range, and etcetera.

    The Malfa Family had invested almost everything they had into finding the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. Out of the 100-plus adventurers in the team, everyone was at least level-15 by profession. Anyone at least level-15 in power would be an influential powerhouse in a certain area. The Malfa Family had spent more than just gold coins to hire these people.

    Other than these 100-plus adventurers who were at least level-15, the Malfa Family also dispatched all its elites. All the powers in every area of the family seemed to be drawn out to form a team of mages made up of 60 Archmages at least level-15. Even Lin Li was very impressed with the Malfa Family¡¯s power. It seemed like the Malfa Family didn¡¯t depend on any luck at all to get where it was today in the Breezy ins.

    Each one of these people had the ability to support a pretty strong faction single-handedly. If they were to join a Guild of Magic, any of them was capable of being the President. No wonder the factions of the Breezy ins couldn¡¯t be bothered by the Guilds of Magic supported by the Supreme Council. Perhaps the strength of all Guilds of Magic added together was simr to that of 60 Archmages at least level-15.

    Although Lin Li was surprised with the Malfa Family¡¯s power, he didn¡¯t lose confidence in himself. Though the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t have matching power currently, it wouldn¡¯t take long for it to catch up¡ªand even surpass¡ªthe Malfa Family given its current speed of development.

    Compared to the effort the Malfa Family had put in, its coborator the Tower of Dusk only sent Lin Li over, which seemed rather stingy. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with this. The extent of contribution made wasn¡¯t dependent on the number of people. For the Malfa Family, even the elders didn¡¯t dare toin about the Tower of Dusk, as a Legendary powerhouse had surpassed the level of which they couldin about.

    After the discussion, the team couldn¡¯t set off immediately yet. Thus, Hutton led Lin Li to rest and tour the Malfa Family Mansion on the way. In terms of luxury and vastness, the Malfa Family Mansion was nothingpared to the Forbidden Pce that Lin Li had toured before. Moreover, with Lin Li¡¯s judgment as a Guru of Inscription, the standards of the mageweaths inscribed on the walls of this mansion weren¡¯t very high, though they were considered very powerful.

    ¡°Hah! Damn it! You dare toe to my territory? Just see how I¡¯m going to deal with you!¡± A sharp voice rang abruptly, and then a person ran towards Lin Li like he was crazy.

    Harvey hadn¡¯t had any ambitions or goals. He didn¡¯t try to snatch power or dream about things he could never get, just wanting to be a dandy. He didn¡¯t need to worry about family affairs all day long like his brother Hutton, so he used all his memory on grudges. Though half a year had passed since the incident in the ckstone Mountains, Harvey didn¡¯t forget about thed who had ruined his n, and caused him to get pped twice by his elder brother.

    Though Harvey had heard much hearsay about the Tower of Dusk recently as well, he didn¡¯t believe any of it. In Harvey¡¯s eyes, only his brother Hutton could be considered a genius. It was definitely fake bragging that Lin Li was a 20-year-old Legendary-mage. Everyone knew that the God of Mages Geresco was the teacher of the Malfa Family¡¯s ancestors. Even Geresco only stepped into the Legendary-realm at the age of 23<sup>1</sup>. How could anyone be better than the God of Mages?

    Although Harvey didn¡¯t think of revenge all the time, as this wouldn¡¯t fulfill his pursuit of having fun, there was no reason for him to let this wretchedd off when he had chanced upon him today. Moreover, thed was now in Harvey¡¯s family¡¯s territory. Harvey was very clear that the family was concentrating all its power, and even called the Archmages spread out across the city back. It would probably be a piece of cake to deal with this ignorant little mage who didn¡¯t know how much he weighed.

    ¡°Youd, you¡¯re quite daring! You dare toe to my house to rip off our family? You think the Malfa Family¡¯s so easily to bluff? What genius! What legend! You think you can bluff me with your tricks? You can only deceive those foolish farmers,¡± Harvey yelled excitedly, thinking that he had finally caught this scoundrel this time.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Hutton didn¡¯t expect his brother toe and cause trouble just as he turned away for a few seconds. How was it possible not to make any enemies with a brother like this?

    Hutton wasn¡¯t worried that the coboration between the two factions would be affected because of Harvey. Instead, he was worried that Master Felic would crush Harvey easily like an ant. With Master Felic¡¯s current status, Hutton¡¯s father and teacher wouldn¡¯t speak up for Harvey, and the coboration between the two factions would continue as if nothing happened. This was becausepared to coborating with a Legendary powerhouse, a dandy without any development potential was insignificant.

    ¡°Erm...¡± Harvey saw his brother who had an awful expression only now. However, he got angry again upon seeing this so-called master who was even younger than himself. Frustrated, he yelled, ¡°Brother, don¡¯t be tricked by thisd! Look at how crafty-looking he is! How¡¯s it possible¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Hutton stepped forward and gave Harvey¡¯s face a p. Although a mage¡¯s physical strength didn¡¯t match that of a Warrior, he was still much stronger than an ordinary person. This p was so powerful it made Harvey turn two rounds on the spot. However, Hutton hadn¡¯t given him a p for any family interests, but rather to save Harvey¡¯s life. After all, Harvey was still his younger brother, and he couldn¡¯t bear to let him walk to his own death like this... although Hutton indeed wanted to strangle him sometimes.

    ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m so sorry. My brother is unruly by nature, and has no sense of propriety for his words and actions. Please don¡¯t take his crazy words to heart,¡± Hutton said to Lin Li respectfully without even looking at the stunned Harvey.

    How could Lin Li not realize Hutton¡¯s intention of protecting Harvey? However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered by this. It wasn¡¯t because he was wary of the Malfa Family¡ªhe simply didn¡¯t want to waste time and effort on thisd. He waved his hand, unbothered, and calmly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, just make sure that he won¡¯t bother me in the future.¡±

    ¡°Damn it! Are you looking down on me? What kind of ce is this? You think you can trick people here? You were lucky that you¡¯ve escapedst time. Let me see where you can run this time!¡± Harvey yelled hysterically, his face turningpletely red. He was the second young master of the Malfa Family and a very important person in Aminya¡ªand even the Breezy ins¡ªin terms of status. How could he bear to be looked down by a vige boy from a deste ce like Jarrosus so many times?

    Harvey had heard rumors about the Tower of Dusk too. However, it was difficult for a person to think of issues rationally once they had formed their own biased opinions. The news of a 20-year-old Legendary-mage was also beyond the limits of many people¡¯s imagination. Harvey didn¡¯t want to believe in this piece of news, so how would he be willing to even verify its authenticity?

    Although Harvey had nned to be a dandy who just had fun every day, nobody was willing to be insignificant. If Lin Li had gotten angry and yelled at Harvey, or even beat him up, Harvey wouldn¡¯t get so hysterical. The greatest form of contempt was to ignore. Lin Li didn¡¯t even look at Harvey. This hurt Harvey¡¯s pride immensely.

    Hutton was ming with anger. He didn¡¯t expect his younger brother to be so daring and even defy him. Hutton knew better than anyone that this calm-looking Master Felic was definitely not kind-hearted, even though he might look totally harmless. After all, Hutton had witnessed the entire process of how Stephen from the Dark de had ended up.

    ¡°Harvey! Are you doubting me? Or are you saying that Father and Teacher Cheyenne are the foolish farmers you¡¯re talking about?¡± Hutton gave Harvey a stare so cold it seemed to freeze the air around him.

 Chapter 574 - Cooperation

    <h4>Chapter 574: Cooperation</h4>

    Harvey could sense a terrifying and cold gaze in his brother Hutton¡¯s eyes, which made him feel a chill down his spine. He shuddered, unable to speak.

    ¡°Are all of you dead? Two of you,e here and take Second Young Master away. I think he needs to do some reflecting,¡± Hutton ordered coldly.

    The two scurried towards Harvey, and carried him away. He was motionless as if he had turned stiff because of a spell.

    Hutton turned around with a sullen expression, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m really sorry. This brother of mine needs to be taught a lesson. You¡ª¡±

    Before Hutton could even finish speaking, Lin Li waved as if nothing had happened. He coldly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°...Yes, please.¡± Hutton heaved a sigh of relief and grinned, thinking to himself, It¡¯s no wonder that my ipetent brother would turn so hysterical. He didn¡¯t even manage to attract his attention. If I were in his shoes, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take it, either.

    Lin Li simply had a good memory. Otherwise, Harvey wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to create asting impression on Lin Li. Harvey felt like killing himself when Lin Li asked him if he knew him.

    Harvey¡¯s reckless actions did not cause any uproar or problems for the cooperation between the Malfa Family and Lin Li. Even if Lin Li were to kill Harvey, the Malfa Family wouldn¡¯t hold it against him, because their interests were far more important than a dispensable heir.

    Two dayster, the team of adventurers was finally established, and the logistics were also ready. There was no formal ritual of departure, and the daunting team set off to Haiga Mountain Range from the Malfa Family¡¯s Aminya City.

    This time, Lin Li joined as a partner, and not a simple Adventurer, unlike when he¡¯d gone to the ckstone Mountains previously. Today, Lin Li had attained a high status which allowed him to enjoy the same treatment as Cheyenne. He was very young, and the Tower of Dusk was even more so. However, no one dared to doubt his status, because he was a Legendary-mage.

    Whenever the team stopped for a break in the tent, Cheyenne would invite Lin Li for a discussion about magic, which invitation Lin Li would not turn down. Even though he had a magical book like the Book of Eternity, there were no limits to learning and gaining more knowledge. The experience gained by the God of Mages, Geresco, was irreceable. However, there was plenty for Lin Li to learn from Cheyenne, a Legendary-mage who had been in the Legendary-realm for years.

    Of course, Cheyenne had also learned a lot from Lin Li during their discussions. After all, the Book of Eternity that Lin Li owned was a paramount treasure in the world of magic. Cheyenne even wished that the journey would go on longer.

    During the discussions, Lin Li did not withhold any knowledge, and would answer all of Cheyenne¡¯s questions truthfully as long as he knew how to. That was his attitude when it came to learning. He ought not to be worried about others surpassing himself, because that would only make him bezy and unmotivated. Besides, no one knew what they might face during this expedition to the Haiga Mountain Range. It would be beneficial for him to increase the abilities of his partners.

    As Cheyenne¡¯s students, Hutton and Adelo were extremely lucky because they got to gain plenty of knowledge from the discussions between the two Legendary masters. Although they were both Archmages, there were several things that they could not understand¡ªespecially Hutton, who had a rare talent in magic, though he could not hold a candle to Lin Li.

    Some of the Adventurers had also begun doubting Lin Li¡¯s abilities, and suspecting the validity of the rumors that spread around the entire Breezy ins. However, in the past few days, even Master Cheyenne regarded Lin Li with great respect. Hence, no one dared to suspect or doubt him anymore. In fact, some Archmages who did not belong to the Malfa Family had even begun finding out more about the recruitment criteria of the Tower of Dusk. After all, they were Archmages who were significant figures.

    Although the team of level-15 elites made rapid progress, it still took them about a week to get to Haiga Mountain Range. Due to the fact that none of them knew what they might encounter in the Haiga Mountain Range, they decided to reserve their energy as much as possible.

    When the team entered the Haiga Mountain Range, Lin Li obviously felt that they had slowed down. Everyone seemed to be very cautious¡ªespecially the members of the Malfa Family, who were careful with every step they took. Actually, their conscientiousness could be exined by the distribution of the forces in the Breezy ins. Although there was still quite a distance for them to cover before they could reach the actual Haiga Mountain Range, they were already in the territory of the Dark de.

    The Malfa Family and Dark de were thergest forces in the Breezy ins, and had been at odds with each other for hundreds of years. They had engaged in countless conflicts, but neither had been defeated, because they were equally powerful.

    Actually, the ancestors of the Malfa Family and Dark de were both students of Geresco, the God of Mages. Hence, they ought to have been closer to each other. No one knew the reason for their strained rtionship.

    Apart from the outsiders, even the descendants of both families had no idea how the feud had formed. Perhaps it was a minor conflict, or difference in opinions. However, after hundreds and over 1000 of years, the feud worsened.

    When Cheyenne from the Malfa Family entered the Legendary-realm, the first thing he did was to attempt to remove the Dark de from the Breezy inspletely. Unfortunately, just when Cheyenne thought that he had already secured victory, the Dark de coincidentally had a Legendary figure; the three leaders then became Legendary powerhouses too[1].

    As a result, the Malfa Family¡¯s n failed, and Cheyenne was forced to retreat to Aminya City, which he dared not leave for a long time. If Cheyenne were to leave Aminya City, the Malfa Family would inevitably be destroyed by the Dark de. Clearly, the journey to the Haiga Mountain Range put the Malfa Family at great risk. Of course, if that happened, the Malfa Family would not be having it worst. After all, most of the Malfa Family¡¯s elite power was concentrated in the team of Adventurers.

    Under such circumstances, the Malfa Family had to be extremely careful. No one knew what the Dark de might get up to if they were to receive the news. Perhaps they might attack Aminya City, or think of a way to get in the way of their mission. No matter what it might be, the Malfa Family would definitely not want it to happen.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master Felic. We have to slow down in order not to jeopardize the mission.¡± After entering the Haiga Mountain Range, Hutton knew that he couldn¡¯t hide the change in their traveling speed from Lin Li. Hence, he decided to exin to him.

    In the past, he would have never done so. However, things were different now. Although the Malfa Family made up the majority of the team, the strength and power of Legendary figures were not to be belittled or easilypared.

    Hutton was somewhat embarrassed because the hostile rtionship between the Malfa Family and Dark de was well known in the Breezy ins. Even though they were careful and slowed down, it was still easy for them to be discovered by the Dark de.

    Actually, if it weren¡¯t because Lin Li eagerly wanted toy his hands on Thunderbolt, he would have enjoyed the discussions with Cheyenne. Every Legendary-mage had his own unique understanding of things, and even though Geresco was deemed as the God of Mages, it didn¡¯t mean that he had mastered magic.

    ¡°I understand. You guys may arrange it yourselves.¡± Although Lin Li wanted to get Thunderbolt as soon as possible, he did not wish for anything to happen during the journey. In the world that he lived in before he teleported, it was said that it was better to bete than never.

    The sky began to turn a little gloomy, and they stopped earlier than expected. They then found a patch ofnd, and began to set up their tents. Although the campprised nearly 200 people, amongst whom there were experienced Adventurers, it still took them some time to set up the tents.

    Campfires were lit, and the tents were neatly arranged around them. The Adventurers had long gotten used to living such a life; hence, they were not too worried about going into the Haiga Mountain Range. They assembled together with the people they knew and munched on some dry rations, enjoying the full experience of adventuring.

    After dinner, Norfeller stood outside the tent, while Lin Li whipped out the Book of Eternity from the Ring of Endless Storm. He then began making a summary of the issues that he had discussed with Cheyenne. After reading the book carefully, he discovered the mysteries of magic. Lin Li would gain more respect for Geresco after every time he read the Book of Eternity.

    Lin Li had no idea what the thing that sealed Thunderbolt in thebyrinth of the Haiga Mountain Range really was. However, he was well aware that the power contained in the seal was probably not inferior to Thunderbolt¡¯s power. He needed a stronger power to face it; hence, he dared not waste any time at all, even if his power was only going to increase at a very slow rate. That would mean that he had more confidence and chances of winning.

    [1] So it sounds like Dark de has four Legendary powerhouses, or maybe they lost that first one, and that¡¯s why they have three.

 Chapter 575 - Uninvited Guest

    <h4>Chapter 575: Uninvited Guest</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li had never thought that everyone on Earth was selfless and kind. Instead of relying on others for everything, it was more important that one had considerable strength. Allies would forever be the most unreliable. When the profits were tempting enough, even brothers would turn against each other, let alone allies. Lin Li had always believed in the truth that the power in his own hands was the most reliable one.

    It was not that Lin Li had a twisted mind and a jaded heart, but rather that the old saying about one having to be wary of others all the time had stuck with him ever since he came to Anril. Thunderbolt was the most powerful of the debris of the stars, and its value was absolutely tempting to most people. Not to mention, the value of an artifact that could seal Thunderbolt was definitely not inferior to that of Thunderbolt itself.

    Lin Li could ignore the Adventures. Even though they were all above level-15, they did not pose a huge threat to Legendary-mages. However, he could not disregard Master Cheyenne, the pir of the Malfa Family who had entered the Legendary-realm plenty of years ago.

    Yes, Lin Li had defeated the level-22 Legendary-mage from the Elven Kingdom in the Harvest Square of Rnd City. However, Lin Li knew clearly the reason for his victory. Although he had won fair and square, he had still targeted the natural weakness of elves. However, he clearly couldn¡¯t use Spiritual Magic to deal with Cheyenne and gain the upper hand. The main factor in sess was still Lin Li¡¯s actual power.

    When one was focused on doing something, time tended to fly like an arrow. Soon, Lin Li who was engrossed in the Book of Eternity suddenly snapped back to reality as if a cup had broken in a silent room.

    It was already veryte at night, and the campfires had begun to get dimmer. The Adventurers had returned to their tents to rest, except for the ones who were in charge of safety, patrolling slowly outside the tents. Cheyenne¡¯s tent was in the middle of the campground. At this moment, the curtain of the tent was raised, and he stepped out of it.

    At the same time, Lin Li lifted the curtain, and walked out of his tent which was different in structure and situated further away from Cheyenne¡¯s. Of course, he did not snap out of his trance because of any noise, but rather because he had clearly sensed a strong magical wave that was slowly approaching the campsite.

    The two of them nced at each other, after which they looked in the same direction in unison.

    In the pitch-ck darkness, a figure slowly entered the campground, and his appearance gradually surfaced. That person seemed to be middle-aged, and his features were very well-defined and entuated by his beard. He was tall and burly, and was wearing a ck mage¡¯s gown. However, the fact that Lin Li could feel his magical wave meant that he was also a Legendary-mage.

    Yes, the man was indeed a Legendary-mage. It was a sensing ability that Lin Li had developed only after he reached Level-21. At the same time, it also meant that Master Cheyenne had already broken through his bottleneck and be a level-21 Legendary-mage.

    The Adventurers who were patrolling the campground also acted like they had encountered a huge enemy. Although they could not sense how strong he was, they could guess based on their experience that he had to be an extremely powerful figure they could notpare to.

    ¡°Borg, how rare of you toe. However, you¡¯ve unfortunatelye at the wrong time. I don¡¯t have anything to entertain you with,¡± Cheyenne said with a smile while gesturing for the Adventurers to leave.

    Upon sight of Master Cheyenne¡¯s signal, the Adventurers heaved a sigh of relief, and put their weapons away. They then retreated together with their peers who were surrounding them after being jolted awake. Although being an Adventurer was their profession, they were just doing it for a living. No one would be happy to do something that would put their lives at risk.

    ¡°Haha, Cheyenne, I should be the one saying that. Thest time you visited this ce was more than a decade ago. We haven¡¯t met in a long time, but I¡¯ve been missing you,¡± Borg said in a loud and clear voice before guffawing. His voice was particrly distinct in the silent night.

    As soon as Cheyenne called his name, someone popped up in Lin¡¯s mind, and he began to connect the dots. Borg was one of the three leaders of the Dark de, and was a Legendary-mage too. Back then in the small wooden hut of Tutankhamun in the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li, Hutton, and Stephen were present. Later on, the three of them were sent to the Abyss of Tharlen by Tutankhamun, and Stephen¡¯s soul was then used by Mephistos. Of course, Summoning Lamp let Lin Li make certain that he was using Mephistos instead. No matter what, both Stephen and Mephistos were plotting against Lin Li, but they ended up being pushed into a path of despair in the end. Mephistos was destroyed by the Lord of Darkness, and sucked into the Summoning Lamp. Lin Li did not care about what had happened to Stephen. However, Borg was Stephen¡¯s father.

    Since they were in the Dark de¡¯s territory, they were not surprised to see Borg, though the way that he appeared was rather unpredictable. The two families had always been at odds with each other. They had been enemies for centuries, hoping that they could one day kill one another and eradicate the other partypletely. If the Dark de knew that the Malfa Family had brought along all of their elites, they would probably only do two things. One would be to eradicate the Malfa Family¡¯s power in Aminya, and the other to make them leave their elites behind.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you the only one here, Borg? Where are the other two? Since you guys know that an old friend has visited, why aren¡¯t they out to greet us? I really miss them,¡± Cheyenne said sarcastically with a smile.

    ¡°No hurry, old friend. You¡¯ll definitely get to see them. It¡¯s just not the right time yet,¡± Borg answered smilingly.

    At this moment, Hutton and the other members of the Malfa Family had already exited their tents. However, after they heard Borg¡¯s words, their faces immediately grew sullen. Only Borg, one out of the three leaders of the Dark de, was standing in front of them. Every member of the Malfa Family could already guess the reason for the absence of the other two.

    Actually, even the Adventurers knew of the feud between the Malfa Family and Dark de. Hence, they could think of a possibility. An uproar had perhaps already broken out in Aminya City; the Malfa Family had slim chances of escaping this time.

    Lin Li sighed silently. The Malfa Family had pinned their hopes on being lucky, but luck really wasn¡¯t on their side. The strength of the Dark de was not inferior to that of the Malfa Family, and they would obviously detect the movements of the Malfa Family. The problem that the Malfa Family was facing now was the fact that they might not be able to keep and protect their elites. Their only hope was to let Cheyenne, a level-21 Legendary-mage just like Borg, buy some time while the rest left immediately before the other two Legendary powerhouses arrived.

    No matter what approach they adopted, it seemed that their efforts and the trip to the Haiga Mountain Range would be in vain. Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t miss a Legendary battle, which would probably be interesting since both Cheyenne and Borg were extremely powerful.

    Borg was not at all phased by the murderous gazes of the Malfa Family members. Instead, he remained smiling, and said to Cheyenne, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Old friend, it¡¯s not too appropriate to be catching up here. Aren¡¯t you going to invite me in for a seat?¡±

    Upon hearing Borg¡¯s words, Cheyenne squinted subtly before pointing at the tent behind. ¡°I was acting inappropriately. Let¡¯s go in and chat, then.¡±

    Most of the people there had no idea what was going on, but Lin Li knew that they could not afford to engage in a Legendary-realm-level battle. If Borg meant to destroy the Malfa Family, there would be no need for them to go inside the tent. Borg could have just said some words to taunt Cheyenne outside the tent. Since they agreed to sit down for a talk, it simply meant that things were not as grave as they had expected yet, and there was a chance for them to by the battle.

    ¡°This...¡± Borg shifted his gaze onto Lin Li, and continued, ¡°This must be Master Felic from the Tower of Dusk. I¡¯ve long heard about Master Felic entering the Legendary-realm at the age of 20. You¡¯re a rare talent. No one has achieved such amendable feat in thousands of years. Unfortunately, I have been too busy to visit the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    Borg did not stare at Lin Li in awe, because he was a senior. Instead, he nced at him with respect, for he admired Lin Li for being so outstanding despite being much younger.

    Truth be told, Lin Li was rather embarrassed to receive thepliment¡ªnot because he felt ttered, but because he had once called Stephen a bastard in Tutankhamun¡¯s wooden hut back then. In order words, he¡¯d been implying Borg¡¯s wife had cuckolded him. Back then, he didn¡¯t take it too seriously, because he didn¡¯t think that he would one day meet Borg. However, now that he had actually met Borg, who did not seem to be hostile, he could not help but feel awkward and embarrassed.

    1¡°You¡¯re being too formal, Master Borg,¡± Lin Li said modestly.

    The three of them returned to their seats in the tent. Cheyenne was waiting to hear Borg reveal his purpose behind the visit, while Lin Li remained silent because he was too embarrassed to speak. Meanwhile, Borg waited for Cheyenne to ask a question. In the end, the three Legendary masters actually nced at each other silently for a while.

    ¡°Borg, ever since we knew each other, we¡¯d definitely end up in a battle whenever we met. Your behavior this time is truly shocking. You¡¯re not really here for a simple visit, are you?¡± said Cheyenne, who could no longer stand the silence. After all, he ought to figure out Borg¡¯s real intentions for visiting since it concerned the safety of the Malfa Family.

 Chapter 576 - Cooperate With Whom?

    <h4>Chapter 576: Cooperate With Whom?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Smiling, Borg scratched his beard, and said, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re wrong. You must understand that you¡¯re the visitor here, not me. Since you¡¯re a guest of the Dark de, how can you not enter? Have you forgotten where our door is?¡± The three leaders of the Dark de got really riled up when Cheyenne became a Legendary powerhouse before they did. Although they managed to salvage plenty of their pride over the years, Borg still felt rather displeased about it.

    The two enemies seemed to be sitting together harmoniously, but neither of them was willing to give in or swallow their pride. Lin Li remained seated, and watched the two of them bicker. He then got reminded of the old saying about old folks acting more like children the older they got. He thought about Gerian, Andoine, and the extremely old Apophis, who¡¯d fought alongside Geresco. None of them was mature enough.

    ¡°Masters, it¡¯s going to be daybreak soon.¡± Lin Li had been remaining silent ever since the two elders met each other. He finally decided to give them a reminder because he was bored out of his wits.

    ¡°Borg, you didn¡¯te here specially to bicker with me this time, did you? You¡¯d better cut straight to the chase as soon as possible,¡± said Cheyenne, who did not want to drag the nonsense on any longer. They still had to resolve the crisis faced by the Malfa Family.

    Upon hearing Cheyenne¡¯s words, Borg nced at him derisively with a smug smirk. ¡°I know the agenda for your visit this time. I¡¯m here for the same purpose.¡±

    Cheyenne did not quite believe it. Although there had been somemotion during the organization of the Adventurers¡¯ team, the Adventurers who did not get selected definitely wouldn¡¯t have revealed the whereabouts. Besides, the elites who had been selected by the Malfa Family were all clueless about the treasure of the Immortal King.

    ¡°The Immortal King, right? The Malfa Family doesn¡¯t seem that united after all. Haha...¡± Borg finally revealed the reason for his smugness, which made Cheyenne feel extremely embarrassed. Having been enemies for so many years, Borg felt extremely thrilled to see his enemy being put in an awkward position even though he could not fight.

    Borg¡¯sughter was extremely piercing for Cheyenne. However, it was not hard for a Legendary master to remainposed and keep a straight face.

    Borg¡¯sughter was actually very jovial, but it sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Cheyenne. However, Cheyenne kept his cool and remained seated.

    It was definitely a humiliating matter to have one of his family¡¯s members subordinates be a Dark de¡¯s snitch. Not to mention, the snitch enjoyed high status, and even got to know such confidential information. No, it was not just humiliating. It was actually extremely terrifying. If even the information about the Immortal Kings¡¯ treasure could be leaked, what else could be kept secret and confidential in the Malfa Family? One example would be the mageweath that was hidden in Aminya City. It was the foundation that gave him the strength to stand against the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de!

    Cheyenne kept a straight face, but deep down, massive waves had already formed in his heart. He was beyond infuriated, and was deeply disappointed as well, for someone from his family which he painstakingly defended actually sold them out for the sake of personal, selfish gains. Since the snitch had ess to such confidential information, he definitely enjoyed high status in the Malfa Family, and could very likely be a direct rtive.

    ¡°Oh, the Immortal King? What a joke. Whom did you hear it from?¡± Cheyenne asked with a squint, acting as nonchnt as she could.

    1Borg smiled smugly and stroked his beard while saying, ¡°I¡¯m not young anymore. Your little tricks don¡¯t work on me. You should know whether or not this is true. Besides, you definitely don¡¯t know that we have a treasure map of the Immortal King thing.¡±

    ¡°In that case, are you here to brag before me?¡± Cheyenne asked, feeling a sudden chill in his heart. He had always kept the treasure map safe with him. Even if others had used it to research the High Elvennguage, the map was split into pieces and all jumbled up.

    Everyone knew that the greatest feature of the High Elves Print was itsplexity. In fact, it was just in nonsense. There were perhaps only a few keywords in a paragraph, and most were descriptive words. Hence, if they were not arranged in the correct sequence, nothing could be done even if all of the pieces were intact. In that case, where did Borg get the treasure map that he mentioned?

    ¡°Hmph, do I seem like such a senseless person? Everyone knows how dangerous the Haiga Mountain Range is. Even Legendary-mages like us can¡¯t ensure that we¡¯ll be safe. Not to mention, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure definitely isn¡¯t going to be sitting there and waiting for someone else to collect it. Frankly speaking, I have only one purpose in visiting. Since we all know the whereabouts of the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, it is better to temporarily bury the hatchet and cooperate.¡± Borg stopped trying to provoke or agitate Cheyenne for fear that thetter would get angry and refuse to cooperate with him. His trip would then be wasted if he were to insist that since he couldn¡¯t have the treasure, Borg couldn¡¯t have it, either.

    ¡°Cooperation? What a joke. Why should I believe you people? Why should I believe that you have the treasure map just because you say so? I can¡¯t believe you actually used to be a bandit. You actually bother getting up to such tricks and embarrassing yourself. I bet even the foolish farmers will not believe you.¡± Cheyenne actually knew that given his identity, Borg wouldn¡¯t be so narrow-minded to lie about such things. Since there was another treasure map in his hands, his words should be 80% real. However, even gods would get angry too, let alone Legendary figures and ordinary people. Just because he didn¡¯t do so against ordinary people, it did not mean that Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t bear a grudge against people of the same status as him.

    ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t forget whose territory you¡¯re in. We both have the treasure map, and you guys have just arrived earlier than me. I bet you¡¯re very unfamiliar with this ce. However, I do have some insider information that¡¯s far better than yours.¡± Borg then shifted his gaze onto Lin Li without even waiting for Cheyenne to answer.

    Even as the archenemy of the Malfa Family, the Dark de had never been bothered by the cooperation between the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk. After all, the Tower of Dusk was only a small force that had been established less than a year ago. Even though they had the support of the Supreme Council, the Dark de did not feel threatened by them. Borg felt that a small force like them would sooner orter be annexed byrger forces since they had to depend on therger factions to survive. They might also get to develop well due to some luck. Such urrences weremon in the Breezy ins. There were plenty of smaller forces that relied on the Dark de alone. The Dark de managed to develop to their current size all because of expansion and annexation.

    When the senior pharmacists first appeared in the Tower of Dusk, the Dark de was indeed very tempted. More importantly, they feared that the Malfa Family would use the senior pharmacists to disrupt the current bnce between the two factions. The members of the Dark de had thought about destroying the Tower of Dusk, but the senior pharmacists made them worry and hesitate. Before getting a clear idea of the rtionship between the senior pharmacists and the Tower of Dusk, the Dark de wouldn¡¯t dare to take action against the Tower of Dusk even if they had the three Legendary powerhouses as the leaders.

    Later, the snitch that they¡¯d nted in the Malfa Family informed them that the senior pharmacists had nothing to do with the Malfa Family, after which the three leaders of the Dark de were finally relieved. The assistance that pharmacists could provide for the development of a force was way too great. If the senior pharmacists really had some connection with the Malfa Family, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be long until the Malfa Family triumphed over the Dark de.

    However, before the three leaders couldpletely feel relieved, the Legendary-realm-level battle that took ce in the Harvest Square took the entire Breezy ins by storm. The young President of the Tower of Dusk turned out to be a Legendary-mage, and fought an elven Legendary-mage. The Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family turned out to have formed an alliance too. In that case, would they work together to deal with the Dark de? Fortunately, they were just allies, and everyone knew that profits and mutual interests were what kept an alliance together, not a contractual agreement.

    ¡°Master Felic, there are issues between us and the Malfa Family which everyone knows about. Hence, I¡¯m asking Cheyenne if he would like to cooperate beforehand. Please don¡¯t mind me. As for the validity of the words that I have just said, I can assure you that everything I said was true. What do you think of this cooperation?¡± Borg asked Lin Li politely even though thetter was much younger than him. However, in the Legendary-realm, the hierarchy was based on ability, not age.

    Seeing that Borg had asked for his opinion, Lin Li smiled instead of voicing his true opinion. Lin Li had a clear agenda in entering the Haiga Mountain Range this time. Nothing could make him give up Thunderbolt and the object that sealed it, regardless of whom he cooperated with¡ªbe it the Dark de or the Malfa Family. Hence, he was not eager to make his stand, because it didn¡¯t matter to him whom he cooperated with. All he needed was some gunpowder. It didn¡¯t matter whom it came from.

    Despite knowing that the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were cooperating with each other, and that the actual ones who participated were only the young President and his followers, no one dared to ignore the power of a Legendary-mage. Although Borg did not get a clear answer, he was well aware that the young Legendary-mage Lin Li was bent on obtaining the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, and it didn¡¯t matter to him whom he cooperated with.

 Chapter 577 - Stephen Is Alive

    <h4>Chapter 577: Stephen Is Alive</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Borg, it would seem petty of me to turn you down since you¡¯ve already proposed cooperating. However, you must prove that you really do have that treasure map and the information that you im to be better than what we have. If you can prove it, we¡¯ll discuss the cooperation.¡±

    Cheyenne was worried that the young Master Felic would be won over by the Dark de. They were in the Dark de¡¯s territory to begin with. If even Master Felic and the Dark de be allies, the Malfa Family would really be at a huge loss.

    Besides, Cheyenne had been feeling rather guilty towards Master Felic. After all, Master Felic generously allowed Adelo to make a copy of the treasure map after leaving the Scar of Death back then, which was quite unimaginable for most people. However, due to the fact that there was a traitor in his family, the Dark de actually got their hands on the treasure map. No one would be happy about having to share the Immortal King¡¯s treasure with an extra person.

    Hence, Cheyenne was merely saying those words superficially because he was a Legendary figure and the rival of the Dark de. Actually, it was akin to giving in and agreeing to the cooperation between three parties. Besides, he had no choice but to agree, for it would be akin to giving his ally Lin Li away to someone else and ending up with nothing. He might even end up having a stronger and tougher rival.

    Borg stood up smilingly as if he had already expected to hear that right from the start. He said to Cheyenne and Lin Li, ¡°Our campsite is not too far away from here. Why don¡¯t you two follow me there, and we can discuss the details about the cooperation? Besides, Cheyenne, didn¡¯t you want me to prove that I have the treasure map? I can prove that I do have the map and the information that I¡¯ve obtained from my exploration of the Haiga Mountain Range during the past few days.¡±

    Cheyenne squinted slightly. Borg¡¯s invitation clearly proved that the other two Legendary leaders of the Dark de were probably there.

    In the eyes of the outsiders, the Malfa Family had Cheyenne, the Legendary-mage, while Dark de had three Legendary powerhouses. The two forces had fought for many years, but neither of them could defeat the other. That meant that they both had equal power. It also showed that the personal strength of Master Cheyenne should be simr to that of the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de together. When in the Legendary-realm, those below that realm were all insignificant.

    However, they were all powerhouses of the Legendary-realm; hence, it was not easy for one to go against three opponents. Cheyenne managed to fight the three of them, purely not because of his own abilities, but because of the ancient mageweath that was concealed in Aminya City. That was also the reason Cheyenne never once left Aminya City ever since the three leaders of the Dark de entered the Legendary-realm.

    Leaving Aminya City and the mysterious ancient mageweath hidden in the city would make Cheyenne just a Legendary-mage who had broken through the bottleneck to level-21 not too long ago. Now that Cheyenne was faced with the three Legendary figures of the Dark de, the problem no longery in the fact that he did not have an advantage.

    In other words, if Cheyenne were to ept Borg¡¯s invitation, it would be possible for Borg to make things hard for Cheyenne since they had been rivals for years. If Cheyenne were to go against the three of them, it would be akin to digging his own grave.

    ¡°Alright, Master Cheyenne, let us go and meet the other two leaders of the Dark de together,¡± Lin Li agreed before even waiting for Cheyenne to agree.

    Lin Li¡¯s words made Cheyenne¡¯s eyes light up because the fact that Lin Li said ¡°let us¡± meant that he considered himself to be on Cheyenne¡¯s side. Cheyenne had to admit that there was no way for him to deal with the three leaders alone. However, things would be different if he had the help of the young Master Felic.

    Not to mention, Lin Li was a genius Legendary-mage who had just defeated a level-22 elven Legendary-mage in the Harvest Square not too long ago. He enjoyed great reputation in the Breezy ins now. Since he was going to be on Cheyenne¡¯s side, the three leaders of the Dark de would have to think twice before acting. The thought of it made Cheyenne nod in agreement. He stood up, and said to Borg, ¡°Alright. Please lead the way.¡±

    As soon as the three of them stepped out of the tent, they looked just like a bunch of friends strolling in a certain direction outside the campground together. The members of the Malfa Family, especially Hutton and Adelo, could vaguely guess what was going on even though they had not heard the conversation that had taken ce in the tent. They initially wanted to chase after them, but were stopped by their teacher. They gave it some thought, and realized that it did make sense, after all. Archmages might be strong, but they were not that significant in the eyes of the Legendary figures. If anything were to happen when they tagged along, they wouldn¡¯t be able to offer their teacher any help, either. They could only pin their hopes on Lin Li who left together with him.

    Lin Li had never been arrogant enough to think that he could ovee the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de alone. The current situation was simr to that in <i>The Romance of the Three Kingdoms</i>. Since the Dark de had the three Legendary figures, they could be said to be the strongest party amongst the three. If he were to work with the Dark de and kick the Malfa Family away, it would probably be very difficult for him to achieve his agenda. No one would be able to resist the temptation of Thunderbolt or the item that sealed it.

    Lin Li had no idea how the Malfa Family had relied on a single Legendary-mage, Cheyenne, to confront and stand against the three Legendary figures of the Dark de. However, he knew very well that the current Cheyenne had absolutely no such ability. The uninvited Borg alone was already almost as powerful as Cheyenne. When he worked with the other two Legendary leaders, Cheyenne would probably be defeated.

    If he would insist on cooperating only with the Malfa Family without the Dark de, there was bound to be a battle between the two parties for the ownership of the treasure of the Immortal King. Lin Li did not wish for that to happen, regardless of the oue. Even if he emerged victorious in the end, he would definitely have to pay a huge and painful price. How could he have the energy to obtain Thunderbolt then?

    Therefore, the cooperation of the three parties was necessary in the quest for the treasure of the Immortal King. it was the only option that would be beneficial to Lin Li. Of course, it was also in the interests of the three parties. On the basis of the cooperation, what Lin Li had to do was to continue cooperating with the Malfa Family. He believed that that was the only option for them too. Given the feud between them and the Dark de that had been going on for years, it was impossible for them to truly unite and cooperate.

    Under Borg¡¯s lead, they soon arrived at the Dark de¡¯s camp. Their tents were lined up neatly, and the campfires that had been burning all night on the ground had been extinguished too. The patrolling teams were also shuttling between the tents. After all, they were in the Dark de¡¯s territory, and the campground was muchrger than the Malfa Family¡¯s. Clearly, they had brought more people than the Malfa Family.

    ¡°We have selected more than 200 elites who are level-15 and above to form a team of adventurers,¡± Borg said casually, though he was not trying to show off. Since they had agreed to cooperate, how could he not introduce the resources that he had avable to his partners?

    The Malfa Family was a family of mages, and the advantage of a familial management team was loyalty. Unfortunately, it seemed that the trust and loyalty within the family had already been broken. Meanwhile, the disadvantage of that system was a limited source of talent. However, it was different for the Dark de. Although they rarelymitted theft nowadays, they¡¯d still started off as bandits, and no one doubted that fact at all. Hence, they were definitely ruthless and unrestrained when it came to poaching talents. Therefore,pared to the family of mages, the Dark de definitely had an obvious advantage.

    There were more than 200 elites above level-15 who took part in the operation this time. The three Legendary leaders arrived at the same time, and showcased all of their power and resources. That made Cheyenne feel rather thankful for the fact that he had previously sought out Master Felic of the Tower of Dusk as a partner. Otherwise, not only would the Malfa Family not have reaped any benefits this time, they might¡¯ve also ended up being in danger.

    Upon sight of Borg leading the two of them into the camp, the members of the patrolling team and those who had gotten up early to leave their tents quickly stopped to bow to Borg.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    A voice sounded in terror out of nowhere, breaking the silence of the morning. Next, someone dashed forwards angrily with a murderous expression.

    Lin Li could not help but feel shocked to see the familiar face. Wasn¡¯t he Stephen who had gone missing in the Abyss of Tharlen?

    In order to obtain the relics of Geresco, Lin Li, Hutton, and Stephen were sent to the Abyss of Tharlen by Tutankhamun, who said that whoever found the Throne of Darkness would be eligible to obtain the three relics of Geresco.

    Along the way, Stephen somehow got associated with the Lord of Souls, Mephistos, and tried to plot against Lin Li and Hutton. When they walked past the ancient dueling ground, Lin Li released the demons and magical beasts that had been held captive there, and trapped Stephen who had been possessed by Mephistos there.

    Later on, Lin Li managed to plot against and lure Mephistos out in order to fight the Lord of Darkness. However, he had no idea what happened to Stephen in the end.

    Of course, Lin Li was only a little shocked, and the three of them werepetitors to begin with. In order to obtain the three relics of Geresco, they resorted to means that were not considered excessive. Moreover, this incident itself was Stephen¡¯s fault, so Lin Li didn¡¯t feel the slightest hint of guilt. He also knew that although Stephen showed up there, and had obviously told Borg and the others about the events that had taken ce in the Abyss of Tharlen in a way that was beneficial to himself, there would be no impact as long as the Dark de was sincere about the cooperation.

 Chapter 578 - Three Major Leaders

    <h4>Chapter 578: Three Major Leaders</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Stephen thought to himself, <i>The scoundrel who has oncended me in a horrible situation actually did not show a tinge of remorse or guilt now that we met again. He¡¯s pretending like he doesn¡¯t know me at all. How shameless! Not only did this bastard almost kill me in the Abyss of Tharlen, he even snatched away the three relics of Geresco that should have belonged to me. There is no doubt that he could enter the Legendary-realm so soon and enjoy such a huge reputation in the Breezy ins all because of the relics. I should be enjoying that. </i>

    Stephen was furious beyond words.

    Although Stephen was just an Archmage, he was not at all afraid of Lin Li who was already a Legendary-mage, because they were now in the Dark de¡¯s campground and in the presence of the three leaders of the Dark de, who included his father. He was confident that they could defeat a Legendary-mage who had just entered the Legendary-realm.

    At this moment, all Stephen wanted except revenge was to snatch the three relics of Geresco back. Since Lin Li could rely on Geresco¡¯s relics to advance to the Legendary-realm, why couldn¡¯t he do so too?

    He was especially enticed by the Book of Eternity, which contained all of Geresco¡¯s life experiences. It was a holy grail that all mages looked up to and coveted. Putting the Archmage Stephen aside, even a Legendary-mage like Borg was just as tempted by the Book of Eternity as he was by the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.

    Stephen actually had a simple mindset. Instead of painstakingly searching for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, he decided that he¡¯d rather try to defeat Lin Li and snatch the Book of Eternity from him before considering anything else.

    However, before Stephen could even rush towards Lin Li, Borg rushed forward and stopped Stephen from proceeding. He barked, ¡°Outrageous! Master Felic is my guest. Stop making a fool out of yourself. Get lost!¡±

    Stephen immediately stopped in his tracks, and red at Lin Li who was standing a short distance away. However, he had no choice but to suppress his resentment out of fear of his father. He turned around and stormed back into his tent angrily. However, he did not seem as angry as he really was on the surface. In fact, he seemed a little thrilled.

    Stephen felt that his father was not actually ming him for being rude, but rather had other ns in mind. Since Felic was a Legendary-mage, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to flee if they were to really get into a scuffle. Hence, he felt that his father had to be nning to lure Felic in before the three of them colluded to defeat him. He thought,<i> Felic is just a minor Legendary-mage who has just entered the Legendary-realm. He probably won¡¯t even be able to keep up in battle and stay alive for a moment. By then, the Book of Eternity will belong to me and Father. It will be easy for me to enter the Legendary-realm then. </i>

    Regardless of Stephen¡¯s dreams, Borg led Lin Li and Cheyenne to thergest tent in the middle of the camp. When the subordinates outside the tent saw Borg, they quickly bowed to him respectfully before extending their hands to pull the curtains up.

    There were already two people in the tent. They seemed to be waiting for Borg toe back. Sensing the energy fluctuations in the two¡¯s bodies, Lin Li guessed that they should be the other two Legendary leaders of the Dark de. From the appearance of the two of them, he could tell that one of them was a Warrior, while the other was a Bandit.

    The person who was dressed like a Warrior had long curly blond hair and a thick beard like Borg. His appearance reminded Lin Li of the nickname Golden Lion. Looking at the Warrior¡¯s body, he realized that he was tall, burly, and d in a simple half-body soft leather armor, which revealed his bronze-colored skin and toned muscles that were like copper cast iron that contained huge destructive power. Judging from the energy fluctuations in his body, Lin Li was reminded of the Sword Sage of the Storm from the Warriors Union in nna. Although he didn¡¯t know who the stronger one was, he could at least confirm that the Legendary Warrior in front of him was at least level-21.

    The Legendary-mages were familiar with Rule Power, and were masters of elemental Rules, thus allowing them to create Magical Domains that could bepletely controlled by their minds. In the Legendary-realm, Warriors were known as Sword Sages, and were in the pursuit of the ultimate development of their own power and the exploration of their own mysteries to obtain more power. The strength of a particr individual was actually subjective¡ªa matter of opinion. Wisdom or power alone couldn¡¯t be a standard forparison between the strong and the weak. Although humans in Anril generally believed that Legendary-mages were stronger than Sword Sages and other professions of the same level, no one would really despise or belittle Sword Sages. Those who had had probably faced terrible consequences.

    When the benefits were tempting enough, even brothers would turn against each other, let alone partners who had nothing to do with each other, and only decided to work together at thest minute. Lin Li did not doubt it at all. If he were to abandon Cheyenne from the Malfa Family and work alone with the Dark de, he would definitely be attacked by them in the end. Even if he owned all kinds of treasures, he would probably be at a loss in the face of the joint attack by the three Legendary leaders.

    Not to mention, Lin Li shifted his attention onto the Bandit whom he felt he could not see through. It seemed that he was level-21, but Lin Li somehow felt that something was wrong about him. However, he could not put his finger on it. He could not tell if it was due to the fact that Bandits had special abilities or because of another reason. However, he could not help but feel uneasy about being unable to see through him, hence keeping his guard up.

    Rumor had it that the founder of the Dark de was a powerful and mysterious Bandit. Lin Li reckoned that it had to be the person in front of him<sup>1</sup>. Among the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de, Borg was probably not the most terrifying. Instead, it could be the Bandit Lin Li could not see through. He might not be stronger than the other two, but Lin Li found him even more dangerous.

    Based solely on appearance, the Legendary-realm Bandit looked more like a traditional aristocrat who was from a noble family with copious heritage. His dark brown hair was meticulouslybed back, and his mustache seemed to have been trimmed too. His white shirt wasbined with a well-cut jacket, which made it impossible for anyone to associate him with scheming bandits.

    There weren¡¯t any more spections about the Legendary Bandit, apart from the rumors of his formidable power. No one knew his origins, and his past was a mystery that couldn¡¯t be seen through. However, Lin Li knew that what he saw was the true image of the Bandit, devoid of any disguise.

    Although the special nature of the Bandit profession would often require them to change their appearance to hide their identity during missions like stealthy assassinations, the act of disguising had be insignificant for Legendary Bandits. It would be useless to rely on those tricks to deal with another Legendary figure of the same level, after all. Besides, there was no need they dealt with the targets below the Legendary-realm.

    Therefore, the impably dressed aristocrat was presenting his true appearance as a Legendary Bandit. Of course, that also made Lin Li a little more curious about his origins. He wanted to know what made a traditional aristocrat turn into a Bandit and establish such a huge bandit organization like the Dark de.

    While Lin Li was observing the two Legendary leaders of the Dark de, they, too, were in fact scrutinizing Lin Li, the young Legendary-mage. They were not surprised by the arrival of Lin Li, because it was no secret that the Malfa Family cooperated with the Tower of Dusk. It could be said that everything about Aminya City was known to the Dark de. Hence, it was logical for Borg to go to Cheyenne to discuss the cooperation and invite Lin Li for a visit too.

    The Legendary figures knew very well about the hardships of the journey, and they could hardly believe that a young man barely past 20 had within a short period of time alreadypleted the journey that they had spent years toplete. Stephen said it was because of the Book of Eternity, but the three Legendary powerhouses knew that the book alone was not enough to take Lin Li to such heights, as much of it was a summary of Geresco¡¯s life experience.

    If Legendary figures represented legends in the hearts of ordinary people, the young Master Felic of the Tower of Dusk could be considered the legend of all legends. It was not a gauge of how strong he was, but he was so powerful that he intimidated all three Legendary leaders. It was surprising enough that Lin Li had already made it to the Legendary-realm at such a young age even though he was only at the bottom.

    ¡°Cheyenne is an old friend of ours, so we can save the introductions. However, I must introduce Master Felic of the Tower of Dusk.¡± Borg introduced Lin Li to two of his peers before saying to Lin Li, ¡°The one with the mustache is Lansdale, while the one with the beard is Bald. They¡¯re the other two leaders of the Dark de. Pleasee with me...¡±

    Lansdale was the mustached Bandit, while Bald was obviously the bearded Warrior who resembled Golden Lion.

    They chatted and exchanged greetings cordially, after which Borg led Lin Li and Cheyenne to their seats. Five Legendary powerhouses gathered in a tent, an umon scene that could rarely be seen, especially since the Malfa Family and Dark de had an intense feud. None of them remembered ever having such a calm and harmonious conversation while being seated opposite each other.

    Of course, they were notpletely calm and harmonious. Well, at least Cheyenne was not asposed as he appeared to be on the surface, especially after seeing the map in the tent. Lin Li was not very clear about the map, because it was not the design sketch of Sky Castle. It was different from what he saw at the Malfa Family. However, Cheyenne obviously knew what it was because he was the one who¡¯d illustrated it ording to the narrative of that High Elves Print, so no one knew every feature better than he did. Although the map was slightly different from the one he¡¯d made, it was clearly also created based on the transliterated High Elves Print.

    Noticing that Cheyenne had shifted his gaze onto the map, Borg smugly said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Cheyenne? The things you mentioned are all here. I didn¡¯t lie to you, did I?¡± He then made eye contact with his peers smilingly.

    When Borg had proposed the cooperation earlier on, he had said that he owned not only the treasure map, but also information that Cheyenne and Lin Li didn¡¯t have. The treasure map was now hanging in the tent, and Cheyenne was very clear about its authenticity. There were also some clues on the map which hinted at the existence of the information.

    Cheyenne took a closer look at the hanging treasure map, and soon saw that there were plenty of details on the map that had been modified, including some of the areas he himself had felt vague at the time. Everything was clear on the map. After all, the Dark de was the owner of the area, and¡ªto put it simply¡ªunderstood the geography of the ce better than Cheyenne did. The locations of the gullies and hills were also clearly annotated on the map.

    From these details alone, it could be seen that the Dark de did note to take advantage at thest minute, and instead had put in lots of effort. In fact, Cheyenne also knew that cooperating with them would be their best bet given the situation that they were currently in. The danger in the Haiga Mountain Range was far beyond what most people imagined; hence, it was necessary for them to have the Dark de guide them during the exploration. Of course, Cheyenne still felt rather ufortable at the thought of his own family member leaking the information and the treasure map.

    Actually, everyone knew that cooperation was the only option for those who wanted to obtain the treasure of the Immortal King. The Dark de seemed to be powerful with three Legendary-realm leaders and more than 200 elites who were at or above level-15, but it would be impossible for them to make the treasure entirely their own. Putting aside the obstacles that they might face during the quest, the Dark de might not be able to take it if the Malfa Family were to relentlessly attack them, let alone with a young Legendary-mage.

    The same was true for Lin Li. With the powerful support of the Dark de, at least their journey before finding the treasure would be easier, and their chances of finding the treasure of the Immortal King would also be higher. As for what problems the three parties would face during the distribution of the loot after they found it, that was not the focus of consideration for the time being. As long as it was guaranteed that Lin Li would obtain Thunderbolt and the treasure that sealed it, Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered with the rest.

    Borg looked at the contemtive Cheyenne, and turned to look at Lin Li. He suddenly yelled out of his tent, ¡°York, tell Stephen toe here immediately.¡±

 Chapter 579 - The Whole Story

    <h4>Chapter 579: The Whole Story</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    From Borg¡¯s perspective, Lin Li was still too young, and couldn¡¯t look at things rationally even though he was already a Legendary powerhouse. Although he was confident that Cheyenne would agree to coborate with him despite the fact that the Dark de and the Malfa Family had been in conflict for so many years, he was worried that the young Master Felic would still have ill feelings because of what had happened earlier.

    All the Legendary masters here, including Cheyenne, knew about the conflict between Lin Li and Stephen back in the ckstone Mountains. Hence, they guessed what Borg wanted to do when he called Stephen in. Lin Li also knew what Borg¡¯s intentions were. Such things had happened to him so many times sinceing to Anril.

    ¡°Master Felic, my son was too arrogant because of his tiny bit of talent. It¡¯s due to my incapability as a father to discipline him that he had offended you. Since everyone is preparing to coborate, I hope that this passing matter won¡¯t be a hindrance to our coboration,¡± said Borg with a smile.

    Borg had been a famous Legendary powerhouse for many years, and was also one of the leaders of the Dark de. It was already hard for him to say such words. However, Borg was obviously thinking too much. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t a forgiving person, he knew what was important. How could Stephen match up to the piece of debris of the stars, Thunderbolt?

    Unbothered, Lin Li smiled, and calmly replied, ¡°Master Borg, you¡¯re thinking too much. What happened then was just normalpetition. There¡¯s no right or wrong, and all depended on our own abilities.¡± He also concluded in his heart that Stephen didn¡¯t ask Borg about going out.

    Soon, Stephen¡¯s voice sounded from outside the tent. He sounded rather excited, maybe because he thought that his father and the two elders had already gotten what they wanted. After all, the Book of Eternity provided a straight path to bing a god for a mage. Its temptation was something no mage could resist.

    Upon hearing his father¡¯s call, Stephen raised the curtain of the tent, and began to walk in excitedly. However, his entire body froze before he could even take a step. The few people in the tent didn¡¯t seem to have fought. That bastard Felic was also shamelessly sitting there. It was still eptable for Master Cheyenne from the Malfa Family to sit down there since even the Dark de couldn¡¯t underestimate the Malfa Family¡¯s abilities. However, what was the Tower of Dusk? It was just a faction established less than a year ago. Even if that Felic was lucky to be a Legendary-mage, what right did he have to sit next to the three Legendary-mages from the Dark de?

    ¡°Get in here now!¡± Borg yelled unpleasantly.

    Stephen felt cold shivers running down his spine, and unwillingly shifted into the tent. He stood in front of his father, and said, ¡°Father, may I know why you¡¯re calling me?¡±

    ¡°Disappointingd!¡± Borg red at Stephen angrily, and said in a stern voice, ¡°Master Felic will be coborating with us for this trip to the Haiga Mountain Range. Master Felic has forgiven you for your offense earlier, but you need to apologize for your mistake.¡±

    ¡°But, Father... I...¡± Stephen got anxious at hearing this. He was the heir of the Dark de! Out of all those factions in the Breezy ins, none of them was worthy of him apologizing.

    ¡°Have you heard what I said? Did I ask for your opinion? Go apologize. Now!¡± Borg snapped at Stephen, leaving no room for negotiation.

    Stephen was stunned for a moment. Although he was very unhappy internally, he didn¡¯t dare to disobey his father, and turned towards Lin Li. Staring resentfully at Lin Li, who was sitting at ease, Stephen suppressed his discontentment, and said, ¡°S-sorry...¡±

    ¡°Louder! Be responsible for what you¡¯ve done! Don¡¯t apologize like a girl! Don¡¯t you find yourself not embarrassing enough?¡± yelled Borg angrily.

    Stephen was angry too. He thought, <i>Why? Why do I have to apologize? If I had not been lucky, I would have died in the Abyss of Tharlen because of thisd. Why am I the one to apologize? If not for Felic¡¯s cunning schemes, Geresco¡¯s treasures would have been mine, and I would¡¯ve been a Legendary-mage now! I should be the youngest Legendary-mage, rare genius, and sessor of Geresco, not that Felic!</i>

    Stephen clenched his fists under his magic robe. His body trembled uncontrobly because of his anger. However, he couldn¡¯t, and didn¡¯t, dare to disobey his father. Hence, he took a deep breath, and barely suppressed his resentment. He loudly said, ¡°Sorry, Master Felic, please forgive me for being rude to you before.¡±

    Actually, Lin Li wasn¡¯t bothered about this at all. He didn¡¯t stop Borg, because he had the same thought in mind as thetter. His receiving the apology would make the Dark de more at ease. After all, Lin Li also didn¡¯t want to carry old grudges over into this coboration. As for Stephen¡¯s discontentment, how would Lin Li not notice that? He waved his hand and smiled, unbothered. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s forget about what happened before since we will be coborating soon.¡±

    Stephen was ming with anger. He thought that he would let Lin Li off this time. Once they found the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, he would settle everything with Lin Li. No matter how genius Lin Li was, he still had to give the Book of Eternity to Stephen obediently at that time.

    ¡°Get out now, don¡¯t embarrass me further!¡± Borg also knew his own son¡¯s personality. After all, this apology was just to show his sincerity for the coboration.

    Stephen felt a great sense of relief, and greeted the few masters seated in the tent. Without daring to look at Lin Li, he turned and left. After he came out, he finally dared to heave a long sigh of relief. He turned to look at the tent behind him, and thought, <i>I will get back at you someday! It won¡¯t be as easy as apologizing to me by then!</i>

    After Stephen had left, Cheyenne and Lin Li both expressed that they had no objections to coborating, so the five Legendary masters started to discuss the cooperation officially. Everyone didn¡¯t mention the share of benefits due to tacit understanding. Though the Dark de seemed to invest the most, everyone wanted to get more for themselves. Thus, it was better to discuss thisst rather than cause some trouble now because of this. After all, no one knew what exactly was included in the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.

    ¡°Since we¡¯ve alreadye to consensus about the coboration, we will share with you some information we¡¯ve obtained regarding the Immortal King¡¯s treasure to show our sincerity.¡±

    After the Dark de had gotten the treasure map from the Malfa Family, they had not only gone to many ces to do research, but also analyzed arge amount of relevant data. After all, even Legendary powerhouses didn¡¯t dare to enter into the Haiga Mountain Range, and only dared to explore the outskirts to confirm which direction the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was in. For more detailed information, they could only refer to the information from the Dark Age,pare different sources, and roughly extrapte the location of the treasure.

    During this process, the Dark de had gotten some interesting information that Cheyenne and Lin Li certainly didn¡¯t know. After all, the Darkness Shrine, which was as ancient as the Brilliance Shrine, stood behind the Dark de. In addition, the Darkness Shrine and Brilliance Shrine both originated from the even more ancient Eternal Shrine.

    Of course, even the Dark de didn¡¯t know the Darkness Shrine and Brilliance Shrine used to be one. Only the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine had the right to know that. However, many of the old texts and resources in the Darkness Shrine were passed down from the Eternal Shrine.

    Necromancer Tedya, who had participated in the Time Consignment Store¡¯s auction, was the one tasked to borrow and study the relevant information from the Darkness Shrine. Obviously, Tedya¡¯s status was too low to know about the matter of the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. He was merely tasked to read about the Haiga Mountain Range.

    ¡°However, for us to save more time by avoiding repetition, can Master Cheyenne please tell us what you already know?¡± Borg wasn¡¯t anxious to reveal the information he had. He asked what Cheyenne knew first, and came up with a very reasonable excuse for that. If he said what they knew, but the rest had already known that, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of time? It was better for Cheyenne to say what he knew first. Then, Borg would tell them what they didn¡¯t know.

    This was a reasonable request, but Cheyenne was rather annoyed to hear it. Wasn¡¯t it implying that the Malfa Family knew less than the Dark de? However, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t so petty. If they wanted to hear from him, he would tell them something they didn¡¯t know. The treasure map was copied from Lin Li, and was unfortunately spilled to their nemesis, the Dark de. If Cheyenne couldn¡¯te up with something valuable, he would be too embarrassed to talk about coboration.

    After all, the Dark de was just a group of bandits. No matter how strong they were, they weren¡¯t popr in the Breezy ins. On the other hand, the Malfa Family was different. Hence, even though the Malfa Family didn¡¯t have a strong support like the age-old Darkness Shrine, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for the Malfa Family to get hold of some old texts given its influence and connections in the Breezy ins.

    ¡°This treasure map isn¡¯t a secret now. I think everyone knows what information we can get from it. However, I have indeed found something beyond the treasure map during my research. Since we are coborating, I will share it with you for your consideration. If it happens to ovep with what you know, that just shows that the information is correct.¡± Cheyenne was talking about ovepping information, but looked very proud and confident in the information he had.

    Upon seeing Cheyenne¡¯s confidence, everyone leaned forward to listen to him attentively, be it Lin Li or Cheyenne¡¯s old rivals, the three Legendary leaders from the Dark de. After all, they had all agreed to coborate, and had the same goal: to find the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.

    ¡°Everyone here should be familiar with Highlord Osric. Although we weren¡¯t born in that era, and hadn¡¯t witnessed Butcher Osric¡¯s brutality, Osric¡¯s name wasn¡¯t forgotten even after the Dark Age. Even now, we are still researching and discovering the marls Osric had left on the Anril Continent.¡± Cheyenne was very pleased that the others didn¡¯t know about what he knew judging from their expressions.

    ¡°Osric?¡±

    The people here naturally weren¡¯t unfamiliar with Butcher Osric. Even Lin Li, who had space-time-traveled to Anril a year ago, had heard this name so many times. Back in the Dragon Mountains, Lin Li had explored an underground pce built by Osric. In ity two pieces of the debris of the stars¡ªRaging mes and Pr Snow¡ªas well as a naturally urring Magical Domain waiting for his im.

    The problem was, why would Cheyenne mention Osric when they were discussing the Immortal King¡¯s treasure? Not to mention Lin Li, even Borg who thought that only he had obtained information others didn¡¯t know was surprised. They were stunned for a while after hearing Cheyenne¡¯s words. Evidently, they had never thought about it.

    However, it wasn¡¯t impossible for the two to be somehow connected if they thought about it carefully. After all, Osric had gotten so powerful because he had inherited some of the Immortal King¡¯s abilities. If the treasure held the secret to this inheritance, was it even necessary to find the treasure now? With Osric¡¯s personality, he wouldn¡¯t leave anything for others. If they wanted to find something, they would need to go to Osric¡¯s tomb.

    ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve thought about something. However, let me tell you that it isn¡¯t what you think. You all know that Osric had be the Highlord, who only royals could be, when he was just amon High Elf. But how much do you know about what he was like before he became the Highlord?¡± Although Legendary powerhouses could control their emotions well, Cheyenne still couldn¡¯t help being pleased with himself, since his old nemeses were sitting opposite.

    Cheyenne¡¯s question had stunned Borg and hispanions. Osric was remembered by people till now because of his powerful abilities and the massacres he had conducted after bing the Highlord, which made him infamous. However, what had happened before Osric became the Highlord wasn¡¯t clearly recorded in history, including how he had inherited the Immortal King¡¯s abilities. That remained a mystery to many people.

    Cheyenne paused and sipped his tea. He then continued, ¡°I¡¯ve specially collectedrge amounts of old texts in order to decipher the High Elves Print written on this treasure map. I¡¯ve focused on finding texts with twonguages side by side.¡±

 Chapter 580 - Ruins of the Titans

    <h4>Chapter 580: Ruins of the Titans</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I¡¯ve coincidentally chanced upon a notebook from the Dark Age. It was originally written in High Elves Print, but some anonymous person has tranted it. From my research, this notebook was Osric¡¯s personal adventure diary from before he had gotten famous. Perhaps very few know that Osric was an adventurer who had gone to almost every corner of the Anril Continent before he became the Highlord.

    ¡°Although part of the notebook was damaged, the part recording his adventures in the Haiga Mountain Range was preserved in perfect condition¡ª¡±

    Laughing, Gold-maned Lion King Bald abruptly cut in. ¡°My old friend! How ancient is this notebook? Not to mention when Osric became the Highlord, it¡¯s still more than 1000 years from now counting from the end of the Dark Age. How do you know if the hill he mentioned hasn¡¯t smoothened out, or if the pond he mentioned hasn¡¯t dried up? It will be like finding treasures ording to the clouds in the sky if we rely on this outdated information to find the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.¡±

    Although the others didn¡¯t say anything, they had the same thoughts as Bald. Even Lin Li found Cheyenne¡¯s information from the notebook too unreliable. 1000 years was enough to change much of thendscape, even if Anril was a magical world.

    However, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t angry that he was cut off. Instead, he looked at Bald with some contempt and smiled. ¡°Did I say anything about Haiga Mountain Range¡¯s geography? Bald, your tendency to make assumptions didn¡¯t change at all!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then tell us what made you so confident.¡± Although Bald was a Warrior by profession, that didn¡¯t mean he was rash. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been impossible for him to reach the Legendary-realm. So, he wasn¡¯t bothered by Cheyenne¡¯s sarcasm.

    Cheyenne smiled and shook his head. He unhurriedly said, ¡°The Haiga Mountain Range is dangerous even for Legendary powerhouses like us because of those prehistoric magical beasts. Even Legendary magical beasts aren¡¯t few there, not mentioning the herds of level-17 or 18 magical beasts. This is the first challenge we will face. If we cannot get past this obstacle, we shouldn¡¯t talk about the Immortal King¡¯s treasure at all.¡±

    ¡°Right. If not, we wouldn¡¯t have invested all our elite power into this.¡± Borg and hispanions agreed with Cheyenne¡¯s words. After all, Legendary powerhouses weren¡¯t gods. If they had wasted too much effort on the way, how could they defend themselves from the dangers at the location of the Immortal King¡¯s treasure? Hence, both factions had made a big move, and concentrated almost all their elite power here.

    ¡°If you think that this power is enough, then you are wrong. I¡¯ve thought so earlier as well, but I realized after reading Osric¡¯s adventure diary that even thebination of the power of our three factions isn¡¯t enough to ovee the dangers we will be facing. Also, these kids are the most outstanding talents each of us has. I think all of you also don¡¯t want to be the only ones reaching the destination.¡± Cheyenne looked around, sweeping his nce past everyone, and eventually focused on Lin Li.

    Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of injustice when he saw Lin Li sitting there calmly. What he had just said was only relevant to the Dark de and himself. It was meaningless to this Master Felic, since he had cunningly brought along only one attendant.

    The three leaders of the Dark de noticed Cheyenne looking at Lin Li and looked over too. What they were thinking was surprisingly simr.

    Lin Li seemed to be oblivious to everyone¡¯s stares, and earnestly said, ¡°Oh, please continue, Master Cheyenne.¡±

    Cheyenne gritted his teeth, and felt a sense of helplessness. After all, the original copy of the treasure map belonged to Master Felic, so he couldn¡¯t be petty over the fact that he didn¡¯t contribute much manpower for this coboration. Thus, Cheyenne continued, ¡°This adventure diary of Osric contains detailed descriptions of the majority of the Legendary magical beasts in the Haiga Mountain Range as well as their weaknesses. Although they might have changed after all these years, we can still reduce much danger with this information.¡±

    Cheyenne didn¡¯t take out the notebook to share with the rest. Instead, he just mentioned a few rare magical beasts, and marked the areas where these beasts might probably be on the map lying in the middle of the tent. As for the actual value of this notebook, they had to wait till the exploration to verify that.

    Looking at the marked map, everyone briefly fell into silence. Nobody doubted the authenticity of Cheyenne¡¯s information. Osric¡¯s adventure diary didn¡¯t get circted around, because people were crazy over power and strength after the end of the Dark Age. This kind of adventure diary that was unrted to magic wasn¡¯t important to many people.

    Undoubtedly, Osric¡¯s adventure diary would be crucial to this Haiga Mountain Range expedition. Although over 1000 years had passed, it was nothing to those long-lived Legendary magical beasts. The aim of this expedition wasn¡¯t hunting, but searching for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. It would be beneficial to everyone to avoid those Legendary magical beasts.

    Maybe some beasts had already migrated, and maybe some had evolved. However, the hegemons among those beasts had reached the limit of evolution long ago, and wouldn¡¯t have groundbreaking changes in merely thousands of years. If it had been so easy to evolve, Anril would¡¯ve probably be the magical beasts¡¯ yground already. After all, only intelligent beings were able to evolve through learning.

    Thus, no one wanted the elites in their factions to be cannon fodder, even though they were prepared to sacrifice a portion of their people when they organized this elite expedition team. It would be better if they could reduce the casualty rate.

    Cheyenne was very pleased with everyone¡¯s reaction. After sitting back on his seat, he smiled, and said, ¡°Borg, this is my little, insignificant contribution. I¡¯m hoping to see what surprises you can bring to us as half a master of the Dark de.¡±

    Out of the three leaders of the Dark de, Legendary Bandit Lansdale didn¡¯t like to talk too much, while Sword Sage Gold-maned Lion King Bald wasn¡¯t good at descriptions. Thus, Legendary-mage Borg did the majority of the talking.

    Upon hearing Cheyenne¡¯s question, Borg¡¯s smile didn¡¯t fade, and he pped his hands. In a calm voice, he replied, ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m indeed quite surprised that you¡¯ve found Osric¡¯s adventure diary, but this is good! Since what we know doesn¡¯t seem to ovep, this means that our coboration is very necessary. The more information we have, the higher the sess rate of this mission.¡±

    ¡°Borg, both of us aren¡¯t little kids, so stop saying this. Just tell us what you¡¯ve got directly.¡± Cheyenne sounded rather annoyed, but was actually anticipating the information the Dark de was going to present. After all, the Darkness Shrine behind the Dark de used to be a powerful faction that matched the Brilliance Shrine, and had an equally long history. He was lucky to chance upon Osric¡¯s adventure diary when collecting old texts and resources by various means. With the Darkness Shrine¡¯s rich history, Borg probably had some useful things to share.

    Borg touched his beard, and suddenly asked a question that everyone knew the answer to. ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious, Cheyenne. Can you tell me why we are coborating this time?¡±

    Although Cheyenne knew that Borg had some reason for asking this question, he still couldn¡¯t help feeling angry. Would Borg not know why they were here? Would three Legendary leaders and over 200 elitese here just to hunt?

    ¡°Are you so old that you¡¯ve forgotten it so easily? We are here for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure! If not, do you think we are here to chit-chat and tour?¡± said Cheyenne in a displeased tone.

    Borg smiled and shook his head. Unbothered, he replied, ¡°Indeed! The Immortal King¡¯s treasure! However, based on our research, this term doesn¡¯t describe it urately. More specifically, it should be the Ruins of the Titans!¡±

    ¡°The Ruins of the Titans?¡± Cheyenne frowned a little. He was indeed surprised because the High Elves Print on the treasure map only mentioned the Immortal King, but not the Ruins of the Titans.

    Titans had once been the rulers of Anril. However, they existed during prehistoric times even more distant than the Dark Age. Although Titans had disappeared from Anril a long time ago, this didn¡¯t mean that they weren¡¯t as powerful as their sessors.

    Even the High Elves, who had once ruled over Anril and imed themselves gods superior to all other races, neverpared themselves to Titans. This was because the High Elves knew clearly that Titans were the true gods. If Titans hadn¡¯t disappeared, the High Elves wouldn¡¯t have the chance to rule over this continent.

    By now, even the Dark Age had been slowly fading out of history. Perhaps many people already couldn¡¯t imagine how powerful Titans were. However, when studying World Rule Power, Legendary-mages couldn¡¯t neglect the Titans who had the abilities closest to the gods.

    Lin Li, who had read the Book of Eternity, knew this more vividly than Cheyenne or Borg. This was because Geresco had recorded many spells in the Titans¡¯nguage, and its every line pointed directly to the core of Rule Power. Both humans and the High Elves were learning about World Rules through analyzing Titans¡¯nguage.

 Chapter 581 - Pantheon

    <h4>Chapter 581: Pantheon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    For the Titans, the Titannguage was their nativenguage, and Rule Power was their natural talent. This was also why the Titans were so terrifying. The High Elves only imed that they were gods, while the Titans were the universally acknowledged gods.

    ¡°How did youe to this conclusion? If it¡¯d really been the ruins of Titans, the High Elves would have snatched the treasure in there already!¡± Cheyenne asked in disbelief. After all, the ruins of the Titans were still tempting even for Legendary-mages. Not to mention if they could find any treasures inside, just obtaining some Titan writings from the ruins would be very beneficial for a Legendary-mage.

    Of course, the level of difficulty would be even higher if it was really the ruins of the Titans. The mageweaths that human Inscribers used were actually derived from the Titans¡¯ writing. Hence, the Titans¡¯ writtennguage could be considered a powerful mageweath itself. To use a brief example to illustrate this, the word ¡®fire¡¯ in Titan writings was already a powerful fire element mageweath even without any core energy source.

    If it was just normal mageweaths, the power of these mageweaths would decrease after tens of thousands of years due to the deterioration of core energy even if the mageweath was still intact. However, the Titans¡¯ writing applied Rule Power directly, and didn¡¯t rely on any magical beasts¡¯ magical crystals for core energy. Therefore, if the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was really found in the ruins of the Titans, the dangers the team would face on the way would be far greater.

    ¡°This ruins of the Titans were already recorded in the High Elves¡¯ Print. This is enough to prove that the High Elves had discovered this ce. However, the strange thing is that none of the many old texts from the Dark Age mentioned anything about any activities of the High Elves in the ruins. It¡¯s as if they have neglected this cepletely.¡± Borg was also unsure himself. After all, the ruins of the Titans were definitely a rare treasure even for the High Elves. Thus, there was no reason why the High Elves would leave the treasure untouched like this given their long rule over Anril.

    ¡°Unless someone that the High Elves didn¡¯t dare to offend had taken over the ruins already! Although Osric had explored the Haiga Mountain Range before, writing the adventure diary, he was unlikely to be the one given his status among the High Elves then,¡± said Cheyenne contemtively.

    ¡°The Immortal King?¡± Cheyenne and Borg uttered the legendary name simultaneously with rare tacit understanding. The Immortal King¡¯s treasure and the ruins of the Titans weren¡¯t mutually exclusive. Meanwhile, the High Elves didn¡¯t dare to offend only the Immortal King during the Dark Age when Anril was ruled by the High Elves. Moreover, why would Osric leave such a detailed entry about his adventures in the Haiga Mountain Range without mentioning anything about taking the treasure away? It was definitely because of the Immortal King.

    ¡°No, Osric certainly wouldn¡¯t have left the treasure like this if he had really found this ruins. Even if he hadn¡¯t taken it away because of the Immortal King¡¯s presence, he would have done so after the Immortal King left Anril.¡± Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but frown. Although the pieces wereing together, Cheyenne felt less optimistic about this expedition.

    Borg looked equally uneasy. He nced at the several people in the tent, and said, ¡°There¡¯s only one possibility, then. Osric knew the location of the treasure, but didn¡¯t take it away, because he knew that he didn¡¯t have the ability to get it.¡±

    The atmosphere in the tent was a little tense. None of them, including Lin Li, was unfamiliar with the formidable Osric who lived during the Dark Age. Before Osric had be the Highlord, he might not have had the ability to get the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. However, be it his own powers or those of his subordinates, they were all extraordinary after Osric had be the Highlord¡ªespecially the Magic Legion, which made people turn pale just by hearing its name. Its power wasn¡¯t on the same level as that of the present-day factions like the Malfa Family or the Dark de.

    Osric had used such power to invade the Endless Abyss and seal numerous powerful Lords of Nightmares in the Summoning Lamps. However, even he didn¡¯t touch the treasure in the Haiga Mountain Range. This just showed that even Osric was unable to obtain both the ruins and the treasure at the peak of his abilities.

    After a moment of silence, Borg mockingly asked Cheyenne, ¡°What do you think, Cheyenne? Is it getting quite tough? I won¡¯tugh at you if you want to pull out.¡±

    Cheyenne nced at Borg and the other two leaders of the Dark de. He suddenly thought of something, and sneered, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll wipe out your old nest if I pull out now? Stop talking nonsense! Where did you even get your information from? How can you be so sure that it¡¯s definitely the ruins of the Titans?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ve heard of this name before: Pantheon.¡± Borg was joking just now. After all, it didn¡¯t hurt to have more manpower in order to get the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, even if the coborator was his old enemy. Moreover, Borg wouldn¡¯t let Cheyenne pull out like this. Although all the elites were gathered here, the damage they would suffer should their old nest be wiped out was still huge.

    ¡°Pantheon?¡± Cheyenne was stunned for a moment, and asked, ¡°Could it be that the Titans...¡±

    ¡°Indeed, we¡¯ve found some old text about the Pantheon through some channels. The texts mentioned that the Haiga Mountain Range used to be within the sphere of the Pantheon¡¯s influence. There¡¯s even a shrine hidden in the Haiga Mountain Range. After cross-referencing the information with that found in the treasure map, we came up with the spection that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure is likely to be in this shrine.¡±

    Lin Li, who had been silently sitting at the side for a while, wasn¡¯t calm at all now. However, he was more excited than worried. After all, his goal was very simple: to obtain the sealed Thunderbolt and whatever was used to seal it. However, he hadn¡¯t expected the Immortal King¡¯s treasure to be hidden in the ruins of the Titans.

    Still, Lin Li was quite doubtful when Borg mentioned Pantheon. After all, he had spent most of his time learning about magic aftering to Anril, and didn¡¯t know much about these rumors about the ancient times.

    Cheyenne nodded, and turned towards Lin Li, but then saw some doubt in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. Thinking that this genius Legendary-mage was still too young, Cheyenne smiled, and said, ¡°Master Felic seems to be unaware of Pantheon. Actually, very few people know about it now since it¡¯s so ancient, and even records about it have been fragmented due to war.¡± Speaking of this, Cheyenne briefly told Lin Li what he knew about Pantheon.

    During the prehistoric times, the entire Anril was like a yground for magical beasts, and was filled with ferocious prehistoric magical beasts. The Titans were one of the most powerful races during the prehistoric times. Because they were only one of the most powerful races, they weren¡¯t able to rule over the entire continent like the High Elves. The Titans had an enemy that was as powerful as them¡ªthe ancient dragons.

    Speaking of the powerful ancient dragons, they were even more famous than the Titans. This didn¡¯t mean that they were stronger than the Titans, but any magical beast that possessed the blood of the ancient dragons was feared by everyone now. On the other hand, the descendants of the Titans were said to be the dwarves and giants. The giants were still quite simr to the Titans, but many couldn¡¯t figure out how the dwarves hade about.

    Compared to the war between the Titans and Dragons during the prehistoric times, the Anril at the end of the Dark Age seemed to be a peaceful world. Throughout the Dark Age and the end of the Dark Age, when fighting was the most frequent, the High Elves, humans, and other races still oftenpromised temporarily in exchange for a period of peace. However, there wasn¡¯t even a moment of peace between the ancient dragons and the Titans.

    An Aspect Council thatprised five Dragon Aspects led the entire poption. However, nobody knew if there was any dragon more powerful than these five. On the other hand, the Pantheon which led the Titans was much more mysterious than the Aspect Council.

    The war between these two powerful racessted throughout the prehistoric times till both were severely weakened, and the High Elves took the chance to defeat them after paying an enormous price. Only then did these two races finally disappear from Anril, and the Dark Age marked by the rule of the High Elves had begun.

    After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s description, Lin Li nodded with gratitude. He was also very interested in the ruins of the Titans in the Haiga Mountain Range. Be it the Immortal King or Geresco, it wasn¡¯t an easy task to seal Thunderbolt, which was one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Therefore, the ruins of the Titans probably yed an important role in this.

 Chapter 582 - Legends about the Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 582: Legends about the Sky Castle</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t particrly interested in the treasure, because the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t short of money like when it had just been established anymore. It had now stepped into a healthy developmental stage, andpletely broke off its reliance on the wealth brought about by rare treasures. However, since it was the ruins of the Titans, or rather the ruins left behind by the Pantheon, it was rather interesting for him as a mage.

    The Malfa Family found Osric¡¯s adventure diary, which could hugely decrease the quest¡¯s risk, while the Dark de¡¯s spections weren¡¯t just spections. Lin Li was clear that no matter his old ally the Malfa Family or the new ally the Dark de, both concealed some information. However, this wasn¡¯t important. After all, who didn¡¯t have some secrets? This was an unspoken fact, and wasn¡¯t a matter of right or wrong. Whoever let out all that they had during a coboration was too naive and foolish.

    Several thoughts shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind, and he found that nobody in the tent spoke anymore. The three chiefs of the Dark de and Cheyenne all stared at Lin Li. Clearly, since these two factions had shared some information about the treasure, it was now Lin Li¡¯s turn to share something valuable.

    It was normal for them to think so. Although Lin Li had the original copy of the treasure map, these two factions also had the treasure map now. To put it more bluntly, the map couldn¡¯t show his value by now.

    ¡°Haha, I was thinking about the Pantheon since it¡¯s my first time hearing about it. Sorry about it. I¡¯m very inspired by what Master Cheyenne and Master Borg have said. After putting the pieces together, I have some answers to my previous questions. Let me share some of my thoughts with you.¡± Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell them of the presence of Thunderbolt, it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to tell them something they deemed valuable after holding on to the treasure map for so long.

    Lin Li sounded cautious and humble yet quite confident. This made Borg and hispanions rather doubtful. Honestly, Borg didn¡¯t think that this young Legendary-mage could share any valuable information. Although the Tower of Dusk was very famous in the Breezy ins recently, it was still just a small faction established less than a year ago, and didn¡¯t match the Dark de or the Malfa Family in terms of power.

    This wasn¡¯t because they were underestimating Lin Li, but rather because it was a fact. Though the Tower of Dusk and Lin Li had remarkable achievements now, many things still needed to be umted with time. The Malfa Family had gotten Osric¡¯s adventure diary because of the connections that the Malfa Family had built up in the Breezy ins. The Dark de started off as a bandit group, and wasn¡¯t very wee in the Breezy ins. However, most factions were wary of the Darkness Shrine behind them. This was also why they could get information about the ruins of the Titans.

    What did the Tower of Dusk have? Even this young President had onlye to the Breezy ins just a year ago. The Tower of Dusk was well-known in the Breezy ins now. This young genius President was also remarkable to reach the Legendary-realm at the age of 20. However, this young genius president hadn¡¯t even known about the Pantheon until just now! What kind of amazing thoughts could he have about the ruins of the Titans?

    Compared to Borg¡¯s doubts, Cheyenne¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked at Lin Li with anticipation. After this period of working with Lin Li and discussing magic together, Cheyenne had a totally new understanding of this young Legendary-mage. This young Legendary-mage had achievements that many people of his age couldn¡¯t reach, but he wasn¡¯t proud and arrogant about achieving a little like most ordinary youngsters. This was extremely valuable for a young person.

    Cheyenne smiled, and said to Lin Li, ¡°I¡¯ve known that your knowledge about the ruins wasn¡¯t less than mine back when I¡¯ve visited you at the Tower of Dusk and heard you say ¡®the Haiga Mountain Range¡¯ in High Elvesnguage.¡± He was also saying this to the people from the Dark de.

    Lin Li smiled withoutmenting on anything, and organized his thoughts. Then, he said, ¡°Although the original copy of the treasure map is with me, it looks like this didn¡¯t dy your research. I think that the first thing you¡¯ve analyzed when you got this treasure map from me was the map itself.¡±

    Hearing that Lin Li mentioned the treasure map again, Cheyenne was rather embarrassed that his side had leaked the treasure map. However, he also knew that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t bother about this problem, and thought about his copy of the map. He said, ¡°Master Felic, are you talking about the map that appears to be a city¡¯s map?¡±

    Rather than the thousands of High Elves Print on the treasure map, what upied the most space was an actual map. Like what Lin Li had said, both Cheyenne and Borg had analyzed the map first as it was more important. However, they didn¡¯t get anything useful afterparing it to many maps of the Anril World. Therefore, they turned to the High Elves Print, hypothesized that the treasure was located in the Haiga Mountain Range, and drew out the real treasure map.

    Although they had already found the probable location of the treasure or the ruins, they were still bothered by the fact that they couldn¡¯t find anything useful from the map itself. This was because they knew that though the High Elves loved to use floridnguage, they wouldn¡¯t put two totally unrted things together. Hence, these words had to be somehow linked to the map.

    ¡°The map seems to be a city¡¯s map. I suspect that it may be the internal map of the ruins of the Titans,¡± said Borg doubtfully; he didn¡¯t really believe it, either.

    ¡°Impossible! Judging by the body size of the Titans, the area of the city would be huge if it was really a Titan city. Probably 10 Aminya Cities won¡¯t match the size of this city. Even the Haiga Mountain Range wouldn¡¯t be able to conceal such an enormous city for so long.¡± Unsurprisingly, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t polite at all to repudiate Borg¡¯s spection.

    In the current Anril, only the giants resembled the Titans slightly. However, real Titans were so huge that giants looked like little kidspared to them, not mentioning the dwarves. Just a sleeping area of a Titan was enough for three human families to live in.

    ¡°This is obviously not a Titan city, but a High Elves¡¯ city,¡± said Lin Li slowly.

    ¡°High Elves?¡± The Legendary masters looked at one another. Was Lin Li saying that a High Elves city was hidden in the ruins of the Titans? Didn¡¯t that mean the High Elves had explored the ruins already? Would they still get anything from there? Even if they could get anything, it would be much less valuable than the ruins of the Titans.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a High Elven city, it¡¯s a rather big city judging from the map. How could it remain hidden in the Haiga Mountain Range for such a long time? Moreover, at the end of the Dark Age, the coalition of various races fought against the High Elves. How would they miss out on this city? With the hatred everyone had for the High Elves, those High Elves would have been affected even if they had hidden in Haiga Mountain Range.¡± Borg obviously didn¡¯t believe Lin Li.

    Indeed, the reason why the era ruled by the High Elves was known as the Dark Age was because of their high-handed rule which brought endless darkness for all other races. The umted hatred finally exploded at the end of the Dark Age, and the coalition between races killed every High Elf that came in their way. The God of Mages Geresco even destroyed the Tree of Eternity. Under such circumstances, how could a High Elven city escape being wiped out by the coalition? Although the Haiga Mountain Range was full of dangers, it only applied to ordinary people. To some Sanctuary-realm masters like Geresco, it was really nothing.

    ¡°If it was really a High Elven city, it¡¯s impossible that texts from the Dark Age would never mention it. Even the Sky Castles of the High Elves didn¡¯t escape the fate of destruction during that era.¡± Cheyenne sighed when he spoke of that era he had never experienced. However, with his current power, he probably wouldn¡¯t have the right to participate in the battles against the Sky Castles during the Dark Age full of heroes.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t displeased with the doubts he faced from the Legendary masters. Instead, he smiled, and continued, ¡°From what I know, the High Elves built seven Sky Castles in total. During the war, the Sky Castles were destroyed one by one, but only the Seventh Sky Castle didn¡¯t appear at all.¡±

    The Legendary masters¡¯ expressions changed upon hearing this. Although they had never been through the war at the end of the Dark Age, there were a lot of descriptions about the Sky Castle in texts from that time period. The powerful Sky Castles were a devastating force for the coalition. If the dwarves hadn¡¯t built Sky-breaker sessfully, and Geresco hadn¡¯t had a breakthrough in his abilities just in time, history would have beenpletely different from what it was now.

    ¡°Do you mean... The ruins contain the Seventh Sky Castle?!¡± Although Legendary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t have strong emotions usually, the Legendary masters still couldn¡¯t help feeling rather excited when talking about the Sky Castles.

 Chapter 583 - Temporary Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 583: Temporary Alliance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    With the improvement in design, each Sky Castle that the Immortal King built was more powerful than thest. This Seventh Sky Castle was certainly the most powerful of all, though it had never appeared during war at the end of the Dark Age. Any faction that could get such a Sky Castle would undeniably be the top faction in Anril immediately.

    Of course, the Legendary masters could only think about getting it. If it was really the Seventh Sky Castle, it would be sought after by every faction, and even Sanctuary-realm powerhouses wouldn¡¯t give it up. By then, any Sanctuary powerhouse would have wiped out their factions given that they had merely reached Legendary-realm.

    Seeing the expressions of the Legendary masters, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help feeling it funny. Even Lin Li didn¡¯t know which crack between time and space the Seventh Sky Castle had drifted into, let alone these people. He shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°You¡¯ll probably be disappointed. I¡¯m saying that this map is very likely the design blueprint of the Seventh Sky Castle. However, it¡¯s probably impossible to find the Seventh Sky Castle in the ruins.¡±

    ¡°This...¡± The Legendary masters didn¡¯t know whether tough or to cry. Though they didn¡¯t think they had the ability to get the Sky Castle, thisd was still too annoying. If there weren¡¯t any Sky Castles in the ruins, why would he even mention it?

    ¡°Master Felic, do you have any proof of what you¡¯ve just said?¡± Though Cheyenne had asked the question, the other three in the room were also waiting for Lin Li¡¯s answer. Not to mention if it was really the Seventh Sky Castle, how was Lin Li so sure that it was a map of a Sky Castle?

    Six Sky Castles were destroyed at the end of the Dark Age. Other than the several Sanctuary powerhouses who had been through that era, few people nowadays knew how a Sky Castle really looked like. How could a 20-year-old mage who had just reached Legendary-realm like Lin Li know about it when the other Legendary masters all didn¡¯t know?

    ¡°I believe Hutton and Stephen have told you about what happened in the ckstone Mountains. The three relics of Geresco weren¡¯t a secret to any of you here¡ªthe Book of Eternity, a magical crystal, and the key to the Seventh Sky Castle,¡± said Lin Li honestly.

    Speaking of the three relics of Geresco, Cheyenne and Borg looked a little embarrassed. After all, they had the right to inherit these relics, but their incapable children had let such a great opportunity slip away. However, after a brief moment of embarrassment, they realized that Lin Li mentioned the third relic was the key to the Seventh Sky Castle.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t have to exin too much after this. Since he had the Sky Castle¡¯s key, he would naturally understand more about it, and it wasn¡¯t strange for him to recognize the map. This also revealed another piece of information: Geresco had obviously owned this Sky Castle before. If not, how would he have the key to it? This was precisely the reason that this most powerful Sky Castle didn¡¯t appear during the war.

    Geresco had brought the Seventh Sky Castle away, and the Sky Castle had stopped over at the ruins of the Titans before. This showed that Geresco had visited the ruins of the Titans already. The God of Mages Geresco was as outstanding as the Immortal King in terms of ability. Highlord Osric couldn¡¯t do anything to the ruins of the Titans, but it wasn¡¯t the case for Geresco.

    Thinking of all that, the Legendary masters didn¡¯t look good. After all, nobody expected that so many secrets would be uncovered during the brief information exchange. Just the ruins of the Titans were rted to the Immortal King, Osric, and now Geresco. More importantly, since Geresco had visited the ce already, what was there left for them?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a feeling that we won¡¯te back empty-handed this time.¡± Lin Li obviously had such confidence since Thunderbolt was definitely there. He would get it no matter what happened.

    As for the Malfa Family and Dark de, they wouldn¡¯te back empty-handed, either. Though Geresco had overthrown the High Elves¡¯ rule, he wasn¡¯t a destroyer of civilizations. There was a reason that Thunderbolt was sealed in the Haiga Mountain Range. Given the countless ferocious magical beasts in there, only the power of Thunderbolt could prevent the ruins from being destroyed by the beasts. Rather than saying that Thunderbolt was sealed in there, it was more likely that Geresco was using this piece of the debris of the stars to protect something.

    What feeling? The Legendary masters weren¡¯t fools. They understood that Lin Li had hidden some information from them once he said this. However, everyone was holding something back; the Malfa Family held back Osric¡¯s diary, while the Dark de didn¡¯t know just that the Haiga Mountains hid the ruins of the Titans.

    The three parties shared the information they had. Although all of them held something back, they had at least gained a rough understanding of the ruins of the Titans. All this information also showed the necessity of coboration. Lin Li felt quite pleased with how it¡¯d all progressed. It had been the right move for him to share the treasure map with the Malfa Family earlier. Although it was a surprise that the Dark de had joined in, it was a pleasant surprise.

    After sharing the information with one another, two parties started to analyze and n their teams¡ªnot three, since Lin Li had only brought Norfeller along, unlike the other two factions which had mobilized almost all of their elites.

    There was nothing left to discuss after this. The Malfa Family and the Dark de were old enemies to begin with, so Cheyenne had no interest in remaining here, and left. Lin Li knew very well that he could only ally with Cheyenne in order to maintain an equilibrium between the three parties. Hence, he refused Borg¡¯s invitation, and left the tent with Cheyenne.

    Lin Li and Cheyenne left the Dark de¡¯s territory with Borg sending them off. Neither of them spoke, and they slowly walked towards the Malfa Family¡¯s camp.

    After they had walked very far from the Dark de¡¯s campsite, Cheyenne peered at Lin Li, and saw that his expression was still calm. He then felt a little relieved. After all, it was the Malfa Family¡¯s fault for leaking out the treasure map. Moreover, he mentioned the adventure diary just now. If it had been any other youth, he would have been rather displeased with all that.

    Cheyenne didn¡¯t feel guilty, though. After all, the so-called alliance was just two parties with simr interests. Withoutmon interests as the linkage, there wouldn¡¯t be any alliance at all. As long as there wasmon interest, even the two old enemies¡ªthe Malfa Family and the Dark de¡ªcould stand together, let alone someone you concealed things from.

    COMMENT

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think about the ruins of the Titans that Borg talked about?¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t mention the information he had, but rather talked about Borg¡¯s information. Other than asking about Lin Li¡¯s opinion, he more importantly wanted to test Lin Li¡¯s attitude toward the alliance. In Cheyenne¡¯s eyes, the young Legendary-mage was still just a youth who was just 20 years old.

    ¡°The Darkness Shrine is one of the oldest factions now, so it¡¯s normal for them to find that information. I believe they know more than what they have told us.¡± With tacit understanding, Lin Li didn¡¯t mention the fact that Cheyenne had hidden Osric¡¯s adventure diary from him, and confirmed the Dark de¡¯s source of information.

    To outsiders, the Darkness Shrine had only been established at the end of the Dark Age, although it had a long history. However, Lin Li knew from Sendros that the Darkness Shrine came from the ancient Eternal Shrine. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t doubt the uracy of the Dark de¡¯s information, and was certain that they knew more than this.

    Cheyenne looked solemn, and agreed with Lin Li. He didn¡¯t feel at all good that matters weren¡¯t under his control anymore. After a moment of contemtion, he said, ¡°The Dark de is determined to get the ruins of the Titans judging from all the elites they have gathered for the expedition. What they have hidden is certainly not that simple.¡±

    ¡°The ruins of the Titans had been through the hands of the Immortal King and Geresco before. What the Dark de knows is also not all to it. If they want to suppress us with this, they are thinking too simply.¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t arrogant; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t emphasize his alliance with Cheyenne. Besides eliminating Cheyenne¡¯s doubts about the information, Lin Li also had his reason for appearing to be so confident.

    Upon hearing Lin Li say ¡°us¡± again, Cheyenne felt much more at ease. He knew that this young Legendary-mage certainly had some killer information judging from his confidence, although he didn¡¯t say it specifically.

    While Lin Li and Cheyenne had gone back to the Malfa Family¡¯s camp, the three chiefs of the Dark de returned to the tent. ording to the information they had just gotten, they needed to reassess their two coborators, especially that young Legendary-mage.

    Actually, Borg and the other two Legendary chiefs hadn¡¯t deemed Lin Li someone important back when they had invited him, and hadn¡¯t put him on an equal level as a coborator. In their eyes, Lin Li was indeed a genius one could only find one in a thousand years. After all, the only other Legendary-mage who had reached Legendary-realm at the age of 20-plus was Geresco. However, personal abilities weren¡¯t so important in the exploration of the ruins of the Titans. They even hadn¡¯t expected to hear anything useful from this young Legendary-mage.

 Chapter 584 - The Crucial Neutral Stance

    <h4>Chapter 584: The Crucial Neutral Stance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Yet, the moment Lin Li spoke about the seventh Sky Castle, Borg and the others could not help but look at this young Legendary-mage differently. It was their first time treating him as an equal.

    ¡°This fe is really sly. Come to think of it, he had never said anything useful.¡± That was Bald. He scratched the puff of golden hair on top of his head as he tried to recall the information he heard Lin Li say earlier. That was when he realized that the young Legendary-mage was only saying that there were still things in the ancient ruins.

    On the other hand, the Legendary Bandit Lansdale was still as calm as ever. ¡°So what? As long as the ruins are not empty, it would depend on our ability,¡± said Lansdale unaffectedly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to find Osric¡¯s notes about his adventures. It would really help us in the future. I believe that he would not risk the life of his descendants.¡±

    Borg was very satisfied with the discussion among the three parties. Osric¡¯s notes, in particr, interested him the most. That was the item that would minimize his losses. Furthermore, he believed that Cheyenne did not have any tricks up his sleeves. After all, there were a lot of disciples from Malfa Family in his adventurer team.

    ¡°Do you think the sky castle that that fe was talking about would still be in the ruins? I know that sky castles are able to enter the void. Hence, there might be a chance for the sky castle to be hidden there, no?¡± Bald made a casual guess.

    ¡°Even if there is, do you think he would do anything about the sky castle at such a time? But, I am certain that he is aware of the treasure hidden there.¡± Borg sighed. He thought about his useless son. If not for his son¡¯sck of capability, Geresco¡¯s relics would have been in his hands now. The key to the sky castle could be an important clue to the sky castle. No one would reject the ability to take control over a sky castle. That was a great temptation even to Legendary powerhouses.

    ¡°It is fine if he decides to keep that a secret. He would never know what we have with us. He is not the one who can determine who should have the treasure.¡±

    He could not help but worry for his ipetent son whenever he had to work with the other two men. How could the father not know his son¡¯s personality? Borg knew that this son did not tell him everything that had happened in the ckstone Mountains.

    After returning to his tent, he called for Stephen immediately. He needed to know his opponent better.

    Stephen arrived very quickly. He was still indignant after his father¡¯s order to apologize to Felic. Although he did not dare to oppose his father directly, he could not help but feel resentful.

    To be honest, Stephen was extremely confident that he would be able to let Lin Li pay for the embarrassment he¡¯d experienced in the ckstone Mountains immediately. Having the three Legendary powerhouses and the numerous elites with the Dark de, Stephen was deeply convinced that Cheyenne from the Malfa Family would have to bow his head low to him. How could that beparable to the darn Felic who had just entered the Legendary-realm? Despite hearing the recent news of him defeating a level-22 elven Legendary-mage in Rnd City, Stephen was still certain that Felic would not be able to challenge the present Dark de.

    Stephen absolutely had not expected his father¡¯s order for him to apologize to Felic.

    He was like a child who¡¯d eagerly anticipated a candy, but received a tight p instead. The difference was stark. It would only be normal for him to cry and whine on the ground...

    How could Borg not understand Stephen¡¯s thoughts? Borgughed at the sight of his son¡¯s expression. ¡°What, are you still angry with me?¡±

    ¡°Nope...¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Borgughed gently at his son¡¯s stubbornness. A fool would have recognized Stephen¡¯s indignant tone. Borg did not treat Stephen like how he usually treated others. Instead of smacking the table angrily, Borg would prefer to educate his son gently.

    After all, Stephen was one of the best magic talents in the Breezy ins, having the ability above level-18 despite being in his 20s. His craft had improved drastically after his trip to the ckstone Mountains as well. Borg was confident that his son would reach the Legendary-realm within two years.

    How could Borg bear to punish or scold such a son?

    If there had to be something that Borg was unsatisfied with, it would be Stephen¡¯s young age and the strong protectiveness he had been getting from the three Legendary powerhouses. Borg believed that it had to be Stephen¡¯sck of experience that had caused him to take things for granted and be so self-centered.

    It was the same this time...

    ¡°Hey, you really have too little experience. How could you not know that a slight loss would never matter to people like us? So what if you apologize? Look, who knows if he¡¯d be apologizing to you tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°But, Father...¡± Stephen felt secretly relieved when he realized that his father had no intention of reprimanding him. After slight hesitation, he said, ¡°The Dark de had already acquired enough clues regarding the Immortal King¡¯s treasures. I am confident that the family alone would have 50% chance of locating them ourselves. Why should we share everything with the Malfa Family and... and Felic...?

    ¡°You think that this is called sharing?¡± Borg paused, and suddenlyughed. ¡°Hehe, why don¡¯t you see it like an exploitation?¡±

    ¡°Exploitation?¡±

    Borg did not borate further. ¡°Stephen, who do you think is more powerful: the Dark de or Malfa Family?¡± asked Borg abruptly.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Dark de, of course! Look at who is in our team! I am certain that we would only take half a day to wipe out the whole Malfa Family if we were to have a battle here.¡±

    ¡°Then, who do you think is stronger: me and your two uncles, or Cheyenne and that Felic?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the answer obvious? It has to be you and my two uncles! Cheyenne has just reached level-21, and Felic is definitely nothing. I saw him reach level-20 in the Breezy ins with my very own eyes. I am sure that he would never be able to reach level-21 no matter how talented he is, or how much effort he put in. I bet the recent rumors about him defeating a level-22 elven mage are fake. If not, it had to be Felic ying tricks behind the scenes.¡±

    ¡°So, you are saying that the Dark de has to be the strongest force?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you worrying about? We have absolute power in our hands. Why would it matter if we were to join forces with them? Even if we were to find Immortal King¡¯s treasures, the power to allocate them ultimately lies with us.

    ¡°Furthermore, it is time to put an end to the conflict between the Dark de and the Malfa Family...¡±

    Stephen gasped. ¡°Y-you mean... We can use this chance to get rid of Cheyenne?¡±

    It could be said that the Malfa Family and the Dark de were one of the most infamous pairs of enemies in the Breezy ins. Although the conflict had been around for only a century, they suffered great losses from every battle they had fought. Having invested greatly into each of those battles, they had already be a significant burden to each other. If they did not shrug each other off, they would never rise to be as powerful as the almighty Glittergold Trade Union.

    However, neither the Malfa Family nor the Dark de got to get rid of each other in thest century. For the Malfa Family, their weakness was ack of power. Just in terms of Legendary powerhouses alone, the Malfa Family only had one to deal with the three in the Dark de. It would not be easy for the one Legendary-mage to protect himself. How could the Malfa Family even uproot the Dark de?

    At the same time, the Dark de was geographically at disadvantage in Aminya. While they had been invading Aminya countless times, they had never been a real treat to the Malfa Family. Although the Dark de had had ns to assassinate Cheyenne, the sly Cheyenne had never given the three Legendary powerhouses from the Dark de a chance to confront him. This exined why the Dark de could never shrug off the burdensome Malfa Family that only had one Legendary-mage.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been plotting with your two uncles for this opportunity since forever. We would be able to clear this mess in 10 minutes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome...¡±

    ¡°Hence, Stephen, this is why I wanted you to apologize to that Felic. Our partnership does not only concern the Immortal King¡¯s treasures, but also the development of the Dark de in the future decades and centuries. If we don¡¯t get rid of the Malfa Family, the Dark de will be trapped in Aminya forever, and would never flourish like the Glittergold Trade Union... In order to prevent any mishaps, we have to ensure that that Felic remains neutral in the conflict between the two forces. A superficial neutrality would be good enough...¡±

 Chapter 585 - Stephenéˆ¥æªš Limits

    <h4>Chapter 585: Stephen¡¯s Limits</h4>

    ¡°But...¡± Stephen spoke hesitantly. Then, he could not help but feel indignant again. ¡°But Father, I don¡¯t think there is a need to do that!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Tell me your reasons.¡±

    ¡°Just like what you said earlier, we have an absolute advantage when ites to ability. As long as we have the chance, it is not difficult for you and the uncles to get rid of Cheyenne. You have reached level-21 a few decades ago, while Felic has only reached the realm recently. He has no right to interfere in your battle,¡± exined Stephen. ¡°Furthermore, I think you might have forgotten what I had gotten from the Lord of Souls in the Abyss of Tharlen...¡± Stephen added on softly, as if with the determination to convince Borg.

    ¡°You mean...¡± Borg replied restlessly. A gleam appeared out of all his wrinkles.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Father. The Lord of Souls has died. I can feel that each of his soul fragments has vanished from this world. But, the force he left in my body...¡± Stephen¡¯s voice became soft and hoarse, like that of a man who had just got drunk. ¡°But the force it left in my body is boiling. As long as I¡¯m given enough time to assimte them, I will be the fourth Legendary powerhouse of the Dark de¡ª¡±

    Before Stephen could finish speaking, Borg sprang from his seat. He grabbed Stephen¡¯s shoulders and sent a wave of mana into his body. As time trickled by, his astonishment turned into relief and joy.

    ¡°It¡¯s true... Really... This is great... Really great...¡± As an experienced Legendary powerhouse who had reached level-21 a few decades ago, how could he not be able to sense that his son was indeed close to the boundaries of the Legendary realm, and had a strong wave of force within him?

    This force was constantly assimting into his body like an ice mountain in ake. Initially, it had been a lofty structure that stood unrted to theke. However, as time passed, the ice mountain melted. Stephen would reach the Legendary-realm once the ice mountain turned into part of theke.

    ¡°If everything goes well, I have the confidence to finish assimting the Spiritual Force of the Lord of Souls. When that timees, we¡¯ll have no need for his neutral stance.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Borg nodded, and did not continue the conversation. He was caught up in his thoughts.

    ¡°Oh, yes. Stephen. I have never gotten to ask you about your experience in the Abyss,¡± Borg remarked abruptly after a period of 10 minutes.

    ¡°After we entered the Abyss, we met a group of winged demons. ording to that Felic, they were the Azteks...¡± replied Stephen slowly as he tried to recall his time in the Abyss.

    ¡°What? You are saying that a group of Azteksunched the live bombs together? H-how did you manage to stay alive...?¡± The level-21 Legendary-mage gasped. Stephen had never mentioned his experience in the Abyss after his return. Despite being his father, it was the first time Borg heard about his son¡¯s experience.

    Borg did not expect himself to be unable to contain his subsequent expressions of shock...

    ¡°Three Rainbow Manticore Kings? Did they share the same soul like the legends imed?!

    ¡°Do you still remember what spell Felic cast? How could he use one streak of light to counter the Dark Decay? The Dark Decay is a spell with a standard that is the closest to the magical domain. ording to your ount, wasn¡¯t Felic a level-19 mage at the point of time? Could it be that he had some magical equipment that allowed him to use a magical domain?

    ¡°This is outrageous! Are you saying that the magical domain Felic cast was not only a snowy sky, but also strange creatures with ck and white wings...? Were they summoned by thews of light and darkness?¡±

    Borg¡¯s easiness from earlier had vanished. He turned paler with each experience Stephen shared with him. There was no sign of redness on his countenance.

    Borg was not Stephen. As a level-21 Legendary-mage, his knowledge and experience were not something a young man like Stephen could match up to. Although the ount of the story was filled with Stephen¡¯s biased conjectures, as well as silly and egoistic remarks, Borg managed to piece these fragments together, which brought him closer to the truth.

    Borg would have known the implications of live bombsunched by a dozen Azteks. It would even be more impossible that he would be unaware of how scary the Rainbow Manticore Kings were for their ability to share the same soul. As for what it meant for a man to have the power to cast spells from the three types of magical domains... A child would have a clear understanding of it as well.

    After hearing about Stephen¡¯s encounters, Borg could not help but admit Felic¡¯s potential to be beyond imagination.

    There was a high possibility for the news of the battle in Rnd City to be true; Felic really defeated a level-22 elven mage...

    ¡°In the end, that Felic got his hands on all of Geresco¡¯s relics, and I have gotten the strength from the Lord of Souls. But, I¡¯m really curious whether the acquisition of Geresco¡¯s relics would mean that he has already acquired the method to reach the Sanctuary-realm...¡± Stephen remarked reflectively. He was immersed in the force of the Lord of Souls assimting into him.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Stephen!¡± His father snapped. ¡°Remember what I tell you. No matter how reluctant you were to apologize to Felic, we need him to maintain a neutral stance. I forbid you from provoking him before we get our hands on Immortal King¡¯s treasures. This is an order!¡±

    ¡°But, Father!¡± Stephen retorted. He had not expected that his proud and voluminous speech would not change his father¡¯s decision. Despite knowing that he was about to reach the Legendary-realm, his father was still insisting that he refrain from provoking that Felic. Why did he have to be cautious about another Legendary-mage?

    Unfortunately, Borg gave Stephen no chance of rebutting. After reminding him with a very grave and serious expression, he dismissed Stephen from his tent.

    ...

    After making some adjustments to their team, the two adventuring teams gathered the very next day. A stronger troop advanced towards the Haiga Mountain Range. Of course, to prevent any unnecessary conflicts, the two teams were still in their respective clusters.

    Cheyenne referred to Osric¡¯s notes as he led this two teams to avoid some troublesome regions. Although the journey was a little tedious, it did not hinder their speed. The day went by very smoothly. Although they frequently encountered magical beasts above level-10, the hundreds of powerhouses above level-15 managed to go unhindered by them.

    However, Osric¡¯s adventure diary was not all-epassing. It would be too ideal to hope for a smooth-sailing path in the Haiga Mountain Range. Despite making the effort to avoid possible Legendary beasts, the team was obstructed by a group of powerful magical beasts.

    The adventurers had growncent due to the smooth-sailing journey earlier on. However, the elites above level-15 grew alert as they saw numerous magical beasts flying out of the forest. The mages in the team cast defensive spells on themselves and their teammates. It was as though the entire team were protected under the shield.

    The numerous spells erupted above them. Despite their timely defense, the sudden attackunched by the beasts resulted in a few injuries. The team stopped in their tracks; no one cared to admire the magnificent fireworks sting on top of their heads. There were specialists who attended to the injured men, while the others stood on standby to deal with the magical beasts.

    The magical beasts whichunched the sneak attack did not let the men wait for a very long time. Heart-wrenching howls echoed through the forest as the beasts left their hiding ce and confronted the team directly. It was unlike their previous encounters. There were at least 40 beasts, and none of them were below level-18.

    Although there were close to 400 men who were all above level-15, and some at level-18, it did not mean that they would have an advantage over the group of powerful beasts. Compared to the innately intrepid magical beasts, humans would be at a disadvantage.

 Chapter 586 - Water-wading

    <h4>Chapter 586: Water-wading</h4>

    Hence, even if the team of adventurers could gain the upper hand, their capability was still very limited. It would be impossible for them to destroy the bunch of magical beasts without paying a huge price. The price would be bloodshed and their lives. That was something the Legendary leaders did not wish to see happen.

    The leaders brought subordinates to the Haiga Mountain Range to get them to help, and not to make them sacrifice their lives. They were all their elites, and none of them wished for there to be major losses. Hence, at this point, the several Legendary leaders could no longer stay idle. They had to hurry up and tackle the magical beasts based on the energy fluctuations before the beasts caused any lethal damage. They quickly left the team and stepped forth.

    They were not worried about the effects that would be brought upon their team if they were unable to give orders. In fact, they¡¯d already be spiritual symbols in their respective forces at this point. Hence, they would rarely waste their energy on misceneous issues which would be left to the professionals to handle.

    The action taken by the Legendary leaders caused a huge fanfare amongst the crowd; even if they already possessed power that was beyond level-15, the Legendary leaders were still godly to them. The pressure brought by the 40-odd magical beasts no longer seemed so oppressive and suffocating, because the subordinates knew that their Legendary leaders were definitely able to solve all problems at hand. Hence, all they had to do now was to perform their obligations and duties.

    At the same time, a fierce and menacing magical beast had already invaded the team, and the initially close-knit adventurer team seemed to have dissipated like a bubble that burst upon being touched. However, they were not really disintegrating, but were merely dispersing and regrouping into smaller teams to attack the magical beasts. After all, they were adventurers who were much more used to using this method rather than the formations of military to defend against the enemy.

    A Warrior who held a strong shield bashed a magical beast with it in order to get its attention. The supporting magic also gave the Warrior a multicolored halo. An agile swordsman walked around the magical beast flexibly, and stabbed it with his sharp sword, causing it to bleed severely from its wound. A Bandit suddenly appeared behind the magical beast, and then pierced it with a poisonous dagger, and the deadly toxin quickly prated into its body.

    A level-18 magical beast was absolutely terrifying, and the differences in level could not bepensated for or negated by numerical advantage most of the time. After all, there were only a few people who could really attack a magical beast. The level-18 magical beasts often had strong bodies, immeasurable power, and formidable capacity for magic. Hence, it would usually be impossible for an army of people to battle and destroy a level-18 magical beast.

    Everyone knew that two level-15batants wouldn¡¯t make a level-16 one. Hence, everyone decided to cooperate and ce more emphasis on devising tactics using their brains. They wanted to achieve the effects of increasing their power through meticulous cooperation and teamwork.

    Since the day when human beings were created, humans knew that they were inherently weak, and that they had to cooperate with each other in order to survive. The various processes of life, be it during the hunting of prey or protecting themselves from foreign enemies, were opportunities for humans to continue honing their cooperative skills.

    However, it still required arge amount of time for humans to develop seamless cooperation, even if they had the teachings and battle tactics that had been passed down from their forefathers. They had to train and improve through countless battles and fights. More importantly, they had to trust their allies andrades unconditionally, and be assured that they would have each other¡¯s back.

    Although the strong were still at the top of the hierarchy in today¡¯s world, people usually worshiped individuals who were stronger, and were more focused on personal strength. Many idolized Geresco and aspired to be like him. However, they had all forgotten that even Geresco who was known as the God of Mages needed the help of hisrades during the war to overthrow the rule of the High Elves.

    Unconditional trust in one¡¯srades seemed to be a far-fetched idea in a pragmatic world where interests and profits came first. No one dared to guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t be stabbed in the back by theirrade after giving them theirplete trust. Interests coulde in many forms, be it treasures, magical crystals, or gold coins.

    If there was no trust amongrades, it would be impossible to achieve victory regardless of how superb their battle tactics might be. The so-called tacit understanding was actually established on the basis of trust. Without trust, nothing would work.

    That was particrly evident in the Malfa Family¡¯s team of adventurers. Although the Malfa Family mobilized more than 60 mages who belonged to their own family, the hundred-odd adventurers were all recruited recently. These adventurers might not have known each other before, or perhaps only heard of each other¡¯s names. However, they were definitely experienced adventurers since they could advance to level-15 and above. They were all familiar with various coordination tactics, but because of theck of trust amongst them, they could not work with each other that all.

    The Dark de was undoubtedly the strongest team amongst all; it was a fact that even Cheyenne could not deny. It wasn¡¯t just because they had arger number of people, but because they could really trust each other, and had built a tacit understanding which allowed them to maximize their strength.

    The Dark de did not seem to hesitate at all despite being faced with the crazy attack of the magical beasts. They quickly divided into smaller teams, eachposed of a fixed number of people. Among them, there were various upationalbinations which would besiege a magical beast. That was the ssic method of hunting and killing magical beasts.

    Actually, it was understandable. The old den of the Dark de was in the periphery of the Haiga Mountain Range. Although hunting for magical beasts had not been an important source of ie for the Dark de, it had already be a tradition over the years. The elites had plenty of actualbat experience too. Each small team worked for many years to develop the seamless teamwork and trust they now had.

    The battle going on in the battlefield was extremely intense, with the sounds of explosions, the roars of magical beasts, and the hollering of warriors everywhere. In fact, it was just as intense as a war between two countries. However, the battles of the Legendary masters going on not too far away from them were much more peacefulpared to this. Although they were all facing two or three menacing magical beasts each, they could still cope with them effortlessly.

    However, Lin Li, who was also a Legendary figure, showed no intention to attack. He stood on top of a huge tree, and watched the battle that was going on in the battlefield which was full of the various teams. He seemed to be searching for a target, but did not look like he was going to make a move. The Vampire Norfeller was right next to him. Although he was holding onto his dagger that was ced near his waist, he dared not do anything without Lin Li¡¯s permission.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time. You may go,¡± Lin Li, who scanned the battlefield for a long time, said to Norfeller calmly without even turning around. Norfeller bent forward slightly, and immediately darted towards the battlefield.

    Although he was an Undead creature, Norfeller¡¯s advancement was extremely slow, just like for other Vampires. However, his abilities increased rapidly, and he was in fact already physically at level-19 even though he had yet to reach the Legendary-level.

    On the battlefield, the Dark de¡¯s small team was in the midst of surrounding a magical beast which was covered in blood. It no longer looked as menacing as it had been when it first appeared, even though it still had a crazy look in its eyes. However, as it¡¯d lost an excessive amount of blood, and the toxins began to affect it, its movements became extremely restricted.

    When a swordsman of the Dark de was about to stab the chest of the magical beast, a dark shadow bolted into the team like lightning. He then heard the magical beast roaring loudly before growing silent again.

    When the magical beast roared, everyone thought that the dark shadow was there to help them, although they were already almost going to defeat the magical beast. However, they still had to acknowledge the good intentions. When the magical beast¡¯s corpse appeared in front of them, they were immediately infuriated. There was a huge hole that was pierced through the magical beast¡¯s body, and the magical crystal that was supposed to be inside it had already gone missing. Clearly, the dark shadow was there to take advantage of them.

    Lin Li was still standing on top of the tree, feeling pleased with Norfeller¡¯s actions. It was no wonder that Norfeller was his sworn servant[1], for he could totally read Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Borg was not too far away from the battlefield, and was currently fighting two Gryphons. Although the Magical Domains of the Legendary-mages were formidable, it was not easy to maneuver them. In order to ensure that he had enough mental strength to deal with the possible changes after arriving in the ruins of Titans, he had no choice but to use these two conventional ways to teach the two Gryphons a lesson.

    Although the Gryphons in the Royal Knights army were domesticated, they were still difficult to deal with. Compared to wild Gryphons, though, the domesticated ones were like tigers without teeth, and could only be used to scare timid enemies. The wild level-18 Gryphons were much more difficult to deal with than other Gryphons of the same level.

    Borg had been carefully observing Lin Li¡¯s actions in a bid to see if the young Legendary-mage was as formidable as the rumors made him to be. However, he almost fell from the sky after witnessing that sight, and he cursed in his head furiously. Damn it, this Felic is really as shameless as he¡¯s rumored to be. Forget it if you sat back and did nothing while everyone else was fighting their guts out, yet you actually took advantage in the end?? At the end of the day, you¡¯re still a fellow Legendary-realm powerhouse. Could you behave like one?

    [1] Remember that they have that blood oath thingy going on.

 Chapter 587 - Thunder Valiant Beast

    <h4>Chapter 587: Thunder Valiant Beast</h4>

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky, only to sense a strong aura rushing towards the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, a small ck spot in the distance quickly erged, and a menacing face appeared in front of him. The figure had a cat-like face and wings that spanned more than 10 meters. It was covered in ck feathers with metallic luster, and had a pair of paws with sharp ws that were like sickles. Electrical arcs coiled around its body, producing snapping sounds.

    Lin Li had arrived in this world for a long time, and he could immediately tell that it was a Thunder Valiant Beast which definitely possessed level-19 powers.

    It was said that such beasts loved bathing in lightning, and could also transform their energy into their own. The people of Anril found lightning to be extremely powerful, and they saw it as a punishment of the gods, yet Thunder Valiant Beast could soak in it and absorb the power of the gods. It was no longer a matter of strength. Hence, in many ancient tribes, Thunder Valiant Beast was termed as a divine bird and the pet of heavens.

    Of course, the mages were not that afraid of or respectful towards the gods, because the magic that they had developed and studied was already touching the divine realm. However, they did respect the power of the gods, and firmly believed that they could reach the same level, or perhaps even surpass them. In the eyes of religious followers, they were disrespecting the gods and showing their contempt. However, it was just an expression of their respect.

    The so-called heavenly birds like Thunder Valiant Beast were nothing more than magical beasts that manipted lightning. Thunderbolts came from the sky; hence, people tended to associate them with the gods. Although Lin Li had transmigrated to Anril, he still knew that gods did exist in this world, though there was a huge difference between such a god and those that were omnipresent and omnipotent.

    Thunder Valiant Beast was level-19, and had the most powerful lightning force. Since the four other Legendary masters could barely cope with it, Lin Li knew that he had to do something. Most importantly, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to vie with the four other Legendary masters for the magical crystals while they were fighting off the magical beasts. Norfeller did not have that power, either. If someone were to nab the Thunder Valiant Beast, wouldn¡¯t he be unable to get the level-19 magical crystal?

    On the battlefield under the tree, Norfeller resolutely carried out Lin Li¡¯s instructions. He onlyunched a lethal attack when the magical beast was almost destroyed, killing it with a single shot, and taking the magic crystal away. Lin Li was very satisfied with his subordinate¡¯s performance. They were all in cooperation anyway. The wealthy and established Malfa Family and Dark de wouldn¡¯t care about these magical crystals, would they? Lin Li looked up at Thunder Valiant Beast that was in the sky, slowly levitated upwards, whipped out the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and flew towards Thunder Valiant.

    The appearance of the Thunder Valiant Beast had long caught everyone¡¯s attention, and plenty of people knew how powerful it was. The people surrounding level-18 magical beasts were already finding it tough to manage killing them. If the Thunder Valiant Beast were to join the fight, it would only make matters worse, and the magical beasts would have a strong member added to their force. The dynamics of the battle would probably change immediately, and casualties would be inevitable.

    However, everyone felt relieved when Lin Liunched his attack. Regardless of how young he might be, he was still an actual Legendary-mage. Even if he couldn¡¯t get rid of the Thunder Valiant Beast immediately, he could at least buy some time until the masters returned.

    Compared with the other two Legendary-mages, Lin Li was much more domineering, and he managed to shield himself entirely with his Magical Domain with the wave of Helios¡¯ Scepter. He then charged towards the Thunder Valiant Beast. He had an insane amount of mental strength to begin with, and on top of that, he had the Evil Eye Tyrant to give him additional strength at all times. The mental strength that he now possessed was beyond imaginable, and the release of an ice Magical Domain did not cost him much at all.

    ¡°Young man!¡± Borg was rather relieved to see that Lin Li hadunched his attack, but as soon as he saw Lin Li exhibiting his Magical Domain, he thought to himself, Well, this young Legendary-mage is only 20 years old, after all. He still doesn¡¯t consider everything carefully before acting. But that¡¯s okay. I know he¡¯s in an alliance with Cheyenne, and the more he contributes, the weaker the alliance would be. That would be great for our Dark de too.

    Likewise, Cheyenne had also noticed the battle in the sky. He shared the same thoughts as Borg, but he was much more worried and full ofints. He didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with Lin Li refusing tounch an attack, because he felt that the Dark de ought to waste more of their resources and contribute more since they were stronger. However, they¡¯d now lost another portion of power because Lin Li had resorted to using his Magical Domain before even finding the bnce.

    The Thunder Valiant Beast was actually almost in the Legendary-realm, and had an extraordinary amount of lightning power. Hence, the magic it exhibited slightly resembled a prototype of the magical domain. Seemingly having sensed the magical waves that came from Lin Li, the Thunder Valiant Beast shrieked loudly before pping its wings vigorously and starting to rampage.

    Although Lin Li had already decided tounch an attack, he wouldn¡¯t use up everything he had against the Thunder Valiant Beast. Hence, he had merely exhibited his Frost Domain, which was the mostmon amongst Legendary-mages. He made himself the center of it, and there seemed to be dark fumes of ink above his head which soon formed a huge vortex in the middle, which looked like it was a gateway to another world.

    Compared to a real Magical Domain, the Thunder Valiant Beast¡¯s magic seemed to be a bit inadequate, for it was immediately suppressed and undermined by Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain. Originally, it seemed that the two powers were the same, but after the two domains shed, the area of Thunder Valiant Beast¡¯s lightning bolts seemed to have decreased significantly. Thunder Valiant Beast howled and grunted in exertion, which resembled the daunting sounds of necromagic.

    However, this interference had no effect on Lin Li at all, and the repression by Frost Domain continued to increase. There seemed to be a ray of light in the center of the huge vortex in the dark clouds over his head. A frost bird that was of the same size as the Thunder Valiant Beast pounced onto thetter, followed by a few other frost birds...

    Those who were forced to end the battle on the battlefield could no longer be bothered to worry about the magical crystals being snatched away, and were all looking up at the magical battle that was going on in the sky. Those of the other professions were just watching for the sake of thrill and excitement, but the mages were feeling bitter. The Legendary mage in the sky was only 20 years old. How enviable.

    After all, there were four other Legendary-mages in the team of adventurers apart from Lin Li. Although the level-18 magical beasts were strong and tyrannical, they did not let the battle go on for long. Once the four Legendary masters freed up their hands tounch their attacks, the battle would be ended faster. It was precisely because of this that both parties would get the chance to grab some magical crystals. Otherwise, they might never get a single piece of magical crystal at the rate that Norfeller was going.

    A bullet from the Dragon Gun shuttled through the frost birds and hit the Thunder Valiant Beast right in its heart. A level-19 magical crystal then darted out of the dead Thunder Valiant Beast andnded in Lin Li¡¯s hand. Lin Li did not let its body go to waste, either, and kept it in Ring of Endless Storm, leaving behind just a few fluttering feathers.

    Lin Li was just being kind and giving others some of the remnants. Otherwise, they might not even get their hands on the bodies of the magical beasts if Norfeller took those too. No one dared toin, and they had no choice but tofort themselves by telling themselves that it wasn¡¯t too bad to share the corpses of the magical beasts, even though the magical crystals were the most valuable.

    Lin Li descended and wiped the sweat off of his head ostensibly. He heaved a long sigh, andined to Cheyenne and others, ¡°Dear Masters, aren¡¯t we allies? Why didn¡¯t you give me a hand? This fellow has really made me waste so much energy.¡±

    Despite finding Lin Li to be shameless deep down, Borg remained smiling, and said, ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s been hard on you, Master Felic. We¡¯ve decided to get some rest here today. We¡¯ll continue with the journey tomorrow.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t have any opinion to express. Anyway, there were only two people on his side, and it didn¡¯t matter what the arrangement was. He scanned his surroundings to see that everyone else was getting busy, some taking care of the injured, while others were dissecting the bodies of the magical beasts. Although the team was very strong, it would be impossible for there to be no injured or casualties. Lin Li had already deduced that the corpses of the magical beasts were of no value.

    However, at this moment, he suddenly thought of another problem. There was nothing too surprising about encountering wolves and magical beasts in the forest. However, the corpses on the ground seemed to be of the same species. Not only were the 40-odd level-18 magical beasts not beasts that lived in groups, they were also from the same species, thus making it rather strange.

    Since the magical beasts were all above level-18, they all ought to have their own respective territories. They were naturally hostile towards each other, and would immediately get into a fight in the past. However, they actually united andunched an attack on the adventurer team. There was only one exnation for it, and that was that some force had driven them to carry out this attack.

    The magical beast which was of the highest level and strength was undoubtedly the Thunder Valiant Beast that Lin Li had just killed. However, the problem was that it was too much of an exaggeration for it to defeat 40-odd level-18 magical beasts even if it were level-19. When Lin Li trapped the Thunder Valiant Beast in his Frost Domain, he did not detect any signals from the outside world. Hence, the leader was definitely ipetent.

    Or perhaps there could be another force manipting the magical beasts behind this facade?

 Chapter 588 - No End

    <h4>Chapter 588: No End</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    On that night, the team set up camps to rest. There were drops in manpower in both their teams. Six of the Malfa Family¡¯s adventurers met with difficulties, but only two members of Dark de had been hurt¡ªthetter had better teamwork and experience.

    Lin Li hid in his tent and researched the debris of the stars using the excuse of being tired. He carefully tried to capture the imaginary connection in space, using the three pieces of the debris of the stars that he had.

    After a quiet night, the team continued their journey early the next morning. They were obviously much more careful than before; the experience that they had the previous day made them realize the hardships of this trip. The Haiga Mountain Range could not be traversed by ordinary people. If it weren¡¯t because of Cheyenne from the Malfa Family, who had Osric¡¯s adventure journal, they might not have been able to reach their destination, either.

    However, the more afraid of something someone was, the more likely it was that it would happen. Osric¡¯s adventure journal had once again been proven not to be omnipotent.

    The team was making rapid progress, but when evening arrived, they suddenly encountered a bunch of formidable beasts which emerged out of nowhere. No one knew where they came from, and there was even a Legendary magical beast amongst the level-18 magical beasts.

    The magical beasts were dauntless, and they even went through mutations during the battle. They were crazy like religious fanatics ready to kamikaze their enemies. The members of the adventurers¡¯ team were painstakingly suppressing their momentum and making their own movements more fluid and agile in hopes of sending the beasts in front of them to hell as soon as possible.

    The Legendary masters did not have it easy, either, although they were preserving their energy and power for the sake of the impending battle in the ruins of Titanster. Even Lin Li could not sit back and do nothing this time. Although he didn¡¯t put in too much energy, he was still a Legendary-mage at the end of the day. The level-19 Norfeller could give them some support and reduce their pressure too.

    The intense battle went on from evening all the way into the middle of the night. Both the Malfa Family and Dark de were hurt to different extents. However, their morale was not affected, because they all felt that the circumstances were developing in their advantage.

    At this moment, Lin Li happened to stop, thus causing the progress to slow down again. However, it did not change the favorable conditions of the adventurer team. Without attracting anyone¡¯s attention, Lin Li quietly left the lively battlefield, and followed a whiff of air as he embarked on a search.

    Before returning to the camp to get some rest, Lin Li found the aura that came from Thunderbolt, using the three pieces of the debris of the stars. That feeling seemed to get clearer and clearer as he approached, all the way until he reached an obscure valley.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t attract anyone¡¯s attention. He followed the subtle aura, moving quickly in the night. He could no longer hear the sounds of people roaring and the intense explosions. At this moment, he was in the valley; he had no idea if that was where the so-called Titans had been.

    The valley was very wide and surrounded by dense trees and thick leaves. The scenery in the valley waspletely different from that outside. However, it seemed darker and dimmer because of the steep cliffs on both sides which blocked out some of the moonlight. The pitch-ck darkness did not have much effect on Lin Li, who could find his destination as long as he could still detect the things around him.

    The wind passed through the valley, causing the leaves to rustle, while little fireflies fluttered aimlessly in the forest. If it weren¡¯t for Thunderbolt, Lin Li would have stopped in his tracks and admired the forest during this quiet night. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have that much time to waste. The battle outside the valley was in full swing, and he couldn¡¯t waste such a rare opportunity.

    Lin Li did not find his sudden escape embarrassing. Out of the three partner sides in the cooperation, he was the weakest and least privileged one. Although he worked with the Malfa Family to deal with the Dark de, he was still weaker than the Malfa Family. Hence, in order to make some gains during this operation, he had to find the source of detection<sup>1</sup> before the Malfa Family and the Dark de did.

    He continued to walk along the valley, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks after walking a short distance. He kept his guard up, and soon saw a ck figure leaping out of the darkness and pouncing on him.

    A level-16 Shadow Leopard no longer posed a threat to Lin Li, who was already a Legendary-mage. Shadow Leopards were a type of magical beasts which could conceal themselves fully in the dark. They would catch their prey off-guard and kill them, like the assassins of magical beasts. However, they were incredibly talented in magic, though they were not that outstanding amongst magical beasts. A single failure would mean that they no longer had the advantage.

    Even experienced adventurers who were above level-15 wouldn¡¯t allow Shadow Leopard to attack them sessfully, let alone Lin Li, a Legendary-mage. Lin Li took a small step backwards and waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter gently while murmuring a spell, after which an icy cold aura drifted towards the Shadow Leopard. In that instant, the Shadow Leopard was frozen with ayer of ice whilst suspended in midair, turning into a snow leopard.

    It was just a level-16 magical beast. If Lin Li couldn¡¯t even kill it with one move, it would seem too embarrassing. Without even taking another nce, he walked towards the stiff corpse of the Shadow Leopard, strode over it, and continued his journey. However, he didn¡¯t expect Shadow Leopard to be just an appetizer.

    Outside the valley, the Malfa Family and the Dark de¡¯s adventure team encountered the attack of many high-level magical beasts. When Lin Li finally left the battlefield, and followed the trail of detection further down the valley, he never encountered a magical beast¡ªnot even a level-1 one.

    However, it was different in this valley. Shadow Leopard was only the first one of the beasts that he encountered. The subsequent ones were not only stronger, they also appeared inrger groups. The journey in the valley was not as smooth as that outside; almost all the high-level beasts seemed to have gathered there.

    <i>What exactly happened? Or did something go wrong with my detection?</i> Lin Li began to doubt himself more and more as he delved deeper. If it were like what they had guessed about it being the ruins of Titans, there definitely wouldn¡¯t be so many magical beasts. The ruins of Titans had been here for so many years, and there had to be a powerful method employed by Immortal King and Geresco to prevent the destruction caused by magical beasts.

    Apart from the wise high-level magical beasts, even those which only had basic reproductive abilities knew which ces to go and which ones would be dangerous for them. Since the strong Thunderbolt which was one of the pieces of the debris of the stars was sealed in this ce, Lin Li believed that it definitely wasn¡¯t a yground for the magical beasts.

    Although Lin Li had Legendary-level strength, he couldn¡¯t put it to use, because he didn¡¯t want to attract the attention of Cheyenne, Borg, and the rest. The speed of his progress was indeed affected, though he had not met with a truly difficult situation yet. A few high-level magical beasts were not too significant, but when a level-20 magical beast appeared, even Lin Li could not help but feel troubled.

    In Anril, anything rted to magical beasts would definitely be extremely powerful, and the one in front of Lin Li now was undoubtedly a magical beast which carried the blood of dragons. It was a Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon which had an armor full of dark brown scales. It was about six meters in height, and was rather short amongst the descendants of the wyrms. Still, it definitely posed a huge threat to all adventurers.

    However, like most of the wyrms¡¯ rtives today, the wyrm¡¯s blood in Red-backed Dragons was already very diluted. However, even then, it still had strength that was close to level-20. Not only did its scales provide great defense, its genes gave it high magic resistance inherited from the blood of the wyrm, and its sickle-like ws could easily tear the armors worn by humans. They could also destroy the weapons of humans and tear the magical shields of mages.

    Lin Li needed to suppress his own strength, but the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon didn¡¯t. Its massive physical strength was enough to daunt any opponent. However, as a descendant of the wyrms, how could brutal strength be the only thing it knew? Its short stature gave it an advantage of being able to move quickly, and its speed was even on par with the swiftness of the attacks of the Shadow Leopard. Of course, its short height was only rtive to the many descendants of the dragons. Compared to humans, its six-meter-tall frame definitely made it seem like a monster.

    The Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon¡¯s attack was swift, and even had the effect of a Wind de. With a powerful strength that was almost level-20, it would be difficult for anyone to kill it, even Sword Sages. The high magic resistance brought by the blood of the wyrm, which also allowed one to move faster, seemed to have be insignificant for the dragons. It could be considered to be an expert in magic.

    If Lin Li were to use his Magical Domain, it would be a piece of cake for him to kill the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon, but once he started showing his power, he would probably attract Cheyenne¡¯s and Borg¡¯s attention. Both masters managed to enter the Legendary-realm based on their abilities, not luck. Hence, it would be difficult to hide anything from them. However, they would definitely be able to capture it even if it was just a momentary explosion of power. Although Lin Li was already far, far away from the battlefield, he would definitely be caught.

 Chapter 589 - Stealth

    <h4>Chapter 589: Stealth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li dared not take his three pieces of the debris of the stars out easily, because unlike his own power, he could not suppress the power of the debris of the stars forter use. Fortunately, the battle in the Harvest Square had given him the chance to win the Helios¡¯ Scepter from Vidas. With this staff that had once shined in the Dark Age, the magic that he exhibited would be greatly enhanced in power. Even if he didn¡¯t use his Legendary-realm power, the strength of his magic would not be inferior to that of a Legendary-mage.

    The Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon roared with a tinge of menace that was unique to dragons. However, it had no effect on the Legendary-mage Lin Li at all. The Crimson Dragon that Lin Li had encountered in the underground pce back then was much purer in terms of lineage than this.

    Before the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon approached, Lin Li had already finished chanting his spells, and he waved Helios¡¯ Scepter gently in his hand. After that, Earth Magic gravel was immediately released under the feet of the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon. Earth Magic had never been known for its offensive power, but the Earth Magic gravel was definitely effective. A sharp stone spear emerged from the ground and stabbed the lower body and abdomen of the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon.

    Actually, this type of magic was great for dealing with humans too, though it was too embarrassing to be used against men, and too indecent to be used against women. Therefore, many mages had decided to forgo it, especially since there were plenty of other spells they could use. There was no need to let themselves be despised for the sake of this spell. However, this type of magic was very effective for dealing with magical beasts. Well, everyone knew that the abdomens of magical beasts were often the softest and weakest part of their bodies.

    With the addition of the power of the Helios¡¯ Scepter, the stone spears seemed to glow like crystals and radiate light beneath the moon. The hardness of such crystal stone spears was not inferior to that of the real weapons used by Warriors. Even though the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon had inherited the powerful defensive power of the dragon, it was still rather pathetic.

    Of course, the power of the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon was nheless close to level-20. It could not be destroyed merely by magic. The dragon sent its sickle-like ws shing against the stone spears, and ttened them immediately. In just a split second, the massive spell struck the dragon and overwhelmed it.

    The process of the battle was not that thrilling. Although Lin Li could still deal with the dragon even without the Helios¡¯ Scepter, the scepter did allow him to save lots of energy. This was just a magical beast that was almost Legendary. The only reward it would face for obstructing Lin Li was being sealed in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Lin Li did not move on immediately after getting rid of the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon. Along the way, he had already ced more than a dozen high-level magical beasts in the Ring of Endless Storm, and after the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon appeared, Lin Li could not help but consider the potential obstacles that he might meet in the next half of his journey.

    What exactly happened in the valley and the reason for the bizarre assembly of so many high-level magical beasts still remained a mystery that probably wouldn¡¯t be solved until Lin Li reached his destination. However, there was one thing that Lin Li could already be sure of, and that was that he would definitely encounter more magical beasts like the Red-backed Sickle-wed Dragon during the rest of his journey. He might even meet an actual Legendary magical beast. If he were to bulldoze his way through, he might not reach his destination even after the Malfa Family and Dark de were done settling the battle outside.

    Lin Li was there to take advantage in advance, not to clear the obstacles for the Malfa Family and Dark de. Instead of exerting himself, he might as well leave it to them to deal with these obstructions. That would give him more time to respond and strategize after reaching his destination.

    Be it Thunderbolt which was one of the pieces of the debris of the stars, or the mysterious object that was used to seal it, both treasures were irresistible temptation for anyone. Lin Li would not be so naive to believe that the Malfa Family and Dark de would remain cooperative with him and stay honest in the face of such a powerful artifact.

    Not to mention, Lin Li possessed three of Geresco¡¯s relics, which were no less valuable than the ruins of Titans. It could be said that he was a moving treasure in the eyes of others. God knew if they wouldn¡¯t find an excuse to kill Lin Li when it came to splitting the treasures if he were to consider morals and ethics now.

    After he gave it some thought, the frown on Lin Li¡¯s forehead eased, and he whipped out a potion from the Ring of Endless Storm. If there were a sensible person beside him, he or she would definitely gasp in shock because the potion bottle was made of Crystal of Eternity, and was a highly coveted treasure for all pharmacists. Potions ced in bottles made of the Crystal of Eternity enjoyed perfect preservation for eternity. Moreover, the longer the storage time, the stronger the properties of the potion in the crystal potion bottle.

    The potion definitely wasn¡¯t ordinary, since it was worthy of being ced in a potion bottle that was made of Crystal of Eternity. cing low-level potions in bottles made of Crystal of Eternity would be aplete waste; as a Pharmaceutics Guru, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t do that. The potion that he was holding onto was a Master-level potion known as the Stealth Potion.

    Lin Li was not a Bandit or an assassin; hence, he did not have any stealth skills. In order not to rm the high-level magical beasts in the valley during his journey to the destination, he would have no choice but to rely on the potion. Lin Li believed that he would definitely encounter a stronger magical beast during the remaining part of his journey. Not to mention, the senses of these magical beasts were far greater than those of humans, and he probably would not be able to escape their heightened detection and instincts even if he were to have the stealth skills of Legendary Bandits.

    A potion like the Stealth Potion couldmand a price of more than 100,000 gold coins during an auction. However, he did not hesitate at all, because it was all for the sake of the debris of the stars. Instead, he twisted the cap of the potion bottle, and emptied the light green contents into his mouth.

    The slightly bitter potion flowed down his throat and into his stomach, after which the gentle yet deep effects of the potion took effect instantly. Lin Li¡¯s body began to turn blurry at a speed that was visible to the naked eye until itpletely integrated into the surrounding environment.

    The simple disappearance of the physical body would have no effect on those sensitive magical beasts, because most of them were blind in the first ce, and only relied on their sense of smell and fluctuations in temperature and energy to detect and discern objects.

    However, the Stealth Potion that Lin Li had just ingested provided more than just the concealment of his physical body. Otherwise, it could not be considered a Master-level potion. Apart from fully integrating the user¡¯s body shape into the environment, the Stealth Potion had a more powerful effect¡ªit would hide all of the fluctuations of magic and Combat Energy within the body, as well as the breathing and heartbeat.

    After the potion took effectpletely, Lin Li immediately rushed towards the deeper parts of the valley. No one knew how deep the valley truly was, and the effects of the Stealth Potion could onlyst for 10 minutes under the enhancement of the crystal potion bottle. Lin Li did not wish for the effects to fadepletely when he ran into arge bunch of magical beasts, for that would be a huge blunder.

    The deeper he delved into the valley, the more frightened Lin Li got. At the same time, he also admired his foresight which prompted him to prepare a Master-level potion like the Stealth Potion. He even wondered if all of the high-end magical beasts in the Haiga Mountain Range had been concentrated in this small valley.

    The adventurer team probably would not be experiencing anything too different from what they were now, with or without the adventuring notes provided by Cheyenne. Since the magical beasts had all been assembled in the valley, it did not matter whether they had avoided their territory. The territories which had been marked as dangerous beforehand were probably already empty.

    At the beginning, Lin Li encountered some magical beasts that were almost level-20, such as the Shining Wing Moth, the Silver Maned Bear King, and many others. Those would never detect Lin Li because of the Stealth Potion that he had ingested, and also because they were not Legendary yet. Hence, he was just like thin air to them.

    However, when a real Legendary magical beast appeared, Lin Li still had to slow down despite having the help of the Stealth Potion. Level-20 was also a huge threshold for magical beasts to develop qualitative changes. The Legendary magical beasts not only enjoyed a great increase in power, but also had different detection abilities that were worlds apart from those of the other magical beasts below the Legendary-realm.

    Although Lin Li was confident in his own potion, most people failed because they were overly confident. Lin Li did not wish to make such a mistake.

    The truth proved that Lin Li¡¯s concerns were not uncalled for¡ªthe Chimaera with evil wings clearly detected something, gliding in circles slightly above his head, even though it did not discover his presence.

    It was Lin Li¡¯s second encounter with the magical beast Chimaera. His first was in Tutankhamun¡¯s wooden hut in the ckstone Mountains. Through the Spacetime Beacon, he saw Geresco¡¯s battle with the Evil Eye Tyrant, during which a four-headed Chimaera was the first to appear.

    However, that four-headed Chimaera was different from the two-headed one now above Lin Li which had two goat-like heads, a lion¡¯s body, a snake¡¯s tail, and huge ck wings. However, the Chimaera was not a pushover just because it had only two heads. It was actually another species of Chimaera which was not the same as a four-headed Chimaera. Although it did not have the magical prowess of a four-headed Chimaera, it had immense physical strength, and was much more proficient in Wind and Fire Magic.

    The Chimaera with evil wings growled in a low voice, and hovered above Lin Li, seemingly having sensed something and wondering why it couldn¡¯t find anything.

    Lin Li dared not speed up even though he did not have to fear the Evil-wing Chimaera given his abilities¡ªhe would definitely have a hard time if his presence was detected.

 Chapter 590 - Menace Of The Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 590: Menace Of The Dragon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    He was well aware of the purpose of his visit. He was not there to hunt and kill the rare magical beasts even though they were hard to find. He wanted to sessfully obtain Thunderbolt and the other important items before the Malfa Family and Dark de did. There couldn¡¯t be any mistakes, then.

    Lin Li carefully moved deeper into the valley. The evil wing Chimaera finally turned around and flew away, perhaps because Lin Li had already stepped into the territory of another magical beast. However, Lin Li did not feel that relieved, for there had to be a formidable beast there since the Chimaera actually left without a fight.

    Time passed minute by minute, together with Lin Li¡¯s footsteps. The depth of the valley truly did not disappoint him. After shunning all the powerful magical beasts, he did not encounter any other terrifying entities along the rest of his journey. Hence, he could not help but speed up again. He could sense the faint and subtle signal that seemed to be bing clearer. He was certain that the suspected target was right in front.

    After making a turn, Lin Li suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked in front in astonishment, only to realize that it was a different scene from before.

    The bright moon in the sky seemed to berger, brighter, and rounder than before. Although it was nighttime, the silvery moonlight that was cast on the ground seemed to have lit up the world.

    In the open, the trees were sparse and the sounds of insects could be heard. There were wild flowersplimenting the lush greenery, and he could no longer smell the stench of deciduous leaves, which had been reced by the smell of grass and the faint aroma of wild flowers.

    A small stream flowed from the side. The sounds of water flowing and the asional croaking of toads was rather soul-cleansing. They even made Lin Li forget about the pressure that he faced along the way. Lin Li could not remember when was thest time he ever saw such a beautiful scenery. Or perhaps he had never noticed any before.

    Everything in front of him seemed rather dreamy and surreal to Lin Li, though it was not his first time seeing such sceneries. Perhaps Lin Li was getting emotional because the tranquility was a stark contrast to the intense battle that he just had.

    However, Lin Li did not indulge in it, and only got distracted for a brief moment before remembering his purpose. He was not there to y or rx and unwind. Who knew what kind of danger or crisis there might be beneath this calmness?

    Lin Li snapped out of his trance, and stopped admiring the scenery. Instead, he scrutinized the objects in front of him. Like he expected, he discovered a peculiar entity in a certain spot.

    Deep in the woods, there seemed to be a hazy halo, which made it impossible for him to see what was hidden behind it. Lin Li dared not be careless at all, and he felt that he ought to be even more careful at this moment. Otherwise, there would be no time for him to evenment and regret. Instead of walking forth immediately, he carefully siphoned out a portion of mental strength and looked into the hazy halo.

    As his mental strength extended, Lin Li began to frown slightly; he unconsciously pressed his lips together, and the doubtful gaze in his eyes became more intense. The surrounding scenery, the pleasing insects, and the sounds of the water flowing could no longer entice him or catch his attention. A portion of his mental strength was already controlled by his mind.

    That portion of mental strength did not touch the halo yet, but when it was approaching it, Lin Li could sense a faint aura that seemed a little familiar. Lin Li¡¯s eyes widened suddenly before acting normally again, though he was not trulyposed.

    It was the Menace of the Dragon!

    Lin Li was rather familiar with the Menace of the Dragon, which he personally encountered during the battle with the adult Crimson Dragon in the underground pce in the Dragon Mountains. However, at this moment, he could feel that this Menace of the Dragon was much purer than that of the Crimson Dragon.

    It was the true Menace of the Dragon which was exhibited because of gics¡ªonly pure-blooded wyrms would possess real Menace of the Dragon.

    Lin Li thought to himself that he was really unfortunate. Although it was to be expected that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to achieve his goal, he did not expect to encounter an actual wyrm here. It was no joke at all. Back then in the underground pce in the Dragon Mountains, he faced only a Crimson Dragon which had been imprisoned for over 1000 years and had its mobility restricted. Yet, he was faced with an actual wyrm now. It was a fact that was impossible to fake.

    When faced with such circumstances, anyone would choose to go back to where they came from because that seemed to be the best and only option at hand. An actual wyrm was definitely one of the most powerful creatures in the world. Fighting against a real wyrm was simply an act of seeking death, and only those who courted death would stay.

    Indeed, the wyrm was something to be worshiped even for a Legendary figure. However, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t be willing to give up just like that. It was not like him to retreat when things got difficult. Besides, he was bent on getting his hands on Thunderbolt.

    Lin Li temporarily suppressed the suspicion in his heart, and used a portion of mental strength to continue exploring the halo. However, he was surprised even before he got near it. A mysterious force that came out of nowhere actually disrupted his mental strength.

    In the world of Anril, Lin Li did enjoy all kinds of advantages and privileges, but that did not make him the least bit arrogant. He wouldn¡¯t be conceited, either. Lin Li had a clear understanding of his mental strength and abilities. Apart from his natural talent, the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant that had been left behind by Geresco had been helping him increase his mental strength every day. It was more of a mental training than an increase in strength.

    Therefore, Lin Li was still rather confident in his own mental strength. Even though he had only activated a portion of it, the degree of condensation of the mental strength would not change. Moreover, it was not only for exploration or casting mental spells. Few people could reach such a high level of prating power.

    However, his mental strength was disrupted by an unknown force before he could even find anything. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked. At the same time, he had also be much more conscientious and determined. Hence, he refused to give up, and decided to take another look at the halo.

    This time, Lin Li did not act recklessly, but instead used some skills that had been taught in the Book of Eternity to better control his mental strength. The Book of Eternity was a journal of Geresco¡¯s magical experience throughout his life, and the importance of mental strength to a mage was second only to the perception of the Rule Power. Or perhaps they were of equal importance. Hence, there were naturally skills and techniques regarding exercising mental strength included in the Book of Eternity. How could Lin Li not pick them up?

    Lin Li¡¯s not-so-handsome face began to grow exceptionally sullen, and he closed his eyes together slightly while everything else around him seemed to have been shielded out. He was entirely focused on controlling that portion of his mental strength. Controlling one¡¯s mental strength was actually harder to execute than it seemed because it was notposed of magic elements like magic, but rather was an abstract and intangible entity. Hence, there had yet to be one established technique for the training of mental strength in Anril. Only Geresco, the God of Mages, had researched on it and recorded his input in the Book of Eternity.

    Although Lin Li had only siphoned a portion of his mental strength, he had to use all of it to control the mental strength, and the technique taught by Geresco was not that easy to employ, especially with Lin Li¡¯s current level. He was still too far away from Geresco¡¯s standards; hence, he was just doing his best to use the techniques as well as possible.

    Geresco was undeniably worthy of his title as the God of Mages. Lin Li once again tried to explore and study the halo, using the mental strength maniption techniques taught in the Book of Eternity. Although he encountered certain obstacles, he finally prated through the halo using his mental strength.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s doubts had not been resolved because of that, but became a little bit more intense instead. He felt that the magical aura in the halo was the exact one that he had been chasing and looking for. Hence, he began to get even more muddled up.

    Lin Li used the three pieces of the debris of the stars that he had¡ªHoly Light, Rebirth, and Darkness¡ªto detect the aura of Thunderbolt in the Haiga Mountain Range. He cooperated with the Malfa Family and the Dark de to explore the Haiga Mountain Range, all for the sake of Thunderbolt. He then left the battlefield alone, and followed the signal all the way to the valley, likewise for the sake of Thunderbolt. However, he now began to doubt his detection.

    Lin Li was no stranger to the magical aura of the Wyrm. The powerful existence of the ancient dragons that dominated the prehistoric era was still extremely domineering, even if it was only in terms of its magical aura. That was precisely the reason that the magical aura of a wyrm was unique and couldn¡¯t be imitated.

    It was a solitary trait of domination and repression, just like a ruler who was majestic and self-righteous, with no tolerance for disrespect. The magical aura of Wyrms would never allow itself to co-exist with the magical aura of other beings. That was the indelible nature of Wyrms which gave them their pride.

 Chapter 591 - The Descendant Of Emerald

    <h4>Chapter 591: The Descendant Of Emerald</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was well aware of that, which was also the reason for his doubts. Everything that he was facing at this moment was too counterintuitive, and he was also unsure if the magical aura that he had been detecting through the three pieces of the debris of the stars really belonged to Thunderbolt, for that magical aura turned out to be coexistent with the magical aura of the Wyrm.

    In the world of Anril, no one knew the debris of the stars better than Lin Li. Thunderbolt was the debris piece that represented the Rules of the Wind, and its greatest characteristic was its freedom, which allowed it to be free from restrictions. At the same time, it was also the greatest power that could not be hindered or obstructed. Thunderbolt¡¯s magical aura was just abination of these qualities, and any attempt at suppression would inevitably lead to the relentless counterattack by Thunderbolt.

    However, what Lin Li detected and discovered was that the two magical auras belonging to the ancient dragon and Thunderbolt seemed to coexist without suppression, resistance, or fusion.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯te up with an exnation for the situation; hence, he had no choice but to temporarily suppress the doubts in his heart while carefully continuing to examine the halo. <i>Perhaps the mystery all lies in the depth of this halo</i>, he thought. Although Lin Li was eager, he dared not have the slightest intention to manipte mental strength.

    However, with the deeper exploration of spiritual power, Lin Li¡¯s tightly shut lips slowly opened wider and wider. His frown grew deeper, and he widened his eyes unconsciously as well. Even his breathing became heavier.

    Yes, Lin Li was 100% sure that it was a pure-blooded ancient Wyrm, and not a mixed-blood descendant.

    Although Lin Li found out about the halo through mental strength, the truth proved to be no different from his theory. Others might get it wrong, but Lin Li was extremely confident in his own judgment because he had seen a Wyrm before.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li was a pro Hunter who managed to destroy the Dragon of Destruction which was one of the Dragon Aspects using the debris of the stars and Stars of Fury. He obviously could destroy an ordinary ancient Wyrm. It was definitely not an exaggeration to say that the dragon that Lin Li skinned had been powerful beyond imagination. Otherwise, how could he have those high-level materials that he used to advanced in his life career before he traveled to Anril?

    If that didn¡¯t exin anything, Lin Li¡¯s experiences with the ancient Wyrm after he arrived in Anril would. Tutankhamun, who had been safeguarding the three relics of Geresco in the ckstone Mountains, was actually an ancient Wyrm. He was also the son of the Dragon of Destruction from the Dragon Aspects.

    Although the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen was a Demon Lord of the Abyss of Tharlen, it was actually a shadow of the Dragon of Destruction. Hence, it did possess the magical aura of the Dragon of Destruction. The Crimson Dragon in the underground pce in the Dragon Mountains was a pure-blooded descendant of the Wyrm, even though it could notpare to the Dragon Aspect.

    Lin Li could be considered an expert on Wyrms, and he was certain that a pure-blooded ancient Wyrm resided dormant in the halo.

    However, the problem was... this Wyrm was too damned pocket-sized!

    Lin Li managed to see the tiny ancient Wyrm through his mental strength detection. It seemed rather inappropriate to be called a Wyrm, but Lin Li had no idea how to name it. Was it supposed to be an ancient pocket Wyrm?

    Staring at the tiny pocket-sized dragon, Lin Li realized that its head was the same size as its body, and it had short limbs as well as an exceptionally thin pair of wings which seemed to be fluttering with its breathing. The dazzling light rays and the halo were emitted by it.

    Anyone would be able to tell that it was a baby dragon even if they were not experts like Lin Li. However, it was too small to be called a Wyrm. It was not that Lin Li had never seen other Wyrms before, but rather that most Wyrms were at least 100 timesrger than this one.

    It would be unlikely for it not to be an ancient dragon, because its magical aura was one that would only be possessed by a genuine pure-blooded Wyrm. Its Menace of the Dragon could not be imitated by mixed-blood descendants.

    Just like human beings, Wyrms tended to naturally cultivate a domineering aura after being in a high position for a long time. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t require that much power to subdue people of lowly status. The ancient Wyrm was a hegemon of the prehistoric times, and had a domineering power in its bloodline which allowed it to subdue invincible demons effortlessly.

    The purer the blood, the stronger the Menace of the Dragon would be. It was an undeniable fact. Lin Li had plenty of experience with Wyrms; hence, he was confident that his detection of the Menaceing from the baby Wyrm was definitely spot on. Reality seemed to have deviated from the theories that he formted through experience. What was going on? Could there have been a gic mutation in an ancient Wyrm?

    Of course, this was simply impossible. Since the ancient Wyrms could be the hegemons of the prehistoric times, their strong bodies must have already evolved to the most perfect state. Hence, probably even God couldn¡¯t cause any changes in their bodies.

    How was this rted to the Wyrm!? The images of the ancient Wyrm that he had encountered when he arrived in the world of Anril from the Endless World shed through his mind continuously. He did not want to die without knowing the reason. He would rather wait for the Malfa Family and Dark de to arrive before getting a clear idea of the situation.

    A drop of sweat slowly trickled down Lin Li¡¯s face and onto the dewy green patch of grass. He slowly closed his eyes which had now be thin slits. Since the matter was rted to Thunderbolt, which was part of the debris of the stars, he did not want the Malfa Family and Dark de to have a slice of the pie. However, if he were to take action without getting a clear idea of the pocket-sized Wyrm¡¯s status, he might just end up dying a horrible death.

    Time passed slowly, second after second. Lin Li had no idea how things were progressing outside the valley, and the effects of the potion that he had ingested were also slowly wearing off. However, at this moment, Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as a certain scene seemed to have frozen in his head.

    ¡°Could it be...¡± Lin Li suppressed his shock, and used his mental strength to observe the baby Wyrm in the halo. He analyzed the cicada-like wings andpared its characteristics with the image in his mind.

    <i>Elemental Dragon? Could that little thing hidden deep within the halo be that terrifying existence?</i> Lin Li was shocked by his own idea. The Elemental Dragon was an extraterrestrial being amongst the ancient Wyrms, and possessed an unimaginably terrifying power. It was undoubtedly the king of all Wyrms.

    Had there been more Elemental Wyrms amongst the dragons during the prehistoric times, they probably would have been able to destroy the Titans and be the rulers of Anril. Unfortunately, ever since the prehistoric times, only the Dragon of Dream, one of the legendary Dragon Aspects of Anril, seemed to be an adult Elemental Wyrm<sup>1</sup>.

    However, just because an Elemental Wyrm did not exist in Anril, it did not mean that it did not exist in the Endless World. Lin Li did not simply know about the terrifying power of the Elemental Wyrm based on legends and hearsay. He actually had firsthand experience too.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li¡¯s Hunter avatar entered the Sun Well and obtained the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, during which time he encountered an Elemental Wyrm that obstructed him. More precisely, it was one of the clones of the Elemental Wyrm that was ced in the Sun Well. However, it still gave Lin Li a hard time.

    General ancient Wyrms possessed incredible power, regardless of their proficiency in magic. However, Elemental Wyrms were thin and fragile, and their physical strength waspletely different from that of the ancient dragons of the same family. Besides, it was not onlypared with the members of the same n. It was said that the ws of Elemental Wyrm were so weak that they could not even break a wooden table. Its physical strength could be said to be almost non-existent.

    However, that did not mean that Elemental Wyrms were pushovers. Although they did not have powerful physical strength, the ancient Wyrms of the same family were no match for the magical power that they possessed. The Elemental Wyrms were natural masters of the four elements of earth, fire, water, and wind, and possessed the highest level of magical power. Even natural-born mages and the High Elves who imed to be God¡¯s most perfect creation had to swallow their pride in front of the Elemental Wyrms.

    Moreover, all the magic power of the Elemental Wyrm was derived from the four ubiquitous elements in the world, thus making it inexhaustible. The most terrifying thing was that they could instantly exhibit all of their elemental magic below level-20, which was an enviable feat and ability. Hence, they were still one of the most terrifying beings in the world.

 Chapter 592 - Hatching Young Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 592: Hatching Young Wyrm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    To others, they were just legends, but Lin Li dared not belittle it at all. He reckoned that it should be the clone of the Elemental Wyrm that was hidden in the Sun Well during thest battle he fought before he got the Stars of Fury. Even though his Hunter avatar was already at the max level, and had used the best equipment, it was still very difficult to win. He had only managed to do so by fluke¡ªdespite having the help of all sorts of advanced pharmacy scrolls.

    That was a projected clone of the Elemental Wyrm which possessed inexhaustible magic, thus making it akin to a cannon that had limitless ammo. Under the overwhelming magic storm, even some of Lin Li¡¯s magical defense essories were destroyed. The supreme magic defenses recorded on the scrolls couldn¡¯t persist for a second in the magic storm, fragile like ss in front of a machine gun.

    Lin Li still felt rather terrified at the thought of the battle that he¡¯d fought back then. All Lin Li felt towards the endless magic storm was a sense of powerlessness and despair. Full of hope, he whipped out his trump card, only to have it be destroyed. Back then, he almost thought of giving up and drowning in the storm.

    At the start, Lin Li did not think of the Elemental Wyrm, because the adorable little pocket-sized creature seemed to be worlds apart from the tyrannical and massive Elemental Wyrm. However, after recalling all of the Wyrms that he had encountered, he found that the Elemental Wyrm was the closest thing to the tiny creature.

    After having deduced that, Lin Li againpared the characteristics of the baby Wyrm with those of the Elemental Wyrm in his memory. The more hepared, the more certain he was that his guess was correct. That was the case for Lin Li who had memories of the Endless World. If it were anyone else from Anril, even a knowledgeable mage might not be able to identify the baby Wyrm as the legendary Elemental Wyrm.

    After deducing that the little creature was an Elemental Wyrm, Lin Li¡¯s heart pounded rapidly, and the memories of the legends he heard in the Endless World began to pop up in his mind.

    Legends had it that Wyrms had no soul inheritance. All their worldviews were determined at birth because they were the oldest creatures in the world, and were born from nothingness together with the Titans. Although humans ssified them as magical beasts, they were actually far from magical beasts. Even prehistoric magical beasts allowed their inherited souls to decide everything for them. However, it was different for Wyrms. Wyrms were like nk canvases that could be painted on, but only after they hatched.

    In other words, if one was lucky enough to encounter a newly born baby Wyrm which had no rtive nearby, he or she would very likely gain the recognition of the baby Wyrm. Even if the baby Wyrm didn¡¯t take him or her to be its rtive, it would at least offer its friendship, and thus develop a close rtionship with the person who found it. That was the reason for the rampant legends about the Dragon Knights. Tutankhamun of the ckstone Mountains was a perfect living example. Despite being a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, which was hatched by the Immortal King, he did not take revenge on the Immortal King for the death of the Dragon of Destruction. Instead, he treated the Immortal King like his father.

    It would be amazing under normal circumstances, but Lin Li was not too interested in being a Dragon Knight. To a Legendary-mage, a Wyrm might be intimidating, but not irreceable. Besides, Wyrms had a long growth process, and would require a long time to develop battle power.

    Not to mention, Lin Li already owned a Humerus Crimson Dragon which was an Undead creature by nature. However, it had the physical body of a Crimson Dragon and the Heart of the Fallen that was gifted to him by Sendros. The battle power of the Humerus Wyrm was not inferior to that of the actual Crimson Dragon¡¯s.

    However, it was different for the Elemental Wyrm, which was destined to have unlimited potential by gics. It was destined to be as powerful as Dragon of Dream, which ordinary ancient Wyrms could notpare to. The Dragon of Dream was leading even amongst the five major Dragon Aspects. If one could be friends with an Elemental Wyrm, it would be tantamount to associating with an existence that was on the same level as the Dragon of Dream.

    It was a good idea, but Lin Li was still unsure if the Elemental Wyrm had hatched out of its shell yet. In the beginning, he thought that it was a young Wyrm because it had the standard shape of an adolescent magical beast, with arge head, a small body, and short limbs. However, he could not use that physique as a standard, because an adult Elemental Wyrm would have the same physical shape too. Besides, he had never seen an actual baby Elemental Wyrm, and thus could not tell if it was a newly born Elemental Wyrm. He could not tell if it was a baby Wyrm or an adult one that was ying cute.

    Lin Li dared not approach it recklessly, because it might just be an adult Elemental Wyrm. If that were the case, what he encountered next would be an overwhelming magic storm. It was a top existence amongst magical ancient Wyrms. As the leader of ancient Wyrms which had all the power of Dragon Aspect, it was definitely a tough nut to crack for a Legendary-mage.

    Back then, Lin Li¡¯s Hunter avatar was ced in a dangerous position by a mere clone of the Elemental Wyrm. Besides, it was just a game where characters could respawn after their deaths. However, it was now reality, and Lin Li only had one life. Everything would be over if he were to lose it. Hence, Lin Li dared not take the risk at all.

    However, the temptation of the Elemental Wyrm was too great for anyone to resist. Was he supposed to let this opportunity pass? Lin Li definitely did not want to miss the opportunity, but he was now facing an Elemental Wyrm that could grow to be as strong as the Dragon of Dream.

    To Lin Li, this was just like a huge gamble where he would gain plenty if he won and die if he lost. Lin Li was stuck in a dilemma, and had no idea if he should take the gamble or not. Had he known earlier, he would have grabbed an adolescent Elemental Wyrm in the Endless World and study it back then.

    After hesitating for a long time, there began to be somex in Lin Li¡¯s mental strength maniption. However, that was also the change that put a rare smile on Lin Li¡¯s face. Sometimes, a little distraction might not be a bad thing.

    In the beginning, Lin Li devoted all his energy to controlling that portion of mental strength. After all, Geresco¡¯s techniques were not something he could apply at this stage. The long hesitation and dilemma caused him to be distracted, thus resulting in the detection of the things going on in the background apart from the halo. The magical elements around him seemed to have darted towards that halo at an amazing speed.

    Lin Li could acutely detect the changes, and after calming himself down to give it some thorough thought, he immediately had an answer. The abnormal changes of the magical elements around him were a result of the Elemental Wyrm just hatching. It would continuously absorb the magical elements around it, and only open its eyes after umting enough magical power.

    The thought of it resolved another doubt in Lin Li¡¯s mind. Why did the adventurer team formed by the three major forces still encounter arge number of high-level magical beasts in the supposedly peaceful area in the Haiga Mountain Range despite it being the best route designed ording to the adventure journal?

    Moreover, Lin Li also noticed that the magical beasts which had attacked the adventurer team wereposed of various types and species that assembled at thest minute. The magical beasts which were non-rted and even had to fight each other whenever they met appeared in the same cluster. What was the reason for that? Lin Li once guessed that it could have been because of the maniption of a greater force, like the ck Current that had once appeared in thend of Anril. However, it now seemed that the greatest possibility was that it was because of the Elemental Wyrm.

    Therge-scale fluctuation of magic elements had even caused the scarcity of magical elements in the Haiga Mountain Range, thus making it easily noticeable for the sensitive magical beasts which mistook it for the foreshadowing of a certain catastrophe. When faced with a major catastrophe, the only response magical beasts would have would be to migrate to a safer ce.

    Magical beasts had simple mindset, and that was to minimize damage as far as possible. Hence, they would attack all obstacles that got in their way. The adventurer team of the three forces could only be said to be too unfortunate to have be one such obstacle.

    Although Lin Li, Cheyenne, and Borg were all Legendary-mages, they were extremely sensitive to the magical waves in magical elements. However, they were not natives of the Haiga Mountain Range, and hence unaware what original magical waves of the Haiga Mountain Range should look like. The Haiga Mountain Range itself was a special environment, and so the abnormal magical wave was deemed to be normal by them.

    Lin Li was now in the epicenter of the magical wave, and he naturally understood everything better after deducing that the Elemental Wyrmy deep within the halo, and detecting the flow of direction.

    However, Lin Li could no longer be bothered, because there was a high chance that the Elemental Wyrm had just hatched and had yet to open its eyes.

    A tender Elemental Wyrm was waiting for him to collect it. Even though Lin Li had already reached the Legendary-realm, he still found it hard to contain his excitement. Hence, there was a slight fluctuation in the mental strength that he was controlling.

 Chapter 593 - Magical Storm

    <h4>Chapter 593: Magical Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Under normal circumstances, the slight fluctuation might not be significant. However, at this juncture, a slight fluctuation would seem like a tossed stone that caused a thousand ripples. There was a massive change in the scenery around Lin Li, causing the tranquil and elegant beauty to vanish like a burst bubble. The fragrant wildflowers, the vibrant green meadows, and the tall and erect trees all turned into various types of magic at this moment. They all bombarded Lin Li unrestrainedly.

    Lin Li was gued with an ominous feeling at the instant that the magical wave appeared. Despite having been as careful as he could, he still made a mistake that he shouldn¡¯t have. However, it was toote to regret it at this point. He could no longer be bothered about mental strength, either. Hence, he quickly ced the Helios¡¯ Scepter in front of his chest and chanted a magical spell.

    That was something that Lin Li had never stopped practicing and researching. Despite having be a Legendary-mage, he had never neglected the importance of fast spell-casting. He minimized the time required and put in 10 times as much hard work as other mages.

    All of his past efforts finally paid off at this moment. Lin Li still put his magic defense to use while facing such a sudden change. Although the magical defense did not persist for a second under the overwhelming magical storm, Lin Li was at least able to buy some time to use another spell.

    Lin Li did not stop chanting, and instead continued to ce several consecutive defensive spells. Light was reflected off the jewels on the top of Helios¡¯ Scepter, and theyers of colors resisted the attacks from the storm which Lin Li had no idea when would end.

    The beauty of the valley had long vanished, and everything seemed to have been restored to the most basic elements. It reassembled into powerful magic that exerted a strong destructive power. Perhaps an ice spear at this moment used to be just an insignificant shoot of grass, and the lightning that now fell from the sky might have been a pale wildflower.

    The sky was gloomy; the bright clear moon and shining stars had long disappeared. Numerous electric snakes jumped and rolled between dark clouds, after which they constantly collided and merged to form a pir of lightning that connected the heavens and the earth. It then mmed into the ground forcefully. The pir seemed majestic and massive to humans who were incredibly small whenpared to the heavens and earth. From a distance, it looked like a huge funnelposed of lightning.

    A huge vortex slowly formed in the dark clouds, and darkness lurked in its middle, seemingly leading to another world. Like a beating heart, the vortex made a dull snoring sound which seemed to be more and more rapid. Finally, the darkness in the center of the vortex was illuminated, and a fierce me engulfing a boulder while radiating light from the center of the vortex appeared. With a shrill, it plunged to the ground with a tail of me.

    The impact was followed by a loud thud and huge tremor, with waves ofva flowing out of the ground continuously afterwards. A tornado spun theva into the air, forming ava tornado which hit the ground.

    Cold winds and mes, ice spears and fire snakes; the burning boulder plunged from the sky, while Thunderbolt was trapped in between Fire Rain. Their only target was Lin Li, who was standing on the ground and painstakingly putting up magical defense. Lin Li was filled with agony, but he dared not stop chanting the defensive spells at all, for it concerned his own life and a slight mistake would be fatal. The spell he chanted was still fast and urate. He did not hesitate, either. As soon as ayer of magical protection was destroyed, another would form again from within.

    Lin Li was having a hard time keeping the defenses up, and he spent every moment in fear. It was a vicious cycle, and he felt as if he would be drowned in that magical storm any second. Had there been any bystanders, they would definitely think that Lin Li was way too lucky to have survived the blows by a close shave time and time again. However, no one knew how much hard work Lin Li had put in for the slim chance.

    Perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for a mage to rapidly cast a spell, but it definitely wasn¡¯t easy to cast several consecutive spells. No mage who hadn¡¯t put in tremendous hard work and effort would be able to do it. However, Lin Li managed to do rapidly recite and chant his spells to assemble his magical elements. He was able to release spells almost instantly.

    No mistakes should be made during life and death situations, and one would usually end up in a pathetic plight if he were to constantly hope for his opponent to make a mistake. Lin Li was well aware of that; hence, despite being extremely talented in magic, he¡¯d put in tens or hundreds more times of effort than others.

    Although Lin Li seemed to be extremely pathetic and disheveled at this moment, his efforts finally paid off, and he was extremely confident in himself. He cast several defensive spells one after another, and formed a safe ground for himself during the magical storm. He was like an isted ind in the sea. He would stand strong despite the invasion and attacks of the wind and waves.

    Lin Li was not actually powerless and unable to retaliate. However, his only choice was to continue supporting the defensive spells because he didn¡¯t know who the opponent was at all. He was only faced with the constant bombardment of magic that ruined his defensiveyers relentlessly. There were also some magical elements that Lin Li had not mastered. In fact, he didn¡¯t even know their names.

    Some timeter, Lin Li began to grow weary, and he no longer had the energy to calcte how much magic he had put out. He was only persisting because of his mindset. At such a juncture, persistence was his only choice because retreating would pose a greater risk than pressing on. Regardless of whether the magic storm had been premeditated or controlled by another powerful presence behind the scenes, it would definitelye to an end. Retreating rashly before getting to know one¡¯s opponent better would put one in a passive circumstance.

    Just when Lin Li acutely felt that the raging magic storm seemed to weaken a little, a shadow fell from the sky andnded in the valley. Although it looked unassuming and insignificant in the sky, it had a massive magical aura that caught Lin Li¡¯s attention.

    The shadow settled down in the distance while Lin Li continued to cast magic defensive spells continuously. He nced past the dense magic in the air and stared at the shadow that had arrived. Lin Li immediately got a great shock, for he did not expect to face such an opponent.

    That petite and exquisite figure seemed to be insignificant in the magic storm, and it was so small that a fireball seemed to be able to swallow it. Its head wasn¡¯t too bigpared to its petite body, but it did seem to be heavier. There was a pair of horns on his head which resembled the antennae of a butterfly, but frailer. The short, slender limbs were much weaker than a human finger. Whether or not the so-called sharp ws could rip even a piece of paper remained a mystery. The translucent pair of wings on its back would seem like bat wings if not for the subtle color and patterns.

    A girl would definitely grab the creature immediately and cradle it because of how adorable it looked. However, Lin Li was well aware that one would ultimately face death if he or she were to fall for its cute appearance. It was far from being adorable; it was terribly intimidating.

    Even though Lin Li was already a Legendary-mage, he still could not help but feel crept out by the adorable-looking creature, and fear arose within his heart. It was not an issue of courage. The brave were not fearless. Just because he could ovee the fear in his heart, it did not mean that he was not daunted at all. Hence, he had to be extra careful with every step he made.

    Putting Lin Li, who might just be a small Legendary-mage who had just reached the Legendary-realm, aside, even the Legendary powerhouses of the Malfa Family and Dark de would fear the petite and lovely creature. In fact, they might even retreat without putting up a fight. They might not know what it really was, or what kind of a terrifying ability it possessed, but the fear instilled in them by the natural Menace of the Dragon would be absolutely genuine.

    However, it was an Elemental Wyrm, and Lin Li was probably the only one who could identify it. He knew what Wyrms were because he had encountered them before. As amusing as it seemed, there was nothing funny about calling the tiny creature a Wyrm. However, the power it possessed was beyond imaginable. The vast and powerful Menace of the Dragon that dominated the world were ultimately oppressive, be it to humans or magical beasts. In fact, people might even worship it and ignore the petiteness of the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s body.

    Although it was diminutive, it contained immeasurable power that would make anyone near it feel incredibly small and inconspicuous. Although it was pocket-sized, it was clearly already mature, and was worlds apart from the baby Wyrm in the halo, which was still absorbing magical elements.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart froze, for he did not expect to meet with such a difficult opponent like the adult Elemental Wyrm even though he had already expected to encounter a tough opponent. However, it seemed he was really out of luck this time. It was a great honor to face an opponent like the Elemental Wyrm.

 Chapter 594 - Avatar

    <h4>Chapter 594: Avatar</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the history of Anril, apart from the Dragon of Dream, the Elemental Wyrm had never appeared before, not even in myths or legends. Clearly, Elemental Wyrms were extremely rare. Lin Li only knew that the terrifying creature in front of him was a Wyrm based on his memories from the Endless World. However, the people in Anril had never heard of an Elemental Wyrm before.

    The problem was that Anril was not the Endless World, where Lin Li could wait for the game to refresh and eliminate monsters on a regr basis. The fact that he could encounter two Elemental Wyrms here meant that he was either really lucky or extremely unfortunate. The Elemental Wyrm was far more than just troublesome because it possessed the four major elemental Rules and had limitless magical power. The Legendary-mage Lin Li probably might not be able to defeat the Wyrm, even with the help of Cheyenne and Borg.

    However, it was absolutely impossible to retreat now, because that would only put his life in greater risk.

    <i>I¡¯ll fight for my life!</i> Lin Li thought to himself. He mustered up the courage, got a grip on himself, and quickly adjusted his breathing. He then suppressed the fear within himself and increased his speed in casting spells. Yes, there was no other thing he could do apart from fighting the Elemental Wyrm to death in this battle.

    The overwhelming magic storm did not subside at all. Although it was a little less violent than before because of the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s appearance, it was not a good thing for Lin Li. The Elemental Wyrm had yet to make any movement, but the chaos seemed to have died down a little, and everything became much more orderly. Hence, it caused every magical attack to be even more efficient and powerful.

    Although the magical storm had a massive destructive power, it was extremely chaotic, just like an army of soldiers in a frenzy who were blindly attacking each other even though there was only onemon target. In fact, they even obstructed each other sometimes. Now, with the control of the Elemental Wyrm, their attacks would definitely be much more powerful and efficient.

    The Elemental Wyrms inherently mastered the Rules of the four major elements. Hence, using the four magical elements of earth, fire, water, and wind came to them naturally, just like breathing. All they had to do assemble the strong and powerful magical elements was to think about it. There was no need to pay deliberate attention to the elemental sequencing.

    To human mages, even the instantunching of a small fireball would be considered an impressive feat. However, it meant nothing to an Elemental Wyrm. It would take just a simple thought for them to cast an advanced spell like Thousand Miles of Ice.

    Besides, all of the magical power used by the Elemental Wyrm came from the four major elements that were present in all parts of the world. Their magical power would never be depleted; hence, there was no need for them to worry about the exhaustion of magic. Therefore, low-level magic was scarce, and all of the spells released by the Elemental Wyrms were advanced and powerful.

    However, at the same time that Lin Li was fighting and resisting the magical storm, he gradually began to sense that something was amiss. He discovered that the Elemental Wyrm seemed to be under some restriction despite possessing massive and unparalleled power. There seemed to be some difference between that Elemental Wyrm and the ancient kings of Wyrms.

    Lin Li recalled the memories rted to the Elemental Wyrm. Apart from the introduction of the Elemental Wyrm in the Endless World, the memory that stuck with him the most was naturally still the battle in the Well of the Sun. In that battle, his own Hunter avatar was also forced into an extremely disheveled state where he would often be on the brink of death. He had to rely on various advanced potions which were incredibly expensive to finally kill the Elemental Wyrm and obtain the Stars of Fury.

    The images in his mind seemed to have frozen at the instant that he killed the Elemental Wyrm, and Lin Li finally realized what was wrong. Back then, the abilities of Lin Li¡¯s Hunter avatar meant he¡¯d fail the mission if he were to encounter an actual Elemental Wyrm in the Well of the Sun¡ªdespite being fully armored and equipped with all sorts of advanced potions, top-grade magical equipment, and magical scrolls. He obviously wouldn¡¯t have obtained the Stars of Fury then. Hence, he¡¯d only managed toplete the mission because the Elemental Wyrm that he¡¯d encountered then was just a projected clone of the Elemental Wyrm that was ced in the Well of the Sun.

    Even as the king of ancient Wyrms who possessed the most powerful force in the world, the Elemental Wyrm couldn¡¯t create a projected clone or avatar with all its power. In fact, it couldn¡¯t even create a clone with half of its power.

    Lin Li could persist for so long despite facing the Elemental Wyrm not because of how strong he was, but rather because he was facing a projected clone of the Elemental Wyrm, simr to the one he¡¯d encountered in the Well of the Sun back then. Lin Li had no doubts that he definitely would have been destroyed in the magical storm long ago if he had really met with an actual Elemental Wyrm.

    Although the powerful Elemental Wyrm had been constantly releasing advanced magic, Lin Li thought about it carefully, and realized that none of the spells was beyond level-20. Although it was still powerful and menacing, it was impossible for an actual Elemental Wyrm to release such low-level magic. Since it had infinite magic power, how could it use its magic sparingly?

    However, after finding out that he was facing a clone of the Elemental Wyrm, Lin Li did not feel rxed at all. In fact, it made Lin Li feel a major headache, and he even cursed himself for being unlucky.

    It was impossible for any powerful existence to create a projected avatar that was as powerful as itself¡ªeven for the Elemental Wyrm. However, the Elemental Wyrm that Lin Li was now facing still had extremely terrifying power. That could only mean one thing: the Elemental Wyrm that the avatar was projected from possessed unimaginable power.

    Even though Lin Li was only facing the projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm, its strength was extremely limitedpared to the actual Wyrm. However, ordinary Legendary-mages were far fromparable to the sub-level-20 magic and infinite magic possessed by the Elemental Wyrm.

    In that case, which Elemental Wyrm in Anril could create such a powerful projection? After recalling the ancient legends of Anril, Lin Li began to form a terrifying guess. Only the king of the ancient Wyrms, the Dragon of Dream, which was also one of the five Dragon Aspects, could have the ability to create such a powerful Elemental Wyrm avatar.

    Of course, Lin Li had merely deduced that answer based on various information. Although the guess seemed likely to be correct, it did not clear all of his doubts.

    Although Lin Li was an outsider to Anril, the year that he had spent there was enough for him to understand many things. He also clearly remembered that in the legends of Anril, the Dragon of Dream had long fallen. Apart from the Dragon of Dream, the other Dragon Aspects had also fallen with the end of the prehistoric times. The ancient Wyrms had also pulled out of the arena of conquering the continent. This history had always been just legends, but its authenticity was beyond verification.

    Tens of thousands of years had passed since the end of the prehistoric times, and the High Elves took over during the Dark Age. If that Elemental Wyrm was really a projection of the Dragon of Dream which had already fallen ages ago, why did it show up in the Haiga Mountain Range after such a long time?

    Lin Li could not help but wonder and worry about whether the Dragon of Dream had really fallen or just dozed off and slipped into a trance. If he were to kill the Elemental Wyrm projection avatar in front of him, what would happen to the main body?

    The Dragon of Dream was not to be trifled with. Legends imed that the ancient Wyrms¡ªlike the Titans¡ªwere born out of chaos. As one of the five Dragon Aspects, it naturally mastered all the Rules of the four elements. The Rule Power was not the same as the enlightenment Rules of Legendary-mages. Instead, it was aplete mastery. Even the strong Titans or other Dragon Aspects and magical beasts would not be able to use the power of these four elemental Rules.

    During that time in Anril, the elemental magic only belonged to the Dragon of Dream, and no other existences could meddle with it. When the Dragon of Dream fell, the elemental magic finally had a ce in Anril, andter on, the humans finally had the chance to master the elemental magic.

    Although ording to legend, if the Dragon of Dream had not fallen, there would¡¯ve been no Magical Ageter. However, no one could be certain about legends. Legends were called legends because no one could really prove their authenticity. During the era of the Dragon of Dream, even the High Elves had not been born yet. No one dared to confidently say that they knew what had happened back then.

    Lin Li was now stuck in a difficult situation where retreating and advancing were both non-feasible options. Losing might be a terrible oue, but winning was not necessarily a good thing, either. The Dragon of Dream was not to be trifled with, and the five Dragon Aspects back then were the leaders of the ancient Wyrms. During the prehistoric times, the five Dragon Aspect even colluded with each other and tore the earth apart, thus separating the entire world of Anril. The cracks then formed the Endless Ocean of today. That was evidence of how terrifying the power of the five Dragon Aspects was.

 Chapter 595 - Raging Storm

    <h4>Chapter 595: Raging Storm</h4>

    Besides, the Dragon of Dream controlled the magic of the four elements: earth, fire, water, and wind. Even a true god would not dare to go toe-to-toe against it. Even if the Dragon of Dream had fallen into hibernation for some reason, Lin Li was still a minor Legendary-mage who could not deal with it alone. Even a figure of the Sanctuary-realm would not be able to fight the Dragon of Dream.

    Even if the legends were real, and the projected avatar was not of the Dragon of Dream that Lin Li had guessed it was, Lin Li was certain that the main body was absolutely almost as powerful as the Dragon of Dream. If he were to really get involved with such a terrifying creature, Lin Li would ultimately face a horrible death.

    Lin Li frowned with a sullen expression while brainstorming for a strategy that he could use to deal with the Elemental Wyrm. He had toe up with a solution as soon as possible during such a situation. If he were to continue dying, he would only be put at a disadvantage.

    Although it was just the projection avatar of a strong and powerful existence, it was the strongest opponent that Lin Li had ever met since he arrived in Anril. Putting its formidable power aside, the fact that it had infinite mana was enough to make it invincible.

    Although Lin Li had a strong mental strength and the assistance of the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s crystal, he only had an advantage over ordinary human mages. Putting the Elemental Wyrm aside, even the elven Legendary-mage Vidas who fought Lin Li in the Legendary-level battle in the Harvest Square was much stronger than him in terms of mental strength.

    The reason he was able to defeat Vidas back then was due to the shorings of the elves¡¯ innate resistance to mental strength attacks[1]. Besides, Lin Li happened to have the Demon Lord from the Endless Abyssal and the Lord of Nightmares that had a strong mental attacking ability. Otherwise, it¡¯d¡¯ve been almost impossible for him to defeat Vidas.

    However, now that he was facing the powerful projection of the Elemental Wyrm, he would definitely die if he were to apply the same strategy. The Elemental Wyrm had infinite mana not because of how strong its mental strength was, but because it mastered the Rules of the four elements. The four elements were the main source of magic of the entire Anril. Although it was just a projected avatar, its casting was restricted. However, its mana was not restricted.

    Lin Li had encountered strong avatars before when hended in Anril. The Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen was a projection avatar of the Dragon of Destruction, but it was clearly weakerpared to the avatar of the Elemental Wyrm.

    Although it was only a legend that the Dragon of Destruction had fallen, the truth was not to be doubted. The Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction, and even used its skeletal remains to create the Sky Castle. There were records of it in the history of the High Elves.

    As one of the five Dragon Aspects, the Dragon of Destruction definitely had destructive power and menace, just as its name implied. In fact, it was much more outstanding than the other four aspects. As the projection of the Dragon Aspect, the power held by the Lord of Darkness could be considered to be on par with the current Elemental Wyrm. Besides, the Lord of Darkness also had the Darkness Domain of the Dragon of Destruction, which helped him construct the Throne of Darkness.

    However,pared to the projection avatar of the Elemental Wyrm, the Lord of Darknesscked the most important ability, which was the power to control mind and power. He was only familiar with the power of machinery, but ignored Lin Li¡¯s ingenious schemes. After experiencing the suppression by the power of the Abyss, he still changed his target to Mephistos, the Lord of Souls, because he was ignorant and saw all of those who had strong energy fluctuations as targets that he had to kill.

    Although Lin Li mainly relied on the ancient demonic runes from Connoris to activate the power of the Abyss in order to defeat the Lord of Darkness and seal him in the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s crystal, Lin Li might not seed again if the Lord of Darkness were to regain the ability to think.

    The projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm that Lin Li was facing at this time was obviously much smarter, and its elemental magic was not just blind attacks. There was obviously a clear and logical tactic behind them. Through the coordination of various elemental spells and the perfect grasp of timing, the efficiency of each attacking spell could be maximized. To a mage, it was absolutely a showcase of the art of magic. If Lin Li were not embroiled in the battle, he would cheer and watch the show.

    Besides, Lin Li was now in the Haiga Mountain Range, and not the Endless Abyss. In here, the ancient demonic runes would no longer take effect, and the power of the Abyss wouldn¡¯t affect anything at all. Without the help of a powerful abyss and scapegoat like the Lord of Souls, the battle would definitely be the most difficult one for Lin Li.

    To Lin Li, it was definitely an unprecedented battle; no mage could cast spells continuously without stopping like the Elemental Wyrm. There seemed to be countless magical attacks. They were not too advanced: some were level-15, while some were level-18. In conclusion, none of them were Legendary-level, and even level-19 ones were rare. However, there were many of them together...

    Right in front of Lin Li was the Thousand Miles of Ice, and above him was a fiery red sky that was zing because of the mes. Countless meteors fell from the sky like a meteor shower. The most terrible thing was that there were plenty of Pyrost meteors amongst them. It was absolutely absurd and shameless, just like how an indecent oddball would throw out some bombs during a snowball fight that everyone agreed on.

    Lin Li was truly agonized by such a strange and inferior fighting tactic. Thebat experience that he had umted in the past couldn¡¯t be used here at all. The avatar of the Elemental Wyrm was another existence that waspletely irregr and unrestrained by magic or spells. It could cast spells in a freestyle manner, and it made Lin Li feel like a fighter who suffered a brutal blow as soon as he stepped inside the ring...

    In the blink of an eye, the avatar of the Elemental Wyrm released dozens of spells. Even Lin Li, an expert in casting spells rapidly, could not help but gasp in terror. After giving himself a shield, he began defending passively. He took a few minutes to find some time to cast a spell...

    The Elemental Wyrm was the Dragon Aspect that was in charge of the four magic elements, and had strong resistance to magic. Even though it was only a virtual avatar, it was still beyond what ordinary magic could hurt. The two spells that Lin Li painstakingly shelled out time to cast werepletely insignificant to the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s avatar.

    It was not a level ying ground at all...

    Although Lin Li had once defeated the avatar of the Dragon of Destruction in the Abyss of Tharlen, that avatar was worlds apart from the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s avatar despite both being Dragon Aspects. The Lord of Darkness had long lost its wisdom and ability to think because of the destruction of the Dragon of Destruction. It was facing the battle purely using its own instincts. However, the avatar of the Elemental Wyrm waspletely different, for it possessed extremely terrifying power andbat sense that was not inferior to Lin Li¡¯s. In fact, it was much stronger than most mages of Anril and the Lord of Darkness.

    Lin Li immediately released his Magical Domain. Snow flew in the sky, while light and darkness fused. Countless bicolored wings belonging to light and dark angels who were holding spears flew around Lin Li to guard him imprably. The fusion of light, darkness, and snow was Lin Li¡¯s best magical domain and strongest weapon. Back in the Harvest Square, even the level-22 Vidas was rendered powerless by it.

    However, the Magical Domain was insignificant inparison to the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s avatar, which effortlessly cast spells without using anyplicated techniques. As a result, Lin Li was driven into a corner and overwhelmed with fear and tension...

    At this point, all Lin Li could do apart from defending himself was wait...

    He waited for half an hour in total, during which there were dozens of spells cast by the avatar. All of the spells were above level-15, and whenbined together, they could probably destroy the Breezy ins.

    Any other mage would have depleted all of his mana during such a magical bombing. Fortunately, it was Lin Li who was born with powerful mana and mental strength, which were the reason he could endure all the way till now. He kept his defensiveyers up, and painstakingly reced them whenever one was torn or destroyed. Whenever he had a morsel of time, he would quickly hold up the ice walls, for he could no longer be bothered to attack the avatar with magic.

    Although the ice walls were barely as durable as paper during such a magical storm, Lin Li still pressed on despite knowing that his efforts were going to end up being futile. He felt that it would be better to put up a few more defensiveyers.

    Lin Li was now like a rape victim who wished to prolong the time it took for them to be undressed. He wished he had worn a metal armor today...

    [1] Author¡¯s contradicting himself, huh. Well, it¡¯s either that, or he means that elves have more mental strength and can use stronger magic, but in return are weak to attacks directly on that mental strength. Think of it as if the elves are a paper ne withser cannons, while humans like Lin Li are wooden nes with random machine guns or whatever. Elves can raise hell, but go down with one hit to their body, and the humans can take a few hits, but have weaker attack power

 Chapter 596 - Heart-piercing Potion

    <h4>Chapter 596: Heart-piercing Potion</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The battlested for ages. After he had been bombarded by thousands of spells, Lin Li felt as if he had been through some catastrophe. His expensive ck robe was torn all over, and the magical gemstones on the Helios¡¯ Scepter also turned dull. Lin Li knew that this Helios¡¯ Scepter he had just gotten might be destroyed if he wasn¡¯t able to think of a way to end this battle quickly.

    What was more terrifying was that Lin Li was starting to feel his mana running out even with his naturally powerful mana. This battle was too intense even for Lin Li. He was reaching his limits by using the Elemental Shield and ice walls to protect himself from the thousands of magic spells for half an hour. After all, Lin Li was still a human, and hadn¡¯t reached Geresco¡¯s level of cing his body and soul into nothingness. Thus, he was still very much constrained by World Rules.

    Lin Li was already feeling his mana running out. He could only endure another 10 minutes before running into a possible magical bottleneck. By then, the Elemental Shield and ice walls could no longer protect himself from harm. To make matters worse, his mental strength was starting to run out too due to prolonged period of using high-intensity magic. His head was throbbing as if someone had been stabbing his brain continuously with a nail. Lin Li knew that this was a sign of overusing mental strength.

    Fortunately, Lin Li found an opportunity before he totally ran out of energy...

    Perhaps it was because the prolonged bombardment of magic was too dull, or perhaps because even the Dragon of Dream which had endless magic was exhausted. After a long while, Lin Li finally found an opportunity that couldn¡¯t be considered as an opportunity...

    There were finally a few pauses between the storms...

    Lin Li made use of these opportunities to release an Elemental Shield. He built sevenyers of ice walls simultaneously, and added a precious element-absorbing mageweath on them.

    This element-absorbing mageweath was crucial. Although it was just a high-level mageweath, it could protect Lin Li from the harm of magic up to level-20 for at least 10 seconds.

    This meant that Lin Li was absolutely safe for the next 10 seconds!

    At the moment that the mageweath was cast, Lin Li had taken out a bottle of vibrantly colorful potion from the Ring of Endless Storm. The potion radiated a dreamy shine, shaking slightly in the crystal bottle. Lin Li hesitated for a second, and then opened the cap and poured the whole bottle into his mouth.

    Many people knew the saying that the most beautiful things were often the most deadly. In the forests, the brightly colored mushroom often contained fatal poisons. One also needed to be extra careful around brightly colored snakes.

    Although this rule didn¡¯t apply for every man-made item, potions concocted by pharmacists made use of natural products and applied nature¡¯s rules. Pharmacists only cared about the effect of their potions, and wouldn¡¯t waste any effort on their appearance. Hence, there was an unspoken rule that the more appealing a potion looked, the more poisonous it was. In contrast, healing medicines were always bitter.

    The potion that Lin Li had taken out was called Heart-piercing Potion. It was very beneficial to a Warrior, but fatal to a Mage. Pharmacists only knew how to perfect the potions with their skills, but never gave them ostentatious names.

    This potion was named Heart-piercing Potion because its user would feel like his heart was pierced immediately. The excruciating pain was beyond the limits humans could bear. Rather than saying that it would poison its user, it was perhaps more urate to say that the user died out of pain. The pain it brought about really made people realize what it meant to be better dead than in pain.

    However, this only applied to Mages. To a Warrior, the pain he would feel was far less than that of a Mage. On the other hand, the benefits it brought were too tempting for any Warrior. Given that Lin Li had only taken it out as his trump card, this Heart-piercing Potion was certainly not ordinary.

    After a Warrior had drunk the Heart-piercing Potion, he would be immune to magic below level-25. Although its effect could onlyst for a short while, this period was enough for the Warrior to be a Mage¡¯s nightmare. Even though the Warrior could only use his own strength afterwards, didn¡¯t Warriors depend on their own strength all the time?

    It wasn¡¯t exaggerating to say that the Heart-piercing Potion could make a Warrior possess god-like abilities. Even a Mage at the peak of the Legendary-realm couldn¡¯t match a Warrior like that. No matter how powerful a Mage¡¯s magic was, even if it could kill a Wyrm, it was useless facing a Warrior who had drunk the Heart-piercing Potion... as long as it was below level-25.

    Given its powerful effect, this potion was obviously not easily concocted. Otherwise, mages would¡¯ve be extinct in the world.

    Every ingredient that this Heart-piercing Potion needed was precious and rare. Back at nna, Lin Li had obtained four ck lotus flowers by chance. Usually, he would use just a few petals when concocting high-level potions. However, he directly used half a flower for this Heart-piercing Potion.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current assets, it was difficult for him to get even one ck lotus flower. The key point wasn¡¯t price, but rather that this flower grew under extreme conditions, which made it very rare. Even though Lin Li had used it so sparingly, he was still only left with two after all this time.

    From this, it was easy to tell that the Heart-piercing Potion was priceless. Other than the preciousness of its ingredients, only Guru-level pharmacists dared to attempt concocting it due to the skills needed. However, even a Pharmaceutics Guru couldn¡¯t guarantee that he would sessfully concoct the potion.

    However, this precious and wonderful potion had totally different effects when used on a Mage. The excruciating pain came from the fact that the Mage¡¯s mana was sealed inside his body. A Mage without mana was no different from a useless person. Of course, he also had to endure immense pain before that.

    If not for the terrifying effects, the Heart-piercing Potion would undoubtedly be an excellent drink given its sweet and refreshing taste. However, the pain that followed was beyond human endurance. Lin Li couldn¡¯t care about the Elemental Wyrm, main body or clone, anymore. He froze on the spot, focusing all his effort onbating this pain.

    Magic storm still raged in the mountain valley. Under the control of the Elemental Wyrm, waves of storms gushed towards Lin Li. However, those high-level spells which made Lin Li powerless just now suddenly disappeared as if there was an invisible space crack that engulfed all of them.

    Lin Li was now motionlessly standing there. His eyebrows twitched and his muscles were very tense. He clenched his teeth hard, and veins popped out from his temples. Sweat oozed out from his forehead and flowed down his cheeks.

    One hand was grasping the Helios¡¯ Scepter tightly, while Lin Li¡¯s other hand was clenched so tightly that his fingernails were buried into his flesh. Drops of blood dripped down his fist and sshed onto the ground. Nobody would know what kind of pain Lin Li was enduring now. If ordinary people hadn¡¯t experienced it themselves, they couldn¡¯t possibly imagine how painful it would be that even death would be better than enduring the pain.

    The excruciating pain was only physical. When Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain was starting to copse, this kind of physical pain wasn¡¯t that important anymore. The paining from the bottom of his soul made the strongest willpower lose its effect. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t been baptized by the Lord of Nightmares, he would¡¯ve probably been crying now.

    For a mage to create a Magical Domain, he had to integrate his own mental strength and realization of Rules. If his Magical Domain copsed, it would inevitably severely damage his mental strength. There was still a limit to physical pain, but there was to limits to mental pain. If a person couldn¡¯t bear physical pain, his brain would automatically shut down the body and avoid the pain by fainting. In contrast, people couldn¡¯t even faint from mental pain.

    However, Lin Li, who was still conscious, couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried now. Magical Domain was an indicator of a mage reaching the Legendary-realm, and was as important as his own life to a mage. Though the copse of the Magical Domain didn¡¯t mean that he would leave the Legendary-realm forever, it was much harder to build a new one.

    Under the effect of the Heart-piercing Potion, the Frost Domain almost copsed instantaneously. He also suffered from immense pain on the mental level that seemed to be increasing in intensity. Just then, Lin Li was surprised to realize that a change was happening to the Light and Darkness Domain even though his Frost Domain had already copsed.

    Although Lin Li had personally concocted the Heart-piercing Potion, he didn¡¯t expect so many changes to happen after drinking it.

 Chapter 597 - Magic-forbidding Domain

    <h4>Chapter 597: Magic-forbidding Domain</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Back at Rnd City, Lin Li was lucky to win that battle in the Harvest Square. If not for the inborn weakness of the elves, the final winner would have been the elven Mage Vidas. However, not all Legendary-mages had an obvious w like the elves. Hence, Lin Li had prepared this Heart-piercing Potion to plot against Legendary-mages whom he couldn¡¯t defeat. He hadn¡¯t expected that he would drink this potion himself.

    The Heart-piercing Potion was one of the items that Lin Li could rely on when he agreed to coborate with the Malfa Family and the Dark de. Who would know that the coboration would be so fragile in front of self interests? It wasn¡¯t umon for coborators to turn against one another after finding the treasure. If Lin Li didn¡¯t have weapons like this potion, he could have quit the coboration long ago.

    However, Lin Li was forced by the powerful attack from the Elemental Wyrm to take a dangerous risk and drink this Heart-piercing Potion which was fatal to mages. Thinking of the pain that he had to endure, he wasn¡¯t surprised that the Frost Domain would copse. However, he didn¡¯t expect the Light and Darkness Domain to change.

    In the battle with the elven mage Vidas in the Harvest Square, Lin Li had a breakthrough in the Light and Darkness Domain under great pressure, and was better at utilizing Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Although he had created the Frost Domain by his own understanding of Rules, the Light and Darkness Domain supported by Holy Light and Gloomy Dark was much more stable.

    Lin Li dared to drink this Heart-piercing Potion because he knew that Holy Light and Gloomy Dark would sustain the Light and Darkness Domain even when he couldn¡¯t use any mana. After all, while the Heart-piercing Potion was very powerful, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark were true miracles. However, the Light and Darkness Domain had changed now. He was very worried as he didn¡¯t know if this change was good or bad.

    Even Lin Li couldn¡¯t make out the changes happening to him, let alone the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm. To the Wyrm, its opponent was just a mere human mage. It felt humiliated that it didn¡¯t manage to kill this mage even after such a long time.

    Now, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar was even more furious. At first, its magic attack could still shatter its opponent¡¯s magic defense. However, its magic disappeared in the air before it could even get near to its opponent now. The Elemental Wyrm¡¯s shadow roared, and the magical elements all around became more intense. Countless powerful spells gushed towards Lin Li.

    However, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar felt power merging from Lin Li¡¯s body immediately after that. Under the influence of this power, the magical elements all around didn¡¯t seem to be under the Wyrm¡¯s control anymore. The elements seemed to be frightened and gushed out.

    As the magical elements started to escape, the power of the magic that the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar released decreased exponentially. In the blink of an eye, it realized that the magical elements had been depleted.

    The Elemental Wyrm¡¯s mana was limitless because it possessed the Rules of the four elements. Thus, its source of power was the four magical elements in the world. However, it now couldn¡¯t absorb the slightest bit of magical elements no matter how hard it tried. Not to mention releasing magic, it was feeling a little tired just by flying.

    Facing this kind of situation, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar was no longer furious. It looked terrified and kept pping its colorful wings, flying in circles as if trying to find its lost power. Unlike other Wyrms which had powerful bodies even if they couldn¡¯t use magical power anymore, the Elemental Wyrm didn¡¯t have much physical strength.

    Lin Li¡¯s back which was arched due to the excruciating pain was slowly growing straight. He had finally endured the pain brought by the Heart-piercing Potion. He had an answer to the change in his Light and Darkness Domain now. Under the effect of the Heart-piercing Potion, the Light and Darkness Domain became a Magic-forbidding Domain.

    A Magic-forbidding Domain would forbid all forms of magical elements. Thus, all kinds of magic would lose its effect inside this domain. This was a Warrior¡¯s heaven and a Mage¡¯s hell. However, Lin Li knew that this Magic-forbidding Domain was built upon the Heart-piercing Potion, and there was a time limit to this potion¡¯s effect. If he couldn¡¯t defeat the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s shadow before the Heart-piercing Potion lost its effect, his life would be in real danger.

    However, it wasn¡¯t hard to deal with an Elemental Wyrm without mana. Lin Li curved his lips and smiled.

    Just then, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar¡¯s eyes were filled with terror and confusion. The raging mes on its body disappeared, and it yelped while waving its tiny ws frantically in the air. While a tiger without teeth could still use its ws and tail, an Elemental Wyrm without mana was weaker than a cat.

    ¡°After I¡¯ve been beaten by you for so long, now it¡¯s my turn to beat you!¡± Lin Li took out a huge hammer from his back and tapped on the hammerhead. He said, ¡°Connoris, stop pretending to be dead! Come and hit this Elemental Wyrm too! This is a rare opportunity!¡±

    Connoris¡¯ voice rang in Lin Li¡¯s mind, though he sounded rather scornful. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just a projected avatar, and not a real Elemental Wyrm. Back when I was a Soul Trader¡ª¡±

    However, Lin Li was just being courteous, and wasn¡¯t interested to listen to Connoris brag about his past glory at all. Before Connoris could finish his sentence, Lin Li cut him off mercilessly and said, ¡°A real Elemental Wyrm? I don¡¯t want to apany you if you want to die.¡±

    As a mage, Lin Li faced so many stares because he carried a hummer around. However, judging from the situation now, this hammer was finally useful. Though Lin Li was a mage, he was also a Smithing Guru. While his body strength couldn¡¯t match a Legendary Sword Sage¡¯s, he wouldn¡¯t lose out to a typical Warrior. Even without mana, it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to deal with this Elemental Wyrm using just physical strength.

    The petite projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm appeared to be more anxious, just as if it had felt Lin Li¡¯s killing intent. However, it was hard for it to even fly without mana. The transparent wings behind its back pped hard, but still couldn¡¯t make it fly faster.

    If there was a woman present, she would try her best to stop Lin Li from this violence. This was because the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar looked so pitiful without its raging mes, making any woman want to hug it tight and caress it with love. She wouldn¡¯t let it experience the slightest pain, let alone to hit it with a hammer.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t an affectionate and caring person. He was furious because of the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar¡¯s magic attack bombardment just now. He even had to endure the excruciating pain brought by the Heart-piercing Potion because of this little bastard. Lin Li wanted to smash it t with the hammer.

    Lin Li held onto the Helios¡¯ Scepter with his left hand and carried the huge hammer with Connoris¡¯ soul using his right hand. With a step, his body shot out towards the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar like an arrow.

    This was a ridiculous battle. A human Legendary-mage and an Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar which possessed the Rules of the four elements were having a physical fight in the valley. Of course, the situation waspletely reversed. Lin Li hit the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar mercilessly with his hammer.

    The Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar didn¡¯t have any chance to retaliate. It could only p its wings with all its might, trying to leave this bizarre ce as soon as possible. However, its flying speed was even slower than a person¡¯s walking speed. It was like a balloon floating slowing in midair.

    ¡°You want to run? No chance!¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth, and waved his huge hammer quickly.

    The Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar yelped in pain. With the heavy hammer and Lin Li¡¯s physical strength as a Smithing Guru, every hit sent the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar into the air.

    How could the bat-sized Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar endure such attacks? It was hit so many times it didn¡¯t know where to run. When it had finallye to its senses, Lin Li started his attacks again.

    After a few hits, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar already couldn¡¯t fly, and struggled on the ground pitifully. Its beautiful wings were torn and fractured, hanging uselessly on its back. Its adorable appearance now looked tragic. Its whimpers sounded so pitiful.

    ¡°Damn it! Stop pretending to be pitiful!¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t deceived by this little thing¡¯s pitiful appearance. Once his Magic-forbidding Domain lost its effect, this little Wyrm would be more ferocious than ever. If it was a typical magical beast, letting it go would possibly let him tame it. However, this little bastard was a projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm, so it couldn¡¯t be tamed.

    As a projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm which was likely to be the Dragon of Dream, it was now hit continuously by a mere human mage using a hammer without any means of retaliation. If it hadn¡¯t been a projected avatar but a real Elemental Wyrm or the Dragon of Dream which was one of the five Dragon Aspects, it would have suicided because of humiliation.

 Chapter 598 - Integration

    <h4>Chapter 598: Integration</h4>

    Of course, Lin Li knew very well that his Magic-forbidding Domain wouldn¡¯t be so effective if it was used against a real Elemental Wyrm or the Dragon of Dream. Or rather, the domain wouldn¡¯t have any effect. Although he was oppressed by the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar since the start, he knew that it was just level-21 like himself.

    It didn¡¯t mean that a person¡¯s level would definitely be high if his abilities were high. After all, personal level was just one factor. There were many other factors which affected one¡¯s abilities. For example, magical equipment, potions, scrolls, special techniques, and the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar¡¯s endless mana and ability to release magic in a split second.

    Therefore, level didn¡¯t equate power. Wasn¡¯t Lin Li hitting the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar with a hammer now? Lin Li hypothesized that the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar was no more than level-21, because it could only release magic below level-20 instantaneously. Although there were powerful magic spells below level-20, the avatar didn¡¯t have to use such low-level magic given its endless mana if it was of a higher level.

    Lin Li¡¯s Magic-forbidding Domain could be so effective because of the simr levels. If the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar had been one level higher, the oue would¡¯ve been totally different.

    Lin Li hit the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar hard with the hammer. The originally arrogant avatar was now on the verge of death, and didn¡¯t even have the strength to yelp. The Elemental Wyrm was too weak physically. Without the support of the four magical elements, it was just an adorable but useless little thing. Unfortunately, it had met an ipassionate person like Lin Li.

    With another hit of the hammer, this projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm would disappear from Anril forever. However, Lin Li slowly withdrew his raised hammer. This wasn¡¯t because Lin Li suddenly becamepassionate, but because it was an Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar. Though it was close to dying now, it wasn¡¯t Lin Li¡¯s personality to end its life like this.

    ¡°Connoris, give me an idea! How can I reuse this little thing?¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t merciful regarding the projected avatar¡¯s life, but rather wanted to exploit everyst bit of its value.

    Although it was just a projected avatar, its true body was very likely to be one of the five Dragon Aspects¡ªthe Dragon of Dream. This was the origin of the magic of Anril. If Lin Li could use this power as his own, the advantages it would bring would be beyond imagination.

    Although the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar was half dead now, it was obviously better than the Lord of Darkness¡¯s projected avatar. However, back at the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li possessed both the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction and its Dragon Crystal, so he was able to seal the Lord of Darkness into the Dragon Crystal. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any parts of the Dragon of Dream. If he wanted to make use of this projected avatar, he had to ask Connoris for help.

    Connoris was still a little unhappy that Lin Li had cut in just now. Hearing Lin Li¡¯s inquiry now, Connoris immediately got very proud. ¡°Heh, heh! You still have to ask me in the end!¡±

    Lin Li directly buried the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar¡¯s small body under the massive hammer, and said with annoyance, ¡°Stop talking rubbish! I don¡¯t have much time left with this Magic-forbidding Domain. Do you know something or not?¡±

    Although the Magic-forbidding Domain was derived from the Light and Darkness Domain, this change was brought about by the Heart-piercing Potion. Hence, once the effect of the Heart-piercing Potion was gone, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain this Magic-forbidding Domain. Perhaps he could obtain something new based on this experience in the future, but it was clearly impossible for him to reproduce another Magic-forbidding Domain immediately after the Heart-piercing Potion lost its effect.

    Though the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar was half dead now, Lin Li knew that all its wounds would heal immediately and it¡¯d be a ferocious ming Wyrm once the four magical elements¡¯ power started to swarm in.

    It would be good if Connoris had any ideas. However, if Connoris also didn¡¯t know what to do, Lin Li could only kill this Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar before the Magic-forbidding Domain lost its effect.

    While Lin Li waited for Connoris¡¯ reply, the hammer that weighed down the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar suddenly fell to the ground with a thud. The originally half-dead projected avatar transformed into a strobe of light, and shot into the body of the hatching baby Elemental Wyrm with lightning speed.

    Lin Li¡¯s face turned pale. This projected avatar was likely to belong to the Dragon of Dream. He could tell that the projected avatar possessed its own memories and consciousness from the battle earlier on. Now that the projected avatar entered the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s body, would the young Wyrm possess its memories as well?

    Lin Li had fought so hard in this battle. He had released hundreds of ice walls and elemental shields, drunk the Heart-piercing Potion which almost gave him heart attack, and finally turned the tables. He thought that he could finally get a loyal baby Elemental Wyrm as his pet now, but... but they integrated into one in the end!

    The most painful thing in the world was probably to see an obtainable great advantage disappear. Lin Li stared at the beam of light and regretted his greediness deeply. He was too greedy to want both the baby Elemental Wyrm and its projected avatar. If he had known that everything would be like this, he would have killed that projected avatar with his hammer. At least he could¡¯ve got an Elemental Wyrm that way.

    Connoris was silent now, fearing that Lin Li would me him for not replying in time. If he was Lin Li, he would not be able to ept the fact that he had lost the chance to tame a baby Elemental Wyrm as well.

    The valley was very quiet. Although the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar only aimed at Lin Li, the environment in this ce was totally different from before. Green grass and wildflowers were all gone. Fire magic could be seen all around, making the ground be hard and shiny like crystals. There was a patch of green grass and some still standing trees only inside the circle of brilliance around the baby Elemental Wyrm.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t willing to go back empty-handed like this. He¡¯d had the opportunity to get this rare baby Elemental Wyrm that was likely to be a descendant of the Dragon of Dream. However, because of his greediness at the moment, he¡¯d lost this precious opportunity. This difference in oue was so huge that even a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse might not be able to ept it calmly.

    Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t stingy, he wasn¡¯t willing to do a losing business. Not to mention the fierce battle just now or the pain caused by the Heart-piercing Potion, just the price of the Heart-piercing Potion was enough for his heart to ache for a while. After all, Lin Li had used half of a precious ck lotus flower and other precious ingredients to concoct the potion. To calcte his expenses, although he had only brought Norfeller along for this trip to the Haiga Mountain Range, Lin Li had spent no less than the other two factions.

    The effect of the Heart-piercing Potion was gone, and the Magic-forbidding Domain slowly returned to the original Light and Darkness Domain. The mana shackled in Lin Li¡¯s body was also released, and he felt much morefortable. After experiencing great pain, he should have been happy that his mana was back. However, in front of such great loss, everything else became insignificant, and Lin Li felt empty.

    While Lin Li was feeling very disappointed, the magical waves started to fluctuate. Lin Li was stunned. The baby Elemental Wyrm had obviously started to absorbrge amounts of magical elements. In other words, this was thest moment before this baby Elemental Wyrm awakened.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm had been absorbing magical elements all this while. However, if it had been absorbing just a stream of elements so far, then it was absorbing a sea of elements now. In the center of the only remaining spot of green, a gigantic magical element vortex formed. Even those trees nted in the direction of the swirl as if they were uprooted.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t need to feel with his mental strength anymore. This intense elemental storm was so strong that he could feel it with his skin. The world seemed to copse at that moment. The sleeping baby Elemental Wyrm was like a ck hole, and all the magical elements gushed towards it.

    Lin Li knew that this was the most critical moment. If he were to wait for the baby Elemental Wyrm toplete its absorption of magical elements, he would have no chance to turn the tables.

    Thinking of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t bother about anything else, and injected his own mana and mental strength continuously into the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s body despite the risk of the bite of mana. Lin Li didn¡¯t want to give up just like this. Even if the baby Elemental Wyrm was likely to possess the projected avatar¡¯s memories, it might still be affected by Lin Li¡¯s mana and mental strength that he¡¯d inject. Perhaps it was now a wild wish to get this baby Elemental Wyrm. However, it was stillforting if he could get some connection with the Wyrm.

    However, Lin Li was confused shortly after. He had to be really unlucky today. With one wrong step, every step afterwards was wrong as well. At first, he could still control the injection of mana. However, he lost his control within seconds. An uncontroble power now made his mana swarm out of his body involuntarily.

    Damn it! Why do you insist on absorbing my mana when there¡¯s a whole world full of magical elements out there? thought Lin Li angrily. Maybe his mana was particrly delicious? The baby Elemental Wyrm seemed to want to absorb all of Lin Li¡¯s mana before releasing its grip.

 Chapter 599 - Tamed

    <h4>Chapter 599: Tamed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As a Legendary-mage with an enormous amount of mental strength, Lin Li had a body almost filled with endless mana. Sinceing to Anril, Lin Li had never been troubled by theck of mana in every battle he had. However, he had overestimated his abilities this time. The baby Elemental Wyrm was like an endless hole, and had absorbed almost all of his mana already.

    Lin Li groaned internally. While the mana used up was refible, exhausting all mana was detrimental to a mage. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have control over the current situation. His inner mana was totally out of control, and he could only pray that the baby Elemental Wyrm could be merciful.

    However, the baby Elemental Wyrm evidently hadn¡¯t heard Lin Li¡¯s prayer. It shifted its focus to Lin Li and absorbed his mana with higher intensity.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even have time to think of strategies before his mana totally ran out. He directly cked out and fainted with rage and sorrow.

    Not knowing how long had passed, Lin Li gradually regained his consciousness. He felt something wet tickling his face as if a cool and slippery little thing was sliding on his cheek. Images shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind. Thinking of where he was now, Lin Li suddenly sat up in shock.

    This was the Haiga Mountain Range¡ªthe valley of the baby Elemental Wyrm! How could he faint here? Not to mention any magical beast, even a random wild beast could eat him up!

    Lin Li still remembered how he had fainted. He couldn¡¯t care about anything else, and checked his body¡¯s condition first. He wanted to know if he had already fallen out of the Legendary-realm since all his mana had been absorbed by the baby Elemental Wyrm.

    Lin Li was overjoyed to realize that not only was he still a level-21 Legendary-mage, all of his mana that had been absorbed by the baby Elemental Wyrm had recovered.

    While Lin Li was thinking about this, he suddenly felt an itchy sensation on his arm. He turned around, and realized that a petite little thing was staring at him with a pair ofrge innocent eyes.

    Lin Li thought, <i>Damn it! Isn¡¯t this that baby Elemental Wyrm from the halo? What¡¯s the situation now? </i>

    He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. This palm-sized little thing was very simr in appearance to the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar. Obviously, the baby Elemental Wyrm in the halo had been sessfully awakened.

    However, didn¡¯t it have the projected avatar¡¯s memories already? Why would it wiggle its tail and lick Lin Li¡¯s arm like a pet now? Lin Li couldn¡¯t figure out what had happened to this baby Elemental Wyrm during the period that he had fainted. However, judging from the situation now, this baby Elemental Wyrm was evidently very reliant on Lin Li, just like how kittens and puppies relied on their masters.

    Lin Li felt as if he had seen light at the end of the tunnel. Today should be his lucky day instead. All his efforts weren¡¯t in vain, and he hadn¡¯t endured the pain from the Heart-piercing Potion for nothing.

    That baby Elemental Wyrm seemed to be frightened by Lin Li¡¯s abrupt movement, and moved back a little. It seemed reluctant to part with Lin Li, but was too afraid to get close to him. It could only look at Lin Li with pitiful eyes, not behaving like a legendary Elemental Wyrm at all. Compared to that fierce and ming projected avatar, this baby Elemental Wyrm was totally different.

    Lin Li hooked his fingers, signaling the baby Elemental Wyrm toe towards him. Given the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s intelligence that was much higher than that of kittens and puppies, it immediately understood what Lin Li meant and yelped happily. pping its colorful wings joyfully, itnded on Lin Li¡¯s shoulder.

    Lin Li was very happy now as well. Though it just hatched, this baby Elemental Wyrm could grow up to be an Elemental Wyrm as powerful as the Dragon of Dream! After all, the Dragon of Dream possessed the four elements¡¯ Rules and endless mana. It was no doubt the king of all prehistoric Wyrms.

    Although it would take an extremely long time for this baby Elemental Wyrm to grow into something like the Dragon of Dream, Lin Li believed that it would bring more benefits to him than just being a fighter.

    Elemental Wyrms possessed the four elements¡¯ Rules innately. The Dragon of Dream had taken possession of the four elements¡¯ Rules and didn¡¯t allow any other powerhouses to touch them. This baby Elemental Wyrm might not be very strong now, but its understanding of the four elements¡¯ Rules wouldn¡¯t decrease with the increase in levels given its innate talent to grasp the elemental Rules.

    As a Legendary-mage, Lin Li aspired to understand the Rule Power of this world. Although this baby Elemental Wyrm couldn¡¯t be his helper in battles, it was extremely likely to provide important hints to help him understand the four elements¡¯ Rules.

    ¡°Little thing, I¡¯ve suffered so much because of you,¡± said Lin Li as he carried the baby Elemental Wyrm from his shoulder and examined this legendary little creature closely.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm let Lin Li carry it by the wings. Dangling its thin limbs, it looked at Lin Li with innocent eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯ll stay with me from now on whether you like it or not. Speaking of this, let me give you a name first. Should I call you Kitty or Doggy... Damn it! Why is your expression like this? I¡¯m calling you that for your own good! The more lowly the name, the easier it is to take care of you...¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t an expert in naming, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to think of any nice names for it. Seeing that there were white spots on the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s tail, he said, ¡°How about Xiao Hua<sup>1</sup>?¡±

    The baby Elemental Wyrm wasn¡¯t too bothered by how it was called; knowing that Lin Li was calling it with much affection was enough to make it happy.

    Lin Li put the baby Elemental Wyrm back on his shoulder, and flicked the dust off his clothes. Although his trip was totally worth it after obtaining this baby Elemental Wyrm, he still didn¡¯t know if the battle outside the valley had ended, and so he prepared to leave this valley.

    However, seeing that Lin Li was walking towards the exit of the valley, the baby Elemental Wyrm got anxious, and suddenly flew away from Lin Li¡¯s shoulder towards its birthce while yelping continuously.

    Lin Li was confused at first, but he saw the baby Elemental Wyrm circling around its birthce as if yearning for something. He then realized that this was the ce that bred this baby Elemental Wyrm. Although he didn¡¯t know the rtionship between Xiao Hua and the Dragon of Dream, it was definitely not an ordinary pet given its status as an Elemental Wyrm. There might be something peculiar at the birthce of this baby Elemental Wyrm.

    Nobody would think that they had gained too much. Although Lin Li already had this baby Elemental Wyrm, he was still very excited by Xiao Hua¡¯s reaction. What treasure was hidden in its birthce?

    The baby Elemental Wyrm flew around its birthce aimlessly like a headless fly, not knowing what it was looking for. Soon, it lost its patience, and started to bombard the area with magic directly.

    Lin Li was stunned by what he saw. The Elemental Wyrms lived up to its title of being the king of prehistoric Wyrms. Xiao Hua was just a newborn, yet it could release magic below level-10 instantaneously. How powerful would it be when it grew up?

    After a period of bombardment, thest piece of green finally disappeared from the valley. The whole valley turned into a mess because of the magic. Xiao Hua flew towards one of the valley walls and yelped happily at Lin Li.

    Lin Li realized that there was a dark crack in that smooth valley wall only after walking close to it. The crack was very narrow, and only allowed one person to go in. Who knew where it led to.

    Upon seeing Lin Lie closer, Xiao Hua flew into the crack, popped its head out, and yelped at Lin Li.

    Lin Li knew that Xiao Hua was signaling for him to follow. Thinking that this little creature wouldn¡¯t harm him, Lin Li followed Xiao Hua to see what was hidden in the crack for it to have such a big reaction.

    Luckily, Xiao Hua was only palm-sized. If it had been any other prehistoric Wyrm, it would have bombed the entire valley¡¯s wall. Lin Li followed Xiao Hua into the crack. It was pitch-dark inside, but Xiao Hua¡¯s body radiated a soft magic flow like a floating torch.

    If this baby Elemental Wyrm wanted to harm Lin Li, it could have killed him with a single blow back when he was unconscious. Although the baby Elemental Wyrm was a newborn, its level-10 magic could easily kill off a defenseless mage. Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried that Xiao Hua would harm him, but a ce that could attract a baby Elemental Wyrm wouldn¡¯t necessarily be totally danger-free.

    It was always better to be cautious. Lin Li didn¡¯t ignite the ce directly with magic, but examined the walls of the crack carefully with the light from the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s body. Seeing that there were no signs of human excavation, Lin Li was more cautious of whaty in the crack.

    It was impossible that human treasures could attract a baby Elemental Wyrm. Although legends said that Wyrms liked shiny objects, how could something like an Elemental Wyrm have such lowly preferences? Thus, it was very likely that some precious herb or something grew in this crack. This brought another problem: there were always powerful guardians beside natural treasures.

    The more valuable the treasure was, the more powerful its guardian would be. How could some ordinary treasure attract an Elemental Wyrm? Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t give up this opportunity no matter how much danger he would face. He was just much more cautious than before.

 Chapter 600 - Baby Elemental Wyrméˆ¥æªš Food

    <h4>Chapter 600: Baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s Food</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li stopped and turned towards the baby Elemental Wyrm with confusion after walking a few steps into the crack. Since this little creature had led him here, why wasn¡¯t it moving now? Could it be that it was scared of something here? Looking at its pitiful expression, it was evidently not afraid.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, little thing! Aren¡¯t you leading me somewhere?¡± Lin Li waved at the baby Elemental Wyrm, and then pointed inside the crack.

    Lin Li¡¯s hand gestures were easily understood by the baby Elemental Wyrm given its exceptional intelligence. However, this little creature chirped and circled around in the same spot. It rubbed its tummy with its front ws and looked at Lin Li with watery eyes.

    <i>Damn it! Does this little thing want to drink milk? Where do I find a female Wyrm for it? </i>thought Lin Li as he turned stared at the baby Elemental Wyrm which appeared to be starving helplessly. However, its reaction was understandable since it was a newborn. Lin Li took out some food from his ring to feed the baby Wyrm, like roasted beef and some snacks.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm chirped with joy and zoomed towards Lin Li upon seeing him take out something. However, it stopped suddenly and fell onto the ground after seeing that Lin Li had taken out food, rolling on the ground while rubbing its stomach.

    ¡°Hey, are you hungry or not? These dishes were cooked by the most famous chefs in the Breezy ins. Even I think they are good, how can you be so picky?¡± Lin Li waved the dishes in front of the Wyrm, trying to entice it with their aroma.

    However, the baby Elemental Wyrm wasn¡¯t interested in the food Lin Li was holding at all. It continued to roll about on the ground and yelped with sorrow as if it was tortured. It rolled next to Lin Li¡¯s feet and gripped onto Lin Li¡¯s pants, looking at Lin Li with sadness.

    ¡°What do you want to eat? Tell me so that I can find for you,¡± said Lin Li, not knowing whether tough or to cry, and put the food back into his ring.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s eyes sparkled, and it shook off the dirt on its body. It then spread its wings and pounced onto Lin Li¡¯s hand, wanting to give Lin Li¡¯s finger a bite.

    ¡°Damn it! Are you trying to kill me?!¡± Lin Li was shocked by the Wyrm¡¯s action. After some tugging and dragging, Lin Li finally saved his fingers from the Wyrm¡¯s mouth.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered with the little Wyrm anymore. He raised his hand to check his fingers. Evidently, the baby Elemental Wyrm didn¡¯t want to eat his flesh, but rather targeted the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s ring on his finger.

    ¡°Hmph, you think that the baby Elemental Wyrm is just some ordinary magical beast?¡± Connoris¡¯ voice sounded in Lin Li¡¯s mind again.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier if you know? If I had not been fast enough, this ring would¡¯ve been ruined! Where can I find another one of these!¡± Obviously Lin Li would be unhappy with Connoris. Even if he hadn¡¯t said anything, Lin Li would have known by now that the little Wyrm wanted to eat magical crystals. However, the problem was that this Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal had irreceable effects even though its level wasn¡¯t very high. Otherwise, Geresco wouldn¡¯t specially put it with a treasure like the Book of Eternity.

    Since Lin Li had started wearing the ring made from the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal, he had gotten many benefits from it. His mental strength had been increasing at every moment. To a mage, this meant that his magic potential was increasing. It should be known that one¡¯s magic potential was inborn, couldn¡¯t be increased, and directly determined his future achievements in magic.

    If Lin Li hadn¡¯t increased his mental strength by using this Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal, how could he fight with that elven Legendary-mage? He would have been harmed himself first when he let out the Lord of Nightmares. If not for his immense mental strength, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have dared to fight with the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar and drink the Heart-piercing Potion.

    ¡°The Elemental Wyrm is like an incarnation of the four magical elements. Although it can use the four magical elements without worrying about exhaustion, it still needs to transform the magic it absorbs into its own in order for it to grow. Like other prehistoric Wyrms, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s developmental process is very longpared to your pathetic human mortality.¡± Connoris was green with envy regarding Lin Li¡¯s luck, and sounded rather sour upon thinking about his own unfortunate current state.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ exnation, Lin Li fell into deep thought. No wonder Xiao Hua absorbed his mana frantically when it was born. It was because his mana was more delicious than the magical elements...

    The baby Elemental Wyrm couldn¡¯t hear Lin Li and Connoris¡¯ conversation, and slowly stood up from the ground. Its eyes were filled with tears, and it sobbed.

    Connoris continued, ¡°Don¡¯t feel reluctant, since you won¡¯t be giving the Wyrm magical crystals for nothing. A baby Wyrm needs at least thousands of years to reach adulthood, but it¡¯s not impossible for it to mature in a few hundred years if you give it enough magical crystals. If you are willing to give it Legendary-level magical crystals, it may reach adulthood in 100-200 years.¡± While he was jealous, he also knew that it was a good thing for him that Lin Li was getting stronger. At least he would be able to get out of this wretched old hammer earlier.

    ¡°Oh? There¡¯s such a good thing?¡± Lin Li was motivated by Connoris¡¯ words. It was easy to see how powerful an Elemental Wyrm would be given the abilities of that projected avatar. Although he hadn¡¯t nned for Xiao Hua to be his helper in battles, he wouldn¡¯t refuse to have a powerful assistant.

    However, it was evidently not a matter of one or two magical crystals in order for the baby Elemental Wyrm to reach adulthood. Even if he were to feed it Legendary magical crystals, he needed arge number of those. The only good thing was that ording to Connoris, the Elemental Wyrm wasn¡¯t picky at all. No matter which level the magical crystal was, the Wyrm would be able to absorb all the mana inside it.

    Although this good thing was simply said, only the Elemental Wyrm would really aplish not wasting any mana in the magical crystals.

    From the prehistoric times till now, it wasn¡¯t the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s specialty to increase power by consuming magical crystals. Many powerful magical beasts would swallow its prey¡¯s magical crystal first after making a kill. Then, they would slowly absorb the mana inside the magical crystal. Though this absorption process was very slow, it was a rtively more efficient way to grow in powerpared to converting magical elements into mana.

    However, this method was extremely wasteful in the eyes of humans. This was because most magical beasts might not even be able to absorb 10% of the magical crystal¡¯s mana, and wastedrge amounts of mana. Even beasts that could use other¡¯s magical crystals to improve their own power were considered rather powerful beasts already.

    Compared to the magical beasts that had no other choice, humans and other intelligent beings could use the magical crystals in other ways that would maximize their gains. For example, mageweaths, Alchemy Arrays, and the embedding of magical crystals into magical equipments were all ways to do just that. Equipment with embedded crystals required the user to use double the mana. For example, a level-1 spell released from an embedded equipment required the user to use the mana equivalent to that of a level-2 spell.

    On the other hand, no matter how high in level mageweaths and the Alchemy Array used were, they would inevitably damage the core mana of the magical crystal even though they sought to maximize the usage of mana from the magical crystals by using them as the energy core.

    Moreover, the higher the level of the mageweaths and Alchemy Array was, the greater the amount of mana wasted would be since moreplex magical patterns would result in a longer route that mana needed to flow through beforeing into effect. Even though generations of masters had researched ways to reduce this wastage, their efforts were futile.

    Other than the wastage of mana, mageweaths and the Alchemy Array were still inanimate objects, and wouldn¡¯t control mana as sophisticatedly as true mages, even though they could help a mage release certain pre-programmed magical effects. For the same magic effect, a mage needed to use at least twice the amount of mana on the mageweath or Alchemy Array.

    Lin Li had ced a Legendary magical crystal for the Tower of Dusk as the energy core for all kinds of mageweaths and the mageweath All-Kill Array. However, even this Legendary magical crystal couldn¡¯t supply mana for using the All-Kill Array more than several times. Once the usage had reached the threshold, this rare and precious Legendary magical crystal would likely bepletely destroyed. This wasn¡¯t because the Legendary magical crystal was so fragile, but rather the additional wastage of mana was inevitable in the process of using it. Even a Guru of Inscription like Lin Li could do nothing about it.

    However, the Elemental Wyrm was different. It innately possessed the four elements¡¯ Rules, and had the ability to use all of the main four magical elements in the entire Anril. Back when the Dragon of Dream still existed, the four magical elements in Anril basically belonged to it¡ªeven those that it had missed out on. Thus, any magical crystals that formed from the four elements were just another form of the elements, like ice was with water.

    Although Xiao Hua wasn¡¯t the Dragon of Dream born in Chaos, and didn¡¯t possess the Dragon of Dream¡¯s ability to monopolize all the four elements, it wouldn¡¯t waste any bit of mana in the magical crystals it consumed given its understanding of the four element¡¯s Rules.

 Chapter 601 - Mysterious Skeleton

    <h4>Chapter 601: Mysterious Skeleton</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Swallowing a level-10 magical crystal would allow one to attain the level-10 power of the magical crystal, while swallowing a Legendary magical crystal would allow one to attain Legendary mana too.

    Lin Li¡¯s adventurous trip was actually very fruitful this time because he had obtained plenty of high-level magical crystals, especially when he got Norfeller to take advantage and steal a bunch of level-17 and level-18 magical crystals. Besides, even without the gains from this adventure, he wouldn¡¯t be making a loss. However, he did have plenty of uses for the magical crystals.

    The crystal of the Dragon of Destruction alone required a massive amount of magical crystals to sustain, and it was no simple task to hatch the Dragon of Destruction. In addition to the frequent infiltration of mental strength, mana was definitely indispensable. It required at least 100 or more Legendary magical crystals.

    Even though the matter of incubating the dragon crystal of the Dragon of Destruction could be dyed, there was one thing that couldn¡¯t be ignored. When Lin Li set off to the Haiga Mountain Range, he¡¯d already sent his men to the Dwarf Kingdom to purchase magical crystal cannons which also required plenty of magical crystals. A level-15 magical crystal would only be enough for a few shots. One Crystal Cannon would be fine, but Lin Li wanted 20-odd cannons. Hence, even a Legendary magical crystal would not be able to supply them with sufficient power. Not to mention, Lin Li also intended to build the Legendary Sky-breaker for the Tower of Dusk, which was a powerful magic weapon that could destroy even a Sky Castle. That would require a huge amount of magical crystals too.

    He couldn¡¯t possibly buy all the magic crystal cannons and not have enough magic crystal reserves. The magic crystal cannons would be nothing but disy pieces if they ran out of ammunition after two salvos. The catastrophe that Geresco predicted was getting closer and closer. Before it arrived, Lin Li had to gather enough magical crystals for the magical crystal cannons in order to ensure that the Tower of Dusk would stay strong during the major cmity.

    Lin Li whipped out a level-10 magical crystal from his ring, and waved it in front of the baby Elemental Wyrm that was acting pitiful. ¡°Here, this is for you.¡±

    However, the baby Elemental Wyrm was not that easily fooled. It was not bothered by the level-10 magical crystal at all. It grabbed its stomach and started rolling on the floor and wailing.

    <i>Damn it, is a level-10 magical crystal not a magical crystal? </i>Lin Li thought as he resignedly whipped out a level-15 magical crystal.

    A chilly breeze brushed past Lin Li¡¯s hand, and he stared at the baby Elemental Wyrm to see that it was already hugging two magical crystals and chewing on them while flying towards the crack with its tail wagging behind it.

    The level-15 magical crystals were destroyed just like that. Although Lin Li had a high worth, he still could not help but feel the pinch. However, there was nothing else he could do, and he could not have the best of both worlds, either. He had even drunk the precious Guru-level Heart-piercing Potion. What were a few magical crystalspared to that?

    Hence, he followed the Wyrm into the narrow crack and deeper down within. He then exited, only to see that they seemed to have left the valley. The crack also seemed to have be wider.

    Lin Li suddenly felt that the scene in front of him had be brighter, but he could not tell how wide the crack had be since it was pitch-dark. There was a massive spear lying calmly on the ground in the dark.

    If the spear wasn¡¯t pointing straight at him, Lin Li would never guess that it was a spear, because it was sorge that it looked just like a fallen pir from an ancient pce or arge architectural structure.

    Everything around him was pitch-ck, and therge spear was the only thing that was radiating light, which allowed Lin Li to see it clearly. However, the light seemed rather faint, and it only lit up a small area around it, just like a torch whose me was about to burn out.

    Lin Li had no idea where therge spear came from, who it was used by, and what was the history behind it. However, he knew that there had to be something unusual about the massive spear because he could vaguely sense therge fluctuation in mana.

    Lin Li did not enter immediately even though he was led to that ce by the Elemental Wyrm. However, the massive magical wave was still dangerous enough for him to keep his guard up and be as conscientious as possible. Lin Li still felt a little fearful at the thought of the menacing battle that he had had with the Elemental Wyrm. The magical storm which seemed endless was an unforgettable nightmare for anyone who had experienced it.

    <i>Is there only just one spear in here?</i> Lin Li wondered with uncertainty. He would be in deep trouble if he were to meet another Elemental Wyrm. He grabbed the Helios¡¯ Scepter and chanted gently to release a magical Detection Spell.

    Sometimes, it would be difficult to find out the truth based on his own instincts. Hence, Lin Li chose to use the Detection Spell. Well, at least he had to check the level of the massive magical wave and where it came from. Besides, the Detection Spell was much subtler and less noticeable.

    Soon, Lin Li received the information given by the magical Detection Spell, and while he was shocked, he was also thankful for the fact that he was careful and conscientious because the mana there was extremely saturated. It was just as powerful as the mana of the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar.

    Besides, there seemed to be another magical source in the dark that was not too far away from them, even though most of the mana came from the giant spear on the ground.

    What exactly was hidden in the dark? Lin Li began to grow wary, and he slowly extended his Life Detector towards the magic source in the dark. Before getting a clear idea of the situation, he wouldn¡¯t dare to light up the ce with magic. If he were to awaken a formidable existence in there, he might just face a life-and-death battle.

    However, the information that he got from the Life Detector made him feel slightly relieved. There seemed to be no signs of life, let alone an invincible existence. There weren¡¯t any bugs at all, and it was just a dead zone.

    A Sr Sphere slowly rose up into the air. Its illumination range also gradually expanded, thus lighting up the cave. Lin Li finally realized how spacious it was; it seemed to be a cave that had its middle emptied out. However, the thing hidden in the darkness was what gave Lin Li a great shock.

    The Illuminating Spell got rid of all of the dark in the cave, and the entity that was obscured in the dark finally revealed itself. Lin Li had never expected it to be a huge magical beast skeleton.

    ¡°Damn it, what kind of thing can grow to such a huge size?¡± Lin Li stared at the huge magical beast skeleton, but he could not figure out what it was.

    In Anril, the first thing that came to mind at the mention of a huge magical beast would be the Wyrms, which many legends revolved around. Apart from the anomaly, the Elemental Wyrm, all other dragons were huge and terrifying.

    However, this massive skeleton in front of Lin Li was beyond recognizable, yet Lin Li was almost certain that it belonged to a Wyrm. There was also the full corpse of the Dragon of Destruction in the Ring of Endless Storm belonging to Lin Li. Amongst the summoned creatures, the skeleton of the Crimson Dragon was also all dried up. Hence, Lin Li is no stranger to Wyrm skeletons.

    The most obvious feature of Wyrm skeletons was that their horns would not fall off even after its death, and the bones of their wings would also remain intact after dposition. However, the skeleton in front of him did not show such features. Besides, there would also be a tinge of the Menace of the Dragon in the corpses of the Wyrms after their deaths. Although there was an auraing from the skeleton, Lin Li knew that it was not the Menace of the Dragon.

    In that case, what kind of a magical beast did the skeleton belong to? Lin Li waved the scepter in his hand slightly, after which a ray of light was shone into the middle of the skeleton. He could identify the age of the item by using the Time Travel Spell. That was a kind of magic that was necessary for appraisers. As a Legendary-mage, Lin Li would obviously face no problem.

    Lin Li used the Time Travel spell on the huge skeleton and the giant spear. Soon, he got the approximate age of both items, and discovered that it was very likely that they existed long before the Dark Age.

    During the prehistoric times, magical beasts dominated the maind of Anril, and even the Wyrms were not thergest during that era. In the prehistoric times, the Elemental Wyrm mastered the four elements which other magical beasts could not use for magic. Hence, physical power was particrly important to the magical beasts. Only by having a strong body could they have had a ce in the chaotic word of magical beasts.

    Could it be the skeleton of a prehistoric magical beast? Lin Li stroked his chin and tried to recall his memories of the prehistoric magical beasts, after which hepared their characteristics with therge skeleton in front of him. Although Lin Li had never seen prehistoric magical beasts or their skeletons before, there were plenty of records and books that included a detailed description of the physique of prehistoric magical beasts. Most of their skeletal features were rted to their appearance.

    For example, during the prehistoric times, there were giant bird-like magical beasts which were just asrge as Wyrms. Their beaks, ws, and wings were the most obvious characteristics. Even a person who did not specialize in study of skeletons could tell that the skeleton did not belong to a random bird. Actually, the reason behind it was the same as the exnation for the Wyrm skeleton, which was very obvious even though it was not spread out.

 Chapter 602 - Titans

    <h4>Chapter 602: Titans</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    It was truly giving Lin Li a headache. He¡¯d initially already had a limited understanding of the magical beasts, yet none of the physiques of the magical beasts in his memory could match that of the skeleton in front of him. Connoris had also stopped moving. If he knew about it, he definitely wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to show off.

    Besides, there was something strange about the skeleton. Even the skeletons of the mighty magical beasts would have dposed by now. However, the skeletons in front of him not only showed no trace of decay, but gave off a gilded appearance under the reflected light.

    Although Lin Li was unsure what the actual reason for that phenomenon was, he could be certain that it had definitely been tampered with by a powerful force that was concentrated in the skeleton. The unknown existence was also the reason it could¡¯ve been preserved until now. At the same time, it also meant that the owner of the skeleton must have been powerful.

    Since he could not think of a reason, Lin Li could only temporarily put away his doubts. He raised his hand and released a Warlock¡¯s Eyes, which allowed him to scrutinize every corner of the cave. After scanning the cave, he discovered that there seemed to be nothing too special about the cave apart from the giant spear and the skeleton.

    All of a sudden, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes stopped, and a flicker of doubt shed in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. After the careful observation of the cave, Lin Li realized that he began to find the bones vaguely familiar. It waspletely impossible, for he felt that he definitely wouldn¡¯t find the skeleton of a magical beast familiar. Besides, it was obviously not the skeleton of an ancient Wyrm.

    The skeleton was way too huge, and Lin Li seemed to be unable to picture the entire skeleton regardless of which angle he chose to perceive it from. Hence, under the control of Lin Li, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes flew up to the top of the cave and gazed down at the scene below.

    However, when the whole image of the skeleton was ryed to Lin Li¡¯s mind through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li got a great shock. The massive skeleton seemed to resemble a human skeleton when looked at through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Yes, it was obviously a human skeleton whose hollow eyes seemed to be two caves, while the neatly arranged ribs seemed to be curved pirs. Although everything was humongous beyond imagination, it was definitely the skeleton of a human, though erged thousands of times. It did seem to be a Skeletal Warrior.

    Lin Li was certain that he had recognized it correctly. It would really be ridiculous if he couldn¡¯t even recognize the human skeletal structure. After looking at the giant spear, Lin Li seemed to have found an answer for his doubts.

    It was the weapon of a giant!

    What kind of giants would have such a huge body and use such a huge weapon? Even thergest giants of Anril would seem like dwarvespared to this colossal skeleton. Not to mention, this giant could easily crush Anril¡¯s giants to death without the use of the spear.

    The answer was self-evident in rtion to the time identified by the Time Travel Spell. During the prehistoric times tens of thousands of years ago, only the Titans, whichpeted with the ancient Wyrms for Anril, had such a huge size. The huge spear was likely to be a legendary weapon used by the Titans, known as the Titan Dragon Spear.

    Whether it was the spectacr skeleton or the giant spear that was lying quietly on the ground, the shock of it all was indescribable. However, what really made Lin Li agitated was the significance of the two items. Just like ancient Wyrms, Titans were born out of chaos at the beginning of the world, and were one of the most powerful races.

    The High Elves had always been arrogant, and enjoyedparing themselves to gods. They considered themselves the best of all races, and thanks to their magical gics, they had had powerful magical powers since birth. The High Elves who carried royal blood would definitely be in the Legendary-realm.

    The fact that the efforts put in by most humans to enter the Legendary-realm often turned out to be futile simply showed that the High Elves undeniably had a reason to be prideful and arrogant.

    However, the arrogant High Elves had neverpared themselves to the Titans, because their superior gens were nothingpared to them. Legendary power was nothing to the Titans, who had possessed Legendary-realm power ever since birth, not to mention most of them advanced to the Sanctuary-realm during adulthood.

    The strength of the Sanctuary level could no longer be simply described as powerful, as it was already close to the godly level. Even the High Elves who had royal blood could not achieve such a feat. High Elves who had reached the Sanctuary-realm were few and far between.

    The Titan Dragon Spear, which had only existed in legends, was not only the most powerful weapon of the Titans, but also an important symbol of their reaching adulthood. The Titan Dragon Spear was not forged from metal or even fused by magic. Instead of calling it a powerful weapon, one might as well call it an extension of the Titans¡¯ lives.

    Every Titan had ability to manipte lightning. Ever since birth, they had to continuously umte the most overwhelming Thunder Force in the world, and concentrate it in the invincible Titan Dragon Spear.

    The power of Thunderbolt at that time was not derived from the elements of the wind, but the origin force that disrupted the chaotic world. Even though they were born with Legendary power, the Titans still experienced plenty of dangers that put their lives at risk when collecting the power of Thunderbolt. During the process, no adult Titan could provide assistance, guidance, or protection.

    It was an Origin power that could break through chaos, and even a small portion of it would be overbearing enough to destroy a Legendary-realm powerhouse instantly. The Thunder Valiant Beast which was said to enjoy soaking in Thunderbolt would immediately be totally destroyed if it were encounter a tiny morsel of such a power.

    Putting the formidable magical beasts of the prehistoric times aside, even the powerful Wyrms which were born in chaos together with the Titans were far fromparable to the Thunderbolt, which they dared not touch.

    However, when collecting the power of Thunderbolt, a Titan first had to introduce the most overbearing power in this world into his own body to refine and strengthen his flesh and bones. Throughout this process, the pain that the Titan needed to endure was far more terrifying than that of Lin Li¡¯s Heart-piercing Potion. They needed a great willpower to fuse their consciousness with Thunderbolt.

    Even with the power of Titans, not everyone could ovee this level, and every subsequent collection of Thunderbolt¡¯s power would be tougher and more dangerous than the one preceding it.

    The violent power of Thunderbolt had an unrestrained character in the first ce, and anyone who wanted to suppress it had to suffer the relentless recoil. The fact that Titans kept the power of Thunderbolt in their blood did not mean that it¡¯dpletely surrendered. Whenever a new power was introduced, it would trigger a recoil from all of the previously umted power. In other words, every umtion was a life-endangering test of willpower and ability for Titans. The difficulty of the test would also increase exponentially each time.

    As the Titans grew, the power of Thunderbolt would gradually lose its effect on the Titans¡¯ body, while the previously umted Thunderbolt in their blood would be gradually subdued by Titan¡¯s mighty willpower and be part of their body.

    During theiring-of-age rituals, the Titans would use the power of Thunderbolt between the heavens and earth to induce all of the power that had been fused with their own willpower and separate Thunderbolt from their bodies again to form their very own Titan Dragon Spear. That would be the most thrilling and daunting moment for the Titans. Only by truly oveing this tough obstacle would they be considered to be genuinely mature. They would then be an adult Titan with Sanctuary-level strength.

    There was a reason for the strength of every powerful existence. It was through such cruel and merciless tests that almost every adult Titan would develop Sanctuary-level strength. Hence, the Titan Dragon Spear formed by the power of Thunderbolt was a symbol of Titans reaching adulthood and their most powerful weapon.

    Staring at the giant skeleton and spear in front of him, Lin Li subconsciously swallowed his spit. At his current level, ordinary treasures were no longer significant to him, and he would barely be tempted or enticed by advanced magical equipment, rare magical gemstones, and Legendary magical crystals.

    However, what was now right in front of him was the remains of a Titan and what seemed to be a Titan Dragon Spear. Even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm would jump at the chance to grab them and dere ownership over the items, let alone Lin Li.

    As a Guru of several major auxiliary professions, Lin Li had a more thorough understanding of the value of those two items aspared to the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. The figures of the Sanctuary-realm would probably pay the most attention to the legendary Titan Dragon Spear, but in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, the giant skeleton of the Titan was far more enticing¡ªthough he had already kept the remains of the Dragon of Destruction in his Ring of Endless Storm.

 Chapter 603 - Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 603: Spirit</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although the skeleton of a Titan was not as precious as the remains of the Dragon of Destruction which was one of the five Dragon Aspects, Lin Li could put the Titan skeleton to great use with his current abilities.

    The Dragon of Destruction mastered the Laws of Darkness and Laws of Destruction, and there were also plenty of Dark Force and Destruction Force in its bones. Given Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, it would be almost impossible to fully utilize it without any wastage. He could probably only achieve such a feat when he became a Divine Smith. That was the reason that he had not touched the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction after such a long time.

    However, the skeletons of Titans werepletely different. Since Lin Li was a Smithing Guru, he could use them to forge weapons, create strong magic arrays, or build indestructible castles. He could fully utilize it without any wastage.

    However, after confirming that it was the skeleton of a Titan, the first thing that popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind was that the ck Front Fortress was finally going to bepleted.

    Lin Li and the necromancer Sendros had once spent some time together in the ckstone Mountains. After seeing that Lin Li had brought Death Knights out from the Scar of Death, he decided to give Lin Li the design sketch of ck Front Fortress that he had been keeping for a long time.

    ck Front Fortress was a type of barracks that was specially designed for Death Knights. It could transform mana into Death Aura, and when a Death Knight was ced in the fortress, it could not only continuously strengthen its physical strength, it could also speed up the digestion of the soul fire. Actually, this advantage applied to other Undead creatures too.

    After Lin Li became a Legendary-mage, the battles that he faced were on a whole new level, and the Death Knights did not have the right to join in at all. Be it the Alchemy Colossus which was almost legendary, or the Crimson Dragon from the underground pce, neither of them was something a Death Knight could match, what more the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar.

    The army of Death Knights could destroy everything without saving anything for Lin Li. Although Lin Li was no saint, he could not bring himself to do something so ruthless like the Retribution Knight Rodhart. It was impossible for him to use the entire spirit power of the Breezy ins to enhance his strength. In fact, he had almost forgotten about the army of Death Knights which he had arranged to be situated in the mountains near the Tower of Dusk where they could roam around.

    Actually, Lin Li had been keeping the design sketch of the ck Front Fortress for some time now, and he had never once taken action, because it was way too difficult to find the suitable materials. If the Titan skeleton was used to build the ck Front Fortress, the benefits would definitely outweigh the cost of the materials mentioned in the design sketches.

    The Titans had the power to control Thunderbolt, and their bodies had also been tempered by Thunderbolt. The power of Thunderbolt within their bones was not that of the evolved Thunderbolt. Instead, it was the power of Thunderbolt in its purest form that existed when the world began. A ck Front Fortress built using the Titan skeleton would not only provide an immense amount of power of death, but also allow the Death Knight to possess the power of Thunderbolt.

    Undead creatures were the most afraid of Holy Light¡ªit was their Achilles¡¯ heel. However, if the Undead creatures could possess the power of Thunderbolt, it would give them greater resistance to Holy Light. Soul fire that had been cleansed by Thunderbolt would be purer and much more powerful. Perhaps the Death Knights might just break through their natural limits and grow to be true Retribution Knights.

    Lin Li thought, <i>Rodhart is nothing. I¡¯ll bring out 16 Retribution Knights in one go. By then, I shall see what you can do. </i>

    Lin Li burst intoughter at the thought of 16 Retribution Knights assembling together. He reckoned that even a Legendary figure like Rodhart would not be able to stand strong against the Retribution Knights.

    Lin Li gradually began toe up with a n and ideas how to put the Titan¡¯s skeleton to good use. However, he did not quite know what to do about the Titan Dragon Spear.

    The purest power of Thunderbolt that was concentrated in the Titan Dragon Spear was the power that first broke the world of chaos. It was so strong that even an ancient Wyrm wouldn¡¯t be able to resist it. Even the Helios¡¯ Scepter that Lin Li was wielding couldn¡¯t bepared with such a powerful weapon.

    However, the problem was that the Titan Dragon Spear was a proprietary weapon of the Titans, and every Titan Dragon Spear could only be used by its rightful owner. Hence, outsiders obviously couldn¡¯t use them, either. Due to the fact that the Titan Dragon Spear was an extension of a Titan¡¯s life, it contained the power of the Thunderbolt that had been umted after every near-death experience.

    After such a process, the Dragon Gun and the Titan had be connected by blood. When one was damaged, the other would be affected as well. Once the Titan died, his Titan Dragon Spear would also lose its life. Even if it had been preserved, it was nothing more than just a lifeless shell which no longer possessed the terrifying power it had had during the Prehistoric Age.

    However, Lin Li was not one who dwelt on issues, and it didn¡¯t matter even if he couldn¡¯t use the Titan Dragon Spear now. Although the Titan Dragon Spear had lost its life, the sheer Thunderbolt power of the Titan Dragon Spear did not disappear, and was merely dormant.

    Lin Li knew that what was detected by the Mana Detector just now was the formidable mana that came from the Titan Dragon Spear. So long as Lin Li found a suitable method, he would be able to awaken and activate the infinite power contained in it. Thunderbolt, which was one of the pieces of the debris of the stars, was undoubtedly the best choice for awakening that power.

    Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief, and suppressed all of his excitement. It was not the time to think about those matters yet. Most importantly, he had to think about how to bring the Titan Dragon Spear and Titan skeleton away.

    There was infinite space in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm, and he could even store the remains of the Dragon of Destruction in it. Although the Titan skeleton was huge, it wouldn¡¯t cause a space constraint. However, Lin Li had another issue to consider before cing the two items in the Ring of Endless Storm, and that was the legendary Titan¡¯s Spirit.

    In the world that Lin Li had lived in before he teleported, there had always been a great debate about the existence of spirits. Of course, the majority felt that there were no souls in humans and no afterlife. However, in the magical world of Anril, everyone acknowledged the existence of spirits.

    It was said that since the Dark Age, High Elves, humans, other intelligent races, and even magical beasts which had no wisdom would be spirits after death. However, there was no conclusion about what form spirits would take; hence, there were varying opinions.

    The necromancer Sendros was the only one who could be considered to be experienced and learned in spirits. After all, necromancers oftenmunicated with spirits.

    Lin Li and Sendros had once discussed Necromagic, and the topic of spirits was naturally unavoidable. Sendros had been asking Lin Li regarding some knowledge on pharmacy; hence, he obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse to answer Lin Li¡¯s questions. However, even as a Master Necromancer, Sendros could not give Lin Li an exact answer, and had merely told him some of his conjectures.

    In Anril, some of the more authoritative statements about the form of the spirits suggested that the soul might fall into eternal sleep orpletely vanish after death. It might even be resentful ghouls. Of course, there was also a possibility of being swallowed by Undead creatures that used the Spiritual Force to enhance their own power.

    However, Sendros also mentioned that before the Dark Age, it was said that ancient Wyrms and Titans would not return to their spiritual states after death. After the death of a Titan, their strong willpower that had been fused with Thunderbolt would be concentrated into a spirit and stored in the Pantheon. On the other hand, after an ancient Wyrm died, its willpower and mental strength would both be concentrated in the Dragon¡¯s Spirit and ced in the Dragons¡¯ Graveyard in endless time and space.

    However, Sendros had no idea where the Pantheon and the Dragons¡¯ Graveyard were and what they looked like. In fact, even the three Sanctuary figures of the Supreme Council probably wouldn¡¯t know the answer to this question. In short, no matter where the Spirit or Dragon¡¯s Spirit went in the end, they definitely wouldn¡¯t vanish.

    In fact, this statement was not surprising. Ancient Wyrms and Titans were born out of chaos, and were powerful races that were born when the world began. During the growth of the Titans, they had to continue to strengthen their bodies and willpower with the power of the Thunderbolt. Their willpower was probably already extremely terrifying.

    Lin Li was worried about encountering the Titan Spirit here. Although it was said that the Titan Spirit would return to Pantheon, this was definitely an exceptional case because the Titan Dragon Spear contained both the power of Thunderbolt and the Titan¡¯s massive willpower. When the Titan died, he would be a spirit, and the Titan Dragon Spear would re-integrate into the spirit and protect its partner in another form after entering Pantheon.

    Although the Titan Dragon Spear in front of him had lost its life, it still showed no sign of dissipating. That could only mean one thing¡ªthe Titan was extremely out of luck, for its spirit did not even get a chance to enter the Pantheon after death. Hence, the Titan Dragon Spear naturally had no chance to be incorporated into the spirit, either.

    If there was really a Titan Spirit in it... Well, no one would be generous enough to let someone else covet his skeleton and weapon. An adult Titan basically had power above level-25, thus making them possess Sanctuary-level power.

 Chapter 604 - The Source of Magic

    <h4>Chapter 604: The Source of Magic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although the Titans¡¯ Spirits have lost their strong physical bodies and the Titan Dragon Spear that contained the power of Thunderbolt, their strong willpower that had been fused with Thunderbolt¡¯s power ever since they were born allowed their spirits to be formidable even by the standards of Undead creatures.

    Lin Li was just a minor Legendary-mage. Although he was an outstanding figure among human beings, he was just as insignificant as an ant in front of a Titan Spirit that was at least level-25. Even if there were 10 of him, he might not be able to stand against the Titan¡¯s Spirit with the help of the Malfa Family and the four Legendary powerhouses of Dark de.

    However, despite being faced with the possibility of facing a mighty opponent, Lin Li did not leave in dejection. Instead, he began to take out some precious magic items from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    If it had been a living Titan, Lin Li would have run away and hidden far, far away without hesitation. However, no matter how powerful the Titan Spirit was, it was already considered an Undead creature which Lin Li felt that he could deal with. Of course, he had to hope that the Titan Spirit was really an Undead creature.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, already had the two magic crystals, and was now hovering with translucent wings that allowed it to remain suspended in midair while its head swayed back and forth. It watched Lin Li run about in the cave. Wyrms and Titans were natural enemies, and their rtionship had been strained since the birth of their races. Although Xiao Hua was just born, the memory that it had gained from the projected avatar made it well aware how powerful the Titan was.

    If it were the Dragon of Dream, Xiao Hua obviously wouldn¡¯t be intimidated by an ordinary Titan, but the Titan was still too powerful for it now. It stayed at the entrance of the cave without touching anything there while staring at Lin Li curiously in a bid to see how the human mage was going to deal with the Titan that was tens of thousands of timesrger than it.

    The cave was extremely spacious, and Lin Li seemed rather tinypared to the Titan Dragon Spear and the Titan¡¯s skeleton.

    In a short while, arge ring appeared on the ground, encircling the Titan¡¯s skeleton and the Titan Dragon Spear. Although it was just a simple ring, Lin Li¡¯s heart was bleeding when he was drawing it. He truly felt the pinch because the materials used did note cheap, and were formted using various precious magical materials. Every handful of them came at a sky-high price. It was all just the beginning.

    Such a simple drawing of a circle was obviously not enough to deal with the Titan Spirit. Lin Li had never once paused in his actions, and he continuously used the huge ring as a basis to drawplex patterns. He asionally ced some precious magical materials in specific positions too.

    Lin Li continuously drew variousplicated patterns, such as crisscrossing lines, curvy waves, and small symbols with significant meanings. Therge circle was continuously enhanced, and the faint magic light emitted by the colorful magical materials gradually made it seem like a piece of art.

    However, it was unlike a freestyle art piece, because Lin Li had to ensure the uracy of each line, and the structure of each symbol could not be the slightest bit wrong. Well, it was not a work of art, but a huge alchemy circle. Any mistake would lead to the failure of the alchemy circle, and any deviation could make the alchemy circle fail to achieve the desired effect.

    Drawing such a huge alchemy circle was a great test for all alchemists, and even a veteran alchemist wouldn¡¯t dare to guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t make a mistake during the process. It was perhaps not the mostplicated alchemy matrix, but its sheer size would make its formtion difficult beyond imagination.

    If Lin Li wanted to fight the powerful Titan Spirit, it would not be enough to just rely on his own strength. Even if he went through the painful experience of ingesting the Heart-piercing Potion again, he would still face death when he encountered the level-25 Titan Spirit. However, Lin Li was not just a mage or a pharmacist. Hence, he thought of the Alchemy Array.

    The power of wisdom was infinite. In terms of individual power, humans and the High Elves of the Dark Age would never be able topare to the strong and overbearing magical beasts. Yet, the magical beasts were the ones that got driven out of Anril, and those who remained to rule the world were the rtively weaker High Elves. That was the power of wisdom.

    When the wise were unable to break through their own limitations, they earned to use external forces such as various magical equipment, potions, mageweaths, Alchemy Arrays, and many others, with the smallest being magical rings and the biggest being Sky Castles. That gave the power of the intelligent races unlimited growth potential.

    Lin Li would never be able to fight the Titans with his own individual abilities. However, he did notck help from external factors.

    Step by step, Lin Li carefullypleted the huge alchemy circle. The plethora of magical materials exuded a mild yet vibrant magical glow, which gradually gave the entire cave a beautiful silhouette. Therge Alchemy Array was a great test for Lin Li as well. It was huge not because it was simply erged, and there were actually various problems that had to be addressed as well. For example, some magic symbols couldn¡¯t withstand greater power output, so they needed to be reced with smaller Alchemy Arrays. There were also some magical that couldn¡¯t withstand the flow of too much power, and certain methods had to be employed in order to enhance them. Lin Li had to use his own knowledge to solve the issues one by one.

    After a long time, Lin Li looked down and carefully scrutinized his own masterpiece whilst suspended in mid-air. The huge Alchemy Array had already beenpleted, and the colorful magical glow was shining brightly to form beautiful patterns. The numerous magic symbols intertwined together in aplicated manner. It was absolutely perfect, whether it was perceived as an Alchemy Array or an art piece.

    However, what Lin Li wanted was not a work of art, but an alchemy circle that could help him defend himself against the mighty Titan Spirit. After thinking for a while, Lin Li returned to the Alchemy Array and retrieved the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, which he then used to rece the magical items in the Alchemy Array.

    The debris of the stars were genuine artifacts that possessed incredible power. Unfortunately, Lin Li¡¯s current abilities did not allow him to fully exert their power. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had to rely on the alchemy, and could have just used the debris of the stars to fight the Titan Spirit.

    At this point, the alchemy circle could be consideredplete, but Lin Li did not stop frowning at all, because there was still a crucial problem that had not been resolved. If the problem was not eliminated, everything that Lin Li had done and the huge Alchemy Array which required plenty of precious materials would very likely go to waste.

    The problem was actually very simple, but solving it was the difficult part. The issue was the mana source for the Alchemy Array.

    This huge alchemy circle was already the strongest one known to Lin Li. At the same time, its demand for mana was naturally notparable to general alchemy circles¡¯. In fact, even a Legendary magical crystal would bepletely drained in the blink of an eye when used as a mana source.

    Compared to ordinary magical crystals, the Legendary magical crystals not only contained more mana, they also could automatically replenish the depleted mana. However, if the rate of replenishment couldn¡¯t keep up with the speed of consumption, the mana would be depleted, and the Legendary magical crystal would be rendered useless.

    Even though Lin Li was wealthy, he couldn¡¯t waste a Legendary magical crystal like that. It was practically a crime. Moreover, the alchemy circle needed more than just a Legendary magical crystal. After all, he had to deal with a Titan Spirit that was likely to be level-25 or above. It would be absurd to think that a Legendary magical crystal was enough.

    Without a source of mana, the alchemy circle would be nothing but a bunch of meaningless symbols, no matter how advanced they might be. What else could act as the mana source apart from Legendary magical crystals?

    Lin Li could not bear to use his assets as a mana source, but the ones that he was willing to use were not up to standard. After giving it some thought, he suddenly noticed Xiao Hua, the baby Elemental Wyrm at the entrance.

    Although Xiao Hua had just been born, and was not as powerful as the adult Elemental Wyrms, its talent was still unaffected. With the mastery of the Laws of the four elements, it could freely cast magic without worrying about the exhaustion of mana. How about making it the mana source for the alchemy circle?

    Lin Li felt that the method should be feasible. The Elemental Wyrm just like a converter that could convert magic elements into the mana required by the alchemy. At the same time, the speed and amount of this conversion were almost unlimited. That way, there would be a source of mana for the alchemy circle without having to sacrifice Legendary magic crystals. He could also guarantee that the effects would be best. What was not to love?

    However, there was another problem he had to face. How was he supposed to make Xiao Hua obediently be the source of mana? Lin Li walked towards the Elemental Wyrm, and spoke to it while gesturing with his hands to make Xiao Hua follow him to the mana fountain. However, Xiao Hua quit when Lin Li was about to move it to position.

    Xiao Hua seemed to have forgotten that it had just swallowed two magical crystals. It rubbed its little belly with a front limb, and put on a pitiful look which made it seem as if it had been starving for years. Then, it stretched out a paw towards Lin Li. Obviously, it was asking for a magical crystal again, and this time, it could not be satiated with just one or two magical crystals. Instead, it clearly wanted four magical crystals all at once as four of its fingers were extended...

 Chapter 605 - Requiem Song

    <h4>Chapter 605: Requiem Song</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li thought that it would be better to take out four magic crystals than to let a Legendary magic crystal go to waste. As long as Xiao Hua obediently acted as the source of magic in order for the Alchemy Array to exert the mostplete effects, the Titan Dragon Spear and the Titan¡¯s skeleton could be considered his. Compared to the four magical crystals, it was a much better gain.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to agree, Xiao Hua suddenly retracted his front paw. It then raised its ws in front of Lin Li and scrutinized them before ncing at Lin Li again. It theny down on the ground, and raised all its limbs while rolling about.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Lin Li cussed, and thought to himself, <i>Does this little thing find its ws to be too small to grasp magical crystals? By raising four limbs, it probably wants 16 magical crystals. </i>

    ¡°Tickle me!¡± the baby Elemental Wyrm eximed gleefully.

    Lin Li had been benefiting from others ever since he arrived in Anril. However, it was his turn to benefit someone else this time. In fact, if Lin Li could pile all the magical crystals in his collection to nurture a Dragon of Dream, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be stingy about giving out his crystals. After all, the Dragon of Dream was extremely powerful.

    However, the issue was that Lin Li would never be able to let Xiao Hua mature into an adult even if he were to give all of his magical crystals to it. Besides, the role of a baby Elemental Wyrm would be too restricted and limited in the impending disaster.

    Lin Li squatted down and poked the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s belly.

    ¡°Tickle?¡± the Elemental Wyrm muttered in shock.

    Lin Li took out a light blue magical crystal from his ring. It was a level-19 magical crystal that he had obtained by killing the Thunder Valiant Beast. He waved the magical crystal at Xiao Hua, after which he pointed at the magical crystal and extended a finger to Xiao Hua. He meant that the level-19 magical crystal would be the reward.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm licked its mouth and appeared to be salivating, but it did not agree immediately. Instead, it stood up and extended its ws hinting that it wanted eight of the level-19 magical crystals.

    Lin Li had encountered all sorts of sly and hical merchants before. Although he might not be able to really deal with the old and sly foxes, he was certain that he could deal with a baby Elemental Wyrm. He immediately put the magical crystal back inside his ring, after which he picked Xiao Hua up and cast it towards the side, trying to say, ¡°I can¡¯t afford to use you. I¡¯ll leave you alone, alright?¡±

    The Elemental Wyrm had no idea that Lin Li would not be able toe up with a more suitable source of magic power for the huge Alchemy Array apart from itself. Thinking that Lin Li really didn¡¯t want to use it anymore, it frantically flew to Lin Li and nodded eagerly while calling him and staring at him with puppy eyes and a pitiful look.

    Lin Li was amused. Although it had inherited some of the memories from the projected avatar, it was still way too ipetent at pulling tricks and ying mind games. Instead of answering immediately, Lin Li pulled a long face and pushed Xiao Hua towards the side firmly.

    Xiao Hua was just a newly born Elemental Wyrm which obviously had no idea how sinister and evil the world could be. If it were that conscious, the Dragon of Dream, along with the ancient Wyrms, would have long dictated the world of Anril. What could possibly happen when a thick-skinned person met an even more thick-skinned one? Xiao Hua decided to cling tightly onto Lin Li¡¯s finger, refusing to let go.

    Lin Li suppressed hisughter, and pointed at the position that he was in just now. Full of anger and indignant feelings, Xiao Hua quietly returned to its initial position. However, Lin Li obviously didn¡¯t want to push Xiao Hua over the edge; hence, he grabbed a level-10 magical crystal and cast it at Xiao Hua. He then grabbed another level-19 magical crystal and level-17 magical crystal. Pointing at them, he said, ¡°Work properly. Once you make me satisfied, these two magical crystals will be yours.¡±

    Although Xiao Hua had no idea what Lin Li was saying, it could understand his gestures. Hence, it immediately stuffed the magical crystal into its mouth and nodded at Lin Li.

    He finally solved the issue of finding a magic source of the huge Alchemy Array. The never-ending magic of the Elemental Wyrm was enough for this huge Alchemy Array to exert its power to the maximum. Lin Li checked the Alchemy Array again, and turned to look at Xiao Hua who was moving together with him. It seemed he would have to research and develop a stronger Alchemy Array or mageweath to deal with it from now on.

    After everything was prepared, Lin Liunched the Alchemy Array, and the magical materials with different colors gradually became brighter under the infusion of massive magic. Lin Li walked to the Titan Dragon Spear, suppressed his excitement, and slowly extended his hand.

    Just like Lin Li had expected, there was an abrupt and massive change in the cave when Lin Li touched the giant Titan Dragon Spear.

    An immense power as vast as the boundless sea suddenly descended on the cave, making Lin Li feel rather small. The force was intense and hot,pletely devoid of the gloominess and coldness that should be present in ghouls. The initially vast mountain seemed so narrow and oppressive because of the force.

    ¡°Lowly elves, you shall pay for everything that you have done! All of the other elves will die together with you, and the fury of the Pantheon will turn everything into ash!¡±

    The force emerged with a loud and furious roar, which caused the entire valley to slip into tremors. It was as if it was going to copse and crumble anytime.

    Lin Li knew that he had guessed correctly. There was indeed a Titan Spirit which had yet to enter the Pantheon existing in the cave together with the Titan Dragon Spear and the Titan skeleton.

    A shadow suddenly appeared in the initially empty and hollow cave, and the huge roar resounded like thunder. At that moment, Lin Li was overwhelmed with an unprecedented pressure which was far greater than the one Vidas, a level-22 mage, had imposed on him. It was evenparable to the real Dragon of Destruction from the Endless World.

    In the face of this pressure, Lin Li felt like he was extremely tiny and insignificant, with a tinge of despair. What was there to resist? Could he even resist it? Legendary-mages were nothing but a joke whenpared to this force.

    When the feeling of despair spread quickly through his mind like wildfire, Lin Li no longer tried to resist, and there was a sudden outburst of tenacity and mental strength. Lin Li¡¯s eyes began to turn a little clearer, and he seemed to have be another person.

    He had no choice but to admit that Geresco really did deserve the title of the God of Mages; the mental strength training method written in the Book of Eternity really benefited Lin Li. Although Lin Li had a ir for magic, his mental strength was far beyond that of ordinary humans. However, if he had not practiced using the training method written in the Book of Eternity, he would have really given up by now.

    The Titan Spirit was still present, but Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was extremely strong. Despite being shaken by the massive storm, he never once gave in. At this moment, he had already understood that the massive pressure that made one feel like they were on the verge of despair was a powerful mental attack.

    Lin Li stood still. He clenched his jaw and turned pale, but he still exhibited tenacity. Blood began to flow slowly out of the corners of his eyes and mouth, but his strong grit and willpower were still shown in his eyes. Why were Titans still so strong after losing their bodies and weapons? It was because of their unyielding will that had been developed after they experienced the Thunderbolt.

    <i>So what if it¡¯s a Titan Spirit? So what if it¡¯s Level-25? It¡¯s just an unlucky creature that didn¡¯t even manage to get to Pantheon,</i> Lin Li thought. <i>The Titan Dragon Spear is right here. You would have long killed me if you could use it. Go ahead and use it! A member of the heavenly race that was born in chaos? Didn¡¯t you end up in this horrendous ce too!?</i>

    Lin Li continuously tried to strengthen his willpower to retaliate against the Titan Spirit.

    The Titan Spirit roared angrily, and the whole mountain trembled. It could not help but be angry at the fact that the tiny and insignificant Lin Li actually could persevere under his strong mental pressure. It was the greatest insult to the mighty Titans.

    Lin Li shuddered slightly, but it was not because of fear, but the result of the tightening of his muscles in his entire body. Although his mental strength was weak under the overwhelming mental pressure, he still remained determined, without wavering at all.

    <i>I shall persist and show you what I¡¯m made of!</i> Lin Li had pinned all of his hopes on the massive Alchemy Array that he had set up previously. With the huge gap in power, a strong willpower alone was not enough. That dash of hope was the best drive and motivation for him to press on.

    Time passed second after second, and Lin Li felt like his mental strength had already been pushed to its maximum. The Level-25 Titan Spirit indeed could not be resisted simply with unwavering willpower.

    However, at this moment, a sacred song and bell full of Holy Aura sounded in the middle of the mountain valley all of a sudden. It became increasingly louder, seemingly not affected by the power of the Titan Spirit. The Titan Spirit roared again, his voice filled with anger and reluctance, though he was soon overshadowed by the sacred song which drowned his roar out. The violent power of the Titan Spirit seemed like snow that was gradually melting away in the sun.

    ¡°You thought you were immortal, but you still died with your dynasty!¡±

    After a final roar, the Titan Spirit disappeared.

    At this moment, the sacred song and bell began to turn softer after the climax, while the Alchemy Array gradually turned dim.

    Lin Li finally breathed a long sigh of relief, stretched out a trembling hand, and wiped the blood off of his face while his body swayed and rocked. Although it was just a confrontation and battle of power, it still made Lin Li feel weak. The massive mental strength and attack were enough to crush any confident spirit.

    The light of the Alchemy Array had beenpletely extinguished, and the precious magical materials used to arrange it had also lost their luster. At this juncture, they no longer possessed any value. Feeling like it had done its job, Xiao Hua immediately scurried towards Lin Li without his permission. It seemed to have failed to realize how dangerous the situation earlier had been. It simply extended its ws towards Lin Li and asked for its reward.

    Feeling amused, Lin Li retrieved two magical crystals from his ring and cast them at Xiao Hua, who was wagging its tail and salivating. Xiao Hua cheered, and went to the side to chew on the magical crystals, while Lin Li stared at the Titan skeleton and the Titan Dragon Spear. Looking at the Alchemy Array that had no longer any value, Lin Li thought to himself, <i>How overwhelming! </i>

    It was a Level-25 Titan Spirit. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he knew about the Alchemy Array, he probably would not even be able to protect himself, let alone win the battle. The massive Alchemy Array was not just gigantic, but alsoplicated. It was a genuine Guru-level Alchemy Array that might not be set up by anyone else in the entire Anril. It was the only Alchemy Array that could turn mana into divine power that Lin Li knew.

    The bells and songs of this divine power could suppress all evil in the world, and it was known as Requiem Array. It was said that even Rodhart, the Retribution Knight, fell under the Requiem song of the prophet Willen.

    There was a holy bell on top of the Brilliance Shrine, and it was said that holy light of the church would be invincible with such a Requiem Array. Once any evil creature approached, it¡¯d be overshadowed by the divine bell.

    Lin Li created the Requiem Array based on the theory and principles of Requiem. As long as there was enough mana, simr effects could be achieved, and he could also use it to deal with the Retribution Knight.

    COMMENT

    The only disadvantage was that in the process of conversion, the loss of magic power would be unavoidable and excessive. The 90% loss directly resulted in a terrible and horrifying depletion of mana that would be consumed by the Alchemy Array. Even if a Legendary magical crystal was ced in it, it would be depleted the instant that the Requiem began.

    In Anril, probably only an extraordinary existence like the Elemental Wyrm could possess that much mana and be able to sustain the Requiem. In fact, the baby Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, could even continue wagging its tail and relentlessly ask Lin Li for some magical crystals after such a massive depletion.

    Lin Li turned his head and looked at Xiao Hua that had wiped out the Level-17 magical crystal and was now holding onto the level-19 Thunder Valiant Beast¡¯s magical crystal, licking it like it was arge sugar cube. Lin Li shook his head in amusement, and walked towards the Alchemy Array. He first put away Holy Light and Gloomy Dark before looking for some magical materials that he could use again.

 Chapter 606 - Dream Garden

    <h4>Chapter 606: Dream Garden</h4>

    Although Lin Li obtained victory in the end and obtained the Titan Skeleton as well as the Titan Dragon Spear, he was a little more doubtful. How could such a strong and powerful level-25 Titan end up in this ce? Even a figure of the Sanctuary-realm probably would be no match for it.

    Before the Titan Spirit was subdued, why did it roar twice? The High Elves were only born during the Dark Age, and logically speaking, they should not have anything to do with the Titans. The Titans were destroyed way before elves emerged.

    ¡°You thought you were immortal, but you still died with your dynasty.¡± Could it be the Immortal King? If that was the case, the Titan here might not have been an ordinary one. None of those who were affiliated with the Immortal King were simple.

    Lin Li immediately shook his head again to deny his own guess. It was said that the Immortal King was born together with the Tree of Eternity, which was born because of the destruction of the Titans and the ancient wyrms. It did not fit the chronological order at all.

    The gigantic Titan Skeleton and the Titan Dragon Spear were finally kept in the Ring of Endless Storm belonging to Lin Li. There were now more questions in Lin Li¡¯s mind, though. What other secrets concerning the prehistoric times were there?

    Recalling the thrilling experience that he had previously and the formidable pressure of the Titan Spirit, Lin Li nced at the now empty mountain. The stark contrast seemed surreal.

    Lin Li did not wish to waste any more time on these doubts. There were plenty of questions that could not be answered just based on guesses. He could only find out about the past when he reached a certain level.

    Lin Li touched the ring on his finger, and his lips curled up in a gratifying smile. So far, he had already obtained major gains that others would go crazy over. However, the adventure had yet to end.

    Compared to such a huge gain, even the precious magical materials used to set up the Requiem Array were worth wasting. There might likely never be another Titan skeleton in the entire Anril. The legendary powerful Titan Dragon Spear was even more precious because it should¡¯ve returned to the Pantheon together with the Titan Spirit.

    He wondered how the Malfa Family and Dark de were doing outside the cave. Given the power and abilities of the two families which had four Legendary masters, the magical beasts probably wouldn¡¯t cause too much trouble for them. Lin Li did not feel embarrassed about secretly leaving the battlefield.

    Be it the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm or the Titan Spirit at the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li would still have had to solve everything himself at the end of the day. It was not that he was looking down on the four Legendary masters, but rather that those creatures could not be dealt with by normal people.

    Although the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm had yet to reach the Sanctuary-realm, the infinite mana could not be bnced even by thebined power of Cheyenne and Borg. Not to mention, the other was a Sanctuary-level Titan Spirit which was enough to destroy the entire adventurer team.

    The reason why Lin Li made gains in the end was that he had grasped and targeted the weaknesses of his opponents. At the same time, the price he¡¯d paid was also unbearable by normal people¡¯s standards. Heart-piercing Potions were Master-level potions which were extremely scarce in Anril. Even with materials avable, it was unlikely that anyone would be able to formte them. The Guru-level Alchemy Array was also rare in Anril where Alchemy was insufficiently developed.

    No pain, no gain. Since it was all achieved through Lin Li¡¯s efforts, there would be no point in letting the other two parties join in. At the thought of gains, Lin Li could not help but look at the young Xiao Hua flying around happily in front of him. It was a super treasure which should be considered the greatest gain of this trip. Although it was not that strong yet, and was in fact ratherzy, it was of great use to Lin Li, especially with arranging the Requiem Array. Ever since then, Lin Li had more thoughts about it.

    The Requiem Array was a Guru-level Alchemy Array which could not be supported by a Legendary-realm magical crystal. Even a magical crystal at the peak of the Legendary level would probably be directly sucked dry. However, now that he had the Elemental Wyrm which had the ability to instantly convert magic elements of the world into mana to make the Alchemy Array run in its best state, it was akin to having an infinite source of mana. The Guru-level Alchemy Arrays, mageweaths, and crafts that required the support of a super mana source that Lin Li had dreamed of employing previously all seemed to be usable now.

    Xiao Hua flew towards Lin Li and continuously pped its colorful wings while holding onto the level-19 magical crystal, which it asionally took a bite out of. It then cheered and wagged its tail heartlessly, clearly clueless about the fact that it had already been deemed a magical crystal mine that could fly in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. It was still cheering and rejoicing that it had obtained the magical crystal.

    Upon arriving at the exit of the crack, Lin Li looked far into the Haiga Mountain Range and caught sight of the Dragon Mountains. There was still a Natural Magical Domain there that was waiting for him to collect, as well as the Retribution Knight that he was once afraid of.

    Staring at the mountains that had already been destroyed, Lin Li knew that it was time for him to head back. Although the sess of adventures was subject to the abilities of each individual, and Lin Li did not feel that he was wrong in leaving beforehand, he was still in cooperation with the two other parties. The adventure had yet to end, and they still had to continue working with each other. However, there was of course no need to let them know about what he had gained.

    The Titan Skeleton and Titan Dragon Spear were already put away in the Ring of Endless Storm which was imprable to others¡¯ eyes. However, Xiao Hua was giving Lin Li a headache. Although there were barely any people in this world who could recognize Elemental Wyrms, he would definitely arouse the suspicion and draw the attention of the four Legendary figures if he were to bring it back with him.

    Lin Li could note up with a good idea at the moment; hence, he decided to grab Xiao Hua and stuff it into his loose and spacious magical robe, regardless of its objections. Fortunately, it was a newborn, and Lin Li could still manage to fit it inside his robe while concealing its Menace of the Dragon. Otherwise, it would be tough handling it.

    Perhaps because Xiao Hua was too loud when it woke up, the powerful magical beasts all vanished, and Lin Li did not encounter any obstructions along the way. After leaving the valley, Lin Li zipped through the dense trees, and soon returned to where he left off. The environment gradually began to look more rundown. Clearly, the adventurer team had gone through a massive battle during the time when he was absent.

    Lin Linded on the tree and shoved Xiao Hua back inside his robe. He then looked into the distance and realized that there were traces of magical attacks everywhere¡ªthe corpses of magical beasts and humans, the pleas of the injured, some kind souls looking after the wounded, and some others who were cleaning up unhurriedly. Clearly, the adventurer team had suffered a major loss and damage even though there were four Legendary powerhouses with them.

    Lin Li whipped out a magical crystal and stuffed it inside his magical robe. Upon hearing the chirping and cheering of Xiao Hua, he quicklynded on the ground and walked towards the campground. Soon, a dark shadow swooped towards them¡ªit turned out to be Norfeller, who had remained in the battlefield.

    Upon sight of Lin Li, Norfeller kept a straight face and handed him a bag of magical crystals without hesitation. It seemed he had still loyally followed Lin Li¡¯s orders during the intense battle. He had made plenty of gains, but there were no signs of injuries on him at all. It seemed he had just gone through an effortless process of hunting.

    He also noticed that everyone else around him had turned pale. The others were all thinking to themselves that Lin Li and Norfeller were both extremely thick-skinned to have taken away all of the magical crystals without contributing anything while leaving others to fight the magical beasts painstakingly.

    Lin Li was not at all bothered by the peculiar gazes that were cast on him. It was as if he did not have any feelings at all. He walked towards the campground while asking Norfeller about the battle that took ce earlier on.

    Although the Malfa Family and Dark de obtained the final victory in the fierce battle, it did note easy for them. Both parties lost some of their strong members, most of whom were level-17 and level-18, and could definitely be regarded as the elites of the two forces. That should be good news for Lin Li. After all, although the three parties were cooperating, the Tower of Dusk belonging to Lin Li seemed to be the weakest. Hence, the power disparity had to be bnced by the magical beasts.

    Entering the campground, Lin Li shoved another magical crystal into his magic robe to quiet down the little one in his arms. He then looked up to see that Cheyenne and Borg were both giving out orders to their underlings. The two Legendary-mages seemed to be a little disheveled at this moment. Although they were not injured, they were clearly fatigued. They obviously had had a hard time winning the tough battle.

    Instead of stepping forward to talk to them, Lin Li simply greeted them, and returned to his own tent without feeling any guilt at all. Besides, he still had an Elemental Wyrm in his arms. The most important thing to do now was to put the little one in ce, lest he had to constantly feed it with magical crystals to cate it.

    Watching Lin Li walk into the tent, the old rivals Cheyenne and Borg looked at each other while smiling wryly and shaking their heads in unison. At this moment, the two of them had the same idea. They both thought that Lin Li, the young Legendary-mage, had the thickest skin ever. Despite being one of the allies, not only did he not put in any effort during the battle, he even took advantage of them and grabbed a ton of magical crystals, causing them to suffer heavy losses. Yet, they could not voice their unhappiness.

    What else could they say? There were only two people from the Tower of Dusk, and they would not have been of any significant help during the fierce and chaotic battle just now anyway. Although Cheyenne and Borg were Legendary masters, each of them was faced with strong opponents. It was impossible to pay attention to where the people of the Tower of Dusk were and what they were doing during the battle.

    Although Lin Li did not seem to have provided much help, he actually contributed by killing the magical beasts, and thus gained an impressive number of level-17 and level-18 magical crystals. Even if he did take advantage, no one would dare to berate him. Most importantly, he had the crucial leads to the treasure of the Immortal King. Even if the other forces had the evidence, they wouldn¡¯t dare to turn against him.

    The two leaders of the strongest forces in the Breezy ins had no choice but to silentlyment having such a lousy ally. They had no idea if they should cry orugh.

    Lin Li was not bothered by whatever others thought about him. Instead, he ordered Norfeller to wait outside the tent while he entered and released the Elemental Wyrm. He was now considering how to settle it down. Even if the cooperation was over, he couldn¡¯t possibly leave Xiao Hua outside.

    Yes, there were definitely only a few people in Anril who could recognize Elemental Wyrms, but Lin Li could not guarantee that no one would be able to recognize Xiao Hua. Anril wasrge, and although there were only a few strong figures of the Sanctuary-realm, no one knew if there were any seniors who might recognize an Elemental Wyrm.

    Even Cheyenne and Borg could sense Xiao Hua¡¯s value despite being unable to recognize an Elemental Wyrm if they saw him. Lin Li knew that he should never unt his wealth; with his current power, he still could not afford to be dauntless just yet.

    Finding a ce to put Xiao Hua in was an issue for Lin Li. Although he had the Ring of Endless Storm which almost had infinite space, even the ancient Connoris could not stand it, let alone a young Elemental Wyrm with a lively and resilient character. Who was he supposed to hold liable if Xiao Hua ended up developing a mental illness?

    Lin Li pondered for a moment, and suddenly raised an eyebrow as an idea popped up in his mind. He used his mental strength to search the Ring of Endless Storm, and a ring soon appeared on his palm. The ring was made of ethereal gold, and it was iid with a huge ck gemstone. The gemstone did not have much of a magical wave, but its gloomy glow was tempting enough.

    For Lin Li, the ring did have a long history that dated all the way back to when he had yet to arrive in Anril. When Lin Li was running his own mineral veins in the Thousand Pinnacles Forest of the Endless World, he spent a bomb to obtain the ring. In the Endless World, the ring had a special and pleasant name: Dream Garden. It could be said to be one of the most precious rings in Endless World that Lin Li had spent half his assets on.

    However, if it was just to enhance his strength, Dream Garden would not be powerful enough. It¡¯d not even be as good as Lin Li¡¯s Robe of Wrath. After all, the Robe of Wrath contained plenty of low-level magic in addition to the plentiful scroll slots.

 Chapter 607 - Micro-painting

    <h4>Chapter 607: Micro-painting</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Dream Garden would bepletely useless during a battle, for its only use was to create a unique space that was no different from the outside world. In the space, the seven elements of earth, water, fire, wind, light, darkness, and chaos were all readily avable. There were also mountains, water, trees, and flowers. Except for the fact that life couldn¡¯t be truly nurtured there, everything in that space was no different from the outside word. Moreover, the world in Dream Garden was definitely notparable to the infinite and deadly dimensional space of the Ring of Endless Storm. When Lin Li had got the Dream Garden, he once entered it to take a look. It was just like a paradise on earth, and he could not bear to leave it at all.

    At that time, Lin Li had initially wanted to use the ring to transport his mineral ores. Unfortunately, both the sh ins and Thousand Pinnacles were located on the edge of the Endless World, and were extremely dpidated and barren. Even if Lin Li had had countless private veins, it would¡¯ve been impossible to turn them into profit immediately. Fortunately, Lin Li had not only found a Teleportation Portal that allowed him to travel to Bright Moon City, he also found some rare dimensional equipment in the auction house.

    However, the only w of Dream Garden was that the space was too unstable. It was as beautiful as a paradise on earth, just like its name suggested. It was like a fantasy that was exceptionally beautiful, but a slight fluctuation in energy would cause the entire world to copse.

    Because of this, treasures like Dream Garden were used by Lin Li for transporting ores. After he got the Ring of Endless Storm, hepletely stopped using it. Lin Li only remembered it when he was in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    As far as the environment was concerned, the Dream Garden was undoubtedly the most suitable for Xiao Hua to thrive in. Although Xiao Hua was the descendant of the Dragon of Dream, it probably had never enjoyed such a beautiful abode before. Lin Li suddenly recalled that his little Dragon Hawk could live in there too. Little Dragon Hawk was gradually growing up and absorbing the mana of the Legendary magical crystals every single day. The speed of his growth was truly shocking and amazing. When Lin Li left the Tower of Dusk, the Little Dragon Hawk had already reached level-18, which was far greater than the adult Dragon Hawk that Lin Li had almost destroyed just now. It was probably only a matter of time before it reached the Legendary-realm.

    Lin Li pinched the Dream Garden with two fingers, and carefully looked at the ring that had been with him for a while under the magic light. Before he ced the Elemental Wyrm in it, he had to solve another problem: the stability of the world in the Dream Garden.

    The world in Dream Garden was unstable, and Little Dragon Hawk and Xiao Hua were both powerful existences. Once they entered Dream Garden, the world would probably copse soon.

    However, that was not too much trouble for Lin Li now. If it were the Lin Li who had yet to break through to the Legendary-realm, he might still be helpless, but now, he was already a powerful level-21<sup>1</sup> mage who had a fairly in-depth knowledge of the field of magic. Although he had yet to create his own space and world, it was not that difficult to stabilize a world that already existed.

    Lin Li held the Dream Garden in his hand and pondered over it for a moment. Soon, he got an idea and took out a crystal pen from the Ring of Endless Storm, followed by a bottle of star sand and ocean blue sand, as well as a Dark Crimson Lion King blood together with six level-15 magical crystals.

    Lin Li first mixed the ocean blue sand and the star sand at a one-to-two ratio

    A bottle of ethereal ink was soon ready, and Lin Li carefully dipped a crystal pen in the ink before drawing a mageweath on the Dream Garden. Lin Li¡¯s actions were slow and gentle. One would only be able to tell that his crystal pen was moving if they were to look closely.

    Fortunately, Lin Li was the only one in the tent. A person learned in mageweaths would probably be shocked out of their wits if they were to enter and see what he was doing. Lin Li was now performing an inscription which was glorified and known to be the most advanced micro-painting skill of the division. A Master of Inscription would be able to paintplicated mageweaths within a short period of time. He could possibly even arrange Mageweath arrays.

    This micro-painting technique could almost be called a heavenly skill. Once an Inscription Master had mastered such a technique, it meant that he had reached the highest level of Inscription, and was only one step away from bing a Divine Smith.

    Even Lin Li himself had only mastered this technique not long ago despite having already be a Guru of Inscription using the Scroll of Wishes. That was a change that was almost an epiphany. As the magical aplishments of Lin Li became increasingly greater, he gained a deeper insight into the nature of the world. When his umtion of experience reached a certain level, there might be an opportunity for him to make a breakthrough in skill. If he were to let the opportunity slip, he might just teau for the rest of his life<sup>1</sup>. Lin Li managed to seize the opportunity, and finally learned the technique of micro-painting, thus advancing greatly in Inscription.

    In fact, this was somewhat simr to arranging a veryrge Alchemy Array. Expansion and reduction in size was not as simple as adjusting it ording to the pictures in a textbook. If substantial changes were not made, a human who got erged to the size of a Titan would never really gain the power of one. On the contrary, his body might copse in an instant.

    When dealing with the Titan Spirit, Lin Li would not have been able to make an impact if he had simply used an amplified Requiem Array. In fact, the array would not even have been activated, or it might¡¯ve copsed at a certain juncture during activation. For example, a paper cup might be able to hold water, but a paper bucket might not.

    It was the same forpressing and reducing size. During a 100-time reduction of aponent, the precedingponent might have to be reduced 200 times or 190 times. It was an exaggeration, and many things might not be clear even with urate calctions. It still depended on the perception of the nomological power.

    Lin Li used his micro-painting techniques to draw mageweaths with lines thinner than hair on the Dream Garden. If not observed closely, the lines would not seem to mean anything.

    Creating a Master-level ethereal mageweath took up almost an entire night, and Lin Li only heaved a sigh of relief when daybreak arrived. He then ced the Dream Garden on the wooden table.

    However, the process was notpleted yet. After putting the Dream Garden away, Lin Li grabbed a gold rod that was made of Abyss Mithril. The gold rod formed in the air a halo that resembled colorful ripples that were cast over the six magical crystals on the wooden table.

    As the light on the top of the gold rod moved, the six magical crystals were broken down into the purest form of magical essence, which flew around the gold rod like fireflies.

    Next, a ray of light flew past. Lin Li pointed his gold rod at the magical crystals, after which they disintegrated into magical essence, incorporated into the ethereal mageweaths.

    After the lights faded, the Dream Garden changedpletely, and even an ordinary Archmage would be able to detect it easily. The world in the ring had be extremely stable, and even Legendary-level magic would not be able to make the world copse.

    When Lin Li reinforced the Dream Garden, Xiao Hua had already ransacked through all of the items in the tent. Sensing the strange magical wave all of a sudden, it immediately flew towards Lin Li and stared at the Dream Garden.

    Lin Li waved the ring in his hand smilingly, and said to Xiao Hua, ¡°From now on, this will be your home. Go in and see if you like it.¡±

    Xiao Hua nced at Lin Li with its guard up and retreated a little.

    ¡°Go in and take a look, you¡¯ll definitely like it,¡± said Lin Li, who continued to tempt it by pointing at the ring.

    Xiao Hua cocked its head to the side and stared at the ring before licking its mouth with its tongue. With joy written all over its face, it joyously leaped towards the ring.

    Upon sight of Xiao Hua¡¯s expression, Lin Li was immediately overwhelmed with an ominous feeling. When Xiao Hua went up to him, he immediately retracted his hand, causing Xiao Hua to bite on air. Tears then welled up in its eyes.

    Lin Li shook his head resignedly, and whipped out a magical crystal from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Xiao Hua¡¯s eyes lit up again at the instant that it saw the magical crystal. It then happily scurried towards the magical crystal.

    <i>You greedy little glutton. I refuse to believe that I can¡¯t deal with you.</i> Lin Li smirked and threw the magical crystal into the Dream Garden when Xiao Hua was about to leap at him. ¡°The magical crystal is in there. Go inside¡ª¡±

    Magical crystals were all Xiao Hua cared about, and it did not bother about the other matters at all. Before Lin Li could even finish speaking, Xiao Hua had already rushed into the Dream Garden, cheering happily.

    Lin Li was speechless. Although Xiao Hua had been sessfully lured into the Dream Garden, Lin Li was not the one who put it in. Xiao Hua was the one who wriggled in by itself instead. How could that happen? Although the Dream Garden was used for settling Xiao Hua down, Lin Li was the rightful owner of the ring. How could Xiao Hua enter and leave without Lin Li¡¯s permission?

    Xiao Hua popped its head out of the gemstone on the ring, and called out to Lin Li happily before sticking its head back in.

    Lin Li stroked his chin, and thought to himself that the matter didn¡¯t seem that incredible. When Xiao Hua awakened, he provided it with all his mana to the extent of almost fainting. When mages turned magical elements into their own mana, they did not change the nature of the magical elements, and simply gave them their own Spiritual Brand. Simply put, magical elements with a Spiritual Brand could be considered mana.

    After awakening, Xiao Hua treated Lin Li like its family member because the mana that it absorbed had Lin Li¡¯s Spiritual Brand. In the process of soul awakening, Lin Li¡¯s mana became the nourishment for Xiao Hua¡¯s growth, and a spiritual imprint was left in the soul.

    A magician relied on Spiritual Brand to open his storage rings and other storage spaces. Hence, it was not surprising that Xiao Hua could open the Dream Garden, as it had Lin Li¡¯s spiritual imprint.

    Lin Li cast his mental strength into the Dream Garden worn on his finger. Xiao Hua was hugging the magical crystal and ying along merrily like it in a fairy tale. It seemed to be extremely pleased with its new home.

    After settling everything that he had to, he realized that they sky had gradually turned brighter, and the noise outside the tent had also be much more chaotic. The adventurer team was going to continue on their journey.

    After suffering two consecutive major attacks from the magical beasts, the two forces had be more cautious, and were proceeding at an even slower speed. The guards and reconnaissance personnel spread out, while tension build up in the main team. One by one, the strong, formidable menpletely swallowed their pride. Even the Legendary figures kept a sullen expression and carefully analyzed all the information given to them as if they would only have a peace of mind after checking everything.

    Lin Li was the only one in the team who could still remain rxed as if he did not care about the magical beasts at all.

    Cheyenne sent away his intelligence staff, and looked at Lin Li who was standing not too far away. After hesitating a little, he walked towards Lin Li, and said, ¡°Master Felic, ording to the previous two experiences, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be long until we encounter an attack of magical beasts again. I hope you can contribute some effort when that happens. After all, we still have a long way ahead, and we can¡¯t afford to lose too much power now.¡±

    It was very clear what Cheyenne meant. Out of the three parties, the Dark de was the strongest, and the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk had to work together to maintain a bnce of power.

    It might not be a good thing to the Tower of Dusk. However, Lin Li was not too concerned. He smiled nonchntly, and said to Cheyenne, ¡°Master Cheyenne, rest assured. Haven¡¯t you heard before that the same thing won¡¯t happen thrice?¡±

    Cheyenne was infuriated after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. He thought, <i>Damn it. This rascal is too shameless. He went missing for two nights, and yet he¡¯s pretending to have lost his memory. Who was the one who went missingst night when the battle was at its peak?</i>

    However, seeing how determined Lin Li was, Cheyenne could not help but waver. <i>Although this guy is shameless, he has never made any empty promise. Could it be that he has found some clues that I didn¡¯t know of and found the reason behind the attacks?</i>

 Chapter 608 - Elves

    <h4>Chapter 608: Elves</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li touched the Dream Garden on his finger, and pressed Xiao Hua back into the ring. He thought that the baby Elemental Wyrm had already hatched, and no longer needed to absorbrge amounts of magical elements. Although these magical beasts appeared to be quite silly, who didn¡¯t want to live their life in peace without the abnormal fluctuations in magical elements?

    As if to prove Lin Li¡¯s words, the team didn¡¯t encounter any massive herds of magical beasts on the way anymore. Some intelligent beasts even ran away when seeing them. Before this, during the two rounds of attacks, these beasts didn¡¯t back down no matter what, just as if they had deep grudges with the team.

    At night, there were many more defensive magical devices and people on patrol when the team was resting. Much to everyone¡¯s surprise, the night was extremely calm, and the people could finally loosen their nerves and have a good sleep.

    The next morning, the team prepared to set off again. After a night of good rest, the team was rather energized. The rare peaceful night was very important to this adventurer team because they were going to enter the true forbidden zone of the Haiga Mountain Range today.

    Here, level-18 and 19 magical beasts weremon, and it was normal to meet Legendary magical beasts if one was unlucky. To worsen the situation, there seemed to be prehistoric magical beasts here ording to rumors from the Ledin Kingdom.

    Although the majority of the prehistoric magical beasts had been killed or exiled during the rule of the High Elves, nobody could guarantee that prehistoric magical beasts were extinct in Anril. After all, those prehistoric magical beasts that existed during the times of the Wyrms and Titans were at least level-23 or 24. If one was unlucky, even a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse could be...

    The Anril now was no longer what it was like 1,300 years ago, when powerhouses weremon. Most Sanctuary-realm powerhouses lived solitary lives, and appeared once in a few hundred years. Some even traveled through the cracks between space and time, searching for the fundamental secrets of the world.

    Sanctuary-level magical beasts were considered the most terrifying beings in the world. If they were to meet one unfortunately, even this hundred-odd-strong team with five Legendary powerhouses would need enough luck to escape.

    Upon venturing deep into the Haiga Mountain Range, Cheyenne, Borg, and even Lin Li raised their guard. This region was rarely visited by people ever since the prehistoric times. Even the Elven Kingdom that was so near couldn¡¯t consider thisnd their own.

    While the team slowly advanced, Lin Li used the same time to study the treasure he had while keeping up his guard. Although all three factions had this map now, only the one with Lin Li was the original. The one with the Malfa Family was just a copy that Adelo had produced. As for the Dark de, they had gotten the map through their spy in the Malfa Family, so it could only be considered a copy of a copy.

    Over the past few days, Lin Li appeared to be very free as if he was just in the Haiga Mountain Range to hunt. However, he was actually busy examining the treasure map, and could now remember every minute detail on the map.

    From his understanding of the treasure map, Lin Li knew that the Malfa Family and Dark de had been more than prepared to get the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. Although they had changed the route a bit ording to Osric¡¯s adventure diary, the final route taken was still the correct one. ording to the map that Lin Li had, they would reach the area that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure might be in within three days. It was just that nobody was sure of its exact location.

    ¡°It seems abnormally peacefultely...¡± Lin Li released the Warlock¡¯s Eyes and scanned the surroundings for anything unusual. These past few days seemed too peaceful. Other than the two magical beast attacks before, the team didn¡¯t encounter any danger at all.

    However, in this forbidden zone deep in the Haiga Mountain Range, calmness meant abnormality. After all, legends said that the Haiga Mountain Range was the yground of magical beasts. Powerful beasts had lived here for thousands of years. How could they let so many intruderse in just like this?

    Lin Li looked where the Legendary masters were standing, and pressed Xiao Hua back into Dream Garden with a Legendary magical crystal.

    Even though Lin Li had seen powerful existences like the Elemental Wyrm and Titan Spirit, he was still cautious about the Legendary prehistoric magical beasts. He had defeated the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar because of the Magic-forbidding Domain created with the Heart-piercing Potion, while the Titan Spirit lost to the Requiem Array. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could strike at the weakness again if he were to face a Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beast.

    Lin Li felt very uneasy, and even hoped that this quiet atmosphere could be broken soon. This was because he had a feeling that the longer this peacefulnesssted, the greater the challenge the adventurers team would face.

    Lin Li aside, the other Legendary masters also looked very serious. Compared to this silence, they would rather face the attacks from those magical beast herds.

    This abnormal silence was finally broken that afternoon. The mages who stood at the front of the team were suddenly attacked.

    In a ce like the Haiga Mountain Range, it was no longer suitable to let Bandits scout for the team. The Archmages who specialized in the Levitation Spell were better at navigation then ordinary Bandits. Moreover, the mages from the Dark de were different from ordinary mages. Besides magic, they also learned many skills used by Bandits. Hence, they were more outstanding navigators than other mages. The mages who were attacked now were responsible for scouting and looking out for danger.

    There were about a dozen mages attacked, and all of them were level-17 or 18. They could be considered excellent scouts in the Dark de, and even the Malfa Family had suffered under their hands. However, this time a sea of arrows flew towards them once they had entered the forest. Although none of them were killed, all had injuries.

    Level-17 and 18 Archmages had exceptional defense skills. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t be harmed even if people shot at them directly. Moreover, the effects of weapons like arrows would bergely reduced by the Levitation Spell, making it even harder to prate the protective shield of the Archmages.

    However, the situation was totally different now. The sea of arrows from the forest below had almost made the Archmages turn into porcupines. Because this group of mages were well-trained, they didn¡¯t retaliate blindly after being attacked. The ones with light injuries immediately ran back to the team to report, while the others activated their shields and protected the heavily wounded ones to retreat.

    Upon hearing that the vanguard made up of Archmages was attacked by a sudden sea of arrows, the adventurers¡¯ team started getting nervous.

    The team prepared for battle after bringing back the injured scouts from the forest. However, what came out from the forest wasn¡¯t any powerful magical beast, but a group of green-haired, pointy-eared elves.

    The presence of the elves didn¡¯t ease the tension. Every elf was equipped with either a set of bow and arrows or a magic staff, making the situation tenser than before.

    Although humans had epted the existence of the Elven Kingdom, and the kingdom had frequent interactions with the human nations, the deep grudges between the two races weren¡¯t easily resolved by a mere 1000-plus years. The elves saw humans as their foes, while humans saw elves as outsiders. If it wasn¡¯t the Haiga Mountain Range, there might still be rules to restrain the two races to prevent war. However, here in the Haiga Mountain Range, which didn¡¯t belong to any party or influence, there was no restraint at all.

    Just as the Legendary masters from the adventurers team hade to the front of the team and the two parties were on the verge of battling, Borg from the Dark de suddenlyughed.

    Borg didn¡¯t say anything to others, and flew towards the group of elves, not seeming to be surprised by their presence at all.

    The ce was quiet. Only faint sounds of conversation between Borg and the elves could be heard. Borg talked to one of the elves in a fluent elvennguage. Though it couldn¡¯t be considered a happy conversation, they didn¡¯t seem to be at odds. Following their conversation, a few other elves walked out from the forest.

    Lin Li¡¯s pupils contracted when he saw the elves that walked outter. These elves weren¡¯t typical elves. Judging from the power waves from their bodies, they had definitely reached the Legendary-realm. One of them was even stronger than Vidas, whom Lin Li had encountered earlier. He probably had the power of level-23 already.

    Like the High Elves, the elves enjoyed longevity that made humans jealous. After the mixing of races during the Dark Age, the elves possessed part of the blood of the High Elves. Thus, their talent in magic was much higher than humans¡¯. Though it was difficult to judge who was right or wrong during the war at the end of the Dark Age, the elves would have seeded the High Elves as the rulers of Anril if they hadn¡¯t been purged.

 Chapter 609 - Great Disparity

    <h4>Chapter 609: Great Disparity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hence, Lin Li was even more cautious after seeing so many elven Legendary powerhouses. However, he wasn¡¯t surprised to see them. After all, although the Haiga Mountain Range restrained the nature magic of the elves, it wasn¡¯t difficult to have a few non-nature magic Legendary powerhouses here.

    Back at the auction of the Time Consignment Store in Rnd City, the branch-like piece of debris of the stars¡ªRebirth¡ªwas spected to have belonged to the Legendary elven mage who specialized in fire magic. People saw this elven mage as an outlier among the elves. However, who would know if he was really an outlier in the Elven Kingdom?

    Why did these elves appear here? Were they here for the ruins of the Titans too? Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but question it. He turned to Cheyenne, but saw Cheyenne look back at him with inconceble bitterness.

    Evidently, those elves were rted to the Dark de judging from how Borg was behaving. If those elves were the Dark de¡¯s ally, the Tower of Dusk and Malfa Family would be put in a disadvantageous position. The Dark de was already very strong themselves. They had three Legendary powerhouses and a greater number of elite fighters here than the Malfa Family. If these elves were to join in, with those legendary-level elves... Cheyenne¡¯s heart sank to the lowest point.

    It could be said that the Malfa Family wouldn¡¯t escape being massacred even if they coborated with the Tower of Dusk if those several elven Legendary powerhouse were to attack. Moreover, the young president of the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t seem to be trustworthy judging from his actions these days. He would probably be the first to escape if they were to start a battle.

    Borg conversed with those elves for a while before flying back to his team. He then came towards Cheyenne and Lin Li. He just told them that the elves had agreed to let the team into the forest.

    Cheyenne knew that he could only continue given that they hade thus far. After all, it was impossible to back out now. If he revealed even the tiniest hint of his intention to retreat, the Dark de would definitely attack the Malfa Family. However, Cheyenne could see that those elves didn¡¯t seem to be close to Borg. Judging from the elves¡¯ personalities, most likely they had struck some deal with the Dark de, and were only using them for the sake of their interests.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think...¡± Cheyenne turned to ask Lin Li about his opinion and¡ªmore importantly¡ªto confirm his attitude. After all, Cheyenne didn¡¯t want the alliance with the Tower of Dusk to be affected by the appearance of the elves. Within the three factions, only the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t have any past grudges with the Dark de. Thus, it was the only faction that could back out now without the Dark de having other thoughts.

    ¡°Master Cheyenne, you can decide,¡± said Lin Li in an unconcerned tone. The elves had inherited the High Elves¡¯ arrogance while they had inherited part of their blood. They might have some connections with the Dark de, but they would never put the Dark de on equal level as themselves. Thus, it was too early to say they were the Dark de¡¯s ally at the moment.

    Under the lead of those elves, the adventurer team consisting of three factions entered the forest cautiously. Even those from the Dark de didn¡¯t dare to rx after seeing their leader converse with the elves.

    Nobody spoke on the way. Even Borg, who had talked to the elves, didn¡¯t look to be at ease now. As for the elves who led the way, they didn¡¯t even look at the human team. They were totally uninterested in this adventurer team that could defeat any other in the entire Breezy ins.

    In the forest, the elves had already set up their campsite. Compared to the neat human campsites, the elves¡¯ appeared to be more casual. However, anyone with sharp eyes would realize that the power contained in the elves¡¯ campsite wasn¡¯t decreased by its casualness at all. With just the power from the campsite, it was enough to deal with a sudden attack from Legendary magical beasts.

    However, Lin Li knew that this campsite wasn¡¯t the best the elves could set up. Due to special reasons, the elves couldn¡¯t use Nature Magic which they were good at here. Hence, this campsite wasn¡¯t a true elven campsite, though it possessed some elven characteristics.

    If it was somewhere else, where Nature Magic wasn¡¯t constrained, Tree-men would be hiding behind those tall trees when the team had entered the forest. Although Tree-men didn¡¯t match the Trees of War, those Tree-men would certainly be at least level-17 or 18. With their camouge merging into the environment, they would be the most suitable defenders of the campsite.

    The elves could also use Nature Magic to grow all kinds of attacking magical nts and shield the campsite with vines or build a little hut with wild nts. However, all these couldn¡¯t be seen in the campsite in the Haiga Mountain Range. Although the fences of the campsite seemed to be made from vines too, they had been created using a magical tool judging from their energy waves. The tents used were also clearly brought by the elves, and not made on the spot with Nature Magic.

    On the outskirts of the campsite, the number of elves gradually increased. There were even families of elves near the center of the campsite. It was definitely a rare sight for the human adventurers team. After all, elves were extremely umon in human nations. If it was just one or two elves, people would admire them. But now that there was such a big group of them, the team only felt nervous.

    Therge group of human intruders entering the campsite didn¡¯t evoke any intense reaction from the elves at all. The elves would peer at the human adventurers at most, not even stopping what they were doing. Even those elves who seemed to be chit-chatting casually weren¡¯t shocked with or curious about the human adventurers at all.

    This wasn¡¯t because the elves were well-trained and disciplined, but rather because they were scornful of the human team, and didn¡¯t want to waste their time looking at them. As for those who were having casual conversations with their peers, they didn¡¯t think it was worth stopping for these humans. When they asionally scanned the human adventurers, it seemed as if the sky was looking at the ground or an elephant looked at an ant.

    The team consisting of the Dark de and the Malfa Family was a few hundred men strong, and every one of them was at least level-15. However, such a strong team appeared to be like an army of passing ants to the elves. Even the highest-level Invisibility wouldn¡¯t achieve such effects.

    Of course, the adventurers were no idiots. All of them had experienced enough in life to see through such things. Although the elves appeared to be very cold towards the team and treated them like they weren¡¯t there, the tinge of animosity hidden in their eyes couldn¡¯t escape the sharp-eyed ones in the team.

    The hatred between the elves and humans still existed even though 1000-plus years had passed. This was because the elves were very long-lived. Many generations had passed for humans over the millennium, and any hatred would have been diluted down the generations. However, only two or three generations had passed for the elves since then. It was even possible that there were still other first-generation elves after the catastrophe besides the elven queen. Hence, the catastrophe over 1000 years ago wasn¡¯t so far away for the elves that they could forget about it.

    As he examined the elves¡¯ campsite, Lin Li sensitively felt someone looking at him and turned round. He saw six or seven elves standing high up on a tree and looking at him with arrogance. One couldn¡¯t deny that the elves had the capital to be so arrogant since every elf that Lin Li had met in the campsite was at least level-17 or 18. Level-19 elves who were approaching Legendary-realm were also not umon. The elf who had attracted Lin Li¡¯s attention was at least level-20 even though he looked very young.

    That elf held onto a longbow and plucked at the bowstring asionally. He might be thinking of how he could kill a human adventurer with every pluck of his bowstring. Lin Li touched his chin. He wasn¡¯t thinking of how to deal with these elves, but about how the elves had appeared here, what they were plotting with such a strong team, and also how he could gain some benefits from this.

    Shortly after entering the elves¡¯ campsite, the team stopped, and the leading elves entered a tent to report. Not just the human adventurers had to wait outside, even Legendary masters like Borg didn¡¯t receive any special treatment. It was easy to see the elves¡¯ arrogance given that they couldn¡¯t be bothered by the two biggest factions in the Breezy ins and their Legendary-level chiefs.

    Luckily, they didn¡¯t wait for long. A few elves who seemed to be the leaders came out from the tent and walked towards the human adventurer team. The elves at the side all bowed towards them, appearing to be very humble.

    Not waiting for the elves toe to them, Borg had walked in front and talked to the elves in elvennguage for a while. Although Borg was the chief of the Dark de and was a level-21 Legendary-mage, those elves didn¡¯t change their expressions at all when they spoke to him, and still looked arrogant and cold.

    Soon, Borg came back and instructed his subordinates to set up their campsite. He also sent somebody to inform the Malfa Family about this. After these arrangements, Borg followed those elves into their tent in the middle.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Borg to know those elves.¡± Looking at Borg walk into the tent with those elves, Cheyenne was rather worried, and turned towards Lin Li. ¡°What do you think, Master Felic?¡±

    Lin Li looked at the surroundings, and replied, ¡°It seems like this campsite wasn¡¯t built for a day or two. Perhaps they have been here for a while already.¡±

    Cheyenne could naturally see that too. If it was anywhere else, the elves wouldn¡¯t need much effort to build a campsite like this. However, in the Haiga Mountain Range where Nature Magic was useless, it was impossible to set up this sort of campsite in one or two days. This meant that the elves hadn¡¯t appeared here coincidentally, but rather that they were waiting for the team to appear. More specifically, they were waiting for the Dark de toe.

    Actually, Cheyenne could guess that the Dark de was likely to have sealed some deal with the Elven Kingdom. Otherwise, even if everyone had the same goal in mind, it was unlikely for them to meet on the way as the Haiga Mountain Range was so huge. However, Cheyenne didn¡¯t feel rxed after having some ideas of what was going on. Instead, he felt more tense. No wonder Borg dared to coborate with the Tower of Dusk and Malfa Family. It was because they had this card up their sleeve.

    ¡°With the Dark de¡¯s power and the help of the elves, they are not just getting the upper handpared to us.¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t state it specifically, but he knew that the Dark de would overwhelmingly defeat them if they allied with the elves.

    Back at the start of the coboration, the Dark de had already had a significant advantage over the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk. They had three Legendary powerhouses against just Cheyenne and Lin Li. Moreover, the number of elite fighters above level-15 they had was also more than that of the Malfa Family. However, with the alliance between the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family, at least both parties would suffer the same loss if the Dark de and the Malfa Family were to confront each other directly.

    However, the elves had joined in now. Just along the way, there were so many level-17 and 18 elves already, not to mention the six or seven Legendary powerhouses who they hadn¡¯t seen or the powerhouse who had likely reached level-23. With such power, not mentioning the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk, they couldn¡¯t match the power of the elves even with the addition of the Dark de.

    Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but feel very worried. After all, the grudge between the Malfa Family and the Dark de was almost irreconcble. The grudge didn¡¯t just consist of the hatred from the past, but was also rted to the future development of the factions. This grudge was even more irreconcble than that between then elves and humans. The only solution to this was to wipe out one of the factionspletely. From the situation now, it seemed that the one to be wiped out was the Malfa Family.

    ¡°If they were to make a move here, then probably even with our power...¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t want to say such discouraging words, but this was the truth¡ªthe truth that even a Legendary-mage couldn¡¯t ignore.

 Chapter 610 - Seven Star

    <h4>Chapter 610: Seven Star</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s words, Lin Li didn¡¯t look too tense, and still had a smile on his face. Of course, this wasn¡¯t because only two people came from the Tower of Dusk so they weren¡¯t scared that their people would be killed. Although only Lin Li and Norfeller came from the Tower of Dusk, it also wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to escape from thebined forces of the Dark de and elves given therge number of Legendary powerhouses they had.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried, because he knew that the Haiga Mountain Range was the legendary true forbidden zone. He looked at the worried Cheyenne, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, Master Cheyenne. Even if they want to attack us, they won¡¯t do it now. This is the Haiga Mountain Range. It¡¯s a forbidden zone even for Legendary powerhouses. Nobody can guarantee that they cane out alive. Hence, if they aren¡¯t idiots, they won¡¯t do anything to us before finding the treasure.¡±

    After some contemtion, Cheyenne nodded, and replied, ¡°Hopefully the temptation of the treasure can repress old grudges.¡±

    As for what would happen after finding the treasure, nobody knew. Perhaps the Malfa Family would be unlucky, or perhaps it would be the elves and the Dark de. Both sides might even end up in stalemate.

    Just like Lin Li had guessed, Cheyenne and Lin Li saw Borging over from afar when they were making arrangements for their campsite. Borg didn¡¯t change his attitude towards them because of the elves. He still put on a smile on his face like before and invited them to meet the elven leaders to discuss the ruins of the Titans.

    Aftering to the central tent at the elves¡¯ campsite again, Cheyenne and Lin Li walked in with Borg.

    Although both of them were Legendary powerhouses, the elves in the tent didn¡¯t take them seriously. After seeing the two of theme in with Borg, none of the elves stood up to wee them or even say some words in greeting.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t bothered by this at all, while Cheyenne knew why the elves behaved like that, so both of them didn¡¯t care about the elves¡¯ attitude. Moreover, the elves indeed had the right to be so arrogant given their abilities.

    After everyone was seated, Borg first introduced Cheyenne and Lin Li to the elves using the Elven Language. However, the elves were still very cold to them. After all, merely two Legendary-mages weren¡¯t important enough to the elves.

    Just as Borg prepared to introduce the elves to Lin Li and Cheyenne, one of the elves cut in. Although he spoke in the Elven Language, Cheyenne and Lin Li could roughly make out what he meant. He was telling Borg to talk about the matter directly and skip the introductions.

    Borg looked at Cheyenne and Lin Li. With a bitter smile on his face, he exined to the two how he had met those elves.

    Cheyenne and Lin Li looked at each other. With the current situation, both of them already had some ideas about this. As for why Borg was exining it to the two of them here, evidently even the arrogant elves couldn¡¯t underestimate the dangers in the Haiga Mountain Range. Thus, they wanted Borg to secure rtions with the two of them first. After all, just as Lin Li had said, nobody could guarantee that they could return from the Haiga Mountain Range alive. It was always better to have more allies.

    Cheyenne¡¯s worry went down a little after hearing this. As for the elves¡¯ intention to use the Malfa Family as the cannon fodder, it was too early to say that now. After all, how it was going to end all depended on each faction¡¯s abilities.

    It turned out that the Dark de had always been in contact with the Elven Kingdom, and they had told the Elven Kingdom about this mission. Although the Elven Kingdom wasn¡¯t too concerned about the ruins of the Titans, they had always wanted to find a long-lost sacred relic from this sacred mountain. Thus, the two parties struck a deal very soon.

    ¡°Cheyenne, our goal isn¡¯t just the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. The elves¡¯ goal to find the lost sacred relic doesn¡¯t contradict with our goal. Now, it¡¯s better for all of us to cooperate to get into the Haiga Mountain Range sessfully and find what we are looking for rather than work on our own. What do you think?¡± Borg strongly hoped for Cheyenne to agree. After all, he was very clear that despite their rtionship, the elves wouldn¡¯t help out at all if the Malfa Family were to strike.

    By now, Cheyenne could see that the Dark de and the elves weren¡¯t as close as what he had thought. Both parties were only using each other, and couldn¡¯t even be considered allies. As such, the bnce between the three coborating factions wasn¡¯t affected much. The Dark de would still be cautious of the alliance between the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk.

    After figuring out all that, Cheyenne naturally wouldn¡¯t let the treasurend in the hands of the Dark de just like that, so he didn¡¯t object to the subsequent coboration with the elves. Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have any objections all the more. He even started thinking about what sacred relic the elves were looking for. If it was useful to him...

    After the coboration was confirmed, Cheyenne heaved a sigh of relief, and left the tent with Lin Li to return to the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite.

    After Lin Li had returned to his tent, he continued to do his daily assignment¡ªreading the Book of Eternity. Halfway up the mountain, Lin Li had survived the Titan Spirit¡¯s mental strength attack because of the knowledge recorded in the Book of Eternity.

    After surviving the mental strength attack from a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse, Lin Li could clearly feel his improvement in mental strength. Just like how air would liquidize under strong pressure, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength became more concentrated. This was probably another good thing that Lin Li had gained after putting in so much effort to disperse the Titan Spirit using the Requiem Array.

    Back when Lin Li had battled the elven Legendary-mage Vidas in Rnd City, the former had released the Lord of Nightmares, and even he had almost sunk into the endless nightmares. If he were to go fight that battle now, he wouldn¡¯t have to put himself in such a situation given his current mental strength.

    As night approached, Norfeller, who had guarded the tent all this while, turned into a bat and flew towards the surrounding forest.

    Norfeller didn¡¯t need to report to Lin Li, as this was already a routine aftering to the Haiga Mountain Range. Every night, Norfeller would turn into a bat and investigate outside the campsite. As a high-ranking Vampire, Norfeller¡¯s abilities improved tremendously after he followed Lin Li. Now, his abilities were approaching Legendary-realm. At night, the abilities of Vampires would enjoy a considerable increase. Therefore, he could be considered to be at Legendary level now. Even the most outstanding Bandit couldn¡¯t match his investigation abilities.

    Norfeller flew past the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite and then the elves¡¯ campsite. With his Legendary-level power, his flying speed was so fast that he couldn¡¯t be seen with naked eyes. After going one round around the campsites, he had only spent 15 minutes. Seeing that there weren¡¯t any abnormalities around, he turned to go back to his campsite.

    However, just as he was flying past the elves¡¯ territory, a few arrows shot towards him with lightning speed. Although he possessed Legendary-level strength now, the sharp arrows had already pierced his body just as he wanted to avoid them.

    Norfeller was shot seven times. The strange power from the arrows made him unable to fly, and he dropped down straight from the sky. Just when hended, a group of elves crowded around his body.

    ¡°Seven shots! All seven arrows are hits! Jacques, no wonder you¡¯re the greatest archery genius of us elves for thest 100 years!¡± an elf shouted excitedly and held the struggling Norfeller down.

    ¡°Of course! The Seven Star Archery Skill is one of our strongest archery skills! Even if a Legendary powerhouse came, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the Seven Star as well!¡± Another elf looked so proud as if he was the one who shot the arrows.

    Norfeller wanted to struggle, but the seven arrows seemed to have sealed his strength; he couldn¡¯t even use his physical strength now.

    Just then, another elf who held a carved longbow slowly walked towards Norfeller. Although he didn¡¯t reply to his friends¡¯ ttery, he seemed to be enjoying it very much. Looking at Norfeller, the elf looked disgusted. He stepped onto Norfeller¡¯s chest hard and sneered. ¡°Dirty Undead creature, do you know where this is? This is the Goddess¡¯ sacred mountain! How dare you dirty this sacrednd with that dirty body of yours?¡±

    Although the Haiga Mountain Range was filled with magical beasts, the night was extremely quiet. Hence, the elves¡¯ noisy exchange stood out during the quiet night, though it didn¡¯t attract any people out of their tents.

    Lin Li waspletely absorbed in the sea of knowledge in the Book of Eternity, absorbing the precious assets left behind by the God of Mages Geresco bit by bit. Although he was very talented in magic and had outstanding achievements in other areas, he was still just a little mage who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm not long ago.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know how good Geresco was at other facilitating upations such as pharmaceutics, alchemy, inscription, forging, etcetera. However, in terms of magic, Lin Li was definitely very far behind Geresco. More often than not, Lin Li had to think for a long while in order to understand a few sentences in the book. After he had finally figured it out, he would feel that he had found the best solution to many of the problems that bothered him in the past.

    The contentment that Lin Li felt every time he read the Book of Eternity and figured out one more problem made him want to immerse in it even more.

    However, just as Lin Li was almost about to figure out a difficult problem in the book today, his heart suddenly tingled, and his thought process was forcefully interrupted. This angered Lin Li, but he realized that what had interrupted him was the fluctuation in blood-oath from his soul.

 Chapter 611 - Rage

    <h4>Chapter 611: Rage</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    <i>Could something bad have happened to Norfeller?</i> The thought made Lin Li frown. He knew that Norfeller¡¯s power had be iparable to his power when Norfeller just started following him. Although it had not reached the Legendary-realm, he would be as good as a Legendary powerhouse under the enhancement of the night sky.

    A Vampire in the Legendary-realm might not have the ability to confront some of the freaky magical beasts of the Haiga Mountain Range, but it definitely would not be a problem for the Vampire to escape quickly.

    Just when Lin Li was feeling suspicious, he faintly heard noises outside the campsite. This was not something people would expect to experience in the elves¡¯ camp. Although elves advocated freedom, it was not freedom without order.

    The signal from Norfeller¡¯s blood-oath led Lin Li into thinking that the noises outside might be rted to Norfeller. Without further hesitation, Lin Li kept the Book of Eternity and walked out of the tent briskly.

    The Malfa Family¡¯s campsite was located west of the elves¡¯ campsite. Apart from the vines used by the elves to defend themselves, the arrangement within the camp was not unlike the usual. Lin Li¡¯s tent was situated in the middle of the campsite. It was a short distance away from the exit of the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite.

    After walking out of Malfa¡¯s campsite, Lin Li saw a few elves speaking loudly. Under one of their feet was his follower, Norfeller. He could see seven green arrows on Norfeller¡¯s body, and Norfeller¡¯s energy was incredibly weakened under the effect of the glistening arrows.

    ¡°It seems that this disgusting Vampire is a high-level Undead creature.¡±

    ¡°So what if he is? He is still a weakling to our Seven Star Archery Skill. He can only me his disgusting self for trespassing our holy mountain!¡±

    Jacques¡¯s glee was not conceble under the ttery of hisrades. He looked disdainfully at Norfeller under his feet. ¡°Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice my arrows and dirty them with such ghastly blood...¡± As he spoke, he gave another harsh stomp to Norfeller.

    ¡°Let go of him.¡± A low and cold voice sounded with rity at the very same instant. It created shivers within the elves, and they felt as though their naked souls were exposed to a chilly wind.

    Lin Li¡¯s tone did not waver. Although no one could sense any anger within it, they knew it was filled with the malignity.

    In fact, ever since Lin Li came in contact with the Legendary-realm in the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains, where he experienced all types of deadly battles with hostile powerhouses, it seemed that Norfeller¡¯s assistance was no longer needed.

    However, Lin Li had not forgotten that if Norfeller had not signed the blood-oath with himself willingly when he was at Jarrosus to be his follower, he might not have walked out of the underground tomb. Although Norfeller was only heeding his formal master, his help to Lin Li was definite.

    When Lin Li was walking out of Jarrosus into the foreign Breezy ins to be the first president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, he would not have settled down so easily without Norfeller¡¯s loyal assistance.

    Although it was said that the Breezy ins Guild of Magic had assistance from the Supreme Council, the help Supreme Council could provide them with was too limited. Furthermore, if Lin Li had failed to settle down then, his guild would have lost the investment value to the Supreme Council.

    The level-17 Ice Howler they¡¯d dealt with when he was rescuing the son of the Casten of Rnd City in the Dragon Mountains was absolutely insignificant to him now, yet when he had just entered the Archmage-realm, if not for Norfeller¡¯s protection, he would not have the chance to use any of his battle strategies.

    Ever since Lin Li entered the Legendary-realm and improved exponentially, his opponents be increasingly powerful as well. Norfeller grew ipetent in the face of Lin Li at the Abyss or the red dragon at the underground pce. Yet, Lin Li knew that Norfeller would not hesitate to sacrifice himself even if he had to.

    There were all sorts of people around Lin Li. There were not only mages who were attracted by high remuneration and pharmacists who were determined to learn pharmacy, but also Ujfalusi who was defeated by and submitted to Lin Li and elders who cared for him. Yet, he knew Norfeller was the most loyal of them all.

    Now, before his eyes was a loyal and long-serving Norfeller who was not only injured by a bunch of ignorant elves, but also suffering the humiliation of being under the foot of an elf. Despite having the mindset of a Legendary-mage, Lin Li could really not suppress the rage within him.

    His cold voice blew past the ears of the elves like a gust of chilly wind. The elves did not expect that someone¡¯s killing intent could be that petrifying. It was as though the voice was a concrete object that caused them to be reluctant to turn their heads to check who the voice belonged to. At that moment, a few elves felt that it was as though they had been segregated from their surroundings. It was as though they had left the campsite of the elves and got sucked into an unknown realm. In this realm that was constructed with killing intent, they could neither see any light nor hear any sound. It was as though their heart beat had stopped as well.

    <i>Why am I feeling scared? Did I forget my pride as an elf?! </i>The thought rang in Jacques¡¯ heart. It caused his neck to tremble.

    After all, he was one of the more able young elves. Jacques managed to suppress the fear in his heart. He directed his gaze towards the source of the voice. ¡°H-hu... Human! Did that voice belong to you?¡±

    Jacques sighed in relief when he saw that it was a human mage speaking. Despite the fact that the oppression he felt had not yet dwindled, it was not as suffocating as before. <i>The humans are here to beg the elves¡¯ for assistance. How could they dare to kill me?!</i>

    Jacques¡¯ words helped the other elves regain theirposure. They were ashamed of their earlier feeling of terror. Their beautiful faces became distorted by anger to the point of hideousness. They could not allow a human mage to cause them to break out in a cold sweat.

    This was the difference courage would make. Although the degree of malignity was unchanging, the elves felt that the human mage had no guts toy a finger onto them. They might not have recovered from the terror they had felt previously, but they thought that the human mage was just putting on an empty show.

    <i>That¡¯s right! It has to be an empty show!</i> That was the elves¡¯ attempt to convince themselves. They thought that since they had enough Legendary powerhouses on their side, a mere human would not have the guts to kill them.

    Unfortunately, these elves had insufficient understanding of Lin Li. ording to Gerian, this fe was a natural cat. He wouldn¡¯t flinch if he were given a stroke on his fur, but if his tail were to be stepped on, he would definitely be tearing the culprit¡¯s skin¡ªregardless of the other party¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Human, are you trying to protect this disgusting Undead creature?¡± Jacques asked disdainfully. He was absolutely certain that the human would not dare tounch any attack. A blind person would be able to tell that the human would be at a disadvantage. Being in the elves¡¯ territory, it was clear that the human wasrgely overpowered. Furthermore, Jacques¡¯ innate pride forbade him to submit to anyone. ¡°I have to say that this is an extremely foolish decision. Your actions are going to get you to feel the consequences of the Goddess¡¯ rage. Human, there is still time for you to regret your decision. Leave this ce, and I¡¯ll treat it as if nothing has happened...¡±

    To Jacques, this was a rare act of kindness. However, this time, his kind advice did not receive any response. It was as though the human mage had not heard any of his words. He was making his way towards the elves slowly.

    The surrounding turned very silent. It was as though they could hear one another¡¯s breaths clearly.

    Lin Li¡¯s steps were gentle and slow. Jacques was unsure why he was feeling all the chills despite the former¡¯s bearing no sign of anger on his face. It was as though he had been targeted by a venomous snake. He¡¯d never felt such a ominous aura before.

    The air turned unusually stale. The magical waves around him became very vigorous. Jacques could not fathom why a weak human walking towards him could be as frightening as a terrifying, bloodthirsty monster...

    While it had been said that elves were a regal race, they were not without emotions. Their graceful disposition came from their attractive features, incredibly long lifespan, confidence, and pursuit of perfection. With this, they could not help but feel like they were superior to any other race.

    Hence, it was awkward for them to realize their inability to belittle a human...

    The strong and powerful magical waves made Jacques swallow his saliva awkwardly. While his expression was not void of arrogance and disdain, his feet were bringing him backwards subconsciously. His voice was trembling as well.

    ¡°Y-you... What are you trying to do? Let me warn you, human...¡±

    Lin Li remained silent. He was still walking towards the elves. Every step forward brought the strength of his magical wave stronger. Hisrge magic robe pped despite theck of wind. It created the noise of unruly winds.

    It was as though a dried leaf had gained life. It crawled up from the ground slowly, and jumped up into the sky as thought controlled by an invisible force. It was like a dull yellow butterfly that danced around Lin Li. The other leaves followed suit. They transformed into butterflies and fluttered in the sky without any clear reason. They were like a long snake in the sky.

    Lin Li¡¯s expression was unchanging. The flying leaves yed no part in subsiding the chills the man was emitting. It was as though he had the power to freeze souls with his gaze and gather an enormous amount of mana at every strand of his hair, which was now glowing mysteriously under the night sky.

    Invisible magical waves that were garnished by the dried leaves transformed into a whirlpool around Lin Li. The magical elements in the environment rushed up towards him. Despite not using any spell, he was able to gather all the magical elements to form a faintyer of halo on his body.

    ¡°Human, let me warn you one more time. This holy mountain belongs to us elves. If you dare toy a finger on any of us, Goddess Monferra will never let you off!¡± Jacques¡¯ voice was riddled with anxiety. His breath became heavier.

    Lin Li¡¯s gaze swept past the few elves before staying on Jacques. Not only did he not start any recitation, he was without a magic staff as well. The only thing he did was to slowly reach out his hands towards them.

    The whirlpool that revolved around Lin Li suddenly picked up more speed. The long snakes that were swept up by the wind were dissolved without a warning. Without the garnishing from the leaves, it was as though the whirlpool of mana had subsided. Yet, if one were to take a closer look at the base of Lin Li¡¯s feet, he would see the dried leaves, wild grasses, and pebbles turning into minute fragments the moment they were stepped on. The movement was as if the magical elements were still as wild as before. It was as though the entire space was going to copse.

    What followed was two cylindrical pirs... A gigantic arm that had a faint glow tore through space and appeared in front of the elves. In an instant, it was as though the hand had absorbed all the light in the surroundings. The hand was opened wide, and each finger wasrger than a human being. The hand was as enormous as the sky. It made a grabbing movement towards the elves.

    There was neither the recitation of spells nor enhancement from any magic staff. Although the hand made a very grand entrance, it appeared like an empty threat to the elves. Anyone would know that a powerful spell needed to have a very long recitation and a couldn¡¯t be cast right away. Hence, the elves were certain that the hand had to be either an illusion or an insignificant spell.

 Chapter 612 - Hand of Nihility

    Chapter 612: Hand of Nihility

    Up till now, the elves were still adamant that the human mage before them would not have the guts to do anything to them. However, despite that belief, the pressure from the gigantic hand did not fail to let them feel suffocated. The stress was not only felt mentally, but also physically. The force within the hand fed the terror the elves felt exponentially.

    Jacques knew that the failure to act would bring them disgrace. In the face of the huge palm drawing towards him, Jacques could no longer care about the Vampire beneath his foot.

    ¡°One is not to trample on the pride of elves. Not even the guest of our elder,¡± snapped Jacques through gritted teeth. His expression was hideous.

    The gigantic arm replied with a sudden increase in speed. It appeared right in front of Jacques without any warning. Jacques did not have any chance to react before the hand picked him off the ground.

    Although he did not see the entire process, Lin Li was perfectly clear exactly who¡¯d harmed Norfeller. Hence, he immediately fixed his sight on Jacques. However, he did not let the other elves off, either. After he put Jacques in that tight grasp, he let the hand move left and right casually.

    The elves did not expect the human mage to start the attack. They tried to rush over to their teammate¡¯s rescue after seeing Jacques trapped in that palm, yet they did not expect the immense force manifested in the phantom-like palm.

    While it seem like the hand was moving gently, the power experienced by the elves was intense. They felt as though they were smashed by a war mallet as they were sted off by the pressure. Although it was not as serious as suffering fractures, none of them did not puke blood when they tried to get up from the ground.

    The fallen elves were bbergasted. How could this human mage dare to stir trouble in the elves¡¯ territory? They knew that even if the human mage did not have the guts to kill anyone on this ground openly, Jacques would have a hard time escaping injury.

    The several elves had to admit that the freakishly young human mage had incredible powers. But, they believed that even if he was a Legendary-mage, he would still be a joke in front of the Legendary powerhouses from the Elven Kingdom.

    Jacques¡¯ injuries would sever all ties and partnership between the elves and the humans. As they believed that humans always prioritized benefits, he should really not have chosen to act so impulsively. Did he really think that elves were pushovers?

    ...Not to mention the strength of the entire Elven Kingdom. Just their campsite alone was sufficient to depict the absolute advantage the elves had over the human race. Thebined effort from the Legendary powerhouses from thetter would not have the ability to even the ying field with the Legendary powerhouses of the elves.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. I dere that you should let Jacques down now and give us your apologies, or else you and your forces will never step out of this ce!¡± one of the elves shouted angrily as he wiped the blood off the side of his mouth.

    ¡°Pfff!¡±

    Strong wind blew as the giant hand with Jacques in it punched heavily on the ground. It caused sand and pebbles on the ground to fly all over the ce, while the angry elf tried to dodge the impact of the fist.

    ¡°Cough...¡± That was Jacques, who was still trying to struggle out of the palm a while ago. The impact had caused him to vomit arge amount of blood.

    Jacques¡¯ body was tightly wrapped in the fist. Fresh blood continued to ooze out of his mouth. His clearly defined features had turned hideous and unrecognizable long ago, and he was unable to speak. All of his energy was diverted to struggling with the gigantic fist. Yet, despite using up all of his energy, he could not help but feel the fist tightening instead. Somehow, he also heard his bones cracking.

    The sight of Jacques¡¯ ghastly state terrorized the other elves. They had never seen this young and talentedrade in such a pathetic state. They had felt the impact of the fist. If the situation were to continue, they felt that Jacques might not even recover with the water of life.

    ¡°Human, you havemitted an intolerable mistake! Do you really think that you have the ability to challenge the elven race?¡± shouted some of the elves. The anxiety underlying their tone was overpowered by their anger.

    Yet Lin Li turned a deaf ear to the cries of the elves. His cold and emotionless expression was unchanging. Despite dispersing his whirlpool of mana, that arm he¡¯d reached out was still tightening gradually. Its movement never stopped Jacques from stteringrge mouthfuls of blood; anyone would know how much he had suffered.

    The elves could feel that the human mage was not only driven to injure Jacques, but also to take his life. They had never met such a crazy person who did not care about consequences. How could anyone dare to challenge the elven race for a dirty Undead creature?

    In fact, the elves were not wrong. Lin Li was not only a man who loved to haggle over minute losses, but also one who would be up to crazy deeds at times. While Lin Li knew that Norfeller yed a great role in apanying him on the road to his current status, he would never be so furious if Norfeller had been injured by a formidable opponent. Yet, the truth was very obvious. Norfeller had not had the chance to take precaution against those arrogant elves on his way back to the campsite. This really triggered Lin Li.

    Lin Li would be perfectly fine with whatever attitude or unkind words the prideful elves hurled at him, but they would step on a mine if they were to injure anyone close to him. It did not matter if Norfeller was an Undead follower or not.

    Lin Li¡¯s grip tightened as he swung his hand towards the approaching elves. Lin Li knew that however strong Jacques was to endure the treatment, he would be reaching his threshold if he did not have Legendary-level powers.

    ¡°Elder!¡±

    The elves who were sted off did not charge at Lin Li after they stood up. Instead of charging at Lin Li, they were gazing respectfully in the same direction.

    How could the hugemotion not attract any attention? It not only attracted the attention of the elder and some of the elven higher-ups, but also Borg from the Dark de and Cheyenne from the Malfa Family.

    As Legendary-mages, they were incredibly sensitive to magical waves. The sudden spike in mana shocked and distracted Cheyenne, who was still thinking about the partnership with the elves. He knew that the mana would not belong to his old rival nor the elves. Within this mana, he sensed rage and tyranny.

    Could it be from intruders? How could anyone trespass the elven¡¯s campsite? Cheyenne stopped harboring over the benefits of the partnership. He exited the tent anxiously and headed towards the raving mana.

    Yet, the sight of the source of the mana made Cheyenne lost for words. How could he have thought that it was Felic who had created such amotion? Felic had never done anything in their journey!

    He took in a breath of cold air when he saw the spell used by Lin Li. Could that be the rare instantaneous level-21 Legendary spell, Hand of Nihility? Yes, it has to be it! He was certain that he would not have seen it wrongly!

    The ability to cast spells instantaneously was the dream of every mage. Magic had definite power in Anril, and time needed to cast spells was its sole disadvantage. Regardless of whether it was battle between mages, or against other upations, the shorter the time needed to cast spells, the greater advantage one would have. Ever since magic was discovered, no one had stopped researching on how to shorten the time needed for spell-casting.

    Their hard work paid off. They managed to raise the levels of instantaneous spells as time passed. Despite it, the casting of instantaneous spells had tremendous requirements that would be challenging for normal mages to master. No one, however, could deny the existence of instantaneous spells, and everyone set them as their goals.

    As the God of Mages, Geresco had invested heavily in the research of instantaneous spells, and had sessfully discovered some strong ones. Since his ancestor was Geresco¡¯s disciple, Cheyenne naturally knew about the Hand of Nihility.

    Ordinary instantaneous spells were either weak or at the lower ranking. Yet, Cheyenne had once seen the description of the Hand of Nihility in his ancestor¡¯s notes. That was a level-21 Legendary-level spell that could not only be cast instantaneously, but also leave people bbergasted by its might.

 Chapter 613 - Seven Sages

    <h4>Chapter 613: Seven Sages</h4>

    Although that gigantic hand grabbing the elf appeared to be phantom-like, it had the terrifying power to strangle a level-18 magical beast to death with ease.

    After all the shock, Cheyenne could only look upon Lin Li¡¯s figure and smile bitterly as he shook his head. What did that elf do to trigger Young Master Felic enough to use such a powerful spell?

    Cheyenne had some understanding of the personality of Young Master Felic. After all, the Malfa Family had been interacting with the Tower of Dusk rather frequently. At the beginning, when they werepleting their mission in the ckstone Mountains, their rtionship with the young president was not as friendly as now.

    Regardless of the reason, it was a fact that Hutton had indirectly agreed to Syer Bandits¡¯ sneak attack, and asked the Necromancer Sendros to get rid of the young President Felic. Yet, instead of turning the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk against each other, they became partners in a lot of matters. Cheyenne knew that the young President was not an impulsive and reckless person.

    However, the same young President was willing to mobilize the entire Tower of Dusk when a small town in the vicinity was attacked by the Syer Bandits. He even convinced the Malfa Family to invade the Dragon Mountains to wipe the Syer Bandits from the Breezy ins.

    To Cheyenne, Lin Li was a man with a contradictory personality. Sometimes he would go all out to get whatever benefits he wanted, while at other times he would do the same to forgo all the benefits. But, he was vexed that Lin Li did not employ his rational self in the territory of the elves.

    We are here for the Immortal King¡¯s treasures. No matter what the trigger was, how could he not hold it in? Didn¡¯t he meet those Legendary powerhouses of the elves? Thebined effort from both of us wouldn¡¯t be able to give us the right to mess with them! Cheyenne thought. He really regretted inviting the Tower of Dusk to this mission.

    It wouldn¡¯t matter if they were not to receive any help from the elves. After all, the elves weren¡¯t a part of their initial n. It was not about losing assistance of the elves if they were to provoke them. Cheyenne felt that with the power of the elves, a minor hindrance from them was sufficient to affect their entire mission. He felt headache at the thought of the huge impending trouble.

    Cheyenne¡¯s old opponent was not as worried. Despite beingrades for the current mission, he did not have any good feelings for the young Legendary-mage from the Tower of Dusk. After all, that mage had nearly killed his precious son.

    The sight of the Hand of Nihility cast by Lin Li stunned Borg as much as Cheyenne. As one of Geresco¡¯s disciples¡¯ descendant, and having heard about Lin Li¡¯s performance at the Abyss of Tharlen, he could not help but feel shocked with what he had just witnessed. He knew that he had belittled the young Legendary-mage. Since this 20-year-old man had entered the Legendary-realm at such an age, his talent had to be second only to that of the God of Mages, Geresco.

    Unfortunately, youngsters are still youngsters. They tend to act on impulse due to theck of worldly experience. Although it is normal for them to make mistakes, it was a bad decision to offend the elves at such a timing.

    Borg was not worried that this would affect his partnership with the elves. He knew that the Tower of Dusk was one of the threebined forces due to the Malfa Family. If the Malfa Family had not needed additional assistance to bnce the gap with the Dark de, Borg would not have agreed to have an alliance with a two-men team. It was as good as Dark de being in a deadlock with the two other forces.

    Furthermore, he had never seen President Felic from the Tower of Dusk do anything to the attacking magical beasts throughout their journey here. How could someone hope to gain advantages without working hard for them? The n of entering the Haiga Mountain Range with the elves was not something that could be changed easily.

    Although additional forces would mean additional protection in the Haiga Mountain Range, it would be hard for the Tower of Dusk to contribute meaningfully to the mission. Despite being a Legendary-mage, his nonchnt attitude would turn him into a ghost member. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he were part of the team.

    Therefore, Borg was looking upon the conflict like how he would watch a movie. He was curious what the young Legendary-mage would do next. Compared to Cheyenne, Borg had a better understanding of the elves. He knew how much the elves had invested into this campsite. How are they going to resolve this conflict?

    With this in mind, Borg directed his gaze to the older elves. They were not strangers to Borg. He knew that these several elves were not only the leaders of this mission, but also the higher-ups in the Elven Kingdom. That was because all of them had the same surname: Queldana.

    The Queldana Family was not as well-known as the Helios Family to people outside the Elven Kingdom. Yet, Borg knew that the Queldana Family was the most powerful family in the Elven Kingdom, and that they were even more influential than the renowned Helios Family.

    Ever since the different races overthrew the High Elves and ended the Dark Age, they started to build their own kingdoms. The human race who yed the greatest role in the revolution upied most of Anril, and their kingdoms adopted the ruling system of the High Elves that appointed royals and nobles.

    Simrly, the elves who were said to be the descendants of the High Elves took over the Emerald Forest to build a kingdom of their own. Yet, the governing system they had adopted was vastly different from the High Elves¡¯ system. While they, too, had a noble and respectable queen, it was the Emerald Council that decided on all the policies.

    In that catastrophe that¡¯d nearly eliminated all the elves, there were seven elven powerhouses who led the other elves into the Emerald Forest that helped to protect and sustain the elven race. These seven elven powerhouses were the seven sages, as the elves referred to them. One of them was Bruchegar, the descendant of Helios and the father of Vidas. There was also Garrincha-Queldana, the descendant of a druid and the husband of the queen...

    Borg¡¯s gazended on the oldest elf, who was standing in the middle. He knew that these elves were not only the higher-ups in this campsite, but also at the Queldana Family. Besides, that elf who the others had addressed as their elder was definitely not just the elder of the Queldana Family.

    The elder was Bruchegar-Queldana, the oldest of the higher-ups. He was not only the brother of Randy-Queldana, but also the eighth elder of the Emerald Council. Although he did not have the title of a sage, his position in the Elven Kingdom was as high as those of the queen and his brother, Bruchegar. Borg could not believe that the elder was actually leading this team of elves.

    Frankly speaking, the Dark de¡¯s partnership with the elves was actually a partnership with the Queldana Family. Although there were also heated conflicts within the elven race, they were not as brutal as those among the human race. Yet, it was tacitly agreed that the stronger force would have a greater right to speak in the council.

    Ever since he got ahold of the treasure map, and knew that the treasure of the Immortal King was hidden deep within the Haiga Mountain Range, Borg knew that the ability of the Dark de would certainly not bring them to the treasures. Despite being the most powerful force in the Breezy ins and one of the top forces of the entire Fn Kingdom, it did not have sufficient power to get through more than half of the Haiga Mountain Range with all its lurking dangers.

    The only way to ovee this issue was to establish alliance with other forces. Yet, the choice of the partner would be a crucial one. As no one would sulk over receiving too many benefits, the Dark de would not want to share the treasure of the Immortal King. The alliance formed with the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk was thest resort. After all, it was a fact that both of these forces had Immortal King¡¯s treasure map.

    Thebined effort from the three forces, however, was inadequate to cover the entire Haiga Mountain Range. Sure, being a team that had five Legendary powerhouses, they had the ability to tten Breezy ins if they wanted. However, the outer region of the Haiga Mountain Range, the forbidden zone, was a tricky region even for them.

    Coincidentally, the Dark de learnt from the Elven Kingdom that the Queldana Family had ns to travel to the Haiga Mountain Range to look for their lost treasure. Although he was not certain of the credibility of the news, Borg decided to travel to the Elven Kingdom personally and approach the Queldana Family for a possible partnership. To his pleasure, the news was true. The Queldana Family really had ns to search for their ancient relic.

 Chapter 614 - Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 614: Punishment</h4>

    Although the Queldana Family was the mightiest family in the Elven Kingdom, the loss of ambition would cause them to move dangerously close to decline. The recovery of their sacred weapon would no doubt bolster the position of the Queldana Family in the kingdom.

    The Dark de could only venture further with the help of the Queldana Family. At the same time, the Queldana Family would require timely information from the Dark de as they searched for their lost relic. Since the goals of both parties were not shing, they knew that they had to rely on each other. Therefore, a secret pact was signed between the two.

    Borg¡¯s gazended on Cheyenne, who was standing a distance away. He smiled when he caught the deep frown on the forehead of his foe. Although it was not the time to take action against Cheyenne, Borg was ready to bring him down after they get hold of the treasures.

    Lin Li could sense the presence of many powerhouses in the vicinity. He knew that the elder and his right-hand men from the Queldana Family were armed with Legendary-level power. Yet, this knowledge did not convince Lin Li to restrain himself. He proceeded to tighten the Hand of Nihility.

    Just when the onlookers were guessing how the elves would be settling the matter, they were shocked that the high-level elves did not stop Lin Li when they arrived. They paid full attention to the other elves who were injured and asked them about the situation patiently.

    The gaze of the elder swept past the elves. His calm and gentle disposition was like the water of life that helped them forget their injuries. Their negative feelings such as anger, anxiety, and fear subsided immediately. All of them were united by the same thought: everything will be fine if our elder is here!

    ¡°You have to be the elves on patrol duty. Can anyone let me know what had happened?¡± That was one of the higher-ups standing beside the elder. He wasposed, and his tone was unrushed.

    The elves stopped feeling anxious. Although Jacques was still under Lin Li¡¯s control, the presence of the elder and the higher-ups convinced them that the human mage would not have the guts to kill their friend.

    They gave the older elves a respectful bow before fixing their res on Lin Li. ¡°It¡¯s like this. We are in charge of tonight¡¯s security duty. When we were patrolling the grounds earlier on, we noticed a Vampire who tried to trespass our campsite. As our best archer, Jacques intervened immediately. He injured the Vampire with his Seven Star Archery Skill,¡± an elf whose name was Troy said. He was donned in a leather armor.

    The higher-ups nodded, gesturing for the elves to continue with the exnation.

    ¡°Of course, we did not kill that Vampire immediately. That¡¯s because we suddenly remembered that one of our human guests had a Vampire buddy. In order not to create any misunderstandings, we were trying to get this Vampire to tell us his origins,¡± Troy said inly. He did not even blink upon mentioning the words ¡°kill¡± and ¡°injured¡±. It was as though that was not a bloody conflict, but a drizzling rain in the campsite.

    Furthermore, Troy appeared to be equipped with the art of eloquence... or the skill to deny responsibility. His words transformed the bloody conflict into a rationalized act of self-defense.

    The most important thing was his repetition of the word ¡®Vampire¡¯...

    ¡°Vampire?¡± As expected, the word put a frown on one of the higher-ups. A glint of disdain shed across his face. ¡°Who brought the Vampire into our campsite?¡±

    ¡°It is that mister mage over there.¡± Troy pointed to the silent Lin Li. ¡°This is actually a misunderstanding. We did not know that the Vampire we had injured was the buddy of this mister mage. But, the mage did not give us any opportunity to exin ourselves when he arrived. He targeted Jacques immediately and wanted to kill him...¡±

    ¡°Is that so, Mage Felic?¡± the high-level elf inquired with furrowed brows. It was a fact that they were in the Haiga Mountain Range, a holy ce the Goddess Monferra endowed to the elves. It was sphemy for the human mage to bring a Vampire here. Moreover, he nearly killed Jacques!

    If not for their partnership, and the good rtionship the elves had with the Dark de, the human mage would have be the enemy of all the elves.

    ¡°Human, if you do not stop now, you are really going tomit an irreversible mistake.¡±

    Lin Li did not respond to the senior elf. It was as though nothing had been said. Lin Li proceeded to increase his magical force when he discovered that Jacques had be weaker. Jacques, who had begun to lose his consciousness, could only continue to vomit more blood.

    This scene carved a deeper frown on that senior¡¯s forehead. He realized Lin Li¡¯s determination to kill Jacques. He really could not understand the thoughts of that human mage. How much did that dirty Undead creature mean to him? What made him act upon such irrationality?

    The high-level elves could sense the rapid decrease in Jacques¡¯ life force. They knew that the most important thing they had to do was to get Jacques down. If not, they were really going to lose him. It would be toote to save Jacques even if they were to punish that human mage then.

    ¡°Mage Felic, if you do not agree with what they were talking about, you can let us know about your point of view. We will certainly make a fair judgment of the situation. Before that, can you let Jacques down? Even if that Vampire is your partner, this is after all a sacred mountain range that belongs to the elves. Hence, I¡¯m sure you can understand Jacques¡¯ actions,¡± the higher-up said gently as he tried to persuade Lin Li to let Jacques down.

    Atst, Lin Li shifted his gaze onto that elven leader. ¡°I only know that anyone who dares to harm my teammates will have to pay for it. It does not matter who he is. I don¡¯t believe in the sacred mountain range. If it really is a sacred ce, the elves would not have to seek refuge in the Emerald Forest,¡± replied Lin Li inly.

    Lin Li¡¯s words stabbed the elves¡¯ old scars. Not only did the higher-ups have a change in expression, the elder who had been lookingposed also started to frown.

    The elves had been announcing that the Haiga Mountain Range was a sacred mountain range bestowed to them by the Goddess of Forest. What was eerie, however, was that Nature Magic failed to work in the Haiga Mountain Range. The elves could only guard the Emerald Forest at the Haiga Mountain Range, and not take over the entire sacred mountain range.

    Everyone in Anril knew about this awkward situation. This became an embarrassment for the elven race. Yet, there were no one person or force that dared to speak of it.

    Lin Li¡¯s words angered all the elves on the scene. However, the senior elf knew that the priority was to save Jacques from Lin Li. Hence, he suppressed all his anger as he prepared to persuade Lin Li further.

    However, before that senior managed to speak another word, the elder who had been standing in the center spoke. ¡°Human mage, Jacques is indeed wrong as he has injured your friend with his arrows. Yet, as your friend is still alive, it will be too overboard if you are to kill Jacques. Since you want an answer to this issue, I will give you a satisfying answer.¡±

    Lin Li diverted his gaze onto the elder. Instead of putting Jacques down immediately, he waited silently for the elder to continue with his conditions.

    ¡°Your act of targeting Mage Felic¡¯s friend presumptuously has damaged the friendship between the Tower of Dusk and the elves tremendously. You have created a misunderstanding due to your recklessness. It seems that you are not suitable to undertake the heavy responsibilities of a guard for the campsite. As the eighth elder of the elves, I order you to give up 10 years of your Heart of Nature.¡± The words of the elders stunned everybody, including the higher-ups, yet no one dared to defy him.

    The elves who were punished turned pallid. They did not dare to show any signs of weakness in front of the elder, though. Otherwise, their legs would have given way and brought them to the ground. None of them dared to talk back as they knew it would not bring them anything but further embarrassment.

    The loss of the Heart of Nature was a very grave punishment for the elves. It only started appearing after the elves migrated to the Emerald Forest. The Heart of Nature was akin to the magical crystals of magical beasts. It was a seed of the Trees of War that was integrated into each elf from their birth. Although the seed would not grow stems and leaves like an actual nt, it would grow alongside the elves. To the elves, the Heart of Nature was like their second source of energy.

    The elves constantly nurtured their seeds with their energy as they grew older. The seeds not only umted the energy passively, but also helped to give the elves a stronger set of powers. They could allow the elves to master the special Nature Magic and allow their lean bodies to possess their magnificent powers. The power generated by the seeds yed a critical role in helping the elven race settle down in the Emerald Forest as a formidable force.

    The elves passing away would make the seed within them transform into pure energy that¡¯d return to the Trees of War. It would not only help to sustain the life of the Trees of War, but also allow them to grow more seeds. This helped to establish a mutually beneficial rtionship between the elves and the Trees of War.

    However, if the elves had to surrender their Heart of Nature before their death, the most obvious impact would be a drastic decrease in ability that would take away most of their powers. Hence, the punishment to take their Heart of Nature¡ªeven for just 10 years¡ªwould be one of the harsher punishment the elves faced.

    The elder recited a short spell as he reached his wrinkled arm out toward the elves. Instantly, glowing milky seeds flew out of each of the elves¡¯ bodies. The sudden loss in energy brought all of them to the ground. Each of them gazed with soulless eyes at their seeds as they drifted further and further.

    Only then did Lin Li loosen his grasp on Jacques and ce the out-of-shape Jacques down. Lin Li was aware of the severity of the punishment to the elves. It was akin to taking away the Warriors¡¯bat energy and the mages¡¯ ability to use magic.

    While Lin Li was satisfied with this punishment, all the other onlookers had veryplicated expressions. No one had expected such a conclusion to themotion.

    The other elves naturally felt indignant for their peers. None of them could understand how injuring a disgusting Undead creature would lead to their elder taking away their Heart of Nature. Furthermore, other than Jacques¡¯ high status in the family, they knew that Jacques¡¯ outstanding talent portrayed his tremendous potential to excel in the future. What would be of him after his Heart of Nature was taken away?

    Yet, no one dared to question the decision of the elder. Since the punishment had already been decided, there would be no way to reverse it. The elves could only help each other up and leave the scene quietly with the elder and the higher-ups.

    Is that all? Cheyenne smiled bitterly. Although the present situation made the Malfa Family in need of an ally like the Tower of Dusk, the closure of this conflict was not what he wished to see. To him, the best way to end it was not to make it too much of a great deal. If the arrival of the elder had managed to convince Lin Li to let Jacques down immediately, no one would¡¯ve felt embarrassed, and everyone could¡¯ve treated the matter as though it had never happened.

 Chapter 615 - Cold Shoulder

    <h4>Chapter 615: Cold Shoulder</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Cheyenne felt that things would be better if the elves had chosen to save Jacques by confronting the young Master Felic due to their strength. How could the elves be such easy creatures tomunicate with? If they seemed to be admitting their weakness now, no one knew when they were going tounch their revenge.

    Cheyenne was really regretful for inviting the Tower of Dusk for this mission. Not to mention that they had not been contributing meaningfully to this journey, they were also the ck sheep that were going to damage the rtionship between the humans and the elves. It was a fact that the Malfa Family was worse off than Dark de who had a good rtionship it the elves. Now that Felic had created this mess, how was he supposed to proceed from here?

    As they had been old enemies, it was not difficult for Borg to guess Cheyenne¡¯s anxiety. Yet, that did not mean that he had aposed mind, either. He had long gotten past the mood of watching a show. Now, he was starting to think about how to deal with possible issues that might arise regarding their partnership with the elves.

    Before this, Borg had thought of a lot of consequences this conflict would lead to. Yet, he did not expect that it¡¯d end this way. He¡¯d thought that it would be easy for the elves to deal with a Legendary-mage. He¡¯d thought that since the higher-ups were in the Legendary-realm, the elder elf would not have to step in to get rid of one young Legendary-mage.

    It would be false to romanticize the elves as peace-loving creatures. Even if they were not creatures that would take revenge over minute matters, they were certainly not pushovers in front of any enemies, especially after had been through the catastrophe.

    Knowing the elves, Borg was extremely taken aback by such a closure to the conflict. It created uncertainty in him about the partnership with the elves. It did not matter what was on the elder¡¯s mind. Borg only knew that such a closure would deepen the hatred for humans within the elves. He was worried that the Dark de would also be implicated.

    Regardless of what the others were thinking, Lin Li was rather satisfied with this result. Although he did regret not getting to kill that elf named Jacques, he knew that the punishment to take away the Heart of Nature was an extremely harsh punishment to the elves. He gave no attention to the onlookers as he walked towards Norfeller. He took out a potion bottle and fed it to Norfeller.

    Then, he plucked out the seven arrows in Norfeller¡¯s body and threw them on the ground casually. Norfeller¡¯s wounds started to close at a speed visible to the naked eye. Norfeller opened his eyes and stood up before some of the onlookers could take their leave.

    Lin Li and thepletely recovered Norfeller waddled back to the Malfa Family¡¯s campsite under the hatred-filled res of the elves and the astonishment of the other people.

    Cheyenne gritted his teeth. He could not understand why Lin Li had to create such amotion when he had such a powerful potion with him! Why did he do that when that Vampire had been in zero danger!? Cheyenne was really worried that this would prevent them from finding the Immortal King¡¯s treasures.

    The sight of Lin Li¡¯s back view left a bitter smile on Borg¡¯s face.<i> Why on earth did he do that? Would he be this at ease if he knew the true identity of that elder?</i> Borg was filled with regret. If he had predicted such a conflict, he would have warned him before him. That was the eighth elder of the Emerald Council! How could amoner dare to offend him? It was akin to waging war against the whole Elven Kingdom!

    However, Borg wasn¡¯t aware that Lin Li was not a man who would let this matter slide even if he knew who the elder was. Although Norfeller was a mere Undead servant, he had an important ce in Lin Li¡¯s heart. The few people who Lin Li genuinely treasured would be Andoine who led him into the field of magic, Gerian who supported him in Jarrosus, and Norfeller who had always been loyal to him.

    In fact, if Lin Li had been the one being targeted today, he would not have been so harsh on the elves. All the problems the Malfa Family had nted for him when they were in the ckstone Mountains did not stop Lin Li from forming an alliance with them. It was a wise decision made to help the Tower of Dusk make progress in the long term.

    Yet, such a rational person actually led a group of followers up the Dragon Mountains to eradicate the Syer Bandits with all his might when ck Clouds Town was invaded and people he knew died. Lin Li did not need to do such things to win people over. Furthermore, the contract he had with Norfeller was a blood oath. It ensured total loyalty from Norfeller no matter what he had to face.

    This was his personality. He would not give a d*mn about the elves or the elder. As long as the people around him were harmed, he would ensure that the enemies paid the price.

    Borg did not expect Lin Li to be so eager to act for an Undead follower when he had been cking his way through their journey here. If he¡¯d known better, he would not have agreed to partner up with this young man, but it was toote for regrets. What he thought he should be doing was to think of solutions to deal with the looming consequences. He hoped that the secret agreement with the Queldana Family would make the elves not create too much of a problem for them. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to locate the Immortal King¡¯s treasures.

    Borg¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s concerns were very quickly proven to be valid. It could be observed the very next day that the elves started to treat these human guests very differently.

    Although the elves were innately arrogant and had been seeing themselves as the superior race, they did not dy in their response to any requests from the human beings. They disyed neither arrogance nor enmity.

    But, ever since the confrontation happened, the attitude of the elves changed.

    The simplest and most crucial issue they created was to hoard the only water source they had in the campsite. This created a lot of inconvenience for the human adventurers who were tasked to collect water. Although mages had the ability to use their spells to gather some water, it would be unrealistic for the few of them to be upied with such a tedious chore.

    Knowing that they were in the elves¡¯ territory andcked power to go against them, the adventurers decided to collect their water outside the boundaries of the campsite. Yet, they did not expect the elves to be meticulous and diligent in their retaliation. They made it difficult for them to leave the campsite, and even harder for them to return. In fact, they even contaminated the nearby water source after knowing that the humans went around them.

    The elves assigned many geographical restrictions on the boundaries the human adventurers could travel to. Any trespassing would instantly result in warnings from the elves. It did not mean safety when they stayed within the campsite, either. As they were based in the territory of the elves, they were frequently harassed by elven warriors for irrelevant reasons.

    Borg shook his head helplessly as he heard themotion outside his tent. What could he do? Could hein to the elder of the elves over such a trivial matter? Or could he learn from Mage Felic in confronting the elves and damage their rtionship further? He could only ask his people to be patient and tolerating towards the elves.

    Aspared to the campsite of the Dark de, the situation at the Malfa Family was even more lively. Knowing that the rtionship between Lin Li and Malfa Family had to be friendly for Lin Li to stay with them, how could the elves let Malfa Family off in their ns of retaliation? The Malfa Family faced never-ending problems that were caused by the elves throughout the day. There was no peaceful moment there. Simr to the Dark de, Cheyenne did not want to implicate their rtionship with the elves. Hence, he only ordered his men to remain tolerant of the elves, and treat their unhappiness as a way to strengthen their ability to manage their temper.

    The elves did not miss any human being out in their retaliation. No respect was shown to the human Legendary-mages, either. Only a single man was left out of the entire matter¡ªthe culprit behind all these mess, Lin Li.

    Lin Li¡¯s tent and its surroundings transformed into a restricted region for the elves. None of them dared to bring their havoc past that boundary. Norfeller, who had recoveredpletely long ago, perched outside his tent with utmost loyalty, and gave no attention to the res of disgust and hatred.

    That was not all. As usual, Norfeller would leave the campsite to gather information about their surroundings, but he did not see the need to transform into a bat to leave the campsite discretely from high up in the air anymore. Instead, he swaggered past the elves proudly as though they could not see him as an Undead creature.

    The elves had prior disdain for Undead creatures. It was these creatures that¡¯d brought such a harsh punishment to their peers. Hence, the hatred of the elves was expected. However, with the matter that happened before, none of them dared to make things difficult for this Undead creature.

    In fact, the people from the Dark de and the Malfa Family who were suffering the effects of Lin Li¡¯s ways were actually envious of how Lin Li treated his men. Despiteining that he was the source of all the trouble, they knew very well that he was a good master who cared tremendously for even his Undead servant, being daring enough to offend the elder of the elves. This was in stark contrast to their superiors, who ordered them to be submissive to the elves.

    Lin Li shook his head gently at all themotion outside. He directed his attention back onto the Book of Eternity in his hands. He heard Cheyenne and Borgin about the problems the elves were causing them during their meetings for the past two days. He felt that the elves were just too immature.

    Lin Li was totally unaffected by the amount of trouble the elves tried to cause to the humans. He continued to live alone every day. Apart from having meetings with Cheyenne and Borg to discuss the treasure¡¯s matter, Lin Li would be in his tent reading the Book of Eternity.

    As he learnt more and more in-depth knowledge from the Book of Eternity, it was not just different techniques and spells, but mainly things that required him to reflect upon. Obviously, Geresco¡¯s intention of leaving behind the Book of Eternity was not to create another version of himself, but out of hope that the next person could ride on his foundation and advance further.

    It was impossible for the Book of Eternity to be able to record the vast knowledge of magic despite it being heavy and thick. Geresco was indeed the God of Mages. Every sentence and every word he wrote down carried great meanings. Lin Li could only take Geresco¡¯s writings as a starting point as he figured out a path that would belong to himself.

    COMMENT

    Every statement in the Book of Eternity deserved Lin Li¡¯s effort to dwell on it repeatedly. The deepening of his understanding each time gave him great benefits. As he read on, the world of magic became clearer and clearer to him. He had a betterprehension of nomological power. Lin Li had been making obvious improvement in his practice of magic every day.

    Being in the Legendary-realm for so many years, Cheyenne and Borg were very clear what it would take to make progress in the realm. Yet, for every meeting they had with the young Legendary-mage, he never failed to astonish them. They could tell that the ability of the young Legendary-mage was not hindered by his young age. They felt that it was as though the young mage was apletely different man every time they met him.

    After all, hard work and practice would be too little to help people in the Legendary-realm improve. What they needed was enlightenment on the power of the different rules of magic. However, such enlightenment was hard to encounter. Hence, every tiny bit of it seemed like a dream to mages in the Legendary-realm.

    Cheyenne remembered how Lin Li was when he first approached to invite him. The stark contrast between then and now made it seem like they were two different people. He noticed Lin Li¡¯s drastic improvement each day as well.

    Although both Cheyenne and Borg knew that Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity was in the hands of the young mage, they could not help but be fascinated with his changes. They might not have seen the Book of Eternity, but they were certain that there were not only detailed information about the fundamentals of magic. They knew that possessing the Book of Eternity did not mean that one would be the second God of Mages.

 Chapter 616 - Viperéˆ¥æªš Poison

    <h4>Chapter 616: Viper¡¯s Poison</h4>

    Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the human adventure team had already rested in the elven camp for 10 days, which were more like torment than rest.

    After a long period of peace, amotion broke out in the campground again. It was in fact even more chaotic than the one that Lin Li had caused previously.

    Even Lin Li who was not often bothered by anything else around him had no choice but to put down the Book of Eternity, because he could clearly sense that the elves were not taking revenge, but rather were obviously panicking.

    Lin Li stepped out of the tent and took Norfeller to the gate of the camp, where he was greeted with the sight of a team of elves who were entering the campground one after another. However, there were obvious scars on their bodies, and they were no longer graceful. Instead, they were rather disheveled.

    There were definitely some spectators who were gloating over the incident. However, more people were worried about the situation¡ªjust like the elves. With the current abilities of the elves, they were definitely formidable, yet they ended up in such a sorry state. Clearly, the dangers in the Haiga Mountain Range were far beyond imaginable.

    Although not everyone had a clear understanding of the purpose of the mission this time, they were sure that they had to enter the Haiga Mountain Range. The thought of the attacks from the magical beasts that they had suffered just now made everyone tense up. No one knew if they could walk out alive.

    Lin Li looked around and realized that the elves had all got far, far away after seeing him. However, they were all looking at their injuredpanions with mncholy.

    Lin Li got Norfeller to ask around, after which they roughly got the idea what had happened.

    The injured elves were said to be the elites of the elves, and had already delved into Haiga Mountain Range to look for the holy relic along a vague route even before the humans arrived. Unfortunately, they met with the attacks of magical beasts; hence, they had no choice but to retreat.

    Those who did not know elves well could not figure out clearly if they were really elites, but Lin Li could sense that the power of those elves was much stronger than that of those he met in the campground. Most of them were level-18 and level-19.

    However, what caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was not their strength, but their injuries. Given the abilities of the elves, most ordinary wounds would be no big deal, and injuries wouldn¡¯t affect their power even without treatment.

    However, Lin Li could sense a curse-like aura that wasing from them. He frowned and carefully scrutinized the elves, after which he found something fishy.

    Lin Li stroked his chin and decided to stop looking at them. Instead, he turned around and returned to the tent together with Norfeller. ording to the characteristics of the wounds of the elves, Lin Li already guessed something. He reckoned that they might have been poisoned by something.

    Lin Li was reminded of a kind of poison that belonged to the prehistoric viper. The viper¡¯s poison was the most deadly of all. Besides, it was abination of a curse and toxins.

    However, he could tell that the poison that the elves were infected with was not that serious as that of an actual prehistoric viper. Perhaps it was a mix between prehistoric magical beast and the prehistoric viper; hence, the gics would be already different.

    Of all toxins, the viper¡¯s poison could be said to be the most difficult to ovee or understand. However, as a pharmacist, Lin Li did not abandon his research of viper¡¯s poison¡ªnot because he had nothing to do, but because he remembered the promise that he had made.

    During the presidential inauguration ceremony back then, all of the various forces came forth to congratte Lin Li and send him some gifts. The Summoning Lamp in which the Lord of Nightmares was sealed had been gifted to Lin Li by Englos from the Brilliance Shrine. However, it was an extremely precious gift that was not given away for nothing. When the Summoning Lamp was given to Lin Li, he had to promise that he would help the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine and remove the viper¡¯s poison in his body once he was powerful enough to do so.

    The viper¡¯s poison in the Pope¡¯s body was pure, concentrated, and much deadlier than that in the elves¡¯ bodies. Although Lin Li had already be a pharmaceutics Guru back then, formting a Guru-level potion required more than just skill and technique. The understanding of the Rule Power was equally important. Back then, Lin Li had been just an Archmage, and he could only give Englos a verbal promise.

    If Englos had demanded that Lin Li helped the Pope get rid of the poison before he gave him the Summoning Lamp back then, Lin Li probably would have rather turned him down than make a promise that he couldn¡¯t keep, no matter how precious the Summoning Lamp might be.

    However, Englos had told him that the Summoning Lamp only required a right opportunity, and that Lin Li could fulfill his promise whenever he had the confidence to do so. If he still didn¡¯t have the confidence by the time the poison overwhelmed the Pope, Englos wouldn¡¯t me him, and the Summoning Lamp would still be his to keep. Hence, Lin Li verbally promised Englos to get rid of the poison within the Pope¡¯s body as long as he had the ability to.

    Although it was only a verbal promise, Lin Li was a man of his word, and he would never go back on it. Ever since he made the informal verbal promise, Lin Li had been keeping the matter in mind, and searching for ways to remove the viper¡¯s poison from human bodies.

    Lin Li was now already a level-21 Legendary-mage. In addition to reading the Book of Eternity, his understanding of the Rule Power had be deeper. Many techniques of pharmaceutics Gurus could be now used by him; hence, he finally got some clues about getting rid of the viper¡¯s poison.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, there might be a gap for him to close before he could really remove the viper¡¯s poison, but the toxin in the elves¡¯ bodies had been diluted; hence, he had a way to remove it. Although he could not eradicate the toxin immediately, he was still about 70-80% confident.

    However, being sure didn¡¯t mean that he had to take a shot. Lin Li was indeed very generous to his own people, and he would never hesitate to deplete his resources in order to help those who were rted to him. However, he could be selfish too, especially when facing those who were irrelevant to him. He would never bat an eyelid even if an outsider died in front of him. The elves might be poisoned by a viper, but what did that have to do with him?

    To Lin Li, it was just an interesting show for him to watch and get over after he was done. Once he was done watching the show, he would go back to doing what he had to.

    The Haiga Mountain Range treasure quest did not mean that much to Lin Li in the first ce. It would be great if he could find any treasures, but if not, he would just go back to the Tower of Dusk. It was no big deal to him at all. Anyway, he and Norfeller were the only ones from the Tower of Dusk here on this journey. With Legendary-realm power, it should be no problem for them to leave safely.

    With such a mindset, Lin Li did not value the cooperation with the elves as much as Cheyenne and Borg did. Hence, upon returning to his own tent, he immediately forgot about the matter and continued to immerse himself in studying the Book of Eternity.

    Lin Li did not attract any attention at all when he left, for everyone was focused on the injured elves who were soon brought to therge tent in the center. The elven elders brought the high-level elves to look at the injured ones.

    After checking the injuries of the elves, the faces of the elven elders grew increasingly sullen. Before the elders even spoke, the high-level elves knew that things were awry.

    When thest injured elf was checked, the elder stood up and pondered with a frown, after which he said to the elves, ¡°You guys, go out first. I¡¯m going to use natural rejuvenation. I hope it¡¯ll help with healing their injuries.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, the hearts of the elves wrenched up, though they did not say anything. Natural rejuvenation was not an ordinary healing magic, but a legendary divine magic of Druids. Even a dying person would be able to quickly recover with the help of natural rejuvenation. Everything could be cured using natural rejuvenation, including physical trauma and disabilities.

    However, the power of the Natural Rejuvenation was the very reason the high-level elves seemed extremely worried. It was the first time that they had ever heard their elders saying that even Natural Rejuvenation might not be able to heal the injured elves. That meant that there wasn¡¯t another way to save their lives.

    The high-level elves walked out of the tent worriedly, while the elders frowned. One of them then whipped out a magic staff that was simr to a withered tree branch, and performed Natural Rejuvenation, the legendary magic of Druids.

    After a long period of time, a strong Scent of Life radiated from the tent, thus waking up even the elves who were waiting outside. They seemed to have experienced a rebirth. However, no one rejoiced, and they all entered the tent immediately after the scent dissipated in a bid to see the results of using the Natural Rejuvenation instead.

    The wounds on the bodies of the few wounded elves in the tent hadpletely healed. However, the elves were still lying there and exuding aura of death, which made them seem like Undead creatures.

    Upon sight of that, the hearts of the elves instantly sank to rock bottom. One of the high-level elves walked towards the elders, and asked, ¡°Elders, when... can they wake up?¡±

    However, the elven elder shook his head. In an aged voice, he said, ¡°They¡¯ve sustained more than just abrasions and external injuries. They¡¯ve also encountered a peculiar force that is constantly eating away at their vitality. Natural Rejuvenation can only slow down the process, but it can¡¯t drive the force away.¡±

    ¡°Well... did they get poisoned with something? Why don¡¯t you try using an antidote...¡± Actually, the high-level elf was already at his wits¡¯ end, because there hadn¡¯t been a poison that Natural Rejuvenation could not get rid of.

    The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became much tenser, and the high-level elves were at aplete loss for what to do because the wounded were not ordinary elven warriors. One of them was the most important and prestigious elf, Princess Elune, the daughter of the elven queen.

    If Princess Elune were to die there, it would be a disaster for the entire Elven Kingdom. The Queldana Family would probably be at a loss for an exnation even if they were inws with the queen. Moreover, the other elves also had extraordinary identities, and the death of any one of them was not something the Queldana Family could tolerate.

    ¡°Elders, how much time do we have left?¡± one of the senior elves asked with agony.

    The elven elder sighed, and answered, ¡°10 days. The Natural Rejuvenation can suppress it for 10 days. After 10 days, the force will flow to their hearts, and even Goddess Monferra will be powerless by then.¡±

    In the eyes of the elves who lived long lives, the time period of 10 days was simply insignificant. However, the time limit seemed like a time bomb that was heavily pressed against the chests of the elves. If they couldn¡¯t find a solution to save the wounded elves, it would mean that Princess Elune only had only 10 days left to live, and the Queldana Family would cease to exist after that.

    If Princess Elune and several other elves really died in the campground, the Queldana Family would be the ultimate sinners of the entire Elven Kingdom. Even if they were descendants of Druids and their patriarch was the queen¡¯s husband, they would be eradicated from the Elven Kingdom, despite holding two seats in the Emerald Council.

    Most importantly, no one knew what poison the elves were infected with, not even the elven elders. Even though they wanted to find a way to save the wounded, there was nothing they could do but watch and wait for the elves to die and their family to end.

    In spite of this news, the elders ordered for the information to be kept secret; hence, no one except a few high-level elves knew about it. However, when the other elves saw their injured peers, they could sense that something was amiss. Everyone knew how much Princess Elune meant to the elves; she was the key to their survival.

 Chapter 617 - Antidote

    <h4>Chapter 617: Antidote</h4>

    On the following day, the elves suddenly sunk into low spirits. Although they had no idea what exactly had happened, no one dared to stir up trouble with the humans. The day was surprisingly really calm for human adventurers, and it even made them doubt if the elves were nning to take revenge.

    Even Cheyenne and Borg had acutely sensed that something was amiss, but they did not get any answers from the high-level elves they had consulted. After several guesses, they still did not have a clue, and the two parties had no choice but to continue restricting their subordinates and get ready to deal with the changes that might appear anytime.

    The entire campground was suddenly shrouded in a depressing atmosphere, and even the bright sun could not dispel the gloom within their hearts. Both elves and humans seemed to have lost their vitality, and were waiting for something.

    The only person in the campground who was not affected was none other than Lin Li, who never got himself involved in the business of others. He read the Book of Eternity and carefully tried to understand the meaning within it. However, enlightenment could not be obtained just by brainstorming. Lin Li stretched his body and looked out at the shining sun outside the tent. He walked out of the tent and slowly advanced towards the campground while experiencing the feelings mentioned in the book.

    After some time, Lin Li suddenly snapped out of his trance because of an abrupt cry. At this moment, Lin Li finally discovered that he had already arrived in the Malfa Family¡¯s campground, and was in a certain spot of the elven camp. The sound he heard just now was actually from the Moonsaber Panther that was lying on its back, not too far away from where they were.

    Although the Moonsaber Panther was a rare find, Lin Li still knew some things about it. It was said that it was born with level-20 strength and was proficient in nature magic. When under the moonlight, its strength would be greatly improved, thus giving it the name of Moonsaber.

    It was a Moonsaber Panther that had just matured, and was supposed to be at the peak of its vitality. However, it seemed to be in a bit of trouble at this moment. It had scars all over its body and looked extremely disheveled. Lin Li could tell at a nce that just like the elves, Moonsaber Panther had been infected with Viper¡¯s poison, which was now killing the Moonsaber¡¯s vitality. Even with the strength of the Moonsaber Panther, it had no choice but to lie down and wait for its death.

    Lin Li¡¯s eyes glistened when he saw the dying Moonsaber Panther. Although he thought that he was confident enough to create an antidote for Viper¡¯s poison that was derived from theoretical knowledge, he had yet to perform any experiments. Hence, he thought that it would be a good idea to conduct an experiment on the Moonsaber Panther since it was already dying anyway.

    Lin Li approached the Moonsaber Panther, squatted down, and took out two potions. The Moonsaber Panther seemed to have lost all of its energy, and was too powerless to react to the stranger in front of it.

    That was great for Lin Li, for he needed not waste any energy on feeding it with medicine. Lin Li opened a bottle of potion, and the instant that the cork was removed, an overbearing stench filled the air. Even the Moonsaber Panther painstakingly cocked its head to the side.

    That odor was definitely familiar to adventurers who frequented dangerous ces, because every adventurer would definitely carry such potions with them wherever they went to deal with toxins. The nauseating potion known as the Detoxification Antidote could be regarded as a low-level one, but it did have a good cleansing effect on many kinds of toxins. Since it was low-level, it naturally wasn¡¯t expensive, and could definitely be described as a necessity for adventure.

    Of course, it was not enough to count on a low-level antidote to eliminate the Viper¡¯s poison in the body of the Moonsaber Panther, even though the toxins were diluted. Hence, Lin Li¡¯s other potion was still the key in removing the poisoning of the Moonsaber Panther.

    That potion was not a low-level product, but was a real Master-level potion. The preciousness of this potential Life-awakening Potiony not only in the mastery skills required, but also in several precious herbs that were hard to find.

    Pharmacists had never racked their brains toe up with a fancy name for their potions. Hence, the effects of every potion could be deduced just by looking at their respective names. Just like its name suggested, this bottle of Life-awakening Potion helped to stimte vitality. Even if it was taken by a dying person, it could instantly rejuvenate his life, almost achieving the effect of resurrection.

    However, despite having such a potent effect, the potion remained only at the Master-level because its effects were not perfect. Although the effects of this medicine were not as big, the side effects were still serious. After the effects of the potion wore off, the user would remain weakened for a long time, and might even experience a decrease in level. However, the advantages outweighed the shorings. If one were to lose his life, he would never be a high-level master, either.

    The two potions were actually not that rare, especially the Detoxification Antidote that was sold for a rtively cheap price. However, when the two potions were mixed together, the effects would be extraordinary, though Lin Li would be the only one who knew that. They would be a magical potion that was sufficient to dispel the viper¡¯s poison.

    Actually, the viper¡¯s poison was not the most toxic of all, and while its toxicity alone might be fatal to ordinary people, it was far from lethal for powerful people. In this world, there were many more poisons that were more toxic than Viper¡¯s poison. Some toxins would make the poisoned person turn into blood, while some would destroy the poisoned person¡¯s soul immediately.

    However, why did the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine get infected by Viper¡¯s poison and was unable to expel it? It was precisely because the other intractable characteristic of Viper¡¯s poison was its low detectability. Regardless of whether it was repelled or removed, the toxin had to be found before it could be dealt with. If the toxin couldn¡¯t be found, even the best antidote wouldn¡¯t have an effect on it. It was so obscure that even the powerful Pope of the Brilliance Shrine could only let the poison eat away at his body.

    Therefore, the first step to removing the Viper¡¯s poison would be to find it, not detoxify it. The toxicity of the Viper¡¯s poison was very simple, and it would just devour the vitality of the poisoned victim until he died. Under normal circumstances, this process of engulfing would be obscure, but with the effects of the Life-awakening Potion, the vitality of the poisoned person would suddenly increase explosively, yet the poison would continue to devour the victim¡¯s vitality, thus exposing itself instantly. When the viper¡¯s poison was exposed, it could be removed easily with an ordinary Detoxification Antidote.

    Of course, so far, this was just a theory developed by Lin Li. After all, the viper¡¯s poison could not be located that easily, and he hadn¡¯t had an opportunity to experiment, either. Now that the Moonsaber Panther had sent itself to Lin Li, he decided to take the chance to put his theory and conjecture to test.

    Lin Li pulled the head of the Moonsaber Panther and pried its mouth open forcefully, ignoring its pitiful gaze. He then forced the potion down its throat. The poor, powerless Moonsaber Panther had no choice but to stare at Lin Li, too weak to even make a sound.

    At this moment, a high-level elf walked towards him worriedly, and happened to see Lin Li forcing the potion down Moonsaber Panther¡¯s throat. The elf panicked because the Moonsaber Panther was special to elves, though humans only deemed it a magical beast. In the elven race, the Moonsaber Panther, like a unicorn, was a sacred animal that was the purest form of transport for the elves. That Moonsaber Panther belonged to Princess Elune.

    This high-level elf was not out for a casual stroll. At this juncture, he was no longer in the mood to take care of anything other than guarding the several poisoned elves. However, Princess Elune who had been unconscious suddenly woke up just now, and said that her Moonlight was back.

    Moonlight was obviously the name of the Moonsaber Panther. If it weren¡¯t for the Moonsaber Panther clinging onto a horrifying magical beast, the elves probably wouldn¡¯t have made it back. However, Princess Elune had not waited for the Moonsaber Panther¡¯s return, since the injuries that she and herpanions had sustained had to be treated immediately. Hence, she had to return first.

    However, the fact that Princess Elune hade to made the elders and high-level elves happy yet scared. They had no idea if it was a good sign or herst moments of consciousness before death. However, they did not believe Princess Elune¡¯s words that much, though they had no choice but toe out and check since Princess Elune continuously urged them to do so.

    To the elf¡¯s surprise, he actually found the Moonsaber Panther in the camp, though he also saw the horrendous Lin Li, who was forcefully feeding the Moonsaber Panther with some unknown liquid.

    The Moonsaber Panther was not only Princess Elune¡¯s ride, but also a holy beast for the elves. No matter what, it would be absurd for a human to feed it. Besides, Lin Li often hung out with an Undead creature.

    ¡°Stop it. What are you doing!?!¡± No matter how magnanimous and well-mannered the high-level elf might be, he could no longer suppress his exasperation at this point. He snapped and scurried towards Lin Li.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li had already forced the potion down Moonsaber Panther¡¯s throat and tossed its head on the ground before standing up and pping his hands. Whether or not his theory was correct depended on the next reaction of this Moonsaber Panther. There was nothing to be guilty about, since the poisoned panther would die anyway even without Lin Li¡¯s experimenting.

    ¡°You... what did you feed it? Who are you humans to touch the sacred beast? How dare you feed it something? If anything happens to Moonlight, no matter who you are, you will pay for it.¡±

    However, Lin Li did not respond at all; he did not even frown or look at the elf. Instead, he put the potion bottle back inside his ring and walked away.

    ¡°You! You...¡± The elf tried to chase after Lin Li, but he turned around to see that the Moonsaber Panther was still listless. He had no choice but to take care of it instead, hoping that he could find out what Lin Li had fed it.

    Unfortunately, the high-level elf could only smell a faint and pungent odor, but could not find any traces at all. In desperation, he had no choice but to say a few sybles to the Moonsaber Panther before taking it to Princess Elune¡¯s tent.

    In the tent, Princess Elune, who had just woken up, had once again slipped into unconsciousness. The elven elders who had always been concerned and on edge were filled with worry at this point. The other high-level elves, too, looked depressed and seemed to have lost all hope.

    The high-level elf walked into the tent with the Moonsaber Panther. As soon as he did, he said to the the elder, ¡°Dear elder, Moonlight has indeed returned, but when I went to get it just now, I saw the dirty human mage feeding Moonlight something.¡±

    ¡°What?! How can that despicable human do that!?!¡± Before the elven elders spoke, several other high-level elves had already yelled in exasperation.

    ¡°Elder, Moonlight is the sacred beast of our elven n. That human being and the dirty Undead creature arepanions. They might have fed Moonlight something filthy. We cannot tolerate this at all,¡± the high-level elf said while gritting his teeth in anger. The elves would rarely disy their anger unless they bore a certain extent of hatred.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    The elders did not respond to what the high-level elf said, and instead stared at the Moonsaber Panther that was lying beside Princess Elune. They suddenly gasped in shock.

    Seeing that the elders were paying attention to the Moonsaber Panther, the high-level elves shifted their attention to it too. However, that made their hearts sink even lower because they could tell that it had been poisoned just like Princess Elune.

    Since the strong Moonsaber Panther could not withstand the toxic effects of the poison, Princess Elune and the other poisoned elves would probably be unable to create a miracle, either. At this point, the high-level elves were all in despair, and they reckoned that the day of Princess Elune¡¯s death would be the day of disaster for their family.

    However, the expressions of the elven elders were different from those of the high-level elves. One elder stood up and walked towards the Moonsaber Panther, touched it, and closed his eyes to sense it for a while. He turned to look at a few high-level elves, and eximed, ¡°The toxins in Moonlight seem to be dissipating!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± The high-level elves suddenly tensed up. The fact that the toxins were disappearing meant that the poison could be removed. However, the question was: how?

 Chapter 618 - Hope

    <h4>Chapter 618: Hope</h4>

    The unknown poison could actually be dealt with? The high-level elves were bbergasted, just as if they had heard the craziest thing ever. The Queldana Family¡¯s elders felt like they had seen a glimmer of hope. They just had to find out the reason for the dissipation of the toxins in Moonsaber Panther¡¯s body.

    The elven elders and the high-level elves got a grip on themselves and analyzed the characteristics of the Moonsaber Panther together, from its usual habits to its body¡¯s characteristics and various legendary tales about it. They wondered if it had something to do with its eating habits, or because it naturally had some kind of power. Could it be...

    The atmosphere in the tent became extremely rowdy all of a sudden. At this crucial juncture, the elders and high-level elves had all decided to put their identities aside and try to find the desired oue.

    However, that atmosphere did notst for long. Whenever an elf raised a possibility, a few others would immediately beat his idea down. Gradually, after various rejections, they began to take longer to think, and silence once again filled the air.

    ¡°Could it really be... Impossible, that can¡¯t be.¡± The high-level elf who had brought Moonlight in to the tent immediately shook his head and tried to beat down the conjecture that he had juste up with.

    Another elf peculiarly asked, ¡°Felefin, what did you want to say? What¡¯s possible? Tell us about it. We can¡¯t let it go even if it¡¯s just a possibility.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be, Ferner, we¡¯d better stop wasting time on this and think about other clues that we haven¡¯t thought of yet,¡± Felefin said while shaking his head.

    At this moment, the elven elder spoke. Although his tone was calm, he sounded a little hopeful. ¡°Tell us about it. Even if its impossible, it might give us some signs and tips that can lead us to the correct mindset.¡±

    ¡°Senior Randy, it really is impossible. Do you remember what I said when I brought Moonlight back? I happened to see that human mage named Felic feeding something to Moonlight, but it was toote by the time I stopped him.¡± The thought of it made Felefin frown with a look of disdain.

    Hearing these words, several elves frowned. Such a major thing happened that night, so they certainly would know what the culprit¡¯s name was. The elves had often seen themselves as far superior to humans and other intelligent races. Not to mention, Lin Li was often hanging around an Undead creature; hence, they naturally felt more disgusted.

    ¡°It is indeed impossible. How could that human have such a power since he¡¯spanions with a filthy Undead creature? Even Elder Eddie couldn¡¯t remove the poison in Princess Elune with Natural Rejuvenation, let alone a lowly human mage. He definitely can¡¯t provide an antidote for the poison.¡± Ferner had also gained the agreement of his peers.

    The Natural Rejuvenation technique used by the elders was taught by the legendary Druids, and all souls could be resurrected using the Natural Rejuvenation technique so long as they had yet to be broken. They did not believe that the change in Moonlight had something to do with Lin Li, who was horrendous in their opinion. Hence, they decided to believe that it was a sign from Goddess of Nature, Monferra.

    However, after a moment of silence, Elder Randy said, ¡°It¡¯s such a peculiar poison. Maybe he really has some special techniques.¡±

    In fact, what the elven elders said might be what the high-level elves had thought about too, though they found it hard to ept the idea. When they were trying to find out the reason, they should have instantly thought about the thing that Lin Li had fed to it. However, because of their own pride and prejudice against human beings, they avoided the possibility of the cure being what Lin Li had fed to the panther in hopes of finding other reasons.

    Even after having discussed ande up with numerous possibilities, they still couldn¡¯t find an eptable answer. However, they realized that they ought to forgo their pride for the sake of their family¡¯s survival at this point.

    ¡°That human mage works with an Undead creature all day, so it¡¯s possible that he might have some sinister means,¡± Ferner said, seemingly trying to give himself an out. He was just trying to say: ¡°Despicable people will resort to despicable means. We are the lofty elves, so it¡¯s normal for us not to know about these things.¡±

    However, no matter what, the elves were all facing onemon problem: how to get the despicable human to save Princess Elune and the injured elves?

    The high-level elves had a terrible impression of the human mage Lin Li, especially after the incident that night. The fact that he often interacted with an Undead creature was already uneptable for the elves. Not to mention, some young elves were severely punished because of the human mage Lin Li. The elves thought that it would be nothing wrong to describe Lin Li with derogatory adjectives.

    However, it was not the time for the elves to care about their pride now. If the poisoned elves and Princess Elune could not be rescued, it¡¯d be a huge disaster for both the Queldana Family and the entire Elven Kingdom.

    Elder Randy nced at the faces of several high-level elves, only to see that they were all awkward and too afraid to even make eye contact with him because they knew that one of them had to seek help from the human mage Lin Li.

    Actually, without having to ask, those high-level elves all knew that Lin Li was probably the reason for everything that happened to the Moonsaber Panther at this point.

    If it were another human, such as the ones from the Dark de or the Malfa Family, the elves would probably not feel as awkward. Those humans wished that they could get acquainted with the elves; hence, the elves would not need to send their request at all. As long as they told the humans about the situation, thetter would definitelye forth to provide help.

    However, Mage Felic clearly had a different mindset from the other humans. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten into such a huge conflict with the elves for the sake of an Undead creature. It was obviously impossible to get Lin Li to help just with a single sentence. They definitely had to lower their pride and plead with him.

    ¡°Culofen, you¡¯ve had the most contact with the human adventurers ever since they arrived. You shall take charge of this,¡± said Elder Randy as he shifted his gaze onto a high-level elf.

    When the elder called his name, Culofen could not help but shudder, overwhelmed by an ominous feeling. However, the high-level elves beside him seemed to be rather relieved, for seeking help from the human mage was akin to torment for them.

    Culofen dared not hesitate at all. He frantically nodded and decided to take on the difficult task. Now that the elders had called names, there was nothing he could do even if he didn¡¯t want to carry out the mission. Besides, if he were to do a good job, he would definitely be credited for it. That was the only way he couldfort himself.

    Lin Li fed the Moonsaber Panther with the mixed potion. Although he could not continue to observe, he had already verified his solution and confirmed it to be effective. As for the poison in the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s Pope¡¯s body, Lin Li had to adjust his solution since the toxicity was much purer. No matter what, he had already found the right method; thus, everything else would be much easier.

    After returning to the tent, Lin Li stopped thinking about the issue, and instead fed two magical crystals to Xiao Hua, after which he continued to concentrate on reading the Book of Eternity. He was not concerned about the poisoned elves at all, because they had nothing to do with him. In fact, he had already made plenty of gains in the Haiga Mountain Range; hence, he was not that concerned about the treasure of the Immortal King.

    However, after some time, Lin Li began to hear Norfeller speaking to someone. After putting the Book of Eternity away, he said, ¡°Norfeller, who¡¯s outside?¡±

    Norfeller entered the tent, and politely said, ¡°Master, it¡¯s an elf who¡¯s asking to see you.¡±

    An elf! Norfeller obviously knew how much the elves despised him, for he was a vampire. Hence, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be too pleased to talk about the elves.

    Upon hearing the way that the damned Undead creature introduced him, Culofen had no choice but to grit his teeth and tell himself to bear with it and not stoop to a filthy Undead creature¡¯s level.

    Soon, Norfeller exited, and coldly said to Culofen, ¡°Master is ready to see you.¡± He then ignored him and stood by the side.

    Like master, like servant. This dirty vampire is just as vulgar as his master. Seeing that Norfeller did not even bother helping him lift up the curtain of the tent for him, Culofen secretly felt infuriated for a while. However, he had no choice, since he was the one asking for help.

    With a false smile on his face, Culofen reached out, lifted the tent curtain, and entered. ¡°Mage Felic, I¡¯m so sorry. I should have visited earlier, but there are too many things to handle in the camp. Hence, it had to be dyed until today.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you are...¡± Lin Li did not know who he was, because while Borg wanted to introduce them at the start, the elves did not bother getting to know other humans.

    Culofen¡¯s smile did not change, and he introduced himself to Lin Li very politely. ¡°My name is Culofen, and I¡¯m mainly in charge of weing and arranging human adventure teams.¡±

    Lin Li did not pull a long face, and instead greeted him politely. He then asked Culofen for the purpose of his visit. Of course, he had already guessed his intentions, but then again, the elves had nothing to do with him. Hence, why should he bother helping them?

    What are you doing here? Asking for help?

    Although that was the truth, the high-level elf could not bring himself to say it. However, while he was on his way, he had already figured out what to say. He believed that a few words should be enough to make Lin Liply.

    Culofen nced at the decorations in the tent and turned to look at Lin Li. ¡°Mage Felic, the conditions in this camp may be a little poor. I don¡¯t know if you have gotten used to living here yet. If you need something here, please don¡¯t hesitate to tell me, though.¡±

    Borg would definitely be shocked to see the high-level elf swallowing his pride and acting so meekly. Even the fellow elves had never seen such a side to him before. Culofen who had a high status in the Queldana Family was actually so polite to a human mage for the first time!

    However, Lin Li did not buy it, though he remained very polite. He did not ept the goodwill of Culofen, and instead shook his head with a smile. ¡°I came here for adventure, not for amenities. There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t get used to. I don¡¯t think Ick anything, because the Malfa Family has already prepared everything for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, that¡¯s good to hear.¡± Culofen smiled unnaturally, but desperately tried to find a way to tackle Lin Li. Wait, he¡¯s a mage! Culofen suddenly got an idea. Since Lin Li was a mage, he must have a great desire to improve magic.

    Although the elves had been implicated and almost fell into disastrous circumstances after the Dark Age, they still survived and expanded to the current extent. In terms of the rtionship between elves and High Elves in the Dark Age, they were not only rted by blood, the elves had also inherited a lot of the cultural heritage of the High Elves, the most important of which was all kinds of magic books.

    Although most of the elves had learned nature magic after the settlement of the Emerald Forest, they did learn other magic too. Moreover, the magical ssics left by the High Elves were also very helpful, be it nature magic or other types. All types of magic would have to return to the origin of Rule Power in the end. This was why at the Legendary-realm, even magic below the Legendary level could be used well by a mage that had never learned it before.

 Chapter 619 - Taking Advantage

    <h4>Chapter 619: Taking Advantage</h4>

    Indeed, a greedy person will definitely not be taking an adventure in the Haiga Mountain Range. Since he¡¯s a mage and he isn¡¯t after the treasure of the Immortal King, is he only after money? Obviously, that is impossible. What really makes these humans tempted is their pursuit of strength.

    Having figured this out, Culofen suddenly felt much more confident. Pretending to be indifferent, he casually asked, ¡°These days, I don¡¯t see you here often, Mage Felic. You must have been studying magic on your own, eh? Speaking of magic, there are some things in our elven family that may not be avable in your world. If there are any issues about magic, you may tell us about it, and perhaps you can find an answer here.¡±

    To be honest, even an ordinary elf might not be able to get personal advice from Culofen, let alone a human mage, yet Culofen was now offering to give a human mage some tips and a rare learning opportunity. Even Legendary-mages like Cheyenne and Borg would be happy to discuss magic with elven Legendary-mages.

    However, Lin Li ¡®s reaction waspletely beyond the expectations of Culofen. Instead of taking up the rare learning opportunity, Lin Li actually shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness. My current level of magic may be rtively shallow, but I haven¡¯t encountered any problems that were too difficult to solve.¡±

    Upon hearing the answer from Lin Li, Culofen¡¯s face stiffened a little, but he soon returned to normal again. ¡°Haha, it doesn¡¯t matter. In fact, I wasn¡¯t referring to a specific problem. Us elves do have some solutions that would be useful for mages to enter the Legendary-realm. For example, the realization of the Rule Power. Although many people say that you can only understand it by yourself, there are actually some ways to shorten the time required.¡±

    I will give you a shortcut to the Legendary-realm, and you probably will do me a favor out of gratitude. To those below the Legendary-level, the Legendary-realm and mastering the world¡¯s Rule Power are a godly thing, Culofen thought to himself, believing that no one could refuse such a temptation.

    ¡°Hehe, do you mean spiritual guidance? But the insights gained through this method are all from the guide, and although the difficulty of understanding the Rule Power is reduced, even if it is sessful, the path in the future will be more difficult than that of others. It might be 100 or more times harder,¡± Lin Li said disapprovingly.

    In the magical world, it was generally believed that mages understood the Rule Power and that relying on themselves was the only way to enter Legendary-realm. The spiritual guidance that Lin Li mentioned was an express route that would allow a Legendary-mage to be a guide. The mental strength of the two would be merged together, after which the guide manipted the Rule Power to allow the guided person to achieve enlightenment.

    However, there would also be the problem of sess rate, followed by the Rule Power which could only be understood by the guided with the help of a guide. In other words, it was equivalent to being directly limited. Even if one had entered the Legendary-realm, it would still be extremely difficult to break through the restriction and advance further. In fact, it was almost right to say that further possibilities were restricted. If one were to break through those boundaries, he would be talented enough not to need a guide, and would have a great chance at entering the Legendary-realm. Of course, Culofen might be referring to other methods, but their nature should be the same.

    Culofen¡¯s face froze again. Although he was not talking about spiritual guidance, it didn¡¯t really make much difference. Since Lin Li had already made such a statement and mentioned the side effects of this method, it meant that he was rather knowledgeable.

    At this moment, Culofen suddenly remembered the methods the human mage used to subdue Jacques that night. Although on that day, the Chief Elder Randy and several high-level elves had all realized that his methods were extraordinary and reckoned that Lin Li must have used powerful magical equipment, he now began to wonder if Lin Li actually wasn¡¯t a Legendary-mage already.

    Culofen could not quite believe his own spection. The elves had inherited part of the genes of the High Elves; hence, they definitely felt a great sense of superiority over the other races. However, even the younger elven geniuses had never be Legendary powerhouses at such a young age. None among the Helios, Druids, and the Seven Sages had ever entered the Legendary-realm at such a young age.

    In order to verify his guess, Culofen casually raised some questions about the Legendary-realm and talked about his own understanding of the Rule Power. Those who knew nothing about the Legendary-realm would never be able to talk about these topics. Even if one¡¯s knowledge is based on hearsay, he would let the cat out of the bag once they went deeper.

    Lin Li had never deliberately concealed his own strength. Seeing how polite Culofen was, he decided to add a few sentences too. He then added on to Culofen¡¯s topic and casually talked about his own understanding. There would be no need for an in-depth discussion in Lin Li¡¯s opinion.

    However, as they slowly expanded the topic, Culofen began to feel agonized because after speaking to Lin Li, he actually discovered a harsh truth. Lin Li could understand and catch everything that he talked about, as well as give his opinions and thoughts about the relevant topics. However, Culofen realized that he gradually found it difficult to answer the questions and statements that Lin Li made.

    Culofen realized that this young human mage was not only a Legendary-mage, but his aplishments in magic were greater than his. Not to mention, it was just a short conversation. Goddess knew if he could continue being prideful and proud of his identity as an elf. Culofen finally stopped trying to test Lin Li for fear that he would be embarrassed further.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you indeed are a young human genius. I didn¡¯t expect you to have such a profound insight in magic.¡± Afterplimenting Lin Li, he continued, ¡°Speaking of which, we elves are notcking in young and talented individuals, either. Actually, the most outstanding one is none other than Princess Elune.¡±

    Culofen certainly did not forget that Princess Elune was still waiting for the human mage in front of him to save her. However, he could not bring himself to plead with Lin Li; hence, he had no choice but to gradually make Princess Elune the topic of discussion.

    However, Lin Liughed after hearing Culofen talking about Princess Elune, though it was unknown if it was intentional or not. ¡°It is true that Princess Elune is very famous in the human world. Plenty of people say that Princess Elune has not only inherited the beauty of her mother, the elven queen, but also the talent of her father, Master Garrincha, who is now a Legendary-realm Druid. Her talent and gift are truly enviable. However, since Princess Elune has made such a great achievement, her father, Master Garrincha is probably going to reach the Sanctuary-realm soon.¡±

    As a member of the Queldana Family, Culofen had always been proud of his own family. Upon hearing Lin Li talk about a Druid, a look of pride immediately graced his face. He then began to talk about Garrincha and how he led the elves into the Emerald Forest before embarking on several adventures to rescue the besieged elves. He also mentioned Garrincha¡¯s contributions to the development of the Elven Kingdom.

    Lin Li was also very cooperative, and appeared to be interested while listening to Culofen¡¯s descriptions, asionally butting in a little. At this moment, everything in the tent seemed to be rather harmonious, for a human was listening to the stories told by an elf.

    However, under the harmonious facade, Culofen wished he could smack his own mouth. At this rate, when would he broach the topic of Princess Elune again? There had been various points when Culofen wanted to stop and shift the topic back to Princess Elune. However, Lin Li¡¯s replies made him continue talking, and thus drifting further and further away from his own agenda.

    Throughout the entire afternoon, Culofen took on the role of a storyteller. Those stories were verymon among the elves, and none of the younger ones would be interested in listening to them. However, even after the sky turned dark, Culofen still had yet to talk about Princess Elune again, and it was fair to say that nothing serious was mentioned.

    Seeing that it was gettingte and that he would make no progress if he were to go on, Culofen had no choice but to stand up awkwardly and excuse himself.

    Lin Li then walked Culofen out of the tent.

    After leaving the tent, Culofen turned around and smiled wryly. When he arrived, he did consider the possibility of how tough to deal with Lin Li might be, but he did not expect the oue to be as such. Lin Li did not give him any hostile attitude, and was instead very polite when listening to his stories and talking to him. Lin Li¡¯s politeness was the reason it was even more difficult for Culofen to say anything.

    Culofen returned to see Chief Elder Randy and his peers, to whom he briefly exined what had happened in Lin Li¡¯s tent. When he mentioned Lin Li¡¯s Legendary-realm strength, his peers were undoubtedly surprised, but everyone was paying more attention to the poisoned and unconscious Princess Elune. The most important thing to do now was to enlist Lin Li¡¯s help.

    ¡°What Culofen did today is not exactly useless. Well, at least the rtionship between us and this human mage should have eased a little after the conversation they had today. In that case...¡± After looking around at several high-level elves, the elder kept his eyes fixed on one of them. ¡°Gildor, you may go this time. Don¡¯t beat around the bush and cut straight to the chase about our situation.¡±

 Chapter 620 - Swallowing His Pride

    <h4>Chapter 620: Swallowing His Pride</h4>

    Gildor¡¯s face grew sullen at the instant that he heard his words. Later on, he left the tent unwillingly after his peers urged him to. For the elves who had always been proud and arrogant, it was very ufortable to lower their pride and ask a human mage for help.

    No matter how reluctant Gildor was, he nheless walked towards Lin Li¡¯s tent. The only good thing at this time was that the Vampire Norfeller had already gone out for his usual reconnoitering. Gildor adjusted his expression and prepared to make his tone as mellow and polite as possible. He then asked Lin Li if he could enter.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s response, Gildor stepped inside the tent, where he stayed for another few hours. When Norfeller finally returned from reconnoitering, Gildor finally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, and resignedly bade Lin Li goodbye.

    Just like Culofen, Gildor spent hours telling Lin Li many stories about the elves, but did not find a chance to talk about Princess Elune.

    ¡°He clearly knows what we¡¯re looking for him for. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t change the subject whenever we got to the main point,¡± Gildorined to Elder Randy and his peers.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we face him directly and let him tell us how to remove the poison? He¡¯s actually the leader of one of the forces in the human adventure team we cooperate with now. However, I¡¯ve already made it clear that this time only he and that dirty Vampire are here on this trip. Moreover, his rtionship with the humans of the Dark de is not harmonious. Even if we harm him, the other two forces wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything,¡± Ferner said, still feeling proud.

    The elves were not really pure and kind. Races that were truly kind and saintly had long gone extinct. Just like other intelligent races, the elves were alsopetitive and hungry for power. Otherwise, the Queldana Family wouldn¡¯t have secretly cooperated with Dark de to send the elites of each party to help find the lost relic.

    However, Elder Randy and Ferner¡¯s peers did not agree with him. It was not because they were soft-hearted, but because Lin Li was a Legendary-mage they were not confident in subduing. The fact that he had fearlessly confronted them in the campground that night meant that he definitely had great power. If they were to fail, the rtionship between the two would definitely be strained beyond redemption.

    However, under the current circumstances, no one could be sure of what the human mage Lin Li would do. The elves had thought about swallowing their pride before, but their greater concern was the fact that they would embarrass themselves if Lin Li were to turn them down. They felt that it wouldn¡¯t be worth it.

    The discussion of the elves was inconclusive, but the condition of the poisoned elves like Princess Elune was not optimistic. The Natural Rejuvenation technique used by Elder Randy had been said to be able to suppress the effects of the poison for 10 days, but it now seemed that it¡¯d actually be less. The toxins in their bodies would continue to eat away at their vitality rapidly. Elder Randy and the other high-level elves could clearly feel that the vitality of the poisoned elves was depleting rapidly.

    They all knew that they could not afford to dy it any further, for the loss of any of the elves, not only Princess Elune, would be a huge loss for them. After a long day of discussion, Elder Randy finally decided to speak to Lin Li himself.

    Upon hearing his decision, the high-level elves immediately objected. Elder Randy was not the elder of the Queldana Family, but the eighth elder of the Emerald Council of the Elven Kingdom. With such a high status, he was actually going to personally invite a lowly human mage to help them? What a huge disgrace to the Elven Kingdom.

    However, Elder Randy stood firm to his decision, and the high-level elves had no choice but to give in. After all, the poisoned elves could not wait any longer.

    Early in the following morning, Elder Randy walked towards Lin Li¡¯s tent, surprising and drawing the attention of many along the way, especially the adventurers of the Malfa Family. Although they did not know the true identity of the elven elder, they could tell that Elder Randy had the highest position in this camp.

    After hearing that Elder Randy had arrived, Lin Li, who had just finished his breakfast, did not exit the tent to wee him, and instead invited him to enter in a nonchnt tone.

    Oh God, this young President of the Tower of Dusk is too vicious! That¡¯s the elven elder who has the final say in this camp, no matter what his status in the Elven Kingdom is, yet you called him in so casually. Aren¡¯t you afraid of offending the elves and fighting them!? The members of the Malfa Family stared nkly at what was happening in front of them, and their brains seemed to have turned nk.

    However, Elder Randy did not express any displeasure. After receiving Lin Li¡¯s response, he lifted the curtain and strode into the tent. Actually, he wasn¡¯t that calm norposed. In the Elven Kingdom, even the queen wouldn¡¯t give him such an indifferent attitude when he asked to see her.

    However, what else could they do? If Princess Elune really died there, even Elder Randy, the eighth elder of the Emerald Council and the brother of the queen¡¯s husband, would never be forgiven by the queen. Despite being overwhelmed with helplessness, Elder Randy did not show a tinge of his emotions, and instead kept smiling calmly.

    It was not that Lin Li was disrespectful to his elders[1], but rather that his respect for someone depended on whether they were worth respecting. He would definitely respect those who respected him, and contrariwise for those who disrespected him. It was the same for everyone, be it the elders of the elves or other big shots. Regarding the incident involving Norfeller, Lin Li didn¡¯t think that this matter could be swept under the carpet just because the elven elders had punished several young elves at that time and deprived them of their power for a number of years. It was not over for him even though he had saved Norfeller with his potion.

    At that time, Lin Li did feel that this punishment was rather severe for the elves, but after giving it some thought, he realized that elves didn¡¯t rely on energy to begin with. Helios who was at his peak during the Dark Age and Druids were all examples. They managed to attain higher levels even without power, didn¡¯t they?

    [1] Remember that it¡¯s obvious in China to respect those older than you, especially if they are one or more generations older.

 Chapter 621 - Extortion

    <h4>Chapter 621: Extortion</h4>

    Of course, Lin Li did not intend to criticize their attitude. However, he definitely wouldn¡¯t fall for their tricks, either. Hence, he did not wee the elven elder before his tent, and even remained still after thetter entered.

    Chief Elder Randy was still waiting for Lin Li to question him. Yet, to his surprise, Lin Li remained silent for a long time. Chief Elder Randy had never been treated that way before. However, the thought of the purpose behind his visit made him suppress his displeasure and put on a smile. ¡°Mage Felic, have you got used to staying here in the past few days?¡±

    Damn it, don¡¯t they have anything fresh to say to me? Those two elves who came yesterday said the same thing. As their eight elder, you should have a higher standard than them, Lin Li thought. Although he was polite to the two previous elves, he treated the eighth elder with a harsher attitude. He coldly said, ¡°Thanks to your subordinates, I¡¯ve been well in thest few days.¡±

    Chief Elder Randy obviously knew what had been happening in the campground for the past few days. However, back then, he had had no idea how important Lin Li was. He definitely could not bring himself to apologize; the best he could do was to feign ignorance and push all the me to his subordinates for acting presumptuously.

    Lin Li did not harp on the matter, and remained cold and aloof instead. When he spoke, he made sure that his sentences were all seamless, not giving the elder a chance to speak at all. Besides, he could also tell that Princess Elune could very likely be the one of the highest status amongst them because when the three elves spoke to him separately, they all tried to make her the topic of discussion.

    Lin Li knew that unlike human princesses, Princess Elune was indispensable to them, and that she held a great significance because it was said that she was the only sessor of the elven queen. Besides, she was the one and only princess. Hence, if she were to die there, the eighth elder would definitely be held responsible.

    Since Lin Li did not know her at all, he felt that there would be no need to care about her well-being. He did not take pity on her, either. That was just how he was like. If the ones who got poisoned were people he knew, he would definitely try to rescue them, even if they were ordinary vigers. However, not only did Lin Li have no rtion to the elven princess, he also disliked the elder in front of him. How could he possibly offer him help?

    Chief Elder Randy still refused to swallow his pride for the rest of the conversation, and instead tried to use the conversation to broach the topic of his main agenda. He was nning to get Lin Li to ask about Princess Elune, after which he would tell Lin Li that Princess Elune had been poisoned and that she needed an antidote. He was just trying to make it seem like he was giving Lin Li a chance to get closer to the elves because he felt that all humans in Anril definitely wanted to get in their good books.

    Actually, Borg and Cheyenne would definitely react agitatedly and enthusiastically to Chief Elder Randy¡¯s words. After all, they both valued the so-called friendship with the elves. Obtaining the said friendship would make it easier for their trip this time, and they would also gain greater benefits in the future.

    However, their friendship was of no use to Lin Li at all. Whenever the elder asked him some questions and tried to broach the main topic, Lin Li would reply coldly and change the subject.

    Chief Elder Randy had encountered all kinds of discussions and negotiations with sharp-tongued people in the Emerald Council before, but he seemed to be helpless now that he was faced with the human mage Lin Li.

    Before he knew it, time passed slowly, but there seemed to be no progress in getting to the main issue proper. Chief Elder Randy was getting more and more anxious about the oblivious Lin Li, whom he wished he could bury there and then.

    Thinking about Princess Elune¡¯s condition, Chief Elder Randy decided that he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. Hence, he made his tone even mellower, and even sounded a little polite and respectful. ¡°Mage Felic, yesterday, the sacred beast of our elven race returned to the camp poisoned, and after we brought it back, we observed it and realized that the toxins in it gradually dissipated. I heard that you have fed it something. Has it perhaps been an antidote to detoxify the toxin?¡±

    Lin Li did not avoid the question, and instead nodded calmly before coldly saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. I happened to see the poisoned Moonsaber Panther when I was trying to put my potion to test. Hence, I decided to use it on the Moonsaber Panther that was poisoned with viper¡¯s poison when I saw it.¡±

    ¡°Viper¡¯s poison!¡± Chief Elder Randy¡¯s heart wrenched up¡ªhe finally heard the name of the poison. Although he had never seen nor experienced the effects of the poison before, he did hear some legendary tales about it. It was said that when the High Elves had just begun ruling Anril, the remaining magical beasts on the maind, which were poisonous snakes, released a terrible poison which brought great damage to the High Elves.

    Is it really that poison, or is this human mage just spouting nonsense? Chief Elder Randy wondered. However, after giving it some thought, he realized that the type of poison didn¡¯t matter. Since his Natural Rejuvenation technique did not work at all, it should be a rare poison. Yet, Lin Li could provide an antidote for it. Hence, it did not matter if it were the viper¡¯s or not, because the most important thing to do now was to convince Lin Li to help.

    Frankly speaking, Chief Elder Randy was old in his years, and he could be considered to have experienced plenty of things... except begging someone for help. But so what if he had not done it before? After thinking about the gravity of the matter, Chief Elder Randy decided that his only choice was to swallow his pride.

    ¡°Mage Felic, so you actually have an antidote for the most difficult poison to deal with, the viper¡¯s poison. Seems like you have extraordinary knowledge and aplishments in magic,¡± said Chief Elder Randy, who had an unnatural expression on his face even though he was giving Lin Li apliment. Well, he had gotten used to receivingpliments, and had rarely ever given them.

    No one had ever had the honor to beplimented by the eighth elder of the elves, yet Lin Li was unfazed, and instead stared at Chief Elder Randy without saying a single word.

    Despite appearing awkward as he did not get an answer, Chief Elder Randy decided that he had to continue because there was no turning back now. ¡°The Moonsaber Panther is my race¡¯s sacred beast and Princess Elune¡¯s ride. If you didn¡¯t rescue it, I¡¯m afraid its life would have ended here. I¡¯m very grateful for that.¡±

    Lin Li waved his hands, and said, ¡°I just needed something to experiment on and test the antidote for the Viper¡¯s poison, and simply happened to run into it.¡±

    ¡°However, the Moonsaber Panther didn¡¯t go out alone this time. It went together with Princess Elune and several other elves. Due to the fact that the magical beasts that they encountered were too powerful, Moonsaber Panther got poisoned together with the rest. Hence, I¡¯d like to invite you to help give them an antidote...¡± Chief Elder Randy finally revealed his agenda awkwardly after feeling conflicted for a long time.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Lin Li said, appearing extremely enlightened. He seemed to be trying to say: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡±. However, just as a tinge of happiness appeared on Chief Elder Randy¡¯s face, Lin Li shook his head again, and said, ¡°I truly sympathize with Princess Elune and the other elves who got poisoned, but you should know that so far, I¡¯ve only treated a beast. I have no experience in treating an elf. Besides, if anything were to go awry, I wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made the joy on Elder Randy¡¯s face just now disappear without a trace. He had now turned as red as a tomato, secretly regretting his decision. He regretted despising the humans and belittling their power after thetter arrived. Although it was obviously an adventurer teamposed of three parties, Elder Randy had actually thought that it would be enough to know the intelligence on the Dark de. Had he known earlier that Lin Li had the ability to remove the viper¡¯s poison, he wouldn¡¯t have mistreated him at all.

    Actually, if it weren¡¯t for the poisoned elves and Princess Elune, the prideful and haughty elves would not have bothered to take Lin Li seriously even if they knew that Lin Li had the ability to detoxify the viper¡¯s poison. Their arrogance could never be changed. After all, even Chief Elder Randy did not know the Dark de well at all.

    However, despite feeling regretful, he still had to try his best to persuade Lin Li. Chief Elder Randy now had no choice but to persevere and continue to convince Lin Li. ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯re being too modest. The toxins in Moonsaber Panther have been eliminated in a short period of time. I believe it should work on us elves too.¡±

    ¡°No, no, Moonsaber Panther may be a sacred beast, but it is still a magical beast. That¡¯s different from elves. My abilities are limited and there really isn¡¯t anything I can do.¡± Lin Li waved at Chief Elder Randy while appearing to be put in a spot.

    Chief Elder Randy was incredibly exasperated. Having lived to such an old age, he had never once begged anyone for help before, yet Lin Li had the cheek to turn him down time and time again by saying that he was not skilled enough to perform the treatment. Although Chief Elder Randy did not have a mastery in pharmacy, he was not clueless about it. He could tell from the fact that Lin Li had an antidote for the viper¡¯s poison that Lin Li was definitely experienced in pharmaceutics, and that he might even be a Master.

    After all, Chief Elder Randy was the eighth elder of the Emerald Council. Seeing that it was no longer possible to persuade Lin Li because of the previous incident, he resolutely changed his approach, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, Princess Elune and other poisoned elves are of great significance to us. If you can remove the poison in their bodies, you will surely get our friendship. In the tripartite cooperation with the other adventurers, the Tower of Dusk doesn¡¯t seem to be the dominant party. I believe you cannot deny this, but if you have the full support of us elves, the situation will be very different.¡±

    Chief Elder Randy then paused for a while and nced at Lin Li in hopes of seeing a tinge of him changing his mind.

    However, to Chief Elder Randy¡¯s disappointment, Lin Li did not seem to care about the offer at all, and instead stared at him coldly.

    It seems that the conditions are still not attractive enough, he thought. Chief Elder Randy gritted his teeth subtly, and said, ¡°We elves have explored the Haiga Mountain Range for thousands of years, and have sacrificed plenty of ours toe up with the Haiga Mountain Range¡¯s map. I can share it with you too. Moreover, since you¡¯re so aplished, you must know how famous the herbs of our Emerald Forest are in Anril. If you¡¯re interested, we can sell the herbs to you at the lowest price.¡±

    ¡°No, I know where my limits are. How can the elves and magical beasts be the same? That can¡¯t work. I can¡¯t take the risk. If I don¡¯t manage to treat them, won¡¯t I be a great sinner?¡± Lin Li continued to shake his head continuously despite the elven elder offering great conditions.

    Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be slowly giving in, Chief Elder Randy frantically said, ¡°Mage Felic, as long as you¡¯ve tried your best, we won¡¯t me you even if... you don¡¯t manage to rescue them.¡±

    ¡°Ah, how can that do? They¡¯re lives.¡± Lin Li sighed and looked at himself. He suddenly pulled his Robe of the Void and muttered as if he were talking to himself, ¡°It seems that this robe on me hasn¡¯t been washed for a long time, and I don¡¯t know if it will be toote to dry it by today... By the way, Elder Randy, I seem to have heard that there are many star robes in the Elven Kingdom. Could you lend me two of them?¡±

    Hearing this, Elder Randy almost vomited blood. The elves did own some star-scarred robes from the High Elves, but they did not have many. They only had a total of three. This damned human is really greedy. He asked for two in one go!

    Those robes were not only a scarcity among the elves, they had also been precious to the High Elves in the Dark Age. Only the royal High Elves had been eligible to wear them. The materials used were precious and rare, but that was not the reason for their high value. Instead, the valuey in the six perfectly arranged mageweaths that would guarantee that the person wearing it would not be harmed by any magic below level-15.

 Chapter 622 - Star-scarred Robe

    <h4>Chapter 622: Star-scarred Robe</h4>

    However, the protective properties were just one of the advantages. The six mageweaths were far more valuable than that.

    Everyone knew that mages had to rely on meditation to continuously umte their mana, and there were environmental and emotional conditions that had to be fulfilled in order for meditation to work. It was not possible to practice meditation anytime and anywhere. If a mage was not in a safe environment during meditation, he would likely have no ability to put up any resistance in an emergency.

    Therefore, another great benefit of the Star-scarred Robe was that when a mage wore it, he could automatically absorb the power of the stars to maintain a high recovery speed even without meditation. Mana was the root for mages. If they were to face a shortage of mana during the battle, it would undoubtedly prove deadly. Hence, this absorption could help during battles.

    Elemental Wyrms had infinite mana, thus obtaining a terrifying image in legends. Due to the fact that they could use their mana freely to destroy any strong magic or opponent, they were extremely daunting opponents. The Star-scarred Robe was much less formidable, though its mana recovery abilities and the help that it could give to mages were not to be belittled.

    There were now only three Star-scarred Robes belonging to the elves, one of which was owned by the elven queen, the others owned by the descendants of the Star Sage and stored in the treasure vault of the Queldana Family, respectively. Even in the Elven Kingdom, only a few elves knew about the robe. How did Lin Li, a human mage, find out?

    Elder Randy was stuck in a dilemma, but the current circumstances did not allow him to hesitate any longer. The Star-scarred Robe was nothingpared to the life of Princess Elune. Of course, the elves were not pushovers, either. Must I give it to him just because he asks for it? Elder Randy thought.

    ¡°Please rest assured, Mage Felic. The Star-scarred Robes are not here at the moment, but I can get others to bring them here as soon as possible. However, can you go and see the poisoned elves first? I am afraid that their bodies will notst long.¡± Elder Randy decided to pull a scheming trick in a bid to get Lin Li to treat the poisoned elves and Princess Elune first. He reckoned that it would take at most one or two days for the toxins to be removedpletely. By then, he could probably reconsider giving Lin Li the Star-scarred Robes.

    Lin Li appeared to be stuck in a dilemma as if he did not see through the scheming tricks of the elven elder. However, he still ended up agreeing to take a look at the poisoned elves, though he did not promise that he could get rid of the poison.

    Elder Randy was exhrated. He felt that everything would be worth it as long as he could rescue Princess Elune, be it swallowing his pride or making hefty promises.

    Soon, under the guidance of Elder Randy, Lin Li arrived at the tent that Princess Elune was in. The high-level elves had all been waiting there, and they seemed to have instantly heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the human mage.

    In the opinion of the high-level elves, Randy really deserved to be the eighth elder of the Emerald Council¡ªLin Li who had been feigning ignorance had finallye forth after Randy stepped in.

    However, when Lin Li was about to enter the tent, he turned to look at the elven elder, and said, ¡°Let me first look at the condition of the poisoned elves. You don¡¯t have to follow me. You¡¯d better arrange the matters regarding the Star-scarred Robes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll arrange it right now,¡± Elder Randy said while nodding smilingly.

    Lin Li walked into the tent, while Elder Randy stayed outside where he got surrounded by several high-level elves who had all heard Lin Li mention the Star-scarred Robes[1]. As the senior executives of the Queldana Family, they naturally knew about the Star-scarred Robes. All of them knew how important the Star-scarred Robe was to the Queldana Family. However, after hearing the conversation between Lin Li and their Elder Randy...

    Although he was the eighth elder, they found his decision to be a little too rash. Princess Elune was the princess of the Elven Kingdom, not the princess of the Queldana Family. They felt that it was unfair for them to give away their Star-scarred Robe for the sake of saving her life.

    It was not that they could not figure out which was more important, Princess Elune or the Star-scarred Robe, but rather that they could not tolerate giving the Star-scarred Robe away to a lowly human mage.

    It was true that Princess Elune and the poisoned elves needed the antidote from Lin Li, but that did not change their impression or opinion of him. Although the high-level elves were extremely polite when they faced Lin Li now, they still thought of him as a disgusting human mage who often hung around dirty Undead creatures.

    Only noble beings like the elven queen and the Seven Sages were qualified to wear the Star-scarred Robes. The human mage Lin Li only happened to discover an antidote for the poison by chance, yet he had the audacity to covet their Star-scarred Robes. They found it to be absurd and uneptable.

    Although the high-level elves did not dare to directly me Elder Randy, they still had someints, and did me him to a certain extent deep down in their hearts. It wasn¡¯t a big deal to give Lin Li some benefits, but they felt that Elder Randy should have just given him some herbs, and not offer to give him the Star-scarred Robe. Besides, the Star-scarred Robe was regarded as a secret in the family. How could Elder Randy give it to him voluntarily?

    Elder Randy nced at the high-level elves sternly, and said, ¡°I will not investigate to find out who told him about the Star-scarred Robe for now. Everything will be alright as long as Princess Elune is safe and sound. However, in the future, please remain tight-lipped and think twice before saying anything.¡±

    The high-level elves thought that Elder Randy was the one who had voluntarily offered to give the Star-scarred Robe to Lin Li, while Elder Randy suspected that one of them had leaked the secret, especially suspecting those two who¡¯d gone to persuade Lin Li.

    However, they couldn¡¯t just constantly suspect each other. No matter what, the Star-scarred Robe could never be given away just like that. Elder Randy had long made up his mind. He beckoned a high-level elf over and instructed him to go home and get the Star-scarred Robe. At the same time, he also told him to take his time.

    Everyone instantly understood his intentions. The antidote would require at most one night to remove the poison, and once the poisoned elves recovered, there would be no need to give the Star-scarred Robe to Lin Li.

    With such an idea settled, the emotions of Elder Randy and several high-level elves were much more stable than before, and in fact, they were even a little bit proud of their brilliant scheme. Elder Randy and the high-level elves did not feel guilty about breaching the agreement, because they knew that humans were experts at going back on their word. In that case, there would be nothing wrong to feed them with their own medicine, the elves thought.

    At this moment, Lin Li also exited from the tent with a frown. He continuously shook his head and seemed to be mumbling something.

    The hearts of Elder Randy and a few high-level elves sank. They wondered, Is there really no chance of recovery? Elder Randy strode towards him quickly and probed, ¡°Mage Felic, how¡¯s their condition? Can the poison be removed?¡±

    Before Lin Li hade to Anril, he had got plenty of experience watching doctors do their work. Hence, he could easily fool the elves. Appearing like he was put in a spot, he said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult. It¡¯s not impossible to remove the toxic substances in their bodies, but I need you to make a decision.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Feel free to speak, Mage Felic,¡± Elder Randy frantically said.

    ¡°After all, these elves and the Moonsaber Panther are still different. If you want to remove the toxins in their body, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯ll be a great reduction in their power after the removal of toxins. If you¡¯re not in a hurry, I can slowly remove the toxins for them. That would reduce the damage done by a great amount. It would ensure that their strength is preserved,¡± Lin Li said while staring at the elven elder.

    Hearing this, Elder Randy could not help but feel his blood gushing up to the top of his head. He thought, Could this human mage have already realized my n?

    However, it concerned the safety of these elves, and even if he was the prestigious eighth elder, he dared not put their lives at risk, especially not Princess Elune¡¯s. She was the only heir to the elven queen, and if all her power was eradicated, what would be the point of her living?

    ¡°No, no, we¡¯re not in a hurry. You may take your time, Mage Felic. We have plenty of time. How long do you need, then?¡± Elder Randy asked resignedly, thinking to himself that there had to be a fixed duration regardless of how long it might be.

    Lin Li pretended to calcte the time, and then shook his head before saying, ¡°Well, that would depend on the details of the situation. After all, the Viper¡¯s poison is different from others. There are plenty of factors that have to be considered.¡±

    Lin Li did not answer the question about the treatment¡¯s time, and Elder Randy felt too awkward to continue asking. What could he do? He could only follow Lin Li¡¯s instructions now. After all, no one except Lin Li could provide an antidote for the poison.

    Lin Li then began treatment for the few poisoned elves. Of course, he greatly reduced the potion¡¯s volume because he knew that the elves couldn¡¯t tell any difference anyway.

    After the first round of treatment, Elder Randy sent Lin Li away, and immediately returned to check the condition of the elves in person. It was obvious that the vitality in the elves¡¯ bodies had stopped deteriorating so quickly, thus making Elder Randy feel rather relieved. Although he did not know when Princess Elune would be cured, at least Lin Li¡¯s treatment was indeed effective.

    The treatmentsted for a few days. After each round of treatment, everyone could see an obvious improvement in the condition of the elves. However, Elder Randy and the high-level elves were feeling nervous, and not just relieved. They were all looking forward to seeing the end of the treatment. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have an excuse not to give Lin Li the Star-scarred Robes.

    However, despite having hoped for a long time, the high-level elf who was sent back to take the Star-scarred Robes still did not receive any new instructions from the elders, though he returned to the camp presumptuously. He thought that he would just be taking the robe out for a walk, and he reckoned that Princess Elune and other poisoned elves must have beenpletely recovered after a few days. However, after he understood the situation, it was already toote, and he couldn¡¯t go out with the robe again, because it would be tantly telling Lin Li that they did not wish to give him the robe.

    Elder Randy touched the family treasure with his hands. Even though he could not bear to give it away, the robe had already been brought to the campground, and there was no excuse he could give to Lin Li. Since Lin Li knew that they had Star-scarred Robes, he probably knew that it had already been delivered to the campground too. Not to mention, the poisoned elves and Princess Elune had not recoveredpletely. One could only imagine how dire the consequences would be if he were to back out now.

    Hence, when Lin Li went to the elves¡¯ tent to continue with the treatment again, Elder Randy, who had been waiting long ago, reluctantly took out the Star-scarred Robe.

    ¡°Mage Felic, this is the Star-scarred Robe that you want. I believe you have the ability to tell its authenticity. Please take extra care of Princess Elune and the poisoned elves.¡± He then handed the robe to Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, this is the Star-scarred Robe. Elves are truly credible and people of their words. Thank you, then.¡± Lin Li epted it without standing on ceremony, and immediately ced it in the Ring of Endless Storm without checking, because he could tell that it was genuine just from the mageweaths on it.

    Elder Randy and several high-level elves watched Lin Li put away the Star-scarred Robe while feeling deeply anguished. They knew that the Star-scarred Robe would never have anything to do with the Queldana Family again. In any case, as long as Princess Elune was able to remain safe, their sacrifice would be worth it. That was the only way Elder Randy couldfort himself.

    For this round of treatment, Lin Li did not retain anything. He used sufficient doses of potion ording to the amount of toxins in the poisoned elves. After the treatment, Elder Randy could tell that their condition had greatly improved without even having to check thoroughly.

    ¡°Mage Felic, how much longer will the treatment take?¡± Elder Randy asked apprehensively.

    Lin Li stroked his chin, and smilingly answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for further treatment. The toxins in their bodies have been removed, and their power will recover tonight.¡±

    Elder Randy, who was already feeling the pain of giving the Star-scarred Robe away, stared at Lin Li while gritting his teeth angrily, and snapped, ¡°Mage Felic, didn¡¯t you say that treatment for them couldn¡¯t be too hasty!?¡±

    Greatly taken aback, Lin Li nonchntly said, ¡°Is it hasty? It¡¯s already been a few days. If you think it¡¯s too fast, why don¡¯t we repeat the entire treatment all over again? Actually, I can go slower. 10 days or two weeks shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡±

    [1] Actually, the author isn¡¯t too clear whether the deal is to give LL one or two of those robes. LL wanted two, but then author writes as though the elves are going to give him just one. We¡¯ll stick to the initial version, but don¡¯t be surprised if it ends with the second one. Wouldn¡¯t be the first time.

 Chapter 623 - Complying

    <h4>Chapter 623: Complying</h4>

    Elder Randy¡¯s teeth chattered, and he could even feel the bloody odor in his breath. He tried to get a grip on himself before asking, ¡°In that case, could you have taken a shorter time to heal them?¡±

    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking. I thought they¡¯d be very different from the Moonsaber Panther, but I didn¡¯t expect the difference to be so small. Their toxins could have been removed all at once.¡± Lin Li scratched his head and put on a guilty expression. Seemingly trying to me himself, he said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m just too inexperienced, maybe I was being too careful and paranoid.¡± Before Elder Randy could even speak, Lin Li sighed and left.

    A gust of wind blew past the campground, causing a few leaves to fly in front of the elves. Seeing that Lin Li had left, they felt that they had been made into fools.

    ¡°Outrageous! Elder, this human has really gone overboard. Humans are indeed horrendous by nature,¡± a senior elf said indignantly.

    There were only three Star-scarred Robes in the entire elven race. Clearly, the Star-scarred Robe was extremely precious. However, three robes had be two, and the most precious one belonging to the Queldana Family had nownded in the hands of Lin Li, thus making it hard to ept for the elves.

    ¡°Greedy and shameless, greedy and shameless!¡± Several high-level elves pounded their chests in exasperation and criticized the shameless behavior of the human mage.

    Elder Randy had already told them about the promise that he had made when he asked Lin Li for help. From the perspective of these elves, the Haiga Mountain Range map and the low-priced herbs were all massive benefits that were attractive enough for humans like Lin Li. However, even then, the sly Lin Li still chose to dy in order to get his hands on the robe.

    Since when had these high-level elves ever allowed others to plot against them in such a manner? They obviously refused to let the matter rest just like that. Anyway, the poison in Princess Elune and several other elves had already been eliminated, so there was no need to be polite to this human mage anymore.

    They were in one of the most dangerous restricted areas on the maind of Anril, and the dangers were far beyond imaginable. There was still a long way to go. Unless Lin Li left with the Star-scarred Robe now, they would have the chance to teach him an unforgettable lesson.

    ¡°Elder, since the human has chosen the Star-scarred Robe instead of a friendship with us, we don¡¯t need to be kind to him anymore. After Princess Elune and the rest recover, we will continue to explore the Haiga Mountain Range. There will be plenty of opportunities to make him pay for it.¡± Ferner gritted his teeth angrily.

    Ferner quickly gained the agreement of his peers. As members of the Queldana Family, no one was willing to watch the family treasure fall into the hands of a human. Although they were feeling helpless about Princess Elune and the poisoned elves, and would do anything to save them, their mindset began to change as the toxins got eliminated, especially after discovering that it didn¡¯t take Lin Li much effort to remove the toxins.

    However, Elder Randy had been remaining silent for a while. When he saw the elves screaming louder and louder, he raised his hand to stop them. ¡°I think the human is already a Master of pharmaceutics. We might meet with other issues while on our quest for the sacred relic. You¡¯d better not act recklessly. Think about what happened previously. If it weren¡¯t because of that incident, we wouldn¡¯t have had to pay such a huge price when asking him for help.¡±

    The words of Elder Randy drew several senior elves into contemtion. Indeed, if it weren¡¯t for the strained rtionship between them and Lin Li, they wouldn¡¯t have had to give thetter the Star-scarred Robe in exchange for his help. There was a saying amongst the humans that without distant considerations, there had to be near worries. In fact, that was the case here.

    Some of the dangers in the Haiga Mountain Range had already been discovered after some years of exploration. However, in the depths of the Haiga Mountain Range, there was an area called the forbidden zone of life which even the elves had little knowledge about. Who could guarantee that there was only one kind of poisonous magical beast in thebyrinth of the Haiga Mountain Range? Even if there was only one, which was the descendant of the venomous viper, the consequences would be dire when they all got poisoned. By then, would they have to give away the elven queen¡¯s Star-scarred Robe too?

    ¡°Even the ants and insects in the forest have their existential value, not to mention a human who can dispel the viper¡¯s poison and is a Master of pharmaceutics. Go back and instruct your subordinates to maintain a good rtionship with this human, at least during this period of time that we¡¯re in the Haiga Mountain Range. This would be of great help to us,¡± Elder Randy said while feeling the pinch. He was obviously not willing to give away the Star-scarred Robe. However, even if he were to try and snatch the Star-scarred Robe away, he might have to pay a greater price to get it back.

    Over the course of one night, there had been drastic changes in the elven campground. The arrogant elves seemed to have found their conscience all of a sudden, and stopped making things difficult for the humans on the campground. Although they were still rather prideful, they were clearly much more polite to the humans than before.

    Lin Li naturally got taken care of here. Culofen and Gildor who came to visit him previously had also delivered some elven specialties to him.

    What is going on? Weren¡¯t the elves wishing that they could kill him? Why did their attitudes change all of a sudden?

    The human adventurers had never seen such a side to the elves before. Even Cheyenne and Borg could not figure out what the young mage had done to the elves.

    The poisoning of Princess Elune was a secret. Actually, even the elves themselves couldn¡¯t figure out the reason for the change in their attitudes. However, they had no choice but to follow the orders given by their superiors.

    When the three parties met to discuss the expedition¡¯s future, Cheyenne and Borg inadvertently asked Lin Li a question about the whole matter. However, Lin Li did not tell them about it, and instead said that the elves had asked him for help. After all, there was no need to tell them if the elves didn¡¯t do so.

    However, after their rtionship was less strained, Lin Li heard the reason Princess Elune got poisoned from the high-level elves Culofen and Gildor. Despite remaining calm, he was rather worried.

    Lin Li was well aware of how terrifying the magical beasts were; their power was the very thing that they relied on in order to share the maind of Anril with the ancient wyrms and Titans. In other words, the magical beasts did not live in clusters, and each of them fought using their instincts. Otherwise, they would definitely have formed a force that couldpete with the ancient wyrms and Titans.

    When the High Elves ruled Anril, they had powerful battle fortresses, the Sky Castles. However, they¡¯d still paid a considerable price in order to expel and destroy the prehistoric magical beasts. During the entire process, the High Elves organized themselves into groups and targeted each and every prehistoric magical beast one by one instead of facing whole groups.

    Indeed, Princess Elune and the rest could very likely have been harmed by a descendant of a prehistoric viper whose bloodline was on the verge of ceasing. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been any chance for them to return to the camp at all. However, that also meant that there could be more such descendants of the viper.

    What about the descendants of the other prehistoric magical beasts? The vipers were not the strongest among the prehistoric beasts. The only troublesome thing about them was their venom. However, there were plenty of other prehistoric magical beasts that were far more terrifying and formidable. The descendants of those were terrifying too.

    The fact that the Haiga Mountain Range was called a restricted area was definitely not without a cause. Even the Malfa Family, Dark de, and Queldana Family seemed to be rather insignificant in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and the poisoned elves had fully recovered after resting for half a month. In fact, Lin Li was right at the beginning. If he hadn¡¯t slowed down the speed of treatment to stimte the effects of the potion, the elves might¡¯ve now had to suffer from the side effect of having their powers degraded.

    However, the past half a month was not exactly peaceful for the elves, because they now had anotherpanion whom they could not stand sharing the camp. It was none other than Lich Ujfalusi from Tower of Dusk.

    Damn, why is it an Undead creature again? Is the Tower of Dusk the gathering ce for Undead creatures? The elves allmented after hearing the news, for they utterly detested Undead creatures. However, they could onlyin silently in their hearts because the dirty Undead creatures belonged to someone who could make their elders swallow their pride.

    After the incident that night, no elves dared to criticize the pure Undead creature, Ujfalusi, in his face. Even Ujfalusi himself was surprised by the attitude of the elves. Since when have elves started turning a blind eye to me?

 Chapter 624 - Poisonous Mist Trail

    <h4>Chapter 624: Poisonous Mist Trail</h4>

    Of course, Ujfalusi wouldn¡¯t actually pay attention to those matters. Instead, he reported the matter of his herb purchase at Seven Leaf Grass to his master, Lin Li.

    Back in Rnd City, Lin Li had once requested Charles, the owner of Seven Leaf Grass, to help him search for some rare herbs from Tree of Emerald in City of Late Winter. However, back then, Charles was fretting over the possible obstacles he might face while on the way to City of Late Winter; hence, he hired some mercenaries to protect him.

    However, it was said that the secondrgest bandit group of the Breezy ins would be entrenched on that route too. Hence, even Sienna was troubled by this task. Lin Li wanted to use Charles¡¯ connections in City of Late Winter to reap some benefits. Hence, he agreed to send 10 Archmages from the Tower of Dusk and Ujfalusi to escort and protect him.

    At that time, Lin Li did not think that he would encounter the elves in the Haiga Mountain Range. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have wasted his efforts. Anyway, the elven elders had already promised to give him more privileges in terms of herbs.

    When Lin Li left the Tower of Dusk, Seven Leaf Grass¡¯s team had also set off at the same time. However, when Ujfalusi left, Lin Li had instructed him to meet him in the Haiga Mountain Range after arriving at the City of Late Winter. Lin Li, too, knew that hecked some manpower, and Ujfalusi had already recovered his Legendary-realm power. It was a huge support for his quest in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    After escorting the Seven Leaf Grass team to the City of Late Winter, Ujfalusi left the 10 Archmages behind to continue protecting the Seven Leaf Grass team while he entered the elven camp using the Soul Contract ording to Lin Li¡¯s previous instructions.

    Although Ujfalusi was alone, Liches had their own resources. Apart from the fear he felt because of the hatching of the Elemental Wyrm, he did not encounter too many obstacles along the way.

    However, although the City of Late Winter was on the edge of the Emerald Forest, it was still rather far. Hence, Ujfalusi was a few dayster than the high-level elf who had returned with the Star-scarred Robe.

    The elven Queldana Family, Malfa Family, Dark de, and Tower of Dusk sat together to discuss what their next move as a team should be. At the same time, in addition to the eighth elder Randy and a few high-level elves, there was also the breathtakingly beautiful Princess Elune present.

    Actually, Lin Li was quite surprised when he first found out about the identity of Princess Elune. Princess Elune was rather significant to the elves, and as she was the only sessor of the elven queen, her death would definitely cause unredeemable damage to the elves.

    Although Lin Li was curious, he did not question the elven elders, because it concerned their affairs and there was nothing for him to find out.

    First, Elune exined the experiences that she and her peers had, after which Elder Randy told her the clues he had found about the lost relic.

    During this resting period, the human tripartite cooperation had also been studying and discussing, after which they found the likely location of the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. Afterparing it to the leads provided by Elder Randy, they found that their guesses concurred, but no one could tell the rtionship between the treasure of the Immortal King and the lost relic of the elves.

    However, Elder Randy made a promise to the humans on behalf of the elves, and even though their goals were overlying, the elves only wanted their own sacred relic, and wouldn¡¯t touch the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.

    Soon, they reached a consensus and set off deeper into the Haiga Mountain Range using the route that they had mapped out.

    As adventurers in this world, everyone knew that there bound to be plenty of danger and uncertainties in the Haiga Mountain Range. Hence, when they were packing up with heavy hearts, the elves and humans were all solemn and conscientious as they had no idea if they could make it out alive, but they did not have a reason to back out.

    When they finally entered the deeper areas of the Haiga Mountain Range, they realized why it was known as the area where life was forbidden. They saw magnificent and powerful magical beasts which the adventurers could not identify, because they had never even seen them before. There were also level-16 and level-17 magical beasts, but were surprisingly the ones at the bottom of the food chain in the area.

    Just like how a person couldn¡¯t avoid stepping on someone else¡¯s foot in a dense crowd, battling would be inevitable here. After leaving a magical beast¡¯s territory, they would soon step into another group of magical beasts¡¯ territory. There were no buffer zones in between territories at all. Hence, it was often impossible for the adventure teamposed of humans and elves to find a ce to set up a camp.

    At this juncture, everyone could finally understand why they had had to rest for so long. Over here, resting would be considered a luxury that they could not afford. In fact, there were more magical beasts at night, all of which were extremely terrifying. There was no time for rest at all. Even though the adventurers took turns to fight, the situation was still too intense for rest.

    The only exception in this team was none other than Lin Li, the President of the Tower of Dusk, and his Undead creatures. The three of them were like masters who did nothing. Throughout the past two weeks of adventure, they would put in effort as minimal as possible during all the battles that they encountered, and would never take action unless necessary. However, they definitely made plenty of gains such as highly priced magical crystals. Not to mention, they did not feel embarrassed about taking these benefits at all.

    The Malfa Family and Dark de had long gotten used to this, but the elves got a great eye-opener. They had long heard about the shameless nature of humans from their elders, but some of them had still been doubtful. However, after witnessing this, they realized that their elders were speaking the truth.

    They thought, They¡¯re so shameless, especially that Undead creature. Not only did he rush to get the gains, he actually shapeshifted into bats to take everything away. After the bats gathered together, they quickly scooped up the magical crystals and handed them over to the shameless human mage, without feeling any guilt at all.

    Actually, they weren¡¯t there for the magical crystals, anyway. However, they found Lin Li¡¯s and the Vampire¡¯s behavior to be overboard. If you want the magical crystals, you can attack the magical beasts. You¡¯re both Legendary powerhouses, is it that difficult to deal with the magical beasts?

    After more than half a month, the elves felt increasingly disgusted with Lin Li. They were both intelligent races, but why was the difference so great? However, some elves dared not show their displeasure, because it was not only the instructions of their superiors, but also because they really needed Lin Li¡¯s help.

    After entering the depths of the Haiga Mountain Range, those powerful magical beasts were indeed a great threat to the adventure team. However, the genuinely lethal threat actually came from the magical beasts which seemed unassuming on the surface. In fact, their power did not allow them to be qualified as magical beasts.

    Toxins and curses were some of the very tricky weapons that magical beasts were born with. In the deeper areas of the Haiga Mountain Range, where life was forbidden, the magical beasts that had survived relying on toxins and curses definitely had unimaginable power.

    Low-level antidotes would be of no use here. Even the high-level potions prepared by the elves in advance didn¡¯t have that great of an effect. At this moment, they finally realized how important the annoying human mage was.

    Although Lin Li did not take initiative to attack the magical beasts, and even got Norfeller to snatch the gains, he would never hesitate to help any poisoned humans or elves. Of course, the only reason he could be so magnanimous was because the herbs were all supplied by the elves.

    Under such circumstances, no one dared to say anything; no one could guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t get poisoned, either. Everyone knew that the young mage Lin Li could turn against the elven elders for the sake of his Undead creatures. Offending him would be akin to losing their chance to live. If they were to get poisoned, the consequences would be far greater than losing just a few magical crystals.

    The elves did not know much about Princess Elune and the rest getting poisoned, nor did they know what kind of a price they had paid to get Lin Li to help. However, the fact that the eighth elder had personally sought help from a human was shocking enough. In the opinion of several elves, the price of sacrificing one¡¯s pride could not be bnced by anything else.

    Finally, after more than half a month of hard exploration, the exhausted adventurer team came to a cliff, which was one of the ces that the elves imed to be a clue. It was also andmark mentioned in the humans¡¯ treasure map.

    After clearing and driving out the surrounding magical beasts, the team began to set up tents. All of them truly needed a break at this time, be it humans or elves, though they only had very little time to rest. While setting up the tent, the main figures proceeded to look around the cliff in a bid to see what clues they could find.

    In such a ce, the average person would no longer be able toplete the investigation work, even if he was a Legendary powerhouse, for the oue would be miserable, and they would end up being eaten by the beasts. Hence, if they wanted to understand the situation and find clues, it could only be done by several Legendary powerhouses.

    ¡°Master Felic, the situation seems to be unfavorable,¡± Cheyenne said with a frown after arriving at the cliff.

    Unfavorable? It¡¯s terrible! Lin Li was actually clearer than the rest that there was a strong Menace of the Dragoning from the bottom of the cliff because he had a deeper experience than several other Legendary powerhouses. Not long ago in the valley, he had a battle against the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm. Not to mention, Xiao Hua that was living in Dream Garden in his ring needed several magical crystals a day for it to be appeased.

    With a sullen expression, Borg said, ¡°It¡¯s the Menace of the Dragon. Is there a wyrm below this cliff?¡±

    Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°It is the Menace of the Dragon, but there¡¯s more than just one wyrm.¡± He could feel howplicated and powerful the Menace of the Dragon was, thus indicating that the source of it was more than just one wyrm.

    Of course, it was uncertain if that was a good thing. Whether it was a wyrm with a strong Menace of the Dragon or a few wyrms with a weaker one that were harder to deal with was a subjective issue.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s words attracted the attention of Elder Randy, who shot him a peculiar nce. After all, it was not an easy task for Legendary figures to sense the Menace of the Dragon deeply, because as long as a wyrm appeared, it would definitely be above the Legendary-realm. Hence, the Menace of the Dragon had a great impact on Legendary figures.

    Several Legendary powerhouses stood silently on the cliff, calcting the possibilities in their heads. Although they had encountered many powerful magical beasts along the way, ordinary magical beasts could notpare to wyrms at all. At this point, no one was willing to back out, but they had to consider how to deal with the numerous wyrms that possibly existed below the cliff.

    The bottom of the cliff was shrouded in thick mist, making it impossible for them to see anything. They could all tell from the Menace of the Dragon that the wyrm that was exuding it definitely was powerful¡ªabove the Legendary-level. It also had extremely high magic resistance, physical defense, natural talent, and Dragonnguage magic. Even if the mage was of the same level, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to attack it, let alone kill it.

    Although this adventure team wasposed of the elites of all forces, and was extremely powerful, they would have to pay a painful price to obtain victory. Not to mention, they still had no idea how many wyrms there were in total. Even if they were to send out all subordinates, there might not be a desirable effect.

    Feeling concerned, the crowd returned to the camp to discuss what to do next. However, they had an advantage which was also rather perplexing¡ªthere were very few magical beasts there, perhaps because of the Menace of the Dragon. Even magical beasts of the same level and strength would be affected. Not to mention, there was apparently more than one wyrm below the cliff.

    Upon returning, Elder Randy first sent a few teams of elves to go out and reconnoiter around the ce. The existence of the Menace of the Dragon actually made the ce less dangerous than elsewhere; hence, the elves could look around safely.

    Actually, the problem that they were now facing was how to get to the bottom of the cliff and how to deal with the wyrms that could possibly appear. Be it from the clues found by the elves or the ones in the humans¡¯ treasure map, they could deduce that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure had something to do with the bottom of the cliff.

    In fact, Lin Li was much more certain than anyone else because his debris of the stars allowed him to sense that Thunderbolt was somewhere below the cliff.

    However, getting to the bottom of the cliff was indeed a problem that they had to think about. Although Legendary-mages could fly, they still had no idea how tall the cliff was. Besides, they might encounter the attacks of wyrms along the way.

    Due to the fact that Legendary-mages used plenty of mana, most of their battles would be conducted in the air. It could be said that fighting in the air was not difficult for them. However, the dense fog under the cliff was difficult to explore even with mental strength. If one wanted to fight in such an environment, there would at least be mental suppression handicapping them by half. If they were to encounter a wyrm at that time, they might really die.

    After some discussion, they still did not find a good solution; hence, they had no choice but to wait for the reconnoiters toe back in hopes that thetter would bring some news that they could discuss and develop a few options.

    The team rested for two days near the cliff. Due to the Menace of the Dragon, they were not bothered by any magical beasts in those two days. It could be said that they had a good rest. Although the Menace of the Dragon also had a certain influence on humans and elves, it only radiated naturally, and was not suppressing the humans. That was the difference between the intelligent races and magical beasts.

    Finally, a team of elves returned with good news. They explored along the cliff and found a road that seemed to allow them to make a detour to the bottom of the cliff. However, the strength of the team was limited; hence, they had yet to explore the way in detail. Not only were there terrifying beasts along the way, there were also poisonous gases all around them, as well as a mysterious power that limited all the nature magic.

    However, the piece of news still made them feel rather energized. Elder Randy rewarded those elves before discussing the route with the humans.

    ording to the news brought back by the elves, it would be basically impossible for arge team to enter. Lin Li analyzed the poisonous gas that they had collected and found that it was not feasible to formte an antidote for it, even though it was not as difficult to deal with as viper¡¯s poison. However, the Legendary-level poison could remain hidden in the body.

 Chapter 625 - A Flight Of Dragons

    <h4>Chapter 625: A Flight Of Dragons</h4>

    The first thing that could be determined was that only the Legendary powerhouses could step into the poisonous gas and explore the path. Not to forget, there was a force that restricted Nature Magic. In other words, Druids had to be excluded. Hence, there were very few people who could explore the path.

    ¡°Is there anything else you guys would like to add to the issue of candidates?¡± After roughly shortlisting some participants for the expedition, Elder Randy decided to ask for the opinions of the humans.

    Borg looked around and turned to look at Elder Randy again. ¡°My son, Stephen, may have yet to reach the Legendary-realm, but he has a special physique that makes him immune to poisonous gas. Let him tag along.¡±

    Hearing that Borg, the spokesperson of the Dark de had mentioned Stephen, Lin Li turned to look at him and realized that he seemed to be hiding something. Everyone knew how dangerous that path was, and the poisonous gas was only one of the many dangers.

    However, Lin Li did not probe, since Borg wanted his son to tag along. He turned to look at the elven elder, and calmly asked, ¡°Elder, since there¡¯s a force there that restricts Nature Magic, you guys... You¡¯re a Druid, right? Miss Elune should be a Druid too... ¡±

    Actually, that path was not the only dangerous one; many other areas in Haiga Mountain Range contained forces that would restrict and suppress Nature Magic. However, the deeper into the range, the weaker the force would bepared to the borders.

    Elder Randy smiled, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, don¡¯t worry. We have a solution for this problem, though it¡¯s going to be rather troublesome and we can¡¯t use it on arge scale. Otherwise, the Haiga Mountain Range would have really be ours.¡±

    As long as he could take care of himself, there would be nothing to worry about. Lin Li immediately expressed his approval of the list of candidates, after which Borg and the rest followed suit.

    Lin Li was definitely included on the list, together with his follower, the Vampire Norfeller. Although Norfeller had yet to reach the Legendary-realm, he was just a step away from it. Besides, as an Undead creature, he definitely had a strong resistance towards poison.

    Next was the Lich Ujfalusi, who had arrivedter. Although he was not outstanding in terms of power, he was definitely capable since he could summon a Humerus Wyrm.

    Apart from Lin Li and his followers, the other humans included Cheyenne, the only Legendary-mage of the Malfa Family, the three Legendary-realm leaders of the Dark de, and Borg¡¯s son, Stephen. For the elves, it would be the Legendary-realm Druids, Chief Elder Randy and Princess Elune, as well as Culofen and Gildor who had once asked Lin Li to help them.

    After some serious preparations, the team formed by Legendary figures swiftly sped in a certain direction ording to the information provided.

    Due to the influence of the Menace of the Dragon, there were no obstacles along the way, and the team soon arrived at the ce found by the reconnoiters. Under the shroud of green mist, they saw a road that extended downwards, all the way into the deeper areas of the mist. Actually, it was not a pathway, because it was surrounded by plenty of strange rocks on the ground even though it was spacious, which meant that it might be affected by poisonous fog. nts were scarce too. Some vaguely visible magical beast skeletons could be seen in the mist, and amongst them were some strong and fearsome magical beasts that they had once dealt with.

    ¡°Elder, this is the ce,¡± said the elf who had been leading the way.

    At the moment, the elven scouts still could not deduce if they could make it to the bottom of the cliff. After all, with their current abilities, they still could not delve deeper to explore. However, ording to the direction of the path, they could roughly deduce that it was likely possible to reach the bottom of the cliff.

    The reconnoitering elves were sent back, and the Legendary powerhouse team was getting ready to delve into the fog. However, before they got ready to enter, Elder Randy reminded, ¡°We havee all the way, and we have not encountered any magical beasts yet due to the influence of Menace of the Dragon. However, we must still be very careful whilst in this poisonous mist. ording to the investigations we¡¯ve done over the past centuries, some of the magical beasts are very fond of highly poisonous environments, and such magical beasts are often very scary.¡±

    Just because there was some deterrence provided by the Menace of the Dragon, it did not mean that one could brave the poisonous fog without any surprises and dangers. Since humans and elves could suppress their fear towards the Menace of the Dragon, not all magical beasts were afraid of it, either. Besides, while the fog might be intensely poisonous and could only be resisted by Legendary figures, to some magical beasts, it was delectable like fresh air to humans.

    Some magical beasts were naturally born with fire attribute; hence, they mostly enjoyed environments with abundant fire elements. Meanwhile, the magical beasts with water attribute mostly lived in rivers and seas. Hence, it was no surprise that the magical beasts whose innate ability was rted to poison liked to be shrouded in poisonous gas. Even though there was still the Menace of the Dragon nearby, they wouldn¡¯t mind taking the risk for the sake of poisonous gas.

    Everyone there was a Legendary powerhouse, and could be considered knowledgeable. Hence, after hearing Elder Randy¡¯s reminder, everyone nodded in unison. Although Legendary figures could resist against the poisonous fog, it did not mean that they could resist the magical beasts. If they were to be attacked because of their own carelessness, they would be in deep trouble.

    After entering the foggy area, everyone felt that their vision was hindered, thus depriving them of the ability to look at distant objects. Every Legendary powerhouse was keeping his guard up and slowly making his way to the deeper areas.

    Although the Legendary powerhouse team was made up of four factions, they formed an inverted triangle. The four Legendary powerhouses of the elven family were in charge of one of the corners, while the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de and Stephen took charge of another. Thest was then supported by Lin Li, his followers, and Cheyenne.

    The reality proved that Elder Randy¡¯s previous worries were not uncalled-for. The team actually met an obstacle not long after entering the fog.

    More than a dozen giant scorpions in emerald shells suddenly plunged out of the ground and through the rocks. The ws of the giant scorpions were almost the size of a human, and their shiny shells were as smooth as mirrors. The weakest amongst them was actually level-16, and two of them were already close to the Legendary-realm.

    The Dark de¡¯s corner was severely pressured as the four of them were surrounded by seven scorpions, two of which were the strongest. The rest that were scattered all over proceeded to attack the elves, Lin Li, and the rest.

    These giant scorpions were actually not that rare, and the adventurers often ran into them in deserts. The giant scorpions in the outside world were not too formidable, for they were at most level-10 or so. Level-15 ones could be considered the Kings of Scorpions.

    Yet, the giant scorpions here were much more powerful, perhaps because of the nourishing abilities of the poisonous fog. Be it aggressiveness or their defensive abilities, they were definitely terrifying and poisonous.

    Lin Li continued to act in his usual style, and remained unfazed by the iing giant scorpions as if they were just illusions. Cheyenne had no choice but to sigh and wave the magic staff in his hand to take down the giant scorpions.

    However, Lin Li was not exactly unconcerned about the situation. He shifted his gaze onto the members of Dark de, who were fighting the giant scorpions. Although he had already gotten along with Dark de for a period of time, the other two leaders apart from Borg seemed to be rather mysterious. Lin Li had no idea what kind of powers they had, but he knew that they gave him a terrible feeling.

    Everyone knew that cooperative rtionships formed because of benefits often meant that the partnership would end when the benefits were obtained. When that happened, it would be akin to giving one¡¯s life to others.

    Although the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de had been taking action and contributing along the way, Lin Li could tell that they did not go all out. However, at this point, it was uncertain if they could continue to hold back their powers. The giant scorpions thrived in the outer borders of the poisonous gas, and they were unsure if there would be no stronger magical beast as they delved deeper. If they were to really face wyrms at the bottom of the cliff, could those leaders continue to hold back?

    Out of the four cooperating parties, Lin Li was definitely the weakest one; hence, he had to consider plenty of issues because the other three parties definitely had reasons to attack him. The Malfa Family was not exactly reliable. Lin Li still held three of Geresco¡¯s relics. How could Cheyenne not covet them? Didn¡¯t the elves simrly want their Star-scarred Robe back?

    However, among these three parties, Lin Li was the most worried about the two mysterious Legendary leaders of the Dark de because he had no idea what their abilities were. Why did Stephen join the expedition this time? Although Borg was constantly smiling, it was uncertain if he could put the feud between Lin Li and Stephen aside after the alliance was broken.

    After shifting his attention back onto the battlefield, Lin Li shook his head when he saw the Dark de, for he felt that it would be impossible for them to go all out, just because of the giant scorpions.

    Suddenly, Lin Li¡¯s pupils constricted a little. Bald, the blond-haired leader of the Dark de, whipped his sword out to fight them. He cut off the pair of giant pliers belonging to the level-19 giant scorpion. He then stabbed the scorpion again to cut it in half. The giant scorpion whose strength was close to Legendary-realm was killed by Bald¡¯s sword.

    It seemed as easy as a pie, but Lin Li knew that the shells of the giant scorpions were not just meant for decorative purposes. Coupled with strength that was almost at Legendary-realm, even a Sword Sage might only be able to attack it by finding its weakness. However, Bald did live up to his strong and powerful image, and managed to destroy it using brute force. There were plenty of Sword Sages who could do that, but it was not that easy to do it so silently.

    However, Lin Li knew that Bald¡¯s attack was definitely not as effortless as it seemed. That reminded him of a word he had heard before traveling to the world of Anril: effortless. It did not just express one¡¯s strength, but also the mage¡¯sprehension of the Rule Power.

    The founder of the legendary Dark de, the mysterious Legendary bandit, Lansdale, was terrifying enough to send chills down the spines of others even though he was not that outstanding.

    As elegant as an ancient, ssic aristocrat, the Bandit was naturally poised. Even though he wasn¡¯tparable to the elves, he was definitely not pretentious, and his elegant mannerisms were often impressive. However, behind the elegant man stood a giant scorpion that instantly disintegrated and crumbled like a toy that was assembled at thest minute before it could even do anything to obstruct them.

    Lin Li knew that this was not all of their power, but he could tell how strong they were just from this. As for Stephen who Borg had intentionally brought along, Lin Li noticed that just like himself, Stephen had yet to take any action right from the beginning.

    He then turned to look at the elves. Although they were also fighting the giant scorpions, there were not too many of the giant scorpions attacking them¡ªonly five level-17 or level-18 ones. The elven elder waved his staff, and a light was cast onto a giant scorpion, after which it maniacally began attacking its peers.

    Gildor held up a carved longbow, and as the bowstring was pulled slowly, there seemed to be a stream of light surrounding the arrow. With a loud explosive sound, the arrow vanished instantly, while the giant scorpion that was darting towards him began bleeding from its head all of a sudden. An arrow then pierced through its body.

    Lin Li stroked his chin and thought to himself that none of his partners were easy to deal with. Although they were of different professions, they were still Legendary figures, after all. Since they could make it on this journey, they were obviously not useless.

    The giant scorpions were soon annihted, and the team continued to advance into the poisonous fog. The deeper they delved, the thicker the fog became, thus hampering their vision even further.

    Although the fog was bing thicker and thicker, the environment was still a background for the strong magical beasts, and to the team, the giant scorpions were just appetizers. As they continued to go deeper, the magical beasts that they met became harder and harder to deal with. They had to contribute more power in order to continue.

    Most terrifyingly, the magical beasts that thrived in the poisonous fog were more or less mutatedpared to the outside world¡¯s versions. The toxins in their attacks were rampant and even more concentrated than the poison around them because of the umtion of toxic properties in their bodies. Even the Legendary powerhouses had no choice but to be extremely careful. A misstep would cause them to be in danger.

    As more and more powerful magical beasts appeared, Lin Li began to get a clearer idea of his peers¡¯ abilities and strengths. Apart from the elves and the Dark de, Cheyenne of the Malfa Family was hard to deal with too. The fact that he could work against the Dark de which had three Legendary leaders for so many years meant that he was rather capable himself.

    After walking for about half a day, they finally saw a decrease in the incline of the slope. Everyone deduced that they were likely to be approaching the bottom of the cliff after some calction. However, at this juncture, all of the Legendary powerhouses of the team, including Lin Li who seemed to be idling around all the time, appeared to be rather heavy-hearted. They could sense the strong Menace of the Dragon that was much more intense than on top of the cliff.

    Wyrms could be considered the strongest magical beasts in Anril, even though they were a lot weaker than the prehistoric dragons. However, adult wyrms were at least level-20. Coupled with high magical resistance and defensive abilities and the Dragonnguage magic they also inherited, they were still powerful and strong existences to the humans and the elves.

    As the team continued to go deeper, the oppressive pressure of the Menace of the Dragon began to increase, and there were no longer any magical beasts to stop the team from advancing. On both sides of the road, there were more and more tall cliffs, and everyone seemed to have reached a spacious canyon.

    All of a sudden, Elder Randy stopped in his tracks and looked up in the sky. Before the rest could look up, the sounds of a wyrm howling filled the air, causing everyone¡¯s expression to change.

    The roar of the wyrm echoed in the canyon, destroying the peace and silence within it. Next, more erratic and chaotic roars of wyrms began to rise, and the air seemed to be shaking together with the sounds. The poisonous fog seemed to begin spreading too.

    Although everyone knew that encountering wyrms was inevitable before they arrived, they obviously could not help but be shaken when it was really time to face the wyrms.

    Everyone turned to look up at the sky and began to catch sight of the poisonous fog that made their vision rather blurry. They were greeted with a terrifying sight that brought fear to their souls.

    Grim-looking dragons roared from the depths of the canyon, each appearing domineering and daunting. All of their formidable aurasbined together were enough to bring about a major change that made the world shudder. The entire huge canyon seemed to be unable to withstand the destructive auras of the dragons as it shook slightly.

    At this moment, the spacious canyon seemed to have be cramped and crowded, while the gigantic figures covered the sky and filled the canyon like air fortresses that would crush and destroy everything in their path. They weaved through the canyon and caused all the rocks and boulders to crumble, making sounds that seemed to be a prelude to death and destruction whenbined with the roaring of the wyrms.

 Chapter 626 - Wild Druid

    <h4>Chapter 626: Wild Druid</h4>

    When faced with the mighty wyrms, even a Legendary powerhouse would feel small and insignificant. At this point, the people standing on the ground could not even be bothered to count the number of dragons that were present, for they were already overwhelmed with fear and terror. Lin Li had dealt with the projected avatar of an Elemental Wyrm before as well as the unparalleled Titan Spirit. However, he could not help but feel on edge now that he was dealing with a flight of wyrms.

    It was unlike the Menace of the Dragon of the projected avatar of the Elemental Wyrm and the Mental st of the Titan Spirit. It was now just a visual attack that was enough to make people feel weak. In this world, a wyrm was already formidable and terrifying enough, for it was a menacing presence that could destroy heaven and earth. The domineering dozens of dragons were shocking and induced despair in them, making them feel as if they would be destroyed together with the world.

    Could there be a wyrm cave in this canyon!?!

    Actually, there was no need for doubts, because the answer was right before them.

    The Haiga Mountain Range was termed as the area where life was forbidden. Although everyone knew that the adventure this time came with risks, no one expected to encounter a flight of wyrms. None of them expected to lead themselves to a dragon¡¯s cave after following the map.

    The wyrms clearly did not n to give the intruders time to keep calm, because to them, any intruder could only end up being destroyed and ripped into pieces by them.

    In no time, the wyrms had already approached the sky above the adventurer team, and it was not until now that the Legendary powerhouses finally recovered from the shock and realized what opponents they were facing. The sky above was almostpletely obscured, and there were more than 20 adult green dragons, all of which exuded a formidable aura that would exist only on the Legendary-level.

    The adventurers no longer had the choice to leave or fight, for the flying wyrms did not give them any at all. The leading wyrms opened their bloodied mouths and spat out emerald dragon¡¯s breath that contained the power to destroy everything, covering the intruders below with it.

    All wyrms had the ability to spit dragon¡¯s breath¡ªit was an ability that they were born with. However, out of all the dragon¡¯s breaths, the one of the green dragon was not to be resisted. One might be able to resist the hot mes of the red wyrms, or survive the absolute chilly and frozen breaths of the blue wyrms, but no one dared to touch the emerald wyrm¡¯s breath.

    Facing the almost endless breath of the emerald dragons, the adventurers who had just snapped back to reality had no choice but to dodge in different directions, and the team¡¯s formation seemed to have been disintegrated. The dragon¡¯s breath in the air would destroy everything in its path, be it a hard and sturdy boulder or a nt that had lived in the poisonous fog for a long time. It would leave nothing behind except a strong and pungent stench.

    That was the green dragon¡¯s dragon¡¯s breath. Apart from being toxic, it could almost eliminate everything because of its corrosiveness. Even the strongest armor couldn¡¯t withstand it for a second, and even the body of a Legendary figure would be dissolved into a pool of toxic emerald liquid.

    As the endless dragon¡¯s breath spread, the adventurers dodged wherever they could. In the blink of an eye, the ground was corroded by the dragon¡¯s breath that left holes and marks on the entire ground.

    The wyrms covered the ground with dragon¡¯s breath, yet discovered that the abominable invaders were still jumping and struggling. The leading wyrm roared loudly, after which the wyrms behind it immediately separated and darted towards the invaders who were running away in different directions.

    They decided to fight on. Did they have any alternative? They flew up into the sky and rushed forth. Even though they were tiny in front of the wyrms, they had no other choice. If not for that, even with the Immortal King¡¯s treasure or the lost relic at stake, they¡¯d definitely leave already.

    When they were outside, Lin Li from the Tower of Dusk was the weakest of the four parties because even the Malfa Family had hundreds of elites above level-15, while Lin Li¡¯s side only had three members including his followers. However, after they walked through the path of poisonous mist fog and arrived here in the canyon, Cheyenne seemed to be singled out instead.

    Holding the staff tightly in his hand, Cheyenne cast one magic spell after another and withstood the attacks of two adult green dragons, which were even more difficult than human opponents of the same level. In fact, it might be the toughest battle Cheyenne had ever faced since he¡¯d be a Legendary powerhouse.

    When Cheyenne faced the three Legendary figures of the Dark de, he still had the fixed defenses in Aminya City to help bnce the power. However, he was now facing two Legendary adult wyrms and only had himself to rely on.

    Chanting a spell and wielding a staff, Cheyenne continued casting magic spells, but he could barely protect himself. He pathetically dodged the surging dragon¡¯s breath and escaped the attacks the instant that the defensive magic shattered. Despite being a Legendary-mage, it was already difficult for him to maintain his poise. Still, he had no choice but to press on.

    Staring at the situation around him, Cheyenne began to feel increasingly miserable. It would be impossible to get some help in a short period of time, because both the elves and the Dark de were dealing with wyrms that were twice their power. On the elves¡¯ side, four Legendary elves dealt with the onught of seven wyrms, while the Dark de was the same. Even Lin Li, the young President who¡¯d never worked hard along the way, seemed to be having it tougher than Cheyenne while facing seven wyrms¡ªdespite having the help of his Undead creatures.

    Cheyenne¡¯s heart sank to rock bottom. He let down his guard, and a wyrm brushed past him and slit his magic robe into two pieces. Cheyenne broke out in a cold sweat, and could not be bothered to rely on others. Fully concentrated, he employed all his strength and pathetically struggled as he fought the wyrms.

    Just like what Cheyenne had seen, the adventurer team formed by the Legendary powerhouses was divided by the overwhelming dragon¡¯s breath, while the wyrmsunched maniacal attacks on them, the invaders. None of them could rx at all, and they had no choice but to give it their all. Even Lin Li had to go all out in order to support his teammates and survive the attacks.

    They wyrms roared continuously in the valley, and the sounds of the magic spells exploding continuously filled the air, shing with the destructive dragon¡¯s breath. The canyon cliffs on both sides crumbled, while rocks copsed and eroded, leaving deep ck holes.

    At this moment, a wyrm roared loudly in the midst of the chaotic battle. Its sound was so crisp and clear that the green dragons had no choice but to pause for a while.

    In the battle group where the elves were, the eighth elder Randy had already disappeared, and arge silver wyrm took his spot. As soon as the silver wyrm appeared, it immediately rushed towards the green wyrm and bit it. Its stout dragon tail was strong enough to pull the green dragon away. This silver dragon, which used almost the same fighting methods as the green dragons, used its ws and teeth to battle the seven adult green dragons.

    The roar of the silver dragon immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention. Although Lin Li was also in a difficult situation, he did not stop observing the strength of others. Seeing that the elven elder had transformed into a silver dragon, he was rather taken aback too. It was no wonder that he was a descendant of Druids[1]. His ability was probably on par with the power of his brother, Garrincha.

    Under the siege of the green dragons, the silver dragon stood out the most, but it no longer seemed as graceful as the elves usually were. Everything about it was crazy and wild. The ws of the dragon exuded explosive power and made a dull sound when colliding with the green dragons. It crushed everything in its way, and its mouth was dripping with dragon saliva while it made a low-pitched roar and bit the green dragons ferociously. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li had seen it with his own eyes, it would¡¯ve been hard to imagine that this violent silver dragon was actually the elegant elven elder.

    Although the elves had established the Elven Kingdom in the Emerald Forest right after the Dark Age, they had always been very mysterious. However, some time ago, two high-level elves, Culofen and Gildor, visited Lin Li one after another in order to ask him for the antidote for the poisoned elves. During their visits, Lin Li duped them into telling him various stories of the Elven Kingdom.

    Although they were just stories, there was plenty of valuable information in them, and Lin Li¡¯s understanding of the mysterious Druids was also derived from their stories.

    From the perspective of outsiders, a Druid was a member of the profession unique to the elves, and could be considered a mage of Nature Magic. However, from the stories told by the two high-level elves, Lin Li knew that even Druids were actually very different.

    Elder Randy, who had transformed into a silver dragon, was called the Wild Druid, which meant the strongest warriors among Druids. Their power originated from all the beasts in nature, and they gained power far beyond their own through transformation. When a Wild Druid reached the Legendary-realm, he could be a dragon, the being at the pinnacle of the world¡¯s power.

    [1] I¡¯m afraid the ¡°druid¡± part is ambiguous so far in the novel, sometimes as if a profession and sometimes as if a family n. Good news, though: it¡¯s exined atst at the end of this chapter.

 Chapter 627 - Song of Heart

    <h4>Chapter 627: Song of Heart</h4>

    A shapeshifted wyrm was only simr to a true one in terms of appearance. Its dragon¡¯s breath brought about by the dragon blood was also good for defense and withstanding magic attacks, thus allowing it to perform perfectly. It was even said the Druids that shapeshifted into wyrms could use the powerful dragonnguage magic just like true wyrms.

    Shapeshifting into wyrms wasn¡¯t the peak of the Wild Druids¡¯ power. It was said that after reaching level-22, Wild Druids could still shapeshift into every kind of powerful prehistoric magical beasts in a short period of time. Those beasts were formidable creatures that shared this continent with ancient wyrms and the Titans during prehistoric times.

    Even Lin Li wondered what the Wild Druids could shapeshift into after reaching Sanctuary-realm. Could it be ancient wyrms?

    Whenever the Druid upation was mentioned, people usually thought of shapeshifting into bears or wolves as if turning themselves into animals was the Druids¡¯ only ability. Before talking to the two high-level elves, Lin Li had thought so too. Actually, there was nothing wrong with such a way of thinking, since shapeshifting wasn¡¯t a unique skill only Wild Druids possessed.

    Other than Wild Druids, Druidsprised two other branches. One of them was simr to the ones people knew¡ªthe Nature Druids that made up the majority of the Druid poption. The Druids known as nature mages by people originated from among Nature Druids as they were best at nature magic beside shapeshifting into beasts.

    The powers of the Nature Druids came from the sky, sun, moon, and stars. They didn¡¯t need to umte magic via meditation. They didn¡¯t even need to study in order to master nature magic that wasn¡¯t at all inferior to elemental magic. As Nature Druids didn¡¯t require many resources from any aspect but also possessed outstanding abilities, they made up the majority of the Druids.

    Wild Druids were the strongest warriors, while Nature Druids were the mostmon nature mages. There was still an essential group of Druids in the elven race¡ªthe Life Druids. Their powers came from thend and streams, mountains and seas... everything that bred life. Their ability was healing others using their own powers.

    The role that Life Druids yed in the elven race was simr to that of the priests. It was said that the powerful Life Druids even possessed the heaven-defying ability of resurrecting the dead. In the elven race, the most well-known Life Druid was the current elven queen. Her power was likely simr to that of her husband, the wise Garrincha.

    While dealing with the attacking green dragons, Lin Li asionally turned to observe the elves. Chief Elder Randy shapeshifted into a silver wyrm with astonishing abilities. Facing the attack of seven full-grown green dragons, the silver wyrm still calmly handled it without putting himself in a difficult position. His fighting prowess made a leap in quality after shapeshifting.

    However, these seven full-grown green dragons still owned Legendary-level power, after all. If it was a one-on-one battle with the silver wyrm, a green dragon probably wouldn¡¯t win. But with seven attacking together, the silver wyrm that Chief Elder Randy shapeshifted into alone wasn¡¯t enough topete with them.

    However, the Legendary powerhouse Chief Elder Randy wasn¡¯t the only one on the elves¡¯ side. Culofen and Gildor, the two high-ranking elves Lin Li had talked to before, also disyed their true abilities. What surprised Lin Li the most was Culofen, who¡¯d been the first to visit him. He was surprisingly a mage who specialized in fire magic. No wonder he would exchange ideas with Lin Li about Legendary-level magic.

    Lin Li recalled the time during the auction at the time consignment store, when the debris of the stars¡¯ Rebirth had raised spection among the mass. Part of it was about an elven mage who specialized in fire magic. Lin Li wondered if this elf mage was rted to Culofen.

    The current Culofen had shown the power of at least level-21. me Domain was fullyunched, shrouding the entire battlefield. The uneven ground that was corroded by the green dragons¡¯ dragon¡¯s breath turned into boilingva. Flocks of fire birds formed withva flew out and swarmed the green dragons.

    Fire magic was famous for its attacking power in the first ce, not to mention that Culofen was a Legendary-mage who specialized in fire magic. Even the green dragons that possessed extraordinary resistance to magic attacks couldn¡¯t withstand a single blow from Culofen¡¯s fire magic. Inside the me Domain, Culofen used fire magic to attack the green dragons repeatedly. He was always able to provide the silver wyrm with the right amount of help.

    Of course, Legendary-mage Culofen wasn¡¯t the only one wholeheartedly aiding the silver wyrm that Chief Elder Randy had shapeshifted into. The other high-ranking elf, Gildor, also showed an impressive performance. Gildor was an archer in the elven race. The Seven Star Archery Skill which injured Norfeller that Jacques was so proud of was at Gildor¡¯s fingertips. With the sound of the bow and arrow, seven sharp arrows pierced towards the green dragons as fast as lightning.

    Inparison, a slightly weaker elf was Princess Elune, who had stepped into the Legendary-realm just recently. Honestly speaking, the power of the princess could be considered the lowest in the legendary-realm. Lin Li believed that with his ability before entering the Scar of Death, or even before he had even touched the Legendary-realm, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to defeat this elven princess.

    However, rumors said that Princess Elune was a Druid by upation, yet she was holding a gorgeous bow like any other Legendary archer as if she truly was one. With her own abilities, it was impossible for Princess Elune to provide herrades with any real help. The best thing she could do was not to cause trouble for the team. However, her current performance didn¡¯t match her power because of the gorgeous bow she was holding.

    Though Princess Elune¡¯s own abilities weren¡¯t impressive, she appeared unusually calm in face seven green dragons. She drew her bow and aligned her arrow without haste. With every arrow fired, a soothing music rang indescribably through the battlefield. Originally ordinary arrows became so powerful under the music that they could even prate dragon scales known for their excellent defense.

    With this gorgeous bow, Princess Elune exhibited at least the power of level-21 despite just reaching the Legendary-realm.

    As Lin Li shifted from ce to ce, he was unable to concentrate on any elf on the battlefield. However, the soothing musicing from his back had given him the answer about Princess Elune¡¯s bow. Yes, this music could only be yed by the legendary bow which was passed down among the elves generation after generation¡ªSong of Heart.

    At the moment, Lin Li had already summoned the Humerus Wyrm from the Summoning Lamp. With the resurrection of the Crimson Dragon, this Humerus Wyrm he had gotten at the Scar of Death was almost level-21 andparable to a green dragon in power.

    Lich Ujfalusi had also summoned his own Humerus Wyrm¡ªCrimson Wyrm. This Humerus Wyrm had originally been shattered by Lin Li using the debris of the stars. After Ujfalusi returned to the Legendary-realm, he used the original Dragon Crystal and condensed a new body for the wyrm which was even stronger than before.

    Lin Li could be considered giving his all now. It was almost impossible to hold anything back while facing the joint attack of seven green dragons. However, despite the difficulty, he still didn¡¯t give up observing others. After all, other people were probably also observing him even at this moment.

    Hearing the soothing music that was clearly audible even amidst the dragon roars, Lin Li recalled what the Song of Heart was like. He felt that this bow passed down generations of elves seemed a little familiar.

    It was inevitable to associate the Song of Heart with a remarkable elf from after the Dark Age¡ªWind Whisperer Hull, one of the Seven Sages. Although there were a lot of archers in the elven race who were indeed highly talented in archery, Wind Whisperer Hull was the only true archer who had reached Sanctuary-realm. This Song of Heart was the weapon Wind Whisperer Hull had carried with him all the time, and its soothing music had sent countless people to their death.

    ording to legends, during that massacre of elves by human coalition forces, the Seven Sages led the surviving elves across the Haiga Mountain Range and entered the Emerald Forest. The Goddess of Nature Monferra released a miracle which deterred most human troops. Only the troop from Ledin Kingdom kept chasing the elves as if they wouldn¡¯t stop until all the elves were dead.

    At that moment, Wind Whisperer Hull already shot an arrow out of the Emerald Forest. Everyone, even those who witnessed it with their own eyes, didn¡¯t know the true power of this rather baffling arrow and the soothing music that followed. However, before long, they heard the news that in Ledin Kingdom thousands of miles away, the first king of the Ledin Kingdom was shot to death in his royal pce by an arrow out of nowhere.

    It should be known that at that time, the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s king had several Legendary powerhouses by his side for protection against assassination. However, the power of that arrow was so strong that the king was head-shot and died before the Legendary powerhouses could do anything.

    When both pieces of news were put together, an uproar arose in the human kingdoms as nobody could believe that a single arrow shot from the Emerald Forest could travel through thousands of miles across the Haiga Mountain Range and kill the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s monarch. However, the truth was that Wind Whisperer Hull had indeed killed him with an arrow. His weapon at that time was in fact this very Song of Heart.

    Lin Li, however, was concerned about neither the legends surrounding the Song of Hearts nor its power. He looked at the Song of Heart because he noticed its resemnce to the Stars of Fury.

 Chapter 628 - Taste of Dragonéˆ¥æªš Blood

    <h4>Chapter 628: Taste of Dragon¡¯s Blood</h4>

    Judging from the exterior, the Song of Heart was designed in ssic elven style. With the intricate patterns on its arch arm and gems embedded on it, the Song of Heart looked arrogant and exquisite. On the other hand, the Stars of Fury looked far less attractive. It was designed in a rather primitive style. Though it didn¡¯t look very beautiful, it gave people a sense of solemnity. Hence, it could be said that the outer appearance of these two weapons was pr opposites.

    Speaking of power, the Song of Heart couldn¡¯t match the Stars of Fury even though it was a weapon that was passed down generations of elves and possessed considerable power. Wind Whisperer Hull had once shot an arrow from the Song of Heart and killed the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s ruler thousands of miles away. However, if the arrow was shot from the Stars of Fury, even a normal arrow without using the debris of the stars could destroy the entire Ledin Kingdom.

    However, Lin Li still felt that there were some slight simrities between these two. This made him suspect that the Guru-level master who constructed the Song of Heart had probably seen the Stars of Fury before.

    Lin Li believed that nobody couldpletely replicate the Stars of Fury¡ªeven a legendary Divine Smith couldn¡¯t do that. However, it was possible for a clever Smithing Guru to construct the Song of Heart after drawing inspiration from the Stars of Fury. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have found the Song of Heart familiar as the possessor of the Stars of Fury.

    Several thoughts emerged in Lin Li¡¯s mind, but his actions weren¡¯t affected by his thoughts at all. After all, even with the assistance of two Undead creatures and two Humerus Wyrms, he couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistakes when battling seven adult green dragons.

    At a time like this, what was the use of holding back? It would be worse if he died while holding his trump card. Lin Li¡¯s robe suddenly stopped moving as if the turbulence caused by the green dragons¡¯ pping wings had totally disappeared. Next, he raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter slowly, and powerful mental strength radiated throughout the area.

    Following the recitation of spells, dark clouds loomed over the sky, and the battlefield on Lin Li¡¯s side was covered in darkness. Snow fell into the darkness, forming a frosty world almost instantly. This frosty world was in a stark contrast to the Culofen¡¯s me Domain.

    After the Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness had been unleashed, snow monsters rushed towards the green dragons once they were formed. The Angels of Light and Dark pped their ck-and-white wings and stabbed their Frost Spears at the green dragons.

    With Lin Li currently being level-21 and his new knowledge obtained from the Book of Eternity, his understanding of Rule Power was much higher than before. Even if he hadn¡¯t integrated Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, his Magical Domain would¡¯ve still been much more powerful than before.

    However, these green dragons also possessed power above level-20. Moreover, they also had very high magic resistance and defense. Hence, they were equally violent despite being in the Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness. The countless snow monsters and Angels of Light and Dark could onlybat the green dragons for a little while. In less than 15 minutes, their bodies were torn into pieces and disappeared in the Magical Domain.

    After putting in his all to stabilize the Magical Domain, Lin Li looked at the Dark de¡¯s battle again. If there was a faction most likely to be his enemy, it would be the Dark de. Hence, Lin Li had to understand the Dark de¡¯s abilities a little more. Although that would put more pressure on himself, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to know more about the Dark de¡¯s abilities.

    In fact, Lin Li was shocked by what he saw. In the elves¡¯ battle just behind him, the silver wyrm Chief Elder Randy had shapeshifted into could barely resist the attacks from seven green dragons even with the help of three other elves. However, the three Legendary chiefs of the Dark de seemed to be facing the seven green dragons at ease.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but gasp. No wonder the three chiefs of the Dark de were Legendary powerhouses. Given that Cheyenne had led the Malfa Family thus far, it was remarkable that he could protect the Malfa Family from being wiped out by the Dark de for such a long time.

    Legendary Sword Sage Bald¡¯s moves were powerful and big. Although he waved his sword at the dragons directly, he didn¡¯t seem to be at disadvantage at all; God knew how much power was contained in his body. His sword might not be able to harm the green dragons directly, but every attack would make the mammoth green dragons move back.

    The green dragons roared continuously as if in disbelief as this worm-like intruder had so much strength that forced them to move back involuntarily.

    Meanwhile, the elegant Bandit Lansdale waved his thin sword agilely and didn¡¯t change his demeanor. A green dragon waved its ws as if chasing after a mosquito, but it could only catch air.

    The Legendary-mage Borg that Lin Li had most contact with couldn¡¯t be underestimated, either. He waved his magic staff continuously, releasing high-level spells one after another like a thunderstorm. This level-21 Legendary-mage was probably on the verge of level-22.

    With the abilities of the three Legendary chiefs, it was only a matter of time before the Dark de wiped out the Malfa Family. Cheyenne was probably aware of that too. Thus, he seized on the opportunity of finding the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, hoping that it would give the Malfa Family more breathing room to survive.

    However, what really surprised Lin Li in the Dark de¡¯s battle wasn¡¯t the three chiefs¡¯ true power, but Stephen Borg had added to the elite teamter on. Lin Li knew that Borg wouldn¡¯t let his son die here. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that Borg¡¯s confidence didn¡¯te from his ability to protect Stephen, but rather Stephen¡¯s own power. Surprisingly, Stephen wasn¡¯t a burden to anyone during this battle.

    How could Lin Li not be surprised? After all, he knew about Stephen¡¯s level. Back when they were contending for Geresco¡¯s relics, Hutton, Stephen, and Lin Li had been sent into the Abyss of Tharlen by Tutankhamun. Although Stephen was called the most talented genius in the Breezy ins together with Hutton, he had just been a level-17 or 18 Archmage back then, not even a match for Hutton.

    How long had it been since then? Stephen¡¯s power had already undergone such drastic changes. Now, he seemed to be one step away from reaching the Legendary-realm.

    This wasn¡¯t just about the umtion of mana. After all, a mage who only had enough mana was still far from reaching the Legendary-realm. However, once he had touched the slightest bit of Rule Power, he would be almost there.

    Although Lin Li faced immense pressure currently, he could spot some clues from the magic Stephen was using. Although that magic wasn¡¯t able to harm the green dragons much, the spells already possessed elements of Rules. That wasn¡¯t Rule Power, of course¡ªotherwise, he would have already reached the Legendary-realm.

    However, one should not underestimate the elements of Rules. To a mage, they were the key to unlocking the Legendary-realm. Only after getting them could a mage be considered one step away from the Legendary-realm as he only had to find his own door to the Legendary-realm with this key.

    Thus, even the elements of Rules were crucial to a mage. Many mages had stopped right before the Legendary-realm because they couldn¡¯t get this key. This wasn¡¯t something that they could get with just hard work. It required personal talent and some unpredictable luck.

    Evidently, whether Stephen was truly talented or extremely lucky, he had firmly secured this key. With the elements of Rules, his magic wouldn¡¯t make him a burden to the strongerpanions even though it couldn¡¯t harm the green dragons.

    After seeing Stephen¡¯s performance, Lin Li¡¯s doubts didn¡¯t just disappear. Although Stephen¡¯s abilities were totally different from before, Lin Li was just a little surprised.

    What kind of ce was this? Even a true Legendary powerhouse couldn¡¯t guarantee his own safety. With Stephen¡¯s current abilities reaching Legendary-realm, how helpful would he be to the Dark de? Clearly, Borg hadn¡¯t insisted on bringing Stephen along simply for morebat experience. What exactly was his aim, then?

    While Lin Li was puzzled, he didn¡¯t forget about his own difficult situation now. Out of the four battles of the various factions, the one that faced the most pressure wasn¡¯t Cheyenne who was battling two green dragons alone, but Lin Li. On the elves¡¯ side, there was Chief Elder Randy who had shapeshifted into a sliver wyrm, a Legendary-mage who specialized in Fire Magic, and even the powerful Song of Heart. On the Dark de¡¯s side, the three chiefs cooperated very well and appeared to be at ease even when facing seven green dragons.

    However, Lin Li was just a level-21 Legendary-mage himself. His subordinate Lich Ujfalusi had reached the peak of level-20, but he hadn¡¯t reached level-21, after all. With the help of a summoned Humerus Wyrm, Ujfalusi could only barely battle two green dragons. As for Vampire Norfeller, he hadn¡¯t even reached Legendary-realm, and could offer very limited help to Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li had summoned the Crimson Dragon right at the start, it wasn¡¯t a true Crimson Dragon, but one formed from a Humerus Wyrm and a Crimson Dragon¡¯s corpse. Despite being much more powerful than a Humerus Wyrm, this Crimson Dragon was still no matchpared to a true wyrm.

    At the surface, the Tower of Dusk seemed to be powerful and strong since it had both Undead creatures and Humerus Wyrms at its disposal. However, even if each of them could battle one dragon, Lin Li still had to deal with three green dragons all by himself. Lin Li was just a level-21 Legendary-mage. Even with all the techniques he was using and the experience he had gained from the Book of Eternity, the pressure he faced when battling with three Legendary dragons was still immense as the difference in power between them was too huge.

    He had to break out of this situation fast. If not, his mana would be depleted even with the Star-scarred Robe. Lin Li turned back and dealt with the current circumstances wholeheartedly, thinking of ways to change his situation.

    With the current situation, the whole team would perish within minutes if Lin Li didn¡¯t deal with three or even four green dragons at once. As such, Lin Li didn¡¯t have time to release more powerful Legendary magic. As for instantaneous Legendary magic, it was too weak to take down the green dragons.

    Now, the most urgent problem was that there was no warrior in the Tower of Dusk who¡¯d be able to cause any real damage to the dragons or resist their attacks directly. The elves had the silver wyrm, the Dark de had Sword Sage Bald, but what about the Tower of Dusk?

    The only one who could be considered a warrior was Vampire Norfeller. However, he hadn¡¯t reached Legendary-realm, and couldn¡¯t even deal with a green dragon by himself. How could he withstand so much pressure to give Lin Li time to release sufficiently strong Legendary magic?

    However... Lin Li¡¯s eyes shed. Since nobody could withstand the green dragons¡¯ attack directly and buy time for him to release Legendary magic, how about the reverse? He could be the one to withstand the attacks and let others deal the killing blow.

    ¡°Norfeller, do you want to have a taste of the dragon¡¯s blood?¡± yelled Lin Li. As he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, powerful magic swarmed out. It didn¡¯t just aim at the dragons he was battling, but also the other green dragons.

    The seven green dragons fighting against the Tower of Dusk roared at once. They ignored their original opponents and pounced towards that insignificant human who was provoking them.

    Ujfalusi and the two Humerus Wyrms hurried to Lin Li¡¯s side and helped their master to battle the seven dragons. Now, all of them started dealing with the dragons¡¯ attack together. Lin Li, Ujfalusi, and the two Humerus Wyrms withstood the seven green dragons¡¯ attacks with all they had. Under such circumstances, Vampire Norfeller seemed to have be an outsider.

    Just like what Lin Li had thought, others were watching him as well while he was watching the others. Seeing that Lin Li had made such a bad move, be it the elves or the Dark de, they couldn¡¯t help but scold Lin Li internally. As for Cheyenne who was battling two green dragons, his expression got more bitter. If the Tower of Dusk perished just like this, what good could he get even if the team had found the treasure?

 Chapter 629 - Green Dragon King

    <h4>Chapter 629: Green Dragon King</h4>

    Indeed, Lin Li¡¯s move seemed to be a bad move from anyone¡¯s perspective. When facing the green dragons with very high magic resistance, how could a mage withstand all their attacks? If he really couldn¡¯t find a way out of the situation, the best solution would be to persevere and wait for other stronger factions to help.

    This youngster was still too impulsive even though he had such a high level of abilities and talent. The biggest problem was, even if Lin Li wanted to die, how could he drag the others down as well? Almost everyoneined about this young Legendary-mage in their hearts. If the Tower of Dusk was wiped out under the dragons¡¯ attacks, who was going to deal those dragons? After all, nobody there could deal with another seven dragons.

    However, just then, Vampire Norfeller who¡¯d seemed to be an outsider just now suddenly turned into a bat and shot out from the ck fog that he had created towards the green dragons that were attacking Lin Li.

    In face of the gigantic green dragons, the human body was already very small. A Vampire that had shapeshifted into a bat was like a fly to the dragons, and wouldn¡¯t garner their attention at all. However, this seemingly insignificant little fly was Lin Li¡¯s killer move.

    While the dragons were busy dealing with these wretched humans and the Humerus Wyrms that dirtied the Wyrms¡¯ dignity, nobody noticed the fly-like little bat. The bat zoomed into the dragons¡¯ territory and selected a rtively weaker dragon quickly. Without facing any obstacles, it directlynded on the green dragon¡¯s neck.

    Although the dragon¡¯s defense was very strong, Norfeller was, after all, approaching Legendary-realm. With the Vampire¡¯s talent of blood-sucking, his sharp teeth were a natural lethal weapon. Moreover, Norfeller¡¯s body was much smaller now as a bat, and the dragons appeared evenrger from his perspective. Some of the dragons¡¯ ws that couldn¡¯t be seen before could now be seen clearly by Norfeller. Just like how humans had pores, the dragons weren¡¯t totally covered with scales. What Norfeller was finding were these cracks between the scales.

    Soon, Norfeller found a suitable spot and bit down hard with his sharp teeth, trying to tear the wound and make it bigger. This tiny bit of pain was like a mosquito¡¯s bite to a dragon. It didn¡¯t bother the dragon at all, and the dragon continued to focus on attacking.

    However, the bitten green dragon started to feel that something was not right with its body not long after. It felt as if its strength was flowing uncontrobly out of its body. Meanwhile, Norfeller, who was lying on the green dragon¡¯s neck, was sucking the delicious dragon blood with all his might.

    Although the green dragon¡¯s blood contained toxins as well, it was nothing to Norfeller. After all, it was a Vampire¡¯s innate talent to obtain energy from blood. As for the impurities in blood, they would naturally be cleared away by the Vampire¡¯s body. If not, a Vampire wouldn¡¯t be able to suck much blood from a gigantic green dragon even if its stomach exploded.

    Be it the ancient wyrms or prehistoric magical beasts, their blood all contained huge amounts of energy. It was for this reason that their descendants could be powerful magical beasts just by inheriting a portion of their blood. In Anril of now, ancient wyrms had already disappeared. Thus, the wyrms which inherited the greatest proportion of the ancient wyrms¡¯ blood were now the most powerful creatures in the world.

    Although these green dragons had the lowest rank among all wyrms, they still possessed Legendary-level abilities. Therefore, the energy their blood contained was naturally very strong. Norfeller sucked the dragon¡¯s blood and absorbed its purest energy for its own use.

    For a mage to reach the Legendary-realm, he had to gain understanding of Rule Power. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t sure how Undead creatures like Vampires could reach the Legendary-realm. Even Norfeller himself wasn¡¯t sure of how to do so. After all, he was converted by his former master and stayed in the tomb for many years. After he hade out, he followed his human master Lin Li, and didn¡¯t join any Vampire ns. Thus, a blurry Soul Inheritance wasn¡¯t enough for him to know how to break through to the Legendary-realm.

    However, with the energy from the dragon¡¯s blood, the door to the Legendary-realm seemed to be slowly opening for Norfeller. The bat lying on the green dragon¡¯s neck looked like a ck dot from afar, but this ck dot started to glow. The intensity of the glow increased gradually, until it got so strong that it was dazzling.

    When the other green dragons noticed the abnormal state of their peer, it was already toote. The green dragon that had been sucked of its blood finally let out ast bitter roar and copsed onto the ground.

    One green dragon detached itself from the battle and rushed towards its fallenpanion, breathing out a thick dragon¡¯s breath towards itspanion¡¯s neck. Although it wasn¡¯t sure what itspanion had just experienced, itspanion was already dead now. That golden light spot seemed too suspicious. Without caring about itspanion¡¯s corpse, the dragon just wanted to kill that gold spot with its dragon¡¯s breath.

    Norfeller had sucked all the blood from the dragon and directly broke through to the Legendary-realm. For a Vampire, this meant a leap in the quality of his abilities. In face of the dragon¡¯s breath, Norfeller concentrated his power and leaped onto the other dragon¡¯s neck just before its dragon¡¯s breath could reach his body.

    One dragon¡¯s breath already corroded half of the dead green dragon¡¯s corpse. The dragon that cameter was totally oblivious of the catastrophe that was waiting for it, and roared with pride. It then turned back to continue the fight with Lin Li and others.

    Norfeller, who had already reached the Legendary-realm now, was much faster at consuming the dragon blood. Soon, this dragon that thought it had avenged itspanion copsed onto the ground with a roar, just like its deadpanion.

    Not long after this dragon fell, Norfeller used the same trick on another green dragon.

    For a Vampire like Norfeller, this was a rare opportunity. Since Vampires had existed in this world, none of them had ever been so lucky to get ess to so much dragon blood. For a level-19 Vampire like Norfeller, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear even a single dragon¡¯s breath even though he¡¯d been approaching the Legendary-realm. After all, though he could resist the toxins in the dragon¡¯s breath, he couldn¡¯t resist such strong corrosion. Thus, he would turn into a pool of liquid in the blink of an eye.

    However, it was different now. Therge group of green dragons was focusing on the fight with a team of Legendary powerhouses. His master Lin Li even led his subordinates to deal with thebined attacks of seven green dragons, putting his life at stake. What Norfeller needed to do was just tond on an unlucky dragon¡¯s neck and enjoy its delicious dragon blood.

    After sucking the blood from three consecutive dragons, Norfeller¡¯s power jumped from level-19 to 21. Even Ujfalusi was just at the peak of level-20 now. In such a short period of time, Norfeller surpassed Ujfalusi, who had previously been much stronger than him.

    With the consecutive fall of three green dragons, everyone who was paying attention to this was stunned. How could these Legendary-level green dragons just copse like this? As for what had happened, all these Legendary powerhouses naturally had some ideas already. It was precisely because they knew the reason for the copse that it harder for them to ept the truth.

    How could it have been done by a level-19 Vampire?!

    Nobody had expected Lin Li¡¯s killer move to be this level-19 Vampire. Had it been on impulse, or had Lin Li nned it all along? No matter what the reason was, this sight made all the Legendary powerhouses feel chills running down their spines.

    If it had been on impulse, it meant that Lin Li was cruel enough to himself. If it had been nned beforehand, then Lin Li¡¯s forbearance was truly remarkable. He could force himself to face the dragon¡¯s breath in order to create an opportunity for his Vampire subordinate to attack. This wasn¡¯t as simple as attracting the dragons and letting the Vampire attack, but rather required a very good judgment of the situation. After all, the situation on the battlefield could change at every moment, and the slightest mistake could result in death.

    Now, the situation on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side was drastically different just because of a level-19 Vampire. After Norfeller had killed three green dragons, the ones that were attacking Lin Li and his subordinates were reduced to four. As for Norfeller, he had used the energy from the dragon blood to level up to level-21. As such, the situation was reversed immediately. The four green dragon were of Legendary level, but they now faced three Legendary powerhouses and two Humerus Wyrms.

    No matter what others spected about this young President of the Tower of Dusk, all of them knew that this bitter battle wasing to an end after the Tower of Dusk had broken the deadlock. As long as the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side had defeated the other four green dragons, other factions would have the aid of the Tower of Dusk. No matter which faction the Tower of Dusk decided to help, the result would be the same. That meant it was now possible to defeat all the dragons.

    Upon seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, everyone was extremely motivated, whether for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure or the long-lost sacred relic.

    Back when 20-odd dragons had appeared, everyone thought that their mission would fail this time, and it might even be difficult to leave this ce alive. However, nobody had expected the Tower of Dusk to break the deadlock so speedily. As such, who else could hinder their mission other than these 20-plus dragons?

    However, just as everyone started to feel a sense of joy, a loud dragon roar was heard deep inside the dragons¡¯ den.

    This roar was like huge sea wave, sweeping through the valley and making all the Legendary powerhouses lose their bnce in the air. Like the sound of thunder, the roar prated deep into everyone¡¯s soul, pushing their soul onto the verge of destruction.

    In a split second, everyone¡¯s face turned as pale as sheet. Even a level-21 Legendary powerhouse like Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but tremble with fear. Following the dragon¡¯s roar, strong wind swept through the valley, making everyone uncontrobly retreat.

    Under the strong wind, a green silhouette flew out from the depths of the valley. Its powerful aura could make heaven and earth change their colors[1].

    Everyone looked towards the silhouette under the strong winds. What appeared in front of their eyes was still a green dragon. However, this green dragon was more than 10 times the size of those green dragons they had encountered so far. The Menace of the Dragon that this green dragon released was also much more powerful; even the Legendary powerhouses present found it hard to bear.

    The silver wyrm Chief Elder Randy had shapeshifted into changed back to his elf form again, and he stared at this green dragon with disbelief. When he was in his silver wyrm form, he felt an even stronger sense of helplessness upon sensing the Menace of the Dragon. It felt as if he was facing the king, and totally couldn¡¯t resist it at all.

    Chief Elder Randy had a terrifying thought in mind regarding this dragon¡¯s identity. More urately, it wasn¡¯t a random thought, but an acute realization.

    Not just Chief Elder Randy, the other Legendary powerhouses, too, had already guessed that this dragon was the Green Dragon King judging from its size and Menace of the Dragon.

    Evidently, this was a raging Green Dragon King. Its red eyes were filled with killing intent, and its Menace of the Dragon was further evidence of its fury.

    Everyone only had one thought in mind: this was going to be a big problem...

    Everyone here was a Legendary powerhouse who was considered very powerful in the outside world. However, now that they were facing the Green Dragon King, everyone just felt that their own abilities that they were so proud of were so insignificant and absurdpared to this Green Dragon King.

    When the team faced over 20 green dragons, they could at least try to defeat them. However, now that they were facing this Green Dragon King, they just felt a sense of despair and helplessness. The difference in power couldn¡¯t bepromised by courage. Although the team wasn¡¯t sure how strong this Green Dragon King was exactly, its Menace of the Dragon was so powerful it felt simr to the aura of a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse.

    Even if this Green Dragon King didn¡¯t have Sanctuary-realm power, it wouldn¡¯t be far from Sanctuary level. Facing such a powerfulponent, who was able topete against it? Even Chief Elder Randy, who was the strongest out of all these Legendary powerhouses, had lost the ability to use his silver wyrm form properly. Even if all the Legendary powerhouses¡¯ power wasbined, they still wouldn¡¯t stand any chance of surviving in face of this Green Dragon King¡¯s attack.

    [1] A metaphor, or rather a fancy exaggeration.

 Chapter 630 - Reappearance of Emerald

    <h4>Chapter 630: Reappearance of Emerald</h4>

    Moreover, everyone was not just facing a Green Dragon King whose power was close to the Sanctuary-realm, they also had to deal with the surrounding green dragons. In the battle so far, the team had experienced how powerful these green dragons were. If the Tower of Dusk hadn¡¯t broken the deadlock, nobody knew what the result would have been. As such, there didn¡¯t seem to be any chance of survival for the team now. Everyone¡¯s joy from the earlier victory disappeared, reced by uncontroble despair.

    Chief Elder Randy was the strongest Legendary Druid out of all. However, his fingers still trembled now after feeling the Dragon King¡¯s Menace. He gave up thinking about how to get out of this impasse, because nothing would be able to save them when facing such absolute power.

    ...Unless a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse appeared, but that was clearly impossible.

    Chief Elder Randy only felt despair and regret now. What he regretted the most was bringing Princess Elune here. If possible, he was willing to give up his own life in exchange for Princess Elune¡¯s safety. However, such a wish was impossible to fulfill given the current situation.

    This was a true impasse. Facing such a strong opponent, any effort or struggle would be futile. Chief Elder Randy had always thought that his strength was enough to protect Princess Elune from all kinds of danger. However, judging from the situation now, he¡¯d been too proud of his power to have such a thought. If not for that human mage, he would¡¯ve only been able to watch Princess Elune die in front of his eyes after she¡¯d been poisoned. Now, he felt his ownck of power and sense of despair again when facing this Green Dragon King. However, whom could he turn for help this time? No one. Miracles wouldn¡¯t happen twice.

    Chief Elder Randy finally realized why he couldn¡¯t be a Sage like his elder brother despite being the eighth elder of the Emerald Council. This wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t have strong power, but because he had always put family before the entire elven race. If he had discussed with the Seven Sages beforeing to seek the sacred relic here in the Haiga Mountain Range, it wouldn¡¯t have turned out like this no matter which Sage led the team. However, what was the use of thinking about this now? Regret didn¡¯t serve any purpose after all.

    Chief Elder Randy wasn¡¯t the only Legendary powerhouse who was in despair. Everyone had their own thoughts and concerns because this was the only thing they could do at this moment.

    However, one person¡¯s expression was totally different from the rest. Although he also felt a sense of despair after the appearance of the Green Dragon King, he disyed a tinge of relief. That person was Cheyenne from the Malfa Family.

    Cheyenne was relieved precisely because of the impasse they were in now. He knew that no matter how many Legendary powerhouses his faction had now, nobody could survive the Green Dragon King¡¯s attack. This meant that even if he couldn¡¯t get out of here alive, the three Legendary chiefs of the Dark de would simrly die here.

    Cheyenne was insistent on getting the Immortal King¡¯s treasure because he had felt the threat of the Dark de. He hoped that obtaining the Immortal King¡¯s treasure could bnce the scales between two factions, or even let the Malfas surpass the Dark de. However, the appearance of the Dark de made this hope more and more distant. Yet, he was forced to continue because of that slight hope.

    Even if they found the Immortal King¡¯s treasure sessfully, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee that he could obtain enough power to challenge the Dark de. However, it was probably the best ending now. After both factions had lost their Legendary powerhouses, the power distribution between the two factions would go back to an equilibrium.

    Perhaps the Malfa Family¡¯s development would sink into a period of all-time-low. However, it still stood a chance to rise up again since his best disciple Hutton was still around. That oldd Borg probably now regretted letting his son Stephen participate in this adventure. Thinking of all that, a smile appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s face even when he was in such an impasse.

    As a Legendary-mage, how would Cheyenne not notice Stephen¡¯s outstanding performance just now? Seeing that Stephen had released magic that contained elements of Rules, how would Cheyenne not be surprised? However, so what if he was a genius? Would a dead genius still be a genius?

    Now, nobody even thought about leaving this ce alive. It was meaningless to try to find any ways of survive. It was said that when a person was going to die, his past memories would sh past his mind vividly. What they could do now was to wait for the Green Dragon King to strike. Before that, they could only upy themselves with endless memories and regret.

    If he were to die here, could he go back to the original world? Lin Li felt despair too. Back when he¡¯d faced the Lord of Darkness, the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar, or the Titan¡¯s Spirit, he had never given up the fight. However, he really couldn¡¯t find a way out now. All potions, the Alchemy Arrays, and all ideas he could think of shed across his mind. However, he still couldn¡¯t find any solution.

    The difference in power was too great. Even though Lin Li had miracles like the debris of the stars, his actual abilities couldn¡¯t fully utilize the debris of the stars¡¯ potential.

    As Lin Li was thinking of various things, he felt some movement on his finger. Before he could react, the baby Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, came out of Dream Garden and flew towards the Green Dragon King.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart tensed. He regretted not applying a restriction spell on Dream Garden. Although the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s origin was rather remarkable, it¡¯d just hatched, and only possessed level-15 power now. If it was another ce, level-15 would be considered very strong already. However, now in the Haiga Mountains, the Green Dragon King had power approaching Sanctuary-realm.

    Under the Green Dragon King¡¯s powerful Menace, even a Legendary powerhouse could barely survive and find it difficult to move. Even if Xiao Hua was an Elemental Wyrm and had a spiritual connection with Lin Li, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to survive under the terrifying Menace of the Dragon.

    This wasn¡¯t just a light difference in strength, but a difference of more than 10 levels. It was as if the difference between heaven and earth; even endless mana wouldn¡¯t be able to make up for such difference. Lin Li had forgotten his despair now. He only felt very worried for Xiao Hua. He even wished he could rush forward and beat Xiao Hua up.

    Damn it! How much effort he had put in and how much pain he had endured to establish such a close rtionship with Xiao Hua? He was still expecting Xiao Hua to bring lots of benefits for him. Now, perhaps all his efforts would be gone with the Green Dragon King¡¯s sneeze. Lin Li even doubted if the Green Dragon King could see the fly-like baby Elemental Wyrm. After all, the baby Elemental Wyrm was only palm-sized. Maybe the baby Elemental Wyrm would enter the Green Dragon King¡¯s nostrils when it took a breath.

    Just as Lin Li wanted to catch the baby Elemental Wyrm back despite danger, he froze and stared at the unbelievable scene in front of his eyes, stunned.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s small body flew towards a Green Dragon King like a tiny spark of dust. However, its Menace of the Dragon was abruptly distinct when mixed with the Green Dragon King¡¯s Menace.

    The scene that Lin Li had imagined didn¡¯t eventuate. The Green Dragon King didn¡¯t sneeze, but rather withdrew part of his Menace when the baby Elemental Wyrm flew near. Evidently, the Green Dragon King had good eyesight but low intelligence.

    An extremely bizarre scene appeared in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. The Green Dragon King, which was full of rage just now, now acted like a little puppy who had just seen its master and lowered its gigantic head. After careful inspection, the Legendary powerhouses finally saw the funny sight of a baby Elemental Wyrm waving its tiny ws at the Green Dragon King fiercely without caring how feeble it waspared to the Green Dragon King.

    Indeed, it was funny. Everyone who saw this sight forgot about the impasse they had been in and about their sense of despair. They even had the impulse tough out loud.

    Although the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s roar seemed rather absurd to the team, the Green Dragon King seemed to be unable to resist itsmand. The surrounding green dragons that circled the team now seemed like they had seen something extremely terrifying. They hid behind the back of the Green Dragon King, seeking protection while looking timidly at the small baby Elemental Wyrm.

    Looking at this absurd sight, no one knew what was happening, what this small little thing was, and why the Green Dragon King with power approaching Sanctuary-realm would behave so humbly in front of this little thing. Everyone could feel that this little thing was only level-15, yet it was precisely this little thing that made the Green Dragon King lower its head.

    However, they also knew that no matter what this little thing was, its master, the young Legendary-mage from the Tower of Dusk, was by its side.

    Everyone had to reassess Lin Li again. How many other secrets was this young Legendary-mage hiding? He could easily detoxify the deadly Viper¡¯s poison and think of using the Vampire to break the deadlock when facing the attacks of the green dragons. Now that everyone was facing the Green Dragon King whose strength approached Sanctuary-realm and thought that they couldn¡¯t escape, it was Lin Li again who released this little thing that seemed to have tamed the Green Dragon King.

    Terrifying, this young Legendary-mage was too terrifying. If this little thing had really tamed the Green Dragon King, would it make the Green Dragon King attack the team? After all, it was almost certain that the elves¡¯ sacred relic and the Immortal King¡¯s treasure bothy inside the dragon¡¯s den. If it was them, they would keep it all for themselves.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the strength to care what others thought about him. He concentrated on the baby Elemental Wyrm that was swaggering around the Green Dragon King.

    After further observation, Lin Li suddenly saw a shadow on top of the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s head. The shadow was very faint and blurry, but the aura it released felt very familiar to Lin Li.

    That was the Elemental Wyrm¡¯s projected avatar! Lin Li suddenly recalled the painful battle he had had in the valley. He would never forget the opponent¡¯s aura that brought him so much heart-piercing pain. Back then, Lin Li had suspected that the projected avatar came from one of the four Dragon Aspects¡ªthe Dragon of Dream.

    Judging from current circumstances, his guess was probably right. Lin Li finally understood why the baby Elemental Wyrm could disregard the difference in levels and make the powerful Green Dragon King lower its head. It was because of the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar. As one of the four Dragon Aspects, the Dragon of Dream was the most noble dragon even among the ancient dragons. Although the Green Dragon King was the king of the green dragons, it was still only a descendant of the ancient dragons. Thus, it couldn¡¯t disobey even the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar¡¯s will.

    This had nothing to do with power, but concerned the bloodline instead. The innate fear and respect for the higher beings was like a blood curse passed down generations of dragons. Nobody could underestimate its effect unless someone was willing to forsake his bloodline. Of course, that would be impossible to achieve as well.

    Even though Lin Li had thought of all that, he still found the sight too bizarre. He had thought that the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar would have disappeared and be an imprint on the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s soul after it integrated with the baby Wyrm. However, it seemed like the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar had quite the will to survive. It didn¡¯t get absorbed by the baby Elemental Wyrm, nor did it get imprinted on the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s soul. Instead, it existed in the baby Wyrm¡¯s body in another form.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know whether this was a good thing or not. However, judging from the current situation, the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar had resolved a difficult problem for Lin Li by subduing this Green Dragon King whose power approached Sanctuary-realm. However, his worry didn¡¯t decrease because of this. After all, he didn¡¯t know if the existence of the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar would affect the baby Elemental Wyrm¡¯s growth and development. He also didn¡¯t know if the one roaring at the Green Dragon King now was baby Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua or the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar.

 Chapter 631 - Teleportation Portal

    <h4>Chapter 631: Teleportation Portal</h4>

    Without anyone realizing, the conversation between Xiao Hua and the Green Dragon King hade to an end. Of course, it only looked like Xiao Hua roaring while waving its ws and the Green Dragon King humming with much restraint to the outsiders.

    With a roar from Xiao Hua, the green dragons behind the Green Dragon King suddenly moved. Everyone got tense, fearing that Mage Felic would order those green dragons to kill them like they had thought. However, they felt relieved shortly afterward. The green dragons led by the Green Dragon King didn¡¯t even look at the people. They flew past the crowd directly and out of the valley to an unknown destination.

    After the Green Dragon King had left, the suffocating Menace of the Dragon gradually dispersed. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and realized that sweat had drenched their clothes unknowingly. After witnessing such a sight, everyone hadplicated feelings towards Lin Li who had rescued all of them again, and didn¡¯t know how to react.

    This young Legendary-mage had only reached level-21. However, be it the elves or the Dark de, none of their Legendary-mages dared to underestimate him. Although this young mage had a lower levelpared to many of the Legendary-mages, he was the one who had driven the Green Dragon King out of the den. No matter what he had used to achieve that, it was his capability that had done so.

    Even Stephen, who had always wanted to take revenge on Lin Li, could only clench his fist and didn¡¯t dare to show any sign of animosity. During this journey, he didn¡¯t at all reveal his hatred for Lin Li whenever he saw him. However, now he knew that he was still far too weak to revenge.

    After the Green Dragon King had led the green dragons away, the Dragon of Dream¡¯s projected avatar returned into Xiao Hua¡¯s body. Xiao Hua chirped happily and flew towards Lin Li in a sh. It used its tiny ws to point at its mouth, asking for a reward for what it had done.

    Given that this little thing had resolved a big trouble for him, Lin Li was too embarrassed to be stingy and threw a level-15 magical crystal towards it. Xiao Hua caught the magical crystal and started munching on it by Lin Li¡¯s side.

    ¡°Mage Felic, since the green dragons had left, do you think we should continue exploring the dragon¡¯s den?¡± Chief Elder Randy walked towards Lin Li, and, surprisingly, asked Lin Li for his opinion.

    This wasn¡¯t just Chief Elder Randy¡¯s idea. The others stared at Lin Li too as nobody knew where the green dragons had gone and what this young Legendary-mage was nning to do. At least for now, they had to show some respect to Lin Li in order not to get attacked by the green dragons.

    ¡°Oh, let¡¯s go then,¡± replied Lin Li unbotheredly as he walked deeper into the dragon¡¯s den. This wasn¡¯t because he got more arrogant after what had happened, but rather because he was only focused on Xiao Hua. After the conversation between Xiao Hua and the Green Dragon King, Lin Li was extremely curious about what this little thing had said to the Green Dragon King that made it get out of its den together with all the other dragons.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s reply, Chief Elder Randy¡¯s eyes shed a tinge of joy. He waved at Princess Elune and his subordinates, and followed the Tower of Dusk into the dragon¡¯s den.

    Cheyenne from the Malfa Family was far less happy, but had veryplicated emotions now. Given the rtionship between the Malfa Family and Dark de, the Malfa Family was at a disadvantage since the three chiefs of the Dark de had reached the Legendary-realm. What he had thought of during the time of despair just now was probably the best way for the two factions to return to an equilibrium. Unfortunately, this dream had been shattered again. Now, he could only hope that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure could resolve the Malfa Family¡¯s crisis.

    Thinking of this, Cheyenne shook his head and hurried to catch up with the team. Seeing that Lin Li was talking quietly to that unknown organism, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Was there anything that this youngster that had appeared out of nowhere couldn¡¯t do? At least the Malfa Family had one advantage over the Dark de: they had allied with this youngster a long time ago!

    ¡°Hey! What were you talking to it about?¡±

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be bothered what others thought, and continuously questioned Xiao Hua about what it had said to the Green Dragon King while walking into the dragon¡¯s den.

    However, Xiao Hua¡¯s reply was just it shaking its head, refusing to reveal anything.

    Damn it! If I don¡¯t show you what I can do, you¡¯ll probably turn the sky around! Thinking of this, Lin Li made up his mind and clenched his teeth. He took out a level-15 magical crystal and waved it at Xiao Hua. He said, ¡°Are you telling me or not? If you tell me, this crystal is yours.¡±

    The baby Elemental Wyrm was like a drunkard who had just seen good wine. In a sh, this little thing had already pounced towards the magical crystal without caring about anything.

    However, Lin Li tightened his grip and concealed the magical crystal in his palm. He sneered at the stunned Xiao Hua, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll only give you if you tell me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Xiao Hua let out a scornful sound and turned its head towards one side, not even looking at Lin Li¡¯s clenched fist that held the magical crystal.

    ¡°Yo, you think it¡¯s too little? It¡¯s a level-15 magical crystal!¡± Lin Li gritted his teeth and took out more magical crystals one by one. He continued to lure Xiao Hua. ¡°How about two crystals? Three? At most four! Okay, okay, six! If you still don¡¯t want to tell me, I¡¯m not interested to hear it anymore.¡±

    Six walnut-sized level-15 magical crystals piled up on Lin Li¡¯s palm. However, Xiao Hua didn¡¯t give Lin Li any reply. In a sh, Xiao Hua pounced onto the pile of magical crystals. When Lin Li reacted to it and clenched his fist in an attempt to hide the crystals, Xiao Hua had already disappeared together with the crystals into Dream Garden.

    Not long afterward, Xiao Hua came out of Dream Garden while munching on a half-eaten magical crystal. It still flew beside Lin Li, but it didn¡¯t even look at Lin Li from whom it had just stolen six magical crystals from.

    Lin Li suppressed his heartache, and continued to question Xiao Hua. However, Xiao Hua swallowed thest mouthful of magical crystal and looked at Lin Li with innocent eyes, signaling that it didn¡¯t know anything.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart ached. How many level-15 magical crystals had he used? Which bastard had made this Dream Garden ring? The one who wore it wasn¡¯t the master. Instead, the one who lived inside it was the true master. If not, Lin Li would have gotten back those magical crystals that Xiao Hua had carried into the ring.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart ached for the six level-15 magical crystals that had been used up without getting anything back. However, everyone around him, be it the elves or the Dark de, all looked at him with envy.

    Especially so for Chief Elder Randy¡ªas a Wild Druid, he had to understand about his shapeshifted species well when turning to shapeshift. Chief Elder Randy¡¯s strongest shapeshifted form now was the silver wyrm. Thus, he knew a lot about the wyrms.

    After escaping death narrowly, Chief Elder Randy had been pondering the origins of this seemingly insignificant little thing. The Green Dragon King was a creature approaching Sanctuary-realm, while this little thing was only level-15. How could it make the Green Dragon King lower its head?

    When he felt the slight Menace of the Dragon that came from this little thing, he noticed it was pure dragon menace, although its intensity couldn¡¯t bepared with that of the Green Dragon King. However, with his understanding of the wyrms, he couldn¡¯t think of any wyrm that would produce a descendant so small.

    Even wyrm descendants whose bloodlines were very diluted would definitely have a massive and strong build. However, this little thing possessed Menace of the Dragon, but was only palm-sized and reached level-15. Yet, it was this little thing that¡¯d made the Green Dragon King lower its head. Chief Elder Randy thought that he knew wyrms very well, but the more he thought about this little thing, the more puzzled he was.

    Not just Chief Elder Randy, the others were also guessing what this little thing was. However, none of them could think of anything despite being Legendary powerhouses with great knowledge. There was one thing that they were certain about. No matter what that little thing was, something that could order the Green Dragon King around was definitely a valuable treasure.

    Everyone had experienced how terrifying the Green Dragon King was just now. Under the powerful dragon menace, even a Legendary powerhouse found it difficult to lift up a finger. However, this little thing could easily make the Green Dragon King leave. If it wasn¡¯t a treasure, then what was? Even a Green Dragon King that was approaching the Sanctuary-realm had to obey this little thing¡¯s orders, so was there anything stronger than that?

    Looking at the baby Elemental Wyrm flying beside Lin Li, it was impossible for those Legendary powerhouses not to feel jealous. If they had such a treasure, would they even need to coborate with other factions for this mission? If it could really order the Green Dragon King around, then...

    While these Legendary powerhouses had their own thoughts, Lin Li felt gloomy about those six magical crystals. Without realizing it, the team had walked deep into the valley to the dragon¡¯s den.

    As all the green dragons had left with the Green Dragon King, the den seemed abnormally quiet at the moment. It was hard to imagine that such a ce had once housed so many green dragons and even the Green Dragon King. It seemed like a dream to be able to make it here alive. If it had been a nightmare earlier, their journey was so smooth now that it seemed unreal.

    When the team had reached the end of the den, they found nothing but an ancient Teleportation Portal. The stone tform that held the Teleportation Portal had been corroded throughout the ages, and the few surrounding stone pirs were also old and decaying. It made people doubt if this portal could even be activated.

    However, the appearance of this Teleportation Portal suddenly made the previously peaceful team very tense. Evidently, the Immortal King¡¯s treasure was very likely to be hidden behind this Teleportation Portal. Given the goal of each faction, no matter how harmonious they were on the way, it was time to consider their own interests now.

    A faint dragon menace radiated from Chief Elder Randy¡¯s body again. He seemed to be ready to shapeshift into a wyrm any time and sweep everything in his way. Meanwhile, Princess Elune and the other two high-level elves also started umting their power, preparing to strike at any obstructor.

    The Legendary Sword Sage Bald rubbed his dragon-skin bracer and narrowed his eyes. He scanned everyone who wasn¡¯t from the Dark de, and his raging aura rose continuously like a dangerous wild beast¡¯s.

    Lansdale still put on a smile like an elegant royal. He caressed his mustache with one hand and held an borately decorated sword with another. Although one couldn¡¯t feel any killing intent from him, any obstructor would face a fatal blow from him.

    Legendary-mage Borg and his son Stephen held their magic staves tightly. The gem at the tip of the magic staff of either one of them shone with brilliance, signaling that the magic prepared in it was definitely very powerful.

    The team didn¡¯t stop in their tracks. They just separated themselves into their respective factions¡ªthe Elves, the Dark de, the Tower of Dusk, and the Malfa Family.

    Out of the four factions, Cheyenne was the weakest now. When they¡¯d been outside, at least the Malfa Family still had hundreds of elite fighters above level-15. However, the Malfa Family couldn¡¯t evenpare to the Tower of Dusk here. Facing the warning from the elves and the Dark de, Cheyenne finally decided to exit thispetition first and slowed down his steps.

    However, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t the only one who chose not to participate. Lin Li and his two subordinates were walking very slowly, and weren¡¯t interested in thepetition since the beginning. Thus, when the elves and the Dark de hastened their steps in excitement upon seeing the Teleportation Portal, Lin Li was left at the back of the team.

    The tense atmosphere concentrated between the elves and the Dark de. Suddenly, Chief Elder Randy stopped and looked at Borg. He said, ¡°ording to the earlier agreement, we only want the lost sacred relic. If anyone breaks the agreement, we won¡¯t hesitate to start a war.¡±

    Once Chief Elder Randy made his stance very clear, the atmosphere eased. Borg walked towards Chief Elder Randy and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chief Elder Randy, nobody will ruin our friendship with the elves.¡± With this, the four from the Dark de hurried forward and stepped into the Teleportation Portal.

 Chapter 632 - Dragon Graveyard

    <h4>Chapter 632: Dragon Graveyard</h4>

    Borg put a few magical crystals into the magic nodes and activated the Teleportation Portal. With a sh, the four people disappeared from the Teleportation Portal, and only left the few magical crystals that had exhausted their mana.

    Undoubtedly, there was only one Immortal King¡¯s treasure. Although the first person to go in wouldn¡¯t get all the items in the treasure, he definitely had the advantage of choosing first. The Dark de could share this treasure with the other factions, but it didn¡¯t mean that they would give up all the advantages, not even to the elves.

    After all, only the elves themselves knew if they were really here for the lost sacred relic. Although people wouldn¡¯t be stingy withpliments whenever they mentioned the elves, which intelligent race would really be straightforward in their thinking? Even if there was one, it would probably be already long extinct in this cruel world.

    Thus, the Dark de changed their attitude of keeping a low profile, and didn¡¯t hesitate to turn hostile to the elves when faced with the problem of who was to enter the Immortal King¡¯s treasury first.

    Chief Elder Randy contemted for a while, and turned to look at Cheyenne, who was walking over slowly. He said to Princess Elune, ¡°Princess, let¡¯s go.¡± With that, the elves¡¯ team stepped into the Teleportation Portal.

    When Lin Li and Cheyenne arrived at the Teleportation Portal, the Dark de and the elves had already left.

    Cheyenne hesitated for a second before turning to Lin Li. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mage Felic.¡± No matter what, the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were the first to form an alliance with each other out of all the factions on this mission. Now, although Cheyenne was anxious to enter the Immortal King¡¯s treasure hideout, he didn¡¯t forget about his ally, the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li shook his head, and replied, ¡°See youter.¡±

    Cheyenne was stunned by Lin Li¡¯s reply. But thinking about it, although the two factions were allies, they were still not a single entity, after all, and nobody knew what would happen after the teleportation. Thus, it was normal for Lin Li to be holding back something. Cheyenne nodded and stepped into the Teleportation Portal. Like the others before him, he ced a few magical crystals in the nodes and activated the portal.

    After everyone had left through the Teleportation Portal, only Lin Li and his two Undead subordinates remained in the dragons¡¯ den now. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t enter the Immortal King¡¯s treasure hideout directly via the Teleportation Portal. Instead, he turned back towards where they hade from.

    What was the hurry with the Immortal King¡¯s treasure? Osric¡¯s underground pce in the Dragon Mountains already had so many fatal traps. Would the Immortal King¡¯s treasure be so easy to reach? Although Lin Li wanted to get Thunderbolt as soon as possible, it was better to let others clear the minefield for him. Of course, he didn¡¯t turn back just because he wanted to avoid those traps waiting for them at the other end of the Teleportation Portal.

    In the vast and empty den, Lin Li¡¯s footsteps sounded very clearly as he walked back. The two subordinates followed Lin Li silently at the back. Neither of them asked why he chose to turn back. To them, there was a reason behind every decision their master made. They just had to follow.

    However, Ujfalusi turned to look at Norfeller from time to time, feeling rather bitter. Until today, Ujfalusi who was at the peak of level-20 was considered Lin Li¡¯s prime assistant. Meanwhile, Vampire Norfeller was only level-19, and hadn¡¯t even reached the Legendary-realm.

    However, how long had it been? With the blood from three green dragons, Norfeller¡¯s power shot up to level-21 and left Ujfalusi far behind. Although he didn¡¯t mean to fight for Master¡¯s favor, Ujfalusi couldn¡¯t help feeling sad given that Norfeller who had been much weaker than him had now gotten ahead of him by so much.

    Unfortunately, Lich Ujfalusi wasn¡¯t a Vampire. Thus, he couldn¡¯t increase his power in the same way as Norfeller.

    After Lin Li walked for a few minutes, he reached a fork. Without much hesitation, Lin Li chose the path that seemed to be rarely trodden and walked in that direction.

    The Dragon Den nested so many green dragons and even the Green Dragon King. The area inside wasrge beyond imagination. Even with Lin Li¡¯s walking speed of a Legendary-mage, he still walked for over 10 minutes before arriving at an extremely dark and vast area.

    Although the Dragon Den was still filled with strong Dragon Menace even after the Green Dragon King had left with the green dragons, the Dragon Menace was even stronger where Lin Li was now. In addition to the intense Dragon Menace, there was also strong death aura here, giving people chills that ran deep down their souls. Even Undead creatures like Norfeller and Ujfalusi seemed unable to resist such powerful death aura, and their bodies trembled uncontrobly as a result.

    After he took in everything clearly, even Lin Li, who had been through so much, couldn¡¯t help but marvel at what he saw.

    The entire area was extremely vast, making one feel that they were in another world altogether. The Dragon Den was already huge, but standing here, Lin Li felt like his existence was as insignificant as an ant.

    What really made Lin Li¡¯s scalp tingle was the Wyrm skeletons lying all around the area and the wyrms¡¯ magical crystals that shone with tempting brilliance. From that, Lin Li finally realized that he had entered the legendary dragon graveyard, the home for all wyrms after they had died.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t expect to find such a legendary ce in the Green Dragon Den. When the four factions¡¯ team had arrived at this fork, Xiao Hua, who was enjoying its magical crystals in the Dream Garden ring, had alerted Lin Li through the connection he had with Dream Garden. However, he hadn¡¯t thought that the end of this path would be something as magnificent as this.

    Although the baby Elemental Wyrm couldn¡¯tmunicate with humans using themonnguage, Dream Garden provided thendlord and tenant with a spiritual connection. This spiritualmunication couldn¡¯t express ideas with much rity, but Lin Li and Xiao Hua had already developed some mutual unspoken understanding after the period they had interacted with each other.

    However, back when Xiao Hua had alerted Lin Li, he thought that Xiao Hua was telling him to snatch the Green Dragon King¡¯s treasures. After all, most legends included the story of dragons liking to collect shiny objects. As the king of dragons, the Green Dragon King should have a generous collection too.

    Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t too interested in treasures, it was a crime not to take a treasure that was put right into his hands. Moreover, Xiao Hua was the one who had alerted him so he didn¡¯t have to share it with anybody else. Thus, Lin Li hadn¡¯t revealed anything earlier, and continued towards the Teleportation Portal with the rest of the team.

    After all, those people wouldn¡¯t be able to get the Immortal King¡¯s treasure in a short time. After everyone had left via the Teleportation Portal, it was the perfect time for Lin Li to head back and retrieve the treasure that Xiao Hua had alerted him about.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t at all expect Xiao Hua to bring him to the dragon graveyard. Those wyrm skeletons, those shiny wyrms¡¯ magical crystals... Lin Li couldn¡¯t help mumbling in his heart. If the Green Dragon King knew that this little thing had brought him to dig their graveyard, would it still leave so easily?

    No matter what legends said, nothing couldpare to the real thing. Lin Li stared at the dragon graveyard and eximed. He had heard about the ancient wyrms¡¯ dragon graveyard before. It was said that the dragon graveyard was hidden in the endless time and space. Every dead ancient wyrm would concentrate all its spirit into the dragon¡¯s soul and enter the dragon graveyard. However, the ancient wyrms¡¯ dragon graveyard was clearly not so easy to find. Even if he had found it, he would face the attacks from countless powerful dragons¡¯ souls.

    As the descendants of the ancient wyrms, the wyrms seemed to have inherited such a tradition. However, they didn¡¯t have the right to enter the dragon graveyard hidden in endless time and space. Thus, they built a ce where they could rest in thest stage of their lives. Although wyrms were extremely long-lived and possessed impressive power, they still couldn¡¯t escape aging and death eventually. In order to rest in peace after their death, every wyrm would return to this dragon graveyard when they felt that their lives were reaching an end, and would await theirst moments quietly here.

    Nobody knew whether the significance of the dragon graveyard was just for them to rest in peace after their death. However, each dragon graveyard certainly buried countless wyrms that used to be extremely powerful. Although this dragon graveyard was only one for the green dragons which ranked the lowest out of all wyrms, they were still wyrms, after all, and the shock it brought Lin Li was still significant.

    Lin Li finally managed to suppress his excitement with much effort, and his eyes cautiously swept the wyrm skeletons. He could tell that this dragon graveyard wasn¡¯t too old. It was likely formed at the end of the Dark Age. Judging from the time, it was probably only 1,300 years old, and not many wyrms had rested here. However, any wyrm skeleton or magical crystal could be considered a rare treasure, not to mention so many of them here.

    The wyrms¡¯ magical crystals hanging in the middle of the skeletons shone a luring brilliance and radiated strong mana waves. Lin Li uncontrobly caressed the Dream Garden ring on his finger. Evidently, that greedy little thing had smelled the scent of wyrms¡¯ magical crystals. That was why it had prompted Lin Li toe here.

 Chapter 633 - Dragon Soul Herb

    <h4>Chapter 633: Dragon Soul Herb</h4>

    When Lin Li was observing the dragon graveyard, his Undead creatures were just as astonished. The Vampire Norfeller had it better. Ever since he¡¯d broken though to level-21, he had been focusing all of his energy on analyzing the soul inheritance of Vampires to let himself quickly exhibit power that was equal to his power level.

    However, Ujfalusi could not stay calm, and there seemed to be massive waves crashing against his heart. He stared widely at the sight before him, and his eyes seemed to almost fall out. To a Lich, what could be more wonderful than entering a dragon graveyard?

    Liches were best at producing Undead creatures, and intact dragon skeletons were absolutely the perfect material for it. Any dragon skeleton could be used to create a strong skeletal wyrm. In this space full of death aura, there would also be souls of dead dragons. Those might not be useful to others, but for a Lich, it was the best material needed for creating powerful Undead.

    However, regardless of how agitated he was, Ujfalusi dared not move at all. Lin Li, too, did not dare to move, and had no choice but to stand quietly in the cave and observe everything in the graveyard.

    If it had been anyone else, they would have barged in without hesitation already just for the sake of the Legendary dragon crystals. Well, it was just a bunch of dead dragons which weren¡¯t too dangerous. To many people, the reason why the dragon graveyard was so mysterious and horrible was that the existence of the dragon graveyard often meant that there were groups of dragons guarding it. Without the guardian dragons, everything would be free for grabs.

    However, Lin Li was well aware that the terror of the dragon¡¯s graveyard extended far beyond the guardian dragons. The greater horror was actually present in the graveyards where Dracoliches ran rampant.

    In Anril, few people might know what a Dracolich was because not all had the opportunity to enter dragon graveyards. After all, the groups of guardian dragons were terrifying enough topletely block all intruders. Therefore, in the legends about the dragon graveyards, people only focused on the countless dragon skeletons and the tempting Legendary magical crystals, yet they were clueless about the existence of the Dracoliches.

    However, Lin Li did not just have basic knowledge about the Dracoliches, but was in fact rather familiar with them. Although it was his first time entering a dragon graveyard in Anril, he had a deep memory from the dragon graveyard that he¡¯d visited in the Endless World.

    That happened when Lin Li was preparing to challenge the Dragon of Destruction. After carefully studying the information about the Dragon of Destruction, Lin Li took the risk and ventured into a dragon graveyard in order to find a way to escape from the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s affinity spells, Doom. Back then, his agenda was not to find treasure, but to find the skeletons and dragon souls of the formerpanion of the Dragon of Destruction.

    It was in that dragon graveyard that Lin Li encountered a terrifying and intimidating Dracolich for the first time in his life. It was a tough and tedious battle which never failed to give Lin Li the thrills even now when he remembered it, though it took ce only in the virtual in-game world.

    Not to mention in the world of Anril, even in the Endless World, no one would know better than Lin Li how horrifying a Dracolich was. Although they were both dead dragons, the Dracolich was worlds apart from the Humerus Wyrm. It was akin toparing a human Lich to a Skeletal Warrior of the lowest level.

    Any dragon skeleton could be transformed into a Humerus Wyrm as long as it was stillplete. However, only the strongest and most powerful wyrms could be transformed into a Dracolich after death. Besides, the Humerus Wyrm could only be created sessfully with external help. After the transformation, it would have nothing to do with its previous incarnation, and all of its pride and memories of the previous lifetime would vanish.

    However, a Dracolich relied on its own powerful strength to forcibly let its dead self continue staying in this world, either shouldering unfinished duties or possessing remaining grievances. As the dead, Dracoliches lingered in the world of the living. However, they had notpletely broken out of the shackles of the Death Energy. Regardless of how powerful they were, they could never leave the dragon graveyards. Hence, Dracoliches could be considered the best gravekeepers of dragon graveyards.

    Standing by the entrance, Lin Li began to hesitate a little. Although the treasure was right in front of him, it might be risky and even deadly to retrieve it. Although it was the graveyard of the green dragons, and the green dragons were the weakest dragons, it had a history of 1,300 years. God knew how old and how powerful a wyrm which had transformed into a Dracolich truly was.

    Lich knew that there was a huge difference between Dracoliches and Liches formed from humans even though they were both Liches.

    The human Lich was a dead person whopletely transformed himself into an Undead creature. Although they could move about freely and stay unharmed even when exposed to sunlight, they would never fully inherit the power of their previous living self even if the preparations wereplete and the transformation method was perfect. Therefore, when a human became a Lich for the first time, they would all be very fragile.

    However, such experiences of the human Liches could not be applied to the Dracoliches at all. Although the Dracolich was constrained by the Death Energy and forever imprisoned in a dragon graveyard, during transformation, it¡¯d inherit all the powers it¡¯d possessed before death.

    The strength of the Green Dragon King was already approaching the Sanctuary-realm; hence, the Dracolich of this graveyard would definitely be powerful too. A period of more than 1,300 years was neither long nor short. Even if the Lich only had the Legendary-realm strength of ordinary green dragons after transformation, it could still increase his strength by continuously absorbing the Death Energy in the dragon graveyard. Lin Li dared not imagine to what extent the Lich would¡¯ve grown in the past 1,300 years.

    Lin Li did not forget that the Dracolich he¡¯d encountered back then had power of the Sanctuary-realm. Even if the Dracolich had yet to reach the Sanctuary-realm, it was probably not much worse than the Green Dragon King. Lin Li had just experienced the horror of the Green Dragon King back outside. The difference in power was truly despair-inducing.

    However, Lin Li could not bear to leave just like that. Putting the dragon skeleton and the Legendary dragon crystals aside, the benefits to gain in this dragon graveyard went far beyond that. In particr, Lin Li also knew that there was an extremely precious herb that could only be found in ces like dragon graveyards.

    Now that the massive advantages and danger were juxtaposed with each other, Lin Li was stuck in a dilemma as to whether he should take the risk or not. It was a pity that after the transformation, the Dracolich would have lost its imprint. Perhaps even the projected avatar of the Dragon of Dream would not be able to do anything to it. More atrociously, the Dracolich was confined to the graveyard, thus leaving Lin Li with no chance to even invade by luring it away.

    Lin Li frowned and thought about the countermeasures he could employ. He was unwilling to leave a treasure cave empty-handed because it was not like him to do so. Stroking his chin, Lin Li thought about the Dracolich he¡¯d once encountered, and realized that although the Lich¡¯s strength had already reached the Sanctuary-realm, it had had its weaknesses too. He reckoned that its biggest weakness should¡¯ve been theck of detection abilities.

    Generally speaking, a Dracolich was imprisoned in the graveyard with nothing much to entertain itself with. Hence, the only thing it could do was sleep. Slumberbined with theck of acute senses would give Lin Li a possible chance of sneaking in and leaving quietly¡ªas long as he was careful and refrained from making big movements.

    After instructing his Undead servants to be careful, Lin Li walked into the dragon graveyard, making his footsteps as light as possible. He ignored the dragon skeletons as well as the Legendary dragon crystals. Instead, he searched carefully along the edge of the graveyard.

    The graveyard was massive, but Lin Li fortunately also knew the exact environmental requirements for the growth of the herb. Although he could only search slowly, his efforts were not futile. It didn¡¯t take long for Lin Li to find a dragon¡¯s head that was half-buried in the ground near him. There was a shoot of grass that emitted a faint glow in the eye socket of the dragon¡¯s head.

    Lin Li could not contain his joy when he saw the unassuming shoot of grass. It seemed that the experience he¡¯d gained in the Endless World was very useful. He gently got through the dragon¡¯s eye socket, carefully dug out the small shoot of grass, and ced it inside his ring. He then finally heaved a sigh of relief.

    That was the Dragon Soul Herb, which Lin Li valued more than the dragon skeletons and crystals. No one in Anril knew how useful the Dragon Soul Herb was; of course, it might well be that most of them had no idea that it even existed. However, Lin Li had memories from his time in the Endless World; hence, he knew that the grass that contained the condensed dragon¡¯s spirit and essence was more precious than the ck lotus. Hence, it could be considered an absolute treasure.

    In Lin Li¡¯s memory alone, there were at least five top-grade Guru-level potion forms which required the Dragon Soul Herb. Of course, in Anril, the value of the Dragon Soul Herb would probably be maximized only in the hands of Lin Li.

    Now that Lin Li had gained experience on how to infiltrate the graveyard safely, he did not waste too much time, though he still made sure to be very careful. In no time, he found several Dragon Soul Herbs, which was a huge gain for Lin Li. They might be useless in the hands of others, but when in Lin Li¡¯s hands, they might very likely be the key to his promotion to a Divine Smith.

 Chapter 634 - Dracolich

    <h4>Chapter 634: Dracolich</h4>

    Although the venture was very rewarding, Lin Li dared not explore the center of the graveyard. He knew that while there were higher-quality Dragon Soul Herbs there, there were probably also Dracoliches hibernating nearby. Although the death aura spread through the entire dragon graveyard, it was stronger closer to the epicenter. Since the Dracolich was on its own territory, it would obviously sleep wherever it wasfortable.

    After obtaining the Dragon Soul Herb, he returned to the dragon graveyard and stared at the dragon skeletons and crystals in front of him. They made him begin to hesitate. He could be careful and gentle with picking herbs, and he reckoned that nothing should go wrong if he were to be careful despite the fact that the dragon skeletons and crystals wererge. Most importantly, he could do his best to avoid the epicenter. Anyway, the skeletons and magical crystals around the area were at least of the Legendary level, and even if they were only level-20, they were still treasures.

    After making up his mind, Lin Li got ready to continue scouring carefully. However, Ujfalusi began stuttering at this moment. ¡°M-Master, I need your permission for something, and... and I also need your help.¡±

    Ujfalusi then waited for his reply. Actually, thest thing a servant should do was to trouble his master. However, he needed help for something that he could not manage on his own.

    Lin Li nced at the many dragon skeletons in the dragon graveyard, seemingly having understood Ujfalusi¡¯s intentions. The Humerus Wyrm was the most importantponent that decided the strength of a Lich¡ªin addition to its own level. The reason why a Legendary-realm Lich was terrifying to others was that facing a Legendary Lich meant facing a Legendary Humerus Wyrm. Therefore, the real strength of a Lich should be derived from himself and the Humerus Wyrm that he had summoned. Ujfalusi probably wanted some skeletons of wyrms in order to strengthen his body.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you want to change Crimson¡¯s body? Don¡¯t look at these skeletons anymore. Aren¡¯t there still those green dragons that Norfeller had sucked dry? They may not be alive anymore, but the bodies are stillplete. At least, it could help increase your Crimson¡¯s abilities by at least half a level. It¡¯s much more durable and usefulpared to these skeletons.¡± Of course, it was not that Lin Li could not bear to lose the skeletons, but rather that he wanted to give Ujfalusi a better suggestion.

    Lin Li had initially heeded Connoris¡¯ suggestion and used the corpse of the Crimson Dragon that he had obtained from the underground pce to reshape his Humerus Wyrm, which now was much stronger than before. Although it could notpare to an actual wyrm of the same level, there was definitely a huge difference.

    The Humerus Wyrm summoned by Ujfalusi inherited a powerful dragon crystal which was much stronger than Lin Li¡¯s Humerus Wyrm¡¯s. If it were to be reshaped by theplete corpse of the wyrm, there would definitely be a great improvement in strength. An increase by half a level would be an understatement.

    Ujfalusi had always been envious of Lin Li¡¯s Crimson Dragon, but wyrms were hard to find in this world. The Lich was naturally thrilled to hear Lin Li¡¯s promise. If the Humerus Wyrm had flesh, it would really deserve to be called a wyrm.

    However, that was not what Ujfalusi wanted. After some hesitation, he said, ¡°Master, I was referring to something else, it¡¯s about my own power.¡±

    Ujfalusi was now at the peak of level-20. To put it nicely, he was a step away from Level-21. However, he might never reach level-21 if he did not find a way to break through the bottleneck. Although he managed to return to the Legendary-realm based on his current experience, it would be much harder to advance further.

    Lin Li was aware of Ujfalusi¡¯s situation too. However, he did not research or have much knowledge about Necromagic; hence, he could note up with a solution. Although he had had quite a few conversations with Sendros before, Ujfalusi had yet to encounter such a problem at that time. Besides, most of those conversations had consisted of him answering Sendros¡¯ questions about pharmaceutics and addressing some rumors about Anril.

    When Ujfalusi returned to the Legendary-realm and hit the teau, Lin Li did not have the time to go to the Darkness Shrine to look for Sendros. Upon hearing Ujfalusi saying that he finally had a solution, Lin Li immediately felt interested. Who wouldn¡¯t wish to have a strong subordinate? If he had to do everything himself, it would be pointless for him to have servants.

    ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, Master. I know of a secret solution that can help me break through the bottleneck now and let me advance to level-21. However, I would need a powerful skeleton and soul.¡± Ujfalusi then nced at the dragon graveyard which contained dragon skeletons that were undoubtedly the best material.

    It turned out he just wanted the skeleton of a wyrm. Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°That¡¯s easy. There are so many skeletons here. Pick one that you think is suitable, and you may keep it. However, be careful not to get too close to the center, even though the skeletons there may be better.¡±

    ¡°Master, I can collect the dragon skeleton on my own, but I¡¯ll need your help with collecting the soul,¡± Ujfalusi said with an awkward expression. If it were the soul of another powerful magical beast, it would be no problem for him to collect it with his own ability. However, the soul of a dragon was too powerful, and it would take him a long time even if he could collect it.

    Lin Li now had the level-21 Vampire Norfeller as his servant. If Ujfalusi sessfully advanced to level-21 too, in addition to the two wyrms that he and Ujfalusi could summon, he would have massively powerful henchmen. The Dark de could be thergest force in the Breezy ins precisely because of their three Legendary leaders. With Lin Li¡¯s power, even the Dark de would have to be wary of him.

    Hence, no matter what, Lin Li had no reason to turn down his request. What was the harm in having better servants? Not to mention, this servant of his had already signed the Soul Contract, and thus would not turn on Lin Li. Moreover, Lin Li did not intend to let go of the dragon souls in the dragon graveyard. Although he did not know Necromagic, there was more than one use to the dragon souls.

    After asking how he could help Ujfalusi collect the dragon soul, Lin Li deliberately chose a location that was far away from the center, and then took out Holy Light, one of the pieces of the debris of the stars. Although Lin Li decided to use Holy Light, he did not want to stimte all of its power, and just wanted to suppress it using his own power instead. Otherwise, the power of the Holy Light alone would be enough to overwhelm all the dragon souls in this graveyard, and it would then be very likely to wake up any sleeping Dracolich.

    Lin Li held Holy Light in his hand and suppressed its strength, after which Holy Light emitted a light that was faint and not dazzling. However, under the light, the death aura around it seemed to begin twisting and moving subtly. Those were shadows¡ªthe dragon souls hidden in the death aura. Although they had already lost their sentience, they were still extremely afraid of Holy Light, hence their attempts to escape.

    It was said that after the death of the ancient wyrms, all of their remaining spirits and consciousness would be condensed into dragon souls and enter a dragon graveyard hidden somewhere in endless time and space. However, the current dragons were not qualified to enter the real graveyard of ancient dragons. Moreover, due to gic differences, all of the condensed dragon souls were obviously far inferior to those of the ancient wyrms. Their consciousness was faint too. In fact, it could be said to be a spiritual aggregate without much awareness.

    Lin Li gently waved Holy Light to see the dragon souls that could not escape in time. They had lost their mobility, and could only struggle beneath the light. Although Lin Li could not maximize the power of Holy Light with his current abilities, he could manipte it to his desire. Hence, he was now just restraining the dragon souls without doing any damage to them.

    After receiving Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Ujfalusi quickly took a step forward and rapidly chanted a spell while suppressing his fear of Holy Light. Finally, a bunch of dragon souls was dragged away from the envelope of Holy Light, flying towards Ujfalusi¡¯s magic staff. In the blink of an eye, they entered the grayish-white gemstone on the top of the magic staff.

    Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t waste the remaining dragon souls in the beams of light after helping Ujfalusi collect some. He nned to collect the remaining ones for future use in case he needed them after creating ck Front Fortress.

    However, at this moment, a massive pressure suddenly descended in the area outside the envelope of light created by the Holy Light. Before Lin Li could react, the beam burst like a bubble under the pressure.

    Next, there was an extremely chilly gust of aura flying towards Lin Li¡¯s face, making his heart skip a beat. It was the aura of a curse; someone was clearly attacking him.

    Lin Li quickly put Holy Light in front of his chest to form a huge shield of light around him, blocking the attack. Lin Li then looked forward and saw that there was a twisted shadow rising slowly from the ground. There seemed to be a person who was shrouded in a magic robeposed of dense dark green fog. It was also emitting powerful magical aura. As the figure appeared, the death aura in the dragon graveyard instantly trembled vigorously, and a chilly aura filled the entire graveyard.

    ¡°Damn it, we¡¯ve rmed the Dracolich...¡±

 Chapter 635 - Double Death Dragons

    <h4>Chapter 635: Double Death Dragons</h4>

    Lin Li¡¯s heart wrenched up. No one knew better than he did. Although the figure seemed to be a human mage, it was what the Dracolich looked like when it cast magic spells. When the Dracolich used the talents and abilities that it had when it was a wyrm, it would be a wyrm again. Although its body looked a bit illusory, both its aura and menace were the same as that of a real wyrm. They could also deal massive damage.

    Lin Li wasmenting in his heart. He was clearly already in such an obscure corner. How did he end up rming a Dracolich? Did Dracoliches in Anril like sleeping near the edges of the graveyard?

    However, Lin Li soon found the answers to his questions. It was because on the other side of the graveyard, there was an extremely strong Undead aura that overwhelmed him instantly.

    At this moment, Lin Li was no longer justmenting¡ªhe was yelling miserably how unlucky he was. <i>This is just a green dragons¡¯ graveyard. God knows why I¡¯m so unlucky. Not only do I have to face a terrifying Dracolich, I also have to face two of them in one go.</i>

    <i>Double Death Dragons! How could the Double Death Dragons appear here!?</i>

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at all. The awakening of the Dracolich had taken him by surprise, but he had never imagined that there would be two in the low-level green dragons¡¯ graveyard. <i>I¡¯m so far away from the middle, yet I still rmed the Liches. Could it be that these two things haven¡¯t been sleeping in the center at all, and were both sleeping at the edges?</i>

    It wasn¡¯t impossible to have more than two Dracoliches in one dragon graveyard, but the appearance of the Double Death Dragons did not mean that there were only two of them.

    The conditions for the emergence of the Double Death Dragons were extremely harsh, and their appearance was even said to be possible only in theory because the Double Death Dragons had to be twins, which was very rare for dragons with their extremely low reproduction ability. Next, the twin dragons had to rest in the dragon graveyard at the same time, and there could be no difference in the time of their deaths.

    Besides, after those conditions had been satisfied, all local conditions had to be the same when the twin dragons qualified to be Dracoliches. However, even identical twins would grow up to be different from each other due to some external factors that they were exposed to during adolescence. Once there was a single difference, two Dracoliches would be formed, and not the special Double Death Dragons.

    If this were to happen to humans, perhaps it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising, since the human poption was so vast. However, wyrms had a low reproductive ability even though they had many descendants[1]. Hence, it was almost impossible for there to be twin dragons that¡¯d then be Double Death Dragons, even if it were arranged by deities.

    Hence, even though Lin Li had experienced so many things in the Endless World, the Double Death Dragons were still a myth to him. Compared to ordinary Dracoliches, the Double Death Dragons enjoyed a tacit chemistry that could not be developed with mere practice.

    The Double Death Dragons could cast spells seamlessly¡ªonce one of them was interrupted, the other would finish. They could also split up and disintegrate half a portion of a powerful spell each. Together, they would be able to destroy spells stronger than themselves. They were two individuals, but also a whole at the same time. That was what made them terrifying and difficult to deal with.

    Lin Li could clearly sense that the two Dracoliches were definitely the legendary Double Death Dragons. Their auras were identical, and they were so simr that Lin Li almost thought that he was hallucinating because he could not differentiate between them.

    The only thing that made Lin Li feel a littleforted was that the power of the Double Death Dragons was not as terrifying as that of the Dracolich that he had encountered in the Endless World¡ªthey seemed to be only level-22. However, that did not mean that they were easy to deal with. Back in Rnd City, he¡¯d battled Vidas who was also level-22, yet thetter managed to drive him to despair. Moreover, the power of the level-22 Double Death Dragons was definitely beyond level-22.

    Lin Li did not have time to think anymore. When he saw the two Dracoliches, he immediately unleashed his Magical Domain. At this very moment, he realized that he couldn¡¯t get up to any scheming tricks with the Double Death Dragons at all. He could only tide through by using all of his power.

    In the blink of an eye, the snow buried the dragon skeletons around Lin Li. Like the surface of an ocean, there were countless waves in the snow, and numerous snow magical beasts suddenly emerged and darted at the Double Death Dragons.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The Double Death Dragons turned into dark green wyrms that were covered in ck fog. The two wyrms opened their mouths at the same time and roared loudly, and it was as if the entire graveyard was going to crumble.

    Countless snow magical beasts roared and dashed in. They then disintegrated. With Lin Li¡¯s current power of level-21, the snow magical beasts that he had created were at least level-15. However, they could not even withstand the roar of the Double Death Dragons.

    The snow waves that kept rolling forward also suddenly rolled while the dragons roared. The waves of snow then swept towards Lin Li as if the owner of the Magical Domain was the Double Death Dragons, and not Lin Li.

    The dragons roared, and Lin Li almost vomited blood as he unfolded all of his mental strength to control his Magical Domain. The overwhelming snow waves finally stopped in front of Lin Li, but before the waves could dissipate, countless skeletons had already showed themselves, and were attacking Lin Li.

    Theyers of light lit up in front of Lin Li immediately. The lightyers created by the Holy Light had a strong purification effect, and barely endured the attacks of the Bone Spears.

    If Lin Li were in the Endless World, it would be a piece of cake for him to destroy the Double Death Dragons with Holy Light. However, Lin Li was only level-21 now, and could not fully exert the power of Holy Light.

    Lin Li knew that in the face of a strong enemy like the Double Death Dragons, he could only blindly defend for a while, and there would definitely be a moment when an opening appeared. Barely making it through the attacks of the Double Death Dragons that upied the initiative, Lin Li immediately reorganized his attacks. Soon, the Angels of Light and Dark formed in front of him, holding all sorts of weapons.

    The Angels of Light and Dark were formed by the congregation of the Holy Light and Gloomy Dark¡¯s Rule Powers. They all had strength of at least level-18, and had always been magical trump cards.

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and more than 20 Angels of Light and Dark that had just formed fluttered their wings immediately, flying towards the Double Death Dragons in an aggressive manner. Before, the Angels of Light and Dark had managed to suppress the Lord of Darkness alone for a while. Hence, Lin Li was certain that they would outss the Double Death Dragons regardless of how powerful thetter might be.

    However, before the Angels of Light and Dark dashed to the Double Death Dragons, a dark green dragon¡¯s breath spewed out of the Double Death Dragons¡¯ mouths and consumed all of the Angels of Light and Dark like the wind.

    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±

    Lin Li decisively detonated a few of the Angels of Light and Dark. Under the conflicting powers of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, several explosions urred, and the dark green dragon¡¯s breath was sted away. The remaining Angels of Light and Dark dashed out of the dragon¡¯s breath, though they had been stained dark green, and their bodies were rapidly dissolving.

    After more than 20 Angels of Light and Dark were attacked by the dragon breath, the remaining ten-odd insisted on rushing at the Double Death Dragons. As a result, they all corroded and lost their original form. Lin Li again detonated them. Although the powerful st caused the Double Death Dragons to shake, it did not cause them any substantial harm.

    However, even if that was the case, the Double Death Dragons were extremely infuriated. After roaring, they turned into humans again, and the dark green poisonous fog around them turned into a magic robe that engulfed them. As the wide robe sleeve fluttered, countless star dots flew towards Lin Li like falling stars.

    ¡°The Stars of Poison!¡± Lin Li dared not believe his eyes at all.

    Others would usually release such level-18 Necromagic spells one by one, yet the Double Death Dragons released them all at once. The numerous snow walls copsed the instant they were erected. Everything in Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain was stained dark green.

    Although it was rare for there to be green snow, the horror of it still made Lin Li feel a cold chill down his spine as fear consumed him. In Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain, the umted snow would never melt as long as the Magical Domain existed. However, the snow was corroded and melted at a very fast speed in the presence of the Stars of Poison. Thick fumes of poisonous fog continuously rose up from the pool of poison, filling the entire domain.

    ¡°Poison Domain!¡± Lin Li eximed with a frown as his face turned green.

    The power of destruction had already made the poison extremely lethal, and it was a true Rule Power. Poison that contained Rule Power was notparable to the poisonous mist the team had encountered along the way. Even the green dragons¡¯ breath could not bepared to it.

    It was practically impossible for a Legendary figure to press on. Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to hesitate, and quickly took a few potions from the Ring of Endless Storm. Not only were there high-level Detoxification Antidotes, there were also Master-level potions. In addition to taking them himself, Lin Li also shared the potions with Ujfalusi and Norfeller. Although they were Undead creatures, they could not resist the poison at all.

    The Master-level potion was no less valuable than a level-20 magical crystal. However, at this moment, no one would bother to think about its value, because the most important thing now was to survive the attacks of the Double Death Dragons. Lin Li poured the potion into his belly, after which he felt that the erosion was constrained, slowly expelled, and eliminated by the potion¡¯s power.

    However, the Poison Rule clearly affected Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain. The snow magical beasts condensed at an extremely slow rate in the poisonous fog, and had yet to form a silhouette. Clearly, Lin Li had again lost the upper hand. The Double Death Dragons induced their Poison Domain into the Light and Darkness Domain, thus bearing a huge suppression on Lin Li¡¯s domain.

    Apart from the Poison Domain, Lin Li also felt the power of the Death Rule. It was the domain of the Double Death Dragons. In this domain, the Double Death Dragons were the supreme controller of life and death. The snow magical beasts did not crumble only because of the corrosion, but also because of the invasion of Death Energy.

    At this moment, a swirling ck vortex slowly opened, and countless Undead creatures surged out of it. Ujfalusi showed his prowess as a Lich. After he returned to the Legendary-realm, his power had greatly increased beyond what he had had back in Syer town. Low-level Skeleton Warriors, Hell Ghouls, Vampires... Undead army was continuously summoned.

    Ujfalusi, too, knew that the low-level Undead creatures could only y a very limited role, and might even be unable to qualify as meatshields. However, he still hoped that Tide of Death could help buy some time for Lin Li, even if it was only a few minutes or just a few seconds.

    The Undead creatures were not afraid of the poison itself, but the corrosiveness of that poison was really impossible for the Undead to resist. The Skeletal Warriors were stained with green right after they emerged from the vortex. They then fell onto the ground, corroded beyond recognition.

    Dozens of Hell Ghouls continuously fired infernal fire bombs, but the bombs could not even exit the radius of 10 meters, and were soon destroyed together with their masters. The mana of Liches was stronger, so defensive spells were erected as soon as they left the portal. However, the spells instantly burst like a bubble.

    The Double Death Dragons needed not do anything at all. The strong corrosive effects of the poison were enough to defeat Legendary powerhouses and render the Tide of Death useless. Although the Undead army attacked endlessly, they would be destroyed in no time.

    [1] In other words, it¡¯s hard for pure-blooded dragons to be born, but easy for them to have a one-night stand with some other magical beast resembling a dragon and make a kid out of that. The descendants mentioned here are thetter type.

 Chapter 636 - Bait

    <h4>Chapter 636: Bait</h4>

    Lin Li was holding onto a tree branch that had a newly sprouted bud on it, which was a new piece of the debris of the stars that he had obtained from the Time Consignment Store¡¯s auction. It contained the Rule Power of the earth and life, but Lin Li¡¯s control over it was shallow because he got it way after he obtained Gloomy Dark and Holy Light.

    With the experience that he once had, Lin Li extracted the Life Rule Power from the branch and injected it into his own Magical Domain, allowing the Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness to have a new aura of life. Soon, the snow magical beasts that had already stopped condensing quickly condensed again rapidly under this aura of life.

    Although the Undead creatures had already lost their lives, bing an Undead creature was actually akin to having a fresh start in life, in a certain sense. The Rebirth of the debris of the stars possess life Rules that gave them broader life, like the Undead creatures. Hence, even the Undead creatures that had emerged from the Tide of Death managed to experience a massive increase in power with the help of the aura of life.

    The bodies of the Undead creatures were corroded in the poisonous fog, but they continuously recovered with the help of the energy of life. Although the recovery was slow, it could allow them to survive longer in the poisonous fog.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The Double Death Dragons clearly noticed the changes in their enemy Lin Li¡¯s domain. With their deafening roar, the ground of the dragon graveyard shook violently. Under the summoning of the Double Death Dragons, the dragon skeletons woke up from hibernation, swaying their bodies. After shaking off the snow on their bodies, they strode towards Lin Li and the rest.

    Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain contained the purification power of the Holy Light, which had great lethality to all Undead creatures. However, the resurrected dragon skeletons were obviously not transformed into Undead creatures by the Double Death Dragon. The reason they could move like the Humerus Wyrm was simply because the Double Death Dragons used a low-level Necromagic spell to manipte the corpses.

    Manipting corpses could be considered the must-learn spell for every Necromancer. It wasn¡¯t too powerful, and only served the purpose of making corpses move. However, the Double Death Dragons manipted the skeletons of wyrms. Although they had yet to turn into Undead creatures, they had power that was not inferior to a Humerus Wyrm¡¯s thanks to the maniption by the Double Death Dragons.

    <i>Damn it, so shameless!</i> Lin Li thought to himself in exasperation as his face turned pale and petnt. Although the dragon graveyard did not have a long history, there were more than 20 skeletons which possessed at least level-20¡¯s strength, even though they did not turn into Undead creatures.

    When Lin Li had been outside just now, the seven green dragons had almost driven him into a corner. Now that he was facing the siege of more than 20 dragon skeletons and the level-22 Double Death Dragons, his chances of surviving were definitely slim. When he¡¯d been outside, he could still let Norfeller use his blood-sucking abilities to attack the green dragons. However, Norfeller couldn¡¯t possibly suck the bones of the skeletons.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller put in great effort into summoning the two Humerus Wyrms, but when faced with the 20-odd dragon skeletons who were attacking him, he still could not change the situation. Under such tough circumstances, even the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua who was living in Dream Garden had already flown out to join the battle. However, resisting magic below level-15 was a piece of cake for the skeletal dragons which had high resistance to magic.

    In addition to manipting these two dozen dragon skeletons, the Double Death Dragons did not stop using their powerful Necromagic at all. There were bursting Bone Spears that were as dense as rain, invincible Stars of Poison, and poisonous pools that took shape on the ground quietly. Be it the snow magical beasts or the strong Undead creatures that Ujfalusi had summoned, all of them would easily be a pool of poison.

    The entire dragon graveyard seemed to have be arge battlefield, and the ever-growing Undead creatures and the 20-odd dragon skeletons surrounded Lin Li and others. The magic of various levels seemed to have be stagnant while flying around. However, Lin Li did not feel optimistic at all, because the formidable Double Death Dragons were approaching from far away.

    The Rule Power in the poisonous Death Domain, endless Necromagic, and the 20-odd dragon skeletons caused Lin Li and the rest to fall into despair. The standstill at this moment was an illusion; once the Double Death Dragons joined in, Lin Li¡¯s defense would instantly copse and crumble.

    Lin Li clenched his teeth and persisted on. However, he also knew that at this rate, even the debris of the stars wouldn¡¯t be able to save him from the tragic ending. Breaking the Magical Domain of a Dracolich would be more than difficult for a level-21 mage like Lin Li.

    The Dracolich itself had power of level-22, which was far greater than what Lin Li possessed. Others might think that it was only a difference of one level. However, that difference meant a different mastery of Rule Power, which brought about a world of difference in strength.

    The Magical Domain was created by a mage using the Rule Power that he¡¯d mastered. The deeper the understanding of Rule Power, the stronger and more stable the Nature Magic would be. Hence, if Lin Li wanted to advance in level and break the Magical Domain of a Dracolich, it would definitely be impossible with his current abilities. During the battle with the elven mage Vidas back then, Lin Li had not only summoned Gloomy Dark and Holy Light. He had also summoned the Lord of Nightmares to assist him in the battle to defeat Vidas.

    Lin Li was now facing two twin level-22 Dracoliches, which were Double Death Dragons, and thus closely integrated with the Magical Domain of theirs. It no longer mattered who the domain was created by. The power of two level-22 Magical Domains and Rule Power were not simply superimposed.

    Breaking through the double Magical Domain of the Double Death Dragons was akin to breaking the sky for Lin Li. However, Lin Li had really thought of a solution, and reckoned that he should be able to break through the Magical Domains of the Double Death Dragons. However, the problem was that it was just a simple thought, and Lin Li did not have the ability to execute it.

    At this very moment, Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he acutely felt some changes in his own Magical Domain. The Rule Power that came from Gloomy Dark seemed to be flowing out of his domain. Although energy was depleting every second since the Magical Domain was opened, depletion was different from exhaustion.

    Lin Li was also slightly stunned by the Double Death Dragons, thus causing him to fail to notice the situation. Although the slight depletion of Dark Force was nothing to Gloomy Dark that had infinite power, Lin Li could not help but feel worried, because it meant that he had lost his control over his Magical Domain.

    Lin Li immediately devoted all his energy to his Magical Domain to find the reason for the depletion of Dark Force, but the result of the check surprised him.

    It was the Double Death Dragons!

    Although the Double Death Dragons continuously used Necromagic to attack Lin Li and the rest, they were reluctant to join the battle, yet it was not because they did not have the power to fight. In fact, the power that the Double Death Dragons possessed was probably not inferior to that of the Green Dragon King.

    Lin Li now understood the reason for the Double Death Dragons not joining the battle. It turned out they were devouring the Dark Force emitted by Gloomy Dark.

    Lin Li suddenly remembered that at the beginning, the existence of Gloomy Dark catalyzed the mutation of many Undead creatures in the Scar of Death. Even the lowest-level Skeletal Warriors almost reached level-10. It also resulted in the birth of the powerful Death Knight and Vampires, causing the valley to be the paradise of Undead creatures. To the Undead creatures, the pure Dark Force of Gloomy Dark was a temptation they could not resist.

    Lin Li could clearly feel that the power in Gloomy Dark was surging outwards, and dashing towards the Undead creatures. It seemed that even the Double Death Dragons, or the formidable Dracoliches, could not resist the temptation of the Dark Force. Could that be the key to changing the situation? Lin Li thought about it, and vaguely felt that it was the case.

    Gloomy Dark was separated from the Magical Domain andnded in Lin Li¡¯s hands. However, the Devouring Force that came from the Double Death Dragons was still chasing Gloomy Dark with no intention of letting go. Lin Li tried to control the depletion of power, but the Devouring Force of the Double Death Dragons continuously increased. It might only be possible to interrupt the Devouring Force of the Double Death Dragons by loading Gloomy Dark into the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The thought of the Ring of Endless Storm reminded Lin Li of the Titan Dragon Spear that he had collected in the valley. If he could use the power of the Titan Dragon Spear, the Double Death Dragons would probably be no match for it. The Titans had used the Titan Dragon Spear to kill the ancient wyrms, and the Titan Dragon Spear contained groundbreaking power of thunderbolts which was much more lethal to Undead creatures than Holy Light.

    Unfortunately, the Titan Dragon Spear had already gone into hibernation, and perhaps could only be awakened by Thunderbolt, the debris of the stars. A Titan Dragon Spear would be useless if it couldn¡¯t exert its power, regardless of how powerful it might be. Feeling frustrated, Lin Li wondered, <i>Is it really difficult to solve this issue?</i>

    The situation was no longer optimistic, and his Humerus Wyrms had already been scarred and wounded. Ujfalusi¡¯s Tide of Death had also reached itsst moments. Although the Skeletal Warriors were still emerging continuously, the powerful Vampires and Liches were appearing less often. Norfeller looked just as disheveled. Vampires were not good at direct confrontations, but he did not have a choice at all. He could only rely on his level-21 power to go toe to toe against the dragon skeletons.

    Lin Li reintroduced Gloomy Dark into his Magical Domain, and increased the control over the Dark Force. Although he could not cut off the Devouring Forcepletely, it was still Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain, after all. He wouldn¡¯t let the Double Death Dragons get their way.

    Next, Lin Li once again forcibly extracted the life force of the debris of the stars and introduced it into the Magical Domain. With the injection of this life force, the bodies of Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants and the two Humerus Wyrms immediately recovered by half, regaining their battle power as well.

    Even the Undead creatures that Ujfalusi had summoned together with the Tide of Death had been revived. The crushed Skeletal Warriors rose from the ground and shed the legs and feet of the dragon skeletons with rusty swords. The Skeleton Staff glowed again and Deathfire Bombs wereunched. The Vampires moved along the wyrm skeletons at their own speed while making sounds of friction.

    Had there been any onlookers just now, they would have definitely been surprised by the tenacity of the people from the Tower of Dusk, thinking that they would pull through the ordeal. However, only Lin Li knew that Rebirth wouldn¡¯t integrate into the Magical Domain, and not only would the forced injection affect the stability of the Magical Domain, it might even lead to the copse of the Magical Domain.

    While supporting the Magical Domain, it was necessary to control the Devouring Force in this battle, but that had exceeded the ability of a level-21 mage. Although it seemed that the situation had improved for now, the Double Death Dragons had yet to join in, and Lin Li had merely managed to buy some time. The price of doing so was the severe overuse of Lin Li¡¯s mental strength.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The Double Death Dragons roared in unison, and one of them burst into a ck cloud of fog instantly before turning into a green dragon, while the other leaped onto that dragon¡¯s back, and they fluttered towards Lin Li.

    Obviously, the Double Death Dragons were angered by Lin Li¡¯s behavior. No one would be able to keep calm after their benefits got stolen. Although the Double Death Dragons could turn into human form and cast magic, their animalistic nature would never change. For some reason, the Double Death Dragons could not endure after seeing the invaders.

    Although Lin Li was rather far from the Double Death Dragons when he took out Gloomy Dark from his Magical Domain, they could clearly tell that the aura they liked came from the unknown object. Since they were displeased, they might as well get rid of the invaders and snatch the item. By then, they would get to enjoy it without hindrances.

    Despite being in a desperate situation, Lin Li still got a shock when he saw the fiery Double Death Dragons. It could be said that the manipted dragon skeletons were nothingpared to the Double Death Dragons.

 Chapter 637 - Purification

    <h4>Chapter 637: Purification</h4>

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and rays of Light of Purification fell from the sky and projected themselves at the Double Death Dragons. Although Holy Light, a piece of the debris of the stars had the ability to exude the Light of Purification, which could destroy all evil, it had no effect on the poison of the Double Death Dragons.

    The Angels of Light and Dark condensed again, and flew silently towards the Double Death Dragons as theirrge spears radiated eye-catching bright rays of light. However, the 30-odd Angels of Light and Dark could not even make the Double Death Dragons stop for a second, and all they did was make the Double Death Dragons roar.

    The difference in power was too huge, and Lin Li could not even struggle much. Lin Li¡¯s retaliation seemed useless, and the scheming tricks that he used to use were weak and ridiculously useless against the Double Death Dragons.

    However, he was not going to give up just like that. Lin Li made up his mind, and the Angels of Light and Dark continuously condensed like moths fighting on fire as they continuously dashed towards the Double Death Dragons. They were hell-bent on inflicting some harm on the Double Death Dragons even if they died.

    The jewels on the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter continuously shed, and every glisten signified a strong and powerful magic. With every sh, the light would be dimmer. Although Lin Li felt distressed, what else could he do? As long as he could escape today, it would be worthwhile, even if it meant that the Helios¡¯ Scepter had to break.

    All of a sudden, the entire graveyard was filled with Death aura, and a huge vortex opened in front of the Double Death Dragons. Countless skeletons of humans and magical beasts surged out of the middle of the vortex, and the deafening and shrilling howls filled the entire graveyard. They then swarmed towards Lin Li.

    ¡°The Rune Of Death!¡±

    Looking at the oing legendary Necromagic, Lin Li waved his staff, and an ice wall fused with the Holy Light was instantly erected.

    The ice wall shattered with a loud explosive sound that filled the air. However, the countless skeletons seemed to break through the ice walls.

    Lin Li again whipped out the new piece of the debris of the stars, Rebirth, and put up a defensiveyer in front of himself.

    As the roars continuously sounded, Lin Li slowly retreated backwards. The Death Energy contained Life Rules, and the power of the Rules of the earth system was known for its powerful defense against the elements fire, water, and wind. Therefore, under the powerful attack of the legendary Necromagic spell Death Rune, Lin Li continuously retreated, but he still managed to forcibly support himself.

    Lin Li was shot far, far away, and the Double Death Dragons flew over the heads of Ujfalusi and Norfeller in their pursuit for Lin Li. However, they did not pay attention to what was going on below. In the eyes of the Double Death Dragons, only the powerful object was worth paying attention to, and what they wanted to do was to kill the intruder and snatch the object.

    Ujfalusi, Norfeller, and the two Humerus Wyrms had already been surrounded by the animated dragon skeletons. Hence, they could only watch the Double Death Dragons fly over their heads without being able to stop them. Of course, with their current power, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything even if they were to rush forth.

    Lin Li finally stopped retreating, not because of the explosion of power, but because he had already reached the wall of the cavern, and even made a huge indent in it. He was almost buried.

    Staring at the Double Death Dragons that were approaching him, Lin Li broke apart the rubble around his body and stood up. The dimmed gemstone on the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter once again radiated a dazzling ray of light that caused the magic in the entire Magical Domain to surge. Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, the two pieces of the debris of the stars, appeared beside Lin Li, giving off a destructive aura with Lin Li¡¯s activation.

    The Double Death Dragons stopped and turned into humans again, seemingly having sensed the energy and powering from Lin Li¡¯s side. The two identical Dracoliches also appeared solemn.

    The two Dracoliches raised their arms at the same time and moved in unison. As they moved, the strong energy slowly rose too.

    It was because he survived the rune¡¯s attack that he managed to gain the respect of the two of them. In fact, they did not wish to wait any longer. Lin Li smiled wryly, and thought to himself, <i>Seems like the Double Death Dragons are ready to kill me now.</i>

    Despite seeing that the Double Death Dragons were going tounch a quick and powerful attack against him, Lin Li did not take the lead to interrupt them, and instead continued to use his mental strength to activate the power of the debris of the stars. He then instilled all of his mana into the Helios¡¯ Scepter with no regards for his own life or safety.

    Battling the Double Death Dragons with magic? Lin Li was deep in despair, but his brains were not fried, so he knew better than that.

    In fact, it took only two or three seconds for the Double Death Dragons to cast spells. A strong, destructive mana suddenly emerged from the two Dracoliches.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t name the magic used by the Double Death Dragons, but it seemed to be a mixture of Necromagic and dragonnguage magic. The magical wave had also exceeded level-22, and seemed powerful enough to destroy the sky. In fact, it was truly lethal, and a crack formed in front of the Double Death Dragons before darting towards Lin Li.

    Many powerhouses had the ability to break through space. Even those of the Sanctuary-realm could do so and enter the chaos of time and space. However, Lin Li had never heard of anyone using the cracks between time and space to deal with one¡¯s enemies. Although he had never heard of it, he could tell that even if the new force erupted again, it couldn¡¯t escape the fate of being torn in two by the crack.

    Despite having been startled by the magic of the Double Death Dragons, Lin Li didn¡¯t forget to retaliate. He simply chose to retrieve the Titan Dragon Spear from the Ring of Endless Storm first.

    With the death of the Titan, the power in the Titan Dragon Spear had also gone into hibernation. It could also be said to have died because it had already lost its soul, and Lin Li could not awaken it at all with his current power, not even if coupled with Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Lin Li had thought of using a piece of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, to awaken the Titan Dragon Spear. However, if he had Thunderbolt, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if the Titan Dragon Spear didn¡¯t awaken.

    Hence, to Lin Li, the Titan Dragon Spear had already lost its value as a weapon, and all he cared about was the material of the Titan Dragon Spear and the power it contained. However, the Titan Dragon Spear was the only thing that was durable enough to withstand the power of the crack.

    Immediately after the appearance of the majestic Titan Dragon Spear, Lin Li grasped it and threw it at the crack, which was followed by Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, and magic that had been umting in the Helios¡¯ Scepter. The target of the three huge forces was not the Double Death Dragons, but the Titan Dragon Spear.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    After the groundbreaking noise filled the air, Lin Li¡¯s body mmed into the wall with a lot of force, and the cracks rapidly extended.

    He¡¯d been waiting for this chance! Lin Li had wanted to make the Double Death Dragons join the battle. Otherwise, if the Dracoliches were to rely on the Poison and Death Domains, as well as the 20-odd wyrm skeletons, without entering the battle directly, it would only have been a matter of time before Lin Li¡¯s team got destroyed without an opportunity to counterattack, let alone break out of the tricky situation.

    Since his own powers coupled with Holy Light and Gloomy Dark were not enough tounch the Titan Dragon Spear, how would things change if the Double Death Dragons joined in? Lin Li already saw the result. Four powerful forces bombarded the Titan Dragon Spear at the same time, but although the Titan Dragon Spear cracked, it did not immediately be fragmented. However, a thunderbolt darted out of the crack all of a sudden and shot at the Double Death Dragons without hesitation, seemingly having been attracted by the wyrms¡¯ aura.

    It was a thunderbolt that had once broken the ground, and had been incorporated into the Titan¡¯s consciousness. It had also been stained with the blood of many ancient wyrms that it¡¯d destroyed.

    The Double Death Dragons had no time to respond at all; they seemed to have been shocked by the terrifying aura given off by Thunderbolt. Suddenly, the thunderbolt sted the indestructible Poison and Death Domains, and ruthlessly invaded the bodies of the Double Death Dragons to destroy them.

    For the first time, the Double Death Dragons wailed in agony, but regardless of how they struggled and shapeshifted, they could not stop the thunderbolt from destroying their bodies.

    Lin Li wiped the blood off of the corners of his lips and flew away from the wall. He then grabbed Holy Light and injected mental strength into it. Holy Light suddenly shone and engulfed Lin Li like a sun that had descended onto the dragon graveyard.

    The power of Holy Light engulfed the Double Death Dragons, and the howling gradually became weaker, until they vanishedpletely. The skeletons surrounding Ujfalusi also crumbled, and silence was restored.

    The light of Holy Light slowly converged, and Lin Li slowlynded on the ground with no trace of joy on his face. He staggered forwards for a while before regaining his bnce. He quickly took out a few healing potions and poured them into his mouth like he was drinking water.

    Lin Li heaved a long sigh after sensing that his wounds were slowly recovering. Staring at his Undead servants, he said, ¡°Take them now!¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Ujfalusi and Norfeller finally heaved sighs of relief too. Recalling the battle just now, they could not help but feel a little bit nervous even though they were Undead creatures.

 Chapter 638 - Imprint

    <h4>Chapter 638: Imprint</h4>

    The two Undead servants and the two Humerus Wyrms searched the green dragon graveyard all over. In fact, there was no need for them to put in too much effort, because the battle had already turned everything in the graveyard inside out, especially the wyrm skeletons that had umted there.

    As a pharmaceutics Guru, Lin Li possessed Master-level Recovery Potions which helped his body recover greatly. He no longer had any worries. He¡¯d initially nned to enter and steal, but it ended up bing an armed robbery. Since he had already killed all the owners of the graveyard, the remaining items were for him to keep.

    Although there were numerous cracks in the Titan Dragon Spear, Lin Li could sense the massive energy in it, and the thunderbolt that took out the Double Death Dragons was nothingpared to it. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but cluck his tongue. It was no wonder that the Titan Dragon Spear was the weapon of the Titans. It could effortlessly kill the Double Death Dragons in no time.

    After withdrawing the Titan Dragon Spear from the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li again summoned Gloomy Dark that had been sted away just now. However, when Gloomy Dark returned, it gave Lin Li a great shock, not because it was damaged, but because there were actually two more ck beads that resembled satellites constantly revolving around it.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Lin Li grabbed Gloomy Dark. As soon as he did, he could sense the aura of the Double Death Dragonsing from the pearls.

    Could that be the imprint of the Double Death Dragons? Lin Li did know some things about the imprinting of souls. After being transformed into a Lich, human beings would keep their soul imprint in the Life Case so that they could be born again with the soul imprint even if they died. Therefore, most people would not dare to provoke them unless they could find and destroy their Life Case. Otherwise, they would be in deep trouble because they would have to face the revenge of the Lich. However, if one could find the Life Case of a Lich, he would be able to subdue the Lich, regardless of how powerful it might be.

    However, Dracoliches were different from human Liches. Wyrms used dragon crystals as their source of power, and lost the ability to use dragon crystals after transforming into Dracoliches. Their soul imprint then became their source of strength. Therefore, the Dracolich¡¯s soul imprint would not be hidden in the Life Case, but would rece the position of dragon crystal in the Dracolich¡¯s body.

    In other words, the two satellite-like ck beads of light revolving around Gloomy Dark were previously the source of power for the Double Death Dragons. However, under the purification of the Holy Light, the power in these two soul imprints had obviously disappeared. Although there was no more power, they were still revolving around Gloomy Dark, perhaps because they were driven by a trace of instinct left.

    However, for Lin Li, that was not something to be happy about. Although the Double Death Dragons were powerful, the two purified ck beads were no longer of any use. Not only was there no trace of power in them, they were continuously leeching off and depleting the energy within Gloomy Dark. The two were basically just parasites, and Lin Li had never liked incurring a loss.

    After thinking for a moment, Lin Li let out some mana and got ready topletely erase the soul imprints of the Double Death Dragons. However, with the input of that minute amount of mana, Lin Li suddenly found that there was a slight resistance from those two ck beads.

    Although the resistance was faint and seemed to be easily erasable, Lin Li was still surprised.

    It waspletely different from what he had guessed! Lin Li withdrew his mana and looked at the two ck beads with a slight frown. Although the resistance was insignificant, it meant that there was still the consciousness of the Double Death Dragons within the ck beads. Could it be that the Double Death Dragons did notpletely die after being purified by the Holy Light, and instead continued to live in another form?

    With the experience Lin Li had obtained in the Endless World, he dared say that he was knowledgeable, but the situation was truly beyond fathomable for him now. Even though he did not have a detailed understanding of Undead creatures, he knew that Dracoliches were Undead creatures. Holy Light, one of the pieces of the debris of the stars, no doubt contained the Rule Power of Light and the ability to purify all evil beings.

    Although the Holy Light could not exert all its power when Lin Li was controlling it, the Double Death Dragons had also been seriously injured by the thunderbolt in the Titan Dragon Spear. Judging from the results, Lin Li could deduce that they had indeed been purified by the Holy Light. Otherwise, how could they have be two ck beads? Lin Li thought about it, but couldn¡¯t understand why the two soul imprints left behind by the Double Death Dragons would be such peculiar existences.

    Could it be that the Double Death Dragons were not considered Undead creatures?

    Lin Li suddenly came up with an idea which even he was taken aback by. It was undoubtedly a very ridiculous idea. However, apart from this absurd and ridiculous exnation, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of anything else to redit the phenomenon to.

    Lin Li shook his head helplessly. Since no reasonable exnation could be found, there was no point in dwelling on it. Even if the absurd theory held, the matter was beyond the scope of his own ability, and there was no need to waste his time mulling over it. It was a matter of changing life forms and a realm that could only be reached by those who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Even Lord Osric could not achieve such a feat in the past, let alone Lin Li.

    Although he gave up and stopped thinking about the matter, Lin Li still wondered about something. He had no idea if it was true, but maybe it had something to do with the Immortal King.

    It was actually extremely easy to dispose of those two ck beads left behind by the Double Death Dragons, but Lin Li did not erase them. Instead, he let them continue to absorb the power in Gloomy Dark. It would be difficult to make the infinite power in Gloomy Dark be reduced significantly even if there were 200 of those beads around it.

    Besides, Lin Li was not really that generous. As time passed and he gained more experience and profound understanding of magic, he actually gained more knowledge about the debris of the stars too. In fact, Lin Li had been aware since a long time ago that Gloomy Dark was not as generous as it appeared to be.

    On the surface, it seemed that Gloomy Dark was very generous and selfless by giving its energy to all dark creatures. However, there were indications that while Gloomy Dark provided power to dark creatures, it was also gaining something from dark creatures in an inexplicable way. Moreover, it was not like a positive cycle, but was akin to fishing. Gloomy Dark was like an experienced fisherman who threw out only a few insignificant lures but was catching big fishes.

    Although the process was still iprehensible and couldn¡¯t be exined by any theory, Lin Li believed that the spection should be correct. The best proof of that should be the Undead creatures in the Scar of Death. Gloomy Dark had been there for more than 1,300 years, and the pure Dark Force created countless powerful mutant Undead creatures, including Legendary Liches and Legendary Humerus Wyrms. During this process, Lin Li could hardly imagine how much effort and power Gloomy Dark had to give out. However, after 1,300 years, Lin Li obtained Gloomy Dark and could clearly sense that the Gloomy Dark power was much stronger than what he had imagined.

    Lin Li now had three pieces of the debris of the stars in his hands, namely Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, and Rebirth. Each contained different Rules and had different characteristics. However, if the other characteristics were put aside and only strength was taken into consideration, Gloomy Dark which had selflessly given out its energy and power for more than 1,300 years was the most powerful of them.

    Lin Li was not at all worried about the energy and power of Gloomy Dark. If its energy were depleted, it wouldn¡¯t be a real magical artifact.

    As for the soul imprints of the Double Death Dragons, Lin Li did not care what kind of changes would ur after they absorbed the power of Gloomy Dark. Anril was a world where only the strong would survive, and strength was the basis ofparison. Before their deaths, the Double Death Dragons were powerful twin dragons which became horrible twin Dracoliches after their death. However, what was left of them now was only the primal soul imprint that could only survive by relying on the power provided by Gloomy Dark. They were in no ce topete with Lin Li.

    Perhaps, one day, the soul imprints of the Double Death Dragons would absorb enough power from Gloomy Dark to reemerge as the Double Death Dragons. But so what if they did? Since all of their power came from Gloomy Dark, Lin Li could erase them effortlessly with a wave of his wand.

    Not to mention, Lin Li might only be level-21 and a beginner in the Legendary-realm, but he held the magical ring with Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s crystal and the God of Mages Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity. He also had perfect magical talent gotten in the Endless World[1]. It¡¯d be impossible for him not to surpass the Double Death Dragons with such advantages.

    Lin Li did not know exactly how the soul imprints of the Double Death Dragons were formed or how long they¡¯d existed, but one thing for sure was that he had absolute control over the two soul imprints.

    [1] If you remember the very beginning of the novel, it was said that Lin Li basically maxed out the potential of a mage avatar in the Endless World game, and he got sent to Anril with all that intact. That¡¯s also where his skills in pharmacy and so on came from.

 Chapter 639 - The Seventh Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 639: The Seventh Sky Castle</h4>

    Lin Li, of course, wouldn¡¯t leave any dangers by his side. His confidence was what allowed him not to be worried about the rebellion of these two soul imprints. As for the power that he could fully grasp, obviously the stronger, the better. Lin Li could not wait to see if these two soul imprints could really reemerge as the horrible Double Death Dragons after absorbing enough power.

    After putting Gloomy Dark away, Lin Li began to count the gains from this battle. Previously, Lin Li had wanted to secretly reap the benefits. After all, the strength of the Dracolich was too terrifying. Unfortunately, the Double Death Dragons did not save Lin Li any face at all, and instead forced him into bing an armed robber. Now that there were only a few soul imprints left, Lin Li would be letting them down if he didn¡¯t excavate the dragon graveyardpletely.

    Dragon skeletons were a rare find, and plenty of necromancers and Liches could never ride them. However, Lin Li managed to obtain more than 20 of them all at once. Although it was said that those that died in the dragon graveyard might not be powerful wyrms, there were indeed some high-quality skeletons among these 20-odd ones. Moreover, even the weakest wyrm was of Legendary level; hence, the skeletons wouldn¡¯t be too shabby.

    Lin Li was dazed by the numerous dragon skeletons. Ever since he arrived in Anril, he had scoured and obtained some treasures, but it was his first time collecting so many wyrm skeletons in one go. Even the Throne of Darkness and the Lord of Darkness, the projected avatar of the Dragon of Destruction, could not find so many skeletons despite having been in the Abyss of Tharlen for so long.

    Lin Li clenched his fists and thought about how these dragon skeletons could be used, but there were countless possibilities. He decided to forget it and put them away for now since there were too many things he could do. He decided to figure it out slowly after he returned.

    In the dragon graveyard, those dragon skeletons might be eye-catching, but they were definitely not the most valuable. The dazzling Legendary dragon crystals were actually much more outstanding and mesmerizing. Lin Li was actually surrounded by bottomless pits that consumed magical crystals rapidly. In addition to Xiao Hua who treated magical crystals like candy, he also had the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s dragon crystal waiting to hatch. His subordinates in the Tower of Dusk had to set up huge magical crystal cannons, and he also had ns to get the people from the Dwarf Kingdom to recreate the Sky-breaker, which had once shot down a Sky Castle.

    Lin Li had no idea if the 20-odd Legendary magical crystals would be enough, but he was sure that he couldn¡¯t let Xiao Hua go hungry. Hence, he hurriedly grabbed Xiao Hua and shoved two level-25 magical crystals into its mouth before stuffing it back into Dream Garden, ignoring its refusals.

    Lin Li discovered another surprise among the dragon crystals¡ªthere were two crystals that gave off an identical aura and magical wave. Clearly, the two Legendary magical crystals used to belong to the Double Death Dragons.

    Each of the two Legendary dragon crystals were much stronger than the rest in terms of mana, but together, they were much more valuable than the rest. The two dragon crystals werepletely in sync, and they would exude massive power if used together with high-level mageweaths.

    After Lin Li ced all the dragon crystals in the Ring of Endless Storm, Ujfalusi handed him two Dragon Soul Herbs. They were the greatest gain in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, though they might be useless for anyone else. Taking into ount the previously collected ones, Lin Li now had nearly 20 Dragon Soul Herbs. As a pharmaceutics Guru, he definitely could concoct amazing Master-level potions.

    However, despite such a huge gain, Lin Li was somewhat dissatisfied. Following the outbreak of Holy Light, the dragon souls wandering in the dragon graveyard werepletely purified. The only dragon soul that Lin Li had obtained was the one that had been captured by Ujfalusi previously, which made Lin Li feel rather frustrated.

    After searching the dragon graveyard, Lin Li took his two Undead servants, and walked towards the Teleportation Portal. He wondered how furious the Green Dragon King would feel when he returned and saw that this graveyard had been cleared out.

    Lin Li and the others walked and took asional rests in between. When they finally reached the Teleportation Portal, their wounds seemed to have healed. If anyone were to see them drinking the Master-level Recovery Potions like they were drinking water, they would definitely be criticized. However, Lin Li was a pharmaceutics Guru. Besides, he didn¡¯t have any idea as to where the Teleportation Portal would lead them to. All he could do was to adjust and adapt as well as he could so as not to have any regrets.

    This time, Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate anymore, and took his Undead servants directly to the Teleportation Portal. After loading it with a few magical crystals, he activated the Teleportation Portal, which emitted a dazzling ray of light that immediately engulfed Lin Li and his servants.

    However, during the teleportation, Lin Li suddenly sensed that something was amiss with the Teleportation Portal.

    Lin Li was not an alchemy ignoramus. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to set up the Alchemy Array that he¡¯d used to defeat the Titan Spirit. Although he had yet to set up his own Teleportation Portal in Anril, he was rather familiar with the operation of Teleportation Portals.

    Generally, the Teleportation Portal used the power of space in crystals and mageweaths or Alchemy Arrays to carry out the teleportation. Hence, the person being teleported usually hardly felt anything during the teleportation.

    However, the Teleportation Portal that Lin Li had just activated waspletely different from the ones he knew. After activation, he did notplete the transmission instantly or reach his destination immediately.

    Perhaps one minute might not feel like anything extraordinary normally, but to Lin Li, one minute felt longer than a lifetime. During this minute, time and space were constantly intertwined, reminding Lin Li of the unforgettable journey from the Endless World to Anril.

    A long journey such as this was definitely not an ordinary transmission! However, at this moment, Lin Li couldn¡¯t do anything except suppress his fear and wait for the end of the teleportation.

    Indeed, when Lin Li sensed that something was appearing beneath his feet, everything around him had be different.

    An ancient city was right in front of Lin Li at this moment. The city exuded a mysterious vibe, and he stood rooted to the ground in shock.

    The towers were tall, the houses were neatly lined up, and the streets were paved with spotless moonstone. A rainbow-like ray of light hovered above him in the sky, and through thatyer of light, lightning and rain could still be seen. Lin Li knew that it was the legendary Nether Storm.

    It was said that lethal Nether Storms were rampant in every corner of time and space. Even a strong figure of the Sanctuary-realm would be torn to pieces in a sh when he got caught up in a Nether Storm.

    However, the terrifying Nether Storm seemed to have been blocked by that rainbow. Although it looked horrifying, it was not dangerous at all. In fact, it turned into a beautiful and natural scenery of the city.

    Lin Li looked around in awe, and his gaze began to turn clearer. Staring at everything in front of him, an unbelievable answer formed in his heart.

    It was a Sky Castle!

    The Seventh Sky Castle!

    It was the Seventh Sky Castle that¡¯d disappeared in the battle that overwhelmed the entire Anril and determined the fate of the High Elves and all human races during the Dark Age!

    More than 1,300 years had passed, and most of the events of that year had be legends. In that year, along with thest High Elves, the Seventh Sky Castle broke into the cracks of time and space and left the world of Anril with a legend that would go on forever. However, the Seventh Sky Castle which let everyone¡¯s imagination run wild seemed to have been destroyed.

    There was a dead silence in the entire city, and there were no sounds of breathing or heartbeat at all. It was as if even time itself had died. Lin Li snapped out of his trance, looked around vigntly, and wondered if other people also came here through the Teleportation Portal.

    Lin Li¡¯s worry was not uncalled-for. If it were an ordinary Teleportation Portal, the entrance and exit would of course be fixed. However, that one was obviously not an ordinary Teleportation Portal. Would an ordinary teleportationst for one minute? Ordinary Teleportation Portals would not directly flow through the cracks of time and space. Who knew if there was another exit...

    With doubts in his heart, Lin Li took out a map of the Sky Castle andpared it to the surrounding buildings. He quickly found his position and continued to walk towards the middle of the Sky Castle while following the directions on the map.

    When he¡¯d got the map of the Sky Castle, he had just reached the boundary of the Legendary-realm, and this Sky Castle that was drifting in time and space was still a bit ethereal for him.

    However, that did not mean that Lin Li had not taken the map seriously. After all, he had also obtained the key to the Sky Castle from Geresco. Hence, after returning from the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li had spent plenty of time studying the map. Not only had he consulted a lot of schrs who were proficient in High Elves¡¯nguage, he also wrote to the old Apophis who had participated in the war to ask about the Sky Castle. Lin Li¡¯s understanding of the map was much better than in the beginning. Hence, it was clear to him that the tower in the middle was the hub of the entire Sky Castle.

 Chapter 640 - The City Of Miracles

    <h4>Chapter 640: The City Of Miracles</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li and his Undead servants strolled along the empty streets, marveling at the massive size of the Sky Castle while following the map¡¯s instructions. If it were not for the in-depth study that he had conducted on Sky Castle, it would¡¯ve been impossible to imagine how hefty the construction costs of the Sky Castle were. Even the High Elves who had dominated the world of Anril had had to give up everything they had to build the seventh Sky Castle. At that time, the High Elves had power over the entirend of Anril.

    The prices of the precious building materials were beyond calcting, for the remains of the Dragon of Destruction were simply priceless. When Lin Li had obtained the map, he shockingly discovered that the huge Conquering Mageweath formed by the streets and the 36 tall towers surrounding them could kill at least hundreds of wyrms. Clearly, the construction cost of the Sky Castle was beyond imaginable.

    However, there were countless legends about the Sky Castles going around Anril, though few people knew what the source of the power of the castle was. What was it that could support such a huge castle and travel through the chaos of time and space? Even Apophis and others who had experienced the war in person were unsure.

    In the 1300 years after the dark age, there had been plenty of legends about Sky Castles. Of course, there were also many spections about that source of power. Some guessed that it was the magical crystal of an ancient wyrm, while others guessed that it was a maniption of the ancient deities. There were even some who guessed that the High Elves had captured the Pantheon and plundered countless Titan Spirits...

    In short, there had been many spections, but Lin Li knew that there was none that could reallye close to the truth. Perhaps Geresco was the only human being who knew the truth about the Sky Castle. In the year of the war, Geresco had once personally ascended to the Sky Castle and killed the queen of the High Elves under the world tree.

    Okay, Lin Li who had read the Book of Eternity could be considered another one, to a minimal extent...

    However, no matter how much information Lin Li had acquired and how profound his understanding of the Sky Castle was, he still could not contain his shock now that he was in this magnificent city of miracles.

    This was the nightmare of all the races that had been dominated during the Dark Age. Known as the Sky Castles that would never fall, they had helped the High Elves suppress plenty of rebellions and caused lots of heroes of all races to end with hatred.

    Although the Sky Castles that were known as ones that would never fall had been destroyed in the war of rebellion led by Geresco, the God of Mages, the reputation of the Sky Castles was not damaged. On the contrary, after that war, people got to know more about the power of the Sky Castles and how hefty the price of rebelling against it would be.

    If it weren¡¯t for Geresco, who¡¯d happened to have a major increase in power after breaking through to the next realm, and the dwarves who had created the now-long-lost Skybreaker, the war that had engulfed the entire Anril would have been tragic and horrendous. The rebelling forces would¡¯ve then faced the attacks by the High Elves again, with rivers of blood flowing among rebels.

    However, people could not help but yearn for the legend of the Sky Castles despite fearing and detesting them. Even Geresco, who¡¯d once destroyed a Sky Castle, regarded the Sky Castles highly in the Book of Eternity.

    Lin Li¡¯s footsteps were very slow. He was constantly scanning across the street, his eyes full of awe for the great city of miracles. He had never experienced the war at the end of the Dark Age, nor witnessed the formidable power of Sky Castles, but he could tell what a Sky Castle would look like when it showed its prowess.

    The construction of the Sky Castle did notprise of just stacking precious materials. The various techniques used during the construction were amazing even for Lin Li, the freak with Master-level aplishments in all crafts. The wisdom of the High Elves was perfectly disyed in this city, be it the mageweaths or the Alchemy Arrays or even the remote magic gears. All of those items could be considered the most representative pinnacle of work of the High Elves, be it in the Dark Age more than 1,300 years ago or in the present.

    It could be said that although the war in the Dark Age had brought about long-awaited freedom to humans and other races, it¡¯d also caused many skills to suffer setbacks. It had been long since a Guru appeared amongst humans. Even the Pharmacists Guild which had an extraordinary position in Anril only relied on a few Masters to survive. The Master of Inscription, Master Moke who had been sent by the Supreme Council to draw the mageweath for the Tower of Dusk in the past, held a high status in the Supreme Council even though he was just a Master.

    However, there was an absolute gap between the Masters of the Dark Age and the current ones. Could one really be considered a Master just because he could formte a Master-level potion and draw a Master-level mageweath? In addition to that, there were also plenty of skills that had evenpletely disappeared. The apprentices learning those skills were hard to find, what more the masters.

    Although they had been walking slowly along the empty streets, Lin Li and others were still far from their destination¡ªthe skyscraper that was located in the center of the Sky Castle. Although the two Undead servants were puzzled, they followed closely, fulfilling their duties as servants.

    Someone who hadn¡¯t done a lot of research on mageweaths would definitelyugh out loud and mock the High Elves for having a terrible design of the Sky Castle, for it seemed absurd for one to make a huge detour to get to a ce that was obviously not that far. Was it necessary to make the city seem like abyrinth? Could it really stop the intruders? However, Lin Li clearly knew that the design of the Sky Castle was one of the important reasons why it was considered a sky city that never fell.

    Back when Lin Li had got the blueprint of the Sky Castle, he vaguely made a terrible guess after analyzing the design of the streets. However, now that he was in the ce itself, he deduced that his guess was right, for the evidence further confirmed his guess that these zigzagging streets and the towers scattered around him constituted a huge Conquering Mageweath. Even though this mageweath might not have been activated for more than 1,300 years, the solid and powerful aura still filled the streets and alleys, making it seem intimidating.

    In Anril, there was probably no one who knew the horror of the Conquering Mageweath better than Lin Li. Even amongst Master-level mageweaths, the Conquering Mageweath stood out the most. In Anril today, the Conquering Mageweath might not be necessarily recognized by anyone, though.

    Even though Lin Li had also mastered the art of drawing mageweaths, he had never dared to think of drawing such a huge Conquering Mageweath in a city. The required materials alone included the blood of hundreds of wyrms.

    Indeed, only a lunatic could design such a marvelous city, but he would definitely be a genius with a lot of imagination. When a Conquering Mageweath was erged by many times, it meant that all residents in the entire city could be integrated at any time and possess godly powers. If all the Sky Castles in the world were designed in such an impressive manner, it would be impossible to imagine how Geresco and the rest managed to destroy those Sky Castles back then.

    Lin Li had once been amazed by the Eternal Furnace designed by Osric and shocked by the Throne of Darkness created by the Dragon of Destruction. After Connoris proposed to fuse the Throne of Darkness and the Eternal Furnace, he once thought that his mighty power might not be inferior to the Sky Castle, though it might not exactly be equal. However, now that he was truly standing in a Sky Castle, he realized how childish and ridiculous his previous mindset was.

    Although the High Elves had already disappeared from the Sky Castle now, Lin Li could totally imagine how majestic of a view it would be when someone invaded the Sky Castle and they activated the Conquering Mageweath, allowing the ordinary High Elves to suddenly possess power greater than the deities.

    However, while Lin Li was marveling over the power of the Sky Castle, he also gained a new understanding of Geresco¡¯s abilities. The title of the God of Mages was not just given to Geresco out of the mages¡¯ respect for his contribution to development of magic. Although he was not alone, he definitely was godly.

    Be it the Conquering Mageweath which had infinite power or the deadly designs on both sides of the buildings, Lin Li had seen more than just those. He had every reason to believe that there must have been more deadly traps where he couldn¡¯t see them. Therefore, he still walked down the street even though he could already fly past those buildings as a Legendary-mage.

    Despite having taken a lot of detours, Lin Li finally arrived at the center of the Sky Castle. In the middle of the spacious squarey the control hub of the entire Sky Castle. Compared to the tower in the middle of the Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk was just like a toy. Even the materials used to build the Tower of Dusk that Lin Li was rather proud of seemed to be iparable despite being gold and adobe.

 Chapter 641 - Legendary Vengeful Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 641: Legendary Vengeful Spirit</h4>

    However, when Lin Li walked towards the tower, he suddenly saw a figure jumping out of an exit not far away.

    ¡°Master Cheyenne, you...¡± Lin Li stared at the pir of the Malfa Family, unable to believe how disheveled Cheyenne looked. His robe was stained and his hair was all over the ce too. The jewel of the staff in his hand had be dim and colorless. He looked as if he had just fought a fierce battle that made him even more disheveled and pathetic than he already had been when besieged by the green dragons. Could it be that the Dark de had already attacked Cheyenne?

    After seeing that Lin Li was the one who was talking, he smiled bitterly, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, when did you arrive? Did you encounter anything on the road?¡±

    Lin Li was a little confused, for he initially thought that Cheyenne had been attacked by the Dark de, but it didn¡¯t seem to be the case when he heard what Cheyenne said.

    ¡°Encounter anything? No. Weren¡¯t you with the rest?¡±

    The entire Sky Castle had be a dead city. Since it was not the Dark de that attacked Cheyenne, thetter should not have been forced into such dire straits even if he had touched the magic gears identally. Moreover, it seemed obvious that Cheyenne was not hurt by any magic gears. Judging from the magical waves and the dimmed staff, there had clearly been a tough battle.

    Cheyenne looked around, and found that Lin Li¡¯s group and he were the only ones there. While he was fixing his appearance, he fearfully said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what went wrong with that Teleportation Portal. Ever since I got transported here, I haven¡¯t seen anyone else. As for what I look like, you may not believe it, but it¡¯s because I encountered a group of Vengeful Spirits.¡±

    ¡°Vengeful Spirits?¡± Lin Li did not quite believe it. Vengeful Spirits were rtivelymon among Undead creatures. Although they were nearly immune to physical attacks, they were inherently afraid of light and magic. Besides, Cheyenne was a bona fide Legendary-mage. Even if he had really encountered a group of Vengeful Spirits, he wouldn¡¯t have be so disheveled. Even ordinary Archmages would be in a better state as long as they were careful enough.

    Cheyenne shook his head, and helplessly said, ¡°Even I don¡¯t quite believe it myself now. I don¡¯t know who designed this Sky Castle. When I¡¯m walking along these streets, I seem to stray further and further away. I was just about to fly directly over those buildings, but I got attacked by a group of Vengeful Spirits. If they were ordinary, they would definitely be easy to deal with. However, there were actually some that had actual form!¡±

    After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s exnation, Lin Li could not help but be surprised and d that he didn¡¯t fly around just now. The Vengeful Spirits were incorporeal existences; hence, they were immune to physical attacks. However, being an Undead creature without substance would cause them to be restrained by the Holy Light that had purification effects. Even the sun, fire, and ubiquitous environments caused irreversible damage to the Vengeful Spirits. In reality, many of the newly formed Vengeful Spirits were destroyed by sun and fire.

    Vengeful Spirits and Skeletal Warriors were the existences of the lowest level amongst Undead creatures. Their promotion processes were also the most difficult. That was how the Skeletal Lord of the Shadowglen could take Anril by storm when he advanced in level. It was not just a matter of luck. To a certain extent, it could even be described as a miracle. All factors were indispensable.

    It would be no exaggeration to say that the probability of a Vengeful Spirit forming a physical body was almost the same as that of walking in the street and being killed by a meteor.

    Cheyenne was really unhappy!

    When a Vengeful Spirit almost became a physical entity, it would be almost Legendary...

    Lin Li truly sympathized with Cheyenne...

    While replenishing the mana in his staff, Cheyenne worriedly said, ¡°Terrible. At least two of the Vengeful Spirits that surrounded me just now had Legendary power, and the other Vengeful Spirits were terrifying too. Had I not been a little lucky, I would probably have been in greater trouble...¡±

    Lin Li was again shocked and thankful for his decision not to fly around. Vengeful Spirits were made up of vengefulness, and their existences were incorporeal. That was the very reason they could be almost immune to physical attacks. However, nothing was perfect in this world. Apart from the fact that they could be restrained and purified by Holy Light, other magic would deal great damage to them too.

    In such circumstances, there would be no difference between Vengeful Spirits, be it the level-10 or level-15 ones. Only when Vengeful Spirits reached the Legendary-realm would they be able to turn all of their vengefulness into substance and gain high resistance to magic.

    However, it was this incorporeal form of Vengeful Spirits that made them experience great difficulty in improving their strength.

    The most important source of power for Undead creatures was the soul fire that souls transformed into after death. Hence, the Undead creatures had a way to enhance their strength, and that was to devour the soul fire of other Undead creatures.

    The Vengeful Spirits naturally did not have soul fire. They couldn¡¯t enhance their strength by umting power or devouring the fire of other souls. In fact, even as time went by, their vengefulness would gradually fade, and they would also be weaker. In that case, how could they reach the Legendary-level and be a corporeal entity?

    Even when Lin Li was in the Endless World, he had never met any Vengeful Spirits with a physical form, though he had encountered plenty of Vengeful Spirits.

    ¡°If Vengeful Spirits really have a physical form, it would mean that they are nearing the Legendary-realm,¡± Lin Li said in disbelief.

    While replenishing the mana in his staff, Cheyenne nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, two of the Vengeful Spirits that were attacking me indeed had Legendary power that was far beyond that of ordinary Vengeful Spirits.¡±

    Lin Li could not help but sympathize after hearing Cheyenne say that there was really a Legendary Vengeful Spirit. Vengeful Spirits below the Legendary-realm were all easy to deal with, but Legendary ones were much more difficult.

    The Legendary Vengeful Spirits which could change arbitrarily between corporeal and incorporeal world without fearing magic were definitely one of the trickiest Undead creatures to deal with in the world. Even in legends, the stronger Vengeful Spirits would basically be Undead Lords.

    Cheyenne obviously noticed the look of sympathy in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, but what else could he say about his bad luck? He nced back at the street which he came out of, and said with a tinge of joy in his tone, ¡°It¡¯s okay to deal with other Vengeful Spirits, but the two Legendary Vengeful Spirits were especially tough to deal with. I can¡¯t even deal with them despite putting in all of my effort. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m lucky or not. Fortunately, they seemed to have been restrained in one domain, thus giving me a chance to shake them off.¡±

    The Vengeful Spirits were confined to one domain! Lin Li was rather shocked. In fact, he had already begun considering and thinking about the origins of the Vengeful Spirits when Cheyenne started talking about them. Legendary Vengeful Spirits with physical form would never appear. Besides, the Sky Castle had already been in the crack of time and space for so long. The duration of more than 1,300 years would be enough to let any vengefulness dissipate over time, let alone bring about a Legendary Vengeful Spirit.

    The High Elves were born at the Tree of Eternity, and their souls returned to the Tree of Eternity after death, thus making them fearless. In fact, they would never carry any vengefulness during their deaths; hence, they would never be Vengeful Spirits.

    However, with the defeat of the High Elves during the war in the Dark Age, not only did they lose their supremacy, the High Elven queen had also been killed together with the destruction of the Tree of Eternity. In this case, it would be impossible for them not to bear any grudge; hence, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for them to be Vengeful Spirits.

    But what did the confinement of the Vengeful Spirits in a domain signify? In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, there was a great likelihood that those grudges and vengefulness were integrated with a certain setting of the Sky Castle. In other words, those powerful Vengeful Spirits were part of the Sky Castle. Although the Conquering Mageweath had not been activated, it could still gain strength from the Sky Castle.

    At that time, the High Elves, who were already at the end of their lives, chose to betray their glory and instead study Necromagic which they¡¯d once hated. The former masters of Norfeller and the Legendary Lich from the Scar of Death were all High Elves who had lived in Anril and secretly studied Necromagic. Although they all made it seem like they were studying secretly either in the catbs or in the mountains, no one knew if the High Elves weren¡¯t just all studying Necromagic.

    The incredible talent of High Elves was well known. Even the various races ruled by the High Elves had no choice but to admit that the High Elves were born to learn magic. Necromagic was just another type of magic; hence, it was a piece of cake for the High Elves to learn. The only difficulty they had to ovee was their fear of filth.

    Lin Li himself had been in contact with the High Elves who studied Necromagic. They were lunatics who would do everything to the extreme, but they did have the ability to be like that. The two elven Legendary Liches were just ordinary High Elves who were secretly studying Necromagic, but what about the Sky Castle?

    There were still Vengeful Spirits in this Sky Castle that had been missing for more than 1300 years. Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to change his mindset.

    From Lin Li¡¯s perspective, the Sky Castle had long be a dead city even though it had been built by the power of all the High Elves. The so-called defensive power was probably just the magic gears and booby traps. Although the skills of the High Elves had reached the peak level of that era in all aspects, Lin Li was not a pushover, either. It would not be tough for him to deal with the magic gears.

    In fact, the encounters along the way from the teleportation to the arrival in the tower in the center of the Sky Castle proved that Lin Li was not being overconfident. He saw all sorts of intelligently designed magic gears which were brutal and wicked. Although this did not allow him to let his guard down, he did feel like he was in control of everything.

    But now, the emergence of the legendary Vengeful Spirit made Lin Li reevaluate the Sky Castle. Although he had yet to encounter any Legendary Vengeful Spirits along the way, he was sure that he would see more than just magic gears when he entered the tower.

    Upon sight of Lin Li¡¯s expression, Cheyenne waited quietly without uttering a single word even though he had already done what was necessary. He knew clearly that the elves seemed to be the strongest of the four parties and that the Dark de only fell shortly behind, but no one knew the Sky Castle better than Lin Li did.

    ¡°Master Cheyenne, the appearance of those two Legendary Vengeful Spirits...¡± Lin Li asked Cheyenne who was waiting after he recovered from the shock.

    ¡°They seemed to be High Elves. The bodies of the other Vengeful Spirits were not very solid, so their silhouettes were also very vague.¡± Noticing that Lin Li had merely nodded, Cheyenne hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Mage Felic, what do you n to do next? This Sky Castle is designed like a hugebyrinth. Even if you have a map, you might encounter other beings.¡±

    Lin Li smiled when he heard Cheyenne¡¯s words. It was obvious that Cheyenne had suffered because of the Legendary Vengeful Spirits, but he was too embarrassed to directly follow Lin Li. He looked up at the tower in the center of the square, and honestly said, ¡°Master Cheyenne, do you see that tower? ording to my spection, the tower should be the one that controls the entire Sky Castle. If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s go take a look together.¡±

    Cheyenne turned to look at the huge tower in the center of the square that was so opulent that it could not go unnoticed. Although Lin Li did not have concrete evidence, he could also guess based on the size and location of the tower that it should have a very important role in the Sky Castle. Therefore, after teleporting here, Cheyenne also regarded the tower as his goal. As he delved deeper, he even felt an urge to fly past the buildings and go to the tower.

 Chapter 642 - Orderly Maze

    <h4>Chapter 642: Orderly Maze</h4>

    However, Cheyenne did note here aiming for the control center. He simply felt that there could be the Immortal King¡¯s treasure or the relics of the High Elves in the tower that was in the middle of the city. Although the tower was not the only one in the Sky Castle, anyone with brains would think that being the one in the middle often meant that it was the most important.

    After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s encounter, Lin Li began to keep his guard up against the Sky Castle. Hence, he did not hide anything regarding the tower being the control center of the Sky Castle.

    Although Lin Li now had by his side the Vampire Norfeller, who had just reached Level-21, Lich Ujfalusi who was at the peak of level-22, and two Legendary Humerus Wyrms, Lin Li still had no confidence in his power, and was not certain that he could cope with what he might encounter next.

    Especially after meeting Cheyenne again and realizing that it was likely that the psychotic High Elves had all studied Necromagic and even applied it on the Sky Castle, Lin Li felt the need to have morepetent assistants. Although Cheyenne got harmed by the Legendary Vengeful Spirits, that did not mean that he was particrly weak. If Lin Li had been in his ce instead, he would probably have been unable to withstand the attacks of the Vengeful Spirits more easily than Cheyenne.

    However, Lin Li merely talked about the central tower, but did not give any exnation about thebyrinth-like streets Cheyenne had mentioned subtly. The Conquering Mageweath was considered one of the top-level mageweaths even amongst Guru-level mageweaths. Perhaps only a few High Elves knew about it. Although Cheyenne was the closest to Lin Li in this cooperation, their bond wasn¡¯t strong enough for him to reallye clean about everything.

    Although Cheyenne found the maze to be very strange, he did not continue probing when he noticed that Lin Li didn¡¯t seem too keen about talking about it. In his opinion, it was probably just some magic gears or booby traps. Since he had already barged in, there was no need to look further into it.

    In fact, Cheyenne was now the weakest amongst the several forces, and the only trusted ally of his was Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. On the surface, he seemed to have epted Lin Li¡¯s invitation calmly, but he was in fact more than happy. Hence, despite knowing that Lin Li was hiding something, he decided not to probe any further for fear that he would lose his ally.

    The group arrived in front of the central tower, and Lin Li stopped in his tracks all of a sudden. Staring at the seemingly ordinary door, his forehead gradually creased into a frown.

    ¡°Mage Felic, is there some sort of mageweath on this door?¡± Cheyenne looked at the tightly shut doors and the twoplicated mageweaths that made him feel a little dizzy. Although he could guess that this might be the magic lock of the tower, he did not study mageweaths in detail, and couldn¡¯t see what it was.

    Lin Li hesitated for a moment before wryly saying, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it should be the legendary Magical Thousand-contraption Lock.¡±

    ¡°The Magical Thousand-contraption Lock!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face grew sullen immediately. The legendary Magical Thousand-contraption Lock could not be deciphered even by the gods. Perhaps the legends might be exaggerated, but he no longer had the elite Bandits along with him to open the lock. Perhaps the Legendary-realm Bandit Lansdale from the Dark de would have the means to do so, though.

    If Lin Li knew what Cheyenne was thinking, he would definitely tell him that even the ancestor of Lansdale would never be able to unlock the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock unless he had the real key, let alone Lansdale. That was how precise it was. Even the person who had set up the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock would not be able to open it without the key.

    After Lin Li arrived in Anril, he had seen the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock several times before, including one time in the underground vault of Time Consignment Store. However, even though the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the Time Consignment Store was clearly inferior, it still required more than 100 keys and a special maneuvering technique to be unlocked.

    Based on Lin Li¡¯s experience, he deduced that the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the door might really require at least 1000 keys and countless methods for it to be unlocked safely. It was not an exaggeration at all. Those who didn¡¯t know the right maneuvering techniques would never be able to unlock it.

    Everyone knew that there were rules to follow, be it with an ordinary lock or a magic lock. In order to unlock a lock, finding the rules would be akin to finding the key, for the next step would be to find a recement for the key. However, there were countless permutations within the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, and even the gods couldn¡¯t calcte them all.

    ¡°Mage Felic, is there really no solution?¡± Cheyenne asked, refusing to submit to fate.

    Lin Li smiled bitterly, and said, ¡°If it was another Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, I could try unlocking it, but there¡¯s no need to try with this one.¡± Not only was there no solution, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t dare to try it even if he had one. They were not in the underground vault of the Time Consignment Store, but in the Sky Castle of the High Elves. The attack of the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock triggered by an attempt would definitely be massive. If he were to try it recklessly, it would be akin to suicide.

    Although the way to the central tower was blocked by the unbreakable Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, Lin Li and Cheyenne both refused to resign to fate. Lin Li slowly walked along the bottom of the tower while scrutinizing it in hopes of finding a breakthrough.

    When they got all the way to the back of the tower, Lin Li raised his head and looked up, only to see an open terrace on the second floor of the tower.

    ¡°Is there ess to the interior of the tower?¡± Seeing that Lin stood still, Cheyenne looked up. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at all. Could this be possible? There was an unbreakable Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in front and a huge hole at the back.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t believe that there would be such a good thing. The High Elves were not idiots. Since the front door was deadlocked, how could entry be granted at the backdoor? Needless to say, the terrace was definitely no less dangerous than the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock in the front. At least the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock wouldn¡¯t be dangerous as long as it wasn¡¯t touched. However, the terrace was more like a bait that was waiting for the invaders to take it.

    Actually, the significance of such a trap was very clear and blunt, yet people often found it impossible to turn down. Perhaps not everyone knew that the tower was the control center of the city of the sky, but everyone knew that it was in the central position and offered plenty of potential benefits. In the face of such a huge temptation, no one would give up even if there was deadly danger on the terrace. After all, humans would die for money.

    It was predictable that the elves would definitely not give up, just like Dark de. Hence, there was no reason for Cheyenne to give up too.

    Lin Li wanted something different from them. He could ignore the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, but not the great Sky Castle. Lin Li still had the key to the Sky Castle that was left behind by Geresco, after all.

    ¡°Mage Felic, do you think it can really lead inside the tower?¡± Cheyenne turned to look at Lin Li. Although he seemed to be asking for Lin Li¡¯s opinion, he was actually inviting him to go in together.

    Lin Li looked away and thought about it for a moment. ¡°This is an obvious trap, but the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock cannot be unlocked. There is only hope here. However, we can only find out if it can really lead to the inside of the tower by going in and exploring it.¡±

    After a brief conversation, the two of them decided to venture into the terrace and explore it, even though they knew that the terrace was a trap. Although the terrace was about 10 meters high, it was not an issue for the Legendary powerhouses to fly past it. When they looked in through the door, they could vaguely see what was inside.

    Were their worries and concerns redundant? Lin Li and Cheyenne looked at each other strangely before carefully making their way inside together. One step, two steps, three steps... All of a sudden, everything around them changed. Everything in the room had disappeared, reced by a dense forest.

    White clouds slowly fluttered in the blue sky, while the sun radiated a dazzling light. In the dense forest, the leaves rustled in the wind, and everything seemed so beautiful and real, without a single trace of illusion.

    <i>How is this possible?</i> Lin Li turned to look at Cheyenne, only to realize that he was shocked and bewildered too. Lin Li was not a rash person. Since he knew that there was a trap on the terrace, he was very careful when entering. Despite being a Guru, he did not find any mageweaths, Alchemy Arrays, nor magic gears. In fact, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the magical waves, either.

    Looking at thepletely different scene in front of him, Lin Li recalled everything that happened just now, and a legend popped up in his head all of a sudden. It was about the High Elves in the Dark Age. It seemed that the current situation could only be exined by <i>that</i> legend.

    Cheyenne held his staff tightly, and nced at his surroundings vigntly while saying, ¡°Mage Felic, do you think that <i>that</i> legend could be real...?¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t see any trace of magic gears, because legend had it that this was a kind of magic. Despite being a Legendary-mage, Lin Li did not feel the slightest fluctuation of mana, because it was a magic spell cast by 10 mages of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although the Dark Age had already ended and the High Elves had been overthrown, while the Tree of Eternity was destroyed, no one would question their achievements in magic. During the heyday of the High Elves and their reign over Anril, the High Elves were the strongest race because of their perfect magical talents. It was said that the strongest defense force in the pce of the High Elves was not the Queen¡¯s Magic Legion, but the Orderly Maze put up by 10 figures of the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Orderly Maze was a level-25 spell that had a weak magical wave that was subtle and even impossible to feel at ordinary times. If its presence was not known in advance, even a Legendary-mage who had mastered the Rule Power would not be able to detect its existence.

    That was one of the reasons that Lin Li and Cheyenne thought of this legend. Due to the sudden change in the environment, the two level-21 Legendary-mages did not feel the slightest fluctuation. It was as if the forest had always existed in the room, and they just naturally walked into it.

    Although they knew since the start that there would be traps in this terrace, none thought that it would be the legendary Orderly Maze. Since it was called an Orderly Maze, it definitely had order as its highest rule. As long as one followed the correct path, they would not be affected at all.

    Lin Li and Cheyenne had entered through the window; hence, they would definitely be punished by messing up the order, though no one knew how. However, the four of them were all keeping their guard up. They believed that the High Elves would not be so merciful as to only warn them using this spell.

    The Orderly Maze was a level-25 spell that was set up by 10 powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. If the intruders would simply be transported to a different ce, it would be a huge insult to magic.

    Just as Lin Li and Cheyenne scrutinized the surroundings alertly while guessing the kind of magic that would be solidified in the Orderly Maze, a loud roar sounded from the forest all of a sudden. A demon exhaling a powerful breath rushed aggressively towards everyone.

    The demon was 20 meters tall, with a huge sheep¡¯s head and a pair of giant spiral sharp horns on top of his head. He also had red eyes and was continuously exhaling fumes of ck gas from his nostrils.The demon¡¯s body looked just like that of a human, but it was much taller and stronger. It also had a pair of ck wings.

    With every step of the demon, the ground would shake. The powerful aura also rose with the demon¡¯s footsteps, while the ck gas became thicker.

    Staring at the aggressive demon, Lin Li and Cheyenne suddenly thought of the Demon Lord Marther!

    Compared to Anril, the Endless Abyss was a ce of survival of the fittest. The Demon Lord who could rule ayer of the Abyss was definitely the strongest demon in thatyer because he had to challenge the previous lord and brave various battles to take the throne.

 Chapter 643 - Lord Marther

    <h4>Chapter 643: Lord Marther</h4>

    A short-lived Demon Lord would never leave his name behind even in the Abyss, let alone in Anril. Lin Li and Cheyenne were now facing a legendary Demon Lord well-known in Anril, Lord Marther who was from the 50th level of the Abyss.

    In the Endless Abyss, a generalw applied. The Demon Lords that were closer to the bottom were stronger, while those on the higher levels tended to challenge the ones on the lower levels because they thought that they were powerful enough to do so. Of course, such challenges had rarely been sessful. It seemed that the lower levels of the Abyss were more environmentally helpful for the demons.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know whether the legend was true or not. However, he could clearly feel that the oppressive auraing from the Demon Lord Marther was stronger than that of the Lord of Souls. <i>However, as the ruler of the 50th level of the Abyss, why did the Demon Lord Marther show up here? Or have we somehow arrived on the 50th level?</i>

    All of a sudden, a possibility popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind, and he turned to nce at Cheyenne before the two of them chorused, ¡°Damn it, the Seven-Realm Spiral!¡±

    What truly shocked Lin Li and Cheyenne was not the powerful and formidable Demon Lord Marther, but the location and circumstances of their encounter with him.

    It was undoubtedly shocking; the High Elves were indeed shrewd and ruthless. They did not let the level-25 Orderly Maze go to waste at all. They actually further set up a level-25 spell, the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    To Lin Li and Cheyenne, a level-21 Legendary-mage was worlds apart from level-25, the Sanctuary-realm. However, they were notpletely clueless about the magic of the Seven-Realm Spiral, because it had an extraordinary significance to all Legendary-mages.

    The Seven-Realm Spiral was not just a spell, but also a Magical Domain which was powerful beyond the imagination of a Legendary-mage. When a mage stepped into the Legendary-realm and began to touch the Rule Power, he would master the Rules and make the power his through insight into Rule Power. However,pared to the Rules used by the Seven-Realm Spiral, the mastery of the Rule Power that the Legendary-mages had was nothing.

    Contained in the Seven-Realm Spiral was a domain that only a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could enter. Not only was there the usage of Rule Power, there was also a change in Rule Power. It was the godly domain that created and ruined everything. It could be said that the Magical Domain of the Seven-Realm Spiral was what all mages pursued.

    If the Legendary-mage¡¯s knowledge and mastery of the Rules was considered to be the first step of literacy, the Seven-Realm Spiral would be a pompous, articte, and beautiful essay that was not just made up of a pile of words, but a whole world created by the author. This world would then be what gave those words a new and different meaning.

    Every mage who had ever dreamed would see the Seven-Realm Spiral as his ultimate holy grail. Just like everyone who learnt to be literate would dream of using these words topose aplete article, mages wanted to fulfil their dreams too.

    Therefore, even though the Seven-Realm Spiral was a level-25 spell and a perfect Magical Domain that only the strongest in the Sanctuary-realm could create, almost all mages knew of its existence because it was their dream.

    The Demon Lord Marther seemed to treat Lin Li and Cheyenne as challengers for his position. After roaring menacingly a few times, he reached out to condense a dark spear from the ck mist around him. He didn¡¯t give them a chance to think at all, and instead immediately smashed his spear down at them like he was smashing a mountain.

    Lin Li and his followers quickly dodged, while Cheyenne flew into the air to wave his staff at the Demon Lord Marther. He then said to Lin Li, ¡°Please wait a minute, Mage Felic. Let me take care of this demon.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, Master Cheyenne,¡± Lin Li said politely before taking his Undead servants to the side away from the battle, feeling safe and secure. It was as if it all had nothing to do with him anymore, and he was just a member of the audience, waiting to see a good show.

    Cheyenne smiled wryly, and thought to himself, <i>I knew I would have to perform this task alone regardless of whether I said those words out of courtesy or not. That Mage Felic is just like that. He will never bother wasting his efforts as long as he could rely on someone else to solve the problem. Besides, there¡¯s no way you can me him, because he will simply say that there is no need for him to intervene, since others could solve it.</i>

    The Demon Lord Marther could not be bothered what the challengers were doing, and saw no need to spare them any mercy even though they were not surrounding him to fight. His first goal was naturally to deal with the one who got singled out first. The wings on his back unfolded, and he flew towards Cheyenne while his spear fell apart into countless ck flying arrows.

    Although the power was dispersed, every ck arrow contained enough destructive aura to make itself seem intimidating. It was as if an arrow was all it took to destroy the entirend. The sounds of the arrow shooting through the sky were akin to the yelling and howling of thousands of Undead creatures. It was as if humans were having their souls ripped out of their bodies.

    Cheyenne hurriedly put his thoughts in order. It was not the time for him to distract himself now. After all, he was facing the fierce Abyssal Demon Lord.

    With a swift spell, a dazzling light burst out of his staff, and a huge tornado that spanned tens of meters shielded him from the flying Demon Lord.

    The countless ck arrows were swallowed up by the tornado in an instant, and turned it ck. However, none of them pierced through the tornado, and it destroyed them all.

    The Demon Lord Marther let out a deafening roar, and threw a punch with his muscr arm, causing the entire space to quake. The tornado that had just swallowed countless ck sharp arrows copsed instantly under the mighty power. However, the punches did not stop, and his formidable power continued to attack Cheyenne, who was behind the tornado.

    However, in the face of this powerful attack that almost shattered space, Cheyenne did not avoid it, and instead put on a smug and disdainful smirk. He moved the staff slightly forward and seemed to have condensed the space into an invisible giant shield, after which a loud explosive noise sounded in the air, leaving the Demon Lord Marther with no choice but to retreat.

    Seeing this, Lin Li¡¯s pupils constricted slightly, after which he lowered his head and stopped paying attention to the intense battle in the sky. Although he only observed it for a while, Lin Li was no longer doubtful. Although the demon Mather was from the 50th level of the Abyss, he only had the strength of level-21 now. Cheyenne might also be only level-21, but he was at the peak of his strength. His power was likely to be nearing level-22.

    Instead of observing the battle, Lin Li focused his attention on the world formed by the Seven-Realm Spiral as his strong mental spells seemed to have spread to the entire space instantly. The Seven-Realm Spiral was a level-25 Sanctuary-realm spell that could not to be seen through by just anyone. However, Lin Li had gained plenty of knowledge from the Book of Eternity, and could vaguely sense something about it even though he could not get a clear idea of the Rules contained in this spell.

    The Rules contained in the Seven-Realm Spiral could be said to have been used perfectly as the best interpretation of the Rules of this world. To use a metaphor, one might not be able to recreate an interesting and impable article, but it would still be possible to get some enlightenment from it once the reader put in his heart and soul.

    Although the sense of enlightenment was vague, it was deeply etched in Lin Li¡¯s memory, and he might get to use it one day, though it might note in handy now. It might be his guiding light in the future, or perhaps it could be considered a kind of umtion that would be a river with time.

    Of course, Lin Li was just trying to find something to do. If he couldn¡¯t use it in the end, it wouldn¡¯t matter, but if he could, he would get an advantage.

    With fierce explosions and unyielding shrieks, the Demon Lord Marther who dominated the 50th level of the abyss disappeared because of the Legendary magic of Cheyenne. The original calm was restored, and everything seemed to have returned to its original state as if nothing had happened at all. The only proof of the intense battle was the crack left on the ground by the Demon Lord.

    Cheyenne heaved a sigh of relief, not because he was overwhelmed by the Demon Lord, but because he finally got to vent his anger and get back at the Undead creatures after the intense battle. However, Cheyenne understood the Seven-Realm Spiral and knew that the real battle had yet toe. Although the Demon Lord Marther was a little weak, no one knew what kind of enemy they would be facing next. The only thing they knew was that the High Elves would never be merciful to intruders.

    Cheyenne descended back onto the ground and walked towards Lin Li, only to discover that Lin Li was daydreaming and stuck in a trance while he was fighting the Demon Lord. In fact, Lin Li didn¡¯t even know that he had already killed the demon. Cheyenne wanted to step forth to ask him about it, but he changed his mind after looking at the Undead creatures beside Lin Li. Instead, he decided to wait quietly for Lin Li to snap out of his trance.

    Even the powerful figures of the Sanctuary-realm that had employed the Seven-Realm Spiral would never expect that there would one day be an intruder who invaded through his understanding of the Rule Power of the Seven-Realm Spiral. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be too feasible for Lin Li to gain insight and grasp the Rules with this method. He would at most get some inspiration.

    A whileter, Lin Li finally took back his mental strength and obtained some new knowledge, though he was still unsure if it was a valuable gain that would be of help to him. He put his thoughts away temporarily and turned to look at Cheyenne, who was not too far away. He smilingly asked, ¡°Master Cheyenne, have you gotten rid of the Demon Lord?¡±

    Cheyenne was on the verge of vomiting blood with irritation, but he nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve just done so. What were you thinking about earlier on, Mage Felic? You were so engrossed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It is said that the Seven-Realm Spiral needs one to destroy seven worlds before they can go out. I wonder what awaits us next,¡± Lin Li answered perfunctorily since he couldn¡¯t say that he was thinking about the Seven-Realm Spiral Rules. Although he would be telling the truth, it would sound faker than a lie.

    Cheyenne shook his head helplessly, and although he knew that Lin Li was patronizing him, he did not continue to question him further. Instead, he said, ¡°Mage Felic, the Demon Lord of this world has been defeated. Should we find out how to enter the next world...?¡±

    However, this question did not require Lin Li¡¯s answer. As soon as Cheyenne spoke, fluctuations formed in the surrounding space, and everything in front of his eyes became blurred and unreal. When the space stabilized again and the surrounding scenery became clear again, a continuous roar filled their ears.

    The few of them looked around to see that there was a silver dragon in the spot where Cheyenne had just killed Marther, and it was fighting with a blue-ck dragon that was surrounded by countless grieving spirits. There were also three figures that were shuttling around and supporting the silver dragon with arrows and magic.

    Upon sight of this, Lin Li and Cheyenne could not help but secretly rejoice, because they recognized at a nce that the blue-ck dragon fighting the silver dragon was one of the top magical beasts in the Endless Abyss. It was the Abyssal Demon Dragon .

    This Abyssal Demon Dragon had a body that wasrger than the Green Dragon King that they had encountered previously. The two horns on its head were thicker than the thighs of a human, and its spinal spikes elongated all the way from its neck to its tailbone, while the wide wings unfolded oppressively. What was particrly shocking was the numerous grieving spirits that were appearing and wailing, all of which were the souls beneath the Abyssal Demon Dragon .

    That was the reason Lin Li and Cheyenne did not want to face it. The Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s ck dragon breath was formidable and terrifying even though it was just like ws. Although the dragon breath was not hot enough to burn everything, it could ignite the soul of its opponents and make them die in agony.

    ¡°The elves. Why are they here?¡± Cheyenne could not help but frown slightly, because the elves and the Dark de had an unclear rtionship. Hence, he was also very wary of the elves.

 Chapter 644 - Abyssal Demon Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 644: Abyssal Demon Dragon</h4>

    However, Lin Li was not very worried, and instead smiled as he said, ¡°Great. We don¡¯t know what we might encounter in the Seven-Realm Spiral. It¡¯s always safer to have more people. Let¡¯s go take a look, Master Cheyenne. I wonder how they got in.¡±

    The Demon Lord Marther that they¡¯d encountered just now was not really that strong, but they had only entered the first world of the Seven-Realm Spiral. The Abyssal Demon Dragon fighting the silver dragon was clearly stronger than the Demon Lord Marther. They could imagine that the guardians of the subsequent worlds would definitely be stronger.

    Cheyenne also knew that since they were all now trapped in the Seven-Realm Spiral, the High Elves¡¯ traps would definitely be merciless. Hence, the only way they could break through the seven worlds was through cooperation. Cheyenne thus had no choice but to hold his qualms back and follow Lin Li to approach the elves. At least, the elves were not the Dark de.

    Since Lin Li and Cheyenne could recognize the Seven-Realm Spiral, how could the elves have not thought about it? When Lin Li had just arrived in this world, Elder Randy who had transformed into the silver dragon already noticed them. Actually, the elves thought the same as Lin Li and the rest. Although they could get through the first world with their own power, they might not be able to do so for the subsequent ones. In such circumstances, there would be no harm in having some help.

    Hence, when Lin Li and the rest arrived, Gildor had alreadye out of the battlefield to wait for them to discuss the situation ording to Elder Randy¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Mage Felic, Mage Cheyenne, I didn¡¯t expect you guys to be here at the Seven-Realm Spiral too.¡± Gildor held his longbow by his rib cage and touched the quiver around his waist. Although he had ns to cooperate with them, he was still keeping his guard up. To elves, humans were the most untrustworthy and the most unpredictable. They had to prevent humans from creating potential trouble.

    ¡°Yeah, what a coincidence. You guys are here too.¡± Lin Li casually acknowledged Gildor. Although he noticed that thetter was keeping his guard up, Lin Li did not take it to heart, and instead looked up at the battle in the sky.

    Although Gildor, the Legendary archer, had left the battle, which weakened the elves¡¯ side somewhat, it didn¡¯t quite affect the battle. The Abyssal Demon Dragon roared terrifyingly, with anger and anxiety audible in its voice. It seemed to be feeling furious and anxious about being suppressed and its inability to gain the upper hand.

    Rather speechless because of Lin Li¡¯s nonchnt reply, Gildor thought, <i>What do you mean it¡¯s a coincidence that we¡¯re here too? This is the Seven-Realm Spiral, not a ce for casual strolling. Do you know how dangerous it is in here?</i>

    Seeing that there seemed to be some tension, Cheyenne stepped forward with a smile and talked to Gildor about the elves¡¯ arrival in the Seven-Realm Spiral. In fact, when they recalled the time when they had entered the Teleportation Portal, they realized that the elves and the Dark de didn¡¯t seem to be that close to each other back then. Cheyenne didn¡¯t expect to be favored by the elves, but hoped that they would at least maintain a neutral position when he finally shed with the Dark de.

    Cheyenne and Gildor talked about the experiences that they had had along the way. Although Lin Li was staring at the battle in front, he was also actively listening to their conversation, and thinking to himself, <i>It¡¯s really scary to be stupid!</i>

    Just like with Cheyenne, the ordeals that the elves had encountered could only be described as bad luck. Lin Li had no idea what kind of magic gears they had mistakenlye in contact with that caused a massive number of Undead creatures and a few powerful Alchemy Colossuses to appear. The Alchemy Colossuses were far from the weaker Alchemy Colossuses of the Lordaeron Kingdom. Each of their offensive spells had power above the Legendary level, and their Alchemy Arrays allowed them to be immune to magical attacks.

    What made the elves shocked was that the Alchemy Colossuses contained souls; hence, they were rather fluid in their motions, unlike ordinary Alchemy Colossuses that were slow and dim-witted. Elder Randy guessed that the High Elves could very likely have tried to fuse their souls with the Alchemy Colossuses in order to obtain eternal life. That in turn resulted in the creation of such monsters.

    Although Elder Randy had great strength, and even destroyed an Alchemy Colossus, he still had no choice but to escape in the face of the unstoppable Alchemy Colossuses powerful enough to rival a dragon.

    ¡°Fortunately, those Undead creatures and Alchemy Colossuses seem to be restricted to moving in a fixed area by some rules. They left after we were chased by them for a while,¡± Gildor narrated their experiences fearfully.

    After hearing Gildor¡¯s description, Cheyenne felt that what he¡¯d gone through was much more justified and fair. He had merely run into two Legendary Vengeful Spirits. If he had run into the Alchemy Colossuses, it would have been unlikely for him to make it this far. However, while he was feeling fortunate, he also found out more about the Seven-Realm Spiral that made him feel even more terrified. Even the strong guardians out there were powerful. Hence, the ones in the Seven-Realm Spiral were definitely not weak.

    Gildor, who didn¡¯t notice Cheyenne¡¯s gleeful expression, continued, ¡°After that, we went to the tower in the middle and discovered that the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock couldn¡¯t be unlocked at all. Hence, we could only enter from an open terrace. To our surprise, the High Elves actually set up the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral in here.¡±

    Cheyenne knew that the elves were prideful, so he took initiative to offer to cooperate to pass the Seven-Realm Spiral after hearing about their situation. Gildor had already obtained permission from Elder Randy in advance, and had approached them with the intention of cooperating. Hence, he didn¡¯t have any objections after hearing Cheyenne mention it.

    Cheyenne and Gildor exchanged information. Although it seemed to be a happy conversation on the surface, Lin Li remained silent throughout, and instead kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield ahead. When he encountered the green dragons previously, Elder Randy showcased considerable strength and abilities. However, Lin Li was still feeling a little dejected about his power.

    It was said that the Abyssal Demon Dragon carried the blood of the Dragon of Destruction, and thus inherited part of its Rule power. In the Endless Abyss, the Abyssal Demon Dragon was undoubtedly an overbearing overlord, and could only be seen in the deepestyers.

    Lin Li reckoned that the strength of the Abyssal Demon Dragon in front of him was probably at the peak of level-22. Apart from its physical strength that was far higher than that of ordinary dragons, the Dark Magic used by the Abyssal Demon Dragon was even more powerful and overbearing. The aura of destruction filled the entire space, and the ck mes that devoured souls rendered even Elder Randy helpless.

    However, apart from fearing the Abyssal Demon Dragon, Lin Li was also afraid that the silver dragon that Elder Randy transformed into would not be enough to battle and retaliate against the different types of magical attacks, even despite having defeated the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    Two wyrms, one ck and one white, were battling each other in the sky, and a loud roar sounded in the air, making the people beneath feel the tremors. The elven princess, Elune, and the fire mage Culofen shuttled back and forth around the two wyrms and constantlyunched sharp attacks against the Abyssal Demon Dragon in order to give Elder Randy¡¯s silver dragon some help.

    However, although the power of Culofen¡¯s fire magic was extraordinary, the damage done to the Abyssal Demon Dragon was not very significant. The wyrms had high magic resistance in the first ce, and the Abyssal Demon Dragon that had inherited the blood of the Dragon of Destruction was almost immune to magic. If Culofen could have a level¡¯s worth of its power, he might be able to break the defensiveyer of the Abyssal Demon Dragon. However, the difference in their strength was one level, which was worlds apart. Hence, his magic fire had no significant impact on the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    The one who could really provide effective support for Elder Randy was actually Princess Elune who had the weakest power on the site¡ªshe had the Song of Heart, which proved to be of great help. During the intense battle, its mncholic and melodious singing was clear and pleasing amidst the roaring. The sharp arrows darted out together with the singing, each with the ability to st off several dragon scales on the abyssal dragon¡¯s body.

    The scales of the Abyssal Demon Dragon had arguably the best defense of all wyrms. Even a Legendary-level strike from a Sword Sage might not have any effect. Yet, Elune who had just reached the Legendary-realm could actually break through the defense of the Abyssal Demon Dragon again and again with her Song of Heart.

    If the Song of Heart was still being used by the Wind Whisperer Hull, one arrow would probably be enough to kill the Abyssal Demon Dragon. After all, the Elven Princess Elune was too weak, and could only use the Song of Heart to harass and disrupt the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    Although the power of the Song of Heart was notparable to the Stars of Fury¡¯s, it was also one of the most powerful weapons that Lin Li had ever seen in Anril. It could make a user who was new to the Legendary-realm gain the ability to break past the defense of the Abyssal Demon Dragon. It was even more brilliant than Lin Li¡¯s Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    Although breaking past the defense wouldn¡¯t result in much damage per se, it would make the Abyssal Demon Dragon be vexed, and it also caused thetter to consider giving up on targeting the silver dragon to take out the annoying bug first. However, the power of the silver dragon was never inferior to the Abyssal Demon Dragon in the first ce. Hence, it obviously wouldn¡¯t let the Abyssal Demon Dragon slip past it.

    The fierce and menacing Abyssal Demon Dragon roared in vain before its body burst with huge mana waves. However, all of its powerful counterattacks were destroyed by the silver dragon. Each attack not only did not help change its situation, it even elerated its defeat.

    Lin Li looked up to watch the fierce battle in the sky and witnessed the Abyssal Demon Dragon breaking out again and again before getting suppressed once more. He could not help but mutter to himself, ¡°The end of the crossbow.¡±

    Cheyenne and Gildor had long ended their conversation. Although the elves came with the intention to cooperate, they obviously had no interest in chatting with the humans excessively. After Cheyenne returned to Lin Li, he was also attracted by the fierce battle in the sky. Apart from marveling over the formidable power of both parties, they began to grow worried about their journey ahead.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s slurred murmuring, Cheyenne turned to look at him in bewilderment. Just as he was about to ask what Lin Li had said, the battle in the sky went through a dramatic change.

    Princess Elune suddenly stopped behind the silver dragon, and an arrow emitting a radiant green light was stacked on top of the Song of Heart. She then pulled the bowstring slowly with her fingers as if with all her might.

    A full 10 seconds passed. Even an ordinary human archer would have released several arrows in a row during that time. However, Princess Elune only drew the bow halfway. As she slowly pulled it away, the mana emitted by the Song of Heart also became more and more intense. The mana was actually equivalent to that of a Legendary powerhouse[1].

    Attracted by the powerful mana of the Song of Heart, Cheyenne looked at the battlefield again. However, astonishment was written all over his face this time.

    Sweat trickled down Princess Elune¡¯s forehead, and her arm seemed to tremble slightly due to excessive force applied. She suddenly released her finger which was already at its limits. There was no loud sound of bowstrings, only a melodious song which seemed to be able to cleanse one¡¯s soul and drown out all other sounds on the battlefield. Even the screaming Vengeful Spirits[2] suddenly fell silent at this moment.

    The arrow that glowed with green light disappeared instantly from the Song of Heart and evolved into a ray of green light which prated the body of the silver dragon. However, it did not cause the silver dragon any damage at all. Immediately after the green light submerged into the body of the Abyssal Demon Dragon, however, a dull and explosive sound filled the air. They could all see how bloated the Abyssal Demon Dragon had be.

    The Abyssal Demon Dragon wailed and shrieked in a shrill voice. At the same time, the blood of the dragon and its crushed innards gushed out, while the numerous Vengeful Spirits seemed to have broken free and scattered around. The silver dragon didn¡¯t give the Abyssal Demon Dragon the chance to catch its breath at all. Instead, it suddenly rushed upwards and bit the Abyssal Demon Dragon brutally.

    ¡°The attack of the stars!¡± Cheyenne could not hide his astonishment at all when he saw the arrow shot by Princess Elune.

    Lin Li was also shocked when he heard Cheyenne¡¯s shriek. It was said that the attack was a type of archery that Wind Whisperer Hull used to kill the King of Ledin Kingdom.

    The power contained in Princess Elune¡¯s arrow was akin to all of the power possessed by a Legendary figure. This was not the same as the full-power blow of a Legendary powerhouse, just like how a magical crystal was definitely not as powerful as a magical beast¡¯s full blow.

    [1] I think author is confused whether the princess is just before or just after breaking thru to Legendary-realm. He keeps switching between the two.

    [2] There were some ghosts lurking below the enemy dragon, remember? That¡¯s what they were, apparently.

 Chapter 645 - Clearing The Obstacle

    <h4>Chapter 645: Clearing The Obstacle</h4>

    That arrow could be considered to have released all of the power of mana that was contained in a Legendary magical crystal. Although the body of the Abyssal Demon Dragon was strong, it was not strong enough to withstand such a daunting arrow. Besides, the Song of Heart was only drawn halfway. If it were to be drawn fully, the Abyssal Demon Dragon would probably be destroyed.

    However, Lin Li also knew that there would definitely be a huge price to pay. Although the mana fluctuations didn¡¯t seem to have done Princess Elune any harm, the effect was definitely hefty. Of course, this price to pay was huge for an ordinary person, but peanuts to Princess Elune.

    After a while, the silver dragon ripped the Abyssal Demon Dragon apart and flew towards Lin Li and the rest, all covered in blood. Later on, Elder Randy returned to his elven appearance and slowly descended from the sky with a faint smile on his face. ¡°Mage Felic, I didn¡¯t expect that we¡¯d meet here in the Seven-Realm Spiral.¡±

    <i>This again. Can¡¯t the elves say something else... They didn¡¯t expect it?</i> Lin Li thought to himself in annoyance. He stroked his chin smilingly, and said, ¡°Hehe, what a coincidence. I¡¯m in quite a bit of lucktely. I didn¡¯t encounter anything interesting along the way, so I came straight here.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words reminded Elder Randy of the Alchemy Colossuses that were still outside. He pursed his lips slightly, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, you should know quite a bit about this Seven-Realm Spiral. The only way we can get out is by breaking through the seven realms and defeating all the guardians.¡±

    ¡°Regarding this, Gildor has already spoken to Master Cheyenne just now, and I don¡¯t have any objections about cooperating and breaking through the Seven-Realm Spiral together,¡± Lin Li said without hesitation. He obviously wouldn¡¯t turn down someone¡¯s offer to help him, since such an opportunity was rare.

    No negotiation or bargaining was actually needed, because everyone knew how powerful the Seven-Realm Spiral was, and that none of them was strong enough to pass through safely. Even if the elves had already defeated the formidable Abyssal Demon Dragon, they dared not say that they could deal with the following guardians.

    The few of them stood together, and only spoke a few words before their surroundings became blurry again. When everything cleared up, they had already appeared in a dark cave which was exceptionally spacious and wide. It had a height of 100 meters and width of a few hundred meters.

    ¡°Where do we go now?¡± asked Princess Elune, who was staring at both sides of the cave peculiarly. Since it was a cave, could there be another exit?

    ¡°Anywhere is fine. I believe we¡¯ll definitely run into the guardians of this realm no matter where we go,¡± Lin Li said. It was one of the seven realms, and the only way to get out was to defeat all of the guardians of the realm. Hence, it was all the same.

    They picked a random direction and began advancing into the cave slowly. None of them knew what kind of an enemy they would face, but they were certain that it would be stronger than the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    Indeed, not long after they left, a sudden explosion sounded from the bottom of the cave. Next, a colorful me shot out of the cave.

    ¡°The Poisonous me Two-Headed Python! This is their of the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python!¡± Elder Randy eximed, immediately guarding against the magic and shielding all the elves on his side.

    Lin Li and Cheyenne dared not dy at all, and immediately exhibited their strongest defensive magic to receive the colorful poisonous mes. Besides, they did not just exhibit one kind of defensive magic. They held up the entire magic defense without even catching their breaths. They continuouslyunched spell after spell.

    Like giant waves crashing against the reef, the raging colorful poisonous mes instantly swallowed up Lin Li and the rest who were putting up the defensiveyer. Apart from the roars of the poisonous mes, the entire cave was filled with the sounds of magic cracking.

    A long whileter, the tide of colorful poisonous mes finally passed, revealing Lin Li and the rest who were putting up their defense. However, they did not have time to be d that they had withstood it, because immediately after the mes were out, the colorful double-headed python was pouncing onto them.

    Elder Randy again transformed into the silver dragon and leaped towards the colorful double-headed python, while three elves followed closely behind and attacked it with arrows.

    The Poisonous me Two-Headed Python was actually simr to the Abyssal Demon Dragon, and had a weak resistance to magic and physical attacks. However, the toughest part about it was that it had dual domain of highly toxic poison and me Domain. Hence, although it had yet to reach level-23, it was iparably stronger than the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, but soon put it down without casting a spell. Instead, he said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s too narrow here.¡±

    Although it was a soft murmur, everyone else could still hear them clearly. Both the elves and Cheyenne were extremely infuriated and on the verge of vomiting blood. Although it was a cave, there was still hundreds of meters from where they were to the cave opening. How was that narrow?

    Not only did Lin Li not take action, none of his Undead servants did, either. The three of them stood there leisurely as if the situation in front of them had nothing to do with themselves. The only difference between them and spectators was that they wouldn¡¯t apud anyone for performing wonderfully, and instead observed quietly.

    The Poisonous me Two-Headed Python was indeed very strong, but it unfortunately met a group of stronger opponents. Yet, it still did not retreat. Since they had to defeat it in order to pass through this realm, both Cheyenne and the elves did not hold back and gave it their all, for they did not want to be trapped in this realm any longer.

    The whole cave was shaking vigorously as if it were going to copse. However, that did notst too long. Facing the siege of five Legendary powerhouses, amongst which were level-22 elven elders and Princess Elune who was holding the Song of Heart, the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python couldn¡¯t make a single sound at all, and peace was eventually restored.

    Everything in the cave finally quietened down, and Elder Randy turned to look at Lin Li helplessly. Although he was dissatisfied with Lin Li¡¯sck of contribution, there was nothing he could say about it.

    Unlike Elder Randy, Princess Elune rolled her eyes at Lin Li and walked towards the side with the Song of Heart angrily.

    Lin Li touched his nose, but he was not embarrassed. When he saw Cheyenne, he threw an antidote at him.

    Cheyenne didn¡¯t sense anything amiss during the battle with the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python. He only started to feel that his mana seemed to be abnormally agitated after receiving Lin Li¡¯s antidote. Cheyenne didn¡¯t ask much, and instead unplugged the cork to chug the potion. He felt that the antidote really calmed the fluctuations down. Hence, he thanked Lin Li when he returned the bottle.

    Elder Randy looked at Cheyenne and Lin Li, followed by the elves behind him. Although pride was important, his life meant more to him, and so did Princess Elune. However, just as he was about to ask Lin Li, the surrounding environment suddenly changed again.

    After a while, the surrounding scenery became clearer¡ªthey had already left their of the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python. However, their current environment did not seem to be much different from that cave; the uneven wall of the cave had be a wall made of even bluestone bricks, and that was it. Looking forward, they could see several forks, but none of them knew exactly where they led.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what did you give Mage Cheyenne earlier on...?¡± Elder Randy did not bother about the surroundings, and instead questioned Lin Li.

    ¡°Nothing much, I just happened to see that Master Cheyenne got poisoned by the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python, so I gave him an antidote.¡± Lin Li¡¯s answer was nonchnt, but he was scrutinizing the elves.

    ¡°So, Mage Felic, is there anyone among us that was also poisoned?¡± Elder Randy quickly asked. Since he had already abandoned his pride once before in the camp, he didn¡¯t mind doing it again.

    Lin Li nodded, and whipped out three potions before saying, ¡°Elder Randy, your strength will not be affected, but there are still some signs of poisoning in these three elves.¡± Lin Li was not being pretentious, but he was still wary when he took risks. He would only eat his own food, what more potions. He would never offer his antidotes or potions unless the elven elders asked for it. The only reason he gave it to Cheyenne was because thetter was his ally whom he was closer to.

    Culofen and Gildor consumed the potion without hesitation, but when Princess Elune smelled the pungent odor of the potion, she could not help but frown slightly and grit her teeth before downing it. She had no idea that she had ingested a potion that was 100 times more revolting than this when she was unconscious because of the Viper¡¯s venom.

    After brief shenanigans, everyone began to look at the surrounding environment. Regardless of their perspective, they all felt that the ce was more like a maze. The variousnes were mysterious, and although the walls seemed to be made of bluestone bricks, they were in the Seven-Realm Spiral where walls could not be broken easily.

    This time, they had a hard time deciding where to go. Unlike in their of the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python where they only had two directions to choose from, there were numerous ways here, and there seemed to be endless options.

    ¡°It¡¯s abyrinth. Could the guardian of this world be... the prehistoric magical beast, Minotaur!?¡± Elder Randy suddenly thought of a possibility.

    ording to legends, the magical beast Minotaurs lived in the Lost Pce. However, the prehistoric magical beasts like Minotaurs had strength at least in the Sanctuary-realm. With such power, how could they just be a guardian of the Seven-Realm Spiral?

    The only thing that was worth feeling fortunate about was the absence of magic gears. The only danger was theplicated passages. They continuously left magical marks behind and tried everyne in a bid to find the guardian who was hiding in thebyrinth.

    Using such a foolish method, they finally entered an extremely wide hall at the end of a passage after making countless detours. The hall was empty and free of debris and decorations alike. In the middle of the hall stood the guardians of this realm, who seemed to be waiting for them.

    ¡°The Lion Scorpion, the Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings!¡±

    Everyone including Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief after seeing the guardians. Although the two level-22 Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings were snarling and exuding powerful mana waves, they were at least less overbearing than prehistoric magical beasts.

    In the blink of an eye, a fierce battle unfolded in the hall. The two Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings were weaker than the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python, but they soon knew the reason that the two Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings had still be the guardians of this realm.

    Compared to the rest, Lin Li was more familiar with them because he had once met Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings in the Abyss of Tharlen, and they had the same characteristics. Although there was now one less than the three Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings that Lin Li had encountered, they still possessed level-22 strength.

    This time, even Lin Li couldn¡¯t sit back and do nothing. He led his two Undead servants, and tackled one of the Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings together with Cheyenne while the elves handled the other. Back then, in the ancient arena, Lin Li found the three Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings with different souls to be difficult to deal with. However, things were different now because he was a level-21 Legendary-mage and had the help of Cheyenne and the rest. They separated the two Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings; hence, their characteristics were definitely suppressed.

    A fierce battle started quickly and ended quickly too. The two Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings did not surround them for too long, and were soon killed with much less effort than they¡¯d put in to kill the Poisonous me Two-Headed Python previously.

 Chapter 646 - Never Disappearing

    <h4>Chapter 646: Never Disappearing</h4>

    After ending the battle, none of them said a single word, and they stood silently on the ground instead, waiting to advance to the next realm. Although the two Rainbow Lion Scorpion Kings in this realm had not brought them too much trouble, none of them were happy, because they didn¡¯t think that they would stay as lucky for long.

    When they arrived at the next realm, the elves frowned even before spotting any guardians, seemingly conflicted. In this realm, apart from the strong death aura, there was an extremely disgusting stench of decay.

    The elves had never so desperately wanted the guardians to appear as they did now. They just wanted to get rid of the guardian as soon as possible and leave this disgusting ce.

    Although they spected about the identity of the guardians in this realm, they could not help but shiver when they really saw them. They knew that this realm should have belonged to an Undead Lord, but they did not expect there to be not one, but three Undead Lords, who all appeared at the same time.

    The Humerus Wyrm in the sky which was physically simr to the Green Dragon King was one of the three Undead Lords. On the ground, there were two other Undead Lords who weremanding the infinite Undead Army. One of them was a Lich King who was shielded in a magical robe, while the other was the Skeletal Lord who did not cover his body.

    In Anril, Undead creatures were arguably the toughest opponents to exist, second only to sages. They did not fear death, and would not feel agony or pain. Even if they only had a skeleton left, they would never stop until they defeated their enemies.

    Necromagic was also known for its wickedness. It usually targeted either the vitality or the soul of the enemy. It had the ability to rapidly corrode its enemy¡¯s body or cause the enemy¡¯s soul to suffer in boundless pain.

    However, Holy Light, the piece of the debris of the stars that Lin Li owned, possessed the power to purify all filth and put a restraint on Undead creatures. Of course, he was not stupid enough to take out Holy Light directly, nor was he arrogant enough to think that he could destroy the three Undead Lords just by using Holy Light alone.

    A battle began instantly, and Elder Randy again transformed into a silver dragon which flew into the sky to fight the Humerus Wyrm, which was one of the Undead Lords. Princess Elune followed closely while holding the Song of Heart. Cheyenne and the other two elves joined forces to resist the Lich King¡¯s attack. Although this was their first time cooperating, there was a certain tacit understanding between them.

    Lin Li and his two Undead servants were fighting the Skeletal Lord. Although there was a drastic difference in levels, the power of Holy Light was enough to intimidate the Skeletal Lord.

    After entering the Seven-Realm Spiral, they had all faced intense battles, and even Elder Randy, the most powerful amongst them, couldn¡¯t hide his fatigue after defeating his opponent. None of them could rx, because they were only at the fifth realm.

    Everyone sped up to recover, but as the Undead realm copsed, a new world appeared in front of them again. In this world, there was still substantial death aura. If it weren¡¯t for theck of stench of decay, they would have thought that they were still in the Undead realm.

    Apart from the Undead Lords of the Undead realm, what else could there be in such an environment?

    Their doubts did notst long; it seemed that the guardians of this realm were not willing to let them wait. The sounds of hooves filled the air amidst the dark mist. Next, they were greeted with the sight of an immacte cavalry which rushed towards them aggressively.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath, because the sprinting cavalry was notposed of ordinary knights. They were all riding on Nightmare beasts with crimson horns and Hell Fire hooves. Everyone knew that the Death Knights were the only ones who could tame and control Undead creatures.

    One of the Death Knights stood out from the rest because he was rather tall and exuded a terrifying aura.

    Although no one except Lin Li had seen the Retribution Knight before, the rest did know quite a bit about the Retribution Knights who were mutants among the Undead creatures. The ss of Rules had no effect on them, and they had their independent systems. No external force could dominate them, either.

    Only legendary Retribution Knights could lead Death Knights. Although Lin Li had subdued a batch of Death Knights, there were too many coincidences that couldn¡¯t be replicated involved in that. Hence, he might not be so lucky as to manage to do it again. Even the three powerful Undead Lords did not manage to summon a Death Knight in the Undead Army.

    Although the few Legendary-mages were exhibiting their own Magical Domains at the same time and using the Rule Power of the Magical Domains to create entities that could rival the Death Knights, when faced with the attacks of the Death Knights, any retaliation would seem weak and fragile like paper.

    The Death Knights were above level-15, and would usually grow up to level-17 or level-18. Under the leadership of the Retribution Knight, the Death Knights might not evolve, but the attacks that the Death Knights disyed were definitely level-19 in power.

    The Angels of Light and Dark could still dish out some resistance against the Death Knights. However, Lin Li¡¯s power was only at level-21; hence, he could only produce a limited number of Angels of Light and Dark.

    If the battle with the three Undead Lords were considered thest tough battle in the Seven-Realm Spiral, this one would be full of danger and terror. Although there was only one Retribution Knight, Rodhart was the only one who could lead the hundreds of Death Knights.

    With the power of Holy Light, Lin Li led the forces of the Tower of Dusk and killed most of the Death Knights. As the strongest amongst them, Elder Randy naturally became the opponent of the Retribution Knight.

    With the help of Cheyenne and the three elves¡ªespecially Princess Elune, who had the Song of Heart¡ªElder Randy finally killed the Retribution Knight after sustaining various wounds during the intense battle.

    As the Retribution Knight got killed, the Death Knights that¡¯d made Lin Li look pathetic and disheveled suffered a drastic reduction in their strength. They suddenly became as meek as kittens. The infuriated Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t be willing to let go of such a great opportunity. The Angels of Light and Dark swarmed out and purified each of the Death Knights.

    When thest Death Knight vanished from this realm, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, but their faces were increasingly sullen. They were only at the sixth realm, yet they were already disheveled like that. What kind of formidable power would be lurking in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral?

    There was no point in making any spections; since they had already entered the Seven-Realm Spiral, they could only go on ording to the rules of the Seven-Realm Spiral. The surrounding environment had begun to change, and they were all dog tired after the battle. They were all waiting anxiously for thest realm.

    At this moment, Lin Li could not help but feel even more tense. Even though he had obtained huge gains that others had never achieved in this Seven-Realm Spiral, like an entry to level-22 and a massive amount of mana for the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, these things could only be regarded as actual gains after he entered the Seven-Realm Spiral. Otherwise, they would all just be illusory.

    Finally, the surroundings became fixed, and they arrived at thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral, which was also the key realm that determined their destiny.

    However, when they got a clearer look of everything around them, they could not help but be shocked, because the first thing they saw in the seventh realm was the four members of the Dark de who had first passed through the Teleportation Portal.

    ¡°Lansdale, the Legendary bandit, indeed couldn¡¯t unlock the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock.¡± Cheyenne felt a little ecstatic after a while. Although there were plenty of powerful guardians waiting to battle them in thisst realm, he was still d to see the Dark de in this troublesome situation too.

    Lin Li scrutinized the four members of the Dark de, but when he saw Stephen, he felt a little surprised. Before entering the Teleportation Portal, Stephen was only level-19, but the mana he was releasing now was actually at Legendary level!

    Stephen and Hutton had always been the young geniuses of the Breezy ins, a fact that Lin Li was well aware of. However, after experiencing various incidents in the Abyss of Tharlen together with him, he also gained some knowledge of Stephen¡¯s abilities. How could he have grown so tremendously from level-19 to the Legendary-realm?

    Although Lin Li was a little surprised, that was all he felt. After all, he might not be the only one who had lucky encounters. However, Lin Li found Stephen¡¯s aura rather familiar, for it was different from the one he¡¯d given off in the past. Stephen seemed to be a whole different person.

    While Lin Li didn¡¯t have much of a reaction or expression on his face, Stephen behaved differently. After catching sight of Lin Li and the rest who appeared suddenly, he focused all of his attention on Lin Li, with no intention of hiding the hatred in his eyes.

    Stephen¡¯s resentment towards Lin Li had never weakened; he had only hidden it throughout the journey because of his father¡¯s warning. At the same time, he also knew that his strength at that time was too weak to fight Lin Li, and he would only be embarrassing himself by taking revenge without the help of his elders.

    However, there was no need for him to hide his emotions now! He thought, <i>You must be surprised, eh! You probably didn¡¯t expect this. So what if you¡¯re in the Legendary-realm?! I¡¯ve had enough after tolerating this for so long. Now we¡¯re both Legendary-mages. There¡¯s no need for me to hide anymore!</i>

    Stephen did not just show his infinite hatred for Lin Li, he also caused his mana to break out while exuding his formidable aura without reservations.

    At this moment, Lin Li frowned, and a mysterious look formed in his eyes. He finally knew the reason that Stephen¡¯s aura felt familiar. <i>Isn¡¯t it the aura of the Lord of Souls!</i>

    However, after arriving at the answer, Lin Li began to feel even more muddled up. Back in the Throne of Darkness, he had devised a n to lure the Lord of Souls and used his sword to destroy the Lord of Souls into bits. He¡¯d then used the Summoning Lamp to seal everything. But how could Stephen¡¯s aura be exined? Did he really obtain the Lord of Souls¡¯s power?

    However, a familiar voice sounded in Lin Li¡¯s mind at this time.

    ¡°Hey, is it me, or am I sensing that Mephistos¡¯ unlucky aura has appeared again?¡± Connoris said in disdain. Back then, he was the main aplice in luring the Lord of Souls; hence, he had the right to show disdain for the stupid and foolish Lord of Souls.

    Lin Li smirked, and said, ¡°Do you still remember Stephen?¡±

    ¡°Hah, that idiot who thought he¡¯s so smart and wanted to benefit from Mephisto? He really doesn¡¯t know what death is.¡± Connoris was full of contempt for Stephen who worked with the Lord of Souls.

    It would always be stupid to cooperate with demons, and working with the Lord of Souls Mephistos was even more brainless. When signing a contract with a demon, one had to be careful of the countless traps in the contract. However, when it came to Mephistos, no amount of consideration would be enough, because the contract wouldn¡¯t work at all. While one had to fulfill the terms in the contract, the same rule didn¡¯t apply to Mephistos.

    ¡°Then you guessed wrong this time. Stephen has really gained some benefits from Mephistos, and he has now reached the Legendary-realm,¡± Lin Li said casually. Lin Li was simply curious about the aura of the Lord of Souls that Stephen was giving off, and he was barely interested in Stephen¡¯s Legendary-realm powers.

 Chapter 647 - Outburst Of Resentment

    <h4>Chapter 647: Outburst Of Resentment</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What!? I guessed wrong? I¡¯m the most noble Soul Trader. Even if the Abyssal Demons have all started believing in the doctrine of light, I would never guess wrong.¡± Connoris in the hammer bobbed down a bit, showing his displeasure towards Lin Li for doubting him.

    ¡°Yes, you should be able to feel it too. Stephen is not only living well now, he has also reached the Legendary-realm. You saw it yourself. Mephistos has already been turned into fragments and sealed.¡± Having interacted with Connoris for such a long time; he obviously knew his habit of keeping others in suspense. Connoris wouldn¡¯t spill a word unless Lin Li agitated him.

    Indeed, Connoris expressed his disdain once again and humphed coldly. ¡°Hmph, he may be alive now, but he might not be able to live for a long time. Although Mephistos is silly, he still has the ability to plot against an idiot. I¡¯m telling you, the aura that the idiot is giving off is that of the true blue Lord of Souls, and not the defect one.¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when he heard Connoris¡¯ words. He frowned again, and asked, ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying that this Stephen is just another form of Mephistos?¡±

    ¡°Hey, I said it long ago. He¡¯s such an idiot, how could he have escaped Mephistos¡¯s scheming tricks? Judging from his current situation, I¡¯m afraid Mephistos has already left his seeds in Stephen¡¯s body. That guy Mephistos would always have a backup n. After we plotted against him in the Throne of Darkness, nting seeds in that idiot was his only way to survival and resurrection.¡± Connoris was hoping that Lin Li would make a body for him; hence, he detested Lin Li¡¯s enemies. He seemed to be gloating over Stephen¡¯s situation.

    ¡°You mean, he¡¯s the host of the Lord of Souls, who has be his parasite? But there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything unusual about him,¡± Lin Li asked Connoris in his mind while staring at Stephen.

    Connoris nodded, and had no choice but to resignedly say, ¡°Yes, a parasite. He¡¯s now a fusion of himself and Mephistos. When Mephistos really wakes up, he will be Mephistos¡¯ tonic and his body will be Mephisto¡¯s resurrected body. By then, there would be no Stephen, and only aplete Mephistos, the Lord of Souls.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Lin Li shook his head and looked away smilingly. He even turned a blind eye to Stephen¡¯s near-naked body. What was there to hold against a dying man? Back in the Abyss of Tharlen, he¡¯d still been rather afraid of Mephistos, but things were now different. Even if Mephistos recovered the power that he had during his pinnacle, he still wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to Lin Li.

    Lin Li¡¯s current strength and abilities were worlds apart from what he had had when he¡¯d been in the Abyss of Tharlen. Not only had he reached level-21 of the Legendary-realm, he had also gained two Legendary Undead servants. Although Mephistos was known as the Lord of Souls, he was just the loser in the battle for the throne in the Abyss of Tharlen. He was in fact inferior to the Demon Lord Marther in the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    The Lord of Souls was able to catch Lin Li¡¯s interest only because it appeared at a strange time and ce. Aftermunicating with Connoris, Lin Li finally figured out the reason for the appearance of the Lord of Souls¡¯ aura on Stephen, and realized that there was nothing worth paying attention to anymore. He looked away and began scanning his surroundings. The guardians of this realm had yet to appear even until now, and that was what he had to worry about.

    ¡°Mage Felic, what do you think of thisst realm?¡± asked Cheyenne who had snapped out of his trance and stopped staring at the Dark de. Stephen¡¯s sudden burst of aura made him worry a lot more. Although he had already seen through Stephen¡¯s magic, which contained some nomological power, he hadn¡¯t expected Stephen to have made so much progress in such a short period of time.

    Cheyenne questioned Lin Li because he wanted to hide the uneasiness in his heart. However, Lin Li casually answered, ¡°This is thest realm. No matter how you look at it, we can¡¯t hide from the guardians here. The only thing we can do now is seize the time to prepare for the next attack.¡±

    They were in the Seven-Realm Spiral, and the only way to leave the ce was to follow the rules in the realm and defeat the guardians of the Seven-Realm Spiral. They were not in the outside world where they could escape and hide. In here, there was no way to avoid the battle with the guardians who would eventually find them even if <i>they </i>did not. Hence, all they could do now was to recover their power, and not find an exit.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t necessary for Lin Li to put it too explicitly, for they could all imagine that the High Elves wouldn¡¯t be so merciful as to leave any loopholes. Cheyenne and Lin Li¡¯s conversation was more of a way to show how close they were as allies than an exchange of opinions.

    However, Stephen never stopped looking at Lin Li, and all the anger in his chest seemed to have ignited at the instant that he heard Lin Li¡¯s words. In Stephen¡¯s eyes, Lin Li was just disregarding him by acting all nonchnt.

    Stephen would never forget the experiences that he had in the Abyss of Tharlen. Lin Li was the reason he¡¯d failed the test and lost the right of inheritance to Geresco¡¯s three relics. He even had a close shave with death in the ancient arena. This hatred couldn¡¯t be dispelled just because he had survived. To Stephen, he¡¯d managed to survive because it was God¡¯s will.

    ¡°You probably don¡¯t remember it, but back in the Abyss of Tharlen, you said the same thing to me with the same nonchnce!¡± Stephen took a step forward and glowered at Lin Li hysterically, with infinite resentment in his tone. ¡°But what happened in the end!? I listened to you and helped you pass the ancient arena, but what did I get in the end!? You abandoned me in the ancient arena and made me face the attacks of all the magical beasts!¡±

    As Stephen spoke, the scene that once had made him feel hopeless popped up in his mind. His expression would turn more hysterical with every word he said.

    Stephen¡¯s resentment towards Lin Li was not simply because of the time that he¡¯d got duped and set up by Lin Li. It was the various incidents that caused his hatred to build up. Due to the fact that he¡¯d been trapped in the ancient arena, he¡¯d been disqualified from receiving Geresco¡¯s relics.

    After leaving, he¡¯d wanted to ask his father and elders to help him take revenge on Lin Li, but thetter had already be a Legendary figure. Hence, he was in no ce to take revenge at all. He had no choice but to follow his father¡¯s warning and bear with it. If he were still the insignificant Archmage he used to be, all he could do would¡¯ve been to bear with it and possibly have no chance at taking revenge at all.

    Stephen¡¯s voice became more and more domineering, and the resentment in his eyes was drowned out by his hysteria. ¡°You didn¡¯t expect this, did you? After you abandoned me there, I didn¡¯t die as you wished. Not only did I survive, I even obtained a great opportunity. So what if you¡¯re in the Legendary-realm? If it weren¡¯t for Geresco¡¯s relics, do you really think you¡¯d have your current power? Look at me, I managed to gain so much power even without Geresco¡¯s relics. You definitely didn¡¯t expect this!¡±

    Although Stephen had previously expected to enter the Legendary-realm with the huge opportunity he¡¯d obtained, he hadn¡¯t expected that this day would¡¯vee so fast. It had only been a short period of time, yet he had already be a Legendary-mage. Everything felt miraculous and amazing. The best part was that his enemy sent himself to him right after he became a Legendary powerhouse.

    Stephen¡¯s maniacal behavior had also caught the attention of the others. Apart from feeling disdain towards the begrudging characters of humans, the several elves did not take it too seriously. As Stephen¡¯s father, Borg naturally cared more about his son, so he wanted to persuade him to stop.

    However, the Legendary Bandit Lansdale grabbed Borg to stop him. Shaking his head slightly, he said, ¡°This hatred has been umted within Stephen for a long time. It is also a good thing to let him vent it all out. Otherwise, it¡¯d be difficult for him to progress. He¡¯s already a Legendary-mage now. With the three of us to look after him, there won¡¯t be any danger.¡±

    Borg stopped in his tracks. As a Legendary-mage who had been in the Legendary-realm for plenty of years, he naturally knew how greatly a grudge would affect enlightenment. As Lansdale said, Stephen had already be a Legendary-mage, just like Lin Li. If a conflict were to really ur, the three Legendary powerhouses would be able to help Stephen out too.

    Although Stephen had attracted the attention of everyone on site, Lin Li, his real enemy, was not included among them. Lin Li¡¯s contempt and disdain were really unbearable to Stephen because he felt disregarded!

    <i>When I was an Archmage, you were already a Legendary-mage. In that case, there was nothing I could do about your ignoring my existence. But now, I am also a Legendary-mage, and I have the heritage of the Lord of Souls. Who are you to put yourself on a pedestal and look down on me!? </i>Stephen raised his staff in anger.

    Although Stephen could sense that his emotions were slipping out of control, he believed that it would be impossible for anyone to remain calm when facing their enemy who¡¯d caused them a great deal of harm. Lin Li was his very nemesis. If it weren¡¯t because of his appearance, Hutton wouldn¡¯t have been his match at all, and Geresco¡¯s three relics would have be his. Had it not been for Lin Li¡¯s plots, Stephen wouldn¡¯t have been on the brink of death in the Abyss of Tharlen. Lin Li was the cause of everything, and now that Stephen had be a Legendary figure with the inheritance of the Lord of Souls, he felt that it was time to get back what was supposed to belong to him.

    ¡°I will burn your soul with the mes of hell, and let your soul mourn in endless pain. You were the one who asked for this!¡± Stephen¡¯s face twisted in a ruthless smile as if he had already seen Lin Li¡¯s soul being destroyed with his own eyes. Stephen suddenly pointed his staff at Lin Li without casting my spells or making any gestures.

    In Lin Li¡¯s eyes, Stephen was actually no different from a dead man. Mephistos was not to be taken advantage of easily. When Mephistos waspletely reborn and took over Stephen¡¯s soul, Stephen would no longer exist.

    Hence, Lin Li really did not want to waste any time or energy on someone who was destined to die. As long as the reborn Mephistos obediently went back to the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t bother with him. Anyway, he already had the Throne of Darkness, and might not go to the Abyss of Tharlen again. However, if someone insisted on courting death, Lin Li would definitely not stand on ceremony with him.

    ¡°Die! Redeem yourself with your soul!¡± Stephen growled, and a ray of light emerged from the jewel on the top of the staff.

    Along the way, everyone had been paying attention to the abilities of others, and Stephen naturally hadn¡¯t given up on observing Lin Li¡¯s abilities. They faced various battles with the magical beasts before entering the dragon cave, followed by the siege of the green dragons just outside the cave. To Stephen, Lin Li was only a Legendary-mage in name, and was only relying on hispetent Undead servants. Stephen felt that he was different as he possessed the power of the Lord of Souls which was unrivaled.

    Stephen was no longer the same gullible and maniptable Stephen back in the Abyss of Tharlen!

    Stephen had absolute confidence in his own power, especially after entering the Legendary-realm and mastering the Laws of Soul, a formidable power that allowed him to manipte everything on earth. It was far from ordinary Elemental Power.

 Chapter 648 - The Soul-Devouring Realm

    <h4>Chapter 648: The Soul-Devouring Realm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the dazzling light erupted from the gem on the top of the staff, everything around it suddenly lost their luster as if that ray of light was the only existence in the entire space. The instant that it was shot, hundreds of blue light arrows darted out together with some strange mana, and continuously switched around like an illusion.

    Staring at the hundreds of light arrows and sensing the changes in power, everyone couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. They were all Legendary figures, but not all of them had experienced Spiritual Magic before. However, they were no strangers to the troublesome Soul Arrows.

    Although the Soul Arrows were presented in the form of light arrows, they could actually exist in another illusory space. No magical shield could defend against the Soul Arrow, regardless of how strong it might be, because its target was the human soul, and not the body.

    Spiritual Magic could be said to be the strangest kind of magic in the world. Although it might not have the power to destroy the world, its attacks often caught others off guard, and could be invincible too. In fact, it was tougher to deal with than Necromagic. However, in Anril, there were very few who learned Spiritual Magic, not because it wasn¡¯t strong enough, but because not everyone was suited for learning it. Only those who had some kind of mutation in their soul could learn to use it.

    Even the other two leaders of the Dark de were extremely surprised by Stephen¡¯s usage of Spiritual Magic.

    When the Soul Arrows appeared, only two people remained calm. As Stephen¡¯s father, Borg had already heard about Stephen¡¯s encounters in the Abyss of Tharlen. After getting to know that his son had inherited the Lord of Souls¡¯ heritage, he was not surprised by the fact that he could use Spiritual Magic.

    In the face of the attack of the Soul Arrows, Lin Li knew that it was the power of the Lord of Souls, and not Stephen¡¯s. At the moment before Stephen attacked, Lin Li clearly sensed that Stephen¡¯s aura had changedpletely, and was now simr to that of the Lord of Souls, Mephistos. Although Mephistos had yet to swallow Stephen¡¯s soul, Stephen could very likely be attacking with the help of Mephistos.

    Mephistos detested Lin Li even more than Stephen did. As the Lord of the Abyss, he¡¯d actually got duped and set up by a lowly human who ruined everything that he had painstakingly built up for tens of thousands of years. Not only did he not get his throne back, he even got ripped into bits. It was aplete insult to him.

    Hence, Mephistos used his full strength and power from the beginning of the attack in a bid to kill Lin Li instantly. Of course, venting his anger and resentment was just one of his purposes. More importantly, Mephistos wanted to get back the soul fragments that Lin Li had sealed back then. Although Mephistos was now being reborn vicariously in Stephen¡¯s body, there would be a huge increase in his powers if he could obtain the soul fragments again.

    The Soul Arrows were only the beginning. At the same time that the Soul Arrows were fired, Mephistos¡¯ Soul-devouring domain was also unfolded instantly by Stephen, and he trapped Lin Li in the domain.

    As the Soul-devouring Domain unfolded, everything that was trapped in the space began wailing in despair. It included the souls that had been devoured by the Lord of Souls through the Soul-devouring Domain in the past tens of thousands of years. Overwhelmed with endless agony, they shrieked loudly in pain.

    Just like the Soul Arrows, human souls were still the target of the Soul-devouring Domain. No matter how strong the human body might be, even the strongest in the Legendary-realm might not be able to escape the fate of being destroyed by the Soul-devouring Domain. A slight mistake or carelessness would result in one¡¯s soul being devoured by the terrifying Soul-devouring Domain, bing one of the wailing souls.

    Even the people outside the Soul-devouring Domain could not help but put on a sullen expression at this moment. The shrieks and cries for help that came from the Soul-devouring Domain were not aimed at them, but they could still feel their souls shaking. None of them expected that the young Stephen Borg brought along would exhibit such a terrifying power at this moment.

    However, that was not the end of it. When the Soul-devouring Domain was unleashed, Stephen and Mephistos also showcased their strongest power, the extraordinary Soul Storm.

    In the sky of the Soul-devouring Domain, dark clouds were ignited instantly, and blue soul fire lit up the entire sky, overwhelming it with mes. Hystericalughter continuously sounded from Stephen as his body waspletely engulfed by soul fire. Under his feet, the mes spread towards the surroundings rapidly, and the wailing became even more mncholic at this moment. The voices were filled with pain, anger, and despair. Their negative emotions seemed to strike directly into everyone¡¯s souls.

    In the burning sky, the soul fire burned continuously and formed a huge vortex. Countless blue electric snakes leaped and descended from the sky together to form a pir of lightning that connected heaven and earth. Under the traction of the vortex, the pir continuously rotated and moved, making the entire space seem like a thunder cage.

    Back in the Throne of Darkness, the Lord of Souls Mephistos had once used the Soul Storm in a bid to devour the Lord of Darkness effortlessly. Although the power of the Lord of Darkness had weakened greatly back then, the Throne of Darkness was a Magical Domain created by the Dragon of Destruction. Under the suppression of the Throne of Darkness, the Soul Storm became much weaker. Besides, Mephistos had just reassembled his body, and had yet to recover the strength that it¡¯d possessed during its pinnacle. Hence, it got destroyed by the Lord of Darkness.

    However, things were now different. Without the suppression of the Throne of Darkness, Mephistos¡¯ power had been greatly restored ever since he¡¯d fused himself with Stephen¡¯s body. Hence, the Soul Storm now was more powerful than it¡¯d been at first. Even if the Lord of Darkness appeared, it might not escape the fate of having its soul get devoured.

    Whileughing hysterically, Stephen manipted the Soul Storm that seemed to be devouring the whole world. It then swept quickly towards Lin Li, following the arrows.

    Stephen seemed to have shot the Soul Arrows, unfolded the Soul-devouring Domain, and put up the Soul Storm all in the blink of an eye. Although Stephen was disdainful of Lin Li because he had the inheritance of the Lord of Souls, he still chose to exert his full power because he wanted to render Lin Li helpless and see him being at his wits¡¯ end. He wanted to show everyone who the true genius was.

    Although Stephen had just stepped into the Legendary-realm and he was facing a level-21 legendary-mage, Elder Randy was already certain of the oue. The special qualities of the Spiritual Magic and thebination of Soul-devouring Domain and the Soul Storm was beyond what a level-21 Legendary-mage could handle. He reckoned that Lin Li¡¯s chances of surviving were bleak.

    However, although Lin Li¡¯s defeat was foreseen by him, Elder Randy nheless ced his hands behind his back to observe everything that was taking ce in the Soul-devouring Domain without any intention to stop it.

    Although Lin Li had once given Princess Elune and the other elves an antidote for the poison that they were infected with, it was just a transaction, and Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t bear a grudge just because he had been embarrassed. Although he felt the pinch of losing the Star-scarred Robe, that was not a reason for him to leave Lin Li in the lurch. As the eighth elder of the Emerald Council of the Elven Kingdom, all decisions made by Elder Randy had to be made in the best interests of the elves. Even if Lin Li had really done them a great favor, Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t take action at this juncture.

    Elder Randy was well aware of the rtionship between the Dark de and the Malfa Family, as well as the important role that Lin Li yed amongst them. Lin Li was inclined towards the Malfa Family, and that was a fact that everyone could see. Perhaps before this, Lin Li was notpletely on the Malfa Family¡¯s side, but ever since Stephenunched an attack, the Dark de became Lin Li¡¯s and the Malfa Family¡¯smon enemy.

    Elder Randy knew that Lin Li was not a generous person. If he were to leave the Haiga Mountain Range alive, he would inevitably retaliate against the Dark de together with the Malfa Family. However, the Dark de had always been cooperating with the elves, and Elder Randy definitely didn¡¯t want war to happen, because it¡¯d cause considerable damage to the elves¡¯ interests.

    From the moment the Soul Storm appeared, everyone was shocked by the power exhibited by Stephen, especially the perplexed and worried Cheyenne, who was an old rival of the Dark de.

    The conflict between the Malfa Family and Dark de was an old feud that had built up across the years, and couldn¡¯t be resolved, because it concerned the development of both sides. The Malfa Family had always been passive in the feud, but the pressure that the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de had brought Cheyenne, the only pir of support of the Malfa Family, was far beyond imaginable.

    Cheyenne had once pinned his hopes on Hutton, hoping that his proud disciple could step into the Legendary-realm sooner and let the Malfa Family be stronger. However, the fourth Legendary member of the Dark de surfaced before his hopes had been fulfilled.

    More incredibly, the power of that Stephen had exhibited was not like that of a novice to the Legendary-realm. The Soul Laws were clearly beyond the limits of a beginner in the Legendary-realm. The release of the Soul Storm did not stop at all, and he executed his attacks with so much finesse that it seemed to be a natural gift.

    Cheyenne wanted to help Lin Li, but the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de were staring at him intimidatingly, leaving him with no chance to do so at all. Of those present, the only one who could stop Stephen was probably Elder Randy. He was the best candidate, be it because of his strong powers or his rtionship with the Dark de.

    However, Cheyenne turned to look at the elves, only to be disappointed because Elder Randy did not seem to have the intention of stopping them. Indeed, the elves had always been in cooperation with the Dark de, and they would undoubtedly stand on thetter¡¯s side in such circumstances. How could they help Lin Li?

    However, Cheyenne¡¯s spection was not definite. The elves had learned a lot from humans, with the most important being bnce. Elder Randy knew that the continued conflict between the Malfa Family and the Dark de would be the most advantageous for the elves. Although neither of the huge forces posed a threat to the elves, it would affect the dominance of the elves in future.

    From this point of view, it seemed that Elder Randy ought to intervene. After all, in the current situation, there were four Legendary powerhouses from the Dark de which were now stronger than the Malfa Family. However, after interacting with Lin Li, Elder Randy knew that he was definitely not a person who could be controlled easily. Instead of allowing Lin Li to y the role of bncing the Dark de and the Malfa Family, he decided that it would be better to let him die and let the elves be the ones to provide the bnce.

    At this very moment, the hundreds of Soul Arrows and the Soul Storm were extremely close to Lin Li in the Soul-devouring Domain. It was as if Lin Li would bepletely engulfed in the next instant. Stephen had even stoppedughing and was waiting to hear Lin Li¡¯s shrieks. Be it to Stephen or Mephistos, that would be the most wonderful enjoyment in the world.

    However, Lin Li suddenly shot out the Light and Darkness Domain, which was only ck and white. The continuous collision of ck shadow and white light merged into countless Angels of Light and Dark who pped their ck and white wings while flying around Lin Li.

    As the Angels of Light and Dark flew around, the Light and Darkness Domain continuously expanded within the Soul-devouring Domain. The souls which had been devoured and tortured by the ck mes of the Abyss of Tharlen suddenly stopped wailing, and began heaving sighs of relief under the purification of white light.

    The hundreds of Soul Arrows disappeared at the instant that the Light and Darkness Domain was induced, just like ashes falling into water without even the slightest ripple.

    The sudden change surprised everyone, and the weird soul arrows disappeared so silently. The Light and Darkness Domain was beyond the imagination of all, even though they knew that it was the nomological power of Light and Darkness. However, that was the reason for their disbelief.

 Chapter 649 - Thunderbolt

    <h4>Chapter 649: Thunderbolt</h4>

    Lin Li had once used the Light and Darkness Domain in front of everyone when battling the green dragons, but no one could notice the existence of the Light and Darkness Rules under the facade of the Frost Domain. Despite having scoured through the Seven-Realm Spiral and battled the Undead Lord and the Retribution Knight together, they could only subtly feel some light Rules in Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain.

    However, no one expected that Lin Li¡¯s mastery of the Light and Darkness Rules was already enough for him to create his own Magical Domain. In this ck and white Magical Domain, the contrasting Rules actually fused together perfectly without seeming to conflicting at all.

    What kind of mastery did he have to possess in order to do that? Even Elder Randy could not hide his astonishment at all.

    It was not unusual to master the Rules of light and darkness. Almost all the popes of the Brilliance Shrine had their own Light Domain, while the Darkness Shrine, too, had masters of Darkness Domain. However, only a true master who had gained deep insight into the two domains could control the Light and Darkness Domain, which was a fusion of the two.

    Of course, Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t know that Lin Li managed to create the Light and Darkness Domain because he mainly relied on the debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light and Gloomy Dark. Regardless of what others thought, Lin Li would not easily let go of those who wanted to kill him, be it the dying Stephen or Mephistos who was about to be reborn.

    With the expansion of the Light and Darkness Domain, countless Angels of Light and Dark flew around the sky, and even Stephen¡¯s Soul Storm could only slow down. Just as everyone was specting and making guesses about how Lin Li had managed to create his Light and Darkness Domain, the Angels of Light and Dark who were flying in the sky suddenly broke apart and became the energy of light and darkness.

    <i>Could it be too weak to persist?!</i> Cheyenne once again began to feel worried, despite feeling surprised earlier on.

    Light and darkness were two diametrically opposed Rule forces, or rather two conflicting Rules. Yet, they were fused together to create a Magical Domain. The idea itself was already beyond what anyone could imagine.

    The three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de and even Elder Randy could not help but heave a sigh of relief when they saw the Angels of Light and Dark disintegrating.

    However, after the Angels of Light and Dark disintegrated, the Light and Darkness Domain did not disintegrate. The countless rays of ck and white lights merged in the sky while revolving in a frenzy. Eventually, they fused into a giant ck and white sword. The giant sword hung in the sky while the rays of ck and white continued to merge with it, causing it to elongate and expand rapidly, and making the humans feel tiny inparison.

    Lin Li pursed his lips and looked in front with a stern and menacing expression. He then raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in the air, and the giant ck and white sword in the sky darted forward together with Lin Li¡¯s movements.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    One strike of the sword was all it took to shatter the Soul Storm which contained all of the power of the Lord of Souls, and countless souls were purified by the light contained in the sword. However, that was not the end. The giant ck and white sword did not slow down at all. After cutting off the Soul Storm, it mmed down into the Soul-devouring Domain again.

    In the Soul-devouring Domain, the countless souls that could not stop wailing suddenly let out a shrill shriek before falling silent again. Rays of light rose above in the Soul-devouring Domain, which were the souls that had been purified by Holy Light. Although purification would cause them to vanish, it was a form of relief for them after being tortured by the ck mes for so many years.

    Almost all of the souls that had been umted for tens of thousands of years were purified by the sword while the Soul-devouring Domain copsed. Although the Lord of Souls Mephistos could escape this ordeal, the Soul-devouring Domain could barely reach its power.

    Ever since Stephen hadunched an attack and Lin Li retaliated, only a few moments passed. However, to the surrounding spectators who had been on an emotional roller-coaster, it felt like an eternity.

    No one could hide the shock that they were feeling, for Lin Li¡¯s abilities had already exceeded their imagination. He was only a Legendary-mage as well, but he managed to split the daunting Soul Storm apart with just one blow. He even shattered Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain! Was this really done by a Legendary-mage?

    Stephen had already fallen to the ground with the copse of the domain. Although he could still exude a weak aura, everyone knew that he was already on the brink of death. Any Legendary-mage would be subject to the recoil of Rule Power during the shattering of a Magical Domain. Those who were lucky enough to survive would end up bing vegetables that would never get to practice magic again.

    There was an unbelievable surprise in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes, and he couldn¡¯t help but be d that he had trusted the right person. It seemed that he had to get closer to Lin Li and forge stronger ties between the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk after they returned. Cheyenne began to contemte letting Hutton join the Tower of Dusk and learn alongside the young Mage Felic, who might help him step into the Legendary-realm.

    Unlike Cheyenne, the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de were full of disbelief. The fusion of light and darkness was already beyond what they couldprehend, and the powerful strike that Lin Liunched on Stephen was absolutely intimidating.

    Elder Randy took a deep breath and stared at the young human mage withplicated emotions. He reckoned that even the best prodigy of the elven race could notpare to this human. He could not decide between befriending Lin Li or killing him before he grewpletely.

    Elder Randy had always been confident that killing the human mage Lin Li would be an easy task. However, after seeing that giant ck and white sword¡¯s destructive power, Elder Randy could not help but begin doubting himself.

    Elder Randy had a feeling that the sword that had destroyed the Soul-devouring Domain would be immune to the damage he inflicted, even if he transformed into a silver dragon. Judging from Lin Li¡¯s current appearance, he reckoned that that strike was definitely not all that Lin Li could do. No one knew what other secrets he was hiding.

    <i>He has a level-21 Vampire and a level-20 Lich as his servants, as well as two Legendary Humerus Wyrms. This human actually has such a powerful force around him. He has always had them, but I¡¯ve never regarded them seriously. If I were to reallyunch an attack on him, I might be able to kill them all with the help of the Dark de, but I¡¯ll definitely suffer a huge loss too. By then, it might be hard to pass through the seventh realm...</i> Elder Randy thought to himself in shock not far behind Lin Li.

    Just as almost everyone was secretly weighing the pros and cons, Lin Li suddenly smirked after putting away his Light and Darkness Domain. Without any warning, countless Hell Vines emerged from below Lin Li¡¯s feet, and instantly covered the hundreds of square meters ofnd around Lin Li.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be shocked and puzzled with the sudden appearance of the Hell Vines. However, they soon noticed a blurry figure being dragged out of nothingness by the Hell Vines. The figure was none other than the Legendary Bandit Lansdale, who was also one of the three Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de.

    Lin Li would deserve to die if he stillunched an attack without taking any precautions despite knowing that the other party had a Legendary Bandit on their side. Lin Li had always treasured his life; hence, he would definitely take precautionary measures against any potential threats. Thus, he had already used magic to create a seed of Hell Vines beneath his feet.

    The Hell Vines were arguably one of the best ways to guard against assassins. It took only a touch of magic to sprout from the ground and grow rapidly to wrap itself around any intruder who invaded its vicinity. Even if the opponent concealed himself, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the sharp senses of the Hell Vines. Once they tangled themselves around the intruder, they¡¯d immediately absorb arge amount of vitality and inject deadly toxins into the intruder¡¯s body.

    However, Lansdale was worthy of being a Legendary Bandit. Although he was caught by the Hell Vines, he didn¡¯t panic at all. He suddenly spun his danger and radiated countless rays of reflected light to shield himself. A blue light shed and a sweet scent of poison covered the dagger, after which the hundreds of Hell Vines wrapped around him were cut in the blink of an eye.

    Before the other Hell Vines could entangle him, Lansdale suddenly disappeared. The next time he appeared, he was already far away from the vines.

    However, at this very moment, Lansdale¡¯s face grew sullen just as he was about to scrutinize his surroundings. All of a sudden, a dazzling ray of light appeared in the sky, looking like an aurora and a rainbow...

    No one could describe the splendor of this ray of light as it shed across the sky as if lightning struck.

    Shortly after, the world suddenly fell silent...

    Lansdale stood amongst a bunch of vines with the dagger in his hand, which was emitting a faint blue light. Since the thickest and toughest vines had been cut away, Lansdale would be able to get out of the vines with just a gentle slit of the dagger and begin attacking Lin Li with the dominance of a thunderbolt.

    However, it became Lansdale¡¯s eternal regret. Ever since then, he never had the chance to wield the dagger again.

 Chapter 650 - A Shocking Arrow

    <h4>Chapter 650: A Shocking Arrow</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After the ray of amazing light shone through, a huge hole appeared in the middle of Lansdale¡¯s chest. The flesh around it was scorched and charred as if he had been struck by lightning. Lansdale was definitely dead. Even if Pope Rosario arrived in person, he would have no choice but to shake his head and sing a hymn as a rite of passage for Lansdale...

    Staring at Lansdale who was still standing among the vines, all of them suddenly felt a cold chill down their spines as they could not contain the horror of it all.

    Everyone had seen clearly that the brilliant ray of light that killed Lansdale was actually an arrow shot from the sky, though it was more absurd than what they could ept...

    There were three Legendary leaders in the Dark de: the Legendary-mage Borg, the Sword Sage Bald, and the Legendary Bandit Lansdale. Although Lansdale was not the strongest, he was not to be trifled with, and even Elder Randy had to be wary of him.

    As a Legendary Bandit, Lansdale would definitely be vignt even though he was adept at assassinating his enemies. While he did not have his own Magical Domain like Legendary-mages did, everything around him could be considered his domain since he had sharp senses. Even the slightest changes would not go unnoticed by him. No one would be able to assassinate him even when he was sleeping.

    However, when faced with that brilliant light in the sky, Lansdale got his heart pierced in a single blow before he could even attempt to evade. Shock was written all over his face, and even during hisst moments, he still couldn¡¯t believe that he would die because of an arrow.

    The arrow that killed Lansdale by striking him in his chest had long disappeared, and no one even saw what the arrow looked like. However, the power of the arrow was deeply etched in everyone¡¯s minds and became an unforgettable memory.

    Elves were famous for their impressive archery. Not only did they have arge number of elite archers, they also had archers of the Sanctuary-realm like Wind Whisperer Hull. Even the elves who did not specialize in archery were mostly great archers too. In Anril, the elves were considered the best in archery.

    Apart from the Legendary Archer Gildor and Princess Elune who had the Song of Heart, Elder Randy was the only one amongst the elves who appeared here who had personally witnessed Wind Whisperer Hull¡¯s brilliance.

    Hull had managed to kill the king of Ledin Kingdom with a single arrow that darted across thousands of miles. That arrow could be said to reach the limit of a bow and arrow in the opinion of the elves and possibly everyone else of Anril.

    However, the arrow that struck Lansdale hadpletely thwarted the people¡¯s understanding of archery, giving them an eyeopener. No one knew exactly where the arrow hade from, and only knew that it seemed to have struck Lansdale menacingly and swiftly like lightning and thunder with explosive Legendary power. No one doubted it at all, and they all thought that it had already exceeded the limits of archery. Even Wind Whisperer Hull might notunch such a horrifying strike with the Song of Heart.

    Almost everyone had the same idea in mind. If the arrow was shot at them instead, would they be able to escape? However, that was also the reason for their dejection because they were certain that they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge it. Even if they were expecting it, they wouldn¡¯t know how to avoid it.

    Shock was written all over their faces, and they couldn¡¯t hide it at all. Lansdale¡¯s death had taken them aback greatly. Only Lin Li, who had just ended the battle with Stephen, managed to stay calm, with no fear or terror on his face. There was only a slight tinge of worry in his eyes.

    After a while, the arrow was nowhere in sight, and everyone gradually calmed down. In fact, after giving it some thought, they realized that there was no point in worrying, since even the Legendary Bandit Lansdale could not escape the arrow, let alone themselves. They felt that there was no need to make themselves nervous if there was no way they could escape anyway.

    They decided to put Lansdale¡¯s death and the arrow aside for a while because they would never be able to figure it out regardless of the amount of effort they put in. Now, the only thing that was worth their attention was the battle between Lin Li and Stephen just now.

    After that battle, there were also slight changes in the power dynamics of cooperation between the four forces that had delved into the Seven-Realm Spiral. Amongst the four, the elves had always undoubtedly been the strongest followed, by the Dark de, which had three Legendary leaders. Not to mention, Stephen had just entered the Legendary-realm too. To the elves and the Dark de, the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were both insignificant, regardless of which one of them was stronger, or even if the two joined forces.

    However, Stephen, who had just been promoted to the Legendary-realm, was now seriously injured and dying after the intense battle with Lin Li, while the fearsome Lansdale died because of a mysterious arrow. In the blink of an eye, the Dark de¡¯s power was reduced by half, with the Sword Sage Bald and the Legendary-mage Borg being the only ones left.

    Before this battle, people would have probably thought that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the Dark de even if he had the help of Cheyenne. However, after what they had just witnessed, they realized that there was more to Lin Li¡¯s abilities and powers than what meets the eye.

    In the face of the situation which everyone believed would result in casualties, the giant ck and white sword managed to destroy the Soul-devouring Domain effortlessly and cause the trapped souls to disperse, while Stephen was dying from his severe injuries. The power of Lin Li¡¯s effortless attack took everyone by storm, and shocked them even more greatly than the sharp arrow that shot Lansdale did.

    Among the crowd, Elder Randy was undoubtedly the most powerful, but when he saw the power of Lin Li¡¯s attack, even he couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. Defeating Stephen was nothing, for it was a feat that could probably be achieved by Elder Randy and the other Legendary figures too. After all, Stephen had just entered the Legendary-realm. Even though he used the tough-to-handle Spiritual Magic, the elven magic was excellent too.

    Elder Randy was a level-23 Wild Druid who could not be equaled even if he didn¡¯t use his ability to transform into a dragon. When in the form of a silver dragon, his strength would be greatly improved, and he would definitely kill Stephen easily if he were to be a little more ruthless.

    However, Elder Randy had to admit that even with his own powerful abilities, he might not be able to achieve that result with the same ease as Lin Li. After all, battles in the Legendary-realm, especially between Legendary-mages, were more than just apetition of who was more powerful. The oue was usually decided through the collision and battle between domains.

    Elder Randy himself was a Wild Druid, but he had witnessed plenty of battles between Legendary-mages. However, he could not name a Legendary-mage who could destroy his opponent in a way that was as arrogant and tyrannical as Lin Li¡¯s.

    Had he not felt the clear fluctuations in mana from both sides, Elder Randy would have even thought that it was just a Legendary-mage bullying an Archmage, and not a battle between Legendary-mages. The gap between their strengths had far exceeded his imagination. The oue was decided in the blink of an eye, something that no one could imagine.

    The strength shown by Lin Li made everyone secretly startled. Everyone had thoughts of their own, but their sentiments were almost simr. They had no choice but to see the young Legendary-mage Lin Li as well as the Tower of Dusk which they had heard of but never seen in a different light now.

    When Lin Li had taught Jacques a lesson, the only reason the elves had been shocked was because Lin Li actually had had the audacity to harm the elves. When besieged by the green dragons, Lin Li had first broken the standstill with the help of his Vampire servant Norfeller. The people were also surprised, but only because Lin Li was ruthless and Norfeller¡¯s performance miraculous.

    When the Green Dragon King appeared and sent everyone into despair, the baby Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua appeared to make the Green Dragon King and his green dragons leave. Back then, people were shocked because of how peculiar of a pet Xiao Hua was, and not because of Lin Li¡¯s abilities.

    Along the way in the Seven-Realm Spiral, they had experienced fierce battles, but they found nothing special about Lin Li¡¯s performance. However, in hindsight, they realized that there was definitely another reason apart from his Undead servants that Lin Li, a Legendary-mage who had just been promoted to level-21, could battle the Skeletal Lord and defeat the Death Knights.

    They could sense the nomological power of light and darkness from the Light and Darkness Domain that Lin Li unfolded earlier on, especially the giant ck and white sword that was formedter. Obviously, Lin Li was not useless in intense battles, and simply had not been giving his all.

    As the prestigious eighth elder of the Emerald Council, Elder Randy also had great strength, but at this juncture, he had no choice but to take Lin Li seriously. Anyone could tell that Lin Li had yet to showcase all of his power, and none of them knew what his limits were. In fact, some even suspected that he had used some special method to hide his magical wave.

    There was silence all around, and everyone was secretly trying to digest everything that happened and recover from the shock that Lin Li had given them. However, at this very moment, a powerful mana wave burst out all of a sudden and snapped everyone back to reality.

    The powerful mana wave did note from the enemies in the Seven-Realm Spiral, or rather, not the enemy of everyone. The mana came right from the Legendary-mage of the Dark de, Borg, who was also the severely wounded Stephen¡¯s father. The legendary Sword Sage Bald also followed Borg while exuding a strong Combat Energy.

    Lin Li frowned slightly, and the two Undead servants behind him immediately came to his side. Due to the fact that Stephen had attacked, the rtionship between Lin Li and the Dark de had truly be a hostile one, and Lansdale¡¯s assassination attempt on Lin Li had caused the animosity to form for good.

    <i>It seems that a battle with these two Legendary powerhouses is inevitable,</i> Lin Li thought as he held onto the Helios¡¯ Scepter. Although he was about to face two long-established Legendary powerhouses, there wasn¡¯t the slightest tinge of fear or terror on his face at all.

    All of a sudden, Lin Li, who had been waiting for a while, felt that there was someone else beside him. He turned around to see that it was none other than the Legendary-mage Cheyenne.

    Cheyenne smiled slightly without uttering a single word, for he had already allowed his actions to show his decision to stand on Lin Li¡¯s side.

    Looking at the tense situation which seemed to foreshadow a massive battle, Elder Randy opened his mouth, but didn¡¯t say anything to dissuade them. Instead, he just shook his head gently. Although the elves had always been dominant in the cooperation with the Dark de, Elder Randy had no reason to speak.

    Borg, who had surging mana waves around him, did not attack Lin Li immediately, and instead suppressed hisplicated emotions. Lowering his voice, he said, ¡°Mage Felic, I didn¡¯t expect to have belittled you even after interacting with you for such a long time. Your strength is really greater than what you show on the surface. Stephen has already been punished for attacking you. I hope you can give him to me, and the Dark de will retreat and back out of this operation.¡±

    Borg¡¯s request was truly unexpected to everyone, but after giving it some thought, they all realized that it was indeed the best choice for the Dark de. There was already no turning back nor a chance of improving the hostile rtionship between the Dark de and Lin Li. The elves were obviously going to stay out of it and leave them in the lurch too. If it were to go on, none of them knew what might happen. However, it was indeed admirable of Borg to make such a decision when Stephen was on the brink of death.

 Chapter 651 - The Seventh Realm

    <h4>Chapter 651: The Seventh Realm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In everyone¡¯s opinion, Stephen was just dying because of his severe injuries, but Lin Li knew clearly that the sword that had condensed and formed in the Light and Darkness Domain had not only cut off Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain, but also ended his life. Hence, Stephen could be considered no different from dead now. Even with Mephistos¡¯s peculiarly strong power, he could never be reborn using Stephen¡¯s body.

    Lin Li could tell that if he insisted on keeping Stephen, Borg would never hesitate to give up his life to take Stephen back. Although he needed not be afraid of the Dark de¡¯s two Legendary leaders now that he had the help of Cheyenne who wouldplement his abilities, he felt that he would be going against his own interests by fighting and going against a Legendary powerhouse for the sake of a dead person.

    While Borg was watching, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Alright, you may take him away.¡±

    Borg restrained his mana slightly and strode towards Stephen, who was already unconscious, before reaching out to pick him up. He nced at Lin Li ambiguously and turned around to leave together with Bald, who was carrying Lansdale¡¯s corpse.

    As the people of the Dark de left, the ones remaining had to think about the next step that they would be taking. Lansdale¡¯s death had already shown them that there would be greater danger in their journey ahead, but even then, no one was willing to back out at this moment.

    The guardians of this realm were refusing to show up. Apart from killing Lansdale with an arrow, they didn¡¯t do anything else. Hence, the rest had to be proactive in finding a way out if they wanted to get through the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    After scanning their surroundings, they noticed a faint shadow in a certain direction, which seemed to be a dense forest. Elder Randy did not immediately lead his group in that direction, and instead casually asked for Lin Li¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s opinion, which was rather rare of him. However, he was mostly interested in Lin Li¡¯s opinion since it was more important.

    That was what the world was like. In order to earn the respect of others, one would have to showcase abilities and powers that were worth respecting. Lin Li managed to do so by wielding his sword. Even the Eight Elder of the Elven Kingdom, Elder Randy, had no choice but to start taking Lin Li seriously despite being just as powerful himself.

    Compared to the previous realms, the space of the seventh realm was almost endless. Although there was nothing strange in the other areas, there was a shadow at the end of one of the directions, which seemed to stand out in this spacious realm. After a little discussion, everyone decided to explore in that direction, hoping to find the guardians of the seventh realm there.

    Everyone surged in one direction, and the shadow gradually became clearer. There was indeed an extremely vast and dense forest at the border of the end that they rushed towards. Although it seemed that they had found the correct direction, there wasn¡¯t a tinge of joy on their faces at all. Instead, they became increasingly sullen.

    At the borders of the forest, the group stopped again and looked at the dense and boundless forest. Although this forest was no different from the forests that they had seen before, and was much more beautiful than the Emerald Forest, they could not help but feel terrified.

    The mages released the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, while the other members in other professions also used their own methods in a bid to observe the forest from the sky. Although they knew that there would be no escape for them if they were to be struck by the same arrow that had shot Lansdale regardless of how careful they were, they nheless did not stop.

    The dense forest was full of greenery, full of grass and fallen leaves, together with some elegant wild flowers. Butterflies could even be seen flying among the flowers, with the melodious chirping of birds resounding in the forest. From time to time, there would be small birds circling in the forest, flying in and out to create a beautiful view of nature.

    However, when they were observing the forest through various methods, Elder Randy said something.

    ¡°It¡¯s... the Sierra Leone Forest!¡±

    There was a look of disbelief on Elder Randy¡¯s face. Although the forest in front of him was drastically different from what he remembered, he could match the characteristics of this forest with those of the Sierra Leone Forest.

    Everyone was shocked to hear Elder Randy¡¯s words. They looked at the forest again carefully, after which horror was written all over their faces.

    In the history of the Dark Age, the Sierra Leone Forest could be said to have existed throughout it all. It was an existence that had to be mentioned.

    During the reign of the High Elves, the ruling policy that they imposed on various races made it such that any rebellion would be brutally suppressed. Although the most famous of them was the mighty Lord Osric who was known as the Butcher, the other High Elves were not much kinder than Osric.

    To the countless rebels, death had been sometimes not the most fearful punishment, but a form of relief. To the High Elves, simply ending the life of the rebels would not vent the strong aversion in their hearts. As a result, the Sierra Leone Forest became a huge part of history.

    The Sierra Leone Forest was a ce of exile for the so-called sinners. Of course, as a ce of exile, it definitely shouldn¡¯t be a ce with beautiful surroundings and lush greenery, because that would make it seem like a vacation for the prisoners, and not a punishment.

    The actual Sierra Leone Forest was not what Lin Li and others were looking at now. It was worlds apart from the beautiful forest in front of them. At that time, every inch of the Sierra Leone forest was full of the stench of dposition. Green was a fresh and luxurious color, while withering was the eternal theme of the forest.

    Once, there used to be deadly poisonous mist spread around the Sierra Leone Forest instead of the fragrance of wild flowers. There were no clear creeks and puddles, only swamps full of dposition and floating skeletal remains. Of course, the miracle of life was ubiquitous. There were still signs of life even in such a harsh environment, though they were all brutal magical beasts which had been tempered by the harsh environment.

    Dangers were rampant in the Sierra Leone Forest and threats lurked in every corner of the dangerous forest, making even a shoot of weed seem full of despair.

    Throughout the Dark Age, the leaders of countless rebellion forces were exiled to the hellish Sierra Leone Forest after being condemned by High Elves. There were even some royals who hadmitted treachery and went against the High Elven Queen included among the exiles.

    There were plenty of powerful and famous men from the Dark Age amongst the exiled prisoners. However, none of them managed to walk out of the Sierra Leone forest alive. Even if they did not surrender to the High Elven Queen, they didn¡¯t survive for long after being exiled to the Sierra Leone Forest, because they would soon go berserk out of despair.

    Most of the people present had yet to experience the Dark Age; hence, they did not know how truly horrifying the Sierra Leone Forest could be. Even Elder Randy had probably never seen it in person.

    However, in many historical books, there were various descriptions and condemnation of the Sierra Leone Forest. After all, plenty of outstanding leaders had been buried there, including countless famous powerhouses.

    Hence, everyone including Lin Li were no strangers to the Sierra Leone Forest. Although the environment of this forest was very different from that of the real Sierra Leone, they could see through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes that there were some significantndforms that were simr to the Sierra Leone Forest described in historical data.

    Without a doubt, it was definitely the once infamous Sierra Leone Forest. Everyone fell silent for a while. The fresh and natural beauty in front of them seemed to have turned dull. Thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral turned out to be the Sierra Leone Forest that was used by the High Elves to exile prisoners. The dangers within were self-evident.

    After a moment of silence, Elder Randy asked for Lin Li¡¯s opinion. The departure of the Dark de left the team with a huge deficit in strength. If the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family decided to back out at this juncture, there wouldn¡¯t really be a need for the elves to go any further.

    However, Lin Li had no intention to give up halfway, since he had already made it this far. He definitely had to break through the Seven-Realm Spiral, be it for the sake of the debris of the stars Thunderbolt or for the Sky Castle.

    As for Cheyenne, there was no way for him to leave alone. No one knew if the Dark de wouldn¡¯t put up another fight along the way. After the death of Lansdale, the power of the Dark de had been greatly reduced, but they were still stronger than the Malfa Family. Still, everyone could tell that the Malfa Family was getting closer to the Tower of Dusk.

    Everything that¡¯d just happened made it impossible for the conflict between the Dark de and the Tower of Dusk to be resolved. They would probablyunch an attack on the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family in the future. Instead of facing two opponents, they would probably choose to first kill one when they had the chance to, as would anyone else.

    Although entering the Sierra Leone Forest would bring about unknown dangers, Cheyenne did not want to give the Dark de a chance to attack him. Hence, he decided to settle the scores in the future. Besides, he was rather confident in and reliant on his ally, Lin Li. Despite not knowing what kind of powers Lin Li was hiding, the more he interacted with thetter, the more mysterious Cheyenne found him to be.

    Soon, the three forces reached a consensus, and chose a route to follow to enter the Sierra Leone Forest. Of course, in the current situation, the so-called route was only based on their understanding of the Sierra Leone Forest. They had no idea if they should stay away from some prohibitednds recorded in some historical sources.

 Chapter 652 - Wind Elementals

    <h4>Chapter 652: Wind Elementals</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    They stepped into the Sierra Leone Forest, only to see that everything was harmonious and natural around them. However, they all seemed to be extremely careful and conscientious. Elder Randy carefully protected Princess Elune and kept her by his side. If another powerful arrow were toe their way, he definitely wouldn¡¯t hesitate to block it.

    The arrow that had shot Lansdale was like a sword of Damocles that was hanging over everyone¡¯s head. No one knew when it would fall on them. Although they had not encountered such an attack again, that was also the reason for their worry and distress.

    There would asionally be squirrels climbing up tree branches in the Sierra Leone Forest and staring at the crowd while holding a nut. They would never figure out why such a beautiful haven would make them feel so nervous. The birds were still chirping melodiously, and there were also constant calls from young birds waiting to be fed in the nests. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they knew that this was the Sierra Leone Forest of the Seven-Realm Spiral, everything would seem so intoxicating.

    However, this was still not a vacation resort for intruders, after all. Not long after Lin Li andpany entered the forest, the beautiful and harmonious scenery was suddenly disrupted by an abrupt change.

    The strong magical wave suddenly exploded around them, followed by countless offensive spells which poured out from all directions towards Lin Li andpany. The dense Wind des diced the thick trees into sawdust instantly, while lightning struck from the sky like heavy rain, causing a huge pit to be formed in the ground.

    However, the sudden attack did not make everyone panic, but instead gave them a sense of relief. Offensive spells appeared instead of the second arrow. No matter what the reason might be, the other attacks would be far less terrifying than the arrow that had struck Lansdale.

    Due to the fact that they had been tense and careful ever since they entered the forest, everyone reacted immediately after they were attacked. Cheyenne, in particr, immediately put up a defense magic which not only shielded himself but also Lin Li and the gang.

    Prior to the treasure quest that they embarked on in the Haiga Mountain Range, the Malfa Family was not exactly an ally of the Tower of Dusk, and the two forces were more like business partners. Cheyenne had headed to the Tower of Dusk personally to invite Lin Li along on the treasure quest simply because he¡¯d been hoping that Lin Li would provide some support and add on to the chances of sess. In fact, he was also looking for apetent sacrificial pawn. Although the Malfa Family had respected Lin Li on the surface, they actually found him to be dispensable.

    However, Lin Li had not fulfilled Cheyenne¡¯s wishes, for he only brought the vampire Norfeller along. The Dark de¡¯s appearance then left Cheyenne with no other choice but to forgo his ns and put in effort to curry favor with Lin Li in order to get closer to him. That was the only way Cheyenne who had left Aminya City could manage to stand up to the Dark de.

    It was impossible for Cheyenne not to be disgusted with Lin Li¡¯s behavior along the way. If the Dark de had not been around, Cheyenne would have definitely berated Lin Li even if he hadn¡¯t fallen out with him. Later on, the elves appeared, making it even more necessary for Cheyenne to get closer to his ally, the Tower of Dusk. Right from the start, Cheyenne had been feeling like he had to submit to circumstances.

    However, the power that Lin Li had shown just now while destroying the Soul-devouring Domain with a single blow made Cheyenne change his mindset greatly. Cheyenne knew that he could not let go of this ally who he once thought was insignificant. He was d to have established a cooperative rtionship with the Tower of Dusk long ago, and that he did not disrespect Lin Li in an any way throughout the journey. He then made up his mind to strengthen their alliance.

    With Cheyenne¡¯s qualifications, status, and even age, it would naturally be impossible for him to stoop too low, especially since that was against the interests of the Malfa Family. The so-called alliance was a cooperation between the two parties on an equal basis. Hence, if he were to stoop too low, he wouldn¡¯t be an ally but a subordinate of Lin Li.

    Hence, regardless of whether Lin Li needed it or not, Cheyenne decided to nheless express his goodwill through his actions like he had before with Borg and Bald.

    Lin Li was well aware of Cheyenne¡¯s intentions. After all, the Malfa Family had been thriving in the Breezy ins for numerous years. Although the Tower of Dusk was developing at a very fast speed with their own effort, an additional ally like the Malfa Family would only do good and no harm. Hence, he smiled and epted Cheyenne¡¯s good will.

    However, after seeing Lin Li¡¯s reaction, Cheyenne began to notice the enemies who had been attacking them appear from the woods. He didn¡¯t have time to rejoice at all. After seeing the enemies, Lin Li¡¯s heart sank, and the joy within him seemed to have vanishedpletely.

    Everyone began to understand why there was only wind and snow magic in the overwhelming offensive spells only after seeing the face of their enemies. It was because the enemies were the extremely rare life forms: the wind elementals.

    An elemental was not a magical beast, but was an entityposed entirely of pure magical elements. However, there had never been a clear exnation for theck of consciousness, and it could only be attributed to the magic of creation. In fact, most Legendary-mages would have a way of attacking after obtaining their own Magical Domains. The Angels of Light and Dark created by Lin Li were a perfect example.

    However, elemental bodies that had been created through the Magical Domain did not have an autonomous consciousness; hence, they couldn¡¯t be deemed living beings. Like a puppet, they had to obey their creator¡¯s instructions, and were just tools and weapons. In the world of nature, elementals had their own consciousness like magical beasts, even though they were extremely rare.

    The wind elementals were essentially Wind Genies which on the surface looked like fumes of smoke that would condense into a humanoid form. However, their lower bodies were all tornados that spun continuously. Although they did not have an actual physical body, they were not to be belittled, because they wereposed of the purest wind magical element. The high concentration of magical element in the wind system would make the life form get surrounded by countless thunderous electric snakes.

    The magical power of wind elementals was more than just talent because it was just part of their bodies. Using the wind and thunder elemental magic was akin to holding something in one¡¯s hands¡ªit was a natural instinct and ability. The kind of power that they possessed would allow them to manipte the corresponding level of magic without the help of any curses or spells. All it took was a single thought.

    Countless wind and thunder magic exploded above their defensiveyer, causing ripples. All of the magic spells were level-18 and above.

    If it were another level-18 Archmage, they would be insignificant to Lin Li¡¯s team, since even if it were a level-18 Archmage, he might not be able to use level-18 magic consecutively.

    However, the elementals experienced no difficulty in casting these spells at all, because it was even easier for them than using level-1 magic was for Archmages. When faced with the endless level-18 wind and thunder magic, even a Legendary powerhouse couldn¡¯t disregard it. No one dared to expose themselves.

    The wind elementals moved at rapid speed and surrounded the crowd in no time. At the same time, the powerful magic did not stop at all, and the attacks wereunched continuously at the magical defense field that seemed to be copsing. Their speed was also the reason that they ought not to be underestimated. Magical locks basically had little effect on them, and it would not be easy to strike them with magic.

    Among the many types of magic of each element, wind magic was the fastest. However, the wind elementals that everyone was facing now were basically immune to the damage done by the magic. In order to tackle a wind elemental, one would have to use a greater offensive spell that was beyond the wind and thunder elements.

    Looking at the dozens of wind elementals that were flying towards them, Elder Randy could not help but start frowning. Although he was the strongest of them all, he could not do much about the wind elementals, which also had a very high immunity to physical attacks.

    Apart from Elder Randy, Elune and Gildor were also masters of physical attacks. The only one who could effectively kill the wind elementals was Culofen, who specialized in fire magic. In this case, Elder Randy had no choice but to ask Lin Li for his opinion again. He was no longer prideful and haughty. Instead, he treated Lin Li like a person of the same status as himself.

    Elder Randy knew clearly that he couldn¡¯t work alone like before. Be it facing the hordes of wind elementals or the unknown dangers ahead, forging a cooperation was the only way out. If it were the Dark de, Elder Randy would probably just patronize them and assign tasks to everyone. However, the respect shown by Elder Randy to Lin Li was genuine.

    Lin Li did not stand on ceremony at all, and sinctly stated his n to deal with the wind elementals. The Dark de and Cheyenne would have probably felt ttered and shocked by Elder Randy¡¯s attitude. However, Lin Li knew very well that he had earned this respect through his own abilities and strength. Hence, he did not feel shy at all.

    Elder Randy and Cheyenne added some ideas to Lin Li¡¯s ns, mainly regarding some aspects of their strength that others did not know.

    After all, it was a teamposed of Legendary powerhouses. Even though the enemy was a group of level-18 and above, there were limits to the damage that they could cause to Lin Li and the rest. The main thing the humans and elves wanted to do was to take precautions and prepare for future dangers. It was truly a cooperative exercise this time.

    Outside the magic defense field, a group of wind elementals tirelessly bombarded them with powerful magic. Although they had autonomous consciousness, they were not that much smarter than magical beasts. When faced with intruders, all they knew to do was to use their full power to destroy them all. Devising strategies was tooplicated for their knowledge.

    In this battlefield, all the trees had been swept away by all kinds of magic, and had in fact been turned into debris. The lightning and thunder left mes everywhere and destroyed the beautiful scene in the blink of an eye.

    The dark clouds rolled around in the sky while thunder struck down on their magical defense field. On the ground, a huge Wind de plowed a deep ditch on the ground, sting everyone from all directions.

    The magical defense field supported by Cheyenne was suddenly shut down, and the Legendary figures beganunching attacks again. However, they decided to work together this time instead of attacking individually. They seemed to have be fully integrated, each performing a unique role. Although Elder Randy was the strongest and had a high status amongst the elves, he also had to strictly perform his role.

    The cooperation between the Legendary powerhouses was not as seamless as that of the Double Death Dragons, but they were not fools, so they could work well with each other.

    The wind elementals only knew that the detestable defensiveyer had vanished, and immediately swarmed towards the exposed crowd. Like Elemental Wyrms, the elementals needed not worry about theck of mana; hence, they could give it their all when attacking their enemies with the strongest means avable.

    However, a Legendary powerhouse would not be easily defeated, let alone a group of them.

    Although the wind elementals could evade quickly, a few of them were still trapped when the Thousand Miles of Ice was shot out. Although the Thousand Miles of Ice could not really freeze them, it caused them to slow down. Without speed, the wind elementals were just like mosquitos without their wings¡ªsubject to any treatment of others.

 Chapter 653 - Storm Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 653: Storm Lightning</h4>

    Before the wind elementals could get rid of the freezing, the attacks from the Legendary team continued. They hit their respective targets urately with magic arrows and other offensive spells. The wind elementals began bombarding them again, but the Legendary powerhouses were shielded by the magical shield.

    The most important and hardest thing to achieve during cooperation was unreserved trust in one¡¯s teammates. It was the kind of trust that ordinary soldiers had in theirrades. If mutual trust could be established among all members of the team, they could achieve power that was not simply cumtive.

    Although most Legendary powerhouses were not considered lone rangers, they basically fought their own opponents during battles. When it came to cooperation, they alsounched attacks using their individual powers. When they were counterattacked against by their opponents, they¡¯d also protect themselves first instead of leaving their safety in the hands of others.

    However, the teamprised of elves and humans could basically be said to have truly cooperated with each other. They managed to achieve mutual trust, perhaps because they knew that they were all in the same boat, and they would be implicated if any one of them were to die. There were probably other reasons too. However, with such a strong trust between the members, they achieved teamwork that was no better than those who had practiced teamwork for a long time.

    The eight Legendary powerhouses had their own strength. Although the dozens of wind element creatures were not Legendary in power, everyone had their own respective role. Those who were in charge of withholding the defense would stick to it, while those who were in charge of slowing down the wind elements would do just that. The rest was then responsible for attacking the targets.

    No matter how great of a resistance the wind element had to magic, it would be impossible for them to stay strong under thebined attacks of several Legendary powerhouses. Basically, one wave of attacks would be enough to get rid of one or two targets. At first, the whole team was a little passive and getting attacked, but as the wind elements were slowly eliminated, the effects of their cooperation began to show.

    Due to the previous conflict, the Dark de had withdrawn from the operation, which meant that the team suddenly lost four Legendary powerhouses who were equivalent to almost a third of the strength of the entire team. The elves were not ming Lin Li, but they felt that the absence of the Dark de was truly a major disadvantage to the team.

    However, Elder Randy was not the only one who was surprised. Even Cheyenne could not help but be shocked that the team could work together and showcase greater power even without the participation of the Dark de.

    Perhaps some might think that the power of the team could¡¯ve been increased if the four Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de had joined in. However, given the rtionship between the Dark de and the Malfa Family, there was no way they would rely on each other and trust each other genuinely. How could they ensure each other¡¯s safety?

    After the Dark de left, the three remaining forces could build mutual trust because they had no grudges against each other, and also had to face amon enemy under pressure.

    After raging for a while, the wind elementals that besieged the crowd began to get attacked one by one by the cooperative team. Once they were attacked brutally, they would instantly disappear and turn into ashes. However, they didn¡¯t notice the change or knew how to deal with it. Hence, they simply did the same as before and cast their offensive spells in a disorderly manner.

    As the wind elementals were killed one by one, the magic density on the battlefield decreased rapidly. In no time, the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed, and there was no longer any thunder. The huge Wind de that plowed a ditch on the ground also disappeared together with thest wind elemental.

    Peace was restored, but the battlefield seemed to have been rummaged through. The scorched soil was covered in shiny crystal shards which were elemental crystals left behind after the wind elementals were killed.

    The core of an elemental was actually simr to the magical crystals of magical beasts. Although an element core was rtively rare, the purest form of magical element was condensed in it, thus giving it its value.

    Due to the fact that the cores of elementals only contained a single type of magical element, it could only be used on a single type of magic. The natural binding force in magical crystals was not present in the core of elementals; hence, it would be difficult to control urately and efficiently when the magic is released. It would also result in a great waste of power during extraction¡ªalthough the cores here were all level-18, their practical value was only level-15.

    After the battle, the few of them randomly picked up the cores of one or two elementals in a bid to add them to their collection. Lin Li got his servants to pick up a few more, not because he wanted to see what important uses they had, but because he wanted to use them as a snack for the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua. Since each was a level-18 crystal, Lin Li naturally was willing to feed them to Xiao Hua. He would rather save the magical crystals for other purposes.

    The results of the cooperation between the Legendary powerhouses this time was rather great, though there were some limitations since it was their first time cooperating with each other, after all. After the fight, the rtionship between them seemed to have improved, and before they proceeded with the rest of their journey, they discussed the issues that they¡¯d faced earlier on. This time, they wanted to build a stronger rapport while dealing with the obstacles.

    However, the sess did not make them forget about the arrow that had shot Lansdale. They were still as worried about the true guardians of this realm.

    Filled withplicated emotions, they left the chaotic battlefield and advanced towards the middle of Sierra Leone Forest.

    The only good news was that the environment in the Sierra Leone Forest was no longer the same as in the past. There was no longer any poisonous fog, swamps, or terrifying magical beasts. The wind elementals were the only enemy they had encountered so far.

    They advanced slowly, and would asionally run into a few wind elementals, though in small groups only.

    Eventually, there would definitely be an end to every journey. In the center of the Sierra Leone Forest, everyone looked around without uttering a single word, because they were all dumbfounded.

    They were in the heart of the Sierra Leone Forest, but it was actually a vast, barren field with no trees or grass in sight. It seemed to be an area devoid of life. Compared to the beautiful scene that they had been greeted with at the start, this ce seemed more like the real Sierra Leone Forest that fitted the descriptions in history books.

    In the sky, clouds as dark as ink and so thick that they seemed to be almost touching their heads were moving continuously. The ground was also pitch-ck, but the lightning shing continuously seemed to have made the darkness fade, while thunder roared in a deafening manner like beasts.

    There was also a huge vortexposed entirely of lightning in the center of the sky, revolving continuously, and seemingly trying to devour the sky. Countless Razer Pythons shuttled through the vortex, making it difficult for them to see the mystery within it. The boundless power that seemed ready to destroy the world terrified them.

    However, those were just signs that were not enough to shock the Legendary powerhouses. What really frightened everyone was the endless Razer magic that they could clearly feel in the sky.

    The solidification of magic was not profound knowledge or rocket science to Legendary-mages, and the more important thing that they had to rely on was the understanding and mastery of nomological power. However, it was clear that the deeper one understood nomological power, the more advanced the solidified magic would be. For example, no one below the Sanctuary-realm could solidify the Seven-Realm Spiral. Therefore, the power of a mage could be deduced from the level of the solidified magic.

    The solid and powerful magic in the sky was not concealed at all, and was all ready to fire while exuding horrifying magical waves. They could recognize the Extinction Thunderstorm, Wrath of Gods, and Sky-devouring Thunder Sphere. The powerful magical waves caused them to be overwhelmed with terror and fear that they could not contain.

    Everyone¡¯s faces were beyond sullen; even Elder Randy who was the most powerful among them had turned as pale as a sheet. They could tell from the solidified magic that the person who could solidify it was probably not far from the Sanctuary-realm, if they had yet to reach it. Could the guardian of thest realm be a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-level?

    The difference between an average Legendary powerhouse and one at the peak of the Legendary-realm was absolutely jarring. The Green Dragon King that they had encountered outside the Dragon¡¯s cave had yet to reach the peak of the Legendary-realm, but it was terrifying enough to make them slip into despair. Even Elder Randy dared not behave rashly in front of the Green Dragon King. He couldn¡¯t retaliate at all.

    At that time, if it weren¡¯t for Lin Li¡¯s baby Elemental Wyrm, they would have probably been ughtered by the angry Green Dragon King. They would not even get to escape, let alone retaliate. In the presence of the Green Dragon King, even Elder Randy seemed no more significant than an ant.

    The solidified magic of thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral could be seen in the sky. The person who could have such a deep understanding of nomological power was probably only a step away from the Sanctuary-realm. Even the daunting Green Dragon King had yet to reach such a level.

    Recalling the despair that the Green Dragon King had brought upon himself, Elder Randy could not help but be filled with agony as he stared at the solidified magic in the sky. When nning this operation at the start, he had been full of confidence in his abilities which he thought would help him stay free from any threats. However, the subsequent encounters were the punishment for his arrogance.

    The people of the Dark de had already left, but even if they hadn¡¯t, and had buried the hatchet to build a rapport with the team, they wouldn¡¯t have improved their situation here.

    That meant they had chosen the correct path! Elder Randy began to regret it himself. He thought, <i>Why did I continue to push here after seeing the arrow that shot Lansdale?</i>

    However, it was toote for regret now. If he wanted to leave at this juncture, he would first have to get through the guardian of the realm.

    After confirming the current situation, Cheyenne shifted his gaze away from the sky and onto Lin Li. At this moment, Lin Li was probably the only person he could rely on. The Green Dragon King had brought them despair, but Lin Li¡¯s pet managed to subdue it. Hence, he wondered if Lin Li could create another miracle this time!

    However, Cheyenne had no idea that Lin Li was cussing in his head too.

    <i>Damn it, what pervert is creating such a ruckus!?</i> Lin Li stared at the center of the lightning vortex in the sky. Although he could not see what was within it, there was already some evidence to prove his guesses. The so-called guardians of thest realm were probably not powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary level, but an arrow...

    Long before the Legendary Bandit Lansdale was shot and killed by the arrow, Lin Li had vaguely found it familiar. That was also one of the most important reasons why he came to the Haiga Mountain Range¡ªit was for Thunderbolt, one of the pieces of the debris of the stars.

    However, one thing that Lin Li was not sure about was the arrow whose power was a bit too overwhelming. Of course, that was not to say that Thunderbolt was not powerful. As an actual artifact, the power of the debris of the stars was not to be doubted, and Thunderbolt was the most powerful piece of the debris of the stars. It could be said that if the power of Thunderbolt was fully exerted, shooting a Legendary Bandit down would be a piece of cake.

    However, the problem was that it was definitely not easy to exert the full power of Thunderbolt. Lin Li already had three pieces of the debris of the stars which contained strong nomological power. However, he could only use a small amount of power in them, and he was still far from truly exerting the full power of the debris of the stars.

 Chapter 654 - Difficult Steps

    <h4>Chapter 654: Difficult Steps</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    One of the reasons was that Lin Li¡¯s power did not qualify him for controlling the debris of the stars yet, despite the fact that he was now a Legendary-mage and a powerhouse in Anril. However, he was only a beginner in terms of understanding and mastering the nomological power.

    However, Lin Li was well aware that he would never get to fully exert the power of the debris of the stars even if he reached the Sanctuary-realm or became as powerful as Geresco¡ªonly the Stars of Fury could unleash all of the power of the debris of the stars.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li possessed the debris of the stars as a Hunter; hence, he had far less control over nomological power than now. However, the Stars of Fury was the reason he had the power to challenge the Dragon of Destruction. Using debris of the stars alone was only a basic insight of the nomological power and borrowing its power. However, using the Stars of Fury would be exerting the power of the debris of the stars.

    Therefore, after seeing the power of that arrow, Lin Li still could not figure out how the power of Thunderbolt had been unleashed even though he could feel its aura. Lansdale was a Legendary Bandit who had been famous for a long time. Even if someone in the Sanctuary-realm used Thunderbolt, he might not be able to exert its power to such a high degree.

    <i>Could someone have mastered the Stars of Fury? </i>As soon as the idea popped up in Lin Li¡¯s head, he refuted it because the power of that arrow had been too weak to prove that. As it was neither very weak nor very powerful, Lin Li felt rather confused, and he still couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on.

    Lin Li could sense the aura of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, which seemed toe from the center of the vortex. However, it was obscured by the numerous Razer Pythons.

    Lin Li gathered up a portion of mental strength and carefully delved into the vortex in a bid to see if there was anything else in there apart from Thunderbolt.

    Everyone was taken aback by the sudden changes, but no one thought that they were caused by the forest. They thought that the guardian had already begun getting impatient.

    At this moment, the sky seemed to be copsing as lightning shed and the thunder roared even louder. The solidified magic that had been activated exuded a strong magical wave which was so bright that it illuminated the sky.

    All of a sudden, extremely solid razer pirs apanied by the roaring thunder bombarded the people on the ground menacingly. Every pir was full of terrifying power that was strong enough to destroy an Archmage at the peak of his powers. The lethality of the lightning magic was exhibited at this moment.

    No one dared to hesitate for a moment; even the Legendary-mages dared not use their own bodies to meet the horrifying thunderbolt pir. A magical defense field formed in front of everyone vanished; Cheyenne had no choice but to take care of his own safety before looking out for the rest.

    Although Cheyenne had been mainly responsible for the magical defense in the previous instance of cooperation, the power of the terrifying lightning magic was obviously different from that of the wind elementals. If Cheyenne were to use the group magical defense again, he might not be able to withstand the attack of even one pir, and would probably end up in a pathetic state.

    No oneined about Cheyenne¡¯s actions at this moment, because they could all feel how daunting the power of the magic was. Even if Cheyenne had the guts to take care of them first, they wouldn¡¯t dare to ept his help. During such a juncture, the most important thing to do was to take care of themselves first.

    Elder Randy and Culofen used defensive spells to protect themselves and the four other elves, while Lin Li and Ujfalusi put their best foot forward. Although Norfeller was already level-21, he wasn¡¯t good at defensive spells.

    Staring at the seemingly inexhaustible pirs, everyone knew that oneyer of defense was not enough. After arranging some defensive spells, they proceeded to spawn moreyers of defense at a rapid pace.

    At this very moment, the team that had seemed to have be one began to separate ording to factions. In terms of power, the Tower of Dusk led by Lin Li seemed to be in a tougher position than the rest. After all, Lin Li was only a level-21 Legendary-mage, while the level-20 Ujfalusi couldn¡¯t do much to help.

    While continuously casting defensive spells, Elder Randy nced at Lin Li worriedly. The guardians of thest realm had yet to appear so far. If they were to lose some power now, how would they be able to face the guardians who were very likely to be at the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm?

    However, when Elder Randy shifted his gaze onto Lin Li, he was so shocked that he almost stopped casting defensive spells. Previously, he had already thought greatly of Lin Li¡¯s abilities, but Lin Li¡¯s current performance was beyond his expectations.

    Elder Randy and Culofen worked together to instantly deploy more than 10yers of defense, which was already the limit of their speed. However, Lin Li had managed to put up nearly 20 defensiveyers all by himself. Besides, there were already 30yers of defense around the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team even before Elder Randy could blink.

    What an impressive, intimidating speed. It was almost instantaneous. Elder Randy began to imagine what it would be like if he were to apply that speed when casting offensive spells, and could not help but be horrified. They had never seen a level-21 mage with abilities like Lin Li¡¯s.

    Elder Randy even vaguely began to admire Lin Li because he was well aware that the reduction of the casting time could not be achieved overnight. He was sure that it definitely took Lin Li plenty of effort and time to be capable of. Talent in magic would not do much for him in this aspect.

    Lin Li could not be bothered with whatever others would think of him, for ording to his understanding of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt was the shrewdest of all pieces of the debris of the stars. Even though the lightning magic that they were facing now was not a direct attack from Thunderbolt, the nomological power that was contained within it was definitely rted to Thunderbolt.

    The nearly infinite lightning magic was shot instantly, and even the defensive spells that the Legendary-mages had cast could not withstand it. The deafening roar of thunder was like a hammer that continuously shattered the fragile defensive spells.

    Elder Randy suddenly couldn¡¯t care less about Lin Li, and instead focused all of his attention on casting defensive spells continuously, only to barely catch up with the speed of destruction. However, that did not mean that they were already safe. The solidified magic in the sky was continuously activated. The numerous pirs were only the beginning.

    There was already a golden sun in the sky which appeared out of nowhere. It seemed just like a sulent fruit produced by the sky. However, everyone who saw the wonderful scene did not seem to appreciate it at all. Instead, their hearts grew even heavier.

    Even if they were not Legendary-mages, they could still sense the horrifying mana within the golden sphere which had definitely reached the Legendary level. The mages were no strangers to the golden sphere in the sky, either. They knew that it was actually the Legendary magical sphere of extinction, and it wasn¡¯t just one.

    The shiny and dazzling spheres of thunder exuded a terrifying aura which seemed to be capable of destroying everything, making everything be warped. Finally, the time seemed to be ripe. The spheres swayed and slowly descended from the sky. Compared to the pirs that were still falling continuously, the speed of the spheres seemed to have slowed down a little, though they were still way more oppressive than the pirs.

    The spheres that had fallen seemed to have devoured all of the pirs, causing their power to still increase slowly. The immensely overwhelming magical dominance lived up to its name and seemed to be destroying everything in this realm.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The outbreak of the spheres immediately broke severalyers of magical defense, making everyone around sway unsteadily because of the tremors. The residual force overwhelmed everything nearby, and even destroyed ayer of defensive spell when it hit one of them.

    Resisting the bombardment of the thunder spheres was not something worth celebrating, because there were still plenty of such spheres dangling in the sky.

    The addition of the thunder spheres made it even more difficult for them to keep up with the defense, but removing it at this point seemed to be futile. They had to wait for the guardians to appear in order to retaliate.

    The only thing that they could all do was to bite the bullet and push their speed to the limits again while adding more and moreyers of magical defense. At the same time, they were still hoping that the damned guardians would show themselves as soon as possible, regardless of whether they were Legendary powerhouses or not.

    Seemingly having heard the voices of everyone and angered by their stubborn attempts at retaliating, the enemy that they were all looking forward to seeing had finally appeared. However, it was not the guardian, but the wind elementals that they had encountered previously.

    More than 10 of them appeared and began bombarding the people immediately. The power of these wind elementals was not as scary as the solidified magic spheres in the sky; they were much more concentrated, and the power of more than 10 wind elementals could not pose a threat to them, but remained annoying...

    A series of electric snakesnded around them, and after the thunder roared and lightning shed, the shape of the wind elementals was revealed. Indeed, less than 20 wind elementals would be insignificant to the people there, but dozens of them would be terrifying. However, the summoning did not stop, and the unassuming electric snakes sandwiched between the pirs would signify the summoning of a new wind elemental whenever one of themnded on the ground.

    An emerald green light was emitted from the elves¡¯ defensive spells and urately hit one of the spheres in the sky. All of a sudden, the sphere detonated with much power; the massive explosion seemed to have drowned out everything else in sight.

    Although the melodious singing could not be heard, Lin Li knew that it was Princess Elune using the Song of Heart again. Lin Li had never asked them about the price of using the Song of Heart, but there was no free lunch in this world, and the Song of Heart was not a magical artifact. Even if it was, it would be impossible for people to use their power freely without paying. Clearly, Princess Elune had to pay a hefty price for using the power of the Song of Heart.

    Several spheres in the sky were exploded by Princess Elune, but her efforts were insignificant overall, though she at least managed to buy some time for everyone.

    Everyone took the rare opportunity to tacitly gather together, and advanced forward. The appearance of arge number of wind elementals meant that a real battle was about to begin, and there would only be a dash of hope if they were to cooperate actively. Otherwise, they would only be destroyed and killed.

    The three forces moved closer together amidst the endless attacks. The short distance somehow seemed to be huge at this moment. Even though there were no longer any terrifying bombardments for now, they dared not dy in casting defensive spells.

    The elves first gathered together with the Tower of Dusk team, and the four Legendary powerhouses continuously cast defensive magic. Theyers of light engulfed everyone, and although the defensive magic outside was still continuously copsing, the rate was slower than that of their spell-casting.

    Lin Li¡¯s speed was especially bewildering; they could not even make out what he was chanting. His hands were moving at godlike speed too, and the only sign of him casting a spell was the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

 Chapter 655 - The Stars of Fury

    <h4>Chapter 655: The Stars of Fury</h4>

    Cheyenne only had to be concerned with himself. Actually, it was not that difficult to support each other. However, after the wind elementals appeared, he was left all alone, and the pressure that he had to withstand was not just a little bit. It was increased exponentially.

    Under tremendous pressure, Cheyenne moved towards Lin Li and the rest, but when he was about a few steps away from their magical defenseyer, the thunder roared loudly in the sky and dozens of lightning pirs suddenly mmed into the ground. The defensive spells around Cheyenne were immediately broken together with the dozens ofyers of defense.

    Before Cheyenne could catch his breath, a purple thunderbolt suddenly bolted out amidst the roaring thunder. It seemed to have pierced through theyers of magical defense without hindrance, and fell onto Cheyenne¡¯s head.

    ¡°It¡¯s a divine punishment!¡± Upon sight of Cheyenne, the others could not help but shriek in terror. The Divine Punishment was not an actual punishment sent by the gods, but rather a single-stroke attacking spell that could be up to level-23 in power. Although the purple thunderbolt was tiny, it contained all of the concentrated power of Thunderbolt that was stronger than the thunder spheres.

    Although it was just an alliance that was formed based on interests, the loss of a Legendary-mage before the guardian appeared would be detrimental for them. However, no one could give Cheyenne any help at this moment, and it seemed that the Malfa Family¡¯s leader would never escape this ordeal.

    However, while everyone was worried about Cheyenne, Lin Li looked up at the huge vortex in the sky. The instant the level-23 Divine Punishment appeared, Lin Li seemed to have sensed a surprising magical waveing from it.

    The magical wave was entirely identical to the Stars of Fury, be it in terms of the magical aura or nomological power. Could it be that apart from Thunderbolt, the Stars of Fury was also present in that vortex?

    However, Lin Li carefully recalled that the magical waves that he had just seen, and began to doubt his own guess again. Although the magical wave was almost identical to the Stars of Fury, it was still too weak. Lin Li had once possessed the Stars of Fury, and used it countless times.

    However, as the former owner of the Stars of Fury, Lin Li was very sure that he had identified it correctly. Apart from being too weak, the magical wave just now waspletely the same as that of the real Stars of Fury.

    <i>What exactly is going on?</i> Lin Li was really puzzled, and he really wanted to use his mental strength to look at the vortex again, but he was always hindered when he was close to the edge. Besides, the current situation did not allow him to be too distracted, and he had no choice but to turn to Cheyenne and see if there was any way his ally could escape the Divine Punishment.

    While everyone gazed at Cheyenne helplessly, the purple thunderbolt hit Cheyenne urately. However, at this very moment, a yellow halo appeared on Cheyenne all of a sudden, shielding him from the purple thunderbolt a few centimeters away from his body. In the blink of an eye, the purple thunderbolt disappeared together with the halo on Cheyenne, who then seized the opportunity to speed up and join the magical defense perimeter of Lin Li and the rest.

    With a loud and crisp noise, a ring on Cheyenne¡¯s finger suddenly shattered and fell to the ground before he could even regain his bnce, escaping awkwardly. A look of pity formed in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes, but he quickly looked away and smiled at Lin Li before joining the team while holding his staff tightly.

    Lin Li could tell that the ring was probably what helped Cheyenne escape the attack and resist the level-23 Divine Punishment. The defensive power of the ring was truly incredible. Cheyenne was a Legendary-mage who supported the Malfa Family all by himself while going against the Dark de for years. If he had not had any trump cards that allowed him to protect his own life, he would have probably been destroyed by the Dark de a long time ago. Unfortunately, the level-23 magic was still too strong, and had exceeded the capacity of the ring.

    The team gathered together again, and immediately slipped back into the cooperative mode that they had been in when dealing with the wind elementals. Each of them performed their respective duties, except they mainly focused their energy on defense this time.

    In the face of the countless formidable spells and the level-23 Divine Punishment, Cheyenne could not afford to protect the rest at all. After Cheyenne joined in, Lin Li and Elder Randy continued to cast defensive spells, while the three remaining elves and two Undead creatures dealt with the wind elementals.

    If there were only a dozen wind elementals, they would barely pose a threat to the Legendary powerhouses. Although everyone exhausted all their energy on continuously casting defensive spells to resist the powerful offensive spells, it was not a problem for the rest to destroy the wind elementals, since they were all Legendary powerhouses.

    However, what would happen if there were dozens of wind elementals? Each wind elemental reached level-18 and had great immunity to magical and physical attacks. That was notparable to killing a level-18 Archmage. All it took to kill a level-18 Archmage was one Legendary powerhouse. However, in order to defeat a level-18 wind elemental with a single attack, one Legendary powerhouse might not be enough. Thebination of two or three Legendary powerhouses could indeed kill the wind elementals quickly, but that speed seemed to be a little too slow for dispatching dozens of wind elementals...

    In fact, it didn¡¯t matter if they slowed down, since the defensive spells that Lin Li, Cheyenne, and Elder Randy had continuously put up were not broken easily, unless all the Divine Punishments were overpowering. What was really terrible was that there were dozens of wind elementals, and the summoning still did not end. The rate of destruction of the wind elementals was far behind that of the summoning.

    Only a few minutes had passed, and the team had already killed more than 10 wind elementals. However, the number of surrounding wind elementals had not only decreased, but also reached the order of hundreds.

    <i>How the heck are we supposed to continue this battle?</i> Even the Necromancer¡¯s Tide of Death wasn¡¯t this abnormally overpowering. The wind elementals were all level-18, and the strong wind magic continuously bombarded the defensive spells. Faced with the hundreds of wind elementals, there was no way to resolve the matter even if Lin Li and Elder Randy could free up some time.

    Lin Li and the others who were responsible for putting up the defensiveyers continued to supplement the defensiveyers, while the rest was a little helpless. Should they continue to attack the wind elementals? That would be useless because now there were hundreds of wind elementals that would take a long time to kill. However, death would be the only way out if they did not kill the wind elementals. No matter how powerful the Legendary powerhouses were, it was impossible to endure such an endless fight. Theyers of defense would ultimately be broken.

    In the sky, the pirs of lightning continued to fall endlessly. The spheres also fell down one by one, and every one that hit their heads could st off severalyers of magical defense. As for the level-23 Divine Punishment, everyone would be shocked each time it appeared.

    Their defeat was already set in stone. Facing the endless bombardment of magic and the wind elementals surrounding them menacingly made them feel hopeless about escaping. The team were just lingering and waiting for Lin Li and others to run out of magic. Once they were no longer able to support the defense, it would be the end of the team.

    Culofen had already rejoined the casting of defensive spells, leaving the two elves and two Undead creatures behind to attack the wind elementals which were hard to deal with. An emerald arrow was put on the bowstring, and Princess Elune slowly pulled the Song of Heart while aiming it at the spheres that were falling from the sky. However, she was soon stopped by Gildor.

    It was not that Gildor had any weird intentions, but rather that everything they did would seem to be redundant. Since they already knew what the oue would be, they felt that there would be no point in wasting their energy.

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi were still attacking the wind elementals outside, but with their power, it would be difficult to deal a fatal blow to the wind elementals. It was not that they were too weak. Well, they were a level-21 Vampire and a level-22 Lich, respectively. Who would dare call them weak?

    However, their opponents were the wind elementals. Although Norfeller was fast, he wasn¡¯t faster than the speed of lightning. Death would be the only thing that awaited him if he were to leave the range of magic defense. As a Lich, Ujfalusi was a master of toxic Necromagic, but the wind elementals were not afraid of toxins at all. As soon as the summoned Undead creatures appeared, they were instantly destroyed by the lightning magic. They did not help at all.

    In this situation, no one could think of a way to resolve the crisis, and the future seemed much bleakerpared even to the time when they¡¯d faced the Green Dragon King. Until now, the mysterious guardians had yet to appear, but they had lost all hope of escaping. It was no wonder that the guardians had been slow to show up. If they couldn¡¯t even pass this stage, they wouldn¡¯t be qualified to meet the powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary level.

    Everyone was in despair; the only thing they could do was wait for death.

    Elder Randy nced at Lin Li, but soon turned away to look at Princess Elune. Miracles were miracles because they rarely happened. Hence, how could there be another miracle so soon after the first one happened? The answer was obvious.

    Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t regret dying for the sake of finding the artifacts of the elves. His only regret would be bringing Princess Elune to despair. As early as Princess Elune had gotten infected with Viper¡¯s poison, he should have withdrawn from the operation together with her, but he had not done so. When encountering the Green Dragon King, he should have also thought of letting her withdraw, but he still hadn¡¯t done that. He wanted Princess Elune to have the glory of finding the relic, but he had clearly overestimated his own abilities.

    The elves had probably never felt so desperate and hopeless before in their long lives. Even when they faced the coalition forces of various races which had almost destroyed them, none of them were in such despair. However, Elder Randy had not expected to feel hopeless twice in such a short time. The power that he used to be proud of was now rendered useless, and they did not know what else could be done other than to cast defensive spells.

    The lightning shed across the sky, while the numerous Razer Pythons and pirs of lighting persisted on. The golden dazzling spheres slowly fell from the air, and the aura of destruction was overwhelming. The hundreds of wind elementals surrounded everyone, while the wind and thunder element surged wave after wave.

    Their efforts to keep up the casting of the defensive spells seemed to be futile, and they had no idea when they would be defeated.

    Although Lin Li seemed to be calm on the surface and was maintaining high-speed casting, he was actually extremely anxious as well. Faced with the endless magic bombardment, the speed of the destruction of defensiveyers had exceeded that of replenishment. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the defense was rendered useless. By then, no one would be able to escape.

    However, they had to at least find out what their enemies were if they wanted to find a way to get out of the crisis. Only then could they find a weakness to tackle. It was simr to when they¡¯d faced a dead end during the battle with the Green Dragon King. However, the emergence of the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua saved the day. Unfortunately, while Lin Li reckoned that the guardian of thest realm was Thunderbolt, a piece of the debris of the stars, he could not find out who was using it.

    The aura of the Stars of Fury was what made Lin Li puzzled. He kept his eyes fixed on the huge vortex in the center of the sky in a bid to see what other secrets there were in the vortex apart from Thunderbolt.

    The powerful magic that kept falling from the sky did not weaken at all. The hundreds of wind elementals around them seemed to be tireless too. They were feeling increasingly pressured, and despair began to grow within them.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li¡¯s eyes were fixed on the sky and his pupils constricted slightly while shock was written all over his face. After such a long time, the secret hidden in the vortex was finally revealed to Lin Li. He managed to see it clearly even though it was only visible for a split second.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t hide the surprise in his heart, because he saw a bow and arrow in the vortex. The arrow was undoubtedly Thunderbolt, a piece of the debris of the stars, while the bow was really the Stars of Fury!

 Chapter 656 - Counterfeit Replicas

    <h4>Chapter 656: Counterfeit Replicas</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the former owner of the Stars of Fury, Lin Li was certain that he would never get it wrong. The bow was not like the Stars of Fury, either.

    He previously detected the magical waves of the Stars of Fury and knew that it came from it. It could be said that the characteristics and the nomological power were no different from the actual Stars of Fury.

    However, the only fishy thing was that the Stars of Fury in the lightning vortex was too weak in Lin Li¡¯s opinion. Although the role of the Stars of Fury was only reflected during the usage where its power was fully exerted, it was only slightly different from an artifact. However, the bow in the vortex seemed to be only Legendary in level. It was a huge difference.

    <i>Could it be that someone really replicated the Stars of Fury? </i>Lin Li thought about Princess Elune¡¯s Song of Heart which had some characteristics that were obviously copied from the Stars of Fury. However, the basic characteristics of the Stars of Fury was already the limit of a Smithing Guru.

    Lin Li was a Smithing Guru himself, and he knew that the abilities of a Smithing Guru were not enough for the Stars of Fury to be perfectly replicated. Not to mention, even if anyone could replicate the Stars of Fury, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be just Legendary in level.

    It would be impossible to figure out the true form of the Stars of Fury simply based on guessing. He would have to use his mental spells to investigate and scrutinize it thoroughly. In order to allow himself to separate enough mental strength to find out the secret in the vortex, Lin Li suddenly activated his Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness as well as some unshaped Earth Laws to form a stronger Magical Domain.

    With the development of the Magical Domain, the situation seemed to have improved. Be it the Lightning Magic that was continuously falling from the sky or the tidal magic attack, none of them could affect the defense provided by the Magical Domain. However, there wasn¡¯t a single tinge of joy on the faces of Elder Randy and the others. In fact, they looked even more worried.

    Elder Randy and the rest had been thinking that the guardians of this realm were very likely to be powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary level. To mages, Magical Domains were undoubtedly their forte. Although the strong guardians had yet to appear, Lin Li immediately activated his Magical Domain. Could it be that there was already nothing else they could do?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t exin anything to Elder Randy and others, and instead condensed his mental strength and peeked into the lightning vortex.

    As Lin Li siphoned more and more mental strength to be put on the lightning vortex, he could not help but slow down in his casting. The Magical Domain seemed to have wavered a little too. However, it gave Elder Randy and the rest a great shock because they thought that the young mage Lin Li was no longer capable of sustaining it. Although Lin Li¡¯s casting speed returned to normal in the blink of an eye, Elder Randy and the rest felt hopeless.

    Lin Li refused to believe that anyone could replicate the Stars of Fury, especially since the suspected replica could only emit Legendary-realm¡¯s magical waves. In order not to provoke a counterattack from the Stars of Fury, Lin Li had no choice but to put his mental strength near the Stars of Fury before stopping. However, that was enough.

    When he got a clear idea of the situation through the mental strength feedback in his mind, Lin Li was beyond astonished. He was inplete disbelief because the Stars of Fury were not replicated or real. Even if the real Stars of Fury appeared here, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be that shocked.

    Through that portion of mental strength, Lin Li clearly felt that the Stars of Fury in the lightning vortex turned out to bepletely condensed by magic. Lin Li finally knew why the magical wave was only Legendary. It was because the magic that condensed the Stars of Fury was only Legendary.

    The magic that condensed the Stars of Fury seemed to be only slightly different from Legendary magic, but it was definitely not the power that mortals could master. Lin Li had never heard of such a method, either. Even the ancient gods in myths and legends had spent plenty of time to create the Stars of Fury. If it could be condensed using only magic, why would they bother wasting so much energy? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Stars of Fury condensed by magic had more power than the ancient gods?

    Even if the person who condensed the Stars of Fury was less powerful than the ancient gods, Lin Li was certain that that person¡¯s understanding of the Stars of Fury was definitely beyond that of the ancient gods who had created the Stars of Fury. Although Lin Li had once possessed the Stars of Fury, he admitted that he could not do it at all. All of this had nothing to do with level, and was instead about aplete grasp of the Stars of Fury.

    Even if Lin Li reached the Sanctuary-realm, it still would be impossible for him to use magic to condense the Stars of Fury. Despite previously being the master of the Stars of Fury, Lin Li¡¯s understanding of it was very superficial.

    After all, after Lin Li got the Stars of Fury in the Endless World, it didn¡¯t take him long to cross over to Anril. Moreover, when possessing the Stars of Fury, Lin Li was a Hunter by profession. He didn¡¯t know much about the nomological powers, nor could he understand the Stars of Fury well.

    For an ordinary weapon, knowing its shape, material, and how to use it was akin to mastering the weapon. Even though Lin Li understood its shape, how to use it, some of its characteristics, and even remembered some of its mana waves, those were nothing to the Stars of Fury.

    In fact, as an artifact, the Stars of Fury was not the most outstanding one. The reason why the ancient gods had created the Stars of Fury was because they wanted to exert the power of the debris of the stars. Without the debris of the stars, the Stars of Fury would probably not be considered an artifact. However, it was extraordinary with the debris of the stars.

    Most of the energy that the ancient gods had spent on creating the Stars of Fury was used on exerting the power of the debris of the stars. In order to exert the full power of the debris of the stars, it was necessary to fully grasp the Laws contained in each piece of it.

    That kind of mastery was not a result of simply gaining insights and understanding. Otherwise, that would simply be borrowing, and not exerting, the full power of the debris of the stars. Such kind of mastery was theplete control of the debris of the stars, a feat that was difficult to achieve even for the ancient gods.

    With the Stars of Fury, one did not necessarily have to know all the Laws of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, but if they wanted to fully activate the power of the debris of the stars, the nomological power required was at the highest difficulty the debris of the stars could offer. When Lin Li got the Stars of Fury, he was only a Hunter who did not have the time or capacity to study the nomological power within it.

    Regarding the Stars of Fury, neither the material nor the structure was the most important. The most important factor was the Laws which could activate the debris of the stars. Amongst those Laws were the most original Laws of the world as well as the Laws that the ancient gods had altered. Hence, Lin Li could not help but be shocked when he saw the Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic.

    The pressure on everyone was constantly rising, and they were unsure if they might get ruthlessly destroyed at some point soon. However, Lin Li¡¯s eyes glistened again after recovering from the shock. He suddenly saw a glimmer of hope. If the guardians of this realm really turned out to be a Legendary powerhouse, there might be nothing else they could do, but if it were the Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic, Lin Li felt that there would be some hope.

    For Lin Li, what was more important was that the Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic had also made him detect a hint of the Stars of Fury. Ever since he¡¯d found Holy Light, the first piece of the debris of the stars, in the underground pce, Lin Li knew that the Stars of Fury definitely existed in Anril.

    Although Lin Li had never seen the Stars of Fury with his own eyes or even heard any legends about it, and the only clue was the debris of the stars, Holy Light, he still believed in the existence of the Stars of Fury. It was purely an unprecedented intuition.

    He felt that way especially since the debris of the stars appeared one after another after that. The appearance of Rebirth in the Time Consignment Store and Raging mes and Pr Snow in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountains made Lin Li even more certain that his arrival in this world had something to do with the Stars of Fury.

    Although the existence of the debris of the stars couldn¡¯t prove the existence of the Stars of Fury, there was no reason for Lin Li to believe that the Stars of Fury were there just because of him.

    However, the stunning longbow in the vortex in the center of the sky confirmed Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. The Stars of Fury did exist years ago, and an incredible powerhouse had probably already mastered it several years ago. Otherwise, no one would be able to condense magic into the bow in front of him.

    Lin Li also had an unconfirmed guess about the powerful man who had mastered the Stars of Fury. He thought about the history of Anril andbined it with his experience in Anril, after which he guessed that the unbelievable person was very likely to be the Immortal King. The words that Lin Li heard after the ck smoke disappeared in the Daylight Square, as well as the stone sculpture in the depths of the Scar of Death and the howling of the Titan Spirit, shed past Lin Li¡¯s mind, and he seemed to have remembered something.

    The Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic immediately made Lin Li¡¯s imagination run wild, but the most important thing to do now was to get rid of the trouble in front of him. Soon, Lin Li put his thoughts aside and gripped the Helios¡¯ Scepter tightly.

    Although Lin Li activated his own Magical Domain and temporarily gave himself the opportunity to be distracted using the Laws of light, darkness, ice, and the earth, as the Magical Domain was activated, the offensive spells got more chaotic instead of bing weaker.

    As part of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt already had the strongest attacking power amongst the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Actually, its power was far from what the Legendary powerhouses could deal with, yet in Anril, those Legendary powerhouses were at the top, though only in the mortal world.

    The Stars of Fury and Thunderbolt were weapons that only the gods could master, although the condensed Stars of Fury and the real Stars of Fury were worlds apart.

    Countless wind elementals were still being summoned, while mana was also being released wave after wave, bombarding the magic defense that everyone was trying to support. Every wave of attacks would trigger the sounds of barriers shattering, making everyone feel scared and frightened, feeling as if they would be drowned by magic soon. Everyone¡¯s heart sunk to rock bottom, filled with despair.

    However, at this time, everyone suddenly discovered that the young mage who had been working hard to resist the magical attacks had already given up on casting defensive spells, and was raising the Helios¡¯ Scepter slowly while chanting incessantly.

    Although they didn¡¯t know what Lin Li was going to do, everyone had to unleash their greatest potential and cast their defensive spells to the fullest in order to make up for Lin Li¡¯s absence. Two Legendary-mages, Culofen and Cheyenne, had also activated their Magical Domains without hesitation to buy some time.

    No one understood what spell Lin Li was casting, not even Cheyenne, Culofen, and the learned Chief Elder Randy. All they knew was that with the spell chanted by Lin Li, the magical waves around them became more turbulent and even began whistling. Although everyone was puzzled, no one dared to stop and think about it. They had no choice but to wait for Lin Li to give the final answer.

    While they were all feeling confused, three arrows appeared in Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain before turning into three elements of light, darkness, and earth that revolved around them. At this moment, everyone suddenly felt suffocated.

    The power emitted by those three arrows was absolutely terrible. Although it was not the most powerful, it was definitely pure as it represented the three Laws¡ªlight, darkness, and earth. Such purity had already exceeded the limit that human beings could perceive and control. Even a Sanctuary Master might not be able to detect such a pure nomological power.

 Chapter 657 - Reincarnation

    <h4>Chapter 657: Reincarnation</h4>

    What was harder for them to understand was the fact that the young mage Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain had also copsed as the three arrows flew out. First, it was the Light Domain, followed by the Darkness Domain, which appeared together with the arrow of the nomological power. The Magical Domain had be aplete world of ice.

    However, the copse of the Magical Domain did not mean that Lin Li¡¯s powers were depleting. On the contrary, the power of Lin Li was really rising at an extremely daunting rate. The copse of every Magical Domain would give him more power and push him to a terrifying height, making everyone feel astonished.

    The magical wave around him was getting stronger and stronger, and the massive mana seemed to be roaring like surging tides. The air seemed to be break, and the seemingly infinite mana seemed to be withdrawn from his skinny and weak body.

    Facing this daunting scene, even Cheyenne who imed that he had a good understanding of Lin Li had no choice but to admit that he had underestimated the young mage Lin Li who was in his early twenties again. The formidable power was worlds apart from the previous one, and Cheyenne no longer knew what Lin Li¡¯s limit was.

    The strong mana around Lin Li seemed to be stirring up like a hurricane. It didn¡¯t seem like what a young mage who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm would possess. Even Elder Randy, who had already broken through to the Legendary-realm during the Dark Age and was now already a level-23 Legendary powerhouse, had no choice but to swallow his pride when faced with such a terrifying power, for the strong mana scared him more than the Green Dragon King did. The mana was probably already nearing the Sanctuary-realm.

    The most shocking thing was that the horrifyingly powerful force was controlled by Lin Li, who did not seem to lose control of it at all, right from the start. They were all Legendary powerhouses here; hence, they naturally knew that it meant that Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was already near the Sanctuary-realm, and he would definitely break through to the Sanctuary-realm once he umted enough mana and mastered enough nomological power. He would then be the subject of envy and awe. Not to mention, he was only in his twenties...

    Seeing the power that Lin Li was exhibiting, everyone could not help but be overwhelmed by aplicated feeling, and they even temporarily forgot about the dangerous situation that they were currently in. A Legendary powerhouse in his twenties was definitely considered a prodigy in Anril, but a twenty-something-year-old powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm was unprecedented. Those who had not confirmed it themselves would simply call it a crazy and absurd idea.

    However, no one was willing to question anything now, and they had all seemed to stop thinking. Everything in front of them was a huge stimtion that was beyond what they couldprehend. Everyone stared at Lin Li in bewilderment and watched as his Magical Domains copsed together with theunching of the three arrows, while Lin Li whipped out a string-less crossbow from his Ring of Endless Storm.

    Lin Li¡¯s crossbow was very delicate and small, almost only the size of his palm. However, that did not mean that it was simple, because there was aplicated mageweath inscribed on it that everyone else could not decipher. The only thing they could recognize was the terrifying power contained within the mageweath.

    However, apart from the mageweath, the material used to create the crossbow was also confusing for them because they could only recognize it to be a metal that they could not identify even after racking their brains. Even Elder Randy who¡¯d be a Legendary Druid during the Dark Age and was proficient in advanced mageweaths could not identify the metal used, let alone the rest. Lin Li was probably the only person in Anril who knew what it was.

    The mageweath inscribed on the crossbow was actually made up of six mageweaths pieced together, dense andplex. Each mageweath was Guru-level and possessed unique power. Lin Li liked calling thebination of the six mageweaths ¡°Reincarnation¡±.

    The difficulty of making a Mageweath Array was not just a little higher than that of the mageweath. Even a Guru of Inscription like Lin Li had to put in plenty of effort toplete the Reincarnation Array. In Anril, it might be a long-lost skill, but it would still be considered a top Mageweath array even in the Endless World.

    The rest couldn¡¯t identify the metal used to make the crossbow not because they had little knowledge, but rather because the metal originally belonged to the Endless World, which was a virtual world that seemed simr to Anril but waspletely different. The metal used to create the crossbow was called the Divinity Metal!

    The Divinity Metal could be said to be the most valuable forging material in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm. Although equipment made of Divinity Metal would not have any prominent attributes, it was also because its value was too high¡ªits characteristics would dull inparison to the high value. While the main value of Divinity Metal was reflected in the growth potential of the equipment, it was still higher in performancepared to other equipment made of rare metals.

    It could be said that this handheld crossbow was not a weapon that should appear in Anril. The only thing that belonged to this world was probably the design sketch of the crossbow. The sketch was the Enchantress¡¯s Howl that William ced in between a stack of prescriptions at the Time Consignment Store.

    Of course, in the opinion of Lin Li who was a Smithing Guru, the Enchantress¡¯s Howl design sketch still had room for improvement. Hence, the Enchantress¡¯s Howl that Lin Li was holding was far better than the original version in the sketch after a series of amendments. The improved Enchantress¡¯s Howl could be considered a premium masterpiece, even amongst the works of the Gurus.

    Everyone watched while Lin Li chanted the long spell. As the three Magical Domains copsed one by one, he slowly put down the Helios¡¯ Scepter andposedly retrieved a string from the Ring of Endless Storm which he carefully ced on his crossbow.

    However, with the emergence of the string, everyone who had almost stopped thinking suddenly gasped in unison. Although they could not recognize the metal of the crossbow or decipher the mageweath on it, they were still learned and knowledgeable people.

    Even Cheyenne, who was the weakest of all and the previous patriarch of the Malfa Family, had personally explored Anril, what more Elder Randy who had seen the prosperity and civilization brought about by the High Elves.

    Indeed, they could not recognize the six mageweaths or the metal that was used to make the crossbow, but that was not because theycked knowledge. The Mageweath array itself was not a field that ordinary Inscribers could delve into, let alone the Reincarnation Array that was at the top of the pyramid of Mageweath arrays. It was not their fault for failing to know about the Divinity Metal, because it did not belong to Anril in the first ce. Even if they were knowledgeable, there was no way they could get to know about it...

    However, they began to find Lin Li¡¯s crossbow a little familiar.

    ¡°The Dragon Tendon!¡± Cheyenne said with shock all over his face. Although everyone had just experienced the siege of the green dragons, Lin Li¡¯s crossbow seemed way more powerful than that.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the tendon of the ancient wyrm!¡± Elder Randy was greatly astonished, even more so than Cheyenne and the rest. As an elf from the Dark Age, he definitely had more knowledge than them. As soon as Lin Li whipped out the crossbow, he immediately sensed that, judging from the formidable aura, it definitely did not belong to an ordinary wyrm.

    Cheyenne¡¯s words gave them a great shock, while what Elder Randy said took them aback.

    What was the Ancient Wyrm¡¯s tendon? During the prehistoric times, the ancient wyrms were absolutely domineering, and the only thing that could rival them were the Titans. It was said that the baby ancient wyrms and the adult wyrms possessed power that was beyond the Sanctuary-realm. The descendants of the wyrms could neverpare to them at all.

    Those powerful ancient dragons would not obediently give their tendons to others. Even if they died, they would make sure to die in the dragon graveyard, and killing an ancient wyrm would be considered an impossible daydream. Even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm might not be able toplete the task.

    Everyone had experienced the siege of the green dragons, as well as the despair brought upon them by the Green Dragon King. However, the current wyrms were considered the weaker ones, and even the Green Dragon King was just a little near the Sanctuary-realm. Compared to their ancestors, the ancient wyrms which had dominated the world of Anril, the strength of these descendants might not even match that of a newborn ancient wyrm.

    Moreover, most of the ancient wyrms which had survived mostly disappeared in the cracks in time and space like other prehistoric magical beasts when the prehistoric times came to an end. One might never obtain an ancient wyrm¡¯s tendon even if he really had the ability to kill wyrms.

    Just as everyone was eximing, Lin Li, who had already ced the string on the crossbow, smirked when he heard their spections.

    ¡°They all guessed wrongly. This is the tendon of the Dragon Aspect...¡± he muttered under his breath.

    Lin Li was right. The string that Lin Li was putting on his crossbow was from Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Although Lin Li had always been afraid to deal with the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction for fear that poor treatment would result in wastage since every part of it was a priceless treasure, he could easily use one of its tendons on the crossbow without ruining it.

    When Lin Lipleted the assembly of the Reincarnation crossbow, the magical waves around him peaked, especially when the massive mana of the baby elemental wyrm stimted the three pieces of the debris of the stars. The power generated was enough to rival Thunderbolt.

    No matter how shocked the surrounding people were, Lin Li waved Holy Light in front of him without hesitation. Holy Light was just a Sr Sphere, but Lin Li managed to control it. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a short bolt that automatically fell into the groove of the crossbow.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    As Holy Light fell into the crossbow, a deafening roar sounded in the air, and the entire world seemed to sway continuously. Next, a pir of light shot up into the sky and almost pressed onto their heads. The sky seemed to have split too.

    In the center of the sky, the huge vortex of lightning that was constantly rotating fragmented and shattered even before Holy Light approached it, revealing the Stars of Fury. At this moment, Elder Randy and the rest finally knew that they were not facing a Legendary powerhouse in thest realm, but a pair of bow and arrow.

    After a loud roar, the entire world seemed to have grown silent, while the surrounding wind elementals trembled and stopped attacking. The ck clouds in the sky and the myriad of powerful Razer spells vanished together with the Razer Pythons that ran away fearfully.

    The power of this arrow was far beyond everyone¡¯s imagination. It was so powerful that it even reminded everyone of the Sanctuary-realm archer, Wind Whisperer Hull. Although Elder Randy was perhaps the only one who had really seen the Wind Whisperer Hull in action, everyone knew how formidable thetter was.

    Elder Randy, who¡¯d seen the arrow once shot by Wind Whisperer Hull, was even more shocked than the rest. After all, Wind Whisperer Hull had managed to enter the Sanctuary-realm with his archery skills and the usage of Song of Heart. However, Lin Li was only a young Legendary-mage. Even if his crossbow was not inferior to Song of Heart, it was impossible for his arrow to have such great power!

    However, that was not the end.

 Chapter 658 - Three Arrows

    <h4>Chapter 658: Three Arrows</h4>

    Gloomy Dark that had be an arrow darted out immediately after Holy Light, exploding with Darkness and Destruction Aura that was strong enough to consume the world. The magic that had just simmered in the air was engulfed by the power of Darkness and Destruction before it could even be fully released.

    The Aura of Darkness and Destruction brought fear and despair to the people. However, when they felt the power of the arrow, they were suddenly filled with infinite hope.

    No one expected Lin Li to actually have the strength to shoot the second arrow that was as strong as the first afterunching the first attack. Everyone dared not specte about or imagine Lin Li¡¯s abilities. They reckoned that the power of the two consecutive arrows was probably not inferior to the one that shot Lansdale.

    It was no wonder that this young mage would go all out and attack Stephen without hesitation or consideration of the consequences. He evenpletely disregarded the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de. Well, since his arrow was so powerful, he obviously didn¡¯t have to be bothered by the three of them.

    However, Lin Li knew that this was not enough. Although Holy Light and Darkness were powerful, they were still inferior to the power of Thunderbolt. Although the Stars of Fury was condensed by magic, the replica of the Stars of Fury that Lin Li was holding onto was not. Although the Reincarnation crossbow was extremely strong, it was still far inferior to the Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic.

    The entire process seemed to be seamless. The originally branch-like Rebirth also transformed into an arrow that fell into the crossbow, after which a ray of green light darted towards Gloomy Dark. With the emission of the green light, the hundreds of wind elementals surrounding the crowd instantly lost their vitality. They did not wail at all, and simply disappeared silently, leaving behind just a few elemental crystals.

    That was the power of Rebirth. Not only was there vitality, there was also ruthless deprivation power. The power of Rebirth was to manipte vitality, and even the strong Legendary magical beasts would have their vitality stripped off them. Even the High Elves who were known for their longevity would die under Rebirth. Although the wind elementals were elementals, they would only vanish without vitality.

    Seeing the changes in the surrounding wind elementals, even Elder Randy and the rest who were Lin Li¡¯spanions couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Even though they had no idea what the power of this arrow was, the daunting and strange attack was much more shocking than the arrow that had struck Lansdale.

    Although the Reincarnation crossbow was not enough for the power of the debris of the stars to be fully unleashed, the three pieces of the debris of the stars were still destructively powerful. Even the gorgeous longbow that had been condensed with mana seemed to have lost its luster.

    After all, the Stars of Fury that had been condensed by magic only had Legendary power. Although the various rules and characteristics were different from that of the Stars of Fury, they couldn¡¯t fully exert its power.

    Faced with the three pieces of the debris of the stars, the magic-condensed Stars of Fury seemed to have detected danger, and was put on the bow. With a thunderous roar, Thunderbolt evolved into lightning and darted towards the three pieces of the debris of the stars.

    However, everything went ording to Lin Li¡¯s expectations. The light of the three pieces of the debris of the stars was instantly consumed by Thunderbolt, which continued bombarding the Stars of Fury domineeringly.

    A dazzling ray of light suddenly burst in the sky like a huge sun, ring and overwhelming. It then swarmed over the entire space like a strong tsunami. Even the few Legendary powerhouses on the ground sumbed to the tremors and almost lost their bnce. Countless trees of the Sierra Leone Forest shattered because of the impact, and the deserted area in the middle was also expanded by hundreds of times.

    No matter how powerful the mana used to condense the Stars of Fury was, it could only be destroyed by the attack of the three pieces of the debris of the stars.

    At this moment, Lin Li immediately flew towards the middle without waiting for everything to calm down. Thunderbolt that had been attacked and defeated by the three pieces of the debris of the starsnded in Lin Li¡¯s hands. Despite being attacked by three, there were no traces left on Thunderbolt.

    Lin Li had obtained yet another piece of the debris of the stars. Feeling the familiar aura in his hands, Lin Li suppressed his joy and decided to stop worrying what others thought. Instead, he quickly stowed Thunderbolt away in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Although the rest were standing at a great distance away, they could still see Lin Li¡¯s actions. However, no one could say anything about Lin Li¡¯s behavior. After all, he was the one who saved them from the tough situation and gave them a chance to leave this ce alive.

    After putting away Thunderbolt, Lin Li did not just leave, and instead flew towards the middle of the sky. When Lin Li arrived in the middle of the sky, the strong explosion had already ended. The three pieces of the debris of the stars flew back to Lin Li. There was only a dissipating cloud of mana in the spot where the Stars of Fury used to be.

    Lin Li raised the Reincarnation crossbow which emitted a strange ray of light. The mana left behind by the Stars of Fury seemed to have been attracted by the Reincarnation crossbow, which swallowed it. Although they were no longer at the Legendary level, Lin Li desperately needed the Laws of Stars of Fury contained within it.

    Lin Li¡¯s understanding of the Stars of Fury could be said to be rather superficial, although he could barely manage to use its power with his understanding of nomological power. However, with the improvement of his own abilities, he would also be facing increasingly powerful opponents. Borrowing the power of the Stars of Fury was beginning to fail in satisfying his needs.

    Although the Stars of Fury that had been defeated left behind iplete Laws, it was enough to allow Lin Li to maximize the power of the Stars of Fury through enlightenment.

    However, when the Reincarnation Array was devouring the mana, Lin Li vaguely sensed that the mana contained more than the attributes of the Stars of Fury; some aura seemed to be from the Dark Age. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care too much about it. After all, the magic-condensed Stars of Fury definitely came from the Dark Age or an older era. Hence, it wasn¡¯t too surprising.

    Finally, peace was restored and the sky was cleared as the clouds hadpletely disappeared. It was as blue and clean as water. If it weren¡¯t for the debris on the ground, everything would seem just like a dream, especially to the group who had just been pulled out of a state of despair. They felt like they had just woken up from a nightmare.

    When Lin Li returned to the crowd, everyone slowly recovered from the shock. However, there was still astonishment in their eyes when they looked at Lin Li.

    When seeing Lin Li defeat Stefan, Elder Randy was not only surprised by Lin Li, the young mage, he also felt that Lin Li had great potential. In other words, he felt that Lin Li waspetent, but still inferior to him. He felt that Lin Li still needed some time to get to his level.

    However, after seeing the power of the three arrows shot by Lin Li, Elder Randy no longer looked at Lin Li condescendingly, and instead treated him like someone of the same status. Elder Randy held a high position, for he was already a level-23 Legendary powerhouse and the eighth elder of the Emerald Council of the Elven Kingdom. Meanwhile, Lin Li was only the president of a small and unknown force, and a level-21 Legendary-mage.

    The status of the two seemed to be unequal in any case, but Lin Lipletely shocked Elder Randy with his powerful strength. Although the reputation of the Tower of Dusk was not apparent and Lin Li was only a level-21 Legendary-mage, no one dared to think that he was <i>merely</i> level-21 after witnessing everything that happened.

    Staring at Cheyenne who immediately greeted Lin Li as soon as he returned, Elder Randy couldn¡¯t help but sigh and think to himself, <i>Maybe this is what luck is all about.</i>

    He believed that even Cheyenne, who was the first to get closer to Lin Li, didn¡¯t know anything about Lin Li¡¯s abilities. That had nothing to do with judgment. It was all about attitude and luck.

    On the other hand, the Dark de, which was the strongest force, had to pay the price for being arrogant. If the Dark de had seen what happened just now, they would probably have regretted their decision too.

    Although the appearance of a Geresco-like human was not a good thing for the elves, there was nothing Elder Randy could do now. He couldn¡¯t possibly kill Lin Li, even if he were to transform into the silver dragon, for the three arrows shot by Lin Li were Sanctuary-level.

    Besides, humans had alreadypletely secured their footing in Anril, and there were only a few extremists amongst the elves that were still moring to restore the glory of the era of the High Elves. Everyone knew that the Dark Age was already over. Unless the humans chose to destroy themselves, the dominance of humans in Anril would not be ended by any race.

    Therefore, in Elder Randy¡¯s opinion, it was definitely better for them and the Queldana Family to forge a stronger rtionship with Lin Li, the human mage who was simr to Geresco, than fall out with him. The thought of it made Elder Randy swallow his pride a little and stride towards Lin Li...

 Chapter 659 - Crystal Ball

    <h4>Chapter 659: Crystal Ball</h4>

    The Seven-Realm Spiral was undeniably the ultimate form of Magical Domains, for the huge momentum just now did not affect the existence of this space. This realm simply began to copse gradually ording to the rules, together with thest realm.

    It wasn¡¯t until a huge vortex appeared in front of the crowd that Lin Li ended the pointless conversation with Elder Randy and Cheyenne. Regarding the changes in the attitudes of the rest, Lin Li naturally knew what was going on, but he didn¡¯t take it seriously. He was preupied with feeling happy about obtaining Thunderbolt, a piece of the debris of the stars, and thinking about the clues of the Stars of Fury.

    Without a doubt, the huge vortex that appeared at this time was the exit of the Seven-Realm Spiral. However, no one knew if they would be receiving huge benefits or another test that would be even more difficult.

    It was different from when they¡¯d entered the Teleportation Portal. This time, none of them vied to be first, and everyone stood in front of the vortex, all ready to enter.

    It was as if they were going through the chaos of time and space again. After stepping into the vortex, everything around them began to change rapidly and the distorted scenes shuttled around them one by one, making them feel dazed.

    When the images that were constantly changing finally became fixed, none of those who had managed to see everything clearly decided to take the lead, because they were allpletely stunned by the sight in front of them.

    After sensing the magical wave around them, everyone could be sure that they were no longer in the Orderly Maze of the Seven-Realm Spiral, and were instead inside the Central Tower. However, everything in front of them seemed surreal because it was a massive fantastical treasure vault.

    Be it Cheyenne from the Malfa Family or Elder Randy who was the eighth elder of the Emerald Council, all of them had experienced plenty of things, especially Elder Randy who often visited the treasure vault of the elves and the Queldana Family. However,pared to everything that was presented to them now, their past experiences seemed rather pathetic.

    They scanned their surroundings to see that there were plenty of magical objects everywhere, all of which were of different sizes and purposes. Even a mere wine ss emitted powerful magical waves that seemed fantastical. Although the objects were not treated like trash, the arrangement seemed to suggest that they were insignificant to their owner.

    Regardless of the value of those magical objects, even the tiles that wereid on the ground that they were stepping on were made of extremely rare magical gems that were simply priceless in Anril. Of course, although the gems were precious, no one would be so disgraceful as to excavate them at this juncture, because they all knew that these were probably just the tip of the iceberg. The real priceless treasure was at the end.

    At this moment, even Elder Randy couldn¡¯t stay calm, let alone the rest. One by one, their eyes widened, and they began scrutinizing the magical objects like country bumpkins that had just entered an emperor¡¯s city.

    Lin Li was the only one who was merely ncing around, and although he was amazed by the extravagance of the High Elves, he was not dazzled by the magical glow. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the magical objects did not have any actual purpose, and were all meant for leisure. The only value of the objectsy in the precious materials used to make them. Of course, Lin Li actually also yearned for such a luxurious life himself.

    After a while, everyone finally began to calm down, and nced at each other, only to smile wryly in a self-deprecating manner due to their reactions and behavior just now.

    ¡°The High Elves are indeed the founders of an era,¡± said an emotional Elder Randy, who then turned to look at Lin Li and Cheyenne. ¡°Mage Felic, Mage Cheyenne, it seems that this is the Central Tower. Let¡¯s take a look inside.¡±

    They entered the tower, stepping on the precious magic gemstone tiles under their feet. Even Princess Elune only gave up after stepping on them forcefully for a few times. Every single one of them had probably never stepped on such opulent and extravagant tiles before in their entire lives. The golden path was nothingpared to this. A corner piece of the gemstone tile possessed the same value as a massive amount of gold that would fill the entire hall.

    Lin Li was actually very curious about the advantages of the magical gemstone tiles. However, after taking a few steps, he could only secretly mock the High Elves for being wastrels, for apart from the attractive appearance, the tiles were not that different from ordinary stone tiles.

    The group forced themselves not to be attracted by the magical objects around them, and slowly made their way through the hall. When they arrived at the entrance of a corridor that was located deep inside the hall, they stopped in their tracks together again. They looked into the entrance and were once again greeted with a shocking sight that left them in disbelief. Clearly, they had yet to understand how truly extravagant the High Elves were.

    Looking ahead, they noticed that the ground was also paved with the precious magical gemstones, but there were bright oilmps on both sides of the walls. Even after more than 1000 years, the oilmps were still shining bright with no signs of dimming. However, the light was not ring, and filled every corner of the dark corridor.

    What shocked everyone and caused them to stop was the fact that they had recognized at one nce that the oilmps actually did not require oil to be ignited, and, in fact, were all made with the cyan crystal carvings from the levels below 60 of the Abyss. In this world of magic, there were plenty of magicalmps which did not require oil and instead ran on cyan crystals. However, none of them had ever heard of it.

    Cyan crystals were not ordinary gemstones, and one would never find a trace of them in any ore at all, because they were all formed from the natural aura of the abyss. They only grew in the eternal mes of cyan, and would only condense and crystallize once in a while.

    However, looking at the crystalmps on the two walls of the corridor in front of them, Lin Li began to wonder just how many levels of the abyss the unscrupulous High Elves had plundered.

    Everyone remained silent while walking along the corridor slowly, stepping on the precious magical gemstone tiles beneath them and bathing in the light of the cyan crystalmps which were of indescribable value. Even the elves could not help but think that the High Elves had truly deserved to die for being so extravagant and wasteful.

    In the entire corridor, there were 99 cyan crystalmps, each of which had been carved into flowers of different shapes. They were elegant, charming, or enchanting, but every single piece was unique, and there were no two identical pieces. They could tell from the exquisite craftsmanship alone that they had been produced by a craftsman who was even more skilled than a top jewelry master.

    Lin Li looked at the rest carefully, contemting if he should inform them of his discovery lest they get all riled up and bbergasted¡ªLin Li had found an advanced mageweath that was carved into everymp. It was the Eternal Darkness Mageweath.

    The effect of the Eternal Darkness Mageweath was the ability to iste all Divine Power; it was definitely one of the top ones amongst all the advanced mageweaths. In Anril, the inscribers who could draw the Eternal Darkness Mageweath were all at least near the level of Guru of Inscription. Such inscribers were also few and far between.

    However, the Eternal Darkness Mageweaths here were merely for preventing the cyan crystalmps from going out, and their sole purpose was to light up the ce. Yet, the High Elves still chose to use cyan crystals and Eternal Darkness Mageweath for such a basic function, further proving how outrageously extravagant they were.

    The extravagant arrangements and decorations made by the High Elves made them feel somehow pressured, and they were almost afraid to breathe while they cautiously made their way through the long corridor.

    At the end of the corridor, there was another hall, but it spanned a massive area that was much greater than that of the front, and theyout and decor were beyond luxurious. However, at this juncture, none of them could be bothered to admire the luxurious furnishings in the hall, for they were all attracted by a crystal ball that was ced in the middle of the hall.

    Crystal balls were probably seen by everyone, but the massive one in front of them was truly astonishing, and even people like Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne could not help but gasp and exim in shock.

    Massive would be the first adjective that came to everyone¡¯s mind when they saw the crystal ball. Almost all mages in Anril had used crystal balls before, but the one in front of them was more than 100 timesrger than the ones that weremonly seen. If one were to stand in front of the crystal ball, they would not be able to see anything else except it. In fact, it might even make the people feel as if the crystal ball as about to crush them.

    The nna Guild of Magic was one of thergest magic guilds in Anril, and the crystal ball that they had ced in the hall of the guild could be considered a rare sight in Anril because of its sheer size. However,pared to the one in front of them now, nna¡¯s crystal ball was truly worlds apart. If this crystal ball was taken to the nna Guild of Magic, it would probably upy almost the entire hall.

    Crystal balls per se were not very precious, but such a huge one was practically priceless. Among the people present, even those who were not mages knew the usefulness of the crystal ball and what it meant.

    For the crystal ball to function well, it would definitely require the help of a mageweath, and the mageweath used for such a massive crystal ball was truly hard to imagine. Even if it was only used for connecting the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, it was enough for monitoring the entire Sky Castle without missing out any corners.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what kind of mageweath would be worthy for such a massive crystal ball,¡± Cheyenne said with a sigh, and everyone else thought the same.

 Chapter 660 - Negotiating

    <h4>Chapter 660: Negotiating</h4>

    In terms of size alone, the magnificent crystal ball was probably the greatest one in Anril which no other crystal balls couldpare to. However, they could not find a mageweath that would allow this crystal ball to function, despite having recalled all of the mageweaths in their memory and those they had read about in legends.

    Although the mageweaths that they were familiar with would definitely exert more power on this massive crystal ball, it was still far from being able to optimize its functioning. It was also an insult to the crystal ball and wasting it, just like wasting a Legendary magical crystal on exerting level-1 magic.

    However, when everyone approached the crystal ball, they discovered that there was already aplex pattern which seemed to be a mageweath on it. However, none of them were learned enough to identify theplicated mageweath which wasplex but did not affect the patterns on the smooth and transparent crystal ball.

    Although they had no idea what kind of a mageweath it was, they all knew that the High Elves wouldn¡¯t draw any low-level mageweaths, even despite being extravagant. In fact, it was also their penchant for luxury which made Lin Li and the rest certain that they would definitely use the best mageweath to exert all of the value and power of the crystal balls.

    Although the mageweath seemed rather mysterious to everyone, Lin Li, who was a Guru of Inscription, was not clueless about it. Strictly speaking, it was a mageweath array which wasprised of 13 fantasy mageweaths that were absolutely horrifying. As long as the controller of the crystal balls were willing, the ball could cause an unwee intruder to never find the way out and have a tougher time than they did in the Orderly Maze.

    ¡°Mage Felic, did you recognize the mageweath on this crystal ball?¡± Elder Randy asked in a sincere and open-minded manner immediately when he noticed from Lin Li¡¯s expression that he seemed to have figured something out.

    In the past, Elder Randy would probably harbor some disdain for Lin Li after seeing thetter¡¯s behavior, even if he didn¡¯t say it to his face explicitly. A young mage who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm and devoted all his energy to magic already had a hard time getting to where he was. How could he have the extra energy and time to delve into other aspects?

    However, the numerous miracles that Lin Li had created made Elder Randy change his impression of Lin Li, and he no longer dared to make any judgment on him, as Lin Li would never fail to impress Elder Randy and make him realize that he had underestimated him once again.

    Elder Randy was not the only one. After hearing Elder Randy¡¯s question to Lin Li, everyone looked away from the crystal ball and shifted their gazes onto Lin Li. None of them had any doubts at all, and it was as if Lin Li was the only dispenser of information that was reliable and true.

    Although the value of the rare crystal ball was high, Lin Li had his own ideas. Hence, after hearing Elder Randy¡¯s question, he decided not to hide the fantasy mageweath array from them, and instead even exined briefly to them about the purposes and functions of the mageweath array.

    As soon as Lin Li finished exining, everyone, including Elder Randy, couldn¡¯t help but gasp and turn to look at the huge crystal ball. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t mention the magic level of the fantasy mageweath array, they could tell from its functions that it was definitely not something that could be created by a Master of Inscription.

    Such a massive crystal ball, coupled with a stronger fantasy mageweath array, could be considered an artifact! Cheyenne could not contain the excitement within him at all; he really wanted to move the crystal ball back to Aminya City.

    The Malfa Family and Dark de had been at odds for many years, but due to the three leaders of the Dark de, the Malfa Family had always been at a disadvantage. After Cheyenne entered the Legendary-realm, he could finally stop being at disadvantage, but to his surprise, the three leaders of the Dark de were actually promoted the Legendary-realm one after another too, making the situation even harder for Cheyenne to control. Had it not been for the setting in Aminya City, the Dark de would have probably destroyed the Malfa Family long ago.

    However, even then, the Dark de had also invaded Aminya City several times, during which they caused great damage to the Malfa Family. This time, during the quest for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure, Cheyenne hoped to find something that could bnce the strength of the two forces, and perhaps even allow him to surpass the Dark de.

    The huge crystal ball in front of Cheyenne was like a highly coveted treasure of his dreams. Although it could not be used for offense, the terrifying power of the fantasy mageweath array alone was enough to give the Malfa Family a stable foundation and an edge over the Dark de when ced in Aminya City.

    Another benefit was that Cheyenne could free himself from it all. After Cheyenne entered the Legendary-realm, he had no choice but to keep to Aminya City in order to prevent the Malfa Family from being attacked by the Dark de. With this crystal ball and the overpowering fantasy mageweath array, Cheyenne no longer had to worry about the Malfa Family getting attacked when he was not around.

    However, at this juncture, Cheyenne was well aware that he could not decide who the crystal ball would belong to in the end, because the elves and the Tower of Dusk were also present. Since the elves lived in the Emerald Forest, they might not need such a defensive treasure, but that might not be the case for the Tower of Dusk. Although Lin Li, who was also President Felic, was incredibly powerful, the Tower of Dusk was still a newly established force after all; hence, it would probably need the treasure more than him.

    However, Cheyenne¡¯s thoughts were a little different from reality. The one who truly valued and coveted the crystal ball was Elder Randy. Although the Elven Kingdom was greatly developed now and seemed to be doing great, Elder Randy could not help but consider the future survival of the elves, especially since he was the eighth elder of the Emerald Council.

    The elves had been living in the Emerald Forest for many years. Although they had a natural protective barrier, their poption was low, after all, and they could notpare to humans at all in terms of reproduction rate. They would onlyg further and further behind. Now, there were still plenty of Legendary leaders amongst the elves, and humans were also busy with domestic warfare. Those were the only reasons the elves could survive.

    But, who could guarantee that humans would not stand together as one and dominate the entire Anril in the future? When that happened, the natural barrier of the Emerald Forest might no longer be able to protect the elves. The elves were definitely not worrying for nothing, because it was only a matter of time before that happened.

    The crystal ball might not be enough to make the elves invincible, but it could help buy some time for the elves during the most dangerous situations. The minute amounts of time bought were not to be underestimated, because they were actually enough for changes to take ce, and they could also be the factor that¡¯d result in the extinction of elves and a change in Anril¡¯s structure.

    Perhaps the crystal ball might not be needed by the Elven Kingdom currently, but it was necessary to prepare in advance for the sake of the continuation of the elven bloodline. Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t tell the rest about this, but he had clearly expressed his desire to obtain the crystal ball.

    Although no one said anything, their attitudes were self-exnatory.

    After a moment of silence, Elder Randy said to Cheyenne, ¡°Mage Cheyenne, I think we need to talk about the ownership of this crystal ball.¡±

    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Cheyenne was an ally of Lin Li, Elder Randy would not have been so kind and courteous to Cheyenne. After all, strength and actual abilities were the basis ofpetition. Theparison of strength between Cheyenne and the elves was obvious. Lin Li was the only variable.

    Upon hearing Elder Randy¡¯s words, Cheyenne¡¯s heart sank immediately, for he could already imagine what the oue would be. However, Cheyenne was still a little unwilling to give up the crystal ball. Hence, he nodded and followed Elder Randy to the side, where they discussed the crystal ball¡¯s ownership.

    While Elder Randy and Cheyenne were talking, Lin Li walked around the crystal ball casually. The crystal ball did not mean as much to him as it did to the other two; he would consider taking it if there wasn¡¯t a mageweath on it, but now...

    The crystal ball that already had a mageweath array was very strong, but not powerful enough for Lin Li to be bent on getting it. The Tower of Dusk was designed by Lin Li, and the defensive ability of the tower had always been a top priority in his design. There were plenty of objects in the Tower of Dusk that had more defensive power than offensive, just like this crystal ball. The All-Kill Array alone was already way more powerful than this fantasy mageweath array. Besides, the Tower of Dusk also had the dozens of magical crystal cannons that Lin Li had just bought as well as the Sky-breaker that Lin Li had ordered. Even without the Eternal Furnace, the defensive abilities of the Tower of Dusk could be described as overpowering.

    Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t value the crystal ball greatly, and left Elder Randy and Cheyenne to talk about it. He knew that they would look for him once they reached a consensus.

    Although Elder Randy and Cheyenne were not hostile nor had a heated argument, it was clear that neither wanted to make concessions easily. Lin Li walked around the crystal ball, and after he was done making one round around it, there was finally an oue to their discussion.

    After all, the elves were wealthy and generous. Hence, Cheyenne finally had no choice but to nod resignedly at the conditionsid by Elder Randy.

    However, Cheyenne did not feel like he had lost out after the negotiation, though he found it a pity to give up the crystal ball. In fact, Elder Randy did not resort to any tricks or abuse his authority during the negotiation, because he took into consideration Lin Li¡¯s identity.

    Elder Randy knew that Cheyenne was just worried about the threat that the Dark de imposed on the Malfa Family; hence, he used that as a breakthrough point for the negotiation. Although he did not directly state that he would help Cheyenne get rid of the Dark de, he took out a few of the projects that he had worked on with the Dark de, and handed it to the Malfa Family together with some supplies that were a form ofpensation.

    However, that alone did not make Cheyenne any less worried or fearful, since the threat imposed by the Dark de still existed. Hence, Elder Randy offered to provide him with some military support, just like how the Malfa Family was given the support of the elves in Rnd City.

    In fact, no matter what kind of army the elves sent, they would definitely be of aid to the Malfa Family because the Dark de wouldn¡¯t dare to attack the Malfa Family easily as long as there were some elves present in Aminya City. After all, even in the past, the Dark de had never dared to turn against the elves. Not to mention, the Dark de was no longer as powerful as they used to be now.

    After sessfully negotiating with Cheyenne, Elder Randy approached Lin Li, and anxiously said, ¡°Mage Felic, we have already discussed with Mage Cheyenne, who¡¯s willing to give up his part of the ownership of the crystal ball. Mage Felic, what¡¯s your stand?¡±

    Of course Elder Randy had to be anxious. Back then, Lin Li gave the poisoned elves some antidote and Elder Randy promised him plenty of conditions in exchange for his help. He even gave away the treasured Star Scar Robe of the Queldana Family to Lin Li. God knew how much advantage the human mag Lin Li had taken. Even Princess Elune and the two other elves were feeling equally nervous, and were all prepared to hear Lin Li demand for a heftypensation sum.

    Lin Li gently stroked the surface of the crystal ball with his fingers, and smilingly said, ¡°Elder Randy, you¡¯re being too polite. Although this crystal ball is also very important for the Tower of Dusk, all of us experienced so many difficulties together. It won¡¯t be wrong to say that we¡¯re now friends. If I don¡¯t ask for anything in return, you¡¯ll definitely feel bad about it. Haven¡¯t we talked about buying herbs before? Why don¡¯t you reduce the price that we have agreed on previously by another 10%?¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± Elder Randy couldn¡¯t believe his ears at all. Was this the request made by that greedy and insatiable human being?

    Although Elder Randy was convinced with Lin Li¡¯s power and abilities, he had never carried much hope for Lin Li¡¯s character. Besides, it was also precisely because of Lin Li¡¯s extraordinary strength that Elder Randy was ready to burn a hole in his pocket.

    However, Elder Randy did not expect Lin Li to merely ask for a 10% reduction in the price of herbs sold to him, for it was nothing too major to the elves. It seemed that Lin Li had merely asked for the robe because he wanted to punish them for being arrogant. Elder Randy suddenly felt that Lin Li was actually a nice person.

 Chapter 661 - Extremely Grateful

    <h4>Chapter 661: Extremely Grateful</h4>

    Elder Randy was incredibly touched because everyone could see how important the crystal ball was to the elves, and no one would give up an opportunity to extort and take advantage of the elves. However, Lin Li actually gave the chance up without hesitation, and simply asked or a price reduction in the herbs.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Princess Elune and the other elves began to feel guilty and remorseful for the thoughts they had about Lin Li in the past. They did not expect there to be such generous human being, and felt that they had wronged him previously. Even they themselves might never be so magnanimous.

    Cheyenne could not help but look at Lin Li strangely. Although he did not understand how powerful Lin Li truly was, he had contacted him way before this after all, and he was still very clear about Lin Li¡¯s character. He didn¡¯t believe what Lin Li had just said about seeing the elves as his friends, because he knew that Lin Li would never hesitate to take advantage of someone. He knew that Lin Li did not let go of such a opportunity simply because he and the elves had gone through difficulties together.

    However, the purpose of Elder Randy had been achieved anyway, and although they still felt that they had done Lin Li a little wrong, Elder Randy had no choice but to temporarily mistreat Lin Li who was a rare kind amongst humans.

    Looking at the ashamed elves, Lin Li moved towards the side calmly, giving Elder Randy the space to collect the crystal ball.

    When exploring treasure vaults, most people would bring their magical equipment along. Elder Randy first smiled at Lin Li and expressed his gratitude. He then turned to face the huge crystal ball, opened his hand slowly, and pressed it against the surface of the ball.

    After the crystal ball was stowed away by Elder Randy, the hall suddenly became rather empty. Although there were many advanced magic objects, they could not attract anyone¡¯s interest or attention at all. Aftermunicating with each other, they decided to continue onto the second floor of the tower. However, after seeing the crystal ball, everyone really could not imagine anything more valuable than the crystal ball that could be present on the second floor.

    On the side of the hall, everyone found the stairs leading to the second floor. The High Elves¡¯ wasteful behavior could no longer surprise them, because they were already used to it. The second floor felt the same, but the staircase was extremely luxurious and extravagant. They slowly made their way up.

    When they finally saw everything on the second floor, they still could not help but be startled by the sight despite having be ustomed to the extravagance of the High Elves. However, this time, what scared them was not the luxurious decor, because there was almost nothing inside.

    There was no need to pass through any corridors, because they could already see arge and spacious hall, though it was dimly lit and waspletely opposite to the first floor. It didn¡¯t seem to be part of the magic tower at all, and looked more like an old grocery warehouse, especially since there were plenty of boxes.

    Everyone nced at each other in puzzlement. Could it be that the High Elves had ced all the superior items on the first floor and ignored the higher ones?

    Walking into the hall that practically looked like, or rather was, a warehouse, everyone could not help but frown. They could never imagine that there would be such a shabby ce in the High Elves¡¯ territory.

    The stacked wooden boxes had all dposed over time. The once beautiful designs on the top were now mottled, and thick dust had umted on the boxes. Since there was no one to keep the ce tidy for more than 1300 years, it was a miracle that the ce was notpletely covered in dust.

    They finally realized how ruthless time was; this was the most powerful magic in the world. Even the splendid civilization created by the High Elves couldn¡¯t avoid the test and torment of time. The dusty warehouse and old wooden boxes were the proof of the High Elves¡¯ fall.

    However, although everything here seemed shabby and moldy, everyone could not help but gasp in shock after detecting the amazing magical waves from the wooden boxes.

    The wooden boxes that seemed unassuming all exuded strong magical waves that seemed to be summoning them eagerly and tempting them into opening the wooden boxes quickly so that they could be exposed to light again. Feeling the violent aggression in the magical waves, they were all sure that the boxes contained powerful magic equipment used by the High Elves during their reign.

    The crowd approached the wooden boxes.

    Cheyenne used a little magic to clean up the dust on the wooden boxes before lifting the lid slowly. However, when he saw the contents, he was so astonished that he almost put the lid back on. The others were just as shocked, and they could not hide their fear at all. Staring at the boxes, none of them could take their eyes off them at all, not even Elder Randy.

    Just as everyone expected, there were dozens of staffs neatly ced in the box, but no one could imagine how perfectly exquisite the craftsmanship of the staffs was. Every mageweath and array were perfect, and the only w was that the magic crystal at the top seemed to be a littleckluster.

    However, it was the dull magical crystal that made everyone exim in shock. It was the Dark Moon Staff!

    When faced with the Dark Moon Staff, no one in Anril could remain calm.

    Legend had it that there were two moons in the night sky when the High Elves ruled Anril; one was called the Golden Moon, while the other was the Dark Moon. The Golden Moon was regarded as a symbol of peace, harvest, and kindness. The Dark Moon, on the other hand, symbolized war, disaster, and evil.

    During the Dark Age, apart from the invincible Sky Castles, another force that became an eternal nightmare for the dominated races was undoubtedly the powerful Magic Legion. They were the elites among the High Elves, possessing the best genes and equipped with the best magical equipment. They were invincible in Anril, and any enemies that incurred their wrath would face destruction.

    They annihted and restrained all the forces that rebelled against the High Elven Queen, be it those who had been dominated or the royals who were also High Elves. They swept the Endless Abyss and even the powerful Demon Lords had to submit to them. As long as the queen wielded her scepter, they would show no mercy and kill their enemies, even if thetter was a deity.

    It could be said that the Magic Legion had left a deep impression on the people in Anril, just like the Sky Castles. One type of magical equipment used by members of the Magic Legion was the Dark Moon Staff that was sitting quietly in the box at this moment.

    Everyone took a deep breath and looked around. Since the Dark Moon Staff was stored in the wooden box, the other wooden boxes should undoubtedly contain the other equipment of the Magic Legion. It was not just a random guess, because the equipment of the Magic Legion was extremely difficult to build and required precious materials. Even with the huge material supply of the elves, it would still be impossible to build the equipment without stopping. Otherwise, a stronger Magic Legion would have been established. Therefore, each of those pieces of equipment was build while adhering to a strict n and protocol. It was impossible for there to be a Dark Moon staff without other equipment.

    Since a Dark Moon staff was there, they reckoned that the other boxes contained the Faro¡¯s Robe and de of Heartbreak. Those three pieces of magical equipment were the three standard ones necessary for the Magic Legion. Although they were the standard equipment, each piece was extremely borate and exquisite.

    For instance, although the Dark Moon Staff was less powerful than Lin Li¡¯s Helios¡¯ Scepter, the various skills used, be it the mageweaths or the arrays, were not inferior to that of Helios¡¯ Scepter. The reason that the Dark Moon Staff was not as powerful as Helios¡¯ Scepter was the difference in the materials used. After all, the material that Helios¡¯ Scepter was made of couldn¡¯t meet the production rate of standard equipment. Hence, it was impossible to create a second piece.

    The Faro¡¯s Robe and de of Heartbreak were the same as the Dark Moon Staff, and the materials used were the best, while the various techniques involved in their creation were definitely the most superior.

    During the Dark Age, the three pieces of magical equipment were only eligible for use by the Magic Legion which was absolutely loyal to the High Elven Queen. Even the prestigious royals could not use them.

    Staring at the wooden boxes around them, they reckoned that there should be at least hundreds of mages who could be equipped with such a set, thus forming a weaker Magic Legion. Although it was nothingpared to the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, it was definitely a powerful force that no one in Anril would dare to despise or belittle.

    No one could refuse such a temptation. Cheyenne¡¯s hand began trembling slightly when he was holding onto the lid of the wooden box. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, he was staring at Lin Li. The elves werepletely out of his consideration, for he did not even look at them.

    The greatest function of the crystal ball on the first floor was unbreakable defense. Although it could protect the Malfa Family from invasion, it would y a rtively small role in the development of the Malfa Family. If they could obtain this batch of powerful magic equipment, the Malfa Family would then have a powerful Magic Legion which would be an opportunity for the Malfa Family to rise.

    Hence, after seeing the Dark Moon Magic Staff, Cheyenne immediately forgot about the crystal ball that he was still reluctant to give up moments ago. However, whether or not he could get that equipment depended on Lin Li¡¯s intentions.

    Knowing that the three standard types of equipment of the Magic Legion were stored here, Elder Randy began to feel overwhelmed with regret despite still remaining calm on the surface. Had he known earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have vied for that crystal ball. How could a defensive objectpare to such powerful magical equipment?

    After all, the crystal ball could only at most buy some time for the elves, but the magical equipment would give the elves a greater power. Not only would it be an effective deterrent to other forces, it would bring about better results when used flexibly.

    However, now that the crystal ball had been taken away by Elder Randy, he could no longer ask for the magical equipment, and had no choice but to give it to the others.

    Cheyenne stared at Lin Li for a long time, but he seemed indifferent and unfazed. No one could tell what he thought about the magical equipment, because he didn¡¯t have much of a reaction.

    After thinking about it for a moment, Cheyenne finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He calmed himself down, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Mage Felic, I¡¯m sure you know the value of this magical equipment. If we split it equally amongst the three of us, it would nothing more than let us gain an insignificant amount of power, so I think it¡¯s better to let one force keep all the equipment in order to maximize its effectivity.

    ¡°The Malfa Family does need such a power, so if you have anything you want in exchange for it, you may bring it up. As long as it doesn¡¯t affect our foundation, I¡¯ll agree to it. In the future, the Malfa Family will definitely render help to the Tower of Dusk whenever required too.¡±

    Cheyenne directly revealed his bottom line, which was a taboo during negotiation. However, he was no longer negotiating with Lin Li. In other words, Cheyenne knew very well that he was actually not qualified to negotiate and bargain with Lin Li. Hence, there was no need to beat around the bush.

    However, Lin Li was impartial, so he did not intend to rip the Malfa Family off, just like how he did not extort the elves. He smiled at Cheyenne, and said, ¡°You¡¯re making it sound too serious, Master Cheyenne. The Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk have been cooperating for a long time, and this time I was invited by you. I can¡¯t put you in a spot, anyway. Well, if I don¡¯t ask for anything, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll feel bad. So, I shall ask for one thing randomly. The pharmaceutical market in Aminya City has always been chaotic. Why don¡¯t you give it to the Tower of Dusk?¡±

    Upon hearing the condition proposed by Lin Li, Cheyenne was filled with gratitude and felt that Lin Li was a true friend. Cheyenne was shocked and overjoyed, and he quickly nodded while agreeing to the condition. He felt that the pharmaceutical market was not that big of a deal, and the Tower of Dusk¡¯s potions had always been popr anyway.

    Watching Cheyenne rejoice and collect the magical equipment, Lin Li stood still without a tinge of reluctance. Lin Li was certainly not the kind to sacrifice himself for others. The only reason he had repeatedly made concessions was because he had his own ns in mind. They were in the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, and not the Immortal King¡¯s territory. How could the Immortal King¡¯s collection be inferior? What was the point ofpeting with the others now?

 Chapter 662 - Seed of Eternity

    <h4>Chapter 662: Seed of Eternity</h4>

    Moreover, a crystal sphere that was meant for defense wasn¡¯t too important to the Tower of Dusk. As for the equipment of the Magic Legion, Lin Li felt that it wasn¡¯t suitable for the mages from the Tower of Dusk, though it could be considered top-tier magical equipment.

    Although the Tower of Dusk had been established not long ago, it had gradually formed its own system of mage cultivation. The equipment here was designed based on the characteristics of the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion. Although others could use it, they would still face all kinds of problems. It was like wearing shoes¡ªeven a size bigger or smaller wouldn¡¯t be suitable even though the wearer could still fit into it.

    Lin Li had the ability to construct his own magical equipment. Instead of using the equipment used by others before, it was better to construct his own equipment for his men. Moreover, although the equipment from the Magic Legion was of high level, Lin Li was confident that he could construct simr one with a bit more effort.

    After Cheyenne had taken all the magical equipment, his eyes were filled with gratitude for Lin Li, though he didn¡¯t say it directly. Where else could he find such an ally who would give up such precious magical equipment without hesitation? Even with Cheyenne¡¯s status, he couldn¡¯t help but feel genuinely grateful to Lin Li.

    Cheyenne even kindly hoped that the third level contained some magical equipment that had equal value as this batch. After all, he couldn¡¯t let his good ally there suffer.

    ¡°Mage Felic, Mage Cheyenne, we have already collected all the items here. Is it time for us to explore the third floor?¡± Chief Elder Randy didn¡¯t want to stay here any longer. Seeing that Cheyenne had taken box after box of magical equipment, Chief Elder Randy¡¯s heart was bleeding.

    However, although he was very regretful and strongly desired that magical equipment, Chief Elder Randy didn¡¯t dare to have other thoughts, and only cast all his hopes on theter exploration.

    After leaving the warehouse where Cheyenne had cleared everything, the team proceeded upstairs. With different individual sentiments, the team walked towards the third floor of the Central Tower.

    After climbing up the long spiral staircase, everyone was stunned by what they saw on the third floor of the tower. They weren¡¯t stunned because of some rare and precious items there, but rather the exact opposite. The third floor hall was so empty that it didn¡¯t seem to contain anything. If it weren¡¯t for the mud on the ground, the team would have thought that they were teleported back to the second floor because of some illusion magic.

    At that instant, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but doubt his earlier spection. Could it be that the Immortal King¡¯s treasure only consisted of those items on the earlier two floors? Although the items discovered there were definitely considered treasures, how could the Immortal King¡¯s treasure be so simple?

    Honestly speaking, both Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne pitied Lin Li a little after seeing this empty hall. Of course, it was impossible for them to spare Lin Li some items that they had already gotten. After all, sympathy and interests were two separate matters.

    How could the Immortal King only have these? Even Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in those items, so how could the Immortal King treat them as treasures? Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe it, so he stepped forward to see if the hall was really empty or something was hidden in it.

    Whether out of sympathy or other reasons, Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne hurried after Lin Li when they saw him walk forward unconvinced. However, once they had stepped into the hall, they felt something wasn¡¯t right. They could clearly feel a gush of mana swarming into their bodies the moment they entered the hall. In an instant, they had recovered the mana they could only get through meditation.

    Shocked, Cheyenne immediately closed his eyes and attempted to meditate. Much to his disbelief, just a moment of meditation had recovered all his mana which had been almost exhausted during the battle in the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    A process was needed to transform the magical elements into one¡¯s own mana. However, Cheyenne didn¡¯t feel this transformation process at all during the moment of meditation just now. It felt as if the mana was his in the first ce, and he just had to absorb it into his body. Although the concentration of magical elements corrted with the effect of meditation to a certain extent, it was impossible to reach such high efficiency.

    Cheyenne was even worried that there was something wrong with himself, but he didn¡¯t sense any abnormality with his body after careful inspection. As for the mana he had gotten through meditation just now, it felt the same as the mana he had always used, and didn¡¯t feel foreign at all.

    Feeling the brimming mana in his body, Cheyenne was totally convinced that he had recovered to the peak of his power now. Even his mental strength, which couldn¡¯t be recovered via meditation but required natural recovery, totally recovered. This was a miracle. Even if he had directly taken a high-level magical potion, it probably wouldn¡¯t achieve the same effect as this.

    The others were equally shocked. Chief Elder Randy, who had a doubtful look on his face, started scanning the surroundings, hoping to find the real reason for this. No matter who it was, he could think it was a serious problem for a gush of unknown mana to swarm in for no apparent reason.

    However, the empty hall was like a gigantic box. The clean walls didn¡¯t hold any traces of mageweaths or Alchemy Arrays. There was also nothing special about the floor under their feet. Other than being filled with mana, there was nothing suspicious about this hall.

    The overflowing mana confirmed Lin Li¡¯s spection that something was definitely hidden in this empty hall. With this thought in mind, Lin Li slowly walked towards the center of the hall, and his vision was suddenly fixed on a spot in the air. If one were to look from afar, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything special about this spot. However, Lin Li seemed to have found what he had been looking for there, and his lips curved in a smile.

    Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne had also arrived at this spot by now. Both of them looked in the direction Lin Li was staring in spontaneously. What was floating in midair was a grain-sized little thing that emitted a faint glow. However, the mana it possessed made everyone here turn pale.

    ¡°The Seed of Eternity!¡± Chief Elder Randy suddenly gasped. Even if the Immortal King were to appear in front of him now, he probably wouldn¡¯t be so bbergasted.

    After all, Chief Elder Randy had experienced the Dark Age before, and had already reached Legendary-realm at the end of the Dark Age. Thus, his knowledge and experience were iparable to a normal person¡¯s. Although Chief Elder Randy hadn¡¯t had the right to pray to the Tree of Eternity from which all High Elves had been born during the Dark Age, he was still familiar with the Tree of Eternity¡¯s aura. Even after 1,300 years, Chief Elder Randy could still vividly remember that aura.

    Chief Elder Randy¡¯s gasp evoked memories of the Seed of Eternity among everyone. Although it was only a legend, the appearance of the Seed of Eternity here made the legend no longer just a legend. Although everyone still found it unbelievable, they knew that Chief Elder Randy wouldn¡¯t say something that he couldn¡¯t be sure of.

    However, everyone still had the same doubt. If this strange thing was really the Seed of Eternity, could the 1000-year-old legend be actually true?

    The Dark Age had ended more than 1,300 years ago. For a human who had a short lifespan, 1,300 years was undoubtedly a long time. A lot of things would have be illusory legends by now. The memories that had been evoked about the Seed of Eternity was just one of those legends.

    Back when Geresco killed the High Elves¡¯ queen under the Tree of Eternity, he destroyed the Tree of Eternity which bred all High Elves topletely kill off any possibility of the High Elves reviving. From that moment, the High Elves walked towardsplete decline. Under the force of the coalition army, the remaining High Elves were wiped out as thest Sky Castle escaped into the crack between time and space and never appeared in Anril again.

    There was an apanying legend which said that when the Tree of Eternity fell, it left a seed behind. Whoever got this seed would have the possibility of reviving the Tree of Eternity.

    Thus, at the end of the Dark Age, many people really went around looking for this seed, whether to prevent the High Elves from reviving or in search of the powerful strength of the Tree of Eternity. After countless disappointments and with the fact that nobody had ever seen this seed before, the legend remained a legend.

    Much to everyone¡¯s surprise, this legendary Seed of Eternity appeared in this Sky Castle 1,300 years after the end of the Dark Age. No wonder those people traveled all around Anril but still didn¡¯t manage to find this Seed of Eternity. Nobody would have guessed that the Seed of Eternity had always been located in the Sky Castle controlled by the remaining High Elves.

    However, the team couldn¡¯t understand why those remaining High Elves in this Sky Castle didn¡¯t use this Seed of Eternity to revive the Tree of Eternity. Since the Tree of Eternity had born the High Elves, wouldn¡¯t the revived Tree of Eternity share the same ability? Why would those remaining High Elves give up on such a precious opportunity to revive their race?

 Chapter 663 - Dead Seed

    <h4>Chapter 663: Dead Seed</h4>

    However, it was useless to think about these things now. Be it Chief Elder Randy or Cheyenne, they were more concerned about the great benefits the Tower of Dusk would get from this Seed of Eternity.

    If the legends were true, if the Tree of Eternity could really revive, then the future increase in power of the Tower of Dusk could only be described as terrifying.

    The High Elves born from the Tree of Eternity possessed such perfect magical talent that it had people jealous. However, the Tree of Eternity¡¯s power was not just that it gave birth to the High Elves. It was said that the Tree of Eternity had the heaven-defying ability to change one¡¯s magic potential. No matter how bad a mage¡¯s potential was, as long as he was bathed in the radiance of the Tree of Eternity, he had the possibility to break through to Legendary-realm.

    During the Dark Age, one of the rewards the High Elves¡¯ queen gave to outstanding warriors was the honor to pray to the Tree of Eternity. Frankly speaking, it just meant a chance to meditate under the Tree of Eternity and change their potential using the Tree of Eternity¡¯s power.

    After all, one¡¯s potential was determined since birth, and it limited how high one¡¯s achievements would be in theter stages of life. If a person had very low potential, no matter how much hard work he put in, he would still be limited by his potential. It was why some people couldn¡¯t study magic by nature, and some could only be mage apprentices for their entire lives, while others could reach Legendary-realm without many obstacles.

    One¡¯s potential couldn¡¯t be changed via hard work, but the Tree of Eternity could provide such rejuvenating power. Under the radiance of the Tree of Eternity, one would feel that he was revived continuously and his potential was increased little by little. Of course, the effect wasn¡¯t immediate. It would require a very long time even for the Tree of Eternity to make a person who had no magic potential at all to reach Legendary-realm.

    Even the process of doing so wouldn¡¯t be easy. Thus, it wouldn¡¯t increase the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power very much in a short span of time. However, the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t have to rely on the Tree of Eternity to ¡®turn a fool into a genius¡¯. Once it had announced the news that it possessed the Tree of Eternity to the public, countless talented mages would be naturally attracted. By then, not to mention the Breezy ins, the entire Anril would have to live in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s influence.

    Lin Li was quite familiar with all kinds of legends in Anril. After hearing Chief Elder Randy mention the Seed of Eternity, he immediately thought of what this seed meant to him. Looking at the floating Seed of Eternity not too far away, he smiled to Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne, and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to be courteous now.¡±

    Evidently, Lin Li¡¯s expression didn¡¯t show any signs of being courteous, but rather a firm determination to get the Seed of Eternity. After all, this was the one and only Seed of Eternity. Nobody could resist such a temptation.

    ¡°Oh, please go ahead...¡± After recovering from their shock, Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne replied while struggling to put up a smile. Beneath their smile, they regretted so much that they wanted to chop their hands off. If they had known that the third floor held the Seed of Eternity, they wouldn¡¯t have fought over the items in the lower two floors no matter what.

    So what if the crystal sphere was huge? It was only a defense tool that could let a person hide inside it. Moreover, there was a limit to how much pressure it could take. There was no such thing as imprable defense. Even the purportedly infallible Sky Castles had fallen one by one during the war at the end of the Dark Age.

    Chief Elder Randy hadn¡¯t counted on the crystal sphere to protect the elves from harm. He only hoped that it could win some time for the elves to turn the tides during times of crisis. However, if they had the Seed of Eternity, if the Tree of Eternity could be revived in the Emerald Forest, then the elves wouldn¡¯t have to worry about humans attacking the Emerald Forest. By then, it would be the human nations that¡¯d fear the elves.

    For the elves, the Tree of Eternity was too important. Although the elves wouldn¡¯t try to raid human warriors, the benefits that elves could get from the Tree of Eternity would definitely be much greater than for humans. After all, almost all elves now had the blood of the High Elves. The Tree of Eternity might not be able to bring the elves to the heights of the High Elves¡¯ rule, but it could definitely make the elves a notable race in Anril.

    <i>Such a pity!</i> Chief Elder Randy couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Was he really too old now that he had made so many wrong judgments? Snatching that damned crystal sphere hastily on the first floor, he didn¡¯t have the courage to bet on the treasures on the upper floors. As a result, he missed such a good opportunity to revive the elven race.

    After getting the three kinds of magical equipment owned by the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, Cheyenne was originally in a good mood. In fact, he was very satisfied with what he had gotten for this trip whileing up to the third floor. However, after seeing the Seed of Eternity, his regret was no less than Chief Elder Randy¡¯s.

    Although the magical equipment that Cheyenne had gotten was more valuable than the crystal sphere, it was nothingpared to the Seed of Eternity. So what if he had gotten the Magic Legion¡¯s equipment? Could his team reach the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion¡¯s standard just by using that equipment? A group of Archmages would still be just Archmages even if they used it. The gap between an Archmage and a Legendary-mage couldn¡¯t be made up for with mere equipment.

    On the other hand, while it was a bit exaggerating to say that the Tree of Eternity could turn an idiot into a genius, it could certainly make a mage with considerable potential reach Legendary-realm easily. In Anril, how many people were stuck at the peak of being an Archmage and had no hope of reaching Legendary-realm now? Once the news about the Tree of Eternity spread, those Archmages would swarm towards it.

    However, it was toote to change anything now. Although the team didn¡¯t make any agreements outrightly, they already had some sort of unspoken understanding from the earlier quests. Since they had already taken the items on the lower floors, they naturally had to leave this to Lin Li.

    What made Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne gloomy was Lin Li¡¯s behavior. Be it when they were collecting the crystal sphere or the Magic Legion¡¯s equipment, Lin Li didn¡¯t try to extort too much, though they were prepared to give up a lot. Moreover, Lin Li kept mentioning friends and allies, making himself seem so upright and just. However, it was all just a facade.

    Speaking of the Seed of Eternity, given its heaven-defying abilities, even the firmest alliance would inevitably fall apart under such temptation. Be it Chief Elder Randy or Cheyenne, neither was a merciful sort. After all, it wasmon for teams to turn against one another at the end of a hunt for treasure.

    However, although Lin Li was only a level-21 Legendary-mage, Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne didn¡¯t even dare to have such a thought. After all, Lin Li¡¯s true abilities was totally ahead of his level.

    Which level-21 Legendary-mage could easily break Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain? Which level-21 Legendary-mage could survive a stealth attack from the Legendary Bandit Lansdale totally unharmed?

    Thest guardian of the Seven-Realm Spiral shot Legendary Bandit Lansdale to his death from afar. That arrow made everyone feel a sense of desperation. However, what was his oue in the end? He was killed by this level-21 Legendary-mage with just three arrows. Even now, everyone still shivered upon thinking of those three arrows.

    Although everyone here was clear that most of the power came from those three strange arrows themselves, they also knew that a normal level-21 Legendary-mage certainly couldn¡¯t control such power that was close to Sanctuary-level.

    In addition, other than those three arrows, who knew how many other secrets this level-21 Legendary-mage who continuously created miracles had. Level-21 was the best camouge he had. Everyone who took the level seriously could certainly suffer.

    The team didn¡¯t move. Before Lin Li had taken the Seed of Eternity, a move could result in a misunderstanding. However, everyone still couldn¡¯t hide the envy and jealousy in their eyes. After all, this was the legendary Seed of Eternity! Any faction that got it would get a rise in power. No, not just a rise, but a great leap from the ground to the clouds.

    With all eyes on him, Lin Li slowly approached the Seed of Eternity. If not for the massive amount of mana hidden inside it, probably no one would pay any attention to this insignificant little seed. Lin Li stretched out his palm slowly, fearing that any slight air current would make the seed disappear.

    Only when Lin Li had really put the Seed of Eternity in his hand did Cheyenne and the rest dare to walk up to take a closer look at this legendary seed.

    However, when the team walked close to examine the Seed of Eternity¡¯s magical waves, they discovered a shocking fact. They couldn¡¯t sense the slightest bit of life from this Seed of Eternity.

 Chapter 664 - Sacred Unicorn

    <h4>Chapter 664: Sacred Unicorn</h4>

    Although there was no such thing as eternity in this world, the Tree of Eternity was known for its endless vitality. Even if what everyone saw here was just a Seed of Eternity, it was impossible for it not to contain any trace of life, unless it was already dead.

    Although the amount of mana that the seed emitted continuously was still terrifyinglyrge, everyone could sense that its mana was deteriorating. This meant that the Seed of Eternity was merely emitting its previously umted mana, but couldn¡¯t generate any new mana now. As such, no matter how powerful its mana was, it would eventually be totally depleted.

    The question that puzzled everyone was thus easily answered. No wonder the remaining High Elves didn¡¯t use the Seed of Eternity to revive the Tree of Eternity. How could a dead seed grow into a tree?

    Lin Li frowned. This dead seed had gotten him excited for nothing, since it could never grow into the Tree of Eternity anyway. However, why did the Immortal King choose to put the dead Seed of Eternity here?

    After realizing that the Seed of Eternity was already dead, Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne finally felt life to be a bit more fair. Although the Seed of Eternity contained arge amount of mana, a dead Seed of Eternity was no more than a magical crystal with veryrge mana capacity. So what if it could allow a person to recover his mana quickly? The true value of the Seed of Eternity was already lost.

    The Tree of Eternity had the terrifying power that created the High Elves, who ruled over Anril for countless years. It could even create another powerful faction that could leave the entire continent shaking in fear. However, life was still fair, and didn¡¯t give anyone such a heaven-defying advantage.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s knitted brows rxed after a short while. He didn¡¯t look disappointed like what everyone expected. Chief Elder Randy and Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help admiring this young mage¡¯s breadth of mind. No wonder he could aplish so much at this age.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t look down on the dead Seed of Eternity. After careful inspection, he threw it into the Ring of Endless Storm. Unlike what a lot of people would think, Lin Li wasn¡¯t too sad about getting a dead seed, because he believed that the Immortal King wouldn¡¯t do something like this for nothing.

    Lin Li had a feeling that everything he had experienced sinceing to Anril was somehow rted to the Immortal King. Although he wouldn¡¯t say that everything he had experienced had been nned by the Immortal King, he knew that a lot was definitely linked to the Immortal King.

    No matter what the Immortal King was nning, Lin Li was sure that he had a reason behind what he did. Since the Seed of Eternity was ced here, then the method of rebirth should also be left here by the Immortal King. Now, he just had to be careful and clever enough to discover it.

    Even if there wasn¡¯t any way to rejuvenate the Seed of Eternity, the seed was still extremely useful to Lin Li. Just the mana in the seed alone could let the baby Elemental Wyrm almost reach adulthood.

    The baby Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua was the sessor of one of the five Dragon Aspects: the Dragon of Dream. Even if it couldn¡¯t fully mature from absorbing the mana from the seed, its power would still match that of an ancient dragon. By then, Xiao Hua would have be a super strong fighter. Who would dare to offend Lin Li then? The only thing he had to be careful of was that projected avatar that was always lingering inside Xiao Hua¡¯s body.

    Till now, Lin Li was still not sure what kind of presence the projected avatar was inside Xiao Hua¡¯s body. The only thing he could do was to be highly alert since he couldn¡¯t think of any way to eliminate this potential threat.

    After Lin Li put away the Seed of Eternity, the third floor hall was truly empty. Even the overwhelming mana that had radiated from the seed would disappear over time.

    Stepping out of the hall, the team walked towards the fourth floor of the tower. Almost everyone¡¯s face was beaming with anticipation. From the crystal ball and the three sets of magical equipment from the Magic Legion to the Seed of Eternity, the items seemed more and more valuable as they went up the tower. Although the Seed of Eternity was dead, its value still couldn¡¯t be underestimated. What kind of treasure awaited them on the fourth floor?

    Even Chief Elder Randy, who was the most disappointed person out of all, summoned up his energy once again and anticipated what the fourth floor would offer. After all, everyone got something on the first three floors, but from the fourth level onwards, everything depended on their own abilities.

    The elves were the wealthiest out of all, especially Chief Elder Randy who was one of the eight elders of the Emerald Council. Hence, he had immense decisive power over a lot of areas. If he really had to, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to dump loads of money.

    As for the Tower of Dusk, although it was a small faction that was newly established, its president Lin Li¡¯s abilities seemed to be the top out of the three factions after he had shot the three arrows.

    Only Cheyenne from the Malfa Family seemed to be in an awkward position. Although the Malfa Family was given the title of the strongest family in the Breezy ins, its wealth was certainly no match for the elves¡¯, and its power no match for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s. However, Cheyenne was already very satisfied with the magical equipment that he had gotten from the second floor. If there was really some surprising treasure on the upper floors, it would be good enough to get some benefits for the faction by using his power.

    Although everyone had their own considerations, they had simr anticipation for the treasure on the fourth floor. This was because no matter whether they could get it themselves, the higher the value of the treasure was, the more benefits they could get from it.

    However, when everyone reached the fourth floor of the Central Tower, they were again stunned by what they saw.

    There weren¡¯t any splendid decorations, but only an old storehouse that seemed thousands of years old. It was filled with thick white fog, making it hard for people to make out what was hidden in it.

    Looking at it from the door, the thick fog seemed to be constrained by something. Not even a tinge went beyond a certain unseen border, clearing a straight path towards the front.

    A lone stone tform stood at the end of the path. On the stone tform, a crystal ball floated in the midair, slowly revolving.

    Although the crystal ball was much bigger than the ones people usually saw, it was no match to the one Chief Elder Randy had gotten on the first floor. Moreover, judging from its slow revolving motion, it seemed to be operating normally.

    On the other hand, people couldn¡¯t see through the white fog on the sides of the path. They couldn¡¯t even prate the fog with their mental strength. However, they could sense all kinds of peculiar but extremely powerful aura seeping out from the fog. The team carefully walked along the path towards the stone tform.

    When the team reached the front of the stone tform, they heaved a sigh of relief, and focused their vision on the crystal ball. Different scenes shed in the crystal ball, as if disying different domains. In each domain, there was only a magical beast or Abyssal Demon that was dead asleep.

    By then, everyone finally realized that the fourth floor of the Central Tower was a jail. The thick surrounding white fog should be the cells that locked these Abyssal Demons away. This jail should have made use of some space-erging effect. If not, so many different Abyssal Demons would not have been able to fit into this space.

    Since they could see what the situation was like in every cell via the crystal ball, the crystal ball was evidently controlling all these cells. However, what was the use of that? Although these Abyssal Demons were powerful creatures, they could only act as additional fighters. How much could these demons contribute to the development of their factions?

    However, just as the team was disappointed with this crystal ball, Chief Elder Randy suddenly eximed in surprise. Without any exnations, he quickly moved near the crystal ball.

    It was very easy to use a crystal ball¡ªone just had to inject some mental strength into it. This crystal ball left behind by the High Elves was no different. Chief Elder Randy ced a finger on the crystal ball and injected his mental strength. The images on the crystal ball shed across rapidly, and finally fixed onto one.

    Looking at the fixed image on the crystal ball, Chief Elder Randy couldn¡¯t hide his excitement. Even his finger that was resting on the crystal ball was trembling slightly. Upon seeing Chief Elder Randy¡¯s bizarre reaction, Princess Elune and the other elves came over too. Once they saw what was shown on the crystal ball, they were all jaw-droppingly surprised.

    The crystal ball showed one of the many creatures locked in the cells. However, it wasn¡¯t any of the Abyssal Demons, but a pure-white unicorn with a silver spiral horn and white wings tucked behind its back.

    ¡°Yes, this is the sacred item we are looking for: Goddess Monferra¡¯s mount¡ªthe sacred unicorn.¡± Chief Elder Randy tried hard to suppress his excitement, but his voice still trembled.

    Hearing Chief Elder Randy¡¯s words, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel curious. Since this unicorn was Goddess Monferra¡¯s mount, why would it be jailed in this ce? After all, this was the High Elves¡¯ Sky Castle. ording to elven legends, Goddess Monferra was riding her unicorn when she helped the desperate elves. At that time, the High Elves had already perished.

    There were many legends regarding the plight of the elves circting around now. Not mentioning the Legendary powerhouses, even farmers knew a thing or two about the elves. However, probably only Chief Elder Randy and the elves themselves knew what the real situation was like then.

    ording to legends, under the pursuit of the human coalition army, the elves didn¡¯t have any living space in the whole of Anril. The remaining elves could only escape to the Sierra Leone Forest.

    Back then, the Sierra Leone Forest used to be the ce where people were sent for exile during the High Elves¡¯ reign. Countless powerhouses died there and it was dangerous, even fatal. The forest was filled with poisonous fog. Even the strongest Legendary powerhouse couldn¡¯t resist its poison. There were stinky and fatal poisonous swamps, powerful magical beasts, and even fierce carnivorous nts.

    That was a ce more terrifying than the Endless Abyss. There was not a single safe spot, the whole forest was filled with fatal traps of nature. At any time, a magical beast could pounce towards you. Even if one was just standing near a tree, the person could risk being strangled by its vines and bing the carnivorous nt¡¯s fertilizer.

    With a human army that had just overthrown the High Elves¡¯ rule wanting to wipe out the elves at the back, and the Sierra Leone Forest which no one had walked out from alive in front, the elves were faced with totally hopeless situation with nowhere to go.

    However, just when the elves were driven to the depths of desperation, Goddess Monferra performed a miracle. The elves saw the goddess slowly going into the Sierra Leone Forest while riding her unicorn. In every ce that this sacred unicorn had stepped, the thick poisonous fog disappeared like melting snow. The poisonousnd was transformed into fertilend. When the unicorn walked past, those carnivorous nts lost their decaying form and green sprouts emerged. Those magical beasts also didn¡¯t dare to expose their sharp teeth and ws. They brought their bodies close to the ground, and their red eyes gradually became clear.

    In the sky, the looming dark clouds were prated by beams of sacred light. The light followed the steps of the unicorn; more and more light beams appeared until the dark clouds vanished, and the entire Sierra Leone Forest was bathed in the goddess¡¯s glory. The dark, decaying colors of the Sierra Leone Forest were reced by a vibrant green. Grass emerged out of the soil and wild flowers instantaneously bloomed across the forest, sending waves of fragrance into the air. Under the goddess¡¯s glory, the entire Sierra Leone Forest was brimming with vitality.

    From then, the Sierra Leone Forest, once known was the Land of Despair, had a new name: Emerald Forest.

    However, the unicorn disappeared after that. No one knew where the unicorn had gone. They only knew that it hadn¡¯t left with Goddess Monferra. In fact, the reason Chief Elder Randy and the elves could find their way here was because the Goddess had left a clue for them.

    Chief Elder Randy tapped the crystal ball gently. A ripple appeared on the image on the crystal ball. Then, a unicorn slowly walked out from the thick fog not far from where the team was standing with the crisp sound of its hooves.

 Chapter 665 - Gordon

    <h4>Chapter 665: Gordon</h4>

    Although the unicorn had been confined in this prison for more than 1,000 years, its sacredness and purity didn¡¯t fade over time. Even after more than 1,000 years of confinement, the unicorn erupted with powerful mana waves immediately after it had been released from the fog. Its strong battle aura radiated throughout the hall. It didn¡¯t look like the drowsy and gloomy creature shown in the crystal ball at all.

    However, when the unicorn¡¯s vision swept across the crowd, it gradually restrained its aura after seeing the elves. Although the unicorn¡¯s eyes were still full of wariness, it was no longer in a ready-to-strike position, and seemed to have a lot of questions.

    Princess Elune suddenly started walking towards the unicorn cautiously. Without using the Song of Heart, Princess Elune wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand even one blow from the unicorn. All the other elves, including Chief Elder Randy, couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely worried, just that nobody did anything.

    Finally, Princess Elune arrived in front of the unicorn. She lifted her arm slowly and gently ced her palm at the tip of the unicorn¡¯s silver spiral horn. The other elves finally heaved a sigh of relief then. The unicorn would only allow the purest and most trusted person to touch its horn. Now that this unicorn had allowed Princess Elune to touch its horn, it meant that Princess Elune had gained its approval.

    Princess Elune whispered to the unicorn as if exining what had happened over the past 1,300 years. Maybe she had talked about the catastrophe the elves had gone through at the end of the Dark Age, for the unicorn¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Seeing the two humans¡ªLin Li and Cheyenne¡ªas well as Lin Li¡¯s two Undead servants, the unicorn¡¯s eyes were filled with disgust and hatred.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t scared by the unicorn¡¯s expression, but Chief Elder Randy was frightened. He didn¡¯t want this unicorn that they had finally found to cause some irreversible trouble because of a historical problem from 1,300 years ago.

    Fortunately, who knew if it was because Princess Elune had said something to the unicorn, but it finally shifted its nce away from Lin Li with disdain.

    Even such a sacred creature acted in such a manner? Lin Li secretly found it very funny. He said to Chief Elder Randy, ¡°Congrattions, Chief Elder Randy. You¡¯ve finally found back your n¡¯s sacred beast. What are your ns next?¡±

    Since Chief Elder Randy hade here to find this unicorn, would they leave this ce or continue to explore the secrets of the tower now that the unicorn was already found?

    This was the Central Tower of a Sky Castle! Out of all the Immortal King¡¯s treasures, how much of a gain was a crystal ball! The exploration had only just begun.

    Chief Elder Randy naturally wouldn¡¯t miss out on such a good opportunity. Although he was a little embarrassed, he still replied, ¡°We¡¯ve gone through so much to reach this ce. I¡¯ll naturally continue to see what other items the Immortal King has left behind.¡±

    Chief Elder Randy¡¯s reply wasn¡¯t too surprising to Lin Li. If it was any other person, he wouldn¡¯t stop here, either. Lin Li asked this question only to remind Chief Elder Randy to keep track of the time. Since the unicorn had already epted Princess Elune, there was no point wasting more time here.

    Princess Elune stoppedmunicating with the unicorn and returned to Chief Elder Randy¡¯s side. The unicorn followed her closely. Not only was it scornful of humans like Lin Li, it was equally so of male elves like Chief Elder Randy.

    Although the team was rather disappointed with what they saw on the fourth floor, it was a great gain for the elves to find their sacred animal. However, just as the team was all set to move on, Lin Li stopped in his heels and turned back to the crystal ball without any exnations.

    Just as everyone was puzzled by Lin Li¡¯s behavior, Lin Li tapped on the crystal ball, and a gush of powerful aura erupted from the thick fog at one side of the hall.

    None of the creatures confined here by the High Elves was easy to deal with. Upon sensing such violent and powerful aura, the team all turned tense.

    Because the elves had Princess Elune who was acknowledged by the Moon Shadow Leopard, as well as the aura Goddess Monferra had bestowed upon the Elven Kingdom, the unicorn had agreed to follow along. However, other than the unicorn, the countless Abyssal Demons locked in the numerous cells were all ferocious and untamed. Nobody knew what Lin Li wanted to do and what kind of beast he wanted to let out.

    ¡°Dong, dong, dong...¡±

    With heavy footsteps, a gigantic creature gradually appeared out of the fog. It was indeed an Abyssal Demon.

    ¡°Haha! It¡¯s been too long! Long enough for me to forget how many years have passed. However, I¡¯m finally out of that wretched cage now!¡± The Abyssal Demonughed recklessly. Hisughter reverberated throughout the hall, filled with the joy of freedom and endless hatred for the High Elves.

    However, what made everyone puzzled was why Lin Li chose to release this particr Abyssal Demon that everyone wasn¡¯t familiar with. Although he possessed powerful Legendary-level abilities, he was certainly not the strongest amongst all.

    Looking at the Abyssal Demon at had walked out from the fog, Lin Li¡¯s lips curved. Actually, Lin Li had a lot of questions about this Abyssal Demon as well.

    It wasn¡¯t Randy and the team¡¯s fault for not recognizing the Abyssal Demon at the moment. After all, he was the demon Gordon that only existed 60 levels deep into the Endless Abyss.

    A demon like Gordon had a very special hobby. It liked consume all kinds of magical metals. This hobby seemed simr to that of magical beasts like the Metal-Engulfing Beasts.

    However, Gordon consumed these magical metals not to satiate his hunger, but because he possessed integration ability. With this ability, Gordon could use all kinds of magical metals to recast his own body continuously. With integration ability, he could obtain the magical metal just by consuming it.

    Lin Li had released this demon Gordon not because he had any powerful abilities. Instead, it was because he had strangely sensed a familiar aura on this demon. Lin Li couldn¡¯t make out what kind of magical metal Gordon had integrated at the moment, but since it wasn¡¯t too troublesome, he chose to release him to examine him closely.

    As one of the many powerful demons locked here, Gordon was still a demon from deep in the Abyss even though he wasn¡¯t the top in terms of abilities. With its Legendary-level power and the special ability to integrate any magical metal into his body, he did have enough capital to be proud of itself.

    Theughter wasn¡¯t enough for Gordon to let out all his anger. He nced at everyone in the hall and released all his pressurizing aura. With a cruel expression on his face, he said, ¡°It¡¯s you who have released me, lowly humans! Oh! And elves. How can I thank you?¡±

    Of course, nobody would foolishly think that this demon was genuinely thankful. After feeling the intense aura, almost everyone got ready for battle. The elves had already put up their bows, while the mages held up their magic staffs. Although Chief Elder Randy hadn¡¯t shapeshifted into a wyrm yet, it was just a matter of seconds for him to do that should they really start to fight.

    Gordon could sense everyone was wary, but he wasn¡¯t bothered by that at all. In fact, this precisely showed that these people were frightened of him. His vision swept across the crowd and licked his lips. He continued, ¡°To express my gratitude, I¡¯ll grant you with the great honor of bing a part of my body! I¡¯ll start with you!¡±

    Lin Li stood right next to the crystal ball closest to Gordon. Although Gordon wanted to taste that female elf more, it didn¡¯t matter if he tasted her now orter. With that, he started walking towards Lin Li.

    However, just as Gordon was bragging exaggeratedly, a delicate crossbow appeared in Lin Li¡¯s hands. This was exactly the Reincarnation Crossbow that he had used back at the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    Without any words, Lin Li shot out the debris of the stars Thunderbolt that had been ced on the Reincarnation Crossbow as Demon Gordon slowly walked towards him.

    A faint sh of lightning suddenly appeared. Without even figuring out what was going on, Demon Gordon¡¯s body uncontrobly copsed onto the ground. Only then did he realize that his body that had integrated so many magical metals that it had stronger defense than even a wyrm had now been disintegrated by more than half just from that one blow.

    This wound wasn¡¯t fatal for Gordon. He could even recover in just a little while with his ultra-strong recovery abilities. However, Gordon felt an immense fear from that blow. If that blow hadn¡¯t been targeted at his body but his head, no amount of healing abilities could have saved him.

    ¡°You¡¯re spouting too much rubbish. I just want to ask you one question: obey me or die?¡± sneered Lin Li as he pointed his Reincarnation Crossbow on Gordon¡¯s head.

    At that moment, Gordon truly felt death approaching. His regrowing body suddenly stopped moving.

    <i>Demon, this human is the true demon!</i> thought Gordon. From Lin Li¡¯s cold gaze, Gordon knew clearly that he couldn¡¯t y any tricks on this human. Even if he were to reply a littlete, this human would probably destroy him without any hesitation.

 Chapter 666 - The Study

    <h4>Chapter 666: The Study</h4>

    Lin Li had released Demon Gordon only because he was curious, and not due to any benefit he could bring to the Tower of Dusk. Thus, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother to spend too much time on this fe.

    Seeing that Lin Li was going to pull the trigger of the crossbow soon, Gordon, who didn¡¯t want to die now when he had just gotten out of prison, immediately yelled, ¡°Yes, yes, I will do everything you say.¡±

    Given how easily he would give in to threats, it was surprising the High Elves had confined this demon in this jail. Lin Li found this fact very funny, but he still put up a cold expression, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to teach you what to do, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Gordon felt that he was too unlucky. Just as he thought that he had regained freedom, he couldn¡¯t even celebrate that for more than 15 minutes beforending in another prison. Although he wasn¡¯t willing, he didn¡¯t dare to hesitate in presenting his soul to Lin Li, fearing that he would be killed if he wasted too much of Lin Li¡¯s time.

    While the team couldn¡¯t figure out why Lin Li chose to subdue this demon, Cheyenne got some inspiration from Lin Li¡¯s behavior. The Malfa Family was only left with Cheyenne as the only Legendary powerhouse, so he was forced to stay and defend Aminya. This even slowed down the progress of his magical abilities. Now, although the Dark de had suffered a major blow, they still possessed two Legendary powerhouses, so their overall strength was still higher than that of the Malfa Family. If the Malfa Family could get another Legendary powerhouse, it would be greatly beneficial for the faction¡¯s development.

    Thinking of that, Cheyenne stopped the team just when Lin Li prepared to leave with demon Gordon, who had regrown most of his body. He said, ¡°Chief Elder Randy, Mage Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, but please give me a while.¡± With that, Cheyenne returned to the crystal ball and put his finger on it.

    Everyone was clear what Cheyenne was thinking, but nobody said anything and only waited, hoping to see what kind of demon Cheyenne would release.

    Cheyenne tapped his finger on the crystal ball for a few times, and the image on the crystal ball finally fixed. The creature confined in this cell was a Demon Winged Angel from the 50th level of the Abyss.

    It was called an angel because its wings weren¡¯t like the membranous wings of other Abyssal Demon, but a pair of pure white feathered wings. However, one would quickly realize that its wings weren¡¯t actually pure white, but pale white.

    Winged Angels possessed high speed and expertized in shadowing. The bones in its two arms were also as hard as steel, making it an infamous assassin in the Abyss. In terms of assassination, Winged Angels wouldn¡¯t lose out to the Dark de¡¯s Lansdale. They were even better than him to a certain extent.

    After battling with the Dark de for so many years, the Malfa Family suffered from the Dark de¡¯s assassination attacks so often. Although Lansdale wouldn¡¯t attack personally most of the time, his disciples had killed so many mages from the Malfa Family. Even Cheyenne himself had suffered numerous times when fighting with the Dark de.

    Thus, Cheyenne thought of the Winged Angel not because he wanted to assassinate anyone, but because it would be useful for the Malfa Family¡¯s future development as a Legendary assassin.

    Cheyenne gently tapped on the crystal ball and opened the gates of the Winged Angel¡¯s cell. However, everyone felt it strange that there wasn¡¯t any exploding aura even after the gates were opened. It was as if the opened cell was empty.

    Just then, Cheyenne, who was standing in front of the crystal ball, suddenly waved his magic staff and released a Gas st Spell at his side. With a strong gust of power, his body instantaneously shifted to the side.

    However, the Gas st Spell didn¡¯t hit any target. Before Cheyenne could stabilize himself in the new location, he suddenly turned and knocked his magic staff on the ground. A fire wave rippled from his body in all directions.

    However, a figure suddenly appeared behind Cheyenne just as the fire wave started to spread out. The sharp bones on its arm pierced towards Cheyenne¡¯s heart without any warning.

    Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but feel rather sullen. The demon that Mage Felic had released just now uttered so much crap before attacking, while the one he had released started to strike once he had opened the gates. With an opponent whose assassination skills were no worse than Lansdale¡¯s, Cheyenne still appeared very passive even though he had considerable experience in dealing with stealth attacks.

    More importantly, Cheyenne had always thought that the best way to defend himself from assassination attacks was that passive defense ring. However, it was already destroyed at the Seven-Realm Spiral. If not, he wouldn¡¯t feel so threatened by the Winged Angel¡¯s attacks. Fortunately, Cheyenne¡¯s power had fully recovered at the third floor of the tower. Otherwise, he really wouldn¡¯t know how to react to this.

    ¡°Master Cheyenne, if you want to understand the Winged Angel¡¯s abilities, it will be better to leave this ce and go back to examine it,¡± suggested Lin Li as he waved his Helios¡¯ Scepter. Numerous Arcane Missiles shot towards Cheyenne¡¯s side.

    Arcane Missiles weren¡¯t powerful. For a Legendary-mage, they were actually the products of a low-level magic. Lin Li didn¡¯t intend to help Cheyenne cripple this Winged Angel. After all, the Winged Angel didn¡¯t have Gordon¡¯s heaven-defying recovery abilities. Even without using the Reincarnation Crossbow, the Arcane Missiles were enough to force the Winged Angel to reveal its tracks.

    Seeing that Lin Li helped him, Chief Elder Randy was embarrassed to just stand around. He signaled to Gildor to set up his bow and arrows. 14 sharp arrows fired at once, shooting out to all around Cheyenne.

    Although the Winged Angel was extremely fast-moving and good at hiding its tracks, the local space was small, after all. With so many Legendary powerhouses¡¯ attacks, the Winged Angel was like a fly trying to escape from a gigantic flyswatter¡ªit couldn¡¯t escape no matter where it went.

    Seeing that the Winged Angel had been forced to reveal its tracks, Cheyenne immediately waved his magic staff and released his much-prepared magic...

    After signing the Soul Contract with the Winged Angel, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t hide the joy in his eyes. With all the magical equipment as well as a Legendary Winged Angel, the Malfa Family¡¯s strength was finallyparable to that of the Dark de. Moreover, it was totally possible for the Malfa Family to surpass the Dark de in the foreseeable future.

    Seeing that Lin Li and Cheyenne had conquered powerful Abyssal Demons consecutively, Chief Elder Randy¡¯s expression got a little unnatural. The elves had always despised allying with the demons. Undead creatures were filthy in their perception, while demons were the epitome of evil and degeneration.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that Chief Elder Randy wasn¡¯t somewhat envious of Lin Li and Cheyenne. After all, those two Abyssal Demons weren¡¯t just some random Legendary-realm demons, and it was rare to find such powerful fighters. Unfortunately, he wouldn¡¯t let himself sign the Soul Contract with a demon. After all, an elf who did that would be despised by the entire elven poption, even if he was the eighth elder.

    Objectively speaking, the ones who gained the most from this fourth floor were actually the elves. After all, they found their sacred unicorn, while Lin Li and Cheyenne only found a Legendary fighter each. Thinking about this, Chief Elder Randy felt a little more at ease. He turned towards Lin Li and Cheyenne, and asked, ¡°Mage Felic, Mage Cheyenne, shall we proceed to the fifth floor now?¡±

    Although everyone managed to get something from the fourth floor of the Central Tower, and the elves even managed to find their sacred unicorn, everyone was still somewhat disappointed. If it had been any other ce, these would have been remarkable gains. However, this was the Sky Castle and the Immortal King¡¯s treasure¡¯s location. Such gains were truly unsatisfactory for them.

    When the team reached the fifth floor of the Central Tower, they unexpectedly found two intricately decorated doors at the entrance, blocking everyone¡¯s view. This was really interesting; the previous floor almost didn¡¯t have any defense mechanism in ce, and they could see everything from the entrance. What could be behind these two closed doors?

    Initially, everyone was rather worried that these doors would use the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock like that of the tower¡¯s main gate. If that was the case, nobody would be able to get in. However, Lin Li closely examined the carvings on the door and realized they were just carvings with no defense ability. With a slight push, these two exquisite doors slowly opened, and the next room was revealed in front of everyone¡¯s eyes.

    The items in the Central Tower had surprised everyone many times, and the fifth floor wasn¡¯t an outlier. A dozen of enormous bookshelves stood in the huge room, looking as if this was the library of this Central Tower. All kinds of different books filled each bookshelf in an orderly manner. Every book emitted a faint magic glow.

    Seeing the rows of bookshelves and countless books, everyone couldn¡¯t help feeling very excited. No matter how strong magical equipment was, it was only useful to one individual. However, knowledge could enhance everyone. Thus, any magical equipment had finite value, but the value of knowledge was limitless. No one would doubt the value of the magic-rted books in here. After all, this was thest Sky Castle with the Immortal King¡¯s treasure.

    During the war at the end of the Dark Age, Anril¡¯s overall civilization level went backwards considerably, and not just in terms of the loss of alchemical knowledge¡ªeven magic was much weaker than before. Thus, the current Anril was known as the peak of magic era only due to the two magic tides, making it rtively easier for mages to grow stronger. However, in actual fact, this era¡¯s civilization was far from the one during the Dark Age under the High Elves¡¯ rule.

    Everyone walked into the room with unprecedented enthusiasm. Walking through the rows of bookshelves, nobody took the lead to take any of the books. Judging from the titles and authors of the books, they already knew that these books were priceless.

    From theoretical studies of magic to analysis of every kind of high-level magic, the books here covered almost every aspect of the entire magic domain. Even the Supreme Council probably wouldn¡¯t own such an extensive collection, not mentioning the fact that the authors of these books were all famous powerhouses of the Dark Age.

    ¡°Fenix! This is a book by Fenix!¡± Someone couldn¡¯t help eximing after seeing a few manuscripts.

    Although 1,300 years had passed since the Dark Age, Fenix was still a shining name in the field of magic. As the High Elf Queen¡¯s most trusted subject, the creator of the Magic Legion and its firstmander, and the creator of numerous forbidden-curse spells, his achievements were all worthy of admiration.

    After Fenix, the team gradually saw more and more names that shocked their souls.

    Aegno, who was the first principal of the High Elves¡¯ royal magic academy, was the greatest magic theorist of his time. The ranking system for mages which he had conceptualized was still in use today. Alrond, the genius mage among the High Elves¡¯ royals and the first mage to create a magic that could convert the dragonnguage to High Elves¡¯snguage. Melgrad, the chief royal mage and inventor of instantaneous spells...

    Seeing all these names that were symbols of that era, everyone¡¯s face was beaming with excitement and their eyes sparkled. Even their breaths became heavier. Everyone knew what these books meant. If powerful magical equipment could shape a powerhouse, then knowledge could breed generations of powerhouses. It would also have immeasurable benefit to the future development of a faction.

    Finally, everyone stopped at the other end of the room. Lin Li, Cheyenne, and Randy, these three leaders of the respective factions didn¡¯t say anything. They just looked at one another¡¯s eyes and reached a silent consensus. Almost simultaneously, the three factions spread out and started plundering this High Elves¡¯ treasure of knowledge.

    Although the books and manuscripts here were all very precious, there were still differences in their value, and nobody could grab all these books into their own pockets. At this time, it was a test of their judgment. Whoever could find the most valuable part in this sea of knowledge would be the greatest beneficiary. This was also the content regarding which the three parties hade to consensus within a second.

    All the books and manuscripts here were covered in ayer of faint magic glow. This was also an obvious indicator. When mages edited their own writings or manuscripts, they would insert their own aura into those writings. Therefore, the stronger the author, the stronger the glow around the books.

 Chapter 667 - Laboratory

    <h4>Chapter 667: Laboratory</h4>

    Cheyenne and Elder Randy had indeed thought about that, hence reaching a tacit understanding. They then decided to grab all the books that had a halo. At the same time, they also referred to the various aplishments and legends of famous authors in history. In fact, they didn¡¯t hesitate much or read the content in detail before stowing it away in their pockets.

    However, Lin Li stood rooted to the ground, seemingly fascinated for a moment. Seeing that the two of them were almost done snatching most of the books, he slowly walked towards a row of bookshelves. It didn¡¯t seem to be part of Elder Randy¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s consideration at all, because the magical books seemed no different from normal ones. Even though they had magical halos, the halos were extremely dim, and seemed to be on the verge of vanishing.

    Anyone could tell that the books on that particr bookshelf were of great value if brought outside. However, they were far inferior to others. Hence, from the beginning, Chief Elder Randy and Elder Randy had already decided not to take them.

    Lin Li did not rush to put everything into the Ring of Endless Storm, but instead pulled out a book from the shelf, which was written by an author named Oloderis. He wasn¡¯t that famous in the Dark Age. Well, at least Lin Li couldn¡¯t remember anything about the name.

    However, when he opened the book in his hand, he was greeted with content that made his eyes glisten. It was practically a standard book of magical materials, and there wasn¡¯t anything too mystical in the book. All of the content was rather in-depth and included plenty of theories that exined magic.

    It seemed that the textbook-like magical book was indeed not as valuable as the notes written by the strong figures who documented their experiences. There was no content about the enlightenment and understanding of Laws. nor formidable magic that could destroy the world. However, how many members of a force could really have the ability to learn from the experiences of the powerhouses?

    Besides, Lin Li already had the Book of Eternity which was written by Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages. The elites of the High Elves could notpare to Geresco at all.

    If a force was merely supported by one or two powerful leaders, its members would forever be spoon-fed, and they would be destined to be doomed. Not only would the members of force like this be unable to provide any help for their leaders, they might even be a burden. The reason the Malfa Family and Dark de could possess such high authority and status in the Breezy ins was not only because of their Legendary leaders, but also because they had a strong foundation.

    Hence, increasing the strength of the leader was not the most valuable thing for a force. Improving the overall power and strength of the entire faction was of paramount importance. Although having a strong leader was mandatory, the leader might not be able to support the force in the long run if his underlings were all useless wastrels.

    The Malfa Family that was helmed by Cheyenne was a good example. Although they had a strong foundation, they still hampered Cheyenne from increasing his individual power and strength. If it weren¡¯t for the quest in the Haiga Mountain Range, it would probably be only a matter of time before the Malfa Family got annihted by the Dark de.

    Lin Li looked at the cover of the magic book in his hand and noticed that there was a number annotated on the upper right corner. He then looked at the other books on the shelf to see that there were several magic books with consecutive numbers. Clearly, the books belonged to the same series, and were perhaps magic textbooks used by the High Elves in the Dark Age.

    Lin Li nced through the books one by one, after which he confirmed his conjecture. Of course, the magic textbooks of High Elves were definitely not used by mage apprentices. Lin Li roughly deduced that the magic textbooks should have been used by High Elves that were akin to the level of Archmages or Legendary-mages. In particr, there was a detailed description stating the methods to advance to the Legendary-realm. If anyone could master it, it would probably be easy to be a Legendary-mage.

    Apart from this set of magic books, Lin Li also grabbed some other magic books, but they all seemed rather basic. They included some exnations and analyses of magic theories. Oloderis was the author of all the magic books, and Lin Li reckoned that he should be considered a magic educator to the High Elves.

    In the world of Anril, Lin Li was familiar with a certain saying: while the teacher of the strong was not necessarily powerful himself, the students of a powerhouse were mostly mediocre. Apart from talent, borate education was important. Hence, renowned powerhouses might not be able to be great teachers.

    At this moment, Cheyenne and Elder Randy had already taken away all the books that they wanted, and were walking towards Lin Li curiously. They had long seen the books there, but the faint halo made them forgo the idea of taking them away. Apart from feeling curious, they also gloated over the fact that Lin Li decided to take those books.

    ¡°Mage Felic, how are things going?¡± Elder Randy asked politely with a smile, but his tone was rather derisive.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t avoid the question at all, and instead raised the books in his hand before answering, ¡°Nothing too eventful. These are some magic books about basic theories that were written by an author named Oloderis.¡±

    ¡°... What, Oloderis?¡± Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s reply, Elder Randy¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s faces stiffened as their smiles vanished.

    ¡°Yeah, are you familiar with this author named Oloderis, Elder Randy?¡± Lin Li asked curiously while turning his head to look at him.

    Elder Randy and Cheyenne kept their eyes peeled to the signature of the author of the magic book in Lin Li¡¯s hands. Although they remained calm on the surface after confirming that it was indeed signed by Oloderis in High Elves Print, they were overwhelmed with regret deep down.

    If Lin Li were to keep those books because of Oloderis, it would still be somewhat eptable. However, the problem was that they could tell Lin Li obviously didn¡¯t know who Oloderis was. That made Cheyenne and Elder Randy who knew who Oloderis was feel rather bbergasted and embarrassed.

    Actually, Oloderis¡¯ identity did not differ much from Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. He was indeed a noble educator amongst the High Elves who produced numerous students that became famous powerhouses, including the authors of the magic books that Lin Li and the rest had seen. Some of the authors were Fenix and Alrond.

    Although Oloderis might not be the strongest amongst the High Elves, he had an extraordinary and unparalleled understanding of magic. Many of his students had made outstanding achievements in magic, but they were all redited to the support of his magic theory.

    Elder Randy and Cheyenne focused only on the famous writings of the powerhouses, and managed to secure plenty of knowledge about many lost magic spells as well as the experiences of the authors. However, it could be said that all of the content was merely an extension of Oloderis¡¯ theory. They had obtained the extensions, but Lin Li gained the foundation that was solid and would allow him to add or build on it.

    The lost magic spells might be very powerful, but they couldn¡¯t be used by just anyone. For example, an Archmage who had obtained a Legendary magical spell might not be able to use it even if he memorized itpletely. Without sufficient power or foundation, there would be no use even if they gained Sanctuary-realm magic.

    Elder Randy and Cheyenne were overwhelmed with regret. However, no matter how regretful they were, there was no turning back. Both of them had already taken the books that they wanted, and they had no choice but to look at Lin Li and watch him stow the magic books away into his ring.

    ¡°There is still a chance, there must be a chance, this is only the fifth floor!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s expression was still indifferent, while Elder Randy and Cheyenne expressed their displeasure and frustration from time to time. They then left the fifth floor and made their way up the spiral stairs to the sixth floor.

    When they entered the hall on the sixth floor, everyone could not help but marvel at the things in front of them. They could tell from the decor that it was obviously aboratory. Moreover, the only person who could turn an entire floor into aboratory was probably the Immortal King.

    No one in this world would not be tempted or enticed by the Immortal King¡¯sboratory. Back then, the Immortal King was known as invincible, for he was the one who created Sky Castles as well as much other handcrafted magical equipment. There were even legends about the Immortal King once creating an actual artifact. Since this was theboratory of the Immortal King, they reckoned that there were probably many other hidden items.

    Everyone walked slowly into theboratory, and they were suddenly struck with a peculiar feeling, as if they had passed through an invisible obstacle. However, no one had the time or mood to consider the source of the feeling that they got at this moment, because they could all clearly sense the shocking magical wave in theboratory.

    The magical wave made everyone tense up, especially since they knew clearly that it was a massively powerful magical wave.

    Almost no one could keep calm facing such temptation, and even Elder Randy¡¯s breathing began to quicken. The elves behind him could not hold themselves back at all, let alone Cheyenne who could not help but feel agitated despite trying his best to hide the expression on his face.

    Even the proud unicorn and the Undead creatures Norfeller and Ujfalusi could not restrain the eagerness in their eyes.

    Lin Li was the only one who did not show any excitement, though he was no longer indifferent, and seemed to be in doubt and thinking about something.

 Chapter 668 - Sneak Attack

    <h4>Chapter 668: Sneak Attack</h4>

    As the crowd slowly entered theboratory, they felt the powerful magical wave and could not help but speed up in their tracks. It was as if the Immortal King was summoning them.

    The elves, especially, were not very satisfied with the gains obtained on the previous floors, and thus could not wait to make up for it on this floor. The Legendary-mage Culofen, who specialized in fire magic, suddenly increased his pace and walked past the crowd to stand in front of the team.

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li, who was walking behind, suddenly sensed that something was amiss, and was quick to give them a warning. However, before Lin Li could even finish speaking, light reflected off of a de suddenly shed in front of Culofen amidst the darkness.

    At that moment, everything around them seemed to have lost its vibrance and luster. It was as if the dazzling light of the de was the only thing left in the entire space. Time seemed to have frozen; the chilling light seemed domineering to the extent of cutting the limitations of space and time. It seemed to have already met Culofen¡¯s eyes.

    However, any retreat would seem futile in the face of the dazzling light, and any resistance would be eradicated without mercy.

    Still, Culofen was a level-21 Legendary-mage. Despite facing an attack that made them feel desperate and hopeless, he would still do his best to evade the ray of light to the side. At the same time, he held onto the staff to dy the attack.

    The light reflected off the de and everyone heard a shriek, immediately after which they saw Cullofen quickly returning to the team with a severed arm that was spurting blood. Blood was constantly flowing from the wound, and soon a pool of blood was formed on the ground at the spot where Culofen got attacked. The arm that was severed and still holding onto the staff looked extremely daunting.

    Elder Randy hurriedly used magic to stop the bleeding for Culofen, but he kept his eyes fixed on the spot where the de had appeared. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden attack; they¡¯d thought that they would face no obstacles here, since they had already passed the Seven-Realm Spiral. However, it seemed that they could not let their guard down.

    Everyone had their guard up now. Not long after, two shadows walked out of the dark from the area where the de had appeared. The figures seemed to have no fear of the Legendary powerhouses at all.

    However, the enemies that appeared made everyone feel even more confused because they seemed just like two shadows. Even though they were no longer in darkness, the two enemies still seemed blurry and almost nonexistent. The two enemies werepletely dark figures that seemed to have transparent bodies. The only thing that could be seen was the machete that was emitting a dazzling light.

    ¡°Vengeful Spirits!¡± Cheyenne had been harmed by Vengeful Spirits before, especially the Legendary Vengeful Spirit that had a solid body, which had left a deep impression on him. Hence, he immediately thought about the daunting Vengeful Spirits when he saw the two in front.

    However, Elder Randy who had just helped Culofen heal his injury shook his head after hearing Cheyenne exim in shock. ¡°No, they can¡¯t be Vengeful Spirits, because the aura of Vengeful Spirits can¡¯t be hidden at all.¡±

    Unable to confirm the identity of the enemy, Elder Randy and Cheyenne looked at Lin Li, hoping that this young man who was continuously creating miracles could give them a possible answer. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything and simply shook his head. Although clearly disagreeing with Cheyenne¡¯s guess too, he didn¡¯t have a clear answer, either.

    In fact, Cheyenne had also sensed that his guess was wrong right after he eximed ¡°Vengeful Spirits!¡±. Putting the form of the enemy aside, the enemy¡¯s ability alone seemed to be far beyond that of Vengeful Spirits.

    Although Culofen specialized in fire magic, he was also an actual level-21 Legendary-mage who¡¯d shown his richbat experience during this battle. However, he ended up having his arm cut off as soon as the two shadow-like enemies appeared. Although it was a sneak attack, an experienced Legendary-mage would have heightened senses and be rather sensitive to changes in magical waves around them, even if he did not have his own Magical Domain. Even a Legendary Bandit like Lansdale might not be able tounch a surprise attack on Culofen easily.

    Moreover, Cheyenne also noticed that the physical shapes of the two enemies were indeed different from that of the Vengeful Spirit that had a physical form. Given their performance just now, the enemies would already be in their actual physical forms if they were really Vengeful Spirits, and not the shadows that they were now.

    Everyone was still specting about the origin of the enemies that seemed just like two shadows, but thetter obviously did not want to waste any time on this group of intruders. As soon as they stepped out of the darkness, the two shadows flickered and suddenly disappeared. By the time they appeared again, one of the shadows had arrived in front of Elder Randy, and shed at thetter¡¯s throat with a de.

    The other shadow suddenly appeared between the members of the team and aimed its machete at Princess Elune. The beautiful Elven Princess Elune was almost going to get ruined by the machete.

    Elder Randy, who had just resisted against the enemy, broke out in a cold sweat because he was overwhelmed with fear. He hurriedly gathered everyone to protect Princess Elune and the injured Culofen.

    Both Lin Li and Cheyenne could tell that although there were only two enemies, they were too powerful for the team to deal with alone. Therefore, no one objected to Elder Randy¡¯s request to rally. The entire team quickly formed a circr defensive formation.

    However, the situation did not change much since they got into formation. The des appeared like lightning around them from time to time, sometimes from the front and sometimes from the back. Every one of them was dealing with endless lethal assaults every single moment. It was like the circr defensive formation made up of many Legendary powerhouses was surrounded by countless des.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the two shadow-like enemies hade out of the dark just now, none of them would have believed that there were only two enemies attacking them at this moment. Even then the team could not help but wonder if there were more enemies apart from the two shadows.

    They could not help but be in doubt, because they could not get a clear view of the shadows that were moving rapidly with their eyes alone. The only thing they could see were the shes of light from the des when they were getting attacked.

    Even the wind elementals that moved quickly were like snailspared to these two shadows. Even the Winged Angel that Cheyenne had just acquired could notpare to the shadows at all. At the instant that it was summoned, there were already many other wounds on its body, and it did not seem effective at all.

    At this moment, Lin Li also summoned Gordon that he had previously subdued. However, Gordon¡¯s speed was way too slow whenpared to the attacking speed of the other two shadows. The only noteworthy part about it was that it could help them take some of the attacks. It was like a shield made out of flesh. Gordon¡¯s body, which was a fusion of various magical metals, could bring some effect.

    Lin Li was careful to guard against the shrewd attacks from time to time, but there wasn¡¯t a single time that he had stopped thinking about the origin of these two shadows. Despite the fact that there were plenty of Legendary figures in the team, the current situation was not optimistic; they were passively defending. Even the strongest defense would be broken down one day, and counterattacks were the only way to break out of a situation like theirs. If they wanted to retaliate, they would have to figure out the origin of the enemy. Otherwise, a blind counterattack would be no different from courting death.

    However, Lin Li still could not remember encountering or hearing about anything that had the same aura and shape as the two shadows. He knew that they were not Vengeful Spirits, because he could only feel their magical waves, and not the Undead aura that should be present in Undead creatures. The were not life forms of dark element, either, despite their shadow-like appearance.

    Lin Li coulde up with some entities that simrly only possessed magical waves if it were purely based on feelings. It seemed that only the Alchemy Colossus driven by the Alchemy Array could fit the description. Alchemy Colossuses were neither Undead nor alive, hencecking both life aura and Undead aura. The activation of an Alchemy Array required magical crystals as the source of mana. Hence, it was not surprising that there were pure magical waves.

    Everyone knew that the Alchemy Colossuses were called Colossuses because they were extremely tall and simr to Titans in terms of build and size. Besides, their power was extremely terrifying and they could even match up to wyrms. More importantly, the Alchemy Colossus had to be controlled and manipted by someone. Regardless of how small the Alchemy Colossus was made to be by the alchemist, they still had to have room for maniption.

    Now, the two shadows faced by the people were about the size of ordinary humans. Although they were not weak, they showed unparalleled speed, which wasplementing their shrewd and sharp attacks. Regardless of appearance or attacking method, the two shadows were worlds apart from the Alchemy Colossuses.

    Cheyenne had no choice but to put his Winged Angel away. The angel¡¯s injury had yet to healpletely in the first ce, yet it almost got dismembered by the two shadow machetes. Cheyenne didn¡¯t want his underling to be destroyed just after he had painstakingly acquired it.

    However, although Cheyenne did not have the help of the winged angel, he did not slip into a tricky situation, because he had resolutely reced his magic robe and staff with the Faro¡¯s Robe and Dark Moon Magic staff, respectively. Actually, when he first got that magical equipment, Cheyenne wanted to try it on, but he had no choice but to be patient in order not to seem so eager in front of them because of his pride.

    The Faro¡¯s Robe and Dark Moon Magic staff were undeniably worthy of being the standard equipment of the well-known Magic Legion of the High Elves. They had indeed greatly improved thebat power of their users. With those two pieces of equipment, Cheyenne would definitely win a battle against a Level-22 Legendary powerhouse even if he could not reach level-22.

    After seeing that the defensive mageweaths on the Faro¡¯s Robe had blocked the des, Cheyenne retaliated by waving the Dark Moon Magic staff in his hand. He could not help but secretly rejoice in his heart. If it were not for this powerful magic equipment, he might have really been the first to be defeated.

    Cheyenne definitely attracted the attention of others when he changed into the Faro¡¯s Robe and held Dark Moon Magic staff, especially the elves. Elder Randy was particrly displeased. However, at this time, he did not have time to regret anymore. Faced with the attacks of the machetes, he could only passively defend himself, and that was definitely not a good sign.

    In fact, they could not be considered to be defending at all, for they were just being attacked. None of them knew when the attacks would appear and when the shadows would pop up beside them. Only when faced with the attacks would they hurriedly evade and defend.

    ¡°Culofen, use the crystal ball to track them!¡± Elder Randy eximed, rather inspired by Cheyenne. He¡¯d suddenly thought about the crystal ball he obtained on the first floor. Although there was no massive source of mana to fully exert the power of the mageweath on the crystal ball, it should have no problem detecting the attacks of the enemies.

    After taking the space equipment handed to him by Elder Randy, Culofen stood in the middle and ced the huge crystal ball on the ground. Although half of his arm was gone, the Legendary mana he had was not affected. He pressed his left hand on the crystal ball and injected some mana into the crystal ball to activate it. Everything around him suddenly appeared in the crystal ball.

    Only two out of the 13 mageweaths on the crystal ball were lit up as the invisible mana spread out to the surroundings.

    Clearly, the mageweaths did perform their purpose, even though they did not know the origin of the two shadows. The two shadows seemed to have slowed down slightly, and they could at least see the trajectory of their movement that was captured in the crystal ball.

    ¡°Mage Felic, be careful, your left! Elder Randy, look out for the sky!¡± Princess Elune became a temporarymander, constantly conveying the information seen in the crystal ball to everyone present.

    With the help of the crystal ball, everyone¡¯s defense began to make the cut because they finally knew the directions which the attacks came from. At least, they were no longer as flustered as before. However, that did not mean that the situation had changed, because the attacks of the shadows were truly lethal and dangerous.

 Chapter 669 - Alchemy puppets

    <h4>Chapter 669: Alchemy puppets</h4>

    The dazzling reflection of the des shed around everyone like lightning, catching them off guard. Although the speed of the shadows did slow down due to the minor effects of the Dreamy Mageweath, their attacking speed was not affected. It was just like the fact that while running was faster than walking, it had nothing to do withnding strikes.

    What gave everyone a headache apart from the speed that seemed to be as fast as lightning was the unpredictable angle of attacks. Even if the direction of the enemy¡¯s general movement was known, one might not be able to know which body part the enemy would be attacking. After all, the human body was still too fragile, and almost every part of it was a weak point. The enemy obviously did not have a penchant for slitting throats; as long as it was a fatal spot, anywhere could be their target for attack.

    More importantly, the attacks of the shadows seemed to have beenunched withplete disregard for their own safety. Each attack wasunched as if they were ready to die together with Lin Li and the rest. However, no one wanted to be so selfless as to give up for the benefit of others. Hence, any attack instead of defense would be nonsense at this juncture. The most effective course of action would be to continuously defend.

    Lin Li did not give up on specting on the origin of the two shadows, because there seemed to be no other way for them to get out of their current predicament apart from finding out where the shadows came from. Although the power of the debris of the stars was infinite, it still had to urately hit the target in order to work. The movement of the two shadows seemed elusive, as if they were just teleporting. The Legendary Archers had already shot plenty of arrows, let alone Lin Li the mage.

    Just when everyone was feeling puzzled, Ujfalusi, who had just escaped the attack, seemed to have discovered something. He turned to look at Lin Li, who was not too far away, and said, ¡°Master, I seem to feel some traces of Necromagic on the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Necromagic?¡± Lin Li could not help but frown. The two shadows clearly were not Undead creatures; since they were not, what did they have to do with Necromagic?

    As the des struck again, a sudden guess popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind. Given the previous doubts and the conditions required for Necromagic to be used, Lin Li could not help but wonder if the two shadow-like enemies were the ultimate alchemy product mentioned in alchemical legends: alchemy puppets.

    Lin Li had oncepared the Alchemy Colossus to the two shadows, but he unfortunately could not find a way to exin the unique shape despite the fact that the other conditions had been met. However, if they were alchemy puppets, there would be a good exnation for their physique because controlling the alchemy puppets were souls that did not need a medium.

    If the two shadow-like monsters were really Legendary alchemy puppets, they would undoubtedly be from the Immortal King. At such a level of alchemy, even Lin Li had no choice but to be in awe and think to himself, <i>It¡¯s no wonder that the Immortal King is termed as invincible and omnipotent.</i>

    After making several observations, Lin Li affirmed his spections. Whether the two shadows were moving or attacking, there was nog or passiveness in their actions at all. From the perspective of others, they were no different from Legendary Bandits. If it were others, Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t associate them with alchemical products at all. However, Lin Li was well aware that that was a very remarkable feature of the Alchemy puppets. It also concerned the Necromagic that Ujfalusi was talking about.

    An Alchemy Colossus had to be controlled and manipted by someone, for it would just be a pile of scrap iron without any controller. The alchemy puppets were naturally no exception, except that they were controlled by the souls sealed in bodies using Necromagic. It could be said that alchemy puppets were the product of thebination of Alchemy and Necromagic.

    Lin Li also researched quite a bit about alchemy, and was well aware that alchemy puppets were not just a reduced and smaller version of the Alchemy Colossus. The ergement and reduction of each Alchemy Array was not a simple change in size of the image, because it involved all aspects of alchemy as well. One could imagine what would happen to a giant Alchemy Colossus that was tens of meters tall if it were to be reduced to the size of ordinary humans.

    However, the alchemy puppet was not a reduced version of the Alchemy Colossus, because the knowledge required to create it was much greater than what was needed to create the Alchemy Colossus. The internal structure of the alchemy puppet was soplicated that even if the Alchemy Colossus could be shrunk, it would not beparable.

    Compared to the Alchemy Colossus, the Alchemy Array used by the alchemy puppets was far from being just borate. It was not because of its small size, but because it was required to give the alchemy puppets more power. Not only did the number of Alchemy Arrays not decrease because of the size of the alchemy puppet, it actually increased. Most of the Alchemy Arrays could not bepleted even by an Alchemy Guru.

    It was precisely because of the demanding conditions that alchemy puppets seemed to exist only in legends. In fact, it was a far-fetched idea. Almost no one could imagine who could create it. It was also the reason Lin Li had not associated the alchemy puppet with the two shadows at the beginning.

    Indeed, the Immortal King was omnipotent. However, there couldn¡¯t really be an omnipotent, almighty existence in this world, for even the deities could not be invincible. Still, Lin Li now knew that the Immortal King was indeed learned in Alchemy.

    However, Lin Li knew even more clearly that what he needed to do now was not to marvel over how formidable the Immortal King was. Since he knew that they were facing alchemy puppets, the most important thing to do next would be to figure out how to deal with the two puppets.

    The alchemy puppets might be small, but theirbat power was definitely above that of the Alchemy Colossuses. In particr, it was said that Legendary spirits were sealed in the strong alchemy puppets, thus making them even more horrifying.

    However, just like how an Alchemy Colossus needed a controller, the most crucial part of the alchemy puppets was not the magical crystal that provided massive power, nor theplicated Alchemy Array. Instead, it was the soul that was sealed within.

    Countless rays of light from the reflections of the des surrounded the crowd. Although there were only two attackers, everyone felt that they were facing several enemies at the same time. When they were faced with the siege of hundreds of wind elementals, they were worried about their depletion of magic apart from continuously putting up the magical defense. However, whenever the des shed, it would cause them to be so terrified that they¡¯d break out in a cold sweat. It made them feel like they were dancing on a tightrope all tensed up. They could not afford to be careless at all.

    Although the crystal ball slowed down the speed of the alchemy puppets and showed the opponent¡¯s trail of attack, the movement of the alchemy puppets was still not visible to the human eye. Retaliating was still a problem that could not be solved. Lin Li had once tried to continuously cast dozens of Thousand Miles of Ice in a row, but the slowing effects that came with the ice element magic did not have much of an effect on the alchemy puppets. Even if there were a real Master of Curses with them, it would be difficult to make all kinds of spells work on alchemy puppets.

    Anxiety was written all over the group¡¯s faces, and their worries could not be hidden at all. They were all thinking hard about how to deal with the two difficult enemies. However, when faced with the two top-ss assassins that wereing and going without a trace, it would be a far-fetched idea not to pay any price for retaliating against the full-blown attacks.

    All of a sudden, everyone realized that the environment around them had be a world with only two colors¡ªck and white¡ªwithout them even realizing. It was the young mage Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain!

    Everyone could not help but be astonished when they finally realized what was going on. Although it was also because they were distracted by the elusive enemies, they still found Lin Li¡¯s knowledge in Magical Domains to be incredible because he could activate his domain without rming anyone.

    Was Lin Li trying to take advantage of his control over the Magical Domain to capture the trails of those two enemies? Although they were surprised by Lin Li¡¯s mastery of the Laws of Light and Darkness, they could not understand why he decided to activate his Magical Domain at this moment.

    Mages indeed had great control and power over the Magical Domains that they created. However, the problem now was that the enemy was not invisible, but was just moving too quickly. Hence, using the Magical Domain to capture the trail of their movements would probably be less effective than using the giant crystal ball.

    However, Lin Li did not exin anything to them, and instead proceeded to activate the Light and Darkness Domain, after which the Angels of Light and Dark began to condense quickly and hover in the air. There were no violent mana waves or fluctuations, and everything seemed as natural as breathing. It was as if the Angels of Light and Dark naturally existed in the first ce. It did not seem to contradict with the surrounding environment at all.

    Everyone only started making gains during exploration of the Central Tower of the Sky Castle when they entered and obtained the crystal ball and magical equipment. No one would have imagined that Lin Li had already started collecting some gains right from the moment he stepped into the Orderly Maze.

    Everyone knew what the magic of the Seven-Realm Spiral meant to the mages. The Domain magic that was cast by the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm could be said to be the holy grail of all mages, who yearned for it as the ultimate form of their Magical Domain. The application of the nomological power in the Seven-Realm Spiral as well as the changes and creation of Laws had almost reached the level of Creation.

    However, despite knowing this, no one dared to peep at it and try to learn some tricks when they were in an ultimate Magical Domain. The mystery of magic of the Sanctuary-realm could not be peeped at easily. Without the major mental strength support of the Sanctuary-realm, even souls would be immediately destroyed by the formidable nomological power.

 Chapter 670 - Replicating The Soul-devouring Domain

    <h4>Chapter 670: Replicating The Soul-devouring Domain</h4>

    However, Lin Li was different.

    He initially had massive mental strength that exceeded that of ordinary people, coupled with the ever-increasing-it quality of the ring of the Evil Eye Tyrant that made Lin Li¡¯s mental strength reach the Sanctuary-realm. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have been able to retaliate against the power that was greater than the Sanctuary-realm when he was in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    The massive mental strength that wasparable to the Sanctuary-realm powerhouse¡¯s, coupled with Geresco¡¯s techniques that were recorded in the Book of Eternity, gave Lin Li the chance to explore and observe the mysteries of the Laws in the Seven-Realm Spiral. The gluttony of the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua casually gave Lin Li a huge helping hand, causing the Domain that was no longer supported by mana to lose its attacking ability. Hence, it could only allow Lin Li to observe it brazenly.

    Of course, the Seven-Realm Spiral was still created based on the Laws of others, and Lin Li could only gain more inspiration and a deeper understanding of the Laws. Lin Li had to continuously digest the new information and gain a better understanding and mastery of his own nomological power through these inspirations rather than immediately advance a few levels to be a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although they had only stepped into the Seven-Realm Spiral not too long ago, Lin Li had already gotten a greater understanding of Laws within a short period of time.

    In the beginning, when Lin Li had obtained Holy Light and Darkness, he had still had to rely on his Frost Domain as the foundation to disy the two conflicting forces at the same time. After Legendary-level battles, Lin Li got a clearer idea of the Light and Darkness Laws, especially after the battle with the elven Legendary-mage, Vidas. He then stopped relying onws of ice, and exhibited his Light and Darkness Domain.

    However, even at that level, Lin Li was still using pure Light and Darkness nomological power. It wasn¡¯t until he entered the Seven-Realm Spiral that he could truly fuse the two conflicting Laws together through studying various Laws in the ultimate Magical Domain.

    That was also the reason Lin Li couldbine the power of the Light and Darkness Laws to create the Light and Darkness Sword and use the immense power within it to brutally break Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain.

    At this moment, after Lin Li opened the Light and Darkness Domain, he did not target and attack the enemies that were appearing every now and then. Instead, he began to condense his Light and Darkness Sword again under the Angels of Light and Dark.

    In the Light and Darkness Domain, the huge rays of ck and white light that contained plenty of mana continuously shot into the air. Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter high up in the sky, and a Light and Darkness Sword began to form gradually while emitting strong waves of mana. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that everyyer of the tower was extremely tall and vast, the Light and Darkness Sword would probably pierce through the ceiling.

    Seeing this familiar scene, the people around them could not understand what Lin Li was trying to do. They wondered, <i>Surely this young mage isn¡¯t preparing to use the Light and Darkness Sword again to shred the two enemies into bits like how he tore apart Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain?</i>

    Although everyone already knew from Lin Li¡¯s battle with Stephen that Light and Darkness Sword possessed immense power, no one had ever seen a battle between Legendary-mages end within seconds prior to that one. Even Elder Randy had no choice but to admit that he might not be able to bear the damage caused by the Light and Darkness Sword even if he were to turn into a silver dragon.

    However, Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain was still, and did not run around like the elusive shadows. Even if the two enemies were surrounded by Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain, they were still moving, and catching them would be terribly difficult.

    They wondered, <i>In other words, this Mage Felic wants to create a huge explosion to eliminate the two enemies that are hard to deal with.</i> However, the two enemies seemed to be much stronger than the Legendary Bandit Lansdale. Besides, they were so terrifyingly quick that they probably wouldn¡¯t be affected by the mana explosion.

    No matter how many people were in doubt, the Light and Darkness Sword had already been condensed by the time Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter into the air. After a while, the Light and Darkness Sword finally reached the point of being as powerful as it was when Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain was destroyed.

    However, when the Light and Darkness Sword was waiting to attack, Lin Li did not look toward the target, and instead kept his eyes fixed at the front. He pursed his lips slightly and seemed to have some feelings in his eyes.

    ¡°Mage Felice, pay attention to your left and right, the two enemies are already charging towards you,¡± Princess Elune suddenly said in her usual cold voice, sounding a little worried yet hopeful. Although no one knew what Lin Li was going to do, they all hoped that he could create another miracle in this situation.

    It seemed that the two alchemy puppets had also felt the threat of Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword. Although there was nomunication between them, they immediately treated Lin Li as their main target.

    Everyone watched as Lin Li lowered the Helios¡¯ Scepter and pointed it in front. At the same time, the Light and Darkness Sword that was hovering in the air also mmed against the ground forcefully.

    Seeing this, everyone could not help but sigh, because the Light and Darkness Sword that clearly contained massive mana was mmed into outer space. Even if the aftermath of the explosion could affect the enemy, the effect wouldn¡¯t be great.

    However, the disappointment in everyone¡¯s heart was reced by surprise immediately after it emerged because the changes that happened after the Light and Darkness Sword exploded were much different from that of the strike that broke the Soul-devouring Domain. There was no earth-shattering mana explosion or any deafening roars. It was as if the sword was simply raised high up in the air and put down again gently. The solid giant sword condensed by the power of Light and Darkness actually fell silent.

    However, with the copse of the Light and Darkness Sword, a tiny Magical Domain appeared right at the spot where the giant sword fell in Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain, emitting a familiar magical wave.

    ¡°It¡¯s the... Soul-devouring Domain!¡±

    The people present were definitely not unfamiliar with it, because Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain had left a strong impression on them. Although the Soul-devouring Domain was destroyed by Lin¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword not long after it appeared, that did not mean that Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain was weak, but rather that Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword was simply too strong.

    Everyone could sense that the Soul-devouring Domain in front of them was much weaker than the one that Stephen had once exhibited. However, its magical waves were exactly the same. The question was, how did the Soul-devouring Domain appear here, and why did it appear in the young mage Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain?

    Could it be that the young Mage Felic had already understood all the Laws of the Soul-devouring Domain during that battle, and even created a new Soul-devouring Domain? However, that¡¯d be impossible, because even deities wouldn¡¯t be able to master a new Law and create a new Magical Domain within such a short period of time.

    Even Lin Li himself was filled with doubts. Although he could already fuse the two nomological powers of Light and Darkness, the fusion brought about various unexpected changes apart from giving him greater power.

    Light and Darkness were two conflicting forces in the first ce. When they were fully fused, they would no longer be just Light and Darkness. Instead, they formed an existence that could not be fathomed even by Lin Li. He still had to slowly find out what kind of features and Law it belonged to. What he knew at present was that when he destroyed Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain, the power seemed to be able to devour some of the regr characteristics of the Soul-devouring Domain.

    Although Lin Li did not have much knowledge on nor researched the Soul-devouring Domain, he thought of releasing the Laws of the Soul-devouring Domain after deducing that the enemies were alchemy puppets. Although the Laws that werepletely different were not enough for creating aplete Soul-devouring Domain, he reckoned that a reduced version of the Soul-devouring Domain should be able to deal with the two alchemy puppets.

    Since the Laws in the Soul-devouring Domain were not fathomed and mastered by Lin Li himself, it would naturally be impossible for him to apply them at will. Hence, in order to sessfully replicate the Soul-devouring Domain, he had no choice but to redo everything. If anyone paid attention, they would discover that the Light and Darkness Sword he had just condensed was not any different from before, be it in terms of strength or whatever.

    Indeed, everything turned out to be like what Lin Li had expected. With the disintegration of the Light and Darkness Sword, the Laws from the Soul-devouring Domain appeared, and formed an iplete and reduced version of the Soul-devouring Domain.

    In the world where only ck and white existed, the small light blue swirl of Soul-devouring Domain was particrly eye-catching. Without the horrendous wails of the countless Vengeful Spirits and storm, it was probably what the prototype of the Soul-devouring Domain originally created by the Lord of Souls, Mephistos, looked like.

    This Soul-devouring Domain might not be a threat to others at all, but it would be extremely deadly to the soul sealed in the alchemy puppets, just like Holy Light to the Undead creatures.

    The two alchemy puppets that were darting towards Lin Li suddenly appeared out of nothingness and began twitching unsteadily, though they seemed to be unable to move any further as if they were rooted to the ground. Next, everyone watched as the two shadow-like alchemy puppets emitted a burst of blue light from each of their bodies and eventually fell to the ground as the light dissipated.

 Chapter 671 - Magic Tides

    <h4>Chapter 671: Magic Tides</h4>

    <i>Is that it?</i> No one could believe their eyes at all. The enemies who drove all of them into a corner actually got defeated by an iplete Soul-devouring Domain. They still did not know what alchemy puppets were, but even if they did, they probably wouldn¡¯t believe that such a powerful enemy would end up being destroyed by a Soul-devouring Domain.

    Just like how water could extinguish mes and light could dispel darkness, even an iplete Soul-devouring Domain would render the souls helpless byunching attacks that they could not retaliate against.

    Watching the two alchemy puppets fall, Lin Li did not seem too overjoyed, and instead frowned slightly. Although he sessfully released the Soul-devouring Domain, his mastery and control of the Soul-devouring Domain was not asplete as that of the Magical Domain that he had created. Hence, he could not quite figure out the fate of the two sealed souls, nor did he know if they would be destroyed or devoured.

    The Soul-devouring Domain gradually dissipated, and the ck-and-white world slowly returned to normal. Although everyone saw the confusion in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, that did not affect their eagerness and enthusiasm for searching for treasures. Everyone simply gave Lin Li credit out of courtesy and walked straight into theboratory without any dy.

    It seemed that neither Elder Randy nor Cheyenne had any interest in the defeated enemies. Although they had had firsthand experience with the enemies¡¯ ruthless ways and knew how terrifying thetter were, the enemies were now useless because they had already died. They were in theboratory of the Immortal King where there were definitely stronger and greater things for them to collect. Whoever grabbed the items first would get to keep them. Hence, who would be willing to waste a minute on the useless remains?

    Watching everyone rush straight to theboratory and disappear soon after, Lin Li touched his chin, and slowly walked towards the two alchemy puppets, which he then began observing carefully. He could tell at first nce that the two alchemy puppets had simr qualities with actual shadows. Even if there was no maniption by souls, there seemed to be some shrinking and twisting of their bodies, and they would form just a thinyer on the ground.

    In fact, one would be able to tell with a closer nce that the two alchemy puppets were still moving, but that was only some movements driven by the alchemy core. Lin Li squinted and a light shed in his eyes. He had already gotten a clear idea about the material that constituted the body of the alchemy puppets.

    ¡°Turns out it¡¯s the Shadow Iron. It really is a masterpiece of the Immortal King!¡± Lin Li, who had a deep, Guru-level understanding of all types of magical metals, naturally was no stranger to a rare magical metal like Shadow Iron.

    Although the Shadow Iron that was said to be produced in the Garso Hills of the Dwarf Kingdom had a clear origin, only a tiny amount was produced. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been deemed as rare. The most remarkable characteristic of Shadow Iron was its soft yet durable texture. It was malleable even for ordinary people, but it wouldn¡¯t break even if it was stretched to an extent of being thinner than hair.

    As a rare magical metal, the Shadow Iron possessed an extremely destructive magical attribute, especially when it was used to build magical weapons. Magical weapons made of Shadow Iron could break almost any magic shield, and were definitely the ultimate weapons in the mind of every assassin.

    Lin Li did not feel amazed simply because of the rare magical metal, Shadow Iron, but mostly because of the alchemical proficiency of the Immortal King. Creating alchemy puppets was already a top technique in alchemy, and shaping Shadow Iron at will to create the alchemy puppets was even more difficult.

    The alchemy puppet on the ground was continuously shrinking. Although it originally appeared to be the size of a normal person, Lin Li knew that only a small piece of Shadow Iron was used to make the alchemy puppets. The characteristic of the Shadow Iron was the very reason a shadow was formed with the movement of the Alchemy core.

    Soon, the body of the alchemy puppet shrunk into a clump, and was no longer just a thinyer of shadow. No one could imagine that the clump could be such a horrifying shadow assassin. Lin Li leaned over to pick up the alchemy puppets that had been transformed into clumps. In fact, what really piqued his interest was the alchemy cores within the Shadow Iron.

    It was the pinnacle masterpiece of a Guru. If anyone else were to take it, they might not even be able to reactivate the alchemy puppets. However, Lin Li would be able to advance the alchemy puppets to a higher level, and might even replicate the same alchemy puppet. Of course, be it activate or replicate, he definitely needed a strong soul to do it. Hence, Lin Li would have toe up with another solution.

    After stowing the alchemy puppets into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li took the two Undead servants to theboratory. As soon as they passed through the gate, they were greeted with the sight of Elder Randy and Cheyenne who were standing rooted to the ground with a glum and mncholic expression on their faces.

    <i>They searched theboratory before I did, so why do they have such expressions?</i> Lin Li thought as he looked around, and immediately felt surprised. It was no wonder that Elder Randy and Cheyenne would feel so upset¡ªthere was nothing to grab in theboratory.

    It was not that the Immortal King¡¯sboratory was shabby, but rather that it seemed to have gone through a huge disaster. All the equipment used in alchemy or for other purposes had been brutally destroyed. There was also no need to look for any so-called valuable treasures, because they could all sense that there was no longer anything that had amazing mana waves in the room.

    The magic furnace had copsed, and theboratory bench had been broken, with various crystal fragments glistening here and there on the ground. Clearly, someone had already arrived before them and taken away all of the valuable items. They even seemed to have struck the entireboratory with a Magic Storm.

    Staring at the surroundings which looked like ruins, Lin Li began gritting his teeth while cussing in his head. <i>Which bastard came here? Forget it if he moved the damned things away, but why did he have to destroy the equipment in theboratory? He didn¡¯t leave a single thing intact at all.</i>

    Apart from the fact that he wanted to acquire the two alchemy puppets, another reason Lin Li didn¡¯t rush to theboratory together with everyone was because he knew that it belonged to the Immortal King. To Lin Li, what could be more useful than the experimental equipment used by the Immortal King? However, everything was ruined now, and there was nothing left for him to use. He thought, <i>That damned jerk was really ruthless.</i>

    ¡°Look around. Thisboratory is huge. Maybe we missed something...¡± Elder Randy said with a wry smile. However, he did not sound too confident.

    No one was willing to leave empty-handed; hence, they had no choice but to put in theirst bits of patience and search theboratory carefully bit by bit. They thought that Lady Luck might suddenly appear and smile on them to let them find a secret room of sorts where they could find a huge treasure...

    Everyone were initially there to search for some treasures, but no one expected to see theboratory in ruins. Fortunately, the area wasrge enough. Although it was aplete mess, they fortunately needed not rummage through the debris as if they were scavenging garbage.

    The three parties decided to split up and search theboratory carefully. They would pick every piece of paper up to take a closer look. Since they could no longer sense any astonishing mana waves, they could only hope to obtain some knowledge.

    The searching method made Cheyenne feel rather depressed, but he couldn¡¯t help it, because he was short of manpower. Fortunately, he had subdued a Winged Angel previously, which gave him a sense offort. However, his psychologicalfort was soon broken with the elves¡¯ discovery.

    ¡°Elder Randy, I found a journal!¡±

    Halfway through theboratory search, Princess Elune found a somewhat tattered journal beside the copsedboratory bench. She was rather surprised. Although she had found some pieces of paper before, the scarce information on them did not have much value at all. However, the journal was different. Although there were some defects, it still had research value.

    Hearing Princess Elune¡¯s yelling, almost everyone stopped in their tracks, especially Elder Randy, who dashed towards Princess Elune, grabbed the journal, and began scrutinizing it eagerly.

    At this moment, both Lin Li and Cheyenne stopped searching, and walked towards Elder Randy. Although the journal already belonged to the elves because of their tacit agreement, everyone could not help but feel curious about the Immortal King¡¯s journey.

    After Elder Randy gently flipped through a few pages of the notes, the joy on his face increased, and he raised his head to say to Lin Li and Cheyenne, ¡°I shall not hide it from you two. This journal was indeed written by the Immortal King, and the annotation on the top corner is probably the Alchemy Array Magic Tides.¡±

    In Anril, the first thing that woulde to everyone¡¯s mind when ¡®magic tides¡¯ were mentioned would be the natural phenomenon that allowed humanity to continue the prosperity of magic civilization after the end of the Dark Age. In particr, the first magic tide allowed plenty of mages to immediately break through the world that they were originally in and allow the number of Archmages to reach a historical high. At that time, many people even imed that the magic tide was a blessing bestowed on the humans by the gods, a reward for the overthrowing of the High Elves.

    However, people then learned that the magic tide that happened once every 400 years had brought to humans a huge disaster that was detrimental and outweighed the benefits. The terrible ck Current that apanied the magic tides caused countless people to be devoured by crazy magical beasts. Even the Darkness Shrine that had once forced the Brilliance Shrine into a corner also declined due to the attack of ck Current. The current Pope of the Brilliance Shrine had also gotten injured by the viper¡¯s poison during the ck Current, and suffered the detrimental effects of it for hundreds of years.

    Lin Li knew that the 400-year-long period was ending, and a new magic tide was brewing. ording to Geresco¡¯s calctions, the impending magic tide this time would probably be stronger than the three preceding ones. If there was no way to deal with it, Anril might really be struck with disaster this time.

    Lin Li did not forget that he did not take the three relics of Geresco for nothing. He could only protect himself and the ones he wanted to protect during the world-ending disaster by reaching the Sanctuary-realm within two or three years. Protecting Anril would just be something he could do at the same time...

    However, the real magic tide was not a natural phenomenon that only urred once every 400 years. The term ¡°magic tide¡± was not created by humans, but borrowed from the High Elves. The real magic tides were the Magic Tide Array that was described in the journal that was obtained by the elves.

    At this moment, even Elder Randy couldn¡¯t restrain the excitement in his heart, and his joy and pride were written all over his face. Yes, even the Seven Sages of the elves and the elven queen would not be able to remain calm before the Magic Tide Array.

    Cheyenne was simrly anxious, riled up, envious, jealous, and annoyed. In short, he had a sullen expression on his face. Although they had not experienced the Dark Age, and did not know much about Magic Tide Array, anyone would still be able to tell from the name of the phenomenon just how destructive the Magic Tide Array would be.

    However, while struggling, Cheyenne still shot Lin Li a strange nce. If he remembered correctly, it seemed that the journal that they found was on the route that Lin Li had scoured, yet thetter missed it. Cheyenne felt that he would have felt like dying if he were Lin Li now. His expression seemed too calm.

    However, Cheyenne again thought about Lin Li¡¯s age, and reckoned that thetter seemed to be in his early twenties, which meant he was younger than his grandson Hutton. He thought, <i>But that¡¯s not too bad, either. Since he didn¡¯t know, he wouldn¡¯t have to feel as conflicted and regretful as I do now. After all, it¡¯s the Magic Tide Array, a peak Alchemy Array that only appeared once in the long history of Anril.</i>

    It only happened once, and there was probably no one present who knew it better than Elder Randy did. Although the High Elves were already at the end of their reign when Elder Randy reached the Legendary-realm, he had heard plenty of stories about the magic tides from the elven elders.

 Chapter 672 - Tower of Death

    <h4>Chapter 672: Tower of Death</h4>

    The Alchemy Array Magic Tides was established under the Tree of Eternity. The High Elves used more resources and manpower in the construction of the array aspared to the Sky Castles. The Alchemy Array was effective in a radius of 1000 miles, almost covering the entire Hlidskjalf.

    To many people, this was just one of the many legends about the High Elves, yet Elder Randy knew very well that that was no fiction. Only the royals and nobles during the rule of the High Elves had the right to enter the Hlidskjalf to enjoy the rays of the Magic Tides. Although the elven race had a lowly status then, they had Hollisas Dalisma, the Helios, who had been personally appointed by the queen.

    Helios Hollisas obtained the right to enter the Hlidskjalf and experienced the rays of the Magic Tides for himself. The Magic Tides blessed him with the powers of the Tree of Eternity. He acquired a formidable ability as well as a source of mana that was almost eternal.

    The Magic Tides needed the Tree of Eternity. Now that the Tree of Eternity had fallen, the elves were left with the Sierra Leone Forest. If they could build a Magic Tides Array that could cover the whole of Sierra Leone Forest, the Elven Kingdom would be an impregnable fortress.

    The thought that the declining kingdom of the elves would rise again due to the Magic Tides made Elder Randy incredibly excited. He was not alone. The other elves shared the same glitter in their eyes. Some of them even had tears welled up in their eyes. It was time to end the suffering of the elven race.

    Lin Li shook his head. ¡°Congrats, both of you have found such important information. It seems that I have to continue searching for mine...¡± he said to Elder Randy disappointedly.

    With that, he brought his Undead followers off to continue their search in theboratory. His backview seemed mncholic to the elves.

    Lin Li¡¯s words reminded Cheyenne of the task at hand. He woke up from being envious of the elves¡¯ good luck and went back to the box of trash. Somehow, he could feel that there was something wrong with Lin Li, but he could not put his finger on it.

    Cheyenne pushed the doubt to the back of his mind very quickly and devoted all of his attention to rummaging through the trash. Theboratory was extremely huge. If the elves could find such an important diary in that ce, it could not be that thisboratory had no other valuable item left!

    It was as though Lady Luck had heard Cheyenne¡¯s prayers. When he kicked a pile of trash away, he saw a scroll-like object lying on top of it. Cheyenne picked it up and prayed really hard as he unrolled the scroll slowly...

    Tower of Death!

    Cheyenne nearly dropped the scroll when he saw the first few words on it. As the scroll unrolled, it revealed a blueprint of the Tower of Death.

    The Tower of Death was as infamous as the Sierra Leone Forest where people had been sent into exile. The Tower of Death had been a trendy game during the reign of the High Elves, yet to the races living under their rule, the tower was a symbol of the brutality of the High Elves.

    The royals of the High Elves loved to banish beings of different races into the Tower of Death. Entering the tower was akin to entering a world of battles and bloodshed. People who entered the tower would know that there were numerous magical beasts on every single level of the tower. They could only kill all the beasts on the same level as them before they could progress to higher levels. The higher they progressed, the more the beasts they had to deal with grew in power. Yet, no living being knew how many levels the Tower of Death had.

    There were different theories about where the countless magical beasts in the Tower of Death came from. Despite not being well-versed in alchemy, Cheyenne could recognize an array that resembled the Teleportation Portal when he opened the scroll.

    The Teleportation Portal was a rather powerful item among Alchemy Arrays. The portal used by the tower, however, was a hundred and a thousand times moreplicated than usual Teleportation Portals. Cheyenne felt the stress when he looked at the blueprint. He really could not fathom how the High Elves had managed to invent such a thing. Cheyenne only knew that the Teleportation Portal involved profound intricacies of time and space. It was a domain for the divines.

    This Teleportation Portal was the reason why countless magical beasts could be transported into the tower from their respective dimensions. These magical beasts could not leave the range of the Tower of Death. Being real creatures, they would be hurt and die in pain with the people who were trapped in the tower.

    Such a game had to be yed by the royals of the High Elves who had close to unlimited lifespan and immense powers.

    ¡°This is the Tower of Death!¡±

    Elder Randy noticed it when Cheyenne picked the scroll up. It had been proven that anything that seemedplete in thisboratory had to be impressive in its powers.

    Although the elves had acquired the diary that recorded information about the Magic Tides, no one would reject extra gifts. This was aboratory that belonged to the Immortal King. Despite being rundown, no one was certain that there would not be other powerful items left behind. Since finders were keepers, there was also no problem with the distribution of the treasures.

    Unfortunately, the luck of the elves did not continue. Hence, after seeing Cheyenne pick up that scroll, Elder Randy was not only feeling envious, he started topare the progress among the different forces. Of course, Elder Randy did not believe that there would be anything that could be more powerful than the Magic Tides.

    Elder Randy went closer to Cheyenne and saw the name of the scroll. He could not help but feel lucky for Cheyenne. Although the Tower of Death was notparable to the Magic Tides, it was still a priceless artifact of the High Elves, even despite being used as a game prop by the High Elves¡ªit was an arena for bloodshed, after all. How could it not be a practice ground to nurture ferocious warriors?

    There were two sides to any matter. Although the Tower of Death was only a toy to the High Elves, it could now fully exert its powers in Cheyenne¡¯s hands. This made both Elder Randy and Cheyenne incredibly excited when they saw the Tower of Death.

    Cheyenne could already imagine sending the top disciples of the family into the tower after it had been built. He wanted to let those children experience the intense fighting and blood baptism. He believed that such treatment would help the juniors achieve stunning results.

    Cheyenne thought about the numerous benefits the Tower of Death could bring to the Malfa Family as he read the contents on the scroll. The blueprint of the tower was incredibly well-kept, and there were extremely detailed steps regarding the construction of the tower. This was much better than the torn and tattered journal found by the elves.

    What surprised Cheyenne was the presence of the rare materials to construct the Tower of Death in theboratory. Although the inventory of theboratory had been visibly ransacked by the people before them, the materials needed to build the tower were fortunately discarded on the ground like garbage.

    Elder Randy was feeling very bitter after seeing Cheyenne acquiring both the blueprint and the resources. He was just d that the Magic Tides was worth more than the Tower of Death.

    At the same time, a booming sound reverberated in theboratory and attracted everyone¡¯s attention. It was an explosion. Lin Li had just used a spell to bomb a metal cab. Shocking magical waves could be felt as the cab opened.

    Apart from the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, there was no magical other lock that would pose a problem to Lin Li. Unfortunately, the metal cab he had found had already been badly deformed due to an impact. Knowing how to open the magical lock would not help him.

    The mana that came out from the metal cab attracted everybody¡¯s attention. Yet, all of them sighed in relief after catching a glimpse of the contents in the cab. They were also a little sympathetic towards Lin Li.

    There were 20 alchemy puppets. They were metallic shadow assassins just like the two alchemy puppets Lin Li had obtained previously. The only difference was that these 20 alchemy puppets were worse off. They were only close to the Legendary-level.

    Although Elder Randy and Cheyenne did not have much understanding of alchemy puppets, they could tell their ability from the magical waves emitted. None of the elites from the elves and the Malfa Family showed interest in the alchemy puppets. They knew very well that aspared to the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, the 20 alchemy puppets that were barely of the Legendary-level were nothing.

 Chapter 673 - Shadow of the Highlord

    <h4>Chapter 673: Shadow of the Highlord</h4>

    ¡°Mage Felic, this is considered a goodbat force. I¡¯m certain that there would be few forces in Breezy ins that could challenge it.¡± Cheyenne tried tofort Lin Li. Of course, he was not referring to the Malfa Family. He was absolutely positive that the Malfa force would be able to nurture a lot of high-ranking mages after the establishment of the Tower of Death. When it happened, the Malfa Family would walk out of the Breezy ins and be the top family in Anril.

    ¡°Yes, Mage Felic, do not be discouraged. There are still other levels we have yet to search. Who knows if you would be able to find better things on top?¡± Elder Randy suppressed his glee and tried tofort Lin Li. He did not want this young mage to request that they share the benefits just because he did not manage to find enough treasures.

    Frankly speaking, Chief Elder Randy¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s worries were not invalid. They were all extremely impressed with and fearful of Lin Li¡¯s abilities during each of the battles they had together. There was between them an unspoken understanding that they had to give in to the young mage if he were to request that they share their treasures.

    But, Lin Li proved his virtue to everybody once more. Despite having 20 sets of alchemy puppets that were obviously iparable to the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, Lin Li only smiled at Elder Randy and Cheyenne as he put away the 20 of them without hesitation.

    <i>Are you joking? If the Magic Tides had been perfect, I would not have given it to you,</i> Lin Li thought as he put away the 20 alchemy puppets in satisfaction. He was nonchnt towards the two hypocritical men.

    In fact, how would Lin Li miss out on finding the diary about the Magic Tides? That was his area of search! Lin Li was not that careless. If he really were to miss a truly valuable item, how regretful would it be?

    Although Lin Li¡¯spetency in alchemy might not match up to the invincible Immortal King¡¯s, he should have no otherpetitor in the whole of Anril. Despite the fact that an alchemy array like the Magic Tides had only appeared once in the entire history, no one actually recorded how it worked. However, there were many principles in alchemy that were simr. Lin Li could tell that the array of the Magic Tides was definitely not as perfect as many people thought.

    Just like every human needed a heart, every alchemy array required a source of mana. The stronger an alchemy array was, the greater its need for a powerful source of mana. This was a simple truth. Even if it was an alchemy array created by the High Elves, it would not be able to generate mana out of thin air. The source of mana for the Magic Tides could only be the Tree of Eternity. The tree was able to provide unlimited amount of energy to support the powerful alchemy array for the High Elves to squander unbridled.

    Knowing the elves had the Sierra Leone Forest, Lin Li was aware that the elves would like that idea. Yet, the Sierra Leone Forest did not have the Tree of Eternity. Despite being full of life, if the forest were to be the source of energy for the Magic Tides, it would turn into its former state from when it was used to be and of exile.

    Of course, if the elves were to use the Magic Tides to acquire powerful military strength to walk out of the Sierra Leone Forest, they would not need to care about the forest anymore. That being said, the energy from the Magic Tides did not belong to them in the first ce. Despite having the ability to let people feel like they were bathing under the light of divine, it could also create an addiction.

    If the elves were to get addicted to the feeling of acquiring power so easily, they would develop a reliance on the Magic Tides. Then, they would definitely dwindle under the protection of the rays of the Magic Tides, even without having any enemy.

    In short, although the Magic Tides seemed like a prized treasure to many, it was the least valuable in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. He would rather have Cheyenne¡¯s Tower of Death. The Tower of Death could nurture powerful Warriors and Mages with richbat experience. It was only a cruel battleground that forced people to work for their goals.

    The Tower of Death was indeed a good item, yet it was insufficient to move Lin Li. He felt that a cruel environment, battles, and killing were for Warriors, not Mages.

    Through the Tower of Death, the Malfa Family could actually gain a huge number of high-ranking Mages. Thebat experience they¡¯d gain from the never-ending killings would be able to help them reach their potential.

    However, the growth of mages was not urring merely through the umtion of mana, nor was it the understanding gained from all the killings. It was also from being enlightened on the nomological power. The high-ranking mages birthed from bloodshed and battles could only be war machines. They would never understand the real essence of magic, let alone figure out what the Laws were.

    It meant that no matter how resilient or talented these Mages were, the Tower of Death would cause them to reach a roadblock when they got to the Archmage-realm. There would always be an uncrossable gap that prevented them from reaching the Legendary-realm. No matter how close they would be to the Legendary-level, they would never be able to open the door to the said realm.

    In fact, Lin Li believed that Cheyenne knew the implications the Tower of Death would bring. Yet, the sess and glory of the Malfa Family that gave them the title as the strongest family in the Breezy ins was not a fluke. It could be seen from this single mission that the Malfa Family had employed a powerful team. Their troops were made up of elites of at least level-15. Although they hired mercenary adventurers, arge part of the team was made up of disciples under the family.

    To the Malfa Family, 100 Archmages without the ability to reach the Legendary-realm would definitely be more valuable than 100 Magic Shooters. After all, not everyone in this world would have the chance to step into the Legendary-realm. Being in charge of Aminya for so many years, the family had countless disciples. They would not need to fret over this matter.

    For the Tower of Dusk, however, Lin Li would not be willing to adopt such an approach simr to killing chickens for their eggs just to exchange for the limited boost in powers. The motive behind establishing the Tower of Dusk was not to deal with the task given to him by the Supreme Council. If not, he would not have invested so much energy into the Tower of Dusk.

    The Tower of Dusk was not the embarrassment in the Breezy ins that few people cared about. The generous benefits it promised its members had turned the guild into one that almost all mages would yearn to join.

    Of course, Lin Li would not allow the precious tower to turn into a ce for leftovers. Hence, as he raised the benefits promised to the members, the threshold of joining the Tower of Dusk became higher. There were not many mages in the tower currently, but it could be said that each of them had great talent and potential.

    Although not all of them might progress into Legendary-mages, Lin Li could not bear to turn these naturally gifted mages into war machines without any future.

    More importantly, no matter how terrifying the Magic Tides or the Tower of Death would be, they were still on the paper.

    Cheyenne only had the blueprint and resources for the Tower of Death. He would require a rtively long period of time before he would be able to build the real Tower of Death.

    The Tower of Death was a toy that belonged to the royals of the High Elves, and Cheyenne¡¯s wealth would never match up to the High Elves¡¯. Despite being in the Breezy ins for so many years, it would not be easy to gather all the required materials and resources. Even if he managed to gather them, he would need to outsource the capital for the actual construction of the tower and the talent needed to replicate the drawing of the Teleportation Portal.

    As for the Magic Tides acquired by the elves, it was merely an iplete journal. Even if it were to have most of the information retained, it would be a long haul for them to recover the notes and gather enough materials to create the array.

    Each of the 20 alchemy puppets or shadow assassins only had an ability close to the Legendary-level. To everyone else, they seemed pathetic aspared to the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, yet these shadow assassins did not require Lin Li to pay any price to grow their powerfulbat ability. He would also be able to use them immediately after he got hold of them.

    The only thing Lin Li had to do was to research the two alchemy cores he had obtained a while ago and insert the controls into the cores of the shadow assassins. When that happened, the 20 shadow assassins would be the most important military force of the Tower of Dusk and the nightmare of any enemy.

    Lin Li¡¯s act of epting these puppets by putting them away helped to let Elder Randy and Cheyenne feel utmost relief. The action symbolized the fact that Lin Li had no intention to snatch their new possessions.

    Despite gaining such huge rewards, the men did not stop searching. It was aboratory that had belonged to Immortal King, after all. The rewards they had found helped to give them greater hope.

    All of the trash had been rummaged through very carefully, and they left their footprints in every part of theboratory. It wasn¡¯t until then that they realized how lucky they were to find what they had. The storeroom that stored all the materials had been moved away, leaving behind worthless trash. All of the notes and documents had been taken away, leaving only dust behind.

    Thisboratory was supposed to be thergest treasure of the high tower. Unfortunately, it had been ransacked by the firser. Although the men cussed silently at that mysterious firser, they weren¡¯t unhappy with the results. After all, they found treasures they were satisfied with.

    Harboring a mixture of joy, disappointment, and frustration with the firser, they walked through the piles of trash and headed towards the door of theboratory.

    Suddenly, Connoris¡¯ voice rang in Lin Li¡¯s mind. ¡°Osric¡ªit had to be Osric! I can sense that he had been here!¡±

    ¡°Osric? Why do you mention that guy again? Thisboratory belongs to the Immortal King. Are you really certain about that?¡± Lin Li asked in astonishment. Although his expression did not change, Lin Li could not help but slow down his pace.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be wrong. I have been with him for a few centuries when he was building the Eternal Furnace. I will not make a mistake in identifying his scent!¡± Connoris replied in an absolutely certain tone. He was certain about this enemy who had him sealed in the darn hammer for countless years.

    Elder Randy and Cheyenne said nothing. They only realized that they had lost Lin Li when they exited theboratory. That, however, was not an issue. They could empathize with the disappointment of the virtuous young man as they had searched theboratory very thoroughly together.

    At the same time, Lin Li that everybody thought to be crestfallen reentered a room with Connoris¡¯ guidance.

    ¡°People are bound to miss out on hidden things in such a hugeboratory,¡± muttered Lin Li as he traced an invisible track on a smooth wall with an inscription pen.

    Although 1000 years had passed, Connoris could still clearly sense that Osric had left the most obvious scent here. It meant that Osric had stayed at this area of theboratory for the longest time.

    A soft sound could be heard as the wall cracked open slowly and revealed a secret room. Unfortunately, the room was as empty as ever. There were only a desk and a piece of paper. This was not out of Lin Li¡¯s expectations. Knowing that Osric had been here, he did not expect him to leave behind any valuable item.

    As he walked into the room, Lin Li picked up the piece of paper. There were countless alchemy forms and some incrediblyplicated calctions on the paper. Despite it, Lin Li could not gather any clues from it. He only saw a phrase written in the High Elves Language which read, ¡°Where did teacher put that item?¡±

    Lin Li was stunned when he saw that title. If this paper was left behind by Osric, rumors about him being the disciple of the Immortal King had to be true. At the same time, Lin Li understood the reason why theboratory was in such a state. It seemed that Osric who had been scolded countless times by the public was the first visitor of theboratory. It was he who¡¯d taken away all the valuable items here.

 Chapter 674 - Immortal Kingéˆ¥æªš Descendant

    <h4>Chapter 674: Immortal King¡¯s Descendant</h4>

    ¡°Although I am not sure if he did move here, I remember he went away for around a month the year we built the Eternal Furnace. But, when he came back, the construction of the Eternal Furnace never ended. The technical issues that once challenged him seemed to be resolved in one night,¡± recalled Connoris.

    ¡°It seems that he did not only empty this ce, but also failed to find something important here,¡± said Lin Li as he exited the secret room. He stood in the center of the hall of theboratory and looked at the debris around him. ¡°Also, it seemed that this Highlord was not a man with good temperament. But, that is aligned to his title as the butcher. Yet, I don¡¯t remember seeing anything of real value in the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°After all, he was not the Immortal King. His life ended before the construction of the Eternal Furnace waspleted. He hid those core materials in his mausoleum when he sensed that his life was about toe to an end,¡± said Connoris indignantly.

    ¡°You should be d that he left you at the Eternal Furnace instead of bringing you into his grave,¡± Lin Li said smilingly.

    ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t think I am a man of luck,¡± Connoris remarked. It seemed like he was not satisfied with how Lin Li had been treating from the day he met him.

    Lin Li was not very affected after knowing that Osric emptied theboratory that belonged to Immortal King. He was just d that he the firser was Osric. Lin Li was confident that Osric¡¯s mausoleum wouldnd into hisnds eventually. He was just taking the long way.

    ¡°Although it is a little troublesome, it isn¡¯t a bad thing. At least Osric brought the items into his grave instead of destroying them. It seems that he was fearful of feeling lonely after death,¡±mented Lin Li. He recalled how before he transmigrated, the monarchs and the rich always loved to put valuable items in their graves, which were always exploited by tomb raiders.

    Of course, over the course of the year he had been in the maind of Anril, Lin Li had totally turned into a tomb raider of an alternative world. The more adventures he participated in, the clearer he understood that the dangers in treasure hiding spots and mausoleums of Anril were much greater than the emperor¡¯s tomb that was once mysterious.

    However, now that he had gotten through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral to reach Immortal King¡¯s treasury, he was confident that the mausoleum of Osric would not mean anything to him. If he had note to the Breezy ins to establish the Tower of Dusk, he would have gone to nna to find Aldwin, the president of nna Guild of Magic, to seek information rted to Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°The High Elves did not manage to avoid the passing of time, nor did the divine achieve an eternal life. Although I am not sure how much inheritance had Osric gotten from Immortal King, from my experience with him, I thought that you human beings should be d that he died an early death. If not, he would have built the eighth sky castle,¡± said Connoris gloatingly. Although he would not be able to avenge himself, he was feeling rather joyful knowing that his enemy did not get to fulfill his wishes before dying.

    ¡°So what? The six out of the seven sky castles had been destroyed, and thest one moved to this ce. Even if Osric really created the eighth sky castle...¡± Lin Li suddenly stopped talking.

    Lin Li knew about Osric¡¯s endeavor of creating the eighth sky castle from Connoris when he acquired the Eternal Furnace. At that time, he had limited understanding of sky castles. He was only shocked by Osric¡¯s ambitious and seemingly unachievable n. But, now that he obtained the blueprint of the sky castle, Lin Li clearly understood the drastic difference between the Eternal Furnace and a sky castle.

    In Lin Li¡¯s memory, Osric was a well-known figure during the Dark Age, yet he did not believe that Osric could really achieve something Immortal King couldn¡¯t, even though he was thetter¡¯s disciple.

    Now, Lin Li had just heard something interesting from Connoris. Did this Soul Trader say that there was a great possibility for Osric toplete the eighth sky castle if he had enough time?

    After all, each of the sky castle took a great deal of effort from Immortal King as well as manpower and resources from the High Elves. Resources, skills, and time were the three conditions that had to be fulfilled for this construction.

    Time was considered the least demanding requirement out of the three. If Connoris was saying that Osric onlycked time, was he implying that he had fulfilled the two other conditions?

    The construction of sky castles was not a trivial matter. Without sufficient preparation, he doubted Osric would have such a daring ambition. Even if he did not make enough preparation for the castles, he should have sufficient resources to maintain half of the construction efforts. If not, the construction of sky castles would be a joke.

    <i>The Eternal Furnace is nothing like the sky castle. Where did the other resources allocated for the sky castle go? Might he have kept them in his mausoleum, or used them to build his mausoleum?</i>

    Frankly speaking, these were wild guesses Lin Li dared not to believe. ¡°Although Osric was well-known during the Dark Age, and was the disciple of the Immortal King, it had to be extremely difficult to build such a sky castle, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Either that fe was trying to act in front of me, or he really had the confidence to do that, especially after he returned from this ce. If that sense of confidence had been feigned, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d have eluded my intuition,¡± said Connoris with relief. Had Osric¡¯s n seeded, he would not have a chance to escape that darn furnace. It was lucky that Osric did not live for long.

    ¡°Tsk, why would he want to fake it in front of a soul sealed in a hammer?¡± Although Lin Li gave a disdainful reply, his anticipation for Osric¡¯s mausoleum grew.

    ¡°Hey, that dude consulted the almighty Soul Trader on many questions when he was constructing the Eternal Furnace. If not for me, he¡ª¡± Connoris retorted.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Lin Li patronized Connoris. He had already started to consider Osric¡¯s mausoleum seriously.

    Lin Li first heard about Osric¡¯s mausoleum when he was a Magic Shooter at nna Guild of Magic. At that time, Adventurers Guild and the nna Guild of Magic were in a deadlock over the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum. That prompted them to establish a bet¡ªthe Adventurers Guild to have a member who could create high-level mageweaths, and the Guild of Magic to have a member who was capable of forging magical weapons.

    However, President Aldwin of nna Guild of Magic was clearly at disadvantage with the bet. Having a guild that was entirely made up of mages, it was almost impossible to have someone who had the skills in forging. Lin Li¡¯s skills in forging brought him into the bet between the two guilds.

    While it seemed that Lin Li had a critical role to y, he was a man without position and ability to participate in the mission for Osric¡¯s mausoleum. After he went to the Breezy ins to establish the Tower of Dusk, he never stopped busying himself with the matters rted to the tower. That made him dy his involvement in the mission.

    Through his interactions with the Eternal Furnace, Throne of Darkness, underground pce in the Dragon Mountains, and other adventures along the way, Lin Li obtained great benefits that would help him grow the Tower of Dusk. Yet, in this process, his interest in Highlord Osric¡¯s mausoleum dwindled.

    His attention switched to Immortal King¡¯s treasures when he acquired information about it, thinking that that had to be the most valuable treasure of Anril. He was once again convinced to dy the ns to look into Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    What Lin Li did not expect was that Osric had managed to empty all the valuable treasures before everyone else. And, from Connoris¡¯s words, Lin Li could deduce that Osric had definitely ced resources to construct another sky castle in his mausoleum. This idea grew Lin Li¡¯s ambitions.

    Of course, that was a mere guess. There was still a possibility for Osric not to have ced all the treasures in his mausoleum. Regardless of the situation, Lin Li was convinced that he had to invest energy and time to venture into Osric¡¯s mausoleum to take a look himself.

    However, while he decided on his next goal, Lin Li knew he had to consider the question of safety. Now that he knew that Osric was the disciple of Immortal King, he had to readjust his attitude towards Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°If that is so, almighty Soul Trader, since Osric had consulted you on so many things, how much power do you think this disciple had inherited from Immortal King?¡± Lin Li asked, hoping he could acquire more information about Osric. After all, this unlucky ancient deity had interacted with Osric for a considerably long time.

    ¡°Hmm, at least enough for him to have the great confidence to construct a sky castle,¡± replied Connoris in a tone riddled with uncertainty. He couldn¡¯t help it. After all, he was just a captive sealed in a hammer. How could Osric tell him everything?

    Although he did not manage to acquire specific information, Lin Li was not the least bit disappointed. He could now gauge Osric¡¯s ability.

    The construction of sky castles was not an easy job, for they were not any random city on the maind of Anril. The construction required knowledge from almost every other aspect. The arrogance of the High Elves stemmed from their great powers. They were unlike the human royals who were only capable of boasting. Since Osric established the building of a sky castle as his goal, it meant that he was confident in his ability.

    The thought if it reaffirmed Lin Li that Osric¡¯s mausoleum was not something to be trifled with. Had Osric invested half of the efforts of building a sky castle into the construction of his mausoleum, that mausoleum would be something beyond imagination ofmon men. Furthermore, it was onlymon sense for him to have focused on the construction of his mausoleum when he knew that his time was running out.

    Lin Li could not imagine a mausoleum that had been built with adequate resources and skills. He was convinced that no one had ever managed to make a close prediction about Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Lin Li could not help but feel worry that the number of fatal traps within the mausoleum had to be at least on par with that in the sky castles.

    ¡°Then, did Osric mention to you anything about alchemy arrays, magic gears, or any magic that could be used to create traps?¡± Lin Li¡¯s worries prompted him to ask Connoris another question.

    ¡°As for this, I remember Osric mentioning something about the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. But, I am sure you know that both of them require one to derive it with true efforts. There are no shortcuts for those.¡± Unfortunately, despite being the only contact of Osric, Connoris did not have a lot of understanding of that Highlord. He could not offer more information for Lin Li to predict possible powerful magical traps Osric might have set in his mausoleum.

    ¡°Hold on. Wasn¡¯t Osric the disciple of Immortal King? When did he mention the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral? Could he have entered this tower through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral, just like how we did not manage to use the main entrance?¡± Lin Li inquired curiously. Although he did not obtain the information he initially wanted, he managed to think of new possibilities.

    In fact, it did not matter when Osric grew an interest in the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. Lin Li deduced that Osric had to have experience of getting through the Orderly Maze and the Seven-Realm Spiral. That left Lin Li with another doubt. While he was certain that Osric had the ability to get past the first few realms of the Seven-Realm Spiral, it had to be challenging for him to get through thest one.

 Chapter 675 - Nothingness

    <h4>Chapter 675: Nothingness</h4>

    Although the Stars of Fury that was condensed with magic only required Legendary-level mana, the attributes of the Laws contained in it could fully exert the power of Stars of Fury. Besides, the most powerful Thunderbolt was paired with the Stars of Fury. Such abination could be considered lethal for almost all below the Legendary level. Lansdale was a good example. Even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could not endure for long under such attacks.

    Lin Li was able to break through thest realm all thanks to the three pieces of the debris of the stars he had. Otherwise, he would have inevitably been defeated by Thunderbolt, just like Lansdale.

    There were all sorts of spections and theories about Osric¡¯s power and abilities. However, Lin Li, who understood the power of Thunderbolt, knew that even though the disciple of the Immortal King had Sanctuary-level power, he could not rival the Stars of Furybined with Thunderbolt. Perhaps he could safely retreat, but he¡¯d have to pay a huge price to break through thest realm.

    However, the message left behind in theboratory showed that Osric had really barged in there. If his strength had not reached the level of the Immortal King¡¯s, he wouldn¡¯t have anything to rely on. The biggest possibility was that Osric had at least one piece of the debris of the stars.

    There were a total of seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and Lin Li already had four of them, namely Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, Rebirth, and Thunderbolt. Holy Light came from the catbs of Norfeller¡¯s former master; the High Elf who was said to be Osric¡¯s younger brother and had turned into a Lich died because of Holy Light. Since the unlucky High Elf Lich hadn¡¯t known of the existence of Holy Light at first, Osric probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to use Holy Light.

    Gloomy Dark came from the Scar of Death, which was also the altar of the Immortal King that was guarded by a High Elf Lich. If Osric had ever owned Gloomy Dark, it was unlikely that he would have left it there.

    Lin Li did not know where Rebirth originally came from, and simply paid a huge amount of gold coins to obtain it. However, it was rather easy to acquire it. Of course, he also ended up getting into a battle with the Elven Mage Vidas because of it. However, in terms of power, Rebirth was not suitable for retaliating against Thunderbolt. Instead, it was better for the maniption of vitality.

    Thunderbolt was undoubtedly powerful. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li already had had three pieces of the debris of the stars, he probably would have already been killed by Thunderbolt¡¯s attack in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    In the underground pce of the Dragon Mountains, there was already a Natural Magical Domain with Raging mes and Pr Snow. Osric probably knew about those two, and the underground pce might very well have been built because of them. However, Lin Li was sure that Osric had never touched either one of them, because the Natural Magical Domain would have copsed long ago had he actually done so.

    Six out of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had already appeared, leaving just one left for Lin Li to find. Thest one¡¯s location, however, was unknown. Lin Li guessed that Osric¡¯s piece of the debris of the stars could very likely be Nothingness, which wasbined with Chaos Laws.

    Although the seven pieces of the debris of the stars could be consideredparable in terms of power, they exerted different powers because of the different nomological powers. The most powerful one was Thunderbolt, while the weakest was the contradicting pair, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark.

    The most mysterious and unpredictable one was undoubtedly the piece of the debris of the stars containing the Laws of Chaos, Nothingness. Even though Lin Li had once owned all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and had a perfect mastery of the Stars of Fury, he barely knew anything about Nothingness. In fact, Lin Li felt that he was just clueless about it.

    Although he¡¯d once owned all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li had only used Nothingness once because the unknown and mysterious power within it made Lin Li too afraid to even use it. He had no idea what would happen if he were to use it. Besides, the only time he used it was when he faced the Dragon of Destruction. The memory of that was still fresh in his head.

    Under the urging of the Stars of Fury, the power exerted by Nothingness was not as unstoppable as Thunderbolt, nor as violent as Raging mes. However, the seemingly calm power was the very same one that was earth-splitting and gave the Dragon of Destruction a heavy blow. The force that could scare even the Dragon of Destruction was incredible to Lin Li.

    If he guessed correctly, Osric really did control Nothingness; hence, even without the Stars of Fury, he would still be able to break through the Seven-Realm Spiral with ease using his Sanctuary-realm power. Perhaps that was the reason Osric had not taken away Thunderbolt.

    Honestly, Lin Li felt rather impatient when he thought of the power that Nothingness had once shown. He secretly decided in his heart that he would definitely make a trip to nna after returning home in order to fulfill the agreement with Aldwin. He would also explore the Highlord¡¯s mausoleum as soon as possible. Given his identity and strength, Lin Li believed that he would definitely have the right to negotiate with them. He felt that he was not a small fry that could be ignored easily.

    At the thought that Nothingness could very likely be in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li even felt a strong urge to return immediately because Nothingness meant more to him than just another piece of the debris of the stars. Although he did not get Raging mes and Pr Snow, he was already confident that he would get them. If he were to obtain Nothingness too, he would really possess the seven pieces of the debris of the stars again.

    The significance of gathering the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was more than the possession of seven powerful arrows. The seven would bring about more than just an increase inbat techniques or upgrade in power. Instead, it was a drastic change.

    Each of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained different nomological powers, and they were all bred in different environments. However, Lin Li, who truly used all of them before, knew that the seven pieces of the debris of the stars would form a whole new entity when pieced together.

    Although the separated debris of the stars also had massive power, and was certainly above the Legendary-level, the pieces could only exert their true power when they became one in the hands of the same person. The kind of power that they exerted was beyond what an ordinary person could master.

    Moreover, as the former owner of the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, Lin Li also knew a secret that no one else did. The Laws contained in the seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained all the rules of the basic elements in the world, including all sorts of derived rules. Hence, when one mastered all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it would be equivalent to mastering all the elements of the world at the same time. The seven basic Laws of the world represented by the seven elements of earth, water, fire, wind, light, darkness, and chaos would also be exposed to the master.

    When Lin Li had been a hunter, he might not have benefited much from it, but he was now a Legendary-mage, and Holy Light and Gloomy Dark that he¡¯d obtained previously had brought him great benefits. He¡¯d created the Light and Darkness Domain based on his understanding of the Laws of Light and Darkness. If he assembled all the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he would be able to gain a deep understanding of them all. To a Legendary-mage that was already extremely far away from the base Legendary-realm, the benefits were definitely hard to imagine.

    Lin Li even felt that when he was holding the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in his hands, he would break through the Legendary-realm, being about to enter the Sanctuary-realm[1]. It was definitely not a delusion, because no one knew the power of the debris of the stars better than he did. Besides, the promotion of a Legendary-mage to the Sanctuary-realm did require aplete mastery of the seven basic Laws to create the World Domain.

    However, it was not an easy task to enter Osric¡¯s mausoleum to obtain Nothingness. Lin Li had always thought that Osric being a disciple of the Immortal King was just a legend, and he even thought at some point that the Immortal King had at most given Osric some tips and pointers. However, there was now clear evidence to prove otherwise; hence, Osric¡¯s mausoleum might be moreplicated than this Sky Castle.

    Indeed, there were various indications that Osric¡¯s mausoleum was very likely to be a threat full of fatal dangers. Hence, Lin Li decided that he had to first study it carefully so as not to identally fall into a trap. Lin Like didn¡¯t want to fail in obtaining Nothingness because of his own negligence and even ended up losing his life.

    Seeing that he could not obtain any valuable information from Connoris, Lin Li decided to temporarily put this aside in order to avoid arousing the suspicion of Elder Randy. He quickly left the Immortal King¡¯sboratory.

    Lin Li thought that Elder Randy and Cheyenne would have entered the sixth floor by now and begun searching impatiently. However, when he arrived at the sixth floor of the tower, he saw that Cheyenne and Elder Randy were waiting for him and had not entered first.

    That really surprised Lin Li. Although everyone had some kind of tacit understanding before, he didn¡¯t think that they would be willing to wait for him there, especially since each of them represented their own forces. When interests were concerned, there seemed to be no need to save any face for others.

    However, when he got closer, Lin Li discovered that the people waiting in front of the door of the sixth floor did not seem annoyed or impatient because of waiting, but rather all looked sad and worried.

    ¡°Elder Randy, Master Cheyenne, sorry to have made you guys wait,¡± Lin Li said smilingly, but he did not mention anything about Osric¡¯s note.

    [1] It¡¯s a vague part, it could¡¯ve referred to his level as a Hunter before the novel started.

 Chapter 676 - Oil Lamp

    <h4>Chapter 676: Oil Lamp</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, although Lin Li¡¯s behavior was a little suspicious, everyone tacitly decided not to ask for the reason for histe arrival, because they all knew that there was nothing left in theboratory. Both Elder Randy and Cheyenne felt that they had made the biggest gains on the fifth floor, especially whenpared with Lin Li¡¯s alchemy puppets. Hence, no one wanted to talk about the fifth floor again lest they caused the young mage Lin Li to be displeased.

    ¡°Hehe, we had no choice but to wait. Mage Felic, you¡¯ll understand when you walk over.¡± Elder Randy and Cheyenne greeted Lin Li with a wry smile, and tactfully made way for Lin Li to stand in the middle. They had already unknowingly put Lin Li above them during the cooperation.

    Lin Li looked at the two of them peculiarly without saying much. He then walked towards the space between the two of them and looked through the door, only to get a great shock. He finally knew why they looked so glum and sullen.

    There was a long corridor after the gate, and there didn¡¯t seem to be anything special about it. On the surface, it didn¡¯t look any different from the one on the first floor. The ground was also covered with precious magical gemstones, and there were cyanmps on the walls of both sides.

    However, as a Legendary powerhouse who was highly sensitive to energy fluctuations, Lin Li could clearly feel that the in-looking corridor was full of lethal dangers. Besides, the menace in the corridor did note from the Alchemy Array or any magic gears. Instead, it came from pure nomological power.

    ¡°This is really absurd!¡± Lin Li only scanned a bit of the surroundings, but the shock that the corridor brought him was unimaginable, for the Laws of the space in the long corridor were extremely chaotic and way out of the ordinary. It was, in fact, very outrageous.

    If space was described as a sheet of white paper, the space in the corridor would be a sheet of white paper that had been torn into pieces and forcibly pieced back together. From afar, there seemed to be nothing too different about it. However, when one took a closer look, he would be able to see the dense cracks on it. The shredded pieces of paper definitely wouldn¡¯t be a threat, but the broken pieces of space that had been forcibly been put together again were absolutely fatal. One definitely would not be affected when standing outside the space, but once they stepped into it, they would definitely be ripped into shreds by the countless cracks in space, regardless of how powerful they might be.

    Without a doubt, the Immortal King, who was known to be as powerful as gods, was the only one who could create such an insanely powerful space. For any intruder, this trap would be almost impossible to resolve. It was clearly telling every intruder that there was a fine line between life and death.

    Lin Li was horrified because of that. The power in the cracked space was indeed terrifying, but it would at most cause him to be a little taken aback. Back in Tutankhamun¡¯s cabin, using the Spacetime Beacon Spell, Lin Li had once witnessed the massive power disyed by Geresco that was enough to tear the space apart.

    However, the corridor that he and the rest were facing now did not pose just the problem of a cracked space. The dense and menacing cracks were absolutely hair-raising and equivalent to countless areas of cracked space being forged together again. It almost had nothing to do with technique, but was a pure disy of power. The Immortal King had created an almost-invincible trap that could not be overridden. Such power was really equivalent to that of the gods in legends.

    What was even more incredible was the fact that any cracks in space would gradually recover under the Space Laws in the world until they began to disappear. Otherwise, the countless wars that had been happening since the prehistoric times which were powerful enough to tear space apart would have already caused the world to copse and get destroyedpletely long ago.

    However, the space cracks in the corridor did not at all recover even after a long period of time. It wouldn¡¯t be an overstatement to say that this force had vited thews of the world.

    Lin Li shook his head slightly. If it were an Alchemy Array, a magic gear, or even a master-level magic trap, Lin Li could still use his own knowledge to find a way to solve it. However, the space trap in front of him was created by the Immortal King using his purest and unparalleled power. There was no way to resolve it at all.

    Lin Li could only sigh helplessly. Sometimes, knowledge might be useless. Although he had a considerable amount of knowledge in Alchemy and magic gears, it seemed that he could not put it to use now that he was faced with the trap created with formidable power.

    Having noticed Lin Li¡¯s expression, Elder Randy and Cheyenne could not help but appear disappointed. Although they also knew that it would be impossible for anyone to get rid of the space trap in the corridor, they still had a tiny bit of hope in Lin Li, hoping that he could create some miracle again.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li said to everyone, ¡°This corridor is not essible at all. Seems like we have to find another way. Otherwise, we will have to stop here.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a tinge of hypocrisy in Lin Li¡¯s tone, because he really didn¡¯t have a solution this time. Although he had the debris of the stars, in the end, the cracks were not physical entities. Even if the debris of the stars could not be destroyed, it would disappear through the cracks and disappear in the chaos of time and space. Lin Li had finally seen the hope of gathering the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and piecing them together; hence, he did not want to take the risk. If he were to lose one of the pieces of the debris of the stars in the chaos of time and space, he would probably never get it back again.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t have much interest in continuing to delve deeper, because he was preupied with his thoughts about the debris of the stars, Nothingness, that was in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. However, Elder Randy and Cheyenne were obviously still unwilling to give up. Although they had obtained the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death, the fact that there was such a powerful unsolvable trap in front of them meant that there would be a greater treasure behind the trap. Everyone knew that it was bad to be greedy, but when faced with such temptation, it would be hard for anyone to stop appropriately.

    Everyone was crowding around the gate, some pressing their faces against the wall and carefully scrutinizing the patterns in a bid to find the switch to shut down the space trap in the corridor. They would also tap their hands against the wall in hopes of finding a hidden door or something. ording to themon sense applied when exploring and finding treasures, the harder the trap, the more likely it was that there would be great treasures. Hence, the space trap that could not be dealt with had aroused greater interest within the people.

    Lin Li and his two Undead servants did nothing except to stand in front of the gate and carefully look into the corridor because Lin Li was well aware that whatever Cheyenne and Elder Randy were doing was useless. The Immortal King had set up the trap prevent others from entering. Hence, how could there be an alternative way to enter?

    Indeed, it didn¡¯t take long for Elder Randy and Cheyenne to return to Lin Li after finding out that they had nothing to gain. They remained silent and simply stared at the end of the corridor.

    ¡°Seems like this is really the end of our journey,¡± Elder Randy said while holding an arrow. He threw it into the corridor, immediately after which the arrow was ripped into shreds by the countless space cracks.

    Everyone could not help but shiver in fear; they couldpletely imagine what would happen to them if they were to barge in.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a single expedition, and we¡¯ve already gained enough. We really shouldn¡¯t be greedy and hope for more.¡± Cheyenne sighed, clearly feeling indignant, but there was nothing he could do now that he was faced with the space trap that could not be solved at all.

    However, no one took the initiative to leave, because they were all filled with a dash of hope, and were thinking about how great things would be if they could find a way to pass through. Nheless, they knew that the chances were very slim.

    ¡°Did you guys discover that that magical oilmp seems different from the rest?¡± After standing in front of the door for a long time, Cheyenne suddenly pointed at the corridor and questioned them while feeling uncertain.

    However, Cheyenne¡¯s discovery did not pique the interest of the rest. In fact, everymp in the corridor had a different style and design. Hence, the difference did not seem to be of any significance.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys sense that the magical wave of that oilmp is different from those of the surroundingmps?¡± Cheyenne seemed to have really felt something, and there was a tinge of excitement in his voice. If that oilmp was really special, it could very likely be rted to the trap. The High Elves wouldn¡¯t have used other materials just because theycked one.

    ¡°You mean the secondmp from the right?¡± Elder Randy nced apprehensively in the direction that Cheyenne was looking at, and closed his eyes to carefully feel the aura of the oilmp under the influence of the countless cracks in space. He stopped feeling doubtful, and gradually began to feel a sense of joy and surprise.

    It was indeed different! When Cheyenne mentioned it for the first time, Lin Li focused his attention on the oilmp and discovered that the burning me of the oilmp was slightly different, though it was very simr to cyan.

    The shape of the oilmp did not seem to stand out from the surrounding ones. After all, all the oilmps were different. However, Lin Li discovered that the oilmp actually had a lot of simrities in structure with the Summoning Lamp that he had.

 Chapter 677 - The Labyrinth

    <h4>Chapter 677: The Labyrinth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Summoning Lamp that had sealed the Lord of Nightmares was a congrattory gift from Englos on behalf of the Brilliance Shrine when Lin Li was appointed as the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. Of course, he had not epted the gift for nothing. He still had to treat the Pope of Brilliance Shrine and give him an antidote for the Viper¡¯s poison.

    Regarding the Summoning Lamp, Lin Li had once thought it was just a powerful magical weapon because the powerful Lord of Nightmares was sealed within it. However, ording to Connoris, the Summoning Lamp was not just a magical weapon, and was in fact a super weapon that Osric had created for the Eternal Furnace.

    Due to this, Lin Li had also done an extremely detailed research on the Summoning Lamp. In fact, he could be considered to be well aware of the various characteristics of the Summoning Lamp. Although the Summoning Lamp had apletely different appearance from the special oilmp in the corridor, Lin Li could draw many subtle simrities between the two.

    After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s reminder, everyone discovered that the oilmp was indeed different, but they still faced a difficult problem. Although the oilmp was on the edge of the space trap, it was still surrounded by the dense cracks in space, and no one knew what to do to make the oilmp work. Even if an arrow struck it, the arrow would be shattered by a space crack before it even hit the target.

    However, Lin Li thought of the simrity between the twomps, and could not help but suddenly get an idea. The Summoning Lamp had to be infused with mental strength in order to stimte and summon the sealed Lord of Nightmares. In that case, what would happen if he were to infuse some of his mental strength into that oilmp?

    At the thought of this, Lin Li did not hesitate any longer. After all, he wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed that oilmp. If he were to miss something, it would be toote to regret it. Deciding to give it a try, Lin Li gathered a portion of mental strength, carefully pushed it through the gap between the cracks in space, and finally injected it into the oilmp in the corridor.

    With the infusion of mental strength, the oilmp suddenly exploded with a loud bang, and a smoky shadow rose from it before gradually solidifying, revealing a huge figure. The silhouette was almost blocked by the corridor, but it was just a shadow from waist down. It then gradually condensed and hid itself in the me of the oilmp.

    Upon sight of the huge silhouette, almost everyone suddenly felt like they were being crushed by a huge mountain. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to have frozen all of a sudden, making it hard for everyone to breathe. The tension and huge pressure made them gradually bend their legs subconsciously as if there was a voice in their heads that was telling them to kneel down to seek relief.

    Fortunately, they were all Legendary powerhouses, and the huge figure did not seem to deliberately exert its pressure, making everyone press on with their strong perseverance. They did not do anything embarrassing at this moment.

    Everyone, including Lin Li, was taken aback by the sudden change, and tried their best to prepare for the battle. However, the huge figure that suddenly emerged did not immediately attack them. Instead, it hovered in the air and looked down at them. At this moment, everyone got a clear view of the huge figure in front of them, and they could not help but be shocked when they saw its face.

    They were not the only ones who got shocked because they were unprepared. Even Lin Li, who¡¯d caused the sudden change himself, immediately became dumbfounded when he saw the huge figure.

    <i>They looked so simr!</i> everyone thought to themselves. The huge figure that suddenly appeared in front of them turned out to have the same appearance as Lin Li. It was as if it were made from a mold of Lin Li.

    Everyone had been interacting with Lin Li for some time. Even if they didn¡¯tpare the two, they would still be able to confirm the simrity between the two. In fact, when they got a clear view of the figure¡¯s face, they would have thought that it was a magnified shadow of Lin Li if it weren¡¯t because of the figure¡¯s terrifying aura.

    After being stunned for a while, Lin Li snapped out of his trance, and immediately thought of the statue that he had seen at the altar of the Lich in the Scar of Death, which was said to be a statue of the Immortal King. Of course, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that narcissistic as to think that the huge figure that appeared suddenly was himself. Thinking of the Immortal King¡¯s statue, he could not help but wonder if the huge figure was the Immortal King.

    When he first saw the Immortal King¡¯s statue in the Scar of Death, Lin Li felt rather peculiar because the statue was way too simr to him. At that time, he, too, thought that it might be a coincidence. After all, a statue was a statue, and the High Elves might have added some artistic details to it.

    However, Lin Li now felt that it might not be a coincidence, though the simrity between the Immortal King and himself still remained a difficult riddle to solve.

    Everyone watched in horror as the huge figure slowly chanted a spell that no one could understand in a low and deep voice. No one knew what spell it was, not even the elves who had learned and inherited thenguage of the High Elves. Even though they had already gotten ready for a battle, no one dared to move and inch at this moment. The mighty power left them with no desire to resist at all.

    Everyone could not hide the fear on their faces at all. No one thought that the spell chanted by the figure was just ame and insignificant magic spell. Perhaps the end of the chant would also spell the end of them all. However, when faced with that coercion, even running away had be a luxury, let alone retaliation.

    As thest syble of the spell ended, Lin Li suddenly discovered that his surroundings had changed dramatically, though there was no strange feeling. Elder Randy and Cheyenne, who were initially standing beside him, had already disappeared at this moment, and they were no longer in front of the dangerous corridor that was full of dangers.

    Lin Li looked up and around, only to feel a freezing coldness in his chest. The sky was gray, and not dark like skies that were covered by gloomy clouds. However, it was dull and suffocating. The only unique color in the air was the blood-like sun that was eye-catching but unable to bring a touch of warmth. There were huge cracks in the ground that intertwined and seemed to contain enough force that would split the earth apart. It was not only the sky and the earth and sea, but the entire world that seemed to be on the verge of copsing. Everything seemed to be full of decline and about to be destroyed anytime soon.

    A thunderous roar continued to reverberate between heaven and earth, making the entire world quake continuously. Lin Li looked into the distance to see that there were huge figures like towering peaks, waving giant shing spears in their hands. However, their enemies were massive dragon-like creatures flying in the sky.

    Lin Li could clearly feel the aftershock of the collision even from such a long distance. Lin Li suddenly thought of the two most powerful races, the Titans and the Ancient Wyrms, which had fought and battled in Anril for countless years during the prehistoric times.

    During the collision of brutal forces, Titans would be plucked up into the sky from time to time and get besieged by Ancient Wyrms from all around. There would also be sudden explosions of thunderbolts from time to time, shooting down the Ancient Wyrms flying in the air. It was battle of pure power, destined not to have any winners. Every Titan would fall together with an Ancient Wyrm, and the two were definitely going all out in the battle.

    Lin Li slowly descended from the sky andnded on the ground, after which he was greeted with the sight of a boundless yellow desert that formed blurry and unclear borders when juxtaposed against the gray sky. He chose and took a step in a direction because he noticed that there seemed to be some unusual shadows there when hended.

    Despite having great mental strength, Lin Li could not tell if this ce was just an illusion or he had been sent to the far-flung prehistoric times by a strong spell. He only knew that everything around him seemed so real. The hot air that he was inhaling and the feeling of sinking into yellow sand under his feet did not seem fake at all.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know how long he had been in the desert for, but the once-blurry shadow gradually became clearer. He finally realized that the shadow he was aiming at was not a mountain, but a massive shrine.

    Looking at the long staircase in front, Lin Li suddenly felt amused because every step was taller than himself. Standing under the steps, he felt as if he were facing a cliff, and could only see the top of the cliff by looking up. Lin Li could not help but secretly rejoice that he was a Mage. If he were a Warrior, he would have probably died of exhaustion if he were to try climbing the stairs.

    Lin Li had already lost count of how many steps he had taken, and simply knew that he actually felt a trace of fatigue when he finally stood in front of the door of the shrine that was left wide open. However, he believed that even if the door was closed, he would be able to enter through the crack, and might not even have his forehead touch it.

    To be honest, he rarely felt as tiny as an ant. After entering the shrine, Lin Li felt extremely small, and the gaps between the paved stones were like wide gullies to him. In the shrine, the stone pirs on both sides seemed to be supporting the sky, and what he reckoned to be the top of the shrine seemed like a deep night sky to him.

    In fact, Lin Li could already vaguely guess that this might be the pantheon of the Titan race. However, Lin Li did not feel any strong aura in this pantheon. There were no Titan guardians nor the legendary Titan Spirits in sight.

    However, as Lin Li stepped into the gate of the Pantheon, the empty shrine seemed to have suddenly transformed into an endlessbyrinth. Taking the huge stone pir in front of him as a target, Lin Li disyed his flying techniques and flew straight towards the target, but the stone pir that should have remained in ce too seemed to have started moving in order to maintain a distance between itself and Lin Li.

    ¡°This is the mostmonly used trick in thebyrinth.¡± Lin Li shook his head and suddenly rushed forward, but the target sped up to collide with him.

    Lin Li made a sharp turn and flew towards the side. However, the stone pir also changed its direction and rushed at him even more rapidly. When Lin Li stopped, the stone pir would stop. When Lin Li turned, it would turn too. When Lin Li flew away, it would do the same...

    There would always be a certain pattern in the maze, but Lin Li was getting increasingly confused at the moment. Everything around him would freeze at times, and no matter which direction he went in, he would feel like he wasn¡¯t moving at all. Sometimes, it would fly backwards, and even if he stood still, he would feel like he was flying forward. Sometimes, it would fly around in all directions, making it hard for him to pinpoint a direction.

    It was an activebyrinth where everything was changing irregrly and continuously. One after another, fatal traps appeared beside Lin Li without any warning, and sometimes they would even appear directly in front of him. More terribly, the traps did not adhere to any Laws at all. They were not Alchemy Arrays or magic gears. Instead, they were trapsposed of intangible rules of space and time. They might not be as difficult to deal with as the space trap in that corridor, but each one was deadly, and they never failed to make Lin Li panic.

    The horror of thisbyrinth had far exceeded Lin Li¡¯s imagination, and he did not have any method to tackle it at all. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes, which he usually used to solvebyrinths, could not be used here, because what was detected by Warlock¡¯s Eyes would change every moment. The so-calledbyrinth had no walls at all, and was simply an open space with no borders.

    No matter how Lin Li spurred his flying techniques, the front seemed to be a straight never ending road, and he was like a rat running continuously on a running wheel. Regardless of which direction he turned in, the road in front of him seemed to have been trapped in a ball. No matter which direction he flew in, he would never find the end.

    Outside the shrine, the blood-like sun in the sky fell and rose again for seven times, meaning that seven days had passed in the world. In these seven days, Lin Li had been trapped in thebyrinth, but still hadn¡¯t found the clue to solve thebyrinth. Finally, on the seventh day, he stopped and scratched his head in frustration. The seemingly unsolvable maze somehow felt familiar to him.

 Chapter 678 - Endless Labyrinth

    <h4>Chapter 678: Endless Labyrinth</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    When this familiar feeling first appeared, Lin Li thought it was a misconception. After all, in thisbyrinth where space and time werepletely blurred and misced, it would be difficult for one not to have a false impression of something. However, when he stopped to think, the familiar feeling did not disappear, and instead became much clearer and more intense.

    <i>Could it be that thisbyrinth that I¡¯m in really is the one that I remember? But that¡¯s impossible, and there is absolutely no reason to exin it! </i>Lin Li thought as he shook his head helplessly. In any case, he decided that he had no choice but to verify his spection, since he really couldn¡¯t think of a way to solve this maze.

    Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand and quickly chanted a spell in thenguage of the High Elves. As the spell ended, the gem on top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter radiated a soft light that enveloped his body in the blink of an eye. It was not a defensive spell, but Legendary-level magic that would cause time to speed up.

    As a Legendary-level spell, the Time elerator was not very popr, because this magic could only act on the caster himself and cause time to elerate in his own body. For most people, this magic was simply a self-mutting one because the consequence of the elerated passage of time would be an elerated passing of life.

    However, in order to verify his guess, Lin Li had no choice but to use this self-mutting magic. If he guessed right, he might be able to leave this ce, but if he didn¡¯t, he might have to be trapped there forever, and that would be worse than dying.

    As the time elerated over him, Lin Li discovered that the passage of time in his body did not speed up, and instead slowed down a lot. Although Lin Li had prepared himself mentally, the results of this verification surprised him because it proved that thebyrinth was really the one in his memory¡ªthe Endless Labyrinth.

    <i>Damn it, how is this possible? Why would thebyrinth appear here!?</i> If it weren¡¯t for the verification, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have believed that thebyrinth that he was stuck in for seven whole days and nights turned out to be the Endless Labyrinth that shouldn¡¯t have existed in this world.

    In fact, Lin Li had always thought that the Endless Labyrinth only existed in his imagination. Lin Li was not spouting nonsense; no one knew the Endless Labyrinth better than he did, because the concept of the Endless Labyrinth was one that he came up with in the first ce.

    The idea of the Endless Labyrinth came up when Lin Li was interacting with some of his friends in the Endless World who were keen on exploring thebyrinth. Not all gamers liked ying monsters to level up. Some liked concocting potions, some liked to forge equipment, and some even liked to dig and excavate mines. His friends who were keen on exploring thebyrinth were also enthusiastic about creating a variety of traumaticbyrinths. They believed in going about their own paths and driving others to a dead end.

    At that time, Lin Li and those friends had a long discussion about how they should create the most insidious and harrowingbyrinth. Lin Li suggested the idea of ??the Endless Labyrinth, while his friends put forward various ideas to continuously improve the basic concept of the Endless Labyrinth that Lin Li brought up.

    Since they were just discussing and exchanging opinions, everyone spoke their minds aimlessly. Thebyrinth enthusiasts came up with all the conceivable methods while adhering to the Laws of the Endless World. They suggested for there to be countless insidious traps, countless misleading instructions that seemed legitimate, and the unrestrained incorporation of the two major Labyrinth Laws into the Endless Labyrinth. As a result, the Endless Labyrinth seemed rather crazy.

    Of course, that crazy idea only remained in their imagination because no one could create such abyrinth. Lin Li couldn¡¯t, thebyrinth enthusiasts couldn¡¯t, and even the gods of the Endless World couldn¡¯t.

    Since it wasn¡¯t feasible at all, Lin Li simply kept the crazy concept of the Endless Labyrinth in his memory after perfecting it. However, he did not expect to see the Endless Labyrinth that he had imagined to appear in this world of Anril. The horror that this caused him was definitely no less than what happened in Andoine¡¯s cabin.

    The idea of the Endless Labyrinth was only known to a very limited number of people. Even if they were all bbermouths and spread the word around, it was impossible for anyone in Anril to know. If it were a coincidence, that would be too ridiculous.

    Lin Li could not help but be reminded of the Immortal King¡¯s appearance. <i>Why does he look so simr to me? </i>

    However, it was not the time to think about these issues now. Lin Li immediately stopped exploring the maze after knowing that he was very likely to be in the Endless Labyrinth. He slowly got a grip on his feelings of irritation, and the frown on his face seemed to ease up as well. Lin Li put on a calm expression and took a seat on the ground before closing his eyes and allowing his mind to turn nk.

    Lin Li remained seated for an entire day and night, turning as motionless as a sculpture. His breathing had be so slow that it was almost hard to detect. When the sun rose again, Lin Li finally opened his eyes, which no longer contained any confusion or doubt. Instead, he looked firm and enlightened. After an entire day and night of pondering, Lin Li knew that he was not that far from the truth.

    The Endless Labyrinth was indeed inexplicable. As the main brainstormer, Lin Li knew that very well. However, he also knew that thebyrinth was only unsolvable to others. If he were in the Endless Labyrinth that was simr to the concept he imagined, the near-perfectbyrinth should have a tiny loophole.

    Although it was called a loophole, it was not a w of the Endless Labyrinth, but a back door that Lin Li had reserved for himself in his conception, for Lin Li wanted to use the Endless Labyrinth his own private territory at the beginning. Hence, he naturally had to leave an alternative path for himself, which was now going toe in handy.

    It now seemed to be the time to verify what the Endless Labyrinth had to do with him and why the Immortal King resembled him that greatly. Lin Li got up from the ground and took a step back without hesitation, although he was staring at the path in front that would never change.

    One step, two steps, three steps... In Lin Li¡¯s field of vision, the constant road in front suddenly rushed towards the front as if every step he took backwards was extremely long. Everything in front of him seemed to be bing blurry.

    All of a sudden, everything around him came to an abrupt halt. There were no longer any flying scenes, and everything came to a standstill once again. Lin Li could clearly see that he was standing at the gate of the Pantheon with one foot outside the door. He looked in to see that it was still the scene of the world of the giants. Everything was surprisingly and ridiculouslyrge, and even the oilmps on the walls seemed like hills. Looking behind him, he noticed that the skies were gray and the sun was crimson like blood. The countless footprints extended into the distance and towards the desert.

    Seeing this, Lin Li knew that he was right. However, he was still feeling increasingly doubtful and puzzled. A coincidence could no longer be used to exin everything. Otherwise, why would the back door left by him still exist in this Endless Labyrinth of another world?

    Lin Li turned around and stepped out of the door of the Pantheon. At this moment, the surrounding scene also changed again. The boundless desert and the majestic Pantheon disappeared at this moment, leaving behind only a straight road that led directly to the clouds in the sky.

    And at the end of the straight road, a huge figure stood on the cloud, which was the shadow of the Immortal King that had sent Lin Li into this world. However, the Immortal King¡¯s shadow was staring at Lin Li who was on the other end with an unfathomable smile on his face. It seemed to be personable yet full of relief and other emotions.

    Lin Li took a deep breath, and decided to address his own doubts after leaving this ce. When it was time for him to know, he would definitely find out. Hence, there was no point in wasting his energy on specting aimlessly. At the thought of this, Lin Li moved away and quickly walked along the path towards the clouds.

    <i>Endless Labyrinth? Thosebyrinth enthusiasts will probably never know that the so-called unsolvablebyrinth only seemed like one because their eyes were ying tricks on them.</i> Lin Li went straight along the road and recalled the scene of him discussing the concept of the Endless Labyrinth with his friends. He then muttered something while feeling amused.

    When he finally reached the end of the road, Lin Li stepped on the cloud, and the huge figure that stood on it had already disappeared. Everything returned to the state that it was in when he¡¯d first arrived. Standing on top of the cloud, Lin Li looked down at the world beneath him to see that the Titans and the Wyrms were continuously engaging in battles again and again. Every battle would end with both parties severely injured. However, none of them wanted to stop. In the cracks of the war between the two major races, countless prehistoric magical beasts continued to wreak havoc in every corner of the maind.

    A massive yet refreshing aura of life attracted Lin Li¡¯s attention, for it reminded him of the Tree of Eternity that had begun growing some new branches after hibernating for countless years. With the awakening of the Tree of Eternity, a new race was born in the world of Anril, butpared to the Titans and the Wyrms, the so-called High Elves were really weak and vulnerable.

 Chapter 679 - The Vast Sea

    <h4>Chapter 679: The Vast Sea</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Time passed quickly, and thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Li witnessed the intense wars between the Titans and the Wyrms that took ce one after another. He then witnessed the world of Anril being torn apart by their incredible power. He even witnessed with his own eyes the extinction of the prehistoric magical beasts and the growth of the Tree of Eternity. He witnessed how the High Elves, who used to be underdogs, slowly made their way to the top to be the domineering dictator of Anril. They announced the end of the prehistoric times and the beginning of the Dark Age.

    Lin Li watched as Anril entered the Dark Age, ruled by the High Elves. The elegant yet brutal High Elves exerted dominance over various races through ruthless means, suppressing and stopping them from retaliating again and again. The magic tides surrounded the Tree of Eternity and enveloped the entire Supreme Throne. The seven huge Sky Castles slowly rose in the air while the High Elves worshiped it. However, the rebellion forces then destroyed the Sky Castles and caused them to fall onto the ground one by one.

    In the end, when the shadow of Geresco, the God of Mages, appeared on the Tree of Eternity and faced the High Elven Queen, everything came to a halt. However, the shock within Lin Li did not vanish.

    When Lin Li heard a noise, he suddenly recovered from the shock and turned to look at the Immortal King¡¯s shadow, which had appeared again out of nowhere.

    ¡°Now, you¡¯ve seen what I have,¡± the Immortal King¡¯s shadow said in a low voice.

    ¡°You actually...¡± Lin Li felt a strong urge to clear all his doubts, but before he could even speak, the Immortal King¡¯s shadow had already gradually faded. As it disappeared, everything around Lin Li vanished like a bubble that just burst.

    When everything disappeared, Lin Li discovered that he had already returned to reality, but he was still on the sixth floor of the central tower. However, he was at the other end of the corridor that contained deadly dangers. He could clearly see Elder Randy and Cheyenne appearing dumbfounded while standing at a spot that was not too far away from him. There was a corridor that was not too long in between them, but the space trap in the corridor made the distance seem like an uncrossable path.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Mage Felic? How did he get there!?¡± Both Cheyenne and Elder Randy had also discovered Lin Li who was looking in their direction.

    After Lin Li disappeared just now, Elder Randy and Cheyenne both tried to use their mental strength to stimte and activate the oilmp. However, to their disappointment, regardless of how much mental strength they infused into themp, it did not give any reaction, as if it could only be used once. Of course, they still had no idea how lucky they were. If the Immortal King¡¯s shadow were to really bring them to that world, none of them would be able to leave the Endless Labyrinth.

    However, now that they were facing the space traps in the corridor and staring at Lin Li who was on the other end of the corridor, Elder Randy and Cheyenne could no longer stay calm. Based on the powerful and unsolvable space trap in the corridor, no one would be able to imagine the huge benefits at the other end of it.

    Since no one could obtain it, there was nothing else to say and they could only feel regretful. However, Lin Li who was right in front of them, seemed to have been granted the great opportunity without expending any effort at all. Cheyenne and Elder Randy could not help but stomp their feet in displeasure, with no regard for their poise.

    Cheyenne, in particr, was overwhelmed with regret. He regretted telling the rest about the oilmp when he found out long ago that it was probably the key. Without a doubt, Lin Li, the young mage, probably got sent to that ce by the Immortal King. Had Cheyenne chosen to activate the oilmp first, he would probably have been the one standing at the other end of the corridor.

    Elder Randy looked at Lin Li, who was on the other end of the corridor, while softly speaking to Cheyenne, ¡°Mage Cheyenne, did you notice that there seem to be some changes in Mage Felic¡¯s body?¡±

    Upon hearing Elder Randy¡¯s words, Cheyenne suppressed the regret within him, frowned slightly, and carefully looked at Lin Li. All of a sudden, shock was written all over his face, and he could not hide the horror he felt at all. He turned to look at Elder Randy in disbelief, and said, ¡°Do you mean... his power?! That can¡¯t be. Maybe... it¡¯s the cracks in space that have affected our detection of mana fluctuations.¡±

    ¡°If you could detect it too, it should be correct. He¡¯s at the peak of level-22, just one step away from level-23, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said Elder Randy, who looked like he was in disbelief too. However, if even Cheyenne, who was a Legendary-mage, also felt the same as he, the likelihood of there being a mistake would be rather low.

    <i>It¡¯s only been a while. Where did he go when he disappeared, and what happened to him!?</i> Cheyenne and Elder Randy were both filled with doubts; the fact that the young mage Lin Li had managed to advance from level-21 to the peak of level-22 within such a short period of time was simply incredible.

    <i>This Mage Felic... How many more benefits must he acquire before he gives up!?</i> Cheyenne and the rest thought to themselves, their jealousy driving them crazy. Advancing in the Legendary-realm required plenty of effort, and they had never seen anyone¡¯s abilities and power increase so rapidly without much effort before.

    In fact, Lin Li was also surprised. From the moment he returned to the real world, he felt a significant change in his strength. Although he knew he had been umting it for a long time and that he would naturally improve, he was still taken aback by the speed of his progress from level-21 to the peak of level-22. He was afraid that there would be something wrong with him.

    Therefore, after returning to the real world, Lin Li did not immediately resume his quest for treasure, nor did he bother about Cheyenne and the others who were outside. Instead, he remained standing quietly and carefully observed his physical condition. He did not wish to lose his opportunity to advance further just because he had suddenly advanced from level-21 to the peak of level-22.

    However, after carefully inspecting his physical changes, Lin Li finally heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he had only spent eight or nine days in that illusory world, not everyone would get the chance to witness with their own eyes the evolution of Anril from the prehistoric times to the end of the Dark Age. Clearly, his experience in that illusory world still activated some of his potential and caused his power to increase to this level, even though it did not involve theprehension of nomological power.

    Since he didn¡¯t find anything abnormal with his body, Lin Li decided not to continue letting them envy him any longer. He waved at the corridor, and loudly said, ¡°Master Cheyenne, Elder Randy, I¡¯m so sorry. It seems that you will not be able toe over anytime soon, so I¡¯ll go ahead and continue on this quest. You guys continue working hard.¡±

    He then turned around and walked towards the corridor while ignoring the deadly gazes in their eyes.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s figure disappearing at the end of the corridor, Elder Randy and Cheyenne looked at each other quietly. However, they had already cussed their hearts out at Lin Li deep down in their minds. They thought, <i>F***, they can¡¯t even be fair. It¡¯s no wonder that the High Elves would be destroyed! All of us braved all odds and overcame plenty of barriers to get here, yet why is Felic the only one who was granted ess!? Is it just because he looks like the Immortal King? Even if he resembles you greatly, he can¡¯t be your illegitimate son, can he!?</i>

    ¡°Is it really only because of their uncanny resemnce?¡± Cheyenne asked Elder Randy helplessly while turning to look at him.

    ¡°Maybe... or perhaps that kid is just really lucky. Whatever¡¯s hidden there will belong to him.¡± Elder Randy sighed. No matter how displeased he was, he still had no choice but to smile wryly at the daunting corridor.

    In that case, he shouldn¡¯t expect Lin Li to share the loot. When he and the others were in theboratory on the fifth floor, they obtained the Magic Tides and the Tower of Death that were far more valuable than alchemy puppets. Back then, they did not think of sharing with Lin Li at all. Hence, everyone decided tacitly that they would keep whatever they found, and there was no reason for him to change that at all.

    Although the central tower was the tallest one in the Sky Castle, the Sky Castle was only divided into six floors. The sixth floor, which Lin Li was on now, was actually thest floor of the central tower. Lin Li quickly walked towards the entrance and gently reached out to push the two doors that had extravagant patterns. He then strode in without hesitation.

    However, just after Lin Li entered the hall, he suddenly froze and stood rooted to the ground, keeping his eyes glued to the middle of the hall.

    The entire hall was empty, with no extra decoration in sight. However, there was a huge magical crystal suspended in midair, far bigger than any Lin Li had ever seen. The massive mana waves made his heart skip a beat, and Lin Li could fully feel that the mana contained in this magical crystal was far greater and scarier than any magical crystal¡¯s that he had ever seen. He reckoned that even a magical crystal of the Sanctuary-realm would be insignificantpared to this one.

    Despite Lin Li¡¯s broad knowledge, he could not imagine what kind of magical beast would produce such a huge magical crystal. Lin Li even thought of the ancient wyrms and the five Dragon Aspects that ruled over the ancient wyrms. Could this be a magical crystal from a Dragon Aspect? However, the only magic crystal from a Dragon Aspect he¡¯d seen was the one from the Dragon of Destruction. That magical crystal was rather small, and seemed just like an ugly stone. In fact, its mana was greatly restrained too. It seemed to be miserly with releasing mana. Lin Li even had to use the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction to breed a new Dragon Aspect. Hence, he could notpare the two.

 Chapter 680 - Core

    <h4>Chapter 680: Core</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Looking at the huge magical crystal in front of him, Lin Li could not help but feel excited even though he had seen plenty of rare treasures before. He could clearly feel that the massive mana was surging into his body like tidal waves. He had only been standing there for a moment, but he had already absorbed the mana that usually required a week of meditation to acquire.

    Lin Li had already reached the peak of level-22, and even just a brief moment of meditation would allow him to absorb a huge amount of mana. Now, he no longer needed to meditate. All he had to do was remain standing and allow the mana to surge into his body, and he would be able to obtain massive mana that would usually require a week of meditation. The magical crystal seemed to be even more useful than the Tree of Eternity because of this.

    Just as Lin Li got a grip on himself, he suddenly felt like there was a vague voice calling him. That voice sounded exactly the same as his, and it was as if he were speaking to himself. Lin Li could not help but feel a little dazed.

    Upon hearing that summoning voice, Lin Li subconsciously moved away and walked towards the middle of the hall. He almost didn¡¯t notice that he was instinctively infusing his mental strength into the magical crystal while walking.

    Lin Li suddenly snapped out of his trance when a portion of mental strength was infused into his body, and he broke out into cold sweat. How could he make such a low-level mistake? The huge magical crystal was not justrge in size. God knew what was hidden in it.

    The magical crystal was not just a container for storing mana. The fact that it had surpassed the Sanctuary-level meant that it was extremely powerful. Lin Li reckoned that the life form of the owner of the magical crystal was probably beyond what humans could fathom.

    If the magical crystal contained the Soul Brand of the magical crystal¡¯s owner, or some form of Spiritual Force, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength would be like the magical crystal¡¯s dessert. He was just a level-22 Legendary-mage who would be insignificantpared to power of the Sanctuary-realm. If he were careless, he might just have his conscious devoured by the magical crystal, and then be a puppet of the magical crystal with no means to retaliate.

    Unfortunately, it was toote for Lin Li to wake up to this idea. Just as he was about to withdraw his mental strength, the huge magical crystal suddenly produced a strong and irresistible attraction. As Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was sucked by the magical crystal, he felt that he could not even break the connection with that portion of mental strength. At this moment, all of his mental strength waspletely out of control as it surged towards the magical crystal.

    At the same time, the magical crystal that had been quietly suspended in the air suddenly radiated a dazzling light that lit up the entire hall like daylight. If someone were to be outside the Central Tower of the Sky Castle at this moment, they would be able to see the Central Tower getting lit up bit by bit from above. It seemed like amp post.

    The unassuming mageweath around the Central Tower slowly lit up and spread outwards rapidly like ripples in the water. As the light spread outwards, the buildings in the vicinity would light up too.

    The 36 towers that served as the conquering nodes of the Conquering Mageweath began to light up one after another too. The entire sky began to light up as well. The city that used to be dead to Lin Li again radiated gloriously like it had in the past.

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t see any of that, nor did he have any spare time to pay attention to it. He only knew that he desperately wanted to control his own mental strength, but it seemed impossible under that irresistible and powerful attraction. He had no choice but to watch as his mental strength surged out and got consumedpletely by the massive magical crystal.

    What a tragedy! He had carefully and cautiously made his way there, and was about to watch himself be the biggest winner, yet his damned negligence caused his efforts to go in vain. Lin Li was filled with anger and grief. He¡¯d just been thinking about how he should explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum, but everything was over now.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to resign himself to fate, a strong portion of mental strength surged into his brain from the magical crystal. That mental strength seemed rather familiar to Lin Li, or rather it could not be considered familiar, because it seemed to belong to him. However, Lin Li was well aware that the mental strength was not the one that had gotten devoured, but was emitted from the magical crystal instead.

    The powerful mental strength contained countless information, which made Lin Li feel like he was talking to himself. The information was all-epassing, massive, and extremelyplex, some of which was already known to Lin Li. An example would be the evolution of Anril since the prehistoric times. However, most of the information was foreign to Lin Li because he had never heard of it before. The experiences and information were allplicated, messy and endless.

    The huge amount of information instantly poured into Lin Li¡¯s mind, and his brain soon reached the limit processing information. Lin Li felt like his head was about to explode; he dropped the Helios¡¯ Scepter onto the ground, stuck his hands into his hair, and pressed them down onto his head as hard as he could. Finally, a loud noise exploded in Lin Li¡¯s mind. He lost consciousness and curled up on the ground.

    Sometimes, fainting was indeed a very happy thing. After Lin Li fell onto the ground, his body was still quaking, but he clearly no longer had to worry about his head exploding.

    After a long time, the light on the huge magical crystal gradually began to turn dim. Lin Li groaned unconsciously and slowly opened his eyes, feeling like everything was just a nightmare. Squeezing his sore forehead, he awkwardly got up from the ground. However, thinking of what happened just before he fainted, Lin Li quickly thumped himself back onto the ground and closed his eyes to carefully inspect his body¡¯s condition.

    If a mage were to lose his mental strength, he would be a vegetable<sup>1</sup> for the rest of his life even if he did not be an idiot. Extremely anxious, Lin Li tried to mobilize the mental strength in his mind. Anril was a brutal world where only the strong survived. Even though he had always been very open-minded, he couldn¡¯t imagine how he was going to survive in this world after losing his right to be a mage.

    All of a sudden, Lin Li widened his eyes forcefully and the look of worry on his face disappeared, after which it was reced with a look of surprise and doubt. Lin Li had initially thought that he had already lost his mental strength, but it turned out that his mental strength had be much stronger than before. That did not refer to the increase in mental strength, but rather that it seemed like it had be more condensed, like a piece of refined iron that had been tempered and purified.

    When he was abducting the Elemental Wyrm, Lin Li also had to use the techniques about the control of mental strength taught in the Book of Eternity to make his mental strength even more condensed in order to detect the wyrm¡¯s condition. However, Lin Li could feel the purity of his mental strength even without using those skills.

    Although such changes did not increase Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, it allowed him to have better control over his magic. Lin Li already had the ring made out of the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal allowing his mental strength to increase at all times. Hence,pared with the simple increase of mental power, this tempering was undoubtedly a great gain for him.

    Lin Li picked up the Helios¡¯ Scepter that he had thrown on the ground, stood up, and then walked towards the magical crystal that was suspended in midair before subconsciously stretching out his palm. Just as Lin Li was feeling strange about his behavior, the magical crystal that had been quietly remaining still suddenly flew towards him gently andnded on his palm.

    Aftering to, Lin Li felt like he had gained plenty of knowledge for no reason. Recalling the moment before fainting, he reckoned that the information must have been sent into his mind by the mental strength from the magical crystal. Although Lin Li had yet to have the time to sort the information out carefully, the information about how to manipte and use the magical crystal emerged naturally as if it were originally from his memory.

    Lin Li seemed to be able to see everything in the Sky Castle through the magical crystal in his hand. He could see the countless Vengeful Spirits wandering in their respective territories on the interweaving streets. He could also see the various mageweaths, formidable Alchemy Arrays, and lethal magic gears that were opening and closing.

    Lin Li could see that the sky above the Sky Castle that was resisting the storm seemed to be emitting strong rays of light from time to time. Even the Orderly Maze in the Central Tower and the seven realms of the Seven-Realm Spiral could be seen clearly. He could even see the expressions of Cheyenne and the rest who were loitering in the corridor as if he were the Sky Castle.

    After enjoying the wonderful feeling of knowing everything, Lin Li began to try to control the Central Tower of the Sky Castle through the magical crystal. He knew his strengths, so his target of control was only the mageweath on the Central Tower.

    However, as Lin Li had just started to think about it, the magic in his body immediately seemed to surge out unrestrainedly like a flood. At this time, the Supreme Mageweath in the Central Tower that had just lit up a little showed some tendency to be urged. Lin Li¡¯s massive mana would never be exhausted during battles, but at this moment, it waspletely depleted.

 Chapter 681 - Rights To Control

    <h4>Chapter 681: Rights To Control</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Resisting the weakness caused by the depletion of magic, Lin Li interrupted the activation of the Supreme Mageweath. He sighed helplessly in his heart. His strength was still too weak for the mageweath to be activated. A level-22 Legendary-mage was considered an impressive powerhouse in Anril, but he still had a long way to go before he could control the Sky Castle.

    The Sky Castle was undoubtedly the most powerful ultimate weapon of the High Elves. It was not controble by Legendary-mages. In order to truly control the Sky Castle, one would probably have to wait until they entered the Sanctuary-realm, or even reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm to fuse with the Sky Castle like the Immortal King had.

    Although Lin Li felt that it was a pity that he could not control the Sky Castle, he still looked forward to it because he knew that the Sanctuary-realm was not an illusory goal for himself. Besides, it was likely that there was the debris of the stars, Nothingness, for Lin Li to acquire in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. When the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were brought together, Lin Li would have a smoother journey to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although he still couldn¡¯t control the Sky Castle, Lin Li decided to take the magical crystal away because apart from being able to control the Sky Castle, it had other important uses for Lin Li.

    First of all, the massive mana contained in the magical crystal definitely had a huge effect on the improvement of Lin Li¡¯s strength. It allowed him to obtain the amount of mana that would require a week of meditation in just a moment, which was more effective than any other Meditation Potion and had no side effects. Although he had reached level-22, Lin Li was still not satisfied with his own strength after seeing the power of the Immortal King.

    There was also the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, which snacked on magical crystals. It was just like a bottomless pit that required plenty of magical crystals to grow. However, with this powerful magical crystal, it would still continue growing and mature quickly even if Lin Li did not waste any more magical crystals on feeding it.

    Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk were rather talented, none of them had broken through to the Legendary-realm, and for those below it, umting mana through meditation was extremely important. Meditation within the scope of this magical crystal would be the same as receiving the benefits of the Tidal Waves.

    It was likely that arge batch of mages of the Tower of Dusk would probably be Archmages at the peak of level-19. That meant that the Tower of Dusk would increase in strength, and there would also be more Legendary powerhouses, who would provide incalcble benefits for the future development of the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, to Lin Li, the most important thing was that he would be able to summon the Sky Castle once he had the magical crystal and sufficient power.

    Perhaps the Sanctuary-realm seemed illusory and unreachable to everyone, but for Lin Li, the Sanctuary-realm was a clear goal that he could see right in front of him. While others were searching for the direction to the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li had to stay determined and move forward.

    Although he still couldn¡¯t control the Sky Castle, Lin Li did not quite feel depressed, because he knew clearly that he was very close to it. Lin Li put away the magical crystal ball and realized that there were no more valuable items in the hall, which also meant that the exploration of the Immortal King¡¯s treasure vault hade to an end.

    Lin Li walked out of the hall and walked towards the deadly corridor to see that Cheyenne and Elder Randy were looking in and trying to take a peek. After mastering the magical crystal, Lin Li got a clear understanding of the Sky Castle. He then walked towards an oilmp and infused it with some of his mental strength, after which a Teleportation Portal appeared beneath his feet.

    Looking at the young mage who suddenly appeared beside them, Cheyenne and Elder Randy¡¯s expressions turnedplicated. It was no doubt that the lucky Lin Li must have gotten some gains that probably exceeded the value of all of their gainsbined. However, no one dared to take the initiative to speak, since there was no reason for them to question Lin Li. Hence, they had no choice but to be disappointed and continue guessing jealously.

    However, Lin Li had no time to bother about their mood, because he was eager to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Hence, he smiled at Elder Randy and Cheyenne before saying, ¡°Masters, I¡¯m sorry to have made you guys wait for a long time, but this is already thest floor of the tower. If there isn¡¯t anything else, is it time to leave?¡±

    In any case, all of them had obtained plenty of loot, be it a crystal ball, magical equipment, the lost spells, or impable magical equipment designs. All of the items that they¡¯d gained were enough for their respective forces to expand and be stronger.

    As Lin Li clearly did not n to talk to them about the gains that he had gotten on the sixth floor, Cheyenne and Elder Randy had no choice but to nod helplessly.

    Everyone had reached an agreement, and quickly arrived at the hall of the first floor, but they had no choice but to stop when they saw the tightly shut door. When they arrived, everyone had to enter the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Orderly Maze after passing through the first trap on the balcony of the second floor. However, when they left, they could not avoid the door that had been locked with the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock.

    <i>Are we going to be trapped inside forever? I¡¯d rather try to break through the Seven-Realm Spiral again!</i> Everyone was just thinking about how they should use their treasures after going home, so the tightly shut door was like a wet nket to them. If they had no solution to leave this ce, what was the point of all these great gains!?

    However, everyone¡¯s worries did notst long. The two Undead servants behind Lin Li suddenly walked out of the team and stood by the tightly shut door. Their movements could not be seen at all, and they simply extended their arms to pull the doors open.

    Although the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock could not be unlocked at all, Lin Li had thought about leaving a long time ago. He was indeed not strong enough to control the Sky Castle, or even activate a mageweath, but he could easily use his power to unlock the door.

    Although it was only the simple action of opening a door, the door was locked by the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock. Hence, why could it be easily opened by the young mage Lin Li¡¯s team? Everyone watched in shock as the door moved back and forth a few times with Lin Li¡¯s body, and they began to develop a terrifying conjecture about what Lin Li obtained on the sixth floor.

    Lin Li looked at the crowd on his left and right, shrugged his shoulders, and walked out of the door while ignoring the look of surprise on their faces.

    Regardless of what everyone was thinking, they immediately stopped mulling over it after walking out of the gate of the central tower. Although they did not see anything unusual, they could vaguely feel something inexplicably bizarre in the surroundings.

    At this moment, the Sky Castle had already returned to its usual state of silence after Lin Li took away the magical crystal. Everything was no different from when they¡¯d first arrived. However, it still felt peculiar yet clear. It seemed to be haunting everyone and causing them to tense up.

    Lin Li frowned slightly, and looked around to see that there was nothing at all in the spacious square. The buildings inside were exactly the same as outside the square. There were identical streets that were indistinguishable between the buildings. He turned back and ordered his subordinates to be careful and stay alert. He could no longer be bothered about shocking everyone else, and instead immediately whipped out his giant magical crystal from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    As soon as Lin Li took out his magical crystal, Cheyenne and Elder Randy were all dumbfounded, for all they could see was that massive magical crystal, and they were thinking about the surging mana wave. <i>What is it that actually produced such a huge magical crystal? Is this the ultimate treasure hidden behind that deadly corridor?</i> they wondered.

    Cheyenne and Elder Randy were overwhelmed with jealousy. A Legendary magical crystal was already considered very remarkable in the world of Anril, and they reckoned that even a magical beast of the Sanctuary-realm might not be able to produce it. Everyone knew that a magical crystal was no longer just a container for mana after its level had been fixed, and instead had its respective uses. Although they did not know what functions Lin Li¡¯s magical crystal had, they could not help but wish that they could exchange everything they had for it just because of that massive mana.

    Holding the magical crystal in his hand, Lin Li ignored the jealous eyes around him and injected a trace of mental strength into the magical crystal. Although he could not control the Sky Castle, he could clearly observe everything in the surrounding within a certain range, which allowed him to see and feel every change in the streets and buildings nearby.

    However, even though he could see everything, Lin Li felt increasingly uneasy because he could not detect any abnormalities at all. Not only were there no attackers hiding in dark corners, there was not a single change in energy at all. He wondered if he was just hallucinating, but he reckoned that it couldn¡¯t be the case after staring at everyone else¡¯s reaction.

    While staying alert, they carefully moved in the direction of the Teleportation Portal. At this moment, Ujfalusi, who had been following Lin Li, quickly strode towards Lin Li and uneasily said, ¡°Master, there seems to be a strange tension in the air here.¡±

    Lin Li stopped in his tracks all of a sudden and turned to look at Ujfalusi before turning to look at Norfeller, who also nodded slightly. He suddenly realized something. He reckoned that Ujfalusi could be the reason he and the rest could not pinpoint what was wrong even though they could sense that something was amiss.

    However, although Ujfalusi was weaker than Norfeller, he was still a Legendary Lich, after all. Even Holy Light would not make him feel so oppressed. Hence, Lin Li reckoned that his feeling of oppression could have been due to Undead creatures¡¯ natural fear towards their superiors.

    Although Lin Li was not a Necromancer, he often had his two Undead servants by his side, and had also had many long talks with Sendros, the most famous Necromancer in Anril. Hence, Lin Li was not entirely clueless about the world of Undead creatures.

    The world of Undead creatures indeed had a strict hierarchy that was different from that of humans, and the division was instead determined by power that was simr to rules. The lower-level Undead creatures tended to feel uncontrobly fearful when faced with superior Undead creatures. They would not be able to control their fear unless they transcended the rules and created some.

    Back in the Undead world of the Seven-Realm Spiral, Ujfalusi, who had Legendary power, had never felt oppressed even when he was faced with the three powerful Undead Lords, yet he actually mentioned it now. Clearly, he was extremely impacted by that feeling.

    An Undead Lord was already at the top of the Undead hierarchy. What else was above them!?

    At the thought of this, even Lin Li who had always been calm could not help but feel worried. He stopped in his tracks and injected more of his mental strength into the magical crystal to constantly expand his detection range.

    Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was focused on the magical crystal, and it spread to the surroundings like invisible ripples. The rows of buildings, streets, and everything else popped up in his head.

    Seeing that Lin Li had suddenly stopped in his tracks and slowly spun the magical crystal in his hand, Elder Randy and Cheyenne could not help but get nervous. Along the way, they had encountered various problems, but they had never shown such nervousness or anxiety before. Although they did not know what happened, they were able to guess from Lin Li¡¯s behavior that something extraordinary was about to happen.

    As the magical crystal expanded, the intangible mental strength continuously extended to the surroundings. All of a sudden, Lin Li opened his eyes, while his frown continuously deepened. Shock was written all over his face. The peculiar feeling that they felt turned out to being from the 36 towers, and it was clearly not like what he had previously thought.

    Seeing a horrified expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, Cheyenne and Elder Randy subconsciously tensed up. Although no one questioned Lin Li, they were all constantly guessing.

    Lin Li had already reached the peak of level-22, second only to Elder Randy, who was the only level-23 person amongst all of them. However, simply based on the three arrows that Lin Li had, even Elder Randy had to admit that he could not ignore the level of disparity between him and Lin Li. They could not imagine just what the young mage Lin Li had seen to make him so horrified.

 Chapter 682 - Undead Monster

    <strong>Chapter 682: Undead Monster</strong>

    When Lin Li first got the blueprint of the Sky Castle in the Scar of Death, the Conquering Mageweath that wasposed of the streets and the 36 towers on the blueprint attracted Lin Li¡¯s attention. It was also precisely the Conquering Mageweath that allowed him to quickly specte that the treasure map mentioned by the Malfa Family was the blueprint of the Sky Castle.

    However, at that time, although Lin Li confirmed that he was holding onto the blueprint of the Sky Castle and could recognize theplicated Conquering Mageweath that everyone was confused about, he only had limited knowledge about the Sky Castle. At that time, he was just an Archmage who was on the edge of the Legendary-level. He was neither strong nor knowledgeable enough to judge the mystery of the towers from the blueprint.

    However, Lin Li was now really in the Sky Castle, and he knew far beyond reading the blueprint. Besides, when he was on the sixth floor of the Central Tower, he also received countless signals in his mind that were being forced into his head. Hence, he finally gained some new insights into the 36 towers that had be one with the Conquering Mageweath.

    Lin Li clearly felt that apart from being towers for mages and nodes for the Conquering Mageweath, each of the 36 towers had the characteristics of a Psychic Tower. Psychic Towers, in essence, were towers for Necromancers; the various mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays were leaning towards Necromagic, and were meant for helping Necromancers advance and improve their power.

    However, it was difficult to see actual Psychic Towers because Necromancers were notorious in Anril. Once a Necromancer began to build a Psychic Tower, it¡¯d almost certainly result in attracting arge number of powerful attacks. Well, at least the Brilliance Shrine would never allow any Necromancer to sessfully build a Psychic Tower.

    However, if it were just the Psychic Towers alone, Lin Li would at most be just a little surprised. What really shocked Lin Li was the arrangement of the 36 towers. If the factor of the Conquering Mageweath was excluded, they would form a huge Psychic Array.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t distinguish whether he initially already had some memory about the Psychic Array or it was just information that was given to him in waves by the magical crystal. He only knew that after seeing the arrangement of the 36 towers, the information about the Psychic Array would naturally pop up in his head.

    The mention of the Psychic Array would probably remind most people of the Mageweath Array, but Lin Li who did not know much about Necromagic clearly knew at this time that Psychic Arrays were not part of Alchemy and inscriptions. Instead, it was a ssic Necromagic Array that was the ultimate dream for every Necromancer.

    Unfortunately, most of the current Necromancers in Anril were not as powerful as Sendros, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to survive even if they could be as strong as the Darkness Shrine and rival the Brilliance Shrine. As for the Psychic Tower, owning one would be a far-fetched idea, let alone a Psychic Arrayposed of various Psychic Towers.

    Everyone knew that level did not determine strength for Necromancers. It also depended on the strength of the Undead creatures that he had summoned. One of the biggest functions of the Psychic Array was to strengthen Undead creatures.

    The Psychic Array could transform various elemental forces drawn from the space into the Power of Death that was required by the Undead creatures, creating a space simr to the Undead world. In this space, the almost infinite Power of Death made the speed of Undead creatures¡¯ advancement increase exponentially.

    Besides, one of the most direct ways for Undead creatures to increase their strength was to absorb the soul fire of other Undead creatures. In addition to turning the elements in the region into the Power of Death, the Psychic Array could also collect the soul fire of the Undead creatures and store it for absorption by other Undead creatures. It was said that Legendary Undead creatures could be bred through Psychic Arrays; the effects were not inferior to the efficiency of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark.

    Of course, while the summoned Undead creatures were powerful, that might not always be a good thing for the Necromancers. It was just like when mages used magic: the more powerful and advanced the magic, the longer the casting time. As for the Necromancer, the stronger the summoned Undead creature was, the longer it¡¯d take to summon it. The longer the summoning time, the easier it would be to interrupt for the enemy, and the more dangerous it would be for the Necromancer himself. There might even be situations where the summoned Undead creatures escaped control.

    Therefore, the duration of the summoning time was extremely important to Necromancers. This was a Psychic Array that brought about another extremely important benefit for the Necromancer: the Undead creatures strengthened by the Psychic Array would continue to strengthen their connection with the Necromancers. Not only would the summoning time be continuously shortened, it would also reduce the chances of the Undead creatures rebelling. With the help of the Psychic Array, it would not be impossible for the Necromancer to instantly summon Undead creatures.

    Among the people Lin Li knew, the most powerful Necromancer was the High Priest Sendros. Even with Lin Li¡¯s current judgment, the power that Sendros once exhibited could still only be described as unfathomable. Lin Li didn¡¯t know if Sendros had a Psychic Tower or a Psychic Array. After all, he hadn¡¯t seen Sendros summon any Undead creatures even till now.

    However, Lin Li was sure that if a Necromancer had a Psychic Array, he would be able to experience a surge in power even if his Psychic Array was the most rudimentary and basic. Although he might not reach Sendros¡¯ level, he would definitely be a ruthless figure no one wanted to trifle with in Anril.

    The Psychic Array in the Sky Castle was not a basic one, and it was absolutely powerful enough to be extraordinary. The 36 towers were the maximum limit of the Psychic Array, and each tower was outrageously extravagant.

    Although the towers could not bepared to the Immortal King¡¯s Central Tower, the materials used for construction and the borate top-level mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays were the brainchild of the High Elves. Any of them alone would definitely be a holy grail of a mage in Anril since it was a tower for mages.

    The Psychic Arrays formed by the 36 towers were unimaginably powerful. The effect on Undead creatures was probably not inferior to that of the Magic Tides on mages.

    The Undead creatures here had been growing under the Psychic Array for 1300 years, or perhaps even longer. The mere thought of how powerful they were was enough to drive others crazy. Couldn¡¯t the crazy High Elves do something normal!?!

    Lin Li had thought that he would finally be able to conclude the expedition after exploring the Central Tower. However, Lin Li had never thought that there would be changes after he left, resulting in such a dangerous situation.

    Through the extension of mental strength, Lin Li could clearly see that the 36 towers had beenpletely shrouded in thick ck mist within just moments. The massive Death aura that was exuded through the violent transmission of mental strength from the ck mist made Lin Li¡¯s face turn pale.

    Noticing the changes on Lin Li¡¯s face, Cheyenne and Elder Randy could not longer bear it. While staying alert, they each used their own means to detect changes around them. However, the Sky Castle had already returned to its normal, silent state. Although the sky was still radiating, the environment around it was extremely dim, thus hampering them from detecting everything properly.

    Cheyenne activated Warlock¡¯s Eyes and scanned his surroundings to see that everything around him was dim. Hence, they had no choice but to put out all of their mental strength and detect something in their surroundings. Although they were both level-21 Legendary-mages, Cheyenne was inferior to Lin Li in terms of mental strength. Hence, exploring the Sky Castle was almost too much for him.

    However, Cheyenne did not leave empty-handed, either. At least after the mental strength was dispersed, he realized that the corporeal Vengeful Spirits that had caused him a great deal of agony actually vanished into thin air. That alone was enough to show that there was indeed something wrong with the Sky Castle at this moment. Although Cheyenne was unclear what it was, he believed that it was a sign of a dramatic change.

    Princess Elune suddenly opened her eyes in fright, and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s the towers, the towers scattered around the Sky Castle. I seem to be able to see some terrible things!¡±

    Although Princess Elune did not have the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle like Lin Li, she managed to see the abnormal state of the towers through her Legendary weapon, Song of Heart.

    The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Elder Randy did not doubt Princess Elune¡¯s words, even though her strength had just reached the Legendary level and she was the weakest amongst them. Her Legendary technique was created for archers by Wind Whisperer Hull. That was also the reason that the Archers could find enemies that were beyond their field of vision to shoot their enemies to death with their arrows. It also allowed Wind Whisperer Hull to kill the King of Ledin Kingdom with just one arrow despite being extremely far away.

    Of course, Princess Elune couldn¡¯t be that clever, but the power of the Song of Heart was enough to allow her to see some things beyond the field of her vision. However, Princess Elune was obviously still limited by her strength, and could not see everything too clearly.

    Lin Li held onto the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. Although he could not really control the Sky Castle, he could still see everything that was going on and changing in the Sky Castle. When Princess Elune was still telling Elder Randy about the changes of the towers, Lin Li had already seen that a dark shadow was condensing rapidly in the sky, seemingly gestating a daunting Undead creature.

    The 36 towers were shrouded in thick ck mist that looked just like a ck python that was converging towards the rolling ck shadow in the sky. If it were a bright environment, the grand scene would definitely attract everyone¡¯s attention. However, even Lin Li could only see the changes using the magical crystal.

    Lin Li knew deep down that the strong Undead creature that was gestating in the sky might have existed in this Sky Castle since a long time ago. He reckoned that the Undead creature might have somehow fallen into deep sleep and failed to detect their presence when they¡¯d arrived.

    Lin Li looked at the magical crystal in his hand and reckoned that the Undead creature must have awakened because he had broken through the Orderly Maze and taken away the magical crystal of the Sky Castle. However, Lin Li could not think of any exnation of the origin of this Undead creature. If it had been left behind by the Immortal King, it should have been awakened when they all had arrived. There was no reason for it to wait until Lin Li obtained the magical crystal to stop him and the rest from leaving.

    Since it was unlikely to be the Immortal King, it could only be the others. However, the Sky Castle was just like another haven for the High Elves, apart from the Tree of Eternity. The ordinary High Elves were not qualified to be there, let alone create a powerful Undead creature and change the 36 towers into Psychic Towers to form a strong Psychic Array.

    It was said that the queen of High Elves had once set foot in this Sky Castle at the end of the Dark Age, and inherited a powerful weapon of the Immortal King. At that time, the Sky Castles of the High Elves were destroyed one after another, and they stopped dominating thends.

    The queen of High Elves put herst hope on thest battle with Geresco, hoping to use the Immortal King¡¯s weapon to save the High Elves who were on the verge of extinction. However, it was clear that she had failed. Not only had Geresco emerged victorious, he even ruined the Tree of Eternity, leaving the High Elves with no means to make aeback.

    With the strength of the queen of High Elves, she couldpletely do it, but her pride did not allow her to get herself associated with the Undead creatures.

    Apart from the queen of High Elves, Lin Li felt that the most suspicious culprit was the great Lord Osric. The note in theboratory of the Immortal King showed that Osric had clearly gone up to the Sky Castle and taken away almost all of the valuable things.

 Chapter 683 - Rebirth

    <h4>Chapter 683: Rebirth</h4>

    More importantly, Osric entered the Central Tower using the same method as Lin Li and the rest despite being a disciple of the Immortal King. He, too, barged into the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Orderly Maze. He could tell from Osric¡¯s note that thetter seemed to be looking for something important, but ended up venting his anger and destroying the Immortal King¡¯sboratory. That was not how a disciple ought to show respect to his teacher.

    Lin Li could not guess what Osric was looking for, but it was unlikely that it would be the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. The sixth floor of the Central Tower waspletely sealed by the Immortal King using the space trap, so Osric probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter, either. However, Osric should have known that the magical crystal was right there. If his goal was the magical crystal, the words he wrote on that note should be hisints, and not a clue about where the Immortal King had hidden the item.

    The experience he had on the sixth floor of the Central Tower made Lin Li vaguely feel like the Immortal King seemed to have some connection with himself. Putting aside the striking resemnce between Lin Li and the Immortal King since it could be a coincidence, Lin Li could not help but wonder why he was the only one who got sent into the fantastical scene, and why the Endless Labyrinth appeared in it. <i>What did the Immortal King mean when he said those words to me after I watched the evolution of Anril?</i>

    Lin Li had obtained the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle and received plenty of information from it. He wondered, <i>Can I just be narcissistic and fancy that I¡¯m the sessor of the Immortal King?</i> Lin Li was filled with doubts and questions, but after he linked them all together, he felt that the absurd answer was not impossible.

    Perhaps Osric did know something, and thus was displeased with the Immortal King. After failing to find that important thing, he left the note behind in the Sky Castle to make life hard and create trouble for the sessor of the Immortal King. It would only be reasonable for him to do so. Although Lin Li could not be sure, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that Osric was very suspicious.

    Damn it. The world that Lin Li was in before he arrived in Anril was filled with evil characters throughout 1000 years. Why did the perverts of this world plot against others more than 1000 years in advance? <i>Geresco, the Immortal King, and the bastard Osric are all the same. You¡¯re dead anyway, what¡¯s the point of plotting against others? Would it make you happier!?</i>

    Looking at the condensed ck mist in the sky, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but cuss continuously. Be it the Undead creature that was left behind by Osric or any other psychotic creatures, one thing for sure was that the setup was meant for plotting against the person who obtained the magical crystal in the end, or rather the Immortal King¡¯s sessor.

    However, cursing could not help him solve the problem at hand. Lin Li couldpletely sense the massive and daunting power in the condensed ck mist. The Undead creature had been gestating in the highest-grade Psychic Array. Even an ordinary Skeletal Warrior would have definitely possessed power that surpassed that of the Skeletal Lord. If Osric really had been the one behind this, he probably wouldn¡¯t have just left a Skeletal Warrior behind.

    Only moments passed, yet the ck mist in the sky had be increasingly obvious, and would soon cover the sun like boiling ck ink. Even the endless Nether Storm seemed to have been subdued by the huge force at this moment, and the brilliant light that was conjured up could no longer be seen in the sky.

    At this point, there was no longer a need to exin anything. As long as they were not blind, everyone would definitely be able to see the changes in the sky. The terrifying power emanating from the dark mist seemed to be heralding the end of the world. Everyone could not hide the horror that was written all over their faces. Even Elder Randy, who had level-23 power, could not help but feel powerless when faced with that power.

    Finally, Lin Li vaguely saw a tall figure in the thick mist, but due to the fact that he did not have enough control over the magical crystal yet, he could not see the figure clearly regardless of how much mental strength he infused the crystal with. However, the terrifying and unrivaled power that filled the entire Sky Castle could be felt clearly without any special techniques.

    ¡°That... That is Osric!¡±

    All of a sudden, Lin Li¡¯s mind was filled with Connoris¡¯ cry of horror.

    Lin Li suddenly froze, and his heart almost stopped beating at this moment. He asked in disbelief, ¡°Are you sure? How can that be? Shouldn¡¯t Osric be in his mausoleum? How could he possibly be here, transformed into an Undead creature!?¡±

    After finding out that his days were numbered, Lord Osric channeled all of his energy into the construction of his tomb. That was what Connoris told Lin Li, as well as one of the mostmon spections about Osric in Anril. Besides, the nna Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild also verified that after discovering Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    However, now that he was facing the Undead creature gestating in the sky, Connoris actually yelled Osric¡¯s name. Lin Li obviously couldn¡¯t take it. Osric had built his mausoleum precisely for the sake of giving himself a ce to rest in peace. If he were to turn into an Undead creature, what was the point of putting in so much effort into creating his own mausoleum?

    Back then, Lord Osric was full of vigor, and was ambitious enough to build a Sky Castle. Even though he inevitably feared death in hister years, he would never stoop so low as to turn himself into an Undead creature.

    After letting out a cry, Connoris heard Lin Li¡¯s question, and was somewhat uncertain. ¡°I know, this is a little weird, but that figure really reminds me of Osric.¡±

    Connoris¡¯ indefinite answer did not dispel Lin Li¡¯s doubts. Instead, he was more worried. Connoris had been sealed in the hammer by Osric and ced in the Eternal Furnace. It was almost impossible for him to see any other High Elven powerhouse apart from Osric. Besides, Connoris and Osric had interacted with each other for countless years, and thus he knew Osric better than most people. Hence, the possibility of recognizing the wrong person was rather small.

    Of course, Lin Li still hoped that Connoris had really recognized the wrong person. Osric was formidable before his death, and was the disciple of the Immortal King, second only to the queen of the High Elves. If the Undead creature was really Osric¡¯s incarnation after death, there wouldn¡¯t be a chance of surviving.

    Lin Li looked at the tall figure that was condensing in the sky, feeling a little hopeful. He said to Connoris in his head, ¡°The High Elves absolutely detest Necromagic and are disgusted with it. Although plenty of High Elves began to study Necromagic at the end of the Dark Age, Osric has an extraordinary identity, so he probably wouldn¡¯t touch Necromagic.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, didn¡¯t you know? Many of the so-called rules are made by the superior rulers for their underlings. Hence, they do not really have to obey the rules. As the Immortal King¡¯s disciple, Osric had long inherited all of the Immortal King¡¯s Necromagic. It was only up to him to decide whether to use it. There¡¯s probably no one in Anril who can surpass him in Necromagic,¡± said Connoris, who was clearly disdainful towards the prestigious High Elves, yet had no choice but to admit that Osric was powerful.

    <i>Damn it, the High Elves are ying such tricks too!</i> Lin Li thought to himself in disdain. He suddenly remembered the phrase ¡®one may steal a horse, while another may not look over a hedge¡¯ that was a popr saying about double standards in the world that he came from. Norfeller¡¯s previous owner was Osric¡¯s half-brother who had to hide in the secret pce to practice and study Necromagic. On the other hand, no one dared to say anything about the Immortal King inheriting Necromagic, even though all of the High Elves, including the queen and other elites, were all well aware of it.

    ¡°But even if Osric mastered Necromagic, he might not have necessarily turned himself into an Undead creature. He was a mighty Highlord and a remarkable, majestic, and stunning figure during the Dark Age, yet he actually became an Undead creature that was deemed dirty by the High Elves?¡± Even Lin Li found the extreme transformation to be uneptable, let alone Osric, who was almighty and glorious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Connoris. He was, after all, just a prisoner sealed in the hammer at that time. Most of the information he knew about Osric was told to him by Osric himself. How could Osric possibly tell him that he would be bing a dirty Undead creature after his death?

    ¡°However, I do remember that when Osric returned to the Eternal Furnace, his emotions and temperament changed drastically, and he seemed to be less fearful of death. He even asionally revealed some information in his words, something along the lines of him being able to be reborn again after his death,¡± said Connoris while recalling the past.

    Upon hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li¡¯s heart sank, and he thought, <i>He can still be reborn after death? Is this alluding to being transformed into an Undead creature?</i> No one could really escape death, and the breaking through of realms was just to allow one¡¯s life to continue and extend. Even the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm had definite lifespan. At the moment of death, they would turn into another form of life and continue living. Could that be what Osric meant by rebirth?

    ¡°Is this what he meant by rebirth?¡± Lin Li looked up at the sky to see that the tall figure in the thick ck mist was gradually turning solid. He then said to Connoris in his head, ¡°Other than these, what else do you remember? ¡±

    ¡°No matter what, escaping death should be something worth celebrating, shouldn¡¯t it? However, I felt that he seemed to be a little worried sometimes. It seemed he was fretting over something. I don¡¯t know what it was, though. He refused to tell me, and I couldn¡¯t ask, either,¡± Connoris said helplessly.

    Although Connoris did not explicitly point out anything, the various hints would verify a terrifying conjecture when put together.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li no longer had the time to think about whether or not the Undead creature was Osric and why it had appeared in the Sky Castle.

    As the shadows gradually condensed, a massive amount of death aura filled the entire Sky Castle, turning the sacred ce that once represented the glorious High Elves into apletely silent region. The death aura was even more suffocating and daunting than the one in the Undead world in the Seven-Realm Spiral. It made all of them feel infinite despair.

    It was definitely a terrifying existence that surpassed the Undead Lords. Those who had experienced the Seven-Realm Spiral clearly remembered the terrifying and austere atmosphere that was present when the three Undead Lords appeared. However, the three of them now seemed simply too inferiorpared to this creature.

    Staring at the figure that was gradually condensing, none of themmunicated with each other, but they raised their weapons at the same time. The gems of the staffs radiated bright rays of lights, and the massive mana condensed before sting towards the dark mist in the sky. With the sounds of a bowstring being pulled and released, the sharp arrows that glowed with magic light seemed to dart into the ck mist like meteors. Even the prideful unicorn began to shoot out some sacred light from its spiral horn.

    Instantly, the sounds of explosion filled the air and the ck mist in the sky was blown away before condensing again. Later on, it was again burst open and rolled amidst the clouds like tidal waves. Everyone almost put in all of their power and disyed their strongest techniques in hopes of destroying or killing the Undead creature before it was fully awakened.

    However, when the roar subsided, the magic light faded, and the scene in the sky once again caught everyone¡¯s eyes. They were all dumbfounded. The rolling ck mist was still as thick as ever, and the figure gestating in it was extremely solid. It was as if the attacks never happened.

    ¡°What exactly is that!?!¡± Staring at the figure in the sky, even Elder Randy could not control himself or stop his body from quaking. He reckoned that even the Green Dragon King that had brought everyone despair might not be able to withstand the crazy attacks just now. However, the figure was not only unharmed, it didn¡¯t seem to slow down at all.

    ¡°No matter what, even without the protection of the dark mist, that guy is very likely to reach level-24. Once he awakens, I¡¯m afraid...¡± Cheyenne gripped the staff tightly in his hand, and horror was written all over his face.

 Chapter 684 - Tide of Death

    <h4>Chapter 684: Tide of Death</h4>

    Even if Cheyenne didn¡¯t mention it, everyone knew and understood what an Undead creature that was most likely level-24 meant for himself and others. Although Elder Randy was a level-23 Druid who was just one level away from level-24, his abilities were definitely way worse. Level-24 was the strongest level below the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, this ce was obviously the territory of that formidable Undead creature.

    <i>Damn it, if that¡¯s really that bastard Osric, these people definitely wouldn¡¯t have the ability to retaliate. The only oue would be death!</i> Lin Li cursed bitterly in his heart, but he never looked at the sky again. Instead, he exhibited his flying skills and flew towards the Teleportation Portal.

    <i>Regardless of whether it¡¯s Osric or something else, I¡¯d better run since I can¡¯t beat it!</i> Lin Li thought. He did not think that he had the ability to challenge a level-24 Undead creature. Besides, if the creature was really Osric, the power that he exhibited would definitely be beyond level-24 since he had inherited the Immortal King¡¯s Necromagic.

    Seeing Lin Li fly towards the Teleportation Portal with his subordinates, Elder Randy and the rest suddenly snapped out of their trance. No matter how powerful the entity in the sky was, their journey woulde to an end once they left through the Teleportation Portal. If the entity were to chase after them, the level-24 Green Dragon King could deal with it, and at least help them buy some time.

    All of a sudden, a race seemed to have broken out in this Sky Castle, and the Legendary powerhouses each exhibited their powers and went all out to dash towards the Teleportation Portal. Elder Randy immediately turned into a thunder eagle and chased Lin Li and others like a bolt of lightning. The two mages Cheyenne and Culofen had naturally reached their flying limit, following closely behind Elder Randy. On the ground, the Legendary archer Gildor made his steps as light as possible, but he was not any slower than the flying mages. Although Princess Elune was the weakest, she did notg behind, and was in fact even faster than them because she was riding the unicorn.

    They looked out to see that a Legendary Array had already appeared in their field of vision, after which they immediately sped up in a bid to leave this terrifying region before the Undead creature awakened.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li suddenly felt a huge mana wave not too far ahead. Before he could even react, a massive ck gate appeared out of nowhere, blocking them from reaching the Teleportation Portal.

    Lin Li had no choice but to stop and stare at the ck door. He then swallowed his saliva forcefully with a look of dismay, and eximed, ¡°Damn it, Tide of Death!¡±

    The Tide of Death was actually not considered a rare Necromagic spell. The Necromancers who had stepped into the Legendary-realm would mostly master it. Liches like Ujfalusi had long mastered the Tide of Death as early as during the ruins of Syer Town adventure. After following Lin Li, he used it more than once.

    However, Lin Li still remembered clearly that Sendros had once mentioned that the Tide of Death could be considered one of the most powerful Necromagic spells even though it was mastered by almost every Legendary Necromancer.

    Through the Tide of Death, a Necromancer would be able to continuously summon all sorts of Undead creatures until his mana waspletely exhausted. The strength of the Tide of Deathy in the Undead creatures that it could summon, and it would continuously change together with the capability of the Necromancer as well. The more powerful the Necromancer, the more powerful the Undead creatures summoned by the Tide of Death.

    If it were a Necromancer who was on Ujfalusi¡¯s level, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t take the Tide of Death seriously at all. However, at the thought of the Undead creature in the sky possibly being Osric, Lin Li could not help but wonder what kind of Undead creatures a level-24 powerhouse would summon.

    There was no need to guess or wait. In an instant, countless Undead creatures emerged out of the dark gate like a flood. In the tides of Undead creatures, there was not a single low-level Undead creature. Even the Skeletal Warriors were at least level-16 and level-17. The rest, the Hell Ghouls, Vampires and Liches, were at least level-18, and many of them were near the Legendary-level.

    Immediately after the Undead creatures surged out, three Humerus Wyrms immediately roared silently. Many Legendary Necromancers would mostly only summon Humerus Wyrms after they inherited the soul fire of Dragon Crystals, but the Humerus Wyrms were mostly a kind of hybrid. However, everyone could now sense that the three Humerus Wyrms had truly inherited the Dragon Crystals and Wyrm bones.

    However, that was not the end. There was a Legendary Vampire that was in the form of a bat behind the Humerus Wyrm and a Legendary Skeletal Warrior that was emanating a gilded glow. There were also more than 20 Legendary Undead creatures and a Legendary Lich that was holding a Skeleton Staff high up in the air, all of whom were blocking Lin Li.

    Lin Li and others did not hesitate at all, while the Undead Army had already rushed forwards like a surging tide. At this time, everyone knew that they only had one choice, and that was to go all out and fight. Regardless of how many Undead creatures there were in front of them, charging forwards was the only way they could have a silver lining. Yes, they had to go all out and not allow the Undead Army to stop them. They had to find a way out before the strong and powerful Undead creature awakened. Other actions would only cause them to fall into the abyss of death.

    Lin Li summoned the Crimson Dragon and the Demon Gordon immediately. Before the two summoned creatures fought with the Undead creatures, Lin Li¡¯s Helios¡¯ Scepter had already shot out a dazzling ray of light. Huge ice cubes fell onto the Undead creatures from the air, and every one thatnded would explode with extreme chilliness that caused the surrounding Undead creatures to freeze. They then shattered immediately with the sounds of ss breaking.

    The level-20 magical Snowstorm was still exerting its power, but Lin Li had already raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter again. With the end of the spell, arge ice ball was shot at the crowd. It spun at high speed and continuously sprayed hail at the Undead creatures, seemingly trying to slit them.

    Lin Li did not consider preserving his mana at all. He continued to release Legendary magic one by one. The Snowstorm had just begun to show some signs of losing power, yet burning boulders already seemed to fall onto the Undead creatures like a meteor shower. As soon as the frequency of the falling boulders decreased, the Thunderbolt pirs crashed down again, while the Legendary Magic ice balls continuously condensed like low-level ice bullets. They continuously darted at the Undead creatures and harvested them like wheat.

    After summoning the Crimson Dragon, Ujfalusi did not exert his own Tide of Death, but continued to perform serial Corpse Explosions. In the face of the enemy¡¯s powerful Undead Army, his own Tide of Death would only be useful when summoning thest few Undead creatures.

    Norfeller held his dagger and dashed towards two Legendary Vampires like a bolt of lightning. He was tackling two enemies, but he managed to hit one of them. Although he was also a Legendary Vampire, Norfeller grew after consuming the blood of wyrms. Not only was he faster, he was far stronger.

    The silver dragon that Elder Randy had transformed into already collided with the three Humerus Wyrms forcefully, without any fancy technique and only with brute force. Faced with the attack of the Humerus Wyrms, he did not dodge, but instead seized the time to attack them.

    The Legendary archer Gildor constantly stroked the bowstring with his fingers, and he managed to create a continuous series of attacks with his Seven Star Archery Skill. The arrows shot into the Undead creatures and shattered them into pieces. Culofen, who specialized in fire magic, stood beside Gildor, but he did not allow the injury of his right arm to affect his performance. His staff continuously glistened and Fire Rain surged towards the Undead creatures wave after wave.

    A melodious song suddenly sounded, and a sharp arrow shot through the air before appearing behind the Undead Army and extinguishing the soul fire of a Legendary Lich. Princess Elune was not strong, and although the Song of Heart was infinitely powerful, the role it could y was very limited when faced with the Undead Army. However, the weaker Undead creatures became her targets.

    The Winged Angel summoned by Cheyenne went against the Legendary Vampires who were also known for their speed. The sounds of collisions could be heard in the air. However, they could not see the Winged Angel and Vampires at all. Cheyenne waved his Dark Moon Staff in the air, and huge tornado raged across the Undead Army, causing the Undead creatures to be drawn into it without resistance, and thus containing them. They were then shredded into pieces.

    Staring at the huge waves and the golden skeletons that were surging towards him, Lin Li immediately activated his Light and Darkness Domain. Under the shower of Holy Light, the golden skeletons burst with ck fumes, and a few Angels of Light and Dark surged forward. Instead of fighting, they detonated and caused two Legendary golden skeletons to be destroyed and turn into ashes immediately.

 Chapter 685 - Endless and Infinite

    <h4>Chapter 685: Endless and Infinite</h4>

    The purification effect of Holy Light on Undead creatures was still too slow for Lin Li. Hence, after getting rid of the two golden skeletons, he immediately put away his Light and Darkness Domain. The Snowstorm once again began to condense over the heads of the Undead creatures. As the huge pieces of ice fell, the frozen ice balls immediately flew towards the Undead creatures.

    The numerous Undead creatures swarmed towards them again, and were soon destroyed. Even though the Undead creatures were strong, the all-out attacks by Lin Li and the rest left them with no choice but to be defeated. However, Lin Li and the rest did not manage to advance much just because of this, because the ck door had yet to close, and Undead creatures were surging out of it continuously.

    In terms of results, Lin Li and the other Legendary powerhouses had definitely achieved results that they had never even imagined through their maniacal and unrestrained attacks.

    However, despite the tremendous results they had achieved, none of them looked in the least bit relieved. All of their attacks were urate and none of them missed at all. They managed to form various empty spots amongst the Undead creatures, but their attacks did not leave anysting traces behind, as if they were stones being thrown into theke that created ripples which were instantly smoothed out by theke water.

    The numbers of Undead creatures that they had killed continued to increase. However, their speed was far slower than the rate at which the Undead creatures were emerging from the darkness. The ground and the sky were both covered with Undead creatures. Not only did Lin Li and the rest not rush over, they even gradually began to retreat under the impact of the swarming Undead Army.

    Everyone knew that if they wanted to kill the Undead Army, it would seem impossible to do so at this juncture. However, they also knew that they had no other choice, and the consequence of staying behind would be facing the strong Undead creature nearing the Sanctuary-realm. They would rather face an Undead Army that was continuously charging forward and fight for a near-impossible chance to survive than face the terrifying Undead creature that was about to awaken in the sky.

    However, things did not always go ording to one¡¯s will. The Undead Army grew stronger despite the massacre, but the fierce and urate attacks of the people gradually weakened after a while. That was not because the attacks required too much power, but mostly because the situation in front of them made them hesitate.

    Although everyone knew that killing was the only way out of this ce, their chances of doing so would decrease continuously as the number of Undead creatures of the Undead Army increased. They had no choice but to reconsider. If the Undead creature in the sky were to really awaken before they could escape, they would end up dead once their power was depleted.

    However, they also knew clearly that they would have a hard time escaping from the powerful Undead creature nearing the Sanctuary-realm even if they remained in the state where they were at the peak of their power. However, no one knew how the situation would change until the very end. Perhaps there might be an opportunity, perhaps...

    The silver dragon that Elder Randy had transformed into soon got rid of the three Humerus Wyrms, but his reckless fighting caused him to sustain multiple wounds. Before he could even catch his breath, a few new Humerus Wyrms began surrounding them again...

    Culofen turned as pale as a sheet. The arrows shot by Gildor gradually became sparse, and while Princess Elune¡¯s Song of Heart was still sounding in the air from time to time, it was no longer as dominant as when it shot the Undead creatures to death. The unicorn stomped its legs onto the ground in frustration while continuously emitting lightning from the sharp horn on its head. However, it was much weaker than before.

    Cheyenne had already summoned the Winged Angel back to his side. The Dark Moon Staff was still shing every now and then, but the magic he cast was not as dense as before. Although every spell he cast could still destroy many Undead creatures, he was obviously still feeling conflicted and hesitant.

    Among all people, Lin Li was the only one who was still continuouslyunching strong attacks. Be it the powerful magical equipment or the huge mental strength foundation, the mana depletion was insignificant for Lin Li. Legendary magic was just like basic beginner magic to Lin Li. He continuously exerted magic to get rid of the Undead creatures.

    However, Lin Li was still just at the peak of level-22 at the end of the day, regardless of how massive his mental strength and how infinite his mana was. Although one¡¯s abilities were not entirely determined by their level most of the time, their level still represented their understanding and mastery of nomological power. Lin Li could now maintain a steady output of mana, but could not increase the amount of mana released, because he was limited by his level. Hence, he couldn¡¯t cause great damage to the Undead Army.

    Lin Li had already sensed the changes in everyone else, but he could not me anyone, because he knew clearly that the chances of killing the Undead Army and breaking through were slim even if they were still going all out like before.

    The Undead Army was still growing continuously, and the Undead creatures surged out of the ck door with no signs of stopping. In the sky, the extremely powerful shadow became more and more solid, and seemed to be awakening soon. It was a powerful existence that was nearing the Sanctuary-realm. Once it awakened, they would probably be unable to even push through one round.

    <i>This can¡¯t go on anymore. I have to find another way to solve the problem now. Otherwise, it will be no different from waiting for death,</i> Lin Li thought to himself with a frown. He began to brainstorm for another solution to escape while being faced with the endless Undead Army.

    All of a sudden, the 36 towers popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind. Everything that they were going through and had encountered was clearly caused by the Psychic Array. Since they couldn¡¯t get rid of the Undead Army or contend with the Undead creature that was awakening in the sky, could they try to solve the problem and get out of the situation by tackling the source?

    At this moment, under the influence of the Psychic Array, the entire Sky Castle had already be an Undead realm. The substantial death aura was 100 times stronger than that in the true Undead world. In the space covered by the Psychic Array, all of the Undead creatures were shrouded in magic tides that allowed their strength to double. Even the power of Lin Li, Ujfalusi, Norfeller, and the two Humerus Wyrms was greatly enhanced.

    There was also Necromagic. Even the Deathfire Bombs thrown out by the Hell Ghouls or the Bone Spears tossed by the Liches, which were low-level magic, were clearly strengthened as well. As for the high-level Necromagic that was used by the Legendary Undead creatures, their power was all enhanced greatly by the Psychic Array.

    Even the Tide of Death was no longer being supported by the powerful Undead creature in the sky at the moment, but the Psychic Array was also supporting and continuously summoning the Undead Army. With the huge power of the Psychic Array, it probably would not take too long for the entire Sky Castle to be filled with Undead creatures.

    Moreover, Lin Li also found that almost all of the Undead creatures that had been destroyed did not have their soul fire annihted immediately. Instead, it disappeared when the Undead creatures were destroyed. Obviously, it was one of the tricks yed by the Psychic Array. To the Undead creatures, there was nothing more nourishing than soul fire. Not only was the unrestrained killing of the Undead creatures of no help to them, it even helped supplement the Undead creature in the sky.

    However, despite knowing this, Lin Li still could not let everyone stop. At the rate that the Undead Army was growing, there¡¯d soon be no ce for them in the Sky Castle. By then, there would be no need to wait for the Undead creature in the sky to awaken. The Undead Army itself was enough to drown them out.

    Lin Li knew very well that the Psychic Array was extremely powerful, but a doubt of his regarding the source of power of the Psychic Array also popped up at the same time. Under normal circumstances, the Psychic Array would turn all magical elements in the surroundings into the power of death that could be used to gestate Undead creatures.

    However, the Sky Castle now could be said to have no connection with Anril, since it had already entered the chaotic flow of time and space through the cracks in space. Coupled with the Nether Storm that was shrouding the Sky Castle, the sparse magical elements were not enough to support the role of the Psychic Array, let alone gestate a powerful Undead creature that was nearing the Sanctuary-realm.

    Therefore, the current Psychic Array definitely did not use mana that came from the free magical elements in space. It was very likely to havee from the kic system, which was the same as the other Mageweath arrays and Alchemy Arrays in the Sky Castle. Only the kic system with infinite mana could make the Psychic Array exert such powerful effects.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li seemed to have finally gotten some clue. If he could disable the Psychic Array, the Undead creature in the sky might slow down or even pause in its awakening process. The Tide of Death that summoned the Undead Army would likely end as well.

    Li suddenly stopped casting spells, and summoned the Crimson Dragon to his side. The Crimson Dragon had its abilities greatly enhanced by the Psychic Array, just like the enemy¡¯s Undead creatures. It was even approaching level-21. After being summoned by Lin Li, it surrounded the Undead creatures and did not allow any one of them to escape.

 Chapter 686 - Ghost

    <h4>Chapter 686: Ghost</h4>

    Lin Li controlled the Crimson Dragon and nced at the Undead Army that was as vast as ocean below. Without hesitation, he turned around and flew towards a tower that was rather far away.

    Seeing that Lin Li had suddenly left, Cheyenne and Elder Randy felt their hearts sink; none of them knew what the young mage Lin Li had gone to do at this moment. In their opinion, it was most likely that he had already abandoned them and escaped.

    Cheyenne and Elder Randy still remembered clearly that there was still a corridor that was full of danger on thest floor of the Central Tower. Lin Li was also the only one who could pass through the corridor and enter the hall behind it. If he had really gone back to that ce, probably even the terrifying Undead creature in the sky couldn¡¯t pass through the corridor that was full of traps.

    The space traps in the corridor were created by the Immortal King with power that was almost as strong as the deities. Even if the power of the Undead creatures in the Sky Castle had reached the Sanctuary-level, they still could not break through the blockade of the space traps. It could be said that the sixth floor was the only safe ce in the entire Sky Castle after the Undead creature awakened.

    Of course, they also knew that if they were trapped in that hall, they might not be able toe out for a while. Unless they had reached the Sanctuary-realm and had the strength to fight against the Undead creatures, they would probably die in there. However, they thought about how young Lin Li was and the achievements that he had made. They reckoned that he might reallye back after reaching the Sanctuary-realm, especially since he had the massive magical crystal of the Tree of Eternity.

    Staring at the back of Lin Li who had left, Elder Randy and Cheyenne were filled withplicated emotions all of a sudden. There were jealousy and envy within them, as well as a hint of resentment, even though they all knew that no one was obliged to die together with them and it was actually quite normal for everyone to split up when things got tough.

    In fact, Lin Li had long thought about retreating to the Central Tower because the space traps in the corridor could definitely keep them safe. However, he did not want to hide there unless it was thest resort. Besides, he was no longer alone now. He still had to take care of the Tower of Dusk that was established after he put in painstaking efforts. He did not want it to be gone by the time he was powerful enough to leave.

    More importantly, Lin Li also remembered and was concerned about Osric¡¯s mausoleum where there was very likely to be the debris of the stars, Nothingness, which would y very important role in his promotion to the Sanctuary-realm. If he had the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, staying in the Sanctuary-realm for a while did seem to be a good choice. However, he only had four pieces of the debris of the stars now, and making it to the Sanctuary-realm was undoubtedly even more difficult.

    While maneuvering and riding the Crimson Dragon, Lin Li rose into the air and looked down at the towers below. The 36 towers that formed the Psychic Array were also the magic nodes of the huge Conquering Mageweath. Under Lin Li¡¯s control, the Crimson Dragon slowly rotated and moved from the tower to the surrounding streets, and then to the buildings around it. Lin Li could see everything.

    ording to spection, if the power of the Psychic Array was not obtained by converting the magical elements in the space, there then had to be an input channel for other energy. Lin Li would only be able toe up with a method that could affect the operation of the Psychic Array urately by knowing the origin of its power.

    The Psychic Array wasposed of 36 towers. What was the core of the towers, and how did they connected together closely to form the Psychic Array? As for the driving force, how did the other forces function in the Psychic Array and turn into Death Energy?

    The towers were part of the Psychic Array and also the magic nodes of the Conquering Mageweath. Although the cobweb-like streets were not veryplicated, it still wasn¡¯t easy to distinguish between the two. Moreover, given the current situation, there was no time to think or calcte and measure. They could only rely on their eyes and knowledge.

    Lin Li frowned and kept his eyes glued to the patterns painted on the surface of the streets while his mind processed various information at a high speed. After finding the relevant information about Psychic Arrays, he decided to tackle the origin of mana.

    However, when Lin Li saw the part about the input of mana, he could not help but be stunned. After he chased all the way to the end, he actually discovered that although the towers were part of the Psychic Array, the power was transmitted to the array using the streets that constituted the Conquering Mageweath.

    ¡°This... This is incredible!¡± Lin Li was stunned by this discovery. It was not as simple as stacking two designs together. Instead, it was equivalent to embellishing the Conquering Mageweath in the Psychic Array.

    Be it the mageweaths or the mageweath arrays, both were extremely rigorous disciplines where mistakes were not allowed. A minor change in the patterns or nodes during the inscription might result in the failure of the entire mageweath array. The Conquering Mageweath an Psychic Array in front of Lin Li seemed to be a pair of conjoined twins with different brains but the same heart.

    Of course, it was not a w of the Psychic Array. On the contrary, no matter who created this Psychic Array, it definitely took some skills to make it so simple and efficient. Even Lin Li might not be able to do it himself.

    Lin Li decided that he would definitely carefully study the special connections between the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath if he had the time to do so. He believed that even though he had reached the level of a Guru of Inscription, he could still get a lot of inspiration from it. Unfortunately, time was what Lin Licked the most now. The Undead Army seemed to have filled almost half of the Sky Castle. The terrifying aura on top of his head was also bing more and more intense as if the Undead creature was about to awaken anytime soon.

    Just as Lin Li was thinking about dealing with the Psychic Array, he suddenly got goosebumps and was overwhelmed with horror. Lin Li, who had a telepathic connection, looked up in the sky to see that there was a pair of reddened eyes watching him fiercely through the thick ck mist.

    ¡°Connoris, could that guy in the sky really be Osric? If he¡¯s really Osric, his power is probably beyond that of the Sanctuary-realm, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lin Li could already clearly feel the mana wave that wasing from the Undead creature in the sky. Now, the Undead creature was soon to be awakened, but it was still far from reaching the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Highlord Osric was truly a powerhouse above the Sanctuary-realm back then. Since he had already inherited all of the Immortal King¡¯s Necromagic, there seemed to be no reason for him to fall back into the Sanctuary-realm when turning into an Undead creature even if he would inevitably lose some power. The understanding of Laws would not disappear because of the weakening of mana.

    ...Unless Osric met with a mishap during the transformation and lost some of his knowledge, but the possibility would be really low. If it were another Necromancer, it might still happen with a mistake, but Osric was an absolute genius in the Dark Age and the disciple of the Immortal King.

    ¡°Well... I¡¯m not too sure, either. I¡¯m sure what that Undead creature looks like, and it does resemble Osric greatly, be it in terms of appearance or mana wave.¡± Connoris found it hard to exin too, but having spent so many years with Osric, he felt that there was no way he would mistake the figure for Osric if it wasn¡¯t him.

    ¡°No, no, there is definitely a problem. Even if Osric turns himself into an Undead creature, he should have been turned into a Lich. There¡¯s no need for him to gestate in this Psychic Array for so many years. Even Osric¡¯s younger brother has sessfully converted himself into a Lich. With Osric¡¯s ingenuity, he definitely wouldn¡¯t make such low-level mistakes.¡± Lin Li was filled with bewilderment, but now was not the time to focus on figuring out the identity of the Undead creature. Instead, he should be trying to find a way to solve the problem in front of him. He shook his head and maneuvered the Crimson Dragon to fly towards a tower.

    However, at this moment, he saw a force being separated from the Undead Army. A few Humerus Wyrms and Vampires flew straight towards Lin Li, clearly trying to stop him from approaching the tower.

    Lin Li was slightly shocked. Ever since the Tide of Death appeared, the Undead Army was continuously summoned, and they blocked them from reaching the Teleportation Portal. However, they did not seem to have a clear mission, and were just instinctively attacking the enemies nearby. However, the emergence of this force now showed that there seemed to be amander behind them, which was none other than the Undead creature in the sky.

    ¡°That guy is almost awakening!¡± Lin Li was also anxious. If the Undead creature above him really awakened, he probably wouldn¡¯t have the chance to escape to the central tower at all.

    Thinking of this, Lin Li immediately summoned Norfeller and Ujfalusi to help him block the Undead creatures. Lin Li himself thennded the Crimson Dragon and flew towards the tower using his own flying techniques.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, I¡¯ve got it!¡± Connoris eximed, sounding slightly excited.

    ¡°Tell me then. I don¡¯t have time to y the riddles with you,¡± Lin Li said while waving the Helios¡¯ Scepter and firing dozens of Thousand Miles of Ice to freeze a Humerus Wyrm that was getting in his way.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Ghost. It definitely is. It can¡¯t be wrong,¡± said Connoris, who also knew that it was not time to bicker with Lin Li now. He quickly told Lin Li of his conjecture firmly.

    Lin Li finallynded on a tower in front, and the Helios¡¯ Scepter continued to shine while the magic was exhibited one after other, instantly wiping out the Undead creatures scattered all over the ce. At the same time, he also asked Connoris, ¡°What kind of Undead creature are Ghosts? Are they even Undead creatures too?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if they are part of the Undead creatures, but I know that this Ghost is very likely to have been created by Connoris using the Eternal Furnace back then.¡± Although Connoris was an ancient devil, there were plenty of other Undead creatures in addition to those that appeared frequently. However, the Undead creature in the sky did share the same appearance and aura as Osric. Although it couldn¡¯t be Osric, it was definitely rted to Osric.

    ¡°Undead creature created by Osric using the Eternal Furnace?¡± Upon hearing Connoris¡¯ment, Lin Li could not help but be shocked. Creating life had always been regarded as a godly action. Although Osric created only an Undead creature, they could also be regarded as another form of life in a sense.

    ¡°In the beginning, Osric made this thing with the soul of 100,000 rebels and a clone of himself made in the Eternal Furnace. Later, he named it ¡®Ghost¡¯,¡± Connoris exined as he thought about Osric whom he admired, even though thetter sealed him in a hammer.

    Connoris was an ancient deity, and to him, human beings were just one of the many life forms that had appeared in Anril. Just like Osric that used the souls of 100,000 rebels as materials, those spirits were not very precious to him, either.

    However, Lin Li still could not help but gasp after hearing the origin of the Ghost even though he¡¯d himselfe to Anril from another world. He thought, <i>Damn it, Osric lives up to his nickname the Butcher. He used the souls of 100,000 rebels as Alchemy materials. No wonder that era was called the Dark Age. No wonder the High Elves were annihted after they got overthrown, and even failed to keep the Tree of Eternity.</i>

    Lin Li did not know if there was reincarnation for souls in this world. Perhaps, after the 100,000 rebels were killed, the souls would disperse after a long time. However, the pain that the souls had born when being smelted together in the Eternal Furnace was truly unimaginable.

    However, Lin Li was very clear that those things had already happened, and there was no point for him to worry about it. Anyway, the High Elves had already been destroyed. At least, he now knew that the Undead creature in the sky was not Osric, but an entity called Ghost.

 Chapter 687 - Cracking the Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 687: Cracking the Mageweath</h4>

    However, given the infinite power of that Ghost that was nearing the Sanctuary-realm, this information was not very useful to Lin Li. When the difference in strength reached a certain level, it would not be easy to make use of weaknesses. Hence, Lin Li stopped thinking about what weaknesses of the Ghost he could use, and decided to continue with his n to focus on dealing with the Psychic Array, which he found to be realistic.

    After the observation just now, Lin Li had basically already understood some things about the Psychic Array which had a symbiotic or parasitic rtionship with the Conquering Mageweath. Although the magic circuits that provided power were shared, another system of magic circuits had been extending to introduce power into the Psychic Array.

    It was indeed a wonderful idea. In this space where magical elements were scarce, the Psychic Array could actually share the same mana source as the Conquering Mageweath, without having to set up another source. <i>As long as there is no problem in the Conquering Mageweath, there will not be any issues with the Psychic Array, and it can then continue using the power from the Conquering Mageweath.</i>

    However, even though many people could think of this, they might not be able to realize this method if they did not have high attainments in inscriptions and magic. Be it the Conquering Mageweath or the Psychic Array, they were both top-grade entities in their respective fields. Even Lin Li was not confident of making changes to both.

    There seemed to be a channel that led the water to another direction beside the river. However, when implementing it, the issues to be considered were not so simple. The mana was not a stream of water that could be channeled in another direction. The magic circuit of the Conquering Mageweath was not like the river banks, either; hence, a hole could not be opened beside it. Once the mana leaked, the entire mageweath would be destroyed, and worse still, even the Sky Castle would suffer severe consequences.

    There were also other reasons why Lin did not directly destroy the Conquering Mageweath, and instead resorted to other methods. One was to use the streets of the Conquering Mageweath as a magic circuit. The materials used for the streets might not be destroyed even by Legendary magic. Secondly, it was also because the consequences would be dire if he were to destroy the Conquering Mageweath and cause a leak in the mana source. Third, after Lin Li got the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle, he began to regard it as his own even though he still had no strength to control it.

    As for the Psychic Array, it was already connected to the Conquering Mageweath, and there would be no difference between destroying the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath. Moreover, it was also a good thing to Lin Li. Although he was a mage, he had a good affinity with Undead creatures for some reason. Even his two servants were Undead creatures. If he had the chance to control the Sky Castle in the future, he could perhaps let Norfeller¡¯s and Ujfalusi¡¯s power advance by leaps and bounds.

    Of course, those issues were too distant. Time waited for no man. If Lin Li had no way to ovee this difficulty, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to control the Sky Castle or Conquering Mageweath.

    Lin Li suspended himself in mid-air and carefully looked at the ground. He could not help but sigh. <i>No matter who left this behind, it indeed is superb,</i> he thought.

    The magic circuit of the Psychic Array was seamlessly integrated with the magic circuit of the Conquering Mageweath, yet there were no traces of it at all. It was as if the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath were originally one whole. However, at the same time, there seemed to be no way to find the spots where they connected.

    With the support of the powerful source of mana, the power of the Psychic Array could be maximized. Of course, that was the only way the powerful towers could be used as magic nodes. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the creator thereof might be, it would be impossible to use the towers to arrange the Psychic Array, because it wouldpletely vite the rules of the world.

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi had already dealt with their opponents ande to Lin Li¡¯s side, feeling like they ought to act as his guardians. When Lin Li looked at the sky, the appearance of the Ghost became clearer. Most of his body seemed to be protruding from the dark mist, filled with infinite resentment and staring at Lin Li.

    In the distance, Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the others were not too optimistic. Without the support of Lin Li, they could only retreat when faced with the growing Undead Army. The endless Undead Army was almost filling up half of the Sky Castle. Even the roofs along the streets were filled with Undead creatures.

    Now that time was running out, Lin Li scanned the surroundings and realized that he was on the verge of despair. He guessed that he probably only had 10 seconds; he could no longer afford to hesitate or dy. If he could not turn the situation around within 10 seconds, he would not be able to escape from the Undead creature even if they were extremely powerful.

    Lin Li flew onto the ground and faced the tower, after which a crystal pen appeared in his hand. Without hesitation, Lin Li waved it in his hand and a hazy radiance glowed, leaving a clear race of light on the tower. In the blink of an eye, the inscription of the three powerful mageweaths waspleted.

    In fact, after discovering the rtionship between the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath, Lin Li had already begun to think about how to cut off the magic circuit of the Psychic Array. However, when he was trying to find a ce to start, the two had almost merged into a whole entity, causing Lin Li to dy. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been pressed for time.

    The three mageweaths Lin Li just painted on the base of the tower were named Fergaro, Max, and Buwanga. Although the three mageweaths werepleted instantly, they were all Guru-level. Any mageweath was enough for most Inscription Masters to study for a lifetime. It would be impossible to create a perfect one without decades of umtion of experience.

    Lin Li was not making a mountain out of a molehill, but the mana source was really domineering. When the Conquering Mageweath was created, every resident in the Sky Castle could integrate himself into the castle anytime and use its power. It would be no exaggeration to say that the terrifying mageweath would make everyone be godly.

    In this world, power was not born out of thin air, and the mana source that could support such a daunting Conquering Mageweath was beyond explicable by words. The Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath shared the same mana source, and even a small portion contained shocking and massive amounts of mana.

    Hence, if he wanted to break this massive mana, it would still be hard to do so using a Guru-level mageweath. It was a pity that Lin Li¡¯s attainment in Inscription was only on the Guru level, and he could only use the three mageweaths to add on to his current ones.

    The effect of Fergaro¡¯s Mageweath was devouring mana, which was a control over the amount of that mana. Lin Li hoped to reduce some of the mana from the magic circuit. Otherwise, the massive mana would just wash everything away like a flood.

    The effect of the Max Mageweath was control over the intensity and strength of the mana. Although the mana in the magic circuit had been reduced due to Fergaro Mageweath, the impact of that mana was also rather powerful, which was the reason the Conquering Mageweath and Psychic Array had such strong magic nodes. Only those 36 towers could withstand the impact of the mana.

    After being devoured by Fergaro Mageweath and then weakened by Max Mageweath, the mana in the magic circuit of the Psychic Array would be less intense. Meanwhile, the effect of the third mageweath, Buwanga, was to release the mana.

    However, the greatest characteristic of the Psychic Array was to convert the mana in space into the Power of Death. Hence, simply releasing the mana would not cause too much of an impact on the Psychic Array. There would at most just be a slight reduction in the effect of the Psychic Array.

    Hence, he added a fourth mageweath and put an end to it with the ze Trap Mageweath. The mana exhibited by the Buwanga Mageweath would be infused into the ze Trap Mageweath. At the same time, a massive power would also be exhibited in order for them to deal with the Undead Army.

    Lin Li used the four mageweaths to temporarily change the structure of the Conquering Mageweath and obstruct the flow of mana through the Psychic Array, causing it to lose the support of the mana by channeling the mana that should have been infused into the tower into the ze Trap Mageweath instead.

    Unfortunately, due to the current constraints, Lin Li did not have much time to stabilize the structure of the entire mageweath. Even though the mana was already devoured by Fergaro Mageweath and weakened by Max Mageweath, the ze Trap Mageweath could not be maintained for too long under the infusion of mana.

    Although the four mageweaths could be bnced for a short while, the ze Trap Mageweath was still too fragile, and could onlyst up to 10 minutes before getting broken by the massive mana that¡¯d cause the entire structure of the mageweath to lose its bnce. Once the ze Trap Mageweath was destroyed, the bnce would be broken, and everything would return to its original track.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. After all, they were in the Sky Castle where the source of mana for the Conquering Mageweath was simply too massive, and it could not be digested by a few mageweaths that were formed hastily. Besides, even if Lin Li had enough time to consolidate the entire mageweath structure, it would at most extend the 10-minute period by a little instead of resulting in a substantial change.

    Lin Li also knew very well that buying time did not have much practical significance in the situation that he and the others were in. If he could not open the path to the Teleportation Portal within 10 minutes, then it wouldn¡¯t matter how much time he could buy, because once the Ghost in the sky awakened, its terrifying power that was near the Sanctuary-realm would overwhelm everyone. Even if he were to take out his debris of the stars, he would not be able to pose much of a threat to the Ghost that was near the Sanctuary-realm, because he did not truly have Stars of Fury.

    Right after putting his pen away andpleting the four mageweaths, Lin Li continued to fly towards another tower. Although Norfeller and Ujfalusi had no idea what their master was doing, they knew what their mission was without needing any instructions from him. The two Undead creatures flew towards their master in a bid to block the Undead creatures that were getting in their way.

    However, just as they were about to approach their master, they noticed that he had drawn a few dazzling mageweaths, and was flying towards another tower.

    There were 36 towers and 144 master-level mageweaths, but Lin Li only had 10 seconds. For many people, 10 seconds was probably the time needed for just a few blinks and a few breaths. However, for Lin Li, he had to go around the 36 towers of the Sky Castle and leave behind four mageweaths below each one within 10 seconds. Besides, Lin Li also had to ensure that the mageweaths he had drawn would not go wrong. Otherwise, all of his efforts would be in vain.

    The dark mist in the sky seemed to have be thinner, but the death aura from the Ghost was getting more intense, and the tall figure became clearer. A faint roar of thunder could even be heard vaguely. They felt extremely oppressed by the massive power that was near the Sanctuary-realm, causing them fear.

    On the ground, the Tide of Death was continuously summoning Undead creatures, and the Undead Army was growing at a rapid rate. They were densely packed and devouring every inch of space in the Sky Castle. The endless Undead Army surged towards them wave after wave, so much that Cheyenne and Elder Randy had no time to breathe at all. The attacks of the Undead creatures were getting much more frenzied too.

    Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the rest had agony written all over their faces. They¡¯d initially thought that the quest had ended sessfully, with each of them making great gains. They¡¯d thought that their power would definitely surge after they returned. In fact, when they¡¯d got the items, they begun to fantasize about the benefits those things could bring to their forces, and how they could develop rapidly.

    However, now that they were facing the overbearing Undead Army, their hearts sunk to rock bottom. All of their fantasies seemed extremely ridiculous. Regardless of what they had obtained, it would all just be in vain.

    What did that young mage who left in advance do? Did he really retreat back to the Central Tower? Or could he be creating some miracles at this moment?

 Chapter 688 - Undead Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 688</h4>

    <h4>: Undead Heaven</h4>

    For Lin Li, Elder Randy, and Cheyenne, 10 seconds was like a countdown to the end of their lives. Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the rest could no longer be bothered to think about what they could do; all they knew was that they were desperately resisting the attacks from the Undead creatures. Judging from the situation in front of them, they could tell that they would probably get killed by the overwhelming Undead creatures before the Ghost in the sky even awakened.

    The Undead creatures were continuouslying forth in a bid to stop Lin Li. However, Lin Li¡¯s flying skills were already at the maximum. It was almost reaching the point of teleporting, and even Norfeller could not catch up with Lin Li. Since the Undead creatures had yet to fill up the Sky Castle, they could not do anything to Lin Li.

    Lin Li frowned and pursed his lips while continuously urging himself to hurry up. He had never found time to be so precious before, and finally understood why others considered time to be life. If he couldn¡¯t finish the mageweaths within 10 seconds even once, he would lose everything even if he only had one tower left.

    Lin Li was channeling his maximum mental strength, while mana rolled continuously within him, almost emerging from his body. He could no longer see anything apart from the towers, not even the Ghost in the sky nor Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the rest.

    Even Lin Li himself had no idea if he couldplete all of the mageweaths within such a short period of time. All he could do was think of every possible means to speed up using his mental strength and mana. It seemed that Lin Li¡¯s shadow would only show when he was drawing a mageweath. He waved the Inscription crystal pen in his hand and drew a mageweath while mana continuously poured out. Before the glow disappeared, he had already arrived in front of another tower and was repeating his actions.

    The Undead creatures which received instructions and were preparing to stop Lin Li had no choice but to change their direction and move away after receiving another order. The Undead creatures actually turned around helplessly while receiving continuous orders because they had no idea where to go to catch Lin Li.

    Within just 10 seconds, 144 Guru-level mageweaths were drawn on 36 towers. It was an impressive feat that probably no one would believe. 10 seconds was not enough for one to even walk through the 36 towers, let alone draw Guru-level mageweaths. The requirements for the mana and mental strength of the 144 Guru-level mageweaths were absolutely terrifying.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li¡¯s power had already reached the peak of level-22 and he had gotten a breakthrough in his understanding of nomological power, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve such great speed even if he could also draw several mageweaths. He wouldn¡¯t be able to draw so many, either.

    Fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was continuously growing at a high speed under the stimtion of the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal ring. Also fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was purified again by the massive controlling magical crystal. That was the very reason Lin Li chose to take this dangerous path. It was not because he was underestimating his own strength, but because he knew where his abilities were.

    If Lin Li¡¯s current strength was the same as when he¡¯d first arrived in the Sky Castle, the first thing he would do would be to return to the sixth floor of the Central Tower to seek refuge from the space traps created by the Immortal King. He didn¡¯t care if he would be trapped in there or not, because survival was the most important thing at the moment.

    However, Lin Li was very clear about his strength, and knew what he could and could not do. Going around 36 towers and drawing 144 mageweaths within 10 seconds did seem absolutely impossible for others, but Lin Li was confident about giving it a try.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    An angry roar sounded in the sky, and thick ck mist burst out from the Ghost. It seemed to be able to kill all of insignificant people below it. The Undead Army broke into an uproar, and the devouring speed of the Door of Darkness was significantly faster, while arge number of Undead creatures swarmed out.

    Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the others had already retreated as far as they could, and they were already leaning against the base of the Central Tower behind them, looking desperately at the Undead creatures that were swarming around. Cheyenne was as pale as a sheet, and his weak hands trembled while he held onto his Dark Moon Staff. Everyone else around him was extremely disheveled, and even the sacred unicorn was covered in wounds.

    <i>Thest tower!</i> Lin Li suddenly appeared, but there were countless Undead creatures around the tower. Lin Li didn¡¯t even bother to cast a defensive spell. As soon as he appeared, he quickly raised his hand and drew a mageweath on tower using the crystal pen before the Undead creatures even responded.

    The gilded Skeletal Warriors raised their sharp des in the air and shot them at Lin Li who was standing in the middle from all directions. However, when the swords almost touched Lin Li, he finally finished thest mageweath, and his surroundings seemed to have frozen.

    Within 10 seconds, hepleted 144 Guru-level mageweaths on the 36 towers. Lin Li was almost exhausted and out of breath. His mental strength was giving him a splitting headache that made him feel weak and feeble. Afterpleting all the mageweaths, Lin Li finally realized that he could not tolerate it any longer. Facing the Undead creatures and the Necromagic that was looming over him, he could not even withdraw some mana to release a low-level defensive spell.

    Everything depended on whether his n would seed or not. Otherwise, he would face a horrible death. Lin Li did not immediately take out the huge magical crystal to help himself recover, and instead used the recovery power of the Star-scarred Robe to support himself.

    The Ghost in the sky that had been sleeping for over a millennium suddenly roared and released thick fumes of ck smoke. Almost all of his figure was exposed, and the massive death aura was shrouding the entire Sky Castle.

    <i>It finally awakened, didn¡¯t it!?</i> Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the rest were overwhelmed with disappointment, which was written all over their faces. The Undead creature in the sky was invincible, and its awakening meant that everyone wouldn¡¯t have a chance of surviving!

    However, at this moment, the 36 towers suddenly released plenty of dazzling light again at a rapid speed. When the 36 towers were lit up, the entire Sky Castle was shrouded by the zing light that was like the scorching sun. It then engulfed everything, while the thick death aura immediately vanished.

    Seeing that the ze Trap Mageweath was being activated normally, Lin Li closed his eyes to avoid the ring light. He no longer had to worry about everything else in the surroundings. The countless Necromagic spells that were flying above him vanished instantly before they evennded. The swords that almost touched Lin Li¡¯s body melted instantly like snow in the light. The Undead Army that was surrounding Lin Li was suddenly shrouded in ck mist. Even the gilded Skeletal Warriors with Legendary strength turned into ash in the blink of an eye.

    The Ghost in the sky seemed to be breaking free from the thick fumes of ck mist, but at this moment, it was drawn back by the rolling ck mist again, leaving behind only an indignant roar that filled the entire Sky Castle.

    In the magic circuit of the Conquering Mageweath, the magnificent mana had been taken over by Fergaro Mageweath and weakened by Max Mageweath, after which it got injected into the ze Trap Mageweath by Buwanga Mageweath. Despite the filtering by the three mageweaths, the mana was still extremely powerful, and the power of the ze Trap Mageweath was maximized.

    The outburst of the 36 mageweathspletely ignited the Sky Castle that was silent for a long time. The entire Sky Castle seemed to be a bright and shining sun that was engulfed by light. The infinite Undead Army melted instantly without resistance like ice in the sun.

    When the light was no longer that ring, Lin Li knew that it was time to leave. The mana source of the Conquering Mageweath was just too domineering and tyrannical. Even if he had arranged the four Guru-level mageweaths, he still could not terminate the massive mana. Once the ze Trap Mageweath copsed under the mana infusion, everything would return to its original state.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Flee!¡± Lin Li shouted loudly at Cheyenne and the rest while taking his two Undead servants with him as he flew towards the Teleportation Portal. Although the light that erupted from the ze Trap Mageweath caused great damage to the Undead creatures, Norfeller and Ujfalusi were rather strong. Hence, they bore the pain and followed their master into the light.

    Cheyenne, Elder Randy, and the rest were all stunned by this sudden change. The Undead Army had been almost drowning the entire Sky Castle. They reckoned that there were more than 1,000,000 Undead creatures in the Undead Army. No one knew what the young mage had done to annihte almost all of the Undead creatures. Even the Legendary Undead creatures turned weak under the light, and it was only a matter of time before they got destroyed by the light.

    When they heard Lin Li yell, they recovered from the shock and stared at the street that was almost free of Undead creatures. They quickly got a grip on themselves and scurried towards the Teleportation Portal. Although they did not know what Lin Li had done, the terrifying Undead creature was still present, and if they did not take the chance to escape, they would definitely regret it.

    Everyone rushed straight to the Teleportation Portal, and no one bothered to touch the weak Legendary Undead creatures even when they passed by them. Everything that they faced just now was really too terrifying; what they wanted now was to leave quickly.

    The Ghost in the sky stopped roaring indignantly, and instead began chanting something that no one could understand. There seemed to be some magic brewing in the sky.

    ¡°Hurry, hurry and flee, it¡¯s the Undead Heaven!¡±

    Connoris¡¯ shriek of horror sounded in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart suddenly sank, and he turned around to look at the others. ¡°Hurry up, that is the Undead Heaven!¡±

    After leaving this ce, Cheyenne¡¯s Malfa Family, Elder Randy, and the elves would all be the most important partners of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li didn¡¯t want the deals that he had clinched with them to be void just because they couldn¡¯t escape.

    Everyone panicked upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s yelling; they could not hide their horror at all. They tried to bear with the fatigue after the battle and did their best to raise their power to the maximum. Although they could not understand what magic spell the Undead creature chanted in the sky, no one doubted Lin Li.

    The Undead Heaven was a Necromagic spell that was said to reach level-27. The ultimate form of Necromagic was even more tyrannical than the Seven-Realm Spiral. In this space, everything would be turned into Death aura, and all living creatures would be turned into Undead creatures. They would also be forever trapped in the soul fire that was released by the caster. Even a Legendary figure would be no exception.

    Despite having just experienced a fierce battle, no one dared to let their guard down under the threat of the horrendous magic, Undead Heaven. They continuously squeezed their potential in a bid to rush into the Teleportation Portal before the Undead Heaven waspleted. However, due to the oppression by the Undead Army, everyone who¡¯d initially been already near the Teleportation Portal was now rather far away from it.

    The constant chants in the sky were like the footsteps of the reaper. When they were outside of this world, they were all prominent figures because of their Legendary power, but they were now no longer bothered about that, because escaping was their top priority. Even Elder Randy who had experienced plenty of ups and downs could not help but panic. When faced with Undead Heaven, a level-23 Legendary powerhouse was insignificant.

    Seeing that they were getting nearer and nearer to the Teleportation Portal, the chanting, too, seemed to have quickened as if it was the end of the spell. While running for their lives, they looked up to see that there was a ck glow in the sky, and it seemed that the overpowering Undead Heaven would be exploding anytime soon.

    Although Lin Li had overdrafted a lot of his mental strength and mana toplete the 144 mageweaths, he had plenty of powerful tools, which was rather fortunate. The ring of the Evil Eye Tyrant magical crystal had excellent healing effects, while the Star-scarred Robe that he got from Elder Randy aided him by continuously replenishing mana. Hence, it did not affect his speed in running away.

 Chapter 689 - The Escape In The Last Second

    <h4>Chapter 689: The Escape In The Last Second</h4>

    As soon as the ze Trap erupted, Lin Li knew that his n seeded. Hence, he immediately fled to the Teleportation Portal. Although he was initially much farther away from the Teleportation Portal than Cheyenne and the rest, he had already passed them, and could now see the outline of the Teleportation Portal.

    Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants, Norfeller and Ujfalusi, followed closely behind him. Despite facing the attacks of the ze Trap which dealt them plenty of damage since they were also Undead creatures, the truth was still apparent¡ªUjfalusi was not purely an Undead creature, while Norfeller was a level-21 Vampire which had ingested the blood of dragons. Hence, the damage done to them was not strong enough to make them too weak to escape.

    Cheyenne and the three Legendary leaders of the Dark de had been fighting each other for years, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive for so long if he hadn¡¯t been significantlypetent. No one knew what method he was using, but he was clearly flying faster than he should be, so much so that he was already closely behind Lin Li and the Undead creatures.

    Elder Randy and the other elves were thest. The intense battle just now caused them to be injured in various ways. Although Elder Randy used his healing Nature Magic, there was no time for him to stop and rest when faced with the threat of the Undead Heaven. There was only one thing everyone wanted, and that was to leave this ce as soon as possible. If they were to dy by even just one second, they could be an Undead creature or a puppet of the Undead Heaven.

    If Elder Randy turned into a thunder eagle, he would be able to make himself fly faster. However, he could not leave Princess Elune behind. During the battle just now, the sacred unicorn was heavily wounded because it tried to protect Princess Elune who was riding on its back. Hence, it was far slower than its peak speed, and it could at most catch up with them now.

    The light emitted by the ze Trap Mageweath gradually became weaker, but it was not because the structure of the mageweath was destroyed. After all, it¡¯d only been less than a minute. The weakening was caused by the magic in the sky that was almostplete. The massive Death Energy was already beginning to suppress the light.

    Finally, just as everyone was about to rush into the Teleportation Portal, the sounds of the Ghost chanting spells in the sky stopped, and a powerful burst of Death Energy erupted. The light in the Sky Castle was instantly consumed by darkness, and everything turned pitch dark once again. They could only vaguely see the ze Trap Mageweath emitting a faint halo beneath every tower.

    Sensing the terrifying Death Energy swarming from behind, Elder Randy and the other elves, who fell behind, were clearly in despair. They were so close to reaching the Teleportation Portal that was probably less than a second away. Unfortunately, it became a clear divide between life and death.

    However, at this moment, a massive and tyrannical force seemed to have erupted from Elder Randy¡¯s body, pushing them forward violently like an invisible giant hand. All of a sudden, the four elves and the sacred unicorn seemed to have lost control of their bodies. However, by the time they realized what was going on, they discovered that they had already staggered and stumbled into the Teleportation Portal.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Gravitational Skill!¡±

    Elder Randy looked out of the Teleportation Portal to see that Norfeller and Ujfalusi were dashing in, followed by Cheyenne who was obviously stunned. Meanwhile, Lin Li, who was taking the lead just now, somehow became thest and was outside the Teleportation Portal...

    Realizing that their master had yet to enter, Ujfalusi and Norfeller tried to dash out, but at this moment, the Teleportation Portal had already been activated, and the light was hampering their vision. The two Undead creatures had already been sent away from the Sky Castle together with the rest.

    Indeed, Lin Li did push Elder Randy and the other elves forward with his Gravitational Skill when they were about to be engulfed by the ck glow of the Undead Heaven. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t trying to sacrifice himself to save others. The reason he chose to save them was actually very simple. If Elder Randy died, all of the deals that he¡¯d clinched with him regarding the herbs would be moot.

    Of course, Lin Li was not the kind to give up his life for money. If he were to lose his life, no amount of money would matter. If Lin Li were to die, his allies probably would not have the chance to continue to cooperate with the Tower of Dusk.

    Seeing that the infinite ck glow was still sweeping through, Lin Li patted the dust away from his body unhurriedly and flew towards the Teleportation Portal. At the same time, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, began flying on its own and suddenly burst into a dazzling light. The two rays of light, one ck and one light, collided forcefully, and the Sanctuary-realm power that erupted from Holy Light left the Undead Heaven with no choice but to pause momentarily.

    If Lin Li were in control, he might not be able to block the Undead Heaven. After all, it was a level-27 Sanctuary-realm magic. However, Holy Light had always been very sensitive to Dark Force. Although it was tempered by Lin Li and did not conflict with Gloomy Dark, that did not mean that it would ignore the provocation of other Dark Forces.

    Lin Li took advantage of the abrupt pause of the Undead Heaven to enter the Teleportation Portal. As it began to activate, his figure was engulfed by the light of the Teleportation Portal. By the time the ck glow of the Undead Heaven shrouded the Teleportation Portal, Lin Li was already missing.

    Watching the various scenes that were ovepping and changing around him, Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. He was already in the chaos of time and space in the Teleportation Portal, and there was finally a happy ending to their quest.

    Lin Like had not expected that he would experience so much when he epted Cheyenne¡¯s invitation and decided to participate in this expedition. Of course, the more effort he put in, the more he would get. Lin Li was rather pleased with the results of this quest.

    On the bright side, all the three parties understood that the value of Lin Li¡¯s gains might be considered rtively small. The Magic Tide Array and the blueprint of the Tower of Death that Cheyenne obtained were undoubtedly far more valuable than the items that Lin Li obtained. Had they not known that the huge magical crystal could be used to control the Sky Castle, they wouldn¡¯t have thought that the magical crystal was more valuable than what they had.

    However, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, something would be considered valuable only if he could use it. Otherwise, it would just be beautiful but useless. Besides, most of Lin Li¡¯s gains during the quest were unknown to others. Had they known about them, they would definitely have been extremely jealous.

    Of course, Lin Li was also ted to see such a situation. Since they felt like they had made plenty of gains, he reckoned that he should let them continue feeling a sense of superiority. He believed that their mindset would also bring certain benefits to the Tower of Dusk in the future cooperation. Although connections yed a very small role in the exchange of interests between forces, there would definitely be some uses for them. Hence, from this perspective, Lin Li felt that doing them a favor this time might also be considered another type of gain.

    After everything ended, Lin Li finally calmed down and got a grip on his emotions. He began to think about his gains and how he could use them to increase his and the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power.

    Lin Li stroked Dream Garden on his finger, in which lived the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, which was his very first gain in the Haiga Mountain Range. Although he did not have concrete evidence, Lin Li was utterly certain that the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua should be one of the Dragon Aspects and a descendant of the Dragon of Dream.

    When Lin Li first obtained the Elemental Wyrm, he was still feeling troubled and vexed because of its huge appetite. He fed it continuously with magical crystals, but it seemed like a bottomless pit that did not give him any response.

    Between fully supporting Xiao Hua¡¯s growth and nurturing it into bing his guardian and using his magical crystals for more productive purposes while keeping Xiao Hua as a pet, Lin Li had chosen thetter. After all, he needed plenty of magical crystals in order for Xiao Hua to grow up. God knew how long it would take to reach the stage where it was strong enough to brave all odds to protect him.

    However, Lin Li was a little bit tempted now. After all, the baby Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua was a descendant of the Dragon of Dream, and would definitely be a powerful entity if it were to grow to its fullest potential. Lin Li owned the dead seeds of the Tree of Eternity and a massive magical crystal with infinite mana. Although there were other important uses for them, he reckoned that there should be no problem in providing some mana for Xiao Hua which was growing.

    However, Lin Li found the Seed of Eternity to be a pity. If he could really make it grow into a Tree of Eternity, it would definitely bring about a significant increase in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power. Unfortunately, the seed had already died, and he did not find any solution which he could use to revive it in the Sky Castle. A dead seed could only be used as a source of mana that was non-renewable.

    However, Osric was a disciple of the Immortal King, and had even moved away almost everything from theboratory of the Immortal King. Lin Li had no idea if there wouldn¡¯t be any information about the Seed of Eternity in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. At the thought of this, Lin Li shook his head and found his idea to be rather unrealistic. If Osric really had had any means, he would have probably already taken the Seed of Eternity with him.

    Back in the valley where Lin Li found the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, he also obtained the skeleton of a Titan. Although it couldn¡¯tpare to the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction in his Ring of Endless Storm, it was enough to create the ck Front Fortress. With the ck Front Fortress, Lin Li would be able to increase the power of the Death Knights that he subdued and collected in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Lin Li did not forget the terror that the Death Knights brought about when he met the Retribution Knight whomanded the other Death Knights in the Seven-Realm Spiral.

 Chapter 690 - Chaos of Time and Space

    <h4>Chapter 690: Chaos of Time and Space</h4>

    Lin Li had made plenty of gains in the Sky Castle, but the most valuable one was the knowledge he obtained in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Lin Li was well aware that the others were external objects, after all. Regardless of how much power they could supply, he would be left with nothing once the power was stripped away from him. The power he mastered through his own understanding would be the most reliable.

    The Seven-Realm Spiral was the ultimate form of Magical Domains that contained the knowledge that powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm had about the usage, change, and creation of nomological power. Lin Li managed to use his Light and Darkness Domain to create his Light and Darkness Sword through his understanding of the Seven-Realm Spiral. With his sword, he cut and destroyed Stephen¡¯s Soul-devouring Domain, and the understanding was also the reason Lin Li could manipte the power of the three pieces of the debris of the stars that was near the Sanctuary-realm, defeat Thunderbolt, and destroy the mana-condensed Stars of Fury.

    The enlightenment and knowledge that Lin Li got from the Seven-Realm Spiral was to be of great help to him in his promotion to the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, when he stepped into the Seven-Realm Spiral, the gains that he obtained in the Seven-Realm Spiral would still aid him in increasing his power and abilities.

    In addition to the gains from the Seven-Realm Spiral, another important item he obtained was the book of magic that he found in the library of the Central Tower, which were just like textbooks. The books might not be important to Lin Li himself, but they were essential and significant for the Tower of Dusk.

    After all, the Tower of Dusk had only been established not too long ago. Despite Lin Li¡¯s efforts that gave them a good start, a force with money but nopetent manpower would only be amercial organization, and not a Guild of Magic.

    The books of magic that seemed basic were like precious books that would help the mages grow. Although the content wasn¡¯t that profound, it was enough to ensure that the learners would sessfully reach the Legendary-realm. Lin Li was sure that it would definitely give the Tower of Dusk an advantage over other forces when it came to training and nurturing mages.

    The development of a force would only be healthy if there was a continuous cultivation of excellent talents because manpower was fundamental, and everything else was just the icing on the cake. Although Lin Li had 20 alchemy puppets that could immediately be a powerful force after their cores were modified, the demise of the Tower of Dusk would only be a matter of time if they had to rely on this force to survive.

    Lin Li was still thinking about himself and the future development of the Tower of Dusk, and pondering how he could take advantage of the benefits gained from the Sky Castle. On the other hand, Cheyenne, Elder Randy and the rest who entered the Teleportation Portal before him had already appeared at the Teleportation Portal deep inside the cave.

    Looking at the familiar scene around the Teleportation Portal, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional and thankful for the fact that he had invited the young mage Lin Li along. Otherwise, the various obstacles that they¡¯d encountered along the way might¡¯ve posed a bigger threat to him, and he might not have been able to even pass through the Dragon¡¯s Cave, let alone the murderous traps in the Sky Castle.

    Indeed, sometimes a choice might change the destiny of an entire family. He initially only had a minor conflict with Lin Li during the cooperation in the Scar of Death. Later on, he received an invitation to attack the Syer Bandits. For most forces, it would be good enough if they did not add fuel to the fire. However, the Malfa Family made some counter-intuitive choices by sending Hutton and the elite mages of the family to participate in the siege of the Syer Bandits.

    The reality had proven their initial choices correct. He was originally the weakest party out of all who participated in the expedition, yet he was the one who made the greatest gains. The hundreds of high-level Elven Magic Legion magical equipment sets, a Legendary Demon Winged Angel, various magic books that contained esoteric magic knowledge and lost forbidden curses, and the blueprint of the Tower of Death would all bring about drastic changes to the Malfa Family.

    Cheyenne thought about it while slowly walking down the Teleportation Portal. However, he did not leave immediately, and instead turned around to wait for the young mage Lin Li to appear.

    Elder Randy and the elves followed Cheyenne out, but they all seemed rather confused and dumbfounded. They did not seem happy to be out of danger at all, because they all knew that they would have been left behind in the Sky Castle if not for the Gravitational Skill.

    <i>Are humans, particrly that young mage, really despicable, shameless, selfish and cunning?</i> Even Elder Randy had doubts about his long-established mindset because what happened just now was proof that he and the rest would not be able to leave the Sky Castle if it weren¡¯t for Lin Li who rescued them.

    Yet, the young mage Lin Li ended up being trapped in the Sky Castle because he chose to save them. The Undead Heaven was level-27, and they reckoned that it would be difficult for Lin Li to escape even if he had power that was at the peak of level-22.

    Walking down the Teleportation Portal, Elder Randy looked at Princess Elune who was beside him before ncing at the other two subordinates. He could not help but sigh and think to himself, <i>I didn¡¯t expect there to be kindhearted and noble humans too.</i>

    Like Elder Randy, Princess Elune, Culofen, and Gildor were all filled withplicated emotions. They¡¯d never thought that they would be rescued by a human being, which was even more shocking than getting rescued by other elves. They turned around in unison and stared at the Teleportation Portal, waiting for the portal to light up again.

    However, after Norfeller and Ujfalusi exited, the Teleportation Portal no longer lit up again for a long time. With the passage of time, their hearts began to sink.

    Everyone knew how tense and urgent the situation was at that time. Lin Li could only escape the attacks from the Undead Heaven by following them into the Teleportation Portal. If that had been the case, the young mage should have alreadye out after some time. However, they still did not see any signs of the Teleportation Portal being activated after a long time. Could it be that he had...

    As time passed, everyone gradually lost all hope because they had been waiting for a long time.

    Cheyenne walked towards Norfeller and Ujfalusi, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m afraid your master... There¡¯s no point in waiting any longer. Why don¡¯t you two go back with us?¡±

    Cheyenne was saying that out of goodwill. After all, those two Undead creatures were Lin Li¡¯s servants. Although they were ratherpetent, it would still be difficult for them to leave the Haiga Mountain Range safely; hence, it would be better for them to follow the team. In Cheyenne¡¯s opinion, Lin Li could have very likely already gotten trapped in the Undead Heaven, and he reckoned that bringing Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants away from the Haiga Mountain Range safely would be a form of gratitude.

    However, Norfeller and Ujfalusi shook their heads at the same time, and coldly said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Master will be fine.¡±

    ¡°I know what you guys are thinking, but the Undead Heaven...¡± Cheyenne paused when he saw their firm expressions.

    Everyone knew that there was definitely something like a Soul Contract between Lin Li and the two Undead creatures. Otherwise, they would never be willing to be a servant to a human being. In such contracts, the servants would die together with their master in order to allow them to forever prioritize their master¡¯s safety.

    Since Norfeller and Ujfalusi were not dead yet, it could indeed mean that Lin Li was not dead. However, Cheyenne and Elder Randy knew that the power of the Undead Heaven did not lie in killing enemies, but in turning them into Undead creatures. It would use soul fire to turn enemies into undead puppets that would belong to the Undead Heaven forever. Hence, they knew that Lin Li was still alive, but that did not prove that Lin Li was unscathed.

    How could Norfeller and Ujfalusi not have thought of that? Cheyenne believed that they were also well aware that it was actually a good chance for them to regain freedom. However, the two of them were clearly loyal to the young mage Lin Li, and were no longer restrained by the Soul Contract.

    With a soft sigh, Cheyenne said, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take my leave then. I¡¯ll do my best to help take care of Mage Felic¡¯s Tower of Dusk.¡±

    Although the Elder Randy and the elves had always seen the Undead creatures as filthy beings, they had a change in mindset and opinion of the Undead creatures when they saw Norfeller¡¯s and Ujfalusi¡¯s reaction. However, they did not speak to the Undead creatures, and simply looked up at the Teleportation Portal before leaving quietly with Cheyenne.

    <i>No, why haven¡¯t I arrived yet!?</i> Lin Li suddenly frowned and snapped out of his thoughts. Although he had no idea how long it had been, it was definitely more than a minute. He wondered, <i>Why am I still in the chaos of time and space? Could it be that Holy Light and Undead Heaven have collided and caused an unknown effect on the Teleportation Portal?</i>

    Lin Li immediately panicked. It was not aughing matter, for he was now in the chaos of time and space. If the Teleportation Portal were to fail or malfunction abruptly, he would definitely be ripped into shreds by the storm.

    Lin Li hurriedly scanned his surroundings until he finally confirmed that the power around him was still within the normal range. He was finally relieved. However, he suddenly thought about the long journey that he had when he was transported to Anril. He wondered if he would be transported to another ce again after this long journey. If he were to return to his hometown, would his magic powers still work? If he were to be transported to another maind, what would things look like...

    Sensing the unusual changes in the teleportation, Lin Li allowed his imagination to run for a long time, but he eventually calmed down again. In any case, his magic powers could never be stripped away from him. Regardless of whether he returned to Anril or another ce, his abilities would be what allowed him to continue surviving.

 Chapter 691 - The Tower In The Battle

    <h4>Chapter 691: The Tower In The Battle</h4>

    Staring at the Nether Storms around him, Lin Li realized that they seemed to have no effect on him at all; hence, he stopped dwelling on it. Instead, he took a seat in the space enveloped by the transmission power and took out the huge magical crystal to help replenish the power that he had exhausted in the Sky Castle.

    Staring at the massive magical crystal in his hand, Lin Li sighed and found it a pity that he did not have the power to control the Sky Castle. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have allowed the Ghost to be such a tyrant. After the mageweath that he had created copsed, the Ghost would really awaken; he reckoned that the Sky Castle had already be a world of Undead creatures now.

    Without a doubt, the future owner of the Sky Castle would definitely not be Lin Li who had controlled the core, but the Ghost that appeared out of nowhere. Although the Ghost did not have the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle, the massive power and the Psychic Array that was relying on the Conquering Mageweath made it possible for the Sky Castle to be controlled by it.

    The Highlord Osric had indeed made a good move. It was no wonder that he would im that he would have the ability to be resurrected even after he died. <i>Damn it, since you¡¯ve stolen my Sky Castle, I must dig your grave no matter what!</i> Lin Li thought to himself bitterly.

    As for the Sky Castle, Lin Li knew very well that if he wanted to truly own the Sky Castle in the future, he would have to defeat the powerful Ghost and the level-27 Undead Heaven. However, the mere thought of it made him realize how difficult it was. The Ghost itself had limitless power that was near the Sanctuary-realm as well as the help of the Undead Heaven that was the ultimate form of Magical Domain. It even had the help of the Psychic Array that would continuously strengthen the Undead Heaven.

    <i>What a headache. I¡¯d better improve my own strength first. I initially thought that power that¡¯s at the peak of level-22 would be formidable enough, but it seems I¡¯m really ipetent. Since I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll get to leave this ce, I might as well treat this as a chance for seclusion.</i> After recovering his mana, Lin Li took out the Book of Eternity and began reading attentively whileparing the parallels with the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    Lin Li did not put away the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle immediately. He also released the dead Seed of Eternity. Sensing the strong mana, the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua dashed out of the Dream Garden without Lin Li¡¯s instructions. It then surrounded the magical crystal and Seed of Eternity while rejoicing and cheering in joy.

    In fact, for Lin Li, the problem with the Teleportation Portal appeared in a timely manner. What he needed right now was some quiet pondering and the integration of his gains in the Sky Castle. If he, the elves, and Cheyenne had returned together, he would definitely have had to entertain them and discuss the various matters about their cooperation. It would¡¯ve been hard for him to have some peace and time to study the knowledge he¡¯d gained. As a result, he might gradually forget some with the addition of misceneous events.

    Hence, Lin Li did not mind being trapped in there, nor was he eager about finding a way to leave. Instead, he focused on studying and integrating. The epiphany he had in the Seven-Realm Spiral and the Endless Labyrinth wasbined with the experiences that Geresco had recorded in the Book of Eternity. Every gain for Lin Li was tantamount to taking a big step towards the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, reading the seemingly basic theories about magic was just as beneficial for Lin Li.

    There was no concept of time in the chaotic flow of time and space, but Lin Li did not bother to keep track of it, either, because he was engrossed in studying magic. He only knew that he could truly increase his power rapidly through this period of seclusion and advance towards his goal of reaching the Sanctuary-realm.

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi stayed still in front of the ancient Teleportation Portal in the depths of the Dragon¡¯s Cave. They stayed the same for several days, and neither wanted to leave at all. They believed that their master would one day appear in front of them again.

    All of a sudden, there were changes in the Teleportation Portal. Norfeller and Ujfalusi suddenly opened their eyes to look at the Teleportation Portal while keeping their guard up. Although they hoped to see their master, they could not deny the fact that the terrifying entity in the Sky Castle was very likely to pass through the Teleportation Portal too.

    The Teleportation Portal lit up and gradually became more and more ring, so much that it engulfed everything. A blurry figure then appeared in it. Sensing the familiar aura, Norfeller and Ujfalusi could hardly conceal the excitement they felt. They hurried towards the Teleportation Portal agitatedly. To them, their master was still their master regardless of what he became.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re back!¡± Norfeller and Ujfalusi yelled excitedly.

    Lin Li slowly stepped out of the light with a smile and nced at his two Undead servants before asking, ¡°Have Cheyenne and the elves left? How long have I been in there?¡±

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s already been more than half a year since we came out,¡± Ujfalusi frantically answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s already been half a year? It¡¯s surprising that you¡¯re here,¡± Lin Li said with a nod. He knew that the Soul Contract was not the only reason that his Undead servants waited for him there. ncing at them with admiration, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s time for us to go back.¡±

    Knowing that more than half a year had passed, Lin Li eagerly wanted to return to the Tower of Dusk to see how much it had developed within half a year.

    Lin Li brought his two Undead servants along and left the Haiga Mountain Range. Along the way to Dnd, they attracted the attention of plenty of magical beasts, but they were flying too quickly, and had disappeared before the magical beasts even reacted.

    When he arrived in the Haiga Mountain Range, Lin Li first headed to Aminya City to meet Cheyenne of the Malfa Family. He then spent a lot of time traveling, but he returned rather quickly. He dashed towards the Tower of Dusk without stopping to take breaks and managed to arrive in Dnd City within just half a day.

    However, before he even saw the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li could already hear a huge roaring from the front, as well as the strong and menacing aura of the All-Kill Array. <i>Has the Tower of Dusk been attacked?</i> Lin Li wondered, and sped up to dash forward...

    At this moment, an intense battle was taking ce in front of the Tower of Dusk. There was blood all over the ground, some of which had already turned dark, while the rest seemed to be fresh. Corpses were lying in the pool of blood¡ªsome were torn apart, some were charred by fire, and some still were poked with ice. Almost none of them wereplete.

    Although the Tower of Dusk did not activate the All-Kill Array, there was still the domineering aura of the All-Kill Array that Lin Li had personally designed lingering in the air.

    Even though Lin Li, the Legendary President, was not present and there was no Legendary powerhouse to take charge of the Tower of Dusk, no one in the entire Breezy ins dared to offend them. Apart from the Fn Kingdom¡¯s army, the Dark de and the Malfa Family were probably the only ones out of all of the forces in the entire Breezy ins that qualified to make the Tower of Dusk activate the All-Kill Array.

    At this time, it was the Dark de¡¯s team that was facing the Tower of Dusk. The Dark de had fallen out with Lin Lipletely in the Seven-Realm Spiral, and although they had lost a Legendary leader, their overallbat power was not affected much, and the power they exhibited was still domineering.

    Unfortunately, the source of mana that the Tower of Dusk was using was still the Legendary-realm Smander¡¯s magical crystal, which couldn¡¯t support the All-Kill Array for too long. The Dark de wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to approach the Tower of Dusk otherwise. After all, the mages of the Tower of Dusk did not know that their President was that wealthy; hence, they could not bear to waste a precious Legendary magical crystal.

    However, while Lin Li was away, the development of the Tower of Dusk did not stop. The mages of the Tower of Dusk did show greatpetency, and did not show any signs of panic even when faced with enemies who were stronger than themselves. They coped well, in fact. There were 10 Crystal Cannons installed on the turrets that Lin Li had reserved. Some of the muzzles were umting mana and waiting tounch a lethal attack on the enemies.

    In the battlefield, the mages from the Malfa Family were also going against the Dark de. Although there weren¡¯t many people, Lin Li could tell from their Dark Moon Staffs and Faro¡¯s Robes that they were clearly the elites of the Malfa Family.

    An elderly was floating in mid-air on the Dark de¡¯s side and continuously attacking the people at the bottom. The old man with white hair and a twisted face was giving off a menacing vibe; he was none other than the Legendary-mage Borg of the Dark de.

    Perhaps because he was overwhelmed with the grief of losing his son, he was no longer as kind as he used to be when he was inviting Cheyenne to cooperate with him. At this moment, resentment was written all over his face, and it seemed that he wouldn¡¯t mind losing the entire Dark de in order to avenge his son.

    Somehow, Borg managed to encourage his subordinates and all members of the Dark de to go all out and exhibit all their techniques. All of the Mages and Warriors seemed absolutely dauntless.

    The entire battlefield was noisy, chaotic, and filled with the sounds of roaring, yelling, and explosions. Facing the crazy attack of the Dark de, the Tower of Dusk and the Malfa Family were still doing their best to resist, but they were rather passive.

    ¡°Continue to attack, rush in, they have no power to resist, kill them all!¡± Borg waved his staff and growled in a stern voice. Since it was impossible to kill his enemies in person, he decided to kill the entire Tower of Dusk to avenge his son!

    On the battlefield, the other leader of the Dark de, the Legendary leader Bald, was shrouded in light and waving the double-edged sword in his hand. He was fighting with a tall Alchemy Colossus.

    Fortunately, the Tower of Dusk which wascking a leader still had the two Alchemy Colossuses that Lin Li had brought back from the Dragon Mountains. Otherwise, the Legendary Sword Sage Bald alone would be able to bring major damage to the Tower of Dusk. However, even then, one of the Alchemy Colossuses had already been ripped apart and fallen onto the ground, while the mage that was controlling the Alchemy Colossus was cut in two by Bald.

    One of the arms of the Alchemy Colossus that was fighting Bald had already been disabled, and it was also covered in wounds caused by the sword. If it weren¡¯t because of the two mages of the Malfa Family who were helping, the Alchemy Colossus probably wouldn¡¯t be able to endure for long.

    That was the difference between having a Legendary powerhouse as a leader and not having one. Theck of Legendarybat power couldn¡¯t bepensated for by external forces. Although the power of the Alchemy Colossus was also equivalent to the Legendary level, the controller did not have a concrete understanding of Legendary-realm; hence, he could at most exert power that was near Legendary.

    On the Tower of Dusk, several magic crystal cannons were already full of energy, but they were unable tounch any attacks. The people of the Dark de and the Tower of Dusk were all mixed up on the battlefield, and regardless of how powerful the Crystal Cannons were, there was no meaning to it at this moment, because no one was willing to bear the consequences.

    The Dark de was undoubtedly the best group of bandits in the Breezy ins. Although it had been a long time since they did any business without capital, they began to reveal their true colors as bandits after being enraged by the enemies they were fighting. At this moment, they were all charging forward dauntlessly, and the mages of the Tower of Dusk had no choice but to retreat.

    ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t becent. When that rascal Felices back, he¡¯ll definitely make you guys pay for it! Hey, let go of me, let me fight them,¡± Gerian said while holding onto the magic staff with his right hand. Two mages of the Tower of Dusk lifted him up and carried him to the tower.

    Gavin smiled and shook his head bitterly. He then turned around and charged towards the Dark de. He then looked up at Borg who was floating in the air. After fighting for so long, there were casualties on both sides, but with the help of the Malfas, there was obviously greater damage done to the Dark de. Logically speaking, most forces would have retreated when faced with such huge damage. However, Borg must have been out of his mind, because he didn¡¯t seem to care about the lives of his subordinates and the Dark de at all.

    ¡°Your President will never return. He has already be a dirty Undead creature! None of you can escape! Today, I¡¯m going to annihte the Tower of Dusk!¡± Borg yelled while waving his magic staff, after which one of the Dark de¡¯s armies rushed into the battlefield.

 Chapter 692 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 692: Return</h4>

    Staring at Borg who was in the air, the Legendary Sword Sage Bald sighed gently. Although the battle seemed to be for revenge, there actually wasn¡¯t another option for the Dark de. As early as half a year ago, a message came from the Malfa Family, saying that Cheyenne was returning to Aminya City with the treasures that he had obtained in the Sky Castle.

    It was likely that the Malfa Family would surpass the Dark de within a short period of time. Given the feud between the two families, the Malfa Family would definitely destroy the Dark de when the time came. Instead of sitting back and doing nothing, they might as well try to get rid of the Tower of Dusk that did not have a leader at the moment. Otherwise,it would only be a matter of time before the Malfa Family killed them. By then, the Dark de wouldn¡¯t have a chance to make aeback.

    Actually, deep down, Bald did detest Stephen to a certain extent. Had Stephen notunched an attack halfway through the journey and fallen out with Felic, they wouldn¡¯t have had to retreat early. After all, they had already been in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral, and they might have obtained some treasures that would at least have let them have half of the Malfa Family¡¯s spoils.

    Unfortunately, there was no point in thinking about that now. All they could do was destroy the Tower of Dusk first. Fortunately for them, the young President Lin Li was not around at this time; hence, they could not bepared to the Dark de at all. They were simply holding on and enduring by relying on the setups in the tower. It was only a matter of time before they got destroyed. Bald got a grip on himself, and Combat Energy was emitted from his double-edged sword, after which he dashed towards the Alchemy Colossus menacingly...

    After all, the Dark de had been in business for hundreds of years, and the Tower of Dusk had only been established less than two years ago. Despite the benefits provided by the President Lin Li, they stillckedpetent manpower. The mages of the Tower of Dusk were indeed very talented in magic, and, in fact, plenty of them were very likely to be Legendary-mages. However, before that, Archmages would still be Archmages, after all. Their outstanding talent would not allow them to possess extraordinary power.

    On the other hand, the Dark de had plenty of Mages, Warriors, Bandits, and members of various other professions even though they were not too talented. Perhaps some of them were only at level-15, while others would never reach the Legendary-realm. However, it did not matter as long as they were stronger than their opponents at hand. If they could kill the opponents, who would care if they were Legendary-mages?

    Facing the crazy attack of the members of the Dark de, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were being outssed even though they tried their best to resist. After all, they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, and they were outnumbered too.

    Gavin was watching the battlefield anxiously. Although the Tower of Dusk had suffered less damage than the Dark de, unlike the Dark de, they could not afford to sustain any damage.

    During the consecutive intense battles, the lives of more than 10 young mages had already been lost; God knew how many of them might¡¯ve be Archmages and Legendary-mages. Whenever he thought of the lives that had been lost, Gavin would feel a heart-wrenching pain in his chest. He thought, <i>Is the President really not going toe back? If hees back, how am I supposed to answer him?</i>

    Almost all of the mages of the Tower of Dusk were injured, and Gavin¡¯s chest was oozing with blood that stained his bandage. However, he was still holding onto the magic staff and waving it around without any expression, casting spell after spell on the enemies. The pharmacist Wilkinson¡¯s magic robe was stained with blood, but instead of healing potions, he ingested potions that had been infused with mana. Gerian, whose arm was crippled, scurried out and cast spells while wielding his magic staff.

    Even Gavin, themander who stood in the center, was attacked and deeply wounded by an assassin of the Dark de. However, he could not be bothered to put on a bandage, and simply used magic to freeze his wound, after which he continued tomand the mages to get them to proceed with the attack.

    ¡°If you must me someone, me your President. This is the disaster he brought on you! One day, some of you will be Undead creatures. Greet him on my behalf when you have the opportunity to do so.¡± Borgughed maniacally, sending a cold chill down their spines.

    However, at this moment, a massive mana wave suddenly erupted in the sky, sweeping the entire battlefield like a storm. In the battlefield, the two sides paused in unison as fear made them tremble uncontrobly.

    As the terrifying mana appeared, they realized that there were only two colors they could see. Be it on the ground beneath them or the sky above, everything turned ck and white. It was so oppressive that they were on the verge of despair, as if it was almost the end of the world.

    The blurry figure in the white sky seemed extremely gigantic to them, just as if they were just insignificant ants. The suffocating mana wave seemed so extremely overbearing that none of them dared to retaliate.

    Lin Li floated quietly over the top of the Tower of Dusk, looking down at the battlefield where a battle between the Dark de and the Tower of Dusk was taking ce. When he saw the corpses of the mages of the Tower of Dusk, an icy cold gaze filled his eyes.

    ¡°Dark de, you asked for your own death!¡± Lin Li barked while keeping a straight face and raising the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand. The streams of light weaved around the scepter all the way to the top, while the huge gemstone instantly burst into a dazzling ray of light.

    The huge mana waves that flooded the heavens and earth immediately surged upwards, creating a destructive Mana Storm. Hundreds of Angels of Light and Dark appeared, holding spears and shuttling through the sky. They continuously rushed to the ground without stopping.

    With a loud roar, the hundreds of Angels of Light and Dark darted towards the people in the battlefield like lightning. Everyone watched in horror with a look of hopelessness in their eyes. They wanted to flee, but could not move their feeble legs. They wanted to retaliate, but could not seem to hold their weapons up.

    On the battlefield, the shrilling yells sounded for a brief moment before silence was restored again.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk were surprised to find that the members of the Dark de who had just fought against them had vanished in the blink of an eye. Even till now, they still dared not believe that the terrifying figure in the sky was actually there to help the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°It¡¯s President. President is back!¡± Gavin shouted excitedly. When encircling and suppressing the Syer Bandits in the Dragon Mountains, he had personally witnessed the President, Lin Li, exhibiting his Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness. Even though there were nows of ice in this Magical Domain, he was sure that Lin Li was the only one who could create the Angels of Light and Dark.

    Upon hearing Gavin¡¯s yell of excitement, the mages of the Tower of Dusk burst into cheers after a moment of silence. The attack of the Dark de had been getting more and more intense and menacing. Even with the help of the mages from the Malfa Family, the future of the Tower of Dusk still had been gloomy and bleak. Everyone had said that the President would note back and wavered. In fact, they¡¯d also got ready to go all out and give up everything they had.

    However, not only did their President return, he even effortlessly destroyed the hundreds of elites of the Dark de. His power was definitely not weaker than that of the Legendary-mage of the Dark de. All the mages in the Tower of Dusk got their hopes up again. Although they knew that there were two Legendary leaders in the Dark de, they still believed that under the leadership of the President, they would be able to defeat the Dark de this time.

    Lin Li descended from the sky and quietly floated towards Borg.

    ¡°F-Felic!¡± Borg grimaced when he saw the enemy in front of him. He gritted his teeth, and bitterly eximed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to make it out alive, but great, I finally have an opportunity to take revenge!¡±

    Staring at Borg whose hair was all white, Lin Li was stunned because he couldn¡¯t recognize him at all. He wondered, <i>Is this the same person who stepped into the Malfa Family¡¯s campground and asked to cooperate with Cheyenne?</i> It had only been half a year, yet the Legendary powerhouse of the Dark de seemed to have aged 10 years at once.

    Although he and Stephen had fought each other, Stephen had already been dead in a sense. However, Lin Li did not intend to exin this to Borg. Although he sympathized with Borg, the damage that the Dark de had brought the Tower of Dusk was absolutely unforgivable.

    ¡°I will make you regreting back!¡± Borg suddenly raised his staff, after which the gemstone on his staff suddenly emitted an infinite ray of ck light. In a sh, a Magical Domain that was covered in zing ck mes extended to the surroundings.

    The ck mes derived from the Darkness Laws and me Energy contained the power to burn everything in the world. Rather than melting, any metal would be burned to ashes in an instant, and light wouldn¡¯t fare any better.

    Seeing that Borg¡¯s ck mes domain was about to engulf him soon, Lin Li quickly raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and gently pointed it forward.

    Borg suddenly felt a huge force above his head, and he looked up to see that a Light and Darkness Sword had somehow condensed above him. It was then shing down with infinite power.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A loud noise exploded and two strong forces collided together, making it almost impossible for everyone to stand up properly.

    The newly formed ck mes Domain had already disappeared, and Borg turned as pale as a sheet, after which he spat out arge mouthful of blood and fell to the ground like a shooting star.

 Chapter 693 - Level-23

    <h4>Chapter 693: Level-23</h4>

    Everyone was stunned. Even the mages of the Tower of Dusk couldn¡¯t believe it and rubbed their eyes hard. The Legendary-mage Borg from the Dark de was a powerful man who was famous and formidable in the Breezy ins, yet he was defeated in just one blow by the President of the Tower of Dusk!

    Everyone knew that Lin Li was already a Legendary-mage, regardless of whether they had met him before. However, they felt that he was absurdly strong because he could not be defeated even by Borg from the Dark de who was also a Legendary-mage!

    The Sword Sage Bald leaped forward and grabbed Borg who fell to the ground before looking at Lin Li fearfully. ¡°Borg, we...¡±

    Borg wiped the blood off the corner of his lips and stared at Lin Li who was in the sky before eximing, ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± Before Bald even agreed, Borg darted towards Lin Li.

    Bald sighed and followed Borg to dash towards Lin Li while exerting explosive Combat Energy.

    ¡°Damn it, what kind of world is this? That rascal Felic is bing more and more incredible!¡± Gerian cursed while staring at the battle between the three Legendary powerhouses, though he was actually filled with satisfaction and pleasure. After all, he was from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    Watching the battle between Legendary powerhouses had always been the best way to gain experience. The people of the Dark de were too horrified to even move, so the mages of the Tower of Dusk stared at the sky with concentration, hoping to gain more experience from the battle.

    However, to the shock of the mages of the Tower of Dusk, the two Legendary leaders of the Dark de did not manage to endure that long.

    After fighting for a while, Lin Li quickly chanted a magic spell in thenguage of the High Elves. In the Light and Darkness Domain, countless ck and white silk threads suddenly appeared and intertwined like arge that shrouded the two Legendary leaders of the Dark de.

    Bald¡¯s double-edged sword glowed menacingly, and he used it to cut into therge made of ck and white silk threads. Of course, he knew that ck and white silk threads were not made of real silk but mana instead. However, a sword attack made of condensed Combat Energy could also be used to cut magic apart. However, he did not expect the sword to have no effect on the ck and white silk threads, as if he had cut through a shadow.

    Before Bald could react, he was already covered by therge made of ck and white silk. Besides, as soon as the ck and white silk threads touched his body, they seemed to havee to life and prated into his body. None of his Combat Energy or clothing could prevent the attacks fromnding.

    After being invaded by the ck and white silk threads, Bald¡¯s Combat Energy seemed to vanish, and he fell straight to the ground. When he fell, he saw Borg falling from the sky together with him.

    ¡°Turns out the Light and Darkness Seal works unexpectedly well,¡± Lin Li said while floating in the air, watching Bald and Borg fall to the ground one after another. He was extremely satisfied with the magic spell that he had learned in the chaos of time and space.

    It was a magic spell that Lin Li saw in the book of magic belonging to the High Elves, which was used by the High Elves to take prisoners in the Dark Age. The magic spell would cause everything to be frozen forever, be it mana or Combat Energy. Lin Li named it the Light and Darkness Seal, but in fact, the same effects could be achieved even if other Elemental Power was used.

    Bald and Borg who were in the Light and Darkness Seal could no longer activate their Legendary power, hence bing mortals. Sometimes, death was not terrifying. The feeling of falling from the clouds to the ground was the greatest punishment to them.

    Seeing his two Legendary leaders being defeated by the young President of the Tower of Disk effortlessly, the members of the Dark de, who had just been fearless, were now full of panic, which was written all over their faces. They were all ready to run away.

    However, Lin Li did not n to just let them off easily. Although only less than 20 mages of the Tower of Dusk had died, each one¡¯s demise was agonizing to him because they were all potential future Legendary-mages.

    ¡°You guys go ahead and heal yourselves. Someone else will take care of this.¡± Lin Linded on the ground and spoke to the mages of the Tower of Dusk who were waiting to retaliate. He then touched the Dream Garden that was on his finger to release the petite Xiao Hua.

    Xiao Hua, which had long received Lin Li¡¯s instructions through mental strength, turned around and dashed towards the Dark de. Seeing that it was a tiny creature charging towards them, the remaining members of the Dark de could not help but find it extremely absurd. However, when they were bombarded with the Magic Storm that was made up of countless spells, they finally realized that Xiao Hua was adorable but terrifying.

    For half a year in the chaos of time and space, the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua waspletely unrestricted, and continuously drew mana from the magical crystal of the Seed of Eternity without restraint. Its growth rate was almost the same every day, and it had now sessfully reached the Legendary level, not inferior to the Elemental Wyrm projection that had caused Lin Li huge trouble back then.

    Although Xiao Hua was powerful enough to deal with the members of the Dark de and destroy them, Lin Li did not stop at that. Instead, he continued to summon the 20 Alchemy Puppets from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Lin Li was extremely learned and proficient in Alchemy. Although the Alchemy Puppets were from the Immortal King, altering the control core of the alchemy puppets was not too difficult for Lin Li, because he had done some research. The only thing hecked was a strong soul that had to be fused with the Alchemy Puppets in order to fully exert their power. Besides, Lin Li had only nabbed some considerably powerful magical beasts and got Ujfalusi to extract its power and induce it into the Alchemy Puppets. That was the reason the Alchemy Puppets only had level-18 and level-19 power.

    However, the 20 Shadow Assassins that were made from shadow iron were an absolute threat and horror to the enemies even though they were only level-18 and level-19. The members of the Dark de who were running around were consecutively sliced apart by the ck shadows that constantly appeared by their side.

    Under the siege of the 20 Shadow Assassins and the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, none of the members of the Dark de who had attacked the Tower of Dusk could escape. In the blink of an eye, the ground around the Tower of Dusk was covered with corpses and blood. Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk were satisfied, they could not help but feel a little scared.

    ¡°Those who are uninjured or lightly injured, clean up this ce and bury the corpses,¡± Lin Li said to Gavin, who was walking towards him, as he turned around.

    ¡°Yes, Sir. I¡¯ll arrange for it to be done now,¡± Gavin said respectfully. Even now, he still felt like he was dreaming. The two Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de that had already been famous for years actually couldn¡¯t withstand the attacks by Lin Li. He could not help but wonder how strong Lin Li had be.

    Gavin instructed his subordinates to clean up the battlefield, while Lin Li turned and walked towards Gerian, the chubby old man. Extremely amused, he asked, ¡°Old fogy, how have you be like this!?¡±

    Gerian did not feel embarrassed at all. He pouted, and said, ¡°Do you think I wanted to be like this? If you¡¯de back earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this state. I was initially nning to retire here, yet I still had to take part in the battle even though I¡¯m now a bag of old bones.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all my fault. Let¡¯s go in,¡± Lin Li said while holding onto Gerian and walking towards the hall of the Tower of Dusk. Along the way, he asked, ¡°When did the people from the Dark de arrive? Are the people in ck Clouds Town alright?¡±

    ¡°The ck Clouds Town is alright. The people from the Dark de headed straight here. They might have decided toe after hearing that you didn¡¯t return with Cheyenne. The battlested for a full six months. Fortunately, you left some powerful weapons and items behind in the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, we might not have been able to endure until now.¡± Gerian suddenly saw Bald and Borg who were being held down. He then turned to look at Lin Li, and said, ¡°I know of those two Legendary powerhouses. They¡¯ve been famous for a long time. You actually managed to destroy both of them easily! What level are you now? 22? 23?¡±

    Lin Li smiled and raised three fingers.

    ¡°Three? Twenty... three?¡± Gerian stood rooted to the ground in shock while his eyes and mouth widened. Deep down, he cursed, <i>Damn it, how is this reasonable? That rascal was so weak when he first arrived in Jarrosus. It has only been a short period of time. When he left, he was only level-21, yet he¡¯s level-23 now!? All he did was visit the Haiga Mountain Range!</i>

    During the six months he¡¯d spent in the chaos of time and space, Lin Li did not procrastinate at all. The epiphany he had in the Seven-Realm Spiral and the Endless Labyrinth, as well as the knowledge he gained from studying the Book of Eternity, coupled with the assistance of the controlling magical crystal and the Tree of Eternity¡¯s seed, helped Lin Li reach level-23 quickly. When he left, he even pushed himself to the peak of level-23.

    Although Bald and Borg were strong, they were still far inferiorpared to Lin Li. Their loss this time wasn¡¯t undeserved.

    Upon returning to the hall, Lin Li saw the few mages who were sent by the Malfa Family to support them. Staring at the Dark Moon Staffs that they were holding and the Faro¡¯s Robes that they were wearing, he deduced that they were the elites of the Malfa Family.

    Lin Li nodded slightly. He thought that Cheyenne could send someone to help when he was stuck in the Sky Castle; it seemed that it was worth cooperating with the Malfa Family. Of course, that did not rule out the possibility of the Malfa Family harboring designs on the Tower of Dusk, but Lin Li did not harp on it. After all, it was normal for Cheyenne to think that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to make it out again.

 Chapter 694 - One by One

    <h4>Chapter 694: One by One</h4>

    Lin Li could totally guess that all of the prominent forces in the Breezy ins were thinking of attacking the Tower of Dusk during the six months that he was away. He reckoned that perhaps even the Supreme Council had already gotten ready to select a candidate to take over after Lin Li. After all, the Tower of Dusk was still an official Guild of Magic of the Tower of Dusk.

    The Tower of Dusk which had just been established less than two years ago brought them too much surprise in this short period of time. At the beginning, everyone had just been wondering if the Tower of Dusk could gain a strong footing in the Breezy ins, but as they developed, everyone started to wonder if the Tower of Dusk would be the third major force alongside the Dark de and the Malfa Family. Upon hearing that Lin Li did not leave the Haiga Mountain Range, everyone naturally began to covet the Tower of Dusk.

    However, most people might not know where the true value of the Tower of Dusky. If Lin Li were absent, many of the original advantages of the Tower of Dusk would disappear with time.

    It was not that there was anything wrong with the development that Lin Li had nned for the Tower of Dusk, but rather mainly that the Tower of Dusk had been established only for a short period of time. Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk were extremely talented, Lin Li had yet to nurture talents who were powerful enough to support the Tower of Dusk.

    The simplest example was the pharmaceutical team that continuously brought huge benefits to the Tower of Dusk. Without Lin Li, pharmacists like Wilkinson would not continue to stay there. How could a few inexperienced disciples be able to sustain the business? If anyone were to really get their hands on the Tower of Dusk, they would realize that they obtained only a beautiful but empty shell.

    Only when the Tower of Dusk had its own Legendary-mages apart from Lin Li, as well as Masters of Pharmacy, Masters of Inscription, and other Masters of various professions, would they be able to survive for thousands of years. Of course, if they were developed to that extent, the other forces probably wouldn¡¯t dare to attack the Tower of Dusk.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk all had a deep understanding of this, especially since Lin Li was absent for a period of time. While Lin Li was away, the things that used to be easy to do became much harder. All the random forces actually had the audacity to create trouble.

    In the past six months, many mages felt confused and insecure about the future of the Tower of Dusk as well as their own. There were even some who chose to leave halfway. After all, six months ways way too long, and their firm mindset and beliefs gradually wavered over time.

    However, as Lin Li made a powerfuleback, the confusion of the mages disappeared at this moment. Even though they had just experienced a tragic life-and-death battle, they were filled with immense joy and excitement that they could not hide. Every mage¡¯s gaze was full of admiration, respect, and awe when they stared at Lin Li as if he were their deity.

    After arranging everything, Gavin proceeded to report to Lin Li, who was speaking to Gerian. He had nothing much to say about cleaning up the battlefield. He killed the rest of the enemies that had yet to die, and saved the members of the Tower of Dusk who were still alive. As for the battle spoils, the items belonging to the Dark de did not appeal to the Tower of Dusk at all.

    However, the thought of the losses of the Tower of Dusk made a look of guilt form on Gavin¡¯s face. Although there was still the pharmacist Wilkinson left behind in the Tower of Dusk after Lin Li left, and there had never been any shortages of high-level healing potions in the Tower of Dusk before, even the best potion couldn¡¯t revive a dead person. During the past six months, the Dark de and the Tower of Dusk had been through countless battles, and if it weren¡¯t because of the healing potions, there would probably be even more dead mages.

    Lin Li did not me Gavin. It was a formidable feat for the Tower of Dusk to survive for such a long period of time when faced with a massive force like the Dark de that released continuous offensive attacks for several months. Although Lin Li was very distressed about the death of the 10-odd mages, he stillforted Gavin and got him to bring the mages of the Malfa Family.

    As one of the first batches of elite mages in the Malfa Family who had been equipped with Dark Moon Staffs and Faro¡¯s Robes, Tegel had what it took to be proud. With the two powerful magical equipment pieces, he would be able to disy strength that was far beyond what a level-19 mage should have. Although he had yet to step into the Legendary-realm, he was just as good as the basic Legendary ones.

    Actually, Tegel and hispanions who were sent to support the Tower of Dusk all had a hidden agenda, and that was to take over. However, they did not n to strike the Tower of Dusk byunching a forceful attack like the Dark de did. Instead, they were nning to truly convince the mages of the Tower of Dusk by showcasing their strength and abilities. They wanted the mages of the Tower of Dusk to know that the Malfa Family was currently the only force in the Breezy ins who could bring them a bright future and be their only pir of support.

    Since they initially already had the intention to show off while giving aid, Tegel and the rest were naturally arrogant when they interacted with the mages of the Tower of Dusk. After all, without the Legendary-mage Lin Li, the newly established Tower of Dusk would be like an orphan. Even though they were verypetent, they were worlds apart from the Malfa Family.

    However, what Tegel and others did not expect was that the young President of the Tower of Dusk would miraculously reappear after having gone missing for half a year. Furthermore, he even exhibited groundbreaking power that took the Malfa Family by storm as soon as he appeared. He struck the Legendary-mage Borg of the Dark de with a single massive blow before defeating the two Legendary leaders in the blink of an eye. Even Master Cheyenne would not be able to do that.

    Tegel tagged alongside Gavin, and waspletely distracted even though thetter was speaking to him every now and then. He was anxiously trying to recall if he had said or done anything disrespectful to the mages of the Tower of Dusk when interacting with them. The four other mages of the Malfa Family remained silent, and were filled with uneasiness.

    Tegel and the rest had all taken part in the trip to the Haiga Mountain Range; hence, they knew that the young President Lin Li was protective of his underlings and servants. He even offended the elves for his Undead servant before. If Tegel were to identally offend someone from the Tower of Dusk and anger the petty Lin Li, they would all be in trouble.

    Gavin brought Tegel and the others to Lin Li, who did not speak immediately, but instead scanned them from head to toe. Actually, Lin Li did not quite care what intentions the Malfa Family had. After all, given the situation at that time, no one else would be able to escape from the Undead Heaven. Besides, the Guild would have suffered heavier losses if it weren¡¯t for the five mages sent by Cheyenne.

    Although Lin Li was much younger than Tegel, the scene of Lin Li defeating the two Legendary powerhouses was still fresh and vivid in his memory. Hence, he dared not underestimate Lin Li at all. Tegel panicked, and said, ¡°Congrattions to President Felic for escaping the ordeal and returning home safe. I believe Teacher will be ted to hear that you are back.¡±

    ¡°Oh, are you a disciple of Master Cheyenne? Has he been alright?¡± Lin Li asked, shooting Gavin and the five mages a nce, and gestured for them to take a seat.

    Tegel rxed a little. While carefully looking at Lin Li¡¯s expression, he exined, ¡°Ever since Teacher returned from the Haiga Mountain Range, he mentioned more than once that we wouldn¡¯t have received so many gains without President Felic¡¯s help. This time, Teacher was originally nning toe over in person, but he suddenly had an epiphany and found a breakthrough opportunity while studying the books of magic that he brought back. Hence, he got the five of use to help first.¡±

    Lin Li then asked about the current status of the Malfa Family, and gained some understanding of the development of the Malfa Family in the past six months. After Cheyenne returned, he didn¡¯t immediately start attacking the Dark de. After all, he had to turn the gains that he¡¯d obtained in the Sky Castle into power that the Malfa Family could use, and that would require more than just a few days. Besides, the Dark de had a strong background, and even if they had already lost a Legendary leader, Bald and Borg were not easy to deal with.

    Cheyenne¡¯s loot from the Sky Castle consisted of more than 100 sets of magical equipment of the High Elven army, a Legendary Winged Angel, arge number of advanced books of magic, and the blueprint of the Tower of Death. Apart from the Winged Angel that had incrediblebat power and could quickly increase the strength of the Malfa Family, the other things could not be used immediately.

    The magical equipment could enhance anyone who wore it, but no one would leave so much precious magical equipment in the hands of someone they did not trust. There were many outstanding mages in the entire Malfa Family, but Cheyenne only took out seven sets of equipment after a thorough consideration. Apart from Tegel and those who went to the Tower of Dusk, only Adelo and Hutton were qualified to use them.

    As for the Tower of Death, Lin Li could already guess that it would be extremely difficult for the Malfa Family to build the tower given their current power. Putting the technical aspects aside, just the various precious materials alone would probably cost more than the treasures in the Malfa Family¡¯s treasure vault.

    Cheyenne himself had gone through various battles; hence, he was confident to break through to level-22. Adelo and Hutton had been continuously learning from Cheyenne because they wanted to enter the Legendary-realm sooner. Hutton, in particr, seemed to have been agitated so much after hearing about Stephen that he put his best foot forward in learning the past six months.

    Tegel greeted Lin Li and spoke to him calmly. Seeing that his attitude was still fine, he carefully made a request to leave. He felt that it would be better to retreat early. If it were to drag on for too long, they might not be able to leave easily if one of the watchdogs came out to tell on them.

    Lin Li had a rough understanding of the situation in the Malfa Family. Seeing that Tegel had requested to leave, he decided not to think about it. Instead, he said a few more polite words, and got Tegel to ry a few of his words of gratitude to Cheyenne before getting Gavin to send them off.

    ¡°Am I that scary?¡± Lin Li asked Gerian in amusement after noticing how eager to leave Tegel and hispanions were.

    Gerian squinted; the fat on his cheeks moved a little, after which he looked at Lin Li in disdain. He chided, ¡°Well, you don¡¯t know how arrogant those rascals were when they arrived. They were looking down on all of us. Yet, you were gone for half a year. Everyone is almost trampling all over the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Do you want me to catch them back now so that you can vent your anger?¡± Lin Li asked jokingly. However, he could deduce from Gerian¡¯sint what the situation of the Tower of Dusk was like now.

    Although there were various forces in the Breezy ins, not all of them had Legendary leaders. Even when Lin Li was not around, the Tower of Dusk was still stronger than most forces. However, the attack of the Dark de was taxing on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power, and they could not find the time nor energy to deal with the troublemakers at all.

    In the past six months, the businesses of the stores in the Breezy ins owned by the Tower of Dusk faced blows of varying degrees. Some were made to pay protection fees, while some were robbed. In others¡¯ opinion, it was only a matter of time before they got destroyed by the Dark de now that the Legendary-mage Lin Li was not around.

    Even in the nearby Dnd City, many pharmacies were looted, and the only business that was not affected was the one in Aminya City. Believing that the Malfa Family had long set their sights on that business, other forces dared not touch them.

    Lin Li gently tapped his fingers on the table and squinted slightly with a peculiar smirk. He suddenly remembered the famous saying that existed in the world that he was from: ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they pay for everything that they had done, tit for tat!¡±.

    Lin Li had never been a generous person. Although he had various mindset changes ever since he¡¯d entered the Legendary-realm, he still showed no mercy to those who dared to offend him. Indeed, to the Legendary Lin Li, those who were below the Legendary-realm were all insignificant, and he wouldn¡¯t mind killing them if they were to have the audacity to disrespect him.

    However, it was not the time to settle the score. Although the Tower of Dusk had plenty of casualties in the fierce battles, it also revealed some of their shorings. After all, Lin Li was not a god, and his abilities were limited. Besides, the Tower of Dusk was not that affluent when it was first established; hence, many things could not be perfected due to the circumstances they were subjected to.

 Chapter 695 - Massacre Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 695: Massacre Weapon</h4>

    The All-Kill Array was a good example. It was initially the greatest defensive weapon of the Tower of Dusk, but its power could not be released to the maximum, simply because its mana source was weaker. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been impossible for the Dark de to hurt Tower of Dusk once the All-Kill Array was activated.

    During the trip to the Haiga Mountain Range this time, Lin Li obtained plenty of magical crystals, and that included the Green Dragon Crystal that he obtained after excavating the green dragons¡¯ graveyard. The Dragon Crystals were all above the Legendary level, and the level-22 magical crystal was way stronger than the Smander¡¯s Magical crystal that was being used by the Tower of Dusk now. Lin Li had plenty of magical crystals anyway, so he could afford to spare a few.

    If others knew what Lin Li was thinking, they would definitely hit the roof because of his extravagant use of Legendary magical crystals. Using Legendary magical crystals as a source of mana for the magical crystal cannons was akin to making a knowledgeable schr do a blue-cor job¡ªaplete waste.

    Every Legendary magical crystal had almost infinite mana; to mages, it was truly an inexhaustible vault of mana. Legendary magical crystals came from the most powerful magical beasts in the world, and were the continuation of their lives. Legendary magical crystals were also the legacies of the souls of magical beasts, and thus were different from ordinary magical crystals. In fact, they would even be like actual mages and transform their ubiquitous magical elements into mana.

    However, for the various settings of the Tower of Dusk, the Smander magical crystal could only sustain the daily operation of the tower. Once a ck hole that continuously absorbed mana was opened, the Legendary magical crystal that was precious in the eyes of others would seem insufficient. The consequence of overloading would be permanent damage to the Legendary magical crystal and it being stripped of its Legendary powers before gradually bing useless.

    However, it was not an issue for Lin Li at all. If it wasn¡¯t necessary for him to bring the controlling magical crystal around with him wherever he went¡ªone magical crystal would be enough to supply mana for the entire tower. Although the Legendary magical crystal couldn¡¯tpare to the control magical crystal, it could separate the mana source of the tower. For example, the All-Kill Array had a single Legendary magical crystal as its mana source, while the Crystal Cannons were powered by other magical crystals because Lin Li had plenty of Legendary magical crystals.

    Of course, while strengthening the defense capabilities of the Tower of Dusk, the abilities of the mages, too, had to be improved as soon as possible. Otherwise, it¡¯d be an ipetent tower with a strong facade. The strong defense of the Tower of Dusk was by no means to keep the mages sheltered, but rather to release them from maintaining the defense.

    If only 10 mages were needed for the Tower of Dusk to defend itself, the other mages could then go to do other things. For example, when dealing with attacking enemies, they would have other options. In fact, they could even directly destroy the opponent¡¯s base. For example, they wouldn¡¯t end up in the state that they were in now in order to protect their businesses in other ces.

    Considering the fact that he would be exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum soon, Lin Li got Gavin to tabte a list of mages who had contributed the most to the Tower of Dusk in a bid to grant them greater benefits to improve their strength.

    Lin Li was well aware that constructivepetition within an organization was crucial for continuous progress. Although the resources of the Tower of Dusk were enough for all mages to enjoy the same generous treatment, the so-called fairness and equality was precisely the greatest unfairness.

    After all, the Tower of Dusk was also the Guild of Magic of the Breezy ins. Almost every mage that came forth to register would be considered a member of the Tower of Dusk. Even the mages of the opposing forces could easily register to be a member of the Guild of Magic when gone unnoticed. They would then get to enjoy the various benefits offered by the Tower of Dusk.

    That was also the reason Lin Li introduced the contribution system. The contributions of each mage were ranked numerically and divided into different grades, each with its own treatment level. Those who wanted to enjoy more benefits would have to put in more effort and make greater contributions. It was the same even for the mages of opposing forces who sneakily registered to join the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, the treatment wouldn¡¯t be too different from that of other Guilds of Magic.

    This time was no exception, either. Lin Li didn¡¯t wish to end up with a useless subordinate, or even an enemy, after nurturing and grooming him with the aim of turning him into a powerful mage.

    ¡°Master Felic, you are finally back!¡± Wilkinson eximed as he brought several pharmacists to Lin Li together with him. Heartfelt joy was written all over their faces.

    Although Wilkinson and the other pharmacists did not belong to the tower, with the improvement of their own knowledge in pharmaceutics, they had be increasingly convinced that Lin Li had definitely reached the level of a Pharmaceutics Guru. To Wilkinson and the rest, it would be disaster if Lin Li got stuck in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    After receiving the news and facing the attack by the Dark de, the pharmacists had different opinions about whether to leave or stay. However, Wilkinson was a proud disciple of the President of the Pharmacist Guild, and was extremely prestigious and respected by his peers. He soon made the firm decision to stay in the Tower of Dusk, and his peers followed suit.

    Of course, Wilkinson was not hell-bent on waiting for Lin Li toe back. After all, the chances were too slim. Wilkinson negotiated with the rest and convinced them to stay until a new leader took over the Tower of Dusk. Anyway, the new leader would not be able to stop them from leaving, regardless of who it might be.

    Lin Li¡¯s return was definitely a big surprise for Wilkinson and the other pharmacists. It was not that they did not respect their teacher, but rather that they felt that there would not be a significant increase in their pharmaceutical skills even if they were to go back to the Pharmacist Guild. After all, they knew that Master Felic was the only Pharmaceutics Guru in Anril.

    ¡°It¡¯s been hard on you guys while I was away,¡± Lin Li said with a slight nod while looking at Wilkinson and others. During the time that he was away, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk would probably havee to a standstill if it weren¡¯t for the pharmacists who¡¯d chosen to stay. Besides, if it were not for the healing potions that they provided, there would have definitely been more casualties from the Tower of Dusk.

    Although he did not thank them politely, his words were enough to make Wilkinson and the rest feel warm and fuzzy inside as if they had just drank some honey. Knowing that the battle in the Tower of Dusk had just ended, so Lin Li had just returned and had more important things to deal with, Wilkinson and other pharmacists returned to do their own things after greeting Lin Li. Of course, they also decided to summarize all the problems they encountered during this time, and wait for an opportunity to consult Lin Li.

    Lin Li had been trapped in the chaos of time and space for half a year. Aftering out, he hurried back to the Tower of Dusk, but he did not feel too fatigued, since he was a level-23 Legendary-mage, after all. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk could not stand it. After all, they were still mortals and ordinary mages because they had yet to enter the Legendary-realm. After being harassed by the Dark de for half a year, the intensity of the attacks was increasing and bing more and more menacing each day. Although it was all over now, they had been exhausted physically and mentally for a long time.

    Although the healing potions could allow their injuries to heal very quickly and even replenish the blood that was lost, the energy consumption could only be recovered through rest. No amount of healing potions would help replenish energy. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had to rest for three days in a row before they could eliminate their fatigue.

    For the basic contribution value, Gavin selected 40 mages, some of whom had reached level-19, while some had just broken through level-15. Standing in the hall, the mages were full of excitement, and they stared at their godlike President without blinking.

    The rest of the mages who were standing around the 40 mages were those who had not been selected. They were staring at their peers, all green with envy. However, there was nothing they could do, because their peers were the ones who¡¯d contributed greatly to the Tower of Dusk! Even though they did not get selected, they did not find the results to be unfair, and simply thought about how they could increase their contributions in the future.

    In fact, the continuous attacksunched by the Dark de in the past six months did bring about a certain benefit for the Tower of Dusk. It basically wiped out all of the members who wavered in their loyalty or had ulterior motives. It could be said that most of the members who¡¯d stayed behind were very loyal to the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li scanned the 40 mages who were selected, and nodded secretly. Although not all talented mages were selected, the fact that they could be shortlisted because of their talent meant that they were not untalented, either.

    Lin Li had no idea if anyone could break through to Legendary-realm, but he was certain that there would definitely be an additional group of Archmages who were above level-18.

    ¡°Although Gavin didn¡¯t state the reason for choosing you guys, you should be able to guess it. Yes, it¡¯s indeed because of your contributions to the Tower of Dusk. In the next few days, I will provide you with some welfare benefits that will help increase your abilities. However, the gains that you can make are mostly dependent on your hard work and effort,¡± Lin Li said to the group.

    As expected! It was just like what they guessed! The 40 mages who tried to contain their excitement said in unison, ¡°President, please be assured that we will work hard to live up to the expectations that you have of us.¡±

    Apart from the generous treatment, the biggest attraction in joining the Tower of Dusk was the opportunity to get the guidance of Legendary powerhouses. Besides, they still had no idea that Lin Li, the young President, was not an ordinary Legendary powerhouse. A Legendary powerhouse could never have defeated the two Legendary leaders of the Dark de so effortlessly.

    ¡°Gavin, take them upstairs,¡± said Lin Li. He had spent the past two days arranging everything. Hence, he did not put in too much effort into guiding them now.

    The most effective thing Lin Li had which could quickly enhance the strength of mages was the Seed of Eternity, as well as the controlling magical crystal of the Sky Castle. However, although the Sky Castle contained almost infinite mana, it would be depleted eventually because the Seed of Eternity was already dead. Lin Li was trying to find a way to revive the Seed of Eternity, and thus would not deplete its power. If he were to find a viable method but the mana was already almost depleted, he would be at a huge loss.

    Hence, for the special training for the mages, Lin Li chose to use the huge controlling magical crystal. In terms of mana, the mana contained in the magical crystal seemed to be greater than that in the Tree of Eternity. Most importantly, the recovery ability of the magical crystal was extremely strong.

    When a magical crystal reached the Legendary level, it would have the same recovery ability as a mage¡¯s meditation. Although Lin Li could not figure out what level it was, he was sure that it was definitely far beyond the Sanctuary-realm. Even if 40 mages continuously absorbed its mana, they might not be able to keep up with the recovery speed of the controlling magical crystal. There would be no effect on it at all.

    Although Lin Li had to bring the controlling magical crystal everywhere with him, the massive power of the magical crystal was almost enough to make all 40 mages reach the peak of level-19. As for stepping into the Legendary-realm, that could not be achieved simply with an external force. It required the mage¡¯s personal understanding of the nomological power. Lin Li could use his own experience to guide them along, but he could not take them to the Legendary-realm.

    However, Lin Li still had some High Elven books of magic that would help with knowledge about magic. The books were the works of the greatest magic educator during the reign of the High Elves, Oloderis. Although they were basic theories, the foundation knowledge was what would give them rity and a better understanding of nomological power.

    Lin Li freed up a room on one of the floors of the Tower of Dusk and used it as a room for special training. The controlling magical crystal was ced in the center of the hall, and the magic books were ced on a row of bookshelves by the wall, which the mages in training could ess freely. Lin Li did not hide the controlling magical crystal, firstly because the selected mages were trustworthy, and secondly because he would definitely put it away when he left.

    However, what Lin Li did not expect was the fact that the 40 mages did not make many spections about the huge magical crystal in the middle after arriving, even though they were shocked by the huge mana that filled the lobby. Due to the fact that the size of the magical crystal had exceeded their imagination, they did not associate it with magical crystals.

 Chapter 696 - Waves From All Sides

    <h4>Chapter 696: Waves From All Sides</h4>

    Sometimes, people tended to lose their urge to imagine something when things were really beyond imagination. In the eyes of the mages, the huge magical crystal might be some sort of Magical Crystalloid or something else, but definitely not a magical crystal.

    ¡°What we have to do is actually the same as usual. We just have to stay here to meditate and umte mana. There are books on magic that President brought back from the Haiga Mountain Range on that bookshelf. Those books are the teaching material for magic that the High Elves used during the Dark Age. If you have any doubts during this period of time, you may read the books to find the answers to your questions. If you can¡¯t find any answer, President will give you the answers...¡± Gavin instructed, after which he picked a few mages and sat down with them to meditate.

    After listening to Gavin¡¯s instructions, everyone could not help but feel somewhat disappointed. They wondered, <i>Can meditation and learning as usual really help us improve our abilities in a short period of time?</i>

    However, when everyone sat down and began meditating, they suddenly yelled in shock.

    When mages meditated, they actually captured the magical elements in space before transforming them into their own mana which was stored within themselves, continuously expanding the limit of their storage. A certain amount of the mage¡¯s mental strength would definitely be depleted, be it during the process of capturing or transforming.

    However, the mages had just begun to meditate, and had yet to channel their mental strength, yet the massive mana that surrounded them seemed to be surging into their bodies like a flood. It was absolutely terrifying. It was not meditation at all. It was a crazy influx of mana! In the blink of an eye, they could already feel an obvious rise in their power.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current strength, which was at the peak of level-23, the amount of mana he gained from standing beside the magical crystal for a moment would be equivalent to the amount he would gain in a week of meditation, what more the level-19 mages. In fact, one of the level-15 Archmages managed to advance to level-16 after sitting down for a moment.

    If it weren¡¯t for the maintaining of the friendlypetition within the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would definitely allow hundreds of mages under him to join in and create a batch of Archmages within a short period of time. However, there were now 20 Alchemy Puppets that Lin Li had brought back to the Tower of Dusk; hence, it could be said that they did notck anybat power below the Legendary-level. Most importantly, Lin Li hoped for Legendary-mages that truly belonged to the Tower of Dusk to emerge amongst the 40 mages.

    Several mages who were already at level-19 stood up. They knew that at the speed just now, they might reach the peak of level-19 soon, but that would still be extremely far away from the Legendary-realm. They were the elites of the crowd in the first ce. Hence, they naturally wanted to improve tremendously during this period of time and not disappoint others when they left.

    For mages below the Legendary-level, the only way to increase their strength was to umte mana, but in order to enter the Legendary-realm, they would require more substantial knowledge about magic so that they would have a stronger foundation that would allow them to understand and appreciate the mysteries of the nomological power. The level-19 mages who were led by Evan were full of anticipation for the books of magic that Lin Li had brought back from the Haiga Mountain Range.

    The High Elven script should be considered apulsory subject for mages in the Tower of Dusk because reading those magic books was not difficult for them. However, the first mage to get his hands on the books frowned slightly after flipping through the pages. He murmured, ¡°Well, this doesn¡¯t seem like much.¡±

    Several other people also looked at the books of magic on the shelves, all full of doubt. Indeed, it did seem a little puzzling at first, but as they continued to read on, they gradually understood the value of these magic books. They discovered solutions to the minor problems that they usually encountered, and also noticed some of their misconceptions. They could clearly feel that the theoretical knowledge in the books was like a bunch of keys that slowly opened the door to the Legendary-realm for them.

    ¡°Tegel, why did youe back? Did the Dark de retreat?¡± an elder of the Malfa Family, Sorenson, asked while staring at Tegel and the rest who had suddenly returned from the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°The Dark de... did not retreat...¡± Tegel and the others began to look more awkward and uneasy as they thought about the incident that took ce that day. Lin Li gave them too great of a shock; none of them dared to believe that he was only in his early twenties.

    However, Sorenson noticed the expressions of Tegel and the other mages, and interpreted them differently. He solemnly asked, ¡°If the Dark de didn¡¯t retreat, does that mean that the Tower of Dusk has been conquered?¡±

    Sorensen couldn¡¯t help but hate the other elders. If it weren¡¯t for their opposition, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have sent just Tegel and the other four mages. Now that the Dark de had conquered the Tower of Dusk, they¡¯d definitely experience a surge in strength within a short period of time. <i>Those lunatics are probably going to deal with th Malfa Family next. However, what the Malfa Family needs now is time for development, not a war,</i> he thought.

    ¡°No, no, President Felic of the Tower of Dusk returned,¡± Tegel quickly exined.

    ¡°What? That young mage of the Tower of Dusk is back!?¡± Upon hearing the news, Sorenson suddenly stood up in shock.

    ¡°Yes, Sir, not only did President Felic return, he even managed to seriously injure Borg from the Dark de with a single blow.¡± Tegel would still feel a sudden chill in his heart whenever he thought of the destructive blow from the Light and Darkness Sword even now.

    ¡°It only took a single blow...¡± Sorensen couldn¡¯t help but clench his fists tightly. Although he had heard from his father Cheyenne that President Felic of the Tower of Dusk had reached the peak of level-22, he knew that even an ordinary level-22 Legendary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t be able to severely injure their old enemy Borg with a single blow.

    ¡°Later on, Bald and Borg joined forces, but only for a moment because they were soon restrained by President Felic¡¯s magic. All of the Dark de¡¯s attacking power waspletely destroyed.¡± Sorenson already found the truth to be hard to ept, yet Tegel told him about something that was even more incredible.

    <i>Damn, this is too crazy, did that young mage get trained by the gods for a year!?</i> Sorenson sat back in his chair and looked at the other four mages beside Tegel. He could tell from the expressions on their faces that Tegel did not lie.

    ¡°Prepare some gifts. Tegel will be the messenger... Wait, I think I¡¯d better make a trip there in person. Also, look after the Tower of Dusk¡¯s business in the city. Do not let anyone take it over. Otherwise, there will be no mercy spared!¡± Sorenson ordered. Sorensen was the chief elder of the Malfa Family in the end, so he quickly suppressed the horror in his heart, and prepared for the new changes.

    Sorensen was no longer a child; hence, he would not worship anyone blindly, nor would he think that his idol was invincible. He knew that Tegel and the others were not lying, and he also knew that even though his father Cheyenne had broken through to level-22, it would be impossible for him to defeat Bald and Borg at the same time. The power of the young mage of the Tower of Dusk was absolutely terrifying. Fortunately, the Malfa Family had not done anything to offend or harm the Tower of Dusk in the past six months.

    ¡°The young President of the Tower of Dusk is back! He managed to defeat Bald and Borg of the Dark de, all by himself!¡±

    The shocking news spread around the Malfa Family within a short period of time, and began spreading like wildfire in the Breezy ins.

    In the Casten Mansion of Dnd City, a sudden shriek filled the air at night. ording to the servants of the Casten Mansion, the overbearing young master was almost killed by the angry casten. If it weren¡¯t for the desperate efforts of the casten¡¯s wife, there would be one less troublemaker in Dnd City. Upon hearing the rumors, everyone shook their heads and sighed. Indeed, troublemakers never died.

    Arathor, the casten of Rnd City, immediately summoned Sienna, the head of the mercenaries who was left out for a long time. After a long confidential conversation, Sienna left Rnd City with hefty gifts. Arathor then ordered the security officials in Rnd City to investigate all cases involving smashing and looting in the past six months, iming that the victim had to be given a fair and satisfactory ount. All of a sudden, the entire Rnd City entered the state ofbat readiness as arge number of guards shuttled through the city and arrested the groups of criminals.

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    William was so angry that he turned as pale as a sheet. Pointing with a shaking finger at the steward in front of him who had a palm-shaped mark on his face, William barked, ¡°Who made you change those conditions of cooperation!? Who gave you that authority!?¡±

    ¡°Master William, I¡¯m doing this for the Time Consignment Store. By doing this, we canpletely obtain greater benefits,¡± the other party exined anxiously with horror on his face.

    ¡°You!!¡±

    William was feeling just as helpless. Who knew that that young President who was verified to have met with a mishap by the Malfa Family and the elves would actuallye back miraculously half a yearter with an even more horrifying level of strength. He knew that Lin Li was not a magnanimous person. If any conflicts had happened during their cooperation in the past six months...

    ¡°No matter what method you use, find the person in charge of the Tower of Dusk and revise the agreement of the agreement. Give them double the benefits stated in the agreement that we have given them in the past six months. In addition, draft and re-sign another agreement which includes the gifting of another portion of benefits to them. Also, if you dare to take matters into your own hands and act presumptuously, I¡¯ll skin you alive! Scram!!¡± William hollered. If he hadn¡¯t been exasperated, he wouldn¡¯t have said such harsh words.

    The news soon spread through the entire Malfa Family through various means. Those who had interacted with Lin Li were shocked by Lin Li¡¯s strength, but they had no choice but concede that as long as the young President was involved, no miracle was impossible.

    However, there were still many other forces that sneered at the news released by the Malfa Family. In their opinion, it was very likely that it was just a piece of fake news that the Malfa Family had released in order to fully take over the power of the Tower of Dusk. The two Legendary leaders of the Dark de were famous powerhouses in the Breezy ins. They reckoned that even if the young President of the Tower of Dusk had returned, the battle would definitely not have been as exaggerated as the Malfa Family¡¯s elders had made it out to be. Beating two of them with a single blow and restricting them with power sounded just like a fairy tale.

    ¡°President, the chief elder of the Malfa Family, Sorenson, is waiting to see you in the guest hall.¡±

    ¡°President, the casten of Dnd City is here with gifts. He congrattes you for returning safely. The messenger is waiting for you in the guest hall...¡±

    ¡°President, Casten Arathor from Rnd City sent his messenger...¡±

    ¡°President, the Time Consignment Store...¡±

    After arranging the special training for the mages, Lin Li began to answer some questions for Wilkinson and the rest. However, at this moment, the big shots of the Breezy ins were streaming in to the Tower of Dusk one after another with hefty and expensive gifts.

    The Malfa Family was the first. To Lin Li¡¯s surprise, Sorenson, the chief elder, actually visited in person. That undoubtedly meant that Cheyenne put the Tower of Dusk on the same level as the Malfa Family, or perhaps even higher. Although Cheyenne had already personally invited Lin Li more than half a year ago, at the end of the day, Cheyenne had already retired as their chief elder. Hence, Sorenson, the current chief elder, was the only one who could really represent the Malfa Family.

    The casten of Dnd City brought his son over, and said that he would allow the Tower of Dusk to do whatever they wanted with him. He even transferred the ownership of a nearby mine to the Tower of Dusk.

    Casten Arathor initially wanted to entrust Sienna as his messenger, but considering the fact that Sienna had been left out for a while, he decided to just visit the Tower of Dusk personally with his children. No matter what, his daughter and son were students that Lin Li had acknowledged. Hence, he felt that it would be easier to speak to Lin Li since they had such connections.

    ¡°Beckley, tabte the losses that our business has incurred in the past six months, and settle the scores with them,¡± Lin Li said to the middle-aged mage Beckley who was beside him after sending away some messengers.

    Beckley was not talented in magic. He was already 50 years old, but was only a Magic Shooter who had broken through level-10. He also knew that he was at the end of his journey in magic, and gradually became Gavin¡¯s right-hand man as he put most of his energy into managing the business of the Tower of Dusk. This time, Beckley followed Lin Li to settle the matters because Gavin was conducting the special training.

    In the past six months, Beckley watched as the business of the Tower of Dusk got continuously attacked by various forces, and was long infuriated with it. Actually, with the strength of the Tower of Dusk, it would be easy to defeat most of the forces even if Lin Li did not intervene. After all, not all forces had Legendary powerhouses in charge. However, the Tower of Dusk was constantly being attacked by the Dark de, and they could not deal with the troublemakers at all. Hence, they had no choice but to mark down the losses incurred.

    After the news of Lin Li¡¯s return to the Tower of Dusk spread around, all the big shots of the major forces came to visit with gifts. They did not make grand and ostentatious appearances that were publicized, and were instead rather secretive, but every one of them was a pivotal figure of the Breezy ins, after all, and everyone could more or less tell something was going on.

 Chapter 697 - Asserting Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 697: Asserting Dominance</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Those who had ill intentions were obviously those who used various means to jar the interests of the Tower of Dusk during these six months. They were initially rather skeptical about the news of the return of the President of the Tower of Dusk, but when they saw the big shots visiting the Tower of Dusk, they began to panic.

    At the beginning, they had the audacity to harm the businesses of the Tower of Dusk because they knew that the Dark de was determined to destroy the Tower of Dusk. Regardless of how well the Tower of Dusk developed, they would never be able topare to the Dark de which had hundreds of years of solid foundation. Hence, it would be no surprise for the Tower of Dusk to be defeated.

    However, an unexpected twist still happened in the end. The Tower of Dusk was still standing strong in Dnd, but there was no longer any news about the Dark de. They could not believe the exaggerated rumor, but no matter whether they believed it or not, the Tower of Dusk was still present, and the power they could exert now that the Dark de was gone was extremely impressive.

    Finally, some forces could no longer hold back, and headed to the Tower of Dusk with their gifts in hopes of getting the forgiveness of the Tower of Dusk. However, there were some forces that were still observing and waiting. No one knew to what extent the power of the Tower of Dusk would be damaged after the battle. They thought that it might not be as terrifying as they imagined.

    However, Lin Like didn¡¯t have time to let those forces continue observing. After obtaining the figures that Beckley presented from his calctions, Lin Li immediately summoned the mages who did not participate in the special training. Although the strength of those mages were slightly inferior, it would be difficult for a force to battle another powerful force without a Legendary powerhouse to take charge.

    Lin Li did not say anything to encourage them, yet the mages all looked incredibly excited, not only because they finally got to vent their anger, but more importantly because they would be able to make contributions as they now had tasks to do. More contributions meant better treatment, and they might even get to receive the personal guidance of their President like their peers who¡¯d got selected.

    However, the expressions on the faces of the mages somehow turned peculiar because they reckoned that none of the forces would be able to afford thepensation Lin Li demanded. In that case, how were they supposed toplete the task?

    ¡°President, this tenfoldpensation may be thrilling, but I¡¯m afraid none of them can afford it!¡± eximed Horsin, a level-15 Archmage who was trying to be brave.

    The other mages also focused their gazes on Lin Li, clearly sharing the same thoughts as Horsin. A tenfoldpensation was not a small sum. The businesses of the Tower of Dusk were not inexhaustible like a gold mine, and the dy in business for just a single day would result in a massive loss. After half a year, the losses incurred by even an unassuming shop would not be affordable by ordinary forces, what more 10 times that sum.

    The loss incurred by the Tower of Dusk that was caused by a force and the benefits that they gained from the Tower of Dusk were twopletely different concepts. A small shop of the Tower of Dusk was robbed of a batch of potions which caused them to be unable to continue operations for half a year. In this case, the benefits that the force obtained was just a batch of potions, but the losses incurred by the Tower of Dusk was the store¡¯s operating ie for half a year. The two were worlds apart.

    Upon hearing Horsin¡¯s question, Lin Li did not re up, and instead smiled ambiguously and said, ¡°I want them to be unable to afford thepensation.¡±

    ¡°You want them to be unable to afford thepensation?¡± The mages were filled with bewilderment as they were all dumbfounded.

    ¡°Yes, if they can¡¯t afford it, we¡¯ll make them use everything they have to pay off the debt.¡± This time, Lin Li didn¡¯t just want to recover the losses in the past six months. Although the Tower of Dusk had been established for less than two years, given their current capability, it was time for them to assert dominance and show their prowess. Lin Li wanted to take this chance to assert dominance so that the forces of all sizes in the Breezy ins would not dare to undermine the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    He wanted to make them use everything they had to pay off debts! The mage Horsin and his peers suddenly had an epiphany. They realized that their President did not want just apensation, but also an excuse to stand in power and make those forces surrender. At the thought of this, the mages did not seem worried at all, and instead clenched their fists, all ready to fight.

    In the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk was still considered an external force, after all, and two years was not enough for the Tower of Dusk to be integrated into the local forces. If they were to wage a war without reason, they would probably anger the other forces and create enemies all over the Breezy ins. When that happened, their business would probably be unable to continue operations even if they had massivebat power. That would greatly hinder the Tower of Dusk¡¯s development. However, there was now a reason for him to get back at them, and that waspensation. Even if he were to get physical, there was nothing they could do, because they were the ones who¡¯d been greedy in the first ce.

    Of course, Lin Li did not mean to wipe out those forces one by one. He still left a path of survival for those who might not be able to pay the debt, which was to sign a contract and be a subsidiary force of the Tower of Dusk until the debt was paid off. If they chose not to do so, they would either have to pay the debt or disappear from the Breezy ins. Lin Li was tyrannical, but no one could criticize him, because they had topensate his faction.

    As soon as Lin Li gave his orders, the mages of the Tower of Dusk began to attack the forces on the namelist like hungry wolves. Nearly 100 mages whose strength ranged from level-10 to level-15, as well as the 20 Shadow Assassins of Alchemy Puppets, appeared in front of them, making it hard for them to retaliate.

    ¡°What? 10 times thepensation!? We, the Silver Star mercenary corps, were indeed wrong, but we only got 60 potions. Even if its tenfold, it should not be this amount,¡± the head of the Silver Star Mercenary corps, Rekba, a middle-aged soldier of level-16, protested angrily at Horsin and the rest.

    Although the Silver Star Mercenary Corps did not have a high rank in the Breezy ins, they were rather famous in the northwest of the Dark de¡¯s territory. Back then, when they saw that the Tower of Dusk could not escape the fate of being destroyed by the Dark de, he couldn¡¯t help but let his greed get the better of him, and thus decided to rob the pharmacy in Dorma Town. After hearing the news of the return of the President of the Tower of Dusk, Rekba began to contemte if he should visit Lin Li to apologize or hope that thetter did not have the time to bother about him.

    However, Rekba did not expect to face the mages of the Tower of Dusk before he even made up his mind. Rekba initially felt a little guilty. After all, he was a mercenary, and not a bandit. However, when he heard the amount ofpensation proposed by the mage of the Tower of Dusk, the guilt within him disappeared instantly.

    <i>What a joke, those 60 potions cost as much as all my savings, yet they multiplied it by 10. If it¡¯s based on the price of those 60 potions, thepensation price is actually more than 100 times more. Damn it, if I had so much money, why would I still be cooped up in such a tiny ce!? </i>Rekba was on the verge of turning hysterical. He wanted to fall out with Lin Li, but after seeing the dozens of mages on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, he felt that his 300-odd mercenaries were useless.

    Horsin nced coldly at Rekba and his so-called elites before expressionlessly saying, ¡°Because of your malicious attack, our shop was suspended for half a year. ording to the average ie of normal business, the loss incurred within these six months is as high as 1,000,000 gold coins, and 10 times thepensation would be 10,000,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°What? 10,000,000 gold coins? Why don¡¯t you go rob the bank!?¡± Everyone in the Silver Star Mercenary Corps pulled out their weapons angrily. 10,000,000 gold coins! If the mercenary regiment had so much money, its strength would be double of what it was now.

    However, at this moment, overwhelming magic flew out from behind him, suddenly striking the 300-odd mercenaries¡¯ backs. In the blink of an eye, everyone lost their bnce, and they finally remembered that there were dozens of mages in the Tower of Dusk who could destroy them easily.

    Horsin stepped forward, looking down at the captain of the Silver Star Mercenary Corps, Rekba. He flicked his wrist and unfolded a scroll on which a contract was printed, after which he calmly said, ¡°You either pay thepensation in full or be a subsidiary force of the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, you shall die!¡±

    In fact, weak forces were often attached to the stronger forces, which was not too strange or shameful of a thing. However, many of these rtions were just verbal agreements, and everyone acted ordingly, each performing their respective roles. However, a real contract would be like signing a deed of sale where the entire force became a ve to the other party.

    No one wanted to be enved to others, but given the current situation, they didn¡¯t have another choice. Rekba raised his head reluctantly, looking behind at Horsin to see that the magic staffs of the mages were still umting mana. Without a doubt, Rekba and his mercenaries would definitely face dire consequences if his answer was unsatisfactory.

    ¡°I, I agree...¡± Rekba grabbed the contract with shaky hands, and was no longer in the mood to look carefully at the content, for he had to sign it anyway, regardless of how harsh the conditions were.

    A paper contract, although not as binding as the Soul Contract, would make the Silver Star Mercenary Corps be a part of the Tower of Dusk as long as Rekba signed it. Regardless of what the Tower of Dusk did to the Silver Star Mercenary Corps, the other forces would have no right to intervene.

 Chapter 698 - Next One

    <h4>Chapter 698: Next One</h4>

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, the next one is the Blood Scorpion Brotherhood. If they don¡¯t know how to act appropriately, there¡¯s no need to spare them any mercy,¡± Horsin said as he put away the contract and turned around to take the mages away.

    No one expected that the Tower of Dusk would retaliate so violently; it was as if an unstoppable major storm had been set off in the Breezy ins. The forces that had once regarded the Tower of Dusk as an attractive slice of cake that they were coveting were just beingcent and proud of their own gains, yet they fell from heaven to hell all of a sudden. Facing surrender or demise, most forces, be it the mercenary corps, adventurers, or underground organizations, would not be able to show their determination to fight against death.

    While the mages of the Tower of Dusk wiped out their enemy forces in the Breezy ins, Lin Li got busy too. He answered the questions of Wilkinson and the other pharmacists, guided the mages along in learning magic, and redesigned some of the setups of the Tower of Dusk.

    The exploration in the Sky Castle took more than half a year for Lin Li. Had he not rushed back in time, the Tower of Dusk would have long been destroyed by the Dark de. Lin Li nned to excavate Osric¡¯s mausoleum next, but God knew how much time he would have to spend in there. Hence, Lin Li was determined to channel all of his energy into protecting the Tower of Dusk and making it a castle that no one could invade.

    When the Tower of Dusk was established, Lin Li was already a Guru of Inscription, but due to theck of understanding of nomological power, he could only consider many things in terms of Inscriptions. However, Lin Li was now a Legendary-mage who was at the peak of level-23, and had a much better understanding of nomological power than he did in the past. At this juncture, there were plenty of loopholes in the various settings of the Tower of Dusk, and there was room for improvement in many aspects.

    In the Sky Castle, the majestic Central Tower and the 36 towers that served as the nodes for the Conquering Mageweath especially were great reference material for Lin Li. Of course, he did not have enough power to set up an Orderly Maze for the Tower of Dusk or exhibit a Seven-Realm Spiral. However, the various offensive and defensive mageweaths, Alchemy Arrays, and magic gears had all given him great inspiration.

    Of course, the first problem to solve was the issue of the mana source of the Tower of Dusk. A single Legendary magical crystal of the Smander would be more than enough to support the daily operation of the Tower of Dusk. However, it seemed difficult to sustain the defenses under the menacing attacks of the Dark de with it. Such power would not be enough for him to deal with the impending disaster predicted by Geresco.

    When Lin Li was building the Tower of Dusk at the start, he nned to put the Eternal Furnace on the top of the tower before using the magical crystal in the Eternal Furnace that had reached the Sanctuary-realm as the mana source for the Tower of Dusk. However, he clearly did not have that much time; hence, he had to find another solution before using the Eternal Furnace.

    Increasing the mana was not as simple as putting two Legendary magical crystals together. The difference between the magical crystals and the difference between magic attributes were all factors that had to be considered. Apart from the numerous Legendary magical crystals that Lin Li obtained in the dragon graveyard, the most valuable items he had were none other than the two Double Death Dragons¡¯ magical crystals.

    The two Dragon Crystals were like perfect replicas, be it in terms of the mana contained in it or the auras. When inspected individually, each would just seem like an ordinary Dragon Crystal that was at the peak of level-22. However, when the two were put together, they would provide effects that were far greater than the high-level Dragon Crystals even if the mana could not bepared to level-23 Dragon Crystals¡¯.

    The All-Kill Array was one of the most important defensive mechanisms of the Tower of Dusk. Its strong power naturally came with massive mana depletion. The first thing that Lin Li wanted to change was to separate the mana source of the All-Kill Array from the rest. He believed that the power of the All-Kill Array would be maximized by using the two magical crystals as the source of mana.

    After a day, Lin Li reestablished the mana source of the All-Kill Array and used the Dragon Crystal of the Double Death Dragons to rece the Legendary magical crystal of the Smander. However, the Legendary magical crystal did not stop working, and was still used as the mana source for the other defensive mageweaths of the Tower of Dusk.

    The other thing Lin Li wanted to change was the magical Crystal Cannons. Before Lin Li had left, he initially got Beckley to buy 20 of them from the Dwarf Kingdom. However, the Dwarfs could not provide 20 Magical Crystal Cannons at once, unless they were willing to sell the cannons that they had in the kingdom. Hence, Beckley only returned with 10 Crystal Cannons, and they had to wait for the other 10 to arrive some timeter.

    If the Magical Crystal Cannon were to be activated in full force, it would consume no less mana than the All-Kill Array. A Legendary magical crystal that was above level-20 would be used up after a few uses of the cannon. Hence, Lin Li immediately ssified the Magical Crystal Cannons into groups and assigned a single mana source to every group. The magical crystals used were naturally of Legendary level so as to be sufficient for the cannon to continue firing.

    During this time, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were growing rapidly. The Tower of Dusk was also undergoing earth-shaking changes while remaining the talk of the town. Various forces in Dnd and Rnd were all extremely terrified and worried that Lin Li would suddenly look for them, regardless of whether they had offended the Tower of Dusk before.

    However, it was not that there were no exceptions. At this moment, a group of bandits named Poison Fire that resided near the Dragon Mountains was dering their decision to rebel against the Tower of Dusk. They even called on all unwilling forces to unite and fight against the tyrannical Tower of Dusk.

    Although the reputation of the Poison Fire Bandits had always been notorious, they were, after all, a local force in the Breezy ins, and ranked at the bottom of the Top 10 Bandit Groups. They were actually rather influential as plenty of forces approached them after hearing their call. They then united and formed a strong force that consisted of more than 2000 people, amongst which were 500-600 elites.

    Most people pinned their hopes to stop the tyrannical expansion of the Tower of Dusk on the Poison Fire Bandits. It was undoubtedly ironic. Of course, majority hoped to return everything to the original state after a fight that destroyed both parties.

    The den of the Poison Fire Bandits was not very secretive. It was located in an unnamed mountain range that extended from the Dragon Mountains. The reason they managed to survived for so many years was not because of their strength, but because they adhered to the nature of bandits¡ªbullying the weak and fearing the strong. Actually, they wouldn¡¯t go against the Tower of Dusk if they didn¡¯t have to. However, blinded by the massive benefits, they¡¯d made a wrong decision back then. Not only did they rob the shops in the Tower of Dusk, they even killed a few mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    Everyone in the Breezy ins knew how the Syer Bandits died. It was simply because they killed several ordinary vigers in ck Clouds Town, after which the people from the Tower of Dusk hunted them down and destroyed their den in the Dragon Mountains. Since the Poison Fire Bandits had killed the mages of the Tower of Dusk, they obviously wouldn¡¯t be forgiven.

    Clifford, the head of the Poison Fire Bandits, stood on the high wall of the cottage and looked ahead. The thick fog in the morning hampered his vision, making him feel extremely uneasy. As soon as he received the warning from the outpost, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had already entered the valley, and were less than 20 minutes away.

    The leaders of the other forces stood beside Clifford. Actually, they felt just as anxious and uneasy as Clifford.

    ¡°Leader Clifford, that young President of the Tower of Dusk probably isn¡¯t as formidable as they make him out to be. Legendary powerhouses may be incredible, but they¡¯re not deities, after all. There are so many of us. We must make them retreat,¡± said one of the middle-aged bandits who lost his temper.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± someone shrieked.

    Everyone turned to look in the distance, and happened to see a group of mages slowly walking out of the thick mist. The tension in the den began to increase.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, there are many of us, and we have defensive crossbows and catapults. Even if they are all mages, it would be impossible for them to deal with us without paying a price,¡± said someone who was consoling others, but was apparently trying to give himself some encouragement instead.

    ¡°Look at that!¡± someone yelled as they pointed at the sky.

    Everyone looked up in the sky, only to see a ck dot approaching them. The sight began to get clearer soon.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mage. Could it be the President of the Tower of Dusk!?¡±

    Only Legendary-mages could use their flying skills, and Lin Li, the Legendary President of the Tower of Dusk, was the only one who would appear there at this time. Clifford and the rest were not as stupid as to think that the figure was there to help them.

    ¡°Hurry, get ready¡ª¡± Before Clifford could finish giving his orders, everyone realized in shock that everything in their surroundings seemed to have be ck and white when they were not looking.

    Next, a huge burst of mana exploded out of nowhere, and an unparalleled power overwhelmed everyone instantly. They held their breaths, and it was as if the surrounding air had solidified. Immediately afterwards, they were horrified to see that a ck and white giant sword was darting towards them. They wanted to escape, but their bodies seemed to be out of control, for they could not move at all, and had no choice but to watch the sword fall down slowly.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A loud sound filled the air, and the mountains and rocks shattered.

 Chapter 699 - Returning to Alanna

    <h4>Chapter 699: Returning to nna</h4>

    Horsin and the other mages stared nkly ahead to see that the fog had dispersed and the fortress-like den of the Poison Fire Bandits vanished without a trace as if it had never existed in this world before. There was no more den and no more people. All that was left was a huge ravine that made the in valley a little more steep.

    ¡°Go back,¡± Lin Li said to Horsin and the other mages as he leaned forward.

    Horsin swallowed his saliva forcefully, and eximed, ¡°Yes, President!¡±

    <i>Oh God, this must be the power of the Legendary powerhouses!</i> Although Lin Li had defeated Borg and Bald of the Tower of Dusk in the beginning, and showed incredible power, the scene back then was far less shocking than now. The fortress-like cottage that contained more than 2,000 people disappeared together all at once.

    The news of the destruction of the Poisonous Fire Bandits¡¯ den caused an uproar in the Breezy ins again. The forces which were still sitting on the fence and waiting to take sides dared not retaliate at all. Without waiting for the mages of the Tower of Dusk to approach them, they took the initiative to approach the Tower of Dusk one after another to show their intentions to submit.

    No one dared to doubt the strength of the Tower of Dusk or the formidable power of Lin Li, the Legendary powerhouse. The 2000-odd people were wiped out all at once! How daunting!

    ¡°President, someone from the nna Guild of Magic who ims to be your Old Sir Macklin would like to see you,¡± Beckley reported to Lin Li worriedly. Although Lin Li was young, he was already a Legendary-mage, yet that old man dared to im that he was Lin Li¡¯s Old Sir. He really was courting death!

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li did not re up. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he said, ¡°Hurry and take me there.¡±

    Although Lin Li was already a level-23 Legendary powerhouse, he was still a young chap in his twenties; hence, he wasn¡¯t as fussy as the older men. Indeed, he could treat his enemies as insignificant ants and destroy them. However, he would never put himself on a pedestal and act all haughty around his friends. Otherwise, what was the point of life?

    Upon arriving in the guest hall, Lin Li was instantly greeted with the sight of the old fogy Macklin, who still looked as frivolous as before. He no longer bothered about his image, and instead sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding a cup of tea in his hand and sipping on it.

    Seeing that Lin Li had entered, Macklin put his teacup down and sprung up before encircling Lin Li twice. He then said, ¡°Not bad, little bastard. You managed to cause such a huge uproar and you even destroyed the two old fogies of the Dark de.¡±

    Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°If they had not provoked me, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have bothered to do that to them. Surely you¡¯re not here to give me apliment?¡±

    ¡°Give you apliment?¡± Macklin humphed and returned to his seat. cing one leg over the other, he said, ¡°Kid, are you so busy that you¡¯ve forgotten your promise to create a magical weapon for me back then? It¡¯s already been so long. I ended up getting teased and mocked by that old fogy Al¡¯Akir whenever I see him. Aldwin doesn¡¯t dare to leave the Guild of Magic at all.¡±

    ¡°So you were talking about that. Rest assured, even if you didn¡¯te to me this time, I¡¯d still be visiting nna in a few more days to create your magical weapon,¡± Lin Li said as he sat beside Macklin. He was definitely not patronizing him, because he was still coveting Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Now that the situation in the Tower of Dusk had be stable, it was actually time for him to head to nna.

    ¡°Seriously speaking, are you really confident about creating a magical weapon? That bastard Al¡¯Akir has gotten someone to create a high-level mageweath. In order to make him lose and admit defeat, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d need a Master-level magical weapon. Otherwise, it will be a draw,¡± said Macklin. Although he knew that Lin Li could create a magical weapon, it was not easy to create a Master-level magical weapon even for a true Smithing Master.

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m still confident enough in getting that done,¡± Lin Li said confidently. Creating a Guru-level magical weapon would be no issue for Lin Li, let alone a Master-level one.

    Recalling the bet between the nna Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild, Lin Li could not help but feel amused. In order topete for the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Aldwin and Al¡¯Akir got into a fight, which resulted in a draw and the seemingly fair bet afterward. The Adventurers Guild looked for a member who could draw mageweaths, while the Guild of Magic wanted to look for a member who could create magical weapons.

    Unfortunately, while mages had always thought they were smart, while everyone saw Warriors as dimwits, Aldwin was stabbed in the back by the Sword Sage of the Storm, Gildor, which was no different from his losing face. The members of the Adventurers Guild were a varied bunch, and they effortlessly managed to find an Archmage who could create high-level mageweaths. However, all of the members of the Guild of Magic were mages, and there was no way cksmiths would join the Guild of Magic. Finding a mage who could smith would be incredibly difficult.

    Seeing that Lin Li was smiling, Macklin felt sullen and upset again. However, no matter what, Lin Li was still an actual mage, and Macklin reckoned that the weapon he created would definitely be impressive and shocking even for Al¡¯Akir. The thought of it made Macklin feel much better. Staring at Lin Li, he curiously asked, ¡°You little bastard, it¡¯s getting harder and harder for me to see through you. Your power now is probably more than just Legendary, right?¡±

    Macklin decided to stop dwelling on his personal matters, and shifted his attention to Lin Li. The more he looked, the more shocked he got. He felt that Lin Li was stronger and more powerful than Aldwin.

    Upon hearing Macklin¡¯s words, Lin Li smiled. Without hiding anything, he said, ¡°I should be at level-23.¡± He was not trying to show off, since he could not hide it from Aldwin, who had be a Legendary-mage a long time ago, once he went to the nna Guild of Magic anyway. Besides, by exhibiting his abilities, he would stand a higher chance in joining in the adventure to Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Otherwise, creating a magical weapon alone would not be enough for him to seem worthy of joining in.

    ¡°What!? Damn it! How does this make sense? I remember you were just an Archmage when you left nna back then. Damn it, why am I not as lucky as you are? I painstakingly worked hard for so many years, and yet I¡¯m not even in the Legendary-realm yet!¡± Macklin eximed with agony.

    Macklin visited almost two months after Lin Li returned back from the Haiga Mountain Range. Lin Li checked on the mages who were undergoing special training. Although one of the 40 mages entered the Legendary-realm during this period, most people had already reached the peak of level-19. Even Gerian who had teaued at level-16 had already reached the peak level-19, making him feel extremely thrilled. To Lin Li¡¯s joy, more than a dozen mages, including Gavin and Evan who had almost reached the Legendary-realm, began to gain understanding of nomological power, and were just a step away from the Legendary-realm.

    Although there was no Legendary powerhouse among them now, Lin Li reckoned that the Tower of Dusk would have a breakthrough soon, and there would be several mages who entered the Legendary-realm. Besides, even if there was no new Legendary powerhouse now, no one dared to underestimate the power of the Tower of Dusk.

    For the mages who reached the peak of level-19, the controlling magical crystal was temporarily not of much use to them. Hence, Lin Li announced the end of the special training and put the magical crystal back into his Ring of Endless Storm. However, he left the High Elves¡¯ books on magic behind for them to continue learning.

    After making all the necessary arrangements for the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li and Macklin set off for nna, and were, of course, apanied by the two faithful Undead servants Ujfalusi and Norfeller. During this period of time, Ujfalusi used the Dragon¡¯s soul and Wyrm skeleton that they had obtained in the dragon graveyard to advance to the peak of level-21 with Lin Li¡¯s help. Of course, when the two level-21 Undead creatures appeared in front of him, Macklin could not help but curse again.

    The nna Guild of Magic did not change much, and was still the same as when Lin Li visited for the first time. In the spacious hall, dozens of mages were busy shuttling around. Noticing that Macklin and Lin Li had entered, the mages who passed by greeted Macklin politely. However, they did not have much of an impression of Lin Li, who used to be a small fry. In fact, some of the mages even looked at Lin Li with a look of sympathy. It seemed that everyone knew that it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing tond in Macklin¡¯s hands.

    Under normal circumstances, Macklin would definitely cuss his heart out when he saw their gazes. However, he did not have the time to do so today, and instead eagerly took Lin Li to Aldwin. The bet with the Adventurers Guild had troubled them for a long time, and Macklin did not want to waste any time at all, because he wanted to see the look of defeat on the Sword Sage of the Storm Al¡¯Akir¡¯s face.

    The two of them came to Aldwin¡¯s office. Macklin dashed in together with Lin Li, without even knocking on the door. The mages who passed by got a great shock, but they quickly shut up after seeing that it was Macklin. They then hung their heads low and scurried away.

    Aldwin stared at the documents at the table and heard the door being swung open. Without even looking up, he chided, ¡°Macklin, you¡¯re already old in your years. Will you behave like an elder?¡± He then closed his document and nced at Macklin and Lin Li.

 Chapter 700 - Many Acquaintances

    <h4>Chapter 700: Many Acquaintances</h4>

    ¡°Master Aldwin, It¡¯s been long since west met. Are you doing well?¡± Lin Li asked smilingly.

    ¡°Well? As soon as you went to the Breezy ins, there were no news of you. Had I not gotten Macklin to look for you, I¡¯m afraid you would have forgotten our promise!¡± Aldwin did not have a look of resentment on his face at all. However, after he carefully took a look at Lin Li, a look of astonishment he could not hide formed on his face. ¡°Felic, surely you don¡¯t have any precious magical equipment?¡±

    Precious magical equipment? Lin Li had plenty of it in the Ring of Endless Storm, he but also knew the reason behind Aldwin¡¯s question. After all, it didn¡¯t take long for Lin Li to be a Legendary-mage by advancing from a level-16 or level-17 Archmage after he left the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°What magic equipment? The magical waves from this rascal¡¯s body are not from the magic equipment. Those rumors are not only not exaggerated, they¡¯re also understatements of this rascal¡¯s abilities,¡± Macklin grumbled after finding a chair to sit on.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s indeed unbelievable.¡± Aldwin shook his head slightly, staring at the young mage in front of him with admiration. He said, ¡°Mage Felic is now the President of the Tower of Dusk and he¡¯s already entered the Legendary-realm. Seems like we¡¯re really old. Hurry and take a seat.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony with me, Master Aldwin. No matter what kind of achievements I have made so far, I owe it all to the help of the elders. I think it¡¯s better for you to address me in the same way that you used to,¡± Lin Li said. Although his current status and strength were enough for him to be on an equal standing with Aldwin, he still couldn¡¯t get used to an old man being so polite to him. Although he was often joking with Aldwin and would speak to Andoine and Gerian with disrespect at times, he still respected them greatly.

    Aldwin nodded, admiring Lin Li for not bing arrogant and conceited just because he had be stronger and more respectable. Young people like him were rare. As the President of the Guild of Magic, he had seen plenty of so-called talented youths over the years; they were all extremelycent and lofty as if they were above everyone else. Unlike them, Lin Li was sensible and humble. Although Lin Li had caused plenty of trouble when he was training with them at first, they all knew the reasons for those incidents.

    ¡°Yeah, President, don¡¯t stand on ceremony with that kid. Quickly arrange for the bet with the old fogy Al¡¯Akir. Let¡¯s see how smug he can be,¡± Macklin urged ruthlessly.

    Aldwin red at Macklin and turned to look at Lin Li. ¡°Felic, I¡¯ll get someone to arrange a ce for you to rest first. If you need to train or practice, feel free to let Macklin know. As for the deal with the Adventurers Guild, we can afford to wait. Well, we¡¯ve already been waiting for so long anyway.¡±

    Aldwin had already heard about Lin Li¡¯s achievements in pharmacy which allowed him to gain the recognition of the President of the Pharmacists¡¯ Guild. After all, a person¡¯s energy was limited, and it would be hard to master everything. Lin Li was already a Legendary-mage and a Master of pharmaceutics. It would be hard for anyone to think that he was a smithing Master too.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Felic is very confident of his own abilities. Right, Felic?¡± said Macklin, who was a little dissatisfied with Aldwin¡¯s arrangement. During this period of time, the nna Guild of Magic was not only teased by the Adventurers Guild, they had also be theughing stock of the other forces because of the bet.

    ¡°Uh...¡± Aldwin blushed a little. At the end of the day, the matter was a result of hisck of careful consideration at that time. Fortunately, Lin Li appeared, turning the situation around. Otherwise, he would have be the sinner of the Guild of Magic. However, he did not arrange it immediately ording to Macklin¡¯s request, but instead exined to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust your abilities, but I just think that we should wait for the rest to return. After all, we have already exceeded the deadline of the bet ording to the original agreement.¡±

    Lin Li touched his nose. The matter really had something to do with him. When he arrived in the Breezy ins, he had only half a year left to fulfill the bet. In the end, the Tower of Dusk was built, and he proceeded to explore the Scar of Death before getting sent to the Throne of Darkness. He also went to besiege the Syer Bandits in the Dragon Mountains, entered the Haiga Mountain Range, and explored the Sky Castle. He even ended up getting trapped in the chaos of time and space. Almost two years had passed, and they had long exceeded the six-month period agreed in the bet. ording to the bet, the Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir, had already won it.

    However, after listening to Aldwin¡¯s n to wait for a few more people toe, he reckoned that Aldwin probably wanted to request the Sword Sage of the Storm to prolong the bet. Lin Li could imagine that Aldwin was all ready to use his strength to oppress them. However, the Sword Sage of the Storm was not a pushover, and even a Legendary powerhouse might not be able to force the Sword Sage of the Storm into giving in.

    Although Macklin was feeling displeased, he knew that Aldwin¡¯s considerations were not uncalled for. Hence, he had no choice but to arrange for Lin Li to go elsewhere.

    Lin Li did not bring the two Undead servants to the Guild of Magic, and instead arranged for them to rest in a hotel in nna. With the current strength of Ujfalusi and Norfeller, it would be difficult for ordinary people to recognize them to be Undead creatures. After all, they were not from Ledin Kingdom, and even if someone were to recognize them to be Undead creatures, no one would dare to do anything to them.

    Macklin left after arranging an amodation for Lin Li, who then left the Guild of Magic and took his two Undead servants on a tour around nna City.

    ¡°Sir, you really have good taste. The first thing you set your sights upon is my Thunder Eaglets. Come and take a look. The Thunder Eaglets that I¡¯m selling are genuine. They¡¯re going at 1000 gold coins each. I¡¯ll also give you a free...¡±

    A familiar sound of touting suddenly filled Lin Li¡¯s ears, and his lips curled into a smile. To his surprise, that swindler had yet to be beaten to death by the people he cheated, even though it had already been more than a year since theyst met. He had probably sold plenty of Thunder Eaglets and was living well too.

    ¡°Forget about the Thunder Eaglets. I want a Dragon Hawk and a Tricolored Flower. I wonder if you have any,¡± Lin Li said while walking towards the fat man and patting him on his shoulder.

    ¡°Thunder Eagles are so cheap¡ª¡± The fat man seemed to choke as he stopped speaking abruptly, and his fat body shivered a little. He then turned his head slowly to the side uneasily and stared at Lin Li with horror and fear in his eyes. ¡°Mr... Mage... You... It¡¯s been long since we met.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Shaun? I doubt I¡¯ve ever owed you any money, and I¡¯m trying to buy something from you now. What¡¯s wrong with your expression?¡± Lin Li asked teasingly.

    ¡°No, no, no, I was just very excited to see you,¡± Shaun said while putting on a grotesque and hideous smile on his face. Although he hadn¡¯t seen Lin Li for more than a year, Shaun would never forget him. Despite having clinched two sessful deals and made a lot of money from Lin Li, he would rather not have met the mage Lin Li if possible.

    Lin Li was only interested for a while, and decided to crack a joke with Shaun. After a casual chat where he informed Shaun that thetter could look for him at the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins if he ever needed something, he left with his two Undead servants.

    Staring at the backs of Lin Li and the others, Shaun shivered and hurriedly packed up to leave. He decided that it would be better for him to hide for a few days. Although the Breezy ins was rather far away, he was still eager to run as far as he could, let alone go to the Tower of Dusk to look for Lin Li.

    Although Shaun made plenty of money from the business deals that he made with Lin Li, he somehow felt terrified of Lin Li, and would escape as far as he could.

    Lin Li took his two Undead servants along for a day tour around nna City, but they didn¡¯t buy anything. It was simply for the sake of leisure. Throughout the days that Lin Li was in Anril, he had been spending all of his time learning magic, exploring, developing the Tower of Dusk, and keeping his schedule packed. Hence, he rarely had time for leisurely activities.

    When it was getting dark, Lin Li and the two Undead servants separated, and he returned to the nna Guild of Magic alone. However, as soon as he entered his room, someone sent an invitation from the Pharmacist Guild.

    In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Lin Li was getting ready to go out for a walk in the morning, but Macklin stopped him at the gate with a look of displeasure.

    ¡°Old man, what¡¯s the matter with you? Did someone provoke you?¡± Lin Li asked, wondering to himself if the bet with the Adventurers Guild had fallen through. If that were the case, he would have to think of another way to go to Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°Come with me, you¡¯ll know when you get there.¡± Macklin, who sounded a little depressed, seemed to havee for Lin Li.

    When the two arrived in Aldwin¡¯s office, Macklin surprisingly didn¡¯t push the door open, and instead knocked on the door. He didn¡¯t push it open until he heard a response.

    Upon entering, Lin Li discovered that there were three other elders who were dressed in magic robes seated in the office together with Aldwin. One of them was someone he knew well too. Greatly astonished, he asked, ¡°Hey, why are you here?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, kid? Can¡¯t I be here!? Hey, wait, did you eat something wrong? Where did your magical wavese from!?¡± Andoine eximed, revealing his true personality even though he looked decent in the robe.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I ate. I just somehow became like this. Nothing¡¯s wrong with me, right!?¡± Lin Li asked, pretending to be worried.

 Chapter 701 - Sword Forging

    <h4>Chapter 701: Sword Forging</h4>

    ¡°Come on, stop pretending, kid. It¡¯s only been a while since west met, and you¡¯ve already made so much progress. I was really right about you. Let me introduce you to Master Rosen. His proud disciple Gryffindor has already reached the peak of level-19, only one step away from the Legendary-realm. Learn well from him. Stop being a jack of all trades and embarrassing me,¡± Andoine said while pulling Lin Li towards him and introducing him to the skinny old man beside him. He sounded extremely proud and smug like a person out to anger others.

    ¡°Master Rosen,¡± Lin Li greeted. Although he had never met Rosen before, he knew his disciple, Gryffindor. Despite the fact that he didn¡¯t have a good impression of Gryffindor, he wouldn¡¯t fool around like Andoine did.

    Master Rosen seemed to be in his sixties, and he was extremely skinny with his head full of white hair. His face was covered in wrinkles, and apart from the sharp and menacing gaze in his eyes, he seemed just like an ordinary old man. After hearing Andoine¡¯s introduction, he didn¡¯t re up, and instead nodded slightly before saying in a hoarse voice, ¡°Indeed, Andoine has really got himself a good student. You should be level-23 now, you¡¯re almost surpassing your teacher.¡±

    Anyone would be able to tell from Andoine¡¯s introduction that he wasn¡¯t on good terms with Master Rosen. There was no expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, but he kept his guard up and carefully observed Rosen.

    ¡°This is one of the arbiters of the Supreme Council, Master Megard,¡± said Andoine who introduced Lin Li to another elder instead of answering Rosen.

    ¡°Master Megard,¡± Lin Li said with raised brows. From the moment he entered the door, he felt that Master Andoine, who used to be mysterious to him, was at the same level as him, level-23. Although he looked just like an ordinary old man, he was at level-23. However, he could not tell what Master Megard¡¯s level was, but that meant that he was probably in the Sanctuary-realm.

    Another thing that caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was Megard¡¯s identity as one of the arbiters of the Supreme Council. If he remembered correctly, Andoine and Rosen were both members of the Supreme Council and seemed to be fighting for the position of an arbiter. Lin Li wondered if the two of them had taken part in the mission this time for the sake of theirpetition.

    It seemed that Aldwin was waiting for him. Given their abilities, it would be effortless for them to snatch the key from the Sword Sage of the Storm. Of course, in this world, not everything was up to the Supreme Council, and they also had their concerns when it came to making decisions. The Supreme Council had also developed an interest in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Hence, it was no wonder that Aldwin would seem displeased.

    ¡°Well, very good, Andoine has produced a good student.¡± Megard looked at Lin Li without any expression on his face. It seemed that Lin Li¡¯s abilities which were not proportionate to his age did not make him feel the slightest surprise. After a perfunctory remark, he looked away and said, ¡°Aldwin, go and arrange the bet. I believe that kid Al¡¯Akir wouldn¡¯t turn you down.¡±

    That kid Al¡¯Akir... Lin Li shivered and thought to himself that only an old fogy would have the audacity to call Al¡¯Akir a kid.

    In the world of Anril, no one else dared to offend the Sword Sage of the Storm. He wasn¡¯t a fool. Besides, the Guild of Magic simply wanted to prolong the bet, and not get the key forcibly. If the Guild of Magic were to lose again, Megard probably wouldn¡¯t try to vie for it even though he was an arbitrator.

    A mage who was also a cksmith? Even the arbitrator, Megard, who was in Sanctuary-realm, probably wouldn¡¯t be able to create a decent magical weapon. It was just like asking a Warrior to draw a mageweath. Unfortunately, there were more than just Warriors in the Adventurers Guild. Al¡¯Akir had always been pleased with his achievement, which he regarded as the proudest piece of work he had produced.

    Soon, the nna Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild reached a consensus on the previous bet that they agreed on. The ce to fulfill the bet was not a public area in nna, but in a Forging Workshop belonging to the Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir. Al¡¯Akir was trying to express some respect for Megard. After all, every tool in his Forging Workshop was superb, and would be a huge bonus to his sess rate of forging.

    ¡°Aldwin, this is my private Forging Workshop. You can see what else is needed. I will get someone to prepare the items for you lest you say that I didn¡¯t give you a chance.¡± Although Al¡¯Akir agreed to the bet, he was already the winner; hence, he obviously wouldn¡¯t be pleased to extend the bet. Since Megard, who he feared, wasn¡¯t present, he felt that there would be no need to give Aldwin a good attitude.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about forging, ask him about it,¡± Aldwin said while introducing Lin Li to Al¡¯Akir. He was not angry at all.

    Al¡¯Akir thought that it was a person from the Supreme Council that would forge a weapon, and did not expect Aldwin to introduce a young mage whom he found familiar to him. All of a sudden, Al¡¯Akir frowned as a piece of memory appeared in his mind. He couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Lin Li touched his nose embarrassedly, took two steps forward, and said, ¡°Mr. Al¡¯Akir, we meet again.¡±

    Even until the day he died, Al¡¯Akir would never forget the fact that Lin Li had taken away a Legendary magical crystal in exchange for a Detoxification Antidote. In order to hunt the Legendary Smander back then, the Adventurers Guild activated six major adventurer teams and suffered countless casualties. Even Al¡¯Akir himself was poisoned by the Smander. Lin Li then gave him a Detoxification Antidote without hesitation, and mentioned that he wanted something from the Smander¡¯s body in exchange only after Al¡¯Akir had finished the antidote. In the end, the precious Legendary magical crystal was taken away by Lin Li right in front of him. Although he didn¡¯t want to be jealous or hate a young man, he was still deeply anguished by the fact that the Legendary magical crystal had been taken away from him. The pain that he felt could not be gotten rid of by any potions.

    ¡°Young man, it is no wonder that the Smander had died in your hands. You are indeed young and promising.¡± Al¡¯Akir could tell back then that Lin Li had the power of an Archmage, but after just a short period of time, he had already entered the Legendary-realm, and his strong magical wave seemed to have already surpassed his own.

    Ding, ding, ding... The rhythmic sounds of knocking filled the air in the Forging Workshop.

    Upon hearing the crisp and melodious sounds, the members of the Adventurers Guild, including the Smithing Master Al¡¯Akir, all got a great shock. They knew that no matter what skill the young mage had, the fact that he could produce such sounds simply meant that he was at the level of an advanced Smithing Master.

    Lin Li stood on the forging tform, and his movements were extremely fluid and smooth even without the help of an assistant. He didn¡¯t ck and was performing smoothly. The people watching felt that an assistant would hamper him instead.

    It was simply a kind of enjoyment; the knocking was just like beautiful music, while his fluid movements were like a beautiful dance. Everyone seemed to have slipped into a trance, and seemed to have forgotten where they were and why they were there. Even Al¡¯Akir, the Smithing Master, seemed to have forgotten that he would lose the key to Osric¡¯s mausoleum if he were to lose the bet.

    A sudden screech finally caused everyone to snap out of their trance, and their eyes suddenly focused on Lin Li¡¯s hand. The long sword that had just been forged sessfully gave off a menacing vibe.

    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Al¡¯Akir could tell that he had already lost, and had to admit that even he himself might not be able to craft such a good sword.

    Upon hearing Al¡¯Akir¡¯s gasp of shock, the members of the Guild of Magic let out a long sigh of relief. Actually, asking him to extend the bet was rather unreasonable in the first ce. If they were to lose, they would not only lose the opportunity to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum, but also suffer a huge blow to the pride of the Guild of Magic.

    ¡°This is definitely a Master-level masterpiece,¡± Al¡¯Akir remarked while grabbing Lin Li¡¯s sword to give it a few strokes. He could not believe that it was created by a mage.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Al¡¯Akir? When do you n to fulfill this bed?¡± Aldwin asked eagerly with a smile.

    ¡°You can rest assured that we, the Adventurers Guild, will keep our promise. We will not make excuses like some people.¡± Although Al¡¯Akir conceded, he still made a sarcastic remark. After all, it was Osric¡¯s mausoleum, which was a huge treasure.

    Holding the other half of the key, Aldwin and the rest left the Adventurers Guild happily.

    The Sword Sage of the Storm, Al¡¯Akir, stared nkly at the long sword in his hand. He couldn¡¯t figure it out at all. How could there be such a pervertedlypetent powerhouse in the Guild of Magic? Not only did the 20-year-old young mage have a strong magical wave, he was also extremely proficient at forging. When he first met Lin Li, thetter gave him an antidote that could dispel the toxin of the Smander.

    <i>Wait a minute, damn it, I just got duped. Isn¡¯t that kid the President of the Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins!? Since when did he be a member of the nna Guild of Magic? I did make a bet with them, but not with the Supreme Council!</i> Al¡¯Akir flung the sword at the anvil, after which it suddenly shed and got split into two by the sword.

 Chapter 702 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 702: Confrontation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What a f***ing good sword!¡± Al¡¯Akir¡¯s only constion now was the Master-level sword that had just been created.

    In the nna Guild of Magic, the two key halves could finally be brought together. However, Aldwin and Macklin, who had been waiting for a long time, did not feel that pleased, because the fact that Megard was there meant that they would not be the only ones exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    Of course, on the other hand, Andoine¡¯s, Rosen¡¯s, and Megard¡¯s presence gave them more confidence in exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum because they were all experienced. After all, the Highlord Osric was also an arrogant man during the Dark Age, and wouldn¡¯t just let anyone into his mausoleum.

    When the group returned to the nna Guild of Magic, the first thing they did was to report the news to Megard, who had been waiting too. Andoine, who had witnessed the process of Lin Li forging in person, was naturally proud of his good judgment and wisdom. Of course, he alsopared Lin Li to Rosen¡¯s disciple, Gryffindor.

    However, after hearing the news, Megard didn¡¯t seem excited at all. Instead, he stared at Lin Li, and said, ¡°The sess this time is just to make up for your previous mistakes. No matter how strong you are, keeping to your promises should be a basic virtue. I hope you can take this as a lesson and learn from it.¡±

    Everyone was shocked to hear Megard¡¯s words, and Andoine soon grew displeased. He frowned, and said, ¡°Master Megard, your words seem to be a little inappropriate. Felic was the one who won that half of the key for us, and his contribution should not be undermined by your words.¡±

    ¡°Andoine, how can you question the arbitrator¡¯s words? Felic once promised to help the nna Guild of Magic win the bet before the deadline, but did he fulfill his promise? Had he kept his promise, we wouldn¡¯t have had to go and beg Al¡¯Akir to extend the deadline and be passive. The arbitrator is right. Keeping promises is the basic virtue that everyone should have. If President Felic can¡¯t even do that, I doubt he¡¯d be capable of leading the Guild of Magic of Breezy ins. As his teacher, you ought to be responsible too,¡± Rosen said while staring at the table as he sat beside Megard.

    ¡°Is that so? Surely you knew where Felic was when we made that bet? He was working hard in the Breezy ins and taking charge of the construction and development of the Guild of Magic. If it weren¡¯t for his efforts, would the Guild of Magic have gotten a steady footing in the Breezy ins just by relying on the Supreme Council? Could we have developed to what we are now!?¡± Andoine retorted. Although he usually behaved in a sloppy and cynical manner, he would never let anyone undermine him or criticize his students.

    Rosen looked up slowly and first nced at Megard before turning to look at Andoine. He sneered, ¡°As a member of the Supreme Council, we must first be absolutely fair. Felic is your student, so you¡¯re no longer impartial. The excuse you made for him cannot be the reason for his breach ofmitment. Since he couldn¡¯t be sure that he had the ability to fulfill his promise, he shouldn¡¯t have made it in the first ce. Don¡¯t forget that he is the President of the Guild of Magic. He represents the Guild of Magic, the Supreme Council, and all mages.¡±

    Aldwin and Macklin nced at each other awkwardly. He was the one who invited Felic to help him, only to end up bringing more trouble to him before he could even thank him. However, Rosen sounded so self-righteous that no one could rebut him.

    ¡°Rosen, stop trying to call names. Aren¡¯t you just jealous of me for having a better student than you? Mages are not prophets who know what will happen in the future and when it will take ce. Besides, even if Felic had refused to help, would you have been able to find a Smithing Master? Wouldn¡¯t the oue have been the same? Macklin, let me ask you, did you seek help from others after you looked for Mage Felic? Did you find anyone who¡¯s both a mage and a Smithing Master!?¡± Andoine asked Macklin.

    Macklin thought to himself in despair, <i>Whom did I offend? You guys are from the Supreme Council, and you can fight and argue with each other however you¡¯d like, but can you not implicate me? I¡¯m just an Archmage. </i>

    ¡°Okay, Andoine, Felic is your student, I can understand why you¡¯re defending him, but don¡¯t forget that as a teacher, you should not only impart knowledge to your students, you should also teach them the right values. This matter is over, and what we have to do now is to consider the n for exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum,¡± Megard said, putting an end to the topic when Andoine and Rosen were about to get into a heated argument. However, he clearly still felt that Andoine failed to teach his student well.

    In the end, Megard was an arbitrator and a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm. Although Andoine was dissatisfied, he was left with no chance to continue to argue, because Megard had put an end to the topic. He had no choice but to glower at Rosen before pulling Lin Li to the side.

    Megard hung up a map which wasbeled with dense lines and annotations, after which he turned to look at the rest. ¡°This is a map that we had redrawn ording to a map from the High Elves that was passed down from the Dark Age. ording to the map and the information on it, we can deduce that this should be the structural drawing of Osric¡¯s mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, Felic was the one who found it,¡± Andoine muttered with dissatisfaction.

    The map provided by Megard was drawn ording to the two rags that Lin Li had handed to Andoine back then. The High Elves didn¡¯t like boring lines or monotonous squares, and felt that theirnguage was the only perfect one in this world. Hence, they were used to expressing everything in tongue twisters. Even a person who was proficient in thenguage of the High Elves would require a long time to understand the map and figure out the meanings hidden in it.

    The map of the Sky Castle that Lin Li had obtained at the beginning was actually just a painting of the Sky Castle. The real map was theplex elven text beside it. In order to understand the meaning of those words, Lin Li had put plenty of effort into understanding the High Elves Print, but even then failed to create a map using those words. The members of the Dark de were the ones who managed to turn the words into a map ording to the ancient documents and materials of the Darkness Shrine.

    Megard didn¡¯t care about Andoine¡¯s words, but Rosen seemed unwilling to let go of any opportunity tounch verbal attacks on Andoine and Lin Li. He coldly said, ¡°Yeah, I heard that one of the maps was obtained after the destruction of a family of mages. As a mage, it¡¯s not good to be too brutal. That will only cause one to be obsessed with power and lose themselves while forgetting that exploring the source of magic should be a mage¡¯s pursuit.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, Felic won the bet, yet you nitpicked on him. Felic was also the one who contributed the map, yet you have so much bullsh*t to say about him. If you¡¯re that capable, just go to Osric¡¯s mausoleum without following the map. By the way, Felic was the one who won the key, so you¡¯d better not use it when we go to the mausoleum.¡± In fact, Andoine didn¡¯t flip the table or raise his voice. Instead, he seemed to be murmuring to himself, despite making sure that everyone heard him.

    There was a faint flush on Rosen¡¯s face, but he managed to hide it quickly. He continued in aposed tone, ¡°The inability to stay calm and handling things impulsively is going to be lethal for a leader and the President of the Guild of Magic. If he hadn¡¯t killed Borg¡¯s son, he wouldn¡¯t have brought such a disaster to his Guild of Magic. Unfortunately, as the President, he didn¡¯t reflect on himself. I heard that he killed more than 2000 people during a battle. What rights does such a brutal person have to be the President?¡±

    Aldwin ced a hand on his forehead helplessly, and thought, <i>These two are arguing again after just a short conversation. Are we still going to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum? </i>

    Of course, he knew that the real reason for the conflict between them was theirpetition for the arbitrator¡¯s position. They obviously wouldn¡¯t be in harmony with each other.

    There were 10 authoritative figures in the Supreme Council, including Andoine and Rosen. There were also three arbitrators, two of whom were Apophis and Megard. The other position was currently vacant. It was precisely this vacancy that caused many of the ns made by the Supreme Council to be aborted because of the different opinions of the two arbitrators.

    Therefore, the selection of the third arbitrator was extremely critical to the Supreme Council, and would even be likely to determine the future direction of the Supreme Council. However, due to the fact that Apophis favored Andoine, while Rosen was a descendant of Megard, thepetition between the two also became apetition between Apophis and Megard.

    ¡°Master Rosen, you¡¯re thinking too much about it. Killing is not my hobby, but there are always some people in this world who never know their limits.¡± Lin Li indeed felt a little embarrassed, but he had never regretted it at all, because the best enemies were the ones who were dead.

    Megard frowned a little, and said, ¡°Felic, you may deserve to be proud for what you have achieved at such a young age, but I hope you can respect your teacher and elders like him. Andoine, Rosen, if you can¡¯t focus on the exploration of the mausoleum, I¡¯ll request for a change in candidates from the Supreme Council.¡±

    Megard¡¯s words ced the emphasis back on Osric¡¯s mausoleum. However, everyone could tell that even the arbitrator of the Supreme Council could not be absolutely fair and impartial.

    The discussion in the conference hall was much less intense. Everyone carefully put forward their own opinions after careful consideration. Everyone knew that apart from being a huge treasure, Osric¡¯s mausoleum was also full of murderous traps. Even the Sanctuary-realm powerhouse Megard was extremely serious about it. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that Osric¡¯s mausoleum was dangerous even for a deity.

    The choice of route, the strategies for handling the traps, and the n to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum were slowly written on paper. However, while even Macklin had voiced his opinions, Lin Li remained silent and listened.

    Of course, Lin Li wasn¡¯t clueless about Osric¡¯s mausoleum. After returning from the Haiga Mountain Range, apart from enhancing the strength of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li spent most of his time studying Osric¡¯s mausoleum. After all, at that time, he didn¡¯t know that the Supreme Council would also be participating. If he were to cooperate only with the nna Guild of Magic and not put in more efforts, he probably wouldn¡¯t even enter the Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    However, the tension between Andoine and Rosen made Lin Li feel that he shouldn¡¯t reveal anything. Apart from his rtionship with Andoine, Lin Li still had to consider the benefits and interests of the Tower of Dusk. If Rosen were to be the new arbitrator, he would probably go against the Tower of Dusk.

    However, the others were obviously not willing to let Lin Li off for remaining silent.

    ¡°President Felic, I heard that you have experience exploring the Sky Castle, so you¡¯d definitely help give us a greater advantage if you were to be our vanguard,¡± Rosen said in a slightly hoarse voice, giving everyone a great shock.

    His words were rather tant. By asking Lin Li to be the vanguard, he was getting Lin Li to be at the front line and stay in front of the team to shield them from the bullets. Although the young Lin Li was at level-23, Osric¡¯s mausoleum was still incredibly dangerous. Even though they had the map of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the High Elves¡¯ words might contain other hidden meanings that they had yet to discover.

    Lin Li nced at the skinny Rosen, not feeling too surprised about his mention of the Sky Castle. Although the Supreme Council was no longer as strong as it was in the past, it was still the top force in Anril. They definitely knew about the high-profile visit to the Haiga Mountain Range, but Lin Li didn¡¯t expect Rosen to have developed such a strong prejudice against him. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t be an overstatement to say that Rosen didn¡¯t hide his displeasure with Lin Li.

 Chapter 703 - Darian

    <h4>Chapter 703: Darian</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Rosen, I think you¡¯ve been living in vain all these years. How could you have the cheek to say that? Why don¡¯t you get your disciple to go be at the vanguard?¡± Andoine retorted as exasperation grew within him.

    Rosen did not show any weakness. He looked up at Andoine, and said, ¡°Andoine, don¡¯t be so ridiculous. I have my reasons for making that suggestion. Osric is indeed the disciple of the Immortal King. There must be some simrities between the mausoleum and the Sky Castle. Felic, who had been to the Sky Castle, is the best candidate for being at the vanguard.¡±

    ¡°Simr? You said it yourself, it¡¯s simr. Simr is different from identical! Aren¡¯t you just eyeing Felic¡¯s Tower of Dusk? You just want your idiot of a student to take over!¡± Andoinepletely ignored Megard¡¯s presence and cursed his heart out at Rosen.

    Rosen was so infuriated that he had turned as red as a tomato. He then stood up and hollered at Andoine, ¡°You can disagree with my opinion, but you can¡¯t insult my character. Do you really think I¡¯m scared of you!?¡±

    Andoine pulled out his magic staff and sneered, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve long wanted to teach you a lesson.¡±

    ¡°Have you guys had enough yet!?¡± Megard hollered.

    As Megard yelled, a huge mana wave suddenly broke out, causing everyone in the conference room to hold their breaths. Andoine and Rosen were no longer bickering. Instead, they began quivering and frowning, while the veins on their foreheads began bulging. It seemed that they were under tremendous pressure that was difficult to resist.

    Although Lin Li was frightened by the unparalleled, massive mana wave, he did not feel oppressed. Obviously, Megard was only targeting Andoine and Rosen. However, Lin Li could acutely sense that Andoine seemed to be having a hard time withstanding it.

    ¡°Enough, seems like we can¡¯t get peace today. Bring the maps home and study them carefully. I hope you guys can put in more effort on this tomorrow.¡± A momentter, Megard finally put the mana wave away and ced a few scrolls on the table. He then stood up and left, not giving them a chance to speak at all.

    The huge oppression suddenly disappeared, and Andoine and Rosen, too, returned to their seats, staring at each other while panting heavily. That was the difference between the Sanctuary-realm and the Legendary-realm, which were worlds apart. Even though they both had level-23 powers, they couldn¡¯t stand firm when faced with a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm.

    After a moment of rest, Rosen stood up again and glowered at Andoine before leaving the conference hall with a map.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Seeing that Rosen had already left, Andoine stood up while propping himself up against the table. However, he found it hard to leave.

    The meeting to formte a n for exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum was hence temporarily suspended. After Macklin left, Lin Li and Andoine sat opposite each other. There was a map of Osric¡¯s mausoleumid on the table in front of them.

    ¡°Can you tell me what the heck is going on? Why is the Supreme Council suddenly so interested in Osric¡¯s mausoleum?¡± Lin Li was a little depressed at this moment, but it was not because of the conflict between Megard and Rosen. Instead, it was because of the forceful intervention of the Supreme Council. It meant that most of the treasures in Osric¡¯s mausoleum would end up bing theirs. No one would feel great if they were in his shoes.

    ¡°Suddenly? This not sudden at all. Several years ago, the Supreme Council had already gotten track of the clues to Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and they haven¡¯t stopped researching at all. Of course, it¡¯s also thanks to the two maps of yours. Otherwise, we¡¯d have still been stuck in research.¡± Andoine was pleased with himself for choosing the right person. The appearance of the two maps brought him plenty of glory in the Supreme Council. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the arbitrator Megard was Rosen¡¯s mentor, Andoine would have probably already be the third arbitrator because of that.

    However, Andoine¡¯s answer did not clear the doubts that Lin Li had. Instead, he got even more curious. ¡°The treasure of the Immortal King and the Sky Castle probably cannot be hidden from the Supreme Council. If the Supreme Council had wanted to join at the start, even the elves probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to turn them down. The Supreme Council doesn¡¯t even take the treasure of the Immortal King seriously. Why would they be so interested in Osric¡¯s mausoleum?¡±

    Andoine looked at Lin Li who was full of curiosity, but did not ask him about the Sky Castle. Instead, he suddenlyughed, and said, ¡°If I guessed correctly, the treasures in the Sky Castle that you explored were definitely limited even though each of you got your own gains. It definitely isn¡¯t what you imagined the Immortal King¡¯s treasure to be.¡±

    ¡°How did you...¡± Lin Li was slightly stunned, but he soon thought of a possibility; hence, he eximed in shock, ¡°Could it be, that the Supreme Council had already found out about Osric plundering the Sky Castle!?¡±

    It was no secret that Lin Li and the three other forces had explored the treasure vault of the Immortal King; hence, it was obviously impossible to hide from the Supreme Council. However, the three forces were the only ones who knew what each of them gained respectively. It would be impossible for ordinary people to find out. The likeliest reason for Andoine¡¯s statement was that the Supreme Council had already begun investigating Osric.

    ¡°The Supreme Council has been investigating Osric for so many years, but there hasn¡¯t been any result. Although the Sky Castle had been cleared out, it still has great value. Yet, even Osric couldn¡¯t control it, so why would the Supreme Council waste so much time and effort on this?¡± However, Andoine still looked rather regretful, seemingly because he couldn¡¯t see the Sky Castle in person, and also because no one could control the Sky Castle.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that the Supreme Council would keep close tabs on Osric¡¯s mausoleum. It turns out that they found out long ago that this is the real greatest treasure of Anril,¡± Lin Li muttered resignedly.

    However, to Lin Li, it was mandatory to go to the Sky Castle even though he¡¯d already found out long ago. For the sake of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, Lin Li could ignore everything else and focus on obtaining it. Besides, he had gained more than just Thunderbolt in the Sky Castle. He also obtained the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s mumbling, Andoine shook his head with a smile, and said, ¡°Although Osric¡¯s mausoleum seems to be the greatest treasure, the Supreme Council didn¡¯t n this expedition for the sake of money.¡±

    Lin Li raised his brows and hurriedly abandoned his thoughts. ¡°Could it be that the Supreme Council already knows that there¡¯s something hidden in it?¡±

    Andoine stared at the map on the ground and nodded gently. ¡°Although you¡¯re not a member of the Supreme Council, you¡¯re one of the members participating in this expedition. So, I have a shocking secret to tell you. It¡¯s a secret that even most members of the Supreme Council do not know about.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Lin Li hurriedly concentrated and stared at Andoine, waiting to hear the amazing secret.

    ¡°The biggest reason why the Supreme Council nned this expedition is because they found out from our research that Osric¡¯s mausoleum contains something extremely important to them. What I¡¯m trying to say is, if our research direction is right, I¡¯ll be at least 80% certain that Osric¡¯s mausoleum contains a weapon and not money. It¡¯s a weapon that will be enough to destroy the Fn Kingdom...¡±

    However, Andoine looked just as puzzled after revealing the secret. ¡°However, even I myself cannot imagine what kind of weapon would actually be able to destroy the entire Fn Kingdom...¡±

    ¡°Damn it...¡± Upon hearing this, Lin Li¡¯s heart tensed up, and a look of worry shed in his eyes.

    Weapon that could destroy the entire Fn Kingdom? The Fn Kingdom was not a small country, and despite having grown weaker over the years, they were still the strongest in Anril.

    However, Lin Li also knew that that was not impossible, because he had already be the master of Osric¡¯s Eternal Furnace, and also personally experienced the mania of that Highlord through the experience he had in the Sky Castle. The direction of research of the Supreme Council might really be correct because Connoris had once said that Osric had already moved all of the things that could be moved away from the Eternal Furnace and into his mausoleum. Hence, he reckoned that the mausoleum should contain the weapons that the Eternal Furnacecked.

    Although everything was just based on spection, Lin Li could not help but be worried. ording to various information, he deduced that the debris of the stars, Nothingness, was very likely to be in Osric¡¯s mausoleum too. That was what he was the most concerned about. If the item that the Supreme Council was looking for had something to do with the debris of the stars, it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing for Lin Li.

    Lin Li had once had all of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury. Hence, he had a deep understanding of the power of the debris of the stars. Although Nothingness was not the most powerful of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it was powerful enough to make even the Dragon of Destruction tremble. Hence, it was likely for the Fn Kingdom to be destroyed by it too. Although the real Stars of Fury was required for all of its power to be released, the Immortal King could use mana to condense it. Even if Osric couldn¡¯t do it, there would probably be other methods.

    For the expedition to Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li might not care about the powerful weapon that was powerful enough to destroy Fn Kingdom, but he had to obtain the debris of the stars, Nothingness. If there was any connection between the two, a conflict between Lin Li and the Supreme Council would be inevitable. After all, Nothingness was too important to him. However, the arbitrator Megard was at least in the Sanctuary-realm, and was much more formidable than Lin Li, a Legendary-mage.

    <i>Did the Supreme Council participate in the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum this time for the sake of that powerful weapon? It¡¯s no longer the Dark Age now, what do they need such a powerful and destructive weapon for!?</i> Lin Li thought about it for a long while, but he didn¡¯t reveal what he was thinking. Although Andoine was his teacher, thetter was also one of the authoritative figures of the Supreme Council. Hence, he was afraid that he might put Andoine in a spot.

    ¡°Of course, this is just a spection. After all, the information we have is still too little. Most of the precious documents from the Dark Age have been destroying during the war. Even though I¡¯m a so-called powerful High Elven expert, I can only find out bits and pieces of information about that year. No one can be sure whether the weapon really exists or not. I also hope that our guess is wrong... ¡°Andoine shook his head helplessly, but he didn¡¯t seem smug about his research results.

    Staring at Andoine who was suddenly sorrowful and benevolent, Lin Li had no choice but to wait in silence, because he knew very well that Andoine¡¯s expectations wouldn¡¯te true. Lin Li had no idea in what form the powerful and terrifyingly destructive weapon came, but he could basically confirm its existence. His only hope was for it not to be rted to the debris of the stars, Nothingness.

    ¡°It¡¯s best to keep something like this buried in the ground forever. Otherwise, it would bring a disaster upon Anril. Seriously, a weapon capable of destroying Fn Kingdom. What has that lunatic Osric done before...¡± Andoine grumbled, but unfortunately, even as one of the top 10 authoritative figures of the Supreme Council, he did not have enough power to influence the decisions of the Supreme Council.

    Although Lin Li had discovered some fresh information from Andoine, Lin Li was in fact more worried. How was he supposed to handle the rtionship with the Supreme Council? If there was any link between the debris of the stars, Nothingness, and the item they wanted, how was he supposed to deal with that?

    Lin Li left Andoine¡¯s room while questions flooded his brain. He walked while thinking about the countermeasures he could take.

    ¡°Dear guest, your room is...¡± He suddenly heard someone who seemed to be calling him. Hence, he stopped and turned around, only to see a middle-aged mage who was staring at him with his eyes wide open.

    ¡°Fe... Felic,¡± Darian called out, staring at the young mage Lin Li with confusion. <i>Isn¡¯t this that country boy from Jarrosus!?! </i>

    Macklin had told Darian to carefully serve the distinguished guest, but thetter had not expected the guest to be Lin Li!

    Darian definitely wouldn¡¯t forget the young mage in front of him, because like Gerian, he, too, came from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and even almost caused his only nephew, Madrick, to die because of a lowly servant.

 Chapter 704 - Returning To Shadowglen

    <h4>Chapter 704: Returning To Shadowglen</h4>

    Darian also knew that Mage Felic from Jarrosus left to go to the Breezy ins, where he then became the President of the Guild of Magic that was newly established in the Breezy ins. At that time, he also made a bet with his friends about when Lin Li, the country boy, would return to his hometown Jarrosus from the Breezy ins in a pathetic manner. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t end up in a pathetic state, and in fact even became the most prestigious guest here, on top of being the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Oh, Mage Darian, were you calling me just now?¡± Lin Li asked indifferently after seeing that Darian had been silent for a long time.

    Darian finally snapped out of his trance, and suppressed the anxiety within him. ¡°Yes, yes. President Felic, you¡¯re headed in the wrong direction. Your room is here, please follow me.¡±

    It felt like he was put on the same status as Aldwin. Darian thought, <i>How is that possible? He¡¯s still young!</i>

    Darian led the way ahead, but his heart seemed to have skipped a beat. Despite being an Archmage, he could not detect or deduce the level of Lin Li¡¯s power. Despite being in disbelief, the truth was that Lin Li had the same aura as the Legendary powerhouse Aldwin.

    Along the way, Darian grew increasingly frightened, for fear that Lin Li would rake up the past again. Lin Li was currently a President, a Legendary powerhouse, and the most prestigious guest. He could not afford to offend Lin Li at all. When he turned around just now, he noticed that Lin Li was frowning and seemed to be displeased. He wondered if Lin Li was nning to teach him a lesson.

    When Darian reached the room arranged for the prestigious guests, he finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°President Felic, what else do you need? Feel free to inform me, I¡¯ll be ready to serve you wholeheartedly.¡±

    Lin Li nodded slightly and remained silent while turning around to enter the room.

    Watching the door close slowly in front of him, Darian was filled with an inexplicable emotion. It turned out that he had been worrying all day for nothing, because Lin Li didn¡¯t even take him seriously. He had no idea if he should feel lucky or disappointed.

    The Shadowglen was very close to nna, and would only require a two-hour horse-carriage journey. For the Legendary-mages, it would only take them a short time flying to reach the ce. Fortunately, the Undead creatures in the Shadowglen had yet toe out for more than 300 years. Otherwise, Fn Kingdom wouldn¡¯t have dared to settle the Shadow King down in nna.

    The sky above the Shadowglen was always covered with thick ck clouds imprable by sunlight, appearing as if it was dyed by ink. Although there were plenty of mountains and rivers in the area, there were also lots of yellow weeds. There were no signs of life at all, and it was as if all of the moisture had been removed by the high temperatures. There would be gusts of cold wind blowing out of the Shadowglen every now and then, blowing up the withered tree leaves. It added a touch of loneliness and danger to the Shadowglen.

    Outside the Shadowglen, more than 200 Archmages were standing neatly in a fixed formation, seemingly all ready to enter the horrendous and terrifying Shadowglen of the Undead creatures. The President of the Guild of Magic, Aldwin, was standing right in front of the team and speaking to them. Everyone was paying attention to what he was saying, and none of them dared to make a single sound.

    The elite group of mages from the nna Guild of Magic were all famous in Fn Kingdom and Anril. Even the weakest Archmages were at level-16, and there were plenty of level-19 Archmages who were nearing the Legendary-level.

    Not far behind the mages, there were several figures floating in the air, led by the arbitrator Megard who was between Andoine and Rosen. Under Megard¡¯s suppression, Andoine and Rosen were no longer bickering with each other, and simply stared daggers at each other asionally.

    Lin Li followed Andoine and looked down at the nna mages, thinking to himself, <i>It¡¯s no wonder that the nna Guild of Magic is worthy of being the leader of all the Guilds of Magic in Anril. These elites are far superior to those of the Dark de and the Malfa Family.</i>

    Moreover, even if the Malfa Family were to use all of the magical equipment obtained from the Sky Castle against those mages, they might not be able topare to the elites at all. Although the Faro¡¯s Robe and Dark Moon Staff used to be the standard equipment of the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, the equipment of nna¡¯s mages was not inferior, either.

    The magic robes were called magic robes because the Master-level mageweaths drawn on them couldpletely resist offensive spells below level-15. It could even convert the power of the offensive spells into pure mana for the wearer. The magic staff in their hands were different from the Dark Moon Staff that belonged to the High Elves. It was named the Crescent Staff because it signified removing all evil and tyranny and bringing peace to humanity. The power of the Crescent Staff was not weaker than that of the Dark Moon staff, for it could also maximize the power of mana while minimizing the consumption.

    It was said that the equipment of the mages of nna hade directly from the Supreme Council. They were once the masterpieces of the God of Mages, Geresco, and could be considered to be the pinnacle of human magical equipment. The group of mages who were now equipped with the magic robes and the Crescent Staffs might not be as good as the High Elves¡¯s Magic Legion, but in the current world of Anril, they were definitely a top-level force that was also invincible. Apart from being able to mobilize and assign them to different teams, even the President Aldwin could not order them to do anything.

    When faced with such a powerful force, it would be impossible for anyone not to be envious or jealous. However, after being in awe for a while, Lin Li stopped paying attention to them. The Tower of Dusk was indeed inferior now, but Lin Li had a lot of faith and confidence in his mages. He believed that they would be just as powerful as long as they spent some more time working hard. It would only be a matter of time before they surpassed this force.

    At this moment, there was a sudden rumblinging from the sky, followed by a massive pressure that seemed to be weighing down on them like a stone being pressed on their chests. Even breathing became difficult. Everyone looked up unanimously at the sky, only to see a huge ck shadow descending slowly.

    ¡°That¡¯s the tower of the Supreme Council,¡± Andoine said to Lin Li.

    In fact, even without Andoine¡¯s introduction, Lin Li could already guess that it was the Sky Castle built by the High Elves, which was considered a product of the integration of all cutting-edge technologies. It was also the most powerful weapon in the history of Anril. Ever since the Immortal King had built the seven Sky Castles, everyone saw it as a Holy Grail and hoped to replicate the formidable Sky Castle.

    The Sky Tower of the Supreme Council was where Geresco led Apophis, Megard, and the others to destroy several Sky Castles, which they then researched and replicated usingrge amounts of precious materials.

    However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to replicate a Sky Castle. The disciple of the Immortal King, Osric, had built an Eternal Furnace, but it was still far from the Sky Castles. Since the Supreme Council had only studied the Sky Castles¡¯ wreckage, the information avable was even more limited. The current Sky Tower had some characteristics that were simr to that of the Sky Castle, and also had incredible power. However, it was merely a Sky Castle that could notpare even to the Eternal Furnace.

    Of course, in the eyes of those who had never seen the Sky Castle, the spectacr view of the Sky Tower descending was still very shocking. Even Lin Li, who had already explored the Sky Castle and controlled the Eternal Furnace, could not help but feel excited at the sight of the descending Sky Tower.

    The Sky Tower descended slowly with infinite power; the iron-like bottom was glistening with countless bright rays of light and runes, and exuding terrifying mana waves. Finally, the bottom of the tower touched the thick ck mist that seemed to be eternally not dispersible, while everyone watched on.

    All of a sudden, at the base of the Sky Tower, a dazzling ray of light burst out, and the eternal ck mist that had been present for more than 1,300 years quickly dispersed like ice and snow melting in the sun. There was then a loud bang, and the ck mistnded on the cliff of the Shadowglen.

    Everyone followed the arbitrator Megard and flew towards the Sky Tower. The huge tower that descended from the sky began to get clearer as Lin Li managed to see more of it in detail.

    The huge base of the Sky Tower was like arge round za. There seemed to be arge six-pointed star being drawn on the ground, with the main body of the tower in the center of it. In each of the six corners of the six-pointed star, a Magic Tower with a height of more than 20 meters was erected. The top of the Magic Towers was embellished withrge magical gemstones that were of various colors and symbolized the six elements of darkness, earth, fire, water, wind, and light.

    When Lin Li flew closer, he saw the mageweaths on the Six-pointed Star Array and the Magic Tower, after which he knew that the magical gemstones were not simply symbols. The Sunray Mageweath and Water Mageweath were all top Master-level mageweaths which already approached the Guru-level. The attacking power of each Magic Tower was not weaker than powerful Legendary magic. What was more exaggerated was that the fusion of elements between the Magic Towers would allow two or three, or even six, mageweaths to be fused together to jointly cast more powerful elemental magic through alchemy.

    <i>Is this the most powerful weapon in the Sky Tower?</i> Lin Li had to admit that the power of those six towers was indeed barelyparable. Since he wascking part of the weapon for the Eternal Furnace, it was hard for Lin Li to imagine what kind of weapon which could destroy the Fn Kingdom Osric had created.

    Of course, increased power also meant severe magic depletion. However, Lin Li believed that it would be impossible for the Supreme Council to build a Sky Tower or create weapons that could only be used once or twice per tower. In that case, the mana source of the Sky Tower would probably have to at least be on the same level as the Dragon Crystal of the ancient wyrm.

    As one of the tyrants of the Prehistoric times, the power that an ancient wyrm had was far greater than that of the wyrms. Even an ordinary ancient wyrm had power of the Sanctuary-realm. The Eternal Furnace that Lin Li held had the magical crystal belonging to a fire-element ancient wyrm as the mana source.

    Although there was no trace of ancient wyrms in thend of Anril anymore, Geresco had broken through several Sky Castles in a row and still had to worry about a powerful mana source.

    Landing in the za, Lin Li looked at the Central Tower in the za and felt like he had returned to the Sky Castle. He began to doubt if the Supreme Council had dug up the Central Tower of some Sky Castle.

    After entering the hall of the Sky Tower, Lin Li could not help but swallow his saliva. The giant magical crystal in the middle of the hall was muchrger than the one that the elves had taken away from the Sky Castle. It was no wonder that the Supreme Council wouldn¡¯t be tempted by the gains in the Sky Castle. As everyone approached the crystal ball, they could see everything going on in the Shadowglen. Lin Li could even see the cave that he had used.

    ¡°You may begin now,¡± Megard said to Aldwin calmly.

    On the ground, the elite group of mages of nna finally waited for the orders to attack. More than 200 mages who wore magic robes and held Crescent Staffs walked towards the Shadowglen.

    The descent of the Sky Tower had long awakened the Undead creatures in the Shadowglen, and the ck mist that had been dispersed gathered and condensed again. However, it was much thinner this time. Countless Skeletal Warriors crawled out of the mud, ricketing their bodies and holding rusty iron swords. They then gathered at the opening of the Shadowglen as if they wanted to stop the intruders.

    Unfortunately, the low-level Undead creatures were strengthened neither by the power of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, nor by Psychic Arrays. Even though they had been hibernating in the ground for countless years, they were still decaying Skeletal Warriors. The soul fire was flickering faintly, while the bones in the mud were creaking and crackling. The rust of the iron sword would also peel off from time to time.

    The mages¡¯ figures appeared with tidy footsteps, and before the Skeletal Warriors even managed raise the rusty swords, the overwhelming magic had begun to roar. The Skeletal Warriors in front of the elite group of mages from nna were all of the lowest level, and could not take their blows at all. Even a staff would be enough to smash them into bits, what more magic.

 Chapter 705 - The Three Kings

    <h4>Chapter 705: The Three Kings</h4>

    In an instant, the Skeletal Warriors which had just gathered fell onto the ground like harvested crops, covering the ground with their gray bones. They could not stop the intruders at all, and their most powerful retaliation was the mere action of using their bones to hinder the intruders¡¯ path.

    Staring at everything that was going on in the Shadowglen, Lin Li suddenly found everything familiar, but it was not because of his previous trial there. Instead, it was because of the experience he had in the world of Undead creatures in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Since both ces were upied by Undead creatures, shouldn¡¯t there be some simrities? Lin Li casually found an exnation for it before continuing to watch the battle between the mages.

    Therge number of Skeletal Warriors which gathered at the beginning did not even manage to hamper the mages in the slightest. After they were ripped and broken into bones, the Skeletal Warriors that crawled up no longer posed any threat to the mages. In fact, they even got crushed by the mages as soon as they appeared.

    However, there were more than just low-level Undead creatures like the Skeletal Warriors in the Shadowglen. As the elite mages delved deeper, they finally began to hear a sharp cry that came from the depths of the Shadowglen. Together with the deafening sound, the shadows dashed towards the mages and pounced on them brutally.

    Vampires could be regarded as advanced Undead creatures which were mostly of level-10 to level-15. However, it was rare for them to have broken through level-15. Of course, breaking through to the Legendary-level would be too difficult for Vampires. Norfeller managed to break through because he ingested the dragon¡¯s blood. Most Vampires would not experience the same thing.

    The dozens of Vampires that suddenly appeared in front of them were all formidable even though few of them had broken through level-15. However, the elite mages were unfazed, and it seemed that the group of Vampires was just like the decaying and weak Skeletal Warriors to them.

    The reality also proved that the only difference between a Vampire and a Skeletal Warrior was the former¡¯s ability to fly in the sky. Under the powerful and intense offensive spells, even the Vampires that had broken through level-15 could not break through the mages¡¯ formation.

    The soul fire in the eye sockets of the Hell Ghouls was flickering as they waved their Skeleton Staffs andunched balls of Hellfire at the intruders, only to be blocked by a transparentyer of defensive spells that caused ripples which were then drowned out by the counterattacking spells.

    The Shadowglen was undoubtedly a word of Undead creatures as there were endless Undead creatures that continuously attacked the intruders mindlessly. They were soon destroyed, and the difference in strength made their struggle pointless. In the end, they could not stop the mages at all.

    The formation of the elite mages was still rather neat and almost simr to the way it was when they entered the Shadowglen. All of them were advancing at the same pace and marching towards the depths of the Shadowglen, destroying everything in their path, be it the Skeletal Warriors, Vampires, or Hell Ghouls.

    However, the Shadowglen could survive in the Fn Kingdom for so many years not only because it was powerful, but also because all of its parasites had beenpletely eliminated. Finally, the elite mages of nna stopped because they met a true Undead Army that formed in front of them.

    The Skeletal Warriors were still at the forefront, but they were significantly stronger than those which climbed out of the mud. Although they were still Undead creatures of the lowest level, every bone of theirs was bright and intricate like a jade carving. The long swords held by the Skeletal Warriors were also glistening coldly like they had just been forged. The countless Skeletal Warriors did seem rather terrifying.

    Above the Skeletal Warriors were countless ck shadows, revolving around them and making sharp and shrill sounds as if dering their thirst for blood. The mages seemed to have already beenid out as a feast for them.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The roar that seemed to havee from their souls rang in the ears of the mages, and even caused them to slip into a short trance. It was as if their souls had been shaken out of their bodies.

    At the same time, the Undead Army also began moving as they raised their long swords in their hands, and began charging towards the mages. The Vampires in the sky turned into ck rays of lightning and darted towards the mages with a whistling sound. The Deathfire Bombs behind the Skeletal Warriors were swarming towards the mages like a thunderstorm, together with Bone Spears, poison, and all sorts of Necromagic spells.

    A fight broke out in an instant, and colorful rays of magic flickered endlessly while the roar of magic explosions echoed in the Shadowglen. This time, it was a genuine battle that was definitely not as easy as the previous ones. The mages felt pressured because of the strength and number of the creatures.

    Looking at the fierce battle below, even Aldwin and Macklin began to tense up; this force was the pir of the nna Guild of Magic, and they knew that the emergence of the Undead Army meant that the master of the Shadowglen had already been awakened.

    Lin Li could understand why Aldwin was feeling nervous. If his team from the Tower of Dusk was present, he would have already joined in because he was well aware that the nurturing of every mage in the powerful forces was not easy at all. Individual strength was one aspect, but more importantly, it also required mutual trust and chemistry between the members. This trust and tacit understanding could only be developed after going through plenty of life-and-death situations where they shared weal and woe.

    Under the impact of the Undead Army, the formation of the mage remained the same, and even became denser. Layers of defensive magic shrouded them and formed an unbreakable fortress. Although the advancement of the mages had been stopped, they were still like a reef in the tides, standing still and strong. The mages entrusted their lives and safety to theirrades, and devoted themselves to attacking the surrounding Undead Army using offensive spells.

    Countless magic spells were darting out around the mages, bombarding the countless Undead creatures and destroying them. However, in the blink of an eye, more Undead creatures came in to refill the space. The whole process was repeated again, and the mages continuously crushed the Undead creatures like a grinder.

    However, this situation did notst long. Suddenly, an extremely terrifying power of death surged from the depths of the Shadowglen. Even the battle-hardened mages felt somehow nervous as their hearts beat rapidly. The entire array seemed to have paused a little too. Arge figure emerged from the mist, and flew over the heads of the Undead army before rushing toward the mages who were surrounded by the Undead creatures.

    ¡°Ignorant humans, you will pay for what you have done!¡± An angry roar filled the minds of all mages.

    At this time, the mages clearly saw that the huge figure that was approaching them turned out to be an actual Humerus Wyrm. Before they could react, the dark green dragon¡¯s breath had spewed out of the mouth of the Humerus Wyrm like a hurricane, covering the sky above them.

    However, the elite group of mages from the nna Guild of Magic was a well-known force in Anril, not only because they had excellent equipment, but also because of their excellent strength. They managed to obtain their current status because of thebat qualities that they had cultivated after numerous trials of life and death. Their momentary trance was due to the difference in strength, but after sobering up, they were not in the least bit terrified, and were instead full of the intent to fight despite knowing how strong the enemies were.

    The dragon breath cast down, causingyers of defensive magic to burst instantaneously. If it were another team, they¡¯d probably run away or wait for death to take them away. However, the mages did not show a trace of panic, and instead rapidly put up theyers of defense again. In the end, 40 mages cast a Legendary defensive spell bybining their magic, thus terminating the dragon breath attack.

    ¡°Joint spells. Seems like you guys have indeed spent a lot of energy and time training,¡± the arbitrator Megard remarked in awe after watching their performance, which was rare of him.

    Although there was a look of worry on Aldwin¡¯s face, he seemed rather smug and proud after hearing Megard¡¯spliment. Joint casting was one of the strongest methods used by the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, which wasparable to the prehistoric magical beasts in power. Countless formidable Demon Lords were defeated by the powerful magic jointly cast by the Magic Legion.

    It was not as simple as a few mages casting spells together. For 40 mages to cast magic spells in sync, it required a high level of tacit understanding. The fine control of the magic output was mandatory as well. It would be impossible to achieve such a result without tens of thousands of attempts during practice.

    However, the joint casting of Legendary defensive magic did not make the mages truly invincible, because they were not facing an ordinary Humerus Wyrm, but the Undead Lord of the Shadowglen. Ever since they entered, the mages had been having a smooth-sailing journey despite being surrounded by the Undead Army. Now that they were facing the attack of the Humerus Wyrm, they truly felt a little powerless.

    Lin Li looked at the Humerus Wyrm hovering over the heads of the mages, feeling a sense of familiarity. He remembered that the Humerus Wyrm in the Seven-Realm Spiral seemed to be the only one that became an Undead Lord. However, the Humerus Wyrm in front of him was obviously more than just a little bit stronger than the one in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Lin Li reckoned that its strength had reached level-23.

    While Lin Li was observing the Humerus Wyrm, two powerful auras that were not weaker than the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s appeared, emerging from the depths of the Shadowglen. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.

    Everyone watching the battle looked towards the back of the Undead Army, and saw a Lich wrapped in a robe and hidden under his hood. It was the Lich King, who was one of the three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen. On the ground, meanwhile, a tall skeleton-like king walked towards the mages with heavy footsteps.

    The three legendary Undead Lords finally appeared together at this moment.

    <i>If one is just a coincidence, what about three?</i> Lin Li stroked his chin subconsciously. The three Undead Lords of the Shadowglen turned out to be exactly the same as the three in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Although there was a great difference in strength, they were definitely rted.

    Facing three Legendary powerhouses who were at level-23 all at the same time was truly beyond the ability of the mages. Although they had the ability to cast spells of that level together, they were not Legendary powerhouses themselves. Theirck of understanding of nomological power made them much less powerful even whilst using Legendary magic.

    The Lich King¡¯s Death Domain enveloped the battlefield, and the Undead creatures that were fragile under the offensive spellsunched by the mages now seemed to disy power that was far beyond ordinary. A dark gate opened in thin air, and more Undead creatures rushed out, including low-level Skeletal Warriors, high-level Vampires, Hell Ghouls, and even Humerus Wyrms.

    On the other hand, the mages who were in the Death Domain felt that their mana had be harder to channel, and even their bodies had be stiffer as if they were carrying a boulder each. The only thing that allowed the mages to hang on were their superbbat qualities and unparalleled teamwork.

    The Skeleton King rushed to the front, and shed the defensive spells of the mages with stunning power using his huge double-edged sword. Crisp crackling sounds rang out in the air immediately, and the Legendary defensive magic that was jointly cast by the mages shattered like ss.

 Chapter 706 - You Canéˆ¥æª› Kill Us

    <h4>Chapter 706: You Can¡¯t Kill Us</h4>

    At the moment that the defensive magic was broken, the Lich King held up his staff andunched numerous powerful Necromagic spells like Withering Death and Stars of Poison at the mages. Although none of the humans had entered the Legendary-realm, the Lich King whose power was at level-23 did not hold back at all while attacking.

    The mages who were putting up the defense began spouting blood from their mouths after the defense was broken. Although their expressions were still firm and they still seemed dauntless, they were obviously injured by the magic. Fortunately, there was a tacit understanding between them. Although someone was injured, no one died during the subsequent attacks, because they were all protecting each other. However, the strong Necromagic offensive spells disrupted their formation.

    The emergence of the three Undead Lords made the mages fully focus on defense, giving the low-level Skeletal Warriors the chance to use their long iron swords to bring down the mages¡¯ defense. Faced with these attacks, the only thing the mages could do was pathetically put up the defense again. After all, the difference in strength was too great, and the fact that the mages could still put up their defense despite the attacks was actually enough to prove their capability.

    However, the dire situation that the mages were in where they were passively beaten and struggling to keep up their defense did not make the three Undead Lords feel like rejoicing at all. Instead, they were all losing their temper because they had yet to seed in killing a single enemy even till now. The obstinate mages seemed to always be able to slip through their fingertips.

    Lin Li frowned slightly. Although the mages were barely supporting the defensiveyer, it was probably only a matter of time before they got defeated because the Undead Lords wereunching continuous attacks. Lin Li took a look at the mages around him, and realized that he was the youngest one. He was the only one who should be staying at the frontlines and hitting them.

    However, Lin Li was not being arrogant or conceited. He truly felt that he might not be a match for the three Undead Lords, and he felt that he could only barely protect himself. Indeed, he was now at the peak of level-23, and he had four pieces of the debris of the stars as well as various magical potions. However, the three Undead Lords were all at level-23, and had been living in the Shadowglen for a long time. Hence, they definitely had a tacit understanding among them.

    Lin Li hesitated, and was stuck thinking whether he should take action. Meanwhile, Aldwin and Macklin were obviously anxious. Everyone could tell that the three Undead Lords were definitely unbeatable to the mages. However, Aldwin was only at the peak of level-21, while Macklin had just reached the Legendary-realm. The two of them would not be of help at all.

    <i>Forget it, anyway, these old fogies wouldn¡¯t want to see me being indifferent and refusing to help while they are working and fighting hard.</i> Lin Li could not stand the dirty looks that Aldwin and Macklin were shooting him, and finally decided tounch an attack. Although it was impossible to defeat the three Undead Lords, he should at least be able to protect the mages and help them retreat safely.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to take the initiative to attack, he saw that the arbitrator Megard¡¯s figure was turning a little blurry. Next, it vanished in in sight without any magical waves. Lin Li panicked, and hurriedly turned to look at the crystal ball, only to see Megard¡¯s rickety figure stepping on the invisible stairs in the sky, slowly making his way above to the battlefield in the Shadowglen like an elderly man taking a stroll in the park.

    Although his actions seemed to be extremely slow, Megard had only taken three steps. When he took the first step, there was no terrifying magical wave. However, time seemed to have stopped at that instant, and silence returned. The swords about to stab the mages and the magic spellsunched from the top of their scepters seemed to have also paused together with the humans and mages.

    Megard slowly took the second step, and the air began to condense, while a massive pressure made the Skeletal Warriors and the other Undead creatures which were besieging the mages feel as if an entire mountain was being pressed on their bodies. The skeletons began to crumble and break into pieces, while the Vampires and Humerus Wyrms in the air suddenly fell onto the ground as if they had lost their ability to fly.

    After taking the third step, Megard arrived at the top of the battlefield, and as his feet slowlynded, the powerful Death Domain of the Lich King that was shrouding the battlefield copsed, while the Tide of Death that was continuously summoning Undead creatures seemed to have lost its connection with the Lich King as the tide gradually dispersed.

    In the eyes of everyone, Megard, who was standing in the sky without a trace of magical wave seemed to be an extremely ordinary old man. However, the Undead creatures in the Shadowglen and the human mages¡ªincluding Lin Li and the rest who were watching the battle¡ªseemed to have seen a descending god.

    Although the arbitrator Megard seemed to be closer to Rosen and had been nitpicking Lin Li¡¯s faults, Lin Li had no choice but to admit that Megard was undoubtedly a godly presence from the Dark Age. Even through the crystal ball, he could clearly feel that the Megard was extremely majestic and domineering.

    The appearance of Megard caused the two opposing parties of the intense battle to slow down, but unlike the Undead creatures, the mages did not seem to have been affected by the power of this arbitrator. However, the mages did not continue attacking the Undead creatures, because the appearance of the arbitrator meant that the remaining battle no longer belonged to them. They decided to take the chance to retreat from the battlefield and move out of the Shadowglen.

    Megard gently raised the staff in his hand, and a huge wave of unparalleled mana burst out of his skinny body, instantly forming a huge magic vortex over the Shadowglen. Lin Li and others were observing it through the crystal ball, but the three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen, as well as the countless Undead creatures, seemed to have no choice but to face the horror caused by the mana.

    The three Undead Lords yelled menacingly at the same time, causing the frail human mages to feel threatened again.

    As the Lich King swiftly chanted the strongest spell that he had mastered, the huge ck gem on top of the staff in his hand was covered in cracks under the induction of mana. The Humerus Wyrm spread its wings open and opened its mouth at the sky while continuously umting destructive power. The body of the Skeletal King was also emitting a strong death aura at this moment. It then flew up into the sky as if it were going against Megard.

    The three Undead Lords with powerful strength of level-23 seemed to also be exuding their own power now because the great sense of threat told them that they would only be facingplete destruction in the end if they did not stop the old mage.

    However, Megard did not give the three Undead Lords a chance at all. Instead, he raised the staff gently before putting it down again, causing a dazzling ray of light to sh in the sky above the Shadowglen.

    Lin Li was immediately shocked, for he was not unfamiliar with that spell. When he was in Tutankhamun¡¯s hut, he had seen the God of Mages, Geresco, releasing that magic spell through the Spacetime Beacon Spell. It was a level-25 magic which had extremely harsh requirements for mental strength, in addition to requiring a massive amount of mana.

    When he saw Geresco¡¯s Starfall, Lin Li got a great shock. After casting an equally powerful Legendary magic, the God of Mages immediately released the level-25 Starfall without rest. It was simply something that was unachievable by humans.

    The arbitrator Megard might not be able to emte Geresco, but when he released the level-25 Starfall at this moment, it seemed extremely effortless.

    <i>Is this the power of a Sanctuary Master?</i> Lin Li was filled with desire to advance to the Sanctuary-realm while also feeling horrified. Staring at Megard¡¯s skinny figure, Lin Li could even imagine the scene of Megard overthrowing the mighty High Elves during the Dark Age. No matter how biased Megard was towards Rosen in the past few days, Lin Li still found him extremely tall and majestic.

    Even Andoine and Rosen who were in frequent contact with Megard were filled with infinite awe and admiration towards his abilities and his contributions to the human race.

    Above the Shadowglen, the three Undead Lords exerted all their strength and rushed towards Megard. However, before the three Undead Lords could even reach him, the shining stars descended with a whistling sound.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A meteor hit the back of the Humerus Wyrm, causing its body to sink all of a sudden. However, the countless beautiful and dazzling, shining meteors created a nightmare for the three Undead Lords.

    The meteor shower was beautiful, but when it fell on their heads, there was nothing beautiful about it. The entire battlefield and half of Starfall were in the attacking range of the falling stars. The dazzling meteors were constantly falling like a storm, stirring up glimmering magic and relentlessly destroying the Undead creatures.

    <i>Is this really a magic spell? It¡¯s just like a punishment!</i> Although Lin Li was not being attacked, he was still incredibly astonished. It was his second time seeing the Starfall, but the shock that Lin Li felt was no less than when he saw Geresco cast the magic spell.

    Although the magic of Starfall was powerful, one of its greatest problems was the fact that it would perceive everything in the attack range as a target of destruction, regardless of whether they were the enemies or not. At the beginning, Geresco used Void of the Stars after releasing Starfall in order to nullify his body so that none of the offensive spells would be effective on him.

    However, Void of the Stars could be considered to touch the realm of the gods. Lin Li had no idea if Megard had mastered that magic or not, but he didn¡¯t cast the spell to avoid the falling stars[1]. However, even if there was no Void of the Stars, it seemed that there was no need to worry about Megard¡¯s safety, because all the meteors that were falling towards him would be deflected to the side by an invisible force.

    Lin Li could tell that it was not some magic, but rather an application of nomological power which directed the attacks away from one¡¯s body. It was easier said than done, and even if one had already understood all the mysteries of the nomological power involved, they still might not be able to achieve it.

    The three Undead Lords had already been smashed back to the ground by countless meteors, including therge Humerus Wyrm, which was covered in dense cracks. The once-gilded bones were also been smashed to the point of bing dim. The Lich King continuously put up defensive spells before bing crushed again. The robe on his body had already been tattered beyond shreds. The only thing that was still intact was the hood covering his face.

    As for the Undead Army in the Shadowglen, they had no resistance to Starfall at all, and all of the Undead creatures, including the Vampires that were moving swiftly and the Dracolich[2] that was exhibiting magic, seemed to have been crushed and smashed into the soil.

    In just a few seconds, the ck mud on the ground in the Shadowglen was reced with a gray color, and the three Undead Lords were crawling in the mud while still suffering from the falling meteors. They looked extremely pathetic, and their soul fire was growing dimmer, seemingly about to be extinguished soon.

    The Skeletal King, whose arm had been broken, finally raised his head and shrieked at Megard who was in the sky, ¡°You can¡¯t kill us, Geresco has promised us this before!¡±

    [1] Meteors in Chinese are literally falling stars.

    [2] No idea where this guy came from, possibly the author¡¯s mistake... Or he forgot to mention that there was one among the skeletal dragons summoned earlier.

 Chapter 707 - The Agreement of That Year

    <h4>Chapter 707: The Agreement of That Year</h4>

    <i>What a joke. Are you stopping just because you want to? Why didn¡¯t you stop when you were bullying the mages who had yet to even reach the Legendary-level!?</i> Lin Li¡¯s lips moved a little. He did not expect that an Undead Lord would also swallow his pride and submit.

    Everyone could tell that given the current situation, the three Undead Lords would definitely be destroyed as long as Starfall continued for a few more seconds, even without Megard¡¯s extra intervention.

    However, what Lin Li did not expect to see was the arbitrator of the Supreme Council, Megard, waving his staff gently to converge the stars. He actually managed to end the attack of Starfall just like that.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li looked at Andoine and Rosen, only to see that they were not in the least bit surprised at all. He finally recalled what the Skeletal King said while begging for mercy.

    <i>It¡¯s Geresco again. Why did Geresco promise not to kill them? Look, Megard can easily destroy the three Undead Lords with his current power, what more Geresco.</i> It could be said that the Supreme Council would be able to destroy the Shadowglen anytime without painstaking efforts. There must have been some reason for the Shadowglen to exist for so many years.

    The Shadowglen was not located in a deste region. It would be no problem if the Undead were in the Dragon Mountains or in the Haiga Mountain Range, but they were now near nna, which was rather near the Fn Kingdom. Despite being such a dangerous element, they actually managed to survive for more than 1000 years. What was Geresco thinking?

    <i>Is it for them to protect Osric¡¯s mausoleum? That¡¯s a bit of a joke. The Supreme Council has been researching and studying Osric¡¯s mausoleum for so many years, and no one in Anril would be able to take anything from the mausoleum even if they were to open it.</i>

    Another issue that puzzled Lin Li was the fact that the three Undead Lords of the Shadowglen seemed rather simr to the three Undead Lords that he had encountered in the Seven-Realm Spiral. <i>What¡¯s the rtionship between them and the Immortal King?</i> Lin Li recalled one of the Immortal King¡¯s puppets saying some strange things to him when he was training back then.

    After thinking for a moment, Lin Li put on a wry smile. Although he seemed to be finding out more and more information, he still felt like there was something he had yet to discover. It was if he were touching a dragon whilst being blindfolded.

    The Skeletal King pleaded for mercy, and the terrifying Starfall finally stopped. Staring at the skinny Mergard disappearing from the Sky Tower, the three Undead Lords still heaved a sigh of relief despite forgetting how to breathe. They¡¯d initially thought that Geresco no longer existed, and that they did not have to be afraid of anyone anymore after improving their power over the past 1000 years or so. However, to their surprise, there was still a huge difference between them and a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse.

    ¡°Since you still remember Geresco, open the Immortal Door ording to the agreement made that year,¡± Megard said, his aged voice sounding from the High Tower.

    The three Undead Lords shivered; soul fire flickered in their eyes before finally regaining calm. They struggled to get up from the ground and scurried out resignedly.

    The Immortal Door! Lin Li was shocked to hear Megard¡¯s words. <i>Aren¡¯t we here to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum? What does it have to do with the Immortal King?</i> Although Lin Li seemed to have gained a lot of benefits from the arrangements of the Immortal King, Lin Li still felt uneasy, especially since he felt like he could never be away from the Immortal King.

    While Lin Li was in doubt, the three Undead Lords had already arrived in the deepest part of the Shadowglen. In therge open space, the three Undead Lords stood alone and began chanting an inexplicable curse. It was not in the High Elves tongue, Titannguage, or Dragonnguage. Instead, it seemed to be a simplebination of tones. However, every note seemed to be able to resonate with nomological power in this world.

    As the chant continued, dark clouds began rolling over the Shadowglen while ovepping above their heads. Lightning would sh in the sky from time to time. The colorful ripples shed one after another between heaven and earth, and the entire space seemed rather distorted. It would also peculiarly emit dull explosive sounds, which made it seem like it was about to copse and crumble.

    At this moment, the earth, fire, water, darkness, and light in this world, which formed the basis of this world, seemed to be riled up. The extremely chaotic nomological power made the ce free of magic, and any mage who wanted to cast magic there would be torn into pieces.

    The spell chanted by the three Undead Lords became more and more rapid. The soul fire that was pouring out of their eyes was bursting, and the entire Shadowglen had also begun to shake violently. Amidst the deafening roar, the solid ground was slowly shattered by the invisible force. Arge vortex was formed in the crack.

    <i>Immortal Door? This is clearly a solidified void channel!</i> Lin Li stared at the scene that was cast in the crystal ball, and subconsciously swallowed his saliva. It was no wonder that the three Undead Lords would cause so much of a ruckus¡ªthe void channel was an existence that would destroy the world¡¯s rules, and would be alienated by the world¡¯s nomological power.

    The magic spell, Void Channel, was already beyond the scope of magic, and was the result of using the power of the broken nomological power to cross the obstacles in space. Powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm would probably be able to release the magic spell in a short period of time, but it would take a god to solidify it in the world forever.

    In fact, the role yed by the three Undead Lords was just being a key to the door, and all they had to do was summon the Void Channel that had been permanently solidified there. Even the Highlord Osric could not solidify the channel, let alone the three Undead Lords. That was perhaps how the name ¡°Immortal Door¡± came about. Only the formidable Immortal King would be able to do that.

    <i>What a lunatic, why don¡¯t you just use the Teleportation Portal? Would it kill you not to show off!?</i> Lin Li gritted his teeth angrily, but he also knew that there would be errors in using the teleportation if the destination was more than 1000 meters below ground. Once any errors urred, the people would be buried alive, and never get to escape again unless they were gods of the earth.

    <i>The Teleportation Portal isn¡¯t safe!</i> Lin Li knew that very well because he was trapped in the chaos of time and space for half a year due to an error in the Teleportation Portal after they left the Sky Castle back then. However, he was fortunate enough to get out of it. If the portal had copsed, he would¡¯ve ended floating in the chaos of time and space before getting ripped apart.

    God knew how far they were from the destination. Hence, digging a tunnel in the ground was not a viable option. Besides, they were not on Earth; no one could prove that Anril was round. Hence, even the gods might not know how thick the earth was.

    <i>Now that the Void Channel has been summoned, what do they do next?</i> Lin Li and the rest stared at the arbitrator Megard who was in charge of the operation, and waited for further instructions.

    ¡°The Immortal Door has been opened, and Osric¡¯s mausoleum is on the other side of the door. Although there is plenty of danger there, I can¡¯t follow you guys. In order to keep the door open, I must stay here and use the power of the tower to suppress it. I¡¯ll wait for you guys here,¡± Megard said calmly.

    Although having a strong powerhouse from the Sanctuary-realm when exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum would indeed reduce a lot of trouble, Lin Li did not feel too sad about the fact that Megard had to stay there. He was most worried about the debris of the stars, Nothingness, being linked to the item that the Supreme Council wanted to find. Hence, Megard staying behind was nothing too bad for him.

    Lin Li was also well aware that Megard was telling the truth. The Void Channel was like a Void Crack which was not tolerated by the Laws of this world. After it was opened, it had to be maintained by a constant flow of power. Otherwise, it¡¯d soon be repaired. Although it could be reopened, they could not trust the Undead creatures, because they probably wouldn¡¯t open the void up again without Megard watching them.

    Upon hearing that Megard could not go with them, Aldwin could not help but feel worried, and he thought, <i>Without the arbitrator, we won¡¯t be able to suppress Andoine and Rosen who had been at odds against each other for more than a day or two. God knows what might happen?</i> However, he could not say those words to Megard, because the arbitrator had made the three Undead Lords submit.

 Chapter 708 - Secret Space

    <h4>Chapter 708:</h4>

    <h4>Secret Space</h4>

    While Megard was speaking, the tower had already reached the sky above the Immortal Door. The mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays that were engraved at the base of the tower gradually shone brightly, forming a faint huge beam of light, which shrouded the space. As the beam of light fell, the nomological power began to calm down, but it wasn¡¯t recovering. Instead, it seemed to have solidified. Arge ck vortex formed in the crack in the ground, and it was rotating much slower than before.

    ¡°You guys can leave now,¡± said Megard.

    The people agreed in unison. They remained silent while turning around to walk out of the tower. Although they were all dozens of years old, with Lin Li being the only exception, they were still rather excited. After all, in the history of Anril, Osric was second only to the Immortal King and Geresco. Hence, it was an extraordinary experience for them to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum personally.

    ¡°Felic.¡±

    Just as Lin Li walked out together with them, he suddenly heard Megard¡¯s voiceing from behind.

    Regardless of what happened before, Lin Li still greatly respected the mythical figure who came from the Dark Age. He stopped and turned back to look at Megard, who was in front of the crystal ball. He asked, ¡°Do you have any more instructions?¡±

    Megard did not turn around, and instead kept his eyes fixed on the crystal ball while calmly saying, ¡°When you enter, be careful of the spirits in there.¡±

    Lin Li froze for a moment, and then waited for a moment to ensure that Megard no longer had any other instructions. He then thanked Megard and walked out while feeling bewildered. He was confused, and could not figure out if Megard¡¯s reminder had a deeper meaning to it.

    After interacting with him for two days, Li clearly felt that Megard, the arbitrator of the Supreme Council, was obviously biased towards Rosen in various aspects. After all, Rosen was Megard¡¯s student, so he could not be impartial even though he was an arbitrator. That made Lin Li confused, for Megard reminded him instead of his student Rosen.

    <i>If it was genuinely a kind reminder, why didn¡¯t he make things more explicit? All he told me to do was to beware of the spirits in there. What do spirits refer to? It can¡¯t be about the Vengeful Spirits, can it?</i> Lin Li walked out and caught up with the people in front to leave the tower. When they arrived at the Immortal Door, he still didn¡¯t understand what Megard meant.

    The thoughts of the mythical figures, the Immortal King, Geresco, the highlord Osric, and Megard, were all really hard to guess. Lin Li was also rather inexperienced in dealing with such problems. He decided not to guess, since he couldn¡¯t figure it out.

    Standing in front of the huge fissure in the ground and watching the ck vortex that was constantly spinning in the fissure, Lin Li could not help but be surprised by the power radiated by the ck vortex.

    The power emitted by the huge ck vortex seemed to be beyond the scope of magic, and it was simply a huge Laws Storm where all sorts of nomological power were forcibly put together by a stronger and irresistible force, regardless of their respective characteristics. The Laws were conflicting, and their collision constantly stimted the forces. Once the generated power was released, it would be strong enough to destroy the world, yet the nomological powers were now stuck in the vortex¡ªclear evidence of how strong that force was.

    Lin Li looked up at the sky tower and realized that it was no wonder that the Supreme Council even resorted to activating its headquarters and an arbitrator. If it weren¡¯t for the suppression of the Sky Tower, no one would be able to pass through the ck vortex at all.

    Around the fissures in the earth, the three Undead Lords immediately copsed on the ground after opening the Immortal Door, and the soul fire in their eyes seemed to have be dimmer. In fact, they couldn¡¯t even spare some energy to repair their bodies even though they were covered in wounds after being attacked by Starfall.

    However, when Lin Li followed everyone to the Immortal Door, the three Undead Lords scanned everyone and suddenly kept their eyes fixed on Lin Li. They then struggled to get up from the ground, ignoring the wounds on their body and the dimming soul fire in their eyes. One of the wings of the Humerus Wyrm had already been broken, and it could only rely on its other wing to support its heavy body while carving a messy mark in the ground. The Lich King supported himself against the staff that was covered in cracks while shivering continuously. He then raised his head to reveal his face that had been hidden beneath the hat. After several failed attempts at standing up, the Skeletal Lord had no choice but to fall onto his knee and straighten his back. However, the soul fire in his eyes was still flickering vigorously.

    However, after a while, the three Undead Lords returned to their half-dead state as if all of their energy had been depleted after struggling just now. The soul fire had also be rather dull. The brief moment of unusual behavior did not attract anyone¡¯s attention, since Megard¡¯s tower was right above, and no one thought there would be any changes.

    Although the ck vortex exuded a powerful aura of destruction, everyone did not hesitate to step into the ck vortex one by one. Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate, either, as he soon entered it while holding onto the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    Right after Lin Li¡¯s body sank into the vortex, he could feel the huge oppressive force generated by the constant conflict and outbreak of various nomological powers around him. If not for the Sky Tower, Lin Li would definitely be unable to make it out of the storm safely regardless of how many trump cards he might have.

    However, even with the suppression of the tower that made the storm ease a little, Lin Li still felt absolutely ufortable. In particr, the nomological powers were continuously stimting the mana within Lin Li, making it all riled up and on the verge of rushing out of his body to regain freedom. At this moment, Lin Li finally understood the troubles of having infinite mana that could only be controlled using mental strength.

    Fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength had already exceeded the requirements thanks to the continuous improvement of the Evil Eye Tyrant and the tempering of the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. Although his power was now only at the peak of level-23, his mental strength was already at the level of a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse. Hence, his strong mental strength managed to suppress and tame the infinite mana again.

    After some time, Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up again, and the speed of his descent began to increase all of a sudden, shocking him to the point of releasing his flying skill to stabilize his body beforending slowly. After finishing that, he finally had the chance to look around him.

    <i>I¡¯m actually in the sky?</i> Lin Li looked up and saw the ck vortex spinning slowly in the blue sky. He then looked down and realized that he seemed to be about 10,000 meters above ground, with a vast green ocean and arge building beneath him. There were also a few ck spots which he reckoned to be Andoine and the rest who entered before him.

    In the process of falling, Lin Li looked into the distance at dense forests, meandering rivers, and rolling mountains, only to realize that everything seemed to be the same as in Anril. If it weren¡¯t for the massive pce, Lin Li would have thought it was a joke made by Osric, and they were brought to another corner of Anril.

    <i>Where exactly is this ce? Is this really an underground world?</i> Lin Linded and nced at Andoine and the rest who were equally shocked, after which he stepped on the grass on the ground beneath him. Everything seemed so real and unlikely to be a dream.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s really spectacr!¡±

    After observing the surrounding environment, Lin Li shifted his gaze onto the sky again to see that the elite mages of nna were continuously surging out of therge ck vortex. Although the 200-odd people seemed insignificant on the ground, they looked rather interesting when they were descending from the sky. The mages all had yet to enter the Legendary-realm, and so could only rely on floating, which made them look like leaves in the wind.

    After a while, all the magesnded safely and immediately formed a defensive formation at the fastest speed. No one hesitated just because it was Osric¡¯s mausoleum, as if therge underground world could not arouse their curiosity at all. It seemed like their current task was to fight like they were instructed to, and they could even ignore everything around them.

    ¡°President, the mages have already been assembled, and we are ready to take your orders!¡± Lampard, the head of the mages, said to Aldwin respectfully.

    Aldwin nodded, and did not answer immediately. He first looked at the blurry architectural structure at the end of the grasnd before shifting his gaze onto Andoine and Rosen. The arbitrator Megard stayed on top and left the two authoritative figures of the Supreme Council to take charge.

    ¡°This is the world created by Osric. No one knows what he has arranged to wee us. I hope everyone will be more vignt and set off,¡± Andoine spoke to Aldwin and the rest sternly as if he were a different person.

    The huge building at the end of the grasnd was undoubtedly where Osric¡¯s mausoleum was. Although some of the Legendary powerhouses were already extremely eager, they didn¡¯t fly over immediately, and instead followed the mages who had already formed a defensive formation.

    After all, not every Archmage could use the floating technique well like Lin Li. For them, the floating technique was not a magic that sped up the progress. Moreover, everyone knew that Osric was not a kind person, and was instead a butcher who could ughter 100,000 people for their souls. Although the surroundings seemed rather quiet and peaceful, none of them dared to let their guard down at all. If anything were to go wrong, the mages in the sky would be the enemies¡¯ best targets.

    ¡°What are the origins of the three Undead Lords?¡± Lin Li asked as he followed the team slowly, watching the huge building that was still far away.

    Although the three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen were rather strong, Lin Li still found them to be very simr to the three in the Seven-Realm Spiral. He had no idea what the rtionship between them and the Immortal King, Osric, and Geresco was, or why they had managed to survive from that era to the present.

    Regardless of the humans¡¯ attitudes towards the Undead creatures, the High Elves definitely would not allow ugly and dirty Undead creatures to exist during the Dark Age. Although all three Undead Lords had Legendary strength, they were basically powerless in the face of the powerful High Elves. Yet, they were still living well in the Shadowglen despite the extinction of the High Elves. Lin Li was sure that it definitely wasn¡¯t just luck.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid their origins may not be clear even to the arbitrator who was from the Dark Age. However, it is said that they existed in Anril as early as during the rise of the High Elves. However, there isn¡¯t much historical data regarding their existence. Maybe the remaining records about them are too damaged. Maybe it is because of this that they could survive to the present,¡± Andoine said with a slight frown and a helpless expression, despite being the most authoritative figure in researching the High Elves.

    Although Andoine was also an old man, he was much younger than Apophis and Megard. Most of the knowledge he had about the Dark Age was obtained through research of various documents. Unfortunately, at the end of the Dark Age, a huge war broke out in Anril, and much precious knowledge could not be saved, let alone the historical records.

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Lin Li said, feeling a little disappointed about not getting the answer he wanted, though he did not show it. Instead, he continued, ¡°When we were outside, the arbitrator Megard was clearly about to kill them. Why did he stop because of something the Skeletal King said? Could there have been some pact between them and Geresco?¡±

 Chapter 709 - The Underground World

    <h4>Chapter 709: The Underground World</h4>

    The Book of Eternity in Lin Li¡¯s hands and the Evil Eye Tyrant magical crystal were all given to him by Tutankhamun back in the ckstone Mountains ording to the agreement with Geresco. However, Tutankhamun, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, was probably already above the Sanctuary-realm, while the three Undead Lords had only reached Level-23. Just what did they do to get Geresco to make a pact with them?

    Andoine tugged the sleeves of his robe and stared at the approaching building, seemingly unsatisfied with the magic robe that symbolized the status of an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council. ¡°We just learned some information about the situation from some data about what happened that year, but it was notplete. It¡¯s said that Geresco and the three Undead Lords might have reached some agreement, but the details of the agreement are not known to outsiders. As far as I know, the message left by Geresco before he left the Supreme Council only indicated that the three Undead Lords were meant to guard and protect something. Otherwise, with the power of the Supreme Council, they¡¯d have long been annihted. You have no idea how many times the Fn Kingdom has raised the request.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it Osric¡¯s mausoleum that they¡¯re guarding?¡± Lin Li asked in confusion. Megard also said that the three Undead Lords would open the Immortal Door ording to the agreement. Maybe they were the only ones who could open the Immortal Door. Otherwise, Megard would have been able to destroy them easily.

    Hearing Lin Li ¡®s words, Andoine smiled, and said, ¡°Although we also guessed the location of Osric¡¯s mausoleum based on this information, it is not entirely correct that the three Undead Lords were left here to guard the mausoleum. Well, we might be able to find some answers regarding the content of their agreement during this operation.¡±

    ¡°Since you already knew about the existence of this agreement, why didn¡¯t you just bring your people here instead of letting the mages clean up the Shadowglen? Fortunately, their battle power is the strongest I have seen so far, but it wouldn¡¯t be worth if there were any casualties.¡± Lin Li was now a President; hence, he was well aware of how difficult it would be to nurture and groom an Archmage. Even the nna Guild of Magic might not bring about much convenience to the Tower of Dusk. Hence, it could be said that every Archmage was a great asset.

    ¡°Unless the Undead creatures have sworn by their soul fire, don¡¯t expect them to abide by any promises they have made. In terms of credibility, they are not evenparable to the demons in the Abyss. In fact, before we left, the Supreme Council had already predicted it. It has been a long time since the Dark Age was over, and there would definitely be an increase in the strength of the three Undead Lords even if they were idiots. I am afraid that they would not actually abide by the promise,¡± Andoine said in disdain. Although the three Undead Lords were level-23, their so-called improvement was simply surprisingly slow.

    ¡°You were deterring them?¡± Lin Li nodded, knowing that the mages¡¯ actions were meant for letting the three Undead Lords know that their skeletons were insignificant to humans. Anyway, they had been staying in the Shadowglen for a long time, and did not know much about the humans. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t know how rare such a group of mages was in Anril. The arbitrator¡¯s intervention was to show them that the Supreme Council could easily defeat them even though Geresco was no longer around.

    In fact, when the mages assembled in the Shadowglen, the three Undead Lords would definitely have already found out since they were the masters of the Shadowglen. The Supreme Council¡¯s tower, whichnded on the cliff of the Shadowglen, was a clear reminder of the pact. However, the three Undead Lords were clearly uneasy because of their own strength andck of understanding of the outside world.

    However, Lin Li understood what the three Undead Lords were trying to do. Although the Shadowglen wasrge, it was no different from a prison to the Undead Lords. Anyone would be resentful about being imprisoned for thousands of years. Besides, the Shadowglen was located in the Fn Kingdom, and there was no room for expansion at all. The strength of the three Undead Lords had improved really slowly, and that might be because of this.

    ¡°Hmph, I heard that Felic has two Undead servants. Now I know how you performed in fulfilling the agreement with Aldwin.¡± Rosen, who had been silent, suddenly sneered and was full of derisiveness.

    Rosen¡¯s intentions were clear. He was clearly still driving at the fact that Lin Li did not fulfill the promise that he¡¯d made to Aldwin on time. Rosen actually managed to drag Lin Li into this, and he was obviously trying to criticize Lin Li for his credibility.

    Rosen was at a loss for what to do now. Originally, he¡¯d nned for his disciple Gryffindor to steadily get the first ce in thest trial. Given his strength, he¡¯d thought that Gryffindor would then go on to be the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. He hadn¡¯t expected for Gryffindor to do too well, and just hoped for him to have a steady footing. Even if the situation in the Breezy ins was extremelyplicated, he believed that Gryffindor would be able to maintain the Guild of Magic with his support. All he needed was for Gryffindor¡¯s performance to be recognized, and he would be able to obtain victory over Andoine.

    However, it hadn¡¯t urred to Rosen that there would appear a kid called Felic, who happened to be Andoine¡¯s disciple from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic in the countryside. He had put in plenty of efforts for the Guild of Magic to be established in the Breezy ins, yet he ended up paving the way for hispetitor. How could he ept it?

    In order to make up for the mistake, Rosen had even thought of a solution: making the Supreme Council reduce the aid given to the Breezy ins. In his opinion, Felic definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to have a strong footing in the Breezy ins, and would scurry back after facing his defeat. At the same time, it would also affect Andoine¡¯s reputation.

    However, under such circumstances, Felic had actually managed to get acquainted with the Malfa Family. If it weren¡¯t for thepetition between him and Andoine, Rosen would have been in awe of the young chap who created plenty of trouble for him.

    Now, the only thing Rosen could do was to question if Lin Li was morally qualified to be the President. It seemed that there were some problems with his actions, and even the arbitrator Megard seemed to be dissatisfied with Felic¡¯s behavior in the Breezy ins. After all, the President of the Guild of Magic would still represent the Supreme Council. If he could manage the Guild of Magic well, he would definitely be suitable for being the President. Otherwise, a merchant would make the cut too.

    ¡°Is that so? Is Master Rosen saying that Geresco is being stupid for believing the Undead creatures and making a pact with them? Or, you can repeat those words to Master Sendros,¡± Lin Li said bluntly. It was not that he did not respect his elders, but because he felt that there was no need to show respect to those who did not respect him.

    Rosen was clearly stunned for a moment. As one of the top 10 authoritative figures the Supreme Council and a level-23 Legendary powerhouse, he was often showered withpliments, and had never been talked back to in such a manner. He strongly suppressed the anger in his heart, and coldly said, ¡°Mage Felic, please don¡¯t forget your identity. Is this how you should be speaking to your elders?¡±

    ¡°Master Rosen, even an elder would have to be worthy of respect if he wants to be respected by others. He should not demand respect just because he is older.¡± Although Rosen was an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, Lin Li was not daunted at all.

    As the argument between Lin Li and Rosen began to get heated, Andoine, pointing at Lin Li, suddenly interrupted, ¡°Felic, look at this building, that butcher Osric actually put in so much effort into building a ce for his burial. What a lunatic.¡±

    Andoine understood the reasons for Rosen¡¯s constant attacks at Lin Li. Although Lin Li¡¯s unrelenting responses made him feel extremely thrilled, he also knew that it was not the time for conflicts now, especially since it was between two Legendary level-23 powerhouses. Hence, he suddenly pointed to the distant building and interrupted the argument between the two.

    ¡°Yes, he is a lunatic and a genius. If he had been given more time, maybe his achievements would not have been inferior to those of the Immortal King. It is a pity that even the Immortal King may not be immortal. Osric couldn¡¯t escape death, either.¡± Although Lin Li ¡®s understanding of Osric was not too deep, it was enough to give him a general impression of the Highlord. Since a formidable figure like him could not escape death, it was rather shocking.

    The space in the underground world was extremelyrge. The team had to travel for more than half an hour before finally reaching the main body of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. The originally blurry building appeared in front of them in a spectacr manner, full of the High Elves¡¯ luxurious style.

    At this moment, everyone was shocked, be it Andoine, Rosen, or the other authoritative figures of the Supreme Council. The mages were no longer indifferent, and shock was now written all over their faces. No one would be able to stay calm when faced with such a luxurious building.

 Chapter 710 - The Gate of Doom

    <h4>Chapter 710: The Gate of Doom</h4>

    <i>Is this really just a mausoleum?</i> Everyone was filled with extreme disbelief. Even before they entered, they had already imagined what the mausoleum would look like countless times. However, the truth told them that their imagination was still too weak. It was just like how a beggar could never imagine the life of a monarch.

    Lin Li could already tell that the architectural style of the building in front of him was very simr to that of the Eternal Furnace, though it was muchrger. The aura that the majestic building was giving out was also more terrifying than the Eternal Furnace¡¯s. It was not inferior to the Sky Castle.

    In front of the majestic building, there was a vast and t square paved with moonstone. Under the clear blue sky, it emitted a beautiful and psychedelic blue light which made the entire square seem like a calm sea with light ripples. In the square, there were 24 giant crystal pirs more than 10 meters in width and more than 100 meters in height, covered with magical gemstones. The four stone pirs facing the gate of the mausoleum were like giant pirs in the sky. Each stone pir was covered with beautiful and gorgeous patterns with beautiful rays of light intertwining around it, making everyone near the square hold their breaths in awe.

    However, when everyone was still unable to recover from the shock, Lin Li frowned and looked down at the dreamy moonstone ground and the dazzling light, seemingly deep in thought.

    ¡°Felic, what are you looking at?¡± Andoine asked. Before Lin Li could even respond, he nced at the vast square and eximed in awe, ¡°Osric has really splurged on this mausoleum! It¡¯s just a ce where his body was going to be buried, yet he set it up in such an exaggerated manner. Was he thinking of enjoying this ce when he got reborn someday? Sure enough, the stronger they are, the more they can¡¯t get over death!¡±

    After a while, the crowd gradually recovered from the shock. However, Lin Li was still staring at the ground as if he had never seen moonstone before. He then looked around and seemed to be muttering something.

    ¡°If there are no other issues, can we continue advancing?¡± Aldwin asked Rosen and Andoine.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Rosen said with a nod.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Felic seems to have seen something in the square. We¡¯d better wait for a while,¡± Andoine said. Although Andoine and Lin Li had not spent that much time together, he knew that Lin Li wasn¡¯t the type to fool others. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything, Andoine could tell from his behavior that he seemed to have been attracted by something in the square.

    ¡°What do you see? It¡¯s just a ground paved with moonstone. He¡¯s probably just bedazzled by the light. If there was any danger, wouldn¡¯t I be able to tell? There are no traps annotated on the map that we have,¡± said Rosen, who was still quite confident about his own eyesight¡ªin addition to being a Legendary powerhouse, he was also an actual Guru of Inscription. Hence, he believed that his knowledge about mageweaths was the best in Anril.

    ¡°What a joke. Why would they tell you what the traps are and where they are set? In that case, why wouldn¡¯t they just open the door and allow you to enter freely? Felic has even gone to the Sky Castle. What else has he not seen before? Do you think he¡¯s like that idiotic student of yours who thinks he¡¯s the top genius of the world just because he has seen a small part of the world?¡± Andoine sneered.

    ¡°This is Osric¡¯s mausoleum, not the Sky Castle. Besides, I want to remind you, don¡¯t forget that I am the leader of this operation.¡± After that, Rosen nced at Lin Li who was deep in thought, and a look of disdain formed in his eyes. He turned to look at Aldwin, and said, ¡°Continue advancing, the Sky Tower is still suppressing the Immortal Door. We don¡¯t have much time to waste here.¡±

    Aldwin looked helplessly at the two people. Although he was very fond of Lin Li, he was well aware of Rosen¡¯s aplishments in Inscription. Since Rosen said that there was no problem, that should really be the case. Moreover, when discussing the exploration n, Megard allowed Rosen to take charge despite not stating it explicitly. Hence, Rosen was the main moderator of the operation.

    The mages had already forgotten about the shock that they were in, and they strode forwards orderly on the glossy ground after receiving themands.

    All of a sudden, a fast-moving shadow quickly enveloped the ground of the square. It turned out to be a white cloud, floating in the sky and blocking the sunlight. Watching the moonstone lose its luster, Lin Li was bbergasted, and an answer immediately formed in his head.

    ¡°Wait...¡± Lin Li raised his head and was about to give them a reminder, but he saw that the mages had already gotten into a defensive formation and stepped onto the t and smooth ground of the square, causing the moonstone to suddenly be dimmer.

    At this moment, not to mention Rosen, every mage could tell that something was wrong. Aldwin yelled at the mages behind and instructed them to retreat immediately¡ªno trap in Osric¡¯s mausoleum was not to be belittled. The mages were the pirs of the nna Guild of Magic, and losing one would be a huge heartache for Aldwin. However, the trapsid by Osric the butcher would definitely be lethal.

    The ground of the entire square seemed to have suddenly experienced a power outage, and the moonstone that was emitting eternal light suddenly became dim. In the center of the square, the two giant pirs facing the gate of the mausoleum had be brighter, and they resembledmpposts. Between the pirs, there were electric snakes running back and forth, making crackling noises and covering the mausoleum.

    ¡°Felic, what kind of trap is this?¡± Andoine asked Lin Li, feeling worried as he watched the amazing changes in the square.

    Lin Li shook his head helplessly, and answered, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it might be the Gate of Doom. Get everyone to get ready for a battle.¡±

    Upon hearing that it was the Gate of Doom, even an Alchemy jockey Andoine began to feel uneasy. Although he didn¡¯t know much about alchemy, he knew that the Gate of Doom was a Master-level Alchemy Array that was used to open the channel between Anril and the Endless Abyss. The only hope now was for the Gate of Doom to open a channel that was not too far down in the Endless Abyss Otherwise, even if the mages were to win the battle, they would inevitably suffer a lot of losses.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve already seen it, why didn¡¯t you tell me what your idea was?¡± Rosen scowled at Lin Li. He was the one who ordered the mages to continue to move forward, and imed that there was no danger, but this time, there was actually such a huge change that was like a p in his face. He naturally thought that Lin Li had already seen the traps in the square, and was waiting for him to fall into it.

    ¡°On the ground of the square, the magic gears were triggered, and the magic circuit has been blocked by the light reflected by the moonstone and the sky. If it weren¡¯t the shadow caused by the cloud just now, I would have needed a little more time to find out. As for the Gate of Doom Alchemy Array, it is right in the middle of the two pirs. If the trigger magic gears were not activated, no one would be affected by the Alchemy Array.¡± Lin Li looked at Rosen, and sneered, ¡°Osric is an absolute genius. The profound knowledge he possessed is far from what you can imagine, so don¡¯t think that you can pass through this mausoleum just because you have some understanding of Inscription. That will only result in the deaths of everyone.¡±

    No one dared to talk to him that way except his teacher. Rosen nced at Lin Li who was in his early twenties, and began to grow a little infuriated. However, before he could even say anything else, the Gate of Doom was fully opened, and countless Abyssal Demons suddenly rushed out, filling the vast square almost immediately.

    ¡°The Abyssal Predators, Kam and Amut. Seems like it¡¯s the seventh floor of the abyss.¡± Lin Li looked at the Abyssal Demons that were surging out of the Gate of Doom and realized that most of them were unique to the seventh floor of the abyss, which gave him a sense of relief. If the Gate of Doom were to connect below the 20th floor of the abyss, they would probably face a tough battle, while the demons on the seventh floor could only post a rtively limited threat to them despite having considerable strength.

    The Abyssal Predator looked just like a giant lizard, but it seemed to be walking like humans. However, they were not lizardmen, because they did not have much intelligence. They had poisonous ws and fine, sharp teeth as their weapons. They could easily tear apart sturdy armor and were extremely agile, just like assassins among humans. However, in terms of strength, most Abyssal Predators were only level-10, and only very few could reach level-15.

    Kam and Amut were both demons that were at the top of the food chain on the seventh floor of the abyss, and their strength was around level-15.

    The demon Kam had a lion¡¯s head and a sheep¡¯s body, and could also spit out ck mes. At the same time, the huge body also gave it great physical strength. ws and strong teeth were also its deadly weapons.

    The demon Amut was like a giant flying crocodile with wings on its back to allow it to perform short-distance flight. The most powerful weapon against enemies was not its body, but its earth-element magic.

    Although these demons from the seventh floor were more powerful than the Undead Army in the Shadowglen, they were after all facing the nna Guild of Magic, one of the powerful forces of Anril. Seeing that countless demons were surging out, the mages all remainedposed and everyone raised the Crescent Staffs in their hands as the overwhelming magic suddenly swept towards the demons.

    Facing the tide-like demons, the 200-odd mages were like a small boat floating in the sea. They were extremely thin and fragile as if they would capsize when hit by a massive wave. However, under themands of theirmander Lampard, they seemed to have rooted themselves to the ground, and remained still despite the roaring Abyssal Demons.

    Kam spat out a mass of abyssal mes, but when it was about to fall on the mages, it was blocked by a faint ray of light, and was reflected back to the demons which besieged the mages, causing the demons to wince and howl in pain.

    Ice Spears and Wind des seemed to have formed a barrage as they darted out like missiles. The mages were only casting some low-level magic, but they were strong enough to result in the copse of the Abyssal Demons.

    To the mages, Ice Spear was a rtively low-level offensive spell, but when an Ice Spear hit the demons, the damage would be incredible. As long as they could break through the enemy¡¯s defense and damage the enemy, the effects of low-level magic and powerful magic would be the same. With the excellent magical equipment on their bodies, the mages seemed to recover their mana almost instantly. Even if they were to kill all the Abyssal Demons, their mana would probably still be full.

    However, their purpose this time was not to battle, but to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Andoine raised his staff and first looked at Rosen before turning to look at Aldwin. ¡°It¡¯s not the time to train them now. We haven¡¯t even entered the gate of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Let me deal with the demons.¡±

    Andoine flew into the air and swung his staff with momentum while chanting a spell. Noticing that Andoine was about to take action, Aldwin ordered the mages to transition to pure defense.

    Just as the magical defense of the mages was put up, Andoine finished casting his spell and raised the staff into the sky. Dark clouds rolled in the sky, and the entire square was cast in shadow. Next, lightning seemed to have filled the sky and fallen down onto the square like heavy rain.

 Chapter 711 - Keyhole

    <h4>Chapter 711: Keyhole</h4>

    Although the level-20 offensive spells were not that powerful, they were enough to deal with the level-15 demons. Under the support of Andoine¡¯s huge mental strength, the range of magic was expanded by several times, and all the demons were shrouded in the attacking range of the lightning.

    Lin Li looked at Andoine who had cast the spell, and began to get a clearer idea of his abilities. Although they were both level-23, there was still a difference in their mastery of nomological power, mental strength, and mana. However, Lin Li could tell that his abilities were rather simr to his at the moment.

    In just a few seconds, the originally beautiful moonstone pavement was already covered in the blood of the Abyssal Demons. The dense lightning was like a huge meat grinder, destroying the corpses of the Abyssal Demons and smashing them into bits. It caused the entire square to be elevated by one floor.

    Fortunately, the mages¡¯ mentalities were good. Ordinary people would probably die.

    ¡°Andoine, you¡¯re thrilled, but what are we supposed to do?¡± Aldwinined jokingly.

    ¡°Fly over. I¡¯ve already checked. Apart from the Gate of Doom, there are no other traps here in this square,¡± Lin Li said with a wry smile. Fortunately, he had already studied everything there. Otherwise, he would not be able to see the traps at all by now.

    The Gate of Doom between the two giant pirs was closed as soon as the Abyssal Demons upied the entire square, revealing the gate of the mausoleum that was not too far behind. The Legendary-mages, like Lin Li, flew towards the gate of the mausoleum, while the other mages slowed down a little and cast Levitation Spells to hover above the nauseating bloody corpses.

    Everyone arrived at the gate of the mausoleum andnded on the steps in front. Rosen, who had been remaining silent, checked the gate and the surrounding environment. He did not mention anything about the ce being safe, and instead remained silent. Rosen refused to believe that Lin Li had really discovered the magic trap because of the cloud. He felt that Lin Li had long nned to make him embarrassed.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t care about Rosen¡¯s attitude. Instead, he looked up at the mausoleum¡¯s gate which was evenrger than the gates of the Fn Kingdom¡¯s capital. That reminded Lin Li of the Titans¡¯ shrine that he saw in the Endless Labyrinth back in the Sky Castle. Of course, it waspletely different. The Titans were massive in size, and were asrge as mountains. Hence, they were not inferior to the ancient wyrms.

    ¡°How do we open this door?¡± Andoine asked as he took out the key that was divided into two halves. He then stared at the door for a long time before finally finding a ce to put his key at. He ced the two halves of the key together, and carefully inserted the key into the keyhole...

    <i>No reaction? How can there be no reaction!?</i> Andoine grabbed the key and twisted it left and right before pulling it out and inserting it into the keyhole again. After a long while, there was still no response.

    Seeing that Andoine was hovering in the air, Rosen could not help but urge, ¡°Andoine, what are you doing? Hurry and open the door. We don¡¯t have much time to waste here!¡±

    Andoinended on the ground helplessly and handed the key to Rosen. ¡°There¡¯s no response. No matter what I do, there aren¡¯t any changes at all. You¡¯ll know when you try it yourself.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Rosen ignored everything else and immediately grabbed the key before flying into mid-air and tossing around like Andoine did. Atst, he flew back onto the ground with a look of bewilderment.

    Aldwin and Macklin began to panic after seeing Rosen¡¯s reaction. ¡°Why? Can¡¯t it be opened? Is the key fake?¡± Apart from the effort that they had put in to get the key, they had also been looking forward to exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum. If everything were to be in vain, they¡¯d definitely feel terrible.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be fake. This key was authenticated by the arbitrator. Maybe the way we used it was wrong.¡± Rosen shook his head and carefully looked at the key in his hand, only to realize that there were no useful clues.

    ¡°There are no magic traps around here, right?¡± Aldwin asked. After receiving a firm answer from Lin Li, he said to the mages, ¡°Check the gate and the surroundings carefully to see if there is anything suspicious. ¡±

    Osric¡¯s mausoleum was on the other side of the gate. No one wanted to walk there; hence, they could only look at the gate and sigh. The 200-odd mages immediately separated from each other and hovered in the surroundings, where they carefully investigated everything.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just bomb the gate open?¡± Andoine suggested after knocking on the gate with his staff.

    ¡°Bomb it? This gate was forged with Titan alloy, and there is also a Guru-level mageweath on this. Any attack will be reflected, and even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm may not be able to break it,¡± Rosen said with a look of disdain.

    The mages were looking around for clues, and the leaders discussed other ways to enter. They considered opening the door, sting the walls, and digging a passage underground. However, their ideas were all turned down by one another. The light that was shrouding the mausoleum did not seem impressive, but Lin Li told everyone that the halo and the Sky Castle were simr. The sky of the Sky Castle could resist even the strong Nether Storm, let alone their spells. How could the formidable Osric have designed a mausoleum that was full of loopholes?

    Just as everyone felt like they had nowhere to go, all of a sudden, an Archmage yelled with excitement, ¡°Sir, there is a line of High Elves text here, which seems to be the ancient type.¡±

    ¡°What? What text?¡± Andoine asked, and rushed forward to see a line of High Elves text just above the gate as expected. However, as an authoritative figure in High Elves research, Andoine found the High Elves print to be rather strange. Although he was certain that it was the text of the High Elves, he could not seem to trante it.

    In fact, the Legendary-mages and Archmages present were all rather learned in High Elves Print. After all, many powerful magic spells had chants that were in High Elves Print. However, even the authoritative Andoine who was extremely knowledgeable about High Elves Print could not trante those words, let alone the rest.

    ¡°It seems to be the ancient High Elves Print, which was the first generation of High Elves Print created by the High Elves after they emerged. Hence, no one really knows much about it. In fact, even the High Elves in thete Dark Age might not have known it.¡±

    A voice suddenly came from behind everyone, and Lin Li turned around to see that it was a middle-aged mage who was talking. Before Lin Li even asked anything, Andoine had already sprung out and pulled the middle-aged mage back.

    ¡°Can you trante it? Since you know it is thenguage of the ancient High Elves, you should be able to trante it,¡± Andoine said as he pointed at the line of words on the gate. Although he seemed rather calm on the surface, his tone was full of urgency.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± said the middle-aged mage, who then nodded and observed the words carefully. He then slowly murmured, ¡°Seal, mine, something, hibernation. It should be something along the lines of ¡®only with my seal will you be able to enter my hibernation¡¯s ce¡¯.¡±

    They finally found a clue, but it still wasn¡¯t very useful for everyone. <i>What is the seal? Isn¡¯t it the key? If it¡¯s not the key, what would it be?</i> Everyone was going crazy. What did Osric try to do? Since there was a key to the gate, why would there be a seal? Did that guy have an illegitimate son or something?

    The group began to make wild guesses, and even nned to send someone back to ask the arbitrator Megard about the seal. However, after hearing their discussion, Lin Li suddenly thought of an idea. <i>I have a ring called Brand Of Dusk. Could it be what Osric is referring to? Back then, I managed to enter the Eternal Furnace because of this Brand Of Dusk. Since the Eternal Furnace was constructed by Osric, this ring might really be the proof needed to enter Osric¡¯s mausoleum.</i>

    Thinking of this, Lin Li interrupted everyone and asked Andoine for the key. After scrutinizing it, he found a groove in the key which seemed to be a spot for something to be ced there. Lin Li didn¡¯t hide his thoughts, and instead took off the ring on his hand and tried to fit it into the groove. He finally seeded.

    With a soft sound, the key suddenly burst into a dazzling light, and when the light faded away, Lin Li found that the Brand Of Dusk and the key hadpletely merged together. He could also clearly sense the strong wave of mana flowing through the key slowly.

    ¡°Hah, I didn¡¯t expect the seal to be in your hands,¡± Andoine said with a smile of surprise.

    Even Rosen who had been displeased with Lin Li was filled with joy that poured out from his eyes. They were already so close to the mausoleum, and none of them would be willing to return empty-handed. Most importantly, the item that the Supreme Council wanted was very likely to be in the mausoleum. If they could not obtain it, it would be a huge impact to the Supreme Council¡¯s ns.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet. I¡¯ll try it.¡± Lin Li then inserted the key that had been fused with Brand Of Dusk into the keyhole carefully. Then, a powerful wave of mana was emitted from the gate, causing them to retreat while the thick and heavy gate opened.

    Looking at the door that was slowly opening, joy was written all over their faces; it was as if the treasure in the mausoleum was right in front of them.

    Lin Li removed the key and ced it directly into the Ring of Endless Storm instead of returning it to Andoine. Although the door opened, the key seemed to be useless. However, it was fused with his Brand Of Dusk, and he had no idea if it could be removed, while the Brand Of Dusk was the key to opening the Eternal Furnace.

    In fact, at this time, everyone was already considering all the problems in the mausoleum. Even Rosen, who often picked on Lin Li, did not ask for the key back. After Lin Li came over, neither Andoine nor Rosen mentioned the key. Since the door was already opened, there was no use for the key. To them, leaving the door unlocked when leaving wasn¡¯t a matter for concern.

    After the door was fully opened, everyone got into formation and slowly walked towards the door of the mausoleum. However, they did not expect to be greeted with the sight of a boundless mausoleum.

    Although Lin Li and the rest had the maps of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the maps were all extremelyplicated, and the instructions were like tongue twisters. Before entering the mausoleum, everyone knew that they would pass a graveyard, but they did not expect its scale to be so massive.

    Therge tombs were like hills that were blocking their vision, and even the Legendary powerhouses could not see the end of the graveyard whilst in the air. The entirend was endlessly covered in huge tombs. It was practically a world of tombs, and not just a cemetery.

    This world was full of dense, substantial death aura. Even the one in the Shadowglen could notpare to it. The only ce that Lin Li could think of which couldpare to this ce was the Psychic Array of the Sky Castle.

    As the gate opened, it seemed that wind had blown into the world of tombs that was filled with death aura, which in turn began to surge violently. Sensing the changes in the death aura, everyone was shocked. It was obvious that tomb was not for one to rest in peace. Indeed, everyone soon saw that there were countless arms extending from the mud which suddenly became looser beneath their feet. Undead creatures then began to climb out of the mud.

    Even though Lin Li was once besieged by countless Undead creatures in the Sky Castle, he could not help but feel a numbing sensation when he saw the scene in front of him. The Tide of Death summoned plenty of Undead creatures from the world of the Undead. However, the Undead creatures here seemed to have been buried in the graveyard, and Lin Li was certain that all of them had once been living beings.

 Chapter 712 - Alchemical Undead Creatures

    <h4>Chapter 712: Alchemical Undead Creatures</h4>

    Lin Li knew about Osric beingbeled as a butcher since a long time ago, and he had also heard from Connoris that Osric had used 100,000 souls to create the Ghosts that were upying the Sky Castle. Nheless, it was all based on hearsay, and the so-called 100,000 souls was just a number to him. However, there were countless Undead creatures that had crawled out here and exhibited Osric¡¯s characteristic as a butcher.

    If they wanted to go deeper into the mausoleum, the battle would definitely be inevitable as the endless Undead creatures were pouring in like a tide. The Skeletal Warriors were raising their swords up to the sky, while hellfire bombs were darting from all directions, drowning everyone in the sea of Undead in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°No, these Undead creatures seem to be different,¡± Aldwin said to the mages before turning around to speak to the others around him. ¡°These Undead creatures are too agile, and they even dodge individual magic spells!¡±

    Upon hearing Aldwin¡¯s words, everyone carefully observed the surrounding Undead creatures, especially the Skeletal Warriors which had rushed forth to act as shields. The Skeletal Warriors had always been the ones to sacrifice themselves for the Undead creatures, and they were extremely weak, possessing no intelligence. All they knew to do was to charge forward ording to themands they received. Besides, even their so-called charging was extremely slow as well, just as if they would fall apart anytime soon.

    However, the Skeletal Warriors that were now dashing at the mages were all tall, burly, and much faster than the average Skeletal Warriors. That alone was enough to prove that they were significantly stronger, but not enough to prove that they were different.

    However, everyone was surprised to find that the Skeletal Warriors were slippery when facing the magic attacks, just like what Aldwin said. Besides, the Skeletal Warriors that rushed to the front were not just capable of shing with the iron swords they wielded, they were also good at using simplebat techniques. That was simply unimaginable. If Skeletal Warriors could usebat techniques, what amazing strength would the more advanced Undead creatures show?

    Indeed, those Undead creatures were very different because they were not simply Undead creatures. When the Undead creatures crawled out of the mud, Lin Li had already seen the difference between them. He had also quickly thought of an amazing possibility. Although the Undead creatures were still in their Undead form, they were in essence monsters created by thebination of Necromagic and Alchemy.

    Although alchemy¡¯s level had fallen in Anril, it was still a very powerful profession in the Endless World where alchemists were rampant. During his adventure in the Endless World, Lin Li came in contact with many alchemists in order to collect unique alchemy forms. He also headed to the Gloomy Dark Valley to look for the Darkness Alchemist who was almost a Divine Smith.

    At that time, Lin Li had yet to obtain the debris of the stars and Stars of Fury, but he was already a top-ranked master in the Endless World. Equipped with excellent equipment, even the fact that the Gloomy Dark Valley was one of the top 10 forbidden ces in the Endless World did not stop him.

    However, when Lin Li went all the way to the depths of the Gloomy Dark Valley where the legendary Darkness Alchemist was residing in, an Undead Army besieged him. Back then, he didn¡¯t know that alchemy could be used on Undead creatures, and he simply thought that he had met an Undead Lord. However, after the battle, he discovered that the strength of those Undead creatures was much superior to that of the ones he normally encountered. Even the Skeletal Warriors were no longer dimwits, and actually fought like real fighters.

    That battle really made Lin Li suffer a lot of losses. If he had not had the items needed by the Darkness Alchemist back then, his ending would have probably been extremely miserable. Lin Li also found out from the Darkness Alchemist about the perverted monsters. Unfortunately, he never got to obtain the alchemy form.

    Lin Li had personally experienced the power of the Alchemical Undead as well as had some exchanges with the Darkness Alchemist. Hence, he understood the Alchemical Undead rather well. The Undead creatures that had been strengthened by alchemy would be able to increase theirbat power and abilities. On the other hand, they would also develop a stronger resistance to Sanctuary Power, and would not be easily defeated by a light spell.

    When Lin Li left the Gloomy Dark Valley, the Darkness Alchemist was conducting an amazing experiment, iming to be strengthening Humerus Wyrm using alchemy. The items that Lin Li brought with him were important materials required for the strengthening process.

    <i>The Alchemical Undead!</i> Lin Li stopped thinking about the past, and instead looked at the Undead Army outside. He then rubbed his eyes, and a look of desire formed in his gaze. If he could obtain the alchemy form, he might be able to strengthen his Death Knights using alchemy. He believed that it would help increase the battle power of the Death Knights.

    Unfortunately, the Alchemical Undead were not formed by simply throwing Undead creatures into the Alchemy Array, for the knowledge involved in this was rted to a study of life. Although it couldn¡¯t be said that it was the creation of life, the Alchemical Undead would not be formed without such knowledge¡ªan inanimate sculpture would be formed instead. Creating an Alchemical Undead was only possible for a real Guru-level Alchemist. Even Lin Li dared not try till now, because the consequences would be dire if he were to fail. The lunatic Osric was probably the only one who would dare to do it.

    However, Osric had to be somewhat confident since he had the audacity to create the Alchemical Undead. After all, no one knew what kind of extraordinary techniques there might¡¯ve been in the Immortal King¡¯sboratory. When Osric plundered theboratory, he might have found some alchemy forms.

    Besides, Osric also had the Eternal Furnace which he used to create the Ghost that was upying the Sky Castle, forming it using 100,000 souls. Lin Li wondered if the Alchemical Undead had anything to do with the Eternal Furnace. After all, Connoris mentioned that Osric created the Eternal Furnace for the sake of creating a new body for himself in addition to trying to replicate the Sky Castles.

    Facing the tremendous pressure brought by the Alchemical Undead, the mages gradually seemed to be overwhelmed. Although the vast majority of the Undead Army were Skeletal Warriors, each Skeletal Warrior had power close to level-10, and also had battle abilities. Every mage could clearly feel that they were facing a formidable army.

    Even several Legendary powerhouses joined the battle at this time. Rosen and Andoine guarded their respective teams, and continuously bombarded the Undead Army with powerful Legendary magic, causing numerous Undead creatures to be sted into bits. However, the two Legendary powerhouses were not in the least bit relieved or rxed, because the power of the Undead creatures hadpletely exceeded their imagination.

    The only person in the team who was idling about was the young mage Lin Li. Despite seeing the tension rising, he still didn¡¯t intend to intervene.

    ¡°Felic, don¡¯t forget your identity. You are also a member of the Guild of Magic. We¡¯re not in the Haiga Mountain Range now, and the people around you are not your associates, but yourpanions!¡± Rosen shouted angrily as he cast his spell. It seemed that the news of Lin Li loafing and idling about while reaping benefits in the Haiga Mountain Range had already spread to the Supreme Council.

    ¡°Felic, have you thought of any solution?¡± asked Andoine, who was also anxious, but did not suspect that Lin Li had any ill intentions.

    He did have a solution, which was rather simple too, but the key was whether or not they could find <i>that item</i>! Lin Li stroked his chin and looked back and forth. The Alchemical Undead had already been supplemented with Alchemy elements; hence, they were no longer controlled by Necromagic. Just like the alchemy puppets that Lin Li had obtained, the alchemy center was the only thing that could control the Alchemical Undead. In order to deal with them, annihtion would be one solution, but the simpler one would be to look for the alchemy center and control them.

    ¡°Stop attacking, switch to full defense, and keep it up. The problem will be solved soon,¡± Lin Li said to the anxious Aldwin before flying up into the air and looking around the cemetery. He then released his immense mental strength and continued to spread it out while carefully sensing the mana fluctuations in this space.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him. Once we lose initiative, we will be doomed!¡± Rosen refused to believe that Lin Li could really solve the current situation. If they were to stop, they would indeed be able to defend for a while, but it would be hard to attack again.

    Aldwin was feeling conflicted because it was akin to putting the entire team of mages at stake.

    ¡°Listen to him, since he said there is a way, that must be the case.¡± Although Andoine did not know what Lin Li had in mind, he did not doubt him at all. Everyone thought that Andoine had been raising Lin Li ever since he¡¯d been a child, but no one knew that he¡¯d only known Lin Li for three years. Besides, when he¡¯d first met Lin Li, thetter knew nothing about magic, yet he managed to achieve such great aplishments within a short period of time.

    Aldwin looked at Lin Li who was in the air, and then thought about the rumors about the Haiga Mountain Range. Atst, he clenched his jaw and ordered the mages to give up on counterattacking and turn to full defense.

    The surrounding magic suddenly stopped, and Rosen angrily yelled at Aldwin, ¡°What are you doing? Do you want to lose this group of mages? Don¡¯t forget, this doesn¡¯t just concern your nna Guild of Magic!¡±

    However, at this time, Lin Li had captured the special fluctuations emanating from the alchemy center to the Alchemical Undead. He immediately walked past the Undead Army and flew towards the huge tomb in the center of the cemetery.

    Everyone watched Lin Li leave and fall onto a tomb, unsure of what he was doing. The formidable Undead creatures around him suddenly stopped, and silence was restored in the graveyard.

    ¡°Kid, what the heck have you done!? Why have all the Undead creatures stopped moving!?¡± Andoine asked excitedly as he smacked Lin Li on his shoulder after he returned with the item.

    Lin Li shook the alchemy center in his hand while giving new instructions to Alchemical Undead, and exined to Andoine, ¡°You know alchemy. These Undead creatures are not ordinary Undead creatures, but were made using abination of Necromagic and Alchemy.¡± He then briefly mentioned the rtionship between the Alchemical Undead and the alchemy center.

    ¡°So, these Undead are now listening to you?¡± Andoine asked when he noticed that the Alchemical Undead around him were slowly retreating. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at all, and was overwhelmed with joy. He thought, <i>This kid is full of surprises. Not only did he improve tremendously in magic, he even convinced Old Grimm and Balbo with his achievements in pharmacy. He actually managed to win the half of the key from Al¡¯Akir using a random weapon that he made.</i>

    Lin Li nodded and directed the Alchemical Undead to form a neat row before advancing toward the other side of the cemetery. Upon sight of this, even Aldwin and the rest were extremely surprised. With the Alchemical Undead in front of them, they would be much safer.

    ¡°Mage Felic, you really do have some affinity with Undead creatures. You already have two Undead servants in the first ce, and now you¡¯ve managed to subdue so many Undead creatures. Even a real Necromancer will have to take his hat off to you,¡± Rosen said with a sullen expression, sounding rather bitter. He had witnessed the strength of those Undead creatures just now, and knew that they were 100 times stronger than ordinary Undead creatures. Yet, they were now being controlled by Lin Li; that was absolutely surprising.

    While the Undead Army led the way, everyone followed slowly behind, and walked for about more than half an hour. Seeing that the death aura had disappeared without a trace, they finally felt relieved, and they could already see a long wall in front.

    <i>Damn, how did Osric create such a huge mausoleum? It¡¯s probablyrger than the Sky Castle!</i> Although Lin Li had obtained the Alchemical Undead, he was not too happy. To him, the most important thing was the form for creating the Alchemical Undead, and not an Undead Army. He wasn¡¯t nning to attack any cities, so there was no need for such a massive army. What he needed was the form for the Alchemical Undead so that he could strengthen his Humerus Wyrm and Death Knights.

 Chapter 713 - Magical Crystal Cannons

    <h4>Chapter 713: Magical Crystal Cannons</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The rumors about the Haiga Mountain Range expedition had actually spread widely as the Malfa Family and the elves had all spread the word about Lin Li and his subordinates reaping benefits and taking advantages all the way from the Green Dragon cave to the Sky Castle. The main reason was because Elder Randy and the rest were very touched about Lin Li mustering the courage to sacrifice himself and save the elves at the end.

    Of course, although the elves and the Malfa Family knew that the rumors were true, they sounded rather unrealistic to the others. The mages here had also heard them, but they did not believe them at all. However, after everything that happened today, they vaguely began believing those exaggerated rumors. Everyone watched as the young mage Lin Li subdued the Undead Army effortlessly. Hence, the rumors were not exaggerated at all.

    The team finally stopped. ording to the map, the high wall that was not too far in front could be regarded as the central area of ??the mausoleum. They reckoned that the hibernation ce of Osric and his massive wealth should be behind the city wall.

    No one could deduce just how much wealth Osric had umted before his death, not even those who had studied the history of that period. They could only say that it was a massive number. Even the map of the mausoleum did not mention how much wealth was buried in the mausoleum. However, now that they were staring at the huge wall, everyone finally gained a new understanding of Osric¡¯s wealth, which was clearly far greater than what anyone could imagine.

    Everyone looked at the towering wall while being a little distracted, only to see that it was filled with Magical Crystal Cannons produced by the Dwarf Kingdom. That was a massive amount of wealth that managed to shock even Andoine and Rosen who were authoritative figures of the Supreme Council.

    Aldwin¡¯s and Macklin¡¯s eyes were glistening because the Magical Crystal Cannons were worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins each, which meant that the grand total of the Crystal Cannons was definitely massive. Besides, if the Crystal Cannons were to be ced randomly on the Omniscient Tower, no one would dare to offend the nna Guild of Magic at all.

    Lin Li touched the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger and wished that he could stow all of the Crystal Cannons in the ring. The Tower of Dusk now had no shortage of mana, and although there were more than 20 Magical Crystal Cannons installed, no one would turn down more of such easy and powerful weapons. Lin Li thought, <i>If I were to put more cannons on every floor, the entire Tower of Dusk would be full of Crystal Cannons that will destroy even the powerhouses of the Legendary realm. </i>

    Everyone was still staring at the Magical Crystal Cannons on the wall and daydreaming. All of a sudden, someone yelled, ¡°Look at the muzzle, it seems to be umting energy!¡± The cannons had already emitted a dazzling re, and they were targeting the crowd thinking of moving the Crystal Cannons home.

    The Alchemical Undead that were still appearing extremely menacing just now were badly damaged. Although the Alchemical Undead were far more powerful than ordinary Undead creatures, they could not resist the destructive power of the magic cannons. The surrounding Magical Crystal Cannons had also begun to turn their muzzles while emitting bright rays of light.

    ¡°Hurry up, defense, defend all you can!¡± Aldwin yelled. It would be impossible to run, and no one could beat the speed of light, not even the gods, let alone the Archmages who had yet to enter the Legendary-realm.

    The 200-odd mages raised their staffs at the same time while chanting some spells. Finally, when the second shelling came, they put up arge Elemental Shield. A ray of light erupted in the air, shaking the Elemental Shield, which now seemed to be on the verge of breaking. Even with the Legendary defensive spells, the mages might not be able to sustain their defense any second longer under the bombardment of the numerous Magical Crystal Cannons.

    The Magical Crystal Cannons were the most direct form of attack. They wouldpress mana to its limit, and then bombard the target directly without any additional magical attributes. However, their power was the most brilliant; the amount of power was determined by the amount of mana. It was so powerful that even Legendary powerhouses could not resist it.

    Seeing that the almost all of the muzzles of the Magical Crystal Cannons had already turned towards them, Lin Li knew that there was no more time for him to hesitate any longer. If all the Magical Crystal Cannons were to bombard them, their Legendary Elemental Shield would be as fragile as ss under a hammer. Even the Legendary powerhouses would have no choice but to die.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do. Destroy it!¡± Lin Li eximed helplessly while using the alchemy center to control the Alchemical Undead.

    ¡°Mage Felic, since you knew that you can¡¯t block those magic Crystal Cannons, why did you spread the Undead creatures? Do you think that they are more important than the living mages!?¡± Rosen hollered angrily after seeing that Lin Li had dispersed most of the Alchemical Undead.

    ¡°Look for yourself,¡± said Lin Li who could not be bothered to answer his idiotic question. Some people just loved thinking that others were the same as them.

    Some of the mages were puzzled by Lin Li¡¯s approach, but when they looked at the city wall, they discovered that the muzzles that were initially aimed at them were now chasing the Undead. There were only less than 20 Magical Crystal Cannons facing them. However, even then, the power still could not be resisted by the mages¡¯ Elemental Shield, which would be broken within less than 20 seconds.

    At this moment, Lin Li had already flown into the air, actively evading the Crystal Cannons while rushing to the wall. Thinking of what Lin Li said before, everyone finally understood what he was trying to do. What they had to do now was to seize the opportunity and destroy the Crystal Cannons on the wall before the Elemental Shield got broken.

    Andoine sighed helplessly. The Magical Crystal Cannons were definitely worth a fortune, but unfortunately, they could only be destroyed by them. Despite feeling helpless, time was running out, and there was no way they could think of other methods. No matter how valuable the Magical Crystal Cannons were, they still meant less than the lives of humans did.

    Lin Li had flown to the city wall. After dodging the attack by one of the Magical Crystal Cannons, he moved the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward and tried to shoot the Legendary magical crystal. <i>Damn it, Osric really is a lunatic. He actually ced so many Magical Crystal Cannons in his own mausoleum. Does he y tower defense games out of boredom!?</i>

    The Magical Crystal Cannons on the city wall were not ced without restrictions or protection, as they were also wrapped with metal shells that were engraved with defensive mageweaths. They were undoubtedly strong Magical Crystal Cannons that even Lin Li could not break, despite having the help of Andoine and Rosen. However, he only had less than 20 seconds; hence, he could not tear them apart, because there were way too many Magical Crystal Cannons on the city wall.

    As Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter, a massive thunderball mmed into one of the Magical Crystal Cannons on the city wall. Thunderbolt magic was known for its incredibly powerful attacks, and after Lin Li obtained the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, he began to have a huge breakthrough in controlling it. That was one of the reasons he managed to reach the peak of level-23.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    A huge explosion sounded, and the Magical Crystal Cannon that was engulfed by the thunderball could not resist even for a tenth of a second.

    <i>Damn it, I must be faster, </i>Lin Li thought as he stared at the ray of light sting down the wall, continuously trying to decrease his casting time. After all, Lin Li could not cast spells immediately; hence, he had no choice but to reduce his casting time. One second for every Legendary spell? That wasn¡¯t enough. Lin Li only had less than 20 seconds, and he had plenty of Crystal Cannons to destroy.

    He had to continuepressing while ensuring that his spells were cast sessfully. If he were to fail, it would not only result in backfiring, he would also be wasting precious time. Lin Li felt like he had returned to the Sky Castle where he had to temporarily interrupt the Psychic Array and draw a total of 144 mageweaths on 36 towers within 10 seconds. In addition to the time taken to draw the mageweaths, he also needed time to travel. Back then, he was much more pressed for time than he was now.

    A huge thunderballnded on the Magical Crystal Cannon. Lin Li had no time to look at the result at all. Instead, he continued to chant the spell for a while before waving his staff.

    Behind Lin Li, the sounds of explosions continued to fill the air while pushing him forward. He could no longer see anything except the next Magical Crystal Cannon that he had to destroy.

    Lin Li evenpressed a Legendary spell into a note that sounded extremely sharp to others, but that was not enough. The arrangement of the magical elements was alsopleted instantly with the support of huge spiritual power. The consequences were an overdraft for the output limit and his body instead of mental strength and mana. Although his mental strength and mana were almost infinite, Lin Li was already exhausted, and he had no choice but to persist by relying on his determination.

    Compared to Lin Li who was racing against time, Andoine and Rosen seemed to be a little more rxed. Although they were also facing the strong Magical Crystal Cannons, the two of them who had long entered the Legendary-realm were using different approaches. With a wealth of experience, they already knew how much mana they had to exhaust on each Crystal Cannon after destroying the first one. Unlike Lin Li, they needed not use their full strength for each blow. Instead, they evenly distributed their mana and used low-level magic to achieve the right effect, which also allowed them to achieve the highest efficiency in casting time and usage of mental strength.

    The three Legendary powerhouses each used their own methods to destroy the Magical Crystal Cannons one by one. In just 10 seconds or so, the light emitted from the walls was rapidly reduced, and at this juncture, the mages no longer had to solely be targets. While maintaining the Elemental Shield, they continued to move towards the wall.

    Finally, when there were only a few Magical Crystal Cannons left on the wall, the mages safely ascended the wall, and the Magical Crystal Cannons that had yet to be destroyed also no longer gathered the light in their muzzles.

    Lin Li broke away from the state where he was pushing his limits, and sat on the top of the city wall while panting heavily and looking at the scene outside the city wall. At this moment, Lin Li felt a strong pain in his heart, and he was deeply anguished. The Undead Army that he was initially controlling was ordered to scatter and attract the attacks of the Magical Crystal Cannons. In the end, the Undead were wiped outpletely within just 10 seconds. Although Lin Li did not quite care about the Alchemical Undead, he did not expect them to be destroyed so soon.

    ¡°Felic, how¡¯s it going?¡± asked Andoine, who could tell from Lin Li¡¯s current state that he had put a big burden on his body when destroying the Magical Crystal Cannons just now. The World-destroying Thunderball was a level-22 magic spell that was thrown out rapidly. Hence, he could imagine how much mana was required.

    Lin Li shook his head and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Good that it didn¡¯t cause any dy. Since we¡¯ve already entered, let¡¯s continue.¡± Lin Li managed to push on because he had a strong body of a Smithing Guru. Another mage would probably have copsed a long time ago.

    Lin Li could not be bothered to find out if the Alchemical Undead had been destroyedpletely. Although the strength of the Alchemical Undead had been increased countless times, they were not quite useful in such circumstances.

    Everyone came down from the wall, and finally arrived at the center of the mausoleum. Compared to the other side of the wall, the ce seemedpletely different. A huge and gorgeous pce was erected majestically in the center of the square, and everything around it could only be described as brilliant, opulent, luxurious, and magnificent.

    There were vines being embossed on the gemstone pirs, and they could all feel a refreshing aura of nature. Even the moonstonesid on the ground were beautifully presented with a variety of exquisite images which seemed too previous to step on.

    On both sides of the square, there were also several trees carved using chrysoberyl, on which every branch and leaf seemed to be fluttering with the wind. All of the buildings they could see were lined with rainbow adamantine and reflecting dazzling rays of light.

 Chapter 714 - The Holy Death Knight

    <h4>Chapter 714: The Holy Death Knight</h4>

    Everyone was stunned, and they stared nkly at everything in front of them. Who would believe that that was Osric¡¯s mausoleum? Even though they knew that the High Elves liked luxury, and they had also excavated many ruins of High Elves, they had never seen one that was as luxurious and extravagant as Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    However, at this moment, before everyone could recover from the shock, a sudden and crisp sound of horses galloping rang in their years. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the sound, only to see that it was actually a team of knights in armor, rushing towards the crowd with great menacing aura.

    Although the army of knights was riding Nightmares like Death Knights, they were wearing glittering silver armor, and seemed to be exuding strong and pure Holy aura as if they were the most devout followers of the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°Damn it, that bastard Rosario. Since when has he colluded with the Highlord? He actually sent his pdins to guard the mausoleum for Osric!¡± Andoine hollered in anger when he saw the knights.

    The knights in silver armor did not stay behind, and instead raised theirnces and began charging at the crowd. All of a sudden, they collided with everyone forcefully. The mages could only support the Elemental Shield for more than 10 seconds despite the Magical Crystal Cannons no longer being a threat[1]. However, there were numerous cracks under the attacks of the knights, and their shield seemed to be on the verge of breaking.

    Although the mages were rather capable, they obviously couldn¡¯tpete with the silver-armored knights. The Legendary powerhouses like Lin Li had no choice but to take action again by attacking them and preventing them from teaming up to charge again.

    There were only 20 silver-armored knights, and they seemed to be outnumberedpared to Lin Li and the other intruders, but their average strength of about level-22 made them absolutely horrifying. The Holy aura that they were giving out was pure, and gave them significant resistance to all sorts of elemental magic.

    Andoine said that the knights were sent by Rosario, which seemed like a joke to others, but no one could find a reason to refute it. That pure Holy aura could be owned by anyone and not just the followers of the Brilliance Shrine. Faced with the charging silver-armored knights and the formidably substantial Holy aura, everyone was doubting and wondering if the Brilliance Shrine was really involved with Osric right from the beginning.

    In order to avoid incurring too many loses, the several Legendary powerhouses had no choice but to intervene and stop a few silver-armored knights each in order to disrupt their formation. However, Lin Li and Andoine looked at each other in dismay because they discovered that although the attacks of the silver-armored knights contained Holy aura, their methods were very different from those of the Pdins.

    Although the true Pdins did notpletely use theurgy like the bishops did, they would often use divine attacks. However, the silver-armored knights did not know how to use theurgy at all, and would simply add Divine Power to their attacks or defense. That would undoubtedly remind them of the Death Knights!

    But was this possible? Although the Death Knights were different from other Undead creatures, they couldn¡¯t change the fact that they were Undead creatures regardless of how special they might be. Divine Power was also a basic nomological power of Anril which no one could change.

    ¡°What a joke. Has that bastard Osric really be a god!?¡± Andoine waved the staff in his hand, and a Legendary level-22 magic space spell seemed to have exploded and instantly hit a silver-armored knight who was opposite him. There was no explosive roar, but a crack began to gradually increase in size, revealing the body beneath the armor.

    At this moment, everyone was stunned. It was unbelievable. It turned out that there was a gilded skeleton beneath the silver full-body armor!

    ¡°What the hell did Osric do!?¡± Andoine swallowed hard, and watched everything that was taking ce in front of him. It was beyond what he could imagine, and he wondered, <i>Can these silver-armored knights really be Death Knights manipting Divine Power? Even the gods probably couldn¡¯t contradict the rules of Anril.</i>

    Not only was Andoine stunned, Rosen, Aldwin, and the other mages were all beyond astonished. Although the mages had yet to reach the Legendary-realm, and they had yet to understand the nomological power of the world, they still knew how incredible everything was.

    However, after feeling shocked, Lin Li¡¯s gaze was gradually filled with a tinge of enlightenment. The Eternal Furnace that had been created by the lunatic Osric was the only thing that could defy the rules of Anril!

    No matter how different a Death Knight was from the other Undead creatures, their soul fire was the root of their existence. The Divine Power had a powerful purification ability. Under Divine Power, soul fire would definitely be purified. Hence, even a low-level Purge Spell would cause damage to Undead creatures. Without soul fire, Undead creatures would just be like humans without souls.

    If Lin Li had had yet to explore the Sky Castle, he would have never believed that the Eternal Furnace could create the silver-armored knights despite owning the Eternal Furnace. However, he found out that Osric had almost emptied out the Immortal King¡¯sboratory in the Sky Castle, yet he did leave plenty of experimental information which included misceneous alchemy forms and amazing alchemy techniques. However, most of it were the experimental records of the Immortal King.

    Although most of the experimental records were iplete, Lin Li was able to deduce that 99% of those experiments were notpleted, and the degree of insanity involved was truly unbearable. It was no wonder that the Highlord Osric could be a disciple of the Immortal King. They were simply two lunatics who were constantly trying to enter the realm of the gods, and were only getting crazier.

    In those experimental records, Lin Li once saw the Immortal King¡¯s experimental theory of the adaption and use of Divine Power by Undead creatures. The specific experimental process was iplete, but Lin Li didn¡¯t have the time to infer and draw conclusions. However, there was a section at the end that was simr to a kind of imagined text left behind by the Immortal King.

    ording to the vision of the Immortal King, it would not be possible to make Undead creatures possess Divine Power under the rules of Anril. However, by creating a microcosm that was fully controlled by him could he create the same elements that were present in Anril, such as earth, fire, water, wind, light, darkness, and chaos, as well as space, time, justice, and evil.

    With all these elements, in theory, anyone who mastered the microcosm would be able to be the god of that microcosm and be in control of all the rules and regtion. Creation and destruction would be up to him too. The rule-defying fusion of Divine Power and Undead creatures would then be made possible in the microcosm.

    It was no longer a Magical Domain, but an actual world that was simr to the divine kingdoms created by the gods. In their own kingdoms, the gods could arbitrarily set rules and create all kinds of things that otherwise couldn¡¯t exist. They could even create the people who believed in them.

    Regarding this miniature world, Lin Li did not find too many clues in the journal left behind by the Immortal King, but he made some spections about Osric building the Eternal Furnace with some intentions that were beyond just replicating the Sky Castleter during the conversation with Connoris. Both Lin Li and Connoris felt that there was a link between the Eternal Furnace and the world that the Immortal King had envisioned.

    Faced with the silver-armored knights that had Divine Power, Lin Li further confirmed his guesses. Although everything was beyond human imagination, that was enough to make the people at the Brilliance Shrine go crazy. The Death Knights that were manipting Divine Power were using their powerful and sharp attacks to prove their existence.

    If they were ordinary Death Knights, level-22 power would be enough for them to be deemed the formidable Retribution Knights. However, not only did they possess strong power, they also had pure Holy aura, and were almost void of the weaknesses that the Death Knights should have. In Anril, they might not be invincible, but they were definitely enough to ruin a strong kingdom.

    Even though Lin Li¡¯s team wasprised of three level-23 Legendary-mages and more than 200 Archmages, it was not an easy feat for them to get rid of the 20 silver-armored knights within a short period of time. Besides, they also needed to pay a huge price for it.

    It was only a short battle, but the lifelike turquoise tree statues around the square that were all priceless in Anril were ruthlessly destroyed during the battle. Under the violent attacks of the various forces, the beautiful pieces of artwork that served as pavement were also ruined beyond recognition. Any artist would definitely berate the destroyers of art without restrain.

    However, in the fierce battle, only two Death Knights who manipted Divine Power were destroyed, while more than 10 mages were injured.

    All of a sudden, Rosen stopped attacking, and after supporting therge Elemental Shield, he slowly took out a peculiar-looking staff which had a top that resembled a two-headed snake. It was also embellished with arge magical gemstone that was continuously emitting an eye-catching glow and breathtaking mana wave.

    Sensing the strange magical waves that were appearing around him, Lin Li nced at Rosen while restraining one silver-armored knight. Rosen¡¯s peculiar staff reminded him of the slingshot he yed with as a child. However, he had no idea what power the gemstone-embellished ¡°slingshot¡± possessed.

    Next, Rosen ignored the cracks that appeared on the Elemental Shield, and slowly chanted a magic spell while the gemstone on the top of his staff began to shine brightly. The dazzling light engulfed him, and massive magical aura seemed to be surging outwards like tides.

    With a loud roar, Rosen¡¯s Elemental Shield finally broke and copsed under the fierce attack of three Death Knights. However, they did not immediately attack Rosen, who no longer had the shield to protect him. Instead, they stopped and retreated as if they had felt an uncontroble fear.

    With the end of the casting of the spell, the light that shrouded Rosen suddenly exploded and dazzled everyone¡¯s eyes. Even Lin Li had no choice but to close his eyes which hurt because of the dazzling light. When he regained his vision, he found that the sky above everyone¡¯s head had been blocked by two huge shadows.

    The two shadows quickly magnified in front of everyone, and they soon saw their true appearance. It turned out to be a double-bodied wyrm that consisted of a golden dragon and a silver dragon. The color of the body of those two dragons was proof of their identity. It was definitely not the descendant of mixed gics, but a pure ancient wyrm.

    Moreover, Lin Li knew that even amongst the ancient wyrms, the golden and silver dragons had always been the most powerful ones. Although tens of thousands of years had passed since the prehistoric times, Lin Li had witnessed the evolution of Anril over 10,000,000 years when he was in the Sky Castle. During the war between the Ancient Wyrm and the Titans, the golden and silver dragons left a very deep impression on him.

    The golden dragon had incredible defense that could even resist the destructiveness of the Titan Dragon Spear as its huge body gave it power that was greater than the other wyrms¡¯. A mere wag of its tail was enough to sweep a mountain clear, and its ws could easily tear the body of the Titans, making them truly invincible. The splendid golden dragon¡¯s breath that it spat out had the power to melt everything, including the sturdy Titan Dragon Spears.

    [1] I think it means that that shield spell had 50% of its power left.

 Chapter 715 - Ancient Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 715: Ancient Wyrm</h4>

    Compared to the strong golden dragon, the silver dragon was more like an assassin. Although its body was muchrger than the present wyrms¡¯, its speed was really like lightning. The fine and exquisite silver dragon scales made it almost immune to offensive spells. Although its defense was weaker than ordinary wyrms¡¯, almost no one could beat it in speed. It could tear apart spacetime with its ws, and its breath could corrode everything.

    Almost all ancient wyrms would have terrifying abilities and strength of the Sanctuary-realm after they reached adulthood, and the golden dragon and silver dragon could be considered to be almost invincible. They were top-level existences amongst the five Dragon Aspects, and were just like royalty.

    In fact, given the current situation, even a random Sanctuary-level ancient wyrm would be strong enough to wipe out the Death Knights that were manipting Divine Power. The golden dragon spat out a whiff of dragon¡¯s breath that engulfed the four Death Knights, causing them to turn into ashes before they could even do anything. The silver dragon then suddenlynded before appearing in the sky again, drawing a beautiful silver arc. The two Death Knights on the ground suddenly turned into dust.

    The silver-armored knights who were initially violent and menacing became fragile and weak under the siege of the two dragons which caused their silver armor and golden bones to turn into ashes immediately. Even the pure Divine Power could not provide any protection for the two of them. Instead, it simply copsed together with them and scattered without restrain.

    Staring at everything that was taking ce in front of them, everyone could not help but feel horrified because of the domineering aura of the ancient wyrms. Even Lin Li was slightly distracted. Despite having seen the war between the ancient wyrms and the Titans, he still felt incredibly astonished. However, the battle between them was even more frightening than the one-sided massacre that was taking ce now.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li suddenly raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter high in the air as his Light and Darkness Domain was immediately exhibited, shrouding Death Knights[1]. Next, a silver dragon appeared outside of Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain and seemed to be slightly stunned as it did not rush into the Light and Darkness Domain immediately. Instead, it turned around and merged with the golden dragon in the sky.

    ¡°Felic, what are you doing!?!¡± Rosen eximed in anger after seeing that Lin Li had snatched some Death Knights away from the silver dragon.

    Seeing the sudden change in Rosen¡¯s expression, Aldwin and Macklin frowned slightly. Although the silver-armored knights were powerful, thest ones could not bring about much change alone. In fact, everyone could tell that Rosen had been picking on Lin Li ever since he arrived in the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Nothing, just collecting my battle gains,¡± Lin Li answered casually. The countless ck and white silk threads then appeared from the Light and Darkness Domain. If looked at closely, the magic symbols of the threads would be visible. Next, the ck and white silk threads formed a huge that shrouded the Death Knights.

    ¡°Your battle gains? What a joke, don¡¯t forget your identity. This operation is led by the Supreme Council. You are not qualified to talk about battle gains!¡± Rosen eximed. As one of the authoritative figures of the Supreme Council, he definitelymanded great respect because of his age, abilities, and identity. However, after entering this ce, Lin Li actually talked back to him again and again, making him feel infuriated.

    Upon hearing Rosen¡¯s words, Lin Li didn¡¯t show much of a reaction. Instead, he watched the expressions of Macklin and Aldwin changing again and again. Lin Li was the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. If he was not qualified to talk about battle gains, what about the nna Guild of Magic? Although the Guild of Magic was established under the auspices of the Supreme Council in the earlier days, things were different now. The Guild of Magic was only part of the Supreme Council in name. Aldwin painstakingly obtained the key to the mausoleum, but it was not purely to im credit from the Supreme Council. He merely wanted to gain real benefits for his Guild of Magic.

    ¡°What rights do I have? Yeah, the Supreme Council found the location of the mausoleum and opened the Immortal Door, but you must know that without the other half of the key from Master Aldwin and the ring that I have, no one would have made it here. So, whoever gets their hands on the battle gains will get to keep them. Stop throwing your weight around,¡± Lin Li said while cing the subdued Death Knights into his Ring of Endless Storm, closed the Light and Darkness Domain, and ignored the two wyrms that were revolving above him.

    Actually, Rosen began to regret it as soon as he said those words. However, he did not regret nitpicking on Lin Li, and instead regretted including Aldwin and the rest in the moment of pique. However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Rosen obviously wouldn¡¯t exin anything, even though he wanted to rify things with Aldwin.

    ¡°Is that so? Whoever gets the gains will keep them? Felic, don¡¯t think that everything is within your control just because you have some abilities. Everything has just started and the road ahead is still long!¡± Rosen barked with a sullen expression. Without realizing it, he had begun talking to Lin Li like thetter was hispetitor on the same level, and not his junior.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to remind me that. You¡¯d better put in more effort and pay more attention to your own disciple,¡± Lin Li said in a hostile manner. It was not that he didn¡¯t know how to respect his elders, but rather that he was incredibly annoyed with Rosen who threw his weight around just because he was much older. Besides, Rosen was extremely biased as well.

    <i>Damn, this is the kid who taught Sendros a lesson when discussing pharmaceutics!</i> Andoine thought to himself, gloating over Rosen¡¯s situation even though he did not say anything. He forgot that he, too, had also been taught a lesson by Lin Li when he asked thetter about pharmaceutics.

    Although Aldwin and Macklin were displeased with what Rosen said, the two dragons hovering in the sky left them with no choice but to stay alert. Any one of them would be able to destroy the mages.

    Seeing that Lin Li had kept the silver-armored knights, Macklin walked towards him worriedly and pointed at the sky while softly persuading, ¡°Felic, I know you¡¯re infuriated with him, but don¡¯t cause the situation to be to tense.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the two dragons are not dogs. Rosen is not qualified to order them around,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly with a smile.

    Indeed, the two dragons were incredibly powerful to the extent of being unparalleled. Even though Lin Li had already pulled his trump cards, he didn¡¯t have much of a chance at defeating the wyrms. However, Lin Li fell out with Rosen not because he was blinded by anger, but because he had seen through everything.

    As soon as Rosen took out the strange staff, Lin Li began to pay attention to every move of his. The spell seemed to be extremely long and was more like a prayer. Actually, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was already at the Sanctuary-level, and after being tempered by the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle, his sensitivity to magical waves was far greater than everyone else¡¯s in the vicinity.

    As Rosen chanted the spell, Lin Li could clearly detect that Rosen did not emit mana that corresponded to the long spell. Almost all of the mana waves were from the staff. Hence, it was clear that the two dragons were not summoned by Rosen, but were instead from the special magic staff. The usual prayer was simply a prayer to the gods, and the two dragons only appeared because of Rosen¡¯s plea to the gods. Hence, it was obvious that he could not control them.

    They had faced just as much danger previously, be it with the countless Magical Crystal Cannons or the Alchemical Undead. However, why did Rosen choose to wait until now to use his staff? If he could¡¯ve ovee the difficulties with his own power when facing the Magical Crystal Cannons, how about when they were faced with the Alchemical Undead? He couldn¡¯t have known that Lin Li had a solution right from the start.

    Hence, it was obvious that the staff that could summon the dragons of the Sanctuary-realm was not that simple to use or maneuver. Lin Li reckoned that there had to be some unknown restrictions. Everyone knew that there was no free lunch in this world. People would still have to provide their souls as offerings in order to summon demons, and these were Sanctuary-realm dragons, which definitely required a high price to summon.

    At the same time, it also showed that the staff did not belong to Rosen, and was likely to be one of the assets of the Supreme Council, and was only loaned to Rosen temporarily for this operation. There had never been a case of a master begging his subordinate to work for him. Besides, Rosen¡¯s current power and abilities were not sufficient for him to continue restraining the two dragons. If he was the owner of the staff, he would probably be devoured by the two dragons instead.

    Lin Li was able to allow the two dragons to hover in the sky above his head mostly because he was clearly aware that though the golden dragon and silver dragon seemed to have Sanctuary-realm powers on the surface, they were not actual wyrms.

    In this era, the ancient wyrms that had once dominated the prehistoric times had long been forgotten by the people and drowned out in history, regardless of how horrifying their strength had been. However, Lin Li had once witnessed the evolution of Anril in the Sky Castle, and thus knew a lot more about the strong ancient wyrms. Although it all came from his imagination, his emotions were notpromised at all. It could be said that there wasn¡¯t a slightest difference between imagining it and witnessing it in person in real life.

    When Rosen had just summoned the two dragons, Lin Li was indeed shocked, but after carefully watching the battle between the two dragons and the silver-armored knights, he also discovered a problem. The two dragons were indeed powerful, but they did not exhibit their power to the greatest extent yet. This was not because the opponents were weak, but because the overall momentum was much different from the real golden and silver dragons. If the real golden dragon and silver dragon appeared, the silver-armored knights would have copsed because of their domineering aura before they could even put up a fight.

    Moreover, with strong and pure mental strength, Lin Li could clearly feel that the two dragonscked a little bit of vitality in their Menace of the Dragon. Not all living creatures would turn into Undead creatures after their deaths. For example, ancient wyrms with pure lineage were said to be able to condense into Dragon¡¯s Clout and return to the dragon graveyard in the chaos of time and space. Lin Li did not know what the state of the Dragon¡¯s Clout was, but he was sure that the two of them were not actual ancient wyrms.

    Geresco, or perhaps the three arbitrators, had sealed and obtained the two ancient wyrms from somewhere and managed to keep them in the staff using a peculiar method in hopes of using them to tide over a crisis. After all, it was also an extremely powerful weapon. The two dragons, which were in the Sanctuary-realm, could not be matched by ordinary powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Be it the dragon¡¯s soul or the puppets, the sealers would definitely have to impose some restrictions lest they fought aimlessly after being released, or perhaps because someone with ulterior motives might make use of the two wyrms to carry out a massacre.

    Indeed, when Lin Li put thest Death Knight into the Ring of Endless Storm, the two dragons that were hovering in the sky gradually became thinner, and eventually disappeared from the sky. However, Lin Li noticed a detail. With the disappearance of the two dragons, Rosen suddenly turned pale while holding onto the staff as if he had suffered some agony or pain.

    Summoning the two ancient wyrms indeed came with a price! The corners of Lin Li¡¯s lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. Summoning demons also required sacrificing souls, and summoning two dragons of the Sanctuary-realm would definitely require a high price. Why was Rosen so concerned about the Death Knights? Apart from the fact that he was picking on Lin Li, it could also be because the Death Knights were one of the elements he had to sacrifice to summon the two wyrms. Since Lin Li took away the Death Knights, the two dragons would naturally make the summoner make up for the loss ording to the summoning agreement. Although the power of a level-22 Death Knight would not affect Rosen much, it was definitely not too pleasant.

    [1] Actually, the author is pretty vague, so it¡¯s hard to tell whether it¡¯s one or more of them (it¡¯s also possible he took more than one, but it¡¯s one particr knight that was the problemter), but we will stick to plural.

 Chapter 716 - Cemetery Guardians

    <h4>Chapter 716: Cemetery Guardians</h4>

    Although the two dragons had directly killed the silver-armored knights, the mages were incredibly exhausted after having to deal with the Alchemical Undead, followed by the continuous bombardment of the Magical Crystal Cannons. Everyone knew that the closer they were to the mausoleum, the greater the danger that they would face. Hence, they decided to take this opportunity to ¡°repair¡± the square. To everyone¡¯s surprise, the underground world would actually change from day to night too. At this moment, it happened to be nighttime soon.

    However, the dispute between Lin Li and Rosen made the atmosphere in the team seem much more subtle than it originally was. The two had already fallen out; hence, they naturally wouldn¡¯t patch things up and work together again as if nothing had happened.

    On Lin Li¡¯s side, Andoine, Aldwin, Macklin and the other mages had formed a group, but Rosen was not alone, either, as 50-odd mages stood on his side with no consideration for the rest.

    Seeing such a situation, Aldwin¡¯s face grew even more sullen, while Macklin mumbled incessantly. The mages were the pir of the nna Guild of Magic, and they usually only followed themands of their President, Aldwin. However, Aldwin had never expected that the 50-odd mages would stand on Rosen¡¯s side at this juncture.

    Of course, in theory, the Guild of Magic was subordinate to the Supreme Council; hence, the Guild of Magic would have lesser power and authority than the Supreme Council. Based on this, Aldwin could not criticize Rosen. Otherwise, he might get used of opposing the Supreme Council, and that would leave him with no means to retort. He had no choice but to consider how he should rectify the problems in the Guild of Magic and solve them after leaving this ce lest his manpower got poached without his knowing the reason.

    Andoine had also seen the changes in the team. Seeing that Aldwin was gazing at him, Andoine waved his hands, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. This is his personal conduct and has nothing to do with the Supreme Council.¡± However, even an arbitrator could not say anything about it, because, in a way, Rosen was really correct.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li shook his head and suddenly got reminded of a phrase: ¡°loyalty only exists because the price offered for betrayal is too low.¡± All humans had desires; some wanted more money, some were after greater power, and some would betray their brothers for a woman. As long as one tried hard enough, they would be able to poach anyone.

    Of course, those circumstance had little to do with Lin Li; hence, he would not be worried about whether or not his mages of the Tower of Dusk would be poached. He was rather open-minded about such situations, and would let anyone go if they wanted to. However, he would also make them pay the price for causing harm to the interests of the Tower of Dusk.

    While taking a break, Lin Li stood in an empty spot beside the campground and released a Death Knight. Although he had vaguely guessed the origin of the Death Knights, thebination of the Death Knights and the Divine Power still made him feel extremely curious. To be honest, Lin Li still found it hard to imagine the idea of creating a microcosm that was put forward by the Immortal King. He felt that it was unlikely for Osric to seed since the Immortal King had failed.

    The knight was exuding a holy aura and riding on the back of a Nightmare, remaining motionless like a sculpture. The silver armor that was covering his body was decorated with elegant patterns, and looked extremely beautiful, exquisite, and lofty. Only through the gap of the facete could his light blue soul fire be seen. Its flickering was reminiscent of heartbeat.

    However, Lin Li could tell that the silver armor and the defensive mageweaths on it had nothing to do with the strangeness of the silver-armored knights. Moreover, if the pure silver armor possessed Divine Power, the Undead creatures beneath the armor would definitely be burned into ashes.

    The Nightmare beast that the knight was straddling was also exuding pure Divine Power that was not inferior to a Legendary unicorn¡¯s. In particr, the unicorn¡¯s horn was like a silver spiral, and seemed to have been condensed with power that was incredibly pure. Its hooves were also covered in silvery-white mes that seemed to be able to purify everything

    This is simply an undead nemesis! Lin Li turned around twice, and took a deep breath. Had he not known what kind of body was wrapped under the silver armor, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to link the Silver-armored Knight and the detestable undead creatures together.

    Standing opposite the silver-armored knight, Lin Li closed his eyes and carefully channeled his mental strength towards the soul fire hidden behind the facete of the armor. The soul fire was the basis of most Undead creatures. Although the Death Knight belonged to another series of Undead creatures, it was still an Undead creature, after all, and had to rely on soul fire to continue moving.

    The rules of Anril were such that the soul fire of Undead creatures was definitely among the purification targets of Divine Power. However, Lin Li remembered that Osric had used the Eternal Furnace to create a strong Ghost. Hence, he wondered if he had made any changes to the silver-armored knights¡¯ soul fire.

    However, after sensing carefully, Lin Li opened his eyes; the soul fire behind the silver-armored knight¡¯s facete seemed to be no different from that of the Death Knight. The only difference was that it was much stronger. After all, a level-22 silver-armored knight could be considered a Retribution Knight.

    Since the soul fires were the same, could the problem be with the skeleton? Lin Li lifted the armor of the silver-armored knight again, cut off a piece of bone from the end of the rib, and then ced some experimental equipment in the open space beside the knight. He then began to analyze theposition of the piece of bone.

    After trying various methods, Lin Li discovered a strange phenomenon. The piece of golden bone was resistant to mes, and purification by light was not only ineffective, but also absorbed by the bone. Obviously, it was not a simple bone; Osric had clearly added plenty of things into it.

    Lin Li touched his chin, put away all the experimental equipment on the ground, and then activated his own Magical Domain. However, this time, he decided to use the Power of Light to create a Light Domain to engulf the silver-armored knight.

    Soon, Lin Li discovered that the power of the silver-armored knight had been greatly improved in the Light Domain, and even had a tendency to hit level-23. That showed that the silver-armored knights were resistant to the outside world, or rather that the Power of Light that the silver-armored knights possessed should conform to the basic nomological power of Anril.

    <i>It seems that the main problem is indeed in the body of the silver-armored knights, and not creating a microcosm to re-enact the Laws like the Immortal King nned.</i> In general, Death Knights did not have strong bodies, and their strength actually came from soul fire and the use of Death Energy. The bones of the silver-armored knight had turned golden, and they seemed to have high resistance to magic. They could even absorb Power of Light.

    However, Lin Li could note up with a method of creation for a Death Knight that could use Divine Power without the rules of the microcosm. There was no longer an answer that could be obtained by research alone. It seemed that the Eternal Furnace had to be restored before he could find the real creation method.

    Lin Li put away the silver-armored knight and returned to the ce where the team rested. He gave Andoine a brief exnation, and then began to meditate while waiting for sunrise.

    The night passed quickly, and the team was ready to go at dawn. Just like the night before, they split up into two teams. Aldwin had no choice but to sigh secretly. For the sake of a smooth exploration, he could only try his best to tolerate it.

    The team passed through the ruined square and arrived at the gate again. Standing on the steps in front of the gate, Rosen took a quick glimpse at everyone. Ever since the conflict that happened yesterday, the rtionship between Rosen and Lin Li was no longer reconcble. Hence, when Rosen looked at Lin Li, he did not hide his hatred and disdain at all.

    ¡°Next, we are going to enter the central area of the mausoleum, which is the burial ce of Highlord Osric. However, I hope that no one will take this lightly and think that there will be no more danger here. The dangers that might exist in here far exceed the imagination of each of you.¡± Rosen turned to look at the mages below the stairs, and the solemn look on his face was restored.

    Andoine also looked much more dignified and solemn at this moment. He said in a low voice, ¡°Back then, the Highlord Osric had three powerful warriors: Amatir, Angno, and Eminos. I believe everyone is familiar with these three executioners. ording to the data from our research, the disappearance of these three executioners urred almost at the same time as the death of Osric. It is said that that happened for the purpose of protecting Osric after he was buried here. If the legend is true, then their current strength is probably close to the Sanctuary-realm.¡±

    After hearing Andoine¡¯s words, the mages under the steps could not help but gasp in shock. Amatir, Angno, and Eminos were significant figures in the history of the Dark Age. As Osric¡¯s most loyal warriors, the three High Elves had killed plenty of people, and even once killed all of the creatures on a certain floor of the Sky Castle. Hence, just like their master, they were each called a butcher. Although the Dark Age had ended for more than 1,300 years, the names of the three executioners had not been forgotten by the people.

    However, after being surprised, the mages began to get a little excited. If they could kill the infamous executioners of the Dark Age, it would be a great honor that could not be obtained in this age. In particr, they were absolutely astonished by the real Sanctuary-level power when they saw the two dragons summoned by Rosen.

    Lin Li shook his head slightly and looked at the expressions on the faces of the mages. He naturally knew where they got their confidence from, but had no choice but to secretlyment how ignorant they were. If the two dragons could be summoned randomly, this operation would not require the participation of the mages.

    Of course, the mages did not actually get toocent. After all, they were also elites who had witnessed countless battles. Under Aldwin¡¯smand, the mages formed a tight defensive formation and walked through the spacious gate while keeping their guard up.

    To everyone¡¯s surprise, the cemetery still looked endless even though they were already in the central area of the mausoleum. There were no pces or treasures. However, the graves in this cemetery were in the High Elves¡¯ style, and were extremely luxurious. Undoubtedly, only the High Elves were allowed to be buried in those tombs.

    The team walked carefully for a while, but did not encounter any danger. As for the three legendary executioners, they were nowhere in sight. Finally, Rosen looked around at thevish tombs around him, and suggested to Aldwin and Andoine that they split up to search.

    Andoine knew that although Rosen seemed to be discussing it with him, he already had an idea in mind. Besides, Rosen¡¯s main agenda was to ask Aldwin for some manpower, and not his opinion. Hence, he could not be bothered to say much, and simply told him not to separate the mages too far apart lest they got into an ident.

    Seeing that Rosen had gone to the other side to look around with the 50-odd mages, Aldwin smiled wryly and continued to explore the High Elves¡¯ tombs together with the remaining mages. Although the tombs of the High Elves were not as huge as the ones outside, they still contained plenty of treasures. Among the burial objects, there were some valuable treasures, exquisite works of art, and various magical items.

    After a long search, the team harvested arge number of precious items, but did not encounter any danger. The joy of harvest had already made them forget where they were, and all they could see were tombs that were significant enough to be called small treasures. Some people who were too engrossed in harvesting continued to stray further away from the crowd, and even Aldwin had let his guard down. Lin Li and Andoine were the only ones who seemed to be unmoved. They looked around alertly and did not take anything.

 Chapter 717 - Mage Killer

    <h4>Chapter 717: Mage Killer</h4>

    However, as the sky gradually dimmed, a gloomy atmosphere gradually spread in the cemetery.

    Two excited mages exited from one of the tombs, each holding colorful magic items while talking to each other about the items they were holding. All of a sudden, one of the Archmages stopped and dropped the items on the ground. Hispanion turned to look at him in bewilderment, only to see that there was a bowl-sized hole in the chest of hispanion who immediately fell onto the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s...¡± Seeing that hispanion had died in a peculiar manner, the Archmage immediately knew that the situation was turning awry, but before he could even warn the others, a slit was formed in his throat, and his head rolled onto the ground while his body copsed silently.

    The two Archmages died instantly. Unfortunately, they were too far apart from the others; hence, no one noticed the abnormalities here. Shortly after the death of the two mages, two other Archmages at the other end of the cemetery also suffered the same horrifying fate.

    It wasn¡¯t until someone found the corpses of the Archmages that they realized that their lives were in danger. A magical warning fireball rose into the sky, but the Archmage who threw out the fireball released the scepter in his hand feebly as an ice spear prated his heart silently.

    However, everyone had already witnessed the scene, and they soon reported to Aldwin. It was a silent assassination which was much smarter than any other assassination. Despite there being so many Legendary powerhouses present, no one had found a single trace of the attacker. Everyone began to panic after finding out what happened.

    ¡°Assassin?¡± Aldwin frowned, feeling distressed about the death of the Archmages. However, the silent assassination of the enemy made him even more shocked and terrified. As a level-22 Legendary-mage, he did not feel the slightest fluctuation in mana at all. That meant that the enemy¡¯s means were clever, and that they would not know if they were attacked too.

    Aldwin was not alone. Lin Li, Andoine, and Rosen, the level-23 Legendary-mages, all had a good understanding of nomological power, but even then no trace of the attacker was found by them, which only meant that the culprit had a better mastery of the Laws than the three of them.

    Everyone stopped and watched their surroundings nervously. They had long dropped all of their treasures, and were gripping their staffs tightly to umte mana. The silent assassination was much more pressurizing and stressful than direct confrontation. Even though there would be more casualties during a real battle, it might not be able to affect the psychological states of the mages. However, the mere deaths of a few of their peers were enough to make them feel horrified and fearful.

    Usually, most people would refer to the advanced Bandits who had progressed in their careers when mentioning assassins. They had more agile movements and could pull off sneaky stunts. However, when the assassins emerged and beganunching lethal attacks on their targets in stealth mode, they would definitely leave some traces behind and produce abnormal energy fluctuations. Those would create opportunities for the mages to defend and even counterattack in time when dealing with assassins.

    However, the mages were now watching theirpanions dying and copsing onto the ground without warning, and yet they could not see anyone or where the attacks wereing from at all. It was as if the assassin was transparent and unreal. The uncertainty was the root of their fear, and they would rather face a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm than an invisible enemy that they could not see through.

    ¡°Hurry up, don¡¯t bother about the treasures. Get everyone to gather together immediately,¡± Lin Li said to Aldwin eagerly.

    Lin Li¡¯s tone did not make Aldwin feel ufortable, and the current situation did not allow him to have any other thoughts, either. After being reminded by Lin Li, Aldwin waved the staff in his hand, and a huge magic symbol shed in the sky, summoning the mages to gather quickly.

    The assassin really came and went without a trace, and just as the mages were gathering around Aldwin, one of the mages was suddenly beheaded, and his headless body took two steps away before copsing. Several peers of his who were just as strong did not react until they saw the horrifying corpse on the ground.

    Aldwin clutched the staff in his hand tightly, and the joints of his fingers turned pale. However, he was unable to stop those things from happening, because even though his mage was attacked, he could not see a single trace of the assassin. The only thing he could do now was to wait for the mages to gather again.

    Finally, after two mages fell onto the ground, everyone turned towards Aldwin and looked at the three Legendary-mages, after which the fear in their eyes gradually receded. After all, the Legendary powerhouses were like gods to the Archmages. They believed that the coward who did nothing exceptunch sneak attacks would retreat in the presence of the Legendary powerhouses.

    However, when everyone thought it was safe, a mage who was standing outside looked down at the hole in his chest, after which he slowly fell forwards onto his peer.

    ¡°Gather together, form a tight defense formation. Everyone, activate your magical shields!¡± Lin Li yelled. No matter how clever the assassin might be, they would still need a certain space and medium to exhibit their stealth and assassination skills. If there was no space between them, the assassin would never be able to prate their ranks regardless of how stealthy he might be. Although its effectiveness was a little exaggerated, a condensed space would indeed reduce plenty of danger.

    However, the mages did not immediately respond to Lin Li¡¯s instructions, and instead shifted their attention to their President, Aldwin, who was standing in the middle. Regardless of the changes that had urred, the mages obviously still trusted Aldwin¡¯smands more.

    ¡°Now, everyone will follow President Felic¡¯s orders. His words are mine!¡± Aldwin shot Lin Li an apologetic nce and gave him the right tomand.

    Aldwin¡¯s instructions were very effective as the mages who heard his words immediately formed a tight defensive formation like Lin Li instructed. They began to activate their magical shields at the same time.

    ¡°Everyone,unch attacks at the surroundings, regardless of the target¡¯s location. Cover the surrounding space with magic attacks!¡± Lin Li immediately issued a secondmand.

    This time, the mages no longer hesitated, and they all raised the Crescent Staffs in their hands one by one, releasing fireballs, Ice Rings, Rapid Ground Spear, and all sorts of other aggressive offensive spells. Even a fly wouldn¡¯t escape their attacks.

    Lin Li believed that even an assassin with a high stealth ability would not be able to remove his bodypletely from this space. Even if he had blocked their visual and other human senses, his body would still have to exist in real space. After all, when he ceased to exist, he could no longer cause any harm to the people in this space. Even Geresco, the God of Mages, couldn¡¯tunch instantaneous attacks when exhibiting Void of the Stars. If the invisible assassin could really switch between Void of the Stars and reality, he would be a true god.

    Therefore, Lin Li¡¯s method was also rather simple. By gathering closely together and casting a magic shield to prevent assassination whileunching rapid attacks, they would be able to force the assassin to show himself.

    Indeed, Lin Li¡¯s method worked quickly. Outside the defensive formation, a dark and menacing shadow emerged abruptly, and rushed into the air like a ck ray of lightning.

    Lin Li squinted and chased the figure in the sky. A thin figure wearing a robe appeared in front of them.

    The figure had long, straight blond hair that cascaded down its back casually while the aftermath of the attacks lingered in the air. His bloodshot eyes and pale face seemed to be particrly noticeable, and the madness and tyranny in his gaze made everyone feel a cold chill down his spine. His pointed ears also revealed his identity. The handsome man with a somber expression had the appearance of a typical High Elf.

    The High Elf was wearing a ck-cored robe and holding onto a thin staff. However, the red ruby on top of the staff was particrlyrge. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they would have never imagined that a High Elf disguised as a mage would actually possess such an incredible assassination skill.

    ¡°This... This is Eminos, one of the executioners belonging to Osric. He¡¯s known as the Mage Killer,¡± said Rosen, who was the first to recognize who the figure was.

    Although Rosen was now a level-23 Legendary-mage, he knew that dozens of Legendary-mages had been killed by Eminos before thetter disappeared that year. Most of them were above level-23 too. Besides, Eminos¡¯ current strength was definitely nearing the Sanctuary-realm; hence, he would more so no longer have any advantage.

    Rosen secretly regretted his previous choice. He thought, <i>Had I known that I would encounter the Mage Killer Eminos, I wouldn¡¯t have used the staff to summon the dragons. I should have left that chance for now. No matter how shrewd Eminos is, he wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to take action.</i> Although they had plenty of people, they did not pose any threat at all to the Mage Killer. At most, he would only have to attack them a few more times.

    When Rosen yelled Eminos¡¯ name, fear began to form in almost everyone¡¯s eyes, and even Andoine¡¯s face grew pale and sullen. It was because there were plenty of legends and tales about the Mage Killer.

    Eminos¡¯ nickname the Mage Killer was given to him officially by the Highlord Osric. It was because he was acting as an assassin despite being a mage, and also because he had killed plenty of rebellious mages viciously.

    As a mage, Eminos was extremely passionate about hiding in the dark and assassinating his enemy with a fatal blow. What brought him the most enjoyment was hiding in a corner and continuously creating terror in the enemy, watching the enemy copse in endless fear, and finallyunching a lethal blow. He rarely used Legendary magic, and his favorites were Wind de, Ice Spear, and Space Eruption.

    Legend had it that Eminos got famous during the battle against the forces of resistance in the Fn Kingdom that took ce when he¡¯d just entered the Legendary-realm. The leader of the rebellion forces was a level-22 Legendary-mage who led more than 10 Archmages who were nearing the Legendary-realm as well as hundreds of soldiers with various professions.

    During that battle, Eminos did not activate any High Elf troops, but infiltrated the rebels¡¯ camp alone. He attacked them for 10 consecutive days with his level-20 abilities. During those 10 days, all the rebels were caught in endless fear, and thest few mages were so scared they lost their senses. Meanwhile, the level-22 Legendary-mage chanted a powerful, Legendary magic spell, yet he was silently cut on the throat with a low-level Wind de.

    Even a Legendary-mage can¡¯t resist the attack of a Wind de! That was a legendary motto left by Eminos. Although the authenticity thereof was not verifiable, it did conform to his style. Some people also tried to continuously put up defensive magical shields to buy some time, but waiting for opportunities was the forte of assassins. They would kill their enemies instantly because no one could constantly shield themselves or ensure that nothing would go wrong for themselves.

 Chapter 718 - Bait

    <h4>Chapter 718: Bait</h4>

    Seemingly having sensed the fear and terror in everyone¡¯s hearts, Eminos smiled humbly, and said, ¡°Lowly humans, how dare you disturb Master while he¡¯s resting. You are all going to die today!¡±

    When everyone heard the word ¡°die¡±, everyone began shivering instinctively as if the temperature had suddenly gone below zero. A cold chill emerged from everyone¡¯s hearts and gradually surged through them to the deepest parts of their souls.

    ¡°Continue casting, no one is allowed to stop!¡± Lin Li yelled when he saw Eminos¡¯ figure vanishing abruptly.

    Although Eminos¡¯ strength was close to the Sanctuary-realm, even a Legendary-mage couldn¡¯t resist the attack of Wind de, just like what Eminos said himself. In order tounch a sneak attack, Eminos would have to abandon all his magical equipment and not put up any magical defense. Otherwise, he would just be a moving target. Besides, without a magical shield, Eminos could be attacked and hurt even by low-level magic.

    ¡°Ah!¡± one of the members from the team yelled as one of the Archmages was shot in the chest by an Ice Spear when he stopped for a moment to reapply a magical shield for himself.

    That was the terrifying thing about Eminos. As a mage, he knew the duration as well as the casting interval of various magic spells. Besides, all of the weaknesses of the mages were known and exposed to him. He had the immense mental strength of a Legendary-mage, and he could sense every change in the magical wave of the target and capture all the opportunities that he could make use of.

    The death of the Archmage was not meaningless. Instead, it was a wake-up call for everyone to keep fighting on and a reminder that they could never make a mistake if they want to live. Any negligence would give the terrifying Mage Killer a chance to kill them. It was a true battle for their own survival. Everyone went all out and released their greatest potential.

    Suddenly, the magic that was surging to the surroundings became a little more violent. A ck ray of lightning suddenly burst out from the brilliant magical lights before turning towards the team in search for a new prey without stopping.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rx, he might still be there!¡± Lin Li shouted loudly. To him, such tricks were nothing new. Everyone had seen the 36 strategies in the world that he came from.

    After seeing the ck ray of lightning that was the enemy¡¯s clone vanishing, the mages indeed felt a little relieved and rxed a little, but fortunately Lin Li managed to remind them in time. They continued to cast spell after spell. As expected, Eminos¡¯ figure appeared outside the range covered by the offensive spells.

    Staring at Lin Li who was standing in the middle and continuously givingmands to the mages, Eminos smiled derisively. Then, his body shed, and he disappeared again in in sight before appearing on the other side, only to be forced into retreating by the endless attacks.

    ¡°Felic, do you really think we¡¯ll be able to defeat Eminos by keeping this up? You¡¯re being too naive.¡± Rosen¡¯s face began to grow sullen while watching the mages resist the attacks continuously. He did not wish for Lin Li to gain too much prestige amongst the mages through hismands.

    Of course, Rosen had also stated a fact. If they were to keep up with the defense, they might be able to sustain it for a day, but what would happen afterwards? After all, humans were not machines, and their defense would crumble eventually.

    Actually, Rosen was not alone in thinking so. Even Aldwin, Andoine, and the rest had all thought of that issue. However, they did not doubt the n, because they trusted Lin Li.

    When Lin Li was trapped in the chaos of time and space, Andoine actually made the effort to find out the whole process from him as he was much more meticulous than the rest. Due to the fact that he was Lin Li¡¯s teacher, neither Cheyenne nor the elves hid anything from him. Hence, Andoine knew better than the rest how amazingly Lin Li performed in the Sky Castle.

    The current situation seemed to be unsolvable, but Lin Li seemed rather confident about it. At the thought of everything that Cheyenne had said, Andoine decided to trust Lin Li blindly despite the doubts he had. Besides, so what if he didn¡¯t trust Lin Li? No one coulde up with a better solution anyway.

    ¡°Is that so? Do you have a better idea? Let me guess, you¡¯re thinking of using some of them as a bait, right? Do you really think Eminos is an idiot?¡± Lin Li retorted coldly with a sneer while givingmands to the mages.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t try it, how do you know it¡¯s not possible? Can you make Eminos admit defeat and give up using your method?¡± Rosen retorted angrily.

    Lin Li waved his staff with a serious expression and covered himself with a magical shield. He then said to Rosen, ¡°I¡¯m not as generous as you to use someone¡¯s life as a bait. So what if we can only stall him for a few days? By then, your staff should be able to work.¡±

    ¡°You!!¡± Rosen was a little speechless, especially when Lin Li mentioned the staff and reminded him of yesterday¡¯s events which were definitely not a pleasant memory.

    Fortunately, the magic equipment worn by the mages was of top quality¡ªthe best in Anril. With the recovery abilities provided by the magical equipment, the mages would not suffer any depletion as long as they did not make any mistakes. After all, they were casting low-level magic, which would not consume much mana even if cast continuously.

    Looking at Lin Li who was holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter and standing in the middle of the team, Eminos gritted his teeth angrily. No matter how much he tried to jeopardize their ns, the human mages seemed to often stabilize quickly under themand of Lin Li. It was not that Lin Li was good atmanding, but rather that no matter what tactics Eminos used, Lin Li would only respond by opening his magical shield and covering the surrounding area with magic.

    In the face of the endless magic attacks, Eminos did feel rather troubled. Although all of them were low-level magic, it was definitely terrible to suffer them because he could not use any defensive spells. However, if he were to give himself some defense, he would definitely be bombarded before he could even assassinate anyone.

    Eminos¡¯ figure was constantly surrounding the humans and lingering along the edge of the range of magic attacks, looking for opportunities to break through their shield. Unfortunately, the team of Archmages was also one of the top forces in Anril, and had also experienced countless battles. Hence, it was unlikely for them to slip up.

    Seeing that the Mage Killer was stuck outside the magical shield, the mages began to see some hope, and the fear within them gradually vanished. It turned out that the legendary Mage Killer could be at a loss for what to do!

    Lin Li naturally also saw that Eminos was loitering outside. He eximed, ¡°That¡¯s all the Mage Killer can offer. It¡¯s now our time to fight back, and we shall all cast a joint spell. Elemental Shield!¡±

    Hearing thismand, the mages who had already gotten use to Lin¡¯smands immediately stopped without any objections. They raised their Crescent Staffs one by one, chanting the Legendary Elemental Shield spell.

    However, Rosen, Aldwin, and Andoine were all taken aback by Lin Li¡¯s orders. <i>What a joke. Enduring is already difficult as it is. Why does he want to retaliate now? That¡¯s the legendary Mage Killer. He¡¯s killed so many of us, how can we fight back?</i>

    ¡°Felic, are you really sure!?¡± Andoine asked worriedly as he began to waver at this moment.

    Meanwhile, Aldwin wanted to stop him, but it was clearly toote; the mages were already at thest stage of casting, and Eminos had yet to take action. Hence, they thought that it might be a good chance for attacking.

    As the mages chanted thest syble of the spell, Lin Li¡¯s staff emitted a dazzling ray of light that enveloped the entire team.

    However, as the light faded, the mages were surprised to find that the Elemental Shield that shrouded the entire team flickered a little like candlelight in the wind, and slowly began to dissipate.

    Casting failed! Everyone was filled with disbelief as they had practiced the spell countless times before. Yet, they failed.

    Aldwin looked at the dumbfounded mages and took a deep breath. Although they were still the same people, they were no longer standing as one team.

    At this moment, everyone immediately thought of the fact that since they had failed to cast the Elemental Shield, they were standing in front of the terrifying Mage Killer without any protection! What would happen to them!?

 Chapter 719 - Titan-level Alchemy Colossus

    <h4>Chapter 719: Titan-level Alchemy Colossus</h4>

    Everyone was stunned. The magic bacsh brought by the failure of the spell was not that great, since everyone was sharing the burden. However, it also prevented them from casting any magic anytime soon. They discovered that the Mage Killer Eminos, who had been roaming outside, had somehow disappeared when they were not paying attention to him.

    At this moment, everyone¡¯s heart was filled with dejection, and no one knew who would be doomed next. They had no idea when Eminos would kill them silently, but they knew that the legendary Mage Killer would only require a tenth of a second to kill. Although Eminos could not assassinate everyone within a short period of time, it was the uncertainty that plunged everyone into endless fear. Even the few Legendary-mages wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately cast a low-level magic shield to protect themselves within this tenth of a second.

    However, just as the Elemental Shield dissipated and Rosen and the other Legendary-mages cast magic shields on themselves, the Helios¡¯ Scepter in Lin Li¡¯s hands emitted a dazzling light. It was not a defensive spell, but a powerful offensive spell, Meteor Shower. The target of the offensive spell turned out to be Lin Li himself.

    While countless fireballs bombarded them with a loud roar, Lin Li did not waver nor stop, and instead immediatelyunched his own Light and Darkness Domain, which sted against his own mes.

    Lin Li¡¯s almost self-abusing behavior made everyone confused, but the shriek that sounded in the sky a short whileter made their eyes widen in shock. However, Lin Li did not stop. Instead, he condensed his Light and Darkness Sword and swung it forcefully in the direction of the shriek.

    A burning man emerged from the Meteor Shower andnded on the ground in front of them.

    He didn¡¯t extinguish the mes on his body immediately, and instead said to Lin Li in a hoarse voice, ¡°H-how did you know that my target is you...¡±

    Lin Li stepped out of the crowd and walked towards the man in mes who was clearly already on the verge of dying. He smiled, and said, ¡®¡±I¡¯m the youngest one here, so I¡¯d naturally seem like a pushover.¡±

    Rosen was still getting ready to reprimand Lin Li, but when he walked towards the edge, he immediately stopped because he heard Lin Li¡¯s answer.

    He wondered if Eminos was pleased with Lin Li¡¯s answer. As the me gradually diminished, Eminos¡¯ body was charred, and no one could tell if he was dead or not.

    Of course, age was just the reason that Lin Li hade up with randomly. In fact, from the moment that he¡¯d recognized Eminos to be the Mage Killer, Lin Li had already begun doing his best to hatch a n and perform well for this moment.

    When Rosen called out Eminos¡¯ name, Lin Li began to work hard at recalling all the information about Eminos, and also gained a general understanding of the characteristics of the legendary Mage Killer. For example, in order to sneak away, Eminos couldn¡¯t cast any defensive spells or use any magical equipment with protective effects. In addition, most of the magic he learned was focused on stealth and assassination. He enjoyed using low-level single-target magic spells, and disliked learning powerful Legendary magic and so on.

    Hence, Lin Li began to perform. He first obtained the temporarymanding right from Aldwin, and then tried to behave as a young mage who was a greatmander. That was actually not difficult. As long as the mages obeyed him, it would be enough to show how good he was atmanding.

    Next, Lin Li suppressed his own magical waves. Although his strength was at the peak of level-23 and it was hard for him to disguise himself as an apprentice in magic, Lin Li believed that Eminos wouldn¡¯t use his mental strength to sense his power, because that would expose his tracks. If the fluctuations in his mental strength were captured, Eminos would immediately be the target of the mages.

    While suppressing the magical waves, Lin Li put up his magical shield and avoided casting other high-level magic. When casting the magical shield, he also behaved like a mage between level-10 and level-15. That required good acting chops as an over-exaggeration would arouse Eminos¡¯ suspicion. Fortunately, Lin Li did not take too long to advance from an apprentice to the way he was now; hence, he could still remember how he behaved when he was an Archmage.

    Through the performance, Lin Li portrayed himself as an extremely importantmander of team, and at same time pretended to be weak. At first nce, he did seem like a pushover. If Lin Li were the Mage Killer, he would definitely choose himself as the first target of assassination as well.

    In the eyes of the Mage Killer Eminos, Lin Li was just like a bait that he could not refuse, but that did not mean that he would take it desperately without caring about anything else. Hence, Lin Li needed to give Eminos an opportunity that would allow him to take the bait without any worries¡ªthe mages¡¯ failure to cast the spell.

    What happened yesterday had undoubtedly caused a crack in the team of mages. Although they were the elites of the elites, and might not let the crack affect their tacit cooperation during the battle, they still could not solve their psychological issues easily. The cracks would definitely cause their joint spell to fail, and Eminos definitely wouldn¡¯t miss the chance to attack.

    Finally, all of Lin Li¡¯s efforts were not in vain. The legendary Mage Killer who had instilled fear within countless people during the Dark Age truly became history after more than 1,300 years.

    Looking at the mes that were dying out and the scorched corpse, the mages who had escaped from the verge of death could not help but gasp in shock that they had been suppressing for a long time after a moment of disbelief. The Mage Killer Eminos, who was one of the butcher Osric¡¯s sharpest weapons and a legendary figure of the Dark Age, actually died like this...

    ¡°Haha, Felic, I didn¡¯t expect this Mage Killer to die in your hands!¡± Andoine walked towards Lin Li smilingly and patted his shoulder.

    The terrifying thing about assassins was the fact that no one would know whom they were targeting until thetter was on the brink of death. However, once the conditions had been determined, the assassin would only be an idiot no matter how sharp and shrewd they might be.

    Seeing that the Mage Killer had died, Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest could basically tell what Lin Li¡¯s n was since they were not fools. Rosen nced back and forth at the Mage Killer¡¯s corpse and Lin Li several times, and had to admit that Lin Li¡¯s method of making Eminos take the bait was really not something that ordinary people could do, especially with a menacing Mage Killer.

    ¡°Felic, although you were lucky enough to have your n seed, you¡¯ve put everyone in danger just now. I hope that if this happens again, you¡¯ll exin your n to everyone. Otherwise, others would be danger while you¡¯re in a safe position. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s being unfair to them?¡± Rosen chided indignantly. Clearly, Lin Li had already gained some prestige amongst the mages through killing the Mage Killer. That was definitely not something that Rosen wanted to see.

    Lin Li stopped Andoine who was going to re up, and turned to look at Rosen smilingly. ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Master Rosen. I almost forgot that I have to thank you for your help in allowing me to sessfully killing the Mage Killer. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I¡¯m afraid it might not have been easy for the mages to fail in casting a joint without looking like they were pretending.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made Rosen¡¯s face grow extremely sullen, while the other mages appeared rather guilty. Everyone knew that if it weren¡¯t for Rosen¡¯s behavior yesterday, the mages wouldn¡¯t have slipped up. The failure of the joint casting had caused the mages to lose their battle power. At the thought of this, Aldwin glowered at Rosen angrily.

    Rosen cocked his head towards the side, turning as pale as a sheet. After all, it was impossible for Aldwin to fall out with Rosen; hence, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and begin to count the number of casualties amongst the mages. However, it still hurt Aldwin, who now felt like his heart was bleeding. Under the assassination of the Mage Killer, the mages actually lost 17 Archmages who were all elites of the nna Guild of Magic. Every Archmage had been nurtured painstakingly by him.

    However, Aldwin also knew that they were in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and the team had encountered a Mage Killer who had already been famous since the Dark Age. Actually, if it weren¡¯t for Lin Li, none of them would have survived. The only thing to rejoice about after the Mage Killer Eminos appeared was that it implied that Osric¡¯s mausoleum was probably not too far away.

    At this time, the sky waspletely dark. Although there were some conflicts among the leaders, there was no room for mistakes when exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum. They had no choice but to sit back together with sullen expressions and discuss their next move.

    However, just when Rosen and Antoine were arguing whether they should continue to move forward or rest overnight on the spot, a sudden tremor came from the ground underneath, and gradually became stronger. There seemed to be a giant object approaching them rapidly. Soon, the mage acting as sentry issued a warning signal, and everyone immediately got up and stayed alert.

    The ground began to shook violently, and a huge figure began to shine brightly as if it were tearing the night sky apart. With rumbling footsteps, it quickly approached everyone, and when that huge figure appeared, they all could not help but gasp in horror.

    The Alchemy Colossus! It was a massive Alchemy Colossus!

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. It definitely is Titan-level!¡± Lin Li looked at the huge body of the Alchemy Colossus opposite, and was filled with horror that he could not describe.

    Others might not know it, and simply think that the size of the Alchemy Colossus was just for show. After all, the ultimate form of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus did not exist in this era, and only remained in unrealistic legends. In fact, there was no relevant data that could be verified.

    However, when Lin Li saw the Alchemy Colossus, he immediately thought of the skeleton of the Titan he had obtained in the Haiga Mountain Range. Although he had never seen an actual[1] Alchemy Colossus in real life, he firmly believed that the Alchemy Colossus before him now was the ultimate form of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    Even with the experience that he had in the Endless World, the Alchemy Colossus in Lin Li¡¯s memory had always only existed in legends. Although the Titan Alchemy Colossus was not really a work of an Alchemy Guru, it would still be a far-fetched dream for an ordinary alchemist to build it. If someone could build a real Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, it would be no exaggeration to say that they had reached the peak of an Alchemy Guru. They would just be one step away from a Divine Smith.

    Moreover, building a real Titan-level Alchemy Colossus would require countless materials, manpower, resources, and the production of countless Alchemy Arrays, as well as an unimaginable amount of energy. Ordinary alchemists would never be able to do it. It was said that even during the peak of the development of Alchemy, the High Elves who had arge number of alchemists were never able to create the Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses which only existed on the drawing board. As for Lin Li, he had never dreamed of creating a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus despite knowing how powerful it was.

    ¡°Titan-level Alchemy Colossus?¡± Andoine shrieked in shock when he heard Lin Li¡¯s exmation, and turned to look at him in disbelief.

    Lin Li nodded bitterly with a wry smile, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t think of any other possibility besides the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Believe me, this thing is definitely more terrifying than legends have it.¡±

    [1] As opposed to inferior replica.

 Chapter 720 - Angelano

    <h4>Chapter 720: Angno</h4>

    Lin Li¡¯s statement was not exaggerated at all. Although the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was created artificially, its power couldn¡¯t reach the Sanctuary-realm, yet it had level-24 abilities. Thanks to the countless powerful Alchemy Arrays, the fighting power of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was nearing the Sanctuary-realm.

    It was said that in the Dark Age, even the High Elves who had obtained countless wealth only possessed three Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses. However, during the battle to expel and destroy the prehistoric magical beasts, the three Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses seemed to have yed an extremely important role as they destroyed countless powerful prehistoric magical beasts.

    The magical beasts that fled and hid in the barrennds of Anril after the prehistoric times did not have the advantage of being in groups, but there had been quite a few that reached the Sanctuary-realm. However, when faced with the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, the tyrannical prehistoric magical beasts could not even leave the slightest scar on them. The Sky Castles were called invincible, while the three Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses were called the undefeated Gods of War. Even the descendants of the ancient wyrms could only be prey to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses.

    ¡°It¡¯s Angno. I heard that one of Osric¡¯s three greatest weapons is a mysterious and powerful Alchemy Colossus. Since Eminos has appeared, this big guy is probably Angno.¡± Andoine gritted his teeth angrily. Although he had long predicted that they would very likely meet the three guardians after entering Osric¡¯s mausoleum, they had always thought that Angno should be the weakest of the three. However, if Angno was a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus like Lin Li mentioned, he might just be the toughest to deal with.

    In the legends of the Highlord Osric, there was no description of the origin of Angno who controlled the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. It seemed that Angno¡¯s origin had been very mysterious even during the Dark Age. The only description of his origin in legends was that he had been following Osric since a long time, even before Osric seeded the position passed down in his family.

    There were too many legends and rumors about Angno¡¯s strength, and this Alchemy Colossus seemed to be present in every detail about Osric¡¯s long life that was recorded in history. All enemies who hindered Osric would be ruthlessly ripped apart by the Alchemy Colossus, be it the tyrannical prehistoric magical beasts, the rebellion forces, the arrogant and haughty Lords of the Abyss, or the High Elves that went against Osric.

    Lin Li initially had some doubts about the strength of the Alchemy Colossus when he first heard the legend about Angno. However, it was now confirmed that Angno was actually controlling a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Hence, everything seemed reasonable now. Even though the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was not a real Titan, its formidable power was enough for it to live up to its reputation from the Dark Age. In fact, its power surpassed the strong team of mages.

    The conversation between Lin Li and Andoine was rather soft as they kept their volume low. Hence, no one heard them. It was mainly because they were afraid of affecting the morale of the mages. After all, they had just experienced the attack of the Mage Killer Eminos, and even though they were elites, it was difficult to keep calm.

    However, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing that the Mage Killer Eminos had died. Otherwise, his assassination and the Alchemy Colossus Angno¡¯s head-on attacks would definitely stop the mages from continuing.

    ¡°Even Angno has appeared, so...¡± Angno looked at the Alchemy Colossus worriedly. Two of Osric¡¯s three killers had already appeared, and the third one was Amatir, who was said to be the strongest of the three ording to legends. Where would Amatir be?

    Wait? Unfortunately, not everyone liked fighting solo like Eminos did. Although he could clearly wipe out the invading enemies in one go, he still spread his power apart and destroyed the enemies one by one. Not long after the Alchemy Colossus Angno appeared, a team of mages followed close behind him and gradually appeared.

    When the team showed up in front of Lin Li and the rest, everyone was puzzled. In their eyes, the team beside the Alchemy Colossus seemed to contain members in the form of Ghosts and Liches. Clearly, it was an army of Undead creatures. However, they could not detect any Undead creatures or Undead aura. All that was emitted was pure magical waves, just like from mages.

    However,pared to the Death Knights with Divine Power, the team of Undead creatures was in fact not that incredible. Behind the team of Undead creatures was a Lich wrapped in a ck robe who was exuding powerful magical waves and riding a Nightmare beast shrouded in golden mes. He was slowly moving towards Lin Li and the rest.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s Amatir, themander of Osric¡¯s Magic Legion,¡± Andoine said with a sullen expression.

    None of them would be pleased to see Osric¡¯s other two killers. Moreover, the Lich Amatir was said to be the strongest of the three and themander of Osric¡¯s Magic Legion.

    Legend had it that during the Dark Age, Amatir was directly involved in the tragic massacresunched by the Highlord Osric. Under themand of Amatir, the Magic Legion was absolutely invincible as they destroyed the rebellion forces one after another. They even once barged into the Endless Abyss and caused the Demon Lords to grow distressed.

    Amatir not only had the ability tomand, his personal strength and abilities were not to be belittled, either. It was said that when Amatir disappeared, his powers were already near the Sanctuary-realm. Now that the Dark Age had already been over for more than 1300 years, it was hard to imagine how strong he had be.

    ¡°They even came out together. Did those Undead creatures use to belong to the Magic Legion?¡± Aldwin looked at the team and thought that they would definitely be his opponents if the battle were to begin. How much major damage would there be?

    As the enemies approached, Aldwin was able to see the number of the Undead creatures clearly. Although they were not as strong as the legendary Magic Legion of Osric, they would definitely be formidable if they still had the fighting power that they had back then. It was said that every mage in the Magic Legion back then was an Archmage, and some had even entered the Legendary-realm.

    It was said that Osric had once directed the Magic Legion into the Endless Abyss and led them through the floors, which they all plundered. Legend had it that there were plenty of Demon Lords who even formed a demon alliance for the first time, and gathered hundreds of thousands of Abyssal Demons. However, even then, they could not stop Magic Legion. None of the hundreds of thousands of Abyssal Demons escaped, and the powerful Demon Lords were either killed or captured.

    Even after the Magic Legion left the Endless Abyss, no demons appeared in the abyss for a long time. It was only many years after Osric¡¯s death that the abyss gradually regained some of its vitality. However, new Demon Lords were never born.

    ¡°Aldwin, this is Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and it is impossible to take the things here without getting hurt. We must bear the consequences,¡± Rosen said while looking in front, overwhelmed with regret. Had he known earlier that there would be such a strong enemy, he would have saved the chance for summoning the wyrms for now.

    Aldwin did not respond, and simply nced at Rosen coldly while cursing in his head. <i>Damn it, you obviously don¡¯t feel the pinch, because you weren¡¯t the one who groomed and nurtured them. God knows how many juniors I¡¯ll have left after this exploration. No matter how many benefits I reap here, the losses cannot bepensated for so easily.</i>

    As the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus Angno and the Lich Amatir appeared together with the 200-odd Undead creatures, a huge cemetery was also vaguely exposed. The group had exited from the cemetery.

    ¡°That should be the real Osric¡¯s mausoleum!¡± Rosen said with a little excitement in his eyes. ording to the information obtained, Eminos, Angno, and Amatir, the sharpest killers belonging to Osric, were present to protect Osric¡¯s mausoleum and allow him to rest peacefully without getting disturbed. Since the guardians had appeared, the item that they were guarding was definitely near!

    ¡°Well, even if that is the real mausoleum, we have to pass this obstacle first. Otherwise, this will be our grave,¡± Andoine gibed, not taking his eyes off the enemy at all. The staff that he was holding tightly was already glistening.

    It would be impossible not to be nervous now that they were facing the enemies who were approaching them. Even Andoine and Rosen, the level-23 Legendary-mages, could not help but break out into sweat. As for Aldwin¡¯s mages, they all knew that the team of Undead was their enemy, and they all turned austere, though they were remaining still. Some even swallowed their saliva nervously.

    ¡°How dare these lowly humans disturb Master¡¯s sleep. Get ready to suffer Angno¡¯s wrath!¡±

    A dull and heavy voice came out of the huge Alchemy Colossus, sounding like thunder. Next, the Alchemy Colossus took a huge step out and rushed towards Lin Li¡¯s team while causing the ground to quake. Every step that the Alchemy Colossus took caused a thickyer of dust to surge upwards and outwards like tides. It made it difficult for them to just stand still.

    ¡°Leave that big guy to me!¡± Lin Li took out the Summoning Lamp and summoned the Crimson Dragon that was sealed in it, after which he rode on its back and flew towards the Alchemy Colossus.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, his choice should be the most apt for the current situation. After all, no one in the crowd knew more about the Alchemy Colossuses than he did. Of course, he did not think that he would be able to deal with the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus and get rid of it. However, the Lich Amatir seemed to be much more dangerous to him than the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    In terms of magic, although Lin Li, Andoine, and Rosen were all level-23 Legendary-mages, there was still a certain difference in theirbat experience. The Lich riding the Nightmare was clearly a master of magic. Hence, Lin Li felt that it would be better to leave the Lich to Andoine and Rosen.

    As for the team of Undead that used to be the Magic Legion, Lin Li hoped that Aldwin would be able to hold them back. Although there had been some problems between the mages, Aldwin felt that he could find a temporary solution.

    Watching Lin Li ride the Crimson Dragon while moving towards the Alchemy Colossus, the others did not say much. Andoine believed that Lin Li would not make a decision that he was unsure of, and Rosen also felt that the Alchemy Colossus seemed to be tougher to deal with. The two men nced at each other, each holding a staff and rushing towards the Lich Amatir. Although the rtionship between Andoine and Rosen was strained, everyone knew that the most important thing to do now was to unite and fight the enemies together. Otherwise, no one would be safe.

    The team of mages led by Aldwin had no choice but to form a tighter defense formation and slowly approach the Undead.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that scheming guy Eminos to be killed by you lowly human beings. Although I hate that guy, he was still one of us. I will avenge him, starting with you!¡± the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus mused, and extended his arms towards Lin Li.

 Chapter 721 - Fine Line Between Life and Death

    <h4>Chapter 721: Fine Line Between Life and Death</h4>

    A piece of heavy metal popped up beneath his wrist and revealed the two muzzles[1] inside, which were already glistening.

    Lin Li stepped on the back of the Crimson Dragon, preventing it from moving. When he saw the muzzles glowing on the wrist of the Alchemy Colossus, he quickly transmitted his mental strength to the Crimson Dragon, controlling and manipting it to change its direction several times in the air.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s actually a Magical Crystal Cannon. Which pervert created this guy and added a magical Crystal Cannon to his body? Is this still a damned Alchemy Colossus!? This is practically a battle armor that¡¯smon in science fiction!¡± Lin Li cursed while moving the Crimson Dragon in another direction to approach the Alchemy Colossus.

    Lin Li was very clear about the power of the Magical Crystal Cannon; the attack by the purepressed mana would cause even a Legendary powerhouse to be heavily injured. Although the diameter of the two magical Crystal Cannons of the Alchemy Colossus seemed to be smaller than that of the ordinary ones, Lin Li could sense that the mana umted in the muzzles was no less than in the ones on the exterior wall that they¡¯d encountered previously.

    After two dull sounds of the cannon, twopressed rays of light shot towards Lin Li and the Crimson Dragon. Fortunately, Lin Li managed to make the Crimson Dragony its body on its side, so the two rays of light shot towards the pitch dark sky after brushing past the Crimson Dragon¡¯s body.

    Lin Li turned his head and nced at the wing of the Crimson Dragon, only to see that there was a ck scar charred across it, so deep that Lin Li could even see the bone. Fortunately, although the Crimson Dragon had a physical body, it was still an Undead creature in essence. Otherwise, the scar would cause a huge impact on itsbat power.

    Back then in the Dragon Mountains, Lin Li once made a prop that was engraved with a Disintegrating Array in order to get rid of the Alchemy Colossuses. He then managed to use the power of that Disintegrating Array to get rid of the four Alchemy Colossuses. However, there was no way Lin Li could use such an amazing trick now, because he was facing a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus that the Disintegrating Array would have no effect on. Hence, he could not be bothered to waste time on it. After a few shes, he felt that it would be more practical to try to find the weakness of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hide. When you¡¯re in front of the great Angno, any of your struggles will only make your death more painful!¡± the Alchemy Colossus yelled again, after which countless rays of dazzling white light darted out of its chest and flew towards the sky like fireballs the size of a house.

    ¡°Boom...¡± The white fireballs chased Lin Li and burst open continuously.

    ¡°zing fireball? Why is it so big? Does its size contribute to its power!?¡± Lin Li yelled, continuously casting Elemental Shield with the Helios¡¯ Scepter, causing the massive fireballs to be torn apart.

    Fortunately, the Crimson Dragon already had some level of sentience and IQ after being integrated with the heart of an Undead. Hence, it was not just mindlessly obeying orders like stupid Undead creatures. Instead, it could instinctively avoid the bombardment of spells by the Alchemy Colossus. Otherwise, it would have been burned to ashes by the zing fireballs if it had relied solely on Lin Li¡¯smand.

    The light of the magical Crystal Cannon and the various powerful magic spells directly formed a barrage in the sky that would capture even a mosquito. However, Lin Li was after all a level-23 Legendary-mage, and thepression of casting time allowed him to increase his speed. Elemental Shields were continuously cast and wrapped around his feet tightly. While evading, he resisted some less powerful magic bombardment, and was getting closer and closer to the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Ignorant human, Lord Angno is just bored and teasing you for fun. Lord Angno is now sick of you, so go to hell!¡± the Alchemy Colossus yelled in anger, and immediately raised the long pir-like spear in his hand before swinging it at Lin Li.

    Lin Li quickly drove the Crimson Dragon towards the side to escape the blow, and finally managed to dodge it. However, a strong attraction seemed to have suddenly pulled him towards the spear together with the Crimson Dragon. The Elemental Shields made crackling sounds, and Lin Li only managed to get rid of that force after 10yers of his shields were broken.

    Lin Li¡¯s back was already drenched in cold sweat. He had to face the endless magical attack of the Alchemy Colossus from afar, and when he was close, he had to face the attack of the giant spear. Indeed, it was a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus and the power thereof seemed to be able to tear through space. Lin Li had no doubt that if the blow were to really strike him, no amount of Elemental Shields would be useful, and he and the Crimson Dragon would be torn apart immediately.

    The Crimson Dragon¡¯s body was rtively massive, but it seemed just like a birdpared to the Alchemy Colossus. Getting close to the Alchemy Colossus was the only way he could retaliate. Lin Li continued to release Elemental Shields while riding the Crimson Dragon towards the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Hehe, do you want to witness the unmatched closebat abilities of Lord Angno? I shall fulfill your wish!¡± The Alchemy Colossus had no consciousness[2], and bbered on and on, but its power did live up to the descriptions from the Dark Age, and his giant spear seemed to have spun like a windmill and revolved around his body.

    Lin Li was about to get the Crimson Dragon to press its body against the Alchemy Colossus, but at this moment, he got yanked up, and the rotating giant spear swept past the body of the Crimson Dragon. Although they had again dodged a deadly attack, they were flung far, far away.

    ¡°Damn it, it was so close. Is this guy really an Alchemy Colossus!?¡± Lin Li finally regained his bnce and stared at the Alchemy Colossus, only to see that it seemed to be more flexible than humans. His hands were continuously iling about, and the giant spear was moving like a windmill that shrouded his body.

    Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter high in the air and chanted a spell, after which he saw a huge ball of thunder being shot at the Alchemy Colossus. However, huge was only rtive to Lin Li, and for the Alchemy Colossus, the ball was just like a random stone.

    The World-destroying Thunderball was considered the most powerful magic spell that Lin Li could cast now. Previously, he managed to destroy the powerful defensive Magical Crystal Cannons just because he had the World-destroying Thunderball. However, now that he was facing the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, the powerful magic seemed to have lost its due power. It disappeared as soon as it flew close to the Alchemy Colossus.

    Although Lin Li knew a lot about the Alchemy Colossuses, he seemed a little helpless now that he was facing the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Lin Li¡¯s situation was obviously not optimistic, and the enemy¡¯s strength was obviously beyond what he had estimated.

    Although Andoine and Rosen were at odds against each other, it was not the time for them to battle now. Their opponent was Osric¡¯s most powerful mage, the Lich Amatir, who was much stronger than the two of them even though they did not reach the Sanctuary-realm.

    Amatir was not as talkative as Angno. From the beginning to the end, there was no other sound that came from him apart from the chanting of the spells. He rode on Nightmare¡¯s back and kept his body straight while pointing his Staff of Doom at Andoine and Rosen.

    However, Andoine and Rosen felt extremely exhausted, and they had temporarily put aside the grudges in their hearts. However, they were unable to enjoy a tacit understanding, after all, and could only use their rich experience to cooperate with each other. However, they were still far from sharing a perfect chemistry.

    In the face of the powerful magic and unpredictable curses cast by Amatir, Andoine and Rosen were barely holding on; counterattacking seemed to be far-fetched for them. The Nightmare that Amatir was riding was not an ordinary one. It was covered in golden mes, and apart from moving quickly, it even had a strong resistance against magic of all attributes. In fact, it was much stronger than Lin Li¡¯s Crimson Dragon.

    ¡°Rosen, what else did you bring from the Supreme Council? Hurry up and use it, otherwise there will be no chance to do so in the future.¡± Rosen supported the Elemental Shield and suddenly flew towards the enemy while casting magic with his dazzling staff. However, afterunching aplete attack, Andoine didn¡¯t see the results at all, and turned around to head in a different direction, avoiding the iing offensive spells. The Elemental Shield outside his body had also been broken at this moment.

    On the other hand, Rosen waved his staff and cast powerful Legendary magic while Andoine was being attacked by Amatir. However, they did not dare to loiter for a single moment, and immediately switched positions after casting the spell to dodge Amatir¡¯s offensive spells.

    ¡°Psht, what do you take the Supreme Council for? I spent a lot of time and effort to borrow that staff from the treasure vault. If it were not for yourck of efforts back then, I would not have used it so soon,¡± Rosen said angrily. He was filled with regret at the thought of the summoning staff. If he were to summon the two wyrms at this juncture, they wouldn¡¯t be in such a pathetic state even if he could not destroy Angno and Amatir.

    However, when thinking of the staff, Rosen began to wonder if he could borrow the staff precisely because the arbitrator had long expected the current situation. Unfortunately, he got too impatient, and used his chance to summon the creatures too early. The Death Knights who used Divine Power were not able to cope with the power of these people. However, there was no point in regretting it now. Since the opportunity to summon was used in advance, he could only use his own abilities to find a way to defeat the enemy.

    Amatir was indeed Osric¡¯s strongest mage underling. Under the siege of the two level-23 Legendary-mages, Andoine and Rosen, he seemed to remain extremely confident. He didn¡¯t have to evade the magic at all, and even Legendary offensive spells would only result in dazzling rays of light when they hit his Elemental Shield. His retaliation would leave Andoine and Rosen in a pathetic state as they heard the sounds of their shields cracking.

    ¡°Andoine, stall him for a few seconds, and I will prepare a ruthless attack for him!¡± Hence, Rosen had to think of a solution to hold Amatir back while he prepared a level-23 magic attack.

    Andoine clearly heard Rosen¡¯s promise, and had begun to cast his magic. However, before he could even chant a single syble, he heard formidable magic smashing into him.

    Andoine had no choice but to stop the spellcasting. While dodging, he yelled at Rosen, ¡°Rosen, are you trying to harm me!?¡±

    <i>Damn it, I do want you to die, but not now!</i> Rosen smiled wryly, and said, ¡°I¡¯m not that muddleheaded yet. If you have what it takes, try it and I¡¯ll prepare the casting.¡±

    Of course, Rosen had already prepared. Although he heard Andoine agreeing to his words, he didn¡¯t start preparing to cast spells, and instead just stood still for a while. The next thing he knew, Nightmare¡¯s horn was about to stab him.

    As a level-23 Legendary-mage, mastering a few powerful top-level magic spells was normal, but no matter how powerful the magic was, casting would still take some time. As long as they had time, they would definitely be able to cast level-24 magic too. However, the problem now was that neither of them could hold Amatir back for even a second, let alone for long enough to cast level-24 magic.

    After a few attempts, Andoine and Rosen acknowledged the reality. The only thing they could do now was to work together and hold Amatir back while waiting for the changes in the other two battlefields.

    [1] I figure it¡¯s one muzzle per arm, so two in total.

    [2] Maybe the author meant smarts.

 Chapter 722 - Titan Dragon Spear

    <h4>Chapter 722: Titan Dragon Spear</h4>

    However, they felt that the greatest possibility was probably not Lin Li who had created plenty of miracles in the Sky Castle, since he could not even get near the Alchemy Colossus. Aldwin¡¯s mages seemed to be performing well, however.

    Despite knowing the problem that existed between the mages, Aldwin actually did not divide the mages into two teams. In terms of general cooperation, their chemistry was not affected to that great of an extent, but Aldwin dared not take the risk during the joint casting of spells. If an error were to happen again, that would be disastrous for the mages.

    For a long time, the mages had always been confident in the battling power of their team. Even though their abilities and strength might not be that outstanding, they believed that with their tacit cooperation, they should be regarded as the strongest force in Anril.

    However, they had now met opponents who could be considered the real enemy. The Undead creatures that did not give off Undead aura had pure magical waves, and were extremely cooperative and in sync when fending off the intruders. Hence, the mages could not help but feel shocked, because the Undead creatures seemed to have fused together and be one to form an intricate fighting machine.

    <i>These necromancers are definitely Osric¡¯s Magic Legion!</i> Aldwin thought to himself in shock while he continued to direct the mages. He had spent a lot of efforts on the mages, and was also very experienced inbat. However, he still could not imagine what kind of training the Undead Magic Legion in front of them had gone through.

    Although there were more than 200 members in the Undead Magic Legion in front of him, Aldwin felt like he was fighting a powerful mage of level-24. Joint casting was a skill that the mages were rather proud of. However, even the elite group of mages could not do as they pleased. They could only cast a spell jointly after practicing it thousands of times, yet they were now facing an Undead Magic Legion that put out powerful Legendary level-24 magic seemingly effortlessly.

    There were only 200-odd mages who turned into Undead creatures; Aldwin couldn¡¯t imagine how terrifying the entire Magic Legion under Osric would be. It was no wonder that Osric¡¯s Magic Legion would raid more than 10 floors of the Abyss and leave the arrogant Demon Lords with no choice but to sumb to them.

    Apart from the tacit understanding and seamless cooperation they had, each member of the Undead Magic Legion also possessed extremely powerful strength. However, that did not refer to the level of their physical strength, but their mastery of time and magic. Every spell that they cast took up an appropriate amount of their mana without any wastage. There wouldn¡¯t be failure because of ack of mana, either.

    Their control over the casting even made Aldwin, a level-22 Legendary-mage, feel incredibly ashamed. They could clearly capture every gap between casting and catch the instant that casting failed. They would cast spells before every failure so as to attack the enemies while causing their defensive spells to malfunction. Their control of timing was far greater than that of the Mage Killer Eminos.

    Although Aldwin was a level-22 Legendary-mage, he was sure that he might not be able to endure for too long if he were to face the Undead Magic Legion alone. He might not even have the chance to escape. After all, it was a battle of team power, and the only thing Aldwin could do wasmand his mages to roam around. Attacking was a luxury.

    However, Aldwin believed that as long as he retained the core, he would be able to establish a more powerful group even if he had suffered a great loss. It was because they had already seen what a real rapport, coordination, and Magic Legion were.

    Andoine and Rosen were forced into having no means to counterattack, and all they could do was continue putting up defenses and pin their hopes on the mages they weremanding. They didn¡¯t have the time to see that the situation in both other battles was terrible too.

    Lin Li controlled the Crimson Dragon and revolved around the huge body of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in a bid to find a chance to surge in. However, the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus seemed to be extraordinary, and nothing could prate its defenses at all. In fact, it was practically as agile as a warrior.

    ¡°Damn, is this guy even an Alchemy Colossus? Why is he even more annoying than a monkey!?¡± The Crimson Dragon beneath Lin Li¡¯s feet had self-healing abilities, but the new scars that formed continuously made those abilities seem insignificant.

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand and cast various powerful magic spells against the Alchemy Colossus. However, the spells were easily dispelled by the giant spear, and were even blocked by ayer of light.

    That was the terrifying part of the Alchemy Colossus. As long as it had enough mana sources, its attack would not grow weaker and its protection would not be broken. He was just like a moving giant fortress, and it had the upper hand.

    Generally, the defense of the Alchemy Colossus would have to be broken or the power would have to be exhausted in order for the Alchemy Colossus to be knocked down. However, Lin Li knew very well that it was simply unrealistic for those rules to apply to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Lin Li had no idea what mana source was used by the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, but he was certain that Osric would have no problem using tens of Legendary magical crystals as the mana source because of how wealthy he was.

    Lin Li sighed, and once again drove the Crimson Dragon away while two rays of light from the Magical Crystal Cannons bore two deep ck holes in the ground. <i>If only I had two Alchemy Colossuses!</i>

    Lin Li was not thinking nonsense out of shock. If he had two Alchemy Colossuses, he would be able to try and lure them into attacking each other. In order to break the defense of the Alchemy Colossus, Lin Li would probably require the massive power of another Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Come on, ipetent human, aren¡¯t you going to give up? You¡¯d better stand properly for Lord Angno. One shot of his is all it will take for you to die without pain. Is this not enough to satisfy you!?¡± Dull sounds of hysterical yelling continuously came from the Alchemy Colossus, and the rays of light seemed to have formed a of death which bombarded Lin Li.

    Lin Li¡¯s back was drenched in cold sweat. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had seen how pathetic Andoine and Rosen were doing, he would have really regretted choosing the Alchemy Colossus as his opponent. Ever since Lin Li had chosen this opponent, he was having numerous close shaves with death as the condensed power of the Magical Crystal Cannons and the giant spear that could tear through space were enough to kill him.

    Seeing that the intertwining Magical Crystal Cannons¡¯ attacks were darting towards him, Lin Li jumped off the Crimson Dragon, and took out the Summoning Lamp while putting the Crimson Dragon away at the same time. He had already done such a thing several times before, and after dodging the fatal, he summoned the Crimson Dragon again. He then continued to leap towards the Alchemy Colossus.

    Actually, Lin Li had already found the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ weakness, and that was its joints. Regardless of whether it was an Alchemy Colossus or a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, they did not have too many protective measures for their joints in order to allow them to move flexibly. If they were to use sturdy metal armor, it would definitely affect the movement of the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ joints without a doubt. With the Alchemy Array, the metal that could be used with it would not be strong enough to support the body of the Alchemy Colossus. The friction of the movement of joints would also damage the Alchemy Array. After all, nothing was truly indestructible.

    However, since Lin Li knew what the weakness of the Alchemy Colossus was, Angno definitely did too. Although Angno often called humans lowly and disgusting, he did not decrease the protection of the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ joints. At least, Lin Li never once found a chance to rush into the Alchemy Colossus¡¯s direct vicinity.

    ¡°Haha, ignorant human, are you desperate now? You actually think that you can knock down the great Lord Angno with such a pir!¡± The Alchemy Colossus burst intoughter.

    It was no wonder that Angeloughed¡ªa huge stone pir thatpletely covered him somehow appeared in Lin Li¡¯s hands. Only the wings of the Crimson Dragon could be seen, creating a funny sight. Not to mention, it was incredibly fragilepared to the attack of the Alchemy Colossus even though it was huge. What damage could it do to the Alchemy Colossus?

    It was a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, and not a decaying wall. Even a madman would not make such a crazy move. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t utter a single word, and instead just held up the huge stone pir and rushed towards the leg of the Alchemy Colossus. It seemed that he wanted to bank on the pir breaking the joints of the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Whoosh!¡±

    Lin Li and the Crimson Dragon suddenly stopped, after which Lin Li released the stone pir and threw it hard at the leg of the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ll give you a real taste of the Titan Dragon Spear!¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t find any chance at the end of the day. Staring at the Alchemy Colossus wielding the giant spear, Lin Li suddenly remembered that there was another thing that he¡¯d obtained from the Haiga Mountain Range in his Ring of Endless Storm. Although the Titan Dragon Spear had already be deeply dormant, it still contained an immensely massive force of thunder.

    When he faced the Double Death Dragons back then, Lin Li managed to throw his Titan Dragon Spear at the right time, and the razer from the spear helped him defeat the powerful Double Death Dragons. Could the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus really resist the power of the Titan Dragon Spear?

    Lin Li thought of this and drove the Crimson Dragon towards the Alchemy Colossus again. At the same time, the quaint Titan Dragon Spear appeared in his hand, looking like an ordinary stone pir. However, it had a tiny crack because of the attack by the Double Death Dragons previously.

    ¡°Disgusting bug, you finally seeded in angering Lord Angno. Die!¡± The stone pir shot at the leg seemed like an insult to the Alchemy Colossus. When the spear was smashed against the stone pir, his Alchemy Array began to shine brightly too.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The whole space seemed to tremble with a loud noise.

    Lin Li, who stood on the back of the Crimson Dragon, was struck by the shock wave which rolled backwards. Lin Li had a hard time trying to stabilize his body again. Looking at the Alchemy Colossus at this moment, Lin Li realized that his Titan Dragon Spear had been flung far away, but there were countless electric awns on the body of the Alchemy Colossus which was trembling uncontrobly. Lin Li could even hear the sounds of his teeth chattering.

    <i>It¡¯s a chance!</i> Lin Li urged the Crimson Dragon to fly towards the Alchemy Colossus continuously. He knew that if it was the Titan Dragon Spear used by the real Titans, it would be easy to destroy the Alchemy Colossus. However, the passive power that his Titan Dragon Spear possessed would definitely not cause permanent damage to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    Lin Li flew immediately to the front of the Alchemy Colossus. At this moment, the electric awn on the Alchemy Colossus also seemed to have weakened greatly as he raised the giant spear. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity; he immediately activated his own Light and Darkness Domain, and smashed his Light and Darkness Sword against the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ arm joints.

    ¡°Boom!¡± There was another loud noise, and the Alchemy Colossus¡¯s giant spear fell out of its arm, which also fell off its body. It then swung and swayed under inertia.

 Chapter 723 - Persuasion

    <h4>Chapter 723: Persuasion</h4>

    The arm alone was clearly not going to get rid of the Alchemy Colossus¡¯bat power. Lin Li did not hesitate at all and, he immediately again condensed his Light and Darkness Sword, which he used to hack the joints of the arm of the Alchemy Colossus...

    Although the joints of the Alchemy Colossus did not have too much protection, the metal used was extremely strong and durable. Otherwise, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to support such a huge body. Although Lin Li was unable to build one, he had a deep understanding of its structure, and he needed not actually cut all the joints of the Alchemy Colossus. Although the Light and Darkness Sword was powerful, he could not break all of the joints. All he had to do was to break a special point on the joint and break the bnce between the structures. The body of the Alchemy Colossus would then break the joint by itself.

    After the two arms were broken, the Alchemy Colossus seemed to have recovered its mobility but without its arms, all that it could do was tounch offensive spells. However, that did not seem to have any preventive effect on Lin Li who was standing behind the Alchemy Colossus. Two Light and Darkness Swords appeared one after another. The huge body of the Alchemy Colossus was finally paralyzed and lying motionlessly on the ground. Although the Alchemy Array was shing on the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ body continuously, and the Alchemy Colossus was continuouslyunching powerful offensive spells, all of the spells wereunched at the sky because it couldn¡¯t move.

    Lin Li gasped after finally dispatching the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. He could not be bothered to look for the Titan Dragon Spear that had been sted away, and immediately drove the Crimson Dragon towards Aldwin¡¯s battlefield. He could tell that even if he were to join Andoine, it would still be a tough feat for the three level-23 Legendary-mages to get rid of Amatir. Hence, he felt that he might as well help Aldwin deal with the Undead Magic Legion first. It might then be possible to defeat Amatir with all their strength added together.

    Although Lin Li did not have a good chemistry with the mages, he was still a level-23 Legendary-mage, after all. Besides, Aldwin and the mages were actively cooperating. The situation on the battlefield immediately reversed; the mages who had been suppressed had watched as their peers copsed one by one, so their hearts were full of anger, and they began to retaliate menacingly under Aldwin¡¯smand.

    After all, it was no longer theplete Magic Legion, and theirmander, Amatir, was still struggling and fighting Andoine and Rosen. Hence, he did not give them any instructions, and they were simply fighting based on instinct. They could still maintain a bnce while having an advantage over the mages, but with the addition of the Legendary powerhouse Lin Li, the bnce was broken, and the Undead Magic Legion would soon fall.

    When thest necromancer was killed, Lin Li, Aldwin, and the mages did not rest for a moment, and immediately rushed towards Andoine and Rosen. At this time, Andoine and Rosen had no means to counterattack at all, and could only defend passively. If reinforcements had arrived anyter, one of the authoritative figures of the Supreme Council would have been lost.

    Three level-23 Legendary-mages and the mages who had faced the Magic Legion were now surrounding Amatir. Although Amatir was known as Osric¡¯s strongest mage, he had yet to enter the Sanctuary-realm, after all. Under the maniacal siege of everyone, he could only sigh and turn into ashes with the Nightmare he was riding.

    The whole battlefield finally became quiet. Some could no longer stay still, and thus fell onto the ground, while others stared nkly at the ruins in front of them. The other two of Osric¡¯s subordinates were finally destroyed by the mages, 1300 years after the end of the Dark Age.

    Amatir, Angno, and Eminos, the three legendary figures, were initially already gradually forgotten along with history, yet they actually appeared in front of everyone, making them feel like everything was surreal. After all, even Andoine and Rosen had never experienced what went on during that era. Yet, they managed to kill the legendary figures from that era.

    However, after everything ended, Lin Li did not sigh with the crowd, but instead controlled the Crimson Dragon and flew back to the Alchemy Colossus. Strictly speaking, the three killers of Osric had yet to be eliminatedpletely. Although the Alchemy Colossus had been rendered immobile, there was no lethal damage done to the controller inside.

    Based on his knowledge of the Alchemy Colossuses, Lin Li soon found the location of the core operating room of the Alchemy Colossus. After activating several magic gears, a small door slowly opened on the forehead of the Alchemy Colossus. To be honest, that little door was too small¡ªnot because it was rtively tinypared to the body of the Alchemy Colossus, but rather because it was almost as tiny as a dog hole.

    ¡°Come out, Lord Angno. Otherwise, I won¡¯t mind throwing a few more fireballs in here,¡± Lin Li said while knocking the staff against the small door.

    ¡°How dare you speak to Lord Angno like this? You will regret it!¡± a figure yelled in a sharp voice as it crawled out of the small door.

    Lin Li finally understood why the door was so small. It was because the so-called Lord Angno, who crawled out from inside, actually had a short stature, with a pair of big ears, a pointed long nose, and green skin! Goblins like him could never be found in Anril anymore. Lin Li was probably the only one who could recognize his identity. Not to mention, Goblins had long been annihted in the Dark Age which was ruled by the High Elves.

    It was said that before the High Elves ruled Anril, the Goblins had also created a glorious era. Although they did not have talent in magic or strong bodies, they were living in the period when Alchemy peaked in development. Hence, they seemed to be extremely talented in alchemy. They manipted the powerful Alchemy Colossuses, and could easily kill the powerful prehistoric magical beasts. It was precisely because of their talent in alchemy that they managed to prosper continuously during the peak of the prehistoric magical beasts¡¯ tyranny. In fact, they even almost dominated Anril.

    However, it was unfortunate that the High Elves had also developed by relying on their own advantages. There was inevitably a conflict between the two races, especially since the High Elves were clean freaks who could not tolerate living together with the ugly Goblins. Hence, after several wars, the booming Goblins werepletely wiped out off the maind by the High Elves.

    It was said that Alchemy was created by the Goblins. Of course, the High Elves had never acknowledged that. However, in the northern part of the maind of Anril where the Goblins had lived, which was now the region of Rotterdam, there were plenty of traces of Goblins¡¯ civilization. Meanwhile, in Rotterdam, there was a great development in Alchemy, which seemed to have something to do with the High Elves.

    Seeing a Goblin crawling out of the Alchemy Colossus, Lin Li felt incredibly perplexed and confused about what Osric was doing. Osric had studied Necromagic and had three loyal warriors working under him. One was an assassin, one was a Lich, and thest was a Goblin that was supposed to have been dead. That didn¡¯t seem like something a High Elf would do.

    ¡°Alright, Lord Angno, tell me some information about Osric¡¯s mausoleum. If it¡¯s useful, maybe I can let you go,¡± Lin Li said while picking up the Crimson Dragon as he saw that the Goblin was trying to flee.

    The Goblin struggled at Lin Li while the Crimson Dragon picked it up in its mouth, and yelled, ¡°Let me go, you bastard, I will never betray my master. Don¡¯t think that you can bully me just because you¡¯re taller. If you have what it takes, wait for me to repair the Alchemy Colossus and we¡¯ll see how you die then!¡±

    Lin Li flew directly into the air, and knocked the Goblin on its head with the Helios¡¯ Scepter. He sneered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just crawl out of the Alchemy Colossus? I repeat, answer my questions honestly. Don¡¯t test my patience.¡±

    ¡°You despicable human being. To the elves, there¡¯s no such thing as betrayal. I will never allow you to disturb Master from sleeping!¡± Angno stopped struggling and glowered at Lin Li.

    ¡°Is that so? Do you think that I don¡¯t dare to kill you? Anyway, the Goblins no longer exist and you must have been lonely all these years. I¡¯ll send you back to reunite with them,¡± said Lin Li whose patience was growing thin. The gemstone on his scepter gradually lit up too.

    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± yelled a voice that popped up in Lin Li¡¯s head.

    ¡°Connoris, why did you suddenly show up here? Is it because of this Goblin?¡± Lin Li asked peculiarly. However, the glow on the Helios¡¯ Scepter did not seem to weaken at all.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m doing it for your own good. Don¡¯t underestimate this goblin. This guy followed Osric right from the start, and he¡¯s also the one Osric trusted the most. He knows a lot about Osric, and he¡¯s probably the most likely to know the mysteries in this mausoleum,¡± Connoris advised.

    Lin Li shook his head and still did not extinguish the light on the Helios¡¯ Scepter. ¡°So what? Even if he knows everything, it won¡¯t be of use to me if he doesn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, listen to me. I¡¯m sort of acquainted with this goblin, so just leave it to me to persuade him. If he still doesn¡¯t listen, you can take action. It shouldn¡¯t be toote by then,¡± Connoris said patiently for fear that Lin Li might identally squash the Goblin to death.

    ¡°Why are you so enthusiastic all of a sudden?¡± Lin Li asked Connoris while extinguishing the mana in the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    ¡°Nonsense, have you forgotten what you promised me? If I don¡¯t help you get the Eternal Furnace, how are you going to create a new body for me? I¡¯m not going to let you keep me in this ugly hammer forever!¡± Connoris yelled in displeasure.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hand him to you then. I¡¯ll go see what they are going to go next.¡± Lin Li took Angno out of the Crimson Dragon¡¯s mouth and dropped him onto the ground before putting him away in the Ring of Endless Storm. He then flew towards Andoine and the rest. The Crimson Dragon was sent to fetch the Titan Dragon Spear.

    At this moment, Aldwin had just counted the number of casualties amongst the team of mages who won after Lin Li joined. However, they had already suffered a lot of losses before. After all the battles ended, more than 30 mages died, while more than 60 were injured, making Aldwin feel heartbroken again.

    After picking up the corpses of their peers, the mages began to rest and dress their wounds, while Aldwin, Macklin, Andoine, and Rosen began to discuss the following steps to take. The three greatest guardians had already died, so the next thing to do was to enter Osric¡¯s mausoleum. That was originally not considered an issue, but when discussing, they began to have different opinions.

    Rosen proposed that there probably wouldn¡¯t be other enemies in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, since the tomb-keepers were all dead, and there were also such hints on the map. He felt that there were no longer any traps to hinder the team from advancing; hence, it would be best for them to enter mausoleum immediately.

    However, Aldwin and Andoine were all somewhat cautious. They felt that although the three tomb keepers were dead, Osric definitely would not rely on just the three of them to guard his tomb. Besides, even if there were no enemies, they felt that it would be better for the mages to adjust their mental state before entering the mausoleum to better deal with the magic traps.

    However, when Lin Li came back and listened to the opinions of both parties, he actually disagreed to enter the cemetery immediately, and proposed to continue exploring the surrounding area, which was much to their surprise.

    ¡°Angno and Amatir both came out of the cemetery. Since they are tomb keepers, the cemetery must be the ce where Osric is resting. What else is there to doubt? I think it¡¯s a mindset issue. If you¡¯re scared, you can always back out. No one¡¯s stopping you,¡± Rosen sneered.

    ¡°President Aldwin, what do you think? We lost plenty of mages this time,¡± said Lin Li who ignored Rosen¡¯s sarcastic remark and turned to ask Aldwin for his opinion.

 Chapter 724 - Trap

    <h4>Chapter 724: Trap</h4>

    Aldwin was a little bit dissatisfied with Rosen, and he felt that Lin Li¡¯s idea was also the most appropriate. Anyway, it would only take up a little bit of time to explore the region. Hence, he nodded, and agreed, ¡°I think Felic¡¯s suggestion is much more appropriate. I brought them here precisely because I want to be responsible for their lives. I don¡¯t want them to sacrifice themselves in vain because we¡¯re too eager.¡±

    ¡°Well, I also agree that Osric¡¯s mausoleum is not to be taken lightly, so we¡¯d better be careful.¡± Andoine, too, nodded and supported Lin Li¡¯s decision while refuting Rosen¡¯s. He didn¡¯t want to see more casualties amongst the mages, which was one of the many reasons behind his agreement.

    ¡°You... Felic, the operation this time is led by the Supreme Council. You¡¯re just the President of a small Guild of Magic, can you afford to bear the consequences? Don¡¯t forget who gave you support in building that Guild of Magic of yours. You¡¯ll definitely regret it.¡± Rosen was infuriated to have his suggestion rejected by everyone else. However, after feeling angry, he nced at Andoine again, and an idea popped up in his head.

    In Rosen¡¯s opinion, he hade on this trip with Andoine, partly for obtaining the item in the mausoleum, and also because of thepetition for the arbitrator¡¯s position. If he were to obtain that item, he would undoubtedly receive the greatest credit for this operation and be given the position of the arbitrator.

    At the thought of this, Rosen¡¯s anger began to diminish. He no longer wanted to say anything to Andoine and the rest. Instead, he went directly to the rest of the mages who were resting. After hearing Rosen mention the Supreme Council, credits, and rewards, 20-odd mages immediately stood up and proceeded to the mausoleum together with him.

    Aldwin was infuriated; the mages that he had nurtured with all his efforts were actually poached with a few words by Rosen. Even a well-tempered and mild-mannered person would not be able to stand it. He immediately chased after Rosen and the rest.

    However, Lin Li reached out and stopped Aldwin. ¡°President Aldwin, you can¡¯t make those who are meant to leave stay behind. Those who have stayed are the ones you should cherish most.¡±

    Aldwin froze for a moment and nced at the 160-something mages who stayed behind. In fact, as those people left, the remaining ones formed aplete team.

    ¡°Felic, you said that there¡¯s something wrong with the mausoleum. What do you think is wrong?¡± Andoine asked while patting Aldwin on his back and turning behind to look at Lin Li.

    Lin Li shook his head and smiled, but he did not exin much. Instead, he said, ¡°Mage Aldwin, summon the mages. I think we should evacuate for a while.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made everyone a little puzzled. At this time, Rosen had already entered the gate with the mages who followed him. As Rosen stepped foot inside, the entire ground suddenly copsed like a river, which caused all of the hidden magic traps to erupt almost immediately, forming a huge magic vortex. All of the magic gears seemed to have also been stimted at the same time. Various magic arrows and flying equipment seemed to have blocked and sealed the entire space.

    Everything was just a matter of moments. Before the 20 or so mages that Rosen led could even react, they were overwhelmed by the many magic traps and magic gears. In fact, they could not even scream. Rosen was the only one in the Legendary-realm, and he desperately retreated, barely making it out of the copsed cemetery.

    The entire cemetery fell and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving only a huge bottomless abyss, in which plenty of Abyssal Demons were yelling and roaring. Massive aura of evil dashed up to the sky; without a doubt, the mausoleum was a huge trap that led to the deep Abyss. The misceneous Evilness[1] showed that even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm would not escape doom after falling down.

    Rosen ended up leaving the mages to their death after walking into the trap, and managed to jump out at the critical juncture because of his own abilities. Although he looked rather pathetic, he was at least in a much better state than the mages.

    ¡°You knew this since a long time ago, haven¡¯t you?! You knew it!!¡± Rosen leaped towards Lin Li like a madman, but he was stopped by Andoine and Aldwin.

    ¡°Master Rosen, please be mindful of your identity. I said that I suspected that there was problem there, so I suggested that we explored the surroundings first, and I also got the consent of Master Andoine and Master Aldwin. You were the one who chose a different path, so don¡¯t me the incident on others. There¡¯s a limit to what I can tolerate. Even if you¡¯re an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, you have no right to frame me like this,¡± Lin Li said calmly while staring at the infuriated Rosen.

    Rosen looked around, knowing that at least for now, it would be impossible for him to find any supporters. He could only cock his head to the side and walk away from Lin Li after glowering at him. He still believed that all of this was plotted by Lin Li, and everything should be med on him too. However, he also knew that the task given by the Supreme Council had yet to bepleted, and everything could only be settled after they left this ce. As the authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, he would have plenty of chances to teach Lin Li a lesson.

    The team left the terrifying trap, but no one knew what to do next. Osric was a madman who actually used the Endless Abyss to design traps. God knew if they could escape and leave in one piece if they were to encounter another one.

    However, at this moment, Connoris¡¯s voice sounded in Lin Li¡¯s head again. ¡°The Goblin has been persuaded by me and promised to take you to the ce where Osric is resting. However, he has a request.¡±

    Lin Li immediately asked, ¡°What is it? Surely he can¡¯t be asking me to find him a female Goblin?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t mention anything about a female Goblin, but he needs you to promise that you¡¯ll help him retrieve a journal from Osric¡¯s resting ce.¡± Connoris apparently didn¡¯t think that it was an excessive request. Anyway, things like journals wouldn¡¯t vanish after being looked at. Even for the most precious journals, what was valuable was the content written in it, and not the paper.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Lin Li asked the Goblin.

    The Goblin Angno shook his head, and said, ¡°I will tell you when we get there. Also, can you take out the Alchemy Colossus? It¡¯ll be useful for me.¡±

    Angelo had been a follower of Osric for a long time. What journal did he need from Osric? Lin Li took out the Alchemy Colossus from the Ring of Endless Storm while thinking about the journal that Angno could possibly be after and had been waiting for until now. Perhaps Osric had taken the journal from the Immortal King¡¯sboratory in the Sky Castle.

    After the Alchemy Colossus was taken out, Angno crawled on its body and quickly removed a few parts, filled with hope as he skillfully tinkered on the ground for a while. Soon, he actually assembled a half-armored mode of transport.

    Angno climbed over the machine, and controlled it to make it move a few steps. He then walked towards Lin Li, and said, ¡°Alright, you can put the big guy away, and then we can start.¡±

    Lin Li put away the Alchemy Colossus and briefly introduced Angno to Andoine and the rest without mentioning the deal he had made with Angno regarding the journal. He simply said that Angno had agreed to take them to the ce where Osric was resting.

    ¡°He¡¯s Osric¡¯s subordinate, why should we believe him? Who knows if he will lead us into a trap?¡± Rosen asked apprehensively, partly because he didn¡¯t want to see Lin Li iming credit, and partly because he had been scared by the trap just now.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you don¡¯t have to follow us. Lord Angno didn¡¯t beg you to follow.¡± Angno¡¯s sharp voice was not too pleasing to the ears, but no one was bothered by it, because he was mocking Rosen.

    Under the lead of Angno, the team walked in the other direction, and quickly passed the ce where Eminos was killed before walking past the tombs of the High Elves.

    Gradually, the crowd found that they had entered a strange area. It seemed that it was no different from the original cemetery, but the tombs were much more gorgeous and delicate, and the arrangement of the tombs was also slightly different from the previous one.

    ¡°The ones buried here are the elite warriors from the Magic Legion. Although they have apanied the Highlord to sleep, none of you would have had a good time even if you had made it here without my guidance,¡¯¡± said the petite Goblin Angno who sat in the machine smugly.

    Lin Li carefully looked at the tombs around him and paid attention to the arrangement of the tombs. With uncertainty, he said, ¡°Could it be the Undead Resurrection Array?¡±

    Based on his sharp senses and instincts, Lin Li discovered that although the tombs looked luxurious, some of them differed in details, and these unusual tombs seemed to be distributed in the graveyard ording to a certain pattern. Hence, it was very likely that the tombs were acting as magic nodes, but Lin Li had no idea what Alchemy Array it was. He guessed that it might be a ce for the creation of the Undead creatures.

    However, Angno shook his disproportionate head and ears before smugly saying, ¡°It¡¯s not the Undead Resurrection Array. That thing is too low-level. You know, what are buried here are the elite warriors of the Magic Legion who wouldn¡¯t be Undead creatures. This Array is called the Eternal Spirit, and will cause the sleeping warriors to be transformed into powerful spirits once activated. They would not only inherit the memory and fighting instincts from their lifetime, but also their strength. There will also be a great improvement.¡±

    ¡°Spirit?¡± Lin Li was no stranger to this name. When he was in the Haiga Mountain Range, he also used his Requiem Array to subdue the Titan Spirit. However, he wondered what the rtionship between the Titan Spirit and Eternal Spirit was. Could the High Elves turn into spirits too?

    ¡°Yes, it is the spirit. You seem to know the origin of the spirits. The Eternal Spirit Array is said to have been created by the Immortal King ording to the formation of the Titan Spirit.¡± Angno raised his head high as if he were the one who¡¯d created the Eternal Spirit Array.

    ¡°Since there are so many benefits of being a spirit, why didn¡¯t Osric directly convert himself into one? Why does he have to wait for others to activate the Alchemy Array?¡± Rosen questioned while feeling indignant because the journey seemed to have been a little too smooth. He wondered if Felic was up to any tricks again.

    ¡°Ignorant human, seems like the trap in the Abyss hasn¡¯t taught you anything. Is the wisdom of the Highlord up to you to judge? Use your brain. Or maybe you don¡¯t have one.¡± Angno did not care about the Supreme Council at all. After hearing Rosen¡¯s question, he immediately chided him mercilessly.

    It was said Titans could turn into spirits after they died because their souls would be baptized countless times and forged into solid and tough entities. However, although the High Elves were excellent, they had plenty of ws, and could not bepared to the Titans. With the strength of the soul of the High Elves, they would only be sessfully converted into spirits with the aid of the Alchemy Array.

    Although that was notmon sense, one would basically figure out the problems as long as they had a little knowledge and gave it some thought. However, he could only listen to Angno¡¯s lecture.

    After recklessly reprimanding Rosen, Angno turned his head to look at Lin Li with a sullen expression, and immediately said, ¡°Why? Have you seen anything?¡±

    Lin Li continued to walk along with Angno while carefully observing the ground and the tombs. He suddenly frowned slightly, and said, ¡°There seems to be no magic circuit for the Eternal Spirit Array here.¡±

    Although Li Lin could be said to be very unfamiliar with the Eternal Spirit Alchemy Array created by the Immortal King, he knew that magic circuits were required for powering Alchemy Arrays, mageweaths, and magic gears.

    [1] The aura from the previous sentence.

 Chapter 725 - A Guide to Fulfilling Oneéˆ¥æªš Duty

    <h4>Chapter 725: A Guide to Fulfilling One¡¯s Duty</h4>

    Even if there were no magic facilities, the magic circuit still existed. Lin Li found some traces of the magic circuit hidden underground. However, to his surprise, the traces of the hidden magic circuits seemed to have nothing to do with the magic nodes of the magic circuit of the Eternal Spirit Alchemy Array.

    ¡°Look closely at the tombs that are the magic nodes. What¡¯s so special about the stones on top of them?¡± Angno was very patient with Lin Li as if he hadpletely forgotten that Lin Li was the one who beat him.

    After being reminded by Angno, Lin Li focused his attention on the top of the tombs, and found that the magical gemstones used in the tombs that were magic nodes were the same as the surrounding ones. However, the cutting method was very strange as it was neither round nor luxurious. Instead, it seemed to have only a few faces.

    ¡°Is it a refraction?¡± Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly glistened while looking at the distribution of the magic nodes, and imaginary lines that connected the nodes gradually emerged. Although it was only the tip of the iceberg, he could link it to the Alchemy Array. When the magically condensed light criss-crossed in midair and shrouded the Alchemy Array, it created a spectacr view.

    It was no longer just alchemy, but abination of alchemy and much other knowledge. For example, the cutting of the gemstone seemed to be rather simple, but Lin Li could guarantee that the gemstone was definitely engraved with Guru-level magical talismans. Otherwise, it would definitely not be able to withstand thepression and condensation of mana, let alone cause it to refract. There was also the support of structures, measurements, calctions, magic principles, etc., which allowed the levitating Alchemy Array to be created.

    ¡°Indeed, it is refraction. Once this Alchemy Array has been activated, the mana of the mana source will bepressed and released. Through the refractions of the gemstones, an Alchemy Array will be formed. There were two types of talismans engraved, one was to maintain thepression and condensation, while the other was to reduce the damage done to the gemstone. It would also refract the Alchemy symbol at the corresponding position...¡± Angno was extremely excited as he seemed to have found a confidante whom he could tell all the mysteries of the Eternal Spirit to.

    Lin Li not only listened, but also raised several questions from time to time, extending the topic and arousing the interest of Angno who was eager and excited to exin. In addition to the Eternal Spirit Alchemy Array, they also talked about the magic traps and various magic gears that they walked past.

    ¡°This is a void trap. Through the power of the Alchemy Array, a crack in time and space is formed, and once the magic trap is triggered, the spacetme rift will immediately expand, swallowing up the surrounding creatures and sucking them into the chaos of time and space. That will cause them to never find their way back. Note that these are the switches that trigger the trap. Be careful and follow me closely.¡± Angno told Lin Li and the rest to walk through the traps ording to his instructions.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually possible to open a space crack? If the space is cracked, will the space crack erupt or will it dissipate and vanish?¡± Andoine, who followed Lin Li carefully, asked the Goblin in front of him after seeing that there seemed to be no danger around him.

    ¡°It will dissipate, but it can¡¯t be cracked. If it was just this one trap, there would naturally be no problem. However, there is a bnce of power between the various magic traps here. If the bnce chain is destroyed, it will trigger both the magic traps on the top and the Eternal Spirit Array. Believe me, those warriors of the Magic Legion already have strong powers. If they are transformed into spirits, it may not be impossible to kill powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm for them.¡± Although Angno gave Andoine and Aldwin rtively low-level questions, he would also borate on the answers patiently.

    After finally passing through the area of the Void Trap, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but Angno told everyone with a serious expression that this was just the beginning. As the team progressed, Angno constantly introduced magic traps with amazing power, and no two were the same. The dark and quiet ce was simply an exhibition of magic gears and magic traps.

    However, the good thing was that with the exception of a few magic traps and magic gears, most of them could be eliminated. Otherwise, they would constantly be in fear, and even if Angno was leading the way, it would be hard to guarantee that no one made a mistake. Lin Li had also learned a lot from the conversation with Angno. He had no choice but to admit that Angno¡¯s brain was really full of knowledge.

    However, just when everyone thought everything was going well, there was a sudden spookiness in the atmosphere that engulfed them without warning as if the entire space was filled with danger.

    ¡°Angno, where have you brought us?¡± Rosen asked in anger. He had not spoken much along the way. It was a shame for him to have been reprimanded by a Goblin in front of everyone since he was an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council. If it weren¡¯t for obtaining what the Supreme Council needed, he would have already taught the damned Goblin a lesson.

    Now, the peculiar atmosphere around them was enough to exin everything. Rosen believed that even his ownpetitor Andoine had nothing to say. Hence, he humphed angrily and dashed towards Lin Li and Angno.

    However, Lin Li extended the Helios¡¯ Scepter and stopped Rosen from reaching Angno. At the same time, he stared at Angno, and asked, ¡°The Disillusionment Mageweath array?¡±

    ¡°Huh, how do you know that? This is the Immortal King... yes, it is the Disillusionment Mageweath Array.¡± Angno somehow swallowed his words and nodded in recognition of Lin Li¡¯s statement.

    ¡°Felic, you really colluded with this Goblin. I doubt he¡¯d take you to Osric¡¯s mausoleum so easily!¡± barked Rosen who was stopped by Lin Li. However, he was not actually angry, and was in fact pleased because it seemed to be chance get rid of Lin Li, and at the same time restore his own image while giving hispetitor Andoine a huge blow.

    However, Lin Li ignored Rosen and did not make any exnation for his usation. Instead, he said to Andoine and the rest, ¡°This is a Disillusionment Mageweath Array. You just have to remember, everything is an illusion. When you feel anything, don¡¯t botherunching any attacks, don¡¯t make any defenses, just keep running forward.¡±

    ¡°Hey, where did you get the information about Disillusionment Mageweath Array?¡± Angno apparently had no objection to Lin Li¡¯s im, but he was concerned about how had Lin Li found out.

    Lin Li only smiled after hearing Angno¡¯s question; he did not answer. He could never tell Angno that he saw it in another world. Moreover, in the Endless World, Lin Li had also experienced the power of the Disillusionment Mageweath Array. Fortunately, the Endless World was only a game.

    For those who did not know how to deal with it, the power of the Disillusionment Mageweath Array would definitely be terrifying, and even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm would be defeated by it. However, knowing the way to deal with it was like finding out the secret behind magic tricks. Everything would seem ridiculously simple, just like Lin Li¡¯s Endless Labyrinth which would seem insolvable to those who didn¡¯t understand it, yet all it took for Lin Li to get out was a few simple steps.

    Lin Li did not answer Angno, nor did he bother about Rosen. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Andoine and Aldwin, waiting for them to make a choice. He also knew that it was not easy for Andoine to make a choice. It seemed to be almost the same as putting his life in the hands of others.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense, don¡¯t you see that this is a trap full of loopholes!?¡± eximed Rosen who had lit up his staff. If it weren¡¯t for Andoine and Aldwin, he would have long umted mana and bombarded them.

    However, at this moment, the surroundings suddenly lit up in front of everyone. The countless patterns began to shine, and the ce was bright as day. Massive magical waves were constantly surging in from all directions, stimting them.

    ¡°Remember what I said,¡± Lin Li emphasized, not waiting for Andoine and the rest to respond. He turned around and ran forward quickly, while the Goblin Angno maneuvered the alchemy machine to flee.

    Andoine, Aldwin, and the mages had also expressed their choice through their actions. They followed Lin Li, and no one dared to use any magical shields.

    The situation in front of him made Rosen feel rather troubled, and he could not decide between insisting that it was a trap and believing Lin Li like everyone else did. However, Rosen decided to follow the crowd.

    After taking a few steps, Rosen saw countless magic traps and magic gears erupt around him almost at the same time, and the entire ground began to shake violently. The zing mes, the icy cold air, and thunderbolts began to overwhelm them.

    In the sky, a ray of magically condensed light shuttled back and forth, instantly forming a huge Alchemy Array hovering in the air. The tombs shrouded by the Alchemy Array split open one after another, and translucent figures shrouded in light came out of the cracked tombs while giving out powerful magical waves that were above the Legendary-level. They were undoubtedly the warriors of the Magic Legion that had been transformed into Spirits. After they walked out of the tomb, they charged towards the crowd without hesitation.

    Lin Li and Angno stopped. There was an incredibly luxurious, extremely gorgeous pce-like building ahead; there seemed to be a deeper opening where stairs could be seen.

    Lin Li looked back and saw that Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest were rushing towards him as if something was chasing them. They looked rather amusing, but Lin Li knew that the space behind was definitely full of offensive spells.

    Soon, Andoine stopped beside Lin Li and looked around in disbelief. Aldwin followed, looking back, and was surprised when he saw the mages running in the silent graveyard. The mages also ran out of the range of the Disillusionment Mageweath Array one after another, appearing rather horrified.

    Rosen nced at Lin Li with aplicated expression. Although he saw the pce whose door was left wide ajar, he did not act on his own impulse, and instead waited quietly like everyone. Although he was unwilling to admit it, he knew in his heart that the sess of this operation wasrgely dependent on Lin Li and the damned Goblin.

    Just when everyone thought that the Disillusionment Mageweath Array was nothing more than what they had seen, the mages at the back suddenly stopped. They seemed to have forgotten Lin Li¡¯s warnings, and quickly put up their magical shields with frightened faces. At the moment that their magical shield was held up, the robes of the mages were stained with blood, and they fell onto the ground almost at the same time. They even seemed to have stopped breathing.

    ¡°This is the Disillusionment Mageweath Array. Although everything is an illusion, it will be true if you think it is true. The only way is to run out of it. A small amount of mana would make you fall to it, and this applies even to Sanctuary-realm powerhouses.¡±

    It seemed to be very simple, but after they personally experienced it, they all knew how horrifying it was. They continuously told themselves that everything was an illusion, and that they would be able to stay calm. When they were faced with a dagger, though, they would still blink despite knowing that it wouldn¡¯t hurt them.

 Chapter 726 - Perils Lurking In All Corners

    <h4>Chapter 726: Perils Lurking In All Corners</h4>

    The deadly attacks in the illusions that they had seen were so extremely realistic in terms of aura and magical waves that they could not tell the truth from illusion at all. Even if they had been told that everything was just an illusion, it was hard for them to ignore it. Once they tried to dodge or defend, it would mean that they had admitted that the illusions were real. The illusory deadly attacks would then be able to take effect on their bodies. That had clearly happened to thest few mages who were falling behind.

    Looking at the corpses on the ground and recalling the horrifying illusions that they had just experienced, everyone was thankful that they had ovee it, but still could not help but feel anxious.

    ¡°Is this the entrance of Osric¡¯s mausoleum?¡± Andoine asked as he pointed at the small pce-like building. At the same time, it also shocked the mages who were in a daze.

    Angno nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, this is the entrance. Highlord has been resting here for more than 1000 years. However, I must remind you that I can¡¯t help you much after we enter, because just like you guys I don¡¯t know much about the things inside.¡±

    Along the way, there were countless powerful traps. Without the guidance of Angno, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to break through them. Since the area outside the tomb was already so perilous, how could Osric really rest without any protection? Hence, Andoine, Rosen, Aldwin, and the rest had sullen expressions on their faces after hearing Angno¡¯s words.

    However, it was obviously impossible to retreat. Even without Angno, they still had to go on with the exploration. When formting the exploration n, no one thought that Angno would be joining them anyway; hence, it was already fortunate for them to have gotten there with the help of Angno.

    After a short break, the team entered the luxuriously decorated pce. There were very few ornaments in the pce, and only arge square entrance on the ground. The stairs were also extending towards the depths, and were concealed in a corner in the passageway. Although it was an underground passage, it was not dark¡ªlong magicmps that exuded a faint light illuminated the entire passageway.

    Lin Li and Angno walked in front, while Andoine and Rosen followed closely behind. On the other hand, Aldwin and Macklin led the mages in the back. They carefully made their way down the steps paved with magical gemstones and slowly walked towards the depths of the passage.

    Although Angno had said that he couldn¡¯t provide more help once they entered, he was much more familiar with Osric¡¯s habits than others, and Lin Li also had extremelyprehensive knowledge of the magic gears in there. Hence, the traps did not cause too much trouble to the team.

    After stepping on the stairs and making their way downwards for a long time, they began to lose track of the distance, but they were sure that they had definitely covered more than 1000 meters. After finally making a turn at the corner, they were greeted with the sight of an exceptionally bright exit. Everyone clearly felt that the air in the passage was getting hotter as they approached the exit.

    The team walked out of the passage and stood on arge tform outside the exit. All of a sudden, their field of vision broadened, and it was as if they were in a whole different world.

    Looking down, they realized that there was a long stream of golden yellow magma flowing continuously about 100 meters below them; the smell of sulfur filled the entire underground space. There was a huge and magnificent pce suspended in midair above the long river of magma. Itbined all kinds of precious and brilliant materials together, having an elegant and luxurious vibe that left them all in awe.

    To Lin Li, the scene in front seemed extremely familiar. It seemed to be just like what he saw when he entered the Gates of Ashes, except this pce was muchrger than the Eternal Furnace he had seen previously.

    ¡°That¡¯s where Osric is resting. Apart from himself, no one else knows what¡¯s in there, but I can be certain that the dangers there are definitely no less than in the area outside,¡± Angno said to Lin Li and the rest who were pointing at the floating pce.

    ¡°How is it, Angno? Do you want me to take you there?¡± Lin Li had already exhibited his flying skills and flown away from the tform. Obviously, he intended to proceed to the pce.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Lord Angno. Such a short distance is peanuts!¡± Angno eximed while pulling the joystick of the alchemy machine with his slender arm. The legs of the alchemy machine immediately lit up theplicated Alchemy Array and slowly flew upwards.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything anymore, and instead turned around to look at Andoine and the rest. All of a sudden, he dodged, and it was as if a sharp arrow had shot the pce in the distance, or rather the Eternal Furnace.

    Honestly, when Lin Li had got the Eternal Furnace, he was extremely shocked, but he was also full of disdain when he heard that Osric was trying to replicate the Sky Castle. It was because the Eternal Furnace was far inferior to the Sky Castle.

    However, now that Lin Li was in front of the gate of the pce, although he had yet to see the interior design and arrangement, he felt that the Eternal Furnace was really very simr to the Sky Castle. Compared to the Eternal Furnace that Lin Li had, the pce was much bigger, and the facilities were also more perfect in all aspects. That was the true masterpiece of Osric.

    Soon, Andoine and the rest of the mages who were using the Levitation Spell alsonded safely in front of the pce. Everyone looked at everything in front of them with excitement they could not hide in their eyes. Regardless of what kind of deadly perils there were in the pce, the fact that they were standing there meant that they were already close to Osric¡¯s treasure. Hence, it was difficult for anyone to keep calm in this time.

    Everyone knew that such a magnificent pce could not be built just with many precious materials. The various knowledge involved in it might have exceeded the peak of what mortals could grasp. Regardless of what heinous things the Highlord Osric had one in the Dark Age, everyone could not help but be in awe and admiration of the majestic pce.

    Suppressing the shock and terror within them, everyone stepped into the pce, only to be bedazzled by the splendid decorations inside. Their definition of magnificence and luxury had been improved countless times. The beautiful and extravagant style of the High Elves was vividly reflected in this pce. Even the legendary luxurious pce that the High Elven Queen had lived in was probably inferior to this.

    The walls of both sides of the pce were covered withrge and exquisite murals. Apart from the intricacy and beauty of murals, the precious materials used were also extremely amazing and eye-catching. The outlines made using precious materials, while the gilded clothing, the essories, and the magical weapons were all iid with genuine, rare magical gemstones.

    Red fiery Infernal Magic Iron was shining brilliantly together with Rainbow adamantine and pure magical crystals that did not have a single trace of impurities. The many precious materials were extremely rare, yet they were casually used in the construction of the pce as ordinary building materials. It was as if they were not precious at all.

    Everyone could see the gilded and fancy interior of the magnificent pce which seemed spacious and calm. However, no one knew what fatal perils were hidden amidst the peace. Even though everything in the pce, including the tiles on the ground, was particrly tempting to them, they did not dare to let their guard down, because they did not forget that Osric was the owner of this territory. Osric was no phnthropist, and wouldn¡¯t disy his wealth for adding to their collection.

    The perils awaiting in this pce were unknown. Lin Li could only rely on his rich knowledge to discover some things that the rest did not know about through some clues he found. Although he couldn¡¯t see everything, he was certain that they were not worrying for nothing.

    The beautifully carved murals iid with magnificent gemstones might be beautiful pieces of art in the eyes of others, but in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, they were very likely to be a powerful Alchemy Array if some lines were erased. The dazzling decorations in the pce, such as the sculptures and the oilmps, seemed to have no other striking quality apart from their exquisiteness, yet Lin Li felt that they were more likely to be powerful magical weapons meant for guarding the pce.

    The designs reminded Lin Li of the Psychic Array in the Sky Castle, which wasbined and fused together with the Conquering Mageweath. Although he could vaguely see some ingenious designs through this brief observation, he believed that there were more that he had yet to see. Even Lin Li who had experienced the Sky Castle before could not help but admire the intelligent design.

    Apart from its luxurious decor, the pce seemed to be extremely ordinary. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, it appeared akin to the mouth of a huge beast which devoured everything. Every corner in the pce was full of fatal perils. The team of less than 200 people was just like a ruptured boat that would be swept and capsized by a small wave here.

 Chapter 727 - Man of Honor

    <h4>Chapter 727: Man of Honor</h4>

    ¡°Felic, did you manage to see anything?¡± Andoine asked Lin Li worriedly. Now, this trust for Lin Li had risen to a new level. His knowledge in pharmaceutics had surpassed that of the Pharmacist Guild, his skills in forging had overpowered the Adventurers Guild, and he had disyed plenty of understanding of magic gears. Andoine did not know what this student of his could not achieve.

    Lin Li made eye contact with Angno before he nced back. ¡°It seems to be peaceful in here, but there are traps everywhere. A little bit of carelessness would bury us here.¡±

    The crowd was not surprised by Lin Li¡¯s words. Although they did not understand the designs within the pce, they could sense the need to take precautions. Even Rosen, who always liked to target Lin Li, only moved his lips and said nothing.

    Lin Li and Angno were considered to have the most understanding of magic gears and magic traps. Hence, the two of them continued to walk in front of the team. They were in charge of detecting the traps that were hidden in the midst of all the luxurious furnishings. Although Lin Li had a veryprehensive knowledge, and Angno had deep understanding about Osric, neither of them dared to take the matter lightly.

    It was definitely not an exaggeration to say that the team was moving slower than a snail. Lin Li and Angno took a day to ovee a dozen magic traps, and the team had only advanced a dozen meters. Although nothing happened across those dozen meters, everyone took each step with trepidation. It was as though they were wandering between life and death at every moment.

    Each time Lin Li and Angno discovered a magic trap, everyone in the team had their heart raised to their throat. No one dared to take a deep breath for fear that they would affect Lin Li¡¯s and Angno¡¯s focus when solving the magic trap. They could guess that the traps left behind by Osric were definitely not any low-level magic arrow traps. If they were activated, no one in the team would be able to escape doom.

    Aspared to the rest of the people in the team, Lin Li and Angno showed no signs of nervousness as they tried to solve each of the traps. They had seemingly light-hearted discussions around each of the traps. Of course, being light-hearted did not mean that they were belittling the lethality of the traps. Their calmness helped them to look at the problems more holistically. Lin Li absolutely did not wish to bury his life here bymitting a mistake at a critical moment.

    ¡°This Quick-Freeze Trap is a creation of mine. This trap would be able to freeze anyone below the Legendary-level when activated. Since Osric used the trap here, I bet he did not expect that I woulde here one day,¡± Angnomented proudly to Lin Li upon recognizing the trap.

    It was indeed an honor to see that Highlord Osric had used a trap he created in the Eternal Furnace. Yet, Lin Li was not amused by his discovery. ¡°Is that so? I can roughly tell the principles behind this trap, but if you take a closer look, you will find something extra in there,¡± he replied as he pursed his lips disapprovingly while pointing to some magic circuits within the trap.

    ¡°What?¡± Angno eximed after taking a closer look at the direction of Lin Li¡¯s finger. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Mana Igniting Curse? That fe actually cast it a on a trap I created? What a joke! Doesn¡¯t the Mana Igniting Curse get rid of the mana in the magic trap? He is such a muddlehead!¡±

    ¡°If you took a closer look, you would see that this magic rune is here to enhance the curse on its victim. I bet even unlucky Legendary powerhouses would suffer from that,¡± replied Lin Li. Although he was a mage, curses were not foreign to Lin Li. The effect of the Mana Igniting Curse was to instantaneously inhibit defensive spells such as elemental shields. The thing that surprised Lin Li was not the curse, but the integration of the Mana Igniting Curse and the Quick-Freeze Trap.

    The Quick-Freeze Trap was considered a Master-level trap. The integration with the Mana Igniting Curse brought the power of the trap to the peak of the Master-level. A Legendary powerhouse would be killed by such a trap if he was careless. He noticed Osric¡¯s interest in integrating multiple things together; there was thebination of the Psychic Array and the Conquering Mageweath, as well as the hiding of powerful weapons within the beautiful decorations.

    The traps Lin Li had solved previously were all singr traps, or traps that werebined with rted items. It was his first time seeing apound magic trap where there was abination of two of such effects. Lin Li had an ominous feeling that the traps would be getting crazier from this point onwards.

    Lin Li could only persuade himself to focus on the present hurdle before he¡¯d think about what was toe. Lin Li quickly thought about the ways to deactivate the trap. He knew thatpound magic traps were not simply abination of two traps. There were many inextricable rtions between the magic circuits, and the deactivating of one circuit might lead to the activation of another.

    After careful observation, Lin Li nced at Angno who was standing beside him. His cold gaze made that Goblin shudder. He spoke, ¡°Angno, this trap would require you make a sacrifice.¡±

    After some bargaining, Lin Li promised to repay Angno with a level-15 magic traps. Angno proceeded to manipte the alchemy machine and walked towards one of the triggers of the trap.

    Lin Li signaled to Angno when he was ready. Angno did not dare to dy at all. He triggered the magic trap and instantly released the Mana Igniting Curse. The entire alchemy machine was quickly covered by a faint red mist, and it started to tremble. Angno was seated in the machine, screaming agonizingly as though he was in great suffering.

    At the same time, Lin Li cast a phantom the very moment the Quick-Freeze Trap lit up. His figure started to shift as though he was teleporting. Streaks of bright magic circuits became dim immediately. In less than a second¡¯s time, Lin Li¡¯s figure reappeared from the phantom, symbolizing the sessful deactivating of apound magic trap. It was a blessing to have Angno¡¯s alchemy machine. It withstood the erosion of the Mana Igniting Curse and helped Lin Li save on the need to create potions to deal with the curse.

    ¡°Hey, you told me it wouldn¡¯t hurt. You have to repay me with at least one Legendary magical crystal for my roasted buttocks.¡± Angno hopped onto the ground and rubbed his buttocks as he spun around the alchemy machine.

    ¡°I am a man of honor. I will never change what I promised. Here, this is the level-15 magical crystal we agreed on,¡± replied Lin Li as he threw a magical crystal towards Angno.

    Angno caught the magical crystal. ¡°Do not ever expect me to help you in the future!¡± he cried unhappily as he reced the mana source of the alchemy machine.

    ¡°Then, does that mean that I do not have to return you that diary?¡± Lin Li asked dismissively as he advanced forward. He found another magic trap.

    ¡°Humans are definitely the most shameless creatures in the world,¡± snapped Angno disdainfully as he controlled the alchemy machine and got to Lin Li¡¯s side.

    It was as Lin Li had expected. Compound magic traps had be amon sight for the rest of their journey. Osric had maximized the potential of the fusion of the integrative technique. At the same time, thoseplicated magic circuits grew increasingly discrete and unfathomable.

    The progress of the team slowed down tremendously again. Angno would not be the only one helping Lin Li every time he had to deactivate a trap. There would also be tasks assigned to Andoine and Rosen, as well as Aldwin and his team of mages.

    Everybody trod on the short journey fearfully. It was the most terrifying mission they had ever embarked on. If they could, they would rather confront a wyrm than to suffer from the invisible pressure here.

    However, to Lin Li, it was a thrilling mission that brought benefits along the way. He acquired new insights with the deactivation of everypound magic trap. This not only included the knowledge on the construction of magic traps and magic gears, but also involved the direct use of spells, curses, and various nomological power. These were all the product of Osric¡¯s wisdom, and they had all been exposed with the help of Lin Li¡¯s meticulous effort.

    Angno continued to nag while Lin Li worked on the traps. He talked about the origin of each of the magic traps and how he yed a part in it. If not for his bit of usefulness for the traps, Lin Li would have bashed him up.

    The team inched closer towards the core of the pce as time passed. They were like droplets breaking through a rock. Although they only covered a dozen meters every day, they managed to get closer and closer to the core of the pce.

    When they got there, Lin Li discovered that the scene at core of the pce looked increasingly simr to that of the Eternal Furnace. The main paths and facilities were identical, as though it was another Eternal Furnace.

    Yet, this discovery did not convince Lin Li to treat the matter less seriously. After all, Osric had emptied the Eternal Furnace. Lin Li had not faced any dangers when he entered the Eternal Furnace then, but he knew it wouldn¡¯t be the same here. This ce had to be Osric¡¯s finished work. Hence, all the dangers he had not encountered at the Eternal Furnace had to be here.

    Of course, Lin Li was not least bit disappointed. He knew that his prior knowledge of this ce would definitely give him an advantage over the others. Although Rosen had toned down quite a bit recently, Lin Li did not expect that this wouldst long. He could already foresee a sh between himself and Rosen in time toe.

    However, Lin Li did not have to worry about Rosen just yet. The wisdom of the Highlord was the main problem. Just when Lin Li thought that he had deactivated another magic trap, there was a sudden burst of magical wave. Right after, the 16 statues around them started to walk down from their stone tforms.

    It was lucky that precautions had been taken when they were deactivating the magic traps. When the 16 statues start to move towards the crowd majestically, no one was taken aback. They took instructions from Aldwin and prepared to battle the statues with their Crescent Staffs that were glistening with rays of magic.

    The 16 statues got up close to the team in a few steps. Each of the spears and swords in their hands had a halo of Combat Energy. They were filled with thirst for blood as they attacked Lin Li¡¯s team. Despite using heavy-duty weapons and gigantic size, their actions were incredibly agile. Their teamwork wasparable to that of the team of mages.

    ¡°I thought you said you had deactivated the magic traps? What are these statues?¡± Rosen could not help but snap at Lin Li usingly.

    Lin Li was indifferent to Rosen¡¯s criticism. He was toozy to give him a response. Lin Li stepped aside to show hisck of interest in participating in the battle. Although each of the 16 statues had the ability close to the Legendary-level, they were still at a great disadvantage in the confrontation with the team of mages. Lin Li knew that they posed no threat to the team.

    Unlike him, Angno who had been helping with the deactivation of magic traps became agitated by Rosen¡¯s criticism.

    ¡°If Osric¡¯s traps are so easy to deactivate, why aren¡¯t you helping? Do not join this team if you have the ability to do it yourself! You have no right to nag in front of the almighty Angno!¡± he retorted in a shrill voice.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The heavy swords of the statues struck the magic shields. They created ripples of magical waves and cast numerous spells that engulfed them instantaneously. When the rays of magic dispersed, there were only piles of debris left on the ground.

    None of the mages had expected such a result. They had expected the enemy within the pce to be more powerful than what they¡¯d dealt with outside. But, it seemed that these statues were lousier than the silver knights they had met previously. No matter how great of an impact their attack could bring, their ability in defending against magic spells was pathetic.

 Chapter 728 - Fire Demon

    <h4>Chapter 728: Fire Demon</h4>

    Of course, therge team could have been left with a few men if not for Angno¡¯s help. Then, these statues would have been a real threat for them.

    The 16 statues were swallowed by the magic storm instantly, and they left behind a bunch of debris. This had to be the most rxing battle the mages had from the time they entered the mausoleum.

    Yet, Lin Li who had not been participating in any battle up till now suddenly felt a chill up his spine. A shadow emerged from the darkness and waved a dagger at his throat as he deployed an Elemental Shield.

    Lin Li had found 20 alchemy shadow assassin puppets in Immortal King¡¯sboratory, and he discovered how to control them, yet he still could not understand why Osric had not brought the shadow assassins away when he emptied theboratory. Now, Lin Li¡¯s query was resolved. It was obvious that the shadow assassins here had greater power.

    There was not only one shadow assassin. Just when the others were feeling relieved after they had defeated all the statues, shadows sprung out from different corners of the pce and struck at them. The ability of these shadow assassins wasparable to that of the first two shadow assassins Lin Li had met at Immortal King¡¯sboratory. They were definitely in the Legendary-level.

    Lin Li had used the Soul-devouring Domain¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword to deal with the two shadow assassins then. But now, he did not intend to do the same. He knew that the ability of his current team was far better than before. He had the confidence that the team had the ability to ovee more than 20 shadow assassins.

    Although the team of mages had suffered significantly, it was a fact that the remaining mages had improved tremendously. Their sense of camaraderie was an impregnable fortress that turned the sneak attack into a confrontation. As shadow assassins were not created to confront their enemies directly, they would be at a disadvantage when they shed with the team of mages.

    Streaks of ck lightning swirled around the team of mages to scan for their weaknesses, yet the team of mages let out a magic storm every time an assassin slowed down. Although the body of each assassin was made of shadow iron, it did not have the ability to withstand the extremity of the magic attack. It was torn into pieces instantly.

    As the shadows around the team of mages were reduced rapidly, a thunderbolt struck the mages like a storm. Suddenly, gusts of crazy wind appeared in the pce and brought wind elementals out of nowhere. Their upper bodies resembled humans, but their lower bodies were like tornadoes that shot lightning in all directions. It was like what Lin Li saw in the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    Although the ability of the wind elementals was at maximum of level-17 or level-18, which was notparable to the shadow assassins, their numbers grew over 300, and they surrounded the team of mages as well as Lin Li and the others. Streaks of thunderboltsnded on the mages¡¯ defensive mechanism like massive wind des.

    However, although the number of wind elementals was greater than the number of mages, it was obvious that they had no teamwork. The wind elementals only knew to smash powerful spells into the mages repeatedly. After a while, the mages regained the initiative. Some of them took charge of defense, while the others gathered all their firepower to create a highly effective spell to counter each of the wind elementals.

    The battle came and ended really quickly. Although 300 wind elementals was a huge number, the team of mages did not allow the battle to continue for long. Everybody sighed in relief as thest wind elemental dissipated. Macklin touched the staff in his hands, and said, ¡°Seems like this is nothing much. Although it was a little nerve-wracking at first, it seems like the ability of these enemies was not evenparable to what we met outside.¡±

    Indeed, the 16 statues, the shadow assassins, and the army of wind elementals were simr in how they appeared very suddenly. Yet, the biggest threat faced by the men was only the team of Death Knights with divine power. Lin Li could not help but feel weirded out by the unexpected weakness demonstrated by the core of the pce¡¯s defenses.

    At the same time, Lin Li heard Connoris¡¯ scoff in his mind. ¡°This is the mausoleum of the Highlord Osric. How could you use human logic to make sense of this ce? Wait for it, there should be greater things lying ahead,¡± he spoke in disgruntlement.

    Connoris¡¯ sarcastic warning surprised Lin Li. Although Connoris did not have much knowledge of the pce, the understanding he had of Osric had to be beyond imagination. After all, he had been with Osric when thetter constructed the Eternal Furnace. If he said that, did that mean there would really be more things that had yet to appear?

    Lin Li did not manage to convey his thoughts to the others. Before he could warn them, a terrifying gust of magical wave erupted within the pce.

    zing mes came to life in the empty pce. The tongues of the mes licked the ceiling of the pce, and the rising mes emanated a pungent evil aura. A huge figure emerged from the mes slowly. The men could see that it had a huge pair of horns on a head that resembled a wyrm¡¯s and a body that looked like it had been soaked in fresh blood. There were also crimson scales covering its the body and huge pair of wings on its back.

    An inconspicuous yet insidious face and pair of wings appeared from the zing mes. The huge body that was covered in scales emitted a suffocating and tyrannical aura. It was as though it had the power to destroy and engulf everything in the space instantaneously.

    ¡°Darn it! That¡¯s a Fire Demon! How would a Fire Demon from the 66th level of Abyss be in such a ce?¡± Lin Li and the rest could not help but cuss at the sight of the demon.

    It was general knowledge that the deeper into the Abyss, the more dangerous the demons would be. Even the almighty Dragon of Destruction chose to be at the 25th level of the Abyss. The 66th level was definitely the forbidden ground in the Endless Abyss. Almost all of the demons that lived in that level were those had close rtions to the ancient deities in the Age of Mythology; the Fire Demon was the direct descendant of the ancient deities, and had the purest blood of a deity.

    The demon¡¯s identity as an ancient deity¡¯s descendant did not matter to the men. What mattered to them was the terrifying power he openly exhibited. Even though Lin Li was at the peak of level-23, and Andoine and Rosen were esteemed Legendary-mages at the same level, they could not help but feel nervous.

    <i>Sanctuary-realm!</i>

    The men could sense that the Fire Demon had the aura of the Sanctuary-realm. Even though it was not entirely in the realm yet, the fact that it was dangerously close to the realm was what mattered the most at the moment. The terrifying nature of the Sanctuary-realm had been exhibited by Arbitrator Megard. He had the ability to eliminate the Undead Lords with a single spell effortlessly. This was extremely close to the power of divine. Even though the Fire Demon before them was not a real Sanctuary powerhouse, it was definitely an invincible opponent for Legendary-mages.

    The Fire Demon ignited the entire space instantaneously with its appearance. It was as though the men were in a huge furnace. The environment in the pce¡ªthe walls, floor, ceiling, and the numerous defensive mageweaths¡ªemitted a blinding glow, withstanding the impact of the demon¡¯s Volcano Domain.

    The defensive mageweaths within the pce were fully functional despite the pressure from the Volcano Domain. This meant that it had the ability to turn people who were not strong enough into ashes. Lin Li and the others did not dare to have any dy. They cast their Elemental Shields immediately to protect themselves from the tyrannical Volcano Domain.

    It was fortunate that the other mages had been following behind Lin Li from a great distance, and were outside the Volcano Domain. If not, they would have turned into ashes. Numbers did not matter anymore. Even if the team of mages were to cast an Elemental Shield together, theirck of nomological power would put them at a great disadvantage.

    Lin Li and the other Legendary-mages did not dare to waste any time they had under the protection of the Elemental Shield. They called onto their Magical Domains immediately to resist the demon¡¯s Volcano Domain. Domains gave them absolute control of their energy. They allowed their creators to be as almighty as the divine. After all, domains could only be withstood by domains.

 Chapter 729 - Battle of Domains

    <h4>Chapter 729: Battle of Domains</h4>

    As the Light and Darkness Domain unfolded, Lin Li¡¯s surroundings rapidly turned into a ck-and-white world, and the bright red color reflected off the mes disappeared from his domain. However, under the pressure from the Volcano Domain, Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain was much smaller than usual. At the border of the domains, one could clearly see the bright red mes and ck-and-white color constantly trying to snatch the opponent¡¯s territory like two armies in a close fight.

    Lin Li continuously strengthened his Light and Darkness Domain while paying attention to the other Legendary-mages around. From a mage¡¯s understanding of Laws. he could use the nomological power he had mastered to create a Magical Domain. Thus, the Magical Domain could be described as the total disy of a mage¡¯s abilities. Lin Li certainly wouldn¡¯t miss such a good opportunity to judge other mages¡¯ abilities.

    Andoine was the first person Lin Li had encountered aftering to Anril. He was Lin Li¡¯s mentor who had brought him into the world of magic. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t know much about Andoine¡¯s abilities before this mission¡ªhe only knew that Andoine was a level-23 Legendary-mage.

    Andoine had fully expanded his Magical Domain now. A patch of green contrasted sharply with the burning mes around as countless nts started growing in his domain; vines stretched to the edge, fearlesslypeting with mes for territory.

    <i>Thorn Domain!</i> Lin Li was shocked upon seeing Andoine¡¯s Magical Domain. Typically, only the elven mages who specialized in Nature Magic could use this kind of nt-rted Magical Domain. Human mages were rarely seen using this kind of domain. This wasn¡¯t because the Thorn Domain was weak, but the nature of its Laws determined the emphasis of this domain. Given that its Laws were rted to the lives of nts, it was more suitable for pharmacists who dealt with herbs every day.

    Looking at the nts that grew in the Thorn Domain with astonishing speed, Lin Li secretly shook his head. Evidently, Andoine¡¯s obsession with pharmaceutics had seriously affected his progress in magic. Although the Thorn Domain possessed powerful strength, its attacking abilities couldn¡¯t be considered strong. Moreover, the Laws upon which the Thorn Domain was constructed were mainly extended-low-level Laws which were far less powerful than core magical mantras like Darkness and Light.

    At Legendary level, the difference in terms of the strength of Magical Domains¡¯ nomological power wasn¡¯t very obvious. In fact, the strength of Legendary-level Magical Domains was determined by the mage¡¯s understanding of Laws. The more one knew about Laws. the more powerful one¡¯s Magical Domain was.

    However, once one reached Sanctuary-realm, everyone¡¯s understanding of Laws had reached the peak, and their Magical Domains started to transform into their ultimate form. By then, the strength of the Magical Domain¡¯s nomological power was the underlying factor that decided the strength of the Magical Domain. As such, one could easily envision the performance of the Thorn Domain that consisted of low-level Laws when it reached the Sanctuary-level.

    Lin Li wouldn¡¯t say that Andoine¡¯s choice was totally wrong. After all, everyone had different pursuits. Given that Andoine had pretty good rtions with arbitrator Apophis, he might clearly understand what this choice meant to him. This could only show that his passion for pharmaceutics had exceeded everything else, although his pharmaceutics level was terrible now.

    On the other hand, Andoine¡¯spetitor Rosen¡¯s Magical Domain made Lin Li¡¯s eyes light up. Thunder mes and gigantic boulders continuously resisted the Volcano Domain¡¯s pressure. Even though Lin Li detested this old man who always picked on him, he couldn¡¯t deny that the path Rosen had chosen was the one that mages should go.

    Rosen had disyed an Element Domain that contained the elemental Laws of earth, fire, water, and wind. When he had incorporated all four elements into his Magical Domain, he had pushed the power of his domain to a terrifying level. Evidently, Rosen was much more determined than Andoine on his path of magic. Everything that he had done was to increase the strength of his magic with the pursuit of maximizing his magical power. For a mage, the most reliable power was certainly magic. While other skills could help, nothing could be as reliable as magic in the most crucial moments.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t think that Rosen¡¯s Element Domain was perfect. Rosen¡¯s biggest problem was that he was too ambitious. Earth, fire, water, and wind... Every element¡¯s elemental Law was enough for a mage to spend his entire life examining it. However, Rosen attempted topletely master all four magical elements at his current level. In a way, he was taking a wrong path as well. Although Rosen¡¯s path wasn¡¯t in the opposite direction of his goal, it would make his goal seem so far away that it seemed impossible to reach.

    Meanwhile, Aldwin had expanded his ming Storm Domain¡ªa pure fire element Magical Domain. However, its Laws were extended Laws from the fire elemental Laws. Countless fireballs fell from the sky like a storm, turning the ground into a sea of mes. The hot mes from the ming Storm Domainpeted intensely with the Volcano Domain, trying to engulf each other.

    Evidently, this was a domain constructed with mature Legendary magic. The rules in this Magical Domain were all based on Legendary magic. The greatest trait of a domain constructed with Legendary magic was that it was extremely powerful. It was like he had solidified Legendary magic into his domain; rarely anyone in the same level couldpete with such a Magical Domain. However, Aldwin sacrificed the space for him to level up in his pursuit for immense power. He would probably remain at his current level for his entire life, with no chance of improvement at all.

    Lin Li was a level-23 Legendary-mage like Andoine and Rosen, but his experience in battling at this level wasn¡¯t as much as the two¡¯s. After all, after understanding the ultimate form of Magical Domains at the Seven-Realm Spiral as well as reading the Book of Eternity wholeheartedly in the half a year in the crack between space and time, Lin Li¡¯s understanding of Magical Domains exceeded the level that a normal person could hope for.

    Although Lin Li had just reached the peak of level-23 when he left the spacetme rift, his knowledge about Magical Domains had already reached Sanctuary-level. Thus, his foresight was no worse than a true Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s, and he could see many problems others couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The Fire Demon whose body was surrounded by mes let out a deafening roar. As his roar reverberated throughout the pce, the entire building seemed to be shaking slightly. After that, the Fire Demon retracted all his surrounding mes all of a sudden, and shot them out with even greater speed. The Volcano Domain was filled with violence and rage. He wasn¡¯t using any skills, just suppressing the four Legendary-mages¡¯ Magical Domains with pure strength.

    Under the encroachment of the Volcano Domain, the pce¡¯s ground waspletely turned into a sea of goldenva from the heat. Theva poured to all sides like a flood discharge channel that was just opened, continuously expanding the Volcano Domain¡¯s territory. Such scorching temperatures could make everything turn into ashes; even the most heat-resistant Infernal Magic Iron would probably melt into liquid under such heat. If not for the countless powerful defense mageweaths around the pce, even Osric¡¯s proud invention wouldn¡¯t escape the fate of destruction.

    The battle of Magical Domains at such a level was more simr to collisions between domains. There weren¡¯t many skills or tricks that one could use, and everything depended on one¡¯s understanding of nomological power. Any control, any skill, and any trickery was totally useless now. It was like a head-on battle between two armies¡ªthe strongest was the winner.

    In a sh, arge proportion of nts in Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain was engulfed by fire. The area of his domain was directly reduced by more than half. Andoine¡¯s knuckles that held onto his magic staff turned pale, and veins popped out on his temples. Countless intertwining vines flooded towards his lost territory, fearlessly swarming towards the mes.

    Typically, nts would be suppressed by fire. If it was only Andoine fighting with the Volcano Domain alone, the Thorn Domain would be instantaneously engulfed by the Volcano Domain. However, there were three other mages fighting against the Fire Demon, helping to spread out the damage. Moreover, Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain also consisted of many extended water elemental Laws. Thus, he wasn¡¯t totally passive when facing the Volcano Domain.

    After all, Andoine was a level-23 Legendary master. Although the Thorn Domain wasn¡¯t the strongest, he wasn¡¯t shaken by the Fire Demon¡¯s sudden attack. Countless nts grew in the Thorn Domain crazily and swarmed towards the sea of fire, extinguishing the mes inch by inch. The Thorn Domain¡¯s territory continuously expanded once again. Although it appeared to be extremely difficult, such Magical Domains founded upon low-level Laws had an advantage: rtively low consumption of mana and mental strength.

    Rosen had also shown his Element Domain¡¯s advantage by now. The domain that had incorporated the elemental Laws of all four elements wouldn¡¯t be truly suppressed by any other Laws when the difference in ability wasn¡¯t too big.

    Facing waves of scorchingva, Rosen waved his magic staff solemnly. With no need for recitation, countless Thousand Miles of Ice spells turned the entire domain into an icy world. Under the boost of the Element Domain, the Thousand Miles of Ice, which wasn¡¯t a very powerful magic, exhibited the strength no weaker than Legendary magic. Under the boosted Thousand Miles of Ice spells, the scorchingva gradually cooled down and solidified into ck rocks covered in ayer of frost.

    This was also possible because the other mages had helped to disperse the intensity of the Fire Demon¡¯s attack. Otherwise, Rosen¡¯s Element Domain wouldn¡¯t be able topete with the Fire Demon¡¯s Volcano Domain with his diverse but shallow understanding of nomological power. Even now, Rosen seemed to be struggling. When theva had cooled down into rocks, newva swarmed out, and was once again cooled. It was like a game of tug-of-war¡ªboth sides were fighting over territory little by little.

    While Rosen fought against the Volcano Domain¡¯s attacks, he looked over at hispetitor Andoine with a prideful smirk on his face. As Andoine¡¯spetitor, Rosen was very clear what Andoine¡¯s Magical Domain was like. He had always despised Andoine¡¯s decision. As a mage who had forsaken the true meaning of magic, what right did Andoine have topete with him for the position of arbitrator? Rosen firmly believed that his choice was the right path to reach Sanctuary-realm.

    However, Rosen was rather rmed by Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain. As the two fundamental Laws of the origin of the world, Light and Darkness Laws were thousands of times harder to grasp than elemental Laws. More importantly, these two conflicting Laws were put together and constructed into a stable Magical Domain. This had exceeded the typical application of nomological power, and the immense mental strength required to support such a domain could probably only be possible for a Sanctuary master.

    Although Rosen didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it, he was envious of Andoine for being able to find such a student deep down in his heart. Precisely because of this, Rosen couldn¡¯t withstand Lin Li¡¯s presence all the more. Although this was apetition between Andoine and him, a genius Legendary-mage like Lin Li would undoubtedly provide great support for Andoine.

    When the Fire Demon¡¯s Volcano Domain erupted, Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain also felt the immense pressure from this terrifying attack. The ck-and-white world was instantaneously invaded by a patch of red. The sea of goldenva on the ground contrasted sharply with the ck-and-white world.

    At that moment, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the strength to observe the others anymore. After all, this Fire Demon was close to Sanctuary-level; even his aura felt simr to that of Sanctuary powerhouses. In this kind of direct collision between Magical Domains, the slightest mistake could result in death.

    Suddenly, numerous figures rose from the swarmingva. As if an invisible hand had been ying around with theva, monsters that were made ofva emerged, withva continuously dripping from their bodies. They didn¡¯t have faces, and only had a simple body and four strong limbs. Every one of theseva monsters possessed close to Legendary-level abilities. Without any team formation, the monsters walked towards Lin Li, beginning their attack on his Light and Darkness Domain.

 Chapter 730 - The Gates of the Abyss

    <h4>Chapter 730: The Gates of the Abyss</h4>

    At this moment, Lin Li also raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand to condense countless Angels of Light and Dark in the Light and Darkness Domain. Although the power of ice and snow was not used as a carrier, the bodies of the Angels of Light and Dark were more solid than before. There seemed to be a perfect fusion of two conflicting forces.

    As Lin Li pointed his staff forward, the army of Angels of Light and Dark collided with the Lava Monsters. The sudden collision was like the beginning of a grand and majestic war at this very moment.

    The spears in the hands of the Angels of Light and Dark contained either pure Power of Light that could purify everything or the Dark Force that seemed to devour everything. When the spears pierced the Lava Monsters, the monsters were either reduced to magma because of their Evilness, or turned into ck stone statues because of the Devouring Force of Dark Force.

    Unfortunately, the Fire Demon was a terrifying existence that was close to the Sanctuary-realm, so the strength of the Lava Monsters created by it had also caused great damage to the Angels of Light and Dark. However, when the bodies of the Angels of Light and Dark were destroyed, the power of Light and Darkness would lose their restraint and seem to cause a violent explosion because of the extremely opposing attributes. The powerful explosive force would also immediately rip apart all of the Lava Monsters in the surroundings.

    If the Fire Demon¡¯s strength was also level-23 like Lin Li¡¯s, the battle might not be very difficult for thetter. Even the explosion caused by the conflict between the two forces of light and darkness would definitely cause the Fire Demon to suffer great losses. However, dealing with creatures that were reaching the Sanctuary-realm was definitely not as simple as dealing with a powerhouse that was at the peak of level-24. The Sanctuary aura meant that the Fire Demon had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and it was a gap and difference in power.

    Hence, under the siege of the four Legendary powerhouses, the Fire Demon did not lose the upper hand. The tyrannical destructive power in the Volcano Domain was constantly impacting their Magical Domains and suppressing them without caring what means the Legendary powerhouses were resorting to.

    Among the four Legendary-mages, the level-22 Aldwin seemed to be rather weak. Although his ming Storm Domain was extremely powerful, that was not enough to make up for the difference in levels. However, Aldwin seemed to be much more rxed than the rest in the Volcano Domain.

    Although the Fire Demon¡¯s power was close to the Sanctuary-realm, it was also the power that controlled the fire element. With the understanding of the fire Laws, Aldwin¡¯s resistance to fire element power was far greater than the other three¡¯s.

    In Aldwin¡¯s ming Storm Domain, numerous fireballs fell from the sky and smashed into theva that was constantly flowing, but instead of attacking and moving theva away, Aldwin integrated his own nomological power andpeted for control of the fire element power in theva, affecting the invasion of that powerful force in the Volcano Domain.

    The five powerful Magical Domains that were unfolding in the pce constantly collided, making the entire pce suddenly quake violently. Dazzling rays of light continuously emerged from the mageweaths around the pce from time to time, and dissipated the power that was enough to destroy everything invisible.

    With the passage of time, Lin Li was suddenly surprised to find that he and others seemed to be gradually turning the situation around. The tremendous oppression from the Volcano Domain of the Fire Demon seemed to have loosened up, and they finally had the chance tounch an effective counterattack to increase the range of their Magical Domains.

    It seemed that victory was in sight, but Lin Li felt that something was wrong. Indeed, the change in the situation was what Lin Li wanted, but the change itself was also somewhat abnormal.

    However, at this time, Lin Li couldn¡¯t afford to think too much about it. Although it seemed that he was gradually gaining an advantage, that advantage was also obtained through unremitting efforts. Were he to ck or loosen up once, the situation would probably revert to status quo soon.

    Lin Li moved the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward a little, and the Angels of Light and Dark that had already formed around him immediately pped their ck and white wings, andunched an attack toward the front without turning back at all. The Lava Monsters that were formed in the Fire Demon¡¯s Volcano Domain were driven out of the Light and Darkness Domain, and the two forces continued to fight each other at the junction of the domains.

    Although the Lava Monsters were close to the Legendary-level, the number of monsters generated in a certain period of time was much less than before. Everyone could clearly feel that the Volcano Domain seemed to be gradually losing its offensive power and putting up a passive defense.

    Even in Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain, the countless intertwined nts seemed to have formed huge green waves like an ocean, and were constantly impacting the Volcano Domain of the Fire Demon. Theyers of nts were burned to ashes at high temperatures, but they instantly sprung up again to widen the range.

    That was what a battle between the Magical Domains was like. There wasn¡¯t much calction, and it was merely a battle of control of nomological power. Although thebat power of Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain was not very outstanding, the power of the Magical Domain during a battle of the Legendary stage would rely on the mastery of nomological power. The nature of the Laws was not a decisive factor.

    Countless ice cubes fell from the sky and fell into theva with a loud roar. In the rising steam, the boilingva seemed to have turned into ck rocks in the blink of an eye, with a subtleyer of white frost covering it. Compared to Andoine, Rosen clearly had a better advantage when dealing with the Fire Demon¡¯s Volcano Domain because he had the Element Domain.

    Aldwin¡¯s ming Storm Domain was originally a powerful Magical Domain, but at this moment, the ming Storm Domain that was facing the Fire Demon could not show its powerful attacks. However, judging from theva on the ground, he could clearly see that the two different-colored mes were colliding with each other. Among them, the nomological power held by Aldwin had the upper hand.

    It seemed that obtaining victory was near them, but the me-covered Fire Demon still did not seem to be angry at all, despite having lost the upper hand. In fact, it never once moved away.

    <i>Is there really no way for it to retaliate?</i> Lin Li did not believe that the Fire Demon that was near the Sanctuary-realm would allow the rest to besiege it without restraint and let itself be forced into losing.

    Given the current situation, the results of the battle would definitely not be optimistic for the Fire Demon if it were to be prolonged. The longer the battle was, the smaller of a chance the Fire Demon would have to reverse the situation. However, the Fire Demon didn¡¯t seem to realize that, and thus did not rely on the suppression of the level to obtain the desired results. Instead, it continued to let the battle go on and remain in a standstill. It was absolutely abnormal.

    The Fire Demon was not the same as the generic inferior demons that did not have any brains. While inheriting the blood of the ancient demon deities, it also inherited wisdom that was far superior to that of ordinary humans. How could it make such a mistake?

    Although Lin Li felt that something was wrong, he knew that given the current situation, it was impossible to really stop and investigate the reason as that would result in him getting attacked by the Fire Demon immediately. The only thing he could do now was to raise his vignce while doing his best tounch full-swing attacks on the Volcano Domain.

    However, in many cases, it was impossible to prevent some things from happening just by raising your vignce. When everyone thought that battle had been brought under their control, six dark red spots suddenly lit up on the ground. Immediately afterwards, a series of crisscrossing rays of light quickly shot out of the spots, linking all six points together to form a Six-pointed Star Array.

    ¡°Damn it, the Gates of the Abyss!¡±

    When the dark red lights were ignited, Lin Li knew that things were going to get terrible. Even the children in Anril knew that when the Six-pointed Star Array was ignited, the Abyssal Demon would cross the Gates of the Abyss and bring about endless disaster to the world on the maind.

    Indeed, as the Six-pointed Star Array lit up, a huge dark red gate gradually emerged behind the Fire Demon. Through that dazzling ray of dark red light, Lin Li and the rest could see that countless Fire Demon were looming behind the Gates of the Abyss. A Fire Demon even ripped the corner of the Gates of the Abyss with his hand and was about to squeeze his body out.

    Lin Li was immediately shocked. It was no joking matter; all of the creatures in front of them were Fire Demons. With the blood of the ancient demon deities, their strength was definitely above level-20 even if they were inferior to the one in front of everyone. If all those terrifying creatures were to surge out, probably the entire Anril would be destroyed, let alone the people who were present here.

    At this moment, Lin Li finally understood why the Fire Demon, whose strength was extremely close to the Sanctuary-realm, had never shown his due strength despite the battle being at standstill and to his disadvantage, and instead waited calmly while not showing any signs of anger. It turned out that he¡¯d been waiting for the Gates of the Abyss to open and for his peers to arrive in this world through the Gates of the Abyss.

    The Fire Demon in front of Lin Li was probably not just an ordinary Fire Demon from the 66th floor of the abyss, but a Lord of the Abyss, the Fire Demon King. Only a Lord of the Abyss would have the right to open the Gates of the Abyss and summon such a huge army of Fire Demons.

 Chapter 731 - The Fire Demon King

    <h4>Chapter 731: The Fire Demon King</h4>

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and dozens of Angels of Light and Dark immediately condensed into the Light and Darkness Sword. The Light and Darkness Sword leaped over the Fire Demon King¡¯s Fire Demon Domain and darted towards the gate, where it instantly killed the Fire Demon that had just climbed out.

    However, the beheaded Fire Demon which had just been in was devoured by itspanions in the blink of an eye, after which more Fire Demons dashed forward and frantically ripped apart the gate while roaring. The crazy and violent atmosphere made the humans certain that the descent of the demons would bring a terrible disaster to the world of Anril.

    Staring at the scene revealed by the door, even Lin Li and the other Legendary powerhouses could not help but feel a cold chill down their spines. However, under the obstruction of the Fire Demon, none of the four Legendary powerhouses could do anything to stop the tragedy from happening.

    While everyone watched, the door of the abyss gradually formed, and a Fire Demon finally roared and rushed out, followed by the second and third one. More and more Fire Demons broke free from the gate, causing everyone to be terrified. Staring at the Fire Demons that were continuously surging out, even the several Legendary powerhouses could not help but feel flustered.

    Macklin waved his staff, directing the mages to attack the Fire Demons, and loudly shouted, ¡°Come on, snap out of it. Do you want to wait here for your death!?¡±

    The mages were elite of the elite in the first ce. After going all the way through the obstacles along the way, the remaining mages¡¯bat qualities improved by 10%pared to when they¡¯d first entered the mausoleum. Under themand of Macklin, the mages immediately entered the battle. They seemed to be like an exquisite machine that was operating effectively at high speed.

    Bypassing the battle between the Fire Demon and the four Legendary-mages, the mages faced the Fire Demons rushing out of the Gates of the Abyss. The magical defense shone brilliantly under the impact of hot magma, and the overwhelming storm immediately engulfed the Fire Demons that dashed out immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, teach them a lesson. Chase them back to their kennels!¡± Macklin eximed while standing in the middle of the mages, continuously issuingmands to the mages. The magic storm them swallowed the Fire Demons one after another.

    However, though he seemed to be yelling in a domineering manner, Macklin already knew that it was impossible for him to chase the Fire Demons back to the Abyss with just his own power. Although there had already been several Fire Demons that got killed by the ravenous attacks of the mages, the number was insignificantpared to the number of Fire Demons behind the Gates of the Abyss. The only thing the mages could do now was to slow down the speed of the Fire Demons surging out of the Gates of the Abyss before it was fully open. There seemed to be no effect on the final oue.

    Lin Li and the rest who were besieging the Fire Demon King were stuck in an entanglement with him, and were unable to pull out to block the Gates of the Abyss. Although there had been direct collisions between the Magical Domains during the previous battles, which had weakened the power of the Fire Demon King, the terrifying battle power that was almost at the peak of level-24 was still not to be trifled with.

    At this time, the Fire Demon King no longer remained still like before, and insteadunched a frightening attack on everyone. Anyone who wanted to flee would be subjected to his full-force deadly attack. It was an existence that was almost in the Sanctuary-realm, and no one there could survive after his fatal blow.

    While coping with the brutal attacks of the Fire Demon King in the Volcano Domain, Lin Li watched the changes in the battlefield anxiously. He could see that Macklin was ordering the mages and destroying the Fire Demons that were rushing out of the Gates of the Abyss.

    ¡°Damn it, Master Macklin, just ignore the Fire Demons for now. Hurry and close the Gates of the Abyss lest we get devoured by the hundreds of thousands of Fire Demons,¡± Lin Li yelled in panic. Since no one could take the time out, Macklin and the mages were the only ones who could seal the Gates of the Abyss.

    ¡°I know we need to close that damned gate, but you must tell me how to do it first. Not everyone is as pervertedly smart as you are!¡± The Fire Demons were continuously dashing out of the Gates of the Abyss, making it hard for Macklin and the mages to deal with the situation. He knew that without closing the Gates of the Abyss, all of their efforts would go in vain no matter how many Fire Demons they killed. Wouldn¡¯t that be helping them open the gate?

    ¡°Six-pointed Star Array. Destroy the Six-pointed Star Array, and the Gates of the Abyss will dissipate.¡± Lin Li knew that it would be hard for Macklin to seal the Gates of the Abyss, but he had no other choice but to rely on him now.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Macklin immediatelymanded the mages to lean towards the apex of the Six-pointed Star Array. He then yelled, ¡°What¡¯s next!?¡±

    Only then did Lin Li remember that Macklin was only a level-19 Archmage who would have a hard time if he wanted to destroy the Gates of the Abyss leading to the 66th floor of the abyss. His strength alone was a major problem, but fortunately there were other mages to help him. At the thought of this, Lin Li immediately shouted, ¡°The Magic Array. Get the mages to form a Magic Array and concentrate all mana on one person. Give him a huge bombing!¡±

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and instantly condensed a Light and Darkness Sword, which he then shed fiercely at the Fire Demon King. Despite the great strength of the Fire Demon King, thetter was forced to retreat under the powerful sword that could even rip apart a Magical Domain.

    Seeing that Lin Li¡¯s sword had sted the Fire Demon King backwards, Andoine immediately understood that Lin Li was trying to buy some time. Hence, he waved his staff, and numerous thorny nts blocked the Fire Demon King from rushing towards Lin Li again.

    While Andoine was stopping the Fire Demon King, Lin Li took out the Summoning Lamp and summoned the Lord of Nightmares together with the Crimson Dragon, which he ordered to help the mages block the Fire Demons that were swarming out. As soon as the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon left, the Fire Demon King began ripping apart the nts that were in his way. He then leaped towards Lin Li again.

    Fortunately, at this moment, there was only a limited number of Abyssal Demon Dragons rushing out of the Gates of the Abyss, and the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon managed to buy some time for the mages toy the Magic Array.

    To the mages,ying the Magic Array was not a tall order, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy for everyone to concentrate all their mana on a single person. The hundred-odd Archmages¡¯ mana would cause the receiver to be under unimaginable pressure, and once the power exceeded the receiver¡¯s tolerance limit, the receiver¡¯s body would be greatly damaged. He would then be unable to progress in magic again for the rest of his life.

    However, at this critical moment, they no longer had a choice. Although Macklin could order the other mages to be the receiver of power, he decided to muster up the courage and volunteer himself instead after the Magic Array wasid.

    ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m old, so even if I die, I¡¯ll be content to have experienced the power of being in the Legendary-realm.¡± Macklin stood on the spot for the receiver and raised his staff high in the sky, giving out the orders without hesitation.

    Under Macklin¡¯s orders, the Magic Array began to work. Rays of mana were ejected from the mages¡¯ staffs and flew into Macklin¡¯s thin body. With the immense mana, Macklin¡¯s power also increased at a rapid rate. Level-20, level-21, level-22...

    With the umtion of mana of the hundred-odd Archmages, Macklin¡¯s power reached level-23. The veins on his forehead began to bulge as if they were going to burst anytime soon, and his robe began to make loud noises.

    Macklin waved his staff, and several powerful magic attacks wereunched on the apex of the Six-pointed Star Array in front of him. However, Macklin was a little dumbfounded after the bombardment began to fade. Under the attacks of Legendary magic, there was still no change in the apex of the Six-pointed Star Array. The red rays of light did not seem to weaken, either.

    ¡°Damn it, this thing is too strong. Felic, is there any other solution? I can¡¯t deal with it!¡± Macklin yelled anxiously at Lin Li. Under the infusion of the mana, he could only persist for one minute, yet he could not even deal with a Six-pointed Star Array now, let alone the rest.

    ¡°What the heck is that bastard Osric getting up to!?¡± Lin Li cussed while trying to cope with the attacks of the Fire Demon King. In his head, he yelled, ¡°Connoris, are you asleep? Hurry and get that Goblin to help us, otherwise we¡¯re all going to die!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay, got it,¡± Connoris answered.

    The Goblin Angno who¡¯d escaped far, far away maneuvered the alchemy machine to scurry over. He yelled, ¡°Hey, Felic, I can help you, but you¡¯ll owe me a big favor.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, I refuse to believe that you can outrun this group of Fire Demons with that machine of yours,¡± Lin Li chided. However, he knew that he did not have much time to say anything now. Hence, he nodded, and eximed, ¡°I won¡¯t mind even if I owe you 100 favors!¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Angno did not say anything anymore, and immediately ran towards Macklin, pointing at one of the points of the Six-pointed Star Array that Macklin had begun destroying. With Angno¡¯s instructions, Macklin finally knew what he had to do, and the stardust began to dim.

 Chapter 732 - Godly Soul Potion

    <h4>Chapter 732: Godly Soul Potion</h4>

    A star point was destroyed, and the Gates of the Abyss that had gradually solidified immediately became a bit illusory, while the Fire Demons behind the Gates of the Abyss also roared repeatedly. Just as Lin Li and the rest were struggling and fighting the Fire Demon King, the Fire Demon King immediately leapt towards Macklin and the rest to stop them from sealing the Gates of the Abyss when he saw those changes.

    This time, it was Lin Li¡¯s turn to stop the Fire Demon King. Although the power of the Fire Demon King was near the Sanctuary-realm, it was much harder for it to break the defense of the four Legendary powerhouses because of what happened when he was waiting for the Gates of the Abyss to be opened.

    Under the guidance of Angno, Macklin desperately ran to one star point after another, and finally caused all six points to be dimmer. Meanwhile, the tall andrge Gates of the Abyss also disappeared together with the Six-pointed Star Array. In the entire pce, there were only a few Fire Demons fighting the Lord of Nightmares left.

    As Macklin felt the effects of getting mana infused into him, he fell onto the ground and panted continuously, pointing his staff at the Fire Demons in front, and said to the other mages, ¡°Ignore me for now. Dammit, kill them. They actually put me through so much trouble and torment.¡±

    ¡°Haha, didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d die with no regrets since you¡¯ve already experienced the power of the Legendary-level?¡± Angno gibed.

    Macklin rolled his eyes, and said, ¡°Do you think I like the feeling of almost getting bombed? Why don¡¯t you try it?¡±

    With the participation of the mages, the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon soon managed to get rid of the extra Fire Demons, restoring the entire pce to its original state. The four Legendary powerhouses battled the Fire Demon King.

    Unfortunately, the Fire Demon King was no longer at its most powerful, unlike in the beginning. After all, it was not really at the Sanctuary-realm. It had to open the Gates of the Abyss and fight the four Legendary-mages at the same time, which caused it to lose more than half of its power. Under the siege of the four Legendary powerhouses, the Volcano Domain of the Fire Demon King was continuouslypressed, and the mes that surrounded him had gradually be weaker.

    Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain had spawned numerous nts which climbed onto the body of the Fire Demon King, making it impossible for the mes to set it afire so easily. Rosen moved his staff, and a magic storm sted toward the Fire Demon King, roaring continuously, while Lin Li condensed all of his Angels of Light and Dark into the Light and Darkness Sword, which he swung forcefully onto therge wounded body.

    The zing mes no longer gave off a tinge of life as the body of the Fire Demon King fell onto the ground.

    Everyone finally heaved sighs of relief when they saw this. At this juncture, they simply stood rooted to the ground and forced themselves to stay put, out of energy.

    However, at this moment, Angno scurried towards Lin Li and stared at the Fire Demon King that had already copsed on the ground. He softly said to Lin Li, ¡°Remember, you already owe me a huge favor.¡±

    ¡°Tell me first, where did this guye from? Weren¡¯t you three the most powerful fighters under Osric? Where did this guy pop up from!?¡± Lin Li could not be bothered to talk about the favor with Angno, since they had already reached a consensus. The menacing Fire Demon King made him feel rather curious.

    ¡°Speaking of it, I do know the Fire Demon rather well. It¡¯s such a good thing to stay in the abyss, yet he wanted toe out here to court his own death. I really can¡¯t figure it out.¡± Angno shook his head and sighed, but there was no look of pity on his face at all. Instead, he seemed to be gloating.

    ¡°So he really was Osric¡¯s subordinate? Seems like the rtionship between you and him isn¡¯t great,¡± Lin Li asked.

    Angno looked around, and softly said to Lin Li, ¡°The Fire Demon is Osric¡¯s servant. He was summoned from the 66th floor of the abyss, and has been working for Osric for countless years. He had also made countless heroic achievements, and was considered to be the only one who had seen Osric¡¯s glorious existence. In fact, he even knew many secrets that none of the three of us know.¡±

    ¡°You guys have stayed here for so many years, but you didn¡¯t know that he was here too?¡± Lin Li said mockingly. Angno and the other two who died were said to be the most loyal warriors of Osric, and had been guarding Osric¡¯s mausoleum for numerous years. Yet, they didn¡¯t know about the Fire Demon at all. It was truly a huge joke.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s sarcastic tone, Angno¡¯s face turned a little sullen, and he angrily retorted, ¡°We heard that Osric had terminated the contract with him before he died, and let it go back to his own world. Yet, it turned out to be fake news. Osric is really sly. He actually allowed that thing to stay in this world even after his death. Damn it. Fortunately, I didn¡¯te in here on my own back then.¡±

    ¡°Hah, he was probably guarding against you guys,¡± Lin Li said casually, but he still had some doubts deep down because he felt that there seemed to be no sign of the existence of the contract after judging the Fire Demon¡¯s performance just now.

    Previously, everyone was fighting in their Magical Domain, while Lin Li was in the Fire Demon King¡¯s Magical Domain. He didn¡¯t feel like the Fire Demon King was restrained at all, and reckoned that he should¡¯ve beenpletely free. Moreover, Osric had been dead for so many years. Even if he had not terminated the contract previously, the contract should have already been up by now.

    If his inference was correct, the Fire Demon should not have been imprisoned here... but why was it staying there? Surely it couldn¡¯t be as simple as wanting to use the Gates of the Abyss to set his own kind free? Could it be rted to the Eternal Furnace? More and more questions which probably even Angno couldn¡¯t answer appeared in Lin Li¡¯s head.

    ¡°You should also feel fortunate. You must know that when Fire Demon was Osric¡¯s follower, he was in charge of one of Osric¡¯s most powerful weapons. If that weapon had appeared just now, there would have been absolutely no chance for any of you to survive.¡± At this point, there was a trace of fear on Angno¡¯s face. It seemed that <i>that weapon</i> could still bring him horror even after 1000 years.

    ¡°The most powerful weapon?¡± Lin Li was shocked. The most powerful weapon that Angno mentioned immediately made him think of thest of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, which was also his most important goal here. In that case, the Fire Demon King might really have had something to do with Nothingness.

    When Lin Li and Angno talked, everyone began to recover some of their energy, and Andoine instructed for Lin Li to go over to discuss the distribution of loot. The thing lying on the ground was the body of the Fire Demon King that was near the Sanctuary-realm. The Fire Demons that surged out of the Gates of the Abyss were also of Legendary strength. Hence, they were worth quite a significant amount.

    Watching Lin Li walk towards Andoine, Rosen¡¯s face grew rather sullen, and he even began to think about what he would do if Lin Li were topete with him for the magical crystal that was at the peak of level-24.

    Judging from the entire battle, the Fire Demon King was destroyed with Lin Li¡¯sst blow, and the Gates of the Abyss was also blocked ording to his instructions. Moving on, everyone could safely pass through many traps and end up here mostly because of Lin Li too. Even the Goblin Angno was captured and won over by him. In terms of contribution, Lin Li gave the most, and if he had no rights to a share of the level-24 magical crystal, no one else would.

    However, it was a magical crystal that was close to the Sanctuary-level, and the mana contained in it was almost endless. There was probably no one who could resist the temptation of such a priceless treasure. Rosen would never let the treasure slip into the hands of others in front of his own eyes, especially not to hispetitor¡¯s student.

    After ncing at the flustered Macklin, Lin Li surprisingly suggested, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Mage Macklin who destroyed the Six-pointed Star Array, I¡¯m afraid none of us would have survived, and the entire Anril would¡¯ve been in for a disaster. I think this magical crystal should be given to the nna Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I know how great I am. I don¡¯t need you to remind me. I didn¡¯t know anything about the Six-pointed Star Array, we can¡¯t ept this thing, right, Mr. President?¡± Macklin repeatedly waved his hands to refute while asking Aldwin for his opinion. However, he clearly wasn¡¯t giving Aldwin the chance to decline.

    Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°Master Macklin, you went all out and risked your life just now. Along the way, the mages have also suffered great losses. If you don¡¯t take the magical crystal, surely we can¡¯t give it to the Supreme Council?¡±

    ¡°Enough, Macklin, drop the pretense. If you give the magical crystal away, you¡¯d probably never sleep well again,¡± said Andoine who found that Lin Li¡¯s words made sense, even though he could not bear to give the magical crystal away, either.

    Rosen had initially prepared plenty of words to say, and wanted topete with Lin Li for the ownership of the Fire Demon King¡¯s magical crystal. However, he had not expected Lin Li to directly give the magical crystal to the nna Guild of Magic. Lin Li, the most qualified person, and Andoine who was an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, had both said the same thing. Hence, Rosen naturally had no choice but to keep mum. He nodded reluctantly and agreed to go with Lin Li¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°What about you, Felic?¡± asked Macklin who decided to stop being hypocritical despite feeling like he owed Lin Li something.

    Lin Li pointed at the Fire Demon King¡¯s corpse, and said, ¡°I will take this corpse with me.¡±

    ¡°How can that do!?¡± Macklin, Aldwin, and Andoine all eximed almost at the same time. Although the corpse of the Fire Demon King also had a certain value, it was worlds apart from that of the level-24 magical crystal.

    ¡°Rest assured, I do have uses for it,¡± Lin Li said while walking straight towards the corpse of the Fire Demon King. When he passed by Macklin, he whispered, ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    Slightly stunned, Macklin immediately cursed, ¡°Damn it, I knew I couldn¡¯t hide anything from you, kid.¡±

    Although the use of Magic Array to infuse mana into his own body had been a great burden on Macklin¡¯s body, it¡¯d also given him a taste of Legendary power. In the first ce, he¡¯d already been at the peak of level-19, and now that he had experienced Legendary power, it could be said that he would soon reach the Legendary-realm.

    Lin Li walked to the corpse of the Fire Demon King and took out a bottle of potion from the Ring of Endless Storm, which he then forced into the mouth of the Fire Demon King.

    Upon sight of Lin Li¡¯s actions, Andoine immediately sprung up and dashed towards Lin Li. Unfortunately, Lin Li was already holding an empty bottle by the time he reached. He chided, ¡°Damn it, this is the Godly Soul Potion, why did you waste it, you wastrel!? This is a Master-level potion that is simply priceless and cannot be found on the market. Why did you give it to the Fire Demon King!?! Even if you want to acquire a subordinate, you must check if this Fire Demon King is dead or not. It¡¯s already dead, what¡¯s the point of keeping its soul lingering around? Besides, this is a demon at the peak of level-24. If you resurrect him, can you afford to acquire him? He might just kill you!¡±

    Lin Li had indeed given the Fire Demon King a Godly Soul Potion, which was a Master-level potion that was more valuable than other general Master-level potions because its greatest effect was for saving one¡¯s life. If someone had been seriously injured and was dying, the potion would help keep their soul intact.

    Drinking the Godly Soul Potion would allow the injured person¡¯s soul to be kept intact in their body for 72 hours. In those 72 hours, the person could be revived if a way to cure them was found. As long as the soul was intact, it would not be impossible to revive someone whose body had been chopped into half. If all else failed, they could still be transformed into an Undead creature.

    After listening to Andoine¡¯s words, Lin Li looked at him with a smile, and said, ¡°I just need his soul. It doesn¡¯t matter if he can be revived or not. As for the contract, there will be no chance.¡±

    ¡°What? God... Godly Soul Potion!?¡±

    After seeing Lin Li feeding a potion to the Fire Demon King, they all thought that he was just handling the corpse, but they were on the verge of going crazy when they heard Andoine mentioning that it was the Godly Soul Potion.

    Although they did not recognize the Godly Soul Potion at a nce like Andoine did, that did not mean that they didn¡¯t know the name of the potion. They had no idea how high-level it was and what precious herbs were required to prepare it, but they knew that the Godly Soul Potion couldn¡¯t be prepared and taken away easily even in a Pharmacist Guild. Besides, they also knew of the miraculous effects of the Godly Soul Potion. For anyone, having a Godly Soul Potion was the same as having a spare life.

 Chapter 733 - Interrogating The Soul

    <h4>Chapter 733: Interrogating The Soul</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    For Legendary powerhouses especially, the potions that would make ordinary people break through in level and increase strength had little value. Prolonging their lives and avoiding being killed by others was their greatest concern.

    The Godly Soul Potion had no healing effect on various injuries of the body, unlike some healing potions or healing magic spells, which could even regenerate an amputated limb. However, no matter how effective the healing potions and powerful healing magic spells were, they still required time to take effect. Besides, they would only work on living creatures, and not the dead. The Godly Soul Potion could trap one¡¯s soul in their body for a long time, even if the body had been greatly damaged or was already dead with an intact soul (to some extent). That would be equivalent to giving them time to heal.

    Therefore, when the rest heard Andoine mention that it was the Godly Soul Potion, everyone looked at the empty potion bottle in Lin Li¡¯s hands with disbelief in their eyes while their hearts seemed to bleed. That was a life. Even for Aldwin, the President of the nna Guild of Magic, and for Rosen, the authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, the life-saving potion was absolutely wonderful, the potion of their dreams. Yet, Lin Li wasted it on the Fire Demon King.

    <i>What is this crazy wastrel trying to do? Revive the Fire Demon King!? That Fire Demon King is already dead. Even if he manages to save his soul, how can he really be resurrected? Besides, he¡¯s a demon that¡¯s nearing the Sanctuary-realm. Even if hees back to life, will he be easily subdued into bing a servant? </i>

    However, after Li Lin answered Andoine casually, he did not give any further exnation, and instead watched as the Godly Soul Potion took effect on the body of the Fire Demon King. Soon, a trace of the fluctuations of his soul began to appear. Lin Li put away the potion bottle and smirked at the same time.

    The Fire Demon King knew that he was dead, but to Abyssal Demons like him, the death of the body did not mean a real end to their lives. As long as their souls returned to the abyss, there would be a chance of rebirth for them. However, when his soul regained consciousness, he was surprised to find that there was no aura or sign of the abyss around him.

    <i>Did I not return to the abyss? </i>the Fire Demon King thought to himself. It definitely was not good news for him. Immediately afterwards, the familiar feeling around him made him feel even more dismayed. Not only did he not return to the abyss, he was also trapped in his own body. However, that did not mean that he could be resurrected. The death of the body had already cut off the connection between his soul and the body. For him, the body that he was currently held in was just a prison that he couldn¡¯t escape.

    All of a sudden, a powerful wave of mental strength erupted from the body of the Fire Demon King, filled with anger. His soul had been imprisoned in his body, and the Fire Demon King immediately thought of the intruders. Without a doubt, it must have been the damned humans. His ns had been foiled and he was defeated. Yet, even his soul had also lost its freedom. It was truly the biggest shame and insult for the Fire Demon King.

    <i>Even if I¡¯m dead, the dignity of the Fire Demons n must never be marred or undermined by anyone!</i> the Fire Demon King¡¯s soul roared continuously in exasperation. Although he was just a soul now, he was definitely powerful because he was nearing the Sanctuary-realm. However, regardless of how he yelled and struggled to break through the restraint, there was an irresistible force that shackled him down tightly, making all his struggles go in vain.

    Of course, Lin Li also felt the anger of the Fire Demon King, who was, however, much less threatening to him than a lowest-level Vengeful Spirit now. Lin Li ignored the Fire Demon King, and instead began to carefully draw the mageweath on the broad chest of the Fire Demon King with his Inscription crystal pen.

    Lin Li waved his Inscription crystal pen and left smooth silver-white lines on the fine dark red scales of the body, and they exuded a soft and calm light. The roar of the Fire Demon King¡¯s soul and the huge fluctuation in mental strength gradually became restrained.

    The Fire Demon King roared for a while, and knew that his efforts would only be futile. Hence, he had no choice but to suppress his anger and calm down. Realizing that the human mage seemed to be doing something on his body, he had a slight ominous hunch. Although he could not see what was going on, he could tell from the mana emanating from the Inscription pen and the mageweath that was about to bepleted that the human mage was definitely not dealing with his body.

    ¡°Lowly human, are you trying to imprison the soul of a Lord of the Abyss? You must be overestimating your own abilities. Although I don¡¯t know what you did to me to make my soul reconnect to this body, don¡¯t you forget that you¡¯re facing a Lord of the Abyss who is about to step into the Sanctuary-realm. My soul is not something that a human Legendary-mage can imprison. Unless you are a Sanctuary Master, everything you do is going to be in vain.¡± After calming down, the Fire Demon King used his mental strength to convey his words to Lin Li, and his tone was full of confidence and disdain for Lin Li¡¯s behavior.

    The Fire Demon King was not making groundless ims or issuing empty threats. As a powerhouse whose strength was nearing the Sanctuary-realm, he was still extremely powerful despite having only his soul left. However, the Abyss was a world where only the fittest survived. Hence, if the Fire Demon King could not restore his strength as soon as possible, he would only end up being reced by another Fire Demon. Thus, the Fire Demon King exhausted his Spiritual Force in order to break the imprisonment.

    Lin Li did not respond to the warning issued by the Fire Demon King. Instead, he continued to draw the mageweath. Of course, he knew that with the power of the Godly Soul Potion alone, it might indeed not be enough to prevent the soul of the Fire Demon King from exploding, but he also knew that the Abyssal Demons were not brave warriors who didn¡¯t mind dying. The more they had, the more they were afraid of losing. Hence, the Abyssal Demon Lord that was nearing the Sanctuary-realm would never die together with the enemy.

    ¡°Human, if you send my soul back to the abyss, I will give you benefits you can never imagine. Under the endless hot magma of the 66th floor of the abyss, the entire space is filled with the Infernal Magic Iron, the fire magical crystal, and other incredible treasures of fire properties. I bet you don¡¯t want to leave empty-handed, do you?¡± Seeing that the threats had no effect on Lin Li, the Fire Demon King decided to tempt him instead, which was amon trick.

    However, in the face of the attractive benefits and interests promised by the Fire Demon King, Lin Li still had no reaction. Indeed, there were plenty of treasures on the 66th floor of the Abyss, but the debris of the stars Nothingness was what Lin Li was the most concerned about now. It was the key to his breakthrough to the Sanctuary-realm, which could not be reced by any treasure.

    Lin Li¡¯s indifference made the Fire Demon King feel rather infuriated, and he wished he could devour the human mage Lin Li. Despite being a ve to Osric, he was still respected and had never been ignored in such a manner. However, to the Demons, dignity was often ranked after benefits. Although the Fire Demon King wanted to rip Lin Li into pieces, he was not willing to pay the price of damaging his soul.

    ¡°Human, my patience is limited. If you don¡¯t let go of my soul, you will definitely pay for your greed. You definitely cannot afford to incur the wrath of the Lord of the Abyss,¡± the Fire Demon King warned again.

    However, the warning sounded weak and powerless. Although the Fire Demon King had no idea what Lin Li was doing, he clearly felt that the power that made him feel ufortable was gradually taking shape; at the same time, he felt that he was in trouble. The power that made him fearful was not to be ignored, and he began to wonder if Lin Li was trying to purify him.

    The Fire Demon King tried to switch between his tactics while constantly emphasizing his powerful strength, and at the same time promising Lin Li some benefits. He almost offered to give Lin Li half of the 66th floor of the Abyss. However, everyone knew that unless there was a signed Soul Contract, the promise of a demon would never be honored at all, and Lin Li would naturally not be tempted. Not to mention, even if the demon were to fulfill the verbal promise, the value of those benefits that he promised was far less than that of the debris of the stars, Nothingness.

    At this time, Lin Li alsopleted the drawing of the mageweath. After putting away his inscription crystal pen, he said to the Fire Demon King, ¡°No hurry, I just need to ask you a few questions. As long as the answers satisfy me, I might let you go back to the abyss.¡±

    ¡°Dream on, I won¡¯t answer any of your questions!¡± The Fire Demon King suddenly flew into a rage. He was just making empty promises previously. He thought that given Lin Li¡¯s strength, he definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to hunt him down in the 66th floor of the abyss. As for the Soul Contract, he was even less worried. At the end of the day, he was close to the Sanctuary-realm, and the Soul Contract would have no binding effect on him.

    However, answering questions was a different case. The Fire Demon King knew clearly that once he answered all the questions Lin Li posed, thetter would probably destroy himpletely. At this point, he no longer considered the consequences of damaging his soul. He immediately channeled all of his Spiritual Force and tried to break free from the restraint put on his soul.

 Chapter 734 - Thing Of The Past

    <h4>Chapter 734: Thing Of The Past</h4>

    However, he had clearly already missed the best time to break free. The force that made him feel ufortable had already seeped into his soul, and made it impossible for him to emanate his Spiritual Force.

    ¡°It seems that you still don¡¯t know the situation that you are in. Well, I shall let you get a taste of that thrill,¡± Lin Li sneered, and put the magical crystal into the mageweath which was exuding a faint glow. It immediately burst into a dazzling light that shrouded the Fire Demon King¡¯s body.

    ¡°Ah, what is this!?¡± With the activation of the mageweath, the Fire Demon King persisted for a moment before finally screaming and shrieking. As a Fire Demon, fire was his forte, and he would never taste the pain of being burnt by mes in his life. However, he was now experiencing a burning pain.

    After all, the Fire Demon King had been working for Osric for countless years. Although he had yet to be as capable as Osric, he had definitely seen plenty of things. The intense burning pain of his soul and the way that Lin Li was drawing the mageweath immediately reminded him of the mageweath that Osric had once used, the Celestial Purification Fire Mageweath.

    However, recognizing the Celestial Purification Fire did not make the Fire Demon King feelfortable. Instead, it made it even more difficult for him to suppress the fear in his heart. It was because when he had followed Osric, he witnessed Osric tormenting his enemies with the Celestial Purification Fire more than just once. The burning soul that was full of Divine Power was definitely more painful than any other form of torture.

    What made him feel even more desperate and hopeless was the fact that the fire created by the Celestial Purification Fire was different from Holy Light¡¯s powerful purification power even though it was full of Sanctuary power. If it were Holy Light, the soul would be purified with just a short period and amount of pain. However, the Holy Fire would not hurt the soul quickly¡ªthat was to say, it¡¯d bring endless pain to the soul for a long time, and not allow it to dissipate prematurely. Under the burning of the Holy Fire, all resistance would be in vain, and even self-explosion would be a luxury.

    ¡°Stop, stop, what do you want to ask!?¡± the Fire Demon King roared at Lin Li while trying his best to bear the pain of his soul being burned.

    Upon hearing that the Fire Demon King seemed to have admitted defeated, Lin Li did not stop immediately, and instead let the Celestial Purification Fire to go on for a while before the dazzling light gradually became mellower. Lin Li did not show any sympathy to his enemies at all, especially the Abyssal Demons. The Abyssal Demons were the type to bully others, and Lin Li felt that he had to teach them a hard lesson. Without giving them enough suffering, it would be impossible to hear the truth from them.

    ¡°Tell me why you¡¯re here,¡± Lin Li said calmly.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that damned Goblin tell you that I¡¯m Osric¡¯s ve and this is Osric¡¯s mausoleum? What¡¯s so strange about me appearing here? Isn¡¯t that Goblin here too?¡± the Fire Demon King said in a slightly shaky voice. It was unknown if it was because of his anger or fear.

    ¡°It seems that you haven¡¯t gotten enough of this thrill. In that case, as you wish, I¡¯ll let you experience the wonderful feeling again. Just think about how to answer my questions to satisfy me.¡± After saying those words coldly, Lin Li pretended to begin activating the Celestial Purification Fire again.

    ¡°Wait, wait a minute, I¡¯ll tell you what you want to hear.¡± Seeing that Lin Li was about to start the terrifying mageweath again, the Fire Demon King immediately tried to stop Lin Li.

    However, Lin Li did not stop, as if he did not hear what the Fire Demon King said at all. He again activated the Celestial Purification Fire. All of a sudden, the mageweath began to glow once again and the roar of infinite pain sounded in the air once more, making everyone¡¯s face grow sullen.

    A mere few seconds was extremely long for the Fire Demon King, and under the burning of the Holy Fire, he even wished his soul would dissipate immediately. However, as the Holy Fire eroded his soul, he could not channel his Spiritual Force at all, and blowing up his own soul seemed like a tall order too.

    ¡°Actually, I always wanted to study the burning process of souls being incinerated in the Holy Fire. So, you have to think carefully about how to answer my questions in a satisfactory manner,¡± Lin Li said coldly to the Fire Demon King while stopping the mageweath.

    ¡°When Osric signed the contract with me, he promised me that one day, he would help me release all the Fire Demons on the 66th floor of the abyss. Hence, after the Eternal Furnace was built, he helped me build the Gates of the Abyss, but he never opened it for me...¡± the Fire Demon King exined frantically for fear that he would trigger the terrifying Holy Fire if he were to hesitate.

    ¡°Is that so? If Osric could take you out of the 66th floor of the abyss, how could he not have taken them out? Why would he need to build the Gates of the Abyss? Seems like you still think my heart is too soft,¡± said Lin Li, who seemed to be sighing for the Fire Demon King as he prepared to activate the mageweath again.

    ¡°I am telling the truth. It wasn¡¯t Osric who took me out of the abyss, but the Immortal King! It was the Immortal King!¡± the Fire Demon King yelled in horror.

    Hearing the words of the Fire Demon King, Lin Li stopped and did not start the Celestial Purification Fire this time. The 66th floor of the abyss was an area that even the Dragon Aspect could not enter. Although the Fire Demon King was only close to the Sanctuary-realm in terms of strength, in the world of endless magma on the 66th floor of the abyss, his power was absolutely enough topete with the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Even the general Legendary-level Fire Demons could definitely exert more than twice their strength there.

    Although Osric was a famous powerhouse in the history of Anril, neither his personal strength nor the power he held had reached the peak when he subdued the Fire Demon King and made him his ve. It might not have been possible for Osric to do that with his strength. Hence, the one who¡¯d taken the Fire Demon King out of the abyss was probably the godlike Immortal King.

    ¡°Continue,¡± Lin Li ordered.

    ¡°After the Immortal King took me out of the abyss, I was imprisoned in an imprable prison where me and other Lords of the Abyss were held captive. Later, Osric came and saw I was the most powerful demon in prison, and released me. At that time, his strength was much worse than that of the Immortal King. If we had still been in the abyss, I definitely would not have lost to him. Later, he asked me to sign the Soul Contract, and I became his servant. He promised to one day release all the Fire Demons on the 66th floor of the abyss.¡± As the Fire Demon King recalled the past events, there was clearly some resentment in his tone, which was because of Osric¡¯s failure to honor his promise.

    After listening to the exnation of the Fire Demon King, Lin Li thought of the Central Tower in the Sky Castle, where there was a prison holding countless demons. As a disciple of the Immortal King, Osric had gone to the Sky Castle more than once; naturally, it would be impossible for him to subdue and acquire such a strong and powerful ve from that prison.

    ¡°After Osric died, I stayed here and continued to gradually improve the Gates of the Abyss for the sake of opening it. Although the Gates of the Abyss was sessfullypleted in the end, this damned Eternal Furnace suppressed the power of the Gates of the Abyss so much that I could never open it. Hence, I could only continue to wait for someone to enter and break the bnce of power in here to let the Gates of the Abyss break free from the restraint. Sure enough, your arrival has affected the bnce of power inside, and gave me the opportunity to open the Gates of the Abyss. Unfortunately, I still failed in the end. This is all you need to know. Now, the Gates of the Abyss has been destroyed, and it¡¯s impossible to open it again. Can you let me leave now?¡± the Fire Demon King asked in a dejected tone. Waiting for over a thousand years, only to face failure would undoubtedly be a great blow for anyone.

    However, Lin Li shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°You mean, you were staying here only for the sake of opening the Gates of the Abyss?¡± Before the Fire Demon King even answered, Lin Li immediately activated the Celestial Purification Fire that was full of sacred Holy Fire which he used to burn the Fire Demon King¡¯s soul mercilessly.

    ¡°Ah! Horrible. Despicable human, I have answered your question, what exactly do you want!?¡± the Fire Demon King roared angrily. The fluctuations made everyone present feel the immense pain that the Fire Demon King was going through.

    ¡°With the strength of your soul, I believe that it would be no problem for it to continue burning in this Holy Fire for thousands of years. Although I will not wait that long, I can afford waiting half a month. That should be enough time for you to think about what you¡¯ve missed out and did not tell me.¡± Lin Li stood up and looked quietly at the Fire Demon King¡¯s corpse that was engulfed in mes, seemingly not preparing to stop it.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t believe that the Fire Demon King had stayed here for over 1000 years just to open the Gates of the Abyss. <i>Opening the Gates of the Abyss and releasing the Fire Demons in the 66th floor of the abyss isn¡¯t just for destroying Anril, is it?</i> He remembered that Angno once said that when the Fire Demon King was a ve to Osric, he also possessed an extremely powerful weapon.

    Based on his inference, Lin Li felt that the powerful weapon was most likely to be the debris of the stars, Nothingness, which he had been looking for. Given the incredible power of Nothingness, how could the former user, the Fire Demon King, not be tempted?

 Chapter 735 - The Highlordéˆ¥æªš Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 735: The Highlord¡¯s Weapon</h4>

    ¡°I already told you what I know, what else do you need to know!¡± the Fire Demon King yelled in agony.

    ¡°Okay, let me remind you. I heard that you once had a powerful weapon. Is that true?¡± Lin Li said calmly, but didn¡¯t mean to stop the mageweath from running.

    ¡°Horrendous, it must be the damned Goblin who told you about it. I don¡¯t know what weapon you¡¯re talking about. My weapon is my power!¡± the Fire Demon King roared and continued to scream, but he refused to say anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait slowly, then. Maybe you¡¯ll get used to the feeling of your soul burning.¡± Lin Li yawned and sat beside the corpse of the Fire Demon King, closing his eyes to meditate.

    Under such circumstances, Lin Li was probably the only person who could enter meditation with peace of mind. Even Andoine and Rosen couldn¡¯t remain calm under the spiritual fluctuations emanating from the Fire Demon King. The painful roar that came out from it was extremely unbearable for everyone. He was a powerhouse that was near the Sanctuary-realm, yet he got tortured to such an extent. He hadpletely changed their notion of a powerhouse.

    Time passed minute after minute, but the pain suffered by the Fire Demon King did not dissipate over time. How could one get used to such pain? In the memory of the Fire Demon King, Osric had once used this method against his enemies¡¯ souls. However, after being tormented for almost 100 years, the souls of the enemies had beden with agony.

    ¡°Yes, there is a weapon. I remember it now. Hurry and stop this damned mageweath!¡± the Fire Demon King yelled, unable to tolerate it anymore. Death was nothingpared to this horrendous torment that would make anyone copse.

    ¡°I hope this is thest time. If you try patronizing me again, I will no longer be bothered to ask you anything. I will not be reluctant to sacrifice a magical crystal for the mageweath to continue running,¡± said Lin Li who stopped the mageweath which grew dimmer and revealed the corpse within.

    ¡°That damned Goblin. I really should have melted and forged him together with that pile of metal.¡± The burning pain began to fade a little and the Fire Demon King barked angrily, but when he heard Lin Li¡¯s warning, he quivered again, and frantically said, ¡°There is a weapon, a spear that contains a massive destructive power. However, that weapon does not belong to me, and Osric would only let me use it during a battle.¡±

    ¡°Spear? Are you sure it¡¯s a spear?¡± Lin Li asked as his expression changed a little. As the former owner of the debris of the stars, Lin Li obviously knew what the debris of the stars, Nothingness, looked like. <i>Could it be that the weapon used by the Fire Demon King is not the debris of the stars Nothingness, but another weapon created by him or the Immortal King? Or maybe, the Fire Demon King has yet to be tormented enough, and still doesn¡¯t wish to tell the truth?</i>

    ¡°It¡¯s a spear, it definitely is a spear. However, the power of the spear is very special, and it¡¯s not just powerful.¡± Afraid that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t believe him, the Fire Demon King added, ¡°The spear has the ability to transform all power into nothingness, and regardless of how strong the defense may be, it will all be useless under the attack of the spear. It¡¯s not as simple as destroying the defense of others. It has a strong prating power too. The spear can pierce through space, and a small strike will create a crack in space. Even time will be changed under the power of the spear!¡±

    Lin Li was disappointed when he heard that the weapon was a spear, but when he heard about its power, he began to find that it was like the debris of the stars Nothingness. Hence, Lin Li stopped the mageweath, and continued to listen to the Fire Demon King¡¯s words.

    Although his body had already died and his soul was the only thing left intact, the Fire Demon King suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. He said, ¡°Back when Osric first released me from the prison and I was leaving the mountain, I encountered two dragons that attacked me. They were not too strong, but due to the fact that they were twin dragons, I had a hard time handling them. At the time, Osric did not intervene, and simply gave that spear to me. It was the first time I used that spear, and I managed to stab the twin dragons with one strike. Their defense was as fragile as paper.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li could not help but freeze for a moment, because the mention of twin dragons sounded rather familiar. The Fire Demon King was originally locked in the Sky Castle. <i>Since they passed the Haiga Mountain Range, could it be that the twin dragons they encountered were the Double Death Dragons that I risked my life to destroy and defeat in the dragon graveyard back then?</i>

    Lin Li still remembered clearly that the Double Death Dragons already had level-22¡¯s strength at that time. Hence, before they died[1], they should have had at least level-23¡¯s strength. The characteristics of the Double Death Dragons allowed them to exert power that was more than level-23¡¯s. It was not impossible for it to reach level-24, either.

    Meanwhile, the Fire Demon King had been imprisoned in the Sky Castle for several years, and after he was released, he had a battle with Osric, and even signed the Soul Contract. Hence, his strength had definitely been reduced. In that case, even if his strength had reached level-24, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to exert level-24¡¯s power. It could be said that the blow that killed the twin dragons was mostly because of the power of the spear.

    Although the characteristics of the so-called spear were indeed very simr to those of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, it was actually much stronger in terms of power. Back when he was facing the Double Death Dragons, Lin Li already had three pieces of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, Holy Light, and Rebirth. Yet, he was forced to the brink of death.

    ¡°Although Osric often allowed me to use the spear, it was much more powerful when he used it. Although I don¡¯t know how he manipted the spear, I know that he managed to pierce through tens of floors of the abyss when he used that spear at the time. The three Sanctuary-level Demon Lords on the 72th floor of the abyss were also killed by that blow,¡± said the Fire Demon King who was trying to recall the past events, his soul trembling as he felt fearful of the power exhibited by Osric.

    Hearing this, even Lin Li could not help but feel amazed deep down. When a piece of the debris of the stars was used by a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, it could indeed exert enough power to kill those of the Sanctuary-realm. However, it would be rather exaggerated and absurd to say that the spear could pierce through tens of floors of the abyss and kill three Sanctuary-realm powerhouses in one go!

    ¡°Is this the other reason you were staying here? You want to get the spear, don¡¯t you? You should know where it is now, then.¡± Lin Li posed the question that he was the most concerned about while trying to suppress the shock and bewilderment within him.

    ¡°Although I used to always wield the spear, I was only allowed to use it during battles. It was usually controlled by Osric himself. When he died, the contract was terminated; hence, it was even more impossible for him to give that spear to me. Otherwise, do you think I¡¯d really have been defeated by you like this? I opened the Gates of the Abyss and released the Fire Demons on the 66th floor of the abyss also because I wanted them to help me find the spear,¡± the Fire Demon King answered helplessly.

    ¡°Okay then. As Osric¡¯s most trusted servant, you know what you can do to avoid suffering in this Eternal Furnace.¡± Although Lin Li was disappointed to hear the Fire Demon King¡¯s answer, he had also expected it. The debris of the stars Nothingness was an artifact-level treasure, and the Fire Demon King was not Osric¡¯s son, anyway. How could he have obtained this extremely valuable relic? Since the whereabouts of the debris of the stars was still unknown, Lin Li had no choice but to retreat and ask the Fire Demon King about the Eternal Furnace which he had been living in for over a thousand years.

    In a self-deprecating manner, the Fire Demon King said, ¡°I was the most trusted servant, and the trust between us was also built on the soul contract. In this eternal furnace, I was both Osric¡¯s servant and prisoner. Do you think he¡¯d let me know more? The only thing I can tell you is that Osric¡¯s coffin was originally designed to be ced in the center of the Eternal Furnace, on the top of the minaret floor.¡±

    ¡°Really, is that all? Are you sure you haven¡¯t missed anything? In that case, I have to tell you that I¡¯m very dissatisfied with this answer. Why don¡¯t I start the Celestial Purification Fire and then go inside while you wait for me toe back out safely to stop it for you. Of course, if I can¡¯te back, you¡¯ll have to wait for someone else to enter and help you.¡± Lin Li then extended his hand towards the mageweath, and got ready to activate the mageweath again.

    ¡°Wait a minute, I remember something that Osric said before his death.¡± The Fire Demon King was a little confused; he could not figure out who the demon between them was.

    However, the Fire Demon King soon got the answer. Lin Li didn¡¯t stop the mageweath at all. Instead, he reactivated it and caused the Fire Demon King to yell and wail in a shrill voice. The Demon Lord finally understood that he was far from being a demonpared to Lin Li.

    After a full minute, Lin Li finally stopped the Mageweath again, and turned to say to the Fire Demon King, ¡°If you haven¡¯t had enough thrill yet, we can continue.¡±

    ¡°Enough! Enough! Osric once said before his death that anyone who interrupted his sleep would be buried under the Stars of Fury. I don¡¯t know what this sentence means, but it should be referring to a very powerful trap.¡± The Fire Demon King immediately said what he knew, not daring to hesitate for a moment. However, after saying those words, he didn¡¯t get an answer from Lin Li for a long time. He began to tense up again for fear that Lin Li would use the damned Holy Fire to torture him again.

    Overwhelmed with fear and worry, the Fire Demon King felt like he was waiting for the final judgment, but Lin Li was filled with shock because he felt that he had heard Osric¡¯sst words somewhere before.

    Yes, Lin Li still remembered the Well of the Sun from the Endless World. When he was speaking to the spirit of a High Elf back then, thetter once told him, ¡°Buried under the Stars of Fury.¡±

    It was the Stars of Fury! Lin Li finally understood that the Stars of Fury was actually in the hands of Osric. The Stars of Fury could take any form, and it was no wonder that it could turn Nothingness into a spear. A powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could exert the limit of the debris of the stars to the fullest; it was really not a myth.

    From the moment that he obtained the first debris of the stars piece, Holy Light, Lin Li had been thinking about the whereabouts of the Stars of Fury. Even an ordinary spear would be able to exert extremely strong power because of the debris of the stars and Stars of Fury. Lin Li had been suspecting that it was hidden somewhere because he was sure that its whereabouts definitely wouldn¡¯t be unknown otherwise.

    In the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Sky Castle, Lin Li only saw a replica of the Stars of Fury. At that time, he thought that the real Stars of Fury might have been taken away from Anril by the Immortal King. To his surprise, he found some news about the Stars of Fury now that he was in Osric¡¯s mausoleum searching for Nothingness. It was definitely a big surprise for Lin Li. If he could really get the Stars of Fury, he would definitely be on par with powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, Lin Li also knew that it was not an easy task to get Stars of Fury at this juncture. Back when he was in the Seven-Realm Spiral, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was only manipted by a replica, yet the power it exerted was already difficult to handle. Even if Lin Li had four pieces of the debris of the stars and had reached level-23, he still felt confused. Perhaps the only thing he could do was pray for Nothingness and Stars of Fury to be ced in separate ces.

    Lin Li calmed himself down and again asked the Fire Demon King a few questions. Unfortunately, the Fire Demon King, who was known as Osric¡¯s most trusted servant, knew very little about the Eternal Furnace. In fact, he could not evenpare to Lin Li, an outsider.

    The conversation between Lin Li and the Fire Demon King was done through mental strength. Hence, no one knew what the two of them said to each other. The only thing they could hear was the shrill sounds let out by the Fire Demon King.

    [1] As in before they became undead.

 Chapter 736 - Commanderéˆ¥æªš Badge

    <h4>Chapter 736: Commander¡¯s Badge</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    <i>Damn, this human being is terrible, he is even more demonic than demons!</i> Angno manipted the alchemy machine; he had already left Lin Li¡¯s side. He stared at Lin Li, the young mage who he¡¯d initially thought was easy to deal with, keeping his guard up. At this moment, after watching Lin Li torture the Fire Demon King, he began to recall the conditions that he had discussed with Lin Li previously. If it were not for the alchemy machine, Angno would have long been scared soulless.

    Angno was known as one of the three most powerful warriors of Osric, but after leaving the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, he was just a Goblin that even ordinary people could beat. He had profound knowledge in Alchemy and superb alchemical skills, but he would only feel safe when he was hiding in the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Hence, Osric was the only one who knew that the mighty Angno was actually only a timid Goblin.

    Lin Li¡¯s actions were way more brutal than the demons¡¯, and Angno was obviously terrified. Even though he had already run far, far away, he was still trembling, and the sounds of his alchemy machine clinking could still be heard.

    However, no one was paying attention to Angno now, because the scream that suddenly sounded on a spiritual level was particrly shrill and miserable. The fear that it caused in the humans was no less than the horror it brought to Angno. The shrieks of pain made everyone empathize with the demon, and everyone¡¯s soul was secretly trembling.

    Rosen, who had always regarded Lin Li as an eyesore, had a somber and sullen expression at this moment. He stood still and remained silent while feeling fearful towards Lin Li because of thetter¡¯s brutal means and nature. Although he didn¡¯t know what Lin Li asked the Fire Demon King about, he felt that any piece of information, be it significant or not, would probably result in an unpredictable change.

    Moreover, Rosen was also a master of mageweaths, and when he saw Lin Li drawing the mageweath of the Celestial Purification Fire, he felt an inexplicable horror in his heart. It was no wonder that Master Moke continuously sang praises about Lin Li after returning from the Tower of Dusk which he had drawn a mageweath for. Despite being a true Master of Inscription, he still found it difficult to draw the Celestial Purification Fire with ease within a short period of time. Besides, Felic, who was only in his early twenties, had only achieved great progress and attainments in magic, yet he also had great achievements in drawing mageweaths, pharmaceutics, and inscription. He found a enemy like him to be terrible.

    Aldwin and Macklin nced at each other, but they both saw a trace of shock and fear in each other¡¯s eyes. Using a Master-level Godly Soul Potion as the cost, and activating the Celestial Purification Fire potion to torment the soul of the Fire Demon King was probably something that only the lunatic Lin Li could think of.

    Although Andoine was Lin Li¡¯s teacher, he had not been teaching Lin Li magic for that long; hence, he did not know much about Lin Li, either. After witnessing Lin Li¡¯s behavior, he could not help but secretly think to himself,<i> Damn it, this kid is more ruthless than I am. That Fire Demon King is already dead, yet he¡¯s still torturing his soul. </i>

    Of course, although Andoine was also taken aback with Lin Li¡¯s behavior, he did not think that Lin Li went overboard. After all, his opponent was an Abyssal Demon¡ªtheir enemy. The only thing that he felt sorry about was the loss of the Godly Soul Potion. After all, even if the Fire Demon King knew some information about the mausoleum, it probably wouldn¡¯t be significant. Otherwise, the Fire Demon would have long plundered it.

    Lin Li also ended the cordial conversation with the Fire Demon King, and stood up to turn around, only to see that the mages had all taken a step back in shock. Of course, everyone was just behaving subconsciously. After all, the miserable cry of the demon¡¯s spirit had given them too much of an impact.

    Lin Li smiled indifferently, and pointed to the depths of the pce before saying, ¡°After we pass through this, we¡¯ll reach the real burial ce of Osric. He¡¯s said that it¡¯s on the top floor of the central tower. I believe he wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to me. If everyone has already rested enough, let¡¯s continue and set off.¡±

    Lin Li had tortured the Fire Demon King for a long time, but no one asked much about what information he got. Rosen knew that even if he asked, he would be unlikely to obtain the real answer. Hence, he decided not to ask about it at all. Meanwhile, Andoine and Aldwin seemed to have also known that no matter what information Lin Li had gotten, thetter would definitely speak up if it were rted to the safety of everyone. Since he refused to speak, he definitely had his reasons for keeping mum.

    Although they were put in dangerous predicaments while fighting in the previous battles, they did not use up too much power or energy. Hence, after a little discussion, the leaders agreed to go with Lin Li¡¯s proposal, and proceeded to continue exploring the depths of the pce.

    All of the mageweaths in the tall and spacious pce had be dimmer, and the original silence was restored. The battle marks on the ground were soon cleaned up as if nothing had happened.

    However, there was a new screaming resident sealed in the Summoning Lamp in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm.

    ¡°Despicable human being, shameless liar, I have told you everything I know and you won¡¯t be able to get anything out from me anymore. Let me out!¡± the Fire Demon King roared in exasperation, and his massive Spiritual Force continuously impacted the seal on the Summoning Lamp, causingrge rays of radiant light to emanate from it.

    In fact, when Lin Li took out the Summoning Lamp to seal the Fire Demon King, thetter was more worried than excited. With his level-24 abilities that were close to the Sanctuary-realm, he felt that there was no way the insignificant human mage Lin Li would be able to seal him, even with the magicmp created by Osric. He felt that he could use the power of the seal to leave his body and teach the despicable Lin Li a hard lesson.

    However, what the Fire Demon King did not expect was for Lin Li¡¯s power to be on par with a true Sanctuary-realm powerhouse¡¯s with the help of the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal and the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. The Fire Demon King did not escape immediately after his soul separated from his body. Instead, he tried to rebel against Lin Li, but he ended up bringing more trouble upon himself. By the time he recovered from the shock, he had already lost his ability to resist, and was pulled into the Summoning Lamp.

    ¡°Be quiet, don¡¯t forget you are my object now. Answering my questions was just to ensure that you will no longer be burned by the Holy Fire. I didn¡¯t say that I will let you go,¡± Lin Li retorted indifferently before blocking all of his roars.

    ¡°Despicable, shameless, you humans are the most despicable creatures in this world!¡± the Fire Demon King cursed continuously and cussed his heart out. Clearly, the human mage Lin Li was the real demon here.

    The team walked slowly towards the depths of the pce. The extravagant decorations around no longer surprised them, because they had already gotten used to it. Lin Li and Angno were still in front of everyone else, constantly stopping to crack the lethal traps left behind by Osric. However, Angno, who lost the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was clearly still traumatized by what happened just now, and kept a certain distance from Lin Li.

    While passing through the long dreamy corridor, the mages cracked several magic traps that were enough to make Legendary powerhouses fall. The team finally arrived at another luxurious pce, which was smaller in size but extremely spaciouspared to the previous pce¡¯s corridors.

    Standing at the entrance of the pce and looking in, Lin Li realized that there were several smaller doors on both sides of the pce, leading to rooms of unknown purpose. The leaders of the team looked at each other, and seemed to be looking forward to something. They were hoping that they might find something in the rooms. After all, apart from the loot they had obtained from the battle with the Fire Demon, they had not obtained anything.

    Ever since they entered the mausoleum, Lin Li was the only one who obtained the control center for controlling the Alchemical Undead. As a result, the Alchemy Undead simply became sacrificial objects. There was also an imprisoned silver-armored knight, which was Lin Li¡¯s material for research. It was needless to say for the others. They¡¯d originally thought that the countless magical Crystal Cannons were huge assets, yet they had to be destroyed one by one. In the exploration afterwards, the team was sessively downsized. Although some magical objects were obtained by them from the High Elves¡¯ graveyard, most of them were still lost when they were facing the attack of the Mage Killer.

    They only got a few Legendary magical crystals during the battle with the Fire Demons, as well as some Fire Demon corpses. The nna Guild of Magic managed to obtain the level-24 magical crystal of the Fire Demon King. However, those gains were not considered benefitspared to the other items that could be hidden in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, which was considered Anril¡¯s greatest treasure vault.

    Everyone looked at the rooms around the pce, and although they knew that Osric was unlikely to leave any valuable objects there, they were still indignant and reluctant to leave without checking them. Besides, what might be insignificant to Osric might be of value to them. After all, they were just like beggarspared to Osric.

    Although Rosen and Andoine¡¯s mission was to find the important object for the Supreme Council, they had a tough time getting here, and no one was willing to let their efforts go in vain. On another hand, Aldwin and Macklin were originally there to seek some treasures anyway. Since the thing that might exist was reserved by the Supreme Council, they naturally had to get other items to make up for it.

    The few of them discussed it. Apart from Rosen, everyone looked at Lin Li because they all knew how terrifying the power of the magic traps in the mausoleum was. Without him, no one would be able to leave with their loot in one piece.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯d like to see what Osric has left behind too.¡± Although Lin Li was anxious to find the debris of the stars, Nothingness, he wouldn¡¯t mind getting a few more treasures. More importantly, he was still not sure what the Supreme Council was looking for, and he wanted to find out if the so-called powerful weapon that could destroy Fn Kingdom they wanted had anything to do with Nothingness. The Fire Demon King once said that Nothingness had been taken back by Osric, but who knew if Osric would have left it beside him? He might well have left it in some unassuming spot.

    Lin Li and Angno got busy for a long time in front of the door of the first room, and as time passed, everyone began to grow increasingly enthusiastic. Indeed, everyone knew that the harder it was to break in, the greater the value of the things inside would be.

    Finally, a sh of light appeared, and a horrifying magical wave erupted from the magic trap in front of the door, but it suddenly died down. Lin Li turned back and smiled at the crowd. He didn¡¯t say anything nor entered the room. Instead, he took two steps back and waited for Andoine and the others to enter. The mages were ordered to wait outside, while the several leaders entered the room, feeling the huge magical waves in the room, and looking forward to seeing the treasures left by Osric.

    Compared to the pce outside, the space in the room was naturally much smaller, at only about two or three hundred square meters. However, it seemed empty at first because everything in the room was already visible when they reached the door. In addition to the exquisite murals on the walls and ceilings, as well as some luxurious and elegant tables and chairs that were made in ordance with the High Elven style, the other magic items seemed rather useless and insignificant.

    They searched three rooms in a row. Although all of them were full of tempting magical waves, the magical waves would disappear once someone entered. In fact, it waspletely empty for everyone; actually, it was probably a kind of spiritual trap. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li waited for them to enter after breaking the magic traps, they would have thought that he had pocketed some of the items. If it were a team thatprised of members who did not trust each other or cooperated well, the trap would have definitely caused the team to split or even fight each other.

    When they reached the fourth room, everyone no longer had much hope, because the magic trap was broken quickly, and they only decided to take a look because it wouldn¡¯t take up much time. However, this time, Aldwin began to shriek uncontrobly as soon as they entered.

    ¡°Commander¡¯s badge, it¡¯s actually themander¡¯s badge!¡± If Aldwin hadn¡¯t known where this was, he would have leaped forward uncontrobly.

 Chapter 737 - The Mageéˆ¥æªš Hand

    <h4>Chapter 737: The Mage¡¯s Hand</h4>

    Everyone followed Aldwin¡¯s gaze and saw a palm-sized badge that was in the shape of a shield on top of a crystal rack in the room. The badge seemed to be carved out of a sky-blue-colored crystal, with delicate patterns that were emitting psychedelic rays of light. The badge also seemed to be giving out faint magical waves which seemed to contain some orderly nomological power, although it was not an extraordinary magic item.

    Andoine shook his head and smiled at Lin Li. ¡°I finally got to see something real, yet it¡¯s something that I can¡¯t use. However, I heard that the mages of the Tower of Dusk have been taught well by you, rascal. This thing can help you to increase thebat power of the mages by a few percent.¡±

    The magical wave was not very eye-catching, and seemed to only represent a badge of honor, which would directly improve the strength of the mages. It did sound a little exaggerated, but just like the old fogies, Lin Li knew that Andoine was not exaggerating at all, and was instead making a conservative im.

    Themander¡¯s badge was said to be the symbol of themander of the Magic Legion under Osric, but it was not just a symbol. Instead, it was a magical crystal that contained pure mental strength, and its value was probably not inferior to that of the Evil Eye Tyrant magical crystal that Lin Li had. The Master-level miniature carving technique of this powerful crystallized piece perfectly integrated the Master-level orderly mageweath into the crystal piece, creating a huge and detailedwork of mental strength.

    After wearing the Commander¡¯s Badge, themander of the mages could connect all of the mages under him into thework of mental strength. Not only did it allow the wearer tomand them well, it would also greatly reduce the difficulty of joint casting by at least half while amplifying the mental strength of the mages in thework.

    For mages, mental strength was even more important than mana¡ªnot only was it rted to the recovery of mana, it was also linked to the maniption of mana, sess rate of casting spells, and so on. A level-18 to level-19 Archmage would be able to exert Legendary-level power with the expansion of mental strength due to the Commander¡¯s Badge. A group of Archmages could even increase theirbat power two- or threefold.

    For the invincible Magic Legion owned by Osric, powerful mages and excellent magical equipment were certainly important for the Magic Legion to maintain their strength. However, what made them truly invincible and unbeatable was Aldwin¡¯s finding: the Commander¡¯s Badge. If Aldwin had had the Commander¡¯s Badge in the battle with the Fire Demon King, the difficulty and danger of the battle would have probably been directly reduced by half. It would not have been impossible for the mages to go against the Fire Demon King effortlessly[1].

    Upon hearing Andoine¡¯s words, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything, but Aldwin immediately turned around and blushed slightly while staring at Lin Li anxiously. For those present, the Commander¡¯s Badge might not be extremely precious, but the Presidents Aldwin and Lin Li were the only ones who could use it. Aldwin had just obtained the magical crystal from the Fire Demon King, and if Lin Li really wanted it, there would be no reason for Aldwin to object to it.

    Lin Li touched his chin with a smile, and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know what we will encounter next. Since the Commander¡¯s Badge can enhance thebat power of the mages, I think it¡¯d be better for us to give it to President Aldwin.¡±

    As soon as Lin Li spoke, Andoine, Aldwin, and even Rosen were incredibly shocked. Although the Commander¡¯s Badge would not allow them to advance tremendously or allow a team of mages with no experience in cooperating to immediately be a real team of mages, the Commander¡¯s Badge would allow the team¡¯sbat power to increase quickly with the help of the mental strengthwork as long as the mages were slightly trained. Not to mention, the Tower of Dusk was a very famous force in the Breezy ins.

    Lin Li did not hesitate to suggest giving the Commander¡¯s Badge to Aldwin, precisely because he knew how strong the Commander¡¯s Badge was. However, Aldwin was a bit embarrassed to ask for it. Aldwin wanted to decline, but he would nce at the tempting Commander¡¯s Badge every now and then, finding it hard to bring himself to turn it down.

    ¡°President Aldwin, although the mages under Felic do need the Commander¡¯s Badge too, it is the most appropriate for you to have it given the current situation. We are getting closer to Osric¡¯s burial ce, and it is bound to get increasingly dangerous. The Commander¡¯s Badge can improve thebat power of the mages, which is also very helpful for us during this trip,¡± said Rosen, who finally agreed with Lin Li. However, it was mostly because he didn¡¯t want Lin Li¡¯s Tower of Dusk to improve and increase in strength because of the Commander¡¯s Badge. Moreover, he also felt that Lin Li was probably just giving up the badge now to look good, and would still im it once Aldwin declined; hence, he wanted to persuade Aldwin to take the badge so that Lin Li would suffer a loss.

    Andoine glowered at Rosen, and remained silent instead of refuting, though he was a little displeased. It was because even though he rarely interacted with Lin Li, he knew that his student Lin Li would never shortchange himself.

    Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be earnest about giving the badge away, Aldwin said a few polite words and strode towards the crystal rack to grab the Commander¡¯s Badge that he had been coveting without hesitation.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Just as Aldwin was about to grab the Commander¡¯s Badge, Lin Li suddenly stopped him by calling out. Staring at the Commander¡¯s Badge, he slowly took two steps forward.

    Upon hearing Lin Li, Rosen sneered, and mocked, ¡°Why? Mage Felic, are you regretting your decision? Sometimes, you have to see whom you¡¯re ying tricks with.¡±

    Back when they were dealing with the silver-armored knights, Rosen exerted the influence that he secretly had in the nna Guild of Magic in order to assert dominance and prove his authority. Hence, that resulted in a crack in his rtionship with Aldwin, which was difficult to repair. Originally, Rosen didn¡¯t care much, thinking that with his own strength and that of the mages he controlled, he could cope with the dangers that followed. However, he didn¡¯t expect to see the traps in the abyss kill off all of hispanions.

    In the subsequent tasks, Rosen clearly saw that Aldwin and Lin Li were getting closer to each other, and the magical crystal of the Fire Demon King also made them form closer ties. That was not what he wanted to see. Even though there was a strain in their rtionship, he could not allow Aldwin to gang up with Lin Li. Otherwise, he would be truly isted in the following parts of the mission.

    Although Rosen¡¯s provocation made Andoine want to curse his heart out in anger, neither Aldwin nor Lin Li reacted. Aldwin turned back and looked at Lin Li, who smiled and said, ¡°The Commander¡¯s Badge is not here. As long as your hand touches it, it will disappear immediately. I¡¯m afraid it will be difficult to find it again.¡±

    ¡°What! This is fake?¡± Aldwin was greatly taken aback as he turned to look at the Commander¡¯s Badge again. However, no matter how hard he tried to use his mental strength to sense it, he felt that the item was physically there, and the nomological power did not seem to be fake, either.

    ¡°Hah, the Commander¡¯s Badge is clearly right there, and its waves are definitely real. Your lie is not clever at all.¡± After confirming the existence of the Commander¡¯s Badge, Rosen immediately continued to sow discord between the two of them. He felt that it would be a waste if he were to let go of the opportunity.

    ¡°It¡¯s not wrong to be clueless, but it¡¯s really disgusting if you act like you know it all when you¡¯re just in ignorant,¡± Lin Li gibed while pointing to a few unassuming objects on the crystal rack. He said, ¡°There is a solidified magic that seems to be a shrinking Orderly Maze. If you don¡¯t take the Commander¡¯s Badge in a correct manner, it will be sent to another ce. Although you can¡¯t see where it is sent, I believe Osric will not let it fall into the hands of the intruders.¡±

    When Lin Li and Cheyenne explored the Sky Castle previously, the powerful Sanctuary-level Orderly Maze was what sent them straight to the Seven-Realm Spiral. Originally, the Orderly Maze was difficult to notice, and it would not emit even a trace of special magical wave. However, Lin Li obtained some information from the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. After he left the Sky Castle, he carefully analyzed the characteristics of the Orderly Maze, and gained some experience with it, at least in terms of identification.

    Moreover, Lin Li could detect the aura of Nothingness around the Commander¡¯s Badge. If the reduced Orderly Maze was activated, the Commander¡¯s Badge might be sent directly into the chaos of time and space. Although the Commander¡¯s Badge was extremely precious, it was very fragile because it was made of the crystallization of mental strength. Hence, it would probably be smashed and crushed instantly in the chaos of time and space.

    ¡°How rming. Even a Sanctuary Master would find it difficult to deploy the Orderly Maze, let alone shrink and solidify it,¡± said Rosen, who clearly did not believe Lin Li. Although he had yet to see the real Orderly Maze, there were plenty of records about it in the Supreme Council. At the end of the Dark Age, an arbitrator of the Supreme Council had once entered the High Elven Queen¡¯s pce together with Geresco. In that pce, there was the same Orderly Maze as in the Central Tower of the Sky Castle; hence, he was clear about the difficulty of exhibiting this at the Sanctuary-realm and solidifying it.

    ¡°Do you want to make a bet? If the Commander¡¯s Badge disappears, you must use that staff that summoned the wyrms as a form ofpensation to the nna Guild of Magic.¡± Lin Li shot Rosen a disdainful nce. He did not actually want to taunt him¡ªhe just wanted to make him shut up. Although the staff could summon wyrms, it was definitely no less precious than the Commander¡¯s Badge.

    ¡°Felic, how are we supposed to take the Commander¡¯s Badge?¡± Aldwin clearly already believed Lin Li as he eagerly asked about the method of removal of the Commander¡¯s Badge.

    Undoing the solidification of Osric was one solution, but it was definitely not applicable here. Regardless of whether or not the solidified state of Orderly Maze would be dissolved, the disappearance of the Orderly Maze would probably open a crack in spacetime and cause the Commander¡¯s Badge to be devoured by it. The only thing they needed to know now was the way to put it in. However, it was simpler said than done, and God knew how he could retrieve the Commander¡¯s Badge.

    Lin Li nced at the crowd and his eyes suddenly lit up. The goblin Angno was the first to follow Osric, and Lin Li reckoned that he might know something. Hence, he said to the Goblin, ¡°Angno, you and Amatir seemed to be rather close. He used to be themander of the Magic Legion too. He must have used the Commander¡¯s Badge. Have you ever seen how the badge is removed?¡±

    Although Lin Li was inquiring with a look of excitement, Angno could not help but feel a cold chill down his spine. The scene of Lin Li previously torturing the Fire Demon King immediately appeared in his mind. The alchemy machine began rattling and nking again.

    ¡°W-what?¡± Angno asked while trembling.

    ¡°Are you feeling cold?¡± Lin Li looked at Angno with a peculiar expression, bewildered, and continued, ¡°I¡¯m asking you if you still remember how Amatir took out the Commander¡¯s Badge. Or are there any rules that Osric likes to set in the Orderly Maze?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, the Hand Of the Mage. It¡¯s the lowest-level Hand of The Mage.¡± Angno didn¡¯t dare to hesitate for a moment. While talking, he cringed again; it seemed that he wouldn¡¯t ovee the psychological trauma anytime soon.

    In the Orderly Maze, nothing would be affected as long as the rules of the maze were followed. However, if any was vited, the person responsible would be immediately punished by the rules. Who would think of using the Hand of The Mage to pick up something from the rack? Besides, the Commander¡¯s Badge was extremely weak and fragile. Even a Legendary powerhouse would worry about dropping it on the ground.

    Of course, they weren¡¯t in the Eternal Furnace, which was definitely not the same as the former ce of the Highlord Osric. However, with the hint, Lin Li nodded at Aldwin and carefully studied the Laws of the Orderly Maze with his understanding of the maze, after which he affirmed Angno¡¯s words with a nod.

    Aldwin didn¡¯t even chant magic spells. Instead, he took two steps backwards, and immediatelyunched the lowest-level Hand of The Mage. As expected, he managed to grab it easily. After getting the badge sessfully, he broke out in a cold sweat. The magic spell¡¯s burden was nothing, but the psychological pressure was too overwhelming. Had he not known that the Commander¡¯s Badge was precious, he wouldn¡¯t have felt as distressed. If they were to watch the precious gem disappearing after getting it, they would definitely go mad.

    Later, Lin Li tossed a piece of metal and watched as it shed out of existence. Aldwin and the rest were filled with fear, but at the same time, they were also more convinced with Lin Li. Rosen was the only one who turned pale and turned around to leave the room while Lin Li stared at him provocatively.

    [1] I think the author means keeping up in battle effortlessly, and not winning.

 Chapter 738 - Dead Soul

    <h4>Chapter 738: Dead Soul</h4>

    After getting the Commander¡¯s Badge, Aldwin and Macklin could not hide the excitement on their faces. However, after appreciating the legendary magic artifact, the two thought of how topensate Lin Li. After all, ever since they had entered the ce, discovered the items, and harvested them, Lin Li had an important role to y. It was not like the two of them to pocket such a precious item without saying anything.

    However, Lin Li had his own ns, and the information he obtained now told him that not only was there a piece of the debris of the stars in the mausoleum, it was likely that Stars of Fury was present too. Those two artifacts were the ones that he most desperately needed and desired. Seeing his rtionship with Rosen now, he felt that Rosen would definitely get in his way, regardless of whether the two artifacts had something to do with the item that the Supreme Council wanted. He wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of getting rid of Rosen, but he would at least hinder and suppress him in terms of power and attitude. Hence, when Macklin offered to make it up to Lin Li by giving him the magical crystal of the Fire Demon, Lin Li resolutely declined.

    On the other hand, Angno epted a magical crystal from Macklin, and used it as the power source of his alchemy machine. Of course, he sneaked a nce at Lin Li¡¯s expression before epting the magical crystal with a peace of mind.

    Then, the team continued to search the rooms in the back, but it was a pity that those rooms were the same as those at the front. The magic traps outside were ratherplicated, but the interior was empty. The only objects present were beautiful and extravagant decorations and art pieces, which made those who were excited feel extremely disappointed. Maybe there had been something more precious in the rooms, but those items could have been taken away by Osric. Or perhaps it was one of Osric¡¯s pranks. In fact, even the Commander¡¯s Badge would be unattainable for any of them if not for Lin Li, who happened to understand the Orderly Maze.

    When they searched the ninth room, the magic trap in front of the door took Lin Li and Angno a long time to solve. However, when it was finally removed, none of them looked excited at all. Instead, they seemed a little disappointed. It was because they reckoned that the room that was tightly guarded by the magic trap probably just contained boring works of art, or perhaps it was just empty.

    However, when Lin Li and others walked into the room, they immediately eximed uncontrobly, unable to contain their excitement. The small room was filled with boxes full of magical gemstones. The magical gemstones of the six elements¡ªearth, fire, water, wind, light, and darkness¡ªwere glistening outstandingly when the lid of a box was lifted. They were so bright that they seemed to be devouring the people¡¯s souls.

    ¡°Emperor¡¯s Ice Diamond, Dark Night Magical Gemstone, Heavenly Crystal...¡± Everyone stood by the door in shock and looked at the boxes of superb magical gemstones in the room, each of them the best amongst all gemstones of that element. Any one was valuable and priceless. There were probably thousands of them in the room.

    The gemstones that had been formed after thousands of years were not only gorgeous in appearance. Although they were not as pure as the power of the gemstones of magical elements, they were more than a thousand times better in terms of stability. They were required for the production of magic staffs, magic ornaments, and magical weapons.

    ¡°If these gemstones are brought out of here, I¡¯m afraid the entire Anril will go mad. Did Osric empty out the high elven queen¡¯s treasure vault!? No, even then, there couldn¡¯t be so many magical gemstones!¡± Andoine muttered.

    Rosen was much more straightforward as he strode towards the gemstones hysterically. ¡°The Supreme Council, the Supreme Council is the only one that can truly realize their value!¡±

    Although Rosen¡¯s words made many of them feel displeased, they had no choice but to admit that that was indeed the case given the current situation in Anril.

    After the war at the end of the Dark Age, a lot of knowledge appeared to be wed, and some did not manage to get passed on. Hence, it was very difficult to find a master jeweler in Anril. If the magical gemstones were not specially processed by jewelers through soaking, cutting, and various other processes, it would be the same as being unable to convert a piece of wood into a magic staff. However, even Master jewelers wouldn¡¯t dare to touch the magical gemstones lightly. If a low-leveled one were to handle them, it would be a waste of precious resources.

    Andoine probably wouldn¡¯t be bothered, and they wouldn¡¯t mind not giving a share to Aldwin and the rest. After all, Aldwin already had the Commander¡¯s Badge, but he couldn¡¯t deny his student his fair share. Seeing that Rosen was on his way to snatch the gemstones, Andoine immediately flew into a rage, and tried to dash after Rosen to argue with him.

    However, Lin Li only watched as Rosen ran to the magical gemstones. Just as he was about to grab the Emperor¡¯s Ice Diamond, Lin Li suddenly reached out to grab Andoine and Aldwin while telling them to retreat in panic. They rushed out of the room, while Macklin and Angno who were standing in the back were directly pushed out of the room by Lin Li. Although Andoine and Aldwin were puzzled, they had great trust in Lin Li, and immediately followed without dy.

    Just as the crowd had rushed out of the door, a thunderous roar came from the room and the ground shook violently, which was followed by a terrifying magic storm that surged out of the door instantly. Lin Li and Andoine, as well as the rest, were all blown away and only stopped moving when they were smashed into the wall.

    ¡°Damn it, it hurts so much.¡± Lin Li stood up while keeping his back against the wall, rubbing his sore back and ncing at the door fearfully.

    In the face of this sudden change, everyone was horrified; no one could¡¯ve imagined that the tiny room would produce such a terrible explosion. If it exploded outside, it would probably kill the 150-something mages even if the few Legendary-mages could escape.

    After the magic storm subsided abruptly, a figure rushed out of the room with a pale face and disheveled hair. The magic robe on his body barely covered his thin figure. It was Rosen who dered the ownership over the magical gemstones. Without stopping after dashing out, the scruffy Rosen immediately dashed towards Lin Li like a madman, and angrily hollered, ¡°You knew it long ago, didn¡¯t you!?¡±

    Lin Li shrugged his shoulders, and helplessly said, ¡°You can¡¯t me me. I only knew those magical gemstones were counterfeits when you reached out. Well, you¡¯re very knowledgeable and experienced, so I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d make such a mistake. Fortunately, it exploded here. If it were in the Sky Tower...¡±

    Andoine stepped forward and stopped in front of Rosen. Seeing how pathetic he looked, he tried to suppress hisughter. Turning to look at Lin Li, he said, ¡°Felic, you said that the magical gemstones are fake?¡±

    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not quite it. Maybe this is the effect Osric wanted to achieve. If I guessed correctly, these should be gemstone bombs that have been made using alchemy. On the surface, they do look like rare magical gemstones. That¡¯s perhaps to lure the greedy ones. Anyone who goes up will trigger the bomb and cause it to be detonated.¡± Lin Li, whom Rosen was glowering at menacingly, was rather shocked, though he remainedposed on the surface. The fact that the explosion didn¡¯t kill Rosen showed that he was rather tough for an old guy.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t lying, either. The violent explosion was indeed beyond his expectations, but the peculiarity of the magical gemstones was what made him think of that when he saw it at first. Although the magical gemstones that Osric ced in there were no different from real ones, their vast quantity was what made Lin Li suspect something.

    The conditions for the creation of magical gemstones were rather demanding, not to mention the best magical gemstones. Even if Osric had searched the entire world of Anril and broken into dozens of abyss levels, it would be impossible to get thousands of these top-level magical gemstones. A huge magic gemstone mine might not produce a single such rare magical gemstone. Besides, could there be thousands of magical gemstone mines in the entire Anril?

    The only possibility was that Osric had made it himself, but the most important part of the magical gemstones, the stable structure, was not that easy to replicate. Making artificial gemstones that wereparable to real ones was actually not too different from waiting for a gemstone to form naturally. If one wanted to simplify this process, he would have to sacrifice some stability. The magical gemstones thatcked stability but contained the power of the best gemstones would undoubtedly be vtile and highly explosive.

    Although Rosen wished he could rip Lin Li to shreds, he also knew that even under the condition of there being no loss or damage, he could not do anything to the level-23 Legendary-mage Lin Li, not to mention in such a situation. After being at a standstill for a moment, Rosen had no choice but to turn around and walk towards the side, where he took out a new magic robe and changed into it.

    When Rosen turned and left, Lin Li shifted his gaze onto the ground where Rosen stood previously, only to see that there were a few shards on the ground that seemed to be rings. He reckoned that they might have been hung on the broken magic robe, and were just shaken off. Lin Li touched his chin, and thought, <i>No wonder that Rosen was able to walk out of the room even after such a terrible explosion. This old man is really well-equipped.</i>

    After everything was calm, everyone was ready to leave the ce, but Lin Li suddenly remembered something, and told Andoine and the rest to wait. He then ran into the room that exploded.

    Andoine hurriedly followed, not because he was worrying about another explosion, but simply because he was curious about what could be left in the room after the explosion just now.

    The reason why Lin Li went over was actually also because he wanted to try his luck. When he was inside, he saw a few unopened boxes in the corner. If he read correctly, the defensive mageweaths drawn on those boxes should be of Guru-level. Perhaps they were safe from the explosion.

    As expected, most of the things in the room had been crushed in the explosion, and the dazzling magical gemstones had also disappeared. However, the few unopened boxes in the corner werepletely preserved. Lin Li walked over carefully, and used his mental strength to slowly detect the magical waves in it. After confirming that there was no problem, he slowly opened a box to reveal the gorgeous magical gemstones, or rather, gemstone bombs.

    Seeing that there were still some gemstones left, Andoine panicked and wanted to call Lin Li, but he did not dare to speak, fearing that he would disturb Lin Li and cause the horrendous bombs to detonate. It wasn¡¯t until he saw Lin Li putting away the boxes in the Ring of Endless Storm that he rushed over and smacked Lin Li hard on his head. ¡°Damn it, are you courting death? How can you y with those items!?¡±

    Lin Li rubbed his head and stood up with a bitter smile before saying, ¡°Rx, it will be fine when I put it away. I know how to tame them.¡±

    There were a total of 60 gemstone bombs in the three small chests, which were not cheap items, but mass destruction weapons created by Osric using Alchemy. Every single gemstone contained Legendary magic power; actually, if it weren¡¯t for the suppression due to conflicts of various magical elements, the power of the explosion would have definitely been 100 times stronger. Even if Rosen had had 10 defensive rings, he would¡¯ve been blown into pieces then.

    The team continued to search the remaining rooms. Except for finding some potions and recipes which Andoine safeguarded, they basically obtained nothing. Hence, they took a short break, left the pce, walked through several long corridors again, and finally came to the center of the Eternal Furnace[1].

    Just like the Fire Demon King said, the center of the Eternal Furnace was Osric¡¯s burial ground, a majestic six-story minaret. Although there were only six floors, it had a height of about 100 meters including the tower base, and the width was even more staggering. One could only imagine howrge the space inside was.

    Compared to the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, the gate of the minaret of the Eternal Furnace was only better in the sense that it was not locked with a Magical Thousand-contraption Lock. After checking the magic trap above, Lin Li and Angno slowly pushed the gate of the minaret open, only to be greeted with a thickyer of fog that hindered their vision. Lin Li, Andoine, and the rest looked at each other and inhaled deeply before leading the team to walk slowly from the gate into the minaret.

    The thick fog began to fade, and when everyone¡¯s vision was clear again, they found that they were greeted with the sight of a team of High Elves who were standing neatly in a row. However, everyone could feel a substantial Death auraing from the High Elves, making them feel as if they have returned to the Shadowglen outside.

    ¡°They¡¯re the Souls of the Dead. The Souls of the Dead belonging to the Magic Legion!¡± Angno said in a trembling voice, and turned behind to scurry to the mages.

    ¡°The Souls of the Dead of the Magic Legion?¡± Lin Li looked opposite in surprise. The Undead creatures that were exuding death aura did not seem to have been handled by Osric before. Strictly speaking, these Undead creatures should belong to the ss of Vengeful Spirits. However, they were basically the same as those solidified ones that Lin Li had encountered in the Sky Castle together with Cheyenne.

    [1] Okay, it¡¯s confusing and uncertain, but the author is calling the pce an Eternal Furnace... This is probably his mental shortcut: the pce is a copy of the Eternal Furnace Lin Li has.

 Chapter 739 - Whatéˆ¥æªš Yours Is Still Mine

    <h4>Chapter 739: What¡¯s Yours Is Still Mine</h4>

    The hundreds of Vengeful Spirits were condensed into physical entities, each of which possessed powers that were close to the Legendary-level. Although they were not dealing with Osric, the enemies were definitely a powerful force that couldn¡¯t be ignored. In an instant, the two teams fought fiercely. Be it voluntary or forced, the Souls of the Dead that stayed here to protect Osric seemed to have still remembered their fighting instincts from when they were part of the Magic Legion. Although they did not have amander, they were advancing and retreating in order, and sharing a tacit understanding with each other.

    If it had been in the past, Aldwin¡¯s team of mages would definitely have had an advantage when encountering the Souls of the Dead, be it in quantity or strength, yet even with the four Legendary-mages, there would inevitably have been casualties. However, Aldwin was now holding onto the Commander¡¯s Badge which would give him ess to a huge spiritualwork that would unite more than 150 mages into one whole. Despite theck of drills for a long time, the mages were still in top condition, and theirbat power was more than twice of what they had before.

    Under the union of the Spiritual Network, Lin Li and the two other Legendary-mages found it hard to join in. Aldwin, who was inmand, was an exception. The three of them were even idling for a while, and the only thing they had to do was to gradually advance with the mages. Lin Li also took out two gemstone bombs and tossed them at the Souls of the Dead, and the Holy Light that erupted from them immediately devoured a dozen Souls of the Dead.

    Although the spiritual entities had very high resistance to magic attacks, spells would not only deal them magical damage. For example, Ice Spear would mainly cause damage by piercing, while falling rocks would bring a certain amount of blunt damage. Considering the characteristics of the Vengeful Spirit entities, Aldwinmanded the mages to continue approaching. Each wave of magic attack would force the other party to retreat, and those who refused to retreat would then be overwhelmed by the targeted powerful magic attacks.

    With the help of the Commander¡¯s Badge, the battle was almost one-sided in favor of Lin Li¡¯s team. The fiercebatsted for less than 10 minutes, and the Souls of the Dead disappeared. The immense death aura faded as well, revealing the stairs of the minaret. The leaders looked at each other, and although they didn¡¯t say anything, they could see the doubt in the other¡¯s eyes.

    Aldwinmanded the mages to step onto the second floor of the minaret. Although the space was vast, everything in it could still be seen at a nce, but the secondyer seemed to have directly transformed into another world, surrounded by endlessyers of wild grass. The sky was dark, but there were no clouds, sun, moon, and stars. It wasn¡¯t until crazy enemies suddenly rushed over that they all knew that it was actually the 17th floor of the abyss.

    The Tren Demon which had a bull¡¯s head and a lion¡¯s body was a special kind of demon that was unique to the 17th floor of the abyss. The most powerful weapons it had were sharp horns on its head and its ws that could rip rocks apart. At the same time, they could also release curses that would cause things to fossilize. People hit by the curse would instantly have their organs solidify, while their flesh became the food of the demons. Even the Demon Lord of the Abyss on the 17th floor did not dare to confront the Tren Demons, but to the mages today, the nearly 1000 Tren Demons could not hinder them.

    Back then, Osric¡¯s Magic Legion swept through tens of abyss levels, searched for unique resources, and captured the Demon Lords. Although the strength of the mages was still far from the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, they could be regarded as a quasi-Magic Legion now that they had the Commander¡¯s Badge. The impact of nearly 1000 heads of Tren Demons was instantly dispelled by the mages, and the 17th floor abyss also disappeared, revealing the view of the true secondyer.

    Although the enemies on the subsequent floors were clearly getting more and more powerful, they could not even put up their defenses under the destructive attacks of the four Legendary-mages and Magic-Legion-to-be. It was such a smooth process that it made Lin Li and others more puzzled. That was where Osric¡¯s coffin was located. Even if the mages had the Commander¡¯s Badge and Lin Li had already detonated more than 30 gemstone bombs, everything seemed to be proceeding a little too smoothly.

    In retrospect, they realized that the battles in the minaret seemed to have been extremely easy and even less taxing than the battle with the three grave keepers like Angno and the other silver-armored knights. Even the battle with the Alchemical Undead Army at the beginning was much harder, and would¡¯ve been worse if Lin Li had not found the control center.

    With doubts in their hearts, the crowd found their way to the sixth floor of the minaret, where there was a door that was giving off a strong ancient and retro vibe. Through the shingyers and ripples on the door, everyone could only vaguely see the seemingly dark and dead barrennd inside.

    When Lin Li tortured the Fire Demon King, the rest did not manage to hear a single word of their conversation, but afterwards Lin Li also told everyone that the sixth floor of the minaret was probably the ce where Osric¡¯s coffin was located. Hence, everyone decided to take a short break here so that they could return to the best possible state, even though the first fewyers seemed to be way too easy.

    ¡°Fe... Master Felic, can you...¡± Angno murmured, seemingly wanting to say something while controlling the alchemy machine.

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li asked in amusement as he turned to look at the cowardly Goblin. No one would ever imagine one of Osric¡¯s three strongest warriors to be a timid coward who felt scared to leave the Alchemy Colossus.

    After Lin Li took a sweeping nce at him, Angno could not help but flinch, and he only managed to muster up the courage after a long time. ¡°We¡¯ll be reaching the sixth floor soon. Can you return the Alchemy Colossus to me?¡±

    ¡°The Alchemy Colossus belongs to you?¡± Lin Li questioned rhetorically while staring at Angno calmly and touching his Ring of Endless Storm.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m wrong. Yours. It¡¯s yours. Well, can you lend it to me first?¡± Although Angno had green skin, he immediately turned pale after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, and he began to break out in a cold sweat as he shook his head frantically and changed his answer.

    The alchemy machine that was currently being controlled by Angno was just a simple transportation device with no fighting power at all. Even a random Archmage would be able to deal with and defeat him easily. If Angno could not contribute to cracking the magic traps, he would just be a burden to the team without the Alchemy Colossus.

    But what if he had the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus? Although Angno had been defeated by Lin Li, the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus seemed to be able to exert a strongbat power that was close to the Sanctuary-level under his control. The reason why Angno had lost to Lin Li was the power of lightning contained in the Titan Dragon Spear that made him lose consciousness. Without a controller, the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was undoubtedly only going to be subdued by Lin Li.

    However, the mere dormant power in the Titan Dragon Spear actually helped Lin Li kill off the strong and formidable Double Death Dragons, yet he only managed to make Angno lose his senses. That was enough to prove how strong the Alchemy Colossus was.

    Lin Li nced at the somewhat illusory gate. Although the first few floors seemed to be rather easy, the sixth floor of the minaret was, after all, the ce where Osric¡¯s coffin was located. However, no matter what, it would still be beneficial to have one less burden and morebat power. Hence, Lin Li nodded and brought Angno to an empty spot beside the team, and raised his hand to release the Alchemy Colossus from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Upon sight of the partner who had apanied him for thousands of years, Angno immediately forgot about the fear within him and maneuvered his machine to sit down. He then leaped towards it.

    Only the joints of the Alchemy Colossus had been damaged by Lin Li, and those were the parts that were usually subjected to wear and tear anyway. Hence, he naturally had spare parts. Angno first looked carefully at the damage done to the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ body, taking out some metal parts, and began to get busy.

    ¡°Felic, aren¡¯t you worried that the goblin might harbor other intentions now that he has the Alchemy Colossus?¡± Andoine asked with a frown as he walked to Lin Li and looked at the busy Angno.

    Lin Li smiled, and indifferently said, ¡°Since I could subdue him once, I can do it again.¡±

    Lin Li was definitely not bragging. Even if Angno was well-behaved and Lin Li no longer touched the Titan Dragon Spear or stimted the power in it, he still had another powerful debris of the stars, Thunderbolt. The amount of lightning power contained in Thunderbolt was notparable to that of the Titan Dragon Spear. Even if he didn¡¯t have the real Stars of Fury, Lin Li¡¯s replication of it, the crossbow, would give out enough power to subdue Angno coupled with his level-23 strength.

    Soon, Angno stopped and jumped off the alchemy machine in excitement before ducking into the control room of the Alchemy Colossus. With a rattling noise, all kinds of Alchemy Arrays began to emit dreamy rays of bright light, and the huge body slowly rose from the ground. The Alchemy Colossus grabbed the alchemy machine that Angno had been riding and stuffed it into its body before propping itself up against its arms that were ced on the ground, as agile as a warrior.

    ¡°Wow, hahaha, the great Lord Angno is back. Shudder now, tiny humans!¡± A dull voice came from the body of the Alchemy Colossus, which was different from Angno¡¯s sharp and shrilling voice. Lin Li reckoned that there must have been a voice-changing device in the machine. The Alchemy Colossus then moved and shook its limbs to warm up before stomping its foot down onto the ground, causing the entire earth to shake violently as the seismic waves immediately spread out to the surroundings.

 Chapter 740 - Crystal Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 740: Crystal Coffin</h4>

    ¡°Great Master Angno, do you have any orders?¡± Lin Li had to raise his head to look at the tall Alchemy Colossus, but he had a cold and sullen expression on his face.

    Angno¡¯s smugughter ceased, and he stared at the human mage Lin Li who seemed extremely small. If it had been in the past, he would have stomped on Lin Li relentlessly. However, even with the protection of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, he could not help but shiver when he saw the cold smirk on Lin Li¡¯s face.

    ¡°Master Felic, I was just saying that randomly,¡± said Angno as the patterns on the Alchemy Colossus flickered a few times. It seemed to be crouching, and its voice switched back to Angno¡¯s sharp voice.

    Angno could live till now not only because of the strong Alchemy Colossus, but also more importantly because he knew to weigh the pros and cons. To be exact, he would seek benefits and avoid damage. Although he had always felt that he¡¯d been defeated because of Lin Li¡¯s tricks in the previous battle, and had thought that there would be nothing to fear now that he had regained the Alchemy Colossus again, after he thought about it carefully, he realized that Lin Li definitely had some backup n since he¡¯d agreed to let him go back into the Alchemy Colossus safely.

    The torment suffered by the Fire Demon King was still lingering in Angno¡¯s mind. The predicament where death was considered a luxury made Angno feel terrified to the extent that he would shiver. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to die yet. Angno did not have to courage to bet on it with his life. He would definitely not be willing to get electrocuted like previously, let alone die.

    Seeing that Lin Li had subdued Angno, everyone secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The size of the Alchemy Colossus was really too oppressive, and it was much sturdier than the Fire Demon King. Unless necessary, no one wanted to fight with such a huge guy like him.

    After getting a good rest, the team formed a neat defensive formation and slowly walked through the rippling gate. Behind Lin Li, the Alchemy Colossus was being controlled by Angno who was walking carefully, fearing that something would happen and he would end up offending the demonic Lin Li.

    When looking in from outside of the minaret, the six-story minaret seemed to be only about 100 meters tall, with each story being about 10 or 20 meters high. To their surprise, the floors seemed to have be worlds of their own when they entered, with the sky seemingly thousands of meters above them. The rippling gate was originally only the size of an ordinary city gate, but when the Alchemy Colossus was about to enter, it suddenly became magnificent and expanded to a size that allowed the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus to proceed smoothly.

    Everyone was imagining what it¡¯d be like on the sixth floor of the minaret, where Osric¡¯s coffin was resting. When they finally saw the scene behind the gate, everyone got a great shock.

    Everyone looked up to see that there was an endless void above their heads, with a looming darkness that seemed to be able to devour everything. There were infinite scorching mes beneath their feet, but they did not feel hot at all. The world here waspletely independent, and the negative pressure of darkness, destruction, tyranny, and evilness that filled the space made them feel oppressed to the extent of copsing.

    In the void far away, there was a huge crystal coffin floating in mid-air, constantly emitting a faint halo that seemed like the sun and moon of this world. ording to what the Fire Demon King had said, therge crystal coffin was the one Osricy in.

    ¡°Damn, why is this here? Why would the lunatic Osric put the coffin here!?¡± Connoris roared hysterically in Lin Li¡¯s mind with a tinge of fear in his voice.

    ¡°What? Do you know where this is?¡± Lin Li got a great shock, and he immediately felt that something was amiss. Although Connoris was now only a soul that existed in a hammer, he absolutely had a lot of knowledge. It was said that he used to even be a real ancient deity. In Anril, there were definitely next to no ces that would make him feel horrified.

    ¡°You havee to a ce that you shouldn¡¯t. If I remember correctly, this is the 72nd floor of the abyss the Lord of Disaster Bk has dominance over!¡± Connoris¡¯ tone was rather dismayed, and he clearly wasn¡¯t optimistic about the situation that Lin Li and the others would face.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Lin Li was taken aback by Connoris¡¯ words. Although he didn¡¯t know how terrible Bk¡¯s strength and powers here, he could tell from the changes in Connoris¡¯ tone that Bk was definitely not easy to deal with.

    ¡°Felic, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Andoine asked, expressing his concern when he found out that Lin Li¡¯s expression seemed to be a little wrong.

    ¡°This is probably the 72nd floor of the abyss,¡± Lin Li said, not trying to suppress his voice deliberately. Although this news might affect the morale of the team, he felt that it would be better to let everyone find out early and prepare well.

    Lin Li¡¯s words immediately caused everyone to exim, and even Andoine and the other Legendary powerhouses also had a change in expression. Although they had also thought of the space on the top of the minaret being ovepped with a terrifying space by Osric, it being the 72nd floor of the abyss was definitely beyond their imagination. Although there wasn¡¯t much information in the historical records and legends, they knew that it was definitely a forbidden ce, even to Legendary powerhouses.

    Although the mages were all elites who had been through countless battles and had outstanding strength and willpower, they were still extremely astonished because of the 72nd floor of the abyss¡¯ appearance. They turned around subconsciously, hoping that the door that sent themselves and others there would still be present. Unfortunately, everyone was disappointed because the door was no longer there, and except for the Alchemy Colossus manipted by Angno, everything became the same as the surroundings.

    Although unlike Lin Li who could find out more detailed information from Connoris, they could tell from the various myths and legends that the 72nd floor of the abyss was a hopeless ce. The Fire Demon King that had just had a hair-raising battle with the team was only a Demon Lord of the 68th floor of the abyss. Besides, the Gates of the Abyss had not fully opened, and the countless Fire Demons had not poured out.

    What everyone did not know was the fact that Lin Li had heard an even more exaggerated description of the ce from Connoris. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell them, because they were already at aplete loss, and they could not afford to lose thest glimmer of hope which would cause them to break down.

    Everyone knew that it was the 72nd floor of the abyss. ording to the myths, legends, and theirmon sense, they knew that the powers of the Demon Lord here would definitely be stronger than of that before. However, Lin Li knew that the Lord of the Abyss, Bk, was not just a generic Demon Lord or a descendant who had inherited some legacy, but one of the 99 ancient deities that had created the Endless Abyss.

    Just like Connoris, who was once on the 90th floor of the abyss and mastered deceiving the ancient deities, the tyrant Bk dominated all disasters such as worldwide wars, gues, famine, and natural disasters, and thus was termed the Lord of Disaster. ording to Connoris, even in the prehistoric times, the tyrant Bk had been one of the most powerful ancient deities.

    Lin Li took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as the information that he had been suppressing in his mind resurfaced again. Looking in front, therge crystal coffin was floating in mid-air. He could clearly sense the unique aura of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, from the magical waves in the crystal coffin.

    The aura of Nothingness made Lin Li rather startled, and since he no longer had another way out, he felt that he ought to consider how to cope with the crisis and how he should get Nothingness.

    Lin Li carefully looked at the crystal coffin in the sky, and proceeded to scrutinize it while channeling his mental strength. However, Lin Li got a great shock; although he¡¯d known long ago that the crystal used to make the coffin was definitely not ordinary, he had never thought that the massive crystal coffin would be made of the Resting Crystal!

    The nature of the Resting Crystal was somewhat simr to that of the Crystal of Eternity that Lin Li had once obtained. To pharmacists, the Crystal of Eternity was practically a godsend. It seemed to be useless without being carved, but after it got sculpted into a potion bottle by a Master jeweler, it¡¯d immediately be 100 times more precious and useful. The potions contained in potion bottles made of the Crystal of Eternity would enjoy permanent preservation, and as the storage time was longer, the pharmaceutical properties of the potion in the bottle would be stronger.

    Compared to the Crystal of Eternity, the Resting Crystal was more than 1000 times rarer and better. It was said that the former High Elves enjoyed making beautiful and exquisite jewelry for the deceased with the Resting Crystal as even after thousands of years, the corpse would still be well-preserved.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s actually the Resting Crystal. No wonder Osric plundered the 20th floor of the abyss. Turns out he wanted to make this crystal coffin for himself!¡± Connoris began to sympathize with the demons of the 20th floor of the abyss that had been ughtered for a crystal coffin.

    The Resting Crystals could only be born in the unique environment of the 20th floor of the abyss, but even in this so-called ce of origin, the number of Resting Crystals was rather low. Even the nobles of the High Elves would only make small jewelry pieces out of the Resting Crystal, but the power of those tiny pieces was enough to keep the corpse preserved for thousands of years.

 Chapter 741 - Zago Demons

    <h4>Chapter 741: Zago Demons</h4>

    Ordinary people had never seen or ever imagined anyone go to the extravagance of using the Resting Crystal to create such arge crystal coffin like Osric, who had probably wiped out the entire 20th floor of the abyss for it.

    The words of the Fire Demon King, the aura of Nothingness, and the extremely precious coffin made of Resting Crystal were enough to convince Lin Li that Osric and the debris of the stars, Nothingness, could very likely be in therge coffin.

    However, at this moment, Rosen who had been silent so far walked out of the team, and then turned back to face Andoine and others. With a sullen expression, he said, ¡°Now, we¡¯ve already made it here, and I need to announce the main objective of the Supreme Council in this expedition.¡±

    While in the nna Guild of Magic, Lin Li had asked Andoine about what his motive was when he intervened in the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. However, for some reason, Andoine seemed to be unsure of the goal of the operation, even though he was also an authoritative figure of the Supreme Council just like Rosen. The information that he knew was merely based on some of his own spection.

    Hence, when Rosen said that he would announce the decision of the Supreme Council, Lin Li, Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest could not help but pin their attention on Rosen. Andoine looked a little helpless as he was concerned about what he would get from the Guild of Magic, and Lin Li began to frown slightly.

    ¡°The task that the arbitrator has given me is to bring this crystal coffin back to the Supreme Council!¡± Rosen nced at Andoine and Lin Li before proudly continuing, ¡°This is the Supreme Council¡¯s decision. I hope you will all cooperate. Otherwise, you will be regarded as an enemy of the Supreme Council!¡±

    ¡°Damn, is this idiot telling a joke?¡± Angno the Goblin remarked, and said to Lin Li using mental strength, ¡°Master Felic, I believe you will not take that idiot¡¯s words seriously. If I help you get that crystal coffin, can you give me the magical crystal beneath that crystal coffin?¡±

    Angno had long recognized the rtionship between Lin Li and the others. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have treated Rosen harshly along the way while being impressed with Andoine and Aldwin, as well as Macklin who had yet to enter the Legendary-realm. Although Angno was a Goblin, and he did not have much power on his own, he had lived for tens of thousands of years; hence, he did not really take the extraordinary Legendary powerhouses seriously.

    Although Angno did not hear the conversation between Lin Li and the Fire Demon King, he could tell that Lin Li had to be looking for something important, which was probably the weapon in Osric¡¯s coffin. Since Rosen wanted to take the crystal coffin back to the Supreme Council, there would inevitably be some conflict between Lin Li and Rosen.

    Although Angno had been staying in the mausoleum ever since Osric died, and thus had no idea about the changes in the outside world over the past 1000 years, he also learned about the status of the Supreme Council in the outside world through the conversations he had heard along the way. Besides, he also knew that Andoine belonged to the Supreme Council, which was rted to Aldwin¡¯s Guild of Magic.

    In Angno¡¯s opinion, Andoine and Aldwin would at most remain neutral if Felic and Rosen were to get into a conflict. Since Felic and Rosen were both level-23 Legendary-mages, Angno would y an important role.

    Hence, Angno mustered up the courage and bravely raised the request to Lin Li, who was even more terrible and horrifying than demons. He hoped to get the magical crystal under the coffin; of course, he was in fact lusting over Osric¡¯s weapon as well. However, he did not have the courage topete for it with Lin Li.

    ¡°What magical crystal?¡± Apart from the special fluctuations from the Resting Crystal and the aura of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, Lin Li had long noticed a terrifying magical crystal that wasing out of the levitating crystal coffin.

    Lin Li had initially thought it was the power of Osric, but the crystal coffin that was made of Resting Crystal seemed to be in a space where time had frozen. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Nothingness had the power to break time and space, it would be impossible for any aura to leak. Hence, the mana fluctuations that he¡¯d detected should be from the mana source outside of the coffin that was keeping it in midair.

    However, in terms of the mana source, the mana fluctuation seemed to be a little exaggerated. Lin Li couldn¡¯t imagine how powerful the magical beast it came from had to be in order to possess such a massive and terrifying mana. Prehistoric magical beast? Ancient wyrm? However, it didn¡¯t matter whether he knew it or not. He had two of Osric¡¯s subordinates, including the Fire Demon King who was the most loyal servant of Osric.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li asked Angno through mental strength, ¡°Does the magical crystal that you mentioned have any special origin?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not too sure about that. All I know is that Osric did have an extraordinary magical crystal with infinite mana. If I use it to power my Alchemy Colossus, I will never have to worry about the problem of mana depletion. I¡¯ll be able to use any powerful weapon casually. It will be peanuts for that magical crystal even if I use it to power dozens of Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses.¡± Angno was clearly immersed in his fantasy, and his tone was full of inexplicable excitement.

    Lin Li was a little disappointed, and he consulted Connoris and the Fire Demon King again. However, the two of them were not much stronger than Angno, and neither had a reliable answer in the end. Although they did not know the origin of the magical crystal, the mana waves given out by the magical crystal were absolutely the most powerful Lin Li had seen apart from the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle. Its value was probably not inferior to that of the crystal coffin.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted Osric¡¯s journal? Why? Do you want to change your mind?¡± Lin Li hadn¡¯t forgotten the request that the goblin Angno had made whenmunicating with Connoris. He had asked Lin Li to give him one of Osric¡¯s journals, but did not mention what it was about.

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t the journal supposed to be my reward for bringing you here? This magical crystal is the reward for me to help you deal with the idiot and help you get what you want,¡± said Angno, who was fearing Lin Li less and mustering up the courage to discuss the deal with him perhaps because of the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°It is too early to say this! Connoris, tell him the situation we are going to face,¡± Lin Li had no idea if Angno had been to the 72nd floor of the abyss before, but he could tell from Angno¡¯s mood that he obviously did not know how terrible the enemies they were about to face were.

    ¡°Boom!¡± There was a loud noise. Lin Li had no idea what Connoris said, but Angno was actually so shocked he fell on the ground. Clearly, he could not feel safe after finding out how daunting the enemies that they were about to face would be.

    Angno¡¯s strange behavior immediately attracted everyone¡¯s attention, but before the Alchemy Colossus even stood up, they suddenly felt a tremoring from beneath their feet, causing the ground to shake violently. All of a sudden, everyone tensed up and looked around. Finally, some of them who looked in the direction of the crystal coffin suddenly raised their arms and pointed to the distance with their mouths wide open¡ªthey were all speechless.

    In the direction of the crystal coffin, ck clouds poured out, covering the void and rolling towards the crowd. Meanwhile, on the ground, the ck pressure and an endless army of demons seemed to have appeared in their field of vision, and were as dense as ck tides surging out. They suddenly rushed under the crystal coffin and towards the small team.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Zago Demons, get ready to fight!¡± Aldwin yelled anxiously at the mages as hisst bit of hope was dashed.

    Looking at the endless ck Current[1], everyone, including Lin Li, could not help but feel their hair rise. Although the real battle had yet to begin, irrepressible fear had already bred in their hearts. <i>Fight? Is there a need for that!?</i>

    The ck Current formed by the Zago Demons was already approaching, but there were still moreing as far as they could see. The ground was covered with the dense, extremely numerous Zago Demons and burning mes. Even a powerhouse of a Sanctuary-realm would be engulfed by the endless ck Current.

    As Aldwin was still a level-22 Legendary-mage, and¡ªgiven the current situation where they were facing the demons¡ªthey could not afford to waste a single bit ofbat power, he handed the Commander¡¯s Badge to Macklin, and allowed him to be in charge ofmanding the mages while he walked out on his own. He put away the staff that he had been using so far, and reced it with another one that looked rustic and unassuming. However, the mana waves that Aldwin was giving out rose to the peak of level-23 in the blink of an eye. Only the weapon of God of Mages, Geresco, in the nna Guild of Magic could do that.

    Just like Aldwin, everyone knew at this moment that there was no need for them to hold back. Otherwise, they could only die with their trump cards. Lin Li first took out the Summoning Lamp, and instantly summoned the Lord of Nightmares and Crimson Dragon. If it wasn¡¯t for the burning souls everywhere, he would have wanted to summon the soul of the Fire Demon King too.

    [1] I now think the author is fond of using this term for any swarm of beasts/demons, so it¡¯s not necessarily the same thing as the one in the mountains.

 Chapter 742 - All Sorts Of Trump Cards

    <h4>Chapter 742: All Sorts Of Trump Cards</h4>

    Lin Li then pushed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward a little, and a Six-pointed Star Array suddenly appeared on the ground. The tall and burly demon Gordon pounded his chest and walked out of the Six-pointed Star Array with heavy footsteps. Although he had been imprisoned in the same dungeon as countless demons in the Sky Castle, and had insignificant strength, Lin Li acquired him out of curiosity. However, after devouring all kinds of precious metals that Lin Li fed him, he finally broke through, gaining more strength.

    After summoning the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon, Lin Li did not stop immediately, and the 10 Shadow assassins that were also alchemy puppets appeared beside him in the blink of an eye. Lin Li had managed to obtain 20 shadow assassins from the Sky Castle, and the first time that he used them was when he was dealing with the Dark de. However, at that time, he had merely sealed some magical beasts in the alchemy puppets. Hence, their power could not be fully exerted.

    This time, in order to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li had specifically sealed the souls of the assassins that Ujfalusi had collected in the battle in the 10 alchemy puppets, turning them into actual Shadow Assassins. Although the souls of the assassins were not powerful, and couldn¡¯t make the Shadow Assassins reach the Legendary-level, they still had power that was at the peak of level-19. Besides, the characteristics of Shadow Iron allowed them to exert power that was beyond level-19.

    Looking at the Crimson Dragon that was revolving above their heads, the Lord of Nightmares who was wrapped in ck mist, as well as the tall gilded figure, Gordon, everyone was startled and speechless. The 10 Shadow assassins made them feel fearful as well. Lin Li actually had a bunch of trump cards, which made everyone feel bbergasted since having one or two was already considered formidable. Of course, in this situation, the more cards that Lin Li had, the more hope they felt. Hence, they wished he could pull out his trump cards and destroy the Zago Demons.

    Watching Lin Li pull out the trump cards, Rosen¡¯s face grew increasingly sullen. However, he was not worried about what would happenter, but rather was angry about the fact that Lin Li had not pulled these cards out earlier when facing the silver-armored knights. Had Lin Li done so, he wouldn¡¯t have had to use the staff to summon the twin wyrms.

    While everyone was frightened, Lin Li¡¯s movements did not stop. He took out a magic scroll from the Ring of Endless Storm and tore it apart, and a huge Six-pointed Star Array shed in front of him. Then, the Lich Ujfalusi, the Vampire Norfeller, and the 18 Death Knights who exuded a strong death aura while riding Nightmares gradually appeared in the Six-pointed Star Array.

    It was a Summoning Scroll which would instantly summon all servants that had signed a Soul Contract with Lin Li, no matter where he might be in Anril. It was precisely because of the scroll that Lin Li had not brought the two Undead servants into the mausoleum¡ªhe¡¯d been preparing to use them as backups. However, that was meaningless at this point¡ªif they couldn¡¯t ovee the ordeal now, everything else would be in vain.

    Rosen knew about the two Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller. Hence, when he saw Lin Li summoning the two Undead creatures, he thought to himself that Lin Li the rascal had finally whipped out all his trump cards.

    However, Lin Li did not care to talk to the two Undead servants. Instead, he raised his arm again and pointed Dream Garden towards the front. ¡°My little ancestor[1], please hurry ande out, or I¡¯m going to die soon!¡± Lin Li muttered as he smiled wryly.

    Finally, a small head protruded out of Dream Garden and looked around, particrly noticing the Zago Demon Legion which was getting closer and closer. It then flew out reluctantly andnded on Lin Li¡¯s shoulder. It then tugged Lin Li¡¯s ears with its tiny ws, seemingly resenting him for waking it up from its sweet dreams.

    Compared to when it had just been born, the Elemental Wyrm did not seem to have changed much, except that the patterns on its body had be much clearer and prettier than before. Its power was also worlds apart thanks to the mana that it had absorbed from the magical crystal that controlled the Sky Castle back in the chaos of time and space. Although it was still an infant, it had already broken through the threshold of the Legendary-level, and thus was not any weaker than it used to be.

    If the trump cards that Lin Li had pulled out previously had given Rosen a great shock, Rosen waspletely astonished by the petite and adorable Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua. Although it was tiny and cute on the surface, like the pets women loved, and the mana it gave out was only level-21 or level-22, the pure and formidable Menace of the Dragon made Rosen feel daunted and small. He had never felt that way before, not even when he was in front of the arbitrators.

    Looking at Lin Li¡¯s profile, Rosen found him to be extremely terrifying, and he felt that it was no wonder that Lin Li would be able to lead a Guild of Magic that was established less than two years ago, and enjoy such a resounding reputation in the Breezy ins. His power was incredible even in the Fn Kingdom.

    After ncing at Andoine who was not too far away, Rosen was feeling extremely jealous and hateful as he had no idea why hispetitor was so lucky to have such an impressive student. Compared to Andoine¡¯s student Lin Li, his disciple Gryffindor, who was nicknamed the sessor of Geresco, was just like a huge joke.

    ¡°Damn, is this little bastard the illegitimate child of the Goddess of Destiny? Why do all the good things happen to him?¡± Andoine remarked when he saw his student, whom he had ¡°adopted¡±. Within just two years, Lin Li managed to make tremendous progress; hence, Andoine was naturally proud and heartened.

    When Andoine had found Lin Li in mountains, Lin Li was all alone, and he could not even be considered an apprentice in terms of magic. Yet, within just two years, Lin Li had already be a level-23 Legendary-mage. In terms of status, he was the glorious President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic¡ªthe Tower of Dusk which was a significant force in the Breezy ins.

    In two years, Lin Li had achieved results that most people couldn¡¯t in their entire lives, which was something that Andoine had not expected. Not to mention, even those whocked talent or were considered magic prodigies would never reach the Legendary-realm.

    Although Aldwin and Macklin had not got to know Lin Li as early as Andoine had, Lin Li was merely an ipetent Archmage when he arrived at the nna Guild of Magic to take part in the trials. At that time, the talent disyed by Lin Li already surprised the two old men. However, it had only been a while since that time, yet Lin Li had grown at a rapid speed that even the Geresco, the God of Mages, could notpare to.

    As Lin Li threw out his trump cards within a few seconds, everyone felt like an eternity had passed, and their shock began to grow. They seemed to have also seen a glimmer of hope now. Despite having to face the Zago Demons, they felt that it might not be impossible to ovee the difficulties ahead given Lin Li¡¯s powers.

    Had he thrown out all trump cards? Don¡¯t forget that Lin Li still had four pieces of the formidable debris of the stars. However, even then, Lin Li still wasn¡¯t optimistic about the situation in front of him. Unlike others, Lin Li knew a lot more about how terrifying Bk and the Zago Demons could be. It was a far-fetched idea to kill them with the powers that he had.

    Finally, after several Legendary powerhouses eachunched their Magical Domain, the Zago Demons suddenly rushed forward to the hill where everyone was. The battle that seemed hopeless for everyone erupted instantly as the two sides collided. In the blink of an eye, the crowd was submerged by the horrible ck Current formed by the countless Zago Demon, forming a battle circle like reef in the tide, being assaulted by waves.

    The ones at the front were the cannon fodder of the Zago Demons, known as the Sickle ck-armored Demons. However, they were from the 72nd floor of the abyss. Even the cannon fodder was extremely formidable. To the humans, the Sickle ck-armored Demons that were above level-15 were practically elite warriors.

    The Sickle ck-armored Demons were just like killer mantis among insects, except that each of them was twice the height of ordinary humans and covered in hard and smooth ck-colored carapace. Its arms were also likerge dark red sickles. The fine serrations could easily split a person in half. Even the Elemental Shields of the mages would be unable to endure the attacks.

    Due to therge number of mages, the area of contact with the Zago Demons was also thergest, even though the formation had shrunk under themand of Macklin. In the face of the tide-like attacks of the Zago Demons, they were facing much more impact than the Legendary-mages. Fortunately, Macklin had the Commander¡¯s Badge that was once used by the High Elves¡¯ mages, and the spiritualwork connected them together. In the past, the joint spells that needed to be cast carefully now seemed to be as easy to cast as if they were individual spells.

    After all, the mages were the elite of the elite, and had truly experienced life-and-death situations. Although the ck Current formed by the Zago Demons was definitely terrifying, everyone were determined and serious when the real battle began.

    It could be said that when there was no battle, they were all alive and emotional like normal humans, but after the battle began, they would be the parts of the precision machine that was the group of mages. All of their positive or negative emotions were put away at this moment. If themander needed their help, they would not hesitate to give aid to themander even if their brother and buddy had just died in front of them. Even if they needed to use their bodies to block the attack of the enemy, they would not frown nor hesitate.

    The row of mages pointed their Crescent Staffs towards the front, and an ice wall that was about several meters wide instantly blocked the Zago Demons from proceeding. Unfortunately, the ice wall that was stronger than a real city wall seemed to be weak and fragile in front of the Sickle ck-armored Demons. The dense shadows of the Sickle ck-armored Demons could be seen shaking through the crystal ice wall, but in the blink of an eye, dark red sickles pierced through the wall, and spider-web-like cracks quickly spread outward from the holes.

    However, just when the Sickle ck-armored Demons broke through the ice wall, overwhelming magic engulfed them together with the ice wall. Just as the magical storm wasing to an end, another, stronger ice wall was erected again near the initial position almost instantly.

    Although they were both battling in groups, those on Lin Li¡¯s side seemed to be much messierpared to nna¡¯s mages. The Light and Darkness Domain had already been exhibitedpletely. The 10 Shadow Assassins were hidden in darkness; as their bodies appeared every now and then, their sharp arm des could always prate urately through the cracks of the firm and smooth carapace. When the Sickle ck-armored Demons noticed them, they had already blended back into the darkness, or even hidden themselves amongst them.

    However, although the attacksunched by the Shadow Assassins were sharp, the damage that could be done to the Zago Demons that way was almost insignificant. The vitality of the Zago Demon was notoriously tenacious; even if their heads were cut off, they would still be able to continue fighting for a long time. Hence, after discovering that, Lin Li had to order the Shadow Assassins to attack the joints of the demons. He did not have to give them fatal blows; making them lose theirbat power was quite a good means too.

    The 10 Shadow Assassins could be considered to be a smallbat group, but because their attacks revolved around assassination, it was impossible for them to form a defensive perimeter. The only thing on Lin Li¡¯s side that could be considered a battle team would be the 18 Death Knights that had been following him since a long time ago.

    [1] Meaning young and very spoiled.

 Chapter 743 - Hell Python

    <h4>Chapter 743: Hell Python</h4>

    The 18 Death Knights that were riding Nightmares formed a small line and assaulted from left and right of Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain. The strength of the Death Knights was actually not too outstanding on the surface. The strongest one had just reached level-19, while the weakest one was at level-18. In fact, after Lin Li subdued and acquired them, their abilities didn¡¯t change much, because they didn¡¯t have a lot of opportunities to devour soul fire inrge amounts.

    Lin Li originally nned to use the bones of the Titan obtained from the Haiga Mountain Range to build a legendary fortress that could effectively enhance the strength of the Death Knights. Unfortunately, he was trapped in the chaos of time and space for half a year. After returning to the Tower of Dusk, he was too busy with his own matters, and did not have time to build the ck Front Fortress. Moreover, as he got more and more power, he also ignored the Death Knights. After all, even if he spent time to build the ck Front Fortress, the strength of the Death Knights wouldn¡¯t be increased immediately.

    In fact, the Death Knights were truly a self-contained system that could not be constrained or affected by any force. Only the Death Knights that had suddenly broken through to level-20 couldmand their own kind. Those were called Retribution Knights. Besides, when Lin Li acquired the Death Knights, he was actually mistaken for a Retribution Knight by them. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve been impossible for them to take orders from him even if they¡¯d got killed.

    Generally speaking, there could be only one Retribution Knight. When a Retribution Knight appeared, all Death Knights in Anril would abandon their evolutionary path and let their power stay in the original level forever. They would also allow the soul fire that they had devoured to be dedicated to the only Retribution Knight. However, the strength of the Death Knight itself would not actually stagnate because of the stop of evolution. As long as the Retribution Knight that led them became stronger, they would be able to exert more powerful abilities during battles.

    Although Lin Li was not a real Retribution Knight, and couldn¡¯t strengthen thebat power of the Death Knights using the bonus effects of the halo, Lin Li still had the debris of the stars that could strengthen all Undead creatures. The Light and Darkness Domain that Lin Li was now activating was akin to a strong battle aura to the Death Knights. Although the levels of the Death Knights in the Light and Darkness Domain were not high, thebat power that they exerted was not inferior to a real Retribution Knight¡¯s.

    However, Lin Li found it to be a pity that there were so few Death Knights. The 18 Death Knights formed a line, and they looked just like needles in the endless ck Current. Although the sharp ones could pierce through all obstacles, the impact on the enemy was almost negligible. Looking at the riders who were rushing in from left and right, Lin Li was filled with regret. If it were the Death Knights that were led by the Retribution Knight in the Seven-Realm Spiral, they would probably be able to destroy the endless Zago Demons.

    The Lord of Nightmares was inclined to attack on the spiritual level. In addition to disrupting the rhythm of attacks of the Zago Demons, he would also control a few Sickle ck-armored Demons from time to time and suddenly attack enemies. The demon Gordon was just like a small glistening Alchemy Colossus. While ughtering the Sickle ck-armored Demon, he was still tearing the thick carapace from their bodies and chewing on them.

    Ujfalusi controlled the Humerus Wyrms and made them circle and hover above the heads of the Death Knights in the Light and Darkness Domain, continuously casting various curses. This time, he did not summon the Undead Army. When faced with the Zago Demons, the Humerus Wyrms would not y any significant role at all. Hence, his task was to follow the Death Knights and weaken the enemies that the Death Knights were facing.

    Vampires were natural assassins, and in thisrge-scale battle, the role that assassins could y was actually very limited. However, Norfeller was after all a rare Legendary powerhouse amongst Vampires. With the talent that he acquired during his level-22 enlightenment, he could easily see the enemy¡¯s fatal weaknesses. Therefore, although only one enemy could be attacked by him at a time, the results would be very significant, and almost every blow would be able to kill a Sickle ck-armored Demon.

    Whilemanding his various subordinates, Lin Li tried to deal with the various waves of attacks by the Zago Demons. He would nce at the other battles from time to time. Naturally, he didn¡¯t care about the well-being of Rosen. The ones he were truly concerned about were the other three old men: Andoine, Aldwin, and Macklin. Andoine was his teacher who led him to the magic pce and meant a lot to him. On the other hand, Aldwin and Macklin had also given him a lot of help when he participated in the trial in the nna Guild of Magic. Although Lin Li could barely save himself, he would definitely not sit back and do nothing if the three old men were really in danger.

    However, judging from the current situation, it seemed that what Lin Li worried about was unlikely to happen. Although Andoine was also a level-23 Legendary-mage and the Thorn Domain that he created was not an extremely powerful Magical Domain, hisbat experience was obviously vaster than Lin Li¡¯s by more than one level.

    In Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain, the wild nts that were growing rapidly had already covered the burning mes on the ground, and the thick vines were like green pythons tightly winding around any enemies that broke into domain. Although the finely serrated sickles of the Sickle ck-armored Demons were extremely sharp, they would be unable to cause too much damage even to seemingly fragile nts once they did not have any leverage. If a single vine was cut off, two or three others would rece it immediately. The hard and smooth carapaces of the Sickle ck-armored Demons made crackling sounds when the green pythons wound tightly around them.

    The problem with the Thorn Domain was not because of Lin Li¡¯s mistake, but because Andoine¡¯s richbat experience had already exerted enough power to make up for the shorings of the weak Thorn Domain, at least for the time being. The ck Current had yet to constitute an effective threat to Andoine for now.

    Not too far away from Andoine was Aldwin, whose power had forcibly been upgraded by one level using Geresco¡¯s staff. However, the promotion by foreign objects was only an improvement in strength, and it was impossible to gain a true understanding of nomological power at level-23. Although Aldwin showed the magical waves of a level-23 mage, he was still worlds apart from an actual level-23 mage.

    Fortunately, the Magical Domain owned by Aldwin was the ming Storm Domain that was known purely for its power. Although there was no room for evolution in the Magical Domain, it was rather advantageous only at the Legendary level. In the sky that was within the range of the Magical Domain, the crimson clouds continuously rolled in, while fireballs fell onto the ground like rain. The mes on the ground seemed to be swallowed by the mes of the ming Storm Domain, and turned into a burning sea of red mes.

    The Zago Demons that poured into the ming Storm Domain were covered in oil as soon as they stepped into the sea of mes, and were instantly ignited, bing huge ming torches. Some of the higher-ranked ones seemed to have a certain resistance to fire-element magic, but their carapace was already burnt red as they continued to pounce on Aldwin. However, the fireballs that fell ruthlessly smashed against the ground and engulfed them in mes.

    Although in the present situation, Aldwin and Andoine did not seem to be in bad predicament, Lin Li stillmanded his subordinates to slowly approach the two of them because Lin Li found out from Connoris that the Sickle ck-armored Demons were just shields for the Zago Demons, and the real enemies had yet to surface.

    However, it was not an easy task to move in this turbulent ck Current, and it required more than just flying over. In fact, they had to maintain a strict defense. There were not only Shadow Assassins and Death Knights, but also plenty of Legendary powerhouses. However, they felt like a floating boat in this ck Current, and every mile of movement would require plenty of effort.

    At this moment, the ck Current in the direction that Lin Li was facing suddenly separated and moved apart to both sides, and a figure that was nearly 100 meters long emerged in the Light and Darkness Domain. It had a shield-shaped ck shell and two forelimbs that had sickles more than 10 meters long. It also had thick and sharp spikes.

    A Shadow Assassin suddenly darted out of the darkness like a ray of ck lightning, and collided with the giant¡¯s head. However, the giant python-type demon was surprisingly quick and nimble. With a slight turn of its head, it would spurt out thick liquids at the Shadow Assassin, causing its Shadow Iron body to corrode. The sealed soul would also be instantly extinguished in the scorching mes.

    ¡°A Hell Python!¡± Lin Li panicked, and raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter high in the air, no longer bothering to move towards Andoine. The dozens of Angels of Light and Dark suddenly formed a figure in the void, pping their ck and white wings for a while and holding a long spear.

    The Hell Pythons were one of the main contributors to the Zago Demons¡¯ power. Compared to the Sickle ck-armored Demons, they were definitely stronger by more than just one level. In addition to having strong power and high defense, the liquid that they spat out was also highly poisonous and corrosive, and much stronger than a dragon¡¯s breath. More importantly, they did not have high-endbat power even though they were one of the strongest. Although there were less of them than the Sickle ck-armored Demons, they were rather numerous too.

    Dozens of Angels of Light and Dark swarmed towards it with sharp spears and giant swords that were condensed with the power of Light and Darkness. However, they couldn¡¯t do any damage to the carapace. The Hell Python swung its sickles forward and directly split several Angels of Light and Dark in front of it, after which it spat out some venom that caused the Angels of Light and Dark to corrode.

    Lin Li¡¯s research on the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark was much more advanced now, and although the condensation process was rather hasty, each Angel of Light and Dark also had level-18¡¯s power. Yet, they could not even endure the attacks of the Hell Python.

    Lin Li could clearly see that the surging ck Current was dividing into various channels behind the Hell Python¡ªmore of them were quickly passing through the ck Current. They were also rushing in the direction of several other battles.

    Although Lin Li had already heard about them from Connoris, he never knew how terrifying the pythons were until he experienced it himself. Lin Li¡¯s face became a little gloomy; he suddenly tightened his grip, and the dozens of Angels of Light and Dark that surrounded the Hell Python immediately gave up and leaped onto its body. The conflicting power of Light and Darkness resulted in a vigorous explosion. Despite the amazing defensive power of the Hell Python, the force of the two opposing forces of light and darkness was definitely not something it could resist.

    With the roar of the explosion, the 100-meter-long Hell Python was finally blown to pieces, while the Light and Darkness shed and flickered. However, despite the destruction of a Hell Python, Lin Li couldn¡¯t rx at all. The power consumed by such an attack was not ordinary. If there were only dozens of them, Lin Li would probably still be able to cope with it, but looking at the endless ck Current in the distance, Lin Li reckoned that there had to be hundreds of them.

    Moreover, Lin Li still remembered what Connoris had said about the Hell Pythons being considered less than high-end in terms ofbat prowess amongst the Zago Demons. Actually, even if the tyrant Bk were to appear on his own, none of them would be able to flee. Bk was a true ancient deity and a powerhouse amongst them. Even a Legendary powerhouse might not be able to be his match[1].

    The situation in front of him was definitely fatal. Lin Li was continuouslyunching his attacks only because he didn¡¯t want to let it go without putting up a fight. Besides, if Lin Li died there, none of his servants who were bound to him by the Soul Contract would survive even if they did not participate in the battle.

    ¡°Go to hell, disgusting bug!¡± Angno suddenly yelled on the battlefield.

    The Sickle ck-armored Demons could not constitute a threat to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus at all. It did not even need any magical weapons. It could kill those demons just by stepping on them with its huge feet.

    [1] I think the author means being unable to escape here lol.

 Chapter 744 - Mammoth Behemoth

    <h4>Chapter 744: Mammoth Behemoth</h4>

    Hence, Angno¡¯s efforts earlier were pretty much smooth-sailing. But, when the Hell Python appeared, he validated Connoris¡¯ words; Angno could not keep his peace anymore.

    The Hell Python that was 20 to 30 meters long when it rose from the ground was rtively smallpared to the Alchemy Colossus. Angno dodged its venomous spit and smashed his spear into the python. Yet, how would the Hell Python that had the ability to evade the attack of the Shadow Assassins be subjected to Angno¡¯s spear? Its gigantic and agile body swerved past the spear, and it bit the Alchemy Colossus with its bloodied mouth.

    Lin Li knew that the Hell Python would have no chance to leave any bite mark on the Alchemy Colossus as it was so firm. Yet, Angno saw it differently. Anxiety caused him to release the spear in his hand and grab the neck of the Hell Python. He heaved the python and smashed it in all directions.

    Lin Li could not help but feel delighted upon the sight of Angno¡¯s craze. He was d that he had maintained a distance with Angno from the start. Otherwise, it would be inevitable for him to be implicated by his frantic behavior as the gigantic fe was 100 meters tall.

    After a period of frantic smashing, Angno¡¯s was only left with disgusting head of the Hell Python. Around the Alchemy Colossus was a bloodied mess.

    The fear within Angno managed to subside a little after the craze. He let the Alchemy Colossus pick up the spear from the ground. He spun the spear and continued to battle the Zago Demons that charged toward him. The glow on the Alchemy Colossus continued to shine, and a ray of light created a long opening in the ck current.

    The appearance of the Hell Pythons from the 72nd level of the abyss induced tremendous stress in everyone. Yet, the three Legendary powerhouses, Andoine, Aldwin, and Rosen, were not at a disadvantage when they used their powerful magical domains against the Hell Pythons.

    Unlike them, the team of mages that was led by Macklin was under significant pressure. Although the assistance from the Commander¡¯s Badge helped the 150 mages work together as one, and they had no issue casting Legendary spells, they were a hundred-man team, after all. The greater their contact was with the ck Current, the more attacks they had to endure. Not only did they need to deal with the ck Current, they also had to withstand the numerous 100-meter-long Hell Pythons.

    It was fortunate that both Andoine and Aldwin had noticed the obstacle the mages were facing. They maintained their magical domains as they moved closer to the mages until the mages were between them. This enabled the two Legendary powerhouses to help to ovee the enemies that wereing from the two ends. Macklin took the chance to rearrange the formation of the team, and finally brought them to safety.

    The gradual increase in the number of Hell Pythons added pressure to the men. Rosen¡¯s workload was lighter at the beginning as he was positioned behind Andoine, Aldwin, and the team of mages. Andoine and the rest had helped to withstand a lot of pressure for him. Yet, it was as if the Zago Demons had a battle strategy. While they dealt with the attack from Andoine and the rest of the men, they brought a few more Hell Pythons and led an army of Sickle ck-armored Demon towards Rosen.

    It was Rosen¡¯s turn to suffer. Not to mention those Sickle ck-armored Demons, each of the Hell Pythons had Legendary-level abilities. Despite being a level-23 Legendary-mage, Rosen had to exert his full force. He maximized the use of his Element Domain, and let all sort of elements rage up a magic storm that filled the Realm of Magic. Unfortunately, Rosen was too greedy with his magical domain. The magical elements within it did not have enough power to create fast and critical attacks against the Hell Pythons that had natural resistance to magic.

    What shocked Rosen was the gigantic shadows flying towards him while he was battling the Hell Pythons. Each figure radiated magical waves of level-21 to level-22.

    ¡°Those flying demons have to be the Scourged Ankylodons Connoris was referring to. Just look at how that petty moron is going to suffer!¡± Angno spoke to Lin Li gleefully through mental strength as he controlled the Alchemy Colossus to rip off the head of a Hell Python.

    The status of the Scourged Ankylodon was much higher than the Hell Python¡¯s in the Zago. Scourged Ankylodon? This meant that they had to be more powerful.

    What enabled the Scourged Ankylodons to fly was not their wings, but a membrane that resembled that of insect wings. Although the 62 ck membranes seemed to be greatly transparent at the incredible speed, they were not like any membrane that the bugs had. The demonic runes on the membranes empowered them with the strength to cut through metal. They had turned into one of the greatest weapons of the Scourged Ankylodons.

    The huge mouthpiece on the head of a Scourged Ankylodon was like a gigantic metal mp. Despite having tremendous defensive ability, the wyrm could not avoid being bitten by it. The t neck of the Scourged Ankylodon was like an integration of two Tower Shields, and the countless spikes on both sides were coated with green toxins. The body of a Scourged Ankylodon was unlike the scales ofmon dragon species. It had an incredibly firm shell unique to the Zago Demon species that could counter magic spells, not to forget the six sturdy sickle-like feet on every Scourged Ankylodon; on top of each of its two forelimbs was arger serrated sickle, with the power to split a wyrm¡¯s body easily.

    Each Scourged Ankylodon had at least a Legendary-level ability, and the stronger ones were at the peak of the Legendary-level. ording to Connoris, there was even a Sanctuary-realm Scourged Ankylodon that appeared in the prehistoric times, and its powers wereparable to the ancient dragons¡¯. Tyrant Bk once had a team of Scourged Ankylodons as his guards. They had few opponents in the abyss, and had once almost reached the 90th level of the abyss. If Connoris had not conspired against tyrant Bk and another ancient deity, Bk would have be the owner of level-90 instead of him.

    ¡°Who asked him to volunteer as the leader? Did he really think that the Zago Demons are brainless? The intelligence of Zago Lord¡¯s is much higher than any humanbat genius¡¯. How could they not know the need to get rid of the leader?¡± Connorismented disdainfully.

    The Zago Lord whom Connoris was referring to was the gray cloud that covered the void. Despite being a demon without muchbat prowess, his intelligence was definitelyparable to the so-called ¡°intelligent species¡±. Hisbating intelligence was definitely much higher than a military genius¡¯.

    Ordinary demons would be swarming up to their enemies in every battle regardless of their numbers. Despite appearing as a group, they were all fighting as individuals. However, it was not the case for Zago Demons. Under the directions of the Zago Lord, the group of Zago Demons was not a herd of beasts, but a true functional army. The existence of the Zago Lord was the reason why the Zago Demons were one of the most powerful species in the abyss in terms ofbat ability.

    The Zago species had a lord with perfect intelligence, Scourged Ankylodons with a set of effectivebative ability that overpowered dragons, as well as Sickle ck-armored Demons that were unafraid of death and had the ability to multiply at fast speed. If they had not been restrained in the abyss, they would have be the rulers of Anril long ago.

    Of course, although Zago Lord was primarily dealing with Rosen, he did not neglect Lin Li and the others. A few Scourged Ankylodons flew over to Lin Li and the other men shortly after. There were also a few gigantic shadows that appeared before the men from the vast horizon of the ck current.

    Lin Li turned pale when he saw the hill-like shadows from afar. Connoris¡¯ and Angno¡¯s voice of surprise also rang in his mind.

    ¡°Mammoth Behemoth! That¡¯s a freaking Mammoth Behemoth!¡± Connoris eximed in a shrill voice. He could not conceal his astonishment.

    Angno¡¯s inability to act spontaneously due to his fright allowed the Hell Python to trap the leg of the Alchemy Colossus. He had to take some effort to break free from it.

    ¡°So what if it is a Mammoth Behemoth? Do not forget that the tyrant Bk has yet to appear. It will be our doom when he does,¡± replied Lin Li as he gazed into the distance. He was looking at the crystal coffin that was hovering in the air. The vast backdrop of the ck current made the coffin extremely striking.

    ¡°Could we even survive to see Bk? That bastard Osric, why did he choose such a monstrous ce to bury himself when he could¡¯ve been buried everywhere else? It is no wonder that he died an early death!¡± Angno scoffed impatiently, and waved his spear to cut the Sickle ck-armored Demon that was charging towards him into pieces.

    ¡°Felic, look. Since I can¡¯t help you with anything, why don¡¯t you let me go?¡± the Fire Demon King said meekly.

    ¡°Shut the f*ck up!¡± Lin Li, Connoris, and Angno snarled at the Fire Demon King in unison.

    At this time, the Scourged Ankylodons haveunched their attack on the men. They disyed their terrifying powers as the personal guards of tyrant Bk. The vines in Andoine¡¯s Thorn Domain that were supposed to be stronger than metal were as weak as noodles before the Scourged Ankylodons. Aldwin¡¯s ming Storm Domain and continuous fire rain bounced off the bodies of the Scourged Ankylodons, but left no trace on their smooth armored shells.

    Under Macklin¡¯s directions, the team of mages tried their best to control the situation, but thebined attack from Scourged Ankylodons resulted in casualties for the team. Seven mages at the sides were sliced into halves by the enormous sickles despite having the protection of the Elemental Shield.

    There was a Gordon demon with all sorts of magical metals at Lin Li¡¯s side. Although he had maximized the efficiency of the defense mechanisms, he failed to block thest blow from the Scourged Ankylodons. Great defense also did not save a Humerus Wyrm from having its tail severed by the transparent wing membrane of the Scourged Ankylodon when they battled in the air.

    The Hell Python that was controlled by the Lord of Nightmares spat a venomous substance into the sky. That was a substance that could corrode any item. Yet, it was powerless before the Scourged Ankylodon. Dozens of Angels of Light and Dark charged towards the beasts with an explosion aimed to engulf the Scourged Ankylodons, but after the rays of light dispersed, what appeared were the unharmed bodies of the Scourged Ankylodons.

    ¡°Connoris, aren¡¯t you a demon deity with a lot of tricks up your sleeves? Think of a way now! If not, we will all be doomed when Bk appears!¡± Lin Li urged Connoris as he created a Light and Darkness Sword with all his might to y a Scourged Ankylodon before meeting with another two.

    ¡°W-what could I possibly do? I could not even deal with this monstrous Bk as a demon deity. Why did Osric choose such a ce? Did he not fear that Bk would dismantle his bones?!¡± Connoris rattled off anxiously. He felt that any strategy would be futile before this ultimate force.

    The Mammoth Behemoths in the distance were like hills rushing towards. Every man knew that their adventure team would be eliminated by the Scourged Ankylodons and Mammoth Behemoths before Bk even arrived.

    ¡°Hold on, I think you said something useful,¡± spoke Lin Li as he raised his brows. He asked, ¡°You were talking about whether Osric would fear Bk dismantle his bones if he put his body here. Do you think Bk is a demon deity who knows how to respect the bodies of other people?¡±

    ¡°What sh*t does he know? If I were him, I would never give up on the crystal coffin!¡± Connoris eximed angrily. Yet, his attitude took a shift when he thought about Lin Li¡¯s reminder. ¡°That¡¯s right. If Bk was here, he would not have kept the crystal coffin in such a great condition. Could it be that he is not here anymore? No, no. I¡¯m clear on how powerful Bk is. No one would be able to do anything to him in the Endless Abyss unless he was as powerful as a Dragon Aspect.¡±

 Chapter 745 - Fleeing from a Battle?

    <h4>Chapter 745: Fleeing from a Battle?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°I remember Osricing to the abyss alone after he enved me. He mentioned something about the 72nd level of the abyss,¡± interrupted the Fire Demon King bravely. He did not want to die with Lin Li.

    The Fire Demon King did not get reprimanded by Lin Li and Connoris this time. Instead, they took a moment to reflect on his words.

    ¡°I do not remember apanying Osric here. Could it be that he came here alone?¡± asked Angno. He had participated in Osric¡¯ mission to raid the abyss, but they had never advanced to the 72nd floor of the abyss then.

    ¡°Alone? This is the 72nd floor of the abyss¡ªthe territory of Tyrant Bk. There are countless formidable Zago Demons here. I don¡¯t believe Osric came here to have a peaceful conference with Tyrant Bk,¡± replied Lin Li. Although he knew that Osric should¡¯ve been a powerful man as he was the disciple of Immortal King, he could not fathom the possibility of him barging into the 72nd floor of the abyss himself.

    Connoris said that although Tyrant Bk resided on the 72nd floor of the abyss, he was one of the most powerful ancient deities out of the 99 who¡¯d created the abyss. This abyss was like the territory of the ancient deities, and being deep inside the abyss would definitely make Tyrant Bk even more formidable. Lin Li could still remember how a line of demonic runes from Connoris was able to let him engage the energy of the abyss to oppress the Lord of Darkness when he was in the Throne of Darkness. This could only show that a real ancient deity would be a god-like figure in the abyss.

    Furthermore, apart from activating the vast force of the abyss, this formidable troop of Zago Demons was definitely not something anyone could deal with. The Sickle ck-armored Demons that multiplied at great speed, Hell Pythons with extreme venom, Scourged Ankylodons that had the ability to slice a wyrm alive, tyrannical Mammoth Behemoths... These terrifying Zago Demons that were led by the highly intelligent Zago Lord really posed a great threat even to a man in the Sanctuary-realm.

    <i>How could Osric trespass this region alone? Was he a god?</i>

    Lin Li could not imagine how a man could deal with this scene on his own. He was sure those demons would be problematic even for a Dragon Aspect.

    ¡°You were saying Osric entered this ce alone. When was that?¡± Angno asked the Fire Demon King.

    ¡°That was when I just started to follow him. Oh yes, didn¡¯t I fight with Amatir? I think that happened one or two months after,¡± replied the Fire Demon King. His vast lifespan made him insensitive to dates. It was good enough that he could remember significant events.

    ¡°Hold on, I remember it. That was when Osric had the magical crystal I wanted. Could that be...¡± Angno could notplete his speech. He was bbergasted by his thoughts. Despite being one of the first to follow Osric, if his guess was true, he really could not believe Osric¡¯s real abilities.

    ¡°Could that magical crystal belong to tyrant Bk?¡± Lin Li and Connoris gasped in unison. No matter how shocked they were, it was a fact that all the clues were pointing in that direction.

    Just when millions of thoughts were running through the minds of Lin Li and Connoris, the situation on the battlefield had worsened. The ck Current that was made up of numerous Sickle ck-armored Demons and Hell Pythons had brought about an incredible amount of pressure to the men like never before. The appearance of the Scourged Ankylodons multiplied their stress and pushed them to their limit. The men could not help but feel a sense of despair when they saw the shadows of the hill-like Mammoth Behemoths bingrger andrger.

    Rosen, who had been under the radar of the Zago Lord had to deal with the six Hell Pythons and four Scourged Ankylodons alone now. Despite being a level-23 Legendary-mage, he was not outside of any danger. The loopholes of Rosen¡¯s element domain were exposed; while the magic storm that filled the magical domain was rather effective in dealing with the Sickle ck-armored Demons and Hell Pythons, it was like a tickle to the Scourged Ankylodons.

    If he had a perfect Element Domain, he would be able to instantaneously cast all the elemental spells that he was capable of using. For instance, since he was a level-23 mage, the elements that made up his magic storm would be level-22 and below. If he had this ability, it would not put him at a disadvantage.

    Unfortunately, the energy of one man was still limited. Rosen¡¯s greed to reach into the four elemental Laws made him a master of none. The elements that made up the magic storm were all weaker than the Legendary-level. How would that pose any threat to the tyrannical Scourged Ankylodons?

    <i>Goddammit, did this bunch of Zago Demon eat the wrong medicine? </i>Rosen thought anxiously as he saw a few more Scourged Ankylodons flying from the distance. He still could not understand why he was so popr among the pests. The Zago Demons that he alone was battling with had nearly reached half of what Andoine and the rest were dealing with together.

    Rosen clenched his jaws and got an opportunity to bring out his magic staff again. It had been quite some time since hest used it, and the two huge gems on the magic staff had a fresh glow of light. Rosen had initially nned to use the magic staff to protect himself against Lin Li, but he knew that if he was not able to ovee his present ordeal, it would be futile to think of the future.

    As their growls sounded off, two dragons of gold and silver appeared beside Rosen. They smashed the countless Sickle ck-armored Demons into fragments instantaneously. The gold dragon turned the two spitting Hell Pythons into ashes with its breath, while the silver dragon pounced onto the Scourged Ankylodons and battled with them.

    However, the two dragons that should¡¯ve been in the Sanctuary-realm did not disy any of that level of power. While the Hell Pythons were unable to deal with the two dragons, it wasn¡¯t the case for the Scourged Ankylodons. Their impregnable defense gave them the right to be worthy opponents of the two dragons. Although these two dragons were able to share a huge part of Rosen¡¯s burden, it convinced the Zago Lord of Rosen¡¯s identity as the leader.

    Rosen¡¯s delight did notst after he summoned the two dragons. Fresh blood flowed out from the side of his mouth on his pallid face. It was obvious that the summoning of the two dragons cost Rosen significantly. He wiped the side of his mouth and decided to put away his pride to draw closer to Andoine and others.

    ¡°Bam!¡± That was the sound when the Alchemy Colossus that was controlled by Angno collided with the first Mammoth Behemoth that charged towards it.

    The Mammoth Behemoth that was covered in firm armor from head to toe had a massive body that wasparable to the Alchemy Colossus. It had a machete-shaped horn on its head and two massive and sharp tusks that grew from the back of its neck, just like the giant metal spear the Alchemy Colossus had in its hands. Its three pairs of legs supported its hill-like body, and ensured that the Mammoth Behemoth could move fast unaffected by its huge body size. The sickle-shaped ws on each of its leg killed countless Sickle ck-armored Demons as it advanced towards the men. The dark-green flesh and blood of the demons covered its ws distastefully.

    The Mammoth Behemoth was definitely a strategy-ranked existence among the Zago Demon species. Although it did not have any incredible ability for defense, the hill-like body was sufficient to allow this creature to do whatever it wanted in the abyss. No one knew how thick its armor was to be able to defend it from the attack of any Sword Sage. Although it did not have very high resistance to magic, it was definitely able to withstand Legendary-level attacks. Its trump card was its massive body that could protect itself from most critical attacks.

    It was a blessing that Lin Li had Angno¡¯s huge Alchemy Colossus with him to deal with the huge beast. He was almost certain that the spear of the Colossus would be able to pose a threat to the Mammoth Behemoth.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li only had one Titan-level Alchemy Colossus with him. That was in stark contrast to the Zago Demons that had at least 10 Mammoth Behemoths. While Angno was able to deal with one Mammoth Behemoth, he wouldn¡¯t be able to emerge safely if two or three other Mammoth Behemoths were to charge over.

    ¡°And Tyrant Bk has yet to appear. Could it be that it had already been gotten rid of by Osric? If the magical crystal in the crystal coffin really belongs to Tyrant Bk, it is not impossible for us to ovee this crisis!¡± Lin Li eximed to his followers as he pointed at the coffin that was hovering in the air.

    ¡°I might have followed Osric for a long time, but I¡¯ve never seen him demonstrate his real power. When he defeated me, it was as if I was an ant under his thumb. Frankly speaking, I lost all courage simply by standing in front of him,¡± recalled the Fire Demon King.

    ¡°If Osric was here to defeat Tyrant Bk by himself, I bet he had to be stronger thanmon Sanctuary powerhouses. Could he be at the peak of the realm?!¡± Lin Li gasped. He was shocked by his thoughts. If Osric was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he had to be extremely close to being a divinity.

    Although all of the clues were pointing to the crystal coffin, no one could be certain that it was Tyrant Bk¡¯s magical crystal in the coffin. If one were to leave out the possibility of Osric defeating Bk single-handedly and acquiring his magical crystal, who could be certain that the magical crystal in the crystal coffin had to belong to Bk instead of some prehistoric magical beast?

    But, Lin Li had no other choice now. The only thing he could do was to gamble on it. If he won, he would be able to find a way out of the situation for himself and the other men. If he lost, the ending would not be any different from not acting on it.

    ¡°Teacher Andoine, Master Aldwin, please press on! I need your help to dy their leader!¡± Lin Li shouted. He did not provide any exnation for what he was about to do. He knew there was no time to lose. Before Andoine could respond to his request, he cast the Power of Flight and flew towards the crystal coffin in the distance.

    The absence of the Light and Darkness Domain depreciated the ability of the followers under Lin Li greatly. Although Ujfalusi and Lord of Nightmares immediately established their Humerus Domain and Nightmare Domain, respectively, theirbined strength was still far behind Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain. Although Lin Li left the area alone, the departure of a level-23 Legendary-mage elevated the pressure felt by the rest of the team.

    ¡°Andoine, that¡¯s the disciple you are proud of! He actually ditched us in such desperate circumstances!¡± Rosen shouted disdainfully as he approached Andoine. Rosen could not suppress his rage when he thought of how he had to be in such a tragic state when Lin Li could leave everyone for his own safety. He was absolutely certain that a young mage like Lin Li would have no way to ovee the present crisis.

    Of course, no one responded to Rosen¡¯sint. It was as though nobody heard him. Indeed, Andoine and Aldwin, as well as Macklin who had been leading the remaining team of mages, experienced a rise in stress with Lin Li¡¯s exit. But, their hearts were all filled with confidence that Lin Li would create a miracle.

    At this time, the fatigue on the faces of Andoine and Aldwin was inconceble. Although they were Legendary-mages people saw as powerhouses who had unlimited mana, it was in fact referring to their ability to recover their mana quickly. When the loss of mana exceeded the speed of recovery, they would not be able to avoid exhausting their mana. Yet, the sight of Lin Li dashing towards the giant crystal coffin reignited their hope. They did not have to hear Lin Li¡¯s exnation at all.

 Chapter 746 - Listless

    <h4>Chapter 746: Listless</h4>

    When Lin Li was still an Archmage, he mastered the ability of using the Levitation Spell like how he used the Power of Flight. His passion for escape spells did not end when he reached the Legendary-realm. How could he be able to use the Power of Flight to fly among the 36 towers at the Sky Castle and deactivate the Psychic Arrays within 10 seconds otherwise? It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lin Li had the greatest mastery of the Power of Flight among all Legendary-mages.

    Lin Li vanished right after he shouted at Andoine and the rest. He was like a bolt of lightning that dashed towards the enormous crystal coffin. Perhaps thinking that Lin Li was seeking his own doom, the Zago Lord did not direct any demons to stop Lin Li. Hence, Lin Li did not have toe into contact with any enemy. Even if he did, he only had to brush past them.

    Lin Li was stunned by what he¡¯d previously thought was the gigantic crystal coffin. Being up close with the structure helped Lin Li discover that it was a crystal castle instead. On the walls of the crystal castle was a huge variety of blue patterns, mageweaths, alchemy arrays, and magic runes. They continued to emit incredibly massive and dangerous magic waves.

    Lin Li had no time to appreciate the beauty of the castle. He circled the castle to look for the key to ovee the present obstacle¡ªthe magical crystal that might¡¯ve belonged to Tyrant Bk.

    ¡°Grr...!¡± The growls of the gold wyrm could be heard from the distance as it got defeated by four Scourged Ankylodons. The body of the gold wyrm disappeared in the void very quickly. What was left on the ground was countless corpses that belonged to the Zago Demons, and those that belonged to the two Scourged Ankylodons were especially obvious among them.

    Lin Li¡¯s heart tightened as he heard that sound from the gold wyrm. The disappearance of the wyrm meant that the team would be facing greater pressure. It could be said that they were doomed.

    In reality, Lin Li could predict how horrible the battle was for the other men. When he exited the domain, there were only two out of 10 Shadow Assassins surviving, while four out of 18 Death Knights had lost their Soul Imprint, and the rest was covered in injuries. Apart from losing half of its tail, the bones of the Humerus Wyrm could be seen protruding out of its wounds. The situation of the Lord of Nightmares, Ujfalusi, and Norfeller was not favorable, either. The speed of recovery of the Zago Demons[1] had been decreasing as well. It seemed like they would no longer be able to recover soon.

    The tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua had to be one out of the many of Lin Li¡¯s followers to be in the best shape. Its mastery of the four major elements allowed it to turn countless Legendary-level spells into a terrifying magic storm. The magic storm would be a threat to the Scourged Ankylodons, let alone other Zago Demons.

    However, the Zago Lord was a very sly dude. He gave up on Xiao Hua temporarily to focus on the rest of the men. After all, Xiao Hua was not a mature Elemental Wyrm. It would be impractical to hope that Xiao Hua could help them to ovee this crisis. If the Zago Lord were to invest more energy into the battle, Xiao Hua would never be able to escape its doom.

    Every second that trickled away seemed to be extremely long for Lin Li and the others who were still struggling within the ck Current. Lin Li¡¯s anxiety was about to get the better of him. Although he did not disy his concern, he had his eyes fixed on the giant crystal coffin. He did not dare to have the slightest bit of carelessness.

    Suddenly, Lin Li took a halt under the coffin. His eyes lit up when he saw an enormous magical crystal etched in the Resting Crystal. Although theplicated magic waves in the surroundings had severely distorted his ability to sense his target, Lin Li was absolute that the magical crystal before him was what he was looking for.

    The silver magical crystal that resembled tinum seemed extremely holy and pure. Yet, Lin Li could sense destruction, madness, and evilness within the mana. Countlessplex mageweaths covered the silver magical crystal; the streaks of mageweath formed a giganticwork that continued to absorb the energy from the magical crystal.

    Lin Li did not move the magical crystal immediately. How would anyone disy a source of mana like it was an exhibition? Wouldn¡¯t that invite destruction? Lin Li flew nearer to take a closer look at the mageweaths on the crystal. The sight caused him to break out in a cold sweat.

    The intricate andplicated mageweath array around the silver magical crystal was made up of 12 mageweaths. Every mageweath was at the Guru-level. Lin Li had the ability to construct mageweath arrays as a Guru of Inscription as well. He created the invincible All-Kill Array in the Tower of Dusk himself, for instance.

    However, what made up the Invincible All-Kill Array were 10 Wards of Bad Luck. Despite being low-level mageweaths, they managed to threaten Legendary powerhouses. If that was so, Lin Li really could not imagine what power the mageweath array that was made of 12 Guru-level mageweaths could bring out.

    If Master-level mageweaths were equivalent to the Legendary-level where one had the ability toprehend nomological power, Guru-level mageweaths had to have the ability to master the nomological power perfectly to employ it in the Sanctuary-level. That was the reason why Lin Li had the knowledge of Gurus but had not yet created a real Guru-level mageweath.

    These 12 Guru-level mageweaths included the four major elementalws of earth, fire, water, and wind. They also included holiness and purification, fearfulness and soulfulness, as well as the elemental power of time and space. In this mageweath array, the 12 elemental powers could be arranged in any permutation to exhibit a force that could make any man from the Sanctuary-realm tremble.

    This was definitely the pinnacle of inscription. Although Lin Li had mastered every nomological power, he did not have the confidence to aplish such a grand masterpiece[2]. Under the protection of the mageweath array, no powerhouse from the Sanctuary-realm would be able to destroy the giant crystal coffin with just pure force. Perhaps only the invincible Immortal King or the five Dragon Aspects had some chance to destroy it that way.

    However, not having the ability to create the mageweath array was a different matter aspared to destroying it. Thetter would always be easier than the former. Just like with the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus¡ªalthough Lin Li did not have the ability to construct it, he knew that the Colossus would be paralyzed if he were to damage its joints.

    Lin Li updated himself on the grave situation at the other side through the use of soul contact with his followers. Time waited for no man. Lin Li put aside all the other thoughts in his mind, and fixed his gaze on that gigantic andplicated mageweath array. He ran through his knowledge on inscriptions, and started to work on deactivating the monstrous Guru-level mageweath array.

    Just as per the information Lin Li gathered from the soul contact, the men within the ck Current were on the edge of crumbling. The exhaustion of their mental strength turned the faces of Andoine and Aldwin ghastly. Fresh blood trickled out of their ears. It was obvious that their bodies were severely injured. Their Magical Domains were like candle lights flickering in the storm.

    The team of mages were not any better under Macklin¡¯s leadership. Their strength had dropped from over 150 to around 60, and every surviving mage had wounds on their bodies. The team did not suffer such severe casualties before. If not for the Commander¡¯s Badge, these elites would have lost their minds.

    The two wyrms summoned by Rosen vanished after being defeated by the Scourged Ankylodons. Although they would not be killed, it was almost impossible for them to be summoned again in the short run. Now, Rosen could not help but pin his hopes on the detestable Lin Li.

    Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus tackled three Mammoth Behemoths alone. It yed the role of the tank in the battle, and aimed to buy time for the team. Despite being someone who cherished his life a lot, Angno was perfectly aware the human team would never be able to deal with the demons alone, and without the human team, he knew he would be the next to be doomed despite having the protection of the Alchemy Colossus.

    Although the humerus wyrm that was tagged to Ujfalusi managed to regather its body with the help of the dragon graveyard, his once smooth and polished skeleton had be covered with big and small cracks. It was as though the wyrm would fall apart any time soon. The humerus wyrm summoned by Lin Li, on the other hand, had lost almost half of its flesh, and seemed to be turning back to its original form very quickly.

    The team of mages and Death Knights had greatly weakened. The once thick and smoky body of the Lord of Nightmares became faint and translucent, and Norfeller had also lost an arm.

    [1] Probably referring to those Lord of Nightmares is controlling, or it¡¯s something else entirely, not the demons.

    [2] Uh, I think the author means mastering them as far as inscriptions go.

 Chapter 747 - Balakéˆ¥æªš Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 747: Bk¡¯s Magical Crystal</h4>

    The Gordon Demon was lying on the ground. Its slow recovery speed was almost imperceptible. The three impressive Legendary-mages, Andoine, Aldwin, and Rosen, were all pallid. Their hair was in a mess, and they had blood dripping out from the sides of their eyes and nose. Their mana had beenpressed to the extreme.

    Finally, the deadlock caused by the five Scourged Ankylodons and two Mammoth Behemoths ended. The Magical Domains of the Legendary powerhouses had beenpressed to the maximum. The powerful Zago Demons had gained the upper hand in the battle. The elimination of the human team seemed to be really close.

    Despair surfaced in the eyes of every man. It did not matter whether they were the superior Legendary-mages or normal Archmages. It did not matter how much determination they¡¯d once had. It was not that they had lost the will to fight, but their knowledge told them that there was no use fighting back anymore.

    In this moment of despair, Lin Li, who was under the giant crystal coffin, started to move. The crystal inscription pen in his hands created a glow, and he left many lines and magic runes on the freakish mageweath array.

    If the matter did not concern his survival, Lin Li really would not bear to destroy the masterpiece. This had to be the most perfect artwork in the field of Inscription. Lin Li¡¯s actions dimmed the Guru-level mageweaths on the work. That violent magical wave turned silent as well.

    ¡°Huff!¡± Lin Li sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. He put away his crystal inscription pen, and reached with his trembling arm towards the magical crystal lying at the core of the mageweath array.

    The enormous silver magical crystal fell into Lin Li¡¯s hand. It lost the restraint from the mageweath array, and started to emit an aura of evilness. The vigorous wave of mana gushed out like a tidal flood. The mana outside the magical crystal was like silver me.

    The sensing of the aura from the magical crystal helped Lin Li ascertain that this magical crystal that had unlimited mana had to belong to the Lord of Disaster, Bk. Although it was what he had predicted, Lin Li could not help but feel an unspeakable sense of surprise when he had gotten hold of the crystal. It meant that Osric, that infamous man in the Dark Age, actually had gone to the 72nd floor of the abyss alone! He¡¯d killed the ultimate powerhouse, the ancient deity Bk, despite countless troops of Zago Demons!

    Lin Li sped away from the crystal coffin with Bk¡¯s magical crystal. He hovered in the air gently. The battlefield that was once full ofmotion turned silent. The gray clouds in the sky and the Zago Demons on the ground stopped moving. There was no sound.

    The special aura from Tyrant Bk calmed all of the Zago Demons down instantaneously. That was the unshakablew of the Endless Abyss. Although there was only a bit of aura from Bk from the magical crystal, it was sufficient to silent every Zago Demon.

    ¡°H-has it ended...?!¡± Angno eximed. The Alchemy Colossus he had been controlled raised an arm to wipe the non-existing sweat. It was a traumatic experience. Despite following Osric for so many years, and going through countless battles, Angno had never felt so desperate in any battle. His weak heart continued to tremble crazily.

    Angno had guessed Lin Li¡¯s ns the moment he took his leave. Yet, he did not expect Lin Li to seed. After all, those were mageweaths created by Osric. Although he had not seen how monstrous the mageweaths looked, his knowledge of Osric¡¯s ability convinced him that Osric would never let anyone destroy his coffin. He was sure thatmon men would never be able to get close to the coffin, let alone deactivate the mageweaths on it to take down the mana source.

    Angno was totally impressed with the young human mage. The sight of the tiny figure in the distance gave him a trace of distant memory that was somewhat obscure.

    The crisis had created tremendous despair in the men. How could it have been resolved all of a sudden? The survivors of the crisis slowly shifted their gaze from the stationary Zago Demons on the ground to Lin Li who was in front of the crystal coffin. They were bewildered.

    Andoine rubbed his already groggy eyes and looked at Lin Li in astonishment. It was just too sudden. Although he felt that he had a good understanding of Lin Li, he still could not believe what he saw. However, he threw this astonishment to the back of his mind very quickly. What reced it was amazement and pride. After all, Lin Li was his student.

    The transition from hell to heaven was too sudden. Aldwin could not help but suspect that the situation was an illusion created by Osric. It wasn¡¯t until he felt the cooling sensation from his staff that he discovered that it was real. The staff Geresco had left behind would definitely not let him fall into an illusion. Also, there was certainly no reason for the Zago Lord to y tricks on people on the verge of their deaths.

    The sense of delight that surfaced in Aldwin¡¯s heart, however, vanished very quickly as his gazended on his team of mages. It had been a team of over 200 men when they first entered the mausoleum, yet there was barely 50 mages left standing now. The decrease in numbers from over 200 to barely 50 was a drastic one. It was definitely a huge death toll to nna Guild of Magic. After all, each of the mages in the guild was the fruit of Aldwin¡¯s efforts. Aldwin just could not feel happy when he saw the number of remaining mages.

    Aldwin felt that he had suffered great losses in this mission. Although he acquired the magical crystal of the Fire Demon King and a Commander¡¯s Badge from the Magic Legion of the High Elves, it was a fact that manpower was the core of everything. It would not help if he had powerful magic equipment and insufficient subordinates.

    The nurturing of the 200 elite mages had not only taken Aldwin plenty of quality resources, but also much time. Not every mage was as freakish as Lin Li. One could not simply take two years to rise from a mage apprentice to a Legendary-mage. While the team of elite mages were mostly made up of middle-aged men, there were also oldies in their 60s. Just like Gryffindor, they had been called talents in the field of magic. There were more people that did not have the fate of bing Magic Shooters in their lifetime.

    Being left with barely 50 men, the team of mages was as good as entirely wiped out. Even Aldwin, the person who groomed this team, could not help but feel dejected at the thought of recovering the scale of the team. It was hard for him to have the confidence to nurture another group of people up to that standard.

    There was another man who expressed no delight. That was Rosen. He clutched his staff and was panting heavily. He was incredibly jealous of Lin Li¡¯s achievement. Rosen could not believe that it was an idea that just sprang out of Lin Li¡¯s mind. He was convinced that Lin Li intervened at such ate timing after letting the Zago Demons exhaust his energy and waste his opportunity of summoning the wyrms. He felt that it was part of Lin Li¡¯s n to snatch the treasures.

    Rosen became even more convinced about his guesses after he looked at the present situation. While he had lost his chance of summoning the wyrms again, and Aldwin¡¯s team of mages was left with barely 50 men, only Lin Li¡¯s followers seemed not to have suffered too much. Lin Li only lost some Alchemy Puppets and Death Knights. Especially that unidentified creature the size of a palm that emitted pure dragon menace seemed to be unaffected in terms of itsbat energy.

    Lin Li was not concerned about what was on the minds of the survivors. There was no hint of delight on his face. Instead, he gripped Bk¡¯s magical crystal with a grave and serious expression.

    Had the crisis ended? Lin Li did not believe that it had. Although the Zago Demons stopped moving after they sensed Bk¡¯s aura, Lin Li knew that although the soul brand of Tyrant Bk had been erased by the Highlord, the remains of his aura would never be able to resolve the issue at its root. It was a fact that although the Zago Demonscked brains, their leader was a manifestation of intelligence. He was certain that the Zago Lord would be able to respond to this situation after some time. Then, it would be doom that would await the men.

    Lin Li¡¯s worry was valid. Although not much time had passed since he had gotten hold of Bk¡¯s magical crystal, he could see the gray clouds in the sky moving restlessly. That was the Zago Lord trying to figure out whether Bk¡¯s aura would pose a threat to him. If it would not, he would continue his attack on the people.

    The only way to ovee these Zago Demonspletely was the rebirth of Tyrant Bk. Unfortunately, the Bk¡¯s soul imprint within the magical crystal had been erased by Osric. Even if it was still there, Lin Li would not have any way to bring Tyrant Bk back.

    Suddenly, a thought shed in Lin Li¡¯s mind. <i>Oh yes! While there is no way for Bk to be reborn without its soul brand, I am still able to create another Bk with his magical crystal!</i>

    The thought of it prompted Lin Li to retrieve the Summoning Lamp that had the Fire Demon King sealed in it. He let the unlucky fe out of themp with a recitation. He said, ¡°Fire Demon, I am going to give you a chance not to be sealed in hismp eternally, and there will also be a hope for you to be reborn with a great boost in power. Would you want that?¡±

    ¡°H-how... How could you be so kindhearted?¡± the Fire Demon King asked suspiciously. He had always feared and hated Lin Li. Thus, he could not help but feel cautious when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°Nah, I might not be that kindhearted. Before that, I need to establish a Soul Contract with you to ensure that you will not turn against me with your newfound power,¡± replied Lin Li. He continued to talk about the contents of the soul contract, and its conditions were even stricter than those of a ve contract. To sum up, what Lin Li wanted was to have full control over the Fire Demon King without giving the demon any advantage.

    ¡°Erm... For that...¡± the Fire Demon King responded hesitantly. He was a little moved by the possibility of a good deal offered by the freakish and cunning human.

    However, Lin Li did not wait for the Fire Demon King to make his decision. The expression on his face changed. ¡°I am just being polite by phrasing it as a question. If you take my offer, you will be able to live on with perhaps a bit of advantage. If not, I need no trash with me. It will only take me minutes to purify you,¡± spoke Lin Li cold-heartedly. He retrieved the debris of the stars and circled them around the Fire Demon King.

    Although the Fire Demon King had lost its body, he could not help but tremble with the impact from the Holy Light. He knew that Lin Li was not boasting. It was not a difficult task to purify him with that sphere. The thought of this convinced the Fire Demon King to get rid of any hesitation. He quickly adhered to what Lin Li told him. He recited that Soul Contract and sent a ball of soul fire to Lin Li.

    After getting hold of the soul fire, Lin Li continued his recitation which he had just learnt from Connoris through mental strength. He raised an arm and held out Bk¡¯s magical crystal in his palm. The recital of the spell drew the Fire Demon King forcefully over towards the crystal.

    The magical crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hand had a new soul. Although it was not Tyrant Bk¡¯s soul, it did not matter to the Zago Demons. What mattered was the fact that there was a soul in the crystal. Bk¡¯s energy had been inherited by another demon, and that that made this demon the new Lord of the Abyss despite being a mere soul.

    The Fire Demon King had an unspeakable sense of disappointment. He was released from the Summoning Lamp, but was immediately sealed in the magical crystal. It was like a transfer from cage to cage. Although the magical crystal was extremely formidable, without his body, the Fire Demon King would never be able to leverage on it.

 Chapter 748 - Perfect Body

    <h4>Chapter 748: Perfect Body</h4>

    The Fire Demon King growled at that Zago Lord in the void ording to Lin Li¡¯s request. What followed was the gradual dissipation of the gray clouds. The Zago Demons on the ground¡ªthe lowest-ranking Sickle ck-armored Demons, the impressive Scourged Ankylodons, and Mammoth Behemoths¡ªwere like a retreating tide. They retreated back where they came from, and vanished in the blink of an eye. What was left was the corpses thaty all over the ground. They reminded everybody that the crisis was not a dream.

    Everyone felt a great sense of relief after seeing how the Zago Demons came and left like the tide. Each of them fell on the ground in extreme fatigue. Andoine and Aldwin also did not care about their image anymore. They sat on the ground and focused on recovering their mana that had been depleted. Even the Colossus Angno controlled was sitting on the ground. Its buttocks smashed countless bodies of the Zago Demons as it sat down.

    Unlike the rest, Lin Li continued to hover in the air silently. He held the crystal in his hands with his eyes closed. It was as if he was deep in thought. His demand for the Fire Demon King to establish the soul contract with him gave the Fire Demon King all of Bk¡¯s powers. Yet, the strictest conditions had denied Fire Demon King the right to use Bk¡¯s powers. Through the contract, Lin Li was able to gain everything Bk¡¯s crystal contained. He not only acquired that massive mana, but also all of Bk¡¯s memories and experience. The unlucky Fire Demon King could only act as the medium between Lin Li and Bk¡¯s crystal.

    Lin Li was not thinking of anything, but was receiving a massive influx of information. This feeling resembled the day he¡¯d received information from the control crystal of the Sky Castle. With the experience he had from then, Lin Li was able to control the speed of the information flow. He did not feel as overwhelmed by it this time.

    Lin Li read all of Tyrant Bk¡¯s memories carefully with the Fire Demon King as the medium. He was not exactly reading, but was somehow experiencing it. It was as if he had transformed into Bk, and he was able to review Bk¡¯s life from the day he was born till the day he died. Bk created the 99 levels of the abyss with other ancient deities, and battled the other deities as the Lord of the Abyss. He battled the ancient dragons, the Titans, the prehistoric magical beasts, and finally Osric.

    Bk¡¯s life was full of battles. He had umted much experience from each of his battles. That was what made him reach the peak of all the ancient deities. This rich battling experience itself was enough for Lin Li to digest for a long period of time. That was what could bridge the gap between his speedy rise in power and hisck of experience.

    Lin Li opened his eyes slowly after some time. The raging emotions he felt from Bk¡¯s memories subsided gradually. Although Lin Li seemed to be unaffected, he was extremely clear that Bk¡¯sbat experience was enough to boost hisbat prowess by a lot. As Lin Li had a vague sense of the entrance to level-24, he knew that he had taken another big step towards the Sanctuary-realm.

    At this time, the men had gotten closer to the crystal coffin, especially Lin Li¡¯s followers¡ªthey positioned themselves in an attempt to help Lin Li look out for possible danger. Xiao Hua swooped towards Lin Li when he opened his eyes. It messed Lin Li¡¯s hair with its ws andy on itfortably.

    ¡°Hey, you are a dragon, not a bird!¡± Lin Li cried out as he retracted his finger that was bitten by Xiao Hua. He let this little fe rest on his head unfashionably while he walked towards Andoine and the rest.

    Although they had only rested for a while, Andoine and Aldwin, being Legendary-mages, had recovered significantly. Unlike them, Rosen wasn¡¯t in a good shape after the bacsh of summoning the two dragons. For Macklin, although he was not really injured, he was just unable to recover from the dismay after the casualties suffered by his team of mages.

    Knowing that Andoine and the other leaders were coping well, Lin Li went on to check on his men. The body of Ujfalusi¡¯s Humerus Wyrm had been reduced to a dragon crystal. It was a blessing that Lin Li had plenty of bones. He managed to heal the wyrm very quickly. As for his own Humerus Wyrm, half of its skin and flesh had been torn, and that turned it back to its original form. Although Lin Li had potions with him, it would take the wyrm some time to regrow its flesh. Now was not the time.

    Although Norfeller had lost an arm in the battle, being a Vampire gave him great ability to recover. A skinny arm had already grown from his upper body. His wounds were healing slowly as well. While the Lord of Nightmares did not have any wounds on his body, he still seemed to be rather thin and translucent. It seemed that his mana had not recovered.

    Lin Li saw that his team of Shadow Assassins had been entirely wiped out. His eyes lit up when he saw that one of the remaining 12 Death Knights had entered the Legendary-realm to be a real Retribution Knight. The rest had also reached level-19, or progressed to the peak of level-19. Lin Li found out through a mental conversation with Connoris that although the mes on the ground could burn souls, the Death Knights had stolen the food from the mes. That Death Knight that had progressed to a Retribution Knight had devoured the soul fire of a Scourged Ankylodon.

    Rosen became extremely wary of Lin Li who was assessing the condition of his followers. He suddenly realized that all the knowledge he tried to gather about this young mage from different sources was useless. He was still a mystery.

    Rosen had not experienced such a feeling of weakness before. Lin Li always proved him wrong in the things he had great confidence in. It was as though he had zero control over things that mattered. He was impressed with Lin Li¡¯s strength, his powerful followers, and his ability to control the Zago Demons. He was curious whether there were more secrets this young mage concealed!

    Rosen even had a suspicion that Lin Li had yet to reveal all his trump cards. Despite the earlier crisis being unbelievable, it was as though nothing was impossible for Lin Li to ovee.

    After assessing the injuries of everyone, Lin Li held out his palm and let Bk¡¯s crystal hover above it. The mana absorbed by the Fire Demon King was emitted once more under Lin Li¡¯s order. The silver crystal seemed to be wrapped in silver mes, and the vigorous waves of mana was like a shield that covered everyone.

    Under the effect of the magical crystal, everybody could feel that their mana was being restored really rapidly even without the need to meditate, the Legendary powerhouses included. It would not take long before they regained their mana. What was unfortunate was their depleted mental strength, which would take them more time to recover.

    While the team were recovering with Bk¡¯s magical crystal, Lin Li lifted his head to look at the crystal coffin that was hovering in the air. ¡°If this is the grounds Osric buried himself in, doesn¡¯t this mean that it is the core of the mausoleum? Then where did he hide the real Eternal Furnace?¡± he asked Connoris curiously.

    ¡°The real Eternal Furnace? Isn¡¯t this the real deal?¡± Connoris squealed in excitement[1].

    When Connoris first met Lin Li, he requested that Lin Li create a body for him when he had the ability to do so. He always thought that it would take a long time, but the sight of the Eternal Furnace before him reinforced Connoris¡¯s confidence that Lin Li would have the ability to fulfill this promise even before he stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Having worked with Lin Li for such a long time, Connoris was confident that Lin Li would fulfill his promise. He had a good understanding of Lin Li¡¯s personality.

    ¡°Is this the Eternal Furnace? Isn¡¯t this Osric¡¯s coffin? Didn¡¯t that dude im that he wanted to create life with the Eternal Furnace?¡± Lin Li asked in disbelief. Osric had used the Eternal Furnace to create Alchemical Undead, Death Knights that had the power of the divine, and spirits that were made of 100,000 souls. He had seeded in those forbidden projects. Why would he use this Eternal Furnace to create his coffin?

    ¡°No, his real intention of building this Eternal Furnace was not to create life. At least, that was hisst motive on his list. Yet, as his life wasing to an end, his decision changed. He wanted to use the furnace to create a perfect body. A body that was more perfect than a human being, a High Elf, a dragon, and a Titan!¡± Connoris replied excitedly because that was what he dreamt of as well. As an ancient deity, he would not want to reincarnate as a human or a High Elf.

    ¡°You have to be joking! It makes sense for him to create something more powerful than humans and High Elves. If it were something more powerful than a dragon and Titan, wouldn¡¯t he be trying to create a divinity?¡± Lin Li mused. He couldn¡¯t imagine what could satisfy Osric¡¯s freakish ambition.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He wanted to create a life. Wouldn¡¯t natural birth be an easier process? What Osric wanted was a body that could match up to the divine. He did not stop working on this seemingly crazy n even before he passed away. When he predicted that his life would being to an end, he even moved the Eternal Furnace into his mausoleum. He wanted to achieve this ambition before the end of his life. I bet he has to be the only one who knew the results of this n,¡± remarked Connoris reflectively. After all, this ambition was not whatmon man would dare to think about. Yet, Osric not only thought about it, but also executed it. Although Connoris was imprisoned by Osric for ages, he could not help but feel impressed with Osric¡¯s intelligence.

    ¡°Could the body lying in the crystal coffin be the perfect body created by Osric? Not only did he leave a Ghost in the Sky Castle, he also left a perfect body here. If those two things were toe together, wouldn¡¯t that let Osric be reborn? What¡¯s more, he would have even greater power aspared to the past!¡± Lin Li remarked in surprise. He was shocked by Osric¡¯s crazy n. What mattered was the possibility for this n to seed.

    While Lin Li was still stunned by Osric¡¯s crazy n, Connoris¡¯s voice rang in his mind. ¡°No! Not that he might resurrect. He HAD started to resurrect!!!¡±

    Lin Li was stupefied. Something shed in his mind. Knowing that Osric had been at the peak of the Legendary-level, it would be terrifying if he did not let his soul return to the Tree of Eternity. Despite being left with a soul, the fact that he was dangerously close to being a divine made him 100 times more powerful than a living Legendary powerhouse[2]. Controlling a body would be an insignificant effort for such a soul. He only needed a bit of soul imprint to revive the body within the Eternal Furnace.

    This crystal coffin¡ªthis real Eternal Furnace¡ªwas not only an enormous treasure that could turn everyone crazy, but also a trap that could bring doom to anyone!

    ¡°I rmend that we leave this ce as soon as possible!¡± Lin Li shouted to Andoine and the others as he gripped Bk¡¯s magical crystal in his hands. He did not continue his conversation with Connoris.

    ¡°Leave?¡± Andoine asked as he looked at the coffin in the sky. Although he did not know why Lin Li suggested that, the sight of Lin Li¡¯s anxiety ascertained him that it had to be something troublesome. He nodded his head without hesitation.

    Andoine knew that Lin Li had the most trusted servant of Osric, the most loyal warrior of Osric, as well as a soul sealed in a hammer. It could be said that Lin Li had the best knowledge of the mausoleum amongst everyone. How could Andoine not trust the judgement of his student?

    [1] Cool, so we have 3 of those now. The one Lin Li acquired early on and found Connoris in, the one they are in, and finally Lin Li says there¡¯s another.

    [2] Alright, so it¡¯s unknown whether Osric had reached the Sanctuary-realm or only had some cheats that let him rival those in that realm. Or the author¡¯s mistake.

 Chapter 749 - Who is Right?

    <h4>Chapter 749: Who is Right?</h4>

    Aldwin and Macklin would not wish for the rest of the talents to be buried in such a ce. Since obtaining the crystal coffin and treasures was an assignment from the Supreme Council, why should they sacrifice thest resources of their guild for the council?

    Rosen was anxious when he saw Andoine and the rest agreeing to Lin Li¡¯s request. He dashed to Lin Li, and agitatedly roared, ¡°Leave? Why should we leave this ce just because you said so? We havee such a long way! Do not forget your identity. This mission is led by the Supreme Council. Andoine, as the leader from the council, you should have the best interest of the council regardless of what happens! You have to stay to contribute your best for the council!¡±

    Rosen¡¯s words created difort in Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest of the men. But, Lin Li did not hope to waste time bickering with Rosen. He reached out his Helios¡¯ Scepter in fury.

    ¡°Do not use the Supreme Council to put pressure on me. You only have two choices: to leave or to die!¡± he retorted.

    Goddammit, that was the perfect body that would be close to the divine. With Osric¡¯s ability in the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, there was even a possibility for him to be resurrected as a divinity directly.

    It would still be fine for Osric to turn into a divinity. It meant that he would be able to leave this world. However, if he were to be revived, he would regain his original ability and intelligence. No one would be able to resist this lunatic if that time were toe!

    If not for concern that Rosen¡¯s staying here would trigger Osric¡¯s awakening from the coffin, Lin Li would never take the effort to care about his survival. However, things were different now. If Rosen were to insist that the team follow his intentions, Lin Li was prepared to bear the crime of killing the authoritative figure from the Supreme Council.

    Lin Li¡¯s open threat made Rosen furious. Despite being extremely furious, he could not help but acknowledge Lin Li¡¯s ability to kill him. He had used his chance of summoning the dragons, while Lin Li¡¯s team did not seem to suffer much from the crisis. Not to mention the biased goblin that controlled the Alchemy Colossus, the Undead creatures and demonic followers he had on hand were enough to be a threat to him. What made him wary was that petite unidentified creature lying on Lin Li¡¯s head. Although it seemed like amon pet, that petite body contained a tremendous energy that scared him.

    Rosen¡¯s inability to answer in time exhausted Lin Li¡¯s patience. The gem on the Helios¡¯ Scepter glowed, and his men surrounded Rosen.

    However, when Lin Li was prepared to attack, a powerful magical wave erupted in the sky. The crystal coffin that had been hovering in the air quietly suddenly started to fall towards the ground with what seemed like a power enough to destroy the world. The space around the crystal coffin started to distort. It was as though a vortex created by a huge ship that was sinking into the vast ocean. The force it created drew everyone towards the center region. That distorted space was sufficient to tear anyone into pieces, including Legendary powerhouses.

    At this instant, all of the men had amon thought: run. Lin Li, Andoine and the rest, the team under Macklin, and Lin Li¡¯s followers were like a flock of birds that were startled by rocks thrown towards them. They bolted away.

    A few lower-level mages in the team were drawn into the vortex in the space, and vanished instantly before they could make any sound. There were not even any remains. That incited terror in everyone.

    Lin Li and the rest could only dare to stop when they felt less resistance on their bodies. They turned to look at the crystal coffin fall onto the ground. A normal rock would have immense force if it were tond onto the ground. What was more for a hill!

    ¡°POM!¡± The crystal coffin finallynded on the ground dramatically. The impact shook the ground of the abyss, and flung everyone off the ground again. That tremendous impact spread to the surroundings. A rapidly expanding vacuum appeared, and it revealed the ground that had been hidden under the mes for God knew how many centuries. The crystal coffin was situated in the center of a crack that spread out like a spider web.

    ¡°Damn it, if that crystal coffin were to stand vertically, it could have pierced through the 73rd level of the abyss!¡± Lin Li eximed as he turned to look at the crystal coffin.

    The abyss he saw had be devastated. The never-ending mes on the ground had vanished. What reced them was an enormous crack that could devour an entire Mammoth Behemoth. The surroundings of the crystal coffin had sunk into the ground. It created a gigantic pit that was like a basin.

    A figure appeared beside the crystal coffin out of nowhere. It had a long spear that seemed to be without a physical state. From the looks of it, it seemed that the spear did not even look like it belonged to this dimension. The space around the spear appeared to be distorted. It was as if all was imaginary.

    Not to question, that had to be the perfect body which Osric had created... or the revived Osric! Lin Li looked at the handsome face that evendies would be jealous of. He had long blond hair, a pair of pointed ears, pallid skin, and a pair of red eyes, and was emitting vigorous waves of mana. Those were features that screamed his identity.

    Lin Li could not help but feel despair when he sensed his power. He was certain that the figure had to be above the Sanctuary-realm, at around level-26 or level-27. Although Lin Li had not entered the Sanctuary-realm, he could tell that the figure had long surpassed normal Sanctuary-realm powerhouses in power. It could be said that he was one of the most powerful existences in this world.

    ¡°BAM!¡± Another earth-shattering sound broke the silence. That sound was created when the Alchemy Colossus which Angno had been controlling fell onto the ground. How could the former right-hand man not recognize his old master? Although the body was created by Osric, and not his original one, there was no change in its appearance.

    The moment the Alchemy Colossus sat on the ground, Lin Li could feel a sense of terroring from Bk¡¯s magical crystal. That was the mental wave of the Fire Demon King. Even the hammer on Lin Li¡¯s back started to tremble. Connoris¡¯ fear was obviously exposed.

    Osric gazed at Lin Li and the rest from afar. Apart from the obvious Alchemy Colossus, it seemed that he had sensed the existence of the Fire Demon King and Connoris. ¡°Since you have decided to betray me, you will have to bear the consequences,¡± said Osric inly.

    ¡°Y-you... You are not the real Osric! You are just a body! The real Osric had died! Died!¡± the cowardly goblin, Angno, squealed in terror.

    It was as though Angno¡¯s fearful voice had the power to decrease the surrounding temperature to the lowest point. The men could feel a sense of chill up their spines. It was as though their souls had be frozen. At this time, Legendary-mages like Andoine and Rosen, as well as the Archmages in the team of mages, started to tremble. It was all caused by the name Angno mentioned¡ªOsric!

    None of the humans including Andoine had lived through the Osric¡¯s reign to experience the terror Osric had spread first-hand. Yet, the fact that a character that always seemed to exist in legends suddenly appeared in front of their eyes alive was akin to the feeling of witnessing the divine descending into the mortal world.

    Although legends seemed like an airy-fairy concept, they were in a location where they had just experienced how scary the Zago Demons were. Not to mention what Osric did in legends, the fact that he could put his tomb on the 72nd floor of the abyss spoke of an ability that could diminish any of their hopes. To the men, Osric¡¯s tall and straight body was like the real divine that could eliminate their thoughts of even trying to challenge it.

    ¡°¡®Death¡¯ was what you ignorant mortals saw. Now, I am going to be the real Immortal!¡± Osric said as he hit the end of his spear against the ground. His gaze on the men was bereft of emotions. It was as though he was looking at ants.

    Indeed, aspared to Osric, the Legendary powerhouses such as Lin Li, Andoine, and Rosen, as well as the Archmages who had yet to step into the realm, were no different from ants. This Highlord was a man who had the ability to kill the ancient deity Bk, and used his magical crystal to gain control of the 72nd floor of the abyss.

    ¡°F-Felic... Did you hear that...? He said he was about to be immortal. That means that he is not yet immortal... It has to be that Ghost in the Sky Castle. I was still wondering why he created a monster there. His soul had to have been integrated with that Ghost. Now this body still has to be integrated with that Ghost to truly revive. That¡¯s right, it has to be so. A perfect body and a powerful soul are the two conditions he needs to meet to be the real Immortal!¡± Although Connoris was terrified of Osric, his fear did not cloud his ability to reason.

    <i>Goddammit, what a crazy man! How could he use his soul to do that?</i>

    Lin Li had always thought that the Ghost at the Sky Castle was what Osric used to defend the control crystal of the Sky Castle, but it seemed like Osric was not the boring man he¡¯d thought him to be. The real motive of leaving that Ghost behind had to be his intention of utilizing the Psychic Array to let that Ghost absorb the force of the Sky Castle to get stronger. That was in preparation for him bing the real Immortal.

    Of course, this piece of information was not at all useful in the current situation. After all, although he was only a perfect body, he was a powerful level-26 existence. Whenpared to the ability of Lin Li and the rest, the difference was as drastic as the distance between the sky and the earth.

    Osric¡¯s cold gaze swept across the men. ¡°Now, humans, it is time for you to gain my forgiveness by offering your lives!¡± he said coldly as he waved his spear. A great force shook the earth. The air turned stale, and everybody¡¯s soul started to tremble.

    ¡°Hold on! S-since you are going to be the real Immortal, why do you still want to create trouble for us mortals? You can go and aplish your pressing matters and not waste time with us...!¡± Lin Li could not help but try to tter Osric. It was a terrible situation. His opponent had the ability to kill his team with a single finger. If Lin Li were to be arrogant in his words, he would be a true moron.

    That was a good idea.

    ording to Connoris¡¯, he predicted that if Osric wanted to be immortal, he would need to integrate himself with the Ghost at the Sky Castle. When that happened, not to mention revival... there was even a possibility for him to turn into a divine directly. As for what Osric wanted to do after he was resurrected, that was not what Lin Li needed to care about. Since Anril had enough powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm, he felt that the most important thing to do now was to ovee the present obstacle.

    However, although it was a body controlled by the soul imprint, it was not to be easily fooled by Lin Li. Osric moved his gaze onto Lin Li. His gaze was like a sharp arrow that could pierce through anybody¡¯s soul. Lin Li could have jolted his memory.

    ¡°You have gone to <i>his</i> Sky Castle! It is a reality that I¡¯m the right one. I¡¯m going to be the real Immortal!¡± Osric said emotionally.

    Although the current Osric was merely a perfect body controlled by the soul imprint, it did not mean that he was bereft of intelligence. He could tell from Lin Li¡¯s simple words that he had gone to the Sky Castle, and should have seen the Ghost that he had left there.

    <i>¡®His¡¯ Sky Castle?</i> Lin Li knew that the ¡®his¡¯ had to refer to Osric¡¯s mentor, Immortal King. Yet, Osric¡¯s tone when he mentioned Immortal King wascking the respect a student was expected to have for his teacher. Lin Li could sense from his tone that underlying it was a sense of resentment and disdain.

 Chapter 750 - The Power of Nothingness

    <h4>Chapter 750: The Power of Nothingness</h4>

    Lin Li was suddenly reminded of Immortal King¡¯sboratory in the Sky Castle. Not only were the valuable items within it wiped out, its interior also seemed to have been destroyed in a rage. Should this be something a student would do to his teacher? Lin Li noticed that Osric mentioned ¡°the real Immortal¡± twice in his speech. There had to be a conflict between him and Immortal King over their perspective of immortality.

    Lin Li, however, would never be able to predict what had exactly happened between Immortal King and Osric. Regardless of what had happened between the men, it was a fact that Immortal King was the man that had created the High Elves Dynasty in both the myths and history. He never appeared again after the fall of the High Elves Dynasty. At the same time, that very quickly marked the end of Osric¡¯s life when he could have been at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°What Immortal? You are just a body, just a body!¡± Angno shouted in desperation. He raised the thick arm of the Alchemy Colossus agitatedly and shot two highly concentrated mana cannon attacks at Osric who was standing before the crystal coffin.

    No one would have thought that the most timid Angno would be the first tounch his attack. Of course, that was no courage or bravery. It was out of pure frenzy due to his extreme fear. After he cast the two mana cannon shots that had powerparable to real crystal cannons¡¯, he proceeded to open the chest of the Alchemy Colossus. There was a projector that resembled a beehive there, and out came clusters of gemstone-like mana bombs that swarmed towards Osric like angry bees.

    Of course, the two mana cannon shots vanished even before they could reach Osric. As for the cluster of mana bombs, they were drawn into a space Osric created with a casual wave of his finger. These bombs did not even manage to explode or make any sound. This was the power of people from the Sanctuary-realm. Osric easily silenced what was supposed to be an impressive attack. Lin Li and the rest could not help but feel terrified by what they had witnessed.

    However, everybody was convinced that there was no turning back. The infamous butcher from the Dark Age was definitely not someone who would be lenient with people who had offended him. Everyone charged towards the man standing before the crystal coffin simultaneously after Angno¡¯s attack.

    It was not that they had no intentions of escaping, but rather knew that no one would be able to escape a level-26 or level-27 Sanctuary-realm powerhouse. They hoped that they would gain the slightest chance of surviving if they were to give it their best. Although the chances were extremely slim, it was still a hope. They knew that they would only die if they were to give up on defending themselves. They were certain that Osric was one without sympathy.

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter before him, and the gem on it emitted a blinding glow. It was like a mini-sun that lit up the surrounding like Anril¡¯s daylight. Theplicated mageweaths on the body of the scepter had a magnificent glow, and the vigorous magical wave was like a surging tide that stirred constantly as it gathered greater force.

    This was the first time when Lin Li had decided to maximize the use of the Helios¡¯ Scepter. Immense mana entered the scepter and amplified the power of the mageweaths. It was then tranted to the purest force of magic that umted in the gem etched on top of the scepter.

    Hepressed the onceplex and lengthy recitation from 10 to three seconds. As he recited the spell, gray clouds gathered above the void. They rolled downwards as though they were about to crash on people¡¯s heads. Amidst the thick dark clouds were countless Razer Pythons that rattled as they emitted a destructive aura that resembled doomsday.

    ¡°Thunderbolt!¡± Lin Li shouted as he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at Osric. As the scepter fell, a huge p of thunder echoed, and streaks of lightning shot from the gray clouds towards Osric. The level-23 Legendary magic and Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of the debris of the stars had the ability to blow up a city.

    Andoine and Rosen could not help but feel impressed with Lin Li¡¯s Legendary-level thunderbolt. He exhibited an example that surpassed that of anymon magic. That was a real Thunder Domain! Although a moment ago Rosen was still salty of Lin Li¡¯s good luck for having so many powerful followers, and was indifferent to Lin Li¡¯s abilities, his perspective changed after seeing what Lin Li had just done. He could not help but admit that Lin Li had the ability to threaten him even without those followers.

    Yet, while everybody was awed by Lin Li¡¯s impressive ability, Highlord Osric who had been in that Thunder Domain was not amused. He raised his spear calmly and waved it gently without even looking at the sky.

    What followed Osric¡¯s action was a ck gap that cracked starting from the middle of the thick clouds. It was as though the rolling clouds and Razer Pythons had found an exit. They dashed towards that gap crazily. Then, that seemingly destructive Thunder Domain disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Although the men had predicted that Lin Li would not be able to use a Legendary-level spell to injure Osric, their hearts sank when they saw Osric counter Lin Li¡¯s attack with such a simple gesture. He did not even try to defend himself properly.

    That was a Legendary-level spell that had formed a domain by itself. Although it was only level-23, the nomological power within it made it stand out from any other Legendary-level spell. The crowd was only d that they did not try to cast the spells from their Magical Domain. Otherwise, they would have easily wasted their mana on Osric.

    ¡°Damn it, with Nothingness, he has the ability to destroy any attack with that space he created in the void,¡± Lin Limented indignantly. Although he wasining, he did not lose his desire tounch another attack. The gem on the Helios¡¯ Scepter emitted another blinding ray of light.

    The Law of chaos that manifested in the Nothingness was not the most powerful among the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Yet, its power was the most mysterious and the hardest to predict. Its method of attacking was rather eerie. It was like a nightmare that could surprise its enemies. Its defensive mechanism did not have a maximum endurance threshold like themon magical shields. A spacetime rift to direct the enemies¡¯ attack into the void was enough to create a headache for all of its enemies.

    Of course, one had to have a certain level of ability to employ Nothingness. Lin Li had never dared to use Nothingness when he still had the Stars of Fury before he transmigrated. Even if Lin Li had Nothingness with him, he would not be able to utilize it as effortlessly as Osric. That would require extremeprehension and mastery of Nothingness before truly exerting its power. Otherwise, there was a high chance for one to lose his life in it.

    Knowing how impressive Nothingness was, Lin Li was not surprised with how Osric dealt with his Thunder Domain. He had already prepared another formidable Legendary spell at the very moment his Thunder Domain got engulfed by the crack. It was the Sigh of the Ice Goddess.

    Lin Li¡¯s hand¡¯s movement sent out a gust of chilly mist. The ces it came into contact with umted thick snow. It was as if the ice particles hade alive. They spread towards Osric¡¯s feet really quickly.

    Although Lin Li had not acquired the Pr Snow, ice element magic was his foundation. When he¡¯d first acquired the Light and Darkness Domain to create the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness, what he used was thews of ice to bnce out Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Hence, Lin Li hadparable mastery of both thews of ice and the Law of Light and Darkness. He only gave up on thews of ice as he wanted to ensure that the force within his Magical Domain could remain pure.

    The Sigh of the Ice Goddess was a Legendary-level spell. It had been said that it could freeze anything in the world. The souls of humans would be no exception, either. The void was an extremely cold ce without any warmth. Lin Li wondered: if the temperature of his environment were to resemble that of the void, would it still be able to engulf anything here? Of course, it depended on who his opponent was. Lin Li had no high hopes for this spell. But, if there might be a way for him to lock Osric back into the coffin, he really hoped that the ice element magic was able to buy him some time.

    At the same time, Andoine, Rosen, and Aldwin started to wave the staffs in their hands and reciting Legendary-level spells while aiming at Osric mercilessly. It was fortunate that Lin Li had used Bk¡¯s crystal to aid their mana recovery process. Their power had recovered greatly, and that gave them the ability to continue to wrestle with their enemy.

    The moment snow umted at Osric¡¯s feet, the other Legendary-mages let out their Legendary-level spells. They kicked up a terrifying magic storm that instantly buried Osric¡¯s body in it. Yet, everyone could see from the magnificent glow that the tall and mighty figure simply waved his spear to create a tiny crack in the void to draw the seemingly impregnable magic into it like how a whale would swallow water.

    When the glow dissipated, the ground remained frozen. Yet, it seemed that Osric had not moved from his spot at all. This sight alone was sufficient to incite great despair in everyone. This was the difference between the realms. The Sanctuary-realm and the Legendary-realm was like a divine and a mortal, respectively.

    ¡°Darn it, that was useless. Quickly think of a way now, Connoris. There has to be something in the abyss that can suppress him,¡± Lin Li urged Connoris as he continued to cast spells. He did not care whether they had any effects on Osric. He knew that they¡¯d be doomed if he were to take a breather.

    Lin Li remembered how he used the demonic runes taught by Connoris as he battled the Lord of Darkness. The immense abyssal force had the ability to suppress the Lord of Darkness. Since he was on the 72nd floor of the abyss, he thought that it might work on Osric as well.

    ¡°How could a perfect body that is more powerful than a dragon¡¯s or a Titan¡¯s be affected by such a spell? Stop thinking about tapping into the abyssal force. Do not forget that Bk was eliminated by Osric despite being in his own territory. He would have been a fool not to employ the abyssal force against Osric. That can only mean that it did not have an effect on Osric. There is a really great difference between Osric and us. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to help you this time,¡± said Connoris helplessly.

    ¡°Goddammit, stop dampening our spirits. Use your brains quickly, or else all of us are going to be doomed! ¡± Lin Lished out at Connoris anxiously. He started to recite the demonic runes he used to deal with the Lord of Darkness the other time. Although Connoris had said that this would have no effect on Osric, Lin Li just had to try everything he could in the time of desperation.

    The shortened recitation that was constructed by 18 sybles flowed out of Lin Li¡¯s mouth very quickly. He generated an immense abyssal force and directed it at Osric. However, it was just like what Connoris had said. The Osric was not the Lord of Darkness. How could he, an insignificant human, affect Osric this way when Bk, a real ancient deity, failed to do anything to Osric?

    Osric¡¯s body froze slightly before he vanished from his spot. He appeared right in front of Lin Li, and struck out with that spear that was created from Nothingness towards Lin Li¡¯s heart like a bolt of lightning. Having activated the energy from the 72 floors of the abyss required Lin Li had some time to recover from it. His response time was two secondste.

    At the same time, a ck streak of lightning appeared beside Lin Li. There was a huge force that flung Lin Li away. The only person who had such great speed was Norfeller, the Legendary-level Vampire. Of course, Norfeller¡¯s great speed did not give him enough time to seek safety for himself. After he pushed Lin Li away, he brushed against the spear that was created from Nothingness. His body was like a piece of ss that instantly shattered into fragments, and only half of it was left.

 Chapter 751 - All In

    <h4>Chapter 751: All In</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The rtionship between Norfeller and Lin Li was not like any other master and servant¡¯s. Including Ujfalusi, the other servants Lin Li had established Soul Contract with only showed loyalty to him because of the requirements of the contract. Unlike them, Norfeller requested to establish a blood oath with Lin Li voluntarily. Although it was partly due to the will of his former master, Norfeller did it out of loyalty to Lin Li.

    This special bond he had with Norfeller made Lin Li boil in shock and rage when he turned to look at the situation after he managed to stabilize himself. He raised his arm to cast the debris of the stars Thunderbolt towards Osric¡¯s body. Despite knowing that Osric could use Nothingness to absorb his Thunderbolt, he couldn¡¯t care less now.

    Osric did not dare to belittle Thunderbolt. He let go of Nothingness he was using against Norfeller to create another crack in the void. It was what Lin Li had predicted; the Thunderbolt entered the crack and vanished.

    However, delight appeared on Lin Li¡¯s face after he saw the Thunderbolt disappear. He could feel the aura created by Thunderbolt despite it entering the crack.

    That could mean two things. One, the Thunderbolt was too powerful. Two, he had gained tremendous mastery in the spell. Hence, this implied that there was a chance for him to reacquire Thunderbolt if he were to acquire Nothingness. Of course, the prerequisite of regaining Thunderbolt was to defeat Osric. That hope was too insignificant.

    Norfeller sped from the battlefield and into the crowd who had yet to enter the battle. It would be a mistake to charge towards a powerhouse like Osric as a group as the team of mages would definitely not be able to deal with Osric¡¯s attacks. Lin Li¡¯s Death Knights were not excluded from the list, either. Despite having one Retribution Knight, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make any difference in a battle of such a level. Even Legendary powerhouses like Ujfalusi and the Lord of Nightmares would not have the right to participate in such a battle. They would only be killed like ants by Osric.

    Hence, Osric¡¯s opponent could only be Lin Li, Andoine, Rosen, Aldwin, and the Alchemy Colossus controlled by Goblin Angno. Of course, any bit of careless would turn them into Osric¡¯s ants as well.

    The only thing they should be thankful for was the fact that although Osric owned the ability of level-26 or level-27, he had not used any magic. He had been acting like a Warrior. A mage in the Sanctuary-realm would have ughtered everybody in a split second. Lin Li secretly spected that it had to be due to the fact that Osric had not let the perfect body integrate with the soul yet. After all, being a Sanctuary master would not discount him of the need to use his mental strength to cast any magic. The source of mental strength had toe from the soul. However, this did not mean that Lin Li and the rest had the ability to defeat Osric. A perfect body and the debris of the stars Nothingness were not things that Lin Li and the rest could match up to.

    The gigantic spear in the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ hands was broken in half by Osric¡¯s Nothingness, and its body was covered in wounds of different sizes. Angno, the controller of the Colossus, had also be more conscious of his frenzy earlier on. His heart was incapacitated by the tremendous fear created by Osric. It seemed like he had lost the guts to attack Osric.

    The situation worsened for Lin Li and the rest of the men. Their spells, regardless of how powerful they were, were all absorbed by Osric¡¯s Nothingness. They were forced to the edge. Their gorgeous and expensive magic robes had all be torn and tattered like the costumes of beggars due to the effect of Nothingness. They were barely covered.

    It was as though ¡®pain¡¯ was not a word in their dictionary. Fresh blood flowed down their bodies, and sttered all over their surroundings as they moved to cast their spells. Despite feeling desperate and helpless deep inside, they continued to cast their best spells.

    Rosen escaped to the edge of the battlefield. His expression twisted as he went into deep contemtion. Finally, he gritted his teeth and took out the staff he used to summon the dragons. He started to recite his spell, and his expression became more and more agonized as he continued to recite the spell. The two magical gemstones on the staff lit up slowly.

    ¡°ROAR!¡± A thunderous growl from the dragons echoed through the abyss. As they charged towards Osric, Rosen spat a mouthful of blood. The two magical gemstones on the staff shattered at the same time. It was obvious that the summoning of the dragons made Rosen pay a high price. Not only that, but he would never be able to summon the dragons with the staff again.

    Although the two ancient gold and silver dragons had not reached the Sanctuary-realm, their appearance in battle was of help to a certain extent. However, the wounds that multiplied on their bodies rapidly suggested that they would not be able to endure for long. Rosen downed a bottle of potion to suppress his injuries. He changed his staff and re-entered the battlefield.

    ¡°Fire Demon, call out your Zago Demons! Let him taste the feeling of getting bitten by an army of ants!¡± Lin Li ordered the Fire Demon within Bk¡¯s crystal. Of course, Lin Li was certain that although the group of Zago Demons had tremendousbat prowess, these ants wouldn¡¯t be able to kill an elephant like Osric.

    The Fire Demon King did not dare to hesitate in something that concerned his life. Immediately, a strong magical wave that carried the aura of Bk was emitted. Shortly after, there was the sound that had once incited great fear within the party. The ck Current that was made up of armies of Zago Demons appeared in the sight of the men. It was just like what they had witnessed before¡ªa ferocious tide that was surging at top speed.

    Groups of Zago Lords appeared in the sky like gray clouds. They sent dozen Scourged Ankylodons towards Osric without hesitation. On the ground, apart from the Sickle ck-armored Demons that made up the bulk of the ck Current, there were also 100 Hell Pythons and six hill-like Mammoth Behemoth.

    No one had expected the Zago Demons to have the same level of power despite the earlier battle. Although they knew that it was Lin Li who was controlling these demons, and that the man was on the same side as them, they could not help but feel terrified by the scale of Lin Li¡¯s attack.

    Osricughed coldly when he saw the Zago Demons approaching him. ¡°If I could defeat them one time, I will be able to defeat them for the second time!¡± he said arrogantly, and gave Lin Li an indifferent gaze.

    Osric¡¯s gaze created anxiety within Lin Li. Although he wanted to retort, his rational mind convinced himself that what Osric had said was definitely not empty words. When Osric had set foot onto the 72nd floor of the abyss, he¡¯d still been able to defeat Tyrant Bk despite such a formidable army of Zago Demons. He¡¯d managed to collect Bk¡¯s crystal and take over the 72nd floor of the abyss. Although Osric was a body that was controlled by a soul imprint, Lin Li had the tremendous energy from Tyrant Bk and his Zago Demons.

    The ck Current that was made of Zago Demons finally entered the battle. The Scourged Ankylodons in the sky swooped towards Osric. Yet, the group of Zago Demons that once created despair for Lin Li and the other men, were immediately engulfed by the cracks Osric effortlessly created as he waved his long spear. Regardless of the level the Zago Demons were at, they were all vulnerable before Osric. Their firm shells seemed to be made of paper and glue when they were in front of the crack.

    The position Osric stood at was like an endless ck hole that never stopped devouring the Zago Demons that approached him. The ck Current that had once seemed incredibly vast was decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. The party finally saw the end of the ck Current they¡¯d once desired to see, but the sight now created deep despair in them. If even the terrifying Zago Demons were powerless before Osric, how would they have the motivation and right to fight with Osric?

    The gold and silver dragons had fallen. The ck Current had gradually disappeared. The sky was left with the cloud-like Zago Lord, while the Scourged Ankylodons circling in the sky earlier were nowhere to be found. It did not matter if it were the low-level Scourged Ankylodons or the hill-like Mammoth Behemoths. The crack that engulfed the creatures left no traces of remains.

    Osric was standing at the same spot. He still had his great spear in his hands, and the magical waves around him did not seem like there had been a great battle nearby. To Osric, it was not considered a great battle at all. He was unaffected by the Zago Demons that had once induced a deep despair in Lin Li and the others.

    At this time, Lin Li was not holding onto the Helios¡¯ Scepter anymore. It had been reced with a delicate crossbow. Lin Li had decided to put all of the three pieces of the debris of the stars¡ªHoly Light, Gloomy Dark, and Rebirth¡ªhe had onto the Crossbow of Reincarnation. The wave of mana on Lin Li¡¯s body boiled vigorous with every single piece he ced on the weapon. It brought him extremely close to the Sanctuary-realm.

 Chapter 752 - Half a Step into the Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 752: Half a Step into the Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    ¡°T-This... This is the power of the Sanctuary-realm!¡± the once helpless men eximed in unison. A glimmer of hope shed in their hearts. Even Rosen did not care to be jealous of Lin Li. He only hoped that Lin Li could get rid of Osric immediately.

    Although the several Legendary-mages had been close to exhaustion, they forcefully gathered all of their remaining energy, mental strength, and mana into the fight. They whipped up an even more ferocious attack aimed at Osric to buy time for Lin Li.

    Finally, Lin Li managed to point the Crossbow of Reincarnation at Osric. He gritted his teeth as he lined the three pieces of the debris of the stars on the heavy crossbow. There was an integration of three different glows of light that shot towards Osric majestically. The blinding light created difort in all the men, but they tried their best to follow the trajectory of the three arrows. They were all hoping that that could give Osric a critical blow.

    Lin Li had once made use of the power of the three pieces of the debris of the stars to defeat Thunderbolt etched on the Stars of Fury. Now, Lin Li was at the peak of level-23, and he had even seen the vague shadow of the gate to level-24. The Crossbow of Reincarnation had gathered enough mana from the remains of the Stars of Fury, and was up to a certain standard. The impact created when the three projectiles were released had to be many times more powerful than the previous time. They had the chance to hurt any powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, Osric did not have any expression when he saw the three arrowsing his way. It was as though the three pieces of the debris of the stars was a mere illusion, as if their target wasn¡¯t him. He only took action when the three arrows got closer to him. He merely raised his Spear of Nothingness towards the arrows.

    There was neither a loud noise nor a blinding ray light. Everything ended as though nothing had happened. It was as though the three arrows that were shot simultaneously were an illusion. Lin Li¡¯s expression turned pallid. No one had better understanding of the power these three pieces of the debris of the stars than he. It was supposed to be his trump card. However, it was obvious that such a force was not presentable before Osric. It did not even manage to push Osric a step back.

    At this moment, even Lin Li himself could not help but feel helpless at his plight. This was the difference. Nothing would be able to bridge a difference when it was wide enough. Any trump card would turn into a joke before such a difference.

    Osric put away the spear, but he did not attempt to attack the helpless Lin Li. Instead, he appeared before Rosen in the blink of an eye, and he drew a void in front of Rosen¡¯s chest. The glow engulfed Rosen¡¯s elemental shield and started to draw Rosen towards it.

    It was fortunate that Rosen was not a noob without anybat experience. His rich experience and speedy response allowed him to cast a Gas st Spell to pull himself away from the crack. Although he had managed to avoid the danger, he was not entirely safe, either. Fresh blood flowed out from hisrge wound. His energy was also depleted at the same time. Osric who was a few steps from him could use his spear to end his life any time.

    Rosen knew that he was doomed. It perhaps would be a glorious death if he were to die in the hands of Osric. The thought of this encouraged Rosen to shut his eyes. Although he felt indignant, he could only give up on struggling and await that critical blow that was about to end his life.

    However, Rosen did not feel thatst blow despite the continuous sounds of explosions of magic. There was a force behind him that dragged him away from the scene. Then, he felt somebody touching his wounds. He opened his eyes and saw two mages from the team of mages. One was about to apply a healing potion on his wounds, while the other was gripping onto a bandage nervously.

    <i>Why didn¡¯t Osric kill him when he could very well do that by moving one or two steps towards him? He could very well wave his spear, and no one would be able to save him!</i> Lin Li was incredibly doubtful of Osric¡¯s intentions. His mind continued to rey the scene that happened earlier. <i>Why did Osric put away his long spear when Rosen had already given up on struggling? Why did he change his target to Andoine and Aldwin all of a sudden? This is fishy!</i>

    Osric was a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm. Powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm would never y such childish tricks on their enemies. They would never be affected by any emotion as well. To them, every action towards their enemies would be with the intention to defeat and kill them. Could there be any reason behind his unusual actions?

    Lin Li thought about the time when he lost his ability to defend himself after heunched the three pieces of the debris of the stars at Osric. That was a really good time for Osric to get rid of himself, and Osric had readied himself to y Lin Li. Why did he change his target to Rosen all of a sudden? Could it be that the butcher had be merciful? No, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be the case. Then, if it was possible, could there be anything that was restraining Osric that contributed to his unusual actions?

    Lin Li did not believe that Osric would be resurrected at such a coincidental timing. His slumbering body probably woke up in surprise when the men were prepared to touch the crystal coffin. There was also a possibility that he was disturbed in his sleep when the men were battling the Zago Demons. If he really woke up before the desired timing, his perfect body would not be perfect, either.

    It could have been due to the prematuration of this body or that the integration with the soul imprint happened too quickly. No matter what, this was certainly the key to resolving this adversity! The thought of that rejuvenated Lin Li¡¯s spirits. He continued to work with Andoine and Aldwin as they attacked Osric. While he did that, he tried to observe Osric very closely.

    ¡°Could that be due to... the distance?¡± Lin Li muttered as he thought about the battling scene earlier on. Osric had never moved out of a certain perimeter when he was dealing with both the Zago Demons and the Legendary powerhouses. Of course, that did not exclude that Lin Li and the rest were too weak to be a threat to Osric. However, Osric¡¯s actions of ending his battles abruptly seemed to best prove this hypothesis.

    With this in mind, Lin Li managed to direct more focus onto Osric¡¯s movements. His n helped him to notice certain details that he¡¯d failed to pay attention to before. Osric certainly did not just give up on Lin Li and Rosen. There were many times in the current battle where Osric had great chance of killing them if he chose to advance forward. Yet, he always turned away to deal with other enemies after a while. This was the reason that helped Lin Li and the other men sustain this battle. Otherwise, Osric¡¯s ability could very well doom them without any effort on his part.

    Seeing that Osric could neither use magic nor move out of certain boundaries ascertained Lin Li¡¯s perception that Osric had yet to put in any effort in the battle. It was definitely not that he was merciful, but of his inadequacy. To test out his theories, Lin Li headed into the danger zone he had been suspecting. As expected, his initiative invited Osric towards him immediately. This time, he did not use any powerful spell on him, but merely focused on dodging Osric¡¯s attempt to attack. He inched towards the edge of the boundary slowly.

    Finally, Lin Li saw Osric turn away from him. He was delighted. He was now extremely confident of his theory. He discovered that Osric was restrained to 100 meters in radius from the crystal coffin. He would turn away if he were about to get any further than that.

    This crystal coffin that was made of the Resting Crystal was the real Eternal Furnace. The secret that was limiting Osric¡¯s movements had to be inside the Eternal Furnace. However, knowing Osric¡¯s weakness was one thing, but making use of it was another. Not to mention that he had no idea what would happen if he were to lure Osric out of the boundary. There was no one with the ability to invite this level-26 or 27 figure out in the first ce.

    Actually, things might have worked out if they had escaped from Osric earlier on. Unfortunately, they had all been shocked by Osric, and they thought that wrestling with the man was the only way out. Now, it was not impossible to leave Osric here and call for a retreat, but after discovering the issue, Lin Li did not intend to give up like that. After all, his four pieces of the debris of the stars were all within the crack of the space. If he were to leave, wouldn¡¯t he be suffering a huge loss?

    After estimating the scope of Osric¡¯s movements, Lin Li¡¯s gaze started to flicker back and forth between the crystal coffin and Osric. He started to calcte possible ways to deal with him. Suddenly, he thought about the incident before when Norfeller tried to save him. Although his forceful employment of the abyssal force did not manage to suppress Osric, it was one spell that a little effect on him.

    With this knowledge, Lin Li suddenly had an inspiration. A n formed in his mind gradually. ¡°Angno, have you died? Respond to me if you don¡¯t wish to die.¡±

    ¡°What, have you thought of an idea?¡± Angno asked timidly from afar. He had been hiding far from the battlefield in his damaged Alchemy Colossus. He had lost courage to participate in the battle against Osric.

 Chapter 753 - Win Over

    <h4>Chapter 753: Win Over</h4>

    ¡°I have a task for you. Later, you...¡± Lin Li told Angno his n as he continued to coordinate with Andoine and the other Legendary powerhouses to attack Osric.

    ¡°If... If your n fails, I¡¯m definitely going to die. Osric will never let me off! Why don¡¯t we take the chance to leave now?¡± The Alchemy Colossus Angno was controlling moved two steps back. Angno was incredibly fearful of Osric.

    ¡°Leave? You may be able to escape this time, but when Osric revives entirely, where are you going to escape? I¡¯m sure you know how Osric treated traitors, don¡¯t you? At that time, you wouldn¡¯t be able to die even if you wanted to,¡± Lin Li chided.

    Lin Li¡¯s threat was extremely effective on the Goblin. Although Osric¡¯s era had been long over, Angno was extremely clear of how Lin Li treated the Fire Demon King the other time. That was an agonizing experience that would make people suffer as they stayed alive. If he were to be like the Fire Demon King, he would rather die immediately.

    Finally, the Alchemy Colossus re-entered the battlefield. However, it didn¡¯t go into frenzy and attack Osric like before. Instead, it was like an enormous assassin that strolled around the battlefield.

    Seeing that the Alchemy Colossus was getting closer and closer to the spot he¡¯d chosen, Lin Li tried to lure Osric once more. He was doing what he did the previous time. He lured Osric to the edge of the boundary slowly. This level-23 Legendary-mage had to be mindful of his actions as he tried to lure the level-26 or 27 Sanctuary powerhouse. Not only did he have to be mindful that he should not be escaping too quickly from Osric, he had to be extra careful not to get caught and killed by him. This job sounded easy, but it was indeed a challenge.

    There were new wounds on Lin Li¡¯s body. Although he had managed to avoided fatal attacks, he had been losing blood as well. His decreasing levels of energy had made his movements increasingly stiff and slow. Lin Li clenched his teeth as he forced himself to press on. Although he had no idea what might happen as a result of his n, the importance of the four pieces of the debris of the stars motivated him to bet his life on it.

    Finally, Osric got lured to the spot as nned by Lin Li. Just when he was about to give up on targeting Lin Li, Lin Li started to recite the demonic runes quickly. Massive force of abyssnded onto Osric instantaneously, and that immense pressure dyed Osric¡¯s movement for a split of a second. At this same time, Angno who had been strolling about activated all of the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ powers.

    However, Angno did not intend to use that force on Osric. He dashed over to the front of the crystal coffin and pushed it in the direction opposite Osric with its immense strength. It moved for a distance of 10 meters in the blink of an eye.

    The abyssal force had vanished, and Osric was still standing in front of Lin Li. He pointed his spear at Lin Li, and did not do anything else.

    Lin Li secretly sighed in relief. It seemed that his n had seeded. The soul imprint that was controlling this perfect body seemed to have awakened prematurely, and was not fully integrated with the body. That limited the body to moving within the control of the Eternal Furnace. But now, that perfect body had left the control of the soul imprint, and became an item without an owner.

    Of course, the crisis had not yet passed. Osric¡¯s wits would certainly keep him thinking of ideas to regain control of his body. Lin Li did not dare to dy any longer. He grabbed the chance to scream at Connoris, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want me to create a body for you? What are you waiting for?¡±

    The hammer made a crisp shattering sound as if something was broken. What followed was a soul with a faint glow that flew out from the hammer. After he sent a spell to Lin Li through his mental strength, he pounced towards the perfect body that Osric had created without hesitation.

    Lin Li raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter and started to recite that line that was constructed with 100 demonic runes. The obscure and lengthy spell was ear-piercing in the silence. As he recited the spell, massive abyssal force appeared and went into Osric¡¯s body. It helped Connoris to get rid of Osric¡¯s consciousness and snatch control of the body.

    Time trickled by. That perfect body continued to radiate all sorts of light. It was as though his skin and flesh had turned transparent. At some time, they could see his organs, and at other times, they could see his skeleton. His expression continued to change. At some time, he was frowning in agony, but at other times, he showed a delightful smile...

    After downing a bottle of potion, Lin Li bent his back andid his hands on his knees. He panted heavily. He was already weak due to the loss of blood, and the spell that was made up of 100 demonic runes took a greater toll on his body. He was not concerned about Connoris¡¯ condition at all. He had done what he could, and would leave the rest to Connoris.

    The crowd could not help but feel petrified when they saw how Osric¡¯s body transformed. They saw a soul rushing into Osric¡¯s body, and could guess what was happening to that body now. If that soul were to fail, Osric would appear again. If that time were toe, the situation would stay the same¡ªeverybody could only be in by Osric.

    However, if that soul were to seed in upying Osric¡¯s body, would that entail safety for everyone? The men could sense how powerful that soul was when it dashed out. Knowing how powerful Osric¡¯s body was, they really could not imagine what would happen if a powerful soul were to be integrated with an even more powerful body. They only knew that the integration would create an individual at the peak of the Legendary-level at least. As they became even more integrated with each other, there would certainly not be a problem for the soul to enter the Sanctuary-realm. The question was whether the soul would turn out to be a friend or foe. No one knew what to expect in that situation.

    Andoine, Aldwin, and Macklin had great rtionship with Lin Li. They had heard Lin Li talk about him having an ancient soul. Knowing that the Fire Demon King had been integrated into Bk¡¯s magical crystal, they knew that the soul that rushed into the body had to belong to that ancient entity. However, they were all aware that it was onlymon for old spirits that had been sealed for ages to have a distorted personality, and they would be hard to reason with. Although it might have showed obedience to Lin Li when it was sealed up, it would not be easy to control him outside the seal.

    As a result, Andoine, Aldwin, and Macklin with the team of mages did not think of taking any rest. They readied themselves with spells to protect Lin Li from a possible betrayal.

    Rosen who had treated his wounds was supporting himself with his staff. He nced at Lin Li from the distance smilingly, and anticipated his doom. Although they had worked together in the battle earlier on, that did not seem to affect his disdain of Lin Li. He was really delighted to see Lin Li digging his own grave.

    ¡°Greed is the biggest sin!¡± To Rosen, the best way to deal with Osric¡¯s body when it first had that glitch was to use a Thunderbolt to destroy it. To him, Lin Li was a young and presumptuous fool who actually wanted to use a sealed soul to snatch Osric¡¯s body. He thought that Lin Li did it out of greed to possess a powerful follower.

    However, subduing a powerful follower would depend on the ability of the master. While Rosen was absolutely positive that the integration of the soul and body would create an impregnable being, he felt that it would definitely not be advantageous for that young mage. How would a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm submit to the orders of another? Even if he had the same ability as his supposed master, Rosen was certain that any loyalty was out of the question. Hence, to Rosen, Lin Li was indeed digging his own grave.

    At the same time, Osric¡¯s body and expressions started to calm down. The glow of magic that emitted from that body became more subtle as well. Osric¡¯s body¡ªor Connoris¡ªopened his tightly shut eyes to look at his surroundings. His gaze thennded on Lin Li, and he gave him a mysterious smile.

    Connoris¡¯ actions did not make Andoine and the rest rx at all. They became very tense, and the staffs in their hands were all glowing immensely. They were prepared to strike at Connoris any time.

    Lin Li, however, mustered his bit of recovered strength to hoist himself up. He gestured at Andoine and the rest to stop them from what they were intending to do. He had the same smile as he fixed his eyes on Connoris who had gained a new body.

    Connoris breathed in deeply, and suddenly started to recite demonic runes. The spell that seemed so obscure and lengthy to others flowed out of his mouth smooth and light-heartedly as though he was humming an ancient folk song.

    Andoine and the others grew anxious when they heard Connoris¡¯ recitation, but they remembered Lin Li¡¯s gesture when he tried to stop them. They forced themselves to feel less wary of Connoris, but their hands were all tightly gripping their weapons. Rosen, on the other hand, was prepared to watch a good show from the distance.

    However, the results of Connoris¡¯ demonic runes had an extremely familiar effect that stupefied everyone. That spell created a servant contract!

    Servant contract was something not foreign to these mages. In fact, followers of normal mages that willingly joined them would usually request to establish a servant contract with them. Unlike the blood-oath, soul contract, and ve contract, the servant contract would ensure that the servants did not lose their right over themselves. It protected servants from the need to offer their body and powers to their master. Also, it was rid of the terrifying use that the servants had to die alongside their masters. The servant contract was like an employment rtionship. It helped to ensure that the masters would not exploit and mistreat their servants unreasonably, and that the servants would not do things that would harm their masters.

    No one would have thought that the soul that imed the body of Osric had no intention of harming Lin Li with his immense powers. Instead of parting ways with Lin Li, this soul actually established a servant contract out of free will. From the effects of the contract, it was obvious that Lin Li was the master, and the soul that imed Osric¡¯s body was the servant. This meant that this powerhouse with an ability close to the Sanctuary-realm would have to take Lin Li¡¯s orders for as long as Lin Li wanted.

    Rosen was bbergasted. Did that soul turn into a fool because he was sealed up for a long time? How could he let go of such a good opportunity to regain his freedom? How could he volunteer to be the servant of that arrogant Felic?

    Andoine and the rest of the men felt immense relief. Their gazes fixed on Lin Li were filled with joy and surprise. It was not simply joy that the crisis had been averted, but more of a pride that seniors felt after witnessing the growth of their junior.

    After establishing the servant contract, Lin Li sized Connoris¡¯ new body up. He took out a magic robe from his ring and casually threw it onto Connoris. ¡°What were you doing? We had met each other for such a long time. Do you think I wouldn¡¯t trust you?¡± Lin Li said indifferently.

    Connoris received the magic robe and wrapped his perfect and beautiful naked body up. He nced at Lin Li from the side of his eye, and indignantly said, ¡°Do not think that the almighty Soul Trader is a moron!? How would I not know your personality? If I had not signed that servant contract willingly, I bet you wouldn¡¯t have been able to fall asleep. Or perhaps you had already left traps on this body...¡±

    <i>What an impressive body this is! Is this why Osric decided that this shall be the body of the Immortal?</i> Connoris thought as he inspected his new body. Although he did not find anything unusual with his new body, he managed to ascertain one thing. Having known Lin Li for such a long time, he naturally knew that Lin Li¡¯s abilities were not the strongest. However, this fe¡¯s methods against his enemies were out of the world. To quote the Fire Demon King, this human had to be the true demon in the eyes of demons.

    After all, Connoris was an ancient deity who was in charge of conspiracy and deception. Although his abilities were not as formidable as before, he was definitely not one who would settle his problems with a fist.

 Chapter 754 - The Self-conscious Soul Trader

    <h4>Chapter 754: The Self-conscious Soul Trader</h4>

    Those who often plotted against others would naturally be afraid of being plotted against. Connoris would never be so presumptuous as to think that someone would selflessly spare a thought for others. Those who seemed to be considerate would have to be guarded against carefully. Interests were the only thing that could be trusted, and a rtionship built on interests was the most fair and reliable.

    Although Connoris did not understand Lin Li thoroughly after interacting with him during this period of time, he found Lin Li¡¯s personality to be simr to his. Lin Li was also simr to him before he got put in a situation where he felt threatened.

    For the sake of obtaining a truly immortal body, Osric made himself gain incredible power, but that was just one aspect. The greater advantagey in the infinite potential possessed by his godly body. Given Lin Li¡¯s character, how could he let such a powerful force be out of his control? Connoris knew very well that even if Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried about it being disadvantageous to him, he wouldn¡¯t give up gaining enough benefits from this body.

    Hence, Connoris dared not take the risk at all. As soon as he fused into this body, he immediately took the initiative to sign the contract. Although he would lose some of his freedom, it was the safest option for him. Otherwise, if Lin Li were to be forced into a corner, there would be damage done to both parties, and he would definitely be in a terrible plight.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re reading too much into things.¡± Upon hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li blushed a little, which was rare of him. He turned his head to look around and immediately changed the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about those things for now. Hurry and help me release my things. If we drag on any longer, we won¡¯t be able to find it.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t admit or deny it. Instead, he simply made Connoris release his four pieces of the debris of the stars and managed to switch the topic vaguely. Of course, he was indeed eager to get his debris of the stars back. Although he could still feel their aura, he had no idea when a Nether Storm would ur, and the loss of any piece of the debris of the stars would be a huge heartache for him.

    Andoine and the rest were listening to the conversation between Lin Li and Connoris, and none of them felt that Lin Li was doing something wrong. There was nothing wrong with a better safe than sorry attitude, and that only showed that Lin Li was being careful. However, Rosen secretly found Lin Li to be scheming, and began to feel even more fearful of him.

    Connoris waved the Void Spear that he had been holding tightly in his hand, and created a space crack before Lin Li¡¯s body based on his memory. Although the power was not as great as when Osric used it previously, it was enough for the debris of the stars to pass through.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s summoning, the four pieces of the debris of the stars that had been caught in the chaos of time and space flew out of the crack in space. Lin Li finally felt relieved after recovering the four pieces of the debris of the stars. He then reached out to Connoris.

    Connoris stared at the Void Spear in his hand. Although he was quite reluctant to give it away after seeing how powerful it was when Osric used it, he knew that Lin Li had to get his hands on that item; hence, he had no choice but to obediently hand it over to Lin Li.

    Watching Lin Li take the weapon from Osric¡¯s body, Rosen felt extremely indignant, but he dared not say anything to target Lin Li at this moment. Not to mention, he was now seriously injured, and he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get the soul in Osric¡¯s body even during his heyday, and would just end up humiliating himself.

    However, the crystal coffin was the Supreme Council¡¯s goal this time, and he definitely couldn¡¯t let Lin Li take it! Rosen tried his best to move his body upwards, after which he quickly walked to the front of the crystal coffin. He turned behind, and proudly said to Lin Li, ¡°The Supreme Council has ordered me to bring this crystal coffin back. No one is allowed to look at, inspect, or steal the items inside it.¡±

    However, Lin Li simply shrugged his shoulders, turned his head, and said to Andoine and the rest, ¡°This concludes this expedition. Let¡¯s find our way back.¡± He then turned around and brought Andoine and the rest away, seeminglypletely uninterested in the crystal coffin and its contents. He then left Rosen and the crystal coffin alone.

    ¡°Felic, how do we go back? We can¡¯t possibly kill our way through all 72yers of the abyss,¡± Macklin said as he looked around the abyss. The fierce battle had already ruined everything, and there seemed to be no way out at all.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go back where we came from. There should be Gates of the Abyss there. As long as it is reopened, we can go back to the minaret,¡± Lin Li exined without feeling worried at all.

    Soon, at the ce where everyone first appeared in this abyss, Lin Li found the Alchemy Array of the Gates of the Abyss and reactivated it. With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, it was effortless for him. Not to mention, he still had the Alchemy Guru Angno by his side. Even the reconstruction of the Gates of the Abyss would not be an issue.

    After passing through the Gates of the Abyss, they really returned to the minaret, and all they had to do next was to make their way back. They left the minaret, passed through the pce, and returned to the endless cemetery through a long passageway, all the way until they reached the wall that was equipped with Magical Crystal Cannons. Although most of the Magical Crystal Cannons had been destroyed, there were still some intact ones further in. Lin Li did not stand on ceremony, and immediately got Angno to control the Alchemy Colossus to dismantle and remove 10-odd Magical Crystal Cannons, which he then ced in his Ring of Endless Storm.

    The team then headed to the field outside, where the huge ck vortex rotated continuously in the sky above. Lin Li ignored the Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, and immediately ced the remaining 12 Death Knights inside Dream Garden. He then flew towards the ck vortex together with Andoine and the rest.

    Angno first took some parts out of the Alchemy Colossus, and quickly pieced them together to form a flying alchemy machine. He then murmured some words, and arge Six-pointed Star Array slowly opened up at the feet of the Alchemy Colossus. The luminescence of the Six-pointed Star Array became more and more intense until it overwhelmed and engulfed the entire Alchemy Colossus. When the Six-pointed Star Array disappeared, the hill-like Titan-level Alchemy Colossus also vanished.

    Although Angno did not have the ability to use magic, since he was a goblin, he was a strong Alchemist Guru who could use the Alchemy Array to create a space for storing his Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Hmph, once I keep it in my space, it would be hard for him to take it from me again,¡± Angno muttered as he jumped onto the flying alchemy machine while watching Lin Li and the rest who were gradually approaching the ck vortex in the sky. Of course, he had no idea if he would be able to survive the torturous treatment inflicted on him by the demon Lin Li. At the thought of this, he suddenly felt incredibly dejected. He secretly decided to run as far away from Lin Li as he could.

    After passing through the huge ck vortex, everyone finally returned to the ground in the familiar Shadowglen. The three Undead Lords who¡¯d opened the Immortal Door had already gone missing, while the Sky Tower of the Supreme Council was continuously emitting mana waves in the sky. However, as everyone appeared, the mana continuously became more restrained.

    ¡°Master Felic, if there¡¯s nothing wrong, may I leave?¡± Angno asked while maneuvering the small makeshift alchemy aircraft and staring at Lin Li with anxiety. He just wanted Lin Li to agree so that he could flee as quick as possible.

    ¡°Leave?¡± Lin Li asked again, causing Angno¡¯s face to turn pale immediately. However, what he said next made Angno¡¯s horror turn into joy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want that magical crystal?¡±

    ¡°I do, if you¡¯re willing to give it to me, I¡¯ll definitely take it!¡± Angno eximed in joy as he nodded profusely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely stick to my promises. Take it,¡± Lin Li said as he took out Bk¡¯s magical crystal and handed it to Angno who had a look of disbelief.

    Angno extended his hand. Just as he was about to grab the magical crystal, he suddenly retracted his hand again with a look of dismay, and said, ¡°Master Felic, can you first take out the Fire Demon, otherwise...¡±

    When Angelo manipted the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, he had incrediblebat power that was close to the Sanctuary-realm. However, due to his body¡¯s quality, he was weaker than an ordinary human, yet the Fire Demon King was a powerhouse who was near the Sanctuary-realm, and was extremely powerful as well. Even though the Fire Demon King could not fight Lin Li at all, it was a piece of cake for him to kill an insignificant Goblin.

    ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t considered it enough. It¡¯s not impossible to let the Fire Demon out, but this process is still quite difficult. Why don¡¯t you wait for this whole thing to be over ande back with me? I¡¯ll think of a solution. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely fulfill what I promised. I¡¯ll give you the magical crystal even if it¡¯s difficult,¡± Lin Li said with a look of dismay as if he were facing a tough issue that was harder than the battle with Osric.

    Angno looked extremely conflicted, and was stuck in a huge dilemma. When he finally saw the magical crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hands, he swallowed his saliva, and said in a shaky voice, ¡°Okay, fine, you definitely won¡¯t lie to me. I know...¡±

    ¡°Okay, go with me to meet the arbitrator of the Supreme Council. After we¡¯re done with everything here, I¡¯ll bring you home.¡± Lin Li then turned to follow Andoine and the rest to the Sky Castle. However, the look of dismay on his face vanished, and was reced with a smug smile.

    Angno was a true-blue Alchemy Guru. Lin Li admitted that there was no way he couldpare to this Goblin in terms of alchemy. Moreover, the knowledge of alchemy in his head wasplete and faultless because he had learned it from the Goblins of that era. ording to the current division of levels, Angno would probably be considered a Divine Smith.

    The knowledge of Alchemy Arrays, Alchemy Puppets, and Osric¡¯s mysterious alchemy research was all in Angno¡¯s head. As long as Angno was duped into going to the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would get to know everything there was to know about alchemy. Besides, Angno was extremely old, and had experienced almost the entire Dark Age. Hence, he definitely knew a lot of the secrets of the Dark Age and the location of some mysterious treasures. That would be immeasurable wealth for Lin Li.

    How could Lin Li possibly let go of such a rare master of Alchemy who had incredible abilities in creating the Alchemy Colossus? Lin Li was just lying to him when he said that he couldn¡¯t take the Fire Demon King out of Bk¡¯s magical crystal. He was just trying to lure him back to the Tower of Dusk. The Fire Demon King had signed a harsh Soul Contract with Lin Li, and as long as Lin Li gave hismands, the Fire Demon King would have to leave the magical crystal obediently.

    Angno naturally didn¡¯t know that he had be a fish caught on Lin Li¡¯s hook. With joy written all over his face, he followed closely behind Lin Li. He seemed to have changed his impression of him as he thought, <i>This human demon may be a bit cruel, but he is a man of his word. We haven¡¯t even signed a contract, yet he¡¯s already promised to give me such a precious magical crystal!</i>

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Andoine and the rest tried their best not to burst intoughter while feeling sympathetic towards the Goblin Angno.

    Everyone entered the Sky Tower to see that the arbitrator Megard was waiting quietly in the hall with a faint smile on his face. He even looked at Lin Li with a tinge of admiration, making Rosen feel incredibly jealous.

    After they took their respective seats, Rosen, the leader of the operation, told the arbitrator Megard about everything that they had encountered in the mausoleum. Out of fear for Lin Li, Andoine, and Aldwin, he dared not add fuel to the fire or talk bad about Lin Li. Instead, he described everything without emotion, and finally handed the damaged summoning staff to Megard.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Megard nodded slightly, and motioned for Rosen to return to his seat without makingments. Instead, he looked at the crowd, and slowly said, ¡°I think you must be curious why the Supreme Council values the crystal coffin so greatly, and why I let those three Undead Lords off.¡±

    Even Rosen had no idea what the Supreme Council wanted the crystal coffin for, and merely knew that it was the main agenda of the trip this time.

 Chapter 755 - The Process Of Events

    <h4>Chapter 755: The Process Of Events</h4>

    Andoine was still guessing which weapon it was that was so strong that it could destroy the Fn Kingdom. Clearly, he had guessed wrongly. The two authoritative figures of the Supreme Council were full of doubts, not to mention Lin Li, Aldwin, and the rest. When they heard Megard¡¯s words, everyone immediately paid more attention and waited for their doubts to be resolved.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken, this is not what I meant, but what Geresco¡¯s intentions are.¡± Megard looked away from the crowd, and raised his head slightly to look into the distance as if he were reminiscing about something. He then slowly said, ¡°Andoine and Rosen both know that the Supreme Council had obtained some information about the mausoleum a long time ago. In reality, Geresco had already discovered Osric¡¯s mausoleum not long after Osric died. He simply chose not to explore the mausoleum back then.

    Geresco had long discovered the mausoleum of the Highlord Osric, but that wasn¡¯t surprising, since Geresco was definitely strong enough to find the mausoleum with ease. However, since he had already discovered it long ago, why explore it only now? That was what puzzled everyone. Given Geresco¡¯s power then, they felt that it would¡¯ve been impossible for him to be hindered by the magic traps and tomb keepers.

    ¡°At that time, Anril had just experienced countless wars, and almost none of the ordinary armies or the Legendary- and Sanctuary-realm powerhouses could remain neutral and stay out of the war. Apart from countless casualties, the war also resulted in the demise of the High Elves and the rise of mankind. It had also caused severe trauma and damage to the world. Back then, the world was almost full of damage and holes, so much so that the fragile space could not withstand a small crack at all. With Geresco¡¯s power, had he delved into the crack, it would¡¯ve been very likely for him to cause arge-scale copse of the space. It might¡¯ve even brought devastating disasters to Anril,¡± Megard exined slowly. It was as if his voice could travel through time and space, bringing everyone back to that magnificent era.

    Although everyone could not fully imagine what the world of Anril was like during the catastrophic period in the Dark Age, they could tell from Megard¡¯s description that the events described in the historical literature were far less cruel than what had actually happened. Everyone had peculiar expressions on their faces. Of course, they were also very clear that with their current strength, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve remarkable feats during that era.

    Lin Li was the only one who had no expression on his face, because he had already watched the historical changes of Anril from the prehistoric times to the Dark Age through the Endless Labyrinth in the Sky Castle. He had seen everything from the devastating war between the ancient wyrms and the Titans to the rise of the High Elves¡¯ dynasty during the end of the Dark Age, andstly their fall and destruction.

    Megard finally looked away and kept his eyes fixed on the calm Lin Li for a brief moment before continuing, ¡°Apart from worrying that it will cause the space to copse, it was also because Geresco didn¡¯t take Osric¡¯s mausoleum seriously. Hence, after discovering the location of the mausoleum, he subdued the three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen and made an agreement with them to let them guard the entrance of the mausoleum. The three of them are the only ones who can open the Immortal Door.¡±

    Everyone suddenly felt enlightened, and they realized why the three Undead Lords had brought up the agreement with Geresco when they couldn¡¯t defeat Megard. Megard could have killed them easily, but he still let them go. It turned out that Geresco had deliberately left them there to guard the mausoleum.

    ¡°Although Osric¡¯s legacy was nothing to Geresco, it¡¯s still a huge treasure for the Supreme Council. That¡¯s why the Supreme Council decided on this operation after so many years of research. You guys did live up the Supreme Council¡¯s trust in you too. On behalf of the Supreme Council, I thank you for your efforts.¡± Megard sounded extremely sincere, and did not patronize them just because of his status.

    Despite hearing Megard¡¯s words of gratitude, everyone felt touched, and it was as if all of the hardships that they had been through in the mausoleum were insignificant now. Appearing rather excited, Andoine and the rest stood up in unison, and said, ¡°This is our duty.¡±

    Megard waved his hands and gestured for everyone to sit down, after which he said, ¡°I believe you guys must be keen on knowing what the treasure that you guys have risked your lives for is.¡±

    Megard finally mentioned the treasure, which was indeed what everyone was the most concerned about. Although the treasure belonged to the Supreme Council, everyone still wanted to know what it was that they had fought hard for, and whether it was worth all the effort and risks they had undertaken.

    The so-called treasure had different definitions for those on different levels. For ordinary people, countless gold coins could be considered a huge treasure, but for mages, countless magical equipment and magical crystals were the true huge treasure. However, they were not for the Supreme Council. Hence, everyone was full of curiosity about the huge treasure that Megard was referring to, and almost all of them held their breaths while waiting quietly for the answer.

    ¡°The huge treasure is not the crystal coffin that is made of Resting Crystal, nor is it the perfect body created by Osric. It¡¯s not a magical weapon, either. It¡¯s a very important piece of information.¡± After pausing for a moment, he shifted his gaze onto everyone, only to see that they were confused. He continued, ¡°This information includes the essence of the magic research that the High Elves had umted over the years. In addition, it also includes pharmacy, inscription, alchemy, forging, and several other fields of study. It can be considered an encyclopedia that covers all knowledge about Anril.¡±

    When they heard Megard mention that the huge treasure was actually a piece of information, everyone found it to be bewildering even though the information was still very important. However, with Megard¡¯s further exnation of the all-epassing encyclopedia, everyone got a great shock, and some of them could not even believe their ears.

    Ever since the High Elves¡¯ dynasty was overthrown at the end of the Dark Age, the magical civilization of Anril had also fallen into the doldrums. Not only was there no development, there was also a huge regression. However, the field of magic was considered lucky to have maintained its standards, unlike pharmacy, inscriptions, forging, and so on, which had now be far inferior to the previous level. There was also some knowledge that had be lost in history.

    For example, Angno, a Guru-level alchemist, could be considered a Divine Smith now, but back in the Dark Age, Masters of pharmaceutics, Masters of inscription, and forging Masters were all considered insignificant. That was not due to human folly or theck of hard work, but rather because of gaps in knowledge that were hard to make up for. Hence, development was near impossible.

    Even during the peak of the era of the prosperity of magic civilization, the Highlord Osric was still one of the most intensively learned figures in the field of High Elven magic. Besides, he was also a formidable figure who was a Guru in all fields of study. Throughout the Dark Age, no one couldpare to Osric apart from the Immortal King and the High Elven Queen.

    Everyone couldpletely imagine how the gaps in knowledge would bepensated for once one mastered the encyclopedia. The Supreme Council would then reintroduce the magic civilization of the High Elves, and that would be a breakthrough progression in the study of the entire human magic civilization. The encyclopedia was indeed considered a huge treasure, not only for the Supreme Council, but also for the entire human race.

    Watching as everyone¡¯s expressions turned from curiosity to shock, and from shock to euphoria, Megard nodded, and said, ¡°This encyclopedia is in the crystal coffin that you have brought back. You guys should have already guessed what meaning it has for the Supreme Council and for human magic civilization. So, not only do I and the Supreme Council have to thank you, everyone else now and in the future will have to thank you for what you have done today.¡±

    Megard was not exaggerating at all. Although Andoine and the rest had not experienced the war that broke out at the end of the Dark Age, and had not made a name for themselves or left a significant impact during the rise of humans, the encyclopedia that they obtained was definitely enough to allow them to leave their names in history as significant figures.

    After a long time, the excitement of the people gradually died down, and Rosen suddenly thought of the crystal coffin. Hence, he asked Megard, ¡°Most Respected Arbitrator, since we only need the encyclopedia, why do you need the crystal coffin too?¡±

    Merely taking an encyclopedia and moving the hill-like crystal coffin were obviously very different from each other. In fact, Rosen had other intentions in mind when he asked that question, and that was to remind Megard that the body created by Osric and the powerful magical weapon that Osric used were all taken away by Lin Li. ording to the order of the Supreme Council, those things ought to belong to the Supreme Council since they were originally in the crystal coffin.

 Chapter 756 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 756: Return</h4>

    However, Megard didn¡¯t seem to have caught the hidden meaning in Rosen¡¯s words. Instead, he simply addressed his question by saying, ¡°The crystal coffin is not just a coffin. As far as I know, it¡¯s a furnace that Osric used to create the perfect body. At the same time, it¡¯s also the core of the eighth Sky Castle of the High Elves. Unfortunately, the Supreme Council did not get hold of the Eternal Furnace that Osric created. Otherwise, we might¡¯ve been able to replicate and reproduce the eighth Sky Castle.¡± Megard then looked at Lin Li instead of Rosen who asked the question.

    Seeing that Megard had simply answered his question, Rosen knew that he didn¡¯t want to pursue the matter about Lin Li taking the items away. Hence, he returned to his seat miserably.

    ¡°Okay, now that you have no doubts, I¡¯ll be announcing the respective rewards that each of you will be receiving on behalf of the Supreme Council.¡± Megard looked around at everyone, and slowly said, ¡°Andoine, Rosen, both of you sessfullypleted the task entrusted to you by the Supreme Council, and you will be granted the rights to study the High Elves Print. Aldwin and Macklin, you two and the nna Guild of Magic have made a great sacrifice for the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council will reward you with a batch of magical equipment and materials. As for Felic...¡±

    Speaking of what Lin Li would be receiving, Megard paused for a while. However, the slight pause made everyone¡¯s expressions turn peculiar. Andoine and Aldwin thought that Megard would forbid Lin Li from receiving any rewards because he had already taken away the perfect body created by Osric and the magical weapon. Hence, they all looked rather worried because they thought that Lin Li was about to be sanctioned. Rosen thought just about the same as others, but he seemed to be gloating instead. He thought, <i>I thought Megard didn¡¯t hold it against him, but seems like he¡¯s settling scores with him now.</i>

    However, what Megard said next made everyone¡¯s expression change drastically. After a short pause, he continued, ¡°Felic, you¡¯ve yed a vital role in this mission. What do you want?¡±

    He actually asked Lin Li what he wanted! Andoine and Aldwin were instantly surprised, while Rosen, who was initially gloating, was full of disbelief at this moment. Such a reward was absolutely unprecedented, and it was actually offered by the arbitrator himself. Even if Lin Li were to ask to go to the treasure vault to pick out an item or ask to be an authoritative figure in the Supreme Council, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for Megard to agree.

    However, the treasure vault of the Supreme Council wasn¡¯t that attractive to Lin Li, and he was much less interested in bing an authoritative figure. Although Megard had allowed him to pick his reward without restrictions, he couldn¡¯t really ask for anything he wanted. Lin Li touched his chin and looked up at Megard. ¡°Respected Arbitrator, since the Supreme Council has no use for the crystal coffin, please give it to me.¡±

    Although the Supreme Council did not have the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li did, and he justcked the crystal coffin which could be used as the core. Since Megard had let him choose, how could he give up the chance to pick something that would be the most useful for him and choose something useless instead? However, Lin Li had also put some thought into how he worded his request. If the crystal coffin was useless to the Supreme Council, wouldn¡¯t the arbitrator of the Supreme Council bepelled into giving Lin Li more than just something he didn¡¯t need?

    Megard smiled a little, clearly having seen through Lin Li¡¯s intentions. However, he didn¡¯t expose Lin Li, and simply nodded before saying, ¡°Yes, in addition to the crystal coffin, I¡¯ll give you another item. It¡¯s your chance to take your pick and tell me what your request is.¡±

    Megard¡¯s words made everyone else freeze immediately because of their astonishment. They even doubted if Lin Li was rted to Megard by blood because it was simply too exaggerated. The crystal coffin was the furnace that Osric used to create the perfect body. How could it be useless for the Supreme Council? Not only did Megard give it to Lin Li. he even allowed Lin Li to make another request. They thought, <i>Is this the arbitrator I know!?</i>

    Even Lin Li was surprised when he heard Megard¡¯s words. Of course, it was one thing to be surprised, and another to grasp the opportunity. He would be a fool not to. After thinking about it for a while, he said, ¡°Sir, one of mypanions, Angno, has also contributed greatly in this mission. He has broken most of the magic traps that we encountered in the mausoleum, and he wishes to take a look at Osric¡¯s journal. Is this request a little too much?¡±

    ¡°You mean that Goblin who has mastered Alchemy well? Get him toe here with Andoine tomorrow. I¡¯ll give him seven days to read the part about Alchemy in the journal,¡± said Megard who agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request readily. He then ended the conversation and told everyone to go get some rest.

    Lin Li decided to fight for this opportunity for Angno partly because he wanted to fulfill the original promise he made, and partly because of his own selfish reasons. Anyway, he had already sessfully made Angno promise to go back with him to the Tower of Dusk, and Angno would definitely have to create Alchemy Puppets for the Tower of Dusk in the future. Hence, it would be a great benefit for Lin Li if Angno could use this chance to improve his Alchemy skills.

    As for why Lin Li did not take the opportunity to request a chance to read Osric¡¯s journal himself, it was because he still had the Book of Eternity left behind by Geresco. The knowledge about magic contained in that book was not inferior to that of Osric¡¯s journal. In other areas like pharmacy and inscription, Lin Li had already reached the Guru-level, so he didn¡¯t need it urgently.

    When he went out to see Angno, Lin Li told him everything that happened, and the Goblin Angno was immediately touched. From his point of view, Lin Li had given up his chance to get a better reward for an opportunity for Angno to read Osric¡¯s journal. In the tens of thousands of years that he had lived, he had never met such a good person. At the same time, Angno also had more faith in Lin Li¡¯s credibility, and he believed that Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t go back on his words.

    Angno was given the opportunity to read Osric¡¯s journal, and although it was only for a short period of seven days, it was enough for him to benefit greatly given his level of attainments in Alchemy. While Andoine took Angno to the Sky Tower to read the notes, Aldwin was busy rebuilding the nna Guild of Magic. Macklin advanced to the Legendary-realm when he was in the mausoleum, and was rather busy as well. Even Connoris was busy fusing his soul with his new body. After all, the higher the rate of fusion, the stronger he would be. Everyone who left the mausoleum was busy with their own things, but Lin Li became a cker.

    As for Ujfalusi and Norfeller who had recovered from their injuries, they set off early to return to the Tower of Dusk after leaving the mausoleum. Although there were very few forces that dared to go against the Tower of Dusk because of how ruthless Lin Li was and how powerful the Tower of Dusk had be, Lin Li still could not feel at ease if there were no Legendary powerhouses to take charge for a long time.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t get to stay idle for a long time. The news of their return from the mausoleum was not a secret. Since the others were all too busy with their own matters, the only idle person would be the focus of attention. After all, nna was where the king of the Fn Kingdom lived, and although it was not as vast as the Breezy ins, there were plenty of forces there¡ªno less than in the Breezy ins. Lin Li had only taken a day off and rested in the nna Guild of Magic before being bombarded by various invitations.

    Darian, who specialized in receptions, was sick of receiving invitations, and became used to seeing the prominent names on the invitations. Perhaps in the near future, he would feel honored about having personally received the young mage Lin Li. In fact, the other mages in the Guild of Magic were all looking at him with envy in their eyes already.

    If it had been in the past, Lin Li would¡¯ve definitely taken this opportunity to discuss business deals with the forces for the sake of the development of the Tower of Dusk, even if he hated entertaining others. However, the development of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins was already in full swing, and the representatives from almost all the forces had taken the initiative to request to cooperate with Lin Li for business. As the owner of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li naturally didn¡¯t need to worry about those matters, and he immediately turned plenty of those people down for the sake of having some peace.

    However, there were some invitations that Lin Li couldn¡¯t turn down, such as the ones from Balbo, the President of the Pharmacist Guild, Al¡¯Akir, the President of the Adventurers Guild, and the Fn Royal Family.

    In the past, Balbo agreed to send Wilkinson and other pharmacists to the Tower of Dusk, and regardless of what his agenda was, they really did y a vital role in the development of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, Lin Li would never turn Balbo down. On the other hand, Lin Li had a good impression of Al¡¯Akir, who allowed him to forcibly take away the Legendary Smander¡¯s magical crystal after giving him the potion.

    As for the invitation from the Fn Kingdom, it would be considered a great honor for ordinary people, but for the powerful Legendary-mages, it would be nothing. Lin Li initially wanted to run them down, but the thing mentioned in the invitation made him change his mind.

    After a frustrating dance, Lin Li ignored the sultry gazes of numerousdies and followed Prince Arthur of the Fn Kingdom to a reception lounge that was much quieter. At themand of Prince Arthur, two waiters guarded the front door of the reception lounge to stop others from entering and disturbing them. When Prince Arthur revealed the content of the deal and Lin Li saw the item on the table, thetter found it a little unbelievable, even though he had already read it on the invitation card.

    ¡°The Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons, are you sure you want to trade this?¡± Lin Li had never expected there to be such a treasure hidden in the treasure vault of the Fn Royal Family. Although dragons liked mating with different creatures, they had low fertility. The Double Death Dragons that Lin Li had encountered in the Haiga Mountain Range were extremely rare, especially since they had different attributes.

    Although the Ice and Fire Dragons were wyrms, they were considered the dragon version of Romeo and Juliet. It wasn¡¯t wrong to call it an interracialbination, either. The fertility of dragons of the same element was already very low, yet not only did they have a love child, they produced an extremely rare pair of Double Death Dragons.

    Of course, another possibility was that the conflicting attributes might actually increase the birth rate of the twin dragons. After all, without a leader, it would be a rare thing for them not to fight each other, and sparks of love were simply a miracle.

    ¡°Yes, I know that general wealth means almost nothing to Master Felic, and your Tower of Dusk doesn¡¯tck any magical equipment. Hence, the only thing we could think of are these Legendary Dragon Crystals obtained from the High Elves¡¯ treasure vault,¡± said Prince Arthur, who seemed a little embarrassed as if he could not bring himself to give those two Dragon Crystals to Lin Li.

    Prince Arthur had personally traveled to the Tower of Dusk to participate in Lin Li¡¯s inauguration ceremony. Hence, he had witnessed the Tower of Dusk going from nothing to bing a powerful force that was feared by many. Therefore, he showed great respect to thepetent, young and legendary President Lin Li.

    Lin Li could tell from Prince Arthur¡¯s words that the Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons seemed to be extremely precious to Prince Arthur, but he only saw them as two Legendary Dragon Crystals. However, the fact that the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons were more precious and rare seemed to have beenpletely ignored.

    However, Lin Li thought about it carefully, and began to understand the situation better. For most people, the role of the magical crystals would be nothing more than just a mana source for Alchemy Arrays and mageweaths. Based on those uses alone, the Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons were indeed functional and rather simr to the other magical crystals of the same level. Hence, from a practical point of view, no matter how rare they werepared to the others, their value was about the same.

 Chapter 757 - The Complete Form

    <h4>Chapter 757: The Complete Form</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, for Lin Li, the value of the Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons were far greater than that of average Dragon Crystals. Lin Li had finally found all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, but he only had five of them, including Nothingness. The other two, Pr Snow and Raging mes, had been found in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountain Range earlier. However, Lin Li had yet to truly obtain them because he could not bear to let go of his Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain.

    Connoris once suggested that he use the strong Throne of Darkness that had devouring abilities to move the Ice and Fire Magical Domain into the Eternal Furnace to allow it to be as strong as the Conquering Mageweath. However, there was a harsh condition to be fulfilled, and that was that he needed to find two items to rece the Pr Snow and Raging mes in the Magical Domain. Otherwise, Lin Li would never be able to use those two pieces of the debris of the stars without damaging the domain.

    The two items first had to have fire and ice abilities achieveplete bnce because any fluctuation might lead to the copse of the domain. However, as the saying went, it would be impossible to find two identical leaves in the world. It was indeed a tall order for Lin Li to find two substitutes that contained ice and fire attributes, and could also strike a perfect bnce in terms of mana waves.

    Even though Lin Li had left the underground pce for a long time, Lin Li still felt rather hesitant, and he could not decide if he should give up the domain or give up Raging mes and Pr Snow first.

    Lin Li did not expect the problem that had troubled him for so long to actually have a turning point in the treasure vault of the Fn Kingdom. Of course, even if the two Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons were not too different from ordinary Legendary Dragon Crystals in Prince Arthur¡¯s opinion, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy for Lin Li to obtain them.

    ¡°2000 vitality potions.¡± Lin Li had no choice but to admit that the Fn Kingdom had a huge appetite. Those potions were meant for Warriors to break through their bottlenecks. Hence, 2000 potions meant 2000 strong Warriors beyond level-15. One level-15 Warrior didn¡¯t mean much, but 2000 level-15 elite Warriors would form a huge lineup that could easily kill the three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen.

    ¡°Master Felic, 2000 potions are meant to be exchanged for these two Legendary Dragon Crystals. If you can provide more, we will be willing to give you whatever you want as long as we can afford it,¡± Fn said, clearly not hesitating at all.

    2000 potions were indeed of equal value to the two Legendary Dragon Crystals. Besides, Lin Li desperately needed the Ice and Fire Twin Dragon crystals. However, with the power of the Tower of Dusk, it would require some time to produce 2000 potions even with Wilkinson and the other pharmacists. The bigger problem was not manpower and time, but the herbs and materials required. In order to produce so many vitality potions, Lin Li would requirerge amounts of all kinds of precious herbs. Even the Elven Kingdom which had rich supplies of those herbs would face issues with providing such arge amount of herbs.

    ¡°Arge amount of precious herbs is required for so many potions to be produced. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d be difficult for the Tower of Dusk to produce that many in a short period of time given the current transaction volume,¡± Lin Li exined with a look of dismay. However, he did not show any desperate need for the Dragon Crystals. It was not that he was deliberately doing so, but because that was a matter of fact. If the Fn Kingdom didn¡¯t need the potions urgently, he should be able to produce them within two or three years.

    However, in this transaction, the Fn Kingdom seemed to be determined to get what they wanted. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Prince Arthur seemed to have thought about it for a long time. Smiling confidently, he said, ¡°Feel free to name the herbs that you need. We should be able to provide some herbs.¡±

    Since Prince Arthur had said so, there was no reason for Lin Li to turn him down further. Hence, he grabbed a pen and a piece of paper, and wrote down all the herbs required for the potion. This time, he didn¡¯t include the herbs that he wanted for himself. The potion wasn¡¯t very high-level, and although the herbs required were previous, they were not considered treasures, and with the current capability of the Tower of Dusk, they really didn¡¯t need to take advantage of this deal.

    After the two parties had reached an agreement, Prince Arthur happily invited Lin Li to participate in the ball outside, saying that he would introduce Lin Li to some wealthydies and heiresses. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in those desperate women at all. Hence, he frantically turned down Prince Arthur¡¯s goodwill and left the Fn Kingdom.

    After seven days, Lin Li arrived at the Sky Tower again, and obtained the crystal coffin that had been emptied out. Angno had also finished studying the alchemy notes in Osric¡¯s journal ording to the agreement. Although it was only a short period of seven days, Lin Li could tell from the look of excitement on Angno¡¯s face that he had benefited greatly.

    Since everything had been settled, Lin Li did not n to stay in nna, and thus bade Andoine and Aldwin goodbye before taking Angno and Connoris back to the Tower of Dusk. He had to hurry because he wanted toplete the transaction with the Fn Kingdom soon and obtain the two Dragon Crystals in order to release the debris of the stars Pr Snow and Raging mes while keeping the domain intact.

    Although nna was not close to the Breezy ins, Lin Li and Connoris each used their Power of Flight to fly, while Angno flew in his alchemy aircraft without stopping to take a break. They headed straight to the Tower of Dusk, and managed to see it in less than a day.

    The Tower of Dusk was much less crowded and lively this time aspared to Lin Li¡¯s previous return. Although he had been gone for a long time, the brutal actions chosen by the Tower of Dusk back then still made others fearful. No one dared to harbor ill intentions against the Tower of Dusk, and even the leaders of some forces who had such ideas would be betrayed by their subordinates who did not want to be implicated by them.

    The first thing that Lin Li did upon returning to the Tower of Dusk was to look for Wilkinson and the other pharmacists to instruct them to prepare the vitality potions while maintaining the normal operation of the pharmacy business as much as possible. The potion was considered a Master-level potion in Anril, but ording to the pharmaceutical hierarchy in the Dark Age, it was just an ordinary advanced potion. Hence, for Wilkinson and the other pharmacists, it was not difficult to formte such a potion, but the sheer quantity was the issue.

    It was the first time the Tower of Dusk had ever received such arge order, and ording to Prince Arthur, it was just the minimum amount required by the Fn Kingdom. As long as it was within the range that the Fn Kingdom could afford, they would be willing to take as many potions as possible.

    At the same time, Lin Li could not help but be amazed. It was no wonder the Marathon Family could rise so quickly from a Smithing Workshop to one of thergest top families in the Fn Kingdom. At the thought of how many armies there were in the Fn Kingdom, Lin Li could also imagine the size of every order received by the Marathon Family who owned 70% of the military ordnance business. Of course, the value of military ordnance was definitely iparable to the vitality potions¡¯ cost. Every potion was probably worth a few hundreds pieces of elite equipment.

    After arranging for Wilkinson and the others to start preparing the potions, Lin Li also instructed his subordinates to ce arge order for herbs with various herb suppliers like Seven Leaf Grass, the Time Consignment Store, the Malfa Family, the City of Late Winter, and the Elven Kingdom.

    2000 potions didn¡¯t seem to be much, but their every drop was made up of the essence of plenty of herbs. The 2000 potions would require hundreds of tons of precious herbs that could not be found easily, even though they were not extremely rare.

    Having made arrangements for the order to be fulfilled, Lin Li suddenly realized that he had yet to see Gerian despite having returned for a long time. He summoned Beckley and questioned him, only to find out that Gerian grew ambitious after reaching the peak of level-19 before Lin Li left, and was now bent on stepping into the Legendary-realm. Hence, after he went to nna, he started secluding himself, and imed that he wouldn¡¯t stop unless he reached the Legendary-level.

    After dismissing them, Lin Li arrived in front of Gerian¡¯s room and shook his head helplessly after hearing the gruntsing from inside. He then knocked on the door, and yelled, ¡°Master Gerian, the enemies are here!¡±

    There was a loud thud in the room, followed by the sounds of footsteps shuffling quickly. The door of the room was then pulled open, and Gerian appeared with his magic staff in hand. Staring at Lin Li with his eyes ssed over, he yelled, ¡°Enemy? Where? Damn it, which bastard is courting death? How dare he disturb me from sleeping!?¡±

    ¡°Uh.¡± Lin Li touched his nose in embarrassment, and said in dejection, ¡°I¡¯ve just returned. Is this how you¡¯re going to wee me?¡±

    ¡°Hah, Felic, if the enemies were to be able to fight their way in, those rascals out there would have learned magic for nothing.¡± Gerian rubbed his eyes and looked at Lin Li before dragging him inside. ¡°Hurry and tell me what happened in Osric¡¯s mausoleum.¡±

    Lin Li could tell at a nce that the magical waveing from Gerian¡¯s body was simr to when he¡¯d left. Determination alone was not enough for one to reach the Legendary-realm. However, he was tactful enough not to bring up that matter. After entering the room with Gerian, he began to talk about the experiences he had in Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    After telling Gerian the story for the night, Lin Li began thinking about other things again. When he was waiting for Angno in nna, he had already considered the future ns of the Tower of Dusk in his free time. He had a rough n for the sequence of events and things to be carried out.

    Apart frompleting therge order for potions, Lin Li also nned to install the crystal coffin, which was the most important part of his n. The crystal coffin was the core of the Eternal Furnace. Although he couldn¡¯t take out the Eternal Furnace from Osric¡¯s mausoleum, he still had a semi-finished product that was constructed by Osric earlier. Although it was iplete, the various designs on this Eternal Furnace were ingenious, not inferior to the ones in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. The only things missing were the weapon part and the crystal coffin, which was the core.

    When building the Tower of Dusk at the start, Lin Li deliberately left a ce for the Eternal Furnace on the top of the tower, and no one else knew what it was for. When the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t well known, there were even some who mocked the Tower of Dusk for not having a spire. However, once the Eternal Furnace was ced on top, no one would dare to mock andugh at it tantly, though they might gossip and badmouth it in private.

    Lin Li proceeded to the top of the tower, and flew into the air while holding two rings in his hand.

    One was Brand Of Dusk, which he used to open Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Apart from being able to open Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the other use of the Brand Of Dusk was to control the Eternal Furnace. Only those who had the Brand Of Dusk would be qualified to control the Eternal Furnace. It was precisely because of Brand Of Dusk that Lin Li could enter the Gates of Ashes safely and run into Connoris, who had been sealed in the hammer.

    The other ring in Lin Li¡¯s hand was the other gain that Lin Li had obtained during the seven days that he spent in nna. Of course, it couldn¡¯t really be considered a gain, because it was the reward that he deserved for formting the Void Power Potion at the Pharmacist Guild. However, he hadn¡¯t bothered to collect it earlier, because he was trying to decline Balbo¡¯s solicitation.

    The ring was the core part of the Eternal Furnace that was created together with the Brand Of Dusk by Osric in the past. It was the core of the Eternal Furnace, the Shadow of the Darkness. In the Shadow of the Darkness, there was an Elemental Sealing Spell that was a forbidden spell of the High Elves. Once the Eternal Furnace was activated, a fire element wyrm would explode immediately, burning the people in the Eternal Furnace into ashes.

    Lin Li first raised the Brand Of Dusk in his hand, and slowly chanted a spell to summon the Eternal Furnace. As the lengthy High Elven spell sounded in the air, a ball of mes gradually appeared in the sky not too far away from Lin Li, and soon became clearer.

 Chapter 758 - The True Eternal Furnace

    <h4>Chapter 758: The True Eternal Furnace</h4>

    Next, a pce squeezed out of a corner of the Eternal Furnace slowly, and arge Infernal Pce appeared in front of Lin Li.

    After summoning the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li immediately changed his tone, and began to chant another magic spell. However, this time, he chanted in humannguage. He had long prepared arge Alchemy Array on the tform at the top of the Tower of Dusk. As his spell sounded in the air, a gentle ray of light was emitted, and it gradually became brighter. The entire Alchemy Array exploded with a ray of dazzling light, making the Tower of Dusk look like it had anotherrge and bright pir.

    Lin Li then controlled the Infernal Pce using his Brand Of Dusk, after which he slowly approached the beam of light emitted from the Alchemy Array at the top of the tower, slowly intercepting the beam of light that hit the sky. When it suppressed the bottom of the pce, it slowlynded again. Therge Infernal Pce quaked a little, and touched the top of the Tower of Dusk before finally fusing with it perfectly after some fine adjustments.

    At this moment, the effects of the Shadow of the Darkness did not make Lin Li feel ufortable even though he used to have to use the smander leather armor to resist the burning sensation in the past. As the light from the Brand Of Dusk shed in the sky, the crimson door slowly opened, and a red carpet extended from the depths of the pce to Lin Li¡¯s feet. Having experience with the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, such a scene was nothing too surprising for Lin Li now. Without even looking at the carpet beneath his feet, he immediately flew into the pce through the doors.

    After entering the pce, Lin Li did not stop, and instead headed straight to the core of the Eternal Furnace, which was also where the central minaret of the Eternal Furnace in Osric¡¯s mausoleum was located. The two Eternal Furnaces were the same, be it in terms of architectural style or various settings. The only difference was that there was no central minaret in this Eternal Furnace, but only arge Alchemy Array that was once used for cing the crystal coffin.

    Upon arriving at the core, Lin Li inserted the Shadow of the Darkness in his hand into the activation node of the huge Alchemy Array. Now, a red ray of light like hot molten iron was flowing slowly along the magic circuit of the Alchemy Array, gradually filling up all the magic circuits and fusing them together, after which a massive mana wave spread outwards.

    The crimson light from the Alchemy Array covered the entire ground as if it were going to turn the entire area into an ocean of waves. At this moment, Lin Li had flown towards the top of the Alchemy Array, and retrieved the crystal coffin from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The crystal coffinnded in the sea of fire where the red light condensed. It floated on the surface of the ocean like a small boat on water. Lin Li had initially already taken away the magical crystal. However, when the crystal coffinnded above the crystal coffin, the rays of red seeped into the surface of the water, and the mageweath and Alchemy Array that had already been extinguished gradually lit up again.

    At this point, Lin Li finallypleted the cement of the crystal coffin, and the Eternal Furnace had also regained its core which was the most important part of it. The eighth Sky Castle seemed to have also be aplete prototype[1]. However, Lin Li knew that there were still plenty of things for him to do. When the 2000 potions werepleted, he would be able to obtain the Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons, and then he would be able to get his Ice and Fire Domain. After the domain fused with the Throne of Darkness and the Eternal Furnace, there would definitely be an exponential increase in power of the Eternal Furnace. By then, it would be more than just a prototype¡ªit would be considered a semi-finished Eighth Sky Castle.

    The abnormalities caused by the instation of the Eternal Furnace had naturally attracted everyone¡¯s attention, especially in Dnd City, which was the nearest to Tower of Dusk. After seeing the fire and the pir at the back, everyone thought that the Tower of Dusk had been attacked again. When there were news of Lin Li¡¯s return, the entire Dnd City flew into a frenzy, and the leaders of all forces rushed to the Tower of Dusk with gifts.

    However, Lin Li only met Arathor of Dnd City, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time seeing the leaders of the other forces at all. After putting the Eternal Furnace and the crystal coffin in ce, the next step of Lin Li¡¯s n was toplete the once-neglected ck Front Fortress.

    The ck Front Fortress was a camp that was specially designed for Death Knights, and had the ability to turn mana into Death Aura. If a Death Knight was ced in the fortress, it would continuously be physically stronger, and its digestion of soul fire would also be elerated, though it would not happen overnight. The speed of eleration would be incredible if it couldpress 100 years into a year, but even then, it would still require three to five years for the fortress to bepleted.

    The most important thing was that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t take the Death Knights around to carry out a massacre; hence, there was no way they could get more soul fire. The legendary Retribution Knight Rodhart only managed to be a Retribution Knight because he had obtained the broken arm of the Immortal King. Later on, he even ughtered nearly a third of the poption of the Breezy ins in order to improve his own strength and that of his Death Knights. Although Lin Li admitted that he was not a kindhearted saint, he wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of doing something so extreme and perverted. Besides, if he were to really do it, he would probably be killed by a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm before he even got to nurture a Retribution Knight.

    It was no big deal to kill Undead creatures, but Lin Li was too busy to conduct an Undead creature massacre together with the Death Knights. If he were to let the Death Knights go alone, he would be worried about there being an Undead Lord. After all, there were only 18 Death Knights. If there were 180 of them, they wouldn¡¯t have to be worried about an Undead Lord.

    Hence, after returning from the Scar of Death, the 18 Death Knights that Lin Li had subdued were all rather idle until they got summoned all at once by the Summoning Scroll when Lin Li encountered the Zago Demons in the Abyss.

    However, in the fierce battle with the Zago demons, Lin Li managed to gain a blessing in disguise even though he had lost six Death Knights¡ªthe remaining 12 devoured a lot of the Zago Demons¡¯ soul fire. There was a significant increase in their power, and one of the Death Knights, who had devoured the soul fire of a Scourged Ankylodon, even became an actual Retribution Knight.

    ording to a legend, when a Retribution Knight appeared in Anril, all Death Knights would gather around the Retribution Knight and be his most loyal warriors. Although Lin Li¡¯s Retribution Knight had already seen Lin Li as his leader, he was also a real Retribution Knight, after all. If the legend was true, there might appear a legion of Death Knights.

    Hence, at this time, Lin Li added the construction of the ck Front Fortress back into his n again, and he also nned to ce thepleted ck Front Fortress in the Eternal Furnace. However, before starting to build the ck Front Fortress, Lin Li still had one more thing to do, which required Angno¡¯s and Connoris¡¯ help¡ªthat was to use the crystal coffin to turn the 12 Death Knights under his control into those that could manipte Divine Power, just like the ones they¡¯d met in Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    The biggest nemesis of Undead creatures was Divine Power. Although Death Knight was a different type of Undead creature, it was still one of them, after all. Hence, if Lin Li could fix that weakness, there would be a huge increase in the strength of the Death Knights. A level-19 Death Knight that could manipte Divine Power was probably not too inferior to the traditional Retribution Knight.

    Lin Li even had a fantasy about the Retribution Knight summoning a group of Death Knights, and turning them into Sanctuary Death Knights. He would then lead the 12 of them who each had their own Sanctuary Death Knight legion. That would be impressive.

    After Lin Li helped Angno get the opportunity to read Osric¡¯s journal, the simple-minded Goblin firmly believed that Lin Li would abide by the agreement, find a way to release the Fire Demon King from Bk¡¯s magical crystal, and hand the crystal to him. Hence, when Lin Li asked Angno for help, he immediately agreed without hesitation. He didn¡¯t ask for anything in return, either.

    Connoris, who now had a body, wouldn¡¯t turn down his master¡¯s request for something that would not endanger his life, because he had signed a servant contract with Lin Li. Besides, he was rather interested in operating Osric¡¯s works, so he temporarily paused the fusion of his soul and body, and began to study the operation method of the crystal coffin together with Angno.

    After tasking Angno and Connoris with the creation of the Sanctuary Death Knights, Lin Li began to prepare for the construction of the ck Front Fortress. With his current abilities, the construction of the fortress wouldn¡¯t beplicated, mainly because of the transformation and application of Death Energy. Actually, the ck Front Fortress and the Psychic Array shared many simrities. The construction materials, mageweaths, and Psychic Arrays were all elements to be considered, but those were not issues for Lin Li.

    In an open space in the Eternal Furnace, dismantled Titan skeletons were ssified into different categories. That was the ce where Lin Li decided to build the ck Front Fortress. However, he couldn¡¯t spend all his time building the ck Front Fortress, because there were still plenty of things for him to handle in the Tower of Dusk.

    In the past few days, the news of Lin Li¡¯s return had spread like wildfire in the Breezy ins, and there began to appear visitors who came from ces further than the ones in the vicinity of Dnd City. The castens of the various cities in the Breezy ins, the patriarchs of the major families, the Presidents of the major business unions, and the top leaders of mercenary corps, all of whom were significant figures of status, had all arrived in the Tower Of Dusk to visit Lin Li.

    The Tower of Dusk had currently monopolized the advanced pharmaceutical industry in the Breezy ins, and as the potions distributed by the Gilded Rose and Glittergold Trade Union were imported to other areas of the Fn Kingdom, the name of the Tower of Dusk had also risen to fame as it spread to other parts of Anril. Amongst the major forces in the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk had be famous, and expanded to the same level as the major business unions like the Gilded Rose and Glittergold Trade Union.

    The Tower of Dusk was like a seed of a tree that Lin Li had nted deep in the soil, and had beenpletely ignored by people. The tree sprouted and broke out of the soil, after which everyone began to know of its existence, but they simply looked down on it. They wouldn¡¯t step on it nor stride over it, and would merely bypass it. However, the Tower of Dusk had now be a towering tree, and even the tallest people would have to look up to it.

    Hence, the simple event of Lin Li returning from a trip became an opportunity not to be missed to express their friendliness towards the Tower of Dusk in the eyes of everyone.

    Lin Li was not an arrogant person, either. Since those people respected him, he wouldn¡¯t give them a bad attitude. Hence, while Lin Li was busy constructing the ck Front Fortress, he also continued to receive his visitors, whom he spoke to about his experience in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Having repeated it over and over again, he began to feel nauseous at the mere thought of it.

    The visitors could not verify if Lin Li¡¯s alleged experiences in Osric¡¯s mausoleum were true or not, but those who visited would first see therge Infernal Pce at the top of the Tower of Dusk. They might not know what the Eternal Furnace and the pce were made of, or what their uses were, but the magical waves of the immense burning mes were so massive that they all felt stunned.

    Although Lin Li left the Tower of Dusk for a shorter amount of time this time, everyone who visited the Tower of Dusk knew that he had definitely improved drastically again this time.

    Despite having continuously entertained his guests, Lin Li did not dy his own matters. After all, a good rtionship could never be as reliable as having wonderful strength and abilities. After more than 10 days of intermittent construction, the ck Front Fortress that was on top of the Eternal Furnace was finallypleted with Lin Li¡¯s efforts.

    The entire ck Front Fortress looked just like a huge octagonal skeleton square, on which there was plenty of Undead auraing from the numerous Undead Arrays. In the center of the ck Front Fortress, there was a Titan skeleton resting his hands on his pelvis, and it was just like a shrine. In the eight corners of the square, there were eight curved pirs that were made of the eight longest ribs of the Titan¡¯s skeleton. They looked just like des that could y the sky. At the same time, they were also covered with powerful Death Mageweaths.

    [1] Iirc, all Sky Castles had been built by Immortal King, and only this one was built by Osric, who tried to copy them, hence prototype.

 Chapter 759 - People From The Shrine

    <h4>Chapter 759: People From The Shrine</h4>

    The spine of the Titan was cut vertically into two halves, surrounding the Skeleton Square and bing the walls of the ck Front Fortress. The Titan¡¯s huge skull was supported by two shorter ribs, with its jaw embedded in the ground of the Skeleton Square, looking like it was roaring. It was the entrance and exit of the fortress.

    Shortly after Lin Lipleted the ck Front Fortress, Angno and Connoris alsopleted the transformation of the Death Knights. 12 ck-armored Death Knights that were shrouded in immense death aura had already be silver-armored knights that were emitting pure holy aura. However, the 12 Death Knights did not be the first residents of the ck Front Fortress. Instead, Lin Li sent them to the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains, and ordered them to kill as many Undead creatures as they could and devour more soul fire while waiting for the Retribution Knight to summon the other Death Knights.

    Although the ck Front Fortress was built for the Death Knights, the Lich Ujfalusi, his Humerus Wyrm, the Vampire Norfeller, and Lin Li¡¯s Crimson Dragon were the first ones to live in it. For the Undead creatures, the enhancement effect of the ck Front Fortress was not inferior to the Psychic Array¡¯s, except the Sky Castle of course...

    After adding the crystal coffin, the Eternal Furnace took shape, and although it could not be consideredplete, it onlycked some details. Lin Li could gradually improve it with his own strength. The Titan skeleton was used to build the ck Front Fortress, which also gave Lin Li and his Death Knights a ce to advance rapidly and safely. On the other hand, the 12 Death Knights that were transformed into Divine Death Knights using the crystal coffin had their strength more than doubled. The gains that Lin Li had risked his life to obtain had all be a great help to him and the Tower of Dusk.

    The only thing that made Lin Li feel regretful and helpless was that the Stars of Fury, which he¡¯d once thought was with Osric, was still missing. He had no idea what Osric had done before entering the crystal coffin alone, for there were no clues in the memory of the perfect body. Lin Li had no idea if the memories had been sealed or Connoris¡¯ fusion was still insufficient.

    However, despite the regret, Lin Li did not mull over it excessively. After hepleted the ck Front Fortress, he focused most of his energy on studying the debris of the stars Nothingness, and got some enlightenment about the nomological power of spacetime. After all, even if he had obtained the Stars of Fury, there was no way for him to exert all of his level-24 power, and his understanding of the power in the debris of the stars was the most important.

    It was not just a hunch that Lin Li had. Instead, he was confident that after he obtained the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he would be stepping into the Sanctuary-realm. He already had five pieces of the debris of the stars at the moment, namely Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, Rebirth, Thunderbolt, and Nothingness. Every piece of the debris of the stars contained nomological power that was equivalent to extremely great wealth. As for Pr Snow and Raging mes, they became easily attainable because of therge order from the Fn Kingdom.

    In Anril today, even 2000 Master-level potions would only be considered advanced potions to Lin Li¡¯s Tower of Dusk. Although it was impossible to stop all other pharmacy business and put in all their efforts and energy into preparing the 2000 potions, the pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk were fortunately capable of formting potions of a certain level on their own. Since it was a task where contribution points were awarded, the mages who had knowledge of potions were also willing to spend their spare time on this task. Hence, it was only a matter of time before the potions werepleted.

    After exploring the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li had ample time on his hands. Apart from waiting for the Dragon Crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons and going to the underground pce of the Dragon Mountain, there was nothing else on his agenda. Hence, in addition to reading the Book of Eternity and studying the debris of the stars, Lin Li used the rest of his time to study other things, such as the Viper¡¯s poison that had been troubling the Brilliance Shrine for numerous years.

    When Lin Li was appointed as the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, he received a hefty gift from the Brilliance Shrine, and that was the Magic Summoning Lamp, in which the Lord of Nightmares was sealed. Themp was of great help to Lin Liter on, and it helped him obtain the Humerus Wyrm, defeat the elven mage Vidas, and ovee various ordeals. Hence, Lin Li could never forget the agreement he had with the Brilliance Shrine.

    When making that agreement, there was no problem with Lin Li¡¯s level of pharmacy. However, the Viper¡¯s poison was highly toxic, after all, and could not be dispelled with just a potion. There were other issues that needed to be specifically considered. Therefore, Lin Li was not entirely confident at that time, and it was impossible for the Brilliance Shrine to allow their pope to be the subject of Lin Li¡¯s experiments.

    Fortunately, the elves and the Moonsaber Panther in the Haiga Mountain Range gave Lin Li a chance to verify his theory, even though they were only poisoned by a descendant of the Viper. Lin Li was now 90% confident in curing the Viper¡¯s poison in the pope¡¯s body. With time and confidence, Lin Li decided to put this matter on the agenda.

    The biggest characteristics of Viper¡¯s poison were its ability to stay concealed and its rapid devouring of vitality. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t cured the elves in time, they would have had their vitality depleted within a few days. Even the holy beast of the elves, the Moonsaber Panther, could not resist the invasion of Viper¡¯s poison, even though it had a long life and the Viper that bit it was only a descendant of the real Viper.

    Back when he was giving the elves the antidote, the main problem was actually the concealment of highly toxic substances, and the actual detoxification was rather easy. However, the pope of the Brilliance Shrine was infected with the real Viper¡¯s poison; hence, Lin Li couldn¡¯t use the same low-level potion that he gave to the elves back then.

    At the same time, in order to attract the actual Viper¡¯s poison, the vitality stimnts that Lin Li had were not enough; hence, he had to concoct a potion that would greatly enhance vitality. In order to ensure it was foolproof, Lin Li chose to use a Guru-level potion, Gift of The Earth Goddess, which would allow an ordinary person to live for 1,000 years. The massive vitality would also attract the Viper¡¯s poison for sure. Thanks to the studying he had done during this period of time, Lin Li had an understanding of the nomological power of the debris of the stars, Rebirth. Otherwise, even if he was already a pharmaceutics Guru, he would still have a hard time formting the Gift of The Earth Goddess potion.

    Even now, formting the Gift of The Earth Goddess was still a big challenge for Lin Li. He spent 10 days preparing, processing, and extracting the essence of various precious medicinal materials, and then spent three more days to analyze the steps he took to prepare. After all, it was a Master-level potion, and every medicinal herb used was extremely precious. Every failed attempt would bring losses, and some of the herbs could not be replenished within a short period of time at all.

    Most of the pharmacists led by Wilkinson had reached the Master-level, which could be considered the pinnacle of pharmaceutics in Anril. Hence, there would inevitably be some pharmacists who had becent, and thought that there was nothing else for them to learn in pharmaceutics.

    However, the preparation of the Gift of The Earth Goddess made all of them realize that a Master of pharmaceutics was merely the beginning of bing a good pharmacist. The medicinal principles and techniques involved in the preparation made those who were proud, conceited, and satisfied with what they had learned feel ashamed.

    After formting the potion, Lin Li answered the endless questions posed by the pharmacists while considering when to go to the Brilliance Shrine to fulfill the agreement. After all, the Brilliance Shrine was located in the Ledin Kingdom, which was still quite far away from the Tower of Dusk, and curing Pope Rosario was far beyond just giving him the potion. Lin Li still had to consider his condition; hence, Lin Li had no idea how much time he would need to spend in the Brilliance Shrine. It might be more than 10 days, or a month or two.

    However, what Lin Li did not expect was that the people from the Brilliance Shrine had alreadye knocking on his door before he finished nning his visit. The visitor was none other than Bishop Martin, whom Lin Li had met before during his inauguration ceremony. However, at that time, Englos and Martin hurriedly returned to the Brilliance Shrine halfway through the ceremony for some reason, and thus Lin Li didn¡¯t get to speak to him much.

    This time, Bishop Martin came alone, and looked like a servant who had rushed there straight from the Brilliance Shrine. There was worry and anxiety written all over his face.

    ¡°President Felic, I heard that some elves had been poisoned by a descendant of the Viper in the Haiga Mountain Range and you managed to cure them. Is that true?¡± Bishop Martin asked eagerly as soon as he saw Lin Li. After seeing Lin Li nod, his anxiety seemed to have dissipated as he immediately requested to speak to Lin Li in private.

    Lin Li knew that Bishop Martin wanted to talk about the original agreement. After all, the poison in Rosario¡¯s body was indeed rted to the survival of the Brilliance Shrine. Even in the Brilliance Shrine, only a few people knew about it. Hence, after taking Bishop Martin to the reception room, Lin Li told the rest outside not to disturb them. He then finally asked about the specific condition that Pope Rosario was in.

 Chapter 760 - Brilliance Shrine

    <h4>Chapter 760: Brilliance Shrine</h4>

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, could there be any changes in the Viper¡¯s poison ording to religion?¡± Lin Li asked. He had heard from Englos that the Viper¡¯s poison in Pope Rosario was injected into his body during the trip to the Sunset Mountains with the Supreme Council. Throughout the years, Pope Rosario had been trying to suppress it with his own body. However, Lin Li was well aware that the Viper¡¯s poison could be considered the most insidious and deadly poison in the world. Although it could be suppressed by the host¡¯s body, the root of the poison would not be eradicated. The stronger the Viper¡¯s poison, the greater the damage to the body of the poisoned person. Over time, the toxins would umte, and the viper¡¯s poison would explode again. By then, even a real deity would not be able to save the person.

    However, Archbishop Martin shook his head anxiously, and said, ¡°His Holiness Rosario did suffer a rpse a while ago, and although it has already been suppressed, His Holiness has a hunch that he may not be able to make it through the next rpse.¡±

    In fact, several archbishops who knew about this matter already felt rather hopeless. Even Englos, who had been feeling hopeful about Lin Li¡¯s pharmaceutical skills, didn¡¯t think that Lin Li could reach the Guru-level and have the ability to resolve the Viper¡¯s poison. They only saw a new glimmer of hope when they heard the news of Lin Li having given the poisoned elves an antidote for the Viper¡¯s poison in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    Upon hearing this, Lin Li could not help but feel a sense of relief because at least there was still some hope for Rosario¡¯s recovery. Otherwise, he might never get to return the favor that he owed the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°President Felic, I also know that the Viper¡¯s poison that was in the elves¡¯ bodies is very different from the poison in His Holiness¡¯s body. I¡¯m afraid the hunch that His Holiness has had is true, and the rpse should be happening soon. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s convenient for you to go to the Brilliance Shrine now. Even if you can only reduce and weaken the toxin, that¡¯ll be great too,¡± Archbishop Martin said worriedly. Although he had been in the Legendary-realm for many years, and was also a person of high status, the matter concerned the safety of the pope and the existence of the Brilliance Shrine. Thus, he could not hide his worry.

    The Brilliance Shrine was born at the end of the Dark Age, and during that chaotic era where there were raging wars, everyone had to rely on faith to keep surviving. They had to push themselves to live on by relying on the hope that light had given to them. The doctrine of the Holy Light had soon spread throughout Anril.

    Throughout the past 1300-something years, there had been countless believers of the Holy Light in all human kingdoms other than Fn Kingdom. Be it the rich, the poor, the aristocrats, the royals, the civilians, the affluent businessmen, or the poor farmers who were struggling to survive, all of them regarded the Holy Light as their religious faith, and they would follow the guidance of the popes, spreading their faith to every part of the world.

    In Anril now, only the Supreme Council that was created by the Mage Geresco had the power to resist the Brilliance Shrine, but that happened only after the inexplicable decline of the Darkness Shrine. Even in terms of secr power, the Brilliance Shrine was definitely superior to the Supreme Council. Except for the Fn Kingdom, almost all kings of the human kingdoms would have to be crowned by the pope of the Brilliance Shrine before they could ascend the throne and be recognized by the people.

    Pope Rosario, who was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, was the legendary incarnation of the Holy Light who had ascended the throne of the pope at the age of 30. The neighbors of Ledin Kingdom, including the stubborn Fn Kingdom, had all established numerous churches of various sizes during his reign. That was a formidable feat that none of the previous popes could achieve. To the believers of the Brilliance Shrine, Pope Rosario was the embodiment of the Holy Light, especially in the sacred Ledin Kingdom. His words were just like the will of the Holy Light. Compared to him, the king was insignificant, and the pope¡¯s approval was required for all decisions.

    That was also an important reason why Pope Rosario had been able to keep the news of his poisoning under wraps for so many years. If the news of Rosario¡¯s poisoning were to spread, then there would definitely be an uproar in the Brilliance Shrine.

    Lin Li touched his chin, looked at Archbishop Martin, and said, ¡°Actually, before you arrived, I¡¯ve already prepared the antidote for the Viper¡¯s poison. I¡¯m just worried if there had been other changes in the Viper¡¯s poison over the years. I also have to consider the physical condition of His Holiness. Please tell me more about the symptoms of the Viper¡¯s poison rpse, and I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s anything I have to add.¡±

    Archbishop Martin dide this time because he saw a glimmer of hope, but it was mostly because he felt that Lin Li might have a way to weaken the toxins in order to allow Pope Rosario to endure for a longer time. However, he did not expect that Lin Li had already formted a potion. He was shocked so much that he thought that he was hallucinating.

    Archbishop Martin tried to suppress the excitement in his heart as he shivered uncontrobly. He then asked in disbelief, ¡°You mean, you have prepared a potion that can be the antidote for His Holiness Rosario?¡± At the same time, he was staring at Lin Li intensely for fear that thetter would say something to disappoint him.

    Lin Li nodded and stared at the excited old man before saying, ¡°I¡¯m only 90% confident, the rest will have to depend on how the poison in His Holiness¡¯s body has changed.¡± Using one¡¯s body to suppress the poison was an unprecedented event in the Endless World. Hence, he was rather conservative with his ims, and dared not be 100% sure.

    However, the fact that Lin Li was 90% sure was enough to surprise Archbishop Martin. Archbishop Martin was not clueless about pharmaceutics, and after having understood what Lin Li meant, he immediately suppressed his agitation while trying to recall everything. He slowly began to describe the details of every rpse, and dared not miss out a single detail at all.

    The two discussed for a long time in the reception room. Lin Li finally got to understand some details of Rosario¡¯s condition, which allowed him to be more confident in curing Rosario. Aftering out of the reception room with Archbishop Martin, Lin Li was about to get ready and go to the Brilliance Shrine together with him. However, he noticed that the mage in charge of reception had hurried over.

    ¡°President, there is a person who ims to be a priest of the Dark Temple outside, and he would like to see you. I was afraid of disturbing your conversation, so I told him to wait in the reception room. You...¡± The mage immediately froze when he saw Archbishop Martin, feeling awkward and speechless.

    In the eyes of ordinary people, the perpetual hostility between the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine was caused by the conflicting doctrines and the difference in beliefs. Therefore, once the two sides met, they would definitely be at odds with each other. However, in reality, everything was about interests for both parties. Most people probably would have never guessed that the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine used to be one family known as the Eternal Shrine.

    Hence, Archbishop Martin didn¡¯t say much about the arrival of the people from the Darkness Shrine. Not to mention, they were in the Tower of Dusk, and not the Brilliance Shrine. Even if there was a feud between them, they couldn¡¯t solve it there and then. Hence, Archbishop Martin simply smiled at the mage, and turned around to tell Lin Li that he could wait a few days.

    Lin Li had learned about the rtionship between the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine from Sendros a long time ago. Hence, he was naturally not surprised by the reaction of Archbishop Martin. He could more or less guess the reason the person from the Darkness Shrine came. Back in the ckstone Mountains, Sendros had said that Lin Li should definitely visit the Darkness Shrine if he had the time. Since he only had to worry about the development of the Tower of Dusk and his future expeditions, he did have some spare time now.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m Jyker from the Darkness Shrine, and I¡¯m here to visit you on the order of the High Priest Sendros. I¡¯d like to invite you...¡± Upon sight of Lin Li, Jyker immediately stood up and eagerly expressed his purpose of visit. However, when he was halfway through his exnation, he saw the Archbishop Martin, and immediately tensed up.

    Jyker still had no idea of the real rtionship between the Darkness Shrine and the Brilliance Shrine. He only knew that the two parties would definitely get into a fight whenever they met. However, Jyker could tell from the emblem on Martin¡¯s robe that he was an archbishop. One was a priest, while the other was an archbishop. There was a huge difference in identity, status, and strength.

    In the institutional hierarchy of the Brilliance Shrine, Pope Rosario was at the top, and below him were four archbishops, including Englos and Martin. The Judge of Heresy and the Holy Pdins were the two most powerful forces that answered solely to Pope Rosario. They were not inferior to the archbishops in terms of status, and below them were cardinals responsible for the churches. They were just like governors of provinces.

    Under the cardinals were the bishops, who were in charge of all churches and presided over all the affairs of the church. The bishops usually had a certain number of priests and pastors under them. The priests were preaching the doctrine and taking in new believers, while the pastors were often responsible for the treatment of the believers or guarding the church.

 Chapter 761 - The Holy Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 761: The Holy Kingdom</h4>

    Of course, there would be chapels in some smaller ces like towns and viges, which were generally managed by priests.

    Generally speaking, as long as one performed his job well, he¡¯d be promoted ordingly. However, in the Brilliance Shrine, it was impossible for an individual to be ipetent. No matter how well a priest did, he¡¯d never be promoted beyond the level of a bishop if his abilities could not reach the mark. In fact, he might forever remain a priest in a chapel.

    This might seem unreasonable, but it was rather fair in the Brilliance Shrine because the way that the religious professions enhanced their strength was different from others before reaching the Legendary-level. There was no need for them to meditate and umte mana or train their body to a certain level. They simply had to believe in their faith firmly, and their power would increase steadily.

    Hence, in the Brilliance Shrine, strength and status were considerably rted more often than not. Pope Rosario was a powerhouse of a Sanctuary-realm, and that was a fact that everyone in Anril knew about. No one dared to question the faith of the Pope. The four archbishops were all around level-23 and level-24, and were near the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Court of Heresy and the Holy Pdins were the strongest forces under Pope Rosario. Among them, there were also a few Legendary powerhouses. The strength of the Judge of Heresy and the Holy Pdins was not weaker than the four archbishops¡¯. A cardinal was also in charge of the great parish, and if he weren¡¯t of a certain level, he wouldn¡¯t be able to convince the people to acknowledge him. Even the bishops of the cathedrals in each city had to have at least level-15 strength in order to exhibit the greatness and sacredness of the Holy Light to the believers.

    Jyker was just an ordinary priest of the Darkness Shrine, and if he were in the Brilliance Shrine, he would be considered to be on the level of a bishop. In terms of strength, he had also just reached level-16, and he seemed to be extremely far away from the Legendary-level. Hence, he couldn¡¯t bepared to Archbishop Martin at all.

    Seeing that the person who came from the Darkness Shrine was not Sendros, Archbishop lost interest, and instead bade goodbye to Lin Li and asked another mage to take him around the Tower of Dusk.

    After Archbishop Martin left, Lin Li motioned for Jyker to take a seat. He then asked, ¡°Why did Master Sendros send you?¡±

    Jyker¡¯s face eased up a little, and he finally remembered that he hadn¡¯t finished speaking just now. Hence, he frantically and apologetically said, ¡°President Felic, the High Priest can¡¯t make it here, because he¡¯s tied up with something, so he has sent me to invite you back with me to the Darkness Shrine as soon as possible. However, he didn¡¯t mention any reason, and he simply told me that it¡¯s something very important.¡±

    ¡°Something very important?¡± Lin Li could not help but secretly contemte. Although he didn¡¯t have much contact with Sendros, thetter had indeed helped him a lot. The design sketch of the ck Front Fortress was given to him by Sendros, who also gave him the precious Heart of the Fallen, which allowed his Humerus Wyrm to obtain sentience. Hence, he couldn¡¯t turn down Sendros, especially since it was something important.

    However, the messenger Jyker did not mention explicitly how important the matter was; hence, there was no way for Lin Li to deduce it. If he were to go to the Darkness Shrine, it would take him just three to five days, or 10 in total. He was confident of rushing to the Brilliance Shrine in time to give Rosario the antidote. However, if it were like exploring the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, it would take him about two to six months, which was too long for Rosario. If Rosario were to suffer another rpse, even a deity wouldn¡¯t be able to save him.

    After weighing the pros and cons again and again, Lin Li decided to go to the Brilliance Shrine first. After all, he still had a rough idea of how long it would take him. As for the Darkness Shrine, Sendros didn¡¯t tell him in detail what the important thing was, nor did he mention any deadlines. Hence, Lin Li reckoned that it shouldn¡¯t be too urgent. Otherwise, the Darkness Shrine wouldn¡¯t have sent just a level-16 priest. After all, a Legendary-mage would¡¯ve been able to arrive faster by flight.

    Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to apologetically say to Jyker, ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that Archbishop Martin has alsoe to invite me to the Brilliance Shrine to save someone¡¯s life. Hence, I can¡¯t dy it. Please tell Master Sendros that i¡¯ll rush to the Darkness Shrine immediately after I¡¯m done handling the matter at the Brilliance Shrine.¡±

    Of course, Lin Li couldn¡¯t say that he was going to give Rosario an antidote. However, Sendros also knew about it. When he heard that Lin Li was going to the Brilliance Shrine to save a life, he¡¯d definitely think of the poison in Rosario¡¯s body.

    ¡°Well...¡± When Jyker saw the Archbishop Martin, he actually had a hunch that his task might not bepleted. If it had been someone else, he would have long red up and hit them. Although the Darkness Shrine was now down and out, they were still one of the three most powerful forces of Anril. However, he had not forgotten that the High Priest Sendros had already warned him not to be rude to Lin Li.

    Jyker really couldn¡¯t understand why Sendros respected Lin Li so greatly. Even though he might be young and talented, and had already be a President at a young age, that didn¡¯t warrant such serious treatment from Sendros. He thought, <i>Archbishop Martin from the Brilliance Shrine actually looked for him too. Who is this Felic exactly?</i>

    Seeing that Lin Li had already made up his mind, Jyker felt that there was nothing much he could say. After all, his task was to invite Lin Li over to the Darkness Shrine, and not kidnap him. Hence, he had no choice but to inform Lin Li of the route that he could take to the Darkness Shrine before getting up to leave while pondering anxiously how he should answer to the great priest.

    After Lin Li sent away Jyker away, he exined to Gavin what he should do after he left. Apart from the formtion of the 2000 potions, he also wanted Angno to provide the materials for making the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossus.

    Angno was a true Guru-level alchemist, and even specialized in making alchemy machines. Coupled with the knowledge learned from Osric¡¯s journal, he was definitely at the pinnacle. Although Lin Li was also an alchemist, he was an orthodox one, and mainly specialized in the field of Alchemy Arrays. In terms of making Alchemy Colossus, he couldn¡¯tpare to Angno at all.

    Although Angno was originally the type to take advantage as much as he could, he was rather afraid of Lin Li¡¯s brutal means. Besides, he was also grateful to Lin Li for giving him the opportunity to read Osric¡¯s journal. Thirdly, he also couldn¡¯t bear to give up Bk¡¯s magical crystal that Lin Li had promised to give him. Hence, he willingly stayed in the Tower of Dusk to help. After turning the 12 Death Knights into Holy Death Knights, he began to make Alchemy Colossuses and alchemy puppets.

    The most important thing was still theck of weapons above the Eternal Furnace. Lin Li did not obtain all 12 Magic Lamps, and thus could only use simple and efficient Magical Crystal Cannons to make up for it. Compared to the magical weapons created by Osric, Magical Crystal Cannons were rather simple, and the highlypressed mana from cannons indeed contained great power. If Lin Li could install hundreds of Magical Crystal Cannons on the Eternal Furnace, even the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm would probably have to retreat in hopelessness.

    Hence, another part of Lin Li¡¯s instructions was to get Gavin to continue sending people to the Dwarf Kingdom to purchase Magical Crystal Cannons without limit. Although the Tower of Dusk currently had 30 Magical Crystal Cannons, Lin Li felt that there wasn¡¯t enough, especially since he had seen the hundreds of magical Crystal Cannons in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Of course, although Lin Li asked for an unlimited amount of Crystal Cannons, it would be difficult for the Dwarf Kingdom to fulfill the order within a short time given their manufacturing capacity.

    After Lin Li arranged everything, Archbishop Martin had also finished exploring the Tower of Dusk. Without any further discussion, the two immediately set off for the Brilliance Shrine. Lin Li did not bring anyone with him, since he was just going to give Pope Rosario the antidote, and not embarking on a dangerous expedition. Besides, most of his servants were Undead creatures, and even if Pope Rosario didn¡¯t mind them, the strong Holy aura was bad for them. Meanwhile, if Lin Li really dared to take the 12 Holy Death Knights with him to the Brilliance Shrine, it would be a huge insult to them, and even Rosario would be infuriated.

    The Ledin Kingdom was known as the Holy Kingdom of the Holy Light. From the royals to the lowly civilians, most of the people were loyal faithful of the Brilliance Shrine. There were countless churches in Ledin Kingdom, and even in a small vige with only a dozen households there would definitely be a church that was taller and cleaner than the surrounding buildings. The holy professions were the most respected ones in the nation, and no noble would dare to offend even the priest of a small church in a small vige.

    Located in the heart of the Ledin Kingdom near the capital, Dno City, which was also known as City of Dawn, was the holy ground to the believers in Anril. Although it was only a few hundred square kilometers in size, and did not seem to be a prosperous city, it was a true country within a country. In the hearts of the believers, it was the true center of true center of Anril.

    The city of Dno was built on a mountain, and the tall, majestic stone walls that were clean and wless made the city seem like it was emitting holy rays of light every single moment. In the middle of Dno City, there was an ordinary-looking mountain; it was not steep, and simr ones were rathermonly found in Anril.

 Chapter 762 - Poisoned By Highly Toxic Poison

    <h4>Chapter 762: Poisoned By Highly Toxic Poison</h4>

    However, in the hearts of the believers of the Holy Light, the mountain was on a pedestal because the entire Ledin Kingdom was built on the mountain, together with the most solemn and sacred church in Anril, the Church of Dawn.

    Although the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom bordered each other, and the Breezy ins was situated along their borders, the journey from the Tower of Dusk to Dno City was rather long. Fortunately, Lin Li and Archbishop Martin were both experienced Legendary powerhouses. Hence, they flew continuously and managed to see the white sacred city within less than a day.

    ¡°President Felic, that¡¯s the sacred city Dno. I¡¯m sorry that no one can receive us, because this matter has to be kept confidential,¡± said Archbishop Martin, who had been appearing rather apologetic ever since he left the Tower of Dusk with Lin Li. After all, he was asking Lin Li for help, yet his invitation seemed tock sincerity. Now that they were in Dno City, there was no one to receive them or greet Lin Li, thus making Martin look even more apologetic. If it weren¡¯t for the issue of confidentiality, it would be no exaggeration to make all the Holy Pdins escort them to the Dawn Cathedral.

    However, Lin Li did not care about this. Instead, he smilingly said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, you¡¯re reading too much into this. I know what this means to the Brilliance Shrine. It just so happens that I don¡¯t like those troublesome formalities, either. We¡¯d better hurry up and save His Holiness.¡± Although Lin Li was a figure of status in Anril now, he wasn¡¯t too particr about the formalities and etiquette. He felt that true respect was not reflected by how solemn the formalities were.

    There were some people who were there to receive them, actually. Lin Li and Archbishop Martin slowlynded in the square at the foot of the mountain to see that there was a female Pdin with blond hair and dressed in silver armor standing in front of the long steps leading to the Dawn Cathedral. She appeared rather solemn, and when she saw the two of them, she immediately rushed forward to greet them. She first saluted Archbishop Martin before looking at Lin Li with a slightlyplicated look. ¡°Hello, Mage Felic.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Miss Rina, we haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time,¡± Lin Li said with a smile. The blonde female Pdin was the same one he¡¯d met back in the Breezy ins. She was the only Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine.

    Although Lin Li had had a conflict with Pdin Rina during the banquet in the Casten Mansion of Rnd City because he¡¯d been apanied by his Vampire servant Norfeller, the two of them fought side by side in the Scar of Death. Although Rina didn¡¯t approve of the way Lin Li handled things, she no longer tried to purify him every now and then like she used to in the beginning.

    It was a good choice for Rina to receive them. Although she would attract plenty of attention everywhere she went because of her identity as a Judge Pdin and her outstanding appearance, no one would think of the pope; at the same time, it wouldn¡¯t seem disrespectful towards Lin Li.

    Archbishop Martin went the extra mile to inform the pope and other insiders about the arrival of Lin Li to prepare for the detoxification process. After all, it was a ce that was considered sacred in the hearts of all believers of the Holy Light. If it did not concern the existence of Holy Light, no one would be allowed to fly there freely regardless of their status. Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to slowly walk along the long stairs and make his way to the Dawn Cathedral at the peak of the mountain under Rina¡¯s lead.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t hold it against her, since he had already arrived at the Brilliance Shrine, and Pope Rosario had also suppressed the toxins within his body. Hence, thetter didn¡¯t require the antidote immediately. Not to mention, Lin Li was enjoying thepany of a beautiful woman, and thus climbing the stairs while enjoying the scenery was also a rare luxury that he rarely could enjoy.

    However, as Rina walked all the way to the peak of the mountain, Lin Li also realized that there seemed to be lots of people staring at them while he was enjoying the surrounding scenery. Of course, they were all looking at him with awe, admiration, jealousy, and envy.

    Lin Li nced at Rina who was beside him. She was the proud disciple of Archbishop Englos and the only Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine. While possessing incredible status and strength, she was also a rare beauty. Lin Li obviously understood the reason for those nces that were being shot at him. Clearly, this Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine was the lover of everyone¡¯s dreams, and her admirers would obviously be jealous to see her walking up the mountain with a stranger mage, even if they were believers of the Holy Light who had strong faith in their religion.

    Finally, under the leadership of Rina, Lin Li arrived at the door of the Dawn Cathedral on top of the mountain. The majestic and solemn Dawn Cathedral, which was also the holy ground in the eyes of all the believers of Holy Light, was exuding an intense holy aura that seemed to be able to purify all evil and filth of the world.

    In the small square in front of the Dawn Cathedral, Archbishop Martin and Archbishop Englos were waiting together with a few higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine whom Lin Li had never met before. That was where Pope Rosario lived, and apart from a few archbishops and some higher-ups, no one could really go there. Hence, there was no need to be worried about arousing suspicion.

    ¡°Master Felic, I didn¡¯t expect you to arrive so soon. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t go down to receive you,¡± Englos greeted with a smile. Although he was much older than Lin Li, he was extremely in awe of and respectful towards Lin Li due to thetter¡¯s attainments in pharmaceutics.

    Englos was an archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine was second only to the pope, and yet he actually addressed Lin Li as ¡°master¡±. If there had been anyone else around, they would have definitely thought that either they had gone mad and heard wrongly or that Englos had gone crazy. However, at this moment, neither Archbishop Martin nor Rina who brought Lin Li there felt that there was anything wrong with it.

    If it had been in the past, Rina would¡¯ve probably found it hard to understand because of the huge difference in age, status, and strength. Why did her teacher have to be so polite to a young mage? However, her mindset was different now. Although she had yet to step into the Legendary-realm, she felt that Lin Li¡¯s aura was not inferior to that of her teacher Englos. Regardless of his knowledge in pharmaceutics, she felt that Lin Li definitely deserved to be addressed as a master because of his personal abilities.

    Englos introduced Lin Li to several other big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, namely the Chief Judge Fergor, the head of the Pdins, Hollisas, the Archbishop Domingo, and a few cardinals. They were all aware of Pope Rosario¡¯s poisoning, and thus they could not hide their anxiety at all. Even though they had already met Lin Li who imed to be able to get rid of the poison, they did not feel any less worried.

    After a few simple conversations, Lin Li followed the crowd into the Dawn Cathedral, and arrived in front of Pope Rosario¡¯s room with them. Some of them stopped in their tracks, while Lin Li was ushered in by Englos.

    It was slightly different from what Lin Li had imagined. At this moment, Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine didn¡¯t seem as feeble as the sick did, even though he had just suffered a huge rpse. Instead, his face was rather rosy, and he seemed just like a kind old man in his fifties.

    ¡°Your Holiness, this is the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, Master Felic,¡± Englos introduced after saluting respectfully.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Rosario nced at Lin Li gently, and there was a tinge of admiration in his indifferent gaze. He then nodded slightly, and said, ¡°Mage Felic, you¡¯re really a young and promising talent. It¡¯s no wonder that the Tower of Dusk has managed to develop so rapidly. Englos is in awe of your attainments in pharmaceutics, and he hopes that you will dissolve the Viper¡¯s poison in my body. If you have any requests, feel free to let me know.¡±

    Although Rosario was the pope of the Brilliance Shrine, and held a high status that no one in Anril could rival, he didn¡¯t seem to be putting on any airs when speaking to Lin Li at this moment, and his words were also simple and straightforward as if he were just having a casual chat with his junior. He didn¡¯t beat around the bush like most higher-ups did, either.

    Rosario¡¯s attitude made Lin Li feel good about him. After all, this matter was an agreement that they had made previously, and neither of them was requesting a favor from the other party. Regardless of their attitude, the agreement would definitely be fulfilled. Besides, no matter how high Lin Li was standing, the Brilliance Shrine was still a massive entity that Lin Li looked up to, and it would be normal for them to even be arrogant. Since he was just fulfilling an agreement, he wouldn¡¯t hold it against them, either.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Your Holiness, please rest assured that I am certain about this since I¡¯ve gained some experience in the Haiga Mountain Range. However, for safety reasons, I also need to know some details from you. That would make it easier for me to make a more urate judgment when giving you the antidote.¡± As Rosario¡¯s attitude left Lin Li with no intentions to reap any benefits, he simply expressed his confidence.

    After making some detailed inquiries, Lin Li also had a clearer understanding of Rosario¡¯s physical condition and the Viper¡¯s poison that had been in his body for so many years. The Viper¡¯s poison was rather cunning, and if the antidote failed this time, Lin Li would probably no longer be able toe up with other effective antidotes. Hence, for the sake of making sure that there were no mistakes, Lin Li did not immediately start the detoxification, and instead told Rosario and Englos that he needed more time toe up with a perfect n.

    After all, Lin Li and Archbishop Martin had flown all the way there without stopping to take a break. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t exhausted at all with his current power, and he didn¡¯t need to draft any ns at all, Rosario definitely wouldn¡¯t let him start the detoxification immediately out of courtesy. Anyway, the poison had already been bothering him for numerous years, and he couldn¡¯t care about waiting one or two more days. Hence, after finishing the conversation, he asked Englos to take Lin Li to the resting area.

    As soon as Lin Li and Englos walked out of the room, the big shots of the Brilliance Shrine waiting outside immediately surrounded them. In the Brilliance Shrine, Pope Rosario was put on a pedestal, and if anything were to happen to him, it would be akin to the copse of the Brilliance Shrine. Although they did not directly ask if Lin Li could make the cut or not, it was obvious that that was what they meant as their intentions showed in their gazes.

    ¡°Okay, everyone, stop crowding around. Master Felic still needs to formte a specific n for the detoxification process. His Holiness has told me to arrange for Master Felic to get some rest. What are you guys doing by blocking the way here?¡± said Englos who was feeling extremely agitated, though he remainedposed on the surface.

    Although Englos did not explicitly mention if Lin Li could make the cut, the fact that thetter was going to draw up a n for detoxification meant that there was still some hope. When everyone heard his words, there was immense joy on their faces, but of course, they also felt rather worried. After all, the safety of the pope was extremely important for the Brilliance Shrine, and they couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistakes.

    Lin Li followed Englos to the resting room, which was not in the Dawn Cathedral, but in a building located below near the cathedral. It was allegedly the ce where the king of the Ledin Kingdom stayed when he came to see the pope. Although Englos wanted to ask Lin Li for some pointers about pharmaceutics, he knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to do so now. Hence, he left after arranging everything.

    Rest was optional for Lin Li. Although he had used his Power of Flight to fly all the way here, the depletion of energy was nothing to a Legendary-mage like him. Hence, after Lin Li sent Englos back to the room, he immediately began to think of the n to give the pope the antidote. He didn¡¯t want to spend too much time there, and wanted to fulfill the agreement as soon as possible so that he could go to the Darkness Shrine sooner. He knew that although the messenger Jyker didn¡¯t mention in detail what the matter was, it was definitely important because Jyker said so.

    When he asked Rosario about the details, Lin Li had in fact already formed a n in his head, but he felt that he had to perfect it before execution. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the first thing he had to do was to let Rosario nurse his body¡ªnot back to health, but make it worse through some means.

    Rosario¡¯s biggest problem now was that his physical state was too good for the detoxification. After all, he was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, and his body did not break down much even though he had been tortured by the Viper¡¯s poison for so many years. That could also be because of his Sanctuary power.

 763 Detoxification

    763 Detoxification If it had been another type of toxin, it would probably have beenpletely eliminated by such a strong body, but for the Viper''s poison, a good body didn''t seem to be a good thing, because it would only make the Viper''s poison be more obscure and cautious. Hence, it would be less likely to take the bait.

    It was just like during a war between two armies: it would naturally be impossible for the weaker party to fight head-on with the stronger party. If the stronger party threw a bait and tried to lure the weaker party, thetter would definitely be extremely cautious when facing the bait. Therefore, the first thing to do would be to pretend to be weak so as to make the enemy think that you were about as strong as them. Otherwise, the only option left would be to wait for the weaker party to continue umting power in the dark until there was a reversal in strength disparity of both parties.

    Hence, the first step of the detoxification n would be to show the Viper''s poison the pope''s weakness by genuinely weakening his body. Anyway, the antidote used in the end would be Lin Li''s targeted detoxification potion, and not Rosario''s own power and body. However, making Rosario''s health debilitate was also a significant issue to consider. Rosario was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm who was resistant to ordinary toxins and curses.

    "Blood Of The Hellhound''s Heart, Bloodstained Grass, Crow''s Tongue, Flower of Resentment¡­" Englos muttered, unable to believe his eyes when he saw the list from Lin Li. Every ingredient on the list was filthy and evil. Although there were plenty of precious herbs in the treasure vault of the Brilliance Shrine, they did not have any of those filthy herbs, and based on the names alone, Englos could tell that they were disgusting ingredients that did not seem to be meant for antidotes.

    "I''m going to formte a Demonic Curse Potion," Lin Li said calmly.

    "What!?" Englos'' hands trembled, and he almost threw the entire list onto the ground. He raised his head to look at Lin Li before asking, "Master Felic, are these¡­ used for His Holiness''s detoxification?"

    Englos was the best pharmaceutics Master in the entire Ledin Kingdom and Brilliance Shrine. Although he wouldn''t prepare those evil and filthy poisons, he had sufficiently profound knowledge in pharmaceutics to know that the Demonic Curse was a deadly poison. He knew that it was probably not inferior to the Viper''s poison in Pope Rosario''s body.

    "Yes, I need to use this Demonic Curse to weaken His Holiness''s body quickly so that I can get rid of the poison easily," said Lin Li, who felt rather helpless. He had yet to begin the treatment, yet he already had to give Pope Rosario some poison. Had he not known the nature of the Viper''s poison, he would probably not have believed in this method. The main effects of the Demonic Curse were to weaken the user''s body and make their body functions decline rapidly. Once the body was about to decay, the power in their body would naturally decline. That was exactly what Lin Li wanted.

    ''Well¡­ Master Felic, it''s not that I don''t believe you, it''s just that it''s not up to me to decide this on my own. If you don''t mind, could you please exin it to me in detail?" Englos knew that Lin Li definitely wasn''t out to poison the pope, but him believing Lin Li wasn''t sufficient, and Lin Li had to earn the trust of others.

    Lin Li did not intend to hide his n; hence, he immediately told Englos everything he nned to do. He knew that if he couldn''t even persuade Englos who had a deep knowledge of pharmaceutics, he probably wouldn''t be able to convince the rest who did not understand pharmaceutics to let him feed the poison to the pope. Actually, even if it were just a filthy item, and not a deadly poison, they wouldn''t allow Lin Li to feed it to the pope, either.

    "Given the pope''s abilities, it''s definitely a piece of cake for him to deal with the Demonic Curse which is a lethal poison to others. However, to those who have Holy Light, the poison could easily be purified," said Lin Li, who revealed his n without constraint.

    Englos knew that Lin Li was telling the truth. Although the Demonic Curse was deadly and vicious, its greatest weakness was that it could be easily purified by Holy Light. That was definitely a weakness of most curses. However, he still felt ufortable about letting the pope take such a filthy thing.

    Indeed, as Englos predicted, everyone opposed it unanimously when Englos told everyone of that matter. In their opinion, only a healthy body could withstand the torment from the poison, yet they now had to use those filthy things to weaken the pope''s body? This was like in murder to them.

    "I disagree, this is simply murder! Englos, he may be a learned pharmacist who has high standards, but this method of detoxification is unheard of. We can''t gamble with His Holiness''s life. Besides, I''ve also heard that this Mage Felic has Undead creatures for servants. I really doubt his sincerity to give His Holiness an antidote!" Holliard immediately raised his objection while glowering at Lin Li who was beside Englos. He seemed to be all ready to attack once he spotted any w.

    The captain of the Holy Pdins, Holliard, did dabble in pharmaceutics, and his opinion obviously affected those who did not understand pharmacy. The Chief Judge of the Court of Heresy and a few cardinals had also expressed doubts about Lin Li''s ns at this moment. They even asked to verify Lin Li''s identity.

    Besides, the fact that Lin Li always brought his two Undead servants around was obviously an important reason for everyone to hesitate in giving their approval. Although Lin Li did not bring any of his Undead servants with him this time, it was no secret in the Breezy ins. The Breezy ins was not within the control of the Brilliance Shrine; hence, no one would hold it against him for having Undead servants there. However, the fact that a person who was constantly dealing with Undead creatures actually proposed such a dangerous n that seemed to bepletely iprehensible was indeed rather suspicious.

    However, no matter what their opinions were, the final decision stilly with Pope Rosario. After hearing Lin Li''s detailed exnation, Pope Rosario decided to go with it resolutely despite the unanimous opposition of everyone else and hisck of knowledge in pharmaceutics.

    The Brilliance Shrine would never allow those filthy things to exist, and now that Lin Li wanted them to find those items and put them together in a short period of time, it was truly a tall order. Fortunately, the Chief Judge Fergor thought of a way: to directly interrogate Necromancers who had been imprisoned by them and ask for those items. Hence, he managed to get everything within just three days.

    Lin Li stood in front of the operating table and lit up a light blue magical me in the pharmaceutical me before turning it to the maximum again. There would sometimes be magical rays of light and 09:33

    sometimes some charred smokeing from the vessel that contained the potion. As Lin Li''sb that Englos usually used. The Blood Of The Hellhound''s Heart was gradually brought to a boil in the refining vessel, and the horrendous stench of the fumes made everyone feel queasy.

    Archbishop Englos, Archbishop Martin, Holliard, the head of the Holy Pdins, and the Judge Pdin Rina, all of who were interested in pharmaceutics, tried their best to bear with the stench as they watched Lin Li prepare the potion.

    Lin Li constantly added the ingredients into the vessel, and would asionally turn down the magic me before turning it to the maximum again. There would sometimes be magical rays of light and sometimes some charred smokeing from the vessel that contained the potion. As Lin Li''s actions were smooth and fluid, they gradually made everyone forget the stench that wafted up to their noses. He waspletely immersed in the process of preparing the medicine.

    Thud.

    With a dull popping sound, the stench in the pharmaceuticalb suddenly dissipated, and was soon reced by an alluring fragrance that seemed to be the most wonderful scent in the world that made them take a deep breath. However, when they recalled the source of the fragrance, they immediately turned red; no one had expected that the nauseating herbs would give off such a pleasant scent.

    Lin Li carefully poured the magic potion that he had prepared into the potion bottle, after which he picked it up and shook it slightly while cing it against the light source. Through the crystal potion bottle, everyone could see its color radiating with a brilliant and vibrant halo.

    "Indeed, dangerous things are always full of temptations!" Rina eximed, unable to contain her feelings.

    At this moment, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine who were passionate about pharmaceutics were looking at Lin Li with admiration and excitement in their gazes. Although the Demonic Curse was the most evil and filthy poison, it was also a genuine Guru-level potion. After watching the process of Lin Li preparing the potion, they felt that they had learned a lot, and at the same time they also realized how drastic the difference between their own pharmaceutical knowledge and Lin Li''s was. It was no longer just a difference in technique and knowledge, but a difference in realm. At this moment, the young mage Lin Li was just like an idol in the eyes of those several people.

    After receiving the potion, Pope looked at it and felt amazed when he smelled the enticing fragrance. Although he''d agreed to go ahead with Lin Li''s treatment n, Rosario still felt uneasy about downing a potion that contained so many filthy ingredients. However, the potion now looked far from filthy, and if he didn''t think about how it was formted, he wouldn''t find it difficult to ept.

    ording to Lin Li''s exnation, the Demonic Curse potion would make Rosario''s Holy Light be suppressed within his body to allow the Demonic Curse to take effect fully without restrained. Within just two days, Rosario''s image changed greatly as his blond hair became gray and white, and his face turned as pale as a sheet while being covered in wrinkles. His strong body seemed to have shriveled, and he was just like a Lich giving out intense death aura.

    Seeing the physical changes of the pope, everyone tensed up immediately, and they all began asking Lin Li when he would start the detoxification. Frankly speaking, all of them were feeling a little regretful at this moment for not opposing it firmly. Englos and the rest were no longer in the mood to ask Lin Li for some tips in pharmaceutics, and they were instead focusing all of their attention on Pope Rosario. They even wished they could immediately use their Purge Spell to stop the curse from taking a toll on Rosario''s body.

    Finally, when Lin Li arrived before Rosario''s bed again, he sat on the chair next to him and took out two potions instead of leaving. Compared to the colorful Demonic Curse potion, those two were too inconspicuous. One of them was in the form of a green liquid, while the other seemed simr to ck ink.

    "Master Felic, can you begin now?" Englos and the rest looked at Lin Li with hope in their gazes, waiting for Lin Li to answer.

    "Help His Holiness up and let him take this potion first. It''s the Gift of The Earth Goddess and the bait that we''re going to use," Lin Li instructed, motioning for Englos to help Rosario up while his body was decaying. He then walked over with the green potion.

    "The Gift of The Earth Goddess! Isn''t that a Guru-level¡­" Almost everyone could not help but exim and gasp in shock. Although Lin Li had prepared the Guru-level Demonic Curse potion in front of them, they were still astonished by the Gift of The Earth Goddess. There were still differences between different Guru-level potions. To them, the Gift of The Earth Goddess was closer to the Divine Smith level than the Demonic Curse.

    After Lin Li pulled out the cork of the potion bottle, a fresh and natural aura of life filled the room. Everyone felt extremely energized, and it was as if the mere whiff of that scent made their bodies grow stronger greatly.

    In the end, Rosario was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, and although he had allowed the Demonic Curse to wreak havoc in his body for two days, causing his body to turn into a horrible state, he was still somewhat conscious. Even though the Demonic Curse was maniacal and tormented Rosario greatly, he could instantly purify the curse in his body with a mere thought. When he slowly poured the potion into his mouth, he could still swallow the potion without the help of others.

    When he finished the Gift of The Earth Goddess, Rosario''s decaying body immediately exuded a gust of aura of life, but he frowned again soon after. Clearly, the Viper''s poison had finally broken out and exploded within his body.

 Chapter 764 - Undercurrent

    <h4>Chapter 764: Undercurrent</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone could clearly feel that the vitality in his body was continuously flowing out, and it was as if there was a menacing beast that was continuously consuming the vitality in it.

    At this moment, Lin Li grabbed the ink-like potion again, and pulled out the cork of the bottle, after which the nauseating stench filled the room again. The rest even thought that he had taken out the wrong potion, but Lin Li did not hesitate, and simply ced it directly on Rosario¡¯s lips before pouring it slowly into his mouth.

    At this moment, everyone was paying attention to the changes in Pope Rosario nervously. They all knew that if the antidote was not effective, nothing else would be able to suppress the Viper¡¯s poison, and damage would definitely be unavoidable, especially since Rosario¡¯s body was extremely weak now.

    Time passed second after second, and the vitality in Rosario¡¯s body began to weaken. They had no idea when it would disappearpletely. His body was trembling, and he was also frowning, a clear evidence of the pain that he was going through. The battle between the Viper¡¯s poison and the antidote was taking its toll on Rosario¡¯s body without restraint.

    After a long time, Rosario¡¯s breathing finally became more stable and rhythmic. His wrinkly face also gradually turned rosy, and a holy aura emanated from his body, making him emit a faint halo.

    Upon sight of this, Lin Li and the rest finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was obvious that Rosario¡¯s body was recovering quickly. It was no doubt that the poison had already been removed.

    ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m really sorry for being suspicious and doubtful of your n.¡± Unexpectedly, Holliard, the head of the Divine Pdins, apologized with a very sincere expression on his face. Holliard was a powerhouse who had entered the Legendary-realm several years ago. Hence, him apologizing to a young mage in front of everyone was absolutely unimaginable.

    However, after thinking about Holliard¡¯s hobbies, everyone began to realize that Holliard had to be interested in Lin Li¡¯s pharmaceutical knowledge. While apologizing to a young man might be embarrassing, apologizing to a pharmaceutics Guru was very normal for someone who loved pharmaceutics.

    ¡°Head Holliard, I understand that you were just being concerned about the safety of His Holiness,¡± Lin Li said while waving his arms. He had a good impression of Lin Li who preferred pharmacy to forging.

    With his Sanctuary power and the residual power of the Gift of The Earth Goddess, Rosario¡¯s body recovered at a visible rate, and he looked shriveled up like a Lich that was withering. At the same time, he also looked like dry soil that was being moistened with water as his skin began to tighten a little. There was ayer of gold luster on his gray hair, and within just a day¡¯s time, he turned back into a strong older man who looked like he was only in his fifties.

    The elimination of the poison in Pope Rosario¡¯s body was an event worth celebrating for the entire Brilliance Shrine. However, due to the fact that his power had not been restored to the peak, the celebration would have to be postponed. For the rest of the people in the Brilliance Shrine, they would still have to keep the matter a secret. Lin Li wasn¡¯t too bothered by that, because he had already cured Rosario. When he thought about Sendros¡¯ invitation, he got ready to bid Rosario goodbye and leave.

    However, although it was just fulfilling an agreement, it was rather significant to the Brilliance Shrine. How could they just let Lin Li leave like this? Rosario, in particr, suddenly proposed to cooperate with the Tower of Dusk when Lin Li bade him goodbye. Hence, Lin Li had no choice but to consider it for a few days.

    Of course, Rosario¡¯s proposal for a cooperation was not only because he wanted Lin Li to stay behind a while longer, but also because working with a real pharmaceutics Guru would be a great benefit to the Brilliance Shrine. Another reason that was more important was that they had always been searching for the Son of the Holy Light, and ording to various signs, everything seemed to hint at the young mage Lin Li. However, no one dared to jump to conclusions without any concrete evidence. In case of a misunderstanding, the Brilliance Shrine would be the greatestughing stock of Anril.

    Lin Li could totally let his subordinates from the Tower of Dusk, such as Gavin and Beckley, take part in the discussion. What really made Lin Li choose to stay was that Rosario promised to let him read the ssic of the Brilliance Shrine, the Light Bible.

    The first piece of the debris of the stars that Lin Li had obtained was Holy Light, which he had researched the most so far. However, in spite of this, he still had an inadequate understanding of the nomological power of Holy Lightpared to clergy. If Rosario had the debris of the stars Holy Light, he would definitely be able to exert more power than Lin Li who did not have Stars of Fury. Hence, when Lin Li heard Rosario promise to let him read the Light Bible, he decided to seize the opportunity.

    Thus, Lin Li began to get busier in the next few days that he spent in the Brilliance Shrine. Englos and his peers who were interested in pharmaceutics would asionally consult Lin Li about questions that had troubled them for a long time. Holliard, in particr, immediately went to Lin Li and bombarded him with questions while sincerely asking him for tips and guidance. It seemed that he did not find it embarrassing at all to be asking a youngster for advice.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t find it troublesome, either. It was not that they didn¡¯t have any foundation or background in pharmaceutics and needed him to teach them bit by bit. Hence, the questions they asked were often because they hadn¡¯t figured out some of the key points. Moreover, those who could be superiors of the Brilliance Shrine were naturally not fools. Once Lin Li gave them some pointers and prompts, they would be able to understand the issue quickly.

    However, the more rxed Lin Li was in answering, the more unbelievable they found it, especially Holliard whose pharmaceutical knowledge was the worst amongst his peers. He could at most be regarded as an intermediate pharmacist. However, pestering Lin Li for the past few days gave him shocking gains because he actually managed to formte an advanced potion after just a few tries.

    That made Holliard surprised, and at the same time, he began to admire Lin Li greatly. He even wanted to find an excuse to leave with Lin Li and stay at the Tower of Dusk for a period of time. At his current rate of progress, he believed that he would probably be a true master of pharmaceutics in no time.

    Although they didn¡¯t react as exaggeratedly as Holliard, Englos and the rest who were already Masters of pharmaceutics could clearly feel that their level in pharmacy had increased greatly after receiving Lin Li¡¯s answers. Master of pharmaceutics? They knew that they could only be considered Masters now, and the thought of how they called themselves Masters in the past made them feel ashamed.

    In addition to answering everyone¡¯s questions about pharmaceutics and reading the Light Bible, Lin Li also visited the Holy Mountain which Dawn Cathedral was located on together with Rina, who showed him the way. Enjoying thepany of a beautiful female Pdin like Rina was undoubtedly a pleasant thing. Although Lin Li had always been focusing on magic, that did not mean that he did not know how to appreciate beauties.

    The mountain at the back of the Holy Mountain was known as a forbiddennd, but it was not really one. However, here were plenty of precious herbs that had light attribute. It was definitely beautiful, but if there were no restrictions, the herbs would probably be destroyed in no time. As the disciple of the head pharmacist of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos, Rina naturally had special grants that allowed her to ess the ce freely. Hence, it became her favorite ce on the entire Holy Mountain.

    However, this time, Rina didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood, because the young mage Lin Li was following her. Of course, the problem did not lie with Lin Li. Although Rina hated the fact that Lin Li had recruited Undead creatures to be his servants in the past, she began to change her opinion of him after seeing that he had personally helped Rosario remove the Viper¡¯s poison. At this moment, she felt nothing but respect for him, and that was the very reason Rina decided to bring Lin Li to the ce that would often cheer her up.

    However, there was a young man dressed in a bishop¡¯s robe who stopped in the middle of the passage, blocking their way. He was a young bishop who had curly brown hair, a handsome face, and a well-proportioned figure. He was d in a clean white robe, and was an absolute hunk.

    ¡°Bishop Siddarth, what are you doing here instead of learning from Archbishop Domingo?¡± Rina questioned coldly with a slight frown. She¡¯d initially brought Lin Li there purely with the intention of showing him around her favorite ce. She wanted Lin Li to see the most beautiful scenery in her opinion. However, she was in a foul mood because she was suddenly stopped in her tracks by someone who ruined her journey.

    ¡°Teacher has made a breakthrough in pharmaceuticstely, and he¡¯s been engrossed in research the past few days. I¡¯m here because I need some fresh herbs,¡± Siddarth said while shifting his gaze onto Lin Li with a look of disdain and disgust.

    Lin Li shook his head secretly. Obviously, he had sparked some anger and displeasure within the young men in the Brilliance Shrely because their dream lover had be his tour guide.

 Chapter 765 - Heresy

    <h4>Chapter 765: Heresy</h4>

    ¡°Oh, have you gotten them, then? If you have, hurry and go back, don¡¯t let Archbishop Domingo wait for too long,¡± Rina said with a look of impatience. While displeased, her manners and good upbringing allowed her to adjust her emotions quickly.

    ¡°Not yet. I happened to see you here, so I decided to wait for you. Well, you know that my knowledge in pharmaceutics cannot bepared to yours. If I collect the wrong herbs, I will be reprimanded by Teacher,¡± Siddarth said as he scratched his head embarrassedly. As if he had suddenly discovered Lin Li¡¯s presence, he then asked Rina, ¡°Rina, is this your friend? Why don¡¯t you introduce us to each other?¡±

    ¡°This is President Felic from the Tower of Dusk, and I¡¯m showing him around here,¡± Rina exined, trying her best not to re up.

    ¡°Mage Felic? I think I heard of you somewhere,¡± said Siddarth, who acted like he tried hard to recall something. All of a sudden, he looked up at Lin Li in surprise, and eximed, ¡°Wait, you¡¯re that mage who likes using filthy Undead creatures as your servants!¡±

    As Siddarth yelled, the other clergymen nearby hurriedly turn to look at Lin Li with unconcealed disdain and contempt. For the believers of the Holy Light, the mages who werebeled as sphemers were already extremely unpopr, what more a mage who was often in close contact with filthy Undead creatures? That made him no different from Necromancers, and they absolutely detested them.

    Siddarth had a good mindset. Rina was the only Judge Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine, and devout believers of the Holy Light would never befriend a mage who recruited Undead creatures. He reckoned that Lin Li had to have deceived Rina, and thus thought that Rina would definitely stay away from Lin Li immediately after he exposed him.

    ¡°Rina, you must have been deceived by him. This person is raising Undead creatures in the Tower of Dusk, and his hands are stained with the blood of countless humans!¡± Siddarth eximed while pulling out his magic staff and pointing it at Lin Li sternly with a sense of justice. He yelled, ¡°How dare you enter the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine. Now, get ready to be purified by the Holy Light!¡±

    However, he did not expect Rina¡¯s face to grow sullen as she red up at him, not at Lin Li. Not only did Rina not walk away, she even stood in front of Lin Li, and scolded Siddarth, ¡°Shut up, Felic is a guest Archbishop Martin invited.¡±

    She naturally knew that Lin Li was the one who gave the pope the antidote, but before Pope Rosario recovered fully, the matter would still have to be kept under wraps. Hence, she could only say that Lin Li was a guest invited by Archbishop Martin. Anyway, that was what a lot of people wanted to see.

    Seeing that Rina didn¡¯t express any repulsion or disdain towards Lin Li, and had even mentioned Archbishop Martin, Siddarth dared not mor about purification. After all, Archbishop Martin was an archbishop just like his own teacher Domingo, yet he actually brought a heretic to the Holy Mountain. Hence, he believed that Domingo would stand on Lin Li¡¯s side. He stopped making a fuss because he could clearly feel that the magical wavesing from Lin Li seemed to be nowhere inferior to his teacher¡¯s. If he were to fight Lin Li, he would be the one doomed, especially since Rina wasn¡¯t on his side.

    He could be a hero, but it¡¯d be impossible to be a martyr. Siddarth slowly put away his magic staff while keeping his guard up, and said to Rina, ¡°Okay, since he is a guest of Archbishop Martin.¡± He then muttered something and carefully walked past Rina, ignoring the fact that he had lied to Rina abouting to the mountain to collect herbs for Domingo. Instead, he simply left the mountain cowardly.

    <i>So what if he¡¯s a guest of Archbishop Martin? Even if he¡¯s an archbishop, he can¡¯t intervene with the rules of the Court of Heresy!</i> Siddarth thought, not wanting to let Lin Li, the damned mage, off just like that. Hence, he felt that the best solution now was to report to the Court of Heresy. Mages were seen as heretics in the first ce, what more a mage who liked interacting with Undead creatures.

    ¡°Felic, I¡¯m so sorry. I wanted you to see the scenery here. I didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a thing,¡± said Rina, who knew the reason for Siddarth¡¯s appearance. Having known exactly what was going on, she wasn¡¯t afraid that the pope and the other higher-ups would subject Lin Li to harsh treatment, and simply felt regretful because her good mood was ruined.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. When we arrived, I¡¯ve already expected there to be such a misunderstanding,¡± said Lin Li, who didn¡¯t hold it against her, nor allowed such a trivial matter to affect her mood.

    The Court of Heresy could be considered the only ce on the entire Holy Mountain that would feel cold and spooky to others. Even though it was in the direction of sunrise, and would be shrouded in sunlight throughout the day, even the believers of Holy Light would shiver uncontrobly when they were there.

    Although Siddarth was a disciple of Archbishop Domingo, and had be a bishop at a young age, he would still feel his legs turning into jelly whenever he stood in the small square in front of the Court of Heresy. There had been numerous times when he felt like giving up. Ever since the establishment of the Court of Heresy more than 1300 years ago, the demons and Necromancers who had been judged never made it back outside after entering. Out of the believers, there were many bishops and even a few cardinals who had been tortured badly. There was even an archbishop who died from being tormented in there.

    The Court of Heresy was a terrifying existence in the eyes of not only the heretics, but also the people of the Brilliance Shrine. Of course, be it a heretic or a believer in Holy Light, they were allbeled as heretics once judged.

    Actually, Siddarth knew clearly that although marriage between clergymen was not prohibited in the Brilliance Shrine, it was impossible for him to have any rtionship with Rina. The fact that she could be the only Judge Pdin meant that she had already dedicated all her life and soul to the Holy Light that she believed in, and thus it was impossible for her to ept the courtship of any mortals. Siddarth was not the only one; in fact, numerous young men who had a crush on Rina were well aware of that too. However, seeing that Rina who was often aloof and standoffish was walking together with a heretic and they chatted frequently, Siddarth could not help but feel extremely jealous.

    At the thought of Rina standing in front of Lin Li to defend him, Siddarth gritted his teeth angrily and strode towards the Court of Heresy, which looked like the mouth of a beast.

    ¡°What? There¡¯s a heretic on the Holy Mountain!?¡± eximed the Chief Judge Fergor, who was holding onto a list of pharmaceutics problems that he was about to consult a pharmaceutics Guru about. However, he didn¡¯t expect to hear such groundbreaking news from a young man wearing a bishop¡¯s robe.

    Fergor was rather shocked to see someone taking the initiative to visit the Court of Heresy. However, he was also astonished to hear the news. The poison in the pope¡¯s body had just been removed, and although the pope¡¯s power had already been restored to the Sanctuary-realm, there was still a great distance from his past pinnacle. If the news were to be leaked at this juncture, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure that person is definitely a heretic. Although he is not a necromancer, everyone knows that he rears Undead creatures,¡± said Siddarth, who secretly rejoiced because he did not expect to run into the Judge of Heresy Fergor. He thought, <i>That mage is dead this time.</i>

    ¡°Do you know him?¡± Fergor asked. He was about to send some of his subordinates to find out more, but he paused when he heard Siddarth¡¯s words which seemed to imply that he knew the so-called heretic.

    ¡°No, no.¡± Siddarth quickly waved his hands. If he were to be associated with a heretic, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to save himself from the Judge of Heresy even with the help of his teacher. While denying profusely, he got a grip on himself, and carefully said, ¡°Many people know about that heretic. I don¡¯t know what method he used, but he actually managed to deceive Archbishop Martin and Judge Pdin Rina and win their trust. They¡¯re on their way to the herbal ntation on the Holy Mountain.¡±

    Fergor frowned slightly as he found the description of the heretic rather familiar, especially since he was associated to Archbishop Martin and Rina. He thought about it carefully, and asked Siddarth, ¡°Who is the heretic you¡¯re referring to, and why are Martin and Rina involved? Since you¡¯ve recognized him as a heretic, why didn¡¯t you do what a faithful should?¡±

    ¡°No, no, I was already preparing to purify the heretic, but Judge Pdin Rina defended him. I reckon that she should have been deceived. After all, that heretic is allegedly Archbishop Martin¡¯s guest,¡± said Siddarth.

    He¡¯d initially just wanted to put Lin Li behind bars in the Court of Heresy. However, after speaking to Fergor, and realizing that he was not as terrifying as the rumors made him out to be, he decided to pull a scheming trick. He thought, <i>If Rina got stripped off of her position as Judge Pdin, would I stand a chance with her...</i>

    ¡°Martin¡¯s guest?¡± Fergor asked as he felt like he was starting to get a clearer idea. Martin did have many guests, but recently, he had only had one, and that was the pharmaceutics Guru Felic from the Breezy ins. He wondered, <i>Could he be the heretic that this kid is talking about?</i>

    ¡°Yes, it is a mage from the Breezy ins. It¡¯s said that he owns a force called the Tower of Dusk. Many people know that he has raised a lot of Undead creatures, and once killed thousands of innocent people in the Breezy ins. The people therepare him to the butcher Osric,¡± said Siddarth. He had already seen some hope of sess, and was just waiting to hear the Chief Judge¡¯s order for him to nab Lin Li.

    Anyone the Judge of Heresy deemed a heretic would be considered one. Unless the pope himself forbade it, no one would be able to stop the killing of a heretic, not even an archbishop. Of course, Siddarth was mostly thinking about how he should get his teacher to help if Rina were to get arrested. He felt that his teacher Domingo would be able to reduce her sentence. Otherwise, if she were to be sent to the Court of Heresy, she would lose her title as Judge Pdin, and he would have no chance of winning her heart.

    However, while Siddarth was still full of fantasies and letting his imagination run wild, the Chief Judge Fergor suddenlyughed, and said, ¡°I was wondering who you were talking about, turns out it¡¯s Master Felic. He¡¯s not a heretic, but a... guest of Martin and Englos¡¯s friend. How could he be a heretic? Go back, don¡¯t let your imagination run wild.¡±

    Siddarth was instantly dumbfounded, and his mind was sent into a whirlwind as the voices around him gradually disappeared while he seemed to have lost his wits at this moment. <i>Master Felic? The Chief Judge actually called that heretic Master Felic!? Why? In the eyes of the followers of the Holy Light, even an ordinary mage is considered a heretic. Why is that mage who¡¯s often associating with Undead creatures not considered a heretic to the Chief Judge!?</i>

    Staring at the dumbfounded Siddarth, Fergor didn¡¯t think much about it. In fact, that was not an umon thing, because the higher-ups usually determined if one was a heretic from the perspective of interests. Siddarth, who had never seen much of the world, was making his judgment based on the doctrine. Once he rose to a certain position, he would understand how naive he was now.

    ¡°Okay, just leave if you have nothing else to say to me. I still have things to do,¡± Fergor said after hearing that Rina and Lin Li were at the mountain behind. He was extremely eager to ask Lin Li some questions about pharmaceutics, and could not be bothered to entertain Siddarth, whom he regarded as a joke.

    However, Siddarth was clueless, and he could not figure it out at all. Seeing that the Chief Judge Fergor was about to leave, he quickly chased after him, and yelled, ¡°Sir, that person really is a heretic. He has dirty Undead creatures for servants, and he killed plenty of innocent people in the Breezy ins. He deceived Archbishop Martin and Judge Pdin Rina, he...¡±

    Siddarth¡¯s voice was getting softer and softer because he realized that the Chief Judge, who he tried to stop, was growing increasingly sullen. He emitted an icy cold vibe that made Siddarth shiver despite standing under the sun.

    ¡°Kid, I remind you again that Master Felic is not a heretic. This is the decision that I have made as the Judge of Heresy. I don¡¯t want to hear those words from you again. Otherwise, I won¡¯t mind locking you up in here,¡± said Fergor, who would definitely deal with Siddarth if he were to go overboard and upset Lin Li before he left, even though he saw his behavior as nothing but a joke.

 Chapter 766 - Distribute

    <h4>Chapter 766: Distribute</h4>

    <i>Damn it, it¡¯s only been a few days, and Holliard has already be a true Master of pharmaceutics under Master Felic¡¯s guidance. Maybe if I seize the opportunity and push for it, I might be able to be a Master too.</i> Holliard ignored the dumbfounded Siddarth, and adjusted his expressions before scurrying towards the herbal ntation at the back of the mountain with a stiff smile on his face.

    Siddarth stood in front of the door for a long time before finally snapping out of his trance. However, he could not help but shiver uncontrobly when he thought of the words that the Chief Judge Fergor said before leaving. At the same time, he felt incredibly puzzled because he wasn¡¯t framing Lin Li, and was simply telling the truth. Wasn¡¯t it the Judge of Heresy¡¯s duty to purify the heretics!?

    Filled with doubts and horror, Siddarth proceeded to look for his teacher, Archbishop Domingo. The only truth in the words that he¡¯d said to Rina earlier on was the fact that Archbishop Domingo was indeed immersed in studying pharmaceutics.

    ¡°Siddarth, what are you doing? I¡¯ve been trying to get you toe here, and you didn¡¯t appear even after a long time. Come take a look at the potion that I¡¯ve just formted. This is a real Master-level potion!¡± Domingo eximed while fiddling with the potions in front of the table,pletely failing to notice Siddarth¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Oh, yes, Teacher, I went out for a while,¡± said Siddarth, who was feeling vexed and troubled. He was hesitating and contemting if he should ask his teacher that question. After all, everything that happened today was too peculiar.

    Siddarth¡¯s dejected tone attracted the attention of Archbishop Domingo. Under normal circumstances, his disciple would definitely be pleased and excited to see the potions he created. Yet, Siddarth actually did not show any signs of excitement at all, despite the fact that he had formted a Master-level potion.

    ¡°Siddarth, what happened? Why do you look so pale?¡± Domingo asked in bewilderment after putting the potion down. <i>This is the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine. What made Siddarth be like this?</i>

    <i>He¡¯s still my teacher, after all!</i> Upon sight of Domingo¡¯s caring gaze, Siddarth felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart, and he decided to consult his teacher. <i>Perhaps there might be some huge conspiracy that concerns the Brilliance Shrine,</i> he thought.

    At the thought of this, he tried to perk up, and aggrievedly said, ¡°Teacher, I suspect that a big conspiracy is brewing on this Holy Mountain. I think that it also involves some of our higher-ups.¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Domingo was slightly stunned. Dismayed, he said, ¡°Siddarth, I¡¯ve already told you this many times, stop reading those silly myths and legends that have been made up mindlessly by others. You might as well take the time to learn more about pharmaceutics from me.¡±

    ¡°No, Teacher, what I said is true,¡± Siddarth insisted frantically after seeing that his teacher was dismissing of his words. He turned around and looked out of the door to ensure that no one was eavesdropping, after which he closed the door again and returned. Trying to suppress his volume, he said, ¡°Teacher, I discovered a heretic who entered the Holy Mountain today. The strange thing is, when I went to the Judge of Heresy¡¯s office to report, the Chief Judge Fergor didn¡¯t care to find out the truth, and simply insisted that that man was not a heretic.¡±

    ¡°Why have you be like the Judge of Heresy? All you do is call others heretics,¡± Domingo said with a look of displeasure. Although the Court of Heresy had helped the Brilliance Shrine get rid of countless enemies, they still had a horrible reputation in the Brilliance Shrine, after all. Hence, after hearing his disciple mention a heretic and going to the Court of Heresy toin, Domingo¡¯s joy from concocting the Master-level potion vanished instantly.

    Seeing that his teacher was a little angry, Siddarth frantically said, ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s true, that mage is called Felic. You should have heard of him. It¡¯s no secret that he has Undead creatures for his servants. Everyone in the Breezy ins knows about it. I saw him and Rina¡ª¡±

    Before Siddarth could even finish speaking, he saw a foreign object flying towards him, hitting his forehead before he could evade. All of a sudden, the object shattered with a loud thud, and a warm liquid flowed out slowly, exuding a medicinal scent.

    Archbishop Domingo was glowering with a sullen expression, and his finger was trembling continuously. He seemed to be too infuriated for words. The Master-level potion that Domingo had just concocted had already vanished without a trace.

    ¡°You, how dare you call Master Felic a heretic! You actually had the nerve toin to the Judge of Heresy! Do you still respect me as your teacher!? Why didn¡¯t Fergor lock you up in the Court of Heresy!?¡± Domingo hollered while grabbing either a potion bottle or a piece of equipment and throwing them at Siddarth.

    Faced with his angry teacher, Siddarth dared not dodge at all, and all he could do was stand there and bear with the misery and horror within him. It was the second time that he heard someone call that damned heretic a master today. He thought, <i>One of them is a mighty Chief Judge, and the other is my teacher. Who is that damned Felic? Isn¡¯t he just the President of a small Guild of Magic!?</i>

    ¡°Teacher, what wrong have I done...?¡± Although Siddarth didn¡¯t suffer any injuries, his robe had been stained by various potions, and he looked extremely pathetic and disheveled.

    Domingo finally calmed down and sighed before saying, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Since you know that he has an Undead creature for a servant and know about everything that happened in the Breezy ins, wouldn¡¯t you know why the Tower of Dusk developed so quickly in a short period of time? Master Felic is a real pharmaceutics Guru. He¡¯s a Guru, do you know what a Guru is!? He came to the Brilliance Shrine this time to talk to us about pharmaceutics. Do you know important this is to the Brilliance Shrine?¡±

    Siddarth obviously couldn¡¯t hide his thoughts from Domingo. After all, Domingo was old and experienced. However, due to the fact that the detoxification of the pope was a confidential matter, he couldn¡¯t reveal it, and had no choice but to simply say that it was something about a pharmaceutical business cooperation. Besides, a cooperation would be of great benefit to the Brilliance Shrine, and that wasn¡¯t confidential.

    ¡°G-Guru? He¡¯s a pharmaceutics Guru!? How is this possible? How old is he!?¡± Siddarth eximed as he couldn¡¯t believe his ears at all. That also made him realize why the higher-ups ignored the fact that Lin Li was a heretic.

    ¡°You have been by my side for too long, and your perspective has be too narrow because you¡¯ve always been on the Holy Mountain. Previously, we built another church after some negotiations with Fn Kingdom. Go back and make some preparations. I¡¯ll arrange for you to work there.¡± Without hesitation, Domingo waved at Siddarth and rubbed his forehead before turning around to mess with the potions.

    However, Siddarth felt shocked again even though he had just snapped back to reality. As a bishop, it would definitely be a good thing to work at a church, but that would depend on the location too. If it were in a ce that was within control of the Brilliance Shrine, a bishop¡¯s position would definitely be higher than that of a casten. However, Fn Kingdom was a country of magic, and the clergymen of the Brilliance Shrine were insignificant there.

    Siddarth suddenly thought of something. There was allegedly a bishop named Raleigh who had been sent to nna, the capital of the Fn Kingdom. The unlucky Raleigh preached for more than 20 years, yet he only had less than 10 followers. That probably felt worse than death. Although the Fn Kingdom was very prosperous, it wasn¡¯t so for the people of the Brilliance Shrine, because faith was scarce there.

    ¡°Teacher, I don¡¯t want to leave your side!¡± At the thought of the agonizing days that would await him once he went to Fn Kingdom, Siddarth teared up and leaped towards Domingo, hugging his thigh and bawling loudly.

    Bishop Domingo had already made a decision, and thus wouldn¡¯t change it just because Siddarth was crying. His disciple wasn¡¯t his son, after all. On the same day, he looked for the person in charge before informing Siddarth to pack his things and get ready to leave. At the same time, the incident also reminded several higher-ups to immediately release the news of the pharmaceutical business cooperation with the Tower of Dusk so as to finally provide an eptable exnation for the fact that Lin was respected by the higher-ups.

    In fact, Lin Li didn¡¯t even care about what Siddarth said, and he even forgot his name the next day. He had no idea that the young and promising bishop was exiled to the Fn Kingdom for calling Lin Li a heretic. Apart from giving pointers to a few pharmaceutic enthusiasts, Lin Li mainly focused on the Light Bible of the Brilliance Shrine. As for the cooperation, he would send his corresponding subordinates to see to the details.

    The Light Bible was the foundation of the Brilliance Shrine, and it was an important book for the interpretation of the Power of Light. Even a prodigy might not be able to reap benefits and gain knowledge just after a few days of reading. However, it was different for Lin Li, who had obtained the debris of the stars, Holy Light, a long time ago. Ever since then, he never stopped researching Holy Light. Hence, to him, reading the Light Bible was mainly just for filling in the gaps in his knowledge and gaining a better understanding of Holy Light.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t know that there would often be several pairs of eyes watching him secretly. However, as time passed, those eyes were filled with doubt and disappointment because when Lin Li was reading the Light Bible, he never once showed any aura of the Power of Light.

    After a few more days, Lin Li knew that he could not procrastinate any longer. Although the priest of the Darkness Shrine, Jyker, did not mention exactly what the matter was, Lin Li knew that it was definitely important since Sendros had said so.

 Chapter 767 - Caravan Gets Obstructed

    <h4>Chapter 767: Caravan Gets Obstructed</h4>

    Moreover, although Lin Li had yet to finish reading the entire Light Bible, he had already gained plenty of knowledge from it. Even though Lin Li did not have any experience with it in realbat, he could also feel that there was great improvement from before.

    That was precisely the reason Lin Li could not help but recall the Book of Darkness from the Darkness Shrine. Hence, Lin Li could not give up Sendros¡¯s invitation no matter what. He believed that if he really had an opportunity to read the Book of Darkness and perfect his understanding of Gloomy Dark¡¯s power, he would definitely see an increase in the power of his Light and Darkness Domain, and he might just reach level-24.

    After Lin Li revealed his intention to leave, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine who were also pharmaceutical enthusiasts immediately panicked, and began to bombard him with plenty of questions about pharmaceutics. They were trying to seize every second left. Higher-ups like them definitely wouldn¡¯t leave the Holy Mountain easily. Hence, it would be troublesome for them to go to the Tower of Dusk to ask Lin Li for advice again.

    Tolon City was located on the border of the Ledin Kingdom. Originally a military base, it had be rather prosperous with the high influx of caravans during the times of peace. It had already be a medium-sized city.

    Bright early in the morning, the city gate of Tolon City opened. The city guards armed with spears were standing on each side of the city gate, waiting to inspect the passing caravans. Perhaps because there had been peace for too long, the people of the Dwarf Kingdom had never had much ambition, and there was barely any friction, either. The guards were all sluggish, and most of them were dozing off while holding onto spears.

    There was arge caravan that was approaching the Dwarf Kingdom slowly on the avenue rather far away. The ten-odd carriages were full, but they were covered by a cloth; hence, it was unknown what goods they were carrying. Actually, such caravans weremon in Tolon City.

    The most eye-catching part of this one was the members of the caravan. Apart from the 200 mercenaries of various professions, there were also more than 20 mages.

    In fact, it was not a big deal for there to be more than 20 mages in the caravan. However, if someone were to take a closer look, they would find out that the mages were all at least Archmages, and even if they were to encounter any thieves or bandits, they would definitely be able to defeat them.

    ¡°Captain, whom does this caravan belong to? The Glittergold Trade Union wouldn¡¯t be so arrogant. It¡¯d better not be a hoax to intimidate us,¡± said one of the city guards who noticed that the caravan was approaching.

    ¡°Those are not for intimidating others. I heard that that caravan belongs to a force from the Breezy ins called the Tower of Dusk,¡± said one of the city guards.

    ¡°Breezy ins? That seems to be very far away from us. Where is the Tower of Dusk? I heard that the most arrogant ones from that ce are the bandits called Dark de. I¡¯ve never heard of the Tower of Dusk,¡± the city guard said while carefully observing the caravan in front of him. As a citizen of the Ledin Kingdom, he didn¡¯t have much respect for mages. In fact, it was just like how people of the Fn Kingdom didn¡¯t respect clergymen.

    ¡°Who cares? As long as the caravan is not from the Brilliance Shrine, we¡¯ll call the shots here. Check them,¡± said the city guard, who then walked towards the mage who was clearly the leader of the caravan.

    Watching as their captain walked over, the other city guards pursed their lips in envy, and walked towards the carriage behind the caravan, preparing to inspect the cargo inside the carriage. However, before they could even do so, they received orders to let the caravan pass.

    Still, no one found it strange at all, because those things happened every single day, and after the caravan entered the city, they would be able to obtain the benefits they deserved from the captain.

    ¡°Hah, gold coins? This Tower of Dusk is really interesting.¡± Everyone didn¡¯t know how much the captain had got, but they received five gold coins each, which was enough to make them feel satisfied. After all, their monthly sry was only 10 gold coins.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan entered Tolon City, and stopped in front of thergest hotel. In cities along borders, there would be countless caravans passing by. Hence, there were plenty of hotels in the city, and most of them often contained extremely spacious yards for the guests to park their carriages.

    The caravan of the Tower of Dusk was led by Archmage Gavin. Due to the fact that his strength had already reached the peak of level-19, he had an understanding of the Legendary-realm. At this stage, there was no point in learning anymore, so he handed the matters over to the Tower of Dusk and took the trip as training.

    However, at present, Gavin¡¯s goal of training and gaining experience seemed to be difficult to achieve. With the current power of the escort, no one would be willing to waste their efforts on a caravan like that. There were more than 200 mercenaries, but they were all just like coolies who were sent by the forces that surrendered to the Tower of Dusk. However, the 20 Archmages were all well-equipped, and even an ordinary powerhouse of the Legendary-realm would never dare to provoke them.

    After arranging everything for the caravan, Gavin turned down hispanions¡¯ invitation, and instead sat alone in his room to read some books about magic. He carefully tried to experience the enlightenment of the Legendary-realm. In the past, he¡¯d even had the idea to give up on studying magic, thinking that being an Archmage was his limit. Instead, he turned his attention to pursuing authority. However, he now realized that the Legendary-realm wasn¡¯tpletely out of his reach, and that his desire for power in the past was way too ridiculous.

    The Legendary-realm was something that he dared not think about prior to this, and yet the young mage Lin Li had actually managed to discover the mystery of the Legendary-realm within just two years! At the thought of everything he¡¯d experienced in the past two years, Gavin felt rather emotional.

    The darkness gradually shrouded the city of Tolon, which had fallen silent. There were no noises at all, except at the hotels that were still open for business. There would asionally be some sounds ofughter and angry cussing. In thergest hotel in Tolon City, the oilmps that lit up the windows went out one after another, and the people who had been getting busy for an entire day began to rest.

    However, at this moment, there were neat footsteps shuffling on both sides of the wide street outside the hotel, followed by the appearance of rows of soldiers, who soon surrounded the hotel under themand of an officer. A few of them stepped forth and knocked on the door, and the sounds of their knocking became extremely ear-piercing in the quiet night.

    Gavin closed the book of magic and dimmed the magicmp on the table. Just as he was about to begin meditating, he heard a loud noise from outside, followed by the sounds of footsteps shuffling.

    ¡°Sir, have you gotten enough rest? Hurry ande here. There are soldiers in the yard who want to check and seal our cargo,¡± said an anxious Halsanki, who was in charge of guarding the goods at night.

    Gavin couldn¡¯t help but frown. This time, they were transporting 15 magical Crystal Cannons that Lin Li had requested. Such powerful long-range assault weapons were generally banned in all nations, but no one raised any objections now that it was a time of peace. Besides, the Tower of Dusk had already sent Crystal Cannons using this route more than once, yet the city guard of Tolon City actually only came to seize their goods now all of a sudden, which was rather confusing.

    Of course, regardless of the reason, Gavin wouldn¡¯t really allow the soldiers to take the magical Crystal Cannons away. After all, each Crystal Cannon cost hundreds of thousands of gold coins, and 15 of them would cost nearly 10,000,000 gold coins. The Tower of Dusk was not going to waste their money even if they were wealthy. <i>It¡¯s time those guys got to work,</i> Gavin thought.

    Gavin picked up his staff, and went to the backyard of the hotel with Halsanki who led the way. At this moment, the yard was already brightly lit. The city guard and the mercenaries guarding the goods were facing each other, seemingly about to get into a fight anytime soon. Given the power of the Tower of Dusk, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be intimidated by the insignificant city guards. Even if there were only those 200 mercenaries and no mages, they would definitely be able to break through the guards who were surrounding them.

    However, everyone knew that they couldn¡¯t get physical, because their goods would definitely be confiscated, and they would probably never be able to take that route again. After all, the guards were representing the Ledin Kingdom. Besides, they all knew that the real owner of Ledin Kingdom was not a royal family, but the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°I received a report that there are prohibited goods in your caravan¡¯s cargo. Pleasey down your weapons for inspection,¡± one of the officers of the City Guards said haughtily.

    At this moment, Gavin also walked towards them, and he pulled out a certificate before saying to the officer, ¡°Sir, this is a pass that has been personally signed by Count Andre. It¡¯s a permit for our caravan to skip the checks in the Ledin Kingdom. Would you like to take a look?¡±

    Although Ledin Kingdom was a religious country, everyone had desires, what more clergymen who were officials and nobles. They all wanted to be be bishops, not solely because they wanted to preach the religion. Since a long time ago, the Tower of Dusk had already spent plenty of gold coins to bribe the security personnel who were in charge of the inspections to clear the route. Tolon City was ruled by Count Andre of the Ledin Kingdom; hence, the most effective pass would be one signed by him.

 Chapter 768 - Big Shot

    <h4>Chapter 768: Big Shot</h4>

    Although they had the permit, the Tower of Dusk did not use it often, and would usually just bribe the guards with some gold coins. After all, they would still have to obey the unspoken rules. Anyway, they didn¡¯t have to spend much this way, either.

    However, Gavin could tell that the guards were obviously out to create trouble. It was something that could not be settled easily with money. Hence, he didn¡¯t say much after seeing the situation, and simply handed over the permit that Duke Andre had signed personally.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The officer grabbed the document in Gavin¡¯s hands, and seemed to have originally intended to read it under the light of the torch, but when he moved the torch closer, he burned it instead. The pass was made of paper, so it immediately turned into ashes because it wasn¡¯t a magical item.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I was too careless,¡± he said, clearly not apologetic at all. Instead, he seemed rather smug and proud of himself. He nced at Gavin, and said, ¡°Are you the leader of this caravan? Someone reported that your goods contain prohibited item. Please get your people to put their weapons down for inspection.¡±

    Even a fool could tell that it was definitely not a careless mistake. The fact that he even dared to burn Duke Andre¡¯s permit showed that he was definitely a big shot. Gavin began to feel a little worried too. After all, he was not in his own territory. Although the development of the Tower of Dusk was already rapid and intrepid, they couldn¡¯tpare to a strong nation.

    ¡°Huh, what? Magical Crystal Cannons? The Tower of Dusk is really wealthy, eh!¡± eximed General rk, who was themander of the Northwest Legion of the Ledin Kingdom. He couldn¡¯t believe his ears when he¡¯d heard the news from his subordinates. 15 magical crystals were worth a total of nearly 10,000,000 gold coins. Most importantly, if it were just ordinary goods, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them other than create trouble for the group. However, it was different for magical Crystal Cannons because they were prohibited weapons.

    ¡°General, what should we do about these people?¡± said the officer, who was the same one who burned Gavin¡¯s pass. Obviously, he was not a city guard of Tolon City.

    ¡°What else is there to do? Detain them. I shall see how capable they are. How dare they disregard me!¡± General rk tried to stop himself from feeling smug as he spoke coldly to his subordinate.

    Actually, while those Magical Crystal Cannons might be expensive, they would only be valuable if there was demand for them. If no one wanted them, they would be nothing but a pile of scrap iron. The 15 Magical Crystal Cannons were worth nearly 10,000,000 gold coins, but if rk were to really confiscate them, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sell a single one. The high price of the Magical Crystal Cannons was one aspect, but more importantly, the number of magical crystals required to use them was simply not affordable for ordinary people.

    Pure mana was required for the magical Crystal Cannons, and that kind of mana could only be supplied by magical crystals. Besides, it couldn¡¯t be an ordinary magical crystal. Even a level-15 magical crystal would onlyst for 10 shots. Even if one could afford it, they might not be able to use it. Apart from Lin Li who had excavated various treasure ruins and gained a massive amount of wealth, no one else could afford to supply the Magical Crystal Cannons with mana.

    The Dwarf Kingdom could produce Magical Crystal Cannons for their own use, but so far, there were only 18 magical Crystal Cannons on their city walls. Besides, it was said that the kings of the Dwarf Kingdom were all been banned from using the cannons unless they were on the verge of death and faced with formidable enemies.

    Of course, rk was not a thief, and he didn¡¯t want to confiscate those goods to sell them. Hence, it didn¡¯t matter how valuable they were. The most important thing was how valuable they were to the Tower of Dusk.

    rk had just been transferred to the Northwest Legion as a general, being responsible for the defense of the northwest of the Ledin Kingdom. Hence, it was not an exaggeration to say that the entire northwestern region was his territory. Shortly after he rose to the position, his subordinates reported to him that the caravan of the Tower of Dusk was delivering a lot of important goods to the relevant nobles and officials. However, he was not included.

    In fact, rk did not really care about that small amount of money, and he merely thought of them as a caravan from a foreign force. However, it was a matter of pride to him because he was the only one who was excluded from the list of officials who were supposed to receive gifts. That would only reflect badly on him.

    Of course, after discovering that the confiscated goods were actually 15 Magical Crystal Cannons, rk also knew that the gifts that the other officials were receiving were also exorbitant. That made him find it difficult to suppress his anger. As a general, he had never heard of the Tower of Dusk before. Even the members of the Supreme Council, with the exception of the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm, would have to follow his rules.

    ¡°But, General, Duke Andre seems to be very close to this Tower of Dusk. After all, he is the cousin of His Majesty...¡± Although the young officer was very courageous and brave, he could not help but be worried that rk wouldn¡¯t defend him. After all, without rk, he was just a small officer who would be insignificant to rk.

    ¡°Andre? He¡¯s a royal and a believer of the Holy Light, and yet he colluded with heretics to smuggle prohibited weapons? Would he dare toe forth!?¡± Although rk was only a viscount, he was also an armymander and general, and was really not afraid of Andre, who was only respected because of his title.

    On the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li did not read the Light Bible. Instead, he was exining some pharmaceutical problems to the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine in a pharmaceuticalb.

    ¡°Master Felic, regarding the technique you mentioned yesterday, I practiced it continuously when I went back, but I still can¡¯t meet the minimum requirements in terms of speed. Do you have any special tricks or technique for that?¡± asked Fergor, who now seemed just like an elementary school student as he stared at Lin Li sincerely.

    Lin Li seemed to have also gotten into the zone as he said sternly like a strict teacher, ¡°Speed? You¡¯re trying to formte potions, not perform acrobatics. Rhythm is what you need, do you understand? The heating duration for various herbs and the timing for specific actions are all a kind of rhythm. What is speed? If you¡¯re looking to be fast, you might as well cook all the herbs in one pot!¡±

    However, after being harshly reprimanded by Lin Li, Fergor was not at all infuriated. Instead, he was overjoyed. The people beside Fergor, such as Archbishop Domingo and Head Holliard, surprisingly did not make fun of Fergor. Instead, they focused on noting down everything that Lin Li said in their own journals.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. Lin Li was a pharmaceutics Guru, and anyone could tell that Lin Li was already prepared to leave. Hence, it might just be theirst lesson. If they wanted to ask him any more questions in the future, they would have to look for him at the Tower of Dusk. For ordinary people, that wouldn¡¯t be an issue. However, they were big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, and any slight movement of theirs would involve various other issues. Hence, they couldn¡¯t just go anywhere they wanted.

    However, just as everyone wasmenting about time passing too quickly, a pastor arrived and fearfully said, ¡°Master Felic, there¡¯s someone outside asking to see you. He ims to be Gavin from the Tower of Dusk, and says that there¡¯s something important that he¡¯d like to see you for.¡±

    Hearing this, the senior executives¡¯ faces grew sullen. Since someone from the Tower of Dusk had arrived, it was clear that it was time for their pharmaceutics lesson to end.

    Lin Li found it bizarre as well. After all, Gavin had been responsible for most of the affairs of the Tower of Dusk, and he also had the power to make most decisions. Even if something major had happened, Gavin probably would have just sent someone over to ry the message while he tended to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Yeah, I know, you don¡¯t need to bring him here. I¡¯ll just go look for him,¡± said Lin Li, who then headed to the foot of the Holy Mountain by himself without waiting for Gavin to be brought there in order to save time.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Master Felic, I¡¯ll go with you. I have a question, and I¡¯d like to ask you for guidance,¡± Holliard interjected as he frantically scurried over to chase after Lin Li. Clearly, no matter what the issue was, Lin Li was going to leave anyway. Otherwise, he could have just made Gavin toe upstairs and report the situation to him.

    Lin Li did not refuse. Anyway, he could not fly on the Holy Mountain, and walking wouldn¡¯t take up much of his time anyway. Even if the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine had no issues, they had all improved greatly in the past few days under his guidance. At this moment, it was necessary for one of them to see him off. Since everyone knew that he was cooperating with the Brilliance Shrine, they wouldn¡¯t arouse any suspicion.

    Yet, after they made it to the foot of the mountain, everyone got a great shock. Although they had long heard about the pharmaceutical business cooperation between the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk, the scene was a bit too bbergasting. Lin Li was walking in front, while Holliard, the head of the Holy Pdins, was following him and asking him some questions eagerly. Fergor was walking behind them together with the other big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, such as Archbishop Englos, Archbishop Domingo, and Cardinal Jefferson.

    At the foot of the Holy Mountain, Gavin was pacing back and forth anxiously, and when he suddenly heard a greetinging from afar, he quickly turned his head to look at the staircase of the Holy Mountain. Gavin thought that he understood Lin Li very well. After all, Archbishop Martin was the one who personally invited Lin Li to the Brilliance Shrine when he visited the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 769 - Conflict Between The Old and New

    <h4>Chapter 769: Conflict Between The Old and New</h4>

    However, he still couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. There were a few elders surrounding Lin Li while he was making his way down the mountain. They were all archbishops and cardinals, staring at Lin Li with respect and awe!

    <i>Since the President is respected so greatly by the Brilliance Shrine, the matter about the caravan should be rather easy to solve.</i> At the thought of this, the anxiety within Gavin finally faded, and he frantically walked towards Lin Li and the rest.

    ¡°Gavin, did something happen at the Tower of Dusk?¡± Lin Li asked in puzzlement.

    Gavin lowered his head and greeted him before exining with an apologetic expression, ¡°President, the caravan that I was in charge of bringing to the Dwarf Kingdom to purchase some Magical Crystal Cannons...¡±

    After hearing Gavin¡¯s brief exnation, there wasn¡¯t much of a change in expression on Lin Li¡¯s face. However, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine began to frown. Lin Li had given the pope an antidote for Viper¡¯s poison, and although it was just fulfilling an agreement that they had made previously, it was still no exaggeration to say that Lin Li was the benefactor of the Brilliance Shrine. Besides, he was a genuine pharmaceutics Guru who might even be the legendary Son of the Holy Light. The caravan of the Tower of Dusk was now being detained on a site belonging to the Brilliance Shrine. Wouldn¡¯t that be a disgrace to the Brilliance Shrine?

    ¡°No hurry, let¡¯s go. Take me to see General rk,¡± Lin Li said to Gavin without ming or reprimanding him.

    Although Gavin was one of the authoritative figures of the Tower of Dusk, the people in the Ledin Kingdom had probably never even heard of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be bothered to take Gavin seriously. However, Lin Li was different. Even without the Tower of Dusk, he was still a Legendary powerhouse no one dared to take lightly. Hence, while the matter was indeed hard to handle for Gavin, it was nothing for Lin Li.

    ¡°Archbishop Englos, Archbishop Domingo...¡± Lin Li turned around with a faint smile to the big shots of the Brilliance Shrine, and continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but our caravan encountered some issues that I have to deal with. I have to go and handle it. I hereby bid you goodbye. You¡¯re all wee to visit the Tower of Dusk anytime you¡¯d like.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li was about to leave, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine were starting to get a little anxious. Although the matter seemed to be rather trivial to them, they still couldn¡¯t stop Lin Li from settling his own matters for the sake of clearing their doubts and answering their questions. Besides, the matter happened in their territory, and while it would be alright if they didn¡¯t know about it, now that they had heard it, they couldn¡¯t just keep mum.

    ¡°Wait a minute, Master Felic, I still have a few questions for you. If you don¡¯t mind, may I consult you about it while you¡¯re on your way there?¡± asked Holliard, the leader of the Holy Pdins. He was initially only an intermediate pharmacist, but under the guidance of Lin Li in the past few days, he already became an advanced pharmacist. In fact, he was almost a Master-level pharmacist ording to the current standards in Anril. He was well aware of how important Lin Li¡¯s guidance was to him; hence, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to waste any opportunity. Of course, another reason was that he wanted to go with Lin Li to see who the person who was ruining his learning opportunity was.

    There were many others who shared the same thoughts as Holliard, but it was obviously impossible for the entire group of higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine to tag along. Immediately after Holliard spoke, Archbishop Domingo decided that he, too, wanted to consult Lin Li along the journey. As for Englos and the rest, they had no choice but to glower at the two of them who were quick to act, and bid Lin Li goodbye helplessly.

    Although the 15 Magical Crystal Cannons that had been detained were worth nearly 10,000,000 gold coins, Lin Li did not immediately fly there to settle scores with rk. Magical Crystal Cannons were indeed expensive, but there wasn¡¯t much demand for them anyway. Hence, he needed not worry about rk selling them away. Hence, the four of them left Dno, City of Dawn, and headed towards Sparta, the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, in a luxurious carriage that was stamped with the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s badge.

    Although General rk was themander of the Northwest Legion, it was now a time of peace; hence, he didn¡¯t stay in the base. Instead, he returned to Sparta right after dealing with the legion¡¯s affairs. The fact that he detained the caravans and goods of the Tower of Dusk had also spread like wildfire, and caused an uproar amongst the aristocrats of Sparta City.

    In fact, many people were clueless about how significant the Tower of Dusk was in the Breezy ins. The only thing that caught their eye was the identity of the two parties involved in the conflict. One of them was General rk, themander of the Northwest Legion, while the other was Count Andre, a traditional noble who owned arge region in the northwest of the Ledin Kingdom. He was considered a powerful figure of status in the Ledin Kingdom.

    At this juncture, the focus of the dispute between the two parties was no longer the caravan of the Tower of Dusk, but had vaguely be a battle between a traditional noble and a rising one. Neither of them had expected it all. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have intervened in the first ce and ended up at a point of no return. Others would usually try to solve the issue as far as possible, but the two of them were simply stirring trouble and blowing things out of proportion.

    Lin Li and the other higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine did not expect such a trivial matter to be the spark that ignited trouble and caused a huge conflict between the big shots of the new and old forces of the Ledin Kingdom. At this moment, Lin Li and hispanions were actually seated in a luxurious carriage and discussing the various pharmaceutical problems while slowly moving towards Sparta where the conflict arose.

    Dno the City of Dawn was rather near Sparta, and even though they traveled slowly on the carriage, it only took them half a day to reach the gate of Sparta. The city guards in front of the gate dared not stop them, because they saw the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s badge on the carriage. Instead, they even saluted them piously when the carriage passed. They were even more respectful to the Brilliance Shrine than they were to the king.

    Under the guidance of Gavin, the carriage moved straight into Count Andre¡¯s mansion, and stopped slowly in front of the gate. The guard at the gate had already seen the badge on the carriage from afar. Hence, he had long sent someone to report to the people inside, and when the carriage pulled over slowly, the people from the mansion had alreadye out.

    ¡°Where has that kid Andre gone?¡± Holliard questioned when he alighted from the carriage. He noticed the guards at the gate, but he didn¡¯t see Count Andre around. Hence, his face grew sullen immediately.

    ¡°Sir Holliard, my father has gone out because he has some matters to handle. If you have any instructions for me, please wait in there for a moment. I¡¯ll send someone to inform my father toe home immediately,¡± said Nesta, the eldest son of Count Andre. Although he did not panic when answering Holliard, he was feeling anxious deep down as he continuously wondered about the Holliard¡¯s purpose of visit.

    All of a sudden, the steward beside Nesta quietly tugged at his sleeves and shot a nce at him, hinting for him to pay attention to the middle-aged mage who was the first to get off the carriage. Nesta was still feeling a little puzzled, but upon closer inspection, he finally recognized him. <i>Isn¡¯t that Mage Gavin from the Tower of Dusk who sent hefty gifts back then?</i>

    Nesta nced at Mage Gavin from the Tower of Dusk before looking at Holliard, who was the head of the Holy Pdins. Although Nesta was a calm andposed person, he still couldn¡¯t suppress his shock at this moment. As his father¡¯s sessor, he definitely knew what his father had been feeling troubled abouttely. However, he did not expect the people from the Tower of Dusk to bring Holliard along.

    However, before Nesta could even process everything and recover from the shock, he was greeted with another sight that made his eyeballs almost fall out. He saw an extremely young mage making his way out of the carriage with Domingo of the Brilliance Shrine. He was in utter disbelief because Archbishop Domingo, who was second only to the pope, not only did not show any arrogance, but even spoke to Lin Li with respect and humility.

    Actually, Nesta didn¡¯t need anyone to introduce him, because he could already guess that the young mage beside Archbishop Domingo was probably the founder of the legendary Tower of Dusk. Honestly, Nesta and his father Andre both had greatints about the Tower of Dusk, but upon sight of Lin Li, Nesta felt overjoyed and astonished.

    Although Nesta was a great noble in the Ledin Kingdom, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine were like gods to him. If he were to get acquainted with the archbishop and the head of Holy Pdins of the Brilliance Shrine, he would definitely enjoy a boost in status in the Ledin Kingdom. By then, probably even the king wouldn¡¯t dare to belittle them.

    Subsequently, Nesta¡¯s guess was verified when Gavin introduced Lin Li. After knowing that the young mage who had a special rtionship with Archbishop Domingo was President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, he quickly and respectfully said to them, ¡°Archbishop Domingo, Sir Holliard, President Felic, please wait inside. My father went to see General rk. I¡¯ll send someone to bring him back.¡±

    However, after hearing Nesta¡¯s words, Lin Li stopped abruptly and smiled at the puzzled Nesta. ¡°In this case, let¡¯s just go over. I¡¯d like to meet General rk too.¡±

    Upon arriving at General rk¡¯s mansion, Lin Li, Domingo, and the rest alighted from the carriage whilst still discussing pharmaceutics. Before the guards at the entrance even reported their arrival, they simply entered. However, none of the guards dared to step forward to stop them. They had no choice but to watch as they slowly walked in.

    Gavin led Lin Li and the rest toward the guest hall, whose door was left wide open. Soon, they heard the sounds of an argument. Although there was no foulnguage involved, the argument was obviously heated, and there were a few guards waiting outside the reception hall. Upon sight of Lin Li and the rest, someone immediately wanted to go in to report. However, he was stopped by Lin Li who was answering Domingo¡¯s question.

    Although those guards had never seen Domingo and Holliard before, they could tell from their overbearing airs and the holy aura that was emanating from their bodies that the two of them were definitely genuine higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they had no choice but to stay put ording to Lin Li¡¯s instructions.

    Lin Li and the rest headed straight to the guest hall, and stopped in their tracks to look at the two who were arguing in an agitated manner. However, Lin Li was still exining to Domingo and Holliard. Perhaps because there was no one else present in the guest hall, the two who were arguing were no longer as poised as the nobles that they were. They refused to give in at all, and yet none of them discovered that Lin Li and the rest were all standing by the entrance.

    ¡°Count Andre, the Tower of Dusk has already vited thews of the Ledin Kingdom by smuggling prohibited weapons. As a noble, you actually betrayed the Kingdom¡¯s interests for a small profit. I feel really ashamed!¡± General rk eximed in anguish. It was as if he weren¡¯t speaking to a noble who was of equal status, but an ipetent subordinate.

    ¡°rk, don¡¯t try to suppress me with those rules. You¡¯re just upset because the Tower of Dusk forgot to give you a present! Must you be such a money-grubber!? Will a few Magical Crystal Cannons harm the interests of the kingdom? What a joke. If it¡¯s really for the Fn Kingdom, the interests of Fn Kingdom would be harmed instead!¡± Count Andre clearly wasn¡¯t bothered by rk¡¯s usations. ¡°Even if they could afford Magical Crystal Cannons, they could not use them. If the Fn Kingdom starts purchasing Magical Crystal Cannons in bulk, it will not only not enhance the strength of the country, but also cause plenty of the military funds to be spent in vain.¡±

    rk¡¯s face turned pale for a while. Although he knew that what Andre said was true, the problem was that he couldn¡¯t turn back now. It was more than a matter of his own pride because it concerned the pride of the entire group of rising nobles. If he were to give in and admit defeat in the end, his peers would definitely not spare him easily. Hence, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, ¡°Everything I do is in ordance with the kingdom¡¯sws and regtions. I can forgive you for using me, but I can¡¯t allow you to defile the sacredws.¡±

 Chapter 770 - Somethingéˆ¥æªš Amiss

    <h4>Chapter 770: Something¡¯s Amiss</h4>

    ¡°No matter how perfect thews and regtions are, it is impossible to achieve absolute justice. Everything has to be based on facts. Although the Magical Crystal Cannons that are being transported by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan do fit the category of prohibited weapons, it does not cause any damage to the kingdom¡¯s interests. On the contrary, these goods will bring us a significant amount of tax revenue if we allow them to pass through our customs. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s damaging the interests of the kingdom. I¡¯ve already invited Duke Wilson and Duke Jean here. I shall see how you exin it to them,¡± Andre said sneeringly. The two dukes he mentioned were the ones in charge of the kingdom¡¯s business and taxes. They could definitely use rk for harming the kingdom¡¯s corporate credit and reputation.

    ¡°You¡¯re just being tyrannical and making an unreasonable argument. It¡¯s just...¡± rk clearly wouldn¡¯t admit defeat easily. <i>He has a backer but so do I!</i> he thought as he tried to get a grip on his emotions. He then said with a sullen expression, ¡°Oh, it so happens that I¡¯ve also reported this to Marshal Benjamin. By then, we¡¯ll see who¡¯s right.¡±

    Upon hearing that rk had already invited the First Marshal of the Kingdom, Andre could no longer stay calm. Although Marshal Benjamin didn¡¯t have a high status, he was in charge of all the armies in the kingdom. He was also the most important and powerful authoritative figure in the entire kingdom. Usually, a powerful marshal like him who held great authority and political power was highly feared by the king. There would be countless suspicions about him, and they usually wouldn¡¯t end up in a good state. However, King Sinelli of the Ledin Kingdom trusted him greatly. In fact, he trusted Marshal Benjamin more than he trusted the other members of the royal family.

    Clearly, there was no dominant party when it came to having backers. Actually, Count Andre seemed to be slightly inferior. However, he definitely wouldn¡¯t concede defeat. The reason was the same as General rk¡¯s. If the matter were to go awry, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to gain a foothold in the aristocratic circle again.

    ¡°General rk, now that we¡¯re on the topic of harming the kingdom¡¯s interests, I wonder if the scumbags who have deducted the military pay and resold military supplies are considered culprits of damaging the interests of the kingdom,¡± said Andre, who refused to give in.

    ¡°You... Hmph! Does a highly mighty count like you know how to make such groundless statements too? Well, I do have some information, but I don¡¯t know if you¡¯d like to listen to it...¡± General rk sneered.

    The two big figures who held authoritative positions in Ledin Kingdompletely didn¡¯t care about their own image anymore at this moment. They were constantly exposing each other¡¯s dirty secrets after digressing from the topic of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan. They then used each other of abusing their respective authority to sell military supplies and sentence others to death...

    Although the two of them were exposing each other¡¯s dirty deeds, the so-called scandals wouldn¡¯t really affect them, because they were powerful figures of the Ledin Kingdom. In fact, just because no one mentioned it beforehand, it didn¡¯t mean that no one else would know about it. Usually, one would be able to guess what the other party was like after thinking about the things that they had done.

    However, Lin Li was talking to Domingo and Holliard in front of the guest hall. As he heard their words, his face grew increasingly sullen. In the Ledin Kingdom, not everyone was a follower of Holy Light, but the aristocrats definitely believed in Holy Light because that was a basic requirement for them to get that status. Otherwise, no matter how much credit they got, it would be impossible for them to obtain a noble title.

    However, the mere fact that a person imed to be a follower and could even recite and memorize the doctrine of the Holy Light did not mean that a person was a devout believer. Saying one thing and meaning another was what humans were best at. Even the clergymen of the Brilliance Shrine did not act in ordance to the doctrine of the Holy Light, let alone ordinary people who imed to believe in the doctrine.

    Although Domingo and Holliard were both aware of the matter since they had all passed the age of being naive, the problem was that they still had by their side Lin Li, the President of the Guild of Magic from the Fn Kingdom. Exposing each other¡¯s dirty deeds would be the same as washing one¡¯s dirty underwear in public. That was an absolute shame and disgrace to the two big shots of the Brilliance Shrine.

    Finally, with a heavy humph, Holliard closed his notebook and strode into the guest hall domineeringly with a sullen expression. Lin Li and Domingo didn¡¯t bother looking up at all. Instead, they were still whispering amongst themselves about pharmaceutical knowledge when they were at the door.

    Holliard¡¯s body blocked the sunlight, stopping it from shining through the windows of the guest hall. At this moment, rk and Andre who were still arguing finally discovered that someone was entering.

    ¡°Who is that...!? S-Sir Holliard!¡± rk and Andre stopped arguing with each other and instead eximed in unison while staring at the person who entered. As the higher authorities of the Ledin Kingdom, they obviously knew who Holliard was. However, they could not help but blush at the thought of the argument that they just had, regardless of how thick-skinned they might be.

    ¡°You call yourselves nobles? Look at the way that you¡¯re behaving!!¡± Holliard hollered in exasperation. When he heard their argument, he simply felt that the air here was extremely polluted. Of course, he didn¡¯t forget his purpose of visit; hence, he could not be bothered to make anyments about their character. Instead, he said to rk, ¡°rk, did your people detain the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan and goods? I want you to release them immediately.¡±

    ¡°What... What?!¡±

    Holliard¡¯s words caused interesting expressions to appear on Andre¡¯s and rk¡¯s face. Andre was secretly rejoicing as well. He had never expected the Tower of Dusk to have forged ties with Holliard. He was a significant figure who was an authority in the aristocratic circle. Even Marshal Benjamin would have to treat him with due respect.

    rk was in utter dismay. Regardless of what the oue might be, even if he were to win, the Brilliance Shrine would definitely detest him after this. However, if he were to admit defeat, he would be amon enemy of both parties. Besides, offending the Brilliance Shrine and losing the protection of his superior would cause him to die a horrible death if they were tobel him as a heretic.

    rk knew that he really couldn¡¯t retreat anymore. It was no longer a matter of pride, but a gamble for his life. He tried to suppress the horror within him and looked at Holliard with glistening eyes. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m very sorry. I¡¯d definitely do my best to serve you if it was for another matter. This time, however, the matter concerns the interests of the Kingdom, and I... can¡¯t agree.¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Andre was a little dumbfounded. Since when had rk gotten such a strong backbone? He actually dared to defy Holliard from the Brilliance Shrine. Although there were nobles and royals in the Ledin Kingdom, the Brilliance Shrine was the real ruler. Although, strictly speaking, Holliard didn¡¯t have the rights to intervene with the matters of the kingdom, because he was just the leader of the Holy Pdins, Holliard was still a powerful authoritative figure who was not inferior to the four bishops.

    Even Holliard felt rather surprised for a while. Such things rarely happened, and he felt shock at being rejected. Although rk¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t assertive or aggressive, it was indeed a rejection. Holliard¡¯s face grew sullen. Felic was right outside, and Holliard hadn¡¯t expected to be turned down, because he thought it was a problem that could be solved easily!

    ¡°Since it¡¯s an affair of the kingdom, Holliard indeed has no say. General rk, I wonder if my words would be of any significance,¡± said Domingo, who entered the room in a pure white robe which seemed to have lit up the entire room.

    Of course, the mages Lin Li and Gavin entered the room together with Archbishop Domingo. However, Andre and rk only knew Gavin who had dealt with them in the past, and had never seen Lin Li, the real master of the Tower of Dusk, before.

    ¡°This... Archbishop Domingo, how are you...¡± Looking at Gavin who was behind Domingo, rk knew that Archbishop Domingo obviously came to speak for the Tower of Dusk. However, the question was: what in the world did the Tower of Dusk actually do to make the archbishop and the leader of the Holy Pdins stand up for them? <i>I could use Holliard¡¯s position as an excuse to turn him down, but that archbishop is someone who has the right to discuss and make decisions with the king. What excuse can I give?</i>

    rk was horrified and resentful. Had he known earlier that the Tower of Dusk had ties with the Brilliance Shrine, he wouldn¡¯t have made such a big hoo-ha despite knowing that the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t bring him any gifts. Even if they had made him give them gifts instead, he would¡¯ve been willing to do so. He could no longer rely on Marshal Benjamin now. Even the king would have to salute the archbishop respectfully. No matter how authoritative Marshal Benjamin was, he wasn¡¯t more powerful than the king.

    rk finally realized that there was no point in being stubborn and insisting, since the archbishop had alreadye to stand up for the Tower of Dusk. He felt that he ought not to me himself too much too. It was not that he didn¡¯t work hard enough, but it was because the enemies were too strong.

    ¡°General rk, I don¡¯t know if I can request you to release the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan.¡± Domingo stared at General rk coldly. It was a rare opportunity for him to receive pharmaceutical tips from a pharmaceutics Guru, and yet it was ruined by that bastard rk. Even though he was already old, he was still full of resentment.

 Chapter 771 - The Kingéˆ¥æªš Summoning

    <h4>Chapter 771: The King¡¯s Summoning</h4>

    ¡°Um... well,¡± rk said, wishing he could cry. Even the archbishop had already defended the Tower of Dusk. What else could he do? After all, the Brilliance Shrine was the real owner of the Ledin Kingdom.

    However, at this moment, a brazenughter came as a middle-aged general who was in his forties arrived together with two nobles who were chubby like meatballs.

    ¡°Archbishop Domingo, Sir Holliard, I didn¡¯t expect to see the two of you here at rk¡¯s. It¡¯s my absolute honor,¡± said the middle-aged general, who bowed to Domingo and Holliard after entering the guest hall. However, his gaze was full of respect, and not fear.

    Upon sight of them, Domingo and Holliard had no choice but to frown slightly. The middle-aged general was Marshal Benjamin of the Ledin Kingdom, and the two chubby men behind him were the Ministers of Commerce and Tax. However, although Benjamin was also a believer of the Holy Light, he was never close to the Brilliance Shrine, and even felt a sense of superiority. Hence, Domingo and Holliard didn¡¯t have a good impression of him. Besides, they had also heard that Benjamin was the backer who supported rk during the dispute between rk and Andre just now.

    Although Marshal Benjamin was saluting Domingo and Holliard calmly, he was also very surprised to see the two of them there. Upon sight of the two mages beside Domingo, Benjamin could guess that they were probably the mages of the Tower of Dusk. He didn¡¯t need any introduction at all. It was clear what the two big shots of the Tower of Dusk were there for.

    Benjamin secretlymented. Although he could tell from the fact that the Tower of Dusk could afford magical crystals that the Fn Kingdom should be very powerful too, the Supreme Council wouldn¡¯t be able to affect the Ledin Kingdom, after all. However, he didn¡¯t expect the Tower of Dusk to be able to get the two big shots of the Brilliance Shrine toe forth.

    ¡°Marshal Benjamin, let me do the introductions. This is President Felic, the President of the Tower of Dusk.¡± Domingo did not directly ask Benjamin to release the caravan of the Tower of Dusk, and instead introduced him to Lin Li.

    After hearing Domingo¡¯s introduction, Benjamin and the other wealthy and powerful figures of the Ledin Kingdom who were present were immediately filled with shock that they could not suppress. They knew that Domingo and Holliard were there to help the Tower of Dusk, but they felt that it was just the Tower of Dusk¡¯s good luck. However, they didn¡¯t expect them to address the young President of the Tower of Dusk as ¡°master¡±. That was an honorary term, and those who could be addressed as masters were definitely few and far between in Anril. That showed that Lin Li¡¯s status was the same as theirs.

    After being introduced by Domingo, Lin Li humbly greeted the several nobles of Ledin Kingdom. He also expressed his gratitude to Andre for his help. Originally, Andre hadn¡¯t thought highly of the Tower of Dusk, but after hearing Lin Li thank him, he felt rather ttered.

    However, rk¡¯s face grew increasingly sullen, and he kept his eyes fixed on Marshal Benjamin. He would have never expected that an unknown force in the Fn Kingdom would be so closely rted to the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine. Although he was the one who¡¯d caused everything, he didn¡¯t wish to see things getting blown out of proportion.

    <i>What kind of person is this!? What kind of a force is the Tower of Dusk!?</i> Benjamin had long discovered that rk seemed to be wavering, but that was beyond his control. He had no choice but to secretly sigh in his heart. Although he was the marshal of the Ledin Kingdom, in this holy nation, Domingo and Holliard were powerful figures of authority he could not shake.

    However, a shriek filled with excitement and respect came from outside at this moment. Yet, the shouting did not end, and it seemed that the entire Sparta was filled with those sounds.

    Finally, a clear yet agitated voice yelled, ¡°His Holiness is here!¡±

    <i>His Holiness!</i> Except for Lin Li and the rest, the several nobles in the room looked at each other in astonishment when they heard that sentence, trying to verify if they had heard correctly. Although the city of Sparta was not too far from the City of Dawn, it had been decades since the pope left the Holy Mountain. Even though no one dared to talk about it, many had already begun to specte if Pope Rosario was still alive.

    Clearly, all the rumors were being revealed on their own now. No one in the Ledin Kingdom would dare to impersonate the pope. However, there was another question in everyone¡¯s mind. Why did hee here at this time? There was a terrifying answer in their heads, but they dared not believe it at all. After all, the difference in status was too great.

    However, no matter what they thought, they still rushed out to greet the pope quickly with respectful expressions. When the crowd arrived outside, they indeed happened to see the two Archbishops Englos and Martin escorting the pope through the corridor slowly.

    ¡°All hail Your Holiness!¡± When Pope Rosario approached, no one dared to show a tinge of negligence, and everyone instead showed as much respect as they could.

    ¡°Okay, may the Holy Light always be with you. Rise.¡± Rosario nodded slightly with a faint smile on his face. He seemed to have bathed them in Holy Light, causing the nervousness in their hearts to disappear without a trace.

    Immediately afterwards, Archbishop Englos who was standing next to Rosario, took two steps forward and said to the crowd, ¡°All future operations of the Tower of Dusk in the Ledin Kingdom will be protected by the Brilliance Shrine. No one is to make things difficult for them deliberately with any excuses. This is a specially issued order.¡±

    As soon as Englos said those words, everyone was visibly shocked as they had never thought that the pope would issue such an order. That meant that the Tower of Dusk would have unlimited business rights in the Ledin Kingdom, and would never be restricted again. It was an unprecedented rule.

    ¡°Master Felic, after you¡¯re done handling the matters here, please stay on the Holy Mountain for a few days, we still have many questions for you to answer,¡± Englos said to Lin Li with a smile before turning around and walking towards Pope Rosario.

    Pope Rosario did not stay there any longer. After getting Englos to issue the decree, he left again while the crowd surrounded him. He didn¡¯t give Lin Li any special instructions, either. However, everyone broke out in a cold sweat after Pope Rosario left, be it Marshal Benjamin, Count Andre, or the rest. In particr, General rk was overwhelmed with regret, for he hadn¡¯t expected to see Pope Rosario, who hadn¡¯t left the Holy Mountain in decades,ing forth to defend a foreign force.

    The battle between the old and new forces of the Ledin Kingdom ended with a tie because of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s intervention. The real winner was actually the Tower of Dusk, whom they had not taken seriously at first. The unrestricted business rights granted by the pope himself was something unprecedented in Anril.

    However, it was an embarrassing matter for both the aristocratic group represented by Count Andre and the rising nobles represented by Marshal Benjamin. After all, the Tower of Dusk which seemed like a pushover at first finally became an existence that neither side could afford to offend. Hence, only the higher-ups of both parties knew the truth of this matter. The ones of the lower levels simply thought that they had obtained victory.

    Of course, the most important thing was that the people of both forces had been notified by their superiors to never make things hard for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravans in the future.

    After leaving General rk¡¯s mansion, Benjamin rushed directly to the pce and reported about the matter in detail to King Sinelli. Although he grew up in the Ledin Kingdom and believed in the doctrine of the Holy Light, King Sinelli was the only person worthy of allegiance in Benjamin¡¯s heart.

    ¡°You mean, the Brilliance Shrine has intervened and issued that warrant?!¡± King Sinelli eximed as he remained seated quietly and listened to Benjamin, whom he trusted most. However, he would asionally see some anger and indignation in his eyes.

    In the battle between the traditional nobles and the rising ones, many thought that Marshal Benjamin was the leader of the new nobles, and even General rk thought that Marshal Benjamin was his biggest backer. However, no one would have imagined that their king, Sinelli, was the one who¡¯d developed those forces.

    Without the intervention of the Brilliance Shrine, the event would eventually have a great impact on the traditional nobles, who might have even gotten wiped out under the control of King Sinelli. The traditional nobles would have to give up their ce to the emerging forces that were valued greatly by King Sinelli.

    However, all of that was destroyed by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s attack. How could King Sinelli take it lying down? As a king, no one except an unambitious wastrel would be willing to feel suppressed all the time. This time, they even ignored him, and issued an exaggerated permit that was in favor of the Tower of Dusk. <i>Unrestricted business rights? That¡¯s just the trampling of thews of the kingdom. If this country is ruined, the Brilliance Shrine is not going to clean up the mess, right?</i> he thought.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please simmer down. The pope has not appeared for decades, so there had been various rumors, but I saw with my own eyes that the pope is still alive and kicking. He¡¯s still the way he used to be,¡± Benjamin said with a wry smile. Who would have thought that the pope who had not appeared in decades would still be a godlike Sanctuary-realm powerhouse? This time, the influence of the Brilliance Shrine had been greatly stabilized, and no rumors would be able to break through their defense.

    ¡°Okay, got it. You may go down first. Although we can¡¯t touch the Tower of Dusk, those rotten nobles rted to them should be wiped out ording to the n. Find out some information about the Tower of Dusk. I shall see who Mage Felic is and why he¡¯s regarded so highly by the Brilliance Shrine,¡± King Sinelli said calmly, not revealing his resentment at all.

    After Benjamin left, King Sinelli sat in his chair, and frowned deep in thought instead of smashing things in exasperation. Although he was the king of the most powerful kingdom in Anril, Sinelli didn¡¯t feel the thrill of being the king at all. In fact, he felt that they were just pigs of the Brilliance Shrine, regardless of whether the kingdom was ruled by himself, his father, or his grandfather.

    Sinelli dared not lose his temper even at this time, because the guards and servants around him were all believers of the Holy Light, and were snitches of the Brilliance Shrine. Ever since he¡¯de of age, he had never been willing to live such a life. He refused to pray and worship another person. Hence, ever since he¡¯d been crowned as the king, he had been continuously trying to strengthen himself in all aspects, and had not cked at all. By the age of 30, he became a true Legendary swordsman.

    That was precisely the reason that Sinelli managed to make the Brilliance Shrine ignore the First Marshal who was in charge of the entire Ledin Kingdom army. In the opinion of others, the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s suppression was the reason Sinelli did not have to worry about Benjamin overthrowing him. However, even the Brilliance Shrine probably didn¡¯t know that Sinelli trusted Benjamin so greatly because of other reasons.

    Although they had been at odds with the Fn Kingdom for nearly a millennium, King Sinelli actually envied the royal family of the Fn Kingdom. The power of the Supreme Council there was not inferior to that of the Brilliance Shrine. Yet, the royal family of Fn Kingdom had actually managed to escape the control of the Supreme Council and truly be an independent kingdom. In contrast, the Queld Family of the Ledin Kingdom had been controlled by the Brilliance Shrine for all that time, and they almost had no freedom of choice. Even the queen had to request for the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s consent before going ahead with her decisions. If it weren¡¯t for his hostile rtionship with the Fn Kingdom, Sinelli would have even gone to Fn Kingdom to learn from the royals of Fn Kingdom.

 Chapter 772 - Cooperating With The King

    <h4>Chapter 772: Cooperating With The King</h4>

    The fallen nobles had all gotten used to being reared like pigs by the Brilliance Shrine. If anyone wanted to free them, thetter might just retaliate against them. Hence, Sinelli nned for arge number of nobles who were close to the Brilliance Shrine to be wiped out during this incident. He wasn¡¯t worried about attracting the attention of the Brilliance Shrine. Ever since Pope Rosario stopped appearing for a long time, the lofty clergymen also stopped caring about them.

    However, Sinelli did not expect the Tower of Dusk, which had been remaining silent, to attract the attention of the Brilliance Shrine and Pope Rosario, who had not appeared for decades. He had no idea if he should be angry or thankful. After all, Pope Rosario¡¯s appearance proved that what he had done before was not enough. Regardless of Rosario¡¯s influence, his Sanctuary-level power alone was something that Sinelli¡¯s huge army couldn¡¯t defeat even if he had millions of soldiers.

    That was perhaps a good thing. If he hadn¡¯t been sure if Pope Rosario was still alive, and had continued acting the same way, he would probably have been dethroned. Ever since Marshal Benjamin left, Sinelli remained seated for a long time as he knocked his finger against the table gently, thinking about what he should do next.

    After solving the matter about the caravan, Gavin brought the caravan back onto the road, and returned to the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins again. However, Lin Li did not go to the Darkness Shrine immediately. Instead, he returned to the Holy Mountain again, and headed back to the Church of Dawn. He owed the Brilliance Shrine a favor.

    Giving Rosario an antidote was just for fulfilling the previous agreement. In act, Lin Li had not expected that the matter about the caravan would get Rosario to appear in person and allow the Tower of Dusk to have unrestricted business rights. Of course, the favor needed not be returned immediately. Lin Li didn¡¯t return to the Dawn Cathedral entirely for the sake of returning the favor; it was mainly because Rosario promised to allow him to freely read the ssics collected by the Brilliance Shrine instead.

    Previously on the Holy Mountain, Rosario had allowed Lin Li to read the Light Bible as a form of reward forgiving him the antidote. In addition, he¡¯d also wanted to use the Light Bible to verify if Lin Li was the Son of the Holy Light which the Brilliance Shrine had been looking for. However, it was obvious that as long as Lin Li did not take out his debris of the stars, Holy Light, he wouldn¡¯t let the cat out of the bag.

    Combining his own prophecy and the information that Englos and Martin had gotten back then, Rosario would never let Lin Li go just like that. He knew that Lin Li was going to the Darkness Shrine, but if Lin Li was really the Son of the Holy Light, he would be sending himself to the lion¡¯s den by going to the Darkness Shrine. Hence, in order to make Lin Li stay, Rosario not only agreed to let Lin Li read the ssics freely, he also promised to give Lin Li some pointers about theurgy, which was the use of the power of the Holy Light.

    Sendros hadn¡¯t mentioned what the matter was about or how urgent it was. Hence, Lin Li decided to stay at the Brilliance Shrine for a few more days, and returned to the Holy Mountain with Domingo and Holliard even though he had originally nned to leave. Of course, Lin Li¡¯s return also made the old fogies who were passionate about pharmaceutics extremely ted.

    Two dayster, Marshal Benjamin personally sent the information regarding the Tower of Dusk to King Sinelli.

    ¡°Is everything mentioned here... true?¡± Sinelli looked at the information which caused him to be in disbelief. He knew that only a powerful force would have the ability to purchase 15 Magical Crystal Cannons all at once, be it in the Ledin Kingdom or the Fn Kingdom. However, he hadn¡¯t expected it to be the Tower of Dusk, which he had never heard of. To his surprise, it had only been a little more than two years since the Tower of Dusk had been established.

    It was built from scratch, and within just two years, it managed to be the top force in the Breezy ins, and in fact, the entire Fn Kingdom. That was simply unfathomable; even myths were not that exaggerated. The information was about the description of the strength of the Tower of Dusk, the dozens of Archmages above level-15, the hundreds of Magic Shooters above level-10, and theirmercialwork all over the world. King Sinelli could even say with certainty that the Tower of Dusk would definitely be the greatest force besides the Brilliance Shrine even if it were in the Ledin Kingdom.

    From the destruction of the Syer Bandits to the destruction of the powerful Dark de, the Tower of Dusk had killed plenty to achieve its current status. Everything was because of the extremely young President, who was a mage in his early twenties.

    Having obtained the inheritance of Geresco, the God of Mages, and gone to the restricted area of the Haiga Mountain Range, Lin Li proceeded to explore the Seventh Sky Castle of the High Elves. He then disappeared for half a year, and returned again as a level-23 Legendary-mage. He even defeated the two Legendary leaders of the Dark de. It was said that he had also gained a lot from the participation in the operation of the Supreme Council¡ªthe exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Compared to the rapid rise of the Tower of Dusk, the growth and progress of Lin Li was even more exaggerated than legends, making Sinelli feel like he was reading a myth.

    ¡°Your Majesty, this information about the Tower of Dusk is actually no secret in the Breezy ins, where everyone knows about this. This Mage Felic is not easy to deal with.¡± Benjamin shook his head and sighed. When he¡¯d first got the information, he thought that the person who obtained the information made a mistake, and that the Tower of Dusk might have been established for 200 or 2,000 years, and not just two years. However, afterparing the information obtained via various channels, he found out that it had really been established for more than two years.

    ¡°Deal with him? Why!?¡± Sinelli looked at the information in his hand, and his shock gradually subsided. His grimace was reced by a smile, and he said, ¡°This Mage Felic is indeed a rare talent. However, I can tell from this information that he¡¯s not someone who can be easily recruited. Even the Supreme Council had chosen to cooperate with him during the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. He¡¯s someone who refuses to submit to others,¡± said King Sinelli, who felt rather envious and jealous.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please speak with caution,¡± Benjamin said hurriedly to remind him. Now that Pope Rosario who had not appeared for decades finally appeared in front of the world again, the believers had be much more loyal. God knew if anyone in the pce would tell on him.

    ¡°Haha, okay, let¡¯s not talk about this. Let¡¯s talk about Felic. It¡¯s impossible to recruit him, but cooperating with him is a good choice.¡± Sinelli looked away and nced at Benjamin.

    ¡°Cooperation? Your Majesty, you¡¯re a king and the leader of the nation, he... ¡± Benjamin frowned slightly.

    ¡°Leader of the nation? The real leader of the nation over there,¡± Sinelli said as he pointed toward the Holy Mountain. He helplessly continued, ¡°I¡¯m afraid the pope probably appeared this time because he was impressed with Mage Felic¡¯s abilities. We¡¯re alreadygging behind, and yet we pushed him further away because of that matter.¡±

    ¡°This is all my fault for failing to check on him clearly,¡± Benjamin said with a look of guilt.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. That Mage Felic has really exceeded our expectations. If it weren¡¯t for what the Brilliance Shrine had done to defend them, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have believed the information here,¡± Sinelli said emotionally. He felt that the glory of the Queld Family should not be drowned in history. Although his journey was destined to be extremely difficult, he would still have to go on.

    Just a few days after Lin Li returned to the Dawn Cathedral, Harquis, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Ledin Kingdom, sent him an invitation that was simr to a diplomatic summons. Although Lin Li was a little surprised, he felt that it was normal after giving it some thought. Although diplomatic summons were generally used for foreign envoys, it was not exactly excessive given the Tower of Dusk¡¯s current position in the Ledin Kingdom. The big shots of the Brilliance Shrine who had asked Lin Li about pharmaceutics were rather displeased with the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s actions, but they didn¡¯t say anything, because the Tower of Dusk¡¯s interests were concerned.

    Lin Li arrived again in Sparta, this time in a luxurious carriage of the Ledin Kingdom. When he went there a few days ago, he was busy discussing pharmaceutical problems with Domingo and Holliard. This time, he finally had the chance to observe thendscape of Sparta City. He had no idea if it was because of the doctrine of Holy Light, but the buildings in Sparta were all still clean and bright even though they were not all white.

    Of course, the most obvious and outstanding one was still the Dawn Cathedral of the Brilliance Shrine. From time to time, the luxurious carriage would move past the white chapel. Others who didn¡¯t know would simply think that they were going in circles, but when he returned previously, Lin Li heard from Domingo that there were more than 100 churches of various sizes in Sparta. Thergest one was located next to the square in the city center, and was helmed by a cardinal.

    The carriage stopped slowly in front of the pce. The guards were all standing neatly on both sides of the gate of the pce. A red carpet was extended from the gate, all the way to the spot where the carriage stopped. The Foreign Affairs Minister Harquis led Lin Li onto the red carpet, and they walked past the guards before entering the majestic Royal Pce of the Ledin Kingdom. Right from the beginning to the end, everything was carried out with diplomatic etiquette, which Lin Li found to be a novelty. However, those were nothing considering his current identity. Even a level-23 Legendary-mage deserved respect from the king.

    Although the interior of the pce was gilded and brilliant, it did not attract too much of Lin Li¡¯s attention. After all, he had already seen Osric¡¯s mausoleum and the Sky Castle. Hence, it couldn¡¯t really be considered luxurious inparison. The High Elves were really the epitome of living in luxury, and their pursuit of everything luxurious was something that humans could notpare to.

    Lin Li followed Harquis all the way to the hall where the king received the foreign diplomats. As the guards in front slowly opened the doors for them, they were greeted with a clear view of the hall. As the door opened, King Sinelli, who was initially sitting on the throne, slowly made his way down the stairs and walked towards Lin Li smilingly.

    ¡°Your Majesty, this is the owner of the Tower of Dusk, Master Felic,¡± said the Foreign Affairs Minister Harquis. He then turned to look at Lin Li, and said, ¡°Master Felic, this is His Majesty, King Sinelli.¡±

    Queld was a surname of the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s royalty, and originated from the High Elves¡¯nguage. It was said that the Ledin Kingdom did have some ties with the High Elves during the Dark Age, though it was unknown what their rtionship was. Perhaps only the true sessor of the Ledin Kingdom would know the truth.

    Although the rtionship between the king of Ledin and the High Elves was unclear, Lin Li felt that King Sinelli was rather handsome, and he seemed to resemble the High Elves a little, though Lin Li was unsure if it wasn¡¯t just a misconception. Of course, it was not that there were no outstanding humans in terms of looks. Lin Li reckoned that he was probably misled by the surname.

    ¡°It¡¯s my utmost honor to see you, Your Majesty.¡± Lin Li bowed slightly to King Sinelli out of respect despite everything that happened to the caravan previously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony, Master Felic. It¡¯s my pleasure to see you, the youngest Legendary-mage in the Fn Kingdom.¡± Sinelli smiled and bowed before gesturing for Lin Li to take a seat. Instead of returning to the throne, he sat down beside Lin Li.

    Sinelli¡¯s move shocked the Foreign Affairs Minister Harquis, but after thinking about the rumors that surfaced in the past two days, he didn¡¯t find it that uneptable, because there was a new decree put in ce by the pope.

    Looking at King Sinelli who was seated beside him, Lin Li didn¡¯t feel ttered at all, and simply had a better impression of him. After a few polite exchanges, Lin Li asked about Sinelli¡¯s purpose in seeing him this time. After all, he was not a real envoy of the Fn Kingdom, and he could only represent the Tower of Dusk.

    Sinelli had carefully studied the information about Lin Li. Although it was not very detailed, he still managed to gain some understanding of Lin Li¡¯s character. Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Sinelli didn¡¯t hide anything, and simply truthfully said, ¡°Master Felic, I invited you here this time mainly to discuss the matters of trade.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Your Majesty, please go ahead,¡± Lin Li said while showing some interest.

 Chapter 773 - Touch To Pass

    <h4>Chapter 773: Touch To Pass</h4>

    Most of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mainmercialworks were in the Fn Kingdom, and their foreign transactions were few. The greatest one thus far was still the purchase of Magical Crystal Cannons from the Dwarf Kingdom. Although the most famous potions of the Tower of Dusk were avable for sale in the Ledin Kingdom, most of the transactions were done through partner channels, and there were only a few of such channels for the Tower of Dusk. Hence, the Ledin Kingdom was basically considered an undeveloped virginnd for the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li was interested not in the sales of potions, but in the rich mineral deposits in the Ledin Kingdom. In terms of herbs, Lin Li already had the Elven Kingdom to provide a continuous supply of the best herbs in Anril from the Emerald Forest. However, the Tower of Dusk had always been greatly restricted in terms of forging. Otherwise, they would have long reced the Marathon Family, and be thergest army equipment manufacturer in the Fn Kingdom.

    Apart from the Brilliance Shrine, the Ledin Kingdom was most famous for its high-quality ores. The Ledin Kingdom had rich supplies of numerous rare magical metals. Even the Dwarf Kingdom which was famous for forging had to get their magical metals from the Ledin Kingdom.

    Although the Tower of Dusk could also get their ores and minerals imported from the Ledin Kingdom, the quantity they could get was far from what they needed, and the prices were sky-high too. After all, there were two or more middlemen involved in transactions. During each handover, the inversion would increase the value of the ore by arge amount, and it would be hard to suppress it for the Tower of Dusk. If the Tower of Dusk could do without the middlemen and directly import the goods from the Ledin Kingdom, the price would probably decrease by more than half.

    If the Tower of Dusk¡¯s forging business was no longer restricted by the avability of ores, the Tower of Dusk would probably be able to take over the Marathon Family¡¯s share of the business in no time, especially with Lin Li¡¯s instructions for the cksmiths. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t a petty person, he did bear grudges. Besides, he would be able to generate arge amount of ie while taking revenge.

    Of course, although Lin Li was very interested in negotiating with King Sinelli, he didn¡¯t show much of his interest when he was in front of him. He didn¡¯t think that Sinelli would give him valueless things like mining rights.

    Perhaps business interests and rights were the same. When they were specifically discussing the details of the trade, Sinelli, the king of the Ledin Kingdom, showed his incredible talent in managing business. Hence, he wasn¡¯t calctive about the negotiation, and achieving a win-win solution was the main purpose of the business negotiation. That would ensure that both parties got what they wanted while making their due profits. Allowing just one party to gain meant the failure of the negotiation, and Sinelli managed to achieve a win-win solution rather well. He ensured his own benefits while making sure that Lin Li didn¡¯t feel like it was uneptable.

    Lin Li had to admit that he couldn¡¯t quite resist Sinelli¡¯s shrewd attacks in business negotiations, because he had no experience in doing business at all. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had already seen through Sinelli¡¯s hidden intentions, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have gone ahead with the negotiation. He would have left it to the professionals.

    In fact, when Lin Li heard Sinelli mention the business cooperation, Lin Li could already tell that Sinelli¡¯s true agenda was to establish a friendship with himself. Otherwise, the Minister of Commerce would have been there with them.

    Lin Li was also impressed with the method that Sinelli chose. He was not as impatient as others, and did not make promises confidently right at the start of the conversation in a bid to forge closer ties with Lin Li. Such people usually ended up scaring awaypetent individuals, leaving behind only the unreliable ones. Sinelli showed that he was patient enough when handling this matter, and ced appropriate emphasis on his own interests while being generous with the benefits that Lin Li deserved. He knew how to manage the rtionship between the two parties well.

    Of course, Lin Li also knew that once the cooperative rtionship between the two sides was stabilized, it would probably be time for Sinelli to put forward some conditions. However, Lin Li did not feel irked by that, because business was business, and mutual benefits were important. The future cooperations would have to depend on how much Sinelli could offer. In Anril, the price to pay for a level-23 Legendary-mage was very high.

    Even though Lin Li didn¡¯t know much about what Sinelli thought, he could roughly guess what was going on, and he felt some sympathy for him. If he were to be in Sinelli¡¯s position, he probably wouldn¡¯t be willing to continue staying silent and be a puppet-like king for the rest of his life. Although it was thrilling to hold massive power, it was actually more horrendous than having nothing to one¡¯s name.

    In fact, although the current Ledin Kingdom was almost entirely controlled by the Brilliance Shrine, it had allegedly been established without relying on the Brilliance Shrine. There was a well-known legend about the establishment of the Ledin Kingdom.

    The legend had it that the founder of the Ledin Kingdom, Sn Quels, one of the most powerful Sword Sages of Anril, was the closest human friend of the Dragon of Time Nozdomo, one of the Dragon Aspects. The Dragon of Time Nozdomo was the one who supported Sn Quels in building the powerful Ledin Kingdom at the end of the Dark Age.

    It was said that Dragon of Time Nozdomo had the power to travel through time and space, control the passage of time, and shuttle between the past, the present, and the future at will. It used those powers and abilities to guard the time of Anril and allow the world to develop in the right direction. With the support of the Dragon of Time, it was probably not difficult to build a powerful kingdom.

    Of course, there was no evidence to determine if Sn Quels had established the Ledin Kingdom with the help of the Dragon of Time or not. However, as the founding leader of the Ledin Kingdom, Sn Quels had indeed made his name known in history, and that was an indisputable fact. If he didn¡¯t have the help and support of the Dragon of Time, it could only show that he was extremely outstanding.

    Unfortunately, after the fall of a generation of heroes, the Ledin Kingdom experienced a chaotic civil war, and was then attacked and subdued by the neighboring nations. Initially, there were hopes for it to unify the powerful kingdoms of Anril, but it only managed to gain a foothold by relying on the Brilliance Shrine atst. Although the establishment of the Brilliance Shrine had little to do with the Ledin Kingdom, the Ledin Kingdom would still be an unknown force if not for the mediation and deterrence provided by the Brilliance Shrine.

    After some negotiating, Lin Li reached a consensus on somemercial agreements with King Sinelli for the trading of potions and ores on behalf of the Tower of Dusk.

    Actually, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s potions had long been avable for sale in the Ledin Kingdom, but because of various reasons, it was not very famous. After reading the information and asking Lin Li about it in detail, Sinelli was definitely tempted. In fact, gaining such a rich source of supply of advanced potions from Lin Li was a huge benefit to Sinelli even if he only managed to talk to Lin Li about business.

    However, there was definitely a price to pay for advanced potions. Although Sinelli was the head of a nation, it still wasn¡¯t an easy task for him to touch the treasury. Moreover, he did not dare to reveal anything about the plot that he had hatched. Otherwise, he would definitely be dethroned.

    Fortunately, Sinelli could tell that Lin Li was very interested in the ores, and thus put forward a proposal to exchange ores for potions with the Tower of Dusk. Not only would that benefit them both, it would also avoid arousing suspicion.

    That suggestion did not cause any damage or loss to Lin Li, and the only difference was theck of gold coins. After all, barter was the most primal form of trade. As for the exchange ratio between the potions and ores, gold coins were just a standard for reference. If the potion was worth 1000 gold coins, Lin Li would be receiving 1000 gold coins¡¯ worth of ores.

    After discussing the content of the business deal, Sinelli did not get the details written down on a contract, because some things were inappropriate to be written in ck and white. Sinelli simply handed a token to Lin Li. The specific contract for the trading of ores and potions would be signed by the Tower of Dusk and the nobles.

    Lin Li left the pce and boarded the luxurious carriage, going back to Dno City. Recalling the negotiation process along the way, Lin Li sighed and thought to himself that if Sinelli were in a ce where there was no suppression by the Brilliance Shrine, he could perhaps be a promising king. Unfortunately, the power of the Brilliance Shrine... hadpelled Sinelli to choose an extremely difficult path.

    Lin Li returned to the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine to see that the Pope Rosario¡¯s body had basically recovered. Hence, he finally had the opportunity to ask questions about theurgy.

    Although Lin Li had read the Light Bible before, he was just trying to figure out and grasp the concepts on his own, and he only managed to learn something because of the research that he had done on the debris of the stars Holy Light and Power of Light. However, he still had some doubts about the difficult questions and problems he encountered.

    Pope Rosario was a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, and his attainment in Holy Light Magic alone was probably unsurpassed in the entire Anril. To Lin Li, being able to receive some guidance and tips from such a formidable Sanctuary-realm powerhouse was just as good as the gains he had obtained in Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    Due to his mastery of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, Lin Li had a great advantage when he studied Holy Light Magic, and it was more than just rapid progress. The studying of Holy Light Magic, coupled with Rosario¡¯s tips, gave Lin Li a deeper understanding of the Laws of Holy Light and a better mastery of it.

 Chapter 774 - Clue

    <h4>Chapter 774: Clue</h4>

    The two could be consideredplements for each other, and shared a linear rtionship. When one improved, the other would improve significantly too. It would be reflected in Lin Li¡¯s strength.

    Back in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li had already vaguely seen the threshold to level-24. After learning on the Holy Mountain for a period of time, Lin Li mastered Holy Light Magic and the power of the debris of the stars Holy Light. The door of level-24 could be considered to have slowly opened up for Lin Li, who was only one step away from bing a true level-24 Legendary-mage.

    Of course, during this time, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine who were keen on pharmaceutics were also ecstatic about their gains, in addition to the improvement of their own strength. Lin Li was to them just like Rosario to Lin Li. In terms of pharmaceutics, there was probably no one in Anril who had achieved as much as Lin Li did in pharmaceutics. A few answers to their questions were enough to make them feel euphoric.

    Lin Li lived a disciplined and routine life on the Holy Mountain, which even made him unaware of the passage of time. Every morning, Lin Li would go to the Dawn Cathedral on the top of the Holy Mountain, ask Pope Rosario about theurgy, and then hear Rosario¡¯s stories about the Dark Age. In the afternoon, he would give some tips and answer the pharmaceutics questions from the archbishops and the Chief Judge. When he was in the mood for it, he would also demonstrate the preparation of several potions.

    At night, Lin Li would make a summary of everything he had leaned in the day, and then get immersed in the precious ssics collected by the Brilliance Shrine. However, Lin Li also read other books about the history of the Brilliance Shrine and various other myths. After exploring the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li knew that the myths and legends might not be all fictitious in Anril. It was good to have more knowledge, for one would never know when they might need it.

    However, when he read the information about the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li discovered that there was actually very little information about the once-famous Pdin Rodhart, who was also now the Retribution Knight in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountains. Even in some history books about that era, the information about him was vague, and there wasn¡¯t a single mention of his name at all. However, after he thought about it carefully, Lin Li could more or less understand the reason for it. After all, he was the Retribution Knight who had killed countless lives. Regardless of how much he had contributed to the Brilliance Shrine, no one was willing to mention him.

    Of course, for Lin Li, it was rather sad. The two pieces of the debris of the stars, Pr Snow and Raging mes, were still in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountain Range. Once he fulfilled the order ced by the Fn Kingdom, he would be able to get the magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons. It would then be time for him to get the two pieces of the debris of the stars and the Ice and Fire Magical Domain.

    When he¡¯d gone to the underground pce previously, the Retribution Knight hadn¡¯t given him any trouble. However, Lin Li reckoned that the Retribution Knight would definitely attack him if he had made too muchmotion in the underground pce.

    Although Connoris said that Prophet Willen had severely injured Retribution Knight Rodhart once, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t really use the unreliable piece of news as his safety. Retribution Knight Rodhart had been hibernating in the underground pce for numerous years, and God knew if it might change after waking up. During his peak, he had actually reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    During the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, an arbitrator of the Supreme Council managed to subdue the three Undead Lords in Shadowglen with just one simple trick. The power of the Sanctuary-realm was something that could not be resisted by the Legendary powerhouses. Even for the Legendary powerhouses, the gap was still worlds apart.

    There was still the perfect body of Osric previously lying in the crystal coffin in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, which gave Lin Li nightmare-like memories. At that time, Lin Li was not alone, and was actually in thepany of several other Legendary powerhouses like Andoine, Rosen, Aldwin, and the numerous servants Lin Li had summoned. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the perfect body had been restricted, Lin Li and the rest wouldn¡¯t have been able toe back alive.

    Besides, even if Lin Li¡¯sbined powers were on par with those of the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm, he wouldn¡¯t be that foolish as to go toe to toe with the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Although Pr Snow and Raging mes were important, he would definitely incur great losses if he were to deplete all of his energy.

    However, what made Lin Li feel dismayed was the fact that he did not find any information about Rodhart, and that the information about Willen was mostly irrelevant too. Prophet Willen was said to be a so-called Son of the Holy Light, and there had been plenty of information about him, but most of it was about how he had annihted the demons that harmed the humans, and how the civilians worshiped him, allowed him to spread the doctrine of the Holy Light, and so on. There was no information at all about Willen¡¯s origins and what magical weapons he had used.

    Lin Li even wanted to ask Rosario about it several times before, but he didn¡¯t dare to mention it. After all, Rosario would definitely be upset about such a shameful past event, regardless of how well-tempered he might be. He could ask about Prophet Willen, but he could never mention Rodhart, who was a disgrace to the Brilliance Shrine.

    The moonstone-decoratedmp in the room was radiating a gentle glow. Lin Li closed the book in his hand while pinching his forehead gently. Although there were plenty of ssic collected by the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li had already read most of them, and didn¡¯t have much hope to find out more about Rodhart left.

    Lin Li was indeed a bit frustrated at first because it would be unlikely for him to find any more information about Rodhart anywhere else, since he couldn¡¯t find any in the Brilliance Shrine. The unreliable living encyclopedia Connoris also had limited knowledge of Rodhart. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have had to look through the books. It seemed that he had to postpone his ns of acquiring Pr Snow and Raging mes even if he were to obtain the magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons. He would at least have to have the strength to fight against the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Otherwise, the risk would be huge.

    However, Lin Li felt less dejected after an unexpected discovery. He closed the book and leaned back against the chair with an ordinary-looking stone that could even be considered ugly. The stone didn¡¯t give off any magical waves at all, and no one in Anril could recognize it¡ªexcept for Lin Li and Connoris.

    The ugly stone was the magical crystal that Lin Li had obtained when he killed the Dragon of Destruction before he arrived in Anril. Back in the Abyss of Tharlen, Lin Li had tried to take out that magical crystal that didn¡¯t belong to Anril in order to defeat the Lord of Darkness, which was a projection of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Long before Lin Li arrived in Anril, it was said that the Dragon of Destruction was killed by the Immortal King. The skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction was used for the construction of the Sky Castles, and the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction was taken away by the Immortal King. Tutankhamun of the ckstone Mountains was one of them, though it was unknown if he was a child of the Dragon of Destruction or the Immortal King.

    ording to Connoris¡¯ suggestion, Lin Li had chosen the same method as the Immortal King, and he hoped to use the magical crystal to hatch a formidable figure like Tutankhamun. However, the Dragon of Destruction Azardas was the Dragon Aspect of Anril, and was said to be able to challenge existences like gods. How could it be easy to incubate the magical crystal?

    The process of incubation was extremely difficult yet easy at the same time. It required the constant induction of Spiritual Force into the magical crystal to activate the Soul Brand in the Dragon of Destruction. ording to Connoris, it required more than 100 years for the Immortal King to hatch the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Of course, although the process of incubation was boring and monotonous, it came with some benefits. Not only did the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction have powerful and iparable power, it also contained the two Laws, Evilness and Darkness, as well as the experience and knowledge gained by the Dragon of Destruction. However, they were all hidden in the Soul Brand, and it was impossible to directly absorb them from the magical crystal. One could only try to obtain them when the Spiritual Force merged with the magical crystal.

    Lin Li heard from Connoris that the incubation of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal was a mandatory daily affair. However, whenever the Spiritual Force was injected, it seemed to be sucked into a vortex. Although there was indeed some feedback, there wasn¡¯t much of an effect on the Soul Brand.

    In fact, that was also very normal. The Immortal King was formidable, and yet it still took 100 years to hatch the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal. Although it was mostly for Lin Li to learn the Rules and knowledge as much as possible, the amount of information he could receive was also greatly rted to his strength. Although Lin Li had plenty of mental strength when he wasn¡¯t learning magic, he was still far from the Immortal King.

    Even with the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal which provided continuous improvement of mental strength, Lin Li couldn¡¯t bepared to the Immortal King at all. Indeed, he could also obtain the nomological knowledge contained in the magical crystal. However, it was as difficult as squeezing oil from stone.

    During his days at the Brilliance Shrine, he didn¡¯t have much to worry about, because the ugly stone did not emit the slightest magical waves; hence, he continued to go about his daily routine. However, when Lin Li was going about his routine, he discovered the Soul Brand in the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, and there seemed to be a slight fluctuation therein.

    Lin Li knew that it was definitely not because his mental strength had improved, and he even began to suspect that it was just a misconception. After all, it had been more than two years since he had begun incubating the magical crystal. Even though his mental strength had changed dramatically, he probably still couldn¡¯t bepared to the Immortal King. However, after receiving the feedback from the magical crystal, Lin Li clearly felt that it had indeed increased.

    Perhaps it was because of the environment there. After all, they were on the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine, where the power of Holy Light was everywhere. Would it have some impact on the magical crystal that contained the Laws of Darkness and Destruction? The only thing Lin Li could do was guess. Of course, in order to verify that guess, he would have to experiment with his debris of the stars Holy Light, even though that could cause him to die a horrible death.

    Besides, Lin Li did not care about wasting time on meaningless guessing. Although the information he got from the magical crystal this time was not much, it was enough for him to absorb and digest for a while. Fortunately, even with such a change, the magical crystal still did not emit the slightest magical wave. Otherwise, Lin Li would be in trouble if anyone were to find out that he was studying Dark Force in the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s territory.

    A powerful existence like the Dragon of Destruction was a guardian of the Laws of Destruction and Darkness. Coupled with the experience and knowledge umted over countless years, it would be enough for Lin Li to deplete his energy. Fortunately, during this time, Lin Li received plenty of pointers from Rosario. Although they were all about the power of the Holy Light and Holy Light Magic, most of them were connected. Light and Darkness seemed to be two extreme opposing forces. However, it was the very contradiction that gave them simrities. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t find it difficult to learn this time, even though there wasn¡¯t plenty of information in the feedback from the magical crystal.

    After the visit to the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li had not only made great progress in using the Power of Light, he had also learned a lot about the Dark Force. That was something that Lin Li had never expected.

    In the past few days, Lin Li basically read through all of the ssics collected by the Brilliance Shrine, but he still had no clue about the information regarding Rodhart. After returning thest batch of books, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but ask the clergyman who was in charge of the books to check if there were any unread books and materials that he could read.

 Chapter 775 - To the Darkness Shrine

    <h4>Chapter 775: To the Darkness Shrine</h4>

    The dusty hut was just like a rubbish dump which contained plenty of books scattered all over the ce, giving off an aura of dposition. Lin Li stared at everything in the hut in shock and disbelief. ording to the clergyman, no one had opened the hut for hundreds of years. It was not because of any bans, but because there were plenty of new copies of those books that could be found outside. Hence, no one would bother going to the hut to read them.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s eyes glistened when he heard that no one had opened the hut for hundreds of years. Perhaps what he was looking for was in that pile of old papers. Lin Li sent the clergyman away, and began to get engrossed in the books all by himself. He rummaged through each book carefully. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t take him too much effort to do it, since he had basically read all the books outside anyway. He just had to look for the ones he hadn¡¯t seen before.

    ¡°Damn it, no wonder this matter got erased from the records in theter eras. So this is what happened.¡± Lin Li¡¯s efforts paid off. After a painstaking session of rummaging, he finally returned to his room on the Holy Mountain with a torn and tattered scroll.

    He dismissed Englos and the other people who came to ask him about pharmaceutics under the pretext that he had gained some insight into Holy Light Magic. He then carefully closed the door andid the scroll on the table, only to be greeted with lines of blurred words.

    There was another unexpected reason for Lin Li¡¯s failure to find any information about Rodhart despite having searched for such a long time. It was because Prophet Willen, who was known as the Son of the Holy Light, and the notorious Retribution Knight Rodhart were actually twin brothers!

    Lin Li had actually heard some legends and rumors about what Rodhart had done. The information recorded had more or less confirmed the legends. Legends had it that Rodhart was an orphan who got adopted by the Brilliance Shrine as a child. That was true, except that his brother Willen was adopted together with him. In fact, Willen bing the Son of the Holy Light perhaps had something to do with Rodhart getting adopted by the Brilliance Shrine.

    Just like the other orphans adopted by the Brilliance Shrine, Rodhart and Willen had received strict education, imparted to them by the Brilliance Shrine ever since they were children. When Rodhart was 15 years old, he joined the Court of Heresy with several other teenagers who were as outstanding as him after passing the Court¡¯s assessment. At that time, his younger brother Willen had also be a disciple of the pope because of his incredible talent.

    When Rodhart was 32 years old, he entered the Legendary-realm and took over the position as the Chief Judge, after which he gradually began to rise in Anril. Together with the actions carried out by the Court of Heresy, the dominance that the young Referee of Heresy, Rodhart, had shown as well as his astonishing abilities made him getbeled as the strongest Pdin since the establishment of the Brilliance Shrine. Rodhart could be considered to have reached the pinnacle of life, and he had even be more famous than the pope. Countless people in the entire Brilliance Shrine idolized him too.

    During this period, Willen, who was far more talented than his elder brother, was less known even though he was the pope¡¯s disciple. However, it was obvious that the Brilliance Shrine was deliberately trying to help him keep a low profile because of his identity as the Son of the Holy Light in order to keep him safe until he grew to adulthood. At that time, the Darkness Shrine had yet to fall, and was still an opponent that the Brilliance Shrine dared not belittle. In fact, it was even more powerful than the Brilliance Shrine back then, and Willen could be considered the hope for the rise of the Brilliance Shrine. If the Darkness Shrine had found out that he was the Son of the Holy Light, they might¡¯ve really killed him.

    Afterwards, Rodhart suddenly resigned as the Head Referee, and gradually vanished from sight. The next time he appeared was 100 yearster. However, at that time, he had already be the controversial Retribution Knight whomanded a powerful legion of Death Knights that bulldozed through the entire Breezy ins. During that disaster, the poption of the Breezy ins declined sharply by more than a third, and the bustling cities turned into ruins because of the Death Knights.

    When Rodhart disappeared as a Pdin, his younger brother became a prophet of the Brilliance Shrine, and the people in Anril gradually knew him as the Son of The Holy Light. At that time, Willen was said to have possessed Sanctuary-level power, and his attainments in Holy Light Magic had even surpassed those of the pope of the Brilliance Shrine. Although there was no witness during the battle between Willen and the Supreme Council arbitrator Apophis, Apophis admittedter that Willen was invincible and that he admired him greatly. It was also because of that battle that the presence of Prophet Willen greatly improved the reputation of the Brilliance Shrine. Even the Supreme Council was suppressed.

    Hence, when Rodhart became the Retribution Knight andmanded the Death Knights to wreak havoc in the Breezy ins, the two brothers finally met again. However, this time, Rodhart¡¯s younger brother Willen had already been tasked with purifying his brother who had be a Retribution Knight.

    There was no information about Rodhart even in the document that Lin Li had found. However, after the battle, the disaster in the Breezy ins finally ended, and Prophet Willen also disappeared for some unknown reason. He never appeared in the Brilliance Shrine again. All of a sudden, Willen was no longer around to seed the papal throne and guard the glorious Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they immediately got attacked by various forces. There was huge damage to their power, and they even almost got subdued again by the fallen Darkness Shrine.

    After reading the information, Lin Li was both surprised and disappointed by the content because there was no record of the battle between Willen and Rodhart. Hence, there was no way Lin Li would know about the powers of the Retribution Knight Rodhart.

    However, Lin Li discovered a secret message in the data. Before Rodhart fell, he actually went to the Darkness Shrine once. At that time, Willen actually went together with Rodhart. There was no information about the reason for their visit to the Darkness Shrine, but not long after they left, there was a major change in the Darkness Shrine. The Darkness Shrine, which could initially go toe-to-toe against the Brilliance Shrine, almost fell apart overnight, and never rose again since then.

    What exactly did Rodhart and Willen do, and what happened to the Darkness Shrine? Although Lin Li found out some things from the information, he had even more doubts. Lin Li vaguely felt that the answer seemed to be in the Darkness Shrine. Hence, he reckoned that it would be necessary to go to the Darkness Shrine.

    However, despite having made a decision, Lin Li didn¡¯t leave the Brilliance Shrine immediately. There were very few opportunities for him to get some pointers from a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm. Lin Li had no idea what was awaiting him in the Darkness Shrine; hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of any opportunity to improve his abilities.

    Pope Rosario also showed great patience when Lin Li consulted him. In fact, he was even more serious than when he was teaching his own disciples. Although Lin Li was not his own disciple, or even a believer of the Brilliance Shrine, and he didn¡¯t show any signs of being rted to the Son of The Holy Light, Rosario had already determined that Lin Li definitely had something to do with the Son of The Holy Light the Brilliance Shrine had been trying to find.

    Actually, Lin Li had already been living on the Holy Mountain for a month, and time passed without him realizing it. Within that short period of time, Lin Li managed to grasp the concepts and all sorts of techniques rapidly. If Lin Li were to change into the robe of the Brilliance Shrine, no one would doubt if he was really a devout believer of the Holy Light.

    At this moment, a priest from the Darkness Shrine, who was dressed in a ck robe, finally arrived at the foot of the Holy Mountain.

    Although Lin Li was still hesitant, it was already the second time that Sendros had sent someone to invite him to the Darkness Shrine, and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to dy it any further. This time, Sendros had sent a Legendary-level priest who flew straight to the Brilliance Shrine using the Power of Flight. Clearly, Sendros had begun to get impatient.

    After saying goodbye to Pope Rosario and Englos, Lin Li proceeded to the foot of the Holy Mountain and saw Priest Balesi. If it weren¡¯t for the conspicuous ck robe that he was wearing, Balesi would look simr to an ordinary human who was in his forties. Although his face was pale, it was still normal. Although there was some Darkness in the magical wave that he was emanating, there was no death aura, and he was clearly specialized in Dark Magic.

    ¡°Master Felic, the High Priest has sent me to invite you to the Darkness Shrine as soon as possible,¡± said Balesi. Although Balesi had never seen Lin Li before, Sendros had definitely told him what Lin Li was like. The fact that Lin Li was in his twenties and had Legendary strength was enough for Balesi to recognize Lin Li.

    ¡°It¡¯s that urgent? Let¡¯s set off immediately, then,¡± said Lin Li, who immediately used his Power of Flight to travel to the Darkness Shrine.

    Of course it¡¯d be urgent. However, they were in the territory of the Brilliance Shrine. Although Balesi did not have to worry about the people of the Brilliance Shrine harming him, the omnipresent aura of light made him feel particrly ufortable to the extent that he didn¡¯t want to stay there any second longer. He only managed to pull through because he was a practitioner of Dark Magic. Unless one was at Sendros¡¯ level, a Necromancer would definitely suffer permanent damage there.

    The canyon that the Darkness Shrine was located in was actually rtively close to the Breezy ins. However, Lin Li had set off from the City of Dawn, which was indeed rather far away. Fortunately, there were no obstacles in the sky. If they were to go there by foot, they would probably take two or three months to reach the vicinity. Even though they flew there, they only managed to reach the canyon on the second night.

    The deep Night Canyon in between the mountains looked just like a huge mouth cracking open in the earth. The bright moonlight seemed rather daunting, but everything inside the canyon seemed to be buried in infinite darkness. It was the sanctuary of Darkness where light would never shine. Lin Li could even feel the dark roaring.

    Under the lead of Balesi, Lin Li entered the Night Canyon and looked up. The bright moonlight in the sky was somehow covered with ayer of blood that seemed to symbolize the disastrous war in the Dark Age. Lin Li followed Balesi to therge and gloomy canyon, and a majestic shrine gradually emerged from the darkness.

    He had just left the Brilliance Shrine, yet he was now in the Night Canyon of the Darkness Shrine. The stark contrast made Lin Li feel extremely shocked. Although the Darkness Shrine had lost most power long ago, Lin Li could still imagine how glorious the Darkness Shrine used to be.

    The believers of the Darkness Shrine believed in the doctrine of Darkness, but they did not discriminate against Holy Light. To them, light and darkness were not natural enemies. Only the presence of light could bring out Darkness. Only then would they treasure the dark more.

    Although the Darkness Shrine and the Brilliance Shrine had been against each other for more than 1300 years, they were justpeting to dominate the world. Regardless of the difference in strength between the two parties, the stronger party had never thought of destroying the other party.

    Even at the beginning where the Darkness Shrine had just experienced the disastrous war which caused it to almost copse overnight, the Brilliance Shrine had not taken the opportunity to eradicate them. It was because fighting with the Darkness Shrine at that time was no longer meaningful. The Darkness Shrine was extremely weak; hence, there was already an oue. The Brilliance Shrine rightfully dominated Anril.

    Of course, the cessation of the conflict did not mean that the Darkness Shrine had given up, but rather that it became their motivation. After that huge disaster, the Darkness Shrine did not go into a slump, but instead umted their power in the dark. In the recent decades, they even began to show signs of returning to their heyday.

    Although the Darkness Shrine still could not bepared to the Brilliance Shrine now, it was second (or rather third) only to the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine in the entire Anril. They would perhaps rise back to glory after a few hundred years of conscientious management.

 Chapter 776 - The Six Giants

    <h4>Chapter 776: The Six Giants</h4>

    Lin Li had juste from the Brilliance Shrine. Although he had seen the powerful strength of the Brilliance Shrine, he could also sense that they were declining a little. Since there were nopetitors, the Brilliance Shrine gradually stopped being aggressive and motivated. Apart from Pope Rosario and a few higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine, the believers of the Brilliance Shrine had probably been taking everything for granted since a long time ago.

    There was a square paved with obsidian magical gemstones in front of the majestic shrine. However, when Lin Li looked down from above, he could see that there were numerous cracks and deep grooves that seemed to have been made by axes and swords in the square. It was as if an extremely tragic battle had taken ce in the square before. However, the damaged square did not seem ruined, but instead gave off an even more menacing vibe.

    There were some people standing in the square under the lead of the High Priest of the Darkness Shrine, Sendros, who had five ¡°people¡± of different shapes standing behind them. The ones at the back were the ordinary priests of the Darkness Shrine. The scene was extremely grand, and given the current status of the Darkness Shrine, there were very few people in Anril they would show such great respect to.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t find anything strange about Sendros and the rest who were standing in the square. He reckoned that Sendros had already received the news of their arrival as soon as they entered the Night Canyon. Lin Li didn¡¯t fly too close, and insteadnded slowly on a spot that was about 300 to 400 meters away from them before walking towards Sendros.

    ¡°Wee to the Darkness Shrine, Master Felic,¡± Sendros said in a hoarse voice. A stiff smile formed on his pale face, which was extremely daunting.

    The people behind Sendros were clueless, but Balesi, who hade with Lin Li, couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at this moment. He had been in the Darkness Shrine for numerous years, but he had never seen the high priest smiling before, even though it seemed rather terrifying.

    Balesi knew that High Priest Sendros valued Lin Li, whom he had invited, rather greatly, but he had not expected Lin Li to be so important that Sendros would actuallye out to greet and receive him personally with a smile, which was very rare of him. At this time, he couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice about the fact that he didn¡¯t disrespect Lin Li along the way. Otherwise, he would never be able to escape the wrath of the High Priest Sendros even though he was a priest.

    ¡°Master Sendros, I¡¯m very sorry for taking such a long time toe here,¡± said Lin Li, who began to feel a little embarrassed. After all, Sendros had invited him already in the ckstone Mountains, and Lin Li had been pushing him away and dying the matter until now because of various reasons.

    Sendros was the chief high priest of the Darkness Shrine and its actual leader. In the current Darkness Shrine, he was the actual leader of the entire Anril¡¯s believers of Darkness. Even though he could notpare to Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine in terms of status, he was probably not too inferior. He personally brought five high priests and numerous followers to the square to wee Lin Li. It was obvious how important Lin Li was to him.

    ¡°Good that you¡¯re here, Master Felic. This way, please, let me introduce you to these priests,¡± said Sendros. He didn¡¯t me Lin Li for turning upte, though he gave off an icy cold vibe. The terrifying smile on his face had also disappeared, but there was a look of enthusiasm in his gaze.

    The people behind Sendros were, strictly speaking, not actual humans. The first high priest, Culostein, was said to be the oldest pure-blood vampire in the entire Anril. As a result, he was called the ancestor of Vampires. Hence, the mana waves that he emitted were much stronger than those of the Undead Lords in the Shadowglen. Of course, he was not the progenitor of the Vampires; he was merely closer to a direct descendant of such a Vampire.

    The three Undead Lords in the Shadowglen were level-23 powerhouses in the Legendary-realm. They only seemed to be somewhat ipetent previously because their opponent was the formidable Megard of the Sanctuary-realm. After all, the difference between the Legendary-realm and the Sanctuary-realm was too huge. Even those who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm could not fight the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. However, in Anril, there were only a few such powerhouses. Even Lin Li would face difficulty in dealing with an Undead Lord of the Shadowglen if he didn¡¯t use any debris of the stars.

    The ancestor of the Vampires, Culostein, was almost on the same level as the three Undead Lords, and was perhaps even more powerful. However, generic Vampires tended to resemble human assassins; in fact, Vampires could be considered the most outstanding natural assassins. However, the Vampire Culostein was dressed like a Dark Mage, and he was also emitting pure Dark Magical waves.

    Next to the Vampire Culostein was a Necromancer named Zoqu, whose thin and petite body was wrapped tightly in a ck robe. The wide hood of the robe concealed his facepletely in the darkness. Even when he was responding to Sendros¡¯ introduction, all that could be seen beneath the hood were two palpitating soul fires.

    As he was a high priest, the magical waves of the Necromancer Zoqu were extremely faint like stagnant water and full of death. However, Lin Li could feel that the Necromancer Zoqu was likely to be more dangerous than the Vampire Culostein. Lin Li had encountered plenty of Necromancers before, but Zoqu seemed to be the most terrifying one thus far¡ªapart from Sendros.

    Of course, the Ghost in the Sky Castle was an exception because that creature was far beyond a Necromancer. In order to enter the world of the Undead, he was probably going to be the actual king of the Undead. To be honest, Lin Li had yet toe up with a solution to snatch the Sky Castle back, and he reckoned that the Sky Castle had probably already been engulfedpletely by Undead creatures.

    The third high priest of the Darkness Shrine was a werewolf with a wolf¡¯s head and a human body. He had silvery-gray hair and a stature of more than two meters, making him look oppressive and daunting. He was wearing nothing but a simple leather armor consisting of two shoulder pads and a ck breastte that only protected the vital area where his heartid. His exposed muscles seemed just like forged steel, and obviously contained unimaginable explosive power.

    He was Pdio, a high priest of the Darkness Shrine and the head of the Night Werewolves. Although he was a werewolf, he was different from tyrannical beastmen, and their appearance aside, their bloodlines werepletely unrted. They did not believe in the God of Beasts, and only worshiped the God of Darkness. They were the most powerful warriors in the dark night, and hunted their enemies beneath the moonlight. However, during the day, they would turn into humans.

    Lin Li hade in contact with numerous human Sword Sages, but Pdio was probably the strongest warrior he had ever encountered. Of course, the perfect body manipted by Osric¡¯s Soul Brand was an exception since it was the greatest masterpiece of Osric¡¯s life, after all. However, due to the issues with the degree of fusion, the power of the perfect body manipted by Connoris was unknown.

    Next, the fourth high priest Gerg was an actual Lich whose thin body was wrapped tightly in a ck robe. His skull was also covered in dead skin, and there was arge Eternal Night gemstone embellished in his skull. Compared to this Lich, Lin Li¡¯s subordinate Ujfalusi was much inferior. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that Gerg was the king of Liches.

    Thest high priest, who seemed the most humanlike to Lin Li, was a knight named Nostalo, who was d in heavy armor from head to toe. However, his face was alsopletely covered by a visor, and the only thing that could be seen through it was his fiery gaze that shone through the gaps in the visor.

    Although the five high priests were extremely mysterious, Nostalo was the one whom Lin Li found to be the most peculiar¡ªhe did not detect any death aura from him, but he could not sense any aura of life, either. In Lin Li¡¯s memory, it seemed that only those Death Knights who manipted Divine Power were highly simr to him. However, Nostalo didn¡¯t emit any Divine Power, even though he also didn¡¯t give off any death aura.

    After being introduced to the five high priests, Lin Li indeed felt that they were formidable, even though they had declined over the years after the disaster that fell upon them. Regardless of how much they had deteriorated, an ordinary force still wouldn¡¯t beparable to them. The five of them and the chief high priest Sendros formed the Darkness Council of the Darkness Shrine, and led the members of the Darkness Shrine out of the trauma of that war, and allowed them to rise to a position where no one in Anril would despise them.

    While Lin Li was observing the five high priests, they were also scrutinizing him, the young mage who was praised by Sendros. Everyone could tell how highly Sendros valued Lin Li. Although the five high priests did not know much about Lin Li, they also gave him due respect. After all, although Lin Li was young, he was genuinely emitting level-23 magical waves.

    It was no wonder that he was valued by Sendros. Not only did he enter the Legendary-realm at a young age, he even made it to level-23, which was an unprecedented feat in the history of the entire Anril. Even Geresco, the God of Mages, was still preparing to enter the Legendary-realm when he was at Lin Li¡¯s age. If nothing went wrong, it would only be a matter of time before Lin Li entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    To their greater disbelief, the young prodigy Lin Li actually managed to achieve unprecedented aplishments in pharmaceutics as well. The five high priests were also aware of the fact that Pope Rosario was poisoned by Viper¡¯s poison, and that Lin Li was the one who gave him the antidote. Previously, there had also been news of Rosario, who hadn¡¯t left the Holy Mountain in decades, suddenly appearing in the city of Sparta in the Ledin Kingdom. Clearly, Lin Li had gotten rid of the poison in Pope Rosario¡¯s body. In other words, Lin Li was likely to be an actual pharmaceutics Guru.

    The role of a pharmaceutics Guru was evident in the development of the Tower of Dusk. Within just more than two years, the Tower of Dusk had grown from a small fry that was disregarded by everyone to a force with status that made everyone look up to them. Although there were also various other factors involved, it was no doubt that Lin Li¡¯s attainments in pharmaceutics yed a vital role.

    Truth be told, the five high priests would have thought that they were reading myths and hearing fictitious stories had they not known about the various information about Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk and been particrly trusting of Sendros. The five high priests greatly approved of and agreed with Sendros¡¯ approach. Although the Darkness Shrine had declined over the years, they definitely wouldn¡¯t ignore such a genius even during their heyday.

    However, they still wondered if they could really rely on the young mage Lin Li this time. As Sendros pulled Lin Li into the shrine affectionately, the five high priests who were following closely behind looked at each other. Although two of them had their faces hidden, they could still tell that the two were also worried and doubtful.

    They did not doubt the authenticity of the various information about the Tower of Dusk and the young mage Felic. However, they also knew that the chief high priest Sendros invited Lin Li to the Darkness Shrine this time not only for the purpose of forging closer ties, but also because of an important matter that involved their existence.

    Indeed, Lin Li¡¯s talent was very convincing, but talent simply meant that he had great potential which would perhaps allow him to progress faster than ordinary people, or go further than ordinary people. However, even if he was a genius, he still couldn¡¯t exert power of the Sanctuary-level at level-23. Compared to people of the same level, even a genius couldn¡¯t be that much stronger, and in fact, they might even have less experience due to the fact that they had advanced too quickly.

 Chapter 777 - Doubts

    <h4>Chapter 777: Doubts</h4>

    Many people would perhaps never be able to enter the Legendary-realm throughout their lives, and entering the Sanctuary-realm was a far-fetched dream for most Legendary powerhouses. Indeed, while Lin Li¡¯s talent would probably allow him to enter the Sanctuary-realm, he was still just a level-23 Legendary-mage at the moment. Could the fate of the Darkness Shrine really be left in his hands?

    The five high priests were not worried about Sendros doing anything that might harm the Darkness Shrine, but this time, even the powerful Darkness Shrine could not deal with the issue at hand. What could a level-23 Legendary powerhouse do? Although the Darkness Shrine had somewhat deteriorated, it did notck level-23 powerhouses. The chief high priest Sendros and the five high priests were all Legendary-level individuals.

    As for the power of the Tower of Dusk, they were indeed developing well under the management of Lin Li. Within just over two years, it had already surpassed the Dark de which had existed for hundreds of years, and be an incredible force in the Breezy ins. However,pared to the Darkness Shrine, the Tower of Dusk was still rather small currently. If the Tower of Dusk waspared to a person, he could be called a genius, but the problem was actually the same. Regardless of how it developed in the future, it was still far from surpassing the Darkness Shrine, Supreme Council, and Brilliance Shrine.

    Lin Li naturally didn¡¯t know what the five high priests thought of him. It didn¡¯t matter as long as they were cordial on the surface. He was only there because of Sendros¡¯ invitation, and Sendros was showing him due respect by bringing so many people out to greet him. Lin Li even vaguely felt that it was too much.

    As Lin Li followed Sendros into the shrine, he finally had a more intuitive impression of this mysterious ce in Anril.

    In various stories and legends, the Darkness Shrine was almost synonymous with the words ¡°horror¡± and ¡°evil¡±, and the Darkness Shrine was described as a spooky and filthy ce. Of course, it was also because of the deliberate misleading done by the Brilliance Shrine. However, the demand for believers in the Darkness Shrine was far less than that of the Brilliance Shrine. No one bothered to retort or raise a dispute.

    Of course, not all of that was wrong. At least, for humans who naturally longed for light, passing through the Night Canyon to the square outside the shrine was indeed an eerie experience. However, in the shrine, there wasn¡¯t much of a spooky vibe, since there were rows of bright magicmps, even though it was not as bright as day. ording to the believers of Darkness, Darkness was their religion and their source of energy, but that did not mean that they wouldpletely eradicate light.

    Although it was one of the most powerful forces in Anril, the decorations in the Darkness Shrine were not very luxurious, but they gave off a simple and elegant vibe which allowed everyone in there to feel extremely at peace. The ground that was paved with obsidian magical gemstones was smooth, t, and reflective, resembling the starry night sky. Although ck was not the main theme for the walls, roofs, and pirs, ck was mandatory. All the other colors seemed to be meant forplementing ck. Having gotten used to seeing luxurious decors, Lin Li feltfortable in the Darkness Shrine both visually and spiritually.

    Everyone arrived in the hall and sat down separately. ording to Sendros, Lin Li was a guest of honor; hence, he was allowed to sit next to him. The five high priests did not have any objection, even though they didn¡¯t think that Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk could be of any help to the Darkness Shrine in resolving the crisis at hand. They didn¡¯t look down on Lin Li, though.

    Two years had passed since the incident in the ckstone Mountains. For most people, two years or so was probably not enough for them to improve their own strength even by just one level. Although Sendros had long known that Lin Li was incredibly talented in magic, he knew that Lin Li had great aplishments in pharmaceutics, and he could not help but be astonished by Lin Li¡¯s incredible attainments.

    The hall seemed rather quiet. Sendros and Lin Li were the only ones who were talking. The five high priests were seated quietly, and it was unknown if they were listening or busy thinking.

    Meanwhile, Sendros and Lin Li began talking about everything that happened in the ckstone Mountains, to the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen, to the Sky Castle, the Seven-Realm Spiral, and Lin Li¡¯s conflict with the Dark de.

    Regarding the matter of the conflict with the Dark de, Lin Li hypocritically expressed his apologies[1], but obviously the Dark de was nothing in the eyes of the Darkness Shrine, and Sendros simply said that they¡¯d been asking for it. Of course, they tacitly refrained from mentioning what the Darkness Shrine thought about the Dark de attacking the Tower of Dusk. After all, no matter who was at fault, the Dark de had be a thing of the past, and there was no need to bring them up and affect everyone¡¯s mood.

    At the mention of the powerful Ghost in the Sky Castle, Sendros¡¯ face grew a little sullen. As he was a Necromancer with abilities that were close to the Sanctuary-realm, no one knew the power of the Undead Heaven better than he did. Lin Li exined to everyone that he was lucky enough to have escaped by dashing into the Teleportation Portal at thest moment, but Sendros knew that it was impossible to escape from the Undead Heaven just by relying on luck alone. Not to mention, there were 36 towers that formed a Psychic Array. Without any special means, he would definitely have been pulled back by the powerful force.

    However, although Sendros could tell that Lin Li was hiding the matter, he still continued to question him. An ambiguous smile formed on his face when he heard Lin Li say that he had escaped from the Undead Heaven. It was as if he had already seen through Lin Li¡¯s tricks.

    ¡°Just like that, I was trapped in the chaotic flow of time and space for almost half a year. Fortunately, the Teleportation Portal was intact. Otherwise, I would have really been buried in a Nether Storm. After returning from the Haiga Mountain Range, I had no ns for a new adventure. However, I had plenty of things to handle at the Tower of Dusk, and when I was finally done, the people from the nna Guild of Magic came to look for me. Hence, I had no choice but to dy the visit to your ce again. Speaking of which, the matter with the nna Guild of Magic was also an agreement that I made with them long ago...¡± Lin Li did not notice Sendros¡¯ expression, and simply continued to talk about the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Of course, it was nearly impossible to notice any expression on Sendros¡¯ stiff face.

    The bet made between the nna Guild of Magic and the Adventurers Guild was rather well-known, and had also be theughing stock to countless people. Hence, Sendros and the rest were naturally aware of it. However, after listening to Lin Li¡¯s description, the five high priests became even more worried because they all knew that the President of the Adventurers Guild, Al¡¯Akir, was a Smithing Master. Since Lin Li could fulfill the bet, he was clearly at least a Master of forging.

    If Sendros¡¯ purpose in seeing Lin Li this time was just for forging connections, it would naturally be better for Lin Li to be morepetent. However, even forging Masters and pharmaceutics Gurus wouldn¡¯t be of any help to the Darkness Shrine this time. Time was equal for everyone. Regardless of how talented Lin Li, who was in his early twenties, was, 20 years wouldn¡¯t be longer for himpared to others. Even if he had been studying every day and night since he was born, he could at most allocate his time well, and schedule creating magic, potions, and forging for different time slots.

    Of course, Lin Li waspetent, but it was undeniable that scheduling some of his limited time for other skills would definitely affect his learning of magic. The five high priests already had doubts about whether Lin Li could help the Darkness Shrine survive this crisis, and when they heard that Lin Li was also a Master of forging, they began to feel even more apprehensive.

    Lin Li did not feel ufortable about their silence at all. After all, he was chatting with Sendros, and it would be normal for them not to intervene. While Sendros posed timely questions, Lin Li continued to answer, and told him about the matters regarding Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the three Undead Lords of the Shadowglen who had made a pact with Geresco, the massive Immortal Door, the whole other world outside the mausoleum, the huge Alchemical Undead, the three butchers of Osric like Angno, and the Fire Demon King who had guarded the mausoleum for over a millennium...

    When Lin Li said that they actually managed to reach the 72nd floor of the abyss, and had a fierce battle with the legendary Zago Demons, the five high priests seemed to have temporarily forgotten about their troubles as they listened to Lin Li¡¯s ount attentively. Although they had all been living for countless years, everything that Lin Li had experienced in the past two years or so was probably more exciting than everything they had experienced in their entire lives.

    They gasped unanimously, especially when Lin Li mentioned the perfect body created by Osric lying in the crystal coffin. Osric was a mythical figure, and although Lin Li and others had merely fought the perfect body he created, it was definitely a wonderful experience.

    Although the five high priests were surprised, they did not reevaluate Lin Li¡¯s abilities because of that matter. After all, they felt that Osric¡¯s perfect body probably might not have power that exceeded the Sanctuary-realm. Those who were in the Sanctuary-realm could be considered demigods. Hence, how could a mortal create a god-like body? Besides, Lin Li also said that the so-called perfect body was still bound by the crystal coffin, and could not exert its full power at all.

    If Lin Li knew what they were thinking, he would probably cuss his heart out immediately. What did you mean a wonderful experience? That perfect body that had Osric¡¯s Soul Brand possessed power of the Sanctuary-level. Besides, he also had the most bizarre and eerie debris of the stars, Nothingness. That battle could be considered the most hopeless one that Lin Li had ever experienced since he arrived in Anril. The thought of the suppression he¡¯d felt in it would still make him shudder.

    For Lin Li, there was no longer a point in hiding things about various incidents. His acquisition of the three relics of Geresco was also a well known fact in the Breezy ins, and he had also set the Eternal Furnace on the top of the Tower of Dusk. Ordinary people might not be able to identify it, but how could someone like Sendros be unaware of what it was? As for the perfect body created by Osric, Lin Li didn¡¯t mention that Connoris was an ancient deity, and simply said that it was a Demon Lord Osric had caught in the past.

    When they came to the topic of Lin Li¡¯s visit to the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li stopped for a moment, looked at Sendros, and continued, ¡°Master Sendros, Priest Jyker and Priest Balesi have both mentioned that you invited me here this time for something important. Would it be convenient for you to let me know what it is now?¡±

    Ever since he left the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li had been thinking about the matter, and trying to figure out what that important thing was. He did not think that Sendros merely wanted to listen to his stories. However, he also knew his own significance. Although he seemed ratherpetent at level-23, he was still far from being a true powerhouse. At least, the Darkness Shrine didn¡¯tck someone of his level. It was true that Lin Li was irreceable only for the fact that he was a pharmaceutics Guru. If Sendros needed him to make a potion, he could have just exined it directly from the start. There was no need to keep Lin Li in suspense at all.

    Before waiting for Sendros to answer Lin Li¡¯s questions, the priest Zoqu, who had been seated quietly, suddenly said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Master Felic, the experience that you gained over the past two years is really shocking. Although you have been emphasizing that it was all based on luck, we all know that without a certain level of abilities and strength, it would have been impossible to seize the opportunity even if it had been in front of you. I have a few questions about magic that I¡¯d like to discuss with you. Would you be interested?¡±

    That matter concerned the existence of the Darkness Shrine, and it was even more serious than the matter of Pope Rosario being poisoned. The five high priests did not approve of letting Lin Li find out what the matter was about, since they still had no idea if Lin Li could be of any help to them or not.

    [1] The Dark de was affiliated with the Shrine.

 Chapter 778 - Endless Chain

    <h4>Chapter 778: Endless Chain</h4>

    Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question to Sendros, the High Priest Zoqu suddenly interjected. In addition to temporarily interjecting and interrupting them, he also intended on testing Lin Li.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think too much about it, since Zoqu sounded polite, and not in the least bit provocative¡ªhe thought that Zoqu was perhaps really interested in discussion. He didn¡¯t mind being interrupted, and instead nodded and smiled. He then said to Zoqu, ¡°You¡¯re being too formal, High Priest. I¡¯m very d to discuss magic with you. However, I don¡¯t know much about Necromagic, so I might have to consult you instead.¡±

    Lin Li was not an arrogant person, and High Priest Zoqu had also shown him due respect. Of course, he would return the same respect. However, due to the fact that Zoqu was a Necromancer, Lin Li naturally thought that Zoqu wanted to discuss Necromagic with him. Although Lin Li had the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, and could be considered to have mastered the purest nomological power of Darkness, Necromagic was not simply the application of Darkness¡¯ nomological power, but a product of thebination of Dark Force and vitality.

    It was just like how Lin Li chose the traditional and orthodox method in Alchemy. Although he had reached a fairly high level in Alchemy, he was still far inferior to Angno in terms of creating Alchemy Puppets. If they were to discuss Dark Magic, Lin Li could still make impable statements just based on his mastery of Gloomy Dark. However, Necromagic was beyond his abilities.

    Zoqu¡¯s face was still hidden in the shadow of hisrge hood, but he still seemed to be smiling. He then said in an unpleasantly hoarse voice, ¡°It¡¯s not about Necromagic, or any pure form of magic. It¡¯s about magic theories.¡±

    ¡°Oh, in this case, please guide me, High Priest,¡± said Lin Li, who was much more interested after hearing that it was about magic theory. He did not think that Zoqu was deliberately provoking him, either. The so-called magic theory simply consisted of forms and theorems that were applicable to the entire magic system. Through the magic theory had been summarized by the predecessors, the mages could have a deeper understanding of magic. If the problems that Zoqu wanted to discuss were something that he had yet to master, it would be a good learning opportunity for him.

    After hearing Zoqu¡¯s words, Sendros nced at him with a hint of displeasure on his face. He was obviously clear about Zoqu¡¯s intentions. However, before Lin Li arrived at the Darkness Shrine, he had already discussed the matter with the Darkness Council several times.

    Actually, Sendros and the five high priests did not have any differing opinions about what to do about Lin Li, because they all recognized the value of Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, and felt that they were crucial to the Darkness Shrine. However, the five high priests felt that they ought to be more careful and conscientious when dealing with the crisis this time.

    <i>Forget it, instead of trying to stop them by using my authority, it would be better to let them see for themselves just how incrediblypetent this young chap is.</i>

    At the thought of this, Sendros decided not to intervene, and instead remained seated to watch the show calmly.

    Seeing that Sendros didn¡¯t say anything to stop them, Zoqu felt a little relieved, and he turned to look at Lin Li. Still behaving very politely, he said, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you about Aegno¡¯s magical damage chain form. Although I have studied that for several years, I have only deduced the chain process to 67 steps using the form. I seemed to have hit a teau, and never got to achieve a breakthrough again. I wonder if you have any exnation or solutions for this, Master Felic.¡±

    Aegno was allegedly the first dean of the High Elves Royal Academy of Magic during the Dark Age, and was the most noble magic theorist of the Dark Age. The hierarchical system of mages that wasmonly used today was formted by Aegno. There were a total of 25 levels from a mage apprentice to the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, there was a clear path for mages.

    Apart from creating the hierarchical system, Aegno had also contributed greatly to the magic theory. The magical damage chain form was one of his contributions. The so-called magical damage chain form meant that when a target was hit by an offensive spell, there would be additional damage done if a second spell was cast at the right time. In theory, the effect could be repeated and perpetuated. In the end, the damage could even be increased to a daunting level.

    ording to that, Aegno created the magical damage chain form to put this theory into practice to the greatest extent possible. It was said that Aegno managed to create a record of 213 chain magic damagebo done to the target using his own magical form during the Dark Age. Using abo of attacks below level-15, he even managed to make the damage nearly as powerful as that of Sanctuary-level attacks. After the Dark Age ended, even Geresco¡ªthat Geresco¡ªfailed to break that record, and the best he could achieve was 171 chainbo. However, that was the highest record so far in the history of magic.

    However, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, there was too much emphasis on the quantity of chain damage attacks¡ªso much that it had even somewhat ignored the significance of magic in actualbat. In actualbat, the increased damage would indeed allow one to win, but blindly pursuing the quantity of attacks would result in major losses. The continuous casting of more than 200 magic spells in a row would require a massive amount of time and mana that ordinary people could not afford. Even for those who could afford it, they could rather simply cast a Sanctuary-level magic instead of torturing themselves.

    The real benefit of that theory was that it would allow the mage to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of various kinds of magic and master the effects they would have on each other. It was just a target that would serve as a motivation for the mages. In order to create a magicalbo chain, one would have to do more than just cast the same magic spell continuously. Although Lin Li could cast the Thousand Miles of Ice twice within a short period of time, it definitely couldn¡¯t be considered a magical chain.

    Aegno¡¯s magical damage chain form was also mentioned in Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, together with his record of 171 times. However, Lin Li knew that Geresco¡¯s limit was far beyond 171 times. Perhaps he would be able to achieve 10 or 100 times that. Geresco¡¯s exnation was very simple, but it was too boring. Lin Li felt that it waspletely meaningless.

    Hence, after hearing that Zoqu wanted to discuss the chain form, Lin Li frowned slightly, and was somewhat disappointed deep down. He was keen on learning something from the discussion, but there was honestly nothing to learn about that form. Given Lin Li¡¯s current strength, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to use the endless chain form. However, there was no need for him to do it.

    However, the Necromancer Zoqu thought that he had found Lin Li¡¯s weakness when he saw him frowning. Although he didn¡¯t feel any real joy, he still couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice about how wise he was. He was not out to make Lin Li feel awkward or embarrassed. However, the matter was just very important, and had to be taken seriously. If Lin Li wasn¡¯tpetent enough, how could he feel safe about leaving the Darkness Shrine¡¯s destiny in his hands?

    After Zoqu said those words, silence filled the air in the hall, and the five high priests focused all their attention on Lin Li. Aegno¡¯s magical damage chain form had been extremely famous during the Dark Age, but it was almost unknown now. In fact, everyone knew that in actualbat, no one could cast abo of more than 200 magical spells. However, the form could show a person¡¯s mastery of the magic theory to a certain extent, and it could also show one¡¯s strength.

    The strength of a person was not only determined by his level, because people of the same level were also divided by their strength. The mastery of magic, the judgment of timing, and the grasp of battle opportunities were all considered important factors that contributed to the strength of a person. For example, there were some mages who spent their entire lives immersed in magic books, and were full of knowledge. However, theck of actualbat experience made it difficult for them to contend with the mages of the same level who had been through hundreds of battles. Meanwhile, some mages might have richbat experience which allowed them to cope with battles, but their shoring of being unfamiliar with magic theory would show whenever they encountered a situation where their experience couldn¡¯t be applied.

    After listening to Lin Li¡¯s adventures taking ce over the past two years, the five high priests were rather certain of Lin Li¡¯s actualbat experience. However, no one was perfect. As a young mage, he had limited time to study and research magic. Besides, he even allocated some time for forging. Hence, how could he have more time to consolidate his magic foundation?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know what the five high priests were thinking. Although he found the topic to be extremely boring, he couldn¡¯t choose not to answer it just because of that. He sorted out his thoughts and eased the frown on his forehead. ¡°I can¡¯t deny that the added damage caused by the magical chain is indeed an important mean for mages during battles. However, I think four or six would be the best amount for this magical chain. Aiming to achieve the highest number of spellsunched using the chain form would be rather inappropriate. Of course, when learning magic, the form would help a mage understand and master his own battle tactics.¡±

    Lin Li was telling the truth, but the high priests were in doubt of his words, especially when they heard Lin Li say that the best number of magical chain spells was four to six¡ªthey now felt even more worried about Lin Li¡¯s strength. In fact, they were also feeling flustered. If it weren¡¯t because they were worried about the Darkness Shrine¡¯s destiny, they would think that Lin Li was right. However, they just wanted to deduce Lin Li¡¯s abilities as soon as possible now.

    However, out of respect for Sendros, the five high priests did not show any contempt and disdain for Lin Li despite being convinced that Lin Li wasn¡¯t reliable. Zoqu sighed secretly, and got ready to say something to give them an out. However, just when the five high priests thought that Lin Li was stumped, Lin Li said something again.

    ¡°Speaking of the number of chain magic spells in abo, if only the form is used without consideration of the status of the caster, I¡¯d say the answer¡¯s an infinite chain. I hope you¡¯ll give me some guidance, High Priest Zoqu,¡± Lin Li said humbly.

    ¡°In fact, Master Felic, achieving so much at your current age is already...¡± Zoqu suddenly snapped back to reality when he was halfway through his words, and looked at Lin Li in shock and disbelief. ¡°W-wait, did you m-mention an... infinite chain?¡±

    What a joke! Achieving the effects of the magical chain was not possible just by creating a Magical Storm, because that would just be magical damage. Otherwise, there would be no form. In order to achieve the effect of increased damage by magical chain, the characteristics of each kind of magic, the inert duration of magical elements, and the duration of attack were all factors that had to be considered.

    Ifpared to potions and alchemy, magical chains were like potions made with herbs with different properties. One could only formte the perfect potion after mastering all the properties of each herb and knowing how they would affect each other.

    Even Sendros who was already sure that Lin Li would be able to surprise everyone couldn¡¯t help but be astonished when he heard Lin Li mention the infinite chain. Of course, Sendros also knew that magical chains were unlikely to be used during actualbat. However, that at least meant that Lin Li had already reached an incredible level in mastering that kind of magic.

 Chapter 779 - Inspecting

    <strong>Chapter 779: Inspecting</strong>

    ¡°Yes, infinite chain, but only in theory, of course. After all, the mana and mental strength of humans are limited, and even if there were hundreds or thousands of spells in the chain, they would still eventually run out,¡± Lin Li said calmly as if he weren¡¯t talking about anything incredible.

    In fact, he really wasn¡¯t. With the Book of Eternity, the enlightenment he had gained in the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Sky Castle, and the knowledge he gained from Bk¡¯s magical crystal, his knowledge was far beyond what an ordinary level-23 Legendary-mage should have. In fact, in terms of knowledge, Lin Li was probably not inferior to an actual Sanctuary-level mage.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s definite answer, everyone in the room was still in disbelief. However, Zoqu had really worked hard on the theory of the magical chain, so when he heard Lin Li emphasize it being a theoretical concept, he looked forward to hearing more, and was less doubtful.

    ¡°Actually, it is not that difficult to establish the form of the infinite chain. The key is to find the right trick. The form of the infinite chain that I built begins from the level-10 Hammer of mes. There¡¯s nothing much to say about this spell, and I¡¯m sure everyone knows that I chose it because its duration is very short, but it has a certain activation effect on the fire magical elements. Next, it would be Fireball, Wind sh... and ming Storm. After ming Storm, I chose Thousand Miles of Ice...¡± Lin Li said quickly. He exined rather clearly the characteristics of various magic spells and the way they would influence each other.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Zoqu couldn¡¯t help but nod profusely. However, when he heard Lin Li mention the Thousand Miles of Ice all of a sudden, he felt puzzled and astonished. Everyone knew that the fire magic and ice magic would indeed cause some additional damage to the target. However, the magical chain was different¡ªit was meant for a continuous increase in damage done by the fire element (in this case). Wouldn¡¯t the addition of ice element magic cause all of the previous efforts to go in vain!?

    At the thought of this, Zoqu quickly interrupted Lin Li as he asked in bewilderment, ¡°Master Felic, it seems to be inappropriate to add Thousand Miles of Ice.¡±

    To put it bluntly, he was saving Lin Li some face by using such phrasing. After all, Lin Li was a distinguished guest of Sendros. If it had been someone else, he would have definitely cussed at him.

    Apart from Zoqu, everyone else was also staring at Lin Li with doubtful gazes. Although not all of them were experts in magical chains like Zoqu, they were still rather clear about the basic rules of the famous magic theory.

    However, Lin Li seemed to have already expected Zoqu to doubt him. He simply smiled a little, and calmly said, ¡°This is the trick that I¡¯ve mentioned. After going through 20 chains, the fire magical element would be umted to a huge degree, but its activity would decrease with repeated activations. So, I chose to use Thousand Miles of Ice and not another individual attack. The purpose of spell is to increase the activity of fire magical element. Although the fire damage would be slightly reduced by using this magic, it would provide convenience for the subsequent chains.¡±

    As the magical chain progressed, there would be reduced activity in the selected magical element. When dealing with that issue, Zoqu would choose to increase the level of the magical chain, just like many other mages who studied the magical chains. However, Lin Li unexpectedly chose to sacrifice part of the magic damage in exchange for elemental activity. Zoqu thought about it for a while, and felt that it seemed to be true to a certain extent, for Lin Li¡¯s method also eradicated the issue of continuous increase in level of magic.

    ¡°Next... would be a repetition of what I mentioned earlier. However, the bearing point will have to be reced by Snowstorm after two cycles. Next, repeat the cycle again... Actually, as long as the critical points of the inertness of the magical elements are deduced, it will be simple to build the form,¡± Lin Li said casually. Although he told everyone that it was theoretical, he would be able to create a magical chain rather easily. However, there would basically be no chance to do so in actualbat. Like what he mentioned before, four to six times would be the best. Otherwise, one would be looking for trouble.

    ¡°In that case, Master Felic, I¡¯d like to ask where the problem lies in this magical chain form that I¡¯ve established.¡± Although Zoqu had already deduced the chain form established by Lin Li, he also knew that Lin Li had the Book of Eternity. He thought that perhaps there would be some answers and information about the magical chain that Geresco used back then, and Lin Li had merely just memorized the concepts.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s subsequent answers soon made Zoqu convinced. With just a few simple modifications, the entire magical chain form would immediately be more fluid and smooth while theoretically achieving the effect of the infinite chain. Indeed, as Lin Li mentioned, the key was to master a trick in order to solve all problems. However, discovering that trick was definitely not a coincidence. It required a thorough understanding of magic, coupled with precise calctions, in order to make it the key to solving problems. Otherwise, it would only result in more trouble.

    Zoqu stood up and bowed to Lin Li before keeping mum again. Even though that was not enough to prove that Lin Li had the ability to resolve the crisis that struck the Darkness Shrine, Zoqu believed that Lin Li at least had sufficient knowledge in terms of magic theory, and that there was nothing else he could test him on. It was a mind game that was also a good test for deducing a mage¡¯s understanding and mastery of magic.

    Although Zoqu had nothing else say, the other four high priests were still worried. In fact, Zoqu was not entirely reassured, either, but he simply couldn¡¯t think of what he could do to test the young mage Lin Li further. Well, he couldn¡¯t possibly challenge him to a fight.

    Lin Li was rather bewildered as well, and thought, Didn¡¯t he say that he¡¯d like to discuss a question with me? Why did he stop after mentioning a game-like magical chain?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that his knowledge was all-epassing. In the Book of Eternity, Geresco said, ¡°Knowledge is the most devout belief a mage can have!¡± There were no limits to the amount of knowledge one could have. Hence, Lin Li had always been passionate about learning opportunities.

    Previously in the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li was fortunate to have received the personal guidance of Pope Rosario, and thus learned a lot about Power of Light and Holy Light Magic. Hence, Lin Li came to the Darkness Shrine with the intention to learn in addition to epting Sendros¡¯ invitation. He hoped that the learning opportunity would allow him to gain a better understanding of the nomological power of Darkness.

    Just when the atmosphere in the hall made everyone feel a little awkward, the Lich Gerg, who was wearing a golden crown on his head, shook his head a little, and said in a peculiar tone, ¡°Master Felic, the things you¡¯ve mentioned just now are indeed really inspiring. I also have a question for you. I wonder if it¡¯s convenient for you to answer me.¡±

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯d be happy to discuss with you, please tell me what it¡¯s about.¡± Upon hearing Gerg¡¯s words, Lin Li was instantly rejuvenated as his peculiar voice was rather ear-piercing. He knew that Rosario was willing to give him some pointers because he had gotten rid of the Viper¡¯s poison for Rosario. Although Lin Li was acquainted with the Darkness Shrine, there was no way they would tell him everything unless they owed him a huge favor. Hence, discussing problems was a rare learning opportunity for him.

    The Lich Gerg stretched his slender branch-like fingers out and touched the golden crown on his head. He then slightlycently said, ¡°We all know that the levels of magic are divided ording to the difficulty of casting spells. Each level corresponds to the mage¡¯s level as well. However, there are some magic spells that greatly surpass others of the same level in terms of mana consumption.¡±

    Another word for those magic spells that Gerg had mentioned was Forbidden Curse, and most of them were advanced spells. After some simplification, the difficulty of casting would be reduced, and the mage who initially had yet to reach a higher level would then have the ability to cast such advanced magic. However, in order to maintain the power of the magic and to make up for the reduction in difficulty of casting, the simplified magic would require more mana than the original version. One reason any of them was called Forbidden Curse was because its power was far beyond the level it belonged to. Another reason was that it couldn¡¯t be used easily by mages, and if the necessary standards were not achieved, the huge mana depletion would cause harm to the caster.

    ¡°The mana depletion by this type of magic is too excessive. Although it is powerful, it will also put a heavy burden on the caster. Mage Felic, do you have any special opinions about this?¡± Gerg continued. His question was a better method for testing a mage¡¯s abilitiespared to Zoqu¡¯s question. It was not only a test of the mage¡¯s mastery of magic, but also involved the mage¡¯s ability to modify and improvise advanced magic.

    Mana was the crux of a mage¡¯s survival on the battlefield, and the mana of every mage was limited. Under limitations, using less mana to cast more powerful magic was undoubtedly a huge improvement to a mage¡¯s strength. Since Gerg wanted to further test Lin Li¡¯s abilities by asking that question, it would be impossible for him to be clueless on it. In fact, out of the five high priests, Gerg was the best at modifying the use of Forbidden Spells. He would call his modified Forbidden Spells which saved more mana Minor Forbidden Spells.

    ¡°Master Felic, this may be a bit generic, and can¡¯t be exined clearly in a short time. Let me give an example to facilitate our discussion about this issue. Let¡¯s take the level-23 Forbidden Spell, Thunderstorm Disaster, as an example. I¡¯m sure you know of this spell and its power. However, the consumption of mana is too overbearing for a level-23 mage.¡± Since Gerg wanted to test Lin Li, he definitely wouldn¡¯t talk about a low-level magic, because that would defeat the purpose of the test. After all, Lin Li was a level-23 Legendary-mage, and many of the so-called Forbidden Spells had no effect on him at all.

    In terms of the difficulty of spell casting, the Thunderstorm Disaster belonged to level-23, but the consumption of mana was close to the peak of level-24 magic. If no modifications were made, arge amount of mana would definitely be depleted instantly during casting. The Thunderstorm Disaster was close to its ultimate form in the Legendary-realm, and was genuine Domain Magic. Using this magic, it would be easy to destroy a city in an instant.

    Thunderstorm Disaster had already been modified and reduced. Apart from being extremely talented and having a strong foundation in magic, understanding and mastering magic would be essential for making further modifications to reduce the mana consumption.

    Gerg was not deliberately trying to put Lin Li on the spot. After all, they knew the value of Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. Even the Brilliance Shrine was trying hard to get close to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. How could the Darkness Shrine sit back and do nothing? However, Gerg and the other high priests knew that Sendros hadn¡¯t invited Lin Li simply for the sake of forging close ties. Instead, he wanted to entrust the fate of the Darkness Shrine to Lin Li in hopes of letting him help them survive the crisis.

    That definitely made Gerg and the rest worried, for pinning their hopes on a young mage would mean sending the Darkness Shrine directly into desperate straits. Gerg did not expect to find out if Lin Li was trustworthy orpetent enough just through those tests. Unless Lin Li showed Sanctuary-realm power, it would be impossible for him to help. Hence, he hoped for Sendros to give up after seeing Lin Li¡¯s performance in the tests.

    The other high priests shared the same thoughts, especially after hearing that he had used the Thunderstorm Disaster as an example. They were sure that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t pass the test. Every magic spell used by mages had been perfected through several modifications made after numerous trial-and-error processes. Making fundamental modifications would be even more difficult than creating a new spell.

 Chapter 780 - Spar

    <h4>Chapter 780: Spar</h4>

    After Gerg finished speaking, he looked at Lin Li, waiting for the ingenious young mage to answer. He didn¡¯t notice the awkwardness on Sendros¡¯ face at all. The other four high priests did notice Sendros¡¯ expression, but they all thought that Sendros was upset with them for making things difficult for the guest he¡¯d invited. However, they could only feel apologetic in secret because the matter concerned the life and death of the Darkness Shrine. They decided to apologize to Sendros after everything was over.

    In fact, at this moment, the five high priests had be more and more certain that their approach was correct. It was because they clearly saw some confusion on Lin Li¡¯s face. When they were discussing the magical chain, Lin Li appeared rather calm. Hence, the confusion on his face now made obvious that there was an issue.

    Finally, Lin Li touched his nose embarrassedly while the five high priests looked at him with anticipation. ¡°Sorry, excessive consumption of mana? I¡¯ve never encountered that issue before. Does the Thunderstorm Disaster really take up a lot of mana?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s answer immediately made the five high priests feel rather stunned. <i>What kind of answer is this? Can he do it or not?</i> The five high priests would never believe that Lin Li didn¡¯t understand the Thunderstorm Disaster. After all, he was a level-23 Legendary-mage as well. How could he not understand a spell that was of the same level as him? What did he mean by never encountering the issue? Could it be that he had never used this Forbidden Spell before?

    Everyone looked at Sendros nkly, but he was extremely awkward and embarrassed at the moment. He didn¡¯t exin anything to the five high priests, and simply turned to Lin Li and said, ¡°Master Felic, since you¡¯vee all the way from afar, why don¡¯t we pause the conversation while I get someone to arrange a ce for you to rest in?¡±

    Lin Li also felt that the atmosphere was a little strange, and he reckoned that he might not be able to find out anything today. Hence, he nodded, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you, then, Master Sendros.¡± Lin Li then left the hall under the lead of a priest whom Sendros summoned, going to the room that was prepared for him.

    When Lin Li left, the five high priests stood up one after another and walked towards Sendros. Lin Li¡¯s answer was way too shocking to them, and the five high priests had yet to understand what that young mage Lin Li meant.

    As the person who asked the question, Gerg adjusted the crown on his head, and asked Sendros in a hoarse voice, ¡°Sir, we know that we were being too disrespectful to Master Felic just now, but we¡¯re all doing it for the Darkness Shrine. Besides, we can¡¯t stop worrying, since Master Felic refused to answer our questions just now. How can we entrust the future of the Darkness Shrine to him?¡±

    Sendros was a little annoyed, but he also knew that they didn¡¯t do it out of selfishness, and had the interests of the Darkness Shrine at heart. Hence, he suppressed his displeasure, and said, ¡°Silly, didn¡¯t Master Felic already answer your question? Don¡¯t you understand?¡±

    However, Sendros¡¯ words made Gerg and the rest even more confused. Was that even considered an answer? <i>If it is, it¡¯s just an ipetent answer and Lin Li¡¯s admitting that he can¡¯t do much about the issue. However, it seems unusual now that Sendros is behaving this way,</i> Gerg thought.

    Seeing that the several high priests were puzzled, Sendros began to feel infuriated again. He stood up and looked at the crowd in displeasure before hollering, ¡°What are you guys thinking!? Haven¡¯t I told you before that he possesses infinite mana!?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± The other high priests wanted to say that that was impossible, but when they saw Sendros¡¯ expression, they dared not say anything more. Besides, they were extremely convinced by Sendros, whom they trusted greatly. Although they found it unbelievable, they didn¡¯t think that Sendros would deceive them.

    <i>It was no wonder that Master Felic said that he had never encountered this problem before. Since he possesses almost infinite mana, what is the Thunderstorm Disaster to him? I¡¯m afraid the infinite chain that he mentioned is not just theoretical. Since he has infinite mana, he would probably be able to break Aegno¡¯s record easily.</i>

    The five high priests looked at each other immediately while recalling the tests that they had put him through just now, feeling like they were clowns. In particr, Gerg, who had a skeleton-like face, even began to blush. Of course he¡¯d be embarrassed and ashamed for asking a silly question.

    However, although the five high priests felt a little ashamed about everything that¡¯d happened previously, they did not think they had done anything wrong. Besides, they still did not trust in Lin Li¡¯s abilities as much as Sendros did. Actually, it wasn¡¯t their fault, either, for anyone in their shoes wouldn¡¯t pin all their hopes on a person they did not know well.

    In fact, Sendros also understood the intentions and thoughts of the five high priests. After all, everyone had the best interests of the Darkness Shrine at heart, and if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was the chief and knew more than the others did, he probably wouldn¡¯t believe it easily, either. However, he still had to warn them even though he understood their plight. With a sullen expression, he said to the five of them, ¡°Master Felic is our honored guest. When you go back, tell your men to behave themselves. If I find out that any of you had the nerve to disrespect Master Felic, I won¡¯t spare any mercy even if it¡¯s your biological son.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The five high priests could not help but shiver as they quickly bowed at Sendros. Although they were all members of the Darkness Council, it was still helmed by Sendros, the chief high priest. In the Darkness Shrine, Sendros was equivalent to Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine as far as status was concerned. None of the believers of Darkness would dare to disobey him at all.

    Lin Li was ushered into a room by a priest, but he didn¡¯t actually need much rest. Although he flew directly from the Brilliance Shrine, he didn¡¯t feel any fatigue, because he was a level-23 Legendary-mage. Besides, he had a massive amount of mana and mental strength. However, he found it to be a shame that he didn¡¯t get to find out what the urgent matter of Sendros was. Hence, he had no idea if it was really important or not. Besides, he didn¡¯t learn anything from the discussion with the two priests at all.

    After sending away the priest, Lin Li took out the Book of Eternity, and began reading it instead of thinking about something else. He was fully engrossed in the book too. It had been about two years since he got the Book of Eternity, but the more he read, the more knowledge he acquired. However, he also felt that he was much further away from mastering all the knowledge in the book. Geresco¡¯s masterpiece was definitely something that other magic books couldn¡¯tpare to. Whenever Lin Li truly understood a sentence, he could clearly feel his progress.

    The next two days were rather peaceful. Sendros still did not mention why he got Lin Li to go to the Darkness Shrine, but Lin Li could not be bothered to ask about it. No one would ask for more trouble, after all. Apart from learning magic and reading the Book of Eternity, Lin Li would follow a priest on a tour around the Darkness Shrine.

    Everyone in the Darkness Shrine would behave very respectfully whenever they saw Lin Li, be it an ordinary believer or a priest. In fact, even without Sendros¡¯ special warning, the believers of the Darkness Shrine, who heard that Lin Li was an honored guest, knew not to be rude to Lin Li. Back in the Brilliance Shrine, Siddarth, too, wouldn¡¯t have dared to point a finger at Lin Li if Rosario hadn¡¯t had to keep his poisoning a secret.

    Although there was almost no obvious alternation between day and night in the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li could guess that it was early morning by judging time ording to his own habits. When he heard a knock on the door from outside, Lin Li put away the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction and got up to open the door.

    There were two people standing outside the door, one of whom was a servant who specifically listened to Lin Li¡¯s orders, while the other was a priest who had shown Lin Li around the Darkness Shrine in the past two days. Although the Darkness Shrine was not small, Lin Li had visited almost all of the attractions in the Darkness Shrine, and there was nothing much left for him to see. Besides, what Lin Li really wanted to see was the Darkness ssics of the Darkness Shrine. However, he felt that it would be inappropriate to raise that request with Sendros. After all, he¡¯d managed to read the Light Bible only because he had gotten rid of the Viper¡¯s poison in Pope Rosario¡¯s body. Besides, he wasn¡¯t that close to Sendros.

    However, there seemed to be a hint of excitement in Balesi¡¯s expression today. After seeing Lin Li open the door, he first saluted him before saying, ¡°Master Felic, today is the day of the Darkness Sacrifice. The Night Werewolves and the Vampires will be fighting each other in the arena as part of the ritual, and the high priest would like me to invite you to the event. Would you be interested?¡±

    The Night Werewolves and the Vampires were the races with the strongest faith in the Darkness Shrine. Legend had it that they were enemies by nature, and once they fought, they would spare no mercy. However, in fact, the battle between the two groups was more of a ritual to worship the God of Darkness. Nheless, it wasn¡¯t a performance, but a genuine sacrifice of blood and lives.

    Lin Li could actually imagine that the battle would definitely be low-level, regardless of how intense the battle might be. To Lin Li, the battle was just like child¡¯s y. However, Lin Li gave it some thought again, and felt that he might as well watch the battle since he had nothing to do. ¡°Okay, alright then, I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±

    Lin Li followed Balesi to an arena in the Darkness Shrine, and could hear the cheers from afar. The five high priests were all present at the grandstand in front of the arena, and Lin Li greeted them one by one before taking a seat at the allocated location. However, Lin Li felt rather strange about something. A sacrificial ritual like this was actually like the prayers performed by the believers of light. Lin Li reckoned that it should be a verymon thing in the Darkness Shrine. Wasn¡¯t it a little ridiculous and senseless for all five of them to appear here?

    On the arena, a young Night Werewolf was fighting a Vampire, and just like Lin Li expected, both of them had only reached level-15. Although the fight was rather intense, it was boring to Lin Li.

    Themon characteristic the Werewolves and the Vampires shared was that they had extremely strong recovery abilities. Unless their limbs were broken or their innards were ruptured, the injuries that would generally make others lose their mobility would be nothing to them. That resulted in the extension of the duration of their battles.

    After watching four battles in a row, Lin Li wanted to yawn. It was not that he looked down on them or anything; the problemy with the fact that he had been trying to improve his strength, and while he could gain somebat experience from watching a battle between masters, there was nothing for him to gain from a fight that seemed to be one between children.

    ¡°Master Felic, I was really envious after hearing about the adventures you had previously. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t leave this ce easily because of my duties. I usually spar with them, but we¡¯ve all been spending time with each other for so many years, and so we already know one another inside out. When we spar, it¡¯s almost always the same as the battle there,¡± said the Lich Gerg, who was getting rather emotional. Staring at the battle in the arena, he shook his head slightly.

    ¡°Hah, don¡¯tin to me about it anymore, High Priest Gerg. You at least have a fewpanions of the same level as you to spar with. I don¡¯t get such opportunities in the Tower of Dusk,¡± Lin Li answered smilingly. He didn¡¯t think much of the fact that Gerg had suddenly brought up that topic.

    However, Gerg seemed to have suddenly thought of something as he turned to look at Lin Li with a slight gleam of excitement in his eyes. He said, ¡°Master Felic, I do have a request that may seem rude, but don¡¯t hold it against me. I wonder if I may have the honor to consult you about actualbat experience?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li nced at Gerg, but unfortunately he couldn¡¯t see much in his expression. However, Gerg¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t aggressive at all, and he seemed to only want to discuss their experiences.

    Although Lin Li headed to the Darkness Shrine because he had been invited by Sendros, he also intended to learn and find out more about Dark Magic. Meanwhile, Gerg happened to be a Lich who practiced Dark Magic. Even Sendros praised him for his aplishments in Dark Magic when he mentioned him. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t turn down the idea, because he felt that it would be wonderful to have a Legendary powerhouse as an opponent.

 Chapter 781 - Showdown Between Light and Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 781: Showdown Between Light and Darkness</h4>

    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s my pleasure to be able to consult you, High Priest Gerg,¡± said Lin Li. He didn¡¯t think that Gerg had other intentions or ns to plot against him, so he agreed readily with a nod.

    The 24 stone pirs in the arena rose slowly around the field. The dense mageweaths on the stone pirs also radiated magical light one after another, and soon, a transparent magic shield shrouded the field. Lin Li and Gerg were already standing in the middle of the field, each holding a staff and waiting for the defensive mageweath to be fully activated in the arena.

    There wasplete silence in the arena, and the Werewolves, Vampires, mages, and believers of Darkness were all staring at the middle of the arena with excitement. Battles between high priests were rare, and only their respective disciples would be qualified to watch them.

    As for the young mage Lin Li, they had all heard about him in the past few days, and knew that he was the distinguished guest invited by Sendros, and that he was the owner of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins. They heard that he was a powerful Legendary-mage, and even though they were all in disbelief after hearing the news, they could not help but grow curious, since it concerned Chief High Priest Sendros. They, too, wanted to see what was so amazing about the young mage Lin Li.

    The four remaining high priests were talking to each other anxiously in the grandstand in front of the arena. Did Gerg really just want to share his actualbat experience? That was one of the reasons, but not the only one. As a high priest of the Darkness Shrine, he definitely didn¡¯t want to spar with a guest of honor just because he was feeling an urge to practice.

    ¡°Zoqu, is it really appropriate for Gerg to do that? Sendros has warned us before,¡± the Vampire Culostein asked with some concern. Although the five high priests were all members of the Darkness Council, they were all respectful to and fearful of Sendros, especially when they thought about Sendros¡¯ means of dealing with rebels and those who vited the rules. Even the cold-blooded Vampire could not help but feel a chill down his spine.

    ¡°It¡¯s just sparring and an exchange of experience, nothing too disrespectful. Besides, Master Felic is a willing party too. I doubt Sendros will hold it against us,¡± Zoqu said while hiding his face in therge hood, making it impossible for anyone to see his expression. However, his tone revealed the uneasiness within him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare yourself. After all, we¡¯re doing it for the Darkness Shrine. Besides, didn¡¯t you guys see that Mage Felic seems to be looking forward to the sparring session too? There¡¯s nothing too special about it. We¡¯re doing this for the sake of satisfying him too,¡± said the Werewolf high priest Pdio, who was rather nonchnt about it.

    After giving it some careful thought, the Vampire felt that Pdio made sense too. Although Sendros¡¯ brutal means were frightening, he was not unreasonable. At the thought of this, the several high priests finally felt slightly relieved, and they shifted their attention to the center of the arena. At this moment, the defensive mageweath of the arena had already been activatedpletely, and the opponents finally moved after the two of them exchanged some polite words.

    Neither Gerg nor Lin Li exhibited their respective Magical Domains. After all, it was just a friendly sparring session. Hence, there was no need to go all out. Besides, Lin Li really took it as a sparring session, and although Gerg was not very satisfied with Lin Li¡¯s answer to his question, he did not dare to take Sendros¡¯ words lightly.

    However, Gerg felt that even if he didn¡¯t go all out, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to defeat Lin Li. He felt that regardless of how great Lin Li¡¯s mastery of magic theory was, it did not mean that he could use his spells well. His mana was almost infinite, but that did not mean that he could use it appropriately. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many battles in this world. There would easily be a distinct winner once theypared each other¡¯s mastery of magic theory. As for experience in adventures, there wasn¡¯t a clear winner.

    Besides, the environment of the Darkness Shrine was simr to a Darkness Domain, which allowed the strength of the believers of Darkness to greatly improve. Gerg initially had level-23 power, but with the help of Dark Magic, his power was probably great enough for him to rival a level-24 powerhouse. Gerg thought that the only thing he had to do was to make sure Mage Felic would not lose too badly to protect the pride of thetter.

    ¡°Be careful, Mage Felic,¡± Gerg specially reminded. He pointed his staff forward, and a shadow formed at Lin Li¡¯s feet.

    There were some ripples at Lin Li¡¯s feet, and it was as if the ground had turned into ck water. There were then ck tentacles like giant pythons that emerged from the ground and intertwined around Lin Li¡¯s body.

    Upon hearing Gerg¡¯s reminder, Lin Li almost couldn¡¯t recover from the shock. <i>Is this a new battle tactic? It might just be a sparring session, but he doesn¡¯t have to be so friendly and polite,</i> Lin Li thought as he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and pointed it toward the ground gently. A ball of mes immediately spread outwards, using his body as a central point.

    Resistance Ring Of Fire was a very effective spell that mages could use when they were being besieged. The ck tentacles that were moving toward Lin Li were suddenly pushed away from Lin Li by the Resistance Ring Of Fire which caused them to melt quickly. Immediately after casting the Resistance Ring Of Fire, Lin Li immediately waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter and caused a ray of Thunderbolt to condense, after which it immediately crashed into Gerg¡¯s head.

    Gerg was not surprised by the fact that there were no effects of using the shadow. If Lin Li couldn¡¯t even counter that, how could he be respected and valued by Sendros? Gerg shifted his footsteps swiftly, and while giving himself an additional shield, he seemed to have be a shadow. At this moment, the pir of Thunderbolt seemed to havended too. However, it caused numerous ripples to form in the ground.

    Lin Li squinted a little¡ªthe Darkness Guardian was a Legendary-level defensive spell, and its effects seemed rather simr to those of Void of the Stars. Of course, it was much worse. It was said that the mages who mastered the Void of the Stars would be able to ce their body and soul in the Void of the Stars, and no longer be hurt by the magic spells and weapons. Actually, under the effect of the Void of the Stars, the caster would definitely be an existence that no longer belonged to Anril, and thus would not be susceptible to damage by humans.

    The Darkness Guardian would cause the caster¡¯s body to be a shadow with extremely high immunity to physical damage and damage done by elemental spells. Swords had never been able to attack shadows. Besides, there was a special feature of Darkness Guardian which allowed the caster to move freely in the naturally urring shadows. If the caster waspletely in the dark, it would almost be the same as teleportation.

    However, the greatest weakness of the Darkness Guardian was that it would greatly reduce the caster¡¯s resistance to Holy Light magic. When the caster was under the protection of the Darkness Guardian, he could probably be injured by a Holy Light spell of the lowest-level despite being in the Legendary-level. Hence, Dark mages would definitely refrain from using Darkness Guardian when battling with the clergymen of Holy Light, for that would be akin to letting the opponent kill them.

    When Lin Li was in the Brilliance Shrine, he had not only read the Light Bible, but also received the personal guidance of Pope Rosario. Hence, he definitely wasn¡¯t inferior to the clergymen in terms of Holy Light magic. ording to Archbishop Englos, Lin Li¡¯s attainments in Holy Light Magic were enough for him to qualify for a cardinal¡¯s position.

    However, in the face of Gerg¡¯s Darkness Guardian, Lin Li didn¡¯t use any Holy Light Magic. One reason for that was that he was, after all, in the Darkness Shrine. Hence, using Holy Light Magic there would definitely make others detest him. Another reason was that they were just sparring, after all, and Lin Li didn¡¯t really want to win. He didn¡¯t want the battle to end too soon, either. Moreover, the use of Holy Light Magic during the sparring session would be rather suspicious, and even if he were to win, he would win because of an unfair advantage.

    <i>Will I have no means to deal with you just because I¡¯m not using Holy Light Magic!?</i> Lin Li thought to himself with a smirk, after which he darted to the side quickly, avoiding the thorns of the shadow. At the same time, he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter while chanting a spell, causing the gemstone at the top of the scepter to emit a dazzling ray of light.

    All of a sudden, the temperature in the arena seemed to have plunged drastically as plenty of snowkes condensed in the void with specks of glitter. They then floated downwards and caused the entire arena to be covered in snow. It was not Lin Li¡¯s Frost Domain, but a level-22 ice element Realm Magic that was simr to Thunderstorm Disaster.

    ¡°He actually used a spell of this level at this juncture. Does he really have infinite mana?¡± asked Gerg, rather shocked¡ªjust like the other four high priests, who were also taken aback. Theoretically, a mage should have the ability to cast magic spells that corresponded to their respective levels. Since Lin Li was a level-23 Legendary-mage, it wasn¡¯t surprising that he¡¯d be able to use level-22 spells. However, that did not mean that he could use them casually like they were fireballs, especially since Realm Magic as such would consume mana rapidly. It would be a huge burden even for a level-23 mage.

    However, the four high priests could tell that Lin Li seemed very rxed when casting the spell, and didn¡¯t seem to pause at all when he was umting mana. In other words, the mana required by this level-22 spell could be put out by Lin Li immediately, and didn¡¯t have to be umted in Lin Li¡¯s body beforehand. Based on that alone, the four high priests began to believe that Lin Li¡¯s mana was almost infinite, just like what Sendros had told them.

    At this moment, a priest scurried onto the viewing deck. After bowing, he said to the four high priests, ¡°Sirs, the chief high priest would like you to see him now!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± The four high priests sprung up in shock. Although they had already thought of an excuse beforehand, they still panicked when they heard that Sendros wanted to see them. Of course, Sendros wouldn¡¯t really skin them alive, though he would definitely teach them a lesson.

    ¡°Just the four of us? He didn¡¯t mention High Priest Gerg?¡± Zoqu asked as he calmed down, seemingly having thought of something.

    ¡°Yes, the chief high priest only mentioned that he¡¯d like to see the four of you. He didn¡¯t mention High Priest Gerg,¡± the priest hurriedly answered.

    ¡°Zoqu, why did you ask that question?¡± the knight Nostalo asked loudly.

    ¡°Nothing much, that just means that the chief has probably given his silent consent to the sparring session. Otherwise, he would have summoned Gerg too, and not allowed the two of them to continue sparring in the arena,¡± Zoqu exined to Nostalo and the rest after heaving a sigh of relief.

    An ordinary mage tower would use crystal balls for surveince and monitoring purposes, what more the Darkness Shrine. In fact, every slight change and movement in the shrine would immediately appear on the crystal ball at the core of the shrine. Although Sendros couldn¡¯t possibly stay in front of the crystal ball at all times, he would definitely take a look since the strongest defensive mageweath had been activated. If Sendros had really been displeased with the behavior of the five high priests, he would have stopped the sparring session immediately instead of asking to see the four of them.

    Upon hearing Zoqu¡¯s exnation, the other three were finally relieved, but they would still clearly get reprimanded. The four of them nced at the arena, and noticed that the two there wereunching their attacks and casting their respective spells while having a whale of a time. They wondered how Sendros would deal with Gerg, but could only sigh deep down and leave the grandstand together.

    Gerg, who was in the arena, had no idea that his peers had all been summoned to see Sendros, because his opponent Lin Li left him with no room to pay attention to other matters. He could already sense that Lin Li wasn¡¯t lying or boasting at all. Afterunching the level-22 spell, he continued tounch another spell that consumed massive amounts of mana. If he had been an ordinary level-23 Legendary-mage, he would probably have gassed out a long time ago.

 Chapter 782 - Eternal Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 782: Eternal Darkness</h4>

    What made Gerg even more daunted was Lin Li¡¯s incredible casting speed. For Legendary magic, the casting speed would not increase linearly with the chanting speed, as mana output was also an important factor. It was just like filling a bucket of water; even if the tap was turned to the fullest, it would still take time to fill the bucket with water. if an ordinary mage¡¯s mana output was like a water pipe, Lin Li¡¯s would be like an endless stream from a river. If he didn¡¯t have to chant a spell and sort the elements, he could probablyunch his Legendary spells instantaneously.

    The arena waspletely covered in ice and snow. A sun-like fireball suddenly appeared above the arena, lighting it up. Due to the reflection, there was suddenly no shadow in the arena at all. Gerg, who used the Darkness Guardian, was forced out of the shadows.

    The second disadvantage of the Darkness Guardian was that there would be no guardian without darkness. Of course, in principle, there was darkness everywhere in the world. However, they were in the arena, and creating a small area without shadows was still feasible. If they were outside, Gerg would still be able to dash into the area outside the arena and defeat his opponents using the Darkness Guardian. However, he had no choice but to appear here. Otherwise, he would be admitting defeat.

    A Legendary magic spell was actually used as a light source, making Gerg feel extremely infuriated¡ªalmost to the point of vomiting blood. Of course, even if he really wanted to vomit blood, he wouldn¡¯t be able to, because his body was just like a dry skeleton. At this moment, before he could even react, countless powerful magic spells had already swept over him like a storm.

    In the grandstands of the arena, the believers of Darkness were allpletely frightened. Everyone held their breath and watched the intense battle going on in the arena. None of them dared to make a single sound at all. Right from the beginning when Lin Li and Gerg walked into the arena, everyone had already deduced the oue of the battle. Even though Lin Li was an honored guest of High Priest Sendros, they felt that he was way too young. Indeed, bing a Legendary-mage at such a young age was an impressive feat. However, experience came with time, and theck of experience could never bepensated for by talent.

    However, the believers of Darkness in the grandstands knew that theck of experience would be negated when one had formidable power. Even though some of the powerful magic spells were unknown to others, they could tell from the ripples around the defensive spells in the arena that the power was absolutely daunting. Regardless of who the victor of the battle would be, High Priest Gerg had clearly lost the upper hand, and they obviously didn¡¯t have to guess anything.

    However, Lin Li did not want to end the battle too quickly, because he still remembered that it was a sparring session, and he also wanted to learn more about Dark Magic through it. Hence, even though the magic storm seemed rather terrifying, he had always been trying to find a bnce so as to allow Gerg to continue persisting and have the ability to retaliate.

    ¡°Darkness is eternal, and everything in this world will eventually belong to the darkness!¡± Gerg eximed as he mmed his staff into the ground, causing the white snow to suddenly turn ck as if it had been stained by ck ink. The magic storm that struck after that also lost its color all of a sudden after entering the domain of ck snow. It was then drowned in the infinite darkness as if it had never even existed.

    <i>Eternal Darkness? That¡¯s probably the Dark Magic spell that¡¯s noted down in the Dark Magic scriptures.</i> Seeing that all the spells had disappeared peculiarly, Lin Li rejoiced instead of feeling surprised, and his eyes even glistened with excitement. Although he had never deliberately researched Dark Magic before, he had some understanding of the various types of Dark Magic in the world. Besides, Lin Li couldn¡¯t remember the Eternal Darkness spell that Gerg had just used. Apart from the Dark Magic scriptures, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of another possible source of that spell.

    Besides, Lin Li didn¡¯t sense many magical waves when Gerg was casting the spell just now. Instead, he seemed to have sensed a holy aura that was simr to Holy Light Magic. That made him further confirm his guess.

    Most people would immediately think of Evilness at the mention of Darkness. However, Darkness did not necessarily mean Evilness, even though Evilness often lurked in Darkness. After all, the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine used to be a family. Since the Brilliance Shrine had Holy Light Magic, the Darkness Shrine definitely had something simr.

    Although the crisis at hand was resolved immediately, Gerg was stillmenting in agony deep down because Eternal Darkness couldn¡¯t be used freely and casually. Although he managed to use it to engulf and consume Lin Li¡¯s magic storm, it took up plenty of his mana¡ªthe amount of mana consumed by Eternal Darkness would be the same as the amount of mana drained from his body. <i>How much mana does this crazy mage have!?</i> he thought.

    Gerg waspletely convinced by Lin Li¡¯s abilities. In the Darkness Shrine, he was definitely on par with a level-24 Legendary-mage, but being in this environment, he had no upper hand at all when he was facing the level-23 legendary-mage Lin Li. In fact, he even came off slightly worse. Although the situation seemed to obviously be advantageous to him, he still ended up in a state where he almost had no means to retaliate. That just meant that Lin Li was way morepetent than him.

    However, Gerg didn¡¯t want to admit defeat now, and there were still numerous believers of Darkness in the grandstands. Back then, he was still thinking about how he should save some face for Lin Li, and yet he was the one being embarrassed now!

    While Gerg was caught in a dilemma, the four high priests who had been summoned by Sendros were standing in front of a huge crystal ball, and watching everything that was happening in the arena. They watched as Gerg was about to be forced out of the Darkness Guardian while being bombarded by Lin Li¡¯s magic storm. They also saw how Gerg had no choice but to resort to using Eternal Darkness. Although Lin Li¡¯s Magic storm disappeared in Eternal Darkness, Zoqu and the rest knew that there was already an oue.

    ¡°Have you guys forgotten what I said?¡± Sendros questioned with his back facing them while staring at the images disyed in the crystal ball. Although his tone was calm, his heart was filled with shock because of Lin Li¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just a sparring session between Gerg and Master Felic. We¡¯re not being rude to him. Besides, Master Felic is also very happy to exchange and share his experience in actualbat with Gerg,¡± Zoqu answered anxiously.

    ¡°Hmph, I know exactly what you guys are thinking. Are you reassured now?¡± asked Sendros. He was not angry. After all, the five high priests were just worried about the fate of the Darkness Shrine. This time, they indeed didn¡¯t show any disrespect to Lin Li, either.

    ¡°Yes, Master Felic¡¯s abilities are indeed impressive. I believe he¡¯ll definitely be of great help to us,¡± Zoqu and the rest quickly answered, but they were still rather reserved. They simply said that Lin Li would be of help, and did not mention that they would be willing to relypletely on him.

    ¡°Forget it. In order to avoid letting such things happen again, I¡¯d better reveal some information to you. Do you think that I value him greatly only because he¡¯s a level-23 Legendary-mage and a pharmaceutics Guru, and because of the power of the Tower of Dusk? Let me tell you, I¡¯m very certain that he¡¯s the person the Darkness Shrine has been looking for!¡± eximed Sendros, who wanted to give them a sense of relief lest they end up stirring trouble while he was away. Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t care if they were to do it once or twice, but if they were to continue, Lin Li would probably teach them a lesson.

    ¡°What? He¡¯s the one we¡¯ve been looking for? How can that be? There isn¡¯t a trace of Darkness on him at all!¡± Zoqu and the rest were bbergasted and in extreme disbelief, so much more than when Sendros said those words beforehand.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d joke about such matters!?¡± Sendros barked, causing their discussion to cease. He continued, ¡°In the next few days, I will be going to the Eternal Darkness Altar to check and verify some matters. I hope I won¡¯t hear of you guys doing any disrespectful things to him when I¡¯m back. Otherwise, you will all be the sinners of the Darkness Shrine! You are dismissed.¡±

    The four high priests left the room withplicated expressions, and while walking towards the arena, they slowly tried to recover from the shock Sendros¡¯ words had brought them. They knew that there was no need to doubt Sendros¡¯ words, but they just couldn¡¯t convince themselves to believe them. If Lin Li were to really be the person the Darkness Shrine had been looking for all this while, he would then very likely be able to rescue them from the crisis this time. However, the problem was that they were high priests, and thus should be very sensitive to the aura of Darkness, yet they didn¡¯t find a single trace of Darkness on Lin Li at all¡ªright from the beginning where they saw him until now, when he fought Gerg. How could that be exined?

    Filled with doubts, the four high priests finally arrived at the arena, but at this moment, silence was already restored. The believers of Darkness on the grandstands had already left. Lin Li and Gerg were the only ones left. They were seated together and discussing various details of the battle just now.

    ¡°Zoqu, Pdio... Where have you guys been?¡± Gerg asked, feeling an ominous hunch when he saw the four of them. He had no idea when they¡¯d left, but he knew that something was up since the four of them had left together. After all, the sparring session was meant for testing Lin Li¡¯s abilities. The thing now was the most important.

    ¡°We went to see High Priest Sendros, and discussed some matters. How was the sparring session with Master Felic?¡± Zoqu asked, even though it was obvious. However, he seemed to be hinting to Gerg that Sendros was no longer holding it against him.

    Gerg secretly sighed, turned his head to look at Lin Li, and said with awe, ¡°Master Felic, your abilities are really impressive. I¡¯ve really benefited a lot this time. I hope to have the opportunity to consult you again in the future.¡± What convinced him was the fact that Lin Li still gave him an out in the end by making the battle end in a tie. He was bothfortable and convinced with Lin Li.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too polite and modest, High Priest Gerg. Your aplishments in Dark Magic have also given me a lot of insight. I hope I can consult you about Dark Magic in the future,¡± Lin Li said humbly.

    Lin Li and Gerg then discussed magic, while Zoqu and the rest joined in. However, apart from Gerg who was clueless about the situation, they started to scrutinize Lin Li even more carefully.

    In fact, Lin Li didn¡¯t gain much from sparring with Gerg, but he did learn a lot during the discussion with the five high priests who were all powerhouses who used Dark Force. Although the Werewolf Pdio and the Dark Knight Nostalo did not use Dark Magic, their power also came from Dark Force, and they could give Lin Li a better understanding of Dark Force in another sense.

    After a pleasant conversation, Lin Li got up to bid the five high priests goodbye. He decided to go back andbine his newly learned knowledge with the concepts that he had picked up from the Book of Eternity so as to digest everything he had learned today. However, just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by High Priest Zoqu. He asked in confusion, ¡°High Priest Zoqu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Zoqu hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind to bring it up. ¡°Master Felic, I reckon you¡¯ve seen enough of the Darkness Shrine in the past two days. However, there¡¯s still a ce that you definitely won¡¯t want to miss left. If you¡¯re willing, why don¡¯t I show you around tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Wouldn¡¯t it be a little too troublesome?¡± asked Lin Li, who noticed that Zoqu seemed to have made up his mind. In fact, Lin Li reckoned that the only ce that he had yet to visit in the Darkness Shrine was probably the ce where all the books of the Darkness Shrine were kept. Of course, that was definitely an extremely important ce to the Darkness Shrine. Zoqu was probably hesitant and in a dilemma because of that.

    ¡°No, not all,¡± Zoqu said as he shook his head profusely. However, hisrge hood made it look like there was some breeze blowing past.

 Chapter 783 - Shadow Realm

    <h4>Chapter 783: Shadow Realm</h4>

    However, the other four high priests had already focused their attention on Zoqu. Others couldn¡¯t notice the shock on their faces, because their faces were special.

    Even till now, Lin Li still didn¡¯t know why Sendros had invited him to the Darkness Shrine. Hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t consider too much. He said, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll have to trouble you tomorrow then, High Priest Zoqu.¡± He then bade goodbye to them and left the arena.

    After Lin Li left, the four high priests finally couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, but Gerg was the first to question them. He initially had no idea what Sendros had said to Zoqu and the rest, but after hearing their replies, Zoqu, who was already convinced with Lin Li¡¯s abilities, simrly looked to be in disbelief. While Gerg was digesting the news and feeling astonished, the Werewolf, Vampire, and the ck Knight surrounded Gerg and questioned him.

    ¡°Zoqu, where were you referring to when you spoke to Mage Felic? Could it be...¡± Culostein asked worriedly. In fact, as a high priest, he had already guessed it vaguely. However, he was still in disbelief, and dared not believe that Zoqu would be so bold.

    ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t this an opportunity to confirm the identity of Mage Felic?¡± Zoqu asked, seemingly intending to go all out as well.

    ¡°Sendros just mentioned it to us a short while ago. Have you forgotten it already? I think we might as well apany Mage Felic for a few more sparring sessions in the next few days. Maybe we¡¯d be able to tell something,¡± said the Werewolf high priest Pdio, who was much more cautious than the other two who were into magic.

    ¡°Yes, we shouldn¡¯t doubt Sendros¡¯ words,¡± the ck knight Nostalo said in a rough voice.

    Faced with the persuasion of his peers, Zoqu shook his head, and said, ¡°No, this idea is not as bad as you guys think. Sendros was rather conservative with his words, so that means that he isn¡¯t too sure about Mage Felic¡¯s identity, either. If we can confirm his identity, we would be giving Sendros great help. He won¡¯t me us for this. Besides, even if it turns out that Mage Felic isn¡¯t that person, there wouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with what we did.¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± After hearing Zoqu¡¯s exnation, the other four high priests remained silent; they had no choice but to admit that Zoqu¡¯s words still seemed very reasonable. Now that the Darkness Shrine was in a crisis that the believers of Darkness did not know about, the high priests would have to be concerned about it. If they got it right, they would be doing Sendros a favor, but if they were wrong, it would only be Lin Li¡¯s misfortune. Although it would be good to forge connections with Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk, no one could be bothered about that now.

    On the following morning, which was yet another one that did not resemble daybreak, Sendros went to the Eternal Darkness Altar, while Zoqu brought Lin Li to a rather remote ce deep inside the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°Were you referring to this ce?¡± Lin Li asked while staring at the view in front of him peculiarly, only to see an ancient gate that had a magical barrier in the middle, on which there seemed to be water ripples. Lin Li thought that Zoqu would take him to a ce where all the books of the Darkness Shrine were kept. However, the ce in front of him didn¡¯t look like a library at all.

    ¡°Master Felic, please rest assured. You are the most distinguished guest of the Darkness Shrine, and although this is a forbidden ce for other believers of Darkness, you are definitely qualified to enter this ce. All of us, including Sendros,e here to get some enlightenment about the Darkness Laws. Pleasee with me,¡± Zoqu said as he walked towards the gate.

    Lin Li thought, <i>He probably wouldn¡¯t hurt me, I don¡¯t seem to have any feud with this Necromancer, and I was invited to the Darkness Shrine by Sendros. Since Sendros and the reste here to be enlightened about the Laws of Darkness, it should be the same as a Darkness canon.</i> After Zoqu entered through the gate, Lin Li stroked his chin and paced back and forth in front of the gate before finally deciding to go in and take a look.

    Lin Li had the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark which contained the purest Darkness nomological power. However, just like a mage apprentice who had an advanced magic book, Lin Li had needed a long and arduous process to find some clues and information from the book even though he could figure out some things. Moreover, his knowledge was still limited and iplete. Hence, mage apprentices had to build and strengthen their foundation in magic by reading some basic books about magic in order to study advanced magic books better. What Lin Li needed the most now was basic knowledge about the Laws of Darkness so that he could better understand the Laws while gaining a better understanding of Gloomy Dark. That was also why he studied theurgy at the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, Lin Li began to regret it as soon as he stepped through the gate. The high priest Zoqu who had entered first had long disappeared, and Lin Li looked around to realize that it was apletely different world. There was soft and dense grass beneath his feet, but the grass was ck. There were wild flowers blooming in the grass, but they were also ck, just like the dense forest in the distance where the trees were ck. The sky was ck, and so was the entire world. If it weren¡¯t for his understanding of the Laws of Darkness, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything at this moment.

    <i>Damn it, what kind of a damned ce is this? What is that disgraceful Zoqu trying to do!?</i> Lin Li cursed. However, he had no choice but to walk forward, because the door behind him was long gone as well.

    When he first entered, Lin Li still felt that he had a chance of getting off scot free, but after he walked for a while and stopped in his tracks, he knew that he had definitely been duped, for he ¡°saw¡± around him countless all-ck magical beasts, which would look like vivid sketches against a white background.

    <i>Shadow Creatures, this is the damned Shadow Realm!</i> Lin Li finally thought of a ce that was the most disgusting version of the Endless World and a parallel of the world of Anril in legends. It was the Shadow Realm. Just like the World of the Undead, the Shadow Realm was dependent on Anril, but it was also rtively independent andposed of rtively individual World Laws at the same time.

    By using the Tide of Death, a Necromancer would be opening a door to the world of the Undead, and the Undead creatures would swarm out in armies while feeding off of the aura of life in Anril. Otherwise, the decaying bones in Anril alone would never form terrifyingbat power.

    The difference between the Shadow Realm and the world of the Undead was that the Shadow Creatures couldn¡¯t leave the Shadow Realm, even though they were much stronger than the Undead creatures¡ªeven the mostmon Shadow magical beast was at least level-10. However, a single ray of light would be lethal to Shadow Creatures.

    After the Shadow Creatures appeared around Lin Li, the first thing Lin Li thought of was the Holy Light Magic. However, he got a great shock after giving it a try. The entire Shadow Realm seemed to have a force that would prevent all light from appearing. In the Shadow Realm, it was impossible for Lin Li to even release a small fireball, let alone use Holy Light Magic. It could be said that any magic rted to light was forbidden by the powerful World Laws there.

    Magic was not the only aspect restricted. Lin Li took out the Helios¡¯ Scepter in a bid to cast a bunch of stones, because he thought that stones had nothing to do with light. However, when he induced mana into Helios¡¯ Scepter, he discovered that the Helios¡¯ Scepter had also lost its function. It seemed that the introduction of man would make the gemstone on Helios¡¯ Scepter glow and emit light. Hence, that behavior was also prohibited by the World Laws.

    Lin Li had no choice but to put away the Helios¡¯ Scepter and throw some rocks with his bare hands, after which countless huge ck stones suddenly smashed into the surrounding beasts. However, although the spell was cast sessfully, the damage done to those Shadow Creatures was extremely limited. One reason was the incredible agility of the Shadow Creatures, while the other was that the Shadow Creatures were highly resistant to magic and physical attacks alike. If they were struck by boulders, they would still be able to get up after rolling around unless they were hit in the head.

    Lin Li¡¯s attack obviously angered the surrounding magical beasts. Although they had long wanted to rip Lin Li, the outsider, apart, his provocation made them furious. They didn¡¯t roar, and instead pounced on Lin Li silently from all sides like trained assassins.

    Lin Li could not distinguish between the different types of Shadow Creatures, and only knew that there were different forms like wolves, lions, and tigers, and most of them could not be identified by their appearance. Moreover, he did not care to distinguish them, because he couldn¡¯tunch his Elemental Shield anyway. Hence, he had no other choice but to evade the attacks using his own body. It was extremely dangerous.

    In fact, there were also defensive spells for Earth magic. If one were to simply use Stone Armor which had poor defensive power, he would cause himself to be the target of those Shadow Creatures. Fortunately, Lin Li had read through some books about Dark Magic when he headed back after the fight with Gerg. He immediately thought of the Dark Shadow Armor used in Dark Magic.

    ¡°Damn it, do you really think I can¡¯t do anything about you? Try this then!¡± Lin Li used the Dark Shadow Armor to temporarily resist the attacks of the Shadow Creatures. With the end of a chant for a spell, he pushed his hands forward forcefully, and caused a ck ice ball to fly towards the beasts. Ice seemed to be shiny and glistening, but there was no light in this world of darkness to be reflected off of the ice ball. Hence, it was not prohibited by the World Laws.

    The ck ice ball flew towards the herd of magical beasts while spinning and continuously releasing ice cones. The ice ball was a Legendary-level magic spell. Regardless of how defensive the shadow magical beasts were, they were just like fragile paper in front of Legendary magic spells. As the ice cones wereunched, they copsed in the blink of an eye. The ending explosion of the ice ball caused a vacuum zone to appear instantly amongst the beasts.

    The 10-odd ice balls finally repelled the Shadow Creatures, but Lin Li wasn¡¯t relieved, because those Shadow magical beasts were obviously the lowest-level creatures of the Shadow Realm, and there were probably more powerful creatures, such as the Shadow Wyrm in legends.

    The worst things tended to always happen. Lin Li¡¯s worries soon became reality as the shadow magical beasts that had been wandering in the distance seemed to have gotten a fright and fled. There was then a massive oppression in the air, and Lin Li ¡°looked¡± into the sky, only to see three Shadow Creatures in the form of wyrm¡ªjust as he expected. They were all flying towards him, approaching from afar.

    Shadow Wyrms were said to be the descendants of the survivors amongst the Ancient Wyrms which had fled to the Shadow Realm in thete prehistoric times and the Shadow Creatures. Lin Li had no idea how strong the strongest Shadow Wyrm was, but it was still a descendant of the Wyrms, after all, and wouldn¡¯t be weaker than the wyrms of Anril. He could only be thankful for the fact that none of the three Shadow Wyrms were at the Sanctuary-realm, and should have just reached level-20.

    In the blink of an eye, the three Shadow Wyrms had already flown above Lin Li¡¯s head, and as soon as they arrived, they began blowing ck mes¡ªtheir dragon breath¡ªat Lin Li. However, they weren¡¯t exactly ck mes, because the ck mes of Shadow Wyrms were not meant for burning the souls of their enemies, but for turning them into shadows. In other words, once Lin Li was sprayed with their dragon breath, he wouldn¡¯t have to think about leaving, because he could only stay in the Shadow Realm forever in the form of a shadow. Even if he were to make it out, he would die instantly.

    Lin Like didn¡¯t want to stay in this dark ce forever. Hence, he tried to dodge the ck mes by using his Power of Flight to fly straight into the air, after which he shot an ice ball at the three Shadow Wyrms. However, they were clearly even more magic resistant because of their form. The Legendary-level ice ball wasn¡¯t lethal to them, even though it did cause some damage.

    Since he couldn¡¯t use the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and his usage of magic was also limited, even his eyes would¡¯ve bepletely useless had he not had some understanding of the Laws of Darkness. Fortunately, there were only three level-20 Shadow Wyrms. Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t kill them, he would still be able to neutralize the danger they posed.

    While dealing with the three Shadow Wyrms, Lin Li thought about how he could leave the horrendous ce as soon as possible. Obviously, there was a World Law that would prohibit all light, butpared to the perfect rules of Anril, the Laws here seemed to be of the level of Magical Domains, just that this Magical Domain was much stronger. At the thought of this, Lin Li felt that the Shadow Realm seemed to be somewhat simr to the Seven-Realm Spiral. Otherwise, the Shadow Creatures definitely wouldn¡¯t be that weak.

    In order to leave this world, Lin Li could choose to either go through the gate again or seize control of the Laws of this world. However, the gate was out of bounds, and seizing control of the Laws didn¡¯t seem that feasible, either. Lin Li naturally had some control over the Laws of Darkness since he could create the Light and Darkness Domain. However, at this moment, he clearly felt that the Laws of this world were far beyond his control. Only a Sanctuary Master would be able to create the Seven-Realm Spiral. Since the Shadow Realm was simr to the Seven-Realm Spiral, it had to have Sanctuary-level Laws.

 Chapter 784 - Brainless

    <h4>Chapter 784: Brainless</h4>

    If he could exert the power of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, he could probably try to break through the space, but unfortunately, he was still far from that level. At the thought of the debris of the stars, Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Indeed, he couldn¡¯t control the World Laws of this realm, but Gloomy Dark symbolized the purest form of Laws of Darkness, and should be able to override the Laws of this world. Although he owned Gloomy Dark, and only had limited control over it, he could just put Gloomy Dark away after the Laws of Gloomy Dark reced the Laws of this world. Without nomological power, there would be no way for this world to continue existing, and he would then be able to leave.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li did not dare to hesitate at all, and simply took out the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark. When Gloomy Dark appeared in this world, Lin Li had yet to use his mental strength to activate it when it had already emanated a massive amount of power, which was far beyond the power that it had when Lin Li used it.

    With the eruption of Gloomy Dark, the entire Shadow Realm seemed to stagnate for a while, and the three Shadow Wyrms froze in the air all of a sudden. As the power of Gloomy Dark increased bit by bit, the three wyrms actually began to quiver and fall onto the ground one by one. They put their wings away and leaned forward as if they were worshiping Gloomy Dark.

    When the power of the eruption of Gloomy Dark reached its peak, the three Shadow Wyrms began to crumble and copse as pure Dark Force poured out of their bodies and surged into Gloomy Dark. Lin Li could also clearly feel that even the Shadow magical beasts that had already fled far, far away had also be pure Dark Force that was surging towards Gloomy Dark in his hands.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know how much Dark Force Gloomy Dark had consumed, but he closed his eyes and used the opportunity to release all of his mental strength while Gloomy Dark was suppressing the World Laws of this realm. He carefully tried to experience the Laws of Darkness in detail.

    In fact, this was not the first time Lin Li had ever done that. In the Seven-Realm Spiral, Lin Li had also used this method to gain a lot of insight into various nomological powers. Hence, he didn¡¯t take up much time this time, and managed to make all of the experience deeply etched in his mind rather quickly. He also managed to summon back Gloomy Dark, which hadpletely reced the World Laws.

    As Gloomy Dark was ced in the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li immediately felt a force of repulsion suddenly descend on his body, and he abruptly felt that he didn¡¯t belong to this world. Before he could even react, he suddenly felt dizzy. Next, he realized that he was already standing in the Darkness Shrine with the ancient gate behind him, as if he had really just passed through the gate.

    Lin Li also saw Zoqu, who had brought him there, standing at the gate together with the four other high priests. Since he was in a good mood because of the new insights into the Laws of Darkness that he had obtained inside, he decided not to hold it against them for sending him into the Shadow Realm.

    However, just as Lin Li walked over to Zoqu and the rest, and was about to say something, Zoqu spoke to Lin Li in a tone of surprise, but the words he said made the joy on Lin Li¡¯s face vanish immediately.

    ¡°Master Felic, you actually made it out unharmed. Seems like you are indeed the incarnation of the God of Darkness,¡± Zoqu eximed in surprise. Although the four high priests had their faces obscured, it seemed that their joy was noticeable too.

    Those words were what made Lin Li¡¯s face grow sullen; it was obvious what he meant. Zoqu had led him to the Shadow Realm, but he clearly hadn¡¯t done it simply for the sake of letting Lin Li gain some insight into the Laws of Darkness. Instead, he had been trying to test something to verify Lin Li¡¯s identity. Lin Li was not interested in the incarnation of the God of Darkness, and he only knew that if he hadn¡¯t had Gloomy Dark, he would have definitely died in the Shadow Realm.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, High Priest Zoqu, but I¡¯m not an incarnation of anyone. Sorry to disappoint you,¡± Lin Li said before turning around to leave without taking another look at them.

    Staring at Lin Li while he left, Zoqu and the rest could not help but look at each other in dismay. In their opinion, the incarnation of the God of Darkness was an extremely honorable identity, yet Lin Li looked extremely unhappy and full of resentment after hearing the news. However, after confirming Lin Li¡¯s identity, the five high priests were too overjoyed to consider other issues.

    However, when the five high priests walked out together happily, and even wanted to report to Sendros and break the good news to him, they saw Sendros walking towards them, and a cold chill was sent down each of their spines, dampening their spirits and killing their joy.

    ¡°High Priest Sendros, you are back. We happen to have good news for you,¡± Zoqu hurriedly said to Sendros.

    ¡°Good news? Do you guys still take me seriously? What did I tell you before!? Can you people use your brains before deciding to do anything!? Yes, Zoqu, Gerg, and Nostalo, you three are already brainless, but what about the other two? Are you guys idiots too!?¡± Sendros hollered in exasperation, wishing he could turn the five of them into Undead creatures of the lowest level.

    Sendros initially went to the Eternal Darkness Altar today, but before he could even observe anything there, he began to sense something amiss going on in the Darkness Shrine. When he felt the changes in the Shadow Realm, he immediately thought of what might¡¯ve happened, and so hurried back from the Eternal Darkness Altar.

    However, something had clearly already happened. If it had been someone else and not Lin Li, Sendros probably wouldn¡¯t have been that infuriated, but knowing Lin Li¡¯s personality well, he knew that they were in huge trouble.

    ¡°High Priest, we can already confirm the identity of Master Felic. Isn¡¯t this a good thing?¡± Zoqu asked while trying to suppress his fear.

    ¡°Good thing? We have to make him stay to help us. Are you guys trying to send the Darkness Shrine into a dead end by doing what you¡¯ve just done!?¡± Sendros berated in fury.

    ¡°Him bing the incarnation of the God of Darkness would be a very beneficial thing for him and for the Tower of Dusk. How could he refuse it?¡± The five high priests couldn¡¯t figure it out at all, because the matter was definitely worth rejoicing for anyone. They couldn¡¯t think of a reason for Lin Li to turn it down.

    ¡°What if he isn¡¯t? Were you nning to let him die inside? If someone else took your life as a stake for a gamble, what would you think of them? Would you still be willing to help that person?¡± Seeing that the rest were about to speak again after he berated them, Sendros waved his hands to stop them. ¡°Cut the crap. Go and apologize to him now. Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not toote. Otherwise, you shall think about the consequences you have to bear!¡±

    The five high priests did not oppose apologizing. After all, they felt that Lin Li was the incarnation of the God of Darkness; hence, there was nothing to feel indignant about. However, they didn¡¯t think that this matter would make Lin Li react so intensely, because the identity of the incarnation of the God of Darkness was supreme in the Darkness Shrine, and even Sendros, who had always been helming the Darkness Shrine, would be slightly inferior to him.

    Under the lead of Sendros, the group hurried to the ce where Lin Li was putting up in. When they saw that Lin Li was still in the room, they felt slightly relieved. However, they immediately panicked again with looks of dismay after hearing Lin Li¡¯s first words.

    ¡°Master Sendros, you¡¯re back. Well, I¡¯ve been here at the Darkness Shrine as a guest for some time. I¡¯d like to bid you goodbye. Thank you for the hospitality you¡¯ve shown me in the past few days,¡± Lin Li said politely without any anger on his face on seeing Sendros and the rest of them enter.

    ¡°Master Felic, how can you leave so soon? You have only been here for a few days. If you¡¯re upset about something, feel free to let me know,¡± Sendros said anxiously.

    ¡°Hah, it seems that you already know about it. I don¡¯t want to help someone who tried to kill me. However, you can rest assured that this will not affect our rtionship,¡± said Lin Li.

    He reckoned that the five high priests had already told Sendros about the matter in detail after seeing that they had shown up together. Hence, he didn¡¯t bother being polite. However, he was only upset with Zoqu and the other high priests who had plotted against him. He still had a good impression of Sendros, and thus wasn¡¯t too harsh with his words.

    ¡°Master Felic, this was negligence on my part. I failed to give them clear instructions, and they¡¯re also feeling ashamed of their actions now. We hope to seek your forgiveness,¡± Sendros said in a sincere tone.

    Sendros was the chief high priest of the Darkness Shrine, and he was definitely at the top of the hierarchy in Anril. Yet, he was swallowing his pride and apologizing to Lin Li, who felt rather embarrassed about that. If he were to harp on it and continue being upset, he would seem like a petty person. Hence, Lin Li sighed, and said, ¡°Master Sendros, why do you bother?¡±

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t directly say that he would stay, Sendros could tell from Lin Li¡¯s tone that he was less uptight. Hence, he turned his head to the five high priests beside him, and yelled, ¡°What are you waiting for!?¡±

    The five high priests did not hesitate any longer, and quickly stepped forward to bow to Lin Li. ¡°Master Felic, we are at fault for this...¡± Although they were high priests of the Darkness Shrine, they were extremely willing to apologize because they had already found out that Lin Li was the incarnation of the God of Darkness. Even if they were made to apologize to him despite having done no wrong, they still wouldn¡¯t find it to be inappropriate.

    ¡°High Priests, I do regard you guys as seniors and friends, but what have you taken me for!? Since Master Sendros hase forward to apologize to me for this matter, I will let it slide, but if this happens again, I¡¯ll make the culprit pay the price.¡± Lin Li was polite and cordial with Sendros, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to be nice to the five high priests. No one would be pleased to get plotted against.

    Seeing that Lin Li had finally agreed to stay, Sendros waved his hands to chase them away, and he nned to continue to appease Lin Li. In fact, the five high priests had indeed given him some help too. At least he managed to verify Lin Li¡¯s identity through the characteristics of the Shadow Realm.

    ¡°Master Sendros, when I met Balesi at the Brilliance Shrine previously, he mentioned that you invited me this time because of an important matter. After I arrived, you didn¡¯t mention it, and I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to ask, either. However, can you tell me what it is now?¡± Lin Li asked before Sendros could even say anything. Although he had forgiven the five high priests, he still had to know the reason they had put him through everything.

    Lin Li had arranged the matter of going to the Darkness Shrine to be thest of his itinerary because he had no idea why Sendros was looking for him. If he had encountered the same issue that he had in the Sky Castle previously, and ended up wasting more than half a year, Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine would have probably been in danger.

    Moreover, the Darkness Shrine and Brilliance Shrine were rivals, after all, and had been at odds for countless years. No matter how the Darkness Shrine felt about Lin Li, they would definitely stop him if they were to find out that he was going to the Brilliance Shrine to give Pope Rosario the antidote. Actually, the only thing that the Darkness Shrineckedpared to the Brilliance Shrine were powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm, who were powerful and daunting. Hence, the Brilliance Shrine definitely wouldn¡¯t let go of a chance to make the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s Sanctuary-realm powerhouse fall.

    ¡°Master Felic, when you came from the Brilliance Shrine, the Viper¡¯s poison in Rosario¡¯s body must have already been removed, right?¡± Sendros asked with excitement in his gaze even though he didn¡¯t have much of an expression.

    Although the fact that Rosario had been poisoned by Viper¡¯s poison had been kept under wraps, it was actually only a secret to the believers of the lower sses. The big shots like Sendros had already found out long ago. Besides, the Darkness Shrine couldn¡¯t take advantage of the matter anyway. After all, Rosario was still a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, even though he had used a portion of his power and energy to suppress Viper¡¯s poison.

    Sendros didn¡¯t ask about the matter with the intention to me Lin Li. After all, Lin Li was not a member of the Darkness Shrine, and the Darkness Shrine was in no position to interfere with what he did. However, Sendros was also a pharmaceutics Master, and his passion for pharmaceutics was also the reason he could be friends with the Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, Sendros knew that a pharmaceutics Guru was necessary for the Viper¡¯s poison in Rosario¡¯s body to be removed. That was what he was interested in.

    Lin Li touched his nose embarrassedly because he had dyed his eptance of Sendros¡¯ invitation and treated Rosario. Although there was nothing wrong with it, it was still somewhat embarrassing.

 Chapter 785 - Big Crack

    <h4>Chapter 785: Big Crack</h4>

    Hence, Lin Li did not hide the matter from Sendros, and simply nodded. ¡°Yes, you probably also know that when I was in the Haiga Mountain Range, I removed the poison of a descendant of the Viper in the bodies of several elves. I¡¯ve also managed to find out about the characteristics of the Viper¡¯s poison. Although the Viper¡¯s poison in His Holiness Pope Rosario¡¯s body was much harder to deal with, there were fortunately no major changes in the poison over the decades. Hence, the process was rather smooth and sessful.¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li admit that Rosario had recovered, Sendros did not have any special expression on his face, and instead he smilingly said, ¡°Do you remember what I said to you back when we were in the ckstone Mountains? Did you manage to get Rosario¡¯s Sun Scepter?¡±

    ¡°Uh... There is no Sun Scepter, but there is a Helios¡¯ Scepter.¡± Although Lin Li was not the kind to let himself get taken advantage of, he had already gained plenty of benefits from the Brilliance Shrine. Not only had he clinched various business cooperation agreements, he had also learned Holy Light Magic from Rosario. The Sun Scepter was not only a scepter, but also a sacred object of the Brilliance Shrine. It symbolized the supreme power and authority of the pope, and regardless of how thick-skinned Lin Li might be, he¡¯d never dare to ask Rosario for it.

    Besides, to Lin Li, the Sun Scepter was not extremely valuable, even though it contained a massive amount of pure Holy Light, which would be a great enhancement to theurgy. Not to forget, Lin Li still had the debris of the stars, Holy Light. In Anril, nothing couldpare to that piece of the debris of the stars in terms of Holy Light.

    Of course, Sendros had no idea that Lin Li had a piece of the debris of the stars that was even more formidable than the Sun Scepter, for which reason Lin Li didn¡¯t want to ask Rosario for the Sun Scepter.

    Sendros shook his head in regret, and said, ¡°You have brought yourself a ton of trouble.¡±

    ¡°A ton of trouble? What do you mean?¡± asked Lin Li, taken aback. He couldn¡¯t think of what kind of trouble he would cause himself by not asking for the Sun Scepter. In fact, he would be in actual trouble if he were to ask for it.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I invited you here. As an incarnation of the God of Darkness, there will definitely be a day when you fight Rosario. Without the Viper¡¯s poison, Rosario will definitely be able to return to the peak of his strength soon. Coupled with the sacred object of the Brilliance Shrine, the Sun Scepter, you¡¯re definitely in trouble. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Sendros sounded a little sarcastic, and seemed to be gloating.

    ¡°Wait, Master Sendros, what do you mean? Why don¡¯t I understand what you¡¯re talking about? Why would I fight Pope Rosario? Although I wish to be an incarnation of the God of Darkness, I¡¯m really not. I¡¯m just an ordinary and insignificant mage,¡± Lin Li quickly rified. Although being an incarnation of the God of Darkness and the Son of The Holy Light would be giving himself huge support, he knew that it was all because of his debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark.

    Indeed, he would be able to be a significant figure of status and power in Anril as long as he relied on the Brilliance Shrine or the Darkness Shrine. The Dark de was a good example. They managed to rise and grow into the most powerful force in the Breezy ins from a group of bandits. However, that was definitely all from the perspective of ordinary people. Lin Li did not hope for there to be any brand on himself and the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t find there to be anything wrong with his status quo. The Tower of Dusk had already been developed, and even though it still could not bepared to the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, he believed that he would definitely grow towards bing as strong as the two major shrines sooner orter. This time, he went to the Brilliance Shrine to get rid of the Viper¡¯s poison in Rosario, which had tormented him for many years. He could definitely be considered the major benefactor of the Brilliance Shrine, and that fact alone was what allowed him to gain plenty of benefits from the Brilliance Shrine. If he were to assume the identity of being the incarnation of the God of Darkness, his cordial rtionship with the Brilliance Shrine would probably vanish.

    <i>Ordinary and insignificant mage? Isn¡¯t that nonsense? Even a fool wouldn¡¯t believe his words!</i> Sendros cussed in his head. Although Lin Li denied it very straightforwardly, he smiled nonchntly, and said, ¡°Master Felic, did you go to the Scar of Death back in the ckstone Mountains?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I didn¡¯t go to the Scar of Death alone. The Judge Pdin from the Brilliance Shrine went with me,¡± said Lin Li, who continued to feign ignorance. Regardless of what Sendros said, Lin Li would definitely deny it.

    ¡°However, of all people, you were the only one who entered the Legendary-realm within a short period of time. On top of that, you were also the only one who created the Light and Darkness Domain. I¡¯m correct, aren¡¯t I?¡± said Sendros, who didn¡¯t seem to be affected by Lin Li¡¯s attitude at all. He continued to expose all the evidence that he had.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re referring to that.¡± Lin Li pretended to have had a moment of epiphany, but soon changed his expression again. He continued in a regretful tone, ¡°Don¡¯t you know about that too? When I entered the Legendary-realm, it was actually during the battle with the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. When I created the Light and Darkness Domain, I gained some enlightenment about the Laws of Darkness from the Lord of Darkness. Besides, if I¡¯m really the incarnation of the God of Darkness, I should be creating a pure Darkness Domain, shouldn¡¯t I? Have you ever seen a Dark mage using the Power of Light?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also part of the basis for my judgment,¡± Sendros said, looking as if he had already expected to hear it a long time ago. He looked at Lin Li smugly, and continued, ¡°If you only had insights into the generic and ordinary Laws of Darkness, you¡¯d only be able to exert the all-devouring effects of the Laws of Darkness if you mastered the purest Laws of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°Uh, right, no wonder you misunderstood. It seems that I didn¡¯t make it clear at the time. I created the Magical Domain of frost, light, and darkness, not the Light and Darkness Domain. The Frost rule was also the intermediary that allowed the Laws of Light and Darkness to be put together. It has nothing to do with any Darkness Incarnation.¡± Lin Li squinted and leaned back against the chair nonchntly, seemingly trying to say, ¡°What can you do about me?¡±

    Sendros was rather patient, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered by Lin Li¡¯s attitude, either. He continued, ¡°What about now? Do you still need the Frost Laws as an intermediary for your Light and Darkness Domain? Besides, do you know where Zoqu brought you to just now? That¡¯s the Shadow Realm that only the high priests of the Darkness Domain can enter and leave freely. If one doesn¡¯t have a certain degree of enlightenment about the Laws of Darkness, it will be impossible toe out of that ce.¡±

    ¡°So what? Since I could create the Light and Darkness Domain, I also naturally understand the Laws of Darkness. What¡¯s so strange about me being able toe out of there?¡± Lin Li asked in disapproval.

    ¡°However, you not only came out, but also destroyed the Laws of the Shadow Realm. Although it was only a small part of the Shadow Realm, it would still be impossible to break the Laws in it without a deeper understanding of the Laws of Darkness. So, you are the Darkness Incarnation,¡± said Sendros, who gave another theory and exnation. Besides, it was an absolutely irrefutable, concrete piece of evidence.

    ¡°Well, I managed toe out using another method. Anyway, the Darkness Incarnation that you¡¯re talking about has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s up to you to say what you want, but I¡¯m just an ordinary mage.¡± Lin Li immediately tried to refute, and regardless of what reasons or evidence Sendros had, Lin Li would insist that he wasn¡¯t the incarnation.

    <i>Damn, this kid is really stubborn! However, I can¡¯t possibly lock him up and torture him until he admits it.</i> Feeling a little helpless, Sendros waved his hand, and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about that for now. I invited you here this time because I actually need your help for something. I hope you can agree.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Please speak your mind. I¡¯ll agree as long as it¡¯s within my means and doesn¡¯t require me to be the incarnation,¡± said Lin Li. He didn¡¯t make any promises so as to leave a way out for himself.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being the Darkness Incarnation? The Darkness Incarnation has an extremely high status in the Darkness Shrine, and even the Darkness Council will have to obey you. I remember you seemed to be happy to take on the role back in the ckstone Mountains,¡± Sendros said in anger. Back then, Lin Li had agreed rather readily. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had to verify it himself, things probably wouldn¡¯t have been that troublesome now.

    ¡°Oh, that,¡± Lin Li said as he recalled how he had agreed without hesitation to be the Darkness Incarnation in order for Sendros to help him back then. Although he¡¯d been joking, he couldn¡¯t help but blush in embarrassment at the thought of it. However, things were different now. He could help Sendros, but he didn¡¯t want to be a Darkness Incarnation. Hence, he said, ¡°At that time, I was still young and frivolous. Now that I think about it, I was really insensible. How could I make such a casual remark about being the Darkness Incarnation when it¡¯s such a significant title? I¡¯m really sorry, Master Sendros.¡±

    ¡°Young and frivolous...¡± Sendros was speechless, and had nothing to say to Lin Li whose skin was thicker than that of the wyrms. He had no other choice but to hand the Darkness scripture to Lin Li while exining, ¡°This is the supreme scripture of the Darkness Shrine which is essible only to the chief high priest. Apart from the greatest magical mysteries of the Darkness Shrine, there are also some words left behind by the first high priest, Rogge, written there. Take a look.¡±

    <i>This is the Darkness scripture! I came to the Darkness Shrine by myself all for the sake of reading this!</i> Lin Li thought to himself as he grabbed the thick scripture, and gently flipped the ck ancient-looking cover. Of course, it was not the time to study it now. The first thing Lin Li read was the first high priest Rogge¡¯s words Sendros mentioned.

    During thete Dark Age, the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, Rogge, was once the closestrade of Geresco, the God of Mages, and the most powerful mage in the world apart from Geresco at that time. It was said that Rogge wasn¡¯t any less talented than Geresco in magic. If he had continued practicing magic, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been inferior to the mage in terms of attainments in magic.

    However, when the Tree of Eternity was overthrown by Geresco back then, Rogge obtained the Darkness doctrine, and embarked on apletely different path from Geresco. At the end of the Dark Age, there was a battle to overthrow the rule of the High Elves. The first of the most famous human powerhouses was Geresco, followed by Apophis, Megard, and Rogge.

    After 1,000 years, Geresco had already left Anril, and was said to have gone to the chaos of time and space to search for something. Megard and Apophis, the arbitrators of the Supreme Council, had been living well in Anril for the past 1,000-odd years. However, at that time, Rogge¡¯s abilities were far greater than those of Apophis and Megard. Logically speaking, he should have a greater lifespan than the two of them.

    However, that was the strange part. About only 100 years after Rogge became the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, news of his death surfaced. No one knew why he died, and there wasn¡¯t even a trace of his corpse. All that was left were the words he had written in the scripture.

    A powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm was extremely important to a force¡ªas evidenced by Rosario¡¯s significance to the Brilliance Shrine. With the fall of a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse like Rogge, the Darkness Shrine almost copsed overnight, and was no longer on par with the Brilliance Shrine.

    While recalling the story about Rogge, Lin Li read Rogge¡¯s message in the Darkness scripture which was rather difficult to read. The message left behind by Rogge was actuallyprised of a variety of texts in differentnguages like the ancient wyrmnguage, High Elven print, and ancient Demon Language. Most importantly, there seemed to be no normal order at all, for the texts were all arranged in a messy order which gave Lin Li a huge headache.

    Lin Li took a closer look, and finally had no choice but to raise his head to look at Sendros. Even though he had learned plenty of words from the Book of Eternity, he felt that it was rather difficult to understand the meaning of those texts. However, the Darkness scripture had existed in the Darkness Shrine for such a long time, and Lin Li reckoned that the Darkness Shrine had never stopped researching it. Hence, there was no point in abusing himself.

    When Sendros saw Lin Li looking at him, Sendros smirked wryly, and said, ¡°Although we¡¯ve been studying this text for more than a thousand years since the fall of High Priest Rogge, we still can¡¯t find any words that are linked. We¡¯ve even tried to analyze each word and character.¡±

    However, Sendros nheless grabbed the Darkness scripture and ced it on the table before extending his arm to point out some things and exin the words to Lin Li. ¡°This sentence should be referring to the Tree of Eternity. This phrase is simpler, and it probably refers to the Immortal King. This is something along the lines of one day... the owner of Darkness... will take his throne, and this one¡¯s slightly moreplicated. Through the path to the big crack, and then...¡±

    After listening to Sendros¡¯ exnation, Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°So, Master Sendros, what do you need my help for?¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t made any progress in our research of the other texts, but we did make some discoveries recently about this big crack. We discovered that this big crack has something to do with both the fall of the first high priest, Rogge, and the catastrophe that struck the Darkness Shrine hundreds of years ago.¡±

 Chapter 786 - Minotaur

    <h4>Chapter 786: Minotaur</h4>

    At the mention of this, Sendros could not help but look worried. High Priest Rogge wasparable to Geresco, and the rest of the Darkness Shrine was still inferior to him even before their fall. However, he still did not manage to stop things from happening...

    ¡°Are these two things rted?¡± Upon hearing his words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but muse to himself. How unlucky of the Darkness Shrine to experience a huge disaster right after theireback. Although Pope Rosario had been tortured by Viper¡¯s poison for decades, he actually managed to wait until Lin Li, a pharmaceutics Guru, appeared. On top of that, Prophet Willen and Rodhart of the Brilliance Shrine had also suffered huge blows. That was extremely unlucky.

    Sendros naturally didn¡¯t know what Lin Li was musing about. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, he continued, ¡°Well,tely, we feel that there have been some strange issues with the magical waves of the Night Canyon. After some investigation, we found out that the abnormalities stem from the Eternal Darkness Altar, which is the first ce of worship for the God of Darkness. However, High Priest Rogge made it a forbidden ce at one point. Only members of the Darkness Council would be granted ess. We headed to the Eternal Darkness Altar to look for the reasons for the abnormalities, but we ended up finding a scepter that had been discarded for many years.¡±

    ¡°Did it belong to High Priest Rogge?¡± Lin Li asked carefully, worried that Sendros would mention the Darkness Incarnation again. However, when he heard those words, he began to get curious. Since the Eternal Darkness Altar was the forbidden area of the Darkness Shrine, not everyone could enter, and it seemed that High Priest Rogge was the most likely to be the person who¡¯d left the scepter there.

    However, Sendros shook his head, and simply refuted Lin Li¡¯s guess. He exined, ¡°It was a scepter from the Brilliance Shrine which only archbishops are qualified to use.¡±

    ¡°Does the disappearance of High Priest Rogge actually have something to do with the Brilliance Shrine? Actually, it seems that it is indeed possible since you guys and the Brilliance Shrine are rivals. The people of the Brilliance Shrine reached your forbidden ground, and even made your high priest go missing. It¡¯s no wonder that no one knows about this,¡± Lin Li said in shock.

    ¡°At first, we did think that this might¡¯ve been a conspiracy of the Brilliance Shrine, butter on, we found out through the negotiations with the Brilliance Shrine that the owner of this scepter was Prophet Willen who disappeared hundreds of years ago.¡± Prophet Willen was known as the Son of The Holy Light, and was also a legendary figure of Anril. Even Sendros was extremely emotional at the mention of him.

    So it was Willen¡¯s scepter! Lin Li looked at Sendros, but didn¡¯t interject. Willen and Rodhart had once gone to the Darkness Shrine together, and it was recorded in the records of the Brilliance Shrine. However, the purpose of their visit was not mentioned. He wondered if there would be any relevant records in the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°There are records of Prophet Willen¡¯s visit to the Darkness Shrine. Besides, he wasn¡¯t alone, and he actually came with his brother Rodhart, who used to be the Referee of Heresy. ording to the information, the two of them had indeed gone deep into the Eternal Darkness Altar when they arrived at the Night Canyon. However, we have no idea what they did there and why the scepter was there.¡± The important figures of the Brilliance Shrine had entered the forbidden area of the Darkness Shrine, but Sendros didn¡¯t say anything about it.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Eternal Darkness Altar the forbidden ce of the Darkness Shrine? You guys actually allowed them to enter freely?¡± Lin Li asked, not trying to make fun of them or anything. However, it was the Darkness Shrine, after all¡ªalthough they did not have a powerhouse like Rogge, they had already recovered most of their power after hundreds of years of recovery. Hence, they were strong enough to fight the Brilliance Shrine. How could they easily allow the people of the Brilliance Shrine to enter their forbidden grounds?

    ¡°Although the Eternal Darkness Altar is a forbidden area of the Darkness Shrine, it was said that they had the token of the first high priest Rogge at that time. Those who owned the token would be granted ess to everything in the Darkness Shrine as long as they did not utter sphemies towards the God of Darkness,¡± Sendros exined patiently.

    Everything was making sense again after being put together. Willen and Rodhart actually had the token of High Priest Rogge. It was no wonder that they were allowed to enter the forbidden Eternal Darkness Altar. Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly asked Sendros, ¡°Since the Darkness Shrine allowed them to enter, would there be a more detailed record of their entry into the Eternal Darkness Altar?¡±

    One reason Lin Li came to the Darkness Shrine was Sendros¡¯ invitation, and another was his desire to read the Darkness scripture. However, there was also another very important purpose of his visit, and that was to get a clear idea of what had happened to Willen and Rodhart, especially how Rodhart became a Retribution Knight.

    However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Sendros shook his head, and said, ¡°ording to a high priest who led them to the Eternal Darkness Altar, they got into a dispute after going deep into the Eternal Darkness Altar, but no one knows what it was about. We only know that Rodhart disappeared suddenly after the dispute. No one knows where he went, and he only appeared again 10 dayster.¡±

    ¡°Were there any changes to him after he appeared?¡± Lin Li asked as he vaguely felt that the matter of Rodhart disappearing for 10 days had something to do with him bing a Retribution Knightter on.

    ¡°No one knows that. After Rodhart appeared, the two of them left the Eternal Darkness Altar, but shortly after that, a disaster fell upon the Darkness Shrine. Only a few survived, and many things that happened then were thus erased from history,¡± Sendros said regretfully. If it weren¡¯t because of the disaster, there would at least have been some useful information.

    ¡°Could that disaster of the Darkness Shrine have been caused by the two of them? It sounds like they killed the witnesses to stop them from spreading news. What happened during the disaster? Given the Darkness Shrine¡¯s power, it shouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a terrible state even if the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council had colluded with each other,¡± said Lin Li, who was rather interested in the disaster that had caused the Darkness Shrine to decline.

    Sendros had no choice but to smile wryly at hearing Lin Li¡¯s analysis. He said, ¡°We don¡¯t know the details of the actual event, but Rodhart became a Retribution Knightter, and manipted Death Knights to cause a stir in the Breezy ins. I don¡¯t know if it has anything to do with the Eternal Darkness Altar, but Willen was the one who purified him in the end. As for the disaster of the Darkness Shrine...¡±

    ¡°Oh, if it has nothing to do with the matter this time, let¡¯s forget about it,¡± said Lin Li, who noticed that Sendros seemed a little hesitant to speak. Although he knew that it might be a very important secret of the Darkness Shrine, he still felt a little unhappy. He thought, <i>The problem is, why did you invite me here? You imed that you needed my help for something important, and yet you stopped at the critical juncture. We do have some ties with each other, but you can¡¯t make me die for you without letting me know anything.</i>

    Sendros was also a little embarrassed after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. Although Lin Li refused to admit it, he had already identified Lin Li to be the Darkness Incarnation. Hence, there was no need to keep it a secret from Lin Li. At the thought of this, Sendros said, ¡°That disaster is considered a secret because if word about it spreads, it will likely cause panic among the believers of Darkness.¡±

    That reason was the same as that of the Brilliance Shrine for keeping the news of Rosario¡¯s poisoning under wraps. However, the incident had happened hundreds of years ago, so why would they panic now? Lin Li said, ¡°Master Sendros, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t like telling stories to those who are uninvolved.¡±

    ¡°The disaster that happened back then was not caused by any force in Anril. It actually stemmed from the beasts from the ancient times. They appeared in the Night Canyon, and the Darkness Shrine was the first to bear their attacks. We were almostpletely razed to the ground. The Darkness Shrine was outnumbered and outssed, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that it was a disaster that wiped out almost the entire Darkness Shrine.¡±

    <i>What? The ancient beasts!?</i> Lin Li panicked, and frantically asked, ¡°Was it the prehistoric magical beasts?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Sendros answered with a nod. Although he looked calm on the surface, there was a tinge of anxiety in his eyes. He continued, ¡°To be precise, it was a group of Minotaurs which held giant axes and rode three-headed Lion Scorpions. Every one of them had at least Legendary power. Under the attacks of the group of Minotaurs, the past Darkness Shrine was destroyed before they could even resist.¡±

    <i>Damn it, so it was a herd of Minotaurs</i>. Those were well-known and powerful amongst the prehistoric magical beasts. Besides, they also rode Lion Scorpions, and formed a powerful armyprised of Legendary individuals. It would probably be a piece of cake for them to wipe out the entire Anril. Even if the Brilliance Shrine was involved, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive the attacks by the Minotaurs.

    Although Lin Li had never fought against the real prehistoric magical beasts before, he had still seen the battle between Geresco and the Evil Eye Tyrant through the Beacon of Time and Space in Tutankhamun¡¯s hut. He had witnessed how terrifying the prehistoric magical beasts were, and it¡¯d definitely be the end of the entire continent when those horrendous creatures scurried to Anril.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li suddenly remembered what he had heard about the ck Current, the magic tides, and the cracks in spacetime in Tutankhamun¡¯s hut. It was said that at the end of the Dark Age, there were three ck Currents that sparked the development of the magical civilization in Anril. Lin Li managed to see the first during the battle between Geresco and the Evil Eye Tyrant using the Spacetime Beacon Spell. Of course, there were also four other prehistoric magical beasts like Chimaera. ording to Stephen of the Dark de, the second time was the one which gave the Darkness Shrine a huge blow. However, there were still some discrepancies on both sidespared to Sendros¡¯ news. The third time was the time when Rosario got poisoned, and it was also said to have been the most intense one in history. The Brilliance Shrine worked with the Darkness Shrine to kill off all of the descendants of the prehistoric magical beasts before the ck Current struck. They only managed to contain the terrible disaster by doing that.

    In the past, Stephen from the Dark de mentioned that thousands of powerful magical beasts poured out of a crack in spacetime and attacked the Darkness Shrine. The Darkness Shrine was stained with blood overnight, and numerous elites died after being attacked by the magical beasts. The battlested seven days and seven nights, and the Darkness Shrine eventually killed all of the magical beasts, but they also paid a terrible price.

    ording to Sendros¡¯ ount, the Darkness Shrine failed to persevere and push through during the attacks of the Minotaurs, let alone kill them. Of course, inparison, Sendros¡¯ words were definitely more reliable. After all, Stephen might have had a high and authoritative status in the Dark de, but he was nothing in the Darkness Shrine. How could he know more about the truth than the chief high priest Sendros? However, afterparing both their statements, the question in Lin Li¡¯s mind surfaced again. Since the Darkness Shrine did not stop the Minotaurs at all, why didn¡¯t thetterunch an attack on the entire Anril after the destruction of the Darkness Shrine?

    ¡°In that case, who was the one who destroyed the Minotaurs?¡± Lin Li asked to raise his doubts. Even if the Minotaurs had been eventually wiped out, their appearance would have definitely still been recorded in history. Since there were no records, that meant that the matter only affected the Darkness Shrine. What were the insider details, then?

    ¡°Destroy? No.¡± Sendros shook his head gently. He continued, ¡°After they destroyed the Darkness Shrine, they seemed to have gotten suppressed by some kind of force, and were not able to break out of the Night Canyon. Instead, they returned to the crack in spacetime. That crack is located just below the Eternal Darkness Altar, and has been suppressed by the first high priest Rogge with a seal. Hence, we suspect that this crack and those prehistoric magical beasts have something to do with High Priest Rogge¡¯s disappearance.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a spacetime rift under the Eternal Darkness Altar?¡± Lin Li asked in shock as he thought about the high priest Rogge, Willen, and Rodhart. He reckoned that they had probably found some things in there, and that High Priest Rogge¡¯s disappearance, Willen¡¯s disappearance, and Rodhart¡¯s bing a Retribution Knight probably were more than a coincidence.

    However, it was not bad news for Lin Li. If the Eternal Darkness Altar had nothing to it, he wouldn¡¯t want to see it. After all, there was too little information about Willen and Rodhart. If there was no useful information even in the Eternal Darkness Altar, the leads that Lin Li had could be considered broken off, and he might not be able to find any other clues.

 Chapter 787 - Darkness Scripture

    <h4>Chapter 787: Darkness Scripture</h4>

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t too interested in Prophet Willen, but Rodhart was linked to the two pieces of the debris of the stars in the underground pce, Raging mes and Pr Snow. Lin Li couldn¡¯t guarantee that the fierce deity who was once famous in Anril could continue to hibernate when he really acquired Pr Snow and Raging mes. The Retribution Knight had conducted a massacre in Anril and had terrifying abilities. If Lin Li was clueless about that, his oue would probably be unfavorable.

    Although the spacetime rift seemed to be rather dangerous, Lin Li still decided to find a chance to find out about it. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t feel confident about dealing with Rodhart whose powers were at least of the Sanctuary-level.

    However, Lin Li did not immediately mention that idea to Sendros, and simply said calmly, ¡°Master Sendros, speaking of which, you haven¡¯t told me why you got me toe here.¡±

    Actually, he could already guess what Sendros needed help with, and he reckoned that it probably had something to do with the Eternal Darkness Altar. Hence, there was no need for him to take the initiative to mention it.

    Sendros naturally didn¡¯t know what Lin Li was thinking. However, after he heard Lin Li¡¯s question again, there were finally some changes on his face. Seemingly deep in thought, he said, ¡°Because the time is up.¡±

    ¡°What? What do you mean the time is up?¡± Lin Li asked in puzzlement, for he had no idea what that had to do with him.

    ¡°About 600 years have passed between the time that High Priest Rogge sealed the Eternal Darkness Altar and the time of Willen¡¯s and Rodhart¡¯s arrival. Another 600 years have passed since their visit. Lately, I¡¯ve been feeling a little uneasy, and after I thought about the abnormal mana waves in the Night Canyon, I sensed that the disaster seems to be on the verge of striking the Darkness Shrine again,¡± Sendros said with worry written all over his face.

    ¡°Wait, this time, shouldn¡¯t it be...¡± Lin Li thought about it, and felt that the timing seemed to be somewhat different from what Tutankhamun mentioned. <i>Didn¡¯t Tutankhamun said that the ck Current would appear once every 400 years, together with the magic tides?</i> he thought.

    He decided to tell Sendros about Tutankhamun¡¯s conjecture and the things that Stephen said.

    ¡°Actually, Tutankhamun is not wrong, but what Stephen said was just a spection made by the Darkness Shrine a long time ago. The magic tides and the ck Current indeed happen once about every 400 years, but High Priest Rogge¡¯s seal gave the Darkness Shrine 200 more years to struggle. Unfortunately, the Darkness Shrine did not notice the good intentions of High Priest Rogge during the previous catastrophe. Hence, we wasted the 200 years that were meant for making preparations,¡± said Sendros, who wasn¡¯t shocked to hear what Lin Li said.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened, but what does this have to do with me? ¡°Lin Li asked. He didn¡¯t think that he¡¯d be able to get rid of a disaster that would threaten even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm with his current abilities.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the prophecy says that only the Darkness Incarnation can save the Darkness Shrine,¡± Sendros said while staring at Lin Li with an intense gaze that was full of anticipation.

    <i>Back to that topic again!</i> Lin Li rolled his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin, either. Anyway, he would never admit that he was the Darkness Incarnation.

    Seeing that Lin Li was vehemently refusing to acknowledge his identity, Sendros could not help but shake his head, and put the matter aside for a while. He then said, ¡°Since you refuse to admit it, we shall drop the topic, Master Felic. However, in the past few days, there have been some dy because I had to check on some things in the Eternal Darkness Altar. I hope you¡¯ll stay in the Darkness Shrine for a few more days this time. We can talk about the cooperation, and if you¡¯re interested in Dark Magic, I can lend the Darkness scripture to you temporarily.¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Lin Li obviously wished for such a wonderful offer. After pretending to be restraining himself for a while, he nodded and agreed. ¡°Alright. As long as you don¡¯t say anything about the Darkness Incarnation again, I¡¯ll stay and impose on you for a few more days. ¡±

    Although Lin Li still did not acknowledge the identity of the Darkness Incarnation, Sendros was rather delighted to hear that Lin Li had agreed to stay in the Darkness Shrine as a guest. He thought, <i>It doesn¡¯t matter if the kid doesn¡¯t want to admit that he is the Darkness Incarnation now. If the catastrophe really strikes the Darkness Shrine, no one can be alone, and he will then have to admit it.</i>

    Lin Li stayed behind as a guest in the Darkness Shrine, and Sendros really did not mention the Darkness Incarnation again. The five high priests were also informed about it, and did not mention the Darkness Incarnation even though they seemed to look at Lin Li with some piety.

    <i>You wanna talk about the cooperation, huh? Since you refuse to admit that you are the Darkness Incarnation, we¡¯ll have to talk about whatever there is to talk about!</i> Sendros thought to himself. Since he could lead the Darkness Shrine to its current developed state, Sendros was definitely far more capable than just being a good mage. When talking about the cooperation with Lin Li, Sendros exhibited the brilliance of an excellent leader. He wasn¡¯t calctive, but was rather serious about all details. He didn¡¯t let the Tower of Dusk take advantage of them, and he also fought for what the Darkness Shrine deserved.

    Lin Li was feeling extremely helpless as well. He felt that Sendros was being too petty for his age, for Lin Li merely refused to be the Darkness Incarnation. However, that was a good thing too. Although he didn¡¯t manage to take more advantage in the cooperation, the cooperation itself was supposed to offer mutual benefits in the first ce, and Sendros wasn¡¯t stingy with the benefits that the Tower of Dusk would be getting.

    The most important point of cooperation between the Tower of Dusk and the Darkness Shrine could be considered an exchange for talent using materials. The development of the Tower of Dusk had been rather rapid and ster, but at the end of the day, it had only been established for more than two years, and it still seemed tock some talents.

    The definition of talent was not just being good at magic. A force would require a variety of talents to develop, and it would obviously be too slow to cultivate some talents from scratch. Compared to the forces in the Breezy ins, the problem of theck of talent wasn¡¯t that serious, but Lin Li was not satisfied with letting the Tower of Dusk dominate only the Breezy ins. His goal was to let the Tower of Dusk be the strongest force in the entire Anril, just like the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council.

    In fact, with the development momentum of the Tower of Dusk, it wasn¡¯t impossible to achieve that goal, but with the expansion of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses, theck of talent had gradually be the key in restricting the development of the Tower of Dusk.

    Although the Darkness Shrine had experienced a destructive disaster, they still had a heritage more than a millennium and a strong foundation, especially in terms of umtion of talent. Hence, the Tower of Dusk was far fromparable to them.

    The problem the Darkness Shrine had was as simple as poverty. However, that did not mean that they onlycked money. They alsocked various materials, magical equipment, and potions. Of course, it could also be chalked up to them being too poor to afford those things. Although the wealth possessed by the Darkness Shrine was beyond the reach of many forces, it still wasn¡¯t enough for them to rise again and return to their heyday.

    Hence, the Tower of Dusk and the Darkness Shrine clinched a deal where materials would be exchanged for talents. Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that the Darkness Shrine would transfer all of their talents to the Tower of Dusk. Those who would be joining the Tower of Dusk were simr to mercenaries.

    After all, the Tower of Dusk was the Breezy ins¡¯ Guild of Magic, and not only did theyck talents, their talents were also individualistic. Although they had conquered a group of small- and medium-sized forces, those people were definitely not talents, and were merely in charge of hardbor. However, it was different for the Darkness Shrine. There were believers of Darkness of various upations such as Assassins, Warriors, Bandits, and so on, all of whom were far stronger than the small- and medium-sized forces under the Tower of Dusk.

    After several days of negotiation and reaching a consensus, the first batch consisting of members of all professions above level-15 immediately set off to the Tower of Dusk with their contracts under the lead of the Legendary Priest Balesi. Lin Li selected those people not simply based on their strength and power, but also because of their talents in other aspects, such as business management, forging, potion making, etc. Once those people reached the Tower of Dusk, they would not only increase thebat power of the Tower of Dusk by a significant amount, they would also y a significant role in other aspects. After all,bat was just a small portion of a faction¡¯s strength.

    After sending away those believers of Darkness, Lin Li also began to focus on his own matters. Sendros fulfilled his promise, and lent the Darkness scripture to Lin Li. Although the scripture was considered a supreme treasure to the Darkness Shrine, Sendros had long recognized Lin Li to be the Darkness Incarnation, and he wished Lin Li would make a sudden breakthrough in Dark Magic.

    Reading the Darkness scripture was necessary, and the five Legendary-level high priests had all be Lin Li¡¯s bestpanions. It was a rare opportunity as the five high priests were all Legendary powerhouses who were between level-22 and level-23. Whenever they talked, Lin Li would learn something new. Lin Li would put theory into practice, and he seemed to learn something new about Dark Force and make progress in mastering it every single day. Although Lin Li did not take out the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark in order to avoid hearing Sendros mention the Darkness Incarnation again, he was still certain that he definitely had better control of it now.

    After studying in the Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li gained a better understanding and control over the nomological power of Holy Light, but the power of the Light and Darkness Domain that he created did not improve much, because the other importantponent of Laws of the Light and Darkness Domain, the Darkness Domain, had be a shoring of the Magical Domain. Now that he was reading the Darkness scripture with the personal guidance of Sendros and thepany of the five high priests who helped him train, Lin Li gradually made up for this shoring, and the power of the Light and Darkness Domain began to increase rapidly.

    Of course, during this period of time, Lin Li was not the only one who had really benefited. Sendros was still feeling worried about the disaster that would strike the Darkness Shrine this time, but after confirming that Lin Li was the Darkness Incarnation, he was somewhat relieved. Sendros, who was an avid fan of pharmaceutics, obviously wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to consult a real pharmaceutics Guru about pharmaceutics now that he had gotten some peace of mind atst.

    Although the five high priests were not very interested in pharmaceutics, they still gained something from every sparring session with Lin Li. As for actualbat experience, Lin Li was no worse than the high priests who had lived for hundreds of years, and was in fact even better than them, even though he was only in his early twenties. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t have much experience, he had absorbed some of the information obtained from the controlling magical crystal in the Sky Castle, and also gotten some experience umted over 10,000 years in Bk¡¯s magical crystal. Hence, he onlycked the fusion of those experiences. It could be said that during each discussion and sparring session, Lin Li would digest and absorb part of those experiences and knowledge, and transform them into his own.

    During each of those sessions, the five high priests would act like they had received a treasure whenever Lin Li revealed a little bit of what he had learned. The five of them had initially treated him with added respect only because of his identity as the Darkness Incarnation, but after the interactions they had during this period, they began to look up to him and feel convinced with his abilities in every aspect.

    During Lin Li¡¯s stint at the Darkness Shrine, he continuously improved his strength and abilities in terms of experience, knowledge, and understanding of power. On the other hand, the Tower of Dusk was also developing and growing rapidly. The cooperation with the Brilliance Shrine had enabled the Tower of Dusk to truly step out of the Fn Kingdom, and gain unobstructed ess to everywhere in the world where there were believers of Holy Light. Their business activities and operations were almost unimpeded; even the Glittergold Trade Union did not enjoy such advantageous treatment.

    At the same time, the secret cooperation between the Tower of Dusk and King Sinelli of the Ledin Kingdom also proceeded smoothly. Under the instructions that were secretly given out by King Sinelli, many of the nobles of the Ledin Kingdom who owned mines and ores signed an agreement with the Tower of Dusk, thus providing a solution to the problem ofck of ores that the Tower of Dusk had been facing for a long time.

    In fact, the Tower of Dusk had been involved in the forging business for a long time, but the limited production scale had prevented their business from growing. If they were to go for the high-end market, Lin Li would have to do it himself. It would be fine for him to do so asionally, but it wouldn¡¯t be sustainable in the long run, for Lin Li couldn¡¯t spend that much time on forging. Lin Li could impart his forging skills to the cksmiths there, but most of the mineral resources in the Fn Kingdom were in the hands of the Marathon Family, and even if they had better cksmiths, they still couldn¡¯t produce more weapons without ore.

    Although the hatred and feud between Lin Li and the Marathon Family were somewhat resolved by the intervention of the Supreme Council, they still weren¡¯t eliminatedpletely. It would be fine if Matthias was just a wastrel and a letdown of the family, but throughout the hundreds of years that the Marathon Family had existed, they had only produced one ingenious mage, and that was Matthias. Wilhelm had put a lot of effort into nurturing and grooming Matthias in hopes of making him a Legendary-mage who would help their family progress further. However, everything went down the drain because of Lin Li. Hence, they definitely still bore a strong grudge against the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 788 - Shocking Changes

    <h4>Chapter 788: Shocking Changes</h4>

    Although the Marathon Family dared not openly oppose the Supreme Council, they still had some control over the things within their industry. For example, suppressing the forging business of the Tower of Dusk and restricting them from obtaining a source of ore could be consideredmercialpetition, and the Supreme Council would not be able to intervene. In fact, shortly after the establishment of the Tower of Dusk, the Marathon Family tried to monopolize the forging industry of the Breezy ins through cooperation with the Dwarf Kingdom under the pretext of expanding the family business. Whether or not they had targeted the Tower of Dusk was subjective. After all, to outsiders at that time, the forging business was a very important source of ie for the Tower of Dusk.

    At that time, the Marathon Family did everything they could to recruit all the cksmiths in the Breezy ins in addition to using the dwarf cksmiths, causing the Tower of Dusk¡¯s smithy to have almost no room for development. Although it was said that the fate of a smithyy in the hands of the top cksmith, Lin Li, a Smithing Guru, would obviously have to do more than just forge magical weapons and magical equipment all day long. Excellent magical equipment could indeed enhance the reputation of the smithy, but running a business and maintaining the operations of the smithy was still reliant on themerce of the middle and low-end weapons and equipment. After all, not everyone could afford the best magical equipment, and no fool would buy it unless the prices for the top-grade magical equipment were lowered to that of the low-end ones.

    The Tower of Duskcked cksmiths and mining sites. Although they could still keep the forge running, and managed to be famous in the Breezy ins with their ability to produce a piece of top-grade magical equipment every 10 to 14 days, that did not bring enough money for the Tower of Dusk. Fortunately, the Tower of Dusk began to dabble in the pharmaceutical businesster on, and managed to rely on the pharmaceutical business to bring in a massive amount of money that solved their cash flow problems to support the operation of the Tower of Dusk. Although the Marathon Family also owned a pharmaceutical business, they had less control over the pharmaceutical industrypared to the forging industry. Their original n fell through, but they continued to suppress the forging business of the Tower of Dusk as much as possible. In terms of the control of the smithing talents, the Marathon Family was much morex. After all, there was not enough ore, and without sufficient ores, there was no use for there to be so many cksmiths.

    However, there had been arge amount of high-quality ore being transported continuously from the Ledin Kingdom to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s forge in Dndtely. The biggest problem that hindered the Tower of Dusk¡¯s smithy from developing was finally solved. Before the Marathon Family received the news, the smithy of the Tower of Dusk had recruited arge number of cksmiths ording to Lin Li¡¯s instructions, adding on to the senior cksmiths who were originally working for them. Within less than 20 days, the cksmith shop of the Tower of Dusk expanded more than tenfold.

    By the time the Marathon Family realized what was going on, the high-quality ore from the Ledin Kingdom had already been forged into fine weapons and equipment by the cksmiths, and begun impacting the weaponry market of the Fn Kingdom. That provided stiffpetition for the Marathon Family, and the Tower of Dusk even relentlessly snatched away a portion of the market.

    Actually, the Marathon Family was not too worried at this juncture. In the forging industry which they had control over, there were stillpetitors, but in many cases, thepetitors might not be able to upy a significant position in the market if the quality of the equipment they offered wasn¡¯t up to standard.

    After all, it was not just aboutmercial activities. Having run a forging business for so many years, the Marathon Family¡¯s connections andwork of rtions definitely couldn¡¯t be taken away easily, especially their ties with the military, which could not be easily meddled with by anyone. Even if the Tower of Dusk had a great reputation in the pharmaceutical industry, they couldn¡¯t really affect the military.

    The military would not prepare advanced potions for every soldier, but they would definitely equip all soldiers with weapons. After hundreds of years of operating a forging business, the Marathon Family had already be thergest armament supplier in the Fn Kingdom, and had monopolized all the weapon supplies of the military. Relying on their cooperation with the military, the Marathon Family controlled more than 70% of the forging industry in the Fn Kingdom. Everything that was rted to forging would mostly be marked with the brand of the Marathon Family Forging Workshop.

    During the hundreds of years of operation, the Marathon Family had gained more than just business development. With the shockingly massive amount of wealth that they had, the Marathon Family gradually prated the forces in every corner of the Fn Kingdom. From chapels to the military, there seemed to be people from the Marathon Family everywhere, and they were all linked to each other by interests, forming argework of human rtions. Those who were outside thework would have a hard time getting in.

    However, the Marathon Family had never thought that Lin Li would clinch a deal with Prince Arthur, who represented the royal family of the Fn Kingdom, back when he was in nna. Although it was a pharmaceutical business deal, the royal family undoubtedly had a great influence on the military. The attitudes of the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom towards the Tower of Dusk were obvious evidence of their respect for the Tower of Dusk, and anyone could tell that they were keen on forging ties with the Tower of Dusk. In that case, how could the royal family cooperate with others now that they wished to get closer and cooperate more with the Tower of Dusk? Regardless of how many connections the Marathon Family had, they still had to obey the royal family which controlled the Fn Kingdom. There were only a few who would dare to rebel against the royal family, and by the time the Marathon Family reacted, it would all be toote.

    Apart from the constant updates from the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li would also asionally receive letters from Angno when he was in the Darkness Shrine. Angno, the alchemist, was very attentive when working in the Tower of Dusk for the sake of obtaining Bk¡¯s magical crystal that Lin Li had promised to give him. After Lin Li left, the first thing Angno did was to restore the Alchemy Colossus that the Tower of Dusk had brought back from the Dragon Mountains.

    In the letter, Angnoined to Lin Li more than once about the poor quality of the four Alchemy Colossuses that were peak-level alchemical masterpieces of this era, and were simply a huge insult to alchemy in his opinion. If it had not been necessary for him to stay in the Tower of Dusk, Angno would have long run to the Rotterdam Kingdom to teach the so-called alchemists a hard lesson.

    Lin Li also had plenty of thoughts and emotions about that matter. When he first came into contact with the pharmacists of this world, and saw them beingcent yet making mistakes, he felt pretty much the same as Angno did at the moment. However, the situation wasn¡¯t exactly terrible. After all, if there were pharmaceutics Gurus everywhere, who would be impressed by Lin Li and be convinced with his abilities? If there were Alchemical Gurus everywhere, Angno, too, would be nothing.

    In fact, the functions of the four Alchemy Colossuses were actually quite remarkable for this era. Even in the eyes of many people, it was considered an amazing feat for such arge figure to be able to move and fight. However, as a Goblin, Angno had the mostplete and orthodox inherited alchemical knowledge in his mind. Seeing the alchemy created by his species getting ruined to such an extent, the anger within him was unimaginable.

    Each of the four Alchemy Colossuses was close to Legendary-level, and they yed a huge role in protecting the Tower of Dusk during the previous attack of the Dark de. At the same time, each of them was damaged to varying extent during that battle, and although they were notpletely destroyed, they had been incapacitated, and had lost their ability to fight. ording to Angno, there was no need to repair them at all, and he would just put them back into the furnace like they were scrap iron. Repairing the toy-like Alchemy Colossuses was like an insult to him, a Guru-level alchemist.

    However, rebuilding an Alchemy Colossus required more than just excellent technique, and even the Guru-level alchemist Angno could not build a brand-new Alchemy Colossus quickly with the full support of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, Angno could onlyin to Lin Li in the letter, then suck it up, and begin modifying the four pieces of scrap iron.

    Actually, apart from the temptation of Bk¡¯s magical crystal, Angno did find his stay in the Tower of Dusk rather enjoyable. With the understanding of this era, Angno gradually realized that the strength of the Tower of Dusk was almost unparalleled in Anril. No one refuted his requests during his study and research in alchemy, and he was given all the materials he needed as well. That was a kind of support that not all forces could give.

    In the past, Angno still had the intention of leaving right after he got Bk¡¯s magical crystal, but after understanding the Tower of Dusk and Anril, his desire to leave gradually became weaker. Moreover, Angno had been a follower of Osric for many years, and so had good judgment. He could tell from the rate of development of the Tower of Dusk that it was definitely worth investing in. After following Osric back then, he had been living well during the Dark Age, and if he wanted to continue doing so, staying in the Tower of Dusk would definitely be a good choice.

    With such intentions in mind, Angno was naturally more serious about modifying the four Alchemy Colossuses. They were initially close to Legendary level, and were allegedly able to contend with Legendary powerhouses. However, the battle with the Dark de was evidence of them being far from reaching Legendary-level.

    The giant Alchemy Colossuses ought to have Legendary-level power, but the alchemists of Rotterdam did not have that kind of technology. Meanwhile, Angno was a Guru-level alchemist who truly had orthodox knowledge in Alchemy; hence, it wasn¡¯t that difficult for him to unleash the potential of the Alchemy Colossuses. With Angno working hard at the expense of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s financial resources, the four Alchemy Colossuses in the Tower of Dusk finally transformed drastically and reached the peak of their potential.

    Afterpleting the transformation and modifications of the four Alchemy Colossuses, Angno also studied the Shadow Assassins that Lin Li had left behind in the Tower of Dusk, as well as the six alchemy puppets that were made in the Eternal Furnace, which were then sent to Lin Li together with some supplies by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s caravan. The alchemy puppets were said to be no weaker than the Shadow Assassins. However, Lin Li did not immediately take them out to experiment, and simply studied them for a while before putting them in the Ring of Endless Storm. He was rather confident in Angno¡¯s alchemical skills, and since Angno said that the puppets were better than the Shadow Assassins, it should really be the case.

    Connoris, who had obtained a new body, had been working hard to integrate himself into the perfect body, and thus didn¡¯t send much information to Lin Litely. Lin Li only found out through Angno¡¯s letter that Connoris had transformed some Death Knights using the Eternal Furnace and increased the number of Holy Death Knights to 24. Connoris had allegedly developed an interest in Ujfalusi¡¯s Humerus Wyrm as well, and asked Ujfalusi to let him experiment with it. However, Ujfalusi rejected his request. If the Humerus Wyrm were to be a Holy Wyrm, how could he, a Lich, still dare to ride it?

    However, Connoris¡¯ idea actually made Lin Li feel a little tempted. After all, he was not a Lich, and he didn¡¯t have to worry about the issue of Divine Power. If he were to turn the Crimson Dragon in the Summoning Lamp into a Holy Wyrm...

    Of course, that was not what Lin Li ought to be thinking about now. Be it an Alchemy Colossus or a Holy Wyrm, he still could not really rely on them, and the only thing he could depend on was his own strength. Lin Li was thrilled for a while after receiving the letter, but soon put those thoughts away, and focused his attention on improving his own strength. Reading the Darkness scripture, asking questions and consulting Sendros, and sparring with the five high priests made his days feel rather pleasant.

    However, on this day, after finishing a day of studying, Lin Li induced some of his mental strength into the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction as he usually would, only to feel a sudden and massive magical wave that erupted from the depths of the Night Canyon. As soon as he exited, there was also a violent tremor in the entire Darkness Shrine, and a huge roar immediately filled the Night Canyon.

    Lin Li immediately put away the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s Dragon Crystal, and scurried towards the square outside the Darkness Shrine. At this time, Sendros and the five high priests had already arrived, with even more priests and believers of Darkness behind them. However, they all looked extremely worried, and were staring at the endless darkness.

    Upon sight of Lin Li, Sendros¡¯s eyes glistened, but he didn¡¯t say much to Lin Li. Instead, he suddenly flew towards the source of Darkness in the Night Canyon where the magical wave wasing from. The five high priests and some Legendary-level priests, too, followed Sendros closely without hesitation.

    At the thought of the things that Sendros had mentioned before, Lin Li was also gued with worry at this time. Hence, he did not hesitate, and immediately used his Power of Flight to catch up with Sendros. Lin Li of course didn¡¯t think that he would really be the savior of the Darkness Shrine, but if it were within his means, he wouldn¡¯t mind putting in a little effort to help. After all, the Darkness Shrine was a partner-in-cooperation of the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 789 - The King of Evilness and Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 789: The King of Evilness and Destruction</h4>

    The group flew throughout the entire journey, and they soon arrived at the source of the abnormality, which was the forbidden area of the Darkness Shrine, the Eternal Darkness Altar. It was ratherrge, and resembled a carved hill surrounded by immense Darkness aura. However, at the same time, the immense Darkness aura was also continuously surging vigorously like an ocean during a storm.

    Despite having been at the Darkness Shrine for a long time, it was Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing the Eternal Darkness Altar. After all, he didn¡¯t want Sendros to mention anything about the Darkness Incarnation again. He looked into the distance to see that the Eternal Darkness Altar was just like a huge pyramid without a spire. There was above it a wide and spacious tform which seemed to have arger surface area than the square outside the Eternal Darkness Altar. On the tform of the altar, arge andplex Magic Array was running at full power. The immense Darkness aura around it and the vigorous magical wave seemed to being from the array.

    Lin Li thought, <i>This should be the sealid out by High Priest Rogge. He actually used the entire Eternal Darkness Altar to conduct the sealing. I wonder how powerful and massive the thing being sealed is.</i>

    Lin Li knew that given the power of the seal, sealing just a tiny spacetime rift wouldn¡¯t actually be too difficult. However, based on the past disasters of the Darkness Shrine and the current situation, the thing in the spacetime rift was probably the actual goal of the Darkness Shrine.

    The vibrations in the canyon did not cease, and there were rocks falling from the surrounding cliffs which seemed to be on the verge of copse. The massive Eternal Darkness Altar was also shaking because of the tremors, or rather, the Eternal Darkness Altar was the one causing the tremors because of its violent shaking. It seemed that there was something trying to lift the Eternal Darkness Altar and overturn it from below.

    Seeing that there were no prehistoric magical beasts in the surroundings of the Eternal Darkness Altar, everyone in the Darkness Shrine couldn¡¯t help but feel a great sense of relief. After all, even in its heyday, the Darkness Shrine still wasn¡¯t able to resist the attacks of the prehistoric magical beasts. Hence, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to retaliate or deal with the prehistoric magical beasts if they were to face any now.

    However, Sendros didn¡¯t seem to be rxed at all. Instead, after some inspecting, he looked a little lost and distracted. He subconsciously murmured, ¡°The prophecy is true, a big crack, a big crack has appeared. The disaster is about to strike. Is the Darkness Shrine really unable to escape the fate of death...¡±

    <i>The big crack! Does it refer to that?</i> Lin Li thought. Actually, he had already noticed a crack deeper than Darkness right below the Eternal Darkness Altar. It seemed to be mocking the world unscrupulously. However, what surprised Lin Li was the familiar aura that he detected in the aura that wasing out of the crack. It seemed to be the aura of the Dragon of Destruction.

    While Lin Li was surprised, he was also puzzled¡ªthe Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World had already been put into his Ring of Endless Storm, while the Dragon of Destruction of Anril had already been killed by the Immortal King. Its corpse was also used in the construction of the Sky Castles. In the world of Anril today, the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction that Lin Li held was considered the only trace of the Dragon of Destruction left. In that case, where did the aura of the Dragon of Destructione from?

    Lin Li had killed the Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World, and fought against the projected avatar of the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen. He had also been trying to incubate the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Hence, he was extremely familiar with the aura of the Dragon of Destruction, so much so that it would be impossible for him to make a mistake in identifying it. However, regardless of which perspective he considered it from, he couldn¡¯t imagine what the origin of the aura of the Dragon of Destruction in the crack would be.

    However, regardless of what the source might be, it definitely was a strong and formidable existence since it could have the same aura as the Dragon of Destruction. However, that happened in another world, and back then, Lin Li also had all seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury. It was also because of the battle with the Dragon of Destruction that Lin Li got a clearer idea of how terrifyingly powerful the Dragon of Destruction was as the Dragon Aspect of Anril. Its power was enough for it to dominate all entities with power above the Sanctuary-realm; in fact, it wouldn¡¯t be inferior to real deities, either.

    When Lin Li was feeling bewildered about the aura of the Dragon of Destruction, Sendros had already snapped out of his trance, and dared not dy anymore. Hence, he immediatelymanded the five high priests and several other priests to do their best to reinforce the seal of the Eternal Darkness Altar. Sendros had no idea how much time the seal would buy for them, but he decided to leave it up to fate.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help much in reinforcing the seal, and all he could do was stay near the crack to watch and observe. At the same time, he was also still thinking about the aura of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Under the instructions andmands of Sendros, the five high priests and the other priests continuously surrounded the Eternal Darkness Altar, and tried to repair the damage of the seal. With the movement of the people, the Eternal Darkness Altar gradually stopped shaking, and the surging aura of Darkness that had filled the entire Eternal Darkness Altar also gradually converged, and was absorbed by the Magic Array on the Eternal Darkness Altar.

    However, at this moment, the view below the crack that was about to be resealed was also revealed. Lin Li, who was standing in front of the crack that was slowly closing, could see that there were countless Minotaurs and the three-headed Manticores that they were riding, just like Sendros described.

    The Minotaurs were allrge and tall, and they looked much stronger than the giants of Anril. They each had a bull¡¯s head and a human body. The giant axes that they were holding looked just like two doors put together. Seeing the axes, Lin Li finally realized how the deep grooves in the square in front of the Darkness Shrine hade about. The three-headed Manticores that they were riding were also much stronger than the ones that Lin Li had seen in the past. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to carry the tall and heavy Minotaurs and their giant axes.

    It was no wonder that the Darkness Shrine would be defeated. If such a force were to be ced in Anril, it would be the end of the world. The strongest wall that humans could build probably wouldn¡¯t endure a strike from their axes, and even the most elite Warrior of mankind would have to sumb helplessly to them.

    However, when Lin Li nced at the Minotaurs, he was surprised to see a somewhat familiar figure amongst them. At the instant that he did, someone, or rather a certain dragon, surfaced in his mind.

    <i>Tutankhamun?</i> The familiar figure in the crack turned out to be exactly the same as Tutankhamun in terms of appearance. When the figure revealed its face, Lin Li was beyond astonished because it was exactly identical to Tutankhamun¡¯s. <i>However, isn¡¯t Tutankhamun in the ckstone Mountains? Why is he here in the spacetime rift!?</i>

    At that moment, the figure in the spacetime rift seemed to have also seen Lin Li who was standing in front of the crack. All of a sudden, a strange smile appeared on his face, and a voice surfaced in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Seems like you have seen my ipetent younger brother.¡±

    Upon hearing the voice, Lin Li seemed to have found the answers to his doubts, and everything suddenly became clear at this moment. Lin Li remembered something that Connoris had mentioned. After the Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction and obtained the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, he used his mental strength to incubate the magical crystal into a pair of twins. Tutankhamun was one of them, and so the one in the crack was the other.

    However, Lin Li still did not understand why Tutankhamun¡¯s brother seemed to know him even though they had never met before. Lin Li thought, <i>He even knows that I¡¯ve seen Tutankhamun? Judging from his tone when he mentioned Tutankhamun, it seems that the two of them are not close to each other. In that case, Tutankhamun probably wouldn¡¯t specifically tell him anything. What does Tutankhamun¡¯s brother have to do with the disappearance of High Priest Rogge?</i> Just as Lin Li was getting more and more doubtful, the voice surfaced in his mind again.

    ¡°I know you have a lot of questions. If you want to know the answers, set me free from this damned ce.¡±

    <i>Seems like this guy is indeed sealed in this crack. No wonder High Priest Rogge would use the power of the entire Eternal Darkness Altar to suppress it. After all, he is a direct descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, and the wyrms in Anril are far fromparable to it. Even if he doesn¡¯t have half of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s power, it definitely can¡¯t be sealed easily.</i>

    After hearing his words, Lin Li hesitated a little, but soon smiled again. It turned out that he really had to leap into the crack. He said to the figure, ¡°Yes, I really want to know the answers... but I¡¯m sorry. If I set you free, I might cause trouble for my friends, so... I have toe in myself...¡±

    Lin Li was indeed putting himself in danger, but it wasn¡¯t an impulsive decision. The figure was very strong, and there were numerous Minotaurs and three-headed Manticores on the left and right, but Lin Li was certain that they were definitely unable to exert their full power, since they were being suppressed by High Priest Rogge¡¯s seal. On the contrary, releasing them would be a true disaster. Without the suppression of the seal, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to save his own life, let alone get any answers.

    As Lin Li entered the crack, Sendros and the rest who were outside the Eternal Darkness Altar were dumbfounded. The distinguished guest from the Tower of Dusk who was likely to be the incarnation of the God of Darkness actually broke into the crack. That was not aughing matter at all. They had already guessed that the disappearance of High Priest Rogge was probably rted to therge crack, and although Lin Li was not weak, how could hepare to High Priest Rogge?

    All of a sudden, everyone froze, and all eyes were focused on Sendros who was also in a state of confusion at this time. They didn¡¯t know if they should continue to strengthen the seal, because that would mean that Lin Li would be sealed too. However, if they did not continue, the prehistoric magical beasts would probably continue to break through the seal if Lin Li couldn¡¯t defeat them.

    Lin Li had no way of knowing what was going on outside. Although it looked like a crack from outside, it was actually like a gate. However, when he actually walked in, he discovered that there was a long and endless spacetime tunnel which reminded him of the Teleportation Portal in the Sky Castle. Outside of the tunnel was a Void Storm that seemed to be erupting from time to time, moving quickly and sweeping everything in its path.

    Fortunately, there was a clear direction, and it was not confusing like the chaos of spacetime. Lin Li did not hesitate at all, and immediately used his Power of Flight to fly to the end of the tunnel. However, he had to fly for a long time despite his rapid speed before finally seeing the different view hidden at the end of it.

    When Lin Li finally arrived at another end of the passage, an extremely deste world appeared in front of him. He seemed to be standing at the opening of a volcano, without any greenery or signs of life around him, and the entire space seemed to have fallen into destructive silence.

    The volcano was tall, and Lin Li felt like he was standing in the sky when he stood on it. There were various Minotaurs beneath the volcano, riding the three-headed Manticores. There were also countless giant eyeballs supported by tentacles around the Manticores¡ªthey were the Evil Eyes that Lin Li had once seen using the time-space beacon. However, none of them seemed to be an Evil Eye Tyrant.

    The figure who imed to be Tutankhamun¡¯s older brother was standing on the other side of the crater, right opposite Lin Li. He seemed to be rather surprised by Lin Li¡¯s decision to barge in.

    He indeed looked identical to Tutankhamun, but he was giving off a menacing, destructive, and evil aura which Lin Li did not detect from Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun was a mysterious hermit, and the one in front of him was undoubtedly the King of Evilness and Destruction...

    <i>Yes, that¡¯s it, this is the aura of the Dragon of Destruction, and this is the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction!</i> Lin Li could clearly feel that the destructive aura of the figure before him was exactly the same as that of the Dragon of Destruction in his memory. Although Tutankhamun, who he had seen before, also had powerful abilities, he had never been able to associate Tutankhamun with the Dragon of Destruction. Had Connoris not mentioned it, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have believed that Tutankhamun was a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction.

 Chapter 790 - Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 790: Conversation</h4>

    Staring at the figure that looked more like the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction than Tutankhamun did, Lin Li did not dare to let his guard down at all. Even though he had barged into the big crack, and seemed to be oblivious to the dangers within, he had already condensed all of his mental strength as if he wasying a big around him as soon as he entered. Any and all changes would be detected by him. At this moment, he had already converged all of the mana fluctuations within him, and while he seemed to be extremely calm, he was already in the best state for casting. Hence, he could unleash his strongestbat power at any time.

    Lin Li was bold but not arrogant. Otherwise, he would have long died during the various near-death experiences that he had had in the past few years in Anril. Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had dealt with the real Dragon of Destruction. Although he had had the Stars of Fury and all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and also seized the opportunity to strike when the Dragon of Destruction had been weak, it still had been the most difficult and thrilling battle he had had so far. Although he was not facing the actual Dragon of Destruction now, but only a descendant of it, Lin Li was not as invincible as he had been in the Endless World, and he didn¡¯t have the Stars of Fury and all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, either. Even the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm would be worried and alert when dealing with the prehistoric magical beasts that were above the Legendary-level, let alone Lin Li, a level-23 Legendary-mage.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t want to be a hero, and although he had some ties with Sendros, their rtionship alone was not significant enough for him to put himself in danger for the sake of saving the Darkness Shrine. In fact, if there had been other options, Lin Li would never have put himself in danger by gambling like this. As long as he could get what he wanted, he wouldn¡¯t mind letting the beasts out and ruining the Darkness Shrine again.

    However, Lin Li was very clear that those beasts that had been sealed for countless years often went back on their word and would say one thing, only to do another. Even though that figure sounded rather nice, Lin Li knew that the beasts would be dominant over him once he released them. How could Tutankhamun¡¯s brother possibly talk things out with him calmly? Would he even answer Lin Li¡¯s questions? Hence, unless Lin Li didn¡¯t want to find out about anything, he definitely had to enter the crack. Besides, even if he didn¡¯t release them now, they wouldn¡¯t stay in the crack for long ording to Sendros¡¯ hunch. By then, there would be no need to say anything.

    Of course, Lin Li did not think that Tutankhamun¡¯s brother would be intimidated by his bravery in barging in and then blurt out everything he knew. Lin Li knew very well that no matter where he was, he would have to show his powers and prove himself to be strong enough in order to assert dominance. Otherwise, he would have to be suppressed by others. He reckoned that Tutankhamun¡¯s brother had to know about that too. In order to get an answer from him, Lin Li would probably have to give him something in exchange too. Hence, a battle would definitely be inevitable now that he had barged in.

    However, what surprised Lin Li a little was the fact that Tutankhamun¡¯s brother, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, did not seem to have any intention to attack Lin Li, even though he was surprised to see that he had barged in. Instead, he smiled faintly, and said in a calm tone, ¡°I reckon you¡¯ve probably guessed my identity. Yes, I am the other son of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. I¡¯m Tutankhamun¡¯s brother. You may call me Nefa.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t find his tone hostile, and he even felt that there was a touch of friendliness in his tone. However, that was also precisely why he dared not rx at all. In this world, there were many who pretended to be sincere about being friends and forging a strong friendship while stabbing their friends in the back. Lin Li was no longer a child; hence, he wouldn¡¯t believe others easily. Besides, he could tell from the current situation that the conflict between them wouldn¡¯t be mediated or solved easily, because he wanted to find out some secrets without releasing Nefa, while Nefa wanted to leave.

    ¡°You actually know that I have seen Tutankhamun before?¡± Lin Li asked since Nefa didn¡¯t seem to have the intention to attack him immediately. However, he didn¡¯t put down the Helios¡¯ Scepter which still contained plenty of mana that never decreased at all. It seemed that it would be able to cast powerful Legendary-level magic spells anytime.

    Nefa didn¡¯t seem to care much about Lin Li¡¯s attitude, and he still had a smile on his face, though it was unknown if it was genuine or not. He nced at Lin Li¡¯s hand, and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that ring on your finger the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal that is one of the three treasures that Geresco got my brother to safeguard? Since you already have it, you¡¯ve definitely met Tutankhamun.¡±

    Nefa¡¯s exnation seemed to be rather reasonable, but Lin Li didn¡¯t believe it. He could not have seen the ring on Lin Li¡¯s hand through the big crack even with good eyesight. Besides, the Evil Eye Tyrant magical crystal had been made into a ring, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easily recognized. Lin Li reckoned that Nefa probably had some special connection with Tutankhamun since they were both hatched from the same Dragon Crystal. Even human twins had a telepathic connection, what more the descendants of the Dragon of Destruction.

    The first question was answered in a perfunctory manner. Although it was not an important matter, Lin Li was even more certain that the conversation probably wouldn¡¯t proceed smoothly. Even if Nefa didn¡¯t attack, Lin Li would have to show his prowess if he couldn¡¯t get the answers that he wanted.

    It was not that Lin Li was arrogant. After all, he still had five pieces of the debris of the stars, and he could even use the Summoning Scroll to summon all of them. By then, Nefa might be the one to be defeated.

    However, the conversation had just begun. Since Nefa refused to say anything, Lin Li decided not to ask about such insignificant things. Instead, he eximed with a look of derision, ¡°Oh, is that so!?¡±

    Although Lin Li¡¯s attitude was not exactly harsh, everyone could tell that it wasn¡¯t pleasant. However, Nefa seemed to bepletely indifferent and unaffected. He was still smiling and speaking in a tone that was full of evilness and destructive aura, just as if he were just having a casual conversation. He calmly said, ¡°Since you already have the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, you must be the one Geresco has selected. Since my brother handed it to you, he should be considered to havepleted the agreement with Geresco. Can you tell me how he is now?¡±

    <i>You even know that I¡¯ve seen him before. How could you not know how he¡¯s doing?</i> Although Lin Li was displeased with Nefa¡¯s question, he didn¡¯t show his emotions. After all, he still had some things to find out from Nefa, and it wouldn¡¯t be good to make the situation too tense too early into the conversation. He watched Nefa¡¯s actions carefully, and coldly said, ¡°Of course, he¡¯s enjoying more freedom in the ckstone Mountains than you are here.¡±

    ¡°Freedom?¡± Nefa chuckled and shook his head slightly before continuing in disdain, ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, but he hasn¡¯t grown at all. Despite being the son of the Dragon of Destruction, he¡¯s actually willing to stoop so low as to live in the ckstone Mountains. I really don¡¯t know what to say about him.¡±

    Actually, Lin Li, too, found it strange that Tutankhamun was guarding the ckstone Mountains; he was still the mighty son of the Dragon of Destruction, after all, not the adopted son of the Immortal King. Was he really going to stay in the ckstone Mountains for more than a thousand years just because of the bet with Geresco? That was clearly abnormal.

    However, although Lin Li was curious, he did not ask Nefa about it directly. Instead, he gibed in a hostile manner, ¡°In that case, what do you think you should do in order to live up to your status as a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction?¡± Given Nefa¡¯s current predicament, it was obvious what Lin Li meant. At least, Tutankhamun wasn¡¯t sealed in a spacetime rift, and was allowed to breathe the fresh air of Anril and enjoy the vast sunlight. Meanwhile, Nefa who continuously called Tutankhamun ipetent could only live in purgatory in this barren world.

    Although the remark was sarcastic, Nefa wasn¡¯t infuriated, and it was as if he didn¡¯t catch the hidden meaning at all. Instead, he answered, ¡°As a descendant of the Dragon Aspect, I ought to dominate the entire world of Anril and stand on the very top to look down on the world beneath me. I shouldn¡¯t be one of the ordinary beings.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard this saying before? The higher you climb, the harder you fall. Be careful not to fall to your death,¡± Lin Li retorted sarcastically. The Dragon Aspect was indeed a supreme existence in the world, but the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, had been ughtered twice, that was in both worlds. If it weren¡¯t for the death of the Dragon of Destruction, Tutankhamun and Nefa wouldn¡¯t have existed, and no one could be sure that he wouldn¡¯t have the same fate as his father even if were to be the new Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°So, do you stop climbing upwards just because you¡¯re worried about falling? To the ordinary people, don¡¯t you stand at the height where they would look up to? The Sanctuary-realm is probably your goal now, right? As a descendant of the Dragon Aspect, he actually chose to be ordinary and live in the ckstone Mountains. That¡¯s choosing to sumb and abandon the Soul Brand in his soul that symbolizes the glory of the Dragon Aspect,¡± Nefa said calmly, not infuriated by Lin Li¡¯s word at all. It was as if he were just debating with a friend.

    However, his behavior made Lin Li secretly keep his guard up. As a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, Nefa definitely mastered the Laws of destruction and Evilness. Yet, he still pretended to have a good temper, and if weren¡¯t for Lin Li¡¯s good manners, he would have thought that he had the upper hand.

 Chapter 791 - The New Dragon of Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 791: The New Dragon of Destruction</h4>

    ¡°Yeah, unfortunately, I haven¡¯t seen the shadow of the Dragon of Destruction on you,¡± said Lin Li. He wasn¡¯t making baseless ims or trying to ridicule Nefa. Although Nefa didn¡¯t state his choice, Lin Li could tell that the glory of the Dragon Aspect that Nefa mentioned was probably to inherit everything from the Dragon of Destruction and be the new Dragon of Destruction of Anril. However, the Dragon Aspect was a powerful existence that wasparable to gods. Although Nefa was formidable now, and would be considered a top-notch powerhouse in Anril, he was still far from being on par with the Dragon Aspect. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have dared to barge into the crack, and would have just fled as far as he could.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my brother who is stubbornly guarding the ckstone Mountains... It¡¯s really frustrating to have a twin brother like him. What do you think?¡± Nefa shook his head slightly, and seemed to be feeling rather helpless about his younger brother Tutankhamun. However, he also sounded like he wasining to others about his younger brother¡¯s mischievous behavior which he did not take seriously.

    Although it seemed to be a casual remark that Nefa said with ease, Lin Li could tell that it obviously meant something more. Lin Li could tell that the words that he had said just now still touched Nefa, and although Nefa didn¡¯t say anything more, it was enough to make Lin Li believe that Tutankhamun didn¡¯t stay in the ckstone Mountains simply because of the agreement he had with Geresco. Perhaps he also wanted to stop Nefa from bing the new Dragon of Destruction.

    Although Nefa and Tutankhamun were twins, it did not mean that they had to stay together forever. After all, the two of them had different ambitions. However, Lin Li could vaguely tell from Nefa¡¯s words that Nefa hadn¡¯t left the ckstone Mountains entirely for the sake of finding the path to bing the Dragon of Destruction; another reason could possibly lie with Tutankhamun.

    Despite the mention of Tutankhamun, Nefa still remained calm and nonchnt as if he were justining about his brother¡¯s ipetency. However, Lin Li could sense that Nefa was bothered by it, and it was not out of concern for his ipetent younger brother Tutankhamun, but rather that he was bothered by the fact that Tutankhamun was still living in the ckstone Mountains. In that case, the reason for Tutankhamun¡¯s insistence on staying in the ckstone Mountains and the item that he was guarding would be rather interesting.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve passed that test, you must have been to the Throne of Darkness in the Abyss of Tharlen and seen that shadow,¡± Nefa said while Lin Li was making random guesses. He wasn¡¯t to me for being so talkative, since he had been facing nothing but the brutal and bloodthirsty prehistoric magical beasts like Minotaurs for many years. It was rare for him to have someone to talk to.

    ¡°Yes, surely the key to you bing the new Dragon of Destruction...¡± Lin Li knew that the shadow that Nefa was talking about should refer to the Lord of Darkness. Hence, he answered casually, but he soon remembered that the Lord of Darkness was the projected avatar of the Dragon of Destruction in the Abyss of Tharlen that contained a portion of the Laws of Darkness belonging to the Dragon of Destruction. Could that be what Tutankhamun was guarding?

    After fighting with the Lord of Darkness, Lin Li once suspected that perhaps Tutankhamun set up that test because he wanted to get the portion of the Laws of Darkness that the Lord of Darkness held. However, after he left the Abyss of Tharlen, Tutankhamun didn¡¯t make him surrender the Lord of Darkness and the Throne of Darkness. Hence, he got rid of that doubt. However, it now seemed that Tutankhamun had never wanted to be the new Dragon of Destruction, and thus wouldn¡¯t be interested in the location of the Lord of Darkness. However, it was different for Nefa.

    However, as soon as the idea formed in Lin Li¡¯s mind, Nefa shot him a look of amusement. ¡°You mean that shadow? Although he holds a portion of Laws of Darkness, it¡¯s not important to us. How could the Dragon of Destruction possibly use the nomological power of his core to create a weak shadow? I was just curious about how you managed to deal with the shadow of the Throne of Darkness when you had yet to reach the Legendary-realm.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this. I naturally have my own solutions.¡± Although it was not an important secret, Lin Li still did not reveal it to Nefa, because he didn¡¯t know if Nefa was a friend or foe. Another reason was also because he was somewhat dejected about the fact that his conjecture had been refuted.

    However, Lin Li also had to admit that Nefa¡¯s words did make sense. Although he had no idea why the Dragon of Destruction would leave his projected avatar in the Abyss of Tharlen, the Dragon of Destruction clearly wouldn¡¯t be that dumb as to give out some of his core Laws. Since the Lord of Darkness did not hold the core Laws, Tutankhamun and Nefa would have to gain some insight and understanding on their own if they wanted to acquire that portion of Laws. There was no need to care about the Lord of Darkness at all.

    <i>Did I make a wrong guess again?</i> Lin Li thought to himself as he shook his head secretly. Since it wasn¡¯t the Lord of Darkness, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be the Throne of Darkness. Although the Throne of Darkness was created by the Dragon of Destruction, it was just a solidified Darkness Domain. Perhaps it could be considered a strong piece of magical equipment, but it definitely wouldn¡¯t be the key to Nefa bing the new Dragon of Destruction. Besides, it was not necessary to enter the Abyss of Tharlen through Tutankhamun. If Tutankhamun could easily send some people in, Nefa definitely could enter as well given his abilities.

    Since it was impossible to obtain any answers from Tutankhamun, he would have no choice but to consider it from Nefa¡¯s perspective. As a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, it seemed logical and right for him to be the new Dragon of Destruction. What exactly did heck? Lin Li tried to recall the thrilling battle with the Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World. Even though the Dragon of Destruction had been in a weak and feeble state back then, Lin Li still managed to kill him after having had a close shave with death because he had the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars.

    Lin Li was not looking for simrities between Nefa and the Dragon of Destruction now, but differences between the two of them in terms of nature, and not strength. After linking it with the feelings that the memories of the Dragon of Destruction made him have, Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly glistened, and a blurry answer slowly became clear.

    Although he could feel the aura of Destruction and Evilnessing from Nefa, who seemed to be closer to the Dragon of Destruction than Tutankhamun, that characteristic alone was not enough for him to be the true Dragon of Destruction. He also felt that Nefa seemed to becking something, which made him and the Dragon of Destruction feel like two different creatures. In this world, there were not many creatures that mastered the Laws of Destruction and Evilness; why were they unable to reach the level of the Dragon Aspect?

    Although Tutankhamun and Nefa were allegedly the sons of the Dragon of Destruction, neither of them was born through the normal breeding methods of the Dragons. However, the Immortal King hatched them from the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magical crystal, and they had inherited the power and Soul Brand of the Dragon of Destruction¡ªbut not the actual bloodline of the Dragon of Destruction. It could be said that their current form was not even that of a dragon, but rather that they were somewhat simr to a Dracolich. They could also continuously improve their abilities through learning and enlightenment, but even if they were to really reach the level of the Dragon of Destruction, it wouldn¡¯t be feasible for them to be the new Dragon Aspect through the recognition of the World Laws of Anril.

    In fact, strictly speaking, Nefa and Tutankhamun had inherited only half of the power of the Dragon of Destruction. Wyrms were physically strong, but their physical strength came from their blood and gics. Indeed, Nefa needed the blood of the Dragon of Destruction. Only when he inherited the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s bloodline would he have the opportunity to be the new Dragon of Destruction of Anril.

    Could it be that Tutankhamun was actually guarding the remains of the Dragon of Destruction in the ckstone Mountains? However, Lin Li still remembered the legend mentioning that after the Dragon of Destruction was killed by the Immortal King, its remains were used in the construction of the seven Sky Castles, and the only remaining eyeball was used as amp in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Perhaps the only remains of the Dragon of Destruction left in the entire Anril could be found in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm.

    However, Lin Li gave it some thought, and found that it wasn¡¯t impossible. After all, the Immortal King had obtained theplete remains of the Dragon of Destruction, and not just the bones. He probably didn¡¯t use the liver, heart, and other innards of the Dragon of Destruction for the construction of the Sky Castle. It wasn¡¯t impossible for those organs to be preserved until now, and if Nefa could obtain theplete remains of the Dragon of Destruction, he would definitely be closer to the Dragon of Destruction. However, if he only wanted to get the blood of the Dragon of Destruction, he would just need a small vial of it.

    Of course, aftering up with a more reliable guess, Lin Li did not dare to suggest it to Nefa and get him to try it. Anyway, that seemed to be the most feasible guess now, and it didn¡¯t matter whether he asked about it or not. He believed that Nefa wouldn¡¯t tell him the truth either way. Besides, that also seemed to exin why Nefa was there. Even if Tutankhamun was kind, he wouldn¡¯t allow a person who harbored designs on the thing that he was guarding to linger by his side. Moreover, Nefa was gathering a group of prehistoric magical beasts around him, and Lin Li reckoned that he was nning to go to the ckstone Mountains to snatch the remains of the Dragon of Destruction once he got out of the crack.

    Staring at Nefa who was remaining calm, Lin Li secretly felt smug, and he reckoned that Nefa would probably never guess that in addition to the ckstone Mountains, the remains of the Dragon of Destruction that he had always dreamed of were present inrge amounts right in his Ring of Endless Storm.

 Chapter 792 - An Item

    <h4>Chapter 792: An Item</h4>

    Although Lin Li came to Anril with the remains of the Dragon of Destruction, he had never been able to use a single bit of it, because he was worried that his techniques might not be good enough. He only used the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction for the first time when he was subduing the Lord of Darkness. Lin Li had every part of the remains of the Dragon of Destruction in his Ring of Endless Storm, be it the bones, blood, or intestines. In fact, there was probably plenty of flesh as well.

    ¡°You want to get some answers from me, but you refuse to agree to my request and help me leave this ce. When chatting with me, you should at least be showing some sincerity. In fact, you don¡¯t have to be that conscientious and uptight. You should be able to tell that I don¡¯t harbor any animosity towards you.¡± Although every one of Lin Li¡¯s remarks sounded rather hostile, Nefa had nothing but a tinge of helplessness on his face, and he looked as if he was just being vexed about his good intentions not being acknowledged.

    ¡°Sorry, what you mentioned is not what I want to know. The problem between you and Tutankhamun and your ambitions have nothing to do with me. You should know why I¡¯m here, and since we¡¯re on the topic of sincerity, please show me some sincerity first.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t let his guard down just because of Nefa¡¯s behavior. If he were the type to be easily coerced into letting his walls down, he would never have survived till now.

    Nefa shook his head helplessly, and said, ¡°Your personality is somewhat simr to that of my younger brother. You are stubborn, and you will not be easily persuaded by others once you¡¯ve made up your mind.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, maybe this is why I passed the test. So, should it be your turn to show some sincerity now?¡± Lin Li asked, not wanting to waste too much time there. If Sendros were to continue to reinforce the seal, he would probably really be trapped there for some time.

    ¡°Seems like my sincerity is not enough,¡± Nefa said with a sigh, after which he continued, ¡°Your courage really surprised me. For more than 1300 years, no one except that powerful Dark mage back then has dared to barge in here to look for the answers. That was really unexpected.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s heart quivered a little, and he thought, <i>Could the powerful Dark mage that Nefa mentioned be Rogge, the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine whom Sendros talked about?</i>

    Rogge, who had fought alongside Geresco and overthrown the High Elves with him, was said to be second only to Geresco, the God of Mages, and Nefa had no choice but to admit that he was indeed incredibly powerful.

    ¡°The Dark High Priest Rogge?¡± Lin Li asked in a bid to verify.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t youe from the Darkness Shrine for the sake of finding him? Or are you trying to find the pair of brothers for the Brilliance Shrine? Although they were ratherpetent, they weren¡¯t as courageous as you guys. They simply chatted with me through the big crack before leaving.¡± Nefa then appeared a little mncholic as if he was feeling sad about losing twopanions whom he could chat with.

    The pair of brothers from the Brilliance Shrine undoubtedly referred to Willen and Rodhart. Lin Li didn¡¯t enter the crack for the sake of the Darkness Shrine, and his real purpose was to get some information about Willen and Rodhart. After hearing that the two of them did not enter the crack, Lin Li was somewhat disappointed, but he did gain something. At least, he could specte that the dispute between Willen and Rodhart and Rodhart bing a Retribution Knightter probably had something to do with the conversation with Nefa.

    It seemed that the disaster that struck the Darkness Shrine after Willen and Rodhart left wasn¡¯t an ident. Lin Li remembered that before he entered, Nefa¡¯s request was for Lin Li to release him. Perhaps Nefa had also raised the same request with Willen and Rodhart. Being able to achieve one¡¯s agenda at the expense of one¡¯s opponent was a wonderful opportunity that most people wouldn¡¯t turn down.

    However, despite feeling a little disappointed, Lin Li surprisingly still managed to obtain some important information from Nefa¡¯s words. It could be confirmed that High Priest Rogge had visited before, but since Nefa thought that Lin Li was there to look for Rogge, wouldn¡¯t that seem to mean that the high priest was still there and was alive?

    In fact, after giving it some thought, Lin Li felt that it wasn¡¯t that surprising. He had seen Gerescounching attacks before using the Spacetime Beacon Spell. He had also seen Megard in action in the Shadowglen. In Anril, the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm were akin to deities, and they were considered to be standing at the pinnacle of the entire world. Killing a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse would be no different from ughtering a god. The fact that Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine had managed to survive for a few decades using his body¡¯s power despite being afflicted by Viper¡¯s poison was clear evidence of the powerful vitality of powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. Nefa was very strong, and he also had the help of numerous prehistoric magical beasts. It was possible for him to defeat High Priest Rogge, but he might not be able to kill him.

    Lin Li did not ask about it further or confirm the authenticity of the information. Instead, he nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, I wonder where High Priest Rogge is now.¡± There was no trace of surprise on his face, and it was as if he had already known since a long time ago that Rogge was there.

    ¡°That Dark mage? He¡¯s right below this volcano. He¡¯s much stronger now than when he first came in,¡± Nefa said while shaking his head like he was feeling a little emotional. Next, with a mysterious expression on his face, he said, ¡°However, you¡¯ll definitely be surprised when you see him, and you won¡¯t be able to recognize him to be the same person who crossed the big crack back then.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Lin Li frowned slightly, and tried to suppress the suspicion he felt. He asked in a calm tone, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± He definitely didn¡¯t think that Nefa meant that Rogge would be unrecognizable because of a change in his appearance. Obviously, the change was massive, and Rogge was no longer who he used to be.

    However, this time, Nefa shook his head with a smile in response to Lin Li¡¯s question, and he did not answer immediately. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯m showing you enough sincerity now, huh? If you really want to know, you either agree to my request or go see him in person. Shouldn¡¯t you do me a favor too?¡±

    <i>What a joke. If I had wanted to let you out, I wouldn¡¯t have had to take the risk to barge in here!</i> Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate at all, and he simply said, ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to think about this. I definitely won¡¯t help you get out of this ce. Besides, even if I agreed, I¡¯m afraid your brother wouldn¡¯t agree, either. You probably don¡¯t want to be killed by your brother as soon as you go out, do you!?¡±

    Nefa who had always been indifferent seemed to have everything under his control. However, after he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, his expression suddenly changed. In a tone indicating surprise that he couldn¡¯t hide, he said, ¡°How did you know!?!¡±

    <i>Damn it, I¡¯ve long gotten annoyed by your expression!</i> Lin Li thought to himself in disdain while continuing to speakposedly. ¡°What¡¯s so surprising about that? If I were your adoptive father, I wouldn¡¯t want one of you to be another Dragon of Destruction someday.¡±

    The Immortal King definitely didn¡¯t kill the Dragon of Destruction for the sake of showing his prowess and strength, or for the sake of the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction. Instead, he had more important reasons.

    However, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to know those reasons unless he reached the level of the Immortal King. Since the Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction, he definitely wouldn¡¯t allow another Dragon of Destruction to appear in the world of Anril, even if it were Nefa or Tutankhamun, the twin brothers he had hatched himself.

    Although Nefa had never mentioned why Tutankhamun was staying in the ckstone Mountains for such a long time, Lin Li had long made some spections. It was possible that Tutankhamun was not guarding against anyone but his own brother who wanted to be the new Dragon of Destruction. He wanted to prevent Nefa from using the remains of the Dragon of Destruction to obtain the blood so as to prevent the emergence of another Dragon of Destruction in Anril.

    The twin brothers were hatched from a magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, and logically speaking, they should have simr strength and powers. Why did Lin Li say that Tutankhamun would kill Nefa? In fact, the answery with the ckstone Mountains. If Nefa had been stronger than Tutankhamun, he would have probably gotten his wishes fulfilled a long time ago. That proved that Tutankhamun at least had some means to deal with Nefa, even though he might not necessarily be that much stronger. Perhaps it was something given to him by the Immortal King.

    Lin Li had seen the real Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, before, and had even ughtered him and stored his entire body in the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger. Nefacked that vital bloodline. Others might not have a basis forparison, but Lin Li definitely knew it. Hence, Nefa had never expected Lin Li to guess what was really buried in the ckstone Mountains just from the insignificant remarks that he had made earlier. Lin Li even made a conjecture about the truth just based on inference.

    The surprise on Nefa¡¯s face quickly vanished, and he stared at Lin Li for a moment before finally nodding reluctantly. He said, ¡°You are right, if I leave this ce now, the first person in Anril who will deal with me will definitely be my wonderful brother. However, you can rest assured that I am not going to leave for the time being, nor will I make you help me in this regard. I just want you to help me get something from beneath this volcano.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t do that with my current abilities.¡± Although Nefa had changed his request, Lin Li still shook his head and refused immediately. What a joke, Rogge had fought alongside Geresco, and had already been a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm before he became the high priest of the Darkness Shrine. Nefa had also mentioned that Rogge was much stronger now, and even if the increment in his strength was not drastic, Lin Li reckoned that he probably wouldn¡¯t be inferior to the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. Perhaps he might even be stronger.

 Chapter 793 - Domain Robe

    <h4>Chapter 793: Domain Robe</h4>

    Besides, Nefa had also mentioned that Rogge had already undergone major changes, and who knew if those changes were good or bad. If Lin Li were to go and get the item for Nefa now, he would be courting death.

    Lin Li simply wanted to get some information from Nefa. His greatest agenda was to find out more about Rodhart so as to avoid meeting with danger when going to the underground pce to obtain Pr Snow and Raging mes. However, in order to reduce the dangers that he would possibly encounter in the future, he would have to go all out and risk his life here. Lin Li had never done anything as such; that would obviously put him at such a huge disadvantage.

    Seeing that Lin Li refuted without hesitation, Nefa didn¡¯t panic, and instead waited for a moment before saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. That Dark mage, who is also High Priest Rogge whom you mentioned, is now existing in another form. Before he evolves again, he will not pose any threat to you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, in this case, you¡¯ve been neighbors with him for such a long time. Why don¡¯t you go take it yourself? ording to what you said, he probably shouldn¡¯t even pose a threat to you given your current abilities and power. I¡¯m just an insignificant mage, and to people on your level, I¡¯m just a small fry,¡± Lin Li retorted relentlessly. Lin Li had no idea when Rogge entered the big crack and when he evolved in form. Hence, he refused to believe that the time that he entered was the best timing to get the thing that Nefa wanted. Nefa and Rogge had been living together for at least 1000 years. Could such opportunities onlye by once?

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason why I can¡¯t go there. Haven¡¯t you discovered that the volcano below us is probably different from any one you have seen before?¡± Nefa asked while looking at Lin Li calmly without any panic. Clearly, he was very confident in his reason.

    ¡°Is that so? What¡¯s so special about it?¡± In fact, when Lin Li had first entered, he¡¯d merely taken a nce at the environment there. Ever since then, he began to focus all of his attention on Nefa. After all, he was the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction and the only one who could pose the greatest threat to him. Lin Li didn¡¯t pay much attention to the volcano beneath him, and he merely knew that standing on the volcano made him feel like he was standing in the sky.

    Even now, Lin Li was still keeping his guard up, and when Nefa told him to observe the volcano, he did not n to shift his gaze at all. It was not that Lin Li was timid, but rather that his life was at stake, and he definitely had to be more careful. He was facing the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, and there were plenty of powerful prehistoric magical beasts. If he were to be careless, a slip-up would cause him to die a horrible death.

    At this moment, Nefa took a step to the side, but it was only a small step. The volcano, which was initially dead and quiet, suddenly exuded a massive magical wave which was disorderly like an extreme storm. It was also like realva that was pouring out immediately. It was far beyond the limit of what humans could rival. Besides, it was just a magical wave. One could imagine how terrifying of a Elemental Storm it would cause once the massive power of the magical wave leaked.

    With the emergence of the violent magical wave, the prehistoric magical beasts that gathered under the volcano¡ªthe menacing Minotaurs and the Evil Eyes that were good at attacking others with their peculiar mental strength¡ªimmediately got riled up. Immediately afterwards, an Elemental Storm gradually condensed and formed in the sky above the prehistoric magical beasts. As soon as it took shape, more than 10 Evil Eyes that were weaker than others instantly crumbled.

    The violent magical wave was gradually suppressed only when Nefa returned to his original spot. The Elemental Storm also slowly dissipated. At this time, Lin Li also understood that Nefa was telling the truth. ording to what happened just now, the Elemental Power would definitely explode without restriction if Nefa were to leave his spot, and cause the entire space to copse until it became destroyed.

    ¡°You finally understand why I can¡¯t leave this ce now, huh?¡± Although more than a dozen Evil Eyes had died because of his demonstration, Nefa clearly didn¡¯t value them greatly. He simply stared at Lin Li calmly and waited for his answer.

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Lin Li nodded and changed his tone. He continued, ¡°However, I still can¡¯t help you out. You¡¯d better wait.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking for the Dark Mage of the Darkness Shrine? Since you are going to see him anyway, you can just take the item for me too,¡± said Nefa, who finally had a change in emotions. Over the past millennium and more, only two people had entered. How long would he have to wait until the next visitor came? Although his lifespan was almost infinite, he couldn¡¯t waste it like that.

    ¡°Who said that I¡¯m here for the Dark Mage? I¡¯ve never said that before. If he¡¯s already dead, I wouldn¡¯t mind taking his corpse back to the Darkness Shrine. However, I¡¯ve never taken any unnecessary risks,¡± said Lin Li, who was rather displeased because he was there to find out about Rodhart, and he wasn¡¯t a believer of Darkness nor the Darkness Incarnation whom they were talking about. What would Rogge have to do with him? If there were no dangers involved, he wouldn¡¯t mind trying to ask Rogge about some Dark Magic. However, Nefa was the one who said that there were no dangers, and Lin Li didn¡¯t believe him at all. Well, he wasn¡¯t courting death, anyway.

    Nefa was stunned for a moment, and he carefully recalled the conversation just now, only to realize that Lin Li really hadn¡¯t mentioned that he was there to look for the Dark Mage Rogge. However, if he were to miss such a rare opportunity, the Dark Mage Rogge would probably have evolved by the time someone else dropped by again. He would then no longer have any chance. He nced at Lin Li and remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°Since you¡¯re a mage, I reckon you¡¯d definitely be interested in some things. As long as you can help me out, I¡¯ll give you some of the things that my adoptive father has given me.¡±

    Nefa¡¯s adoptive father was none other than the Immortal King! Although Lin Li had gotten used to seeing good things, he still couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when he heard Nefa¡¯s words. The Sky Castles could be considered the product of integration of various skills, and the skills of the Immortal King were evidenced by the Sky Castles. Many tried to replicate the Sky Castles, but none of them seeded. Osric created the Eternal Furnace, while the Supreme Council created the Sky Tower. Apart from theck of materials, theck of skill and technique was also a key limitation.

    Lin Li had Guru-level attainments in many fields, but he still felt that hecked understanding of the various skills of the Immortal King, and he even suspected that the Immortal King might have reached the level of a Divine Smith in a certain aspect. For example, most Guru-level professionals wouldn¡¯t be able to produce the Stars of Fury that was condensed by mana. At least Lin Li, a Smithing Guru who knew the Stars of Fury very well, could not replicate it using mana, either.

    Hence, even Lin Li could not stay calm after hearing Nefa mention the Immortal King¡¯s items. The things created by the Immortal King were probably close to being artifacts even if they were not at that level. At the thought of this, Lin Li tried his best to suppress his excitement, and pretended to be calm. ¡°Oh, what are those things?¡±

    Actually, Nefa had already seen some expected changes in Lin Li¡¯s behavior, and thus wasn¡¯t muddled up or confused by his question. Instead, he smiled, and said, ¡°It¡¯s a magic robe which was infused with power by the Immortal King himself. I believe it¡¯s very valuable to you mages.¡±

    However, after hearing this, a look of disdain suddenly formed on Lin Li¡¯s face, and he was clearly rather disappointed with Nefa¡¯s answer. A robe that had been infused with Space Power by the Immortal King was just like something that had been used by a celebrity. Basically, it was only a memento, and held more sentimental than practical value. Space Power would not be changed even if it was infused by the Immortal King. Besides, Lin Li already held too much power, and he already had five of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, which was akin to holding five basic nomological powers. Those five would also produce other powers, and Lin Li didn¡¯t think that that Space Power was worth risking his life for.

    Nefa naturally noticed the disdain on Lin Li¡¯s face. However, Nefa didn¡¯t get upset because of that. Instead, he proudly said to Lin Li, ¡°Do you think this is ordinary Space Power? Let me tell you, the robe contains the Space Laws that the Immortal King has sealed himself, and owning this robe would be equivalent to mastering the Space Laws. If you can integrate this power into your Magical Domain, it would be akin to owning the Space Laws and the various Magical Domains thate from the Space Laws.¡±

    Nefa¡¯s detailed exnation immediately gave Lin Li a great shock. It turned out that he waspletely confused and muddled up. The Immortal King was formidable; how could he bother doing such senseless things? Sealing Space Laws and infusing Space Power werepletely different.

    Infusing Space Power was equivalent to having a sword that would never change regardless of how one used it. On the other hand, putting a seal on the Space Laws was akin to owning a piece of metal that would change as one preferred. As long as one mastered it, it would be up to them to do whatever they wanted, be it making it into a sword or spear. That was exactly the difference between the two levels. They were worlds apart.

 Chapter 794 - The Wyrm That Got Deceived

    <h4>Chapter 794: The Wyrm That Got Deceived</h4>

    Lin Li had just obtained from Osric the debris of the stars Nothingness, which contained Space Laws as well. However, Lin Li¡¯s current strength did not allow him to exert the power of Nothingness orprehend and master the Space Laws of Nothingness. With the Immortal King¡¯s robe that had been sealed, Lin Li would be able to increase his mastery of Nothingness by studying the Space Laws in the robe and exert the power of Nothingness, which was the strangest of all pieces of the debris of the stars, to a greater extent. It was definitely a huge temptation for Lin Li, even more so than reading the Light Bible and the Darkness scripture.

    Seeing that Lin Li was tempted, Nefa smiled smugly, and said, ¡°You can rest assured that I won¡¯t harm you, at least until you get that thing back. Hurting you wouldn¡¯t do me any good.¡± He knew that a conscientious person like Lin Li wouldn¡¯t believe him if he were to continuously express his friendliness with no signs of hostility. Hence, he decided to make the interests a priority.

    However, while the robe of the Immortal King which contained the sealed Space Laws might be attractive, it was not enough to make Lin Li forget his need to be cautious. Although Nefa made it sound effortless as if an ordinary person would be able to get the item safely too, Lin Li believed that there was no free lunch in the world. If things were as simple as Nefa made them out to be, why didn¡¯t Nefa let the Minotaurs do it? Since they were all Legendary-level, he could easily make 10 of them go if one or two weren¡¯t enough. Although Nefa couldn¡¯t move away from his spot, Lin Li felt that there should be no problem for him to control those Minotaurs.

    Hence, although Lin Li was a little bit tempted, he did not agree immediately without hesitation. His expression soon became calm again, and he still looked at Nefa with his guard up. He said in a hostile manner, ¡°It¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s not up to you to decide if it is dangerous or not. You¡¯d better not hide any details about what you want me to take and what dangers I might encounter. I¡¯ll contemte if your robe is worth risking my life for.¡±

    ¡°You are very cautious. Although it seems unnecessary to me, that also makes me more confident in you,¡± Nefa said in a tone of approval. He then continued, ¡°Before I tell you what the item that I need you to get is, I¡¯ll first have to talk about this space. Do you know where this space is from?¡±

    Legend had it that when Anril was born from chaos, it emerged together with countless spaces of various sizes. Due to the fact that the Laws of those spaces were not as well-bnced as the ones in Anril, some of the spaces had already been destroyed a long time ago, while some had survived in Anril after thousands of years of evolution. Examples included the World of the Undead which contained countless Undead creatures and the Shadow Realm which was known as the reverse of the world. Besides, it was also said that the Endless Abyss created by the ancient deities was created by gathering some rtively stable spaces.

    The spaces that were floating in the chaotic flow of spacetime outside Anril were like stars in the sky, and even powerful existences like the Immortal King and Geresco dared not im to know the spaces in the chaos of time and space, let alone an insignificant mage like Lin Li who had just arrived in Anril a few years ago. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t interject when Nefa was speaking, and simply stared at him coldly, waiting for him to continue.

    Nefa wasn¡¯t bothered by Lin Li¡¯s attitude, and he unhurriedly said, ¡°This space is one of the spaces between the four Elemental Worlds of earth, fire, water, and wind, and it also relies on the bnce and stability of the World Laws of Anril. In fact, ever since the birth of Anril, the rtively unstable spaces have all copsed and gotten destroyed. The ones remaining were all rted to Anril, and an amazingly perfect bnce had long been created. If nothing were to go wrong, the bnce would change with the years, and perhaps after tens of thousands of years the worlds may even merge with Anril. However, the copse of the Tree of Eternity resulted in a huge impact on the Laws of Anril, causing the worlds to fall out of bnce.¡±

    Regarding the influence of the Tree of Eternity on Anril, Lin Li had already heard about it from Tutankhamun back in the ckstone Mountains. Actually, Geresco had expected that situation since a long time ago, but the most important thing to do was to prevent the resurgence of the High Elves. If the Tree of Eternity hadn¡¯t fallen, the High Elves wouldn¡¯t have been destroyed. Even if the High Elves had all been killed at that time, they would still be born and grow again as long as the Tree of Eternity existed. It would then be a far-fetched idea for humans to end the Dark Age.

    Geresco had also made the agreement with Tutankhamun for the sake of finding and grooming someone who could solve the issue. Previously, Tutankhamun mentioned that once Lin Li reached the Sanctuary-realm, he would be able to use the magic spells in the Book of Eternity to seal the cracks in spacetime in ce of Geresco. However, it seemed that the matter wasn¡¯t that simple. For Anril that had lost the Tree of Eternity, the seal probably wouldn¡¯t get rid of the root problem.

    ¡°Under this influence, the rtive position of the fire Elemental World has shifted a bit, creating a partial ovep with the present space. The ovepping position is right at the bottom of the volcano. As you have seen earlier on, the power that generates the Elemental Storm hase from the fire elemental world. If I did not suppress it with my own power, the entire space would copsepletely in an instant. Even Anril cannot escape the fate of destruction.¡± At this point, Nefa finally looked a little worried and helpless.

    After hearing this exnation, Lin Li finally realized why the volcano would erupt so violently with such daunting power when Nefa took a step away. As their names implied, the four elemental words were eachposed entirely of single elemental rules, just like how the Shadow Realm wasposed only of the Laws of Darkness. They were the same as the Laws of Anril which were the real World Laws that even the gods and deities couldn¡¯t fully control. What Nefa said was not just a false warning, and if the energy were to really surge into the world of Anril, it would definitely affect the bnce of Laws in Anril, and Anril might even copse because of it.

    However, regardless of how he saw it, Lin Li still did not think that Nefa was the type to be willing to sacrifice himself. If he were Tutankhamun, it might be more possible. Hence, he was not touched or impressed by Nefa¡¯s spirit of self-sacrificing. Instead, he derisively sneered, ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction is actually willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. You¡¯re really noble.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words seemed to have finally made Nefa lose his patience, and the look of indifference on his face vanished. The veins on his forehead had also begun bulging, and he hollered in exasperation, ¡°Do you think I wanted this!? If it weren¡¯t for that shameless and despicable human mage who lied to me by telling me that this ce contains the blood of my father, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this! If it weren¡¯t for the power of the fire elemental world that surged out, I wouldn¡¯t be the first unlucky one. I don¡¯t care if the world will be destroyed, and I don¡¯t care about Anril! I have been fighting this damned fire Elemental Power for over 1000 years, and if I continue going on, my power will be consumed by this damned fire element sooner orter.¡±

    The fact that Nefa had lost his temper all of a sudden made Lin Li feel rather stunned for a while. He could not help but be a little curious, and asked, ¡°Is that human mage Geresco?¡±

    Rogge had entered this realm after Nefa did; hence, other than Rogge, it seemed that the only human mage who had the power to bring Nefa there was Geresco, the God of Mages. After all, Nefa wouldn¡¯t have been convinced unless Geresco had enough power.

    However, what made Li Li feel even more puzzled was why Geresco only managed to trick Nefa there given his formidable strength. At the end of the Dark Age, Geresco could already be considered the strongest mage in Anril. Killing the High Elven queen and ruining the Tree of Eternity was something that an ordinary powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could not do. Although Nefa was a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, he was still just a descendant, after all, and did not inherit the blood of the real Dragon of Destruction. If Geresco had really wanted to get rid of Nefa, it would probably not have been too difficult to kill him. Hence, there was no need to trick him into going there at all. Could it really be to suppress this power?

    ¡°Indeed, it is that horrendous bastard. Who else could it be!?¡± Nefa hollered angrily, seemingly filled with resentment that he had umted for thousands of years. At this moment, Nefa had cursed at Geresco countless times before, but this time, he was particrly thrilled, perhaps because someone was listening.

    ¡°Have you had enough? If you have, let¡¯s go on to talk about business,¡± Lin Li said impatiently, keeping his guard up even higher against Nefa at the same time. Lin Li often read Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, and had heard many legends about him. Although he dared not im to know him too well, he felt that Geresco wouldn¡¯t be a horrendous viin; hence, Nefa was definitely not as innocent as he made himself out to be.

 Chapter 795 - Branches

    <h4>Chapter 795: Branches</h4>

    ¡°Hmph, had he not pushed the Tree of Eternity down...¡± Nefa cursed, and finally suppressed the anger within him. He then continued to introduce the topic to Lin Li. ¡°Initially, although the two worlds ovepped, the huge repulsive power of the World Laws would gradually cause the ovepping phenomenon to be gradually restored over time, allowing the two worlds to return to their own positions. However, there is something at the bottom of this volcano that prevents the restoration of the two worlds and forcibly connects them together.¡±

    ¡°It can actually go against the World Laws?¡± Lin Li asked. He could not help but be surprised. The power of the World Laws was massive to the extent of being beyond the control of the deities and gods. Although the power of the World Laws that Nefa mentioned was a little weaker than that of Anril, it was still not to be coveted by ordinary powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm. However, that massive and powerful force was actually suppressed by an object. Clearly, it was extremely powerful, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to call it an artifact.

    ¡°Of course, ordinary items can never be as powerful, and the reason that this item can be on par with the nomological power of two words is because it is a branch of the Tree of Eternity,¡± Nefa said with a look of resentment that he could not hide at all. Clearly, he hated the branch that made him suffer badly.

    ¡°The branch of the Tree of Eternity!¡± Upon hearing Nefa¡¯s words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel shocked as his heart raced rapidly.

    In fact, when Lin Li heard Nefa say that it was Geresco who¡¯d tricked him into going there, he already nned not to help him. Although Lin Li had yet to reach Geresco¡¯s level, and did not know about the details, he also knew that Geresco had had his reasons for doing that to Nefa. Lin Li did not want to do anything out of line and cause things to blow out of proportion. After all, he was just an insignificant level-23 Legendary-mage.

    However, after hearing Nefa say that the object was actually a branch of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li had to admit that it was difficult for him to resist the temptation. To be honest, even if it was an artifact, it might not be too tempting for Lin Li, who had five pieces of the debris of the stars. However, the branch of the Tree of Eternity was different. If it were in the hands of others, the tree would probably just be the best material for making a staff, but it had a different significance to Lin Li.

    When exploring the Sky Castle, Lin Li had got a Seed of Eternity in the Central Tower. Unfortunately, it hadpletely lost its aura of life, leaving behind only mana that was also declining. The massive mana was not the reason for the high value of the Seed of Eternity. Only an alive Seed of Eternity would be considered an unparalleled treasure in Anril. It seemed that it would be impossible to revive the Seed of Eternity, but it was not really impossible for Lin Li.

    Lin Li originally already had the debris of the stars Rebirth. However, he had never been able to revive the seed because of hisck of understanding of the mysteries of life. As long as he could get the leaves of a living Tree of Eternity, he would be able to let the seed revive. Hence, if the branch was alive, it would be extremely precious to Lin Li.

    A dead Seed of Eternity would at most be equivalent to a huge mana source, and apart from providing mana, it would have no other uses. Besides, even the mostmon Legendary magical crystal would also slowly recover the consumed mana like when a mage was meditating. However, a dead Seed of Eternity would lose that ability, and its value would be lost once its mana was depleted.

    However, once the Seed of Eternity was revived, its value would immediately increase thousands of times beyond anyone¡¯s estimation. In order to make the Seed of Eternity grow into a real Tree of Eternity, arge amount of time would be required. However, as long as the Seed of Eternity was nted in Anril, it would definitely give the mages endless benefits as it grew and allow them to bask in the magic of the magic tides every day. The power of the magic tides would also be stronger, and the growth of the mages would be unlimited.

    That was absolutely no exaggeration. Although there were various reasons for the High Elves¡¯ ability to dominate Anril and establish such a prosperous dynasty, the existence of the Tree of Eternity was an important reason. Although the development of the Tower of Dusk was already going strong, Lin Li wasn¡¯t satisfied just because of that, for one should never be satisfied with their status quo in order to survive in such a world which was about the survival of the fittest.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to dwell on the consequences that would ensue after he did Nefa that favor. Besides, if the Tree of Eternity were to grow in Anril again, there might be benefits to the bnce of Anril too. Although Nefa was a threat, he was being restrained by Tutankhamun. Besides, Lin Li was confident that Nefa would never pose a threat to him once he obtained all the debris of the stars and entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°That branch is of no use to me. As long as you can put it away, I think the Immortal King¡¯s robe should be enough to pay you for helping me. As long as you can help me with this matter, I can tell you some information that I know, and allow you to choose from the other relics of the Immortal King.¡± Nefa immediately offered more benefits after seeing that Lin Li was tempted in hopes that Lin Li would agree to his request.

    ¡°In that case, answer a question of mine first. If I help you, how do I leave this ce? I¡¯m not interested in staying here at all,¡± Lin Li said while suppressing the shock he felt. He frowned slightly while asking the question that seemed to be more important to him.

    Actually, by asking that question, Lin Li agreed to the deal. Nefa suddenly felt overjoyed, but his expression was somewhat calm. He smiled, and said, ¡°That¡¯s simple. Although the Darkness Shrine has sealed this crack, I just have to release the suppression on the volcano a little and make the power erupt so as to let the crack open for a while. You don¡¯t have to worry about leaving this ce.¡±

    <i>Damn it, so this guy was the one stirring trouble!</i> Lin Li thought. He finally figured out everything all of a sudden, and he reckoned that the so-called catastrophe that the Darkness Shrine was fearing was all because of the tricks that Nefa was ying. The changes that happened this time and the destruction of the Darkness Shrine previously were all because Nefa had moved his foot a little. The Darkness Shrine was really unlucky.

    Moreover, Lin Li also thought about the conversation that the two brothers Willen and Rodhart had had with Nefa through the crack. The Darkness Shrine met with the disaster shortly after the two of them left, and Lin Li reckoned that it might be one of the deals that the brothers struck with Nefa. After all, the Darkness Shrine then was already strong enough to pose a threat to the Brilliance Shrine even without High Priest Rogge. After such a blow, the Darkness Shrine also lost the qualification topete with the Brilliance Shrine, even though it was notpletely destroyed. To a certain extent, it was also a big benefit to the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, Lin Li was not a member of the Darkness Shrine, after all; hence, he only felt a little sympathetic for them. His safety should be the thing that he was most concerned about now. After a moment of silence, he said, ¡°I can agree to your request, but before that, I still need you to make an oath. I don¡¯t want to worry about guarding against your attacks again after solving this difficult problem. So, I want you to swear with your soul that you¡¯ll never do anything to hurt me. Of course, I will make the same promise.¡±

    Be it the Immortal King¡¯s robe or the branch of the Tree of Eternity, they would all be meaningless to a dead person. Lin Li was very clear that with his current strength, it would still be difficult to fight against a powerhouse on Nefa¡¯s level. Apart from the fact that he might not know what he would experience there, he mighte back half-alive, and it would be even more impossible to guard against Nefa¡¯s sneak attacks.

    The validity of a verbal promise would depend on the promiser. It was undeniable that in this world, there were also those who were people of their word, but a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction who had the Laws of destruction and evilness would never be one of them. Hence, no matter what Nefa said, Lin Li still believed that no one would dare to vite an oath made on one¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Well...¡± Nefa hesitated after hearing Lin Li¡¯s request, and shook his head. ¡°No one knows what will happen if we meet again in the future. Hence, I can¡¯t make a Soul Oath hastily. Why don¡¯t we swear on this world that I won¡¯t do anything to hurt you?¡±

    After all, Nefa was a powerhouse of the same level as Tutankhamun, and he even intended to be the new Dragon of Destruction. Hence, Lin Li was indeed determined to have one less enemy. However, Nefa¡¯s refusal did not make Lin Li feel too disappointed. While it was good to have one less enemy, there was nothing formidable about Nefa, and even if he were to run into Nefa again, thetter might just be the one getting hurt. Hence, it was fine for Lin Li to have one more enemy like him too.

 Chapter 796 - Under the Volcano

    <h4>Chapter 796: Under the Volcano</h4>

    Unless Nefa became the new Dragon of Destruction, Tutankhamun would still pose a threat to Nefa, making him fear stepping into Anril. Although the strength of the two brothers was on par, Lin Li could more or less guess that Tutankhamun had some means that intimidated Nefa. At the thought of that, Lin Li nodded and agreed to Nefa¡¯s request to limit the restraint of the Soul Oath to the realm that they were in.

    After the Soul Oaths of both took effect, Lin Li immediately set off to the bottom of the volcano because he didn¡¯t want to stay there any longer. The Minotaurs and other prehistoric magical beasts around him immediately moved aside for Lin Li, and even though the human smell of Lin Li¡¯s body made them salivate, they had no choice but to let Lin Li saunter away, for they dared not act recklessly.

    Although the volcano was rather tall, Lin Li didn¡¯t use the Power of Flight, because he didn¡¯t know what he might encounter. Instead, he walked all the way down the mountain. Lin Li could not estimate the height of the volcano, and he only knew that the top of the volcano could not be seen, and he had yet to reach the bottom. Along the way, he saw plenty of bare stones, and almost every part looked the same. Thend was barren, and there were no signs of life at all. The only thing that Lin Li found to be different was the rising temperature in the surroundings that seemed to increase as he made his way down.

    After walking for a long time, the surrounding environment finally changed, and the stones on the ground had also be dark red, while the temperature became warmer. It felt like a piece of metal that had just been taken out of the furnace, making it impossible for anyone to stand on top of it. Although Lin Li was able to withstand the high temperature, he still had to use his Power of Flight to leave the surface of the ground. At the same time, he also clearly felt that the density of the surrounding fire element had reached a rather intimidating extent.

    Although Lin Li had yet to encounter any obstacles so far, he still didn¡¯t let his guard down. Even though he was flying, he was still maintaining a slow speed. At the same time, Lin Li was continuously scanning his surroundings, while his mental strength absorbed everything that was beyond his field of vision.

    In fact, Lin Li had seen such an environment before, but with more fire element. Examples included the nests of the Smander and the Crimson Python, as well as the cave that the Crimson Dragon was imprisoned in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountains. However, that was also why Lin Li was more careful and paid more attention to everything around him. If nothing went wrong, there would usually be extremely valuable things around in such ces where magical elements were extremely strong. The environment of this world had been existing for thousands of years, and even the mostmon stones on the ground would soon be fire element gemstones, what more those that were spiritual in the first ce.

    As the fiery red in Lin Li¡¯s field of vision grew more intense, Lin Li suddenly paused while advancing forward, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He then turned around and flew away to the left. Soon, Lin Li found dozens of stalks of grass that seemed to be made of red crystals. They had an ordinary appearance, and if it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were of the same color as mes and were glistening, they would probably be no different from the weeds in Anril.

    It was called the Fire Crystal Grass, and was actually not very valuable. Even the ones of highest quality were not rare in Anril. However, the emergence of the Fire Crystal Grass had confirmed Lin Li¡¯s conjecture¡ªsince the Fire Crystal Grass could be found there, there might be other fire element herbs too. To Lin Li, the Fire Crystal Grass was not just a kind of herb, but also a sign of life in the barren world.

    Of course, with nts around, there would definitely be animals too. Since the Fire Crystal Grass had appeared, there would also be fire elemental magical beasts. Besides, given the environment of this world where fire element was rampant, the fire element magical beasts would definitely be extremely strong as well. Hence, while Lin Li was feeling happy about the discovery of the Fire Crystal Grass, he was also a little more vignt and cautious.

    Although the value of the Fire Crystal Grass was not very high, it still wasn¡¯t easy to obtain outside Anril. Although the Tower of Dusk had ess to thergest source of herbs in the Elven Kingdom, the Elven Kingdom could not produce such herbs that would only grow in harsh environments. Besides, herbs with such extreme attributes were usually the culprits of the failures in potion concoction.

    However, Lin Li was a genuine pharmaceutics Guru in Anril, and he could put themon tricolored flower to amazing uses, what more the Fire Crystal Grass. During the preparation of most potions alone, some Fire Crystal Grass powder would catalyze the reactions of the potions significantly as long as the right amount was added. Of course, if the amount added was not suitable, the pharmacist would end up failing, and an explosion would probably be inevitable too.

    Hence, Lin Li did not let go of this opportunity to make money, and soon put dozens of Fire Crystal Grass¡¯ stalks into the Ring of Endless Storm. Generally speaking, when collecting herbs, one ought to leave some roots and seeds behind so as to allow them to keep growing. However, Lin Li reckoned that once he took away the branch of the Tree of Eternity, the environment of this world would not be able tost for long. It would be pointless even if there were 10,000 seeds. Hence, he decided to take all of them away.

    After harvesting some Fire Crystal Grass, Lin Li¡¯s movement speed became slower; it was rare for him toe to such ces, and he had no idea if he would have the chance toe again. Even if he did, the environment would have changed again. Lin Li was obviously not willing to miss out on any good things. Since he already knew how he could leave, he no longer had to worry about the sealing of the spacetime rift. Besides, the branch of the Tree of Eternity wouldn¡¯t disappear, anyway.

    There was no difference between day and night in this world, so Lin Li did not know how long he had been walking for. He only knew that the further he delved, the more he gained and stowed away in the Ring of Endless Storm. He had collected various fire-element herbs of good quality, such as the Fire Crystal Grass, me Flower, and Lava Grass. As long as he saw them, he would never leave any behind.

    In addition to herbs, there were also various magical metals like Fiery Iron, Lava Adamantine, and many others, which Lin Li looked out for too. However, Lin Li did not spend too much time digging for them. After all, it was rather time-consuming to dig up a vein, and Lin Li could at most afford to spend 10-14 days there, and not years. Hence, he merely picked the exposed ones that were of high purity, and ced them in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Finally, when intertwiningva rivers began to form on the ground, Lin Li discovered the most valuable thing he had ever seen¡ªtwo ck lotuses of excellent quality. Compared to the previous items that he had gained, which were dispensable, the ck lotus brought him even more joy and euphoria. For pharmacists, the ck lotuses were definitely a godsend, and a single petal was enough to make a pharmacist go mad. Pharmaceutics Gurus like Lin Li would definitely need ck lotus for their forms.

    However, the conditions for growth of the ck lotus were extremely harsh, and it would be impossible to grow them at all if there was something wrong. At the beginning, when Lin Li was still in the Endless World, he put up a notice for ck lotus, and offered a handsome reward to those who could find him some. He even activated the yers of the entire world, but failed to get even a single petal. Aftering to the world of Anril, Lin Li was fortunate enough to get some ck lotus. However, even though he used the petals sparingly, he only had a few left.

    The reason Lin Li had been searching carefully without missing any parts was mainly because he hoped to find some ck lotus by fluke. After all, the environment was rather rare. It was connected to the fire elemental world, but Nefa was suppressing the fire Elemental Power. Hence, it was not entirely engulfed by mes, allowing some time for the herbs to grow. Although the fire element herbs thrived in hot environments, and the surroundings were full of strong fire element, they also had their own thresholds. It was just like how humans could stuff themselves to death. For example, if Fire Crystal Grass was ced where the ck lotus grew, it¡¯d be burned to ashes immediately, and in the real fire element world, it would almost be impossible to find any ck lotus.

    Although Lin Li now wished that he could keep the ck lotus in his pocket immediately, he did not do so, because there was a Crimson Python with huge red wings not far away from the two ck lotus nts. It was staring at Lin Li, the uninvited guest, menacingly. Lin Li had seen it before, and knew that it had fire attribute.

    Generally speaking, an adult Crimson Python would at most be at level-18 or level-19, even though it carried the blood of prehistoric magical beasts. Even the mutant Crimson Python of the ckstone Mountains had only reached level-20 after the awakening of its bloodline. However, the Crimson Python in front of Lin Li now was much bigger than the one he had seen. The scales on its body were like rubies, and it seemed to be about level-21 or level-22. Lin Li reckoned that it had to have consumed plenty of ck lotus over the past thousands of years.

    Actually, even if the Crimson Python was of level-21 or level-22, it would no longer pose a threat to Lin Li. Even if he chose not to use any debris of the stars, he would be able to kill it effortlessly.

 Chapter 797 - Crimson Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 797: Crimson Dragon</h4>

    What really made him worried was the two ck lotuses. The Crimson Python was lurking in the vicinity of the ck lotus, and if it were to attack Lin Li and move its body casually, the two ck lotuses would be destroyed immediately. That was definitely not what Lin Li wanted to see.

    ¡°I must find a way to lure it away!¡± Lin Li eximed, and slowly retreated instead of moving closer. He then found an open space between the intertwiningva rivers, and immediately dropped the ckstone tform that he had gotten from the underground pce in the Dragon Mountains.

    Therge ckstone tform was once the center of the magic gears in the underground pce, and was used to imprison the Crimson Dragon. It had been immersed inva for numerous years without suffering any damage. Back then, Lin Li was not as wealthy, so after killing the Crimson Dragon, he removed the stone tform too. However, he realizedter that there was nothing he could use it for; hence, he kept it in the Ring of Endless Storm for a long time since he had infinite space in the Ring of Endless Storm anyway.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t use the ckstone tform for the sake of leveling thend, but to give himself some lodging. Given Lin Li¡¯s abilities, he wouldn¡¯t be hurt by theva at all, but what he had to do now could not be done if he were to continue standing inva.

    Afternding on the ckstone tform, Lin Li began to take some of his items out of the Ring of Endless Storm again, and soon he ced a simple pharmaceuticalb on the tform. Indeed, he was going to make some potions there.

    The environment on the ground would cause even the Fire Crystal Grass to be burned into ashes, let alone the other herbs. Hence, Lin Li thought of the ckstone tform in his ring. Although it was open-spaced, he would be able to create a temporary isted space that could be used as a makeshiftb for preparing potions as long as he put up a simple mageweath.

    The potion that Lin Li wanted to formte was notplicated, and a few red potions could be created just with a dozen kinds of herbs, some stamens of the me Flowers, and the leaves of the Fire Crystal Grass. After formting the potions, Lin Li flew up into the air, and as he induced his mental strength into the Ring of Endless Storm, arge six-pointed star appeared beneath the tform. In the blink of an eye, he put away therge ckstone tform and the various pharmaceutical equipment.

    The Crimson Python watched as Lin Li left, and shifted its gaze back to the two ck lotuses, after which it continued to wait for the best time to devour the ck lotuses. As long as nothing went wrong, the power in the ck lotuses would allow the Crimson Python to advance to the peak of level-22 after devouring them. Compared to that temptation, Lin Li was much less appealing, and did not pique the interest of the Crimson Python.

    However, shortly after Lin Li left, the Crimson Python suddenly felt an alluring auraing from the end of its field of vision. The aura seemed to being from something that contained more power than the ck lotuses. It could tell that if it were to devour that thing, it would probably allow it to advance to level-23.

    <i>However, why have I never felt that aura before?</i> it thought. Although the Crimson Python carried the blood of the prehistoric magical beasts, it only inherited some of the gic characteristics, and it was not much different from the ordinary magical beasts in terms of IQ. After hesitating and wondering for a moment, it could not help but move its body and slither towards that aura.

    However, shortly after the Crimson Python left the two ck lotuses, two shadows suddenly emerged beside the ck lotuses like they had broken through space. They even dug up the ck lotuses with ease and adroitness, after which they disappeared together with the ck lotuses without stopping at all.

    The Crimson Python was slithering in the alluring aura which suddenly disappeared before it could even see what it was. Shortly after, it felt that the aura of the ck lotuses that it had been guarding had also vanished without a trace. It looked over, only to see that there was nothing there. At this moment, the Crimson Python panicked, and after roaring loudly, it turned around to leap towards the ck lotuses in a bid to find out where they had gone.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li appeared above the Crimson Python with the Helios¡¯ Scepter in hand, after which he cast a Legendary magic spell without hesitation. The aura of the Crimson Python wasing from the potion that Lin Li had formted at thest minute. There weren¡¯t many medicinal properties of that potion, and all it could do was release astonishing fire element aura.

    The two shadows were two of the six alchemy puppets that Angno had given to Lin Li after studying and researching the Shadow Assassins. Compared to the Shadow Assassin which only knew how to kill, the six alchemy puppets could also execute many more borate instructions in addition to being a superb assassin like the Shadow Assassin. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have dared to use them to pick up the ck lotuses.

    However, despite having obtained the ck lotuses, Lin Li decided to obtain the Crimson Python too, for it was quite a treasure as well, and Lin Li had never been a wasteful person anyway. Since he didn¡¯t have to worry about anything else, killing a level-21 Crimson Python was nothing to Lin Li. It would only take him a short while to cast a few spells, and the Crimson Python that had been living there for years suddenly roared andy motionlessly on the ground.

    Lin Li could not be bothered to waste time to deal with it. He simply ced the Crimson Python¡¯s corpse into the Ring of Endless Storm, and began searching a new area again. How could Lin Li be satisfied with two ck lotuses? Since there were two lotuses in such an environment, it was likely that there were more. Besides, obtaining another one would be a huge gain as well.

    While searching, Lin Li used the makeshiftboratory that he had up on the ckstone tform to formte some potions. Of course, those potions were not just the ones used to lure the Crimson Python away. In order to ovee the dangers that he might encounter when collecting the branch of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li had invested a lot of money in those potions, and he had even used half of one of the precious ck lotuses.

    Fortunately, as Lin Li hoped, the environment there was indeed very unique, and the two ck lotuses were not the only ones there. After some careful searching, Lin Li not only harvested several ck lotuses that were of excellent quality, he also collected some other herbs with fire attribute. However, he was toozy to count them. Of course, whenever he discovered a ck lotus or another precious herb, he would often encounter a magical beast that would be guarding it. The level-21 Crimson Python was clearly just a small fry.

    In such circumstances, there would be no way for any magical beast below the Legendary-level to survive. However, the powerful Lin Li didn¡¯t encounter too much trouble apart from the fact that he had to worry about the precious and fragile herbs like the ck lotus being identally damaged. Apart from the precious ck lotuses, the Legendary magical crystals that Lin Li had obtained were enough to make others salivate. The corpses of the Legendary magical beasts were also rather valuable.

    At this moment, Lin Li was also facing a moving treasure vault, which was an adult Crimson Dragon that had already reached level-23. However, what really attracted Lin Li was not the adult Crimson Dragon, but the aura of the ck lotus that wasing out of the cave behind the Crimson Dragon. If Lin Li did not have his mental strength tempered by the control crystal in the Sky Castle, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to detect the aura of the ck lotus despite the Menace of the Dragon of the Crimson Dragon.

    When Lin Li had been in the underground pce of the Dragon Mountains, he had also faced a Crimson Dragon that had been imprisoned by Osric for numerous years. It was no longer as strong as it used to be in its heyday, and it was greatly restricted because it was shackled to the ckstone tform. However, even then, Lin Li still risked his life and put in plenty of effort to kill the Crimson Dragon.

    However, Lin Li was much stronger now. Despite facing an adult Crimson Dragon that was at the pinnacle of its strength, he didn¡¯t feel pressured at all. Under the oppression of the Menace of the Dragon, he remained calm, and the daunting and hideous Crimson Dragon was no longer just an enemy full of lethal threat to him, but a treasure vault that he had to collect.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The arrogant Crimson Dragon seemed to have finally been angered by Lin Li who looked like he was sizing up an object. Although it could feel that Lin Li seemed to be just as powerful as it, it would never fear a challenge, because it was a descendant of the ancient wyrms. After a loud roar, the Crimson Dragon pped itsrge wings and flew towards Lin Li, whom it deemed a small fry. The Crimson Dragon was still as assertive as ever, and it was bent on ripping Lin Li to shreds before using its Dragon Breath to turn him into ashes.

    There were many factors that determined the strength of each individual, and the levels of humans were generally not equal to those of magical beasts. An ordinary level-23 Legendary-mage would probably lose against the attack of a wyrm of the same level. After all, the wyrm¡¯s powerful body and high magic resistance were also considered a huge threat to Legendary-mages.

    Unfortunately, the Crimson Dragon was not facing an ordinary Legendary-mage this time. Staring at the menacing Crimson Dragon which was about to leap towards him, Lin Li smirked, and thought to himself, <i>I managed to use the corpse of the Crimson Dragon that I encountered previously on my Humerus Wyrm. I should be able to use this one on something else.</i> Before Lin Li evenunched an attack, he was already considering how he could use the various parts of the Crimson Dragon¡¯s body in the future.

    Therge Crimson Dragon had already rushed towards Lin Li with its mouth wide open, and was spraying Lin Li with dragon breath. The dragon breath that could burn everything still seemed extremely hot despite the high temperatures of the environment. It was as if the entire space had been burnt.

 Chapter 798 - Fire Elemental World

    <h4>Chapter 798: Fire Elemental World</h4>

    However, the Crimson Dragon was not an idiot, and it knew that the small fry Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be burned to ashes just by its breath. Hence, after breathing out, it immediatelyunched numerous offensive fire element spells.

    At this very moment, a giant pir of Thunderbolt suddenly fell from the sky, hitting the head of the Crimson Dragon forcefully and causing it to emit electricity immediately. At the same time, Lin Li also appeared outside the attacking range of the Crimson Dragon, and the Helios¡¯ Scepter shone brightly in his hand. While the Crimson Dragon was momentarily paralyzed by the lightning, Lin Li took advantage of it andunched a series of offensive spells that were not extremely powerful, but were appropriate for the situation. It immediately made the Crimson Dragon feel like it was trapped in mud.

    In order to deal with a level-23 Crimson Dragon, Lin Li did not need to use any debris of the stars, and he did not even bother activating the Light and Darkness Domain. Instead, he immediatelyunched Legendary spells at the Crimson Dragon. Actually, using the debris of the stars was undoubtedly the fastest way to kill the Crimson Dragon. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that bold. Although they were already very far from the peak of the mountain, the strong power of the debris of the stars would probably immediately attract Nefa¡¯s attention. Lin Li was still keeping his guard up against Nefa who might be his enemy in the future.

    The battle didn¡¯tst long. Even if Lin Li didn¡¯t use his trump cards, it still wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to subdue the Crimson Dragon based on his own power and the battle experience that he had obtained from Bk¡¯s magical crystal. Even in that battle, Lin Li didn¡¯t use too many Legendary offensive spells orunch his terrifyingly powerful Magic Storm against the Crimson Dragon. Instead, he used his rich battle experience to lead the Crimson Dragon to death.

    Theck ofbat experience due to his rapid growth and progress had always been Lin Li¡¯s shoring. Despite having experienced several adventures and near-death experiences, thebat experience required could not be umted that easily. As one of the ancient deities with the mostbat power and experience umted over thousands of years of engaging in countless battles, Bk made up for Lin Li¡¯s shoring. It could be considered the best thing Lin Li had gained from Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    The adult Crimson Dragon had lived for several more years than Lin Li, butpared to thebat experience that Lin Li had inherited form Bk¡¯s magical crystal, the Crimson Dragon had yet to break free from its instincts as a magical beast. It was just like a child when it fought. As Lin Li expected, the Crimson Dragon finally stopped struggling when it was in Lin Li¡¯s, and its vitality gradually disappeared.

    Standing in front of the Crimson Dragon, Lin Li appeared extremely refreshed, and there wasn¡¯t a single trace of fatigue on his face at all. That was not only due to his near-infinite mana and mental strength. Most importantly, it was because of his use ofbat experience. During that battle, Lin Li¡¯s Elemental Shield wasn¡¯t damaged at all, and the amount of mana and mental strength that he used did not even reach the limit of an ordinary Legendary-mage.

    Just like the corpses of the other magical beasts, the Crimson Dragon¡¯s corpse was ced in the Ring of Endless Storm to apany the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas. Afterwards, Lin Li flew into the Crimson Dragon¡¯s cave, and followed the lead of the aura. He then found the ck lotus blooming in the depths of the cave¡ªas expected. Moreover, what surprised Lin Li was that the ck lotus was actually different from the ordinary ones, and had clearly mutated.

    The outer appearance of the ck lotus was not too different from the normal ones, but the petals were thicker, and the edges of each petal were rimmed with gold that made them look graceful and luxurious. The mutant ck lotus was much more potent than normal ones, and it was also much more violent and difficult to control.

    In order to fully discover the value of the mutant ck lotus, he would still have to carry out a lot of experiments. Only then could he use it in making potions. Well, at least Lin Li didn¡¯t have a better solution or means.

    Lin Li suppressed the excitement he felt, and carefully picked the mutant ck lotus. In fact, the collection of ck lotus didn¡¯t require any special skills. However, once it had been picked, it had to be nourished with rich fire element. Otherwise, it would wither quickly. However, the requirements of the mutant ck lotus were much stricter than those of the ordinary ones. Lin Li considered it for a moment, and thought of the corpse of the Crimson Dragon in his Ring of Endless Storm, after which he decided to move the mutant ck lotus to the Crimson Dragon. He reckoned that the fire element in the blood of the Crimson Dragon should be enough to nourish the mutant ck lotus.

    After collecting the Crimson Dragon and the mutant ck lotus, Lin Li did not leave the cave immediately, but instead continued to search it. Although the world was almost barren, he was still in the cave of a strong Crimson Dragon, after all. How could there be only one mutant ck lotus there? Everyone knew that wyrms enjoyed collecting treasures, and Lin Li didn¡¯t think that the Crimson Dragon didn¡¯t have anything valuable even though it was a world that was poor in resources.

    <i>As expected of a wyrm. There are treasures all over!</i> After searching for a while, Lin Li finally found the treasure vault of the Crimson Dragon. Indeed, it didn¡¯t contain much except some Red ze gemstones of different sizes. There were probably about hundreds of them, and the four that stood out the most were the size of a fist. They looked exactly the same as the excellent gemstones that Lin Li saw in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, but the four he had now were definitely not counterfeits.

    The Red ze gemstones were pure fire-series magical gemstones, and were also the best amongst them. When furnished on staffs or made into magical essories, they would allow the mage to greatly shorten the casting time and increase the power of fire magical spells. The four fist-sized Red ze gemstones in particr were the best of the best, and they were definitely the treasure of fire mages¡¯ dreams.

    The Light and Darkness magic was the one that Lin Li used the most, followed by ice element and lightning type magic. To Lin Li, the Red ze gemstones didn¡¯t seem to be of much use, and even if they were made into staffs, they still couldn¡¯tpare to the Helios¡¯ Scepter. After all, the Helios¡¯ Scepter gave all magic spell a bonus.

    However, out of the numerous mages at the Tower of Dusk, most of them specialized in fire magic. Even the ordinary Red ze gemstones would give them a huge bonus inbat power, what more the four fist-sized gemstones.

    Afterbing the Crimson Dragon¡¯sir, Lin Li continued to search the area for a while, and decided to continue on his journey after realizing that he could not find anything valuable. He headed in the direction that Nefa had mentioned. The area behind him was truly silent and remote. It was truly a barrennd where greenery was scarce. However, there were precious herbs and Legendary-level magical beasts everywhere.

    Lin Li searched while advancing forward. He had no idea how long he had been walking for. After all, he was in a world, and even if he had the support of massive mental strength, it would still require a lot of time to search and collect everything. However, a journey would definitely bepleted regardless of how long it might be. Lin Li finally arrived at the bottom of the volcano, which was also the ce of ovep in the Fire Elemental world.

    It was a world of fire, and Lin Li could see from afar that the entire area was shrouded in red, and the terrifying fiery red fire element was all pouring out from that spot and surging towards the surrounding space like tides. Lin Li had already sensed a wave of heating towards him. It was not just about temperature¡ªthere was a true magic storm made up of the violent fire element. Even with his power, Lin Li had no choice but tounch his Elemental Shield and continuously induce mana into it. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be able to endure for long.

    Through the dim red light, Lin Li could vaguely see the silhouettes of the various fire magical beasts that were moving about rapidly in the world of mes. There were fire birds that were dancing in the air andrge smanders on the ground, along with Fire Dragons, Lord of Fire Elementals, and many other strange creatures that Lin Li could not recognize. It was a true paradise for fire-element creatures. Although the creatures like the Crimson Pythons enjoyed environment rich in fire elements, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to survive there.

    However, there was an eye-catching tinge of green in the middle of the fiery red world. When Lin Li saw it, he felt a sense of joy because the green was obviously there because of the branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    Actually, Lin Li was already somewhat confident that the branch of the Tree of Eternity was still alive after he heard Nefa¡¯s words. If the branch of the Tree of Eternity had already died, it would have very likely lost its power to bnce the Laws. With just a massive amount of mana that was depleting and not recovering, how could it be enough for the two worlds to continue ovepping?

    If the branch of the Tree of Eternity was dead, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind leaving after taking a nce. With his current assets, a dead branch of the Tree of Eternity wouldn¡¯t be worth the risk. Lin Li had plenty of solutions to make Nefa move his feet; hence, it wouldn¡¯t be a huge problem.

    Now that he had really seen the existence of the branch of the Tree of Eternity with his own eyes, he felt more and more determined to get the branch because it was not only a branch, but an opportunity for the resurrection of the Seed of Eternity.

    Staring at the tinge of green amidst the red, Lin Li tried to contain his excitement, and carefully observed the situation inside. Seeing that there was a certain distance between the fire element creatures and the branch of the Tree of Eternity, he managed to get some idea of the general situation. Given his flying speed, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for him to barge in and steal the branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    It would not be impossible to snatch away the branch of the Tree of Eternity, but Lin Li was unsure of what the detailed situation was. Even though the branch of the Tree of Eternity was there, it might not be taken away easily by him.

 Chapter 799 - Giant Blazing Hand

    <h4>Chapter 799: Giant zing Hand</h4>

    If Lin Li did not retreat in time, he would probably have to face the siege of the fire element creatures. If that were to happen, how would he deal with it...

    After much consideration, Lin Li decided that it would be better to be cautious. Hence, he approached the world of red slowly in a bid to get closer and learn more about the actual situation. However, before he could even take a few steps, he heard a loud roar that would make one¡¯s heart tremble¡ªeven though it was not as deafening as a dragon¡¯s roaring from the sky.

    Lin Li quickly stopped and looked up into the sky, only to see a zing cloud of fire descending from the sky and darting towards him. The cloud of fire was right in front of him, and he immediately exerted his Power of Flight to the maximum before he could even identify what it was. He then dodged in another direction, and the cloud of fire that seemed to be falling like a meteor followed. It stopped in the air opposite Lin Li at this moment.

    Lin Li finally had a clear view of the cloud of fire, and realized that it was a crimson bird that was covered in mes which seemed to be its feathers. Heat waves seemed to be surging out in all directions, and massive and violent mana was also spreading to the surroundings with it as the center.

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s the Fire Phoenix!¡± Lin Li finally identified the creature that had suddenly attacked him. It was the terrifying magical beast that existed together with the wyrms in the prehistoric times and the supreme existence among the fire elemental creatures, the Fire Phoenix.

    Legend had it that the Fire Phoenix was born in mes that were terrifying enough to destroy the world, and its body was made up of Annihtion mes that gave it the power to manipte all mes. All of them were extremely powerful and were close to the Sanctuary-realm. They were definitely top-level existences during the prehistoric times. However, the four Elemental Worlds were then separated from Anril by the Titans and wyrms that colluded together. The Fire Phoenix, a terrifying magical beast, had never appeared in Anril from then, and had always been living in the fire Elemental World.

    After hearing Nefa mention that the world would ovep with the fire Elemental World, Lin Li did not think that there would be such fire elemental creatures here. He should have long expected to see the Smanders and the Lord of Fire Elementals. However, the appearance of the Fire Phoenix gave Lin Li a great shock, and the one in front of him was clearly an adult one. The mana that it was giving out was near the Sanctuary-realm.

    While Lin Li was feeling surprised about the Fire Phoenix, the pair of wings that were covering the sky pped twice rapidly as if the phoenix was shaking off its feathers. Countless ming feathers darted at Lin Li rapidly like arrows, shrouding the space that Lin Li could retreat to.

    Although they seemed to be mes, Lin Li could clearly feel that every one of them definitely contained horrifying power. Perhaps even the Infernal Magic Iron that was famous for its high melting point and heat resistance would melt immediately. Although Lin Li had been using his Elemental Shield, he dared not move closer to it at all under such circumstances, because the Annihtion mes were definitely not something that magical defense could withstand.

    The overwhelming fire feathers were moving instantaneously, and ordinary Legendary-mages would probably have no other means except to turn around and run away. However, Lin Li raised his arm without feeling flustered, and pointed the gemstone of Dream Garden towards the endless fire. Next, a petite head popped up from the ring, and opened its mouth while facing the mes.

    All of a sudden, the fire feathers immediately surged towards the mouth of the baby Elemental Wyrm as if there was an irresistible attraction, forming arge funnel-like vortex. In the blink of an eye, the fire feathers disappeared. Xiao Hua popped its head out, opened its mouth, and spat out some sparks before returning to Dream Garden again.

    Seeing that its own fire feathers were devouredpletely by a strange little thing instead of turning Lin Li, the outsider, into ashes, the Fire Phoenix flew into a rage and roared loudly. The mes on its body suddenly erupted, and leaped towards Lin Li fiercely like a small hot sun.

    The Elemental Wyrm could devour the fire feathers that darted out because they wereposed of pure fire element, but it was obviously impossible for it to devour the Fire Phoenix which had powers that were close to the Sanctuary-realm. Of course, Lin Li did not expect Xiao Hua to be able to devour the Fire Phoenix in one go. Perhaps the Dragon of Dream would be able to do so, but Xiao Hua was still far from that level. At this moment, Lin Li had already activated his Light and Darkness Domain without hesitation, taking advantage of the opportunity that Xiao Hua had created. When the Fire Phoenix leaped towards him, the Light and Darkness Sword had already condensed in the sky.

    Facing the fierce Fire Phoenix, Lin Li did not evade, and instead pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward. The sword in the air immediately shed the fireball that the Fire Phoenix had transformed into. In an instant, there was a loud bang, and the Light and Darkness Sword hit the giant fireball in the middle. The Light and Darkness Sword shattered, while the Fire Phoenix wailed and rolled backward, leaving behind countless ming feathers along the way.

    <i>It¡¯s no wonder that it¡¯s a powerful presence that once rose with the Wyrms!</i> Lin Li thought to himself secretly when he saw that he had only caused the Fire Phoenix to retreat a little. However, he wasn¡¯t too disappointed, because he¡¯d condensed his Light and Darkness Sword using his own power this time. He had not used the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark at all. Lin Li was now just a Legendary-mage who was at the peak of level-23. The fact that he could use his own powers to strike a Fire Phoenix that was near the Sanctuary-realm was enough to prove that he had reached an astonishing stage of enlightenment of the Power of Light and Darkness. It was also because he had read the Light Bible and the Darkness scripture.

    It was not that Lin Li didn¡¯t want to use the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, but he just didn¡¯t dare to use Holy Light, because there was still a high priest of the Darkness Shrine in the fire Elemental World who didn¡¯t know about the current situation. If Lin Li were to take out his Holy Light, get mistaken as the Son of the Holy Light, and end up getting killed by the high priest, he would be terribly wronged.

    As for Gloomy Dark, he could use it freely, but the Light and Darkness Sword required both light and Darkness to be bnced. If he were to use Darkness alone, it would either disrupt the bnce or end up unable to exert its power. Hence, there was no difference between using it or not.

    Lin Li had more than just Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. He also had the other debris of the stars such as Rebirth, Thunderbolt, and Nothingness, which were all enough to increasebat power, but after reading the darkness scripture and gaining some pointers from Sendros, Lin Li had also learned about several methods for using Dark Force. The situation now was a good opportunity for him to try his hand at using what he had learned.

    When the Fire Phoenix was repelled and thrown off bnce, Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain suddenly transformed, and the Power of Lightpletely converged. The Dark Force became everything that supported the Magical Domain, and the Light and Darkness Domain had instantly turned into the Eternal Darkness Domain, while the debris of the stars¡ªGloomy Dark¡ªwas integrated into the Magical Domain. Of course, strictly speaking, it could only be considered a pseudo-Eternal Darkness Domain because the Laws that constituted that domain were, in reality, still the Laws of Darkness from the Light and Darkness Domain. It was still different from the actual Eternal Darkness Laws.

    Now that Lin Li had seized the opportunity, he¡¯d naturally not let the Fire Phoenix retaliate again. Countless shadow tentacles formed in the Eternal Darkness Domain, and wereshing the Fire Phoenix forcefully. The cackling mes on its body began quivering violently before it could even react. At the same time, one of the shadow tentacles was immediately burned into ashes by the Annihtion mes.

    Although the Fire Phoenix was overwhelmed, most Dark Mages would have their mana depleted before the Fire Phoenix was subdued after the taxing attacks. However, Lin Li didn¡¯tck mana at all. Besides, he had the support of the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark. After one of the tentacles vanished, the rest continued to whip the Fire Phoenix. While the shadow tentacles were moving, all sorts of powerful Dark Magic offensive spells surged out through the gaps. Although they couldn¡¯t deal any major damage to the Fire Phoenix, the mes on the Fire Phoenix were gradually dimming too.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s fierce pursuit, the fierce cries of the Fire Phoenix that were full of exasperation and indignation intertwined with the loud sounds of explosion. Sparks were darting everywhere andnding on the ground as if it rained fire. Actually, there was already a clear winner at this juncture. The Fire Phoenix was merely relying on the support of the Annihtion mes, and it was only a matter of time before it got defeated.

    However, at this moment, a giant palm that was covered in mes was suddenly extended from the fire Elemental World, and it clutched the Fire Phoenix that had already been defeated. With a loud bang, the Fire Phoenix that was near the Sanctuary-realm suddenly copsed in an instant, and returned to the purest fire element. Its vitality vanished forever as well.

    Lin Li got a great shock. Although he could also kill the Fire Phoenix on his own, he definitely couldn¡¯t do it so easily. After all, the Fire Phoenix was near the Sanctuary-realm, and was extremely powerful even for a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, who could not kill it easily.

    <i>How terrifying must the owner of the fire palm be!?</i>

    <i>Damn it, that bastard Nefa. It¡¯s no wonder that his father got killed and he¡¯s trapped in such a ce!</i> Lin Li cursed in his head while putting away the Magical Domain. He then turned around in a bid to escape quickly. Lin Li had self-awareness, and he knew that no matter how many trump cards he had, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use them here. Although the branch of the Tree of Eternity might be important, it still meant less to him than his life did.

 Chapter 800 - The High Priest

    <h4>Chapter 800: The High Priest</h4>

    ¡°Young man, please wait a minute. Don¡¯t be afraid, I won¡¯t hurt you,¡± said an old-sounding voice which came from the fiery red fire Elemental World. His tone was full of kindness.

    Upon hearing his words, Lin Li hesitated for a while, and stopped in the end. He turned around while keeping his guard up and looked in the direction the voice came from. All he could see was a thin figure standing amidst the mes and walking out slowly as the mes parted to make way for him. Lin Li could feel a massive and terrifying aura of Darknessing from that figure, much richer than that of the Eternal Darkness Altar. However, at the same time, there was also an incredibly hot aura that seemed to be as intense as the aura of Darkness.

    ¡°You... Are you High Priest Rogge?¡± Lin Li asked when he detected the terrifying aura of Darkness, which reminded him of the things that Nefa had told him previously. Hence, he tried to find out something.

    At this moment, the figurepletely walked out of the fire Elemental World, and was right in front of Lin Li. However, Lin Li was very surprised by the fact that his body seemed to beposed of flowing mes even though he was still in human form, making him look like a fire elemental. However,pared to the ordinary fire elementals, the figure in front of Lin Li contained power that was a countless times stronger, and the aura that it gave out alone was enough to make Lin Li feel powerless.

    <i>His power is absolutely above the Sanctuary-realm!</i> Lin Li thought to himself while secretlyparing the aura of the figure to that of the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm he had met. He reckoned that only the arbitrators of the Supreme Council would beparable to the figure in front of him. At the same time, it also confirmed Lin Li¡¯s previous guess about the figure being High Priest Rogge, who was second only to Geresco. Nefa had also mentioned that after High Priest Rogge entered, his powers increased greatly; hence, it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising for him to be as powerful as Megard and Apophis.

    ¡°Yes, young man, I¡¯m Rogge, the high priest of the Darkness Shrine,¡± the figure admitted with a nod, thus acknowledging his identity. However, he continued in a regretful tone, ¡°But even if I go back to Anril, I doubt anyone would recognize me now that I¡¯m in this state.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here, you...¡± Lin Li scratched his head, and didn¡¯t know what to say to Rogge. <i>Should I ask him if he¡¯s doing well here? Well, he¡¯s already in such a state, obviously he isn¡¯t doing well! Should I ask him how he ended up like this? However, that seems to be rubbing salt into his wound.</i>

    Although many mages in Anril had chosen to transform themselves into Liches in order to prolong their lives, not everyone would be willing to take on a non-human form. By the end of the Dark Age, Rogge was already a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, and he was second only to Geresco. Hence, there was no need for him to worry about his lifespan at all. However, he ended up in such a state. Would he mind it or not?

    If it were someone else, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have bothered to contemte what to say, and would simply ask whatever he wanted without sparing a thought for their feelings. However, now that Lin Li was facing High Priest Rogge, he couldn¡¯t help but worry about the respectable old man¡¯s feelings. It was not because he was afraid of Rogge¡¯s power, but because he genuinely respected Rogge after hearing about his experiences in life. Hence, he didn¡¯t want to say anything inappropriate.

    Regarding Lin Li¡¯s awkwardness, Rogge simply chuckled, and asked, ¡°Young man, do you mind telling me what your name is?¡±

    Rogge¡¯s question immediately made Lin Li feel less awkward as he hurriedly answered, ¡°High Priest, you may call me Felic. I¡¯m just a mage.¡± Still feeling a little nervous, Lin Li ended up bbering redundant nonsense. He was dressed exactly like a mage, and had just fought the Fire Phoenix. It was obvious that he was a mage.

    ¡°Felic, I¡¯m really surprised by how powerful you are even though you¡¯re still so young,¡± Rogge said while staring at Lin Li and nodding gently. He seemed to be praising Lin Li. Afterwards, he asked, ¡°However, can you tell me how you got here, and what you¡¯re here for?¡±

    Rogge¡¯s benevolent and kind tone made Lin Li feel much more relieved; hence, he didn¡¯t hide any information. Instead, he told Rogge truthfully in detail about how he had entered through the big crack in the Eternal Darkness Altar and then reached an agreement with Nefa to collect the branch of the Tree of Eternity below the volcano.

    After listening to Lin Li¡¯s story quietly, Rogge smilingly said, ¡°Oh, so it was that little ck dragon who put you up to this. He¡¯s still that cunning.¡±

    Lin Li was shocked to hear Rogge¡¯s words. He wondered, <i>Did I end up falling into Nefa¡¯s trap despite having been cautious all along?</i> However, he recalled his conversation with Nefa again, and it seemed that there was no obvious loophole. Besides, Nefa had also sworn upon his soul that he would never do anything to harm Lin Li.

    Seemingly having noticed that Lin Li was confused, Rogge continued before Lin Li could even ask him anything. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, what he told you is true, but you seem to have overlooked something. After you fulfill his request, the two worlds will have returned to their original positions, and without the power of the fire Elemental World, how can he still open up a passage to send you back?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± Lin Li froze for a moment, and anger overwhelmed him all of a sudden. Unable to contain it any longer, he yelled, ¡°Damn it, that bastard Nefa actually set me up!¡±

    More importantly, both Lin Li and Nefa had sworn upon their souls that they would not be able to retaliate or take revenge even if they were to find out that they had been duped. After all, the Soul Oath was meant to ensure that both parties would never harm each other.

    ¡°Hehe, Felic, don¡¯t worry. I can send you back if you want to leave this ce,¡± Rogge said smilingly after Lin Li vented his anger for a while.

    Lin Li definitely trusted Rogge¡¯s words, and he calmed down quickly. He didn¡¯t ask about how Rogge could send him back, but took the rare opportunity to ask other questions. After all, Rogge was a high priest who belonged to the same era as Geresco. Hence, he definitely knew about the events that took ce during the Dark Age in greater detail. Lin Li could tell, especially from the information in the Darkness scripture, that Rogge should have a deep understanding of the spacetime rift in Anril.

    ¡°High Priest, I have read some information about the big crack that you wrote in the Darkness scripture, but I still have some questions. Could you exin to me in detail?¡± asked Lin Li, who was no longer worried about how he¡¯d make his way back. The first thing Lin Li thought of were the words that Rogge had left in the Darkness scripture which neither he nor Sendros could decipherpletely. They could only manage to read some words that had unclear meanings and were of unknown significance. Since the person who had written those words was right in front of him now, he would obviously take the chance to ask about it.

    ¡°Yes, this is indeed the big crack I mentioned, but it does not only refer to this ce,¡± said Rogge. He was not surprised that Lin Li had seen the Darkness scripture. After all, the Eternal Darkness Altar was a forbidden area of the Dark Temple, and only the ones the Darkness Shrine trusted would be permitted entry.

    Rogge¡¯s words made Lin Li freeze in shock for a moment, but he instantly understood what he meant. He asked in surprise, ¡°You mean, there is more than one such big crack in Anril?¡±

    Rogge nodded, and patiently continued, ¡°Yes. Back then, Geresco had no choice but to push the Tree of Eternity and make it fall in order topletely overthrow the rule of the High Elves. However, when the Tree of Eternity copsed, he also noticed that there was a crack in the bnce of the World Laws. Hence, he traveled through Anril and personally probed the cracks in spacetime that showed up in every corner, and spent 10 years studying them. After making a lot ofplicated calctions, Geresco concluded that the cracks that appeared in spacetime as the Tree of Eternity copsed would continue to deteriorate and eventually end up bing destructive disasters to Anril, even though some would be slowly repaired by the Laws of Anril.¡±

    He was also tasked with another immensely difficult task¡ªto seal the cracks in spacetime using a spell written in the Book of Eternity during the disaster. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t like being a world savior, he couldn¡¯t sit back and do nothing when disaster actually struck! He simply hoped that the difficulty of that task wouldn¡¯t be too exaggerated.

    ¡°There are a total of six such cracks, five of which are already upied by the prehistoric magical beasts. Once the cracks expand to a certain extent, the prehistoric magical beasts can barge into Anril through these cracks and carry out a massacre. Although there were no prehistoric magical beasts in thest crack, there is an even more terrifying danger lurking there. Once something goes wrong, a real catastrophe will descend upon Anril.¡± At this point, Rogge¡¯s tone was full of worry.

    Lin Li had always felt that there were still a few powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm amongst humans, and that even if the prehistoric magical beasts were to invade Anril, they wouldn¡¯t be able to really cause a devastating disaster. However, after hearing Rogge¡¯s words, Lin Li suddenly realized that the problem wasn¡¯t just about the prehistoric magical beasts.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t continue to harp on that question. After all, even a powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm like Rogge had described it as a terrifying danger. In that case, as a mere Legendary-mage, Lin Li felt that he ought to improve his own abilities. At the thought of this, Lin Li looked past Rogge and stole a nce at the branch of the Tree of Eternity in the fire Elemental World before asking, ¡°High Priest, what happened to Nefa? Was he really tricked by Geresco intoing here? Given Geresco¡¯s abilities, it should be easy for him to just kill Nefa. Why did he have to go to that trouble?¡±

 Chapter 801 - Cause of the Catastrophe

    <h4>Chapter 801: Cause of the Catastrophe</h4>

    Lin Li needed to use the branch of Eternity to revive the Seed of Eternity, yet the branch of Eternity was why Nefa was trapped here. If Geresco had designed everything here, then it was necessary for Lin Li to consider Rogge¡¯s opinion now if he wanted to get the branch of Eternity. Also, Lin Li was embarrassed to ask for it directly. Now, he needed to figure out how important the branch of Eternity was to this ce. If it was really irreceable, then he wouldn¡¯t stand any chance.

    ¡°That little ck dragon! At the end of the dark age, he proimed himself the new Dragon of Destruction, but was defeated by Geresco. Geresco wanted to kill him directly, but he had a good brother who pleaded for his life in front of Geresco. So, Geresco changed his mind, and trapped him in this world using this method.¡± Obviously, Rogge didn¡¯t know Lin Li¡¯s urgent desire for the branch of Eternity, and thought that he was just curious.

    Lin Li thought, <i>So that¡¯s the truth! That Nefa thought too highly of himself! He survived because Tutankhamun pleaded for his life, but he told me that Geresco tricked him intoing here!</i> Lin Li found it funny, but another question came up in his mind next. Wasn¡¯t it the Immortal King who didn¡¯t want Nefa bing the new Dragon of Destruction? Why did Geresco do something that the Immortal King would do?

    In the historical documents and various myths about the dark age, there wasn¡¯t any mention of Nefa at all. This meant that Nefa probably didn¡¯t cause any trouble for the rebellion forces when the human coalition was fighting against the High Elves. In that case, the chief of the coalition, Geresco, wouldn¡¯t need to deal with Nefa, not to mention killing him. If there was anything that could make Geresco strike, it would be the fact that Nefa wanted to be the next Dragon of Destruction.

    Although the Immortal King had disappeared, the one who inherited his legacy should be his proud disciple Osric! How could it be Geresco? Lin Li suddenly remembered an incident back at the Scar of Death when he was fighting for the debris of the stars. He had seen a diary which belonged to a royal High Elf. In thest part of the diary, the High Elf wrote sentences like ¡°He¡¯s not Geresco! He¡¯s the Immortal King!¡± with ecstasy. Could it be that the two most powerful beings to have ever existed in Anril¡ªGeresco and the Immortal King¡ªhad some connection that nobody knew?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t ask Rogge about this. No matter what connection Geresco and the Immortal King had, it wasn¡¯t something for him to worry about now. He nodded and continued to ask Rogge about Nefa. ¡°I see, but wasn¡¯t Geresco afraid that somebody would release Nefa from this world after he left? If not for you, I would have believed Nefa, and he would have gotten his freedom now.¡±

    That was the question that puzzled Lin Li. Not mentioning the rtionship between Geresco and the Immortal King, it turned out that Geresco also didn¡¯t want Nefa to be the Dragon of Destruction. The simplest method to achieve that was undoubtedly killing him. Geresco had already prepared to do that, but how could he give up such a good chance to end all worries just because of Tutankhamun¡¯s plea and choose to confine Nefa in such a troublesome way? It was like turning a death penalty into life imprisonment¡ªanything was possible as long as Nefa was alive.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think Nefa would have requested him to take the branch of Eternity if he had known Lin Li would meet Rogge here. Nobody would be foolish enough to deceive a person who would meet someone who could easily expose his lies. Evidently, Nefa was quite confident that the two of them wouldn¡¯t meet. However, Nefa¡¯s n failed due to some unknown reason. If not, Lin Li would have gotten the branch of Eternity and broken Geresco¡¯s seal already.

    Rogge patiently exined to Lin Li, ¡°Even if he can leave this ce, he won¡¯t dare to go back to Anril. Although Geresco had spared his life due to Tutankhamun¡¯s plea, he had also made Tutankhamun promise that he would personally kill Nefa should thettere back to Anril. Although Tutankhamun¡¯s power is a bit lower than that of his brother, Geresco taught him some tricks that can guarantee him to keep his promise.¡±

    ¡°No wonder.¡± Lin Li had also spected that since Tutankhamun and Nefa were hatched from the same magical crystal, their strength should be simr. Since Tutankhamun was guarding the ckstone Mountains now, he surely had some way to control Nefa. However, Lin Li had thought that Tutankhamun had learnt the method of controlling Nefa from the Immortal King. It turned out that Geresco was the one who taught him that in order to fulfill his promise.

    ¡°As for you meeting me here, that¡¯s an ident that little ck dragon didn¡¯t think of. He probably knew that I will be in deep sleep now, so he asked you to get the branch of Eternity from here. However, I felt extremely pure dark force in my sleep. I thought that the Lord of Darkness has arrived, so I woke up earlier.¡± With that, Rogge peered at Lin Li withplicated feelings.

    Lin Li knew that the pure dark force Rogge talked about was the energy released from Gloomy Dark when he was battling the Fire Phoenix. Seeing Rogge looking at him with a strange expression, Lin Li felt very pressured. Although this high priest of Darkness didn¡¯t point it out directly like Sendros, his nce seemed to be suggesting that he took Lin Li as the incarnation of darkness.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t dare continue this topic. Hearing that Rogge had finally mentioned the branch of Eternity, he curiously asked, ¡°High Priest, is the branch of Eternity really so powerful? It maintains the state where two worlds ovep. I¡¯m lucky to meet you here! If I¡¯d really taken it away easily, I would have fallen into Nefa¡¯s trap.¡±

    ¡°That little ck dragon didn¡¯t deceive you on this point. These two worlds ovep because of this branch of Eternity. Although the ovepping space won¡¯t recover immediately once you take the branch of Eternity away, the process is almost irreversible. Even if you wanted to put the branch back, you wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, at least not with your current power. Moreover, Nefa probably didn¡¯t tell you. If you took the branch of Eternity in my sleep, most of the energy in this fire element world would explode. Being the center of this explosion, I would lose consciousness and sink into endless bloody ughter.¡± Rogge revealed another shocking piece of information using a calm voice.

    Although Rogge sounded very calm as if talking about someone else, Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing it. If Rogge really became a fire monster that only knew how to kill, then he would be the first to face it. After all, Rogge had been a Sanctuary-realm arbitrator at the Supreme Council. If that really happened, none of his tricks would be sufficient to save Lin Li from death under Rogge¡¯s hands. Thinking of this, Lin Li shuddered. He would be more than happy to skin that wretched Nefa alive now.

    After almost being tricked by Nefa, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t help him break the seal. He told himself that he would rather not obtain the branch of Eternity than let thatd escape the torture of the seal. After all, High Priest Rogge told him he had a way to transport Lin Li back to Anril. It was better to understand more about the dark age from Rogge now. If not, his trip would be wasted.

    ¡°In the blink of an eye, 1,000-plus years have passed since I came here. I don¡¯t know how¡¯s the outside world now, how¡¯s the Darkness Shrine.¡± After Rogge had told Lin Li some happenings during the dark age, he started to inquire Lin Li about the outside world now. As he was the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, Rogge¡¯s concern about the Darkness Shrine didn¡¯t fade with time.

    ¡°Anril is rather peaceful now. Although the kingdoms sh frequently, there¡¯s no proper war. But the Darkness Shrine...¡± Speaking of the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li eyed Rogge cautiously, and continued, ¡°The Darkness Shrine has been weakened quite a bit these years, and can no longer match the Brilliance Shrine, especially after it experienced a catastrophe about 600 years after you¡¯ve left. The prehistoric magical beasts from this world arrived at the Darkness Shrine through the crack in the Eternal Darkness Altar. They caused severe damage to the shrine and almost destroyed it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Nefa did that when I was asleep the previous time. He wanted to threaten me with that to help him get the branch of Eternity. However, that¡¯s all he could do. After all, he certainly couldn¡¯t release energy from the fire element world for a prolonged period of time.¡± Rogge didn¡¯t seem to mind this heavy blow to the Darkness Shrine.

    If others saw Rogge¡¯s reaction now, they would probably think that this high priest didn¡¯t have feelings for the Darkness Shrine anymore. However, Lin Li knew that Rogge wasn¡¯t being cold and emotionless, but had much more important tasks here, and had strong faith in the Darkness Shrine.

 Chapter 802 - Talent Wasted

    <h4>Chapter 802: Talent Wasted</h4>

    ¡°The chief high priest of the Darkness Shrine now is Master Sendros, who¡¯s also a very admirable elder. Under his lead, the Darkness Shrine has recovered quite a bit. However, Master Sendros sensed some abnormality at the Eternal Darkness Altar recently. He thinks that the catastrophe in the past may ur again, so he is rather worried.¡± Lin Li continued to introduce the situation of the Darkness Shrine now. Although he had just entered the Darkness Shrine not too long ago, Sendros had already considered him the incarnation of darkness, so he didn¡¯t treat Lin Li as an outsider. Because of that, Lin Li knew quite a lot about the Darkness Shrine.

    Rogge nodded. He was very satisfied with Sendros as his sessor. However, he frowned upon hearing Lin Li mention the other high priests in the Darkness Council, and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a member of the Darkness Shrine, Felic?¡±

    ¡°I manage a small Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins. Master Sendros invited me to the Darkness Shrine as a guest during this period, and I encountered this situation.¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t being humble. Although the Tower of Dusk was developing pretty well now, its was still merely a small Guild of Magicpared to the Darkness Shrine. He didn¡¯t mention that Sendros had invited him because of this incident, and reversed the cause-effect order. If not, he¡¯d have to exin about the matter regarding the incarnation of darkness.

    ¡°No wonder! With your abilities, you could definitely enter the Darkness Council if you were in the Darkness Shrine. Are Apophis and the Supreme Council blind without Geresco? How can they just let you be the President of a small Guild of Magic! If Geresco knew about this, he¡¯d probably be angry to death.¡± Evidently, Rogge attributed Lin Li¡¯s position as the President of a Guild of Magic to the misjudgment of the Supreme Council. He wasn¡¯t at all polite to scold all the arbitrators in the Supreme Council, including Apophis. In Anril now, given that Geresco was nowhere to be found, perhaps Rogge was the only one who had the right to scold Apophis.

    Apophis was so unjustly scolded. Lin Li silently wiped his sweat, and could only apologize to Apophis in his heart.

    ¡°Felic, why don¡¯t youe to the Darkness Shrine? I will give you a token, and you can pass the token to Sendros when you go back. I believe that you¡¯ll definitely be able to secure a ce in the Darkness Shrine given your abilities.¡± As someone who valued talent, Rogge wanted to recruit this young genius mage for the Darkness Shrine given the fact that its recent developments were not so good.

    Actually, there was nothing wrong with Rogge¡¯s thoughts. After all, other than President Aldwin of the nna Guild of Magic, other Presidents seldom reached Legendary-level. President Gerian of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic was only level-15 when he first became President. The Presidents from the Guilds of Magic of other countries were also only level-17 or 18. On the other hand, Lin Li was a Legendary-mage at the peak of level-23. It was really a waste of talent for him to be the President of a Guild of Magic.

    Obviously, Lin Li couldn¡¯t boast that his Tower of Dusk would surpass the Darkness Shrine sooner orter in front of Rogge. He could only give excuses such as he didn¡¯t have the aspiration, and was already very content with his current status. Rogge could naturally sense Lin Li¡¯s reluctance, and didn¡¯t speak of joining the Darkness Shrine anymore. After giving Lin Li a long look, he moved on to another topic.

    After some conversation, Lin Li understood more about incidents that had happened during the Dark Age. He also told Rogge briefly about the current situation in Anril. By then, Lin Li felt it was about time for him to leave since he could neither teach Nefa a lesson nor obtain the branch of Eternity. Moreover, the catastrophe at the Darkness Shrinest time was because Rogge had been asleep. Now that High Priest Rogge was awakened, the catastrophe probably wouldn¡¯t ur again.

    ¡°High Priest, I¡¯m honored to discuss so many questions with you. However, Master Sendros is probably very anxious now given that I havee in for so long. Do you have any word for me to bring back for the Darkness Shrine?¡± asked Lin Li respectfully.

    Rogge contemted for a moment, and replied, ¡°I indeed have a favor to ask.¡±

    ¡°Please. I will do whatever I can to help you.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate to reply, not only because he needed Rogge¡¯s help to go back, but also out of respect for this high priest. Moreover, he believed that Rogge wouldn¡¯t request him to do something above his capabilities. Thus, he was very happy to do something for this admirable elder.

    Rogge nodded, and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a difficult task. I hope that you can go back to the mountaintop and tell that little ck dragon that I can give him the branch of Eternity. However, he has toe down to help me with something first.¡±

    ¡°What? Give him the branch of Eternity? Won¡¯t he...¡± Lin Li was shocked at Rogge¡¯s words, but given that there was still Tutankhamun outside, Nefa probably wouldn¡¯t enjoy any real freedom even if he was out. At least he wouldn¡¯t dare to step onto the grounds of Anril. There was still another question that Lin Li couldn¡¯t figure out, so he asked Rogge, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Nefa need to suppress the strength of this fire element world at the mountaintop? He probably won¡¯t be able toe down to see you.¡±

    Rogge smiled, and asserted, ¡°No worries, I can help him suppress that strength. You just need to bring my words to him. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t reject it.¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and replied, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bring your words to him.¡± Although he really wanted the branch of Eternity, what Rogge wanted to do wasn¡¯t something he could help with given his current abilities. As for the branch, it was good enough knowing who it was with now. Given the speed of his improvement now, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to snatch the branch from Nefa when his power was good enough.

    After a temporary goodbye with Rogge, Lin Li immediately headed back to the top of the volcano. He had wasted some time when he first entered this world to harvest its valuable materials, so he didn¡¯t need to waste any time on the way back. Lin Li used the Power of Flight directly, and shot towards the mountaintop like a sh of lightning. After just a moment of time, he had reached the peak.

    <i>What did that human mage do? Why is Rogge awake now?</i> Nefa felt very uneasy because he could sense Rogge¡¯s aura from here. This meant that Rogge had already been awakened from his deep slumber, which was something Nefa hadn¡¯t expected at all. Although the ever tormenting power had suddenly disappeared just now, Nefa wasn¡¯t at all relieved. He racked his brains, trying to figure out what happened down below.

    Just then, Lin Li passed the prehistoric magical beasts directly from the top andnded in front of Nefa. As Nefa had tried to set him up, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any positive feelings towards Nefa. However, he suppressed his resentment since Rogge had asked for Nefa¡¯s help. Lin Li red at him, and said, ¡°You must be really disappointed that I came back here alive.¡±

    ¡°Huh, it¡¯s not like that. Did you meet Rogge below?¡± Nefa knew that Rogge had revealed all his tricks, so he didn¡¯t know how to reply to Lin Li at this moment, and could only change the topic.

    ¡°You should be very clear what I mean!¡± Lin Li struggled to stop himself from skinning this dragon, and sneered, ¡°High Priest Rogge wants to see you. If you want to obtain the branch of Eternity, follow me to the foot of the mountain now.¡±

    Nefa¡¯s eyelids twitched. From Lin Li¡¯s words, he knew that the tormenting power suddenly disappeared because of Rogge. Rogge¡¯s abilities must have improved considerably during his slumber. Although that confining power had disappeared, Nefa knew that he was still not free. Other than the fact that he didn¡¯t have to endure the tortures of this fire element world¡¯s power, the circumstances he was in now were no different from before.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nefa nodded unwillingly. Although he knew that Rogge wouldn¡¯t call him for anything good, he had no other choice. Where else could he go? His good brother was still waiting to kill him in Anril, while this fire element world was totally a forbidden zone for him.

    Seeing that Nefa had agreed, Lin Li didn¡¯t wait for him, and directly flew downhill. Nefa looked around, thought for a moment, and followed Lin Li with a bitter smile on his face. Although Nefa didn¡¯t want to work for Rogge, the enticement of the branch of Eternity was too strong. Even though he had told Lin Li that he could take the branch away, Lin Li would never be able to get the branch even if that n was sessful.

    The two soon reached the foot of the volcano. Rogge stood there waiting for them, his body burning in mes. Originally, Nefa had thought little of Lin Li¡¯s abilities. After all, a level-23 Legendary-mage was just a bigger ant to a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse. However, after this flight, Nefa was shocked to realize that he couldn¡¯t even catch up with this human mage using Power of Flight even though he was a wyrm and flying was instinctive for him.

    Obviously, Nefa wouldn¡¯t know that Lin Li could use the Levitation Spell like the Power of Flight back when he had been just an Archmage. After stepping into the Legendary-realm, he put in immense effort to practice his Power of Flight. Not to mention power, there were less than 10 people in Anril who could catch up with Lin Li. Although Lin Li often seemed like he would confront all obstacles with bravery, he didn¡¯t ck at all in terms of obtaining skills that allowed him to retreat fast when his life was threatened.

 Chapter 803 - Flame Dragon Lothar

    <h4>Chapter 803: me Dragon Lothar</h4>

    ¡°Old Rogge, do you want me to do something for you when you say that you¡¯ll give the branch of Eternity to me?¡± Nefanded on a spot opposite Rogge which he personally thought was safe. After all, he was wary of this Dark Mage who had been his neighbor for hundreds of years.

    ¡°Right, I need you to coborate with me for something. Once it¡¯s done, I can give you the branch of Eternity.¡± Rogge wasn¡¯t bothered by Nefa¡¯s rude tone, and directly stated his demand.

    ¡°Coborate? What kind of task can¡¯t you aplish yourself and need my help with?¡± Nefa looked rmed. No one was clearer about Rogge¡¯s abilities than Nefa, especially after Rogge had transformed into his current state. When Rogge needed to coborate with others even with such terrifying abilities, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be a simple task.

    Rogge stared at Nefa, and replied, ¡°It¡¯s all because of you.¡±

    ¡°Because of me? What a joke!¡± Nefa looked like he wasughing, but his eyes were still filled with wariness. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve always been tormented by the seal at the mountaintop. If anything, Geresco is to me.¡±

    Rogge wasn¡¯t angered by Nefa¡¯s attitude. He calmly exined, ¡°Because you¡¯ve released the power of this fire element world several times, the seal was damaged, and the spacetime rift in the outside world has started to expand. Thus, this dimension that existed in the crack has also be unstable. I¡¯ve already sensed that a terrifying presence will be awakened soon in the fire element world. If he is awakened, the bnce of Elemental Power in the whole world will be destroyed. You should know what catastrophe that will cause.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried about the Darkness Shrine, aren¡¯t you? I thought that you don¡¯t care about it anymore! Although the Darkness Shrine would feel the impact first should anything happen in this dimension, what does it have to do with me?¡± Nefa pretended to be lighthearted, but he was rather worried internally since Rogge wasn¡¯t someone who liked to exaggerate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the first to feel the impact isn¡¯t the Darkness Shrine, but you and me.¡± Rogge hit the nail on the head. No matter what would happen to the Darkness Shrine, Nefa and he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape, since they were in this dimension. As such, Nefa had to do this whether he was willing or not.

    ¡°You... Never mind. Tell me what you want to do.¡± Nefa knew that Rogge was telling the truth. After all, the most likely oue of the loss of bnce of Elemental Power was the copse of this world. Even though he was the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, he most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to make it out alive.

    ¡°I believe you¡¯ve heard of the ancient me Dragon called Lothar who sleeps in this fire element world. After my slumber this time, I can clearly feel that he¡¯s going to awake soon¡ª¡± Even with Rogge¡¯sposure, his tone was filled with worry when he announced this piece of information.

    Upon hearing this piece of news, Nefa jumped without letting Rogge finish his sentence, and yelled, ¡°Impossible! So you want me to deal with Lothar together with you? Don¡¯t you know how powerful Lothar is? Even my father couldn¡¯t defeat Lothar easily, and he has simr powerpared to the Dragon Aspects! No, I would rather face my brother in the outside world than follow you on a crazy quest. I advise you to leave here and bring your Darkness Shrine as far as possible. Our strength is nothingpared to Lothar¡¯s.¡±

    When Rogge asked Lin Li to look for Nefa, Lin Li knew that what Rogge wanted to do was not so simple. However, he didn¡¯t expect Rogge to be dealing with an ancient me dragon. After hearing Nefa¡¯s words, Lin Li had some understanding of the ancient me Dragon Lothar¡¯s level of power. Given the fact that his nearly matched that of the Dragon Aspects, Tutankhamun probably was also no match for him. This was really something Lin Li couldn¡¯t help with at all. Even if he put out all his trump cards, it would also be impossible for him to hurt Lothar a single bit.

    It was just too crazy tobat an ancient me dragon! Honestly speaking, even Lin Li agreed with Nefa now. Everyone should just avoid Lothar as far as possible. No matter what would happen when the me dragon got into Anril, at least the Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t just sit back and do nothing. Then, the Sanctuary powerhouses would probably defeat the me dragon together.

    Although Nefa outright rejected Rogge¡¯s offer, Rogge didn¡¯t give up, and unhurriedly said, ¡°As the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction who vowed to be the new Dragon of Destruction, you are scared so easily? me Dragon Lothar is indeed very powerful, but we have a chance if we coborate. The branch of Eternity that you desire is just here. As long as you agree to coborate, it¡¯s yours after everything is done.¡±

    Nefa looked at the shade of green in this crimson-colored world, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. He shook his head, and replied, ¡°Although I really want this branch, my life is still more important. me Dragon Lothar is a lunatic that we definitely can¡¯t defeat. I won¡¯t go crazy with you.¡±

    ¡°Do you think you have a choice? At least you still stand a chance facing Lothar, but do you think the skills Geresco has taught Tutankhamun are useless? You are very clear of Tutankhamun¡¯s personality. Although you two are biological brothers, and he pleaded for your life in front of Geresco, he will definitely keep his promise that he has made to Geresco. Do you want to die in your own brother¡¯s hands, or fight for your chance of survival against Lothar?¡±

    Rogge¡¯s words were rather cruel, but it was the truth that Nefa had to admit. Although Nefa was a bit stronger than Tutankhamun, Tutankhamun had learned skills that specifically countered Nefa from Geresco. Unless Nefa became the new Dragon of Destruction, he would be defeated no matter how much stronger he waspared to Tutankhamun. Moreover, with the special telepathic connection between the brothers, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from Tutankhamun once he stepped into Anril no matter where he hid. That stubborn brother of his wouldn¡¯t let him off so easily even if he cared about him.

    ¡°Fight for survival... It¡¯s easier said than done. That¡¯s me Dragon Lothar...¡± Nefa felt extremely conflicted now. He was doomed to die no matter what he chose; it was just a matter of how he¡¯d die. <i>Damn it! If not for Geresco, I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with all this unlucky stuff!</i>

    Rogge noticed Nefa¡¯s internal conflict, and put another important chip on the table. He said, ¡°If you agree to deal with me Dragon Lothar together with me, other than the branch of Eternity, I can help you find the power that your father had left behind at the suitable moment.¡± This was definitely a greater enticement to Nefa than the branch of Eternity. After all, Nefa¡¯s ultimate goal was to be the new Dragon of Destruction.

    However, Nefa still scoffed at Rogge¡¯s offer, and remarked with contempt, ¡°Old Rogge, who are you trying to bluff? Everyone knows that my father¡¯s powerpletely disappeared after he was killed by the Immortal King. Even if you want to bluff me, at leaste up with a better lie! Do I look like a fool to you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t believe me, but I¡¯m speaking the truth.¡± Rogge only unbotheredly smiled at Nefa¡¯s mockery, and continued, ¡°Other than the two of them, the only one who knows the real situation back then is me because I personally witnessed that battle. You must think that I¡¯m lying now, but if you continue to listen, I can tell you some things, and you can judge whether my words are true or not.¡±

    Nefa scornfully replied, ¡°Right, go ahead. I want to hear what other nonsense you can think of.¡± He didn¡¯t at all believe that Rogge knew what happened during that battle.

    Rogge wasn¡¯t bother by Nefa¡¯s attitude at all. He contemted for a moment, and continued, ¡°Let me just tell you some essential facts. The most powerful magic that your father, the Dragon of Destruction, had used during that battle was his affinity spell: Doom. The Immortal King lost an arm as a result. The Immortal King used a crossbow with mysterious power during that battle. When he gave the Dragon of Destruction the fatal blow, he used an arrow that could manipte the rules of space and time...¡±

    Nefa was full of contempt as first, but his expression turned solemn with every piece of evidence Rogge listed out. In the end, his whole body was tense. There were no written records about the battle between the Immortal King and Dragon of Destruction. Although there were the stories in legends, anyone who knew the slightestmon sense would know how untrue the legends were. Nefa, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction and foster son of the Immortal King, all the more wouldn¡¯t believe the legends. However, the things Rogge had said were all very reasonable. With Nefa¡¯s understanding of his foster father the Immortal King and the information he had inherited from the Dragon of Destruction, he could conclude that Rogge wasn¡¯t lying.

    ¡°Now you should know if what I¡¯m saying is true. I can also promise you that you will only be ying the role of holding Lothar back when we coborate. You won¡¯t be the main fighting force. If we meet any danger, you can immediately escape, and don¡¯t have to fight till death with me.¡± Rogge knew that Nefa was moved, so he gave him thest push, and didn¡¯t say anything more after that, letting Nefa make the decision himself.

    Should he give it a shot? After all, bing the Dragon of Destruction was his ultimate goal. However, his opponent was me Dragon Lothar, the strongest wyrm below the Dragon Aspects! As someone who wanted to be the Dragon of Destruction, didn¡¯t he even have this bit of courage? However, being courageous didn¡¯t mean to kill himself. The difference in abilities was just too great, and he had no chance against me Dragon Lothar.

    Nefa was struggling to make the decision, just as if there were two voices in his heart, fighting with each other on what to choose.

    After a long time, Nefa stopped struggling and gritted his teeth. He said to Rogge, ¡°Okay, I agree as you wish. However, I hope that you won¡¯t forget your promise. If I sense danger, I will leave immediately. I would rather die in Tutankhamun¡¯s hands than be burned to ashes by that lunatic Lothar.¡±

    Although Rogge was very confident that Nefa would be tempted by the conditions he put out, anything could happen until it was confirmed. Seeing that Nefa finally agreed, Rogge heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss how to deal with me Dragon Lothar now.¡±

    ¡°What do you know about that battle?¡± Nefa didn¡¯t pick up Rogge¡¯s topic, and asked Rogge anxiously about what had happened during the battle between the Immortal King and Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°I will tell you what you want to know after we are finished with what we want to do now,¡± Rogge replied without any hesitation, sealing off the topic with just one sentence. Now, he wasn¡¯t worried that Nefa would leave at all. That wasn¡¯t because he trusted Nefa¡¯s sense of integrity, but rather because he was confident in Nefa¡¯s desire to be the Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°You...¡± Nefa was indeed angry that Rogge sealed off the topic just like that, but thinking that Rogge had information that he needed urgently, he had to suppress his anger, and stiffly continued, ¡°Okay, tell me what you n to do.¡±

    ¡°Not me, but us,¡± Rogge emphasized, and turned towards Lin Li. ¡°Felic, can you fetch the branch of Eternity for me now?¡±

    ¡°d to help you,¡± replied Lin Li courteously. He then turned and flew towards the shade of green in this crimson-colored world. Although he wanted to get this branch of Eternity as well, he knew that it had more important use now. At least, it could help Rogge to get Nefa as a temporary ally.

    Rogge could have left the Night Canyon with the Darkness Shrine. Although me Dragon Lothar would cause a catastrophe should it be let into Anril, no one would me Rogge for that. Moreover, the catastrophe wouldn¡¯t be blown out of proportions when the Sanctuary powerhouses joined against it. This was certainly a more advantageous and safer choice for Rogge. However, he chose the more difficult path to stop me Dragon Lothar here. This was why Lin Li sincerely admired Rogge.

    If he was Rogge, would he make the same choice? Lin Li shook his head. Not to mention that he didn¡¯t consider himself as someone belonging to Anril, even in his original world, he probably wouldn¡¯t risk his own life to save others. He would help with some things within his capacity at the very most.

    Due to the strong pressure after Rogge awoke, the fire elemental creatures in this fire element world all ran far away from here. Thus, Lin Li got to the location of the branch of Eternity without any hindrance.

 Chapter 804 - The Eternal Forest

    <h4>Chapter 804: The Eternal Forest</h4>

    Soon, the greenery amongst the red began to get clearer, and Lin Li finally saw the branch that was being shrouded in a faint green-colored luster. It was a branch that was roughly the length of a human arm and about only two fingers thick. There were several smaller branches at the top, with seven fresh green leaves growing on the branch. It was full of life, and anyone would be able to sense the intense vitality in it with just one nce.

    Lin Li walked towards the branch of the Tree of Eternity, and stopped to take a deep breath. He could not detect the hot mes at all, and he instead felt a wave of fresh and natural scent that wafted up to his nose and spread to his lungs. After just one deep breath, Lin Li felt as if his body had been cleansed inside out. Every pore of his seemed to have been refreshed; that was a feeling that Lin Li had never experienced with the Tree of Eternity. Clearly, the branch of the Tree of Eternity was full of vitality, just like he had expected.

    Unfortunately, the branch of the Tree of Eternity did not belong to him, and he couldn¡¯t use it to revive the Seed of Eternity! Lin Li sighed secretly, and calmed himself down before observing the branch of the Tree of Eternity carefully again. Lin Li had never seen the real Tree of Eternity, which was cared for by the High Elves who were perfectionists, and he had no idea how beautiful it was back then. Staring at the branch of the Tree of Eternity in front of him now, he felt like it was the most indisputably perfect work of art in the world, even though it was only an insignificant branch.

    The branch of the Tree of Eternity was green like emerald, and it was also exuding a faint green glow, with no spots or ws at all. The entire branch was smooth and felt a little crystal-clear. However,yers of cloud-shaped patterns could be seen on the branch through the faint green glow, making it look even more mysterious. The smaller branches were evenly distributed around the main branch, with an appropriate distance between each other. A slight shift would seem absurd, and the entire arrangement was extremely pleasing to the eye. There were seven tender green leaves scattered on the twigs, continuously exuding fresh and intense vitality.

    At this moment, Lin Li did not even dare to reach out, fearing that a slight touch would damage the beautiful piece of art. After a long time, Lin Li finally snapped out of his trance and stopped being mesmerized by the beautiful artwork. Instead, he grabbed the branch of the Tree of Eternity relentlessly, and turned around to fly towards Rogge without admiring it further.

    ¡°You took such a long time to collect a branch. I really don¡¯t know how you obtained the power that you have now,¡± Nefa grumbled in dissatisfaction. In fact, he was purely just expressing his displeasure with Rogge.

    Lin Li ignored Nefa, and simply handed the branch of the Tree of Eternity to Rogge respectfully. Of course, he had secretly decided to snatch the branch of the Tree of Eternity back from Nefa after Rogge handed it to Nefa.

    ¡°Okay, Felic, it¡¯s time to talk about our matters next. After the battle begins, you have to be more careful. I may not have the energy to take care of you anymore,¡± Rogge said to Lin Li concernedly after he grabbed the branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, High Priest, I¡¯ll pay attention to it,¡± Lin Li said with a nod. He actually didn¡¯t feel that Rogge¡¯s words had hurt his self-esteem. After all, with Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, he couldn¡¯t stand strong in such a high-level battle even though he had a certain status in Anril. It would be an impressive feat for him not to be Rogge¡¯s burden.

    Rogge held onto the branch of the Tree of Eternity, and did not immediately give it to Nefa. Instead, he walked to the passage to the fire Elemental World and ced it on the ground gently. Lin Li found it to be a little strange at first, but when he saw that Nefa was remaining silent, he immediately understood that the two of them should have had a discussion when he was collecting the branch of the Tree of Eternity. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t informed, he didn¡¯t find there to be anything wrong with it, because he saw himself as an insignificant figure in the battle. Hence, he felt that it would be fine for him not to know about some things.

    However, Rogge clearly did not forget about Lin Li. After putting the branch of the Tree of Eternity away, he stood up, but did not turn around. Instead, he said to Lin Li, ¡°Mine and Nefa¡¯s powers alone are not enough for us to fight the me Dragon Lothar. Hence, we¡¯ll need the help of the branch of the Tree of Eternity. After the me Dragon Lothar enters this world, I hope we¡¯ll be able to suppress his power.¡±

    Lin Li suddenly realized that Rogge simply wanted to set a trap using the branch of the Tree of Eternity. After all, the me Dragon Lothar¡¯s fire Elemental Power was a little destructive in nature, and using the power of the branch of the Tree of Eternity would provide some restrictive effects. However, regardless of the effects, they could only pin some hope on it, like Rogge mentioned. No one could control it to make ite true.

    After exining it to Lin Li, Rogge remained silent, and stood near the branch of the Tree of Eternity where he extended his arms and began chanting a long spell which didn¡¯t sound like anguage that Lin Li recognized. However, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of the characters that made up the spell, but he could clearly sense the pure and immense Divine Power in every word that Rogge chanted. Lin Li suddenly thought about the Holy Light Magic that he had learned from Rosario at the Brilliance Shrine, only to realize that the spell Rogge was chanting seemed to be rather simr to the prayer Rosario chanted when he performed the Holy Light Magic. It was no wonder he found it familiar.

    Despite having discovered the reason for the sense of familiarity that he felt, Lin Li got even more curious. Rogge was the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, and he definitely had unparalleled aplishments in Dark Magic. However, his ability to make the Dark Force contain pure light attribute was indeed a little incredible. Although Lin Li also knew that the rtionship between the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine was not as hostile as most people thought, he also realized that light and darkness were interdependent. Light would make darkness more intense, while darkness would allow light to look even brighter. However, darkness was still darkness, and light was light. Even though Lin Li had created the Light and Darkness Domain, the two powers were still distinct and separate. Why did Rogge allow the Dark Force to contain the attributes of light?

    At this moment, Rogge had already stopped chanting. He seemed to have sensed Lin Li¡¯s confusion. Although the battle was about to begin soon, he still continued to patiently exin to him, ¡°The ignorant ones often think that light and darkness are stark opposites, while those who have a deep understanding of the two forces would understand that the extreme of Darkness was light, and vice versa. Hence, the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine have never thought ofpletely destroying each other even though they have always been at odds. That¡¯s because the ones who truly understand the ultimate power of the two will understand that the two forces are each other¡¯s most intimatepanion!¡±

    ¡°The extreme of darkness is light, and the extreme of light is darkness...¡± Lin Li repeated quietly. All of a sudden, something seemed to have shattered in his mind, and a strange sense of enlightenment suddenly appeared.

    In the beginning, Lin Li used the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark to create the Light and Darkness Domain using the nomological power of ice as an intermediary to maintain the coexistence of light and darkness. At that juncture, Lin Li was probably like the ignorant ones who had thought of the power of Light and Darkness as two opposing forces.

    Afterwards, Lin Li stopped bothering about thews of ice after he gained some enlightenment about the Rules of light and darkness. At this point, he had a certain understanding of the interdependence between light and darkness. Not only was there no conflict, they could even strengthen each other. That gave rise to the lethal Light and Darkness Sword.

    However, at this stage, Lin Li still could not make a breakthrough in the field of Light and Darkness magic, even though he had read the Light Bible in the Brilliance Shrine where he learned about Holy Light Magic from Rosario, and also read the Darkness scripture in the Darkness Shrine and learned about Dark Magic from Sendros. However, Lin Li could only feel that he had a deeper grasp of the power of Light and Darkness¡ªhe still did not achieve a real breakthrough in the field of Light and Darkness magic. That was also the very reason that Lin Li had been stagnating at the peak of level-23. It seemed that there was an invisible barrier that was preventing him from crossing the threshold to level-24.

    Rogge¡¯s words might seem inexplicable and ridiculous to some people, but Lin Li felt that his simple sentence was the key to his breakthrough to the next realm. However, although it sounded simple, it was still difficult to execute it. If he really wanted to break through using those words, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do so within a short period of time.

    Nefa, who was being idle and waiting at the side, could tell that Lin Li was actually enlightened by Rogge¡¯s words even though he was feeling disdainful towards him. He had no choice but to admit that the young mage Lin Li was extremely talented in magic, so much that he actually felt jealous. Recalling that he had plotted against Lin Li previously, he felt a little regretful, but he thought about the me Dragon Lothar, and stopped regretting his decision because he felt that Lin Li might not necessarily survive encountering the me Dragon Lothar.

    Sensing that Lin Li seemed to have had a moment of epiphany at this moment, Rogge smiled with gratification and relief. However, he also felt a little regretful because if they were in a different environment, Lin Li would perhaps be able to break through the Legendary-realm with his epiphany. Unfortunately, it was not the time for him to feel emotional, because they were about to face the me Dragon Lothar anytime soon. Lin Li¡¯s attitude would actually bring him even more lethal dangers. Rogge could only hope that Lin Li would gain more enlightenment! Rogge sighed, but did not stop stimting the branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    The slender branch of the Tree of Eternity on the ground quickly began to grow countless hair-like roots from the cut that was made at the bottom, which roots then plunged into the redva on the ground continuously. If it had been an ordinary nt, it would have been burned into ashes by the high temperature before it even touched theva. However, the roots of the branch of the Tree of Eternity not only plunged into theva fearlessly, it also caused theva to turn into a hard, ck rock as if it had lost its heat. The hard, ck rock was then crushed under the power of the roots and turned back into ck soil. With the growth of the branch of the Tree of Eternity, the process continued, and it soon expanded to the surrounding areas, creating arge fertile ground.

    The branch of the Tree of Eternity which was initially slender also expanded like a balloon during the process. The main branch became a thick trunk, and the smaller branches also became longer and thicker, giving rise to more twigs and smaller branches which subsequently turned into sprouts. The sprouts could be seen spreading outwards at a visible speed, and their color slowly turned from light green to emerald. The leaves had also formed a huge crown in the blink of an eye.

    With the continuous expansion of the ck soil, the roots that originally grew from the branch of the Tree of Eternity suddenly emerged from the ground one after another, and quickly became thicker. There were more branches and sprouts, and the branch gradually turned into a buff tree. Theva on the ground of the red fire Elemental World had turned into ck soil, and redness in the space was quickly devoured and reced by green. Within just a brief moment, a dense forest was formed, exuding vitality that filled the entire area. The aura of the fire Elemental World seemed to be unable to prate the world of greenery, either.

    At this moment, Lin Li had already snapped out of his trance; he was well aware that he could no longer allow himself to continue to feel at ease. Otherwise, he might not even know how he died. However, after sobering up, Lin Li was already facing a whole different world, and he could not help but be shocked as he observed everything in the surroundings. He almost thought that he had arrived in another world.

    The forest in front of him was not inferior to the Emerald Forest that was inhabited by the elves. In fact, it was much more beautiful; its only w was that there were no birds in the forest. Otherwise, it would be a beautiful and amazing paradise that offered a perfect scenery.

 Chapter 805 - Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 805: Explosion</h4>

    ¡°This is only a small amount of the power of the Branch of the Tree of Eternity, and this is all I can do. This state can only be maintained for at most a day, after which everything will be restored,¡± Rogge exined with some regret after seeing that Lin Li was looking at him in shock. He then turned his head to say to Nefa, ¡°We only have a day¡¯s time. If we can¡¯t let the me Dragon Lothar go into hibernation within a day, we...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t court death together with you,¡± said Nefa, whose eyes were filled with inconceble worry, even though he appeared to be indifferent. To observe the surroundings, he had no choice but to look around as if he were appreciating the beautiful scenery created by the Branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    Rogge shook his head helplessly and turned to look at Lin Li again. He said, ¡°If things really escte to that level, I¡¯ll send you back to Anril first, and get you to help the Darkness Shrine make preparations. I hope they can survive this terrible disaster.¡±

    Lin Li knew his own abilities; hence, he didn¡¯t say any foolish things about dying together. Instead, he nodded and said, ¡°Please rest assured, High Priest. If things really develop to that extent, I¡¯ll do what you say.¡±

    The battle was nigh, and there was somber tension in the air. The three of them sat on the ground, and no one was in the mood to talk. Although they were in the forest that was full of vitality, there was an aura of death everywhere because of theck of the chirping of birds and the roaring of beasts. The lush greenery did not feel refreshing for them at all, and although there was no fire element present, everyone was filled with frustration that could not seem to go away.

    The me Dragon Lothar was the top powerhouse amongst the ancient dragons, and was a terrifying existence that was almost on par with the Dragon Aspects. Now that they were about to face a strong enemy, even Rogge, who wanted to attack the me Dragon Lothar, could not help but feel nervous. His life was secondary, but if he couldn¡¯t even stop the me Dragon Lothar, who in the Darkness Shrine would be able to really save the Darkness Shrine?

    Rogge nced at Nefa who was beside him. Previously, Nefa took the opportunity to release the prehistoric magical beasts there while he was in deep sleep, which resulted in a huge blow to the Darkness Shrine. However, he still did not have what it took to destroy the Darkness Shrine; hence, the Darkness Shrine had the chance to rise again. However, this time, the end and destruction of the Darkness Shrine would be foreseeable if the me Dragon Lothar were to barge into Anril.

    Rogge shifted his gaze onto Lin Li, who had awakened him, and sighed secretly in his heart. He thought, <i>This young mage is so young, and yet already sopetent. He¡¯s so talented in magic, and I even see some of Geresco in him. However, he¡¯s still in the growing stage, after all. If Geresco was the one here with us now...</i>

    At the thought of Geresco who had once fought alongside him, Rogge couldn¡¯t help but be a little distracted. Although he was known as the powerful mage who was second only to Geresco back then, who knew that he and Geresco were actually words apart? If Geresco had been there now, he would have probably already entered the Fire Elemental World and sent the me Dragon Lothar into hibernation.

    At this moment, even Roger couldn¡¯t calm down, let alone Lin Li and Nefa. Nefa had always been reluctant to participate in this battle which they had no chance of winning, and he had even cursed Rogge hard deep down. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Rogge mentioned in the end that he knew about the Dragon of Destruction, Nefa would rather lose the Branch of the Tree of Eternity than take part in the battle that was almost sure death for them. Although his younger brother, Tutankhamun, was waiting to kill him in Anril, he could just find another space to hide in.

    To his dismay, the Immortal King, Geresco, and his own younger brother didn¡¯t want to let him be the new Dragon of Destruction. If he were already the Dragon of Destruction now, why would he be afraid of the me Dragon? He thought, <i>Forget it, I¡¯ll just run away if I can¡¯t fight when the timees. What would that me Dragon do if it broke into the world of Anril? What would it have to do with me!?</i>

    Before the battle started, Nefa had already secretly developed an idea to escape. However, he was a little reluctant to give up on the information Rogge had revealed.

    Although Lin Li was weaker than Rogge and Nefa, he was in a better moodpared to them because he knew that he was just a bystander in this battle. Apart from having to be careful not to be affected by the battle, he basically did not have much to do. Of course, Lin Li still admired Rogge¡¯s determination in the end. That respectable old man had been living there for hundreds of years, and now had to risk his life to fight for the survival of the Darkness Shrine. That was something that Lin Li could never do.

    However, respecting him was a separate manner. Lin Li wouldn¡¯t put his life at stake just because of the respect he had for Rogge. If it were within the scope of his means, he wouldn¡¯t mind giving them some help. However, he definitely couldn¡¯t intervene in such a high-level battle. Even if he were to activate his three pieces of the debris of the stars, they might not be enough to hurt the me Dragon.

    However, the experience also made Lin Li a little more alert and conscious. In this crazy world, Legendary powerhouses were considered nothing at all, and the powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm might not be fearless all the time, either. Rogge was not in the least bit inferior to the arbitrators of the Supreme Council in terms of strength, and should be considered the strongest human, standing at the top of Anril. However, he wasn¡¯t confident about winning the battle. The Highlord Osric was formidable too, but his mausoleum got plundered in the end, while his perfect body was taken away, leaving him only with the Ghost of the Sky Castle. There were too many unknown and powerful existences in the world, and even the gods and deities might fall one day. If one were to think that they could dominate Anril after entering the Sanctuary-realm, he or she would probably not be far from death.

    While the three of them were thinking about the matters that they were vexed about, there was a sudden tremor that spread through the entire world. The ground beneath their feet was like a small boat that was swaying amidst the waves, about to capsize anytime. The ground was covered in intertwined roots, and there were ck cracks that formed in the ground during the violent tremors. The tree roots of varying thickness seemed to be getting tighter like bowstrings. There were also crisp sounds when the roots were being pulled.

    At the same time that the grounds were shaking, a massive Fire Elemental Storm suddenly appeared outside the spot which used to be the channel to the Fire Elemental World. Apart from the main body of the branch of the Tree of Eternity, all of the other towering trees in the surroundings were instantly engulfed by the mes, which turned them into massive torches. Amidst the Fire Elemental Storm, an extremely terrifying aura filled the entire world in an instant, and a massive oppression seemed to have descended on the temporarily existing forest.

    At the instant that the tremors began, the three of them leaped up from the ground, nced at each other, and yelled in unison, ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Apart from the me Dragon Lothar, what else could result in such an abnormal phenomenon?

    Although the three of them were immersed in their own thoughts previously, they were instantly free from distraction now that the battle was about to begin. They cast all their emotions aside, be it worry or fear, and even Lin Li who did not have much to do with the battle was no exception. Be it Rogge or Nefa who were in the Sanctuary-realm, or the Legendary-level Lin Li, they all knew that the stronger their enemy, the calmer they would have to be. Otherwise, they would only end up dying faster.

    The three of them leaped up into the air and avoided the horrifying Fire Elemental Storm. Lin Li then looked out of the channel of the Fire Elemental World to see that it was already covered in red. The giant tree that had stemmed from the branch of the Tree of Eternity was the only one that was still standing and emitting a green light which was going against the Fire Elemental Power. The hundreds of trees around that giant tree had all been charred, and the ones in the outer radius had also withered to varying extent.

    Before the three of them could take action, the massive force of oppression immediately descended on this world. Lin Li, who was the weakest, almost lost control of his Power of Flight at this moment, and almost fell from midair. As for Rogge and Nefa, they were not performing that much better despite being Sanctuary-level powerhouses. Their bodies, which were originally suspended steadily in the air as if they were standing on a t ground, began swaying uncontrobly under the massive and violent pressure.

    Lin Li who had finally regained his bnce after having a hard time was also in shock at this time. The massive and unbearable oppression was probably not inferior to that of the perfect body of Osric that he¡¯d encountered previously. Besides, it wasing from the Fire Elemental World channel. At this time, Lin Li was even more certain that he really couldn¡¯t intervene in that battle, because his strength was way too inferior. Intervention would just be courting death for him.

    Back when Lin Li had faced the perfect body of Osric which had level-26 to level-27¡¯s power, Lin Li had a group of Legendary-levelpanions. However, that perfect body had been only manipted by a tiny Soul Imprint of Osric¡¯s. It wouldn¡¯t even use any powerful magic, and simply relied on its formidable physical strength. It was also limited by the crystal coffin. The limitations were also the reason that the perfect body did not exert level-26 to level-27¡¯s strength. That had given Lin Li the chance to win during the dangerous situation.

    However, they were now facing the me Dragon Lothar, which was not restrained like Osric¡¯s perfect body had been. Instead, it was a bona fide powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm. Although the level did not mean everything, ignoring the difference in level when everything was true to level would simply be courting one¡¯s death.

    While the three were watching and keeping their guard up, the Fire Elemental World channel was also continuously expanded and torn under the irresistible power. Next, a massive figure wrapped in golden mes squeezed out of the channel tyrannically, and the oppression in the air that was initially already terrifying enough became purer and more brutal with the appearance of this figure.

    ¡°Roar!¡± With a groundbreaking dragon¡¯s roar, the massive figure wrapped in golden mes finally surged out of the channel and announced his arrival to the entire world. It then flew up into the sky and looked down at everything on the ground beneath it.

 Chapter 806 - You Might As Well Sleep

    <h4>Chapter 806: You Might As Well Sleep</h4>

    At this moment, the entire world seemed to be shuddering under the unparalleled pressure. The Laws that constituted the world also seemed to be moaning as if they could no longer tolerate the existence of such a powerful entity.

    <i>The me Dragon Lothar!</i> At this moment, Lin Li gritted his teeth while a thinyer of sweat formed on his forehead, and he finally managed not to embarrass himself under the brutal pressure. The strength of the me Dragon Lothar might not beparable to that of Highlord Osric, but it was definitely much stronger than Osric¡¯s perfect body. Afterparing the aura of the me Dragon Lothar to that of the perfect body that he saw at that time, Lin Li obtained some horrifying results. The strength of the ancient me Dragon Lothar was probably already at level-28. In the face of the powerful aura exuded by the me Dragon Lothar, the auras of the two Sanctuary-realm powerhouses, Rogge and Nefa, were almostpletely suppressed and overshadowed. That was evidence of the massive gap between them in strength.

    ¡°Roar! The noble and great me Dragon King Lothar has awakened. You damned Titans, serve up your hearts obediently!¡± eximed Lothar who had just awakened, and was obviously extremely excited. After rushing out of the Fire Elemental World, he did not pay attention to the surrounding environment at all, and simply began yelling with excitement.

    What surprised Lin Li was that thenguage used by the me Dragon Lothar was not the ancient dragonnguage, but thenguage of the Titans. Fortunately, Lin Li had already studied the Book of Eternity for a long time, and had dabbled in ancient dragonnguage, as well as thenguage of the Titans. Hence, he could somehow figure out the meaning of Lothar¡¯s words.

    However, after finding out what Lothar was saying, Lin Li began to feel a little puzzled. Did this me Dragon turn silly after sleeping for too long? The Titans had disappeared from the world of Anril for many years, and after the prehistoric times, there was still the long and arduous Dark Age. It had been more than a thousand years since the end of the Dark Age. <i>Has this me Dragon been sleeping since the prehistoric times? He shouldn¡¯t be said to be the most powerful one among the ancient wyrms, then. He should just be the one that¡¯s best at sleeping.</i>

    ¡°The Titans have long left this world, and so have the ancient wyrms. Even the High Elves have already died more than a thousand years ago. For you, there are no longer any enemies that are worth fighting in this world. You might as well go back to sleep,¡± Lin Li shouted loudly to the me Dragon Lothar which was in the sky while resisting the terrifying oppression.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t afraid of attracting Lothar¡¯s attention, since he was a level-23 Legendary-mage who was probably less significant than a mosquito in Lothar¡¯s eyes. Even if Lothar had noticed Lin Li, he would probably be toozy to even retaliate. Moreover, the three of them were there to stop Lothar. Even if he never noticed the three of them, Roger and Nefa would definitely not sit back and do nothing when he left for Anril. As for the sneak attacks, there was no need to think about it at this juncture unless there was a Sanctuary-level assassin with them.

    With such a powerful enemy, Rogge and the others would have a pathetic chance of winning. It would be best if they didn¡¯t have to fight. Lin Li decided to yell out all of the historical information that he knew after hearing the me Dragon Lothar mention wanting to fight the Titans right after it emerged. He hoped that the battle-obsessed psycho would go back and continue to sleep because he had no opponents. However, Lin Li regretted his decision a little after yelling. He panicked while being under the pressure just now, and thus spoke in lingua franca. Hence, he was thinking about how he could say those words in dragonnguage.

    ¡°Is that a bug? A tiny and pathetic little bug is actually so delusional to think that he can deceive me!¡± the me Dragon Lothar yelled. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, he really noticed the three small figures in the air in the distance. Hence, he zoomed towards the trio and looked down at them disdainfully, for they were small fries in his eyes.

    Lin Li had yet to think about how he should use the dragonnguage tomunicate with Lothar. After all, the dragonnguage mentioned in the Book of Eternity was rted to magic, but he did not expect the me Dragon Lothar to not only be able to speak thenguage of Titans, but also understand the lingua franca of humans. However, he obviously did not believe what Lin Li had said.

    The sudden appearance of the me Dragon Lothar left Rogge and Nefa with no choice but to retreat a little. It was worse for Lin Li, for he was already overwhelmed with the terrifying aura before he could even understand what Lothar said in dragonnguage. Had Rogge not shielded him, he would have probably already fallen onto the ground immediately.

    <i>Damn, is this the difference in strength!?</i> Lin Li thought to himself while trying to stabilize his body awkwardly. He continuously cursed in his heart, and at the same time, he set his sights on the terrifying me Dragon Lothar. When looked at from a distance, the me Dragon Lothar was like a golden fireball. Now that Lin Li was right in front, he was finally able to see through the golden mes and catch a vague glimpse of the true features of the ancient me Dragon Lothar.

    It was a huge red wyrm that was surrounded by the golden mes. However, its massive body was several timesrger than the Crimson Dragon that Lin Li had seen. On its huge head, there were two huge dragon horns with jagged edges, and sharp projections of different length were distributed all over its face and neck, making it look extremely hideous and terrifying. Its body was covered in red scales that loomed in the golden mes, appearing as radiant as glistening gemstones. It was as if there were mysterious magic symbols shing on every scale. The appearance of the scales alone was enough to make Lin Li feel helpless. He could totally feel that the strong defense of the scales were definitely not something a person of the Legendary-level like himself could break through.

    There was arge pair of wings made of flesh on the back of the Fire Dragon Lothar. When spread open, it seemed to be able to cover the sky and the sun,pletely blocking their sight. The powerful natural mageweaths on the wings were particrly eye-catching in the golden mes, and each mageweath seemed to be continuously exuding daunting magical waves. Its strong and thick limbs contained incredibly strong power, and its sharp ws were like massive red sickles that seemed to be able to easily tear the world apart.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t lie to you. There are no Titans in the world now, and there are only humans like us.¡± Although Rogge wanted to stop Lothar from going out resolutely, he would naturally opt to resolve the crisis without getting physical.

    Rogge spoke in dragonnguage, but Lothar unexpectedly used lingua franca, and said in a tone that was full of disdain, ¡°You pathetic bugs are not fit to speak in the dragonnguage! You can¡¯t deceive me with your lies. The damned Titans haven¡¯t left. They¡¯re watching the world above the sky, and they will return sooner orter.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t expect the me Dragon Lothar who had been sleeping for a long time to be so proficient at variousnguages. He could speak in lingua franca so fluently that he could even speak the High Elves¡¯nguage. Of course, at this time, Lin Li could not continue the meaningless questions, because Roger had already hinted for him to retreat. Clearly, the brutal and stubborn me Dragon Lothar couldn¡¯t be persuaded by words at all. The battle between the parties that had a great disparity in strength was definitely inevitable.

    When Lin Li was retreating, a powerful mana wave also emerged from Rogge¡¯s body, making his entire body be even more eye-catching and hot. At the same time, under his control, the forest that had been damaged by the Fire Elemental Storm had also recovered rapidly. In fact, it was even more lush than before. The branch of the Tree of Eternity was Rogge¡¯s greatest hope and support for stopping Lothar. However, now that he understood how powerful and strong the ancient wyrm was, he began to doubt if the branch of the Tree of Eternity would be able to result in any significant effects. He had no choice but to rely on his own efforts, and he dared not be negligent at all.

    Seeing that Rogge was already looking ready to fight, Nefa had no choice but to sigh secretly. He immediately transformed into a massive ck dragon. However,pared to the me Dragon Lothar, Nefa still appeared to be much smaller, and the aura of destruction and Evilness seemed to have barely taken up some space within Lothar¡¯s aura.

    Lothar simply dismissed Lin Li in disdain, and only the two of them in front of Lin Li could slightly catch his attention. However, after Nefa turned into a ck dragon, Lothar felt the insignificant aura of destruction and Darkness. A look of surprise formed in his eyes, and he sneered, ¡°You¡¯re Azardas¡¯ son? Seems like you¡¯ve really inherited his penchant for being depraved. You¡¯ve really be as lowly as those small fries after hanging out with them.¡±

    For wyrms, it would not be difficult to turn into humanoid form. However, to the wyrms, it would undoubtedly be a form of depravity, just like how humans were usually unwilling to be beasts. Lothar had long detected the aura of destruction and Evilnessing from Nefa, but deep down, he didn¡¯t think that a dragon would be able to turn into a human, and thus didn¡¯t think about the Dragon of Destruction. Now that Nefa returned to the form of a ck dragon, Lothar immediately recognized him, but his heart was filled with even more disdain.

    ¡°You know about my father?¡± Nefa was not infuriated because of Lothar¡¯s sarcasm, but was rather interested about what Lothar mentioned about his father, the Dragon of Destruction. If he could find out some information that he wanted to know about his father from Lothar, would it still be necessary for him to continue joining forces with Roger to fight that powerful enemy?

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Lothar humphed coldly while breathing out some mes from his nostrils that resembled caves. Filled with disdain, he said, ¡°Your father had really embarrassed the wyrms back then. As a Dragon Aspect, he actually got worried all over a trivial matter. It¡¯s a shame to the wyrms.¡±

    Nefa was hatched by the Immortal King, and although he had always wanted to be the new Dragon of Destruction, he never felt any affection for his father, Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Hence, although Lothar made Azardas out to be extremely pathetic and horrid, Nefa remained indifferent and unaffected. The only thing that he was truly concerned about was how he could be the new Dragon of Destruction. He nonchntly asked, ¡°What is the trivial matter that you mentioned?¡±

 Chapter 807 - Pinnacle Of Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 807: Pinnacle Of Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s really ridiculous that your father Azardas actually wanted to destroy the Tree of Eternity because he wanted to destroy the tiny and weak race that had just appeared. Besides, the more ridiculous thing is that his reason for doing so was apparently because we, the wyrms, will be reced by those pathetic creatures. This is the greatest joke I have ever heard. How could the insignificant small fries rece us? Everyone knows that we¡¯re so strong that we can easily turn those pathetic creatures into ashes with just one w of ours,¡± Lothar said in a contemptuous tone as if he were just telling a joke.

    Although Lin Li had retreated rather far away, he could still hear the conversation between Lothar and Nefa very clearly. Apparently, Lothar was referring to the High Elves that were birthed by the Tree of Eternity. However, as Lin Li really knew about the events of history, he wouldn¡¯t take Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, as a joke, since everyone knew that after the end of prehistoric times, the High Elves had really reced the ancient wyrms, and became the true rulers of the entire Anril. They had even created an unprecedented dynasty.

    However, Lothar, who had just woken up from a deep sleep, didn¡¯t know about that, and it was still an extremely absurd joke to him. After bursting intoughter that made the entire space quake, Lothar looked at Nefa contemptuously, and said, ¡°However, there¡¯s something more ridiculous than this. Do you know what it is? Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, who was also a Dragon Aspect, actually died in the hands of those pathetic weaklings! He is not worthy to be a Dragon Aspect or one of the wyrms at all!¡±

    Clearly, the me Dragon Lothar whose powers were said to be almost on the level of the Dragon Aspects had always been dissatisfied with the fact that the Dragon of Destruction Azardas had be a Dragon Aspect. However, Nefa was not bothered by such grudges at all. He was, in fact, a little excited when he heard Lothar mention that his father had died in the hands of weaklings¡ªhe knew that Lothar should have been referring to the battle where the Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction. Now that Lothar had mentioned it, he could perhaps find out more information.

    ¡°You know about that battle? What else do you know?¡± Nefa asked while suppressing his enthusiasm and ncing at Rogge who was beside him. Previously, Rogge had told him that he was the only other person apart from the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction who knew about that battle. <i>Will his lie be exposed?</i>

    However, to Nefa¡¯s disappointment, there wasn¡¯t much of a change in Rogge¡¯s expression. On the other hand, Lothar¡¯s answer made him feel extremely disappointed.

    ¡°How is that considered a battle? A fight between wyrms and those weaklings is considered a battle too? Had I known that Azardas would end up getting killed by those weaklings, I might have gone to save him,¡± Lothar said with great disdain.

    <i>Damn it, if you¡¯d run into the Immortal King, you¡¯d long have gotten ripped apart and skinned alive. You probably wouldn¡¯t even have been able to keep any descendants!</i> Nefa was filled with hatred. He initially wanted to get some useful information from Lothar so that he wouldn¡¯t have to join forces with Rogge. However, it seemed that his wish wasn¡¯t going toe true.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve been asleep for such a long time. I¡¯m going to find those damn Titans, and get some exercise. I¡¯m not in the mood to stay here with you and waste any more time,¡± Lothar said impatiently. Obviously, he felt that Rogge and Nefa the dragon were not qualified to be his opponents at all. He had only bothered to say a few more words because he saw Nefa, Azardas¡¯ son.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t let you out,¡± said Rogge, who had been remaining silent for a long time and only spoke all of a sudden when Lothar was about to leave. Before Lothar could even reply, a green ray of light was emitted from the forest that was formed from the branch of the Tree of Eternity. The light filled the entire space in an instant, and the golden mes that engulfed Lothar¡¯s body seemed to have been suppressed amidst the green light, and became slightly dim all of a sudden. However, that was not all. Rogge immediately waved his hand, and a ck beam of light that had a diameter of more than 10 meters fell from the sky andnded on Lothar¡¯s back.

    Seeing that Rogge had attacked, Lin Li retreated again and again. It was not a matter of courage, but rather that the level of both parties in the battle was far beyond his. He had to take care of himself instead of getting distracted by Rogge. After retreating to a safe range, Lin Li did not ck, and instead kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield in the distance. It was a real Sanctuary-level battle. Even if he only got to learn a thing or two, it would still be a great gain.

    <i>He¡¯s just a small fry, and yet he actually dared to provoke me!</i> Lothar thought. Although the ck beam of light that fell from the sky did not cause any harm to Lothar, the humiliation it brought was absolutely unforgivable. Of course, Lothar was not infuriated because of it. Although he had a bad temper, who would get angry over a trivial weakling? Hence, Lothar simply opened his mouth and blew a shot of dragon breath at Rogge, which was ordinary to wyrms.

    Blowing out dragon breath was the mostmon form of attack used by wyrms, and for them, it was just like a basic instinct. It was akin to breathing, which came naturally to humans. However, after Lothar breathed out the dragon breath, even Lin Li, who was keeping a safe distance, couldn¡¯t help but feel a tinge of fear in his heart. It was because Lin Li could clearly feel the power of the Laws in it. The dragon breath was even more terrifying than Legendary magic in power.

    Facing Lothar¡¯s dragon breath, Rogge could resist it, but he didn¡¯t force himself to. In fact, he did not even persist on for the sake of stopping Lothar, and instead flew straight to the dense forest. It seemed that Rogge was going to run away and give up his n to stop Lothar. However, in reality, he was trying to lure Lothar into the forest. His method was not a smart one; in fact, it could be considered obvious, and anyone would be able to read his intentions.

    However, the ingenuity and effectiveness of the method was only one aspect. More importantly, it depended on whom the target was. Although Lothar was not stupid, and could tell that Rogge was trying to lure him into the forest, he did not simply want to leave this world. He wanted to leave because he wanted to fight the Titans, and didn¡¯t mind spending some time to get rid of the weaklings who had provoked him before going on to deal with the damned Titans. Hence, after seeing that Rogge and Nefa were flying towards the forest, Lothar did not hesitate at all, and immediately chased them domineeringly.

    After breaking into the forest, Lothar also acutely detected the strangeness around him, knowing that the forest seemed to be able to exert some suppression on his own power. However, he didn¡¯t take it to heart, because he knew his opponent¡¯s abilities well. Even if he was a little suppressed, it wouldn¡¯t change the disparity in strength at all.

    In fact, that was indeed the case. Although Lothar had been sessfully lured into the forest, it would still be impossible for Rogge and Nefa to defeat Lothar, who had level-28 power. However, there was nowhere they could run to. After all, Rogge¡¯s purpose was to stop Lothar from entering Anril, and not escape from Lothar.

    Although Lin Li had seen the arbitrator Megardunching an attack in the Shadowglen, the three Undead Lords who were his opponents were too weak for Megard to disy true Sanctuary-level power. On the other hand, he had also seen the battle between Geresco and the Evil Eye Tyrant through the Spacetime Beacon Spell at Tutankhamun¡¯s ce. However, he had merely seen it, and he could not feel anything else. Now that he was truly watching a Sanctuary-level battle, he could finally feel the power of the Sanctuary-realm.

    <i>Is this the power of the Sanctuary-level?!</i> Lin Li was shocked to see the battle in the forest, and he finally understood why those on the Legendary-level would use the Laws through magic, while those of the Sanctuary-realm would form magic using Laws. Or rather, they controlled the Laws.

    Although Lin Li had only been in the Legendary-realm for a short period of time, which was about two years since the start of the Throne of Darkness incident, he had fought with Legendary-mages numerous times before. Legendary-mages could create corresponding Magical Domains through their understanding of the Laws, after which they could use the Magical Domains to utilize the Laws. Magical Domains could be considered the most powerful offensive and defensive techniques that Legendary-mages could possess. In fact, they could also be considered a type of magic that conformed to certain Laws. Almost all Legendary-mages would activate their Magical Domains at the instant that they began fighting, for that was the only way they could use them to the greatest extent.

    Lin Li noticed that Rogge, Nefa, and Lothar, the three powerhouses of the Sanctuary-realm, did not activate their Magical Domains during the fight. However, he could clearly feel that each of them was shrouded in pure power of the Laws. Perhaps their Magical Domains had been present around them all along, just like how there would always be air around a person.

    They did not have to deliberately use the Magical Domains, just like how humans did not have to deliberately make their hearts beat. The Laws seemed to havepletely integrated with their bodies. The magic released by every move of theirs and every chant of the spell contained pure power of the Laws. Their bodies were Magical Domains, and the areas covered by their aura and magical waves were also Magical Domains.

    The me Dragon Lothar, which was a level-28 powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, could be considered to have reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and it would be no exaggeration to say that he was almost turning into a god. The zing golden mes on his body were no longer actual mes, but rather werepletelyposed of variousws of fire. It was a terrifying power that seemed to be able to burn the heaven and earth.

 Chapter 808 - Ultimate Flames

    <h4>Chapter 808: Ultimate mes</h4>

    In terms of controlling the nomological power of fire, the me Dragon Lothar had definitely reached the peak. Not only did his dragon breath contain terrifying nomological power of fire, his gaze did too. The power had truly been incorporated into every cell of his body. If Lothar could advance half a step further in strength, he would perhaps really be a god that represented the will of fire. Even with the suppression of the power from the branch of the Tree of Eternity, Lothar¡¯s strength was not something that Roger and Nefa could truly contend with.

    Ever since Lothar chased them to the forest, the battle became extremely thrilling. However, it was only daunting for Lin Li because he was scared for Rogge almost every moment, and he was frightened whenever Rogge has a close shave with death. Lin Li was not only worried because Rogge might not be able to send him away, but also because he respected Rogge greatly, and did not wish to see him falling into the doldrums. However, in the current situation, Lin Li could do nothing but panic. There was no way he could use his abilities and trump cards at this juncture.

    On the battlefield, Rogge¡¯s body was shrouded in the Domain created by the Laws of Darkness, but it was different from the so-called Darkness Domain. This one not only exhibited the power of Darkness, it also contained a type of Divine Power. As Rogge said to Lin Li before, the extreme of darkness was light, and Rogge¡¯s Darkness Domain had reached the extreme of possessing attributes of light. Lin Li couldn¡¯t detect any Evilness or Darkness from Rogge¡¯s Darkness Domain, and he simply felt that the entire Darkness Domain was glistening with some divine light.

    Under Rogge¡¯s previous guidance, Lin Li had already gained some insights into the rtionship between the powers of darkness and light. Now that he was looking at Rogge¡¯s Darkness Domain, he suddenly felt that he had gotten a clearer idea of their rtionship. Unfortunately, it was not the time for him to calm down and study it carefully at this juncture. Although he was just a bystander, he¡¯d definitely die if he got distracted.

    Although Rogge was already a top powerhouse in Anril, he was still powerless facing the me Dragon Lothar, which was close to bing a god. Rogge could persist for so long because he was ready to go all out, and had put aside the importance of his own life. He was almost maniacal when exerting all his powers, relying on his greatest hope, the dense forest which was a transformation of the branch of the Tree of Eternity.

    In addition to the suppression that the vitality of the greenery, which was shrouding the forest, inflicted on Lothar¡¯s powers, Rogge was also continuously manipting the nts in the forest to attack Lothar while using his own powers. He was still trying hard even though his attacks seemed more like just harassment.

    The grass that was growing wildly turned into a rain of arrows darting towards Lothar, and the python-like vines continued to coil around Lothar continuously. When Lothar passed by the towering trees, they suddenly turned into treemen and leaped towards Lothar who was covered in mes. However, those attacks were worse than tickles to Lothar. In fact, none of the attacks could evennd on his body, because they were all instantly incinerated by the golden mes on his body.

    ¡°Disgusting weakling, you can¡¯t escape. Anyone who provokes the power of the wyrm must pay the price for doing so!¡± Lothar yelled, but he wasn¡¯t that angry. To him, an insignificant small fry wasn¡¯t worthy of his anger at all, though it was indeed a little annoying.

    Lothar smacked away the magic spells that wereing his way with one w, and at the same time swung his ws to throw out countless golden lines of mes, which seemed to have formed a golden fire that instantly blocked the duo from hiding. Although the golden lines were extremely fine and slender, each of them contained pure fire nomological power that could burn others. To Sanctuary-realm powerhouses who used nomological power, this was absolutely fatal.

    Sensing the terrifying power contained in the golden lines of mes, Lin Li, who had been feeling scared for Rogge, was even more frightened at this point. At least in his opinion, suffering the attacks of Lothar was absolutely inevitable if he were to put himself in Rogge¡¯s position. However, if he wanted to resist, it would be hard for him to make effective defenses because of the characteristics of the mes that could burn everything. If Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm, he might be able to cope with the power of the debris of the stars. Likewise, if the baby Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua reached the Sanctuary-realm, it should be able to cope by relying on its mastery of the elemental Laws. However, those were all just ¡®if¡¯s. Rogge did not have any debris of the stars, nor would he use them. Xiao Hua had yet to reach the Sanctuary-realm too. Hence, its mastery of the Elemental Laws could not suppress the me Dragon Lothar.

    Even Lin Li could see the threat of the golden lines made of mes, so Rogge was naturally clear about it too. At the same time that he was retreating, a wall of light that was filled with Holy aura instantly appeared in front of him. However, it was clear that even the Laws of Holy Light which were said to be able to purify everything were as fragile as a piece of paper under the destructive Laws contained in the golden lines of mes.

    After the wall of light appeared, Roger manipted the vines in the Eternal Forest to weave a green barrier. However, the Eternal Forest was just transformed from a section of the branch of the Tree of Eternity, after all, and Rogge had only activated a small amount of power in the branch of the Tree of Eternity. As soon as the green barrier touched the fire formed by the golden mes, it was instantly cut to pieces and burned into ashes in the blink of an eye.

    However, this green barrier was notpletely useless. The vitality that it contained had some suppressing effect on the destructive nomological power. After the green barrier was burned and destroyed, the fire woven by the golden lines of mes had be much dimmer. In fact, if they were in the real Eternal Forest, and if Rogge was able to exert just half of the power in the branch of the Tree of Eternity, the golden fire would have no chance of advancing at all.

    It took less than a second for the green barrier to be burned. Although Rogge retreated very quickly and cast two consecutive barriers to stop the, it still managed to chase him all the way. At this moment, Rogge really had nowhere to retreat, and could only rely on his own strength to resist.

    At this moment, a patch of red that resembled the tongue of a venomous snake shed in front of Rogge. Upon sight of this, Lin Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the redness was fleeting, he could still acutely detect the aura of Destruction and Evilness. Clearly, Nefa had taken the initiative to resolve the crisis for Rogge.

    Indeed, after Rogge¡¯s crisis was resolved, Nefa, who had turned into a ck dragon, continued to harass Lothar while smugly saying, ¡°Old Rogge, you should be more careful. I think you¡¯d better tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee that I will save you next time.¡±

    ¡°If you want to know, wait for me to finish this first,¡± Rogge said calmly before going all out to attack Lothar.

    Compared to Rogge who had been having close shaves with death, Nefa¡¯s situation was much better. From the beginning of the battle, he had been moving around like a loach. As long as there was the slightest danger, he would immediately flee and avoid fighting Lothar head-on. In strict ordance with the previous agreement, he was only responsible for harassing Lothar. Nefa didn¡¯t want to go all out, but he didn¡¯t want Rogge to die, either. It was not that he was kindhearted, but rather that Rogge was holding onto an important piece of information.

    However, Nefa was filled with dismay even though he sounded rxed. Although the Laws of Destruction that he¡¯d mastered had the characteristic of destroying everything in the world, its effects depended on the strength of the person using it. Even his father, Azardas the Dragon of Destruction, dared not say that he could really destroy everything in the world. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been killed by the Immortal King. Nefa was still not the Dragon of Destruction yet, and his powers were inferior to Rogge¡¯s, what more Lothar¡¯s. Even though the vitality of the branch of the Tree of Eternity would weaken the power of the golden fire, the attack made him suffer.

    Upon sight of the nomological power of Destruction that Nefa was exhibiting, Lin Li¡¯s eyes immediately glistened. Although his Magical Domain was created with the nomological power of Light and Darkness, he would be at a greater advantage if he could have more understanding of the Laws of Destruction. That would help him in mastering the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, which contained the Laws of Destruction.

    Nefa had inherited the nomological power of Destruction and Evilness from the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Although he was the weakest in this battle, he was still a real powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm, after all. Just like the other two Sanctuary powerhouses, the ck dragon that Nefa transformed into was engulfed in a Domain where the rules of Destruction and Evilness ovepped. The evil, cruel, and insidious qualities of the nomological power of Evilness formed a thick dark red mist that continuously exuded a gloomy and bloody aura.

    However, Nefa refused to exert much strength during the battle against Lothar. He would merely harass Lothar a little when he was sure that there was absolutely no danger. He did not show much nomological power of Destruction and Evilness. After observing for a while, Lin Li did not manage to learn much from Nefa, especially in terms of the nomological power of the Laws of Destruction which he was more concerned about. It seemed that he was bad at applying the Laws of Evilness because he had yet to be the real Dragon of Destruction.

    The battle between the parties that had a great disparity in strength continued. Rogge, who was going all out, fighting toe-to-toe against Lothar, was still in a perpetual crisis. Fortunately, he managed to survive by relying on the support of the Eternal Forest and Nefa¡¯s help. However, things seemed to be developing ording to Rogge¡¯s wishes. The vitality of the Eternal Forest was gradually increasing with time, thus giving him more and more aid.

 Chapter 809 - Seed

    <h4>Chapter 809: Seed</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lothar let out a deafening roar all of a sudden, and his voice was full of anger. He then emitted an even more menacing and eye-catching me while releasing numerous powerful magic spells that contained the nomological power of fire at the forest. The tall trees, sturdy vines, and dense grass were all destroyed inrge amounts by the bombardment of magic.

    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since they entered the forest, Lothar still couldn¡¯t tolerate the fact that he had wasted so much time on a small fry. If it weren¡¯t for that forest, he would have long burned him to ashes. Hence, Lothar could no longer be bothered about Rogge and Nefa, and instead decided topletely destroy that damned forest.

    After all, the forest was not the actual Eternal Forest. The greenery initially destroyed by Lothar could still quickly recover with its immense vitality. However, when the level-28 me Dragon Lothar began to destroy the forest with all his strength, the forest definitely couldn¡¯t recover quickly enough.

    Rogge suddenly became anxious after seeing such a scene. The forest was the most important factor in stopping Lothar from entering Anril. Although all of Lothar¡¯s attention was on destroying the forest, Rogge didn¡¯t take this opportunity to attack. He had no choice but to stop and chant his prayers while channeling the power of the branch of the Tree of Eternity with all his might, even though he knew that doing so would only result in minimal effects.

    Even Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to sit back and do nothing at this moment. Although his power was limited, he would definitely be able to do something. Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand without hesitation, and bombarded Lothar who was destroying the forest with the most powerful Legendary magic that he had.

    However, the facts proved that Lin Li¡¯s Legendary power really didn¡¯t have any effect in a Sanctuary-level battle. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, his Legendary magic spells were already rather powerful. However, they only caused the golden me on the me Dragon Lothar¡¯s body to sway slightly. Under such circumstances, Lin Li could only feel helpless. He reckoned that even if he were to unleash all three of his pieces of the debris of the stars, he would not be able to cause much damage to the me Dragon Lothar.

    However, under Rogge¡¯s full support, the recovery speed of the Eternal Forest was improved again, and he had also managed to stop Lothar and slow down the damage that he was doing to the forest. The nts outside the forest had be sparse, and some had even withered. nts were continuously growing out of the spot where Lothar was, and they began to flock towards Lothar like a huge army of nts.

    This time, the me Dragon Lothar became even more annoyed and infuriated. He had woken up from a deep sleep, and wanted to fight the Titans to get some exercise. However, he ended up getting provoked by some small fry whom he thought he could kill easily. However, he ended up getting stuck in a scuffle with him for such a long time because of the damned forest. He wanted to destroy the forest, but the forest was recovering faster than before. Lothar obviously couldn¡¯t tolerate the fact that he couldn¡¯t destroy a small fry and an entire forest despite being a wyrm.

    However, Lothar was not a fool. After the resistance of the Eternal Forest suddenly strengthened, he immediately noticed what was going wrong. He¡¯d initially thought that the forest was a natural phenomenon of this world, and that there was nothing strange about the immense vitality, because forests were supposed to be full of life anyway. Later on, he got into a fight with Rogge. Although Lothar was constantly attacked by the trees in the forest, his power and the vitality of the forest were conflicting in the first ce. He had seen aggressive nts before, and he simply thought that Rogge was manipting the vitality of the nts.

    However, after seeing the sudden change in the forest and linking it to Rogge¡¯s prayers, Lothar immediately understood that the entire forest was controlled by the insignificant figure in his eyes. Having figured that out, Lothar immediately stopped destroying the forest, and instead turned around to dash towards Rogge who was still chanting the prayers loudly. The nomological power of fire that formed the golden mes on his body instantly condensed into countless powerful fire spells and a ming Torrent that surged towards Rogge.

    At this moment, Rogge was still chanting prayers, and trying his best to sustain the Eternal Forest. He couldn¡¯t dodge at all, and the only thing he could do was to control the nts in the Eternal Forest and manipte them into forming a green barrier in front of the terrifying ming Torrent. However, every magic spellunched by a level-28 Sanctuary powerhouse would contain nomological power, and the ming Torrent formed by those spells would definitely be able to destroy the world. The green barriers that were made up of nts were so weak that they were instantly destroyed whenever the ming Torrent passed by.

    Although the ming Torrent was greatly weakened by theyers of obstruction and the vitality of the Eternal Forest, it was still terrifying, and Rogge would definitely have a hard time. Not to mention, the menacing me Dragon Lothar was right behind the ming Torrent. Lothar must have made up his mind to kill Rogge in one fell swoop.

    Seeing such a situation, Lin Li¡¯s heart suddenly sank to rock bottom. That power was simply unparalleled for humans, and Rogge would probably have to wish for a miracle to happen in order for him to escape. Lin Li had cooperated with others on many expeditions, and he was the one to create miracles on most asions. However, in the face of such a situation, he couldn¡¯te up with a solution at all.

    The ming Torrent was about to devour Rogge¡¯s body, but at this moment, a huge ck figure appeared in front of Rogge like a giant gate that was about to intercept the ming Torrent. At this moment, Lin Li dared not believe his eyes at all, because the one who blocked the attack for Rogge turned out to be Nefa, who had been sneaking in.

    At this time, Nefa did not hesitate to overdraft his mana and mental strength in order to maximize the power of his Laws of Destruction and Laws of Evilness. The bloody mist around his body also appeared to be much thicker, but his massive body still seemed rather smallpared to the ming Torrent. In the blink of an eye, Nefa¡¯s figure was submerged in the fiery red mes, and the roar of the dragon that was filled with agony could be heard. However, his roar was soon drowned out by the sounds of the magic attacks.

    When the ming Torrent came to an end, Nefa¡¯s body finally emerged gradually, and the thick bloody mist had be much thinner. Most of the ck scales on his body, which had been originally smooth, became dim and broken. His body was full of burns, and he looked extremely disheveled. However, even though they survived the ming Torrent, the crisis that Nefa and Rogge were facing had yet to really be resolved.

    ¡°Indeed, you are just as depraved as your father!¡± Lothar eximed, shifting all of his attention and anger onto the traitor of the wyrms when he saw that his supposed shot of victory was actually blocked by Nefa.

    Although Lothar was harassed by Nefa from time to time in battle, he felt that Nefa was not really helping Rogge, because Nefa wasn¡¯t putting in much effort. Hence, he did not take Nefa¡¯s previous harassment to heart. However, now that Nefa had actually used his body to block a fatal attack for Rogge, Lothar felt somewhat betrayed. The anger that this brought suddenly surpassed everything, and Lothar even developed a strong hatred for Nefa. The small fry and the forest no longer mattered to him. The only thing he wanted to do was to kill the traitor of wyrms who was in front of him.

    Before the heavily injured Nefa could rejoice about being alive, he shuddered uncontrobly because Lothar glowered at him with a resentful gaze. Feeling wronged, he thought,<i> Do you think I wanted to do this? If it was not for the sake of getting the information that Rogge has, why would I y hero!?</i>

    However, the me Dragon Lothar didn¡¯t care about Nefa¡¯s reasons, nor intended to give him any chance at all. Instead, he leaped towards Nefa without stopping.

    Nefa was much less powerful than the me Dragon Lothar in the first ce, and now that he was seriously injured, he definitely dared not go toe-to-toe against Lothar at all. He didn¡¯t care about Rogge who was behind him, and frantically fled to the side. However, to Nefa¡¯s dismay, Lothar actually ignored Rogge who was close at hand, changed directions, and chased after him immediately. A hot pursuit began in the quasi-Eternal Forest.

    Upon sight of this, Rogge decided to stop moving. In fact, he couldn¡¯t move anyway. If it weren¡¯t for thest-ditch efforts that Nefa had put forth just now, how could he have survived Lothar¡¯s attack? Nefa¡¯s injury would not affect his mobility, but Rogge was severely injured by the nomological power during the scuffle. However, it was not the time to rest and heal his wounds now. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rogge stood still and continued to chant prayers to help the forest recover in hopes of using the power of the Eternal Forest to make the me Dragon Lothar go to sleep again.

    ¡°High Priest, I hope this thing can help you,¡± Lin Li said as he flew up to Rogge after seeing Nefa luring Lothar away. He then took out the Seed of Eternity that he had obtained from the Sky Castle.

    ¡°The seed of the Tree of Eternity!¡± Rogge eximed in shock as he immediately recognized what Lin Li was holding. The Seed of Eternity and the branch of the Tree of Eternity werepletely different. The branch of the Tree of Eternity only contained a small amount of power of the Tree of Eternity, while the Seed of Eternity contained the inheritance of all the power of the Tree of Eternity. If the Eternal Forest was spawned from the Seed of Eternity, it would not be as difficult for Rogge and hispanions to deal with the me Dragon Lothar.

    However, after sensing Rogge¡¯s shock, Lin Li appeared a little awkward, and he said, ¡°It is indeed the Seed of the Tree of Eternity. However, it was already dead when I got it. I wonder if it¡¯d be of any use here.¡±

    One reason why Lin Li hadn¡¯t given the Seed of Eternity to Rogge was that he hadn¡¯t known that the me Dragon Lothar would be this terrifying. Another reason was that he felt that a dead Seed of Eternity might not be of much help to Rogge at all. After all, the dead Seed of Eternity was just a huge mana source in Lin Li¡¯s opinion. It had no other use other than providing huge amounts of mana.

    ¡°Is it dead?¡± Rogge asked as he had also sensed the abnormality of the Seed of Eternity. However, he was only taken aback for a moment, after which he excitedly said, ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter, I think we can give it a try!¡±

    Rogge was actually not too confident, but there was really no other solution. Given his current strength and power, everyone knew that he probably wouldn¡¯t seed in putting the me Dragon Lothar back to sleep just by exerting the power of the branch of the Tree of Eternity to the current level.

    Since Rogge said he could give it a try, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything more, and simply handed the Seed of Eternity over to Rogge. He couldn¡¯t even think about reviving the Seed of Eternity and his wonderful hopes of nting the Tree of Eternity in the Tower of the Dusk. As long as he could survive this crisis, he¡¯d not hesitate to give it away at all, even if the Seed of Eternity ended up getting destroyed, because saving his own life was the only way he could have the opportunity to think about the future. Otherwise, what would be the point of keeping the Seed of Eternity?

    Besides, in the current situation, the Seed of Eternity was all that Lin Li could offer, though he had no idea what effects it could exert. Although the five pieces of the debris of the stars were powerful, Lin Li could only exert their power by relying on the understanding that he had before he transmigrated. He was not afraid that Rogge wouldn¡¯t return the debris of the stars to him, but rather was worried that Rogge might end up being hurt by the debris of the stars before he could use it to defeat the me Dragon Lothar.

    Rogge didn¡¯t dy much, and used his mental strength to feel the Seed of Eternity after receiving it from Lin Li. A look of excitement shed in his eyes. However, Rogge did not exin to Lin Li, and simply held up the Seed of Eternity while chanting a prayer that waspletely different from the previous one. The Seed of Eternity that was initially shrouded in a green light seemed to havee alive at this moment as it continuously devoured the aura of life in the Eternal Forest. It then spat out a massive and purer aura of life.

    Rogge looked extremely pious as he chanted the prayers while exuding pure Holy Light, which made Lin Li feel as if he were bathing in Holy Light. However, at this time, Lin Li wasn¡¯t in the mood to enjoy thefort in his body, and instead shifted his gaze onto the forest not far away. There was an intense battle going on between Nefa and Lothar who were embroiled in a chase. Nefa was cursing loudly, while Lothar was roaring in exasperation. There were also the deafening roars of various magic spells, making the entire forest quake.

    Ever since Lin Li discovered that he had almost fallen for Nefa¡¯s trap, he had been wishing he could rip the damned ck dragon Nefa apart. If he hadn¡¯t used Gloomy Dark when fighting with the Fire Phoenix and awakened Rogge, everything would¡¯ve probably gone ording to the plot Nefa had hatched.

 Chapter 810 - All-Knowing Potion

    <h4>Chapter 810: All-Knowing Potion</h4>

    Lin Li could not help but pray that poor Nefa could withstand the me Dragon Lothar¡¯s attacks for a little longer. He had no other choice. Rogge still needed some time to activate the power of the branch and seed of the Tree of Eternity, and Lin Li was certain that he wouldn¡¯t have enough strength to tackle the me Dragon Lothar. Lin Li had been really concerned about Rogge¡¯s strategy from the beginning of the battle. Now, he even had to worry for Nefa, despite being enemies with him. This was a really helpless situation.

    Although Nefa was not the real Dragon of Destruction, and his power was a lot lower than the me Dragon Lothar¡¯s, he was able to maximize the deceit in the Laws of Evilness. That enabled him to escape from the me Dragon Lothar many times. However, the development of the situation was not always as hoped. The difference in abilities was not something to be easily ovee, and Nefa had suffered substantial injuries when he helped Rogge deal with the ming Torrent earlier on.

    What was more important was the fact that the me Dragon Lothar was a magical beast with brains. His immense power was one of the reasons that helped him survive through the prehistoric times till now. Although he was not as crafty as Nefa, who had the mastery over the Laws of Evilness, his intelligence was not lower than that of anyone in the room. No one would be able to employ the same tactic against the beast the second time no matter how brilliant it might be. Doing so would only open up the grave that the beast had dug for him. From the start of the chase till now, it cost Nefa significantly despite the fact that he had the ability to escape from the me Dragon Lothar. His body was covered in deep wounds that exposed his bones. His tail was broken in half as well.

    When Nefa finally lost one side of his wings in an attempt to escape from the ws of the me Dragon, both Nefa and Lin Li knew that he had a slim chance of surviving Lothar¡¯s next attack. At this time, although the speed of Rogge¡¯s recitation increased, which signified the readiness of the spell¡ªEternal Forest¡ªit was obvious that they already did not have enough time.

    <i>Goddammit, I¡¯m going in!</i>

    The situation convinced Lin Li that he should not wait any longer. Rogge was still working on the Eternal Forest. He would not have the time to send him back to Anril as nned. The me Dragon would get him before that. Lin Li knew that he had to fight for thisst straw.

    He was not unhappy that Rogge could not fulfill his promise. After all, it would be impossible to have perfect ns no matter howprehensive they were. Since he had chosen to stay, he would have to be ountable for his decision.

    When he saw that Nefa had lost hisst bit of energy to escape from Lothar¡¯s attacks, Lin Li retrieved a sky-blue-colored potion from his Ring of Endless Storm. This Life Bottle was not any simple bottle. The fact that the bottle was carved with the Dream Crystal made it a prized treasure for any pharmacist. The Life Bottle would be able to purify any impurities within the potion, and thus enhanced the effectiveness of the potion.

    The Life Bottle contained the All-Knowing Potion that was formted with the ck lotus when Lin Li was trying to look for the fire element herbs. In reality, this was not his first time creating or consuming the potion. When he was at the Scar of Death in the ckstone Mountains, it was the All-Knowing Potion that helped him to defeat the Legendary Lich and his Humerus Wyrm. It had even enabled him to have a sense of the Legendary-realm.

    Although Lin Li had had the ability of a pharmaceutics Guru previously, it would¡¯ve been impossible for him to formte one bottle of All-Knowing Potion within a week. But now, as a Legendary-mage at the peak of level-23, he had tremendous skills in creating potions and great knowledge in the force of magic aspared to before. As long as he had adequate ingredients, he would be able to create any Master-level potion within a short time.

    Furthermore, this All-Knowing Potion was different from the one before. This was an improved version that included Lin Li¡¯s increased knowledge in pharmaceutics, as well as the enlightenment he gained from entering the Legendary-realm. In fact, Lin Li formted the potion because he was bored and he had excess ck lotuses. Another reason was to prepare for his entering into the Sanctuary-realm.

    The effect of the All-Knowing Potion was to enhance the hidden potential and boost the ability of the mage who consumed it. This effect was not temporary. The mage would not return to his original level after that. Hence, this All-Knowing Potion was not only effective for low-level mages, but also powerhouses in the Legendary-realm. This was especially true for the potion contained in a Life Bottle. The longer it stayed in it, the better its effects.

    What was more important was the modifications Lin Li had done to the potion. He let the effects of the potion reach the Guru-level, but also made the effects of the potion extremely out of control. Hence, he hoped that the use of the Life Bottle could gradually alleviate its repercussions. However, if Lin Li were to consume this potion that had not been in the Life Bottle for too long, the effects of it might not reach the point that he hoped for. While the vigorous yet unstable energy would not threaten his life, it had the ability to prevent him from consuming any such potions in the future.

    However, Lin Li had no privilege to consider any other options given the pressure of the current situation. If he could not even survive this, it would not matter if the All-Knowing Potion were to be contained in the Life Bottle for a million years.

    He had decided to leave such matters for the future. What was important was to ovee the present crisis. With this in mind, Lin Li did not hesitate further. He took out the stopper of the bottle and emptied its contents into his mouth.

    As the cooling potion glided through his throat and into his stomach, Lin Li could feel a burning sensation in his body. His already massive mana started to rise like waves in a storm, as though it was capable of overturning an ocean. His prior powers, mastery of Light and Darkness, and his learning of the two powers from High Priest Rogge were triggered by the All-Knowing Potion. They were like unstoppable tide that destroyed the dam.

    Lin Li¡¯s hair and sleeves moved despite theck of wind. The violent wave of mana seemed to have its own life. It created a huge whirlpool around Lin Li¡¯s body. The scariest part was Lin Li¡¯s eyes, which shed and alternated between their reflection of deep darkness and pure brightness. Although they returned to their original state within a second, they seemed to be clearer than before. It was as though he had the powers of seeing through everything in this world with extreme rity.

    Rogge, who waspleting the Eternal Forest, suddenly felt a massive wave of mana erupt a distance away from him. He opened his eyes, expecting to see another formidable enemy. However, he could not help but got stunned by what he saw. Although he knew that Lin Li was not like anymon man, he did not expect this mage to be like a different man in the blink of an eye.

    Rogge was long aware that Lin Li was at the peak of level-23, and knew that his power could break through any time, but what Lin Li disyed how was not as simple as a mere breakthrough to the next realm. Rogge could feel with rity that Lin Li¡¯s surging mana was still growing despite crossing the border into level-24. He could even sense the aura of a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse.

    But, it was just that! Although Rogge was surprised that Lin Li had a sudden boost in power, that did not change the gap between the two sides much. Being a level-28 beast, that me Dragon was like half of a divine. Even if Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he would not be able to help much as a man in level-24.

    Lin Li¡¯s actions afterwards stunned Rogge further. It even distracted him from working on the Eternal Forest. Rogge was filled with remorse as he watched Lin Li fly towards Lothar. He was remorseful that he had not sent this young mage back to Anril earlier. He could not bear to see such a talented person meet his downfall in such a ce.

    Lin Li did not bother to say ¡°hi¡± to Rogge when he saw Nefa on the verge of death. He swerved towards the me Dragon like a lightning with his Helios¡¯ Scepter the moment he felt his mana stabilize a little. As he flew, Lin Li started to recite something really loudly. That was neither a spell in the lingua franca nor the High Elves Language. It was the demonic runes that he learned from Connoris.

    Lin Li was hovering in mid-air. Every time he sang a syble, an incredibly mysterious symbol would be spat from his mouth. It was as though the runes had turned corporeal. After every symbol appeared, it would change from small torge and from opaque to translucent rapidly. Then, it would vanish into the space. Neither Nefa who had inherited the force of the dragon crystal nor the knowledgeable High Priest Rogge knew what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind. Unlike them, however, that me Dragon, Lothar, treated Lin Li like a pest. He was only focused on his goal of killing the traitor of the ancient dragon species.

    However, when Lothar was about to give the little ck dragon hisst blow, the environment around him changed. The lush greenery in the Eternal Forest vanished, and it became pitch-ck. Despite having a ring of gold mes around his body, the glow emitted by Lothar was unable to light up the surroundings. He could only light up a radius of a dozen meters.

    ¡°Throne of Darkness!¡± Nefa gasped in shock despite having resigned himself and waiting for death. The Throne of Darkness was a Realm Magic that the Dragon of Destruction created in the Abyss of Tharlen for his shadow clone. Although Nefa was aware that Lin Li had previously passed the test his brother Tutankhamun had set for him, so he had to have been to the Abyss of Tharlen, he did not expect that Lin Li had taken over the Throne of Darkness.

    ¡°Seems like this is Azardas¡¯s power. What a joke! Do you think that this is sufficient to defeat me?¡± Lothar said in great disdain after he realized the aura that emitted from the Throne of Darkness belonged to the Dragon of Destruction. He was not wrong. Not to mention that the Throne of Darkness was a mere shadow clone¡¯s power, even if it was a real Dragon of Destruction, it would not have the ability to defeat him.

    The Throne of Darkness was just the first step. Lin Li did not stop after he summoned the Throne of Darkness. He continued to recite another phrase of demonic runes.

    As Lin Li recited the second segment of the demonic runes, the me Dragon finally sensed that something was amiss. He felt a wave of force from the Endless Abyss surging towards him like a tide. What followed was an immense pressure on its power base.

    The second phrase of demonic runes was what Li Lin learnt from Connoris when he was trying to deal with the Lord of Darkness. It was a demonic rune set that made use of the force of Endless Abyss. If not for that massive power, it would¡¯ve been impossible for Lin Li to defeat the Lord of Darkness then.

    Although this was not the Endless Abyss, the space here was incredibly weak. Otherwise, the Fire Elemental World would not have ovepped here. Lin Li¡¯s motive behind summoning the Throne of Darkness was not to use its force to suppress the me Dragon. He knew that it would be impractical to do that. Instead, the Throne of Darkness served like a portal for the Fire Elemental World. It was as good as creating a partial ovep between the Abyss of Tharlen and the current space. The space covered by the Throne of Darkness was the ovep between this world and the Abyss of Tharlen.

    Of course, that did not mean that Lin Li had gained the upper hand. The me Dragon was not the Lord of Darkness, and this was not the real Endless Abyss. It was definitely impossible for Lin Li to use the abyssal force to put down Lothar even if it was the real Endless Abyss. Lin Li did not have enough ability to activate the force of abyss like before. He did not even have an idea whether he would be able to hold the me Dragon back for one or two seconds.

    Lin Li¡¯s strategy was inspired by his enlightenment from Bk¡¯s crystal. In the prehistoric times, the Lord of Disaster, Bk, had used this method to deal with his enemies. He used his domain to borrow the force of abyss to defeat the Zago Demons as they were unable to leave the abyss. Unfortunately, Lin Li only had Bk¡¯s memory, and not his abilities.

 Chapter 811 - Deep Sleep

    <h4>Chapter 811: Deep Sleep</h4>

    ¡°GRRR...!¡± Lothar felt the growing pressure on his body. It was a disgusting feeling of sinking into mire. As he growled, the ring of gold mes around his body became more blinding as though it had the capability to turn the Throne of Darkness into ashes.

    The rage of the me Dragon gave Lin Li immense pressure as well. The Throne of Darkness trembled uncontrobly as Lothar growled. He felt as if thews that made up the Throne of Darkness were cracking. The Throne of Darkness was in an extremely precarious predicament. It seemed like it would be destroyed before Lin Li could optimize his use of the abyssal force.

    <i>Is this caused by the difference in power?</i> Lin Li suddenly felt really helpless. He realized that although he had reached level-24, he was still a thousand miles away from Lothar.

    However, Nefa who had previously resigned himself to his fate opened his eyes and stood with his injuries. Although he did not know what Lin Li intended to do, he knew that the Throne of Darkness would y a great part in Lin Li¡¯s n. Seeing how the Throne of Darkness trembled under the power of Lothar, Nefa knew he had to put himself together and devote all of his might to maintaining the throne.

    After all, this Throne of Darkness was Azardas¡¯ creation. Although Nefa did not have the Laws of Darkness, the Laws of Destruction and Evilness helped to give the Throne of Darkness a tremendous boost. All of a sudden, the helpless air emitted from the Throne of Darkness calmed down despite the fact that it was still rtively unstable.

    Lin Li immediately took the chance to optimize his mental strength. He mobilized more abyssal force to put the me Dragon underyers andyers of shackles. Although the level-28 beast would be able to break free from these shackles easily, Lin Li knew that it would need some time to do so. Lin Li had no extravagant hopes that the shackles would be able to really suppress Lothar. He only hoped that he could buy time for Rogge.

    Time trickled by. Then, Lin Li suddenly felt that the life force of the Eternal Forest was building up really quickly. It got to a terrorizing force in the blink of an eye, and seemed to have the power to break this space. At the same time, the massive life force entered the Throne of Darkness and rushed towards Lothar. The ring of gold mes around the me Dragon was instantly coated with ayer of green.

    Finally, Lothar¡¯s indifference vanished, reced with panic. Lothar could feel that the irresistible life force that entered his body was suppressing his power tremendously. Lothar felt that he had fallen to level-27 all of a sudden. It did not stop. He felt that he had gotten down to level-26, and then to level-25... Lothar knew that he could not wait any further. He growled at Nefa furiously before he tore the space in the surroundings and plunged into it. Then, he was not to be found anymore.

    <i>Did Lothar escape just like that?</i> Lin Li sighed in relief as he watched thest bit of fire element disappear where hest saw the me Dragon. He rejoiced secretly. This ancient me Dragon could really afford to put his grudges down. It was no wonder why he had survived the war during the prehistoric era. If he had gone all out before his energy waspletely sealed, he would¡¯ve been able to get rid of his enemies sessfully.

    With Lothar¡¯s departure, the lush forest also started to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye. The weeds and vines on the ground turned from green to yellow and to gray before vanishing into powder. The towering trees started to shrivel as the leaves fell from the canopy. They disappeared before reaching the ground.

    In the blink of an eye, the once lush green Elemental World vanished like a dream. What was left was a barend and the branch of the Tree of Eternity that stuck on religiously near the passage of the Fire Elemental World. It was still emitting a green luminescent light as before. It appeared to be unaffected by everything that happened before.

    After sending the Throne of Darkness away, Lin Li turned pallid. Although he had not fought the me Dragon for more than a few seconds, the use of the abyssal force had drained a huge amount of his energy. But, aspared to Nefa and Rogge, Lin Li was much better off. He had the ability to recover his mental strength and mana in a much shorter time than the two of them. The resolve of Nefa and Rogge vanished with Lothar¡¯s departure, which seemed to paralyze them.

    Nefay on the ground on his belly without paying any attention to his image as the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction. He did not immediately return to his human form, either. All he did was to pant heavily and leave his deep wounds to slowly heal.

    Although Rogge¡¯s injuries were not as severe as Nefa¡¯s, his body suffered greatly as he was the main pir of support for the branch of Eternity. Rogge sat on the ground, and his weak wave of mana was almost undetectable.

    Lin Li¡¯s brief period of rest had helped him regain a huge part of hisposure. He nced at Rogge and Nefa, and was not worried, as he knew that both of them were trying to use their own ways to recover. This was definitely the best chance to kill Nefa. But, having fought side by side with Nefa just now, and impressed that Nefa had not withdrawn from the battle prematurely... For whatever reason, Lin Li felt less desire to kill Nefa now. What was more important was to prevent his personal interests from hindering his promise with Rogge, an elder worthy of his respect.

    Although Nefa was lying on his belly lifelessly, he was trying to pay attention to Lin Li¡¯s behavior. He was feeling extremely depressed at the same time. <i>Goddammit, what has he done? Why did he try to be the hero when he had no capacity for that?</i> He knew that Lin Li had the power to decide his fate, despite his identity as the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Nefa was extremely clear that no one would be able to forgive him for the tricks he¡¯d yed earlier on. That would not be a problem if he was not injured. After all, Lin Li was only a level-24 man who had yet to step through the gates of the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, he was still far from the realm. But now, he knew that his plight would render himself vulnerable to anymon man, let alone one who had been in contact with the gates of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, just when Nefa was entertaining such thoughts, and trying to gather his powers discreetly, he was surprised that the young human mage did not fly towards him. Instead, he turned away. He picked up the branch of the Tree of Eternity and casually flung it at Nefa, who was expecting that he would keep it for himself...

    It was not that Lin Li saw no value in the tree branch. It was due to his knowledge that the branch was what Rogge had promised to give Nefa. He knew that if he wanted to snatch that treasure in the future, he would naturally work for it with his own abilities. Now was not the time. After he threw the branch at Nefa, he silently proceeded to retrieve the seed of Eternity that had been hovering in mid-air. It was his possession, after all. Although it was a dead seed, it was still valuable as a source of mana.

    However, just when Lin Li was about to put the seed away, he paused in surprise. He could clearly feel that something was different about the seed aspared to when he first took it out. The change was not due to the depletion of its mana. After all, they had been battling with a level-28 me Dragon. It was only normal for the seed to have an obvious decrease in mana no matter how massive its mana was. What shocked Lin Li was the faint life force he felt within the seed. It was as though there was something within that was in the midst of awakening.

    Lin Li did not gain anything beneficial from battling Lothar the me Dragon. He knew that his progress into level-24 was a given. Even without this battle, a short retreat would suffice for the same results. In fact, Lin Li was at a loss for using the enhanced All-Knowing Potion. It meant that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it in the future.

    However, if the seed were to be revived because of this incident, it would definitely be an advantage for Lin Li. Could it be Rogge¡¯s interaction with the life force of the branch of Eternity that had awakened the seed? The thought of that made Lin Li extremely excited.

    <i>Yes, that¡¯s right! The seed of Eternity is definitely in the process of awakening!</i> Lin Li held the seed in his hands carefully as if any bit of carelessness would cause it to be damaged. He sent his mental strength into the seed and tried to analyze the transformation. Then, his furrowed brows gradually started to rx. A sense of joy surfaced on his face involuntarily.

    The Tree of Eternity had the ability to support a mighty species that ruled Anril for ages. There would definitely be unlimited benefits for the Tower of Dusk if the seed of Eternity could take root there. Of course, it would at the same time invite many jealous gazes. Yet, that would not be an issue for Lin Li.

    After putting away the seed, Lin Li sat beside Rogge. Without his help, he would not be able to leave this world. So, what he could do now was to wait. But, Lin Li was not idle as he waited. Lin Li continued to consolidate his new abilities as a level-24 mage, and reflected on his insights of the Sanctuary-realm in particr.

    To mages, the process of enhancing their abilities was through the never-ending umtion of powers towards the benchmark of the next level. Yet to Lin Li, his already massive mana and unlimited mental strength that wasparable to a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse¡¯s made this process of umting powers a dispensable action.

    Hence, while Lin Li only took a few minutes to enter level-24, his true ability was not what any neers couldpare themselves to. The most important parts were Rogge¡¯s advice and his experience of being part of the battle between Sanctuary powerhouses. He caught a glimpse of the Sanctuary-realm when he rose to level-24. Although it was just a little inspiration, it meant that Lin Li was already at the peak of level-24, and was at the point where he could see the gate towards the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although he had used the improved version of the All-Knowing Potion before the expected date, Lin Li did not a bit regretful of his decision. He knew it was a wishful thinking to expect that the All-Knowing Potion could help him enter the Sanctuary-realm after he had a vague understanding of the realm.

    After what seemed like an eternity, Lin Li heard footstepsing towards him. He came out of his contemtive state, and saw Nefa walking towards him slowly in his human form. But, Lin Li could tell that although the external wounds on Nefa¡¯s body had healed, he was still far from his initial condition.

    The sight of Lin Li¡¯s gaze made Nefa sulk. He threw a ball of something towards Lin Li. ¡°This is what was promised to you earlier on,¡± said Nefa indignantly.

    Lin Li reached out to receive the item. He saw that it was a robe that emitted a mysterious wave of nomological power. This robe was not any simple robe. Lin Li could even feel that its powers resembled that of Nothingness from the debris of stars. It seemed like that was what Nefa mentioned in the deal they had previously. It was a Domain Robe that Immortal King had input with the Laws of Space.

    Lin Li had the least mastery in Nothingness out of the five pieces of the debris of the stars he had acquired. But, that could beplemented by this Domain Robe that had been integrated with the Laws of Space. Although it would not be able to help him exert all of the powers of Nothingness, it would be almost matchable to his powers with the other four pieces of the debris of the stars. Furthermore, the Laws of Space within the Domain Robe would be of a significant help for Lin Li toprehend the nomological power within Nothingness.

    Although Lin Li did not take advantage of Nefa who was severely injured, it did not mean that he had good feelings towards that crafty ck dragon. But, when Nefa handed his Domain Robe to Lin Li voluntarily, Lin Li could not help but shift his preconceived judgment of Nefa by a little. After all, the situation now did not matter to the deal they¡¯d wanted to make anymore.

 Chapter 812 - From Foe to Friend

    <h4>Chapter 812: From Foe to Friend</h4>

    After handing the Domain Robe to Lin Li, Nefa gazed at Rogge who was in the process of recovery. He sat down, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Having trapped here by Geresco for over a thousand years made me think that I will be enemies with all humans. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that we would berades against my own kind. But, you impressed me with your performance for your age. If I am not wrong, I sensed the abyssal force earlier on. I know that that is used by the ancient deities.¡±

    ¡°What was the situation, then? I suppose for his powers, Geresco did not have to use any deception to seal you here. I heard that when you were defeated by Geresco, it was Tutankhamun who pleaded with him to spare your life,¡± Lin Li responded without continuing the topic about the abyssal force. He was only curious, and did not intend to expose Nefa¡¯s emotional wounds. He knew that Nefa would not weave a weak lie in front of Rogge out of his ego. The same matter could be interpreted differently by different people from different angles. Hence, Lin Li only wanted to know more.

    Of course, Lin Li¡¯s question was extremely straightforward. It was no different from exposing Nefa¡¯s scars. Nefa could only shake his head and smile bitterly. He nced at Rogge, who was meditating, and said, ¡°I suppose you heard that from Rogge? That¡¯s right, I have to admit that I wasn¡¯t a match for Geresco. I was really defeated then. But, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for Geresco to kill me. After all, the situation then was different than the battle earlier. If I wanted to escape, no one would be able to stop me.

    ¡°At that time, I wasn¡¯t aware that I was Geresco¡¯s target. I thought he was a friend of my brother. When he saw me and my younger brother, we were having a fight. I thought that it was normal for him to interfere to help my brother fight me. Hence, after being defeated by Geresco, I did not think of escaping immediately. Geresco probably knew that he would have to go through more hassle if I were to escape. So, he requested to strike a deal with me.¡±

    ¡°And then you agreed to it?¡± Lin Li asked skeptically. He was really doubting Nefa¡¯s intelligence. How could somebody in charge of the Laws of Evilness be so gullible?

    ¡°I had no choice; I couldn¡¯t reject Geresco¡¯s offer. Also, I did not expect him to be like my brother after he destroyed the Tree of Eternity. He, too, was against the idea of me bing the new Dragon of Destruction,¡± Nefa said with a slight sense of indignation. He was still unable to ept how there could be such a powerful human¡ªthe species he deemed as vulnerable and weak. He was unable to ept his inability to reach the peak despite being the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°What was the offer that hindered your ability to reason logically?¡± Lin Li inquired curiously.

    ¡°He said that there was a huge crack in the Night Canyon that needed a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm to suppress the violent energy. As long as I promised to help with that, he would tell me more information rted to the Dragon of Destruction, especially the truth of the battle that happened between the Dragon of Destruction and Immortal King,¡± said Nefa as he nced at Rogge unhappily. It was obvious that Rogge had used the same tactic to implicate him.

    Nefa could only feel indignant that he fell for the same trick twice despite being the master of the Laws of Evilness. He couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge that his weakness made him really prone to such exploitation. Although he knew that it was impossible, that didn¡¯t stop him from trying it out just for his dream. Now that they had ovee the crisis, Nefa only hoped that Rogge¡¯s knowledge would be beneficial to himself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Does this really matter to you? Don¡¯t you already know the key information about the Dragon of Destruction?¡± Lin Li asked curiously after hearing Nefa¡¯sint. Was knowledge of the battle that had happened between the Dragon of Destruction and Immortal King really important for Nefa?

    ¡°Imagine if there is someone who forbids you from progressing into the Sanctuary-realm, and he even threatens that he will kill you if you do. Do you proceed with the advancement knowing that you wouldn¡¯t be his match? Or would you want to rify his reasons before doing anything?

    ¡°Before being tricked by Geresco toe to this ce, I only wanted to know how to deal with my younger brother. I wanted to know Immortal King¡¯s intention behind setting my brother against me. After wrestling with Geresco, I finally understood that bing the Dragon of Destruction would not be as easy as what I previously imagined it to be.¡±

    In fact, Nefa had already known how to be the new Dragon of Destruction very long ago. There was a high chance that Azardas¡¯ remains guarded by his younger brother Tutankhamun would y a crucial role in helping himself be the Dragon of Destruction. But, as Nefa got the answer to this question, new questions arose.

    ording to what was already known, Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction as he wanted to destroy the Tree of Eternity. But, Nefa was not entirely convinced this was true. It would be more reasonable to say that Tutankhamun was employed by Immortal King to guard the remains of the Dragon of Destruction to protect the Tree of Eternity. Nefa just could not understand why Geresco, the man who destroyed the Tree of Eternity, would want to prevent the rise of the new Dragon of Destruction.

    If Nefa could not solve this mystery, he would not dare to take the next step even if the remains of the Dragon of Destruction wereid before him. Hence, the battle that ended the life of the former Dragon of Destruction was of great importance to him. He felt that understanding the battle would help him know the true motives of the Immortal King. That would help him make a more informed decision on what to do next.

    Although Lin Li did not really like Nefa, he could not help but feel sympathetic towards Nefa¡¯s fate. His desire to be the Dragon of Destruction was met with resistance from Immortal King and Geresco, the two deity-like powerhouses of Anril. That was a kin to cutting off the possibility for Nefa to progress further. This might mean nothing to a normal man, but to somebody with great ambitions, it was definitely the greatest tragedy.

    ¡°I see, seems like that is really of great importance to you. It was no wonder that it got you fooled. But, haven¡¯t you considered the date of Geresco¡¯s birth and that of the fall of the Dragon of Destruction? Do you believe that he would know the details of the battle that had no other witness?¡± asked Lin Li. He was certain that Nefa would have thought of this issue. Nefa¡¯s persistence got him curious.

    ¡°At the start, I definitely did not believe him. But, he did the same thing as old Rogge. He revealed minute information about that battle. Although it was not any crucial one, it was a proof of his knowledge,¡± said Nefa as he turned to look at Rogge. The thought of his desperate encounter with the me Dragon, Lothar, made him indignant again. ¡°Old Rogge, you have been resting for such a long time. I guess your injuries are no big deal now. Do not forget that I was at the frontline with Lothar just now. It is time to reveal what you know about that battle.¡±

    ¡°I did not expect that you¡¯d be on my side then. That wasn¡¯t the Nefa I knew,¡± continued Rogge with his eyes closed. Although his tone was riddled with sarcasm, it did not seem like it was out of bad intention.

    Frankly speaking, Rogge had been astonished when he had seen the huge dragon body before him. Although it was partly because of the deal between the both of them, Rogge felt that there had to be other reasons that had motivated Nefa¡¯s decision.

    They had been enemies for over 1,000 years, and Rogge was aware of the catastrophe Nefa brought for the Darkness Shrine while he was asleep. Yet, Rogge could not help but gain a refreshed perspective of Nefa after they fought the me Dragon, Lothar, alongside each other.

    ¡°Hmph, your life wouldn¡¯t matter to me if not for the information you know about the battle,¡± said Nefa straightforwardly.

    ¡°I know that. But, I am still curious why you have so much trust in me. What if Geresco is my only source of knowledge?¡± Rogge asked sarcastically as he opened his eyes.

    Rogge had overheard the conversation between Nefa and Lin Li. He had been extremely surprised when he heard what Nefa said about Geresco¡¯s awareness of that battle. But, he could not recall he ever told Geresco that. In fact, he had not told anyone about it. How on earth would Geresco know about it, then?

    ¡°That would not be a problem. I canpare your story with Geresco¡¯s. After all, while Geresco might have lied to me, I don¡¯t see a reason why he would do that to you when both of you were the closestrades!¡± Nefa replied casually. He remained unaffected by Rogge¡¯s words. It seemed like he had considered the matter before.

    ¡°Alright then. About that, I hope to hear from you what Geresco had told you,¡± said Rogge. No matter how hard he tried, Rogge could not recall he¡¯d ever told anyone about what had happened then. Yet, it had been so many years. Even if the memory of a Sanctuary powerhouse was supposed to very strong, it was impossible for one to remember everything that had happened over a thousand years ago.

    Nefa would not have agreed to Rogge¡¯s request if it had been in the past. His prior knowledge was the most effective resource he could use to assess if Rogge had lied to him. If he were to tell Rogge what he knew, Rogge could very well exploit this information and build lies on it. When that happened, he could only allow himself to be fooled.

    The experience of battling alongside Rogge helped Nefa be more trusting towards Rogge. Although he would not want to admit that it was a rtionship betweenrades, he managed to let go of his worries after a short hesitation and reveal his knowledge to Rogge.

 Chapter 813 - The Past

    <h4>Chapter 813: The Past</h4>

    ¡°I remember that Geresco first talked about the location of that battle. Some said that the Dragon of Destruction had suddenlye to the Tree of Eternity; others said the Immortal King had intruded the Dragon of Destruction¡¯sir. However, ording to Geresco, the real location of that battle was in the air above Roddanmo¡ªthe northernmost part of the Breezy ins...¡±

    Judging from the location of the battle, Rogge knew that this piece of information that Nefa had heard from Geresco was unlikely to be fake. That earth-shattering battle which he had witnessed indeed urred at Roddanmo. However, Rogge was uncertain whether Geresco had revealed this piece of information unknowingly.

    ¡°The Dragon of Destruction and the Immortal King arrived at the skies of Roddanmo as promised. They first had a short discussion, or rather negotiation. However, both parties didn¡¯t want topromise at all...¡±

    In order to find the answer to his question, Nefa had been trying to figure out the information that Geresco had revealed over the past thousand-plus years. Thus, when he was conveying Geresco¡¯s reply, every pause and even change in tone were the same as Geresco¡¯s.

    ¡°During the battle, the Dragon of Destruction always had the upper hand. He controlled the Laws of Destruction which could almost destroy anything. Even the Immortal King¡¯s strongest attack was no match for him. Until the Immortal King took out his weapon...¡±

    As Rogge listened to Nefa¡¯s retelling of the battle, hepared it with the information he had and reminisced about the time he fought alongside Geresco. However, as Nefa dug deeper into the details, Rogge¡¯s expression changed from silent contemtion to inconceble surprise.

    Rogge was surprised to find out that Nefa¡¯s ount was even more detailed than the information he had. From the conversation between the Dragon of Destruction and the Immortal King to the changes during the battle, and even the special traits of the powers that the two had used, a lot of these details were unknown to Rogge, who had witnessed the battle.

    <i>How... How is this possible?</i> Rogge couldn¡¯t believe his ears. <i>Did Geresco tell Nefa all this? How did Geresco know so much more about the battle than I do? After all, I¡¯ve seen the battle with my own eyes!</i> Rogge was now certain that the information Geresco knew about the battle wasn¡¯t heard from him.

    Rogge suddenly felt that he didn¡¯t quite understand Geresco at all, even though they had been through many battles together. If the information Geresco had wasn¡¯t from Rogge himself, then where did he get his information from? After all, Geresco wasn¡¯t even born when the battle between the Dragon of Destruction and the Immortal King urred. When he was born, even the Immortal King had already disappeared.

    Could it be that Geresco had gotten some kind of diary left behind by the Immortal King? However, a diary couldn¡¯t record the battle in such detail. It was as if he had seen the battle with the Spacetime Beacon Spell! What kind of link was there between Geresco and the Immortal King, these two seemingly unrted people?

    Compared to Rogge¡¯s surprise, Lin Li looked much moreposed. Although he was listening to an earth-shaking battle¡¯s description, Nefa¡¯s narration was just too dull. For Lin Li, the battle between the Dragon of Destruction and the Immortal King was not even as exciting as the one between Geresco and the Evil Eye Tyrant which he had watched through the Spacetime Beacon Spell.

    Moreover, Lin Li didn¡¯t hear much useful information about the Stars of Fury in Nefa¡¯s narration. Although he had anticipated this, he couldn¡¯t help feeling rather disappointed. After all, he already possessed five pieces of the debris of the stars now, and was clear about where the other two pieces were. However, he had no clue where the Stars of Fury was. Although the Stars of Fury¡¯s power might not be as great as the seven pieces of debris of the stars¡¯ power, it was the optimal weapon for the debris of the stars to release their greatest power. This quality was definitely more important than any other.

    Back at Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li had thought that the Stars of Fury was in Osric¡¯s hands. However, when that perfect body had appeared, it had only been holding the Void Spear. Lin Li had also searched the crystal coffin, but not a clue about the Stars of Fury could be found. All clues about the Stars of Fury ended just there.

    Lin Li was aware that it was almost impossible to obtain the location of the Stars of Fury from the ount of that battle. However, Lin Li had no reason to care about the battle other than to find out the Stars of Fury¡¯s current location. Even if he wanted to get some fighting experience, this kind of oral ount was not even as useful as recalling the battle between Rogge and Lothar himself.

    Seeing that Nefa had finally finished his story, Lin Li rubbed his chin, and asked, ¡°You¡¯re no longer suppressed by the Fire Elemental World¡¯s powers now. The Immortal King and Geresco had also left Anril. Are you interested in taking a stroll around Anril? I think Tutankhamun will still care about you as a brother.¡±

    Although Lin Li knew that Nefa wasn¡¯t a good person, he still wanted to rope him in. If he could rope in another Sanctuary-realm powerhouse for the Tower of Dusk, its influence would be terrifying. Of course, since Lin Li had the guts to rope Nefa in, he wasn¡¯t afraid that Nefa would cause trouble. After all, he had many ways to get this ck dragon to work for the Tower of Dusk obediently.

    ¡°No. Although I¡¯m free now, and don¡¯t need to be tortured by the Fire Elemental World every day, I¡¯m not nning to leave here.¡± Nefa didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to try to rope him into the Tower of Dusk. After all, it was just too absurd for a Legendary powerhouse to attempt persuading a Sanctuary powerhouse to work for him.

    ¡°Are you scared of Tutankhamun? Or that I¡¯ll deal with you outside?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand what was so good about this ce. Back at the big crack, didn¡¯t Nefa say he wanted to leave this darn ce?

    ¡°Deal with me? Think about that after you¡¯ve reached Sanctuary-realm. As for my brother, I¡¯m not actually that scared of him.¡± Nefa found Lin Li¡¯s words really funny. Afterughing it off, he seemed to think of something, and his expression turned rather solemn. He said, ¡°Obviously, I want to leave this ce, but I also have to admit that I don¡¯t dare to leave.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re contradicting yourself.¡± Lin Li was puzzled. Was this ck dragon¡¯s brain hurt by me Dragon Lothar? If he wasn¡¯t scared of anyone, why didn¡¯t he dare leave?

    Nefa was silent for a while. He then decided to tell Lin Li the truth, and replied, ¡°When Geresco tricked me intoing here, he told me that I would follow in my father¡¯s footsteps and be defeated by the Immortal King should I return to Anril.¡±

    ¡°Him? You must be kidding!¡± Lin Li was shocked, but while he said so, he knew that someone like Geresco wouldn¡¯t say anything easily. Every word of his was meaningful. Nefa said that Geresco had tricked him intoing here, but if all the things wereid on the table, Geresco hadn¡¯t told Nefa a single lie. For example, wanting Nefa to suppress the volcano, telling him about the battle...

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to believe it, either. However, Geresco was already at the peak of Sanctuary-realm, and was one step away from turning divine when he told me this. You should know that powerhouses like him cannot be judged with mortal standards. Although his warning sounds rather absurd, what we deem as absurd is often the horrible truth,¡± Nefamented with some sadness. What seal, what Tutankhamun¡¯s promise? All of those were nothingpared to the effect of Geresco¡¯s words. With just this sentence alone, Nefa had to stay here even without any other restriction.

    Although Lin Li hadn¡¯t even reached Sanctuary-realm, and was far from bing a god, he didn¡¯t doubt Nefa¡¯s words at all. During the battle with me Dragon Lothar, that me dragonughed at the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s prediction. However, the truth was that wyrms were indeed chased out of Anril by the High Elves, which the Tree of Eternity had given life to. These High Elves then became the rulers of Anril, creating a prosperous empire like never before.

    Once one had reached near god-level, he could truly grasp the changes of the world and flow of time. The world would be no longer mysterious and unpredictable to them. Thus, any of their seemingly careless remarks contained profound wisdom. Prophesying about the future thousands of years distant was also possible for them. Thus, since Geresco had said that Nefa would die in the Immortal King¡¯s hands if he left this world, it would definitely happen.

    Unfortunately, none of the three on the scene had reached Geresco¡¯s level, so they couldn¡¯t understand Geresco¡¯s wordspletely. First, the Immortal King had already disappeared before the end of the Dark Age. If not, the High Elves would probably still be the rulers of Anril now. No one knew where the Immortal King had gone to for thousands of years, not even whether he was dead or alive. How would he be able to kill Nefa?

    ¡°Now I know why you¡¯re so insistent on knowing the truth about that battle. It¡¯s like a sword of Damocles hanging over your head...¡± Lin Li¡¯s voice trembled. He couldn¡¯t help sympathizing with Nefa. The Immortal King was too cruel. What had the Dragon of Destruction done to anger the Immortal King that it wasn¡¯t enough for him to kill the Dragon of Destruction, but that he had to ban the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s descendant from ever stepping into Anril?

    ¡°Old Rogge, let¡¯s talk about you. Do you have anything to add?¡± Nefa looked at Rogge, his eyes shining with silent anticipation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where Geresco had gotten his information from, but I need to tell you that his information is probably moreplete and detailed than what I know. However, since I¡¯ve promised, I¡¯ll tell you what I¡¯ve seen. I can¡¯t promise that the information will be useful to you.¡± Rogge shook his head gently and stopped thinking about Geresco. His eyes shone with nostalgia, and he started recounting that earth-shaking battle in his memory.

    During the battle at the end of the Dark Age, Rogge was pretty well-known amongst the rebels, being second only to the God of Mages, Geresco, in terms of magic. However, nobody would have guessed that the Rogge hadn¡¯t always been a mage. When he was young, he had been only an ordinary human soldier.

    During the Dark Age when the High Elves ruled Anril, they didn¡¯t separate the races they ruled over¡ªnot because they valued equality, but rather because they believed that the most perfect beings in the whole world were themselves. Any other intelligent races were all just lowly creatures that could be ughtered without reason.

    Especially humans who were frail, reproduced fast, and lived short lives were considered wed creatures by the High Elves¡ªjust like ants. ording to some records of the Dark Age, there used to be High Elves who had directly thrown reared magical beasts into human viges just to see a scene of blood and ughter. Fortunately, such acts didn¡¯t suit the tastes of the High Elves, so it didn¡¯t be amon entertainment amongst the High Elves.

    For the elves who were ves of the High Elves, they could elevate their status to a certain extent through their contributions. For example, the Helios Family did just that. However, for human powerhouses, be it the mages or warriors, none of them could get to the position they deserved with their abilities. Most of them ended up being thrown into the Tower of Death by the High Elves after being caught, where they had to fight with countless magical beasts all day for the High Elves¡¯ pleasure till their death. No one had ever escaped from the Tower of Death.

    Although the High Elves ruled the entire continent, that didn¡¯t mean Anril entered a peaceful era. The only difference was that the reason for wars was different. Instead of shes between kingdoms due conflicts of interests, the wars happened because the High Elves were ying a kind of chess game. Thus, one of the important uses of human soldiers was to be used as pawns for these High Elves to y their game.

    The young Rogge was one of these lowly soldiers who knew neither battle skills nor magic in that era. These soldiers were the most suitable ones to be the pawns as they wouldn¡¯t affect the High Elves¡¯ disying their chess skills.

    However, Rogge wasn¡¯t a pawn. He did a job that was even more lowly than being a pawn¡ªhe was a sentinel. The role of a sentinel was just to stand sentry, and he didn¡¯t need to fight like those pawns. This might seem like a rather good job, but it also depended on the location. The sentry post which Rogge was based at was located in the northernmost part of the Breezy ins. After one crossed this sentry post, he would enter Roddanmo, where snow fell all year long. This ce which was previously known as the Land of Ice now belonged to Dwarf Kingdom.

    Although the dwarves lived a rather good life in Roddanmo now, the Roddanmo then hadn¡¯t been a ce where humans would have set foot in easily. During the time when Rogge had been a sentinel there, Roddanmo had been an infamous danger zone in Anril. Even a Legendary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t have dared to enter Roddanmo alone.

 Chapter 814 - A Shocking Arrow

    <h4>Chapter 814: A Shocking Arrow</h4>

    That was the ice magical beasts¡¯ world. Ice Howlers, which were rarely seen now, used to be the mostmon magical beast roaming Roddanmo then, with close to Legendary-level abilities and great numbers. Other stronger creatures like the Ice Enchantresses, Snow Giants, and Icest Wyrms were also not umon. Amongst them, there were ones whose abilities almost reached Sanctuary-level.

    Not mentioning those most powerful magical beasts, even an ordinary Ice Howler could destroy an elite human army easily. Back in the Dragon Mountains, Lin Li had encountered a level-10-odd Ice Howler. This Ice Howler had once made the Rnd City casten¡¯s elite army return crestfallen. In contrast, in Roddanmo during the Dark Age, such Ice Howlers were the lowest-level magical beasts.

    These magical beasts wouldn¡¯t conform to human boundaries. Sentry posts on the borders, like the one Rogge was stationed in, were one of the ces these beasts loved to visit. Those were also ces where sentinels changed most frequently, or rather ces where sentinels were continuously sent to. If there were any dispatch records, people might have realized that a small sentry post had be arge army without anyone¡¯s notice.

    Rogge came to this sentry post, and became one of the many sentinels who lived on the edge of death daily. The young Rogge actually didn¡¯t have any fearless courage. The howls of the magical beasts often scared him awake at night. In fact, if <i>that</i> incident had urred a few dayster, Rogge would have be one of those sentinels who had disappeared.

    That day was the sixth day Rogge hade to the sentry post. The pot on the stove was brewing a somewhat thick brown rice porridge. As sentinels who could be the food of the magical beasts at any moment, the only thing that they could do was to eat all that they could. Hearing the brewing sounding from the pot, Rogge carried the pot to the aged dining table where its countless masters had dined, and prepared to enjoy his breakfast.

    However, a sudden violent shock came from under. Rogge couldn¡¯t bnce himself, and the whole pot of porridge fell onto the ground. However, this wasn¡¯t the time for Rogge to care about his breakfast now. This abnormality couldn¡¯t be caused by one or two magical beasts. This shock reminded him of the horrendous ck Current in the legends.

    Rogge waited until the shock calmed down a little before he climbed up from the ground and walked out of the house cautiously. The sentry post was built on high ground. While having a vast field of vision, it offered no room for people to hide or escape. This was so that the sentinels wouldn¡¯t run away.

    After seeing the outside, Rogge heaved a sigh of relief. He didn¡¯t see the legendary ck Current. However, a heaven-shaking dragon roar made Rogge almost copse onto the ground. He was only an ordinary human then. It was already remarkable that he wasn¡¯t scared to his death by that dragon¡¯s roar.

    When Rogge looked over toward the source of the roar, what he saw in the sky of Roddanmo opposite the sentry post was something he could never forget.

    Thick clouds rowed across the sky, so thick that they seemed about to drop to the ground at any moment. Among these thick clouds was a gigantic ck wyrm, pping its membranous wingsrge enough to envelop a city. It was like a god towering over the world, making people want to worship it uncontrobly.

    Rogge only knew that the ck wyrm in the sky was definitely more powerful than any wyrm in the myths as its body wasrger than the ones mentioned in the most exaggerated legend. As an ordinary human then, Rogge could only judge the ability of a wyrm from its body size.

    Rogge hid in the room at his sentry post nervously. Although he knew that this room couldn¡¯t offer him any protection, he still felt safer here. Just as Rogge was letting his thoughts run wild, trying to guess the reason for the appearance of this ck dragon, he saw that the thick clouds in the sky parted as if they were sliced through by a sharp sword. A shadow instantaneously appeared in front of the ck dragon. Judging from the shadow¡¯s size and height, Rogge guessed that this could be a powerhouse of the High Elves.

    The ck dragon and the High Elf exchanged a few blows in the sky. Then, they seemed to be talking about something, but the contents of their conversation weren¡¯t what Rogge could know. After that, the negotiation seemed to be unsessful. The ck dragon let out a roar, and the surrounding thick clouds were dispersed. That High Elf didn¡¯t seem to escape. Although he retreated a little, he immediately started to release horrifyingly powerful magic.

    The Rogge then hadn¡¯t even seen any real mage before. He had only heard about magic from folktales, that when magic hit a person with a ¡°bam¡±, the person would disappear... He looked up to see the intense battle happening in the sky, only feeling his heartbeat elerating. As for what magic each of them used, that wasn¡¯t something Rogge could understand.

    At that moment, the sky was filled with the wyrm¡¯s roars and the sounds of magic explosions. Gusts of powerful energy were continuously unleashed. The whole area shook under such forces as if the sky was going to be split into halves. The little room Rogge was hiding in also released screeching sounds as if it would copse at any moment.

    With the Dragon of Destruction and the Immortal King¡¯s power, that battle could be considered a divine-level battle. If any real mage were to witness it, he would definitely be able to gain experience that would benefit him for his whole life. Even Rogge, who didn¡¯t know anything about magic then, could gain some insights from that battle every time he recalled the scenes of the battle after bing a mage.

    However, not to mention that Rogge was only an ordinary person then, even a Legendary-mage would find it difficult to survive the aftershocks of that divine-level battle. Rogge managed to survive because the death aura that the Immortal King had radiated had intruded Rogge¡¯s body. However, Rogge couldn¡¯t be considered alive by then. It was hard to say if Rogge was extremely lucky or otherwise.

    ¡°The Immortal King was bombed by the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s magic, and shot towards where I was hiding. I suddenly felt a cold and eerie aura surrounding my body, and then the aura started swarming into my body as if it was alive. I knew that it was the Immortal King¡¯s death aura many yearster. After that day, I became a partly alive, partly dead half-dead creature under the corrosion of the death aura.¡± Rogge stopped for a moment. He felt rather sentimental about this. If he hadn¡¯t been intruded by the death aura, he would most likely have been dead due to that battle. It was the Immortal King¡¯s death aura that had allowed him to step on a path towards bing a Dark Mage. At the same time, it was the memories of that battle that had allowed him to constantly improve his abilities and reach Sanctuary-level.

    ¡°The Dragon of Destruction released its most powerful magic: Doom. The entire area seemed to be split away from Anril at that moment. Other than the battlefield, the surroundings dissolved into nothingness. Just then, the Immortal King took out his weapon. That was a bow of primitive simplicity and seven sharp arrows possessing different powers.

    ¡°When the first arrow was shot, the whole area turned bright red. Cloud of fire burnt in the sky andva swarmed on the ground.

    ¡°When the second arrow was shot, the temperature of the area dropped to absolute zero. Snow started falling. However, when the snowkes fell into theva, they formed snow mountains instead of melting under the heat.

    ¡°When the third arrow was shot, the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s body suddenly lost its radiance. It seemed to have aged a lot at that moment.

    ¡°With the fourth arrow, holy light pierced through the nothingness. The dark fog surrounding the Dragon of Destruction disappeared rapidly like snow under the sun.

    ¡°With the fifth arrow, the area turned darker than the darkest shade of ck. Even the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s dark fog seemed very bright inparison. This darkness engulfed massive amounts of the dark fog.

    ¡°The sixth arrow... shot through the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s skull. I don¡¯t know what kind of power that was. It was just a sh of lightning, and the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s head fell.

    ¡°However, as a Dragon Aspect whose abilities matched those of gods, the Dragon of Destruction still released a terrifying amount of energy even after it had lost its head. The Immortal King didn¡¯t have time to shoot the seventh arrow, and was injured by the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s explosive retaliation. The Dragon of Destruction made use of this opportunity to escape and disappeared into thin air. This is all I know.¡± Rogge shook his head with a sigh. A god-like presence like the Dragon of Destruction couldn¡¯t be viewed with human standards. It was able to release a surprise attack and escape even after losing its head.

    What Rogge knew wasn¡¯t anything more than Geresco. He had just recounted the incident from another angle. However, Nefa didn¡¯t look disappointed. He said, ¡°I know what happened after that. After the Dragon of Destruction had lost its head, it was still able to severely injure the Immortal King. It then escaped back to the ckstone Mountains and fell into a deep slumber deep in the ckstone Mountains, waiting for his power to return to take revenge on the Immortal King. However, just as he fell into slumber, an arrow shot through spacetime and killed himpletely.¡±

    ¡°What? Was that the seventh arrow that the Immortal King hadn¡¯t managed to shoot? What kind of arrow was it?!¡± Rogge had always thought that the Immortal King chased after the Dragon of Destruction and killed him. Little did he know that the Dragon of Destruction had died from an arrow. Roddanmo was in the northernmost part of the Breezy ins, while the ckstone Mountains were probably half a continent away. What kind of power did that arrow possess to be able to prate through the depths of the ckstone Mountains and kill the Dragon of Destruction!?

    ¡°That arrow seemed as if it didn¡¯t belong to this world. It seemed to be able to pierce through all restrictions of the world. Although the Dragon of Destruction had lost its head and used up a great amount of energy to retaliate and escape, it still possessed energy that was at the peak of this world. However, he wasn¡¯t able to react at all when that arrow was shot. It was as if the arrow was already at his most vulnerable point.¡± While Nefa described that arrow, even he couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of arrow it was.

    Everyone was silent at that moment. Be it Nefa or Rogge, everyone seemed to have fallen into contemtion, imagining what the Immortal King¡¯sst arrow looked like.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Lin Li coughed slightly to break the silence. He asked Nefa, ¡°Do you mean that the skeleton that Tutankhamun is guarding in the ckstone Mountains is aplete one? Or rather, it¡¯s the skeleton of the Dragon of Destruction that had lost its head?¡±

    Lin Li remembered that back at the Throne of Darkness, when he was trying to control the Lord of Darkness with the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s crystal, Connoris told him that the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s skeleton no longer existed in this world. After the Immortal King had killed the Dragon of Destruction, he had used all of its skeleton on the construction of the Seven Sky Castles. The only thing that was left was the eye used as decoration hanging in Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    However, ording to Nefa, the Dragon of Destruction had escaped to the ckstone Mountains, and then was killed by the Immortal King¡¯s arrow which shot through spacetime. Of course, the Immortal King hade over to the ckstone Mountains to retrieve the loot afterwards. But what was Tutankhamun guarding, then? Could it be that the Immortal King had left something specially for Tutankhamun to guard after obtaining the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s skeleton?

    Nefa shook his head, and replied, ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask my brother that. I didn¡¯t have any chance to see the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s skeleton under Tutankhamun¡¯s guard, so I don¡¯t know what exactly it looks like.¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± Lin Li nodded and turned to Rogge. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the Immortal King shoot down the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s head. What happened to the head after?¡±

    ¡°I only remember that the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s head fell in the direction of the Breezy ins,¡± Rogge replied after some recollection.

    Lin Li rubbed his chin. Given that so many years had passed, it was impossible to find the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s head even if he knew its exact location now. As for the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s skeleton, he didn¡¯t have much chance, since Tutankhamun was guarding it. However, all these didn¡¯t matter anymore. After all, there was aplete dragon skeleton lying in his ring now.

    After talking about that divine battle, Lin Li saw that Rogge was looking better than before. He didn¡¯t want to lose this chance, and used this opportunity to ask Rogge about some thoughts and questions he had after ascending to level-24. If not for Rogge¡¯s advice, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to get that aura simr to that of Sanctuary powerhouses even if he could reach level-24. With Rogge¡¯s advice, although Lin Li hadn¡¯t reached the peak of level-24, his abilities now were on par with those of any Legendary powerhouse at the peak of level-24.

    Rogge didn¡¯t hold anything back when Lin Li consulted him respectfully just because Lin Li wasn¡¯t a member of the Darkness Shrine. Nefa didn¡¯t want to be neglected, either, so he cut in now and then during the conversation. Although he possessed the Laws of Destruction and Evilness, he still had far more Sanctuary-level insights than Lin Li.

    Meanwhile, at the Eternal Darkness Altar, High Priest Sendros solemnly stared at the already narrowing crack at the bottom of the Altar with a gloomy expression. Behind him, the five high priests of the Darkness Council couldn¡¯t hide the worry on their faces.

 Chapter 815 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 815: Return</h4>

    Regardless of whether Lin Li admitted it or not, the five high priests of the Darkness Shrine and the chief high priest, Sendros, all regarded Lin Li as the incarnation of the God of Darkness. Now that the incarnation of the God of Darkness had fallen into therge rift, the ones who knew his possible identity could not help but feel worried, because they didn¡¯t know if he was dead or alive. It was not simply an issue of faith, because everyone knew what the incarnation of the God of Darkness meant for the Darkness Shrine.

    In the past, the Brilliance Shrine was continuously suppressing the Darkness Shrine, and even induced fear within the Supreme Council at some point, all because of Willen the son of the Holy Light. If the Darkness Shrine also had their own God of Darkness¡¯ incarnation, their rise would definitely be unstoppable even if they didn¡¯t surpass the Brilliance Shrine. They might even be able to return to their former heyday.

    However, a long time had passed since Lin Li entered. During this period of time, there had been a slight rebounding from the crack, which made all of them feel rather nervous. However, before they could even reinforce the rift, the silence was restored, and no one could guess what had happened in the big rift.

    However, before they coulde up with a solution, another shocking thing happened again as a terrifying and violent aura emerged from the rift again. Although the aura didn¡¯t result in uncontroble changes in the big rift, everyone could sense that something extremely terrifying had happened in the rift.

    Even Sendros felt weak and powerless because of that aura at this moment. The other high priests had begun to discuss retreat. Leaving the Eternal Darkness Altar would not be enough. They would only feel at ease if they were to evacuate from the entire Darkness Shrine. The unparalleled and domineering aura was too terrifying, and they even thought that a god had descended on the world in the rift. During the disaster back then, there were only just a group of Minotaurs and three Manticores, yet they almost managed to wipe out the Darkness Shrine. If the godly and terrifying existence were to emerge from the rift at this moment, the Darkness Shrine would probably be annihted.

    After sensing the terrifying aura that was erupting from the big rift, almost everyone already deduced that the God of Darkness¡¯ incarnation who they had finally found after putting in painstaking efforts probably wouldn¡¯t be able toe out of the rift alive. After all, the incarnation of the God of Darkness had yet to grow to his greatest potential, and was now only level-23 in strength. He was still worlds apart from the Sanctuary-realm, and definitely couldn¡¯tpare to the power of that godly existence.

    Even Sendros, the person who knew Lin Li best, could also feel the aura that would make him shudder a little. A feeling of desperation emerged from his heart, and he hopelessly thought to himself, <i>Is the Darkness Shrine really doomed this time!?</i>

    However, as time went by while everyone was in a state of anxiety, fear, and despair, everyone discovered something strange. Logically speaking, the seal of the Eternal Darkness Altar should bepletely useless in the face of such a terrifying power. It should be rather easy for that existence to break through the big rift. However, even after the terrifying aura erupted from the rift, the rift did not suffer too huge of a blow. Although there were some fluctuations, all was still within the normal range.

    While everyone was waiting in fear, the terrifying aura that wasing out of the rift suddenly disappeared without a trace, just like how it appeared out of nowhere. The environment around the Eternal Darkness Altar immediately returned to its usual appearance, and the intense magical waves also subsided as if everything that had just happened was an illusion. They couldn¡¯t even believe that the disaster that had struck the Darkness Shrine had just passed. Could it be because of the incarnation of the God of Darkness...?

    As the situation revolving around the big rift calmed downpletely, everyone felt fortunate yet extremely regretful. They felt fortunate that they were able to survive the disaster without facing much destruction, but they also found it a shame that there was no longer any hope for the rise of the Darkness Shrine. That reminded them of Rogge, the legendary high priest of the Darkness Shrine, who seemed to have also gone missing without any reason. Hence, the high priests of the Darkness Shrine did not seem to be overjoyed despite having made it through the ordeal.

    ¡°Master Sendros, sorry to have kept you waiting!¡± said a voice that suddenly sounded from the top of the Eternal Darkness Altar.

    At the instant that the cool and collected Sendros heard that voice, he suddenly trembled uncontrobly like he had been struck by a thunderbolt. He raised his head slowly and looked in the direction of the Eternal Darkness Altar while feeling a trace of terror in his heart, for fear that he was hallucinating just now.

    However, as a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-level, how could he have hallucinated? Sendros looked up and saw a figure flying downwards from the Eternal Darkness Altar¡ªit was Lin Li who had charged into the big rift.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡± the other high priests eximed in unison with horror written all over their faces.

    ¡°Master Sendros and dear High Priests, I¡¯m really sorry to have made you guys worried,¡± Lin Li said with a faint smile on his face as hended in front of everyone gently.

    ¡°Master Felic, why... have youe up from above?¡± The several high priests initially wanted to ask if Lin Li was alright, but they looked at Lin Li and realized that he didn¡¯t seem to have experienced a tough battle. Instead, he seemed to have just gone in for a swim.

    ¡°Uh, there is a little problem,¡± Lin Li said as he emerged from the Eternal Darkness Altar. Of course, it was because of High Priest Rogge. However, he thought about the instructions given to him by Rogge previously, and thus only answered perfunctorily without exining much.

    Seeing that Lin Li had returned unharmed, everyone didn¡¯t know how to express their inner emotions. To them, he was the incarnation of the God of Darkness and the hope for the rise of the Darkness Shrine! They¡¯d initially thought that they would lose all of that, but now that the disaster was over and the God of Darkness¡¯ incarnation had returned safely, they were all ecstatic.

    However, due to their special appearances, they looked rather strange when they were expressing their joy because they either looked like ghouls and skeletons or kept their faces hidden. Lin Li couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, and quickly said to Sendros, ¡°Master Sendros, nothing happened outside during the period of time that I was in there, right?¡±

    However, Sendros did not answer Lin Li¡¯s question, and instead asked with some apprehension, ¡°Master Felic, have you made another breakthrough?¡±

    After epting the surprise brought by Lin Li¡¯s return, Sendros discovered that the waves of mana that were being emitted from Lin Li¡¯s body seemed to be very different from before. Although he knew that Lin Li¡¯s power had already reached level-23, and that it would only be a matter of time before he reached level-24, Lin Li was in the rift for only a short period of time.

    Lin Li felt that there was nothing to hide about his advancement in level; hence, he nodded resolutely, and admitted, ¡°Yeah, I did gain some enlightenment in there.¡±

    Although Lin Li thought it was nothing, the rest didn¡¯t. After hearing Sendros¡¯ reminder, they all noticed the changes in Lin Li¡¯s strength. He was now level-24¡ªwhat did that mean!? He was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and was about to reach the Sanctuary-realm soon! However, he was only in his early twenties. He was truly deserving of being the incarnation of the God of Darkness.

    However, after getting Lin Li¡¯s confirmation, the shock and suspicion in Sendros¡¯ eyes did not diminish at all. Instead, they became even more intense, and he could not hide his horror at all. He continued to ask in a shaky voice, ¡°Could it be that you have already seen that door!?¡±

    ¡°I saw a little bit of it, but it wasn¡¯t clear enough. I think it will take some time,¡± Lin Li said with a nod, knowing what Sendros was talking about.

    The five high priests gasped in shock unanimously after hearing Lin Li and Sendros¡¯ conversation. They couldn¡¯t suppress the whirlpool of emotions in their hearts, either. The so-called door was the name often used to describe the threshold between one level and another. For example, one could be said to have passed through the door of level-24. However, they already knew now that Lin Li had reached level-24. So, what door was Sendros referring to!?

    Level-24 was the peak of the Legendary-realm, so what about the door after Level-24!? That was the real door that would truly allow one to be immortal! However, didn¡¯t he just reach level-24? He should only have the chance to see the door of the Sanctuary-realm when he reached the peak of level-24!

    Although the matter was too incredible, no one doubted its authenticity, because they trusted Sendros greatly. They were all looking at Lin Li with awe and respect. Their respect for the incarnation of the God of Darkness was due to their belief in Darkness, and the fact that a powerhouse had already seen the door to the Sanctuary-realm at the peak level-24 made them feel even more respect towards him.

    Although Sendros had already detected something, he was still rather worked up, and couldn¡¯t calm down for a long time after hearing Lin Li admit it himself. He finally suppressed the excitement in his heart, and said to Lin Li with a little envy in his eyes, ¡°Master Felic, this is not a ce to talk, let¡¯s find a ce to sit down. I¡¯d really like to hear what you¡¯ve encountered in the big rift.¡±

    In the conference hall of the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li and Sendros sat side by side in the main seats while the five other high priests sat beside them. All eyes were on Lin Li, and their gazes were full of curiosity, waiting for Lin Li to reveal the truth about the disaster that struck the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°First of all, I am sorry that I barged into the big rift without discussing it with everyone, causing you guys to get worried about me,¡± Lin Li said, once again expressing his apology to Sendros and the rest. He then began to talk about everything that happened after he entered the big rift. ¡°The other side of the big rift is a deserted world whererge numbers of prehistoric magical beasts gather. However, I didn¡¯t get into a fight with them after I entered, mainly because...¡±

    Lin Li told them everything about his encounter with Nefa, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, and High Priest Rogge, followed by the fight between the two Sanctuary powerhouses and the me Dragon Lothar. However, during his ount, he skipped the details about certain matters, such as his pact with Nefa, as well as Nefa¡¯s pact with Rogge. He also chose not to borate on the understanding that he¡¯d gained about the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction.

    ¡°Is High Priest Rogge still alive? He really is alive!¡± To everyone in the Darkness Shrine, Rogge¡¯s status was on par with that of the incarnation of the God of Darkness. Upon hearing Lin Li announce the news, the high priests including Sendros stood up with excitement.

    ¡°Yes, but High Priest Rogge said that the time isn¡¯t ripe yet; hence, he will note out to see you guys. It wasn¡¯t appropriate for me to ask about the reason, since he didn¡¯t mention it. However, before I returned, High Priest Rode asked me to bring you something,¡± Lin Li said as he took out a thin journal and handed it to Sendros who was beside him.

    ¡°This is...¡± Sendros grabbed the journal solemnly with both hands. The journal was made of the skin of a three-headed Manticore, and was emitting a strong magical wave. After he sat down, he opened the journal gently and took a nce. His eyes widened all of a sudden, and he couldn¡¯t help but say in surprise, ¡°This... This is the Dark Magic that has been lost for centuries! It can¡¯t be found in the Darkness scripture at all.¡±

    Lin Li had already read the contents of the journal, and received Rogge¡¯s personal guidance. Hence, he was not surprised by Sendros¡¯ astonishment, because apart from the powerful Legendary magic, various Sanctuary-realm spells that maximized the Dark Force were also recorded in the journal. Although Sendros was still unable to cast Sanctuary-level magic, he would definitely be close to the door of the Sanctuary-realm after studying Sanctuary-realm magic.

    Sendros didn¡¯t read the contents in detail, as every spell in the magic journal would take him a long time to read. It was obviously not the time to do so now. He carefully put away the magic journal and looked at Lin Li with a gaze that was full of gratitude. Lin Li had helped them resolve the crisis of the Darkness Shrine, confirmed that High Priest Rogge was still alive, and even brought them such an important magic journal. To the Darkness Shrine, it was a huge favor.

    After the conversation ended, the five high priests proceeded to perform their respective duties. After all, the Darkness Shrine had made some preparations to deal with the disaster, but they were clearly unnecessary now. Although the big rift still existed, and they still didn¡¯t know if there would be such a disaster again in the future, they reckoned that there would be at least hundreds of years of peace in the Darkness Shrine with High Priest Rogge around.

    ¡°Master Felic, you can already see the door of the Sanctuary-realm. How confident are you in preparing the Tribute of Darkness?¡± Actually, Sendros was quite embarrassed when he was asking that question. After all, Lin Li was the one who solved the problem for the Darkness Shrine this time. It did seem rather inappropriate for him to be asking for another favor before even returning the first.

 Chapter 816 - The Tribute of Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 816: The Tribute of Darkness</h4>

    However, no one could refuse the temptation of breaking through to the Sanctuary-realm. After reading Rogge¡¯s magic journal, Sendros was even more eager to improve his abilities and power. In order to do so, he would probably have to use the Legendary Tribute of Darkness, which was the sacred potion of the Undead, in addition to practicing for a long time.

    The Tribute of Darkness was called the sacred potion of the Undead, and was a treasure that was highly coveted by the Necromancers. It was said that anyone who drank the Tribute of Darkness would immediately be converted into a Darkness form that was one of the closest to the original form of magic. When in the form of Darkness, manipting Dark magical element would be an instinct. It was aplete mastery and perfect control of the magical element, and being in the form of Dark Magic was akin to bing the legendary Darkness incarnation.

    After so many years of umtion of knowledge and experience, he would probably be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm if he could get a single dose of the Tribute of Darkness, especially since he now had the Sanctuary powerhouse Rogge¡¯s magic journal. The Sanctuary-realm was the holy grail of every ambitious mage. No one could resist the temptation of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, despite feeling a little embarrassed, Sendros couldn¡¯t help but ask Lin Li about it. After all, Sendros already knew through the fact that Lin Li had detoxified the poison in Pope Rosario¡¯s body that Lin Li was probably a pharmaceutics Guru. In the entire Anril, Lin Li was the only one who could prepare the Tribute of Darkness.

    ¡°Well, I am rather confident, but Ick a lot of the ingredients needed to prepare the Tribute of Darkness, especially the main herbs, which I have none of,¡± Lin Li answered after some hesitation.

    The preparation of the Tribute of Darkness was actually a deal that Lin Li had made a long time ago with Sendros when he¡¯d still been an Archmage. Sendros had given the Heart of the Fallen from his collection to Lin Li and helped him integrate the Heart of the Fallen into the soul fire of the Humerus Wyrm on the condition that Lin Li would help him prepare a dose of the Tribute of Darkness once he waspetent enough.

    At that time, Lin Li wanted to turn him down because he wasn¡¯t too confident about concocting the Tribute of Darkness, even though he was a pharmaceutics Guru. The Tribute of Darkness was the most difficult to prepare among all the Guru-level potions. In the opinion of many pharmacists, one would have to reach the level of a Divine Smith in order to sessfully concoct the Tribute of Darkness.

    However, after training for such a long time, Lin Li had definitely reached the peak of the Guru-level even though he still hadn¡¯t broken through yet. This time, he had gotten a glimpse of Sanctuary-level power. Although it would be wrong to apply a single concept to everything, his clear understanding of the nature of the power had also allowed him to advance greatly in terms of concocting potions.

    Hence, Lin Li could safely say that he was 70-80% confident that he could concoct the Tribute of Darkness. However, the difficulty in preparing the Tribute of Darkness did not lie only in the techniques required. The rarity of materials was also an important factor that contributed to the difficulty. For example, the two main herbs required¡ªEverchill Flower from the arctic snowfield and the fruit from the Heart-devouring Tree below the 33rd level of the Abyss¡ªwere herbs that Lin Li had never seen before.

    ¡°Well, what if you have all the materials and herbs that you need? How confident are you in preparing it?¡± Sendros quickly asked again.

    ¡°Why? Have you collected all the herbs that are required?¡± Lin Li asked in shock when he heard Sendros¡¯ words. He knew that many precious herbs could not be bought with money or found just based on incredible strength. Those precious herbs were truly rare toe by.

    Lin Li watched as Sendros nodded slowly and answered, ¡°You know that although the Darkness Shrine has only been around for more than a thousand years, the Eternal Shrine that existed before the Darkness Shrine has been in Anril for a long time. Although most of the assets that I¡¯ve inherited back then are gone, I still have the ability to get the herbs needed for the Tribute of Darkness.¡±

    In fact, with Sendros¡¯ current strength and Rogge¡¯s magic journal, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to step into the Sanctuary-realm even without the help of the Tribute of Darkness. The only thing he needed was time. However, through this incident, Sendros had a hunch that Anril might soon lose its peace again, even though the dreaded catastrophe did not happen. Under such circumstances, entering the Sanctuary-realm sooner would be very necessary for him and the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°However, I am only 80% sure. Unless there is room for failure, I suggest you wait a little longer if the materials are not sufficient,¡± Lin Li said conservatively. He had no choice but to do so, as the value of the herbs required for the preparation of the Tribute of Darkness might be enough to purchase the entire Fn Kingdom. If the concoction failed, the loss would be too great.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Sendros could not help but hesitate for a while. He was a Master of pharmaceutics himself, and had a deep understanding of the value of various herbs. He also knew how difficult it was to prepare the Tribute of Darkness. However, after hesitating for a while, he said to Lin Li, ¡°Although the materials are only enough to make a single potion, I still want to try it. While those herbs are precious, they will not be of any value if they cannot be formted into potions.¡±

    Sendros¡¯ thoughts were actually very simple. The Divine Smith had always existed in legends, and for the vast majority of people, it was an ethereal existence. Although Lin Li was already a pharmaceutics Guru, he would still have to wait a long time before bing a Divine Smith. During the wait, Sendros might even be able to step into the Sanctuary-realm by himself, without the help of the Tribute of Darkness.

    Lin Li also understood Sendros¡¯ intentions. After remaining silent for a long time, he said, ¡°Okay, we can give it a try, but in order to ensure a higher sess rate, I have to make some preparations in advance.¡±

    Sendros was over the moon, and he frantically said to Lin Li, ¡°Thank you very much. If you need anything, feel free to let me know and I¡¯ll get them to fully cooperate.¡± Although he did not have the ability to prepare the Tribute of Darkness, he knew that concocting such a high-level potion would require plenty of preparations. It would be impossible to prepare it just with some herbs.

    Lin Li¡¯s original n was to give Sendros an exnation aftering out of the big rift, and then put an end to the visit in the Darkness Shrine. To his surprise, Sendros suddenly suggested that he prepare the Tribute of Darkness, which was a promise that they had made a long time ago. Since Sendros had made up his mind, Lin Li naturally had nothing to say.

    Although the herbs would all be provided by Sendros, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to really spoil the precious herbs that were rare and could not be found easily. Hence, before he began the concoction, he would have to make meticulous preparations in advance. The first step would be to make numerous calctions and separate each step of the preparation process. Lin Li imed that he was 80% certain of sessfully preparing the potion, but since he had agreed to help Sendros, he had to strive to do his best. After all, the herbs that Sendros had were barely enough for the Tribute of Darkness. Hence, he would have to pen down the numbers and carry out a huge amount of calctions.

    However, nning things out on paper alone was not enough, and he would have to carry out plenty of experiments to verify various preparation methods. Although some of the herbs required were rtively easy to obtain, the amount required was daunting as well. Fortunately, while the Darkness Shrine had declined, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Besides, they had a powerful background. Otherwise, the amount of herbs consumed during the experiment would be discouraging enough.

    ¡°Joan, collect some herbs ording to the list. We¡¯re running out of them. There isn¡¯t much left in theboratory,¡± Lin Li instructed his assistant while fiddling with the equipment in theboratory that Sendros had arranged for him.

    ¡°Yes, Master Felic, I¡¯ll get going now,¡± said Joan, who had been working as Lin Li¡¯s assistant the past few days. Actually, he did not help much, and he mainly helped Lin Li collect all kinds of herbs. He felt like his heart was about to bleed when he saw therge amount of precious herbs that he sent turn into worthless waste. The process was simply too torturous.

    However, Joan dared not say anything, for High Priest Sendros had already instructed him to speak less and abide by Lin Li¡¯s instructions. Although he didn¡¯t know what Lin Li was about to do, he reckoned that it had to be a very important thing since the chief high priest was taking it seriously.

    This time, only Sendros and the other high-level officials of the Darkness Shrine knew about the incarnation of the God of Darkness and the catastrophe that almost struck the Darkness Shrine. Apart from the few high-level officials, the other believers of Darkness simply thought that Lin Li was a distinguished guest of Sendros. Those who were more informed would know that the Tower of Dusk and the Darkness Shrine were in cooperation.

    Joan grabbed the list given by Lin Li, and when he looked at the various herbs listed on it, he couldn¡¯t help but be secretly astonished. Although the Ghost Grass and Lcs were not extremely precious herbs, the value and quantity required were absolutely astonishing.

    ¡°Nark, hurry and collect these herbs,¡± Joan said as he handed the list to Nark, the person in charge of guarding the warehouse where the herbs were stored.

    ¡°Oh my God, why are you here again? Did the higher-ups make you build another storeroom elsewhere!?¡± It was no wonder that Nark said that, because the herbs that Joan had picked up these days were almost half of the inventory in the warehouse.

    ¡°Stop making wild guesses and hurry up. Prepare the herbs,¡± Joan said with a wry smile. If Nark knew that the herbs that he had picked up the past few days had all gone to waste, he would probably vomit blood.

    Nark had also received instructions from Sendros, and thus simply expressed his astonishment for a while before proceeding to collect the herbs on the list. While walking, he looked at the herbs listed and shook his head while thinking to himself, <i>There¡¯s going to be so much more space in the storeroom after this!</i>

 Chapter 817 - Getting Busy

    <h4>Chapter 817: Getting Busy</h4>

    Just as Nark was about to enter the warehouse, another thin old man walked towards him from afar. Before he even reached Nark, he yelled, ¡°Nark, give me 20 Lcs. I need them urgently.¡±

    Nark stopped in his tracks, turned around to him with a bitter smile, and said, ¡°Master Markelyle, Joan has already taken all the Lcs. If you want them, I can only find five or six for you. Why don¡¯t you wait for the caravan to arrive?¡±

    For every force, pharmacists were indispensable, and the Darkness Shrine was no exception. Although Sendros was a very aplished Master of pharmaceutics, he was still the leader of the Darkness Shrine, after all, and it would be impossible for him to spend all his time preparing potions. Moreover, Sendros might be interested in concocting potions, but it was not what he wanted. His real goal was still to one day enter the Sanctuary-realm and be a Sanctuary powerhouse who stood on the peak of Anril. Hence, he decided to leave it to a group of professional pharmacists to prepare the potions that they needed daily, and Markelyle was the head pharmacist of the Darkness Shrine.

    Although Markelyle was only a level-17 Archmage, he had a high status in the Darkness Shrine because he was the chief pharmacist. Even Sendros and the several other high priests of the Darkness Council would be extremely polite to him whenever they saw him.

    However, Markelyle had been rather upset in the past few days because he had dropped by the warehouse to collect the herbs he needed, only to be told that someone had taken them all in advance on several asions. However, when he returned to question his subordinates, none of them admitted to taking herbs from the warehouse privately.

    ¡°Which rascal took away so many Lcs? What do you need so many for? To cook up a dish!? Nark, did you secretly sell the herbs? If you don¡¯t give me an exnation today, let¡¯s find a ce to reason things out!¡± Markelyle hollered as he dashed forward and stomped his feet to vent his dissatisfaction.

    With a wry smile on his face, Nark pointed his finger at Joan, who was hiding in the corner.

    ¡°Master Markelyle, you can¡¯t me me for this, you¡¯d better ask Joan,¡± he said to the infuriated Markelyle while casting Joan an apologetic nce. He did not want to receive ashing from the old man.

    Markelyle immediately stopped scolding Nark, and instead turned to glower at Joan menacingly as if he were going to devour him. He gritted his teeth, and said, ¡°Your name is Joan, eh? Why don¡¯t I remember seeing you in the Darkness Shrine? Have you eaten all those herbs!?¡±

    ¡°Uh, Master Markelyle, you¡¯re mistaken. These herbs are not for me, but Master Felic. Besides, High Priest Sendros has instructed us to prioritize Master Felic¡¯s needs, so please wait for a while,¡± Joan said while facing Markelyle¡¯s intense gaze, trying to exin. He couldn¡¯t help but retreat and take a few steps back, though.

    ¡°Felic? What Master Felic... Sounds familiar,¡± said Markelyle, who found Felic¡¯s name familiar after carefully thinking about what Joan said just as he was about to continue reprimanding.

    ¡°Master Felic is the President of the Tower of Dusk, as well as a pharmaceutics Guru. High Priest Sendros admires him for his standards in pharmaceutics. This time, Master Felic seems to be preparing a potion for High Priest Sendros; hence, the high priest asked me to be his assistant, and I was told to ce his needs before everything else,¡± Joan frantically exined again.

    ¡°Oh... What a joke. What kind of potion would require so many herbs? The herbs you have taken the past few days would be enough for me to prepare 100 Shadow of Darkness potions!¡± Markelyle barked after hearing Joan¡¯s exnation and recalling who Lin Li was. However, his anger did not diminish. Instead, he walked towards Nark and snatched the list in his hand. After taking a look, he grew even more infuriated, and he admonished, ¡°What kind of pharmaceutics Master is he? How can these herbs be used together? He even asked for such arge quantity. What does he want to do!?¡±

    Joan did have some understanding of pharmaceutics, but he was not an actual pharmacist. To be exact, he was just at the beginner¡¯s level, and could not tell based on observation what potion Lin Li was trying to concoct, much less since neither Lin Li nor Sendros mentioned what it was. Besides, Lin Li was merely conducting experiments in the past few days to verify some technical methods that he could use to prepare the Tribute of Darkness, and did not have any ns to prepare anyplete potions.

    Hence, when Joan heard Markelyle¡¯s question, he remained silent and couldn¡¯t answer him at all. All he could do was mutter, ¡°This is Master Sendros¡¯ instructions. Anyway, it must be very important...¡±

    ¡°He is simply abusing the trust given to him by High Priest Sendros! I don¡¯t believe that he¡¯d need so many herbs to prepare a potion. I bet he pocketed most of the herbs. These heathens indeed cannot be trusted!¡± Markelyle eximed, making a judgment that he believed to be the most reasonable based on his experience as a pharmaceutics Master.

    ¡°No, no, Master Felic is not such a person,¡± said Joan who, of course, knew that Lin Li was not such a person, because he had personally seen arge amount of herbs getting turned into waste. That seemed to be worse than pocketing the herbs, however.

    ¡°Hmph, I bet you have something to do with this matter too. Take me to see Felic and see how I expose his tricks in person!¡± Markelyle said as he grabbed Joan without hesitation.

    In the quietboratory, Lin Li frowned slightly and took a seat at a random spot in front of the table, after which he began writing, and his pen made various noises on a piece of paper. Forms were written all over sheets of paper which were then cast aside. Lin Li paused and the frown on his forehead eased up a little. Staring at the results of his calctions, a look of enlightenment formed on his face.

    Throwing the pen on the table, Lin Li suddenly stood up and walked towards the deck where he began to get busy again. After Lin Li handled the precious herbs using various methods, he turned them into glistening refined liquids that contained massive power, and arranged them neatly on the test tube rack.

    At this moment, the door of theboratory suddenly opened, and Markelyle dragged Joan in from outside, only to see Lin Li getting busy in front of the deck. Joan struggled while exining along the way in a bid to break free from Markelyle so that he could report to Sendros. However, when he was dragged into theboratory, he finally knew that there was no way things could be salvaged, and thus fell silent.

    Joan thought that the hot-tempered Joan would definitely barge into theboratory and kick up a big fuss as soon as he entered. After all, he was cursing along the way, and didn¡¯t stop for a moment. Clearly, he was infuriated. Hence, when he realized that he couldn¡¯t stop Markelyle from breaking into theboratory, Joan had no choice but to cover his ears and eyes, deciding to let things be.

    However, Joan did not expect Markelyle to be quiet after opening the door of theboratory and entering. Markelyle did not fly into a rage like Joan expected, and even his breathing seemed to have been deliberately slowed down. Joan moved his hands away from his eyes nervously and nced at Markelyle cautiously, only to see that Markelyle, the pharmacist who was moring about wanting to expose the thief, gaping a little and staring at the figure in front of the deck with a peculiar light in his eyes.

    In fact, it was not umon for pharmacists to take advantage of their employers who didn¡¯t understand pharmacy by iming to prepare some potions that the employers were clueless about, and then adding some herbs that they wanted for themselves to the form. It should be regarded as an unspoken rule. When Markelyle was younger, he had also done such a thing, and was also aware that many of his colleagues were doing the same. Even when he was exposed, he would simply lie and im that his actions were for the sake of keeping the potion¡¯s form confidential. However, this time, Markelyle truly couldn¡¯t imagine how stupid one had to be to do something so brazen without hiding it.

    However, when he really broke into theboratory and saw Lin Li who was getting busy in front of the deck, Markelyle was immediately attracted. He temporarily put aside his intention to stir trouble and kept his eyes fixed on every movement of Lin Li¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh and think to himself, <i>This Felic is indeed rather capable, but unfortunately, he¡¯s doing such shameful things.</i>

    Since Markelyle could be the chief pharmacist of the Darkness Shrine, he was naturally quite aplished in pharmaceutics. Watching Lin Li¡¯s fluid movements that were full of finesse, he was suddenly unwilling to step forth and interrupt him.

    Of course, Lin Li knew that someone had entered. Conducting the experiments wouldn¡¯t make him slip into a trance, but he simply didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Markelyle, because he thought that no one in the Darkness Shrine would make things hard for him. He didn¡¯t pause in his movements at all.

    ¡°Stop... Stop, do you have a death wish!?¡±

    Just as Lin Li was about to finish his final step and pour the liquid from a test tube into the sk, Markelyle, who had been engrossed in watching Lin Li¡¯s fluid movements, suddenly sobered up and frantically summoned a magical shield at the same time that he hollered angrily.

    Markelyle was not just a master of pharmaceutics in name. Although he could only see the liquid in the test tube, he could tell with his rich experience which herb the essence in the liquid was from just from the color and attributes of the liquid. Now, he waspletely sure that Lin Li had added the juice of Fire Berries into the sh. It was not that the juice of Fire Berries could not be used, but rather that he had also seen Lin Li adding other extremely powerful herbs like Wisteria and ck me Flowers into the sk. Adding the juice of Fire Berries at this moment would be akin to adding fire to a barrel of gunpowder.

    <i>His movements were so fluid and full of finesse, and his techniques are superb. How can he make such a low-level theoretical mistake!?</i> Markelyle thought to himself, finding it a pity. However, nothing he did would be of help at this moment. Once the small sk of potion exploded, its power would probably be close to Legendary-level. After giving the reminder, Markelyle had no choice but to prepare a magical shield and watch as the magma-like potion in the test tube was poured into the sk.

    A soft sizzling sound followed.

    The big explosion that Markelyle expected did not happen, and the originally colorful potion in the sk instantly turned into a clear orange liquid with the addition of the juice of Fire Berries. However, before Markelyle could rx a little, he saw Lin Li, who he felt was courting death, performing another horrible action. Lin Li actually picked up the sk and shook it in front of himself, after which he moved the sk towards his lips, raised his head, and chugged the potion. He even licked his lower lip with his tongue as if the potion was extremely delectable.

    ¡°Tastes like orange,¡± Lin Li remarked as he put the sk down and turned around to look at the duo at the entrance of theboratory. He questioned, ¡°Joan, where are the herbs I asked for? Why have youe back empty-handed?¡±

    With a look of dismay, Joan hurriedly opened his mouth to exin.

    ¡°You want more herbs? What do you take pharmaceutics and potion-concoction for? Do you know what you have done just now? You...¡± Markelyle chided with his magical shield before Joan could even exin. Markelyle dashed towards Lin Li, and was about to teach the brazen young man a lesson.

    ¡°This is?¡± Lin Li asked, ncing at Joan in bewilderment.

    ¡°This is Master Markelyle, the chief pharmacist of the Darkness Shrine,¡± Joan introduced while standing beside Markelyle nervously for fear that the old man would do something to anger Lin Li.

    ¡°Kid, do you know how dangerous your actions were just now?¡± When Markelyle heard Joan¡¯s introduction, he had no choice but to hold his temper back a little, straighten his back to puff up his thin chest, and speak with his chin slightly raised.

    To Markelyle¡¯s surprise, Lin Li waspletely indifferent to his status as the chief pharmacist, and even ignored his presence. Lin Li simply nonchntly said to Joan, ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t I say that I don¡¯t want anyone to disturb me? Forget it, go get the herbs.¡±

    <i>What? What!? This young man is too arrogant! What does he mean he doesn¡¯t want anyone to disturb him? I¡¯m the mighty chief pharmacist of the Darkness Shrine, and even Sendros is extremely polite to me. Yet, I¡¯ve be an insignificant person here!</i> Markelyle thought to himself in exasperation. He initially wanted to support Lin Li and guide him along, but he couldn¡¯t help but lose his temper again.

    ¡°Who is your teacher? You¡¯re too rude. I¡¯d love to find out who your teacher is...¡± Markelyle was just about to yell at Lin Li, but to his surprise, thetter turned around and returned to the deck, seemingly still wanting to conduct a pharmaceutical experiment. He chased after Lin Li, only to see the paper on the table next to him. He nced at it casually, but as soon as he looked away, he suddenly seemed to have realized something as he immediately turned his head back and dashed towards the table.

    ¡°This, this is...¡± Markelyle looked at the paper which was filled with various pharmaceutics forms, and couldn¡¯t help but breathe faster. He seemed to have also forgotten the purpose of his visit.

 Chapter 818 - Touching That Door

    <h4>Chapter 818: Touching That Door</h4>

    Markelyle grabbed the pieces of paper on which the forms were written with shaky hands. Despite having Master-level attainments, he still did not understand many of the forms and calctions on the paper well. He also found the answers to many of the questions that he had in the forms and calctions. He could tell that the ink on the paper was still very fresh, and it was obvious that they had all just been written not long ago. The only person who could have written them in theboratory was Lin Li.

    Lin Li ignored Markelyle¡¯s actions since he had already memorized the results of his calctions. The papers would be useless to him, then. It would be alright if Markelyle could stay there quietly, but if he were to continue making a fuss, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind throwing him out of theboratory.

    Realizing that a fight wasn¡¯t going to happen, Joan felt a sense of relief, and frantically walked towards Markelyle who was already immersed in the various forms. He then carefully pulled out the crumpled list of herbs from Markelyle¡¯s hand and quickly fled theboratory.

    ¡°Mas... Master Felic,¡± Markelyle muttered. After reading the forms and calctions on the pieces of paper, Markelyle already understood that the young pharmacist, Lin Li, had long surpassed him in terms of pharmaceutical attainments. At the thought of his behavior just now, he felt incredibly ashamed, and he wished that he could immediately cover his face and escape. However, he couldn¡¯t bear to leave the forms and workings written on the pieces of paper.

    The calctions written on the pieces of paper were done by Lin Li for the sake of concocting the Tribute of Darkness, which was a potion that was of the peak-Guru-level and required the best pharmaceutical preparation techniques.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lin Li expressed assent, but did not turn around or pause in his actions.

    ¡°Master Felic, could you let me copy your notes?¡± Markelyle asked, appearing rather embarrassed. He had just been chiding Lin Li and saying that Lin Li had a death wish, yet he asked to copy Lin Li notes now. It was truly a p in his own face. However, he knew very well that he ought to swallow his pride without hesitation at times. With those notes, he would definitely see a huge improvement in his level of pharmaceutics. What was pridepared to that?

    ¡°Take them away, don¡¯t bother me,¡± Lin Li said impatiently. To him, those were just wastepaper which he would throw away sooner orter.

    Lin Li¡¯s unfriendly reply seemed like music to Markelyle¡¯s ears as he immediately started picking up the pieces like a vacuum cleaner with excitement written all over his face. The notes on the table and ground, as well as those in the waste paper pile, were like treasures to Markelyle who felt like he had entered a huge treasure vault. The more notes he found, the more excited he got.

    In the next few days, there was a new cleaner in theboratory who worked hard and meticulously picked up every piece of paper in theboratory, not missing a single one at all. He was more serious than any other cleaner.

    A few dayster, Lin Lipleted all the calctions and experiments. Feeling that he was confident enough, he immediately began to concoct the Tribute of Darkness. At this point, Markelyle finally discovered that the young pharmacist, Lin Li, was already a pharmaceutics Guru, and was going to take on the challenge of creating the Tribute of Darkness which was said to have made pharmaceutics Gurus helpless.

    Due to the fact that he had already made preparations beforehand, there were no idents or slip-ups. Sendros and Markelyle watched the entire concoction process, which they had gained a lot of knowledge from.

    Seven days had passed in the blink of an eye. Sendros had been living each day in fear until he saw Lin Li adding thest herb that caused the potion in the sk to slowly change into the appearance of the legendary potion.

    ¡°Master Sendros and dear High Priests, thank you for the hospitality for the past few days!¡± Lin Li said to Sendros and the rest who were seeing him off in the obsidian square outside the Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°Master Felic, you deserve the most credit this time. Not only did you help the Darkness Shrine survive this catastrophe, you even concocted the Tribute of Darkness. Regardless of whether you¡¯re willing to acknowledge <i>that identity</i> or not, you¡¯ll always be the closest friend of the Darkness Shrine, and we¡¯ll wee you as a guest at any time,¡± Sendros said with some inconceble agitation. At this moment, the Tribute of Darkness was about his body, and it was the key to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Lin Li waved his hand and did not say anything. Instead, he used Power of Flight to fly towards the Night Canyon. Although he had given the Darkness Shrine great help this time, he had also made plenty of gains for himself. He¡¯d managed to revive the Seed of Eternity and advance to level-24. He had also received some guidance from Rogge, and gained some enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm. During the process of preparing the Tribute of Darkness, he had also improved significantly in terms of pharmaceutics. In fact, he had gained a lot from the trip this time.

    After leaving the Night Canyon, Lin Li did not immediately return to the Tower of Dusk, but headed to Sparta, the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, instead. The Tower of Dusk was developing well and going strong. Hence, he didn¡¯t have to worry about it. His main focus now was on improving his personal strength and preparing for the future.

    The city of Sparta, which was the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, was helmed by Archbishop Englos, who was the leader of the four archbishops, in order to protect the Ledin Kingdom. He was tasked with it by the Brilliance Shrine, but of course, whether it was protection or surveince would depend on one¡¯s perspective.

    After the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine issued that decree, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk in the Ledin Kingdom developed rather smoothly, and they managed to dominate arge portion of the market for potions and magical equipment during the time that Lin Li was in the Darkness Shrine. Currently, the Tower of Dusk was operating severalrge-scale shops which sold the potions and magic equipment produced by the Tower of Dusk.

    After Lin Li arrived in Sparta, the first thing he did was to visit a few shops and check on the business situation. Although he couldn¡¯t give them any guidance¡ªhe was self-aware enough not to¡ªhe also informed the Tower of Dusk of his whereabouts, which was more important, and told them to refrain from looking for him at the Darkness Shrine.

    After leaving the businesses of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li walked along the clean and wide streets like a leisurely stroll, and made his way to the Dawn Cathedral which was the center of Sparta. Due to the massive size of Sparta, there were dozens of Churches of Dawn in the Brilliance Shrine. The Dawn Cathedral, which was in the middle of the city, was the ce where Archbishop Englos managed the teaching affairs.

    Lin Li did not attract much attention when he arrived in front of the Dawn Cathedral. After all, there were too many believers of the Holy Light who visited the church every day. However, before Lin Li asked the pastor of the church to inform Englos of his arrival, Englos had alreadye out to wee him smilingly. This time, it caught the attention of everyone, and they began guessing the identity of Lin Li, the young man who was dressed as a mage and actually managed to get Archbishop Englos to wee him personally.

    ¡°Felic, I knew you were here. It¡¯s only been a while since we met, and yet you¡¯ve already...¡± When Lin Li was approaching the Dawn Cathedral, Englos had long felt the strong mana fluctuations when he arrived, and he had also spected that it was Lin Li. However, when he really met Lin Li, he was shocked by the aura that was exuded by him. He looked around, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go in and talk.¡±

    Lin Li followed Englos to the back of the cathedral, where Englos introduced the two people beside him. One of them was Cardinal Sodorma who was in charge of the diocese in Sparta and was Archbishop Englos¡¯ assistant. The other was Brilliance Knight Havalon, who was in charge of the armed forces of the Brilliance Shrine in the diocese of Sparta.

    Sodorma and Havalon, both less than 40 years old, should be considered the promising role models for youths because they managed to rise to their current positions at such a young age. ording to the rules of the Brilliance Shrine, those positions had to be taken up by those with Legendary-level abilities. The two of them were naturally no exception. Having Legendary-level abilities at this age was an incredible feat, and they must have grown up with the clout of being geniuses.

    However, their young age was also the reason for theirck of knowledge about the poisoning of Pope Rosario, even though they were of high status in the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they were extremely curious about the young mage Lin Li, whom the superiors of the Brilliance Shrine had constantly been talking about.

    Of course, they didn¡¯t doubt the authenticity of thosepliments that Lin Li was showered with, as the superiors of the Brilliance Shrine wouldn¡¯t all be dense and foolish. They didn¡¯t feel indignant or unconvinced, either, because that would be too naive for their age. However, deep down, they still found it all a little unbelievable.

    After looking at Lin Li¡¯s youthful appearance and feeling the powerful magical waves that were emanating from his body, Sodorma and Havalon couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. Had Englos not revealed Lin Li¡¯s age a long time ago, the two of them would have thought that the young man in front of them was simply an old fogy in disguise. They thought, <i>He¡¯s only in his early twenties, but his magical wave is probably on par with that of Archbishop Englos. Is this young mage really human!?</i>

    ¡°Bishop Sodorma, Knight Commander Havalon, it¡¯s an honor to meet you,¡± Lin Li greeted the two politely after hearing Englos¡¯ introduction.

    ¡°Oh, Master Felic, hello.¡± Sodorma and Havalon frantically greeted Lin Li as if they had suddenly snapped back to reality.

    Englos understood the reason for his subordinates¡¯ behavior; hence, he was not bothered by their momentary slip-up. Instead, he smiled and allowed Lin Li to take a seat. ¡°Felic, please have a seat. Don¡¯t mind them, even I was also taken aback by your change when I saw you just now. I remember that when you went to the Darkness Shrine, you should have reached level-23. I really wonder what you encountered in the Darkness Shrine to have achieved such a huge breakthrough in a short amount of time.¡±

    ¡°I have Master Sendros to thank for this. His guidance and permission for me to read the Darkness scriptures allowed me to advance greatly,¡± said Lin Li. He wasn¡¯t too worried when he was talking about Sendros and the Darkness Shrine, because he knew that Englos and Sendros had a strong friendship.

    ¡°I¡¯m very clear of that ghoul¡¯s[1] abilities, and I definitely don¡¯t doubt that his guidance could help you advance. However, I am afraid that you did not just advance in level. If I¡¯m not wrong, you should have already seen that door, haven¡¯t you?¡± Englos asked with a look of anticipation as he nced at Lin Li, who was somewhat simr to Sendros back then.

    Upon hearing Englos¡¯ question, Sodorma and Havalon immediately kept their eyes fixed on Lin Li. They knew what Englos meant, and thus their hearts were ricocheting as they looked at Lin Li. The Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril were mostly from the end of the Dark Age, and the things that they had experienced were like myths to most people. Although Lin Li¡¯s answer had nothing to do with the two of them, being able to witness the birth of a myth seemed to be an extremely glorious thing to them.

    Under the gaze of the three of them, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, but I didn¡¯t get a clear glimpse.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s answer was very gentle and calm, but it sounded like thunder in the ears of Englos and the other two. Sodom and Havalon both seemed to be breathing quickly, and even their bodies were quivering slightly and uncontrobly. For most people, getting to the Sanctuary-realm was simply a delusion and a fantasy¡ªeven for most Legendary powerhouses. However, a person who was going to advance from the Legendary-realm to the Sanctuary-realm was right in front of them. Even though they could only fulfill their dreams vicariously through someone else, it was enough to make them feel extremely excited.

    Englos did not ask Lin Li too many questions about his experience in the Darkness Shrine. As a longtime friend of Sendros, he was well aware of how embarrassing it would feel for the person being asked. Hence, after asking about some insignificant matters, Englos switched the topic, and began talking about another interest of his. He took out a notebook and asked Lin Li some questions about pharmaceutics.

    Sodorma and Havalon were already on the verge of breaking down as Archbishop Englos was behaving like apletely different person in front of them now. He was no longer as solemn and stern as he usually was. At this moment, he was holding his notebook in one hand and a pen in the other while asking various questions and taking notes quickly and attentively like a diligent and studious elementary student.

    Sodorma and Havalon did not understand pharmaceutics much, hence theirck of interest. Although they were surprised that Englos was consulting Lin Li, it wasn¡¯t as shocking as the information about the Sanctuary-realm. The two of them sat still for a while, but couldn¡¯t help fidgetingter. They wondered how they would be dealt with since they had already seen Archbishop Englos behaving in such a manner today.

    [1] This is stricte just a diss at Sendros and his looks.

 Chapter 819 - Prosperous

    <h4>Chapter 819: Prosperous</h4>

    As a result, the two simply smiled at Lin Li when he looked over, and made some hand gestures to hint that they would be leaving, after which they left the room quietly.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t just give Englos some pointers about pharmaceutics. He had also taken the opportunity to ask Englos about the Holy Light theurgy. Although Lin Li had already seen the door to the Sanctuary-realm, he purely only understood and mastered the Power of Light. In terms of Holy Light Magic, he might not beparable to Archbishop Englos who had studied the Power of Light for a lifetime.

    ¡°Archbishop, there¡¯s a mage from the Tower of Dusk outside who would like to see his President for an urgent matter,¡± a young pastor said respectfully to Englos as he entered the room.

    Englos and Lin Li conversed for the entire day, and they were both so excited that they talked about chatting for three days and three nights. However, they had to be interrupted by the mage from the Tower of Dusk before dinnertime even arrived. Although Englos was a little reluctant, he also heard that there was an emergency. He couldn¡¯t make Lin Li ignore the urgent matters that he had to attend to.

    Seeing that Lin Li had gotten up and was about to leave, Englos frowned and seemed to have gotten an idea. Smiling, he proposed, ¡°Felic, if you don¡¯t mind, why don¡¯t you let your subordinatee in and talk about it? I¡¯d like to know who dared to ignore the decree issued by His Holiness Pope Rosario himself.¡±

    In Englos¡¯ opinion, the urgent matter that the mage from the Tower of Dusk was referring to should be rted to the business of the Tower of Dusk in the Ledin Kingdom. Pope Rosario had already issued a special business rights decree for the Tower of Dusk; hence, anyone who dared to make things difficult for the Tower of Dusk in business would clearly be disrespecting the Brilliance Shrine.

    Lin Li could also tell what Englos was thinking. Hence, he nodded and returned to his seat. In fact, it wasn¡¯t surprising. Although Pope Rosario had issued a decree, others could still find their way around it and create trouble. Even on the territory of the Brilliance Shrine, it would still be impossible for the decree to be entirely implemented.

    Seeing that Lin Li had returned to his seat, Englos waved at the young pastor, and said, ¡°Invite the mage from the Tower of Dusk in.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Archbishop,¡± the young pastor quickly replied, secretly rejoicing and feeling thankful about the fact that he fortunately had not disrespected the mage from the Tower of Dusk.

    Although the doctrine of the Brilliance Shrine did not discriminate against beliefs, the profession of a mage was an atheistic one which despised the existence of gods. It was also called sphemy. The more devout the believers of the Holy Light were, the more they despised the mages who were known as sphemers. Hence, the believers of the Holy Light often treated mages with a hostile attitude, which they felt was right. This time, it was clearly different because the archbishop told him to ¡°invite¡± the mage in. The pastor dared not think much about it, but he knew that he would have definitely been in trouble if he had been disrespectful to the mage.

    After a while, the young pastor ushered the mage from the Tower of Dusk into the room. Lin Li was shocked to see who the mage was, because it wasn¡¯t the mage who was stationed in Sparta, but n who should have stayed at the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li had initially found it rather strange, for he had already gone to take a look at the various stores in the Ledin Kingdom that belonged to the Tower of Dusk in the morning. Why couldn¡¯t the mage have told him about it in the morning? Why would something crop up within such a short period of time? Seeing that the person who came was n, Lin Li immediately understood that the problem cropped up in the Tower of Dusk, and not in the Ledin Kingdom.

    ¡°n, you¡¯ve finally done it,¡± said Lin Li. Although he knew that something had happened in the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li did not rush to ask. Instead, he paid more attention to something else.

    n was a mage from the first batch of members of the Tower of Dusk. Among the mages of the Tower of Dusk, he could be considered the most talented one. However, due to the fact that he had wasted a lot of time by making mistakes during his study of magic, he had been progressing very slowly after bing a Magic Shooter. Lin Li had long given advice for n¡¯s problem, but long-term efforts were still necessary for his bad habits to be ovee.

    Indeed, n did not disappoint Lin Li. When Lin Li went to nna previously, more than 10 mages including n had reached the peak of level-19, and had even vaguely gotten in contact with some of the Laws of the Legendary-realm. Hence, it would only be right for n to enter the Legendary-realm at this moment, and it should not be too surprising.

    However, Lin Li ought to celebrate the fact that the Tower of Dusk had produced its first Legendary-mage. With the first one, there would be a second one. There would definitely be more mages from the Tower of Dusk entering the Legendary-realm in the future. A force could only secure a footing in Anril if they could produce Legendary powerhouses like the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine.

    ¡°This is all thanks to your guidance which allowed me to take this step, President,¡± n said humbly while ncing at Lin Li with zealous admiration and awe.

    ¡°This is because of your efforts too. Tell me what you¡¯re here for. Did youe straight from the Tower of Dusk?¡± asked Lin Li who noticed that n was dressed simply like he had just rushed out of a sandstorm. He had clearly traveled a long distance.

    ¡°President, this matter...¡± n said hesitantly as he nced at Englos who was beside Lin Li.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just say it,¡± Lin Li said indifferently. Although he had already guessed that the incident might be rted to the Tower of Dusk, he felt that there was no need to avoid letting Englos hear it.

    ¡°Yes, President,¡± said n, a little more confident after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. He expressed his apology and saluted Englos before continuing, ¡°President, our businesses at the Tower of Dusk have been suffering some joint attacks by a few unknown forces. They¡¯ve resorted to lowly tricks like ndering us, and alsopeted with us maliciously in terms of business. They truly resort to all tricks. Besides, we¡¯ve also found that some unknown forces are infiltrating Dnd City. They seem to be after something big.¡±

    The situation that n mentioned was considered a huge blow to a force, especially one that had just risen. In fact, most of the time, such blows would be fatal. Ever since the end of the Dark Age, countless emerging forces that were once promising perished under such attacks. Some had no choice but to give in and abide by the old forces. However, they were still devoured in the end.

    However, Lin Li did not show any anger after hearing what n said. Instead, he asked calmly in a yful tone, ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°And...¡± n hesitated for a while before saying with a look of guilt and embarrassment, ¡°One of our mages has somehow been bribed by another force and stolen the forging sketches for our magical equipment and some of the forms for our potions.¡±

    Themercial obstacles that n mentioned beforehand were due to external forces, but the fact that his subordinate had been bribed meant that there was definitely a problem with his internal management. Besides, it was considered their dirty linen, and yet he had to wash it in public, in front of the people from the Brilliance Shrine. That would be tantamount to embarrassing the President, and it was no wonder that n would have such a peculiar expression.

    ¡°I was just wondering, how could they have possibly missed this trick?¡± said Lin Li who remained calm, not surprised by what n said. In fact, from the establishment of the Tower of Dusk and the beginning of the development of the pharmaceutical and forging businesses, Lin Li had already expected that that would happen. Loyalty only existed when the price offered for betrayal was too insignificant. Although that saying was not absolute, it was still applicable to most people.

    Since the establishment of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li had already known that bribery would be inevitable. Even a major religious force like the Brilliance Shrine had its own traitors, let alone the Tower of Dusk. Not only did they have traitors who betrayed the Brilliance Shrine for their own interests, they were definitely far more than the Tower of Dusk. However, the Brilliance Shrine had a solid foundation, and the traitors wouldn¡¯t affect the Brilliance Shrine much.

    As for the Tower of Dusk, regardless of how rapidly they were developing, they were still an emerging force that had been established for only more than two years in the eyes of others. Didn¡¯t the foundation and background of the force rely on their pharmaceutical and forging businesses? As soon as those two pirs were gone, they would instantly crumble regardless of how high they climbed. The higher they were, the harder they would fall.

    ¡°Felic, now that I think about it, it feels like it was yesterday that I participated in your inauguration ceremony. In the blink of an eye, the Tower of Dusk has already aplished so much. Even I am a little jealous of such a high development speed.¡± At this time, Englos cracked a joke with Lin Li in a rxed tone.

    Lin Li was not at all annoyed, and instead said with a smile, ¡°Yeah, the development is too fast, it is inevitable for others to think that we might have an unstable foundation. There will always be those who want to try and challenge us and see what we¡¯re made of.¡±

    In fact, when it came to the foundation, the Tower of Dusk would indeed not be that strong if Lin Li did not have his Undead servants, Connoris¡¯ perfect body, and Angno who controlled an Alchemy Colossus. In the eyes of others, it was at best just a force that was led by a Legendary-level President. The rapid development of the Tower of Dusk had brought about massive wealth to them, but they did not have the ability to keep the money. Just like with a child carrying a bag of gold, everyone would definitely covet their wealth.

    If the owner of this massive amount of wealth was reced by a force like the Brilliance Shrine or the Darkness Shrine, or even the Supreme Council, who else would dare to covet it?

 Chapter 820 - Complex And Complicated

    <h4>Chapter 820: Complex And Complicated</h4>

    Take the Brilliance Shrine as an example. Putting the pope and the four archbishops aside, the cardinals alone were at least Legendary powerhouses. There were also the Brilliance Knights who were responsible for guarding, and were led by a Sword Sage. Actually, there were nearly 100 Legendary powerhouses in the Brilliance Shrine. Such a force was not to be trifled with at all.

    As for the Tower of Dusk, there were barely any such powerhouses apart from the Legendary-level President and his Legendary Undead servants, at least in the eyes of others. Even if the other mages already reached the peak of level-19, they would still be unable to pose any threat to a real Legendary powerhouse unless they took thest step.

    ¡°However, even if it¡¯s just you and your two Undead servants, I doubt there¡¯ll be many forces who dare to go against you,¡± said Englos, who actually wasn¡¯t too sure about the actual power of the Tower of Dusk. However, he knew that Lin Li¡¯s abilities were at the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm, and he definitely was too strong for an ordinary Legendary powerhouse to contend with. Hence, he wasn¡¯t too worried about the Tower of Dusk at this moment.

    ¡°Yeah, the Breezy ins isn¡¯trge after all,¡± Lin Li said with a nod.

    Actually, the top force of the Breezy ins was definitely the Glittergold Trade Union. Even in the Fn Kingdom and the entire Anril, the Glittergold Trade Union was considered a powerful force. However, the Glittergold Trade Union was the first to establish a cooperative rtionship with the Tower of Dusk because they were well aware of the true value of the Tower of Dusk, and also knew that their longtime cooperation had allowed them to continuously obtain considerable benefits. Hence, it definitely wasn¡¯t the Glittergold Trade Union.

    The Dark de used to be the top bandit force of the Breezy ins, and if it were in the past, they would definitely be one of the culprits. Unfortunately, as the three Legendary leaders were gone, the Dark de had be so weak that it could barely survive. Although the Tower of Dusk had not taken any action against the remaining members of the Dark de, the Malfa Family definitely wouldn¡¯t allow the second Dark de to appear.

    As for the Malfa Family, they might be the top family in the Breezy ins, but they were no longer on the same level as the Tower of Dusk in terms of strength. Given Cheyenne¡¯s wits and shrewdness, he definitely wouldn¡¯t participate in such things. Moreover, the cooperation between the Malfa Family and the Tower of Dusk would only bring him even more benefits. On the contrary, the Tower of Dusk bing unstable would be thest thing that they wanted.

    Whenever the top forces of the Breezy ins were concerned, the top 10 bandit groups, top families, and major mercenary corps would definitely be mentioned and ranked ording to power. However, in the vast Breezy ins, there were plenty of forces of various sizes, some of which existed even since the Dark Age. How could they be defined based on just some rankings? The established forces were actually disdainful of such boring games, and they preferred manipting things behind the scenes. Interests were the most important to them.

    When Lin Li first established the Tower of Dusk, his knowledge of the various forces of the Breezy ins was actually based on the rankings, and the traditional forces in the Breezy ins were rather repulsed by outsiders like him. Hence, they naturally would not tell him which forces to be careful about in the Breezy ins. As for the Malfa Family, they were actually also considered an external force, even though they had a cooperative rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. They had only been established in the Breezy ins for hundreds of years, and had yet to integrate themselves into the circle of traditional forces in the Breezy ins.

    However, there was something about Lin Li that Cheyenne could notpare to, and that was his sources of information, which were not limited to the Breezy ins. In particr, he had been shuttling between the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine, both of which had been standing strong since the end of the Dark Age. Everything that had happened in Anril after the Dark Age was known to them, what more information on the traditional forces.

    Hence, after hearing n mention the unknown forces, Lin Li immediately thought of the so-called established forces which often hid behind a facade. He linked it to the information in his memory, and could almost guess the identity of the unknown forces. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the greatest suspects in the Breezy ins would be the Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance. Of course, they definitely had the support of many other forces.

    It was said that the predecessor of the Blood Moon n was the Blood Moon Guards helmed by a High Elven leader. Most of its members carried the blood of both humans and the High Elves. Of course, the hybridization did not mean that the High Elves had mated with humans. After all, mating was not the only method of hybridization in Anril. Besides, apart from the hybridization between High Elves and humans, there were also hybrids of humans and wyrms, or humans and Abyssal Demons. In short, the Blood Moon Guards were alsobeled as the Hybrid Legion by the rebellion forces at the end of the Dark Age.

    During the war at the end of the Dark Age, the Blood Moon Guards and the High Elven lord failed to stop the rebellion forces. As a result, the High Elven lord was killed, while the remaining survivors of the Blood Moon Guards fled into the Abyss. The rebellion forces only disbanded at the end of the Dark Age because of a conflict of interests, and the remaining members of the Blood Moon Guards quietly returned to Anril. They then became a powerful underground force under the name ¡°Blood Moon n¡± in the Breezy ins.

    The hybridized members of the Blood Moon n were no different from humans when they were not awakened, and no one noticed them for a long time. Their secret was only discovered when the Brilliance Shrine was purifying a heretic from the Blood Moon n. However, at that time, the power of the Brilliance Shrine was no longer effective in the Breezy ins. Hence, they decided to leave something behind in the Fn Kingdom.

    Of course, not all members of the Blood Moon n were hybrids now, because they did not have the hybridization techniques that were used back then. Only the core members of the n were hybridized humans, who were definitely terrifyingly powerful since they could live until now.

    Unlike the Blood Moon n, the Mithril Alliance was a force that was purely made up of humans, and had a longer history than them. It had already existed in the Breezy ins at the end of the Dark Age, and was truly an established force. The original Mithril Alliance wasposed of 13 families of the Breezy ins, none of which the Malfa Family couldpare to. At the end of the Dark Age, they became the actual rulers of the Breezy ins, and even the Fn Kingdom could not intervene or mess with them.

    However, during the battle with the Blood Moon n, seven families of the Mithril Alliance were destroyed. One of the reasons was because the Blood Moon n was incredibly powerful, but another was that there was an internal war within the Mithril Alliance. After the demise of the seven families, the remaining six families of the Mithril Alliance quickly reached a truce with the Blood Moon n to stop the war, and they split the huge wealth umted by the seven fallen families amongst themselves.

    The Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance were hidden in the present-day Breezy ins, and only very few people knew about the state of those two forces. In fact, most people had never even heard of their names. However, they had plenty of informants who lurked in every corner across the Breezy ins.

    It was said that many factions in the Breezy ins were actually controlled by those forces. As long as interests were concerned, they would definitely be present.

    Although the Tower of Dusk used to develop rapidly in the past as well, their pharmaceutical business, which was a mainstay industry, was still restricted by the market. Regardless of how he increased the supply and production volume of the potions, the market demand would not change much. Expensive potions were not a consumer good that everyone could afford, and potions were not meant to be good, either. Most people would purchase potions and reserve them for emergencies. Hence, regardless of the rapid development of the Tower of Dusk, they could only reach the level of the Dark de at best due to the limitations.

    However, after establishing cooperation with the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom which provided the supply of high-quality ore, the Tower of Dusk began to expand their forging business on arger scale, and there was another surge in their development speed. With such a momentum, they would probably really threaten the status of the Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance over time. Of course, more importantly, it was because of the massive wealth that the Tower of Dusk had umted. Even the Mithril Alliance and Blood Moon n couldn¡¯t help but be jealous.

    ¡°Okay, got it. Go get some rest, and then return to the Tower of Dusk. Tell Gavin not to worry.¡± Despite having guessed that the matter should have been caused by the Mithril Alliance and the Blood Moon n, Lin Li did not show any worry or immediately decide to return to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°But President, you...¡± n could not remain as calm as Lin Li, especially after hearing Lin Li¡¯s introduction of the Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance. He felt even more worried after knowing that the Tower of Dusk was facing an unprecedented powerful enemy this time.

    Lin Li waved his hand without further exnation, and said, ¡°I still have some things to handle. I¡¯ll return after I¡¯m done. It shouldn¡¯t take much time. By the way, the deal with Prince Arthur should have been settled, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Prince Arthur has already given those two magical crystals to us,¡± said n, who couldn¡¯t understand why Lin Li was still concerned about the two Legendary magical crystals at this juncture. However, he had no choice but to suppress his doubts and answer truthfully.

    ¡°Okay, keep an eye on those two magical crystals. I¡¯ll need them,¡± Lin Li instructed, and dismissed n to let him get some rest. He then continued to talk to Englos about pharmaceutics as if the matter just now had nothing to do with him.

    On the following day, n left the Dawn Cathedral and returned to the Tower of Dusk, filled with worry and doubts. Lin Li, too, flew back to the Holy City, Dno, after bidding goodbye to Englos.

    Upon arriving on the Holy Mountain, Lin Li saw a few high-level members of the Brilliance Shrine, and they were once again shocked because of the increase in his strength. However, this time, Lin Li could only apologize to the ones who raised questions about pharmaceutics. Instead, he asked to see Pope Rosario.

 Chapter 821 - Returning To The Underground Palace

    <h4>Chapter 821: Returning To The Underground Pce</h4>

    The higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine knew that Lin Li was very likely to be the Son of The Holy Light, as predicted by His Holiness, Pope Rosario. On top of that, he had even given Pope Rosario an antidote for Viper¡¯s poison, and was the benefactor of the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, after hearing that Lin Li wanted to see Pope Rosario, they immediately brought him to the Dawn Cathedral on the top of the Holy Mountain.

    Lin Li and Pope Rosario chatted alone with each other for a night, and no one knew what they talked about. All everyone knew was that when Lin Li left, Pope Rosario personally sent him to the door of the Dawn Cathedral.

    After walking out of the Dawn Cathedral, Lin Li didn¡¯t say much to everyone, and simply apologized before using his Power of Flight to fly towards the Darkness Shrine.

    When Lin Linded in the obsidian square in the Night Canyon, the believers of Darkness who noticed him immediately stepped forth to surround him. However, before anyone asked anything, Sendros walked out of the shrine and invited Lin Li to enter while the believers of Darkness watched in shock.

    After a night-long conversation, Sendros stood in the obsidian square and watched Lin Li leave the Night Canyon. He shook his head and remained silent, while the high priests nced at him inquisitively.

    The unique structure of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins had be a wonderful scenery of Dnd. Building a magic tower in the shape of a torch was unprecedented and unheard of. In fact, even the mages of the Tower of Dusk did not know that the projection of the burning me on the top of the tower was the Eternal Furnace built by the legendary Highlord Osric, let alone the outsiders.

    Lin Linded directly on the ck Front Fortress of the Eternal Furnace, where the Lich Ujfalusi, the Vampire Norfeller, and the 40 Death Knights were absorbing the transformed death aura. Ujfalusi and Norfeller had both reached the peak of level-22, while the 40 Death Knights were about level-18 or level-19. It seemed that the ck Front Fortress that was built with the skeleton of the Titan obviously had significant effects on the Undead creatures.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the two magical crystals that you got. Are you nning to get those two items this time?¡± Connoris asked while standing in front of the gate of the ck Front Fortress and scrutinizing the Undead servants.

    ¡°Well, you should know about the matters going on in the Tower of Dusktely. The enemy¡¯s strength is unknown, so I can only improve my strength and abilities as much as possible first. While those two magical crystals may be low-level, they should be enough for sustaining the Ice and Fire Domain,¡± said Lin Li as he turned around.

    ¡°Seems like you have gained a lot of benefits from your trip this time. You actually...¡± Connoris finally sensed the changes within Lin Li. Although he had a deep understanding of Lin Li¡¯s incredibly overpowering abilities, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little dumbfounded at this time.

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re going to be shocked to death when I tell you about it. I did gain some benefits, but I almost died.¡± Lin Li walked out of the ck Front Fortress and talked to Connoris about everything that he had experienced.

    ¡°Damn it, the me Dragon Lothar. Even though that guy was defeated by the tyrant Bk back then, the fact that he could escape means that his powers are incredible,¡± said Connoris who was secretly rejoicing about the fact that he had left Lin Li¡¯s body a long time ago. Otherwise, he would have definitely been scared to death.

    ¡°Can you guess why the Immortal King doesn¡¯t allow the Dragon of Destruction to appear?¡± asked Lin Li who suddenly recalled the issue that he had discussed with Nefa and Rogge. In the past, he would immediately ask Connoris any questions that he had. Although Connoris was long-winded, he would always give Lin Li a satisfactory answer in the end. He wondered how much Connoris knew about the Immortal King.

    However, Connoris answered directly this time. He simply shook his head, and said, ¡°How would I know? If I reached the Immortal King¡¯s level, I wouldn¡¯t be what I am now.¡±

    <i>Damn, I knew it. Soul Trader? That¡¯s just bullshit!</i> Lin Li remained silent and immediately quickened his pace in leaving the Eternal Furnace to go to the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>The President is back!</i> The first mage who saw Lin Li rubbed his eyes in disbelief, and even forgot to greet and salute him for a while. He only snapped back to reality and reacted when he heard Lin Li asking him to go look for Gavin. At the same time that this mage proceeded to look for Gavin, the news of Lin Li¡¯s return spread quickly too. There was a huge uproar in the Tower of Dusk all of a sudden.

    Lately, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk had been obstructed by unknown forces, making every mage of the Tower of Dusk feel rather dejected and depressed. It was not that they were afraid of the enemy, but rather that they wanted to find out who the enemy was because it was necessary to do so even if they wanted to go all out. Everyone knew that the ones who were wreaking havoc and exposed themselves were just small fries, and the real opponent was still hiding behind the scenes. What was the point of getting rid of the insignificant ones? On the contrary, it might even allow others to have a hold on the Tower of Dusk and criticize their credibility.

    However, the President was now back! When the Tower of Dusk was attacked by the Dark de in the past, Lin Li returned and used just one magic spell to defeat the two Legendary powerhouses of the Dark de.

    <i>Those forces that are hiding in the dark and getting up tricks should get ready to be doomed this time!</i> The mages of the Tower of Dusk seemed to blindly trust and admire Lin Li. They all felt that there was no issue that their young President could not solve.

    ¡°President, I¡¯m sorry, this matter is the result of my negligence,¡± Gavin immediately apologized with a guilty expression and his head hung low after he saw Lin Li.

    ¡°It is indeed negligence on your part, and your punishment is indispensable, but it is not the time for you to be punished now. Go pick out 40 mages ording to their strength now. I have something to attend to. We¡¯ll talk about your matterster.¡± Lin Li waved his hand and dismissed Gavin. Although the stolen things were of little value to him, and he also knew that betrayal was inevitable for a force, Gavin was undeniably liable for it. There would be rewards for merits, and penalties for those whomit mistakes. Although he had always been satisfied with Gavin¡¯s performance, Lin Li couldn¡¯t ignore the matter this time.

    Soon, Gavin picked out 40 Archmages who were either level-18 or level-19, plus n who had entered the Legendary-realm. Lin Li didn¡¯t say much to everyone, and simply told them to follow him. He then led them out of the Tower of Dusk and headed towards the Dragon Mountains.

    As soon as they entered the mountains, the sky suddenly turned dark and the massive Humerus Wyrm appeared above them together with the Lich Ujfalusi. A ck ray of lightningnded beside Lin Li before taking shape. It was the Vampire Norfeller. The mages of the Tower of Dusk already knew the two Undead servants very well; hence, they were not shocked even though thetter¡¯s appearance was sudden.

    However, there were soon sounds of quick galloping, and the cavalry unit formed by 40 Holy Death Knights emerged behind the team under the lead of a Pdin Retribution Knight. Although the Holy Death Knights lived on the top of the Tower of Dusk, no one had ever seen them before. The mages in the team became rather nervous.

    However, after the Holy Death Knights caught up with the team, they immediately slowed down without revealing any intention to attack. Hence, the mages felt secretly relieved. At the same time, they also understood that the terrifying Holy Death Knights were the young President Lin Li¡¯s subordinates.

    However, it was not over yet. An alchemy aircraftnded in front of the team. Connoris got out of it, after which he used an Alchemy Array to retrieve the aircraft, and then walked towards Lin Li.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to fly? Why did you bother bringing this aircraft? I thought that coward Angno was alsoing,¡± said Lin Li as he rolled his eyes at Connoris with extreme contempt.

    Previously, Lin Li also wanted to get Angno toe along. After all, the strength of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was already near the Sanctuary-realm, and it should be useful against the Retribution Knight Rodhart.

    However, Angno wasn¡¯t his servant, after all. Upon hearing that they were going to fight a terrible enemy, he immediately shook his head profusely without saying anything else.

    ¡°I got that cowardly goblin to make this. Don¡¯t you think that this thing can fetch a good price?¡± Connoris said excitedly while walking and telling Lin Li merrily about the new business opportunity that he had found.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until we ovee this obstacle,¡± Lin Li said without hesitation like a wet nket.

    Although Lin Li was rather calm about the matter, it did not mean that he didn¡¯t care about it. In fact, he was well aware that the trouble encountered by the Tower of Dusk this time was definitely more serious than the previous ones. Since the Blood Moon n could survive for so long as the remaining forces of the High Elves and be one of thergest underground forces in the Breezy ins, they were definitely terrifying. The Mithril Alliance hade from the Dark Age, which was dominated by the High Elves, and they even fought the Blood Moon nter on. Had they not had any powerful means, they would probably have been destroyed long ago.

    Apart from those two forces, Lin Li had also thought of a few other top forces which had probably all yed a certain role in this matter. The top forces were deeply rooted in the Breezy ins, and had already been running businesses for over 1000 years. Perhaps they might not be well known, but they definitely had extraordinary strength.

    The Tower of Dusk could be considered to be facing the entire Breezy ins, and not just a single force. After oveing this obstacle, everything would be settled easily. From then on, the Tower of Dusk would be the top force in the Breezy ins.

    That was precisely the reason Lin Li had no choice but to lead his subordinates to the underground pce despite having yet to figure out the details about Rodhart ande up with a stable and appropriate solution. He had to obtain Pr Snow and Raging mes at all costs, even if it meant destroying the Ice and Fire Domain. He would only have the confidence to lead the Tower of Dusk through the obstacle if he owned all seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    The fort in the Dragon Mountains, which used to be their of the Syer Bandits, had already been destroyed beyond recognition. Lin Li led the team through the copsed walls and the ruins. Soon, they arrived at the mountain cave behind the odd-shaped rocks. Lin Li paused for a while in front of the unassuming cave, feeling a little nervous. After all, he was about to face the Retribution Knight Rodhart who had made the entire Breezy ins shudder.

    Passing through the dark cave, Lin Li finally saw the majestic underground pce again. The mages of the team finally realized that Lin Li had brought them there to hunt for treasures. All of a sudden, they were all a little dumbfounded. Most of them were born and raised in the Breezy ins, but they had never heard of the Dragon Mountains.

    After walking through the long corridor, the team arrived at the gate of a pce. Lin Li slowly pushed the gate of the pce open, only to see that the magicmps which had gone out when he left once again lit up when he entered. At the instant that the gate was opened, a suffocating aura seemed to have surged out like a flood.

    This time, Lin Li was much stronger than he used to be. When he faced the terrifying aura, he didn¡¯t feel the slightest difort at all. However, the mages behind him could not help but gasp in shock while trying to restrain themselves. After all, when Lin Li visited previously, he had already entered the Legendary-realm. Unlike Lin Li, the mages of the Tower of Dusk¡ªexcept n¡ªwere all just Archmages.

    Lin Li stepped into the quiet pce, where the sounds of his footsteps seemed to be extremely abrupt and outstanding. Connoris and the Undead servants followed him slowly. Although the mages had all sensed how terrifying the pce was, they still followed Lin Li in without hesitation.

    Finally, the figure with a sharp sword in his hand sitting on the throne that was pieced together with the skeleton of the Humerus Wyrm gradually appeared in front of everyone. He had long, silvery hair and was wearing a dark golden armor, on which there were exquisite mageweaths. The joints of the armor were decorated with the menacing bones of a single-horned monster. The red of the cloak behind him resembled the color of coagted blood.

    ¡°Have you thought of how to deal with him?¡± Connoris asked softly. Although he had obtained Connoris¡¯ perfect body, the perfect body had been created for Osric himself. After Connoris upied it, the speed of fusion was very slow, and he still couldn¡¯t exert the power of the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, Connoris was rather jealous of the Retribution Knight Rodhart¡¯s Sanctuary-realm abilities.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll resort to all means. I refuse to believe that I can¡¯t deal with him,¡± Lin Li said while taking action. He did not immediately go to the secret chamber to collect Pr Snow and Raging mes. Instead, he was continuously taking out various precious magic materials from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The first thing Lin Li did was to put up the Requiem Array that had once transformed the Titan Spirit. The Alchemy Array could turn mana into Divine Power, and was said to be able to purify all evil forces in the world. Of course, it was just a saying. Although Lin Li had used the Requiem Array to transform the level-25 Titan Spirit back then, he dared not hope for it to be absolutely effective against Rodhart.

 Chapter 822 - The True Legend

    <h4>Chapter 822: The True Legend</h4>

    After all, the terrifying Retribution Knight was once the most powerful Guardian Knight of the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, who would know if he was immune to Divine Power? It was said that the prophet Willen had used the Requiem to purify him back then. Yet, he was still alive and well.

    While surrounding Rodhart, Lin Li soonpleted the Requiem Array using the baby Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, which had infinite mana as the mana source. At this time, Xiao Hua already possessed Legendary power, and definitely couldn¡¯t bepared to when it was just born. It probably would be able to maximize the power of the Requiem Array.

    After putting up the Requiem Array, Lin Li did not pause for a single moment, and instead continued to ce magic traps in his surroundings¡ªsuch as the ze Trap, the Divine Cage, and the Brilliance Judgment Array. When arranging the magic traps, Lin Li did not hesitate at all, and decided to use all sorts of rare magical materials without even frowning. All he wanted was to exert the power of the magic traps as much as possible.

    If it had been in the past, Lin Li would not have been so careful. After all, he had been unsure how terrifying the Sanctuary powerhouse was. However, during the recent period of time, he had seen the incredible abilities of the Sanctuary powerhouses, which were absolutely unimaginable. If he didn¡¯t go all out, he would really die a wronged death.

    After setting the magic traps around Rodhart, Lin Li retreated far, far away and carefully scrutinized his arrangements. Finally, he made up his mind and resolutely took out four Magical Crystal Cannons from the Ring of Endless Storm, and pointed the muzzles at Rodhart. He then began to instruct his subordinates to stay in their positions in the pce, and carefully exined what they would have to do after the changes.

    At this juncture, the mages finally knew that the enemy they were about to face this time was the Retribution Knight who had almost destroyed the Breezy ins. They were definitely terrified. After all, they had yet to reach even the Legendary-realm. However, after seeing the arrangements that Lin Li had made and hearing his detailed instructions, they felt a little less afraid. Besides, they could also tell that Lin Li didn¡¯t bring them there as cannon fodder. Hence, they were rather attentive when listening to the instructions, and made it a point to keep them in mind.

    After making all the preparations, Lin Li didn¡¯t know what else there was for him to do. Hence, he finally took his two Undead servants and Connoris to the secret chamber ording to his memory after passing by the throne that was made of the skeleton of a wyrm.

    After breaking through the wall in the secret chamber, the world where water and fire fused appeared in front of Lin Li again. The zing mes and freezing snow werepletely different elements, and yet they were put together perfectly to form a peculiar world. The two streams of light in the sky were continuously chasing each other like two mischievous children.

    Lin Li took a deep breath, and then chanted the mysterious and profound ancient demonic runes, after which magic symbols that exuded a magical glow appeared in front of him and began bouncing together with his chanting. Gradually, the world of ice and fire seemed to have been engulfed as the ice and mes gradually dimmed in a shadow which grew increasingly thick as if it were about to devour everything.

    Under Lin Li¡¯smand, the Throne of Darkness descended on the world of ice and fire, and used its overwhelming power to conceal that of the ice and mes.

    Sensing the power of ice and fire, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice. If this had happened before he experienced the events in the big rift, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to devour all the power of the Ice and Fire Nature Magical Domain like Connoris mentioned, even if he had summoned the Throne of Darkness.

    The Throne of Darkness was initially the Magical Domain that the Dragon of Destruction had created for his own projected avatar. Although Lin Li had learned the incantation for possessing the Throne of Darkness from Connoris, the Laws that constituted the Throne of Darkness had been created by the Dragon of Destruction, after all. Unless Lin Li reached the level of the Dragon of Destruction, he would not be able topletely control the Throne of Darkness.

    At the end of the battle with the me Dragon Lothar in the big rift, Lin Li summoned the Throne of Darkness and managed to suppress the me Dragon Lothar by channeling the Abyssal force of the Throne of Darkness. The resistance of the me Dragon Lothar disrupted the Laws that constituted the Throne of Darkness, which turned out to be an unexpected gain for Lin Li.

    Although the Laws of the Throne of Darkness were broken, the throne would not copse. Lin Li could use his mastery of the Dark Force to restore the broken Laws of the Throne of Darkness. One benefit would be that he could have a deeper understanding of the Laws that constituted the Throne of Darkness, while another would be that he could infuse his own Spiritual Brand into it.

    Due to the fact that Lin Li had added his Spiritual Brand to the Laws of Darkness that constituted the Throne of Darkness, it could be considered his own Magical Domain, just like the Light and Darkness Domain that he had created. When using the Throne of Darkness, he could also infuse his mental strength and allow it to fully prate into the throne so that he could achieveplete control of every morsel of power.

    Finally, the world of conflicting elements of fire and ice waspletely devoured by the Throne of Darkness, and became a dark abyss-like world which did not allow a single ray of light to enter. Lin Li was the only one who could sense that the world of fire and ice still existed. The streams of light from Pr Snow and Raging mes were still moving in the sky as if nothing was affected at all.

    At the veryst moment, Lin Li took another deep breath, stabilized his emotions, and took out the magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons, which he had gotten from a trade with Prince Arthur. As he chanted a new stanza of the incantation, two magical crystals flew out of Lin Li¡¯s hands and darted towards the world of endless darkness.

    The magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons gave out magical waves and mana that were exactly the same as before. Just as Lin Li expected, there were no mana fluctuations at all after the two magical crystals were ced in the world of ice and fire. They gave out the same mana which spread throughout the entire world at the same speed, recing the power of Pr Snow and Raging mes while maintaining the existence of the two elements.

    No one could see what happened in the world of darkness, and all they could see was Lin Li reaching his hand out slowly and sticking it into the world of darkness. He then pulled out two pulsating beams of light after a while.

    ¡°Done deal,¡± Lin Li said while looking at the Pr Snow and Raging mes that were in his hands, feeling a sense of relief. He sent the Throne of Darkness that contained the Fire and Ice Magical Domain back into the spacetime rift. Once he returned to the Tower of Dusk, he would be able to use the Throne of Darkness and the Ice and Fire Domain on the Eternal Furnace. Although it wouldn¡¯t be as overpowering as the Conquering Mageweath in the Sky Castle, it would definitely enhance the powers of the people in the Eternal Furnace.

    However, at this moment, a deafening roar sounded from above, and the underground pce began to quake as if it was about to copse at any moment. Lin Li had just felt a sense of relief, and yet he tensed up again. Clearly, the evil and heinous Rodhart had awakened nheless.

    In the pce above the secret chamber, Rodhart was seated high on the throne made of the skeleton of a wyrm, but now the soul fire in his eyes abruptly started to burn at the instant that Pr Snow and Raging mes were taken away. Death aura erupted from his body like ck mes, emitting mana waves that had also surged at the same time. They were rolling towards the surroundings like a flood. The wyrm skeleton throne that Rodhart was seated on instantly copsed like it was made of fine sand, and turned into ashes that emitted waves of mana which spread towards the entire pce.

    Sensing the terrifying magical waves, the mages in the pce couldn¡¯t help but instantly turn pale. A thought emerged in their hearts uncontrobly: that power was definitely not something that humans could rival! The magical waves alone were already suffocating to them, and it was as if their souls were going to be crushed by the unrivaled power.

    The Death Knights who manipted the Divine Power could also sense the aura of the Retribution Knight that wasing from Rodhart¡¯s emerging mana. They could not help but get worked up. For the Death Knights, the Retribution Knight was undoubtedly their leader, but they could detect the aura of three Retribution Knights now, which made it impossible for them to react reasonably all of a sudden.

    However, at the same time that Rodhart awakened, the Requiem Array detected his Undead aura and instantly lit up. The magic circuits and mana nodes began to shine with a brilliant glow. Melodious music echoed in the pce as if it could wash away all the filth in the world. The tension and anxiety within the hearts of the mages were gradually cated by the soul-cleansing music.

    Amidst the light that was full of Divine Power and the melodious music that could purify everything, Rodhart who had just awakened from a deep sleep began to have his death aura that resembled ck mes drawn out of his body by a powerful force. It floated in the air and was purified by the Holy Light, which made it vanish.

    <i>President¡¯s magic arrays are indeed effective!</i> Upon sight of such a scene, the mages finally felt a little relieved, but they were all still trembling involuntarily while holding their staffs tightly. They stared at the center of the magic array while praying secretly in their hearts and hoping that the powerful array couldpletely purify the daunting Retribution Knight.

    However, they were not believers of the Holy Light, after all, and their prayers were destined to go unheard by gods. Rodhart, who was in the center of the Requiem Array, was obviously angered by the damned Divine Power. After letting out a deafening roar, he pulled out the Eternal Frost de that he had stuck in the head of the wyrm.

    Together with the deafening roar that made their souls shudder, the white light that was full of Divine Power and shrouded Rodhart¡¯s body instantly became filthy and murky. Arge amount of death aura condensed in the light and gathered on Rodhart¡¯s body again, causing the ck mes to burn even more intensely. The melodious song suddenly became intermittent and particrly ear-piercing at this moment, and everything seemed to have been turned upside down.

    The magic circuit of the Requiem Array was eroded by the death aura without any resistance. The ck mes were ignited one after another, and the magic nodes seemed to have made cackling sounds as well while turning the pieces of precious magical materials into worthless waste. Finally, Xiao Hua, the baby Elemental Wyrm, had also left the Requiem Array like it was trying to flee. The entire array seemed to have suddenly copsed.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    Rodhart took a step out, only to step into Lin Li¡¯s ze Trap, causing the entire pce to seem like it had fallen into the sun as the dazzling light instantly engulfed his tall body. However, the footsteps in the light were not interrupted. Rodhart walked out of the dazzling light while the death aura that resembled ck mes became thicker and more intense when juxtaposed against the light.

    The Divine Cage was activated, and the white beams of light were inteced around Rodhart, forming a huge cage in the blink of an eye. The Divine Cage initially only required four Holy Light gems, which were each just as valuable as Legendary magical crystals, but Lin Li decided to use 16 palm-sized ones. The power of the Divine Cage was maximized. Lin Li thought that he would be able to at least buy some time for himself even if he couldn¡¯t imprison Rodhart immediately.

    However, in the face of the Divine Cage which Lin Li had invested greatly in, Rodhart simply raised his arm and caused the ck mes on his body to surge out in the direction of his arm. The extremely solid white beam of lightsted only for a few seconds before it became stained by the ck mes and copsed. The 16 precious Holy Light gems shattered and turned into worthless waste one by one.

    There was light condensing at the muzzles of the four Magical Crystal Cannons which were then aimed at Rodhart. The beams were inteced and shot from all directions towards Rodhart. However, Rodhart didn¡¯t dodge at all. He simply waved the Eternal Frost de gently, causing the four cannons to disappear without a trace. The four Magical Crystal Cannons only managed to fire one round of magical crystals; they all shattered abruptly.

    It had only been a brief moment since Rodhart awakened, and yet Lin Li¡¯s arrangements were mostly ruined already.

    At this moment, the 40 Holy Death Knights also understood who their leader was just by judging the three Retribution Knights. They then raised theirnces together under themand of the Retribution Knights. 40 beams of light containing Divine Power condensed in the void and sted towards Rodhart at the same time.

    Although the 40 Holy Death Knights all had level-19 power, except for a Retribution Knight, the power of the 40 condensed beams of light was still absolutely astonishing. Besides, the Divine Power could restrain Undead creatures, and thebined blow really made Rodhart slow down.

 Chapter 823 - The Power Of The Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 823: The Power Of The Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    Xiao Hua, the baby Elemental Wyrm, was still a Legendary Elemental Wyrm with infinite mana. Even though it did not manage to persist in the Requiem Array, its instantaneous Legendary magic formed a massive magic storm which surged towards Rodhart like a flood.

    Upon sight of the attacks from the Holy Death Knights and the baby Elemental Wyrm, the 40 mages recovered from horror and raised their staffs together ording to Lin Li¡¯s instructions. At their level, even the most powerful magic they had mastered would not cause any harm to Rodhart, who had already reached the Sanctuary-realm. However, Lin Li had set up a huge Magic Array in the pce for them: the Descent Of The Holy Light.

    The magic they cast did not dart towards Rodhart immediately, and instead gathered together under the effects of the Magic Array before being converted into the Power of Light and forming a solid beam of Holy Light, which sted towards Rodhart. The power of that Holy Light was much stronger than the Holy Light emitted by the Holy Death Knights. In fact, it was not inferior to the true Legendary-level Holy Light theurgy.

    All of a sudden, there were continuous roars in the pce, and the aftermath of the explosion of magic was already beyond the limit of the defensive spells of the pce. Cracks appeared on the top of the pce and rubble fell like raindrops. The beautiful stone pirs of the pce were also covered in cobweb-like cracks, and looked as if they might crumble into pieces any moment.

    However, just a few seconds after the endless magic spells overwhelmed Rodhart, this tall figure with long silver hair seemed to have walked out without any hindrance. Apart from the slight damage to his red cloak, there were no signs of suffering from magic attacks on his body. However, Divine Power had some inherent restraining effects on Undead creatures, after all. The ck me on Rodhart¡¯s body seemed to have be weaker than at first, though that was all.

    Seeing that all the arrangements made by their President did not have any effect on Rodhart at all, the mages¡¯ hearts sank all of a sudden. Although none of them stopped casting spells, they also knew that all their efforts were futile. Rodhart¡¯s strength and abilities were obviously beyond what they could rival as mortals.

    When he heard that loud roar, Lin Li knew that Rodhart had already awakened, and immediately rushed out of the secret chamber with his subordinates. When Lin Li and the rest had just rushed out of the passage leading to the secret chamber, they realized that Rodhart had already destroyed all of Lin Li¡¯s arrangements and rushed towards them aggressively from the pce with the Eternal Frost de in his hands.

    Lin Li got a great shock, but fortunately, he knew through his interaction with the Death Knights that the mages did not suffer too much. However, that also proved that Rodhart was indeed staying there because of the Ice and Fire Magical Domain, as well as Pr Snow and Raging mes.

    ¡°These were ruined in the blink of an eye. Is this how useful your means are!?¡± Connoris questioned Lin Li in a depressed and dejected manner. Given the current degree of fusion between him and the perfect body, he could at most exert level-24 strength, which was worlds apart from Rodhart, who was in the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, he wasn¡¯t optimistic about Lin Li confronting Rodhart head-on.

    Upon sight of the four of them, Rodhart immediately knew that the items had been taken away by them. Without pausing, he raised his arm and swung his sword at Lin Li, after which an arc that spanned several meters was formed in the sky. As soon as it took shape, it seemed to leap towards Lin Li.

    It was said that the Eternal Frost de could freeze space and slice it open like it was an actual object, and then infuse force into it to allow it to instantly appear in front of the attacking target. That power seemed to be somewhat simr to the Space Power of the debris of the stars, Nothingness. However, inparison, the Eternal Frost de was obviously much worse.

    However, the power of the weapon would depend on the user. Although the Eternal Frost de was notparable to the debris of the stars Nothingness, the power that Rodhart could exert while using it was definitely stronger than the power of Nothingness in Lin Li¡¯s hands. The sword suddenly shed in front of them, and the space around the light seemed to have copsed, giving Lin Li no time to react or move his body at all. Just as he was about to be cut in half by the light reflected by the de, ayer of light suddenly appeared on his body, and the light was instantly deflected in other directions.

    Greatly astonished, Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat and secretly rejoiced while activating the Magical Domain instantly. He felt thankful for the fact that he had fortunately reced the Star-Scarred Robe on his body with the Domain Robe. If it weren¡¯t for the Space Laws on the Domain Robe, he would have really been split in two.

    However, the Domain Robe was not omnipotent. If the Space Power had not been used in the Eternal Frost de, the Space Laws of the Domain Robe would not have automatically taken effect. Moreover, the automatic activation was just the simplest application of the Space Laws. Had Rodhartunched another shot with the sword, Lin Li would have inevitably ended up being cut apart.

    Lin Li, who was drenched in cold sweat, dared not hesitate at all. At the moment that he exhibited the Light and Darkness Domain, he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter towards Rodhart. A Light and Darkness Sword appeared in the air in the Magical Domain, and there was an outburst of infinite power which tried to behead Rodhart.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current strength and mastery of the Power of Light and Darkness, his Light and Darkness Sword no longer required such a long condensing time, and it had also be much more powerful than before. At first nce, the Light and Darkness of the Light and Darkness Sword seemed to be distinct, but if one were to take another nce, they would realize that the powers of Light and Darkness seemed to be merging and changing together. It was the Sanctuary-realm power that Lin Li had gained an understanding of.

    Faced with a Sanctuary powerhouse like Rodhart, Lin Li knew very well that the role of Legendary magic was quite limited, and the so-called Angels of Light and Dark were merely useless tricks. Hence, he decided tounch his strongest attack. Although the Light and Darkness Sword that contained a trace of Sanctuary-realm power was still Legendary-level, it was strong enough to cause certain damage to Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Rodhart had clearly detected the Sanctuary-level power in the Light and Darkness Sword, and thus he wasn¡¯t as casual dealing with the attack as before. The Eternal Frost de in his hand suddenly emitted a burst of dazzling light which seemed to have suddenly made the Eternal Frost de¡¯s size increase 100 times. It was not inferior to that of the Light and Darkness Sword.

    <i>Boom!</i> The two swords collided with a loud explosive sound that made the entire pce quake violently.

    Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword had already copsed, but Rodhart¡¯s giant sword that was made of light was still charging towards Lin Li without any pauses.

    Connoris chanted an ancient demonic rune set while condensing solid balls of lightning in his hands, which he then shot at Rodhart like they were cannonballs. In less than a second, there were already hundreds of purple-colored balls of lightning that shrouded Rodhart¡¯s body while giving off the aura of destruction.

    However, the power of Rodhart¡¯s sword remained unchanged, while the ck mes formed by the death aura suddenly burst out and surrounded his body quickly. The hundreds of purple balls of lightning instantly disappeared, and they flew towards the Vampire Norfeller who had suddenly appeared at the same time.

    Norfeller spat some blood and flew out, while the Lich Ujfalusi finished chanting his spell. He raised his Skeleton Staff high in his hand, and an intertwining cloud of green mist moved towards Rodhart. Although he didn¡¯t know how to use Divine Power, he was a Necromancer, and naturally could deal with Undead creatures using Necromagic. The green mist was the Curse of Decay which would make the body of an Undead creature dpose quickly.

    However, the green mist disappeared without a trace at the instant that it came into contact with the death aura, vanishing just like ignited gunpowder.

    At this moment, Rodhart¡¯s sword was right in front of Lin Li. Lin Li tried his best to stimte the Space Laws of the Domain Robe, and small spatial cracks appeared in front of him before disappearing and then appearing again. However, a portion of power in the sword would be taken away with the disappearance of every spatial crack.

    Still, Rodhart¡¯s sword was extremely powerful, and could not be diminished by those cracks. In an instant, the massive sword had already appeared in front of Lin Li who began to twitch and shudder, feeling as if the sword had turned him into pieces. However, Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared again not too far away, still intact.

    Nheless, Lin Li looked a little pale at this moment. Although he managed to fuse some Space Laws into his Light and Darkness Domain with the help of the Domain Robe, creating arge distortion of the space to change his position was still a little beyond his limits.

    As the figure flickered, a Reincarnation crossbow appeared in Lin Li¡¯s hand, which was coupled with a sharp arrow that contained lightning. Thunderbolt was the strongest one out of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and just as the space in the Domain had stabilized, Lin Li locked the trigger Reincarnation Crossbow with his fingers, and a sh of lightning seemed to connect the crossbow to Rodhart.

    However, at the moment that Thunderbolt was about to be shot, Rodhart swung the Eternal Frost de a millimeter away from the Thunderbolt and created a space rift in front of Thunderbolt. All of a sudden, the light from Thunderbolt shifted slightly and brushed past Rodhart.

    ¡°Roar!¡± With a loud roar, Rodhart ced the Eternal Frost de vertically in front of him, and a terrifying wave of magic instantly filled the entire pce with his body as the central point. At the same time, the ck mes on his body also became even more intense as it expanded and formed a somewhat illusory ck gate behind him.

    ¡°Damn it, he wants to summon the Death Knights! Hurry...!¡± Connoris yelled in horror.

 Chapter 824 - Death Knights

    <h4>Chapter 824: Death Knights</h4>

    Lin Li smiled bitterly while thinking to himself, <i>Hurry up and do what? Stop him?</i><i>Our opponent is a Sanctuary powerhouse. What can I do to stop him? Besides, his summoning speed is obviously much faster than ours when we use Summoning Spells. For him, it¡¯s so effortless and as easy as opening an ordinary door. I¡¯ve just retracted the debris of the stars Thunderbolt, and yet his terrifying ck door has already taken shape.</i>

    Lin Li and the others didn¡¯t have time to react at all, and the next thing they knew, they saw a peak-Legendary-level Nightmare Beast appearing in the ck gate formed by the ck mes. The Nightmare Beast was already charging out while leading Death Knights who were neatly lined up. The Nightmare Beast, which was at the peak of the Legendary-level, was undoubtedly Rodhart¡¯s former mount. Rodhart, the Retribution Knight, was probably the only one who was powerful enough to ride and control it.

    Although the Death Knights under the Retribution Knight could never reach the Legendary-realm, they could definitely exertbat power that was above the Legendary-level under the help of various magic supplemented by the Retribution Knight. Back then, the group of Death Knights almost destroyed the entire Breezy ins under themand of Rodhart. Plenty of Legendary powerhouses were defeated by the Death Knights.

    ¡°Felic, don¡¯t tell me this is all you cane up with. What other tricks do you have? Disy them now, hurry up. Otherwise, it will be toote.¡± Seeing that Rodhart had summoned the daunting Death Knights, Connoris couldn¡¯t help but panic and secretly regret his decision to join in. He was asking for it!

    Rodhart managed to make things extremely difficult for everyone, even though he was severely injured by the Prophet Willen. He was undoubtedly a Sanctuary powerhouse, after all. As long as he was still in the Sanctuary-realm, he would always be unrivaled and his power would not be easily challenged by mortals. Since the Death Knights already appeared, could there be anything more devastating for them?

    ¡°You¡¯re an ancient deity who once mastered the art of conspiracy and deception. Don¡¯t you have any solutions for such situations?¡± retorted Lin Li who was getting a little flustered too. He¡¯d initially thought that he would just be dealing with Rodhart alone. Who would have thought that Rodhart would summon the Death Knights too? Under themand of Rodhart, the Death Knights were exudingbat power that was probably not inferior to a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely the unluckiest person in Anril. What else can I do! How did that bastard Willen even handle things? Not only did he not purify Rodhart, he even allowed the Death Knights to stay. I really wonder if there is a hidden rtionship between them,¡± Connoris yelled in exasperation.

    Upon hearing Connoris¡¯sint, Lin Li could only smile wryly to himself. Perhaps no one would believe that the prophet Willen and the so-called Son of The Holy Light of the Brilliance Shrine was really the twin brother of the fallen Rodhart who had brought great shame to the Brilliance Shrine.

    In the end, the Brilliance Shrine was just a religion, and not a spokesperson for justice. The Prophet Willen was also a human with feelings. How could he really kill his rtive for some unrted people?

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t tell Connoris about that matter. After all, it was something that the Brilliance Shrine had been trying to cover up. There was no need for him to spread it around. Besides, so what if he were to spread it? It wouldn¡¯t be of any help to the situation at this juncture at all. It wouldn¡¯t make Rodhartmit suicide out of shame anyway.

    Looking at the Death Knights swarming out of the ck gate, Lin Li knew that the battle would definitely require him to go all out. Taking advantage of the time that Rodhart spent summoning the Death Knights, Lin Li took out the Summoning Lamp and released the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon. At the same time, he got the Holy Death Knights who had stopped Rodhart in the pce to rush over through the connection of the Soul Brand.

    Lin Li then raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and instantly condensed a Light and Darkness Sword. However, he did not attack Rodhart, and instead swung it at the exquisitely carved giant pirs in the pce. Although Osric had put up defensive mageweaths in the pce, Lin Li had already reached the peak of the Legendary level at this time, and he had even gotten some enlightenment about the mysteries of the power of the Sanctuary-realm. The power of the Light and Darkness Sword could no longer be stopped by just a simple defensive mageweath. With a loud noise, a huge pir broke and the roof of the pce fell inrge pieces.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Connoris questioned, feeling a little confused by Lin Li¡¯s approach.

    ¡°I¡¯m demolishing the house. Otherwise, how can we deal with the Death Knights?¡± Lin Li answered, but he didn¡¯t stop at all. Instead, he shed another giant pir with his Light and Darkness Sword.

    Although narrow space would often be more advantageous to the disadvantaged party in some cases, Lin Li was now facing not just a group of Death Knights, but also a Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight. Fighting against such an enemy would obviously be unrealistic. Without enough room for maneuvering, it would definitely be a dead end for him if he were to get besieged.

    Although increased room would be more conducive for the Death Knights to move away from each other, Lin Li mainly wanted them to disperse. Otherwise, they would have to face the impact of the concentrated power. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s exnation, Connoris also figured it out, and so punched a pir next to him.

    As the pirs copsed, the entire underground pce began to sway continuously. Large cobweb-like cracks formed on the huge pirs that were covered in exquisite carvings, and the pirs then copsed. The magnificent and luxurious pce that had its pirs copsed amidst the tremors was ruined in the blink of an eye. Everyone who was initially in the pce was directly exposed in a more spacious underground cave.

    At this moment, the ck gate behind Rodhart had already closed and disappeared in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, there were hundreds of Death Knights in the pce, each holding ance and wearing a ck full-body armor. They were riding the hideous Nightmare Beasts that were shrouded in death aura that seemed like ck mes. The Death Knights had all taken more than just thousands of souls during the massacre in the Breezy ins in the past. The ck mes were full of twisted faces that were wailing with agony.

    Legend had it that when Rodhart was conducting the massacre in the Breezy ins back then, there were nearly 1,000 Death Knights under him, but it was unknown if Rodhart kept all of them or most of them were purified by Willen. Of course, even though there were only hundreds of Death Knights, they were still hard for Lin Li to deal with. Even though Lin Li also had an army of Death Knights whom he had transformed into Death Knights that could manipte Divine Power, the old saying applied: a lousy teammate would drag the whole team down.

    Rodhart was a Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight, while Lin Li was only at the peak of the Legendary-level, and only had a slight understanding of the power of the Sanctuary-realm. He had yet to even reach the borderline. Besides, Lin Li was not a real Retribution Knight. Even though he had subdued a group of Death Knights, he didn¡¯t know the type of magic the Retribution Knights were born with that would allow them to control their subordinate Death Knights. Aparison between them would show how obvious the gap inbat power was.

    Rodhart, who had summoned the Death Knights, did not stop to wait for the Death Knights to surround and besiege his enemies. Instead, he waited for the Summoning Gate to close and vanish, after which he continuously waved the Eternal Frost de in his hand tounch fierce attacks against Lin Li. At the same time, the Death Knights had also split up into several teams and besieged Lin Li and the rest.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s teammates were all powerhouses at the Legendary-level, they could barely endure the siege of the Death Knights. Be it in terms of attack or defense, the Death Knights were perfectly in sync, and could cooperate better than any well-trained team that Lin Li had seen. Perhaps it was not just a tacit understanding that they shared, but a body. They seemed to be aplete whole that did not have a single w that others could exploit.

    At this moment, the team that had initially blocked Rodhart had also arrived at the ruined pce under the lead of the baby Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua.

    Although Xiao Hua was usually a little bit mischievous, there was a trace of anxiety in its eyes when it saw Lin Li being in a dangerous situation under Rodhart¡¯s attack. It ignored the team and simply pped its cicada-like wings, screaming and flying towards Lin Li. At the same time, countless powerful magic spells were instantly emitted, forming a huge magic storm that seemed to be able to destroy the world. Itunched the magic storm at the target in front in a bid to clear all obstacles ahead.

    However, the magic storm that seemed enough to destroy everything encountered an insurmountable barrier. After a violent explosion and loud roars, a Nightmare Beast that had a menacing face and was covered in ck mes suddenly emerged from a pile of magic dust. The Nightmare Beast was Rodhart¡¯s mount. Back then, it tagged along when Rodhart fought with plenty of powerhouses; hence, the Nightmare Beast¡¯s powers were incredible. Perhaps it could be considered a Nightmare Beast King.

    Seeing that it had been blocked, the young Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua clenched its tiny fists and roared, allowing its pure Menace of the Dragon to surge out like an invisible wave.

    If it were an ordinary Nightmare Beast of peak-Legendary power, it would probably have to run far, far away in the face of the Menace of the Dragon of an Elemental Wyrm, which was much more powerful than other creatures. However, the owner of the Nightmare Beast was the Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight, Rodhart.

    The Retribution Knight was given that name precisely because his existence was a challenge to the World Laws, thus allowing him to be prideful and arrogant enough to despise all authorities. Although the Menace of the Dragon of the young Elemental Wyrm was close to the level of the Dragon Aspect, it only managed to anger the King of Nightmare Beasts.

    With an angry roar, the aura of the Nightmare Beast plummeted as if it was about to break through to the Sanctuary-realm at this moment. The rolling ck mes were giving off a terrifying death aura which instantly condensed countless Dark Magic spells that swept towards the petite young Elemental Wyrm.

    One of them was the descendant of the Dragon of Dream, which was a Dragon Aspect, while the other was the King of Nightmare Beasts, and was only one step away from the Sanctuary-realm. The two powerful beings of Anril engaged in a terrifying battle on the ruined battlefield.

    On the ground, the team that arrived together with the young Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua had also stopped in front of that insurmountable barrier. The teamposed of 40 Holy Death Knights and 40 Archmages was a power that absolutely no one in the Breezy ins would dare to despise. However, they were stopped in their tracks by 50-odd Death Knights.

    Be it in terms of cooperation or individual strength, the Holy Death Knights werepletely iparable to Rodhart¡¯s Death Knights. If it hadn¡¯t been possible for them to manipte Divine Power, more than half of them would have probably been killed during the first confrontation. As for the mages of the Tower of Dusk, the tacit understanding they shared, which they had always been proud of, was simply iparable to that of the Death Knights. Fortunately, there were Holy Death Knights that were defending them. Otherwise, they would have been ughtered.

    No one knew how terrifying the Death Knights that had once bulldozed through and carried out a massacre in the Breezy ins were. However, the hundreds of Death Knights who had fallen asleep for hundreds of years actually brought about a huge crisis to everyone on Lin Li¡¯s side.

    The Vampire Norfeller was Lin Li¡¯s first servant, and back in the green dragonir in the Haiga Mountain Range, he managed to enter the Legendary-realm through consuming the blood of a green dragon. Although green dragons were rtively low-level amongst wyrms, their blood still contained extraordinary power which allowed Norfeller to have a huge advantage than other Vampires of the same level after stepping into the Legendary-realm.

    Vampires had always been known for their speed, and were known as natural assassins. Other Vampires of the same level could notpare to Norfeller in speed at all. When he maximized his speed, he would be like a pulsating ray of ck lightning which was difficult to catch.

    However, assassins would usually try to move in stealth mode and stay as hidden as possible while waiting for an opportunity to escape immediately after an attack. Being as fast as lightning was definitely important for assassins, but the selectedbat method was what would affect their strength the most. Allowing an assassin to go toe-to-toe against the enemy was clearly not a method that would suit them.

 Chapter 825 - Embarrassed And Battered

    <h4>Chapter 825: Embarrassed And Battered</h4>

    Norfeller was facing that exact situation now. Although five Death Knights were besieging Norfeller, none of them were his match at all. However, the perfect cooperation between the five Death Knights made his speed almost useless. They were greatly restricting his movements, and even though he was moving from left to right like a ck ray of lightning, he was still like a bug trapped in a transparent jar which could never break through the invisible walls.

    The attacks that Norfellerunched were all blocked by the Death Knights, and Norfeller¡¯s figure also appeared in between the Death Knights. There was a tinge of panic on his sullen face, and even though he was well aware that he wouldn¡¯t be able to share much of his master¡¯s burden with his current abilities, since the enemy was too overpowering, he still didn¡¯t mind risking his life to grasp even the slightest opportunity for his master.

    Norfeller grabbed the Retribution Daggers, each embellished with Gems of Curse, with his pale hands while staring coldly at the five Death Knights. Maroon tattoos climbed out of the cor and cuffs of the robe and quickly covered Norfeller¡¯s exposed skin. His pale face became even more terrifying and menacing because of the blood-red lines. The bloody odor that his body emitted also became increasingly stronger.

    Back in the green dragon¡¯sir, Norfeller drank the blood of three green dragons. Although it was the lowest-level type among all wyrms, it was still a true descendant of the ancient wyrms, after all. The power in its blood was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. The massive power contained in the dragon blood was not consumed entirely when Norfeller entered the Legendary-realm, and there was still arge portion of it left, which would even be enough to support him until he reached level-24.

    At this moment, Norfeller squeezed out the remaining power in his blood, and although it was beyond what his body could take, it was enough to make his abilities rise by a small level within a short period of time. Although he knew that his improved strength would have a very insignificant effect on the current situation, he still did it nheless.

    In the blink of an eye, Norfeller¡¯s body was already engulfed in the thick blood mes, and two red rays of light almost a meter long were released from the Retribution Daggers in his hands. The violent and bloodthirsty aura seemed to be surging towards the Death Knights in the surroundings. Under the oppression of the aura, even the Death Knights who had once carried out a massacre in the Breezy ins under the Retribution Knight Rodhart could not help but break into amotion.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    Norfeller suddenly appeared in front of a Death Knight, and the two red rays of light emitted from the Retribution Daggers ovepped on the Death Knight¡¯s body. Hisnce broke, and the Nightmare Beast wailed while its body crumbled into pieces because of the red light. At this moment, Norfeller who was in the middle of the Death Knights that were surrounding him looked a little illusory while the red mes shrouded his body.

    Norfeller¡¯s sudden eruption was beyond the Death Knights¡¯ expectations. After all, the Death Knights were actually only at the peak of level-19. Although Rodhart¡¯s supportive magic spells had given them some assistance, and the Death Knights could also exert powerfulbat power above the Legendary-level through their seamless cooperation[1], it would be impossible for them to resist the attacks of level-23 powerhouses if they were singled out.

    After attacking sessfully, Norfeller did not continue attacking, and instead rushed towards the center of the pce without stopping because his master was struggling while fighting the terrifying Retribution Knight.

    However, the hundreds of Death Knights that Rodhart had summoned were still terrifying and not to be belittled, even though their army was no longer as big as it used to be. Although Norfeller had killed a Death Knight and broken away from the encirclement, there were more Death Knights rushing towards him and surrounding him before he could even get far.

    In the blink of an eye, Norfeller was once again surrounded by a formation made up of 10 Death Knights that cooperated seamlessly, making it impossible for him to advance again. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. Although Norfeller had unleashed all his potential, he was again blocked by a stronger wall, and could only roar furiously under the siege of the Death Knights.

    The Lich Ujfalusi was riding the Humerus Wyrm and waving the Skeleton Staff not too far away from Norfeller. He continuously released Necromagic spells and moved around with more than 10 Death Knights. Although the Humerus Wyrm could still fly in the air, the Death Knights¡¯ Nightmare Beast could also move in the air. Their power and abilities were not affected at all. Hence, it was rather difficult for Ujfalusi to deal with them.

    On the ground, a ck vortex was continuously spitting out an Undead Army that consisted of Skeletal Warriors that formed hordes, Hell Ghouls which wereunching Hellfire bombs, and Skeleton Mages who were waving Skeleton Staffs. All sorts of Undead creatures surged out of the vortex like a grayish white tide.

    However, the triangle formed by the three Death Knights blocked the front of the Undead Army like an efficient grinder. The three cknces were stirring up bones and ashes which seemed like heavy snowfall. The Necromancers had always been proud of the daunting Tide of Death which brought endless horror to the world. However, it was firmly restrained from advancing by the three Death Knights, and regardless of how many Undead creatures there were, it was impossible for them to force the three Death Knights to retreat.

    Compared to Norfeller, Ujfalusi wasn¡¯t as loyal to Lin Li. After all, he only chose to surrender to Lin Li and be his ve because his life was threatened. However, regardless of whether he was willing or not, the binding power of the Soul Contract made Ujfalusi too scared to even show the slightest dissatisfaction with Lin Li under any circumstances. Otherwise, Lin Li would be able to extinguish his soul fire easily.

    However, in the current situation, Ujfalusi was not going all out and risking his life like Norfeller did, even though he didn¡¯t spare any effort, either. Although he would have to be buried with Lin Li if thetter died, he would not take the initiative to reverse the sequence and die before Lin Li did.

    Besides, Ujfalusi also knew that no matter how much power he put out, it would be futile in the face of the Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight. He felt that it would be better to buy some time by holding the Death Knights back and share some of the burden with Lin Li.

    On the other side of the pce, the Lord of Nightmares and the Crimson Dragon were also surrounded by several Death Knights. The Lord of Nightmares was actually rather powerful. After all, he was chosen to be sealed in the Summoning Lamp by Osric. How could it be weak? Unfortunately, he was good at mental strength attacks, which the Death Knights and Nightmare Beasts were highly immune to. Hence, he could not quite handle the four Death Knights that were his opponents.

    However, the Humerus Wyrm had fused with the Heart of the Fallen in the ckstone Mountains previously, and had betterbat senses than most Humerus Wyrms. Its body was also reced by that of the Crimson Dragon. Apart from the strong death aura, it was probably no different from real wyrms. Besides, it was definitely not inferior to real wyrms of the same level in terms ofbat effectiveness. It pped itsrge, fleshy wings while its body hovered in the air. It would spit out some dragon breath or release some Dragonnguage magic. Although it did not have the upper hand, it wasn¡¯t as pathetic as the Lord of Nightmares.

    Connoris could not be bothered toin about anything, either. As the Legendary powerhouse of the team who was second to Lin Li, Connoris was also besieged by 20 of Rodhart¡¯s Death Knights.

    Connoris already had an extra silver-white spear, but it was not a transformed version of the debris of the stars, Nothingness. Instead, it was a product of the Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk, which was a standard weapon for the Guardian Knights of the Brilliance Shrine. It was known as the Holy Light Cross. There were two types of mageweaths on the spear, the Holy Light Strike and the Judgment of Light. The power of the Holy Light Strike was rather ordinary, and it was somewhat like the fireball magic of mages. On the other hand, the Judgment of Light was higher than level-15, and would cause certain damage even to Undead creatures that were close to the Legendary-level.

    In the era when Connoris had been an ancient deity, there had been no difference between Mages and Warriors. Both martial arts and magic were methods of controlling power, and as long as it could kill the enemy, it would be a useful skill. Even the High Elves of the Dark Age did not draw a clear line between magic and martial arts and divide them into two separate professions. There was once a prestigious High Elves¡¯ Legion that dominated Anril and owned three standard types of equipment, which included the de of Heartbreak in addition to the Faro¡¯s Robe and the Dark Moon staff. That was enough to prove that the members of the Magic Legion possessed brilliant martial skills on top of mastering the profound attributes of magic.

    In fact, the so-called division between Mages and Warriors only emerged amongst the humans. Since not all people could learn magic, mages became a noble profession; hence, mages did not bother to learn martial arts painstakingly. They would spend their extra time learning pharmaceutics and inscription.

    Although Connoris used to be a demon deity and a master of deception and conspiracies who was best at backstabbing, he was not entirely clueless about martial arts. Besides, his perfect body was said to be much stronger than the ancient wyrms and the Titans. The terrifying power of hisbat skills was probably not inferior to that of powerful magic, either.

    Although the Holy Light Cross was merely a standard weapon, its effects also varied depending on the person using it. Connoris waved the Holy Light Cross in his hand, which emitted bright silver rays of light. It seemed to even be able to devour the formation formed by the 20 Death Knights.

    However, Connoris had yet to fusepletely with the perfect body, after all. Hence, the power that he could exert was at most level-24. Although Connoris seemed to have the upper hand on the surface, he was well aware that the battle formation formed by the 20 Death Knights was just like an extremely durable with infinite tensile strength. Regardless of how much force he applied, he would never be able to rip the apart.

    Although there seemed to be no danger for now, Connoris knew very well that once there were changes to the other teams and more Death Knights joined in, he would probably die. Besides, the Death Knights wouldn¡¯t seal his soul like Osric had, and his soul would be a nourishing supplement for them, even though he was an ancient deity.

    Connoris was anxious, but he couldn¡¯t think of a way to get out even after racking his brains. Hence, he could only pin his hopes on Lin Li. However, judging from the current situation on Lin Li¡¯s side, Connoris felt that his chances were too slim. Lin Li¡¯s opponent was a true Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Lin Li saw everything that happened on the battlefield. At this moment, the benefits of demolishing the battlefield were also obvious. Although the situation that his subordinates were facing was terrible, they could at least persist for a little while. If hundreds of knights got into a battle formation, his subordinates would probably have to face a massive number of Death Knights at the same time. They probably wouldn¡¯t be able to persist for another moment.

    Of course, even so, the current situation was still not optimistic for Lin Li. Rodhart was a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if he did not summon those Death Knights, Lin Li still wouldn¡¯t win with his current strength. Lin Li¡¯s subordinates were all struggling to hang on and keep up with their defense under the siege of the Death Knights. They couldn¡¯t afford to support him and give him aid at all.

    The fight between Lin Li and Rodhart could not be considered a battle anymore. Although the former had already gotten a certain enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, it was still ridiculously small and insignificant in front of a real Sanctuary powerhouse. It was just like a tiny fireflypeting for glory with the moon.

    <i>Damn it. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t listen to Connoris and act rashly when I first came here. Otherwise, I would have died long ago!</i>

    While dodging Rodhart¡¯s sword pathetically and breaking out in a cold sweat, he felt fortunate that he hadn¡¯t been tempted by Pr Snow and Raging mes back then.

    When Lin Li went to the underground pce for the first time, he was merely a mage who had just entered the Legendary-realm, and his only subordinates were Norfeller and Ujfalusi. At that time, Connoris was just a soul trapped in a hammer. When he saw the debris of the stars, Pr Snow and Raging mes, he repeatedly encouraged Lin Li to collect them.

    ording to what Connoris said back then, Rodhart had been purified by the Prophet Willen in the past. Even though he was still alive, he was still seriously injured. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Not only did he still possess Sanctuary-level powers, he even managed to summon the Death Knights. Given Lin Li¡¯s strength during the first trip, he definitely couldn¡¯t have retaliated against the Death Knights, even if Rodhart had not attacked him.

    [1] It probably refers to a group of more than just five.

 Chapter 826 - Truly Awakened

    <h4>Chapter 826: Truly Awakened</h4>

    Fortunately, although Lin Li was a little tempted, he decided not to rashly acquire Pr Snow and Raging mes, because he was worried about Rodhart who had been in deep slumber. However, it was mostly also because he couldn¡¯t bear to let go of the Natural Magical Domain formed by Pr Snow and Raging mes. It seemed that there were also benefits to being greedy at times. Had Lin Li not been so greedy at the time, the consequences would¡¯ve been unimaginable.

    Of course, even with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, which was several times stronger than before, he didn¡¯t find the current situation any better. Rodhart¡¯s Eternal Frost de would make Lin Li feel like he was on the brink of death and break out in a cold sweat whenever he swung it.

    Lin Li¡¯s hair was drenched in sweat, and although there were no wounds on his body, he still looked rather disheveled. Every stab of Rodhart¡¯s sword was aimed at a fatal spot. If Lin Li were to get stabbed, he would probably be close to death.

    Although Lin Li managed to dodge all of Rodhart¡¯s attacks, there were no emotions on Rodhart¡¯s pale face. Instead, the soul fire in his eyes seemed to have solidified without any fluctuations. Rodhart did not pause in his movements at all, and he tried to stab Lin Li again after he missed. He was as quick as the sh.

    It was not an exaggeration to say that his sword was as quick as lightning, and it really looked like lightning had shed through the air in the cave. Lin Li was already tense and worried in the first ce, and now he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He quickly pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter and put up more than 10yers of defense in front of him. At the same time, he infused mental strength into his Domain Robe and tried to stimte the Space Power in the robe in a bid to manipte the space around him with all his might.

    <i>Buzz!</i> A ray of light from the sword shed past Lin Li¡¯s cheeks and cut off a strand of sweat-drenched hair, after which it hit the rock wall of the cave behind. The distance between the outside world and the underground pce was unknown, but after the light prated the rock wall, it seemed to have formed a window in the wall, and Lin Li broke out in a cold sweat uncontrobly. He even wondered if he would be dehydrated because of the constant perspiration before he got killed by Rodhart.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had the Domain Robe that was infused with the Immortal King¡¯s Space Power. Otherwise, he would have died a long time ago. However, Lin Li knew clearly that it was impossible to guarantee his safety with the Domain Robe alone. Lin Li didn¡¯t have much control over Space Power, and was now just trying his best to stimte the power in the Domain Robe. He still couldn¡¯t control the Space Power as and when he pleased. That would provide Rodhart with opportunities to attack whenever he was manipting and warping the space within. Once Rodhart detected the Rules, Lin Li would probably be on the brink of death.

    After Rodhartunched the attack, he didn¡¯t look at the results at all, and continued to wave his Eternal Frost de casually. The ck mes on his body that his death aura condensed into did not move at all, and there was another arc-shaped ray of light from the sword that seemed to be more than 10 meters long sweeping towards Lin Li instead.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had made preparations a long time ago. He was notcent just because he managed to dodge the sword just now. At the instant that the portion of his hair was sliced off, he had already activated the power in the Domain Robe again. Upon sight of the sword that was more than 10 meters long, Lin Li¡¯s figure twisted before disappearing again as if he were a reflection in the water. There were now several more holes that were more than 10 meters deep in the wall.

    Faced with Rodhart¡¯s effortless attacks, Lin Li would have to try his best to deal with them, without bothering to counterattack at all. Putting aside the fact that Lin Li did not have the ability to counterattack, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pose the slightest threat to Rodhart even if he had the chance tounch a few Legendary magic attacks.

    However, in the process of dodging, Lin Li also gradually sensed that something was amiss. He had seen a Sanctuary powerhouse attacking, and although Rodhart exhibited Sanctuary-level powers, his attacks were still a little stiff and he seemed to be attacking out of instinct. That was not the point, though. The most important thing was that Lin Li, who was being attacked, had clearly felt that Rodhart¡¯s condition was gradually changing.

    At the thought of the solidified soul fire in Rodhart¡¯s eyes, a terrifying conjecture suddenly appeared in Lin L¡¯s mind. <i>Could it be that Rodhart, who has forced me into desperation, has not really awakened from his sleep? The changes in Rodhart¡¯s body that appear as the battle progresses are actually the signs of his body awakening?</i>

    Lin Li was frightened by his own thoughts. If Rodhart had yet to awaken at this moment, what would it be like once he truly woke up? In order to avoid Rodhart¡¯s attacks, Lin Li could be considered to have given it his all. If those attacks weren¡¯tunched with Rodhart¡¯s fullest strength...

    As the battle progressed, the terrible conjecture that Lin Li had was gradually verified too. There were obvious changes in Rodhart¡¯s fighting style. His initial power was gradually increasing, making it harder for Lin Li to deal with them. The most obvious sign was the fact that the Domain Robe that had been helping Lin Li escape gradually became weaker at warding off Rodhart¡¯s attacks.

    At the same time, the situation in several other battles was also changing with Rodhart¡¯s awakening. Besieging Lin Li¡¯s subordinates, the Death Knights were no longer relying on their seamless cooperation, but had begun to use more ingenious battle tactics which caused the already disadvantaged Lin Li¡¯s group to fall into a tougher predicament.

    However, that was not the worst situation possible. Lin Li was well aware that he would truly be in a hopeless predicament once Rodhart really woke up. Besides, he could tell from the changes in Rodhart and the Death Knights that Rodhart was not far from his actual awakening. Despite knowing that the situation was getting worse, Lin Li couldn¡¯t do anything at all at this moment. He could only hope that he and his subordinates would be able to persist on for a while.

    Finally, Rodhart suddenly stopped attacking Lin Li, and instead lowered his head a little to conceal his face. He stood quietly in midair with the Eternal Frost de, which he was pointing diagonally toward the ground, in his hand. The red cloak on his back slowly stopped pping in the wind, while the ck me that the death aura had condensed into gradually stopped rolling as if it had been solidified by an invisible force.

    On the various areas of the battlefield, the Death Knights that were besieging Lin Li¡¯s subordinates suddenly stopped attacking, and they raised theirnces high in the air one by one and looked up at Rodhart who was in midair, seemingly paying tribute to their king with their greatest chivalry.

    The battlefield fell silent in an instant, and even Lin Li and his subordinates did not take advantage of the stoppage to retaliate against the Death Knights. Of course, they didn¡¯t do that out of respect for Rodhart or honor, but rather because they were afraid to act rashly because of the somber atmosphere.

    ¡°Hehe.¡± Rodhart chuckled, though it was unknown if he had done it out of contempt or self-deprecation. He hung his head low and said in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯ve finally woken up. How should I thank you, anonymous kid?¡±

    Rodhart¡¯s voice was very soft, but it seemed to be exceptionally clear in this silent battlefield. Although Lin Li already knew what was happening, he still felt a little freaked out when he heard it straight from Rodhart¡¯s mouth, and cold chills were sent from his feet to the top of his head uncontrobly.

    Lin Li did not answer Rodhart, because he knew that Rodhart was just asking a rhetorical question. Instead, he paid attention to Rodhart¡¯s actions.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Rodhart raised his head and guffawed loudly all of a sudden while the solidified ck mes around him also seemed to havee alive all of a sudden and be 100 times more violent.

    Lin Li, who was the closest to Rodhart, almost fell from the air at the instant that he felt the violent aura. Lin Li then regained his bnce and held the Helios¡¯ Scepter tightly while looking at Rodhart who was going mad. However, he dared not let his guard down.

    Afterughing maniacally for a long time, Rodhart gradually stopped, but he loudly sneered, ¡°What a joke. My dearest Brother, were you so silly to think that I would feel guilty and remorseful for the lives of those insignificant figures!?! Ever since I stepped onto this path, those tiny ants could only be the stepping stones for me to reach the top. That¡¯s all that their lives are worth!¡±

    After Rodhart became the Retribution Knight, he led the Death Knights on a massacre in the Breezy ins, which reduced the poption of the region by a third. Although there wasn¡¯t a huge poption in the Breezy ins at that time, there were still more than 100,000 casualties. That was probably the number of people Rodhart had killed. With the souls of those people, he entered the Sanctuary-realm and became the first Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight in the history of Anril.

    Lin Li could tell from Rodhart¡¯s words that Willen did notpletely purify Rodhart at the beginning, probably because he was blinded by his false repentance. In fact, Willen was not to me, since they were brothers after all, and since he saw a glimmer of hope, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to kill his brother with his own hands.

    However, the problem was that Rodhart didn¡¯t care about brotherhood at all, unlike Willen. How unfair! Although Lin Li could understand the prophet Willen¡¯s plight and reasons, he still felt resentful towards him.

    After venting his frustration, Rodhart seemed to have returned to normal. After uttering something in an inaudible voice, he finally shifted his gaze back onto Lin Li and said, ¡°How should I thank you? Why don¡¯t you let your soul live forever with my soul fire?¡±

    Lin Li had long known that it was impossible for there to be harmony and kindness between him and Retribution Knight. Hence, he was not surprised by Rodhart¡¯s words at all. Although Rodhart¡¯s murmurs were in thenguage of the High Elves and were almost inaudible, Lin Li was still greatly taken aback. The Retribution Knight who had yet to experience the Dark Age was actually cursing the Immortal King!

    Before Lin Li could figure out what was going on, Rodhart had already raised the Eternal Frost de in his hand, and his figure shed a little before he pierced Lin Li¡¯s heart with his sword. At the same time that Rodhart stabbed Lin Li, the Death Knights on the battlefield also put down theirnces and bombarded Lin Li andpany vigorously.

    This time, it was very different from before. After Rodhart really awakened, those Death Knights seemed to have be several times stronger. Their battle formations were more flexible, their tactics were smarter, and even the strength of each individual Death Knight improved tremendously. Under the siege of the Death Knights, everyone slipped into actual desperation while struggling painstakingly. It was as if they were constantly having a close shave with death.

    There were more and more obvious wounds on therge body of the red Humerus Wyrm, and even its strong defense could not stop the sharpnces of the Death Knights. The red Humerus Wyrm immediately spat out some zing dragon breath, but the two Death Knights who were the first to bear the brunt of it immediately emanated a thick cloud of ck fog. They then rushed out of the ck fog with theirnces and pierced straight at the eye sockets of the red Humerus Wyrm, which were burning with soul fire.

    The dragon breath of red Humerus Wyrm was actually not inferior to Legendary magic, but its attacks were blocked by the two Death Knights. Actually, it was not just the dragon breath.The red Humerus Wyrm was also not inferior to the real wyrms. Be it its highly destructive ws that could rip the earth apart, or its tail that could destroy mountains, they were less powerful when facing the Death Knights.

    It was undeniable that the Death Knights were extremely good at defending against offensive spells, especially with the support from the Retribution Knight, Rodhart. They could have used some strong attacks to force the Death Knights to retreat in exchange for a chance to catch their breath. However, after Rodhart really woke up, the attacks had almost lost all their effects. They could not break the enemy¡¯s defense at all. One could only imagine their predicament.

    Ujfalusi¡¯s Tide of Death would be able to summon an infinite army of Undead creatures as long as his mana was not exhausted. With his current strength, the huge amount of mana would be enough to support the Tide of Death for several days and nights without any reduction at all. However, the terrifying army of Undead creatures was simply weak and pathetic. The three Death Knights formed a simple triangr battle formation and bulldozed their way through whileunching their attacks. They actually arrived in front of the vortex in the blink of an eye, and stirred up the Tide of Death.

    Seeing the Tide of Death¡¯s state, Ujfalusi was helpless and at a loss for what to do even though he was extremely anxious. Riding the red Humerus Wyrm, he focused all of his energy on dealing with the Death Knights¡¯ attacks. The Humerus Wyrm was also covered in welts and wounds caused by the erosion of Darkness and thences.

 Chapter 827 - Ring

    <h4>Chapter 827: Ring</h4>

    Ujfalusi looked even more disheveled, and his robe was so tattered and torn that he looked like a beggar. Fortunately, there was nothing but a skeleton beneath the robe. Hence, it did not suffer too much damage.

    During the sudden outburst previously, the Vampire Norfeller who killed a Death Knight managed to remain unharmed despite being besieged by the Death Knights whose strength was greatly improved thanks to his incredible speed. However, the bloody mes on his body were no longer as intense as they used to be. Clearly, the power that had burst out of him was gradually declining. At this moment, a look of hopelessness and anxiety formed on Norfeller¡¯s face because he saw the predicament that his master Lin Li was in.

    The Holy Death Knights were a force that were transformed in the Eternal Furnace, and they had the characteristics of Death Knights, but not their weaknesses. In a sense, they could be considered perfect existences. If they were facing ordinary Death Knights, they would definitely win. However, they were now facing Death Knights that were working under a Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight. When Rodhart truly awakened, the Death Knights immediately exploded with power that was several times greater than before. The Holy Death Knights couldn¡¯t hang on any longer.

    ¡°Damn it, do you have any more tricks? Hurry and use them. Do you really not have any more!?¡± Connoris muttered incessantly while waving the Holy Light Cross in his hand and casting spells continuously. He managed to somewhat hold on despite being besieged by 20 Death Knights. However, there were still wounds appearing continuously on the perfect body even though it was imed to be stronger than the ancient wyrm.

    Although Lin Li did note up with a solution to save them from the dangerous predicament just now, Connoris still believed that it was impossible for Lin Li to take the risk without any preparations. Now that Rodhart had woken up and the matter had escted to a critical point, there should be no reason for him to dy, unless he really had no solution?

    <i>If that kid really has no solution... Impossible!</i> Connoris thought to himself, after which he shook his head profusely as if he was trying to get rid of the horrible thought as fast as he could.

    However, Lin Li, whom Connoris had ced high hopes on, was behaving in a manner that left everyone else hopeless. Regardless of how close one might be to a certain realm, they would still be worlds apart as long as they did not step into it. It would be no exaggeration to say that Lin Li was just like a tiny antpared to Rodhart. While beingpelled by Rodhart, Lin Li managed to survive till now, which was actually considered to be rather miraculous.

    ¡°You¡¯re great, but unfortunately...¡± Rodhart did not continue to exin what the unfortunate matter was, and simply raised his left arm to grab the air while facing Lin Li. The ck mes around him suddenly split into countless revolving giant ck pythons while dashing in the direction that Rodhart was pointing at, after which they darted towards Lin Li menacingly.

    Lin Li¡¯s hair was still wet as if he had just washed it as it was still dripping with sweat. His hands were also shaking when he was holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter. He had just escaped from Rodhart¡¯s sword, and before he could even catch his breath, he saw Rodhartunching yet another powerful and terrifying magic spell, which immediately frightened him. Actually, Lin Li had been rather tense ever since Rodhart appeared, and he had been living every second on the brink of death. His goosebumps had never vanished at all.

    At the moment that the magic was sted, the mageweaths on the Domain Robe lit up instantly, and Lin Li¡¯s figure was immediately teleported to a spot more than 10 meters away. That was considered the only benefit that Lin Li had obtained in the battle¡ªhe had be more and more proficient in mastering the Space Power in the Domain Robe.

    However, the Eternal Frost de that Rodhart used was also a powerful magical weapon that utilized Space Power. As its user, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be clueless about Space Power. Even though he was not a mage, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who probably had a good understanding of Space Power through the Eternal Frost de, which Lin Li could neverpare to.

    Lin Li was able to escape the dangerous situation with the power of the Domain Robe only because Rodhart hadn¡¯t really woken up yet previously, merely fighting instinctively. Rodhart now managed to get a grasp of the routine of Lin Li¡¯s usage of Space Power after just looking at Lin Li for a few times.

    As soon as Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared in a spot that was more than 10 meters away, he saw Rodhart¡¯s magic spells which turned out to be right in front of him. At this moment, Lin Li tried to repeat the trick, but to no avail. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t pin all his hopes of surviving on the Domain Robe. He swung the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward continuously; all of a sudden, a wave of darkness darker and deeper than the cave appeared and shrouded everything around him.

    The Eternal Darkness was a type of Dark Magic that was included in the Darkness scripture, and had the effect of negating the enemy¡¯s attack using the user¡¯s own mana. Lin Li had almost infinite mana and mental strength, and was not inferior even to a mage of the Sanctuary-realm. Rodhart was essentially still a Retribution Knight, and there was a difference in mana between him and a pure mage of the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, it was impossible for all his mana to be released, regardless of how powerful the magic that he cast was.

    There was almost no break at all. As soon as Lin Li cast his Eternal Darkness spell which he had prepared long ago, Rodhart¡¯s magic was already right in front of him. However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, Rodhart¡¯s attack did not directly hit his body, and instead split into numerous ck pythons and shot into the surrounding space before Lin Li came into contact with the Eternal Darkness.

    Magics below the Sanctuary-level would all have their own characteristics, and experienced mages would be able to determine what magic the opponent was casting at the moment that the opponent attacked, even if the magic wasunched instantaneously. However, while there were some well-known Sanctuary magic spells in the Sanctuary-realm, most of them were just the arbitrary use of nomological power by the Sanctuary powerhouses who tried to adapt to the situation.

    In order to predict the magicunched by a Sanctuary powerhouse, one would have to have a fairly deep understanding of the nomological power that the opponent mastered. Although Lin Li had already gained some enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, he was still worlds apart from the Sanctuary powerhouse, Rodhart, in terms of mastering nomological power.

    Lin Li used the Eternal Darkness magic, which could be considered the strongest defensive magic he currently possessed, to deal with Rodhart¡¯s offensive spell which seemed to be powerful enough to destroy the world. However, when the magic was right in front of him, it didn¡¯t strike him, and instead darted in all directions into the surrounding space. Obviously, it was not an offensive spell.

    With the outburst of magic, Lin Li could immediately sense that the space around him seemed to be solidifying. He quickly stimted a small portion of Space Power in the Domain Robe, only to realize that he had lost contact with the surrounding space after giving it a try. The space he was in seemed to have been removed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see where you can run within my Netherworld Dungeon, weakling!¡± Rodhart sneered while appearing in front of the ck space where Lin Li was at. He then stabbed his Eternal Frost de at Lin Li, aiming at his heart.

    Although Eternal Darkness had a high defensive effect against offensive spells, it couldn¡¯t defend against a sword at all. The only useful effect of the sort it had was the concealment of the user¡¯s figure, which might cause some hindrance to ordinary warriors, but it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to Rodhart at all.

    After discovering that the Space Power in the Domain Robe could not be used, Lin Li naturally guessed what Rodhart was thinking. The Helios¡¯ Scepter disappeared, and was instantly reced by two pieces of the debris of the stars. He held Thunderbolt with one hand and Nothingness with the other. Seeing that the sharp sword was passing through the Darkness and darting towards his heart, Lin Li waved his hand to throw out Thunderbolt.

    Thunderbolt, which contained the Laws of Destruction, was the most powerful and tricky one out of the seven debris of the stars, and had indestructible power. Of course, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he was still far from being truly invincible because he did not have Stars of Fury. However, he could still somewhat manage to block Rodhart¡¯s sword.

    At the same time that he was attacking Rodhart with Thunderbolt, Lin Li swung his debris of the stars, Nothingness, into the surrounding space. Lin Li didn¡¯t know what kind of magic spell the Netherworld Dungeon was, but he was certain that it was a type of spell that would result in spatial confinement. What else would be more suitable than Nothingness which contained the Laws of time and space for breaking the confinement of space?

    <i>Boom!</i> A loud and violent explosion made the entire cave quake. Arge amount of gravel was constantly being shaken off the top of the cave, which seemed like it would copse at any moment.

    There was a look of slight surprise on Rodhart¡¯s face. He grabbed the Eternal Frost de which had been blocked, looked at it, and then shifted his gaze onto the two pieces of the debris of the stars in Lin Li¡¯s hands which were rather far away. He could feel that the power that blocked his sword was not entirely from the human mage Lin Li, but from that lightning-like weapon. The Netherworld Dungeon that he had cast was difficult to break even with the Eternal Frost de, and yet Lin Li managed to use another spear-like weapon to break through the confinement and escape. That was clear evidence that the spear might be more powerful than the Eternal Frost de.

    As a Sanctuary powerhouse, Rodhart was no longer easily tempted by ordinary foreign objects, but the power shown by the debris of the stars in Lin Li¡¯s hands still piqued his interest. In Rodhart¡¯s opinion, the two powerful weapons were wasted in Lin Li¡¯s hands, and he felt that he was the only one who could truly exert their full power.

    When he took out the debris of the stars, Lin Li knew that Rodhart would inevitably develop an interest in it. However, he felt that Rodhart wouldn¡¯t waver, because his goal was to kill Lin Li anyway. After getting out of the danger with the power of the two pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to stay still for a slightest moment. Instead, he turned around and flew towards the pce where Rodhart had slept in.

    The underground pce had long been destroyed during the intense battle which turned the luxurious building into ruins. The pce where Rodhart had slept in was the only one that was intact. Lin Li dived into the pce and took a quick nce at the various things in the pce. However, he ignored the previous magical materials that had already turned into waste. He only felt a little upset about the fact that he had underestimated his opponent.

    The various arrangements, decor of the pce, and therge amount of precious magic materials invested in it were expensive enough to make any major forces in the Breezy ins go bankrupt. Not to mention, top knowledge and skills of various fields were also used in the arrangements that Lin Li had prepared painstakingly. However, all of Lin Li¡¯s efforts had gone in vain because he didn¡¯t even get to buy a single minute for himself. Although he had underestimated Rodhart¡¯s strength, another reason was also that Sanctuary powerhouses were truly too powerful and terrifying.

    Lin Li fled into the pce, and before he even did anything, he saw some distortions in the space ahead not too far away from him, after which Rodhart, who was covered in ck mes, came out carrying the Eternal Frost de. Lin Li was taken aback, and quickly retreated while raising the debris of the stars Thunderbolt in his arm, shooting it at Rodhart.

    Seeing a ray of lightning exuding a violent aura that seemed to be able to destroy everything, Rodhart raised the Eternal Frost de and gently swung it in a circle at the ray of lightning, which then seemed to have frozen all of a sudden. It hovered in front of Rodhart, and the violent aura of destruction vanished without a trace.

    Rodhart stretched out his hand to grab Thunderbolt; without taking another nce, he swung his sword and stabbed at Lin Li without pausing at all. The sword contained all of Rodhart¡¯s enlightenment in the Laws of Killing. It did not contain the power that could destroy the world or a dazzling ray of light. All that was left was the endless somberness and nirvana. It was as if one nce would be all it took for the soul to sink forever.

    The sword attack could be considered the embodiment of Rodhart¡¯s full strength. It was the strongest blow that the Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight Rodhart had everunched. Even the Sanctuary powerhouses of the same level might not dare to take on the sword attack head-on.

    Lin Li, who had just seen the door of the Sanctuary-realm, would never be able to counter the sword strike even if he were to put in all his effort. Regardless of how many trump cards he had, he would only end up being destroyed by the sword.

    Facing the sword that put him in despair, Lin Li didn¡¯t take out any more pieces of the debris of the stars. If he had already been a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would¡¯ve probably been able to block the blow with any debris of the stars piece of his. However, he couldn¡¯t resist Rodhart¡¯s sword at all, even if he were to use all of his debris of the stars.

    Lin Li even put away Nothingness, but he pulled out a light green ring from his Ring of Endless Storm, which looked like grass rings that children would weave. However, the entire ring was glowing with a green halo and exuding an iparably majestic vitality, as well as some holy aura that could not be profaned.

    Looking at the ring in Lin Li¡¯s hands which appeared rather ordinary, Rodhart paused in attacking with his sword, and there was a tinge of fear that could not be concealed on his pale and cold face.

 Chapter 828 - Purification

    <h4>Chapter 828: Purification</h4>

    Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to be in a desperate situation at all. He gently pinched the green ring with two fingers, smiled at Rodhart, and nonchntly said, ¡°You¡¯ve seen it, eh? Willen purified you once, and I can purify you for the second time now. By the way, you probably don¡¯t know this yet, but an acquaintance living in the big rift wanted me to tell you that the ring that your brother took away back then actually belongs to a pair of rings.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Rodhart eximed with a look of disbelief. He no longer hesitated, and instead stabbed at Lin Li rapidly.

    Lin Li no longer looked as disheveled as he used to. Still smiling, he looked at Rodhart and infused some mental strength into the ring on his hand. All of a sudden, a strong and intense wave of holy aura spewed out endlessly, and the brilliance of Holy Light instantly filled the entire pce, enshrouding Rodhart¡¯s figure.

    Rodhart immediately froze on the spot, while the raging ck mes formed by the surrounding death aura became more and more obvious under the pressure of the holy aura which seemed to be flickering like candlelight in a storm. The Eternal Frost de in his hand contained intense and powerful nomological power of killing, but it gradually dissipated under the holy aura.

    Looking at the changes in Rodhart, Lin Li finally heaved a sigh of relief. In fact, ording to the original n, he didn¡¯t have to experience those dangers at all. However, he didn¡¯t expect Rodhart to be so strong that he almost killed him. Fortunately, Lin Li persisted to the very end.

    The ring on Lin Li¡¯s hand was one of the gains he¡¯d obtained from his previous trip to the big rift¡ªhe was obviously referring to Nefa who wanted to be the next Dragon of Destruction when he mentioned the acquaintance in the big rift to Rodhart. When Nefa and Lin Li first made the deal, he once mentioned that apart from the Domain Robe, he also had other relics of the Immortal King. The ring was one of them.

    The ring was not a piece of magical essory made by someone, but an alteration of the fruit of the Tree of Eternity. It contained unrivaled Divine Power which was sufficient to purify all evil and filthy existences in the world. Speaking of Divine Power, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, which Lin Li owned actually contained much more power than the ring. However, in order to exert the infinite power contained in Holy Light, Lin Li still had to gain further enlightenment about thews contained in Holy Light. He also had to induce his mental strength into the ring to activate it.

    Nefa used to own a pair of rings which were transformed from the fruit of the Tree of Eternity. One was given to Willen for a deal that they struck when Willen and his brother Rodhart explored the big rift. As for the second ring, Nefa gave it to Lin Li, iming that it was an eyesore. In fact, it could be regarded as apensation for deceiving Lin Li. However, Nefa was too embarrassed to admit it.

    However, although the ring was powerful, it was still not enough to subdue Rodhart, let alone purify himpletely. Willen was rather powerful, and he was the Sanctuary powerhouse who had defeated Apophis. Yet, he couldn¡¯t use that ring to really purify Rodhart. Perhaps there were emotional factors involved, but the insufficient power of the ring was certainly also an important reason. That was also the reason Lin Li didn¡¯t take out the ring immediately at the beginning.

    He decided to take it out now because he felt that it was the right timing. Although things seemed to have deviated from the original n because of Lin Li¡¯s underestimation of his opponent, Lin Li¡¯s painstaking persistence finally brought everything back to the original n.

    In the pce where Rodhart awakened, Lin Li had gone all out and made plenty of arrangements, including the Requiem Array and all sorts of advanced magic traps regardless of the cost. However, his real motive was to trap Rodhart for a period of time because he had hidden arger Holy Light Mageweath array, and the most critical part of it was not in the pce, but in the underground pce outside.

    At this moment, the Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine was leading more than 300 believers of Holy Light who were above level-15 to get into a strange formation outside the underground pce. That was the most critical part of the Holy Light Mageweath Array.

    The power of the Holy Light Mageweath array was omnipresent, but no trace of it could be found. Under normal circumstances, no one could detect its existence, but once there was Divine Power within it, the Divine Power would be multiplied by up to 10 times. However, the Holy Light Mageweath array could not be activated with just a few mana sources. It would still require the umtion of power through the continuous prayers of the believers of the Holy Light.

    Lin Li¡¯s original n was to use the various arrangements in the pce to trap the awakened Retribution Knight, Rodhart, and then get rid of him easily once enough power was umted in the Holy Light Mageweath array. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t expect Rodhart to be so tough after awakening, so tough that the arrangements he¡¯d made in the pce were nullified without evensting for a minute. In the end, he inevitably faced an intense and horrid battle.

    Lin Li released his fingers, and the ring that had evolved from the fruit of the Tree of Eternity floated quietly in the air while constantly emitting the brilliance of Holy Light towards the surroundings. The pce that was initially dim suddenly became extraordinarily bright at this time, but it was not ring. Lin Li felt rather refreshed, as if all the impurities in his body and soul were washed away in the brilliance of the Holy Light.

    However, it was definitely not a pleasant experience for the Retribution Knight Rodhart. Under the Divine Power, the death aura on Rodhart¡¯s body was forcibly drawn and burnt as if he was having his bones removed. The pain was far beyond imaginable.

    Rodhart had once experienced the pain of being purified, and cursed his brother to fall into deep sleep. He did not expect to awaken from his deep sleep hundreds of yearster, only to be greeted with such pain. Rodhart¡¯s heart was filled with infinite fury and indignation. However, the Divine Power that filled the air made him lose almost all control of his body, making it difficult for him to even move a finger.

    Lin Li took a few steps back, but he did not seem to have let his guard down any lower. After all, he was dealing with a real Sanctuary powerhouse. Who knew if he might have to struggle for thest time while being on the brink of death? Seeing that the aura on Rodhart¡¯s body was getting weaker and weaker, Lin Li felt rather amazed. He was a legend of Anril from the Dark Age, and yet he was making things hard for Lin Li.

    Of course, Rodhart was unwilling to be purified. Although he was unable to wave the Eternal Frost de in his hand or even take another step, it did not mean that he really wanted to give up on struggling. Rodhart was glowering at Lin Li with bloodshot eyes while muttering a string of obscure notes. With the emergence of every note, the death aura of his body that had been gradually weakened by the purification of Divine Power unexpectedly began to rise again immediately.

    Seeing this change, Lin Li was instantly astonished, but he soon figured out that the spell Rodhart chanted just now was probably the spell used by the Retribution Knight to gather the power of his underlings. In other words, every bit of strength that Rodhart had now was drawn from the Death Knights outside. Unfortunately, there were only 100-something Death Knights outside. If they were the 1000 Death Knights recorded in legends, Rodhart might really get a chance at aeback.

    However, at the thought of this, Lin Li was still rather worried; hence, he immediately took out his debris of the stars, Holy Light. Although the power he could manipte was inferior to the holy ring¡¯s, it was still rather impressive. The only unfortunate thing was the presence of the Death Knights outside. Lin Li¡¯s original n was to subdue and take in the Death Knights after purifying Rodhart. However, it seemed to be a little unlikely.

    With the addition of the power of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, the pressure that Rodhart had to withstand suddenly rose sharply, and the original death aura of his body was once again relentlessly suppressed. Rodhart looked at Lin Li with immense fury and anger in his eyes. He even regretted not using his full strength to kill Lin Li.

    Rodhart, who had just awakened, simply regarded Lin Li, an insignificant Legendary-mage, as a thing to toy with to kill time. Why would a Sanctuary powerhouse need to use all his effort to deal with an insignificant Legendary-mage? Had he not reached this point, how could he have imagined that the insignificant Legendary-mage would pose a threat to him and bring him so much trouble?

    However, it was toote to regret. Rodhart was chanting the curse even more quickly. Although the Death Knights had been following him for hundreds of years, and made great contributions that helped him enter the Sanctuary-realm, now that he was facing the threat of being purified, he couldn¡¯t care about them anymore. Anyway, if he were to get purified, Lin Li would stand to gain by getting to acquire the Death Knights.

    As Rodhart chanted a spell quickly and desperately, a strange scene took ce on the battlefield outside the pce.

    The fierce and menacing Death Knights suddenly stopped fighting, while the soul fire in their eyes flickered. Everyone on Lin Li¡¯s side tensed up as they thought that the Death Knights were about to be stronger again. The current strength and abilities of the Death Knights were already difficult for them to deal with, and if they were to increase further, it would be fatal.

    However, everyone did not stay nervous for long when they saw to their astonishment that the soul fire in the eyes of the Death Knights was getting somehow extinguished after flickering violently. As the soul fire went out, the bodies of the Death Knights also began dposing rapidly, and they turned into piles of ashes.

    ¡°Hah, I knew it. That kid had a solution,¡± Connoris said while holding the broken cross-shaped spear in his hands. Although his body was heavily wounded, he was still looking at the surroundings with a grin. In fact, he even acted like he hadn¡¯t cursed at Lin Li during a moment of hopelessness.

    There were groundbreaking changes on the battlefield, but the situation on Lin Li¡¯s side in the pce was rather unsatisfactory.

    Although the abilities of the Death Knights were restricted to the peak of level-19, their soul fire was extremely powerful, and Rodhart swallowed the soul fire of over 100 Death Knights in one go, resulting in a sudden surge in power. The ck mes that surrounded him were ignited again, and he swung the Eternal Frost de while dashing towards Lin Li menacingly.

    <i>I want to save some effort and energy, but I can¡¯t!</i> Lin Li thought to himself helplessly while manipting the debris of the stars Holy Light and holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand. At this point, Lin Li was no longer afraid of Rodhart. Under the suppression of the infinite Divine Power, Rodhart barely had 1% of his previous strength, even though he was still in the Sanctuary-level.

    This battle was quite even, but under the suppression of the Divine Power, Rodhart¡¯s momentary outburst could notst long. Lin Li wasn¡¯t too bothered about Rodhart¡¯s situation, either. He went all out to deal with every attack from Rodhart.

    The fight did notst long. Soon, Rodhart was once again suppressed by the Divine Power, leaving him with no choice but to remain standing in ce with the Eternal Frost de. Perhaps because of his resistance towards the Divine Power, his body was trembling a little. However, Rodhart no longer looked at Lin Li with so much menace and hatred like before. The redness of his eyes seemed to have faded a little too.

    ¡°How interesting. I never thought that I would be forced into this situation by someone who has yet to even reach the Sanctuary-realm,¡± Rodhart said in a low voice. Actually, he didn¡¯t sound too indignant, but rather a little self-deprecating.

    Lin Li remained silent and looked at Rodhart coldly. Even though Rodhart seemed to be on the verge of giving up, Lin Li dared not let his guard down at all. At the same time, Lin Li also continuously reminded himself that the person in front of him was the terrifying figure who had killed hundreds of thousands of lives in the Breezy ins. Everything would not end until he waspletely purified.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve seen the ck dragon, you must also know about my rtionship with Willen. You find it peculiar that I chose the opposite path from my brother, don¡¯t you? He¡¯s a Son of The Holy Light, while I¡¯m the fallen Retribution Knight who has done plenty of evil and killed countless people. Who would believe that we are brothers?¡± said Rodhart, who sounded like he was talking to himself even though he was saying those words to Lin Li.

    Rodhart closed his eyes slightly as if opening his eyes was painstaking in his current situation. The menacing armor on his body gradually changed from ck to a little gray too, just as if it would break with a poke of the finger.

 Chapter 829 - Departed

    <h4>Chapter 829: Departed</h4>

    ¡°Willen, you are right, but I am not you, how can I resist the temptation of that power? Immortal King, since you¡¯re called the Immortal King, why did you leave a crippled arm behind to harm others...¡± Rodhart murmured, sounding rather resentful and regretful.

    Lin Li initially didn¡¯t want to bother with what Rodhart said, and he felt that it would be enough to see Rodhart getting thoroughly purified with his own eyes. However, when he heard Rodhart saying those words out of nowhere, Lin Li¡¯s heart suddenly jumped. Did Rodhart really choose to be the Retribution Knight because of the Immortal King¡¯s broken arm?

    Legend had it that although the Dragon of Destruction Azardas was killed at the end of the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction, the Immortal King was also injured by the counterattackunched by the Dragon of Destruction before his death. One of his arms thennded in the Breezy ins. The piece of news was actually confirmed by Nefa and Rogge when Lin Li was in the big rift. It was said Rodhart had obtained the severed arm of the Immortal King, and thus chose to embark on apletely opposite path from Willen by bing the Retribution Knight.

    When Rogge watched the intense battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction, he ended up in a horrible state just because he had suffered the erosion of the Immortal King¡¯s death aura. Rodhart obtained the Immortal King¡¯s arm that contained the infinite death aura which made it easy for him to be the Retribution Knight.

    Regarding the arm of the Immortal King, Lin Li was suddenly reminded of something that happened a long time ago. Back then, the Syer Bandits attacked ck Clouds Town, all for the sake of the Immortal King¡¯s arm that Willen had sealed in the chapel. However, Lin Li did not manage to find the Immortal King¡¯s arm in theirir; it seemed to have been taken away by some other force.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t really care about the arm of the Immortal King. He mainly heard from Nefa and Rogge that when the arm of the Immortal King was sted off by the Dragon of Destruction, the Immortal King seemed to be holding a weapon which Lin Li reckoned to be the Stars of Fury which he had been trying hard to find.

    Since Rodhart had obtained the Immortal King¡¯s arm, where did the weapon in his hand go? Lin Li finally couldn¡¯t help asking the Retribution Knight who was already on the brink of death about it. ¡°There was a weapon that was left together with the arm of the Immortal King. Where is it now?¡±

    Even without any debris of the stars, the Stars of Fury was still a very powerful weapon. ording to the standards of Anril, it would probably not be an exaggeration to call it a divine weapon. Lin Li didn¡¯t think that Rodhart would ignore such a powerful weapon when he obtained the arm of the Immortal King.

    ¡°Hah...¡± Rodhartughed painstakingly, while the soul fire in his eyes flickered like a candle in the wind as if it would be extinguished at any time. There was not a single race of death aura at all.

    ¡°You must have seen that weapon, right? Where is it now?¡± Seeing the condition that Rodhart was in, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious. Obviously, the Retribution Knight was already drained, and if Lin Li were any slower, he might not be able to ask anything in time.

    However, the corners of Rodhart¡¯s mouth curled up in a strange smirk, and he struggled to speak. ¡°It... It left the Ice and Fire behind, and departed...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean departed? Where did it go!?¡± Lin Li darted forward and reached out in a bid to grab Rodhart¡¯s shoulder. However, as soon as he touched Rodhart¡¯s armor, thetter¡¯s tall body copsed like a sculpture made of sand.

    <i>Damn it! Make yourself clear before you die, bastard!</i> Looking at the pile of ashes on the ground and the Eternal Frost de that was driven into it, Lin Li was filled with grief and anger. He didn¡¯t show any joy of victory at all. He had finally gotten a clue about the Stars of Fury, and yet he had to watch it slip away right in front of him. <i>Damn it, is this a joke!?</i>

    Lin Li stretched out his hand to pull the Eternal Frost de out from the ground. Without even taking another look, he threw it into the Eternal Snow Storm. Although it was a rare and legendary magical weapon, it was worlds apart from the Stars of Fury, and Lin Li was in no mood to appreciate it now.

    Lin Li put away the debris of the stars Holy Light and the divine ring. He then recalled the majestic Divine Power in the pce immediately, and even the power that had purified the Sanctuary powerhouse disappeared in an instant. Standing still, Lin Li looked at the original position of the skeleton throne, followed by the ashes on the ground, which made him feel rather emotional.

    A joyful shriek sounded in the pce, and a petite figure appeared in front of Lin Li immediately afterwards. It was sticking its tongue out and licking Lin Li mindlessly.

    After being licked by Xiao Hua, Lin Li felt a lot better. He used a magical crystal to lure Xiao Hua toe down before turning around to look in the direction Xiao Hua came from. Connoris, Norfeller, Ujfalusi, and the Holy Death Knights that were following them from behind entered from outside.

    Seeing that Lin Li was standing in the middle of the pce without any injuries, Norfeller and Ujfalusi hurriedly strode towards Lin Li and eximed in unison, ¡°Master, it¡¯s wonderful that you¡¯re alright!¡±

    Lin Li nodded and shifted his gaze onto Norfeller.

    In the previous battle, Lin Li witnessed the scene of Norfeller unleashing his potential, and he only knew that his Vampire servant was not feeling as good as he seemed on the surface. Hence, he took out a potion that was full of Dark Force, and said, ¡°Drink it.¡±

    The potion was a by-product of Lin Li¡¯s formtion of the Tribute of Darkness. Although its effects were inferior to the Tribute of Darkness, it was rather effective for creatures of Darkness. Norfeller didn¡¯t ask any questions, and simply grabbed the potion with both hands, unplugged the cork without hesitation, and poured the potion into his mouth immediately.

    Although the Soul Contract, like the Blood-oath, had conditions that would bind the servant to the master until their deaths, and didn¡¯t seem to involve any loyalty, Norfeller chose to take the initiative and risk his own life during the hopeless battle. On the other hand, Ujfalusi chose to wait passively. That was the difference in their loyalty. Although Lin Li did not intend to punish Ujfalusi for that, he felt that it was also necessary to reward Norfeller for his loyalty.

    Seeing the Dark Force erupting and surging in Norfeller¡¯s body after he consumed the potion, Ujfalusi was instantly green with envy and jealousy. He was filled with regret, and wished that he had also risked his life to put up a fight.

    Although the 40 Archmages were physically and mentally exhausted after the intense battle, they were still looking at Lin Li with gazes that were filled with awe, worship, and admiration. The Retribution Knight was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, a powerful, god-like existence. Yet, he was killed by their President, Lin Li. The problems that the Tower of Dusk was facing now were considered nothing at allpared to this!

    Dang, dang!

    Connoris walked up to Lin Li, threw half of the Holy Light Cross Spear that he was holding onto the ground, andmented in displeasure and disgruntlement, ¡°Look, this is the borate and luxurious product of your forging workshop, yet it¡¯s inferior to a fire stick. I don¡¯t care. Since you refuse to give me Osric¡¯s weapon, you have to make me a decent weapon when we go back.¡±

    The Holy Light Cross was a magical weapon that Lin Li had personally designed. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be as weak and pathetic like Connoris described. It was just that they had faced the siege of 20 Death Knights this time, and the fact that the spear couldst until the end was already rather impressive.

    In fact, Lin Li of course knew that Connoris was still coveting the spear that was used by the perfect body back then, which was a transformation of the debris of the stars, Nothingness. However, Connoris¡¯ strength and abilities were now considered the most importantbat power of Lin Li¡¯s subordinates. Indeed, Connoris needed a better weapon to allow the power of the perfect body to be fully exerted.

    Of course, it was impossible for Lin Li to give Nothingness to Connoris. He happened to recall the Eternal Frost de that Rodhart had left behind after being purified, and thus said, ¡°The Eternal Frost de is with me. Once I study it, you may use it.¡±

    Connoris humphed and remained silent. Although the Eternal Frost de could not bepared to the Spear of Nothingness, it was also considered a very powerful legendary weapon which was somewhat simr to Nothingness in terms of Space Power.

    After packing everything up, Lin Li decided to leave because there was nothing worth wasting his time on in the underground pce. Lin Li led everyone out of the cave and arrived at the opening where Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine was waiting for him. He knew that Lin Li had plenty of Undead creatures, and thus didn¡¯t bring any believers of the Holy Light with him.

    ¡°Archbishop Englos, thank you very much for your help this time,¡± said Lin Li, who let his subordinates go first while he walked towards Englos and expressed his sincere gratitude to him.

    Englos smiled, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what happened to Rodhart. I can¡¯t say that it has nothing to do with the Brilliance Shrine. Besides, we were just praying outside the battlefield. Judging from the way you are now, the matter has probably been resolved, eh?¡±

    ¡°Well, although things unexpectedly did not go ording to n, we still managed to resolve it smoothly with the help of you and your believers. Let¡¯s talk while walking.¡± Lin Li was not modest at all. If it weren¡¯t for the Holy Light Mageweath array that Englos and the believers of the Holy Light had put up, the result would have beenpletely different.

    The two of them slowly walked out, and Lin Li briefly told Englos about the battle in the underground pce. Although it was all over, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shudder and feel a lingering sense of fear at the thought of Rodhart¡¯s menace. Englos was also shocked after hearing it. At the same time, he also felt rather awed and emotional about Rodhart¡¯s death. After all, he was also a mythical character.

    When he was about to leave the Dragon Mountains, Lin Li invited Englos to the Tower of Dusk as a guest to express his gratitude. However, Englos was an archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, and had plenty of concerns, especially since there were many believers of the Holy Light who hade on this trip with him. In the end, he had no choice but to regretfully bid Lin Li goodbye.

    Watching Englos leave, Lin Li reunited with his subordinates, and they set off together to make their way back to the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 830 - Theft

    <h4>Chapter 830: Theft</h4>

    Although there was an unexpected urrence during the operation this time, the oue was fortunately good. After obtaining Pr Snow and Raging mes, Lin Li finally got hold of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Having them all might not be that different from having five in terms of the increase inbat power, since it just gave him two more options. However, the nomological power contained in each of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars epassed all the World Laws of Anril. For Lin Li, it was not just about having two extra options.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained the seven basic World Laws¡ªearth, fire, water, wind, light, darkness, and chaos¡ªwhich constituted the world of Anril. Although it was not necessary for him to master all the Laws to enter the Sanctuary-realm, the seven basic Laws were extremely closely rted. No one could truly andpletely master a single Law when there were no connections in between.

    Darkness had to beplemented by light, and vice versa. It was the same for the otherws. The high priest of the Darkness Shrine, Rogge, mentioned that the two powers were interchangeable, and Pope Rosario¡¯s understanding of the Laws of Darkness was definitely not what most people couldpare to. Hence, for Lin Li, it would be good to have a betterprehension and enlightenment of other Laws, regardless of whichw he wanted to master in order to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Not only would it speed up his pace of entering the Sanctuary-realm, he might even get to enter the Sanctuary-realm just by mastering all the Laws.

    In addition to collecting the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, obtaining the Ice and Fire Natural Magic Domain could be considered a gain that would significantly enhance the strength of the Tower of Dusk. Regardless of how great the Tower of Dusk developed and how much power they had, the Tower of Dusk in Dnd was their root and foundation. As long as the Tower of Dusk stood strong in Dnd, they would definitely be able to resolve all the problems they encountered, regardless of how difficult they might be.

    Hence, at the beginning of the establishment of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li put in plenty of effort into developing it; he had been working hard to make the Tower of Dusk an indestructible fortress ever since then. He set up an All-Kill Array in the Tower of Dusk, installed powerful Magical Crystal Cannons, and even fused the Eternal Furnace with the Tower of Dusk. Even if the Tower of Dusk still couldn¡¯tpare to the Supreme Council¡¯s after Lin Li¡¯s continuous strengthening and enhancements, it could be considered to be close toparable.

    The only thing Lin Li found to be a pity was the fact that the Eternal Furnace, which was a piece of work that Osric was proud of, was not a finished product. The biggest problem was that he did not have an extremely powerful offensive weapon. Although Lin Li had purchased arge number of Magical Crystal Cannons and installed them in the Eternal Furnace to make it seem like a hedgehog with spikes, they would just be ornaments for disy if someone were to step on the Eternal Furnace, regardless of how many there were.

    As for the two Undead servants, as well as Connoris and Angno, they might be powerful, but Lin Li could not guarantee that they would continue to stay at the Tower of Dusk forever. Hence, Lin Li ced the ck Front Fortress in the Eternal Furnace, allowing the Holy Death Knights to be a guarding force of the Tower of Dusk. However, that was not enough. Although the Death Knights were strong, they had yet to grow to the level of the Retribution Knight. Hence, if they were to face any real powerhouses, they would definitely be defeated easily.

    Obtaining the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain could make up for the shorings of the Tower of Dusk to arge extent. The Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain was not a weapon, and did not even have any attacking power. However, whenbined with the Eternal Furnace, it would definitely bring about terrifying benefits.

    No matter how close the Archmages might be to the Legendary-realm, there would still be a world of a difference between them and Legendary-mages as long as they had yet to step into the Legendary-realm. One of the main reasons for the disparity in power was the enlightenment and application of the nomological power. Legendary-mages could use nomological power to create their own Magical Domains and rely on their absolute control of the Magical Domains in order to be a god-like existence, which was something that Archmages could notpare to.

    However, afterbining the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain with the Eternal Furnace, the Archmages of the Tower of Dusk would have their own Magical Domains. In other words, the Archmages would have their strength upgraded to the Legendary-level in one go with the help of the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain.

    Of course, there was still a difference between that and the Legendary-mages who really created a Magical Domain for themselves, though the difference wasn¡¯t huge. Not to mention, the Tower of Dusk still had the advantage of having more manpower. Lin Li had only brought along 40 Archmages with him this time, and there were actually many more from the Tower of Dusk who had not been selected. How would a powerful enemy react when he broke through numerous obstacles and finally stepped onto the Eternal Furnace, only to find more than 40 Legendary-mages staring at him menacingly?

    That was a benefit that could be seen immediately, but that was not all that the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain could offer.

    As a solidified Natural Magical Domain, the Laws of the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain could be considered extremely perfect existences. For the Archmages who had begun to understand the Laws, and were ready to step into the Legendary-realm, it would be a perfect example. There were now plenty of Archmages above level-19 at the Tower of Dusk, and if they had the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain to help them in gaining some enlightenment about the Laws, Lin Li believed that it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to enter the Legendary-realm and be true Legendary-mages.

    Since the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain could offer so many great benefits, Lin Li naturally didn¡¯t want to let it go to waste. Upon returning to the Tower of Dusk with his team, he immediately headed to the Eternal Furnace on the top of the tower.

    In fact, the most difficult part about dealing with the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain was taking out Pr Snow and Raging mes, and also bringing the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain out of the secret chamber of the underground pce. Lin Li had already managed to solve those two problems smoothly. The magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons also reced Pr Snow and Raging mes in being the core of the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain. At the same time, the inclusive nature of the Throne of Darkness allowed the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain to be devoured by it.

    What Lin Li had to do now was to ce the Throne of Darkness and the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain together on the Eternal Furnace. The only issue that he would have to consider was the cores of the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain. If the two cores were directly exposed in the domain like Pr Snow and Raging mes used to be, it would be too easy for the enemy to destroy the domain.

    Lin Li thought about it again and again, and decided to ce the magical crystals of the Ice and Fire Twin Dragons in the core of the Eternal Furnace, where the giant crystal coffin was located. That was a forbidden zone, even for the mages of the Tower of Dusk. Even if the enemies bribed someone from the Tower of Dusk, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the forbidden area and wreak havoc. If someone were to really barge in, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether they damaged it.

    Standing in the square in front of the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li chanted a long spell with an indifferent expression. The door of the Eternal Furnace, which was originally red in color, gradually turned darker until it waspletely covered by darkness. The Throne of Darkness then descended on the Eternal Furnace.

    The region where the Tower of Dusk was located seemed to have plunged into nighttime as the entire Eternal Furnace and Tower of Dusk werepletely shrouded in darkness. However, that did notst long, as the Eternal Darkness was soon lit up like dawn, and the darkness faded as if it had been washed away by waves. Everything seemed to have been restored to its original state.

    However, Lin Li was the only one who knew that the Throne of Darkness did not really leave the Eternal Furnace, and was simply existing in another form. That was also because Lin Li had understood some of the mysteries of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, and hadplete control over the Throne of Darkness. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to achieve it.

    After the Throne of Darkness disappeared, the Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain gradually emerged, and white snowkes began to float on the dark red Eternal Furnace. The snowkes did not melt because of the high temperature of the Eternal Furnace, and insteadnded on the ground and fell on the roof of the pce, giving the red building a silvery coat.

    The abnormality of the Eternal Furnace definitely sparked a plethora of spections by those who were concerned about the Tower of Dusk, but Lin Li wasn¡¯t concerned about it at all. Afterpleting all the work, Lin Li left the Eternal Furnace and arrived at the Tower of Dusk, where he finally began to listen to reports from Gavin and other members who were in charge of various matters.

    Due to the fact that Lin Li did not restrict them from disclosing any details, the 40 Archmages had already spread the word about their expedition this time, thus allowing the other mages to find out the ins and outs of it. The various problems encountered by the Tower of Dusk recently had caused some of them to get riled up, but after hearing the insider story of the expedition, the feeling of uneasiness in their hearts immediately disappeared without a trace.

    Rodhart flew into a rage in the Breezy ins, and even if it happened hundreds of years ago, it still wasn¡¯t considered that long. To a resident of the Breezy ins, the disaster that struck back then was not just a story. The Death Knights ughtered hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom were the ancestors of some people. Hence, they were much more emotional and horrified by the terrifying Retribution Knight Rodhart and the Death Knights than people in other regions.

    Their President Lin Li actually managed to kill the demon-like Retribution Knight who was a real Sanctuary powerhouse and a true terrifying existence. Since he could do that, he would definitely be able to solve the problems of the Tower of Dusk, which now seemed insignificant inparison. No matter how strong they might be, who in the Breezy ins could rival the terrifying Retribution Knight? Mages were known to be atheists. However, they seemed to reveal a kind of pious faith in their eyes when looking at Lin Li.

    The Tower of Dusk today was far stronger than it used to be two or three years ago. Although the two main businesses of the Tower of Dusk, pharmaceutics and forging, were not spread throughout Anril, they at least upied a certain amount in the market in the human kingdoms of Fn and Ledin. Given how much the Tower of Dusk had developed, it would naturally be impossible for Gavin and Beckley to be the only ones managing it. Hence, apart from Gavin and Beckley, there were other mages who were leaders of respective areas sitting in the conference hall at the moment. One of them was n, who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm. He was currently a senior executive of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°President, we have yet to find out the whereabouts of Cassano, but the potion form and forging blueprints that he has stolen have all been used to create arge number ofpleted products that have appeared on the market recently. They¡¯re all sold at prices that are a fifth of our prices. No matter who produced them, they¡¯d definitely make a loss. It¡¯s obvious that they¡¯re going against us,¡± Gavin said with a sullen expression.

    Although the management of the Tower of Dusk had been expanded, Gavin was still the chief supervisor who oversaw all aspects of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, although there were other people who were responsible for the assessment of members, Gavin was still responsible for overlooking a traitor like Cassano who had stolen the secrets of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to hold him ountable now, and simply waved his hands. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Cassano¡¯s issue. I do have some impression of him. He¡¯s talented and rather hardworking.¡±

    ¡°Cassano is from Rn, and he¡¯s also known as a genius amongst the locals. He joined the Tower of Dusk two years ago, and is very talented in learning magic. He¡¯s also a very humble and modest person. Due to the fact that his abilities and strength increased rapidly, and he was also very enthusiastic inpleting the tasks of the guild, his contribution rate had also increased rapidly. He had also gained some considerable authority...¡± Due to the fact that Gavin had been investigating Cassanotely, he revealed almost everything about Cassano without thinking at all when Lin Li asked the question.

    ¡°President, I think that Cassano¡¯s betrayal is not an ident. This incident has exposed a w in our contribution system which seems to be fair on the surface. Although individual strength andpetency are important, the greater an immoral person¡¯s abilities, the greater the damage he will cause,¡± said a middle-aged mage named Seth. Although he had only joined the Tower of Dusk for over a year, he had strong management abilities, which allowed him to soon be a member of the managementmittee of the Tower of Dusk.

    Seth¡¯s words seemed to have made sense, but Lin Li could obviously tell that he was trying to question and challenge Gavin¡¯s position. After all, the contribution system of the Tower of Dusk was established by Gavin. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about this. Power struggle within a force was normal, and it would be impossible to eradicate it. Withoutpetition, there would be no development. If everyone in the Tower of Dusk had no desires, what development would there be for the Tower of Dusk? Of course, Lin Li would not allow unscrupulous methods to be used to vie for power in the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°We can¡¯t see or touch a person¡¯s morals and ethics. How can that be used as a criterion? Before Cassano¡¯s betrayal, did anyone suspect there to be an issue with his character? Even now, we still have plenty of mages who don¡¯t believe that Cassano would betray us,¡± Beckley retorted. As a veteran of the Tower of Dusk, Beckley was naturally more biased towards Gavin.

 Chapter 831 - Ashen Warlock

    <h4>Chapter 831: Ashen Warlock</h4>

    The human heart was the most unpredictable thing. Your best friend of many years might shield you from a sword, and then stab you in the chest the next minute. However, developing paranoia and being excessively suspicious of everything would be a huge disadvantage. Well, it would be impossible to make everyone sign a Soul Contract anyway.

    ¡°Well, there is no perfect system in this world, and since we know there are ws, we will have to find ways to make up for it. However, the fairness of the contribution system is undeniable. The fair standards are exactly why our mages have faith in us and are more driven to strive for better,¡± said Pereira, who was the mage in charge of the pharmaceutical business, in a bid to give them an out.

    Lin Li did not make anyment about the conflict. Instead, he turned to look at Gavin, and calmly said, ¡°Leave Cassano¡¯s matter aside. Go on, tell me what you found out.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President,¡± said Gavin, who was less anxious after seeing that Lin Li was not angry. He continued, ¡°After those potions and weapons appear on the market, we immediately conducted a series of investigations on the background of the business operators, and discovered that there is a widework of forces that are involved.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How wide is it?¡± asked Lin Li, somewhat interested.

    ¡°This is the list that we got through our investigations. To put it simply, it includes most of the forces in the Breezy ins, apart from the forces in Dnd. However, many of the various forces of different sizes are all connected. Hence, after we sorted it out, we could infer that the obstacles that we have faced in various aspects are likely to be caused by more than a dozen forces. Their names are at the top of the list.¡± While speaking, Gavin handed a document to Lin Li, and then distributed the other copies to several other senior executives.

    ¡°What? How... How is that possible!?¡± the senior executives eximed in unison after taking a nce at the document as it gave them a huge shock.

    Due to the fact that they were afraid of arousing the suspicion of others, Gavin had always been responsible for the investigation of the rival forces. He did not expose the details to the senior executives at all. Hence, the several senior executives did not know the exact severity of the issue even though they knew that the Tower of Dusk was in serious trouble.

    After all, thest time Lin Li returned from the Sky Castle, he sent the mages of the Tower of Dusk to attack a group of unruly forces with their weapons. Although the focus of their attacks was on Dnd City, the power exhibited by the Tower of Dusk managed to create a significant deterrence to the forces in other regions.

    The list of the forces in the Breezy ins had clearly exceeded the psychological tolerance of the senior executives. The list meant that the enemy faced by the Tower of Dusk this time was not just a specific force, but almost half of the Breezy ins.

    Indeed, the Tower of Dusk was developing rapidly, and also had extremely powerful capability. It had integrated therge and small forces of Dnd and be the top power in the entire Breezy ins. However, while the Tower of Dusk was powerfulpared to the individual forces, it did not mean that they could really fight the entire Breezy ins.

    ¡°Well... Mage Gavin, are you sure that this list is correct?¡± The senior executives hurriedly tried to verify the uracy of the list. Although they knew that Gavin definitely wouldn¡¯t be careless in that aspect, they still couldn¡¯t help but hope that he got it wrong. They couldn¡¯t help panicking, because the 10-odd forces at the top of the list were not inferior to the Malfa Family from Aminya at all. It wouldn¡¯t be too bad if there were only one or two. However, there were a total of more than 10 forces.

    Upon seeing their reactions, Lin Li shook his head a little, and thought to himself, <i>This is just some of the information on the surface. If they were to find out the real culprit who¡¯s instigating those forces, they would probably get a great shock.</i>

    ¡°Are you guys already feeling flustered by these?¡± n questioned in displeasure when he saw the way they behaved. At the same time, he also secretly felt thankful for the fact that he did not immediately tell everyone about Lin Li¡¯s conjecture. Otherwise, the Tower of Dusk would have been in a mess.

    ¡°Is that not enough? That¡¯s almost all the top forces of the Breezy ins. I¡¯m not belittling our power. I believe that none of these forces will pose any threat to us, even if they join forces. However, we¡¯re now facing all of them, not just one or a few,¡± Seth said in a tone that was full of anxiety. He had also gained the approval of several other senior executives.

    ¡°President, the Tower of Dusk is developing too quickly, and it¡¯s inevitably going to arouse the jealousy of other forces and cause them to covet what we have. I think it is time to slow down. Those forces are undoubtedly just after benefits. As long as we give them some benefits, they probably won¡¯t really fall out with us,¡± Pereira suggested, putting forward a conservative idea. Although it sounded a little unambitious, it was also a form of self-protection in a way.

    Of course, as soon as Pereira voiced his idea, Gavin, Beckley, and n immediately glowered at him before Lin Li could even say anything. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li was present, they would have probably gone forth to beat the timid Pereira up.

    Seth originally agreed with Pereira¡¯s idea, but when he noticed their peculiar expressions, he frantically changed his mind, and said, ¡°President, I doubt those forces have a tight alliance. We can definitely give them some interests and talk some of the forces around to break them up. By then, our crisis will naturally be resolved.¡±

    Seth¡¯s suggestion would also harm the interests of the Tower of Dusk, but it was obviously more eptable. Even Gavin and Beckley nodded slightly. n sneered, and said, ¡°Unfortunately, they¡¯re not just after those interests, and their alliance is not going to be divided easily.¡±

    ¡°Mage n, what do you mean by that? Do you know something?¡± After Seth voiced his idea, everyone got interested, and Seth even felt a little smug andcent. Hence, when he heard what n said, he found it hard to ept.

    n first took a nce at Lin Li, and then turned to look at everyone after seeing Lin Li nod. ¡°These forces have colluded, and that¡¯s indeed a good way to umte some strength. However, it¡¯s not that easy to make all of them stand on the same line, unless there¡¯s someone manipting them from above.¡±

    ¡°Someone manipting them? You mean, there¡¯s someone behind them who instigated them to collude together!? It can¡¯t be. They¡¯re already the top forces in the Breezy ins. How can they be manipted by others?¡± asked Seth, who did not quite believe n¡¯s words. Those forces were already the top forces of the Breezy ins. Usually, even the royals would not be taken seriously by them. How could they allow other forces to control them?

    On the other hand, Gavin had followed Master Basel for a long time, and had also spent a lot of time learning in the Dnd library. Hence, he had read through many books and materials beyond the field of magic. At this moment, he could not help but say with shock written all over his face, ¡°You mean... they¡¯ve also participated?¡±

    However, in an instant, Gavin¡¯s eyes glistened, and he bitterly added, ¡°Yeah, who else in the Breezy ins apart from them can be powerful enough to do that?¡±

    ¡°Mage Gavin, Mage n, just what ¡®they¡¯ do you mean?¡± asked Seth, even more puzzled after seeing Gavin¡¯s expression. The other senior executives such as Beckley also seemed to be rather curious.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not stop them, Gavin turned to say to Seth and the rest, ¡°You guys are probably no strangers to the Glittergold Trade Union. How do you think these 10-odd forcespare to the Glittergold Trade Union?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re probably far behind the Glittergold Trade Union. The Glittergold Trade Union is an actual trade union that covers the entire Anril. Do you think the Glittergold Trade Union is the culprit? But, don¡¯t they have a cooperative rtionship with us?¡± Seth asked in disbelief.

    ¡°No, what I¡¯m trying to say is, which forces do you think canpare with the Glittergold Trade Union?¡± Gavin said, his voice turning a little low as he exposed his concerns.

    Gavin¡¯s words were like a bolt from the blue for Seth and the rest, who were so shocked that they almost got up from their chairs. In the hearts of most people, the Glittergold Trade Union should be second only to the Supreme Council and the two major shrines, the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine. It could be considered the fourth greatest force in Anril. Although the Glittergold Trade Union might still be worlds apart from the three forces, it would be unbelievable for there to be another force that was on par with the Glittergold Trade Union.

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s no wonder that you guys don¡¯t know. Although we have a rtively high status in the Breezy ins, we¡¯ve only been established for a very short time, after all. If I hadn¡¯t read some information about them, I probably wouldn¡¯t have known about their existence. Speaking of the real top force in the Breezy ins, we must mention the Ashen Warlock, Rnd, who lives in Gran Town in the northern part of the Breezy ins.¡±

    Gavin was on the topic about forces that wereparable to the Glittergold Trade Union, and yet the first item he mentioned was a person. However, when Seth and the rest heard his name, no one raised any objections. It might sound absurd to include a person in the ranks of the top forces, but no one in Anril would find that statement an exaggeration. As natives of the Breezy ins, how could they have not heard of Rnd, the Ashen Warlock? How could they not know the stories about him?

    Rnd, the Ashen Warlock, had always lived in the small Gran Town in the northern part of the Breezy ins like an ordinary old man from the countryside who often lived a quiet and regr rural life. In the small Gran Town where there were only a few hundred households, a sneeze could be heard clearly from the other end of the town. However, no one there knew that the protagonist of the terrifying stories used to stop children from crying, Rnd, the Ashen Warlock¡ªand one of the most infamous butchers in the Fn Kingdom after the Highlord Osric¡ªwas their neighbor.

    In the eyes of the vigers in the small Gran Town, the Ashen Warlock was just a wealthy but lonely old man. He disliked being in contact with people or talking to them. He would spend his time hiding in his house and doing some strange things, or sit around in the field and space out all day. Although he only had two or three servants by his side, they were older than him, and seemed to be on the brink of death. However, many of those who thought that the servants were going to die anytime soon had all died, yet the old servants would still show up at the door every day and bask in the sun sluggishly.

    However, those who practiced martial arts or magic outside of Gran Town would be warned by their teachers from the beginning not to set foot in Gran Town even if they were going to explore the Haiga Mountain Range to fight the monsters. If they were to die in the Haiga Mountain Range, they would die alone. However, if they angered the Ashen Warlock of Gran Town, their entire family would be affected.

    Those who heard the warnings would definitely not think that it was just a false warning, because thest time the Ashen Warlock was infuriated was merely 50-odd years ago. Compared to the myths and legends that happened thousands of years ago, it was a rtively short period of time, and it was as if it happened right in front of them. The reason that the Ashen Warlock flew into a rage was only because a dog he raised was trampled to death by the Fn soldiers stationed at the border. Avenging his dog, he smashed half of the barracks with Hellfire.

    However, the matter did not end there. At that time, themander of the border was a prince of the Fn Kingdom, and the forces of the Breezy ins, which had always been exclusive to foreigners, did not inform the prince of how horrifying that old man was. Perhaps they felt that he wouldn¡¯t believe it even if they told him about it.

    Hence, after being shamed, the prince immediately ordered for tens of thousands of soldiers to break into Gran Town and arrest all the vigers of that town, after which he threatened them to hand over the murderer.

    However, that prince ended up facing the scene of the Ashen Warlock opening the door of the Abyss and summoning a high-level demon that took thousands of lives overnight.

    Afterwards, the royals of the Fn Kingdom deployed their most elite Sky Knights, and wanted to kill the Ashen Warlock and the demon he summoned at all costs. At the same time, the Adventurers Guild also offered a reward of up to 5,000,000 gold coins to anyone who would kill the Ashen Warlock. It was an unprecedentedly high bounty, which immediately attracted countless adventurers.

    However, in the end, the Sky Knights who had 500 Gryphons ended up fleeing back to nna with only less than 100 survivors left. The adventurers who took on the mission were reidentified in the files of the Adventurers Guild, and there was the word ¡°deceased¡± annotated neatly beside their names.

 Chapter 832 - Situation

    <h4>Chapter 832: Situation</h4>

    This was the price to pay if one were to offend the Ashen Warlock. No one would know whether the ant they stepped on in Gran Town might actually belong to the Ashen Warlock. If it did, they had to be an unlucky man. Hence, everyone was warned against visiting that rural settlement. That town that seemed peaceful was in fact the scariest part of the Breezy ins.

    ¡°But, Mage Gavin, we know that the Ashen Warlock has a frightening ability. If he had really wanted to find trouble with us, he would have confronted us long ago.¡±

    This was the reason for Seth and the others not to associate the matter with Ashen Warlock. The Tower of Dusk was strong, but it was not formidable to the extent that the Ashen Warlock had to y tricks on them.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That is what I wanted to say. Apart from the Glittergold Trade Union and Ashen Warlock, there are three other powerful forces in the Breezy ins that are not known to many. These three forces are the real deal in the Breezy ins. They are the Blood Moon n, Mithril Alliance, and Caesar Family,¡± replied Gavin slowly. He spoke of the three names that were unfamiliar to Seth and the others.

    ¡°Caesar Family?¡± Lin Li repeated one of the names. Caesar Family was not what he predicted to be one of their enemies this time.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President. I do not know much about the Blood Moon n, but I know that they were the force that rose very quickly in the Breezy ins after the Dark Age. The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, on the other hand, had been long-standing forces in the Breezy ins since the Dark Age. These two forces are rted as well. It was said that the Caesar Family was the founder of the Mithril Alliance. Yet, they left the Mithril Alliance for some reason. I am unable to provide you with more details on these three forces due to theck of information on my side. But, I can confirm that each of these three forces will be a match for the Glittergold Trade Union. They might even be more powerful than Glittergold Trade Union,¡± said Gavin guilty.

    While Gavin was not able to provide more information, what he said was shocking enough. If the list of names they had acquired previously was a huge problem to the Tower of Dusk, it would not matter now, as there would always be solutions to problems. But, if what Gavin said was true, the Tower of Dusk would not be facing any problem, but an impending disaster. The men were not feeling worried anymore. What they felt instead was deep helplessness and fear.

    ¡°Mr. President, this is still Mage Gavin¡¯s hypothesis, and we don¡¯t have any concrete evidence that this matter would involve any stronger force,¡± said Seth as he looked at Lin Li expectantly, waiting for Mr President to deny the information Gavin had brought up.

    ¡°It would be impossible for the hundreds of forces to have such a unified action if it was a temporary alliance. Furthermore, if you take a look at what they have been doing recently, you will know that this is not any simple fight over their own interests. This is a stranglehold. The rapid progress of the Tower of Dusk has threatened them. There are enough people with authority in the Breezy ins. They would not hope to increase that number,¡± said Lin Li calmly as he shook his head.

    If it was any simple issue that involved mere benefits, a partnership would be able to work. Although it was not as time-efficient as robbery, the long-term benefits were what would truly help these forces progress further. If they wanted topete for mary profit, it would be faster if they were to steal the potion forms and forging blueprints from the Tower of Dusk and sell them at the original market rate. Even if they wanted to capture the market with a lower price, they would not need to reduce their prices to the extent that they would not earn any profit. But, it seemed that their motive was definitely not such profits, but to cut off the financial source of the Tower of Dusk, and thus their ability to operate.

    ¡°Yes, the motive of our enemies is not to gain from us, but to push us back to our starting point, or eliminate us from the Breezy ins. I presume that the rest of you have been encountering other challenges as well, not just the stagnation of sales. Is the supply of raw materials affected as well?¡± Gavin inquired as he swept his gaze across everyone¡¯s faces. It made several higher-ups speechless.

    The rapid progress made by the Tower of Dusk these two years was definitely terrifying. Their operations against the other forces in Dnd were even more fear-inducing. It made them one of the real deals in the Breezy ins. They took over all the quality resources in Dnd as well as in certain regions around it. They enjoyed a never-ending stream of rare herbs, quality ores, and magic resources, which they transformed into massive wealth to fuel their growth.

    Apart from ores and herbs, an important and meaningful resource in any force would be talents. Talented individuals made up the foundation of any powerful force. They were the ones pertinent to the survival and progress of these forces. Any force with sufficient talents would have the authority to snatch any resources theycked. If a force only had a group of morons instead, any amount of wealth would be futile as they wouldn¡¯t be able to defend against their own stupidity.

    Strictly speaking, the Tower of Dusk should be called the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. In theory, it had the right to receive all mages in the Breezy ins. However, even Emerald Tower which was situated in the remote and tiny Jarrosus did not allow every mage to join the guild. How would it be different for the numerous organizations in the Breezy ins?

    Each of these forces upied a piece of territory in the Breezy ins. They would try to attract the talents from one another¡¯s territory with attractive rewards. While smaller forces were unable to provide rewards that were too attractive, they could still take advantage of their geographical territory to recruit some of these talents.

    If not for Basel who rmended a batch of mages to the Tower of Dusk when they had been established, it would definitely have been a challenge for the Tower to hire real talents. Without quality manpower, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have the ability to develop the Tower of Dusk so rapidly with all of his might.

    Now, the Tower of Dusk had gained extreme fame in the Breezy ins, and it had power over Dnd and the surrounding regions, but their ability to gather talents was mostly limited to these boundaries. That was because these talents were not only magic talents or high-level Warriors. They included esteemed individuals in various fields, such as cksmiths and pharmacists, and evenmon men who were proficient in other matters.

    That was the reason behind the Tower of Dusk¡¯s speedy growth and expansion. The people here all had managerial positions in the Tower of Dusk, and were clearly aware of their predicament. They were only in denial.

    ¡°M-Mr. President... I suggest to keep this information between the few of us. If this were to be leaked to other mages, I fear...¡± That was Pereira, who was wiping the sweat off his forehead anxiously.

    It seemed like they had to be enemies with the whole Breezy ins. If such news was to be known by the mages under them, there might only be a handful of them still willing to serve at the Tower of Dusk. If that situation were toe, the Tower of Dusk would disintegrate before it faced its enemies.

    This concern was not an unreasonable one. After all, they previously had a traitor. Loyalty was not something that could be depended on. Hence, the suggestion made by Pereira was well received by all of the higher-ups, including Gavin and n.

    However, Lin Liughed it off casually. ¡°We don¡¯t have to hide this information from them at all. The door of the Tower of Dusk has always been open. We respect everyone¡¯s decision on that. Also, don¡¯t you think this is a great chance for us to eliminate those who do not have a sense of belonging and loyalty to the Tower?¡± said Lin Li calmly as he swept his gaze across everyone.

    Lin Li¡¯s casual tone was like a gust of chilly wind to the ears of Seth, Pereira, and the other new higher-ups. They felt as though their souls were going to freeze. Their expressions turned awkward, and they started to sweat.

    Frankly speaking, it would be a lie to say that these higher-ups were not thinking otherwise when they heard about their potential enemies. While they worried about losing the other mages, they were thinking of a way out of the situation for themselves as well.

    But, Lin Li¡¯s words were like a bucket of cold water in the winter that flushed those thoughts away. They felt that the open-door policy and respect for every member were lies. Even if Lin Li was being honest about them, he had to be referring to the normal mages. As the higher-ups of the Tower of Dusk, all of them were aware of certain organization secrets. They were incredibly scared that if they were to be suspected of wanting to leave the tower, they would vanish from this world the next moment.

    But, if one were to look at the matter from another perspective, if the higher-ups were already fearful for their lives, how would normal mages feel about the matter? It seemed like the concerns advanced by the higher-ups were valid as well. After all, there was a real difference in abilities.

 Chapter 833 - Diverse Opinions

    <h4>Chapter 833: Diverse Opinions</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Unlike the newly promoted higher-ups, Gavin and n, the senior leaders of the Tower were naturally not intending to run from the challenge. But, they were also worried that such news would stir up unrest within the Tower.

    Lin Li waved his arms upon seeing Gavin¡¯s and n¡¯s attempt to speak up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s end the discussion here. As for the challenges faced by each department recently, please return to your department and think of a temporary solution. The time is tight.¡±

    In fact, although their opponents had brought about trouble for the Tower of Dusk, it was definitely not sufficient to destroy the entire Tower. The Tower of Dusk was not entirely reliant on the Breezy ins. It outsourced herbs from the Emerald Forest of the Elven Kingdom and ores from Ledin Kingdom¡¯s quality mines. These resources and partnerships were not what the traditional forces in the Breezy ins could control.

    Frankly speaking, even if the Tower of Dusk couldn¡¯t afford to ovee these problems, the other forces might not even have the resources to continue their ns to destroy the Tower. If they really wanted to do that, they would have to use physical force. Hence, the current treatment was just an appetizer, and not something that couldst.

    ...

    ¡°Hey, do you know why we seem to be faced with so many obstacles recently? I heard that we are faced with a huge problem,¡± said one mage to the others during their leisure time. They were discussing the issues that had been happening in the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Of course, I even went to look through some history books about the Breezy ins. To be honest, if not for the recent happenings, I wouldn¡¯t have believed that there are such terrifying forces in the Breezy ins,¡± replied a middle-aged mage as he sighed and shook his head worriedly.

    The trouble the Tower of Dusk was met with was no secret among the mages. Lin Li¡¯s silent consent allowed information of the three forces to be spread among the mages very quickly. Although they were only given three names, they would be able to find certain information about them if they put in enough effort in their research. The mages knew very quickly that their opponent this time was mightier than the Dark de, and was evenparable to the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Yet, while some of the mages were really concerned about the future of the Tower, what the higher-ups were worried about did not happen. As the mages discussed the possible repercussions of the actions by their opponents, their topic of discussion even diverted without them noticing it.

    ¡°How would they matter? They exist because the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t there to defeat them in the past. If they had been really powerful, why hadn¡¯t they stepped up when the Retribution Knight was here to wreak havoc? It was Mr. President who got rid of that Retribution Knight that was known as the demon deity,¡± said a young mage who had participated in the underground pce mission.

    ¡°But, what if they were only trying to preserve their energy at that point in time? After all, all they had to care about was personal interests. I bet they were in joy when they saw Rodhart help them eliminate so many other forces and leave behind so much barrennd,¡± retorted that middle-aged mage immediately.

    ¡°If the Breezy ins really became a piece of barrennd, what benefits would they gain out of it? Furthermore, even if they were really preserving their energy, I don¡¯t believe that they would have the ability to overpower the Tower of Dusk. We have Mr. President with us! You wouldn¡¯t be able to imagine how powerful he is if you didn¡¯t participate in that mission,¡± responded the young mage. He raised the corners of his lips proudly, and in his eyes was a sense of indifference towards the lurking forces. It seemed that he was extremely confident about the future of the Tower of Dusk.

    The young mage¡¯s attitude did not anger the middle-aged mage. He was instead curious about what the young mage was thinking.

    ¡°You have such great confidence? I only know that Mr. President used a single spell to defeat two Legendary powerhouses from the Dark de. Are you saying that Mr. President was capable of more?¡± he asked him.

    ¡°Tsk, how could the two Legendary powerhouses from Dark de beparable to that Retribution Knight? Not to mention Mr. President having the ability to defeat a Retribution Knight single-handedly, I bet you wouldn¡¯t be able to imagine what spells he used. If you want to know why I have so much confidence in him, let me tell you my reasons...¡± As Lin Li did not forbid the mages on that mission to divulge anything about the mission, there was nothing for this young mage to fear. He started to talk about everything he had witnessed to the other mages around him.

    ¡°I bet you know about the two Undead servants, Lich Ujfalusi and Vampire Norfeller, working under Mr. President. Both of them are in the Legendary-level, and are definitely esteemed powerhouses. Mr. President also had a magical item in his hands that could help him summon the Legendary-level Lord of Nightmares and a real adult red dragon in the Legendary-realm. Not only that, there is also Master Connoris, who had the ability to defeat 20 Death Knights single-handedly. He is definitely second only to Mr. President in terms of powers.

    ¡°Also, I bet none of you would believe that Mr. President actually has a team of 40 Pdins. I had seen its ability. It is definitely enough for the team to deal with three to four leaders of the Dark de who are in the Legendary-realm. On top of that, he has a magical beast as well. Although I¡¯m not sure what it is, I am amazed that it has the ability to cast an unlimited number of Legendary-level spells instantaneously despite being a petite beast. The magic storm that is created from thebination of different Legendary-level spells is definitely not something anymon Legendary-mage can spawn.

    ¡°You can count to see how many Legendary powerhouses our President would be able to deal with just by his own forces alone. To me, he would be able to defeat 15 to 16 real Legendary powerhouses at the minimum. Think about that! Who else apart from the Supreme Council, Brilliance Shrine, and Darkness Shrine would have the ability to do that? If the three forces were the real powerhouses in the Breezy ins, I bet they wouldn¡¯t have to hide behind the covers at all.¡±

    The mages who had not participated in the underground pce mission were stunned as they listened to what their peer had said. They knew that Mr. President was a really powerful man, and knew that his two Undead servants were in the Legendary-realm. But, never would they have thought that those weren¡¯t everything. Their President actually had the power to deal with 15 to 16 Legendary powerhouses? The thought of that was simply astonishing. They wouldn¡¯t have trusted the news if it hadn¡¯t been from a fellow mage.

    Legendary powerhouses were considered god-like existences to normal men. One Legendary-mage would be enough to take down a very powerful force. For example, Master Cheyenne alone was enough to uphold the powerful Malfa Family¡¯s reputation in Aminya City as the top family of the Breezy ins. If they were to look at the Dark de, they would remember that the organization led by three Legendary powerhouses was the top bandit organization of the Breezy ins. It was even known as the strongest force in the Breezy ins in the past.

    But now, although the Tower of Dusk was a rtively new organization, and none of the mages except n had reached the Legendary-realm, the power their President held alone was sufficient to defeat 15 to 16 Legendary powerhouses.<i></i>What was there for the Tower of Dusk to fear if they already had such an advantage?

    ¡°T-this... I don¡¯t think it is possible,¡± gasped several mages. With theirck of experience, they really could not imagine what force would have such a formidable power.

    ¡°How is it impossible? We, the Tower of Dusk, have been partnering the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine so closely, and have been having a good rtionship with the Elven, Fn, and Ledin Kingdom. Even if our opponent has the ability to control the other forces in the Breezy ins, do you think these forces would want to harm us? Do not forget that it was Archbishop Martin who invited Mr. President to their Brilliance Shrine the other time. That can only show how much respect Archbishop Martin had for Mr. President! Do you think our allies would turn a blind eye when the Tower of Dusk is faced with troubles?¡±

    It was true that there had been a pessimistic and anxious sentiment among the mages of the Tower of Dusk when they heard about their opponents. It would be a lie to say that there weren¡¯t timid mages who intended to leave the tower. But, the members who had participated in the underground pce mission with Lin Li were able to transform the negativity with stories of Lin Li¡¯s performances and the advantages the tower had that day.

    Of course, there were still mages who felt that it would be illogical to assume that their predicament was as simple as that mission. These mages were unable to believe what they heard, and were still concerned about the future of the Tower. But, there were extremely few mages who left due to theirck of courage. The others chose to stay to observe the situation further. After all, choosing to leave the Tower at such a timing would be detrimental to their reputation. No other forces would want to recruit scaredy-cats who would escape crises.

    This situation assured the higher-ups to direct all their attention to the managing of their operations against the other forces. It was just like what Lin Li had said: it wouldn¡¯t be possible for anyone to critically attack the Tower financially.

 Chapter 834 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 834: Invitation</h4>

    Although the Tower of Dusk was established in Dnd, and only had influence over Dnd and a few surrounding regions, their businesswork had long stretched outside the Breezy ins.

    That opponent hidden behind the scenes might be able to prevent the Tower of Dusk from selling any potion or any weapon, and from acquiring any piece of herb or ore in the Breezy ins, but wouldn¡¯t have the ability to do anything outside the Breezy ins. They wouldn¡¯t be able to control the royal office of Fn and Ledin, or influence the two great shrines in any way. If they had that ability, they wouldn¡¯t have to fear the rise of the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, as Anril was a world thatcked space-rted magical items, they needed traders to mobilize material resources. Hence, if they were to block the flow of goods with armed troops, they would be able to create real trouble for certain forces. Shortly after Lin Li returned from the underground pce, three of the 10 strongest bandit organizations attacked the Tower¡¯s caravans sessively. It was very obvious that the mastermind behind the scenes was attempting to cut off the connection the Tower of Dusk had with the outside world, and trap the Tower in Dnd.

    Perhaps knowing how scary it was to offend the Tower of Dusk, the three bandit organizations actually put aside the filthy tricks they had in their sleeves to form an alliance with one another to n a strategy to prepare for a possible revenge made by the Tower. While these three bandit organizations were originally ranked in the middle, theirbined power would bring them to the first ce on that list. It would be no exaggeration to say that they would be able to match up to the former Dark de.

    Based on the understanding the outside world had of the Tower of Dusk, the real deal was that young President and his two Undead servants in the Legendary-realm. Although thebined forces of the three bandit organizations were not sufficient to challenge the Tower of Dusk head-on, they thought that they would still be able to intimidate the Tower if they were to go against it at such a timing.

    At once, all of the forces focused all their attention on the Tower of Dusk. They were all curious how the Tower of Dusk would approach the matter. Everyone thought that this would be aplex problem for the young President. If he did not respond, that might be a huge blow to the Tower of Dusk. If the Tower of Dusk wanted to take revenge on the three bandit organizations, it would only make sense for that young President and the other two Undead servants to participate in the battle, but this would benefit the other factions.

    Yet, none of the forces had expected that the young President from the Tower of Dusk would not step in to handle the matter himself. He did not send his two Undead servants in the Legendary-realm to deal with it, either. It was a team of 40 Pdins that came out of the Tower of Dusk. Each of the Pdins was donned in a set of silver armor and was riding on a pure white unicorn. What stunned them even more was how they exuded the same kind of tremendous and pure Divine Power as the Holy Pdins from the Brilliance Shrine who were responsible for guarding the Holy Mountain.

    The partnership between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine was known to everyone in the Breezy ins. But, if the Brilliance Shrine would send their Holy Pdins to the Tower of Dusk, the nature of their alliance was definitely not as simple as what they thought it to be. Even if there were other authorities overseeing the operations in the Breezy ins, how would they not reconsider their perception of the Tower of Dusk?

    Everyone knew that the Holy Pdins were in charge of guarding the Holy Mountain that belonged to the Brilliance Shrine. They were the personal pontifical guards of Pope Rosario. The Holy Pdins would never leave the Holy Mountain unless the pope had to travel. Even when Prophet Willen had to purge the Retribution Knight Rodhart, there wasn¡¯t any Holy Pdin deployed to assist him.

    But, they could not help but wonder about the rtionship between that young President of the newly risen Tower of Dusk and Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine. These forces would have to consider this question really carefully before making their next move. Although they had been taking the orders from the mastermind to target the Tower of Dusk with all sorts of tactics, they should be weighing whether their life wouldn¡¯t be more important than the rewards they gained with their deeds.

    They would definitely not have imagined that these Holy Pdins were in fact Death Knights who had the ability to control Divine Power, and those white unicorns were merely transformed Nightmare Beasts. Not to mention their inability to imagine such an absurd idea, they would not believe it to be true even if they were told about it. To say that Undead creatures would have the power to control Divine Power would be more ridiculous than to say that the young mage of the Tower of Dusk was the illegitimate son of the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine.

    Although the team of three bandit organizations had thought that the Tower of Dusk would not be seeking revenge any time soon, they could not help but gather their forces in the Dragon Mountains to await their retaliation in case of any miscalction. But, they did not expect to meet the Holy Pdins from the Brilliance Shrine, and not the young President from Tower of Dusk.

    Although some of the stolen goods were what the Tower of Dusk had purchased from the Brilliance Shrine, they did not believe that that would offend the Holy Pdins. Offending the Tower of Dusk and offending the Brilliance Shrine were two separate matters. The Brilliance Shrine was known to be one of the strongest forces in the whole of Anril, and was not an organization which anyone would dare to confront. The three Legendary-level leaders from the bandit organizations were still hoping that it was just a misunderstanding as they brought their men out of their hideouts in trepidation. They stuttered as they tried their best to rify the misunderstanding before the 40 armored Pdin who exuded Divine Power from head to toe.

    Yet, these Pdin-like men had no interest in hearing the three leaders exin themselves. The Retribution Knight in the team raised his Holy Cross Spear and led the Nightmare Beasts towards the team of bandits without any warning. The Death Knights behind him exuded great holy aura as they got into an arrow formation and charged towards the bandits.

    The other forces sent their spies to assess the situation right after the Holy Pdins left the scene of the massacre. A once hustling city had be dead quiet. Bodies were everywhere, and on each of their faces was a peculiar smile that caused the spies to shudder in trepidation. Their prior experience of witnessingrge-scale battles did not help to ay their fear at all.

    It only took the Holy Pdins half a day to purge the three Legendary-level leaders and their 1,000 bandit elites with the Holy Light. This oue was a validation of the identity of the Pdins. Except for the Holy Pdins from Brilliance Shrine, no one in the whole of Anril would have such a formidable ability.

    The goods that had been robbed by the three organizations were all left untouched in their warehouse. Although they were not collected by the Holy Pdins, none of the forces dared toy their hands on that huge wealth. To them, these goods were no wealth, but the scariest curse in this world. The bodies lying outside were the proof of this theory.

    The appearance of the Holy Pdins made the forces cease all of their suppression of the Tower of Dusk. Although none of them understood the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine, the fact that the personal imperial guards of the Pope of Brilliance Shrine appeared at such a ce exined the gist of the situation. Now, none of the forces would dare to provoke the Tower of Dusk before they received any new instruction from the hidden mastermind.

    In the beginning, this incident had created a lot of worry among the people in the Tower of Dusk. They knew that it would be extremely dangerous if the forces were sessful in their efforts to block their operations. Yet, this worry did notst. The 40 Holy Pdins only took half a day to resolve the matter. That was like a glimpse of light in the dark tunnel for the originally pessimistic mages. They became extremely confident about the future of the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>What difficulties can¡¯t be solved with Mr. President¡¯s massive powers and the support he has from the Brilliance Shrine?</i> While these mages were still unclear about the reason behind the appearance of the Holy Pdins at their Tower, that did not matter to them anymore. Their appearance was sufficient to prove the extreme support the Tower of Dusk had from the Brilliance Shrine.

    ¡°Mr. President, we have an invitation letter,¡± said a young mage as he went up to Lin Li quickly upon seeing hime out of theboratory. He had been waiting outside.

    Lin Li had just finished a meeting with the pharmacists. He was exining some new potion form to rece those that had been stolen. He was confident that the potion would be ready for mass production very soon. It was the same in the forging workshop. The workshop had already started producing new magical equipment, and Lin Li was certain that their new products would be a deal-breaker against the opponent¡¯s corporate raid.

    Lin Li did not expect the invitation letter. He knew that people he had closer ties with, such as the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, would not send him a mere letter if they had to look for him.

    <i>Could it be the next tactic of that mastermind?</i> Lin Li received the letter and discovered that it was without an envelope. It was a very normal piece of letter paper with creases on it. Yet, a very unique magical wave radiated from the folded letter.

    Lin Li was taken aback before he could read the words written on it clearly. Despite being amon piece of letter paper, the ink on it was a precious type of magical ink used to inscribe Master-level mageweaths. As a Guru of Inscription, Lin Li was familiar with the forms of all types of magical ink. Because of that, he could not help but feel that the letter was a ridiculous one. Not to mention that the sender had used a precious magical ink, what was absurd was that the ink was written on a piece of extremely ordinary letter paper. He just could not imagine who would squander on such a trivial matter.

    There were not a lot of words in the invitation letter. There were only a date and an address. The date was five days from today, and the contents of the letter were extremely simple. It did not mention any provinces or regions, but just a name of a location: ¡°Gran Town¡±. The letter ended with the signature of the sender¡ªAshen Warlock.

 Chapter 835 - Another Order

    <h4>Chapter 835: Another Order</h4>

    Seeing that the inviter was the Ashen Warlock, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but frown a little and ask the mage who brought him the letter, ¡°Where is the person who sent the letter?¡±

    He could tell from the magical ink on the letter that the letter was definitely real. However, the content of the letter was too simple because only the time and sender¡¯s signature were stated.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s question about the person who delivered the letter, the mage painstakingly tried to force a smile, and said with slight difficulty, ¡°Mr. President, I initially wanted to invite the messenger in to wait for a while, but the old man who delivered the letter said... said that he still had to go home to take care of his field, and so he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time here. By the way, he also asked for 10 gold coins as a reward for delivering the letter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, did you give it to him?¡± Lin Li asked, finding it a little amusing.

    The Ashen Warlock was living in seclusion in Gran Town, and that was something that everyone in the Breezy ins knew about. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t expect the Ashen Warlock to let an ordinary farmer deliver the letter.

    ¡°Yes, I initially wanted to give him more, but he refused to ept the money. He said that he only wanted to get paid for how much work he had done, and that it was just delivering a letter, so he merely wanted some money for travel expenses.¡± It was not that the young mage was dumb. He could also detect the magical waves emanating from the crumpled letter, and could naturally tell that the origin of the letter was not simple.

    ¡°Okay, you are dismissed,¡± said Lin Li as he put away the letter and waved to let the mage leave.

    Although there was no substantial information about the Ashen Warlock¡¯s invitation on the letter, Lin Li could more or less guess what it was about. It could also be considered to be a tradition of the Breezy ins. Every three years, the Ashen Warlock would send an invitation letter to the leaders of the most powerful forces of the Breezy ins to invite them to Gran Town.

    Although the invitation letter was so simple that it looked like a joke, it was like en edict from the deities in the Breezy ins. No one would dare to show the slightest contempt. At the same time, in the eyes of most people, the seemingly ordinary invitation letter was also a status symbol which signified that one was standing on the pinnacle of the Breezy ins with their respective forces.

    That was not an exaggeration at all. Ever since the Dark Age, the Ashen Warlock had been living in seclusion in the small Gran Town. He had also left behind numerous stories about his horrifying deeds, as well as some rumors and legends. The incident that took ce more than 50 years ago was just one of the insignificant ones.

    Hundreds of years ago, the Retribution Knight Rodhart led the Death Knights to conduct a massacre in the Breezy ins, and brought about a huge disaster. Under the attacks of the Death Knights, strong cities were turned into ruins, and various Legendary powerhouses with great reputation had all fallen under Rodhart¡¯s Eternal Frost de.

    At that time, Rodhart split his nearly 1,000 Death Knights into two in order to speed up the harvesting of their souls. However, Rodhart did not expect that to be the worst decision of his life apart from choosing to be the Retribution Knight.

    The 500-odd Death Knights in the north still possessed the strength to besiege more than a dozen Legendary powerhouses even though they were not led by Rodhart himself. They were much stronger than the Gryphon Riders of the Fn Kingdom. However, even a team with such power actually went missing on their way to Gran Town. At that time, the residents of the town didn¡¯t even know that they had had a close shave with death.

    However, when Rodhart detected that they were missing and arrived outside Gran Town, he only stayed for a while before fleeing back to the southern part of the Breezy ins. Up until he was purified by the Prophet Willen, Rodhart did not reveal the slightest intention of going north, which was also the reason he had a tinge of vitality left during the disaster in the Breezy ins.

    Unfortunately, the Ashen Warlock did not intend to be the guardian of the Breezy ins, and he simply didn¡¯t want anyone to disturb his peaceful life. Otherwise, the Prophet Willen wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to purify Rodhart.

    Another event that spread like wildfire in the Breezy ins, which was also recorded in history, was the disbanding of the rebellion alliance, which resulted from a conflict of interests during the most chaotic period in Anril. The orcs, who had long been coveting the fertile soil of the Breezy ins, had once organized an army to encroach on the Breezy ins.

    The orcs did not have any strict military discipline. Besides, at that time, they believed that they had suffered a loss in the distribution of interests amongst the rebellion alliance, and thus wouldn¡¯t be kind to the civilians. In fact, they had done all evil such as murder and arson. They would leave behind ruins wherever they went, and their cruelty and ruthlessness were no less than those of the Death Knights.

    However, when the orcs arrived in Gran Town, the Ashen Warlock appeared in front of them, d in a ck robe. He simply told them to scram in a low and stern voice, after which the countless orcs around him suddenly retreated entirely like a tide, leaving behind only some banners, weapons, and countless corpses that were trampled to death.

    That was also the incident that made the people of the Breezy ins know that such a powerful and daunting man actually lived in seclusion in the unassuming town in the northern part of the Breezy ins. No one knew how old the Ashen Warlock was, or how long he had lived in Gran Town for. All they knew was that he had been living in a dpidated tower in Gran Town.

    To their astonishment, even during the Dark Age, Gran Town was still like a paradise that waspletely unaffected by the chaos going on in the Breezy ins. Even the extremely powerful High Elves seemed to have strictly abided by a certain agreement, and had never set foot in Gran Town during the Dark Age.

    During the Dark Age, it was the Highlord Osric who dominated and ruled the Breezy ins and the Fn Kingdom. Even the terrifying Endless Abyss was conquered by the Magic Legion led by Osric. The ancient demon deity Bk, known as the most powerful in terms ofbat power, was actually doomed in the hands of Osric. Yet, Gran Town remained a forbidden area in the Breezy ins.

    Many people believed that the Ashen Warlock might have met Osric and made an unknown agreement with him. However, Lin Li heard another incredible statement from Angno. Angno was Osric¡¯s first follower, and was once known as one of Osric¡¯s three butchers. Hence, he naturally knew more about Osric than the others.

    ¡°No one knows what the Ashen Warlock did, but he simply waved his hands, and thousands of elite fighters of the Magic Legion lost their lives instantly. They aged very quickly, dposed, and turned into ashes. I could sense a strange force even when I was observing through the crystal ball.¡± Angno began to recall the old memories, and couldn¡¯t help but say in a shaky voice, ¡°Ever since then, Osric never mentioned the Ashen Warlock again. It was as if he hadpletely forgotten about this matter, and focused all of his energy on the construction of the Eternal Furnace.¡±

    If Lin Li had heard about the matter from others, he probably wouldn¡¯t have believed it at all. Osric was the proud disciple of the Immortal King, a powerhouse who was said to be no less powerful than the High Elven queen in the Dark Age. The High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion was extremely powerful, and they had once swept through the Endless Abyss, causing countless powerful Abyssal Demons to flee for their lives.

    However, the Ashen Warlock actually turned thousands of soldiers of the Magic Legion into ashes with the wave of his hands, making it impossible for the arrogant Highlord Osric to even think of taking revenge. Lin Li couldn¡¯t imagine what level of strength the Ashen Warlock had reached, but he reckoned that it probably wasn¡¯t worse than that of the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    It was precisely the tyrannical and domineering power of the Ashen Warlock Rnd that allowed him to be above all forces of the Breezy ins, just like a god looking down at other sentient beings.

    After the Dark Age ended for more than 1,300 years, and the initial war between the nations that werepeting for territory, Anril remained peaceful for nearly a millennium. However, the Breezy ins was an exception. Although it belonged to the Fn Kingdom in name, the royal family had very little control over the Breezy ins.

    Due to the fact that there had never been an actual ruler, the Breezy ins was perpetually going through tumultuous times, even though the war had ended nearly 1,000 years ago. On this piece ofnd, the forces of various sizes were closely rted, and would get into various conflicts at all times. Hence, most outsiders would call the Breezy ins and of chaos.

    However, there was still some order despite the chaos, and the person who maintained order was the Ashen Warlock Rnd, who was above all the forces in the Breezy ins. He was the only one who was fit and able enough to enforce and maintain an order that no one would dare to vite.

    Rnd the Ashen Warlock who lived in the small Gran Town was probably the only person who knew the reason he bothered to intervene with the disputes between forces in the Breezy ins. Perhaps it was because he didn¡¯t want those disputes to affect his peaceful life, or perhaps he was just bored.

    In short, the tradition of the Ashen Warlock sending an invitation once every three years began some time ago. Every three years, Rnd, the Ashen Warlock, would send an invitation card that was written on cheap letter paper to the leaders of the strongest forces of the Breezy ins, and invite them to his dpidated tower in the small Gran Town.

    As for the contents of the gathering, the outsiders would never find out, as it would be kept confidential to everyone except for the leaders of the major forces that participated. They only knew that after every gathering, the power distribution in the Breezy ins would be finalized, and the originally intense battles would soon disappear.

    That was the order of the Breezy ins that no one had dared to break. It was the order that the Ashen Warlock had been maintaining for years in the chaotd, the Breezy ins.

 Chapter 836 - Inn

    <h4>Chapter 836: Inn</h4>

    It was said that there was once a level-24 leader of a top force whose power was not inferior to the established authorities like the Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance. During a gathering, that leader expressed some dissatisfaction with the order established by the Ashen Warlock. However, he began burning up right after he aired his grievances and displeasure. The infinite cyan from the Abyss burned on his body for three days and three nights until thest trace of his soul was burnt to ashes. He only stopped shrieking and wailing in agony then.

    However, the other leaders who attended the party did not dare to move, and instead remained seated while listening to the wails of agony for three days and three nights. Seeing that their opponent who was full of rigor and dominance previously suffered, no one even dared to blink. Ever since then, everyone knew that the Ashen Warlock who was perpetually wrapped in the ck robe didn¡¯t need to negotiate or discuss with others at all. His words per se were like the edicts of the deities, and there was no room for doubt at all.

    After finding out some things about the Ashen Warlock Rnd, Lin Li was somewhat relieved and felt less worried about the invitation. Although the Ashen Warlock was terrifyingly powerful, and was above all the forces in the Breezy ins, there was at least no need for Lin Li to worry about him colluding with other forces to go against the Tower of Dusk.

    Although there were still five days to go before the date stated in the letter, Lin Li decided to go to Gran Town to take a look since there was nothing else for him to do in the Tower of Dusk. This time, Lin Li didn¡¯t n to bring too many people with him. All he brought were his two Undead servants, and he got the others to stay in the Tower of Dusk.

    In fact, at this juncture, there was basically no need for him to worry about the security of the Tower of Dusk. With the appearance of the pseudo-Holy Pdins and the cruel battle, the other forces thought that the Brilliance Shrine was fully supporting the Tower of Dusk. Hence, who would dare to seek trouble and court death?

    Besides, there was already an Ice and Fire Natural Magical Domain that had been integrated with the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk, which would allow Lin Li¡¯s mages to exert Legendarybat power. Even if a Sanctuary powerhouse were to attack the Tower of Dusk, it would still be difficult to defeat them. There was also the level-24 Connoris, and Angno who controlled the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Although the two of them were not too loyal to Lin Li, they would not sit back and watch the Tower of Dusk get attacked by other forces.

    As for the Holy Death Knights, Lin Li discovered that the Death Knights had gained plenty of benefits after the intense and deadly battle. After all, out of the souls that were devoured, three were the souls of Legendary powerhouses, which allowed two Death Knights to show signs of a breakthrough. It was no wonder that the Retribution Knight Rodhart would carry out a massacre in the Breezy ins. The temptation to rapidly increase one¡¯s strength and powers was really not something that everyone could resist.

    After arranging everything in the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li brought Ujfalusi and Norfeller, his two Undead servants, with him and set off for Gran Town which was in the northern part of the Breezy ins.

    While reading the map and looking at the location of Gran Town, Lin Li was reminded of something else. Back in the big rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, he had once heard High Priest Rogge talking about the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction. When Rogge witnessed the battle between gods, he was still an ordinary human sentry who was stationed in a location on the far northern border of the Breezy ins. The ce where the battle took ce was Roddanmo. Lin Li could tell from the map that those two ces were not too far away from the small Gran Town. Lin Li intended to stop by that ce if everything went well during the gathering with the Ashen Warlock.

    Although Gran Town was rather far from the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li and his two Undead servants were Legendary powerhouses; hence, they did not encounter any hindrances along the way. By noon, they had already found the legendary Gran Town ording to the map. Due to the fact that they did not know if the Ashen Warlock had any taboos, Lin Li didn¡¯t fly into the town directly, and simply found a ce outside the town tond, after which they slowly walked towards the town.

    There wererge patches of fields on both sides of the road, and the crops there seemed to be swaying like water waves amidst the breeze. There were dense forests in the distance, and although the trees were not all tall and straight, they gave off a special vibe under the blue sky and white clouds.

    At the end of the road was the small Gran Town. Although the town had been peaceful without any wars for thousands of years due to the existence of the Ashen Warlock, it was rather small, and there seemed to only be a few hundred families living there. The tallest building in the town was a tower that was made of limestone. Lin Li reckoned that it was the Tower of Ashes where the Ashen Warlock Rnd lived.

    Lin Li walked slowly into the town with two Undead servants. Although the residents of the town had never seen them before, they would all smile at them hospitably. There would sometimes be a few children ying and running past them merrily. They did not seem to keep their guard up against outsiders at all.

    Since he was invited by the Ashen Warlock, he ought to go to the Tower of Ashes to greet him even though he had arrived early. After Lin Li entered the town, he did not stop to appreciate the vibes of a rural life, and instead headed straight to the gray and deste tower that was deep in the town.

    Although it was called a tower, it was only less than 20 meters tall. Due to the fact that it had arge area, it appeared to be rather wide and t. When Lin Li approached the tower, he saw two old men who were d in servants¡¯ clothes lyingzily on the steps in front of the tower gate and basking in the sun.

    Legend had it that since the Dark Age, the Ashen Warlock had been enjoying thepany of two or three old servants who did not practice martial arts or magic, just like ordinary people. However, they stayed with the Ashen Warlock in that small town for thousands of years. At this moment, Lin Li indeed did not detect any mana or Combat Energy from the two old servants basking on the steps. They looked no different from ordinary old people, and it wasn¡¯t obvious that they had lived for thousands of years.

    In fact, Lin Li had always been rather puzzled. Be it the Ashen Warlock or his servants, they had all lived for thousands of years. Since they had been living in seclusion in the mountains, why would the generations of residents of Gran Town who had interacted with them for years still see them as ordinary people?

    Of course, the matter might seem unbelievable to Lin Li, but the Ashen Warlock was a godlike powerhouse who had probably used some special method. Lin Li shook his head and stopped pondering about the issue. Instead, he stepped forward and bowed to the two old servants to state that he had been invited by the Ashen Warlock.

    Although the two old servants looked like ordinary people, and were so old that they seemed to be on the brink of death, Lin Li didn¡¯t belittle them at all. Even if he ignored the fact that their master was the Ashen Warlock, he felt that they still deserved his respect because of their age.

    Upon hearing what Lin Li said, an old servant touched his belly that had turned red because of the sun without even bothering to open his eyes, and incoherently muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not time yet, go find a ce to stay at. We don¡¯t provide food and amodation here.¡±

    Lin Li was suddenly speechless, but he had no choice but to say goodbye and return to the town with his two Undead servants.

    Although the town was not located along a major road, Lin Li unexpectedly discovered that there was still a small inn in the town. However, he thought about it and felt that it did make some sense. Although there were usually not many people in Gran Town, there would be leaders of the top forces visiting once every three years, and they often spent gold coins and not silver coins. Whenever the inn was open for business, they would make enough tost them for three years.

    When he walked into the inn, Lin Li looked around to see that the inn was rather clean and neat even though it looked a little shabby. There was a chubby middle-aged man lying on the counter and snoring in front of Lin Li. Lin Li reckoned that he had to be dreaming that he was going to strike a fortune again this time because he drooled a lot.

    Lin Li walked to the counter and pressed the bell a few times, after which the middle-aged man sat up and spaced out for a long time before realizing that there was a guest.

    ¡°G-guest, are you looking for amodation?¡± the chubby middle-aged man asked awkwardly while wiping away the saliva on his lips. He then noticed that there was a pool of saliva on the counter, and quickly used his sleeve to wipe it away.

    ¡°Yes, please prepare three rooms for me,¡± Lin Li said as he took out a handful of gold coins and ced them on the counter.

    ¡°Okay, pleasee with me, I will definitely prepare the best room for you.¡± The chubby middle-aged man immediately sobered up upon sight of the glittering gold coins. Without even counting the coins, he ced them in the drawer inside the counter, stood up, and then walked away.

    There was actually no need to expect too much for the so-called best room in such a ce. Fortunately, Lin Li was not the type to be after luxury and clout. As long as the room was clean, bright, and proper, it would be enough for him. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had chanced upon the inn, he wouldn¡¯t mind setting up a tent outside the town. To be honest, the tent that he had ced in his Ring of Endless Storm was much more luxurious than the room in the inn.

    After arriving in the room, he dismissed the chubby owner of the inn. Lin Li then recalled what the old servant said in the Tower of Ashes earlier on, and reckoned that the Ashen Warlock Rnd probably would not show up until the date stated in the invitation letter. In fact, the invitation by Ashen Warlock seemed to be more of an order. It was not an invitation for a discussion, but a judgment of the disputes between them. Hence, he felt that there was no need to entertain them at all.

    However, there were only four days before the date stated on the invitation. Even if he were to go to the outpost on the northern border, he probably wouldn¡¯t have enough time to check it out in detail. Lin Li thought about it and decided to stay put in the town and wait for the gathering to begin. Four days would pass quickly anyway.

    Actually, Gran Town was a very ordinary town in the countryside, and if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Ashen Warlock was living there in seclusion, there would be nothing special about this town, for there was a huge bunch of simr counterparts in the Breezy ins.

    After Lin Li asked for a room in the small inn, he decided to stay in the room and meditate alone because he was toozy to wander and roam about.

 Chapter 837 - Throw Him Out

    <h4>Chapter 837: Throw Him Out</h4>

    Before Lin Li even realized, it was already dusk, and the golden rays of the evening sun coated the windows in ayer of gold. The houses outside the windows were also fuming with smoke. Lin Li, who was meditating in the room, was awakened by the sudden uproar that came from downstairs. With his current strength, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be any issues from him being interrupted during the meditation. However, the loud noises were still ufortable for him.

    However, shortly after the noises filled the air, they stopped abruptly with a loud shriek, after which Norfeller said from outside the door, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve already thrown the troublemaker out.¡±

    Upon hearing Norfeller¡¯s report, Lin Li acknowledged it and didn¡¯t ask anything. Norfeller was rather sensible and could handle things appropriately. He wouldn¡¯t solve all problems by killing. Since he had just thrown the troublemaker out, it was probably not a big deal.

    Downstairs in the small inn, the chubby middle-aged owner had a clear palm-shaped mark on his face, and was muttering incessantly to himself while feeling heartbroken and repairing the damaged door. He looked upstairs for a while, and then gazed out of the window at the gate, seemingly thinking about whom he should call topensate for the broken gate.

    There was a young blond man dressed in luxurious clothes standing right outside the door of the small inn, with his face and body covered in plenty of soil. There were still some bloodstains in the corners of his lips. The originally handsome young man now looked a little bit disheveled. Beside him, there were two people who were also lying on the ground. However, they did not seem to have any strength to get up, and were just panting.

    Charles scanned his surroundings and saw the curious faces that were peeking through the windows facing the street, after which his handsome and tender face flushed. It was embarrassing and shameful enough for him to be thrown out of the inn like garbage. Besides, the people he perceived as lowly and despicable actually witnessed him being thrown out. That was aplete humiliation and disgrace for him. Had he not remembered that the Ashen Warlock was living there in seclusion, he would have rushed to kill them.

    Of course, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let the culprit who caused him to feel that humiliation off easily! Charles looked at the door of the small inn bitterly, only to see the dirty and obnoxious chubby owner who was repairing the damaged doors and windows. He felt that it was a form of humiliation and a reminder for him to remember where he had been thrown out from.

    At this moment, Charles felt that everyone within his field of vision was mocking him. However, he recalled the strength of the Vampire just now, and did not have the courage to enter the store again. After all, he was just a Level-19 Archmage, and he could of course tell that the Vampire was much stronger than him, and was definitely a Legendary powerhouse.

    ¡°You¡¯re still ying dead. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s shameful enough? Raising dogs would be better than raising you two! You¡¯re just useless pieces of garbage!¡± Charles yelled while venting his anger on the two subordinates of his who were lying on the ground¡ªhe had no other outlet for his anger.

    <i>Master, he¡¯s a real Legendary powerhouse and a Vampire! We¡¯re just servants, not guards. We can y with you, but how can we defeat the Legendary powerhouse!?</i> the two subordinates thought to themselves aggrievedly, but they dared not show any of their emotions on the surface. Even though they were overwhelmed with pain, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and get up from the ground.

    Seeing that their master was about to get angry again, one of them frantically rushed forward in a bid to avoid getting into trouble. He said, ¡°Young Master, there¡¯s a famous Legendary Vampire in the Breezy ins who¡¯s one of the Undead servants of the President of the Tower of Dusk. Do you think...¡±

    Vampires were natural assassins, and their powerful strength and agility had always made others jealous. However, it was not an easy task for a Vampire to enter the Legendary-realm, for it required more than just his own efforts. It also required luck and good opportunities. After he reached the peak of Level-19, his own efforts would hardly have any effect. In order to break through the limitations and enter another realm, he would have to obtain blood that contained a massive amount of power. Hence, in the entire history of Anril, there were probably less than five Vampires who had stepped into the Legendary-realm.

    The most famous Legendary-level Vampire in the history of Anril was the legendary Assassin Holler, who assassinated the Sword Sage Ulysses of the Fn Kingdom more than 1,300 years ago. The Sword Sage Ulysses was one of the three Sword Sages of the Fn Kingdom at that time, and the army below him was even known as the one with the strongestbat power in the Fn Kingdom. However, no one expected him to die just three days after the Sword Sage Ulysses led his army to the Breezy ins. He was silently assassinated in his military base by the Legendary-level Vampire Holler.

    The royal family of the Fn Kingdom activated three major imperial guards to carry out a 10-year hunt in the Breezy ins all because of that matter. It would be no exaggeration to say that they had reached out to all areas. However, the Assassin Holler seemed to have vanished from the world, and the matter was still unresolved in the Fn Kingdom.

    There was also a famous Legendary-level Vampire who was one of the high priests of the Darkness Shrine. It was said that he had the oldest and purest bloodline of the Vampires, and was known as the ancestor of Vampires¡ªCulostein. However, the Darkness Shrine did not have any influence or power in the Breezy ins, and thus it was naturally impossible for the Vampire ancestor Culostein to appear there.

    Everyone in the Breezy ins knew that when it came to Legendary-level Vampires, there was none other than Lin Li¡¯s Undead servant, Norfeller. Hence, after recognizing that the one who threw him and his subordinates out of the inn was a Legendary-level Vampire, Charles¡¯ subordinate immediately thought of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk!¡± Upon hearing his subordinates¡¯ words, Charles was stunned for a moment, but he instantly yelled at the inn with hatred and resentment in his vicious gaze, ¡°So it¡¯s that small force called the Tower of Dusk. What right do they have to be here!?¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe they¡¯ve also been invited by the Ashen Warlock,¡± his servant answered ignorantly.

    Although Gran Town was not isted from the world, no ordinary people were wee except the ones whom the Ashen Warlock invited, be it Warriors or mages. Of course, no one would be willing to visit Gran Town without the Ashen Warlock¡¯s invitation, for they were all afraid of identally provoking the fierce and menacing Ashen Warlock.

    ¡°Duh, of course I know that that¡¯s the reason!¡± Charles yelled before turning around to walk outside. While walking, he cursed in his heart, <i>What Tower of Dusk? Don¡¯t think they can bepared to us just because they have received an invitation from the Ashen Warlock. How dare you intervene with my affairs? This time, I¡¯ll let you know that you are way too weak and ipetentpared to us, the established families!</i>

    ¡°Young Master, you...¡± Upon hearing Charles¡¯ words, the subordinates could not help but speed up and chase after him.

    Although the noises in the room on the first floor of the inn had already ceased, Lin Li could no longer be bothered to continue meditating. Instead, he took out a historical biography of Anril and began reading it casually. At this juncture, the sounds of people chatting could be hearding from outside the door. It turned out to be the sounds of the chubby owner of the inn apologizing to Norfeller because of the matter that happened just now.

    In fact, squabbles and arguments weremon in inns of other ces. However, the small Gran Town was a reclusive residential area for the Ashen Warlock who was menacing and fierce. Everyone was extremely cautious for fear that they would die if they were to be careless andmit unforgivable mistakes. Hence, Lin Li initially didn¡¯t bother to question what happened, but since the chubby owner of the inn hade upstairs, Lin Li, too, wanted to find out what was going on. Besides, Lin Li was also a little curious about how the residents of this small town felt about the Ashen Warlock. Thus, he instructed Norfeller who was standing by the door to allow the chubby owner to enter.

    ¡°Guest, I¡¯m so sorry to have interrupted you while you were resting for just now,¡± said the chubby owner, who was rather respectful and polite towards Lin Li perhaps because of the 1,000 gold coins, or because Norfeller had stepped in to give him an out.

    Lin Li looked at the clear palm prints on the chubby owner¡¯s face, and was somewhat surprised. He thought it was just a trivial verbal conflict, yet the chubby owner had been assaulted. Hence, Lin Li asked, ¡°Why did that happen just now? They actually hit you too?¡±

    ¡°That man said that I didn¡¯t use any honorifics when I greeted him, but I don¡¯t know any honorifics at all. My inn has been in business for so many years in this town, and I greet every guest in the same way. No one is as great of a troublemaker as he is,¡± said the chubby owner. He looked aggrieved and stretched his finger to touch his face, only to realize that it still hurt badly.

    Lin Li was amused by the grimace on the chubby owner¡¯s face, but he knew that thetter was indeed not to be med for the matter. The one who got thrown out deserved it too. Lin Li thought, <i>Why won¡¯t he take a look at where we are? We¡¯re in a remote town. What¡¯s there to pretend for in such a ce? He even wants others to greet him with honorifics. Does he think he¡¯s facing a butler of an aristocratic family who had been through prestigious and professional training?</i>

    ¡°He¡¯s already been driven away, so I won¡¯t talk about this. What have you found out about the owner of that gray tower?¡± asked Lin Li. He didn¡¯t take this matter to heart, and instead turned to ask the chubby man about the Ashen Warlock. Of course, he didn¡¯t point out the identity of the Ashen Warlock, because he didn¡¯t know if thetter had any concerns.

    ¡°Oh, you are asking about that old man. He...¡± the chubby owner was a little confused. <i>Don¡¯t all peoplee here because they were invited by the strange old man? Why are they asking me about it?</i> he thought. However, he knew that the person who helped him just now was the young guest Lin Li¡¯s subordinate who was clearly much stronger andpetent than Charles. Hence, he didn¡¯t hesitate.

    However, the words of the chubby owner didn¡¯t make Lin Li feel too surprised, because what he knew about the Ashen Warlock was nothing more than his entric behavior and strange behavior. Nothing peculiar about the Ashen Warlock and his two old servants was mentioned.

 Chapter 838 - Mithril Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 838: Mithril Alliance</h4>

    In the eyes of the chubby owner, the Ashen Warlock and his two old servants were simply ordinary old men from the countryside. He even felt a little sympathetic towards the Ashen Warlock for having no children to look after him at such an old age.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t disappointed, but he lost interest in listening. Hence, he decided to dismiss the chubby owner so that he could continue reading. However, at this moment, there were some other noisesing from outside the inn which were much louder than before. The chubby owner immediately blushed. After all, it was his inn, and he felt rather embarrassed about the fact that his guests were constantly disturbed.

    The chubby owner smiled at Lin Li awkwardly, and quickly strode towards the window in a bid to berate the people who were kicking up a ruckus outside. However, when he looked outside through the window, he was so frightened that he immediately shut his mouth up and took a few steps back, almost falling onto the ground. He turned his head and looked at Lin Li who was seated, and his fat cheeks trembled together with his body. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°Dear... Dear guest, that... that person is back and he brought a lot of people with him!¡±

    Actually, Lin Li didn¡¯t need the chubby owner to inform him, because he had long heard the sounds of scoldings from outside. Hence, he was well aware of who had arrived. The matter was within his expectations. How could a person who hit someone else for failing to address him with honorifics possibly tolerate the humiliation of suffering a loss?

    Charles, who had just left, stood proudly at the door outside the small inn with the same two subordinates beside him and arge group of uniformly dressed mages behind him. They were standing neatly in a single file, and one would be able to tell at first nce that they were all well-trained. Everyone looked in front with expressionless faces while raising their staffs high up in front of their chests, getting ready to cast magic any moment.

    ¡°The ones from the Tower of Dusk,e out now. I know you¡¯re hiding in there. Weren¡¯t you being really arrogant just now? You actually had the guts to hit me. Why have you be a coward now!? If I don¡¯t teach you a memorable lesson today, you guys will really get socent and think that you¡¯re too good for the Breezy ins!¡± With the mages behind him, Charles was much more courageous and brave. He was confident that his mages would be able to protect him even if the Legendary-level Vampire were to step forth.

    Charles¡¯s subordinate stood up with a smug expression, and asked him, ¡°Young Master, are they trying to flee because they heard us?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if they run away, who am I supposed to look for to settle the scores?¡± Charles said while looking a little dazed. He pointed his staff at the mages on both sides, and continued, ¡°You guys, surround the small in and make sure nothing gets out, not even a single fly. Damn it, it¡¯s just a small and insignificant Tower of Dusk, yet he has the audacity to be rude to me. I¡¯m going to make sure he regrets being born.¡±

    It was noisy outside, but it wasn¡¯t quiet inside, either. The chubby owner would have never expected for such a hugemotion to break out just because he had failed to address Charles with any honorifics. Actually, even till now, he still didn¡¯t understand why he was wrong, and what Charles was referring to by saying ¡°honorifics¡±. However, no matter what, he was the one who¡¯d caused the issues to arise. Seeing the menacing bunch of people downstairs, the chubby owner was so frightened that he paced in circles in the room while muttering to himself and trying to figure out what he should do.

    Amused by the sight of the chubby owner breaking out in a sweat, Lin Li asked, ¡°Have you never encountered such an incident before?¡±

    Those who thought that they were much more noble and prestigious than others would visit Gran Town once every three years. Whenever they visited, they would stay in the inn for two days. Yet, why did someone find fault with the chubby owner for failing to address him with honorifics this time?

    ¡°How would I know? It¡¯s my first time seeing that person. I used to greet those old men in the same way. Who knew he¡¯d be so troublesome? Dear guest, why don¡¯t you guys hide? After all, there are so many of them,¡± the chubby owner said to Lin Li in a bid to persuade him to hide. However, his expression clearly implied something else. He was just worried that Lin Li would abandon him and leave.

    Lin Li shook his head slightly, stood up, and walked towards the window. He then pushed the window open and looked out. He calmly said, ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of Archmages. They¡¯re far from being able to scare me.¡±

    ¡°What, what Archmages...?¡± asked the chubby owner who had never left the small town, and thus wasn¡¯t clear about mages and the likes. However, he was somewhat relieved when he heard that Lin Li didn¡¯t intend to escape. Still, he thought about it and realized that if the two parties got into a fight, they would definitely smash plenty of items. It seemed that he would still be doomed.

    At the thought of this, the chubby owner¡¯s expression changed again, and he extended his fingers that were each as thick as a mallet, calcting the gains and losses of his business with a look of dismay. Although the handful of gold coins was not a small sum of money, and was enough for him to build a few more of such inns, he would be able to earn more money if he didn¡¯t make any losses. They had already damaged two windows and one door. If the people outside were to rush in again, the tables, chairs, and floor...

    ¡°Get out!¡± Lin Li barked sternly at the window, but his volume wasn¡¯t too loud, and it seemed like he was just talking to someone who was in front of him. In fact, it was a little softer than that.

    The chubby owner who was calcting the gains and losses was suddenly frightened, and even began shivering. Thinking that Lin Li was speaking to him, he quickly put his hands behind him. However, when he looked up, he discovered that Lin Li was looking out the window, after which there was a sudden shrieking from outside.

    To ordinary people like the chubby owner, there was nothing too surprising about Lin Li¡¯s bark, but to the mages outside, it made them feel as if their souls were in a vortex full of lightning and thunder. The unparalleled power seemed to be tearing their souls. Although they didn¡¯t even hear Lin Li¡¯s voice, there was a terrible pain spreading from the depths of their souls. Everyone, including Charles, couldn¡¯t help but wail in agony as they immediately knelt to the ground with their hands on their heads.

    In fact, it was just a very simple magical Roar of the Soul, which mages who practiced mental spells would be able to learn at level-5 or level-6. In the eyes of many mages, the effect of that spell was rather weak, and it would at most cause the opponent to lose consciousness for a moment. The sess rate was rather low too.

    However, there was a certain characteristic of Roar of the Soul¡ªthere was no upper limit in the demand for mental strength, which also meant that the stronger the user¡¯s mental strength, the greater the power of that magic spell.

    If other Legendary-mages were to let out a Roar of the Soul at this moment, they might only cause those wizards to be stunned for a moment, but they would not be able to cause substantial damage. However, Lin Li was already at the peak of level-24, and his mental strength was already of the Sanctuary-level. He was actually already showing those mages some mercy by choosing not to make their souls dissipate with the Roar of the Soul.

    The group of menacing mages were still moring about tearing down the inn just now, and yet they were all holding their heads with their hands and screaming loudly on the ground. The sight gave the chubby owner a great shock, and he looked at Lin Li like Lin Li was a ghost. However, he also secretly felt thankful for the fact that the young mage Lin Li did not care about honorifics and formalities. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take a scolding from Lin Li at all, let alone a beating.

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s alright. Go ahead and get busy.¡± Lin Li turned his head smilingly as if he had just done a trivial thing.

    ¡°Ah, in that case, I¡¯ll go downstairs. If you need anything, feel free to call me,¡± the chubby owner said before fleeing from Lin Li¡¯s room like he was escaping a disaster. <i>Oh my God, who are the people who havee to stay in my inn all these years? Are they all so terrifying!? Seems like I should find a chance to sell this inn to someone else. This business may be profitable, but it¡¯s too dangerous.</i>

    After the chubby owner left, Lin Li still remained standing in front of the window. However, he was looking at the town in the distance instead of the people on the ground.

    Soon, a figure flew from outside the town andnded directly among the mages outside the inn. He was a mage who seemed to be a middle-aged man. Although he had restrained some of his magical waves, he was still exuding the powerful aura of a Legendary-mage.

    The Legendary-mage who had just arrived nced at the people who were moaning on the ground, and couldn¡¯t help but frown. He looked up at Lin Li who was standing in front of the window, and said in a deep voice, ¡°You must be President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. They all say that the President of the Tower of Dusk is cruel and relentless. Now that I¡¯ve seen you, the rumors are indeed true. Don¡¯t you think you have gone a little overboard?¡±

    ¡°I was already showing mercy to the ones who provoked me,¡± Lin Li said indifferently.

    ¡°Showing mercy?¡± The middle-aged mage seemed to be holding back his anger as he pointed at the mages on the ground while glowering at Lin Li. ¡°Is this what you mean by showing mercy? Their mental strength has already been permanently destroyed. Does showing mercy mean severing their hopes of making progress in magic!?¡±

    ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t this mercifulpared to killing them?¡± Of course, Lin Li knew how serious it was for mages, but since it was a punishment, it definitely had to hurt. Besides, he could tell from the moring of those people just now that they were extremely hostile to the Tower of Dusk, and he simply did not kill because they were on the territory of the Ashen Warlock.

    ¡°Great, great, it¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯re the President of the Tower of Dusk, but don¡¯t forget who the owner of this ce is. I believe he will do us, the Mithril Alliance, some justice,¡± said the middle-aged mage; he did not attack Lin Li recklessly despite being infuriated. It was because he was held back by the presence of the Ashen Warlock, and also because he could tell that he couldn¡¯t deal with Lin Li alone.

    The Mithril Alliance was originallyposed of 13 families. At the end of the Dark Age, the battle with the Blood Moon n and some other unknown factors resulted in the destruction of seven major families. Soon afterwards, the Caesar Family, who were the founders of the Mithril Alliance, withdrew from the alliance. Hence, there were only five families left to support the alliance.

 Chapter 839 - Acquaintance Hoffman

    <h4>Chapter 839: Acquaintance Hoffman</h4>

    Although there were only five families left, the Mithril Alliance was still a top force in the Breezy ins. The middle-aged mage was Joseph Taylor, the current patriarch of the Taylor Family, which was one of the five major families. At the same time, he was also the leader of the alliance for the past 10 years.

    Although Joseph didn¡¯t see Lin Li attacking, he could feel the huge tremoring from his soul when he rushed over just now. They all said that the President of the Tower of Dusk had level-23 powers and abilities. However, Joseph could tell from his personal experience just now that the overwhelming mental strength was definitely beyond level-23.

    ¡°Patriarch Joseph, you must avenge us,¡± said Charles, who had heard Joseph and Lin Li¡¯s conversation, and knew what kind of predicament he and his mages would face. His face instantly turned pale. Although they were not all the mages that the family had, their disability would be a huge loss for them, and causing such a huge loss all of a sudden would definitely make him lose his position as the leader, which he had just been promoted totely.

    Upon sight of the pale-faced mages who were getting up from the ground, Joseph felt as if his heart was bleeding. The five major families today were not living too well, and the decrease in talents was their biggest problem currently. However, the tens of mages whom they had ced high hopes on were now ruined by Lin Li in the blink of an eye. That was adding fuel to the fire and making things worse for the Mithril Alliance. Although the mages were all members of the Dida Family which Charles was from, Joseph understood that the damage done to the mages would implicate him too.

    Staring at Charles who was tugging the sleeves of his robe, a look of disgust and abhorrence formed in Joseph¡¯s eyes. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the former patriarch of the Dida Family had been devoured when he was summoning the Abyssal Demon Dragon, how could Charles have had the chance to take over as the patriarch? The members of the Dida Family who wanted to control puppets probably wouldn¡¯t get the chance to, either. Although useless puppets were easier to control, they were prone to ruining things.

    However, there were rules in the alliance, and even the leaders could not intervene with the internal affairs of the family of the members. Joseph took a deep breath, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I think the Ashen Warlock will handle this matter in a fair and just manner.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect that he actually dared to do that in the territory of the Ashen Warlock. On the ount of the rtionship between the Ashen Warlock and the Dida Family, he will definitely not let him and his Tower of Dusk go,¡± said Charles, who seemed to have already thought of the scene of the Tower of Dusk being destroyed by the Ashen Warlock.

    Not only did Joseph feel even more contemptuous after hearing Charles¡¯ words, even the mages who had gotten up began to look pale and horrified. The rtionship Charles mentioned was actually the request for some special herbs from the Dida Family that the Ashen Warlock had once made. However, the Ashen Warlock had never owed others favors. Hence, after the matter was solved, he gave the Dida Family a magical spell that could summon the Abyssal Demon.

    The value of the spell could be said to be far higher than the herbs that he had asked for. As long as it was used well, it would be able to increase the strength of the Dida Family quickly. It did make sense. A Legendary powerhouse actually managed to summon a Legendary-level Abyssal Demon and make him his subordinate. What about two or three of them, then? Of course, the summoning was not easy, and in order to make the summoned Abyssal Demon recognize oneself as its master, one would first have to have the strength to defeat it. Otherwise, it would be courting death.

    Unfortunately, Daniel, the former patriarch of the Dida Family, was too greedy when summoning the Abyssal Demons, and he even wanted to summon the powerful Abyssal Demon Dragon. As a result, he managed to summon the powerful Abyssal Demon Dragon, but it was totally unwilling to obey him. Not only did the Abyssal Demon Dragon turn him into ashes, it even nearly destroyed the entire Dida Family. If it weren¡¯t for the Ashen Warlock¡¯s intervention and the capturing of the Abyssal Demon Dragon, there would probably have only been four families left in the Mithril Alliance.

    After Daniel¡¯s death, the Dida Family began to fight and vie with each other for power again. As a result, they reached a truce and the oue was to let Charles, a man who was good for nothing except his magical talent, take the throne of the Dida Family patriarch. However, Charles¡¯ magical talent was now gone, and he could really be considered useless. When he returned, he would probably be thrown off the throne of the patriarch, which he had upied for merely two years.

    Joseph quietly shifted his gaze onto the upper floor of the inn, only to see that the window was closed. Feeling a sense of relief, he turned his head around, and said, ¡°Charles, you can walk, can¡¯t you? For the sake of your safety, you¡¯d better stay in the camp until we meet Ashen Warlock. Don¡¯t provoke the people from the Tower of Dusk anymore.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Patriarch Joseph, I know,¡± Charles said while hanging his head low with a tinge of resentment in his eyes. After all, he was now the patriarch of the Dida Family, yet Joseph actually called him by his name. Was he really going to be stripped of his position as patriarch once he went back!?

    Joseph walked in front and led everyone to the camp outside the town, but he didn¡¯t stop pondering in his head. <i>It was actually not a bad thing for Charles¡¯ magical talent to be ruined. In two years, it will be the Dida Family¡¯s turn to be the leader of the alliance. If the Mithril Alliance was really handed over to Charles the idiot, it would truly be a disaster.</i>

    If the Dida Family were to get up to any nonsense again this time, Joseph felt that it would be better to unite with the other three families to get rid of the jinx and troublemaker.

    The power of the young President of the Tower of Dusk was indeed extraordinary, and even if he didn¡¯t seem to be level-24, he should be at the peak of level-23. Besides, he also had two Undead servants. Even though the Mithril Alliance could deal with him alone, they would still have to put in plenty of effort. Fortunately, they had roped the other two families in this time...

    In the small inn, Lin Li had long been sitting at the table and continuing to read the historical biography quietly when Joseph and the rest left. Due to the fact that he did not know the Ashen Warlock well, he dared not take the risk and read the Book of Eternity there. After all, the Ashen Warlock was a powerhouse who was on the same level as the three arbitrators. His experience in the big rift and fighting Rodhart allowed him to find out how terrifying a Sanctuary powerhouse was. Even if he had all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it would still be impossible for him to fight them at this time.

    During dinnertime, the inn became lively again. However, unlike before, there were new guests at the inn. Lin Li took a seat in the restaurant downstairs and was drinking some juice and eating some barbecue. His two Undead servants didn¡¯t have to eat anything. If Norfeller were to drink fresh blood, he might just end up frightening the civilians in the town. Hence, they decided to just stand behind Lin Li.

    Among the new guests of the small inn, there were Warriors, mages, and humans who exuded some slight Menace of the Dragon. However, they all shared a simr characteristic: they had the aura of a Legendary powerhouse. However, after everyone entered, they still couldn¡¯t help but cast a look of surprise at Lin Li. After all, there were two Legendary servants standing behind him, which was absolutely daunting.

    However, after seeing the appearance of Lin Li and the two Undead servants, the people suddenly realized that Lin Li was the young President of the Tower of Dusk who had be a Legendary-mage in his early twenties, and had two loyal Legendary-level Undead servants who followed him around. That was no secret in the Breezy ins.

    Lin Li knew without having to guess that those people had to be the leaders of the top forces in the Breezy ins invited by the Ashen Warlock. However, those people knew each other well, while Lin Li didn¡¯t recognize any of them. He only knew Joseph whom he had a feud with and bore grudges against. Hence, he continued to have his own dinner.

    ¡°Haha, Master Felic, I knew you¡¯d be invited this time too.¡±

    All of a sudden, Lin Li heard a familiar voice which made him raise his head and look at the gate, only to see a fat man who was several times fatter than the chubby owner walking towards him. It turned out to be the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman.

    ¡°Mr. Hoffman, how did you... oh, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here, please have a seat.¡± Lin Li initially intended to ask Hoffman how he ended up there, but he decided that it would be a little strange to ask that question since the Glittergold Trade Union was also one of the top forces of the Breezy ins. Hence, there was nothing strange about Hoffman showing up here.

    Although Lin Li was not bothered by the numerous hostile gazes that were being shot at him, he was still d to be able to run into an acquaintance. Lin Li stood up and gave his seat to Hoffman before telling Norfeller to clean up the dishes on the table. He then said to Hoffman, ¡°Mr. Hoffman, I¡¯m really d to see you here.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I guessed it a long time ago. Rnd must have invited you this time. By the way, I heard about you going to the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine. I¡¯ve also heard that you gave that dead-faced Sendros a pharmaceutics journal...¡± Hoffman said as he began to chat with Lin Li excitedly.

    The leaders of the various top forces were still getting ready to step forward and greet Hoffman when he entered, but no one thought that the fat man who was usually amicable and talkative would simply brush them off perfunctorily and go straight to the President of the Tower of Dusk. Hoffman¡¯s bewildering behavior gave everyone a great shock. They all thought that the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk had merely shared an ordinary cooperative rtionship, but it now seemed that things might not be that simple.

    In particr, Joseph of the Mithril Alliance was filled with dismay when he saw that scene. He initially nned to unite with the Glittergold Trade Union to suppress the business of the Tower of Dusk, but it now seemed that he ought to be more careful. If the Glittergold Trade Union were to provide arge amount of funds for the Tower of Dusk, it would be even more difficult for him to execute his n.

    ¡°It¡¯s too noisy here, let¡¯s go to the room and talk there instead,¡± Lin Li said. When he heard Hoffman asking about pharmaceutics, he got up and invited him to the room to talk. Of course, it was not actually noisy, but rather that Lin Li didn¡¯t want to teach his enemies about pharmaceutics¡ªalmost everyone present apart from Hoffman was an enemy of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Oh, sorry, I was too anxious.¡± Hoffman stood up with a smile, looked at the people around him, and followed Lin Li upstairs. He then whispered, ¡°Master Felic, I heard that the Tower of Dusk has encountered some problemstely. If you need help from the Glittergold Trade Union, feel free to let me know. I can¡¯t guarantee anything else, but if you need any financial aid, we¡¯ll definitely be able to cooperate.¡±

    Upon sight of Lin Li¡¯s and Hoffman¡¯s silhouettes that were gradually disappearing at the end of the stairs, the people at the bottom finally recovered from the shock. Although the people present were not much weaker than the Glittergold Trade Union, they had to admit that in terms of wealth, no one couldpare to the Glittergold Trade Union.

    ¡°President Mogadi[1], Patriarch us, I¡¯ve already prepared a room for your discussion. I think we have to have an in-depth discussion about the issue of facing the Tower of Dusk,¡± said Joseph, who was the person in charge of the Mithril Alliance, to President Mogadi of the Blood Moon n on behalf of the four other families.

    The cooperation of the three forces had already begun long ago. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have resulted in almost all the forces of the Breezy ins going against the Tower of Dusk. However, things were not ideal, and did not go ording to ntely. Although they had brought certain losses to the Tower of Dusk, the losses were clearly still within the tolerance of the Tower of Dusk.

    After seeing how enthusiastic Hoffman was towards Lin Li, Mogadi and us had some more doubts about the cooperation led by the Mithril Alliance. In terms of business, the difficulty of destroying the Tower of Dusk would be rather high once the Tower of Dusk had the financial support of the wealthy Glittergold Trade Union.

    ¡°What else is there to talk about? We followed your previous n, but we haven¡¯t gotten any benefits yet. Instead, we lost a lot of money. It seems that the Glittergold Trade Union is going to support the Tower of Dusk this time. I can¡¯t think of any force that might have more money than the Glittergold Trade Union. I¡¯m afraid we might not end up getting anything,¡± said Mogadi, who was obviously dissatisfied with Joseph¡¯s previous n.

    ¡°Haha, President Mogadi, where has the pride of the dragon in your bloodline gone? They¡¯re just a small force that has just been established for two or three years, yet you¡¯re already losing confidence,¡± Joseph said in a disdainful tone.

    Mogadi, the president of the Blood Moon n, had the blood of both wyrm and human in his body, which was the reason Joseph tried to provoke his pride. In fact, Mogadi did not have the ability to transform into a real dragon despite carrying the blood of wyrm. His body would only be covered with solid dragon scales after his wyrm genes were awakened. He would also have strong magical defense and physical capabilities. At the same time, he would also possess strong physical power that was not inferior to that of the wyrm. He would even be able to spit out dragon breath, and thus could be considered a hybrid between a human and wyrm.

    ¡°Small force? Would a small force be invited by the Ashen Warlock? Starting three years ago, they developed from nothing to the great force that they are now. They¡¯re so well-developed that you even want to destroy them. I do admire that young man, actually. By the way, I heard that there¡¯s a young, ingenious patriarch in the Mithril Alliance too. Why haven¡¯t I seen him around today?¡± asked Mogadi, who didn¡¯t fall for Joseph¡¯s spitting, and instead made fun of Joseph using the puppet patriarch of the Dida Family.

    [1] No idea why, but the author consistently calls him a president, not a patriarch. Maybe a mistake, maybe not.

 Chapter 840 - Conflict Of Interests

    <h4>Chapter 840: Conflict Of Interests</h4>

    ¡°Lately, Charles has been showing signs of a breakthrough, and he is focusing on learning and practicing magic. Hence, he will not be attending this gathering. Let¡¯s talk about the Tower of Dusk. President Mogadi, don¡¯t you want thatnd that produces the Serum Grass anymore?¡± Joseph asked with his brows slightly raised. However, his calm words struck a sour note within Mogadi, the president of the Blood Moon n, and instantly left him speechless. Joseph continued, ¡°Even if the Glittergold Trade Union supports him, will they really give it their all? Will they really do their best? In my opinion, the Glittergold Trade Union is probably greedier than we are.¡±

    The core members of the Blood Moon n all had mixed bloodlines like Mogadi. In addition to those who were hybrids of wyrms and humans, there were also some who were hybrids of High Elves and humans, as well as prehistoric magical beasts and humans. However, at the same time that the mixed bloodline brought them great strength, it brought about endless pain and agony for them.

    When they were still in the Blood Moon n regiment, there were special potions formted by the High Elves to help them suppress the pain. However, after the fall of the High Elves, there were no longer such special potions. Many of the members of the Blood Moon n who escaped the catastrophe evenmitted suicide because they couldn¡¯t bear the pain.

    It was not untilter that the Blood Moon n unearthed a High Elven relic and obtained the form of that special potion, which helped to resolve the issue. Through the research of the form of the potion, they also discovered that the potion yed a vital role in mixing bloodlines and genes. But, it required a dosage that was more than 100 times higher in order to suppress the pain.

    However, the most important herb of the form was the Serum Grass which required an extremely harsh environment for growth. The Serum Grass that the Blood Moon n could obtain through various channels was not enough for the formtion of the pain-suppressing potions, let alone to create new members of mixed bloodlines. In the vast Breezy ins, the ce that had an environment that was the most suitable for the growth of Serum Grass was a swamp to the west of Gand. However, the swamp belonged to the Tower of Dusk.

    Actually, if it had just been a swamp where Serum Grass grew, the Blood Moon n would have first thought of asking for it directly from the Tower of Dusk. After all, Serum Grass might be precious, but it was not of much use to pharmacists. However, the problem was that wherever Serum Grass grew, there would inevitably be arge number of magical metal ores, which were something that the Tower of Dusk definitely wouldn¡¯t give up. At the same time, the Blood Moon n couldn¡¯t afford it, either.

    ¡°You mean... the Glittergold Trade Union wants to swallow the entire Tower of Dusk and encroach on itsnd?¡± us asked in slight disbelief.

    Upon hearing his words, Mogadi remained silent. If the swamp were to fall in the hands of the Glittergold Trade Union, there would be no difference between that and the Tower of Dusk having the ownership of the swamp. The greatest difference was that the Blood Moon n would have a tougher time obtaining the swamp.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you guys haven¡¯t seen Hoffman, that cunning fatty. When he smiles at you, it means that he has already cut off a piece of your flesh. Think about it carefully, how could the Glittergold Trade Union give the Tower of Dusk money for nothing? If the Tower of Dusk ends up failing to repay the loan, they would have to...¡± Joseph sneered as if the Tower of Dusk had really fallen into the hands of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Joseph¡¯s words undeniably made some sense. If the Glittergold Trade Union were to end up encroaching on the Tower of Dusk, their ns would end up in vain as they would just be paving the way for others. At the thought of this, Mogadi and us nodded unanimously, and agreed to Joseph¡¯s invitation.

    ¡°The Mithril Alliance has sent me an invitation?¡± Lin Li suddenly received an invitation from the Mithril Alliance as the date set by the Ashen Warlock got closer. Although Lin Li had not interacted with any other forces except Hoffman, whom he chatted with from time to time, in the past two days, he knew that the Mithril Alliance was the root of the recent boycott that the Tower of Dusk had been facing.

    In a room which was arranged like a conference room, Lin Li saw Joseph, whom he had met once. Joseph was the only one in the room, and the two greatest allies of the Mithril Alliance, the Blood Moon n and the Caesar Family, did not send their representatives.

    ¡°President Felic, please have a seat,¡± Joseph said while remaining seated and pointing at the seat opposite him with an expressionless face.

    Lin Li walked over indifferently, pulled the chair out, and took a seat. He then leaned back nonchntly while staring at Joseph who was opposite him with a look of derision in his eyes. However, Joseph did not seem to have the intention to speak.

    Joseph and Lin Li looked at each other for a while, and the former finally couldn¡¯t endure it anymore. ¡°President Felic, let¡¯s put aside everything that happened two days ago. This time, I invited you here because I want to discuss with you the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but did I hear you wrongly? Even the Supreme Council has given the Tower of Dusk absolute autonomy. Hence, it seems that you¡¯re in no ce to meddle with the affairs of the Tower of Dusk,¡± Lin Li said mockingly.

    A sullen gaze formed in Joseph¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t lose his temper. Instead, he shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°If it¡¯s just the internal affairs of the Tower of Dusk, we naturally have no right to interfere, but now it concerns the interests of the Breezy ins. As the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins, we, the Mithril Alliance, can¡¯t sit back and do nothing.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I will hear what advice you have for me,¡± Lin Li said with folded arms. He leaned back against the chair with a rxed expression on his face as if he were waiting to watch a show.

    ¡°The development of the Tower of Dusk in the past two years was indeed amazing. If the Tower of Dusk hadn¡¯t been in the Breezy ins, we might have been able to be partners,¡± Joseph said with admiration, but his tone soon changed. He austerely continued, ¡°However, this is the Breezy ins, and the development of the Tower of Dusk has already affected the peace that has been maintained for thousands of years in the Breezy ins. I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t deny that the Tower of Dusk was built on the corpses of other forces, President Felic.¡±

    ¡°The survival of the fittest is a naturalw. Life and death is a natural process of life, and there would be a rise and fall for every force and authority. Even the prosperous High Elves Dynasty was overthrown. As the leader of the Mithril Alliance, you probably don¡¯t need me to teach you that logic, do you, Mr. Joseph?¡± Lin Li retorted in a hostile manner. Although he knew that Joseph was just trying to find a reason to bring up the topic of his agenda, Lin Li decided to y along.

    ¡°Yes, the survival of the fittest is indeed the perpetualw of nature in this world,¡± Joseph said while clenching his fists which were tucked in his sleeves. However, he did not show much emotion on his face. First he nodded in agreement, and then continued, ¡°However, President Felic, you must not forget that in the Breezy ins, there is a hierarchy above thews of nature, and that is the will of the Ashen Warlock. The rapid development of the Tower of Dusk has broken the peace that the Breezy ins has enjoyed for thousands of years, which is exactly against the will of the Ashen Warlock. I reckon you probably don¡¯t need me to tell you the fate that those who go against the will of the Ashen Warlock will suffer. You should have heard it. This time, the Tower of Dusk may have been invited by the Ashen Warlock, but do you really think you can stand up to us?¡±

    ¡°Oh, in that case, why do you think the Ashen Warlock invited me, Mr. Joseph?¡± Lin Li questioned, pretending to be worried. However, he was actually amused. Obviously, Joseph had no choice but to reveal his agenda even though he made himself out to be so high-sounding at the start.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve already guessed it, why bother making me state things explicitly, President Felic? However, there is still some room forpromise,¡± said Joseph, who felt a little confused after seeing Lin Li¡¯s expression. He felt that Lin Li seemed to behave differently from the rumors. However, after thinking about how terrifying the Ashen Warlock was, and the fear that he felt towards him, Joseph reckoned that no matter how bold and brazen Lin LI was, he would definitely feel some fear.

    ¡°Is there?¡± Lin Li continued to keep up his pretense while revealing some nervousness and anticipation on his face. He began to sit up, and stopped leaning against the chair as well.

    ¡°That would depend on your choice. Will you choose your own life, or the Tower of Dusk that will bring you big trouble? If you are willing to give up the Tower of Dusk, the Mithril Alliance will give you a hand when you¡¯re facing the Ashen Warlock.¡± Joseph initially wanted to say that he could let Lin Li join the Mithril Alliance, but he was worried that he could not control Lin Li, and would end up imposing a threat on themselves.

    ¡°Do you mean that you want me to give up the Tower of Dusk and give it to the Mithril Alliance? Haha, unfortunately, you can¡¯t sink your teeth into the Tower of Dusk even though you have a huge appetite,¡± Lin Li said as he leaned back against the chair again. He no longer appeared nervous, and was looking at Joseph with contempt.

    Despite knowing that he had been tricked, Joseph didn¡¯t get angry. Instead, he sneered and said, ¡°It seems that President Felic has already made a choice. It¡¯s such a shame. With your talents, I¡¯m afraid you can achieve huge aplishments wherever you go. However, the Breezy ins is not for you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not for you to decide whether it¡¯s suitable or not. However, I¡¯m a little curious. I heard that the Mithril Alliance, the Blood Moon n, and the Caesar Family are allied, but you asked to meet me alone. Mr. Joseph, aren¡¯t you afraid of letting them find out?¡± asked Lin Li who began meditating because he had lost interest in the discussion.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this, President Felic. I believe you will receive their invitation soon, but I think I already have the answer to the oue of their invitation,¡± Joseph said as he remained seated with a straight face, not intending to see Lin Li off at all.

    Just as Joseph mentioned, Lin Li indeed received the invitation from the Blood Moon n shortly after he returned to his room. Actually, the Blood Moon n was not as greedy as the Mithril Alliance, but their appetite definitely wasn¡¯t small. The Blood Moon n was nning to ask the Tower of Dusk to vacate the swamp in the west of Gand in exchange for their promise to never unite with the Mithril Alliance to go against the Tower of Dusk in the future.

 Chapter 841 - Roland

    <h4>Chapter 841: Rnd</h4>

    If the Blood Moon n merely needed a small amount of Serum Grass, Lin Li could give them the Serum Grass from the swamp. Although the Serum Grass was rare, it seemed to be a useless herb to him. If it were a barren and useless swamp, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind giving it away in exchange for one less enemy for the Tower of Dusk.

    However, the swamp area contained an abundance of rare magical metals which, although not the main materials for forging weapons and equipment, were absolutely indispensable. In the process of forging weapons and equipment, a qualitative improvement in the performance of the magical weapon could be achieved with just a minute amount of those rare magical metals. In addition to forging, the rare magical metals were also widely used in producing mageweaths, magical essories, and Alchemy Arrays. How could Lin Li easily give up such important ores?

    However, in the process of mining for the rare magical metals, the environment of the swamp would inevitably change, and gradually end up bing unfavorable for the growth of Serum Grass, which was what the Blood Moon n definitely didn¡¯t want to see. Hence, it would undoubtedly be difficult to resolve the conflict, and the result of the negotiation would naturally be a failure.

    During the period of time before the Ashen Warlock appeared, the various forces were in constant contact with each other. In addition to the problems between the Tower of Dusk and the three major forces, the other disputes between the forces would also have to be settled and resolved. In fact, the period of Ashen Warlock¡¯s absence was to allow them to discuss and solve their issues face-to-face. The Ashen Warlock was not a mediator, but the ultimate judge. Hence, the forces had all reached a consensus to strive to reach an agreement with each other before Ashen Warlock passed his judgment. Otherwise, when the time came, probably none of them would benefit.

    A few days passed in a sh. Through the negotiations during this period of time, the various disputes between the forces in the past three years were basically resolved. However, the Tower of Dusk and the three major forces seemed to bepletely in a deadlock. On one hand, it was because Lin Li refused to give in, and on the other, the three major forces were astonishingly greedy.

    Outside the dpidated gray tower, the two old servants of the Ashen Warlock were dozing off on the steps in front of the gate. The leaders of various forces gathered in the barend in front of the tower, and waited for the Ashen Warlock to appear. Even now, no one invited them into the tower, but they did not feel ufortable at all. Just like during an open-air event, the ones who knew each other continued to chat with each other softly.

    ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s almost time for the Ashen Warlock to make his final judgment. I still hope that you can consider our suggestions. Without your lives, all persistence will end up bing nothing,¡± said the Mogadi, the president of the Blood Moon n. He was trying to use the Ashen Warlock to pressure Lin Li into agreeing to his request.

    After all, the swamp mining area was also a huge temptation to the other forces. Mogadi could not guarantee that the swamp would be given to him once the Ashen Warlock passed the final judgment. Hence, it would be better to make Lin Li transfer the piece ofnd to them in advance to ensure that the Blood Moon n would achieve its goal regardless of the judgment made by the Ashen Warlock.

    Before Lin Li could speak, a mage with white hair and beard walked up to him, and smugly said, ¡°President Mogadi, I¡¯m really sorry, but I don¡¯t think the Tower of Dusk has the right to transfer that swamp to you. The swamp originally belonged to the Thunderbolt Mercenary Corps which was established with the support of the Dida Family. The contract of affiliation is in my hands. Although the Thunderbolt Mercenaries were brutally killed by the Tower of Dusk, the swamp should by right belong to the Dida Family.¡±

    Seeing that the person who spoke was Lipdon, the elder of the Dida Family who had just arrived in Gran Town to attend the meeting in ce of Charles, Mogadi¡¯s face suddenly became gloomy, and he coldly said, ¡°Lipdon, are you speaking on behalf of the Mithril Alliance?¡±

    ¡°President Mogadi, don¡¯t get me wrong. The Dida Family may be a member of the Mithril Alliance, but we can cooperate with the Blood Moon n,¡± Lipdon said ambiguously and softly.

    Ever since the death of the former patriarch, the Dida Family had always been in a tough predicament, and the fact that Charles and his team of mages were dismissed made things even worse. Although the five major families of the Mithril Alliance had been very close for thousands of years, their rtionship was built on the basis of bnced power. Now that the Dida Family had suffered a huge blow, their power had been reduced greatly, and they were probably inferior to the four other major families. Perhaps they would soon be divided, just like what had happened to the seven families 1,000 years ago.

    Hence, after Charles and others were sent back to the family, Lipdon and a few elders decided to find themselves an ally outside of the Mithril Alliance. In the entire Breezy ins, the only ones that could rival the Mithril Alliance were the Blood Moon n and the Caesar Family. Besides, the Blood Moon n was also researching a type of blood mixing technology that could be used to greatly enhance the strength of the Dida Family.

    Lipdon was not lying about the Thunderbolt Mercenary Corps. However, the Thunderbolt Mercenaries were just a small mercenary group of hundreds of members, and were not directly subordinate to the Dida Family. They were only linked because of two subordinate forces in between. Of course, if that piece ofnd had really belonged to the Thunderbolt Mercenary Corps, Lipdon¡¯s statement would be correct to a certain extent.

    However, upon hearing Lipdon¡¯s conversation with Mogadi, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help butugh and say, ¡°Haha, unfortunately, the ownership of that piece ofnd was transferred to the Tower of Dusk by the Brilliance Shrine. As for the Thunderbolt Mercenary Corps, they¡¯ve simply upied that piece ofnd without permission from the Brilliance Shrine.¡±

    ¡°The Brilliance Shrine? Since when has the Brilliance Shrine extended their authority to the Breezy ins? I¡¯ve never heard of that,¡± Lipdon said in a hostile manner. Since he knew that Charles and the mages were destroyed by Lin Li, he obviously wouldn¡¯t be nice.

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that? At the end of the Dark Age, some of the clergymen from the Brilliance Shrine came to the Breezy ins to spread the doctrine of Holy Light and bought a lot ofnd. Although the mission did not go smoothly, the contracts and title deeds for those plots ofnd were brought back to the Brilliance Shrine. I think you¡¯d better check your ownnds after you go back. Maybe someday, Felic might just bring the title deeds to you to take thend back,¡± Hoffman said solemnly with a squint, trying to speak up for Lin Li.

    As long as it was not a business negotiation, no one would doubt Hoffman¡¯s words. Besides, that part of history was no secret in the Breezy ins at all.

    Hoffman¡¯s words immediately made Lipdon and Mogadi turn speechless. At the same time, they could not help but be a little surprised about the rtionship between the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk.

    The Brilliance Shrine was one of the most powerful forces that truly stood on top of Anril, and they were so formidable that all the forces probably couldn¡¯t rival them even if they werebined together. The Tower of Dusk had been established for only three years, yet they had already made such a huge achievement. Was it merely because of the personal ability of the young President Lin Li? There was undoubtedly some help from the Brilliance Shrine. At least, if they were connected to the Brilliance Shrine, the miracles created by the Tower of Dusk after their establishment would seem less incredible.

    While being surprised, Lipdon, Mogadi, and the rest around them couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of a rumor that arose not long ago. The three groups of bandits that robbed the caravan of the Tower of Dusk were purged by a team of Holy Pdins that took a long time to do so, while the three Legendary leaders were not spared from the trial of the Holy Light.

    The Holy Pdins were the pontifical guards that were directly subordinate to the pope of the Brilliance Shrine, yet they actually left the Holy Mountain for the Tower of Dusk. When they first heard the news, almost no one believed it. Even the spies of the various forces who had personally witnessed the trial conducted on the three groups of bandits by the Holy Pdins couldn¡¯t ept the truth from the bottom of their hearts.

    However, the Brilliance Shrine actually transferred the contract and title deed of thend to the Tower of Dusk, which meant that they were probably not just cooperating in business. The value of the swamp mining area alone was incredible, and ording to Hoffman¡¯s description, the Brilliance Shrine had transferred more than just the piece ofnd to the Tower of Dusk. No one doubted the authenticity of Hoffman¡¯s words, because the transfer of deeds was one of the businesses of the Glittergold Trade Union. It did not merely involve the physical handing over of the title deed to Lin Li.

    All of a sudden, everyone felt their heart sink as if the sky had suddenly fallen. The heavy atmosphere made their breathing be irregr, and silence filled the air at this moment. Everyone turned to face the tower and kept their eyes fixed on its gate. The triennial meeting had already be a custom for them.

    Indeed, under the gaze of everyone, an old and thin figure d in a ck robe slowly walked out of the tower. However, none of the people present dared to show a trace of contempt on their faces. Instead, they were all full of respect.

    <i>Is this the Ashen Warlock?</i> Lin Li thought to himself as he stared at the old man who was d in the ck robe. In fact, some of them couldn¡¯t even connect the figure in front of them with the overbearing Ashen Warlock who was a famous legend. His beard and hair were all white, and his cheeks were sunken, while his face was full of deep wrinkles and obvious age spots. His wrinkly eyelids were drooping, and it was as if he couldn¡¯t open his eyes at all. He looked even older and much more haggard than a dying old man.

    What made Lin Li even more surprised was that he did not feel any intense waves of mana from him, but instead felt some dense and lifeless aura. It was as if the old man in front of him had already or was about to die. However, Lin Li knew clearly that the old man was very different from Undead creatures. He did not detect any pungent odor of the Undead creatures from the oppressive aura. Instead, it was very pure and devoid of vitality, just like a withered tree. That reminded Lin Li of the dead Seed of Eternity that had once been in his hands¡ªlifeless but not decayed.

    Seeing that the Ashen Warlock was stepping out of the tower, everyone immediately rushed towards the steps; regardless of how glorious and authoritative they were on the surface, they were all rather respectful towards the Ashen Warlock now. The four patriarchs of the Mithril League that were led by Joseph, the wyrm-human hybrid of the Blood Moon n, Mogadi, and the patriarch of the Caesar family, us, were people who could easily make the Breezy ins shudder. However, they all swallowed their pride and hung their heads low to greet the old man. Seeing that they had all rushed forward to greet the Ashen Warlock, Lin Li didn¡¯t immediately follow to join them. He felt that it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if he greeted himter.

    Rnd, the Ashen Warlock, stood on the steps with his staff and asionally nodded in response to all their greetings. The two old servants beside him did not seem to open their eyes at all, and looked like they were dozing off while muttering andining about how noisy they were.

    After greeting the Ashen Warlock, everyone retreated and stood on both sides of the steps out of habit. Gradually, the number of people greeting gradually decreased, and the order was gradually restored. Lin Li¡¯s figure finally appeared. Just as Lin Li was about toe forward to greet the Ashen Warlock, thetter spoke first. He squinted at Lin Li, and said, ¡°Kid, I heard that you¡¯re doing a good job in Dnd.¡±

    ¡°Hello, Dear Master Rnd, you tter me. I was just lucky,¡± Lin Li said modestly.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t feel anything special, but the big figures around him were bbergasted. Ashen Warlock would invite them to the gathering once every three years, and everyone present had at least attended the gathering tens of times¡ªMogadi from the Blood Moon n had even participated hundreds of times¡ªbut no one had ever heard the Ashen Warlock praise anyone. Apart from the final judgment, Ashen Warlock would never say a single word to any of them.

    Everyone knew very well in their hearts that even though they were all leaders of top forces and were Legendary powerhouses, they were still just tiny and insignificant ants in the eyes of the Ashen Warlock. The Ashen Warlock, who was high above the Breezy ins and was a godlike existence that looked down on them, actually made ament about an ant who happened to be the one that the other ants wanted to get rid of quickly...

    They could not help but guess what exactly Ashen Warlock meant. They had to figure out if it was apliment, a sarcastic remark, or just a remark made in a moment of impulsiveness! Everyone began to specte because of that remark, and their expressions changed continuously as well.

    Among all the people below the steps, Lin Li was the only one whose expression was normal, followed by Hoffman whose face did not change much. Of course, Hoffman was also taken aback by the Ashen Warlock¡¯s words, but after being shocked, he was delighted for Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 842 - Twisting Facts

    <h4>Chapter 842: Twisting Facts</h4>

    The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk had always been the closest partners.

    During this period of time, various forces had been trying to boycott and suppress the Tower of Dusk. It would be impossible for the Glittergold Trade Union not to detect it. If it were an ordinary force, the Glittergold Trade Union would definitely be able toe forward to settle itpletely, but they were the Mithril Alliance, Blood Moon n, and Caesar Family. They were the three major forces of the Breezy ins¡ªpowerful, with high status, and not inferior to the Glittergold Trade Union. Although Hoffman was the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, he was not the only one who had a say in it. In amercial organization, the most important rule of thumb for survival was not to directly intervene in any conflicts between forces.

    In reality, the rumors of the Glittergold Trade Union trying to encroach on the Tower of Dusk had been spreading throughout the internal department of the Glittergold Trade Union. All Hoffman could do was to suppress those voices with his identity as the President. However, if the Tower of Dusk were to be divided by the three major forces in the end, Hoffman who had insisted on not attacking the Tower of Dusk would probably have his status affected.

    The Ashen Warlock was the god of the Breezy ins, yet he valued a tiny ant which also had a bright and promising future with endless potential. Hence, when he heard the Ashen Warlock saying those words to Lin Li which seemed to hint at his admiration of Lin Li, Hoffman was extremely excited and agitated. As the closest partner of the Tower of Dusk, he would definitely stand to gain if the Tower of Dusk were to develop well. The more the Tower of Dusk developed, the more benefits the Glittergold Trade Union would gain. If the Glittergold Trade Union were to gain more benefits, Hoffman¡¯s status in the Glittergold Trade Union would definitely rise higher.

    After Lin Li greeted him, the Ashen Warlock finally smiled, which was rare of him. He then nodded at Lin Li slightly before turning to look at Joseph who was on the steps. He calmly said, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Although the Mithril Alliance was not the strongest force in the Breezy ins, they were the force with the longest heritage, and had always been the representative of the various forces during the gatherings. Joseph was actually shocked by the words of the Ashen Warlock, but he didn¡¯t have much time to think about it at this juncture. Hence, he saluted the Ashen Warlock with respect, and then stood up to bow to the Ashen Warlock. He then began to report about everything that happened in the Breezy ins in the past three years.

    There was silence in the open space in front of the tower, and the only thing that could be heard was Joseph¡¯s voice when he was reporting to the Ashen Warlock. There were no background noises at all, and everyone subconsciously slowed down their breathing. The Ashen Warlock stood quietly on the steps, holding the staff with both hands expressionlessly. No one could figure out if he was listening to Joseph¡¯s report or not.

    Actually, with the suppression and the deterrence of the Ashen Warlock, there was nothing that happened in the Breezy ins that was worth mentioning. As Joseph was talking, he finally talked about the Tower of Dusk and its domineering rise which was indeed a major event that took the entire Breezy ins by storm. However, the matter definitely had a different meaning when Joseph said it.

    ¡°The Breezy ins Guild of Magic, which is also the Tower of Dusk, often shed with some surrounding forces at the beginning of its establishment. Even after killing the leader of the Syer Bandits, it still led some people to attack the Syer Bandits¡¯ir and killed all the old, weak, sick, and disabled who could not even pose a threat to them...¡± Joseph said in a scheming manner. Instead of going against the Tower of Dusk, he ced the emphasis on the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, thus highlighting the fact that the Tower of Dusk was an outsider, as well as their rtionship with the Supreme Council.

    ¡°...The fierce battle between the Tower of Dusk and the Dark dested for several months, making the residents of Dnd rather fearful. After the President of the Tower of Dusk, Felic, returned, he did not make any attempt to reconcile and bury the hatchet. Instead, he was so brazen as to kill the leader of the Dark de and hunt down all the members of the Dark de who had escaped. Under Felic¡¯s leadership, the Tower of Dusk carried out a cruel bombardment and attack on the surrounding forces in Dnd. Those who opposed would be annihted...¡± Joseph did not fabricate lies to portray a bad image of the Tower of Dusk, and everything he said was true. He had simply changed the main point a little, and chose not to bring up what the Dark de and the other forces had done to the Tower of Dusk. He simply tried to emphasize the tragedy that struck the Dark de and the other forces.

    While speaking, Joseph sneaked a nce at the Ashen Warlock. Although he noticed that the Ashen Warlock looked rather indifferent, he felt somewhat relieved. Of course, he knew that those matters were not enough to anger the Ashen Warlock. In fact, given the level that the Ashen Warlock was at, there was nothing that could really make him angry. However, Joseph was very confident that he could gradually turn things into the direction that he wanted.

    When the Tower of Dusk was weak, it had gotten into conflicts with the smaller forces around it, especially with the Syer Bandits. Their dispute with the Syer Bandits was endless, and they couldn¡¯t reach an agreement. After the Tower of Dusk became stronger, they got into an intense battle with the Dark de, and even conquered Dnd and the surrounding area. Hence, the influence of the Tower of Dusk had already expanded and spread to the entire Breezy ins. If any trouble were to arise, the peace of the entire Breezy ins would be disrupted. Didn¡¯t the Ashen Warlock enjoy peace and serenity? In that case, would he allow the Tower of Dusk, which was the root of trouble, to continue surviving in the Breezy ins?

    Joseph¡¯s description would definitely invoke all sorts of emotions. He actually made the enemies the Tower of Dusk had gotten rid of sound like weaklings who swallowed their pride after being bullied because they couldn¡¯t protect themselves. He also made the Tower of Dusk seem like tyrants and bullies that would attack others over a trivial, unsatisfactory issue.

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi, who were behind Lin Li, were Undead creatures, but they still had human emotions. After hearing Joseph twist facts and warp the truth, the two of them were so infuriated that they began to quiver slightly, and wished they could rip his mouth apart. Norfeller would asionally touch the dagger on his waist, while Ujfalusi began to rub his Skeleton Staff continuously.

    Hoffman, who was initially rather happy for Lin Li, couldn¡¯t help but start to worry again when he listened to Joseph¡¯s ount. Hoffman wasn¡¯t concerned that Joseph had twisted facts. He was well aware that good and evil wouldn¡¯t affect Ashen Warlock¡¯s decisions and resolution, just like how no one would care about the cause of a fight between ants. However, Ashen Warlock needed the peace of the Breezy ins to be maintained, and regardless of who disrupted the peace, they would be punished in the same way.

    The leaders of other forces did not expect that Joseph would twist the story and exaggerate things, but they were not worried. Although the Breezy ins was not small, the resources it could provide were still limited, after all. An outsider force like the Tower of Dusk would definitely upy the resources that originally belonged to other local forces.

    Before the Tower of Dusk rose to fame and became strong and significant enough, such a situation wasn¡¯t obvious. After all, the top forces had more than enough money and resources tost for a long time. However, it took only two or three years for the Tower of Dusk to develop to a scale that was not inferior to those top forces. Hence, the amount of resources that the Tower of Dusk had snatched away was rather significant. That was the very reason that the forces immediately put aside their prejudices, and worked together to boycott the Tower of Dusk once the Mithril Alliance decided to take the lead.

    However, Hoffman revealed some information just now which hinted that the Brilliance Shrine seemed to share a close rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. Earlier on, there were also rumors of the Holy Pdins appearing in the Tower of Dusk. Although those people were the leaders of the top forces of the Breezy ins, they were far from beingparable to the Brilliance Shrine. If the Tower of Dusk really had the support of the Brilliance Shrine, they would have to reconsider the way they treated the Tower of Dusk.

    However, now that Joseph had recounted everything, everyone could tell the wonder of it, and reckoned that he might just be able to convince the Ashen Warlock into taking action. Given the terrifying power of the Ashen Warlock, the Tower of Dusk could only count themselves unlucky because everyone was now gloating.

    Some were angry, some were worried, and some were gloating. Among all the people present, Lin Li and the Ashen Warlock, who was standing on the steps, were the only ones whose expressions did not change.

    ¡°Clearly, the Tower of Dusk has be a toxic element of the Breezy ins¡ªa ck sheep that destroys the peace and order of the Breezy ins. Hence, on behalf of the Mithril Alliance, the Blood Moon n, and the Caesar Family, I would like to request you to kick the Tower of Dusk out of the Breezy ins,¡± said Joseph who represented the three major forces of the Breezy ins, making the request afterining about the Tower of Dusk.

    At this moment, the space that was supposed to be extremely quiet suddenly seemed to have solidified. For the first time, the Mithril Alliance, the Blood Moon n, and the Caesar Family jointly made a request, and they were the three major forces which were enough to represent the entire Breezy ins. Although the Ashen Warlock was superior to all the forces, he probably couldn¡¯t ignore the request from the three major forces.

    Firstly, the Tower of Dusk hadmitted the taboo of the Ashen Warlock, and secondly, the three major forces requested to expel them. It seemed that the Tower of Dusk was really doomed this time! Gloating, everyone turned to look at Lin Li and the rest whose fates were sealed.

    Although the Tower of Dusk had been established for two to three years, the wealth it had umted was rather eye-catching and ostentatious. Even if most of their assets were split amongst the three major forces, the remaining forces would still be given a considerable amount of money. Under such a huge temptation, the leaders of other forces were unwilling to fall behind, and thus decided to stand up and go ahead with the suggestion.

 Chapter 843 - Distribution Of Interests

    <h4>Chapter 843: Distribution Of Interests</h4>

    Hoffman was a little anxious. However, the Glittergold Trade Union was still a little weakpared to the various top forces that almost represented the entire Breezy ins, even though they were on par with the three major forces. It was one thing if he were pitted against just the three major forces, but the problem was that the Ashen Warlock was a powerful existence that even mortals couldn¡¯tpete with. Hoffman had no choice but to consider the Glittergold Trade Union too.

    Now that things had developed to such an extent, almost everyone could predict the fate of the Tower of Dusk. Even Lin Li himself secretly kept his guard up. After all, he had never had any interactions or ties with the Ashen Warlock. Although the Ashen Warlock was a powerhouse who was on the same level as the three arbitrators, Lin Li wasn¡¯t one to resign to fate easily.

    While everyone was making a request, the Ashen Warlock who was standing on the stairs without any expression finally spoke up slowly. However, his words made everyone feel rather puzzled.

    ¡°It seems that Breezy ins has been rather peacefultely. In that case, let the peace continue. No one should try to disrupt it,¡± the Ashen Warlock said in a low and hoarse voice, using an indisputable tone.

    <i>Peaceful? How could it be peaceful!? The Tower of Dusk caused so much trouble, and they¡¯re also rising domineeringly. How could there be peace on Breezy ins!?</i> Everyone was dumbfounded, and they couldn¡¯t believe their ears at all. They looked at the thin and shriveled old man who was standing on the steps in utter disbelief. They even suspected that the Ashen Warlock before them was an impostor.

    However, no one dared to stand up and question the words of the Ashen Warlock, because they all knew that it was the final verdict and the new order of Breezy ins. In particr, the fact that he mentioned that no one should try to disrupt the current peace of the Breezy ins was a tant threat. That sentence was akin to a protective amulet for the Tower of Dusk. Not only did the Ashen Warlock not care about the things that the Tower of Dusk had done, he even eliminated the possibility of other forces taking extreme measures against the Tower of Dusk.

    More than 300 years ago, there was a force named the Blood Lions Adventurers that was eligible to be invited by the Ashen Warlock even though they were weaker than the major forces like the Mithril Alliance. They somehow thought that the Ashen Warlock definitely wouldn¡¯t leave Gran Town, and wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them. Although they did not express any dissatisfaction when the new order was established at the time, they turned a deaf ear to Ashen Warlock¡¯s warning when they returned, and continued to fight the forces around them for the sake of interests and benefits.

    Indeed, the Ashen Warlock did not personally intervene. Instead, it was an Abyssal Demon Dragon engulfed in mes that arrived at the headquarters of the Blood Lions Adventurers. Despite the four Legendary leaders of the Blood Lions Adventurers, thousands of elite warriors, and a legion that consisted of more than 100 warriors, their headquarters, which resembled a castle, waspletely wiped out of the Breezy ins overnight.

    With the previous examples, the leaders of the various forces did not dare to question the words of the Ashen Warlock, and also tried to refrain from making any mistakes. At the thought of the request for the Ashen Warlock to expel the Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins, everyone¡¯s face was changing with various emotions such as excitement, disappointment, regret, embarrassment, worry, and many others.

    In particr, the ones who were led by Joseph and were standing in front turned extremely sullen after hearing the words of the Ashen Warlock, who was obviously biased towards Lin Li. However, they dared not voice their displeasure despite being rather infuriated. They had initially thought that they could get the Ashen Warlock to value them since they were the three major forces. To their surprise, the Ashen Warlock still felt that they were insignificant, regardless of how powerful they might be.

    At this moment, Joseph was filled with regret, for he¡¯d never thought that he would hear such words from the Ashen Warlock after all that he had nned and plotted against Lin Li. Had he known earlier, he would have gathered all the powerful forces and annihted the Tower of Dusk before the gathering was held and the new order was confirmed.

    During the previous gathering in Gran Town three years ago, the Tower of Dusk had yet to appear on the map of forces of the Breezy ins. It could be said that no matter how they had chosen to deal with the Tower of Dusk, it would not have been considered going against the will of the Ashen Warlock as long as they did not make too big of a fuss. However, given the current strength of the Tower of Dusk, they could not be easily manipted, not even by the Mithril Alliance. If they were to go toe-to-toe against the Tower of Dusk, they would inevitably have to suffer some consequences. The Mithril Alliance nowcked manpower and talent, and none of the five major families would be willing to suffer any losses. Hence, Joseph came up with the idea of using the Ashen Warlock to kill them so that he could take the Tower of Dusk without staining his hands with blood.

    Joseph¡¯s idea was undeniably wonderful. Otherwise, Mogadi and us wouldn¡¯t have been willing to join forces with him. The young President of the Tower of Dusk and the Ashen Warlock didn¡¯t seem to have any ties with each other, and the three major forces were extremely influential as well. How could the Ashen Warlock possibly let the Tower of Dusk off easily?

    However, how could mortals predict what the Ashen Warlock was thinking? Joseph¡¯s ns backfired as the Ashen Warlock didn¡¯t intend to pursue the matter and put the me on the Tower of Dusk at all. Instead, he even gave the Tower of Dusk his protection. Hence, if Joseph were to try and attack the Tower of Dusk again, he would have to get ready to face the wrath of the Ashen Warlock. Not to mention the Blood Moon n and the Caesar Family, even the Mithril Alliance would not approve of it.

    He was digging his own grave! He really was! Although Joseph was filled with resentment, he dared not harp on the matter. Instead, he saluted the Ashen Warlock respectfully, and said, ¡°Yes, we will continue to work hard to maintain the peace and tranquility in the Breezy ins. Should we move on to the next issue?¡±

    The Ashen Warlock nodded slightly, seemingly not intending to hold it against Joseph and the rest, thus causing the people who were asking for the Tower of Dusk to be expelled to heave a sigh of relief. The Ashen Warlock was not selective when it came to punishment. If he were to be angered, even the powerful figures of the Breezy ins would not be able to escape death.

    The next issue Joseph talked about was the confirmation of territories of the major forces. During the previous gathering, the matter was almost at the end when it happened halfway. Over the years, the territories of the major forces had hardly changed much with the existence of the Ashen Warlock, and everything would be settled with just a few words.

    This time, the rise of the Tower of Dusk had obviously brought a lot of changes to the map of forces in the Breezy ins. The reason that the Tower of Dusk was originally built in Dnd was because it was once the ce where the territories of the major forces ovepped. It was also one of the few areas in the Breezy ins where there were no factions. Of course, it did not include the smaller forces that were not popr enough.

    However, the nk area was just a small ce. Otherwise, the major forces wouldn¡¯t have ignored it. Now that the Tower of Dusk was already significant enough to bepared to the three major forces, their territory had naturally been expanded countless times, and the territories of many other major forces had been included in their expansion. Hence, the next thing that they were going to do was to finalize the territorial map of the Breezy ins, which was of great significance to the Tower of Dusk and the other forces.

    The disputes between the other major forces in terms of territory had already been resolved, and the parties had already reached consensus through negotiations. Hence, there was nothing worth discussing at this juncture. After seeing the Ashen Warlock nod, he made some changes to their respective territories ording to the oue of the negotiation. The map of forces was then finalized.

    When the various forces were interacting with each other previously, the Tower of Dusk refused to give in to anyone. Naturally, they did note to an agreement with any of the forces.

    Joseph failed to provoke the Ashen Warlock into dealing with the Tower of Dusk, and the Ashen Warlock even ended up giving the Tower of Dusk protection instead. Hence, Joseph was filled with indignation. Although he could no longer cause any major trouble for the Tower of Dusk, Joseph still did not give up the opportunity to put the Tower of Dusk in a difficult position.

    <i>Didn¡¯t you say that the Breezy ins has been rather peaceful, eh, Ashen Warlock? Now that there are so many issues in the Tower of Dusk that you have to pass a judgment on, let¡¯s see if you can continue insisting that it¡¯s peaceful!</i> Joseph thought to himself. Although he wasn¡¯t as prejudiced when talking about the territorial disputes between the Tower of Dusk and the other forces, he tried his best toplicate the problem as much as possible.

    Of course, Joseph was not doing something meaningless. Since it was impossible to drive the Tower of Dusk out of the Breezy ins, he decided to try his best to reduce the territory taken up by the Tower of Dusk as much as possible. He reckoned that that should help with suppressing them a little. Most importantly, the Tower of Dusk attended the gathering, and thus could no longer use theirck of knowledge of the rules as an excuse for their wayward behavior in the past. They probably wouldn¡¯t dare to behave that way in the future.

    The Tower of Dusk could be considered an outside force, and had snatched all their territories from other forces. Hence, when they were on the topic of the territories belonging to the Tower of Dusk, Joseph would often mention the original owners of the territories, or whom they should belong to. In conclusion, Joseph felt that the space the Tower of Dusk stood on should be the only territory that belonged to them.

    However, before Joseph could even finish speaking, the Ashen Warlock suddenly interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go on. It¡¯ll belong to whoever owns it now.¡±

    The Ashen Warlock¡¯s seemingly impatient words made Joseph turn speechless, and it suddenly seemed like all issues were nonissues. Since the territories now belonged to the Tower of Dusk, it didn¡¯t matter who the former owners were. At this point, everyone could tell that the Ashen Warlock was biased towards the Tower of Dusk.

    Joseph had actually already expected such an oue, but he was unwilling to let go of any possibility. Hearing the words of the Ashen Warlock, he simply sighed in his heart, but there wasn¡¯t much of a change in expression on his face. He simply expressed assent respectfully and remained silent afterwards.

    Without a doubt, the Tower of Dusk had be the greatest winner because of the Ashen Warlock¡¯s words. Although in the past two or three years, the Tower of Dusk had encroached on Dnd and the surrounding regions based on their own strength, they were still an outsider force. Hence, possessing those territories would inevitably cause them to be criticized by the local forces, and they might even end up in various disputes.

    However, the verdict of the Ashen Warlock seemed to have justified the actions of the Tower of Dusk. It could be said that from now on, no one could say that the Tower of Dusk was an outsider in the Breezy ins, because they had already be the master of a piece of thend.

    The oue also made the face of Mogadi, the President of the Blood Moon n, turn even more sullen. The swamp mining area, which was extremely important to the Blood Moon n, was given to the Tower of Dusk with one word from the Ashen Warlock, thus dashing his hopes of obtaining itpletely. However, no matter how bold he might be, he still wouldn¡¯t dare to show any contempt to the Ashen Warlock. Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but feel resentful towards Joseph at this moment.

    Although the swamp mining area was also very tempting to other forces, it had an irreceable significance to the Blood Moon n. Money could be earned anywhere, but there was only one ce in the entire Breezy ins where Serum Grass could be grown in batches. If they could obtain thatnd and grow arge amount of Serum Grass, the core members of the Blood Moon n would no longer have to worry about suffering from the agony of their split genes and bloodline. They would also be able to improve the hybridization technology in order to boost the abilities of the Blood Moon n.

    Although the Blood Moon n also participated in the operation to suppress the Tower of Dusk previously, and gave Lin Li a harsh attitude when interacting with Lin Li alone in the inn, Mogadi felt that there was still some room for reconciling because they had not really fallen out. However, the Ashen Warlock was defending and protecting the Tower of Dusk. How should he face the Tower of Dusk, then?

    Seeing that the territories of the forces had been finalized, Mogadi felt far more anxious than the leaders of other forces. While he med Joseph for leading him onto the wrong path, he racked his brains to think of a solution. All of a sudden, he noticed Hoffman, who was standing not too far away. At this moment, the other leaders of the forces all appeared rather gloomy. The chubby Hoffman, meanwhile, was grinning so wide that his features were all close together as his face scrunched up.

    Mogadi suddenly remembered that Hoffman seemed to have a good rtionship with the young President of the Tower of Dusk. When all was said and done, Mogadi was not the one who led the suppression against the Tower of Dusk. Could Hoffman ease the tension between them and the Tower of Dusk? Although there was barely any hope left for him to obtain that valuable piece ofnd, the swamp would not be mined immediately. If he could nt some Serum Grass before that happened, it would at least meet his needs temporarily.

 Chapter 844 - Creating The Body

    <h4>Chapter 844: Creating The Body</h4>

    At this moment, Hoffman was over the moon. Although he didn¡¯t understand why the Ashen Warlock was so biased towards the Tower of Dusk, his partnership with them was stabilized, and that was undoubtedly a great benefit to the Glittergold Trade Union. Lately, the Tower of Dusk had been boycotted by the local forces, and there had also been plenty of unhappy voices and disharmony within the Glittergold Trade Union. Themon reason for their displeasure was the Tower of Dusk¡¯s identity as an outsider force, which they felt would be forced out by the local forces sooner orter.

    However, who would dare to make a deal out of it now!? Hoffman was all eager and excited to go back and take a look at those who were critical and disdainful towards the Tower of Dusk. The victory of the Tower of Dusk was equivalent to Hoffman¡¯s victory in the Glittergold Trade Union. He had been pushing for a close cooperation with the Tower of Dusk; hence, his prestige and position in the Glittergold Trade Union would definitely soar to unparalleled heights.

    ¡°Okay, you¡¯re all dismissed,¡± said the Ashen Warlock who put an end to the gathering. However, when they were about to leave, he said to Lin Li who had been standing at the back of the crowd, ¡°Felic,e with me.¡± Before waiting for Lin Li to answer, he turned around and walked towards the dpidated tower while everyone looked in horror.

    The people had yet to digest and recover from the shock just now, yet they were once again dumbfounded and taken aback at this moment. The Ashen Warlock was a deity of the Breezy ins, and the appearance of the tall, ruined tower undoubtedly hinted that it was a sacred ce. Such a gathering had been held countless times, but no one had ever been invited to the tower by the Ashen Warlock. The gatherings would usually be held in the small open space, where no seats were avable. Upon hearing the Ashen Warlock¡¯s judgment which finalized the distribution of territories, no one dared to express any dissatisfaction at all.

    All of a sudden, everyone shifted their gazes onto Lin Li, seemingly trying to find an answer that could exin everything. Everyone knew that they were just like insignificant ants to the Ashen Warlock, yet Lin Li, who was like an ant just like them, was actually invited to the tower that was like a sacred ground by the Ashen Warlock himself. Could there be anything else that was more exaggerated than that!?

    To be honest, even Lin Li couldn¡¯t figure out what the Ashen Warlock wanted to do, let alone the others. However, Lin Li could vaguely guess that he wasn¡¯t given those benefits for nothing, and the Ashen Warlock definitely had an ulterior motive.

    Lin Li ordered the two Undead servants to wait outside, after which he walked through the crowd towards the dpidated gray tower while others watched, green with envy. He wasn¡¯t worried that Ashen Warlock would harm him. Although he had already seen a trace of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, he knew that the Ashen Warlock would be able to kill him effortlessly given his terrifying power.

    Lin Li¡¯s figure was concealed in the shadow of the tower gate, and the quiet atmosphere of the space outside the tower was instantly broken by the noisy discussions.

    <i>Why is the Ashen Warlock protecting the Tower of Dusk? Why did the Ashen Warlock invite that young President to the Tower of Ashes? What background does that young President have? What is the rtionship between him and the Ashen Warlock!?</i> Everyone was not discussing simply out of curiosity. They all knew that the fact that the Tower of Dusk had risen in the Breezy ins could not be changed at all. They could not help but consider how they should get along with the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    Mogadi approached Hoffman as soon as he could, and asked about the Tower of Dusk in a bid to find out about the rtionship between Hoffman and the young President Lin Li. Apart from Mogadi, there were also a few other people surrounding Hoffman, all of whom harbored almost the same thoughts as Mogadi. They wanted to use Hoffman to salvage the rtionship between them and the Tower of Dusk.

    On the other side of the open space, the leaders of the Mithril Alliance were speechless, and their faces were extremely sullen. Without a doubt, the Mithril Alliance had lost terribly this time. Not only did they not benefit from the operation, they even created an opportunity for the Tower of Dusk to be valued by the Ashen Warlock.

    Unlike other forces, the Mithril Alliance was the leader and nner of the boycott of the Tower of Dusk, and thus waspletely opposing them. The animosity and conflict between them was almost impossible to reconcile. Hence, they had no choice but to think carefully about the strategy they could adopt for dealing with the Tower of Dusk next.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who was the focus of discussion, was already standing in the hall of the Tower of Ashes and scanning the most mysterious ce in the Breezy ins curiously. After taking a look, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be surprised and a little disappointed at the same time. The dpidated-looking tower wasn¡¯t that luxurious and opulent on the inside, and there were almost no impractical furnishings and ornaments. The materials used were also verymon, and were even simpler than the ones used in the Emerald Tower in the countryside of Jarrosus.

    The Ashen Warlock was known as the deity of the Breezy ins, and almost no one had ever set foot in the Tower of Ashes. Hence, it was naturally very mysterious to them. How would they react if they were to know how shabby and in the tower was?

    ¡°How¡¯s it? Are you feeling a little surprised that the ce where the dignified Ashen Warlock lives in is actually so shabby?¡± asked the Ashen Warlock who entered the tower and watched Lin Li scrutinize the ce before he finally questioned him jokingly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master Rnd, this ce is indeed beyond my expectations,¡± said Lin Li truthfully without hiding his thoughts at all. He continued, ¡°Thank you for your help just now. Why did you invite me in? Do you need my help for something?¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that the Ashen Warlock gave him a favor simply because he liked him. Although his abilities were far inferior to the powerhouse in front of him, deities were not omnipotent. Since the Ashen Warlock had given him such a huge benefit, he definitely wanted him to do something.

    The Ashen Warlock nodded, and straightforwardly said, ¡°I reckon you must have already discovered it. My body is declining.¡±

    Lin Li raised his brows slightly and recalled the abnormalities that he had detected on the Ashen Warlock previously. He answered, ¡°Yes, pardon me for being blunt, but if I¡¯m not wrong, your body seems to bepletely devoid of vitality. What I don¡¯t understand is that your situation is very different from that of Undead creatures.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been using this body for thousands of years. It has been too long. In the end, it still can¡¯t withstand the toll that time has taken on it,¡± the Ashen Warlock said indifferently as if he wasn¡¯t talking about himself at all. He then looked at Lin Li, and continued, ¡°I know you¡¯ve already obtained Osric¡¯s Eternal Furnace.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Lin Li, not surprised that the Ashen Warlock knew about the Eternal Furnace. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had been through the Dark Age. At the thought of the Ashen Warlock mentioning his declining body followed by the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li vaguely began to guess what the Ashen Warlock wanted to talk about.

    ¡°The purpose of Osric¡¯s Eternal Furnace was to create a perfect body for himself to achieve immortality. Now that you have obtained the eternal melting pot, you must have mastered Osric¡¯s technique of creating the perfect body,¡± said the Ashen Warlock.

    <i>Indeed!</i> Lin Li was more and more certain of his guess. He did not hide anything. Instead, he truthfully answered, ¡°Yes, I did learn some techniques of body creating using the Eternal Furnace from the journal that he had left behind. He had initially left a perfect body behind, but due to the circumstances at that time, I gave the body away to someone else like I had promised them.¡±

    ¡°You might have guessed it, but I would like to ask you for your help. I hope you can use the Eternal Furnace to create a new body for me.¡± The Ashen Warlock cut straight to the chase instead of going around the bush. He calmly stated his own request, and seemed to have no interest in the perfect body at all.

    Although it was just like what he had guessed, Lin Li still seemed to be put on the spot, and he hesitantly answered, ¡°Well... creating a body... I might have mastered Osric¡¯s technique, but as for the materials...¡±

    Lin Li was certain that the body needed by the Ashen Warlock would definitely not be an ordinary one. However, it was a Herculean task to collect all the materials needed for a perfect body with his current wealth. Although the Tower of Dusk had now be the top power of the Breezy ins, he was still far behind the Highlord Osric. Besides, some of the materials could not be purchased with money.

    For example, if the heart of a massive beast was required, wanting the heart would be the same as going against the entire tribe of beasts. Besides, it was unknown if there were any nowadays.

    For example, another important material would be the eyeballs of the Abyssal Demon Dragon. Osric could summon andmand a powerful Magic Legion to y the Abyssal Demon Dragons and obtain their eyes, but Lin Li couldn¡¯t. In the Breezy ins, Lin Li might be powerful, but could hepare to the Magic Legion of the High Elves? He would probably die after entering the Endless Abyss¡¯ depths.

    Besides, the other materials like the horns of unicorns, the brains of Evil Eye Tyrants, the blood of ancient wyrms, and many others were all difficult to obtain. Although some materials were rare, they could at least be found in Anril. However, where were they supposed to find the nuclei of the four elemental powerhouses and the meridians of the Titans?

 Chapter 845 - Creation Of Life

    <h4>Chapter 845: Creation Of Life</h4>

    Actually, the perfect body was generally abination of the strongest parts of the bodies of various powerful creatures. Otherwise, how could Osric have dared to call it the perfect body? If none of those important materials were avable, what would be the point of having the skills and techniques to create a perfect body?

    However, the Ashen Warlock smiled, and slowly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t make you help me for nothing. I have already prepared the materials for the creation of this body. There¡¯ll be more than enough. If you do it well, you¡¯ll be able to earn a lot from this deal.¡± He then took out some lists of materials and handed them to Lin Li, who was full of curiosity.

    ¡°Turns out you¡¯ve already prepared the materials. In that case...¡± Lin Li grabbed the stack of lists and took a nce at it, after which he turned speechless and his eyes glistened. The various materials listed on these lists were not much different from those recorded in Osric¡¯s journal. More importantly, the quantity of materials Ashen Warlock prepared was more than what was required.

    ¡°However, this is not enough,¡± the Ashen Warlock said calmly.

    Lin Li was looking through the lists excitedly, and when he suddenly heard those words from the Ashen Warlock, he could not help but ask in bewilderment, ¡°Aren¡¯t these enough?¡±

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s memory, the amount of materials was more than what was required, and the Ashen Warlock had also mentioned previously that he would be supplying him with an abundant amount. How could it be insufficient, then?

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the materials, but your technique, or rather Osric¡¯s technique,¡± the Ashen Warlock said with a faint smile, after which he nced at Lin Li apprehensively. ¡°ording to what I know, Osric¡¯s technique is actually far from perfect. The perfect body he created only looks perfect on the surface, but there are some ws hidden in it.¡±

    ¡°What? That body still isn¡¯t considered perfect?¡± Lin Li asked in shock, for he thought that he had already understood enough. He thought that the body that Osric had created was already divine because it was abination of the advantages of all powerful creatures, yet there were still ws?

    ¡°Yes, now that you have mastered Osric¡¯s technique, and yourpanion has also upied his body, you should be able to understand these issues. For example, yourpanion may not be able to fuse well with that body. When he uses the power of that body, does he feel like he can¡¯t quite exert it to the fullest? When he casts magic, does the casting feel a littleggy...¡± Before Lin Li could answer his question, the Ashen Warlock continued to point out the ws of the perfect body.

    The more Lin Li listened, the more shocked he felt. The Ashen Warlock had never seen Connoris using that body, but he had heard Connoris mention experiencing the problems that the Ashen Warlock now brought up. Initially, he and Connoris both thought that it was the degree of fusion which resulted in the series of issues. To his surprise, it turned out that the perfect body was the root of the problem.

    At the end, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly and helplessly say, ¡°Yeah, that perfect body does have the problems you mentioned, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t be better than Osric in terms of technique... ¡±

    ¡°No, you can!¡± the Ashen Warlock answered firmly.

    Upon hearing his words, Lin Li frantically exined, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not trying to shirk the responsibility or be humble. I¡¯m really just not confident.¡±

    Although Lin Li had mastered Osric¡¯s perfect body creation technique, he didn¡¯t study or research much about it because he felt that it was not of much use to him at present. He didn¡¯t need to rece his body, either. Besides, Osric was also a Legendary figure of the Dark Age and the proud disciple of the Immortal King. Since he couldn¡¯t solve the ws of the perfect body, Lin Li felt that he couldn¡¯t, either.

    The Ashen Warlock shook his head slightly, and unhurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, I¡¯m not trying to me you. You probably don¡¯t know it yet, but actually, Osric was not the creator of this perfect body creation technique.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Lin Li was momentarily stunned¡ªhe had never expected to hear that. ¡°If Osric didn¡¯t create it, could it be...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Immortal King. He¡¯s the real creator of this technique, and I happen to have a copy of his notes here. You may bring it home to study it. Since you¡¯ve already mastered Osric¡¯s technique, it should be easy for you to understand these notes. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to learn the techniques soon,¡± the Ashen Warlock said while taking out some notes that were emanating plenty of magical waves.

    Lin Li looked at the notebook, and couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva. It was the notes of the Immortal King! Although the notebook only included the technique for creating the perfect body, it also required technical support in all aspects, which was probably no less than building the Sky Castle. Even if Lin Li had reached the Guru-level in all fields such as pharmaceutics, alchemy, and inscription, he would still stand to gain from the valuable notes of the Immortal King.

    At the same time, Lin Li thought of a problem. At the beginning, he found a piece of paper left behind in the Sky Castle by Osric, on which was a message which seemed to hint that he was trying to find something but couldn¡¯t manage to. Could it be that Osric had been looking for this journal?

    Of course, it didn¡¯t matter whether it was it or not. What Lin Li had to consider now was whether he should take on the task. It seemed that the deal was indeed profitable for him, for he would obtain a variety of precious materials and the Immortal King¡¯s journal. Although Lin Li was rather wealthy, he was definitely still tempted.

    However, would it really be that easy to make a perfect body? Although the Ashen Warlock had provided him with abundant materials, he still needed time to hone and perfect his skills. Owning the Immortal King¡¯s journal didn¡¯t mean that he would master everything all at once. The Ashen Warlock¡¯s body was already devoid of vitality, and Lin Li had no idea how much longer he could wait.

    Besides, Geresco¡¯s prophecy was going toe true soon, and Lin Li was currently only at the peak of level-24. Although he had taken a glimpse of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to cross over to the Sanctuary-realm. He couldn¡¯t possibly drop everything now and spend all his time on creating a perfect body for the Ashen Warlock.

    Lin Li hesitated for a moment, and did not immediately agree to the Ashen Warlock¡¯s request. Instead, he said, ¡°Master Rnd, I want to know if you have any time limits for me.¡±

    ¡°Well, although this body is already declining, I can still wait until you step into the Sanctuary-realm,¡± the Ashen Warlock said calmly. With his current abilities, he had naturally already figured out long ago that Lin Li had seen the door to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Upon hearing his answer, Lin Li finally heaved a sigh of relief secretly. After all, it would be impossible for him not to give in to such a huge temptation. As for stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, he wasn¡¯t humble about it at all. He simply nodded, and said, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll agree to your request. After I enter the Sanctuary-realm, I¡¯ll use the Eternal Furnace to create a new body for you.¡±

    ¡°I look forward to that day. I believe it will not be far away,¡± the Ashen Warlock said while handing the journal to Lin Li.

    Lin Li grabbed the Immortal King¡¯s journal, but he didn¡¯t flip through it to look at the content immediately. Instead, he suddenly thought of a question, and curiously asked the Ashen Warlock, ¡°Why do you have the journal of the Immortal King?¡±

    The journal contained the technique of creating a perfect body, and was something that Osric could not even find in the Sky Castle. Even Osric, the proud disciple of the Immortal King, failed to get his hands on it. Although the Ashen Warlock was like a mythical figure from the Dark Age, Lin LI had never heard of any ties between the Ashen Warlock and the Immortal King. How did he get the precious journal, then?

    ¡°The Immortal King created this technique, while I am the first life that the Immortal King had created using this technique,¡± the Ashen Warlock said calmly.

    ¡°What!?¡± Lin Li was astonished and dumbfounded the instant he heard the Ashen Warlock¡¯s answer. The piece of news waspletely unexpected. The origin of the Ashen Warlock had always been a mystery in the Breezy ins. Although there were various spections and rumors that spread around, no one had guessed that the Ashen Warlock was actually a life form created by the Immortal King.

    To Lin Li¡¯s disbelief, the Ashen Warlock said that he was the first life form created by the Immortal King. Creating life was apletely different concept from creating a body. In other words, the Ashen Warlock already had a real soul after he was created.

    The creation of a body was basically like the creation of alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses by an Alchemist, but the techniques involved were much more miraculous and amazing. However, the creation of life was taboo for mortals, because it was a realm that truly belonged to the gods. Any attempt to break the forbidden rules would be tantamount to sphemy against the gods. However, the Immortal King tried doing so, and even sessfully created the Ashen Warlock, which was simply utter provocation and sphemy against the gods!

    Filled with incredible shock, Lin Li walked out of the tower that was regarded as a sacred ground by the others but was actually shabby on the inside. The leaders of the major forces had already left a long time ago, and were no longer standing in the open space outside the tower. Lin Li believed that the matter that happened today was mind-boggling enough, and would give them a huge headache for a long time. Norfeller and Ujfalusi were the only ones who were standing there quietly.

    ¡°Master, Hoffman said that he has an urgent matter to attend to at the Glittergold Trade Union. He wanted us to ry his apologies to you once you came out,¡± Ujfalusi said respectfully.

    ¡°Okay, we should go back too,¡± Lin Li said with a nod. He could more or less guess what Hoffman was referring to by the urgent matter. After the gathering, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s status in the Breezy ins had be extremely stable, and Lin Li reckoned that he would receive a request from the Glittergold Trade Union to strengthen their cooperation.

    When the various forces followed the lead of the three major forces and requested the Ashen Warlock to expel the Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins, Hoffman did not stand up to support the Tower of Dusk, but he did not follow the other forces and drag Lin Li down. What he did was actuallymendable. Besides, Hoffman had been showing to other forces his support for the Tower of Dusk ever since Lin Li arrived in Gran Town, and simply backed out a little when he was facing the judgment of the Ashen Warlock.

    After all, the Ashen Warlock was known to be daunting and brutal. Hoffman was representing the Glittergold Trade Union, and even if he had a close rtionship with Lin Li, it would still be impossible for him to put the interests of the entire Glittergold Trade Union at stake. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t think he should me Hoffman for anything.

    The gathering brought a lot of changes to the Tower of Dusk which Lin Li had never thought of before. He originally nned to go to the outpost on the border which High Priest Rogge had mentioned. However, he decided to drop the idea of going there to explore for now after considering that Gavin and others were unaware of the news yet.

    Upon sight of Lin Li returning safely, those who knew what he had gone to do were instantly thrilled. Although they didn¡¯t know what had happened at the gathering, and had no idea what the Tower of Dusk had gained or lost, they knew that the Tower of Dusk would stand strong and there would definitely be hope of aeback as long as Lin Li returned safely.

    In the conference room, Lin Li briefly told Gavin and others about what he had experienced in Gran Town. Although Lin Li sounded rather calm, Gavin and the rest found the story extremely thrilling. The three major forces¡¯ joint attack was supported by all the top forces. If someone else had been in Lin Li¡¯s ce, they would definitely have been scared soulless.

    The Ashen Warlock¡¯s words instantly turned the malicious intents of the three major forces into dust and made everyone shout for joy. At the same time, they also knew that the Tower of Dusk had gained the recognition and affirmation of the Ashen Warlock. Not only did they retain all the existing territory, they also received an invisible protective amulet. They were very confident about the future of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li did not mention anything regarding the deal with the Ashen Warlock, because it had nothing to do with the Tower of Dusk. While being distracted and excited, Gavin and the rest did not dwell on the reason for the Ashen Warlock to value the Tower of Dusk so greatly. In their opinion, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s development and Lin Li¡¯s abilities were worthy of the recognition.

    ¡°President, I think we should announce the news immediately. I believe our members while cheer and rejoice hearing this piece of news,¡± Gavin said, unable to contain his excitement. The other senior executives also chimed in.

    ¡°Okay, you¡¯ll be in charge of that.¡± The piece of news would greatly boost the morale of the Tower of Dusk, so Lin Li nodded in agreement. Nheless, he reminded, ¡°However, there is something you have to pay attention to. Thepetition between us and the three major forces like the Mithril Alliance does not end here. The Ashen Warlock has merely limited ourpetition to a certain range. I don¡¯t think they will admit defeat just like that.¡±

 Chapter 846 - Remaining Calm On The Surface

    <h4>Chapter 846: Remaining Calm On The Surface</h4>

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s reminder, Gavin and the others immediately snapped back to reality and realized what was going on. The joy on their faces diminished, and they solemnly said to Lin Li, ¡°Please rest assured, Mr. President. We definitely won¡¯t give them any chances. No matter what tricks they get up to, they¡¯ll end up being severely injured by us.¡±

    Lin Li had no doubt that the three major forces definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to the Tower of Dusk itself, because they had already been warned by the Ashen Warlock. They could only resort to dealing with the Tower of Dusk using some tricks. However, with the currentmercial foundation of the Tower of Dusk, they wouldn¡¯t be affected easily.

    After giving some brief and simple instructions to them, Lin Li headed to the Eternal Furnace that was on the top of the tower, and saw Connoris who was making modifications to the Death Knight in the core of the Eternal Furnace.

    ¡°How was it? What kind of person is the Ashen Warlock?¡± Connoris asked as he immediately paused in his actions when he saw Lin Li entering.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the Soul Trader who knows it all? Why don¡¯t you know anything about the Ashen Warlock?¡± Lin Li joked as he recalled the time when Connoris often imed to be the know-it-all Soul Trader when he was sealed in the hammer.

    ¡°Of course I know about the Ashen Warlock. I suspect that thest clone I left behind in Anril was killed by him. However, the origin of that guy is so mysterious. He appeared out of nowhere, and I bet no one in Anril knows where he¡¯s from,¡± Connoris defended himself while ignoring Lin Li¡¯s teasing.

    ¡°Actually, you may not believe it, but I really know of his origin. ording to him, he¡¯s a life form that the Immortal King created,¡± Lin Li said truthfully. After all, he might need Connoris to help in building the new body using the Eternal Furnace.

    ¡°Haha, I was right, you don¡¯t know, either... Wait, what did you say!? What about the Immortal King...?¡± Connoris was extremely astonished, and couldn¡¯t recover from the shock. He was expecting Lin Li to say that he didn¡¯t know, but to his surprise, Lin Li made such a shocking statement, which caused him to be dumbfounded.

    ¡°You took so long to react. Seems like he was right about there being ws in this so-called perfect body of yours,¡± Lin Li teased while staring at the dumbfounded Connoris. Of course, the ws that the Ashen Warlock mentioned did not include theck of IQ.

    Before Connoris could register Lin Li¡¯s words, he got a great shock again because he heard that his body was wed. He stepped forward to grab Lin Li, and nervously asked, ¡°What? What exactly happened? What creation of life? What w!?¡±

    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t be so nervous, I didn¡¯t say that I¡¯m not going to tell you,¡± said Lin Li, who finally broke free from Connoris¡¯s hand. He then pushed him away, and said, ¡°If you want to hear the answer, stand properly!¡±

    Connoris was about to dash forward again, but after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, he had no choice but to remain standing while still feeling just as nervous as before. ¡°Hurry and speak up. What exactly is going on?¡±

    ¡°This time, the Ashen Warlock made a deal with me, and he wants me to create a perfect body for him. He also told me that the technique for the creation of the body was not invented by Osric, but by the Immortal King. He¡¯s the first life that the Immortal King has created using that technique,¡± Lin Li exined. Lin Li honestly still found it rather incredible, but he had no reason to suspect that the Ashen Warlock was lying.

    ¡°The life he created? Are you sure he said life, and not body?¡± Clearly, Connoris had immediately discovered the key of the issue, just like Lin Li at the beginning.

    ¡°Yes, life,¡± Lin Li answered firmly with a nod.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be, how is that possible!? Creating life is not something that mortals can tamper with!¡± Connoris eximed, finding it hard to ept. Although everyone knew how strong and powerful the godly Immortal King was, he still wasn¡¯t a true god, after all.

    ¡°Since he¡¯s called the Immortal King, do you think he can still be called a mortal?¡± Even Lin Li still couldn¡¯t quite believe it at this time, let alone Connoris. The ones who could create life were probably supreme existences even amongst gods and deities. Legend had it that the Immortal King was a near-god existence, but he seemed to have done beyond that.

    After a long time, Connoris finally suppressed the shock in his heart. He then recalled another problem, and frantically asked, ¡°I remember what you said just now. The Ashen Warlock said that my body is wed?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lin Li answered, and he continued what he¡¯d said to Connoris again. ¡°We¡¯ve always thought that you just haven¡¯t fused with the perfect body yet. However, since the Ashen Warlock could bring up these issues even though he hasn¡¯t met you before, there should be nothing wrong with it.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, what did Osric learn from the Immortal King!?¡± Connoris couldn¡¯t help but curse. When he first met Lin Li, he just wanted a stronger body which would allow him to get out of that hammer. Getting the perfect body was considered an unexpected surprise to him. However, after hearing that the body was wed, he still could not help but feel a little disappointed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be too disappointed. Now that I have the journal of the Immortal King, I might be able to find some ways to help you make up for your physical ws.¡± Lin Li was not justforting Connoris. As the perfect body had already been formed, it would be impossible for him to remake it in the furnace. However, if he were to master all the techniques of the Immortal King, he should be able to reduce the impact of the ws after some modifications.

    ¡°That¡¯s the only solution we have now. I¡¯ll count on you from now on,¡± Connoris agreed before throwing the problem back to Lin Li. He then continued to fiddle with the Death Knight in the crystal coffin.

    Gavin and the others announced the news of the events that had happened in Gran Town, which caused the entire Tower of Dusk to go into an uproar. Who wouldn¡¯t want the force that they belonged to to be stronger? Besides, the three major forces couldn¡¯t even do anything to the Tower of Dusk despite joining forces. Didn¡¯t that mean that the Tower of Dusk was extremely powerful? All the people who did not have much faith in the Tower of Dusk previously were convinced now, and they thought that the forces that were going against the Tower of Dusk should all go to hell!

    Having understood thepetency and abilities of the Tower of Dusk, they never thought that they were worse than any of the three major forces. Besides, they felt that they would be able to stand up to the three major forces even if they were to unite. However, both parties would end up being hurt. Everyone knew how terrifying the Ashen Warlock was, and now that the Tower of Dusk had the protection of the Ashen Warlock, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the three major forces!

    Not long after, the news spread around the Tower of Dusk, and everyone¡¯s opinion was confirmed. The boycott led by the major forces almost ceased overnight. The potions and magical weapons that were stolen from the Tower of Dusk were still produced and sold inrge quantities by the other forces, but the prices had since increased by arge amount. Although the prices were still much lower than the product price listed by the Tower of Dusk, the difference was not major. Lin Li reckoned that the forces probably didn¡¯t want to offend the upstart of the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk. They didn¡¯t want to end uppensating them with arge amount of gold coins, either.

    In fact, what worried the mages of the Tower of Dusk the most was the boycott led by the three groups of bandits in the past. After all, the Tower of Dusk had a widework ofmercial connections, and there would be caravansing and going in all directions every day. If those forces were ruthless enough, they would definitely affect the reputation of the Tower of Dusk even if they couldn¡¯tpletely boycott them.

    However, the words of the Ashen Warlock became a protective amulet for the Tower of Dusk. No force in the Breezy ins dared to break the peace and order of the Breezy ins. Hence, extreme behavior like carrying out an armed robbery on the caravans of the Tower of Dusk would be impossible.

    However, with Lin Li¡¯s reminder, the senior executives did not let their guard down. After all, the three major forces had been running businesses in the Breezy ins for over 1000 years. Apart from simple and violent means, they would definitely resort to other scheming tricks. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Ashen Warlock needed Lin Li¡¯s help this time, Joseph¡¯s conspiracy would have seeded. Given Ashen Warlock¡¯s character, he wouldn¡¯t care if Lin Li was a genius or not.

    Nheless, there had been a major change in the predicament of the Tower of Dusk after the gathering in Gran Town this time. At least they no longer had to face the suppression by other forces of the Breezy ins. Some of those who had unanimously set up obstacles for the Tower of Dusk had given up, while some seemed to be acting perfunctorily, and of course some had not given up.

    At this moment, Lin Li devoted most of his energy to the improvement of his own abilities. Although he managed to help the Tower of Dusk resolve a major problem sessfully this time thanks to the protection of the Ashen Warlock, he still felt ufortable about having his fate lie in the hands of someone else. If Lin Li had had Sanctuary-realm power this time, the three major forces probably wouldn¡¯t have dared to covet the Tower of Dusk even if he couldn¡¯tpare to the Ashen Warlock.

    Of course, there was another important reason for Lin Li¡¯s desperate desire to improve, and that was the fact that the disaster that Geresco had predicted was getting closer. There wasn¡¯t much time left for Lin Li. Perhaps he had less than a year left¡ªhe had to step into the Sanctuary-realm before that. He had to seal the big rift like Geresco had mentioned. Otherwise, the entire Anril would be stuck in the catastrophe.

    Having seen the big rift in the Eternal Darkness Altar, Lin Li realized that the disaster that Geresco had predicted was really not an exaggeration. ording to Rogge, there was a terrifying existence hidden in the big rifts that had to be sealed. Even Rogge was daunted. Once the disaster struck Anril, no one would be able to stop it from destroying the world.

    Stepping into the Sanctuary-realm might be considered illusory for most people. Even those who had also seen a trace of the power of the Sanctuary-realm might not be able to do it just with determination. However, there were too many precious treasures in Lin Li¡¯s hands which contained the seven basic Laws, such as the debris of the stars, the God of Mages Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, the control crystal that contained infinite mana, and the resurrected Seed of Eternity, as well as the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. If he still couldn¡¯t take the crucial step with so many treasures, he would be better off dead.

    The control crystal of the Sky Castle was taken out of the Ring of Endless Storm and ced in the meditation room. Lin Li could bask in the pure, infinite mana every moment. Although Lin Li had reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, the meditation was still very useful and effective for him.

    More importantly, Lin Li did not restrict the magic tides of the control crystal, allowing them to fill the entire interior of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, in the process of him striving to enter the Sanctuary-realm, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were also basking in the magic tide at the same time. Even if they were not mediating deliberately, they could still reap great benefits from it.

    However, stepping into the Sanctuary-realm required more than just pure umtion of mana. The real keyy in mastering the nomological power and the usage of power through the understanding of thews. The Sanctuary-realm was about mastering the Laws and making the nomological power their own.

    Comprehension and enlightenment came before mastery. Only byprehending thews to the extreme could one truly master the Laws. Some people could understand the true meaning of the Laws immediately, but Lin Li couldn¡¯t pin his hopes of entering the Sanctuary-realm on such an ethereal and illusory guarantee. However, he didn¡¯t have time to slowly umte.

    However, Lin Li had fortunately obtained all seven pieces of the debris of the stars which contained the sevenws of the world. It could be considered the epitome of the sevenws. It was just like how tasting honey would be better than imagining the taste of honey. Those seven pieces were like real honey which Lin Li had had the chance of tasting, thus giving him an advantage over the others.

    Although Lin Li relied on the Power of Light and Darkness to achieve his current aplishments, the sevenws were closely rted. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to constitute an entire world. Hence, even if Lin Li only wanted to get an extremeprehension of the Laws of Light and Darkness,prehending the other five fundamental Laws would be very beneficial to him too. Besides, Lin Li was not satisfied with just mastering the Power of Light and Darkness. After all, only Sanctuary powerhouses could be considered godly existences.

 Chapter 847 - Surging Dark Tides

    <h4>Chapter 847: Surging Dark Tides</h4>

    Apart fromprehending the basicws of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li did not ck in reading the Book of Eternity. Having really seen the power of the Sanctuary powerhouses, Lin Li had a deeper understanding of the issues mentioned in the Book of Eternity.

    The things recorded in the Book of Eternity were more than just powerful magic spells. It also included the detailed experience of each stage of the journey that the God of Mages took to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Reading the Book of Eternity was just like following Geresco from the Legendary-realm to the Sanctuary-realm, and making the best choices at every junction after breaking through the obstacles along the way.

    That was probably the reason Geresco, who had left the Book of Eternity behind, had such great faith and confidence that the person who obtained the Book of Eternity would be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm in a very short time to aplish the great feat of sealing the big rift.

    Havingprehended the debris of the stars and read the Book of Eternity, Lin Li didn¡¯t forget to continue incubating the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s crystal. Actually, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to hatch a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction like Tutankhamun and Nefa. His main purpose was to acquire the experience of the Dragon of Destruction through the infusion of mental strength into the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, as well as the mastery of the Laws of Darkness and Destruction.

    After settling the matters at the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine, followed by the purification of Rodhart in the underground pce, Lin Li went on to visit Gran Town where the status of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins was discussed. With this all done, he finally had some rare leisure time in the Tower of Dusk. However, Lin Li was actually busier than ever, and his days were all fully packed. He had a hectic schedule, and kept himself busy to improve his strength and step into the Sanctuary-realm as soon as possible.

    At the same time, the development of the Tower of Dusk had also begun to get back on track, while the impact of the suppression by the various forces gradually disappeared. However, just like Lin Li had expected previously, not all forces gave up on opposing the Tower of Dusk. Even if they didn¡¯t dare to make any extreme attacks on the Tower of Dusk due to the warning from the Ashen Warlock, they would still resort tomercial threats, which were not restricted by the Ashen Warlock.

    However, with the natural disintegration of the alliance of forces that boycotted the Tower of Dusk, the remaining ones that were still targeting the Tower of Dusk seemed rather weak, and could note up with many methods.

    Initially, almost all the forces of the Breezy ins¡ªexcept the Malfa Family and the Glittergold Trade Union, which were close to the Tower of Dusk¡ªhad all stopped supplying various raw materials like ores and herbs to the Tower of Dusk. Hence, the Tower of Dusk had no choice but to make up for the shortage of raw materials by increasing the orders from the Ledin Kingdom and the Elven Kingdom. However, that naturally caused the costs to increase ordingly.

    After the gathering in Gran Town ended, the news of the Ashen Warlock being impressed with the Tower of Dusk was spread around the Breezy ins, and various forces immediately resumed supplying materials to the Tower of Dusk. There were even some forces that took the initiative to lower the price of raw materials in order to salvage their rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. After all, after the Tower of Dusk¡¯s status was confirmed, it was undoubtedly ranked among the top powers, together with the Mithril Alliance which was part of the three major forces. Including the Glittergold Trade Union, those were now the five major forces of the Breezy ins. Without a strong background, no one would be willing to fight against such a powerful force. Otherwise, they would be the ones losing out.

    However, there were also several forces that were still refusing to give up, especially the George Family. It was not a member of the five major families of the Mithril Alliance, but it was said that the Mithril Alliance intended to let it join them and be the sixth family of the alliance. The George Family started off with a mining business, and had been in the Breezy ins for almost a thousand years. They also had several excellent mines.

    In fact, the strength of the George Family might be simr to that of the Malfa Family in the past, or perhaps slightly inferior. Compared to the five major families of the Mithril Alliance, it was way inferior, and was far from being qualified to join the Mithril Alliance. However, the George Family happened to have a mine that produced a rare magical metal known as the Dark Crescent Tungsten. It was produced in small amounts, but it was exactly what the Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk needed.

    Initially, the Dark Crescent Tungsten was not valued by the Smithing Masters, because it was not easy to refine, and the usage and dosage were difficult to grasp. However, Lin Li was a Smithing Guru who definitely knew how to use the Dark Crescent Tungsten. Only a small amount of Dark Crescent Tungsten would be used in forging, and as long as one mastered the precise dosage and usage of it, there would be no need for any mageweaths in order to make weapons sharper or stronger. Hence, the Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk had long used the Dark Crescent Tungsten in forging, making it one of the necessary magical metals.

    Although the Tower of Dusk also had a swamp mining area which produced various rare magical metals, the output could not keep up with the demand. Hence, they had always been purchasingrge amounts of Dark Crescent Tungsten from the George Family to make up for the gap. There were many forces operating forging businesses, and the Tower of Dusk was the only one that purchased the Dark Crescent Tungsten inrge quantities. Those who were conscientious would definitely be able to see how important the Dark Crescent Tungsten was to the Tower of Dusk. Hence, it was not surprising that the George Family would refuse to supply the Dark Crescent Tungsten.

    Didn¡¯t the Ashen Warlock say that no one was allowed to disrupt the current peace? We were merely refusing to sell our belongings, so no one could say anything about that, aye? Although the George Family would make less money for a short period of time, the mine was not going to be damaged. We would even get to join the Mithril Alliance. What was not to love?

    Since the Dark Crescent Tungsten was a rare magical metal, it couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else[1]. Although the Tower of Dusk still had several raw material supply channels, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy to make up for the gap.

    The Archmage Seth who was in charge of the Forging Workshop tried plenty of methods, but still failed to get a piece of ore from the George Family. Hence, he had to report it to Lin LI.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a clown who¡¯s trying to stir trouble. Since he doesn¡¯t want to sell it, let him be,¡¯ Lin Li said calmly after hearing the report.

    Soon, the George Family discovered that not only did they stop receiving orders for the Dark Crescent Tungsten, they couldn¡¯t sell other ores, either. The various trade unions that usually ordered ores from then had all received a new and cheaper source of supply overnight, and that was the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>Doesn¡¯t the Tower of Dusk have its own Forging Workshop? Why have they begun selling ores again?</i> The George Family tried to find out the reason from the various trade unions, only to hear that the output of the Tower of Dusk had decreased, and the ores that they produced were more than enough. Hence, they had to start selling them. The George Family obviously wouldn¡¯t be so silly as to believe that reason. The Tower of Dusk was clearly trying to take revenge on them because they refused to sell the Dark Crescent Tungsten.

    The Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk did have their output affected, but they didn¡¯t have to rely on selling ores to maintain a livelihood. Besides, the ores that they had sold to the trade unions were not from surplus caused by a reduced output. The current ores for the Tower of Dusk were either from their own territory or purchased from the Ledin Kingdom. Not only did they have an abundance of them now, they would have more than enough when the operation of the Forging Workshop was in full swing.

    Most of the ores used in the Forging Workshop of the Tower of Dusk were actually high-quality ones from the Ledin Kingdom, while the ones sold to the trade unions were all mined from the Tower of Dusk¡¯s territory. The quality was simr to that in other areas in the Breezy ins.

    The George Family had also thought of lowering prices in a bid to win their customers back. However, the benefits that the trade unions obtained were beyond just low prices. It was said that they also had other business partnerships with the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they definitely wouldn¡¯t give up the Tower of Dusk and return.

    When the George Family realized the situation, they had no choice but to look for the Mithril Alliance in a bid toe up with a solution. After all, they were working for the Mithril Alliance. However, the five families of the Mithril Alliance were all ancient families that had existed for over a thousand years, and they didn¡¯tck those ores. Although they were wealthy enough to purchase the ores from the George Family, it wouldn¡¯t be sustainable in the long run. It would just be like them providing for the George Family.

    The Mithril Alliance thought of another solution, and that was to purchase the Dark Crescent Tungsten ore directly from the George Family. However, after giving it some thought, the George Family realized that selling the ore to them didn¡¯t seem to be able to solve the current issue that they were facing. Besides, they would only be valuable to the Mithril Alliance if they had the Dark Crescent Tungsten. Even if they might not stay strong until the end, they would still be fit to negotiate with the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t help us, we¡¯ll have to talk to the Tower of Dusk!¡± After several failed negotiations, the George Family finally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. It was mainly because they didn¡¯t know when the matter would end, and the mining of ores was the mainstay for the George Family. Without this source of ie, there would almost be no way to keep the family alive.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have spent a ton of money to poach some senior smithing masters from the Tower of Dusk. I believe that we will soon be able to experiment and find out the form for the usage of the Dark Crescent Tungsten. By then, we will be able to share the form with you,¡± the person from the Mithril Alliance said confidently.

    However, could things really go so smoothly? Since the emergence of traitors, the Tower of Dusk had been strengthening their security measures, and Lin Li had alsoe up with various means to ensure the confidentiality of their information. The Dark Crescent Tungsten that the cksmiths in the Forging Workshop hade into contact with was actually a mixture of several rare magical metals of fixed proportions, some of which would change in high temperature, and some would be impurities during forging. Even a Smithing Guru might not be able to find out the real form through experiments on reversal.

    That was all. In the face of repeated questions from the George Family, the members of the Mithril Alliance became more and more indifferent. After looking at them a few times, they decided to stop responding.

    Having understood that they had been abandoned, the George Family was filled with regret. Initially, they had been cooperating well with the Tower of Dusk, and yet they had stirred up such a huge conflict because they had blindly trusted the Mithril Alliance. In the end, they were the ones to suffer. An elder of the George Family stood outside the Tower of Dusk for three days and three nights, and even signed a series of agreements that were simr to deeds of sales. Finally, the conflict was resolved.

    The George Family was not the only force that the Mithril Alliance had made use of, but all the forces faced simr oues. Back when they were facing the boycott by almost all the forces in the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk stood strong and did not fall. How could they be defeated by a few clowns that were out to make trouble?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t waste too much time and energy on dealing with the despicable and lowly tricks of theirs. Instead, those seemed to be amusing matters that bnced out his busy life. At the same time, Lin Li¡¯s own strength also improved significantly every day. Although he was already at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he could still clearly feel that he was slowly advancing towards the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, an invitation letter from the Glittergold Trade Union caused Lin Li to temporarily pause. At the beginning of the invitation letter, Hoffman first apologized again for leaving Gran Town early, and then for being unable to visit the Tower of Dusk in person. He also mentioned the purpose of his invitation, and that was for Lin Li to take a look at the potion forms that they had purchased at high prices. The other reason was to introduce Lin Li to the major shareholders of the Glittergold Trade Union, and forge closer partnership ties at the same time.

    The Tower of Dusk had many business partners, but the Glittergold Trade Union was undoubtedly one of the most important ones. Hence, Lin Li had to give Hoffman some face. Although Lin Li was eager to reach the Sanctuary-realm, getting to know a few more major shareholders of the Glittergold Trade Union and forging closer partnership ties wouldn¡¯t take up too much of his time.

    Besides, Hoffman was a Master of pharmaceutics who had the strong financial support of the Glittergold Trade Union. The forms that he had were probably not inferior to the Pharmacist Guild¡¯s. He even said that the potion forms were interesting, and many pharmaceutics Masters were at a loss for what to do about them. Hence, Lin Li was indeed very curious.

    Lafalia City was thergestmercial center of the Breezy ins and the ce where the Glittergold Trade Union was located, and was also known as the granary of the Breezy ins. Apart from the headquarters of the Glittergold Trade Union, almost half of the trade unions in the Breezy ins had chosen to station their headquarters here. One reason was that it was convenient formercial exchanges, and another reason was its safety.

    The Fn Kingdom did not appoint a casten for the Lafalia City. In the beginning, Lafalia City was just an open-air ck market in the Breezy ins, which gradually developed. Afterwards, the Glittergold Trade Union invested plenty of money to build the famousmercial capital. Perhaps the President of the Glittergold Trade Union could be considered the casten of Lafalia City.

    The Glittergold Trade Union was extremely wealthy, and could be considered a tycoon. Hence, it definitely wouldn¡¯t hesitate to invest in tightening the security of its own ce.

    [1] It¡¯s probably a mental shortcut of the author, and we need to add ¡°in the Breezy ins¡±.

 Chapter 848 - Glittergold Trade Union

    <h4>Chapter 848: Glittergold Trade Union</h4>

    Although the Glittergold Trade Union was just amercial organization, it had 5,000 Warriors, all of whom had strength of level-10 or higher. They could all be considered elites in the Fn Kingdom. In addition, there was also a Magic Legion of more than 300 mages who were above level-15. They could be considered no different from the mages of the nna Magic Council.

    The two powerful groups of guards were guarding the massive wealth of the Glittergold Trade Union, as well as Lafalia City, maintaining the order of thismercial center. It was tantamount to providing some protection to the various trade unions that had gathered there. Hence, those trade unions needed not hire their own guards or worry about being robbed by bandits.

    It had been two or three years since Lin Li arrived in the Breezy ins, but it was his first time visiting the famousmercial center, Lafalia City. However, Gavin was a regr visitor here because he was in charge of themercial affairs of the Tower of Dusk. This time, Lin Li was invited by Hoffman and brought along his two Undead servants as well as Gavin and Beckley because he considered the fact that he probably had to negotiate with the Glittergold Trade Union to forge closer business ties.

    As thergestmercial center of the Breezy ins, Lafalia City waspletely differentpared to the other cities. Firstly, there were norge fields or farms outside the city. Instead, there were makeshift warehouses and freight yards neatly arranged outside the city, where arge number of movers were busy loading and unloading goods. Caravans that were loaded with goods and unloading goods were proceeding in an orderly manner along the smooth roads that extended in all directions.

    The feeling that they felt when they entered the city was even more different. The first impression that Lin Li got was that it was clean and organized, and had wide roads which could fit eight carriages arranged in a single row. Although there were many pedestrians, it did not seem too crowded. There were shops arranged neatly on both sides of the road, peddlingmon items like fruits and vegetables as well as expensive magical equipment and items. There was a plethora of items avable. Of course, there were also hotels, taverns, and brothels in this city where more than half of the wealthy people of the Breezy ins lived. Lin Li even managed to see a Church of Dawn which belonged to the Brilliance Shrine. However, it seemed rather empty, and Lin Li reckoned that it probably did not attract many believers.

    Lin Li did not go straight to the headquarters of the Glittergold Trade Union, and instead went to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s branch in Lafalia City first. He then sent some people to go to the Glittergold Trade Union and inform them of their arrival and the date of their intended visit. Lin Li was not putting on airs, but he simply felt that it would be disrespectful to visit them without informing in advance, for they might not have enough time to make preparations.

    In the afternoon, Lin Li brought Gavin, Beckley, and his two Undead servants to the Glittergold Trade Union when it was almost time for the visit. To Lin Li¡¯s surprise, Hoffman and his subordinates were already waiting for him even though he was early.

    ¡°Master Felic, when I found out that you¡¯ve epted the invitation, I was so ted that I couldn¡¯t close my eyes and sleep for a few days,¡± Hoffman joked upon meeting Lin Li.

    ¡°You¡¯re standing on ceremony with me. I¡¯m very honored to have received your invitation too,¡± Lin Li said politely with a smile.

    Although Hoffman had a reasonable exnation for the fact that he didn¡¯t stand up firmly to support the Tower of Dusk during the gathering in Gran Town, he was somewhat embarrassed when he was facing Lin Li. Seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to hold it against him, Hoffman felt relieved, and proceeded to introduce Lin Li to the shareholders of the trade union, who were standing behind him.

    ¡°This is the secondrgest shareholder of our trade union, the patriarch of the Lakeman Family, Master Thomas,¡± said Hoffman. The first person who he introduced to Lin Li was an old man with white beard and hair, a flushed face, and a fit figure. He was dressed in a ck Star Crescent robe, and was exuding powerful Legendary mana.

    ¡°Hello, Master Thomas, it¡¯s an honor to meet you,¡± Lin Li greeted politely. Although he had never met Thomas before, he had been in the Breezy ins for two or three years, and thus had long heard about the Legendary figure of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Thomas Lakeman was the former President of the Glittergold Trade Union, and he had a great reputation not only in the Glittergold Trade Union, but in the entire Breezy ins.

    When Rodhart the Retribution Knight led the Death Knights to carry out a massacre across the Breezy ins, many Legendary powerhouses retreated to protect themselves. In their opinion, the ones below the Legendary-level were like weeds that would grow back sooner orter, even if they were burnt by fire.

    Thomas, who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm then, joined forces with several Legendary powerhouses and fought several intense battles with the Death Knights. Afterwards, he fought them in the Breezy ins for a long time until Rodhart was purified by Prophet Willen. Although they could not prevent the disaster from happening, they did save countless lives, many of which were talents who joined the Glittergold Trade Union afterward. The Glittergold Trade Union then developed rapidly and reached the peak.

    When Hoffman emerged, especially after showing his incredible talent in business management, Thomas ignored the opinions of the majority and graciously allowed Hoffman to take over after him as President. The reality had also proven Thomas¡¯ decision to be a wise one. Under the leadership of Hoffman, the Glittergold Trade Union, which had almost stagnated in its development, once again developed beyond the limits of the Breezy ins.

    Thomas smiled, and said, ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re being too polite. President Hoffman has told me a lot about you, especially your impressive attainments in pharmaceutics. I¡¯ve long wanted to get to know you.¡±

    Next was the thirdrgest shareholder, Jerany, a middle-aged Legendary Sword Sage who was the patriarch of the Bardon Family. Although he looked mild-mannered and was more like a mage on the surface, he had a domineering aura. It was said that the Sword Sage Jerany was not only powerful, but also a capablemander of the Fn Kingdom who was very talented in military affairs. He was the one who nurtured and trained the Skyfire Knights of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    The Breezy ins was known as thend of chaos. Although the Glittergold Trade Union had developed to their current scale because of the President and the leadership of the senior executives, the Skyfire Knights also deserved credit. Apart from the Glittergold Trade Union, no other trade union would make an elite group of knights the guards.

    The annual expenditure required to maintain an elite group of 5,000 knights that were above level-10 was massive enough to make a middle-ss force go bankrupt. The Glittergold Trade Union was the only one that could afford such a huge investment. Even the top forces of the Breezy ins like the established Mithril Alliance and Blood Moon n were unwilling to raise such a massive group of knights.

    The Skyfire Knights¡¯ performance and contributions to the development of the Glittergold Trade Union were indeed worthy of the huge investment. Once, arge band of bandits known as the Blood Hell appeared in the Breezy ins, and unscrupulously robbed all the caravans that passed through their territory. They had even invaded Zardin City in the south, robbed the casten mansion there, and killed the city guards before fleeing. However, the greatest mistake that the Blood Hell Bandits had made was to covet the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s riches.

    The Glittergold Trade Union had only mobilized 2,000 Skyfire Knights during that battle, and Jerany, themander, divided them into two groups. Hence, only 1,000 Skyfire Knights were fighting the Blood Hell Bandits, while the other 1,000 were responsible for chasing down and killing the enemies outside. The 30,000 bandits were finally defeated and wiped out by the 1,000 Skyfire Knights¡¯s charge. The area where they were killed waster named the Scarlet Swamp.

    After that battle, all bandits would retreat whenever they saw the emblem of the Glittergold Trade Union on caravans. They would immediately flee as far as they could, and the Skyfire Knights had also gained fame in the Breezy ins because of that. The forces that onceughed and mocked the Glittergold Trade Union for being nouveau riches were all mad with jealousy.

    Legendary-mage Elvan was the fourth major shareholder of the Breezy ins, and he was also an impressive figure. Not only had he reached the Legendary-realm, he was also a rare Master of Inscription. In the entire Breezy ins, Elvan was one of the top masters in terms of Inscription. Most of the advanced mageweaths used for the products of the Glittergold Trade Union were drawn by him.

    Elvan did not have a big family or a wealthy background, yet he could be the fourth major shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union¡ªit was all because of his superb Inscription skills. It was said that even the identification mageweath on the crystal card issued by the Glittergold Trade Union was written by Elvan after some research that he had conducted. Even until now, no one had been able to crack it.

    Lin Li had a VIP card issued by the Glittergold Trade Union which was originally given to him by Hoffman. He had naturally studied the mageweath on the crystal card a long time ago. Of course, with Lin Li¡¯s current attainments in Inscription, he would still be able to crack the mageweath on the crystal card. However, he could tell from theplexity of the mageweath that it was written by a Master of Inscription who was definitely more skilled and advanced than Master Moke.

    Hoffman held half of the shares of the Glittergold Trade Union, while the other three major shareholders owned nearly all of the remaining half. However, in addition to the three major shareholders, there were also six other small shareholders, who upied less than one-tenth of the shares of the Glittergold Trade Union altogether. However, the six of them were not to be belittled. Although they might not have invested much in the Glittergold Trade Union, each one of them had Legendary powers.

    After getting to know every shareholder of the Glittergold Trade Union, Lin Li and hispanions entered the headquarters of the Glittergold Trade Union under Hoffman¡¯s lead. The passersby and visitors who walked past the gate stood rooted to the ground in shock, unable to ept the scene before their eyes.

    Hoffman, the President of the Glittergold Trade Union did not own the entire Glittergold Trade Union, but he held nearly half of the businesses of the trade union. At the same time, he was also a powerful Summoner and a Master of pharmaceutics. Regardless of his identity, he was absolutely respected by everyone in the Breezy ins.

    However, the respected and esteemed Hoffman was actually so enthusiastic and passionate towards a young mage. They could not help but wonder what Lin Li¡¯s background was. Soon, Gavin and Beckley were recognized to be the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk. At the thought of the two of them following Lin Li respectfully, they began to guess his identity.

    ¡°Is that the young President of the Tower of Dusk? He looks really young. He seems to be in his early twenties!¡± one of them eximed in disbelief.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk is amazing now. Who had even heard of them two years ago? Yet, they¡¯re now... ¡± The story of the Tower of Dusk had be a legend of the Breezy ins. Lin Li, the young President who entered the Legendary-realm at the age of 20 and achieved miraculous progress, immediately sparked an intense discussion.

    Not long ago, the Tower of Dusk faced the suppression and boycott of almost all the forces of the Breezy ins, and almost everyone thought that that would be the end of the Tower of Dusk. However, no one thought that they would enjoy a twist of fate overnight. They had no idea how the Tower of Dusk got acquainted with the terrifying Ashen Warlock, and even gain his protection. As a result, the Tower of Dusk remained standing in Dnd, and even the alliance formed to suppress the Tower of Dusk was disbanded silently.

    Ignoring the discussion amongst the people outside, Lin Li was ushered into the guest hall by Hoffman where everyone took a seat. After some greetings and friendly small talk, they began to talk about the main topic of discussion, which was the strengthening of the future cooperation between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk. Of course, they were just expressing their intentions for a closer cooperation, and the specific details of the partnership would be discussed in separate negotiations between the two parties.

    In the evening, the Glittergold Trade Union threw a grand banquet to wee Lin Li¡¯s arrival, and invited the figures of status in Lafalia City. However, the so-called figures of status in thismercial capital were just the representatives of thergepanies and business magnates. The banquetsted untilte at night. As the President of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li didn¡¯t think much of it, and he simply felt that he had heard a lifetime¡¯s worth ofpliments and formal greetings. He finally understood how glib the tongues of businessmen were.

    After the banquet ended, Hoffman took out the potion forms that left many pharmacists feeling helpless, and consulted Lin Li about the problems that had bothered him for a long time. In addition to Hoffman, the three other major shareholders, Thomas, Elvan, and Jerany, also joined in even though they were not interested in pharmaceutics¡ªno one would want an expensive potion form that had cost them a ton to end up being a useless piece of waste paper.

 Chapter 849 - Book of Ten Thousand Incantations

    <h4>Chapter 849: Book of Ten Thousand Incantations</h4>

    Besides, the three major shareholders had heard a lot about Hoffman¡¯spliments and admiration towards Lin Li. Although they believed that Hoffman wouldn¡¯t spout any nonsense, they could not help but be curious. After all, pharmaceutics was extensive and profound. Some people might never be Masters even after spending their entire lives studying pharmaceutics. How did a young man in his early twenties do it? The more incredible bit was the fact that he also had impressive attainments in magic, and had entered the Legendary-realm a long time ago.

    Amidst the curious gazes that were full of anticipation, Lin Li grabbed a potion form and took a nce, which caused him to frown and smile faintly.

    It was the form for the Vulcan¡¯s Descent which could make the user turn into mes for a short period of time, which was simr to the changes in High Priest Rogge when they encountered the incident in the big rift. When the user transformed into mes, he lost the ability to use the Elemental Power of other elements, but he¡¯d have absolute control over the fire element. That made it inferior to High Priest Rogge¡¯s me form.

    ording to the difficulty of preparation and effects of the Vulcan¡¯s Descent potion, it was a Master-level potion. However, it was only an average onepared to other Master-level potions. Given Hoffman¡¯s current Master-level pharmaceutical skills, it might be difficult for him to prepare the Vulcan¡¯s Descent potion, but it wasn¡¯t impossible. The potion form left Hoffman and many other famous Masters of pharmaceutics feeling helpless because it was somewhat different from the real form.

    After a while, Lin Li finished reading the form of the potion, and handed it back to Hoffman with a smile before saying, ¡°Master Hoffman, I think you¡¯ve all been cheated.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Hoffman got a great shock when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words.

    When Hoffman first mentioned the form of the potion to Lin Li, he also mentioned that he had purchased it at a high price. Given how wealthy Hoffman was, the form definitely cost a bomb since it was expensive even to him. Of course, Hoffman could afford it, and the amount that he had spent wouldn¡¯t make a dent in his bank or cause him to fill the pinch. However, Hoffman could not afford to bear the embarrassment, because he had gone around asking various Masters of pharmaceutics about the potion.

    The other three major shareholders were naturally quite surprised. As a Master of pharmaceutics, Hoffman actually made a mistake in judgment. Hoffman had gained the recognition of Balbo from the Pharmacist Guild for his level in pharmaceutics, yet he actually made a mistake in identifying a potion form?

    Upon sight of the expressions of Hoffman and the others, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be amused. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, Master Hoffman. I¡¯m not saying that the form of this potion is fake, but rather that you can¡¯t formte the potion, because you¡¯ve all been deceived by the content.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s going on? Please tell me!¡± Hoffman eximed in shock. However, after recovering from the shock, he began to feel puzzled and confused.

    ¡°The thing is, this form is actually locked,¡± Lin Li said smilingly, making everyone feel even more bewildered.

    ¡°It... It¡¯s locked?¡± Hoffman and the rest asked unanimously in bewilderment.

    Lin Li nodded, and then exined, ¡°This is actually a way to prevent the form from getting stolen. Simply put, some of the herbs included in the form are negligible, and can be removed by special techniques. There is a total of 103 herbs used in this form. In my opinion, 15 of them should be serving as an anti-theft lock which prevents others from formting the potion, even if they get their hands on this form. It might even cause a threat to the people trying to formte it.¡±

    As soon as Lin Li exined the problem, even Elvan and Jerany who knew nothing about pharmaceutics began to show plenty of interest, what more Hoffman, a Master of pharmaceutics.

    ¡°In this case, will we be able to prepare the potion if we omit those 15 herbs during the formtion process?¡± Hoffman frantically asked before handing the form to Lin Li in a bid to get him to point out the herbs that were useless.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Lin Li exined, and grabbed the form when he saw the look of impatience on Hoffman¡¯s face. He shook his head smilingly, and said, ¡°These 15 herbs are notpletely useless for formting potions, and the key still lies in the concoction method. In order to open the lock, you will need a corresponding key. The special removal method is the key to unlocking the form.¡±

    Before Hoffman could question him again, Lin Li proceeded to exin about the potion and delved deeper, from the nature of the various herbs and the changes resulting from their interactions to the special techniques needed to prepare the form.

    Hoffman, the President of the esteemed Glittergold Trade Union, was just like a student at this moment. He listened carefully to Lin Li¡¯s words with a solemn expression, and even his breathing gradually slowed down. With Lin Li¡¯s exnation, the problem gradually became clearer, and a look of excitement and enthusiasm formed in his eyes.

    Thomas understood pharmaceutics, but he was worlds apart from a Master of pharmaceutics like Hoffman. On the other hand, Elvan and Jerany were clueless. However, they didn¡¯t have to understand anything or figure out what Lin Li was talking about. They could tell from the look of awe on the face of the mesmerized Hoffman that Lin Li, the President of the Tower of Dusk, was not lying.

    Besides, they also knew that Hoffman had requested help from many famous pharmaceutics Masters after obtaining the potion form, but none of them could give a clear exnation like Lin Li. Although they didn¡¯t know much about pharmaceutics, they could guess from Lin Li¡¯sid-back attitude when he was exining the form that the problem which had stumped almost all pharmacists was just a minor issue for Lin Li.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s exnation, Hoffman finally figured out the problem with the form, and he was immensely ted as joy was written all over his face. After putting away the form for the Vulcan¡¯s Descent potion, Hoffman took out another magic book that looked rather old on the outside. ¡°Master Felic, please allow me to fulfill the promise I once made and ept this Book of Ten Thousand Incantations.¡±

    It was said that the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was snatched from the pce of a Greater Demon when Highlord Osric conquered the Endless Abyss. Somehow, itnded in the hands of Hoffman. Hoffman could hold a high position in the Breezy ins and be so powerful that no one dared to provoke him mainly because of his own daunting powers, although the Glittergold Trade Union also had a part to y in it. Besides, if he hadn¡¯t beenpetent enough, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to be the President of the Glittergold Trade Union. Hoffman¡¯s powers were redited to the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. Clearly, it was extraordinary.

    Upon hearing that Hoffman was going to give away the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, the three major shareholders next to him were astonished. Even though they had already heard Hoffman telling plenty of people that he would give up the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations in exchange for the solution for the potion, they found it hard to ept the truth.

    However, Lin Li felt a little embarrassed about epting such a valuable thing from someone else. He frantically declined, ¡°Master Hoffman, you¡¯re being too polite. I was just answering some trivial questions. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations¡ª¡±

    Before Lin Li finished speaking, Hoffman had already shoved the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations into his hands, and said, ¡°Master Felic, please don¡¯t turn me down. This is what we agreed on in the first ce. For businessmen, credibility is important. Please don¡¯t make me lose mine.¡±

    Seeing how resolute Hoffman was, Lin Li had no reason to refute, especially since Hoffman had also mentioned the issue of credibility. He said, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll ept this Book of Ten Thousand Incantations.¡±

    With Lin Li¡¯s current strength, which was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he did not value the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations as he used to in the past. After all, he had the Book of Eternity and the debris of the stars. Those items alone were enough to push him to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Still, Lin Li couldn¡¯t possibly be too casual about it in front of the original owner of the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. Hence, he solemnly sorted out the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations that was shoved into his hands before putting it away in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    However, when Lin Li was sorting it out, he casually flipped through the pages of the book, only to get a great shock. The handwriting in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was actually simr to the text in the notebook that was given to him by the Ashen Warlock! ording to Hoffman, the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was snatched from a Greater Demon by Osric.

    <i>Is the handwriting just simr, or does it really have something to do with the Immortal King?</i>

    Although a big question popped up in his head, Lin Li did not show any emotions. Instead, he ced the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    It was alreadyte at night, and although everyone was a Legendary powerhouse, and they did not feel tired at all, they would be being rude if they were to continue chatting. Besides, Hoffman was already eager to try out the formtion of the potion after having figured the form out. Hence, he arranged rooms for Lin Li and his subordinates to get some rest in.

    Upon arriving in the resting room, Lin Li finally took out the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations after the people who waited on them and led them away left. He then sat in front of the desk and began flipping through it. After reading the content of the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, Lin Li could not help but admire Hoffman for his generosity. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was indeed a treasure for creating powerhouses.

    There were tens and thousands of magical spells recorded in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, many of which were very precious. Although the war at the end of the Dark Age caused the High Elves to be overthrown, it also resulted in the loss of information and knowledge of various fields, including numerous magical spells.

    The magic spells in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations might not be found in many Guilds of Magic, let alone ordinary Magic Towers. The nna Council was probably the only ce where most of the spells in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations could be found. However, it was hard to believe. In the past, Macklin actually gave up the chance to join the Supreme Council for the sake of copying a few more spells for the nna Council.

    Previously, Lin Li was only a Magic Shooter. When he participated in the trials in the nna Guild of Magic, he promised to make a magical weapon for Aldwin for him to win the bet with the Adventurers Guild. The reward he obtained for that was merely a level-15 magic spell. However, Hoffman had simrly made a promise at that time to give Lin Li the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations as long as he could solve the problem. The promise was absolutely generous.

    However, times had changed, and Lin Li was no longer the insignificant mage who had just begun dabbling in magic. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was no longer as valuable to him now, because he was considered to have already almost stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. After all, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, magic spells were just a tool for manipting magical elements. The Laws were the essence of magic. With the understanding and control of the Laws, Lin Li would be able to cast any magic he wanted.

    Of course, no matter what, the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was undeniably a good thing. Even if Lin Li couldn¡¯t use it now, the numerous mages in the Tower of Dusk could.

    After flipping through a few pages, Lin Li could not help but shift his attention to the texts about the magic spells in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. When he first received the book, he had doubts about the handwriting in the book, but simrities between handwriting were not that rare. A casual nce was not enough to deduce or assume anything. However, after carefully flipping through the pages, the feeling of doubt within him became even stronger.

    Although Lin did not know how to professionally identify handwriting, he could still simplypare handwriting. Hence, he ced the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations on the table before pulling out the Immortal King¡¯s journal. There was a book that recorded thousands of magic spells as well as one that included the technique for creating the perfect body. However, it would still be easy to spot simr words.

    Lin Li waspletely shocked after making theparison. The handwriting in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was actually shockingly simr to that in the Immortal King¡¯s journal. It would be impossible for anyone to replicate it to such a simr extent. Lin Li could conclude that there was a 90% possibility that the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was left behind by the Immortal King.

    However, facing this conclusion, the first thing Lin Li thought was that it was impossible. Apart from the handwriting, Lin Li could not think of a reason to link the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations and the Immortal King together.

    Indeed, the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was a valuable and precious book of magic for mages. However, it also depended on the person using it. Back when Lin Li was only a Magic Shooter, he was extremely excited to obtain a level-15 magic spell, what more a Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. However, Lin Li had already understood a trace of power of the Sanctuary-realm; hence, he naturally knew that magic spells were dispensable for a top-grade mage.

 Chapter 850 - Cooperative Exploration

    <h4>Chapter 850: Cooperative Exploration</h4>

    Magic spells were essentially descriptions of Laws, like theoretical forms that had been summed up by people. The mages below the Legendary-realm were still unable to reallyprehend the mystery of the Laws, and could only use magic spells to activate and mobilize the nomological power in order to cast magic. Putting aside the Sanctuary powerhouses that were almost godly, even the ones in the Legendary-realm were almost free from relying on magic spells.

    The Immortal King was a powerful existence that was probably not at all inferior to actual gods. The Immortal King¡¯s mastery of the Laws was already beyond justprehension and simple control. In fact, he had already reached the level of being able to change existing Laws and create new ones. Given the Immortal King¡¯s level, how could he solemnly write the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations? Surely he couldn¡¯t have been thinking of using it as teaching material for the High Elves who were beginners in magic?

    That was not an exaggeration at all. Stepping into the Legendary-realm was not a difficult task for the High Elves, whopared themselves to the gods, at all. The Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, which was considered priceless in Anril today, was only regarded as a book about the introduction to magic during the era of the High Elves.

    The Immortal King had indeed yed a vital role in the rise of the High Elves. He could be considered the one who single-handedly pushed the High Elves to the top and built seven Sky Castles to guard the High Elves¡¯ Dynasty. However, the Immortal King was not the High Elves¡¯ nanny. If the Immortal King had had to worry about things like them getting started with practicing magic, what rights would they have had to establish the unprecedented dynasty in Anril back then?

    On the other hand, Lin Li looked at the journal left behind by the Immortal King, and felt that the content was reasonably more profound and in line with what a godlike powerhouse should be like. Although the soul creation technique that Lin Li had expected previously was not mentioned in the journal, there was an in-depth analysis of the creation of the body, which was far more perfect than Osric¡¯s notes.

    In the Immortal King¡¯s journal, the techniques involved in the creation of the perfect body belonged to different fields, such as Alchemy, pharmaceutics, Inscription, and many others, and were all at the peak of Guru-level. They were probably just a small step away from reaching the level of the Divine Smith. In the entire Anril, there was probably no one except the Immortal King who could possess such profound knowledge.

    Looking at the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations and the Immortal King¡¯s journal which were in front of him, Lin Li felt like his mind was in a whirlwind. Regardless of how he tried to sort them out, he couldn¡¯t figure anything out at all. The Immortal King¡¯s journal was definitely genuine, and the handwriting in it was simr to that in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. The simrity seemed to prove that it was also written by the Immortal King. However, the slightly superficial content in the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations made Lin Li feel like it could not be associated with the Immortal King. However, if it didn¡¯t belong to the Immortal King, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of a reason for the simrity between the handwriting...

    Lin Li thought a lot about the two books, but he could only put them away in the end and forget about his doubts for now. No matter what, the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations was definitely valuable for the Tower of Dusk, and it would at least be able to help the mages equip themselves with more offensive and defensive means.

    On the second day, Hoffman and Lin Li sat together for a casual chat again while the others went on to discuss the cooperation between the two parties.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Master Hoffman, you probably gained a lot this night, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lin Li asked when he noticed that Hoffman had a look of excitement on his face. He knew that Hoffman had spent the entire night in theboratory, and reckoned that he should have made plenty of gains.

    ¡°Amazing, this is really amazing,¡± Hoffman eximed as he shook his head. Every potion form was deduced and confirmed only after tens of thousands of experiments had been made, during which the amount of every single herb had to be precise and urate. However, there were 15 herbs in the form that formed a lock, which was rather impressive.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you got hold of the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, Master Hoffman. Do you know any more information about its origins?¡± Lin Li asked. He had not figured out the rtionship between the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations and the Immortal Kingst night. Hence, he wanted to find out more from Hoffman.

    Upon hearing Lin Li ask about the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, Hoffman snapped out of his trance, and thought for a while before saying, ¡°I actually obtained the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations by chance. As for its origins, I only know that Osric looted it from the Endless Abyss. Although it doesn¡¯t seem believable, I haven¡¯t heard of other rumors.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Lin Li kept a straight face, but he could not help but be disappointed deep down. He said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the content of the bookst night, and the magic spells listed in it are very precious. However, with Osric¡¯s abilities, he probably didn¡¯t value the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations very much.¡±

    Hoffman had owned the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations for years; hence, he was naturally very clear about it. He nodded, and said, ¡°However, it was said that Osric had looted more than just the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations from the Endless Abyss. He had also snatched another book called the Book of Ten Thousand Spells. I¡¯ve been searching for it for years, but sadly to no avail. I don¡¯t know how the two books are rted, either.¡±

    ¡°Book of Ten Thousand Spells?¡± Lin Li asked as he suddenly got reminded of something that had long been forgotten. Had Hoffman not mentioned it, Lin Li would probably never have thought of it again.

    Back in the nna Pharmacist Guild, Lin Li had managed to attract the attention of many people because of his superb abilities in formting potions. At that time, Hoffman had talked to Lin Li about the form, and promised to give him the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations in exchange for his help.

    When Hoffman had left back then, Lin Li had received another esteemed and distinguished guest, Balbo, the President of the Pharmacist Guild. Balbo suggested that Lin Li join the Pharmacist Guild, and offered to give him a ce in the guild and the Book of Ten Thousand Spells.

    Although Lin Li did not know what the Book of Ten Thousand Spells was like, he was well aware of its value. The Book of Ten Thousand Spells was indeed a precious magic book, but even for Lin Li, it wasn¡¯t of much use now. Osric was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm; hence, the Book of Ten Thousand Spells meant even less to him.

    <i>Do the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations and the Book of Ten Thousand Spells simply have simr names? Or is there a deeper rtionship between them?</i> At the thought of this, Lin Li secretly noted it in his mind, and thought that he would find a time to talk to Balbo about it. Perhaps he might be able to get the Book of Ten Thousand Spells.

    With that idea in mind, Lin Li stopped mentioning the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations, and instead talked to Hoffman about other things. They chatted about everything, from the development of the Tower of Dusk in the past two years to the history of the Glittergold Trade Union; from the events that happened since Lin Li left the rural Jarrosus to how Hoffman helmed the Glittergold Trade Union; and so on.

    After chatting for a while, Hoffman stopped all of a sudden, and remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°President Felic, I invited you over this time to talk about another partnership opportunity in addition to the business cooperation and the potion form.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Please go ahead,¡± said Lin Li, who could not help but be interested after seeing Hoffman¡¯s solemn expression.

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯ve also found out just now that we might be famous in the Breezy ins because of our businesses, but the capital that we got started with came from the ancient treasures that were found exploring those ancient ruins, which continues even until now.¡± The conversation just now was not a meaningless one. Hoffman managed to find out more about Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk through the conversation just now, and thus decided to talk about that matter.

    Hoffman did bring up that matter when he introduced the history of the Glittergold Trade Union to Lin Li. Nicely put, it was archeology, but to put it crudely, it was just raiding tombs. At the end of the High Elves Dynasty, many valuable tombs and ruins were left in Anril, and nearly half of them were excavated by the Glittergold Trade Union. Lin Li nodded without interjecting, but deep down, he could vaguely guess what Hoffman wanted to talk about. He reckoned that it had something to do with the ancient ruins.

    ¡°In terms of the exploration of ancient ruins, especially those of the High Elves, we can proudly say that the Glittergold Trade Union has the most authority in the entire Anril,¡± Hoffman said smugly after his mention of the excavation of ruins.

    Lin Li also knew that Hoffman was sounding as modest as he could. At the end of the Dark Age, the High Elves were eradicated in Anril, and the Glittergold Trade Union was not the only force that coveted their remaining assets and treasures.

    The High Elves had ruled Anril for countless years. In addition to enving and exploiting several races on Anril, they had also dispatched various Magic Legions to excavate the ruins. Even the terrifying Endless Abyss was emptied out. One could only imagine how much wealth had been excavated. However, there was still a massive amount of wealth left in Anril, even though a lot of it had been divided amongst the forces that had formed the rebellion army.

    During that period of time, almost the entire Anril was plunged into the upsurge of exploring the ruins of the High Elves, and countless adventurers went mad for it. However, there were definitely not many who could truly reap the attractive amount of wealth from the ruins of the High Elves. To the adventurers, the massive wealth buried everywhere was more like countless traps buried all around the ce.

    However, the Glittergold Trade Union seemed to have treated the High Elves¡¯ ruins like their personal treasure vault, which they harvested plenty of wealth from time and time again. Simply based on that, the Glittergold Trade Union could definitely be regarded as a respectable and authoritative force in the entire Anril.

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯ve probably already guessed what I¡¯m going to say. Yes, we managed to discover a ruin that seems to be rted to the High Elves. It¡¯s in the Lockdamer area near the Dwarf Kingdom.¡± Although the cooperation had yet to be confirmed, Hoffman was still very confident in Lin Li, and did not hide anything.

    ¡°Lockdamer?¡± Lin Li asked. He was initially just listening quietly, but when he heard the name of that ce, he couldn¡¯t help but interrupt Hoffman. He apprehensively continued to ask, ¡°Master Hoffman, pardon me for being blunt, but if I remember correctly, Lockdamer has always been a freezing snowfield since the Dark Age. The High Elves have always detested cold environments since they were born. Hence, there isn¡¯t any information to prove that they¡¯ve been in the Lockdamer area.¡±

    Hoffman was not angry about Lin Li¡¯s doubting him. Instead, he nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, Master Felic. We¡¯re also rather skeptical of the clues that we¡¯ve gotten. After all, everyone knows that the High Elves have never sent any elven army to the Dwarf Kingdom even during their heyday. That is also the reason why the Dwarf Kingdom wasn¡¯t ruled harshly even though the Highlord Osric had nabbed the Dark Iron Dwarves.¡±

    In Anril, the dwarves were famous for their forging techniques, and the Dark Iron Dwarves were the pioneers of the dwarves. Legend had it that the Highlord Osric sent his Magic Legion to capture all the outstanding cksmiths amongst the Dark Iron Dwarves because of his interest in forging. He then made the Dark Iron Dwarves stay in his pce and demonstrate the forging techniques every day and night.

    When the war between the rebellion alliance and the High Elves broke out, Osric annihted the Dark Iron Dwarves in order to prevent the rebels from obtaining better equipment. In that war, the rebels wouldn¡¯t have lost as much if the Dark Iron Dwarves had still been around. The fall of the High Elves would have happened much earlier too.

    It was because the Sky-breaker that was used in the attack against the Sky Castles in theter part of the war was actually developed by the Dark Iron Dwarves. Had the Dark Iron Dwarves been the ones to create the Sky-breaker, their power would have been maximized within a short period of time.

    However, throughout the Dark Age, the Dwarf Kingdom had never suffered much damage or harm inflicted by the High Elves, because the Dwarf Kingdom was situated in a cold ce.

    Hoffman first admitted that he didn¡¯t believe it in the beginning, either. He then continued, ¡°Although we don¡¯t have high hopes for these clues, we¡¯ve still sent a team of explorers to Lockdamer and carried out a simple search ording to the clues.¡±

    Hoffman¡¯s words made Lin Li stunned for a moment, after which he asked in shock, ¡°Did you find something?¡±

    Lin Li initially thought that Hoffman had merely obtained the clues, but he did not expect to hear that Hoffman had already sent a team of adventurers to explore and verify the facts. Actually, it did make sense. Even though the leads were a little hard to believe, it was still rted to the High Elves, after all. Even if there was only a minute possibility, it was indeed worth exploring.

 Chapter 851 - Gargas

    <h4>Chapter 851: Gargas</h4>

    Since Hoffman could reveal such an incredible piece of news, it probably meant that the team had discovered something.

    A look of insuppressible excitement shed in Hoffman¡¯s eyes, and he nodded. ¡°Yes, the expedition team delved deep into Lockdamer, and spent about half a year exploring while following the clues. They even lost contact with us for a while. Atst, they finally ended up in the huge canyon of Gargas, and made an amazing discovery.¡±

    To be honest, if he didn¡¯t know that Hoffman would never lie to him, Lin Li would have a hard time believing such a ridiculous thing. The conditions in Lockdamer were already considered to be rather harsh in Anril, and those in the huge canyon of Gargas that Hoffman mentioned were extremely terrible. If the High Elves hated the environment in Lockdamer, they would definitely detest that of Gargas.

    In thenguage of the dwarves, ¡°Gargas¡± meant ¡°insurmountable¡±, and the huge canyon of Gargas was indeed almost insurmountable. The huge canyon stretched across thousands of miles, and the cliffs on both sides were like swords and axes. They were covered in thick ice that had existed for thousands of years. The canyon was bottomless, and the darkness was daunting. The sounds of the wind howling miserably could be heard as if it was passing through the terrifying Endless Abyss.

    The huge canyon of Gargas divided the Dwarf Kingdom and the Breezy ins into two different worlds, and there was almost no possibility of a linkage between the two. It was precisely because of its existence that almost all the trade between the Breezy ins and the Dwarf Kingdom had to go through the Ledin Kingdom. That was perhaps also one of the reasons that most of the forces in the Breezy ins had always refused to integrate into the Fn Kingdom. After all, if they really did that, the authorities of the Ledin Kingdom would definitely cause them to face many more obstacles.

    ¡°About two months ago, the expedition team that went to Lockdamer returned, but only two out of the 50 members of the team managed to survive. However, the casualties weren¡¯t in vain, after all. We discovered an amazing secret from the items that they brought back. In the huge canyon of Gargas, there is very likely to be a ruin of the High Elves that is farrger in scale than any that we have ever unearthed.¡± Hoffman¡¯s eyes glistened, and he could not suppress the excitement at all.

    A team of 50 was sent to explore a ce based on seemingly absurd clues. That fact alone was enough to show that the Glittergold Trade Union was indeed enthusiastic about exploring the ruins. Those who could join the expedition were probably the most loyal to the Glittergold Trade Union. Given Hoffman¡¯s status, he wouldn¡¯t mention it to an ordinary person.

    At this moment, Lin Li could not help but get really interested after seeing the look of excitement on Hoffman¡¯s face. He asked, ¡°Master Hoffman, could you tell me about the amazing discovery?¡±

    ¡°Haha, Master Felic, you¡¯re reading too much into things. Since I want to invite you to a cooperation, I naturally have toe up with something that you can believe.¡± While speaking, Hoffman took out some items, and ced them on the table one by one.

    There were some stones and a few loose pieces of metal essories, which didn¡¯t seem to have anything peculiar about them. However, Lin Li took a closer look, and saw that some of the stones were carved with patterns, while some had characters of the High Elves¡¯nguage carved on them. The metal essories were also exuding faint magical waves, while the patterns on them seemed to be a part of superior mageweaths.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t research much on archeology, but he could tell that those inconspicuous things indeed belonged to the High Elves. Although the mageweaths on the metal essories could be drawn by the existing Masters of Inscription, drawing on such small pieces of essories could perhaps only be done by top jewelers. However, jewelers were almost extinct in the Breezy ins. Lin Li had never heard of any famous jewelers, let alone one of the Master-level.

    ¡°These things do seem to belong to the High Elves. However, how did you deduce the scale of the ruins?¡± Lin Li asked, believing that Hoffman wouldn¡¯t deceive him. Hence, the items of the High Elves should have been able to prove that the High Elves had appeared in the huge canyon of Gargas before. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but pay attention to the scale of the ruins. After all, there would be no point in going to ces like the huge canyon of Gargas unless one was motivated by something.

    Lin Li looked at it from a technical point of view, while Hoffman relied on his historical knowledge and years of experience in excavating the ruins of the High Elves. After taking out those items, Hoffman took out another drawing of an exquisite essory. He then ced the pieces of metal onto the corresponding positions of the design, and exined to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, please look at the sketch of this essory, which we found in one of the High Elves¡¯ ruins that we had unearthed. It¡¯s said that the essory is meant for the High Elves. Can you see anything from these pieces?¡±

    Lin Li leaned forward curiously, and took a closer look at the sketch and the pieces of metal on it. He could not help but be shocked. The drawing on the sketch was definitelyrger than the actual object, but Lin Li could urately tell that the pieces of metal were part of the essory just by looking at the mageweaths on them.

    Lin Li made some judgments about whether the essory was meant for the High Elves after he looked at the structure of the entire mageweath on the sketch. The mageweath was a Guru-level one that had the function of creating a domain that would cancel invisibility. No assassins would be able to escape the domain unless they were at the Sanctuary-level. Another function was to provide a user with greater protection. Even if the enemies¡¯ attacks were beyond the tolerance of the mageweath, it would still allow the user to resist the attacks, and there was almost no upper limit.

    However, what really attracted the High Elves were not those two incredible functions, but the fact that the user¡¯s body would be enveloped in a colorful and brilliant glow once the sacred mageweath was activated. It would allow the user to exude a sacred aura that resembled that of a god during its ascent on earth. That was also the reason that the sacred mageweath could only be used by the royals of the High Elves Dynasty. Even the Highlord Osric, who was second to the High Elven queen, was not qualified to use sacred protection mageweath anywhere.

    Hence, Lin Li was sure that the High Elves relics that appeared in the ruins which the Glittergold Trade Union had excavated were likely to belong to a High Elven royal family simply because of the sacred mageweath.

    In the past few years that Lin Li had been in Anril, he explored the Sky Castle, Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and the underground pce. Every treasure that he found was rather significant; hence, ordinary ruins wouldn¡¯t attract him.

    However, the incredible relics of the royal High Elves were different. They were considered the nobles among the High Elven aristocrats. Even if they were not famous in history, they were far wealthier than other High Elven aristocrats since they were royals. Unlike humans, the lineage of the High Elves determined the lives that they were destined to live. With greater talents and more resources, they had a far more advantageous position than ordinary nobles in all aspects, and the relics that they had left behind were naturally destined to be extraordinary.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a little excited. Staring at the drawings and the pieces of metals on the table, he said, ¡°If this is really a relic of the royal High Elves, it will really be an unprecedented discovery!¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is exactly what I want to say, but no matter which High Elven royal family this relic belongs to, obtaining it definitely will be difficult. Hence, considering that you have explored the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, I hope to cooperate with you in exploring and unearthing the ruin,¡± Hoffman said while looking at Lin Li with anticipation in his eyes as he waited for his answer.

    If it were an ordinary relic, there would be no need for the Glittergold Trade Union to share it with anyone or engage in cooperation with their current power. However, Hoffman had no choice but to take it seriously, because it might really be a relic of the High Elven royal family. The Glittergold Trade Union prospered and rose through exploring and excavating ruins. It was the most important for them to be aware of their own abilities not to be muddled up because of the huge temptation. Although wealth would usually be found in dangerous situations, how many could really survive close shaves with death and be wealthy? Perhaps, that could happen once or twice, but Lady Luck would not always shine on them. If anything were to go wrong, they would end up losing everything.

    Lin Li leaned back against the chair and looked away from the table while tapping his fingers gently on the armrest. After all, it was a relic of the High Elven royal family, and it would be impossible for Lin Li not to be tempted. Seeing that the catastrophe predicted by Geresco was just round the corner, he thought, <i>Is it really worthwhile to spend some time and energy on this?</i>

    After a moment of thought, Lin Li finally turned to look at Hoffman with a smile. ¡°Since you¡¯ve shared this piece of information with me, what reason do I have to refuse?¡±

    Hearing that Lin Li had finally agreed, Hoffman couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved. He continued, ¡°In that case, Master Felic, should we talk about the specifics of our cooperation?¡± Although there were plenty of forces in the Breezy ins that would be worthy of cooperating with the Glittergold Trade Union, Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk were the only ones Hoffman could trust.

    In this world where survival of the fittest was the rule, those who trusted others easily would often end up dying a horrible death. As the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman obviously knew that truth. The temptation of the High Elves¡¯ ruins was too great, and it also meant that the crisis they might face would absolutely be beyond imagination. An ipetent partner would not help at all. Meanwhile, if they were to look for a partner like the Mithril Alliance, they would have to be wary and keep their guard up against thetter during the exploration.

    Lin Li was different. Be it the Malfa Family he had cooperated with in exploring the Sky Castle before, or the nna Guild of Magic that he had explored Osric¡¯s mausoleum with, Hoffman knew them well, and was aware that they were reliable allies. Although Lin Li had got into a conflict with the Dark de, and caused the Legendary Assassin Lansdale and Stephen to die in the process of exploring the Sky Castle, Hoffman knew what had actually happened. He also knew that Lin Li had helped the elven elders when they were evacuating. Hence, in Hoffman¡¯s eyes, Lin Li was the most trustworthy partner to have in the entire Anril.

    Now that the two had decided to cooperate, they naturally discussed the distribution of benefits first. A reliable cooperation could only be formed when there was a fair distribution of benefits and interests. Regardless of the friendship between both parties, the issue of distribution of benefits had to be discussed clearly in advance.

    Due to the importance of the matter, Hoffman and Lin Li decided to discuss it with each other instead of leaving it to their subordinates. Actually, there wasn¡¯t much to talk about. First, they had to decide on the amount of effort both parties had to put in during the exploration. Everyone knew that it would be impossible to distribute in detail all the items in the ruins. Besides, there might be nothing at all. Hence, they only briefly talked about how they would divide the items.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the two to reach an agreement. First of all, they agreed on the amount of effort they would each put in after estimating the scale of the ruins. They also agreed to distribute the interests and gains evenly. No matter what they obtained, they would share the profits with each other. That was the rule of distribution. Actually, Hoffman could be considered to have made somepromise. After all, they agreed to put in equal amounts of effort, but the Glittergold Trade Union was the one who¡¯d discovered the clues leading to the relics. If he were to be calctive about it, it would be reasonable for him to ask for an additional 10%.

    Of course, Hoffman¡¯spromise did not actually mean that he had really suffered a loss. First of all, it would not be easy to look for a trustworthy coborator in this intriguing world. After all, anything could happen in the ruins, and it was not umon for groups and alliances to break up because of trust issues. In addition, the power that Lin Li promised to give was not superficial. Lin Li alone was an extraordinary level-24 powerhouse, and he also had various trump cards like the debris of the stars, the young Elemental Wyrm, the Lord of Nightmares, and many others.

    After discussing the cooperation, Hoffman put away the items and continued to chat with Lin Li about the situation in the Breezy ins, as well as other issues. In particr, Hoffman was rather emotional when he talked about the events that happened in Gran Town the other day. He had not expected the Ashen Warlock, who had been living in Gran Town for thousands of years and was a god in Anril, to be impressed with Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 852 - No Peace At All

    <h4>Chapter 852: No Peace At All</h4>

    However, Hoffman did not recklessly ask about the conversation from when the Ashen Warlock invited Lin Li to the Tower of Ashes. Instead, he suddenly mentioned to Lin Li the Blood Moon n and Mogadi who carried the bloodline of a wyrm.

    ¡°Master Felic, after the Ashen Warlock invited you to the Tower of Ashes, Mogadi, the President of the Blood Moon n, looked for me and spoke to me about something. He mainly exined to me the reason he joined the Mithril Alliance,¡± Hoffman said while looking at Lin Li¡¯s face and paying attention to his expression with his gleaming small eyes.

    The Blood Moon n, Mithril Alliance, and the Caesar Family, which were the three major ns in the Breezy ins, jointly asked the Ashen Warlock to expel Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk from thend. Although they did not seed because of the unexpected words of the Ashen Warlock, they had clearly shown their enmity towards the Tower of Dusk. However, when Hoffman mentioned the Blood Moon n, Lin Li did not have any special expression on his face, and instead asked for the reason, which was what Hoffman hoped for. ¡°Oh, why?¡±

    Seeing that there was no look of annoyance on Lin Li¡¯s face, Hoffman felt somewhat relieved, and he continued, ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m sure you know the origin of the Blood Moon n. Their core members are all hybrids that had been modified using blood-mixing techniques by the High Elves. The current President, Mogadi, is a human whose blood had been mixed with that of wyrms. Although the mixing of blood had given them incredible power, there were inevitable side effects that would cause them to feel some pain from the bacsh of the blood every now and then.¡±

    Lin Li nodded and remained silent. In fact, he had already anticipated such problems ever since he heard about the origin of the Blood Moon n. Mixing the blood of monsters with the blood of humans would create a warrior that was as powerful as a beast with the intelligence of humans. It seemed to be a simple idea, but it was definitely difficult to execute. Just like the method that Osric used to create the perfect body and the method that the Immortal King used to create the Ashen Warlock, the blood-mixing technique was also a forbidden one that vited nature.

    The High Elves were undoubtedly out of their minds as they were willing to do anything crazy. Bloodlines were the foundation for the continuation of species. It was the best choice made by nature after countless years of natural selection where only the fittest would survive. The remaining bloodlines might not be the most perfect, but they were definitely the most bnced, like a scale of precision. The High Elves¡¯ blood-mixing techniques were undoubtedly going to break the bnce. It was only right for them to be punished by thews of nature.

    ¡°Originally, they could be suppressed by a medicine provided by the High Elves. However, after the High Elves were destroyed, they could only resist the pain with their own will. However, the Blood Moon n had been established many years ago, and there were originally hundreds of core members. The weakest one was close to the Legendary-level. Even the sessive battles with the Mithril Alliance did not cause any core members to die. However, under the torment that resulted from the bacsh, many chose to end their own lives.¡± While speaking, Hoffman shook his head and seemed to be emotional about it.

    Although the core members of the Blood Moon n were victims of the forbidden technique, Lin Li did not have much sympathy for them. Compared to the bacsh from the forbidden technique, the benefits that they had gained were far better. Their powerful strength and long lifespan made them much better than those who could not step into the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°Does this have anything to do with their cooperation with the Mithril Alliance?¡± Lin Li asked monotonously without showing any sympathy or disgust.

    ¡°Well, the Blood Moon n got the original form for suppressing the pain from the bacsh. However, a crucial type of Serum Grass is required by the form. You, too, know that that type of Serum Grass is not found everywhere. Even if there are any, they¡¯re few and far between. Later on, the Blood Moon n learned that there was Serum Grass growing in the swamps of the Tower of Dusk. They also found out that the environment there is very suitable for arge number of ntations. They decided to heed Joseph¡¯s advice and try to get the swamp mining area from you.¡± Hoffman couldn¡¯t help but look at Lin Li¡¯s expression again. After all, the Blood Moon n had offended the Tower of Dusk terribly in Gran Town, and not everyone could forgive things like that.

    Lin Li could tell that Hoffman was worried. Hence, he smiled nonchntly, and said, ¡°Hehe, so that¡¯s why they wanted the Serum Grass. When I was in Gran Town, Mogadi contacted me, but they were pretty greedy. They wanted me to give them the entire area. You know too that that swamp mining area contains a lot of rare magical metals that are simply priceless. Their request was no different from daylight robbery.¡±

    ¡°Yes, they think of themselves as the extraordinary masters of the Breezy ins. They¡¯re really annoying. You should have seen the interesting expressions on their faces when the Ashen Warlock invited you to the Tower of Ashes.¡± At the thought of that scene that day, Hoffman couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    Lin Li knew that Hoffman would not mention the Blood Moon n for no reason. Seeing how careful Hoffman was, he finally couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Master Hoffman, based on our rtionship, you can just say anything you want. Mogadi probably did not only exin to you the reason for their cooperation with the Mithril Alliance, but also something else.¡±

    Hoffman shook his head helplessly, and exined, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I am not Mogadi¡¯s messenger. I merely agreed to be the middleman in hopes of solving the conflict between you two because I¡¯m a friend of the Tower of Dusk. After all, there is no unforgettable hatred, and the problem between you two can be resolved peacefully as well.¡±

    ¡°Master Hoffman, don¡¯t worry, I understand your kind intentions.¡± Lin Li nodded to express his understanding, but he soon continued, ¡°However, you also know that they¡¯re being too greedy. The swamp mining area is also very important to the Tower of Dusk. I won¡¯t sell it even if they give me money. Besides, I¡¯m not belittling them now, but given the reserves that we¡¯ve proven to have now, I doubt they might be able to afford it.¡±

    Lin Li was not being perfunctory. Actually, he had long understood Hoffman¡¯s intentions. In fact, the swamp mining area was a massive treasure for the other forces, though it wouldn¡¯t be a loss for them even though it would be gratifying for them to get it. However, it had a different significance for the Blood Moon n. It was the hope that the core members had for breaking free from the pain of the bacsh from their blood.

    Other forces might fear the power of the Tower of Dusk or the powerful Ashen Warlock, and make a wise choice between massive wealth and their own lives, but the Blood Moon n was different from them. The pain of the bacsh from their blood had even made some of them choose to end their own lives to break free. Now that they had seen some hope of getting rid of the torment, how could they let go of it easily? If they truly felt hopeless and didn¡¯t care about their lives anymore, they would definitely bring a lot of trouble to the Tower of Dusk without any fear of the Ashen Warlock.

    ¡°After seeing that the Ashen Warlock values you, how can Mogadi dare to harbor those thoughts? This time, he means for you to share the method of nting Serum Grass. He hopes that you guys can help to dig out some Serum Grass while mining in the swamp mining area. They will then purchase it from you at a high price.¡± Seeing that Lin Li had understood his intentions, Hoffman finally said the words that Mogadi had asked him to ry to Lin Li.

    ¡°This is a good thing. Anyway, we can¡¯t mine the entire area in one day. If I help him get some Serum Grass nts, I can strike a fortune. However, as far as I know, Serum Grass has harsh conditions for growth. Mining would inevitably affect the environment. Once the environment is ready for growing Serum Grass, what are they going to do?¡± nting herbs was no big deal, but Lin Li was puzzled as to why the Blood Moon n decided to give up on that piece ofnd so soon.

    ¡°Well, that old man Mogadi said that they¡¯ll y by ear. I think that¡¯s the only solution. At least they can go for a long time without suffering from the pain of the bacsh from their bloodline. There is still time for them to consider other solutions.¡± Seeing that Lin Li had agreed to that matter, Hoffman felt relieved. As for what would happen to the Blood Moon n in the future, it wasn¡¯t up to him to worry about. He continued, ¡°Since you agree, I¡¯ll give them an answer after we¡¯re done exploring the ruins. I¡¯ll get him to talk to you about the details.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, Master Hoffman,¡± Lin Li answered politely. Although he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be afraid of the Blood Moon n given his current abilities, it would naturally be a good thing for him to have one less enemy and one more cooperative partner while protecting his interests.

    Lin Li was a guest at the Glittergold Trade Union for three days. After the negotiation between the two parties was settled and the cooperation agreement was signed, he said goodbye to Hoffman. He then returned to the Tower of Dusk together with Gavin, Beckley, and his two Undead servants.

    Upon returning to the Tower of Dusk, Gavin and Beckley went to work separately and made some adjustments to their businesses in ordance with the agreement that they had signed. Lin Li returned to his usual routine of hustling all day, reading the Book of Eternity,prehending the debris of the stars, and meditating under the mana tides of the control crystal of the Sky Castle.

    Regarding the exploration of the ruins, Lin Li temporarily put it aside, mainly because the Glittergold Trade Union still had plenty of things to prepare. After all, they might be exploring the ruins of the High Elven royals. It would be better to have redundant preparations than have inadequate resources when facing a crisis.

    Of course, it was impossible for the Tower of Dusk not to make any preparations. Although Lin Li had explored the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, and had also purified the Retribution Knight Rodhart, he did not belittle the exploration this time. The Gargas Canyon was a dangerous ce, and it was probably a bit more dangerous than the Haiga Mountain Range. The ruins of the High Elves made it even more dangerous. Not only did Lin Li not want to fail in the exploration, he also hoped not to suffer too many losses.

    Hence, while Lin Li continued to increase his abilities and made the mages put aside everything that they were doing to devote their effort and attention to learning magic, Lin Li¡¯s various means were enough to make the magicians more powerful.

    Not to mention anything else, the control crystal of the Sky Castle alone could make the mages of the Tower of Dusk bask in the magic tides. Although it would not allow the mages to quickly enter the Legendary-realm, they could advance greatly when they were below the Legendary-level. Moreover, Lin Li also allowed the mages who had reached the peak of level-19 to enter the Eternal Furnace and feel the nomological power of Ice and Fire in the Ice and Fire Nature Magical Domain. Even if they could only feel a tinge of the mystery of the Laws, their strength could still be greatly improved.

    When Lin Li was concentrating on improving his strength, the Tower of Dusk did notpletely quiet down. Although they had learned from the lessons of the George Family, not everyone stopped opposing the Tower of Dusk. In fact, since the gathering in Gran Town where the Ashen Warlock made a speech, the Tower of Dusk was no longer alienated by all the other forces in the Breezy ins. Instead, they were boycotted by the Mithril Alliance and the forces that they controlled. The other forces would no longer go against the Tower of Dusk even if they did not suck up to them.

    However, unlike other forces, it was impossible for the Mithril Alliance to stop now. Be it when they suppressed the Tower of Dusk before the Gran Town gathering or their joint request for the Ashen Warlock to expel and destroy the Tower of Dusk, they had already offended the Tower of Dusk greatly. At least in their opinion, if there were any forces that treated them that way, they definitely would not let them off.

    Of course, the Mithril Alliance did not expect to be able to destroy the Tower of Dusk. They simply hoped to use various means to contain the development rate of the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, with the current development speed, they would probably grow into thergest force in the Breezy ins within two years. That would make things hard for the Mithril Alliance.

    Hence, in addition to the Mithril Alliance manipting some forces, the five major families stood up directly. If the Mithril Alliance were to find out about the George Family, it would be impossible for them to defeat the Tower of Dusk in the field ofmerce. Hence, it could be said that they would do everything except resort to getting physical.

    They wanted to poach some customers from the Tower of Dusk, but they could not produce the quality that the Tower of Dusk could. The customers were no fools, and definitely could tell good from bad. They had poached the cksmiths, but the same technique could not create the same thing. They tried to poach the pharmacists from the Tower of Dusk, but they belonged to nna¡¯s Pharmaceutical Guild. They wanted to pull their old tricks and bribe the mages of the Tower of Dusk to obtain the forms. However, everyone could tell that the Tower of Dusk had a bright future. Even if they got bribed, it would be impossible for them to obtain the genuine, core secrets.

 Chapter 853 - Basel Returns

    <h4>Chapter 853: Basel Returns</h4>

    However, the Mithril Alliance had been running businesses in the Breezy ins for over a thousand years, and it was still possible for them to cause some trouble for the Tower of Dusk. The first thing that they had to do was to use their own resources. The five major families all held massive territories. Although they did not surround the Tower of Dusk, they had blocked off various directions. Hence, the five major families immediately set up various obstacles in their respective territories. It was impossible to do too much to the caravans of the Tower of Dusk, but they wouldn¡¯t be breaching the new order if they just did not allow the caravans to pass through their own territory.

    Under those circumstances, the caravans of the Tower of Dusk would have to bypass the territories of the five major families. It might have been possible to reach the destination in 10 days at first, but due to the bypass, they would probably take much longer. After all, the five major families had ratherrge territories. It might take the caravans 20 days, or maybe a month. That would bring about great trouble to the Tower of Dusk. The increase in the transportation costs was not a big deal, but the dy would have a significant impact on the production and sales, as well as the reputation of the Tower of Dusk.

    In addition to targeting the caravans of the Tower of Dusk, Mithril Alliance began to pull unscrupulous tricks to boycott the shops belonging to the Tower of Dusk, such as hiring hooligans to block the entrances or sshing filthy things at the storefronts. However, their indiscriminate means did not affect the Tower of Dusk much. Instead, it caused the Mithril Alliance to be thoroughly embarrassed. Everyone knew that the Mithril Alliance was going against the Tower of Dusk.

    As for the hooligans, they were all beaten into a pulp after they got caught and sent to prison. The people of the Tower of Dusk were not the only ones who would teach them a lesson. Even the customers would sometimes take action to teach those scumbags who had hampered their shopping trips. Magical weapons, equipment, and potions were sold in the shops of the Tower of Dusk, and the customers were definitely not ordinary people. They were all adventurers who adventured their lives in dangerous situations all over the world. The hooligans could scare ordinary people, but they would be bringing trouble to themselves by trying to scare the adventurers.

    Those indiscriminate means could only cause small losses to the Tower of Dusk, which mainly relied onrge transactions to keep the business going. The retail revenue only ounted for a small part of the total. Although those despicable means were not that effective, they were indeed disgusting.

    In order to curb the development speed of the Tower of Dusk, the Mithril Alliance had done everything possible. They even went all out and sacrificed their prestige and reputation as an established force. However, the Tower of Dusk only pulled a single move which immediately put the Mithril Alliance in a dilemma. Lin Li took time out of his busy schedule and wrote a three-word letter to the Ledin Kingdom, which caused tragedy to strike the Mithril Alliance.

    There were plenty of established forces like the Mithril Alliance that had a heritage longer than 1,000 years, and had strong foundations withrger systems than the emerging forces. Relying solely on the local business in the Breezy ins would barely be enough for them to maintain their massive system, let alone develop. That was precisely the reason that the 13 families became the current five major families with the opportunity that existed during the conflict with the Blood Moon n. The five major families developed again by annexing their former allies.

    Especially under the suppression of the Ashen Warlock, the distribution of forces in the Breezy ins had hardly changed in thest hundreds of years. All the forces that had reached their pinnacle in the Breezy ins understood that if they wanted to continue developing, they would have to expand beyond the Breezy ins. Hence, the Ledin Kingdom, which had the Brilliance Shrine as its only force, as well as the Dwarf Kingdom that had scarce animal and nt resources, had business rtions with the top forces of the Breezy ins.

    Due to the Grand Canyon of Gargas that acted like a barrier, the trade between the forces of the Breezy ins and the Dwarf Kingdom had to rely on the Ledin Kingdom. However, after receiving Lin Li¡¯s letter, the Ledin Kingdom began to boycott and attack the five major families of the Mithril Alliance, just like what the Mithril Alliance did to the caravans of the Tower of Dusk. At the same time, the businesses of the Mithril Alliance in the Ledin Kingdom had also been suppressed from all sides. The nobles who usually benefited from the Mithril Alliance were no longer as enthusiastic as before.

    While the business of the five major families of the Mithril Alliance was suppressed, the Tower of Dusk took advantage and seized the opportunity to take over the market that had been vacated after the five major families had been boycotted. All of a sudden, the lives of the five major families became rather difficult. Even if they could pull through, it would be difficult for them to regain the foothold that they had had in the market previously.

    The Mithril Alliance had tried its best to harm the businesses, but there were barely any effects. However, the Tower of Dusk had only retaliated once, yet the Mithril Alliance was immediately in trouble. After losing the business deals with the Ledin Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom, the five major families did not immediately copse, but the losses were enough to make the patriarchs of the five major families vomit blood.

    What the Mithril Alliance found especially hard to ept was not how much they had lost, but the fact that almost all the interests and benefits that they had lost were pocketed by the Tower of Dusk. They went through painstaking efforts to prevent the rapid development of the Tower of Dusk, but did not expect to let the Tower of Dusk seize the opportunity and develop well again instead.

    In the Breezy ins, the various forces that had been paying attention to the conflict between the two parties began to recall the things that they had done to the Tower of Dusk before, and couldn¡¯t help but feel afraid. They couldn¡¯t imagine that the Tower of Dusk had that much power. Not only was the Tower of Dusk protected by the Ashen Warlock, it could even influence the decision-making process of the royal family of the Ledin Kingdom. They were far beyond an ordinary local force! At the same time, they were secretly somewhat grateful, and felt fortunate that they did not continue to follow the Mithril Alliance to go against the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, they would definitely face terrible death.

    Even a top force like the Mithril Alliance had suffered some attacks from the Tower of Dusk. Didn¡¯t that mean that the Tower of Dusk was now the strongest in the Breezy ins? The forces that were still watching hurriedly sent people to the Tower of Dusk in hopes of clearing up the misunderstanding caused by the so-called instigator previously.

    Under the suppression of the Mithril Alliance which was an established force that had been established over a millennium ago, the Tower of Dusk did not stop developing, and instead gained even more benefits. Their presence and status in the Breezy ins had also skyrocketed again all of a sudden.

    However, no one knew if the Mithril Alliance was going to give in just like that. After all, they had a strong foundation after more than 1,000 years of umtion. No one could predict what kind of means they were hiding.

    It had been a while since Lin Li returned from the Glittergold Trade Union. While he was waiting for Hoffman¡¯s news, he spent every moment working hard to improve his strength. It was not only for the exploration of the ruins, but also because of the major cmity that Geresco had predicted in his prophecy. Although Lin Li had already reached the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm, he was still making obvious progress every day, advancing step by step towards the Sanctuary-realm with unparalleled determination.

    However, on this day, Lin Li received a guest who should have visited a long time ago instead of Hoffman¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Master Basel, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you, you...¡± After hearing about Basel¡¯s visit from his subordinates, Lin Li rushed to the reception room immediately. The visitor waiting in the reception room was none other than Master Basel, the so-called librarian of the Dnd Library.

    When Lin Li first arrived in the Breezy ins, he managed to build the Tower of Dusk in Dnd with the support of the Supreme Council, but how could a newly established Guild of Magic attract any new mages without any fame? At that time, be it the local forces of Dnd or the people of other Guilds of Magic, almost everyone was waiting to see Lin Li make himself aughingstock. They were all waiting to see him, a country bumpkin who had left Jarrosus, scurry back to his hometown.

    Master Basel, who was known as the librarian of the Dnd Library, introduced the mages in the library who were akin to his own students into the Tower of Dusk, which was still unknown. Thus, he solved the awkward situation for Lin Li who had been a leader with no subordinates. Although Lin Li was confident that he could make the Tower of Dusk rise to fame himself even without the help or the support of others, Master Basel¡¯s actions did give him timely assistance.

    Gavin, who was one of the mages Basel introduced to the Tower of Dusk at that time, had be a senior executive, and made considerable contributions to the development of the Tower of Dusk in the past two years. Meanwhile, n stepped into the Legendary-realm, and became the first Legendary-mage of the Tower of Dusk[Aside from Lin Li.]. He also served as the leader of the mages. In addition to those two, there were many others who had important positions in the Tower of Dusk. They were all from the batch of mages whom Basel had introduced into the Tower of Dusk. It could be said that Basel¡¯s support was indeed rted to the rise and development of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Basel had also promised Lin Li that he would take on the position of the chief judge in the Tower of Dusk in three months¡¯ time. However, when Lin Li had returned from the ckstone Mountains, he could no longer be found in the Dnd Library. Several three-month periods had passed.

    Of course, Lin Li did not hold it against Basel. Although a Legendary powerhouse like him would have made the development of the Tower of Dusk smoother in the earlier days, it would¡¯ve clearly affected his authority as the President of the Tower of Dusk. After all, at that time, Lin Li was just an Archmage. Even though he was the President in name, many mages would¡¯ve definitely put Basel first in their hearts.

    However, Lin Li was surprised that although Basel looked pale and benevolent like before and had eyes that gleamed with wisdom, he looked a little disheveled and embarrassed.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Basel shook his head with a wry smile, and said, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really ashamed. I should havee to see you a long time ago, but to my surprise, I was held up by something.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please sit down,¡± Lin Li allowed Basel to take his seat while he sat beside him.

    When Lin Li met Basel for the first time, he was frightened. Basel could see through everything, and he could not hide anything from him at all¡ªfrom when he learned magic with Andoine to the fact that he¡¯d achieved 28 minutes of continuous output of mana. Hence, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, Basel was like an unpredictable and powerful figure.

    As such, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be curious about what Basel said. What kind of thing actually caused a Legendary powerhouse like Basel to be tied up and cause such a long dy? Basel seemed to be somewhat embarrassed, so it seemed that the matter had not really been resolved.

    After Basel sat down again, he began talking about the reason that he missed the appointment before Lin Li even asked about it. ¡°ording to the agreement with you, I should havee to the Tower of Dusk long ago, but when I was preparing toe over, I received a letter from one of my former students who asked someone to send the letter to me.¡±

    ¡°Your student?¡± Lin Li was a little surprised. He chatted with Gavin and others before, but he never heard of Basel having any students.

    Although the mages in the library had received Basel¡¯s guidance before, and they could be regarded as his students in a sense, strictly speaking, they were not ones. For those mages studying in the library, Basel never regarded himself as a teacher, and only imed that he was a librarian. The mages would only address him as their teacher in private. When in front of others, they would only call him ¡°master¡±. Hence, Lin Li could not help but be shocked when Basel suddenly mentioned his student.

    ¡°Hehe, my student, strictly speaking, is not a real mage, and his talent in magic is really not outstanding.¡± Speaking of his student, Basel¡¯s tone was calm and a little prideful even though he mentioned his untalented student. He continued, ¡°Actually, he¡¯s a schr with deep knowledge in archaeology. Learning magic is only for the convenience of pursuing archaeology in the wild.¡±

    ¡°What is your student¡¯s name?¡± Lin Li asked curiously. He¡¯d initially thought that Basel did not ept students, because he was too picky. Although the mages in the library had good qualifications, they were not geniuses who only appeared once in a century or millennium. If it were not for the fact that the Tower of Dusk had provided a lot of convenience, perhaps only a few would have the hopes of stepping into the Legendary-realm. Surprisingly, Basel did have a student who was someone who wasn¡¯t talented in magic. The only thing that he could impress Basel with was probably his attainment in archeology.

    ¡°His name is Davos, maybe you have heard his name,¡± Basel said in a calm tone as he revealed a name that shocked Lin Li.

    Not only did Lin Li hear Davos¡¯ name before, he had heard it too often!

 Chapter 854 - The Ruins On The Arctic Snowfield

    <h4>Chapter 854: The Ruins On The Arctic Snowfield</h4>

    Although Davos was not a Legendary powerhouse, he was recognized as a Master-level figure in the academic circle of the Fn Kingdom, especially in the field of archeology.

    In the past 100 years, more than half of the written works about archeology had been signed with Davos¡¯ name. At the same time, many materials left by predecessors had also been revised by him. He could be considered to have made outstanding contributions in the research of Anril¡¯s history. Unfortunately, Davos had never appeared during any academic meets, and legend had it that he had gotten into an ident during an archaeological trip.

    ¡°You mean Davos who¡¯s known as the academic master?¡± Lin Li asked in disbelief.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him. When he came to Dnd Library, he actually only wanted to find out more information about the history of the Breezy ins. He and I had a long conversation, and it was as if we¡¯re longtime friends. Initially, I only taught him some means to protect himself when he goes out in the wild. I didn¡¯t expect him to be so stubborn as to insist that I¡¯m his teacher just because I taught him something.¡± At the mention of it, Basel had a look of helplessness and relief on his face.

    At the thought of Davos¡¯ identity as an academic master, a scene appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind. It was that of a thin, neatly dressed middle-aged man who was wearing small, round gold-framed sses. He was seated opposite Basel with a serious expression, and stubbornly addressing Basel as his teacher.

    ¡°It is said that Davos disappeared more than 20 years ago, and there were plenty of rumors about him getting into an ident in the wild. To my surprise, he was still alive. I don¡¯t know what he had experienced over the past 20 years.¡± An archaeologist that had been missing for more than 20 years sent a letter after this time. A Legendary-mage spent two years because of that matter. Lin Li was getting increasingly interested in Basel¡¯s missing.

    ¡°Yeah, I initially thought that he might have met with a mishap too. Otherwise, how could there have been no news about him for more than 20 years? After receiving the letter and seeing his handwriting, I thought my eyes were ying tricks on him. I evenpared his handwriting in the letter to that in his notes.¡± Basel was rather emotional after he recalled how surprised he felt when he received the letter.

    A person he valued had gone missing for more than 20 years, and one day, he suddenly received a letter from him. Lin Li could totally imagine the disbelief and surprise that he felt. Hence, he smiled empathetically, and said, ¡°Master Basel, I can imagine how you feel. Master Basel, where did you see him this time?¡±

    ¡°Later, I read the content of the letter, and only then did I know that he had lived with a tribe of the Dwarf Kingdom for more than 20 years. In the letter, he mentioned that he had found something, and he hoped that I could go over and take a look. Firstly, I wanted to ensure that he was safe, and secondly, I was a little curious about what he discovered, so I decided to meet him at the location that he suggested.¡± At this point, Basel was a little embarrassed. Not only had he bailed on Lin Li and left in a hurry, he had also failed to give Lin Li an exnation, which was somewhat inappropriate.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too bothered by that agreement. I believe no one would have the time to consider other matters had they been in your position in that situation.¡± Seeing that Basel was feeling embarrassed, Lin Li decided to pacify him, after which he asked in puzzlement, ¡°Could it be that Davos has stayed in that ce for more than 20 years?¡±

    ¡°Yes, when I found him at the location he told me about, he waspletely different from what he used to look like. He was fully bearded, and was sitting on the ground andughing loudly with the dwarfs while chugging arge ss of ale. The ale was spilled all over his chest, but he didn¡¯t care. I¡¯m afraid if it were someone else, they might not be able to recognize him. Back then, he was a gentlemanly and poised aristocratic schr. However, his attitude towards me didn¡¯t change much. He still addresses me as his teacher.¡± Basel sighed, but the joy on his face was still there.

    ¡°What on earth did he find? He actually lived with the dwarf tribe for more than 20 years. Surely he¡¯s not nning to live in seclusion there, is he?¡± Lin Li became more curious about Davos¡¯ discovery because it actually made him, an authoritative archaeologist, stay there for 20 years.

    ¡°He said in the letter that he seemed to have found clues rted to the Pantheon, but due to his limitations, he couldn¡¯t explore further, so he thought about me, the librarian who does nothing in the library.¡± Basel did not hide anything from Lin Li, and simply mentioned the content of the letter.

    The Pantheon was known to everyone in the world of Anril, but almost no one knew the true situation of the Pantheon. There were only various legends that could not be verified. Among the many legends, there was a saying that the Titans had called the Pantheon their home in the prehistoric times. Lin Li had heard about that saying from Sendros and Borg from the Dark de.

    It was said that the ancient wyrms and the Titans had fought endlessly during the prehistoric times. The ancient wyrms were led by the Guardians Council that wasposed of five Dragon Aspects, while the Titans were led by the Pantheon. When exploring the ruins of the Haiga Mountain Range, the members of the Dark de believed that the ruins were rted to the Pantheon, but it turned out that it was actually a Sky Castle.

    ording to Sendros, the Pantheon was the resting ce of the spirits of deceased Titans, and it was said that they were drifting in the endless chaos of time and space such that even the gods couldn¡¯t find them. However, that legend could not be proved, either. Except for the Immortal King who had disappeared and Geresco, no one had the ability to explore the chaos of time and space, let alone find the legendary Pantheon.

    Lin Li once slipped into the Endless Labyrinth in the Sky Castle, where he watched the entire evolution of the world of Anril and entered a massive pce. The pce was sorge that he was just like an insignificant ant when he was in there. Based on the size of the pce, he once thought that it should be the legendary Pantheon, but there was nothing in the pce that could prove his conjecture. It would be impossible to get an urate answer.

    In any case, although no one knew what the Pantheon was like, the people were all very sure of the existence of that ce. The Pantheon had been mentioned frequently in numerous historical materials that circted in Anril. The Pantheon had also appeared in the history recorded by the High Elves, but there wasn¡¯t a detailed description of it.

    ¡°The Pantheon?¡± Lin Li was not too surprised when he heard the name, but he showed some apprehension. The Pantheon was a mysterious existence which countless powerful figures in history had tried to find. They had searched almost all the ces they could search in Anril, but no one seeded. Although Davos was an academic master and an expert archaeologist, his personal strength was limited, and he could not delve too deep into areas that were too dangerous. It was probably very difficult for anyone to set foot in that area.

    Seeing that there was apprehension on Lin Li¡¯s face, Basel smiled, and said, ¡°It seems that you have also thought about it. Although Davos has learned magic from me, his abilities are still very limited. Hence, when I saw that the Pantheon was mentioned in the letter, I was also very skeptical. After I found him in the dwarf tribe, I made some preparations, and set off from Danmorough under his lead. We went all the way to the north, and made it to the depths of the Arctic snowfield, where I finally saw an ancient ruin he found.¡±

    ¡°There... really is one?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but get a great shock. The depths of the Arctic snowfield were definitely a forbidden zone for living beings, let alone humans. Even the wyrms wouldn¡¯t dare to set foot there, except the ancient Icest Wyrm.

    The freezing temperatures were one reason. Another reason was the terrible hurricanes that often urred there. Evenrge ice blocks would be trapped, and the power was strong enough to smash wyrms as well.

    ¡°Yes, but it wasn¡¯t the Pantheon. It was a ruin of the High Elves,¡± Basel answered with a nod.

    ¡°This...¡± Lin Li was a little speechless. The appearance of the ruins of the High Elves was probably even more incredible than the Pantheon. However, Lin Li thought of the coboration between him and Hoffman of the Glittergold Trade Union. Since there might be the High Elves¡¯ relics in the huge canyon of Gargas, Basel¡¯s and Davos¡¯ discovery might not be that puzzling.

    Basel didn¡¯t know about Lin Li¡¯s cooperation with Hoffman, and thus thought that Lin Li definitely did not believe the things he said. As such, he exined, ¡°I know the High Elves have always detested cold environments, and they almost never set foot in the extreme north ording to history. It¡¯s actually normal for you not to believe it. When I saw the ruins, I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes, either, but as we got deeper, we found some sculptures that were made in the style of the High Elves. I also saw some totems of theirs. Those findings made me more sure of the spections.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but this piece of news is just really surprising.¡± Although Lin Li had not had much contact with Basel, he knew that Basel was known as a knowledgeable person in the Breezy ins. Besides, Davos was also a rather authoritative archaeological expert. It was almost impossible for it to be a misunderstanding. Davos probably thought that the ruins were the Pantheon because he couldn¡¯t explore deeper due to his limitations in strength. He naturally did not expect that the High Elves would appear in such a cold and harsh environment.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Davos and I still seem to be too weak in power to go too deep into the ruins to explore. However, we found some broken pieces of paper at the entrance, and some were with magic runes.¡± While speaking, Basel took out some things and ced them on the table.

    ¡°Were these found in the ruins?¡± Lin Li shifted his gaze onto the paper, only to see that there were various alchemy forms written on them. However, there were too many missing parts, so it was impossible to see what forms they were. There were also some pieces of paper with various magic symbols painted on them, together with some High Elves Print.

    ¡°Yes, those were all that we found. Unfortunately, they¡¯re not enough for us to learn more about the ruins. Look at the text on this piece of paper.¡± Basel pointed at a broken piece of paper and made Lin Li look at the print. He then said in a puzzled tone, ¡°A huge gully is mentioned here. Could it be the Immortal King...¡±

    The Immortal King! Lin Li could not help but be cautious when he saw those words. The Immortal King was a god-like existence and an unparalleled powerhouse who killed the Dragon of Destruction. Everything that was rted to the Immortal King could not be taken lightly.

    Basel asked Lin Li to look at the things he had collected while he leaned back in his chair. He seemed to be deep in thought, and his eyes were a little ssy. He muttered, ¡°What could that huge gully be...¡±

    After Lin Li saw those things, he didn¡¯t manage to find any special clues, but when he heard Basel talking to himself, he suddenly got an idea, and he wondered, <i>Could the huge gully mentioned on that piece of paper refer to the huge canyon of Gargas?</i> At the thought of it, he said, ¡°Master Basel, I do have some idea about that huge gully.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what exactly is it!?¡± Basel muttered. Then, all of a sudden, he realized what Lin Li was talking about. He quickly looked at Lin Li in disbelief, and asked, ¡°What did you say just now? Do you know what this huge gully is?¡±

    Lin Li understood the reason for Basel¡¯s reaction. If it were someone else, they would definitely be conflicted after spending almost two years dwelling on that issue. Hence, he said, ¡°Master Basel, I went to the Glittergold Trade Union a few days ago, and Master Hoffman spoke to me about something...¡± He then told Basel briefly about the cooperation between him and Hoffman. He also mentioned his conjecture about the huge gully being the huge canyon of Gargas.

    Listening to Lin Li¡¯s words, Basel¡¯s eyes gradually lit up, and he couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself, ¡°Is it really it?¡±

    ¡°Master Basel, we¡¯ve already agreed to explore the huge canyon of Gargas together with Hoffman. It just so happens that you¡¯vee back this time. Why don¡¯t you join us in exploring the ruins?¡± Seeing that Basel was a little tempted, Lin Li decided to let him join them.

    ¡°This... doesn¡¯t seem to be appropriate.¡± Although Basel had previously agreed to join the Tower of Dusk and serve as the Chief Judge of the Tower of Dusk, he had yet to report his current identity to the Supreme Council. Hence, strictly speaking, he was not considered part of the Tower of Dusk, which made him somewhat hesitant.

    Lin Li guessed what Basel was worried about; hence, he smilingly said, ¡°Haha, Master Basel, you think too much. Since you have agreed to join the Tower of Dusk, it wouldn¡¯t matter if you report it or not. I believe you.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll proceed with your arrangements then, President.¡± Basel¡¯s good mood made him respond to Lin Li jokingly.

 Chapter 855 - Attack Of The Undead Creatures

    <h4>Chapter 855: Attack Of The Undead Creatures</h4>

    Although Basel had been working as a librarian in Dnd Library, he was rather prestigious in the hearts of the mages of the Breezy ins. Most of the mages who had received his guidance regarded him as their teacher. That was great news to Lin Li and the mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    A few days after Basel returned, Lin Li received a letter from Hoffman, which stated that the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team of adventurers was ready to set off from Lafalia City. It was also stated in the letter that the meeting point agreed upon was near the huge canyon of Gargas, so there would be no need for the people of the Tower of Dusk to meet them at Lafalia City.

    Knowing they might be exploring the ruins of the High Elven royal family, Lin Li took the consideration of the team¡¯s strength seriously when deciding on the members. The first two members of the team were the Legendary-level Undead servants Ujfalusi and Norfeller, followed by Connoris who had the perfect body and Angno who had the Alchemy Colossus. Basel who had just returned, n who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm, and a team of magesposed of hundreds of Archmages were also part of the team. This time, Lin Li decided to bring all the Legendary-level members that he could. It was almost like he was going all out.

    Lin Li was not worried about the safety of the Tower of Dusk. After hearing the words of the Ashen Warlock, therge and small forces of the Breezy ins did not dare to tantlyy a finger on the Tower of Dusk. Hence, there was no need to leave behind too much manpower for guarding the ce. Besides, even if someone was harboring ill intentions about the Tower of Dusk, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape alive, because they would be attacked by the Magical Crystal Cannons, All-Kill Arrays, and the powerful Eternal Furnace that was on top of the Tower of Dusk.

    The expedition team from the Tower of Dusk set off for the huge canyon of Gargas. Along the way, they managed to frighten those who paid attention to the Tower of Dusk, especially the ones who had offended them. They were all terrified, and thought that the Tower of Dusk was nning to settle scores with them. The Mithril Alliance kept their guard up even more, and stayed alert after receiving the news. The members of the headquarters of each of the five major families were panic-stricken, and began to prepare for the future.

    Yes, the Ashen Warlock did say that no one was allowed to break the existing peace, but that would depend on who the people in question were. Judging from the situation of the gathering in Gran Town, it was obvious that the Ashen Warlock valued the President of the Tower of Dusk, and they might have reached an agreement during the secret conversation that they had in the Tower of Ashes.

    However, Lin Li did not care about what those forces were thinking about or getting up to. The expedition team went all the way north, and soon arrived at the northern boundary of the Breezy ins, where they entered Lockdamer and headed towards the location that they had agreed upon with Hoffman.

    A few dayster, the team from the Tower of Dusk arrived in the vicinity of the huge canyon of Gargas, where they joined the team from the Glittergold Trade Union, which had already set up a camp.

    Hoffman, who had received the news, led several senior officials from the Glittergold Trade Union out of the camp. After meeting with Lin Li and the rest, Hoffman immediately noticed Basel, who was beside Lin Li, and got a great shock. Although Basel had been living in seclusion in Dnd Library, he was prestigious amongst the mages, and Hoffman, the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, definitely knew who he was.

    Hoffman didn¡¯t even bother to say hello to Lin Li, and instead asked Basel in shock, ¡°Master Basel, you...¡±

    Basel smiled, and said, ¡°I... have joined the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Hoffman was even more shocked. He turned to look at Lin Li inquisitively.

    Lin Li had long predicted that Hoffman would be shocked. Hence, he exined, ¡°Master Basel has agreed to serve as the chief judge of the Tower of Dusk, but we haven¡¯t held an inauguration ceremony yet because of this expedition.¡±

    In a Guild of Magic, the chief judge yed an extremely important role, and his authority would not be below that of the leader. Any matter rted to the safety of the guild would be handled by the chief judge, who¡¯d have full authority. Sometimes, he might even override the power of the President of the guild. It would be no exaggeration to say that to some extent, the chief judge was akin to another President of the guild. Hence, unlike other members of the guild, the chief judge would have to go through a very formal inauguration ceremony.

    Lin Li got his team to set up a camp nearby while he led Basel and the others into the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s camp. This time, the Glittergold Trade Union sent quite a few members, including the Legendary-mage Thomas, the Sword Sage Jerany, the Legendary-mage Elvan, and the pair of twin Legendary Assassins, Gia and Sike. In addition to those major shareholders, almost half of the mages of the Glittergold Trade Union were there. There were probably about 100-odd Archmages. Besides, there were also 100 Warriors who were above level-15, and were the elites of the Skyfire Knights. However, they did not bring their mounts due to the environment there.

    The senior executives of the two parties sat in the tent of the Glittergold Trade Union, and Hoffman took out a map of the huge canyon of Gargas. However, the illustration was notplete, and it was obviously drawn by the previous expedition team.

    However, it didn¡¯t take long for everyone to discuss the n for the expedition inside the tent. All of a sudden, there was a loud noise outside the camp. A soldier barged into the tent, and said, ¡°Mr. President, there are a lot of Undead creatures outside the camp.¡±

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. At this moment, it was still daytime, and ordinary low-level Undead creatures were not allowed to move under the sun. The appearance of arge number of Undead creatures was rather peculiar.

    Sunlight was a natural form of Holy Light. Although its power was scattered, and thus it did not have powerful purification powers, it was rather deadly to low-level Undead creatures. Even in the gathering ces of the Undead creatures, such as the Shadowglen and Scar of Death, there would be a denseyer of Death Energy fog that would shield them from the sun, while the low-level Undead creatures would fall into deep slumber underground during the day.

    It was still sunny in the huge canyon of Gargas, where the sunlight was particrly dazzling under the reflection of the ice and snow, making it seem like the rays were stronger than usual. However, even under such circumstances, Lin Li, Hoffman, and the rest still managed to see a dense cluster of Undead creatures that were swarming in like a white tide from a spot that was one or two kilometers away from the camp.

    Upon sight of the Undead creatures that were swarming towards the camp, Lin Li and the others could not help but be shocked, because the Undead creatures were a little different from the ones they had seen before. That exined the suddenmotion in the camp.

    The types of Undead creatures could be seen at first nce, and the one rushing to the front was still the Skeletal Warriors, which were the perpetual cannon fodder of the Undead creatures. However, the Skeletal Warriors were all covered with crystal clear ice, and seemed to be wearing crystal armor that glistened under the sunlight. The originally skinny Skeletal Warriors also appeared to be much stronger and more powerful due to the fact that they were covered in ice.

    Another thing that caught the attention of Lin Li and the rest was the diversity of the Skeletal Warriors. Not all of them were formed from human bones. Some of them were shorter but thicker, which suggested that they should have been made out of dwarven bones, while some had horns or fangs, and were obviously rted to beastmen. Behind those human, dwarven, and beastman Skeletal Warriors, there were giant skeletons, which were the skeletons of giants that were said to have the blood of Titans.

    ¡°Legend has it that this was once a battlefield where all races fought, and it seems to be true,¡± Hoffman muttered to himself.

    The huge canyon of Gargas was known to be an insurmountable moat, but it stretched for thousands of miles, and did not quite divide the entire continent in half. Although the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union did not meet at the end of the Grand Canyon, they were about 100 miles away. The terrain there made it easier for them to enter the canyon. It was said that the rebellion alliance formed by various major races had fought several battles with the High Elves because they wanted to rebel against the rule of the High Elves.

    Perhaps the rebels, too, wanted to take advantage of the cold environment to affect the High Elves back then, but it turned out that they simply didn¡¯t enjoy cold temperatures. The oue of the battle was imaginable. It was said that hundreds of thousands of rebels were buried under the white ice and snow there, and many of them were powerful figures of various races.

    However, due to the harsh environment there which was cold and dry unlike the rancid Shadowglen and Scar of Death, Lin Li and the rest did not notice the hidden death aura. That was also partly due to the gloominess that was permeating the huge canyon.

    Upon sight of the ice-armored Undead creatures at this moment, everyone recalled the legend about that ce.

    Although the Undead creatures all had peculiar appearance, and were wrapped in armor-like ice, they were, after all, just some low-level Skeletal Warriors and Hell Ghouls. Hence, they did not constitute a substantial threat to the powerful expedition that consisted of 300-400 powerhouses who were above level-15.

    After the Undead creatures entered the firing range, the Archmages who had been prepared for a long time raised their staffs, and various rays of light from magical spells instantly filled the air. The magical elements in the air seemed to have been ignited by Mars[1] as they erupted instantly. Although only less than 100 Archmages hadunched offensive spells, the magic storm formed by all kinds of spells was rather amazing as it swept towards the Undead creatures like a thunderstorm.

    All of a sudden, ice spikes and bones flew all over the sky, and the rising fog almost covered the entire area. When the thick fog dissipated and everything calmed down, the menacing army of Undead creatures hadpletely disappeared outside the camp, leaving only broken limbs strewn all over the ground. Some of the mages of the Tower of Dusk continued to build their own camp as if nothing had happened.

    Although the Undead creatures were rather peculiar, Lin Li shook his head slightly after seeing that they were not that much stronger than their ordinary counterparts. However, when Lin Li turned around and prepared to return to the tent of the Glittergold Trade Union to continue discussing the exploration n, he saw that Ujfalusi and Norfeller who were behind him looked rather bizarre.

    Seeing the two of them gawk at the Undead creatures like people who saw a feast of delicacies after starving for several days, Lin Li immediately understood what was going on. Smiling, he said, ¡°You two don¡¯t need to follow me, just do whatever you want. Go ahead.¡± He then returned to the tent with Hoffman and the others.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Ujfalusi and Norfeller beamed with joy as they walked away from the camp together. Each of them chanted a short spell in the direction of the destroyed army of Undead creatures, only for everyone to see that there were suddenly various orbs of light in the ce that had quieted down again. The orbs looked just like fireflies that were swarming towards the Undead duo.

    They were the soul fire of the Undead creatures that had died. Unfortunately, many had beenpletely extinguished under the scouring of the magic storm. The rest was also damaged and much worse thanplete soul fire.

    After absorbing the soul fire, Norfeller and Ujfalusi looked at each other before returning to the camp while everyone looked at them with puzzlement. They did not enter, and simply waited outside.

    In the tent, Lin Li, Hoffman, and the others talked about the Undead creatures just now, but they didn¡¯t have any clues. Hence, they continued to n exploring the ruins. However, not long after they started talking again, there was another magical explosion outside, and someone barged in to report that another group of Undead creatures had arrived. However, this time, everyone knew the strength of those Undead creatures. Only when the group of Undead creatures were wiped out did they send someone to report about it.

    ¡°Strange, what¡¯s wrong with these Undead creatures? We may give out our auras, but they can¡¯t possibly be unafraid of sunlight anymore, can they?¡± Hoffman muttered with a frown after hearing his subordinate¡¯s report.

    ¡°Master Hoffman, didn¡¯t the expedition team that you sent earlier find arge number of Undead creatures?¡± Lin Li asked in puzzlement. Hoffman once said that a team of 50 people had been sent to confirm the authenticity of the clues, but only two returned alive. Didn¡¯t they mention any Undead creatures in their report?

    Hoffman shook his head, pointed to a spot on the map, and said to Lin Li and others, ¡°The expedition entered the canyon from a spot more than 100 miles away from here, and they only encountered individual Undead creatures along the way. They did not encounter such arge group of Undead creatures, so this information has not been included in the section of key things to note.¡±

    ¡°In that case, why did we meet at this ce instead of the spot where they began entering the canyon?¡± Lin Li continued to ask. Since the previous expedition in front had explored it, it was, in theory, obviously easier to enter ording to the route that had been tried previously. That was also a problem that Lin Li had been wondering about ever since he was informed about the meeting point.

    [1] Probably the Roman god, iirc that¡¯s where the name Helios came from (though that one¡¯s Greek).

 Chapter 856 - Uninvited Guest

    <h4>Chapter 856: Uninvited Guest</h4>

    ¡°This is a route that had been identally discovered when thest two members of the expedition team retreated. It¡¯s much safer than going in from the front. However, no one thought that there would be so many Undead creatures here. Those two members didn¡¯t encounter any Undead creatures when they evacuated in the beginning!¡± Hoffman obviously couldn¡¯t understand why those Undead creatures had to create trouble for him and the others.

    As he was talking, the roaring of magical spells began again in the camp that had just quieted down. The people in the tent looked at each other helplessly; as expected, someone soon reported that another group of Undead creatures had attacked the camp. If it happened once, it could be a coincidence, but not if it happened three or four times. Things were definitely not simple.

    ¡°Sir, our camp has been surrounded by an unknown number of Undead creatures.¡± Soon after the third wave of Undead creatures was eliminated, someone went into the tent again to break the piece of news which made everyone feel uneasy.

    Lin Li and the others went outside the tent, and looked around the camp, only to see the surging army of Undead creatures swarming towards the camp. At the front, there were still Skeletal Warriors wearing ice armor. At the back, there were Hell Ghouls and Skeletal Mages that were continuously casting low-level Necromagic like Hellfire bullets. Although they were not powerful, they were overwhelming and daunting.

    Lin Li cast a Warlock¡¯s Eyes into the air, and carefully observed the army of Undead creatures. There were many more Undead creatures in this wave than in the previous three wavesbined. There were probably at least nearly 100,000 of them.

    Lin Li had seen such arge-scale army of Undead creatures, and he had seen many more in the Shadowglen, the Seven-Realm Spiral, and the Sky Castle. However, the sight of the vast number of Undead creatures still made everyone feel uneasy.

    However, despite the situation, not everyone was worried. Ujfalusi and Norfeller were extremely excited. Ujfalusi drove the Humerus Wyrm and flew directly above the Undead creatures before continuously casting powerful Necromagic spells. As the Undead creatures copsed under the spells, countless rays of light emerged from their remains, and shot directly at Ujfalusi and the Humerus Wyrm.

    Norfeller wielded a pair of daggers, and had already darted towards the Undead creatures. The Undead creatures that were wrapped in ice were falling to the ground in rows when hit with the light reflected off the daggers like harvested crops. While Norfeller rushed to and fro, there were countless rays of light dashing over from behind like they were tailing him. Whenever Norfeller¡¯s figure paused, the light would dash into his body.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller were Undead creatures. Although they also had other ways to improve their strength, the most direct and quickest method was undoubtedly to tackle the soul fire. Devouring arge amount of soul fire from other Undead creatures would allow one¡¯s soul fire to be strengthened, and it would be akin to humans increasing their own potential. Although the increase in strength wouldn¡¯t be obvious, it would increase one¡¯s capacity. To them, soul fire was undoubtedly the best supplement in the world that nothing else could rece.

    Although the number of Undead creatures wasrge, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were both genuine Legendary powerhouses. The members of the expedition team also had strength of at least level-15. Hence, the Undead creatures could not do much damage to the team. They were soon destroyed.

    After annihting that wave of Undead creatures, Ujfalusi and Norfeller returned to Lin Li. The eyes of the two Undead servants were filled with excitement. Obviously, the soul fire that had been harvested by them had benefited them greatly. As long as they filled an erged bucket with water, there would immediately be a great leap in strength.

    However, the victory did not make the Tower of Dusk and the senior executives of the Glittergold happy. Instead, they frowned and did not hide their worry. The Undead creatures had arrived too mysteriously, and it was as if they had identified the expedition team as their enemies.

    ¡°What do these Undead creatures want to do? Does the location of our camp have any impact on them?¡± Hoffman asked his subordinates about the surrounding environment but did not find out anything special.

    ¡°Could it be that our arrival disturbed them?¡± Lin Li asked, stating his guess. However, he immediately shook his head to deny it. They had merely disturbed it and it would not cause the Undead creatures to disregard the threat posed by the sunlight. They immediately attacked the expedition team in broad daylight.

    The abnormal behavior of the Undead creatures made everyone feel very puzzled. Their spections could not exin anything, either. Of all members of the two teams, Thomas and Basel were the most knowledgeable. However, the two masters felt that they could not grasp the key to the problem.

    ¡°Regardless of the reason, I think it is impossible for us to get some rest here. It is still daytime, and there are already Undead creatures attacking the camp. If nightes, I¡¯m afraid...¡± said Hoffman, who was still somewhat helpless after the discussion.

    ¡°In this case, I think it¡¯s better to enter the huge canyon in advance while it¡¯s still bright not to cause unnecessary losses here,¡± Lin Li suggested. Although the waves of attacks from the Undead creatures did not cause any loss to the expedition team, everyone knew that the Undead creatures were the most active at night. There were already numerous Undead creatures there, and if they were to wait until night, the ce would really be a world of Undead creatures. Even if there were many Legendary powerhouses in the team, no one could guarantee that there would be no idents in the battle with the Undead creatures.

    ¡°Indeed, I think so too.¡± Hearing Lin Li¡¯s suggestion, Hoffman nodded, and after agreeing with the others, he ordered his men to clean up the camp. They immediately started preparing for their entrance into the huge canyon.

    Following the orders of Hoffman and Lin Li, the camps of the two forces immediately got livelier. The Tower of Dusk had yet to set up a camp; hence, they managed to save themselves a lot of hassle. As for the Glittergold Trade Union, they had a lot more manpower in the first ce, and thus it didn¡¯t take them much time to clean up. Soon, the two teams were ready to set off again, and under the leadership of Hoffman and Lin Li, they headed towards the huge canyon.

    There was arge gap on the cliff at the side of the canyon. If one were to peek through the gap, they would see a dangerous road that could not quite be considered a road. It would extend diagonally toward the bottom of the canyon¡ªthat was the route that Hoffman said would provide easier entry to the canyon. It was discovered by two members who had evacuated.

    In fact, the Gargas canyon was said to be bottomless, but it was only so for ordinary people. For the Archmages who had mastered the Levitation Spell, it was not very difficult to go directly to the bottom of the canyon. However, considering the previous attacks by Undead creatures, they decided to slowly walk along the slope to the bottom of the canyon for safety¡¯s sake.

    The road on the mountain was difficult and dangerous. If they were not careful, they might fall and break their bones. However, the expedition team consisted of powerhouses who were all above level-15. Not to mention the Archmages who could levitate, even the level-15 Warriors were all agile and active. Any small projection would allow them to stand firmly. Hence, while the entire team went through plenty of danger along the way, none of the members got injured.

    The expedition team descended to the bottom of the huge canyon. The sky above their heads had be a line, and light almostpletely disappeared in the surroundings. The mages cast their magical spells to light up the path. Spheres of light bounced around the team, emitting soft rays of light that dispelled the darkness around them.

    After a short rest, the expedition team continued without stopping under Hoffman¡¯s suggestion. Instead, they continued to advance toward the depths of the canyon. Although the team had just descended from a cliff that was more than a kilometer high, no one objected to Hoffman¡¯s proposal. If they were ordinary people, they would be exhausted and paralyzed, but the powerhouses who were above level-15 did not get affected much.

    ¡°Stay alert!¡±

    Shortly after the team entered the depths of the canyon, Hoffman suddenly issued a warning to the team when he heard that the Legendary Assassin Gia, who was in charge of finding the way, had returned. The Tower of Dusk had also kept their guard up after hearing Lin Li¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Master Hoffman, did you find anything?¡± Lin Li asked Hoffman when he walked towards the people of the Glittergold Trade Union. When they were outside, they encountered arge number of Undead creatures. Now that they had entered the canyon, they did not encounter any obstacles, but no one believed that it was really possible to get to the destination easily.

    At this moment, Hoffman looked extremely sullen, and he said in a low voice, ¡°The human expedition team that we discovered in front is very likely to have the same agenda as us.¡±

    Hearing this news, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but frown, and he said, ¡°Could it be because our exploration n was leaked?¡±

    Hoffman said that it was possible, but in fact everyone knew that the things that appeared in the canyon were definitely not for business.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the front and see where this person is from,¡± Hoffman said, and then ordered his subordinates, ¡°Stay alert, continue to advance forward.¡±

    Lin Li did not return to the team of the Tower of Dusk, and instead followed Hoffman to continue advancing with the team. Lin Li was also very puzzled about the expedition team that suddenly appeared. Hoffman once vowed that only the Glittergold Trade Union knew about the clues. After reaching an agreement for a cooperation with Hoffman, Lin Li and the members of the Tower of Dusk did not mention it to anyone, either. Hence, the news definitely couldn¡¯t have leaked from the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 857 - Unexpected Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 857: Unexpected Encounter</h4>

    However, it seemed unlikely for the Glittergold Trade Union to be the ones to leak the news. It was said that only Hoffman and Thomas knew about the matter. The other major shareholders did not know about it before they set off. In fact, even the two explorers who were lucky to survive were unclear if the information they discovered was of any value.

    The expedition team advanced slowly while keeping their guard up. After making a few turns in the canyon, they finally saw another expedition team that was also staying vignt. As the two teams met, the atmosphere suddenly became a lot more somber, as if a tiny bit of peculiarity would cause an intense battle to break out.

    ¡°Damn, why are these guys here?¡± Hoffman could not help but curse under his breath after seeing the leader of that team.

    At this moment, Lin Li also saw several acquaintances in the opposing team. At the same time, he also found out about their origin.

    The opposing team was led by two people. One was Joseph, who asked to expel the Tower of Dusk when they were in Gran Town, and was also the current leader of the Mithril Alliance. The other was the patriarch of the Caesar Family, us. It was said that the Caesar Family had fallen out with the Mithril Alliance because of an issue, which also caused them to withdraw from the Mithril Alliance in a fit of anger. Although the two forces were not hostile towards each other in the Breezy ins, they rarely contacted each other. It seemed that the rumors were rather unreliable. Either that, or they had been acting all along.

    However, what made Lin Li feel puzzled was the fact that there was a young man who was not very strong among the people behind Joseph and us, yet was looking at Lin Li with immense hatred. Lin Li touched his chin, feeling somewhat bewildered, and wondered, <i>Since when did I have such a weak enemy?</i>

    The teams from the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk stopped after traveling a safe distance. Hoffman and Lin Li walked out of the team slowly, and approached the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance. At the same time, Joseph and us, as well as the patriarchs of the Mithril League, walked out of their teams and walked towards Hoffman and Lin Li.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you, Patriarch Joseph. The world is really small. I didn¡¯t expect that we could run into each other in such a ce.¡± Hoffman did live up to his identity as a businessman. Although he was very upset deep down, he did not show it on his face.

    ¡°Haha, President Hoffman, President Felic, it¡¯s indeed a coincidence. If I hadn¡¯t believed in your character, I would have thought that I was being tailed,¡± Joseph said with a mirthless smile. Lately, the Tower of Dusk had embarrassed the Mithril Alliance in the Breezy ins. Not only did they not gain any benefits, they ended up losing a lot of gold coins. He even wanted to kill his opponent.

    However, although they were no longer in the Breezy ins, Ashen Warlock¡¯s words still were a great deterrent. After all, the Mithril Alliance was still from the Breezy ins, not to mention that Joseph had also clearly witnessed the strength of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union. Not only were they not inferior to the Mithril Alliance, they were actually much stronger. If they were to get physical, the Mithril Alliance might be at the losing end.

    On the other hand, Hoffman and Lin Li were also unwilling to face unnecessary trouble. After all, the other party was also an expedition team that was united by two top forces, and their strength was not to be belittled. The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had more than 10 Legendary powerhouses, and the teams behind themposed of mages and members of other professions were also on par with theirs. If they were to really get into a fight, the consequences would probably be dire.

    Both parties were talking to each other pointlessly. Although they seemed to be harmonious on the surface, not everyone was satisfied with the situation. The Mithril Alliance had recognized Lin Li as an enemy. Atst, someone could not control themselves any longer, and pointed at Lin Li in a bid to curse at him.

    However, at this moment, the patriarch of the Caesar Family, us, who was standing beside Joseph, raised his hand to stop the young man. He hollered, ¡°Charles, who are you to speak here? Get lost!¡±

    ¡°But Grandpa, he...¡± Charles stopped abruptly, and looked at his grandfather with an aggrieved expression. Even if he could not keep his position as the patriarch of the Dida Family, his grandfather never reprimanded him that sternly. Yet, his grandfather actually embarrassed him in front of so many people because of the culprit who¡¯d made him lose his throne!

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t you have any basic etiquette? He¡¯s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Go back immediately, don¡¯t disgrace me here,¡± us immediately hollered at him sternly in front of everyone, no longer appearing as calm and polite as he used to.

    Charles red at Lin Li angrily, but didn¡¯t dare to go against his grandfather¡¯s instructions. Hence, he turned around and returned to his team unwillingly. However, after he returned, he threw a tantrum at the people around him before ring at Lin Li with resentment in his eyes as if he detested him greatly.

    How could he not hate him!? He was originally the head of the Dida Family, which was extremely glorious. Yet, the damned Felic caused the mages of his family to suffer severe mental damage and lose all chances of further progress. As a result, he was also stripped of his position of patriarch. How could his hatred be described by words!? Charles had no idea why his grandfather stopped him. He could only look at his enemy and imagine killing him deep inside.

    Seeing that Charles had returned after being reprimanded, the people from the Mithril Alliance were relieved. If Charles were to really curse his heart out, a conflict would be inevitable. They knew that it would be the case based on their understanding of the young President of the Tower of Dusk. If that were to happen, how could they continue exploring the ruins?

    In fact, Lin Li and Charles hadn¡¯t seen each other much during the incident in Gran Town. Hence, Lin Li never thought that Charles would hate him. However, after hearing Charles¡¯ voice when he spoke and hearing Norfeller¡¯s exnation, he finally learned about the entire story.

    ¡°It turns out that Charles is the grandson of us. It¡¯s no wonder that he was appointed as the patriarch of the Dida Family. They must have hoped to use those ties and get the Caesar Family to help them maintain their position in the Mithril Alliance. Unfortunately, this kid is still not cut out to be a leader even though he¡¯s talented in magic,¡± Hoffman whispered to Lin Li when us was reprimanding Charles.

    At this moment, Charles turned to look at Lin Li again after his grandchild left. ¡°President Felic, I¡¯ve embarrassed myself. This child has been neglected since his father passed away when he was a child. I hope you don¡¯t mind. ¡±

    ¡°Patriarch us, you¡¯re making it sound too serious. It¡¯s just a small matter, I won¡¯t take it to heart,¡± Lin Li replied with a smile. Although the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance were at odds, exploring the ruins was the most important thing at the moment. Hence, Lin Li responded very politely.

    The only reason the two parties had a conversation was undoubtedly for the sake of avoiding unnecessary conflicts. At the same time, they also hoped that the other party would not provoke them.

    They then returned to each of their own teams before moving forward in the same direction. Upon arriving at an open space in the canyon, they stopped in unison, and began to build their respective camps.

    For many Legendary powerhouses, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether they took breaks or not. Even if they did not take a break for several days or months, they would not feel any obvious fatigue. However, the Archmages and Warriors below level-15 would all have to get enough rest to replenish energy if they wanted to maintain peakbat power when dealing with various emergencies.

    After the meeting between the two teams today, the senior executives of both parties also had to reconsider the next part of their n. After all, a strongpetitor appeared, and there had been many changes.

    ¡°Grandpa, why are you so polite to that Felic? Had he not hurt the people under me, those old fogies wouldn¡¯t have stripped me of my position as patriarch.¡± Charles waited for the chance to be alone with his grandfather, and he finally aired his grievances immediately. He had been in the position of patriarch for less than two years, yet he was sacked. It was all Felic¡¯s fault.

    ¡°Old fogy? Is that what you call me behind my back too?¡± us glowered at him and raised his hand in a bid to hit him.

    Seeing that his grandfather was not really angry, Charles quickly stepped aside and begged for mercy. ¡°Please calm down, how could I have the audacity to say that about you? I meant the elders of the Dida Family. They were the ones who made me the patriarch, and also the ones who stripped me of my position.¡±

    ¡°Patriarch, patriarch, do you think it is a glorious thing to be a patriarch? That is a responsibility. If your father hadn¡¯t been obsessed with that position, he wouldn¡¯t have been dragged down for decades without gaining any strength. In the end, he even thought about summoning the Abyssal Demon Dragon. If not for that, he wouldn¡¯t have implicated your mother...¡± At the mention of his deceased daughter, us couldn¡¯t help but feel a little gloomy as he returned to his seat.

    ¡°Grandpa, the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk are already at odds, why are you still to them? With the power of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, it¡¯d be a piece of cake to deal with them.¡± Compared to his deceased parents, Charles was still more concerned about the seat of the patriarch. If he had never taken the seat, he wouldn¡¯t have been that affected. The point was that he had been assumed the position for two years, and felt that he was above everyone else.

    ¡°What about the Glittergold Trade Union?¡± us did not reprimand Charles for his self-righteousness. In his opinion, his grandson was highly talented in magic, and he would definitely be able to step into the Legendary-realm in no time. He could slowly educate his grandson in other aspects. That was also the reason he didn¡¯t me his grandson much after the unexpected failure of his n to control the Dida Family. After all, a Legendary powerhouse was also very important to a force.

 Chapter 858 - Leaked News

    <h4>Chapter 858: Leaked News</h4>

    ¡°The Glittergold Trade Union... After all, the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk are only temporary partners, unlike the Mithril Alliance. We¡¯re an alliance that has been around for over a thousand years. I doubt the Glittergold Trade Union would help the Tower of Dusk if we went against them,¡± Charles answered.

    ¡°Hmph, an alliance that has been around for over a thousand years? At the beginning, there were 13 families, but why are there only six left? Why did we, the Caesar Family, withdraw from the alliance?¡± us said with disdain, but he also knew that his grandson was not one who could keep secrets, so he didn¡¯t exin too much to him. Instead, he switched back to the main topic, and said, ¡°Do you really think we can easily deal with the Tower of Dusk even if the Glittergold Trade Union doesn¡¯t help them?¡±

    Charles was just an Archmage in the end, so his outlook was limited. When he heard his grandfather¡¯s words, he was somewhat unconvinced. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case? That Felic and his two Undead creatures are at most just three Legendary powerhouses. We have so many Legendary powerhouses, can¡¯t they deal with them?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you underestimate the Tower of Dusk, but you¡¯re not entirely to me. You just need to know that the Tower of Dusk managed to get to where they are today not because of luck.¡± Seeing how puzzled Charles looked, us smiled and shook his head. He continued, ¡°I bet you¡¯ve only been paying attention to that Felic right from the beginning, huh? Didn¡¯t you notice the mages of the Tower of Dusk? What kind of power can a groupposed of nearly 100 Archmages exert? Since you have been the patriarch of the Dida Family for two years, you should be able to imagine it.¡±

    ¡°No matter how many Archmages there may be, they still aren¡¯t Legendary-mages. Besides, we have a team of mages too...¡± Charles grumbled in a disgruntled manner.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about the mages from the Tower of Dusk being on par with ours. Let¡¯s just talk about the Legendary powerhouses that you keep mentioning. That Felic is a few years younger than you, and is now a Legendary-mage. You might think that he has just entered the Legendary-realm for less than two years, and isn¡¯t a big deal.¡± At this point, us could not help but sigh deep down. The young mage of the Tower of Dusk was aplete monster. He stepped into the Legendary-realm before the age of 20, which was an unprecedented feat in Anril.

    However, Charles still found us¡¯ high opinion of Lin Li uneptable. He could not help but ask, ¡°Isn¡¯t it? Even if he entered the Legendary-realm early, it¡¯s only been a little more than two years since then. How powerful can he get within such a short period of time?¡±

    ¡°I must tell you that you are wrong to think so, and you¡¯re actually very wrong. Haven¡¯t you heard of the conflict between the Tower of Dusk and the Dark de? Can an ordinary Legendary-mage defeat two Legendary powerhouses who had been famous for a long time? And now...¡± us said a few words to Charles, but when he said that, his brows furrowed. At the thought of how he felt when he met Lin Li, he couldn¡¯t be sure if he was hallucinating or not, but he faintly felt the aura of the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on now? That lowly Dark de can¡¯t prove how powerful he is. Besides, there are six big families and a dozen Legendary powerhouses on our side. Do we still need to be afraid of him?¡± Charles obviously did not agree with his grandfather. He looked down on the Dark de, which had been known as the leader of the top 10 bandit groups of the Breezy ins. In fact, they had not even qualified to participate in the meet at Gran Town. It was far from the top forces like the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family.

    Hearing what his grandson said, us shook his head, temporarily cast aside his doubts, and continued, ¡°Now, it¡¯s not easy to deal with that Felic alone, let alone with the others around him. He has more than just two Legendary Undead servants. That human who looks like a High Elf in his team may not have strong mana waves, but he makes me feel a sense of danger.¡±

    Upon hearing us¡¯s words, Charles¡¯ expression changed. After all, he wasn¡¯t clueless about everything. He felt that if the other party could make his grandfather feel a sense of danger, he had to be about the same level as his grandfather. For the ones below the Legendary-realm, the gaps between levels were not very obvious, and it was not umon for level-17 Archmages to kill level-18 or level-19 Archmages. However, in the Legendary-realm, every difference in level would be a huge gap unless the mage had very powerful magic equipment or other tools for assistance.

    However, that was not all. us continued to say to Charles, ¡°Besides, did you notice that goblin from the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team? The goblins have disappeared from the maind for countless years. I really don¡¯t know where the Tower of Dusk found that goblin. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t know about goblins. However, you have to know that the presence of the goblin often means the existence of an Alchemy Colossus. The goblins are true Alchemy masters who manipte and control the Alchemy Colossuses. The Alchemy Colossuses that they create are not the inferior ones created in Rotterdam. They have at least Legendary-levelbat power.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a little dwarf? Is it that exaggerated?¡± Charles clearly didn¡¯t believe it. The hideous dwarf did not have any mana fluctuations, yet it could still have Legendary-levelbat power?

    us was not upset about Charles¡¯ doubts. He said, ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t understand what kind of strength they have. We have heard before that the Tower of Dusk found the Retribution Knight Rodhart, who ravaged the Breezy ins hundreds of years ago, in the Dragon Mountains recently¡ª¡±

    ¡°Impossible, hasn¡¯t the Retribution Knight already been purified by the Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine?¡± Charles shrieked in shock before us even said anything more.

    us shook his head, and said, ¡°We have already verified the piece of news. Although the Retribution Knight had been seriously injured by Willen, he still had Sanctuary-level power, and he had nearly 100 Death Knights around him. Regardless of the means used by the Tower of Dusk, the result is that the Retribution Knight was annihted. That person who looks like a High Elf is holding a weapon which is the Eternal Frost de that belonged to the Retribution Knight back then.¡±

    ¡°This... This doesn¡¯t necessarily prove how powerful they are.¡± Charles was no longer as confident after hearing his grandpa¡¯s exnation.

    ¡°That¡¯s not all. To my surprise, the person standing next to Felic, Basel, who¡¯s a hermit from Dnd, had actually joined the Tower of Dusk. Although Basel had never made any amazing achievements in his life, I can tell from previous observations that I won¡¯t be confident in dealing with him. Therefore, even if the Glittergold Trade Union chooses to stay out of the matter, we will have to pay a great price if we want to eliminate the Tower of Dusk. Think about who will really benefit in the end when that happens.¡± When us was describing the power of the Tower of Dusk to Charles, he was actually more and more frightened. The Tower of Dusk appeared in the Breezy ins less than three years ago, and us had to admit that the young President Felic was really good at creating miracles.

    ¡°But... they obviously have the same agenda as we now. They are also going to explore the ruins in the depths of the canyon. Do you want to watch them share the treasures in the ruins with us?¡± Charles said indignantly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the time just isn¡¯t ripe yet. We still have a long way ahead, we¡¯ll definitely get the chance.¡± us naturally did not feel good about Lin Li who had ruined his n, not to mention the fact that it concerned the ruins of the High Elves. No one would be willing to see the huge wealth that they were about to acquire being shared with others.

    At this moment, someone outside the tent reported, ¡°Master Patriarch, Master Joseph of the Mithril Alliance would like to invite you to the discussion.¡±

    ¡°Remember, the time is not ripe yet. Joseph has a greater feud with the Tower of Dusk than you do,¡± us said, giving Charles thest reminder. He then lifted the tent¡¯s p and walked out.

    Looking at the dangling curtains, Charles fell deep into thought.

    The open ground in the canyon was extremely quiet at the moment. The camps of the two expedition teams were not very far apart due to the limitations of the terrain. Hence, they were all keeping their guard up.

    As for the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk, the senior executives gathered in one tent with solemn expressions, which caused tension to build up in the tent. No one thought that they would encounter the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family there. However, they were certain that the other party had the same goal as them.

    Although no one could make up for the fact that the news had been leaked, none of them wanted to have apetitor lurking around them in the face of the potential dangers that could exist in the High Elves¡¯ ruins.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family is here. If they did not get the news from someone else, we might be the source of the clue that they have.¡± There was an unusually solemn expression on Hoffman¡¯s chubby face which was usually graced with a smile.

    ¡°Regarding this exploration, only me and my Undead servants knew about it before we arrived. Master Basel, too, has only arrived two days before the team set off.¡± Lin Li had already thought about it a long time ago. It would be impossible for the news to leak from the Tower of Dusk unless he mentioned it in his dreams or his Undead servants betrayed him.

    Hoffman looked at the people on his side, and shook his head slightly. With a look of puzzlement, he said, ¡°In the Glittergold Trade Union, only Master Thomas and I knew about this matter. Jerany and Elvan only found out after the team set off. Even the two surviving members of the previous expedition never knew what those clues that they found meant...¡±

    If the reason was that the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team had attracted the attention of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family when they headed to the Gargas canyon, it wouldn¡¯t seem to exin the problem at this time. After all, the other party obviously wanted to beat them in entering the canyon. They also required time to prepare. The fact that they were well-prepared made it seem impossible for their choice to enter the canyon to seem like ast-minute one.

    After analyzing the possibilities, the senior executives of both parties still couldn¡¯t figure out how the news got leaked, unless they had gotten the clues from other channels. Although that was also possible, it wasn¡¯t a convincing exnation. After all, the Glittergold Trade Union got the news by chance. If it were not for the previous expedition team which brought the clues back, no one would believe that there would be High Elven ruins in the Gargas canyon.

    After some discussion, they still did not get the desired result. The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk could only temporarily put that issue aside. After all, it was more important to deal with the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family at the moment.

    Hoffman and Lin Li had the same idea as Joseph in terms of dealing with thepetitors. At least for now, the two parties should not get into an obvious conflict. The difference in strength between the two parties was not that great. Even if they had a certain advantage, they would not have enough power to explore the ruins after fighting. As for the exploration of the ruins, both parties should rely on their own abilities. Since they had an advantage, they could be confident, especially because the Glittergold Trade Union started off as archaeologists.

    After getting some rest, the team of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union packed up, and began to move toward the depths of the huge canyon. Seeing that the situation was amiss, the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family packed up at the same time, and went ahead together with theirpetitors.

    Although the two teams did not give in to each other, they had a tacit understanding, and maintained a peaceful interaction. Everyone knew that the two parties could never cooperate, but they would not deliberately interfere with each other¡¯s ns. There seemed to be an invisible wall between the two teams. Although they both had the same goal, they were doing their own things silently.

    Although some tyrannical monsters that grew up in the environment appeared along the way, that did not have any impact on the two powerful teams at all. Be it Lin Li¡¯s or Joseph¡¯s team, their weakest member was still a level-15 powerhouse. Even the Legendary-level magical beasts would not be able to stop them in their tracks.

    As the team delved deeper, some things were finally unearthed, such as broken sculptures, stone tables with blurred carvings, and other unidentified fragments. Since both teams had been advancing alongside each other, they each upied an area, and did not interfere with each other. Whenever Lin Li and Hoffman found something, the people from their team would exim from time to time. Obviously, the other party also found some extraordinary items.

 Chapter 859 - Royal Mausoleum

    <h4>Chapter 859: Royal Mausoleum</h4>

    However, after discussing how to get along with each other, Hoffman and Lin Li did not have their mood affected, and they focused on their own discoveries instead.

    ¡°Master Felic, Master Basel, please take a look at this stone tablet. The inscription on the stone tablets might have be blurry, but it¡¯s obvious that only the royal High Elves had the right to use it.¡± Pointing at the halves of the stone tablets, Hoffman could not hide his joy at all.

    Although they could make some spections from the items that the expedition team had brought back, and guess that they had something to do with the High Elves, they were, after all, just fragments of a magical essory. It was not impossible for them to have been left behind by a High Elven craftsman or originate from a private collection of the relics of the High Elves. However, the stone tablet before them was a majestic one with inscriptions that only the royal High Elves could use. If the ruins had belonged to ordinary High Elves, they would probably have beenpletely erased by the real royals.

    As more and more things were discovered, there was also more and more evidence to link the ruins to the royal High Elves. However, in addition to the excitement, everyone began to look more and more solemn. If the ruins really belong to the royals of the High Elves, it would mean that the danger of the real ruins was definitely extraordinary.

    In the Dark Age, the royal High Elves were absolutely standing on the top of the world. Their royal bloodline allowed them to possess unrivaled strength without much effort. Besides, their royal status made them superior, and no one couldpare to them except for the High Elven queen. Even the Highlord Osric could not.

    Although the number of royal families amongst the High Elves was small, they enjoyed most of the resources of the entire world. They liked having the extremes of everything. They lived in the most luxurious pces, used the most exquisite objects, appreciated the best art, and also guarded everything they had with the most powerful force at the same time. Although almost no one dared to offend the royals of the High Elves at that time, let alone break into their pces, holding greater power to guard everything was more of an indispensable status symbol.

    Although not all royal families had the inheritance of the Immortal King like Osric and peak-level aplishments in all fields, the top talents of all fields would work for them as long as they issued an order. Legend had it that even Osric couldn¡¯t refuse their invitation sometimes. Every pce of the royal High Elves could be considered an assembly of peak-level masterpieces of various fields. They had Guru-level Alchemy Arrays, Guru-level magic traps, and Guru-level magic gears. It was hard to imagine how terrifying their protective measures would be.

    The Glittergold Trade Union had long started with the excavation of ruins, but it was their first time activating such huge manpower, and also their first time exploring the ruins of the High Elven royals. It was precisely because of that that although none of the things found by the expedition team had any practical value, they did not give up continuing to explore the area. They, too, did not rush to explore the deeper areas of the canyon immediately. They wanted to get more clues, and it would be best to be able to determine the true owner of the ruins, which would likely provide them with great convenience when delving deeper.

    The other party¡¯s team seemed to have the same idea. Everyone split up and searched the ground inch by inch, as if they had spread their open. They were very careful, and did not miss any clues. Lin Li and the rest did not know what they found, but they knew that there were definitely archaeological experts who were knowledgeable about the High Elves¡¯ culture in their team.

    Although they were careful, they were still advancing slowly during the search. They turned over almost all of thend behind them, causing it to seem like a farming field. Fortunately, they were all powerhouses above level-15. Weaker people might not be able to dig through the ground that had been frozen for tens of thousands of years.

    When Lin Li was talking to Basel about a piece of stone that he was holding, a mage from the Tower of Dusk suddenly walked over quickly, holding a stick-like object that was stained with mud in his hand.

    ¡°President, we just found this thing over there, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be a magic staff. There are no magical waves on it,¡± the mage said while handing the stick-like object over.

    From the beginning of the exploration, they had been discovering debris, fragments, and broken statues. It was the first object that seemed to beplete. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be curious. He grabbed the item from the mage, and directly cast Earth Escape, which immediately cleared the dirt from the item, revealing its true appearance.

    ¡°This... looks familiar.¡± Lin Li looked at the object in his hand. It was a scepter that was carved out of some type of stone, and there were exquisite patterns carved on it. There was also an ornament on top that was in the shape of the Tree of Eternity, which came with a stone sphere on its crown. Lin Li could tell from the shape that it should have been some staff, but it would be impossible to carve a scepter out of stone. However, the Tree of Eternity ornament had proven that the ruins were owned by a royal.

    Basel took a look at the spot beside him, and pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°I remember seeing something simr mentioned in a document that recorded the etiquette of the High Elves. This should be... for sacrificial offerings, I suppose? No, they¡¯re utensils for memorials!¡±

    After being reminded by Basel, Lin Li also suddenly remembered that he had indeed seen something simr to the stone staff in his hand when he was in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. However, the ornamentation on the top of the stone scepter in Osric¡¯s mausoleum was not in the shape of the Tree of Eternity, but the branches and leaves of the Tree of Eternity. It was neatly ced in the square in front of the mausoleum¡¯s entrance.

    ¡°So, this ruin is probably the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, right?¡± Lin Li looked at the stone scepter in his hand for a while before proceeding to the area searched by the Glittergold Trade Union together with Basel. They found Hoffman, who was trying to identify some fragment.

    ¡°President Felic, what did you discover...?¡± Hoffman asked. He had already seen the stone scepter in Lin Li¡¯s hand. He suddenly widened his eyes that had already been narrowed into slits. They gleamed with excitement, and he said, ¡°Did... Did you just discover this? Is it a scepter used by the High Elves during memorial ceremonies!?¡±

    Hoffman¡¯s exmation immediately attracted several other senior executives of the Glittergold Trade Union. Thomas was also a knowledgeable mage; hence, he confirmed the use of the stone-carved scepter. At this moment, everyone was a little bit overwhelmed with excitement. If it weren¡¯t for the presence of the Mithril Alliance¡¯s and Caesar Family¡¯s team, they would have rejoiced and cheered immediately.

    Since it was a scepter used in memorial ceremonies, the ruins in the canyon were likely to be the mausoleum of the royals of the High Elves. A mausoleum was rather different from ordinary ruins. If it were just a pce, the contents would probably have been removed by the High Elves at the end of the Dark Age, leaving behind just deadly traps. However, mausoleums would be different. Even if the High Elves were in desperation, they wouldn¡¯t dig the mausoleums of their predecessors, especially those of the royals.

    During the era when the High Elves ruled Anril, the royals could be considered to have been supported by all the races they ruled over, and upied almost all the wealth of the entire maind. Osric¡¯s massive wealth was umted by his efforts inmanding the Magic Legion. However, the royal High Elves almost didn¡¯t have to do anything to enjoy the great wealth created by the race.

    The High Elves were extremely enthusiastic about burial rituals, especially the royal families that were at the top of the entire hierarchy. They demanded everything of theirs to be at the extremes; hence, the burial objects in their mausoleums were often surprisingly luxurious. The treasure vaults belonging to humans now probably could notpare to them.

    Rumor had it that shortly after the end of the Dark Age, the rebels had unearthed a mausoleum belonging to a High Elven royal, and the luxury of it waspletely beyond everyone¡¯s imagination. The dome of the mausoleum that served as the sky was made of magical crystals, and was embellished with countless superior magical gemstones. There were Sanctuary-realm Dragon Crystals that hung on both sides of the dome, radiating light like the sun and the moon. There was fine sand that was made of ground up magical metals piled up into peaks and paving the ground. Countless Legendary magical crystals of various colors flowed in the river. A random grab in the water would bring about valuable treasures.

    However, in addition to the precious magical materials, the most precious items among the burial objects of the High Elves were the magical objects that had been created with the top skills of every field. There was a variety of powerful magical weapons, gorgeous suits of armor and robes inscribed withplex mageweaths, and exquisite magical essories that contained amazing power, all of which were peak Guru-level masterpieces. Even the mostmon works of art disyed in the mausoleum contained amazing powers that would drive anyone crazy.

    Therefore, when the appearance of the stone scepter hinted to everyone that the ruins they were exploring were probably the mausoleum of the royal High Elves, almost no one could keep calm. As the President of the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman had an astonishing amount of wealth, but he was still blushing at this moment, and was a little out of breath. Not to mention other people, even Master Thomas who was the most stable could not hide the enthusiasm in his eyes.

 Chapter 860 - Prince Brahere

    <h4>Chapter 860: Prince Brahere</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The people of the Tower of Dusk were also quite excited. Basel, who was known as the Hermit of Dnd City, Connoris, who was a self-proimed deity, and Angno, who was originally reluctant toe along on the expedition, were just as agitated as the people from the Glittergold Trade Union. In the face of the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, no one could keep calm, even if they had explored the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum. They could not contain their excitement.

    However, Lin Li had experienced all sorts of major asions, and apart from being excited, he couldn¡¯t help but think of another problem. If it were the ruins of a pce, there would definitely be all kinds of top-level protective and defensive measures. However, there would definitely be shortcuts avable. After all, the royal family still had to live in the pce, and it would be impossible to make the entrances and exits tooplicated.

    However, a mausoleum was different. One would not expect toe out again after entering. Some would even trap their craftsmen in the mausoleums as burial objects. Given the importance of mausoleums to the High Elves, especially the royals, their protective measures were definitely the best.

    At the same time that Lin Li was guessing that the ruin might be a mausoleum, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the fact that the expedition team had been attacked by arge number of Undead creatures outside the huge canyon for no obvious reason. He wondered if there was a link between the two.

    Regardless, everyone finally regained theirposure and peace after a while, and they were more careful about the exploration and excavation. Everyone knew that since they were in the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, in addition to the massive wealth that they might unearth, the danger they might face could be 10,000 times higher than that in ordinary ruins.

    ¡°It seems that we can¡¯t enter this ruin easily. Even Sanctuary powerhouses would probably suffer losses if they were to barge into the mausoleum of the High Elves in an unruly manner.¡± Hoffman looked away from the huge canyon, and said to the senior executives of the two forces beside him, ¡°It will be best if we can verify the identity of the owner of the mausoleum. That way, if we¡¯re lucky, we might be able to get a little more insurance.¡±

    Although Hoffman¡¯s idea was good, things didn¡¯t always go ording to n in reality. After exploring for about half a day, they unearthed many objects, but there were only a few that could really provide useful information. More than a dozen simr stone scepters were unearthed. Some were intact, but some were broken. However, those alone could not prove the identity of the owner of the mausoleum.

    ¡°President Hoffman, have you ever heard of Davos?¡± Lin Li asked all of a sudden.

    ¡°Davos? Are you referring to the academic master Davos? He¡¯s the most authoritative archaeologist in the entire Fn Kingdom. How could I not have heard of him? However, it is said that he has been missing for more than 20 years. Otherwise, I would definitely invite him along this time.¡± Hoffman was a little surprised at first, but he seemed to have thought of something, and then asked Lin Li, ¡°Do you know him, Master Felic?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I don¡¯t know him very well, but Master Basel is very familiar with him. If you don¡¯t mind, Master Basel can invite him here to take a look,¡± Lin Li said smilingly. After all, the operation this time was a cooperation between the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union. The piece of news was provided by the Glittergold Trade Union. Hence, in order to avoid letting the information leak from his side, Lin Li had not asked Basel to invite Davos to participate in the expedition. However, now that the Mithril Alliance¡¯s and the Caesar Family¡¯s team had arrived, it wasn¡¯t too necessary to keep it a secret. Still, out of respect, Lin Li still had to seek Hoffman¡¯s opinion first.

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. Davos is an expert and an authoritative figure in the field of archeology. If we can invite him here, maybe we¡¯ll be able to find some clues.¡± Hoffman was surprised when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words. Although there was no shortage of archaeological experts in the expedition team this time, and Hoffman could also be considered an authoritative and prestigious archaeologist, everyone saw things from a different perspective. Perhaps Master Davos might have some unique insights.

    After Basel and Davos returned from exploring the Arctic areas, Basel returned to Dnd in consideration of the agreement he had made with Lin Li. Meanwhile, Davos might have fallen in love with living with the dwarves, or still had some thoughts about the ruins. Hence, he chose to stay with the tribe. The dwarven tribe was not that far away from Gargas canyon, and as a Legendary-mage, Basel could totally fly back and forth using his Power of Flight.

    However, it was naturally impossible for Lin Li to make Basel fly over while carrying Davos. Hence, he summoned the Crimson Dragon from his Summoning Lamp, and got Basel to ride it to Davos and pick him up. The Crimson Dragon itself was a tyrant in the sky, and it had more advantages than the Power of Flight in terms of directions and navigation. In about half a day, the Crimson Dragon reappeared in the sky above the expedition, pping its fleshy wings and slowly descending.

    After the Crimson Dragonnded, Basel jumped off the dragon¡¯s back together with a bearded middle-aged man who was dressed in a robe made of animal hide.

    ¡°Is... Is this Master Davos?¡± Hoffman asked Lin Li softly. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at all.

    Seeing the middle-aged man looking around with excitement while following Basel, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but nod with a wry smile and say, ¡°I think you¡¯re right. Master Basel once said that Master Davos has been living in a dwarven tribe for more than 20 years. He seems to have already groomed himself beforeing.¡±

    ¡°Hoffman, Felic, this is Master Davos,¡± Basel introduced briefly as he led Davos to Lin Li and Hoffman.

    Upon hearing Basel¡¯s introduction, Hoffman finally put away his doubts and greeted Davos enthusiastically. ¡°Master Davos, there was no news from you for more than 20 years, and everyone thought that you had gotten into an ident. I didn¡¯t expect to see you again. It¡¯s a great honor for me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hello. Didn¡¯t you say that you have found something? Show it to me, hurry.¡± Davos was indeed an authoritative figure in the field of archeology. He was almost obsessed with archeology, and hepletely ignored the fact that Hoffman was the President of the Glittergold Trade Union. He simply answered him perfunctorily, and then eagerly asked to take a look at the item that they had discovered.

    Hoffman was not angry with Davos¡¯ perfunctory attitude, and courteously said, ¡°Master Davos, pleasee here. The items we have discoveredtely are all ced here.¡± Hoffman gestured for Davos to follow him to the ce where the relics were ced.

    After seeing the objects that had been unearthed, Davos¡¯ eyes lit up immediately, and he looked like a hungry tiger that had just seen its prey. He picked up the objects and observed them carefully. He was engrossed in scrutinizing them, and it was as if everyone around him had disappeared at this moment.

    ¡°Master Davos, we reckon that this ruin was probably owned by a royal family of the High Elves. In order to ensure more safety in our future explorations, we hope to verify the real owner of the mausoleum using the objects that we have unearthed...¡± Hoffman exined the purpose of inviting Davos as he followed him carefully.

    ¡°Yes, it is indeed a relic of a High Elven royal family. Did you mention that this is a mausoleum?¡± Davos put down the stone in his hand, picked up the stone scepter that was ced near him, and said, ¡°It¡¯s because you found this, isn¡¯t it? The ritual objects used by the High Elves during memorials are symbols of the owner¡¯s status when he was alive. However, now that you have found this, do you still not know who the owner is?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Hoffman¡¯s face was flushed, and he could not help but think to himself, <i>If we¡¯d already verified the identity of the owner of the mausoleum, would we still have had to invite you here?</i> However, he had also deduced something from Davos¡¯ words. It seemed that the identity of the owner of the mausoleum had something to do with the stone scepter.

    Davos straightened his body and looked at Hoffman and the others who had followed him. He then pointed at the ornamentation on the top of the stone scepter, and said, ¡°The High Elves have a strong concept of hierarchy. This is not just reflected in the major aspects, but also in the trivial matters and issues. Take this stone scepter as an example. The Tree of Eternity ornamentation can only be used by the royals. However, there are also differences in status between royal families. The difference in number of branches and leaves on the Tree of Eternity ornamentation signifies a difference in status.¡±

    ¡°You can tell from the stone scepter? So the owner of this mausoleum...¡± Hoffman did not expect such a simple carving to be so detailed.

    Davos nced at Hoffman, and sternly said, ¡°Take one scepter and count the number of leaves and branches. The Tree of Eternity carving on this stone scepter has 13 main branches and 37 leaves, which symbolize the 13 surnames of the High Elves and the 37 nobles. Such a pattern status of the master of the mausoleum is only one level below that of the High Elven queen. In the history of the High Elves, there had always been very few royal families, and it was rare for any of them to have such a high status, so...¡±

    ¡°Could it be... Could it be the High Elven queen¡¯s younger brother, Prince Brahere?¡± asked Hoffman, who had, after all, studied and researched the history of the High Elves. After hearing Davos¡¯ clear hint, a name suddenly came to his mind.

    ¡°Well, it seems that you have done a good job studying the history of the High Elves, President Hoffman. In the history of the High Elves, only Brahere, the younger brother of the High Elven queen, can hold such a position.¡± Davos nodded, and put the stone scepter back in ce.

    As for the others, they couldn¡¯t help but gasp after hearing the name mentioned by Hoffman. Understanding history was the most basic requirement for archaeologists. The people who were present might not have superhuman aplishments in archeology, but with their historical knowledge, they definitely knew about Brahere.

    In the era when the High Elves ruled Anril, the High Elven queen was the most powerful, followed by her younger brother, Prince Brahere. He was truly above everyone else. In the entire history of the High Elves, no one except Prince Brahere could hold such a prominent position.

    It was said that the areas that Prince Brahere was in charge of back then included the Dwarf Kingdoms and the Orc Kingdoms. However, unlike other High Elven lords, Prince Brahere was not very keen on ruling. He basically ignored everything that happened in his territory, and focused all his energy on painting, sculpting, music, and other fields of art. He had extremely high attainments in various fields.

    In the era that was named after darkness, Prince Brahere¡¯s indifferent way of ruling was undoubtedly quite unusualpared to other High Elven lords. Life for the various races under his rule was just like in paradisepared to other regions, for the rules were less harsh. When dealing with the dwarves, he did not even station any army in the Dwarf Kingdom, and simply allowed them to live and develop freely in the Arctic snowfield. Some people even said that if it weren¡¯t for Brahere¡¯s death, the dwarves would probably not join the rebellion forces.

    Unlike the Highlord Osric who created history with the lives and blood of the other races, most of the historical events involving Prince Brahere revolved around achievements in the field of art. Even now, there were still many of his artworks, such as poems and music, that were widely circted in Anril. The people did not resent Prince Brahere like they resented other High Elves.

    However, just because Brahere devoted all his energy to art, it did not mean that he was a weak person who needed to rely on others to protect him. His noble blood allowed him to effortlessly reach a height that ordinary people could not.

    Legend had it that Brahere had gone into the Endless Abyss more than once in search of creative inspiration. It could be seen from the works about the Endless Abyss that he had created that he had a better understanding of it than the Highlord Osric.

    They had basically determined that the owner of the mausoleum was Prince Brahere, who had a history of high attainments in art. The massive machinery of the Glittergold Trade Union immediately spread the information. The Glittergold Trade Union had indeed started off as excavators of ruins. It only took three days for the Legendary Assassin Gia to return with a massive load of information.

    In the tents of the makeshift camp, the senior executives of the Glittergold Trade Union and Tower of Dusk sat around the table, on which there was a thick pile of materials. The most conspicuous one was singled out, and there were a few drawings that seemed to be torn. The drawings were acquired from a dwarf by the Glittergold Trade Union. Although torn and obviously iplete, everyone could tell that it was a sketch of a mausoleum.

 Chapter 861 - Produced By Dwarves

    <h4>Chapter 861: Produced By Dwarves</h4>

    ¡°Why would the dwarves have a blueprint of the mausoleum?¡± Lin Li asked in surprise after hearing Hoffman¡¯s introduction. His question was rather critical. After all, it was the mausoleum of the High Elven royals, and it contained danger that was far beyond ordinary people¡¯s imagination. Exploring with a wrong sketch would be much more dangerous than exploring slowly step by step.

    Hoffman didn¡¯t mind Lin Li¡¯s questioning, and seriously exined, ¡°ording to those materials, the amicable rule of Prince Brahere gave him a very high prestige in the Dwarf Kingdom. Even after his death, the entire Dwarf Kingdom mourned his demise. After that, the Dwarf Kingdom spontaneously summoned almost all of their top craftsmen to design and build this mausoleum for him. The blueprint of the mausoleum was leaked by the descendants of the top craftsmen from back then.¡±

    Davos leaned over the table mindlessly, not bothering to keep himself poised. He carefully scrutinized the torn sketch in front of him for a while. After hearing Hoffman¡¯s exnation, he returned to his seat, and said, ¡°Judging from the traces of ink and the material, the age of this sketch is true. As for whether or not it¡¯s a blueprint of the mausoleum, I think there¡¯s a 80% chance that it is.¡±

    In fact, the blueprint was no big deal. After all, the dwarves had merely constructed the mausoleum, while the various protective measures in the mausoleum were designed by specialists who were High Elves. Besides, the blueprint was iplete and tattered. There were very few portions that could be seen clearly.

    Lin Li and the rest could only deduce the general structure of the mausoleum from the blueprint. It was not easy to obtain treasures based on the sketch alone. ording to the information on it, they could tell that there were seven floors to the mausoleum. The first six floors were for the guardians of the mausoleum, while the seventh floor was where Prince Brahere¡¯s coffin was located. However, they could not tell the differences between each of the first six floors based on the sketch alone.

    ¡°That¡¯s all the information that we can find now. I¡¯m afraid we will have to go in and explore the tomb in detail ourselves. We can stop excavating outside.¡± Hoffman was not too disappointed. Right from the beginning, he had never expected for the blueprint to y much of a role. It was good enough that they could understand the mausoleum¡¯syout a little.

    However, everyone discussed it, and when they were about to enter the tomb, someone outside reported to them that the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had disappeared.

    ¡°The lights are still on in the Mithril Alliance¡¯s and Caesar Family¡¯s camp, and there are people who are constantly patrolling as well, but we discovered that the figures in the tents are fake. I reckon most of their members are no longer in the camp,¡± the person who was in charge of monitoring exined to Hoffman and Lin Li.

    Upon hearing the news, everyone in the tent just made eye contact with each other, and they unanimously looked like they had gained a clear understanding. At this juncture, the other party definitely wouldn¡¯t just leave all of a sudden. They had clearly discovered the massive value of the ruins. Hence, they were eager about entering the mausoleum.

    In the High Elves¡¯ mausoleum, stone scepters were not only meant to be symbols of the owner¡¯ status when he was still alive, but were also indicators of his age. There might be hundreds or thousands of scepters. The two expedition teams explored the same area, and there was no reason for them to find a stone scepter while the other team did not.

    After finding the stone scepters, they could naturally tell that the ruin was actually a High Elf¡¯s mausoleum. They might¡¯ve even concluded that the owner of the mausoleum was a royal of the High Elves. Among the ruins of the High Elves, the mausoleums had always been recognized as the most valuable category. The mausoleums of the High Elven royals were definitely much more attractive.

    However, even though they knew that they were a step behind the opposing party, Lin Li, Hoffman, and the rest did not look anxious at all. The fact that the other party was so eager could only say that they already knew that the ruin was the mausoleum of the High Elven royals. It also showed that their knowledge of the mausoleum seemed to be limited to that. If they knew that the owner of the mausoleum was Prince Brahere, the younger brother of the High Elven queen, no amount of temptation would make them forget about being cautious.

    ¡°There¡¯s a good show!¡± Lin Li said smilingly.

    Hoffman¡¯s eyes squinted and a sly smile graced his chubby face. ¡°Great, we¡¯re almost done too. Let¡¯s go and see what we can get from Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum.¡±

    <i>What we can get? The High Elven royal¡¯s mausoleum is already impressive enough, and Prince Brahere is the younger brother of the High Elven queen, who is also a royal. How can it be easy to excavate his mausoleum!?</i>

    The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk even managed to get a torn blueprint, and didn¡¯t have much confidence in the excavation of the mausoleum. One could only imagine the consequences that they would face by barging in.

    Under the orders of Hoffman and Lin Li, the expedition teams of both forces immediately started setting off. They packed up and cleaned up the camp without having to cover up like the other party. They openly advanced into the depths of the Gargas Canyon. The remainder Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family immediately panicked when they saw the scene. Later on, they followed Lin Li and the rest under the lead of their leader.

    The area where the camps of the two expedition teams were located was still some distance away from the real mausoleum. Besides, there were winding roads in the canyon, and thus Hoffman, Lin Li, and others had not really seen the real mausoleum yet. Along the way, they saw a lot of corpses of monsters and some traces of magic gears and magic traps. However, it was clear that those things did not cause any loss to the other party¡¯s expedition team.

    After walking for about five or six minutes, they made a turn at the canyon, and their vision suddenly cleared up. Although the Gargas canyon was not narrow as it was called an insurmountable moat, the area in front of their eyes was obviously much wider than other areas. In the entire Gargas canyon that spanned thousands of miles, the area that they were in could be considered the widest and the most impossible section to surpass.

    It was called insurmountable partly because the canyon was wider than usual, but also more importantly because there was a terrifying vortex of power hidden in it. Under the influence of the huge power vortex, even a bird or a powerful beast that wanted to fly over would instantly be torn into pieces by that power. For a long time, people thought that that vortex was a natural storm in the canyon, but it now seemed to be a different case.

    Right in the center, there was a dome that looked like a pce. It was slightly different from the traditional style of the High Elves. There were not too many ornate decorations on the outside, which gave off an elegant and noble yet not extravagant vibe. The material used in the entire building made it look like it was a sculpture made of ice and jade, emitting a bright light at the bottom of the pitch-ck canyon. The terrifying power vortex was from the mageweaths that were constantly shing on the building.

    However, the building was not toorge. It was at least much smaller than Osric¡¯s mausoleum which was like a microcosm. Outsiders who did not know what was going on would probably be a little disappointed upon seeing it, but Lin Li, Hoffman, and the others knew that it was only the bottom of the mausoleum, and that the Prince Brahere¡¯s real mausoleum should be beneath the pce.

    There were plenty of magical beast corpses around the pce, but they clearly had not been killed by the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family¡ªthe corpses were mostly covered in ice. They were rtively low in level, and they were creatures like the ice wolves and snow bears. There were also powerful Snow Demons, some of which were Legendary-level. They existed there like frozen amber for numerous years.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that the stone scepter and the broken items could be found so far away. These beasts havee to disturb Prince Brahere¡¯s slumber many years ago,¡± Lin Li said while smacking a snow monster ice sculpture.

    If they were ordinary beasts, they would naturally only be interested in food and building nests, but those beasts were rather different, and magical objects were also attractive to them. The stone scepters, sculptures, stone tablets engraved with magic symbols, and so on might not have any more magical waves and seem just like ordinary stones, but the best magical gemstones were probably used back then. However, the magical beasts seemed to have paid a huge price for those items, as evidenced by their corpses.

    ¡°President Felic, should we wait here and observe the situation or enter the mausoleum now?¡± Looking at the ice and snow pce that was not far away, Hoffman was also a little excited as his voice seemed to tremble slightly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while. I reckon the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family has yet to delve deep enough. We might let their good intentions down by entering at this time.¡± Lin Li looked at the door of the pce that was left open, but did not seem to panic at all.

    Although Brahere was not as famous as Osric in history, he was definitely not to be belittled. Besides, given his status, there was no need for him to do anything at all. He could easily make all the High Elves and top talents in all fields of Anril at that time work for him. The mausoleum was not only his resting ce, but also the assembly of the pinnacle masterpieces of all fields. It was probably much more dangerous than Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

 Chapter 862 - Delving Deep Into The Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 862: Delving Deep Into The Ruins</h4>

    Although the current expedition team had assembled the top manpower of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union, which were both elite forces, the fact that they were elite was precisely the reason Lin Li was reluctant to let them take any losses. Having the expedition team belonging to the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family to lead the way in front was actually a good thing for Lin Li. Hence, he obviously wouldn¡¯t rush to follow and catch up with them.

    In fact, Hoffman felt the same. He had merely asked Lin Li for his opinion out of courtesy. Even if Lin Li really wanted to go in at this moment, he would be ready to persuade him. At this moment, a sly smile again graced Hoffman¡¯s chubby face as he heard Lin Li¡¯s answer. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s what I think too.¡±

    Lin Li nced at the huge snowy cemetery, and turned his head to say to his subordinates, ¡°You won¡¯t be going in, but don¡¯t idle about. Look at these corpses. Many of them belong to Legendary-level magical beasts. Go and smash them and retrieve their magical crystals. It would be a waste to leave them here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President,¡± n and the rest responded before taking the rest to destroy the ice sculptures immediately.

    No one knew how old those frozen magical beast corpses were, but Legendary-level magical crystals would not deteriorate over the years. Instead, they would continuously absorb the surrounding magical elements over time, and gradually grow stronger like mages when they were meditating.

    ¡°Hehe, President Felic, you really...¡± Hoffman shook his head amusedly. The young President in front of him was just like him when he was younger. He would never let go of any benefits.

    ¡°I¡¯ve embarrassed myself. The Tower of Dusk has just been established, and its foundation is still very weak,¡± Lin Li said to Hoffman very modestly. In other words, he meant for the Glittergold Trade Union not to vie with him for that small amount of profit.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Hoffman was suddenly dejected, and he thought, <i>Others may not know how wealthy the Tower of Dusk is, but I do! Not to mention the gains from exploring the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the wealth you¡¯ve umted in the past two years is definitely not inferior to that of any top force in the Breezy ins. You probably have about the same as the Glittergold Trade Union. How dare you say that your foundation is still very weak?</i>

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk had already begun to get busy, and although the ice had been there for an unknown number of years, it still did not take much effort for the Archmages to break it. In no time, Legendary magical crystals that were giving off strong magical waves were dug out of the ice sculptures by them.

    There were thousands of magical beast corpses in the snowy cemetery, some of which were still deeply buried in the ground. During this period of time, the Tower of Dusk managed to dig up a dozen Legendary magical crystals. Legendary magical crystals were exorbitant, and they were considered a massive fortune for every force. Even Hoffman, who was rich and powerful, could not help but feel a little envious at this moment.

    The Tower of Dusk had just swept through the entire snowy cemetery when there was an abrupt change in the pce all of a sudden. Next, a group of figures fled out of the pce. They belonged to the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, who were the first to enter the mausoleum. However, at this moment, they all looked rather disheveled, and many of them were injured.

    As apetitor, Hoffman and Lin Li ought to gloat over the misfortune that had struck the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, and caused them to end up in a pathetic state. However, there wasn¡¯t a single smile on their faces now. The two of them looked at each other, and saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. They turned around and ordered their subordinates to change the n. However, their subordinates were going to stay behind and settle the campground.

    Soon, the tent in the center of the camp was set up, and the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk immediately entered. Hoffman and Lin Li were not the only ones. The other senior executives also had solemn expressions on their austere faces, making the atmosphere in the tent seem particrly tense.

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect this. They¡¯ve only entered for a short amount of time, yet they came out in such a pathetic state.¡± The sly smile on Hoffman¡¯s chubby face turned into a frown at this moment as he was filled with indescribable anxiety.

    Lin Li¡¯s expression was just as tense. He shook his head, and said, ¡°Yeah, their expedition team may be somewhat weaker than ours, but suffering so much damage in such a short period of time is indeed surprising.¡±

    They knew each other¡¯s abilities well ever since they met. Hence, after seeing how terrible of a plight the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family were in, Lin Li and Hoffman immediately made an urate judgment. They deduced that at least a dozen powerhouses above level-15 were injured within the short period of time.

    Everyone knew that the mausoleum was definitely not simple, but no one thought it would be thatplicated. The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had more than 300 powerhouses who were above level-15 as well as 10-odd Legendary powerhouses. They were definitely not weak. However, they had only entered the mausoleum for about two to three hours, and had probably yet to delve deep when they already suffered that much damage. What would happen if they went deeper?

    Although it would be inevitable for there to be losses when exploring the ruins, Hoffman and Lin Li were unwilling to see themselves suffer so many losses. For every force, talents were the most important. If they were to lose plenty of strength because of exploring the ruin, so what even if they got more wealth?

    In response to the losses suffered by the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, Lin Li, Hoffman, and the rest had no choice but to rediscuss the issue of exploring the ruins. They did not want to lose too many elites during the exploration, but they refused to give up on the mausoleum. After all, the mausoleum belonged to Prince Brahere, and once they seeded, their gains would be astonishing.

    ¡°President, the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family have moved their camp outside the tomb. Several of the other patriarchs have also entered the tightly guarded central camp,¡± warned a subordinate responsible for monitoring the other party¡¯s movements reporting to Hoffman and the rest.

    Hoffman nodded, waved his hand to let his subordinates leave, and then said to Lin Li and the others, ¡°Seems like they still haven¡¯t given up on exploring the mausoleum.¡±

    Although they discovered that the expedition team belonged to the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family after entering the huge canyon of Gargas in the beginning, and Hoffman was extremely upset, he did not want his opponent to withdraw. In the face of the unknown dangers in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, who other than the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family could be more suitable for being the pathfinders!?

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they are frightened, and are waiting for us to be their pathfinders, so we still have to n to rely on ourselves.¡± Lin Li did not n to spend too much time there, because he had more important things to do. It would be impossible for him to spend all day with them. If they were really frightened, Lin Li would only have two options, and that was to either enter the mausoleum or withdraw directly and retreat to the Tower of Dusk. The ruins were not more important than the impending disaster.

    ¡°Yeah, it is best to have them to explore and pave the way for us. Without them, we¡¯ll have to find a way to explore the mausoleum. Everyone, look at what we have now and raise any suggestions that you might have.¡± Hoffman gestured, and someone next to him put the materials that they brought along and the unearthed items on the table again after a while.

    To be honest, the information that those things could offer was already deeply etched in their minds, and if they wanted to find any new clues, it would be akin to creating something out of nothing. Everyone smiled bitterly and looked at the objects on the table one by one with a frown, but no one spoke up for a long time.

    ¡°Just looking at these things is no longer of much use. I think we should think about it from another perspective,¡± said Davos who was beside Basel.

    Suddenly, everyone in the tent focused their eyes on Davos, and there was some anticipation in their eyes. After all, he was an authoritative archaeologist who was well known in the Fn Kingdom, and had published countless academic works. He often had surprising and unique insights into archeology.

    Facing the scorching eyes of many legendary powerhouses, Davos grabbed his fluffy beard and indifferently said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like this. I¡¯m not working under Brahere. I don¡¯t know more about this mausoleum than you do.¡±

    ¡°You must be joking, Master Davos. Please don¡¯t hesitate to bring up any new ideas that you may have.¡± Although Hoffman was the President of the Glittergold Trade Union and a famous Legendary powerhouse, he was still very polite to Davos.

    Magic was power, potions were power, mageweaths were power, and profound knowledge of the Abyss was also a type of power. Although Davos did not have Legendary-level strength, he had more profound knowledge than the Legendary powerhouses who had lived for hundreds of years. No one present had the slightest contempt for him.

    ¡°This is a bit difficult for me. I¡¯ll just give you a direction that you can think in. I hope that you guys will think of something.¡± Although Davos was being somewhat informal, he was not unruly. He pointed at the tattered blueprint on the table, and said, ¡°This sketch may be iplete, but it at least tells us that the design and construction of this mausoleum were indeed done by the top craftsmen of the dwarves as mentioned in the legends. Since it was built by dwarves, some of their habits definitely influenced the construction of the tomb. I believe you can think in that direction.¡±

    After hearing Davos¡¯s words, everyone fell into deep thought, and realized that it was indeed something they could consider. Since it was impossible to find out the exact situation in the mausoleum, it should be possible to infer some clues about the interior based on the inherent habits of the dwarves.

    ¡°ording to historical records, we can approximately estimate the time of Prince Brahere¡¯s death. During this period, there were plenty of famous craftsmen in the Dwarf Kingdom, such as Diyak, Salve, and Moratara...¡± Hoffman summarized the information and listed the names of the craftsmen.

    ¡°It was said that the Guru-level cksmith Diyak had gone deep into the Haiga Mountain Range for several years in order to find herbs to treat his daughter¡¯s terminal illness. If the legend is true, then he probably had no chance to take part in the construction of this mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°Moratara was the chief of the Bronze Furnace Tribe of the Dwarf Kingdom. It is said that he benefited a lot during the reign of Prince Brahere. He had also received a lot of help from Prince Brahere during the famine. Hence, he should have taken part in the construction of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Besides, given his skills, I am afraid he was one of the leading constructors.¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that the original owner of this sketch is the descendant of Master Salve, so...¡±

    Everyone exchanged opinions and mutually verified some legends about the famous craftsmen of the Dwarf Kingdom, while Hoffman circled some names with his pen. In the end, although he was not entirely certain, he was 80% sure that the famous dwarven craftsmen had participated in the construction of the mausoleum.

    There were more issues to be discussed next. After all, it was a distant history, and even the serious historical materials might not be true, let alone the many wild legends. Besides, what they had to do was to find out the habits and characteristics of those Master-level craftsmen based on information or legends.

    However, be it intentionally or unintentionally, everyone neglected one thing. The dwarven craftsmen were responsible for the overall construction of the mausoleum, but they were not the ones who set up the internal magic traps, magic gears, and so on. For an expedition team, the real threats were the traps that could not be defended against and the tomb guards, not the structure of the mausoleum.

    The problem was that apart from discussing that and trying to find a breakthrough in that respect, they had no other solution to gain an understanding of the mausoleum. Indeed, they had Davos, an authoritative archaeologist, but he was not a god. Although he was good at seeing the truth of things from subtle clues, it would be useless if he didn¡¯t have any useful clues.

    After the intense discussion, it was dead silent again. Everyone knew that the real gains from that discussion were actually quite limited. As they discussed, the legends that could not be verified did not gradually be clearer. Instead, they were overwhelmed with more doubts.

    ¡°No, this discussion will not help at all. With limited understanding, it¡¯s impossible for me to take risks with my subordinates.¡± Lin Li rubbed his forehead, feeling rather helpless.

 Chapter 863 - Cooperation

    <h4>Chapter 863: Cooperation</h4>

    Osric could be considered to have relied on himself for everything, be it the design of his mausoleum or the various settings in it. They were the embodiment of his and his subordinates¡¯ wisdom. Brahere did not receive the inheritance of the Immortal King, and did not have peak-level attainments in every field. However, given his unparalleled status among the High Elves, his mausoleum could definitely be considered the crystal of wisdom of the High Elves. Hence, Lin Li was absolutely certain that the danger in Brahere¡¯s mausoleum was no lower than that of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. In fact, it was probably much more terrifying.

    Lin Li, the Supreme Council, and the nna Guild of Magic cooperated to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum, during which time the mages of the nna Guild of Magic suffered plenty of losses. In addition to the dangerous traps that Osric hadid in the mausoleum, Rosen¡¯s wrong decisions were undoubtedly the most critical reason.

    Rosen¡¯s mistakes ruined the elites that had been cultivated by the President of the nna Guild of Magic, Aldwin. He naturally had nothing to feel a heartache over, but Lin Li was not that generous. He did not want to ruin the elite mages that he had painstakingly cultivated because of his own mistake.

    Not to mention, Lin Li and Hoffman were facing the issue regarding the exploration of the mausoleum, and worrying about the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family which were staring at them from nearby. At the moment, the expedition team of the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk was much stronger than the rest in terms of strength, and the other party dared not reveal any unruly intentions. However, if there were to be any mishaps during the exploration, they would end up giving the other party an advantage for nothing.

    The various issues caused the discussion about the expedition in the mausoleum to fall into a terrible crisis. Lin Li could not bear to give up the elites whom he had nurtured. Hoffman couldn¡¯t, either. They felt that the best would be to have the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family be cannon fodder and pave the way for them. However, the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family were no fools. Ever since they left the mausoleum, nothing new happened in the camp.

    Three more days passed, and there was still no progress in the discussion about exploring the mausoleum. Lin Li could not continue wasting his time there. The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family could afford to, and the Glittergold Trade Union did not have better things to do than explore the mausoleum, but that was not the case for Lin Li.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to say goodbye to Hoffman after yet another failed discussion, someone outside entered the tent to report to them about someone from another camp who was said to be wanting to talk to Lin Li and Hoffman about something.

    ¡°It seems that they can¡¯t help it anymore.¡± Hoffman finally had a smile on his face. In fact, there was no need to bother guessing what the other party wanted to talk about. Everyone could imagine it. The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk were helpless in front of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Could the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family be any better?

    Hearing Hoffman¡¯s words, Lin Li also smiled and temporarily dropped the idea of leaving. As Hoffman walked out of the tent, he nned to see how things would change there.

    After the two of them got out of the tent, they could see the gate of the camp from a distance, and there was an old mage with white beard and hair standing there. Hoffman smiled with some caution in his gaze, and whispered to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, that¡¯s the old patriarch Elvis from the Jordan Family. He¡¯s also Joseph¡¯sst secretary and the previous leader of the Mithril Alliance.¡±

    The Mithril Alliance originally had 13 families, but they had been reduced to five. In order to avoid letting one family dominate the alliance, the people in charge couldn¡¯t always be members of the same family. Hence, the rule would be for each family to take turns to be in charge, and a swap would be done once every 10 years. Elvis of the Jordan Family was the previous leader in charge of the Mithril Alliance. He was also the oldest among the five major families.

    In addition to being the oldest, Elvis had strength and abilities that should not be underestimated. Among the many Legendary powerhouses of the five major families, it could be said that he was second to none. It was said that in the days when the Mithril League had fought against the Blood Moon n, Elvis had fought against three Legendary Sword Sages of the Blood Moon n with his own power. Not only had he not embarrassed himself, he almost killed the three Sword Sages. The President of the Mithril Alliance also awakened the dragons before saving the three Sword Sages.

    That was also the reason that Elvis had high prestige amongst the five major families. Even when he was not in charge of the Mithril Alliance, he still had great influence not inferior to the leader¡¯s.

    ¡°After Elvis stepped down as the head of the Mithril Alliance previously, he passed the position of the patriarch of the Jordan Family down to his son, which also means that he will no longer be the head of the Mithril Alliance in the future. I heard he¡¯s nning to advance to the Sanctuary-realm. I didn¡¯t expect that Joseph would invite him out because of Brahere¡¯s mausoleum this time.¡± Herman squinted and turned to look at Elvis, but there was not much fear in his eyes, because everyone could see that he did not take that step.

    After hearing Hoffman¡¯s introduction, Lin Li became more and more certain about what they wanted to talk about. After all, it was not the Glittergold Trade Union that really had a conflict with the other expedition team. Instead, it was the Tower of Dusk that had a conflict with the Mithril Alliance.

    The Mithril Alliance¡¯s and Tower of Dusk¡¯s intentions were clear. The previous series of attacks and boycotts had caused an enmity between the two forces, regardless of who took advantage and who suffered. If it was Joseph, there would only be one result in the end. If it was us from the Caesar Family, he wouldn¡¯t be able to speak on behalf of the Mithril Alliance at all. Therefore, Elvis, who had retired many years ago, had be the most suitable candidate to facilitate the conversation between both parties.

    Soon, Hoffman and Lin Li arrived at the gate of the camp, and stood opposite Elvis, who seemed rickety.

    ¡°Haha, it turns out to be Master Elvis. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be trying to break through to the Sanctuary-realm in the Bluestone Tower? Why have you suddenly decided to look for Master Felic and me here? Do you want to give us any advice?¡± Although their opponent was prestigious in the Mithril Alliance, Hoffman did not n to save face for him.

    In fact, as a businessman, it would only be right to deal with things amicably. The Glittergold Trade Union had been established in the Breezy ins for so many years. Apart from the people who tried to covet their force, there were basically no enemies. However, Hoffman spoke to Elvis in such a mocking tone because he believed that thetter had stolen his information, which made him rather upset. The other reason was to assure Lin Li.

    What would he think if his partner were to chat merrily with his arch-enemy at such a critical juncture? It was precisely because Hoffman was a businessman that he had a considerable understanding of human psychology. Naturally, he¡¯d not cause a rift between him and the Tower of Dusk during such a critical juncture.

    Elvis rolled his eyelids, and his eyes turned murky. He said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum is a rare opportunity. How can I miss it?¡±

    When Hoffman introduced Elvis previously, he did not mention his blindness. Obviously, that started when he was trying to reach the Sanctuary-realm. However, for a Legendary-mage, his strong mental strength would allow him to stay unaffected despite his loss of vision.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s understandable, but you probably went the wrong way because of your bad eyesight. Your expedition team is opposite,¡± Hoffman mocked in a hostile manner. After hearing him mention Brahere, he was even more convinced that he had to have stolen the information from him. However, he could not understand how the news got leaked.

    Hearing this, Elvis was not angry. Instead, there was a smile on his face. However, his cloudy eyes were terrifying. He said, ¡°President Hoffman, surely you know the purpose of my visit? Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum is not simple, and it won¡¯t be easy for you or me to explore the mausoleum alone. I wonder if you, President Hoffman and President Felic, would be interested in a cooperation with us.¡±

    Elvis didn¡¯t beat around the bush, and instead directly stated his purpose¡ªto cooperate to explore Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Hoffman and Lin Li had already anticipated Elvis¡¯ agenda, but whether or not they epted it was another thing.

    Although Elvis hade from the Mithril Alliance, that could only prevent them from falling out right at the beginning. It did not mean that they could avoid any conflicts, especially since the enmity between the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance could not be resolved in a few words. In order to resolve the enmity between the two forces, one would have to be destroyed.

    ¡°Haha, Master Elvis, you must be joking. Do you think it is necessary for us to cooperate with you? Haven¡¯t you already entered the mausoleum alone with confidence and beat us to it? I reckon you must have gained a lot. We can¡¯t make it. We¡¯re timid and we still don¡¯t know what is in the mausoleum.¡± As an ally of the Tower of Dusk, Hoffman did not hold back in mocking the Mithril Alliance.

    Faced with such tant ridicule, Elvis shook his head slightly without showing any anger at all. He monotonously said, ¡°In terms of exploring the ruins, we are indeed not as experienced as President Hoffman. You can probably tell that we¡¯ve suffered losses during the operation because of a reckless action. Do you really think that you can deal with the dangers in the mausoleum alone with the strength of your team?¡±

    ¡°This is not for you to worry about, we naturally have our own n for exploring. However, you guys looked really pathetic after facing a setback. You should be thinking of packing up early and going back instead of cooperating with us. Your joke is overboard,¡± Hoffman said with pursed lips in a disdainful tone.

    He did have the right to do so. The Glittergold Trade Union started by exploring the ruins. Regardless of experience, the important thing when exploring was to be cautious. If they had been as reckless as the Mithril Alliance, they would have long been buried somewhere.

    Although he couldn¡¯t see, Elvis turned to face Lin Li and said, ¡°What do you think about the cooperation, President Felic?¡±

    It was obvious that he knew that there was an enmity between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk. He also understood that the reason for Hoffman¡¯s attitude was the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he didn¡¯t say anything to Hoffman, but turned to ask Lin Li¡¯s opinion. If Lin Li agreed, Hoffman would too.

    ¡°Cooperation is not impossible,¡± Lin Li said as he touched his chin. His tone was not full of sarcasm like Hoffman¡¯s, making Elvis get a shock. Even Hoffman was a little surprised and turned around.

    Hoffman had repeatedly ridiculed Elvis just now because he felt that thetter had stolen his information, and¡ªmore importantly¡ªhe believed that Lin Li would never agree to cooperate with the Mithril Alliance. After all, Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum was not a trivial matter. If it were him, he would never cooperate with his enemy, as it would be courting death. Instead of being careful about the danger in the mausoleum and guarding against the enemy, he would rather take his time to explore.

    However, what Lin Li said next made Hoffman¡¯s expression ease up a little while Elvis smiled wryly. Lin Li shot Hoffman a reassuring nce, and said to Elvis, ¡°Master Elvis, what do you think of this? Since your team has already entered the mausoleum, you must know more than us. Why don¡¯t you let your team explore the path in front while we follow behind?¡±

    During cooperation, there always had to be a team ahead. Although the expedition team of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family had been forced to retreat before, they had to have more experience than Lin Li and co. Hence, they were naturally more suitable to take the lead, and thus Lin Li¡¯s proposal did make sense, but it was difficult for them to ept it because of the rtionship between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 864 - Iceblast Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 864: Icest Wyrm</h4>

    ¡°Maser Felic, you don¡¯t seem very sincere about this cooperation,¡± said Elvis. He was not angry about being ridiculed by Herman. However, when he faced the harsh conditions put forward by Lin Li, his face grew a little sullen.

    ¡°Hehe, Master Elvis, you must be very clear about the matters between the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance. Do you think I will rest assured having people who don¡¯t ever stop wanting to kill us follow us around? Actually, you can rest assured. The Mithril Alliance has always been targeting the Tower of Dusk, and we were merely retaliating. Hence, if you encounter any danger during the exploration, we will not stand by and watch.¡± Lin Li¡¯s tone was rather polite, but his attitude was also very clear. He meant that they could have a cooperation, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t feel safe about having the Mithril Alliance stay at the back. Hence, the Mithril Alliance had to be the pathfinders. Otherwise, there would be no need to talk about any cooperation.

    Regardless of whether Lin Li was sincere or not, his words were rather worrying. The Tower of Dusk and Mithril Alliance refused to be the pathfinder. Standing at the side and doing nothing didn¡¯t mean that they would give a helping hand during a crisis. Likewise, kicking them into the rut during a crisis didn¡¯t mean that they were standing at the side and doing nothing. Clearly, it was already time to put an end to the conversation about cooperation at this juncture.

    However, the sorrow on Elvis¡¯s face was fleeting, and he did not mean to end the conversation. Instead, he calmly said to Hoffman, ¡°President Hoffman, President Felic, are you guys that confident about exploring the mausoleum by yourselves because of the blueprint of the mausoleum?¡±

    Upon hearing Elvis mention the blueprint of the mausoleum, Hoffman and Lin Li were shocked, and their expressions changed a little. They wondered if the other party had really nted a snitch in their team! The Mithril Alliance¡¯s appearance in the mausoleum could be considered a coincidence, but they¡¯d only found the blueprint a few days ago. Apart from the senior executives who had participated in the discussion of the n for exploration, no one else knew about it. How did Elvis find out!?

    ¡°Master Elvis, you really know us so well. You even know this.¡± A sudden gloominess shed in Hoffman¡¯s eyes. If there was really a snitch in their team, they would rather give up on the expedition temporarily. They had to figure out the matter first.

    Although Elvis was blind, he could still hear Hoffman¡¯s tone. He immediately understood that thetter had misunderstood him. If he didn¡¯t exin it clearly, the cooperation would really fall through. Hence, he quickly shook his head, and exined, ¡°President Hoffman, don¡¯t get me wrong. This is actually just a coincidence. You can think of going out to look for information, but so can we. However, we¡¯re obviously slowerpared to you. We reached the Dwarves¡¯ tribe a stepter than you guys, and by the time we did, your people had taken away the blueprint of the mausoleum. However, we didn¡¯t leave with nothing. We managed to discover another thing about this mausoleum through the clues we had.¡±

    Although Elvis¡¯ words could not fully get rid of the suspicion in the hearts of Hoffman and Lin Li, after hearing what he said about finding out something about the mausoleum, the two of them immediately understood that Elvis was merely revealing what he had to offer in exchange for the cooperation.

    ¡°Master Elvis, you said just now that you found something else. What did you find? Can you show it to us now?¡± Hearing that Hoffman was not asking for a cooperation without offering anything in exchange, Hoffman became a little less hostile, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at Elvis. He decided to temporarily put aside the issue of the spy.

    Elvis smiled faintly, seemingly confident in his own item. He exined, ¡°After finding out that the blueprint of the mausoleum was taken away by your people, our people continued to explore and search the Dwarf Kingdom ording to the clue regarding Prince Brahere. After a careful search, I finally found a diary from a tribe of dwarves, and it was said that the diary belonged to Prince Brahere who is resting here.¡±

    ¡°Diary! The diary of Prince Brahere!?¡± The fat on Hoffman¡¯s cheeks trembled when he heard about it. He cussed in his heart, <i>How did my subordinates who were responsible for collecting information miss that out? I must teach them a huge lesson!</i>

    Lin Li was also taken aback by the news. He did not expect Elvis¡¯s trump card in bargaining to be Prince Brahere¡¯s diary. What else could be better than a diary for understanding Brahere¡¯s life?

    Hence, almost immediately, the attitude of the two of them changed drastically, and their faces that were as sullen and cold as ice were immediately graced by enthusiastic smiles.

    ¡°Haha, why didn¡¯t you mention this earlier, Master Elvis? Pleasee in. Let¡¯s sit down and talk slowly. I know, I know, it¡¯s all about cooperation. We can discuss it.¡± Hoffman seemed to have be apletely different person as he warmly invited Elvis to the camp, and even tried to hold him. He was so enthusiastic that it seemed like he hadpletely forgotten that he had tantly ridiculed him just now.

    Hoffman vividly expressed the characteristics of a typical businessman who prioritized profits over everything else. Although Lin Li was not a real businessman, he was probably better than one. He wouldn¡¯t bother talking to someone about something that wasn¡¯t profitable. Now that they had heard that it was a lucrative deal, Lin Li¡¯s attitude changed even more drastically than Hoffman¡¯s.

    ¡°I might have onlye to the Breezy ins a short while ago, but I¡¯ve heard of your name a long time ago, Master Elvis...¡± Lin Li followed Elvis, and showered him withpliments while speaking to him courteously. With such a sincere tone, no one could tell that he had only just heard about Elvis.

    Elvis was blind, but his heart was not. He naturally knew the reason for the change in their attitude. Regardless of their current enthusiasm, they would immediately turn the tables and chase Elvis out of the camp if the thing that he showed them did not satisfy them. However, in order to facilitate the cooperation of the two expedition teams, Elvis had no choice but to cuss in his heart about how immoral the two of them were while pretending and speaking to them courteously on the surface.

    Hence, the three of them entered the tent in the center of the camp like old friends who hadn¡¯t seen each other for many years. They only calmed down a little after taking a seat.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li seemed to have calmed down a little, and thought of a key question. He said, ¡°Master Elvis, please forgive me for being blunt. We¡¯re going to discuss Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum now. ording to various data that we have, we are basically certain that the dwarven craftsmen started to build the mausoleum for Brahere after his death. Prince Brahere probably didn¡¯t know why the dwarves built the mausoleum for him after his death. Since the diary was left behind by him when he was still alive, could there be any information about the mausoleum?¡±

    The reason that the Highlord Osric put so much effort into his own mausoleum was because he pursued immortality, and wanted his perfect body in the crystal coffin to be better. Hence, the construction of the mausoleum was almost entirely up to him. Most of it was designed by him personally.

    On the other hand, Prince Brahere pursued the highest level of art, and rumor had it that even during hisst moments, he was stillposing a beautiful piece of music. In addition, given the status of Prince Brahere, he did not have to worry about what his mausoleum would be like in the future. As the younger brother of the High Elven queen, he would definitely be able to get the High Elves to do everything for him, so even if the tomb had been built before his death, he probably would not have paid it the slightest attention.

    Of course, that did not mean that Prince Brahere¡¯s diary was worthless. Perhaps it contained plenty of important information, but the help that it could provide for the expedition was probably limited.

    ¡°I am seeking cooperation on behalf of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family. Hence, I¡¯d definitely be sincere about it,¡± said Elvis, smiling indifferently in response to Lin Li¡¯s doubts. He tore out a few pages of the diary and put them on the table. ¡°This is a copy of some of the pages in the diary. You two can take a look at the contents.¡±

    ¡°This is?¡± Hoffman reached out and grabbed the pieces of paper before giving Lin Li two of them.

    The pages contained a lot of contents, but they were rather simple. It was merely five days¡¯ worth of content about Brahere¡¯s life, and the matters mentioned were trivial. However, it had to have something to do with the mausoleum since Elvis took it out at this moment. Hence, Hoffman and Lin Li took a careful look at it.

    The five-day-section of the diary recorded five ordinary days in Brahere¡¯s life. Based on the degree of detailedness of the diary, Lin Li could imagine that the diary in the hands of the Mithril Alliance probably contained some unknown secrets of Prince Brahere. However, the people of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family were not fools, and obviously would not share the diary parts that could bring them huge benefits, but had nothing to do with the expedition.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t care about them, since the key problem was the exploration of the tomb. Brahere¡¯s diary was written in High Elves Print, and although the content was brief and vague, the lines sounded like beautiful poems, and were not boring at all.

    After reading the five-day-long diary section, Lin Li also found some problems. It contained descriptions of the environment andndscape of the Arctic snowfield. Besides, he could also tell from the words that Brahere had spent more than five days there. He seemed to have stayed there for a long time, and it was revealed that he would continue to stay.

    As for why Brahere stayed in the Arctic snowfield for such a long time, there was no clear answer in the diary, but Lin Li vaguely felt that Brahere seemed to have been waiting for an important person because the same sentence was written in the diary for at least three days: ¡°That bastard has note yet, my patience is wearing thin!¡±.

    Whom was Breshir waiting for? Lin Li and Hoffman had no way of finding out from the diary parts they got. However, that was clearly not the focus of Elvis¡¯s diary. The key was that in the third day in the diary, Lin Li and Hoffman saw a brief description of an Icest Wyrm which was sent to Gargas.

    Seeing this, Lin Li and Hoffman couldn¡¯t help but gasp. The Icest Wyrm was a true ancient wyrm, and it was said that Icest Wyrms had the strongestbat power in the entire tribe, much like me Dragons. Each one had at least Sanctuary-realm power, and was beyondparable to the Crimson Dragons and Green Dragons.

    Of course, they wouldn¡¯t be too surprised if they had only captured one Icest Wyrm. After all, the High Elves were like lunatics who would do all kinds of crazy things. The most terrible thing was that the Icest Wyrm was said to have been sent to Gargas.

    Indeed, it had been sent to Gargas. Lin Li and Hoffman repeatedly studied the High Elves Print, but they didn¡¯t find any other possible interpretations. Although the huge canyon of Gargas was thousands of miles in length, they didn¡¯t think that Brahere sent the Icest Wyrm to the canyon to set it free. It clearly had an important purpose.

    Hoffman might not have a deep understanding of the strength of the ancient wyrms. After all, the ancient wyrms had been expelled from Anril by the High Elves a long time ago. However, Lin Li had really experienced it firsthand. In the great rift of the Night Canyon, the me Dragon Lothar who imed to be the king of me Dragons and possessed Sanctuary-realm power beat the two Sanctuary powerhouses Nefa and Rogge, leaving them with almost no power to fight back. That terrifying and overpowering power made them feel rather terrified. The Icest Wyrm, which was also an ancient wyrm, was definitely not easy to deal with, even though it had yet to reach the level of the me Dragon Lothar.

    ¡°Damn, why was it sent to Gargas? Did Brahere already start building his own mausoleum at that time?¡± That sentence made Hoffman grit his teeth in anger. If the Icest Wyrm was really in the mausoleum, they would be courting death this time.

    ¡°Judging from Brahere¡¯s tone, he seems to be talking about one of his own properties. At least at that time, this ce probably wasn¡¯t a mausoleum. Could it have been a military base or a research facility? Anyway, this mausoleum is not simple. Look at thest paragraph in this diary. Obviously, this Brahere doesn¡¯t seem to really regard art as a lifelong pursuit like the legends im him to,¡± Lin Li said while handing a page of paper in his hand to Hoffman.

    After reading those pages of the diary, the only thing Lin Li felt was a headache. Clearly, everything that was revealed in the diary was beyond their estimation, be it the existence of the Icest Wyrm or the original purpose of the mausoleum before it became one.

 Chapter 865 - Who Decides?

    <h4>Chapter 865: Who Decides?</h4>

    Now, not to mention that he had a torn and tattered blueprint, even if he had aplete and detailed one, Lin Li would not have the confidence that he would ever be able to withdraw from this duty.

    Hoffman received that paper and looked at the phrase Lin Li had pointed out. It seemed like Brahere was talking about a batch of goods from Nodahir that had just arrived. Nodahir was the then-capital of the High Elves, the ce where the Tree of Eternity grew. Brahere also mentioned that a batch of Legendary magical crystals in the goods had rather good quality, and would be ideal to be used as the source of mana for a magical weapon.

    The part that mentioned the magical weapon was illegible, but the fact that it could be used as the source of mana was something implying that the magical weapon definitely had an impressive power.

    Many people would immediately think of the Magical Crystal Cannon that was created by the Dwarf Kingdom if they were to think of a powerful magical weapon in Anril World. The magical weapon had the ability to allow the users to greatlypress the purest mana beforeunching it at their enemies. Despite being so powerful, it only required one level-15 magical crystal to function. Hence, it was equipment that even legendary powerhouses would be fearful of.

    ¡°What had Brahere done here?!¡± Hoffman eximed. He definitely did not expect a mausoleum to create so many problems. If he could, he would rather not receive this clue. He would rather not know the existence of this mausoleum forever. However, he could not bear to withdraw from the team. Now that he knew that the mausoleum was not any other mausoleum, he was really curious to find out what was hidden within it.

    Elvis had been resting against the back of his chair peacefully with his eyes closed after he handed the several pieces of paper to the two men. He lifted his eyelids when Lin Li and Hoffman were about to finish their discussion.

    ¡°President Hoffman, President Felic, you have seen these things, haven¡¯t you? Do you think there is a possibility for a coboration among us?¡± said Elvis calmly.

    Lin Li¡¯s gazended on the few pieces of paper on the table. He was certain that those pieces of information were not everything in the diary, and definitely notplete information about the relic. Elvis was not a fool. Not to mention that they had not sealed any agreement as of now, Lin Li was absolutely certain that the dude would never disclose all of his assets even if they had a partnership. He had to have more crucial information in his hands right now.

    <i>That is an Icest Wyrm in the Sanctuary-realm!</i> Lin Li could not help but feel a headache at the thought of it. He could see it being the reason for the fall of his team. Even if he were to defeat the Icest Wyrm ultimately, it would be inevitable to suffer a loss.

    Hoffman frowned as well. His hammer-like finger was tapping on the surface of the table as he fixed his eyes on it. Although his gaze was on the table, his mind was definitely on those pieces of paper.

    After a while, Hoffman and Lin Li nced at each other before turning to face Elvis. ¡°Master Elvis, it seems that this mausoleum is indeed a challenge! It will be difficult for any of our teams to achieve much if we are on our own. Let¡¯s discuss our partnership, then.¡±

    ¡°Very good. I believe that this is a very wise decision,¡± said Elvis as a smile shed across his face.

    However, although Elvis had great authority in the Mithril Alliance, he was not the current leader. Hence, the details of the partnership still had to be discussed between higher-ups from both sides.

    After sending Elvis away, Hoffman and Lin Li gathered the higher-ups from their organizations. They passed around the pieces of paper which Elvis had generously left behind. Everyone, including Connoris, could not help but take in a deep breath. As for Angno, he was so scared that he wailed to return to the ce he came from. He expressed that he would never want to deal with the scary Icest Wyrm.

    The Glittergold Trade Union did not have any issue with the partnership. After all, they did not have any enmity with the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family. As for the Tower of Dusk, they could not help but worry. No one knew how much information the Mithril Alliance had. If they had other motives for the partnership, it would not be favorable.

    Lin Li was very clear on this issue as well. He agreed to the partnership as he had the confidence to deal with any plot against himself. After all, he was a Guru of Inscription, and had a hand of cards unknown to Elvis. Who knew who was going to plot against whom?

    No matter what, the partnership among them was imperative. After seeing the several pages from the diary, none of them had the guts to say that they had the ability to adventure the mausoleum alone. Despite having many tricks up his sleeves, and having experienced journeying through the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li would not have the confidence to take such a big risk.

    Not to mention the traps within the mausoleum, or the type of mausoleum guards they might face, the Icest Wyrm alone was a creature none of the teams could tackle alone, yet two of the teams would give them a total of over 30 Legendary powerhouses and 600-700 elites from different upations over level-15. That would give them the right to challenge the Icest Wyrm.

    Since it was a coboration, the two teams would not be able to be so wary and cautious of each other like they were before. Very quickly, the higher-ups from each of the teams met again, and the tension between the two teams was a lot smaller. They were less aggressive than before.

    The higher-ups from the four formidable forces sat under a huge makeshift marquee. This had to be the first such coboration in the whole of Breezy ins. After a period of hypocritical politeness, they finally turned their conversation to the topic, and discussed the ways to explore Brahere¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°But before that, I feel that we still have something to agree upon, that is the leader of thebined team. If this matter is not decided, it will be a mess inside the mausoleum,¡± said Joseph from the Mithril Alliance. He raised a sensitive issue at the start of the discussion.

    Joseph was not unreasonable to say that. Theirmon target was the mausoleum of Prince Brahere, and that meant that they would need to agree on one person to lead the operation. If not, theck of camaraderie would only lead to disorder and chaos within the mausoleum. If that were to happen, it would be safer for the teams not to coborate.

    Actually, that was not a really great problem. It was like how Hoffman would have the authority to lead the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk given Lin Li¡¯s trust for him. In the team that was made up of the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, Mithril Alliance would have the say as they were more powerful than the Caesar Family.

    Yet, everyone knew that being a leader would mean greater benefits for their personal team. Furthermore, it would be a smooth-sailing partnership amongst the four forces if they were to have good rtions with one another. However, no one would dare to believe that would protect them from each other¡¯s conspiracies with the grudge between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we need a discussion for this issue. It was the Mithril Alliance that discovered Brahere¡¯s diary, and it was we who suggested this partnership. It would only make sense for us to lead the venture,¡± said Charles. Although he had lost his seat as the patriarch of the Dida Family, he was still a representative of the family and the grandson of us, the patriarch of the Caesar Family. Hence, he naturally had the right to speak in the meeting.

    Charles had been warned by us not to find fault with the Tower of Dusk unnecessarily, and believed that raising this casual question wouldn¡¯t be an obvious sign of challenging the Tower of Dusk. Yet, that definitely did not mean that he hoped to see his enemy be the team leader.

    After hearing Charles, a smile surfaced on Joseph¡¯s face. It was not because of what Charles said, but rather because of how timely it was. While the grudge between the Tower of Dusk and the Mithril Alliance was challenging to resolve, it was a fact that the Caesar Family was no longer a member of the Mithril Alliance. Thus, the rtionship between the Caesar Family and the Tower of Dusk was not exactly bad.

    This was what Joseph hoped to see. He wanted Charles to stand against the Tower of Dusk and turn the Caesar Family against them. It would be best if it damaged Charles¡¯ rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. If that were to happen, Joseph was certain that Charles would definitely be on his side.

    The patriarch of the Caesar Family, us, showed a slight change in his expression after he heard Charles¡¯ words. He felt that it was a bad decision to have tried to approach Charles to represent the Dida Family for this mission. The pressure us ced on the Dida Family to let Charles represent the family was to help him regain his position of the patriarch, but it seemed that he had thought too highly of Charles. Having good talent in magic did not necessarily mean having a good brain.

    Josephughed after hearing Charles. Lin Li and Hoffmanughed as well, but theirughter was riddled with indifference. ¡°Mithril Alliance takes the leadership? Sure, go ahead! Pardon us then,¡± said Lin Li[1].

    Underlying the words was an understanding that if Mithril Alliance wanted to be the leader, Lin Li and Hoffman would be backing out from the partnership.

    Lin Li and Hoffman changed their attitude as quickly as how one would flip the pages of a book. The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, who were still agreeing with Charles¡¯ words, got a shock from Lin Li and Hoffman. After all, their discussion had just started. How could they threaten to withdraw just because of the first disagreement? That wouldn¡¯t be a discussion then.

    Lin Li and Hoffman were not joking. They stood up very quickly after saying that. The higher-ups from the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk followed suit. It seemed that they were ready to leave the marquee.

    Before the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family could respond to the unexpected response, Elvis stood up swiftly. ¡°President Hoffman, President Felic, please hold on. Why don¡¯t we discuss your objection slowly?¡± Elvis asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything to discuss. Frankly speaking, I do not trust the Mithril Alliance. If we want to coborate, the leader has to be from the trade union or my tower. If not, I don¡¯t see a point in this partnership,¡± said Lin Li coldly as he turned around.

    Lin Li was not intending to scare the men. The Mithril Alliance had been targeting the Tower of Dusk prior to this partnership. Lin Li felt that if the Mithril Alliance were to lead the mission, it would be a great disadvantage to the Tower of Dusk. No matter how much treasure there was in the mausoleum of Prince Brahere, Lin Li would rather pack up and leave if his safety could not be guaranteed.

    One of the patriarchs in the Mithril Alliance stood up, and indignantly said, ¡°Is President Felic suspecting our integrity?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that. I definitely do not trust your integrity,¡± replied Lin Li indifferently. His words were like a pebble thrown into water. It created a hustle within the marquee.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    That was Elvis, the person with the greatest authority in the Mithril Alliance. His voice silenced the entire marquee.

    ¡°Joseph, you are the leader of the alliance. I hope you can consider taking a step back at appropriate timing,¡± said Elvis as he turned to Joseph.

    ¡°Master Elvis, you have always been our most respected elder. Your wisdom is our greatest wealth,¡± said Joseph as he bowed to Elvis courteously before turning to face Hoffman and Lin Li. ¡°Master Felic, I have to admit that the tension between us is something that is hard to resolve. Just like how you are wary of us, we do not feel safe to put our safety in your hands, either. But, we still trust President Hoffman. I suggest that President Hoffman can be the leader of this mission. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯d agree to that.¡±

    Joseph was a clever leader of the Mithril Alliance. He first gave Elvis the responsibility to give up on the position as the team leader. That distanced himself from receiving the dissatisfaction from other members in the Mithril Alliance. Then, he made a suggestion for Hoffman to be the leader of the mission. He thought that it would stir unhappiness between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk. Although the Tower of Dusk showed no rejection to that idea, he was willing to wait for the crucial moment when their rtionship turned sour due to the leadership issue.

    Even Hoffman could not help but feel disgruntled by Joseph¡¯s words. However, the rtionship between the Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk was not something outsiders would be able to understand enough to create a detrimental impact on it. Hoffman¡¯s extreme respect for Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be something the calctive Joseph would be able to imagine. The rtionship between the two organizations had made it no difference for either of them to act as the leader of the mission.

    [1] Could be Hoffman; less likely but not clear.

 Chapter 866 - Wealth Breeds Arrogance

    <h4>Chapter 866: Wealth Breeds Arrogance</h4>

    ¡°I like Patriarch Joseph¡¯s suggestion,¡± said Lin Li as he and Hoffman exchanged nces. They took their seats in the marquee again.

    Peace returned after the people from the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union returned to their seats.

    ¡°Since we have decided that Hoffman from the Glittergold Trade Union is going to be our leader, should we let Hoffman conduct the rest of the discussion?¡± asked Joseph as he nced at Hoffman and Lin Li, fiddling with his mustache.

    Hoffman naturally epted that suggestion without any reservation. His slits of eyes swept across the men in the marquee. ¡°Well, then let¡¯s start with the delegation of responsibilities.¡±

    It would be impossible for one to suggest the perfect strategy if he did not have the best knowledge of the mausoleum. Yet, it was of utmost importance for them to have clear ns of dealing with times of crisis. If not, there would certainly be chaos in time toe.

    The most important thing to do in almost all missions was to survey the environment. This made the job of the pathfinders extremely crucial. However, while pathfinders were crucial members of the team, they were the ones who would face the greatest danger. Hence, though everyone knew how important pathfinders were, none of them would want to be that pathfinder.

    Hoffman was extremely straight forward. He looked at Joseph, and said, ¡°Since the Mithril Alliance has gone into the mausoleum before, they would have to have the best knowledge of the ce than anyone else. I feel that the Mithril Alliance is the most qualified to be our pathfinder.¡±

    Joseph and the patriarchs of the Mithril Alliance looked at Hoffman awkwardly. Some of them who had worse temper even smacked their palms against the table. They looked as though they were going to burst any time soon. That had to be the most tant threat. They had lost a dozen elites who were above level-15 in their previous attempt, and they had had to escape. <i>If we were to be the pathfinders of this mission, wouldn¡¯t we be digging their own graves? What type of coboration is this?</i>

    Joseph managed to suppress the rage within him, and waved his arms to call for silence. ¡°President Hoffman, we don¡¯t agree to such a delegation. You¡¯re right, we have experience entering the mausoleum. But, frankly speaking, we lost a dozen lives before we managed to survey the grounds. If we want to nominate the group who has the most experience in exploring mausoleums, it has to be the Glittergold Trade Union, the most renowned organization in this field of work.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Patriarch Joseph, it seems like you have forgotten that I am the person overseeing this mission,¡± said Hoffman smilingly as he shook his head. ¡°Furthermore, how could the exploration conducted by the Glittergold Trade Union in other ruins beparable to the mausoleum of Prince Brahere? I¡¯m sure you are aware that in the entire history of the High Elves Dynasty, Prince Brahere was the only one with such an incredible status. I hope you do not reject this nomination with such humbleness. How could you not gain any knowledge after losing a dozen men?¡±

    Hoffman had to be the most tant person ever. His words nearly burst Joseph¡¯s boiling blood vessels. <i>Humbleness? My foot! If you don¡¯t mind losing a dozen elites above level-15 in the blink of an eye, why don¡¯t you go and try it yourself? You¡¯ll know if I¡¯m really being humble here!</i>

    ¡°ording to what I know, President Felic has experience exploring the Sky Castle and the mausoleum of Highlord Osric. I bet these two spots areparable to the mausoleum of Prince Brahere. It is a miracle that President Felic not only did not suffer any losses, but also made the greatest benefits out of those missions. I believe he has to have great talent in this,¡± chimed in Charles despite the warning his grandfather had given him. He directed the pressure and everyone¡¯s attention onto Lin Li.

    Charles¡¯s words drew a few stern and angry nces from Joseph and a few of the patriarchs onto him. Of course, that was including his grandfather, the patriarch of the Caesar Family, us.

    Although their reaction created fear in Charles, his words did the job by reminding Joseph and the others of the asset in their team. Joseph took a deep breath as he gazed upon Hoffman and Lin Li.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we have all heard of President Felic¡¯s sesses. I guess no one would be more worthy to be a pathfinder than President Felic,¡± said Joseph as heughed coldly.

    Lin Li yawnedzily upon hearing his words. ¡°Patriarch Joseph, I hope you can understand something. You are the one who invited us into this coboration. We did not beg you to do that. You¡¯d better show some sincerity in your words and actions.¡±

    Lin Li was not trying to threaten that he would withdraw from the group. He understood that everyone had their reservations with regard to Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. If everyone were to hold themselves back like that, not only might they not get to the treasure, they might also perish together. The role of the pathfinders was the most arduous and tedious thing to do in any adventure. They were akin to the cannon fodder of the mission. Lin Li was not keen to be a cannon fodder. As he was also not a person who would sacrifice himself for the benefit of others, he would only consider such dangerous tasks if he could be given enough benefits.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Joseph asked defensively. He naturally knew what Lin Li was implying in his speech. Although he was notfortable with it, he could not help but continue the conversation.

    In fact, Joseph and the others were determined to let the Tower of Dusk be their cannon fodder. It would be a really safe and advantageous task to follow after other people. However, he knew that Lin Li¡¯s experience was an extremely valuable asset in this mission. Hence, he did not dare to be too forceful facing Lin Li. He knew that if he were to agitate the man and make him leave the team, it would be a loss to the mission.

    ¡°Felic, you...¡± Hoffman wanted to stop Lin Li. He thought Lin Li was seriously considering to be the cannon fodder.

    Lin Li smiled at the people in the marquee before he turned to look at Joseph. ¡°Actually, my conditions are very simple. Firstly, I will not let my men be the pathfinders, but I can myself join the team of pathfinders. As for how many men or whether I bring anyone along, it wouldn¡¯t be my decision. So, the rest of you can decide who else to join the team of pathfinders. On top of that, as my reward for joining the team of pathfinders, I want the two mines in Khangarcia from the Mithril Alliance, and the priority to choose the prize from the mausoleum.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s conditions stunned everyone in the marquee. What a big appetite! Two mines and the privilege to choose his prize just for his participation as one of the pathfinders? What about the other pathfinders in the team?

    ¡°President Felic, your request is too absurd. If every pathfinder were to have such a request, I guess we should withdraw this mission,¡± said Joseph as he tried to suppress his rage. He was also incredibly furious about how Lin Li targeted his mines instead of possessions of the other three forces. Of course, if he were to mention that, he would definitely offend the rest of them. Hence, he held back on this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the rest. If anyone thinks they have the ability to do it, I don¡¯t mind withdrawing. I don¡¯t have to be a pathfinder anyway,¡± said Lin Li as he waved his arms. He leaned back indifferently.

    The marquee that was still hustling when they heard Lin Li¡¯s conditions earlier turned silent immediately after seeing Lin Li¡¯s attitude. They knew that Lin Li was right. That man certainly did not beg to join the team of pathfinders. If they felt that his appetite was too big, they had the power not to let him join the team. However, the problem was that no one from the group had the experience of braving ces like the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°I think this can work,¡± said Elvis all of a sudden. He broke the silence in the marquee.

    <i>That¡¯s definitely fine with you when the two mines in Khangarcia aren¡¯t yours!</i> Joseph screamed internally as he red at Elvis. He was so remorseful about his decision to have invited this blind old man.

    ¡°Master Elvis, I don¡¯t mind the two mines, but as for the privilege to choose the treasures from this mausoleum...¡± As the leader of the Mithril Alliance, Joseph was pressured to appear generous. Hence, he could only raise a condition that concerned individual privileges.

    ¡°It is just the privilege to be the first to choose the treasures. I bet there will not only be one or two treasures in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Are you scared that he¡¯s going to ransack everything? However, this condition has to be discussed further,¡± said Elvis. Elvis definitely did not want to lose out on the valuable treasures. The quality of the treasures would still y a great role in any mission. If the others were to im all the rare magical equipment, it would be of no use to leave behind a mountain of gold.

    ¡°What do you think, then?¡± Joseph asked excitedly. He drew everyone¡¯s attention to Elvis.

    Elvis coughed softly and he rolled his eyes as he turned towards Lin Li. ¡°President Felic, I am sure no one would be agreeable if you were to have the priority to choose from all of the prizes. Why don¡¯t we set a limit? We can give you one opportunity to be the first to decide your rewards. After that, we would adhere to the rules that have been agreed upon by everyone.¡±

    ¡°One? Sure, I will settle for one then. But, since the two mines in the Khangarcia are the only valuable things in thend, I want to have the territory of Khangarcia as well.¡± Lin Li agreed to his suggestion immediately. He did not fuss about the privilege. He just asked for an additional territory.

    Mines were mines. Territories were territories. Lin Li had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. He would not like it if his mines had to be in a foreign territory. That meant that he would not have the right to exploit the mines as freely. In fact, he requested the right to have the priority to choose his treasures as he thought that that would allow him to bargain for Khangarcia¡¯s territory. He did not expect that he would still have the privilege.

    ¡°Alright, I promise you!¡± Joseph replied in submission. He believed that the benefits he could gain from the mausoleum would outweigh his territory and two mines. Besides, he did not have confidence that Lin Li would definitely survive being a pathfinder.

    Lin Li received a handwritten contract from Joseph, and let Joseph and the rest discuss whom they wanted to engage as the other pathfinders. They then decided that the team would be made of people from the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family. The solving of this issue naturally made things easier. They delegated the remaining tasks, and everyone started to prepare their teams for the expedition into Brahere¡¯s mausoleum.

    The two adventure teams came together, and the four major forces formed the greatest partnership in the Breezy ins. They had over 30 Legendary powerhouses and 600-700 elites from different upations who were above level-15. Such a force would definitely have the capacity to destroy an entire kingdom. It was fortunate that this huge canyon of Gargas was a site that humans rarely visited. If not, they would definitely create chaos and cause the kingdoms around them to prepare for a war.

    When the team got to the entrance of the mausoleum, everybody was very cautious, yet at the same time, some of them lost their focus. The people who lost their focus had something inmon¡ªtheir gazes were all fixed on the mages from the Tower of Dusk.

    Many knew that the Tower of Dusk was a rtively new establishment with only two or three years of history. It was not easy for them to gather enough men to form a team of mages. As such, no one had high expectations on their level ofbat ability. However, after they got ready for battle, the power disyed by the mages from the Tower of Dusk stunned the people from the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family.

    The team of 100 men were all Archmages above level-15. That was including 30 of them who were already at the peak of level-19. Each of them had a staff with a fist-sized high-level magical gemstone, and was d in robes that had been inscribed with mageweaths with defensive, enhancing, and recovery properties. The most absurd was that each of them was wearing aplete set of high-level magical essories, rings, nes, and badges. The effects from that magical equipment alone were sufficient to boost theirbat ability by more than a fold.

    It was already difficult to find a real jewelry master in the maind of Anril. Theck of supply made the cost of any magical essory ridiculously high. For instance, the value of one magic ring would be that of 10 magic staffs, even though they had the same magical capabilities. Hence, many felt that having a magic ring would be an add-on if one already had a magic staff. But, the mages from the Tower of Dusk were different. Each of them had a set of high-entry magical essories that emitted a tremendous magical wave. Seeing that they had these essories that covered them from head to toe was sufficient to generate fear in anybody.

 Chapter 867 - Nasty Goblin

    <h4>Chapter 867: Nasty Goblin</h4>

    The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were long-standing forces with over 1,000 years of history, but if one were topare them to the Tower of Dusk, they would look really shabby. Even the higher-ups from the two forces felt envious and embarrassed when they saw how the mages from Tower of Dusk dressed.

    The people in the Glittergold Trade Union could not help but gloat at the two forces. Being very used to the extravagance of the Tower of Dusk, the Glittergold Trade Union was already numb to such a scene. Everyone knew how wealthy the Glittergold Trade Union was, and that the union would definitely splurge on its men. However, if one were topare the Glittergold Trade Union with the Tower of Dusk, no one would dare to say that the Glittergold Trade Union was wealthier than the other.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was brought back to the present by the scolding of their higher-ups, yet they could not help but gaze upon the team from the Tower of Dusk subconsciously.

    ¡°Master Felic, seems like you have stunned them significantly with your investment,¡± remarked Hoffman.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some magical equipment. What I want is their safety,¡± replied Lin Li calmly. To him, magical equipment was made to be used. It would be useless woods and stones if left in the treasure vault. What Lin Li treasured was talents, and that was the foundation which the Tower of Dusk rose on.

    After being awed by the dazzling jewelry, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were not asposed as the Glittergold Trade Union and Tower of Dusk. Even their higher-ups could not help but curse in jealousy as they get their stupefied followers back on track.

    After this short episode, the team finally entered the pce-like mausoleum. The 50 men from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were heading the pathfinder team, while Lin Li was leading Connoris and Angno behind them.

    Joseph nearly burst from his rage when he saw only three representatives from the Tower of Dusk. However, he did not have the right to me them. He had only himself to me for underestimating the shamelessness of the tower when he agreed to allow them to send any number of people they¡¯d like for this task.

    The interior of the pce was not as magnificent and grandiose. Instead, it had an immense sense of elegance and beauty. The surroundings were decorated with magical gemstones that continued to radiate gentle rays of light despite the passage of time. Their light created a dreamy atmosphere within the pce.

    There were many exquisite works of art disyed within the pce. There were delicate and vivid statues that exuded an air of grandeur and also beautiful scrolls that could capture any human soul. Although these masterpieces were not as valuable to Lin Li and the other adventurers, they would definitely reap great wealth from selling any of the artworks.

    Lin Li did not know if legends were true in saying that Brahere spent his entire life in pursuing art. However, the masterpieces in the pce were enough to qualify Brahere¡¯s great attainments in art as unprecedented.

    Although the goal of these adventurers was the rare magical treasures buried within the mausoleum, they could not help but slow down to admire these works of art. They were so captivating that even the Warriors, who were known to be tough and barbaric, were transformed into masters of art appreciation. They gasped at the beauty of every work of art they saw.

    Suddenly, the team stopped. Then, two Legendary-level Assassins¡ªSylvia and Jerry from Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, respectively¡ªcould be seen rushing towards Lin Li. They were the leaders in charge of the pathfinder team.

    ¡°Why did we stop?¡± Lin Li asked curiously as he shifted his gaze from the works of art onto the two men.

    ¡°President Felic, that spot in front was where we stopped. The magic gears there were extremely hard to deactivate. Could you help with that?¡± Being opponents of the Tower of Dusk, the two people from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family weren¡¯t sounding really friendly when they said that. The fact that Lin Li was one of the pathfinders but only followed behind the group only heightened their sense of distaste for him.

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived?¡± Lin Li froze when he heard that. ¡°That¡¯s a very short distance! Is this your previous progress?¡± asked Lin Li skeptically after turning to look at the path behind him.

    Lin Li¡¯s astonishment was not invalid. Although this pce took up a rtively huge amount ofnd, the team had only progressed close to 1,000 meters away from the entrance of the pce.

    Sylvia and Jerry were still hoping to see Lin Li make a fool of himself before this, but Lin Li¡¯s question painted a deep blush on their cheeks immediately. He was right. They had lost a dozen lives along such a short distance. This tragedy would make sense if they were an unqualified adventure team. However, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family both had 1,000 years of history. There wouldn¡¯t be anything more shameful than experiencing such a tragedy.

    ¡°President Felic, why don¡¯t you go and take a look yourself. If we are not able to get through these magic gears, I¡¯m afraid our adventure efforts will have to stop here,¡± retorted Sylvia indignantly. Underlying his words was his skepticism that Lin Li would be able to solve the problem.

    Lin Li smiled as he shook his head. He turned to the goblin beside him, and said, ¡°Angno, you can go with them. Let¡¯s not waste time here.¡±

    Angno specialized in alchemy puppets and colossuses. Hence, much of his knowledge was rted to magic gears. His Guru-level Alchemy skills would enable him to resolve many of such problems caused by magic gears.

    ¡°Well, since I was tricked toe here, I shall be at your service,¡±ined Angno in a dissatisfied tone. He controlled the alchemy machine and brought himself to the front of the team with big steps.

    Sylvia and Jerry were extremely confused when they saw Lin Li only sent a goblin over, but they did not dare to inquire further for fear of receiving more derogatory remarks. They recovered from their shock and quickly followed behind Angno.

    Angno¡¯s shrill and harsh voice could be heard shortly after.

    ¡°Darn it, how could you be hindered by such a thing? I really cannot believe you are here to explore a relic, and not for a leisure walk. Can you grow some brains? How can you even die at this spot? Can¡¯t you see such an obvious thing?¡±

    Angno did not do any close observation when he got to the front of the team. A quick scan of the magic gear was enough for him to detect all sorts of loopholes it had. His frustration was not invalid. If he had to interfere in solving such a simple trap, it would mean that he would have to take care of many other things ahead.

    ¡°C-can... Can you even solve it?¡± asked Sylvia and Jerry indignantly. They had been well respected for their status as Legendary powerhouses. It was vexing enough to be ridiculed by Lin Li earlier. How could their ego not be hurt by Angno¡¯s scolding?

    ¡°Tsk, what is there for people in the Legendary-realm to be proud of? If you can¡¯t deactivate such a magic gear, you should feel too ashamed to introduce yourself as a Legendary-level Assassin,¡±ined Angno as he rolled his eyes at the two people. He then proceeded to give orders to the people around him with gestures. ¡°Hey, you, go to that pir there. And you, stop looking around, yes, I¡¯m talking to you. Do you see that tile there? Yes, beside the head of that corpse. Just walk towards there...¡±

    Since Sylvia and Jerry chose to be Assassins, they naturally knew that real Legendary-level Assassins in the Dark Age were expected to reach the Master-level in dealing with all types of magic gears and traps. Hence, they could only sulk at Angno¡¯s derogatory remarks instead of standing up against him.

    On the other side, people who were appointed by Angno all looked incredibly bitter. They all tried to make nces at their leaders, Sylvia and Jerry. These people were the pathfinders for their previous expedition, and they had witnessed how theirrades died when they stepped into that region. There were some who got cut into pieces, and others who were burned into ashes. They all died horrible deaths. However, that goblin was now telling them to walk over! Wouldn¡¯t they be digging their own graves?

    If the goblin was from their team, they would have greater courage to take the risk. But, the fact that the goblin was from the Tower of Dusk, which wasn¡¯t on good terms with the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, made them skeptical about the real intentions of that goblin.

    After seeing no one responding to his orders, Angno¡¯s rage grew even more. ¡°Goddammit, do you think I want to waste my time with you? I¡¯m not going to repeat what I just said. If you can¡¯t remember what I said, you can just go and die!¡± Angnoshed out at the men furiously. He turned his alchemy machine away from the scene and went back to Lin Li.

    These men became even more reluctant to take the risk after Angno left. They went to Sylvia and Jerry to seek their opinion on what to do next.

    But, at this time, Elvis walked over.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why did Angno return to the back? Did the Tower of Dusk also not have a solution to the magic gears here?¡± he asked in a low tone.

    Elvis was an approachable figure thatmanded a lot of respect from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. The people immediately told him about what had just happened. ¡°Master Elvis, that goblin from the Tower of Dusk did not even take a look at the situation. He merely gave some random orders for us to follow. It is obvious that he wanted to send us to our deaths!¡±

    ¡°This is ridiculous! The Tower of Dusk is our ally now. How would they do that? What did Angno tell you to do? Just follow his instructions!¡± Elvis replied sternly. It was the mausoleum of Prince Brahere they were dealing with.

    The men were shocked after realizing that he was not the warm and amiable figure anymore. They did not have the choice to reject Elvis¡¯s orders. But, the issue was that no one actually remembered what that goblin instructed them to do with his random pointing and gestures earlier on.

    Sylvia forgot about his earlier unhappiness when he saw Elvis¡¯s anger. ¡°Master Elvis, just now... the goblin said everything really quickly, so we...¡± He tried to exin with much awkwardness.

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Go and invite Master Angno back then!¡± Elvis hollered furiously.

    Despite being in the same Legendary-realm as Elvis, Sylvia and Jerry could not help but shudder when facing Elvis¡¯s rage. They knew it was not the time to protect their ego. They sped towards Lin Li¡¯s team, and tried to invite Angno back to advise them on how to ovee the magic gears.

    Although Angno did not seem very willing to do that, Lin Li did not want to waste too much time here. Hence, he did not make things too difficult for Sylvia and Jerry. Lin Li requested Angno to repeat himself.

    ¡°Master Angno, I hope you don¡¯t mind their ipetence and continue to stay focused on the mission at hand,¡± said Elvis as he rolled his eyes after hearing the distinct mechanical sounding from Angno¡¯s machine.

    ¡°Enough of it. I shall waste some more saliva on this once more. But, if no one pays attention to what I have to say, don¡¯t fault me for not helping,¡± snapped Angno impatiently as he walked to the front and repeated his words.

    This time, no one dared not to listen to his orders. With Elvis around, these people knew that they had no other choice even if they had to die in this task. Everyone who was assigned by Angno walked towards their designated spot immediately, and carried out his orders diligently.

    When everybody hadpleted what was assigned to them, something shocking happened. First, the ground of the pce trembled. Then, the crystal-like tiles started to move. After a few seconds, they heard the sound of turning gears from the ground, and all was silent again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, what are you waiting for? Ignorant humans!¡± snapped Angno indifferently at the astonished men.

    <i>Did he just ovee the magic gears that took a dozen lives?</i> Now, these people were starting to understand why the Tower of Dusk only sent three people to act as pathfinders.

    The team continued to advance. Under Angno¡¯s lead, they managed to ovee many magic gears and traps. No one cast doubts on Angno¡¯s skills anymore. If his standards weren¡¯t enough, they really could not think of anyone with better skills in deactivating those gears and traps.

 Chapter 868 - Ghost Warrior

    <h4>Chapter 868: Ghost Warrior</h4>

    Of course, Angno deactivated those magic gears and traps under the sneering and jeering of the people around him. At the start, they all had a sense of disdain for Angno¡¯s proficiency. Then, they became numbed by his skills after realizing that they would never match up to Angno.

    With that, the team overcame the first level of the mausoleum safely, and proceeded to the second level via stairs.

    The second level of the mausoleum was unlike the first. It was extremely spacious, and no one could see the ends apart from the thick stone pirs. There weren¡¯t any fancy art pieces, either. It was fortunate that the team had the blueprint of the mausoleum, which helped to direct them in their journey.

    Yet, spaciousness did not mean that there weren¡¯t traps. On the contrary, the danger in this level was multiplied by many times inparison to the level before. The first level only required them to deactivate the magic traps and gears that obstructed their path, but now that they were in a spacious area, it was challenging for them to know if certain areas were safe as boundaries were not as well-defined.

    Despite those challenges, the team of pathfinders were well-prepared. After they solved the traps and deactivated the gears for a particr region under Angno¡¯s instructions, somebody took out a bottle of silver-colored magic powder. He sprinkled a portion of it on the ground with a distinct ritual. At once, ayer of silver covered the entire region. That effect helped to inform the people behind them of the safe spot. This work continued a while, and the team managed to leave behind an obvious silver path that denoted safety to the rest of the team.

    They could finally see shadows of walls when they were halfway through the level. However, when they waited for Angno¡¯s orders to resolve the new magic traps, they heard Angno¡¯s ghastly shrieks.

    ¡°RUN! THERE ARE FREAKY THINGS COMING OUR WAY!!!¡± What followed Angno¡¯s voice was the sound of charging metal from his alchemy machine.

    The men turned to look at Angno racing towards Lin Li. Then, they looked in the direction Angno came from. There were ck shadows racing out, emerging from all directions, and crowding towards them.

    At this time, Angno was already by Lin Li¡¯s side.

    ¡°Those are Ghost Warriors,¡±mented Connoris gravely as he looked at the neverending stream of shadows.

    It had been said that these Ghost Warriors were the most loyal royal guards of the High Elves when they were alive, and they continued to stand guard for the royals even after they passed away. Hence, it was only natural for these Ghost Warriors to appear at his mausoleum.

    The mages from the four forces got into different formations immediately after they noticed the Ghost Warriors. Although this adventure team was filled with elites, no one dared to be reckless. While Brahere was not as well-known as Osric, his status and power were not what Osric could match up to. If anyone were to make a mistake, they might never be able to get out of the mausoleum alive.

    The sound of magic erupted with themencement of battle between the adventure team and the Ghost Warriors.

    Each of the Ghost Warriors had tremendousbat abilities and the power to cast immense magical spells. Their ghostly bodies gave them great immunity to magical spells. Although the magical waves they emitted did not seem like they were in the Legendary-realm, theirbat energy was not a bit weaker than that of true Legendary powerhouses.

    The adventure team could feel immense pressure when they came into contact with the Ghost Warriors. Although thebined spells cast by the team could be potent to Legendary powerhouses, they only seemed to create an impact sufficient to shake the bodies of the Ghost Warriors slightly. Their immunity to magic seemed to be as strong as true dragons¡¯.

    What made it more problematic was that there were not just one or two such freakish Ghost Warriors. There were not 10 or 20 of them, either. The shadows in the distance continued to emerge, while some of the Ghost Warriors had already gotten to the frontline.

    The adventure team was powerful to begin with. Apart from over 30 real Legendary powerhouses, the rest of the men were at least level-15. However, what they were faced with was a never-ending stream of Ghost Warriors that wereparable to Legendary powerhouses.

    However, the adventure team was made up of the elites from each of the four great forces after all. They were not empty shells of geniuses, but true powerhouses who had rich experience and had braved countless battles.

    At the same time, all of Hoffman¡¯s arrangements proceeded smoothly. The team in charge of facing unexpected enemies immediately cast the spells which they prepared for such an encounter. Although they did not injure the Ghost Warriors significantly, they helped to buy precious time for the adventure team to respond to the threat. The adventure team was fully alert when they were about to engage with the Ghost Warriors themselves.

    The elite teams from the four great forces of the Breezy ins disyed strength befitting of their status. They were not shaken by the Legendary-level Ghost Warriors. They struck at the Ghost Warriors, and defended against their attacks in synchronization. They were as if machinery functioning with great precision.

    The real Legendary-level powerhouses from the four forces readied their staffs and swords. Rays from magic and attack colored the interior of the mausoleum. The magical elements that rested within the mausoleum for God knew how many years started to shake vigorously under the Legendary-level magical waves as well.

    Although the two adventure teams had agreed toe together, each of them had their own part to y when real danger urred. That was part of Hoffman¡¯s ns, and something they unanimously agreed upon. After all, the tension that existed between both groups was not something that could be dissolved easily. No one would be able to vouch that there wouldn¡¯t be any backstabbing at critical times.

    Joseph and us did not intervene in the battle immediately. Instead, they were observing the intense battle between their men and the Ghost Warriors in the air above them calmly. It seemed like they were even smiling at what they saw.

    ¡°All of the Ghost Warriors have Legendary-levelbat capability that can pose a great threat to any newbie in the Legendary-realm. Their only disadvantage would be the inability to employ real Magical Domains,¡±mented us as he watched the Ghost Warriors advance in their attacks. He could not help but daydream about having such a formidable troop of men on his team...

    ¡°We are lucky that they can¡¯t use Magical Domains. Otherwise, we would have ended our adventure here. But, even so, I¡¯m sure our new ally would also be very frustrated with them,¡± remarked Joseph smilingly.

    The new ally Joseph was referring to was naturally the Tower of Dusk who had swallowed their two mines and a part of their territory. Yes, the mages from that tower were armed from head to toe with high-grade magical equipment, looking just like moving mountains of gold. However, even so, the equipment could only help to boost their respective capability rather than bring the Archmages into the Legendary-realm. Hence, such an intense battle also served to put the group¡¯s teamwork to test.

    However, the cooperation within a team was not something that could be nurtured in a day or two. It required countless exercises, countlessbat experience, a great amount of effort, and cruel rounds of bloodshed to unite the whole team.

    The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were ancient forces with over a thousand years of history. It naturally gave them a sense of superiority for having members with at least 10 years ofbat experience. They were certain that the Tower of Dusk that had only been around for two to three years would be at a disadvantage in this situation.

    Although Joseph¡¯s Mithril Alliance had been fighting the Tower of Dusk for a long time, they had not been gaining any advantage from the tower at all. Now that they had lost two mines and arge area ofnd to the tower before entering the mausoleum, Joseph was not at all worrying about this battle. He was all glee to watch the Tower of Dusk be faced with such an unlucky experience.

    ¡°Are you thinking about demanding them to return your possessions when they ask for your help?¡± us asked and smiled knowingly. Unlike the Mithril Alliance, the Caesar Family wasn¡¯t a direct opponent of the Tower of Dusk, yet us did not have a good impression of the Tower of Dusk and its young President due to Charles.

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t mind losing those. If they were to require our assistance, they¡¯d have to pay arger price,¡± replied Joseph slyly. He smirked with a cold and stern gaze. <i>Isn¡¯t the Ashen Warlock partial to the Tower of Dusk? I bet the Ashen Warlock wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the Ghost Warriors if he saw them...</i>

    Their battle with the Tower of Dusk shook the position of the Mithril Alliance in the Breezy ins. The hatred Joseph had for the Tower of Dusk was not just a tiny bit. He would be grateful to see the Tower of Dusk suffer in this encounter, even if the casualty rate was not a tremendous one. He was looking forward to the rest of the tactics Felic would be left with if he wished to give his organization more advantages against the rest.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m afraid you are going to be disappointed,¡± remarked us with a bitter smile after he nced at the situation over at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side.

    ¡°What?¡± Joseph asked skeptically as he turned to look at the team from the Tower of Dusk. Then, he was stupefied. ¡°W-what? How c-could they?¡±

    He saw that the mages from the Tower of Dusk were not as frantic as he had expected. Instead, it was the opposite. Under n¡¯s leadership, the mages disyed greatbat ability. It was a sight that even Joseph, an experienced Legendary-mage, would feel threatened by if he were to be faced with such a formidable opponent.

    n was the only Legendary-mage in the entire team of mages from the Tower of Dusk, but even so, the other Archmages appeared to be casting Legendary-level spells as well. It seemed like there was a special Magical Domain that formed within the formation of the team. The Magical Domain did not have any attribute, but appeared to have great power to elevate every magic spell.

    The defensive tactic employed by the Ghost Warriors was incredibly freaky, but it did not put the humans at an immediate disadvantage. After all, all of the Legendary-level spells would be tapping on the nomological power. That was not something lower-level spells couldpare to. Although they weren¡¯t sufficient to eliminate the Ghost Warriors immediately, the fact that the magic strength from the humans was something that continued to umte over time was enough to pose an imminent threat to the Ghost Warriors.

    The mages from the Tower of Dusk were using the Net Array from the nna Guild of Magic. It was said that the array was created by the God of Mages, Geresco, during thest stage of the Dark Age. Deeply convinced that the human species was too weak to survive in the world, he used his experience of battling the Magic Legion of the High Elves to create an array that couldbine the strength of all of the weaker men to help them fight against powerhouses.

    Of course, it did not matter what strategy the team used against their opponent. What was important was the team spirit that was nurtured over the time they worked together. However, apart from camaraderie, it was the special magical runes inscripted on the magic equipment worn by the mages. The runes could gather the mana from all of the mages in the array to allow even the lowest-level mage to exert power that was equivalent to what the highest-level one was capable of.

    None of the mages from the Tower of Dusk was weak to begin with. There were many of them in level-19 at the Archmage-realm. While the presence of the high-grade magical equipment only helped to boost their ability instead of bringing them into the Legendary-realm, their capability was not to bepared with that of anymon mage in the same level.

 Chapter 869 - Hidden Abilities

    <h4>Chapter 869: Hidden Abilities</h4>

    If an array were to be constructed by such a team of mages, they would have the potential to challenge any Legendary-level powerhouse at the peak of the realm in a short time.

    Although Joseph could not imagine how formidable that would be, he could tell that the group had yet to reach their limits. Although these mages from the Tower of Dusk were indeed challenged by the frenzied attack made by the dozen Ghost Warriors, they were extremely orderly and had zero slip-ups. They wereparable to his team of elites in his eyes.

    Joseph could tell that the mages from the Tower of Dusk were using the Net Array from nna Guild of Magic. This was also what he couldn¡¯t believe, because he knew that this array required much stronger camaraderie than thebat array that was passed down by his family.

    Camaraderie was something that required a long period of practice and countlessbat experience to build. Five years of this experience would only be considered as an entry-level performance. If they had yet to practice it for a decade, it would be hard for them to reach the level the tower was exhibiting. Yet, the Tower of Dusk had only been built a few years ago. They even had members who had just joined them a year ago.

    At this time, Joseph could not help but suspect that the team the Tower of Dusk brought along was a secret team sent by the nna Guild of Magic!

    Apart from the team of mages from the Tower of Dusk, the performance disyed by their Legendary powerhouses stunned Joseph and us as well. They only knew that the President from the Tower of Dusk entered the Legendary-realm two years ago, and that he had two Legendary-level Undead servants, but their ability on the battlefield was not as simple as anyone would think.

    Lich Ujfalusi was a level-23 Legendary powerhouse, a level that was considered to be the most superb among Undead creatures. The red dragon, Crimson, he was riding on had Legendary-level ability as well. It had a pungent and corrosive aura that even the Ghost Warriors with high defense against magic had to be wary of it.

    After all, although those Ghost Warriors could not unleash any Magical Domain, thebat energy they had was in the Legendary-level. Ujfalusi was not only riding the humerus wyrm, but also waving a skeletal staff, casting all sorts of dark magic and Undead curses. He was not a little at a disadvantage despite the five Ghost Warriors that surrounded him. The humerus wyrm was not a mere seat or vehicle, either. It was attacking its enemies with its sharp ws and tail, as well as a couple of dragon breaths. It forced the advancing Ghost Warriors to retreat and continue to withstand Ujfalusi¡¯s magic attacks.

    The five Ghost Warriors that surrounded Ujfalusi tried to cast spells from the distance, but had their spells suppressed by the Humerus Domain. Moving closer to use physical attacks did not work, either, for they always had to retreat from the attacks made by the humerus wyrm. Although the duration of the battle was not extensive, the energy waves on the bodies of the Ghost Warriors were subsiding gradually. It was clear that they had to have suffered from an Undead curse, and were sustaining their lives with high magic defense capabilities, and would be eliminated in a short while.

    Although the other Undead servant, Vampire Norfeller, did not have an assistant like how Ujfalusi had his humerus wyrm, he was circling as quick as a lightning around four Ghost Warriors. The four Ghost Warriors could only defend themselves by back-facing one another. It was as if the four of them were surrounded by one man.

    Regardless of whether it was magic or a physical attack, it would be in vain if the Ghost Warriors could notnd any blow on their enemy. Although the four Ghost Warriors disyed tremendousbat energy, they had no chance of overwhelming Norfeller. Instead, Norfeller added new wounds to their bodies.

    The Soul-Devouring Dagger Norfeller was using was said to be a treasure Immortal King bestowed Assassin Holler with. The Soul-Devouring Dagger that originally had immense death energy was boosted to its greatest potential after Lin Li fixed the Gem of Curse on it. The strong defenses of the Ghost Warriors did not seem to work against the attacks of the Soul-Devouring Dagger, and every new wound entailed a step closer to real death.

    Norfeller¡¯s attacks that were hard to guard against sent chills down Joseph¡¯s spine. It was not that the Mithril Alliance had no Legendary-level Assassins, but that those from the Mithril Alliance were absolutely nothingpared to Norfeller. Now Joseph truly understood why Vampires were referred to as natural Assassins. He knew he would be Norfeller¡¯s victim if he did not pay enough attention himself.

    The performance of the two Undead servants from the Tower of Dusk made Joseph grateful that he did not insist on finding fault with the tower himself when they were at Gran Town. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve been at a great disadvantage.

    What truly made Joseph¡¯s heart skip a beat was not the two powerful Undead servants. Although the ability of his opponent was stronger than what he had expected, what really shook Joseph was the two other Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk. One of them was Basel, a Legendary-mage who had retreated into seclusion for years in Dnd, and the other was Connoris, who resembled a High Elf.

    Basel had been living in seclusion in the library of Dnd for many years. There were two renowned hermits in Dnd that no one in the Breezy ins would dare to offend. One of them was the Ashen Warlock, and the other was Basel.

    The Ashen Warlock was not to be offended for his deity-like formidable powers and all of his glorious and terrifyingbat feats throughout history.

    As for Basel, many knew that he was a Legendary-level mage, but none knew about his real ability. No one dared to offend him for two reasons: his unclear abilities and the fact that he lived in solitude. Basel¡¯s power was not as great as the Ashen Warlock¡¯s, but everyone knew that it would be extremely terrifying to enrage a Legendary-mage who was unrestrained by any rtions that would hold him down.

    It was only now that Joseph managed to catch a glimpse of Basel¡¯s abilities. Although he knew that Basel might not be exerting his full power, he could feel the tremendous wave of mana he emitted. If he was not at level-24, he had to be at the peak of level-23.

    Basel did not disy his Magical Domain or use any powerful Legendary-level spells. He disyed his proficient mastery of spells and used those that were below the Legendary-level¡ªincluding Wind Entanglement, Frost Arm, and Earthquake Waves¡ªto confuse the five Ghost Warriors. Although he did not cast his Magical Domain, Basel used these low-level spells to control the area around him. The five Ghost Warriors could neither advance nor retreat.

    This alone was sufficient to showcase Basel¡¯s extreme proficiency in magic. At the same time, it meant that his mastery of the nomologicalws was at its peak, and that he was a step away from surpassing mortality.

    The Mithril Alliance had tried to persuade Basel to enter the alliance in the past, but no handsome rewards could persuade him to join or even make him waver. It would be great if Basel continued to stay this way. Why did he have to join the Tower of Dusk? The thought of being rejected by Basel made Joseph filled with jealousy and hatred.

    As for the dude that resembled a High Elf¡ªConnoris¡ªJoseph thought that he was not as outstanding. It was extremely normal for him to battle three Ghost Warriors single-handedly as a Legendary powerhouse. He was no different than the normal Legendary-level powerhouses from the other forces.

    But, since Joseph saw the Tower of Dusk as a thorn in his flesh, how would he not investigate the tower thoroughly? Although the Mithril Alliance did not manage to find out the origins of Connoris, they knew that his body was the perfect body Highlord Osric had left in the mausoleum. Moreover, the body had even demonstrated Sanctuary-level abilities before.

    After all, the mission in which Lin Li¡¯s partnered nna Guild of Magic to explore Osric¡¯s mausoleum was not a totally secretive one. Just the battle with the perfect body alone had a big audience watching Connoris take over the perfect body. Even if the higher-ups could keep it a secret, it would be a challenge for the mages from nna Guild of Magic not to divulge anything. Furthermore, it would be a joke to trust that Rosen would willingly help Lin Li keep things a secret due to the tension between them before and after the mission.

    The knowledge of this news made Joseph fear Connoris the most out of the many Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk. The young President of the Tower of Dusk who was said to have gotten rid of two Legendary powerhouses from the Dark de would not pose a greater threat for Joseph aspared to Connoris.

    Although Lin Li rose to his present abilities extremely rapidly, Joseph was certain that Lin Li would have the problem of a shaky foundation. He believed that Lin Li only managed to seed due to two solid reasons: the suppressed abilities of the two powerhouses and pure luck. Ultimately, Lin Li was still a traditional mage. With his unsteady foundation, Joseph was sure that Lin Li would be exposed in a battle with other Legendary-mages in the same level.

    Of course, what Joseph did not know was how Lin Li had been intentionally suppressing his mana waves since he met up with Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Otherwise, even powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm would not be able to tell Lin Li¡¯s true ability due to his immense mental strength.

 Chapter 870 - Battle Formation

    <h4>Chapter 870: Battle Formation</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t the same for Connoris. Despite knowing that Connoris was not able to cast any Sanctuary-level spells after he took over the perfect body, it was a perfect body that wasparable to the body of deities, after all. Although Connoris was not able to reach the Sanctuary-realm, he definitely had the potential to disy tremendousbat energy.

    Joseph felt that he had gained a clearer awareness of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s strength after looking at the situation over there. Knowing that it would be impossible to watch the tower make a fool of themselves, he turned to us and said, ¡°Patriarch us, this is only the second level of the mausoleum. Perhaps we shouldn¡¯t stay here for too long,¡±

    Although the Ghost Warriors were powerful, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family actually had yet to put in their best in the battle. They had been waiting to bargain with the Tower of Dusk when they requested their assistance, but it seemed that this wish would nevere to be. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t be advantageous if they were to continue to dy the mission.

    After speaking to us, Joseph took out his King of mes Staff and cast a gigantic fire dragon at a few Ghost Warriors. Then, he flew towards the rest of the Ghost Warriors...

    The sight of Joseph¡¯s entering the battle put a mysterious smile on us¡¯s face. He turned to assist the troops from the Caesar Family shortly after. He was gleeful when he thought about the Caesar Family¡¯s decision not to agree to Mithril Alliance¡¯s request to confront the Tower of Dusk prior to this battle. Although they had a little tension with the tower, it was fortunate that the Caesar Family did not establish an enmity with the Tower of Dusk.

    On the other side, Lin Li and Hoffman did not immediately intervene in the battle, either. They hovered mid-air, and were observing the situation on the entire battlefield. They deemed the sneak attack from the Ghost Warriors as an advantageous move as it helped to spur the people into their most alert state of mind. This was not something that could be achieved with mere verbal reminders. It¡¯d help the team to be more prepared for more formidable enemies in time toe.

    ¡°Felic, I didn¡¯t expect you to master the Net Array so excellently in such a short time. I can even imagine the extreme disappointment Joseph feels,¡± Hoffman remarked as he squinted his eyes. Although he was gossiping about Joseph, he was definitely awed himself.

    The rise of the Tower of Dusk was coupled with the amount of sales they made, and the tremendous improvement their mages had in the two years. When he witnessed the perfection of the Net Array, Hoffman just could not imagine what the young President Felic was unable to achieve!

    Lin Li naturally could guess what the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had been thinking about before they entered the battle, but he was just toozy to take it to heart. Hence, when he heard Hoffman¡¯s words, Lin Li onlyughed. ¡°Master Hoffman, the battle formation employed by your men seems really well-trained as well. That definitely required great camaraderie between mages and Warriors for their formations toplement one another.¡±

    Lin Li was not trying to be humble. The battle formation the Glittergold Trade Union was using was definitely something worthy of praise. Although it was not like the Net Array that had the ability to link the mana of all the mages together, the seamless cooperation between the mages and Warriors as well as their exquisite positioning certainly helped to unite the entire formation. It perfectly enabled the different upations toplement one another¡¯s weaknesses.

    The dozen Ghost Warriors that were initially positioned in the middle of the formation started to disperse due to the transformation made to the formation. Very quickly, it became as if each of the Ghost Warriors had to deal with the entire formation single-handedly. There was no space for teamwork between the Ghost Warriors. If the Ghost Warriors had had the power to cast Magical Domains, they would have been able to suppress the Glittergold Trade Union by a little, but they didn¡¯t. Hence, with the seamless integration of the mages and Warriors, it seemed like the Ghost Warriors had little chance of overturning their plight.

    ¡°Hehe, this battle formation was discovered by Master Thomas at one of the High Elves¡¯ ruins. The owner of the ruins was said to be a proficient developer of battle games. This battle formation was one of his creations for a game. It is also called the Double-kill Formation of Magic and Martial Arts,¡± said Hoffman. He paused and smiled bitterly. He knew that the Net Array used by the Tower of Dusk was from the God of Mages, Geresco. Aspared to something designed by High Elves for a game, the difference between the power of both formations was simply evident.

    Lin Li only smiled and said nothing. He switched his gaze onto the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Lin Li had read about the battle games Hoffman was talking about in many historical records. They were one of the types of punishment in the brutal ruling by the High Elves.

    The High Elves had an extremely long lifespan. During the time of the leadership over the entire world of Anril after the Dark Age ended, there weren¡¯t any legitimate battles to dispel their boredom. Hence, they developed all sorts of games. Battle games were one of the most popr games among the noble High Elves. Each of these games would require two teams to battle against each other in the battlefield. It was just like an evolution of wrestling.

    Of course, the teams were made up of humans, beastmen, dwarves, and other races under their leadership. It would be considered as cheating if the High Elves were to join as one of the fighters. At that time, although humans could learn magic, the lousy environment made it extremely hard for them to do so. Hence, there were too few mages to form a team that was purely made up of mages.

    The High Elves were a group of extremists who had tremendous ambition to emerge victorious in every circumstance, including games. Hence, they would invest immense time and energy to research every game. After all, they had the luxury of a really long lifespan. Doing so would never be seen as a waste of time.

    Seeing that Lin Li had shifted his attention to the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, Hoffman rubbed his non-existent chin. ¡°The formation they are using was passed down from the High Elves¡¯ battle games. It was said that the 13th generation of the Mithril Alliance specialized in providing battle games for the High Elves as a form of recreation. It was just like an operator of the arena.¡±

    In fact, Lin Li could see from Mithril Alliance¡¯s formation that there was a resemnce with arenas. Additionally, as the Caesar Family was once a member of the Mithril Alliance, there were many simr formations used by both forces despite their separation many years ago.

    In the battle formation of both the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, boundaries were distinct within the different upations; the team of Warriors consisted of the Great Shield Warrior, Great Ax Warrior, Long Spear Warrior, and Shield-sword Warrior, and they were respectively in charge of defending, attacking, and strategizing; for the team of mages, they had some who were in charge of attack and others who had the duty to support the Warriors with their spells; as for the Assassins, there were some who were in hiding, ready to strike at their enemies with the most critical attack, and those who stood behind the Warriors with their crossbows, being in charge of supporting the Warriors with further attacks against their enemies.

    Every upation was split into their respective roles, and every one of them wasmitted to their own duties. Yet, after joining forces, they were just like a delicate and highly functional war machine with zero faults. Although such a formation might not be the most flexible, its structured approach made it difficult for its enemies to locate their weaknesses.

    However, the battle formation of the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family was stillcking aspared to the Double-kill Formation of Magic and Martial Arts from the Glittergold Trade Union, not to mention the Net Array from the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li only needed a few nces to spot some of the loopholes. What was worthy of his attention was the abilities of the few higher-ups in the Legendary-realm.

    There were at least a total of 20 Legendary powerhouses in the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. A few of them had just entered the realm not long ago, and were at level-20 and level-21. Their ability would barely pose a threat to Lin Li and his Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were not to be trifled with. Their ability to survive a thousand years in the Breezy ins to emerge as the top forces of the Breezy ins was not mere luck. The first person who caught Lin Li¡¯s attention would be Elvis, who suggested the partnership. Despite being old and blind, he was more powerful than anybody would expect him to be.

    The present Elvis was totally not as beggar-like as before. His white hair moved with the wind, and the ebony Dragon¡¯s Eye Staff in his hands radiated with a blinding light. The Magical Domain he created was of Frost and Magic Storm, where streaks of silver hurricane moved in the wind persistently, entrapping the six Ghost Warriors within it. The Frost and Magic Storm continued to drain their energy.

    The six Ghost Warriors were not less powerful than six Legendary powerhouses, but they were like lost sheep in the midst of that Frost and Magic Storm, only capable of staying put where they were. Regardless of whether it was physical techniques or magical spells, they were all dissipated by the force of the storm at the very moment they were released or cast. Their immense defense against magic also appeared to be no match for the slowing effect brought about by the Frost. It caused the Ghost Warriors to be not as agile as before.

    If one were to disregard their hidden cards, Elvis would be the most powerful among the many Legendary powerhouses from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. Of course, Joseph and us were not fools. They would not want to expose all of their trump cards before theirpetitors on such a critical mission.

    It was said that Elvis relinquished all of his responsibilities a few years back to prepare for hisstp towards the Sanctuary-realm, but while it seemed that Elvis had the ability to dash towards the Sanctuary-realm to Lin Li, it would be a different matter if one were to look at the distance he was from the Sanctuary-realm.

    Many new Legendary-mages would choose to use Frost to create their first Magical Domain. One of the reasons was the fact that spells that were made of ice element were not weak. Most of them would have enjoyed using such spells before they entered the realm, so they were more familiar with it. Another reason would be the fact that the Frost Domain was an extension of the Water Domain. Apart from shing with the Frost Domain, it had great endurance facing other types ofws.

    Of course, it was not impossible to use both Ice and Fire to craft one¡¯s Magical Domain. After all, Lin Li had the ability to create a contradicting Magical Domain of Light and Darkness. It was just that the difficulty was not something anymon man could ovee. Normally, most Legendary-mages would be able to use their understanding of every other rule (apart from fire) to enhance and refine their Magical Domain after they created one with Frost.

    This was considered one of the more traditional routes. Although there weren¡¯t many advantages, it was sufficient not to misdirect anyone from heading towards the Sanctuary-realm. When Lin Li had just gotten into the Legendary-realm, he used the Frost Domain as his basis to create his Light and Darkness Domain. His possession of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark just helped him directly craft his Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness.

    It was obvious that Elvis had used the Frost Domain as his foundation, and added his understanding of Storm to create the Magical Domain of Frost and Storm.

    To Lin Li, Elvis had made a really small and cautious step towards the realm. Compared to Elvis, although Lin Li made use of the Frost Domain as his foundation to work towards the Sanctuary-realm, he had long ditched thews of ice. Now, he would require neither the Holy Light nor the Gloomy Dark to create his Light and Darkness Domain instantly.

    After all, thew of ice was just an extendedw. Unless one were to advance andprehend thews of water, it would be a dream to use an extended rule to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Elvis, on the other hand, did not give up on thews of ice. Instead, he made use of hisprehension of thews of ice to extend his domain into thews of storm. Although he was still advancing towards the Sanctuary-realm, it was a really small step towards the realm. If he were to continue with this, he might not reach the Sanctuary-realm even if he was given another 1,000 years.

    Apart from Elvis, Joseph and the other patriarchs from the four forces and an elder from the Dida Family were also worthy of Lin Li¡¯s scrutiny, but Lin Li could clearly tell that they all held back in this battle. Despite it, the ability they disyed would be considered immense to anymon man. It was obvious that they had the upper hand aspared to the Ghost Warriors whom they were battling with.

 Chapter 871 - Behind the Door

    <h4>Chapter 871: Behind the Door</h4>

    The Thunder and Fire Magical Domain which Joseph cast instantaneously with the King of mes Staff managed to entrap the four Ghost Warriors with mad streaks of lightning and balls of fire. These spells fell on the body of the Ghost Warriors, and it was obvious that the Ghost Warriors would not be able to sustain it for long despite having defense stronger than dragons.

    As for the three other patriarchs, one of them was the Legendary-mage who cast the Thunderstorm Disaster Magical Domain, and the other two were Sword Sages of the Legendary-level who radiated goldenbat energy.

    The elder from the Dida Family was slightly different. Although he walked like Elvis and had cast the same Ice Storm as him, he summoned a Legendary-level Abyssal Demon.

    Yet, that Abyssal Demon was not as powerful as the Demon Lord. It was the mostmon Ice Demon from the 21st level of the abyss. Although it was only a Legendary-level Ice Demon, it was only at the peak of level-20.

    It was said that the Ashen Warlock had once owed the Dida Family a favor. Hence, he gave them the spell to summon one of the Abyssal Demons. However, this summoning spell had a problem: the summoner had to defeat the Abyssal Demon he summoned in order to be recognized as the master. That was probably what happened to the Ice Demon that was summoned by the elder from the Dida Family.

    Aspared to the Mithril Alliance, the performance of the Caesar Family was less impressive. Apart from Patriarch us who was at the peak of level-23, the other Legendary powerhouses there were only around level-21 and level-22. However, Lin Li did not believe that Caesar Family would dare to coborate with the Mithril Alliance with such a low capability. He presumed that the Caesar Family had been holding back their trump cards as well.

    ¡°Master Felic, since our men are in the state of alert now, let¡¯s end this battle quickly, shall we?¡± suggested Hoffman smilingly after he saw Lin Li looking away from the battlefield.

    When Lin Li was observing the ability of hispetitors, Hoffman was not idle, either. Frankly speaking, although he was aware that they were hiding their potential, he could not help but be stunned by their ability. However, after noticing Lin Li¡¯s calm expression, Hoffman becameposed immediately. Although he did not know how many trump cards Lin Li had, he was certain that Lin Li was not someone who would settle for less. As his ally, he was convinced that he wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage as long as he followed in the footsteps of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Sure,¡± replied Lin Li as he returned a smile. He took his Helios¡¯ Scepter, and flew to the edge of the battlefield. At the same time, he cast the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness that was made up of thews of ice as its foundation.

    These Ghost Warriors did not warrant Lin Li to use his full power. Hence, he did not cast his Light and Darkness Domain that was already embedded with Sanctuary-level energy. Instead, he used the Magical Domain of Frost, Light, and Darkness¡ªsomething that everyone in the Breezy ins knew about.

    Immediately, the region under the Magical Domain turned white. The snow that umted formed many powerful frost magical beasts. There were even Angels of Light and Dark that pped their wings in the air, and they swooped towards those Ghost Warriors.

    At the same time, the other Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk increased the intensity of their attacks. Ujfalusi, Norfeller, Basel, and Connoris disyed their formidable methods and forced their opponents to the edge.

    There was only one man who did not participate in the battle. He was the timid goblin¡ªAngno. Of course, this was not out of his cowardice, but due to Lin Li¡¯s arrangement. After all, his Alchemy Colossus was a titan-level machine. It had the ability of powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm. At the same time, that thing was really destructive equipment. Lin Li did not want to destroy the mausoleum right at the start of the exploration.

    As for the Glittergold Trade Union, Hoffman really lived up to his status as the owner of the Book of Ten Thousand Incantations. The Vengeance Staff in his hands continued to sh, and the never-ending glow of curse spell that emerged started to engulf the Ghost Warriors. The Ghost Warriors who fell under the curse glowed with an array of colors. All sorts of spells with the effect to suppress their energy restrained their abilities immediately.

    Lin Li nced at the scene, and he could not help but feel sympathetic for those Ghost Warriors. <i>How is this still a battle? This is just like the most straightforward torture.</i>

    This exined why people who had ability that surpassed many would not want to be an enemy of Hoffman. It was not just because of the Glittergold Trade Union, but also the fear of that particr curse. Even if they would not lose their lives due to the curse, the fact that it had zero boundaries would definitely torture them into madness.

    However, Hoffman was not the most powerful man within the Glittergold Trade Union. He was just the most difficult to deal with. The most powerful person was Legendary-mage Thomas, the man who¡¯d built the Glittergold Trade Union single-handedly.

    After all, not long after Thomas entered the Legendary-realm, he participated in the war against the Retribution Knight Rodhart and the team of Death Knights. There were many Legendary powerhouses who perished in that catastrophe. His ability to survive it was not merely based on luck.

    The Magical Domain created by Thomas was an Element Domain that was made up of the elementalws of earth, fire, water, and wind. These fourws were considered the foundation of everything rted to magic. This Element Domain had the potential to raise the impact of any spells used within the region to a terrifying level.

    Thomas was standing in his Element Domain. Despite only casting the mostmon and low-level fireballs and icicles, they had great impact within the Element Domain. The domain allowed men who were in level-15 and level-16 to cast Legendary-level spells. Although the Ghost Warriors had great immunity to magic, it was not a wless resistance. If the spell were to exceed their tolerance level, all they needed to fall was time.

    Lin Li had seen the same Element Domain from Rosen from the Supreme Council. He could tell that amon problem Thomas and Rosen had was their broad goals. Although the mostmon ticket to the Sanctuary-realm was theprehension of the basicws of the world, it seemed like it would be almost impossible for one to master the four greatws.

    The Ghost Warriors were definitely powerful and in great strength. Had the two adventure teams not partnered up at the beginning, they would have had to end their exploration, and risk perishing here. However, although the two teams were not on friendly terms, they had the same goal: to continue their exploration of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. No one would do anything to steer away from this goal at such a timing.

    After the higher-ups entered, they brought the battle to an end very quickly. The Ghost Warriors who had been standing guard in this mausoleum for God knew how many years could only dissipate after letting out some indignant cries.

    When everything calmed down, Lin Li raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter and sent a gigantic Sr Sphere to the ceiling of the hall. Then, the sphere divided into fragments that flew off to every part of the hall. They lit the ce as bright as in daytime.

    While this was only an illumination spell, it was the first time that Hoffman and Joseph witnessed such a utilization of the spell.

    After lighting up the entire hall, the men noticed doors lined up on both sides of the hall, some of which were wide open and had to be where the Ghost Warriors hade from. They did not know what was behind the tightly closed doors. While everyone was still questioning Lin Li¡¯s unusual actions, they could not help but be excited due to the possibility that there would be research treasures behind the closed doors.

    However, it was as if their enthusiasm were flushed with cold water with the opening of each door. Their passion decreased to the freezing point after they saw spacious rooms behind those doors. They were without treasures, housing just the bones of magical beasts. There were many kinds of bones that belonged to the magical beasts of Anril, including some that none of the men could recognize.

    ¡°Does this mausoleum belong to Brahere or magical beasts? Why did he have to nt these here?¡± Hoffman muttered with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Could it be that he wanted to use them to guard the mausoleum, but did not expect them to die a long time ago?¡± Joseph asked curiously. Although he had acquired Brahere¡¯s diary, they could not give a convincing reason when faced with such a situation.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that these bones are different?¡± Lin Li said as he knocked on the gigantic skull in front of him. He continued, ¡°This seems to belong to a Chimaera, but I¡¯ve never heard that they can have such a huge head.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s reminder encouraged Hoffman to scrutinize the skeletons around him again. He pointed to a set of skeletons, and hesitantly said, ¡°This seems to belong to a Leviathan Gori, but why does it have wing bones?¡±

    After looking through the rooms on both sides of the hall, all the men noticed something inmon. They realized that each of these skeletons seemed to have gone through mutation. This included skeletons with wings and horns nobody would expect them to have. Even pythons were seen to have grown four limbs. The scene was like an erratic animal exhibit.

    ¡°There were many noble High Elves who loved to collect mutated magical beasts. As he¡¯s a prince of the High Elves, it is not unusual for Brahere to possess them, either. I think we can continue with our exploration now,¡± urged Joseph impatiently.

    Joseph¡¯s exnation was not without basis, either. There were many historical records that noted that the High Elves enjoyed keeping mutated magical beasts. There was no helping it. If not for their incredibly long lifespan, the High Elves would have found better things to do.

    Lin Li was only filled with doubts. He did not have an answer to this. Not seeing the value of those skeletons, he turned to Hoffman.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the exploration. However, we have to be very vignt. I don¡¯t think this mausoleum is as simple as it seems,¡± warned Lin Li.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum is not to be trifled with?¡± sneered Charles sarcastically, but he became silent the moment he felt us¡¯ fiery re.

    Unlike the indifference shown by the others, Lin Li¡¯s words had extreme gravity for Hoffman. Not to mention that the skeletons were in entric forms, even if Lin Li were to present his guesses that had zero basis, Hoffman would choose to believe Lin Li without a reason. After all, Lin Li was a man who had ventured into a Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum. His experience was not what anyone could match up with.

    Due to the earlier confrontation with the Ghost Warriors, the rest of the magic gears and traps had all been automatically shut down. This helped to speed up the mission greatly. Very soon, the team reached the passageway that would lead them to the next level. However, after they entered the passageway, they needed Angno again. The passageway was so spacious that it would even fit a wyrm, yet it was still packed with gears and traps.

    However, as Lin Li watched Angno help to deactivate the traps and gears, a frown gradually appeared on his face.

    ¡°Felic, have you noticed something fishy?¡± asked Connoris. Although he was not aspetent in the deactivation of magic gears and traps aspared to Angno, he was an ancient deity in charge of conspiracy and deception, after all. He would have an eye for such situations.

    ¡°Did you notice anything amiss?¡± Lin Li asked Connoris as he seemed to be engaged in deep thoughts.

    ¡°Most of those magic gears and traps seem to only have been added to the mausoleum after it had been built,¡± spoke Connoris in a low voice.

    In the blueprints for mausoleums, there would usually be segments dedicated to all sorts of magic gears and traps, which would only be added to their nned spaces after thepletion of the main structure. That helped the gears and traps integrate seamlessly with the mausoleum and prevent intruders from discovering and deactivating them.

    However, Lin Li could tell that the magic gears and traps which Angno helped deactivate were all constructed rather unnaturally. It was as if there were never part of the n of the construction at all. It would not be that much of a great deal if this was built in the present era, but this was Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Would the High Elvesmit such a mistake in the building of their prince¡¯s mausoleum?

    Finally, the pathfinder team got to the end of the passageway. They slowly opened the tight door, and trod past it. The third level of the mausoleum was asrge as the previous level, but not as spacious as before. Instead, there were all sorts of unusual instations around the hall.

    ¡°C-could this... Could this be the incubation room?¡± Hoffman and the others gasped in awe, after getting closer.

    ¡°Seems like it,¡± Lin Li replied, and nodded his head.

 Chapter 872 - Incubation room

    Chapter 872: Incubation room

    It was no wonder Hoffman and the rest were so surprised. Although all of them were the leaders of the top forces in the Breezy ins, especially the Glittergold Trade Union that was recognized to be extravagant, the existence of incubation rooms was only hearsay.

    One would first require great financial ability and resources to build a real incubation room. This was not what any organization could afford, not to mention that it would still require talents among many other things necessary to build and maintain that. Actually, to themon men, the incubation room did not have much use; the incubation room would not be directly of help in raising their power. Hence, none of the forces were willing to put in so much effort into building a real incubation room.

    However, not everyone felt the same way. For the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li had an incubation room. Although the scale was not asrge as this, it was fully furnished and functional. Hence, Lin Li had to be the most well-versed in the knowledge on incubation rooms.

    The incubation room was not a ce that could help to generate much wealth. Since the costs would usually outweigh the benefits, it was actually a money-losing business. The real advantage of the incubation room was that it was a ce for mages to breed different types of living beings for research purposes. Of course, if it was for normal research, it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to construct amon incubation room. However, how would mages settle for normal research? How would a dissection of a rabbit or a rat be a subject of research? If a real top mage were to be serious about conducting any research, they would all sound terrifying.

    One would be able to grow any creature in an incubation room. This would include nts, magical beasts, demons, and dragons. Nobody would be able to imagine the craze mages had. Their thirst for knowledge and pursuit of every essence of the world as well as their desire to dissect divines made their second name ¡°atheists¡±. As for whether their research would reap any rewards... It would be unknown to the mages too.

    It had been said that the God of Mages Geresco was once disheartened by the vanishing of the titans and dragons as he wasn¡¯t able to catch any one of them for his research. ording to the Supreme Council¡¯s public denial, Geresco only wanted to find out if the titans and dragons were able to popte.

    Regardless of whether it was for pure sadism or for the desire to explore into the essence of life, the research of mages would usually take not only one or two days, but decades and centuries. Hence, a real incubation room had to rte to thews of time. A man-made Time Domain was a key factor in the building of the foundation of an incubation room. Through the Time Domain, mages would be able to control the time within the incubation room, and hasten the time needed for living beings that originally required decades and hundreds of years to mature.

    Of course, man-made Time Domain was only one challenging part of an incubation room. Apart from that, there were still many problems from every aspect. This included having a source of mana that was enough to support the rapid growth of the creatures and potions that could provide them with enough nutrients. Hence, a real incubation room would be really important in the assessment of powerful High Elves mages even if it was in the Dark Ages.

    It was not unusual for Brahere to have an incubation room with his status among the High Elves. What was weird was the reason why an incubation room would appear in a mausoleum. To say that the Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum would still want to do research after his death would be totally absurd.

    But, after seeing the items in the incubation room, no one ever pondered this question anymore. Everybody¡¯s breath was taken away, including the wealthy Hoffman, Joseph, and us whose organizations had over 1,000 years of heritage.

    They had no experience in the building of an incubation room, and had not seen a real incubation room, but this did not mean that they had no knowledge of it. Although this incubation room seemed to have been abandoned a really long time ago, most of the facilities had lost their functionality, and many key parts had been lost or damaged, they could feel that the most important Time Domain within the incubation room was still functioning.

    Apart from the Time Domain, the other facilities within the incubation room were the most sophisticated technology in all sorts of domains. Even if they had lost their original use, if they could transport them back as artifacts, they would really gain huge fortune.

    Why did these people take on such a great risk in the exploration of this relic? Seeking the historical truth would merely be a superficial reason. The fundamental goal was still benefits. They wanted to tremendously enhance the ability of themselves and their organizations. And now, this advantage was ced right before their eyes. As long as they could bring some of these back, this trip wouldn¡¯t be wasted. No one could remain calm at this thought.

    Of course, there was an exception. Lin Li already had an incubation room in the Tower of Dusk. Although it was not arge-scale incubation room, the facilities within it were extremelyplete. He naturally had no interest in the equipment in this deserted incubation room that had stopped functioning.

    Because of that, Lin Li could naturally put his attention on ces that the others missed. Apart from the reason why the incubation room was constructed in a mausoleum, Lin Li had also noticed another unusual thing in the incubation room. It was the eerie air.

    Normally, ruins that had not been ventured into would have a pungent smell of decay, yet Lin Li only felt fresh air when he stepped through the door of the incubation room. He could even smell a faint pleasant scent of flowers and grasses. This made the situation extremely dubious. Lin Li was extremely clear that they were a dozen meters underground in a mausoleum left deserted for over 1,000 years. He could even see the skeletons of a dozen High Elves not far away.

    Although the High Elves were born from the Tree of Eternity, they were made of flesh and bones just like humans and any other races with intelligence. Lin Li had not heard that the decaying bodies of the High Elves would have a pleasant smell.

    Where did that smell of flowers and grassese from!? Lin Li really could notprehend it.

    Just when Lin Li was deep in thought, Hoffman came to him.

    ¡°Felic, what are you thinking about?¡± he asked while patting on his shoulders.

    ¡°Oh, Master Hoffman, what is it?¡± Lin Li asked patronizingly. Hoffman¡¯s voice brought him back to the present.

    ¡°Have you seen anything? us suggested that we split these treasures and bring them out of the mausoleum. What do you think about that?¡± Hoffman asked, not knowing what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind. He just thought that Lin Li had something that caught his eye.

    ¡°Is that so. How should we split that?¡± Lin Li turned to ask the rest.

    ¡°The Caesar Family hopes to acquire the Time Domain Mageweath array. I know some of you may have simr thoughts as well, but I believe that you will be interested in my offerings,¡± spoke us. As the first speaker, he mentioned the most valuable thing in the incubation room. Although he spoke with much confidence, his eyes continued to nce towards Lin Li subconsciously.

    When they were previously discussing the partnership, Lin Li was the one who demanded a one-time priority to be the first person to choose whatever he wanted. If Lin Li mentioned that he also wanted the Time Domain Mageweath array at this time, us would not have a reason to deny his request, unless he was willing to offend Lin Li.

    us¡¯ motive in wanting the Time Domain Mageweath array was not to build an incubation room when he returned. After all, the Time Domain was not the only thing they needed to build an incubation room. However, there was more than one function to the Time Domain. Its ability to control the passage of time could simrly be of great use in other aspects.

    It was just like how a mage would spend a day meditating by himself, but if he were to meditate in the Time Domain for a year, it might only take a day outside the domain. This meant that a day of meditation would help one to boost his umtion of mana by a year. It would be especially helpful if one were to be below the Legendary-level as they would not need to enhance their powers through enlightenment. A mage who wanted to proceed to level-16 from level-15 would require a year¡¯s time to umte his mana, but with the Time Domain, he would only need a day.

    Apart from mages, the Time Domain was beneficial to other upations too. This would include Warriors and Assassins who needed to boost theirbat energy and practice their skills.

    Lin Li naturally knew how to read us¡¯ expression, but he did not see the same value in the Time Domain. Lin Li¡¯s incubation room naturally had a Time Domain. As a Guru of Inscription, Lin Li would be able to form a Time Domain Mageweath array as long as he had the resources. Why else could the team have such a good sense of camaraderie?

    Furthermore, the Time Domain would not be a free lunch, for one had to pay other costs. The passage of time would entail aging. If one were to stay in the domain for 100 years, he might lose his life. While Lin Li could create high-level potions that would reduce the side effects for mages, it would not be the same for the Caesar Family.

 Chapter 873 - Whispering God

    <h4>Chapter 873: Whispering God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At the same time, maintaining the operation of the Time Domain would also require support of a gigantic mana source. The power that humans could obtain from it did not appear out of thin air, either. Lin Li ended up using up more than 10 Legendary magical crystals when he used the Time Domain to hone the cooperation and tacit understanding between the mages. If the Caesar Family wanted to use the Time Domain to produce powerhouses in batches, they¡¯d end up using up more than just 10-odd Legendary magical crystals.

    Besides, there was another problem. Obtaining power through such a method might not necessarily be a good thing for mages. Due to the huge difference in the passage of time, the mages¡¯ abilities and strength would not be improved in the outside world once they left the Time Domain. If they wanted to continue improving their strength, they would have to enter the Time Domain again. That might be considered a form of dependence or addiction.

    Hence, when Lin Li used the Time Domain to hone the cooperation and tacit understanding between the mages, he strictly forbade any of them from meditating. Those who wanted to meditate would have to go to the outside world to do so. Anyway, in the Tower of Dusk, there was a control crystal of the Sky Castle that could allow them to increase the effects of meditation. Hence, no one dared to take the risk to try and meditate in the Time Domain.

    Of course, Lin Li did not show his indifference towards the Time Domain in front of us. He didn¡¯t want to give up any of the benefits he deserved. Even if he didn¡¯t want the Time Domain, he had to pretend to want it, and then rip us off harshly.

    In order to obtain the mageweath array of the Time Domain, us went all out and did not hesitate no matter the cost. He directly offered generous conditions like mines, territories, and business channels. As long as Lin Li gave up the mageweath array, he would be willing to give him anything he wanted.

    As a result, the wealthy Hoffman also chose to ept us¡¯s terms after carefully considering the gains and losses. They were only on the third floor of the mausoleum, and there might be more valuable items at the bottom. Even if they stopped exploring there, they wouldn¡¯t have been there for nothing if they could receive us¡¯s generouspensation.

    Lin Li had been thinking about the doubts he had just now, and thus was not in the mood to bargain with us. Besides, the offer us made was already attractive enough. Hence, he quickly nodded and agreed.

    Joseph and us were close allies in the first ce, so the former definitely couldn¡¯t deliberately make things hard for us. After all, they would be continuing to explore further. It was definitely not wise to have fewer allies and multiple enemies.

    The four forces quickly negotiated and reached a consensus for everything including the distribution of other important items in the incubation room, and the next step was undoubtedly a major demolition. That was also the usual approach for exploring ruins, especially for such arge team of expediters. Once they encountered a small profit, they would have to put it in their own pocket. Otherwise, who knew what would happen in the future? There might not be another chance to reap such benefits.

    Legend had it that there were expedition teams that wanted to save the benefits they encountered along the way in a ruin until they returned. Although they escaped, the ruin waspletely buried underground byva. Suffering a huge loss, the leader of the expedition team went berserk. Hence, there was a tacit rule for expeditions in ruins, and that was to pocket all treasures before anything else.

    However, just as everyone was preparing to move into the incubation room, Lin Li frowned and couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Wait a minute!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Master Felic, did you discover any problems?¡± Hoffman had been standing beside Lin Li because he didn¡¯t have to move the items. Hearing Lin Li¡¯s sudden call for a stop, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. After all, Lin Li had broken through the Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Could it be that he had found some hidden danger!?

    Joseph and us couldn¡¯t help but immediately stop their men. Although their rtionship with Lin Li was not very friendly, they also valued Lin Li¡¯s experience in exploring ruins.

    However, after hearing Hoffman¡¯s question, Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°No, although I don¡¯t know why, I feel that something is wrong here. We¡¯d better retreat now.¡±

    ¡°President Felic, this joke is not funny at all. You agreed to the conditions I just put forward. Are you going back on your word now!?¡± us¡¯s face immediately grew sullen. He treated the mageweath array in the Time Domain as a treasure, and naturally felt that it was just as important to everyone else. Hence, he immediately wondered if Lin Li regretted giving it up.

    Joseph originally had a grudge with Lin Li. Seeing that Lin Li could not give a reasonable exnation, his face suddenly grew sullen. He said in a deep voice, ¡°President Felic, if you can tell me the reason, we might be able to consider it, but you¡¯re making us stop without telling us why. What are you trying to do?¡±

    Lin Li thought, <i>Exin? What for? I haven¡¯t figured it out yet!</i>

    He just felt that something was amiss with the ce. However, he couldn¡¯t figure it out; otherwise, he would have made it clear long ago. Since Joseph and us ignored him, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything to them. He nced at Hoffman who was next to him, and said, ¡°Master Hoffman, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Well, this mausoleum is extraordinary. Just to be safe, I think we¡¯d better quit and have a look first. Anyway, those things are here, and it doesn¡¯t make any difference to pick them up earlier orter.¡± Hoffman resolutely agreed with Lin Li¡¯s suggestion. However, there was still some doubt in his eyes. It seemed that he hoped for Lin Li to reveal some more information.

    Although Hoffman supported Lin Li¡¯s suggestion, Joseph and us did not change their mind. Instead, they became more determined to stay. In the eyes of the two of them, the Glittergold Trade Union was clearly on the same side as the Tower of Dusk. Now that Hoffman had agreed to Lin Li¡¯s suggestion without asking for the reason, they were suspecting that there was some conspiracy between them.

    ¡°Do you really want to stay here?¡± Lin Li asked Joseph and us again. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they had Brahere¡¯s diary and the fact that the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union could not explore the ruins alone, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be bothered to care about their lives.

    However, Joseph and us were obviously certain that Lin Li and Hoffman were getting up to some scheming tricks. Their faces were full of disdain, and they said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, we don¡¯t find this ce dangerous at all.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so timid, yet you¡¯re here to explore the ruins. I really don¡¯t know how you became the President. If you want to leave, you can go ahead. It is best to take your obedient babies back to your Tower of Dusk and hide,¡± gibed Charles, who had been following us. He definitely would not miss this opportunity to mock his enemy. Although he seemed to be talking to himself, his voice was loud enough for almost everyone to hear him.

    Charles¡¯ taunt immediately angered everyone from the Tower of Dusk, especially the mages. The staff in their hands immediately lit up as if they were about to drown Joseph in a magic storm the next moment. Seeing the situation, the people of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family became nervous, and got ready to fight.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother to waste time on Charles. He waved his hand to stop the mages; at the same time, he said, ¡°Retreat, go back along the same route immediately.¡±

    Although the people of the Tower of Dusk did not understand why the President gave such an order, they did not hesitate for a moment, and quickly obeyed the order. Even Basel, who had just joined, didn¡¯t ask much. He simply turned around and took his student Davos, and retreated to the second floor together with the team. They went back to the same path.

    Seeing that Lin Li had already given orders, Hoffman didn¡¯t say anything else. Since he had already given his support, he had to support Lin Li all the way. Hence, he also issued an order for everyone on his side to retreat. The team from the Glittergold Trade Union immediately followed suit, and prepared to retreat with the members of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, at this moment, a mage who came from nowhere suddenly yelled, ¡°Mana, my mana!¡±

    Upon hearing that scream, all the mages discovered that something terrible was happening to them. The mana in their bodies suddenly began running out uncontrobly, and it was as if there was an invisible monster hidden in the surroundings that was sucking and draining them of their mana.

    The Legendary-mages present did not feel any obvious changes, but those below the Legendary-level all turned pale as their mana weakened. However, within a short period of time, all the mages of the four forces who were below the Legendary-level lost all their mana, and became inferior to ordinary people.

    The entire incubation room was immediately engulfed in a horrific tension. The mages panicked because of the shocking changes that were happening in their bodies. Although the Warriors and Assassins did not feel any obvious changes, they could not help but grow flustered as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t space out. Hurry, retreat and leave!¡± Lin Li immediately sensed that the mana in his body was reducing rapidly. Although his huge umtion of mana allowed him to stay unaffected for a while, what was going to happen to the mages under him if there were any changes? Even he might not be able to endure it for long.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s urging, everyone immediately sped up, including the people behind the Glittergold Trade Union. At this point, Joseph and us stopped asking Lin Li for the reason, and simply yelled at their subordinates to urge them to leave the incubation room.

    However, at this moment, another change urred in the incubation room, and countless green tentacles appeared out of nowhere. They were dense like wild grass, and flew towards everyone quickly.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li¡¯s heart suddenly tensed up, and a shadow shed in his mind. <i>Damn it, is this... </i>

    The terrible guess in his mind made Lin Li uncontrobly overwhelmed with fear. If it were really that terrifying thing, he would suffer a major loss during the exploration this time.

    The owner of those green tentacles obviously didn¡¯t want to let the intruders off. They immediately reached the entrance before the team did, and used their tentacles to lock the door of the incubation room.

    The Warriors in the team did not need any orders. They waved their weapons at the tentacles that closed the door. However, those tentacles were persistent, and they could not be cut off regardless of how hard the Warriors tried. Instead, the two tentacles that sprang up instantly prated the breasttes of the two Warriors in front of them beforeing out of their backs. They were dripping with blood like swords.

    At this moment, who would dare to rush forward again? The group quickly backed away like tidal waves, and avoided the walls that were covered in tentacles. During this period, the mana depletion of the mages did not stop, and even the Legendary-mages began to find it hard to hang on. They became so weak that those who were weaker almost fell out of the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°Damn, what the hell is this! Hoffman, don¡¯t you guys have the blueprint of this mausoleum? Weren¡¯t these monsters mentioned in it!?¡± Joseph barked angrily in a moment of panic.

    ¡°How much information can there be on a blueprint? Don¡¯t you guys have Brahere¡¯s diary? Didn¡¯t you see that he had added some stuff here!?¡± Hoffman was equally angry, and he thought, <i>Felic told you guys to leave just now, but you acted like he was out to harm you guys. Do you regret it now?</i>

    Of course they did. Even Lin Li regretted it dearly. Had he known earlier that such a thing would happen, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered talking to Joseph and the rest. He would have just led them out.

    In the incubation room, screams, groans, cursing, and all sorts of other sounds could be heard. All of a sudden, sshing of water made everyone quiet as they looked in the direction of the water.

    In the middle of the incubation room, the unassuming pool that was not very noticeable at first seemed to have suddenly begun boiling. While the water sshed, a huge octopus-like monster rose slowly from the water, revealing its hideous and terrifying appearance. It looked like it was covered with countless eyes, and countless tentacles kept emerging from the water.

    With the appearance of the monster, the sounds of muttering could be heard in the entire incubation room. It seemed to havee from the distant horizon and echoed in their brains, making them feel that the entire world was full of the sounds. The Archmages who had their mana depleted all had deadpan expressions as if they had lost their souls.

    Seeing the monster appear and hearing the whispers, Lin Li¡¯s eyes turned gloomy, and he felt that his worries hade true. They were in deep trouble this time.

    Yes, Lin Li knew what kind of monster it was. Even though he couldn¡¯t believe that he would see it there, he had to ept it. It was a symbol of a terrifying existence, the Whispering God.

 Chapter 874 - Tragedy

    <h4>Chapter 874: Tragedy</h4>

    Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of the Whispering God was not from any myths and legends or literature pieces in Anril, but from the Endless World, which was the in-game world with countless yers.

    The so-called Whispering God was not an actual god, but the horror it brought to every yer in the Endless World was far greater than any other real god could bring. The power of the gods might be stronger, but they had never personally descended into the world, and the Whispering Gods had brought major disasters to the Endless World. The destruction of the City of Stars and many other cruel wars and cmities were all caused by the Whispering Gods.

    Even though the disasters caused by the Whispering Gods only happened in the in-game world, Lin Li still had a clear memory of it. At that time, he received a notification from the system which called on high-level yers to go to the City of Stars to participate in the defense mission which offered extremely generous rewards as soon as he logged on. It felt like a gift of benefits. However, when he arrived outside the City of Stars, he realized that it was a damned scam by the system because it was simply an impossible task.

    In the sky of the City of Stars that was known as thergest city in the Endless World, there was a Whispering God, massive in size and waving its countless tentacles while filling the entire city with endless whispers. All the mage yers would instantly lose their mana as long as they had not entered the Legendary-realm. They would be worse than a level-1 novice, and no amount of potions would help. Legendary-mages would notst long, either. They were still flying in the air and casting spells at the start, but they fell like raindrops soon enough, cackling in the air. Only the Warriors, Assassins, and Hunters could retain theirbat power. However, they could not cause the slightest harm to the Whispering God.

    The high-level leaders of various profession unions in the City of Stars like the Guild of Magic, Guild of Warriors, and Guild of Assassins, who were also the NPCs who were originally responsible for imparting skills, all rose into the sky one by one. They exhibited their powers unreservedly and exerted their unknown strength to the fullest. To be honest, even a person who had lived in the City of Stars for a long time would never imagine there to be so many Legendary powerhouses in the city.

    However, although the strength of those NPC Legendary powerhouses was incredible, they still couldn¡¯t do anything to the Whispering God. ording to the official statement, the first person to fall had reached the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm, and was only a step away from the Sanctuary-realm. Next, all 10 senior executives of the Guild of Magic, from Chief Judges to mage instructor, failed to escape from the tentacles of the Whispering God.

    The President of the Guild of Warriors, Sword Sage Casparo, fell next, and the 13 Legendary-level Sword Sages who were senior executives of the guild all fell too. As the President of the Guild of Assassins, Etow, fell, the 12 Master-level Assassins of the guild followed...

    Only Daniel, the President of the Guild of Hunters, managed to lose just an arm and his Hunter King bow after summoning his pet, Thunderhawk Queen, which blocked a fatal blow for him. He then escaped from the City of Stars in time. However, none of the other senior members of the Guild of Hunters were as lucky as him. They all died together with their pets.

    Seeing those powerful NPCs growing weak and helpless in the face of the Whispering God like novice yers, all the other yers present were on the verge of breaking down and copsing. Originally, they were full of confidence, and wanted to get the generous reward for the mission, but at that moment, they dropped their weapons and fled for their lives.

    However, in the face of the yers who had lost their intentions to resist, the Whispering God did not show any mercy. Instead, it slowly moved over the City of Stars like a hot air balloon while its countless tentacles constantly fell down, stabbing the bodies of the yers and NPCs one after another like harpoons of fishermen.

    In that disaster, the Whispering God unscrupulously ughtered hundreds of thousands of yers, as well as countless NPCs who had been living in the City of Stars. Even the casten of the City of Stars was not spared, and the City of Stars was almost destroyed andpletely erased from Endless World in one day.

    Although Lin Li was still some distance away from the City of Stars then, he was hiding in the grass and did not dare to move. Seeing the Whispering God ughter and destroy the City of Stars, he could only secretly thank himself for procrastinating and missing out on the ¡°benefits¡±.

    Afterward, the official website of Endless World was almost overwhelmed by yers who cursed their hearts out and demanded a reasonable exnation. The Endless World officials finally gave some information and exnations about the Whispering God, iming that it was not a creature that was part of the background setting at the beginning of the game design, but was automatically generated by some algorithms in the game. In other words, it was a game loophole that was beyond their control.

    ording to the official statement, the Whispering God was not a creature that could reproduce naturally. Instead, it was a monster that transcended thews of nature, and had been condensed from the countless Souls of The Dead of those that died during the war between the City of Stars and the City of Moon.

    Of course, the debris of the stars and the Endless Labyrinth that Lin Li designed had all appeared in the world of Anril. Hence, there was nothing too strange about the Whispering God appearing too. However, Lin Li still clearly remembered that the official announcement in the Endless World mentioned that only the Souls of The Dead that had been around for thousands of years or tens of thousands of years could condense into the Whispering God, so why did such a monster appear in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum?

    However, time did not allow Lin Li to think about the answer to that question. No matter what, he was sure that the monster in front of him was the Whispering God, and he now had to think of a way to escape. In the game, he could die and respawn, but they were not in a game now. If he were to die, everything would be over.

    At this time, the Whispering God was producing endless whispers whileunching ferocious attacks on the expedition. The countless tentacles looked soft and weak, but at the moment of attack, they became sharper than any other weapon. The Warriors in the team were all wearing top standard armor, yet it seemed like fragile paper in front of the Whispering God¡¯s tentacles.

    ¡°All Warriors must protect mages!¡±

    Seeing that the mages under them had all bembs that were waiting to be ughtered, and the Warriors¡¯ attacks were unable to cause effective damage to the Whispering God, Joseph and us quickly ordered the Warriors to give up and guard the mages nearby to help them resist the tentacles.

    At this moment, the situation was a little embarrassing for the Tower of Dusk. Their team wasposed of Archmages, and under ordinary circumstances, theirbat power would definitely be the strongest of the four teams. However, in the face of the Whispering God, all the mages below the Legendary-realm lost theirbat power immediately. Other teams had Warriors to guard them, but the Tower of Dusk did not have any Warriors. Had Joseph and us not been dealing with the Whispering God, they would have been thrilled to see the state that the Tower of Dusk was in.

    Hoffman also saw the trouble that the Tower of Dusk was facing. However, the Glittergold Trade Union was having a hard time too, and did not have time to even take care of the mages of the Tower of Dusk. However, despite that, Hoffman asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, let your people enter our formation. If you go on like this...¡±

    If that were to go on, the mages might not be able to endure until they found a solution, and would end up being killed by the Whispering God! Lin Li knew about that, of course. He felt somewhat regretful for not bringing the Holy Death Knights.

    As for now, Lin Li was very clear that even if he joined the Glittergold Trade Union, the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s Warriors would not be enough to protect everyone. On the contrary, it would cause the Glittergold Trade Union to have many loopholes, and both parties would be at the losing end. Hence, he resolutely rejected Hoffman¡¯s suggestion, and instead handed the duty of protection over to Connoris and Norfeller. At the same time, he summoned the Legendary demon Gordon, whom he had subdued in the Sky Castle.

    The demon Gordon was initially not that outstanding when he was under Lin Li, but in a situation like this, it yed a considerable role. First of all, its body which was made of various magical metals gave it a strong defensive power that was unmatched by any armor, and the sharp des its arms formed could also deal certain damage to the tentacles of the Whispering God, though not great. It could also prevent the Whispering God¡¯s attacks to a certain extent.

    The Goblin Angno, who had been shivering out of fear of the Whispering God, also released 20 alchemy puppets at this moment, and joined the team¡¯s defense. The alchemy puppets were not Shadow Iron Shadow Assassins, but Warrior-type alchemy puppets that were made of strong magical metals which were specially used for oveing melee traps.

    With three Legendary powerhouses and 20 alchemy puppets, they could barely protect the mages who had lost theirbat power. However, Lin Li knew very well in his heart that those were only a temporary solution. If a way to deal with the Whispering God could not be found in time, the mages and he himself would be doomed.

    Due to the fact that they had to take care of the mages who had lost theirbat power, there were not many people who could really fight the Whispering God. After all, an Archmage was a precious asset to any force.

    However, the Whispering God that they were facing at this moment was already at the pinnacle of the Legendary-level. Unless someone could suppress it, no magic or offensive spell could deal damage to it. The Legendary-level Sword Sage¡¯s invincible fighting power could only give it a huge cut, but terrifying magic spells would disappear even before touching its body.

    The only thing to be thankful for might be the direct attacking power of the Whispering God, which was rtivelycking. Since it couldn¡¯t release real magic spells, in addition to constantly devouring everyone¡¯s mana, the Whispering God could only rely on its tentacles to attack. The power that it could exert was below level-22, but that was terrifying enough. If there were only tens of tentacles, it would be fine, but the problem was that the entire room was full of its tentacles, making it impossible to count how many there were.

    Joseph continued to wave the King of mes Staff in his hand. The magic spell that he was casting now was probably enough to destroy a city, but after seeing that the magic light dissipated, and the monster was unharmed, he was overwhelmed with fear that could not be suppressed. What made him feel disappointed was the fact that the massive mana in his body was rapidly diminishing over time as if dozens of Legendary magic spells were being cast every second.

    The Whispering God¡¯s rate of mana depletion did not stop, and even sped up. Soon, the level-22 Legendary-mages who were fighting had no choice but to retreat. Although they did not fall out of the Legendary-realm, they could not go on.

    What made it worse was the fact that although they had all first arranged to protect the mages, the screams behind them were almost uninterrupted from the beginning of the battle. Among them were the voices of mages and Warriors. Although there was only one Whispering God, the countless tentacles were like countless enemies, and the pervasive attacks were simply impossible to guard against.

    In this case, it was no longer time to hide his trump cards. Staying alive was the most important. Joseph had no doubt that if the situation went on, he would not be able to escape his fate of being buried for Prince Brahere.

    At the thought of this, Joseph once again released a massive me Dragon before quickly retreating a certain distance, and then he began to chant a spell. As he did, a huge Six-pointed Star Array appeared in the open space not far in front of him. The light of the array became brighter and brighter. After reaching its extreme, it suddenly converged and turned dim. However, the light dissipated and left a huge body behind with two horns on its head. It was a ck Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    The Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s summoning! All of a sudden, everyone seemed a little surprised, especially the Dida Family of the Mithril Alliance. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. The spell that summoned the Abyssal Demon had always been an unspoken secret of the Dida Family ever since the Ashen Warlock gave it to them. No one had known that Joseph had mastered that spell.

    Moreover, the former patriarch of the Dida Family, Charles¡¯ father, was also killed because he summoned the Abyssal Demon Dragon. Although the Abyssal Demon Dragon was only at level-23, it was powerful in all aspects, and it would not be a problem for it to kill level-24 powerhouses. How did Joseph manage to sessfully summon an adult Abyssal Demon Dragon?

 Chapter 875 - The War Godéˆ¥æªš Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 875: The War God¡¯s Shadow</h4>

    However, it wasn¡¯t time to settle these problems now. Even though the Dida Family was unhappy, they didn¡¯t dare to express any displeasure. After all, they still hoped that the Abyssal Demon Dragon that Joseph had summoned would turn the tides for them.

    When almost everyone put their hopes on the Abyssal Demon Dragon, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Joseph had evidently lost hisposure. This Abyssal Demon Dragon was particrly powerful. Even if Lin Li were to fight against it, he probably wouldn¡¯t stand a chance given his current abilities. However, they were facing the Whispering God now. In this incubation room that was already not very spacious, wasn¡¯t this gigantic Abyssal Demon Dragon a live target for the Whispering God¡¯s countless tentacles?

    Precisely because of this, Lin Li didn¡¯t summon his Humerus Crimson Dragon.

    Facing the Whispering God, the Abyssal Demon Dragon didn¡¯t back down. It let out a deafening roar before dashing towards the Whispering God in the pool. Countless tentacles shot out from the pool, swarming towards the Abyssal Demon Dragon. Nobody knew exactly how many tentacles the Whispering God had. The walls and roof of the incubation room had beenpletely covered by its tentacles, and there were still so many hidden underwater.

    Seeing the approaching tentacles, the Abyssal Demon Dragon let out a ck dragon breath. Without slowing down, it continued flying towards the Whispering God¡¯s body. Nobody in this world, including the Abyssal Demon Dragon, knew about the origins of the Whispering God. Thus, the Abyssal Demon Dragon thought that its ck dragon breath was enough to turn those disgusting tentacles into ashes.

    However, although the tentacles shrank when they came in contact with the ck dragon breath, they reverted to their original state almost instantaneously. They zoomed past the ck dragon breath as if it didn¡¯t exist, and shot towards the iing Abyssal Demon Dragon. It was toote for the charging Abyssal Demon Dragon to avoid the tentacles now. It could only wave its sharp ws at the tangling tentacles.

    The fate of the Abyssal Demon Dragon was already determined when it was summoned. In a disadvantageous location, fighting a disadvantageous battle against a monster that wasn¡¯t meant to exist in this world, the Abyssal Demon Dragon was trapped in a massive cocoon of tentacles in just a matter of seconds.

    What could be observed was the oozing dragon blood from that cocoon and the dying howls of the Abyssal Demon Dragon. When the tentacles released a gigantic skeleton onto the ground, everyone¡¯s heart sank to the lowest point.

    Joseph almost wanted to vomit blood upon witnessing this sight. He had originally wanted to use this trump card to deal with the Tower of Dusk. However, it was turned into a skeleton in such a short time, without even helping with the situation. He had summoned this Abyssal Demon Dragon at the expense of never being able to improve his power. Who would have thought that this was the oue?

    Joseph yelled, ¡°What are you holding back for? If you still don¡¯t act now, this will be our tomb!¡± He believed that the others were all holding back their trump cards. Since he had suffered such great loss, there was no way the others could go scot-free.

    Although Joseph said this because he felt it was unfair for him to be the only one sacrificing, what he had said made sense. After all, the use of the trump cards was to help turn the tides. If they were to die without using their trump cards, it would be too absurd.

    Just then, a sudden change in their situation dispelled thest bit of hesitation in their minds. Under the whispers of the Whispering God, those mages who had exhausted their magic suddenly walked out of the protective circle expressionlessly, totally oblivious to theirpanions¡¯ calls. Before the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family could react, a few mages had already walked out, and their bodies were pierced by the tentacles.

    The same thing was happening to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages as well, but Connoris and those in charge of protection didn¡¯t attempt to call them, but rather directly dragged them back to the protective circle. However, this method couldn¡¯tst. As time went by, the Whispering God would control more and more people. By then, just Connoris and hispanions wouldn¡¯t be able to protect all these people.

    This was another ability of the Whispering God¡ªcontrolling the opponent¡¯s mind with its whispers such that all surrounding creatures had to obey its orders. Only those mages who had lost their magic and be ordinary people were controlled by the Whispering God now. With time, even the Warriors couldn¡¯t escape the fate of losing their consciousness to this monster. That would be a truly devastating situation.

    us from the Caesar Family hesitated no longer. Not mentioning whether his trump card could turn the tides or not, it would be good enough if it could help them even a little. He took out a silver box adorned with intricate mageweaths and arrays. As he injected mana into it, the mageweaths lit up.

    Suddenly, a ck hole appeared at the center of an array at the top of the silver box. A ball of ck smoke oozed out of the hole, sending out buzzing sounds that gave everyone goosebumps.

    Even Lin Li was quite surprised that us had released a swarm of bugs from his silver box. Although these bugs weren¡¯t eye-catching, Lin Li quickly recognized them as form-mimicking magical bugs that lived on level-31 of the Endless Abyss. The most distinct trait of these bugs was their ability to congregate into the form of any magical beast and obtain the beast¡¯s abilities. To put it simply, when these bugs congregated to form a wyrm, they could spit dragon breath just like a real wyrm, cast dragonnguage magic, and even release the Menace of the Dragon that was unique to wyrms.

    What was truly terrifying was that the magical beasts formed by these bugs were almost indestructible since they could reform back once they were dispersed. The only way to destroy them was to kill every individual bug. However, these individual bugs also possessed the immense vitality and vigor typical of insects. Moreover, their bodies had very high magic immunityparable to the magical metals.

    ¡°So the Canary Family¡¯s bug hive is with you. No wonder back at the...¡± Joseph didn¡¯t continue his sentence. He knew that this wasn¡¯t time for him to talk about the past now. He could settle everything after they survived this.

    The Canary Family was one of the 13 families that were in the Mithril Alliance since the start. It was said that the Canary Family was exterminated during the battle between the Mithril Alliance and the Blood Moon n. Of course, that was what the Mithril Alliance had announced. Nobody knew what the actual situation had been like.

    The form-mimicking bugs that us had released continuously shifted into different forms like a b of dough being molded by an invisible hand. Within moments, the bugs congregated into a human-shaped form without a face. This rmed those people who knew about the bugs¡¯ background. Before these bugs could form any magical beast, it had to engulf that beast first. Now that they had formed a human shape, then obviously...

    The person that these bugs formed got hold of the sword adorned with a sapphire from us. As if she had known that sword, she gently caressed the sword¡¯s spine before dashing towards the Whispering God like a sh of lightning.

    Upon seeing the moves of the person formed by the bugs, Thomas from the Glittergold Trade Union couldn¡¯t help but yell, ¡°It¡¯s Freya Canary!¡±

    Freya Canary was said to be amonly acknowledged female genius in the Breezy ins back then, and the Canary Family saw her as the hope of reviving the family. She became the first female Sword Sage in Anril at the age of 20; at 30, her ability was already at the peak of Legendary-realm. Because of Freya, the Canary Family used to hold much power in the Mithril Alliance, with its power just below the Caesar Family that had founded the Mithril Alliance.

    Unfortunately, Freya unexpectedly lost to Mogadi who was only level-23 in the battle between the Mithril Alliance and the Blood Moon n. After that, the Canary Family was exterminated, and the badly injured Freya was nowhere to be found. This was the end of her legend. Some said that she had lost all hope and lived in seclusion, and others said that she was caught by the Blood Moon n. However, nobody would have thought that she would reappear before everyone in such a state.

    Lin Li had to acknowledge that the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, which were ancient families that had existed for more than a thousand years, were indeed not so simple. However, they were dealing with an even more terrifying Whispering God now. This human formed by the bugs might not be as ill-fated as the Abyssal Demon Dragon, but its use was definitely very limited. It might even make matters worse...

    The appearance of the form-mimicking bugs had only added one more Legendary-level fighter to the exploration team. Although it had the characteristic of being undying, the whispers of the Whispering God were more worrisome for the team.

    If their opponent wasn¡¯t the Whispering God, these form-mimicking bugs could even kill the Abyssal Demon Dragon that Joseph had summoned. However, what Lin Li was worried about was quickly turned into reality.

    After a few exchanges with the Whispering God, the human that the bugs had formed slowed down in her attacks. Before us discovered any abnormalities, his trump card turned back and charged towards the exploration team.

    The magical bugs that had turned against them took the exploration team by surprise. One of the Legendary-mages from the Caesar Family almost lost his life under the sword of the bugs. This sudden turning back was totally unexpected to us. He had thought that even if the form-mimicking magical bugs couldn¡¯t be of much help, they could at least increase their fighting force. However, it turned out that he had helped their enemy increase its strength.

    us immediately started injecting mana into the silver box called the hive, hoping to regain control over the bugs. However, his mana was nothingpared to the Whispering God¡¯s controlling abilities. To make matters worse, as us continuously injected mana, the mageweaths on the hive couldn¡¯t withstand such strong pressure anymore. With blinding explosions of light, the mageweathspletely lost their function.

    us had outsmarted himself. His trump card had not only been unable to turn the tides, but instead drove the team deeper into the abyss of desperation. Joseph was rather jealous of us¡¯ hive at first, but now he would have scolded him if not for the fact that they were in alliance.

    Fortunately, a figure shining with golden light suddenly joined the battle, and shielded those scampering Legendary-mages from the magical bugs¡¯ attack. Just then, the team noticed that a golden warrior statue had appeared in the hands of Thomas of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    The War God¡¯s Shadow! Seeing the golden statue in Thomas¡¯ hands, Joseph and us¡¯ breathing sped up a little. They even momentarily forgot what kind of dire situation they were in now.

    Out of all the legends about the High Elves¡¯ magical equipment from the dark age, the War God¡¯s Shadow was certainly the first on the list. Legends had it that the War God¡¯s Shadow was crafted by the High Elves with a captured Titan Spirit and the blood of numerous ancient wyrms and prehistoric magical beasts. As an existence that was simr to the spirit entities, it was sealed in a tiny golden statue.

    Since it was called the War God¡¯s Shadow, it naturally possessed power simr to a war god¡¯s. It was rumored that the strongest War God¡¯s Shadow possessed Sanctuary-level strength. Lin Li didn¡¯t doubt the War God¡¯s Shadow¡¯s power at all. Back in the Haiga Mountain Range, the Titan Spirit that protected its skeleton had power no worse than a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, this War God¡¯s Shadow was fighting intensely with the human formed by the magical bugs. Evidently, it was rather far from Sanctuary-level.

    If it was really at the Sanctuary-level, it might be able to help everyone pass this obstacle. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t. As for whether it was due to the decrease in power due to time or any other reasons, Lin Li didn¡¯t have time to ask Hoffman now.

    After the War God¡¯s Shadow had appeared, it held the magical bugs back from attacking the exploration team, restoring the status quo. However, time was irreversible. The number of people who had been controlled by the Whispering God continued to increase, and those in charge of protecting the mages got even busier. Some of the less powerful Warriors even started being enticed by the Whispering God¡¯s whispers.

 Chapter 876 - Creating God

    <h4>Chapter 876: Creating God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    How could they survive this? Lin Li was getting increasingly anxious. Although he also had a trump card, this wasn¡¯t a suitable time to use it. Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua was Lin Li¡¯s ultimate trump card. With its ability to instantaneously cast Legendary spells, rarely anyone below Sanctuary-level could match its abilities. However, if Lin Li was to release Xiao Hua now, it would be sending a scrumptious feast to the Whispering God. Unless Xiao Hua was full-grown and as powerful as the Dragon of Dream, it was no match to the Whispering God.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars were powerful, but just like Xiao Hua, they would only serve as the Whispering God¡¯s mana source. If he had the Stars of Fury, Lin Li believed that even the most ordinary arrow could kill off this Whispering God that was at the peak of Legendary-realm. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have it now.

    When he thought about the Whispering God¡¯s abilities, Lin Li was rather puzzled. It seemed that the Whispering God was already at the peak of Legendary-level when it first came out. Now that it had devoured so much mana, why was its power still at the peak of Legendary-level?

    Lin Li remembered clearly that the Whispering God he had witnessed back in the Endless World was totally worthy of its name. That Whispering God got more powerful as it devoured mana during the attack on the City of Stars. When the City of Stars was destroyed, the Whispering God was already in Sanctuary-level. If not for the fact that the strongest NPC in the Endless World¡ªthe half-divine Pdin Francis¡ªcame to the rescue, no one knew how much destruction the Whispering God would have brought to the Endless World.

    On the other hand, this Whispering God was already at the peak of Legendary-level at first. After devouring so much mana from the Archmages and Legendary-mages of the four factions, it should have reached Sanctuary-level even if it was just level-20 in the beginning. However, this Whispering God didn¡¯t even seem to be close to Sanctuary-level judging from its magic waves.

    This was definitely abnormal!

    That was probably the only good news that Lin Li had so far. However, this didn¡¯t mean they could finish off this Whispering God easily. At Legendary-level, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t think of any way to deal with it. At this rate, the entire exploration team would be wiped out.

    Holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter, Lin Li condensed the Light and Darkness Sword again, and he swung the sword towards the Whispering God. However, Lin Li was clear about the result of this blow¡ªnothing different from the previous ones.

    Although everyone knew that their attacks were futile, nobody stopped attacking. After all, constant attacks gave the team the slightest hope. If they stopped, it would be no different from waiting to die. Everyone could sense that the exploration team was gradually sliding into the abyss. As more and more Legendary-mages got out of the fight because they couldn¡¯t withstand the drain of magic anymore, the ones who were still defending the team got busier. All they could do was to change their offensive spells continuously, change their magical attributes, and change the angle of attack.

    It was the same for Lin Li. From releasing all kinds of magic at the start to giving his all in condensing the Light and Darkness Sword now, this was the strongest attack he could use based on his current abilities. Even a Legendary wyrm wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand a blow from the Light and Darkness Sword, but the Whispering God was evidently much stronger than a wyrm.

    The whispers that the Whispering God released were like a special Magical Domain. Any magic in this domain couldn¡¯t avoid the dispersion of its mana. When the Light and Darkness Swordnded on the Whispering God, it was already very remarkable that one-tenth of its power was released. The Legendary magical spells cast by other mages weren¡¯t even able to reach the Whispering God¡¯s body before disappearing into thin air.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current power at the peak of Legendary-level, even a tenth of the Light and Darkness Sword¡¯s power was much stronger than back when it tore Stephen¡¯s, or rather, Mephistos¡¯ Spirit Domain apart. However, such power was like punching a football when used against the Whispering God¡¯s extremely resilient body. It couldn¡¯t cause any real harm.

    From the Tower of Dusk, only Lin Li and Basel were still battling the Whispering God now. From the Glittergold Trade Union, there was only Hoffman and Thomas, while from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, there were only Joseph, Elvis, and us left in the battle. Other than Lin Li who still appeared to be full of mana, the others were all in a state of fatigue. Evidently, the constant loss of mana had a significant effect on them.

    As for the Whispering God, its power didn¡¯t seem any different than before. While dealing with Lin Li and hispanions¡¯ attacks, its countless tentacles also constantly caused casualties among the exploration team behind them. The whispers that filled the entire incubation room didn¡¯t stop, controlling more and more people¡¯s minds.

    In order to stop those people who had been controlled by the Whispering God from leaving the protective circle, a spectacle to be beheld appeared in the four factions. Those Archmages who had high status in the outside world were now tied up firmly with ropes like cattle and sheep waiting to be ughtered. If they had the chance to wake up, heaven knew what they would think about this.

    The team was in a dangerous situation now. Although the Whispering God only had one method to attack them head-on, no one dared to underestimate those green tentacles. Everyone struggled under the tentacles¡¯ attacks, including Lin Li.

    ¡°Damn it! What is this thing? Why isn¡¯t it dead by now?¡± Joseph was almost driven insane. This was totally the most disgusting battle he had ever been through in his whole life, be it in terms of the battle itself or the opponent¡¯s appearance. If he had had a choice, he would¡¯ve chosen to battle a true Sanctuary-realm opponent instead, even if he would still lose.

    Joseph was unable to keep hisposure, but nobodymented on hisck of manners at a time like this. After all, who didn¡¯t have the urge to cough out blood given the current situation? us had already thrown his silver box away. Although his trump card¡ªthe form-mimicking magical bugs¡ªweren¡¯t destroyed like the Abyssal Demon Dragon, he knew that it was impossible for him to get them back now.

    As for the Glittergold Trade Union, Thomas was also drenched in sweat. He had to deal with those countless tentacles while manipting the War God¡¯s Shadow. The pressure that he had to withstand was even greater than for the others. Thinking about it, it was rather ridiculous that the trump cards that the two factions had thrown out nullified each other. They were lucky that the War God¡¯s Shadow was able to hold those magical bugs back. If not, the exploration team would meet with demise even sooner.

    ¡°Felic, we are going to be doomed at this rate! Are you helpless in this situation too?¡± Hoffman could only put all his hopes on Lin Li now. After all, Lin Li had ventured into the Sky Castle and explored Osric¡¯s mausoleum before.

    Out of everyone, only Lin Li seemed ratherposed. His magical attacks also didn¡¯t weaken as the battle continued. However, Lin Li knew that his mana wasn¡¯t truly limitless, and he also couldn¡¯t withstand the Whispering God¡¯s frantic devouring of mana. If he couldn¡¯t finish off the Whispering God soon, it was just a matter of time before his mana would bepletely devoured.

    Lin Li still didn¡¯t know why the Whispering God hadn¡¯t stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. It was like a bottomless bucket which wouldn¡¯t be full no matter how much water was poured into it. After all, Lin Li knew that although the Whispering God was called a ¡®god¡¯, it didn¡¯t have much intelligence¡ªjust like those low-level creatures. It depended entirely on its instinct to devour mana to strengthen itself.

    However, where had the massive amount of mana gone to? As someone who had already seen the gates of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li certainly knew that the amount of mana that the Whispering God had devoured over this period of time was sufficient to elevate it to the Sanctuary-level. If the mana wasn¡¯t used to strengthen it, then where did it go? After all, it was impossible that the mana would have leaked out from the Whispering God¡¯s body. If not, the exploration team wouldn¡¯t be struggling so much. Thus, there was certainly a ce where the devoured mana was stored.

    Thinking about that, Lin Li¡¯s eyes focused on the pool the Whispering God was resting in. In the entire incubation room, this pool was the only ce that the exploration team hadn¡¯t touched. They had been unaware of it at first. Later on, they were stunned by the presence of the Whispering God. It was only now that Lin Li realized the Whispering God had never left the pool.

    As the circumstances got more dire, Lin Li¡¯s thoughts got clearer. He shouldn¡¯t care about how the Whispering God from the Endless World got into Anril. Since it was here already, it was certainly rted to the owner of this tomb¡ªPrince Brahere. So, why did Prince Brahere ce such a monster in his tomb?

    Thinking about the missing mana, an idea shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind. Could it be that Prince Brahere used the Whispering God as the mana source of this tomb? If so, Prince Brahere might have cultivated this Whispering God himself!

    <i>Damn it! What master of the Arts! What is pursuing the Arts as his lifelong goal? This duke was a madman crazier than any High Elf! </i>Even Lin Li was shocked by his spection. Was there anything crazier than cultivating a terrifying monster like the Whispering God to use as the mana source? Even Highlord Osric, who had ventured into the spirits¡¯ realm in order to create the perfect body, had only used an ancient me Dragon¡¯s magical crystal as mana source for the Eternal Furnace.

    Of course, this was just Lin Li¡¯s spection. The truth might not be as crazy as this. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of any better exnation for the missing mana. He definitely had to examine this pool more closely. After all, Lin Li didn¡¯t know whaty inside this pool. There might be nothing inside, it might hold the key to turn the tides, or it might be fatal. Regardless of what he might find inside, nothing could be worse than their situation now.

    Seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t reply, Hoffman apologetically said, ¡°Master Felic, I shouldn¡¯t have involved you in this!¡± Evidently, he was hopeless in the situation now.

    Sensing Hoffman¡¯s desperation, Lin Li couldn¡¯t reveal anything. After all, he wasn¡¯t confident whether he could solve this problem. He replied, ¡°Hold on there, there may be a turn for the better.¡±

    ¡°You have a solution!?¡± Lin Li¡¯s reply was like the life-saving straw for Hoffman.

    ¡°I need you to hold this monster back for some time. Whether my method works or not, it depends on the uracy of my spection!¡± Lin Li hesitated no longer. He retrieved a tube of blue potion from the Ring of Endless Storm and drank everything in one gulp.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t just talking to Hoffman. Everyone in the incubation room could hear what he said. Whether his words could spark new hope for these people wasn¡¯t something he could control. After Lin Li had drunk the tube of potion, he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter without waiting for Hoffman¡¯s reply. Countless Sr Spheres fluctuating between ck and white color condensed all around Lin Li. As he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter, the Sr Spheres shot towards the Whispering God¡¯s forest of tentacles like a wave of shooting stars.

    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡±

    After these Sr Spheres which integrated dark and light energy touched the Whispering God¡¯s tentacles, the two conflicting energies immediately exploded with much greater intensity than the self-explosion of the Angels of Light and Dark. Although such explosive power wasn¡¯t enough to harm the Whispering God¡¯s extremely resilient tentacles, it was able to disperse the tentacles and clear a way towards the pool.

    Only then did Hoffman and hispanions realize what Lin Li had meant. This was too shocking for the exploration team. After all, most of the people in this battle had lost much of theirbat energy, and only Lin Li was still in his prime condition, withstanding almost half of thebat pressure. Even so, everyone still felt too fatigued. If they lost Lin Li¡¯s powerful fighting strength, everyone would soon suffer a breakdown from the Whispering God¡¯s attacks.

 Chapter 877 - Ignite

    <h4>Chapter 877: Ignite</h4>

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t wait for the team to respond before taking action. He knew that the difficulty of turning the tides increased exponentially with every second he waited. Thus, Lin Li had already activated his Power of Flight at full st without waiting for anyone¡¯s response. He zoomed through the path that was cleared by the Sr Spheres towards the pool the Whispering God was in like a sh of lightning.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t have to worry about swimming abilities with his current Legendary-level power, he was after all a human, and not a fish. Thus, his movements underwater were still somewhat affected. Heaven knew how many tentacles the Whispering God hid in the pool. If Lin Li wasn¡¯t careful, he might be walking right into the trap. Because of this, Lin Li drank a tube of azure-blue Ocean Potion beforehand so that he had the same ease of motion in water as onnd.

    It took Lin Li less than a second to disperse the tentacles to form a path and reach the edge of the pool. Seeing that the tentacles had started to converge once again, Lin Li dived into the pool without any hesitation. There were indeed a lot of tentacles underwater, but Lin Li swam with more agility than a fish after drinking the Ocean Potion. He followed the Whispering God¡¯s body and dived deeper into the pool while avoiding those continuously attacking tentacles.

    While it seemed simple, every second that Lin Li spent in the pool was apanied by great danger. He was like an animal that ventured into the piranhas¡¯ territory, facing the threat of being torn into shreds any moment. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any other choice. Not only did he have to find a way to get out of this situation, he also needed to do it fast. Without him, the team outside had to keep withstanding an enormous amount of pressure.

    Just like Lin Li had thought, the pressure on the exploration team increased immensely after Lin Li had dived into the pool. For a moment, they felt as if it was the end of the world. The casualties in the teams of each faction continued to increase, forcing Hoffman and hispanions to switch from attack to defense.

    However, after losing Lin Li as a powerful fighting force, the team¡¯s defense was like a bubble that could burst at any moment facing the Whispering God¡¯s frantic attacks. Everyone struggled to persevere, but even though they had pushed themselves beyond their limits, they still couldn¡¯t do much.

    Facing the Whispering God¡¯s tentacles and whispers, as well as the mana that was continuously drained from their bodies, everyone could only pin thest bit of hope on Lin Li. However, they didn¡¯t think that Lin Li could bring about any miracle, because it was too difficult for anyone to defeat the Whispering God.

    Some people even wondered if there was an escape path under the pool, and if that Felic escaped alone. However, nobody dared to venture near the pool given the tentacles that blocked the way. Even if they were in their prime condition, they wouldn¡¯t be confident enough to break through the blocking tentacles, not to mention in this situation now.

    Meanwhile, Lin Li was also very anxious. He didn¡¯t care about what happened to the other factions after he had left, but there were still close to 100 Archmages from the Tower of Dusk above. Those people were the foundation of the Tower of Dusk. If he couldn¡¯t defeat the Whispering God in time, losing the Archmages would be a serious blow to the Tower of Dusk even if he could escape in the end.

    Lin Li sent out all of his mental strength, searching for any abnormalities in the pool as he dived towards the bottom. Just as he could put his feet on the bottom of the pool, his mental strength feedback signaled that there were some abnormal magical fluctuations at the other end of the pool.

    Lin Li instantly got more alert. He waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter, releasing magic to disperse the surrounding tentacles. Then, he dashed towards the source of the abnormality like a fired arrow. As he moved closer to the source, Lin Li got more excited. Judging from the intensity of the Whispering God¡¯s attacks, it was evident that there was something very important to the Whispering God there.

    In the blink of an eye, Lin Li avoided all the tentacles and arrived at the location where his mental strength sensed an abnormality. Upon seeing the source of abnormality, Lin Li was stunned. What he saw was cylindrical equipment that seemed to be used for magic transfer. The tubes were linked to the bottom of the pool, where a booth[1] carved withplex mageweaths stood. A ck magical crystal was embedded into the center of the booth. Countless thin threads that looked like spider silk connected the magical crystal to the Whispering God¡¯s body.

    Seeing all these things, Lin Li realized that his spection was correct. Prince Brahere had indeed used this Whispering God as the source of mana! However, this knowledge alone was insufficient. Lin Li needed to figure out how to defeat the Whispering God above him.

    If he didn¡¯t have to consider the Whispering God, Lin Li would really want to just cut off all those threads, and put that ck magical crystal brimming with mana into his own pocket. After all, that ck magical crystal contained enough mana for the Whispering God to level up from the Legendary to Sanctuary-realm. It wasn¡¯t exaggerating to say it was a Sanctuary magical crystal.

    However, Lin Li guessed that the reason why the Whispering God couldn¡¯t reach the Sanctuary-realm was exactly this ck magical crystal. Although the Whispering God wouldn¡¯t level up to the Sanctuary-realm immediately if he were to take it away now, there wouldn¡¯t be anything holding it back, and things would be even worse by then.

    Yet if he didn¡¯t take away this magical crystal, how could he defeat the Whispering God?

    An idea suddenly shed in Lin Li¡¯s mind. As a monster that depended solely on instincts, it was impossible to train a Whispering God like any other animal. ording to its instincts, it would never give up any of the mana that it had devoured selfishly. As such, Brahere had to have done something to this Whispering God when he was cultivating it. If not, it wouldn¡¯t go against its instincts like what it was doing now.

    For any creature, survival was always the most basic instinct. Evidently, Brahere had put a restriction on the Whispering God that threatened its survival. That was why the Whispering God chose to forsake the mana that could strengthen itself. On the other hand, if Lin Li allowed the Whispering God to level up, would that trigger Brahere¡¯s restriction and bring it to destruction?

    Lin Li was currently about to make a huge gamble like never before. If he was right, he would defeat the Whispering God. If he was wrong, then he would create a Sanctuary-level enemy. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any other options now. If he didn¡¯t take this bet, the whole team would still walk towards destruction.

    Looking at the enticing ck magical crystal, Lin Li shook his head with resignation. He held up a piece of debris of the stars Thunderbolt, and started injecting mana into the Whispering God¡¯s body. The mageweaths on his spacetime magic robe lit up with brilliance due to the huge amount of mana being injected.

    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since Lin Li had entered the pool, the exploration team outside was already on the verge of copse. More and more mages and Warriors got controlled by the Whispering God¡¯s whispers. The leaders of the four factions, including Hoffman, were struggling to deal with the Whispering God¡¯s attacks, and couldn¡¯t spare any effort to care about their subordinates.

    Every second felt like eternity to everyone. No one knew how much longer they could persevere. When Lin Li just entered the pool, everyone was still a little hopeful that he could find a way to save them. However, seeing that there wasn¡¯t any movement in the pool after so long, their hopes died down with time.

    Just then, a terrifying wave of mana suddenly erupted from the pool. The team was terrified to realize that this monster¡¯s abilities increased continuously, almost reaching Sanctuary-level in a sh.

    However, when the fear had only just started to settle in their hearts, the monster radiating Sanctuary-level mana suddenly bloated like a huge balloon before anyone could react. It continued to bloat up even after its enormous body filled up the entire pool. Every tentacle became as thick as a pir.

    After that, the whispers that filled the room stopped. What reced them was a loud ¡°BAM!¡±. The entire incubation room shook vigorously under the shock as if it was going to copse at any moment. The immense impact was like a hurricane; everyone was swept away from the source of the explosion. Even Legendary powerhouses like Hoffman and Joseph couldn¡¯t withstand such impact, and could only retreat while putting up their defensive magic.

    After the explosion, the incubation room seemed to have been enveloped by a thick green smog that greatly lowered the visibility of the team. Following that, a horrible stench almost made the team unable to breath. However, everyone was filled with joy because they could clearly feel that their mana was no longer seeping away from their bodies. The surrounding environment was also brimming with mana, providing a quick respite to their exhausted mana.

    Undoubtedly, that nasty monster had finally disappeared from this world. How would Felic, who was the closest to the center of the explosion, fare under such a great shock? A tinge of anticipation rose in Joseph¡¯s mind. Perhaps this could totally resolve the problem of the Tower of Dusk.

    Meanwhile, Hoffman was getting anxious. He cast numerous spells to disperse the smog, wanting to know Lin Li¡¯s condition as soon as possible. Not to mention their friendship, Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk were very important to the development of the Glittergold Trade Union. Hoffman certainly didn¡¯t want to lose such an ally.

    Finally, when the smog had thinned, Hoffman vaguely saw a silhouette not far from the edge of the pool. He immediately hastened the speed of casting the spells, and tentatively shouted, ¡°Master Felic, is that you? How are you now? Are you alright?¡±

    Just then, a blinding sh of white light rose from that silhouette and radiated across the entire incubation room. Under the bright light, the green smog which filled the room disappeared like ice under the effect of sunlight.

    ¡°President Felic!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Master Felic!¡±

    Basel, Norfeller, Ujfalusi, and Hoffman finally saw who that silhouette was, and rushed towards him excitedly, surrounding Lin Li in the middle. While they were thrilled that Lin Li was alive, they were also worried whether Lin Li had suffered any injuries. After all, there was still Joseph from the Mithril Alliance watching over him like a hawk.

    Lin Li looked at the surroundings. Although the green smog had been purified by the Holy Light, the already abandoned incubation room looked even shabbier after the explosion. Everything around the center of the pool had been destroyed. The incubation equipment that the team had eyed had been damaged beyond salvaging.

    Seeing the concern everyone had shown around him, Lin Li put up aforting smile, and said, ¡°I was lucky to avoid the explosion just in time, so I¡¯m not hurt at all. Since that monster is killed now, let¡¯s hurry up and treat the injured now. I hope that you didn¡¯t suffer much loss when I wasn¡¯t around.¡±

    Recalling the explosion, Lin Li was secretly thankful that he had worn the spacetime magic robe that Nefa had given him, which allowed him to escape from the bottom of the pool just in time. If not, he would have been seriously wounded if not dead even with his power at the peak of Legendary-realm.

    However, the team outside of the pool wasn¡¯t so lucky¡ªespecially those who had been controlled after the Whispering God devoured all of their mana. Although they regained consciousness after the whispers stopped, they were almost defenseless when facing the explosion without their mana. Even a lot of people from the Tower of Dusk suffered injuries too¡ªdespite the fact that they got a little bit of protection from the top-level magical equipment that they had donned. As for the mages from the other three factions, they weren¡¯t as lucky.

    Now that the Whispering God was killed, the pressing issue was curing the injured mages. Looking at the injured, the leaders of the factions couldn¡¯t help but feel troubled. This troubled feeling even washed away some of the happiness they had felt after escaping death narrowly.

    ¡°Master Felic, it looks like we have to spend a while here. It¡¯s not so bad on your side, but for us...¡± Hoffman shook his head with a frown. Clearly, the situation didn¡¯t look great.

    Due to the explosion of the Whispering God, a great amount of mana had been released. Thus, the mages who had exhausted all their mana could recover to their original state after a short period of meditation.

    [1] It¡¯s not really clear whether it¡¯s a booth because of the vague wording, so it may change to a seat or something of the sort.

 Chapter 878 - For Free?

    <h4>Chapter 878: For Free?</h4>

    However, the impact of the explosion left many seriously injured. Some had broken their legs and some suffered a hemorrhage, while others were identally injured by theirrades during the battle. There were even some who had broken their necks, and were currently paralyzed.

    Although the situation for the Tower of Dusk was better, that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any injuries. The other three factions fared worse. Even in this magical world with all kinds of amazing potions, such injuries still could not be easily cured. Some of these people might have to end their exploration here.

    Looking at these seriously injured men, the leaders of the other three factions all looked glum. Only Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to be worried at all. Instead, he turned and asked Hoffman, ¡°Master Hoffman, what potions are you using?¡±

    Hoffman paused for a second. He couldn¡¯t quite understand what Lin Li was implying. However, he still answered, ¡°We¡¯ve specially prepared superfine Healing Potions made by the Tower of Dusk for this exploration. However, the injured probably cannot recover fast even with these potions.¡±

    Healing Potions weren¡¯t omnipotent. Although they could help to stop bleeding and speed up the recovery process, serious injuries such as bone damage and hemorrhage required a few days to fully recover as the patient needed a period of time to regain their vitality. Thus, Hoffman said that it was difficult for Lin Li¡¯s subordinates to heal in a short time. They could either send them all back or wait here for a period of time for them to heal.

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t be worried, Master Hoffman. We¡¯ve brought this time some Life Potions which are more effective than Healing Potions as well. Use them on the injured,¡± Lin Limented as he took out a box directly from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    What? Life Potion! As he was a pharmaceutics Master himself, Hoffman¡¯s eyes lit up upon hearing Lin Li mention Life Potion. After all, the Life Potion was a Master-level potion, and totally not on the same level as the Healing Potion. Healing Potions could heal a patient by using his vitality. Thus, the patient still needed a period of time to regain his vitality even after he had healed his wounds. However, Life Potions would directly recover the patient¡¯s vitality. Although they couldn¡¯t allow the patient to fully recover immediately after drinking the potion, the patient could regain his ability to fight very fast.

    However, the Life Potion also cost much more than the Healing Potion. It was possible that the price of 100 Healing Potions wasn¡¯t enough to buy even one Life Potion. As a true pharmaceutics Master, Hoffman could concoct a Life Potion himself. However, it was impossible to produce them on a big scale. One of the reasons was the rarity of the ingredients used, while the other was that he couldn¡¯t guarantee the sess rate. Without his current pharmaceutics standards, it was difficult to even ensure a sess rate of 50%. On the other hand, each failure in concoction meant the wastage of arge sum of money.

    Thus, in the Glittergold Trade Union, only leaders such as Hoffman kept one or two tubes of Life Potions in case of emergency. Now, Lin Li took out a box of Life Potions just like that. If not for Hoffman¡¯s understanding of Lin Li, he would have thought he was kidding.

    However, even though he knew Lin Li wouldn¡¯t lie to him, Hoffman still couldn¡¯t help but gasp when he saw the rows of light-green potions arranged neatly in the box, radiating a strong aura of life.

    ¡°T-this....¡± Hoffman was a little embarrassed to receive such a valuable gift. After all, he had asked Lin Li to coborate in this exploration. He wouldn¡¯t be so embarrassed if they had made plenty of gains from it. However, the truth was that they were still empty-handed now. How would he dare ept such precious potions?

    ¡°Master Hoffman, this doesn¡¯t seem like you. I still have plenty of Life Potions, so just take them. Don¡¯t we still have to continue exploring the relics? It¡¯ll be advantageous to the explorationter if your men can recover fast.¡±

    ¡°Haha! Then I will dly take it.¡± Hoffman didn¡¯t really want Lin Li to take back the potions. He ordered his men to take those Life Potions to heal the injured.

    Almost all the injured men from Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk were healed by the Life Potions. Such powerful potions were sufficient for them to regain their strength and power in a very short time. However, things were different for the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family. They used the superfine Healing Potions produced by the Tower of Dusk. This was already the best Healing Potion they could find on the market, but how could that match the Life Potion? It was already very good if it could help to recover a person to half of his usual fighting power.

    Joseph was already extremely unhappy over the fact that Lin Li managed toe out of the explosion alive. Now that he saw those two factions use Life Potions to heal the injured sovishly, his face turned even more glum. However, the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk had been enemies for a very long time. It was already a feat for the two to coborate in this exploration. Thus, asking the Tower of Dusk to supply some Life Potions to them was totally impossible.

    Joseph secretly made up his mind that he wouldn¡¯t let go of any chance to deal with the Tower of Dusk in the following part of the exploration. As long as he could trap the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team in this mausoleum, he had ways to turn everything the Tower of Dusk currently had¡ªitsnds, businesses, and talents¡ªinto the Mithril Alliance¡¯s. As for whether he had the chance to achieve this, that was a question forter. Now, Joseph was having a headache over how to recover his subordinates¡¯ fighting strength.

    Joseph wasn¡¯t the only one who was jealous of the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union¡¯svishness. us from the Caesar Family also watched those injured men from the two factions take each precious Life Potion with jealousy. Looking at his own team, everyone was in a state of feebleness. us hesitated for a moment before clenching his teeth and walking towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side.

    ¡°President Felic, we managed to escape death narrowly thanks to you,¡± said us awkwardly. This wasn¡¯t just polite words. Everyone present knew that the explosion of that monster had to do with Lin Li entering the pool.

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite, Patriarch us. We¡¯re all coborating partners. If I hadn¡¯t done that, my own men would have been dead too.¡± Although the Caesar Family had always sided with the Mithril Alliance, Lin Li didn¡¯t show a cold face to us.

    Seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t humiliate him, us calmed down a little. With a troubled expression, he continued, ¡°President Felic, you see, the Caesar Family¡¯s side also has many people who are severely injured. It¡¯ll be very hard for them to recover their power with the Healing Potions alone. May I know if there¡¯re any spare Life Potions on your side? I¡¯m willing to buy some at market price... No, higher than market price.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, Patriarch us? Aren¡¯t we partners? Just take these 20 potions.¡± Lin Li took out a small box and handed it over to us directly.

    us was surprised by Lin Li¡¯s generosity. He was prepared to pay arge sum for those potions should Lin Li choose to overcharge him. Little did he know, Lin Li didn¡¯t even mention anything about money. He epted the box, and sincerely replied, ¡°You¡¯re too kind. How can we take these precious potions for free?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t decline anymore, Patriarch us.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t look reluctant at all to give out 20 Life Potions just like that. It was as if he had just given out some useless things.

    As the patriarch of a n, it wasn¡¯t suitable for us to say any exaggerated words of gratitude to Lin Li, even though he had asked for the potions shamelessly. After expressing his gratitude appropriately, he carried the potion box back to his team and started using the Life Potions to treat the injured.

    After us left, Hoffman nced at the Caesar Family¡¯s team, and asked Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, did you just give out 20 Life Potions for free?¡±

    ¡°For free? Not exactly. I¡¯ve always loved to make others feel ufortable.¡± Lin Liughed and said no more.

    However, Hoffman was an intelligent man. He immediately turned towards the Mithril Alliance¡¯s side. Seeing Joseph¡¯s increasingly glum face, Hoffman let out a sly smile. The Caesar Family was the Mithril Alliance¡¯s firm ally. Now that the Caesar Family managed to get help from the Tower of Dusk, it was clear how Joseph would feel about that.

    Just as Hoffman thought, it was impossible for Joseph not to feel anything upon seeing use back with a box of potions from Lin Li. He was very clear that with the Mithril Alliance alone, it would be difficult to deal with the Tower of Dusk, not mentioning the alliance between the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union. What was keeping this exploration team in bnce was the fact that the Mithril Alliance had allied with the Caesar Family.

    However, now that the Caesar Family had gotten help from the Tower of Dusk, would they stillmit to dealing with the Tower of Dusk in the future? Joseph also knew that the Caesar Family wouldn¡¯t be easily bought over by a few potions. However, whether the Caesar Family would give its all to fight the Tower of Dusk should the two alliances turn on each other was a question.

    With the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Life Potions, the severely injured men from the Caesar Family quickly received the best treatment. With just a little bit of rest, they could recover about 80% of their fighting prowess. This scene made those from the Mithril Alliance extremely envious. However, Joseph would never bow down to seek help from the Tower of Dusk. He would only be humiliated even if he did that.

    After each faction settled the problem of the injured men, the leaders of each faction led those who had recovered as well as those who hadn¡¯t been injured to continue searching the incubation room. After all, their real objective here wasn¡¯t to fight, but to make some gains from this relic site. Thus, searching for valuable things was the prime goal here.

 Chapter 879 - Each Took What He Needed

    <h4>Chapter 879: Each Took What He Needed</h4>

    However, the chance of finding anything valuable in the already deserted incubation room after the explosion was even lower. The gear that the team had eyed were almostpletely destroyed in the explosion. Even the Time Domain which us had booked, the core of this incubation room, was destroyed. Even if they could find any valuable things, it could only be the spare parts.

    Lin Li hadn¡¯t been too concerned with this incubation room at first. After all, he didn¡¯t even want the Time Domain, not to mention these parts that had already lost their function. However, the appearance of the Whispering God made Lin Li judge the value of this incubation again, especially since this Whispering God was very likely to have been created by Prince Brahere himself.

    Unfortunately, the entire incubation room was turned into ruins now. Digging a rubbish dump would probably yield more valuables than this ce now. Seeing that each faction¡¯s team had spread out to search the ce inch by inch, Lin Li suddenly thought of the equipment which had held the ck magical crystal back when he dived into the pool. He didn¡¯t know if there was anything left of it after the explosion.

    However, just as Lin Li prepared to take a look at the pool, he heard joyful calls from the Mithril Alliance¡¯s team. Lin Li turned and saw a green spherical object with holes on it lying in Joseph¡¯s hands. Feeble murmurs came out from those holes.

    Lin Li frowned a little, and rxed his brows instantly. Back at the Endless World, after Pdin Francis had killed that Whispering God, someone had picked up the same thing was what Joseph was holding now. The system named it the Whispering God¡¯s heart. Be it its heart or brain, this green sphere was the Whispering God¡¯s essential organ. Those mind controlling whispers were produced by this essential organ. Thus, the Whispering God¡¯s special ability was also known as Heart Whisper.

    Joseph didn¡¯t know the Whispering God, so he wouldn¡¯t know anything about the Whispering God¡¯s heart. However, just from the whispers alone, he could guess that the source of the monster¡¯s mind-controlling abilities was this thing.

    This really was a treasure! Recalling the scene during the battle against the monster, Joseph looked at this sphere in his hands, and all the gloominess in his heart was immediately swept away.

    Under the current Magic System, mental spells like Allure could affect people¡¯s mind, but magic that could control arge number of people like the Whispering God¡¯s whispers was unheard of. Although the scope of the mind-controlling whispers only extended to this incubation room in the battle just now, Joseph could totally visualize how the effect of the whispers could extend even further if it was used in a more spacious room. That would make it an invincible weapon! As long as he could find the right way to use it, it would be the most formidable weapon the Mithril Alliance possessed.

    He could even analyze the principles behind how the whispers were produced, and create a new Forbidden Spell. As the one who had this magic, he would be a man of high status in the whole of Anril. Thinking of how much benefits this Whispering God¡¯s heart could potentially bring for him, Joseph couldn¡¯t hide the excitement he was feeling now.

    Seeing that Joseph was holding the Whispering God¡¯s heart with inconceble joy, Lin Li didn¡¯t feel any sense of jealousy at all. Instead, he shook his head with a smile. Lin Li could guess what Joseph was plotting from his facial expression. However, how could the secrets behind the Whispering God¡¯s heart be so easily deciphered?

    Back at the Endless World, the Whispering God¡¯s heart which was left behind also stirred up a storm amongst yers in the game as if an artifact had appeared. Everyone had the same thought as Joseph: they wanted to either use it to create a powerful magical weapon or analyze the powerful heart-whispering magic behind it.

    What was the oue? Lin Li still remembered that thest owner of that Whispering God¡¯s heart had been rumored to have put in immense effort to invite numerous NPCs from different fields who had reached the peak of Guru-level, hoping to crack the secrets of the Whispering God¡¯s heart. However, those NPCs didn¡¯t even do any research on the Whispering God¡¯s heart after they had seen it, and told its owner that it wasn¡¯t a realm mortals could reach. Rather than consulting them, he might have a better chance if he took it to the gods and prayed.

    In the end, the owner of that Whispering God¡¯s heart didn¡¯t pray to the gods. Instead, he sold it to the system store out of anger. The most ridiculous thing was that the system only gave him one gold coin for it.

    In the setting of the Endless World, there weren¡¯t any wars that destroyed a great amount of inheritance like in Anril. Thus, the amount of knowledge in all fields was significantly higher in the Endless Worldpared to Anril. If not, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have had such a good life in Anril with his knowledge from the Endless World.

    Not to mention Gurus who were a step away from bing Divine Smiths, even a normal Guru was extremely rare to find in the current Anril. People who had reached Master-level were already at the peak of each field. In an environment with this level of knowledge, it was a fool¡¯s dream to obtain anything from analyzing the Whispering God¡¯s heart.

    It wasn¡¯t exaggerating to say that even Highlord Osric from the Dark Age might not be able to grasp the skill to create these mind-controlling whispers. As for Prince Brahere who had personally created this Whispering God, he was undeniably a genius, and a true madman.

    Lin Li knew that he possibly wasn¡¯t as talented as Prince Brahere, so he was naturally not interested in the Whispering God¡¯s heart Joseph was holding. However, the others in the team didn¡¯t know as much as Lin Li. Be it Hoffman or us, both looked rather jealous of Joseph¡¯s good luck, and ordered their men to search the room more carefully. Even a piece of garbage had to be properly examined.

    ¡°President, look at this!¡±

    Just as Lin Li was walking towards the pool, n came close to him mysteriously, and carefully took out an item away from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family¡¯s view.

    After seeing what n had taken out, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help butugh. It was us¡¯ precious trump card¡ªthe form-mimicking magical bugs¡¯ hive. He asked, ¡°n, how did it end up with you?¡±

    It hadn¡¯t been long since n reached the Legendary-realm, so he was the first Legendary-mage to exit the battle. If not for the top-grade magical equipment he had carried, he would have fallen out of the Legendary-realm under the Whispering God¡¯s devouring of mana.

    After exiting the battle, n stayed with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team together with those Archmages who had lost their ability to fight. He didn¡¯t return to the battlefield anymore other than providing some aid to his surroundingrades in times of dire crisis. Hence, Lin Li was curious how us¡¯ hive hadnded in n¡¯s hands.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s inquiry, n blushed a little, and replied, ¡°All of us were thrown back by those shock waves during the explosion. I was busy casting defense spells for others, but this thing hit my head, so I just kept it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, since this originally belonged to the Caesar Family, just return it to them,¡± replied Lin Li with an unbothered tone.

    n was rather surprised by Lin Li¡¯s words. After all, it didn¡¯t seem like the President¡¯s style to return a benefit that he had obtained. Although those magical bugs didn¡¯t help with anything in that battle, they still possessed level-24 power. If not for the fact that he was very familiar with Lin Li¡¯s mana waves, n would have thought that the President Felic in front of him had been reced by another person back in the pool.

    However, n never doubted Lin Li¡¯s words. He took the hive and walked towards the Caesar Family¡¯s team.

    Originally, the Caesar Family was closer to the Mithril Alliance, so they didn¡¯t have any particrly good feelings about the Tower of Dusk. However, little did the Caesar Family¡¯s team know that the Tower of Dusk would provide them with Life Potions for free. Their attitude towards the Tower of Dusk had changed slightly as a result. Without anyone blocking the way, n soon stood next to us. Who knew what the two had spoken about, but both made their way towards Lin Li¡¯s side afterward.

    The magical bugs¡¯ hive was still with n. After us walked closer to Lin Li, he said with some embarrassment, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯ve heard that you have much expertise on mageweaths. This hive is useless in my hands now. Please ept my humble gift.¡±

    Originally, us would be able to control those magical bugs again after the Whispering God had been destroyed. Unfortunately, more than half of the mageweaths and magical arrays on the hive had been destroyed during the time the Whispering God had taken control over the bugs. Although the Whispering God lost its control over the bugs after the explosion and the bugs returned to their hive, us had lost the ability to control them again.

    Moreover, this hive was an item from the High Elves¡¯ era. Although it wasn¡¯t anything important then, the mageweaths and magical arrays weren¡¯t easy to repair given the current level of skills in Anril. Thus, us was clear that this thing was basically useless now. Since the Tower of Dusk¡¯s men had found it, he might as well do a favor to the Tower of Dusk. After all, the Tower of Dusk probably didn¡¯t have the ability to repair it now. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t affect the bnce of power amongst the factions in the exploration team.

    What us didn¡¯t know was that no faction in Anril could match the Tower of Dusk in terms of expertise in inscription and alchemy. Although the people here perceived this hive to be a powerful magical tool, it was but a toy during the High Elves¡¯ era. Thus, it wasn¡¯t difficult at all for Lin Li to repair this.

    Since us had said that he didn¡¯t want it, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t decline the offer. After all, it possessed level-24 power. As long as they didn¡¯t meet an insanely powerful monster like the Whispering God, the hive would be useful.

    Joseph saw that us and Lin Li had once again engaged in a conversation. However, his emotions weren¡¯t very affected by it this time, since he was still immersed in the joy that the Whispering God¡¯s heart had brought. His brain was full of images on how the Mithril Alliance, or rather his family, could be the most powerful faction in the Breezy ins after he had figured out the secrets behind the mind-controlling whispers.

    After Lin Li had put the hive into his Ring of Endless Storm, some men from the Caesar Family hade looking for us, telling him that they had found some valuable mana transferring tubes. us¡¯ spirits went up upon hearing this news. He immediately turned to say goodbye to Lin Li, and brought his men back to the Caesar Family¡¯s team.

    Up till now, the Caesar Family had not only gained nothing from the exploration, but also suffered a great loss. The Time Domain that they wanted was destroyed in the explosion, while their trump card, the form-mimicking magical bugs, was gifted to the Tower of Dusk as the hive had suffered damage. The Mithril Alliance had obtained the Whispering God¡¯s heart, while the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union didn¡¯t suffer any loss, though they hadn¡¯t made any gains, either. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for us not to feel anxious.

    The mana transferring tube wasn¡¯t exactly a tube that people normally knew. It was actually alchemy equipment that could increase the efficiency of mana transfer. Although its name might sound rather ordinary, anyone who had the slight knowledge of inscription or alchemy would know the importance of mana transferring tubes. Moreover, this was the Prince Brahere¡¯s incubation room. Even the smallest gear wouldn¡¯t be ordinary, not mentioning crucial equipment like the mana transferring tube.

    Normally, the crystal inscription pen was used to inscribe mageweaths together with special magical ink. The mageweaths were inscribed at the ce desired straight away, and were connected to the mana source directly. However, that only applied to mageweaths which didn¡¯t require a lot of mana to function. The really powerful mageweath arrays would waste a shocking 90% of mana should they be inscribed in this manner.

    Thus, the mana transferring tube became of crucial importance in arge-scale mageweath array like this Time Domain. After constant boost from the mana transferring tube, the wastage of mana when the mana flew through the magic pathways would be greatly reduced. Other than increasing mana usage rate, the pressure on the mana source would also be greatly reduced as a result. This also helped to increase the lifespan of the mana source immensely.

    In addition, the magic pathways would be corroded by mana itself during mana transfer. This was another factor that affected the lifespan of the entire mageweath array. After all, no matter how strong the mana source was, even if it could apply 10,000 years worth of mana, the whole mageweath array would lose its effect if the magic pathways were broken. After mana had been strengthened by the mana transferring tube, however, the corrosion of the magic pathways would naturally decrease alongside the decreasing wastage of mana.

 Chapter 880 - The Crazy Prince

    <h4>Chapter 880: The Crazy Prince</h4>

    A simple example here would be a Legendary magical crystal which acted as the source of mana in a mageweath array. If they did not use the mana transferring tube before the mana entered the circuit, the lifespan of both the source of mana and the mana transferring tube would only be able to reach 100 years. If one were to add the mana transferring tube to the source of mana, he would be able to slow down the usage of the source of mana, and lengthen the lifespan of both the source of mana and the mana transferring tube. The mageweath array might be able to sustain activity for more than 1,000 years. Furthermore, as the use of mana became more efficient, the mageweath array would be able to exert greater powers.

    Hence, the mana transferring tube was extremely important to a mageweath array (especially if it was one of arge scale). An example would be the All-Kill Array from the Tower of Dusk. Although those Wards of Bad Luck were inscribed by Moke, Lin Li had used mana transferring tubes to allow the source of mana to transfer its mana outwards. If not, the All-Kill Array would definitely not have been able to exert half of its current capability. The rate of its energy usage would decrease by more than half as well.

    The mana transferring tube that the Caesar Family had found was not only an important tool for the mageweath arrays, the fact that it was embedded with the High Elves¡¯ technologies also gave it a great significance. Even if the Caesar Family was unable to perfectly replicate the mana transferring tube despite theirwork and tremendous research, it would certainly be a great reward if they were able to create one that had a little resemnce in effect to the original transferring tube.

    In fact, although the mana transferring tube the Caesar Family had found was not very attractive, it was more valuable aspared to the heart of the Whispering God in Joseph¡¯s hands. However, Lin Li might be the only person who thought this. There was an inconceble excitement on Joseph¡¯s face, and the rest of them all seemed extremely jealous of his findings.

    The Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union were searching through the ruins very thoroughly as well. Elvan, the Master of Inscription from the Glittergold Trade Union, as well as Angno, the Alchemy Guru from the Tower of Dusk, also found some loose yet valuable items.

    Seeing that the different forces were expanding their area of search, Lin Li also decided that he should not waste any more time. He leaped into the water again.

    More than half of the water from theke was spilled out due to the earlier explosion. It was fortunate that theke was deep to start with, so nothing was brought out with the water. This helped to prevent other forces from vying for treasures with Lin Li. Of course, it might mean that there was nothing within the water as well. After all, the explosion was so violent that it forced Lin Li to stay away from the center of explosion.

    Joseph, who had just put away the heart of the Whispering God, smirked after watching Lin Li leap into the water. He was certain that the spell that caused the explosion had to be at the peak of the Legendary-level. Now that the incubation room had turned into ruins, how would there be any valuable items left in it? Any treasure would have turned into ashes.

    This was what Lin Li was thinking about as well. He only jumped into the water with a glimpse of hope. After he entered the water, he swam along the familiar path towards the ck crystal. However, when he reached the area, he had the shock of his life.

    Lin Li originally nned to see if there were any loose parts left behind. After all, this was a ce used to imprison the Whispering God. It had to be the most important ce within the incubation room. Yet, what shocked him was that although the mana transferring pir had copsed, the pedestal the ck magical crystal was etched in was lying very quietly at the bottom of theke. It seemed like it had not been really damaged.

    This was definitely not what Lin Li had expected. He wouldn¡¯t be so shocked if it was another thing that survived the impact of the explosion, but this pedestal was located in the epicenter of the explosion. If it could still maintain its original shape, the pedestal had to be something else.

    Lin Li took extra precaution when he went over to pick up that item. He was prepared that it might be an illusion that would disappear with human touch. It wasn¡¯t until he felt the concrete object that he sighed in relief, and proceeded to scrutinize the item from up close.

    Yet, Lin Li¡¯s knowledge and experience were not sufficient to help him understand the origin of the item immediately. Hence, he could only bring it out of theke. He was putting his hopes on Connoris, the ancient deity who had been living for a long time, and Angno, the goblin who was at the peak of the Guru-level in the domain of Alchemy. He thought that their experience could help identify this item.

    Lin Li leaped out of the water with the item in his hands, and that attracted the attention of many. Although these people did not recognize what was in his hands, they were aware that it had to be something that survived the explosion. Hence, it had to be something extraordinary.

    Joseph could not help but sulk at Lin Li¡¯s findings. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of heading into theke when it was where that monster had emerged from? But, all was toote. Joseph was skeptical that there would be anything valuable left inside theke that had been searched by Lin Li.

    After returning to his team, Lin Li immediately summoned Connoris and Angno. He showed them the item in his hands, and asked, ¡°What do you think about this¡ª¡±

    Before Lin Li finished his question, Angno mmed the seated alchemy machine. Its two mechanical arms reached over to Lin Li to snatch the item for a closer scrutiny. ¡°This is a miracle. This has to be a miracle in the whole history of alchemy! It is perfect. Am I dreaming?¡± He gasped in amazement repeatedly.

    Although Lin Li knew that the item was not simple, he did not expect such an extreme reaction from Angno. He turned to look at Connoris, and saw that Connoris did not share the same excitement as Angno. It seemed like he did not recognize that item.

    ¡°Angno, do you recognize this thing?¡± inquired Lin Li impatiently when he saw Angno¡¯s excitement.

    ¡°What? How could you say that this is a ¡®thing¡¯? This is the mightiest creation in the history of alchemy. I cannot believe that I can witness its existence! This is unbelievable...¡± Angno danced on the machine with glee. He was immersed in his excitement.

    ¡°Alright, then it will be a miracle, whatever you call it. Now, can you tell me what miracle it is in your hands?¡± Lin Li replied impatiently. He really had an urge to drag Angno down from his machine for an interrogation.

    ¡°This is the Heart of Stars! Just look at its perfect structure. I really cannot imagine anyone else who has such a marvelous capability in alchemy other than gods!¡± Angno cried as he tried to calm himself down.

    Angno¡¯s words took Lin Li¡¯sposure away. While he did not recognize the treasure, it did not mean that he did not know about it. His rich experience in alchemy had given him the knowledge of the ultimate legend of the Heart of Stars in the domain of Alchemy. It was said that alchemists who had the ability to create the Heart of Stars would have reached the level of the Divine Smith. What theycked would only be that one opportunity...

    Lin Li could see that the Heart of Stars he had acquired was made of the perfect ratio of many rare metals. The strengths of these metals were extracted andbined into a type of superb magical metal. The metal was the reason why Heart of Stars was left untouched by the violent explosion. Any other magical metal would not have survived destruction.

    The technology that created the Heart of Stars was like a distant dream to Lin Li. He was sure that he would not be able to find anything more powerful than that in Anril or the Endless World. In his memory, only the lost Stars of Fury could be a match for the Heart of Stars.

    Of course, this did not mean that the Heart of Stars was very powerful. Although it was made with extremely rare metals, and was processed using high-end alchemical technology, it was, after all, not a magical weapon. It had a totally different functionpared to the Stars of Fury.

    ¡°But, I cannot understand why Brahere used the Heart of Stars here,¡± said Angno doubtfully. He finally could engage in logical thinking after all that excitement. ording to his knowledge, a creation as magnificent as the Heart of Stars had to be used in the rarest source of mana. It would be a great waste to use it in an ordinary one.

    <i>He has a point here. Why did Brahere use the Heart of Stars here?</i> Lin Li contemted. He was extremely clear about where the powers of the Heart of Stars could be best used. Hence, like Angno, he could notprehend Brahere¡¯s intention. The Heart of Stars was supposed to refine mana. Although the Heart of Stars was used as the source of mana here, it was a medium that emitted mana of a single property. A direct mana source or alchemy array alone would have been able to help to refine the mana. Wouldn¡¯t it be an exaggeration to use the Heart of Stars here?

    Unless the mana supplied by the Whispering God was not something it processed from the structure, but...

    The thought made Lin Li shiver. Could that ck magical crystal be the real magical crystal of the Whispering God instead of the medium that only stored the mana that it devoured?

    Lin Li was wondering why the Whispering God could not reach the Sanctuary-realm despite all the mana it had been absorbing. The process of draining mana was akin to how the ingestion of food would create additional nutrients that would be beneficial to one¡¯s growth. The food consumed by the Whispering God was all the different types of mana, but if it wanted to achieve growth, it would need to convert all that mana into its own.

    If the Whispering God could only absorb all sorts of mana, but did not have the chance to process it, it would be like a person who suffered from indigestion, which would limit growth and development. That being said, what could have happened to inhibit the opportunity for the Whispering God to process that mana? A possibility would be to snatch the mana from the Whispering God before it could convert it into its own.

    Hence, there was a high possibility for the ck magical crystal to belong to the Whispering God, except that it was shifted out of its body by Brahere. If this was really the case, there would be nothing unusual for the Heart of Stars to be employed here.

    The mana drained by the Whispering God came from different sources. It was like a mana galore, which made it impossible to employ as a direct source of mana. No mageweaths or arrays had the power to use such a disorderly system of mana. If one were to use it forcefully, there would be only one result¡ªan immediate copse.

    This was not only a problem of a set of disorderly mana. It was also a concern that the mageweaths and arrays would require mana with differing magical attributes. Hence, if it was a mana source with a single attribute, it would not be able to fulfill the needs of all the mageweaths and arrays. As a result, they might not function as normal, and it could even affect the lifespan of the mageweaths and arrays.

    Hence, the usage of the Heart of Stars was of utmost importance. It had the ability to refine the impure mixture of mana into the purest form, and transfer it to every magical facility that required mana. This would prevent the conflict that would arise due to shing magical attributes of mana.

    However, having a magical crystal that was outside the body was an incredibly absurd idea. The mere thought of it unsettled Lin Li. He could ept the fact that Brahere was trying to nurture the Whispering God in the incubation room, but he just could not agree with Brahere in how he used the Whispering God as the mana source and shifted his magical crystal out of his body. To Lin Li, Brahere was indeed a talented maniac.

    ¡°No, the Heart of Stars is in fact used appropriately here,¡± spoke Lin Li. He briefly told them about the Whispering God. Of course, he would not reveal anything about the Endless World. He only told them about how the Whispering God absorbed mana, and was turned into the source of mana by Brahere.

    ¡°This Brahere is even more freaky than Osric! How could he nurture this monster as the source of mana!¡±

    Both Angno and Connoris were aware of Osric¡¯s personality. They could not imagine that there would be anyone more crazy than Osric.

 Chapter 881 - Research Log

    <h4>Chapter 881: Research Log</h4>

    It was especially so for Angno, who had been following Osric since that era. Unlike Connoris who had always been sealed in a hammer, Angno naturally heard stories about Prince Brahere. He had an impression that Prince Brahere had to be a refined and cultivated man who had a sophisticated taste in art. He really could not associate this image of Brahere with such crazy deeds.

    ¡°That exins why Brahere would use the Heart of Stars. Only the Heart of Stars had the power to refine such aplicated mixture of mana,¡± said Angno. Although he found it difficult to ept the idea, the reality before him forced Angno to agree with Lin Li¡¯s theory. ¡°However, the purity of the mana does not make it a perfect one; it cannot escape one problem,¡± continued Angno.

    ¡°You must be referring to the drainage of mana in the process of transfer? Indeed, mana that has lost all attributes is just like an original source of energy. It will be drained in the process of the transfer...¡± Speaking of this, Lin Li paused. Since he could think of this, he felt that Brahere had to have thought of this issue as well. Why wouldn¡¯t he have the ability to resolve this problem when he had the skills to create the Heart of Stars?

    ¡°Mana transferring tubes!¡± cried Angno and Lin Li in unison.

    The purer the mana, the harder it would be to control. However, since Brahere had the ability to create the Heart of Stars, he should have the ability to create a mana transferring tube that waspatible with the Heart of Stars.

    Lin Li could not wait any longer. He knew that anything that waspatible with the Heart of Stars had to be a magnificent alchemical product. The mana transferring tube that the Caesar Family had found would certainly not match up to its value.

    It was fortunate that no other force went to search theke while they were discussing the Heart of Stars. They would not have expected Lin Li to leave anything behind. Otherwise, Lin Li would really be at a loss. With a sense of relief, Lin Li leaped into theke without any dy, much to everyone¡¯s surprise.

    After entering the water, Lin Li first searched around the location where he¡¯d found the Heart of Stars. Unfortunately, there was no mana transferring tube there. This did not cause him to give up. Lin Li expanded his search area, and finally found a tube that was stuck in a crack at the side on the walls of theke.

    However, Lin Li could not help but feel disappointed when he got hold of the tube. This mana transferring tube was definitely not as durable as the Heart of Stars. Although it was left behind after the explosion, there were obviously some signs of damage.

    Lin Li could onlyfort himself by hoping that the knowledge he and Angno had in alchemy could help repair the tube.

    <i>Are you kidding me? Why do you not collect all the treasures together?</i> Joseph screamed internally. He was frustrated when he saw Lin Lie out of theke with another item. If he had not obtained the heart from the Whispering God, he would have vomited his blood out of depression.

    Although Brahere¡¯ incubation room was extremely spacious, it was overturned very quickly by the hundreds of people who searched through it. It was unfortunate that there were too few valuable items. The number of treasures that each of the forces could obtain was limited.

    However, everyone but the Mithril Alliance was using the Life Potions supplied by the Tower of Dusk while searching the incubation room. As a result, theirbat energy had already recovered to a certain extent. After they put themselves together, the higher-ups from the four forces met up to discuss the search of the next level of the mausoleum.

    The Mithril Alliance was not in a good shape. Many of their injured members had only just regained mobility. Their Healing Potions would not suffice if they wanted to recover theirbat energy in a shorter time. Yet, the Mithril Alliance could only submit to the peer pressure exerted by the three other forces. They could only hope that they would not need to participate in any battle in the short time.

    The door on the other side of the incubation room opened slowly. When Lin Li saw the scene on the other side, he sighed with a great sense of relief. Behind the door was not a pathway that led to the next level. It was instead a long and spacious corridor with tightly shut doors on both sides.

    Since it was a relic site they were not familiar with, they naturally could not let go of any possible clues. Hence, the adventure team slowed down, and started to survey the rooms along the two sides of the corridor, hoping that they could find information rted to the mausoleum.

    The men discovered something unusual when they saw what was behind the first door. The room did not seem like the usual burial chambers in average mausoleums. Instead, it seemed like a room for the living. Although the disy in the room was simple, there was a desk, chair, bookshelf, and a bed. However, they could easily tell that it was left vacant for a long time.

    ¡°I-is this really Brahere¡¯s mausoleum?¡±

    Everyone had the same doubt as they looked at the furniture in the room. There had been many discoveries of High Elves¡¯ mausoleums after the Dark Age, but thisyout was certainly not amon sight... unless this was a unique look adopted by the royals.

    However, there were no other useful clues in the room other than some High Elves furniture. It seemed like the room had never been upied by anyone. Of course, this was not unusual for the men. After all, who in their right mind would choose to stay in a mausoleum?

    The subsequent doors revealed rooms with an identicalyout when opened. It wasn¡¯t until the team opened one of the rooms in the middle that they saw a different scene.

    This room was different from the others. It looked like a conference room. What attracted all of their attention was the table in the middle of the room. There were papers filled with words scattered on top of it.

    The men were increasingly confused by Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. They could exin the huge amount of magic gears and traps on level one; that was expected of a mausoleum. Those Ghost Warriors on level two made sense as well. They proved that they were indeed in the mausoleum of Prince Brahere.

    Everything strayed from their expectations when they saw the remains of the magical beasts. It was, after all, umon for remains of magical beasts to appear in a mausoleum.

    Their doubts only deepened when they reached level three. <i>Who in the right frame of mind puts an incubation room in a mausoleum?</i>

    What shocked them further was the terrifying monster inside the incubation room. They had thought that those magical beasts had to be grown in the incubation room. Now, even Hoffman could not help but start to doubt their initial findings.

    Lin Li entered the room, and picked up a few pieces of paper from the table. He could tell from the browning edges that the paper had been on the table for a long time. Despite this, he could still recognize the High Elven print on the paper. Lin Li¡¯s expression became serious after he tranted the first statement on the paper. That was because he realized that these records were about the Whispering God.

    The Whispering God was something from the Endless World, and Lin Li had never expected anyone in this world to have a knowledge about. But now, the name of the Whispering God was clearly written on the piece of paper. The content was mostly about the Whispering God as well.

    ¡°Oh! So that monster was the Whispering God?! That exins our tough wrestle!¡± one of the higher-ups from one of the other forces eximed. They were reading from the pieces of paper as well. It was only now that they knew that it was the Whispering God which they¡¯d dealt with.

    Lin Li continued to read the contents on the paper quietly by himself. His astonishment only grew as he read on. It seemed like he was holding the growth records of the Whispering God, and the author of the records was immensely meticulous. He noted down all sorts of changes the Whispering God underwent on a daily basis.

    ¡°Who is Caleross? Could he be the person behind all this?¡± Hoffman muttered as he read the papers with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Who?¡± Hoffman¡¯sment caught Lin Li¡¯s attention. Lin Li had just finished reading the several pages in his hands.

    ¡°Caleross,¡± said Hoffman as he passed the paper to Lin Li. He continued, ¡°I am guessing he has to be the author of these records.¡±

    Lin Li and Hoffman exchanged their records. They thought about all the famous High Elves, but could not seem to recall any whose name was Caleross. However, they could deduce from these records that Caleross had to be someone Brahere had great trust in¡ªsomeone who was like a manager.

    There were not a lot of logs in the room, probably just a dozen of pages. Everyone exchanged what they had, and managed to finish reading all of them. Yet, the content of the observation logs made everyone look very ufortable; apart from the growth of the Whispering God, there was information about research on Undead creatures.

    Since they had defeated the Whispering God, it did not matter how shocking the logs were about the creature. It definitely would not affect the rest of their journey here. However, the logs regarding the research on the Undead creatures talked about an existing Humerus Wyrm Legion. It surfaced concerns about an inability to control the legion due to theck of a king-level Humerus Wyrm.

    Knowing that Humerus Wyrms had to be in the Legendary-level at the very minimum, they were confident that it wouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem if there were eight to 10 of them. However, what Caleross mentioned was a Humerus Wyrm Legion. How would it be called a legion if it was only made up of such a small number? Furthermore, he even mentioned a king-level Humerus Wyrm. These two things would be a tremendous threat to the expedition.

    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss if we are going to continue this expedition,¡± Hoffman spoke as he casually pulled a chair and sat by the table. It seemed like he was prepared for a long discussion.

    The rest of them looked at one another before joining Hoffman at the table. This would not be an easy question to answer. After all, each of the forces had invested their full strength into this mission. They had suffered significant losses when they battled the Whispering God earlier. If they were to wrestle with another Humerus Wyrm Legion, it would not be meaningful for them to conduct this expedition any further.

    However, this was just like gambling. The winners would want to continue winning, and the losers would want to cover their losses. The items in the incubation room were not enough to make up for what they lost from the battle with the Whispering God. If they were to leave the ce with what they currently had, they would turn this expedition into a money-losing business.

    ¡°ording to the blueprint of the mausoleum, it seems to have seven levels, and we are only on the third one. Even if there is really a Humerus Wyrm Legion, I¡¯m guessing that it has to be on thest two levels, employed to guard against Brahere¡¯s coffin. There should be little chance of encountering them on the fourth level,¡± said us after a period of silence. He was implying to the team that they should continue the expedition¡ªat least up till level four.

    us felt that the Caesar Family gained the least advantage aspared to the three other forces. The Mithril Alliance acquired the Whispering God¡¯s heart, and the Tower of Dusk had obtained two valuable items as well. Although the Glittergold Trade Union did not gain much, they were not like the Caesar Family that lost such an important trump card. Hence, us would never feel reconciled if he were to withdraw in such circumstances.

    As for the Mithril Alliance, Joseph knew that the four other families would never agree to the idea of retreat from the mission even if he wanted to. They were, after all, an alliance that consisted of five major families. No one would trust that Joseph would share the heart of the Whispering God with them.

    ¡°It would be very troublesome if a Humerus Wyrm Legion were to exist. However, they would certainly not appear out of nowhere like Assassins. As long as we stay vignt, I¡¯m sure we would discover them before they get to us. With ourbined strength, I¡¯m certain that we will be able to ovee them if their number is not huge. Even if they really came on arge scale, I guess we can still retreat safely.¡±

    That was Joseph. Acquiring the heart of the Whispering God didn¡¯t help him feel good after he lost an Abyssal Demon Dragon.

 Chapter 882 - Here Lies the Immortal King

    <h4>Chapter 882: Here Lies the Immortal King</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Indeed, the Humerus Wyrms were no Assassins. Their entrance would be apanied by immense dragon menace and death aura. If it was arge-scale legion, their presence would definitely be no secret. Not to mention that there were Legendary powerhouses in the four teams, an Archmage or a Warrior¡ªor even amon man¡ªwould also be able to sense their abnormal presence.

    ¡°What do you think, Master Felic?¡± Hoffman turned to look at Lin Li after hearing us¡¯ and Joseph¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°I have no objections,¡± replied Lin Li readily. He had be more and more interested in this purported mausoleum. He wondered what other discoveries were waiting ahead of him...

    The four forces got on the same page very swiftly. They decided not to dy any longer.

    They went off to prepare their men immediately after they left the room. They solved each of the magic gears and traps very quickly under Angno¡¯s instructions along their journey, managed to pass through long corridors that were filled with deadly traps, and got to the entrance leading to the next level.

    However, the journey towards the next level was extraordinarily long. The team had to travel what seemed like thousands of meters to exit from the door of the pathway. However, the men who first stepped past that entrance were immediately stupefied when they saw the scene before them.

    The fourth level of the mausoleum was unlike the previous three levels. The environment there did not seem manmade. It was instead a gigantic and gloomy canyon. No one knew whether it was a natural environment. The door which the men walked out of was situated in the wall of the base of the canyon. They had to use the illumination spell to see that the walls on both sides were so tall that they could not see the ceiling.

    Lin Li, however, was not as surprised as the other men. After all, he was a man who had seen an underworld-like Osric¡¯s mausoleum. The only thing that concerned him was the massive death aura that was even more pungent than in the Shadowglen near nna, where the Undead creatures congregated. This reminded Lin Li of the log he had read in the room about the Humerus Wyrm Legion.

    The pathfinders came out from the passageway, and got into a defensive formation immediately. The higher-ups from the four forces gathered together again. They looked into the darkness of the deep canyon, and no one made the suggestion to advance. These powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary-realm could all sense the oppression and terror emitted by that death aura.

    The men gasped when the illumination spells lit up the space around them. The space around the door of the passageway was considered rather clean, but if they looked a little further, they would see that the path ahead of them was filled with a huge amount of skeletons. It was like a path that was made of skeletons. Those skeletons did not belong to the High Elves, the humans, or any other races of intelligence. They belonged to a particr type of mammoth.

    ¡°Erm... Should we continue with our venture?¡± us asked. His voice was filled with uncertainty. It was clear that he did not expect the canyon to be such a perilous one. No one would be able to imagine what type of Undead creature would be produced by the massive death aura. Even if it was just a Humerus Wyrm Legion, it definitely would not be one with a small size.

    It wasmon for an adventure in a relic site to be risky. However, if the risk was not proportionate to the rewards, it would be a silly thing to persist in it. That was what us was thinking about. No one would want to do a losing business. Everyone could tell that there was a huge risk underlying that pungent death aura, and they wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see a terrible Undead creature that was unknown to Anril.

    Their concerns were not invalid. No one could see Brahere as a kind being after they met a monster like the Whispering God. To them, Brahere was a lunatic crazier than Highlord Osric. God knew what other freakish deeds he had done.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think of this?¡± asked Hoffman ufortably. Although he expected the mausoleum of a royal High Elf to be something different, he realized that things were way off his imagination.

    ¡°F-Felic... Why don¡¯t we retreat? This ce is seriously daunting...¡± cried Angno in a shaky voice. He hid behind Lin Li before thetter could even say anything. To him, being beside Lin Li would be the safest after his Alchemy Colossus. He nearly stuck his whole body onto Lin Li.

    Lin Li was hesitant when he saw the scene in the canyon as well, but he felt too indignant to retreat.

    ¡°Let¡¯s look at the situation first,¡± replied Lin Li after a moment of hesitation, and sent a Warlock¡¯s Eyes into the deeper regions of the canyon.

    Lin Li¡¯s reasonable action reminded the rest of the men to use logic. No matter what dangersy ahead of them, it would only make sense for them to assess the situation before making any judgment. If it was not worth the risk, they could naturally leave the ce. Yet, if there were huge benefits ahead of them, they should be reassessing if the risk was worthy of the rewards. Hence, the other mages cast their Warlock¡¯s Eyes after they saw Lin Li did that.

    An invisible bunch of Warlock¡¯s Eyes flew past the ghastly skeletons, then through the pitch-ck canyon, and finally reached an incredibly spacious region. At this time, all of these mages could not help gasping.

    That spacious region did not only contain a huge amount of magical beast skeletons, but was also littered with many graves. Thergest and most extravagant grave in the center caught everyone¡¯s attention. One could guess from the plenty beautiful decorations outside the grave that it was a grave that belonged to a royal High Elf. What was more important was its massive magical waves which the mages could sense through their Warlock¡¯s Eyes. It was likely that it came from incredibly valuable funerary items buried underneath.

    Although they were unaware of what the funerary items were, they could infer from those great magical waves that the reward from excavating this grave would be a tremendous one. This discovery increased the intensity of their breathing. No one mentioned retreating anymore. They proceeded to control the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to observe the surroundings carefully, hoping to find more valuable clues.

    The discovery of the grave, however, immediately created great doubt within Lin Li. He remembered from the blueprint provided by the Glittergold Trade Union that Prince Brahere¡¯s grave was located on thest level of the mausoleum. Even if there were no blueprint, it would not make sense for anyone to put his coffin in the middle level of a mausoleum.

    However, if the grave did not belong to Prince Brahere, which other royal High Elf would it belong to? It would be outrageous for two royals to be buried together in a mausoleum due to traditional beliefs. Such a burial would be incredibly disrespectful to Prince Brahere and any other royal he were to be buried with.

    Of course, one would only need to look at the tombstone to find out who the owner of the mausoleum was. However, it would be too easy if they could do just that. Many people had the same thought, but none could trante the High Elves Print on that tombstone.

    Although all the mages (even those who had no experience with High Elves¡¯nguage) could pronounce the printed characters, they had no idea what they meant.

    The characters meant different things in different contexts. Hence, knowing how to pronounce the text was merely reading the text.

    Lin Li was no different. His study of the High Elves Print was futile in helping him understand the meaning of the writing on the tombstone.

    However, Lin Li knew that he was not the most proficient in understanding High Elves Print in the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he turned to look at Basel. He had a glimmer of hope when he saw Basel moving his lips as though he was reading the words on the tombstone. Lin Li asked, ¡°Master Basel, could you trante those words?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t understand everything there. I can only guess parts of it, and it might not be urate,¡± said Basel as he shook his head gently.

    This was better than not knowing anything. Initially, Lin Li felt disappointed when he saw Basel shaking his head, but his spirits were lifted when he heard his words afterward.

    ¡°Could you tell me what you can understand from it, then?¡± he asked Basel.

    ¡°Immortal, king, rest, this ce... Here rests... Immortal King? Here lies Immortal King!?¡± Basel first did a word-for-word trantion before stringing the ideas together. It was an unbelievable one.

    This gave Lin Li a huge shock. Could this be Immortal King¡¯s grave? It did not make sense to him. Although the Immortal King was a royal of the High Elves, he definitely had a higher status than Prince Brahere. The Immortal King was like a god of the High Elves. How would he be buried in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum?

    Most importantly, the Immortal King was known to have nearly reached the level of divine. He even killed one of the Dragon Aspects¡ªAzardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Even if the Immortal King could not achieve immortality, or if he had suffered severe injuries in his battle with Azardas, he would not have been buried here without a word.

    Frankly speaking, Lin Li would never believe that Immortal King would be buried here. However, why would there be those words on the grave? Even if Basel made errors in trantion, he felt that this grave had to be rted to the Immortal King.

    Lin Li would never want to stay in the incredibly dangerous canyon even if he knew that there were valuable treasures here. However, the possibility that this ce was rted to the Immortal King made Lin Li waver.

    The existence of the debris of the stars, thest words of Norfeller¡¯s ex-master, the statue of the Immortal King in the Scar of Death, that entric inheritance in the Sky Castle... All of them made Lin Li doubt his rtionship with Immortal King. Lin Li could not think of an answer, but he realized that he seemed to have a foot in anything rted to the Immortal King. Lin Li even suspected Immortal King to be one of the reasons why he suddenly transmigrated from the Endless World.

    Hence, Lin Li had decided to dig deeper into that grave. It did not matter if Immortal King was really buried there.

    The other men were as shocked as Lin Li when they heard about the possibility of the Immortal King being in that grave. After all, the Immortal King had been portrayed as god-like in historical records and all sorts of legends. With his status among the High Elves, it would be absurd for him to be quietly buried with another royal.

    However, it did not matter if that grave was authentic or not. It was true that it emitted massive magical waves. The thought of the treasure within that grave eliminated every thought of retreating.

    Hence, the leaders from the four forces got into an agreement very quickly. They were set to advance and pass through the canyon to uncover the treasures in the grave!

    Yet, the team faced a problem when they set off. ording to what had been agreed upon, the frontliners should be made up of people from the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, but now the Mithril Alliance¡¯s strength had yet to recover. Hence, Joseph rejected the prior agreement to let his men lead the team.

    Joseph was not finding trouble with the team. His was the only one out of the four forces that did not use the Life Potion. Hence, it was true that their injured men were stillgging behind in terms of recovery.

    This left the Caesar Family as the main bulk of the pathfinder team. Since us owed the Tower of Dusk a favor, he did not have the cheek to let anyone from the Tower of Dusk or Glittergold Trade Union fill in this gap. He could only unwillingly prepare to send more of his men over.

 Chapter 883 - Giant Undead Beasts

    <h4>Chapter 883: Giant Undead Beasts</h4>

    ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s not talk about finding the way. I¡¯ve already taken a look of the surroundings along the way just now using the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, and didn¡¯t spot any magic traps or gears. Just watch out for your own team and be prepared for battle anytime. The Tower of Dusk will walk in front,¡± Lin Li suddenly said with generosity. Although he said that there wasn¡¯t a need to specially assign a pathfinder, the Tower of Dusk would be doing just that by walking at the front.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t because Lin Li had suddenly be altruistic. After entering the valley, a battle could start at any moment. Thus, it wasn¡¯t necessarily the most dangerous at the front and safest in the middle. Moreover, Lin Li¡¯s aim was to find clues about the Immortal King, while the others were here for the treasures in the tomb. If Lin Li let another faction reach the tomb first, they would definitely start to excavate the tomb once they entered. If they ruined any important clues about the Immortal King in the process, that would be something Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t want to see.

    Thus, the team that nned to cross through the valley settled the arrangements quickly. The Tower of Dusk would be at the front, followed by the Glittergold Trade Union, Mithril Alliance, and then Caesar Family. Although the Caesar Family managed to escape from the chore of leading, it became thest after much negotiation with the Mithril Alliance.

    Upon entering the valley, the Tower of Dusk led the team towards the tomb cautiously. A strong death aura surrounded the exploration team, making the atmosphere tense and solemn. No one dared to have any bit of negligence. Everyone used 100% of their concentration, preparing for any sudden attack that might arise.

    Joseph, who was in the middle of the team, looked at those in front and behind him. He wasn¡¯t satisfied with this arrangement, and secretly med us. Did us not know what would happen if the Tower of Dusk was at the front of the team alone? How could he call back his people so easily?

    Joseph was clear that President Felic of the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t someone with noble character and integrity. The reason why he chose to lead the team was because he could reach the tomb earlier than the rest and gain more benefits that way. In Joseph¡¯s original spection, he thought that both the Caesar Family and Tower of Dusk would send out their people to lead the way. That way, the Caesar Family could provide supervision, and prevent the Tower of Dusk from getting all the shares. Little did he expect that us would give up straight away. He didn¡¯t believe that us didn¡¯t see this problem. Thinking back to the Life Potions Felic had given to the us for free, it seemed that their alliance wasn¡¯t so strong after all.

    In the pitch-dark valley, the expedition team sustaining illumination spells looked like a moving fire snake, maneuvering slowly along the skeletons of numerous giant beasts.

    However, when the expedition team was about a third into the journey, the ground started shaking violently. Those giant beast skeletons which had been partially buried in soil slowly stood up from the ground, releasing an even stronger death aura from their bodies.

    Indeed, it wasn¡¯t the most dangerous in front and the safest in the middle. As each giant beast skeleton stood up, the entire team was encircled by the skeletons; whether one stood at the front or back of the team became totally unimportant.

    However, the people in the team were the elites in each faction, after all. Thus, they didn¡¯t get flustered by the sudden appearance of these skeletons. Being on their guard all the time, they immediately responded to the situation and stood in the best defense team formation.

    Although these giant Undead beasts had enormous bodies and looked intimidating, their levels were actually not very high. Most of them were about level-17 or 18. The expedition team consisted of hundreds of people each at least level-15. With their special battle formations on top of that, their power was enough to fight with these giant Undead beasts even without considering the Legendary powerhouses¡¯ power.

    The battle broke out at that instant.

    The recitations of spells, the roars of Warriors, the buzzing of magic, the shing sounds of weapons... All kinds of sounds filled the valley that was peaceful and quiet just moments ago.

    However, this brief interaction with the giant Undead beasts made some people in the team, especially the Warriors coborating with the mages from the three factions besides the Tower of Dusk, realize that something wasn¡¯t right. They were shocked to find out that while these giant Undead beasts didn¡¯t have high levels of power, their skeletons were exceptionally tough, as if they were made from steel.

    The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family mostly used great axe Warriors as the dominant attacking force. Every great axe Warrior was at least level-17. With the mages supporting them with all kinds of strength-enhancing magic, each of their strikes could reach the peak of level-19 in power.

    However, these great axe Warriors¡¯ invincible great axes lost their power when facing the giant Undead beasts. Even if it were metal pirs of the same thickness, the great axe Warriors would be confident to break it into half. However, when the same amount of force was used on the bones of the giant Undead beasts, it could only chip down a small bone shard. Moreover, the rebound from the strike was so great that the great axe Warriors almost dropped their axes.

    Out of all the Warriors, great axe Warriors were the strongest in terms of attack. Now that the great axe Warriors couldn¡¯t fare well in facing the giant Undead beasts, what more the other shield-sword Warriors or spear Warriors with their significantly lower attack power. As for Assassins and Archers, they had totally lost their use in this battle. No matter how powerful their bows and arrows were, or what kind of deadly poison they had, they couldn¡¯t harm the giant Undead beasts even a bit.

    The great shield Warriors who were in charge of defense were even worse off. They totally didn¡¯t expect the giant Undead beasts to be so strong that they could knock down a hill. A brief interaction with the giant Undead beasts had resulted in a few of the Warriors being thrown into the air together with their shields. Those steel shields were instantly bent after colliding with the giant Undead beasts, so much that they could even be used as a pot for cooking.

    As such, the only ones who could deal effective damage to these giant Undead beasts were the mages. However, this didn¡¯t mean that the giant Undead beasts were weak in front of magic. It just meant that their magical defense wasn¡¯t as heaven-defyingly powerful as their physical defense.

    Back when they faced the Whispering God, Joseph had secretly mocked the Tower of Dusk¡¯s all-mage team because after their Archmages had exhausted all their mana, the team would be like cows and sheep waiting to be ughtered. However, Joseph was extremely envious of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s all-mage team now. A Warrior above level-15 couldn¡¯t even cause more damage than a mage apprentice when facing the giant Undead beasts.

    Compared to the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family, the situation of the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team which also wasn¡¯t an all-mage team was much better. One of the reasons for it was that they had quite a number of mages in their team, and were only second to the Tower of Dusk out of the four factions. The other reason was that Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team had followed after the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team very closely.

    Since the very start of the battle, the mage team of the Tower of Dusk had unleashed extraordinary battle strength as if they were venting all the frustration they had experienced fighting the Whispering God on these giant Undead beasts. Countless high-level magical spells were cast and merged to form a massive magic storm, sweeping towards the giant Undead beasts and engulfing them. After the magic storm was over, the gigantic bodies of the giant Undead beasts had disappeared, only leaving bone shards all over the ground.

    Upon being surrounded by numerous giant Undead beasts, the Legendary powerhouses from the other three factions had all joined in the battle. However, for the Tower of Dusk, the only Legendary-mage on the battlefield was n, who was in charge of leading the mage team. As for Lin Li and the other leaders of the Tower of Dusk, they didn¡¯t even need to cast a single magic spell. Only Ujfalusi collected some of the bones from the battlefield on and off.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t just doing nothing. He frowned slightly and started to think about the origins of these giant Undead beasts. Lin Li had seen many Undead creatures before, including Ujfalusi, who experted in Death Magic. He had also stayed at the Darkness Shrine for a considerable period of time. However, these giant Undead beasts were creatures he had neither seen nor heard of before.

    Without any ideas or answers, Lin Li called Ujfalusi to his side, and asked, ¡°Ujfalusi, do you recognize these Undead creatures?¡±

    Ujfalusi politely replied, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Master. I¡¯ve never seen such Undead creatures before. Even when I used the Tide of Death, I¡¯ve never summoned these creatures. However, I¡¯ve just examined their bones, and discovered that their bones seem to be even stronger than those of wyrms.¡±

    ¡°Stronger than the bones of wyrms... Could they be made via Alchemy?¡± Lin Li could see that the giant Undead beasts¡¯ bones were extremely hard from the battle between these creatures and the three factions. However, it was rather unbelievable that their bones would be stronger than those of wyrms. He thought that since Osric could use Alchemy to make modifications to Death Knights, it wasn¡¯t impossible that Brahere had used Alchemy to create these giant Undead beasts.

    Ujfalusi didn¡¯t have any expertise on Alchemy, so he couldn¡¯t answer Lin Li. He took out a piece of bone he had picked up, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Master, here¡¯s a piece of bone I¡¯ve picked up. As for whether it had been modified via Alchemy, I can¡¯t make a judgment about that.¡±

    After receiving the piece of bone, Lin Li flipped it around to examine it closely, and his frown deepened. ording to his current knowledge about Alchemy, it was obvious that the piece of bone didn¡¯t have any traces of alchemy strengthening. Its hardness seemed to be innate. However, what other magical beast could possess such strong bones in this world other than the powerful wyrms?

    Enormous bodies, strong bones, powerful strength... One could easily imagine how powerful these magical beasts were when they were still alive! Looking at the giant Undead beasts on the battlefield, a thought shed across Lin Li¡¯s mind. Could these giant Undead beasts be... Skeletal Behemoths?

    Other than Behemoth Beasts, Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of any other magical beast that had such strong bones in Anril. However, he also couldn¡¯t believe that Behemoth Beasts would turn into Undead creatures.

    Behemoth Beasts were said to be powerful beasts from the Kingdom of Orcs. Although they didn¡¯t have any affinity spells or special abilities like other magical beasts, they possessed extremely strong bodies. Even a newborn Behemoth could easily rip a lion into halves. Some even said that they were the most powerful creatures that had ever roamed Anril after the wyrms.

    Behemoth Beasts were like gods to the orcs, just like the Unicorn and Moonsaber Panther to the elves. What was different was that the orcs considered Behemoth Beasts to be the messengers of the Orc God to test their bravery. Thus, every orc chief sessor needed to kill a Behemoth Beast single-handedly on the day he reached adulthood to prove his bravery to the Orc God.

    It was said that Great Chief Sol, who now controlled all 49 tribes of the Kingdom of Orcs, had single-handedly killed 10 Behemoth Beasts on hising-of-age ceremony. However, other than that, the Behemoth Beasts enjoyed the treatment of sacred beasts. Anyone else who killed Behemoth Beasts would be considered an enemy of the orcs.

    With their powerful bodies, the skeletons of Behemoth Beasts were definitely much sought after by Necromancers. However, strangely, it was unheard of that any Necromancer had ever sessfully converted a Behemoth Beast skeleton into an Undead creature in history. Even Sendros, who possessed the peak of Legendary abilities, didn¡¯t manage to do that.

    There were many exnations about the reason for that. The orcs believed that the Behemoth Beasts were blessed by the great Orc God, so their bodies wouldn¡¯t be used by those dirty Necromancers. The Necromancers had a different exnation. They said that when the gods had first created the Behemoth Beasts, they didn¡¯t see a need to give them powerful souls, since they already had powerful bodies. Thus, Behemoth Beasts didn¡¯t have soul fire after they died, so they couldn¡¯t be converted into Undead creatures.

    There hadn¡¯t been any conclusion regarding this matter. Perhaps both of them were somewhat right; perhaps both were far from the truth. If there was anything that could be confirmed, it would be how impossible it was to convert these Behemoth Beasts into Undead creatures.

    Because of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe that the giant Undead beasts were actually Behemoths. However, thinking about the Whispering God that Prince Brahere had cultivated and turned into a mana source, it wasn¡¯t so unbelievable that a madman like Brahere would create these Skeletal Behemoths.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t spend much time thinking about these questions. However, it was already towards the end of the battle when he finished thinking about them. Although the other three factions weren¡¯t as powerful as the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, it wasn¡¯t difficult for their Legendary powerhouses to deal with these Skeletal Behemoths.

    Through this battle, the other three factions gained a better understanding of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mage team¡¯s abilities. Although the Legendary powerhouses from the three factions had joined the battle, half of the 100-odd Skeletal Behemoths were killed by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mage team.

 Chapter 884 - Ghost Behemoth

    <h4>Chapter 884: Ghost Behemoth</h4>

    The battle ended just as fast as it came. After thest Skeletal Behemoth had been crushed into bone shards, the valley regained its deathly silence. Compared to the battle against the Whispering God, the casualties in this battle were negligible. After all, the only ones who had been seriously wounded were the few Warriors who didn¡¯t know what was going on at the start of the battle.

    After this battle, the team seemed more confident in continuing their expedition. Although the Skeletal Behemoths were powerful, they didn¡¯t pose a threat given the expedition team¡¯s level of abilities, and could be said to be even weaker than the Ghost Warriors on the second floor. If the enemies they would meetter were all of this kind of standard, the expeditionter would be a breeze.

    ¡°Continue forward,¡± Lin Li instructed the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. As this was only a small skirmish, the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t even have anyone who was slightly injured. Thus, there was no need for them to rest.

    Upon receiving Lin Li¡¯s order, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages put up their illumination spells, and continued into the depths of the valley while stepping through the bone shards those Skeletal Behemoths had left behind.

    Seeing that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team had already started to move, the Glittergold Trade Union, Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family didn¡¯t want to waste any more time, and ordered their teams to reorganize their formations. For these elites from the different factions, it was already part of their instincts to get into formations. In mere seconds, the teams had changed from attack formation to defense formation.

    ¡°Jenny, where are you going?¡± In the Mithril Alliance¡¯s team, great shield Warrior Ronald suddenly realized that hisrade, shield-sword Warrior Jenny, didn¡¯t keep up with the team. This was rather strange as Jenny wasn¡¯t injured in the battle just now. During normal training, thisd would be faster than Ronald to get into formation. Why was he so slow this time?

    At the same time, great axe Warrior Hanks from the Caesar Family suddenly glimpsed a shadow sliding past rapidly in the corner of his eye. When he turned around, all that was left at the position where hisrade was supposed to be standing was his long spear lying on the ground.

    Although it hadn¡¯t been long since the battle had ended, such strange happenings weren¡¯t rare in the expedition team. After all, this wasn¡¯t arge team of thousands, but a small elite teamprising hundreds. Everyone in the respective factions was very familiar with their teammates, so it was very abnormal for some members of the team to disappear suddenly.

    ¡°Enemy¡¯s close by! Illumination, mages!¡± Upon knowing the situation, Joseph immediately ordered the mages to put up their illumination spells. He held up his magic staff and sent a Sr Sphere into the air.

    The mages from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family cast illumination spells after hearing Joseph¡¯s order. Sr Spheres shot towards the exterior of the team one after another. Although nobody was missing in the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team, Hoffman still instructed the mages in the team to put up their illumination spells as a cautionary measure.

    By then, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team hadn¡¯t ventured far from the remaining teams, so Lin Li knew what had happened to the teams behind. He held up his Sun Scepter to signal to the team to stop, and then ordered, ¡°Everyone, illuminate the surroundings!¡±

    The mages from the four factions released illumination spells almost simultaneously. The part of the valley which the expedition team was in was instantly bright as day. That was when everyone realized that there were already a dozen fresh corpses not far from the Mithril Alliance¡¯s and Caesar Family¡¯s team.

    The killers of these Warriors were numerous gigantic shadows surrounding the team. They might have realized that they couldn¡¯t kill more people silently under illumination, and immediately held up sharp ws dripping with blood, pouncing towards the center of the expedition team ferociously.

    ¡°Ghost... Ghost Behemoths!¡± Lin Li yelled after seeing the appearance of these shadows.

    The appearance of the Skeletal Behemoths had already taken Lin Li by surprise; he didn¡¯t expect Ghost Behemoths to appear here too. How could the Behemoths, which were said to becking in soul and unable to even assemble soul fire, be Ghosts!

    No wonder the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team didn¡¯t encounter any stealth attacks. After all, the team waspletely made up of mages, and had lit up the surroundings brightly with illumination spells all the time. Once the Ghost Behemoths entered their domain, they would definitely expose themselves, let alone tounch a sessful stealth attack. As for the Glittergold Trade Union, their team had closely followed after the Tower of Dusk, and alsoprised many mages. Thus, they weren¡¯t the best option for the Ghost Behemoths to attack.

    The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were more unfortunate. A sole illumination spell couldn¡¯t light up a big area, and was only a little better than a torch. Given that the number of mages in their teams couldn¡¯tpare to that of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s and Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s at all, coupled with the fact that their formation during the battle was rather sparse, they had given the Ghost Behemoths a perfect chance to attack.

    It hadn¡¯t been long since the battle with the Skeletal Behemoths had ended, and these Ghost Behemoths had already attacked a dozen of members in the team. Although all those who were attacked were Warriors, any Warrior above level-15 was already a rare talent. In addition, the two factions had already suffered huge losses back when battling the Whispering God. It seemed that the two factions would pay a high price during this expedition.

    Although the appearance of the Ghost Behemoths was shocking, Lin Li couldn¡¯t just ignore the fact that they existed, since they were right in front of his eyes. These Ghost Behemoths might not be as powerful as the Skeletal Behemoths in terms of strength, but their characteristics as Ghosts made them a tougher opponent to deal with.

    These Ghost Behemoths could shift their bodies between being tangible and intangible. They also possessed different abilities in different forms. When they were in their intangible form, they could attack the opponent¡¯s soul directly, and were immune to all physical attacks just like Vengeful Spirits, but had almost no immunity to magic attacks. When they were in their tangible form, they gained powerful strength and sharp ws that could easily tear armor apart. They would also be immune to magic attacks, but boast little immunity to physical attacks.

    Some might think that the Ghost Behemoths would be easy to deal with since one could easily strike them with magic attacks when they were intangible and use physical attacks when they were intangible. However, in reality, these Ghost Behemoths were so hard to deal with because they could change any part of their body to another form, not necessarily the whole body.

    Soon, the expedition team¡¯s Warriors and mages had all experienced how tough it was to deal with these Ghost Behemoths. When they stabbed their swords into the Ghost Behemoths¡¯ bodies, all they pierced was a ball of mist. What was waiting for them, however, was the Ghost Behemoths¡¯ sharp ws which gave people fatal attacks. While the magic attacks of the team couldn¡¯t cause any real damage to the Ghost Behemoths, the Ghost Behemoths¡¯ ws could easily slice through the Warriors¡¯ thick shields and tear at their souls.

    When facing these Ghost Behemoths that were immune to both magic and physical attacks in this battle, the expedition team had be very passive. All the confidence that they had gathered from the victory against the Skeletal Behemoths just now was crushed by the Ghost Behemoths.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team waspletely made up of mages. Usually, any team with only members of the same upation would be more disadvantaged when facing the spirits. After all, the Ghost Behemoths didn¡¯t need to shift their forms when facing these mages, and could avoid all their attacks with their immunity to magic in tangible form.

    However, the truth was that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was in a better situation than the other three factions. Although the magic they released couldn¡¯t cause any real harm to the Ghost Behemoths, the shock from these magic attacks was at least able to keep the Ghost Behemoths away from the team.

    As such, the following scene could be observed in the battlefield: a dozen Ghost Behemoths surrounding the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team continuously released attacks, but were swept to their original positions by magic storms.

    For the other three factions, it was a coboration between the mages and Warriors. Usually, this arrangement would be very advantageous when facing opponents with disproportionate physical and magic defense. No matter how high the opponent¡¯s physical or magic defense power was, they could target their weaknesses. Thus, the three factions could easily win against the Ghost Behemoths if they were immune only to physical attacks or magic attacks. Unfortunately, although the Ghost Behemoths wouldn¡¯t exhibit both pr opposite properties simultaneously, the frequency and uncertainty of their transformations made it hard for the mages and Warriors to find the right chance to attack.

    To make matters worse, the method that the Ghost Behemoths employed to attack totally didn¡¯t match their gigantic size. They were like giant assassins. The dark valley made it necessary for the mages to light up the valley with their illumination spells at all times. However, the mages had to release their illumination spells during battle, and couldn¡¯t sustain the brightness in the valley.

    Thus, although the mages had all put up their illumination spells at the start, the brightness of the surroundings decreased drastically after the real battle with the Ghost Behemoths had started. Although it wasn¡¯tpletely dark, the surroundings had made it difficult for the team to spot these Ghost Behemoths, making it harder for the expedition teams to defend themselves.

    All the Legendary powerhouses in each faction had joined the battle since it started. Although they didn¡¯t expect the Ghost Behemoths to appear here, they could judge from experience that these Ghost Behemoths were harder to deal with than the Skeletal Behemoths just now. However, as the surroundings got darker, even Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t spot the Ghost Behemoths easily, causing inevitable damage to the team again.

    From the looks of this battle, it was certainly a good opportunity for Lin Li to deal a blow to the Mithril Alliance¡ªhe only had to watch its casualties increase. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t do that. After all, this was only the fourth floor of the mausoleum. If other teams suffered too many casualties, it would definitely affect the progress of the expeditionter on.

    With that in mind, Lin Li released the debris of the stars Holy Light, hanging it over the team¡¯s heads like a little sun that had suddenly appeared. Its pure, sacred light instantaneously outshone all the illumination spells around and lit up the entire area. Under such bright light, the Ghost Behemoths could no longer hide in the shadows, and became totally visible to the team.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t altruistic enough to directly help the Mithril Alliance deal with these Ghost Behemoths. After all, there would be a battle between the Mithril Alliance and Tower of Dusk eventually. Hence, he restricted the power of Holy Light to make sure that it didn¡¯t release its powerful ability of purification, and only acted as a light source. If not, these Ghost Behemoths would be dead right there.

    However, the Holy Light was after all a piece of debris of the stars. Even though Lin Li had restricted its purification power, the light still influenced the Ghost Behemoths somewhat, and the Behemoths could no longer change their forms as freely as before. This created a good chance for the expedition.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Great axe Warrior Hanks smashed his two-ded great axe into the Ghost Behemoth in front of him. This time, his axe didn¡¯t strike thin air. Instead, he felt the real resistance caused by hitting physical matter. Next, the resistance was lifted, and he was overjoyed to find a muscr ghost arm on the ground.

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    A fireball hit a Ghost Behemoth that was trying to change its form spot on. A low-level fireball spell was enough to ignite a Ghost Behemoth that looked like a plume of smoke. The gigantic Ghost Behemoth didn¡¯t even manage to switch into its physical form before turning into a ball of fire, and burnt out in the blink of an eye.

    After Lin Li had released Holy Light, the situation in the battlefield took a drastic turn. The initially helpless team suddenly became extraordinarily valorous, shing and killing the Ghost Behemoths as if chopping vegetables.

    When the battle had ended, nobody dared to rx. Everyone still observed the surroundings cautiously, and only started to care for the injured after orders were given to get into defensive formation. The Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had both suffered much damage in this battle, while the Glittergold Trade Union also suffered some casualties. In contrast, the Tower of Dusk, aided by the divine-level magical equipment, didn¡¯t even suffer from fatigue due to huge mana consumption.

    Seeing that Lin Li had retrieved Holy Light, a tinge of jealousy shed across Joseph¡¯s eyes. He was also more cautious of Lin Li. Back in the battle with the Whispering God, Joseph had seen Lin Li summon out Demon Gordon and the alchemy puppets. He had thought that those were already the Tower of Dusk¡¯s trump cards, but that seemed to be false from what he saw now.

    As for us from the Caesar Family, he couldn¡¯t help rejoicing secretly in his heart. After getting the Life Potions from the Tower of Dusk and seeing it disy such powerful abilities now, he was d that he hadn¡¯t gone all hard on the Tower of Dusk like the Mithril Alliance. If not, his faction would have suffered the same consequence as Joseph¡¯s team.

 Chapter 885 - A Flight of Humerus Wyrms

    <h4>Chapter 885: A Flight of Humerus Wyrms</h4>

    The Mithril Alliance consisted of five major families, so their expedition team was a bitrger in sizepared to the other three factions. However, due to the fact that they didn¡¯t possess any Life Potions to heal their wounded fast, their fighting strength was now less than halfpared to their full strength. Thus, the two consecutive battles caused the greatest harm to them out of the four factions. Now, they were almost equal to the other factions in terms of numbers, but couldn¡¯t match them in terms of power.

    us could totally imagine how it would¡¯ve looked like for the Caesar Family if he hadn¡¯t gotten the Life Potions from Lin Li. The damage from the battle just now would have been so immense that his faction would be forced to quit this expedition.

    No matter what, the expedition would still continue forward. Although they had encountered two consecutive battles, signifying the dangers lying in this valley, no one could resist the temptation of the immense benefits this mausoleum could possibly bring.

    Strangely, the team didn¡¯t encounter any obstacles along the way after that, but no one knew whether this stillness was a good thing or not. The team¡¯s anxiety was finally relieved a little after they had seen the mausoleum appearing in the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Seeing that the team was almost reaching the mausoleum, Lin Li didn¡¯t order the team to speed up. Instead, he told everyone to be extra vignt and slowed down.

    Since the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team had slowed down, the teams following them naturally slowed too. Hoffman knew that Lin Li had his reasons for doing this, so he ordered the same for the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team without any questions orints. However, Joseph and other leaders from the Mithril Alliance were unhappy with this. The target was so close and there wasn¡¯t any danger in sight. Why did the Tower of Dusk slow down now?

    Joseph couldn¡¯t helping to the front and asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, why did you suddenly slow down?¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Joseph, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little too quiet along the way?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t have any intention of inviting Joseph for a conversation.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being quiet? We¡¯ve just had two battles, do you want another one¡ª¡± Before Joseph could finish his sentence, wind gushed through the valley wildly, making him stop in the middle of his sentence. Although this was a valley, it was impossible for such strong wind to exist¡ªit was an underground valley, after all. As such, clearly something wasing.

    ¡°You see, some things will happen even if you don¡¯t wish for it to happen.¡± Lin Li raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter, and pointed it towards the sky not too far from where they were standing.

    By then, everyone saw arge flight of Humerus Wyrms in the direction Lin Li was pointing to. These Wyrms were flying towards the team, and there seemed to be hundreds of them. Could they be the Humerus Wyrm Legion mentioned in Caleross¡¯ diary? Everyone thought of the contents in the few pages of Caleross¡¯ diary at that moment.

    Seeing that the situation had taken a turn, Joseph didn¡¯t have time to ask Lin Li any more questions. He flew towards his faction¡¯s team instantly to make arrangements for the tough battle toe.

    As the most powerful presence out of all Undead creatures, each Humerus Wyrm possessed at least level-20 power. The Skeletal Behemoths and Ghost Behemoths were no match for the Humerus Wyrms. Nobody knew how long these Humerus Wyrms had been in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Thus, their abilities would most likely be more than level-20.

    To make matters worse, there was one Humerus Wyrm whose body was evidentlyrger than the others¡¯. This Humerus Wyrm also released icy-cold aura that seemed to seep into one¡¯s bones. With the presence of this Humerus Wyrm, the temperature in the valley dropped into negative. Every member of the expedition felt as if their soul was going to be frozen too.

    Lin Li could clearly feel that the aura this giant Humerus Wyrm released contained not only the unique scent of Undead creatures, but also a blood-freezing coldness.

    Caleross had mentioned in the research log that the Humerus Wyrm Legion they created was difficult to control. Thus, a king-level Humerus Wyrm was required to act as the alpha of the legion. It seemed like this Humerus Wyrm with an icy-cold aura was likely to be the head of the Humerus Wyrm Legion Caleross had mentioned.

    However, this Humerus Wyrm gave Lin Li the feeling that it wasn¡¯t just a king-level wyrm. After all, Lin Li had seen quite a number of Humerus Wyrms before, including the king-level ones. One of the three Skeletal Lords of the Shadowglen was a king-level Humerus Wyrm, not to mention that his own Humerus Crimson Dragon could also be considered king-level. However, neither of these Humerus Wyrms were on par with the Humerus Wyrm he was seeing now.

    Feeling its icy cold aura, Lin Li suddenly thought the few pages of the diary Elvis had shown him during the negotiation with the Mithril Alliance. Didn¡¯t Brahere mention capturing an Icest Wyrm?

    Thinking about this, Lin Li felt a cold chill running down his spine. If this Humerus Wyrm was really the Icest Wyrm Brahere had mentioned, this battle would be more than a tough fight!

    ¡°Icest Wyrm Sindera! Impossible! How can he be here?¡±

    Just as Lin Li was thinking about the origins of this Humerus Wyrm leader, Connoris suddenly eximed in shock beside him.

    Connoris¡¯ words made Lin Li recall some information he had seen before. After he had left the Big Crack in the Eternal Darkness Altar, he had searched for information about the ancient dragons in order to better understand me Dragon Lothar. Although he didn¡¯t find a lot of information, and its credibility couldn¡¯t be confirmed, most of the legends regarding me Dragon Lothar contained another name¡ªIcest Wyrm Sindera.

    In some legends, Icest Wyrm Sindera and me Dragon Lothar were foes. Other than the battle with the Titans, these two dragons would engage in earth-shaking fights every time they encountered each other. In other legends, however, these two dragons were the closest of friends. They were the best partners during the battle with the Titans. No matter how true these legends were, the thing that could be confirmed was that Icest Wyrm Sindera was an entity as terrifying as me Dragon Lothar.

    Lin Li was clear how terrifying a wyrm with the same level of power as me Dragon Lothar would be. Back at the Big Crack, even two Sanctuary-realm powerhouses, Rogge and Nefa, were powerless in the face of me Dragon Lothar. Since Icest Wyrm Sindera had the same level as me Dragon Lothar, its power would certainly be very high even though it had been turned into a Humerus Wyrm.

    ¡°Angno, you have to depend on yourself now. I probably won¡¯t have the ability to protect you anymore,¡± Lin Li said helplessly to the goblin hiding behind him. The hundreds of Humerus Wyrms, with a leader that was likely to be Icest Wyrm Sindera, made Lin Li unsure about whether he even had a chance in a battle where the difference in abilities was so great, let alone room to take care of others.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t the only one who felt this way. Everyone who had seen the flight of Humerus Wyrms, together with its leader that appeared unusually powerful, would bear ominous feelings about the fate of the expedition. Although this expedition team was rather strong in terms of abilities, its enemy now was a flight of 100-odd Humerus Wyrms, each at least in the Legendary-level. Not to mention exploring the mausoleum, it was uncertain if they could even escape.

    The wyrm leader at the center had made the team feel its crushing aura from so far away. It felt as if the sky was slowly sinking down. Even the most powerful Legendary powerhouses in the expedition team felt a sense of helplessness before the battle started.

    All the leaders from the four factions had seen Caleross¡¯ and Brahere¡¯s diary, and confirmed the rtionship between these two during the discussion. Thus, they were somewhat mentally prepared for the Icest Wyrm to appear in the mausoleum. This was the exact reason why these four factions coulde to a consensus and put down their personal grudges to merge two expedition teams into one.

    They didn¡¯t know how strong the Icest Wyrm exactly was. After all, the end of the prehistoric times and start of the Dark Age marked the decline of the ancient dragons and Titans, and they hadpletely faded into history. By the time Prince Brahere left the dairy, there were already very few legends about the true ancient dragons circting around. In the pages of Brahere¡¯s diary which the Mithril Alliance held, Prince Brahere used an extremely calm and matter-of-factly tone to write about the Icest Wyrm, making it impossible for people to have any grandiose idea of it. Thus, almost everyone thought that the Icest Wyrm Prince Brahere had mentioned in his diary was most likely a direct descendant of the ancient Icest Wyrm.

    However, while the legion was still quite a distance from the team, the Icest Wyrm that acted as the leader of the Humerus Wyrm Legion appeared much stronger than they had expected. Other than the Legendary powerhouses who could barely withstand its suppressive aura, the rest felt difficulty even standing up straight.

    By then, the Legendary powerhouses had realized that their spections about the Icest Wyrm were too naive. Could it be that this Icest Wyrm leader was really the legendary ancient Icest Wyrm that had ruled the skies of Anril? While it seemed rather shocking, they couldn¡¯t think of any other exnations for this extraordinary aura the Icest Wyrm had released.

    There was a huge difference in terms of abilities between true ancient dragons and their direct descendants. While their direct descendants possessed powers unmatched by the wyrms present in Anril today, only the best could step into the Sanctuary-realm. On the other hand, ancient dragons possessed Legendary-level abilities when they were born, making it easy for them to reach the Sanctuary-realm in adulthood. This made them the most powerful presence in the world.

    If it was just an ordinary Sanctuary-level wyrm, the expedition still stood a chance against it given the numerous Legendary powerhouses in the team. However, if it was a true ancient dragon that matched the power of gods, the team would likely perish unless there were true Sanctuary powerhouses in the team.

    ¡°Master Felic, the situation isn¡¯t looking good now. Do you have any way...¡± Hoffman ordered Thomas to take care of the team and hurried towards Lin Li. Seeing the approaching Humerus Wyrm Legion, inconceble worry and anxiety loomed over Hoffman¡¯s face, and his voice was trembling slightly.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to retreat now. Other than battle, we have no other way,¡± Lin Li replied bitterly, looking into the distance while grasping his Helios¡¯ Scepter so tight that his fingers went pale.

    ¡°Unless we have a Sanctuary powerhouse here, even if we give our all...¡± Joseph and us came to the front of the team too, and stood beside Lin Li and Hoffman. In the face of the ancient dragon¡¯s suppressive aura, no one had the energy to care about their past grudges anymore.

    A Sanctuary powerhouse? Lin Liughed bitterly in his heart. If they could deal with the Icest Wyrm with a Sanctuary powerhouse, would he need to be so worried here? With his abilities at the peak of Legendary-level, coupled with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he might still stand a chance when battling an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse. However, if his opponent was the legendary Icest Wyrm Sindera that had the same level of power as me Dragon Lothar, how could a Sanctuary powerhousepare?

    Ancient dragons possessed the power of the world¡¯s origin when they were born. Thus, they didn¡¯t need to realize any World Rules like human or High Elven mages. It was as natural as heartbeat for them to control the power of the world¡¯s origin derived from the fundamental Rules of the world. This was the reason why these ancient dragons possessed Legendary-level abilities since birth, and were able to grasp the purest form of nomological power when they had sessfully reached the Sanctuary-realm in adulthood.

    Out of all the ancient dragons, the me Dragons that possessed fire element Rules and the Icest Wyrms that possessed water element Rules were the strongest species. me Dragon Lothar and Icest Wyrm Sindera were the best in their respective species. Both had already reached the peak of Sanctuary-realm, and were halfway into divinity. Their power was probably only lower than that of the five Dragon Aspects.

    Such a powerful opponent would definitely not be defeated by just one or two ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. Even Sanctuary powerhouses who were at the same level could probably only guarantee their survival when battling Icest Wyrm Sindera.

 Chapter 886 - Ice Dragon Sindera

    <h4>Chapter 886: Ice Dragon Sindera</h4>

    In the beginning, Nefa dwelt in the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar. As a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, he mastered the Laws of Destruction and the Laws of Evilness. High Priest Rogge, who had once fought alongside Geresco, experienced some changes in his physical form, and was probably a bit stronger than the three Sanctuary-realm arbitrators of the Supreme Council. However, the two Sanctuary powerhouses were beaten up by the me Dragon Lothar to the point where they could not fight back at all. If it weren¡¯t for the two sacred objects, the Tree of Eternity and the Seed of Eternity, the two Sanctuary powerhouses would probably have been unable to protect themselves. Heaven and Earth might have been ruined too.

    Lin Li could not imagine how Brahere had done it. He had actually captured the Icest Wyrm Sindera. The Immortal King had killed Azardas the Dragon of Destruction with the power of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, but he still ended up seriously injured. Although the Icest Wyrm Sindera might not be as strong as Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, the difficulty of capturing it was alsopletely different. Besides, Brahere did not have the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t tell everyone about those matters, because that would only make them feel even more hopeless. If things were to go awfully wrong, they might even lose their courage to fight.

    At this moment, the army of Humerus Wyrms was approaching, and the expressions of the members of the expedition team became increasingly sullen. From the aura of the leader of the Humerus Wyrms that was surrounded by the other Humerus Wyrms, the numerous Legendary powerhouses of the expedition team couldpletely feel a descending deity that was definitely not simply at the level of an ordinary Sanctuary-realm individual. What made them feel even more shocked was that other than the fact that it had a massive body, the leader did not seem to have turned into a Humerus Wyrm. Unlike the Humerus Wyrms that only had their skeletons left, the leader¡¯s body was wless.

    Upon sight of the Icest Wyrm, thest hope for luck in their hearts vanished instantly. Regardless of how strong and powerful the Icest Wyrm might be, it would definitely have some obvious weaknesses, such as having a skeleton without scaly skin covering it. The defensive power of such skeletons would be far fromparable to that of real wyrms. At the same time, they wouldn¡¯t have the bloodline of real wyrms, either. In fact, even the bones of the Humerus Wyrms that were generally referred to as skeletons might not be the skeletons of wyrms. Most of the time, they were most likely just bones from other magical beasts or even humans that were pieced together to form a dragon¡¯s shape with the consumption of Dragon Crystals.

    Hence, Humerus Wyrms could neverpare to real wyrms of the same level. That was also the reason the expedition team had not immediately retreated after finding out from Caleross¡¯ log that there were Humerus Wyrms in the mausoleum.

    However, although the other Humerus Wyrms could be seen through the fog of death aura formed by the Humerus Wyrms, they were simr to what the people had imagined. They were all just huge white skeletons. The most terrifying thing was the wyrm leader that was in the middle of the Humerus Wyrms. It did not look like a Humerus Wyrm at all, and instead looked like an ancient Icest Wyrm.

    ¡°It actually... actually really is an ancient wyrm!¡± Upon sighting the massive body that was bing clearer in the fog, the members of the expedition team looked horrified. The ancient wyrms were prideful creatures, and yet it actually stayed in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum for the sake of guarding it?

    The Icest Wyrm that was gradually revealed was about as big as the dozen or so Humerus Wyrms around it. It was covered in white scales, each of which was the size of the shields used by the great shield Warriors. Besides, they could tell at a nce that the defensive power of the scales was definitely much stronger than the meticulously created shields.

    The wings on the back of the Icest Wyrms were not fleshy like those of the Humerus Wyrms. Instead, they wererge and grayish-white, with faintly shing dark silver patterns on the membrane. Those were bloodline mageweaths that only ancient wyrms with a truly pure bloodline could possess. Even a Master of Inscription could not touch the mysteries of those mageweaths that represented the power of the world¡¯s origin.

    The Icest Wyrm¡¯srge skull was also covered in fine scales, and the six sharp horns on top of its head were divided into two rows. Each horn was like a giant sword that could split the sky. The sturdiest ones in the front were like mountain peaks. Its bloodshot eyes looked like the blood moons that once hovered in the sky of Anril, radiating a cold and brutal light. Itsrge mouth seemed to be able to swallow the Humerus Wyrms around it in one go.

    That was an actual ancient wyrm, which possessed incredible power that was not inferior to that of the gods. The ancient wyrms were powerful creatures that had once dominated the world of Anril together with the Titans! Although most of them had never seen a real ancient wyrm with their own eyes, they were already convinced, for they had heard the legends that had been passed down.

    However, no one knew that the fear in Lin Li¡¯s heart was 1000 times greater than the rest. When the Humerus Wyrms appeared, he had already taken out the debris of the stars, Holy Light. However, he had been secretly suppressing its power to avoid any unnecessary changes.

    In fact, after Connoris called Sindera¡¯s name, there was a tinge of imagination and fantasy in Lin Li¡¯s heart. He did not have hope, but he did feel like it was somewhat a fluke. After all, Icest Wyrm Sindera was a powerful existence that was on the same level as the me Dragon Lothar. Given the pride of the ancient wyrms, how could it guard Brahere¡¯s tomb obediently? There might be a hidden reason.

    However, as the Humerus Wyrms and the Icest Wyrm approached, Lin Li sensed the changes in the power of Holy Light, and his heart sank to the bottom¡ªto his horror, he found through the changes that there was an iparably thick death auraing from the Icest Wyrm. It was far richer than in any Undead creature he had ever seen. In fact, even the Ghost that Osric had left in the Sky Castle seemed inferior to it.

    What did that mean? Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe it, he had to believe that the Icest Wyrm was probably a true-blue Undead creature. Apart from it being an Undead creature, he could not think of any other exnation for the iparably rich death aura around the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body.

    At this moment, Lin Li could finally see the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s appearance through the fog of death, and it further confirmed the terrifying suspicion in his heart. The scales on Sindera¡¯s body, something which all wyrms were proud of, had lost their original luster, and were dyed with a deadly grayish hue. At the same time, the magical aura that flowed through its body was no longer icy cold. Instead, it was mixed with ckness that was full of death.

    Lin Li then shifted his gaze to the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s eyes, which were like blood moons. He could clearly see that the gaze in those eyes was also extremely different from what he had seen in the me Dragon Lothar. As the king of me Dragons, Lothar¡¯s gaze was full of pride, as if all lives before it were like ants. However, the gaze of the Icest Wyrm Sindera was not cold and indifferent. Instead, it was deadpan, like that of a soulless zombie.

    Not only did Brahere capture the Icest Wyrm Sindera, but he also used some sort of method topletely transform it into an Undead creature! At the thought of that, Lin Li could not help but be shocked by his own conjecture. It was not about transforming a Skeletal Warrior, but a real ancient wyrm that was a powerful existence second only to the Dragon Aspects!

    Although Lin Li always learned to use Elemental Magic, and was considered an orthodox mage, he was not clueless about Necromagic. On one hand, he had by his side the Lich Ujfalusi, who was good at Necromagic. On the other hand, he was on good terms with Sendros, a famous Necromancer. Hence, he still had a deep understanding of Necromagic.

    Lin Li knew very well that in theory, Necromagic could indeed transform all life into Undead creatures. However, there was still a very important condition, and that was that the Necromancer would have to possess power far beyond that of the creature that was being transformed. Take Sendros, the most famous Necromancer of Anril, for example. He could easily transform a dead soldier into a Skeletal Warrior, and it would be no issue for him to create even 1,000 or 10,000 Skeletal Warriors. However, it would not be easy to turn a wyrm into a Humerus Wyrm even though his power was at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t impossible for Sendros to do it. However, transforming a Humerus Wyrm was not as simple as chanting an incantation and waving one¡¯s staff. It still required the apaniment of a special Necromagical ritual. However, even with Sendros¡¯ abilities, the sess rate of transformation was not 100%, and there was a great possibility of failure. Hence, the amount of effort and time spent on the transformation would definitely be astonishing.

    The bloodline of the current so-called wyrms was actually much weaker than that of their ancestors, and adult wyrms only possessed Legendary-level abilities. The Green Dragon King in their in the Haiga Mountain Range was merely level-24, yet it was already the king of a n. Clearly, their bloodline had greatly weakened.

    As for the real ancient wyrms, they were not to be trifled with! Lin Li couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of existence in Anril would be able to turn an ancient wyrm into an Undead creature. Besides, it was not an ordinary ancient wyrm, but the Icest Wyrm Sindera, which was halfway to bing a god, and was considered an elite powerhouse amongst ancient wyrms, just like the me Dragon Lothar.

    At least in Lin Li¡¯s perception, perhaps only mythical figures like the Immortal King or the God of Mages, Geresco, could do it.

    However, when he was thinking of the two mythical figures, a thought suddenly shed in Lin Li¡¯s mind. He wondered, <i>Or... could it be the queen who also existed in the myths?</i>

    However, the current situation no longer allowed Lin Li to make any more conjectures. The hundreds of Humerus Wyrms were getting closer and closer with the Icest Wyrm Sindera. At this moment, he had to find a way to beat the enemy.

    ¡°Master Hoffman, get your men closer to us, and take these with you,¡± Lin Li said while touching the Ring of Endless Storm on his finger, after which 10 Six-pointed Star Arrays appeared on the barend beside him, while 10 brand-new Magical Crystal Cannons appeared in the arrays.

    Compared to magic props like the War God¡¯s Shadow and the Shapeshifting Insect Hive, the Magical Crystal Cannons did not have an interesting background or an ever-changing attack method. However, when used appropriately, they would instead exert effects that were not inferior to those magic props. Hence, there would always be some spare Magical Crystal Cannons which could be used during emergencies in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm. He had not taken them out when he fought the Whispering God, because the Whispering God had the characteristic of devouring all mana. The Humerus Wyrms that they were facing now could not absorb the light of the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Although the Magical Crystal Cannons had a single method of attacking where they would merelypress and condense mana beforeunching it, even Legendary powerhouses did not dare to belittle the massive power they contained. Coupled with the rapid attacking speed that made them difficult to dodge, they were perfect weapons for fighting against Humerus Wyrms.

    With the financial power of the Glittergold Trade Union, it would not be difficult to get some magical crystals, since they could just purchase some from the Dwarf Kingdom with money, which was unlike powerful magic items that were unattainable. However, bringing the magical crystals there was not an easy task. Space-rted magical items were already very rare, and even Hoffman and the others only had one or two of them, which were only a cubic meter or so of space at most. Perhaps they couldn¡¯t even fit a Magical Crystal Cannon. They were probably used for storing items like potions and expedition necessities. Only Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm, which had an almost infinite amount of space, could be used to store the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Upon sight of the 10 brand-new Magical Crystal Cannons, Hoffman¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Although they could not y a big role in the situation that they were in, and it was impossible to rely on them to wipe out the Humerus Wyrms, it was better than nothing. At least the team couldst a little longer under the attacks of the Humerus Wyrms with the support of the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Time was running out, so Hoffman didn¡¯t bother being polite. He simply waved his hand and ordered the team from the Glittergold Trade Union to approach the mages from the Tower of Dusk, and pull the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons over at the same time.

    As soon as the Magical Crystal Cannons were dragged towards them, the people of the Glittergold Trade Union immediately prepared to load them with magical crystals. Although they could not bring Magical Crystal Cannons along to the expedition like Lin Li, the Glittergold Trade Union was still wealthy enough to afford the magical crystals. However, when they opened the mana source of the Magical Crystal Cannon, and were about to put in the magical crystals that they were holding, they could not help but be stunned as if they had momentarily forgotten about the threat posed by the Humerus Wyrms.

    They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes at all. The mana sources of the Magical Crystal Cannons were actuallyrge Legendary magical crystals. Using Legendary magical crystals as a mana source was too extravagant even for the Glittergold Trade Union that had rich financial resources. However, the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons of the Tower of Dusk actually used 10 Legendary magical crystals as the mana source!

    In the world of Anril, even a Legendary magical crystal that had just reached level-20 could be considered a priceless treasure that was hard to find. Yet, the Tower of Dusk used them as a mana source for the Magical Crystal Cannons. Even Elvan and Thomas, the Legendary masters, were bbergasted due to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s generosity when they saw the Magical Crystal Cannons, let alone the Archmages.

    However, what was truly shocking was the fact that an iparably huge Six-pointed Star Array had already surfaced in the open space beside the Tower of Dusk, upying almost half of the area in the canyon. As it reached the peak of its brightness, a massive steel colossus slowly rose from the Six-pointed Star Array as if it were rising from the surface of water.

    ¡°An Alchemy Colossus!¡± yelled someone who recognized it.

    However, the crowd soon realized that it was by no means as simple as an ordinary Alchemy Colossus. The massive steel colossus that rose from the Six-pointed Star Array was numerous timesrger than the Alchemy Colossuses that they knew. Theplicated alchemical mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays on the colossus¡¯ body only bedazzled them.

    It was... a legendary Titan-level Alchemy Colossus! When Joseph saw the full appearance of the Alchemy Colossus, an incredible conjecture suddenly popped up in his mind. In the current era when Alchemy had declined, even ordinary Alchemy Colossuses were considered quite rare, and could only be produced by the mysterious Country of Alchemy, Rotterdam. Besides, Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses only existed in myths and legends. Legend had it that even Rotterdam didn¡¯t have the technology to create a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    Joseph thought that the young President of the Tower of Dusk had yed all the cards he had during the battle with the Whispering God in the incubation room. However, it seemed that the alchemy puppets and the Abyssal Demon Gordon that Lin Li had released previously were nothing to himpared to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. In the legends, the Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses possessed power that was near the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, even ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses were likely to be defeated by a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    Upon sight of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, Joseph had no idea how he should feel. On one hand, he naturally hoped for the expedition team to be stronger since they were facing a crisis now. However, on the other hand, he truly did not want the strength of the Tower of Dusk to grow to the extent that he would be afraid.

    When the Alchemy Colossus got out of the Six-pointed Star Array entirely, Angno maneuvered the alchemical machine and fled to the bottom of the Alchemy Colossus before getting inside it in the blink of an eye. As the Alchemy Arrays and the alchemical mageweaths on the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ body lit up, the giant pir-like alloy spear moved about in his hand. Angno finally found some sense of security.

    The appearance of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus made everyone feel extremely shocked. However, the current situation did not leave them with any chance toment further. On the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s side, Elvan and Jerany aimed the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons, and immediatelymanded their team to quickly change their formation in a bid to maximize the effect of the Magical Crystal Cannons. At the same time, Thomas once again took out the golden sculpture of the War God, releasing the 10-meter tall War God¡¯s Shadow that was emitting a pale golden glow.

    The teams of the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family made their own preparations to engage in a battle at any time as well, following the instructions of their superiors. Although they all knew that the enemy had be extremely powerful to the extent that they could not be matched, they knew that they would be pushing themselves towards the abyss of death if they were to retreat out of fear.

    All of a sudden, the temperature in the canyon plummeted, and arge ball of white ice mes was spewed out from the mouth of the approaching Icest Wyrm, Sindera. It then smashed into the expedition like a meteor. Everything in the path of the ice mes seemed to have be frozen, and the cliffs were coated in white before shattering with a thud. The glittering powder and the frozen rocks of various sizes fell into the canyon like an avnche, causing it to look like there was a blizzard in the canyon.

    The massive ball of ice mes that froze everything shrouded the entire expedition team; almost at the same time, the Legendary-mages raised their staffs high in their hands, exhibiting their strongest defensive spells with all their might. A curtain of colorful light covered the team.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    Theyers of light shattered in response to the sound, and the mages who had their defenses broken didn¡¯t even dare to wait for the surging magical waves in their body to calm down. They immediately began chanting some magical incantations, and the light from the gemstone on top of their staffs continued to erupt, doing their best topensate for the defensive light curtain that copsed.

    A casual spout of dragon breath from the Icest Wyrm caused the Legendary-mages to use almost all of their strength, only to barely block the lethal ice mes. That traumatized them. The ancient wyrm was unstoppable and truly unparalleled!

    However, even if they could not fight it, they couldn¡¯t possibly give up on resisting and allow themselves to be ughtered at its will. In the face of the powerful Icest Wyrm, Lin Li felt powerless, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had lost the courage to fight. He abruptly raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and eximed, ¡°We can¡¯t let ourselves be beaten up and remain passive like this. Those above level-22,e with me to fight the Icest Wyrm. Leave the Humerus Wyrms to the rest!¡± Before the crowd responded, Lin Li immediately charged towards the Icest Wyrm using the Power of Flight.

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, the Legendary-mage Basel, Connoris, the Lich Ujfalusi, and the Vampire Norfeller all followed Lin Li without hesitation. Upon sight of that scene, Hoffman, Thomas, and the Sword Sage Jerany dared not hesitate at all. They immediately charged upwards like arrows shooting straight into the sky.

    After watching the Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union charge towards the Icest Wyrm, Joseph gripped his King of mes Staff forcefully. Following a change in his expression, he led Elvis and the patriarchs of the three other families to join the attack of the teams of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union against the Icest Wyrm.

 Chapter 887 - Judgment Of Light

    <h4>Chapter 887: Judgment Of Light</h4>

    Although Joseph wished he could have a chance to drastically weaken the Tower of Dusk¡¯s strength, he knew clearly that it was definitely not the time to harbor those thoughts, because they were facing a crisis at the moment. Even if the numerous Legendary powerhouses of the expedition worked together, they might not be able to survive in the face of the strong and powerful Icest Wyrm. If he were to have other thoughts and cause others to be in trouble, could he possibly escape?

    With the addition of us and the three elders of the Caesar Family, there were 17 Legendary powerhouses fighting against the Icest Wyrm Sindera. All of them were at level-22 and above. There were even Legendary powerhouses like Lin Li, Connoris, Thomas, and Elvis who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. They also had powerful magic props like the War God¡¯s Shadow. If they were outside, they would probably be strong enough to overthrow even the Fn Kingdom. Most Sanctuary powerhouses would probably choose to retreat if they met them. Unfortunately, their opponent was an ancient wyrm that dominated the skies of Anril during the prehistoric times¡ªthe Icest Wyrm Sindera, which was second only to the five Dragon Aspects.

    Although they did not know what method Brahere had used, the Icest Wyrm Sindera had already lost its sense of self at this juncture, and it was just like a powerful zombie. However, the Icest Wyrm Sindera did not control any Humerus Wyrm and make it join the battle against the 17 Legendary powerhouses who were besieging it, perhaps because of its pride as an ancient wyrm.

    With the low rumbling of a dragon roar, the Humerus Wyrms beside Sindera immediately split up and pounced straight onto the expedition in the canyon without even bothering to look at the Legendary powerhouses. In the blink of an eye, only the Icest Wyrm Sindera and the 17 Legendary powerhouses including Lin Li who were flying over quickly were left in the sky.

    Each of the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms possessed Legendary-level power, which could simrly pose a lethal threat to the expedition. However, with the current situation, Lin Li and the others had no other option but to let the Humerus Wyrms pounce onto the team below. It wasn¡¯t appropriate to say that they had left it up to fate, but it would be unreasonable to say that they were expecting them to destroy the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms. They could only hope that they wouldst as long as possible.

    The only thing that was in the favor of the expedition was the local terrain. Although the canyon was very wide, the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms couldn¡¯t all rush down at once, and probably only about half of them could fit. In other words, only 50-odd Humerus Wyrms could go down. The remaining half hovered at a low altitude above the canyon, and would asionally spit out some dragon breath at the expedition.

    Lin Li and the others did not look down at all. It was not that they didn¡¯t care about the lives of their men, but rather that no matter how difficult and dangerous the situation the expedition faced was, it was definitely not as difficult as that of Lin Li¡¯s group of elites. The massive pressureing from the Icest Wyrm Sindera that belonged to a Sanctuary powerhouse made Lin Li and the others find it difficult to breathe. The mana that was constantly flowing through their bodies became iparably stagnant at this moment.

    At the same time that the Humerus Wyrms dispersed, intense magical waves suddenly erupted in the void, and countless sharp ice thorns appeared out of thin air around the Legendary powerhouses, as if they had transmigrated through space. They then shot towards them at the speed of lightning. Under the powerful suppression of the Icest Wyrm Sindera, the strength of the Legendary powerhouses was greatly affected. The sudden attack immediately forced them into a dangerous situation.

    It was only the beginning. The Legendary powerhouses who had thought that they would at least be able to put up a fight had already fallen into a disadvantageous position without even getting the chance to cast a single magic spell or swing their swords. Fortunately, Lin Li had set a minimum of level-22 for the powerhouses that were going to follow him. If it had been a Legendary powerhouse who had just recently stepped into the Legendary-realm, he would probably have been destroyed by the ice spikes at the moment.

    The ice spikes should be considered to be of the lowest-level spells amongst the Ice-series magic. Even a level-5 mage would be able to cast it. However, if the ice spike magic spell was cast entirely with nomological power, each seemingly insignificant ice spike would simply be sharper than any other superior-grade magical weapon and Legendary magic spell.

    Under the attack of the ice spikes, even Legendary-level magic spells would copse. All of a sudden, the Legendary powerhouses in the sky were forced into dire straits, and those who were less powerful even sustained severe injuries.

    However, although the sudden attacks were powerful, they were not beyond the psychological capacity of the powerhouses. After all, the other party was a strong Sanctuary powerhouse, and it would seem abnormal if it did not cast such powerful magic. What truly horrified them was the fact that they did not notice any difference despite being in their own Magical Domains. It was simply too terrifying.

    When in the Magical Domain that they had created themselves, Legendary-mages would be the controllers of the Magical Domain, and no abnormality would escape their detection. Besides, the other party was using magic. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse would not be able to cast magic spells without any magical waves. Hence, it was obvious that they had lost control of their Magical Domain even though it still existed. They no longer seemed to be the controller.

    It wasn¡¯t the sh of Magical Domains that would usually happen when Legendary-mages fought against each other, but rather that an existence of a higher level was devouring it! The entire sky was filled with snowkes that fell into the Magical Domains of the Legendary-mages, including Lin Li¡¯s. Even the Magical Domains that contained fire elementalws seemed to be at an abnormal temperature. They could not melt even a single snowke.

    Lin Li, who had alreadyprehended the Sanctuary-realm a bit, could be considered to be the powerhouse who was the closest to the Sanctuary-realm and the most powerful one amongst all of them. However, at this time, Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Domain was just as vulnerable in the face of the Icest Wyrm¡¯s Ice Domain. The entire Light and Darkness Domain had be an icy snowfield, and each snowke contained extreme elementalws of water. Although the Light and Darkness Domain was created with basic Laws, Lin Li clearly couldn¡¯tpare to the Icest Wyrm in terms of his mastery of the Laws.

    Let alone Lin Li, it was the same for the rest. While they were breathing, they heard a loud bang from not far away, and the Magical Domain of a level-22 Legendary-mage from the Mithril Alliance actually copsed and disintegrated as it could not withstand the immense pressure. The Legendary-mage himself spat out a mouthful of blood with the copse of his Magical Domain, obviously having suffered severe injuries. If it weren¡¯t for hispanion beside him, who had quickly shielded him by casting a defensive magic spell in time, he would have been blown to pieces by the flying snowkes.

    Upon sight of that scene, everyone panicked and put away their respective Magical Domains, which were of no help at all anyway. They did not want to be crushed to the point of copsing and sustaining injuries.

    Lin Li was the only one who was still maintaining the Light and Darkness Domain. At the same time, he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter high in his hand abruptly, and instantly condensed the Light and Darkness Sword, which shed at the Icest Wyrm Sindera forcefully. That was the first attack that the expedition team hadunched against the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    The appearance of the Light and Darkness Sword was like a stone that was plunged into water as the sky that was full of flying snowkes became tumultuous. The snowkes started flying faster, and they also condensed into a silver python that circled around the Light and Darkness Sword. It created sounds of collisions, and the Light and Darkness Sword that could easily tear apart a Legendary-mage¡¯s Magical Domain actually shattered in the collision before it could even get close to the Icest Wyrm.

    Lin Li¡¯s face was slightly pale; he was genuinely frightened. The Light and Darkness Sword was not condensed with the Power of Light and Darkness that he had mastered, but with the purest nomological power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. He even added a hint of hisprehension of the Sanctuary-realm. Even the Magical Domains of Legendary-mages who were at level-22 or level-23 might not be able to withstand it, let alone Magical Domains like Stephen¡¯s. He initially thought that it would at least cut the Sindera even if it was just like a tickle. To his surprise, it was blown apart only halfway through its trajectory.

    That scene had undoubtedly brought an even greater shock to everyone, and they could feel the amazing power contained in the Light and Darkness Sword. Even Joseph, who detested Lin Li, dared not go toe-to-toe against the sword. However, the sword did not even manage to touch the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Was that the difference between the Sanctuary-realm and the Legendary-realm!?! The pinnacle of the Legendary-realm was imed to be infinitely close to the Sanctuary-realm, but as long as one did not cross the threshold, the distance would be infinitely huge!

    However, no one dared to ck off at all at this juncture, regardless of whether they were frightened or feeling cowardly. While putting up the crumbling defensive magic spells, the Legendary-mages raised their staffs and cast the most powerful magic spells that they could with all their might.

    All of a sudden, the sky became incredibly vibrant, and amidst the flying snowkes, lightning, fire snakes, and wind dragons swarmed towards the Icest Wyrm as if they were going to drown it. The condensed swords[1] did not fall behind, either. They passed through the crowd and stabbed at the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body with immense power that could tear the sky...

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    The sound of a dragon roaring emotionlessly filled the sky.

    With the roar of the dragon, all of the attacks disintegrated in an instant, be it offensive spells or swords. They disappeared immediately and went up in smoke like torches that fell into a pool of water. However, shortly after, the snowkes in the sky began surging, and then charged at everyone with intense killing intent...

    The Legendary powerhouses who had always been high and mighty finally experienced what it was like to be insignificant in front of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Even though they were already regarded as god-like existences by ordinary people, and seemed to possess the power to destroy the heavens and earth, they were actually no different from those ordinary humans now. They were just insignificant small fries that were at most a little stronger than the others.

    Facing the attack from the Icest Wyrm Sindera which seemed to be rather casual, they did not have time to catch their breath at all. The sounds of their magical shields shattering were incessant, and everyone was trying their best to release their defensive magic spells. If they weren¡¯t careful, they might die with their corpses torn into pieces.

    Lin Li was not having it any better as well. Those attacks were simply unavoidable, and there was no other way but to defend against them with all his might. Although he was still wearing his Space-rted Magical Robe, the entire battlefield was filled with deadly snowkes, and there was nowhere he could go even if he used space-rted magic spells. In his hands, the glow of the Helios¡¯ Scepter was constantly flickering, and all he could do was desperately put upyers of magical shields. If 10 weren¡¯t enough, he would add 10 more. However, that wasn¡¯t enough, so Lin Li continuously released defensive magic spells, yet he still felt the snowkes getting closer and closer to him.

    Not far from Lin Li was Connoris, who was also in a state of exasperation at this juncture. The Eternal Frost de in his hand was constantly cracking in the space around him. Every crack that appeared was like a long whale drawing water, sucking the surrounding snowkes into the cracks. He seemed to be having an easier time dealing with it than Lin Li.

    However, only Connoris himself knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to cut through and create some spatial rifts even with the power of the Eternal Frost de. If another Sword Sage who did not have the perfect body created by Osric had been in his ce, he would probably have exhausted his power in a few shots. However, even with the perfect body, Connoris knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. After all, he still wasn¡¯t a Sanctuary powerhouse like Rodhart.

    Hence, after desperately trying to create a temporary safe space for himself, Connoris induced his power into the Eternal Frost de vigorously, and shed towards the Icest Wyrm that was far away. Following the trajectory of the Eternal Frost de, a beam of light spanning across tens of meters shed before disappearing without a trace.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The disappearing sword light directly traversed thousands of meters before appearing in front of the Icest Wyrm Sindera again. It then shed at Sindera¡¯s throat. After a loud bang, the snowfall stopped, and the snowkes that contained massive power instantly disappeared without a trace.

    Everyone found it a little hard to ept the unexpected change, and there was even a Legendary-mage who continued to cast defensive magic spells. Was that a surprise? When they shifted their gazes to the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body, they felt a chill in their hearts. The light of the sword did hit the Icest Wyrm¡¯s throat, but it didn¡¯t even break the ice armor on it, even though the sword was powerful enough to cut a wyrm into two.

    ¡°Damn it, I couldn¡¯t even hurt it!¡± Connoris cursed after failing to injure the Icest Wyrm. Although he never thought that he would be able to severely injure the Icest Wyrm Sindera with his sword, he found the fact that he had failed to prate its defense incredibly absurd.

    Could Connoris even break the magic spells of the Icest Wyrm Sindera? It was a Sanctuary powerhouse that mastered the lethal power of elementalws of water. It did not have to rely on chanting spells to cast magic like ordinary mages. Perhaps it merely wanted to change its approach.

    However, the pause could be considered breathing time for the crowd. However, they did not use it to attack the Icest Wyrm. Instead, they used all sorts of methods to strengthen their defense. The situation just now made their hearts ricochet, and no one knew what powerful magic spell the Icest Wyrm was going to cast next. Since their attacks had no effect on the Icest Wyrm, they would try to save their own lives for the time being, regardless of the oue.

    However, Lin Li had no intention of giving up the opportunity. In fact, he had already raised Holy Light in his other hand when he sensed the change in the magical waves around him. ¡°Since the Light and Darkness Sword doesn¡¯t work, I will try this!¡±

    At that moment, a Magic Array that was as tall as a person suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of Lin Li. The entire Magic Array was filled with milky white light, and the center of the Magic Array was the debris of the stars, Holy Light. As the Magic Array rotated, a blinding ray of light darted out of one of the origin points on the Magic Array. When the light reached its peak, it converged in a central point that was one meter in front of the Magic Array.

    ¡°Boom!¡± A ray of white light that was as wide as a bucket darted out from that point immediately, causing ripples to form in the space, emitting the purest holy aura of the world before quickly shooting at the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    ¡°Judgment of Light!¡± Upon seeing the white light and feeling the pure holy aura, everyone couldn¡¯t help but gasp. They even forgot what they were doing.

    The Judgment of Light was one of the most powerful theurgies of the Brilliance Shrine, and less than five members of the Brilliance Shrine could perform it! It was said that only the most devout believers of Holy Light who had been personally taught by Pope Rosario could perform it.

    However, the other party was one of the mages the Brilliance Shrine detested! Even though the Brilliance Shrine had be less harsh to mages in the recent years, they couldn¡¯t have possibly imparted the most powerful theurgy to them, could they? Besides, even if a mage learned it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to cast it. Would he really believe in that ethereal God of Light!?

    There had been many rumors about the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine in the Breezy ins. However, to most people, it seemed to be only a cooperative rtionship. Even if the rumors said that there were Holy Pdins in the Tower of Dusk, no one would believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes. The Holy Pdins were the bodyguards of Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine. They usually wouldn¡¯t leave the Holy Mountain.

    However, even if they couldn¡¯t believe it, the iparably pure holy aura could not be faked. They couldn¡¯t help recalling the rumors that were spreading across the Breezy ins. They wondered if they might be real.

    However, no matter what thoughts they all had in their minds, they saw a glimmer of hope when they saw Lin Li suddenly disy such a powerful Judgment of Light. Regardless of how strong the Icest Wyrm was, it was still an Undead creature, after all, and the purifying effect of the Holy Light on Undead creatures was well known throughout Anril. Although a single strike could not purify the Icest Wyrm, they reckoned that it should be able to give it a huge blow.

    Everyone watched expectantly as the light pir filled with pure holy aura sted arge hole in the death fog that surrounded the Icest Wyrm Sindera, striking it hard on its chest. The ice armor that blocked Connoris¡¯ astonishing sword attack seemed to lose its effect under the Judgment of Light as the light pir sted into the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body with little hindrance.

    The light that erupted at that instant almost engulfed half of the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body, dazzling and bright like the sun¡ªso much so that they did not dare to look at it at all.

    Upon sight of that scene, almost everyone¡¯s heart was filled with ecstasy and euphoria. Even Joseph, who saw Lin Li as his enemy, was no exception. Of course, they also knew that a single shot of Judgment of Light would not be enough topletely purify the Icest Wyrm. However, as long as they could hurt it, it would at least show that fighting was not necessarily futile, and there was a chance of survival in the hopeless situation.

    However, when the light dissipated, the crowd was disappointed to find that although a hole had been born in the ice armor on the Icest Wyrm¡¯s chest, its body didn¡¯t seem too damaged. No one knew how to use Holy Light Magic, but they knew very well what Undead creatures looked like when they were purified by Holy Light. Besides, they could clearly see the hole in the armor being restored in the blink of an eye.

    <i>Even the Judgment of Light didn¡¯t work. Could it be that we really have to...</i> Feeling disappointed, a despair-filled thought rose up in the hearts of almost everyone.

    Even Lin Li himself couldn¡¯t help but be horrified when he saw the result. The Judgment of Light was imparted to him by Pope Rosario when he was a guest at the Brilliance Shrine. It was imed to be the strongest manifestation of the purification by Holy Light Magic. Over the thousand years since the establishment of the Brilliance Shrine, the Undead creatures purified by the Judgment of Light were all fierce and ferocious Undead kings that were turned into dust.

    Naturally, Lin Li knew thatpared to Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine, his abilities were far inferior. There was still an iparably huge gap between the Sanctuary-realm and the Legendary-realm. However, the Judgment of Light that Lin Li exhibited did not require his own power. Instead, it was the debris of the stars, Holy Light, which contained the purest Laws of light. However, even so, the Judgment of Light formed by such a power was probably only slightly inferior to Rosario¡¯s in the Brilliance Shrine.

    Yet, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, did not cause any damage to the Icest Wyrm Sindera. If the Judgment of Light couldn¡¯t even break Sindera¡¯s defenses, Lin Li would resign to fate since his abilities were inferior. However, the problem was that the Judgment of Light had pierced through Sindera¡¯s ice armor. Hence, the purification power should have been directly applied to the other party¡¯s body, yet it hadn¡¯t even produced the slightest effect. It was an Undead creature!

    Of course, that was just Lin Li letting his imagination run wild while he was feeling bewildered. Lin Li was well aware that the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s rich death aura was enough to prove its identity as an Undead creature. He reckoned that the Judgment of Light was unable to work because of the maniacal Prince Brahere. God knew what he had done to Sindera¡¯s body.

    However, the Icest Wyrm clearly wasn¡¯t going to give the crowd much time to breathe. As soon as the light dissipated, it suddenly let out a deafening roar, and the entire space trembled forcefully. The people who were floating in midair found it hard to stabilize themselves, and some even almost fell straight down.

    Next, a terrifying magical wave spread out in all directions with the Icest Wyrm in the middle. Massive snow tornadoes that were hundreds of meters tall instantly took shape, colliding with the crowd with a destructive force as they spun at high speed. Even the space around the tornadoes seemed to have be distorted. One could feel the great pulling force even from a great distance.

    In the blink of an eye, the Legendary powerhouses in the sky were forced into a desperate situation again. Apart from fleeing, there seemed to be no other solution for them. At the same time, the expedition began fighting the Humerus Wyrms, taking advantage of the terrain. However, they seemed to have entered a brief stalemate.

    The absence of Lin Li and the senior executives of the four forces had arge impact on the expedition, but that did not mean that they hadpletely lost their ability to resist.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team in particr still acted as mainstays of the battle, even though five of their strongest Legendary powerhouses were absent. They managed to sustain the attacks of 20-odd Humerus Wyrms alone, and at least at this moment, none of them lost the upper hand.

    During the battle, the one who disyed the most eye-catching performance was not Angno, who was controlling the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, but the Archmages who had yet to reach the Legendary-realm and were the lower-level members. To anyone else, those Archmages could at most continuously cast defensive magic spells when facing the Legendary-level Humerus Wyrms before copsing.

    However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the mages of the Tower of Dusk actually still had the spare energy to counterattack against the Humerus Wyrms when they were keeping up with their defenses. Besides, their attacks were full of power, and almost every attack was capable of causing substantial damage to the Humerus Wyrms.

    [1] Possibly sword energy attacks or something, not weapons per se.

 Chapter 888 - Magic Array

    <h4>Chapter 888: Magic Array</h4>

    The Net Array was originally created by Geresco, the God of Mages, ording to the characteristics of the human mages, and it had more advantages than disadvantages. At the end of the Dark Age, Geresco¡¯s Magic Legion won against the High Elves during the war to overthrow the rule of the High Elves all thanks to the Net Array.

    The High Elves had always imed to be the best race. In fact,pared to other intelligent races, they did have various unmatched advantages, especially in terms of theirprehension of magic. It would not be difficult for them to enter the Legendary-realm at all. As long as they grew up and became adults, they would almost certainly be a true Legendary powerhouse. It seemed that the differences in standards of the High Elves could only be distinguished at the Sanctuary-realm. However, there were still many Sanctuary powerhouses among the High Elves.

    Compared to the High Elves, human beings were indeed rather terrible at magic. For most human mages, the Legendary-realm was far-fetched and an insurmountable moat. The more exaggerated thing was that even below the Legendary-realm, almost every level could be considered a threshold. Some were stuck at level-15, and could not advance to be an Archmage, while some were stuck at level-10 and could not pass the threshold to be a Magic Shooter, and some could not even be a mage apprentice. They could not feel magical elements at all. Hence, they could only resort to selecting simple professions which only required the use of power like Warriors, Assassins, and so on. Every outstanding mage often had extremely high attainments in martial arts.

    However, humans had an advantage that the High Elves could notpare to, and that was the vast poption of humans. Although the High Elves had a long lifespan, their reproduction ability was weak. Even in their heyday, there were only a few hundred thousand High Elves. However, it was a different case for humans. Even though the lifespan of humans was only a few decades, their fertility trumped the reproduction rate of the High Elves.

    With a huge poption base, they could form a team of mages that would outnumber the High Elves even if only one out of 1,000 people was selected. However, quantity did not equate to quality. Even if the humans had 1,000,000 Archmages, they would seem just like a bunch of ants to a real Sanctuary powerhouse. That was the reason the High Elves did not pay much attention to humans. In the face of a difference in realm, numbers were not significant at all. The advantage that the humans had as arge poption was not considered an advantage in the eyes of the High Elves.

    However, Geresco, the God of Mages, managed to see that, and he also created a solution to turn that into a real advantage¡ªthe Magic Net Array. Under the connection induced by the Magic Net Array, everyone was a node of the magicalwork. All of the Archmages were connected, forming a hugework. The concept was akin to hundreds and thousands of weak wooden bars that would form a strong pir that couldn¡¯t be broken when they were bundled together.

    Under the connection of the magicwork, they would no longer be separate individuals, but parts of an entity that was the Magic Array. The Magic Array was a whole, and could even be regarded as a ¡°person¡± who had the power of all the people in thework. Hence, the opponent of the Humerus Wyrm was not a group of 100-odd Archmages, but a ¡°person¡± who possessed the enormous magical power of more than 100 Archmages.

    Althoughpared with the true Legendary powerhouses, Archmages still did not have an adequate understanding of the Rules, their specialty was something that even a true Legendary powerhouse could not do. They were flexible with their division and fusion, and could divide themselves ording to needs. A true Legendary powerhouse could not split himself in two at once, but the mages that were connected by the magicalwork could do so. They could not only split into two or three, but they could split into more. That allowed their tactics to be more flexible, and also added variance. That was something that no genuine Legendary powerhouse could do.

    That was precisely the reason that the group of Archmages from the Tower of Dusk, which no one took seriously, could engage in a battle with 10-odd Humerus Wyrms and even look like they had a chance of winning.

    Each and every Humerus Wyrm of that group had Legendary-level strength. They were not in the early stages of the Legendary-realm¡ªmost all of them were about level-21, and there were many that were at level-22. The dragon breath that they exhaled possessed power that was as great as Legendary magical spells. A swipe of their ws would not be inferior to the full blow of the Sword Sage.

    However, the 10-odd powerful Humerus Wyrms were blocked by a light curtain that kept them away from the team of mages from the Tower of Dusk. Thatyer of light seemed to be a bubble that could be blown away by a gust of wind. However, under the fierce attacks of the Humerus Wyrms, it showed extraordinary resilience. The Humerus Wyrms tried to use their sharp ws to tear it or bombard it with their dragon breath. They also tried to cast their dragonnguage magical spells, but in the end, they were still unable to break through the defense of the mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk did not blindly defend, and instead continuously disyed powerful Legendary magical spells such as Thunder Explosion Spell, Hurricane Spell, Sky-Burning Spell, and many others that were extremely powerful. The magical spells continuously prated the defensiveyer of light, fiercely bombarding the bodies of the Humerus Wyrms.

    That was not only because of the Magic Net Array. Actually, even a group of mages from the nna Guild of Magic might not be able to cast such extravagant Legendary-level magical spells. At this moment, the excellent magical equipment that the mages were using had also reflected its due value. Even though they had cast Legendary-level magical spells at high frequency, no one showed signs of exhaustion or depletion of mana, and it was as if all of them had infinite mana.

    However, as a powerful existence that was at the top of the hierarchy of Undead creatures, a Humerus Wyrm was not going to be defeated that easily. They were not pieced together by random pieces of bone, and although their bodies were not immune to most magical damage, their dragon bones were extremely difficult to destroy. At the same time, the intense death aura that surrounded them also provided them with great defensive power. Even the powerful Legendary magical spells could only deal them a small amount of damage that would heal with the death aura in the blink of an eye.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk and the 10-odd powerful Humerus Wyrms entered a stalemate. No one could do anything to the other party for a while.

    ¡°Get lost, you bunch of disgusting bones! Come closer, and you might get smashed into bone meal by Lord Angno!¡± Angno roared hoarsely in the battlefield in the canyon through the Alchemy Colossus. Despite the massive sounds of the magical spells and the cracking of the boulders, Angno¡¯s voice was still rather clear.

    The Alchemy Colossus that was being controlled by Angno was worthy of being a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus that was known to be equal to a Sanctuary powerhouse. Despite facing the siege of seven Humerus Wyrms by himself, he still had the upper hand. Under Angno¡¯s maniption, the Alchemy Colossus waved the pir-like alloy spear in its hands without seeming clumsy at all. It managed to use various martial arts techniques that flowed seamlessly like water. Their execution was simply wless.

    At the same time, the immense power of the Alchemy Colossus was not weakened by the execution. Seeing that a Humerus Wyrm was approaching, Angno cursed loudly while spinning the giant spear in his hand, stirring up a gust of wind before mming it into the skeleton that made him feel disgusted. There was a loud bang, and the massive Humerus Wyrm rolled backwards with a single blow, and only stabilized itself again when it was hundreds of meters away. Anyone with a good eyesight would be able to tell that the sternum of the Humerus Wyrm had cracked due to the blow like ss that got hit by a stone. The bones even scattered and fell continuously with the movements of the Humerus Wyrm.

    If it were a one-on-one or even one-on-two battle, it would probably take a few rounds before the Humerus Wyrms would really be smashed into broken pieces of bones like Angno had cursed. Unfortunately, before Angno could chase after it, two Humerus Wyrms emerged from nearby and entangled him. He was so infuriated that he could only stomp his feet in the Alchemy Colossus and curse out loud. The dy allowed the heavily wounded Humerus Wyrm to recover quickly with the help of the waves of death aura. It then pounced on him again fearlessly to join in the battle.

    When Humerus Wyrms were shrouded in thick fog of death aura, it would be difficult to hurt them unless their soul fire was directly extinguished as any damage done to them would be quickly healed. That made everyone feel very helpless. Of course, killing one or two Humerus Wyrms wouldn¡¯t really have any real influence on the overall battle situation!

    The Humerus Wyrms in the canyon were only half of the Humerus Wyrm¡¯s army. There were still more than 50 Humerus Wyrms in the sky that were constantly looking for opportunities to intervene in the battle. The terrain of the canyon had undeniably given the expedition team a great advantage. Otherwise, the 100-odd Humerus Wyrms would all surge in. That would be a catastrophe for the expedition team.

    Angno and the mages of the Tower of Dusk managed to take down 30 out of the 50-odd Humerus Wyrms that had rushed into the canyon, greatly relieving the pressure on the other three teams. However, even then, that didn¡¯t mean that the other three teams had it easy. The battle arrays that they used were considered products that the High Elves had made for fun during the Dark Age. They could not bepared to the Magic Net Array that had been created by Geresco, the God of Mages.

    The situation of the team from the Glittergold Trade Union was somewhat better. Firstly, they had 10 Magical Crystal Cannons that were loaded with Legendary magical crystals. The power of every light from the cannon was as powerful as a Legendary-level magical spell. They managed to st away the Humerus Wyrms that almost rushed towards them with the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons. Otherwise, once the Humerus Wyrms rushed into the battlefield, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    Another reason was thebat support provided by the Lord of Nightmares, the Demon Gordon, and the Crimson Dragon. The three Legendary-levelbatants could not join the Magic Array set up by the mages of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, under the orders of Lin Li, they joined the team of the Glittergold Trade Union. To a certain extent, they increased the strength of the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team.

    Although the Lord of Nightmares did not have a low level, his forte was casting spiritual attacks, which basically didn¡¯t work too well against Humerus Wyrms that were not sentient. Of course, he wasn¡¯t only good at spiritual attacks, but he could only fight against one Humerus Wyrm using the other attacking methods. Hence, during the battle, the Lord of Nightmares did not fight the Humerus Wyrms one-on-one. Instead, it chose to tread through the team of the Glittergold Trade Union and asionally provide support wherever there was danger.

    Inparison, in the battle with the Humerus Wyrms, the Demon Gordon was somewhat like a fish in water. With therge amount of precious magical metals that he had devoured, Gordon¡¯s body had been strengthened to the maximum, and the strong ws of the Humerus Wyrms that could tear metal apart could not even do the slightest damage to his body. The Humerus Wyrm had a highly corrosive dragon breath, but it only made the metallic luster on Gordon¡¯s body shine even brighter.

    With that physical advantage, the arms of Gordon the Demon turned into huge scythes that looked like sharp des, blocking two Humerus Wyrms at the edge of the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s battle formation. The consumption of arge amount of magical metals gave him strong defense, as well as astonishing attack capability. The scythes on his arms that could be transformed at will were no less sharp than any magical weapon. Whenever the light of the des he wielded collided with the Humerus Wyrm, it would produce arge amount of powdered bone and debris, making it look like heavy snowfall.

    However, there were too many Humerus Wyrms, and whenever one of them was badly injured, it would immediately be reced by another one. In no time, it would be as good as new, and pounce on them again ferociously. That was also because Gordon¡¯s level was not high. If he had level-24 power at the moment, he might really be able to kill several Humerus Wyrms.

    Of course, the Demon Gordon could grow to his current self not because of his umtion in the Endless Abyss. When he was released by Lin Li in the Sky Castle, he was much weaker. After Lin Li subdued the Demon Gordon, Lin Li nurtured him. Regardless of whether it was for his own curiosity, he had given him plenty of precious magical metals in the Abyss. He even let Gordon devour a piece of the Divinity Metal that he had brought back from the Endless World. That was not something that the rest of his kind couldpare to.

    If the Demon Gordon were to return to the Endless Abyss, he would probably be a powerful existence that was at the same level as a Lord of the Abyss. The Divinity Metal, in particr, opened a door to evolution for him. He was set on an evolutionary path that no other of his kind had ever taken.

    All along, demons like Gordon had relied on devouring magical metals to continuously evolve, and if there were no more magical metals for them to devour, it would mean that there was no more room for evolution. However, after devouring the Divinity Metal, the evolutionary nature of the Divinity Metal gave him the ability to constantly evolve without having to devour magical metals. The evolution might be slower than if he were to devour magical metals, but it also gave him infinite potential to evolve, and it might even be possible for him to enter the Sanctuary-realm with enough time.

    On the other side of the Demon Gordon, Lin Li¡¯s Humerus Crimson Dragon was entangled with three Humerus Wyrms. In terms of level, the Humerus Crimson Dragon was actually superior to the Humerus Wyrms and was above level-22, like Lin Li mentioned. However, Lin Li was worried that it might lose control under the suppression of the Icest Wyrm, Sindera. Hence, he allowed it to stay behind to assist the expedition in fighting the Humerus Wyrms.

    After all, the Icest Wyrm Sindera would only extremely suppress the Humerus Crimson Dragon in level, be it as a wyrm or an Undead creature. Although the Humerus Crimson Dragon¡¯s soul fire had integrated the Heart of the Fallen, and it already possessed a certain amount of sentience, it was still not strong enough topete with the might of the Icest Wyrm, Sindera.

    However, for the Humerus Wyrms, the Humerus Crimson Dragon was an absolutely powerful opponent. Compared to being just bones, the Humerus Crimson Dragons had aplete body, and it was far more powerful than the Humerus Wyrms¡ªboth in terms of defensive abilities and physical strength. At the same time, it also had the power of the bloodline of Crimson Dragons. Not only could it spew the corrosive dragon breath of the Humerus Wyrms, it could also cast even more powerful dragonnguage magic than them.

    In addition to the advantages brought by the body of the Crimson Dragon, the Humerus Crimson Dragon¡¯s soul fire was also fused with the Heart of the Fallen. Ordinary Humerus Wyrms were also far fromparable to it in terms of battle consciousness. During battles, the Humerus Crimson Dragon was much more technical, and refrained from using brute force like Humerus Wyrms. It could be said that even at the same level, it would not be difficult for the Humerus Crimson Dragon to kill a Humerus Wyrm. In reality, if it weren¡¯t for the suppression of the Icest Wyrm Sindera which was on a higher level, the Humerus Crimson Dragon might even subdue the bunch of Humerus Wyrms using its own power and sentience.

    The various advantages allowed the Humerus Crimson Dragon not only to stay strong while fighting the three Humerus Wyrms, but also to suppress them.

    Thanks to the terrain of the canyon, the Demon Gordon and the Humerus Crimson Dragon managed to withstand half of the pressure for the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team. The Lord of Nightmares was in the middle of the team, and was ensuring their safety like a firefighter. With the support of the three Legendary powerhouses and the mages of the Tower of Dusk, the team of the Glittergold Trade Union basically only had to deal with one side of the enemy. The 10 Magical Crystal Cannons shot continuously, but there were no enemy casualties for a while.

    Compared to the Glittergold Trade Union, the team from the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family did not have the Magical Crystal Cannons that were loaded with Legendary magical crystals, nor did they have the help of strong Legendary powerhouses. With only their battle formations that were originally used for diatorial arenas, it was simply impossible for them to survive under the attack of the Humerus Wyrms. Thus, as soon as the battle began, the two teams once again threw out their respective trump cards and managed to temporarily avoid the tragedy of being wiped out together.

    After the battle with the Whispering God, the Mithril Alliance¡¯sbat prowess was far worse than usual due to the fact that only Healing Potions were used to treat the wounded. Besides, the subsequent battle with the Behemoth Beasts¡¯ skeletons and the ghosts caused them to have less than half of their usualbat strength. They could be considered the weakest amongst the four teams.

    However, since Joseph had not chosen to withdraw from the expedition, he naturally still had something to fall back on. During the battle with the Whispering God, Joseph revealed one of his trump cards, which was the summoning of the Abyssal Demon Dragon. Actually, with the abilities of the Abyssal Demon Dragon, there would be no problem for him to use it as a trump card that could turn the situation around during a critical juncture.

    Unfortunately, as soon as the Abyssal Demon Dragon appeared, it had to face the extremely perverted Whispering God, and as a result, it was killed without even getting a chance to showcase its abilities. If the Abyssal Demon Dragon was there, it would definitely y a much greater role in the battle against the Humerus Wyrms. Unfortunately, the Abyssal Demon Dragon could not be summoned easily. The former patriarch of the Dida Family had died because the summoning of the Abyssal Demon Dragon backfired. Without sufficient power, summoning the Abyssal Demon Dragon would be courting death.

    However, not being able to summon the Abyssal Demon Dragon didn¡¯t mean that they could not summon other Abyssal Demons. That was the other trump card of the Mithril Alliance. At the beginning of the battle, the four families of the Mithril Alliance, except the Dida Family, began chanting the Abyssal Demon Summoning Curse. All of a sudden, the open space that the team was in was covered in Six-pointed Star Arrays of various sizes.

    The Dida Family was excluded because the curse to summon the Abyssal Demon had been ssified as an absolute secret in the Dida Family. Except for a few elders, the others could not learn it. Even Charles, who had been the patriarch of the family for two years, did not learn the curse. However, to the Dida Family¡¯s surprise, the curse that they had regarded as a precious treasure had unknowingly been learned by every Archmage of the four major families. Hence, when they saw the people around them summoning the Abyssal Demons, the faces of the members of the Dida Family grew extremely sullen.

    Judging from the types of Abyssal Demons summoned, it was clear that there had been some nning carried out by the four major families. They had not summoned a mishmash of creatures, and instead focused mainly on a few types of Abyssal Demons.

    The mages of Joseph¡¯s family summoned a w Demon that lived on the seventh-floor of the Abyss. It was over two meters tall, with a body that was shaped like a chimpanzee. However, its arms were almost as thick as an adult¡¯s waist. It had sharp, glittering ws on the fingertips of its gigantic hands that were about a meter long, which was the reason for its name.

    The level of the w Demons wasn¡¯t very high. They were about level-16 to 17, and their resistance to magic wasn¡¯t very strong, either. They were just right to be subdued by the Archmages. However, even then, the power of the w Demons was rather impressive, and they could easily cut hard rocks into pieces with their scythe-like ws. It would probably take five human Warriors of the same level to rival one w Demon, not considering the factor of the battle formation. Besides, they would also have to pay a huge price.

    The mages of Joseph¡¯s family summoned more than 40 w Demons at once, greatly increasing the strength of the team. However, that alone was not enough for them to fight against the Humerus Wyrms.

    The mages of the Elvis Family had summoned Blood-me Winged Serpents, which were only as thick as two fingers of a human. Their bodies were sanguine in color as if they had been soaked in blood. However, they were all more than five meters long, and there were pairs of fleshy wings whose shape was simr to that of the wings of wyrms on their backs. Of course, they were much smaller in size. Although those wings weren¡¯trge, they moved rather quickly, and it would be difficult for the human eye to catch the serpent¡¯s trajectory when it was as fast as lightning.

    It was said that the Blood-me Winged Serpent¡¯s body also possessed the bloodline of the ancient wyrms. However, other than the shape of their fleshy wings, there were no other features of theirs that could be associated with wyrms.

    The Blood-me Winged Serpent spat out blood mes that resembled saliva, but it was not any less dangerous than the breath of wyrms. What was contained in that blood me was not the power to burn or corrode, but a power that could make everything dpose. A brand-new armor would instantly be old and decayed as if it had undergone thousands of years of wear and tear, and eventually turn into a pile of ashes as long as it came into contact with a tiny bit of blood mes.

    Apart from spitting mes, the Blood-me Winged Serpent could also attack with its body. The surface of its body was covered with several fine, sharp jagged teeth from head to tail, unlike the smooth scales of ordinary snakes. When it moved at an extremely high speed, it would be like a menacing long, jagged whip that could rip a heavily armored Warrior into pieces with a single blow.

    Since it could use its body as a weapon, the strength of the Blood-me Winged Serpent was imaginable. Although it was only as thick as the fingers of an adult, it was as strong as a real wyrm, and ordinary weapons could not do any damage to its body at all. Although, like the w Demon, it was less resistant to magic, the blood mes that it spat that could make everything decay had the same effect on magic. It would disintegrate magical spells, and that more or less made up for its weakness.

    After the w Demon and the Blood-me Winged Serpent, the mages of the other two families summoned the same type of Abyssal Demon known as the Abyssal Shield Demon. The Abyssal Shield Demon was notrge in size, and its height was about a meter. Its limbs were short and thick, and it had two horns on its head, as well as a ck shield-shaped armor on its back.

    The Abyssal Shield Demon¡¯s attacking power was horrible; the ck shield on its back was the reason it could survive in the Endless Abyss. Although it looked somewhat like a turtle, its defensive method was not to hide its head and limbs in its shell. There was a defensive magical rune that was able to generate a powerful defensive force field that basically could not be shaken by offensive spells of the same level on them.

    Of course, just looking at it that way, being able to resist attacks of the same level didn¡¯t seem to be too impressive. After all, with the level of most Abyssal Shield Demons, they could only be considered to be at the bottom of the ranks in the Endless Abyss.

 Chapter 889 - War Totem Poles

    <h4>Chapter 889: War Totem Poles</h4>

    However, one of their greatest characteristics was that the magic runes on the armor of the Abyssal Shield Demons would resonate with each other, and the power of the defensive force field would ovep to create an even stronger one. Legend had it that if the defensive force fields of hundreds of level-15 Abyssal Shield Demons were ovepped, offensive spells below the Sanctuary-realm would not be able to shake the force field at all. If there were 1,000 of them, even a Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them. No one knew the origin of that magic rune, and even a Master of Inscription could not replicate it, so perhaps it could only be called a miracle of nature.

    The magical rune was the reason the Abyssal Shield Demons could be found in every corner of the Endless Abyss, and rumor had it that thergest group of Abyssal Shield Demons lived in the deepest part of the Abyss, where even the gods did not dare to set foot in.

    The two major families of the Mithril Alliance summoned a total of more than 80 Abyssal Shield Demons, but unfortunately they did note from the same group. Instead, they were from three separate groups. After all, no matter how powerful the summoning curse was, there was no way they could reach that level of precision. However, there were more than 1,000 groups of Abyssal Shield Demons in the Endless Abyss, and the fact that they could summon more than 80 Abyssal Shield Demons from only three separate groups was already extremely fortunate for them.

    Thus, more than 40 w Demons, 40-odd Blood-me Winged Serpents, and 80-odd Abyssal Shield Demons formed the Demon Legion of the Mithril Alliance. With the power of the Demon Legion, the overall strength of the Mithril Alliance was greatly increased, and they could barely fight the Humerus Wyrms.

    Of course, it still didn¡¯t mean that the Mithril Alliance was truly able to contend with the Humerus Wyrms. It only meant that they could barely survive the crazy attacks of the Humerus Wyrms. After all, the powerful Humerus Wyrms that they were facing were all above the Legendary-level, while the Abyssal Demons that were summoned were only at most level-17 or 18. If not for the Magic Net Array, the difference in strength could not be made up for with quantity.

    The only thing was that the Abyssal Demons truly lived in an environment as harsh as the Endless Abyss, unlike the human Warriors. Despite facing the strong and powerful Humerus Wyrms, they did not have the slightest bit of fear at all. Instead, they seemed to have been provoked as they all appeared rather menacing.

    Although the w Demons were taller than humans on average, they were still somewhat smallpared to the massive Humerus Wyrms. However, they were not bothered by it at all. They waved their scythe-shaped ws and surrounded the Humerus Wyrms. Some even hugged the legs of the Humerus Wyrms, seemingly trying to shave off some bones.

    The Blood-me Winged Serpents even turned into rays of sanguine lighting as they continuously whipped the bones of the Humerus Wyrm like a whish, causing incessant crisp sounds ofshing. Whenever they brushed past the Humerus Wyrms, there would be some pieces of bones being shaved off.

    However, the Blood-me Winged Serpents¡¯ other weapon¡ªspitting out blood mes¡ªdid not have much of an effect on the Humerus Wyrms. It was probably impossible to make the bones of the Humerus Wyrms decay quickly even for the King of Blood-me Winged Serpents, let alone small fries that were only at level-15 or 16.

    As for the 80-odd Abyssal Shield Demons, if they had been from the same group, they might¡¯ve allowed the people of the Mithril Alliance to stay safe as long as they hid in the defensive force field even if there were Humerus Wyrms bombarding them maniacally from outside. Unfortunately, they came from three different groups. Although the ovepped defensive force fields of tens of Abyssal Shield Demons had incredible defensive power as well, they could only resist several attacks of the Humerus Wyrms. The intervals between the recovery periods of the defensive force fields would be the hardest period for the Mithril Alliance. During those periods, casualties would be inevitable. Be it the Warriors of the Mithril Alliance or the summoned Abyssal Demons, they were all too weak and fragilepared to the Humerus Wyrms.

    Not far from the Mithril Alliance was the team from the Caesar Family. In the beginning, the Caesar Family should¡¯ve been considered the weakest of the four teams, but they were definitelypetent since they could gain independence from the Mithril Alliance and rise as their equals.

    When the Mithril Alliance summoned the Abyssal Demon Legion, the members of the Caesar Family did not sit back and do nothing. After us left with the elders, the remaining executives of the Caesar Family who stayed behind immediately began preparations to face the Humerus Wyrms. From the moment they entered the mausoleum, they each had a somewhat thick and long beast hide pocket, which had never been opened even when they were facing the Whispering God. No one except themselves knew what was inside.

    At this moment, the beast hide pockets were finally opened, and the items within were revealed. They turned out to be wooden rods that were identical in length and thickness and vibrant in color. Each wooden rod was almost a meter long, and had the thickness of a human wrist. There were fine andplex patterns carved in them, and they were all colorful.

    The Caesar Family took out a total of 20 such rods, and they began to stick them into the ground one by one ording to some strange pattern. Next, the mages of the Caesar Family began chanting some strange incantations that actually seemed more like a prayer.

    As the mages chanted, the team from the Caesar Family rose into the air, and pirs of light suddenly shot down from the void,nding precisely on the wooden rods that had been stuck into the ground. The wooden rods began to grow rapidly in thickness and length as if they were trees that had been spawned there. They quickly transformed from wrist-thin rods to pirs that were nearly 10 meters tall.

    At this moment, the patterns carved in the pirs had also be much clearer. Those who were learned and knowledgeable immediately recognized that those pirs were actually the War Totem Poles that were used by the Shamans of the Orcs.

    There were no mages amongst the Orcs, but the Shamans of the Orcs possessed mystical powers that were not inferior to magic. They believed in the Beast God, and prayed to him to grant them mystical powers in exchange for their worship. Creating War Totem Poles was one of the most important abilities they had acquired. Every Shaman had to begin creating a War Totem Pole that belonged to them from the moment they received the power from the Beast God.

    Of course, a War Totem Pole was definitely worth the efforts of the Shaman as each one contained a massive amount of power and the Shaman¡¯s enlightenment on the power bestowed by the Beast God. In the understanding of the mages, it was akin to solidifying a powerful magical spell on a totem pole. Of course, it had to be a little moreplicated than that in reality.

    Whenever a Shaman created a War Totem Pole, his or her own strength would also improve tremendously; hence, the number of War Totem Poles would also be closely rted to the strength of the Shaman. A Shaman who had created 10 War Totem Poles would be equivalent to a Legendary powerhouse, and after summoning 10 War Totem Poles, his or her strength would be greatly increased again.

    It was said that in the current Orc Kingdom, the Shaman Ukanes who was in the Sanctuary-realm and had led the Orcs to rebel against the High Elves possessed hundreds of War Totem Poles. During the war at the end of the Dark Age, he¡¯d even managed to defeat one of the purportedly invincible Sky Castles with the power gained from summoning all of the War Totem Poles.

    In the history of Anril, the War Totem Poles had left a deep impression on the people, and after the Dark Age ended, there were severalrge-scale wars between the Orcs and the human kingdoms. Under the influence of the War Totem Poles, the Orc warriors managed to increase their strength by five to 10 times in a short period of time. Whenever the shadow of the War Totem Poles appeared on the battlefield, it meant that regardless of the oue of the battle, the humans would definitely pay a hefty price.

    However, the Orc Shamans often held a position that was no less than that of the chief in their own tribe. They would generally not leave their tribe easily unless it was a war where everyone was mobilized. There were no Orc Shamans in the Caesar Family, and the War Totem Poles also looked like antiques. They had to have been obtained from some High Elves relic collection. That was precisely the reason that they kept the War Totem Poles in their beast hide pockets. Real Orc Shamans would stow them away in their own special storage spaces.

    At the same time that the War Totem Poles lit up, several rather dazzling superimposed halos appeared beneath the feet of the Warriors and mages of the Caesar Family. Every halo bestowed different effects, such as courage, excitement, a strengthened body, massive strength, hot blood, boosted recovery, and so on. When they ovepped, they caused the strength of the Caesar Family¡¯s team to surge several times over.

    In fact, that was not even half of the power of the War Totem Pole. If they were in the hands of the real Orcs, the safety of the Caesar Family¡¯s team would be guaranteed once 20 War Totem Poles were erected on the condition that the Icest Wyrm Sindera did not descend to attack them.

    However, even with half the power of the War Totem Poles, the team of the Caesar Family could rival the Humerus Wyrms to a certain extent. Besides,pared to the Mithril Alliance that had summoned the Abyssal Demon Legion, the Caesar Family was in a better situation.

    The Mithril Alliance¡¯s battle formation became a little messy and chaotic because of the addition of the Demon Legion, which was one of the reasons for their continuous casualties. The power of the War Totem Poles had merely increased the individual strength of the Caesar Family¡¯s members, allowing them to continue using familiar battle formations while suffering smaller casualties.

    However, be it the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union which were dealing with the situation effortlessly, or the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family which were struggling to survive, everyone knew that the current stalemate was actually very unfavorable to the expedition. The teams of the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union had been suffering casualties. It was not unrted to the Tower of Dusk and the Glittergold Trade Union. If those two parties were to be destroyed and annihted by the Humerus Wyrms, the Glittergold Trade Union and Tower of Dusk would face greater pressure. Could they still stay unharmed then?

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t even necessary to wait for things to reach that point; perhaps the situation had already deteriorated to the point where it couldn¡¯t be salvaged. The senior members of the four teams all had a vague feeling that although the Humerus Wyrms were attacking ferociously, it was because their bodies were strong to begin with; in fact, those attacks were probably just a probing attack.

    For those Humerus Wyrms that only had fighting instincts, that might be somewhat unimaginable, but not to forget, there was a strong Sanctuary-realm Icest Wyrm in the sky. Regardless of its origin, there was definitely no shortage of battle instinct within it, since it could be the leader of the Humerus Wyrms.

    In such circumstances, the teams of the four major families clearly couldn¡¯t get rid of the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms step by step. For now, they could only hope that the Legendary powerhouses who were fighting the Icest Wyrm in the sky would be able to achieve victory before the expedition team¡¯s defense fell apart.

    However...

    Many of the Legendary powerhouses in the sky knew that it was impossible to expect the teams below to destroy the Humerus Wyrms in advance. The key to surviving the crisis at hand was still to find a way to defeat the Icest Wyrm. Otherwise, they would end up dying together. However, having thought of the key to surviving the crisis did not mean that one had the ability to solve it, because the difference in power was simply too big.

    Yes, the difference was too big. Even though there were nearly 20 Legendary powerhouses who were above level-22 in the expedition, as well as other elite powerhouses like Lin Li and the rest who were at level-24, the reality had proven that their power was insufficient for them to fight the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    In fact, since the time their group flew up into the sky to face the Icest Wyrm Sindera, they barely managed tounch any attacks, and were almostpletely suppressed by Sindera¡¯s power. Instead of fighting it head-on, they seemed to be getting beaten up. They could only continuously defend and evade. Any careless mistakes would cause them to end up falling.

    From the start of the battle until now, only 10 minutes had passed, but it felt like a century. However, every second was difficult because they were struggling with all their might between life and death. No one knew if they would still be alive in the next second.

    The Legendary powerhouses who had originally nned to besiege the Icest Wyrm were no longer scattered in all directions as they had been in the beginning, but had begun gathering. They hoped that they could survive the Icest Wyrm¡¯s attacks. However, they all knew that they were just struggling, and even if their defenses didn¡¯t copse under the attacks of the Icest Wyrm, they would still be unable to avoid annihtion.

    The two peak-Legendary-level powerhouses Connoris, who had the perfect body, and Lin Li, who had the debris of the stars, Holy Light, could asionallyunch some counterattacks against the Icest Wyrm Sindera. However, the effects of their counterattacks were minimal, and they would only bring about disappointment which turned into despair.

    However, regardless of whether the others were disappointed or desperate, Lin Li never gave up looking for opportunities. So what if they were facing an existence that was on par with the me Dragon Lothar? He was still alive; hence, he couldn¡¯t give up easily. Although it hadn¡¯t been many years since he had arrived in the world of Anril, Lin Li had gone through many near-death experiences, and had even experienced more than those old men who had lived for hundreds of years. Lin Li could make it that far partly because of his abilities, but also to arge extent because of his never-say-die attitude.

    With the help of the power of the Space-rted Magical Robe, Lin Li¡¯s figure constantly flickered in the sky, dodging the deadly and powerful magical spells cast by the Icest Wyrm. He seized a fleeting opportunity to raise the Helios¡¯ Scepter. Although there was no Magical Domain for strengthening, Lin Li could still condense the giant Light and Darkness Sword immediately with the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. It was as if the Light and Darkness Sword had cut through the sky and shed towards the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    Holy Light did not manage to provide any purification. Among the attack methods that Lin Li had mastered, the Light and Darkness Sword was still the most powerful one. Although the Light and Darkness Sword would sometimes be worn out halfway through its trajectory and end up being unable to break through the hard and cold armor of the Icest Wyrm, Lin Li still refused to give up. He continued to use it.

    Although Lin Li had five more powerful pieces of the debris of the stars other than Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, his mastery of those five was far inferior to that of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Lin Li knew very well that, after all, he was still only at the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm. Without the Stars of Fury, he could not fight a powerful existence like the Icest Wyrm using the other five pieces of the debris of the stars that he wasn¡¯t familiar enough with.

    Actually, the attacksunched with the Light and Darkness Sword were not entirely ineffective. At least, Lin Li could feel that the intensity of the magical spells cast by the Icest Wyrm seemed to have decreased greatly when his Light and Darkness Sword shed down on the Icest Wyrm. Actually, that was also the reason the other Legendary powerhouses could survive till now. Otherwise, given the strength of the Icest Wyrm, they would have probably long fallen one by one.

    However, from another perspective, the Legendary powerhouses who were doing their best to defend themselves could be said to have taken some of the pressure off Lin Li. If they copsed and fell, Lin Li would be left alone to deal with all the power of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Lin Li¡¯s ending would be terrible as well.

    Did the other party also instinctively fear the Light and Darkness Sword? As soon as that thought arose in Lin Li¡¯s heart, he immediately found it a little absurd. After all, the other party was an ancient wyrm that was on the same level as the me Dragon Lothar. It could be considered a demigod. How could it fear such an attack? However, if that was not the case, there would be no other exnation for the current situation. Could it be that the Icest Wyrm that had already lost its sentience still had the intention of ying cat and mouse?

    Apart from Lin Li, the only Legendary powerhouse that still had the ability to resist the suppression of the Icest Wyrm was Connoris, who had the perfect body.

    Although, ording to the Ashen Warlock, the perfect body created by the Highlord Osric was far from perfect, and could not bepared to any divine body, the perfect body was undoubtedly not inferior to the wyrms and Titans in all aspects.

    After being trapped in the hammer for thousands of years, Connoris finally had a body that he was satisfied with. He obviously wouldn¡¯t be willing to give it away just like that, not even to the Icest Wyrm Sindera. He waved the Eternal Frost de in his hand and continuously chanted ancient demonic runes that almost no one could understand, casting bizarre and powerful magical spells that were beyond the realm of Magical Domains.

    A circle of space-rted magical ripples surrounded Connoris¡¯ body, and continued to spread around. Whenever the magical spells cast by the Icest Wyrm Space Powernded in them, they would be extremely slow as if they had fallen deep into a swamp. While the ripples were moving, the power in the magical spells was constantly stripped away.

    Seeing that Lin Li had thrown out the Light and Darkness Sword, and the power of the Icest Wyrm seemed to have faintly been restrained, Connoris immediately chanted 16 demonic runes without hesitation. As soon as the demonic runes appeared, a 100-meter-tall Demon deity shadow suddenly appeared behind Connoris. It had two horns on its head and a pair of wings on its back. As it took shape, it punched at the Icest Wyrm.

    ¡°Bang!¡± The Demon deity shadow punched into the sky, but it let out a loud sound that resembled that of an objectnding. At the same time, the thick fog of death aura that surrounded the Icest Wyrm Sindera seemed to have also been swept into a gust of wind, reaching the extent that it began dispersing. In fact, it could even be seen that there were some faint crystal-clear ice chips flying everywhere in the midst of it.

    It did seem to have good momentum, but everyone knew that that attack unfortunately could not do any damage to the Icest Wyrm at all, because Connoris had previously done the same thing more than once during the battle. All his attempts produced the same result. After the Demon deity shadow struck a punch, its giant fist was suddenly covered in silvery white frost, while the frost also spread rapidly along its arm and towards the figure.

    Connoris did not dare to slow down at all. He quickly chanted the demonic runes and warded off the Demon deity shadow that had condensed. At the same time, he also evaded quickly like lightning. The Demon deity shadow dissipated, but its frost-covered arm had exploded in the air, making that portion of space seem like it had just experienced snowfall.

    The Demon deity shadow was a condensation of Connoris¡¯ mana. Losing an arm would be akin to losing a portion of mana. Although Connoris had a perfect body and an extremely high mana recovery speed, they were in the turf of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Even Lin Li¡¯s mana recovery speed was less than half of what it usually was, let alone Connoris¡¯.

    ¡°Damn it, I lost another arm. Had I known that Sindera would be here, I wouldn¡¯t havee with you even if I were to get beaten up!¡± Having just had a close shave, Connoris dealt with the ensuing attacks whileining to Lin Li in exasperation.

    It had only been a short time since he had obtained that body, and he hadn¡¯t even had the chance to enjoy the wonderful experience of having it, yet he was dragged into such a desperate situation. <i>Could it be that I¡¯m destined to be a soul without a body!? No, if I die here, I might not even get to keep my soul.</i>

 Chapter 890 - Ice Armor

    <h4>Chapter 890: Ice Armor</h4>

    Connoris and Lin Li might have signed a master-servant contract, but the binding force of this contract was not great. It seemed more like an employment contract. Connoris was a servant, not a ve that could be killed or have his personal rights taken away by his master. He could definitely decline toply with orders that were against his will.

    However, the mausoleum of the High Elf nobles was a huge temptation, even to Connoris who was an ancient Demon deity. At that time, no one thought that they would actually encounter the ancient Icest Wyrm Sindera in the mausoleum.

    ¡°If you have time toin, why don¡¯t you think of a way to kill it!?¡± Lin Li eximed coldly while waving the Helios¡¯ Scepter and dealing with the continuous attacks of the Icest Wyrm.

    ¡°Kill it? Are you kidding me? Even the old me... If I had known I would meet it here, I should have let it fight and die together with that madman Salor!¡± Even when Connoris was still a Demon deity, he wasn¡¯t known for his fighting prowess, and even when he encountered an ancient wyrm that was on the same level as Sindera and Salor, he could only hide as far away as he could. As an ancient Demon deity that was a master of conspiracy and deception, he could definitely sow discord and spark a battle. However, there was no point in talking about it now.

    While they were speaking, there were changes in the battlefield again. The fleshy wings on the back of the Icest Wyrm Sindera began shing with countlessplicated and mysterious magic symbols that came from the bloodline of the ancient wyrms. They represented the purest Origin Laws of the world at its beginning, and were said to be words used by the deities that even the Sanctuary powerhouses could not understand.

    At this moment, even the most ignorant person would know that the Icest Wyrm Sindera was about to act ruthlessly.

    As expected, a huge wave of mana that could change the world suddenly erupted from the body of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. It seemed as if the will of heaven and earth was about to bend to that power. The entire space was shaking and trembling as if it could not withstand that power and was on the verge of copsing.

    Next, white ice mes ignited in the sky, seemingly covering it entirely. Beneath their feet, there was a boundless sea formed with ice mes thatpletely blocked their view, making it impossible for them to see what was happening to the expedition team below. The ice mes in the sky were like falling shooting stars, descending upon them continuously. The sea of mes below was also tumbling continuously, forming waves of ice mes that swept towards the crowd.

    At this moment, the Legendary powerhouses were facing a hopeless situation where they had no way out. Everyone seemed to have been trapped in a dungeon with nowhere to hide or run. They could only continuouslypress their power and try to resist the attacks that came from above and below them.

    A giant wave of ice mes surged over, and instantly damaged more than a dozenyers of defense. The sounds of the defensiveyers shattering were like the footsteps of death. With pale faces and despair in their eyes, they continuously released defensiveyers of magic, wishing that they each had more mouths. No one dared to save any of the various types of defensive magical spells and magic props. Even if they had a paper shield, they would not hesitate to raise it.

    ¡°Bang!¡± With a crisp explosion, the staff in the hands of a Legendary-mage from the Caesar Family exploded as it couldn¡¯t withstand the extreme speed of the spell-casting. In fact, he was not the only one who experienced that situation. The staffs of many mages had also begun cracking because of the casting. It was only a matter of time before they exploded.

    Faced with such terrifying offensive spells, even Lin Li and Connoris who were elite Legendary powerhouses were no longer able to fight back or reverse the situation into one where they yed a massive role. Lin Li had increased his casting speed to the extreme, and the jewel at the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter also erupted with a dazzling light that showed no signs of weakness. It continuously filled theyers of magical defense in the surroundings. On Connoris¡¯ side, he had no time to chant a single incantation at all. Even though he had the perfect body, he dared not let the ice mes get near him.

    However, would the Icest Wyrm Sindera allow those insignificant small fries to continue struggling? If it had its own consciousness, it might have made fun of them after living life in boredom for thousands of years. However, it was just an Undead creature with no soul and sentience. Killing all lives was its nature.

    The Icest Wyrm Sindera was just pping its wings in ce, and the endless streams of ice mes that filled the entire space seemed to have surged countless times again. The offensive spells became more rapid, intense, and terrifying. The ice mes were like meteors and massive waves that almost drowned all of them immediately. Everyone was castingyers of defensive magical spells despite the fact that they were at risk of overdrawing their mana. However, the defensiveyers seemed as fragile as ss under the endless attacks.

    The continuous casting of spells and the massive overdraft of mana and mental strength made Hoffman¡¯s face turn pale. When facing the desperate situation, he had already regretted deeply. Had he known earlier that there would¡¯ve been such a terrifying existence in the mausoleum, he would have never coveted it no matter what. Even if the High Elf nobles, the most noble prince, or the wealth of the entire Anril was buried in there, one would have to be alive in order to obtain them. After battling the monster known as the Whispering God back then, he should have known that the mausoleum was twisted beyond his imagination. Why had he chosen to continue!?

    At that moment, Hoffman was definitely not the only one who was filled with regret. However, it was toote to regret. The ancient Icest Wyrm that was above the Sanctuary-realm was no longer an existence that mortals could fight against. It was simply impossible to escape from its hands.

    Joseph initially wanted to use the wealth in the mausoleum to reverse the unfavorable situation of the conflict between him and the Tower of Dusk, and to suppress thempletely. After discovering that the Tower of Dusk hade to explore the mausoleum as well, he did not give up on the exploration, and even thought about how he could keep the people of the Tower of Dusk there forever. Now, his wish seemed to have been fulfilled. However, he was also trapped there, and it seemed that he had to die together with the team of the Mithril Alliance.

    In Joseph¡¯s opinion, there had already been signs and opportunities for him to withdraw during the exploration. The presence of the Whispering God was an indication of just how terrifying the mausoleum was. Next, they discovered the research log of Caleross which clearly mentioned the existence of the Humerus Wyrm army. When they entered the canyon that was filled with the skeletons of the Behemoth Beasts, the idea of retreating surfaced in his mind at one point. However, he would often choose to continue, and despite the fact that the team¡¯s strength was greatly diminished, he did not decide to leave.

    Had he chosen to quit then, the only ones facing the Icest Wyrm would¡¯ve been the other three forces. Besides, if the elites of those three forces were annihted, the Breezy ins would enter the era where the Mithril Alliance would dominate. That would be a great opportunity! At the thought of that, Joseph could not help but regret his decision and wish he could kill himself.

    ¡°Connoris, have you discovered that something seems to be wrong!?¡±

    Unlike those people, Lin Li did not have any time to waste on such meaningless things. Even under the strong suppression of the Icest Wyrm, Lin Li did not have a hard time hanging on. However, he did not stop thinking about how he could change the situation.

    ¡°Wrong? What¡¯s wrong? Regardless of whether it¡¯s wrong or right, we can¡¯t hold on any longer!¡± Connoris eximed with resentment in his tone. Of course, he resented both the Icest Wyrm Sindera and Lin Li.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have time to care about Connoris¡¯ tone. Instead, he continued to support the magical defense while saying, ¡°If the Icest Wyrm Sindera is really an existence that is on the same level as the me Dragon Lothar, don¡¯t you think it seems to be acting a bit unworthy of its name right now?¡±

    Lin Li had seen how ferocious the me Dragon Lothar was. At that time, Nefa and Rogge were Sanctuary powerhouses who were not inferior to the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council, yet they were suppressed by the me Dragon Lothar to the point where they were almost powerless to fight back. They even almost copsed during the battle. That was a true power that could be considered half-godly. However, the Icest Wyrm Sindera actually allowed them to persist for such a long time even though they were just Legendary powerhouses. If it had been the me Dragon Lothar, they would have probably been turned into ashes immediately.

    In fact, that feeling wasn¡¯t anything new. During the previous battle, Lin Li had a vague feeling that there seemed to be some difference in strength between the Icest Wyrm Sindera and the me Dragon Lothar. Now, the other party had even exhibited its greatest power, yet it did not manage to wipe out all of them. If it were the me Dragon Lothar, it would definitely be impossible.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t you think this is enough!? Wait... I almost forgot, you¡¯ve met the me Dragon Lothar before. However, what you mean now is that even if Sindera is inferior to Lothar, and even if that Icest Wyrm isn¡¯t Sindera, you would be able to get rid of it, is that so?¡± asked Connoris who could not figure it out for a while. He had no idea what Lin Li meant when he suddenly said that. He was the one who was in a desperate situation now, not the Icest Wyrm. Even if it was not as strong as the me Dragon Lothar, the oue would be the same as long as it could kill them.

    ¡°We have to think of a solution. Are you willing to just die here!?¡± Without waiting for Connoris to respond, Lin Li suddenly triggered the power of his Space-rted Magical Robe, and his body immediately disappeared on the spot before appearing in another spot that was not too far away.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Connoris got a great shock when he saw that Lin Li still had the guts to use his robe to move. More importantly, once Lin Li ran away, he would have to defend the entire ce. Without Lin Li¡¯s instantaneous spell casting speed, he wouldn¡¯t have the confidence tost long under such an attack.

    Fortunately, Lin Li chose his position and timing very cleverly as he managed to dodge the attacks of the Icest Wyrms in time. He also took advantage of the time gap to give himself additionalyers of Elemental Shields. However, given Lin Li¡¯s spell-casting speed, he could only make it in time to cast fiveyers of magical shields for himself. The massive wave formed by the ice mes and the ice me meteors that were crashing down from above had already arrived.

    In the blink of an eye, Lin Li¡¯s figure had beenpletely engulfed by the ice mes. However, there wasn¡¯t a single trace of fear on his face at all even though he was in their midst. Feeling the Elemental Shields shatteringyer byyer, his tightly furrowed brows gradually eased up instead. Through theparison of the intensity of the attacks that he had endured, Lin Li came to a conjecture. He deduced that the Icest Wyrm Sindera did not go all out to attack them. Instead, it focused on targeting Lin Li and his team with offensive spells.

    If it had been the me Dragon Lothar, it would have been impossible for it to go the extra mile, and it would simply unleash its power to suppress them. Even if they were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and even if there were plenty of Legendary powerhouses, they would be turned to ashes immediately. They were a bunch of small fries that could have been killed altogether immediately right away, yet it chose to kill them one by one. Even if it was an Undead creature without its own consciousness, it wouldn¡¯t make things hard for itself.

    Wave after wave of attacks, and Lin Li could clearly feel that the intensity of the attacks had increased significantly. It was obvious that the other party had adjusted its power. That made him feel even more certain about that conjecture.

    After conducting a small test, Lin Li did not continue staying there. Instead, he activated the robe again and dashed towards Connoris.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing!? Have you really found a solution!?¡± Even though Lin Li had only left for a while, Connoris could still feel the difficulty that he experienced in supporting himself. However, at the same time, he also acutely sensed that even though he was supporting himself with great difficulty, the intensity of the attacks he endured was quite a bit weaker than when Lin Li was present. That discovery made him think more about Lin Li¡¯s words.

    Lin Li swiftly put upyers of magical shields while saying to Connoris, ¡°You should have sensed the changes in the intensity of attacks when I left just now. If it really possessed the same strength as the me Dragon Lothar, do you think it would still do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°However, our attacks had no effect on it at all. Even if it¡¯s not as strong as the me Dragon Lothar, it¡¯s clearly not something we can fight against now, so what¡¯s the point of you proving that?¡± Connoris was rather puzzled. They had tried to attack Sindera, but the reality had proven that regardless of what attacks theyunched, they were unable to cause any damage to Sindera. There was no point in saying that Sindera was inferior to the me Dragon Lothar. They couldn¡¯t possibly get the me Dragon Lothar to help.

    ¡°The me Dragon Lothar is already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, which is equivalent to being half a step into the realm of gods. To arge extent, it has surpassed the Laws of this world. Sindera is still very far away from that realm. You should know what that means.¡± Lin Li¡¯s tone was already bing mellower and calmer even though the current situation still didn¡¯t look promising.

    ¡°What you mean is that its strength isn¡¯t beyond the Laws of this world, so it¡¯s still being restrained by the World Laws!¡± After all, Connoris was once an ancient Demon deity who had mastered the art of conspiracy and deception. He saw Lin Li holding Holy Light with his peripheral vision, and he seemed to have immediately understood something. However, he said with disappointment, ¡°You¡¯ve already disyed Holy Light just now, and it has also been proven that the other party is not affected by Divine Power at all. You didn¡¯t forget that, did you?¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s still under the restraints of the World Laws, it can only avoid the purification of Divine Power through some means. I want to give it a try. If it doesn¡¯t work once, I¡¯ll try again. If it still doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll try 10 more times. However, I still need you to cover me.¡± After Lin Li finished speaking, he stopped continuing to cast the defensive magical spells without even waiting for Connoris to agree. He put away the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and reced it with the debris of the stars, Holy Light.

    ¡°Hey, I haven¡¯t agreed! Atrocious...¡± Lin Li suddenly stopped, making the pressure that Connoris had to withstand surge by twice, leaving the Soul Trader with no chance to curse.

    On Lin Li¡¯s side, a light array surrounding Holy Light instantly took shape, and as a ray of light gathered, a pir of light which had power that was even more astonishing than before suddenly erupted. It also sted into the body of the Icest Wyrm Sindera at the speed of lightning.

    With a loud bang, the dense fog of death aura that was surrounding the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s body was clearly dispersed by the Divine Power. However, the Holy Light still did not cause any substantial damage to Sindera¡¯s body. Lin Li was disappointed, but he was not surprised. He did not cken, either. He reached out to grab Connoris, and immediately triggered the power of the Space-rted Magical Robe.

    In the instant the two of them disappeared, the magical shield that Connoris had supported with all his might yet which was growing thinner shattered under the impact of the surging ice mes.

    Lin Li bolted to another position together with Connoris, not allowing Connoris to say anything at all. He immediately said, ¡°Continue!¡± At the same time, he raised Holy Light in his hand, and a light array that was full of holy aura once again condensed around Holy Light.

    Having been moved to another position abruptly and losing the magical shield, Connoris felt that it was over for him. Based on his previous experience, a singleyer of magical defenses could not block the offensive spells of the Icest Wyrm at all. However, after he put up the first shield and ushered in the impact of the massive wave of ice mes, he immediately understood what Lin Li said.

    Indeed, the attack of such intensity was inferiorpared to a level-26 or 27 Sanctuary powerhouse, let alone the me Dragon Lothar. That was the original power of the ancient wyrm that could best reflect the level of the ancient wyrm¡¯s abilities. As an ancient Demon deity, Connoris had a clear understanding of the ancient wyrms that had lived in the same era as him. He immediately had a general understanding of the strength of the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    ¡°How is it? What are your thoughts?¡± After sting the Icest Wyrm with Holy Light, Lin Li did not immediately move away with Connoris. Instead, he continued to cast defensive magical spells while asking Connoris how he felt.

    ¡°Level-26 at most. It won¡¯t be higher than level-27. This is a normal level amongst the ancient Icest Wyrms. Is that guy not Sindera, then? Or did its strength drop after it turned into an Undead creature?¡± Connoris even began to suspect if he had identified it wrongly. After all, Prince Brahere only mentioned in his diary that he had captured an Icest Wyrm. However, he did not mention that it was Sindera.

    However, Connoris hade from that era, and had actually seen the Icest Wyrm with his own eyes. Even though he hadn¡¯t had face-to-face contact with Sindera, he wouldn¡¯t mistake the king of Icest Wyrms.

    ¡°Level-26 or level-27 is far inferior to the me Dragon Lothar. We don¡¯t necessarily have no chance.¡± Upon hearing that Connoris¡¯ analysis was simr to his, Lin Li felt much more confident.

    The Sanctuary-realm was the process of evolution of mortals to gods. It might seem to be just a difference of two levels, but it signified a massive gulf in the realm. Those who were between level-25 and level-27 were powerful and oftenpared to the gods, but they were still considered mortals. At level-28 and level-29, they could have the power to break free of the World Laws and truly begin to step into the realm of gods. They could be considered half a step away from bing true gods.

    However, it definitely wasn¡¯t easy to take that step, because it meant that one would have to contend with the World Laws. The winners would break free from the restraint and be true gods, while the ones who failed would be ruthlessly crushed to pieces under the power of the World Laws.

    Nefa, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, and the first high priest of the Darkness Shrine, Rogge, could be considered peerless powerhouses. However, they were suppressed by the me Dragon Lothar to the point where they were almost powerless to fight back some time ago. Besides, they were not the only ones. Even the Sanctuary powerhouses of Anril would be crushed in the same way when facing the me Dragon Lothar as long as they had not crossed that point.

    If the Icest Wyrm Sindera was really an existence at the level of the me Dragon Lothar, there would be no need for the battle to continue, as it would be over once they get killed quickly. The half-god realm seemed to trample all of the World Laws. It was not something that a mortal couldpete with.

    However, if that was not the case, an ancient wyrm and ancient Demon deity would be bound to be restricted by the World Laws as long as they were in that world. No matter how powerful the opponent was, they would not have entirely no chance of winning as long as they were still restricted by the World Laws.

    With that understanding, Lin Li was even more certain of the next step of his n. As long as the opponent did not break free from the restraint of World Laws, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, which had a great restraining effect on Undead creatures, would undoubtedly be his main offensive weapon in the next battle.

    At the thought of it, Lin Li suddenly stopped casting defensive magical spells, and instead reached out to grab Connoris¡¯ arm, once again moving with the robe.

    ¡°Trying again!¡±

    By the time Connorisined, the two of them were already in a new position. The massive wave of ice mes was smacking at them. Under such circumstances, Connoris had no choice but to resign to fate. He chanted a series of demonic runes loudly, and a solid light curtain enveloped them.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The waves of ice mes smashed against the defensive curtain of light, and countless ice me meteors also fell from the sky, causing the curtain of light to shake continuously. In the blink of an eye, it was already covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

    Lin Li, on the other hand, was oblivious to all of that, and he still raised Holy Light in his hand with resoluteness in a bid to maximize the Divine Power in Holy Light.

    ¡°Sword of Judgment!¡±

    The Sword of Holy Light that was several timesrger than the Light and Darkness Sword instantly condensed in the sky above Lin Li, and even the clouds of ice mes that blocked the sky were forced to scatter to the sides by the radiance of the Sword of Holy Light. The Divine Power that was emitted from the Sword of Holy Light made those who felt it momentarily feel an urge to worship it.

    At this moment, as Lin Li¡¯s arm fell, the Sword of Holy Light also shed the Icest Wyrm Sindera with a thunderous momentum.

    As soon as the sword fell, the dense fog of death aura surrounding Sindera¡¯s body quickly dissipated before itnded, revealing the appearance of the ancient Icest Wyrm. When the sword cut Sindera¡¯s body, it was apanied by a huge roaring sound that sttered the ice chips everywhere, just as if the sword had really severed the Icest Wyrm in half.

    However, could it really seed? Seeing that the Sword of Holy Light had broken through theyers of obstacles and cut into the iparably strong ice armor, even Lin Li could not help but panic. During the first few times, Lin Li¡¯s Holy Light prated the ice armor, but it had always somehow lost its effect at thest moment. This time, he wondered if he would fail again despite using an even more powerful Sword of Holy Light.

    At this moment, the Sword of Holy Light had prated the ice armor, and was about to cut into the flesh of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. However, a ball of ck substance spread out all of a sudden, sealing the cracks in the ice armor.

    The dense fog of death aura had already been washed away by the power emitted by the Sword of Holy Light because Lin Li could see it clearly this time. It was that ck mass, which looked like smoke and mist, and also like ck flowing water, that turned out to be whatpletely separated the Divine Power of the Sword of Holy Light and the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    Obviously, the Holy Light Judgment that had been cast several times before must have been blocked by that ck mass as well! Without a doubt, Lin Li was filled with disappointment, but his eyes immediately lit up again because that at least proved that he and Connoris had guessed correctly. The Icest Wyrm would be restrained by the Divine Power. Thetter was just blocked by the ck mass.

 Chapter 891 - Awakened Sindera

    <h4>Chapter 891: Awakened Sindera</h4>

    No matter what that ck thing was, and regardless of whether they were going to attack or avoid it, the situation would definitely be reversed dramatically as long as the Divine Power took effect on the Icest Wyrm Sindera! Lin Li was not dejected at all. He reached out to Connoris who was beside him, and their figures instantly disappeared.

    In the following battle, Lin Li almostpletely transformed into a devout believer of Light, and continuously exhibited all sorts of Holy Light Magic spells.

    No one could imagine that one of mages who had always been known as sphemers would change drastically, and be a believer of Light proficient in all kinds of Holy Light Magic spells. That was probably the most crazy, ridiculous thing in the world. Upon sight of the power exhibited by Lin Li, everyone even began to suspect if Lin Li was an undercover agent who was sent to the Guild of Magic by the Brilliance Shrine. They wondered if he was actually a member who was on the same level as an archbishop in the Brilliance Shrine.

    After thinking about it, they felt that it was possible that Lin Li could be Rosario¡¯s illegitimate son because he could use Holy Light Magic and had the support of the Brilliance Shrine. Rumor had it that he was also protected by the Holy Pdins. As they watched Lin Li continuously cast the Holy Light Magic, the other Legendary powerhouses began making guesses while supplementing their defensive magic spells.

    Lin Li did not have that much time to care about what others thought, but despite having discovered the secret of the Icest Wyrm Sindera, things didn¡¯t go smoothly for him, either. He cast the Holy Light Magic a few times, and watched the power of the Holy Light pass through the ice armor, which was followed by the diffusion of the ck mass that instantly blocked the Divine Power.

    On the other hand, Lin Li and Connoris seemed to have caught the attention of the Icest Wyrm Sindera. The pressure that they were under also increased significantly. Whenever Connoris was covering for Lin Li, he would find it extremely difficult to keep up with the support. Even his perfect body seemed to be somewhat unable to withstand the overdraft, which made him experience it again after a long time.

    ¡°Does it work or not? That guy is clearly focusing on attacking us with increasing intensity. If this goes on, I won¡¯t be able to hold on any longer. Why don¡¯t we just pause!?¡± Connoris eximed at Lin Li in exasperation while casting defensive magic spells.

    Lin Li was well aware of the current situation, and was rather anxious as well. However, could they really stop? At this moment, Lin Li truly missed the days in the Endless World where he would enjoy thepany of the Stars of Fury during all his battles. Unfortunately, the Stars of Fury was still nowhere to be found even though the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had already been assembled. Otherwise, he would be able to kill the Icest Wyrm with any piece of the debris of the stars so long as he had the Stars of Fury.

    However, he could only fantasize about it now! Lin Li sighed and reached out to grab Connoris before moving to another position.

    In the beginning, everyone was thrilled to see Lin Li and Connoris counterattacking against the Icest Wyrm, especially when they felt that the pressure they were withstanding seemed to have weakened a little. They pinned their hopes on the two, but as time passed, Lin Li who released Holy Light Magic couldn¡¯t do anything to the Icest Wyrm at all. In fact, he couldn¡¯t even cause any minor injuries. They could no longer control the fear and despair spreading in their hearts.

    If the situation continued, they could imagine that Lin Li and Connoris would be the ones to fall in the end. After the Icest Wyrm killed the two of them, they would no longer survive.

    After all, the Icest Wyrm Sindera was a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if it couldn¡¯t reach the level of the me Dragon Lothar, its level-26 or level-27 power was not to be belittled. When it focused all of its strength on Lin Li and Connoris, the two of them were immediately put in an incredibly difficult situation.

    However, Lin Li did not give up. Every time he cast the Holy Light Magic spells, he would stare intently at the changes in the ck mass below the ice armor, hoping to find a regr rhythm or pattern. Connoris did not stopining. He simply covered Lin Li and tried his best to fend off the attacks of the Icest Wyrm. He seemed to be having a much harder time than Lin Li.

    Although the Icest Wyrm Sindera had already lost its sentience, its Sanctuary-level battle instincts had not weakened in the slightest. Seeing that Lin Li and Connoris had continuously used their spatial movement abilities to move around like flies encircling it, it refused to tolerate that behavior even though it was no longer sentient.

    However, just as the Icest Wyrm let out a high-pitched roar and gathered a terrifying power that could destroy the heavens and earth in a bid to kill Lin Li and Connoris in one go, Lin Li took the opportunity of the momentary pause. Refusing to give up, he maximized the power of Holy Light, and once again exhibited the Judgment of Light that could purify all filth and evilness in the world.

    Before the Icest Wyrm couldunch its attack, the pir of light that emitted holy aura immediately passed through all hindrances, and sted the massive body of the Icest Wyrm. However, when everyone had lost hope and even Lin Li was no longer confident, he suddenly discovered that there was an almost undiscoverable pause when the ck fog under the ice armor spread out and was about to block the Divine Power.

    Perhaps it was because the Icest Wyrm had used too much power, or perhaps there was another reason, but the minor pause in the diffusion of the ck fog finally prevented it from blocking the Judgment of Light. Next, there was a full outbreak of Divine Power, and the dazzling light spread rapidly to the entire body of the Icest Wyrm. It even engulfed it entirely.

    At this moment, everyone was stunned, and despite the iparably dazzling light, everyone refused to take their eyes off the scene. They kept their eyes fixed even though they were tearing up because of the re. It was as if they were desperately trying to see through the light to find some hope of changing their destiny.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    A dragon roar was once again hearding from the light, but they could tell that it was vastly different than before. It seemed to contain the vicissitudes of the prehistoric times, the arrogance of being above the heavens and earth, and fury that made everyone tremble.

    Originally, the crowd didn¡¯t think that the Judgment of Light that Lin Li cast would be able to finish off the powerful Icest Wyrm with just one strike. However, they could now feel the immense rage of the Icest Wyrm, which made them feel even more nervous. They were worried that Lin Li might provoke the Icest Wyrm without hurting it. Should that be the case, they would all be finished.

    As soon as the dragon roar sounded, the entire space became tumultuous, and the ocean of ice mes above and below them retreated immediately like a tidal wave. Rumbling sounds could be heard, resembling the sounds of galloping horses. When all the icy mes disappeared, there was some golden light in the Divine Power that engulfed the Icest Wyrm. The golden light expanded like a drop of ink in water, gradually recing the silvery-white Holy glow. It looked as if a golden sun had risen in this sky.

    ¡°Boom!¡± The golden light exploded, and a massive figure of a dragon reced the original Icest Wyrm, sweeping through the heavens and earth with its massive power. Although it looked exactly the same as the previous Icest Wyrm, it had a different vibe. It no longer seemed emotionless and lifeless like a zombie. Instead, it was filled with intense fury and the joy of regaining freedom.

    That was the real Sindera, which was the king of the ancient Icest Wyrms, and was second only to the five Dragon Aspects. It was a powerful existence that was halfway to bing a god. Lin Li couldpletely feel the powerful aura of a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, just like the me Dragon Lothar. It looked down on the world arrogantly, and was iparably domineering.

    Lin Li had no means to find out what happened to Sindera, but he still couldn¡¯t let his guard down. After all, he had seen the me Dragon Lothar, and knew that it was unreasonable. God knew if Sindera was just like the me Dragon Lothar that had fallen into deep sleep.

    The golden light scattered, and the body of the Icest Wyrm that had be an Undead creature had disappeared, leaving behind a dragon soul that had just manifested. It roared angrily at the sky. ¡°It¡¯s been more than 1,000 years, and these shameless bugs actually have the audacity to snatch my body. The fury of the wyrm will never allow your soul to rest in peace!¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t have a deep understanding of thenguage of the ancient wyrms, but at this moment, he already knew the significance of Sindera¡¯s roar. It seemed that Prince Brahere had indeed captured Sindera, and then used some method to imprison its soul, which was why its body became an Undead creature that led the Humerus Wyrms.

    However, the appearance of Sindera¡¯s dragon soul had already exhibited the power of a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Since it had a strength that surpassed the World Laws, how had Brahere managed to do it? If Brahere had killed Sindera and turned its corpse into an Undead creature, that would¡¯ve been fine. Yet, he had actually sealed Sindera¡¯s dragon soul in its body for thousands of years. That was the means of a god!

    However, Lin Li could no longer be bothered to consider those issues, because Sindera was clearly about to vent its anger and make sure that Brahere¡¯s soul would never rest in peace. Didn¡¯t that mean that it was going to destroy the ce!? At the thought of that, Lin Li began to get a little anxious. Sindera was a true powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. If it were to really fly into a rage, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to flee.

    ¡°Human mage, I can give you time to leave here immediately in return for you freeing me from this confinement. I¡¯ll give you one hour. In an hour¡¯s time, there will be eternal winter in this ce!¡±

    To Lin Li¡¯s surprise, Sindera didn¡¯t immediately re up, and instead sent a transmission to his mind through its soul consciousness. However, what really caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was not the meaning of its words, but the mysterious fluctuation of its soul that had already surpassed the World Laws.

    Legend had it that after the death of an ancient wyrm, it would condense all of its spirit into the dragon soul and enter the dragon graveyard that was hidden in infinite time and space. Sindera was undoubtedly facing that exact situation where its Sanctuary-realm spirit and will were condensed. Hence, it did not lose any strength, and its soul fluctuation also showed its spirit and will.

    Lin Li¡¯s strength was originally at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and he had even gotten a glimpse of the Sanctuary-realm. He also had Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity. After studying it andprehending it for a period of time, he was in fact just one step away from the Sanctuary-realm. More importantly, Lin Li had gained a lot of experience from the battle with the Icest Wyrm Sindera, even though its strength had beenpromised before. After all, it was a true powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm that was at level-26 or level-27.

    Lin Li had reached a greater understanding of the Sanctuary-realm, especially during the battle where he was in the Magical Domain of the Icest Wyrm Sindera, and experienced the mastery and maniption of the Rules that were already at the extremes. It could be said that as long as he could survive the battle and carefully ruminate for a long time, he would be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm smoothly.

    However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, with the appearance of the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s dragon soul and the transmission via its soul consciousness, he managed to advance greatly. Its spirit and will, which were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, gave Lin Li a clearer ideapared to the previous battle. It was like a sledgehammer that had directly sted open the door to the Sanctuary-realm for Lin Li.

    Through the spirit and will that showed in its soul fluctuation, Lin Li managed to understand the mastery and control over the World Laws. To others, it¡¯d seem a little unbelievable, but for Lin Li, it was not impossible. His massive mental strength had actually already reached the level of the Sanctuary-realm, and was perfect for analyzing andprehending that soul fluctuation. Hence, Lin Li could no longer be bothered about what Sindera was saying. Instead, he focused his attention onprehending the soul fluctuation.

    Hence, everyone was surprised to see Lin Li closing his eyes slowly when he was facing Sindera that was emitting a daunting vibe while suspending in midair quietly without moving. What a joke, was he going to close his eyes and wait for his death!? The scene was almost going to drive everyone crazy, and they felt that even if he wanted to die, he shouldn¡¯t be using that approach. Could it be that he really had no courage to fight anymore?

    Of course, everyone knew very well that Sindera could easily kill them with its power that was 1,000 times more terrifying than before.

 Chapter 892 - Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 892: Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    That was also the reason they pinned all their hopes on Lin Li. Even though they knew how slim the chances were, they still did not want to see Lin Li giving up that easily.

    However, everyone was soon shocked to find that the mana waves of Lin Li¡¯s body were surging upwards rapidly while emitting a faint, subtle pressure that could not be ignored.

    If that was all, it would not be enough to prove anything. After all, there were too many ways to simply increase one¡¯s mana. However, the pressure that was gradually getting stronger made others think of the only possibility that was simply unbelievable.

    If they were of the same realm, the difference in strength could only bring a sense of oppression that would be present when a skinny person was facing a strong and burly one. Only the difference in realm would make one feel oppressed to the extent of being too afraid to look, just like a mortal facing a god.

    Could it be... that he had already entered the Sanctuary-realm!?

    Although everyone had pinned their hopes on Lin Li, and hoped that he could create a miracle that would turn the situation around during the critical juncture, everything that was happening to Lin Li was clearly even more exaggerated and unbelievablepared to the miracle they had imagined.

    Reaching the peak of the Legendary-realm in one¡¯s twenties was already an unprecedented matter in the history of Anril. Even geniuses like Osric and Geresco had never achieved it. Yet, Lin Li managed to do it at such a young age, achieving a feat that was akin to a mortal bing a god. Since when had the world be that crazy!?

    Joseph thought, <i>This is impossible, he must have overdrafted his mana and mental strength to force his power to advance!</i>

    Joseph was the first to refuse to believe what he saw. Although the strength disyed by the Tower of Dusk was absolutely shocking, he felt that they would be in a situation where no one could do anything about it after leaving even if he couldn¡¯t find an opportunity to strike the Tower of Dusk during the trip. He believed that it would be possible with the power and foundation of the Mithril Alliance.

    However, a Sanctuary powerhouse was already a powerful existence that was close to a deity, and Sanctuary powerhouses possessed the massive power that would allow them to manipte and control the World Laws as well as destroy the world. True Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril were few and far between. They were powerful existences who stood on top of the world. If Lin Li really became a Sanctuary powerhouse, it would no longer be a simple matter of breaking the bnce. He would have power that was greater than the Mithril Alliance.

    Why did the Mithril Alliance, which had thousands of years of heritage not inferior to that of the Brilliance Shrine in the Breezy ins, still have to carefully abide by the rulesid down by the Ashen Warlock? It was because they did not have a Sanctuary powerhouse. In the eyes of a real Sanctuary powerhouse, they were nothing but insignificant ants, regardless of how rich of a background they had, and how powerful and massive of a force they were. Even a beginner of the Sanctuary-realm would be able to easily wipe out the entire Mithril Alliance.

    Given the rtionship between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk, the Mithril Alliance would definitely have a hard time in the future if Lin Li really became a Sanctuary powerhouse! At the thought of that, Joseph could not help but shiver. He could only hope that Lin Li had used some kind of tactic to gain such power for a short period of time.

    Compared to Joseph, others obviously weren¡¯t as worried¡ªespecially the Glittergold Trade Union. Hoffman and the rest were eager for the Tower of Dusk to gain more power and be stronger. The Sanctuary powerhouses that were currently present in Anril were basically from the Dark Age, and could be considered mythical figures. Forging ties with them would be akin to mortals trying to befriend the gods. It was almost unimaginable.

    However, Lin Li was different. The Glittergold Trade Union and the Tower of Dusk had started working together a long time ago, and as their cooperation progressed, the Glittergold Trade Union could be considered the strongest ally of the Tower of Dusk. When Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he was destined to have a ce on the summit of Anril. At the same time, the Tower of Dusk would also have a significant position in Anril. As the strongest ally of the Tower of Dusk, the Glittergold Trade Union would undoubtedly benefit from the growth of the Tower of Dusk as well. Forming a cooperation with the Tower of Dusk was undeniably the best decision that Hoffman had ever made since he became the President of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes, and there seemed to be a ray of golden light in his pupils that resembled a bolt of lightning shing past the sky in the dark. All the magical elements in the space also started surging at this moment as they surged towards Lin Li. The initially shapeless magical elements actually condensed and encircled Lin Li like mist, making his figure appear somewhat illusory as if he was about to break free from the space.

    With the infusion of arge amount of magical elements, Lin Li¡¯s aura also surged rapidly. It soon reached a height that everyone needed to look up to. Immediately afterwards, an iparably huge wave of mana surged out of his body like the roaring waves of a storm. The space that he was in seemed to have be subtly warped.

    Connoris, who had been staying close to Lin Li, could not help but be pushed backwards by an unstoppable force under the mana waves. However, he did not feel humiliated or embarrassed because of that. Instead, his eyes were gleaming with excitement, and he was mumbling something to himself.

    As for the others, they were all being overwhelmed by the terrifying mana wavesing from Lin Li which made them feel like they were in an iparably vast ocean. They felt like boats that were vulnerable and susceptible to capsizing because of the waves at any time. At the same time, the pressure that was apanied by the mana waves made them feel small and insignificant like they were facing the power of heaven and earth. Fear also rose from the depths of their souls.

    <i>It was the Sanctuary-realm, it really was the Sanctuary-realm!</i> Joseph no longer felt lucky, and he turned pale all of a sudden. Fear and despair arose in his heart, and he was overwhelmed with overwhelming hysteria. He thought, <i>It¡¯s over, it¡¯s really over this time. How did that guy step into the Sanctuary-realm all of a sudden!? He¡¯s only in his twenties, but even the Geresco the God of Mages stepped into the Sanctuary-realm only in his thirties. Is he more talented than Geresco!?</i>

    However, us from the Caesar Family was secretly feeling lucky. Although he had beenpelled by Joseph to do some sordid deeds in the past, he hadn¡¯t gone too far, after all. Besides, more importantly, the Tower of Dusk did not turn him down when he swallowed his pride to request for help from the Tower of Dusk previously. They even gave him a batch of Life Potions for free. Besides, the young President Lin Li did not hold the previous matters against him. There was room for improvement in their rtionship. Of course, the prerequisite was that his side had to be in the right position.

    At the thought of that, us even felt that being under the pressure of the Sanctuary-realm that made him feel like his blood was going to stop flowing seemed to be less terrible.

    <i>Is this the Sanctuary-realm?</i> Lin Li stretched his arms and tried to experience the different feeling that the world brought him after he entered the Sanctuary-realm. While he was detecting with his mental strength, he felt that the entire world seemed to be iparably clear, and all the Laws that constituted the world were presented to him, making him feel like he could integrate into the Laws of the world without any hindrance and read, touch, and even grasp the power of the Laws.

    This was the reason everyone else below the Sanctuary-realm was considered insignificant. Even the Legendary powerhouses who had reached the peak could only rely on their own understanding of the Laws to borrow the power of that portion of Laws. However, the Sanctuary powerhouses had already be one with the World Laws, and their will was like that of the heavens and earth. The power of the World Laws was an extension of his own power.

    Now, if Lin Li fought against the Icest Wyrm Sindera again, he would be entirely confident of beating it with the power of Holy Light. Of course, it was if he were fighting against the level-26 or level-27 Icest Wyrm Sindera that had be an Undead creature. The dragon soul that contained all of Sindera¡¯s spirit and will was still an existence that Lin Li had to look up to.

    Lin Li had a deeper understanding of the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, especially after he had stepped into it and gained a clearer understanding of the power of the World Laws. Breaking free from the restraint of the World Laws was far more difficult than he had previously imagined, and those who could do so could indeed be considered halfway to bing gods.

    Lin Li hadn¡¯t been immersed in his physicalprehension of the Sanctuary-realm. After all, he was still facing a dragon soul at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm that seemed to have said something. However, judging from the fact that the other party didn¡¯t release its Sanctuary-realm power, Lin Li reckoned that it probably didn¡¯t have any ill intentions. He thought about what it had said earlier on...

    After carefully recalling what Sindera said, Lin Li was stunned again. Despite having been robbed of its body and having its soul imprisoned for thousands of years, Sindera actually gave him and the others some time to leave. It seemed that while Sindera might have been imprisoned for thousands of years, it still wasn¡¯t as unreasonable as the me Dragon Lothar. He reckoned that there might be some room for discussion.

    If the people around Lin Li at the moment knew that he had those thoughts, they would probably go berserk. Although Lin Li had sessfully stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he was new to it, while Sindera was already at the peak. It was clear which one was the weaker party. Instead of fleeing, he actually wanted to negotiate?

    In fact, if it had been before, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have had any objections to Sindera destroying the ce. However, he had now discovered the mausoleum, and he could tell from the High Elven Print in the mausoleum that it was likely to be the ce that the Immortal King slumbered. To Lin Li who was eagerly searching for the Stars of Fury, he naturally wouldn¡¯t allow Sindera to destroy it.

    Of course, even though Lin Li had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm and had a greater control over the debris of the stars, his power was still very insignificant whenpared to Sindera that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. However, since Sindera didn¡¯t seem as unreasonable as the me Dragon Lothar, Lin Li still hoped that he could fight for a chance.

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re infuriated and you can¡¯t wait to destroy this ce, but I hope that you can give me a little more time. We¡¯ll leave right after exploring this tomb.¡± Lin Li did not voice those words, and simrly transmitted them directly to Sindera. Of course, he also wanted to get some experience of the Sanctuary-realm from Sindera¡¯s dragon soul.

    If Lin Li hadn¡¯t suddenly stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, Sindera probably wouldn¡¯t have cared about Lin Li¡¯s opinion at all. After all, even if he was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and was only a step away from the Sanctuary-realm, he would still be insignificant as long as he did not enter the Sanctuary-realm. However, Lin Li had now entered the Sanctuary-realm, and could be considered somewhat equal to Sindera¡ªjust like a child who didn¡¯t have the power of an adult, but was still an equal after all.

    Hence, at this moment, Sindera did not ignore Lin Li¡¯s request. Besides, Sindera was actually very shocked as well. In the eyes of the ancient wyrm, even the High Elves were lowly creatures, let alone humans which were like dust. However, a human like Lin Li actually entered the Sanctuary-realm in front of him. Besides, it could tell from Lin Li¡¯s soul fluctuation that thetter was only in his twenties. It was beyond imaginable.

    Although ancient wyrms were said to have been born with Legendary-level strength, and would be entering the Sanctuary-realm after they were of age, there was a period of time between their birth and adulthood. The fastest growing wyrms would take centuries to grow up, but what kind of ancient wyrm would be able to step into the Sanctuary-realm 20 years after birth?

    That was also the reason Sindera suppressed anger within it when it saw Lin Li breaking through the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, when it heard Lin Li¡¯s request, Sindera did not turn him down immediately without hesitation. Instead, it tried to dissuade him by saying, ¡°You guys merely want to stay behind and find some treasures of that bastard Brahere. However, I think it¡¯s best if you give up on this idea. This mausoleum was built by Brahere himself for his own burial. He was also going to bury a relic left behind by his mother. That relic was said to have been given to his mother by the Immortal King.¡±

 Chapter 893 - Which Direction To Go In?

    <h4>Chapter 893: Which Direction To Go In?</h4>

    Upon hearing that, Lin Li already had the mindset of a figure in the Sanctuary-realm. However, he could not help but feel his eyelids twitch. Although it turned out that there seemed to be some deviation in his trantion of the text on the tomb, the ce did not seem to be the ce where the Immortal King slumbered. However, he wondered if the relic that the Immortal King had left to Brahere¡¯s mother was the Stars of Fury that he had painstakingly been trying to find.

    Of course, that possibility didn¡¯t seem to be big. After all, the Stars of Fury was the weapon of the Immortal King, and Brahere¡¯s mother was naturally the first-generation High Elven queen. Regardless of the rtionship between them, she couldn¡¯t possibly have used his own weapon as a gift. However, that resolved another doubt that Lin Li had. It was no wonder that the Immortal King would do everything he could to help the High Elves rise. It seemed that there was an ambiguous rtionship between them.

    ¡°You¡¯d better not even covet that relic. Brahere has arranged for three souls to guard the tomb and the relic for him. Although you¡¯ve stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, meeting the three of them now will be courting death.¡± Due to the fact that it was amunication between their souls, Sindera easily noticed from Lin Li¡¯s soul fluctuations that he had taken interest in that relic. Hence, he immediately warned him. ¡°Although you helped to free me from imprisonment, I won¡¯t give you any help regarding this matter. Although I didn¡¯t suffer any loss in strength after I lost my body, that relic will cause great damage to my soul, and I won¡¯t take the risk for you. You guys had better leave. That relic has no purpose for you humans.¡±

    In Sindera¡¯s eyes, Lin Li was a human who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and was still too weak. He was just like a newborn baby. Although he could be considered human[1], his power still couldn¡¯t bepared to an adult¡¯s. Hence, Sindera tried to persuade Lin Li to give up, and even cut off the possibility of giving him help.

    Actually, Sindera was right. Lin Li had just entered the Sanctuary-realm, and had yet to fully familiarize himself with the power of the Sanctuary-realm. In terms of strength, he was stillgging far behind level-25 Sanctuary powerhouses who had entered the Sanctuary-realm years before.

    However, Sindera had no idea that Lin Li still had the debris of the stars that contained the purest nomological power. Although he still hadn¡¯t obtained the Stars of Fury, Lin Li¡¯s control over the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had improved greatly after entering the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, although Lin Li could infer from Sindera¡¯s words that the three souls guarding the mausoleum probably had Sanctuary-level power, he was not frightened.

    ¡°Thank you very much for your kindness, but I still hope that I can have a chance to enter the mausoleum to take a look,¡± Lin Li said firmly. Even though he felt that it was unlikely for the relic to be the Stars of Fury, he still did not want to give it up easily as long as there were clues rted to the Immortal King.

    Sindera could feel Lin Li¡¯s determination from his soul fluctuations. Hence, he did not dissuade him any further, and simply said, ¡°Alright, I can give you three days. After three days, I¡¯ll freeze this ce.¡±

    In fact, if Lin Li had broached the topic when Sindera had just broken free, he probably wouldn¡¯t have agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request, because he seriously needed to immediately vent the anger that had been umted for thousands of years. However, watching Lin Li¡¯s advancement to the Sanctuary-realm, Sindera¡¯s emotions were cated, and he finally agreed to give him an allowance of three days.

    After agreeing on the three-day time limit, Sindera didn¡¯t wait for Lin Li to say anything else. He pped his wings, and his huge body suddenly disappeared without a trace from the sky above the valley.

    Seeing Sindera¡¯s figure leave all of a sudden, the Legendary powerhouses around Lin Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they didn¡¯t know what Lin Li and Sindera talked about, it was clear that they should have ovee the obstacle. As soon as the peak-Sanctuary-level pressure vanished, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel weak. All the pores on their bodies opened at once, and sweat began to flow continuously.

    Of course, there were also those who weren¡¯t rxed, like Joseph and the several patriarchs of the Mithril Alliance. To the others, the unparalleled Sanctuary-level enemy had left, but to them, it seemed like everything had just begun. Even though Lin Li had only just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they were certain that Lin Li definitely had the ability to destroy the Mithril Alliance.

    ¡°Master, congrattions for stepping into the Sanctuary-realm!¡± As soon as the Icest Wyrm Sindera left, Ujfalusi and Norfeller scurried towards Lin Li. Although one was a Lich with a stiff face, while the other was a Vampire who never smiled, there was immense joy written all over their faces.

    ¡°President Felic, congrattions on stepping into the Sanctuary-realm,¡± said Master Basel, who could not suppress his agitation even though he had always been calm andposed. Although he could already predict that Lin Li would one day step into the Sanctuary-realm based on his rate of progress, he had never expected that day to arrive so soon.

    Sanctuary powerhouses were definitely existences who stood on the peak of Anril. Although they were still far from bing gods and deities, they were no different from gods and deities in the eyes of many. Hence, the people of the Tower of Dusk were naturally the ones who were the happiest about Lin Li entering the Sanctuary-realm.

    There was only a handful of genuine Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril, and each of them was considered a mythical figure who had a pivotal influence on the entire continent. Forces which had the support of Sanctuary powerhouses would undoubtedly have an extremely high status in the entire continent¡ªsuch as the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council. Everyone couldpletely imagine how no one would dare to offend or attack the Tower of Dusk again now that Lin Li had entered the Sanctuary-realm, for they were a force that would one day be a powerful one that everyone admired.

    ¡°Master Felic, congrattions! I never thought that we would have the honor of witnessing the emergence of a new Sanctuary powerhouse,¡± Hoffman said while walking towards Lin Li with the two major shareholders of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    He was not exaggerating at all. In thest several hundred years, there had been no new Sanctuary powerhouse in Anril. Rodhart, who had caused bloodshed in the Breezy ins, and Prophet Willen, who was known as the Son of The Holy Light, were the only ones. However, no one had had the privilege of seeing them step into the Sanctuary-realm with their own eyes.

    ¡°Yeah, Master Felic has entered the Sanctuary-realm at the young age of 20-something. This is unprecedented in Anril. His magical talent is so high that I¡¯m afraid even Osric and Geresco cannot match up,¡± said us from the Caesar Family who also approached. They were no longer bothered about pride as theyplimented Lin Li without hiding.

    Seeing that us was sucking up to Lin Li shamelessly, the faces of Joseph and the people from the Mithril Alliance grew even more sullen. Clearly, it was no longer possible for them to expect the Caesar Family to side with them.

    ¡°Joseph, you were the one who insisted on attacking and suppressing the Tower of Dusk. You should think of where the Mithril Alliance should go from here,¡± said the patriarch of one of the families in the alliance, sounding extremely hostile. At the same time, his words also caused others to respond, and several patriarchs and elders of Joseph also began resenting him.

    <i>Damn it, now they¡¯re ming me and criticizing me. When things were going well, they were all so quick to attack!</i> Although Joseph cursed in his heart, he knew that they had reached a critical moment for the survival of the Mithril Alliance, and one mistake would easily cause the Mithril Alliance to be wiped out from the Breezy ins.

    ¡°Alright, you guys, cut it out. Joseph, now that they¡¯ve all gone to congratte the President, it won¡¯t be appropriate for us to do nothing.¡± Elvis had a higher prestige, and he stopped all of them from using and ming Joseph with just one sentence.

    Joseph was also momentarily confused. When he heard Elvis¡¯ reminder, he finally snapped back to reality. Although Lin Li might not care if they congratted him or not, it would still be a good chance for easing rtions.

    However, Joseph was somewhat unable to swallow his pride despite knowing that it was something he had to do. After all, the rtionship between the two factions had be strained to the point that it was impossible for them to reconcile. He didn¡¯t know what Lin Li¡¯s attitude would be like.

    Joseph hesitated and did not act immediately. However, Li wouldn¡¯t purposely wait for an opponent toe over and say something. After talking to Hoffman and the others, Lin Li said, ¡°Sindera has only given us three days to explore. We¡¯d better go see how the expedition team is doing down there. If no one has any other opinion, we¡¯d better hurry up and finish this expedition.¡±

    As soon as Joseph made up his mind and was about to go all out to swallow his pride to speak to Lin Li amicably, they actually turned around and returned to the canyon before he could make a move. Upon sight of that, Joseph was instantly stunned, and his expression became extremely sullen. In the end, he had no choice but to bring his people back to the canyon.

    Ever since Sindera¡¯s dragon soul was released, the Humerus Wyrms stopped moving entirely, and fortunately so. Otherwise, the entire expedition team would have been in a really dangerous situation. Although Lin Li and the rest had pestered Sindera, Sindera¡¯s control over the Humerus Wyrms had not been affected at all.

    Under Sindera¡¯smand, the Humerus Wyrms strategically gave the expedition team more pressure, and they unknowingly separated the four teams. As soon as the teams dispersed, they gave the Humerus Wyrms more positions to attack, and while hundreds of Humerus Wyrms didn¡¯t join the battle immediately, there were still at least 70-80 that did. If it weren¡¯t for the timely appearance of Sindera¡¯s dragon soul, every additional second of dy would have resulted in great losses for the expedition.

    However, even so, the casualties of the expedition were extremely astonishing, and even the Tower of Dusk that had the Magic Net Mageweath array and the help of the two Legendary powerhouses[2] faced a crisis, let alone the other teams. The Glittergold Trade Union at least had the help of the Tower of Dusk. Although there were casualties among them as well, they were not severely damaged, unlike the other two teams.

    In particr, the area that the Mithril Alliance was in looked extremely miserable as there were numerous Abyssal Demon corpses strewn around, and the w Demons were almost annihted. Only less than 10 Blood-me Winged Serpents were left, and even half of the Abyssal Shield Demons that were only responsible for defense were destroyed. Even with the Abyssal Demons as cannon fodder, the casualties suffered by the Mithril Alliance were the greatest amongst the four teams.

    When Lin Li and the others returned to the entrance of the canyon, there were no longer any Humerus Wyrms around the expedition team, except for some broken and useless Humerus Wyrm skeletons. They should have been the work of Sindera. As a proud ancient wyrm, Sindera definitely wasn¡¯t willing to see his Humerus Wyrms continue being exploited by others. Fortunately, Sindera wasn¡¯t too extreme. Otherwise, Lin Li¡¯s Crimson Humerus Dragon and Ujfalusi¡¯s Crimson Dragon would have been wiped out too.

    Unfortunately, the power that allowed the Humerus Wyrms to move came from the Dragon Crystals in their bodies and the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms meant that there were hundreds of Legendary Dragon Crystals, yet the expedition apparently couldn¡¯t salvage a single one. Although Legendary Dragon Crystals no longer mattered to Lin Li, they were treasures to the others. The team had suffered a huge loss, and yet they couldn¡¯t gain anything at all. One could imagine how disappointed they all felt. They had definitely suffered huge losses during the battle.

    After hurriedly bidding goodbye to Lin Li, Hoffman and us quickly returned to their own respective forces with their subordinates to deal with the aftermath of the battle. Even though Lin Li had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, their forces still had to continue living. Besides, without sufficient strength, what right would they have to cooperate with a Sanctuary powerhouse?

    On this side of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li, Basel and the rest had justnded in front of the mages. As soon as they did, n, who was inmand, weed them. After the battle in the canyon stopped, n and the others had noticed what was happening in the sky, but given the realm of their abilities, they were still unable to find out what had exactly happened. They merely managed to guess something which they dared not believe.

    ¡°President, have you...¡± n wanted to pop the question, but he dared not. He only managed to feel that his President seemed to be extremely different from before.

    However, at this moment, Angno had already put away the Alchemy Colossus, and was controlling the Alchemy machine that he used for transport, running towards them and swinging its head. He yelled in a sharp voice, ¡°n, you¡¯re such a fool. Do you really have to ask that? Your President is already in the Sanctuary-realm.¡±

    [1] I guess this human means something like ¡°not just an ant¡±.

    [2] It was ¡°Archmages¡±, but should be about the goblin dude and n.

 Chapter 894 - Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 894: Attitude</h4>

    Although Angno couldn¡¯t learn magic, he had been following Highlord Osric for numerous years, after all. Hence, he definitely knew the Sanctuary-realm like the back of his hand. Of course, although he was moring continuously like he didn¡¯t care, he was actually bbergasted deep down. <i>Bing a Sanctuary powerhouse in his twenties is so much more perverted than Osric!</i>

    ¡°Sanctuary-realm!¡±

    ¡°Has President entered the Sanctuary-realm?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, why did you pinch me!?¡±

    Hearing Angno¡¯s words, the mages of the Tower of Dusk got into an uproar. To them, those in the Sanctuary-realm were just like gods. Even though the fact that they had joined the Tower of Dusk and be a member of the team meant that they were very confident in the development of the Tower of Dusk, the current development was still clearly far beyond their imagination.

    Having a Sanctuary powerhouse supporting the force was akin to being blessed by the gods. As long as they didn¡¯t incur the wrath of the Heavens like the Retribution Knight Rodhart did, the force would be in an unshakable position in Anril. Even the other Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t be willing to be enemies with a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Besides, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were all nurtured by Lin Li, and he had always given them plenty of pointers. Hence, in a way, they were equivalent to Lin Li¡¯s students and apprentices. Even though they often addressed him as ¡°President¡±, it wouldn¡¯t be overboard for them to address him as ¡°Teacher¡±. There were only a few Sanctuary powerhouses in the entire Anril. If one could learn from a Sanctuary powerhouse, there would be endless benefits.

    As soon as the news of Lin Li stepping into the Sanctuary-realm spread, the teams from the Glittergold Trade Union and the Caesar Family immediately became much more confident even though they had been initially dejected. However, the morale of the members of the Mithril Alliance became even lower. Everyone knew that the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk were rivals, and now that there was a Sanctuary powerhouse in the Tower of Dusk, the Mithril Alliance definitely wouldn¡¯t have it easy.

    Soon, Hoffman and Caesar Family walked towards the team of the Tower of Dusk, and informed them about the casualties of their respective teams, as well as the terrible situation that they were in. After the battle, thebat power of the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s team was greatly decreased even though they did not have too many casualties. It was worse for the Caesar Family as more than half their members suffered severe injuries. If the battle hadn¡¯t been stopped in time, they would have been wiped out in a short while.

    ¡°Take these potions and use them to heal your wounded, then let them rest for half a day. The exploration that we¡¯ll be conducting next won¡¯t be smooth-sailing, either. It¡¯s necessary for everyone to adjust themselves and get into the best state.¡± After Lin Li finished speaking, he once again took out two cartons of Life Potions from his Ring of Endless Storm, and handed them to the two of them.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Hoffman and us didn¡¯t say any pleasantries, and proceeded to save their wounded with the potions.

    Actually, it wasn¡¯t just the rest of the expedition. The Legendary powerhouses who had fought the Icest Wyrm Sindera with Lin Li also needed time to rest and adjust. After all, Sindera had been disying level-26 to level-27 Sanctuary-level power during the fight. The pressure of it was enough to make others vomit blood, let alone go all out to fight it and resist its tide-like attacks.

    Sindera had told Lin Li that there were three powerful souls that Brahere had ced in the depths of the mausoleum to guard the relic. Lin Li believed that with Brahere¡¯s status among the High Elves, he was definitely loyal andpetent, especially since he was chosen to take on that mission.

    Soon, the various forces set up a temporary camp and erected a few simple tents. The entire canyon fell silent.

    ¡°Joseph, if this goes on, we probably won¡¯t be able to get out of this mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re all like insignificant ants since we¡¯re below the Sanctuary-realm. It¡¯d be way too easy for the other party to keep us here forever. We clearly had a good opportunity to try and ease the tension just now, yet you...¡±

    In the camp of the Mithril Alliance, Joseph and a few of the patriarchs all had miserable and gloomy expressions as they discussed the problems they would face next. Of course, after the fruitless discussion, Joseph definitely got med by everyone again. However, he couldn¡¯t say anything, since he was the leader of the alliance now.

    The advantages would be shared amongst everyone, but he would be the only one to me if things were to go awry. Wasn¡¯t that inhumane? At this moment, Joseph finally understood why the Caesar Family had withdrawn from the Mithril Alliance.

    Elvis raised his hand to suppress the crowd and stop them from talking. He turned around to stare at Joseph with cloudy eyes, and said, ¡°Joseph, this matter should not be dyed. You should settle it soon. Otherwise, the Mithril Alliance will really be wiped out from the Breezy ins.¡±

    Joseph knew very well in his heart that Lin Li would definitely be the leader of the expedition since he had already entered the Sanctuary-realm. If the Mithril Alliance were to go on with the expedition, they would undoubtedly be pushed straight to the front as cannon fodder. However, if the Mithril Alliance were to ask to withdraw at this time, they might end up getting attacked by Lin Li. Even though Lin Li was a beginner to the Sanctuary-realm, his power was definitely unparalleled. Besides, his team had been greatly weakened.

    ¡°I¡¯ll find a way,¡± Joseph said with much difficulty.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s camp was nothing like a makeshift camp, unlike those of the other teams. There was a staggered array of tents, and almost everyone could rest in the tents, whereas in the other teams, only the leaders could rest in the tents, while the subordinates had to rest in open air around campfires. The tents were actually not worth that much money, but other than Lin Li who had the Ring of Endless Storm, the members of the teams did not have much storage capacity. Even if they had space-rted magical items, they used them for storing precious items that would keep them alive.

    Given the near-infinite space of the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li would have no problem storing a castle in it, let alone a bunch of tents. In fact, Lin Li had even thought about building arge house and storing it in his Ring of Endless Storm, for that would be much morefortable than tents.

    Of course, that was just a random thought. At this moment, Lin Li was seated in a tent and using the limited recuperation time to flip through the Book of Eternity, hoping to strengthen the foundation of his realm as soon as he could. He wanted to be more powerful when facing the three souls that Sindera had mentioned.

    Lin Li was carefully trying to figure out some of the experiences in the Sanctuary-realm that Geresco had mentioned in the Book of Eternity. All of a sudden, someone outside the tent reported that us from the Caesar Family wanted to see him for something. Hence, Lin Li agreed and invited him to enter, though he did not put down the Book of Eternity in his hand.

    In the past, Lin Li had never taken out the Book of Eternity in front of others. After all, no matter where he was, he should never unt his wealth. There was a difference between hearsay and witnessing something with one¡¯s own eyes. If things were to go wrong, someone might covet his items, and that wouldn¡¯t be a good thing. However, now that he had sessfully entered the Sanctuary-realm, and be one of the top existences of the world, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have those concerns and scruples anymore.

    ¡°Master Felic, you never forget to study magic whenever you can. It¡¯s no wonder that you¡¯ve stepped into the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age. You¡¯re really admirable. Compared to you, I¡¯ve simply lived in vain at my age. I¡¯m really ashamed.¡± As soon as us entered the tent, he showered Lin Li withpliments, and he did not behave like the patriarch of the top family of the Breezy ins at all.

    Upon hearing us¡¯pliments, Lin Li blushed a little and put the Book of Eternity aside. He said, ¡°Patriarch us, please have a seat. What brings you here at this time?¡±

    After us returned to arrange for the team to rest, he had a discussion with the elders of the family. They mainly talked about how to get along with the Tower of Dusk in the future. None of the so-called top forces in the Breezy ins could rival a Sanctuary powerhouse at all. One could imagine the major changes that would happen to the forces of the Breezy ins after the news leaked out.

    After several encounters, us could somewhat feel that the attitude of that President of the Tower of Dusk did not seem to imply any intention of ming him and his family for the previous conflicts. After all, the Caesar Family didn¡¯t go overboard or cross the bottom line of business practices previously, unlike the Mithril Alliance which resorted to unscrupulous means.

    However, neither us nor the elders of the Caesar Family were satisfied with that. The current rtionship between the Caesar Family and the Tower of Dusk was a temporary partnership of interests at best. Once they left the mausoleum, everyone would go their own way and pretend that nothing had happened.

    However, that wouldn¡¯t do, because it was a good opportunity to forge some ties with a strong Sanctuary powerhouse. It would be aplete waste if he did not seize it, and allowed the two forces to go their separate ways in the future. Be it Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine or the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council, none of the Sanctuary powerhouses of Anril could be easily approached by a force like the Caesar Family. It would be even harder to make a connection.

    Yet, a new Sanctuary powerhouse was now born before his eyes, and in terms of state of mind, Lin Li had yet to reach a state where he perceived everyone below the Sanctuary-realm as insignificant ants, unlike the old fogies who had lived for thousands of years. Lin Li¡¯s power was beyond that of ordinary people, but he still had the mindset of a mortal. He would still be affected by the behavior of the small fries. That was definitely the best opportunity to make some connections with him.

    If they were to wait until they left the ce, it would basically be impossible to speak to Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse again, even though the Caesar Family was the top family of the Breezy ins. A Sanctuary powerhouse was a Sanctuary powerhouse. Insignificant figures were insignificant figures. If it weren¡¯t coincidental, a Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t pay attention to a few insignificant figures.

 Chapter 895 - Super Lich

    <h4>Chapter 895: Super Lich</h4>

    Hence, after a discussion with the elders, us looked for Lin Li, determined to make connections with him at all costs. Was it embarrassing to butter him up as soon as he entered? He was sucking up to a Sanctuary powerhouse. Others might not even have the chance to do it!

    ¡°Master Felic, here¡¯s the thing. I heard that you¡¯re interested in the portion ofnd of Pandaria, right? I, too, think that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s current territory is somewhat unsuitable for its current status and power. If you like it, I would like to give you Pandaria¡¯s territory as a congrattory gift on your entry to the Sanctuary-realm. What do you think?¡± us was very direct with his words, and his voice was devoid of his usual cunningness. However, he wanted to be straightforward and clearly express his intention of wanting to cozy up to Lin Li. If he were to get up to mind games with a Sanctuary powerhouse, wouldn¡¯t he be courting death?

    Pandaria was a territory in the northwest of the Breezy ins, and its area was roughly the size of two Dnd Cities. It was rtively rich in mineral resources and herbs. The two cities in Pandaria, Pandaria City and Kombu City, were both famous cities in the Breezy ins. There were also a few other small- and medium-sized cities in Pandaria, and it was considered a rtively prosperous region, so there were also plenty of local forces.

    Lin Li was also a little thrilled. After thinking about it, he said in amusement, ¡°Patriarch us, if I remember correctly, it seems that Pandaria does not belong to the Caesar Family, right?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, we can acquire it, and I can guarantee to give you aplete Pandaria.¡±

    How would they go about that? Resort to violence, of course. As long as he could suck up to a Sanctuary powerhouse, us didn¡¯t care about the survival of other forces.

    Lin Li originally didn¡¯t intend to do anything to the Caesar Family anyway. At any rate, during the previous business conflict, the Caesar Family had never taken advantage of the Tower of Dusk. Of course, if they were to continue being senseless and stand on the same side as the Mithril Alliance, it would be a different matter. As for now, Lin Li did have some interest in the Pandaria region, although he could do without it. However, since the Caesar Family had taken the initiative to offer to acquire it for him, he decided to leave them be.

    After a short conversation, Lin Li finally agreed, and us had finally achieved his goal. Hence, he was naturally overjoyed. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he still had to explore the mausoleum now, he would have probably arranged for someone to seize Pandaria immediately. Seeing that Lin Li had reached out to pick up the Book of Eternity, us immediately stood up tactfully and bade goodbye to Lin Li. He then left the tent smilingly.

    ¡°By the way, Patriarch us, please wait a moment,¡± said Lin Li, who was suddenly reminded of something when us was about to leave. Hence, he decided to stop him.

    ¡°Master Felic, do you have any instructions for me?¡± us asked respectfully as he quickly turned around.

    us¡¯ respectful and ttering attitude made Lin Li feel a little ufortable. He waved his hands, and said, ¡°As I remember, it seems that one of the elders of the Caesar Family got injured when we fought the Icest Wyrm just now. I¡¯m afraid the Life Potions won¡¯t be of much use. I have a potion here that you can give him.¡±

    Lin Li then took out an emerald green potion and gave it to us. Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to give the potion to him for free. us¡¯ attitude was one of the reasons, and on the other hand, Lin Li was also considering the relic that Sindera mentioned. Lin Li also needed to strengthen the expedition team as much as possible.

    After obtaining the potion, us could immediately sense its extraordinariness as the aura of life that it emitted was much more concentrated than that of a box of Life Potions. It was probably no longer a Master-level potion. It seemed that the legends were real. He thought, <i>President Felic is not only amazingly talented in magic, he also has Master-level attainments in concocting potions.</i>

    However, what made us the most excited was not the value of the potion, but the fact that Lin Li had given the potion to him. He had no idea what exactly Lin Li and Sindera had talked about. In his opinion, the act of doing so meant that Lin Li valued the Caesar Family since Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, actually cared about an injured elder from his family.

    After showering Lin Li with another bunch ofpliments and thanking him while expressing his loyalty, us finally bade him farewell again. He then left the camp of the Tower of Dusk with the joy of having achieved his goal.

    Staring at us¡¯ back as he was leaving, Joseph, who stood not too far away from the tent, felt like vomiting blood. When Lin Li spoke to us, he did not deliberately lower his voice or try to cover him. Although Joseph did not hear clearly, he was vaguely aware of what they talked about.

    <i>Damn it, that bastard us is really shameless. He¡¯s the hallowed patriarch of the Caesar Family, and yet he could bring himself to tter and suck up to him without any bottom line. Does he still have any shame!?</i> Joseph cursed us¡¯ shamelessness in his heart, but he didn¡¯t proceed to see Lin Li. Instead, he turned around and left the camp of the Tower of Dusk in frustration.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. Even if Joseph met Lin Li now, he wouldn¡¯t have anything to say. He had also prepared to use Pandaria for a breakthrough. After all, it wasn¡¯t a secret to them, but he didn¡¯t expect to let us get ahead of him because of a moment of hesitation.

    However, he couldn¡¯t let the matter rest just like that. He still had to think of a way to improve the rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the Mithril Alliance to leave the mausoleum. It might even end up being their burial ground! At the thought of the terrifying consequences, Joseph felt like he was going to go crazy.

    After us left, Lin Li continued to read the Book of Eternity carefully,bining his insights from the debris of the stars and increasing his understanding of the Sanctuary-realm. Of course, half a day was not enough to make Lin Li¡¯s strength increase drastically and achieve a breakthrough. It could only solidify his realm and allow his strength to be more in line with it. After all, he managed to enter the Sanctuary-realm this time because he had sufficient umtion in all aspects. If he wanted to make another breakthrough in his strength, he would need more umtion before he could do so.

    However, there were a few figures getting busy outside the camp. Lin Li¡¯s two Undead servants, Uljfalusi and Norfeller, as well as the Crimson Dragon and the Crimson Humerus Dragon, were continuously moving from one skeleton to the next, but each time they got close to a Humerus Wyrm, they would stay still quietly for a moment before moving on to the next one.

    There were hundreds of Humerus Wyrms, each possessing Legendary-level strength. Their soul fires were like heavenly treasures to Undead creatures. Unfortunately, when Sindera left, it destroyed the Humerus Wyrms. No Legendary Dragon Crystals were left, and it also extinguished their soul fire. Otherwise, the soul fire of the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms would be enough to make the two Undead servants and Humerus Wyrms reach the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    Although the soul fires of the Humerus Wyrms were extinguished, there was still more or less some power left in the space around them. Without cohesion, that power would soon disappearpletely. The two Undead servants and Humerus Wyrms were doing their best to collect the remaining power.

    While collecting all the power, Ujfalusi was also doing something that would give ordinary people thrills. He was picking intact bones from the Humerus Wyrms and using them to rece the bones of the Crimson Humerus Dragon. That Humerus Wyrm of Ujfalusi¡¯s had been destroyed in Osric¡¯s mausoleum when he fought the Zago Demon. Later on, he also reced its skeleton with one that he brought back from the green dragons¡¯ graveyard.

    However, although a green dragon was also a real dragon, it had the thinnest bloodline amongst all the dragons, and was naturally the weakest one. Strictly speaking, a green dragon was already quite close to those beasts that had the bloodline of a wyrm but were not in the form of wyrms. Prince Brahere actually let the Icest Wyrm Sindera lead the Humerus Wyrm Legion. Those Humerus Wyrms were definitely not on the same level as green dragons. Although they were not ancient wyrms, they should be direct descendants of the ancient wyrms, like the Crimson Dragon.

    Therefore, the skeletons of those wyrms were definitely much better than that of green dragons in terms of quality. Even if they did not collect the power of the scattered soul fires, there would definitely be a considerable increase in strength as long as he reced the bones of the Crimson Humerus Dragon. However, the skeletons of the Humerus Wyrms had also been destroyed by Sindera that did so because he didn¡¯t want others to use them again. Hence, Ujfalusi could only pick out rtively intact bones from each skeleton.

    Fortunately, there were enough wyrm skeletons to choose from, and he could pick out someplete ones out of the hundreds of them¡ªit wasn¡¯t like Sindera had crushed them all. After moving through 60-70 spots, the Humerus Wyrm that Ujfalusi controlled finally looked decent. It had be muchrger, and its bones were much stronger. With the new skeleton, it would be no problem for the strength of the Crimson Humerus Dragon to increase.

    Of course, the biggest gain was still the power of those soul fires, even though only a small portion was left. However, to the four Undead creatures, it was still a massive amount of power. As they continuously collected it, the mana waves of the four Undead creatures were also clearly increasing steadily. It was simply a feast for the Undead creatures.

    Lin Li was reading the Book of Eternity when he was suddenly interrupted as he sensed that Norfeller had already returned to the front of the tent. Hence, he asked, ¡°Have you already collected all? That¡¯s fast.¡±

    After all, there were hundreds of Humerus Wyrms which had scattered power. It would take a lot of effort to collect all.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve had enough. They¡¯re still going on,¡± Norfeller answered straightforwardly outside.

    <i>Enough? Norfeller¡¯s realm didn¡¯t seem to have increased, though</i>. Lin Li was first puzzled, but he soon thought of Norfeller¡¯s identity. Although Vampires were also considered Undead creatures, there was still a difference between them and ordinary Undead creatures. Absorbing the power of soul fire could indeed increase their strength, but the essential thing was blood essence that contained massive power.

    For Vampires, blood essence containing massive power was like a key to unlocking the shackles of their bodies. The power of soul fire could increase the abilities of Vampires, but blood essence could cause Vampires to evolve. Back in the green dragonir in the Haiga Mountain Range, Norfeller managed to enter the Legendary-realm with the blood essence of three green dragons.

    Lin Li had blood that contained massive power, and the blood of the Dragon of Destruction in the Ring of Endless Storm was enough to form a bloodke. However, as one of the five Dragon Aspects, Azardas was an existence that was almost godlike. Given Norfeller¡¯s current strength, he couldn¡¯t withstand even a single drop of the power in the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s blood, because it was too overbearing. The power did not refer to mana, but rather the power of the bloodline. A single drop of it would make Norfeller¡¯s body copse.

    It seemed that if Norfeller wanted to evolve and break through the realm again, he would have to find a type of blood that was more suitable for him. Lin Li didn¡¯t have a fitting solution, however. He could only put it aside, and focus his energy on the Book of Eternity again.

    Compared to Norfeller, Ujfalusi and the two Humerus Wyrms were not restricted by bloodline, and the power of the soul fire seemed to have a direct effect on the increment of their strength. All they needed to do was to continuously incorporate that power into their own soul fire and strengthen it.

    When Ujfalusi returned, he had already sessfully advanced to level-24, which made him feel d that he had acknowledged the right master. If he hadn¡¯t followed Lin Li and continued hiding in the ruins of Syer Town, he probably would have never encountered such a good thing. He might have been casually extinguished by some powerhouse. Although he had to take part in dangerous battles, he also made great gains. Otherwise, advancing to level-24 would only have been a far-fetched dream for him.

    As for the two Humerus Wyrms, they had also made equally great gains, both reaching the peak of level-23. Besides, the Crimson Humerus Dragon also had aplete body and the Heart of the Fallen, while the Crimson Humerus Wyrm had a stronger skeleton. Even if it waspared to a genuine level-24 Legendary powerhouse, itsbat power wouldn¡¯t be that much weaker.

    Half a day of rest passed quickly. Li put away the Book of Eternity and went out of the tent. The teams from the Tower of Dusk and the other three forces had also started to prepare for their departure.

    After getting half a day of rest, and consuming the potions provided by Lin Li, the people who had survived that fierce battle had basically recovered their strength. However, due to the high number of casualties during the battle, which could not be salvaged by the potions, the strength of the other teams was much inferior to that in the beginning, except for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages.

 Chapter 896 - Big Door

    <h4>Chapter 896: Big Door</h4>

    The Mithril Alliance in particr was in a terrible predicament, unlike the members of the other teams who were all in high spirits. Even though the wounded had all been treated, they were still pale, and had no idea if they could continue walking.

    After looking at the situation of the members of his own team, Joseph was incredibly distressed. Given their current predicament, they would probably face a terrible end during the expedition, even if the President of the Tower of Dusk did not attack them. It seemed that he really couldn¡¯t hesitate any longer.

    In fact, at this time, the several patriarchs of the Mithril Alliance, including the elders of Joseph¡¯s family, were already looking at Joseph in a somewhat hostile manner. If Joseph still refused to do anything, they would probably rush to suck up to Lin Li. By that time, they would naturally push all the me to Joseph.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡± Seeing that Lin Li had put away his team¡¯s tents, and was ready to give instructions to set off, Joseph finally decided to go all out. Hence, he strode towards him quickly, and said with a respectful expression, ¡°Master Felic, when we saw that you had sessfully stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, the magnificent scene that resembled the arrival of the gods made our hearts palpitate so much that we couldn¡¯t congratte you immediately. Please forgive us.¡±

    Everyone who heard Joseph¡¯s ttering words was filled with surprise and shock. However, after thinking about Lin Li¡¯s current identity of a Sanctuary powerhouse, thosepliments and ttering words would not be overboard. However, most of them showed disdain for Joseph¡¯s change in attitude because he was previously arrogant and hostile towards Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, Patriarch Joseph, are you preparing to withdraw?¡± Having gained some experience, Lin Li knew that regardless of whether his words were affirmative or negative, as long as he replied with one sentence, the other party would have a whole chunk of things to say afterwards. He didn¡¯t have the time to listen to those pleasantries. Hence, he shifted the subject to the following n for the exploration.

    Lin Li asked a neutral question; in fact, he even sounded rather casual. However, after hearing his words, Joseph immediately got a chill. <i>What did those words mean? Is he going to attack the Mithril Alliance?</i> Joseph wondered. He was even sure that as soon as he mentioned his intention to withdraw, he and his team would definitely die and never see the light of day again.

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± Joseph eximed as he quickly reacted and shook his head profusely. He continued in a shaky voice, ¡°Master Felic, please don¡¯t get the wrong idea. It¡¯s our greatest honor to be able to explore with you in this life...¡± <i>Eh? Why does it feel like I¡¯m saying myst words?</i>

    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re not going to withdraw, get your team to get ready to set off. We don¡¯t have much time.¡± Seeing that Joseph was rattling on and on about meaningless things, Lin Li decided not to listen any further, though he did not show his impatience.

    As soon as he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, Joseph panicked even further as anxiety filled his heart. If that was the end of the conversation, it wouldn¡¯t change the situation that the Mithril Alliance was in. He quickly forced an even more polite smile and even bowed forward to speak in a humble manner. ¡°Master Felic, as you know, we were lucky enough to obtain a copy of Prince Brahere¡¯s diary, but we only took out a few pages of it previously. I feel so ashamed of our selfishness when I think about it now. So, we would like to give it to you now. I hope that it will be of some help during our following exploration. Please don¡¯t decline.¡± He then took out a diary that looked rather old but was still beautiful and even opulent.

    When the Mithril Alliance took out those pages of the diary and suggested to cooperate with the two forces in exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li knew that they had to have more than just those pages of the diary. However, when looking at the diary, Lin Li didn¡¯t grab it immediately. Instead, he said, ¡°Since it¡¯s Prince Brahere¡¯s diary, it should contain many of his secrets. Even if you don¡¯t continue to explore this ruin, you can still find other valuable things from the diary, can¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of us, Master Felic, but after experiencing these things in the mausoleum, we are now very clear that we¡¯re notpetent enough to covet any of his secrets. You, a noble Sanctuary powerhouse, are the only one who has the power to unlock Prince Brahere¡¯s secrets,¡± said Joseph, who had already stopped restraining himself, and the expression on his face made it seem like he wished he could worship Lin Li like a god.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped, since he had thoroughly offended the Tower of Dusk previously. If he did not swallow his pride, death would be the only thing that awaited him, and the entire Mithril Alliance would perish together with him.

    Joseph held the diary high with both hands and bent over low, not daring to look at Lin Li for fear that he would see some ominous signs. His heart was filled with anxiety, and he had no idea if his diary could change Lin Li¡¯s attitude. Even if it was just a bit, it would be good if Lin Li did not want to kill them.

    Joseph¡¯s heart only fell back in ce and felt a sense of relief when he felt Lin Li taking the diary from him. He frantically raised his head, and said, ¡°Master Felic, it is indeed the Mithril Alliance¡¯s fault for everything that happened previously. It was very despicable and cowardly of us to do so. We will definitely do our best topensate for the damage that we¡¯ve caused to the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Forget about that for now. Take these potions with you and treat your wounded. However, we don¡¯t have time to keep waiting, so just try to recover during the journey.¡± Lin Li took out some Life Potions and handed them to Joseph. Without saying anything more to him, he turned around and gave out the orders that he had already prepared beforehand to the team. Sindera had only given them three days to explore, and they had already spent half a day resting and adjusting. There were only two and a half days left for the exploration. Lin Li couldn¡¯t possibly give the Mithril Alliance any more time to recover their strength.

    After all, Sindera had merely said that there was a relic in the mausoleum and three souls guarding it. However, he did not mention anything else. If everything went well, two and a half days would be enough. However, Prince Brahere was insane, and God knew if there were any other troublesome traps hidden in the mausoleum.

    Of course, even if the strength of the members of the Mithril Alliance was fully recovered, they would still be very insignificant. After all, almost all the demons that they had treated as their trump cards had been wiped; hence, they were much less powerful than they had been in the first ce. Lin Li didn¡¯t particrly care about their power. In terms of the strength of the expedition team as a whole, it was still stronger now than it used to be. After all, he had just be a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Joseph finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the Life Potions in front of him. Although it did not mean that Lin Li had already epted him, and it was more likely that they were just going to be treated as cannon fodder, they at least didn¡¯t have to worry about being directly exterminated. As long as they wouldn¡¯t be killed directly, there would still be time for him to continue trying to improve their rtionship. He did not dream of being as close to the Tower of Dusk as the Glittergold Trade Union, but he wanted their ties to be like that of the Caesar Family and the Tower of Dusk.

    The expedition walked out of the canyon, and soon arrived at the huge tomb where they managed to see clearly the words on the stone tablet in front of the tomb. The team stopped for a while, and Joseph and us almost vied to reach Lin Li. They respectfully asked for permission to study the words on the stone tablet.

    However, Lin Li was already well aware of the goal of the expedition this time, and they were running out of time as well. Hence, he did not stay in front of the stone tablet for long, and instead ordered the team to walk past the stone tablet to go to the closed gate of the tomb. Angno walked around the tomb twice, and soon found the contraption used to unlock the gate. The gate that had been sealed for thousands of years finally opened slowly with a loud roar.

    There was a wide passage behind the gate that could allow about eight people to walk through it side by side. The Caesar Family and the Mithril Alliance were walking at the front as they took the initiative to do so. Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t make them the scapegoats to fall into the trap. With the guidance of Angno, the Guru of Alchemy, there was basically no danger. It wasn¡¯t that Lin Li was sparing a thought for them, but rather that he felt that making other lives be cannon fodder was too primitive and inefficient, especially since they were in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Perhaps all of them might not even be enough for filling the magic traps.

    When they were on the first few floors, Lin Li and Angno cracked some magic traps, and discovered that many of them were added afterwards. In other words, they did not match the original architectural design, which was a puzzling problem. However, the magic traps in the tomb were different. They could tell that each one of them was highlyplement to the architectural design of the mausoleum. That also made it harder for them to crack the magic traps.

    There were also some magic traps that even Angno, the Guru-level Alchemist, couldn¡¯t figure out at the moment. With Sanctuary-level power, Lin Li crushed them and allowed the expedition to eventually pass through smoothly.

    The passage was thousands of meters long, and due to the presence of Lin Li and Angno, the speed of the expedition¡¯s progress remained unaffected, and they soon moved through the long passage, arriving in a pce-like hall. In the hall, there were some burial goods, but they were all pieces of art that were like treasures such as paintings made of various magical metals and statues carved fromrge magical crystals.

    To Lin Li, those things had nothing to offer except mary value, but the Tower of Dusk did notck money at all. As for the others, they would definitely take all the items if they were in the past circumstances. However, now, no one dared to pocket the items before Lin Li took the lead to take them.

    Seeing that us wanted to ask but did not dare to, Lin Li calmly said, ¡°Let¡¯s get to the innermost part of the mausoleum as soon as possible. If you have time when you return, you can take them.¡±

    It was not that he was unkind and inhumane, but rather that they only had two and a half days to explore and leave the mausoleum. In other words, the time that they really had to explore was probably just a little more than a day. However, Lin Li did not know if they had enough time or not. He could merely minimize the time spent traveling.

    However, us didn¡¯t seem disappointed. Instead, he acted as if he had found a treasure. In fact, even if Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything, us wouldn¡¯t feel that there was anything wrong with it. After all, there was no need for a Sanctuary powerhouse to exin his actions to some insignificant figures. Besides, the exnation made us feel a little surprised and ttered as he wondered if that meant that he was one step closer to being epted by Lin Li!

    Regardless of how us was behaving, Lin Li simply got the expedition to continue advancing forward. Be it the team from the Tower of Dusk or the other three forces, none of them objected to it. It was as if there was no distinction between the forces at this moment as everyone followed Lin Li¡¯s orders.

    After passing through the hall where the art pieces were disyed, they saw another corridor. However, this time, it turned into a downward spiral, and as the team got deeper, the density of the magic traps increased, while the techniques involved became more and more superior. Comparing the magic traps, the settings in Osric¡¯s mausoleum seemed rather inferior.

    Under the obstruction of the powerful and ingenious magic traps, the expedition slowed down. Not only were the magic traps bing more and more difficult for Angno to crack, but Lin Li was also unable to force his way through despite having Sanctuary-level strength. Some magic traps could erupt repeatedly, and even if Lin Li forced his way through, the rest would be stuck at the back. Besides, Lin Li could feel that some magic traps could cause damage to him. There would be no issue if his realm was more solid, but it wouldn¡¯t work now.

    However, the magic traps were not alive, while they were. Besides, Lin Li already had extremely high attainments in magic gears in the first ce. After half a day, Lin Li and Angno cracked more than 1,000 magic traps, and they finally arrived before a grand and ostentatious gate.

    The entire gate was made from the adamantine from the deepest part of the Abyss, and its only advantage was the fact that it was study. It was said that even the power of Gods could not destroy any item made of adamantine, and it was almost impossible to even build something out of adamantine. Besides, it could not fuse with any other metal, either. Hence, it generally had no value.

    However, Lin Li knew of a secret solution that could temporarily change the nature of the adamantine. He was probably the only person who knew about it, even in the Endless World. However, Lin Li was already feeling a little numb about it. Even his Endless Labyrinth had appeared in the Sky Castle, and the Whispering God had also been nurtured in the upper level of the mausoleum. There was no need to make a fuss out of a secret solution.

    Angno carefully inspected outside the gate for a while before helplessly saying, ¡°I¡¯m very sure that there is no opening mechanism for this gate at all. Why don¡¯t we see if we can break the wall and enter from inside?¡±

 Chapter 897 - Silhouette

    <h4>Chapter 897: Silhouette</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Do you think Brahere would make such a stupid mistake?¡± Lin Li muttered as he took out some herbs and bottles of liquids with different colors from the Ring of Endless Storm. With great skill, he mixed them together and used magic me to warm them up.

    ¡°Bom!¡±

    The concocted liquid was thrown at the gate together with the potion bottle. Next, everyone was surprised to see the seemingly sturdy Purgatory Adamantine gate dissolve like warm wax.

    When the expedition team entered the gate with full concentration, they had finally arrived at the core of this mausoleum. When the team saw what was in here, they froze and their jaws dropped. Even Lin Li was a little dazed at what he saw. Any words would be insufficient to urately describe how extravagant this ce was.

    Lin Li had seen a Sky Castle and Osric¡¯s mausoleum before. However, those couldn¡¯tpare at all to here. Although the materials used here might not be more advanced or preciouspared to the other two, Brahere¡¯s expertise and taste in art had yed an important role in the construction of this pce.

    While the floors of the three were all adorned with precious magical gemstones, Brahere¡¯s clever design made this pce feel like it was in the clouds. Gemstone pirs so huge that they required five people to circle around them were connected to the floor that felt like clouds and the ceiling that looked like the starry night sky. Although there weren¡¯t anyplicated designs on the pirs, it just made them more solemn and elegant.

    The walls at the sides of the pce were painted withrge and exquisite murals. Not mentioning the valuable materials used to paint them, they depicted scenes such as the birth of the High Elves from the Tree of Eternity, the High Elves honoring the Tree of Eternity, and the Sky Castles floating in the clouds. Each grand, extravagant, and morous mural highlighted the High Elves¡¯ history from the birth of their civilization to their domination of Anril. One could not help but be in awe upon seeing these murals.

    It was insufficient to just describe this pce as extravagant, however, as the design and decor gave people a sense of magnanimity. People felt guilty just stepping into this pce as it felt like only gods had the right to live in a pce like that. Any mortals stepping in would be spheming the gods.

    Since Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm, his mentality now would be different from ordinary people¡¯s. Thus, he soon awakened from the awe the pce had brought him. As he released the pressuring aura of a Sanctuary powerhouse, the rest of the team felt like a bucket of cold water was being thrown at them, and they snapped back to their senses. Without any charming spells, the pure expression of art had already mesmerized everyone. The team couldn¡¯t help but admire Brahere¡¯s expertise in art; he was almostparable to gods.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t forget Sindera¡¯s advice that the three spirits were still guarding here. Thus, he ordered the expedition to slow down and move with caution, though it was confirmed that there weren¡¯t any magic traps in this pce.

    Soon, the expedition team saw three crystal coffins appear in their line of vision. The coffins were already opened, and three mage-like High Elves stood in front of them, staring at the approaching team coldly.

    ¡°They are the pce mages of the High Elves!¡± From the clothing of the three High Elves, anyone with a little knowledge of the High Elves¡¯ history would know who they were.

    <i>Are they the three spirits Sindera talked about?</i> Lin Li was more astonished after sensing the magical wavesing from the three High Elves. He had thought that Brahere would appoint loyal and powerful subordinates for such important positions. Moreover, Sindera had warned Lin Li that it would be dangerous even though Lin Li had already reached Sanctuary-level. This all proved that the three spirits should be at least Sanctuary-level in terms of abilities.

    However, Lin Li felt that the three High Elves standing in front of him were only approaching Sanctuary-realm. This meant that their power now was simr to Lin Li¡¯s before he had reached Sanctuary-level: the peak of level-24.

    In addition, Sindera had mentioned three spirits, and thus Lin Li thought that they were likely to be Undead creatures. After all, it was not umon for High Elves to practice Necromagic. Since Prince Brahere had arranged the Humerus Wyrm Legion to guard this ce outside, and even turned Icest Wyrm Sindera into a Humerus Wyrm to lead the legion, it wasn¡¯t so strange for him to appoint three Undead creatures here.

    However, Lin Li could sense an aura of life from these three High Elves. That was something Undead creatures wouldn¡¯t possess. This meant that the three High Elves were alive, and had lived in this isted mausoleum for thousands of years!

    Honestly speaking, this fact was more shocking to Lin Li than encountering Undead creatures. Although the High Elves practiced Necromagic, it was still the Tree of Eternity that gave them life, and they were naturally drawn to freedom and light like nts in nature. If the three High Elves had lived in this dark mausoleum for thousands of years, they would have probably gone crazy.

    Back at Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Osric¡¯s two most trusted subordinates aside from Angno were both High Elves. However, one of them was converted into a Lich, while the other had be a sinister abnormality to the High Elves¡ªa mage assassin wandering in the night. Could it be that these three High Elves had also been converted to other forms? After all, there were many maniacs among the High Elves.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have to hold himself back since these three High Elves were only Legendary-level, be they dead or alive. Seeing that they had already created their respective Magical Domains, Lin Li only waved his Helios¡¯ Scepter, and three Light and Darkness Swords immediately appeared on top of the High Elves¡¯ heads, piercing towards them mercilessly.

    A huge thud sounded, and the three High Elves¡¯ Magical Domains were all torn in half by the Light and Darkness Swords.

    Although there was already a tinge of Sanctuary-realm rules hidden in a Magical Domain created by a mage at the peak of Legendary-level, the Magical Domain still shattered like ss under the strike of the Light and Darkness Sword. Everyone in the expedition team, especially the Legendary-mages, all gulped upon witnessing this sight.

    This was the power of a Sanctuary powerhouse! Even a mage who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm could crash Legendary powerhouses like ants! Almost all the Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t help but be in awe. For us and Joseph, their desire to cozy up to Lin Li was even stronger after seeing this.

    As for the three High Elven mages, disbelief appeared on their faces, but it turned to a rather joyful smile soon afterwards. Their sudden smile not only made people feel rather strange, but also a little eerie.

    After that, the High Elf gaping a little while standing in the middle remarked, ¡°Thank you. Finally, we can be free from here!¡±

    With that, his body copsed onto the floor heavily, but with a smile on his face. The other two High Elves didn¡¯t say anything, but they also looked relieved before copsing to the ground one by one.

    That was it? Lin Li couldn¡¯t believe it. Although he had used the powers of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark to the maximum on those three, they were still Legendary powerhouses, after all. Even if their Magical Domains were broken, it didn¡¯t make sense for them to just die.

    Recalling the sense of relief and smiles on the High Elves¡¯ faces, Lin Li suddenly thought of something. When he was flipping through Brahere¡¯s diary on the way to this mausoleum, he chanced upon a passage that mentioned performing some ritual to prolong the lifespan of people.

    The three spirits that Sindera mentioned were now three living people. Brahere mentioned that he had conducted some ritual to prolong people¡¯s lives. Sanctuary-realm abilities became only the peak of Legendary-level after 1,000 years... After piecing the information together, an answer shed across Lin Li¡¯ mind: Eternal Slumber.

    Eternal Slumber was a magic ritual that could make a person enter a long slumber. The functions of his body would almostpletely stop so as to prolong his lifespan. He could only wake up under specific conditions. Evidently, Brahere had performed the Eternal Slumber ritual on these three High Elven mages, making them guard his mausoleum and that relic. They would only wake up when intruders hade, and continue to sleep when the intruders had been killed.

    However, the so-called Eternal Slumber wasn¡¯t truly eternal. Nothing was really immortal in this world. Moreover, they couldn¡¯t meditate during their slumber, and thus their powers would be lost uncontrobly even though their bodies aged much slower. This was why they were only at the peak of Legendary-level now. They might be able to recover their strength very fast, but Lin Li didn¡¯t give them that chance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue! We may soon meet His Highness who has brought us so many surprises.¡±

    The three High Elves were unimportant to Lin Li now. He was just a little surprised at their appearance and their abilities. Since he had already figured out what and why, there wasn¡¯t anything else that deserved his attention. What was most important to him was the item the Immortal King had gifted the first High Elven queen. Although it was unlikely to be the Stars of Fury, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t give up on any clues regarding the Immortal King.

    The three High Elves¡¯ corpses were ced back in the crystal coffins. The expedition team walked around the coffins and continued deeper into the pce. However, before they could walk far, they stopped right after they had reached the door behind those three crystal coffins.

    Behind the door stood a tform with a considerable surface area. However, what was around this tform weren¡¯t walls, and what was on top was also not the ceiling. Instead, it was a shining stretch of nothingness. Even this tform seemed to be floating in the middle of nothingness.

    Considering Brahere¡¯s title, Master of Arts, Lin Li immediately spread out his mental strength to test if the starry sky was a real thing or just an incredibly authentic piece of artwork. He got his answer very soon. The tform wasn¡¯t in the same dimension as where they had been just now.

    Fortunately, the door the team hade from was still there behind the tform. One would see the pce behind that door. In the front of the tformy a few steps floating in the midair. The steps led forward to a circr tform that seemed like an isted floating ind.

    The circr tform was surrounded by 16 pirs, each shining a mild magical glow with gentle magical waves. The center of the circr tform seemed to hold an altar. The altar wasn¡¯t tall, and only reached a person¡¯s knees. There was nothing on it, though¡ªneither Prince Brahere¡¯s coffin nor the relic Sindera had mentioned.

    ¡°Master Felic, should we send someone to take a look?¡± Joseph seized this chance and made his offer to Lin Li.

    ¡°No need.¡± Lin Li shook his head and continued towards the steps at the edge of the tform. With his current power, together with the spacetime magic robe he was wearing and the debris of the stars Nothingness he was holding now, he was confident that nothing could trap him. Moreover, he felt a strange connection to his own soul from the strange waves emitted by the pirs on the circr tform.

    Lin Li stepped on the first step gently. As if he was stepping on water, ripples spread out from where he trod. Feeling that the floating steps could really hold his weight, Lin Li moved on to the second step, and he was standing on the stepspletely now.

    Just then, Lin Li felt the connection to his soul getting clearer as he ascended. At the same time, a faint silhouette seemed to appear on the altar at the center of the circr tform. However, it was hard to make out what it was in the nothingness.

    Lin Li took another step forward, and everything seemed to be clearer. However, the change was so light that it wouldn¡¯t be visible without paying close attention. This change seemed to be associated with his ascending the steps. Lin Li hesitated no longer and continued with his third step, fourth step... until he reached the 10th step.

    By then, Lin Li could see that the silhouette on the altar seemed to possess the characteristics of the High Elves. However, he still couldn¡¯t see its features.

 Chapter 898 - Father

    <h4>Chapter 898: Father</h4>

    The members of the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union all tensed up as Lin Li continued forward. After all, this was Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, and everyone had had first-hand experience of his craziness on the way. There was the Whispering God, Humerus Wyrm Legion, and even the Icest Wyrm guarding his grave. Nobody knew what kind of tricks he would y at thisst stage.

    It was greatly advantageous to both the Tower of Dusk and Glittergold Trade Union that Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm. Thus, nobody wished to see Lin Li encounter any idents now. Even if there weren¡¯t any life-threatening dangers, what if he fell back to Legendary-level? Given that Brahere could capture Icest Wyrm Sindera who was at the peak of Sanctuary-level and turn him into an Undead creature, how about Lin Li who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm?

    On the othernd, Joseph and us felt rather conflicted now. They didn¡¯t know if it was better for them to cozy up to a Sanctuary powerhouse or continue being a local big shot in their respective territories under the current order in the Breezy ins. No matter what, nobody dared to show any signs of difference. All of them looked at Lin Li with worry just like the members of the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t stop for long and continued towards the altar. With every step, the silhouette on the altar became clearer, and its facial features had been revealed. Although Lin Li had seen neither Prince Brahere nor his portraits before, he could guess the silhouette¡¯s identity from its temperament.

    When Lin Li had finally stepped onto the circr tform, all the steps behind him suddenly disappeared. Lin Li wasn¡¯t flustered by this change. He frowned slightly and looked towards the almost concrete silhouette in the middle of the altar. By now, he could feel that this silhouette wasn¡¯t just an intangible illusion, but rather a real awakening spirit.

    The glow on the surrounding magical pirs faded, revealing its ck-colored true form. The spirit at the center of the altar also slowly opened his eyes.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t do anything, but he was prepared to strike the opponent at any moment or leave this ce using the spacetime magic robe. After all, his opponent was the crazy Prince Brahere who had cultivated the Whispering God and imprisoned Sindera. Even if it was just a spirit, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to underestimate him.

    However, the spirit smiled after he had opened his eyes and saw Lin Li standing at the edge of the tform. This smile contained a tinge of joy and relief, but no animosity at all. It was as if he wasn¡¯t looking at an intruder in his mausoleum, but rather an old friend that he hadn¡¯t met for a long time, or even someone closer than a friend.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t lose his wariness just because of this strange smile. He still maintained a safe distance from the spirit, waiting for this Prince Brahere to signal a fight or no.

    Finally, a wave rippled through Brahere¡¯s soul, and he said in a gentle tone, ¡°Father, you¡¯re finally here. I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time. Your weapon is at the location where the Tree of the World has fallen. You can regain your throne once you¡¯ve gotten hold of the relic you¡¯ve gifted mother...¡±

    Lin Li could clearly feel the sense of closeness and anticipation in the speech Brahere had sent to him via soul waves. That wasn¡¯t the most important thing, however¡ªwhat mattered the most was the content of Brahere¡¯s words.

    <i>Whom are you kidding? I¡¯m your father? I¡¯m only 20!</i> Brahere¡¯s words made Lin Li feel thunderstruck. He had never anticipated this to happen. Even if they didn¡¯t need to fight, there was no need to call him father!

    Unfortunately, Brahere¡¯s spirit faded with visible speed, and disappeared from the altar before Lin Li could ask him for an exnation. What was left on the altar was a scepter.

    <i>A scepter? The High Elven queen¡¯s scepter?</i> Lin Li looked at the scepter at the center of the altar from afar, but didn¡¯t immediately rush over to retrieve it. Although this scepter should be the one the Immortal King had gifted the first queen of the High Elves that Sindera had mentioned, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to be impulsive.

    Lin Li observed the surroundings of the altar, and he focused on the scepter in the center of the altar. From its outer appearance, this scepter looked simr to the legendary Moonlight Scepter the High Elves¡¯ queen held. It was said that whoever got hold of the Moonlight Scepter could summon the entire High Elves¡¯ poption. Thus, it could be considered as a symbol of the highest power among the High Elves.

    The Moonlight Scepter not only symbolized power, but also contained immense power itself. Legends rted to it weremon in Anril¡¯s history. Its fame and status were also on par with those of Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity. Although Lin Li hadn¡¯t been in Anril for long, he was already very familiar with its stories. However, if this was really the Moonlight Scepter, why would it be with Brahere? After all, his sister had been the true sessor to the throne.

    Lin Li¡¯s mind was filled with questions. After seeing that the altar didn¡¯t exhibit any abnormalities, Lin Li carefully stepped towards the Moonlight Scepter.

    However, as he proceeded nearer to the Moonlight Scepter, his frown deepened and his footsteps hastened uncontrobly. Towards the end, he rushed forward and grabbed the Moonlight Scepter with one hand, appearing anxious to get hold of it.

    When Lin Li was far away from the Moonlight Scepter, he could only see its appearance, and thought it looked familiar because it matched those legends he had heard. However, when he walked closer and could see all its details, Lin Li could no longer remain calm. He finally realized that the sense of familiarity he had felt wasn¡¯t due to those legends, but rather because he had seen it, held it, and owned it before.

    Back in the game, Endless World, Lin Li¡¯s main ount¡¯s upation was Hunter. He was one of the top yers in the game, and hadpleted many legendary and epic level missions. Lin Li remembered that when he was challenging the Well of the Sun, he had caused the Well of the Sun to copse, even though he managed toplete the mission. At the moment the Well of the Sun copsed, the thing he was holding was this exact scepter in front of his eyes.

    However, due to the restrictions of the scepter that it could only be used by High Elves, Lin Li didn¡¯t transfer it to his mage smurf ount, and kept it with his Hunter ount as amemorative token for sessfully defeating the Well of the Sun.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but doubt why this scepter which belonged to his Hunter ount would appear in Anril here. After all, he had transmigrated to Anril as his mage smurf character. Everything he had now, including his magic talent and equipment, belonged to his smurf ount.

    Moreover, Sindera and Brahere both suggested that this scepter had been with the Immortal King, and he had gifted it to Brahere¡¯s mother. This was so weird. How long had Lin Li been in Anril since he had transmigrated here? How long had this Moonlight Scepter been in Anril that it had left so many legends behind?

    What was stranger was what Brahere had called Lin Li just now. Had he be stupid after sleeping for 1,000 years? He called Lin Li father! However, Brahere¡¯s mother was the first High Elven queen, so did someone like him even look like his father? Lin Li was puzzled as everything just didn¡¯t make any sense.

    However, recalling that this scepter was gifted by the Immortal King, Lin Li suddenly had a theory. Could the father Brahere was referring to be the Immortal King?

    Did Brahere mistake Lin Li for the Immortal King? That wasn¡¯t impossible. Lin Li still remembered that back at the nna Guild of Magic, one of the three Undead Lords in Aurora Square had called him the Immortal King upon seeing Lin Li. At the Scar of Death, the sculpture of the Immortal King also looked exactly like Lin Li.

    The Stars of Fury and debris of the stars were originally weapons in the Endless World that his Hunter ount possessed. Why would they appear in Anril? It couldn¡¯t be exined by pure coincidence. Now, the Moonlight Scepter which had always been ced in his Hunter ount¡¯s backpack had appeared in Anril a long time ago. The Immortal King had even gifted it to the High Elven queen. It was even less likely for this to be a matter of coincidence too.

    Lin Li grasped the Moonlight Scepter tightly, looking at every familiar detail on it. Although he couldn¡¯t clear all his doubts now, he was sure that there was some connection between the Immortal King, his Hunter ount, and himself.

    As he scanned his surroundings again, Lin Li suddenly realized that Brahere¡¯s coffin was right under the altar. However, since he had already gotten the Moonlight Scepter which would lead him to the Immortal King¡¯s weapon, there would be no need to disturb Brahere any further.

    Lin Li temporarily pressed down his doubts and stored the Moonlight Scepter in the Ring of Endless Storm. With his spacetime magic robe, he was teleported to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    Seeing that Lin Li was back safely, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. After all, they were so anxious that they wanted to rush in when they saw Brahere¡¯s soul appear just now.

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re finally back safely. Do you mind telling us what to do next?¡± us and Joseph rushed towards Lin Li, asking for his n for the next step respectfully.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t expect everything to be such smooth sailing. He had achieved his goal in just half a day. Now, he had the Moonlight Scepter, and knew where to find the Immortal King¡¯s weapon, but the others were still mostly empty-handed. Since the purpose of exploring ruins was to find treasures and obtain benefits, it would be unfair for the others if they were to leave just like that.

    Hence, Lin Li thought for a moment, and replied, ¡°Although the journey has been quite smooth, we don¡¯t have much time left. You can explore this mausoleum individually on our way back. As to how to distribute the loot, you can decide among yourselves. No matter how much you¡¯ve gotten, I¡¯ll only give you one day. After one day, we¡¯ll leave this mausoleum immediately.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Joseph and us were overjoyed. With Lin Li being a Sanctuary powerhouse, they wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything even if the Tower of Dusk had chosen not to share. However, Lin Li had clearly expressed that the Tower of Dusk was not only going to share, but it would also not be participating in the explorationter. No matter what they found, it would be split among the Caesar Family, Mithril Alliance, and Glittergold Trade Union.

    Of course, us and Joseph didn¡¯t dare to exclude Lin Li even though he had said that. Compared to the treasures in this mausoleum, it was much more valuable to get on good terms with a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Regardless of that, the expedition slowed down on the way back after getting Lin Li¡¯s approval, and searched every corner of the mausoleum carefully. The Tower of Dusk, just like what Lin Li had promised, didn¡¯t participate in the search at all. Joseph and us, however, came to ask Lin Li if the Tower of Dusk needed anything every time their factions had found something.

    After asking a few times, these two could see that Lin Li didn¡¯t want any of the items they had found, so it wasn¡¯t possible to cozy up to him this way. Thus, they turned their aim towards Hoffman. The Glittergold Trade Union was much closer to the Tower of Dusk than their factions. Since they couldn¡¯t cozy up to Lin Li directly, they might get some progress on the Glittergold Trade Union¡¯s side.

    Of course, Joseph and us didn¡¯t need to butter up to Hoffman so tantly as they did to Lin Li. They just deliberately gave away a portion of the loot to Hoffman when distributing their findings. They believed that Hoffman would certainly understand their intentions with his intelligence.

    Hoffman certainly was clear as to what they were plotting. He had also gotten some hints from Lin Li about it. Thus, he took whatever the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had offered without being courteous at all.

    ¡°Master Felic, this may be useful to you.¡± Hoffman suddenly approached Lin Li with a potion bottle in his hand. With their rtionship, Hoffman naturally didn¡¯t need to butter up to Lin Li like Joseph and us. It had to be something he thought would really be useful to Lin Li.

    Knowing this, Lin Li received the potion bottle from Hoffman. The bottle was carved from the Crystal of Eternity, but its value didn¡¯te from its bottle. When Lin Li unplugged the cork, he immediately frowned. A familiar aura came out from the potion bottle. It was Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s aura! What this bottle was holding was Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s blood essence.

 Chapter 899 - An Endless Stream

    <h4>Chapter 899: An Endless Stream</h4>

    Actually, it wasn¡¯t that strange. Icest Wyrm Sindera was a powerful presence just below the Dragon Aspects. Thus, Brahere wouldn¡¯t ignore the value of its blood. After converting Sindera¡¯s body into an Undead creature, it would be wasteful to leave the dragon¡¯s blood in its body too.

    Lin Li had been thinking what kind of blood he could get for Norfeller in order to help him break through the bottleneck. Wouldn¡¯t Sindera¡¯s blood essence be perfect? However, Norfeller wasn¡¯t strong enough to absorb this blood essence directly now. Lin Li still needed to modify it a bit after returning to the Tower of Dusk.

    Other than the bottle of Icest Wyrm blood essence, Lin Li didn¡¯t take anything else. After all, all the magical crystals and materials here were too low-level to Lin Li.

    After a day of searching, the expedition finally left the mausoleum. Although each faction had suffered quite a bit of loss during this expedition, the benefits they had gotten at the end of the day were still much greater than what they had lost.

    When the team had exited the Gargas Grand Canyon, Icest Wyrm Sindera suddenly appeared in the sky of the canyon. Its body elerated and it released the terrifying ice me dragon breath before smashing into the ruins deep in the canyon.

    With continuous thuds, the team standing on the cliffs of the Grand Canyon felt violent tremors, as if the entire canyon would copse at any moment. When everything was over, the canyon seemed to have been broadened. Although they couldn¡¯t see what had happened inside the canyon from here, they could imagine that the ruins would have been destroyed.

    After destroying Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, Icest Wyrm Sindera had finally taken his revenge. He pped his wings and flew towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    Seeing that Sindera didn¡¯t leave immediately, Lin Li used the Power of Flight and flew towards him.

    ¡°Human, you¡¯ve helped me escape from Brahere¡¯s imprisonment. Although you¡¯ve reached the Sanctuary-realm because of that, that is your own gain. We wyrms are never forgetful and unappreciative creatures. If you happen to need help someday, blow this horn flute and I will fight for you once. However, you need to remember that I¡¯ll do it only once!¡± Before Lin Li could react, Icest Wyrm Sindera dropped a glittering, translucent horn flute that looked like ice, and left this canyon by tearing apart space.

    Although Icest Wyrm Sindera had left, the shock he had brought to the team wasn¡¯t over. What he had said to Lin Li using themonnguage had clearly been heard by the rest of the team too, and scared all of them.

    It was already very formidable that Lin Li had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Now, Sindera even promised to fight for Lin Li once. Everyone knew that Sindera was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and a step into divinity already. He was only second to the five Dragon Aspects.

    Although it was only one chance to summon Sindera, Lin Li could easily defeat any opponent below Sanctuary-level given that he had already reached the Sanctuary-realm. As for the Sanctuary masters, they would probably not be mad to challenge another Sanctuary master. Thus, rather than a chance to summon Sindera, it was more apt to call it a weapon to instill fear. As long as Lin Li didn¡¯t use it, the deterrent force would be there.

    Lin Li kept the Icy Horn Flute away, and returned to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. us and Joseph immediately rushed over to discuss coboration with Lin Li. They didn¡¯t just want a normal coboration, but a coboration on all fronts, almost to the extent of subordinating themselves to the Tower of Dusk.

    With Lin Li¡¯s power now and his rtionship with the Ashen Warlock, no one would be able to stop him even if he wanted to rule the entire Breezy ins. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t wish for that. While it might sound cool, what was the use of it? For Lin Li, that would be totally meaningless, and only add more trouble for him.

    What Lin Li hoped for was simr to the Ashen Warlock¡ªto maintain a peaceful environment in the Breezy ins. That was probably the Supreme Council¡¯s wish too.

    However, what Lin Li thought differently from the Ashen Warlock was that he wanted not only peace, but also for the other factions to acknowledge allegiance and show enough respect to the Tower of Dusk, such that no one dared to challenge the Tower of Dusk¡¯s dignity. The Tower of Dusk to the Breezy ins should be like what the Supreme Council was to Anril, able to maintain a supreme position with absolute strength.

    Thinking about it, the Supreme Council had only shown their hand less than 10 times since its establishment over 1,000 years ago. However, no faction had ever dared to challenge its authority since it had been established. Even the Guilds of Magic under the Supreme Council also possessed unquestionable authority in their respective territories unless they had declined to the extent of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic.

    After the expedition had returned to the Breezy ins, the four factions went their separate ways, and Lin Li brought the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team back to Dnd directly. Lin Li was still quite a distance away from stabilizing his strength, even though he had spent half a day reading the Book of Eternity back in the mausoleum to stabilize his realm. He still required a deeper understanding of the Sanctuary-realm and topletely master Sanctuary strength in order to match the abilities of other Sanctuary masters.

    While Lin Li was consolidating his findings, the news that he had reached the Sanctuary-realm spread fast among the other factions. It was already shocking news that a new Sanctuary powerhouse was born. The fact that this new Sanctuary powerhouse was the young President of the Tower of Dusk made it more shocking.

    Not a single person or faction could underestimate a Sanctuary powerhouse. The Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins was already a top-level faction. Now that its young President had reached the Sanctuary-realm, it would make the Tower of Dusk the most powerful faction in the Breezy ins.

    With a Sanctuary powerhouse, the distance between the original four most powerful factions in the Breezy ins and the Tower of Dusk just became evenrger. Unless they could produce a Sanctuary powerhouse too, there would be no way to narrow that gap.

    This news had shocked everyone from the utmost north to the utmost south of the Breezy ins. Those factions who had coborations with the Tower of Dusk naturally wanted to deepen their rtionship. On the other hand, those that had been in rivalry with the Tower of Dusk were shaking with fear now. They would do whatever it took to improve their rtionship so that the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t deal with them someday.

    Dnd was suddenly bustling with activity. An endless stream of people wasing up to the doors of the Tower of Dusk. Some were here to congratte, some were here to apologize, and others came to talk about a moreprehensive coboration. The za in front of the Tower of Dusk was even more bustling than a market at the moment. If not for the fact that the Tower of Dusk had been built with sturdy materials, it would have copsed by holding so many people.

    Of course, most people doubted the credibility of this news when they first heard it, even though the news came from the three biggest factions¡ªthe Mithril Alliance, Caesar Family, and Glittergold Trade Union. It was already shocking for a 20-plus-year-old mage to be a Legendary powerhouse. Now that he had reached the Sanctuary-realm, that was just too heaven-defying! Even the God of Mages Geresco only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm when he was 30. How could this young President of the Tower of Dusk be even more talented than Geresco?

    However, as the leaders of the three factions appeared in front of the doors of the Tower of Dusk with an extremely humble and respectful attitude, everyone had to believe that the news was true. After all, there was nothing for the factions to gain if they had put up a show. Moreover, the rtionship between the Mithril Alliance and Tower of Dusk was so hostile to begin with.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t show up, the attitude of the top few factions had already proved the authenticity of the news.

    As such, everyone held back their arrogance and pride when they came to the Tower of Dusk, and was respectful even to a mage apprentice of the Tower of Dusk, and didn¡¯t dare to yell at them¡ªnot even those respectable chiefs and leaders who had considerable fame and status in the Breezy ins.

    Be it those who came for coboration or apology, what everyone wanted to know the most urgently was what kind of attitude Lin Li held about the various factions now that he was a new Sanctuary powerhouse. Although there was already the Ashen Warlock who was a Sanctuary powerhouse before Lin Li, he didn¡¯t have his own faction, and lived in solitude in Gran Town. As long as one didn¡¯t disturb him, he would almost never intervene in any matters in the Breezy ins.

    However, Lin Li was certainly very different from the Ashen Warlock. Not only was he the Tower of Dusk¡¯s President, he also possessed a powerful army of mages. This would be a lot for the other factions to worry. Given that the Tower of Dusk was already the Breezy ins¡¯ most powerful faction, now that it possessed a President who was a Sanctuary powerhouse, would he have the intention to sweep the entire Breezy ins under his rule?

    Nobody could answer this question now, not even the members of the Tower of Dusk. Not to mention those visitors, even the Tower of Dusk¡¯s own people rarely saw Lin Li. He was all consumed with understanding the knowledge of the Sanctuary-realm. Where did he have the time to care about those thoughts other people had?

    The Book of Eternity by the God of Mages, Geresco, recorded the precious experience this noblest mage to ever live in Anril had umted over his lifetime. These experiences might only serve as an example for others who had reached the Sanctuary-realm a long time ago, but they were extremely valuable for a newbie like Lin Li who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm.

    For a Sanctuary master who had been in the Sanctuary-realm for many years, he would be on the path that he had chosen. However, Lin Li was now standing at the crossroad. Without the Book of Eternity, he would need very long to figure out which path was suitable for him. With the experiences from the Book of Eternity, however, he was guided to the broadest path he could go.

    After finding his path, it only required him to take a step in that direction to stabilize his Sanctuary-level status. Thus, what Lin Li needed to do now was to take the first step since breaking through to the Sanctuary-realm with the help of the experiences and knowledge he had learned from the Book of Eternity.

    This first step was crucial as it determined whether his Sanctuary path from now on would be smooth, and what would be the highest level of achievement he could get. Many Sanctuary powerhouses had spent 10 years or even more trying to calibrate the pros and cons of various paths before making their decision. Since the lifespan of Sanctuary powerhouses was prolonged by a lot, it was worth it to spend even 100 years on making this choice.

    However, Lin Li only took five days to make the decision and take his crucial first step because he possessed the Book of Eternity. This first step meant that he hadpletely stabilized his status as a level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse, and was not just a lost Sanctuary-level newbie anymore.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t leave seclusion immediately after stabilizing his realm. What he needed now wasn¡¯t just that. Back at the mausoleum, Brahere had told him that he would be able to find the Immortal King¡¯s weapon at the location where the Tree of the World had copsed with that Moonlight Scepter. That weapon he was talking about was very likely to be the Stars of Fury.

    Could he really get the Stars of Fury so easily with the Moonlight Scepter? Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to think this way.

    Now, Lin Li had reached level-25, and it was hard to improve his abilities in a short amount of time. After all, the Sanctuary-realm was different from the Legendary-realm. Every increase in level would be much harder than the increase in Legendary-realm. However, it wasn¡¯t so hard for Lin Li to purely increase his fighting strength. Although he didn¡¯t possess the Stars of Fury, his understanding of the nomological power contained in the debris of the stars was much greater after he had reached the Sanctuary-realm. Thus, he could release a greater extent of their power.

    As such, Lin Li focused on understanding the debris of the stars after stabilizing his foothold in the Sanctuary-realm. However, he didn¡¯t just focus on Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, as his understanding of these two pieces now had already reached the threshold of his current abilities given that he had reached the Sanctuary-realm because of his understanding of thews of these two in the first ce. So, his focus now was on the other five pieces of debris of the stars.

 Chapter 900 - Dragon Blood Essence

    <h4>Chapter 900: Dragon Blood Essence</h4>

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained the purest World Laws, and if one could really fully grasp them, it would not be impossible to create a world like the mythical gods creating divine kingdoms for themselves. Of course, Lin Li couldn¡¯t reach that realm now, and even if he were to obtain the Stars of Fury in the future, he would only be able to fully exert the power of the debris of the stars, but he would not be able to fully control them.

    At Lin Li¡¯s current realm, he could only control a small portion of the power in the debris of the stars, butpared to ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses, he wouldn¡¯t be inferior. Of course, that did not include those who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and had already transcended the World Laws. They were almost gods, and their power could no longer be rivaled by the nomological power of the world.

    When Lin Li felt that he was unable to obtain more power from the debris of the stars, it had nearly been a month since he returned to the Tower of Dusk.

    Gavin and the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk immediately asked Lin Li for advice for the next stage of the expansion n for the Tower of Dusk. They also consulted him about the attitude they should give to the forces that were visiting them to cozy up to them. In fact, even they had no idea what Lin Li was going to do next at this juncture. They wondered if he was going to unify the Breezy ins.

    In the past month, there had been an astonishing number of forces that sent their representatives to the Tower of Dusk, and almost all the forces of the Breezy ins, which were of various sizes, were gathered there. Compared to the gathering in Gran Town that took ce once every three years, the scale of this meeting at the Tower of Dusk appeared to be muchrger.

    However, there were still many things that Lin Li needed to settle. Hence, he didn¡¯t intend to receive anyone. He simply told Gavin and the others to discuss and make their own decisions about the business cooperation. He also notified the forces that there would be a meeting in the Breezy ins in a month¡¯s time.

    After giving instructions on those two matters, Lin Li focused on the things that he had to handle. Meanwhile, the people outside the Tower of Dusk got into a huge uproar because of the news. <i>Is the Tower of Dusk going to issue an ultimatum to all forces? Or are they going to re-establish the structure of forces in the Breezy ins like what the Ashen Warlock had done?</i>

    The members of the various forces began making all sorts of spections, but no one dared to question if the Tower of Dusk was qualified to hold a meeting like that.

    However, some of them felt that the Tower of Dusk seemed to be provoking and challenging the authority of the Ashen Warlock by doing so. Although they were both Sanctuary powerhouses, the Ashen Warlock had already entered the Sanctuary-realm back in the Dark Age, and there was a huge difference between him and Lin Li, who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. When the time came, there would probably be a good show.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li had already arrived at the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk. After entering the Sanctuary-realm and getting a better understanding of the nomological power, he had already possessed the ability to fulfill his agreement with the Ashen Warlock, and that was to create a genuine perfect body with the crystal coffin.

    Of course, the perfect body would still be different from the one created by the Immortal King, who had created an actual life, and not an empty shell with no sentience. Fortunately, the Ashen Warlock only needed a new body, and Lin Li had only made some modifications to Osric¡¯s method ording to the notes written down by the Immortal King.

    Underneath the crystal giant coffin, there wererge mageweath arrays, emitting shocking magical waves that were surging towards the crystal coffin like tides. It made the entire crystal coffin seem even more transparent, reaching the extent that it seemed to have ceased to exist. In the crystal coffin, there was a human body that was glistening with countless magic symbols and moving up and down with the waves of mana. The perfect body did not emit the terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth. Instead, it seemed to have be one with the world, as if it was constantly shifting between a physical body and nothingness.

    Looking at the body in the crystal coffin, Connoris, who had always been Lin Li¡¯s assistant, could not help but salivate. He could feel that that body was much stronger than his own, and was what a truly perfect body was like. If he could own such a body too, he would probably be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm in no time.

    The materials that Lin Li had received from the Ashen Warlock were more than enough to create a perfect body, and it was entirely possible to create another identical body. Unfortunately, it waspletely different from manipting another Alchemy Colossus. Connoris¡¯ soul had already fused with the perfect body created by Osric, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy to separate them.

    ¡°Well, once I fulfill the agreement with the Ashen Warlock, I can perfect your current body, or at least make up for those ws as much as possible,¡± said Lin Li who tried tofort Connoris whilepleting the final steps of creating the perfect body.

    The mageweath arrays that had been continuously operating for over 10 days gradually became dimmer as the light was eventually extinguished. The giant crystal coffin seemed to have broken free as it was no longer as transparent as it used to be. It returned to the translucent state that it originally was in.

    After creating the perfect body that the Ashen Warlock needed, Lin Li finally walked out of the Tower of Dusk for the first time in a while, but he did not attract anyone¡¯s attention. After stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, the mana fluctuations of Lin Li¡¯s body fused with the entire world like a drop of water fusing with the ocean. Only a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm would be able to sense the Sanctuary-realm fluctuations.

    While everyone was unaware, Lin Li had already arrived in the sky above the small Gran Town in the northern part of the Breezy ins. He then descended on the small square in front of the Tower of Ashes. There was an old servant who was taking a nap on the steps in front of the gate with a broom in his arms. He only yawned and took a look when the door behind him suddenly opened. However, he still did not move.

    Many of the forces in the Breezy ins had all thought about the actions that the Ashen Warlock would take against the newly advanced Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, in Gran Town, there were already many snitches from the various forces who had, of course, indirectly allowed the residents of Gran Town to make some small profits.

    Hence, as soon as Lin Li appeared in front of the Tower of Ashes, the people of those forces immediately rushed forth and surrounded the tower like flies that had smelled the odor of blood. However, due to the conditions of this world, they couldn¡¯t pass on the news to their respective superiors in time. They could only carefully watch the situation unfold from afar.

    Unfortunately, all they could see was Lin Li walking into the Tower of Ashes, after which the doors slowly closed, while the old servant continued to nap on the steps. No one knew what was happening in the Tower of Ashes. However, after waiting for a moment, they saw the Ashen Warlock escorting Lin Li out of the tower. Lin Li then vanished in the sky, while the old servant returned to the tower.

    What a joke, the Ashen Warlock was a god of the Breezy ins and a powerhouse who had been in the Sanctuary-realm for thousands of years. How could he have done such a degrading thing!? The leaders of the various forces mostly only received the news two or three dayster, and the first thing they thought was that it was impossible.

    However, did that mean that the witnesses had all seen it wrong? At this moment, they finally remembered the fact that the Ashen Warlock seemed to have been quite biased towards Lin Li during thest gathering at Gran Town. Back then, Lin Li was already at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and was a strong Legendary powerhouse, butpared to the Ashen Warlock, he was clearly just like an insignificant small fry. However, it was different this time. Lin Li was already a real Sanctuary powerhouse, and even though he had only advanced recently, he was of equal status with the Ashen Warlock. He was just like a child who wouldn¡¯t be treated as nothing by an adult even though he wasn¡¯t as powerful as an adult.

    Besides, the leaders of the various forces also made a conjecture based on the fact that the Ashen Warlock had personally walked Lin Li to the gate. They reckoned that the two Sanctuary powerhouses had probably reached some agreement, and, at the very least, no matter what the Tower of Dusk was going to do next to the forces in the Breezy ins, they couldn¡¯t hope for the Ashen Warlock to stop him.

    Could it be that they were really going to unify Breezy ins!? Plenty of them were bing more and more certain of that conjecture. Otherwise, what did Lin Li talk to Ashen Warlock about? Did he visit him out of nowhere just to ask for advice regarding the Sanctuary-realm?

    Unfortunately, there was still quite some time to go before the meeting that Lin Li organized in the Breezy ins. The crowd had no choice but to continue being suspicious. Moreover, they also discovered the sad fact that when they were facing a powerful Sanctuary powerhouse, they didn¡¯t seem to have the strength to change anything no matter what the other party wanted to do.

    Lin Li sent a new body to the Ashen Warlock, and as soon as he returned to the Tower of Dusk, he immediately began modifying Connoris¡¯ body. In order to get to the ce where the World Tree had copsed and obtain the Stars of Fury, Lin Li had to do everything he could to increase his strength. When the increase in his strength reached a bottleneck, improving the strength of the people around him could be a viable option as well.

    Having prior experience in creating a perfect body, it was even easier for Lin Li to modify the perfect body for Connoris. Besides, the one created by the Highlord Osric wasn¡¯t actually that bad. Although there were ws, they were only rtive.

    In fact, those ws might not even have been a big problem for the Highlord Osric. After all, when the perfect body was pulled out of the crystal coffin back then, it already had level-26 or level-27 power that was in the Sanctuary-realm. However, the mismatch between Connoris¡¯ soul and the perfect body caused the ws to be magnified, thus hindering him from entering the Sanctuary-realm.

    The modification of the perfect body waspleted in just four days, and although Connoris could not possess Sanctuary-level power immediately like the Ashen Warlock, he had the possibility of entering the Sanctuary-realm.

    After the transformation of his body wasplete, Connoris could clearly feel that he had better control over his body. Although he was not entirely in control, his body and his soul managed to fuse perfectly without the ws, and it was as if he was born with a body.

    At this point, Connoris¡¯ strength had truly reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, and it probably wouldn¡¯t take long for him to step into the Sanctuary-realm. Even with just the strength of his perfect body now, he was still strong enough topete with ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Afterward, Lin Li used potions to deal with the dragon blood essence of the Icest Wyrm Sindera that he had obtained in Brahere¡¯s mausoleum.

    Vampires could rely on devouring soul fire and absorbing blood essence to increase their strength, but the ws in their bloodline would cause them to reach a bottleneck where they would never achieve a breakthrough. In order to break through, they would have to obtain a higher-grade blood essence to induce evolution of their bodies.

    That was also the reason Legendary-level Vampires were rare in the Vampiremunity. Besides, Norfeller had only been transformed into a Vampire, and he did not have the pure bloodline of Vampires like Culostein from the Darkness Shrine. If it weren¡¯t for the blood essence of the three green dragons that he had absorbed and the fusion with the power of their bloodline, Norfeller probably wouldn¡¯t have entered the Legendary-realm at all.

    The current Norfeller had power at the peak of level-23, and he could be considered to be on par with Culostein¡ªthe Vampire Ancestor. However, in order to further increase his strength, he would have to absorb blood essence of a more powerful bloodline that would allow him to evolve.

    In fact, the bloodline of ordinary ancient wyrms would be the most suitable for Norfeller now. Although the Icest Wyrm Sindera was also an ancient wyrm, it was the elite of ancient wyrms that was second only to the five Dragon Aspects. The power contained in its blood essence was definitely hard to imagine for ordinary people. With Norfeller¡¯s current strength, he definitely couldn¡¯t withstand it.

    Even Culostein who possessed pure Vampire blood could not fuse with the blood of the Icest Wyrm Sindera, let alone Norfeller.

    However, that was not a problem for Lin Li. As a pharmaceutics Guru who had a certain understanding of the Sanctuary-realm, handling Sindera¡¯s blood essence was not exactly as easy as a pie, but it definitely wasn¡¯t that much harder than formting a Guru-level potion. In no time, the bottle of blood essence from Sindera turned into a shimmering silver liquid, and the originally violent power was tempered.

    With Sindera¡¯s blood essence, Norfeller would not only face zero difficulties in breaking through the bottleneck, he would also likely be the first Vampire in Anril to enter the Sanctuary-realm.

    Apart from Lin Li who had entered the Sanctuary-realm, the other mages of the Tower of Dusk had also made plenty of gains from the exploration of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum this time. They had experienced several vicious battles that they had never been through before, and the Magic Array had also been refined further. The Archmages who were at the peak of level-19 had also gained a lot of insights from the battles.

 Chapter 901 - Old Mage

    <h4>Chapter 901: Old Mage</h4>

    After returning to the Tower of Dusk, the Archmages lowered their heads and began surging towards the Legendary-realm. In no time, there would probably be arge batch of Legendary-mages in the Tower of Dusk. By then, the Tower of Dusk would probably be a true Magic Land in the Breezy ins.

    Finally, it was the day of the meeting held by the Tower of Dusk which would determine the fate of countless forces of various sizes in the Breezy ins. After verifying the authenticity of Lin Li¡¯s advancement to the Sanctuary-realm and the intriguing rtionship he seemed to have with the Ashen Warlock, no individual or force dared to question the authority of the notice.

    On this day, the leaders of therge- and medium-sized forces, including the Mithril Alliance, Caesar Family, Blood Moon n, and the Glittergold Trade Union, were all gathered at the Tower of Dusk. As for the smaller forces, the meeting wouldn¡¯t affect them much, as they would just be surrendering their benefits to a different person at most.

    Although the Tower of Dusk had been established for a short period of time, there were more and more people who joined the Tower of Dusk, and they were not just mages, but also talents in other fields, such as technicians from Forging Workshops. It was impossible to arrange for all of them to live in the Tower of Dusk. Hence, the Tower of Dusk was no longer just a tower that stood by itself in Dnd. It had developed to the point where it was like a city. There were residences for mages to live and study in, Forging Workshops where magical weapons were constantly imported, and trading ces for various products.

    However, they still couldn¡¯t afford a meeting ce that could amodate such arge number of people for now. After all, the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t holdrge-scale meetings that often, as everything could be decided by the 10-odd senior executives. There was no need to build a conference venue on purpose. Hence, this time, except for a few top forces, the leaders of all the other forces were arranged to wait in an open-air za for the meeting to take ce.

    However, no one dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction with the arrangements made by the Tower of Dusk, and their current mood was actually simr to that of a criminal waiting to be sentenced. They were all thinking about what their fate would be in the future. No one cared about the details at all.

    The leaders of several top forces, as well as those who had long cooperated with the Tower of Dusk, such as Master William of the Time Consignment Store and Master Cheyenne of the Malfa Family, were first invited to the Tower of Dusk. Hoffman and the longtime partners of the Tower of Dusk were naturally at ease and behaving normally.

    However, Joseph and us looked rather anxious and uneasy. Although Lin Li hadn¡¯t done anything to the two forces when they left the Gargas canyon, that didn¡¯t mean that the scores were settled. In their opinion, Lin Li would definitely hold the past against them.

    In fact, regarding that issue, the leaders of the various forces in the square outside were also making conjectures. Back then, the Mithril Alliance took the lead, and various forces jointly suppressed and boycotted the Tower of Dusk. That was a matter of fact that was known to everyone in the Breezy ins. At this moment, everyone watched as Joseph and us were led into the Tower of Dusk with sullen expressions. Some were frightened, while some were waiting to see the two beughing stocks.

    However, when Lin Li led Joseph and the others out of the Tower of Dusk, Joseph and us were somewhat relieved, even though they were not overjoyed. That was a surprise to the people outside.

    It waspletely silent on the za, and everyone was quietly waiting for Lin Li to speak, and waiting to hear the verdict that might change their fate.

    In fact, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s unification of the forces of the Breezy ins was something that people took for granted as Lin Li, who had already been powerful enough, actually stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. He also had an unusual rtionship with the Ashen Warlock. If they were in his ce, they would definitely do the same too. However, those who had yet to enter the Sanctuary-realm were on apletely different level from the Sanctuary powerhouse. How could they guess what the Sanctuary powerhouse was thinking?

    Actually, Lin Li didn¡¯t have that much to say, and he managed to get straight to the point of the meeting with just a few words, and that was to have all the forces submit to the Tower of Dusk. In fact, he just wanted to further establish the authority of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins.

    Submission was still fundamentally different from unification, at least for the interests of the various forces, as the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t bother to touch them. Commercial operations were another matter.

    The Tower of Dusk did not ce much emphasis on territory. As Lin Li entered the Sanctuary-realm, the Tower of Dusk was bound to be the Magic Land of the Breezy ins, and mages of all levels would definitely be attracted to it. Hence, Lin Li had no intention of expanding his territory.

    After hearing it straight from the horse¡¯s mouth, the crowd below felt like they were dreaming as they had initially thought that they might lose everything and have to say goodbye to the authority and prestige they enjoyed. However, in the end, they realized that things hadn¡¯t be as terrible as they thought. Submitting to the Tower of Dusk was nothing too uneptable. After all, the other party was a strong Sanctuary powerhouse, and it wouldn¡¯t be embarrassing to do so. Other than that, there was no difference from before. Of course, they definitely couldn¡¯t provoke anyone from the Tower of Dusk, not even a trivial mage apprentice.

    Since reality wasn¡¯t as bad as they¡¯d imagined it to be, they epted it much quicker. Things definitely weren¡¯t as terrible as they¡¯d expected. To them, submission to Lin Li was far better, and was simply tantamount to a bestowal of a gift as opposed to losing everything like they¡¯d imagined.

    Of course, submission wasn¡¯t simply a matter of speech. The parties would still have to be bound by a contract and subject tows. However, those matters were reserved for after the meeting. Seeing that no one expressed any objections, Lin Li directly announced the end of the meeting, and stated that those who were willing could proceed to sign the contract, and those who were unwilling...

    However, at this moment, an exmation that was full of resentment sounded amongst the crowd.

    ¡°What if I¡¯m unwilling!?¡±

    It would be hard to find out who the person who said that was, since it sounded out of nowhere, but no one in the right mind would be willing to go against a Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, as soon as they heard the exmation, everyone in the crowd ran and made space to reveal the person who said those words.

    However, that person did not panic even though he had been exposed. In fact, there was a bit of madness on his face, as if he was looking at his archenemy. He gritted his teeth and stared at Lin Li, who was standing on the tform, before ruthlessly saying, ¡°Master Felic, congrattions on stepping into the Sanctuary-realm and unifying the Breezy ins. I have specially brought you a gift today. I hope you¡¯ll like it, Master Felic!¡±

    Upon hearing that person¡¯s words, there was once again a strange sound in the square, followed by gasps and exmations of the crowd. Several people who were originally wearing ck magic robes like others suddenly tore their robes apart to reveal their bodies that were made of metal. They were alchemy puppets in disguise.

    Actually, those alchemy puppets didn¡¯t seem too intricate in structure, but what was truly frightening was that they each had a Legendary magical crystal embedded in their chests, and the crystals were emitting a strange ray of red light under the constant stimtion of some Alchemy Array. An absolutely horrifying mana wave overwhelmed everyone.

    This was what caused the crowd to panic as anyone with some knowledge would know that it was the precursor to the eruption of magical crystals. The power that would erupt from a Legendary magical crystal was far beyondparison to an ordinary magical crystal¡¯s power. The might of every Legendary magical crystalunched by a Magical Crystal Cannon was at Legendary-level, but each Legendary magical crystal could allow a Magical Crystal Cannon tounch hundreds of attacks in a row. Clearly, the power contained in a Legendary magic crystal was massive.

    It could be said that a level-20 Legendary magical crystal would not be inferior to a level-24 Legendary magic spell if all of its power was released. However, it would not be easy to make a Legendary magical crystal explode, and there were more important uses for the valuable Legendary magical crystals. Usually, no one would be willing to use a Legendary magical crystal as a disposable magic bomb.

    However, they had no idea how much hatred that person had for the Tower of Dusk. There were six simr alchemy puppets in the entire za, and the power that might erupt from the six Legendary magical crystals would be enough to wipe out the entire ce. As for the leaders of the various forces, they would definitely have a hard time escaping their doom even if there were some Legendary powerhouses among them.

    ¡°It¡¯s Albert, he¡¯s really here!¡± eximed Cheyenne from the Malfa Family, who immediately recognized the other party¡¯s identity as soon as he saw him.

    Albert was the leader of the Dark de and the son of the leader Lansdale. Back when the Dark de had attacked the Tower of Dusk, Borg and Bald, the two Legendary leaders, were crippled by Lin Li, and with the loss of those elites, the Dark de directly became a second-tier force. The Malfa Family rubbed salt into their wound by besieging the Dark de and robbing them of their territory.

    Now, the Dark de which used to be a top band of bandits could be considered to have beenpletely removed from the Breezy ins. However, in the process of hunting down the remaining members, the Malfa Family missed Albert, who was an Assassin and the leader of the Dark de, as well as several other elite Assassins who were level-15 or higher. The reality had proven that it was a grave mistake of theirs. Those several elite Assassins had caused great trouble in the process of the Malfa Family acquiring the Dark de¡¯s territory.

    Fortunately, the Malfa Family was supported by the Legendary-mage Cheyenne, after all, and after a series of arrangements, they had set up many traps. They even went as far as using their heir, Hutton, as a bait on several asions to trap those several elite Assassins one by one. However, as the elite Assassins died, Albert vanished without a trace.

    A level-19 Assassin would be a great threat even to a Legendary powerhouse. Although it was embarrassing, the Malfa Family nheless informed the Tower of Dusk about it since they were partners. After all, the Tower of Dusk could be considered to be the main party that had led to the destruction of the Dark de.

    Lin Li informed the various forces of the time of the meeting a month in advance so that they could make preparations. After all, some of them were very far away from the Tower of Dusk. Another reason was to give the hidden enemy a chance to appear.

    For a Sanctuary-mage, even a Legendary-level Assassin wouldn¡¯t be able to pose any threat to him, let alone a level-19 Assassin. This time, if the Tower of Dusk were to sessfully unify all the forces of the Breezy ins, there would be no room for the enemy anymore. Hence, at this moment, the enemy only had two options. He could either retaliate no matter the cost, or give uppletely from then on and find a ce to hide for the rest of his life.

    The fact that the other party chose to take action against the leaders of the forces in order to affect the reputation of the Tower of Dusk was not beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations. However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, the other party had a high capital this time, and he was clearly prepared to attack the Tower of Dusk all the way. The six alchemy puppets should have been purchased from Rotterdam, the Alchemy Nation. Although they seemed rather poorly made to Lin Li, they should have been worth quite a lot. Besides, the six Legendary magical crystals were considered a huge fortune to the average person.

    Unfortunately, Albert had clearly underestimated the strength of the Tower of Dusk and the power of a Sanctuary powerhouse. If it had happened before Lin Li entered the Sanctuary-realm, the six self-destructing alchemy puppets might indeed have kept Lin Li busy for a while. However, Lin Li now only needed the power of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, to send the alchemy puppets into the chaos of spacetime. Regardless of how powerful they were, it would be useless.

    ¡°I know that this can¡¯t hurt you, either, but you can¡¯t stop the deaths of these cowards. You can¡¯t protect anyone, haha!¡± Albert eximed. He resented Lin Li to the core, and although he knew that he couldn¡¯t cause any substantial damage to Lin Li, his being able to hurt the leaders of those various forces and destroy the buildings of the Tower of Dusk was bound to be a great blow to their prestige as well.

    At this point, the leaders of the various forces were losing their minds, and everyone got into a huge uproar. They all wanted to leave the area as soon as possible.

    If that were to go on, the meeting would be chaotic, and Lin Li certainly wouldn¡¯t allow that to happen. He reached out to grab the debris of the stars, Nothingness, and nned to send the six self-destructing alchemy puppets to the spacetime chaos.

    However, at this moment, a patch of space in the air suddenly warped, resembling ripples on the surface of water. Next, an old mage who was dressed in a ck robe and had white hair strode out of the warped space.

    Seeing the chaos in the za, the old mage frowned slightly, and waved his hand casually while moving towards Lin Li in midair.

 Chapter 902 - Arbitrator Chris

    <h4>Chapter 902: Arbitrator Chris</h4>

    With a mere wave of his hand, he managed to cause drastic changes in the za. The Legendary magical crystals that were fluctuating greatly seemed to have been doused with a pot of cold water as the mana fluctuations disappeared without a trace. At the same time, the self-exploding alchemy puppets, too, crumbled like sand sculptures that had lost their cohesion, and scattered all over the ground after turning into tiny particles.

    The sudden change left everyone stunned, and Albert, who wasughing maniacally, seemed to have choked all of a sudden.

    Magical crystals were one of the most stable mana aggregates. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been any magical beasts in the world. The Legendary magical crystals contained a wisp of nomological power that was even more difficult to be triggered by an explosion, but once it was sessfully triggered, the process would simply be irreversible unless one had godly power. That was the reason Albert chose that method of revenge. That was arguably the most foolproof method of retaliation that he could think of.

    However, the old mage had merely waved his hand¡ªin fact, the people didn¡¯t feel any abnormal magical waves at all¡ªyet the six Legendary magical crystals that were about to bring a devastating disaster to everyone as they had already begun releasing their enormous mana stopped silently.

    Even the leaders of the forces who had panicked and were feeling hopeless just now were in shock and disbelief, what more Albert. They even forgot to feel the joy of surviving an ordeal. They believed that if the Legendary magical crystals were to erupt, they would definitely not cause any damage to Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse. In fact, he might even protect the people around him. However, resisting the power that emanated from the erupting Legendary magical crystals was different from obliterating it. It would not be an exaggeration to call the old mage¡¯s casual actions a miracle.

    Everyone immediately shifted their gazes to the mage who had moved through the void, only to be even more shocked because the appearance of the mage actually reminded them of a famous figure from legends. After thinking about the godly power that the other party had disyed, they got rid of thest bit of uncertainty within them.

    Seeing that the old mage had resolved the crisis with the wave of his hand, Lin Li was rather astonished as well. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, he could definitely sense the Sanctuary-level aura of the other party. However, the old mage¡¯s realm was still far above his because the old mage was an elite¡ªa top Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Upon sight of the old mage¡¯s meticulouslybed silver hair, glistening eyes, neatly trimmed silvery white beard, and the natural elegance he exuded as he stepped slowly in the air, Lin Li could easily guess the other party¡¯s identity even though he had only been in that world for a few years. He was d in the robe of an arbitrator of the Supreme Council, and he was different from the austere and old-fashioned Megard and Apophis whocked restraint. He was an old mage who was poised, naturally elegant, and exuded nobility. He was Chris, one of the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council, and once a prince.

    It was said that during the Dark Age, the Highlord Osric¡¯s fiefdom included the Fn Kingdom and arge portion of the Breezy ins. In the Jarrosus region of Fn Kingdom, there was once a small kingdom known as the Gand Kingdom, which Chris the Arbitrator was the former prince of.

    Unlike Prince Brahere, the Highlord Osric had always resorted to ruthless means when ruling over the various forces in his territory. He would squeeze them dry and mercilessly exploit them to the very end. Osric imed that he would rather leave them with no strength to get up than allow them to have the strength to retaliate.

    Under the cruel rule of Osric, the small kingdom of Gand, which was unable to provide much value to Osric in the first ce, was reduced to a miserable state, and the royals were turned intomoners. When Osric began building the Eternal Furnace, he used the entire kingdom of Gand as a bait to lure a powerful ancient wyrm.

    In the process of capturing the ancient wyrm, the entire Gand Kingdom became a battlefield. Be it the ancient wyrm or Osric¡¯s Magic Legion, no one paid attention to the lives of those humans below. During the intense battle, powerful and massive magic spellsnded on the ground of Gand Kingdom incessantly like a terrifying natural disaster. It seemed to have almost overturned the ground of the entire Gand Kingdom.

    In that disaster, the Gand Kingdom¡¯s poption was wiped out, and the royal family had it worse. The original royal pce was destroyed, leaving behind only a massive pit that was created with the dragon breath of an ancient wyrm. Back then, Chris, the prince, was negotiating with neighboring countries for food aid after the famine that had urred in the kingdom before, and thus managed to escape the disaster by fluke.

    Chris, who rushed back to the capital of the Gand Kingdom, ran into Geresco, who was attracted by the intense battle. After witnessing the amazing power of magic, Chris swore to avenge his parents and nation, and was introduced to the path of practicing magic by Geresco.

    Unfortunately, by the time Chris stepped into the Sanctuary-realm and followed Geresco to wage a war against the High Elves to overthrow them, the Highlord Osric had already begun his long slumber in his mausoleum.

    After the end of the Dark Age, Geresco established the Supreme Council, of which Chris, Megard, and Apophis became the three great arbitrators. At the same time, he also established the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and became the first President of the Guild of Magic.

    Although Lin Li had guessed the identity of the other party, he did not stop feeling shocked. Legend had it that it had been more than a decade since the Arbitrator Chris appeared in the Supreme Council. He had even missed the numerous Supreme Council meetings previously. Hence, there had been rumors about his death and departure from Anril because he had followed in Geresco¡¯s footsteps.

    Hence, many misunderstood the reason for the conflict between Andoine and Rosen to be the vacant position of Arbitrator that resulted from Chris¡¯ absence. After all, in the Supreme Council, Andoine and Rosen were the only underlings of the three arbitrators. From an outsider¡¯s perspective, the two of them were the most qualified topete for that position.

    Now that Arbitrator Chris had appeared there, all the rumors were naturally dismissed, and Lin Li could also feel that the Sanctuary-level aura of that arbitrator was also much stronger than those of Apophis and Megard. Of course, it was also possible that when Lin Li first met those two arbitrators, he had yet to step into the Sanctuary-realm, and thus did not know much about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, which gave birth to such a misconception. However, no matter what, Lin Li was certain that the other party had to be many times stronger than himself.

    Arbitrator Chris¡¯ arrival had allowed the crisis to be resolved, and the issues that were supposed to be addressed during the meeting had also been resolved a long time ago. Hence, with Lin Li¡¯s sign, the meeting ended, and the members of the Tower of Dusk led the shocked leaders of the various forces and proceeded to sign the contract expressing their submission. As for Albert, he definitely faced a terrible end.

    Lin Li, on the other hand, led the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk and the leaders of several top forces to the sky to wait for the arrival of Arbitrator Chris.

    Chris slowly stepped down from the air, and first looked at Lin Li with a genial smile. He then nodded slightly, and said in a tone of admiration, ¡°Felic, not bad.¡±

    ¡°Respected Arbitrator, I didn¡¯t know you would descend at the Tower of Dusk, so I didn¡¯t arrange anyone to receive you. Please forgive me.¡± While speaking, the people behind Lin Li bowed respectfully to Chris.

    Although all the leaders of the top forces of the Breezy ins did not have a unified rtionship with the Supreme Council, no one dared to show the slightest disrespect to the arbitrator of the Supreme Council who was a mythical figure that made them feel uncontrobly excited. In fact, they even found the opportunity to salute him in person to be a supreme honor.

    Chris waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for them to bow and salute. He teasingly said to Lin Li, ¡°I heard from Apophis that you were never that uptight about rules initially. Why have you learned to be so proper after being a President for a few years?¡±

    When Lin Li was inaugurated as the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, Arbitrator Apophis had personally attended and given Lin Li some pointers about magic. Back then, Lin Li was tormented during their spar, but he burnt Apophis¡¯ beard with fire. Since it was the beard of an arbitrator, it wasn¡¯t exactly a loss.

    Hearing Chris mention Apophis, Lin Li touched his nose in embarrassment and smiled awkwardly. ¡°Well, it has been a long time since that happened. Lord Apophis¡¯ beard should have grown back, right?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± When Chris heard those words, he red at him in surprise, and asked, ¡°His beard? What¡¯s wrong with that bushy beard of his? He didn¡¯t mention anything about the beard to me when I arrived.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Master Chris, it¡¯s really too rude of me. How can I stand here and talk? Hurry ande in, please.¡± Upon hearing his words, Lin Li had an ominous hunch; he almost spilled the beans about the embarrassing matter that Apophis had been through. He quickly changed the topic and invited Chris to go to the Tower of Dusk.

    Although it was just a simple and light-hearted conversation between the two of them, everyone else was overwhelmed with emotion. The arbitrator of the Supreme Council was a figure that truly stood at the pinnacle of Anril. If they were to have a conversation with such a figure, they probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to speak inplete sentences, and it even felt like a fantasy for them to watch.

    Lin Li and Chris walked in front and headed to the Tower of Dusk, while the rest of the crowd followed cautiously behind as they could not help but slow down their breathing. Although it was a great honor for them to meet the arbitrator of the Supreme Council, enjoying it wasn¡¯t that rxing for them.

    ¡°I left Anril for a while due to a trivial issue that I had to handle. I didn¡¯t expect to receive such good news upon my return. You¡¯vee out of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and being able to achieve what you have now is a great contribution to the Guild of Magic of Jarossus as well.¡± Chris did not hide his appreciation for Lin Li, and looked at Lin Li like he was looking at his own junior.

    Of course, Lin Li was in fact like his family as Lin Li¡¯s teacher Andoine was from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. Later on, he also joined the trials as a member of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic. He then obtained the qualification to establish a Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins. Chris was the founder of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic and the first President of the Guild of Magic. Hence, they were family.

    However, the people following behind couldn¡¯t help but be bbergasted, because Lin Li had not only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but also gained a backer like the arbitrator. It seemed that the Breezy ins would really be the oyster of the Tower of Dusk in the future. Putting aside ordinary forces, even the Ashen Warlock might not be able to shake the Tower of Dusk. Besides, the Ashen Warlock seemed to have good chemistry with Lin Li.

    ¡°You tter me. I was just doing my best to do what I can. Besides, I had the support of the Supreme Council,¡± Lin Li said humbly. Of course it was true. Although the Supreme Council did not give sufficient support during the establishment of the Tower of Dusk, they had given them a status after all, and they did send some people to help with the construction.

    ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t have to speak up for them, they can¡¯t hide those tricks from anyone. Now that the Tower of Dusk has developed to such a great scale, let¡¯s not bother with them for now. If anyone dares to target you in the future, just inform me. Even if that ancient wyrm tries to harm the Tower of Dusk, I¡¯d be able to bury it in the Arctic snowfield again,¡± Chris said casually, but the meaning of his words was already too obvious. He was obviously expressing his stand as the backer of the Tower of Dusk.

    The ancient wyrm that Chris was referring to was obviously the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Although Sindera was also at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li knew that Chris was definitely not bragging. If it had been before Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, it probably wouldn¡¯t have been easy for him to judge if Sindera was stronger than Chris. However, he could tell from Chris¡¯ actions that he was really halfway to bing a god.

    The power that erupted from six Legendary magical crystals was indeed nothing for a Sanctuary powerhouse, but Chris had almost reversed the World Laws and immediately dissipated that massive power. Perhaps even Sindera might not even be able to do it. It was definitely good to have an additional backer even though Lin Li might not necessarily need Chris¡¯ help given his current abilities.

 Chapter 903 - Invitation From The Supreme Council

    <h4>Chapter 903: Invitation From The Supreme Council</h4>

    Although Chris¡¯ voice wasn¡¯t very loud, it sounded like thunder to the people at the back. All of a sudden, they couldn¡¯t hear anything else, and they did not even know what Lin Li answered.

    That was outrageous. Back in the Great Gargas Canyon, the Icest Wyrm had already given Lin Li a horned flute which it imed could summon it to help Lin Li fight once. Next, Lin Li and the Ashen Warlock reached some understanding that was unknown to all of them. Even though the Ashen Warlock didn¡¯t explicitly side with the Tower of Dusk, he was definitely biased towards them.

    Now, Chris the arbitrator of the Supreme Council was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, yet he actually expressed his willingness to be the backer of the Tower of Dusk. That way, no one in the Breezy ins or Anril would dare to covet the Tower of Dusk¡¯s stuff!

    How could they not be envious!?

    Hoffman and Cheyenne, who had long cooperated with the Tower of Dusk, were definitely envious of Lin Li for gaining a huge backer like Chris for the Tower of Dusk. However, they were much more confident about their future cooperation. In the past, various forces of the Breezy ins joined forces to attack the Tower of Dusk. However, no one had the courage to do so now. Given their rtionship with the Tower of Dusk, they would definitely reap great benefits as long as the Tower of Dusk stood strong.

    On the other hand, Joseph, us, and the others who¡¯d targeted the Tower of Dusk were feeling anxious even though they had already gotten Lin Li¡¯s forgiveness. They were afraid that Lin Li would casually tell Chris about what had happened in the beginning. After seeing their attitudes, even a fool would know how much the arbitrator Chris valued the young President of the Tower of Dusk. If the arbitrator were to hear about what happened in the past and got infuriated, he would be able to destroy them, a so-called top force, with the flick of a finger.

    Everyone arrived in the Tower of Dusk and returned to their respective seats. Lin Li introduced Chris to the leaders of the various forces, but Chris didn¡¯t seem to be too interested. Although Chris had an elegant and refined bearing when he spoke to the crowd, everyone knew how to behave, and simply said a few words to him before leaving.

    After everyone left, Lin Li asked Chris about the purpose of his visit. He was actually a bit confused. Chris¡¯ appearance was indeed a little sudden, and it seemed like his agenda was not just to see him, a newly advanced Sanctuary-mage who hade from Jarrosus.

    ¡°What you have achieved in the Breezy ins over the past few years is evident to all. The huge development of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic is also a huge contribution to the Supreme Council. Besides, you have also stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Therefore, after a review and discussion in the Supreme Council, we¡¯ve decided to take you in as a member of the Supreme Council.¡± Chris simply revealed his purpose of visit.

    ¡°A member of the Supreme Council? Is that a little too early, given my current age?¡± Although the Tower of Dusk now had a strong position in the Breezy ins, and Lin Li had already entered the Sanctuary-realm, he was still young. Simply put, it was a matter of seniority, and that was something he could only gain with time.

    The Supreme Council was not just a generic force, but an organization that was above all other forces and even the royal family. It was at the pinnacle of power in that world, and only the Brilliance Shrine couldpare to it. To a certain extent, the decisions made by the Supreme Council could even affect the fate of the entire Anril.

    In the Supreme Council, the three arbitrators who held the highest authority had the power to affirm and negate all decisions. However, they did not directly participate in the management of the Supreme Council, and their subordinates would only hand over major matters to them for the final decision.

    There were 100-odd members who constituted the managementmittee of the Supreme Council, all of whom were top-notch mages of Anril. They basically possessed Legendary-level abilities, and they were the ones who made most of the decisions for the Supreme Council.

    The so-called 10 leaders of the Supreme Council were in fact inclusive of the chairman and vice-chairman. The 10 members of the board had greater authority than ordinary members. The current chairman of the Supreme Council was none other than Lin Li¡¯s master, Andoine. The deputy chairman was Master Rosen, who didn¡¯t get along that well with Lin Li during the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum.

    That might be the real source of the conflict between Andoine and Rosen rather than thepetition for the position of the arbitrator. After all, even if there was really one less arbitrator, they would not have the right to take on that position given their abilities.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Chris shook his hand, and nonchntly said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about. In fact, I¡¯m too embarrassed to offer you a ce in the Supreme Council. Given your current abilities, you¡¯re definitely qualified to be a leader too. However, your age is indeed an issue. Hence, I reluctantly agreed to let you be a councilor for the time being.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a great honor for me to be a councilor of the Supreme Council,¡± Lin Li frantically said politely.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t really care about what rights he would enjoy as a councilor. However, having such an identity was akin to having the Supreme Council as his backer. Even though the Supreme Council wouldn¡¯t really make a big fuss over a councilor¡¯s affairs, the identity of a councilor was still a deterrent in Anril.

    The Tower of Dusk indeed had an unshakable position in the Breezy ins, but what about outside of the Breezy ins? Anril was vast, and apart from the several kingdoms that had been established by humans, there were also kingdoms established by intelligent races like the Dwarves, Giants, Orcs, and many others.

    The Tower of Dusk did enjoy a good reputation in the Breezy ins, but it might not be the same in other regions outside the Breezy ins. It was different for the Supreme Council. Even the Ledin Kingdom that believed in the Holy Light doctrine had to treat them with due respect. The other kingdoms established by other intelligent races did not dare to take the Supreme Council lightly, either.

    ¡°Ever since Geresco left, the three of us have been in charge of the Supreme Council for almost 1,000 years, and it¡¯s time for there to be some new vitality in the Supreme Council. I hope that you can bring some good changes to the Supreme Council,¡± Chris said while looking at Lin Li with admiration and some hope in his gaze.

    There seemed to be some meaning in Chris¡¯ words, but Lin Li did not think too much of it. Instead, he curiously asked, ¡°In that case, is there anything that a councilor of the Supreme Council would have to do? Are there any formalities or administrative procedures? I¡¯ll get someone to prepare them.¡±

    Lin Li still remembered when he was inaugurated as the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic in the past. Even though the Tower of Dusk had just been established, the inauguration ceremony of the President was not shabby or slipshod at all. At that time, there were quite a few people who came to celebrate the event, most of whom were big shots. Of course, they gave quite a few gifts too. If he were to be a councilor of the Supreme Council, would they hold a ceremony and give him some gifts too?

    Chris seemed to have read Lin Li¡¯s mind. He shook his head, and said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to prepare. This is an internal matter of the Supreme Council. In 10 days¡¯ time, there will be a regr meeting of the Supreme Council, and you have to attend it as a new councilor. We have made arrangements for everything else.¡±

    Although there was no need to hold a ceremony, and Lin Li would not be receiving any more gifts, he wasn¡¯t too disappointed about it. After all, with his current fortune, there was really nothing else he wanted other than a superior treasure like the Stars of Fury. Besides, others might not be able to afford what he wanted.

    ¡°So, where am I supposed to go to attend the meeting in 10 days?¡± Of course, Lin Li knew that the regr meetings of the Supreme Council would naturally be held at the Supreme Council¡¯s venue. However, the location of the Supreme Council seemed to have always been a secret in the past 1,000 years or so.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take you there when the timees,¡± Chris said with a smile. He then looked around curiously, and continued, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you take me on a tour around your Tower of Dusk now?¡±

    Lin Li naturally would not turn down Chris¡¯ request. He had put in plenty of effort into the construction of the Tower of Dusk, and although it might be a little exaggerated to say that it was like his child, it should be right to say that it was his proudest piece of work. To Lin Li, showing the best piece of work he had done to a mythical figure like Chris was still a rtively rewarding thing.

    The Tower of Dusk had grown to the point where there were more than 1,000 mages, and it was naturally impossible to arrange for all of them to live in the tower. Besides, the Tower of Dusk was different from the other Guilds of Magic. They were not built in the same city, and the mages recruited were not only from Dnd City, but also from various other regions of the Breezy ins. It was unlike the Jarrosus Guild of Magic where the Emerald Tower was built right in Jarrosus City and the mages each had their own residence in the city.

    Hence, living quarters had been built in the Tower of Dusk, and the closest to the Tower of Dusk was a rtively independent building with two floors and boasting an environment that was rather elegantly decorated, which was specially built for the elite mages.

    In the periphery outside the mage¡¯s residences, there was a curved building that was made up of adjoined three-story buildings. There were two rows of such buildings, and in addition to serving as the living space of the mages, the buildings in the outer radius were simr to city walls and served a defensive purpose. Of course, since it was meant for defense, the materials used to build them were very sturdy even though they weren¡¯t tall. Besides, there were Magic Arrays around them, as well as arge number of mageweaths. It could be considered a tough defense to break even for Legendary magic spells.

    The residence of the elite mages was enough to amodate more than 200 mages, and although the living conditions of the ordinary mages were slightly inferior, their residences could amodate 2,000 mages. If the residences were fully upied, the power of the Tower of Dusk would definitely reach an astonishing level.

    However, as Lin Li entered the Sanctuary-realm and the Tower of Dusk became the Magic Land of the Breezy ins, there would definitely be mages from all areas who would apply to join them. At that time, they might even have to expand the Tower of Dusk. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be troublesome, as he just had to add another round of buildings to the outermost periphery.

    In fact, Lin Li had taken some inspiration from the Sky Castle when he designed the entire architecturalyout of the Tower of Dusk. However, he didn¡¯t have to set up Conquering Mageweaths; hence, it didn¡¯t seem like a maze.

    In addition, among the various residential areas, there were several libraries that were specially set up, and they contained magic books of varying depth of content. The mages did not have to deliberately study in the Tower of Dusk. The books contained core magical knowledge, and only the elite mages or the ones who had received permission from the higher-ups would be allowed to enter to study.

    The area opposite the residences of the mages was the buildings of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses, and the Forging Workshop took up thergest amount of space. It was also the residence of the cksmiths and other talents.

    Chris was originally not too interested in the Forging Workshop, since they just housed some cksmiths who would hammer and forge metals. However, when Lin Li brought him into one of the Forging Workshops, he couldn¡¯t help but get a great shock. It turned out that the Forging Workshop was not filled with cksmiths, but with alchemical machines withplex structures.

    ¡°Was this created by the Goblin Angno?¡± Chris had lived for so many years, but it was really the first time he had seen such a sight.

    There was a row of hammers on the alchemical machines that were lifted and dropped neatly. After being struck a certain number of times, there would be a mechanical lever recing the billet with a new one before the striking resumed. The ones that were reced would be processed separately in bulk.

    Goblins were short in stature andcked mana and power. How could they build such massive Alchemy Colossuses? With their power, they probably could not even raise the hammers used by cksmiths. How did they break the metal into the parts they wanted? They managed to do so by relying on their mastery of the alchemical machines, and used the power of the machinery to aplish things they couldn¡¯t do themselves.

    Lin Li sometimes even wondered if the world would¡¯ve be like the one he was in before he transmigrated if the goblins had not perished, and instead dominated Anril like the High Elves had.

    Of course, alchemy machinery was not omnipotent; the machines in the Forging Workshop only provided the preliminary processing of metal, and the true creation of magical weapons would still have to be done by the cksmiths. The significance of the existence of the alchemy machinery was to provide more secrecy for the techniques, and also to reduce the workload of the cksmiths to a certain extent.

 Chapter 904 - Sky Garden

    <h4>Chapter 904: Sky Garden</h4>

    The mainstay business of the Tower of Dusk were the forging industry and the pharmaceutical industry. However, although the Forging Workshop was ced outside, the preparation of potions was still carried out in the tower. Wilkinson and the other pharmacists resided in the tower as well. After all, the pharmacists were of higher value than the cksmiths, and Lin Li had to exercise a stricter system of secrecy for the pharmaceutical forms.

    However, with the rise in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s status and Lin Li¡¯s entry to the Sanctuary-realm, he believed that no one would dare to harbor any thoughts about the pharmacists even if the process of formting potions was done outside the tower.

    After taking a tour around the buildings around the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li did not take Chris back to the Tower of Dusk immediately, and instead took him to the back of the Tower of Dusk where there was an elegant garden-like environment. There were some trees and flowers there, but in the middle, there was a young seedling with only two tender leaves which surprised Chris.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯ve already revived the Seed of Eternity!¡± Chris could not help but be amazed with the weak seedling when he looked at it and sensed its vibrant aura that was full of vitality.

    Lin Li had obtained a dead Seed of Eternity from the Sky Castle, and that matter was basically not a secret anymore. Since the Supreme Council decided to make him a member of the council, they had naturally gotten a good understanding of the matter. However, the revival of the Seed of Eternity was identally performed in the Great Rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar during the battle with the me Dragon Lothar. Hence, it was not something that ordinary people could understand.

    The Tree of Eternity had given birth to the High Elves who had ruled Anril, and also maintained the bnce of the World Laws of Anril. Hence, it was called the World Tree. The power and value of the Tree of Eternity were beyond those of any artifacts or treasures. Hence, after reviving the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li did not immediately nt it. Instead, he waited until he entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    The current Tree of Eternity was still just a young sapling, and all of its power was utilized for its growth. It did not emit a strong aura of life. Otherwise, Chris would have already discovered its presence as soon as he arrived. Besides, Lin Li had also arranged some mageweaths around the sapling. One was to prevent the aura of life from leaking, while the other was to protect it from being trampled.

    The seedling that had only two tender leaves looked inconspicuous, but the benefits that it would bring to the Tower of Dusk after it grew up were absolutely unimaginable.

    One of the most direct benefits was that the talent of the mages would be increased greatly after bathing in the power of the Tree of Eternity. That was different from improving one¡¯s strength as talent was usually determined at birth, and could not be changed by external forces at all. If one was destined to only be at the level of an Archmage, it would be impossible for them to step into the Legendary-realm regardless of how hard they worked. For example, Gerian had reached the maximum of his magical talent at the peak of level-19, and despite being given the help of the various superior conditions of the Tower of Dusk, he was never able to take thatst step to cross the threshold.

    If Gerian¡¯s body could be baptized by the power of the Tree of Eternity, his magical talent would gradually be increased. Once his talent reached the standard required for the Legendary-realm, it would only be right for him to enter the Legendary-realm.

    Of course, Lin Li did not know when the Tree of Eternity would grow. After all, it was not an ordinary tree, and God knew how long its growth cycle was. It was possible for it to be 100-200 years, or even 1,000-2,000 years.

    After talking to Chris about the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li took him back to the Tower of Dusk, and introduced some of the settings in the Tower of Dusk to him, such as the All-Kill Array and so on.

    Finally, Lin Li brought Chris to the top of the Tower of Dusk where the massive Eternal Furnace was ced. The Eternal Furnace was not considered a secret, but Lin Li did not activate the Ice and Fire Nature Magical Domain. It was not that he didn¡¯t trust Chris, but rather that it involved the debris of the stars, Pr Snow and Raging mes. Hence, it would be difficult to exin.

    After Chris¡¯ visiting the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li had about 10 days to prepare for the regr meeting of the Supreme Council. However, he did not waste any time at all. He asked Chris about some of his experience in the Sanctuary-realm, and also found out about some history of the Supreme Council during the Dark Age.

    Although Lin Li had the Book of Eternity that contained Geresco¡¯s experiences in the Sanctuary-realm, there was still a difference between what was written and what was taught in real life. Besides, everyone had their own opinion about the mastery and control of Sanctuary-realm power. After all, not everyone had chosen the same path.

    Chris had taken a liking to Lin Li; hence, he would answer Lin Li¡¯s questions without reservations. He was also very serious about passing on the valuable experience he had gained in the Sanctuary-realm to Lin Li.

    The fact that Chris could stand on the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm meant that he had chosen the path to the highest point even though it was slightly different from the one chosen by Geresco the God of Mages. Hence, any bit of experience he had gained along the way was of great value even to Lin Li who possessed the Book of Eternity.

    10 days passed by in the blink of an eye, and Lin Li managed to learn a lot from Arbitrator Chris. Although he could not advance to level-26 immediately, his realm had be much more stable and solid. He also gained a clearer understanding of the power of the Sanctuary-realm. In terms of power, he could not change much in 10 days, but Lin Li could sense a huge increase in hisbat power.

    It was finally the day of the regr meeting of the Supreme Council. Lin Li followed Chris out of the Tower of Dusk, and after taking two steps, Chris stopped in his tracks. While Lin Li was feeling puzzled, Chris lowered his head and began chanting some simple and short incantations. As he was doing so, the space in front of them suddenly fluctuated, and became a little warped like a ripple. A magical door with a soft glow appeared out of nowhere.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Chris said to Lin Li as he turned around before stepping into the door, causing ripples to form like a stone falling into water.

    Seeing Chris¡¯s figure disappearing in the magical door, Lin Li followed suit without hesitation and soon vanished. When entering, Lin Li subconsciously closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he was greeted by an entirely different scenery.

    The sight in front of Lin Li felt somewhat familiar to him, and he seemed to have seen a hint of the Tower of Dusk from it. It seemed to be a city, but the rows of buildings didn¡¯t look very neat. However, they seemed to also have been staggered in a certain pattern. The roads between the buildings weren¡¯t straight, but had seemingly irregr twists and turns.

    Lin Li shifted his gaze to the edge of the city, but he suddenly discovered that there was a sea of surging clouds outside. He thought, <i>Is this city a Sky Castle, and not a city that was built onnd?</i>

    ¡°This is the venue of the Supreme Council. We call it the Sky Garden.¡± Chris didn¡¯t rush Lin Li, and simply introduced the ce to him smilingly.

    ¡°The Sky Garden, Sky!¡± Lin Li finally remembered why the ce seemed to resemble the Tower of Dusk. It was because he had designed the Tower of Dusk based on theyout of the Sky Castle. The environmentalyout of the Sky Garden was clearly also rted to that of the Sky Castle.

    However, Lin Li remembered that in the legendary war at the end of the Dark Age, Geresco led his rebellion forces to consecutively destroy six Sky Castles of the High Elves, leaving one intact because it had escaped into the spacetime rift. Thest Sky Castle had already been sent away by Lin Li through the Haiga Mountain Range¡¯s Teleportation Array. It was now upied by the powerful Ghost and countless Undead creatures.

    In that case, was the Sky Garden in front of him built by the Supreme Council based on the Sky Castle? If that was the case, the fear that Lin Li had for the power of the Sky Castle would increase greatly.

    Ever since the Dark Age, there were not many people who wanted to replicate a Sky Castle, but some had only drawn up theories, while others had put their ns in motion. For example, the Highlord Osric built the Eternal Furnace based on the Sky Castles. However, the end product was stillrgely different from the real Sky Castles.

    There was also the Church of Dawn that the Pope of the Brilliance Shrine resided in. Although it was located on the Holy Mountain, it actually had the ability to fly through the air. However, it was worlds apart from the Sky Castles. The Eternal Darkness Altar of the Darkness Shrine was in fact just an item that resembled the Sky Castles, but the Darkness Shrine suffered a series of catastrophes, and the construction of the altar was postponed.

    Lin Li knew that the Supreme Council had a Sky Tower that once appeared when the Shadowglen suppressed the entry to Osric¡¯s mausoleum. In all aspects, it was highly simr to the Eternal Furnace, but it was still far from the Sky Castles. At that time, Lin Li felt that the Sky Tower might have been a replica of the Sky Castles created by the Supreme Council.

    However, after looking at the ce known as the Sky Garden, Lin Li secretlypared it to the Sky Castle in his memory, only to discover that he couldn¡¯t even tell which was better or worse for a moment.

    ¡°Is this the ce of the Supreme Council?¡± Lin Li asked, seemingly subconsciously as he was in shock.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s here, the Sky Garden that floats above Anril. Apart from some councilors who reside here, most of the upants are descendants of the mages who were involved in the war, and are now mages of the Supreme Council.¡± Chris was not surprised by Lin Li¡¯s reaction. In fact, every mage who visited the Sky Garden for the first time had a simr expression as Lin Li.

    Lin Li slightly restrained his feelings of excitement and turned to say to Chris, ¡°This Sky Garden was built using the High Elves¡¯ Sky Castle as a temte, right? I always thought that the Sky Castles could not be replicated, but the Supreme Council actually managed to do so long ago.¡±

    Although the six Sky Castles that had fallen during the war at the end of the Dark Age definitely left behind arge amount of wreckage that could be salvaged for construction, they would still require excellent techniques in every upation in order to build a Sky Castle again. In the era where arge amount of technology was lost, that meant that the conditions would be nearly impossible to fulfill. That was the reason for Lin Li¡¯s shock, not the majesty and grandeur of the Sky Garden.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Chris also understood that Lin Li¡¯s shock was because he disagreed. Hence, he said with some amusement, ¡°No, I think you think so because of those legends. They all say that during the war, themander of the rebellion forces, Geresco, led them to destroy the six Sky Castles of the High Elves. Actually, that legend isn¡¯t real.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but look surprised again.

    This legend could not really be considered a legend, but a true historical record. In reality, after the war ended, everyone did find the traces of the six Sky Castles¡¯ wreckage in several major battlefields on the continent. Also, there was a split in the alliance that arose because of the distribution of the wealth plundered from the wreckage of the Sky Castles.

    ¡°One of those seven Sky Castles was built by the High Elves, but they did not get involved in the war at all, and of the six Sky Castles that were actually involved in the war, actually five were destroyed and the remaining one was captured entirely intact by Geresco.¡±

    It was obviously the Sky Garden in front of him that had been captured. When Chris was touring the city with Lin Li, he talked to him about the war back then and the origins of the Sky Garden.

    As they toured the Sky Garden, Lin Li could gradually tell there were shadows of the Sky Castle. For example, the usage of materials, the basic structure of the building, and so on. However, the entire Sky Garden looked very different from the Sky Castles, and had obviously undergone a great transformation.

    When the Immortal King built the Sky Castles, they were designed with High Elves in mind. Now, people were using the Sky Castle. Although Humans could use it directly, there would definitely be various inconveniences during the process. Lin Li could tell that it was modified to the extent that a human could control it.

    The Sky Castle that had escaped into the spacetime rift was said to be the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles. After studying the information about the other six Sky Castles, he could basically confirm that. However, after being modified by Geresco the God of Mages, and adding the gradual improvement of the Supreme Council over the past 1,000 years, it was no longer inferior to the Seventh Sky Castle.

    In fact, the Seventh Sky Castle¡¯s power mainly came from its power system. It had been drifting in the spacetime rift for thousands of years, and endured the overwhelming Void Storm for thousands of years, yet its defensive abilities had not weakened in the slightest, proving the massive strength of the power system.

 Chapter 905 - Old Friends

    <h4>Chapter 905: Old Friends</h4>

    After exploring and hearing Chris¡¯ introduction, Lin Li knew that the various perfect facilities in it were also iparable to the Seventh Sky Castle¡¯s. However, while its power system could notpare to the Seventh Sky Castle¡¯s, its facilities and advantage of beingpletely suitable for being controlled by the human mages was enough to close the gap between the two.

    However, the canopy of the city was not activated in the Sky Garden, perhaps because they wanted to save power. The environment in the city was the same as the outside environment at high altitude, but the extremely low air pressure and the rampant magical turbulences were lethal to mages below the level of Archmage.

    Hence, along the way with Chris, Lin Li saw that the streets of the Sky Garden were rather empty and deserted. He could asionally see a few mages hurrying here and there. Of course, the mages were at least level-15 and above. Mages lower than that would basically be courting death by staying there.

    While introducing the Sky Garden to Lin Li patiently, Chris led Lin Li to the central area of the Sky Garden where a tower with a somewhat strange shape was erected. It was eye-catching, and even looked somewhat awkwardpared to the architectural style of the surrounding environment.

    The tower was constructed with materials that Lin Li had never seen before. They were not magical metals or special cement. Instead, they seemed like wood, and there were wood patterns which seemed to have contained some Laws, forming a natural mageweath with terrifying power.

    ¡°This Central Tower was built by Geresco using half of the Tree of Eternity. Hence, it¡¯s known as the Eternal Tower. Although it has already lost its life, the power it contains is still iparable to any material.¡± Central Tower could tell that there was some doubt in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. Hence, he smiled and revealed the answer before Lin Li asked.

    Upon hearing his answer, Lin Li secretly wiped his sweat and thought to himself that Geresco really could think of anything¡ªhe actually thought of using half of the Tree of Eternity to build a tower. He could imagine that the mages in the tower would probably be able to experience an increase in strength that would be greater than the effects of meditation, without even having to do anything.

    Lin Li also understood the reason for the strange shape of the tower. The branches that extended out from the top of the tower were obviously the sturdy branches that were left over from the half of the Tree of Eternity. Now, there were windows in the branches which had obviously been transformed into multipurpose rooms.

    At this moment, the square in front of the tower was no longer as deserted as the streets, and there were numerous mages who were walking towards it from all directions. Some walked straight into the tower, while some who were smarter walked over to greet Chris. Of course, they made various spections about Lin Li who appeared beside Chris when they returned.

    After Chris responded to the few mages who greeted him, he brought Lin Li to the Eternal Tower.

    The Eternal Tower covered arge area, and the hall that they entered after passing through the gate was like a spacious square. The rooms on both sides of the hall were rather roomy too. The mages who were there were either chatting in the hall, or gathering in groups for discussions in the side halls.

    Usually, those who held discussions in the side halls did not want to be disturbed. Hence, most mages wouldn¡¯t enter the halls out of courtesy, unless they knew the people inside.

    After walking into the hall with Lin Li, Chris only stopped for a while before leading Lin Li to another side hall. Upon seeing the people there, Lin Li immediately understood what Chris was thinking. The two people who were speaking were Aldwin, the President of the nna Guild of Magic, and Macklin, who had advanced to the Legendary-realm.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t surprised to see the two of them. As the President of the Guild of Magic, Aldwin was definitely a councilor as well. On the other hand, Macklin had sessfully stepped into the Legendary-realm when exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum. With the contribution that he had made to the Supreme Council during the exploration, it was only logical that he would be a councilor. Besides, the two of them were probably not ordinary councilors. At least, Aldwin was definitely qualified to be a High Councilor.

    Seeing that Arbitrator Chris was leading Lin Li into the side hall, Aldwin and Macklin who were chatting were stunned, but quickly reacted and greeted Chris.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Chris answered. He nodded in response to their greetings. He turned around and smilingly said to Lin Li, ¡°You guys are considered acquaintances, so go ahead and talk here for a while. I have some things to handle, so I won¡¯t apany you further.¡±

    Before Lin Li could respond to Chris¡¯ words, Aldwin and Macklin got a great shock. It turned out that Arbitrator Chris had specially brought Lin Li there because he was afraid that Lin Li would be bored after he left!

    An arbitrator was the most authoritative figure of the Supreme Council, yet Chris valued Lin Li to the extent that he cared about his feelings! No one else in the Supreme Council would receive such treatment, not even the councilors Andoine and Rosen.

    After sending the arbitrator Chris away, Lin Li, Aldwin, and Macklin returned to their seats in the side hall. Lin Li saw that the two of them still didn¡¯t seem to have recovered from their shock. Hence, he smilingly said, ¡°Masters, it¡¯s been some time since we met during thest cooperation.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, it¡¯s been quite a few days,¡± Macklin subconsciously answered before recovering from the shock abruptly. He frantically asked, ¡°Lin Li, why did youe over together with Arbitrator Chris?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that the Supreme Council is calling for a regr meeting? I¡¯ve never been to the Sky Garden before, so Arbitrator Chris brought me here,¡± Lin Li exined simply. He did not go into detail about the matter of Chris looking for him at the Tower of Dusk.

    However, even if Lin Li didn¡¯t go into detail, Aldwin and Macklin were not fools, and they could somewhat guess something. Since Chris was the one who brought Lin Li there, he had to have gone to look for Lin Li previously. Lin Li had already mentioned the regr Supreme Council meeting. Hence, there was no need for them to guess at all. He was definitely at least a councilor.

    ¡°Felic, now that I think about it, it¡¯s only been a short period of time since you joined the magic trials. I didn¡¯t expect you to have already stepped into the next realm. Compared to you, I really feel like I¡¯ve lived my life in vain.¡± Aldwin initially did not believe it when he heard the rumors of Lin Li entering the Sanctuary-realm. He refused to believe such an exaggerated matter of a mage entering the Sanctuary-realm in his twenties, even though he was extremely optimistic about his magical talent.

    However, after seeing Arbitrator Chris¡¯ attitude towards Lin Li and sensing Lin Li¡¯s aura that was simr to Chris¡¯, Aldwin finally had an answer. That answer made him feel shocked and a little dejected, but he was mostly genuinely impressed with Lin Li¡¯s talent.

    Macklin had only entered the Legendary-realm when exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum. Although it had been a while since then, that amount of time was still not enough for a breakthrough for ordinary people. Hence, he was only at the peak of level-20.

    Macklin didn¡¯t sense the Sanctuary-level aura of Lin Li¡¯s body that clearly; hence, Aldwin¡¯s words made him feel a little puzzled. He asked, ¡°President, what did you say? He made it through the threshold? Hasn¡¯t this kid Felic entered the Legendary-realm a long time ago already?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s after the Legendary-realm?¡± Aldwin asked, shaking his head with a bitter smile. It had been many years since he entered the Legendary-realm, but the Sanctuary-realm still seemed ethereal. He had no idea if he would have the chance to enter it in his lifetime. He felt that Lin Li wasn¡¯t human at all. Even the High Elves who imed to be the most intelligent and outstanding race would not advance at such a rapid speed.

    ¡°Uh... Above the Legendary-realm? Sanctuary-realm? No way, Felic, did you really step into the Sanctuary-realm!?¡± Macklin had only stepped into the Legendary-realm for a short period of time, and perhaps had yet to experience the difficulty of ascending in the Legendary-realm. Hence, he wasn¡¯t as emotional as Aldwin.

    Lin Li, Aldwin, and Macklin were having a casual chat in the side hall. Although the number of people entering the Eternal Tower increased, no one entered to disturb them. However, that didn¡¯tst for too long, as two middle-aged mages walked in not long after, each with a young mage.

    The two young mages were Lin Li¡¯s acquaintances. They were Mason and Orrin who were his roommates during the magic trials in nna. After hearing Aldwin¡¯s introduction, Lin Li learned that one of the two middle-aged mages was level-19 Archmage Joey who was the President of Chevan City¡¯s Guild of Magic and Mason¡¯s teacher. The other was Hahnar who was the President of Rotterdam Guild of Magic and Orrin¡¯s teacher.

    Joey and Hahnar were rather puzzled when they first saw Aldwin chatting merrily with a young man from outside. However, after hearing Aldwin introduce Lin Li as the President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, the two of them immediately got rid of their doubts and began chatting with Lin Li enthusiastically.

    Although Mason and Orrin had already found Lin Li¡¯s appearance familiar before they entered, they were somewhat unsure for a moment when they saw Lin Li¡¯s rxed demeanor as he was chatting with the President of the nna Guild of Magic. However, after they entered with their teachers and saw Lin Li, they were already certain that Lin Li was indeed their former roommate. However, since their teachers were right beside them, they couldn¡¯t go forward to say anything.

    The two of them could only stand beside their own teachers, whom they had always been in awe of, and watch them chat with their former roommate. Mason wanted to say something, but he dared not do so. He simply scratched his ear and touched his chin. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that his teacher was right beside him, he probably would have gone forward to grab Lin Li immediately and chat with him incessantly. On the other hand, Orrin still behaved indifferently and coldly. He remained still while standing beside his teacher, but when he looked at Lin Li, there was still a bit of envy in his eyes.

    After chatting with the two Presidents, Lin Li saw Mason standing behind President Joey, opening and closing his mouth like he was saying something. Besides, he was also secretly reaching his hand out of the hall. Lin Li was also a young man, so he naturally knew what Mason meant. Hence, he bade farewell to Aldwin and the rest, and said that he was going to go catch up with the two of them.

    However, Aldwin did not let Lin Li leave, and he simply said that he was going to take Joey and Hahnar out and introduce them to a few of the councilors. Hence, the four of them left the side hall, leaving the three young men behind.

    With an exaggerated sigh of relief, Mason watched as his teacher left before finding a seat and sitting down. While pounding his thigh, he said to Orrin, ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve been standing for a long time. Aren¡¯t you tired? I¡¯m exhausted from walking and standing throughout the journey.¡±

    ¡°Idiot,¡± Orrin chastised. It was his usual remark at Mason, but he nheless took a seat on a chair near him.

    Mason had long gotten used to Orrin¡¯s remarks. He simply rolled his eyes, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, I heard that you¡¯ve made the Breezy ins be rather lively. It seems that there were rumors about you entering the Legendary-realm. Is that true? Are youing here to be a councilor too?¡±

    Orrin didn¡¯t eagerly ask a bunch of questions like Mason did, but after hearing Mason¡¯s questions, he acted as if he was listening. Clearly, he wanted to ask those questions as well, but his personality prevented him from doing so.

    ¡°Legendary-realm? I guess. This time, I dide over here to attend the regr meeting as a councilor.¡± Lin Li did not hide the matter of him being a councilor. As for the issue regarding power, Mason would definitely take it as a joke if he were to tell them that he had already entered the Sanctuary-realm. Mason might even guffaw continuously.

    Although Lin Li merely asked that question, Mason and Orrin were filled with envy. However, as his former roommates, they were naturally happy for him too.

    ¡°Ah, a councilor of the Supreme Council. My teacher has recently be one too. You guys, if I had been able to find a ce to be a President, do you think I¡¯d have been able to be a councilor now as well? If that was really the case, I¡¯d be a councilor too, and Teacher wouldn¡¯t scold me all the time anymore, would he? Haha!¡± Mason¡¯s words revealed his fondness for fantasizing. He stared at the roof and seemed to have started daydreaming.

    ¡°Idiot, you¡¯re daydreaming again. Given your abilities, you would be reduced to ashes now,¡± Orrin said, dampening Mason¡¯s spirits like a wet nket and shattering his dreams.

    ¡°You... I can at least think about it.¡± Mason sounded rather dejected, but he soon got excited again. He pulled Lin Li and asked about the matters regarding the Breezy ins.

    Actually, since the trial, Mason¡¯s and Orrin¡¯s strength had been increasing rather quickly. During the trial, Mason was only a level-9 Magic Shooter[1], but now he had already be a level-16 Archmage, while Orrin was a level-17 Archmage. That speed would definitely allow them to be worthy of being called magical geniuses in Anril.

    [1] Pretty sure Magic Shooters started somewhere from levels 12-14, but that¡¯s what was written.

 Chapter 906 - Flies

    <h4>Chapter 906: Flies</h4>

    Indeed, both Mason and Orrin were treated as magical talents in the Guild of Magic, and were nurtured by hopeful teachers. Even Aldwin had said that the two of them were the best of their generation, and had high chances of entering the Legendary-realm.

    Although the three of them hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time, and there was a gap in their status, they were all young people, after all. There were many topics they could talk about. Lin Li talked to them about the matters of the Breezy ins, while Mason and Orrin each talked about the experiences they had after the trials. Before they knew it, they had been talking for a long period of time.

    ¡°They¡¯re just two pieces of garbage from the countryside, yet they¡¯re deemed as magical talents. What a joke!¡± a young blond-haired mage mocked with disdain, and raised his chin slightly as he entered the side hall where Lin Li and the rest were in. When he looked at Mason and Orrin, there was an icy cold gaze in his narrow eyes.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t familiar with that young mage, but Mason and Orrin had obviously interacted with him before. Mason hostilely retorted, ¡°Gerosso, our conversation has nothing to do with you! You called us country bumpkins? You¡¯re the one who doesn¡¯t know the rules. You still barged in despite seeing that there are people here. Is this what your teacher taught you!?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of my business, but there are some people who don¡¯t know how to keep their voices down even when they¡¯re lying. I feel so ashamed for you. You¡¯re just garbage, and yet you¡¯re deemed magical talents. You even dream of entering the Legendary-realm. I think you can dream on. You say there are people here?¡± Gerosso nced at Lin Li, but he did not feel any strong magical waves. Hence, he continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone. I just saw a bunch of garbage.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s Gryffindor¡¯s elder brother,¡± said Orrin, exining the identity of the visitor to Lin Li. However, he did not stop looking at Gerosso. He clenched his fist while resting it on the chair, and it seemed that the feud between them wasn¡¯t as simple as just a verbal dispute.

    Initially, Lin Li didn¡¯t know what feud there was between them, but after hearing that Gerosso was Gryffindor¡¯s brother, he suddenly understood all of it. During the trials back then, he used Mental Disruption to cripple Gryffindor who was known as the first magical genius of the Fn Kingdom. Later on, he went to the Breezy ins; hence, Mason and Orrin were med for it.

    Mason stood up fiercely, and resentfully retorted, ¡°Gerosso, don¡¯t think you¡¯re a big shot just because you¡¯re at level-19. There are plenty of level-19 Archmages in this world. Not all of them can be Legendary-mages.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no big deal about being at level-19, but as long as I can defeat you two, it¡¯s enough, isn¡¯t it? Had Teacher not stopped me then, hmph!¡± Gerosso ignored the murderous gazes of Mason and Orrin. He walked towards a chair, took a seat, and nced at Mason before saying, ¡°Yes, indeed, not everyone at level-19 can be a Legendary-mage. Mason, your teacher has been stuck at level-19 for years, hasn¡¯t he? It¡¯s no wonder that he can only foster garbage like you.¡±

    ¡°Gerosso, how dare you insult my teacher!¡± Although Mason oftenined about his teacher being too harsh, he wouldn¡¯t tolerate others insulting his teacher openly. He immediately took out his staff, and was ready to do something, ignoring the fact that Gerosso was stronger than him and the ce that he was in.

    Faced with an angry Mason, Gerosso didn¡¯t panic at all. He looked at Mason with disdain, and said, ¡°How can that be considered an insult? I¡¯m just stating facts.¡±

    Gerosso was waiting for Mason to lose control and attack him. Given Mason¡¯s ability, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him at all. They were in the Eternal Tower of the Supreme Council, and if Mason were to attack him, even his teacher Joey would get into trouble as well.

    Although it was said that those below the Sanctuary-realm were like insignificant ants, Lin Li was still very young, unlike the old fogies who had been in the Sanctuary-realm for thousands of years. Thus, Lin Li could not bring himself to see Mason, Orrin, and Gerian as insignificant ants.

    In fact, be it the three great arbitrators or High Priest Rogge of the Darkness Shrine, they probably had friends who couldn¡¯t step into the Sanctuary-realm when they were younger. However, as their friends left one by one, their hearts truly drifted farther and farther away from mortals.

    Hence, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t watch Mason suffer at this time. He said in a calm tone, ¡°Mason, some things aren¡¯t what others say they are. I heard that Master Macklin of the nna Guild of Magic was also stuck in level-19 for many years, but he stepped into the Legendary-realm recently. No one can be certain when ites to the Legendary-realm. With the narrow-mindedness of some people, I¡¯m afraid that Master Macklin has probably been called garbage by them plenty of times before.¡±

    Although Lin Li¡¯s words would not make Mason ignore Gerosso¡¯s insult to his teacher, they managed to calm him down a little. He thought about the ce he was in, and finally suppressed his anger as he stopped looking at Gerosso¡¯s annoying face.

    Seeing that Mason was actually not going to snap, Gerosso¡¯s face grew gloomy and sullen as he turned to look at Lin Li, whom he had never taken seriously. There was a look of ruthlessness in his eyes. With his own knowledge of Mason, he knew that Mason would have definitely done something to him at all costs. Yet, to his surprise, Mason was stopped by the nameless kid. It seemed that they had an extraordinary rtionship!

    Seeing that they were somewhat ignoring him and having a conversation instead, Gerosso rolled his eyes and sneered. He gibed, ¡°Mason, seems like you¡¯re in a good mood. Is it true that the matter of the pirates in Chevan City has been settled? When I go back and see my teacher, I can talk to him about it so that he doesn¡¯t have to send people to your side.¡±

    Mason and Lin Li chatted for a while, and Mason¡¯s feelings were gradually cated. However, when he heard Gerosso¡¯s words, he turned beet red immediately, and rebutted, ¡°Gerosso, this is our personal feud. If you have what it takes, don¡¯t get the guild involved.¡±

    Mason¡¯s Guild of Magic was located in a city near the sea in the southeast of the Fn Kingdom, hence its name, Chevan City Guild of Magic. Although it was not thatpetent, the deterrence provided by the Supreme Council allowed them to have a high status there, and ordinary forces wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke them easily.

    However, in this world, the steep mountains were often full of bandits that shuttled through the forests. The desert that was known as the Land of Death was full of sand pirates that came and went like the wind. The vast and boundless sea was also a perfect concealment for the pirates even despite its endless dangers.

    Others feared the Guild of Magic because their property was near, and if things were to go awry during a fallout, no one would benefit. However, the pirates didn¡¯t have that concern. As soon as they saw a chance, they would seize it and go onshore to rob. Whenever there was a strong enemy, they would get onto their boats and flee into the endless sea. The sea was their world, and even Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t do anything to them. Inparison, pirates were probably even more fearless than bandits and sand pirates.

    Lin Li could tell from the conversation between Gerosso and Mason that the pirates had set their sights on Chevan City. As the top force of Chevan City, the Guild of Magic definitely needed to do something; otherwise, how could it be acknowledged by the other local forces? However, the strength of the Chevan City Guild of Magic, which was helmed by a President who had yet to even step into the Legendary-realm, made it hard for them to even defend against the pirates, let alone keep their interests.

    As for the assistance from the New Crescent City Guild of Magic that Gerosso mentioned, it was obviously not going to be of much use, either, as it would at most make the pirates a little more worried and lie low for a while. Of course, it could not be ruled out that it might be because the New Crescent City refused to give too much help. In any case, the pirates were still present, and the Chevan City Guild of Magic would still have to continuously seek help from New Crescent City Guild of Magic.

    Was it really difficult to actually get rid of a bunch of pirates? Seeing that Mason was thwarted by Gerosso who was getting even more smug, Lin Li suddenly broke the stalemate, and calmly said, ¡°Mason, why didn¡¯t you tell me about this just now? You¡¯re not treating me like your friend. They¡¯re just a bunch of pirates, aren¡¯t they? How about this? When you meet President Joey again, inform him that I¡¯ll send you a few Magical Crystal Cannons. Although the power of Magical Crystal Cannons is ordinary, they should be enough for attacking the pirates.¡±

    Although Lin Li could easily send arge batch of Archmages to provide aid with the current strength of the Tower of Dusk, the mages of the Breezy ins had never had experience in naval battles, and it was impossible for them to be stationed in Chevan City for a long time. Besides, Lin Li was also considering the feelings of Mason and President Joey. Although the Chevan City Guild of Magic was indeed very weak, sending a batch of Archmages there all of a sudden would inevitably make them feel like he was trying to steal their thunder.

    The Magical Crystal Cannons were different. Regardless of the power of the Magical Crystal Cannons, they were just tools to be used, after all. If he sent them over, the people of the Chevan City Guild of Magic would be the ones using them to eliminate the pirates. That could also increase their reputation in Chevan City.

    As soon as Lin Li said that, the other three people in the side hall were clearly stunned, and Mason quickly reacted by putting away his staff and returning to his seat. He turned to smile at Lin Li, and said, ¡°Is that so? Great, with Magical Crystal Cannons, it¡¯d be too simple to get rid of the pirates. From now on, we¡¯ll get rid of people who always go to our ces to eat and stay for free too.¡±

    Although he knew that Lin Li¡¯s Tower of Dusk was operating well in the Breezy ins, Mason couldn¡¯t imagine how well it was doing. Hence, he didn¡¯t really believe in Lin Li¡¯s words, and merely thought that Lin Li was trying to give him an out. Hence, he immediately put on a happy face and yed along.

    ¡°Psht, a few Magical Crystal Cannons? How generous. Do you know what Magical Crystal Cannons are like? Do you know how much mana it takes to fire one? Or maybe you just remember such a term and nothing more. Please, before you try to brag, think about your words carefully and run them through your head. How ridiculous.¡± Gerosso naturally didn¡¯t believe Lin Li¡¯s words, either. He knew the value of Magical Crystal Cannons. Each one cost more than 10,000 gold coins, yet Lin Li generously offered to send them a few. He thought, <i>Only idiots would believe such nonsense.</i>

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± said Lin Li, who didn¡¯t get angry at Gerosso¡¯s mockery, and instead acted like he suddenly remembered something. He said to Mason, ¡°I almost forgot, there¡¯s not much of a gathering ce for magical beasts on your side, so it¡¯s not easy for you to get some magical crystals. How about this? Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons, I¡¯ll get my people to send you some magical crystals as well. Each Magical Crystal Cannon needs a magical crystal of at least level-10 to be activated. In order to deal with the pirates, 100 level-15 ones should be enough. However, it¡¯s inevitable that you¡¯ll have to deal with other people with sinister intentions in the future, so I¡¯ll just give you 500 of them.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Mason opened his mouth wide, and found it hard to continue ying along. <i>How many gold coins does each level-15 magical crystal cost? 100 magical crystals... 500, why can¡¯t I calcte anymore!?</i>

    From the moment he entered the side hall, Gerosso had been observing Lin Li¡¯s strength, but he did not detect any obvious magical waves. Hence, he reckoned that Lin Li was just a student following his teacher to gain experience. He usually could not be bothered to care about such insignificant people, but seeing how callous and boastful Lin Li was when insulting him, he finally couldn¡¯t take it any longer.

    Gerosso pped the table and stood up, pointing at Lin Li with one hand and raising his chin. He hollered, ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you know where you are? Do you think something like you is fit to enter!? I don¡¯t care how you got in here, but you¡¯d better get lost immediately. Don¡¯t make me call someone to throw you out!¡±

    However, Gerosso didn¡¯t get any response. Lin Li did not even bother turning around. He smiled, and said to Mason, ¡°Forget it, Mason, stop counting. Magical crystals are sold at a pretty high price in the market, but it¡¯s nothing over at our side. They can easily be obtained by killing magical beasts. It¡¯s settled then. Remember to inform President Joey.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! Who is your teacher? I will see which person is so unruly as to bring any Tom, Dick, and Harry here!¡± Gerosso was filled with rage after seeing that Lin Li had ignored him and continued to brag. He even couldn¡¯t help himself anymore, and was about to go up and teach him a lesson.

    However, before Gerosso could do anything, he suddenly felt his body stiffen without warning as if all of his mana was instantly frozen. He thenpletely lost control of his body.

    <i>What is going on!?</i> Boundless fear drowned Rogge immediately as he had never experienced something like this before. His body seemed to no longer belong to him, and it was as if he couldn¡¯t move a finger at all.

    At this moment, Lin Li also stood up, but without looking at Gerosso, he said to Mason and Orrin, ¡°Let¡¯s go chat in another ce lest we get our mood affected.¡±

 Chapter 907 - So Arrogant?

    <h4>Chapter 907: So Arrogant?</h4>

    Mason and Orrin were originally wondering why Gerosso, who had always been arrogant, suddenly fell silent. At this moment, hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, they finally understood that it had to be something that their former roommate had done to Gerosso. Rumor had it that he had already entered the Legendary-realm, and they reckoned that that was probably the means of a Legendary-mage.

    As the three of them continued to chat, they walked out of the side hall, leaving the stiffened Gerosso behind. Seeing that the three of them had left, he felt like he was on the verge of copse because he couldn¡¯t control his body, and was unable to do anything.

    Lin Li, Mason, and Orrin were not specially looking for a venue. They simply found a quiet corner in the hall, and continued to talk about the events that happened to each of them over the years. Not longter, Aldwin and the rest looked for them and informed Lin Li that the regr meeting was about to begin soon. Mason and Orrin were sent to study in the Supreme Council¡¯s library by their respective teachers.

    Under Aldwin¡¯s lead, Lin Li followed the crowd towards the venue where the regr meeting was held. At this moment, the people who were originally in the hall followed suit as well. They walked towards the main venue, while some younger disciples walked out of the hall, probably heading to the library to study.

    Everyone in the hall left in just a minute or two. The hall that was initially bustling with activity and filled with people who were talking to each other softly quieted down as well. No one noticed a young man who was standing still with horror in his eyes in one of the side halls.

    The venue for the regr meeting of the Supreme Council was an oval-shaped space where the seats were also arranged in the shape of an oval, with the firstyer starting at the boundaries. Every seat was spacious, and they were all a certain distance away from each other. There was a councilor¡¯s name tag on every table.

    When Lin Li arrived, there were already quite a few people seated inside, opposite the exit. The Chairman Andoine and the Deputy Chairman Rosen had already taken their seats, and on either side of them were the seats reserved for the high-ranking councilors.

    As the President of the nna Guild of Magic who had contributed greatly during the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Aldwin was seated beside Andoine. Clearly, he was second only to the chairman and deputy chairman in terms of position.

    After bringing Lin Li and the rest into the venue, Aldwin spoke to a few people and headed to his own seat. Lin Li, Macklin, Joey, and Hahnar, who were only ordinary councilors for now, were seated separately. Lin Li, the new councilor, was seated the furthest away from the center.

    After all the councilors had arrived and taken their seats, the meeting finally began, and the first topic to be discussed gave Lin Li, the first-timer and newly minted councilor, a great shock.

    ¡°The situation on the border of the Fn Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom has recently be increasingly tense, and conflicts have been urring from time to time. Councilors, I would like you to voice your opinions and discuss the attitude that the Supreme Council should assume regarding the potential war between the two nations in the future.¡± After talking about the topic for discussion during the regr meeting, Andoine returned to his seat and waited for the people to speak.

    As soon as Andoine returned to his seat, someone gestured and requested to speak. Upon permission, that councilor stood up, looked around the room, and said in a low voice, ¡°There¡¯s something that I believe everyone here should have experienced. The magical talents you have favored and had high hopes for often stagnate and get stuck in a bottleneck when they reach a certain stage. It¡¯s as if their talent has disappeared overnight, and they¡¯ve be utterly ordinary, bringing us great disappointment.¡±

    Seeing that the councilors were all nodding slightly, the councilor who spoke also looked more confident, and he gradually raised his voice. He continued, ¡°The reason for this is that Anril has been peaceful for far too long, preventing the young mages from getting enough experience. Hence, theyck the courage and bravery to face difficulties. Only by braving tumultuous wars and going through life-and-death situations can they know how insignificant the difficulties they currently face really are. Hence, I believe that we must not only allow the war to go on, we also have to push for it to happen and make it erupt with intensity. This will allow the young mages to gain enough experience.¡±

    That councilor expressed his opinion before turning to look at the reactions of the councilors around him. He finally bowed to Andoine and resumed his seat.

    The councilor¡¯s perspective somewhat made sense as humans would only unleash their greatest potential when they were on the brink of death. That was a well-known fact. Besides, there were many examples in this world where people risked their lives to break through bottlenecks and seeded in the end. Hence, the war could indeed act as a catalyst.

    However, not everyone would agree with him. Shortly after that councilor sat down, someone stood up and hostilely retorted, ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. You only see the trials and tribtions that wars put people through, but you fail to see how much damage and destruction wars can cause. It is true that many historical talents have emerged from those wars, but many outstanding talents have fallen as well. Have you counted how many died before they even achieved anything? I can tell you that the losses will definitely outweigh the gains.¡±

    Another councilor who supported the war immediately interjected, ¡°Since they have been eliminated by war, they cannot be called talents! The power of magic has to beprehended through war. Without war...¡±

    Lin Li sat on the seat at the back and listened to the incessant conflict between the hundreds of councilors. He could not help but be emotional. It was no wonder that everyone said that the Supreme Council could decide the fate of the world of Anril. It was truly not an exaggeration at all. Regardless of who was right or wrong, manipting a war didn¡¯t seem to be a problem for them. They could either let it happen, or prevent it from happening.

    The councilors belonging to the two schools of thought, pro-war and anti-war, began taking turns to speak, and a heated debate soon took ce, while Lin Li sat in the corner without saying a word. Such a meeting was fresh to him at first, but he gradually began to feel a little sleepy. They spent an entire day discussing that topic. Even at the end of the discussion, Lin Li wasn¡¯t even sure if they had reached a consensus or not.

    After the meeting ended, Lin Li, who was sitting at the end, was the first to leave. He stood by the entrance for a while, and Macklin and the rest exited as well. Due to the fact that Aldwin was a high-ranking councilor, he had to stay behind with the others to continue discussing the topic just now so as to reach a final decision.

    At another exit that was not far from Lin Li, Macklin, and the rest, a middle-aged mage who was in his fifties walked out. As soon as he did, an Archmage who was in charge of maintaining order at the venue inched forward to tell him a few words softly.

    ¡°What!? Someone has the audacity to take action here?¡± A middle-aged mage was shocked, but then thought that it was not appropriate to shout here. He lowered his voice again, and quickly told the person, ¡°Hurry, take me there!¡±

    The Archmage who hade to report the news led the way, and advised, ¡°Councilor Leddings, you need not worry too much, Gerosso didn¡¯t get hurt. He¡¯s just restrained by Mana Shackle.¡±

    Before the meeting began, Leddings saw that his student Gerosso didn¡¯t look for him, and he thought that he had gone to study in the library. To his surprise, he found out after the meeting ended that Gerosso had been restrained by Mana Shackle, and had been trapped in a side room for the entire day.

    Although Leddings knew that Mana Shackle wouldn¡¯t cause too much damage, the fact that his student had somehow gotten confined for a day was tantamount to a p on his face!

    The person who managed to use Mana Shackle to trap a level-19 Archmage for an entire day was definitely at least in the Legendary-level. That was the reason for Leddings¡¯ anger. Since that person had Legendary-level abilities, he had to be a member of the council. Why couldn¡¯t he have gone to Leddings to settle the matter instead of making things hard for a junior?

    Soon, Leddings arrived in the side hall, and saw his student Gerosso who had been restrained for a whole day.

    At the sight of his teacher, Gerosso almost burst into tears. He was conscious, but was unable to control his body. He felt like he was in a nightmare that he couldn¡¯t wake up from for the entire day.

    Fortunately, Lin Li didn¡¯t use much power to confine Gerosso; hence, Leddings could release him quickly. Suppressing his anger, he questioned, ¡°Gerosso, who did this to you?¡±

    With the assistance of the people beside him, Gerosso, whose body had stiffened, took a seat on a chair, and finally prevented himself from embarrassing himself in front of others. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°It¡¯s... It¡¯s someone who was with Mason and Orrin. I¡¯ve never seen him before.¡±

    As soon as he heard Gerosso mention Mason and Orrin, Leddings immediately knew the possible cause of the matter. After all, Gerosso had always been targeting Mason and Orrin. However, that did not mean that Leddings forgave that person who did that to his student.

    Gerosso said that he had never seen that person before. It was not the first time Leddings had brought his student to the regr meeting, but the councilors did not know each other too well. However, even then, it wasn¡¯t to the extent where Gerosso had never seen any of them before. Could it be a new councilor? He had no idea, because he was too focused on the discussion about the war during the meeting, so he did not notice any fresh face.

    Leddings saw the Archmage who led him there. Since they were in charge of maintaining order, he reckoned that he should know something. Thus, he asked, ¡°Begena, is there a new councilor who attended the meeting today?¡±

    ¡°Well, it seems so,¡± Begena answered after thinking about it for a while. ¡°There were two new councilors at the meeting today. One was President Joey of the Chevan City Guild of Magic. The other was President Felic of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Breezy ins Guild of Magic, Tower of Dusk?¡± Leddings¡¯ eyes lit up. The useless Joey was only a level-19 Archmage who had no means to confine his disciple at all. Since President Felic of the Tower of Dusk was already a Legendary-mage, he could be the culprit.

    Gerosso finally knew that the person he originally didn¡¯t care about was the culprit who had crippled his brother in the first ce. ¡°What? Felic!? He¡¯s Felic!? Teacher, I¡¯m sure that the one who did it to me¡ª¡±

    However, before Gerosso could finish speaking, Leddings hollered, ¡°Shut up, President Felic is the President of a Guild of Magic and a newly promoted councilor of the Supreme Council. How could he attack a junior like you? Leave with me, don¡¯t embarrass me here.¡± As he said that, he nced at the Archmage beside him, Begena.

    Gerosso felt a little aggrieved at first, but after catching his teacher¡¯s hint, he immediately understood something. He got up and obediently followed his teacher out.

    After the two left, Begena shook his head in amusement, and turned around to return to the venue like nothing had happened.

    Gerosso followed his teacher out. Seeing that there was no one around, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Teacher, it must be that Felic. He and Mason and Orrin were roommates back then. They shared a close rtionship. My younger brother Gryffindor was crippled by him. He must be thinking of crippling me too. After he confined me, he called me garbage and said that I had a useless teacher. Hisments were nasty.¡±

    Even if Gerosso did not try to sow discord, Leddings wouldn¡¯t let the matter rest just like that. A newly minted councilor wasn¡¯t enough to make him feel wary. Regardless of the reason, his student had been bullied, and if he did not stand up for him, others wouldugh their heads off.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a new councilor, yet he has the audacity to be so arrogant. Go find out where he lives. He¡¯s asking to be stripped of his position as a councilor!¡± Leddings dared to say those words definitely not because he was just saving face in front of his student, but rather because he was absolutely confident.

    A councilor of the Supreme Council might seem like a big shot to others, but Leddings, who was also a councilor, knew that it didn¡¯t mean anything at all. There were hundreds of councilors in the entire council, and everyone¡¯s identity was the same. It was apetition of connections.

    What kind of remarkable connections could a newly minted councilor have made? Although Joey of the Chevan City Guild of Magic was also a new member, he had been a President for years, and he at least had three or five close friends.

    Leddings felt that since Lin Li was the President of a newly established Guild of Magic in a shabby ce like the Breezy ins, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have any connections, as he wouldn¡¯t have the chance to interact with the other Guilds of Magic.

    However, Leddings was different. He had been a councilor for so many years, and many other councilors had to give him face. Besides, in the Supreme Council, the chairman, deputy chairman, and the eight high-ranking councilors were the ones who truly held the highest power. He had good ties with a few high-ranking councilors, and he could even speak to Deputy Chairman Rosen through them.

    Hence, in Leddings¡¯ opinion, it was simply too easy to deal with a new councilor with his connections. He felt that he might just make Lin Li pack his bags and scram back to the Breezy ins. When that happened, Lin Li would be stripped of his position as councilor and subjected to his torture. He would then let him know the consequences of offending him!

 Chapter 908 - Finding Trouble

    Chapter 908: Finding Trouble

    Hearing that his teacher asked him to find out where Lin Li lived, Gerosso knew that he would definitely get his revenge. He couldn¡¯t help but smile smugly, and he even forgot the pain he felt after being physically confined for a day for a moment. He didn¡¯t think as much as Leddings, but he knew that his teacher was rather authoritative in the Supreme Council and had high power. Hence, he immediately responded and proceeded to investigate, ignoring the soreness of his achy muscles.

    Watching his student leave, the corners of Leddings¡¯ lips were slightly raised, and there was a look of pride on his face. Actually, getting revenge was not the most important. The most important thing was the big fat piece of meat that was the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.

    At first, no one thought that someone would be able to gain a stable footing in the Breezy ins; hence, they ignored the production value of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. By the time they noticed, it was almost impossible to intervene again, unless they could find a reason to get rid of that young President.

    It was a good opportunity for Leddings now. If the other party knew any better, he would offer some profits that would satisfy him. However, if he wasn¡¯t sensible enough, Leddings would collude with other councilors and high-ranking councilors to divide the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.

    After chatting with Macklin and the rest for a while, Lin Li arrived at the residence that the Supreme Council had arranged for him under the lead of an Archmage. After all, he was a member of the Supreme Council, and although it was only a temporary resting ce, the environment was rather pleasant.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care much about the environment. After the Archmage left, he returned to his room and took out the Book of Eternity.

    Although he had just attended a meeting that could be considered one that decided the fate of Anril, Lin Li didn¡¯t think too much of it. To him, increasing his strength quickly was much more important. After he did that, he would go seal the spacetime rift Geresco had mentioned. War was nothingpared to that.

    Lin Li read the Book of Eternity with no distractions, but at some point, he vaguely heard someone yelling outside his room. He put the book down to listen carefully, only to realize that the person was calling him.

    ¡°Felic,e out!¡±

    Gerosso stood outside the room with a smug expression, entirely forgetting how much he had regretted messing with the wrong person when he had been restrained. Of course, it was not that he didn¡¯t learn his lesson at all. At least now he knew that he ought to stand far away from Lin Li¡¯s room.

    The door opened silently.

    However, Gerosso immediately got goosebumps. When he saw Lin Li appearing at the door, he broke out in a cold sweat, but at the thought of his teacher standing up for him soon, he immediately mustered up the courage and snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t be too cocky, I¡¯m telling you, my teacher will soone looking for you. You¡¯re in big trouble, and there will be a time when you cry!¡±

    After saying that, Gerosso turned around and left like he was fleeing, without even waiting for Lin Li to respond. Although he had his teacher to support him, and was sure that Lin Li would have a terrible end, Lin Li was still stronger than him, after all. He could easily confine Gerosso again. If Lin Li were to go hard against him after hearing the news, he would be the unlucky one.

    Seeing that Gerosso had scurried away, Lin Li felt a little puzzled, but he didn¡¯t think much. Instead, he turned around and returned to his room to read the Book of Eternity.

    The Sky Garden was still in the normal world. It was affected by the changes in the world even though it was hovering in the air. Soon, the sky darkened, and bright magicmps illuminated the streets and alleys of the Sky Garden.

    Leddings didn¡¯t immediately put the connections he had to use, and instead followed Lin Li out ording to the news given by Gerosso. He was very familiar with the surroundings because he had also rested in such a ce during breaks in between regr meetings when he first joined the Supreme Council.

    Hence, Leddings didn¡¯t have to worry much. Clearly, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any powerful backer. Otherwise, even a newly minted councilor would not be arranged to live at such a ce.

    Reaching the door, Leddings was all ready to push the door and enter. However, before his hand evennded on the door, he heard some voices talking inside the room. It seemed that Lin Li wasn¡¯t the only one there, and he vaguely felt that one of the voices was somewhat familiar.

    In order to be cautious, Leddings retracted his hand and moved away from the door, inching towards the other side of the room. Not only would he not arouse suspicion in those who passed by, he could also hear the voices inside. As soon as he tried to listen, he heard sounds of a conversationing out from the room again. The voice was a little clearer, but after he heard it, his heart sank a little.

    It was no wonder he found the voices familiar¡ªthey belonged to Aldwin and Macklin. Leddings had been a councilor for many years, and he often had dealings with the nna Guild of Magic. Hence, he could still identify the voices of Aldwin and Macklin.

    At this moment, Leddings couldn¡¯t help but feel fortunate and thankful that he had been cautious. Had he barged in to question Lin Li recklessly and run into the two of them, the situation would have been awkward. However, why are they here at this moment? Has Felic gotten himself acquainted with these two so soon?

    Leddings couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. Aldwin was a true high-ranking councilor of the Supreme Council who was second only to the chairman and deputy chairman. Besides, he was the President of a Guild of Magic. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke him.

    Although it had been a short period of time since Macklin had joined the Supreme Council, he had contributed greatly, and his power had already reached the Legendary-realm. The position of a councilor was just a temporary springboard, and he might be a high-ranking councilor sometime soon. More importantly, Macklin was known to have a bad temper, and he might be tougher to deal with than Aldwin.

    However, Leddings did not want to give up just like that. He hade in a moment of anger, and if he were to go back cowardly, what would his student think of him? Besides, the wealth of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was too tempting. If he could get some of their wealth for his New Crescent City Guild of Magic, it would be of great help to the development of his Guild of Magic.

    Yes, getting a small slice of the pie would be enough. If he pocketed everything, others would be jealous of him. With those thoughts, Leddings decided to stay and listen to find out the rtionship between them.

    At this moment, Lin Li was talking to Aldwin and Macklin about the things they had done after exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum in the room. They also talked about some matters regarding the cooperation between the two Guilds of Magic. Due to the fact that there was nothing to hide, they did not deliberately keep their volume down nor care if anyone was eavesdropping on them.

    When it came to the experience of exploring Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Aldwin and Macklin thanked Lin Li emotionally. It was not only because Lin Li managed to resolve Osric¡¯s perfect body, but also because the mages of the nna Guild of Magic would have long been wiped out without Lin Li along the way, and they might not have been able to even make it to thest floor.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything more on that topic. He simply smiled at the two of them and dropped the subject. After all, he had struck a fortune during that exploration. Not only did he obtain the core of the Eternal Furnace, he also managed to conscript a Guru of Alchemy.

    After that, the three of them talked about cooperation, from magical crystals to magical equipment and so on. Due to the fact that they were only talking about their intentions at first, they didn¡¯t go into too much detail. However, if they were toy all their cards on the table, it would take a long time to discuss.

    The three of them were chatting andughing leisurely in the room, appearing rather close. Leddings, who was eavesdropping outside, felt like his heart was gradually freezing. Putting aside the rtionship of the trio, the fact that they had a cooperation going on made him feel that the matter was tricky.

    No matter what, since Aldwin and Macklin were inside, Leddings already had no intention of intruding to seek justice. It seemed that he could only go back and talk to the rest about it. If he were to work with the other high-ranking councilors, there might be some hope for the matter.

    However, just as Leddings was about to leave, he heard the sound of footstepsing again, and he turned around to take a look, only to see that it was the chairman Andoine, giving him a great shock.

    ¡°Hey, Leddings, why are you still standing here? Are you here to see Felic?¡± Andoine knew that Leddings did not stay there, and so questioned him in puzzlement. However, he did not think much of it.

    However, Andoine¡¯s question made Leddings feel so shocked that he nearly started, and couldn¡¯t control the cold sweat from breaking out on his body. It seemed to have prated his clothes. If it weren¡¯t for the ck robe he was wearing and the obscurity provided by the night, others would probably have seen him being drenched in sweat.

    ¡°No, no, I...¡± Leddings did not know what Andoine hade to do, nor did he know what rtionship he had with Felic, but he dared not question him at all. He frantically found a random excuse, and said, ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone. Yes, I¡¯m waiting for someone. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re waiting for someone here?¡± Andoine muttered, but he did not suspect anything. He went straight to Lin Li¡¯s door and entered. He said, ¡°Felic, you rascal, you¡¯re here, and yet you didn¡¯te to see me. You actually made mee to you!¡±

    ¡°I knew you were busy, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so eager to see me. I¡¯m so ashamed,¡± Lin Li answered smilingly. Although he seemed apologetic, it didn¡¯t sound sincere.

    ¡°I¡¯m eager to see you? Rascal, don¡¯t think so highly of yourself,¡± Andoine teased. He wasn¡¯t offended by Lin Li¡¯s attitude. He responded to Aldwin¡¯s and Macklin¡¯s greetings, after which he said, ¡°I just came to inform you about something.¡±

    Listening to the conversation between Andoine and Lin Li, Leddings was overwhelmed with fear, and he stood rooted to the ground. Regardless of what their rtionship was, he could tell from their conversation that it was definitely not ordinary.

    He is Andoine, the chairman of the council who is second only to the three arbitrators! Who is Felic, and how did he get involved with Chairman Andoine!? Damn it, that bastard Gerosso almost caused me to die. Had I really barged in to question Felic...

    At the thought of the dire consequences, Leddings shuddered, and realized that even the high-ranking councilors would not be able to save him if that were to happen.

    However, the people inside the room didn¡¯t know that they were just talking, yet someone outside was already on the verge of breaking down. Lin Li arranged for Andoine to sit on the chair, after which he smilingly said, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Why did you have toe all the way here personally? You could have just gotten someone to ry the message, and I would have to run back to see you obediently.¡±

    ¡°Get someone to ry the message? I¡¯m the messenger, why would I get another one?¡± Andoine waved his hands nonchntly. Although he was the chairman of the Supreme Council, he was not the type to put on airs. Rosen might have done the opposite if it were him.

    Upon hearing that, Lin Li, Aldwin and Macklin were all slightly shocked. Lin Li curiously asked, ¡°It¡¯s degrading enough for you to be a messenger. Who made you ry a message?¡±

    ¡°Who else can task me with errands? Those three above me, of course,¡± Andoine said while pointing upwards.

    Of course, once he said that, Lin Li understood as well. In the Supreme Council, apart from the three arbitrators, no one else could give Andoine any tasks.

    ¡°Uh, why don¡¯t we go back first?¡± Knowing that Andoine was rying a message on behalf of the three arbitrators, Macklin and Aldwin decided to leave even though they did not know what they were going to talk about.

    ¡°No need,¡± Andoine said while waving his hands. He then said to Lin Li, ¡°The three arbitrators are asking to see you tomorrow. They have something important to discuss with you.¡±

    Discuss?

    Aldwin and Macklin knew of the rtionship between Andoine and Lin Li; hence, they were not shocked about their behavior. Actually, the three arbitrators asking to see Lin Li was not that surprising, either. Anyway, Apophis, Megard, and Chris had previously met Lin Li separately. They were just going to meet him together this time.

    However, what did they have to discuss? How could the word ¡®discuss¡¯ be used here! For a moment, Aldwin and Macklin were somewhat petrified. In the entire world of Anril, the only person who was qualified to ¡®discuss¡¯ anything with the three arbitrators was probably a figure like Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine.

    Seeing their reaction, Andoine pursed his lips, but he did not make fun of them, because he¡¯d reacted the same way when he heard that the arbitrators wanted him to ry the message.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve ryed the message. I still have to go back to prepare for the meeting tomorrow. I won¡¯t chat with you any further.¡± Although Andoine still wanted to chat with Lin Li and dig up some more information about pharmaceutics, he was a chairman who had endless things to do.

 Chapter 909 - The Tera Mine

    <h4>Chapter 909: The Tera Mine</h4>

    Actually, Lin Li was shocked as well. Although he had already entered the Sanctuary-realm, he clearly still could notpare to the three arbitrators. Did he really qualify to use the word ¡®discuss¡¯? Upon hearing that Andoine was about to leave, Lin Li didn¡¯t think too much of it, and simply stood up to walk Andoine out.

    As for Aldwin and Macklin, Andoine had long left by the time they reacted and followed him out.

    After Andoine left Lin Li¡¯s room, and was about to return to the Eternal Tower, he saw Leddings who was standing stiffly beside the room. Hence, he asked, ¡°Leddings, is the person you¡¯re waiting for not here yet?¡±

    ¡°Ah, no, it¡¯s not that. I think he must be held up by something. I¡¯m not waiting anymore, I¡¯m going back now,¡± said Leddings, who got a great shock after hearing Andoine¡¯s question. He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and spluttered while trying to give an exnation. Without waiting for Andoine to say anything, he simply lowered his head and left.

    ¡°Strange, am I that frightening?¡± Andoine asked, stroking his chin in bafflement while watching Leddings who seemed to be fleeing in panic.

    After Lin Li sent Andoine away, Aldwin and Macklin were no longer in the mood to continue their conversation, so they both took their leave as well. Lin Li sent the two of them away as well, and continued to look up at the night sky. He could not help but be puzzled as he wondered, <i>Didn¡¯t that person say that someone is going to find me and create trouble? It¡¯s already sote, but he hasn¡¯t showed up yet. If he still doesn¡¯t appear, I¡¯m going to go to sleep...</i>

    At this time, however, the person who Lin Li was waiting for did not dare to look back at all. It was as if there were numerous evil demons chasing him. Of course, along the way, Leddings had cursed his ipetent student who was a letdown. He thought, <i>Damn it, aren¡¯t you harming me? Of all people, why do you have to mess with such a powerful person? Fortunately, I¡¯m cautious enough, or else the efforts of my life would have gone in vain because of that ipetent student.</i>

    ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re back! You¡¯ve taught that kid a lesson, right!?¡± Seeing that his teacher had returned, Gerosso was extremely excited, and didn¡¯t even notice the expression on his teacher¡¯s face as he simply rushed forward to ask about the oue.

    ¡°PAT!¡±

    Leddings was infuriated. Seeing that Gerosso still dared to ask him about it, Leddings immediately pped him before cursing, ¡°Are you trying to harm me!? Of all people, why did you provoke him? Is he someone you can provoke!?¡±

    ¡°Teacher, you...¡± Gerosso was dumbfounded after getting pped. Looking at his teacher who was infuriated, he pursed his lips and did not dare to ask for the reason.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me teacher, being your teacher will cause me to die sooner orter! Do you know who he is? Even Aldwin can¡¯t put on any airs around him, and Councilor Andoine doesn¡¯t treat him like an outsider. Do you think I¡¯m an arbitrator? Don¡¯t f***ing create trouble before you find out his background!¡± The more Leddings thought about it, the more enraged he got. Even though he usually barely used foulnguage, he was cursing his heart out at Gerosso now.

    Finally, his teacher stopped scolding him, but Gerosso dared not utter a single word. He covered his face with one hand and walked out of his teacher¡¯s room. He only dared to reveal a resentful expression after walking far, far away. He rubbed his face and thought to himself in anger, <i>How would I know that that kid would have such a high status? Forget it if it¡¯s just Aldwin. Why did Councilor Andoine get involved with him too!?</i>

    <i>What should I do? Am I supposed not to take revenge!?</i> Gerosso was feeling indignant, but there was nothing he could do as Lin Li had the backing of the chairman. He couldn¡¯t get an arbitrator to support him, could he?

    All of a sudden, Gerosso¡¯s eyes lit up, and he thought about the fact that his younger brother¡¯s teacher was the deputy chairman, Rosen. He heard that Rosen and Andoine had always been at odds, and the two of them often fought at the meetings. That at least meant that Rosen was not afraid of Andoine. If Rosen were to find out that the person who crippled his student was in the Sky Garden, he would probably step in to deal with Felic!

    The more Gerosso thought about it, the more hope he had, and his frustration was suddenly swept away. He rubbed his face, recalling his experience of visiting the deputy chairman Rosen in the past. He then walked towards the deputy chairman¡¯s residence ording to his memory without hesitation.

    <i>I didn¡¯t expect that rascal to have be a councilor so quickly, we must speed up the n, otherwise I¡¯m afraid things will get out of control sooner orter.</i> Rosen was seated with a sullen expression as he continuously tapped his fingers against the table, obviously quite irritated at this point.

    At this moment, a middle-aged magician in his forties who had curly brown hair entered. He was tall and burly, and was emitting a powerful Legendary-level magical wave. Upon sight of Rosen, he appeared extremely respectful, and he bowed slightly. ¡°Sir, you asked to see me in the middle of the night. What can I help you with?¡±

    Upon sight of Hubert, Rosen¡¯s face eased up a little, and he pointed to a chair beside him. He said, ¡°Come, take a seat. I asked you toe over because I am preparing to propose a motion to the Supreme Council tomorrow.¡±

    Hubert had been following Rosen for many years, and he managed to be a High Councilor all thanks to Rosen¡¯s support and nurturing. Hubert was naturally very familiar with Rosen¡¯s habits; hence, after hearing his words, he immediately understood that the proposal was probably not simple.

    If it was an ordinary proposal, Rosen wouldn¡¯t have to appear in person at all, as it would be usually handed over to the reliable councilors under him. It was because Rosen was confident enough that he would still be able to get those proposals epted smoothly even if he didn¡¯t use his position as deputy chairman.

    Since he was using his identity as deputy chairman to raise the proposal, it meant that the motion probably involved one of two kinds of issues. One was that the proposal might not be in the interest of the majority of the councilors, so he had to push for it using his identity. Another could be that the proposal involved the chairman, Andoine, and was highly likely to be opposed by him.

    ¡°If there is anything I can do to help, please feel free to let me know.¡± Hubert did not ask any questions, and instead directly showed his support for Rosen.

    Hubert¡¯s reply made the expression on Rosen¡¯s face ease up, and he nodded secretly before saying, ¡°You should be familiar with the situation in Tower of Dusk, which is also the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Hubert answered. It seemed that the proposal really had something to do with Chairman Andoine.

    As Rosen¡¯s close confidant, Hubert naturally already knew that the young President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was a student of Chairman Andoine. He also knew that the young President Felic managed to rise to his position because he had defeated Rosen¡¯s student Gryffindor during the magic trial.

    ¡°The Breezy ins Guild of Magic has a mine that is currently thergest reserve found in the world of Anril. The Supreme Council¡¯s requirements in this aspect are almost supplied by them. However, what they¡¯ve provided is actually only a quarter of what they produce,¡± Rosen said monotonously without revealing any emotion.

    However, Hubert knew that Rosen must have been full of resentment. If it weren¡¯t for the appearance of Felic, Rosen¡¯s student, Gryffindor, would have probably been the current President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, which also meant that Rosen would own it.

    However, the matter concerned the chairman Andoine, and Hubert also knew that it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy to handle the matter. Hence, he cautiously asked, ¡°Do you mean that you want to ask them to increase their supply?¡±

    Rosen shook his head smilingly, and said, ¡°No, not at all. In my proposal, I¡¯m going to ask them to hand over the ownership of the Tera Mine to the Supreme Council. If the motion passes, I¡¯ll make you the administrator.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Hubert couldn¡¯t help but gasp. Rosen¡¯s got a huge appetite this time, so much that it was beyond his imagination.

    The Tera Mithril had always been known as a magical treasure and the lifeline that supported the development of magical civilization. Its value was definitely not something that could be measured by money. After smelting its ore, one would be able to obtain precious Tera Mithril, which was one of the most important and indispensable materials in high-grade magical equipment. It wasn¡¯t that the Tera Mithril could provide any extra power for the high-grade magical equipment, but rather that there would be no high-grade magical equipment without Tera Mithril.

    Besides, Tera Mithril could also greatly increase the stability of mana. Hence, it was in great demand in all kinds of magic experiments.

    For mages, studying magic was not as simple as reading books about magic, reciting a few magic spells, and then meditating with their eyes closed. In order to understand the power of the magical elements, mages would usually have to conduct some magic experiments and gain experience, which would be far more intuitive and profound than what they would get from reading books about magic.

    One of the more important uses of magic experiments was to allow mages to study and understand unknown Magical Domains, and it could be said that almost all the results of the experiments had an iparable role in promoting the development of magic civilization in Anril. Without the existence of the Tera Mithril, the world¡¯s magical civilization might¡¯vee to aplete halt by the time humans took over.

    After all, humans didn¡¯t have a bloodline as powerful as the High Elves, and if they wanted to master magic, they would have to continuously try to grasp the concepts through conducting experiments. As long as the Tera Mithril was present, humans would be able to create new power and thrive in the field of magic. Only then could the magic civilization of humans develop beyond the High Elves.

    Originally, the production of Tera Mithril in Anril was very low, and it was basically found as rareplementary minerals in precious ores and mines. Even then, the reserves were extremely low, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to be mined.

    Actually, Lin Li discovered the Tera Mine in the Tower of Dusk¡¯snd after some exploration two years ago. Not to forget, he also had Master-level attainments in finding ores. After the Tera Mine was discovered, Lin Li did not announce it to the world. Otherwise, given the strength of the Tower of Dusk back then, the other forces of the Breezy ins would have long wiped them out.

    In order to get a backer in case the news leaked out and caused big trouble for the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li had reported the mine¡¯s existence to the Supreme Council. In fact, the scale of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mining of the Tera Mine had never beenrge, and the share that he supplied to the Supreme Council was actually already half of the production at that time. After all, the Tower of Dusk did not have the ability to digest more Tera Mines at that time.

    It was only after Lin Li returned from the spacetime rift and gained some insight into the Sanctuary-realm power that he began to expand the scale of mining of the Tera Mine. Hence, as the production increased, the share supplied to the Supreme Council became a quarter of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s production.

    In fact, given the value of the Tera Mine, the amount that the Tower of Dusk was currently supplying to the Supreme Council was already considered a huge loss. Hence, Hubert had only asked Rosen if he wanted to propose an increase in supply, but he did not expect Rosen to have such a great appetite. He actually wanted to strip the Tower of Dusk of the rights to the mine.

    However, on second thought, Hubert also understood that it was not unreasonable for Rosen toe to that decision. Even if he only asked the Tower of Dusk to increase the supply, the young President of the Tower of Dusk might not agree to it happily. Chairman Andoine definitely wouldn¡¯t sit back and let the proposal pass, either.

    Besides, simply expanding the supply wouldn¡¯t benefit Rosen that much. Since he was bent on fighting Andoine, he would have to maximize his interests. If he lost, there would be nothing he could say, but if he won, the gains would be massive.

    Besides, Hubert just heard very clearly that Rosen was nning to let him manage the Tera Mine after the proposal was passed, which was definitely going to benefit him. Putting aside the profit that he could gain by keeping some Tera Mithril, even if he were to give all the Tera Mithril obtained from mining and smelting to the Supreme Council, he would be paid handsomely for it.

    The Tera Mine did not produce only Tera Mithril, but also more precious and rare gems. An example would be the unique Tera Crystal that contained the purest mana and could be used by any mage. There was no need for conversion at all, because there would be no waste during the extraction process. It was simplyparable to the effect of a mage meditating for several or 10-odd years. Besides, due to the Tera Mithril¡¯s property of enhancing magical stability, the quality of the other apanying gems was also greatly superior to that of gems in other ores.

    The Supreme Council mainly needed Tera Mithril, and as long as he could guarantee its supply, there was nothing anyone could say about it. It wasn¡¯t that the Supreme Council despised the high-gradeplementary gems, but rather that they could not be calcted easily like Tera Mithril, and the Supreme Council didn¡¯t need them anyway. Hence, it would be up to the person-in-charge to do whatever he wanted with them.

 Chapter 910 - Villain Accomplishes His Ambitions

    <h4>Chapter 910: Viin Aplishes His Ambitions</h4>

    At the thought of such great benefits, Hubert¡¯s heart raced. However, he wasn¡¯t overwhelmed, and after calming down a little, he said, ¡°Once we raise this proposal, it will definitely be strongly opposed by Chairman Andoine. With the voting power we can now hold, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy to get this proposal passed.¡±

    It was extremely difficult. If Rosen could really allow the proposal to pass easily, he would no longer have to be the deputy chairman, and could easily rece Andoine as the chairman of the Supreme Council.

    Rosen was naturally aware of the problem, but if he missed that opportunity and allowed Lin Li to gain a strong footing, it would be even more difficult for the proposal to be passed in the future. Hence, he told Hubert, ¡°It¡¯s indeed not going to be easy. With your ability, how many votes do you think we can get tomorrow?¡±

    Hubert was a high-ranking member of the Supreme Council who was second only to Aldwin. He had awork of connections too. He contemted for a moment the names of the councilors he was close to, and considered the ties he had with those acquaintances he might be able to win over. In the end, he gave Rosen a number. They could expect 19 votes, which excluded the people Rosen could influence.

    However, his answer did not satisfy Rosen, who shook his head slightly and said, ¡°That¡¯s not enough to push for the proposal. Even with the votes of the neutral ones whom we might win over, it won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    ¡°If I promise them some benefits that could be achieved after the proposal is passed, I can win the support of three more members. However, even then, it¡¯s still far short of half of the total number of votes.¡± Hubert was stuck in a spot. After all, he couldn¡¯t possibly bribe all the councilors. If things were to go awry and he got exposed, Andoine would definitely find out. He would then lose his position as a high-ranking councilor.

    Besides, even if he were to bribe them, he would have to pay a high price. How much would it take to get people to stop having scruples because of Andoine¡¯s identity as the chairman? After all, the proposal was clearly meant to offend Andoine.

    No matter how great a benefit that proposal could bring about, it would just be an idealistic daydream if it did not pass through. There was a somber tension in the air in the room, and neither of them spoke again. Only the sound of Rosen continuously tapping the table could be heard clearly.

    Gerosso stood outside the door, and his face turned red with excitement, covering the p mark. His breathing became uncontrobly rapid. He initially thought that he was extremely unlucky to have offended someone whom he shouldn¡¯t have, and ended up getting scolded by his teacher. To his surprise, he was actually lucky because Rosen was already getting ready to deal with Felic without needing him to request it.

    Gerosso had already arrived, and was originally worried about how he could convince Rosen to stand up for him. To his surprise, he heard the conversation between Rosen and Hubert. He could tell from their conversation that it was no longer as simple as teaching Felic a lesson. Instead, they were going to take away something important from him.

    However, after hearing theter part of the conversation, Gerosso knew that Rosen and Hubert had encountered a tough problem. If they wanted to push the proposal through, they would have to get the support of at least half of the members of the council. If they did not have the confidence to, they shouldn¡¯t raise it at all, as it would only affect Rosen¡¯s prestige.

    Hearing the sudden silence in the room, Gerosso panicked because it was an opportunity for him to take revenge. If they were to let it go, he might never get to avenge himself again. He might not even get to raise his head high in front of Mason and Orrin again in the future. They merelycked votes. His teacher was a councilor as well, and had a widework of connections. He thought that his teacher wouldn¡¯t be willing to let this matter go like that, either. Besides, he might even get to build a connection with the deputy chairman!

    At the thought of that, Gerosso felt a sudden urge, and he could no longer care. He reached out and barged into the room before eximing with excitement, ¡°Deputy Chairman Rosen, I¡ª¡±

    Rosen and Hubert were feeling frustrated about the proposal, and trying to rack their brains when they heard the door being opened, after which a figure scrambled in. Although they were both Legendary powerhouses, they were also shocked by the sudden situation. After seeing that it was an Archmage, they were incredibly enraged.

    As the deputy chairman, Rosen was particr about the formalities, and even if Andoine wanted to see him, he would still have to seek permission at the door before entering. That was also the reason they did not arrange for anyone to guard the door when Rosen and Hubert were talking to each other. Rosen could not think of a single person in the entire Supreme Council who would dare to eavesdrop on his conversation.

    However, the person who did was an Archmage. When he saw Gerosso who barged in, Rosen¡¯s face grew extremely sullen, and before Gerosso even said anything substantial, he sternly barked, ¡°Sneaky thing, don¡¯t you know any rules at all? This is not a ce where you can just barge in!¡±

    After Rosen¡¯s stern chiding, a massive wave of pressure exploded as well, filling the entire room. It was as if the space was frozen and solidified. After Gerosso barged in, he was initially filled with excitement, and was about to tell Rosen his purpose of visit. However, his face grew sullen after sensing the mighty pressure. He felt like the sky was about to copse, and like the dark walls were about to close in on him.

    What made Gerosso feel even more frightened was the fact that he could feel a killing intenting which seemed to have prated deep into his soul from Rosen, leaving him with no doubt that Rosen would really kill him at this moment. Under that pressure, Gerosso felt like his spirit was about to copse, and his legs had turned numb. His body fell to the ground, and he began trembling continuously. He could not care to say anything else.

    In fact, at this time, even the Legendary-mage Hubert was frightened by the pressure, let alone an Archmage Hubert. However, after sensing the killing intent from Rosen, Hubert dared not dy, either. He frantically said, ¡°Lord, please simmer down and hear his exnation. It won¡¯t be toote to deal with him afterwards.¡±

    After all, they were in the Sky Garden, and although Rosen was the deputy chairman, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to cover his tracks if he were to kill an Archmage. Besides, since Gerosso barged in instead of telling on them, it meant that he was not from Andoine¡¯s side.

    Of course, Rosen knew that as well, but he was already suffering a headache from the matter regarding the proposal, yet something like that cropped up next. Anyone in his position would definitely be furious. However, after hearing Hubert¡¯s persuasion, Rosen suppressed his anger and looked at Gerosso who was crawling on the ground. He coldly said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to exin, and if you can¡¯t satisfy me...¡±

    At this moment, Gerosso felt as if he had juste out of water, and even the ce where he was lying down was wet. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Rosen had restrained some of his pressure, he would have really wet his pants at the next moment.

    Gerosso was still lying on the ground, and his body had turned so soft that he couldn¡¯t stand up at all. He simply raised his head to look at Rosen. ¡°Yes, Deputy Chairman, it¡¯s me, don¡¯t you remember me anymore? Your student Gryffindor is my younger brother.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I want to hear.¡± By the time Rosen saw Gerosso¡¯s face, he had remembered who he was, but there was no change in his stern attitude.

    Back then, Gerosso was one of the people rmended to Rosen together with Gryffindor. However, at that time, Rosen could tell that although Gerosso had a bit of magical talent, he was by no means one that had potential to grow. Hence, he merely epted Gryffindor as his student. Rosen was never impressed with people like Gerosso whocked talent but behaved arrogantly like he was a genius. That had never changed.

    The bone-prating coldness in Rosen¡¯s voice made Gerosso shiver uncontrobly again. He dared not think of building connections with Rosen anymore. He frantically said, ¡°Deputy Chairman, my teacher is Leddings, a councilor who has a little bit of connections in the council. If you need it, I¡¯m sure my teacher will also be happy to serve you.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Rosen¡¯s face finally became less austere; at the same time, he also restrained his massive suppressive aura. He calmly said, ¡°Is that so? In that case, how many votes can your teacher get?¡±

    The terrifying pressure finally disappeared, and Gerosso secretly heaved a sigh of relief. If that were to go on, he would really lose his mind. With the nightmare-like experience, Gerosso dared not dy at all. He continued, ¡°We can get the votes of Councilor Kermit, Councilor Kiara, Councilor Sagar...¡±

    As Gerosso said those names, smiles gradually appeared on the faces of both Rosen and Hubert. Previously, they had already counted the votes that they were confident in getting. After adding those names, they immediately had an answer in their hearts.

    If Gerosso could get those councilors to vote for them like he imed he could, Rosen¡¯s votes would definitely help him win and allow the proposal to pass. If nothing were to go wrong, it would be enough to push the proposal through.

    Besides, the content of the proposal was in the Supreme Council¡¯s favor to begin with. It would merely cause damage to a newly established Guild of Magic. He believed that the councilors who were in a neutral position and put the interests of the Supreme Council first would definitely be tempted when faced with this proposal.

    ¡°Good. If you can do this properly, I can forgive you for your impolite behavior. Remember, I want a definitive answer before the meetingmences tomorrow. Leave,¡± Rosen said coldly before dismissing him with the wave of his hand.

    In the blink of an eye, it was the next day, and Gerosso and a few young mages were gesturing and talking about something outside the library of the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council. The expression on Gerosso¡¯s face suggested that the matter that took ce the previous day did not affect him at all.

    The several young Archmages were following their teachers to the Supreme Council for learning opportunities, and their teachers were the councilors who promised Gerosso that they would support Rosen¡¯s proposal during the meeting.

    When Gerosso reported the news to Rosen, he could tell from Rosen¡¯s tone that Felic, who had crippled his brother and embarrassed him, would definitely be in trouble after the meeting.

    Besides, that was not the only thing that Gerosso was happy about. This time, his teacher Leddings and the deputy chairman had forged a connection, and he was going to be praised. He might even get to be in charge of the New Crescent City Guild of Magic in the future. It was the most enjoyable thing in life to have an enemy down on his luck while one enjoyed his fortune.

    How could he not share such a joyful event with someone else? However, sharing it with his friends wasn¡¯t fulfilling enough for him. At this moment, Gerosso¡¯s eyes were glistening when he looked past the mages in front of him. He recognized the person walking towards the library to be Mason!

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Mason? Where is that backer of yours?¡± With a few of hispanions, Gerosso stopped Mason in his tracks.

    ¡°Gerosso, what¡¯s wrong? Haven¡¯t you been taught a lesson yesterday? Wasn¡¯t it enough?¡± Mason stopped in his tracks and looked at Gerosso and the rest warily.

    ¡°A lesson? I¡¯m terrified,¡± Gerosso retorted sarcastically while shivering in an exaggerated manner. He then raised his chin with a smug face, and said, ¡°Let me tell you, that big backer of yours is having a hard time saving himself. It¡¯s a pity, you should have asked him for some magical crystals earlier. After today, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t even be able to pay for a magical crystal.¡±

    Gerosso¡¯s words and exaggerated expression immediately caused the Archmages to burst intoughter.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Move over, I¡¯m going to the library.¡± Mason knew that a bully like Gerosso would never dare to be so arrogant after being taught a lesson the day before unless he had someone to support him. Hence, he did not want to continue being embroiled in the matter with Gerosso. He simply hurried to the library to warn Lin Li whom he had agreed to meet beforehand.

    Gerosso hadn¡¯t had enough, and obviously wouldn¡¯t let Mason leave just like that. With a look of disdain, he continued, ¡°To the library? Garbage like you is only going to be a waste of space there. There won¡¯t be any use in your memorizing more incantations. I think you¡¯d better scurry back to your vige and be a fisherman! Hahahaha!¡±

    Mason¡¯s face reddened, the blood vessels on his temples were bulging, and his fists were clenched so tightly that his body trembled slightly. He tried his best to suppress his anger, and he yelled, ¡°Gerosso, don¡¯t go overboard. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m really scared of you!¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I wonder who the person always being beaten down by me is. You¡¯re just a piece of garbage who¡¯s only worthy of hiding behind Felic. What else can you do? You¡¯re such a disgrace to mages.¡± Gerosso was pleased with the way Mason was behaving, and he felt like he had finally gotten some interest back from the torment he suffered the day before.

    ¡°Mason, do something. You¡¯re actually tolerating this? You call yourself a man!?¡±

    ¡°Hah, he¡¯s not fit to fight Brother Gerosso. Previously, he was sted away by a Gas st Spell, and couldn¡¯t get up for a long time. That was hrious.¡±

 Chapter 911 - Clown

    <h4>Chapter 911: Clown</h4>

    Gerosso¡¯s underlings were continuously mocking Mason and jeering at him. However, at this moment, a figure suddenly inserted itself between them and Mason, staring at them silently with an icy cold gaze.

    ¡°Orrin, I was about to go look for you. I didn¡¯t expect you toe here yourself.¡± Despite saying that, Gerosso was still a little fearful.

    Although Gerosso was a level-19 Archmage, making him two levels more advanced than Orrin and enjoying a greater advantage in a real fight, the madness that Orrin had when he fought had left a deep impression on him. During a few battles in the past, Gerosso had to pay a huge price even though he managed to obtain victory in the end. Hence, Gerosso looked at the two of them and pretended to be magnanimous.

    ¡°Mason, Orrin, this is the Supreme Council. I¡¯m giving you two a chance to apologize to me for what happened yesterday. I¡¯ll let you off if you do.¡±

    However, there was no change on Orrin¡¯s face after he heard Gerosso¡¯s words. Instead, he began to induce mana into his staff, seemingly ready to attack so long as the other party didn¡¯t let go.

    Seeing how dauntless Orrin was, Gerosso finally lost his temper and gestured for his underlings to take action, after which the few of them immediately surrounded Mason and Orrin. He was in the midst of feeling prideful; hence, he obviously wouldn¡¯t want to get himself into a pathetic state, and nned to surround and beat them up.

    Those who could move around in the Sky Garden were all Archmages. Gerosso was a level-19 Archmage, and his underlings were level-16 and level-17 Archmages. Hence, it was definitely easy for them to deal with Mason and Orrin. Even if Orrin and Mason hadbat power that was beyond level-17, they would definitely still be unable to break out of a siege of so many people.

    However, at this moment, Gerosso felt an incredibly familiar sensation that appeared in his body again. He once again lost control of his body.

    Besides, the underlings beside Gerosso were all terrorized as fear was written all over their faces. Their movements stiffened as well, and they were clearly subjected to the same treatment as their boss, Gerosso.

    ¡°Felic, you bastard, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Gerosso had already had prior experience, and he immediately reacted. He knew that it was definitely Lin Li, and so he immediately started hollering at him.

    ¡°Mason, Orrin, leave with me. Let¡¯s not waste any more time. I¡¯ve made arrangements for you guys to study the core magical mantras of the Core Library.¡± Not looking at Gerosso and the rest, Lin Li treated them like they didn¡¯t exist at all.

    The Core Library was the ce where the precious reading materials of the Supreme Council as well as the research results of the mages over the past 1,300 years were stored. They were usually only open to mages who were directly under the Supreme Council.

    Although the library would be open to the students of the councilors during the meeting, they had no right to enter the Eternal Library. After all, even in the entire Supreme Council, the magical books they collected would not be free for reading for all the members.

    Mason and Orrin, who had agreed to meet Lin Li at the Supreme Council¡¯s library, never thought that Lin Li would help them get a chance to enter the Core Library. The situation was already extremely bad for them, yet they suddenly received such good news on top of having their crisis resolved. They couldn¡¯t even recover from the shock, and were simply stunned.

    The first to react was instead Gerosso, who was about to go crazy because of the news. He had followed his teacher to the Supreme Council more than a few times, and he often tried to use that excuse to enter the library. However, he could never enter the Core Library even though his teacher had sought out many connections.

    ¡°Damn it, Felic, you won¡¯t be smug for long! Let go of me and apologize to me now. Maybe you can still save yourself!¡± Gerosso seemed to have calmed down a bit as he was no longer yelling at the top of his lungs. However, his voice was still cold and vicious.

    However, Lin Li, who had entered from the back, ignored Gerossopletely as if Gerosso was just a noisy fly. At this moment, Mason and Orrin also finally came back to their senses, and walked away from Gerosso and the rest. They quickly scurried to Lin Li.

    At the thought of Gerosso¡¯s words, Mason felt a little worried, and he said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, they seem to have devised some kind of plot against you and the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just clowns who are trying to stir trouble. Don¡¯t bother. Let¡¯s go, the meeting is probably going to end in a few days. Go to the Core Library and study at ease for a few days. How much you can benefit from it is still up to you.¡± Lin Li chuckled nonchntly and thought, <i>Can the schemes and tricks of insignificant ants affect Sanctuary powerhouses? Obviously not.</i>

    ¡°Clowns who are trying to stir trouble? How dare you call me a clown!? Felic, you don¡¯t have to be smug. You¡¯re going to be finished, you know? You and your Tower of Dusk are going to be destroyed! Everything you have now is going to be lost to me, you¡¯re going to end up in a pathetic state soon!¡± Seeing that Lin Li had ignored him, and was about to leave with Mason and Orrin, Gerosso and his subordinates began yelling and cursing their hearts out like madmen. After all, being confined in such a ce was not something to be proud of.

    However, not long after they did, they fell silent again without warning. It was unlike being strangled as an invisible force deprived them of their ability to speak, instantly making them feel like they couldn¡¯t make a single sound.

    From what Mason and Orrin knew about Gerosso and the rest, they knew that it was impossible for them to consciously shut up, and there was no doubt that the reason was Lin Li. However, what surprised the two of them was that they did not feel any magical waves from Lin Li even though they were right beside him when he cast the spell.

    Both of them knew that there were various types of control magic among the various types of magic spells, such as Magical Paralysis, ice element magic spells that slowed one¡¯s reaction down, and so on. However, their effects did notst long, and would perhaps onlyst for a few seconds.

    Now, Gerosso and his underlings were all Archmages, and not only were they being physically imprisoned and sealed at the same time, but it didn¡¯t look like they would be released soon. Was that something a Legendary-mage could do?

    In Mason¡¯s and Orrin¡¯s opinion, Lin Li¡¯s abilities were far beyond the early stages of the Legendary-realm. Of course, in reality even a Legendary powerhouse might not be able to do what Lin Li did. Restraining a few Archmages with a single thought was already close to a divine technique and an extreme use of nomological power. It was far beyond the existing magic system, something that Mason and Orrin simply could not understand.

    Lin Li left with Mason and Orrin immediately, while Gerosso and the others seemed to have be a unique sight on the pathway, attracting countless onlookers.

    Having their movements restricted and their ability to speak sealed, Gerosso and the rest allowed others to point them out and gossip about them. To Gerosso, it was a huge shame, and the boundless resentment was almost driving him insane.

    Besides, the Legendary-mages in the Sky Garden, including Gerosso¡¯s teacher, were all preparing for today¡¯s meeting at the moment. That meant that Gerosso and the rest would have to be on disy for an entire day.

    Gerosso and the rest had no idea that even the Legendary-mages could not save them.

    <i>Damn it, I swear, I¡¯ll make sure you die without a burial!</i> At this moment, all Gerosso could do was to continuously curse in his heart and imagine how he could deal with Lin Li in the future.

    On the way to the Core Library, Mason still couldn¡¯t help but remind Lin Li, ¡°Felic, is it okay to leave them there? I heard Gerosso moring just now, and he seems to have a backer. He doesn¡¯t seem to be lying, I think you should be more careful.¡±

    ¡°Okay, you have to be careful.¡± Given Orrin¡¯s character, he obviously cared about Lin Li since he said those words.

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Lin Li stopped outside the Core Library, smiled, and said to the two of them, ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about this matter, feel at ease to study here. There is nothing that can threaten me now yet.¡±

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t bragging. Given his Sanctuary-realm power, and the seven powerful pieces of the debris of the stars, no one would be able to stop him from leaving, not even the three arbitrators who were Sanctuary powerhouses. Of course, he didn¡¯t think that a small fry like Gerosso coulde up with a scheme that would involve the arbitrators. Small fries were just small fries. No matter what schemes they had, it would be nothing more than a joke in the eyes of the Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, why would Lin Li waste his energy on it? He didn¡¯t care at all.

    After sending Mason and Orrin to the Core Library, Lin Li returned to the Eternal Tower and prepared to attend the meeting. However, what was different from yesterday was that this time, he clearly felt that there were many more gazesnding on him, each having a different meaning.

    If he were still in the Legendary-realm like before, Lin Li would have had to do some calctions. However, he was now a Sanctuary powerhouse, and naturally didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to the insignificant figures. He returned to his seat.

    <i>Felic, I really have to thank you, if it weren¡¯t for this incident, how would I have been able to get connected to Deputy Chairman Rosen!?</i>

    Councilor Leddings, who had once been scared to death outside of Lin Li¡¯s room, looked at Lin Li, who was sitting quietly in the corner in the distance, with a smug smile on his lips.

    In the entire venue, there were quite a few councilors who thought the same as Leddings. It was simply impossible to say that no one was jealous of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s massive wealth. This time, although the target was the Tera Mine and did not involve the other industries of the Tower of Dusk, wouldn¡¯t it be even easier to divide the wealth of the Tower of Dusk if the proposal was passed?

    As for Rosen, who was already seated at the deputy chairman¡¯s desk, he looked up to look around the entire venue, and seemed to be confident about winning. In fact, even Rosen himself didn¡¯t expect the n to be executed so smoothly this time.

    After confirming the number of votes he had secured, he already had more than half of the votes of the entire council. Even if the neutral councilors all stood on Andoine¡¯s side, there was no chance for Andoine to turn the tables. Rosen could well imagine that once the proposal passed, it would not only bring great benefits to himself, but would also fundamentally shake Andoine¡¯s position in the council. As the chairman, Andoine couldn¡¯t even protect the interests of his own disciple. In that case, what kind of authority would he have in the future?

    Rosen believed that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the councilors who originally stood on Andoine¡¯s side would quickly lose confidence in him. By that time, as long as he united the councilors again and went against Andoine, he would be able to be the chairman. That was the true gain that was even greater than the ownership of the Tera Mine. The entire Supreme Council would truly be under his control.

    Looking at Andoine who was sitting not far away from him, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer in his heart. <i>Old rival, don¡¯t me me for not giving you face, me it only on the fact that you took in a student who is a troublemaker.</i>

    Indeed, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lin Li had offended Gerosso and Leddings as soon as he arrived at the Sky Garden, Rosen might still be worrying that he didn¡¯t have enough votes. Although the number of votes that Leddings had gotten for him was not high, they consisted of the crucial few votes that gave Rosen control over the situation.

    Soon, the councilors had all taken their seats, and as Andoine gently tapped the brass bell on the table, the entire meeting venue immediately fell silent. During yesterday¡¯s meeting, there had yet to be a conclusion for the topic of the war between the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom. Hence, the first discussion that day was still about that issue. After 10 minutes of discussion, it went into the voting process again, and in the end, more than half of the council members were not in favor of waging a war.

    When the attendees of the meeting were ready to start discussing the next motion, Rosen finally made his move, taking out the proposal that he had prepared overnight.

    If Rosen was an ordinary councilor, the discussion for the proposal would be postponed to the next regr meeting, but Rosen was the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council. He had the power to request for the discussion of the proposal to be brought forward. That was something that even Andoine could not stop. Besides, Rosen also emphasized that the proposal would have a crucial impact on the development of the Supreme Council.

    ¡°The Supreme Council has been established for more than 1,300 years, but in thest several hundred years, the development of the Supreme Council has reached a bottleneck and stagnated. I believe you are all aware of this fact.¡±

 Chapter 912 - Whatéˆ¥æªš The Logic?

    <h4>Chapter 912: What¡¯s The Logic?</h4>

    ¡°One of the greatest reasons is that the Tera Mithril that ys a crucial role in magic research is no longer able to meet the needs of the Supreme Council. That is also why the development of magic for us humans has teaued.¡± Rosen¡¯s opening speech had undoubtedly made numerous councilors nod.

    Andoine immediately understood Rosen¡¯s intentions after hearing Rosen mention the Tera Mithril now. However, he thought that it would be impossible for him to stop them.

    The proposal was very sudden, and it caught Andoine off guard. Andoine couldn¡¯t inform the councilors on his side in advance. Besides, when Andoine scanned the venue and saw the expressions on the faces of the many councilors, his heart sank even lower.

    Only a small number of councilors looked surprised, and most of them were ted. Clearly, Rosen had done sufficient preparatory work.

    Looking at a gaze that was directed towards him, Lin Li did not seem angry at all even though the other party¡¯s shamelessness was beyond his imagination. However, there was nothing he could do even if the proposal was epted. It was not that easy to take advantage of the Tower of Dusk.

    With a smug expression on his face, Rosen cleared his throat, and continued, ¡°The good thing is, the Breezy ins Guild of Magic has recently discovered a rich reserve of Tera Ore in the Breezy ins. However, some selfish people have restricted the supply of Tera Ore as they have no concern for the greater good. Such behavior has severely restricted the Supreme Council¡¯s magical research, and is a crime against the magical development of humans. Hence, I suggest that the Supreme Council takes over the rights to the Tera Mine of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.¡±

    Rosen finally revealed his true intentions, and the peace in the conference hall was instantly broken by the discussion between the councilors. However, they could all tell that there were more voices of approval from the councilors than there were voices of apprehension. Even the councilors who were initially in neutral positions gradually began to waver and get tempted by the idealistic prospects suggested by the crowd.

    ¡°I think that Deputy Chairman Rosen¡¯s proposal is indeed of great benefit to the development of the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council is undoubtedly the pioneer of magic civilization among humans. Hence, magic civilization can only be better promoted if the entire Tera Mine is managed by the Supreme Council. Only then can its uses be maximized.¡± Shortly after Rosen spoke, Hubert, Rosen¡¯s loyal follower, stood up to voice his opinion.

    Over the past 1,300 years, there had been no Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins before the Tower of Dusk, and there was a reason for that. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was struggling to survive when it was first established. Almost no one was optimistic about its future, and some even doubted if and spected how long it could exist for.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s management, the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, or rather the Tower of Dusk, managed to develop to the extent that was beyond imaginable. It was impossible for there to be no jealous outsiders. However, due to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s location, which was further away from the so-called magic center, other Guilds of Magic barely had the opportunity to deal with the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they could only keep their jealousy to themselves.

    Rosen¡¯s proposal had undoubtedly given an opportunity for them. That was human psychology. One could never be pleased to see someone else doing well while they were stuck in a rut. Hence, some councilors who were originally in a neutral position soon stood on Rosen¡¯s side, and even began thinking about the matters regarding the future distribution and wonderful development.

    ¡°I think that this proposal of Deputy Chairman Rosen seems a bit inappropriate. The Tera Mine was discovered and developed by President Felic of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, and the ownership should rightfully belong to them. Besides, President Felic had been selflessly supplying arge amount of Tera Mithril to the Supreme Council, which is already a great contribution. Not only did he not get rewarded, now you actually want to deny his rights to the mine. Isn¡¯t that too harsh and cruel?¡± Aldwin voiced his doubts after seeing that the discussion was getting heated.

    Ever since they had explored Osric¡¯s mausoleum, Aldwin had begun disliking Rosen. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Rosen had pulled those tricks presumptuously, the nna Guild of Magic wouldn¡¯t have incurred such a huge loss. Although the Supreme Council had also given them somepensation afterwards, talents could not be cultivated overnight, and the mages had still yet to recoverpletely even until now.

    Hence, Aldwin genuinely detested Rosen¡¯s behavior of seeking personal benefits for himself under the facade of acting in the best interests of the Supreme Council. Besides, Rosen was going against Andoine¡¯s student, Lin Li. No matter what, Aldwin would never stay quiet and do nothing about it.

    ¡°President Aldwin, that¡¯s not right. As a member of the Supreme Council, one should consider the interests of the Supreme Council before anything else, and not be preupied with personal gains and losses.¡±

    The one who spoke was Leddings, who had just reached an agreement with Rosen. Since he had decided to stand on Rosen¡¯s side, he had to show enough sincerity. Hence, he stood up with a solemn and austere expression, and said, ¡°Everyone knows that the forces of various sizes in the Breezy ins areplicated, and word about the discovery of the Tera Mine will definitely spread soon. Once the established local forces find out, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy to keep the Tera Mine given the power of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. Hence, for this consideration, I also think that the Tera Mine should be taken over by the Supreme Council.¡±

    Leddings¡¯ words caused the councilors to nod repeatedly. Although the Breezy ins still belonged to the Fn Kingdom in theory, it was still a bit too far away from the many traditional Guilds of Magic, after all. Hence, the news was naturally not delivered in time. However, even if they¡¯d got the news in time, they probably wouldn¡¯t have believed that a Guild of Magic that had only been established for a few years could subdue the numerous powerful forces in the Breezy ins.

    The Tera Mine was enough to make any force go crazy, and whether or not the Breezy ins Guild of Magic could keep the Tera Mine was indeed a considerable issue that could not be ignored in the eyes of many people. If it were guarded and managed by the Supreme Council, no one in the entire Anril would dare to covet it, let alone the Breezy ins¡¯ forces.

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a reason the Breezy ins is known to be chaotic. If word about the Tera Mine spreads, it might cause the Breezy ins Guild of Magic to be extinguished. We¡¯d better leave it to the Supreme Council.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, originally I thought that Deputy Chairman might have some selfish motives, but it seems that I didn¡¯t consider it thoroughly enough.¡±

    ¡°This matter should actually be considered a good thing for the Breezy ins Guild of Magic. What do you guys think? If we have to vote, I think I¡¯ll vote for it.¡±

    Even if it was out of consideration of fairness, a few of the neutral councilors could not help but gravitate towards Rosen¡¯s proposal. Besides, they felt that the Tera Mine could also cause the Breezy ins Guild of Magic to get rid of fatal trouble. Hence, giving the rights to the mine to the Supreme Council was not only not encroaching on the interests of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, it also helped them resolve the crisis.

    ¡°What kind of logic is this? You want to take away his assets just because you think he can¡¯t protect it? You¡¯re afraid that the Tera Mine would cause other forces in the Breezy ins to fight over it, so the Supreme Council should take over its management? What an absurd reason. ording to this logic, all of you sitting here who are Presidents of Guilds of Magic should surrender all your properties and resources to the Supreme Council and have it manage them,¡± Macklin sneered in exasperation as he scanned the faces of the moring councilors. He could not hide the sarcasm in his voice.

    ¡°Councilor Macklin, please don¡¯t twist the logic. You should be well aware of the value of the Tera Mine. It is far from being a resource that can bepared in a general sense. The Supreme Council has the ability to turn the value of the Tera Mine into a driving force for the development of magic civilization. The results of magical research will also be imparted to the Guilds of Magic. Isn¡¯t that a good thing for everyone?¡±

    Faced with Macklin¡¯s usation, Leddings did not sumb at all. In the past, he would have never dared to behave that way, but now he had Deputy Chairman Rosen as his backer. Hence, he obviously was dauntless.

    Before Macklin retorted, another high-ranking councilor stood up. He had a full head of white hair and a wrinkled, sullen face with no expression. He said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Councilor Macklin, Councilor Aldwin, please mind your words. You have been emphasizing the fact that we¡¯re encroaching. Has the Supreme Council be bandits!? The Supreme Council is the leader of all Guilds of Magic, and any Guild of Magic is definitely established with the support of the Supreme Council. Without the Supreme Council, there would be no Guild of Magic. The establishment of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was a chance that the Supreme Council fought for. The Guild of Magic should be proud to contribute to the Supreme Council!¡±

    That high-ranking councilor was the President of the Geresco City Guild of Magic, the Legendary-mage Kaman. One could guess from the name of Geresco City that it wasrgely rted to Geresco, the God of Mages. It was said to be the birthce of Geresco.

    It was said that when the Supreme Council chose the location for the establishment of the Guild of Magic Headquarters, Geresco City was once nna¡¯s strongestpetitor. Moreover, at that time, there were many people who supported Geresco City, including the three arbitrators. After all, the Supreme Council was established by Geresco.

    However, Geresco, the God of Mages, still ended up choosing nna as the ce for the Guild of Magic Headquarters, perhaps due to some specific reason.

    However, as the birthce of the God of Mages, Geresco City Guild of Magic had a rather high status in the Supreme Council. The nna Guild of Magic and the Geresco City Guild of Magic were even known as the North and South Magic Capitals in the Fn Kingdom.

 Chapter 913 - It Must Be An Illusion

    <h4>Chapter 913: It Must Be An Illusion</h4>

    One was the Guild of Magic appointed by Geresco, while the other was the Guild of Magic of the birthce of Geresco. The two Guilds of Magic had a history of over 1,000 years since their establishment. Hence, they were not considered to be at odds, but there was clearly a fiercepetition between them.

    It was precisely because of that that when Aldwin of the nna Guild of Magic stood on Chairman Andoine¡¯s side, Canuman of the Geresco City Guild of Magic was also influenced and solicited by Deputy Chairman Rosen.

    Although now, with the passing of the years, the God of Mages Geresco had already be a myth, Canuman¡¯s prestige in the Supreme Council was not inferior to that of Aldwin. As Canuman spoke, everyone could tell that Rosen had the upper hand, and the proposal would pass without any slip-ups.

    After raising his hand to stop the discussion between the councilors, Rosen sat by the side with some pride in his eyes, and questioned Andoine who was sitting not far away, ¡°Chairman Andoine, the discussion of this proposal has been going on for a while. Can we proceed to the voting process?¡±

    Voting? They didn¡¯t need a vote to tell that two-thirds of the councilors were going to support Rosen¡¯s proposal. Although Andoine was calm on the surface, he had already begun cursing his heart out deep down. If he had enough time to prepare, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to break the conspiracy, but the problem now was that there was no time to do so.

    However, just as Andoine was being stuck in a dilemma, a calm voice suddenly sounded from the corner of the venue that had already returned to silence.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to vote. You want the Tera Mine, right? No problem, I can give it to the Supreme Council.¡±

    In an instant, all eyes were on the corner where the sound hade from. The person seated there was none other than Lin Li.

    Although everyone knew that it was almost inevitable for the Tower of Dusk to lose the Tera Mine, they were still shocked when they heard Lin Li say those words calmly.

    <i>How pretentious!</i> Rosen thought to himself and sneered. He then said, ¡°Very well, it is indeedmendable for councilor Felic to be able to put the interests of everyone first. In this case, Chairman Andoine, please announce the approval of this proposal.¡±

    In Rosen¡¯s opinion, Lin Li had to have felt that the matter was irrevocable, and thus took the initiative toe forward to say that to reduce the impact on Andoine¡¯s prestige and authority.

    ¡°Felic?¡± Andoine was puzzled about Lin Li¡¯s actions, but at the thought of the fact that he could not provide sufficient help for Lin Li, he could not help but feel guilty.

    Lin Li stood up from his seat and gave Andoine aforting smile. However, his face grew sullen afterwards, and he stared at the councilors coldly yet nonchntly. Withposure and indifference, he said, ¡°Giving the Tera Mine to the Supreme Council will help promote the development of magical civilization, I have no problem with it.

    ¡°However, I also hope that you can all understand that the Tera Mine ys an important role in the establishment of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic amidst the local chaos. Hence, for the sake of the development of the Guild of Magic, I would like to go back and send some people to the Caucaso region, the New Crescent Mountains, and the Manscoor region to explore and look for new Tera Mines. By then, I hope that the Guilds of Magic of these areas will be able to consider the greater good lest we create any unnecessary misunderstandings.¡±

    As soon as Lin Li said those words, all the councilors were bbergasted, and they got into an uproar as if his words were like a bomb.

    If the areas that Lin Li was talking about were those natural restricted areas, others might really have suspected if he had secretly located some sources of the Tera Mine.

    However, it was clear to every councilor present that the regions Lin Li was talking about were simply the regions where the Guilds of Magic helmed by the councilors who expressed their strong approval for the proposal were based.

    The Caucaso region was the territory of the Geresco City Guild of Magic, and arge amount of its magical resources came from that region. The New Crescent Mountains were the territory of the New Crescent City Guild of Magic. Their Crescent magical gemstones were their specialty and their most important resource.

    The Manscoor region had always been jointly owned by the Gino Guild of Magic and the Tarot Guild of Magic. The Presidents of the two Guilds of Magic were also strong supporters of Rosen.

    Hence, it was obvious why Lin Li had chosen those regions.

    Canuman pped the table and stood up, after which a Legendary wave of mana was released. He red at Lin Li and said in a sullen tone, ¡°President Felic, are you threatening us?¡±

    The Geresco City Guild of Magic and the nna Guild of Magic could be called the North and South Magic Capitals of Fn Kingdom. As the President of the Guild of Magic, Canuman¡¯s abilities were not to be underestimated. At this time, he unleashed his huge magical waves, and even the councilors beside him could feel massive pressure.

    ¡°Threaten? No, it¡¯s just a friendly reminder from me.¡±

    In the face of the pressure caused by the massive magical waves, Lin Li remained calm and still.

    ¡°Alright, alright, we¡¯ll always be weing you. However, idents are inevitable, and I hope you will be prepared to bleed, President Felic.¡± Canuman burst intoughter out of pique, and his gloomy tone made everyone shudder.

    Everyone knew that the strength of the Geresco City Guild of Magic was not inferior to the nna Guild of Magic¡¯s. The President of a Guild of Magic that had only been established for a few years actually dared to issue such a threat. He was just courting death.

    Not only did he fail to threaten the other party, he even ended up being forced into a desperate situation by the other party¡¯s words. He would probably have to eat his words. Or so Rosen¡¯s supporters thought, staring at Lin Li in a gloating manner.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about the gazes of the others, and instead hostilely said, ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m certain that just you¡¯ll bleed!¡±

    The Presidents of the Guilds of Magic, including Leddings, all stood up in exasperation and disbelief. <i>What do you mean? Challenging the Guilds of Magic altogether!? Does he think he¡¯s the Supreme Council?</i>

    ¡°Felic, are you dering war on us!?¡± Leddings hollered. He was so infuriated that he was trembling. He felt that Lin Li was simply too arrogant andwless!

    ¡°Will it be us that bleed? Today, we¡¯re standing before so many councilors. I will see what means you have to have the audacity to be so arrogant!¡± Canuman then took out his staff and turned to look at Andoine and Rosen. He said, ¡°Chairman and Deputy Chairman, I would like the conference to be paused for a while. Since his teacher didn¡¯t teach him how to behave, I don¡¯t mind teaching him a good lesson.¡±

    He was even scolding Andoine. Of course, Canuman had no idea that Lin Li was also Andoine¡¯s student. He merely knew that Lin Li was from Jarrosus in the countryside.

    Canuman was extremely confident about defeating Lin Li even though he had already heard about Lin Li stepping into the Legendary-realm. However, in his opinion, he felt that a Legendary-mage who had merely stepped into the Legendary-realm less than two years ago could notpare to him, a Legendary powerhouse who had stepped into the Legendary-realm decades earlier.

    Only those who had stepped into the Legendary-realm would know how difficult it was to increase their strength and advance in the Legendary-realm. Every level seemed like an insurmountable barrier. Even for those with extremely high magical talent, it would often take numerous years or over a decade of hard work to advance by one level.

    The only people who had truly broken that rule in Anril were probably just the God of Mages Geresco and the three arbitrators.

    Canuman had stepped into the Legendary-realm decades ago, and was now a level-23 Legendary powerhouse who was at the peak. His speed of advancement was already considered quite astonishing. In his opinion, even if Lin Li had the magical talent of Geresco, he would at most have reached level-21 in two to three years¡¯ time. He would definitely win the battle with his special talent.

    Canuman was not the only one. In fact, the councilors present mostly had the same thoughts as well. Leddings and the rest who had been named by Lin Li just now were thrilled. Being threatened by a young junior in front of everyone was infuriating. Even if Canuman had not intervened, they would have gotten ready to attack.

    At this moment, everyone shifted their gazes to Lin Li, waiting to see whether the arrogant young man would bite the bullet and ept the battle, or take his words back cowardly without a backbone.

    However, before Lin Li could even speak, a giant magic hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the venue. Not allowing them to react, the handnded on Canuman who was moring for a battle. In in sight, it tossed Canuman, the level-23 Legendary-mage, out of the venue.

    That scene made everyone feel shocked and dumbfounded. Canuman was the President of the Geresco City Guild of Magic, and his status was not much inferior to that of Aldwin. More importantly, he was a level-23 Legendary-mage. Yet, he was like a pitiful worm that could not resist the Hand of The Mage.

    In the entire Sky Garden, there were only three people who possessed such power. They were none other than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. Everyone fell silent, and their breathing became slower too. They were focusing their eyes on the young mage in the corner.

    <i>How could that be! Isn¡¯t his backer Chairman Andoine!? Why would an arbitrator attack at this time? Is it really to protect him!? An arbitrator is a Sanctuary powerhouse, a godly existence! To the arbitrators, councilors and Legendary-mages are all insignificant ants. How could they attack because of an insignificant ant!?</i>

    Leddings merely felt cold chills down his spine. Indeed, the deputy chairman he relied on didn¡¯t have to be afraid of Andoine anymore, and today¡¯s n was all going well. He was about to get his revenge soon, and yet an arbitrator suddenly intervened. <i>This is too scary. What does the arbitrator mean? Is he going to protect that Felic!?</i>

    Leddings was not the only one. The people who had just strongly supported Rosen¡¯s proposal all wished they could duck under the table. If the arbitrator had been unhappy just with the argument during the meeting, he would have thrown both Canuman and Lin Li out because it was between the two of them. Since he had only punished one of them, it was enough to show the arbitrator¡¯s bias.

    Indeed, under the gaze of the crowd, Arbitrator Apophis appeared at the entrance, and although he was not that tall, he made the crowd feel an infinite amount of pressure. The slow footsteps were particrly clear in the silent hall, and it felt as if he was walking on their chests.

    After entering the venue, Apophis didn¡¯t make anyments on what had just happened. He did not make anyments, and he simply looked around. Those who he looked at could not help but lower their heads. No one dared to make eye contact with Apophis. No one dared to make a single sound.

    It wasn¡¯t until he saw Lin Li in the corner that his expression became less sullen. ¡°Felic,e with me, we have something to discuss with you.¡±

    Perhaps in the eyes of others, Arbitrator Apophis saved Lin Li once by throwing Canuman out. However, in reality, everyone knew that if Apophis did not appear, Canuman would still be the one to be doomed, and the oue would definitely be worse.

    Therefore, Lin Li did not show any surprise at the sudden appearance of Apophis, nor did he feel happy that he had survived as everyone thought. Back then, when Lin Li was first appointed as President, he was only an Archmage, yet he had the audacity to burn Apophis¡¯ beard with fire. Now that he stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he definitely didn¡¯t feel any fear when facing mythical figures.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t ask any questions, and simply expressed assent before leaving his seat. He walked towards Apophis, after which the two of them turned around and left while everyone watched.

    <i>This is not real! It¡¯s an illusion, it must be!</i>

    It was only when the figures of the two menpletely disappeared from the hall that everyone finally heaved sighs of relief. However, they quickly became nervous again, especially the councilors who were going against Lin Li just now. They could not believe it even though they saw it with their own eyes.

    It was extremely quiet, and even though Apophis spoke softly, every councilor heard it clearly. They clearly heard the godlike Arbitrator Apophis saying the word ¡°we¡±. Clearly, he was representing the three arbitrators.

    Of course, whether Lin Li was sheltered by one arbitrator or three, it didn¡¯t make much difference to those people. However, being received by three arbitrators at the same time was a very remarkable feat.

 Chapter 914 - Top Floor

    <h4>Chapter 914: Top Floor</h4>

    Throughout the past 1,300 years since the establishment of the Supreme Council, only two people were known to have been received by the three arbitrators all together. One was Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine, while the other was the famous Prophet Willen.

    The Brilliance Shrine was the only huge force in Anril that could bepared to the Supreme Council. As the pope of the Brilliance Shrine and a Sanctuary powerhouse, Rosario was an elite of Anril, be it in terms of status or power.

    As for Prophet Willen, the Son of The Holy Light, his identity was not inferior, either. It was said that he was once Apophis¡¯ opponent. Although no one saw the process of them fighting each other, Apophis repeatedly expressed the fact that Willen was stronger than him.

    When Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine visited, he was received by the three arbitrators, after which the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine jointly dealt with the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains. When Prophet Willen visited, he also received the same treatment from the three arbitrators, after which there was the suppression of the Retribution Knight in the Breezy ins.

    Those two were big shots who managed to affect two major events that decided the fate of Anril.

    What about Lin Li? In the opinion of the councilors, he was just the President of a faraway Guild of Magic and a newly minted councilor of the Supreme Council. They felt that his abilities were only that of two years in the Legendary-realm.

    Among the councilors who were pleasant, many of them felt that they were far stronger and morepetent than Lin Li, the unknown small fry. However, it was often hard for them to meet an arbitrator, let alone three at the same time.

    Andoine did not expect Lin Li to be valued so greatly by the arbitrators, but, after all, he thought that it was a good thing. Hence, he wasn¡¯t too shocked, and quickly came back to his senses. ¡°Deputy Chairman Rosen, would you like to take this proposal back and think about it, or do you want to proceed to the voting session for it?¡±

    However, it was different for Rosen who had nned everything. Faced with the sudden change, he had no choice but to consider the rtionship Lin Li had with the three arbitrators.

    If the rtionship between the arbitrators and Lin Li was like someone who suddenly took an interest to an insignificant ant and paid attention to it, it wouldn¡¯t be too terrifying of a matter. Rosen was entirely confident that he would be able to make the arbitrators lose interest in that insignificant ant.

    However, was that really the case? Rosen was not blind or deaf. He had seen and heard everything clearly just now.

    Rosen could tell from Arbitrator Apophis¡¯ attitude towards Lin Li just now that he was probably not just defending Lin Li out of a moment of interest, but rather he truly valued him. It was not the protection that a god would give to an insignificant ant, but the way an elder valued his junior.

    That was terrifying! If one were to kill a dog, they would probably just have topensate the owner, and the matter would blow over easily, but if one killed someone else¡¯s child, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although Rosen did not want to believe it, he had to be careful. If it was true, he would be in dire straits!

    Vote? Hearing Andoine¡¯s question, Rosen could not help but feel vexed. Even if he had the bravery to continue pushing for the proposal, the final result of the vote would probably be the opposite of what he expected.

    Rosen looked up at the people in the hall, only to see that the councilors who had originally expressed their strong support for his proposal did not even dare to make eye contact with him now. Their eyes were shifty, and they had long been badly frightened. Even his loyal supporter, the high-ranking councilor Hubert, had turned pale. He looked like he was about to be frightened to death.

    In fact, not to mention the other councilors, even Rosen himself was feeling a dull pain in his palpitating chest.

    ¡°Since Felic has left, I think we¡¯d better put this proposal aside for now. After the discussion, I, too, think that there are some issues in this proposal that we should study and investigate further.¡± After some consideration, Rosen still decided to look at the situation before acting. The arbitrator was not someone he could offend.

    ¡°Oh? In that case, Councilor Hubert, Councilor Leddings, and the rest of you, what do you think?¡± Andoine asked the councilors who had made a big deal out of the discussion earlier after ncing at Rosen.

    Canuman, who had been thrown out by Apophis, had yet to return to the hall. They had no idea if he was severely injured or simply too ashamed to enter, and thus left in advance.

    Having seen that example, Hubert and the rest naturally did not dare to speak up again. The main instigator, Rosen, had also mellowed down. After hearing Andoine¡¯s question, everyone shook their heads and waved their hands, appearing rather awkward as they continuously said that they had failed to consider the issue thoroughly.

    Outside the hall, Lin Li left together with Apophis, after which the two of them remained silent, almost walking side by side. They headed to the top floor of the Eternal Tower.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t see the situation inside the venue, but he could guess that Rosen and the rest had probably retreated since the arbitrator Apophis had appeared. They weren¡¯t fools, either.

    In fact, even if Apophis hadn¡¯t appeared, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have taken it to heart. Although Canuman was a level-23 Legendary-mage, Lin Li could easily kill him. It would be much easier than crushing a bedbug. Lin Li also didn¡¯t mind being a little ruthless in the Eternal Tower. Apophis¡¯ appearance actually saved Canuman.

    Hence, after leaving the meeting, Lin Li put the matter regarding the proposal aside, and stopped thinking about it. What really made him curious was still the invitation from the three arbitrators. What did they want to discuss with him?

    Although he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li felt that there was a huge difference between his current strength and that of the three arbitrators. In terms of status, he was only a small President of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, while the three arbitrators were the genuine supreme leaders of the Supreme Council.

    The difference in strength and status made it seem impossible for the three arbitrators and him to have something to discuss together.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t ask Apophis about it, since he would get an exnation and an answer for his doubts anyway. Besides, he could tell from Apophis¡¯ and Chris¡¯ attitude that no matter what it was, it shouldn¡¯t be harmful to him.

    Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t ask anything when he was following Apophis, and instead focused his attention on his surroundings, observing theyout of the floors in the Eternal Tower while secretlyparing them to the Tower of Dusk.

    Although he had only taken quick nces¡ªand thus the things he saw definitely were notprehensive, as he only managed to see the superficialyout¡ªLin Li had to admit that the Supreme Council had a strong foundation and a massive amount of wealth. Indeed, the Tower of Dusk was far fromparable to it.

    After all, the Supreme Council had been in operations for thousands of years, and with the Eternal Tower being the core of the ce, how could it be inferior? Besides, at the end of the Dark Age, they managed to acquire arge amount of wealth from the High Elves, and that was not something that could bepared to what little Lin Li had gained from exploring some secret ces.

    The overallyout of the Eternal Tower seemed in at first nce as there were no ostentatious decorations. Unlike the buildings of the High Elves that Lin Li had seen, which were extravagant andvish, the walls and ground of the Eternal Tower were all made of natural wood, and gave off afortable and natural vibe.

    Of course, it was just a feeling. In fact, in the world of Anril, no material was more precious than the trunk of the Tree of Eternity. The Eternal Tower itself was built using half of the trunk of the Tree of Eternity. If magical gemstones and magical metals were added to it, it would just be extra.

    What attracted Lin Li the most was still the natural textures of the flooring and the walls. Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription, and he had personally stepped into the Sanctuary-realm as well. Hence, he had a deep understanding of the World Laws. He couldpletely see that all of the natural textures contained pure Laws, with each texture being a natural mageweath.

    Each texture was a natural mageweath, and they formed natural mageweath arrays that grouped together to form a massive mageweath array, which was beyond the Guru-level, and even Lin Li couldn¡¯t find out what its limits were.

    Lin Li could only sigh deep down. It was undoubtedly a miracle of the Tree of Eternity that created the High Elves and supported the world of Anril. At the same time, Lin Li had even greater expectations for the Tree of Eternity that was nted in the Tower of Dusk. The small sapling was gradually growing, and it would definitely bring the Tower of Dusk to an unreachable peak, allowing it to be a Magical Land of Anril.

    Finally, Lin Li arrived at the top of the Eternal Tower under Apophis¡¯ lead. To Lin Li¡¯s surprise, Chris, the arbitrator who had received him previously, was actually standing outside the door.

    Upon sight of Lin Li and Apophis, Chris smiled benevolently and affectionately said, ¡°You¡¯re here,e in.¡±

    After saluting and greeting him, Lin Li entered the room together with the two arbitrators. The room seemed to be a secret library that was filled with rows and shelves of books that were either old or new. In the middle of the shelves, there was a table which the other arbitrator, Megard, was seated in front of.

    At this moment, Megard was browsing a magical book with a ck cover. When he heard Lin Li and the others enter, he finally looked up at them.

 Chapter 915 - What Is Your Opinion?

    <h4>Chapter 915: What Is Your Opinion?</h4>

    Seeing that Megard was looking at him, Lin Li dared not procrastinate as he hurriedly greeted him respectfully with a bow. The three arbitrators were mythical figures who had followed Geresco and overthrown the High Elves¡¯ dynasty together. Lin Li genuinely respected the three of them.

    Megard nodded without saying anything, and simply put the magic book down gently.

    Apophis brought Lin Li to the table. He pointed at a chair in front of the table, and smilingly said, ¡°You must be wondering why the three of us asked you toe here. Take a seat, we¡¯ll talk about it slowly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not appropriate. I¡¯m a junior, how can I sit in front of the three of you?¡± Lin Li said, frantically declining.

    ¡°Come on, kid, you weren¡¯t that polite when you were burning my beard. Just take a seat like I told you to,¡± Apophis chided. He ran his hand through his regrown beard as he walked towards the chair beside him.

    Seeing that Apophis had said that, Lin Li didn¡¯t decline further. He decided to wait for Chris and Apophis to take their seats before pulling out the chair and sitting down.

    If others were to see that scene in the library, everyone would probably go mad. What a joke, what kind of figures were the three arbitrators? They were truly standing at the pinnacle of Anril, and every decision of theirs could affect the fate of the entire world. They were almost godly existences.

    Those who were qualified to sit in front of the three arbitrators were few and far between in Anril. Even the chairman and deputy chairman of the Supreme Council could often only stand and listen to their instructions.

    The Darkness Shrine could be considered second only to the Brilliance Shrine and the third major force of Anril. High Priest Sendros who was in charge of the Brilliance Shrine was considered a figure who was at the pinnacle of power in the world of Anril. However, as long as one was not a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would never have the right to sit down in front of the three arbitrators.

    The ones below the Sanctuary-realm were like insignificant ants, and that was absolutely true. It was a massive difference in life forms. Not to mention Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, even Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine would not be qualified to sit down in front of the three arbitrators before he stepped into the Sanctuary-realm.

    As for Lin Li, the Tower of Dusk might be iparable to the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, and he might just be the President of a Guild of Magic and a newly minted councilor of the Supreme Council, but he had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Although he had just be a Sanctuary powerhouse, it meant that he had already advanced beyond the level of mortals.

    Although Lin Li was still far from the three arbitrators in terms of strength, he had broken free from his identity of an insignificant ant. It was just like aparison between a child and an adult. Although there was a great difference in strength, they were both equally human, and could no longer be considered as insignificant small fries.

    When Lin Li sat down, he obviously behaved properly. He ced his hands on his knees like he was seated decently. He looked at the three arbitrators and waited for them to reveal the reason that they had asked to see him.

    Apophis was much more rxed and casual. He was seated sideways on the chair, facing Lin Li with one arm on the table. He gently knocked on the table with his fingers twice, and suddenly said, ¡°Felic, you¡¯re now a councilor of the Supreme Council, and you¡¯ve attended two regr meetings. What is your opinion on the current Supreme Council?¡±

    Apophis¡¯ words were casual, but Lin Li got a great shock. What a joke. He was just a powerless councilor who was newly appointed, and had only attended the Supreme Council twice. He was still an outsider to the Supreme Council. What thoughts could he possibly have?

    ¡°That... Hehe.¡± Since Apophis had asked that question, Lin Li had to answer. He simplyughed awkwardly, and said, ¡°The Supreme Council? I think it¡¯s great. Under the lead of you three arbitrators, the Supreme Council managed to develop to such a great scale. It has risen to the stage where it can control the fate of the entire Anril and guide the development of magic civilization. It definitely is the best it can be.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Apophis immediately rolled his eyes when he heard Lin Li¡¯s answer. With a teasing look, he said, ¡°Good, my foot. If it was that good, why would we have to fight with the Breezy ins for the Tera Mine?¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but touch his nose and grin awkwardly without answering Apophis. After all, he was in the Supreme Council where the three arbitrators were in charge. It was fine for Apophis to criticize it as much as he wanted, but Lin Li didn¡¯t think that he, too, could give anyment at will.

    ¡°Felic, you don¡¯t have to care about our pride. Go ahead and say what you want. We¡¯d like to hear what the Supreme Council is like in the eyes of others,¡± Arbitrator Chris said in a gentle tone with a graceful smile on his face.

    ¡°Yes, don¡¯t feign ignorance. I don¡¯t believe that you can¡¯t see such an obvious problem,¡± Apophis said while stroking his beard and ring at Lin Li as if he wouldn¡¯t stop until he heard the truth.

    Lin Li could tell from Apophis¡¯ words that the three arbitrators actually knew of the problems with the Supreme Council. It was actually more like a test than a question.

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t understand what the problems of the Supreme Council had to do with him. He thought, <i>Since you¡¯re well aware, you can just go ahead and deal with it, can¡¯t you? Why do you still have to ask for my opinion? Given the status and abilities of you three arbitrators, it¡¯s up to you to do what you want to the Supreme Council.</i>

    However, regardless of whether it was a question or a test, it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for Lin Li to keep mum now. Although the arbitrator Megard had been silent so far, Lin Li could tell that he seemed to be hoping for him to say something.

    Of course, Lin Li might have just been exposed to the problems of the Supreme Council, but he had plenty of thoughts in mind. Actually, the problems of the Supreme Council were very simple. Just like other forces and organizations that had been established for a long time, they were stagnating and lifeless.

    The Supreme Council, which had been established more than 1,300 years ago, was now like a pool of stagnant water. To put it bluntly, it had already declined. No matter what initial agenda the Supreme Council was established upon or the spirit it was supposed to have, the passage of time had gradually eroded it.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just the Supreme Council that was facing that problem. It was the same for the Brilliance Shrine. The Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom had also gradually begun declining. Dynasties often changed because of that problem. Only the Darkness Shrine was showing some signs of vitality after experiencing several ordeals and being under the lead of the Sendros.

    Since the three arbitrators had requested his answer, Lin Li could not bring himself to be perfunctory, and felt that he had to answer them. Hence, after some deliberation, he said, ¡°There seems to be a bit of a problem. ording to what I know, the Supreme Council was initially established with the purpose of developing human magic civilization. However, the current Supreme Council seems to be a jaded authority. The struggle for power seems to have gradually reced the original purpose of establishment of the Supreme Council...¡±

    Lin Li carefully expressed his opinion, and he used the words ¡°seems¡± and ¡°a bit¡± for the sake of the pride of the three arbitrators. He also paid attention to the expressions of the three arbitrators as he spoke. After all, by saying that, he seemed to be ming the three of them.

    The Supreme Council had been active for more than 1,300 years, and the three arbitrators had always been the authoritative figures of the Supreme Council. They were definitely responsible for the development of the Supreme Council. Lin Li believed that Chris and Apophis wouldn¡¯t do anything to him because of that, but he was unsure about the cold and indifferent Megard who had been keeping a straight face.

    ¡°Well, revered arbitrators, that¡¯s all I can think about now.¡± Lin Li was secretly thankful that the expression of Arbitrator Megard did not change throughout his speech. He even seemed to show a hint of recognition and appreciation for him.

    ¡°Rascal, are you still not going to be honest? Wrong is wrong, and right is right. Will it kill you to be a little more straightforward? The three of us haven¡¯t gotten to the point where we don¡¯t want to hear the truth,¡± said Apophis, who was a genius and could naturally tell that Lin Li was not telling the truth, hence chiding him.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been in contact with the Supreme Council for very long, I don¡¯t know much about it. I can¡¯t be certain that I¡¯m right, so I was just voicing some of my opinions,¡± Lin Li exined with an awkward smile.

    However, after Lin Li¡¯s defense, the three arbitrators appeared to be somewhat silent. Even Apophis didn¡¯t seem that casual anymore. The atmosphere in the room seemed somewhat austere.

    After a moment of silence, Apophis let out a long sigh. He looked at Chris and Megard before saying in a low voice, ¡°Back then, Geresco led us to overthrow the High Elves and put an end to the Dark Age. We established the Supreme Council, and after thinking about it, it still feels like it happened yesterday. He gave the mages of Anril to us. We haven¡¯t let him down. We¡¯ve been taking care of the misceneous affairs for him for 1,300 years.¡±

    Although the current Supreme Council was helmed by the chairman and deputy chairman, and also had hundreds of councilors, the council would basically discuss and handle all matters as long as it was not a matter as major as the sky falling down. However, the Supreme Council was not established in a single day. The effort invested by the three arbitrators over the past 1,300 years was probably as painstaking as the effort they had put into overthrowing the High Elves.

    Lin Li could still understand that. After all, the Supreme Council managed the mages of the entire world, and every decision made by the Supreme Council would affect the entire Anril and the direction of development of human magic civilization.

    Even in the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li did not hand everything over to Gavin and the senior executives. There were still some matters that he had to deal with personally. If there were any problems in the Tower of Dusk, he would be the only one affected. If something were to happen to the Supreme Council, the impact would be major.

    ¡°However, we¡¯re not as sick as Geresco, after all. We can¡¯t be good at everything. The only one who¡¯sparable to Geresco in this aspect has left long ago to be the high priest of the Darkness Shrine. He¡¯s nowhere to be found. The three of us are the only ones left. Although we have invested plenty of energy, we¡¯ve only barely managed to reach Geresco¡¯s original expectations.¡±

    There was some regret in Apophis¡¯ tone, and he had no idea that Lin Li had seen Rogge and even had a long conversation with him. Hence, he only mentioned Rogge casually.

    Lin Li knew that Apophis¡¯ words weren¡¯t exaggerated. After Rogge became the high priest of the Darkness Shrine, the Darkness Shrine reached their prime under his lead, and it could be considered a prosperous period. It even suppressed the Brilliance Shrine, and could vaguelypete with the Supreme Council.

    Unfortunately, when the Darkness Shrine¡¯s development was unstoppable, Rogge fell into the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, and was trapped in it for over a thousand years, directly leading to the downfall of the Darkness Shrine. If Rogge had still been in the Supreme Council, the Supreme Council would¡¯ve probably been different under his management.

    However, it was clearly not the time for Lin Li to speak to the three arbitrators regarding the matter of Rogge. Lin Li did not interrupt Apophis, and instead remained seated and listened to his story.

    ¡°We know very well about the problems you just mentioned, and we¡¯re also clear that you have held back many of your true thoughts. Indeed, the development of the Supreme Council has really deviated from the direction that Geresco had originally had in mind, especially in thest couple of hundred years. It¡¯s no longer like a shrine that leads the development of magic civilization. It¡¯s more and more like an organization with a power struggle, and every mage has be a politician.¡±

    At this point, the expression on Apophis¡¯s face didn¡¯t change too much. There was merely a look of guilt and regret in his eyes. He seemed to be thinking of the time when he had established the Supreme Council with Geresco, as well as its development.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too concerned. Actually, the Supreme Council isn¡¯t that bad now. Everyone can see its contribution to the development of magic civilization over the years.¡± Seeing that Apophis seemed to be in low spirits, Lin Li could not help but persuade him.

    Apophis waved his hand and sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t need to speak up for them. Look at those people down there. None of them act like mages at all. All they do is fight for fame and benefits all day long by abusing their authority. However, the development of magic has always been stagnant. There isn¡¯t even a single one who has stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, let alone be like Geresco. Even the Legendary-realm has be an unattainable pinnacle. That¡¯s ridiculous, isn¡¯t it!?¡±

    At this point, Lin Li had no choice but to remain silent¡ªthat was indeed an unavoidable truth. Actually, the current environment for learning magic was much better and allowed more freedom than that of the Dark Age during the High Elves¡¯ reign.

 Chapter 916 - Successor

    <h4>Chapter 916: Sessor</h4>

    Could it be that the magical talent of humans in this era was really inferior to the Dark Age?

    That was probably not the real reason. Geresco left a note on the cover of the Book of Eternity. ¡°Knowledge is the most devout faith of a mage!¡± That sentence was actually not a secret. That famous quote could be found in the library of the Supreme Council and many other libraries of Guilds of Magic.

    Almost every mage knew of that quote from Geresco, but those who could truly follow it were few and far between. Hence, it was no exaggeration to say that the mages of the modern era had lost the faith that mages ought to have and the desire for knowledge.

    Apophis let out a long sigh once again with some fatigue in his eyes. He calmly said, ¡°We¡¯re all tired now. We¡¯ve been managing these trivial matters for over 1,300 years. If it weren¡¯t for that jerk Geresco who bothered us with these matters, we would have long been able to follow in his footsteps and step into the highest realm of Anril.¡±

    Over 1,300 years ago, the three arbitrators had already be Sanctuary powerhouses, and could follow Geresco to the war that overthrew the High Elves. Clearly, their strength at that time was far beyond just entering the Sanctuary-realm. Even if they hadn¡¯t reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm then, they probably hadn¡¯t been far behind. After all, their enemies were the powerful High Elves.

    The biggest reason that the three arbitrators had never taken the final step after all those years was that they were worried about the Supreme Council. One could imagine how the Supreme Council would shatter into bits and copse before the enemies appeared without the three arbitrators.

    ¡°This is why we¡¯re here to look for you.¡±

    While Lin Li was being doubtful and wondering what the matter had to do with him, Megard, who had been remaining silent, suddenly said those words.

    Upon hearing his words, Lin Li panicked, and he could vaguely sense the agenda of the three arbitrators who came to look for him.

    Indeed, before Lin Li could think, Megard said in a calm and steady tone, ¡°We hope that you can seed us, take over the Supreme Council, and be the manager of all mages in Anril.¡±

    <i>What!? Did I hear wrong!?</i> Lin Li simply couldn¡¯t help but feel like digging his ears. Was he out of his mind, or were the three arbitrators crazy? Or had the entire world gone mad!?

    Although he had just guessed a little bit, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t believe his ears after hearing Megard¡¯s words. The Tower of Dusk and the Supreme Council werepletely different. The fact that the Tower of Dusk was being managed well did not mean that he could manage the Supreme Council too. It was just like making an Archmage learn Legendary-level magic. It was a difference in realm, and not something that could be achieved with effort.

    Besides, the Tower of Dusk was being managed well, and Lin Li didn¡¯t want to take over the Supreme Council that was declining. The three arbitrators had not managed to set the Supreme Council on the right path, and Lin Li didn¡¯t think that he had the ability to do it, either. He reckoned that it would be impossible even if he were to toil until he vomited blood.

    Lin Li did not want to take on such a taxing task that wouldn¡¯t benefit him. Hence, he wouldn¡¯t consider much, and was about to turn them down.

    However, before Lin Li could speak, Megard seemed to have already predicted it as he raised his hand to stop him. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to refuse. Hear me out first. We have all thought of your concerns, and we don¡¯t mean to let you immediately take over the Supreme Council. Now, the three of us still have some energy. We can first help youy the foundation. You have enough time to adapt, and when time is right, you can actually take over the Supreme Council.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not appropriate. I have neither seniority nor prestige and authority. I barely qualify for being a councilor. How can I manage the entire Supreme Council?¡± Even though Megard had said so, Lin Li was still a little unwilling.

    For ordinary people, the possibility of bing an arbitrator and standing on the pinnacle of Anril was undoubtedly tempting. However, that was not all Lin Li pursued. Just like how the three arbitrators wanted to take the final step in the pursuit of magic, he was not satisfied with his mere entry to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t have to do much for the Tower of Dusk, and he just needed to have enough strength to deter his enemies. He could leave the trivial and misceneous matters to his subordinates. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t have to invest too much energy in the management and operation of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, he couldn¡¯t do the same for the Supreme Council, especially since what the three Arbiters wished for wasn¡¯t just to have a Sanctuary powerhouse in charge. They wanted Lin Li to set the Supreme Council on the right track. Given the current condition of the Supreme Council, Lin Li would have plenty to do if he were to take on the task.

    The Supreme Council was already declining at the moment, and if he wanted to change the situation, he would first have to clean up the council, after which he had to poach some talents that he could bring to the council. He would then have to change the situation of the mages losing their faith. That was a long and massive process.

    In addition to that, there were all sorts of problems, and the mere thought of it gave Lin Li a terrible headache. If he were to really do it, it would kill him.

    The arbitrators looked at each other, not surprised by Lin Li¡¯s refusal at all. As Sanctuary powerhouses, they naturally knew that the identity of an arbitrator of the Supreme Council seemed glorious to ordinary people, but to Sanctuary powerhouses, it was more of a responsibility and trouble that they had been shouldering for more than 1,300 years. They definitely had stronger emotions about it than Lin Li.

    However, the three arbitrators had no other choice. Sanctuary powerhouses were not immortals, and if they never took the final step, they would eventually decay one day. If they didn¡¯t find a suitable sessor, the Supreme Council would stray further away from the original intent once the three arbitrators passed away. In the end, they would copse and face their end.

    ¡°I think Teacher Andoine would be more suitable than me. He¡¯s the chairman of the Supreme Council who has experience in running it. Be it because of his seniority or prestige, he¡¯s more than qualified enough to take on that responsibility.¡± Lin Li knew that it wasn¡¯t easy to directly decline. Hence, he rmended someone else to the three arbitrators.

    ¡°Him? The mention of that rascal makes me feel infuriated!¡± Hearing Lin Li mention Andoine, Apophis was filled with resentment, and he started cursing in a hostile manner. ¡°We were initially quite optimistic, and had high expectations of that brat. Who knew that he would be so ipetent as to create a Thorn Domain for the sake of pharmaceutics. He will never, ever enter the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, with that ability of his, he can¡¯t even suppress that rascal Rosen. What happened today is an example, how can you expect him to lead the reform of the Supreme Council!?¡±

    Although Apophis was being a little extreme, Lin Li was well aware that with the Thorn Domain, the possibility of Andoine entering the Sanctuary-realm was almost zero. If Andoine could reach the Guru-level, he would be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm. However, that was not possible. With Andoine¡¯s sub-par standards in pharmaceutics, it was even more unreliable than him taking the path of magic.

    ¡°Felic, the three of us have already discussed the issues of seniority and prestige previously. We¡¯vee to a consensus and made an arrangement.¡± Arbitrator Chris was a little embarrassed when he said those words because everyone could tell that Lin Li was just making excuses when he talked about seniority and prestige.

    However, he still had to say it despite being embarrassed. He couldn¡¯t watch the Supreme Council get destroyed in his hands! Chris sighed and said to Lin Li, ¡°If you¡¯re willing, you will be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. However, we won¡¯t be announcing this news to the world for now. You¡¯d better participate in the management of the Supreme Council as a councilor first.¡±

    Lin Li remained silent, and did not immediately nod or continue to refuse. After all, the three arbitrators were nice to him. When he was still an Archmage, Apophis had personally given him some pointers in magic. If it were someone else, it would be impossible.

    Although Megard was cold and indifferent on the surface, he allowed Lin Li to take away the core crystal coffin of the Eternal Furnace because he had discovered that Lin Li owned the Eternal Furnace after the exploration of Osric¡¯s mausoleum. In the end, the Arbitrator Chris personally received and brought him to the Supreme Council. He also gave him some pointers about the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, despite knowing that the task was troublesome, Lin Li did not refute immediately, and instead listened to Chris¡¯ arrangements patiently. If the trouble was still within his means, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind helping the three arbitrators once. Well, he was young after all.

    Sensing that Lin Li¡¯s attitude seemed to have eased up, Chris continued, ¡°Once you have umted sufficient prestige, I will announce this news, and you will then start the reform of the Supreme Council as an arbitrator. Don¡¯t worry, we aren¡¯t going to just walk away and leave you in the lurch. We will still continue to support you during the reform until youpletely control the situation. We will then leave.¡±

    ¡°Felic, we also know that this matter is indeed a big trouble for those who have stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but it has been many years, and the three of us have yet to nurture a decent sessor, so we can¡¯t just watch the Supreme Council be destroyed like this.¡± Seeing that Lin Li was silent, Apophis tried to persuade him again.

    ¡°Apophis, don¡¯t speak, let Felic think for himself.¡± Although Megard was speaking in a calm tone, there was still some anticipation in his eyes. After all, he had been at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm for years, and everyone wanted to take the final step to truly be an immortal god.

    The world always envied the three arbitrators for standing at the pinnacle of authority, but they did not know that the power they had was actually a huge burden to them. If they had not been held down and restrained by the Supreme Council, they would have probably long be immortal gods with their magical talent.

    After a moment of silence, Lin Li finally nodded slowly while the three arbitrators watched him. ¡°Alright, since the three arbitrators have so much trust in me, I¡¯ll go ahead with this arrangement and do my best.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li finally nodded, the three arbitrators were secretly relieved. Although the arrangements had yet to be implemented, and they did not know when Lin Li was truly capable of taking over the Supreme Council, they already felt a little relieved. It was a feeling that they had not felt for a long time.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know much about the Supreme Council yet; hence, he stood up to bid farewell to the three arbitrators after a simple conversation.

    When Lin Li was about to leave, Apophis suddenly stopped him. ¡°By the way, if anyone mentions the Tera Mine again, tell them toe to me.¡±

    Lin Li nodded and turned around to leave the library. He thought to himself, <i>At least Rosen and those guys are only coveting the Tera Mine. Yet, these three are even more ruthless. They actually want to take me and the mine together.</i>

    It wasn¡¯t unreasonable for Lin Li to think this way. If he were to really take over the Supreme Council in the future, his resources would all have to be used on the Supreme Council.

    With mixed emotions and thoughts, Lin Li made his way out of the venue. After all, to the outsiders, he was still just an insignificant councilor who had to attend the meeting of the Supreme Council.

    When he was outside the venue, Lin Li could still hear the noisesing from inside. However, they fell silent once he entered.

    All eyes were on Lin Li, and they watched as he entered the venue before walking back to his seat in the corner. From the moment Lin Li was taken away by the arbitrator, Apophis, everyone made spections and guesses about him incessantly. They were making guesses about what the arbitrators wanted to see him for, and what made him different from them so much that the three arbitrators asked to see him at once.

    In fact, regardless of what the three arbitrators were looking for Lin Li for, they could tell from the fact that Apophis had thrown Canuman out without asking any questions that they had some intention of defending Lin Li. Canuman had a high status in the Supreme Council, and was a high-ranking councilor. His status was definitely far beyond that of a small, newly minted councilor.

    Hence, no one dared to regard Lin Li as a mere newly minted councilor anymore.

    At this moment, Leddings was also feeling extremely uneasy, feeling like he was sitting on needles. He could clearly feel that there was resentment in the gazes of the councilors who he had colluded with when they looked at him now. Clearly, they resented him for implicating them and getting them into trouble.

 Chapter 917 - Still Mentioning It?

    <h4>Chapter 917: Still Mentioning It?</h4>

    Leddings was actually disappointed. Ever since Lin Li had left, he could have just acted like nothing had happened. Unfortunately, he had believed his student Gerosso¡¯s words. For the sake of getting acquainted with Deputy Chairman Rosen, he went around trying to contact a few friends, and roped them in to join the boycott against Lin Li.

    Great. No matter how authoritative Deputy Chairman Rosen was, he definitely wasn¡¯t more powerful than the arbitrators. Leddings was filled with regret, and he was only wishing for the meeting to end quickly so that he could teach his troublemaking student a lesson.

    Of course, Leddings still didn¡¯t know that the genius student of his was still passing off as a statue on the pathway in front of the library for the viewing pleasure of visitors.

    Lin Li walked to his seat in the corner, and was about to sit down, but then he stopped and looked up. He then said to everyone, ¡°By the way, Arbitrator Apophis said that anyone who¡¯s interested in the Tera Mine can go speak to him.¡±

    He then looked at Rosen and the others before sitting down again, waiting for the meeting to continue with a calm expression.

    As soon as Lin Li said those words, all the councilors who were going all out to push for the proposal, including Rosen, instantly felt their bodies turning numb. They broke out in a cold sweat, and if it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were seated on chairs, they would have fainted.

    Apophis was obviously defending Lin Li. It was no longer an issue about the Tera Mine. Anyone who was not a fool would be able to tell that he meant that anyone who dared to go against Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk would first have to seek Apophis¡¯ permission.

    When Rosen was seated, he felt extremely dizzy. Not only did they fail to reap any benefits from the proposal, they even suffered a huge blow. He could imagine that more than half of the councilors who¡¯d initially stood on his side would definitely stop supporting him after this matter, and that was a slightly more optimistic prediction.

    ¡°Deputy Chairman Rosen, now that Councilor Felic is back, are you going to continue with the voting for the proposal?¡± Although Andoine wasn¡¯t sure what the three arbitrators had discussed with Lin Li, it didn¡¯t prevent him from rubbing another pinch of salt into Rosen¡¯s wounds.

    Upon hearing him mention the proposal, Rosen and the councilors on his side almost shivered at the same time. To them, the proposal was no longer something that could bring them massive benefits. Instead, it was something that would bring them infinite fear.

    <i>What a joke. Why would we mention the Tera Mine again? It¡¯d be no different from courting death!</i> Although Rosen¡¯s heart was filled with resentment, he did not show it at all. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°Chairman Andoine has spoken. Clearly, Councilor Felic and Arbitrator Apophis have alreadye up with a n to deal with the issue of the Tera Mine. We won¡¯t bother with it uselessly here anymore.¡±

    It was definitely not a good feeling to have to take back one¡¯s words and withdraw one¡¯s n after making a huge fuss out of it. However, Rosen didn¡¯t have any other choice. Besides, it was obvious that the other councilors wouldn¡¯t be willing to die with him even if he insisted on proceeding to the voting process to reach an oue.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s discuss the following proposal,¡± said Andoine. He was, after all, unlike Rosen. Although he was not benevolent, and was not giving in, either, he could not be bothered to provoke the disoriented and dejected Rosen any further.

    Although he said that they were going to discuss a new proposal, no one in the room was enthusiastic. In fact, they even vaguely felt oppressed. Rosen and the other councilors on his side were not the only ones. Andoine¡¯s supporters, as well as some councilors who were in neutral positions, were the same. They had yet to fully recover from the shock they had just experienced.

    Everyone in the conference hall was thinking about the matter regarding Lin Li and the arbitrator. No one was in the mood to discuss meaningless proposals, though the proposals were at least rted to the rise and fall of a nation in the eyes of ordinary people.

    In particr, the councilors who¡¯d supported the proposal just now were extremely anxious. Everyone was thinking about how they could salvage the situation and improve their image in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. They couldn¡¯t tantly suck up to him. They at least couldn¡¯t be remembered by Lin Li.

    Still, Lin Li was just a newly promoted councilor, and hadn¡¯te up with any proposals that they could support. Hence, it would be difficult for them to cozy up to him even if they wanted to.

    However, the councilors soon thought of another solution. Although most of them didn¡¯t know what rtionship Lin Li and Andoine had, they could tell from the matter of Rosen¡¯s proposal that Andoine was clearly on Lin Li¡¯s side.

    Hence, there was a phenomenon in the conference hall where any proposal supported by the people on Andoine¡¯s side would immediately be supported by the majority, including the ones on Rosen¡¯s side. On the other hand, if those on Andoine¡¯s side opposed the proposal, it would also be immediately opposed by the majority. That allowed the meeting to proceed quickly. Basically, there wasn¡¯t much of a discussion before a proposal was quickly passed or rejected.

    Upon seeing the situation, Rosen¡¯s mood naturally worsened, and he sat gloomily in the deputy chairman¡¯s seat. He had no choice but to decline toment on any proposal.

    He had no other option. He knew that his prestige had been reduced greatly, and he could not fight with Andoine at all.

    Of course, that was only temporary, and it did not mean that it was really over for Rosen. However, he felt temporarily demoralized because the councilors were still shell-shocked because of Apophis.

    The meeting finally came to an end amidst the bizarre yet harmonious atmosphere.

    Rosen, Hubert, and some others were the first to leave the meeting. After so many years of management, he still had a few loyal followers, and the other councilors seemed rather troubled too. They even couldn¡¯t recall the content of the proposals.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t leave early, but waited until Andoine, Aldwin, and the rest appeared to go over. They then chatted while leaving the venue. Although Andoine and the rest were curious, they tacitly chose not to probe. Instead, they talked about the reactions of Rosen and the rest.

    Seeing that Rosen, Lin Li, and Andoine had left, Leddings stood up with wobbling legs before dragging his heavy feet across to leave the venue. His friends were implicated in the matter because of him, and he ought to be lucky that they didn¡¯te to settle the scores. They left without him long ago.

    Along with the crowd, Leddings made his way out of the venue dejectedly. He tried to find his direction, and was about to return to his residence when he saw an Archmage rushing over.

    ¡°Councilor Leddings?¡± the Archmage asked.

    Leddings nodded, still dumbfounded.

    Although he was a little confused by Leddings¡¯ behavior, the Archmage nheless continued to speak after verifying his identity. ¡°Your student Gerosso has been confined outside the library all day. You...¡±

    It was like a bolt out of the blue, which made Leddings feel giddy all of a sudden. He staggered forwards and almost fell down.

    At this moment, Leddings really wanted to strangle Gerosso with his own hands. With the experience he had the day before, he reckoned that his disciple had undoubtedly provoked the greenhorn newly minted Councilor Felic. <i>Damn it! I was just thinking about how I could salvage the situation, but that bastard Gerosso created trouble again!</i>

    ¡°Councilor Leddings, are you alright? Your student has merely been confined and restrained. He¡¯s not harmed in any way, you don¡¯t need to be too anxious.¡± The Archmage who reported the news thought that Leddings was being worried about his student, and thus tried to calm him.

    <i>Damn it, I¡¯d rather that bastard just die!</i> Leddings tried hard to calm down, and he said to the Archmage, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to trouble you to make a trip. Let that ipetent rascal stand there for a while.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The Archmage who reported the news soon reacted. By the time he did, he only saw Leddings¡¯ fading back. For some reason, he felt that it was filled with dejection and sorrow.

    Gerosso was not the only one. The teachers of Gerosso¡¯s underlings had also made the same choice as Leddings after getting a clear idea of the matter. In the end, Gerosso and his underlings could only continue to stand on the road in front of the library¡¯s main entrance while others pointed at them and made remarks about them.

    Three dayster, the restraining force on Gerosso and the rest finally disappeared, and the statues that had been on disy for three days were suddenly paralyzed after falling onto the ground like mud. Even an Archmage would definitely suffer detrimental effects after staying in the same position for three days without eating or drinking.

    <i>What on earth had happened? Why didn¡¯t Teacher rescue me!?</i> Gerosso was first bewildered, but he was soon filled with resentment instead. Although he couldn¡¯t speak, he was hollering in his heart. <i>Felic, I swear, I will not let you go! Soon, I¡¯ll show you the consequences of angering me!</i>

    Gerosso and the othersy on the ground for a long time, but no one paid any attention to them. Everyone knew by now that they had to have provoked a big shot. Otherwise, their teachers wouldn¡¯t have punished them that way. Hence, everyone chose to shun them in fear. No one would bother helping them.

    After lying on the ground for half a day, Gerosso finally recovered from the shock. He got up and swayed unsteadily before returning to his teacher Leddings¡¯ residence. He initially thought that his teacher had to have been busy with something, or getting busy with distributing the fortune of the Tower of Dusk, and thus didn¡¯t have the time to care about him. Although that exnation was a bit far-fetched, he didn¡¯t believe that something would go wrong, since they were very confident about the matter.

    However, what Gerosso didn¡¯t expect was that his teacher, Leddings, was right at his residence, and he hadn¡¯t gone anywhere at all. That situation was confusing to him, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to think. As soon as he saw Leddings, he eximed with anger and grief, ¡°Teacher, you must do me justice! That bastard Felic...¡±

 Chapter 918 - So What If Itéˆ¥æªš Just Half?

    <h4>Chapter 918: So What If It¡¯s Just Half?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Before Gerosso could finish his sentence, Leddings rushed towards the front and gave Gerosso a hard p. He angrily cursed, ¡°You ipetent bastard, how dare you call me your teacher!?¡±

    Gerosso had been confined for three days and three nights without food or water. He was extremely exhausted, and to make matters worse, he had to suffer the criticism and gossiping of others. To someone who had always considered himself to be heavens¡¯ favorite, it was an absurd insult and humiliation.

    The reason that the arrogant and prideful Gerosso didn¡¯t lose his mind was that he still had faith in Rosen¡¯s proposal. It made him feel that Felic wouldn¡¯t be able to be cocky for long. He spent every moment thinking about how he was going to deal with the enemy who had humiliated and embarrassed him.

    However, the p from his teacher Leddings made him dumbfounded, and he also had an ominous hunch. Back when he had returned from Deputy Chairman Rosen¡¯s ce and informed his teacher of the news, his teacher praised him, and even said that he could feel free to hand over the Supreme Council to him in the future. Yet, why did things change all of a sudden!?

    ¡°T-teacher, why!?¡± Gerosso clutched his face with fear and confusion in his eyes. He could not understand how his teacher¡¯s attitude towards him had changed so much in just three days.

    ¡°Why? How dare you ask me why!? How many times have I told you not to create trouble for me outside? Did you hear what I said!? Do you still have any regards for me, your teacher!?¡± Leddings was so infuriated that he was trembling from head to toe. Of course, it was also possible that he was scared. After all, there was an arbitrator protecting Lin Li.

    However, Gerosso had no idea, because he had stood outside the library for three days and three nights, and no one had said anything to him about what happened at the meeting. However, he could tell from his teacher¡¯s tone that something seemed to have gone wrong. He asked in disbelief, ¡°Teacher, did something happen!? Could it be that Deputy Chairman Rosen¡¯s proposal didn¡¯t go through?¡±

    ¡°You actually have the nerve to bring that up! Do you still have any regard for me as a teacher!?¡± Leddings waved his hand, but it didn¡¯tnd on Gerosso¡¯s face. Instead. he pointed at Gerosso, looking like he had expected better from him. He sternly hollered, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t run off to look for Rosen on your own, would I have been put in such a passive position!? When we go back, you¡¯d better stay put in the guild obediently. If I find out that you¡¯ve gone out to make trouble again, I¡¯ll take it that I¡¯ve never had a student like you!¡±

    ¡°How can that be? Impossible. Hasn¡¯t Deputy Chairman Rosen already confirmed that he would have more than half of the councilors supporting him!?¡± Despite not getting a clear answer, Rosen could still tell the root of the problem after hearing his teacher¡¯s words.

    However, that left him in greater disbelief. He was well aware of the situation, and with the support of more than half of the councilors, even the chairman wouldn¡¯t have the power to oppose the proposal and stop it from being passed. No matter how he looked at it, there shouldn¡¯t have been a problem.

    However, Leddings snorted and turned around to take a seat on a chair beside him. He finally slowly said, ¡°Half? So what if all the councilors support him? Can their decision outweigh that of the arbitrator!?¡±

    ¡°A-arbitrator!?¡± The news was like a thunderbolt that struck Gerosso when he heard it. He fell on the ground and began muttering in shock, ¡°Impossible, how can that be...¡±

    Everyone knew that in the Supreme Council, it was still the three arbitrators who really had the power to make the final decision. The chairman and deputy chairman were just like butlers. No matter how much they argued, they would never have more power than the arbitrators.

    However, the arbitrators were godlike figures, and Legendary powerhouses were like insignificant ants to them. How could they have suddenly intervened with the matters of the insignificant ants!?

    ¡°Why not? If you can step into the Legendary-realm in your twenties, you might be valued by the arbitrators as well. Unfortunately, think about it, you¡¯ve been doing nothing except causing trouble every day since you reached level-19. Since when have you ever studied magic properly and behaved yourself? You don¡¯t even have any hopes of entering the Legendary-realm, what¡¯s there for you to be proud of? Do you think you¡¯re invincible just because you¡¯ve defeated a few Archmages!?¡± Leddings barked in anger. Regardless of his infuriation, Gerosso was still his student who had great talent in magic. There was hope of him entering the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°Yes, Teacher, I¡¯ll definitely, I¡¯ll definitely step into the Legendary-realm!¡± Gerosso crouched on the ground with his head lowered and his fists clenched. There was a trace of indignation in his eyes. However, he knew that it was simply impossible for him to take revenge this time, because Lin Li was protected by the arbitrator.

    ¡°Okay, good that you have that determination. The matters here have been settled. It¡¯s time for us to go back,¡± Leddings said with fatigue.

    Gerosso didn¡¯t have time to rest that day. Leddings took his proud disciple with him, and quietly left the Sky Garden without bidding farewell to anyone. He had no choice, since Leddings¡¯ friends still med him for implicating them. At least for now, no one wanted to see him.

    After the regr meeting, Lin Li didn¡¯t head back to the Tower of Dusk immediately, and instead stayed behind for a few more days in the Sky Garden.

    On one hand, he wanted to learn more about the Supreme Council through Andoine¡¯s introductions. After all, even if his identity as the fourth arbitrator was still kept a secret, there was plenty for him to learn and understand as a newly promoted councilor.

    On the other hand, he wanted to ask the three arbitrators for some advice about the Sanctuary-realm. The three of them were Sanctuary powerhouses who were extremely experienced in the Sanctuary-realm. Although Lin Li had Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, he could not find all the answers he needed in books.

    The three arbitrators each had different understanding and experience of the Sanctuary-realm, and their paths might deviate from or even go against the path that Lin Li was going to take. However, to Lin Li, they were good examples to learn from and great additions to the experience mentioned in the Book of Eternity.

    The three arbitrators, especially Apophis and Chris, had a good impression of Lin Li. They wanted Lin Li to help them shoulder the responsibility of the Supreme Council. It could be said that they treated Lin Li like their sessor; hence, they naturally spared no effort in answering questions.

    However, Lin Li still had to manage the Tower of Dusk, after all, and his identity as the fourth arbitrator still had to be kept a secret. Hence, he couldn¡¯t make it too obvious. Just like the other councilors who attended the meeting, he felt that it was time to leave after staying in the Sky Garden for another 10 days.

    A few days of studying definitely didn¡¯t allow Lin Li to make an obvious breakthrough in level. The Sanctuary-realm was the process of a human transforming into a god. The difference between each rank was enormous.

    Lin Li¡¯sbat power was definitely stronger than that of the average newbie in the Sanctuary-realm since he had the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. However, in order to advance in level, he would have to rely on studying and umting experience. No matter how talented he was in magic, he still needed a long period of time.

    However, the interaction that he had with the arbitrators over the past few days allowed Lin Li to have a clearer understanding of the Sanctuary-realm. With the pointers of the three arbitrators, Lin Li felt like he had cleared many of his doubts.

    Hence, although Lin Li¡¯s level was still the same, some of the problems that he might encounter on the path in the Sanctuary-realm in the future had been removed, thus making his journey much smoother.

    On the day of his departure, Lin Li bade farewell to the three arbitrators, and met with President Joey and President Hahnar. Mason and Orrin who had been studying in the Core Library had also left on that day. They were preparing to return to their respective Guilds of Magic with their teachers.

    ¡°Haha! Felic, look at me. How do I look? I¡¯m already a level-17 Archmage now. I¡¯m one big step closer to the Legendary-realm! The Core Library is impressive, I learned so many new things.¡± As soon as Mason saw Lin Li, he rattled on incessantly without hiding his excitement.

    ¡°Idiot, you¡¯re daydreaming again,¡± Orrin, who stood beside him, said in a cold voice, not saving him any face.

    ¡°You!! Hmph, I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you. Why don¡¯t we have a contest to see who can step into the Legendary-realm first?¡± Mason had advanced by a level in the Core Library, but he didn¡¯t expect Orrin to have advanced by a level as well, thus suppressing him.

    The two of them had studied in the Core Library for the past several days, and each of them had advanced by one level. However, it wasn¡¯t because the Core Library was so magical that it allowed them to advance effortlessly by a level in a few days. It was mainly because they were both talented in magic. When they reached Gerosso¡¯s age, they might not necessarily be inferior to him in terms of strength.

    The two of them already had a certain amount of umtion in their respective levels, and even if they hadn¡¯t studied in the Core Library, they would have definitely advanced in a year or two. The true value of the studying they had done over the past days was actually a proper guide to their future path in the pursuit of magic, simr to the guidance that the three arbitrators had given Lin Li. Of course, whether or not they could enter the Legendary-realm in the future was still dependent on the effort they put in.

    However, no matter what, Hahnar and Joey were naturally ted after seeing their students advancing in level by an obvious margin. They kept thanking Lin Li.

    Mason¡¯s teacher, Joey, was particrly grateful. Due to his inability to step into the Legendary-realm, the Chevan City Guild of Magic was now reduced to the point where even pirates dared to bully them. If it wasn¡¯t for the deterrence of the Supreme Council, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to continue living in Chevan City.

    Hence, Joey pinned all his hopes on Mason, hoping that he would one day step into the Legendary-realm and make the Guild of Magic prosper again. With Mason¡¯s current strength after advancing and taking another step towards the Legendary-realm, Joey was naturally overjoyed.

    In fact, the situation that Joey was facing in the Guild of Magic of Chevan City was the same as Hahnar¡¯s Guild¡¯s of Magic in Rotterdam. However, due to the fact that Hahnar had entered the Legendary-realm not long ago, their situation became a little better.

    That was one of the problems that the three arbitrators and Lin Li had talked about before. Magic civilization seemed to be thriving in Anril as there was an increased number of people wanting to learn magic. However, the quality was getting worse and worsepared to the Dark Age. After more than 1,300 years of development, not only had there been no new Sanctuary-mage, the Legendary-realm had even be the pinnacle of magic in the opinion of many. It was undoubtedly a devastating thing.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less about that problem now. If it had been easy to solve, the three arbitrators would have already done it. Hence, he only replied to Joey¡¯s and Hahnar¡¯s thanks out of courtesy. He then walked to the Teleportation Portal while chatting with them.

    When Lin Li came, it was Arbitrator Chris who brought him to the Sky Garden using space magic. The space magic for transmission could only be cast by Sanctuary powerhouses. The other councilors would still have to rely on the four fixed teleportation magic spells to get to and from the Sky Garden.

    Lin Li himself had learned that magic spell, and with his understanding of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, and the Space Laws in his Space Robe, he still had no major problems using it. However, since he could use Legendary-level Teleportation Arrays, he didn¡¯t bother putting in the effort.

    Apart from the councilors who had specifically targeted Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk during the meeting and left early for fear of retaliation from Lin Li, just like Leddings, the rest only left now. It was mainly because they wanted to let themselves and their students stay in the Supreme Council¡¯s library to study for a few more days.

    The four Teleportation Portals corresponded to four cities located in the Fn Kingdom. Lin Li andpany were headed to the Teleportation Portal that led to the nna Guild of Magic. The other councilors who lived far away from the nna Guild of Magic would choose other Teleportation Portals.

    Previously, Lin Li had learned that the Chevan City, where Mason lived, was being attacked by a group of pirates, and had to rely on the support of the New Crescent City Guild of Magic to barely persist. At that time, Lin Li had said that he could support the Chevan City Guild of Magic with a few Magical Crystal Cannons and a batch of magical crystals.

    There would be absolutely no problem for the Magical Crystal Cannons to attack the pirates. The ships on the sea were not as flexible as humans, and even humans couldn¡¯t escape the attacksunched by the Magical Crystal Cannons, let alone the pirate ships.

    Mason originally thought that Lin Li had only said those words to provoke Gerosso, and thus did not mention it to his teacher, Joey. After all, he knew that each Magical Crystal Cannon was worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, and the gift of a few Magical Crystal Cannons plus a batch of magical crystals was something that Guilds of Magic could not just give away freely.

 Chapter 919 - Calamity

    <h4>Chapter 919: Cmity</h4>

    As the headquarters of all Guilds of Magic, the nna Guild of Magic could afford that batch of supplies and resources, but they would definitely be reluctant to give it away, not to mention the Tower of Dusk that had just been established a few years ago.

    However, Lin Li was mentioning that matter to Mason¡¯s teacher, President Joey, at this moment. They would be heading to the nna Guild of Magic, and there were Magical Crystal Cannons and magical crystals in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm. Hence, there was no need for Lin Li to move them over from the Breezy ins at all. He could just let President Joey bring the things back this time.

    At first, Mason was still worried about how he should exin this to his teacher. After all, it was because of him that the New Crescent City might stop providing aid. However, when Lin Li mentioned this issue again, Mason and Orrin finally realized that he hadn¡¯t been kidding earlier on.

    President Joey knew that the Tower of Dusk possessed the Tera Mine which was bringing it almost endless wealth. However, he was still very shocked that Lin Li could offer such a generous amount of supplies to aid Chevan City for free, all because he had been roommates with Mason before!

    President Joey didn¡¯t know Lin Li well, but he knew that the arbitrator wouldn¡¯t think highly of a nobody. He also knew the situation his faction was in now, so he didn¡¯t reject any further[1], and thanked Lin Li continuously while forcing down his immense joy.

    Just as Lin Li was talking with them while walking slowly towards the Teleportation Portal, hundreds of translucent organisms suddenly shot down from the skies at the edge of the Sky Garden.

    These organisms looked like crystal clear water balls, making light refract upon passing through them. Some of themnded on the Teleportation Portal. A bright light shone from the portal, and the portal was destroyed instantly following a loud explosion.

    For most of these translucent organisms, they changed their direction immediately uponnding, and rushed towards the mages closest to the Teleportation Portal. In the process of shooting down, these organisms¡¯ bodies had changed into almost human-like figures by the time they got close to the mages.

    Joey and Hahnar gasped, ¡°It¡¯s the Cmity! Why is it happening now?!¡±

    Aftering to the Sky Garden these few days, Lin Li had quite a bit of understanding of the Supreme Council now. The Cmity that Macklin had talked about wasn¡¯t actually a natural disaster, but rather these translucent organisms invading the Sky Garden¡ªthe Souls of The Dead that the High Elves had left behind.

    This Sky Castle had originally belonged to the High Elves. Although Geresco had snatched it and wiped out all the High Elves in the city, there were still many High Elven Souls of The Dead left behind. These Souls of The Dead had already lost their sense of identity, and had forgotten the pride and honor that belonged to the High Elves. They hid all around the Sky Castle out of instinct.

    These Souls of The Dead were extremely different from Vengeful Spirits. They didn¡¯t possess a strong death aura, and were actually products of the High Elves¡¯ unwavering will and blood power. The way they umted strength was also not through engulfing soul fire like the Undead creatures, but rather through converting the omnipresent magical elements into their own mana, just like mages.

    Whenever these Souls of The Dead had umted enough strength, they were driven by their instinct to attack the Sky Garden. For the past 1,300-odd years, the attacks had never ceased. This had caused huge damage to the Supreme Council initially, and thus the mages called it the Cmity.

    After some time, the Supreme Council gradually figured out the patterns behind their attacks. Thus, they made preparations before each attack, and reduced the losses to a minimum. The Cmity was even used as a trial for the mages in the Supreme Council. It was for this reason that the three arbitrators didn¡¯t step in and destroy these Souls of The Deadpletely.

    However, the timing of this Cmity seemed to have disregarded the patterns that the Supreme Council had found out. Its scale was alsorger than those recorded in history, almost simr in intensity as the first few times. Out of the Souls of The Dead, there were tens of Legendary-level ones, and the rest were all approaching Legendary-level.

    Souls of The Dead lower than Legendary-level didn¡¯t really pose a threat. The fact that it was called a Cmity was because of the Legendary-level Souls of The Dead, who had inherited all the merits of the High Elves. Although they had lost their bodies, they could now use nomological power with greater ease than before.

    Although these Legendary-level Souls of The Dead were simr in strengthpared to mages of the same level, they could integrate themselves into the world¡¯s rules. That was already a Sanctuary-level ability; the only difference was in the level of strength. Thus, a Legendary-level mage was no match for a Legendary-level Soul of The Dead at all.

    If the councilors of the Supreme Council hadn¡¯t left, there would probably have been enough people to deal with a Cmity of such scale. However, many councilors had left one by one. The remaining councilors had almost all chosen various Teleportation Portals based on their needs, so the strength of the council had been spread out.

    Like wolves eyeing their prey, the Souls of The Dead swarmed towards the mages standing closest to the Teleportation Portals. Even when facing Archmages who were rtively lower in power, the Souls of The Dead didn¡¯t give them any chance.

    Standing in front of Lin Li were the councilors from Rosen¡¯s faction and their students. Although they hadn¡¯t made their opinions known directly during the meeting like Leddings and Canuman, so they didn¡¯t need to worry about Lin Li revenging them, they still felt nervous that they were standing so close to Lin Li, and wanted to leave immediately.

    However, those councilors didn¡¯t expect the Cmity toe just as they were about to step into the Teleportation Portal. Those councilors were all Legendary-mages, so they reacted speedily and used defense magic to protect themselves. However, their students weren¡¯t so fast.

    Of course, it was evident what the oue would be for an Archmage when facing thebined attack of several Legendary-level Souls of The Dead and many more level-18 or 19 ones whether or not he was prepared. The Archmages following their teachers didn¡¯t even have time to shriek before being engulfed by the swarm.

    Meanwhile, their teachers could only watch their prideful students being engulfed by the swarm helplessly since they were struggling to protect even themselves. In fact, they didn¡¯t manage to sustain for long, either. In less than a second, the Legendary-level Souls of The Dead had prated the Elemental Shields of these level-20 or 21 Legendary-mages.

    For Lin Li and Joey, these High Elven Souls of The Dead didn¡¯t even stop at all from invading the Sky Garden, destroying the Teleportation Portals, and engulfing the Legendary-mages and their students to pouncing towards them.

    Joey and his team were stunned, and their faces turned pale, especially after seeing those in front of them being engulfed by the Souls of The Dead almost instantly.

    Joey was only a level-19 Archmage, while Hahnar had just reached Legendary-realm not long ago. With their knowledge of Lin Li, he had only reached Legendary-realm two or three years ago. As such, Joey thought that his team¡¯s power was simr to those in front of them. Even though they had a bit more time to react, that wouldn¡¯t change the oue.

    Just then, the rm in the Sky Castle rang. The mages at all ces rushed towards the Sky Garden to help. However, being the Sky Castle of the High Elves, the Sky Garden was so vast that the mages could only arrive in a few minutes at their maximum speed.

    Meanwhile, at the Eternal Tower, Chairman Andoine and Deputy Chairman Rosen had also gotten the news of the Cmity. After knowing that the location of the attack was at the Teleportation Portal to nna Guild of Magic, Andoine didn¡¯t dare to hesitate even a second.

    When Lin Li hade to bid farewell just now, Andoine had heard him say that he would be going to the nna Guild of Magic. Given that not a long time had passed, Andoine was almost certain that Lin Li was among those facing the attack.

    Rosen had the same guess as Andoine. He was even a little d at this news, hoping that the Souls of The Dead could kill Lin Li. However, he didn¡¯t want the arbitrators to think that Lin Li¡¯s death was due to his incapability in rescuing him.

    Andoine and Rosen held their magic staffs and flew in Lin Li¡¯s direction. When they arrived, the High Elven Souls of The Dead had just engulfed those councilors, and were rushing towards Lin Li and hispanions.

    Seeing the power of those Souls of The Dead, Andoine got more anxious. Although he knew that Lin Li was stronger than he was, there were dozens of Legendary Souls of The Dead in this swarm. These Souls of The Dead were skilled at group attacks. Even a mage at the peak of Legendary-level couldn¡¯t take thebined attack of dozens of Legendary-level Souls of The Dead.

    Although Rosen was rather disappointed that Lin Li was still alive now, he hid his disappointment deep in his heart, and pretended to be very anxious. When he saw the swarm of Souls of The Dead pouncing towards Lin Li, a glimmer of hope arose in him again.

    After numerous Cmities, there shouldn¡¯t be more than 10 Legendary-level Souls of The Dead in total, while those approaching Legendary-level should be around 100-200. However, their numbers had more than doubled in this Cmity.

    In the face of a Cmity of such scale, even Rosen was shocked. He couldn¡¯t think of any that matched the scale of this one. Those Legendary-level Souls of The Dead made use of their high integration of nomological power, making them almost incarnations of the rules themselves. This was unmatched by any Legendary-mage of the same level.

    Rosen spected that even if Andoine and he rushed over to help, they would most likely not be able to match these Legendary Souls of The Dead. With the swarm of Souls of The Dead rushing over like the tides, Lin Li and hispanions would be engulfed instantly. Nobody would be able to save them. Nobody!

    Although Joey and Hahnar had already cast their strongest defense spells, every one of them could clearly feel how fragile their defense was in face of these Souls of The Dead. It was like a bubble that could be easily popped.

    Any Legendary-level Soul of The Dead couldn¡¯t be dealt with easily with Joey¡¯s and Hahnar¡¯s power, not to mention a swarm of them. Everyone¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet because they knew they had slim chances of escaping this time.

    Meanwhile, Lin Li didn¡¯t cast any defense magic. Instead, he gently lifted his hand and pointed towards a spot of nothingness. Almost instantly, those aggressive Souls of The Dead, as well as the spells the mages were casting, froze into stillness.

    Maybe it was a second, or even less than that, but Joey and Hahnar all felt as if their hearts had stopped beating for a long time. They could clearly see those Souls of The Dead¡¯s twisted and hideous faces outside of the magic shields as well as their w marks left on the magic shields.

    Next, the mana wave around Lin Li¡¯s body that seemed so insignificant just a moment before suddenly erupted like a volcano. The mana waves rushed out in all directions, and even the space around started to bend. No one could describe how powerful it was, because its power had gone beyond the limits of their imagination. It was like looking at the peak of a mountain from the foot, but only seeing the mist surrounding the mountainside.

    With the mana waves, an extremely glorious, sacred, and powerful aurapressed this space. At that moment, Joey even saw fear on the grimacing faces of the Souls of The Dead.

    After that, the Souls of The Dead who had just engulfed several Legendary-mages and Archmages seemed to have experienced some great pulling force from their surroundings. They couldn¡¯t let out a sound, but shrieks of pain had already overwhelmed the depths of their souls.

    [1] It¡¯s polite in China to reject favors and such once or twice first, so the author prolly implies this.

 Chapter 920 - Sanctuary Aura

    <h4>Chapter 920: Sanctuary Aura</h4>

    All the Souls of The Dead were shredded into pieces by a terrifying and intangible power instantaneously, and then into smaller pieces until they disappeared from the world. If not for the destroyed Teleportation Portal and dried up corpses from earlier on, everyone would think that this was just a nightmare they had dreamed.

    Andoine and Rosen, who hade to rescue Lin Li¡¯s team, immediately copsed to the ground at the moment Lin Li released the groundbreaking aura. The aura annulled their Power of Flight, and they almost felt as if it was sphemy to use the Power of Flight in front of Lin Li.

    While others might not know why, Andoine and Rosen had interacted with the three arbitrators before. They immediately recognized that the aura they had felt from Lin Li was extremely simr to what they had felt from the arbitrators! It was as if heaven and earth followed his will, and the World Laws resolved around this single person irresistibly.

    Could it be he had already reached Sanctuary-realm?! Thinking of that, Andoine and Rosen were stunned.

    Andoine still remembered that when he had picked up Lin Li in the mountains a few years ago, Lin Li was still a magic-illiterate who didn¡¯t even know how to meditate, and wasn¡¯t even considered a mage apprentice. Although Andoine could see that Lin Li was extremely talented in magic, probably more so than Geresco, he couldn¡¯t imagine that Lin Li would¡¯ve reached Sanctuary-realm so fast.

    After all, even the God of Mages, Geresco, only reached Sanctuary-realm at 30. That was coupled with his incredible talent in magic, belonging to an esteemed family of mages, and receiving high-quality magic education from a young age. On the other hand, Lin Li only used a few years to reach the peak of magic abilities from being an amateur. That speed was something Geresco couldn¡¯tpare to.

    Other than shock, Andoine felt more pleasantly surprised. After all, he was the one who had found Lin Li and introduced him to the world of magic. Seeing that his student had achieved so much, Andoine naturally felt a sense of aplishment.

    Rosen, who was standing beside Andoine, looked extremely glum. Much as he didn¡¯t want to believe that Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm, he couldn¡¯t find another exnation for the suppressive aura he had just experienced. Now he finally understood why the three arbitrators thought so highly to Lin Li. It was because Lin Li had already reached the same level as the arbitrators.

    If Rosen had known Lin Li had reached Sanctuary-realm, he wouldn¡¯t have suggested that proposal no matter what. He had thought that with his status in the Supreme Council, he could crush Lin Li like an ant, and didn¡¯t treat him seriously at all. It turned out that Rosen was the ant! Recalling what happened during the meeting that day, Rosen felt like he was a clown, utterly disgusted by what he had done.

    Rosen felt like he had aged a lot at that moment. He didn¡¯t have any desire to fight for power anymore. This wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to, but rather because he knew everything would be futile. The difference in abilities between Lin Li and him couldn¡¯t be made up for by sheer trickery or plotting.

    Moreover, with the rtionship between Lin Li and Andoine, Rosen was clear that he couldn¡¯t fight with Andoine at all given that Andoine had a Sanctuary-realm supporter.

    Not to mention fighting with Andoine, Rosen could even guess why the three arbitrators chose to meet Lin Li. Once Lin Li stabilized his standing in the Supreme Council, Rosen could totally imagine how miserable his own life would be.

    Unlike Andoine and Rosen, Joey and those around Lin Li didn¡¯t think about Lin Li reaching the Sanctuary-realm at all, even though they were equally shaken by the aura Lin Li had released just now. After all, Hahnar had only just stepped into the Legendary-realm, while the others were all Archmages. Thus, they didn¡¯t have a clear understanding of what Sanctuary-realm power looked like.

    However, Joey and the rest were still very shocked by the power Lin Li had disyed. With a gentle tap of his finger, tens of Legendary-level Souls of The Dead as well hundreds of close-to-Legendary-level Souls of The Dead all perished in a sh. This kind of power was unimaginable to these people. As for whether it was the peak of Legendary-level or Sanctuary-realm power, it wasn¡¯t too different to them.

    They recollected what had happened when Canuman challenged Lin Li at the hall. It was then that they finally realized why Lin Li acted so harsh. Judging from Lin Li¡¯s power just now, Lin Li could have easily defeated Canuman even if Arbitrator Apophis hadn¡¯t appeared.

    ¡°Felic!¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li had dealt with all the Souls of The Dead and retracted his mana and aura, Andoine hurried towards him and stared at him with a weird expression. Heined, ¡°Youd, when have you reached this level? I didn¡¯t even know about it, and have worried about you for a long time!¡±

    Lin Li rubbed his nose and smiled at Andoine without appearing any different from before. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s all because of your good teaching as well as a little luck on my side.¡±

    When Rosen came to Andoine¡¯s side, he looked moreposed, but he didn¡¯t say anything. This wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to say anything, but rather because he couldn¡¯t totally control his veryplicated feelings. Even if he were to say any words of ttery, it would inevitably bring out his true emotions. As such, it was better to stay silent.

    Luckily, Andoine didn¡¯t talk long to Lin Li. They didn¡¯t talk about the Sanctuary-realm in too much detail, and only briefly talked about the situation of the Cmity. If not, it would be too awkward for Rosen standing at the side.

    After Andoine and Rosen left, Lin Li and Joey¡¯s team came to the Teleportation Portal. Everything that happened just now seemed only like an interlude to this journey, but everyone now looked at Lin Li with more awe and respect.

    Only the mana source of the Teleportation Portal was damaged by the Souls of The Dead. This wasn¡¯t a big problem to Lin Li at all. After recing the mana source with a random magical crystal he had taken out, the Teleportation Portal was back online.

    With a spark, Lin Li and the team disappeared behind the Teleportation Portal. At that moment, the mages who had heard the rm reached the Teleportation Portal. Unfortunately, no one saw the scene where Lin Li killed off all the Souls of The Dead single-handedly.

    ¡°Who has released the aura just now? Did the arbitratorse?¡± A middle-aged Legendary-mage stood next to the corpses of those unfortunate mages. If not for these corpses, he would have thought the rm was false.

    ¡°That¡¯s too powerful! It must have been lords arbitrators. If not, how can someone chase away those Souls of The Dead so quickly?¡± Another Legendary-mage looked around. He didn¡¯t sense any remnant of battle at all, so those Souls of The Dead had to have been chased away by absolute power. Out of the entire Supreme Council, he couldn¡¯t think of anyone other than the three arbitrators who possessed such immense power.

    ¡°I saw President Felic of the Guild of Magic in the Breezy ins walking in this direction just now. Could he be the one...¡±

    ¡°Impossible! The aura just now definitely belonged to a Sanctuary powerhouse. It¡¯s possible that the arbitrators had struck because of him. He¡¯s so lucky! With the arbitrators¡¯ protection, he may even be a high-ranking councilor someday.¡±

    No matter what was being said in the Sky Garden, Lin Li and the team had arrived at the Teleportation Portal in nna Guild of Magic. Macklin, who had been teleported here earlier, was already standing outside of the Teleportation Portal. He walked towards Lin Li immediately after seeing him appear, convincing Lin Li to stay for a few days no matter what.

    Seeing that Lin Li and Macklin were very close to each other, even cracking bad jokes about each other, Joey¡¯s and Hahnar¡¯s facial muscles twitched. Before this, they wouldn¡¯t have felt so strongly about this, as they thought that Lin Li was just a President of a Guild of Magic just like them.

    However, it was different now. The aura that Lin Li had released during the Cmity felt as if it was heaven¡¯s will, and was still fresh in their memory. Looking at Lin Li joking casually with Macklin, they couldn¡¯t associate the two images together. It was as if seeing an elegant and sacred goddess at one moment, and then seeing her dig her toes and spurting vulgarities the next. That strong contrast almost made them want to vomit blood.

    Although he was chatting with Macklin, Lin Li didn¡¯t forget about his promise to Joey. He asked Macklin for a suitable ce, and took out five Magical Crystal Cannons and a few boxes full of magical crystals from his Ring of Endless Storm.

    Even Macklin¡¯s eyes shone upon seeing all these things. Although nna Guild of Magic was quite wealthy, most of their resources were directed towards training mages. Thus, items like the Magical Crystal Cannons were still considered luxury items for them.

    As for Joey and Mason, they knew Lin Li wasn¡¯t boasting when he promised them the items. However, the shock they felt when seeing these items in front of their own eyes was still immense, and they couldn¡¯t control their excitement.

    As a Guild of Magic, it would be a lie to say that they weren¡¯t angry that they were constantly harassed by a group of lowly pirates. However, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it given the limited ability of the two guilds. Not to mention the pirates, even the other factions in Chevan City had slowly stopped to respect the Guild of Magic because of their incapability.

    If used well, these five Magical Crystal Cannons would be enough to exterminate these piratespletely. They could also pose a threat to other factions, securing the guild¡¯s utmost status in Chevan City. Although it wasn¡¯t too honorable to use an external item as a threat, at least the mages in the guild wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by the outside world frequently, and could research magic in peace.

    Seeing that Lin Li was so generous, Macklin had to do something to help too. After all, nna Guild of Magic was also the headquarters to all Guilds of Magic. How could it just sit back when a guild under it was bullied? As such, Macklin remarked with assurance that the nna Council would send mages to guard the Magical Crystal Cannons when Joey and his team were transporting them back, and also to help the Chevan City Guild of Magic annihte the pirates.

    After Joey and his team left for their respective guilds, Lin Li still remained at the nna Guild of Magic. However, as there was still much for him to attend to, he only stayed for three days before bidding farewell to Aldwin.

    It had only been 10-odd days since Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk for the Sky Tower together with Arbitrator Chris. However, the change in the Tower of Dusk was obvious.

    The news that Lin Li had reached Sanctuary-realm had been quickly dismissed as a hoax at the so-called centers of the magic civilization, but it had be widespread in the Breezy ins. After the meeting held at the Tower of Duskst time, countlessrge to medium-scaled factions had been subdued. Under such circumstances, no one would doubt the authenticity of this piece of news. If Lin Li wasn¡¯t a Sanctuary powerhouse, how could he subdue all these powerful factions?

    Now, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses in the Breezy ins had reached a new high that no other faction could ever dream of exceeding. No faction dared to harass the Tower of Dusk at all. Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t really ruin the other factions¡¯ businesses. He still chose coboration as his main strategy. After all, the Tower of Dusk still couldn¡¯t monopolize the Breezy ins¡¯ businesses given its current level of development.

    However, the economic aspect wouldn¡¯t change much in a mere dozen days. One could only see an increase in the business agreements signed. The most obvious difference in the Tower of Dusk had to do with the Guild of Magic¡¯s members.

    All around the Tower of Dusk, residential areas were built for the mages to reside in. When Lin Li had left, less than a quarter of the residential areas were upied. However, when Lin Li came back over a dozen dayster, the number of mages living there had increased exponentially.

    Before that, the mages joining the Tower of Dusk were mostly Dnd locals, and only asionally came from other areas. This was amon phenomenon as any faction would try to retain talents within their own territory. Thus, fighting for territory wasn¡¯t just for resources, but also talents indispensable for the development of a faction.

    Although the Tower of Dusk was already quite famous before this, and offered excellent treatment to its mages, many mages still chose to stay in their local factions. Why was that so?

 Chapter 921 - Armor

    <h4>Chapter 921: Armor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The major factions weren¡¯t fools. Obviously, they wouldn¡¯t allow talents to leave their own territories. Other than making more attractive offers, sealing off information and spreading false rumors were effective ways to retain talents.

    Moreover, not everyone was like Lin Li, who didn¡¯t have any friends or family in this world. Even if the local factions didn¡¯t threaten a mage with his family members¡¯ lives, he would certainly consider this possibility. After all, a mage was still a human. As long as he could get enough money and fame from his hometown, he wouldn¡¯t try his luck at the Tower of Dusk.

    But all this was different now. First, the Tower of Dusk had be the leader of almost the entire Breezy ins, where all factions had submitted to it. Many of these factions had often spread false rumors in their own territories about the Tower of Dusk before, but none dared to do that now.

    They did just the opposite. After the meeting, the first thing the factions did was to try to erase all the false rumors they had spread about the Tower of Dusk. Since the Tower of Dusk had a Sanctuary powerhouse, what good would it do them if news of these rumors spread to the Tower of Dusk?

    Without the sealing off of information and spreading of rumors by other factions, coupled with the fact that the President of the Tower of Dusk was a rare Sanctuary powerhouse, mages across the entire Breezy ins flocked to the Tower of Dusk. Any mage who had confidence in their magic talent came to try their luck. After all, the prospects of following a Sanctuary powerhouse were vastly different from following a Legendary powerhouse.

    While there weren¡¯t any restrictions for joining a Guild of Magic other than proving that one was a mage and taking a level-sorting test, these mages were only considered members of the guild. They didn¡¯t have to do anything for the guild, and could even join other factions. Of course, that would mean they wouldn¡¯t get much help from the guild, either.

    On the other hand, not everyone could truly join the Tower of Dusk, as there was an extremely strict magic affinity test mages needed to pass before they be members. Even so, the number of mages in the Tower of Dusk doubled within a short span of 10-plus days. It wasn¡¯t impossible that all the talented mages in the Breezy ins would be monopolized by the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    After briefly understanding the situation the Tower of Dusk was in, Lin Li shed to the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk without informing anyone. However, he found people in a fight just as he had reached the atrium of the Eternal Furnace.

    While a fight wasn¡¯t strange, what was strange was that the parties involved were Captain n and an odd-looking guy. That guy¡¯s entire body was covered in thick armor, making him look like a heavily armed human foot soldier. Although the guy wore a horned helmet, he barely reached n¡¯s chest in height, making him look like a heavily armed dwarf.

    When Lin Li appeared, the two stopped fighting. The heavily armed dwarf loudly yelled, ¡°Felic, you¡¯re back! Come and see my new product!¡±

    Judging from that sharp voice, Lin Li finally realized that it was Angno inside this garish tin can.

    ¡°Is this why you¡¯ve asked me for magical metal?¡± Seeing that Angno had raised the visor of his helmet, Lin Li felt defeated by Angno. He had asked Lin Li for lots of precious magical metal before. Lin Li thought that he was going to make something amazing, but it turned out to be this armor!

    Angno proudly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t belittle my creation! I¡¯ve experimented many times. Even the full blow of a Legendary powerhouse won¡¯t be able to break the armor¡¯s defense!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t oppose your making armor, but can you have a little standard for beauty?¡± Lin Li rubbed his forehead, and couldn¡¯t bear to look at it any longer. Other armor was ck, silver, or even gold, but Angno¡¯s was filled with all the colors of the rainbow and more...

    The horned helmet was green, the horns white, the visor red, the breastte yellow with purple, the pauldrons blue, the arm armors yellow... Heaven knew how Angno managed to mix all these colors! If not for how perfectly the pieces fitted one another, Lin Li would have spected if the armor was made taking bits and pieces from different suits of armor, hence varying in color.

    Angno waved his hands, confused, and remarked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? This armor contains all the colors in the world. It¡¯s the most elegant and beautiful one that ever existed!¡±

    Now, Lin Li finally understood why the High Elves had exterminated the entire goblin poption. Lin Li didn¡¯t want to waste more time on the color of the armor, and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you have an Alchemy Colossus? Why are you wearing armor?¡±

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried that Angno would be crushed by the armor¡¯s weight. From the fight with n just now, Lin Li could see that the interior of the armor made use of the same magic waves as the Alchemy Colossus. It could even be called an Alchemy Colossus armor.

    ¡°No, I need time to summon the Alchemy Colossus. It¡¯s too dangerous being with you,d. I can¡¯t put my own safety in the hands of other people. Don¡¯t belittle this armor. Even if I fight with a Sanctuary powerhouse, this armor will buy me time to enter the Alchemy Colossus.¡± Angno was evidently scared by what happened in Brahere¡¯s mausoleum.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you change its color?¡± Lin Li tried to convince Angno to forsake his perception thatbining all colors was beauty.

    However, Angno shook his head firmly, and replied, ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t this beautiful? You have the same artistic taste as that Osric. I¡¯m utterly disappointed!¡±

    Evidently, Angno had contemted painting his Alchemy Colossus just like this armor, but that butcher Osric wasn¡¯t as easy-going as Lin Li.

    ¡°...Okay, anything you like.¡± Lin Li waved his hands helplessly, but decided in his heart that he would reduce the instances he brought thisd out to a minimum. It was just too embarrassing!

    Seeing that Lin Li agreed, Angno was extremely excited. He dropped down his visor, and ran back to n to test the armor¡¯s functionality. Since Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, Angno didn¡¯t dare to oppose him. He couldn¡¯t believe that his little insistence had made Lin Li agree to his choice.

    Seeing Angno¡¯s reaction, Lin Li immediately realized that the wretched goblin would¡¯ve immediately changed the color of that disgusting armor if he had just red at him. However, he had already agreed, and it wasn¡¯t nice to go back on his word. He could only try to avoid seeing it now.

    Upon leaving the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li summoned all the higher-ups of the Tower of Dusk, and soon understood the Tower of Dusk¡¯s recent developments. To put it simply, their business was getting bigger and more talents wereing in.

    Potions and forging were the two pirs of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s industries. Now, their scale of production had expanded considerably. This expansion was brought about by the increase in demand after the other factions stopped obstructing them, making their business easier than before. A huge influx of cash had be the driving force for the Tower of Dusk reaching new heights.

    In the aspect of talent, Lin Li had seen an increase of 200-300 elite-level mages. These mages could form a mage legion after a certain amount of training.

    However, it had also brought problems. Out of these mages, there were some who were affiliated with certain factions, such as heirs of mage families and direct disciples of the leaders of other factions. Gavin couldn¡¯t make a decision as to what arrangements to make for these people. It didn¡¯t seem suitable to keep them out, but also not safe to ept them.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t find it a problem, though. He resolved the problem by telling them to treat everyone equally. Given the fact that Lin Li was already in the Sanctuary-realm now, did he need to worry about trickery? After all, he wasn¡¯t boasting that anyone below the Sanctuary-realm was now like an ant to him. No one dared to offend a Sanctuary powerhouse, as that meant death. As for other Sanctuary powerhouses, they were too noble to do something like that.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t need to deal with the management of the Tower of Dusk personally now. He only needed toy out the direction for Gavin and his team. After all, Lin Li didn¡¯t have time to waste on doing these trivial butplex things.

    The date Geresco had calcted was nearing. Although Tutankhamun had mentioned that one could seal spacetime rifts upon reaching the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li didn¡¯t believe that it would be as simple as chanting a curse after experiencing the Eternal Darkness Altar¡¯s great rift.

    Darkness High Priest Rogge had mentioned before that every great rift contained extremely powerful creatures. These creatures were waiting for the rift topletely open so that they could rush into Anril. How could they just sit and watch someone seal it? Moreover, Lin Li remembered that Rogge had mentioned that out of all the rifts Geresco had calcted, there was one that even Rogge feared.

    Although Rogge suffered badly in the hands (paws) of me Dragon Lothar, he was still much stronger than Lin Li, who had just reached the Sanctuary-realm. For something that even Rogge feared, Lin Li didn¡¯t think that he had the ability to provoke it with his current power, even with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    It was a necessity for Lin Li to obtain the Stars of Fury before sealing the spacetime rifts. However, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t feel safe with just the Stars of Fury. After all, he couldn¡¯tpare to the Immortal King. Even with the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it would still be impossible for him to ughter an existence like the Dragon of Destruction.

    Although Lin Li had experienced many soul-stirring moments aftering to Anril, he still feared death. Thus, Lin Li hoped to get as much assistance as possible to lower down the risk level of sealing the spacetime rifts before actually doing that.

    After seeing the Sky Castle¡¯s Sky Garden, Lin Li thought of the other Sky Castle that he possessed the control crystal of and could summon anytime. However, he didn¡¯t forget the fact that a powerful Ghost of Highlord Osric remained in that Sky Castle.

    When Lin Li had finished exploring the Sky Castle, that Ghost was at the peak of Legendary-level. After such a long time, coupled with the help of the Psychic Array, Lin Li was certain that it would have reached Sanctuary-realm by now. Moreover, that Ghost was not just any Ghost. Osric¡¯s soul was likely to have fused into it.

    That would be terrifying. As a powerhouse at the peak of Sanctuary-realm, Osric¡¯s soulbined with a Ghost could probably reach the peak of Sanctuary-realm too. After all, it was Osric¡¯s n to fuse that Ghost with the perfect body in his mausoleum after it had matured. That would be thest breakthrough to bing truly immortal. If the Ghost and the perfect body couldn¡¯t reach the peak of Sanctuary-realm, how could they fuse in that final critical step?

    Thus, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t dare to summon the Sky Castle to Anril before dealing with that Ghost. Doing that would bring to Anril a catastrophe even worse than the Retribution Knight Rodhart.

    ¡°Looks like we need to go to the Sky Castle, after all.¡±

    Lin Li believed that fully controlling that Sky Castle would be extremely beneficial, or even critical, to him when sealing the spacetime rifts.

    After all, the Seventh Sky Castle was the strongest Sky Castle out of all the High Elves had built. The Conquering Mageweaths allowed its residents to possess terrifying power simr to the gods¡¯ power. That was something the Ice and Fire Domain in the Eternal Furnace couldn¡¯tpare to.

    Moreover, that was something he had to do sooner orter. Once the Ghost had reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, it was highly likely that the Ghost would try toe to Anril even without Lin Li summoning the Sky Castle. If not, how could it fuse with the perfect body? Now that the Ghost still hadn¡¯t left the Sky Castle, it was either because it wanted to gain control of the Sky Castle, or because it hadn¡¯t reached its maximum potential.

 Chapter 922 - Alchemy Nation

    <h4>Chapter 922: Alchemy Nation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li stayed in the Tower of Dusk for 20 days, and he politely declined all visitors. He focused on strengthening his realm once more. The conversations that he had with the three arbitrators definitely made Lin Li gain a lot of knowledge. Just because he did not advance in level, it did not mean that his strength hadn¡¯t increased. In particr, the use of power in the Sanctuary-realm was the knowledge that Lin Li needed the most now.

    20 dayster, Lin Li himself could feel that thebat power he was able to exert now was absolutely no longerparable to what he had been able to use before. It was actually like a person who possessed a weapon having to learn how to use it and how to exert its power to the fullest. It was like the difference inbat power between a person holding a sword and shing like a madman and a person who had an amazing mastery of swordsmanship. Thebat power exerted by the same sword would be different in his hands.

    After adjusting his state to his best, Lin Li began to consider thebinations of members in his team. His enemy could be near the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and he definitely couldn¡¯t fight him alone. Besides, the Ghost could also deploy the Undead Heaven, which was an ultimate Necromagic spell that would summon countless Undead creatures to fight with him.

    Lin Li definitely wanted to take a group of mages of the Tower of Dusk along with him, as well as a new batch of mages who had joined. He did not expect them to deal with the Ghost, but given their strength, they would definitely be able to do so. At the same time, it would be a good training for the new mages.

    Considering that the other party would summon arge number of Undead creatures, apart from Norfeller and Ujfalusi, his Undead servants, Lin Li decided to bring the Holy Death Knights in the ck Front Fortress along with him. The Death Knights who had Divine Power were undoubtedly the archnemesis of the Undead creatures. Besides, there was already a Retribution Knight amongst the Undead creatures. He reckoned that a few more Retribution Knights might appear after they consumed arge amount of soul fire.

    Next, there was Connoris. If it had been in the past, Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t have taken Connoris to see the Ghost. After all, the perfect body that Connoris was using had been originally prepared for the Ghost by Osric. God knew what kind of changes would¡¯ve happened if the two had met previously.

    However, things were different now. Lin Li had already used the Immortal King¡¯s method to modify the perfect body. Without the previous ws, Connoris¡¯ soul and the perfect body had fusedpletely. Even the Ghost could not take it away.

    ¡°This time, the operation in the Sky Castle is extremely dangerous. The other party is a Ghost at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. I can¡¯t protect you at all.¡±

    Lin Li originally was not nning to take Angno with him, because his colorful armor was too embarrassing. However, Angno overcame his cowardly personality, and his armor seemed to have given him a greater sense of security. No matter how terrifying Lin Li made the Sky Castle out to be, he actually insisted on joining the operation. He even said that Lin Li would be looking down on him and the goblins if he did not let him join the operation. He was bing more and more confident, and Lin Li had no idea who taught him that.

    However, after selecting the people he would be bringing with him to the operation, Lin Li didn¡¯t move immediately. The existence of the Ghost was only one of the problems that Lin Li would face this time. The more important thing was controlling the Sky Castle after getting rid of the Ghost.

    While Lin Li already had the control crystal of the Sky Castle, it was just like a key that meant that he had the rights to control the Sky Castle, and how he could control it was another problem.

    Although the Sky Castle had been explored once back then, and they had also obtained many wonderful things from the Central Tower, the Sky Castle spanned a huge area, and their exploration had actually been quite rushed.

    Initially, Lin Li and the others had nned to continue exploring the other areas aftering out of the Central Tower. However, the Ghost had suddenly awakened. Faced with the powerful Ghost, Lin Li and the rest had had no choice but to leave in a hurry. They had not had the time to explore the Sky Castle in detail at all. Of course, that was a huge pity to everyone else, but to Lin Li, it was a good thing.

    Lin Li did not just imagine the secrets of the Sky Castle. After all, he still had the Eternal Furnace which the Highlord Osric had created by replicating the Sky Castles. Even though the two were worlds apart, there were also simrities.

    After acquiring the Eternal Furnace, Lin Li hadn¡¯t missed any opportunity to study the structures and other aspects of the Eternal Furnace. He could be considered to have obtained many secrets of the Eternal Furnace, especially with the presence of the Guru of Alchemy, Angno. As for whether or not those things could be used in the Sky Castle, no one could be sure, but it would not be wrong to prepare beforehand.

    Apart from that, Lin Li had also specially visited the Ashen Warlock. The Sky Castle belonged to the Immortal King, and the Ashen Warlock was created by the Immortal King. He felt that the two might be rted.

    Finally, once everything was ready, Lin Li set off with his team for the Haiga Mountain Range. Anyone who saw the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team would know that Lin Li was going to make another big move again. However, no one hade to talk about cooperation this time.

    This team was much stronger than the one with the Malfa Family and the Dark de back then. Even though the Haiga Mountain Range was known as one of the forbidden ces in the world of Anril, the menacing Legendary beasts couldn¡¯t stop them from advancing.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s lead, they only took a few days to enter the Haiga Mountain Range, followed by the area where life was forbidden, and the green dragonir. They reached the ce where they had fought the green dragons back then. Recalling the experience that they had back then, Lin Li could not help but feel emotional.

    The Green Dragon King that had made Lin Li and the rest feel hopeless was no longer Lin Li¡¯s match now. Unfortunately, the green dragonir did not have any signs of life at all. The green dragons that had been sent away by the tender Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, had gone somewhere too. It seemed that they had never returned.

    There was a Teleportation Portal at the end of the green dragons¡¯ir. Due to the fact that Lin Li did not know the current situation in the Sky Castle, he did not get the team to teleport in batches, but stood alone in the center of the array formation, and took out the massive control crystal before activating the Teleportation Portal.

    As the Teleportation Portal was activated, the teleportation did not start immediately after the Teleportation Portal on the stone tform lit up. Instead, it gradually began expanding under the power of the control crystal. Once the entire team was shrouded in the light of the Teleportation Portal, everyone immediately vanished.

    Actually, Lin Li could still send the entire team to the Sky Castle using the control crystal of the Sky Castle in the other areas. However, he did not have the teleportation coordinates recorded in the Teleportation Portal. Hence, he could only lead the team to that ce, and obtain the coordinates before using the control crystal.

    Perhaps because of the use of control crystal, the teleportation didn¡¯t feel like they were floating in the chaos of time and space. It simply felt like their surroundings had turned into the Sky Castle in the blink of an eye.

    As soon as the team of the Tower of Dusk appeared in the Sky Castle, they immediately got attacked. Fortunately, Lin Li had prepared for the terrible Ghost. He had long instructed everyone to take precautions. However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, it was not the Ghost and Undead creatures that attacked them. Instead, they were attacked by two massive Alchemy Colossuses.

    Of course, the two Alchemy Colossus could not bepared to Angno¡¯s Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. They seemed somewhat simr to the two Alchemy Colossuses that Lin Li had obtained in the Dragon Mountains in the past. The two Alchemy Colossuses were also beasts which had strength probably nearly equivalent to the Legendary-level.

    Such Alchemy Colossus were actually quite strong in the world of Anril, but they were unfortunately too weak for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    The first to react was the Vampire Norfeller, who was known for his speed. He immediately darted out like a bolt of lightning. Norfeller¡¯s body flickered several times around one Alchemy Colossus, and by the time he returned to the team, the Alchemy Colossus crumbled and copsed onto the ground.

    On the other hand, Ujfalusi had also raised the Skeleton Staff in his hand, and he immediately cast a Death Entanglement spell. A python-like wisp of ck mist darted out of thin air, entangling the other Alchemy Colossus in the blink of an eye. Next, the ck mist was retracted, and the massive body of the Alchemy Colossus began to be warped. It suddenly lost its ability to move as well.

    Norfeller was a powerhouse who was at the peak of level-23, while Ujfalusi was a level-24 Lich. He was definitely an elite powerhouse in Anril. Not to mention, they had spent a long time with Angno, and did know quite a lot about the weaknesses of the Alchemy Colossuses. They could easily deal with two small Alchemy Colossuses.

    At this moment, Lin Li discovered that the Sky Castle was no longer filled with Undead creatures like when he left. Instead, there were two more teams of explorers.

    Lin Li was very familiar with the outfits of the members of one of the team. They were from the Brilliance Shrine andposed of some priests and Pdins. In the Brilliance Shrine, the priests were simr in nature to mages. They could use Holy Light Magic for attacking and healing. The Pdins were wearing regr armament of the Brilliance Shrine. There were some in every parish, and they were forces that maintained order. They were also known as Guardian Knights.

    The members of the other team were dressed specially, and they had a somewhat exotic vibe, which was ratherplicated as well. There were mages, priests, Warriors, and some Alchemy Colossuses. Without a doubt, the Alchemy Colossuses that attacked the Tower of Dusk were from that team.

    ¡°One is a team from the Brilliance Shrine. Could the other one be from the Rotterdam Kingdom?¡± Basel asked in an uncertain tone with a frown.

    ¡°Rotterdam?¡± Upon hearing Basel¡¯s words, Lin Li also immediately remembered that when he was in the Dragon Mountains and destroying the Syer Bandits, he had also acquired two Alchemy Colossuses. At the same time, there were also a few Archmages that seemed to be from Rotterdam Kingdom.

    The Rotterdam Kingdom was said to be located in a ce where the Goblins had lived. Hence, they had discovered many Goblin ruins, which allowed them to gain the alchemical knowledge of the Goblins. Although there were mages and priests in the Rotterdam Kingdom where religion was not a restriction, alchemy was the foundation of their kingdom, and alchemists tended to hold a very high status.

    The Rotterdam Kingdom had always been keeping a rtively low profile in Anril. They almost barely participated in any international affairs. However, they seemed to have a good rtionship with the Dwarf Kingdom. There were many people in Anril who did not know of the existence of the Rotterdam Kingdom or heard of them at all.

    Lin Li inevitably felt a little confused about the appearance of the two teams in the Sky Castle. There were no traces of the Teleportation Portal being used previously. However, he gave it some thought, and remembered that there were four Teleportation Portals in the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council, which led to different ces of the Fn Kingdom. That seemed to be understandable.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team suddenly appeared and got rid of the two Alchemy Colossuses. That simrly attracted the attention of the two teams immediately.

    Right after the two alchemical giants were put down, a blond-haired Pdin wearing magnificent silver armor who was from the Brilliance Shrine pointed his sword towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, and dozens of Pdins immediately dashed out.

    The knights were riding white Longmas<sup>1</sup> and d in full-body silver armor. They were holding Holy Light Cross spears and arranged themselves in a neat formation, getting ready to charge. They darted towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team ferociously.

    At this moment, the team from the Rotterdam had also sent a few Alchemy Colossuses that were glistening with the glow of Alchemy Arrays as they dashed towards the Tower of Dusk. Clearly, the two teams had no intention ofmunicating with the team from the Tower of Dusk, and were determined to annihte the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team that suddenly appeared to take their share of the loot.

    However, at this moment, the other leader of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team, who was Archbishop Martin who¡¯d once invited Lin Li, also recognized the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. The discovery made his heart tense up as he immediately turned around and eximed at the Holy Pdin who gave the orders. ¡°Jeremiah, tell them to stop, that¡¯s the team from the Tower of Dusk!¡±

    Jeremiah sternly said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, I don¡¯t care who the other party is. The interest of the Brilliance Shrine is at stake. Any trespassers are considered sphemy against the Holy Light and will be sanctioned by the Holy Light!¡±

 Chapter 923 - Compensation

    <h4>Chapter 923: Compensation</h4>

    Jeremiah knew about the business dealings that the Tower of Dusk had with the Brilliance Shrine, but in the face of the great temptation of the Sky Castle, all friendship would be secondary. Even the arbitrators of the Brilliance Shrine could be killed, let alone the Tower of Dusk.

    Looking at the menacing Holy Light Pdins, Lin Li kept a straight face, and calmly said, ¡°The new mages of the team, work with the Death Knights and take them down. Try not to harm the rest.¡±

    One reason why Lin Li ordered them not to hurt the rest was because he had some ties with the Brilliance Shrine, and he had also obtained some pointers from Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine. Another reason was that he wanted to train the new mages of the team. Defeating them without hurting them was obviously more difficult than directly exterminating them.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s order, a group of Death Knights immediately broke away from the team and charged towards the Holy Pdins. The new mages of the team quickly formed Magic Arrays and dashed behind the Death Knights.

    Lin Li looked at the two Alchemy Colossuses sent by the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, and said, ¡°Dismantle them.¡±

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi moved towards the several Alchemy Colossuses after receiving the orders. Even though those Alchemy Colossuses were stronger than the previous two, and had reached the Legendary-level, they were nothing to the two Undead servants.

    However, Angno, who was standing behind the two Undead creatures and wearing a colorful armor, began yelling and charged forwards. ¡°Damn it, they actually have the cheek to take this worthless garbage out. It¡¯s such a shame to the noble alchemy! I can¡¯t tolerate this! I can¡¯t!¡±

    Archbishop wanted to dissuade Jeremiah again, but the Holy Light Pdins had already collided with the Death Knights of the Tower of Dusk. The light of Holy Light and the magic spells were continuously glistening. They instantly enveloped the two teams.

    Looking at the constant outbursts of Holy Light, Jeremiah smiled slightly and nodded gently. He then said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, they¡¯ve actually exerted power that¡¯s much stronger than usual. Seems like we can nurture them in the future.¡±

    Indeed, in anyone¡¯s opinion, the light of Holy Light would definitely outshine that of magic spells whenever there were battles between the two. However, no one knew that the Death Knights from the Tower of Dusk could also control Divine Power. In fact, arge portion of that Holy Light was emitted by the Death Knights.

    However, the answer was soon revealed as well, and the battle onlysted a few seconds. When all of the light disappeared, one could clearly see that the Holy Pdins who had taken part in the battle had already fallen onto the ground. The Death Knights of the Tower of Dusk were already putting their Cross Spears on the necks of the Holy Light Pdins.

    At the same time, the battle on the other side ended just as quickly, and the Legendary-level Alchemy Colossuses had all fallen onto the ground. There were no traces of battle on Norfeller and Ujfalusi. To them, a battle like that wasn¡¯t even a warm-up.

    On the other hand, Angno, who was dressed in colorful armor, yelled in a sharp voice, ¡°Come out, let Lord Angno see what kind of trash is controlling this garbage. I¡¯m infuriated.¡±

    Seeing that result, everyone in the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam was dumbfounded. What a joke, it ended just like that. Tens of Holy Light Pdins and a few Legendary-level Alchemy Colossuses actually did not manage tost a few seconds! If the other party had gone all out, it might have been eptable, but they had clearly only sent a small portion of their team to attack.

    ¡°Ah, did you think I was afraid that you¡¯d hurt them!?¡± the archbishop hollered at Jeremiah, who was dumbfounded, after which he pulled him towards the Tower of Dusk. He eximed, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!¡±

    Although he was shocked by the strength shown by the Tower of Dusk, Jeremiah¡¯s face grew sullen after hearing that Archbishop Martin had swallowed his pride and spoke to a young man in such a humble tone. He was in charge of the Holy Pdins, and was given the title of the Holy Blessing Pdin by the Brilliance Shrine. He was also the prince of the Ledin Kingdom whose status was on par with Archbishop Martin¡¯s. Since Archbishop Martin had behaved that way, did he have to do the same and bow to the nameless junior in front of him!?

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, you don¡¯t have to worry. We¡¯ve merely given them a small test, which they managed to pass by fluke. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll personally make sure to teach them a lesson next.¡± Jeremiah did not want to admit defeat easily. Although the other party looked rather powerful, he felt that his peak-Legendary-level strength was enough to suppress them.

    Upon hearing Jeremiah¡¯s words, the archbishop became even more anxious, and he couldn¡¯t care about Jeremiah¡¯s identity anymore. He reprimanded, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, President Felic is also at the peak of the Legendary-level, and he might not be inferior to you. How are you going to teach him a lesson? Besides, the Tower of Dusk has a lot of business dealings with us, and we share a very close partnership. Do you think it¡¯s more reliable to work with them or with those people from Rotterdam!?¡±

    Jeremiah was shocked speechless. The cooperation with the people of Rotterdam was actually aplete coincidence, and was formed simply because they had all found clues about the Sky Castle. In fact, in Anril, the Rotterdam Kingdom was actually a closed nation which had almost never forged any rtions with other nations in the past 1,300 years or so. The Brilliance Shrine¡¯s cooperation with Rotterdam Kingdom could be considered a first in history.

    However, Jeremiah would be displeased with genuinely working with the Tower of Dusk because he had never suffered such a loss before! Therefore, even though he followed Archbishop Martin, he was still thinking to himself that he had to teach the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team a lesson to vent his frustration.

    The team of the Rotterdam Kingdom was initially still considering what to do next, but after hearing that Archbishop Martin knew the Tower of Dusk, a member who was dressed like a mage stepped out and walked towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team too.

    Lin Li was also quite familiar with Archbishop Martin. When he gave Pope Rosario the antidote back then, the archbishop was the one who personally visited the Tower of Dusk and invited him to the Brilliance Shrine. He also interacted with Lin Li quite a lot in the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, he waved his hand and motioned for the Death Knights to let go of the Holy Light Pdins, after which he walked towards Archbishop Martin and the rest smilingly.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, it¡¯s all because we¡¯re too reckless,¡± said Archbishop Martin, who knew Lin Li well, and was aware that Lin Li preferred being talked to nicely. Hence, he did not put on any airs as an archbishop, and simply lowered himself to repeatedly apologize.

    Although Jeremiah was pulled over by Archbishop Martin, he absolutely couldn¡¯t bring himself to stoop that low and speak in such a tone. Standing beside Archbishop Martin, he simply nced at Lin Li, humphed coldly, and remained silent with his head held high.

    Jeremiah¡¯s humph scared Archbishop Martin, and made him almost break out in a cold sweat. In his heart, he cursed Jeremiah for not knowing any better. However, he dared not dy any further. Instead, he said, ¡°President Felic, please don¡¯t mind. This is Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom and the leader of the Holy Light Pdins, the Holy Blessing Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine.¡±

    Archbishop Martin introduced Jeremiah as a royal first because he hoped that Lin Li would understand that he acted that way because of his royal pedigree. On the other hand, he also wanted to slightly draw a line between Jeremiah and the Brilliance Shrine. He meant to tell Lin Li that although Jeremiah was part of the Brilliance Shrine, he was mainly representing the royals of the Ledin Kingdom.

    ¡°Oh, Archbishop Martin, you¡¯re worrying too much. Since it¡¯s just a misunderstanding, everything will be fine after we clear the air,¡± said Lin Li, who did not n to put Archbishop Martin in a spot. However, he didn¡¯t pay any attention to Prince Jeremiah, either.

    Of course, how could Lin Li not know about the thoughts that Jeremiah had? He simply felt amused by Jeremiah¡¯s childish behavior.

    ¡°This is the chief imperial mage and metallurgist of the Rotterdam Kingdom, Master Donald.¡± Upon seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t mind, Archbishop Martin was secretly relieved, and then introduced him to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    However, Master Donald did not look at Lin Li squarely in the eye, nor did he have any intention of greeting Lin Li. Instead, he raised his chin slightly, and said in a cold voice, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. Your people have destroyed our Alchemy Colossuses, so you must makepensation for that now. Once you do, leave this ce.¡±

    He made it seem like a charity. It was as if he would give them a chance to leave once theypensated him in a satisfactory manner.

    Actually, Lin Li really wasn¡¯t surprised by Master Donald¡¯s attitude at all. Others might not know much about what kind of personalities the people of Rotterdam had, but the Tower of Dusk had held a few mages of the Rotterdam Kingdom captive. Throughout the years, the mages even confessed to having peeped at women when they were showering, what more the various information about the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    It was said that the ancestor of the royal family of the Rotterdam Kingdom was once a human noble who was titled by the High Elven royal family during the Dark Age. That meant that as a human, he had obtained the title of a duke of the High Elves. It was not at all the same as human royalty.

    The human noble did not obtain the title because of any great contribution to the High Elves, but because his father had actually won the heart of a female High Elf who was also a noble amongst the High Elves. It was actually also a rather amazing skill.

    Hence, that human noble not only received the title of a High Elf noble, he also had a part of the High Elves¡¯ bloodline. Throughout the long Dark Age, his position was passed down. As the title continued, their bodies contained a portion of bloodline that belonged to the High Elves.

    The current Rotterdam belonged to that human noble, and the title had been passed down from generation to generation. Hence, Rotterdam was one of the few ces that was not excessively oppressive to humans during the Dark Age, and could even be considered a paradise for humans at that time. However, due to thews of the governing nobles, Rotterdam was also not allowed to ept exiles from other noblends. Otherwise, Rotterdam would have been overpopted.

    Despite the fact that thest leader of Rotterdam was said to be one of the initiators of the war that overthrew the High Elves, they were still proud of having the blood of High Elves flowing through their veins and having once held the title of High Elven nobles. In their opinion, only High Elven nobles were true nobles, and those nobles appointed by the human royal families could neverpare.

    Of course, in addition to bloodline and title, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom were also proud of the fact that they had initiated the war to overthrow the High Elves. To them, if that ancestor had not stepped forward to overthrow the High Elves, the humans in Anril would¡¯ve still been under the rule and oppression of the High Elves.

    In short, in the hearts of the people of Rotterdam Kingdom, they were still nobles with noble bloodlines, and were also saviors of the world. Lin Li had heard about plenty of such arguments and debates. Hence, he was not surprised by Master Donald¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°You wantpensation?¡± Lin Li questioned, looking at Donald coldly. He tolerated Jeremiah because of the Brilliance Shrine, but he didn¡¯t have any friendship with the Rotterdam. In fact, he had a feud with them. In the beginning, if it weren¡¯t for the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s support for the Syer Bandits, ck Clouds Town probably wouldn¡¯t have suffered that disaster.

    Donald didn¡¯t care about Lin Li¡¯s tone, as he had seen plenty of pointless moring and boasting from the weak. There was no change in his expression, but he looked at Lin Li with a tinge of pity in his eyes. He said in a stereotypically aristocratic tone, ¡°You heard right. To make you learn this lesson, you will have to pay fullpensation in double for the seven Alchemy Colossuses you have damaged.¡±

    An ordinary Alchemy Colossus was probably worth at least nearly 10,000,000 gold coins on the market. Double of the price of seven Alchemy Colossuses would amount to hundreds of millions of gold coins. However, seeing that Donald¡¯s gaze was constantly shifted onto the mages of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li immediately understood that Donald was clearly interested in the magical equipment of the mages.

    Lin Li had always been reluctant to bother with people like Donald who had abnormal mindsets. He simply said, ¡°Sure, you can take it yourself.¡±

    No one would think that Lin Li truly intended for Donald to take thepensation himself, likewise for Donald. Lin Li¡¯s answer was undoubtedly a straight-up refusal and a deration of war.

 Chapter 924 - Frightening

    <h4>Chapter 924: Frightening</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    There was finally some change on Donald¡¯s face, but his annoyance onlysted for a moment. He thought about the fact that the three of them managed to destroy his five Alchemy Colossuses<sup>1</sup> as soon as they attacked. Although it was just a small test, the strength of the team from the Tower of Dusk was definitely not to be belittled.

    Donald looked at the team of the Tower of Dusk and the armored knights who were standing neatly. They all seemed to be close to the Legendary-level, while the mages who got into a strange formation were mostly level-18 and level-19 and near the Legendary-level, although there were also some Legendary-mages amongst them. The few of them seemed to be important figures who had Legendary-level abilities, and were not new to the Legendary-realm.

    Despite having plenty of faith in his own team, Donald also knew that it would not be easy to take them down. More importantly, Donald could also see that the people from the Brilliance Shrine clearly had some rtionship with the newly arrived team. If the two of them joined forces, it would cause a huge obstruction for the following n of his team.

    ¡°It seems that you won¡¯t be able toe up with thepensation. Alright then, I¡¯ll give you another chance. You just need topensate for the amount spent on repairing these Alchemy Colossuses. I can forgive you for entering here,¡± Donald said in a hostile tone. Although he made it sound like he was saving himself a lot of pride, he was actually displeased with being forced to make a concession.

    Indeed, this time, he had made a great concession by making that request which turned thepensation amount from double the original to only the price of the materials needed for repairs. That was not just taking one step back. Thepensation became a little more reasonable.

    The most valuable part of something like the Alchemy Colossus was mainly the alchemical technology used in it. The value of those materials used in it still ounted for a rtively small portion of the overall value. Of course, those materials were still extremely expensive. However, they could at least still be found, unlike the technology used for the Alchemy Colossus, which was monopolized by the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    However, even then, the materials used for creating the Alchemy Colossus were not something that just anyone could get their hands on. Moreover, everyone was there to explore the Sky Castle, and no one would bring those items for no reason. Clearly, even if thepensation conditions were reduced, he was obviously still trying to make things difficult for them.

    Archbishop Martin frowned slightly, and immediately wanted to stand out to speak up for Lin Li. However, Prince Jeremiah had been thinking about how he could regain his pride. He naturally didn¡¯t want to miss that opportunity, so he held Archbishop Martin back.

    Seeing that Archbishop Martin red at him, Jeremiah hurriedly whispered into his ear, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better for us if their rtionship bes even more hostile!?¡±

    Archbishop Martin was of course aware that that was not what Jeremiah really thought, but considering the rtionship between the royal family of the Ledin Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine, he had no choice but to bear with it for the time being.

    Jeremiah was secretly happy about having convinced Archbishop Martin with one word of his. The materials of the Alchemy Colossuses were extremely expensive, and now that they were in the Sky Castle, he wanted to see what Felic would use to pay for it. He didn¡¯t believe that Lin Li would bring those random materials with him to the Sky Castle.

    However, what Jeremiah didn¡¯t expect was that this time, Lin Li was very straightforward, and he directly said to Donald, ¡°Sure, give me the list.¡±

    The list of materials needed for repairs could be processedter. Actually, when they were speaking, the people of the Rotterdam had already calcted the damage done to the seven Alchemy Colossuses. After all, even if there was nopensation, they would still have to repair the Alchemy Colossuses themselves. It would be impossible to give up thatbat power.

    Donald waved to the person who was performing the calctions not too far away. Soon, that metallurgist from the Rotterdam scurried over, and handed over the list of repairs and materials to Lin Li. Donald did not take it at all. Instead, he pointed at Lin Li and arrogantly said, ¡°Give it to him, he¡¯ll be responsible forpensating for the repairs.¡±

    Lin Li took a nce at the list and shoved it right back into the metallurgist¡¯s hands. ¡°No need for that trouble, I¡¯ll send someone to fix them for you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll send someone to fix them?¡± Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Donald and the metallurgist who had just arrived behaved as if they had heard a ridiculous story. Someone actually dared to say that they could repair the Alchemy Colossuses in front of the metallurgist from Rotterdam! That was the greatest joke they had ever heard so far.

    Even Archbishop Martin and Jeremiah couldn¡¯t believe their ears, let alone Donald. Although the Rotterdam had closed its borders, they were the strongest in alchemy in the entire Anril. It could be said that the Rotterdam Kingdom had alchemy as its foundation, and developed as civilization because of it. They had obtained the knowledge in alchemy passed down by the goblins, and after thousands of years of in-depth research, the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s development of alchemy could be said to have reached the pinnacle of the world.

    Yet, someone was nonchntly saying that he could send someone over to repair those damaged Alchemy Colossuses. How could that be possible!? An Alchemy Colossus was not a child¡¯s toy. It was the condensation of the entire alchemical civilization and the greatest manifestation of peak alchemy. Although the entire Rotterdam Kingdom had been developing alchemical civilization, those who could grasp the mysteriousness and amazing qualities of the Alchemy Colossuses were definitely few and far between, let alone those outside the kingdom.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about what they were thinking. Instead, he said to Angno who was behind him, ¡°Angno, go settle the damaged Alchemy Colossuses.¡±

    Although they did not believe that Lin Li could find someone who had the power to repair the Alchemy Colossuses, they were still a little curious as to whom Lin Li would call to do it. However, when they saw Angno, they were instantly astonished.

    He seemed to be the same height as dwarves, and he was d in armor which also resembled the style of dwarves. However, no dwarf would dye their armor in such bright and fancy colors which made him look like he had spilled all the cans of different colors of paint. To be honest, the colorful look made others who looked at him feel dizzy, especially when he was moving.

    <i>A freak like that can fix the Alchemy Colossus?</i> Donald felt like he had been fooled. However, he didn¡¯t go out of his way to stop it, and instead watched how Lin Li was going to clear up the mess.

    However, what made them vomit blood was that the shorty who was d in a fancy suit was stillining as he walked away. ¡°What the hell? Is this an insult to me!? This is garbage that can¡¯t even be considered a toy. The mere sight of it makes me want to vomit, yet you want me to fiddle with it?¡±

    His words were uneptable to the people of Rotterdam Kingdom, as the Alchemy Colossus was the manifestation of their essence of alchemy, yet it was insulted and being called trash that was iparable to magic! That was a huge insult to the entire Rotterdam!

    Donald restrained his displeasure, and questioned Lin Li, ¡°Is this the person who can repair the Alchemy Colossuses? I don¡¯t think that someone who disrespects alchemical civilization can master true alchemy.¡±

    In fact, he was not wrong. Those who did not respect knowledge would never be able to grasp true knowledge.

    However, Lin Li shook his head in denial, and indifferently said, ¡°I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. He¡¯s not talking about alchemical civilization, but about your so-called alchemical civilization.¡±

    ¡°You!! Well, I¡¯d like to see what rights you have to question our noble alchemical civilization!¡± After all, Donald still had some concerns, and did not really want to start a war with the Tower of Dusk. Although it was important to maintain his creed, the Sky Castle was his top priority at this moment.

    At this time, Angno had already arrived close to an Alchemy Colossus. A metallurgist from the Rotterdam Kingdom was standing beside it with folded arms, and watching Angno coldly. He refused to believe that a clown like him would be able to repair the Alchemy Colossus.

    Indeed, instead of carefully understanding the structure of the Alchemy Colossus and carefully analyzing the damaged parts as those metallurgists had imagined, Angno took out some tools from nowhere, which gave the metallurgist a huge shock.

    There was a crowbar that seemed like a short spear and a hammer that looked like one that was usually used by cksmiths. Holding the two seemingly ridiculous tools, Angno walked towards the destroyed Alchemy Colossus. Without looking too much at it, he started waving the tools in his hands.

    <i>Damn it, is this clown really a dwarf!? </i>The metallurgists, who were initially looking at him coldly, immediately panicked when they saw that situation. They rushed forward and wanted to pull Angno away from the Alchemy Colossus.

    However, Angno¡¯s movements were not slow, and he directly swung the hammer in his hand, striking the Alchemy Colossus twice. Next, he held the crowbar with one hand, and thrust it into the Alchemy Colossus before prodding it. Some parts then fell off the Alchemy Colossus.

    Seeing that, the metallurgists from the Rotterdam Kingdom were about to go crazy. They rushed forward in a bid to stop him while yelling, ¡°Stop, stop, are you going topletely destroy this Alchemy Colossus!?¡±

    What a joke. Although Angno¡¯s armor was a little ugly, it was still extremely powerful, and the metallurgists could not stop him at all. He waved his hand and flung the metallurgists far, far away. Without stopping, he smashed the hammer into the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A metallurgist was lying on the ground with his arms stretched out high, looking at Angno who was behaving violently. Whenever the hammer fell, it was as if it hadnded on his own body.

    ¡°The drive shaft on the leg doesn¡¯t even have a positioning device, no wonder it was destroyed so easily. You guys actually treat such garbage like treasure!¡± Angno ignored the metallurgist and took out a normal hammer, after which he knocked it twice on the Alchemy Colossus. He then shoved it hard inside the body of the Alchemy Colossus, and sauntered towards another Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t youe near!¡± The owner of the other Alchemy Colossus stretched his hands out and stopped Angno nervously, refusing to move away.

    ¡°Do you think Lord Angno cares about trash like you? Scram!¡± Ever since Angno got that armor, he became much braver. He reached out to push the metallurgist out of the way, and went forward to wield his hammer.

    At this moment, the other metallurgists were surrounding them, and they could already tell that humans would be no match for that tyrannical dwarf.

    ¡°Is this what you call an alchemical civilization? You couldn¡¯t even manage the mana circuit at the waist well. The 13 mana circuits are actually mixed together. I really take my hat off to you. How dare you control this garbage during battles? Don¡¯t you know the consequences of mixing mana circuits? Or is this a suicide Alchemy Colossus you¡¯ve developed after research?¡± While Angno swung the hammer, there were two metallurgists attached to him. The pitiful thing was that they could not stop him at all.

    The metallurgists could also see that no amount of people could stop him with their physical strength alone. A few metallurgists who were also mages even took out their staffs and started chanting incantations, trying to cast magic to stop Angno¡¯s rampage.

    However, Angno didn¡¯t bother looking at them at all. With the armor on his body, even the full force of a Legendary-mage would not be able to shake him, let alone a few Archmages. After repairing an Alchemy Colossus, he walked towards another one with two of them hanging from his body.

    Donald thought, <i>They¡¯re really shameless. They actually sent a dwarf who only knows to wield a hammer. He¡¯s not repairing them, he¡¯s destroying them! </i>

    Donald¡¯s lips twitched when he looked at the chaotic scene. He wanted to stop him, but could not bring himself to do so. Since he had agreed to let Lin Li¡¯s people repair his Alchemy Colossuses, he would not get anypensation if he stopped them from repairing.

    Jeremiah was watching in awe as well, forgetting his original intention of waiting to see Lin Li make a fool of himself. <i>Damn it, this is ridiculous. Felic doesn¡¯t care about the rules at all. How dares he destroy Rotterdam¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses just like that! </i>

    However, Angno¡¯s rampage wasn¡¯t over yet. After striking an Alchemy Colossus with his hammer again and again, he looked inside and snorted withughter. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°If you can¡¯t learn the Array Cirction Pathway well, don¡¯t use it indiscriminately. You can¡¯t even get the start and end right, yet you want to rely on this to increase your magic efficiency. What a joke.¡±

    Originally, the metallurgists were ready to cast magic spells, but after hearing Angno¡¯s words, they were all shocked. They could take his previous words as nonsense, but hearing him mention the technique of the Array Cirction Pathway, which was an absolute Master-level alchemical technique, was different. Even if those who were not in the field of alchemy had only heard of its name, they would not be able to tell what technique it was without enough knowledge.

 Chapter 925 - Shameless Boasting

    <h4>Chapter 925</h4>

    <h4>: Shameless Boasting</h4>

    <i>Could it be that this damned dwarf is really knowledgeable in Alchemy?</i> The metallurgists were hesitant. Even the two metallurgists hanging from Angno¡¯s body subconsciously let go.

    ¡°You¡¯re boasting shamelessly. This Array Cirction Pathway is the technique that the first master metallurgist of the Rotterdam, Master Russell, was best at. It can increase the utilization rate of mana by almost 10 percent. This has been tested and proven!¡± argued an indignant metallurgist.

    ¡°It¡¯s his best technique, and yet he still made it end up like this. Seriously, everyone really dares to call themselves a master nowadays,¡± Angno said in a disdainful tone while fiddling with the Alchemy Colossus. He sternly hollered, ¡°Increase by 10 percent? More like a 10-percent increase in wear and tear! Using the Array Cirction Pathway to reuse the remaining mana can increase the utilization rate, but didn¡¯t anyone notice that in this Array Cirction Pathway, the mana left over from each cycle appears a second time!?¡±

    ¡°Well... Is that not the case!?¡± another metallurgist asked guiltily.

    ¡°Indeed, you¡¯re a bunch of idiots. All you do is use it like fools. You people are clueless about the profound things. ording to the design of the Array Cirction Pathway, the remaining mana that is circting will not only not be utilized a second time, but will also increase the depletion of mana that is flowing in. You¡¯re a bunch of fools who are deceiving yourselves and using it joyfully. You are hopeless!¡± Angno eximed while readjusting the settings inside the Alchemy Colossus. He then leaped off and walked towards the other one.

    ¡°Could it be real?¡±

    ¡°Impossible, Master Russell couldn¡¯t have gotten it wrong.¡±

    ¡°However, I find that the dwarf¡¯s words do make sense. Don¡¯t you think the Alchemy Colossus bes a little underpowered when it¡¯s been in use for a while?¡±

    After Angno left, the group of metallurgists who were continuously moring immediately gathered around the Alchemy Colossus that had just been adjusted. Looking at the changes, they immediately began to discuss them with each other.

    Of course, it was impossible for Angno to readjust all seven Alchemy Colossuses and get rid of all the ws. He simply allowed the paralyzed ones to stand up and move again. He did not spend much time on each Alchemy Colossus, and each of them could stand up in less than one minute. All seven Alchemy Colossuses that were on the ground were repaired in six or seven minutes.

    The metallurgists did not know if they had been repaired, but they didn¡¯t find the speed of repair to be reliable. After all, given the degree of damage done to the Alchemy Colossuses, the least damaged one would take three or four metallurgists an hour to repair.

    ¡°Enough, Felic, don¡¯t let me touch this trash in the future anymore, alright? Just dump the rubbish into the bin next time. What¡¯s the value in repairing it?¡± After performing all the tasks, Angnoined to Lin Li and returned to the team of the Tower of Dusk without looking at Donald and the rest.

    <i>Where did that dwarfe from? Could he have really repaired seven Alchemy Colossuses within such a short period of time? Was he telling the truth, or were they just frivolousments?</i> Donald looked at the colorfully dressed Angno, and refused to believe that he could do that.

    ¡°ording to your request, I¡¯ve repaired the Alchemy Colossuses. Is there anything else you need?¡± Lin Li questioned coldly. What he meant to say was Donald should stop being an eyesore if he didn¡¯t have any other issues.

    Donald finally recovered from the shock and humphed coldly. ¡°Is that so? How do you know it¡¯s fixed if you haven¡¯t tried it?¡±

    At this time, there was actually no need for Donald to give orders, as a few metallurgists had already scurried over to each maneuver their own Alchemy Colossus after some discussion. As soon as Donald finished speaking, an Alchemy Colossus that was originally paralyzed on the ground stood up shakily from the ground.

    Upon sight of that, Donald fell silent with a sullen expression. At the same time, he had more suspicions about Angno¡¯s identity. If everything that he said was true, and he had indeed repaired all seven Alchemy Colossuses, his attainments in alchemy were probably not inferior to Donald¡¯s. However, Donald felt that he had never heard of such a clown in his circle before.

    The top metallurgists of Anril were in the Rotterdam Kingdom, and that was a fact known to all. That was not to say that there were no other master metallurgists outside of the kingdom, but rather that not every metallurgist could research Alchemy Colossuses.

    The Ledin Kingdom valued faith greatly, while the Fn Kingdom valued magic. In the entire Anril, Rotterdam was the only kingdom which would provide all kinds of superior conditions as well as enough resources for their metallurgists. Hence, metallurgists, especially those who specialized in Alchemy Colossuses, would find it difficult to progress outside of Rotterdam. Once they achieved something, their reputation in Anril would be greater, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t remain unknown.

    ¡°Hey, it seems hard to control this Alchemy Colossus,¡± said Jeremiah, who couldn¡¯t help butting in, implying that there still had to be something wrong with that Alchemy Colossus, thus making it inflexible.

    Jeremiah had been waiting to see Lin Li make a joke out of himself, but not only did he have no opportunity to do so, he even watched Lin Li getting all smug. Deep down, he was much more anxious than Donald. Fortunately, he noticed how clumsy the Alchemy Colossus was, and thus quickly pretended to be shocked and reminded Donald.

    However, before Jeremiah finished speaking, the Alchemy Colossus that had stood up already started to be more and more flexible, and even made quite a fewplicated movements. Jeremiah didn¡¯t understand the meaning of those movements, but how could Donald as a Master of Alchemy not know how hard it was for the Alchemy Colossus to perform those actions in the past!?

    The other six Alchemy Colossuses stood up from the ground, apparently without any problems, at least for the time being. However, not all of them gained in flexibility like the first one did. After all, Angno had only fixed the damaged parts, and was not obligated to give them a full-body checkup.

    However, it was already shocking enough to know that the repair of the seven Alchemy Colossuses only took a mere several minutes. He managed to restore and even improve the seven Alchemy Colossuses within such a short period of time. That was incredible and godly.

    ¡°We still need to conduct further tests. I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± Seeing the situation, Donald felt that he could not continue staying there any longer. Besides, deep down, he was also eager to know the changes that had happened to the Alchemy Colossuses.

    Donald bade them goodbye. Before the rest could react, he simply waved his hand and brought those seven Alchemy Colossuses with him to his own team.

    At this moment, they could basically tell that the seven Alchemy Colossuses had indeed been repaired. Donald was most anxious to know about the changes in the performance of the Alchemy Colossuses, and he wanted to verify if the dwarf was telling the truth or merely spouting nonsense.

    The Alchemy Colossuses were created by the first Master of Alchemy of the Rotterdam, Russell. It could be said that he was the one with the highest attainments in alchemy in the entire Rotterdam Kingdom. He was even almost a Guru-level metallurgist. Yet, Master Russell¡¯s work was actually that wed. If everything was real, the dwarf¡¯s attainments in alchemy would be too terrifying.

    ¡°Terrifying¡± was not just about amazement with Angno¡¯s superb alchemical skills, but also something that would actually threaten the Rotterdam¡¯s team. A metallurgist who understood the structure of the Alchemy Colossuses that well had to be very knowledgeable about the various weaknesses of the Alchemy Colossuses. If the two teams were to get into a conflict, the Rotterdam¡¯s team would definitely suffer a great blow as the Alchemy Colossuses were their mainbat power.

    Hence, he did not ask that question out of curiosity, but rather really needed to know the answer to it. Otherwise, the situation would be extremely unfavorable for the Rotterdam¡¯s team during the exploration of the Sky Castle.

    At Donald¡¯s gesture, the controllers of the seven Alchemy Colossuses each jumped out from the constructs.

    ¡°Did you guys feel anything unusual when you controlled the Alchemy Colossuses?¡± Donald asked in a low voice, hoping deep down that the signs of the Alchemy Colossuses being repaired were just temporary. Even though he suffered a bit of a loss, he didn¡¯t really want to see a terrifying metallurgist in Lin Li¡¯s team.

    ¡°Master Donald, aren¡¯t you making a bit of a fuss? We have always had the technology of the Alchemy Colossus, and the other party must be cooking things up!¡± another leader of the Rotterdam¡¯s team eximed. He did not think that that matter was worth Donald¡¯s attention.

    The person who spoke had curly brown hair that was draped across his shoulders. He was wearing a magic shield that was iid with arge sapphire. He was somewhat slim, and he was wearing dark golden magic armor with arge red cape. Although he was much younger than Donald, and seemed to be in his thirties, he was naturally a figure of status since he could be in the same team as Donald.

    ¡°Your Highness Kanber, if the other party is just an independent expedition team, we really don¡¯t need to be too concerned. However, you should have seen that even Martin was very polite to that young man. This shows that they must have an unusual rtionship with the Brilliance Shrine. Under such circumstances, if the other party really has such a metallurgist, we must be prepared in advance to avoid being in a passive situation,¡± Donald exined patiently about his concerns.

    Although Donald was the chief imperial mage of the Rotterdam Kingdom who enjoyed high prestige, he was far fromparable to the princes. Prince Kanber was clearly not the same as the other princes, either.

    The king of the Rotterdam Kingdom, Halsanki, had dozens of children, with the oldest being over 50 years old and the youngest less than 10 years old. He could be considered to have dedicated his life to growing the size of the royal family. Among the princes, Prince Kanber was ranked 17th, but he was known to be the most promising sessor for the throne.

    It was said that when Prince Kanber was born, the bloodline in his body mutated. Although his High Elven bloodline was quite diluted, it was already dozens of times thicker than that of the other members of the royal family, even more so than the old King Halsanki¡¯s. That was the reason Prince Kanber became a Sword Sage with power at the peak of the Legendary-realm at the age of 30. He was also doted on by the old king.

    In fact, from the fact that Prince Kanber had be one of the leaders in that operation, they could tell that King Halsanki was already starting to pave the way for him to inherit the throne. If the Rotterdam¡¯s team couldplete the mission sessfully under Prince Kanber¡¯s lead, no one would be able to question his eligibility to inherit the throne, since he would¡¯ve made such a huge contribution.

    Hence, facing Prince Kanber who had the biggest hope of inheriting the throne, even a highly respected figure like Donald had to show enough patience and express due respect. If it were someone else, Donald, given his status and prestige, would not even have to exin anything.

    ¡°Okay, okay, older people just like to be suspicious,¡± Kanber said while waving his hands. He then turned around to find a ce to sit down, no longer caring about what Donald was going to do.

    Donald shook his head helplessly, and said to the metallurgists who were manipting the Alchemy Colossuses, ¡°Tell me, did you feel anything unusual during the operation of the Alchemy Colossuses just now?¡±

    The several metallurgists looked at each other. With an apprehensive look, one of them said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s rted to that dwarf¡¯s repairs, or if it¡¯s just a cebo effect, but the Alchemy Colossus does seem to feel a bit different now. I purposely performed some actions that would normally damage the Alchemy Colossus easily, and it didn¡¯t seem to have reached the limit of what this Alchemy Colossus can withstand.¡±

    ¡°How can that be? Every singleponent of our Alchemy Colossuses is made from the best materials. Its performance has reached its limit, how could there be such a change just because that dwarf prodded it a few times!?¡± The metallurgists who had never controlled the Alchemy Colossuses began to express their disbelief after hearing those words.

    Indeed, just like they said, the Rotterdam Kingdom had always had alchemy as foundation, and the Alchemy Colossus was the most advanced product of alchemy. It was also the representation of the kingdom¡¯s strongestbat power. Hence, it was naturally valued greatly. Even the most insignificant screw of the Alchemy Colossus was made using a very precious magical metal.

 Chapter 926 - Breaking Through The Limits

    <h4>Chapter 926: Breaking Through The Limits</h4>

    Hence, in the eyes of everyone, the Alchemy Colossuses, which were built using previous materials, had already reached the limit in all aspects of performance. Breaking through the limit was not impossible, but the only way to do so was recing the materials with stronger and more precious ones, yet the dwarf simply used a hammer and prodded it without any technical knowledge. How could the Alchemy Colossuses have improved?

    Among the people present, only Donald remained calm andposed. He ignored thements of the other metallurgists, and said to that metallurgist, ¡°I remember that part of the lower limb of your Alchemy Colossus was damaged just now. What did that dwarf do there? You shouldn¡¯t have forgotten yet.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master, the part of the lower limb of the Alchemy Colossus that I was controlling had been damaged. When the dwarf repaired it, he said that one of the partscked a positioning device. Hence, the joints are prone to damage andck flexibility. He then stuffed something inside.¡± At the mention of it, the metallurgist had an awkward expression. After considering it for a while, he continued, ¡°I remember he seemed to have shaped an ordinary piece of metal into something, and that seems to be his so-called positioning device.¡±

    Everyone was in even greater disbelief after hearing those words. To them, ordinary metal was like rocks that could be found everywhere. Nothing was more trashy than ordinary metal, be it in terms of value or function and performance.

    Of course, if that ordinary steel could be carefully processed, it would barely be able to support the Alchemy Colossus for a while. However, the problem was that the other party had merely prodded it a few times without effort. Yet, he managed to shove it back into the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ body. Could that even be considered repair?

    In the eyes of the crowd, it was already a miracle that the Alchemy Colossus could start moving again after being repaired in such a manner. How could its performance be improved because of that?

    While everyone was airing their doubts, the metallurgist who¡¯d spoken instantly blushed. He even began to doubt himself. He did not continue arguing, and instead turned around to look at his Alchemy Colossus before looking at his peers who doubted him. Could everything just now be just an illusion?

    However, Donald had already reached the peak of the Master-level in alchemy, and things weren¡¯t as simple to him as the others thought. Although he refused to believe that the funny-looking dwarf really had such high attainments in alchemy, the truth was that the seven Alchemy Colossuses had been repaired without a doubt. From that alone, he could tell that Angno definitely had a good understanding of the structure of the Alchemy Colossus even though he was not that terrifying.

    Donald shifted his gaze onto the legs of the Alchemy Colossus, and after remaining silent for a moment, he instructed that metallurgist to open up the part that had been repaired. He then said to the other metallurgists, ¡°What about you? Do you feel the same as him?¡±

    Seeing that his peer¡¯s words had attracted so many questions, those several guys began to seem a little hesitant after hearing Donald¡¯s words. They had no idea what they ought to say, because they refused to believe it. They even felt that they seemed to have been hallucinating. Besides, walking for a short period of time was not enough for them to sense the minor changes in the Alchemy Colossus.

    However, just as the few of them were hesitating, a young metallurgist who was standing at the back of the group stepped forward timidly, and said to Donald, ¡°Teacher, I feel that that dwarf really seems to have high attainments in alchemy. He even managed to recognize the Array Cirction Pathway that Master Russell was good at. He also pointed out the ws in it and made adjustments.¡±

    The young metallurgist was Donald¡¯s student. Hence, he did not have as many scruples as the rest. He decided to muster the courage and voice his conjectures.

    ¡°I bet he was just spouting nonsense. Master Russell is the best metallurgist in the Rotterdam Kingdom. If what that dwarf said was real, doesn¡¯t that mean that his level of alchemy is even higher than Master Russell¡¯s!?¡± Before Donald could say anything, the metallurgists around him were immediately indignant. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was Donald¡¯s student, they would have probably rushed forward to beat him up.

    In fact, the several metallurgists who had been defeated just now had all heard the dwarf¡¯s words and gotten a great shock as well. However, in the hearts of the metallurgists of the Rotterdam, Master Russell was a godly existence in the field of alchemy. They could not tolerate the slightest sphemy against him from others.

    More importantly, Russell, who was known as the best metallurgist, also represented the greatest achievements in the development of the entire Rotterdam Kingdom. If Russell¡¯s standards in alchemy were doubted, it seemed to mean that the entire Rotterdam Kingdom was doubted as well. That was not something that the metallurgists of the Rotterdam could ept.

    All along, in the hearts of the metallurgists of the Rotterdam, alchemy civilization was definitely the direction of the civilization of the entire world. Magic civilization and religious civilization would be eliminated by history, and they would eventually be the guide to world¡¯s civilization. If the alchemy that they had been proud of, which was the powerful tool to guide the world¡¯s civilization, was criticized and deemed worthless by an outsider not from the Rotterdam, how could they talk about guiding the world¡¯s civilization?

    Donald was well aware that his student, Nick, had already reached 70% to 80% of his standards in alchemy, and wouldn¡¯t be easily fooled by the other party. However, if that dwarf genuinely had a higher level of alchemy than Master Russell... Donald wouldn¡¯t believe it. However, fortunately, the Alchemy Colossus was right there, and as long as he carefully inspected it, he would be able to see everything clearly.

    Hence, Donald immediately ordered a few metallurgists to carefully examine the Alchemy Colossus that had been damaged. At the same time, he also asked his student Nick and a few other metallurgists to test the Alchemy Colossus that had its Array Cirction Pathway modified. The degree of agility of the Alchemy Colossuses was subject to one¡¯s sensory perception. However, through testing, the data would show if the power consumption had changed or not.

    Prince Kanber, who was sitting a short distance away, was enjoying the service of the servants beside him while looking at the metallurgists, whom Donald was instructing, in disdain. Although he was a Sword Sage who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he was the prince of the Rotterdam, and was also quite aplished in alchemy. Hence, he knew how difficult it would be to achieve sess in alchemy.

    The alchemical civilization of the Rotterdam stood on the foundation of the ancient goblins, and managed to reach such a height after thousands of years of research and development. One condition was the legacy of the ancient goblins, and the other was the research of a nation, both of which were unachievable by any force of today.

    Master Russell was able to be the top metallurgist of the Rotterdam because he grew up in the environment of the Rotterdam Kingdom. He had an unparalleled foundation for research and the support of an entire kingdom. That was how he¡¯d managed to achieve what he had. Master Russell¡¯s level of alchemy also represented the pinnacle of the entire Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s standards of alchemy.

    Hence, Kanber definitely wouldn¡¯t believe that there would be anyone outside the Rotterdam Kingdom whose level of alchemy could surpass that pinnacle. However, due to Donald¡¯s prestige, he simply looked on indifferently without opposing him.

    Under Donald¡¯s orders, many metallurgists began to get busy, and the Alchemy Colossuses that had just been repaired were soon opened up. Soon, the parts that had been repaired were presented in front of everyone.

    When Angno was repairing the Alchemy Colossuses just now, the metallurgists did not bother looking carefully at all. One reason was that Angno¡¯s movements were too quick, and the other was that they didn¡¯t believe that a funny-looking dwarf would repair the Alchemy Colossuses.

    After looking at the repaired parts carefully, the metallurgists were instantly dumbfounded. They couldn¡¯t believe that that was how their Alchemy Colossuses were repaired. There were strange items stuffed in the parts, and there was a slight change in some parts. Honestly, after seeing all of that, the first thing they did was not realize how high Angno¡¯s standards in alchemy were. Instead, they began to suspect if they were hallucinating.

    However, the metallurgists who took part in the operation this time were, after all, top talents in the Rotterdam Kingdom, and as they researched and delved deeper, they began to look surprised. There was soon a look of surprise on their faces again. The changes that were not too impressive at first gradually began to seem extraordinary.

    The metallurgists who were making disdainfulments about the parts that had been repaired at first gradually stopped discussing. They seemed to have lost their souls as they simply looked on, dumbfounded. There was gradually more suspicion in their eyes, and they seemed to be continuously thinking about something. It was as if their entire minds were drawn in by the inconspicuous changes.

    Seeing such a situation, Donald couldn¡¯t care less about waiting for the test results. He immediately stepped forward and began studying the changes of the Alchemy Colossuses together with the metallurgists. Donald¡¯s attainments in alchemy were, after all, much higher than those of other metallurgists. Hence, he soon saw the amazing changes.

    Donald looked at the Alchemy Colossuses one by one. The more he looked at them, the more he couldn¡¯t suppress his astonishment. Although the changes were subtle, the alchemical theory underlying them made him feel like he had gotten an eyeopener.

 Chapter 927 - Exaggerating

    <h4>Chapter 927: Exaggerating</h4>

    At this moment, Prince Kanber, who had been watching indifferently, had also sensed that something was wrong. He slightly restrained the contempt shown on his face, and quickly walked closer to Donald. To his surprise, both Donald and the other metallurgists actually did not react to his arrival. They were still staring at the Alchemy Colossuses.

    ¡°Master Donald, are the results of your inspection ready?¡± asked Kanber, who was displeased about being ignored. He thought, <i>Aren¡¯t these just a few Alchemy Colossuses? Must they behave in such an exaggerated manner!?</i>

    Donald snapped out of his thoughts, and nced at Kanber before shaking his head slightly. In an amazed tone, he said, ¡°Although we¡¯re still not certain what level of alchemy the other party has reached just by investigating these things, the various wonders and mysteries in this do make me feel a bit frightened. What kind of force is that Tower of Dusk? They actually have someone so proficient in alchemy.¡±

    ¡°What Tower of Dusk? I¡¯ve never heard of that force before. What¡¯s there to worry about? I think that dwarf has merely done these randomly by mistake. I think we¡¯d better not waste time on these trivial matters. Let¡¯s discuss the next course of action.¡± In the eyes of Kanber, only the Brilliance Shrine could be a match for them during the operation this time. The Tower of Dusk, which he had never heard of, was not worth his energy at all.

    However, at this moment, Donald¡¯s student, the metallurgist Nick who was in charge of the Array Cirction Pathway, strode towards Donald and Kanber, unable to hide the excitement on his face.

    ¡°Your Highness Kanber, Teacher, the results of the test of the Array Cirction Pathway are out,¡± Nick said in a shaky voice after he bowed to the two of them.

    Although Nick had yet to reveal the results of the test, Donald and Kanber could already vaguely make some guesses after seeing his behavior. At the same time, the alchemists surrounding them were also attracted. They looked at Nick nervously.

    ¡°Why are you panicking? Tell us, what are the results of the test?¡± Donald asked with a frown. He lectured Nick, but in fact he was actually trying to relieve the tension he himself felt.

    The surroundings became quiet, and all the metallurgists seemed to hold their breath at this moment. They seemed to be waiting for the final judgment, and for Nick to announce the results of the test. Master Russell was like their god, while alchemy was their religion. If the dwarf¡¯s words were real, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to them.

    It was like how a person had painstakingly prepared a trump card which he was very confident in, and was absolutely certain that it would give everyone a shock, only to find out that the trump card was mastered well by someone else. That would definitely be quite a heavy blow to anyone.

    ¡°Yes, Teacher,¡± said Nick, who had also sensed the pressure. He took a deep breath to stabilize his mood a little before saying, ¡°Just now, we conducted aparison test on the Array Cirction Pathway of the Alchemy Colossus. The results show that the mana consumption of the Alchemy Colossus that was repaired by the dwarf is 17% lower than that of the original Alchemy Colossus prototype. Besides, the operation of the various Alchemy Arrays did not decrease as a result. Instead, the effect was enhanced to some extent.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! This is impossible! The level of alchemy in the Rotterdam Kingdom is the highest in the entire world of Anril, and Master Russell¡¯s proficiency in alchemy is unmatched. There must be something wrong with your tests, go back and repeat them!¡± Kanber eximed while everyone was still trying to digest the shock that the test results had brought them.

    ¡°Your Highness, we have already conducted theparative tests thrice, and the results of all three were very close, so...¡± At this moment, the metallurgist Nick dared not say anything else. Instead, he handed the detailed data of the tests to his teacher Donald. He was afraid that he might have to say that the dwarf was better than Master Russell.

    ¡°Go and conduct another test. If you find any real issues,e and report to me again!¡± Kanber sounded rather infuriated at this point.

    If the one who surpassed Master Russell was from the Rotterdam Kingdom, he would probably be exhrated. However, the Rotterdam Kingdom had been developing and thriving in alchemical civilization for thousands of years, and Master Russell¡¯s attainments were like an insurmountable barrier, where countless ingenuous alchemists were stuck at.

    Yet, there was now a funny-looking dwarf from a small and unknown force whose proficiency in alchemy actually surpassed that of Russell. Hence, all of the effort that the Rotterdam Kingdom had put in was useless!

    Kanber was not the only one. That was something that no one in the Rotterdam Kingdom could tolerate.

    ¡°Your Highness Kanber, you should know that they can¡¯t go wrong with their tests. I don¡¯t know where that dwarf is from, but he is highly proficient in alchemy. Seems like the force named Tower of Dusk is indeed worth our attention. Since they can have that kind of rtionship with the Brilliance Shrine, there definitely is something unusual about them.¡± Donald closed the detailed test data in his hand, and shifted his gaze onto a distant spot where Archbishop Martin and the young mage were talking to each other affectionately.

    At this time, Donald finally felt that the team that had appeared out of nowhere was probably really worthy of his attention. Although he had never heard of the Tower of Dusk, he was well aware of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s development direction in Anril. Despite Archbishop Martin¡¯s position in the Brilliance Shrine, he was actually having a cordial conversation with Lin Li. Clearly, the Tower of Dusk should have a considerable level of ability in Anril.

    Upon hearing Donald¡¯s words, Kanber was stunned, and he finally calmed down a little. He grabbed the test results from Donald, and carefully read them twice. He had considerable attainments in alchemy, and after taking a nce at the detailed data, he could tell that there really seemed to be no problems with the tests.

    However, although he agreed with the results of the test, Kanber still didn¡¯t think that Angno¡¯s level of alchemy would really be better than the god-like Master Russell¡¯s.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Kanber humphed coldly and looked elsewhere with a sullen expression. He said, ¡°Master Donald, these things only involve a small portion of the Alchemy Colossus technique. That does not mean that dwarf¡¯s level of alchemy is really qualified to bepared to Master Russell¡¯s. Perhaps, he only got lucky, and happened to get some information about our Alchemy Colossus. What we should really do is to properly investigate how the information got leaked after we go back this time.¡±

    Kanber¡¯s words did make some sense. After all, there was plenty of knowledge in the field of alchemy, and the level of alchemy indeed was not something that could be reflected by just a few questions. However, the exnations he gave next were obviously a bit far-fetched. Although it was not impossible, iming coincidence seemed to be self-deception.

    ¡°In that case, how do you exin the increase in performance after those Alchemy Colossuses were repaired?¡± Donald questioned, clearly disagreeing with Kanber¡¯s far-fetched im.

    ¡°Well, maybe Master Russell originally hid some secrets in the setting of the Alchemy Colossus, which we have never found. Maybe that dwarf was just lucky enough to discover those secrets that could create an illusion of a boost in performance of the Alchemy Colossus. Besides, we still don¡¯t know if this enhancement is good or bad for the Alchemy Colossuses. If the boost in performance is achieved by overdrawing its lifespan, wouldn¡¯t the losses outweigh the gain?¡±

    Prince Kanber¡¯s argument was not unreasonable, and many of the surrounding metallurgists nodded.

    It was just like how one could achieve an increase in strength in a short period of time by overdrawing their mental and physical strength and vitality. Many of the metallurgists knew that the Alchemy Colossus could increase its performance by arge margin in a short period of time by overloading itself and increasing its mana output.

    Simrly, humans would be extremely weak after using too much of their mental strength and physical strength. The wear and tear of the variousponents of the Alchemy Colossus would also be elerated, thus affecting their lifespan. A person¡¯s weakness could be seen easily, but the wear and tear of theponents of the Alchemy Colossus was often undetectable until it underwent inspections and repair. By then, it would already be troublesome.

    However, the improved performance brought about by the overdrawing was stillrgely different from the current performance of the repaired Alchemy Colossus. How could Donald not tell the difference? He just didn¡¯t want to get into an argument with Kanber regarding that matter. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to say that the dwarf¡¯s alchemy level was definitely higher than that of the top metallurgist, Russell!

    Donald wasn¡¯t the only one who could see that. In fact, metallurgists who were a little more clear-headed were able to figure out which reason was likelier. However, alchemy had already be something akin to religion in the Rotterdam Kingdom. Whenever religion was involved, there would be no shortage of pious believers. Hence, there were also quite a few metallurgists who were more inclined to believe Prince Kanber¡¯s statement as they firmly believed that outsiders could never surpass Master Russell no matter what.

    ¡°Even if that dwarf really only has some secrets of the Alchemy Colossus, we should still be more careful. Besides, we should also try to win him over. Perhaps we can get a better understanding of the Alchemy Colossus.¡± Although Donald had some scruples about the level of alchemy of the Tower of Dusk, he still thought in line with Kanber¡¯s words. As soon as he said that, everyone agreed with each other, regardless of which mindset they were inclined towards.

    However, Prince Kanber was still rather displeased with the oue, and he didn¡¯t think it was necessary to ce much emphasis on the insignificant force and the funny-looking dwarf. However, because of Donald¡¯s prestige, he didn¡¯t express strong opposition to it. Instead, he perfunctorily said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll pay more attention then. Master Donald, should we consider the following actions we should take for the exploration?¡±

    Donald could only secretly feel helpless about Kanber¡¯s perfunctory attitude. He seemed to have to worry about the Tower of Dusk and the dwarf. He couldn¡¯t expect anything from the prince at all.

    On the side of the team from Rotterdam Kingdom, there was some shock and discussion because of the changes in the Alchemy Colossus. In the end, they reached a consensus. However, everyone had a clear answer deep down in their heart, and none of them could be convinced at all.

    On the other hand, Lin Li and the archbishop were chatting in a cordial and friendly manner about their matters, just like what Donald and the others saw. Meanwhile, Prince Jeremiah had been waiting for the test results so that he could annoy Felic.

    However, to Prince Jeremiah¡¯s disappointment, there were no other results even after the numerous Alchemy Colossus were dismantled. <i>Damn it, is that funny dwarf really that good at fixing Alchemy Colossuses without effort!?</i>

    Of course, Prince Jeremiah didn¡¯t know that the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom also had the same doubts as him. They were also annoyed at Angno¡¯s level of alchemy.

    Jeremiah would look at the situation of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team for a while before gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Lin Li, who was at the side, could already tell what the prince was being anxious about. However, given Lin Li¡¯s current realm, he only felt a little amused. For the sake of Archbishop Martin¡¯s face, he didn¡¯t bother to argue with Jeremiah.

    After the casual chat with Archbishop Martin, Lin Li also knew how the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom hade to the Sky Castle. In fact, just like what Lin Li had surmised, they used a Teleportation Portal on the border between the Ledin Kingdom and Dwarf Kingdom, and not the one in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    The people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom had received a clue about the High Elves¡¯ ruins not too long ago, at about the same time as Lin Li¡¯s exploration of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. They did not know if there was any connection between the two.

    However, the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom did not manage to find Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum after following the clues. Instead, they found a ruin that resembled a material transfer station. Unfortunately, none of them gained anything valuable from the ruin which had been vacant for tens of thousands of years.

 Chapter 928 - Weéˆ¥æª™e All Friends

    <h4>Chapter 928: We¡¯re All Friends</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the depths of the ruins, they found a Teleportation Portal, and after some analysis of the information in their hands, they discovered that it was the passage connecting to the Sky Castle that was controlled by the Immortal King.

    The Immortal King¡¯s name was rather frightening. Even though he had disappeared countless years ago, the mere mention of things rted to him would make everyone tense up and feel extremely cautious. Everyone knew that the Sky Castles were what the High Elves relied on to rule Anril for ages.

    The Immortal King and the Sky Castle certainly meant a massive amount of wealth that was beyond imagination. However, the risks involved were definitely not to be belittled. That was precisely the reason that the team from the Brilliance Shrine and that of Rotterdam reached a consensus to cooperate and explore the Sky Castle.

    After that conversation, Archbishop Martin finally realized that the Sky Castle that he and the others had set foot in was actually the one that Lin Li, the Malfa Family, and the elves had explored previously.

    As for the expedition that Lin Li went on that time, it was no longer a secret, because the Dark de withdrew halfway and spread the word about it to the outside world. However, the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam did not enter from the Teleportation Portal in the Haiga Mountain Range. Hence, Archbishop Martin had never thought of associating this Sky Castle with the one that Lin Li explored.

    When he first heard that piece of news, Archbishop Martin kept a straight face, but he was secretly filled with regret. Since the Sky Castle had already been explored, they reckoned that the truly valuable items had to have already been taken away by the Tower of Dusk and the other forces.

    On the other hand, Prince Jeremiah was filled with displeasure. Not hesitating at all, he hostilely said, ¡°What have you gotten from this ce!?¡±

    It was a little rude to ask that question. It was one thing to secretly find out about the matter, but another thing to question him directly. The Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine were merely cooperating with each other, and they did not actually share a superior-subordinate rtionship. There was no reason for them to report all of the items they had gained.

    Upon hearing Prince Jeremiah¡¯s question, Archbishop Martin panicked before Lin Li could say anything. In fact, he did not bother about Prince Jeremiah¡¯s identity, either. He simply said, ¡°Jeremiah, enough. This is not the Ledin Kingdom. Master Felic is not obligated to answer your question!¡±

    However, Lin Li waved his hand, and nonchntly said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, please don¡¯t mind. To be honest with you, when we came here previously, we only explored the central tower of the Sky Castle due to time constraints. After we exited, we immediately faced the attacks of some powerful enemy. We had no choice but to cease exploring and hurriedly flee through the Teleportation Portal.¡±

    Archbishop Martin, who was initially still feeling fortunate, immediately nervously asked, ¡°Powerful enemy? Neither we nor the people from Rotterdam encountered any threatening attacks since we arrived other than the random attacks by some grievous spirits. I wonder what powerful enemy you¡¯re referring to, Master Felic.¡±

    Within just a few exchanges, Archbishop Martin seemed to have been on an emotional roller coaster. Firstly, he found it a pity that the Sky Castle had been explored by Lin Li, after which he felt thankful that Lin Li had merely explored the central tower. Now, he immediately tensed up again after hearing Lin Li mention the enemy.

    ¡°It was a Ghost. It should have been at the Legendary-realm at that time,¡± Lin Li said calmly.

    ¡°I thought it¡¯d be some kind of powerful enemy, but it turns out it was just a Ghost that was at the peak of the Legendary-level. If I had been there, I would have been able to deal with it on my own,¡± Prince Jeremiah said proudly with disdain.

    Prince Jeremiah was not lying. If he had to deal with other magical beasts that were at the peak Legendary-level, he would never dare to boast even if he was arrogant, but the Ghost was different. He originally already had strength that was at the peak of the Legendary-level. Although he was at the same level as the Ghost, Holy Light Magic had always been able to restrain Undead creatures.

    Even Archbishop Martin had clearly heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that the enemy was a Ghost. He totally did not notice Lin Li saying ¡°at that time¡±.

    Of course, even if he had noticed it, Archbishop Martin probably would not have taken it seriously, and neither would Jeremiah. Ever since Lin Li explored the Sky Castle, only a few years<sup>1</sup> had passed. No one would have thought that there would be any significant change in the strength of the Ghost that was in the peak of the Legendary-realm after just a few years.

    Archbishop Martin changed the topic, and asked Lin Li about other matters, such as the streets of the Sky Castle and the experiences they had during the expedition. Seeing that Archbishop Martin did not take the matter of the Ghost to heart, Lin Li did not specially remind him. Instead, he continued to have a friendly conversation with him. Anyway, he was just making guesses about the current condition of the Ghost. Besides, with the restraint that Holy Light Magic had on the Undead creatures, the team from the Brilliance Shrine would not be at a huge disadvantage.

    As for Jeremiah, it seemed that he had regained some of his face during the conversation just now. There was less resentment in his expression as well. However, he was not satisfied yet. He had lost plenty of face previously, and he was merely getting back some interest now.

    At this moment, a young mage from the team of the Tower of Dusk walked over. It was n, who was in charge of leading the mages.

    n had an unnatural expression on his face. He walked towards Lin Li, and said in an awkward tone, ¡°President, a few mages got injured during the battle just now.¡±

    <i>Damn it, they actually got injured under such circumstances. It seems like this bunch of greenhorns have not been training hard enough!</i> Lin Li thought to himself.

    Lin Li, who was initially full of smiles and chatting with Archbishop Martin, grew sullen after he heard the news from n. Although the mages deployed in this battle were all newly recruited, Lin Li felt that the battle was rather easy. Besides, they had the protection of the Death Knights.

    He thought that they still had to go through actualbat sessions as studying magic all day in the Tower of Dusk would only create a batch of magic schrs. The essence of magic was still a type of battle too. It was the weapon that was essential for the survival of weak humans. Mages withoutbat power would be akin to garbage!

    In present-day Anril, there was indeed a batch of mages who were constantly moring about the de-violentization of magic as they felt that magic ought to be studied as a culture, and should not be used in fights. The proposals that had been solemnly raised by the councilors of the Supreme Council were aborted due to the opposition of the majority of the members.

    Lin Li had always been contemptuous of such debates. He felt that magic was just magic. Just like a sword, magic was a weapon for mankind to survive in this world where life was about the survival of the fittest. Mages had to engage inbat and continuously use actualbat to train themselves. Studying a whole bunch of magic theories would be a waste even if they had strength of high level. If the mages forgot about that, the profession of mages would probably not be far from bing obsolete.

    An even more important point was that a mage¡¯sprehension of the power of magic was inseparable from actualbat. Only by continuously using the power of magic could one continuously familiarize themselves with magic,prehend it, and master itpletely. The reason that there were rarely any outstanding mages like those at the end of the Dark Age among the numerous ones that were currently existing in Anril was theck of actualbat experience.

    In Anril today, even the Legendary-realm had be the pinnacle of magic, and mages below the Legendary-realm could still engage in some training through expeditions and adventurers. However, stepping into the Legendary-realm seemed to have be an impressive achievement. Legendary-mages seemed to have be extremely precious, and were not to get into idents.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t care what the other mages thought, but he would definitely not allow the mages under him to turn into pieces of garbage who only cared about unting their levels. This time, he brought the newly recruited mages along with him on such a dangerous operation precisely because he wanted them to increase their actualbat experience. However, to Lin Li¡¯s infuriation, some of them had already gotten injured during the battle with the Pdins even before the actual dangerous battle.

    However, Jeremiah interpreted Lin Li¡¯s sullen expression differently. He felt that Lin Li was clearly worried about his subordinates. Generally speaking, if someone was injured, it would be fine to treat them, but to him, Lin Li¡¯s expression seemed to suggest that the Tower of Dusk had no means of treatment.

    Jeremiah actually didn¡¯t feel surprised about that at all. Looking at theposition of the team of the Tower of Dusk, he felt that it was generally made up of mages and knights. Unlike them, the team from the Brilliance Shrine, which possessed arge number of Priests who were good at healing, could use the Power of Light to heal the wounded as and when they wanted.

    Therefore, injuries were very troublesome for a team like the Tower of Dusk which could only use potions to heal their injured team members. However, the effects of Recovery Potions could notpare to the treatment theurgy of the Priests at all. The Recovery Potions would at most control the development of the injury, and then slightly increase the speed of recovery. Evenmon physical wounds would take at least a day or two to recover when treated with ordinary potions. Besides, if the injuries were more severe, they might not be able to recover for a few days, and the injured person would basically be out of the operation.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that there were no potions that couldpare to the effects of the healing theurgy, but they would all have to be at least Master-level potions which cost more than 10,000 gold coins. Usually, they would only be equipped by important members of the expedition. No one would be willing to use them on their subordinates.

    Although they had heard from others that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses were ratherrge in scale, and had been doing well in the Breezy ins despite having only been established for a few years, Jeremiah did not think that the Tower of Dusk would be generous enough to use such precious and valuable Master-level potions on a few injured subordinates, even if they could afford to do so.

    At the thought of it, Jeremiah was filled with joy, and he was thankful that he had not left immediately. After waiting for such a long time, he finally found a chance to salvage his pride.

    Jeremiah suppressed the excitement in his heart, and tried to force a look of sympathy on his face. He said to Lin Li in a low voice, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s such a pity. I did not expect that misunderstanding to bring such a loss to your team. However, you don¡¯t have to worry too much. Since you and Archbishop Martin are friends, you are my friend too. If you need any help, feel free to say so.¡±

    Jeremiah¡¯s words could be considered sincere, and even Archbishop Martin was stunned. That was simply too surprising. Prince Jeremiah, who had always been arrogant, actually managed to say such polite words in such circumstances. <i>Is he the same Jeremiah I know!?</i>

    Archbishop Martin had known Jeremiah for more than a day or two. Although the rtionship between the two of them was not excellent, he was also quite familiar with Jeremiah¡¯s temperament. Jeremiah might not be the type to take revenge for everything, he was also not generous. However, Prince Jeremiah actually still said those words despite having been shamed previously. Archbishop Martin wondered if his persuasion worked, or if Jeremiah had reallye to his senses.

    To be honest, at this moment, Archbishop Martin even felt somewhat relieved. He appeared much more enthusiastic and friendly than usual when he spoke to Lin Li precisely because he understood Jeremiah¡¯s temperament. He hoped that Lin Li could be more tolerant of the prince¡¯s rude behavior in their following cooperation.

    After hearing Jeremiah¡¯s words, Archbishop Martin even felt somewhat heartened, as if his own child had suddenly be sensible. At the same time, the change in Jeremiah¡¯s attitude was also the reason Archbishop Martin was more confident and less worried about the following cooperation with the Tower of Dusk.

    However, before Lin Li could even reply, and just as Archbishop Martin was about to feel gratified, Jeremiah raised his chin and smugly said, ¡°There are only a few subordinates of yours who got injured, right? That¡¯s not a big deal. Must you be so vexed? Since we¡¯re friends, why don¡¯t I take the initiative to supply you with a batch of potions? Take them to heal your careless subordinates. We have Priests and potions here.¡±

    As soon as Jeremiah said those words, the surroundings instantly became silent. Everyone seemed to have be immobilized, and the atmosphere became extremely bizarre.

    Archbishop Martin, who had originally been pleased with Jeremiah¡¯s change in attitude, and was nning to continue from there, was dumbfounded as well. There was a look of shock, disappointment, agony, and disbelief in his eyes. His gaze was extremely peculiar.

 Chapter 929 - Holding The Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 929: Holding The Sky Castle</h4>

    Jeremiah also sensed that there was something amiss about the atmosphere. When he saw Archbishop Martin looking at him that way, he thought that the old fogy could not bear to part with the potions, so he smiled nonchntly, and said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, like you said, we are all friends! Now that a friend is in need, don¡¯t be so stingy. It¡¯s just a few potions. How much can they be worth?¡±

    The moment he heard those words, Archbishop Martin almost vomited blood, and he wished he could dig a hole in the ground and jump right into it. He was filled with resentment. How could he think that there was a change in Jeremiah¡¯s attitude? Had he remembered that rascal¡¯s identity a step earlier, he probably would not have been in such an awkward position.

    In order to prevent Jeremiah from saying anything else that was overbearing and would make Archbishop Martin want to kill himself, thetter grabbed his arm, and quickly said to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, let¡¯s stop at this today. You have things to attend to as well. I will not waste any more of your time.¡±

    After quickly bidding farewell to Lin Li, the archbishop ignored Jeremiah¡¯s reaction. Although he had no idea how he had mustered the strength to pull away the knight that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he nheless did so and fled quickly to his team.

    The two of them kept walking far away, but Jeremiah finally broke free from Archbishop Martin. Filled with displeasure, he said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, what are you trying to do? Aren¡¯t you very familiar with that Felic? I¡¯m just giving them some potions. It¡¯s not a big deal. Must you act so exaggeratedly!?¡±

    After looking at Lin Li, who was already returning to his team in the distance, the sullen-faced Archbishop Martin finally lost his temper. Infuriated, he yelled at Jeremiah, ¡°Give them some potions? Felic is the one who dissolved the Viper¡¯s poison in the past. Do you think hecks those potions!?¡±

    He then stopped bothering with Jeremiah, and quickly strode towards the team in exasperation.

    At this moment, it was Jeremiah¡¯s turn to be dumbfounded. That piece of news was just like a thunderbolt that made him turn numb. The Viper¡¯s poison could only be dissolved by a pharmaceutics Guru. A mere Master-level potion was considered nothing to a pharmaceutics Guru.

    Recalling what he had just said, Jeremiah thought, <i>I actually wanted to give a pharmaceutics Guru a few potions. Could there be anything more embarrassing than this!?</i>

    Jeremiah turned beet red, and his face almost looked like it was dripping blood. Even though he knew that not many people had heard about what happened in the past, he felt that there was still some contempt and sarcasm in the eyes of the people who looked over. He had no choice but to lower his head and hurriedly scurry back to his tent in a pathetic manner.

    <i>Damn it, Felic must have done it on purpose. Otherwise, why would he have put on such a sullen expression!?</i> At the thought of the expression Lin Li had after hearing that his subordinates had gotten injured, Jeremiah, who had returned to his tent, considered it carefully. He was almost certain that Lin Li was out to embarrass him.

    During the confrontation between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine just now, the Pdins had been almostpletely defeated. Although no one was injured, their pride had suffered a lot. On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, only a few mages were slightly injured, but the results achieved were enough to turn anyone¡¯s head.

    Given the stark contrast, there would probably be no one who would be dissatisfied with thebat power of their subordinates just because a few of them had gotten injured. At least in Jeremiah¡¯s opinion, if he were in Lin Li¡¯s position, he would find the victory to be joyous even if a few of his people had gotten injured or even killed.

    That was also the reason that Jeremiah was increasingly certain that the damned Felic was pretending to look frustrated simply because he wanted to make Jeremiah take the bait and embarrass himself. However, even if that was the case, what could he do? He was the one who took the initiative to say those words; hence, he could only bear with it. He hoped that he would have a chance to salvage his pride in the future.

    On the other hand, Lin Li and n also returned to the team of the Tower of Dusk. There was no need to worry about the injuries of the several mages, but they would definitely be taught a lesson by Lin Li.

    However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk knew that their President had already entered the Sanctuary-realm, and was a noble and almost godlike existence. It was an honor for them to be reprimanded by him.

    It was not Lin Li¡¯s first time in the Sky Castle, but he did not choose to explore it alone now. Even though he had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, the strength of the Ghost was still rather scary to him. After all, it was the Ghost of the Highlord Osric. Since there were now the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam avable, he would definitely make use of them to share the burden and pressure.

    Hence, like the other two teams, the team from the Tower of Dusk also began to set up a temporary camp there on Lin Li¡¯smand. Although there were plenty of houses surrounding them in the Sky Castle, they had already been vacant for thousands of years, and even if the magic gears and magic traps would no longer pose a threat, it would still be easier to put up a tent.

    To the senior mages of the team, putting up a temporary camp was a piece of cake as they were familiar with it. On the other hand, the greenhorn mages who had just joined simply stood neatly in a row, and the Archmages were all listening carefully to the President¡¯s lecture like obedient children.

    Regardless of whether it was the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Magic Net Array or other battle formations, the most important factor was their tacit cooperation. Hence, when someone got injured, the problem would not just lie with the victim, but also hispanions who had a huge responsibility. Lin Li could tolerate many kinds of mistakes made by the mages under him, but that was an exception because that was not just being irresponsible to oneself, but also to thepanions who trusted the said person.

    Lin Li¡¯s lecture was much more powerful than any magic storm as the greenhorn mages were all so ashamed and guilty that they wished they could be swallowed up by the ground. After having scolded them for more than 10 minutes, Lin Li finally stopped, and waved for n to take them away to resume training.

    ¡°Felic, why don¡¯t you continue exploring the Sky Castle? Do you really n to wait for those two useless teams?¡± As soon as Lin Li dismissed the greenhorn mages, Angno, who was d in colorful armor, scurried over excitedly. It was not exaggerating to say that those two teams were useless. The Pdins of the Brilliance Shrine were defeated by the Tower of Dusk in just one round, while the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam were despised by Angno. His Titan-level Alchemy Colossus could easily step on and turn them into scrap metal.

    As soon as he looked at Angno¡¯s outfit, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but cover his forehead with his hand, filled with regret for not forcing Angno, who had no aesthetic sense, to change his colorful armor.

    He¡¯d initially thought that only the team of the Tower of Dusk was exploring the Sky Castle this time, but to their surprise, they ran into the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam. This time, the image of himself and the Tower of Dusk waspletely ruined by the atrocious shorty.

    Of course, that was just a casual thought of Lin Li. He soon thought of the serious problem, and said, ¡°By the way, Angno, make a summary of the weaknesses of those Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team and hand it to n for him to take a closer look.¡±

    ¡°Felic, you must be kidding. Every part of that garbage is a weakness. If you want me to write them down, how long is that going to take me!?¡± Angno immediately retorted in displeasure upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. Indeed, that was the case. As an alchemist, he could see numerous ws in every part of the Alchemy Colossuses, and it would be torturous to make him note them all down.

    ¡°I want the weaknesses that are susceptible to attacks, like those that would paralyze them once they are struck by an offensive spell.¡± That was something that Lin Li himself was able to do, but firstly, he did not want to waste energy on it, and secondly, he didn¡¯t want to see Angno¡¯s embarrassing armor.

    Lin Li was more or less at ease about the team of the Brilliance Shrine. It was not just because of his friendship with Archbishop Martin; it was more importantly because of Pope Rosario¡¯s attitude. As for the people of the Rotterdam, Lin Li did not trust them at all. If they really wanted to get up to some tricks, he would not mind leaving them there.

    ¡°Okay then, but after this, you must help me set up a Four-Element Chaotic Array for my armor.¡± Although Angno did not think much, he did not forget reaping benefits from Lin Li.

    Although he was also an alchemist, Angno favored Alchemy Colossuses, and Alchemy Arrays were Lin Li¡¯s forte. The Four-Element Chaotic Array was Guru-level Alchemy Array. After the alchemical elements were fused, there would be a huge weakening.

    <i>Damn it, after I get the armor, I must change its color first!</i> With that idea in mind, Lin Li readily agreed to Angno¡¯s request.

    <i>Hmph, the color of my armor isn¡¯t that easy to change, unless you mask it with something!</i> Although Angno acted innocent, he definitely was scheming since he could stay by Highlord Osric¡¯s side for such a long time.

    As night fell, Lin Li stood in the makeshift camp and looked at his surroundings that were slowly sinking into darkness, after which he somehow felt a sense of irritation. The Sky Castle actually changed from day to night. To Lin Li who had entered that ce twice, it meant something different.

    The Sky Castle was located in the chaos of time and space, where there was no sunrise and sunset. Hence, how could there be a cycle of day and night? The so-called change was actually a change of lighting in the Sky Castle. The people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam had set foot in the Sky Castle for the first time, and thus they might think that those changes were normal, but Lin Li remembered clearly that there had been no such changes thest time he had been there.

    Thinking of the Ghost that had disappeared, Lin Li vaguely felt that the changes in the Sky Castle were probably rted to it. When Osric was at the Sky Castle in the past, he left a note that was full of resentment in the Immortal King¡¯sboratory. He seemed to be looking for an item left behind by the Immortal King.

    Lin Li had no clear answer as to what Osric was looking for, but he guessed that it could be the control crystal of the Sky Castle. If Osric was really seeking it, it could be that his final goal was to possess the Sky Castle.

    Moreover, Lin Li had thought that if he hadn¡¯t snatched that perfect body, the Ghost that Osric left in the Sky Castle might¡¯ve returned to the abyss and merged with the perfect body once it grew. One way would naturally be to leave the ce using the Teleportation Portal, and then go all the way to the abyss where the perfect body was ced, just like what they did during the exploration of the mausoleum previously. Another method would be topletely possess the Sky Castle, and then use its power to travel through the void tond directly in the abyss where the perfect body had been ced.

    <i>Now that the Sky Castle has suddenly undergone such a change, does it mean that Osric¡¯s soul which was hidden in the Ghost haspletely gained control of a portion of the Sky Castle through other means</i>? Although the control crystal that Lin Li had theoretically had the highest level of control and authority, Osric had a better understanding of the Sky Castle; hence, that question was undoubtedly worrying for Lin Li.

    In fact, if he hadn¡¯t discovered the changes in the Sky Castle, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have needed to bother with the Brilliance Shrine and the people of the Rotterdam. Even if the Ghost had already reached the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li would¡¯ve been confident in using the control crystal in his hands and the power of the Sky Castle to suppress it.

    However, now that the Sky Castle had undergone a change that made Lin Li worried, the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam could more or less be considered a force to be utilized. In particr, the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team itself had a technique that could suppress the Undead creatures. Besides, their overall strength was actually not as weak as it had been in the previous battle.

    On that night, there were no further changes other than the random Vengeful Spirits that attacked. The Vengeful Spirits might have gained physical forms, but they did not cause any damage to the three teams, and were wiped out by various attacks almost as soon as they appeared around the camp.

    On the following day, Archbishop Martin of the Brilliance Shrine and Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom arrived outside of the camp of the Tower of Dusk early in the morning to look for Lin Li to discuss the exploration of the Sky Castle.

    Obviously, after those events yesterday, both the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam had drastic changes in their attitude towards Lin Li.

 Chapter 930 - Adhere

    <h4>Chapter 930: Adhere</h4>

    The Brilliance Shrine was not too hard to handle. After all, they had already forged some rtions with the Brilliance Shrine a long time ago. There was also a drastic change in the attitudes of the people from the Rotterdam who had always been haughty and arrogant. Archbishop Martin and Prince Jeremiah were secretly astonished as well.

    Lin Li did not put on any airs, and he simply brought them to the spot outside the camp before leading them into the tent in the center. He smiled and gestured for the four of them to take a seat, seemingly having already forgotten about everything that had happened the day before. Lin Li¡¯s behavior seemed to have made the four of them feel a little more rxed, especially Prince Jeremiah who had made a fool out of himself yesterday. His difort seemed to have also faded.

    Apart from Lin Li, the Tower of Dusk was also supported by Master Basel. There were a total of six people from the three forces in the tent, making it look extremely simple at a nce. After the six of them sat down, none of them spoke first. There was a somber mood in the tent.

    After a moment of silence, Lin Li looked at the four people who were seated on both his sides. He smilingly said, ¡°Why did you alle to look for me at this time? What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Of course, Lin Li knew that the four of them intended to talk to him about cooperation during the exploration. However, the meaning would obviously be different depending on the person who brought it up.

    ¡°I heard that you have explored this Sky Castle before. Let me ask you, do you know anything about the Sky Castle?¡± Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom asked in a hostile manner. He did not mention anything about the cooperation, and simply asked what Lin Li knew about the Sky Castle.

    As for the cooperation, Prince Kanber did not believe that the Tower of Dusk was fit to cooperate with him. He was speaking on behalf of the Rotterdam Kingdom, and if there were any cooperation, it ought to be between nations. For example, a cooperation with Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom.

    After gaining some understanding yesterday, Kanber finally knew that the Tower of Dusk was just a local force from the Breezy ins. He was a prince of a nation who represented the noble Rotterdam Kingdom. Cooperating with a small local force would be stooping below his level.

    Upon hearing that rude question from Kanber, Donald could not help but secretlyment in his heart. All the reminders and instructions he had given before they arrived had clearly been useless. Regardless of the cooperation, Kanber¡¯s condescending and bossy attitude alone might cause him to be chased out.

    Looking at Prince Kanber who was holding his chin high and waiting for Lin Li to answer the question, Donald felt a strong urge to hold his forehead and sigh. In reality, he understood Prince Kanber well, and should have expected that long ago. However, they were both leaders of the team, and he couldn¡¯t just leave Prince Kanber out of the discussion about the cooperation, which was an important matter.

    Lin Li was also shocked to hear Kanber¡¯s question, but he did not get angry at all. He simply smiled and calmly said, ¡°What does this have to do with me?¡±

    They were not in a cooperative rtionship anyway. In fact, they could be consideredpetitors. Lin Li really could not figure out where the other party¡¯s sense of superiority came from. <i>Does he really think everyone in Anril has to submit to the Rotterdam Kingdom?</i>

    If it had been in the past, Lin Li might have thrown him out. However, with his current realm, he no longer bothered to argue with an insignificant small fry. It was just like a young child crying and throwing a tantrum in front of an adult. Perhaps a child would be worth reprimanding, but an insignificant small fry who was getting up to those things would not be taken seriously at all.

    When Archbishop Martin saw that scene, he was rather joyous instead of feeling surprised. Even though he was the one who had revealed to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom that Lin Li had explored the Sky Castle, and was the reason they wanted to cooperate, he did not wish to see the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom getting too close to the Tower of Dusk out of consideration for interests.

    A cooperation was inevitable, especially for the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom. After all, they did not have deep ties with either side. Donald was clear that if the attitude of his team did not change, it would merely cause the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk to form a closer alliance.

    Therefore, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s rhetorical question, Donald pressed his hand on Kanber¡¯s shoulder without waiting for thetter to speak again. He looked at Lin Li, and said, ¡°President Felic, we are all aware of the current situation, so there is no need to say anything meaningless. I, Prince Kanber, Archbishop Martin, and Prince Jeremiah have alle here with the purpose of discussing cooperation with the Tower of Dusk regarding the exploration of the Sky Castle.¡±

    Although Donald was the one who first proposed a cooperation, he alsotched onto the Brilliance Shrine. In other words, he was trying to say that the cooperation was proposed by both parties. Hence, in the uing discussions, the Rotterdam Kingdom would not be in too passive of a position, because they were tied together with the Brilliance Shrine.

    Actually, Donald was not wrong when he said that. After all, before the arrival of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, the teams from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine had already reached a cooperation agreement. However, the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine was clearly not something that could bepared to a temporary partnership between the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Of course, Donald¡¯spelling negotiation method immediately made Archbishop Martin feel rather displeased. If he hadn¡¯t been worried about the hidden dangers in the Sky Castle, he wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to seek out the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom to talk about cooperation. In fact, they might have even joined forces with the Tower of Dusk to annihte the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom. Anyway, for over 1,300 years, the Rotterdam Kingdom seemed to have strayed away from Anril, and almost had no ties with any other nations, let alone any ties and connections with the Ledin Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, they were in the Sky Castle which was once possessed by the Immortal King himself. No one knew what kind of dangers were hidden there. The Immortal King was the one who helped the High Elves establish their dynasty during their heyday, and could be considered an unparalleled powerhouse in the history of Anril. No one knew what kind of terrifying existences there were in the Sky Castle.

    Hence, although he did not wish to see the people from the Rotterdam, the archbishop nheless suppressed his anger, and sincerely said to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, this may be our first time here, and we haven¡¯t encountered much trouble so far, but we can also feel that there are definitely great dangers hidden in this Sky Castle. Hence, I managed to convince the two representatives of the Rotterdam Kingdom toe together. I hope we, the three forces, can establish cooperation in this exploration.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding? How is his experience useful at all? If we explore ording to his experience, then I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll end up with nothing. Archbishop Martin, the cooperation between us can be described as a cooperation between the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom. Does the Tower of Dusk represent the Fn Kingdom?¡±

    Prince Kanber was filled with disdain towards Martin for stooping low. Ignoring Donald¡¯s repeated hints, he continued, ¡°Of course, the Tower of Dusk can join us in the exploration. However, they¡¯re a small local force which should only be able to adhere to either of our teams. What do you think, Prince Jeremiah?¡±

    Prince Kanber¡¯s words were undeniably more or less true. In anyone¡¯s mind, the so-called experience of previous exploration was nothing more than just having experienced some obstacles and gained some benefits. However, that experience could not be replicated. So what if they walked through it again? The treasures would not grow again anyway.

    However, after hearing Prince Kanber ask for his opinion, Prince Jeremiah couldn¡¯t help but shiver. The effects of the fact that he had turned himself into aughing stock had yet to subside. He was too embarrassed to say anything now. Worried that he would embarrass himself again, he did not know how to react all of a sudden. He subconsciously said, ¡°Is that so? What? Um...¡±

    Seeing Jeremiah¡¯s behavior, Prince Kanber could no longer hide the contempt on his face. Not waiting for Jeremiah to answer him, he turned to Lin Li and arrogantly said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance, you can now join us as a condition for participating in the exploration of the Sky Castle. If we gain anything during the exploration, we won¡¯t shortchange you. Also, after we leave, you will enjoy the support of the Rotterdam Kingdom. I believe the Tower of Dusk will have a ce in the Breezy ins.¡±

    Looking at Prince Kanber who was speaking nonchntly, Archbishop Martin waspletely stunned. He had always thought that Prince Jeremiah who often tagged along beside him was already arrogant and cocky enough. To his surprise, Kanber, the prince of the Rotterdam, was much worse. He actually asked Lin Li to submit to them without bothering about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s background. It was as if he had be the king of the world. Indeed, he lived up to his name of being someone with the blood of the High Elves.

    However, the arrogance of the High Elves was justified by their impablepetency. They had dominated Anril and created an unprecedented prosperous dynasty, all with their own strength. Meanwhile, Prince Kanber was ipetent, and so was his team. Did he really think that this kind of strength would be enough to steadily suppress the Tower of Dusk?

    ¡°In that case, there¡¯s nothing more to talk about. Please leave,¡± said Lin Li who could not be bothered to fight back, because he was giving Archbishop Martin some face. However, there was no need for him to be nice to Prince Kanber who had a sense of superiority. It was nice enough of him not to throw him out of the Sky Castle.

    Prince Kanber could obviously tell what Lin Li meant. He stood up in exasperation and looked at Lin Li. He sneered, and said, ¡°Great, great, one day you will realize that you¡¯ve made a wrong decision!¡±

    After saying that, he actually left his seat and strode out of the tent.

    At the sight of that, Donald panicked and frantically stood up as well. He said to Lin Li and Archbishop Martin, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the cooperation is in the best interest of us, the three parties. He just couldn¡¯t figure it out at the moment. I¡¯ll go persuade him, and we¡¯ll discuss the details of the cooperation when we return.¡± After saying that, he quickly chased after Kanber without waiting for them to respond.

    Donald finally managed to catch up with Prince Kanber who had left in anger. However, before Donald could say anything to persuade him, Prince Kanber angrily said, ¡°Master Donald, as you just saw, it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t give them a chance, but that Felic is just too ungrateful. They¡¯re just an insignificant local force. Let¡¯s just go back, reorganize our team, and annihte them.¡±

    ¡°Annihte them? Didn¡¯t you see that they have an ambiguous rtionship with the Brilliance Shrine? Do you think the Brilliance Shrine will sit back and watch us take action against them!?¡± Donald was filled with fury when he heard Kanber¡¯s words.

    However, Donald did not really see the Tower of Dusk as a threat, either. He was just worried about the Brilliance Shrine. The dwarf yesterday had merely surprised him with alchemical ability. That did not mean that the Tower of Dusk was extremelypetent atrge.

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s the Brilliance Shrine? Aren¡¯t they scared of starting a war between the two nations?¡± Kanber questioned self-righteously. He represented the Rotterdam Kingdom, while the Brilliance Shrine represented the Ledin Kingdom. If they really got into a fight, it was bound to cause a conflict between the two nations. Besides, Kanber was not entirely clueless about the border tensions between the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom throughout all these years. How could the Ledin Kingdom dare to take the risk to offend the Rotterdam Kingdom in such circumstances?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t do anything, will that make you end up with nothing!? What are we here for? Without enough effort and credit, how could His Majesty hand over the throne to you? Do you think those brothers of yours are willing to see you inherit the throne!?¡± Donald barked in infuriation. He could no longer be bothered to consider Kanber¡¯s identity. He¡¯d simply expected better from him.

    Upon hearing the matter regarding the session of the throne, Kanber had no choice but to mellow out. However, he refused to speak in a better tone. ¡°What rights do those pieces of trash have to vie with me?¡±

    ¡°You should know that very well. In order to prevent any idents from happening during this operation, we must establish cooperation. Forget about the cooperation, just remember, whatever we do back there, it¡¯s all for the sake of letting you inherit the throne sessfully. This is above everything else. Go back first, I¡¯ll talk to them about the details of the cooperation.¡± Donald initially still nned to pull Kanber back, but at the thought of Prince Kanber¡¯s character, he thought that thetter might cause some issues in the following discussion.

    Kanber now knew that Donald was right, but he could not bring himself to go back again aftering out. Hence, he did not say anything, and simply headed towards the camp of his team.

 Chapter 931 - They EaC.Had Their Means

    Chapter 931: They Each Had Their Means

    Looking at Kanber¡¯s back, Donald shook his head helplessly, and turned around to return to the camp of the Tower of Dusk. Kanber looked down on the Tower of Dusk, which was a regional force, but his force was no different. However, their power was equal to the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s, and they even had a great advantage because of the Alchemy Colossuses.

    However, there was now the addition of the Tower of Dusk which had a dwarf that was very learned in the structure of the Alchemy Colossuses. Once the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine couldpletely unite, what advantage would they have?

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, President Felic, in order not to affect our next discussion on the details of cooperation, I got His Highness, Prince Kanber, to head back first. We can go ahead with the discussion now.¡± Donald returned to the tent and exined himself to Lin Li and the archbishop before returning to his seat.

    ¡°Master Donald, with the absence of a leader for your team, it doesn¡¯t seem appropriate to talk about cooperation in this situation. Are you sure you can make decisions on Prince Kanber¡¯s behalf? If you can¡¯t even have a unanimous agreement within your team, what¡¯s the point of talking about cooperation?¡± Master Basel, who was beside Lin Li, questioned indifferently.

    Although it seemed that Donald was not as arrogant and conceited as Kanber was, Basel could tell from Donald¡¯s tone and behavior after returning to the tent that there was actually no difference between the two of them. They simrly looked down on anyone who was not from the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Even Master Basel could not stand the way that the people from the Rotterdam behaved. What a joke. Kanber spoke in such an unruly manner just now, and you came back without any apology at all, yet you immediately decided on everyone¡¯s behalf and went straight to talking about the cooperation. How could there be something so easy!?

    Master Basel¡¯s question made Donald¡¯s face grow a little sullen, while anger brewed within him. He was the mighty chief imperial mage of the Rotterdam Kingdom, and he was already being very respectful by sitting there and discussing a cooperation with the President of a local force. Yet, even a subordinate had the audacity to go against him!

    However, Donald had just persuaded Kanber. How could he forget what he said immediately? He had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart. He said, ¡°Everyone, rest assured, I can make a decision, and I can guarantee that Kanber will never do anything to affect our cooperation.¡±

    Seeing that the atmosphere was a little tense, Archbishop Martin had no choice but to give everyone an out. ¡°Good to hear, good to hear. I believe that under Master Donald¡¯s persuasion, Prince Kanber probably would not do anything that would affect the cooperation. In this case, President Felic, do you think we can talk about the details of our cooperation now?¡±

    Even Archbishop Martin was rather sympathetic towards Donald. There was no great difference in the status of two princes, but the status of a prince and that of a crown prince were worlds apart.

    The team of the Brilliance Shrine was indeed led by the unlikeable Prince Jeremiah, but Archbishop Martin could at least suppress him with his position in the Brilliance Shrine. On the other hand, Donald might be the chief imperial mage of the Rotterdam, and also had a high position, but Kanber was the genuine heir to the throne. Hence, it was impossible to suppress him. Donald had to have spent a long time convincing Prince Kanber to agree to the cooperation.

    Prince Jeremiah, who was sitting next to Archbishop Martin, was also secretly thankful and d at this moment. He had not expected the pretentious Kanber to be chased out. Fortunately, he had not gone ahead with him and said anything offensive. With that example, Jeremiah immediately behaved himself, and remained still in his seat with his head hung low and his eyes fixed on the table as if there was a beautiful painting on it.

    Lin Li still had to show Archbishop Martin some face. Besides, he had originally intended to make the people of the Rotterdam cannon fodder. Hence, he naturally couldn¡¯t really let the cooperation talks stop. After hearing Archbishop Martin¡¯s attempt at persuasion, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Alright, since Master Donald is confident that that Prince Kanber will not do anything to affect the cooperation, let¡¯s put this aside and discuss the details of the cooperation.¡±

    In fact, Lin Li did not really care whether or not Prince Kanber would do anything to affect the cooperation. An insignificant figure like him could easily be destroyed by Lin Li. As long as the people from the Rotterdam fell for it, it would not be up to them to decide if they wanted to be cannon fodder or not when the time came.

    ¡°Since we have reached a consensus on the issue of cooperation, we should exchange information. Master Donald, would you like to share the information you have first?¡± Although Lin Li said to put that matter aside, it was obvious that he was not going to give Donald a good time. Hence, he decided to make them reveal what they knew first.

    In the current situation, Donald obviously could not say that he was not willing to do so. If that matter had not happened, he could¡¯ve still yed some tricks and tried to decline. However, he now had to show some genuine sincerity. He had no choice but to take out a scroll and unroll it on the table while secretly cursing at Kanber for being foolish. He said, ¡°This scroll, which was handed down in our royal family in the Rotterdam Kingdom, describes the structure of the Sky Castle.¡±

    In the past, Lin Li had obtained a design sketch of the Sky Castle in the Scar of Death. At that time, after studying that sketch, Lin Li felt that he could even build a Sky Castle on his own based on the information on the sketch. However, in reality, that was simply impossible. Not only did he need a massive amount of precious materials, the Sky Castle was huge, and its structure was iparablyplex. How could everything be presented on a single sketch?

    If it was built ording to that sketch, Lin Li would not even be able to build a simplified version of the Sky Castle like the Eternal Furnace, much less a real Sky Castle. The only thing that could be built would probably be an ordinary castle on earth that looked like a Sky Castle, which would be extremely difficult to live in.

    The painting that Donald took out was not actually a design sketch, but a description of the structure of the Sky Castle. It was like a city map that stated where the control center was, mentioned the important function of each area, and so on. Besides, it only described a small part of the structure of the Sky Castle. Seeing that Donald had taken it out without hesitation, Lin Li reckoned that he had to have a more valuable sketch.

    However, to Lin Li, the structure diagram was insignificant regardless of whether it wasplete or not. He had the control crystal of the Sky Castle, and although he couldn¡¯t control the entire Sky Castle now, he could still understand the situation of the Sky Castle through the control crystal.

    ¡°Is this... the structure diagram of the Sky Castle?¡± Archbishop Martin asked in shock as he looked at the diagram on the table. Although they had first entered into a cooperation agreement with the people of the Rotterdam, the agreement was only a ceasefire. It did not reach the point of exchanging information. Hence, it was his first time seeing the structure diagram as well.

    ¡°Yes, the ancestors of the Rotterdam Kingdom had the bloodline of the High Elves and the noble position granted by the High Elven queen herself. Hence, there were a few ancestors who had the privilege of living in this Sky Castle for a period of time. Besides, the structure of this Sky Castle was drawn by those ancestors from memory after they left this ce.¡± At the mention of it, Donald couldn¡¯t help but reveal a prideful expression.

    Although only the royals of the Rotterdam Kingdom had the bloodline of the High Elves in the beginning, after thousands and thousands of years of reproduction, the vast majority of people in the current Rotterdam Kingdom could be said to possess a trace of the High Elven bloodline. Hence, even though Donald wasn¡¯t a member of the royal family, he was considered a descendant of those ancestors, and there were traces of High Elven blood in his body.

    Psht, what¡¯s there to be proud of? Aren¡¯t you just a bunch of bastards!? Jeremiah, the prince of Ledin Kingdom, thought to himself. He was definitely the noble of nobles. However, after a few days of interaction, he still felt the contempt of the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom despite being slow-witted.

    In the eyes of the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom, only the nobles who had been conferred their titles during the High Elves¡¯ dynasty could be considered real nobles. The so-called nobles of the human kingdoms, including the royals, were all just country bumpkins. Even the people of the Rotterdam who were not nobles felt that they were superior to other nations because they had the High Elven blood.

    Of course, Jeremiah¡¯s displeasure was limited to just a couple of curses in his heart. One reason was that it involved rtions between nations. If he were to voice his thoughts out loud, it would be tantamount to offending everyone in the entire Rotterdam Kingdom, and that would result in disputes between nations. Another reason was that he had already provoked the Tower of Dusk, and would not be stupid enough to mess with the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom next.

    Donald slightly restrained some of his arrogance, and took a sweeping nce at everyone present. He said, ¡°With the structure diagram of the Sky Castle, we can find anything we want easily. At least, we won¡¯t have to search around blindly. I believe it will be quite useful for the uing exploration. As for the authenticity of this structure diagram, I believe that you all should be able to judge it.¡±

    It was clear what Donald meant. Since they dared to go there to explore, they definitely knew something about the Sky Castle. If they could not judge the authenticity of the diagram, they would not qualify to cooperate with him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually have the structure diagram of the Sky Castle. Indeed, the guidance of this structure diagram will be of much help to us in our uing exploration.¡± Of course, Archbishop Martin also knew that the diagram only depicted a small party of the Sky Castle. However, the so-called exchange of information wasn¡¯t really about sharing all the information that they each had. The main purpose was to prove that each of them was worthy enough to be part of the cooperation, and to determine their position in the cooperation.

    ¡°In this case, Archbishop Martin, what preparations has the Brilliance Shrine made this time?¡± Donald smiled proudly, but instead of urging Lin Li, he directed the question at the Brilliance Shrine.

    In Donald¡¯s eyes, the strength of the Tower of Dusk could not be considered negligible, but it was not that significant, either. The only thing worth valuing was their alchemical expert dwarf. Hence, during that exploration, the onlypetitor of the Rotterdam Kingdom was actually still the Brilliance Shrine¡ªas it had always been.

    ¡°Heh, what we have is a far cry from this structure diagram of the Sky Castle,¡± Archbishop Martin said humbly. At the same time, he took out a wooden box and ced it on the table. He gently pressed the lid to open it, revealing the item inside.

    ¡°Key?¡±

    After seeing what was in the box, Donald and Lin Li were momentarily stunned.

    It was just a key that looked extremely normal. Beside it, there were many more like it. However, after recovering from shock, Lin Li immediately saw from the appearance of those keys that they were not meant for unlocking ordinary locks. After understanding that, Lin Li immediately thought of something. He wondered, Could these keys be used for opening the doors of some important ces in the Sky Castle?

    ¡°Yes, these are keys. There are 36 sets of keys here, the very ones used to open the gates of the 36 Magic Towers, not including the Central Tower. These keys were part of a relic found in a ruin of the High Elves that was unearthed by a few bishops shortly after the end of the Dark Age.¡± Although Archbishop Martin said that it was inferior to Donald¡¯s structure diagram, he actually sounded extremely confident at this moment.

    Anyone could tell that apart from the Central Tower, there was definitely arge amount of treasures in the other 36 Magic Towers of the Sky Castle as well. Although one might not really be denied entry without those keys, there would definitely still be a great price to pay if one were to try and barge in. After all, the owner of the Sky Castle had still been the Immortal King.

    In fact, Donald was still doubting whether Lin Li had really explored the Sky Castle. He had heard from Archbishop Martin that Lin Li was still just a level-22 Legendary-mage when he¡¯d first explored the Sky Castle. Even though several forces had joined forces, the strongest in the team was only an elder of the elves who was probably only at level-23.

    Donald could not imagine how a force like theirs had actually dared to explore the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, and even managed to obtain quite a few treasures from the Central Tower. The Immortal King was a mythical figure. If his Sky Castle had been invaded that easily, wouldn¡¯t it have been a huge joke?

 Chapter 932 - Immortal

    <h4>Chapter 932: Immortal</h4>

    After seeing the keys in the wooden box, Donald could not help but reveal some eagerness in his eyes. It was not that the diagram he had was useless. The 36 Magic Towers of the Sky Castle were supported by the Sanctuary powerhouses of the High Elves in the past. There had to be plenty of iparably precious treasures in there.

    More importantly, Archbishop Martin also said that the 36 sets of keys were only a part of it. Hence, could there be more keys that could be used to open the other doors in the Sky Castle? Of course there were. The Magical Thousand-contraption Lock could not be opened just by using keys. There was a special unlocking method for every lock. Archbishop Martin should have mastered those unlocking techniques as well. Otherwise, those keys would only be garbage, and there would be no need for him to take them out.

    With the guidance of the Sky Castle¡¯s structure diagram, as well as the keys that could be used to urately open all sorts of doors, the gains of the exploration would definitely reach a shocking extent. Even the Rotterdam Kingdom which had never experienced war, and had inherited countless wealth from the Dark Age still could not bepared to the Immortal King¡¯s treasures in abundance.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald both took out things that were enough to reflect their value. Be it the Sky Castle¡¯s structure diagram, or the keys that could be used to open the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, they were all extremely valuable items. At this moment, both of them looked at Lin Li, waiting for him to take out one of his possessions.

    In reality, both the structure diagram and keys did not mean much to Lin Li. Even though Lin Li¡¯s control crystal seemed to have encountered some hindrance after they arrived in the Sky Castle, it did not stop him from getting a generic understanding of the Sky Castle, which was probably clearer than the structure diagram. As for the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock, it was under the control of the control crystal. Back then, even theplicated Magical Thousand-contraption Lock of the Central Tower was unlocked, not to mention the others.

    However, it was not the time for Lin Li to take out the control crystal yet. He was still expecting the people from Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom to be his cannon fodder. Once he revealed the information of the control crystal, everyone would know that he was going to be master of the Sky Castle. No one would be willing to work with him anymore.

    However, even if Lin Li did not mention the matter of the control crystal, he still had other valuable information. One of the most important reasons why people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom wanted to cooperate with Lin Li was because he had experience in exploring the Sky Castle. Experience was something that seemed flimsy and intangible, but it could not be ignored.

    Lin Li did not hold back when he was sharing his experience. Instead, he told everyone present in the room in great detail about the things he had encountered and done when he explored the Sky Castle back then. The only thing he kept to himself was probably the matter regarding the debris of the stars. Besides, that had no effect on his overall description anyway.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried that he would lose value in the hearts of the others after describing his experience without reservation. The more open and unreserved he was, the more others would think that he had something important to hide. Humans just liked projecting one¡¯s conjectures on others and jumping to conclusions. Lin Li did hold back the details about something important, which was the control crystal of the Sky Castle. However, in terms of his experience in exploring the Sky Castle, there was really nothing worth reserving.

    At the end, Lin Li mentioned the Ghost which was actually the thing that the others were most concerned about. The team from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had arrived a few days earlier than the Tower of Dusk, but they had been staying close to the edge of the Sky Castle because they could vaguely sense that it was likely that there were many other guardians aside from the magic gears and magic traps. The appearance of the physical Vengeful Spirits was an omen.

    Since there were physical forms of Vengeful Spirits, were there any other guardians of higher levels? In fact, almost all of therge-scale ruins of the High Elves were protected by many guardians. Would the Sky Castle be an exception? They dared not take the gamble with the lives of their own people. After all, the former owner of the Sky Castle was the Immortal King. In various legends and myths, many of the Immortal King¡¯s subordinates were psychotic powerhouses.

    However, when they heard Lin Li say that they were forced to leave the Sky Castle because of a Legendary-level Ghost, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Donald smiled confidently, and said in a rxed tone, ¡°It turns out that it was just a Ghost that was at the peak of the Legendary-level. Although the Undead Heaven is a pain in the neck, I believe it won¡¯t be that difficult to deal with it with the help of our friends from the Brilliance Shrine.¡±

    Although Archbishop Martin didn¡¯t say anything, the expression on his face was also quite rxed. Undead creatures were the beings that the people of the Brilliance Shrine were the least afraid of. It would be no exaggeration to say that the powerful purification power of the Brilliance Shrine could allow the people of the Brilliance Shrine to deal with 10 times as many Undead creatures of the same level.

    However, Lin Li shook his head lightly with a smile, and said, ¡°The peak-Legendary-level was the power that the Ghost had when we left back then.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s only been a few years[1] since that happened. The guardians of the High Elven ruins usually face a gradual decline in their strength, not an increase. In another few years, that Ghost might even fall below the Legendary-realm,¡± Donald said self-righteously.

    In fact, Donald¡¯s thoughts were not considered wrong, as it should bemon sense. Age was a ruthless butcher¡¯s knife. Regardless of how strong the guardians might be, they would all age and decline with time, gradually losing their powerful strength and abilities.

    The current era was still not very far away from the annihtion of the High Elves. It had only been more than 1,300 years since then. If it had been 13,000 years, the ruins might no longer have been dangerous. The guardians of the ruins would decay, and the magic gears and magic traps would lose their effect.

    ¡°President Felic, that is indeed the case. Maybe, that Ghost¡¯s strength was at the Sanctuary-realm, and after thousands of years, it has fallen to the peak of the Legendary-realm. Such things are actually verymon in the exploration of ruins.¡± Archbishop Martin agreed with Donald¡¯s words.

    Besides, they were in the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, and the peak Legendary-level strength might be considered strong out there, but it did not seem enough for it to qualify to be the guardian of the Sky Castle. Hence, the greatest possibility was that the strength of the Ghost had declined from the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, you may take a look at this, especially those 36 towers. I think you should be able to recognize them with your knowledge,¡± said Lin Li, who did not immediately retort, and instead handed Archbishop Martin a sketch which was actually a replica of the one he¡¯d got from the Scar of Death.

    Archbishop Martin grabbed the sketch and took a careful look at the position of the 36 towers, as well as the streets that connected them after hearing Lin Li¡¯s prompt. After a while, he suddenly widened his eyes which were originally squinted, as if he was looking at something terrifying. He shrieked, ¡°Is this a Psychic Array!?¡±

    Necromancers had always been the purification subjects of the Brilliance Shrine, and Archbishop Martin of the Brilliance Shrine was extremely clear on the means used by the Necromancers. Originally, he would not think about that when he had the diagram of the Sky Castle. However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s reminder, he could soon tell from theyout of the 36 Magic Towers that it was a Psychic Array. That was also because he was unaware of the existence of the Conquering Mageweath. Hence, he could easily see the Psychic Array.

    ¡°Psychic Array! It actually has the entire Sky Castle as its foundation. This is terrifying!¡± Although Archbishop Martin had also experienced many great events, and was quite knowledgeable, he couldn¡¯t calm down after seeing the Psychic Array that was made up of the 36 Magic Towers.

    Upon hearing Archbishop Martin¡¯s shriek, Donald and Prince Jeremiah, who had been silent, also had a sudden change in expression. They thought of the Vengeful Spirits, and realized that it was no wonder such low-level creatures could break through to the Legendary-level in addition to not being weakened by time.

    However, Donald quickly thought of another problem, and looked at Lin Li with a frown. He said, ¡°President Felic, this doesn¡¯t seem to make sense. Since there is such a powerful Psychic Array, how could that Ghost¡¯s strength be only at the peak of the Legendary-level?¡±

    Indeed, ording to the average person¡¯s thought, the guardian of a ruin should be extremely strong, especially in this ce. Being at the peak of the Legendary-level was probably not enough. However, if the Ghost itself was in the Sanctuary-realm, not only would its strength not decline with the help of such a powerful Psychic Array, it would also be continuously improved, and it might even be possible for it to reach the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°That Ghost is not the original guardian of this ce, but it was ced hereter by Highlord Osric,¡± Lin Li exined, revealing yet another shocking piece of news.

    That piece of news was even more shocking than the Psychic Array. Highlord Osric was another mythical figure after the Immortal King. Besides, in the people¡¯s memory, he was much more brutal and psychotic than the Immortal King, an existence that was far more terrifying.

    For a moment, the tent became quiet. Everyone was dumbfounded by the piece of news, and even their breathing subconsciously became lighter.

    However, a momentter, a snort ofughter broke the silence in the tent. Donald¡¯s expression returned to normal, and he said with some contempt in his voice, ¡°President Felic, this news is too shocking. Why would Osric leave a Ghost there?¡±

    Obviously, Donald didn¡¯t quite believe what Lin Li said. Although Osric had died an inexplicable death, he was also a powerful existence that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm in the past. Even if there was a Psychic Array in the Sky Castle, the Ghost was ced there to be nurtured with the power of the Psychic Array. However, what was the point of that for a powerful being at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm?

    After hearing Donald¡¯s reminder, Archbishop Martin also had some apprehension in his eyes. Despite genuinely believing Lin Li, the news did seem strange and unexinable.

    Lin Li did not re up at Donald¡¯s suspicion, and instead smiled nonchntly. He said, ¡°The reason is simple. It¡¯s for the sake of pursuing the so-called immortality.¡±

    ¡°Pursuing immortality?¡± His words made Archbishop Martin and Donald even more puzzled. What did the pursuit of immortality have to do with the Ghost, they wondered.

    ¡°As far as I know, Osric used the souls of 100,000 humans to create this Ghost, and it¡¯s very likely that he had incorporated his Soul Brand into the Ghost. Relying on the power of the Psychic Array to nurture the Ghost would be akin to nurturing his own soul. He had also created a perfect body for himself. Once this Ghost reaches the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and fuses with the perfect body, it might be able to take the final step and achieve true immortality.¡±

    Of course, just voicing that spection was not enough for him to gain everyone¡¯s trust. Hence, Lin Li took out another item, which was a few pages of Osric¡¯s notes that documented Osric¡¯s thoughts. These few pages were ced in his crystal coffin back then. Due to the fact that they had nothing to do with any magical knowledge, they were not submitted to the Supreme Council.

    Although Osric did not mention that his Soul Brand was rted to the Ghost, nor did he mention the Ghost at all, it proved Lin Li¡¯s spection to a great extent.

    ¡°In this case, are we going to face Osric¡¯s soul?¡± After reading the notes, the people present somewhat believed Lin Li¡¯s conjecture, although they still had some doubts.

    However, it would be too scary to think about it that way. Osric himself was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the pinnacle of the realm. Once his Soul Brand and the Ghost fused, it would be akin to making the Ghost reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. It just needed to continuously absorb plenty of mana.

    However, this Sky Castle was known to be the most powerful one out of the seven Sky Castles. The thing itcked the most was infinite mana. Although it had only been two to three years since Lin Li had explored it[2], the Ghost probably had stepped into the pinnacle of the Sanctuary-realm since it was at the peak of the Legendary-realm then.

    However, since the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had the guts to explore the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, they definitely had something to rely on. Originally, they were already prepared to fight the possible guardians of the ruins, but now they were going to face a Ghost. They refused to believe that the Ghost would reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm within just two to three years. If that was really the case, the Ghost would have already made a move when they and the others had set foot there long ago.

    After the three forces exchanged information with each other, they finally decided to cooperate. In fact, it was mainly the issue between the Tower of Dusk and the Rotterdam Kingdom. Even if Lin Li did not provide any useful information, the Brilliance Shrine would still cooperate with him.

    [1] Not months? The author is saying the same thing, but even if more than a year passed, it should¡¯ve been less than two.

    [2] Okay, so either the author miscalcted the time, or he simply didn¡¯t make it clear enough.

 Chapter 933 - EaC.Having Their Own Needs

    <h4>Chapter 933: Each Having Their Own Needs</h4>

    ¡°President Felic, the alchemical ideas of that alchemist who works for you have given us some inspiration yesterday. Now that we are partners, I wonder if we can invite that alchemist to exchange ideas with us about Alchemy Colossuses. I believe it will be helpful for our next exploration and the battles we may encounter,¡± Donald requested right after they settled on cooperation. Although he imed to want to interact and exchange ideas with Angno, he simply wanted to get more techniques that could improve the performance of the Alchemy Colossuses from Angno.

    Logically speaking, that request wasn¡¯t overboard. Since they were already partners, improving thebat power of partners would be beneficial to everyone in the uing operations. However, it was too hypocritical of Donald to call it an exchange of ideas. With Angno¡¯s standards in alchemy, it would be more than apt to say that he was going to educate them.

    ¡°Oh, forget aboutmunication or whatever, Angno doesn¡¯t like tomunicate with people. How about this? Bring your Alchemy Colossuses over, and I¡¯ll get him to hurry up and fix them for you. I don¡¯t dare to make big promises, but I can guarantee that he will upgrade thebat power of your Alchemy Colossus by more than half.¡± Lin Li appeared to be rather magnanimous. <i>Don¡¯t you just want to improve thebat power of your Alchemy Colossuses? Your people don¡¯t have to do it. I¡¯ll get my subordinate to get it done for you.</i>

    However, how could Donald dare to hand his own Alchemy Colossuses over to someone else to fiddle with? Besides, Lin Li was just his temporary partner, and there might even be a conflict of interests between them in the end. God knew what strange things they might do to his Alchemy Colossuses. If the Alchemy Colossuses were to break down at a critical juncture... He would be asking for doom.

    Even Donald could not stand the contempt that Lin Li had for the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s standards of alchemy, which was especially reflected in his words. He couldn¡¯t help but be thankful and d that Prince Kanber had left a long time ago. Otherwise, he would have flipped the table at this moment.

    ¡°Master Donald, since you don¡¯t feel at ease andfortable with that, how about this? The Tower of Dusk can provide you with some parts of Alchemy Colossuses, such as the positioning devices for the joints of the Alchemy Colossus. Those items are nothing too technical, and you should be able to install them yourselves by following the example shown yesterday. I think this can also y a role in improving thebat power of your Alchemy Colossuses. It will allow you to better exhibit your aggressive attacking ability in the next exploration.¡± Lin Li obviously had a motive for being that kind. To put it bluntly, he just wanted the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom to be cannon fodder.

    Actually, what Lin Li said was the truth. If the actions of the Alchemy Colossuses could be as fluid as humans¡¯, that would definitely increase theirbat power by arge margin. If the joint positioning devices were installed in every Alchemy Colossus, it would increase theirbat power by at least 20-30 percent, which was significant.

    However, when Donald heard those words, he almost got internal injuries because of his infuriation. The positioning device in the joints of the Alchemy Colossus, which they had studied for a long time yesterday and still could not figure out the principles of, was actually disregarded as an object that Lin Li imed not to require much technical knowledge! To add insult to injury, Lin Li even said that he could maximize the Alchemy Colossus¡¯ ability to fight at the forefront, which was tantamount to making the Alchemy Colossus cannon fodder!

    ¡°President Felic, since you¡¯re so generous, I¡¯ll ept it. However, when ites to attacking, our Alchemy Colossuses are, after all, somewhat inflexible with theirrge bodies. The narrow streets of the Sky Castle are not suitable for the Alchemy Colossuses to be put into action. On the other hand, the performance of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s knights yesterday really impressed me. I reckon they should be extremely useful in such an environment.¡± After suppressing his anger, Donald immediately restored his normal expression. He thought, <i>I¡¯ll take the items, but charging and fighting at the forefront is still best suited to your knights from the Tower of Dusk.</i>

    As soon as Donald said that, the face of Prince Jeremiah, who had been silent, grew sullen before Lin Li could react. The performance of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s knights that Donald called impressive was shown in the battle they had with the Pdins of the Brilliance Shrine!

    Jeremiah had originally been treating that incident as something that he was ashamed of, yet Donald brought it up. It was just the same as revealing his old injury. Although he agreed with making the people of the Tower of Dusk go as cannon fodder, he didn¡¯t want to make things too easy for the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Hence, he said, ¡°Indeed, thebat power of the knights of the Tower of Dusk is excellent, but the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom and their incredible defense are truly enviable as well. If the Alchemy Colossuses and the knights work together, I believe nothing will be able to stop us.¡±

    Jeremiah¡¯s words were actually rather far-fetched. The streets of the Sky Castle were extremely narrow in the first ce. If the Alchemy Colossuses and the knights were to squeeze together, they might just create a huge mess, let alone fight the enemies.

    All in all, the intentions of the three forces were simr. They just wanted others to take the rap while they collected the benefits. However, they could not ignore that problem, as there would definitely have to be someone standing at the forefront tomit the dangerous acts. If everyone retreated, there would be no exploration.

    Due to the fact that the matter was directly rted to their immediate interests, the three forces discussed that issue back and forth for two to three hours before finally reaching a consensus. On the side of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li showed them all the Alchemy Colossus technology that he mastered, thus leaving Donald with no choice but to give in to temptation regardless of how unwilling he was. On the other hand, the Brilliance Shrine made an agreement with the Rotterdam that if they encountered a hostile Undead creature, they would have to enhance the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam with Holy Light Magic and bear arge portion of pressure in battle.

    ¡°Since, we, the people of the Rotterdam, will have to bear the greatest risk, I¡¯m going to make things clear beforehand. In this Sky Castle, there is a lost treasure of the Rotterdam Kingdom that is ced in the control center of the Sky Castle. It is an item that we must obtain, and anyone who tries to get their hands on it will be dering war against our nation.¡± After talking about responsibilities, it was naturally time to talk about the benefits. Donald was already suppressing his infuriation from the beginning. At this moment, he immediately stated his demands without any rudeness while taking out a long list of treasures.

    The teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had previously explored the goods transfer station that had a Teleportation Portal because it was actually meant for the logistics of the Sky Castle. Although they did not make any actual gains there, they had found some lists of supplies that recorded the various supplies and treasures that had been sent to the Sky Castle, hence the list in Donald¡¯s hand, and the copy of it held by the team from the Brilliance Shrine. They had divided the items when they discussed the cooperation previously.

    Donald¡¯s request was actually not excessive, but after the crowd listened to what he said, they couldn¡¯t help but curse in their hearts about how shameless he was. The Rotterdam Kingdom was established at the end of the Dark Age, when the High Elves had already been annihted. When the Sky Castle entered the spacetime rift, the ancestors of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s royal family were still working for the High Elves like minions. How could they have lost any treasures there?

    Actually, the structure diagram of the Sky Castle was what the Rotterdam Kingdom ancestors had left behind! They had probably already been coveting the High Elves¡¯ possessions when they were working as minions for them. Of course, the people of the Rotterdam could exin it by saying that their ancestors had merely infiltrated the enemy¡¯s internal department, bearing with the shame and humiliation while they were just spies in reality.

    When it came to benefits, everything else would be secondary. Archbishop Martin then stated his requests and simrly took out his own list. ¡°The main purpose of our expedition this time is to find a crown that once used to belong to the first generation High Elven queen. ording to the information we have, it¡¯s stored somewhere in the Sky Castle.¡±

    It might seem absurd that the crown of the first High Elven Queen would actually be in this Sky Castle, but Lin Li was not surprised, because he had met Prince Brahere¡¯s soul. The only thing that he was curious about was whether or not it could be some sort of token of love that the High Elven queen had given to the Immortal King while he gave her his staff.

    Lin Li took a nce at the two parties¡¯ lists to see that the items listed were either powerful magical weapons or precious treasures that were already extinct. After briefly reading them, Lin Li returned the lists, and said, ¡°Alright, if there are no objections, everything else that is not included on the lists will belong to the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    Actually, one of the reasons Archbishop Martin and Donald took out the lists was to exin what they wanted, and also to find out what Lin Li wanted. After all, the two lists were decided upon after some eliminations during the cooperation agreement that the Brilliance Shrine had with the Rotterdam Kingdom previously.

    It could be said that together, the two lists already contained almost all the valuable items in the Sky Castle. However, now that they had an additional partner, the Tower of Dusk, they decided to take out their lists so that they could find out what Lin Li wanted, and perhaps spare some for the Tower of Dusk after some discussion.

    To their surprise, Lin Li did not ask for anything after seeing the lists, and simply returned them while saying that he would take the items not included on the lists. In Archbishop Martin¡¯s and Donald¡¯s opinion, there was nothing else that would be valuable left. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t have thought that the purpose of Lin Li¡¯s visit was actually the entire Sky Castle. That was obviously not on the list.

    Thest time Lin Li had explored the Sky Castle, he did not have a clear goal. Hence, as soon as he exited the Teleportation Portal, he headed straight to the Central Tower because everyone knew that the treasures there were the most valuable.

    However, it was different this time. The people of the Rotterdam Kingdom wanted to go to the control center to find that so-called lost treasure, while the Brilliance Shrine was going to another ce to get that crown. Besides, the items stated on their lists were not ced in the same location, or rather, no one knew exactly where they were all kept. Hence, they would definitely have to conduct arge-scale search.

    Hence, it was inevitable for them to have different opinions again. After all, the area of the Sky Castle was toorge, and they had to take into consideration a Ghost that might be in the Sanctuary-realm. Everyone wanted to reach their goal first so that they would have no regrets in escaping even if they failed to defeat the enemy.

    However, regarding that issue, Lin Li was not going topromise easily. He could forgo the items on the lists, but his goal, which was the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, could not be dyed in any way. Lin Li wanted to enter the Central Tower again. The other two teams could pick up the things along the way, but they couldn¡¯t go on a detour.

    Lin Li did not want the two teams to pull out and run away after getting what they wanted, thus leaving him alone to deal with the Ghost. If that happened, what would be the point of a cooperation? Hence, Lin Li thought that if the Ghost came out earlier, the three forces could cooperate and fight with it. If the Ghost refused toe out, they would have to at least obtain the controlling rights to the Sky Castle, so that even if the other two forces ended up running away, he could still suppress the Ghost with the power of the Sky Castle.

    This time, they finally saw the benefits of Lin Li¡¯s generosity. Since he said that he did not want any of the treasures on the list, would the other two forces still have the nerve to say anything more about that?

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that those two forces had given up all their rights. They could still find themselves as many advantages as possible in terms of choosing the route for getting to the Central Tower. Apart from not being able to go around to the opposite side of the Sky Castle, they could still choose a good entry route within a certain range left and right of where they were now.

    The discussion mainly took ce between Archbishop Martin and Donald. They all hoped to get as many benefits as possible before they ran into the Ghost. Hence, the discussion got rather heated as well. Lin Li did not care how agitated they were while arguing. He would only interject and bring them back to reality when they got too much into detouring.

    After a heated argument, the two parties finally agreed on an entry route. They decided to enter through a spot that was not too far from them. Actually, the most important point was that the streets there appeared wider than in the other ces, thus making it more suitable for the teams of the three forces, especially since they had the Alchemy Colossuses from the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Regardless, the cooperation¡¯syout was considered to be all settled, and everyone was relieved. Not wanting to waste any more time, Archbishop Martin and Donald stood up to bid farewell to Lin Li. After settling on a time, they eagerly returned to make preparations for exploring the Sky Castle.

    Lin Li sent the three of them out of the camp, and when he returned, he gathered the team together with Master Basel to prepare for entering the Sky Castle. Angno, who was dressed in a fancy and colorful outfit, went to him proudly to inform him that he had taught the mages about the weaknesses of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s Alchemy Colossus.

 Chapter 934 - Thorough

    <h4>Chapter 934: Thorough</h4>

    The preparations of the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were made rather quickly. Soon, the three forces met each other, and arrived at the ce in the Sky Castle that they had agreed upon previously.

    In order to set up the Central Tower, theyout of the Sky Castle¡¯s buildings was rather strange. If one were to look into the Sky Castle, they would be able to see the Central Tower, but they would have to take a long detour.

    When Lin Li first explored the Sky Castle, he only brought two Undead servants with him. Hence, he did not even have to consider whether the streets were wide enough or not. He simply chose the best route, and thus managed to reach the Central Tower in the shortest time possible. Now, the members of the teams of the three forces amounted to 1,000 people. The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom would take up even more space, so it would be impossible to take a shortcut. Hence, when discussing the route earlier, Lin Li allowed Archbishop Martin and Donald to continue arguing.

    When they arrived at the entrance to the street, the teams of the three forces followed the n that they had discussed and settled on previously. The Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team would be responsible for pushing with the Alchemy Colossuses in front, while the knights of the Brilliance Shrine would be responsible for guarding the nks of the team, and the priests would be protected in the middle, ready to enchant the people around them with Holy Light Magic at any time. As for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, they stayed at the back. To put it nicely, they were defending the back, and to put it bluntly, they were just sitting back and watching the ones in front fight to death.

    If one looked in from the entrance of the street, the scene would look bright and clear. The Central Tower in the distance was surrounded by all sorts of buildings with irregr height. However, when the expedition entered the street, thick fog suddenly surged in the surroundings. In the fog, one¡¯s vision waspressed to a limit of about 100 meters. All the objects beyond that distance would bepletely blocked by the fog.

    However, the people in the team were in the end elites of the various forces. They did not panic or be flustered because of the changes. The entire team was still orderly.

    Still, at this moment, Lin Li was secretly shocked. He did not sense the activation of the magic gears at all. Hence, the release of the fog was clearly due to someone¡¯s secret maniption. The most likely culprit was the Ghost that was still nowhere to be found.

    The team slowly moved forward in the fog, and had only covered a distance of several hundred meters when the sounds of heavy footsteps suddenly came out of the fog in front, followed by a few massive figures that gradually became visible. It turned out to be a few Alchemy Colossuses.

    Those several Alchemy Colossuses were not anyrger than the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Instead, they were much smaller and shorter. However, every part of their bodies was even, and they had a streamlined silhouette. Unfortunately, the bodies of those Alchemy Colossuses were devoid of any metallic luster, and instead had a dull gray color which made them look like they had decayed.

    When Lin Li first explored the Sky Castle, he encountered very few obstacles, but he heard from the elves that they had encountered the attacks of some Alchemy Colossuses. Those Alchemy Colossuses were not controlled by humans, but were a type of magical weapon that fused the High Elves with Undead creatures.

    Compared to Alchemy Colossuses controlled by humans, those magical weapons were much more agile and flexible in their movements. Each could be considered a human with a metal body. Actually, they were somewhat simr to the alchemy puppets that Lin Li had obtained from the Immortal King¡¯sboratory, but wererger and more powerful.

    Upon sight of the Alchemy Colossuses, numerous metallurgists from the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team couldn¡¯t help but shriek in shock. With excitement written all over his face, Donald said, ¡°Catch them, but don¡¯t destroy them.¡±

    To the people of the Rotterdam, those gray Alchemy Colossuses were a massive amount of wealth just because of the technology they were created with. Hence, Donald¡¯s first thought was not to destroy the enemy and advance forward, but to capture the Alchemy Colossuses and study them.

    However, each of the gray Alchemy Colossuses possessed Legendary-level strength, and the technology used within them were superior-grade, while the flexibility of the maniption of Undead creatures allowed them to havebat power that greatly surpassed that of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom. It would not be an easy task to defeat the gray Alchemy Colossuses, let alone capture them.

    They covered 100 meters in the blink of an eye. The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom and the several gray Alchemy Colossuses collided forcefully. It was an extremely violent and direct fighting style which was simr to a low-level street fight between gangsters. However, it seemed shocking when it came to Alchemy Colossuses. The ground beneath their feet trembled during the fierce battle, and the sound of a violent collision was deafening.

    However, the people of the Rotterdam soon discovered that if their Alchemy Colossuses were like low-level gangsters from the streets, the other party would undoubtedly be considered warriors with good martial art skills. One reason was that human maniption wasn¡¯t as flexible as the maniption done by Undead creatures. Another reason was the fact that Donald had ordered them to capture the Alchemy Colossuses, thus somewhat restraining the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam.

    If it was in an open area, they might really be able to capture those several gray Alchemy Colossuses with the number of Alchemy Colossuses they had. However, even though they were already on the widest street, they still could not let the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses encircle the enemies.

    ¡°Destroy them, don¡¯t waste any time.¡± Seeing this situation, Donald had no choice but to bear with his reluctance, give up on the idea of capturing the Alchemy Colossuses, and order them to end it quickly.

    As soon as they heard Donald¡¯s order for them to end the battle quickly, the Alchemy Colossuses immediately broke free, and their attacks suddenly became much more vicious and unrestrained. After all, the Rotterdam Kingdom had been studying Alchemy Colossuses for thousands of years, and theirbat power was actually still incredible. In particr, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom also had a set of coordinated battle techniques that were simr to human battle formations. They could exert greatbat power too.

    Although those gray Alchemy Colossuses were powerful, and had reached the Legendary-level, Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom outnumbered them, and they had specialized battle techniques as well, thus causing the gray Alchemy Colossuses to each face the ferocious attacks of three Alchemy Colossuses at the same time.

    The Rotterdam Kingdom had been researching Alchemy Colossuses for thousands of years, and although they might not be able topare to the gray Alchemy Colossuses in terms of technology, in the end, they actually had a lot of weaknesses inmon. For example, the joints of the Alchemy Colossus were weaknesses that all metallurgists knew about. However, due to the high demand for flexibility in the joints, no one had really ovee that problem even until now.

    Of course, the weaknesses of the gray Alchemy Colossuses were present in those of the Rotterdam Kingdom as well. However, in the current battle, there were at least more Alchemy Colossuses from the Rotterdam Kingdom with specialized battle tactics where there were ways to assist each other while dealing with the enemies by targeting their weaknesses. That was actually the same as the human battle formations. However, due to the conditions of the Alchemy Colossus, it might not be asplex and flexible as the human battle formations.

    The battle increased in intensity all of a sudden. In fact, one could even see the shing waves of sound stirring in the fog. However, a momentter, silence was restored. The several gray Alchemy Colossuses had already been paralyzed and deformed as they fell onto the ground. The red eyes in their heads gradually dimmed as well.

    That was the difference between an Alchemy Colossus and humans. Even if the gray Alchemy Colossuses had reached the Legendary-level, while those of the Rotterdam Kingdom were only at level-19, the difference was not massive as people thought.

    Human Legendary powerhouses would never be threatened when facing a few level-19 attackers, be it the mages or Sword Sages. Annihting them would be easy. However, only the power of the Alchemy Colossus was strong, not its realm. The difference in sheer strength could be made up for through various methods. As long as there were enough of them, even ants would be able to bite an elephant to death. Besides, the difference between an Alchemy Colossus of the Rotterdam and a gray Alchemy Colossus was not the same as that between an ant and an elephant.

    Looking at the shattered gray Alchemy Colossuses, Donald stopped showing a reluctant gaze. He did not make anyone pack up the mutted wreckage, either, even though there might still be something worth studying in those remains. Instead, he directly ordered them to move on.

    Thebat power disyed by the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam was still rather shocking, especially to the team from the Brilliance Shrine. While they had worked with the people of the Rotterdam way earlier, it was their first time seeing such a battle. Although the people from Brilliance Shrine did not say anything, the expressions on their faces were a little more somber.

    In the eyes of the people of Brilliance Shrine, facing those Alchemy Colossuses would indeed be tricky as they were all like metal fortresses. Be it physical or magical defense, they were already strong enough to reach an intimidating stage. Although the Holy Light Magic of the Brilliance Shrine was not only effective against Undead creatures, its power was definitely reduced when used against the incredible defensive abilities of the Alchemy Colossuses.

    At the back of the team, the people of the Tower of Dusk watched the battle of the Alchemy Colossuses. Although they were shocked as well, they had other thoughts in mind. The mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team had long learned about the weaknesses of the Rotterdam¡¯s Alchemy Colossus. Hence, at this moment, they mostly thought about putting themselves in opposition against the Alchemy Colossus of the Rotterdam Kingdom and things they would do to defeat them using the methods taught by Angno.

 Chapter 935 - Deadly Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 935: Deadly Ambush</h4>

    The team started advancing again, but before they could go far, a few gray Alchemy Colossuses emerged from the fog again. This time, there was no need for a special order from Donald, as the Alchemy Colossuses at the front rushed forward and took the initiative to pounce on the enemies without hesitation. Theyunched a ferocious attack and aimed to destroy the enemy in the shortest possible time.

    Of course, thebat style of the Alchemy Colossuses was not just a brutal melee. They would also cast offensive spells using the Alchemy Arrays on their bodies. However, the thick fog around them not only blocked their vision, it also greatly affected their other senses. It was impossible to extend their detection radius with mental strength too.

    The fog had greatly reduced the range of danger detection of the team, and by the time the enemy emerged, thetter would already be only a few hundred meters away. Such a distance was considered very short for ordinary warriors and mages, let alone the massive offensive spells. Usually, the enemies would appear right before them after they cast just one offensive spell.

    The two types of Alchemy Colossuses collided forcefully again with incessant loud sounds. The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom soon got the upper hand, and suppressed the gray Alchemy Colossuses ferociously. However, at this moment, one of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom suddenly stopped. Not only did it disturb their own battle tactics, it also turned around to attack itspanions.

    ¡°Watch out, it¡¯s a mental spell. There are still enemies in the thick fog!¡± Archbishop Martin cautioned as he raised his staff, after which a pir of Holy Light descended out of thin air, andnded on the berserk Alchemy Colossus of the Rotterdam.

    It was a ray of Light of Salvation which could dispel fear, confusion, charm, and other various negative spiritual influences on the target. As the pirnded, the Alchemy Colossus that was attacking itspanions immediately stopped all of its movements.

    Following Archbishop Martin¡¯s movements, the Holy Light priests around him raised their staffs together, and chanted a short verse of a prayer, scattering the Light of Salvation onto the other Alchemy Colossuses that were fighting the enemies.

    The Light of Salvation was not only used to dispel negative spiritual influences, but also served to strengthen one¡¯s willpower and faith. After the Light of Salvation vanished, ayer of Holy Light halo faintly engulfed the massive bodies of the Alchemy Colossuses. The controllers of the Alchemy Colossus gained a certain immunity to the negative mental spells for a while.

    At the same time, a bunch of corporeal Vengeful Spirits charged out of the thick fog behind the erupting offensive spells while roaring. Although they were Undead creatures of the lowest level inferior to Skeletal Warriors, they would have Legendary-level power once they condensed into physical form. Such entities were extremely immune to both magical and physical attacks. At the same time, they were also stronger in martial arts and Necromagic. The changes in the Alchemy Colossus of the Rotterdam Kingdom just now were undoubtedly caused by them.

    If someone from another profession were to encounter those Vengeful Spirits, they would definitely have an extreme headache. When Lin Li first explored the Sky Castle, Master Cheyenne of the Malfa Family, who was a level-22 Legendary-mage, was so miserable after being put in a pathetic state by the Vengeful Spirits. However, at that time, the number of Vengeful Spirits was very low, and most of them were only ordinary Vengeful Spirits. Otherwise, Cheyenne probably wouldn¡¯t even have been able to reach the Central Tower.

    Now, with the awakening of the Ghost, most of the Vengeful Spirits had clearly condensed into physical entities, and be the strong corporeal Vengeful Spirits. Fortunately, the Brilliance Shrine was part of the expedition this time, and could deal with the Undead creatures, which was what they were good at. Otherwise, Lin Li would have to take action himself.

    ording to the previous cooperation agreement, if the enemy appeared with Undead creatures, it would be the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s duty to deal with them. When Archbishop Martin led the team of priests to give the Alchemy Colossuses some Light of Salvation, Prince Jeremiah waved his sword in his hand, and a group of knights of Holy Light formed. They walked past the Alchemy Colossuses that were in battle, and charged towards the corporeal Vengeful Spirits that had just emerged from the fog.

    There were 40 Holy Pdins that fought in the battle. They were divided into four teams, each led by a Legendary-level leader. The other knights were at level-18 or level-19. The four teams of knights were facing nearly 20 Legendary-level corporeal Vengeful Spirits. In terms of level alone, the Holy Pdins were at an absolute disadvantage.

    However, was that the truth?

    Although the knights had not been able to even sustain a single round in the battle against the Tower of Dusk, it was mainly because thetter was too strong, and the other reason was that they had underestimated their enemies.

    However, it was different for the Holy Pdins to take on those Vengeful Spirits. Holy Light Magic itself had a great restraining effect on Undead creatures, and although they did not specialize in the Holy Light Magic like the priests did, they still had high attainments in it.

    Moreover, the equipment of the Holy Pdins, such as their armor that was equipped with the Power of Light, which had great resistance against Necromagic, and the Holy Cross Spear that could emit Light of Purification, also provided them with great assistance.

    Therefore, even though they were all facing Legendary-level corporeal Vengeful Spirits, the Holy Pdins had the absolute upper hand right from the start of the battle.

    The 40 Holy Pdins split into four teams of 10, each led by their Legendary-level captain, and charged towards the corporeal Vengeful Spirits. They didn¡¯t stop at one ce, but instead urged their Longma Beasts to shuttle through the Vengeful Spirits continuously, cutting them in no time. Although there were only 10 Holy Pdins in each squad, they seemed to have formed a chain of light with their rapid movements, trapping the corporeal Vengeful Spirits on the ground.

    Every Holy Light Knight was covered with ayer of Holy Light which they scattered to the first corner of the battlefield during their movements to and fro, thus forming a Light Domain with powerful purification power. There was an iparable soul-cleansing music ying above the Light Domain. It was the Holy Light Battle Song, which was exactly the origin of the name of their battle formation.

    Under the shroud of the battle song, the Vengeful Spirit entities seemed to have lost their ability to cast Necromagic spells. At the same time, their power was being purified by the Power of Light. They roared and frantically attacked every Holy Pdin that moved past them, but they still couldn¡¯t avert their fate: destruction.

    Those corporeal Vengeful Spirits continuously went up in ck smoke that drifted away and disappeared into the Holy Light, as if they were burned by fire. Every wisp of ck smoke that dissipated meant the loss of a portion of the Vengeful Spirits¡¯ power. That was the powerful purifying power of the Holy Light Battle Song. Even if the Holy Pdins did not attack, the corporeal Vengeful Spirits would notst long simply under the purification of the Holy Light Battle Song.

    Although they had be partners with the Brilliance Shrine first, the people of the Rotterdam did not know much about the power of thetter, nor did they bother to understand it. In their opinion, the Brilliance Shrine was essentially just a religion, and their being able to be called the top power in the world of Anril was all because they had a lot of devotees. Besides, having more devotees did not mean that they were stronger. Even a farmer who grew crops could be a devotee. So what if they had plenty of them?

    In fact, not to mention the Brilliance Shrine, the people of the Rotterdam even despised and looked down on the Supreme Council, which was said to be above all else in Anril. In their view, alchemy was the future of the world, and theurgy and magic would eventually be eliminated.

    The only time the people of the Rotterdam saw the strength of the Brilliance Shrine was during the minor conflict they had with the Tower of Dusk. The defeat of the Holy Pdins made them certain of their previous judgment. Their previous scruples were mainly because of the Legendary powerhouses of the Brilliance Shrine, especially Archbishop Martin who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Another reason was that it involved international rtions.

    However, as Donald watched the group of Holy Pdins defeat the nearly 20 corporeal Vengeful Spirits that were at the Legendary-level with a single blow, he couldn¡¯t help but change his opinion despite knowing that it was because of the restraining effects.

    Indeed, the people of the Rotterdam were not Undead creatures, and the purification power of the Holy Light Magic did not have that much restraint on them. However, the Holy Pdins managed to create a powerful Light Domain using the Holy Light Battle Song. Just like the Magical Domains of mages, the Light Domain already involved the use of nomological power. Hence, it was not as simple as restraining and purifying Undead creatures.

    As a Legendary-mage who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, Donald definitely knew how powerful and useful a Magical Domain was. Mages created Magical Domains using their understanding of the Laws. Magical Domains were spaces that they hadplete control over, and they would greatly strengthen their power while suppressing the power of the enemies in the domain.

    Generally speaking, among the many professions in Anril, only Legendary-mages could create their own domains. The clergymen of the Brilliance Shrine could actually be considered a type of mage, except that unlike mages that used Elemental Laws, they used Holy Light Laws. Professions like Pdins, Sword Sages, and Assassins were all in pursuit of pushing their power to the limits. Even if they reached the Legendary-realm, they wouldn¡¯t be able to create a Magical Domain.

    On the other hand, a Pdin of the Brilliance Shrine could create a Light Domain through the use of battle formations. While possessing greatbat power, he could also gain the many benefits brought by the Light Domain. That was simply something that would leave others green with envy.

 Chapter 936 - Magic Storm

    <h4>Chapter 936: Magic Storm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Light Domain created by the 40 Holy Pdins suppressed nearly 20 Legendary-level corporeal Vengeful Spirits. Its power was at least level-22 or level-23. The 40 Holy Light Knights were only a portion of the Holy Light Knights of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team. If all the Holy Light Knights were to be deployed, the Light Domain created would probably already reach the Legendary-level<sup>1</sup>.

    Most importantly, Donald thought about another aspect that was beyond the Sky Castle. In the Brilliance Shrine, the Holy Light Knights could be considered a regr force as there were Holy Light Knights stationed in almost every diocese. If thousands or tens of thousands of Holy Light Knights were to be sent out, what kind of Light Domain would be created?

    Of course, Donald also knew that the Holy Light Knights that joined in the exploration this time were definitely elites. If they were ordinary Holy Light Knights, it would be hard to deduce if they could even achieve that. Hence, they did have concerns, but they were not worried or fearful.

    Just like before, the team from the Tower of Dusk was leisurely guarding the group at the back and makingments about the intense battle in front of them. The mages of the team, especially the greenhorns who had just joined, behaved properly and listened to the exnations of their leader, n, about how they should deal with the Holy Light Knights.

    Lin Li did not express any shock or surprise at the Holy Light Knights¡¯ use of the Holy Light Battle Song battle formation. In fact, when he visited the Brilliance Shrine in the past, he had also studied the battle formation of the Holy Light Battle Song. Pope Rosario had also exined to him in detail about the Holy Guardian Battle Formation of the Holy Pdins.

    Many Death Knights were attracted to join the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team because one of the Death Knights under Lin Li became a Retribution Knight. Now, their army had expanded to more than 100 members who had all been transformed into Holy Death Knights. The Death Knights were born with the ability to get into infinite killing formations, which was simr to the Holy Light Battle Song. They could create a Killing Domain, in which the enemies would be affected by negative influences such as chaos, fear, and so on.

    Lin Li had tried to teach the Holy Death Knights the Holy Guardian Battle Formation that he had just learned. However, the oue was not ideal. Although the Holy Death Knights could manipte Divine Power, they still felt rather powerless when they were practicing the Holy Guardian Battle Formation.

    Thinking that the Holy Pdins around Pope Rosario had Legendary-level abilities, Lin Li reckoned that his Holy Death Knights would probably have to be Retribution Knights in order to use the Holy Guardian Battle Formation perfectly. Hence, the 40 Death Knights that he had brought along to explore the Sky Castle were all already at the peak of level-19. He hoped that they could devour more soul fire and produce more Retribution Knights.

    Soon, the corporeal Vengeful Spirits were turned into ashes that were scattered away under the purification of the Holy Light Battle Song, while the gray Alchemy Colossus were also turned into pieces by the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom. After the battle ended, the expedition resumed its advance towards the interior of the Sky Castle. However, after having experienced that battle just now, everyone became much more cautious.

    When Lin Li first came to explore the Sky Castle, neither he nor the rest of the team had encountered any enemies blocking their way to the Sky Castle. It was because they had split up the moment they entered the Sky Castle. The Sky Castle wasrge, and the Vengeful Spirits and Alchemy Colossuses were all scattered on the streets of the Sky Castle. Besides, at that time, the Vengeful Spirits and Alchemy Colossuses seemed to have been somewhat restricted in their range of movement.

    However, there was clearly a huge change this time. When the expedition stepped into the street, the Vengeful Spirits and Alchemy Colossuses of the entire Sky Castle had probably already gathered there. It was 80% certain that it was done by the Ghost. The expedition would encounter arge number of enemies that swarmed towards them from the thick fog almost every time they covered a distance of less than 20 meters. Fortunately, they would not pose too much of a threat to the team.

    In fact, the team from the Tower of Dusk was not always that idle. As they gradually delved deeper, enemies also continuously surged out from the forks on both sides of the street. There were plenty of enemies who also rushed out from behind the team. Perhaps they had rushed there afterwards, or perhaps they had deliberately sneaked there. All in all, the Tower of Dusk could not just stand by the side and do nothing.

    Seeing that situation, Donald, Kanber, and Jeremiah of the Brilliance Shrine were all secretly gloating. From their point of view, the Tower of Dusk had chosen to stay at the back of the team because they wanted to reserve their power, and also because they were not confident in themselves.

    However, there were now enemies behind the team which did not seem to be any easier to deal with than the ones at the front. While those in front only needed to keep advancing, those at the back had to defend themselves from the enemies and ensure that they did not stray too far from the main team. Otherwise, they might be surrounded by the enemies.

    With those thoughts in mind, Donald and Jeremiah unanimously requested for their subordinates to speed up in advancing. It was not that they really had to shake the Tower of Dusk off. However, if there were to be a slight disconnection andg in the team, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble for the Tower of Dusk too.

    However, in the face of such a situation, the Tower of Dusk remained unhurried, and the ones who truly fought the enemy were their greenhorn mages. What the Death Knights did was to continuously devour the soul fire of the Vengeful Spirits. The other Legendary powerhouses rarely took action too. They only intervened when the mages were in danger of losing their lives. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t bother even if the mages were injured.

    It seemed a bit cruel, but how could the mages gain experience without cruelty? That was what humans were like. If they were continuously protected by Legendary powerhouses, they would probably continue making mistakes. Since they would not die, why would they bother improving? In the end, they would forever be stuck at a bottleneck.

    However, even though their purpose was to train the mages, the team from the Tower of Dusk¡¯s advancement speed wasn¡¯t affected. No matter how they increased their speed, and regardless of what kind of enemies emerged from behind, the team from the Tower of Dusk was still keeping the same distance from the rest.

    After doing that a few times, Donald finally gave up. After all, there was still a price to pay for pushing forward forcefully. At the same time, Donald couldn¡¯t help but be shocked at the strength shown by the Tower of Dusk. Were they really a small force that came from a nameless ce? He was well aware that while the enemies at the back might not be much stronger than the ones in front, it was not an easy task to behave like the Tower of Dusk did.

    The enemies that appeared at the back of the team were the same as in the front. There were gray Alchemy Colossuses and Legendary-level corporeal Vengeful Spirits. However, at the front, the Rotterdam Kingdom was dealing with the Alchemy Colossuses, while the Brilliance Shrine was dealing with the Vengeful Spirits. The two forces were working together to advance at that speed. Meanwhile, the Tower of Dusk at the back was only relying on the power of the mages to destroy the enemy while keeping up with the frontline troops. Hence, they couldn¡¯t help but be shocked.

    It was not that that was a remarkable feat, but rather because of the party that did it. If it had been a team of the Brilliance Shrine, Donald definitely wouldn¡¯t have been too shocked, but the Tower of Dusk could notpare to the Brilliance Shrine at all. <i>Seems like I have to find out more from Archbishop Martin about the origin of the Tower of Dusk when I have the time.</i>

    Actually, Donald was not the only one. Even Archbishop Martin was incredibly shocked after seeing the Tower of Dusk¡¯s performance. Actually, he only knew about Lin Li, and he did not know much more about the strength of the Tower of Dusk than the rest did.

    Archbishop Martin agreed that Lin Li was a genius, a demon, and a monster. Well, he had reached the peak of the Legendary-level when he was in his early twenties. However, was genius contagious? The Tower of Dusk had only been established for a mere three or four years, yet its group of mages behaved as if they had been nurtured for decades. Of course, it was impossible that they had been nurtured for that long. As such, they could only say that the mages were all geniuses. <i>Has there been a surge in geniuses in the Breezy instely? Why haven¡¯t I heard of magical geniuses previously? </i>

    In other people¡¯s opinion, everyone would definitely bring their most elite manpower during a dangerous operation like exploring the Sky Castle. No one would have expected Lin Li to bring a bunch of greenhorns and treat the Sky Castle as a ce for training soldiers. Of course, in reality, the so-called greenhorns would probably be considered core elites in other forces.

    The mages destroyed numerous gray Alchemy Colossuses, and killed several Legendary-level corporeal Vengeful Spirits. Everyone was probably envious of the Tower of Dusk for having such a powerful group of mages. However, Lin Li secretly shook his head as he still couldn¡¯t be satisfied with the performance of the greenhorn mages.

    Still, Lin Li also knew that such things could not be rushed. No one would truly grow up after just going through a battle. He hade this far after experiencing plenty of battles of various scales, during which he continuously acquired experience to grow to his current level.

    All in all, the expedition was advancing quite smoothly, though as the enemies continued to surge, the battles gradually became more intense. They did not even stop for a moment. However, the enemies were not enough to pose a real threat to the three forces that had jointly formed the expedition. In fact, as they passed by a few special buildings, they still had the energy to go in and search. However, the gains they made were somewhat unsatisfactory.

    The expedition was like an indestructible chariot that was advancing forward slowly but surely. Hence, they got rid of all the obstacles along the way. They even thought that the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle was no big deal!

    Indeed, in the battle that was continuously advancing, the team of the Brilliance Shrine was barely injured. Even if they identally sustained a minor injury, they would quickly recover with the priests¡¯ treatment. On the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s side, they would only asionally encounter a small obstruction in the Alchemy Colossuses which would be repaired quickly.

    Even the greenhorn mages of the Tower of Dusk began to sustain fewer injuries, perhaps because they had really improved after the training. Of course, that did not mean that they had passed. It just meant that they had gotten familiar with fighting the Alchemy Colossuses and corporeal Vengeful Spirits. The battle experience was still somewhat superficial, and could only be theirs after in-depth summation and absorption.

    However, just when everything seemed to be going in the right direction, the fog in front of them suddenly seemed to have started boiling as it began rolling violently. Next, there were no enemies, but arge amount of powerful magic that poured out of the fog. Besides, there was more than just Necromagic. There were also all sorts of powerful elemental magic spells. All of the magic spells that suddenly descended formed a massive magic storm where all kinds of magical rays intertwined together, appearing splendid and full of deadly danger.

    Although the people in the expedition were somewhat rxed because of the smooth advancement, they were, after all, the elites of the various forces. Hence, they immediately reacted to the magic storm. The Alchemy Colossuses that were walking in the front immediately activated their magical defensive arrays. Therge shields formed a solid dam to block the impact of the magic storm.

    On the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s side, the priests had also begun chanting prayers with devout expressions. As they did, a hole formed in the fog that was spreading out in the sky. A pir of light pierced through the gap, and fell into the incessant magic storm. With each pir of light that fell, the power of the magic storm was significantly weakened. Soon, the joint efforts of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom and the priests caused the magic storm to dissipate.

    Upon sight of the elemental magic spells, the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine immediately began to suspect that there were other forces exploring the Sky Castle. It was because all this time, the enemies they had encountered were Vengeful Spirits and some other Undead creatures plus the gray Alchemy Colossuses, and those enemies could not use elemental magic spells.

    ¡°Charge in and see who on earth dares to be so rude!¡± Prince Kanbermanded in exasperation before Donald even said anything.

    Upon hearing Prince Kanber¡¯smand, everyone from the Rotterdam Kingdom strode towards the fog without the slightest hesitation. The members of various professions at the back also got into a battle formation, and followed the Alchemy Colossuses closely.

    The sudden attack was unbearable for the people of the Brilliance Shrine, let alone the arrogant people of the Rotterdam Kingdom. After Prince Kanber¡¯smand, Prince Jeremiah of the Brilliance Shrine pointed his sharp sword to the front, and ordered the Holy Light Knights to go all out.

 Chapter 937 - Peculiar Undead Creatures

    <h4>Chapter 937: Peculiar Undead Creatures</h4>

    Although Archbishop Martin vaguely sensed that something was wrong, he couldn¡¯t say anything at this time. He could not possibly let the Holy Light Knights take the risk alone. Hence, he waved his staff, and led the group of priests to follow behind the Holy Light Knights, heading in the direction the magic storm hade from.

    The Tower of Dusk was an exception. Not only did Lin Li not make his subordinates take the risk and follow the teams of the two forces, but he waved his hand and got the team toe to aplete stop. Although the fog hindered their vision, Lin Li could still judge based on his understanding of the map that there should be an avenue square in front, with one of the 36 Magic Towers in the middle.

    Soon, the sounds of fierce battle could be heard from the dense fog in front. The sounds of all sorts of magical explosions seemed to have be one, and magic spells could be seen being shot out of the fog randomly from time to time. At the same time, the emanating fog actually gradually became thinner. In just a few breaths, the Magic Tower and the avenue square were disyed clearly. However, the barrier formed by the thick fog could still be seen around the avenue square.

    In the middle of the square, the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom that were surrounding the Magic Tower were engaged in a very fierce battle with the enemy. Archbishop Martin from the Brilliance Shrine was holding a strangely shaped key which Archbishop Martin used to unlock the Magic Tower. However, at this moment, the key was continuously radiating an invisible power, creating a strange force field that stopped the thick fog from reaching the square.

    The ones who were fighting against the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were a bunch of Ghost Mages with illusory figures that were simr to corporeal Vengeful Spirits. They did not have fixed figures or clear faces. The Ghost Mages whose bodies seemed to be made of pure mana were not wearing any magic robes or holding any staffs. However, they could cast powerful magic spells with a wave of their hands.

    Strictly speaking, the Ghost Mages were not Undead creatures, but mana imprinted with a Spiritual Brand left behind after the death of High Elves. As the years passed, the Spiritual Brand in the mana was supposed to gradually wear off and eventually disappear. However, they were brought to the chaos of time and space in the world that was far away from Anril by the Sky Castle. Hence, they were preserved.

    The awakening of Highlord Osric also caused the Spiritual Brands of the mana to be activated, thus giving them a new life and turning them into Ghost Mages that wereposed of mana. Although they were called Ghost Mages, they were purely made up of mana. They were special life forms, just like elementals.

    The Ghost Mages could cast elemental magic spells while being unafraid of the purifying power of the Holy Light Magic. The power of each Ghost Mage couldpare to the strength of a Legendary-mage. Although they couldn¡¯t create their own Magical Domain yet, they could instantly cast all magic spells below their level. Besides, the power of nearly 200 Ghost Mages casting magic spells together was shocking.

    The people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were clearly in the midst of a bitter battle at this point. Fortunately, Archbishop Martin had the key to the Magic Tower, and could temporarily push the fog out of the square. Facing a bunch of remotely attacking mages, they were in a situation that was even more dangerous.

    Now that there was no more fog, the two parties finally faced a proper battle. Besides, the Legendary powerhouses of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had also joined the battle. After all, the two forces of the expedition team also had plenty of Legendary powerhouses, as well as those who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm like Archbishop Martin and Donald. When they truly unleashed their full power, the situation on the battlefield immediately changed.

    The Ghost Mages that could instantly cast magic spells and were below level-20 were indeed quite a headache. However, once there were a few actual Legendary-mages who disyed their Magical Domains, the Ghost Mages would immediately lose their advantage. The Ghost Mages¡¯ so-called equaling the Legendary-mages was only rtive to those below the Legendary-realm. Without their own Magical Domains, they were definitely still very different from Legendary-mages.

    Faced with such a situation, it was reasonable to say that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team should have caught up as well. Even if they did not join in the battle, they at least could not stray too far from the team. However, Lin Li simply shook his head to turn down Master Basel and n¡¯s inquiry. Hence, his team remained still.

    Due to the group of Ghost Mages at the back, Lin Li discovered a very strange figure which seemed to be a skeletal Undead creature. However, it looked rather small. In reality, if Lin Li hadn¡¯t felt that special mana fluctuation from such a distance, they probably would not have been able to discover that fist-sized monster.

    Of course, even if the monster was discovered, they were simply too far away. Even with Lin Li¡¯s eyesight, it would still be impossible to see clearly what that thing was.

    On the battlefield, the joint force of the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom seemed to have gotten the upper hand, and it seemed thatpletely destroying the Ghost Mages would only be a matter of time for them.

    However, at this moment, the creature that had been staying behind the Ghost Mages suddenly darted out, and flew towards a spot that was in the air above the heads of the Ghost Mages.

    With the appearance of that thing, the fierce attack that had pushed the Ghost Mages into a desperate situation was instantly disintegrated by an unparalleled power. At this moment, the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom finally discovered that such a strange thing had actually appeared on the battlefield.

    After seeing the appearance of that creature, almost no one found it exceptional, as it was just a skeleton. However, no one knew what living being it belonged to. That skeleton was only the size of a human fist, and its every bone was so slender that it seemed as if it would break at the slightest touch. The overall shape resembled that of a rat¡¯s skeleton. However, there was a tiny pair of wings on its back. Could it be the skeleton of some kind of bat!?

    However, a terrifying wave of mana fluctuation suddenly erupted from the tiny skeleton. Even the Legendary powerhouses like Archbishop Martin and Donald couldn¡¯t help but find it hard to face the mana fluctuation.

    Immediately afterwards, countless powerful Legendary-level elemental magic spells were cast from the tiny skeleton before the people could even react. They formed a massive magic torrent which was more than 1,000 times stronger than the magic storm cast by the Ghost Mages. It made them feel like they were facing doomsday.

    At the same time, the Ghost Mages did not give up the chance to take revenge as they all cast level-19 magic spells that were even more powerful. Although they were only level-19 magic spells, the continuous casting of magic spells by nearly 200 Ghost Mages was still extremely terrifying.

    For a while, the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were caught off guard by the peculiar skeleton that emerged from nowhere. Even though they outnumbered the enemies and had massive Alchemy Colossuses, they still felt like a helpless boat which would be smashed to pieces by a massive wave anytime in the endless magic torrent.

    In fact, that was exactly the case. Although the 10 Alchemy Colossuses that were standing right in front of the team had already activated their magic defensive arrays, that was clearly still not enough. The Magic Shields that could originally withstand the Ghost Mages¡¯ magic storm were shattered with a thud in less than a second in the magic torrent.

    Then, the massive Alchemy Colossuses were devoured by the magic torrent, and burst into mes that shot to the sky amidst the roar of countless magic spells. The precious magical metals that the people from the Rotterdam used in their Alchemy Colossuses did not allow them to survive for long.

    However, there were fortunately 10 Alchemy Colossuses holding up the front, giving the crowd in the back a slight chance. The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam linked arms and jointly cast a more solid defensive force field as they struggled to resist the impact of the magic torrent.

    The team that was protected in the defensive force field also kept casting defensive magical spells to reduce the burden on the Alchemy Colossuses while paying attention to each other¡¯s condition fearfully. Even a single tiny spark that suddenly burst from the body of an Alchemy Colossus could frighten them to death.

    On the other side, the team of the Brilliance Shrine was simrly in a terrible situation. Using the Holy Light Battle Song, the Holy Light Knights managed to suppress the dozens of Ghost Mages. Even though they managed to jump towards their own team as fast as they could after detecting danger, 10-odd Holy Light Knights at the back were still devoured by the magic torrent. If Archbishop Martin had not instantly gone to rescue them, the Holy Light Knights would have suffered even greater losses.

    The priests of Brilliance Shrine had already jointly cast the Eternal Light, after which an iparably holy curved curtain of light appeared at the front of the group, protecting them. The moment the light curtain was formed, a huge, deafening magic torrent mmed into the light curtain with a loud bang that seemed to shatter heaven and earth.

    Although the light curtain appeared distorted, the good thing was that it finally blocked the magic torrent. However, everyone could tell how hard of a time those priests had while holding on. In fact, some of them were even bleeding from their ears and nostrils.

    <i>How did that happen? Their power is definitely notparable to the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm! No Legendary-mage can continuously cast Legendary-level magic spells so freely without restraint! The magic torrentposed of condensed Legendary magic spells is stronger than the joint forces of 100 Legendary-mages!</i>

    Facing the skeletal monster of unknown origins and the magic torrent that was made of condensed Legendary-level magic, even the Legendary powerhouses like Archbishop Martin and Donald couldn¡¯t help but be a little fearful. Although they were also at the peak of the Legendary-level, they felt that they were like a baby facing an adult, powerless with no means to resist.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, what should we do now!?¡± asked Prince Jeremiah, who had turned pale at this moment. Even though he was a Pdin who had power that was at the peak of the Legendary-level, it was his first time encountering such a situation.

    ¡°Join forces with the people of the Rotterdam and retreat. I hope that we will be able to retreat safely after regrouping with the Tower of Dusk.¡± Archbishop Martin kept a straight face, and did not show the fear within him at all, because he knew that once he revealed his panic, the team of the Brilliance Shrine would truly be over.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk? Damn it, where are the people of the Tower of Dusk? Why aren¡¯t they following us?!¡± At this moment, Prince Jeremiah finally discovered that the people of the Tower of Dusk were still outside the square, and did not catch up from the beginning of the battle until now.

    When Archbishop Martin made a decision, Donald from the Rotterdam did so as well. It was not that they shared some telepathic connection. In fact, they just had no choice. Wait for the enemy to run out of mana? That¡¯d be a joke. By the time the mana in the huge magic torrent ran out, the Legendary-mages would probably be squeezed dry from defending. Donald was almost certain that if that went on, the ones to be destroyed first would be them.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. The enemy was simply barbaric and tyrannical. No technique was involved, and the oppression was just done with brute force. Actually, when the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam were dealing with the corporeal Vengeful Spirits and Alchemy Colossuses, they simrly suppressed them. However, they were now the ones being suppressed.

    Hence, anyone with a brain would realize that the only chance now was to try to join forces with the Brilliance Shrine and fight the enemy¡¯s magic torrent together. That was not all. They also had to join forces with the Tower of Dusk. After all, there was also a group of mages on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, which was considered a force.

    Fortunately, in the previous battle, the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam were not too far from each other. While desperately resisting the impact of the magic torrent, the two teams slowly seemed to be closing in together like snails.

    They were now going against an iparably massive pressure. Any slight negligence would cause everyone to be finished. Perhaps even a few Legendary powerhouses that were at the pinnacle of the realm might not be able to escape.

    As soon as the two teams met, an Alchemy Colossus on the side of the Rotterdam Kingdom became paralyzed after an explosion due to an overload. Upon sight of that, the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom instantly broke out in a cold sweat because they were incredibly frightened. If they had been slightlyte, everyone in the team would¡¯ve truly been finished.

 Chapter 938 - Undead Creature Elemental Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 938: Undead Creature Elemental Dragon</h4>

    The two teams united their defense, and the pressure they were under when defending indeed reduced. The alchemist from the destroyed Alchemy Colossus could only escape because the machine was paralyzed. However, his expression showed he waspletely overwhelmed with panic.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald exchanged opinions, and beganmanding their teams to retreat slowly. However, this time, the difficulty of defending had somewhat eased up, and they no longer retreated that slowly.

    Finally, the teams retreated to the edge of the square. Even though they did not take too much time, everyone felt like they had spent a century doing so.

    At this moment, the group of mages from the Tower of Dusk had already gotten ready after receiving Lin Li¡¯s orders. When the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom retreated, the mages united to form a Magic Net Array, and jointly cast defensive spells to share some of the burden.

    With the addition of the mages of the Tower of Dusk, Archbishop Martin and Donald, the two powerhouses at the pinnacle of the Legendary-realm, were finally able to take their hands off the defense. After trying to cast offensive spells a few times, they finally walked towards Lin Li helplessly because they discovered that the enemy¡¯s defenses were just as strong as their attack. Their instantaneous defensive magic spells were cast one after another. They could not break through at all.

    ¡°Master Felic, do you know what¡¯s going on? The other party obviously doesn¡¯t have the aura of the Sanctuary-realm. Why does it have such a strong mana?¡±

    Archbishop Martin still couldn¡¯t figure out what the enemy was. It was clearly only at the peak of the Legendary-level, yet it was not on the same level as him at all. At the peak Legendary-level, being able to instantly cast Legendary-level magic spells was not considered much, but being able to cast endless Legendary-level magic spells instantly was too terrifying.

    Facing such a frightening enemy, Archbishop Martin had lost almost all hope of exploring the Sky Castle. However, the problem was that, given the current situation, it seemed that being able to retreat safely was also an extravagant wish.

    The only way to leave the Sky Castle was through the Teleportation Portal. However, the Teleportation Portal wouldn¡¯t take everyone away at once. Since there were so many of them, they could only be sent away in batches. However, the three forces could only resist the insane attacks of the enemies by uniting. Thest ones to leave would be the most unlucky. How could they retreat then?

    ¡°President Felic, why did the Tower of Dusk stay still at the back without doing anything while we were fighting hard at the front!?¡± Donald was extremely displeased with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s behavior. Hence, he questioned Lin Li furiously as soon as he saw him.

    The team from the Rotterdam lost 11 Alchemy Colossuses in a short while, which was absolutely a massive loss. Besides, in Donald¡¯s opinion, although the strength of the Tower of Dusk was not enough to change the situation even if they joined the battle, they could at least share some of the burden and relieve their pressure. Perhaps they would not have had to lose those Alchemy Colossuses then.

    Moreover, when the three forces discussed cooperation previously, Lin Li had also mentioned that he had explored the Sky Castle before. Donald couldn¡¯t help but suspect if there was a conspiracy behind the Tower of Dusk¡¯s decision to stay in the back. He wondered if Lin Li had long found out about the existence of the enemy, and nned to let the enemy kill them.

    Of course, although he was iparably heartbroken about the losses that his team had suffered, Donald still stayed a little level-headed, and did not voice out his conjecture. Otherwise, he would probably have fallen out with the Tower of Dusk.

    Upon hearing the words of Archbishop Martin and Donald, Lin Li did not have any special expression on his face. He looked at the battle taking ce in front of him, and calmly said, ¡°The Tower of Dusk is a small force. How can we not be careful? That¡¯s an Elemental Dragon[1]. You¡¯re a major force, you can ignore it, but I¡¯m not so idiotic as to take my people to go toe-to-toe against it.¡±

    ¡°An Elemental Dragon!¡±

    Upon hearing that, the faces of Archbishop Martin and Donald grew sullen. Although they had never seen an Elemental Dragon before, they knew quite a bit about the legends of the Elemental Dragon, which was the most powerful existence of the ancient wyrm n and mastered the four major elements. Although they were in disbelief, they couldn¡¯t help but believe the truth afterparing the actual Elemental Dragon with the legends.

    The endless and massive mana, as well as the infinite Legendary-level magic spells that could beunched instantly, were clearly only at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Other than the Elemental Dragon that was depicted in legends, they could not think of any other creature that would possess such terrifying power.

    However, knowing that the enemy was an Elemental Dragon did not seem to result in any changes to the current situation. In fact, it made them feel even more hopeless because they knew that no matter how hard they tried to persist, they still could not exhaust the mana of the Elemental Dragon.

    They did not continue questioning Lin Li, and instead returned to their respective teams. Despite knowing how terrifying the enemy was, they could not just give up, could they? The only thing to feel fortunate about was that the Elemental Dragon was only at the peak of the Legendary-level. Although that made them feel that they could not win, it was, after all, still below the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, they might get a chance at changing the situation.

    Of course, they knew that the chance was slim.

    There were no signs of the intense battle easing up. Although the pressure that each force suffered had decreased after regrouping, they were still unable to change the fact that they were in a passive position where they were getting beaten up.

    The Elemental Dragon that was flying in midair might be just a ridiculous skeleton, but the power contained in its skeleton brought about infinite horror. The four great elements, the Annihtion mes, Extreme Frost, Meteorite Disaster, and Infinite Storm, disyed their most terrifying forms under the maniption of the Elemental Dragon, making them feel hopeless. The entire Sky Castle seemed to be trembling with the roaring magic spells.

    The Elemental Dragon was casting incredibly powerful top-tier Legendary magic spells like they were ordinary spells. There was barely any timeg between them as they continuously sted above the magical defense of the expedition. Apart from defending, there was nothing else the expedition could do. They were enduring the endless offensive spells with all their might, as if they were struggling in an apocalyptic disaster.

    That was aplete ravage. With its infinite mana, the Elemental Dragon did not have to think about the consumption of mana. There was no need for it to consider any technique or strategy. It was just using the highest mana output to disy the strongest offensive spells, suppressing the opponents mercilessly.

    Under the lead of the Elemental Dragon¡¯s Element Domain, the Ghost Mages seemed to have been injected with stimnts as they bombarded the expedition with the strongest magic spells they could cast. Even though their power was far inferior to the Elemental Dragon¡¯s, the draining of the expedition¡¯s defensive power caused by thebined power of nearly 200 or so Ghost Mages was simrly astonishing.

    After sustaining the attacks for a few moments, they had no choice but to start recing the magical crystals of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam. Even if they used Legendary magical crystals as the power source, they would never be able tost long with such a huge consumption rate. Besides, due to the overdraft, the Alchemy Colossuses began to experience all sorts of problems, and no one knew when they would suddenly copse.

    It was the same for the humans. The priests of the Brilliance Shrine had been maintaining that intensity of spell casting; hence, their bodies had also ended up in a state of overloading. Many priests were gritting their teeth and persisting. However, blood was continuously oozing out from their eyes, mouths, and noses. They all seemed to be in a terrible state. The problems appearing in the Alchemy Colossuses could be resolved with repairs. The humans needed treatment as well. However, the current situation left them with no time to rest at all.

    Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk joined the battleter, and opted for a defensive stance from the moment they joined the battle, it did not mean that it was any easier for them. Through the Magic Net Array, the magesbined everyone¡¯s power, and they jointly reached the peak Legendary-level. However, it was still extremely inferiorpared to the Elemental Dragon. In fact, they were considered pathetic and small.

    ¡°After this training, I believe that theirprehension of magic as well as their understanding of the Magic Net Array will be greatly increased,¡± Basel said to Lin Li while standing beside him and watching the mages who were struggling in the battle. However, he did not look worried at all. He knew that Elemental Dragons were indeed extremely terrifying, but he also knew that the young President beside him was even scarier. With a Sanctuary powerhouse beside him, there was nothing for him to be worried about.

    Compared to the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were having a harder time as they were in a more dangerous situation. The teams of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom were defended by the Legendary powerhouses, but the mages of the Tower of Dusk could only rely on themselves.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, no one else except the mages joined the defense, simply because they wanted to let the mages get the most experience out of that situation.

    Actually, the greenhorn mages were not the only ones who needed training. The other members of the mage team needed to be trained as well. There were many Archmages who were at the peak of level-19 among the team of mages, and most of them were so-called infinitely close to the Legendary-realm. However, the root cause of n being the only one to advance to the Legendary-realm despite the good conditions that Lin Li had provided was theck of training and actual battle experience.

    The environment for learning magic in the Dark Age was extremely harsh, yet it produced the God of Mages Geresco, the three arbitrators, and batches of outstanding legendary figures. The mages now were not necessarily less talented than the people of that era. Besides, they also had a great learning environment. However, they could barelypare to the real legendary figures.

    The reason that the mages had fallen to such a pathetic state was because theycked actualbat experience.

    How many battles had Geresco experienced in life to be the God of Mages? Putting aside the battles that happened at the end of the Dark Age, the battles that he fought during his growth process in the Dark Age were absolutely unimaginable to the mages of that era.

    It was the same for the three arbitrators, High Priest Rogge, and the various legendary figures of that era.

    Geresco had mentioned before that knowledge was the highest faith of mages, but books were not the only source of knowledge. Actualbat was not just another important way to gain knowledge, it was also one of the most important ways to test one¡¯s grasp of knowledge.

    Talent in magic was certainly one of the reasons Lin Li was able to have the achievements he had now. However, the various battles where he¡¯d been on the verge of death also yed an irreceable role. Without that experience, Lin Li would¡¯ve probably only been an Archmage with incredible talent in magic if he were to rely on his aptitude. Perhaps he could¡¯ve worked hard for years and understand some logic before barely making it to the Legendary-realm. However, he could¡¯ve dreamed on about the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t quite agree with their proposal to start a battle in the Sky Castle, he also firmly believed that fighting was the best and only way for mages to break through.

    The power disyed by the mages of the team had only reached the peak of the Legendary-realm through the Magic Net Array. It could be said that it was of almost no help to Lin Li¡¯s exploration of the Sky Castle. The main reason that Lin Li chose to bring the mages there was so that they could have a chance to have an actual battle. Such an opportunity was rare in Anril. Hence, how could Lin Li ruin it?

    Even though the mages seemed to be in a difficult situation, and some of them had already been injured for various reasons, Lin Li would have a solution to treat them as long as they were not dead. In that case, there was no point in worrying.

    Lin Li was not concerned about the situation in the battlefield at all. He simply watched the mages gradually get tempered by the enemy¡¯s powerful attacks.

    In the battlefield, the attacks of the Elemental Dragon did not decrease at all. That was definitely a fact that made everyone feel helpless. Although there were barely any casualties among the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, all of them looked rather weak, as if they had been pushed to the limits.

    Inconceble worry was written all over the faces of Archbishop Martin and Donald. They were well aware that the team was almost on the verge of copsing. Perhaps, casualties would inevitably appear next, and that would signify the team¡¯s copse.

    However, in the face of the Elemental Dragon, they could not find a chance to change the situation at all. They initially nned to counterattack with their remaining forces, but they were all devoted to putting up the defense. The only thing they could do was to try and sustain the attacks for a second longer.

    At this moment, they also noticed the performance of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages. To their surprise, the Archmages were the ones who were fighting, and none of the Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk joined them.

    [1] The author is using a different word, so it¡¯s a different creature from an Elemental Wyrm like Lin Li¡¯s Xiaohua. Or the author changed the name (he¡¯s using two different terms for dragons, hence dragons and wyrms).

 Chapter 939 - Power Of The Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 939: Power Of The Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    It would be alright if the mages of the Tower of Dusk were behaving like they could win easily. However, the Archmages seemed to also be in a difficult situation, and many of them were injured as well. That was rather puzzling.

    <i>Could it be that Felic already has a solution to the problem?</i> As much as Archbishop Martin wanted to convince himself that the conjecture was true, he felt that it seemed to be unlikely, regardless of how he looked at it. However, if that was not the case, it did not seem likely that he would give up on the mages too. That seemed to have on effect on the situation!

    Archbishop Martin moved away from the group, and walked towards Lin Li again. He anxiously asked, ¡°Felic, do you already have a solution? If you do, hurry and use it. If this goes on, we won¡¯t be able to endure for long!¡±

    ¡°President Felic, you should be aware of the current situation. If we continue to drag this on, I¡¯m afraid that everyone will have to be left here except for us. If you really have a solution, I hope that you will stop holding back.¡± Donald could also see the changes in the Tower of Dusk. Although he did not believe that Lin Li could resolve the crisis they were facing, he still had a glimmer of hope.

    Lin Li did not answer the two of them immediately, and instead looked at the mages. Perhaps, in the opinion of others, the mages were not behaving differently, but he could still tell that the mages had indeed improved greatly after a period of training.

    If they were to go on, they would be in trouble! Lin Li finally looked away and turned to look at the two who were incredibly anxious. He stepped forward gently, but he suddenly appeared above the battlefield.

    That change gave Archbishop Martin and Donald a great shock. The two of them were still waiting for Lin Li¡¯s reply, but they did not expect him to run straight to the battlefield.

    However, could the current situation be changed by a Legendary powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm? Truth be told, neither of them believed it.

    However, just as the two of them looked toward the battlefield where Lin Li was hovering in the air, they saw something that surprised both of them.

    Lin Li was calmly raising the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand while hovering in midair. He gently pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at the Ghost Mages, but that seemingly insignificant action made everyone present instantly feel that the entire Sky Castle seemed to have been lowered with the scepter before sinking abruptly. It was as if a heavy object had suddenly been ced on a boat.

    Immediately afterwards, something even more surprising happened. The distorted bodies of the Ghost Mages, which were extremely rampant so far, suddenly became blurry almost all at the same time. Just like green smoke that rose into the air, they dissipated silently in the breeze. The bodies of the nearly 200 Ghost Mages gradually became blurred and transparent before eventually disappearing without a sound.

    <i>What kind of power is that!?</i> Those were Ghost Mages that hadbat power that was not inferior to the Legendary powerhouses. Everyone was astonished. They did not feel any mana fluctuations, nor did they hear Lin Li chant any incantations. He managed to make the nearly 200 Ghost Mages disappear with a gentle move of his scepter!

    That was simply beyond everyone¡¯s knowledge, and even the Legendary powerhouses, Archbishop Martin and Donald, could not figure out what was going on. They could not imagine how Lin Li, who they thought was also a Legendary powerhouse like them, could have such a peculiar power. They even felt a little terrified.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald were both Legendary powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Although they were close to the Sanctuary-realm, they had yet to see that door to the Sanctuary-realm. They could be considered clueless about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, and that was the reason they were afraid. If they had a slightprehension of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, they would not find the power that Lin Li used to be that peculiar.

    Although the Ghost Mages hadbat power that was not inferior to the Legendary-mages, they were still not in the actual Legendary-realm, after all. Their power came from Highlord Osric, not themselves. They could not use that power toprehend and master the Laws. That was the difference between them and Legendary-mages. They were unable to truly grasp the nomological power or create their own Magical Domain.

    Those Ghost Mages were actually no different from ordinary Archmages in terms of their realm. The only difference was that they had massive mana and a portion of Laws that even they could not master.

    On the other hand, Lin Li was truly in the Sanctuary-realm, and he could really integrate himself into the World Laws. Every wisp of mana came with the purest nomological power. He did not need to use any powerful magic spells to destroy the Ghost Mages. He just had to use his mastery of World Laws to disintegrate the Laws of the mana that they had condensed. Everything they had would lose the foundation to exist.

    This was the terrifying aspect of the Sanctuary-realm. To put it in a more exaggerated manner, if Lin Li were to identally show some of his mana, it would be enough to make an Archmage lose his mana and die.

    However, the Ghost Mages were not the main point. What really caused big trouble for the expedition was the skeletal Elemental Dragon that was only the size of a fist. It was an Elemental Dragon that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. It had terrifying power which was probablyparable to the power of 100 Legendary-mages who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. That kind of power was simplyparable to that of a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    After destroying those Ghost Mages, Lin Li did not linger any longer. He shed again and immediately arrived in front of the Elemental Dragon. Lin Li did not have any defensive spells, but the Elemental Dragon that had just bombarded the expedition actually stopped at this moment.

    The Elemental Dragon that had terrifying power actually became surprisingly quiet after Lin Li arrived. In fact, they could even sense a trace of fear from its body.

    Yes, fear! Although the Elemental Dragon was only a small skeleton that could not make any expressions, the expedition below, especially Archbishop Martin and Donald, could feel the sense of fearing from it.

    ¡°Instead of being a proper ancient dragon, it actually went to be Osric¡¯s underling as a bunch of bones. Is that fun?¡± Lin Li said calmly as he looked at the Elemental Dragon.

    As Lin Li finished speaking, the Elemental Dragon did notunch any attacks. Instead, it pped its wings and surprisingly ran away like it did not have any backbone.

    However, before the Elemental Dragon could flee far, a palm formed from mana suddenly appeared in the void and grabbed the Elemental Dragon that was trying to escape. At this time, the Elemental Dragon no longer looked as ferocious and menacing as it had just now. It simply became a poor creature that was powerless and unable to retaliate.

    Lin Li then pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and countless lightning pythons sprang up from the void with earth-shattering roars. They bombarded the Elemental Dragon continuously. They immediately darted around in the sky and lit up the entire space, and everyone couldn¡¯t help but want to close their eyes.

    Finally, when everything fell silent, the skeleton of the Elemental Dragon had already disappeared without a trace from the illusory hand made of mana, leaving behind only a nail-sized magical crystal that was glistening in the air.

    The Elemental Dragon that had forced everyone into a desperate situation just now had been wiped out, with no bones left! Upon sight of that scene, the members of the expedition standing on the ground werepletely dumbfounded. In fact, they couldn¡¯t believe it at all. The illusory feeling was just like a dream.

    The Elemental Dragon was indeed very strong as it had an inherent ability to have infinite mana and master countless powerful elemental magic spells. However, it was still only in the Legendary-realm. No matter how close it was to the Sanctuary-realm, and even if it was only a step away, it was actually still infinitely far away from the real Sanctuary-realm. The difference between the realms was not at all something that could be closed by the umtion of mana.

    Although there had always been legends of the weak overpowering the strong in Anril where Magic Shooters defeated Archmages, and Archmages defeated Legendary-mages, there were no legends of a Legendary-mage defeating a Sanctuary powerhouse. That was because the difference between the Legendary-realm and the Sanctuary-realm was far greater than anyone could imagine. It was not only in terms of power, but also in terms of the mastery of Laws, the familiarity withposition of the world, and the thorough use of mana.

    A true Sanctuary powerhouse had already integrated himself into the World Laws. Every ce that a Sanctuary powerhouse was in would be a natural Magical Domain that wasposed of the World Laws. The words and deeds of a Sanctuary powerhouse represented the World Laws. That was an ability that was only possessed by gods.

    Stepping into the Sanctuary-realm meant that one was already free from the limitations of mortals. Thus, they were no longer restrained by the World Laws. It was no exaggeration to say that Sanctuary powerhouses represented the strongest power in Anril. They could use all sorts of World Laws freely, making the power of the world work for them. Apart from a few core Laws, there was no longer anything that could bind them.

    All levels above the Sanctuary-realm were considered the realm of gods. In the long history of Anril, there were only a few people who were qualified to step into the realm above the Sanctuary-realm, for example the God of Mages Geresco and the mythical Immortal King...

    Looking at the young figure in the sky, Donald continuously yelled in his heart, <i>No, that¡¯s impossible!</i>

    <i>How could that be? That¡¯s an Elemental Dragon! An Elemental Dragon that¡¯s at the peak of the Legendary-realm!</i> Donald couldn¡¯t believe what was happening in front of him. An Elemental Dragon that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm was actually destroyed so easily. <i>Am I crazy, or has this world gone mad? How could there be such power in this world!?</i>

    Of course, there was also the possibility that the young mage had already possessed the true power of the Sanctuary-realm. However, Donald clearly did not believe that. He would rather believe that the other party was just lucky enough to have encountered an Elemental Dragon that had something wrong with it, and had exploited the weakness of the Elemental Dragon through some method.

    At this moment, Kamber, who was standing beside Donald, also had a look of shock on his face. He could not believe that a person he originally did not take seriously would suddenly reveal such unbelievably powerful strength. He recalled the words that he said when he wanted the Tower of Dusk to submit to the Rotterdam Kingdom the previous day. If Lin Li was really a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would probably be dead.

    <i>His power is definitely not his own, he must have mastered some magical equipment or some secret technique to restrain the Elemental Dragon! That must be it!</i> Kamber could not stop persuading himself. <i>Indeed, this must be the case. That cunning mage made his move sote because he wanted to create such a stir to show how powerful he is. In reality, he was just putting on a facade to create a deterrence so as to gain greater benefits in the explorationter.</i>

    The arrogant people of the Rotterdam could never ept seeing others being stronger than themselves. Even if they saw it with their own eyes, they would have toe up with eptable exnations for it in their own minds.

    Unlike the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom, Archbishop Martin would not dwell on it, although he was extremely astonished as well.

    From Archbishop Martin¡¯s point of view, the fact that Lin Li could possess such great strength might not be beneficial to the Brilliance Shrine. As one of the four archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, he had heard Pope Rosario mention before that Felic might be the Son of The Holy Light.

    Besides, Archbishop Martin also knew that although the matter had yet to be announced, he was more or less sure about it. The only problem was that the boy himself refused to admit it. However, facts were facts, and no matter how the true Son of The Holy Light tried to deny it, he would never be able to change facts.

    <i>Seems like I should report this matter to Pope Rosario as soon as possible. While the Supreme Council is still not doing anything, I will make this kid the Son of The Holy Light.</i> At the thought of it, Archbishop Martin began to get rather eager. He even thought of giving up the expedition.

    Although he was also a member of the Brilliance Shrine, Prince Jeremiah was not as excited about the matter as Archbishop Martin was. Instead, he was somewhat fearful.

    <i>What a joke, it¡¯s an Elemental Dragon that is at the peak of the Legendary-realm, yet it was destroyed just like that. My Pdins are so insignificantpared to them.</i> Jeremiah was secretly thankful for Archbishop Martin¡¯s persuasion, which stopped him from stirring trouble with them. Otherwise, if he were to really anger Lin Li, he would be doomed, regardless of the fact that he was a prince who was also the leader of the Holy Light Knights.

 Chapter 940 - Psychic Tower Of Two Realms

    <h4>Chapter 940: Psychic Tower Of Two Realms</h4>

    The Elemental Dragon, which was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, was already on par with a Sanctuary powerhouse, yet there was no tough or intense battle at all. It was simply twisted to death like an ant. No matter how arrogant and haughty Jeremiah was, he did not think that he was powerful enough topete with the Elemental Dragon. Although he did not dare to think that Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he knew that thetter could definitely destroy him easily even if he was not a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Everyone watched in shock as Lin Li put away the nail-sized Elemental Dragon Crystal, and floated to the ground from the sky. Lin Li had expected everyone to react that way. However, the most important thing now was to explore the Sky Castle, and not to let them stay dumbfounded there.

    Seeing that they could not recover from the shock for a long time, Lin Li shook his head helplessly, and reminded, ¡°Archbishop Martin, Master Donald, I¡¯ve already gotten rid of the Elemental Dragon. Do you think we should reorganize the team and continue advancing?¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes, yes.¡± Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s reminder, everyone was finally enlightened. They were on thend of the Sky Castle, and there were plenty of things they had to do.

    Everyone suppressed their thoughts and reorganized the team. Those who had to be treated were treated, and the things that had to be repaired were also repaired. Actually, the greatest casualties were the 10-odd Holy Light Knights that the Elemental Dragon had suddenly attacked and killed, as well as the 11 Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom that had been destroyed.

    Under the impact of the Elemental Dragon¡¯s magical elements, the 11 Alchemy Colossuses had long turned into broken pieces. There was no need for repairs at all. The only things that required repair were the problems caused by the overdraft of the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ power during the defensive battle. Although the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom could not repair the Alchemy Colossuses as quickly as Angno could, they fortunately had the adequate equipment. Most of the work consisted of recing parts, which did not take much time.

    The Brilliance Shrine had plenty of methods for healing, which included healing potions and Holy Light Magic. However, the priests had had to overdraft their mental strength and mana in order to keep up with the defense. That was not something that could be healed by ordinary potions.

    Lin Li directly took out two boxes of potions from his Ring of Endless Storm, and handed them to Archbishop Martin. The potions were meant for restoring either mana or mental strength. One reason behind his decision to do so was that he had a good rtionship with the Brilliance Shrine, and the other reason was that he didn¡¯t want to waste too much time there. After all, he still had to deal with Osric¡¯s Ghost.

    Potions that restored mana and mental strength were far more valuable than Recovery Potions. Yet, Lin Li took out two boxes of them in one go. When Jeremiah saw those potions, he was suddenly reminded of what he¡¯d said about giving the Tower of Dusk some potions to aid them. He immediately felt ashamed, and his face turned as red as a monkey¡¯s bottom.

    After a period of rest, the team finally regained some strength, and the three forces continued with the original n. They entered the avenue square again.

    Archbishop Martin originally still had the key to the Magic Tower in the middle of the square, but when he grabbed the key and tried to open the gate of the Magic Tower, he discovered that the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock had already disappeared, yet the gate still could not be opened.

    Lin Li had a faint ominous hunch when he saw that.

    That situation also simrly caused Archbishop Martin and Donald to feel very disappointed. They initially thought that they could obtain the Immortal King¡¯s treasure without any problems since they had the key. However, now that the key had actually lost its effect, they had no choice but to worry and wonder if that was just a single phenomenon, or if that was the same in the entire Sky Castle.

    Despite being unable to open the gate of the Magic Tower, Archbishop Martin didn¡¯t insist on forcing his way in. After all, they had more important things to do in the Sky Castle, and if they were to get any treasures, it would only be coincidental. If they could obtain any, they would, of course, be d, but if they could not, they would not cause any dy in what they had to do just because of it.

    Feeling rather regretful, the expedition left the Magic Tower, and passed through the square to enter another street, once again walking into the endless fog.

    The thick fog was still affecting their senses, and making it impossible for their mental strength to reach far. However, the strange thing was that the journey this time seemed to be much smoother than before, and there were very few enemies. The asional Vengeful Spirits that appeared were also significantly weaker, and they did not encounter any Legendary-level enemies for a long time.

    Having just experienced a vicious battle, the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom took everything for granted. They even somewhat enjoyed the smooth-sailing journey.

    They felt that even if it was the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, there wouldn¡¯t be psychotically powerful monsters everywhere! Since a powerful monster like the Elemental Dragon was destroyed, it should be normal for them to rx for a while! During the exploration, almost everyone felt the same.

    Actually, their thoughts were not wrong. After all, the Elemental Dragon was a perverted monster, and one of it was enough. The power of an Elemental Dragonbined with Ghost Mages was far beyond their imagination. They could not imagine what could be stronger than that. The descent of the Immortal King?

    However, Lin Li would never dare to have that thought. Even though he was now a true Sanctuary powerhouse, he still had scruples about the notorious Highlord Osric.

    Compared to the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, Lin Li had a greater understanding of Highlord Osric. Perhaps Osric, who was once known as the Butcher, was just a mythical figure and a historical symbol to others. No matter how exaggerated it was, he stillcked a truly terrifying power.

    However, Lin Li was different from them. Ever since he obtained the Eternal Furnace in the beginning, until he explored the Sky Castle for the first time, followed by the Highlord Osric¡¯s mausoleum, he had gotten a clear understanding of the perversity of Osric, the mythical figure.

    The Immortal King¡¯s proud disciple had stood at the pinnacle of Anril a long time ago during the Dark Age. Although he strangely died an early death, he was no less powerful or talented than the Immortal King. He built the Eternal Furnace by imitating the Sky Castles. His creation even surpassed the Sky Castles in some ways. He created the perfect body, and created the Ghost using 100,000 human souls. He intended to follow a different path to immortality than the Immortal King. If his ns could¡¯ve gone smoothly, he might¡¯ve really seeded.

    Lin Li had some suspicion that the bizarre missing of the Immortal King had something to do with Highlord Osric. He still remembered that among the information he had, there seemed to be a mention of an argument between Osric and the Immortal King, as well as the message from Osric that was ced in the Central Tower.

    Facing such a terrifying enemy, Lin Li stillcked confidence despite having already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, deep down, Lin Li was still willing to face the two Sanctuary powerhouses, the Icest Wyrm Sindera and the me Dragon Lothar. However, he did not want to face Highlord Osric.

    However, Lin Li had no choice. Did he reallye to the Sky Castle this time to make all the gains in the Sky Castle his? He had obtained Osric¡¯s Eternal Furnace and his perfect body. There was no way he could resolve the hatred between them. Once Highlord Osric recovered his power and returned to Anril, the first thing he would do would be to destroy Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk so as to take the Eternal Furnace and the perfect body back.

    That was one of the most important reasons for Lin Li to set foot in the Sky Castle again. He hoped to get rid of the massive threat while Osric had yet to fully recover.

    Lin Li dared to create trouble for Osric mainly because he had the control crystal, which he had obtained through the Immortal King¡¯s test when he¡¯d firste to the Sky Castle, to fall back on. If he could really gainplete control of the Sky Castle through the control crystal, he would be confident in fighting Osric.

    However, judging from the signs he had seen after stepping into the Sky Castle again, he felt that the task was extremely difficult. Regardless of whether Osric had recovered fully or not, it was obvious that he had most likely gained control of a portion of the Sky Castle in the past two years.

    Although Lin Li had studied quite a bit of information about the Sky Castle, he was worlds apart from Osric in terms of knowledge of the Sky Castle. After all, back then, Osric had obtained most of the Immortal King¡¯s inheritance, and had also created the Eternal Furnace by replicating the Sky Castles. Clearly, he had a deep understanding of them.

    Even if Lin Li had the control crystal, he could not guarantee that he would be able to sessfully gain control of the Sky Castle.

    Perhaps the only thing worth rejoicing over now was that Lin Li had quite a good grasp of the usage of the control crystal. Even if the operation failed this time, he could at least use the power of the control crystal to send himself and his subordinates back to Anril using the Teleportation Portal. Lin Li probably could not do anything to help the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Moreover, if things really developed to that stage, Lin Li would have no choice but to seek help from the three arbitrators. Lin Li was not a match for Osric withplete control of the Sky Castle at all. He was just a beginner of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Lin Li was so worried about Osric that he did not feel the slightest bit of joy despite the fact that they could advance so smoothly and rapidly. Instead, he was much more worried about it. He was well aware that Osric and the Sky Castle would be a terrifyingbination. Their current situation was just superficial safety, and in fact, it could be considered the calm before the storm.

    However, Lin Li did not mention that concern of his to the senior members of the other two forces. He knew that it was impossible for them to heed his warnings at this juncture, especially since a major crisis had been resolved.

    Just as Lin Li had thought, almost everyone from the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were taking the smooth advancement for granted.

    The expedition pushed all the way to the interior of the Sky Castle, and they almost did not encounter any proper enemies. Besides, they also made plenty of gains from the buildings on both sides of the streets. That caused everyone to appear extremely excited, as if the Immortal King¡¯s treasures had already opened its doors to them.

    <i>Yes, after oveing the hurdle of the Elemental Dragon, everything has been so smooth! Look, aren¡¯t we about to enter the central area of the Sky Castle!? The treasure of the Immortal King is waiting for us. This is going to be a joyous festival for us!</i>

    The people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were even somewhat regretful at this moment. Had they known that everything was going to go that well, they should have gone and explored all of the outskirts of the Sky Castle before exploring the central area. Of course, exploring that ce first would be the same since all the valuable items were there anyway.

    However, at this time, the thick fog that filled the Sky Castle seemed to have suddenly rolled backwards in all directions like a tide. In the blink of an eye, the entire Sky Castle became rather clear. The people from the expedition were also shocked by that change. At the same time, they discovered that the fog was actually rolling towards the Magic Tower behind them, which they could still see.

    At this time, the Magic Tower waspletely engulfed by the gray fog, making it look just like a massive gray pir. However, this time, it did notst for long. Within a few breaths, the fog waspletely devoured by the Magic Tower, revealing the true appearance of the tower again.

    However, the Magic Tower that had devoured the fog seemed to be significantly different from before. The vicinity of the tower lit up with the light of magic, and therge andplex mageweaths that spread all over the tower gave off a terrifying vibe of silence.

    At the top of the Magic Tower, a thick ink-like ck fog was constantly being sprayed into the sky, forming an iparably thick umbre-shaped ck cloud above the tower. It also continuously spread out to the surroundings rapidly.

    At the same time, the members of the expedition could see that the same dark clouds were also forming in the sky in other parts of the Sky Castle even though there were buildings around them. The clouds quickly became one, and covered the entire Sky Castle.

    ¡°D-damn it, that¡¯s a Psychic Tower that connects two realms!¡± Archbishop Martin yelled in disbelief. He was frightened, and instantly turned as pale as a sheet.

    Everyone knew that a Psychic Tower was the Magic Tower of a Necromancer where Necromancers studied Necromagic. At the same time, it would be a huge addition to the power of Necromagic. Almost every Necromancer would have the lifelong goal of building a Psychic Tower, which could be called the highest crystallization of Necromagic. A Necromancer who owned a Psychic Tower would almost be invincible as long as he stood in a spot that was covered by the ck fog of the Psychic Tower.

    That was actually very simr to a mage¡¯s Magic Tower. The main reason that the construction of a Psychic Tower appeared to be countless times more difficult than a normal Magic Tower¡¯s because of the environment. Although High Elves had studied Necromagic before during the Dark Age, they had always been hostile to the Necromancers on the surface. After the end of the Dark Age, the Brilliance Shrine was established, thus making it difficult for Necromancers to continue to survive.

 Chapter 941 - 36 Towers

    <h4>Chapter 941: 36 Towers</h4>

    In such a situation, Necromancers would have to either secretly hide or flee in all directions. How could they build a Psychic Tower so tantly? Even the Necromancers of the Darkness Shrine would rarely build Psychic Towers because they did not want to intensify the conflict between the two forces, let alone ordinary Necromancers.

    The Double-Realm Psychic Tower could be considered the ultimate form of Psychic Towers. Apart from harsher construction requirements, the materials needed would be enough to drain the riches of any wealthy and powerful Necromancer. Most importantly, it would also require the sacrifice of arge number of lives.

    Every inch of thend of the Psychic Tower would be flowing with endless blood only if arge number of lives was sacrificed and a massive amount of energy was infused with the Psychic Tower to allow the Psychic Tower to evolve into a Double-Realm Psychic Tower. Hence, in the countless years since the Dark Age, there had been no more than five Psychic Towers with verifiable evidence, and the Double-Realm Psychic Tower still remained a legend.

    Although those conditions were extremely harsh, the massive power brought about by the Double-Realm Psychic Tower after sessful evolution would be enough to make any Necromancer go mad. The evolution of the Psychic Tower into the Double-Realm Psychic Tower was akin to the advancement from the Legendary-realm to the Sanctuary-realm. It was absolutely a qualitative improvement.

    The Double-Realm Psychic Tower was known under that name because its power traversed the two realms of the living and the dead. It could open the realm of the Undead creatures for the Necromancers, and continuously draw the purest death aura from the realm of the Undead. With the help of the iparably pure death aura, the Necromancers could not only increase their strength rapidly, but also greatly increase their chances of stepping into the Sanctuary-realm.

    At the same time, as long as a Necromancer put himself within the range of influence of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower, hisbat power would also be elevated to a terrifying level. Regardless of whether he was using Necromagic in battle or summoning his Undead servants, hisbat power could be increased by leaps and bounds. If he was an apprentice in Necromagic, he would be able to exertbat power that was at the peak of level-19. If he was a level-20 Necromancer, he would be able to exertbat power that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    In addition to those roles, the most important function of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower was to save the life of the Necromancer and allow him to share his life with the Double-Realm Psychic Tower. As long as the Double-Realm Psychic Tower did not copse, the Necromancer would not die. Even if it did copse, the Necromancer would still be able to send his soul fire into the realm of the Undead and truly be one of them.

    Hearing Archbishop Martin¡¯s shriek of terror, everyone looked frightened as well. Although the Double-Realm Psychic Tower only existed in legends, they did not think that Archbishop Martin would make a mistake. Everyone knew that in the world of Anril, the Brilliance Shrine probably understood Necromagic better than most Necromancers.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, I think it might be necessary to make a correction. I¡¯m afraid there should be 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers here.¡± At this moment, Lin Li¡¯s expression had also grown much more sullen. Even though he had long predicted that things would not go smoothly, the appearance of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers was still somewhat beyond his expectations. At this point, Osric¡¯s control over the Sky Castle had probably reached a terrifying extent.

    A Psychic Array that was formed from 36 Psychic Towers was already extremely terrifying. What kind of power would a Psychic Array formed from 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers be like? Truth be told, Lin Li could not imagine it at all. If the towers had been activated to form Double-Realm Psychic Towers when he¡¯d explored the Sky Castle in the past, probably none of the people at that time would have been able to escape.

    ¡°36 towers!¡± Upon hearing that number, almost everyone couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock before beginning to suspect something. It was a Double-Realm Psychic Tower that existed in legends, not a random tower built of stone. Having one was already incredibly exaggerated. How could there be 36 of them!?

    Archbishop Martin did not dare to hesitate for a single moment. He chanted a few prayers, and a Sr Sphere darted upwards into the sky from his hands, after which it suddenly split and flew in all directions in the Sky Castle.

    Having stepped into the Sanctuary-realm using the Laws of Light and Darkness, Lin Li had a good grasp of the Holy Light Magic. He knew that Archbishop Martin was disying the Holy Guidance, which was a form of Holy Light Magic that was used to specifically detect all kinds of unholy energies and auras like those of Undead creatures.

    In fact, if it was possible, Lin Li wished that he was wrong. However, there were many things that could not change because of one¡¯s will. Things did not always go the way people wanted. As the saying went, more often than not, things did not go ording to the n.

    As expected, after casting the Holy Guidance, Archbishop Martin, who suffered some bacsh, turned pale. Everyone had been watching Archbishop Martin¡¯s reaction with concern, and did not ask any questions, because they had already gotten an answer in their hearts.

    This time, they had even developed the desire to die. 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers were absolute death!

    One Double-Realm Psychic Tower meant that there was a Necromancer who had incredibly powerfulbat power, and would almost never die inbat, yet 36 of them popped up all at once. That was an impossible phenomenon, even in the most terrifying nightmares!

    36 Necromancers with incrediblebat power were already terrifying existences that were far beyond anyone¡¯s imagination. However, the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers formed a Psychic Array. Anyone had enough reason to believe that that it was definitely not an ordinary Psychic Array. The power it contained was probably more than 100 or 1,000 times greater than that of an ordinary Psychic Array.

    After seeing the daunting situation that they were currently facing, almost every member of the expedition couldn¡¯t help but wail in despair. It was simply overbearing. How could the Immortal King be that perverted!? Not to mention the amount of precious materials needed to build the Double-Realm Psychic Tower, there had definitely been an unimaginable number of lives that got sacrificed during the construction. Even if all the humans of the three human kingdoms were sacrificed, they would not be enough to build so many Double-Realm Psychic Towers!

    However, at this moment, it was no longer possible for the expedition to consider that much. The ck clouds in the sky had connected to form one, shrouding the entire Sky Castle in darkness. Everyone could feel the earth-shattering changes that happened to the space in the instant that the ck clouds enveloped them.

    Although the Sky Castle was originally dead silent as well, it had only given them some slight psychological pressure. However, after being shrouded in darkness, the Sky Castle hadpletely be a dead city. It was an Undead Domain filled with death aura. The members of the expedition, who were standing right in it, could even clearly feel that the death aura was seeping into their souls and slowly eroding their vitality.

    36 Psychic Towers formed a massive Psychic Array. What kind of changes would the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers make to the Psychic Array? Lin Li already had an answer in his heart. A Psychic Array merely gathered arge amount of death aura to create an Undead Domain that would be suitable for Undead creatures. However, the Psychic Array in front of him had a portion of the Undead World projected in it!

    The boundless Undead creatures seemed like a dam that had burst as they swarmed madly towards the expedition from every direction. Every street was crowded with ugly Undead creatures as if it was an Undead fest. Simrly, there were also countless Undead creatures that surged out from the back to surround the entire expedition.

    The ones rushing to the front were the Skeletal Warriors, which were forever the cannon fodder of the Undead creatures. However, the Skeletal Warriors were clearly not as pathetic as the ones that people had generally seen. They were d in bright armor, with shields and swords in their hands and bones that were like white jade. They were clearly thin skeletons, but those Skeletal Warriors seemed to give off a terrifying aura as if they were elites that had gone through countless battles.

    There were naturally many Hell Ghouls and Skeletal Mages at the back of the Skeletal Warriors. However, they were obscured from view. As cannon fodder, the Skeletal Warriors were already that ferocious. Hence, the higher-ranked Hell Ghouls and Skeletal Mages were definitely not to be underestimated.

    There was arge number of Vampires in the form of bats packed densely above the army of the Undead like a flock of migrating birds. The membrane wings of each bat were glittering with silver magic symbols, and they were at least level-15 and above. The Vampires hovered in the sky, constantly emitting sharp and piercing shrill cries that made everyone feel like their eardrums were about to burst.

    However, even more terrifying was that there were massive figures flying behind the Vampires, all of which were top existences among the Undead creatures. They were the Humerus Wyrms. The weakest of Humerus Wyrms were at least at the Legendary-level, but dozens or hundreds of them had appeared. Even if they were in another environment, the Humerus Wyrms would be enough to cause a huge problem for the expedition. However, the Humerus Wyrms were being shielded by the Psychic Array; hence, the entire space became a projection of the World of the Undead, which made the Undead creatures even more powerful. The Humerus Wyrms were even more terrifying there.

    Soon, the white torrent formed by the Undead creatures gathered together, and attacked the expedition that was right in front of them, igniting the battle immediately. Faced with such a situation, it would be impossible to escape. Despite feeling hopeless and desperate, the expedition seemed to have no other choice but to fight with all their might.

    In the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team, the Holy Light Knights did not rush out like before. Instead, they united to form a battle formation around the priests, and the melodious and high-pitched Holy Light Battle Song began sounding in the air above the team. The priests began to continuously cast powerful Holy Light Magic spells at the Undead creatures, causing rays of holy light to continuously fall into the tide formed by the Undead creatures.

    The Power of Light was indeed worthy of being a natural enemy of Undead creatures. Each pir of light was as silent as the rays of sun, but after it fell, all the Undead creatures within the range of the Power of Light immediately went up in white mes of Purification. No matter how menacing the Undead creatures were, they all turned into a pile of ashes in the blink of an eye because of the mes.

    However, the people of the Brilliance Shrine did not becent because of that tiny sess. Instead, their faces grew even more sullen because they knew very well in their hearts what kind of power the Holy Light Magic that they were casting should possess. The seemingly powerful Holy Light Magic that was now purifying the Undead creatures had actually decreased in power by more than half.

    Besides, what was even more horrifying to the people of the Brilliance Shrine was that they discovered that it had be extremely difficult for them to obtain the Power of Light through prayers. It was as if it had turned from arge river to a small stream. It seemed that they were facing the threat of their flow getting broken too.

    That was too frightening. They were facing endless Undead creatures, but they could not replenish their Power of Light. They could only continuously deplete their own power, so what would happen when their power ran out? Would they still be able to survive!?

    On the other side, the team from Rotterdam Kingdom had simrly begun attacking as well. Their 20 Alchemy Colossuses were facing the raging army of Undead creatures. Every ray of mana would st head-on into the tide of Undead creatures, and form a huge hole in the tide in the blink of an eye. However, in another instant, the hole would be filled by the Undead creatures again.

    The problem that the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom was facing was far more urgent than that of the Brilliance Shrine. The Alchemy Colossuses were powered by magical crystals. At that rate of depletion, it probably would not be long before the Alchemy Colossuses truly became a pile of scrap metal. Although there were other professions amongst the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, it was difficult for them to change the situation.

    This time, the team from the Tower of Dusk could not be as rxed as before now that they were facing the menacing Undead army. Hence, everyone had slipped into battle mode. The mages quickly formed a Magic Net Array, and the brilliant magic light shone incessantly with the continuous casting of high-level magic spells. They gathered to form a massive magic storm that swept towards the army of Undead creatures with groundbreaking power.

    The Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, Skeletal Mages, and other Undead creatures might have been strengthened by the Undead Domain, but in the face of the magic storm formed by the mages of the Tower of Dusk, they became weak and fragile. They were unable to survive for even a second in the sweeping magic storm as they instantly shattered into the smallest of particles.

    Under themand of their leader n, the mages cast magic spells while slowly changing their attacking position as if they were using a water hose to wash soil off the ground, causing the massive magic storm to look like it was sweeping. Under such attacks, the front of the army of Undead creatures was being removedyer byyer as countless Undead creatures turned into ashes that were scattered away.

 Chapter 942 - Bloodied Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 942: Bloodied Battlefield</h4>

    At the same time, the Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk profusely cast their most powerful offensive spells. Ujfalusi summoned the Humerus Wyrms, and he hovered in midair above the Tower of Dusk¡¯s people together with the Vampire Norfeller, and attacked the hordes of Vampires that were flying towards them.

    Ujfalusi was already a level-24 Lich. Although he was still some distance away from the pinnacle, it would not be too much to say that he was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. The Crimson Humerus Wyrm that he was riding was made up of skeletons from Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. It had also reached the peak of level-23. The power of thatbination was absolutely no less than thebined power of four Legendary powerhouses of the current expedition.

    Ujfalusi did not summon his own army of Undead creatures, because none would be able topare to the Necromancer that had the Double-Realm Psychic Tower, be it in terms of quantity or quality. However, even if he only counterattacked with Necromagic, Ujfalusi¡¯s abilities would definitely not be reduced. He cast all sorts of Necromagic spells that included erosion, debilitation, confusion, and many others, forming a terrifying Death Cloud. Those Vampires couldn¡¯t help but move to the side and fall onto the ground while screaming.

    On the other hand, although Norfeller could not summon a Humerus Wyrm like Ujfalusi could, what he achieved in the same time was no worse than what Ujfalusi aplished.

    After consuming the potion that was refined with Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s blood, the bloodline in Norfeller¡¯s body had long broken through the boundary of race. That was probably an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of Anril.

    After all, the Icest Wyrm Sindera was a true big shot of the ancient wyrms, and the bloodline in his body wasparable to that of the Dragon Aspect. Norfeller¡¯s bloodline, which evolved from that foundation, was actually purer than an ordinary wyrm¡¯s bloodline. It was almost on par with the ancient wyrms¡¯.

    Due to his bloodline, his body had even shown signs of bing dragonized. Not only could he exhibit extremely pure Menace of the Dragon, his strength and defensive power were not inferior to those of a real wyrm, either. Although he was only at the peak of level-23, his truebat power had long surpassed that of others who were at his level.

    Norfeller, who had also flown into the air like Ujfalusi, was holding the pair of Retribution Daggers iid withrge Gems of Curse. The cloak behind him had turned into a pair of huge membranous wings with countless golden runes of magic that were slowly flowing like blood, while the Menace of the Dragon surged in the air.

    No one could see his body moving at all. All they could see were shadows darting out of his body one after another towards the Vampire bats that were flying around in the sky. The scene that followed was that of countless bats flying and falling onto the ground like rain.

    The two other forces that were secretly observing the strength of the Tower of Dusk were shocked to see that scene, and they almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Looking at thebat power disyed by the mages of the Tower of Dusk, they felt that it was impossible that they had been nurtured by a force that had been established only for a few years. They had a tacit chemistry and coordination which was even more perfect than those of a team that had undergone more than a decade of training. In the face of such a team of mages, it would perhaps be difficult even for Legendary powerhouses to gain the upper hand.

    There were also the two Undead servants, which were originally looked down upon by the two other forces. No one took them seriously because of their disgust and disdain for Undead creatures, and also because they were lowly servants. However, no one expected the Undead servants who were extremely lowly in the eyes of everyone to actually possess such terrifying strength. The world was insane.

    Since the start of the battle with the army of Undead creatures, the Tower of Dusk had probably destroyed several times more Undead creatures than thebined numbers of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, and that within just a few moments.

    There was no need to calcte that at all. They could tell from the changes in the battlefield that the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom still could not stop the army of Undead creatures from advancing despite having done their best. On the other hand, the Tower of Dusk was in greater contact with the army of Undead creatures than the two forcesbined, but not only had the Undead creatures not taken a step closer to them, they were actually retreating.

    However, it was not an actual retreat, but an illusion created by the destruction of arge number of Undead creatures. That showed how terrifyingly efficient the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was at destroying Undead creatures.

    Originally, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom did not take Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk seriously at all. Even though Lin Li had easily gotten rid of the terrifying Elemental Dragon, in the eyes of the people of the Rotterdam, he was just strong as an individual. It didn¡¯t mean that the Tower of Dusk was a force that deserved to be treated seriously.

    However, after seeing the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team take action in full swing and the horrifyingbat power that they had disyed, shock was written all over the faces of Donald and Prince Kanber. Although they felt deep down that the Tower of Dusk was definitely notparable to the Rotterdam Kingdom in terms of strength, the strength disyed by the Tower of Dusk in the current situation was enough to pose a threat to their own team.

    Although Donald and Kanber were equally shocked to see such a situation, they did not share the same impression.

    Donald was feeling thankful and fortunate that he had reached a cooperation agreement with the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, he might not be able to survive in the face of the army of Undead creatures that they were fighting now. In fact, if they had been without the help of the Tower of Dusk, they probably would not have been able to ovee the ordeal with the Elemental Dragon just now. Even if they had tried to do so forcefully, it would have definitely hurt the team¡¯s vitality.

    Of course, Donald was also much more curious about the origin of the Tower of Dusk as the strength they disyed did not seem like that of a small, nameless local force at all. If they were still considered a small local force with such incredible strength, the world outside the Rotterdam would be too daunting.

    On the other hand, Prince Kanber regretted his choice to agree to explore the Sky Castle together with the Tower of Dusk. If not for the presence of the Tower of Dusk, the Elemental Dragon probably would not have attacked them, and thus they would not have been forced into the desperate situation that they were currently in. Even if they passed this, would the Tower of Dusk really allow them to take away the most precious treasures?

    In the past, Kanber was not worried at all, as he simply saw the Tower of Dusk as a pathetic force that would be leeching off them. He simply perfunctorily epted the cooperation after considering the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s power. However, after looking at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power now, Kanber couldn¡¯t help but be worried. No matter how powerful the Rotterdam Kingdom was, while the grass grew, the horse starved.

    <i>Could this simply be a conspiracy of the Brilliance Shrine?</i> Faced with the double pressure brought about by the oppression of the army of Undead creatures and the incredible power disyed by the Tower of Dusk, Kanber could not stop his imagination from running wild.

    If Archbishop Martin knew what Kanber was thinking, he would definitely cry and wail about being wronged. Although he had some friendship with Lin Li, and had personally gone to the Tower of Dusk to invite Lin Li over once, he did not have a good understanding of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power. He valued Lin Li greatly previously mainly because Pope Rosario was certain that the young mage Lin Li was the Son of The Holy Light.

    The status of the Son of The Holy Light in the Brilliance Shrine was no less than that of the pope, and in terms of the teachings of the Brilliance Shrine, Pope Rosario was the mouthpiece for Holy Light in Anril, while the Son of The Holy Light was the inheritor of the Holy Light in this world. Hence, Archbishop Martin, or the vast majority of the senior executives of Brilliance Shrine, valued Lin Li, and not the Tower of Dusk.

    In fact, at this juncture, Archbishop Martin was just as shocked after seeing the strength disyed by the Tower of Dusk as the people of the Rotterdam. Besides, the people of the Rotterdam might treat the Tower of Dusk as an ancient force that had remained hidden since the Dark Age. That would be more or less an eptable exnation. However, Archbishop Martin, who had also participated in the presidential inauguration ceremony of Lin Li a few years ago, was well aware that the Tower of Dusk had yet to exist a few years ago. They had developed only for several years.

    Hence, Archbishop Martin was actually in greater shock and disbelief than the people of the Rotterdam. As a senior executive of the Brilliance Shrine, he was well aware of how much energy one had to put in to develop and nurture such a strong force. Besides, when the Tower of Dusk was first established, they were not quite popr in the Breezy ins. They couldn¡¯t have begun nurturing those mages right from the start, either.

    Actually, the Tower of Dusk probably only took about two years to groom and nurture those mages, which was rather frightening. Despite having only spent two years or so, the mages that they nurtured were not inferior in the slightest to those elites that had been nurtured for over a decade. Could those mages be elites?

    However, no matter what, Archbishop Martin was not as worried about the amazingpetency of the Tower of Dusk as the people from Rotterdam. Archbishop Martin thought that he knew Lin Li¡¯s temperament quite well, and now that everyone was facing such a desperate situation, wouldn¡¯t they have more hope of surviving if the Tower of Dusk was stronger?

    ¡°Don¡¯t let those filthy bastardse close. You guys are the devotees of Holy Light and the defenders of the doctrine of the Holy Light. Don¡¯t be defeated!¡± After seeing Lin Li¡¯s impressive dominance when killing the Elemental Dragon, Jeremiah no longer fantasized about making Lin Li look bad to salvage his pride. However, he still hoped to save some face through other means, such as showing the brilliantbat power of the Holy Light Knights under him.

    Of course, Jeremiah also saw how strong the mages of the Tower of Dusk were, be it in terms of coordination or the battle formations that they had. In fact, they were much stronger than the priests of the Brilliance Shrine. However, those priests were under Archbishop Martin. Even if they embarrassed themselves, it would only affect Archbishop Martin. He was the leader of the Holy Light Knights.

    After the initial conflict with the Tower of Dusk, Prince Jeremiah was still indignant. After all, the Holy Light Knights under him had not got to exhibit the Holy Light Battle Song, and thebat strength they disyed had been less than half of what they were capable of. He waspletely confident that as long as the Holy Light Knights used the Holy Light Battle Song, they would be able to defeat the Knights of the Tower of Dusk. He did not believe that there was any other kind of knight battle formation in Anril that couldpare to the Holy Light Battle Song of the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, Jeremiah now knew that that young President of the Tower of Dusk was not to be trifled with; hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be so silly as to provoke him again, and the best solution would be to use the battle with the Undead creatures to fully disy the strength of the Holy Light Knights and suppress the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Knights in terms of dominance.

    Under Jeremiah¡¯smand, the Holy Light Knights indeed exertedbat power that was above average. The Holy Light Battle Song was like a giant grinder that mercilessly crushed all the intruding Undead creatures into bits and pieces. However, when he looked at the Tower of Dusk smugly, he got a great shock that caused his jaw to drop.

    In the direction that the Tower of Dusk was facing, the army of Undead creatures was almost blocked by the attacking range of the offensive spells. Regardless of quantity, all of the Undead creatures that touched the range of offensive spells would be instantly blown to pieces by a terrifying magic storm.

    However, in the end, the Tower of Dusk could not take charge of the entire battlefield. The team from the Brilliance Shrine had already moved to the nk of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Now that the army of Undead creatures was in front of the team of the Brilliance Shrine, it would naturally threaten the safety of the neighboring Tower of Dusk¡¯s team as well.

    Lin Li needed the mages to maintain absolute suppression at the front. Hence, he sent the Death Knights out at this juncture. Under the lead of a Retribution Knight, 40 Holy Death Knights formed the Infinite Massacre battle formation, and charged to the army of Undead creatures in between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine.

    The Infinite Massacre battle formation was originally a battle formation that Death Knights were born with, simr to the Holy Light Battle Song. It could also create a Killing Domain. However, the ones using the Infinite Massacre battle formation were now Death Knights that possessed Divine Power. Hence, while the entire battle formation was filled with deadly intent, it was also shrouded in ayer of Holy Light, which made it seem inexplicably peculiar.

    Shrouded by the Killing Domain, not only did the Undead creatures have to suffer from the damage it dealt, they also had to bear the damage done by the purification of Divine Power. Hence, it could be considered a double blow. Even though the Holy Light Knights outnumbered the Death Knights, thetter¡¯s efficiency at killing Undead creatures was not worse at all.

    More than 40 Holy Death Knights were charging back and forth in the boundless army of Undead creatures, and killing them like a high-speed meat grinder. They also harvested their soul fires. Besides, the massacre conducted by the Holy Death Knights not only ensured the safety of the teams at the nks of the Tower of Dusk, they also relieved some of the pressure on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team to a certain extent.

    Seeing such an astonishing performance by the Knights of the Tower of Dusk, Jeremiah couldn¡¯t help but feel dejected and discouraged. They only had 40 Death Knights, but theirbat power was no worse than the Holy Light Knights¡¯ performance under him. If he deployed only 40-odd Holy Light Knights, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do what the team from the Tower of Dusk had managed to do. It seemed that the oue of the battle back then was not that inexplicable.

 Chapter 943 - Individual Power

    <h4>Chapter 943: Individual Power</h4>

    Of course, while feeling a bit dejected, Jeremiah also felt thankful for the fact that he had not provoked the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team or told his Holy Light Knights to spar with them. Otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself greatly.

    However, as the battle continued, the members of the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom were all extremely shocked.

    Connoris wielded his Eternal Frost de effortlessly, and arge sword light arc appeared in front of the army of Undead creatures. As the sword light shed, countless Undead creatures were shed at the waist like crops that were being reaped. They could not resist at all.

    Master Basel raised his scepter, and magic spells descended from the sky and sted the Undead creatures, creating bare white areas. The Crimson Humerus Wyrm, the Lord of Nightmares, and the Demon Gordon were all summoned by Lin Li to join the battle too.

    The ones fighting were a President who could easily kill an Elemental Dragon at the peak of the Legendary-realm, two Undead servants whosebat power was not inferior to Legendary powerhouses, Connoris, who was at the peak of the Legendary-level, the level-24 Master Basel, and, the level-23 Legendary powerhouses like the Crimson Humerus Wyrm, the Lord of Nightmares, and the Demon Gordon.

    The teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were each led by just two Legendary powerhouses. However, the power disyed by the Tower of Dusk in this battle had clearly surpassed the two teams, and they even possessed an overwhelming advantage.

    Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but sigh a little. He really had no idea how the Tower of Dusk operated. They actually managed to gain such terrifying power within such a short period of time. With such incredible strength, the Tower of Dusk was probably a top force in Anril now.

    The Tower of Dusk exhibited powerful strength. Regardless of whether they were surprised or scrupulous, the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam pinned all their hopes of solving the crisis at hand on the Tower of Dusk. They hoped that they could ovee the ordeal like they had during the battle with the Elemental Dragon previously.

    However, as time passed, not only did they not see a glimmer of hope, they even felt that their hope was getting farther and farther away from them. The Tower of Dusk was extremely strong and they had astonishing abilities. They were simply killing the Undead creatures one-sidedly. Even Humerus Wyrms could not escape the fate of being ughtered. However, there were too many Undead creatures, and no one knew when they would stoping. They only knew that ever since the beginning, the army of Undead creatures did not slow down for a moment at all.

    If it was a Tide of Death was cast by a Necromancer, every Undead creature that was summoned would require a portion of mana from the Necromancer. Once the mana of the Necromancer was depleted, the Tide of Death would naturally end. However, the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers turned the entire space in the Sky Castle into a projection of the world of the Undead creatures. The Undead creatures were truly infinite. Under that premise, no matter how many Undead creatures were destroyed, there would be no change to the current situation.

    However, the expedition could not afford to keep up with it, while the Undead creatures could afford to suffer a huge number of casualties. After all, the mana of mages was not infinite, and the priests would run out of Power of Light too. The Sword Sages would be exhausted as well. The Alchemy Colossuses simrly had to be powered by magical crystals.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk were each wearing their top-grade magical equipment that could greatly increase the recovery speed of the mana of the mages. However, the recovery could only be performed by absorbing plenty of magical elements from the surrounding space in order for them to be converted into mana that the mages needed.

    However, the space that they were in had be a projection of the world of the Undead. Apart from the intense death aura, there were no other elements at all. Under such circumstances, even if one possessed excellent magical equipment, they would not be able to exert one percent of their usual power.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk soon discovered that issue, and changed their tactics. They stopped attacking the army of Undead creatures with their magic storm, and instead ced the army of Undead creatures in front of them before using precision strikes to improve the utilization of mana. However, that method actually did not solve the root cause of the problem. Although the usage of mana had be much more reasonable, there would still be a time when the mana ran out since they were facing an infinite amount of Undead creatures.

    Actually, the situation on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side was not too bad. The people of the Rotterdam had already reced the magical crystals of the Alchemy Colossuses several times before, and were running out of magical crystals. The priests and knights of the Brilliance Shrine had begun using potions to replenish their own power. However, to put it bluntly, no amount of potions would be enough, as they would just allow them to barely survive.

    Compared to the previous battle with the Elemental Dragon, the current battle with the Undead creatures wasn¡¯t really considered thrilling. The Undead creatures were continuously surging towards them. The three teams seemed to be effortlessly destroying the Undead creatures and repeating the process continuously. However, that was what made them feel even more hopeless, and they were on the verge of losing their minds¡ªno matter how many Undead creatures they destroyed, it would not be of any help.

    That was the battle tactic of the Necromancer. It was simple yet extremely shameless. It was just like using water to grind away the edges of a stone. He used the Undead creatures with infinitebat power to suffocate his opponents to the point of death by exhaustion.

    ¡°President Felic, Master Donald, we must hurry and think of a solution. If this goes on, sooner orter we¡¯ll be worn to death by this group of Undead creatures.¡± Considering that the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Rotterdam Kingdom was strained, Archbishop Martin, the middleman who facilitated the cooperation, decided to step in and say something.

    Soon, Lin Li and Donald each left their own teams and arrived at the spot where the team from the Brilliance Shrine was. Even though the situation had reached this point, Lin Li still had a calm expression. He could just use the control crystal and leave with his underlings. There was nothing too hopeless about it. However, Donald¡¯s face was extremely sullen. The situation of their team was much tougher than the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s. Besides, unlike Lin Li, they did not have a backup solution.

    ¡°These Undead creatures can never be destroyedpletely. The root cause of the problem is still those 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers. We have to think of a way to destroy those towers, otherwise it¡¯d be useless no matter how many Undead creatures we destroy.¡± Actually, everyone was well aware of the problem that Donald mentioned. However, it was one thing to know the issue, and another to solve it.

    ¡°Indeed, the only way to break through this space is by destroying those Double-Realm Psychic Towers. However, with our current strength, we probably won¡¯t be able to afford to shelve out sufficient numbers to do it. If the amount of powerhouses we send out is too small, we won¡¯t be able toplete the task. If the force we dispatch is too strong, the ones remaining here probably won¡¯t be able to resist these Undead creatures...¡± Archbishop Martin said helplessly with a frown. Now that they were faced with a dilemma, he could not think of a solution.

    Although he knew that the fundamental problem was those Double-Realm Psychic Towers, they were not meant to be destroyed. Every tower had to be supported by a powerful Necromancer.

    If they were in any other environment, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest would not feel conflicted as long as there were no Necromancers in the Sanctuary-realm. However, with the help of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, even level-20 Necromancers would have theirbat power increased to the peak of the Legendary-level. Their vitality would be extremely strong, and they would be nearly immortal, making them be difficult opponents.

    Now that they were facing the oppression of the army of Undead creatures, the teams of the three forces were already doing their best to resist. How could they have the spare energy to destroy the towers? Just like what Archbishop Martin had said, dispatching an insufficiently strong force would make it impossible for them to achieve the goal at all, but if they were to send out more powerhouses, the remaining forces wouldn¡¯t be enough to slow down the infinite army of Undead creatures.

    ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll deal with the Undead creatures while you destroy those towers.¡± Lin Li suddenly made an unexpected suggestion that made others feel like he was somewhat arrogant.

    He was offering to deal with the entire army of Undead creatures alone. Didn¡¯t that mean that he was trying to say that he was stronger than the three teamsbined!? Upon hearing that suggestion, the first thing that Archbishop Martin and Donald thought was that Lin Li was out of his mind. However, thinking about how Lin Li had easily killed the Elemental Dragon and the numerous Ghost Mages previously, they felt that that did not seem to be something that someone at the peak of the Legendary-realm could do. Perhaps he could really resist the Undead creatures and help them buy some time to destroy the Double-Realm Psychic Towers.

    ¡°President Felic, will that not be... too difficult? Why don¡¯t you let our teams do that while your team stays and helps you resist those Undead creatures together?¡± Archbishop Martin suggested, feeling a little worried. After all, Lin Li was the person Pope Rosario imed was the Son of The Holy Light. If anything really went wrong with the Son of The Holy Light, no amount of treasures he obtained from the Sky Castle would be able to make up for the loss.

    ¡°No need, the key now is to concentrate the elite forces and break through this space. The longer we dy, the worse it will be for us.¡±

    Lin Li was not a selfless person. However, if possible, he would not want to flee the Sky Castle just like that. After all, he and Highlord Osric had already formed a huge feud with each other. He did not want Osric to take control of the Sky Castle and look for him one day.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald originally still had some doubts about Lin Li¡¯s strength. However, at this moment, Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at the army of Undead creatures, after which countless burning meteors and huge chunks of ice whistled in the sky and fell on them. In an instant, the army of Undead creatures was split in two, and apart from the Undead creatures that had rushed closer to fight the three teams, arge empty spot appeared at the back. They could only see the army of Undead creatures pouring in from a spot that was further away.

    ¡°Hurry up,¡± Lin Li said to the two of them sternly without further exnations as he turned around.

    Seeing that, Archbishop Martin and Donald were shocked, but they also finally gained some confidence in Lin Li¡¯s strength. They both knew in their hearts that this might be theirst chance, so neither of them paid any attention to Lin Li¡¯s tone. Instead, they instantly ordered their teams to regroup and withdraw from the battle in front.

    Likewise, the team from the Tower of Dusk had also received Lin Li¡¯s orders and left Lin Li to fight at the frontline. After meeting up with the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, they began retreating again. The Double-Realm Psychic Tower that was the closest to them was naturally the one they passed on their way here in the avenue square where they fought the Elemental Dragon.

    However, their current path was not unobstructed, as it was already crowded with the Undead creatures that were pouring in. The three teams gathered all of their power, while the several Legendary powerhouses charged towards the Double-Realm Psychic Towers quickly without restraint.

    After the three teams left, Lin Li was the only one left to face the Undead creatures. Although his strength had changed drastically after stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, it was still not an easy task to deal with such an endless army of Undead at this time.

    Although Lin Li had wielded his Helios¡¯ Scepter and destroyed countless Undead creatures, they were, in fact, just the cannon fodder of the army of Undead creatures. Perhaps it was because they had sensed the intentions of the expedition, but the Undead creatures that were surging in were no longer just the Skeletal Warriors that were used as cannon fodder. There were also many other high-level Undead creatures like the Skeletal Mages, the Vampires, Skeletal Beasts, and many others. The Legendary-level Undead creatures made up the majority. In fact, there were hundreds of Humerus Wyrms that tried to fly above Lin Li¡¯s head in a bid to destroy the team aiming for the Double-Realm Psychic Towers.

    However, even if those Humerus Wyrms did not attack him, Lin Li would not let them off. His current mission was not to destroy numerous Undead creatures, but to block them there so as to leave the expedition with no worries. Regardless of whether they were running onnd or flying in the sky, he could not miss a single one.

    That would be difficult. It was no longer a matter of strength. Even if he was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he was, after all, still alone.

    Lin Li flew straight up into the air, and he had already put away the Helios¡¯ Scepter, recing it with Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, the two pieces of the debris of the stars. Facing the Humerus Wyrms that were trying to pass him, Lin Li activated the power of the debris of the stars, and Angels of Light and Dark immediately condensed in the sky. They were pping their ck and white wings, and holding various weapons such as spears and swords.

    Ever since he hadprehended the killing move of the Light and Darkness Sword a long time ago, Lin Li had not used the Angels of Light and Dark. After all, in many high-level battles, the power of the Angels of Light and Dark was too weak. However, what Lin Li needed the most now was not concentrated power, but dispersed one. Only then could he truly cordon off the sky.

    However, Lin Li had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, after all. He had experienced a huge qualitative change in his power. The Angels of Light and Dark that he had condensed were also vastly different in strength aspared to before. Each of them had reached level-20, and they had also be much more agile during battles. They were no longer as stiff as before.

 Chapter 944 - Broken Tower

    <h4>Chapter 944: Broken Tower</h4>

    Bang! A pir of light fell on the body of a High Elven Lich.

    However, ck fog shed on the High Elven Lich¡¯s body, and it instantly engulfed the pir of light that possessed great purification power, leaving no trace of it behind.

    After the High Elven Lich that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm joined the battle, the situation of the expedition became even worse. Although the High Elven Lich was also at the peak of the Legendary-level, it had be an invincible existence. Even the purification power of the Holy Light Magic could not hurt him at all. Even if the magic spells and explosions hit him and caused him some damage, his body would recover and be perfect again in the blink of an eye.

    Despite thebined strength of three teams and the numerous Legendary powerhouses that were facing the Double-Realm Psychic Tower, they sunk into a stalemate. It was undoubtedly ironic. However, they were not to be med for being ipetent. It was just that the Double-Realm Psychic Tower was too magical, and the Lich that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm did not seem like it could be killed no matter what they tried. Even if there were more Legendary powerhouses, it would not change the situation.

    As time passed, the strength of the expedition weakened, and they began to panic too. They did not know how long Lin Li was able to resist the Undead creatures while standing behind the team. Once Lin Li encountered issues, the catastrophe would strike, and there would be no more chance of them turning the situation around.

    However, the High Elven Lich in front of them was making them feel incredibly frustrated. The problem wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t beat him, but that they couldn¡¯t kill him. Anyone who met such a shameless opponent would probably go crazy. The purification of the Holy Light was not effective, and neither was the burning of the mes. The extreme cold could not freeze him, and thunder and lightning were merely sound and light effects, respectively.

    Connorisnded on the head of a Humerus Wyrm, and stabbed it in its eye socket before pulling out a Legendary Dragon Crystal. He then kicked the dead Humerus Wyrm to the ground with both feet. In the blink of an eye, he had already killed more than 10 Humerus Wyrms to prevent them from disturbing those who were surrounding the High Elven Lich.

    However, Connoris was extremely displeased now. Several Legendary powerhouses were besieging the High Elven Lich, but there was still no progress after a long time. If that were to go on, they would have to flee. Connoris was now using the perfect body of the Highlord Osric, and he naturally did not want Osric toe knocking on his door one day and snatch the body that he had painstakingly obtained.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get embroiled with those Undead creatures. Launch an all-out attack on the tower!¡± Connoris yelled ruthlessly. He swiftly swung his Eternal Frost de at the High Elven Lich, rapidly shing it up to 100 times. All of a sudden, the High Elven Lich that was being attacked by several peak-Legendary powerhouses was shed into pieces as numerous cuts covered his body.

    The crowd that had been alerted by Connoris immediately resorted to their strongest attacking methods upon seeing the situation, charging towards the Double-Realm Psychic Tower that had been controlled by the Lich.

    The light of various magic spells immediately shrouded the Double-Realm Psychic Tower with a deafening roar. However, the Lich that had been cut to pieces was soon revived again. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem weakened at all. With the support of the Lich, the power of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower also exploded once more, easily blocking all the attacks behind it.

    Seeing this, everyone¡¯s heart was in despair. In order to destroy the Double-Realm Psychic Tower, they had to kill the High Elven Lich, but in order to do that, they would have to first destroy the Double-Realm Psychic Tower. That was a problem that could not be solved!

    However, Connoris acutely discovered that although the Double-Realm Psychic Tower quickly blocked the attacks from behind, the attacks from the front had indeed caused some damage to the tower. However, with the revival of the High Elven Lich, the Double-Realm Psychic Tower was also recovering quickly.

    ¡°Continue, don¡¯t stop!¡± Connoris yelled again. At the same time, he dodged and charged towards the High Elven Lich while continuously waving the Eternal Frost de in his hand. Rays of light from the de pierced through the space and the defensive spells of the Lich before shing it into pieces once more.

    Just like that, the expedition took advantage of the time taken for the Lich to recover, and attacked the Double-Realm Psychic Tower with all their might. After about more than 10 rounds, cobweb-like cracks had gradually appeared on the Double-Realm Psychic Tower. Finally, during another attack, there was a thumping sound, and countless fragments darted everywhere, revealing a different scene.

    As the shell of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower copsed, the Lich that Connoris continuously shed into pieces no longer revived. The ray of Holy Light cast by Archbishop Martin hadpletely purified it into nothingness.

    Upon sight of that scene, the team almost cheered and rejoiced. One of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers had been destroyed, but that was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that they knew how to do it now. The Lich was not insusceptible to all attacks after all, but its soul fire would not be extinguished. Hence, no matter how damaged its body was, it would still be able to recover. However, recovery would take time, and even if it was just for a moment, the power gathered by the team would be enough to cause damage to the Double-Realm Psychic Tower.

    After eliminating the remaining nearby Undead creatures, the expedition did not waste any time at all. ording to the map of the Sky Castle, they immediately headed towards another Double-Realm Psychic Tower. Archbishop Martin shot a signal into the sky to inform Lin Li, who was far away, of the team¡¯s next goal. Otherwise, without Lin Li¡¯s protection, the expedition would soon be overwhelmed by the army of Undead creatures.

    The expedition was not weak. There were nearly 10 Legendary powerhouses. After mastering the method of destroying the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, their following actions would be a breeze. Besides, with the destruction of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, the power of the Undead creatures plunged significantly. They became increasingly incapable of hampering the expedition¡¯s actions.

    Finally, after one day, the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers were destroyed by the expedition, and the ink-ck cloud in the sky gradually became thinner as well. Atst, it revealed the defensive light of the Sky Castle. The intense death aura had also vanished without a trace.

    ¡°Felic, it¡¯s been hard on you.¡± Seeing Lin Li fly back from afar, Archbishop Martin immediately greeted him. He knew that without Lin Li, who stood behind them to resist the Undead creatures, they would have never ovee the ordeal today.

    At this moment, Lin Li¡¯s appearance was no different from before. He did not look like he had gone through a tough battle at all. Inparison, the people of the expedition seemed much more pathetic and disheveled. Besides, the continuous attacks had also caused them to suffer plenty of casualties.

    In response to Archbishop Martin¡¯s greeting, Lin Li said a few polite words smilingly before walking to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. There were some injured in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, but they were much fewerpared to the other two forces¡¯s wounded.

    Although the three forces had cooperated to push the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers to destruction, the process was quite difficult and thrilling. After all, apart from a Lich that was at the peak of the Legendary-level, each Double-Realm Psychic Tower was also protected by arge number of high-level Undead creatures which were all at about level-20. With the addition of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower Domain and the fearless creatures, the expedition faced great trouble.

    Other than the Alchemy Colossuses that had beenpletely destroyed, almost every remaining Alchemy Colossus of the Rotterdam¡¯s team had to be put through overhaul, or else they might have to be scrapped at some point. There were also more than 10 mages and Knights that were killed in the battle, while half the team was wounded.

    The situation of the Brilliance Shrine was slightly better. Although the Power of Light was greatly suppressed there, its restraint against Undead creatures had not beenpletely removed. However, due to the fact that they were in the domain of the projected world of Undead creatures, it was difficult for them to obtain the Power of Light. As a result, many of the members of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team were wounded, though they had fewer casualties.

    In any case, with this situation in front of them, all of them could tell that immediately exploring the Central Tower of the Sky Castle would be no different from courting death. Now, thebat power of the three teams was probably not even half of what it was at its peak. Hence, they urgently needed to stop, rest, and recuperate.

    However, after the teams began to rest, Archbishop Martin of the Brilliance Shrine and Donald of Rotterdam again went to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side to discuss the next step of the n with Lin Li.

    Of course, the so-called next step of the n was not about the team resting and entering the central area of the Sky Castle. Archbishop Martin and Donald mainly wanted to take the opportunity to search the other areas of the Sky Castle while the team was resting, especially the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers that had been destroyed.

    The initial n for the exploration was to enter the central area of the Sky Castle as soon as possible and get rid of Osric who worried them the most. Then, they would seek the so-called treasures of the Immortal King. Hence, the route chosen was to advance almost directly towards the central area of the Sky Castle while temporarily ignoring the other areas.

    However, in that battle just now, the expedition had almost run through every area of the Sky Castle in order to destroy the Double-Realm Psychic Towers that were scattered all over the Sky Castle. At that time, they had been pressed for time, and couldn¡¯t care less about other issues, but now that the crisis had been eliminated, and they had nothing to do during the recuperation, they might as well take the time to explore all those towers rather than do nothing.

    However, while the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers had been destroyed, and the enemies in those areas were basically purged, no one could guarantee that there really would not be any more danger. Besides, both teams were severely injured, and basically most of the people had to stay behind to rest and recuperate, while some had to stay on guard. They did not have enough avable manpower.

    Hence, Archbishop Martin and Donald proceeded to look for Lin Li because they wanted the Tower of Dusk to join them. After all, the three forces were now cooperating.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s main target was the Sky Castle, and he did not take the so-called treasures seriously, he did not turn down Archbishop Martin and Donald¡¯s suggestion. Since he still needed them to help him deal with Osric, he felt that he ought to let them get some benefits in advance.

    However, Lin Li did not participate in the exploration, and instead told Master Basel and n to join them together with some mages. Lin Li did not specifically instruct them to collect any treasures, and left it to them to decide.

    Seeing that Lin Li had only sent his men to participate in the exploration while acting uninterested, Archbishop Martin and Donald did not say anything else. Donald, in particr, was even more relieved. Regardless of whether or not Lin Li was pretending to be generous, he probably would not be calctive in terms of distribution of the gains.

    After a series of battles, Donald began to have some misgivings about Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li had killed an Elemental Dragon and Ghost Mages, and stopped the army of Undead creatures with his own strength. Regardless of what techniques he used or what secret weapons and equipment he had, it was undeniably a reflection of his ability.

    Given the strength of the Rotterdam Kingdom, they naturally did not take the Tower of Dusk, a small force, seriously. However, the problem now was that they were in the Sky Castle, and it would be impossible for the Rotterdam to provide any help for the expedition at this moment. Hence, Donald had no choice but to be wary of the Tower of Dusk.

    Soon, the impromptu treasure-hunting team formed by the three forces left the recuperation point under the lead of Archbishop Martin and the rest.

    Actually, even if Archbishop Martin and the others pocketed all the treasures from the 36 towers, it might not be able topare to what Lin Li had gained so far. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t go for any treasures, precious magical equipment and treasures were all for increasing one¡¯s strength andpetency.

    For others, those battles might¡¯ve been an all-or-nothing deal, but it meant something different to Lin Li.

    The mages from the Tower of Dusk had gained some experience, but that was considered an intangible gain. The greatest gains were made by Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants and the Holy Death Knights.

    The Holy Death Knights that Lin Li had brought with him on this expedition were basically at level-19 where they had reached the threshold of being promoted to Retribution Knights. If they were ordinary Death Knights, the other Death Knights would stagnate at a certain level forever once one of the ordinary Death Knights had been promoted to a Retribution Knight, unless thetter died.

    However, the Death Knights under Lin Li were different. They coincidentally mistook Lin Li for the Retribution Knight, but Lin Li could not really draw power from them like a real Retribution Knight could. Even though the Death Knights would offer their power to him voluntarily out of their nature, Lin Li would not be able to use it at all unless he became a Necromancer.

 Chapter 945 - Retribution Knights

    <h4>Chapter 945: Retribution Knights</h4>

    Hence, even though the Death Knights treated Lin Li as the Retribution Knight and became his subordinates, they did not have their pathway to bing Retribution Knights cut off. However, it was still very difficult for them to be promoted to Retribution Knights. Throughout such a long period of time, only one Death Knight managed to be a Retribution Knight, while the others were stuck at the peak of level-19.

    However, in order for all the Death Knights to be promoted to Retribution Knights, each one of them would need to have arge amount of soul fire, which was very difficult to find in Anril. Even if all the Undead creatures of the Shadowglen were destroyed, it would at most only allow three to five Death Knights to be promoted.

    In the past, after obtaining the first batch of Death Knights, Lin Li never thought that he would one day have a group of Retribution Knights. However, the thought was rather far-fetched then, and it was an idea that was distant or even unreal. Hence, it remained an illusion.

    However, there was the Undead Domain that the Undead creatures had projected in the space created by the Double-Realm Psychic Towers. That was a heaven that the Undead creatures dreamed of. After the seemingly arduous battle, half of the 40-odd Death Knights broke through to level-20, and sessfully became Retribution Knights. The remaining ones who did not get promoted merely needed a certain period of time to digest therge amount of soul fire that they had devoured. The doors to level-20 were already open for them.

    Lin Li believed that it wouldn¡¯t be long before he could truly have a group of Knights made up of Retribution Knights. That was not a simple change of name, and it was not a matter of how much each Death Knight¡¯s strength had increased, but a huge surge in overall strength.

    Since Lin Li was not an actual Retribution Knight, many of the skills that were inherently owned by Retribution Knights for increasingbat power could not be used by Lin Li. Hence, even if all of the Death Knights were at the peak of level-19, they would still be iparable to the group of Death Knights under Rodhart.

    However, it was different now that the Death Knights had been promoted to Retribution Knights. Perhaps the skills of a level-20 Retribution Knight might not bring a huge improvement to the team, but what about thebined efforts of 40 Retribution Knights? It was safe to say that thebinedbat power of 40 Retribution Knights would definitely not be inferior to the Death Knights under the Retribution Knight Rodhart.

    Most importantly, Lin Li¡¯s Retribution Knights could still continue growing. Once all of them became Retribution Knights that were at the peak of the Legendary-level, what would they be like? Although Rodhart¡¯s Death Knights were powerful, theirbat power was limited by Rodhart, the Retribution Knight. It would be difficult for those at Rodhart¡¯s level to be promoted by one level.

    Of course, in addition to the promotion of the Death Knights, Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants and the Crimson Humerus Wyrm had gained great advantages during the battle. After devouring plenty of soul fire, the Crimson Humerus Wyrm naturally gained a great deal of strength.

    After a period of digestion, Vampire Norfeller had also finally broken through the bottleneck, and stepped into level-24. He was even near the pinnacle. The Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s dragon blood essence contained power that was almostparable to that of the Dragon Aspects. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a major change for Norfeller. Not to mention letting him advance to the peak of the Legendary-level, as long as he had sufficient soul fire, he might even enter the Sanctuary-realm easily.

    Due to the essence of the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s blood, the power of Norfeller, who had advanced to level-24, had be even more intense, and there were even dragon scales looming on his skin. At this moment, he looked more like a wyrm than a Vampire in every aspect. He did not look like a descendant of any wyrm. His ancient vibe made him look just like a wyrm. He could be considered an unprecedented, brand-new species in Anril.

    Fusion of bloodlines was the specialty of Vampires. Compared to the mixed bloodline of the Blood Moon n, it was apletely different concept. Of course, it was because he was Norfeller. Other Vampires would not be that lucky. Even if they had the blood of an ancient wyrm, they would not be able to find a pharmaceutics Guru like Lin Li to help them neutralize the overbearing power of the dragon¡¯s blood. One drop of it would cause them to die.

    Hence, even though the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam had suffered great losses after the intense battle, the power of the team of the Tower of Dusk was still increasing.

    However, that degree of increase was still not enough to satisfy Lin Li. It wasn¡¯t that he was too greedy, but he realized after that battle that there was a more serious problem. The power of Highlord Osric was probably far beyond what he had originally imagined.

    36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers should be considered important facilities in the Sky Castle, yet Osric could control them. He was probably not far frompletely controlling the Sky Castle. More importantly, since Osric was able to manipte the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers, there was no reason for him not to use them to restore his own power. Hence, if Lin Li were to face Osric now, he would not have any faith in his power.

    Thus, during the recuperation, Archbishop Martin and the others were thinking of exploring the Sky Castle to get more treasures, while Lin Li was thinking about how he could use the time to increase his power. Of course, Lin Li did not dream of gaining the ability to destroy Osric immediately, but having more power would at least give him a higher chance of survival.

    At the thought of this, a nail-sized magical crystal which looked like a small gem often iid in rings appeared on Lin Li¡¯s palm. That magical crystal was exactly what he had obtained when he had killed the Elemental Dragon. Although it looked rather small, the mana it contained was terrifying even to Lin Li.

    Lin Li originally intended to give the magical crystal to the tender Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, and did not n to use it now. Although Xiao Hua was powerful, it was still growing, and devouring such a huge amount of mana all at once would be a boost to its growth.

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s vision, he wanted to wait until he returned to the Tower of Dusk and set up an Alchemy Array that could restrict the output of mana of the magical crystal before letting the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua slowly absorb the mana. Although it was slow, it would only take a few years at most for Xiao Hua to digest all of the mana in the magical crystal and enter adulthood.

    However, Lin Li had to change his ns now. If he could not ovee the ordeal of Osric, then no matter how good his future ns were, they would be useless.

    Thinking of this, Lin Li gave a few words to his men, and got up to leave the ce where the expedition was recuperating.

    He arrived at a ce where there was no one else, and enveloped it with his mental strength, silently incorporating it into his domain. At this time, anyone below the Sanctuary-realm would not be able to detect the slightest change in this area. However, in reality, Lin Li had already be the master of that space, and all the Laws were subject to his will.

    Making sure that he wouldn¡¯t be disturbed by any idents, Lin Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The tender Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, which was sleeping in Dream Garden, yawned and stretched before wriggling out of Dream Garden.

    Xiao Hua, which was originallyining that Lin Li had disturbed its beautiful dream, grimaced and seethed before suddenly twitching its nose twice. It finally found the magical crystal in Lin Li¡¯s other hand. Xiao Hua immediately stopped looking unhappy, and its eyes glistened before screaming and pouncing on the magical crystal like a woman who saw a diamond.

    However, just as Xiao Hua was about to pounce on the magical crystal, Lin Li suddenly clutched the magical crystal in his hand. Poor Xiao Hua collided with Lin Li¡¯s fist and rolled backwards for two full revolutions. It then shrieked and pped its wings before leaping towards Lin Li, hugging his finger and scratching it in a bid to make him let go.

    Seeing how eager Xiao Hua was, Lin Li was amused. However, there was no time to y with it. Hence, he pushed Xiao Hua away with his finger, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is meant for you. However, can you chew on it like this!?¡±

    Xiao Hua quieted down after hearing that it was for it. However, it was still licking its lips with its tongue, and its lips were glistening with saliva.

    Although Lin Li did not know the origin of the Undead Elemental Dragon, he knew that it was definitely transformed from an adult Elemental Dragon. The only reason it couldn¡¯t exert its Sanctuary-level power was due to the fact that it had be an Undead creature. However, the mana contained in its magical crystal was tens or hundreds of times stronger than Xiao Hua¡¯s.

    Although the magical crystal was only fingernail-sized, and looked like it could be swallowed by Xiao Hua easily, Xiao Hua¡¯s small body would immediately expand like a balloon and then explode to pieces if it really did that.

    Hence, Lin Li did not n to let Xiao Hua chew it like other magical crystals. There was no time for it to absorb slowly, but it would be impossible to devour itpletely too. Hence, after some consideration, Lin Li decided to go for the craziest method, which was fusion.

    After painstakingly holding Xiao Hua back from swallowing it at once, Lin Li immediately began the first step of fusion ording to his own n.

    Fusion might sound very simple, but those with knowledge of magic would know how insane and impractical it was. It was a ridiculous idea that defied the supreme Laws of Anril.

    The magical crystals of magical beasts were not just a fusion of mana. Every trace and particle of one had the Soul Brand of a magical beast. It was the same for human mages. Through meditation, they would mark the stray magical elements absorbed into their bodies with their own Soul Brand and make it their own mana.

    That was also the reason that the mes cast by mages would not burn them, and the ice element magic spells would not freeze them. Without the Soul Brand, casting magic spells would be akin to suicide.

    Hence, in order to absorb the mana in the magical crystal, the most important thing was to erase the Soul Brand on the mana, which was a process that was neither difficult nor easy. For ordinary magical crystals that were above level-10, Xiao Hua would erase the Soul Brand on them while gnawing and digesting them. It would take more effort for ordinary Legendary magical crystals.

    The magical crystal of Elemental Dragons could not bepared to ordinary Legendary magical crystals. Although it was at the peak of the Legendary-level, the mana it contained was not much inferior to that of Sanctuary-level creatures. With Xiao Hua¡¯s power alone, it would probably take at least several to more than 10 years of effort to erase the Soul Brand.

    Lin Li now had to fuse the Elemental Dragon¡¯s magical crystal with Xiao Hua¡¯s body, but that was not erasing the Soul Brand slowly. Instead, it would be trying topletely erase the Soul Brand from the nearly infinite mana within a short period of time.

    However, even powerhouses like the three arbitrators might not be able to do that, let alone Lin Li. Perhaps only mythical figures like the Immortal King and Geresco could do it.

    Furthermore, the Soul Brand of the magical crystal was also a restriction of mana. Once gone, all the mana would instantly explode. What scene would the explosion of a magical crystal that contained tens or hundreds of times more mana than an ordinary peak-Legendary-level magical crystal look like? Its power was even more terrifying than the full force of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Perhaps even the Sky Castle would explode, let alone Lin Li.

    However, even if Lin Li had the means to, he would not take such a huge risk. Therefore, what he had to do was not topletely erase the Soul Brand of the magical crystal, but to assimte it.

    In fact, to others, there seemed to be no difference between the two, and assimting the Soul Brand was even more troublesome than erasing it. Besides, Xiao Hua was only a tender Elemental Wyrm that had yet to mature, be it in terms of soul or body. If he wanted to assimte the Soul Brand of an adult Elemental Dragon, it might backfire.

    If it had been someone else, there might have been no way out, but to Lin Li, that was a shortcut he could take.

    When the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua hatched, Lin Li expended all of his mental strength to leave a trace of Soul Brand in its soul to subdue Xiao Hua, a future super fighter.

 Chapter 946 - Fusion Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 946: Fusion Magical Crystal</h4>

    Although the Elemental Dragon¡¯s projected avatar had intervened, and made it impossible for Xiao Hua topletely be Lin Li¡¯s summoned creature, the soul contact between the two was iparably strong because of that wisp of Soul Brand.

    It was naturally very difficult for Xiao Hua to assimte the Soul Brand on its own, and it could even be considered impossible. However, Lin Li could protect Xiao Hua¡¯s soul directly using soul contact. That would drastically increase the sess rate. Lin Li might have just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but in terms of mental strength alone, perhaps even the three great arbitrators would not be able topare with him.

    Lin Li and Xiao Huamunicated a little through the Soul Brand, and Lin Li transmitted some of his intentions to it. Although Xiao Hua couldn¡¯t taste the deliciousness of the magical crystal, and was not too clear about Lin Li¡¯s intentions, Xiao Hua nheless swallowed its saliva and nodded out of trust for Lin Li.

    Lin Li rxed a little and slowly increased the output of his mental strength. Through the Soul Brand in Xiao Hua¡¯s soul, he gradually connected their souls. Lin Li turned the entire space into his Magical Domain. While facilitating the soul contact with Xiao Hua¡¯s soul, he also incorporated Xiao Hua into the rules of his domain.

    Everything in this world, be it alive or not, was an aggregate of various Laws of origin. For mages, the Legendary-realm was aboutprehending the World Laws, and then using or borrowing nomological power using the World Laws. Meanwhile, the Sanctuary-realm involved changing the Laws and truly making the World Laws their own. At the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, the mage would be at the stage of creating Laws. They could only leave Anril and enter the endless chaos of time and space to explore after reaching the level of creating Laws.

    Lin Li was now the master of this domain, and had absolute control over all the Laws in the domain. After incorporating Xiao Hua into the domain, Xiao Hua became a portion of the domain in a certain sense, thus bing one of the aggregates of the Laws. Although Lin Li could not really change the Laws on Xiao Hua, the insights and familiarity he had with those Laws were iparable.

    After Xiao Hua hadpletely integrated into Lin Li¡¯s domain, it immediately released its mental strength under Lin Li¡¯smand. Its goal was the Elemental Dragon Crystal that was floating right before its eyes.

    Using the soul contact, Xiao Hua¡¯s current mental strength had already reached a massive and unprecedented level with Lin Li¡¯s help. It was more than 10 times stronger than an actual adult Elemental Dragon¡¯s. The massive power surged into the Elemental Dragon Crystal, and began to mercilessly wash away the Soul Brand on every trace of mana.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s guidance, Xiao Hua was not washing the mana away with the aim to remove it, but to continuously erode and assimte, recing the Soul Brand that belonged to the Undead Elemental Dragon with Xiao Hua¡¯s own Soul Brand.

    That process would definitely take quite a long time if Xiao Hua were to do it on its own. In fact, it might even be subjected to the bacsh of the Undead Elemental Dragon¡¯s Soul Brand. After all, Xiao Hua was still an adolescent, and the other party might take the opportunity to take over its body. However, with Lin Li¡¯s help, things were very different. The massive mental strength was like an invincible army that attacked all the way, continuously invading the enemy¡¯s territory.

    At the same time, Lin Li relied on his control over the domain to suppress the Laws in the magical crystal, and disintegrated the resistance of the Soul Brand of the magical crystal with an irresistible will to dominate. That also caused the speed of Xiao Hua¡¯s assimtion of the Soul Brand to reach an extreme.

    Hence, in the eyes of others, assimting the Soul Brand was something that was impossible as it went against the World Laws, but for Lin Li and Xiao Hua, it merely took a minute or so toplete.

    Soon, through the contact between their souls, Lin Li could clearly feel that Xiao Hua¡¯s Soul Brand hadpletely received and epted the magical crystal of the Elemental Dragon. From then on, there was no difference between the Elemental Dragon¡¯s magical crystal and the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua¡¯s magical crystal. It could be considered an out-of-body magical crystal of Xiao Hua.

    However, that was only half of what Lin Li had envisioned. An external magical crystal was nothing to Lin Li. Xiao Hua couldn¡¯t carry it in a battle. Besides, without the support of the mana cirction system, Xiao Hua wouldn¡¯t be able to use the mana in it like it would with its magical crystal, even if it became the owner of the magical crystal.

    The second step was the true fusion. Lin Li wanted to truly fuse the Elemental Dragon¡¯s magical crystal with the one in Xiao Hua¡¯s body to make it be an even more powerful magical crystal. Only then could Xiao Hua truly benefit from the magical crystal and gain an improvement in power.

    Even if the fusion would allow both magical crystals to share the same owner, it was a very dangerous process, especially since the mana contained in both magical crystals was extremely different. Hence, the potential difference created during the fusion process was a problem that could not be ignored. If the process was not controlled well, Xiao Hua¡¯s magical crystal might be damaged, and Xiao Hua¡¯s life might be at risk too.

    However, Lin Li had already thought about these issues beforehand. Without sufficient confidence, he would not bear to let Xiao Hua take the risk. He reached his hand out, and the debris of the stars, Nothingness, floated out of the Ring of Endless Storm. It then disappeared again and fused with the domain.

    With the help of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, Lin Li had a more detailed and thorough control over the Laws of time and space in the domain. The magical crystal that was hovering in front of Xiao Hua had also flickered a little. Although there did not seem to be any change, one would be able to sense that the magical crystal actually no longer existed in that space at this moment.

    Lin Li was not a surgeon, and even if he wanted to fuse the magical crystal for Xiao Hua, he could not slice its stomach open. Of course, that was only one reason why he used the Space Laws. Another reason was that he wanted to use the changes in space to bnce the potential difference in mana between the two magical crystals.

    Lin Li stretched out his finger, and gently tapped the Elemental Dragon¡¯s magical crystal, which seemed like a balloon that had been touched as it slowly floated towards the tender Elemental Wyrm.

    After Xiao Hua was incorporated into the domain, Lin Li no longer saw it as a tender Elemental Wyrm. The so-called physical body was just an aggregate made up of various nomological powers. In the eyes of others, the magical crystal of the Elemental Dragon had slowly disappeared into the tiny body of the tender Elemental Wyrm, but to Lin Li, it was moving from oneposition of Laws to another.

    Finally, the magical crystal of the Elemental Dragon had fused with the one in Xiao Hua¡¯s body. However, due to the fact that they were each on a different spatial level, it wasn¡¯t really a fusion yet. Then, under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, the characteristics of the four Elemental Laws of the space were instantly changed. Even the raging fire element had be extremely peaceful. All of the elements had the same feature, which was tolerance. The magical crystals of the Elemental Dragon also gradually returned to this world from another spatial level.

    At the same time, the fusion of the two magical crystals also began. Under the help of Lin Li¡¯s change of rules, the magical crystal in Xiao Hua¡¯s body gained some virtual strength, and made up for the potential difference between the two magical crystals.

    However, that was only the first step of the fusion of the magical crystals. Xiao Hua¡¯s body was not an Alchemy Array, and it was impossible to string the two magical crystals together as a mana source. He couldn¡¯t make them tolerate each other, either. True fusion was to make both magical crystals be one.

    That fusion was precise to the smallest particle, just like pouring one ss of water into another. One would never be able to tell which part of water came from which cup. Only then would it be a perfect fusion. Otherwise, it would result in unpredictable effects on Xiao Hua¡¯s future growth.

    Lin Li was still hoping that Xiao Hua could be an existence like the Dragon Aspects. Of course, he dared not be sloppy at this moment.

    However, magical crystals were not water, so it was impossible to pour them together and stir them up to mix them together. Although they had the same owner, they were still two separate entities, after all. That involved an intricate maniption and change of the rules. Even with Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, he still found it difficult to do so.

    Fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength had been refined by the Sky Castle when they first explored the Sky Castle. After stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, his advantage was even more enhanced. Under Lin Li¡¯s meticulous control, every single mana particle in the two magical crystals became active, as if a spell had been cast. However, it was maintained in such a state while the nomological power could not be controlled.

    At this moment, the magical crystals were like steel that had been melted by the heat, changing from a solid to a liquid state. Of course, that was only a change in Laws, and they were not subjected to heat or other conditions. It was just a change of Laws purely due to the activity of the mana particles.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s control with his mental strength, the two magical crystals began to slowly fuse as the active mana particles prated each other. Lin Li still had to be mindful of the structure of the magical crystal. Every substance had its own stable structure, which was why it could exist in a certain state. Magical crystals were no exception.

    Besides, the structure of the magical crystals was a sort of Magic Array made up of countless mana particles. That Magic Array was naturally set up when the magical crystals were created. The innate ability of magical beasts to cast certain magic spells came from that. The Magic Array contained in the magical crystal of every magical beast was different. They ranged from low-level to high-level, Master-level, Guru-level, and beyond.

    That could be considered a type of aptitude of the magical beasts. For example, regardless of how a magical beast grew, it would never advance beyond level-10 if their magical crystals had low-level Magic Arrays. On the other hand, a magical beast with a Master-level Magic Array in its magical crystal would naturally reach the Legendary-level as long as it had enough time. Those with Guru-level Magic Arrays that might surpass the Guru-level would be known as divine beasts.

    As an ancient wyrm that once dominated the sky of Anril, the Elemental Dragon was the most powerful existence amongst all the top creatures. The Magic Array in its magical crystal had already reached the peak of the Guru-level. What Lin Li had to do now, the so-called fusion of the two magical crystals, was not only the mixing of mana particles. There was also the fusion of Guru-level Magic Arrays. It would only be a true fusion if that was done.

    Magic Arrays were not just building blocks. They were Magic Arrays that were formed by mana particles. They were interlocked with no mistakes at all. It was extremely stable, but that made it easier for it to copse. Perhaps it might seem like a wrong arrangement of mana particles would cause the copse of the entire magical crystal. That was what ¡°too much of a good thing may be bad¡± meant.

    With Lin Li¡¯s attainments in creating Magic Arrays, dealing with a peak-Guru-level Magic Array was not beyond his means. However, the problem was that the Magic Array was toorge andplex. It was like the difference between building a wall with bricks and building a wall with fine sand. The fine sand had to be piled up one grain at a time, and it had to be as solid as a brick wall.

    Hence,pared to the assimtion of the Soul Brand, the fusion process of the magical crystals was much slower. It took three to four hours for both the magical crystals to be fully fused with each other.

    In the process of this fusion, the body of the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua also underwent great changes. Although Xiao Hua¡¯s body did not grow significantly, the color of its body and the patterns on it turned from a brilliant color to a deep one.

    The thin pair of wings on Xiao Hua¡¯s back which were as thin as that of cicadas were shrouded in a faint halo of light. If one were to probe them with their mental strength, they would discover that the halo of light was actually made up of countless extremely tiny magic symbols. Each mysterious magic symbol contained pure elemental rules that strangely resonated with the origin of elements in Anril.

    Under the huge infusion of mana, Xiao Hua finally reached the peak of its growth, and was only a step away from reaching true maturity. That also meant that Xiao Hua¡¯s strength was infinitely close to the Sanctuary-realm. Perhaps it only needed an opportunity to truly be an adult or Sanctuary-level Elemental Dragon.

    Although it had yet to break through to the Sanctuary-realm, Xiao Hua¡¯s increased strength was probably not inferior to ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses¡¯. Besides, Xiao Hua had also assimted the Soul Brand of the Elemental Dragon to allow its soul to grow tremendously. Otherwise, with the original intensity of its soul, it might not be able to handle such a powerful force.

    Assimting the Soul Brand meant that Xiao Hua had acquired a portion of the Undead Elemental Dragon¡¯s soul inheritance. Although it was iplete, it was, after all, from an adult Elemental Dragon, especially since it contained the battle experience that allowed Xiao Hua to save some time for umtion.

 Chapter 947 - Battle Spoils

    <h4>Chapter 947: Battle Spoils</h4>

    Afterpleting the fusion of the magical crystals, Lin Li retracted his mental strength and finally let out a long breath. Although he had nned well and was confident, the process was still full of hardships. Fortunately, his efforts were not wasted. Despite the fact that Xiao Hua¡¯s growth was not enough to guarantee that they would triumph over Osric, it at least provided added assurance and manpower.

    However, Lin Li was confused as to why Osric was still indifferent even though Lin Li had cast the Sanctuary-level Magical Domain for such a long time. The fusion of magical crystals for Xiao Hua just now involved a change in Laws, and thus it definitely had greater changes to the perception of a Sanctuary powerhouse than the battle with the army of Undead creatures. As a Sanctuary powerhouse who might have reached the pinnacle, Osric would have definitely detected it as long as he was still in the Sky Castle.

    Lin Li did not think that Osric would be like some idiotic Demon King who first chose to send his underlings to heroes for thetter to advance in level when he clearly could have killed all the so-called heroes. Hence, it was very likely that Osric was doing something that was more important than destroying the invaders and the enemies who had stolen his body, and he was too busy to bother with them.

    What would be that important to Osric now? Perhaps it would only be gaining control of the Sky Castle. <i>Could it be that Osric is doing his best to control the Sky Castle now, and so is too busy to deal with the intruders¡ªthe expedition?</i>

    At the thought of it, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but get a little more anxious. If he had guessed correctly, Osric would have undoubtedly reached the most crucial juncture now. He could probably getplete control of the Sky Castle at any moment. If things were to reach that point, there would be no need for Osric to take action himself. The power of the Sky Castle alone would be enough to annihte him and the others.

    Lin Li made Xiao Hua return to Dream Garden while he stood up and returned to the ce where the expedition was resting in a bid to see if Archbishop Martin and the others had gained anything from their exploration.

    Originally, Lin Li thought that it might be possible that Archbishop Martin and the others had yet to return since it had only been a short period of time, but to his surprise, Archbishop Martin and the rest were present when he reached the ce. They even weed him as soon as they saw him.

    Before Lin Li could even ask anything, the archbishop said with an awkward expression, ¡°Felic, look at those towers. Is there any way for you to enter?¡±

    That was strange. Lin Li remembered that Archbishop Martin had the keys to the various parts of the Sky Castle. No matter how impressive the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock might be, it could be opened with the right keys. However, how could locks that could not be unlocked with keys be called locks?

    Seeing the doubtful expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, Archbishop Martin smiled wryly, and said, ¡°Ever since the Double-Realm Psychic Towers were destroyed, the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock can indeed be opened with a key, but after opening the door, it won¡¯t be a straight smooth path. We did not expect there to be so many magic gears and magic traps in the Magic Towers. We took such a long time, but we did not even manage to finish exploring a single tower. It would probably take us at least 20-odd days to finish exploring all 36 towers.¡±

    When Lin Li and the others first explored the Sky Castle, the Seven-Realm Spiral was the most powerful magic trap that they encountered. Although the power of Lin Li and the rest back then could not bepared to that of Archbishop Martin and the rest, they still managed to pull through¡ªmainly because no one manned the Seven-Realm Spiral for more than 1,000 years.

    Although the magic gears and magic traps in the 36 towers could not bepared to those of the Central Tower, they were controlled by Liches of the peak Legendary-realm. Their power had long been activated to the extreme. Actually, they were probably more dangerous than the Central Tower. It was no wonder that Archbishop Martin and the rest took so much time and effort to explore just one.

    Lin Li¡¯s original intention was not to waste too much time on those Magic Towers. However, the injured members of the team had yet to recover. He also wanted to determine where Osric was, especially to see if there were any clues about the method Osric used to control the Sky Castle.

    Lin Li could not imagine how Highlord Osric could control the Sky Castle without the control crystal. However, the various signs showed that Osric had a certain extent of control over the Sky Castle. In fact, he could gainplete control of it any time.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll bring someone this time and apany you on this trip,¡± Lin Li agreed with a nod.

    Seeing that Lin Li nodded, the archbishop looked rather ted, while Donald of the Rotterdam Kingdom was secretly displeased. In Donald¡¯s opinion, exploring the tower was a bit difficult, but it would at most just take a little more time. There was no need to invite Lin Li to join them at all. Although the Tower of Dusk took part in the exploration just now, it waspletely different without the President. If they made any gains, the Tower of Dusk would take away 10% of it.

    However, since Archbishop Martin had already invited Lin Li, there was nothing Donald could say. Even if there was no hope of getting close to the Tower of Dusk, they at least could not push the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine together.

    Lin Li instructed some people and Connoris, in particr, to follow Archbishop Martin back to the Magic Tower. Connoris¡¯ body was the perfect body that Osric had made for himself, and although Connoris had already gained a perfect coordination with the perfect body, he could still sense the location of Osric¡¯s soul through his body a little bit.

    The team arrived in front of a Magic Tower. It was inplete mess, with all sorts of rotting skeletons scattered everywhere, as well as arge number of bloodied fragments exuding death aura. The gates of the tower were wide open. Archbishop Martin was the one who taught them how to open it. Previously, they had only reached the third floor before retreating, and what they gained was just some items that were somewhat valuable.

    Archbishop Martin asked Lin Li to join them, but he did not expect Lin Li to solve all the problems at once¡ªhe just hoped that with some of his knowledge of the Sky Castle, he would be able to provide some help to them for the exploration. If they faced any problems, it was still necessary for everyone toe together to discuss and solve them. After all, the magic gears and magic traps were left behind by the Immortal King.

    Donald also had the same idea. In fact, he did not think that Lin Li would be of much help in particr. The fields of different professions were different worlds. Just because he was good atbat, it did not mean that he was good at everything. Magic gears and magic traps were not magical beasts. They could only be cracked by someone with profound and professional knowledge. Just now, it took a bunch of people and a long period of time to study a magic gear just now. Donald did not think that a young man in his twenties would have such profound knowledge.

    The group of people soon arrived on the third floor of the tower, and stopped in front of a magic gear. Actually, there was nothing they could see there except just a few puddles of blood on the ground which had been clearly left behind by Archbishop Martin and the others when they came previously.

    After stopping here, Archbishop Martin and Donald turned their heads to look at Lin Li and the others who arrivedter. They nned to give him a brief introduction of the ce, and then discuss what to do next.

    However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Lin Li and the members of the Tower of Dusk who were under his lead did not stop in their tracks at all. They simply walked over to the location of the magic gear as if they knew nothing.

    ¡°Fe...¡± Archbishop hurriedly yelled, but he was soon dumbfounded and paused.

    On the other hand, the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom were initially waiting to see a good show, but they soon acted like they had seen a ghost.

    Just before the people of the Tower of Dusk were about to walk to the magic trap, the funny dwarf in colorful armor suddenly wandered out, fiddling with something. He then...

    ...nothing. Nothing happened! Archbishop Martin and the rest were dumbfounded. The magic gear that had hindered them just now and could not be solved no matter what was actually cracked by the funny dwarf. They could not believe their eyes at all.

    Seeing such a scene, Donald became even more enthusiastic. Why bother searching for treasures. The dwarf himself was simply a treasure. After seeing Angno¡¯s attainments when he was fixing the Alchemy Colossuses, Donald had the intentions of getting close to him. Now that he had seen Angno cracking the magic gear easily, that idea popped out uncontrobly.

    However, that was only the beginning. As the magic gears and magic traps were cracked one by one, the team¡¯s advancement did not decrease in speed or get affected at all. They did not even stop in their tracks. The vexing magic gears and magic traps did not have any effect in front of the funny dwarf. The people of the two forces gradually got numb while standing in the back.

    They got up to the fourth floor, the fifth floor, and finally reached the top floor of the Magic Tower. It could be said that their journey was rather smooth-sailing. Although everyone was surprised by the performance of the Tower of Dusk, they did not let go of the various valuable things they encountered along the way.

    However, the wealth of the Magic Tower was actually worse than what people imagined. There were some precious magical materials and high-level magical equipment. However, they were far from being treasures. Perhaps, for the average person, the harvest could still be called huge, but what kind of level were the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam?

    Of course, it was not just a Magic Tower. Perhaps, there would be better ones in the other Magic Towers, or maybe there was none. If they could explore all 36 towers, the wealth umted would be shocking.

    Lin Li, however, despised those items, and he could not even be bothered to discuss with them the distribution of the items. The reason he was there was to search for any hidden spaces to see if Osric was hiding somewhere, or if there were any clues about Osric¡¯s method of controlling the Sky Castle.

    Unfortunately, even when they made it all the way to the top of the tower, Connoris still did not detect any information about Osric through his body. Although there were some magic books in the tower, as well as a few notes from the High Elven Liches back then, nothing useful was mentioned in them.

    ¡°President Felic, should we distribute the items? After all, we are partners, and thanks to your people, we can explore the towers so quickly and smoothly.¡± After reaching the top floor of the tower, the expedition conducted a thorough search again. However, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s decision not to take anything made Archbishop Martin feel rather guilty.

    After all, in Archbishop Martin¡¯s eyes, Lin Li was part of the Brilliance Shrine, and no matter what his identity was to others, he would always be rted to the Brilliance Shrine since he was the Son of The Holy Light. Of course, his identity was still unproven, but it was mainly because Lin Li himself refused to admit it. Archbishop Martin trusted Pope Rosario¡¯s judgment more.

    Therefore, Archbishop Martin hoped that the Tower of Dusk would also participate in the distribution of the spoils. Anyway, one did not allow benefits created by one¡¯s own work to rue to others. If the Tower of Dusk joined in the distribution, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom would get a smaller share.

    Donald did not know about the matters regarding the so-called Son of The Holy Light; hence, when he heard Archbishop Martin¡¯s words, his face naturally grew sullen as he secretly criticized Archbishop Martin for being silly. However, he dared not tantly oppose him. After all, in the following exploration, he clearly still needed to rely on the people of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he decided to give them some advice.

    However, in the face of their persuasion, Lin Li did not waver. Instead, he shook his head, and said, ¡°You can distribute them amongst yourselves. If there is nothing else, let¡¯s move on to the next tower.¡±

    Lin Li really didn¡¯t care about the so-called treasures. If he could sessfully get rid of Osric, then the entire Sky Castle would belong to him. Those items were nothingpared to that. However, if he couldn¡¯t get rid of Osric, it would be nothing even if he got more treasures.

    Seeing that Lin Li was so stubborn, Archbishop Martin and Donald no longer persuaded him, and the two forces split the spoils before leaving the Magic Tower without staying, They walked out of the tower, feeling secretly amazed at the fact that the Tower of Dusk had gotten such apetent dwarf who could crack all magic gears and magic traps. They only took about 10 minutes in total.

    However, when he walked out of the gate of the tower, Lin Li had a sudden idea, and he waved his hand, after which a fist-sized bone pearl flew into his hand.

    He barely felt any mana fluctuations in the bone pearl, which did not emit the slightest death aura, either. It looked just like an ordinary worthless ornament. Hence, when they saw what Lin Li did, Archbishop Martin did not ask anything, although they were a little puzzled. They did not find there to be anything special about the bone pearl.

 Chapter 948 - Bone Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 948: Bone Pearl</h4>

    The reason that Lin Li picked up the bone pearl was precisely because of its ordinariness. Although Lin Li hadn¡¯t participated in the battle to destroy the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, he could imagine how intense the battle had been just by looking at the surrounding scenes. Yet, the ordinary-looking bone pearl hadn¡¯t been damaged at all in the battle. Thus, Lin Li reckoned that it definitely was not a coincidence.

    After Lin Li got the bone pearl, he did not stop, and instead he walked towards another tower while examining the bone pearl with his mental strength. He only discovered then that although there wasn¡¯t a trace of mana on the surface, there was actually a veryrge amount of life and death power in it. However, neither of the powers was exposed, because they had reached a bnce.

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly remembered what he had read about a keyponent of the Double-Realm Psychic Tower in the notes belonging to the Lich. It was known as the Realm Pearl. Legend had it that it was refined from countless skeletons. During the extraction of the bones, the bones had to be taken away from living beings when they were alive. It could be described as cruel and ruthless. Besides, a spatial barrier could be activated in the Double-Realm Psychic Tower to allow the world of the Undead creatures to be projected into that space, which was precisely due to the power of the Realm Bead.

    Originally, Lin Li had some doubts as to whether the bone pearl in his hand was the Realm Pearl of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers. However, when the team reached another tower, he picked up a second bone pearl that had rolled into a corner. Half of his doubts were cleared then.

    Lin Li, who already treated the Sky Castle as his own, obviously felt the pinch because of the destruction of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers. Even if he destroyed Osric and gained full control over the Sky Castle, reconstructing the Double-Realm Psychic Towers was impossible. Even if he could find enough materials, he couldn¡¯t find that many lives to sacrifice.

    However, given the situation, if they had not destroyed the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, Lin Li would probably have had to use the control crystal to flee the Sky Castle with the team. Facing the truly infinite army of Undead creatures, even Sanctuary powerhouses would be exhausted to death. Besides, Osric was still keeping an eye on them in the dark.

    Therefore, even though he was reluctant, and was certain that he would not be able to rebuild the Double-Realm Psychic Towers in the future, he had no choice but to destroy them. After all,pared to the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, destroying Highlord Osric was the most important thing to do now.

    However, the discovery of the Realm Pearl of the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers made Lin Li feel somewhatforted. Although there was no longer any hope in rebuilding the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, he would be able to install the 36 Realm Pearls in the ck Front Fortress if he could find all of them. He could then use their power to attract the pure death aura from the world of the Undead creatures. Although it could notpare to the Psychic Array of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, it would allow the Death Knights and Undead creatures in the ck Front Fortress to gain great benefits.

    They only took 10-odd minutes to explore the second tower before moving on to the third and fourth ones. Although they did not gain much in every tower, the spoilsbined would be quite a considerable gain for the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom.

    In the process, every time Lin Li went near a tower, he would pick up a Realm Pearl. However, they rarely appearedter. Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest did not notice it.

    Although Lin Li ced the 36 Realm Pearls into his Ring of Endless Storm, he did not feel too ted, because he did not gain any information about Osric after exploring the 36 Magic Towers.

    Could Osric have already entered the Central Tower? That made Lin Li feel a little worried. Connoris did not discover anything. That was enough to prove that Osric really was not there. All the previous experiences showed that Osric hadn¡¯t abandoned the Sky Castle. Since he was not there, the Central Tower was the only ce where Osric might be.

    Previously, Lin Li had been rather eager to enter the Central Tower because he wanted to gainplete control of the Sky Castle before Osric did. Once he hadplete control of the Sky Castle, it would be much easier to deal with Osric in the future.

    However, there was still a deviation in the n in the end. If Osric did not enter the Central Tower, Lin Li would be confident that he would be able to reach the top without any obstructions along the way with the control crystal. However, Osric now upied the Central Tower, and Lin Li did not think that he would allow him and his people to create trouble for him.

    Although he had the control crystal and had walked through the Central Tower once during his first exploration, Lin Li did not believe that the Central Tower built by the Immortal King was really limited to that.

    In fact, Lin Li had only explored a small area of the Central Tower during his first exploration. If not for Osric, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have to worry about any unknown idents, since he had the control crystal. However, the current situation was that Osric¡¯s mastery of the Sky Castle was in fact greater than Lin Li¡¯s mastery of the control crystal. Hence, he had to be worried.

    Even though Lin Li had already walked through it once, the Central Tower was still a ce that was full of unknown dangers to Lin Li. He could not predict what Osric would ce in the Central Tower and what kind of traps he wouldy to deal with him.

    After all, the Central Tower was left behind by the Immortal King, and Osric was a proud disciple of the Immortal King who had inherited almost all of the Immortal King¡¯s knowledge. No one understood the Immortal King better than Osric did.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t willing to give up just like that. It would be fine if there was just one Osric to deal with. If he could not deal with him himself, he could still ask the three arbitrators for help. However, if Osric hadplete control of the Sky Castle, the three arbitrators might not be able to do anything to him even if they were to intervene. That would truly be the end of the Tower of Dusk then.

    The only thing to be thankful for was that Osric had probably reached the critical juncture of gaining control of the Sky Castle, and did not have time to bother with the expedition. That was more or less a chance. After all, Lin Li had the control crystal, and he did not need to gain control bit by bit like Osric. As long as he was able to get to the top of the Central Tower before Osric did, all of Osric¡¯s previous efforts would only be in vain.

    Of course, if it was the other way around, it was possible that Osric could takeplete control of the Sky Castle any time, and that would not be good for the expedition. If that happened, the control crystal that Lin Li had would basically be useless. Other than fleeing with his people, there would be no other choice for Lin Li.

    However, escaping wasn¡¯t actually just a matter of surviving. He had taken away the control crystal and the perfect body. Since Osric had such a strong hatred for Lin Li, he definitely would not let Lin Li off easily.

    The Sky Castle was the product of the High Elves during their pinnacle. This Sky Castle, which belonged to the Immortal King, was the strongest of the seven Sky Castles. Facing the Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk and the Eternal Furnace would be too weak to even resist.

    Hence, even though Lin Li knew it was risky, he had no choice but to take the risk. Taking a so-called gamble would at least allow him to have two choices. However, Lin Li only had one option now, and thus that was no longer a gamble, but a true fight where he would be putting his life at risk.

    Even though he had to fight for his life, Lin Li did not reveal any expression. It was as if nothing happened at all. Otherwise, he would probably scare the people of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom off.

    No matter what, at least things had not worsened to the point of being unsalvageable. That was considered giving Lin Li a chance to survive too. It all depended on whether he could grasp it or not. Once he lost that chance, there would be no way he could turn it around in the future. If he could use it well, he could also gain huge benefits that others could never imagine.

    Returning to the expedition¡¯s resting ce, Archbishop Martin and Donald each arranged their teams, and then went to look for Lin Li again.

    ¡°Master Felic, the expedition still needs some time to rest and recuperate. Do you think we should take this time to discuss the next step of the exploration?¡± Archbishop Martin had taken his hats off to Lin Li at this point. Besides, Lin Li was the Son of The Holy Light; hence, Archbishop Martin almost sounded like he was asking Lin Li for instructions.

    On the other hand, although Donald from the Rotterdam Kingdom was remaining silent, he was clearly waiting for Lin Li¡¯s opinion. After exploring the 36 Magic Towers just now, the Tower of Dusk had already proven their importance in the exploration. Even though he did not say anything, deep down, he still had no choice but to put aside the pride he had as a resident of the Rotterdam Kingdom for the time being.

    ¡°Get ready as soon as possible. We will be exploring the Central Tower next.¡± Lin Li stated his opinion very simply. During the previous exploration of the 36 Magic Towers, he did not split the spoils with the two forces. One reason was that he was not impressed by the spoils, and another reason was that he wanted to leave them with no reason to oppose his opinion.

    As expected, Archbishop Martin and Donald did not have any opposing opinions to his suggestion for the following exploration. The Brilliance Shrine had no major problems, but the situation was worse for the Rotterdam Kingdom. With advanced Recovery Potions, the wounded recovered quickly, but the Alchemy Colossuses took a long time to repair. After all, they were not aspetent as Angno.

    Donald hesitated for a moment before finally saying to Lin Li with an awkward expression, ¡°President Felic, our Alchemy Colossuses seem to be severely damaged. We would need a few days to repair all of them. Do you think you can get the short metallurgist to help us with the repair?¡±

    The Rotterdam Kingdom had alchemy as its foundation, yet they had to ask an outsider to help repair their Alchemy Colossuses. Others would probablyugh their heads off at that. However, Donald had no choice. After a series of intense battles, the damage done to the Alchemy Colossuses was huge, and while the problem of the magical crystals had already been resolved during the exploration just now, they could not find any recements for the damaged parts. Back then, they did not expect there to be so much danger in the Sky Castle. Hence, they did not prepare many spare parts for the Alchemy Colossuses.

    It was no longer a matter of the time needed for the repair. If they did not have any other solutions now, the metallurgists of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team would have to rob Peter to pay Paul bypletely dismantling a few Alchemy Colossuses, and cing their parts in the other Alchemy Colossuses. If they were to do that, they would definitely reduce their strength due to theck of Alchemy Colossuses. Secondly, they could not guarantee that the Alchemy Colossuses they repaired would return to their normal performance standards.

    Actually, Donald did not really want to go to the Central Tower which had already been explored, because there was nothing worth taking the risk for. He would rather achieve his goal before deciding to explore or retreat. The reason that he made such a request was mainly because he wanted to tell Lin Li that he was not disagreeing with him, but it was just a difficult task. He did not believe that the ridiculous dwarf metallurgist would be able to repair the badly damaged Alchemy Colossuses without sufficient spare parts.

    However, with his increasing hunch that Osric was difficult to deal with, how could Lin Li possibly let go of such a good group of cannon fodder? He more or less cared about his ties with the Brilliance Shrine, but he didn¡¯t care about the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom at all.

    Hence, after hearing Donald¡¯s words, Lin Li didn¡¯t give the other party any chance at all. He simply responded to the literal meaning of his words, and smilingly said, ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Master Donald. We¡¯re cooperative partners, and we ought to help each other. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get someone to repair your damaged Alchemy Colossuses. The performance will definitely be just as good as new.¡±

    Donald didn¡¯t really have any particr feelings about Lin Li¡¯s reply. It was one thing to help them with the repairs, and another thing to repair the Alchemy Colossuses sessfully. The Alchemy Colossuses that had been damaged in the battle this time were not simply paralyzed like before. Instead, they were severely damaged from inside out, and there was simply no solution other than to rece the parts.

    Hence, Donald nodded with a grateful expression, and said, ¡°Thank you very much. I¡¯ll go ahead and make the arrangements so that your people can go over and repair them.¡±

    After Donald left, Archbishop Martin didn¡¯t stay behind for long, either. Knowing that they would be exploring the Central Tower next, he bade farewell to Lin Li, and returned to make preparations for entering the Central Tower.

    After the two of them left, Lin Li turned to look at the center of the Sky Castle and squinted at the majestic tower that he had once set foot in. He stroked his chin and thought to himself that he had to go all out this time. However, if he made it through, he would truly gain control over the Sky Castle, which was a battle fortress that would never fall. Even if he had to put his life on the line, it would be worth it.

 Chapter 949 - 1,300 Years Ago

    <h4>Chapter 949: 1,300 Years Ago</h4>

    The Tower of Dusk was now known as the top-tier force in the Breezy ins that no one dared to belittle. However, with the foundation of the Tower of Dusk, they seemed to have reached the highest status they could rise to, and it seemed impossible to go a step further. They could at most expand their business and earn more money, but those measures were no longer able to help raise the status of the Tower of Dusk. It was almost as good to say that they had reached a bottleneck.

    In fact, the status of the Tower of Dusk now was actually the limit that the vast majority of forces in the entire world of Anril could reach. Simply put, the limit was the so-called supreme royal power, and it was impossible for most of the forces to override royalty.

    Although Lin Li had reached the Sanctuary-realm, and could be said to be at the pinnacle of Anril where he could ignore the existence of royal authority, neither Lin Li nor the Tower of Dusk could truly be above the royal authority. In Anril, only the two major forces, the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine, could truly override the royal authority, and even influence the entire world. The Darkness Shrine was only at the borderline.

    With the heritage that they had umted over thousands of years and the support of countless believers of Light, the Brilliance Shrine stood at the peak of Anril. However, the Tower of Dusk could not follow in their footsteps. They did not have that much time to umte and form a faith, and it was impossible for Lin Li to advocate any doctrines, either.

    The Supreme Council was founded by Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages. At the same time, it was also supported by three mythical figures who had participated in the rebellion at the end of the Dark Age. It had also established the Guild of Magic system in Anril. Hence, the Supreme Council¡¯s position in Anril was naturally irreceable, and they could not be replicated.

    It could be said that without any special development opportunities, the Tower of Dusk would never be able to override the royal authority or decide the development direction of the world like the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council could.

    However, an opportunity to break through the bottleneck of development had now appeared, which was the Sky Castle right before Lin Li. Although the acquisition of the Sky Castle would not cause the status of the Tower of Dusk to suddenly reach the level of the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council, it was an essential foundation.

    One could imagine the massive storm that would be stirred up in Anril when the Sky Castle appeared above the Tower of Dusk. With the Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk would be able to truly break away from the royal authority in the future of its development, and then grow into a powerful force that was above the royal authority.

    That was the advantage that the Sky Castle could give the Tower of Dusk, which was absolutely iparable to any amount of wealth. To Lin Li, owning the Sky Castle would allow him to appear like a powerful force when he sealed the space-time rifts in the future. He couldpletely allow the mages of the Tower of Dusk to contribute as well.

    Owning a powerful Conquering Mageweath in the Sky Castle would allow the upants of the Sky Castle to increase their strength to an unimaginable level. It would be an exaggeration to call it a level that was nearing the gods, but it would at least allow every mage to exert Legendary-level power.

    There were now at least hundreds of mages in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion. Other than that, there were nearly 1,000 registered mages in the Tower of Dusk, which would definitely increase together with the appearance of the Sky Castle. Under the massive power of the Conquering Mageweath, having 1,000 mages would be tantamount to having 1,000 Legendary-mages. Thebat power that they could exert would probably make Sanctuary powerhouses seem inferior. The mages from the Mage Legion alone would definitely be of great help to Lin Li when he was sealing the spacetime rifts.

    Lin Li shook his head slightly, and put those thoughts in the back of his mind for the time being. If he couldn¡¯t get past Osric, those thoughts would only be unrealistic delusions.

    After waiting for about an hour or so, Angno finally returned while cursing angrily. He had gone to the Rotterdam¡¯s team to help them fix the Alchemy Colossuses. Clearly, as a Guru-level metallurgist, he was incredibly upset that Lin Li had asked him to repair the garbage-like Alchemy Colossuses that were worse than children¡¯s toys. Needless to say, the metallurgists of the Rotterdam had to have been terribly chided by him.

    The dumbfounded Donald was watching the Alchemy Colossuses that were going through various tests from the spot where the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom was. There was not a single trace of joy on his face at all. Even though he had already seen that funny dwarf¡¯s alchemical techniques before, he was shocked again this time. The degree of damage done to the Alchemy Colossuses this time was different from before. The difference was like that between a patient and a dead person, and the alchemy techniques that Angno used were undoubtedly already at the level where he could revive the dead.

    ¡°Damn it, how could such a freak appear among the dwarves who are only good at smelting iron!?¡± Even till now, Donald still did not know exactly what Angno¡¯s origin was. Although he had taken the opportunity to strike up a conversation with Angno just now, he only ended up getting chided. Hence, he could only judge from Angno¡¯s height that he was a dwarf.

    Be it Donald or the other people of the Rotterdam, no one found Angno to be amusing and funny anymore. Instead, they felt that he was rather terrifying. The other party¡¯s alchemical technique had exceeded their knowledge, and that was definitely something that they had to fear.

    However, no matter what, the Alchemy Colossuses had already been repaired, and Donald had no excuse to voice his objection. After getting the test results of the repaired Alchemy Colossuses, Donald had no choice but to order the team to prepare for entering the Central Tower.

    After everything was ready, the expedition set off again, and made their way towards the Central Tower of the Sky Castle. During their journey, they did not encounter any more obstacles, and managed to arrive in front of the main gate of the Central Tower rather smoothly.

    ¡°President Felic, how do we open the gates of the Central Tower? I remember that Archbishop Martin seems not to have the keys to the Central Tower.¡± Donald once again tried to get Lin Li to drop the idea of exploring the Central Tower.

    Archbishop Martin was also put on the spot. He turned to look at Lin Li, and said, ¡°Master Felic, I don¡¯t have the key to the gate.¡±

    However, Lin Li did not answer them. Instead, he walked up the steps in front of the gate, then reached out, and gave the opulent gates a gentle push, after which they opened slowly in front of everyone.

    Seeing that the gates were opened effortlessly by Lin Li, everyone behind him beamed with joy. If they could really enter from the main gate, that would naturally mean that they would encounter fewer magic gears and traps. However, Lin Li was much more worried. Clearly, Osric had already prepared a mysterious weing ceremony for himself and the rest.

    However, Lin Li did not hesitate, nor did he exin anything to Archbishop Martin and Donald. During desperate times, he would still have to fight and break through even if there was a huge trap ahead.

    The expedition slowly passed through the gate, and stepped into the hall of the first floor of the Central Tower. The hall was extremely spacious, and it did not look crowded at all even though so many of them had entered. However, when thest person of the expedition team entered the hall, the gates that were opened easily closed automatically with a bang.

    The sudden change had given the expedition a huge shock. However, before they could send someone to inspect the condition of the gate, they saw that the space around them was suddenly bing warped, and all the surroundings gradually became blurred.

    ¡°There¡¯s a magic trap!¡± Many of them shrieked involuntarily. Fortunately, they had been through long-term elite training, and thus did not panic. Instead, they immediately kept their guard up.

    However, despite the change, Lin Li did not seem surprised at all. Clearly, it was Osric¡¯s tactic, and it would only be truly strange if there was nothing of the sort instead.

    Soon, the warped space gradually became clear again, but everything around them was no longer the same as before. Just now, they were in the hall on the first floor of the Central Tower, but they were now in the wilderness, with the sun shining brightly above them. They were stepping on thick weeds beneath their feet, and as far as they could see, all thend around them was barren.

    ¡°Is this an illusion?¡±

    Indeed, it felt like a fantasy. One moment they were in the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, and the next they ended up in the wilderness.

    However, Lin Li found it rather familiar. When he first arrived in the Sky Castle back then, he chose to enter through another method because he could not open the main gates. In the end, he was sent into the Seven-Realm Spiral by the Orderly Maze. That seemed to be how it felt.

    However, Lin Li remembered that due to the fact that Xiao Hua had devoured arge amount of mana in the Seven-Realm Spiral, and also that he had obtained the control crystal, the Seven-Realm Spiral could no longer be restored. Hence, they probably were not in the Seven-Realm Spiral now.

    ¡°This ce... is the real world. Have we been sent back to Anril?¡± asked Archbishop Martin, whose power was at the peak of the Legendary-level. He had a rich knowledge of the nomological power of the world, and at this moment, he was sensing the nomological power around him, only to discover that everything here was real.

    Donald from the Rotterdam also had the same feeling as Archbishop Martin at this moment. He immediately had a peculiar expression on his face, and he said to Lin Li with a look of amusement, ¡°President Felic, seems like we have been sent out of the Sky Castle. I think we can try to explore again, but it would be better to find the lost item of the Rotterdam Kingdom and the item that Archbishop Martin wants before we try exploring the Sky Castle.¡±

    Although they had been sent out, Donald didn¡¯t think it was a big deal. They would at most have to make another trip to the Sky Castle. However, he wanted to take the rare opportunity to voice his opinion, and let the crowd help himplete the goal of this exploration first.

    The archbishop was also a bit tempted when he heard Donald¡¯s words. The magic traps of the Central Tower were not that easy to break, so he might as well achieve his goal first. However, due to the ties he had with Lin Li, he was too embarrassed to make that request like Donald did.

    However, at this moment, Connoris who was beside Lin Li sneered, and said, ¡°You guys had better think about how to ovee this. Things are not as simple as you think, this isn¡¯t Anril.¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me? This isn¡¯t Anril? Don¡¯t think that everyone else is a fool, this ce clearly has the nomological power of Anril. If it¡¯s not, exin to me why that¡¯s the case,¡± Prince Kanber interjected. He was already displeased with the Tower of Dusk, and he naturally wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to mock them at this moment.

    However, Kanber¡¯s mocking did not have any effect, as no one from the Tower of Dusk bothered to answer him. After hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li felt a little surprised, and he turned to ask, ¡°Do you know where this is?¡±

    Lin Li also knew that this was definitely not Anril, as Osric wouldn¡¯t be so kind as to simply send them back to Anril. However, as someone in the Sanctuary-realm, he could not find the difference between the World Laws of this ce and Anril. That made him feel surprised.

    Connoris raised his arm, stretched his hand out and pointed in a certain direction. He said, ¡°Look at that mountain over there, does it look a little familiar?¡±

    Lin Li was not the only one. Archbishop Martin and Donald, as well as everyone from the expedition, all looked in the direction that Connoris was pointing in. However, there were not many people who could actually see anything, and Lin Li also took a while to observe before hesitantly saying, ¡°It does seem a bit familiar. Could it be the Jojori Peak of nna? No, I seem to remember that it¡¯s different from before. There should be a deep rift in the middle.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you know about the legend about the rift in Jojori Peak?¡± Connoris asked, after which he looked around. Without waiting for their answers, he said, ¡°At the end of the Dark Age, Geresco fought one of the High Elves¡¯ Sanctuary powerhouses in the war to liberate the Fn Kingdom. When the other party was running away, he used a Wind de to sh the other party, leaving a great rift in the middle of the Jojori Peak at the same time.¡±

    ¡°You mean... we¡¯re in nna now during the end of the Dark Age? You mean the nna 1,300 years ago?¡± Lin Li finally heard the answer in Connoris¡¯ story. However, he found it unbelievable. Could it be that they had been sent to Anril 1,300 years ago?

    If it weren¡¯t for his knowledge of Connoris, Lin Li would have definitely thought that thetter had gone mad. Time-traveling was something that only one of the five Dragon Aspects, the Dragon of Time, could do. However, even the Dragon Aspect could only go back in time and observe. It could not actually descend to a certain dimension, let alone teleport such arge number of people back to more than 1,300 years ago.

 Chapter 950 - World Creation

    <h4>Chapter 950: World Creation</h4>

    Lin Li, who understood Connoris well, could not believe that information, let alone Archbishop Martin and the others. However, due to the fact that he was considering Lin Li¡¯s face, Archbishop Martin did not show it too obviously.

    However, the people of the Rotterdam did not care about that. The more they listened to Connoris, the more exaggerated they found him to be. Donald immediately lost it. He asked, ¡°Time travel? Even the gods can¡¯t affect the flow of time and space, what magic trap can send us to over 1,300 years ago in a sh?¡±

    ¡°Whether that¡¯s the case or not, since we¡¯re already here, let¡¯s explore and see. No matter where we are, we still have to find a solution to leave.¡± Seeing that Donald was about to argue with the people of the Tower of Dusk, Archbishop Martin frantically stepped forward to interject.

    Indeed, regardless of whether or not Connoris was telling the truth, they still had to find a way to leave even if it was just an illusion. Hence, no one objected to Archbishop Martin¡¯s suggestion. However, they were in the wilderness, and there was still some disagreement on where to go.

    After thinking for a while, Lin Li pointed his finger in a random direction, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go over there. If this is really nna, that should be where nna City is. Let¡¯s explore there first.¡±

    nna City was currently the royal capital of the Fn Kingdom; hence, it was definitely different from the nna City of over 1,300 years ago. However, regardless of which nna City it was, it would all be clear once they found it and took a look.

    Of course, Lin Li did not think that they had really been transported to the world of over 1,300 years ago, though he also longed to be able to take part in the famous battles that urred at the end of the Dark Age. He also wanted to see Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages, with his own eyes. However, those were matters that probably could not be done by gods, either.

    Hence, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the space that they were in now was very likely to be simr to the Seven-Realm Spiral, which was a powerful Magical Domain. However, the Laws were not singr like in the Seven-Realm Spiral. Back when they were in the Seven-Realm Spiral, the scene of thest realm was set up as the legendary Sierra Leone Forest.

    The expedition started to head towards nna City, but they stopped again after covering a short distance because they were standing on a hill, and they could already see that there was actually a city that looked somewhat simr in the distance. They reckoned that it should be where nna City was.

    However, it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for them to be in nna City, regardless of whether it was the present era or over 1,300 years ago. If they were in present-day nna, their appearance would definitely cause tension and perhaps even diplomatic disputes in the Fn Kingdom. After all, the team wasposed of members from the Brilliance Shrine and the Fn Kingdom.

    If they were in nna City of over 1,300 years ago, the expedition should not just go over there. More than 1,300 years ago, Anril was still being dominated and ruled by the High Elves. Besides, this was the territory of Highlord Osric. Hence, that would definitely bring them huge trouble, or even death.

    Although both of their worries seemed rather absurd, no one was certain of what the current situation was; hence, they would have to be a bit more careful. After discussing the situation with Archbishop Martin and the others, Lin Li decided to send some of the members out to reconnoiter to prepare for what they might encounter next.

    Reconnaissance was definitely the forte of Bandits, but there were none in the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk. The people of the Rotterdam Kingdom finally had a chance to show their abilities. Without consulting Donald, Prince Kanber immediatelymanded three of his Bandit subordinates to start reconnoitering.

    The three Bandits he called had extremely sullen expressions, but they did not dare to disobey Prince Kanber¡¯s orders. Hence, they left the team sulkily. The three Bandits were at level-17 and level-18; hence, reconnoitering was not actually that difficult for them. However, if it was a trap, leaving the team was no different from getting killed.

    After the three Bandits left, the expedition stopped at the same ce and waited for a response. After about two hours, a Bandit suddenly emerged from the shadows. He was actually the strongest of the three, but at this moment, he looked rather disheveled. Clearly, the reconnoitering was not sessful.

    ¡°Henry, what¡¯s going on? Where are the two of them?¡± Seeing that his subordinate had returned in such a pathetic condition, Prince Kanber had a look of displeasure.

    ¡°Your Highness, the two of them were captured by a High Elf,¡± answered Henry, the only Bandit who made it back. While speaking, he wiped blood off the corners of his lips.

    ¡°What? High Elf!? There are High Elves here?¡± Donald and Kanber were not bothered about their underlings being caught. Instead, they noticed that Henry had mentioned a High Elf.

    After the end of the Dark Age, the High Elves in Anril were basically extinct. Even the Tree of Eternity was ruined by Geresco. Even though there were still some High Elves that would asionally appear in some of the ruins, they had basically been transformed into Undead creatures.

    ¡°You mean a High Elven Lich?¡± Donald asked.

    However, the Bandit Henry shook his head and swallowed his saliva. He continued, ¡°No, not an Undead creature, but a High Elf. The three of us were going to sneak into the city, but as soon as we arrived at the city gate, we were discovered by a High Elf¡ª¡±

    ¡°Lowly humans, are you gathering here to rebel!?¡± A voice suddenly sounded in the sky before the Bandit Henry could finish.

    The expedition on the ground looked up, only to see a High Elf who was dressed luxuriously and holding a Dark Moon Staff, staring at them coldly from above.

    ¡°Someone has sent himself here. We don¡¯t have to reconnoiter.¡± Lin Li¡¯s lips curled, and he pointed at the sky where he grasped at nothing. A giant hand that was condensed with mana appeared out of thin air above the High Elf¡¯s head to pull it down.

    ¡°Filthy humans, how dare you offend my race¡¯s might? Do you want to go extinct!?¡± Facing the giant hand of mana, the High Elf could not retaliate at all. He was pulled downwards, but the pride on his face didn¡¯t diminish at all.

    Lin Li and the others were speechless at the High Elf¡¯s words. Everyone knew that in Anril, the High Elves had been exterminated long ago, and even the Tree of Eternity had been destroyed. However, the High Elf in front of him seemed to be clueless about it as he was acting haughty and impressive. Seeing the behavior of the High Elf, the hearts of the people sank. Had they really been transported back to over 1,300 years ago?

    ¡°Let me ask you, where is this? Who is the leader?¡± Lin Li questioned the High Elf.

    ¡°Pathetic human, what right do you have to question me? It seems that those previous lessons have not yet taught you the proper respect you should show to my race.¡± Although the High Elf could not struggle to break free and knew that Lin Li¡¯s was stronger, his tone was still as harsh as before.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, dig out what we need to know from his head using any means you prefer.¡± Seeing how sharp-tongued the High Elf was, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother wasting time on him, and just left it to Ujfalusi toe up with a solution.

    Ujfalusi was a Lich who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and he had reached the pinnacle of ying with souls. Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s instructions, he immediately went forward and grabbed the High Elf before dealing with him in a corner. The High Elf gritted his teeth and remained silent, but soon he began shrieking in horror.

    Not long after, Ujfalusi dragged the High Elf, who was almost suffocating, towards Lin Li. He said, ¡°Master, ording to him, this is indeed nna City, and the leader now is... Highlord Osric.¡±

    Upon hearing this, everyone couldn¡¯t help but gasp. Did they really time-travel? Why had Highlord Osric appeared!? Everyone knew that Osric was the highlord more than 1,300 years ago.

    It was over for them this time. They had gone back to over 1,300 years ago, andnded in the territory of Butcher Osric. Not to mention going back, surviving itself was a problem! In this era, peak Legendary powerhouses were impressive. Osric¡¯s Magic Legion wasposed of plenty of Legendary powerhouses, while Highlord Osric was a Sanctuary powerhouse who could destroy them easily.

    The piece of news threw everyone into confusion. Even Lin Li lost his usualposure. If he wanted to deal with Osric, he would be dealing with Osric¡¯s ghost, and not the Osric who was in his prime!

    ¡°Right, ask him what day today is.¡± Lin Li suddenly thought of something. Although Osric was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he seemed to have been seriously injured due to something in theter stages, and then he started to build a grand and majestic mausoleum for himself. If it was the time for Osric to build his mausoleum now, perhaps he wouldn¡¯t create trouble for them.

    Ujfalusi tossed the High Elf beneath his feet and crouched down to squeeze his forehead. After a moment, he said in a strange tone, ¡°Master, he said that it¡¯s the 17th of May in the year of 7665 of the continental calendar...¡±

    ¡°7665? Why does it feel a bit different from history?¡± Lin Li was stunned to hear the year. He remembered that the Dark Age ended 6,000-odd years ago, so how did the 7,000 yearse about?

    Connoris suddenly pped his forehead, and said with a face full of excitement, ¡°Ha, I know. We did not go back to over 1,300 years ago, but this ce is indeed the nna City of over 1,300 years ago.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lin Li asked. He was not alone. Archbishop Martin and the rest were also confused by Connoris¡¯ words.

    ¡°If I guessed correctly, this should be a world created by the Immortal King based on the nna City of over 1,300 years ago.¡± At the mention of this, even Connoris, who was one of the oldest Ancient Demons, couldn¡¯t help but be amazed.

    ¡°World Creation!¡± After all, Lin Li had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and with his knowledge of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, he knew that Connoris was not lying.

    The Legendary-realm was about theprehension and usage of Laws, while the Sanctuary-realm was about the maniption and changing of Laws. The world was made up of all kinds of Laws, so creating Laws to the extreme might not necessarily mean that one couldn¡¯t create a world. In fact, in myths and legends, true gods often possessed a kingdom of their own creation, and it was considered a world in a sense.

    As one of the most powerful existences in the history of Anril, the Immortal King was said to have powerparable to that of a god, so creating a world of his own did not seem impossible. Only those who could truly create their own Laws could break free from the restraint of the World Laws and enter the chaos of spacetime.

    Of course, no one could be certain if that was the case or not. Even Connoris who made this guess actually did not have full confidence in it. However, at the same time, everyone did not oppose that statement. After all, it could indeed exin a lot of things.

    However, Lin Li was still a little worried. ording to that High Elf, there was an Osric there, so what did that Osric have to do with the Osric of Anril? Despite knowing that a character like Osric could never be replicated, what would be the strength of Osric here?

    However, no matter what, Lin Li and the rest were secretly relieved that they had not been sent to over 1,300 years ago to face the real Osric.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think we should do next?¡± Archbishop Martin asked while wiping the sweat from his forehead that surfaced because of the fright he got.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not easy to leave the world created by the Immortal King.¡± Lin Li frowned and shook his head slightly. He then said to Connoris, ¡°Connoris, what do you think of this world?¡±

    After all, Lin Li had only just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Compared to the Immortal King who created the world, there was an infinite gap between them. However, Connoris had once been the Ancient Demon of deception and conspiracy. He had also also participated in the opening of the Endless Abyss in the first ce, so he should have experienced more in that aspect.

    Connoris contemted for a while, and he said, ¡°Regarding the matters of this world, I remember that Osric did tell me something about it back then.¡±

 Chapter 951 - Ultimate State

    <h4>Chapter 951: Ultimate State</h4>

    Upon hearing this, Lin Li immediately snapped back to his senses, and asked, ¡°What did he say? Did he really not mention how we can break through this world and leave!?¡±

    The most important issue at hand was how they could leave the world. It was no longer a Magical Domain in the general sense, but an iparably real world that had the same perfect and bnced Laws as Anril.

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s thoughts, he would probably have to be at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm in order to break free from the restraint of the World Laws and leave this world. However, Lin Li had only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm not long ago. It would take more than a day or two to reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others were obviously in disbelief when they heard Connoris¡¯ words. They did not know the history and origins of Connoris, and Osric was a mythical creature to them. Hence, they could not imagine it when they heard that Connoris had had a conversation with Osric before.

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Connoris shook his head, and said, ¡°I remember that when Osric mentioned some things about this world, he was rather amazed by the power of the Immortal King. The ability to create a world out of nothing with one¡¯s individual strength is something that even he didn¡¯t have, let alone power to crack it.¡±

    Indeed, creating a world was a power that only a god could possess as it was already at the level of creation. Although Osric was the Immortal King¡¯s proud disciple, and could be said to have received most of the Immortal King¡¯s inheritance, the advancement through realms would still have to depend on one¡¯s enlightenment.

    ¡°He once told me rather emotionally that worlds created with one¡¯s individual strength are the ultimate form of Magical Domain and the most important sign of a mortal¡¯s transformation into a god. Besides, the creator would be the god in the world that he had created. Once you enter his world, your life and death will be decided by him, and he can easily annihte you with the power of the world.¡± While speaking, Connoris looked at everything around him with emotion. Back then, he had only heard from Osric about the other worlds, but now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by the Immortal King¡¯s power despite having been an ancient demon deity.

    ¡°Magical Domain? Is this world the ultimate form of the Magical Domain?¡± To everyone else, that piece of information was simply unheard of. In particr, Archbishop Martin and Donald, who were mages at the peak of the Legendary-realm, had always thought that their Magical Domains had already reached an ultimate form. However,pared to this world, they were worlds apart.

    ¡°Do we have to live in this world forever, like the aborigines of this world?¡± Kanber questioned, feeling rather infuriated. He was still waiting to return to the Rotterdam Kingdom to inherit the throne. How could he spend the rest of the world in this false world?

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t the Immortal King already disappeared? Why is the world he created still here? Why didn¡¯t it copse like the Magical Domain?¡± Prince Jeremiah was not as anxious as Kanber. In fact, he even thought that perhaps he could be like those heroes at the end of the Dark Age, and lead the people to overthrow the High Elves. Hence, he was concerned about the reason for the prolonged existence of this world, and whether or not it would suddenly copse at some point.

    ¡°It¡¯s like this world is just like those worlds in those spatial rifts in Anril. As long as the Laws here are not unbnced, it might really continue to exist,¡± Archbishop Martin said ording to some of the things he understood. After all, in the doctrine of the Holy Light, there was indeed such a thing as the creation of worlds with Holy Light. Although he was a senior executive of the Brilliance Shrine, and he knew that most of the teachings were fabricated, he gave it some thought, and felt that perhaps Anril had really been created by some unimaginably powerful person.

    ¡°Don¡¯t discuss those useless things, let¡¯s just think about how to get out of this hellhole now!¡± Prince Kanber urged again. He did not care about the realm and world at all. His key focus was to get out of here smoothly. In this hellhole, there was no throne waiting for him to inherit.

    Actually, Prince Kanber was not the only one. It was the same for the others as well. No one was willing to spend the rest of their lives in a false world created by someone else. Even though this world was incredibly realistic, and was almost the same as Anril, it still made them feel like they were livestock.

    However, leaving this ce would definitely not be easy, just like leaving Anril. This ce was a world with perfect Laws, and one would probably have to possess the power to leave Anril in order to leave this world. The only thing that gave them hope was that the Immortal King was no longer around. Hence, without the Immortal King to maintain this world, there might be some loopholes after more than 1,000 years of evolution. After all, even in Anril, there were all sorts of spatial rifts. Hence, there might be some in this world.

    After a round of discussion, everyone decided to continue searching in this world, and maybe even try to mingle and blend in with the society in this world. Perhaps they might be able to find some clues rted to a spatial rift.

    Although Lin Li was racing against time and Osric, he dared not recklessly barge into nna City. Who knew what kind of strength the highlord of this false world would have under the grooming of the Immortal King? Hence, they¡¯d better try to find out more before meeting him.

    After a discussion, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest each returned to their teams to make targeted arrangements to guard against any unexpected situations that might arise in this strange world. Standing on the hill, Lin Li felt the gentle breeze brushing past his face as the scent of mud filled his nose. Deep down, he felt rather amazed, and admired the Immortal King¡¯s godly abilities.

    Despite knowing long ago that anything could happen in this world of magic, Lin Li still found the creation of a world with one¡¯s individual strength incredible. Since God wanted there to be light, there was light. That was thew of God, the power of creation that only a supreme ruler would have.

    In the past, Lin Li had thought that as long as he followed the proper procedure, and increased his strength and realm step by step, it shouldn¡¯t be very difficult to reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. However, after seeing the Immortal King¡¯s means, Lin Li clearly felt that he was truly worlds apart from the Sanctuary-realm¡¯s peak.

    Besides, Lin Li was thankful and d that he had only been sent into the Seven-Realm Spiral when he first explored the Sky Castle back then. If he had been sent to this world that time, he and the others would probably have had to live here even if they had not got caught by the High Elves.

    Of course, that also allowed Lin Li to have a clearer idea of the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. He now had a clearer goal for his future.

    However, Lin Li had no room to consider the other matters for now. Getting out of this world created by the Immortal King was the most urgent issue he had to consider now.

    Lin Li closed his eyes, and made his mental strength prate that space. He carefully sensed the Laws of the world in hopes of finding a way to resolve it. He was now also a Sanctuary powerhouse. His understanding of the World Laws was more than thorough. However, the more he understood, the more he realized how incredible it was to create a world.

    <i>Spacetime rifts were inevitable, even in the real Anril. Is the world created by the Immortal King truly perfect?</i> However, after a while, a look of disappointment appeared on Lin Li¡¯s face.

    After some careful analysis andprehension, Lin Li had no choice but to face the truth. The nomological power of this world was extraordinarily dense and far more solid than that of Anril which had lost the Tree of Eternity. He could even feel that he probably could not break through and leave this world even if he had reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    It seemed that he still had to think from another perspective! Lin Li pressed his forehead and felt that the situation he was facing now was really even more frustrating than facing countless magical traps. There was simply no way to get started; one wrong step could lead to his destruction.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, did you find out anything useful from the High Elf? Where did the creatures here, including the High Elves,e from?¡±

    Indeed, getting out of this ce was a problem that they urgently had to consider now. However, Lin Li also had to consider how to ensure the safety of himself and the others. In this world, the greatest threat to the expedition were undoubtedly the High Elves who still ruled over the various races.

    Lin Li already knew through the Ashen Warlock that the Immortal King had the power to create life. Hence, were there any beings that had been created by the Immortal King like the Ashen Warlock in the world that he created? In particr, from what that High Elf had told him, Osric was still the highlord in this world. Lin Li did not think that any High Elf could rece Osric.

    If the Osric of this world, as well as other High Elves, was also created by the Immortal King, the situation would truly be terrible. Lin Li had created the perfect body for the Ashen Warlock before, so he had a clear understanding of the power of perfect bodies. Besides, the Ashen Warlock was a living example.

    Although Lin Li was well aware of how precious the materials used to create the perfect body were, he was also clear of how psychotic the Immortal King was. Perhaps the materials that were precious and rare to Lin Li were considered ordinary to the Immortal King. If the Immortal King had plenty of materials, there was no reason for him not to create a second or third Ashen Warlock, since he had already created one.

    Even with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he did not dare to im that he could contend with the Ashen Warlock. If there was a figure that was as powerful as Ashen Warlock in this world, they could just forget about leaving. The best choice would be to find a ce to hide.

    Moreover, hiding would just allow them to barely survive. Lin Li was sure that the real Osric might not take long to gain full control of the Sky Castle. By then, the leader of the world would very likely be Osric. The people of the expedition would be subject to his control.

    Hence, be it to find a way out, or simply to survive, there would definitely be a battle between the expedition and the High Elves of this world sooner orter. Under such circumstances, Lin Li naturally wanted to know a little more about the High Elves of this world.

    In order to find out how strong the High Elves were, the first thing to do would be to find out their origins. Were they the remaining High Elves in Anril who moved over during the Dark Age, and treated the world as theirst refuge? Or were they created by the Immortal King, and were born and bred in this world?

    If the High Elves believed that the world they lived in was the only world, it was very likely that they had been born and bred there. On the other hand, if they knew about the matters that happened at the end of the Dark Age, or if they knew that there was another Anril outside of this world, then they had to havee from Anril. Of course, there was definitely the chance that a prophet or something had suddenlye up with the theory that there was another world beyond this one instead. However, the chances of that were too slim.

    There was no need to think much about the humans and other races that had been enved, as they were likely to have been abducted by the Immortal King. It wasn¡¯t that the Immortal King wasn¡¯t capable of creating them, but capturing them was much easier than creating them. Even the Immortal King would not bother wasting his energy on ves.

    Ujfalusi recalled the memories he had obtained from that High Elf¡¯s soul, and respectfully said to Lin Li, ¡°Master, ording to that High Elf¡¯s memories, some of the High Elves here hade to this world a long time ago. Some of the mages that used to work for Osric found this Sky Castle ording to some of Osric¡¯s notes at the end of the Dark Age because they saw that the situation could not be salvaged. They moved into this world which they called theirst refuge.¡±

    Lin Li nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. In that case, the High Elves were not created by the Immortal King, which meant that there basically would not be a powerful existence like the Ashen Warlock here. Although it was likely that some top-notch powerhouses had been born among the High Elves after more than 1,300 years of rest and recuperation, it would not be easy to be as powerful as the Ashen Warlock.

 Chapter 952 - The Highlordéˆ¥æªš Willpower

    <h4>Chapter 952: The Highlord¡¯s Willpower</h4>

    However, Lin Li frowned again, and asked, ¡°What about the Osric here?¡±

    Not anyone could be Osric! The real Osric was the only High Elf who did not have the royal bloodline, but had obtained the title of a highlord by relying on his incredible talent that was almostparable to the Immortal King¡¯s.

    Lin Li did not believe that the Osric of this world was simply a clone of the real Osric. Even if he was, he would have to reach high standards in every aspect. If the phony Osric was exposed easily, the other High Elves of this world would not let him off, not to mention Lin Li and the others.

    ¡°The High Elves here all think that the Osric here is the real one, especially the ones in Osric¡¯s Magic Legion who have joined at the end of the Dark Age. They believe that Osric¡¯s death back then was just an illusion, and that in reality, he had entered hisst refuge to take on the mission of guiding the High Elves to their revival,¡± Ujfalusi said in a strange tone. It was rather difficult to verify the authenticity of the truth. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that they had only seen Osric¡¯s perfect body back in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. That seemed to be insufficient to prove that Osric was really dead.

    ¡°It¡¯s funny, isn¡¯t it?¡± Initially, Lin Li was certain that the Osric outside was real and the Osric inside was the double. However, after hearing the sudden piece of news, Lin Li was rather confused all of a sudden.

    After all, it seemed that no one knew whether Osric was alive or not. Even Angno who had been guarding Osric¡¯s mausoleum for more than 1,300 years did not have a clear answer, let alone Connoris who had been sealed in the hammer. Besides, from all kinds of information, all they could find out was that Osric had moved into the mausoleum he created for himself at the end when he became weaker.

    <i>Could it be that Osric is still alive!? However, what¡¯s with that Ghost outside!?</i> Lin Li turned to look at Connoris who was beside him, and then unnaturally said, ¡°Connoris, what do you think of this problem? Did Osric mention anything else when he talked about this world back then?¡±

    ¡°The real Osric is indeed dead, his physical condition was so bad at the time that it could not be salvaged. He couldn¡¯t have hidden that from me. However, ording to my understanding, the Osric in this world is not entirely just a substitute,¡± said Connoris, who was not shocked by that news. Besides, he seemed to have known more about Osric too.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lin Li had a hunch about what Connoris meant, but he was in disbelief. Hence, he asked, ¡°Could it be that the Osric here is just a projected avatar? If that¡¯s the case, how could he have enough power to suppress the other High Elves!?¡±

    Powerful existences all had the ability to create projected avatars, like the Lord of Darkness in the Abyss, which was the Dragon of Destruction Azardas¡¯ projected avatar, as well as Elemental Dragon projected avatar with Xiao Hua, which belonged to the Emerald Dragon. Connoris, who had once been one of the ancient demon deities, had also created countless projected avatars that seemed to have spread across Anril to almost every corner of the world.

    However, such projected avatars were different from the Immortal King¡¯s creation, the Ashen Warlock. Every projected avatar would have to consume the power of the original body. It was just like pouring water from a bucket to cups. The more cups of water, the less water there would be left in the bucket. The more projected avatars, the more powerful the projected avatars, and the less power there would be left in the main body.

    Connoris had created countless projected avatars. As a result, the main body¡¯s power fell from that of a Sanctuary-realm ancient demon deity to the Legendary-level Demon Lord of the first several floors of the Abyss. Hence, even a powerful existence that was close to a god would be extremely careful and conscientious when creating a projected avatar as they did not want to waste a single morsel of power.

    Besides, in the creation of a projected avatar, one could not split their power into two. Other than the power consumed during the process, the projected avatar could have at most 10% of the power of the main body. Although Osric was powerful, the projected avatar would not be able to subdue the High Elves there even if they only had 10% of Osric¡¯s power.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a double. Osric once mentioned that creating a double is a power that even he cannot possess and a level that he will never be able to reach in this life. However, he did not feel dejected because of that. Instead, he seemed rather smug about it,¡± Connoris said slowly while recalling his memories.

    ¡°Smug? Was he smug because he had found a good teacher?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but interject with a frown. Although he asked that question, he knew that given Osric¡¯s character, he probably would not be smug about the Immortal King. The things that Osric had done in the Immortal King¡¯sboratory were not respectful to the Immortal King at all.

    ¡°No, he was just proud about having schemed against a supreme powerhouse like the Immortal King,¡± Connoris said as he looked at nna City in the distance. Before Lin Li asked, he continued, ¡°Although he admitted that he would never reach the level of the Immortal King with his talent and wits, and could never create an ultimate Magical Domain, he had sessfully integrated a part of his consciousness into this world, and he would definitely master this power one day!¡±

    ¡°This... is hard to say. Osric here...¡± Despite having already predicted it beforehand, Connoris¡¯ news gave Lin Li a great shock. If it were really like what Connoris said, the situation of the expedition would probably be much more troublesome than he had expected.

    Osric¡¯s consciousness had descended in this world during the Dark Age, and it had been at least 1,300 years since then. With Osric¡¯s wit and the fact that he had gained arge portion of the Immortal King¡¯s inheritance, he was probably not far from controlling this world.

    That was definitely troublesome. Previously, Lin Li had some confidence in leaving this world because he thought that the Immortal King was no longer around. After all, no matter how strong the Magical Domain might be, it would truly be useless without a master. Even if they could not find any loopholes at the moment, they would at least not be in great danger in this world.

    However, there was now another Osric in this world, who was still part of the consciousness of the real Osric. After all these years, he had probably be a semi-owner of this world, right? Perhaps Osric still could notpare to the Immortal King, but that did not mean that Osric who had half of a home field advantage would be easy to deal with.

    Lin Li still had no clue about how he could leave this world, and now he even learned that there was another big enemy here. He was at a loss as to how to deal with such a big problem. Although Lin Li had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and had seven pieces of the debris of the stars, external factors could barely affect realms. More importantly, in this world, the control crystal that Lin Li used to control the Sky Castle had already lost its effect. That meant that escaping would be impossible.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin and Donald, who had made arrangements for their respective teams, once again went to Lin Li¡¯s side. Faced with this familiar yet unfamiliar world, they did not have many ideas.

    ¡°Since there are humans and other races in this world as well, should we try to contact them? They might have some underground rebellion forces. Since the ancestors of the Rotterdam had led the various races to overthrow the High Elves back then in Anril, we can do it again in this world as well.¡± Prince Kanber suddenly developed an idea, and wanted to replicate the events that happened at the end of the Dark Age, bringing about another war of resistance in this world.

    Although Kanber had once again credited the overthrow of the High Elves to the ancestors of the Rotterdam Kingdom, the people around him were already familiar with the way the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom behaved, so they could not be bothered to argue with him.

    However, that undeniably seemed to be a feasible option. No matter what, the humans and other enved races in this world had also lived there for thousands of years. They ought to have some talents. Hence, Kanber¡¯s words did not make the others feel disgusted. Instead, Archbishop Martin and the others were tempted.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think of this solution? Even if we can¡¯t find a way to leave at the moment, it would be a good thing if we can liberate the humans and other enved races in this world.¡± Archbishop Martin asked Lin Li for his opinion. If possible, he would want to spread the doctrine of Holy Light here.

    However, Lin Li merely shook his head a little, and said to Ujfalusi, ¡°Tell them about the situation that you¡¯ve understood.¡±

    ¡°ording to the memories in the soul of that High Elf, some of the humans and other races that were enved by the High Elves had indeed formed rebellion forces. However, since the remaining High Elves entered this world at the end of the Dark Age, they imposed stricter rules on the humans and other races. Not only did they strictly forbid the spread of magical knowledge, but they also implemented a policy of purging those who were likely to enter the Legendary-realm. So, we¡¯d better not count on the people here,¡± Ujfalusi said calmly in a monotonous tone, exining the situation of the humans and the High Elves in this world.

    Upon hearing his words, everyone understood that the lesson learned in Anril had caused the High Elves of this world to take a harsher approach in ruling over the humans and other races. Under such an oppressive rule, even if an individual like Geresco appeared amongst them, they would probably be killed by the High Elves before they could even grow.

    Kanber red at Ujfalusi who had opposed his idea before turning around, and confidently saying to the rest, ¡°So what? They¡¯re just the High Elves who survived. The Immortal King won¡¯t be guarding them anymore, and they don¡¯t have the Sky Castle or the Tree of Eternity. I believe that with our power, it will be easy to get rid of them. Maybe we can be sent out when we exterminate all the High Elves in this world.¡±

    Of course, everyone knew that exterminating all of the High Elves and being sent out of this world was just nonsense. However, they had no choice but to admit that a battle with the High Elves would be inevitable. Even if they did not provoke the High Elves, the High Elves would eventually discover them.

    ¡°A fight is definitely inevitable, but we have to carefully n and figure out the strength of the High Elves in this world.¡± Archbishop Martin was rather conscientious. After all, the High Elves in this world had developed for 1,000 years more than the High Elves of Anril. No one knew how much their strength had developed. Although, like what Kanber said, the High Elves did not have any Sky Castle, and were nowhere near as strong as they had been in Anril, the expedition was also no match for the rebellion forces of that era. There were no Sanctuary powerhouses who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm like Geresco and the three arbitrators to support them, either.

    Kanber seemed somewhat contemptuous towards Archbishop Martin¡¯s conscientiousness. He frowned, and said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, you¡¯re being too careful. They¡¯re just some High Elves who survived.¡±

    ¡°Well, then the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team will fight at the frontline while we go attack nna City.¡± Prince Jeremiah was already displeased with the bizarre sense of superiority that the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom had. Hearing what Kanber had said about Archbishop Martin, he naturally retorted in a hostile manner. <i>His ancestor merely got a High Elven noble title through his wife. Now that the High Elves¡¯ Dynasty is over, what¡¯s there to be proud of?</i>

    What was the difference between fighting in the front and being cannon fodder? Although Kanber was proud and arrogant, he was not as silly as to be cannon fodder. Hence, he was rendered speechless by Jeremiah¡¯s words.

    ¡°Ujfalusi, tell us about the state of the High Elves¡¯ strength now.¡± Lin Li ignored their argument, and instead got Ujfalusi to tell Archbishop Martin and Donald about the situation.

    Capturing a High Elf shortly aftering to this world was considered to be a rtively fortunate thing for the expedition. At least, they would not have to go around exploring and inspecting. After all, no one knew what kind of danger was hidden in this world, even though it was created based on Anril.

    Ujfalusi had been sorting the information and memories that he had received from that High Elf¡¯s soul. He was almost done now. Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Ujfalusi immediately regurgitated all the information in detail without needing to think.

 Chapter 953 - Attacking Alanna

    <h4>Chapter 953: Attacking nna</h4>

    The ruler of this world was undoubtedly Highlord Osric, and all of the High Elves were united to form the Magic Legion, be it the ones who were the first to enter the Magic Legion, or the ones who entered at the end of the Dark Age. Although the size of the Magic Legion could not bepared to that of the real Osric, and only had 400-odd members, the overall strength of the Magic Legion was better than before due to the additional 1,000 years of development.

    In fact, in the early days, there were more members in the Magic Legion, amounting to 700 to 800 members. However, the High Elves would also age and die, and they had poor reproduction ability. Without the Tree of Eternity, their poption had been decreasing.

    In fact, the High Elves of Anril, too, had been suffering from poor reproductive abilities. Even without the war at the end of the Dark Age, given the High Elves¡¯ reproductive abilities, the entire race would probably be extinct in a few thousand to 10,000 years.

    Besides, due to the extreme distrust they had towards the other races, the High Elves in this world did not have armed forces other than the Magic Legion. It was unlike during the Dark Age when there were at least some people who were trusted by the High Elves like Helios and the ancestors of the Rotterdam Kingdom. They were purely just ves who lived even more miserably than the races in the Dark Age.

    Although they knew that the High Elves in this world only had one Magic Legion, everyone¡¯s face did not be less sullen. Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom was continuously moring about barging into nna City.

    There were more than 400 members of the Magic Legion, and even the weakest one had Legendary-level abilities. There were more than 10 of them who were at the peak of the Legendary-level. That was much stronger than the expedition.

    Besides, the expedition was made up of three forces; hence, in terms of cooperation, they would definitely be inferior to the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion. Perhaps they might even scheme against each other during the battle. Even if they ended up winning, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. Lin Li did not tell them that the phony highlord of this world might have a portion of Osric¡¯s willpower. Otherwise, their morale would have sunk to the bottom immediately.

    However, Lin Li was tempted at the thought of that phony highlord of nna City. <i>How did Highlord Osric ce his willpower in this world? Could it be that there are passageways to the outside world in nna City? Even if there are none, Osric had researched for so many years, so he must have mastered many secrets about this world. Maybe one of the secrets is about leaving this ce?</i>

    ¡°Since most of the members of the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion have been stationed in nna City, should we leave this ce first? After all, we¡¯ve already caught a High Elf. They¡¯ll probably find out soon.¡± After understanding the High Elves¡¯ strength, Donald looked at nna City in the distance. He no longer had the arrogant attitude that was unique to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Instead, he looked rather timid.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think?¡± Archbishop Martin was clearly not as confident as before.

    ¡°How far can we go? This entire world is under the control of the High Elves. We definitely can¡¯t hide it for long. By then, we will have to face the endless pursuit of Osric and the Magic Legion.¡± Lin Li shook his head and ignored everyone¡¯s suggestion to run away. He was certain that with Osric¡¯s control over this world, they would definitely be caught no matter where they hid.

    ¡°If you want to stay and wait to die, you may go ahead yourself. We¡¯re not going to apany you.¡± Seeing that Lin Li had opposed his suggestion, Kanber flew into a rage, and turned around to leave. However, as soon as he turned around and took two steps, he discovered that Donald did not leave with him. Hence, he had no choice but to stop in his tracks again.

    ¡°Your Highness, please calm down, we can decide after hearing the insights that Master Felic has,¡± Donald frantically pleaded with him. Although he also wanted to leave, he knew that Lin Li made sense. This world was ruled by High Elves, and there were no rebellion forces that they could use, either. Thus, where could they escape to? The best oue would be that they would survive for a few days before being annihted by the High Elven Magic Legion while fleeing for their lives.

    ¡°What solution can he have? Can the Tower of Dusk barge into nna City and kill all the High Elves!?¡± Kanber¡¯s face was full of disdain, but he nheless gave Donald some face, and walked indignantly back to his original spot.

    Donald actually did not believe that Lin Li could have a good solution for the situation that they were facing. After all, the difference in power between them was too great. However, he knew that splitting up in this situation would only lead them to their own deaths. The Brilliance Shrine had clearly already stood on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, and would not leave with him. Hence, other than staying, he had no other option.

    After persuading Kanber, Donald said to Lin Li with an apologetic expression, ¡°President Felic, please don¡¯t be offended, His Highness is just a littler eager. Since you don¡¯t wish to go into hiding for a while, you should have a better idea.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Felic, as long as you can get out of here, please feel free to state whatever you need for us to leave here. We¡¯ll definitely cooperate with you.¡± Seeing Kanber¡¯s behavior, Archbishop Martin was also afraid that Jeremiah would say something unpleasant, so he decided to ask Lin Li those questions.

    Lin Li looked at the people in front of him, and calmly said, ¡°We¡¯ll fight! Now that the High Elves of nna City have yet to prepare to fight against us, this is the only chance for us to get a head start. Otherwise, when the High Elves react, then we will forever be in a passive position until we arepletely wiped out.¡±

    As soon as Lin Li said that word, everyone got a great shock and their hearts began to palpitate, but the reason that he gave them afterwards made them slip deep in thought.

    Indeed, the difference in strength between the two parties was very obvious, and if they were to openly fight against them, the expedition would undoubtedly be finished. Besides, the only advantage that the expedition had was the fact that the High Elves did not know of their existence. That was the only chance for them to shorten the gap. It was like a life-saving straw that they ought to put aside regardless of whether it was useful or not. However, if they did not try it, it would be useless.

    Another point was that although there were more than 400 members in the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion, some High Elves would definitely have to be assigned to various ces to manage them in order to rule the world. It was impossible for them to leave the enved races alone. At this moment, the number of High Elves in nna City should be considered rather small. If they waited until they were prepared, they would definitely gather all their forces to besiege the expedition. Hence, inparison, the ones who took the initiative to attack would definitely have some hope of surviving.

    Having figured that out, they finally epted Lin Li¡¯s suggestion. Of course, if they did not ept it, they would be at dead end. It was as if they were in the middle of two abysses, and one of them at least had a rope hanging from it.That was better than having no hope at all.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re going tounch a surprise attack, I think it¡¯s better for us to organize our team members and set off immediately. If we stay any longer, the disappearance of the High Elf will probably expose us.¡± While speaking, Archbishop Martin looked at Donald. Actually, he was worried that two of theirs would spill the beans after getting caught. However, he still gave the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom some face.

    They had caught a High Elf, while the two Bandits of the expedition had been caught by the High Elves. Everyone knew that they could not dy any longer. Hence, they stopped dwelling on that matter, and the senior members of the three forces finally reached an agreement. They decided tounch an assault on nna City.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Ujfalusi remained on the ground and drew a diagram of theyout of nna City that he obtained from the soul of the High Elf, especially Osric¡¯s pce and theyout of the Magic Legion¡¯s defenses. ording to that information, the top executives of the three forces soon finalized the n for the attack before heading back to their own teams continuously.

    Whether Osric knew about the appearance of the expedition would depend on his control over the world. Hence, Lin Li dared not guarantee that the assault would be sessful, but as he wanted the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom to follow him devotedly, he did not mention the issue. In fact, Lin Li believed that if he had more than 1,000 years toprehend the World Laws, he would probably be able to grasp most of them, what more an amazing figure like Osric.

    However, just like everyone else, Lin Li had no other choice. The rest took the attack as an opportunity, but he had to go regardless of whether there was a chance or not.

    ording to the n, the expedition followed an obscure route and headed towards nna City. Fortunately, it was alreadyte afternoon in this world, and it should be evening by the time they reached nna City. Although the High Elves¡¯bat power would not be affected in the night, it would at least be advantageous to them for the attack.

    As the team advanced, Lin Li also quietly unleashed his Magical Domain, which shrouded the entire team. The Magical Domain was not offensive, nor would it increase the team¡¯s battle power. In fact, it would not even make them feel a difference. The only effect was that through the mastery of the World Laws, the team would temporarily be hidden.

 Chapter 954 - Buying Time

    <h4>Chapter 954: Buying Time</h4>

    Although Lin Li felt that it was very likely that Osric had already detected the presence of the expedition, he was not willing to give up that other possibility. Perhaps the phony highlord who only had a portion of Osric¡¯s willpower simrly had only a portion of Osric¡¯s wits.

    Finally, when night fell, the expedition had already arrived at a small hidden valley outside nna City. The small valley should be the hidden spot that was the closest to nna City. However, there were still several kilometers of barend between the valley and nna. Fortunately, ording to the memories of the High Elf that had been captured, there were rarely any High Elves patrolling the city walls at night because the city had been safe for thousands of years.

    Actually, that was not strange. There were only a few hundred High Elves, while the humans and other races werepletely treated as ves. Under the purge policy, why would the High Elves bother to arrange patrols? In this world, the High Elves lived ratherfortably. Nothing could threaten their existence.

    The night did notpletely conceal everything. Under the sky full of stars, the majestic nna City looked even more beautiful and mysterious, giving off a dreamy vibe. Compared to nna City here, the nna City which was the capital of the Fn Kingdom in Anril was rather shabby.

    However, the expedition was not in the mood to appreciate the rare sight of the beautiful scenery. In their eyes, the beautiful nna City was like a man-eating beast that made them feel fearful and nervous.

    From the information they had, they deduced that Osric was definitely in the pce of the city, and the Magic Legion under him was segregated into two. A portion of them was responsible for guarding the pce, while the other portion lived in the noble district outside the pce.

    That was also one of the reasons that the rest of the expedition had agreed to the assault. With good nning, it was entirely possible to kill the High Elves outside the pce with a blitz before charging into the pce. However, the premise was that the High Elves were really unprepared, and Lin Li was not optimistic about that.

    Hence, when discussing the assault, Lin Li overrode the ns of Archbishop Martin and the others who wanted to first kill the High Elves outside using some usible reasons. He proposed to barge straight into the pce to kill the phony highlord. To the others who did not know the background of the phony highlord, there seemed to be no difference between the two ns in terms of difficulty. Hence, they did not insist.

    There was almost no defense put up by nna City at night, perhaps because life in this world was indeed toofortable. The expedition left the small valley, and they soon arrived below the city walls of nna City under the cover of Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain. The members of the expedition were all above level-15, so the high walls did not have any effect on them. Even the Longma Beasts the Holy Light Knights rode could leap over them.

    Lin Li used his mental strength to observe the situation in the city. After discovering that there was no sign of ambush, he waved his hand to signal the team to start entering the city. Under the cover of Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain, the expedition did not make much of amotion when they entered the city, but they were shielded by the distorted Laws. They instantly climbed over the wall silently and arrived inside nna City.

    The team continued to sneak around the city, and fumbled towards the pce in the middle. They only stopped when they were a few hundred meters away from the square in front of the pce. At this moment, the metallurgists of the Rotterdam Kingdom began summoning their Alchemy Colossuses one after another.

    ording to n, the teams of the Tower of Dusk and Brilliance Shrine would be the main ones to attack the phony highlord after entering the pce, while the Rotterdam Kingdom would guard the main road closely to block the High Elves that wereing from outside to support their enemy. Hence, if they waited until they entered the pce to summon the Alchemy Colossuses, it would clearly be toote. They could only summon the Alchemy Colossuses here before rushing in as fast as they could.

    However, when the expedition rushed into the square, and was about to charge towards the pce gates, the luxurious gates suddenly opened slowly and automatically. Upon sight of that, they immediately stopped in the square, and quickly assumed a defensive formation.

    At the same time, there were changes in the sky as well. The moon, which was initially emitting a soft glow, actually turned into a sun that was hovering in the sky. Night turned into day. Under the sunlight, the entire pce was gilded in ayer of gold. Amidst the striking ray of light, a tall and burly figure slowly walked out from the gate.

    When that figurepletely emerged from the light, the expedition could not help but be reminded of the scrolls left behind from the Dark Age. They thought of Highlord Osric!

    Clearly, the expedition¡¯s assault had failed before it even began, and the appearance of Highlord Osric was enough to show that he had been in control of their operation. Although they knew that Highlord Osric in front of them now was just a phony, they still felt hopeless. The mana fluctuations that were emanating from Osric¡¯s body were extremely oppressive. They could tell that Osric was too powerful for them.

    With the appearance of Highlord Osric, multiple figures appeared in the surroundings of the square. They were all wearing a Faro Robe and holding a Dark Moon Staff. Clearly, they were all members of the Magic Legion, and also emitted massive magical waves. All of them possessed Legendary-level power and above.

    After the members of the Magic Legion appeared, they did not immediately attack the expedition. Instead, they surrounded the square and red at the members of the expedition with icy cold eyes as if they were looking at sheep waiting to be ughtered.

    <i>We¡¯re really finished this time!</i> Facing the domineering High Elves, even the powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm like Archbishop Martin and Donald felt their hearts sink.

    Lin Li, who was standing in front of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, kept a straight face. That situation was actually not beyond his expectations. If that had not happened, Lin Li would instead have wondered if Osric had another scheme.

    In the opinion of Archbishop Martin and Donald, the difference in strength between the expedition and High Elves was worlds apart. It could not be made up for at all. If the sudden assault had been sessful, there might¡¯ve been some hope for them, but that bit of hope was clearly gone too.

    However, to Lin Li, the only thing that was truly troublesome¡ªor rather the only thing that he had scruples about¡ªwas the phony Osric in front of him. Although the Magic Legion was strong, it did not pose a threat to him. He only called the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom over to minimize the losses among his subordinates.

    The phony Osric looked at the members of the expedition, seemingly preparing to say something. However, Lin Li knew that he had to make the first move and suffer the consequencester. Hence, he did not wait for Osric to speak at all. Instead, he waved his hand, and a ray of lightning darted over.

    The target was not the Phony Osric, but one of the High Elves that was standing in midair in another direction. That High Elf also had Legendary-level strength. He should be a leader of the Magic Legion.

    Although that Osric was an impostor, Lin Li could sense that the other party definitely had Sanctuary-level strength. Launching a sudden assault would be impossible. Hence, Lin Li chose that Legendary-level High Elf as a target. He could at least decrease the burden on his men.

    If it was an ordinary magic spell, it was basically difficult to hurt a peak-Legendary-level High Elf with just one shot. However, Lin Li did not cast a magic spell. Instead, he shot out his debris of the stars, Thunderbolt.

    The debris of the stars contained terrifying power. After Lin Li entered the Sanctuary-realm, he did not get a chance to pair it with the Stars of Fury, but the power he could trigger was far beyond what he could in the past. Besides, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was the sharpest of all seven pieces of the debris of the stars. With the sharp attack of a Sanctuary powerhouse, it was definitely not what most mages who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm could contend with.

    Everyone saw a ray of lightning shing past, aiming for the leader of the High Elves, as well as a few High Elves behind them. Large holes appeared on their arms as they had been pierced rapidly.

    ¡°Kill, kill them!¡± Seeing this scene, the phony Osric was enraged. He was going to say something to insult them and call them lowly humans, but he did not expect the other party to be that despicable as to sneak up on his subordinates in front of him!

    Seeing that scene, everyone in the expedition, including Archbishop Martin and Donald, the powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-level, couldn¡¯t help but get the chills. They knew very well that the leader of the High Elves who had been killed in an instant had powerful strength that was not inferior to theirs. Would they be able to escape the strike of that rapid thunderous attack if it was them!?

    Of course, as a partner, Lin Li¡¯s incredible strength should be a good thing for Archbishop Martin and the others. However, as a peak Legendary powerhouse, they could not help but haveplicated emotions. After all, in Anril, existences who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm were almost invincible. They even imed to be able topete with the Sanctuary powerhouses. However, looking at the powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm getting killed instantly, they felt dejected.

    It was better for Archbishop Martin. No matter what, Lin Li was the Son of The Holy Light to him, so he could be considered family. Back then, the Son of The Holy Light, Willen, had incredible strength, and even Apophis, one of the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council, had once lost to him. Hence, they felt that since Lin Li was simrly the Son of The Holy Light, it should only be right for him to have the power to instantly exterminate a peak Legendary powerhouse.

    However, to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom, such as Donald and Kanber, there was not only dejection, but also uncontroble fear in their hearts at this point. Although they felt that the attacks were powerful because of a magical weapon, perhaps only legendary weapons would be able to instantly kill a Legendary powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    Despite being in a desperate situation, a look of greed formed in Donald¡¯s and Kanber¡¯s eyes. Although they were a Chief Imperial Mage and a potential inheritor of the king¡¯s throne, respectively, and had seen countless good things, including many of the best magical weapons that were imed to be artifacts, they were still amazed. Everyone knew that those that they had seen were actually only semi-artifacts.

    In the history of Anril, there were perhaps only five or less magical weapons that could be called artifacts, with the most famous one being the one that the Immortal King had once used to kill the Dragon of Destruction Azardas. However, there was no detailed description of that weapon in the history records or the legends. Hence, until now, no one could exin clearly what the weapon used by the Immortal King was like. It was basically a legend. Besides, they also had the Book of Eternity that was created by Geresco using the leaves of the Tree of Eternity, as well as the Moonlight Scepter of the High Elven queen. They could be considered artifacts in the eyes of everyone in the world.

    Donald and Kanber believed that the weapon that Lin Li had just used was at least better than the so-called semi-artifacts that they had seen¡ªeven though it had yet to reach the level of a Legendary-level artifact¡ªas it managed to kill a peak Legendary powerhouse immediately.

    However, Donald and Kanber were sure that it was not the time for them to have those thoughts now. Since Lin Li could instantly kill a peak Legendary powerhouse, he could kill them too. Besides, they were now going to face a huge crisis together. Hence, as soon as they felt greed, they quickly hid it in their hearts, not revealing a single bit of it.

    ¡°President Felic, the secret assault has failed. Leave the matters of those High Elves to us. I hope that you can try to buy some time and hold Osric back. We¡¯ll take care of them as soon as possible and aid you!¡± Donald hurriedly dered their new battle n after seeing that Osric had flown into a range, and an intense battle was about to begin soon.

    Although he did not dare to show his greed for the artifact, Donald still couldn¡¯t help but be tempted. He simply made Lin Li deal with the phony Highlord alone. Of course, he thought that Lin Li would not be killed by the phony Highlord quickly since he had that artifact.

 Chapter 955 - Void of the Stars

    <h4>Chapter 955: Void of the Stars</h4>

    The motive of that was to squeeze out more energy to deal with those High Elves while hoping that the fake Highlord could use up more energy of Lin Li¡¯s artifact. It would be even better if both of them suffered serious injuries.

    Although Donald had never seen a real artifact before, he knew that its user would suffer huge consequences if he didn¡¯t have the level of abilities that matched that of the artifact. For example, while the Magical Crystal Cannon was very powerful, its consumption of magical crystals was also immense.

    Donald didn¡¯t believe that a 20-year-old like Lin Li could use that artifact endlessly, releasing the terrifying power that could kill a powerhouse at the peak of Legendary-level in a sh. Moreover, Lin Li didn¡¯t choose to attack that fake highlord before this. Instead, he chose to attack that High Elven leader from another direction. This just made Donald more certain of his guess. If the usage of that artifact was limitless, why not attack the fake highlord first? Obviously, it was to save a chance of using the artifact!

    Just a moment before the start of the battle, Donald wasn¡¯t worried about others having differing opinions about his battle strategy anymore. This was because the High Elves had rushed towards them before they could continue to discuss anything else. Moreover, Donald didn¡¯t give Lin Li any time to respond. He led his men towards the High Elves immediately after he had finished his sentence.

    How could Lin Li not guess Donald¡¯s intentions? Since he needed those Rotterdam people to act as cannon fodder, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with Donald. Actually, Lin Li had intended to face Osric himself in the first ce even without Donald¡¯s tricks. That would be a fight between kings.

    In Anril, it was often said that the power of a powerhouse at the peak of Legendary-realm could match that of a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, once Lin Li had truly reached Sanctuary-realm and understood more about its powers, he realized that peak-of-Legendary-realm powerhouses were like ants to Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Thus, if Lin Li went for the High Elves Magic Legion from the start, and left the fake highlord for the others in the expedition to deal with, the end result would still be simr: Lin Li would annihte the Magic Legion, while not many in the expedition team would be able to survive. As such, it would still be a battle between Lin Li and Osric.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t really care about whether those from the Rotterdam and the Brilliance Shrine would be dead or alive at the end of the battle. After all, he had nned to use them as cannon fodder in the first ce. However, he didn¡¯t want to exhaust his own troops from the Tower of Dusk, since he had brought out the majority of the elite forces of the Tower of Dusk for this expedition. If they perished just like that, it would be detrimental to the Tower of Dusk.

    Thus, Lin Li intended to attack the fake highlord himself regardless of whether the sneak attack was sessful or not. He chose to kill the High Elves¡¯mander first because he knew that this move might not work on the fake highlord given that he still had some of the real Osric¡¯s will. The other reason was topletely enrage the fake highlord so that he would only attack Lin Li.

    The fake Osric was still Osric. If Lin Li destroyed all his subordinates within seconds, it would undoubtedly be a p on Osric¡¯s face. Although Lin Li probably couldn¡¯t prevent it if Osric had wanted to ughter everyone on the spot given his powers, how would the proud Osric copy Lin Li¡¯s actions?

    If Lin Li did just that, it was more likely that the sadistic Osric would leave Lin Li for thest to deal with so that he would see his teammates getting killed one by one. After all, the true Osric had done this many times when mping down the opposition forces in the Dark Age.

    Indeed, after Osric announced the start of the battle, he didn¡¯t even look at any of the expedition team members, and pointed his magic staff right at Lin Li. The enormous gem at the tip of the staff erupted with a blinding glow. A me dragon appeared and pounced on Lin Li with astounding speed.

    Lin Li shot up towards the sky without caring about those expedition team members behind him. It might seem like he was trying to avoid the me dragon¡¯s attack without caring about hisrades¡¯ lives, but in fact it wasn¡¯t because Lin Li was cruel, but rather that he didn¡¯t need to care about that.

    Not only did the fake highlord possess Sanctuary-realm power, his understanding of World Rules was vastly superior to that of Lin Li. Thus, the edge Lin Li had over Osric, other than the seven pieces of debris of the stars, was his understanding of Osric¡¯s personality. Osric, on the other hand, knew nothing about Lin Li.

    Seeing that the me dragon was almost reaching the expedition, Osric fling his magic staff slightly, and the me dragon changed its direction immediately towards where Lin Li was. Next, Osric¡¯s body disappeared from where he was, and instantly appeared opposite Lin Li.

    The me dragon had already flown near Lin Li by then, its scorching mes almost distorting the space. Lin Li didn¡¯t appear to be anxious at all. He pointed his Helios¡¯ Scepter at a point just beside the me dragon rxedly, and a roaring river appeared in the midair. This river was like a water snake even bigger than the me dragon in size, wrapping tightly around the me dragon. Within moments, both the river and the dragon disappeared, leaving behind a thick cloud of vapor.

    ¡°Intruder, you¡¯ve sessfully gotten my attention. It seems like you¡¯re very confident in your skills.¡± The rage on Osric¡¯s face had disappeared. Evidently, he had seen through Lin Li¡¯s trick. However, geniuses were all stubborn. Judging by Osric¡¯s personality, he couldn¡¯t touch the expedition before he had crushed Lin Li under his feet, since he didn¡¯t see the expedition and Lin Li as true opponents at all.

    When Osric was speaking, the cloud of vapor had disappeared. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in talking to Osric. The Helios¡¯ Scepter shone again, and a Light and Darkness Sword shed towards Osric.

    The Light and Darkness Sword wasn¡¯t condensed beforehand. Instead, it was turned from virtual to concrete during the time Lin Li was shing it down. The purest power of light and darkness tore the space apart as itnded on Osric¡¯s head. The entire space became monochromatic.

    An ordinary person wouldn¡¯t need to be struck by the Light and Darkness Sword, for the extreme conflicting auras would be enough to split his soul in half. The power of the sword was much higher nowpared to the one that had torn Stephen¡¯s Magical Domain apart. A peak-of-Legendary-realm powerhouse would probably find it hard to resist such a blow.

    However, Osric didn¡¯t even flinch at this attack. He also didn¡¯t appear to be mad that his opponent didn¡¯t answer his question. Instead, he lifted his magic staff to counter the Light and Darkness Sword. When the two weapons met, it seemed like time had stopped at that very moment.

    A soft glow radiated from the tip of the magic staff, and prated the sword body of the Light and Darkness Sword effortlessly. Next, the concrete Light and Darkness Sword dissolved into stardust like sand being blown away by wind.

    Lin Li¡¯s expression changed upon seeing this. Although the fake Osric was only around level-26 or 27, and still quite far from reaching the peak of Sanctuary-realm, his understanding of World Rules was way above Lin Li¡¯s. With such knowledge, this fake Osric could be considered half a ruler of this world. To a certain extent, he could apply the powers only a powerhouse at the peak of Sanctuary-realm could.

    The merging of Light and Darkness in the Light and Darkness Sword was a usage of World Rules. However, the fake Osric had used the same understanding of World Rules to dissolve its nomological power, causing the powers of Light and Darkness to break free from Lin Li¡¯s control, and return to their fundamental nanomagic form.

    The only good thing was that the fake Osric seemed like he hadn¡¯t reached the stage where he could fully control the World Rules. If not, all the Rules would repel Lin Li once Osric had given his orders. Lin Li would turn into an ordinary human, and wouldn¡¯t be able to release even a small fireball.

    ¡°Thebination of Light and Darkness... Interesting power.¡± After dissolving Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword, Osric didn¡¯t retract his magic staff. Instead, his lips rose mockingly. Next, the gemstone at the tip of this magic staff shone again. A more gigantic and concrete Light and Darkness Sword appeared, shing towards Lin Li¡¯s head while tearing the space above it apart.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li wasn¡¯t Osric. He couldn¡¯t dissolve the powers of Light and Darkness so easily. When facing this sword that could tear apart space, Lin Li could only activate his Space Robe he was wearing and transport himself to another position, barely escaping the earth-shattering blow.

    Immediately after Lin Li¡¯s body appeared on the other side, he pointed his Helios¡¯ Scepter at Osric. Strikes of thunderbolts the thickness of a water bucket rolled towards Osric. Lin Li didn¡¯t use the debris of the stars, but his understanding of Thunderbolt alone was enough for every strike of thunderbolts to be able to crush a small hill.

    However, such tremendous force didn¡¯t even hurt Osric an inch afternding on his body. It was like a breeze passing through his body.

    ¡°Damn it! Void of the Stars!¡± Lin Li was rather familiar with what Osric was doing now. Back in the ckstone Mountains, he had witnessed the God of Mages Geresco use such magic via the Spacetime Beacon Spell. With the Void of the Stars, the caster could ce their body and soul into nothingness and be immune to any magic or physical harm from the mortal world.

    Clearly, the real power of the fake Osric was insufficient for him to cast the Void of the Stars. However, with his understanding of World Rules and the power of half a ruler of this world, he seemed to have cast the spell with greater ease than Geresco.

    As the strikes of thunderbolts passed through Osric harmlessly, the mocking expression on his face didn¡¯t disappear. Such attacks weren¡¯t even considered a scratch to him.

    After seeing Geresco cast the Void of the Stars, Lin Li had thought more than once that someday he would be able to stand calmly at the center of a massive magic storm, witnessing all sorts of magic passing through his body harmlessly.

    However, when it was his opponent using the Void of the Stars, Lin Li couldn¡¯t stay calm. There were two types of opponents that were the most nerve-wrecking and appalling. One was those who wouldn¡¯t die no matter how many times you attacked them, and the other was those you wouldn¡¯t be able to attack no matter what you did.

    Opponents that wouldn¡¯t die could at least be sealed off somehow, but those that he couldn¡¯t attack were the worst. Looking at Osric¡¯s face that would warrant a good whacking, Lin Li felt very annoyed, though his attacks didn¡¯t stop.

    However, at least Lin Li managed to prove one thing: Osric¡¯s understanding of World Rules was insufficient to prevent Lin Li from casting his spells normally. If it was another person, Lin Li would still doubt whether that was another trick down his sleeve, but with Osric¡¯s pride, even the fake Osric wouldn¡¯t bring himself to such a low level as to use trickery on an opponent who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    Enveloped by thunderbolts and with his body and soul ced in nothingness, Osric held up his magic staff again. With a little recitation, the entire space shook violently, and the thunderbolts that Lin Li had cast vanished instantly as if faced with unbearable pressure.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t panic. His Helios¡¯ Scepter disappeared, and was reced by two pieces of debris of the stars: Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. Although Lin Li possessed seven pieces of debris of the stars, his grasp of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark was much stronger than the rest¡¯s. When facing a strong opponent like Osric, Lin Li couldn¡¯t afford to test the other pieces of debris of the stars, and thus chose to use those that he could release the most power with.

    With the appearance of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, Lin Li recited a string of notes rapidly. Nobody knew whatnguage he was reciting in, as it seemed like a string of meaningless sybles. However, the recitation was filled with a sense of sacredness and solemnness.

    The sky which had been forcefully turned into day by Osric reverted to night sky. Not with night with dark clouds, butplete darkness.

 Chapter 956 - Judgment Day

    <h4>Chapter 956: Judgment Day</h4>

    At the same time, solemn bells sounded from unknown location, each sound causing a ripple through the air.

    Seeing this situation, the mocking expression on Osric¡¯s face disappeared, and he turned more solemn. With his understanding of World Rules, Osric could feel the immense power the magic contained with greater rity than others.

    Meanwhile, when the bells sounded, Archbishop Martin, who was battling one of the High Elvenmanders, shot a nce towards the sky. That one look made Martin stunned, almost forgetting that he was facing an opponent who was equally strong as himself.

    If not for the prompt rescue of those around him, Archbishop Martin might have been killed at that moment just like that. Even so, he couldn¡¯t quite concentrate on his battle after recovering from his stunned state, sinking into a passive position in the battle.

    Everyone found Martin¡¯s change in behavior very strange. Even his opponent, the High Elvenmander, didn¡¯t know what he was thinking. No one knew that it was looking into the sky that stirred up a storm in his heart.

    ¡°Infinite darkness, solemn bells ring the end of all evil. The whole world will expect itsst judgment!¡± This line from an old record appeared in Archbishop Martin¡¯s mind. What it described was the scene where the gods were passing a judgment on the world.

    To others, this might only be a legend. As he was one of the four archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine who was second only to the pope, however, the significance of this line was much more than a legend. This also meant that the Sanctuary-realm spell¡ªJudgment Day¡ªcould only be cast when one had grasped the ultimate power of Light and Darkness.

    Archbishop Martin wasn¡¯t surprised that Lin Li could grasp the Power of Light to its maximum, since he already saw Lin Li as the Son of The Holy Light. However, he was very shocked to know that Lin Li¡¯s grasp of the Power of Darkness was so strong.

    Could it be that he was not only the Son of The Holy Light proimed by the Brilliance Shrine, but also the Darkness Incarnate in the legends of the Darkness Shrine? Although Archbishop Martin knew the rtionship between light and darkness, he still couldn¡¯t ept such a spection at that moment.

    In reality, Archbishop Martin himself could use some dark magic. The Sanctuary powerhouse Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine even had a high level of expertise in dark magic. It wasn¡¯t a taboo for the chiefs of the Brilliance Shrine to use dark magic. However, the Son of The Holy Light meant a person who possessed the purist quality of light intrinsically. This person had extremely strong control over the Power of Light, while the Darkness Incarnate was theplete opposite.

    Light and darkness shared a rtionship of coexistence. However, if the embodiment of light and darkness would result in an ordinary human, and an ordinary man could learn Holy Light Magic or Dark Magic, it would be very hard for him to reach the heights of either the Son of The Holy Light or the Darkness Incarnate.

    However, since Lin Li had cast the legendary Judgment Day magic spell, evidently his grasp of both the powers of Light and Darkness had reached their maximum levels. Martin didn¡¯t believe that Lin Li was just an ordinary human. He seemed more like abination of the Son of The Holy Light and the Darkness Incarnate, yet these two should result in mediocrity whenbined.

    Of course, Martin wouldn¡¯t know that Lin Li could cast Judgment Day only because he had Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. This was why Archbishop Martin seemed to have entered a strange reasoning loop, and couldn¡¯t get out of it.

    Other than Archbishop Martin, the others didn¡¯t know about these secrets regarding the Brilliance and Darkness Shrines. Thus, they didn¡¯t have any strong reactions to Lin Li casting Judgment Day. Even so, the pressurizing aura it had given out was enough to show how powerful this magic was. However, since everyone was more concerned about their own opponents that could take their lives, they couldn¡¯t afford to give their attention to other things.

    The area that Judgment Day loomed over was different from that covered by dark clouds or from natural darkness. It was like nothing existed in that space, and the sky turned into a darkness of nothingness. The solemn bells still reverberated in the air. The world seemed to be shaking together with the sound of the bells, waiting for the final judgment of an omnipotent god.

    Suddenly, a crack was torn in the dark sky, and a pure beam of light shot out directly from that crack. The surroundings were filled with the holy aura of the Angels of Light, crashing down on Osric while overwhelming the world with the most sincere prayers.

    Even the true Osric might not be able to withstand much immense Judgment of Light. It was then that the fake Osric had to take Lin Li¡¯s power seriously. In face of the Judgment of Light, Osric chanted a quick spell, and his magic staff shone continuously.

    With Osric¡¯s chanting,rge amounts of magical elements around him swarmed out, and the power of four elements concentrated together, forming an enormous four-colored storm. Snakes of fire and thunderbolts surrounded the storm. The immense power seemed to be tearing the space down. Even the Judgment of Light seemed to flicker, almost as if it would be engulfed by the elemental storm.

    BOOM!

    The deafening sound erupted as the Judgment of Light finally struck the elemental storm. The countless Angels of Light surrounding the Judgment of Light were torn into shreds under the storm. On the other hand, the power of the elemental storm was also weakened under the Judgment of Light.

    Osric, who was in the epicenter of the elemental storm, continued chanting the spell, concentrating more elemental power. On the other side, Lin Li was also putting in his all to inject more power of light and darkness into the Judgment of Light, making it rain down continuously from the sky.

    In the sky, two Sanctuary powerhouses shed violently with earth-shaking intensity. On the ground, the battle between the expedition and the High Elven Magic Legion also reached its climax.

    The High Elven Magic Legion had about 300 members there, each with at least Legendary-level power. For these High Elves, there wasn¡¯t a distinction between a mage or a warrior¡ªevery High Elf was both a mage and a warrior.

    Although that didn¡¯t mean that a High Elf¡¯s power could match that of two humans of the same level, it was enough for them to have a clear edge against a human of the same level. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t killed off one of the High Elvesmanders at the very start, it would have been impossible for the expedition to hang on till now.

    Even so, the expedition was in a dangerous position now. After all, not everyone in the expedition had reached Legendary-level. Most of them were only level-18 or 19. Although it was very close to reaching Legendary-level, the difference between that and a true Legendary powerhouse was still immense.

    Everyone in Anril knew that the Rotterdam¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses could match a Legendary powerhouse in power, but looking at them now, they served only as targets for the High Elves, and dispersed a bit of pressure for theirpanions. Did it seem even a little like one of them could match a Legendary powerhouse?

    One could foresee that even if the expedition won in the end, those Alchemy Colossuses would have to undergo major overhaul.

    The Brilliance Shrine¡¯s side seemed better. With the Holy Light Battle Song on top of their heads, the Holy Light Knights managed to put up a strong defense, while the Brilliance Priests cooperated very well. As long as the equilibrium on the battlefield wasn¡¯t disturbed, the team could endure for hours.

    More importantly, the Brilliance Shrine could get a bit of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s help. Although Lin Li had intended for the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam to serve as cannon fodder, they still had to die reflecting their value. If the cannon fodder was easily destroyed by the High Elves, then the Tower of Dusk would have to face the entire Magic Legion alone.

    The strength of the Tower of Dusk was that it had many high-level powerhouses. Connoris, Ujfalusi, and Norfeller were all Legendary powerhouses at the peak of level-24. Connoris, who possessed a perfect body, could match two peak-of-Legendary-realm High Elves alone.

    Although the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team of mages didn¡¯t have many Legendary powerhouses, the Net Array concentrated their power. Be it attack or defense, their collective power was no worse than a true peak-of-Legendary-realm powerhouse.

    For the Death Knight Legion that possessed Divine Power, half of them had stepped into Legendary-realm after the battle that destroyed the Double-Realm Psychic Towers and became Retribution Knights. Thus, the power of their Infinite-kill Formation was more frightening now. If they were all Retribution Knights, it would be sufficient to match half of the Magic Legion.

    The battle in the sky was more intense, but the battle on the ground entailed more casualties. Be it the expedition or the High Elves, death was inevitable. A life was lost at almost every moment of the battle. Broken arms, fresh blood... As the battlefield grew in size, the entire nna City gradually turned into a disastrous scene.

    Suddenly, the loud sounds in the sky disappeared. What vanished together with that was the sky of darkness. Bright sunlight shone on nna once again.

    Although nobody in the expedition stopped or even looked at the sky, everyone¡¯s heart sank. Could it be that the young President of Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t manage to defeat Osric after all? Be it the Brilliance Shrine or those from the Rotterdam, no one believed that Lin Li would be able to kill Osric in such a short amount of time. Thus, the result could only be otherwise.

    Thinking about the other possibility, the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam both felt cold sweat on their palms. The expedition was already struggling to withstand the attack from the Magic Legion now. If Osric were to join in, the team might not even be able to survive a blow.

    Only those from the Tower of Dusk appeared rtively calm, be it the higher-ups or the normal mages. After all, the team of mages all knew that the President was a Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if he couldn¡¯t kill Osric, it was impossible for him to be killed now. For the higher-ups, it was even clearer. If Ujfalusi and Norfeller were okay, then Lin Li was definitely fine too since they shared Soul Contracts.

    In the sky, Lin Li clenched Holy Light and Gloomy Dark tightly in his hands. He was panting slightly and staring at Osric, who was not far away. The elemental storm surrounding Osric had disappeared now, but he still looked the same as before with an expression of ease.

    Lin Li knew clearly that Osric wasn¡¯t faking this air of ease. Although he had given his all to activate the full power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, Osric had used the power of the world that the Immortal King had created. It could be said that Lin Li was fighting with the Immortal King, and Osric was only a middleman. As such, he suffered very little impact from the collision just now.

    It was not the case for Lin Li. Although the majority of the power of Judgment Day came from Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, the mental strength exhausted was Lin Li¡¯s. In addition, it was precisely because the power didn¡¯t belong to him that he had to use up more mental strength to cast Judgment Day. Although Lin Li¡¯s mental strength could be considered limitless, nothing was truly limitless in this world. The Judgment Day alone had used up half of his mental strength.

    The fact that a spell used up half of one¡¯s mental strength but didn¡¯t cause much substantial harm to the opponent would upset any person. However, there was only some fatigue on Lin Li¡¯s face, not anxiety.

    ¡°Since I¡¯ve entered this world, you¡¯re the first human that got my attention. If you submit to me, I can forgive all your previous offenses and bestowrge areas ofnd upon you.¡± Osric didn¡¯t attack immediately, but surprisingly wanted to solicit Lin Li.

 Chapter 957 - Break the Deadlock

    <h4>Chapter 957: Break the Deadlock</h4>

    During the Dark Age, Osric was a well-known racist. He had always thought races other than the High Elves to be inferior and fit only to serve as the High Elves¡¯ ves. The Elven Helios Hollisas Dalisma and that human royal from the Rotterdam who had gotten to where he was because of his wife all had many grudges against Osric. If not for the suppression of the High Elven Queen Azshara, Osric would have killed them personally.

    Moreover, at the end of the Dark Age, humans were the main force in the over that overthrew the High Elves¡¯s rule. The extinction of the High Elves could be attributed to the massacre the humans conducted. Thus, it could be said that the only way to resolve the hatred between the two races was for one of them to perish.

    This was why Lin Li didn¡¯t manage to respond when Osric tried to solicit him. However, a cold sneer appeared on Lin Li¡¯s face soon after. With a tinge of mockery, he replied, ¡°You¡¯re just a counterfeit. What right do you have to ask me to submit to you?¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?!¡± Upon hearing his opponent call him a counterfeit, Osric¡¯s eyes shot out a murderous re. Immense pressure oozed out of him, and the space seemed to freeze.

    However, Lin Li seemed not to feel anything. He disdainfully continued, ¡°Your memories, your existence, everything about you is fake. You¡¯re just a pitiful worm that the real Osric has reared. One day you will be nutrients for his revival. You tell me what right you have to ask me to submit to you!¡±

    As Lin Li finished his words, he felt an abnormal magic fluctuation in front of him. He immediately activated Holy Light, and a gigantic light shield was formed. Next, following a loud BAM, an enormous pressure swarmed towards him against his shield. He was forced to retreat like a bullet shot.

    Evidently, Lin Li¡¯s words hadpletely enraged Osric. Although this was just a fake Osric, he had the same pride as the real one.

    ¡°You¡¯ll pay for your words!¡± Osric¡¯s body shed, and he immediately caught up with Lin Li. As a brilliance erupted from his magic staff, another string of powerful magic shot towards Lin Li like a thunderstorm.

    Light and Darkness alternated on Lin Li¡¯s body. Utilizing both the power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, Lin Li was able to put up multipleyers of defense to withstand Osric¡¯s crazy attacks. Lin Li almost didn¡¯t stop anywhere; he was like a bouncing ball, flying everywhere in the sky under these crazy magic spells.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t stop with his nasty words. Under all the loud collisions, Osric could still hear his mocking voice. ¡°Too bad, you¡¯re far below the real Osric. Your abilities are like a pile of dog shiet. Once the real Osric haspletely awakened, your ending will be to be his nutrients. You aren¡¯t even considered his ve! How pitiful!¡±

    Osric didn¡¯t respond to Lin Li¡¯s words, but his magic attacks became more violent. With the Immortal King, Osric was the true ruler of this world, the true god. All the power in this world was owned by him. Unless the world copsed, his mana would never be exhausted.

    Osric wasn¡¯t a person who would lose the rity of his mind easily. However, Lin Li¡¯s words were like a sharp knife stabbing into his heart continuously. With his pride, how could he ept the fact that he was just a counterfeit that was created to be the nutrients of another?

    In fact, Lin Li had said all these things because of his understanding of Osric¡¯s personality. Even if this was just a portion of Osric¡¯s will, the immense pride and arrogance of the fake Osric was still the same. In this world, this part of Osric¡¯s will hadn¡¯t had any interaction with the original body for over 1000 years. How could it not produce its own will? He probably couldn¡¯t ept the fact that his entire existence was for the sake of someone else.

    Under Osric¡¯s frantic attacks, Lin Li, who had been flying everywhere, suddenly stilled. The Light and Darkness on his body increased in intensity exponentially, and he shouted, ¡°Enough, you should rest now!¡±

    Of course, Osric wouldn¡¯t stop his attack just because of Lin Li¡¯s words. However, he realized that he had lost connection to this world totally when he tried to cast his spells again. To make matters worse, not only had he lost this grasp of World Rules, he couldn¡¯t evenmunicate with the magical elements anymore.

    As the magic storm stopped, Lin Li¡¯s body was revealed, and he stared at Osric, who was forced to stop his attack. Lin Li heaved a sigh of relief. His judgment was indeed right.

    Just then, strange items floated in the air around Osric. The items included a translucent spear, a little tree branch with young leaves, a block of light blue ice cube, a red me, and a sharp arrow sizzling with electricity. These items, together with the white sphere and ck sphere in Lin Li¡¯s hands, were the seven pieces of debris of the stars: Nothingness, Rebirth, Pr Snow, Raging mes, Thunderbolt, Holy Light, and Gloomy Dark.

    These seven pieces were connected by Lin Li¡¯s mental strength and arranged into a magic array that was unseen in this world. Rather, this couldn¡¯t even be considered a magic array, as it didn¡¯t possess any element of that. Its power was derived from amunication with Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, defusing seamlessly into one and creating a space rtively independent from this world.

    The seven pieces of debris of the stars used to be the Immortal King¡¯s weapons. Lin Li had wondered what kind of connection there was between the basic rules the Immortal King had used to create this world and the rules in the seven pieces of debris of the stars. In the battle earlier, be it the Light and Darkness Sword or Judgment Day, they were all Lin Li experimenting to test his hypothesis.

    Through these experiments, Lin Li finally realized that World Rules the Immortal King had used to create this world were the same as those of the seven pieces of debris of the stars. Thus, the seven pieces of debris of the stars were the origin of this word, and their power was the origin force.

    Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t control the whole world that the Immortal King had created through the seven pieces of debris of the stars, he could make others lose control of it. However, he couldn¡¯t release the seven pieces of debris of the stars just like that, or Osric would snatch them away. He could only seize the opportunity that he was being thrown in all directions by Osric¡¯s attacks to infuse the pieces of debris of the stars into the World Rules. He could do that because the World Rules were based on the rules in the seven pieces of debris of the stars. Thus, infusing them into the World Rules couldn¡¯t get the attention of even Osric.

    Finally, after everything was arranged in position, Lin Li activated the powers of all seven pieces, forming a space thatpletely annulled the World Rules. In this space with no World Rules, even the simplest magic could not be cast, not to mention Osric¡¯s magic that made use of World Rules directly.

    At the same time, as the seven pieces of debris of the stars were controlled by Lin Li, he wasn¡¯t affected very much by this nullification of World Rules, even though Osric had lost all his powers in this space. The space that the seven pieces of debris of the stars had constructed already had the basic shape of a world, but it still relied more on the power of this world. If he had left his world, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to construct such a space with his current abilities.

    ¡°This... Who are you exactly? Why do you have these?!¡± Osric was the Immortal King¡¯s student, so he was familiar with the weapons his teacher had used before.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t answer Osric. Holy Light and Gloomy Dark flew out of his hand. Under the control of Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, the powers of seven pieces of debris of the stars were released simultaneously, shooting towards Osric. Without any agonizing shriek, Osric¡¯s body disintegrated in a sh, turning into the most fundamental nano form.

    As Osric was dying, a bright spot suddenly escaped from the powers of the seven pieces of debris of the stars, preparing to escape in some direction. Lin Li was very well aware of what was going on in this space he had constructed, and immediately pinpointed that escaping light spot.

    Without any hesitation, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength formed a huge, trapping that light spot in and dragging it into his own mental space. Once that light spot had entered, Lin Li immediately felt an immense amount of information flooding his brain. It was the same feeling as when he had first got the Sky Castle¡¯s control crystal.

    The majority of the information was actually therge amount of experience Osric had gathered in the 1000-odd years as well as many secrets of this world.

    When he had first put part of his will here, Osric probably didn¡¯t expect all his efforts to end up benefiting someone else. After absorbing most of the information from that light spot, Lin Li had a much clearer understanding of the ultimate domain¡ªthe world.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s current abilities were insufficient to create his own ultimate domain world, he was able to create a Magical Domain more powerful than most Sanctuary powerhouses after absorbing the information. In addition, as this world that the Immortal King had created was built upon the rules of the seven pieces of debris of the stars, Lin Li¡¯s control over the pieces reached a new height after absorbing the said information.

    However, now wasn¡¯t the time to parse all this information. Although Osric had been killed, the battle in nna was still ongoing. In face of the crazy attacks from the High Elven Magic Legion, the expedition was in a crisis now.

    While Lin Li didn¡¯t care about the life and death of those from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam, he had to care about his men from the Tower of Dusk. Moreover, he had wanted these two factions to serve as cannon fodder. Thus, he briefly consolidated his thought and called back the seven pieces of debris of the stars. In a sh, this body was transported back to the sky of nna.

    As the battlefield, nna was almost torn into ruins now. Its prosperity and grandeur from before the battle were nowhere to be found. Other than the two battling parties, residents of all races scampered in all directions in fear. Innocent deaths were not few.

    Lin Li¡¯s return had undoubtedly raised the morale of the expedition. Even those from the Rotterdam now saw Lin Li as a savior. As for the High Elves, after they saw that Osric didn¡¯te back, their morale dampened considerably, even though they couldn¡¯t believe that the highlord would fail.

    As a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li¡¯s only true opponent was Osric. These High Elves at the peak of Legendary-realm didn¡¯t have any chance against Lin Li.

    With the addition of a Sanctuary powerhouse, the battle ended quickly. These High Elves had managed to escape the war at the end of the Dark Age, but they didn¡¯t escape their fate of death. As thest High Elf was beheaded, the world was quiet again, and the expedition all copsed onto the ground.

    After a moment of rest, Archbishop Martin struggled toe towards Lin Li, and asked, ¡°Master Felic, what do you wish to do with these remaining High Elves?¡±

    ording to the information, there were still other High Elves scattered around the world other than those they had killed in nna, managing colonies of ves like this one. If time permitted, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind dealing with all of them so that he could free all the enved races in the world. However, the true Osric was still fighting for the Sky Castle¡¯s control now. Although Lin Li had the heart to do so, he couldn¡¯t afford to waste any more time here.

    Lin Li thought for a moment and looked at the condition of the expedition. He replied, ¡°Rest here first. If any High Elfes here when we are resting, then we¡¯ll deal with him. As for the rest, we can only decideter.¡±

    Lin Li was very clear that Archbishop Martin had asked him this question because he wanted to get more followers. After all, the poption in this world was considerable. ording to that High Elf¡¯s memories, it had about half as many people as the Fn Kingdom. However, if Lin Li managed to gain control of the Sky Castle, this world would be his. Then, this could totally serve as a talent reserve base.

 Chapter 958 - Undead Creature Laboratory

    <h4>Chapter 958: Undead Creature Laboratory</h4>

    Although humans and other races basically were nowcking in power because they had been ruled by the High Elves for a long time, there were definitely a few talents among millions of people.

    Although Lin Li had returned in time, the High Elves¡¯ Magic Legion was, after all, too overbearing, and the three forces had suffered damage of varying extent. The losses of the Rotterdam Kingdom should have been the greatest as almost none of their Alchemy Colossuses wasplete. Most of them had to undergo major repairs; in fact, there were even a few that could no longer be repaired. There were more than 10 Holy Light Knights and Priests who had been killed at the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s side. Almost all of them were injured, and a third of their members were severely wounded.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was not unscathed, either. There were also some mages who had been killed in action, and four of the Death Knights had their soul firepletely extinguished. Even Connoris had sustained a few wounds on his strong, perfect body. However, all in all, his strength was not affected much, and he was much stronger than the other two forces.

    That situation also made the other two forces feel particrly jealous, especially Donald of the Rotterdam Kingdom who looked at the Alchemy Colossuses that had been destroyed. He then looked at theplete team of the Tower of Dusk, feeling an urge to cry. In particr, Lin Li did not look like he had suffered a loss, which made Donald feel disappointed.

    In Donald¡¯s opinion, Lin Li had to have been able to kill Osric while remaining unscathed because Osric was just too weak. If he had not changed his n back then, or let the teams of the Tower of Dusk and Brilliance Shrine deal with the High Elves instead while he dealt with Osric, he would definitely have had an easier time now.

    ¡°Damn it, that staff in Osric¡¯s hand must be excellent magical equipment. Unfortunately, that guy Felic got it. If we were the ones to deal with Osric...¡± Kanber clearly had the same thoughts as Donald. Heined to Donald after going to him.

    Kanber was still thinking about the staff in Osric¡¯s hand, but he didn¡¯t know that the so-called superior-grade staff had long been reduced to ashes together with Osric using the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s better to keep some things to yourself. The Tower of Dusk did not suffer much loss with their current power. On the other hand, almost all of our Alchemy Colossuses can no longer be used.¡± Upon hearing Kanber¡¯sints, Donald got a great shock as well even though he thought the same.

    Although there were also Mages and Warriors in the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, the Alchemy Colossus was their greatest reliance. However, at this moment, going against the Tower of Dusk was clearly akin to courting death.

    Hearing Donald¡¯s reminder, Kanber couldn¡¯t help but shiver. He turned to look at Lin Li and the team from the Tower of Dusk with some greed and resentment in his eyes, and he turned around to sit on the ground.

    After reminding Kanber, Donald looked at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, and began to get a little distracted. He could not think of how a quiet and unknown force like them could possess such terrifying strength. He was very clear that the Tower of Dusk had not got up to any sly or dirty tricks in the battle just now. In fact, they had taken down nearly half of the High Elves on their own. However, the result was that the Tower of Dusk had suffered the least damage. Although a few of their mages had also died in action, their losses were nothingpared to the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s.

    Of course, Donald also knew that that did not mean that the Tower of Dusk was stronger than the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom. However, if the team of the Tower of Dusk were to attack them, they would have no means to retaliate at all. There were three or four Legendary powerhouses in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Connoris could even fight two Legendary powerhouses on his own. Actually, judging from the situation when they first entered the Sky Castle, he reckoned that even if his Alchemy Colossuses were not damaged, it would probably be difficult for them to get any advantage over them.

    If they were close partners, it would obviously be better if the Tower of Dusk was stronger. However, the partnership between the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk had clearly not reached that point yet. Donald couldn¡¯t help but be worried. If he found the target of the exploration this time, and Lin Li wanted a share too, it would be troublesome.

    The expedition rested for three days in nna City. During those three days, they had killed some more High Elves that had arrived. However, everyone knew that those High Elves were by no means all of the remaining High Elves in this world. Besides, they also used those three days to search Osric¡¯s pce. They managed to find plenty of Osric¡¯s items from his collection.

    However, to Lin Li who had explored Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the collection of the phony Osric was clearly inferior. Of course, to the others, the collection was enough to make up for their losses.

    After three days of rest and recuperation, the expedition had almost recovered its strength. The three parties discussed what to do next, and decided to leave this world, especially under Lin Li¡¯s insistence. The exit of this world was in the depths of Osric¡¯s pce. It was actually the passage through which Osric ced a portion of his willpower back then.

    However, the exit could not be used by just anyone. Only those who had mastered the World Laws would be able to open the exit. After resting for three days, Lin Li finally absorbed most of the information from the portion of Osric¡¯s willpower that he had devoured.

    After Lin Li finished chanting his incantation, a ck vortex-shaped door slowly opened in the depths of the pce, and the expedition got into a defensive stance as they made their way through the door attentively. After passing through the gate, the crowd discovered that they were actually back in the Central Tower. However, they could tell from the surrounding decorations that it did not seem to be the same ce that they had been in before entering the world.

    However, as the expedition was scanning their surroundings, there was a sudden roar filled with endless rage. The roar made everyone get chills in the depths of their souls. It was as if invisible fear had filled their souls.

    <i>It¡¯s Osric!</i> When Lin Li heard the roar, his first reaction was to think of the highlord who was hiding somewhere. However, the aura apanying that roar made Lin Li doubt his conjecture.

    When Lin Li had first explored the Sky Castle, he had had a brief contact with the Ghost, and when he had explored Osric¡¯s mausoleum, he had another battle with the perfect body controlled by Osric. Three days ago, he had fought hard with the phony highlord who had a portion of Osric¡¯s willpower in the world created by the Immortal King. Lin Li was not particrly familiar with Osric¡¯s aura, but the aura apanying that roar was unfamiliar to him.

    ¡°Connoris, did you sense anything?¡± With those doubts in mind, Lin Li turned around to question Connoris. After all, Connoris¡¯ perfect body should have a more urate sense of Osric¡¯s aura.

    However, when he heard Lin Li¡¯s question, Connoris couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. With a look of apprehension, he said, ¡°Did that voice... belong to Osric?¡±

    ¡°Other than us and him, is there anything else that exists in this Sky Castle? It sounds like something happened at Osric¡¯s side. Otherwise, things wouldn¡¯t have be like this.¡± That was the only conjecture Lin Li could make without any clues.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin and Donald also went over and asked Lin Li about the source of that voice. Their hearts were still racing because of the previous battle, and the inexplicable roar of anger naturally made them particrly nervous.

    However, in the face of Archbishop Martin¡¯s and Donald¡¯s question, Lin Li could not give them a definitive answer at the moment, and could only reassure them a little so that they wouldn¡¯t be too nervous.

    Next, the expedition carefully searched the entire space on that floor, but they did not manage to find anything valuable. In the end, they arrived in front of a door. It was a door with a ck vortex in the middle. Clearly, it would lead to a bizarre ce again because there was no exit on the entire floor.

    Faced with this situation, the senior executives of the three forces did not talk much, and decided to enter the door to continue investigating. However, because of the previous reasons, everyone in the team knew about the danger in the Sky Castle, so they dared not belittle it at all. They knew that every step that they took in this Sky Castle would determine if they lived or died.

    The expedition regrouped. As usual, the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses were fighting in front. Everyone was on guard, and they stepped through the door with the ck vortex.

    The moment they did, they felt as if they had been put through a Teleportation Portal as their surroundings became warped. However, when the scene behind the gate was presented before them, almost everyone¡¯s face instantly turned pale.

    <i>What kind of a world is this? The skies are gray and there are grayish white skeletons everywhere. The space is filled with intense death aura as well.</i> Clearly, it was another space that was rted to Undead creatures. The oppressive feeling that the entire space brought to them was far beyond that of the space created by the Double-Realm Psychic Towers.

    ¡°This... is the Immortal King¡¯sboratory!¡± A portion of Osric¡¯s memory appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind. He immediately thought of the background of the terrifying and oppressive ce.

    When he had first explored the Sky Castle, Lin Li had visited the Immortal King¡¯s alchemyboratory, only to realize that it had long been plundered by Osric, who had only left behind some not too valuable items as well as 20 alchemy puppets.

    The Immortal King used the Undead creatureboratory for testing Necromagic spells. In fact, it might be more appropriate to call it an experimental field rather than aboratory.

    It was simply a world of the Undead creatures which looked simr to the previous world. There were just as many mountains, rivers, and thick forests, but there were endless Undead creatures that almost upied the entire world.

    After the expedition appeared, the Undead creatures immediately got into an uproar as they surged towards the expedition endlessly like a flood. The ones in front were the Skeletal Warriors which were surprisingly simr to the ones that had been strengthened by Gloomy Dark in the Scar of Death. Each of them had strength that was nearly level-10.

    However, the more terrifying thing was that the movements of the Skeletal Warriors were not as shaky as people remembered them¡ªeach one resembled an actual human Warrior, leaping and running about agilely. Based on that alone, the strength of those Skeletal Warriors should be enough to be increased further by a huge margin. Perhaps each Skeletal Warrior would be enough to deal with 10 ordinary Skeletal Warriors.

    Facing the wave of Skeletal Warriors, the expedition did not need to consider anything else at all. Their only option was to fight the Skeletal Warriors head-on.

    The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team were in front. Normally, it would not take much energy for the Alchemy Colossuses to deal with Skeletal Warriors, as they would simply crush them with their feet, but that did not work here. Even though they crushed plenty of Skeletal Warriors and turned them into powder, most of the Skeletal Warriors managed to jump and climb up therge bodies of the Alchemy Colossuses thanks to their agility.

    Not long after the Alchemy Colossuses came in contact with the Skeletal Warriors, therge Alchemy Colossuses were covered with Skeletal Warriors crawling over them, making them turn into moving hills of Skeletal Warriors. Those with poor willpower might even throw up their dinner from the night before at this sight. Besides, after hanging off the Alchemy Colossuses, the Skeletal Warriors continuously shed the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ outer shells with their swords.

    ¡°Damn it, are these still Skeletal Warriors? What was that Immortal King researching? How did he create such a perverted thing!?¡± No one could calm down at the sight before them, but when they turned around, they discovered that that door had long vanished.

 Chapter 959 - World Of Skeletons

    <h4>Chapter 959: World Of Skeletons</h4>

    The main reason that the Skeletal Warriors would be cannon fodder of the Undead was that their movements were stiff and sluggish, and they had little to no offensive power. Even a farmer would be able to deal with a Skeletal Warrior alone as long as he could ovee his fear of Undead creatures. However, those Skeletal Warriors were behaving far more outstandingly than elite human soldiers. They were like psychopaths.

    Even the Skeletal Warriors, which were the cannon fodder of the Undead creatures, were incredibly outstanding. What would the Undead creatures that were superior to the Skeletal Warriors be like here!? At the thought of this question, everyone was dismayed.

    Although the team from the Brilliance Shrine was part of the expedition, and dealing with Undead creatures was their forte, even Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but put on a sullen expression when he thought about the time when they were dealing with the Undead creatures summoned by the Double-Realm Psychic Towers.

    There was a massive army of endless Undead creatures that were all over the mountains and wilderness. There were definitely more numerouspared to the previous battle. Even if the Undead creatures did not resist, and allowed them to kill them, they probably would not even be able to finish killing all of them, not to mention that they were extremely powerful.

    ¡°Master Felic, what should we do next!?¡± Archbishop Martin asked Lin Li with an anxious face. Looking at the current situation, he knew that it was definitely worse than before. However, they could at least get by by destroying the Double-Realm Psychic Towers before, and there were no Double-Realm Psychic Towers for them to destroy here. Did they really have to annihte all the Undead creatures?

    ¡°President Felic, didn¡¯t you use a magical weapon to kill the peak-Legendary-level High Elf in a moment previously? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s still usable, but I believe that with that magical weapon, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to kill these Undead creatures even if we have to wipe all of them out.¡± Donald seemed to be raising an idea, but in reality, he was trying to see through Lin Li. He wanted to know if that magical weapon could still be used, or what the consequence of using it was.

    However, Lin Li did not answer Donald¡¯s question. He simply looked at him before saying to everyone, ¡°No matter what we¡¯ll do next, get the team moving first. We can¡¯t stay trapped here. Otherwise, the number of Undead creatures will increase, and then the team will be unable to move an inch at all. Even if we cane up with a solution, we won¡¯t be able to put it to use if that happens.¡±

    ¡°Use all the items that you can now. Even if we leave, where can we go? What if we get further and further away when the timees?¡± Kanber was clearly displeased about the fact that Lin Li did not answer Donald¡¯s question. However, he also knew that he could not make it too obvious.

    However, Lin Li did not bother with Kanber¡¯sints at all. Instead, he turned to look at Archbishop Martin. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Archbishop Martin had already started following Lin Li¡¯s instructions. After all, Lin Li was the Son of The Holy Light who could cast the Judgment Day spell. In terms of status, he was superior to Archbishop Martin.

    Hence, as soon as he saw Lin Li looking over, Archbishop Martin immediately understood, and did not question Lin Li¡¯s decision anymore. He turned to look at the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team and gave them instructions.

    Donald did not understand anything about the Son of The Holy Light. Hence, he was incredibly astonished to see that Archbishop Martin had agreed so readily. He frantically asked, ¡°Archbishop Martin, are you agreeing to his arrangements without asking any further questions?¡±

    Although the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom were extremely narcissistic, and looked down on people and forces outside the Rotterdam Kingdom, Donald knew that the Brilliance Shrine was one of the top forces of the world. As one of the four archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, Archbishop Martin was second only to Pope Rosario, and was a respected figure. How could heply and follow the instructions of the leader of a small force?

    ¡°Master Donald, think about it. So far, has Master Felic made any wrong decisions? Don¡¯t go on further. If you¡¯re willing, just follow Master Felic¡¯s instructions.¡± Archbishop Martin did not exin any further, and simply expressed his trust in Lin Li.

    After hearing Archbishop Martin¡¯s words, Donald was left with no other choice. Archbishop Martin¡¯s attitude made it clear that Donald could choose to either go along with it or part ways with them. Under such circumstances, no matter what trump cards the Tower of Dusk might have, leaving the team of the Brilliance Shrine which was the best at dealing with Undead creatures meant that they would probably be drowned by the Undead creatures in no time.

    Hence, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom stayed in front, while the Holy Light Knights of the Brilliance Shrine protected the team on the nks. The mages of the Tower of Dusk conducted a remote wipeout, while the Death Knights guarded the back. The expedition was like a boat in a thunderstorm, struggling to trudge forward amidst the tide of Undead creatures.

    However, just like what they were worried about, fireballs emerged from the depths of the army of Undead creatures when the team was slowly advancing, sting at the army of Undead creatures. Although the fireballs were not extremely powerful, and could not cause substantial damage to the expedition, all their enemies were Undead creatures. Even if there were Undead creatures that could cast magic, they should be casting Necromagic spells. How could elemental magic appear!?

    However, they soon discovered that there were not only fireballs, but also Wind des, Ice Spears, and Ground Spikes. Although they were all beginner-level magic spells, they were associated with the Undead creatures there, which gave them chills. The Undead creatures actually knew how to cast Elemental magic spells. Could that be a result of the Immortal King¡¯s research? In that case, how sick would the higher-level Undead creatures there be!?

    After killing batch after batch of Skeletal Warriors, the expedition finally saw the Undead creatures that could cast beginner-level elemental magic spells. They were a group of Hell Ghouls that varied in color. Like the Skeletal Warriors, the Hell Ghouls were also cannon fodder among Undead creatures. However, they often ranked above the Skeletal Warriors because they were ranged attackers.

    The ability of the average Hell Ghoul was initially just casting Hellfire Bombs. That was also a type of beginner-level Necromagic spell. However, those colorful Hell Ghouls were casting all sorts of beginner-level elemental magic spells.

    Upon seeing that, the people in the expedition couldn¡¯t help but think, <i>The Hell Ghouls are already casting all sorts of beginner-level elemental magic spells. Will the Skeletal Mages cast mid- to high-level elemental magic?</i>

    It was soon proven that they had made the correct guess, even though it was not a good thing for them. The fact that the Undead creatures could cast elemental magic spells meant that Holy Light Magic no longer had the additional effect that it originally had in terms of defense like when facing Necromagic. Initially, Holy Light Magic would at least have a restraining effect on the Undead creatures because of its purifying effect. However, not only did they lose their original advantage, they in turn had to be restrained by the Undead creatures.

    In the Magic System of Anril, there was a rather crudew that Holy Light Magic would restrain Necromagic, which restrained Elemental Magic, yet Elemental Magic restrained Holy Light Magic. Of course, the restraint was affected by many other factors, and it was not necessarily absolutely urate. However, ording to the verification of many magic schrs, thew was true even though it was not that obvious at times.

    However, the expedition was now facing a massive number of Undead creatures that could almost be considered endless. The Elemental Magic cast by tens of thousands of Undead creatures would definitely pose a threat to the expedition even if they were only low-level elemental magic spells, which could not be ignored.

    The only thing to be thankful for might be that the damage that the Holy Light Magic caused to the Undead creatures did not seem to be reduced because of the elemental magic. Hence, facing such a situation, the expedition quickly changed their tactic. A portion of the mages joined the defense, and the priests became the main ranged attackers.

    The tactical change had worked a little, but the Undead creatures that the expedition was facing were simply too numerous. They could not kill all of them at all. Under the siege of the army of Undead creatures, the expedition couldn¡¯t but slow down in their advance. They went from taking a step every minute to taking a step every 10 minutes.

    ¡°These Undead creatures can¡¯t be killed at all. How much longer are we going to keep killing them!?¡± The people from the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team panicked. After all, the Alchemy Colossuses were in front.

    Although the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ defense meant they would not be destroyed by the Undead creatures that quickly, they consumed a huge amount of power with each step that they took forward, as if they were pushing a mountain. It had been half an hour since they entered this world, but they only managed to cover a short distance. However, the Alchemy Colossuses required swapping their power magical crystals.

    The Alchemy Colossuses were massive constructs that seemed oppressive and had powerful defensive and offensive power. However, if they did not have any energy, they would just be piles of scrap metal. Fortunately, during their previous exploration, the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom had also gotten plenty of magical crystals. Otherwise, their Alchemy Colossuses would have all been crippled in the previous world.

    However, even with therge number of magical crystals that they had obtained, there would still be a time when they ran out of them, especially now that they could not see the possibility of getting out of this predicament. No one knew how long they would have to fight in this world with the infinite army of Undead creatures. Even if they possessed more magical crystals, they would have to use them sparingly. After all, they knew that their valuey in the Alchemy Colossuses. If they did not have the Alchemy Colossuses, the other two teams would immediately abandon them.

 Chapter 960 - Sea Of Undead Creatures

    <h4>Chapter 960: Sea Of Undead Creatures</h4>

    ¡°Master Felic, we really can¡¯t go on like this,¡± Archbishop Martin said worriedly when he walked to Lin Li¡¯s side. After all, the cooperation between the Tower of Dusk and the Rotterdam Kingdom happened because of him. Hence, now that the two forces were clearly not going to deal with it, he could only be the bridge of themunication now.

    Lin Li still respected Archbishop Martin quite a lot. Hence, after hearing the question, he pointed at the front of the team. He said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, do you see that ce shrouded in a shadow? ording to the movement direction of the Undead creatures, it¡¯s likely that that might be the source of the Undead creatures. Since this world is the Immortal King¡¯s Undeadboratory, that ce might be the key to how we get out of here.¡±

    ¡°What!? Go to the source of the Undead creatures? Don¡¯t you think there¡¯re enough Undead creatures already!?¡± Before Archbishop Martin could say anything, Kanber from the Rotterdam Kingdom had already begun yelling.

    Indeed, ording to the thought process of ordinary people, one would naturally have to leave towards the periphery of the Undead creatures in order to break free from the siege of the Undead creatures. If they were to head towards the source of the Undead creatures, it would be the same as sending themselves to the lion¡¯s den. They would only end up sinking further and further into the army of Undead creatures.

    However, as Lin Li said, that was the ce where the Immortal King would experiment with Necromagic. Besides, it was very likely that the Undead creatures had been created by the Immortal King. Hence, the same ce where the Immortal King would experiment with Necromagic should be the origin of the Undead creatures. That was the only ce where they could find the information left behind by the Immortal King, which would most likely contain some tips for leaving this world.

    Archbishop Martin did not have any doubts at all about Lin Li¡¯s decision, just like before. Regardless of how reluctant the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom were, they could not leave on their own anyway. They could only apany the rest obediently as if they had been kidnapped and held captive on a boat.

    In reality, although Donald and Kanber were displeased, feeling like they had been kidnapped, they carefully thought about Lin Li¡¯s opinion, and knew that that was indeed the only way out for the expedition given the current situation. After all, staying put at the same spot and preserving the status quo might seem safer, but they would have no hope of leaving this ce. Was it really possible to kill all the endless Undead creatures?

    Hence, Kanber and Donald were not really bent on opposing. Anyway, they were all now tied to the same rope with the rest. If they were going to die, they would die together. However, due to their arrogance, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom were not willing to follow themands of an unknown, insignificant figure.

    Fortunately, Archbishop Martin was acting as a middleman. He was advanced in age, and could be considered old and cunning. He managed to give the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom an out without causing more tension.

    The expedition was painstakingly advancing towards the source of the Undead creatures like a small boat that was traveling against the tide. Not only were they extremely slow, they also looked like they were about to be overturned by a wave at any moment. The expedition consisted of the elites of the three forces which dominated Anril. However, the ones who brought them trouble were just Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, and other low-level Undead creatures.

    There was one thing about the strange and unusual Undead creatures that was the same as what everyone remembered, and that was that they were unafraid of death. They did not know what death was at all. However, that was not a good thing for the expedition. Being fearless of death, coupled with their flexibility and various special abilities, meant the resistance that the Undead creatures mounted against the expedition was truly iparable to what the Undead creatures summoned by the Double-Realm Psychic Towers had amounted to.

    The members of the expedition could totally imagine how the Undead creatures would sweep across Anril tyrannically, and cause it to sink into infinite darkness. At the thought of it, everyone in the expedition couldn¡¯t help but shiver. They also couldn¡¯t help but have a doubt in mind. What did the Immortal King create so many Undead creatures for? Did he n to attack Anril?

    After all, legend had it that the Immortal King merely disappeared, and there was no evidence to prove his downfall. People had even associated the God of Mages Geresco¡¯s departure with the Immortal King. They said that Geresco had probably left Anril to hunt down the Immortal King in the endless chaos of time and space.

    There were remnants of the High Elves in that world, which the High Elves imed was theirst refuge, as well as the Immortal King¡¯s proud disciple Osric. There was a massive army of Undead creatures in that world that was enough to dominate Anril. If those two matters were linked together, they definitely had to worry about just what the Immortal King was thinking!

    Of course, the expedition was not worried for long. After all, their survival was uncertain. What they should really consider now was how they should preserve their lives.

    Although their capability was one of the reasons that the expedition could survive until now, the most important reason was that there was a smaller surface area of contact between them and the army of Undead creatures. No matter how many Undead creatures there were, they would not be able to attack the expedition at the same time. They would only be in touch with the area surrounding the team. Besides, the Skeletal Mages that were attacking from afar were still using low-level magic spells, after all. They could not really pose a threat to the expedition.

    However, as the expedition advanced towards the source of the Undead creatures, they would have to face the reality, which they could not escape.

    The Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, and Skeletal Mages might be incredibly strong, but they were still only cannon fodder-level existences among the Undead creatures at the end of the day. If the expedition continued to stay in the periphery of the world for a long period of time, they would basically face the siege of the Skeletal Warriors, Hell Ghouls, and Skeletal Mages.

    However, now that the expedition was going in the opposite direction of what would be deemed logical, it meant that they were approaching the high-level Undead creatures behind the Skeletal Warriors since they were moving closer to the source.

    Although the expedition was advancing rather slow under the huge resistance, they were still continuously moving forward, after all. Besides, due to the fact that everyone all had some hopes about Lin Li¡¯s suggestion, they went all out and advanced faster.

    Initially, the higher-level Undead creatures would not be bothered to intervene unless the cannon-fodder-level Undead creatures were destroyed to a certain extent. However, the expedition was sending themselves to the Undead creatures by doing so.

    At first, the people of the expedition could only see Skeletal Warriors and other low-level Undead creatures when they looked over. Hence, no one thought about it that way. Lin Li had long thought of that, but he did not tell the others about it lest they got too frightened, and stopped instead of moving forward.

    When the expedition continuously advanced to the source of the tide of Undead creatures, leaving their original location, and reached a distance of about one kilometer away, hordes of Vampires appeared. That finally reminded them that there were more than just Skeletal Warriors there. In fact, even the Vampires were only mid-level Undead creatures. The Liches which mastered the power of death and Humerus Wyrms were the strongest.

    The Vampires that flew over from afar were covering the sky like gray clouds. There were probably up to 10,000 of them. The pping of their wings sounded in unison, and seemed to cover up all other sounds in the world. They were so terrifying that everyone got chills.

    ¡°Damn it, why are there so many Vampires!?¡± The people of the expedition could not help but cry out as they looked at the approaching dark clouds. Even the elites who had been through strict and tough training looked rather helpless. The Vampires were not something that the Skeletal Warriors couldpare to!

    Generally speaking, Skeletal Warriors could only reach level-5, and with their stiff and sluggish movements, as well as their silliness, even a farmer who did not know anybat techniques would be able to fight one of them alone if he were brave enough and did not have any health issues.

    Although the Skeletal Warriors in this world had grown far more capable than everyone had imagined under the nurturing of the Immortal King, everyone found them to be tough to deal with because their actions were almost as flexible as normal people¡¯s. In reality, their highest level was just level-10, and most of them were about level-7 or level-8.

    Level-10 could be considered the limit of the Skeletal Warriors. After all, they were just skeletons which did not know how to cast magic. No matter how they grew, it was impossible for them to break through level-10.

    However, as mid-level Undead creatures, the weakest of Vampires were at least level-10, and could reach up to the peak of the level-15. Although they were restrained by their bloodline, and would not go beyond level-15, where were they now? The Immortal King might have tampered with their bodies. Even the Skeletal Warriors that originally could only reach level-5 had already reached level-10. How could they treat the Vampires normally?

    Although not all Vampires were as lucky as Norfeller, who could consume the fresh blood of a wyrm, the Green Dragons, and the Icest Wyrm Sindera, the Immortal King was an impable character who could even create a world. How could he not be able to resolve such a small issue?

    More importantly, the strength of Vampires was not something that could simply be measured by level. The Vampires were known as born Assassins, and one of the most important reasons for that was their speed that was truly like lightning. Besides, while having such incredible speed, they also had astonishing strength and power. They could tear apart strong and solid steel armor with just their sharp ws.

 Chapter 961 - Undead Demons

    <h4>Chapter 961: Undead Demons</h4>

    However, if one were to treat a Vampire as a Warrior and an Assassin, they would soon face their doom. Vampires had the speed of Assassins and the power of Warriors. At the same time, they were also extremely proficient in some Dark Magic. Hence, despite being on the same level, Vampires were still terrifying opponents of humans.

    The ck clouds which were formed by the ck bats soon flew above the expedition, after which the ck bats turned into humanoid form, screaming as they pounced onto the members of the expedition like bolts of ck lightning.

    The Skeletal Warriors were only surrounding the expedition in a single ring. The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom, the Holy Light Knights of the Brilliance Shrine, and the Death Knights of the Tower of Dusk were blocking and resisting them. No matter how strong and powerful the modified Skeletal Warriors were, they would not be able to break through the defense of the expedition.

    However, Vampires were different. They flew directly above the expedition, and plunged straight into the inner circle of the group. The center of the team was full of people from professions like Priests and Mages. If the Vampires rushed in, the expedition would probably be in serious trouble.

    At the sight of this, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others began to panic. There were tens of thousands of Vampires, and they were falling down like rain. Even though they were Legendary powerhouses who were at the pinnacle of the realm, they could not quite block the Vampires and keep them away.

    ¡°President Felic, hurry and use that magical weapon of yours. You can¡¯t let those Vampires rush in!¡± Donald was a little anxious, and he remembered the magical weapon that Lin Li had used back then to instantaneously kill a High Elf at the peak of the Legendary-level. However, he did not want to probe Lin Li this time. Instead, he really hoped that Lin Li could use that magical weapon to resolve the crisis before them.

    However, Lin Li did not take out that mysterious and powerful magical weapon again as Donald had hoped. Without even looking at the sky, he instead calmly said, ¡°Ujfalusi, Norfeller, handle these Vampires.¡±

    Donald panicked when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words. There were tens of thousands of Vampires above them! Even if they were not high-level ones, the vast number was no longer something that could be stopped by one or two powerhouses. If Ujfalusi and Norfeller were Sanctuary powerhouses, Donald naturally would not be worried. However, the problem was that they were only powerhouses at the peak of level-24.

    Besides, the Undead creatures in this world were rather peculiar, and God knew what kind of special abilities those Vampires had. Donald was a Legendary-mage himself. He knew that even if there were 10 of himself, he would not even be able to block the Vampires seamlessly.

    There were tens of thousands of Vampires, not Skeletal Warriors. Even if thetter became extremely flexible, they would be about the same as ordinary people. Arge magic spell would be able to destroy arge number of them. However, the Vampires were as quick as lightning, and a single magic spell that a mage like him cast would be the same as throwing a stone into a pile of flies. The flies would merely disperse, and only a few would be killed.

    Donald felt that there were two possible reasons that Lin Li refused to use the magical weapon. One would be that it really could not be used for the time being, and the other was that Lin Li wanted to keep it as his trump card, and could not bear to use it now.

    Of the two possibilities, Donald undoubtedly believed the second one more. Hence, when he saw that Lin Li was not sparing a thought for everyone and looking at the bigger picture, he immediately anxiously said, ¡°President Felic, we¡¯re already at this juncture. Yet, you¡¯re still¡ª¡±

    However, a bloody rain suddenly began to fall from the sky before Donald could finish speaking, followed by countless corpses. The people from the Tower of Dusk were long prepared, and thus did not get stained by the blood at all. Meanwhile, the people from the Brilliance Shrine were shrouded in the light of purification which purified all the blood and corpses that touched them, turning them into ashes. Only most of the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team were caught off guard and drenched in that rain of blood, while broken pieces of flesh hung from their bodies.

    Donald was having it better. After all, he was a mage at the peak of the Legendary-realm. He gave himself ayer of magic shield to protect himself in time, shielding himself from the rain of blood and corpses falling from the sky. Afterward, he had no mind to pay to Lin Li. He looked up at the sky, only to get a great shock which caused his eyes to widen and his jaws to drop.

    In the sky, he saw that Norfeller was wielding a pair of daggers which emitted two rays of red light that were nearly two meters long as he moved at high speed. It looked like the Sword Sage¡¯s Storm. However, it was clearly several timesrger in scale. It almost covered the sky above the expedition.

    Tens of thousands of Vampires were falling from the sky like a ck funnel. However, Norfeller¡¯s Bloody Storm seemed to have be a meat grinder that blocked the bottom of the funnel, leaving the Vampires that were rushing downwards with no chance to exhibit their special abilities bestowed by the Immortal King at all. As soon as the Vampires touched the lights, they were instantly ground into pieces. None of them could dash through the Bloody Storm.

    Ujfalusi, who was riding the Humerus Wyrm and flying together with Norfeller, actually seemed to have nothing to do at the beginning.

    Of course, there were too many Vampires, and despite having peak-Legendary-level strength, Norfeller could not continue killing them. However, by the time Norfeller¡¯s Blood Storm was about to stop, Ujfalusi pointed his Skeleton Staff towards the sky. Thick corrosive and gloomy clouds immediately reced the Blood Storm, and covered the sky above the expedition.

    When the effects of the corrosive clouds weakened, Norfeller wielded his daggers again to create a Bloody Storm. Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants took turns to attack, thus shielding the sky above. In fact, they even seemed rather rxed.

    <i>Oh God, that¡¯s too terrifying!</i> Looking at the bloody massacre in the sky, Donald and the others could not help but feel a chill down their spines. Although powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary-level could also cast powerful attacks like the Bloody Storm and the Corrosive Cloud, it would be painstaking to cast them continuously.

    In fact, although it was true that Ujfalusi and Norfeller were much stronger than ordinary Legendary powerhouses at the pinnacle of the realm, the reason they could do that was undeniably also because of the environment there. Both of them were Undead creatures, and their power sources were the power of death and soul fire, which were precisely what this worldcked the least.

    Norfeller and Ujfalusi would indeed consume a rather huge amount of their own power by casting the Bloody Storm and the Corrosive Cloud, but they could obtain plenty of soul fire to replenish the energy that they had lost at the same time that they were killing the Undead creatures. They could also obtain arge surplus of soul fire and enjoy the replenishment of power of death that was everywhere in this world. Although the consumption was not negligible, it was still within an eptable range for them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop, keep going,¡± Lin Li said in a tone that was as calm as ever. He seemed to be unaffected by the bloody massacre in the sky.

    Faced with such a situation, everyone was speechless. The expedition continued to slowly advance towards their target despite the immense pressure. Norfeller and Ujfalusi were flying in the sky above the expedition and adjusting their positions while moving together with the team.

    Of course, not all of the Vampires were bent on breaking through their defense from Norfeller and Ujfalusi¡¯s side. There were also plenty of them who were avoiding the two of them,nding on the periphery of the expedition and mixing in with the Skeletal Warriors. However, the damage they could do to the expedition was far inferior to whatnding in the middle of the team would aplish.

    Even though the Vampires were much stronger than the Skeletal Warriors, there were far too many of them, and it was simrly almost impossible for them to break in through the periphery.

    The only thing that made the members of the expedition rather ufortable was the continuous blood rain and the broken bits of corpses that would hit their bodies every now and then. Although they had all been through harsh training, and were no strangers to bloodbaths, they were still ufortable.

    Apanied by the bloodbath, the expedition advanced towards their goal again. However, the area that was covered by the shadows in the distance seemed to be extremely distant. Despite Norfeller¡¯s and Ujfalusi¡¯s massacre, the Vampires did not decrease in number, and the clouds made up of Vampires could still be seen swarming in from the periphery.

    So far, the expedition might be in a tough and dangerous predicament where they were advancing slowly, but it seemed that as long as they advanced continuously, it would only be a matter of time before they reached the destination.

    However, the optimism in the hearts of the members of the expedition vanished like a bubble soon after it arose because of the appearance of a strange group of Undead creatures.

    The new Undead creatures were very tall, almost on par with the Alchemy Colossuses. They walked upright, with dagger-like fangs in their mouths, a pair of curved, pointed horns on their foreheads, a pair of bony wings on their backs, and a stubby tail that was wagging incessantly.

    ¡°T-these are the skeletons of Greater Demons from the Endless Abyss. How did they end up here!?¡± Archbishop Martin immediately shrieked in disbelief after seeing the bunch of tall andrge skeletons.

    Greater Demon was not a universal term for Abyssal Demons, but rather a specific race of Abyssal Demons. Although they mainly lived in the deepest part of the abyss, they often appeared in the top few floors too. Besides, they often appeared as Demon Lords that ruled all Abyssal Demons of the same floor.

    In the legends of Anril, there were often stories of demons tempting humans to sell their souls, and those things were actually the doings of the Greater Demons. Hence, ever since the Brilliance Shrine was established, they had dealt with Greater Demons several times before. Most of the purification taskspleted by the Court of Heresy had to do with Greater Demons.

    The reason that Archbishop Martin was actually surprised was not just because of the appearance of the Greater Demon skeletons, as the skeleton of any other Abyssal Demon would be unimaginable. It was because the souls of the Abyssal Demons all belonged to the Endless Abyss and the ancient demon deities that had created the Endless Abyss. There was no Necromancer in history who could turn Abyssal Demons into Undead creatures, as that would be tantamount to challenging the might and authority of the ancient demon deities.

    Archbishop Martin was not the only one who knew about that. In fact, almost everyone in the expedition did. The ancient demon deities were evil existences that could rival gods in myths. Based on the Endless Abyss that they had created, one could see how terrifying the power they possessed was. Fighting even an Abyssal Demon that was of the lowest level would be akin to fighting against the entire Endless Abyss, a price that no necromancer could afford.

    However, Lin Li knew that even Osric, who was a disciple of the Immortal King, had been able to delve deep into the Endless Abyss to kill Bk, the most powerful tyrant of the ancient demon deities. With the Immortal King¡¯s powerful abilities, he even killed the Dragon of Destruction, and dared to spheme even the true gods. How could he take the ancient demon deities seriously?

    No matter where those Undead Greater Demon came from, they had to face them since they were enemies. The Undead Greater Demons were about level-17 and level-18, and a few of them had reached the Legendary-level. Among the Undead creatures, they should be considered Undead Lords.

    Fortunately, this batch was small in number. There were probably only about a few hundred of them. Hence, they would not pose too much of a threat to the expedition yet.

    However, although the size of this batch wasn¡¯trge, a few more groups of Undead Greater Demons could be seen in the distance. They were moving quickly towards the team. If the expedition were to be surrounded by the Undead Greater Demons, it would be difficult to continue advancing, though they would not be destroyed. However, once the expedition stopped moving, they would eventually be overwhelmed by the Undead creatures. There was no other possible oue.

    ¡°President Felic...¡±

    ¡°Master Felic...¡±

    Donald and Archbishop Martin unanimously pinned their hopes on Lin Li again. It had already be a habit for them. If not for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, the expedition made up of the two forces¡¯ teams would not even have been able to pass the obstacle of the Undead Elemental Dragon. If they had been lucky, perhaps they would have been able to escape as ashes. If they had been out of luck, let alone making it this far, they would have been annihtedpletely.

    However, even at such a moment, Lin Li still did not take out the magical weapon that he had once used to kill the High Elf at the peak of the Legendary-level like Donald had hoped. That made Donald suspect whether that magical weapon could be used again.

 Chapter 962 - Legion Of Mages

    <h4>Chapter 962: Legion Of Mages</h4>

    After all, the previous battle between Lin Li and Osric happened rather far from the ground above nna City. Donald could not figure out how exactly Lin Li had killed Osric, and how many times Lin Li had used Thunderbolt during the battle. In his opinion, if Lin Li could still use that magical weapon, he would have used it without hesitation given the situation that they were in now. Otherwise, he might not even have the chance to use itter.

    At this moment, Lin Li did not take out Thunderbolt. Instead, he used another piece of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark. There were two ck balls around Gloomy Dark, revolving around it like they were satellites.

    At Lin Li¡¯s current level, Legendary powerhouses were all like insignificant ants to him. His so-called trump card was not reserved for them, either. He did not use Thunderbolt and ignored the covetousness of Donald and the others simply because it was inappropriate. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have used Thunderbolt without any restraint when he had killed the High Elf at the peak of the Legendary-realm back then.

    This time, Lin Li took out Gloomy Dark, but he also used his mental strength to suppress the mana waves of the Gloomy Dark out of consideration for the Undead creatures. Otherwise, all of the Undead creatures in this world would instantly go berserk because of the power of Gloomy Dark as soon as it appeared.

    The two small ck balls revolving around Gloomy Dark were left behind after Lin Li killed the Twin Dracoliches in the green dragon graveyard back in the Haiga Mountain Range.

    All along, Lin Li had been unclear on the rtionship between Gloomy Dark and the two ck balls. He did not know how to make use of them, either. However, after stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li could be considered to have made a qualitative leap in his mastery of the debris of the stars. Although the leap would not allow Lin Li topletely exert the full power of the debris of the stars, he had gained a considerable understanding of the nature of their power.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s mental strength stimtion, the two ck balls that were revolving around Gloomy Dark suddenly sped up. After reaching an extreme velocity, they flew out one after another. Next, everyone heard the dull sound of two explosions, and arge wave of ck mist erupted. Two identical Dracoliches appeared in the sky above the team.

    Compared to when they were in the green dragon graveyard, the two Dracoliches had already be much stronger. They had reached the peak of level-23, and were only one step away from level-24. However, in reality, Lin Li knew that the two Dracoliches were already powerless. Their power was given by Gloomy Dark; to be more precise, they were like weapons that contained the power of Gloomy Dark.

    Although Lin Li was not certain if existences like Gloomy Dark were sentient, the two Dracoliches were undoubtedly manipted by Gloomy Dark. If Gloomy Dark was Lin Li¡¯s magical weapon, the two Dracoliches could be considered the tools of Gloomy Dark. To a certain extent, they were incarnations.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not take out the mysterious and powerful magical weapon like he had expected, and instead took out another item while summoning two Dracoliches[1] with powerful magical waves, Donald felt like he was about to lose his mind. Deep down in his mind, he was already roaring, <i>Just how many more trump cards does this President of a nameless force have!?</i>

    Although Donald couldn¡¯t recognize the mysterious existences the Dracoliches were, he could clearly sense the massive level-23 mana waves from the two Dracoliches. Even in a force like the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s, level-23 power was definitely in the top tier.

    In fact, even powerhouses who had just stepped into the Legendary-realm would be won over by the royal family in every possible way, what more level-23 Legendary powerhouses. They would receive any noble title and any amount of wealth they wanted. Actually, the Rotterdam Kingdom was not the only one. Any other force would probably do the same. Besides, even if they were toe up with ways to tie down the mages, they might not be able to make every Legendary powerhouse feel tempted, let alone the ultimate level-23 powerhouses who were about to reach the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    As for cultivating their own mages, they would have to pay an even greater price. Even if they spent a massive amount of resources, they might not get to nurture a Legendary powerhouse. That was precisely the reason that the Rotterdam Kingdom decided to spend more energy on the Alchemy Colossuses, which would at least be better than nurturing a person who might not even reach the Legendary-realm in the end. That was also one of the reasons that the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom believed that alchemy would inevitably eventually recebat professions such as Mages and Warriors.

    However, two possessors of such a massivebat power that was highly coveted by all forces were actually summoned by an unassuming magic prop! Looking at the two level-23 Dracoliches who were surrounded by ck mist in the air, Donald and the others were almost vomiting blood out of jealousy. <i>Damn it, where did this kide from? He¡¯s actually so powerful. Why haven¡¯t I heard of the Tower of Dusk before!?</i>

    Of course, Lin Li was not concerned about the thoughts of others at all. After summoning the Twin Dracoliches, he immediately gave them orders through Gloomy Dark.

    Next, the two Dracoliches that were shrouded in ck mist were seen rushing out of the group without making a single sound. They then charged towards the Undead Greater Demons that were approaching the expedition. One of the Dracoliches stretched its arm out, and a Poison Domain was suddenly exhibited, shrouding everything including the Undead Greater Demons in ayer of green.

    Although the Undead creatures had extremely high resistance to poison, the power that the Dracoliches now had belonged to the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark. The poison was no longer a simple toxin, but a type of Law. After being engulfed in the Poison Domain, the movements of the Undead creatures immediately became significantly slower and stiffer. Even their soul fire seemed to be eroded by the poison.

    However, at the end of the day, the Undead Greater Demons were much stronger than the Skeletal Warriors. Even though their bodies and soul fire were stained by the poison, they didn¡¯t seem to be affected very much. They wielded tridents and were striding towards the expedition. It seemed that they would not stop until they stabbed a few people with their tridents.

    However, immediately afterward, the other Dracolich attacked too. Simrly, it disyed its Magical Domain¡ªthe Death Domain¡ªthat emitted the aura of silence, and immediately fused with the Poison Domain. That was the characteristic of the Twin Dracoliches. Due to their rtionship, their Magical Domains could be fused together. The Laws of death and poisonplemented each other, and there would be no conflict at all. With such characteristics, the Twin Dracoliches would probably be able to rival the Sanctuary powerhouses if they could advance to the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    With the appearance of the Death Domain, the soul fire in the eye sockets of the Undead Greater Demons immediately trembled vigorously. The ones that were less powerful even flew out directly, and merged into the Magical Domains of the Twin Dracoliches. All of a sudden, everyone could clearly seerge light green sparks flying out of the Undead creatures¡¯ bodies shrouded in the Magical Domain before gradually disappearing in the air. With the disappearance of each spark, an Undead creature on the ground would crumble, as if its skeleton had suddenly lost the force that bound it together.

    The people from both the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine were dumbfounded to see such a spectacr scene. Actually, they ought not to be med for having such a reaction. They did not know that the power of the two Dracoliches actually came from the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, which contained pure Laws of Darkness.

    In less than a moment¡¯s time, hundreds of Undead Greater Demons were silently wiped out by the two Dracoliches together with the Skeletal Warriors that were blocking the expedition. The expedition¡¯s members only came back to their senses and immediately sped up in advancing towards their target when they heard Lin Li¡¯s urging.

    However, the two Dracoliches did not lead the way in front of the expedition. Instead, they immediately leaped towards the other Undead Greater Demons after destroying the first batch. Under the full-swing attacks of the two Dracoliches, the Undead Greater Demons actually did not reach the expedition.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller were guarding them from above, while the two Dracoliches were constantly blocking the Undead Greater Demons. The expedition would not be in a predicament for a while. However, after feeling surprised, the members of the expedition did not feel rxed, because they knew that the truly powerful Undead creatures had not appeared yet!

    Although no one knew if the Immortal King had researched and created some strange and weird Undead creatures in this world, they knew, ording tomon sense, that terrifying existences like the Humerus Wyrm were at the top of the hierarchy of Undead creatures.

    Humerus Wyrms were not necessarily all skeletons of wyrms, but as long as they were Humerus Wyrms, their strength would at least be at the Legendary-level. With the scale of Undead creatures in this world, one would not even be able to imagine how many Humerus Wyrms would appear. However, one thing for sure was that the Immortal King definitely would not be satisfied with just creating some low-level Undead creatures.

    However, they did not have a backup n. They could either stop and wait to die, or go all out and fight! Everyone in the expedition now knew that the further they delved, the more dangerous their situation would be. However, they also knew that they had no other choice but to keep advancing. Stopping would only allow them to survive for a while.

    If one decided to go all out, they would often be able to explode with greater strength. The expedition no longer considered retreating. All they could think about was advancing towards their goal. There was instantly a huge increase in their speed.

    Of course, the increase in speed was only rtive to before, and their speed was at most simr to that of ordinary people walking. After all, the resistance that the countless Undead creatures brought to the expedition would not vanish because of their emotions.

    It wasn¡¯t that the expedition had never tried killing all the Undead creatures in front of them with all their might in order to achieve the goal of increasing the team¡¯s advance speed. Even the magic spells that the mages of the Tower of Dusk had used to kill the Undead creatures in front of them were only as effective as using a knife to split water. Although they could kill many Undead creatures at once, the gap was filled with Undead creatures again at the next moment before they could even take a few steps forward.

    With the sunrise and sunset of this world, the expedition fought continuously against the tide of Undead creatures for two days and two nights without stopping. Finally, the sky that was being shrouded by shadows in the distance seemed to be getting increasinglyrge in front of them. However, they still could not tell what existences those shadows were with their eyesight.

    The members of the expedition had also thought of using the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to check out the situation over there in advance, but there were too many Undead creatures that were casting spells. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes would be consumed by the magic spells before it could even go far. However, no matter what, the expedition was still advancing. As long as they did not stop, they would finally reach their destination at some point.

    However, the expedition had paid a huge price to make it that far. The Rotterdam Kingdom had alreadypletely abandoned four Alchemy Colossuses. Although they had enough magical crystals, the long duration of operation of the Alchemy Colossuses had resulted in major great wear and tear on the variousponents of the Alchemy Colossuses.

    Besides, the Skeletal Warriors did not quite pose no threat to the Alchemy Colossuses. Water drops could drip through stone bs through umtion. Although the attacking power of the Skeletal Warriors was lowpared to the defense of the Alchemy Colossuses, the endless attacks of the Skeletal Warriors would cause even the strongest defense to eventually copse.

    As for the team of the Brilliance Shrine, the Holy Light Knights were in charge of guarding the two sides of the team, but the pressure they endured was actually not less than those fighting at the front. If they were facing ordinary Undead creatures, perhaps the Holy Light Knights would have a much easier time, but all the Undead creatures in this world seemed to have no fear of the Power of Light.

    Arge number of ants would be able to bite an elephant to death. Besides, the Undead creatures there were not ants, and the Holy Light Knights were not elephants. After two days and two nights of battle, the Holy Light Knights had already suffered seven casualties, and the number of severely wounded knights had reached double digits. Fortunately, they had the support of the priests who were constantly empowering and healing them with Holy Light Magic. Otherwise, the number of casualties would have been twice as big.

    The mages were right in the middle of the team of the Tower of Dusk, and the Undead creatures would not be able to reach them without breaking through the outeryer of defense. Because of that, there still had not been any casualties among them even till now. Although Donald, Archbishop Martin, and the others were jealous of that, there was nothing they could say. They could not make their mages fight the Undead creatures in melee.

    Besides, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had not been cking at all. They were suffering the attacksunched by the enemies while continuously bombarding the surrounding Undead creatures with powerful magic spells. In terms of battle results, the mages of the Tower of Dusk definitely killed many more Undead creatures than the teams from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrinebined.

    [1] The raws said ¡°dark mages¡±, and it appearedter. I assume it¡¯s a mistake, but I leave a note for y¡¯all in case Donald thinks they are dark mages, and that¡¯s what the author was getting at.

 Chapter 963 - Undead Plants

    <h4>Chapter 963: Undead nts</h4>

    Besides, in the sky, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were blocking the attacks from the Vampires for the expedition. The two Dracoliches were also going around the team and blocking the Undead Greater Demons for everyone. Besides, they were also killing numerous Undead creatures.

    Under such circumstances, even the proud people of the Rotterdam Kingdom could not me the people of the Tower of Dusk. After all, they did not sustain any injuries, because they were capable. If they were to hold it against the Tower of Dusk, they would just be embarrassing themselves.

    However, no one would not be upset or anxious while watching more and more of their underlings die or get injured. After some hesitation, Donald nheless looked for Archbishop Martin, and walked to Lin Li with him. ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯ve seen it too. So far, our teams have suffered quite a few casualties, and if we continue like this, I¡¯m afraid that we won¡¯t be able to go any further once we reach the destination that you¡¯ve mentioned. Do you have any solution to help us advance more quickly?¡±

    This time, Donald spoke to Lin Li rather politely and even addressed him respectfully, which was different from his attitude in the past. Clearly, he dared not treat the Tower of Dusk like a small, unknown force anymore. Which small force would own an artifact that had the ability to instantly kill a powerhouse at the peak of the Legendary-realm? Which small force would be able to summon two level-23 Dark Mages[1] at once? Donald even wondered if the Tower of Dusk was just an alias of the Supreme Council, or a direct subordinate force of the Supreme Council.

    They first used a magical weapon that could kill a Legendary powerhouse immediately before taking out a magic prop that could summon two Dark Mages. That made Donald almost certain that the Tower of Dusk probably still had some trump cards that they had yet to reveal. He could not influence Lin Li with his status. Hence, he pulled Archbishop Martin along in the hopes of persuading the Tower of Dusk to take out more of their trump cards.

    Lin Li did agree to their requests the first two times. He first sent Norfeller and Ujfalusi to defend against the hordes of Vampires, after which he summoned the Twin Dracoliches to kill the Undead Greater Demons. However, after hearing Donald¡¯s words this time, Lin Li did not take out anything. He simply looked at Donald indifferently, and said, ¡°Master Donald, please note that we are partners, and I am not your babysitter. If you don¡¯t prove that you are of some value, is there any need for this partnership to continue existing?¡±

    No matter what, the Rotterdam Kingdom had heritage reaching the Dark Age, and they had barely suffered from any wars in the Dark Age. It was impossible for them not to have any foundation. Lin Li did not believe that Donald and the others would dare to explore the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle with their Alchemy Colossuses which had not even reached the Legendary-level.

    Although Lin Li did not have to care about what strong trump cards the Rotterdam Kingdom might have with his current strength, there was no need for him to be their babysitter. Even if they were just going to be cannon fodder, they still had to show some value. If the Rotterdam Kingdom did not show any value at all, there would be no need for Lin Li to waste his effort and take them to Osric¡¯s ce.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the expression on Donald¡¯s face stiffened, and he did not know how to reply at all. It was impossible for them to go explore in the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle without anything to rely on. However, if he revealed their trump cards, they would no longer be trump cards. After all, three forces were currently working together, and the enemy was not the only thing they had to worry about.

    In the history of Anril, there had been many who lost both their manpower and wealth while exploring ruins and searching for treasures all because theycked trump cards. If the Rotterdam Kingdom was the only force on this expedition, Donald naturally would have no qualms about it. He would definitely use whatever means he had.

    However, be it the Tower of Dusk or the Brilliance Shrine, they did not have any strong ties with the Rotterdam Kingdom at all. Hence, they definitely would not feel any guilt for ripping the other force off at all. Actually, there had been quite a few instances in history where siblings turned against each other because of treasures, let alone different forces in a cooperation. One could only trust oneself. In this situation, Donald would have lived in vain if he had not had any reservations.

    However, Lin Li had already made his words clear, and if Donald did not take out something of value, it would be tantamount to admitting that the Rotterdam Kingdom was too ipetent. Additionally, it was likely that the cooperation would really be suspended. With their understanding of the previous battles, Donald had to admit that without his own team, the teams of the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine might be able to withstand the attack of the Undead creatures. However, if he were to leave the two teams, it would be difficult for his faction to persist even if they took out all their trump cards.

    At the thought of this, Donald had no choice but to smile awkwardly. He said, ¡°We¡¯ve indeed prepared some things that we¡¯re nning to use at the crucial juncture. Since you need it now, President Felic, we have no choice but to take it out in advance.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips silently, and think to himself, <i>The people from Rotterdam Kingdom are really good at preserving their pride. They¡¯re making it sound like they¡¯re stepping in because others cannot.</i>

    However, Lin Li did not hold having those thoughts against Donald. As long as they could show some value, they could say whatever they wanted.

    Not only did Donald fail to make Lin Li take out more trump cards, he was even forced to show his own. Although that had allowed Donald to regain some of his pride, he still felt rather ufortable. However, now that things had developed to this point, he might really be abandoned if he did not take out something valuable.

    Soon, Donald arrived in front of the team with 10 Archmages who had yet to attack before. Afterward, under Donald¡¯s request, the team temporarily stopped in their tracks. The 10 Archmages began reciting a Summoning Incantation while taking advantage of the time.

    Afterward, an Alchemy Array used to open their Alchemy Space appeared in front of each of the 10 Archmages. As the golden rays of light shone from the Alchemy Arrays, burly figures gradually appeared in the Alchemy Array.

    Those items seemed to be Alchemy Colossuses, but not the humanoid ones. Those Alchemy Colossuses each had four legs on the ground and an egg-shaped body. They looked somewhat like giant steel spiders. After summoning the strange Alchemy Colossuses, the 10 Archmages immediately used the Levitation Spell to fly up, and each quickly entered the egg-shaped body of their Alchemy Colossus.

    Seeing this, the rest except the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom could not help but be curious. The Alchemy Colossuses that had been summoned seemed to have barely any offensive power. How did they be the secret weapons of the Rotterdam Kingdom?

    However, just as everyone was confused, the egg-shaped bodies of the Alchemy Colossuses made some noises, and both sides in front slowly split open, after which a cannon barrel that had the diameter of a bucket stuck out from inside. Seeing this, the crowd finally understood that it was simply a mobile Magical Crystal Cannon!

    Actually, it did make sense. Given the rtionship between the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom, it would not be too difficult for them to get some Magical Crystal Cannons. Besides, the power of these Magical Crystal Cannons was undoubtedly massive. The only problem was that the Magical Crystal Cannons were not too mobile. They could usually only be fixed to the walls to defend a city. However, the Rotterdam Kingdom was good at alchemy, and using the technology of the Alchemy Colossus to build a mobile turret tform for the Magical Crystal Cannons would definitely be easy.

    The portable Magical Crystal Cannon might seem rather simple, but the power of the Magical Crystal Cannons was so massive that it was considered a siege engine type artifact. However, what really caused the Magical Crystal Cannon to be less popr than it should be was not its cost, but its consumption of magical crystals. Each st of the cannon would cost a bomb, which was not affordable for every force. It was no wonder that the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team chose not to use them previously despite being in crisis.

    The appearance of 10 Mobile Magic Crystal Cannons had indeed shocked many people, but Lin Li only took a nce at them and soon lost interest. They were just Magical Crystal Cannons to him. The Tower of Dusk had already had more than 100 of them installed on the tower, and there were also more than 10 Magical Crystal Cannons that were powered by Legendary magical crystals in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Of course, the four-legged movement mode was also a highlight as it was at least much more adaptable than wheeled Alchemy Colossuses. However, that highlight was not attractive to Lin Li at all. He could even get Angno to build a mobile Magical Crystal Cannon that could fly in the sky if he wanted to, but was that necessary?

    However, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom treated Lin Li¡¯s indifference as pretentiousness. After summoning the mobile Magical Crystal Cannons, Donald puffed his chest up and raised his chin, regaining his proud and arrogant appearance. He pointed his magic staff forward, and 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons moved forward, towards the Alchemy Colossuses that were in front. They then extended the barrels of the Magical Crystal Cannons out through the gaps.

    ¡°Fire!¡± Donald ordered with gusto.

    The 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons had all four legs firmly ced on the ground. The barrels that had been extended outwards began exuding bright magical light. Next, 10 thick Magical Crystal Cannon shots darted out, and all the Undead creatures that had been blocked by the light were reduced to ashes in an instant.

    This time, the Undead creatures in front of the expedition were destroyed in the blink of an eye. It was impossible to calcte how many Undead creatures had vanished in the light. Taking this opportunity, the expedition immediately strode forward, and only stopped again when the Undead creatures filled up the empty area again.

    ¡°President Felic, what do you think of our new Alchemy Colossuses?¡± Donald asked Lin Li, trying to show off. At this moment, he wanted to prod him into taking out his trump cards.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s expression did not change despite Donald¡¯s bragging. He said, ¡°Continue.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Donald almost spat blood in displeasure. Clearly, Lin Li was not going to reveal any more trump cards. Instead, he was going to open up the path with the Magical Crystal Cannons. However, as soon as a Magical Crystal Cannon was fired, a level-10 magical crystal would be gone. The level-15 magical crystals would not be enough to sustain a few shots, either. God knew how many times the cannons would have to be fired along the way. Even if Legendary magical crystals were used as the power source, it would not be sustainable.

    Although the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team had also gained plenty of magical crystals in the previous exploration, the Magical Crystal Cannons and the Alchemy Colossuses required a lot of magical crystals. That was the same as making the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team lose everything that they had just gained.

    However, he was just showing off, yet he had to go back on his word now? No matter how thick-skinned Donald was, he couldn¡¯t find a reason to decline, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ept it.

    Although the 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons were not attractive to Lin Li at all, the power of the Magical Crystal Cannons was known to all. As long as they were willing to spend some magical crystals, they would be able to exert wonderful effects. The 10 mobile Magic Crystal Cannons continuously emitted light, clearing up arge patch ofnd in front of the expedition again and again. Hence, there was instantly a huge increase in the advancement speed of the team.

    They were getting closer and closer to the destination, and the shadow that was covering the sky was bing increasingly clear to them. After advancing for another day and night, the expedition finally knew what that massive shadow was.

    No one could have imagined that the shadow that covered the sky from afar was actually an iparably huge ancient tree. The sturdy trunk was like a mountain peak, and it was sorge in diameter that one would probably take more than a few days and a few nights to run ap around it. Besides, the canopy of the ancient tree was sorge that they could not even see the sun rising and setting.

    If it was purely just a tree, it would not be enough to shock them. What really made the members of the expedition overwhelmed with disbelief was that the form of the giant tree was something that none of them had ever seen before. Although the tree had many branches and leaves, it did not give off any vitality. Every leaf on the crown of the tree had a grayish color that was emitting an intense death aura.

    The branches of the giant trees were also all covered with thick bone spikes that were constantly spewing ck mist as if they were breathing out. Those who had good eyesight would be able to see numerous Undead creatures falling down from the mist from time to time. Clearly, the Undead creatures of this world came from the gigantic Undead tree.

    It was an Undead form of a giant tree that could constantly give rise to Undead creatures. The members of the expedition could not believe their eyes at all. How did the tree turn into an Undead creature? It could even breed Undead creatures,pletely defying the theories behind Undead creatures that they knew.

    However, the members of the expedition did not have time to ponder that question carefully. As they got closer to the Undead tree, countless figures suddenly flew out of therge crown canopy of the tree. When they got a clear glimpse of the appearance of the figures, they gasped and got goosebumps.

    [1] Alright, so it seems it¡¯s actually Donald thinking Dracoliches are Dark Mages.

 Chapter 964 - Storm

    <h4>Chapter 964: Storm</h4>

    It turned out that what was charging towards the expedition ferociously was the Humerus Wyrms that they had been worried about previously. Besides, there were hundreds of Humerus Wyrms, which seemed rather dense and overwhelming. The massive mana waves seemed to have stuck together to be one. They were iparably massive and intense.

    Upon sight of such a scene, even Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be frightened. Compared to the Humerus Wyrms in front of them, the Humerus Wyrm Legion in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum was nothing. Although Lin Li, who was in the Sanctuary-realm, would not be afraid of the Humerus Wyrms, he could not help but worry about his own men. This test was obviously beyond what they could withstand.

    As for Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others, they were shocked to the point of turning pale and widening their eyes in horror. In fact, even their lips were trembling slightly. So what if they were powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary-level? They would still be afraid of death. Who would be willing to die when life was precious, and they had made their lifelong achievements with great difficulty?

    ¡°Magical Crystal Cannons, attack!¡± Donald hollered hysterically. Facing the Humerus Wyrms that were attacking them, he could no longer be bothered to consider issues like magnanimity and his pride.

    The 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons shivered, and the muzzles were raised as rays of light quickly condensed and moved out of the muzzles. Next, 10 rays of light of mana that were as thick as buckets were shot at the Humerus Wyrms with roaring noise.

    However, the devastating effects of the Magical Crystal Cannons were not seen on the bodies of the Humerus Wyrms. The rays of light bombarded the Humerus Wyrms, and only caused them to pause for a while.

    Seeing such a scene, Donald¡¯s heart suddenly sank even lower. He knew his own items the best. The cannons of the mobile Magical Crystal Cannons were specially manufactured by the Dwarf Kingdom on the request of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Their power was at least five times stronger than the normal Magical Crystal Cannons¡¯. The power of an attack of a normal Magical Crystal Cannon was equivalent to magic spells about level-18 or level-19. However, the 10 Magical Crystal Cannons could probably prate even a Legendary-mage¡¯s Magical Domain in one try.

    Of course, putting aside the rtionships, custom-ordering those 10 special Magical Crystal Cannons was definitely expensive. The cost of each of them was definitely enough to be exchanged for dozens of ordinary Magical Crystal Cannons. Besides, that was not because they had obtained it at a friendly price.

    It was precisely because the Magical Crystal Cannons had such massive power that the Rotterdam Kingdom treated them as their trump cards, which they nned to use only at the crucial juncture of the expedition. The so-called trump cards were useful weapons that had to be used at the most critical moment to turn the situation around at once, and turn defeat into victory.

    Although the rest did not understand how strong those mobile Magical Crystal Cannons were, they could tell from the light from the cannons that they were definitely more powerful than ordinary ones. Seeing that the terrifying cannons did not even cause the slightest damage to the Humerus Wyrms, they immediately understood that what they were about to face would be the most difficult battle so far.

    Actually, the Humerus Wyrms were only one aspect of it. There were still endless Undead creatures around the expedition. The Undead creatures would not let the expedition and the Humerus Wyrms fight each other head-on. Besides, the Humerus Wyrms had already appeared. Hence, the Liches that were also a top existence among the Undead creatures just like the Humerus Wyrms would probably appear soon.

    Although the Humerus Wyrms were just bones, they were not slower than actual wyrms. In the blink of an eye, they flew out of the crown of the giant Undead tree, approaching the expedition. As for the cannonsunched by the Rotterdam Kingdom, they had no effect on the hundreds of Humerus Wyrms at all.

    Besides, as the Humerus Wyrms approached, the members of the expedition could soon see clearly that the Humerus Wyrms were obviously different from what they had imagined, just like what they had been worried about all along.

    The Humerus Wyrms that they knew could be divided into two types. One was the type that could use Dragon Crystals as their core and be assembled from the skeletons of other kinds of magical beasts and even humans. Another type was the ones that were aplete whole with the Dragon Crystal, and had be Undead creatures. However, in reality, they were essentially not too different. They werebinations of Dragon Crystals and bones. The only difference was the type of skeleton used.

    For example, Ujfalusi¡¯s Crimson Humerus Wyrm had long used the skeleton of a green dragon. Afterward, it switched to a stronger wyrm skeleton in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. It was just like the difference in armor donned by humans. Some wore inferior armor, while some wore magical armor.

    Not all of the Humerus Wyrms used the skeletons of wyrms. Instead, they were made up of random bones. Actually, there was nothing strange about it, regardless of their image. However, the Humerus Wyrms that the expedition was facing at the moment were obviously not pieced together with random bones, though their image was very different from what they remembered because their skeleton was covered in ayer of scaly skin.

    Those Humerus Wyrms were like air-dried corpses that were just skin and bones. It even made them wonder if they had been starved to death. However, theyer of scaly skin on their bodies did not seem loose at all. Instead, it was tightly wrapped around the skeleton. It clearly provided them with great protection.

    Since they had ayer of skin, it was obviously unlikely that the skeletons inside wereposed of random bones that were messily pieced together. Hence, it was likely that they were simr to what they looked like before they died. However, the Humerus Wyrms, or rather Corpse Dragons, still looked significantly different from real dragons.

    For example, there were a few of them that were three-headed dragons, which were very likely to possess three Dragon Crystals. Hence, they were definitely much more powerful than average Corpse Dragons. Besides, they could tell from the natural alignment of the group of Corpse Dragons that the three-headed Corpse Dragons clearly had higher status among them as the other Corpse Dragons all maintained a certain distance from them.

    Most of the Corpse Dragons had extremely distinct Abyssal Demon features. However, they were definitely not Abyssal Demon Dragons. Instead, the Corpse Dragons were abination of a wyrm and some powerful Abyssal Demon. Thebination was not a bloodline fusion, but a physicalbination where the wyrm and the Abyssal Demon were treated as machines. The various parts of their bodies were forcefullybined.

    Even if they were ordinary Humerus Wyrms, they would still be able to make anyone feel hopeless because of how numerous they were. Not to mention, they were mutant Humerus Wyrms that had been heavily modified beyond recognition. However, the group of Corpse Dragons did not give the expedition any time to be afraid at all. They rushed towards the team, and released earth-shattering dragon breaths and magic spells.

    The Corpse Dragons should not have been conceived by the Undead tree. It was most likely that they were all products of the experiments that the Immortal King had conducted in the past. They had survived for thousands of years in this world of the Undead, and each and every one of them was not simply a Legendary-level creature. There were many at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    The three-headed Corpse Dragons in particr had strength that was at the peak of the Legendary-level. Besides, they were three-in-one entities that would probably have no problem contending with an average Sanctuary powerhouse. The power of mana that they possessed was not limited to Necromagic, as each of their heads possessed a certain type of mana alignment or one of the four elemental magic. There could be Necromagic too. One of the three-headed Corpse Dragons even had a head that could actually cast the Power of Light, which was not inferior to Archbishop Martin of the expedition at all.

    Seeing the overwhelming magic spells and dragon breaths crashing down, the members of the expedition dared not slow down at all. One by one, they cast their strongest defensive methods.

    The Holy Light Knights formed a defensive battle formation. The battle song formed a barrier of light in the sky, emitting a holy aura that could not be prated by any evil at all. The priests chanted the Holy Light prayer in unison, and rays of pure and holy light emerged from their bodies, engulfing the sky above the expedition like smoke.

    The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team also condensed numerous glistening hexagonal shields as their Alchemy Arrays glowed brightly. The hexagonal light shields were tightly connected to each other like a beehive, forming a huge dome above the expedition.

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, the mages were also doing their best to operate the Magic Net Array, quickly mountingyer afteryer of Elemental Defense above the Tower of Dusk and the Rotterdam Kingdom. Eachyer was as strong as those cast by powerhouses at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    At one point, the sky above the expedition was filled with all sorts of colorful and brilliant defensive power, making it a little difficult for the people below to see what was happening outside. However, was that defense enough? That was the question in the mind of everyone. The Corpse Dragons were far too terrifyingly powerful, and no matter how manyyers of defense they had above their heads, the members of the expedition could not feel safe at all.

    A massive roar immediately erupted at the instant before magic spells and the dragon breaths bombarded the defense of the expedition.

    The resplendent Holy Light Battle Song was distorted by the roar, and no longer sounded like a battle song. Instead, it sounded like a painful moan that was soon dispelledpletely. At the instant that the Holy Light Battle Song disappeared, the Holy Light Knights shuddered, and their faces turned extremely ashen. Blood even oozed out of their eyes and nostrils.

    Almost at the same time that the Holy Light Battle Song vanished, the Holy Light Priests who were praying piously also suddenly sped up, raising the pitch of their voices. However, in just a moment, the Holy Light Priests suddenly vomited blood, and were so weak that they fell on the ground.

    Seeing this scene, Archbishop Martin and Prince Jeremiah could not help but go through a major change in expression. They had juste in contact with the Corpse Dragons, yet thebat power of their underlings had already decreased greatly. Even if they survived this wave of attacks, the Holy Light Knights and priests would probably be unable to y any role in the battle. In fact, they might not even be able to defend themselves.

    However, the attack of the Corpse Dragons had yet to end. At the instant that the Holy Light shield of the priests was shattered, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom also began creaking and making sounds like they suffered from massive pressure, as if the sky had fallen down. The Alchemy Arrays that were casting Light Shields in front of the chests of the Alchemy Colossuses also began glowing at this moment as wisps of smoke continued to emerge from the formation.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of explosions suddenly emerged from the Alchemy Colossuses, and the hexagonal Light Shields that formed a hive-like dome in the sky copsed instantly.

    Three sessiveyers of defense all copsed in just one breath, and the violent magic spells and dragon breaths finally bombarded the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion¡¯s Elemental Shield. Theyers of elemental defense shattered and burst like bubbles. Although the mages still continued to cast defensive magic spells, their speed was much slower than the speed of the defensiveyers shattering.

    The only advantage was that the defensive magic spells that the mages cast would not affect the mages in any way even if they were shattered. It was far better than the members of the Brilliance Shrine spitting blood and bleeding from every aperture. However, based on the situation before them, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion would not be able to sustain it for more than a few seconds, and by then, they probably would not be able to avoid extermination.

    Seeing the destructive attacks that were about to fall on them, Archbishop Martin and the others could not help but look desperate and hopeless. Previously, they had never thought that they would actually encounter such a desperate situation when exploring the Sky Castle. Although they would still be able to leave as they were peak-Legendary-realm powerhouses, they did not have any spare energy to protect their subordinates, who were all elites that they had spent a lot of effort to nurture and groom. If all of them died here, they would not be able to ept the emotional blow, let alone exin the losses to their superiors when they returned.

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly leaped into the air to face the catastrophe-like offensive spells without Helios¡¯ Scepter, which he was used to using, or chanting any magic incantations. Be it Archbishop Martin or Donald, neither of them knew what Lin Li was nning to do exactly. They simply watched as he raised his palm and tapped it in the void gently, his body appearing extremely feeble in contrast to the magic storm.

    The seemingly powerless movement made the entire space vibrate vigorously all of a sudden, followed by a magic storm outside the elemental defense that was full of power vanishing in the blink of an eye like sand being blown away by the wind. At this moment, the entire world suddenly became iparably silent. The only thing left was the figure that was floating in midair.

 Chapter 965 - Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 965: Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    <i>What kind of power is this!? It¡¯s the Sanctuary-realm, it definitely is the Sanctuary-realm!</i>

    When Lin Li killed the Undead Elemental Dragon previously, Archbishop Martin was already specting in his heart that Lin Li had probably already entered the Sanctuary-realm. Now, he was even more certain that that was the case. There were hundreds of Legendary-level Corpse Dragons opposite them, many of which were at the peak of the Legendary-level. Only those with the power of the Sanctuary-realm would be able to resist such attacks effortlessly.

    Archbishop Martin was now a powerhouse at the peak of the Legendary-realm. In the eyes of others, it was just a step away from the Sanctuary-realm, but he was well aware deep down that he would still be considered a small fry in front of the true Sanctuary powerhouses if he did not take thatst step. That was a difference in power itself. No matter how strong they might be, those in the Legendary-realm would still only be as powerful as mortals. In essence, they were far from beingparable to those in the Sanctuary-realm.

    Meanwhile, Donald and the rest from the Rotterdam Kingdom were dumbfounded too. They had originally thought that Lin Li was that powerful because he had some powerful magical weapon, or even a legendary artifact. However, they had to admit that the power that Lin Li was disying was definitely in the Sanctuary-realm, regardless of how unwilling they might be.

    The arrogance of the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom was crushed badly at this moment. They could no longer imagine what kind of world it was outside the Rotterdam Kingdom. <i>Did the world outside already be this terrifying? A small, unknown force actually has so many Legendary powerhouses, and is helmed by such a young Sanctuary powerhouse!</i>

    However, after feeling shocked, Archbishop Martin and Donald and the others did not seem too ted about Lin Li resisting the attack of the Corpse Dragons. They did not think that Lin Li would be able to kill the Corpse Dragons alone. Besides, other than the Corpse Dragons, there were other Undead creatures around the expedition. However, in the defense just now, both the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had suffered varying degrees of damage. Their remainingbat power would probably be insufficient for them to continue hanging on for the next sh.

    Donald and the others inevitably felt somewhat resentful towards Lin Li in such a situation. Had Lin Li made that move earlier, their Alchemy Colossuses would not have been damaged so severely. It was not strange for Donald to have such thoughts. After all, he knew himself that his cooperation with the Tower of Dusk was not that earnest.

    However, Donald dared not show his displeasure at all. If he were to really anger Lin Li, there would be many ways for him to destroy Donald¡¯s team and wipe them out, even if he did not attack personally. Donald would definitely be unable to escape his demise, let alone his subordinates.

    The situation that the team from the Brilliance Shrine was in was actually far more dangerous than that of the Rotterdam Kingdom. After all, only one of the Alchemy Arrays of the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom was damaged. Theirbat power was not affected greatly. However, the team of the Brilliance Shrine had been severely injured, be it the Holy Light Knights or the priests. They probably could not even exert half of theirbat power.

    However, Archbishop Martin didn¡¯t have the same thoughts as Donald. Although he also felt that Lin Li had taken action toote, he felt that Lin Li had to have done so for a reason. After all, they were facing the attacks of hundreds of Legendary-level Corpse Dragons. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse had to deal with it carefully.

    In fact, Lin Li had indeed only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm a few months ago. Just like what Archbishop Martin thought, he could easily deal with eight to 10 enemies that were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, but if he wanted to wipe out hundreds of Legendary-level Corpse Dragons, he would have to have the strength of the three arbitrators.

    More importantly, this was the world created by the Immortal King, not Anril. Lin Li managed to step into the Sanctuary-realm by relying on his understanding of the World Laws of Anril. However, this world had strayed away from Anril, and there were many things that he had to understand and relearn.

    In fact, from the moment the expedition entered this world, Lin Li had already siphoned off some of his mental strength to analyze and decipher the structure of the Laws of this world. Fortunately, he had devoured some of Osric¡¯s willpower in the previous world, which contained the knowledge that the Immortal King used to create this world. That bit of knowledge was also the reason that Lin Li could have a mastery of the Laws of this world so quickly after entering this Undead World. Otherwise, Lin Li would probably have to patiently gain some enlightenment in this world for more than 10 days in order to do what he was doing now.

    Moreover, through his analysis of this world, Lin Li also knew that the core of this world was exactly the gigantic Undead tree. The Undead tree covered a portion of the ground and shielded it from the sun. The underground area was even more terrifying, with roots upying almost the entire world. One might even suspect that the ground of this world itself was made up of those roots.

    The key to leaving this ce undoubtedlyy in the gigantic Undead tree. After resisting and defending against the Corpse Dragons¡¯ attacks, Lin Li, who had such knowledge, fixed the Undead tree as his target. It was his true opponent in this world.

    However, Lin Li also knew that the expedition was in an unfavorable situation now. Although the team of the Tower of Dusk did not suffer many losses, they could not resist the attacks of the Corpse Dragons, let alone hold them up in that ce. If the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were intact, they might be able to do so together. However, they were now unable to offer much help.

    In this situation, how could Lin Li feel at ease leaving them to deal with the Corpse Dragons? If he were to do so, there would probably be barely anybatants, except a few Legendary powerhouses, left on his side before he could destroy the Undead tree. He brought his subordinates there to train, not to court death. Otherwise, there would be no point even if he obtained the Sky Castle in the end.

    There was no way Lin Li could solve the issue faced by the Rotterdam Kingdom. Even with the Guru of Alchemy, Angno, it would still take some time to repair the Alchemy Colossuses. He could not eliminate all the damage in the Alchemy Colossuses at once as if casting healing magic spells. Fortunately, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom did not sustain severe damage, so theirbat power was not affected much.

    Inparison, the problem faced by the Brilliance Shrine was undoubtedly the most serious. Although the Holy Light Knights and priests were not defenseless, they would be facing death by dealing with the Corpse Dragons on their own. However, Lin Li had just the right solution to that problem.

    At the same time, the people of the expedition who were on the ground were also worried about that problem¡ªespecially Archbishop Martin, who was looking straight at Lin Li in the air with his eyes, waiting to see what his next move would be. He was well aware that a Sanctuary powerhouse would not be afraid of those Corpse Dragons, but it was still very difficult to protect a group of people who were barely able to resist under the siege of so many Corpse Dragons.

    Indeed, to a Sanctuary powerhouse, even Legendary powerhouses were insignificant existences. However, Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, was just like a childpared to the three arbitrators. There was a fundamental difference between a child and a minion that didn¡¯t even deserve to be considered human. However, an excessive number of minions would cause a lot of trouble for the child.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin suddenly discovered that Lin Li, who had just disintegrated the attack of the Corpse Dragons, was holding something that he did not have just a moment ago. It was an orb that was emitting white light. Archbishop Martin could sense an iparably pure power that was full of holy aura from it. It was the pure Power of Light that even Pope Rosario never had.

    At the moment he felt that power, Archbishop Martin could not help but think of the scene of the arrival of the Holy Light depicted in the Doctrine of Light. Other than Archbishop Martin, all the Holy Light Knights and priests of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team were holding their breaths at this moment while looking at the sky and the light in Lin Li¡¯s hand with pious enthusiasm.

    Immediately afterwards, Lin Li raised the arm that he was using to hold Holy Light, and the light erupted violently in his hand instantly. It was as if a little sun had risen, and the entire area was filled with Holy Light. As Holy Light shone, the people of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team immediately felt a wave of Divine Power surging into their bodies. Not only did the injuries in their bodies heal immediately, even their souls were enhanced as they were shrouded in Holy Light.

    However, the people of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team did not shriek in shock at all. It was as if they did not care about the changes in their bodies at all. Instead, they gently chanted prayers that praised the Holy Light devoutly with tears in their eyes. To them, getting baptized by the Holy Light would allow them to die with no regrets even if they had to die immediately now.

    Under the illumination of the Holy Light, the Corpse Dragons that were initially fearless towards the Power of Light involuntarily retreated continuously. Although they no longer had the ws of ordinary Undead creatures after being modified by the Immortal King, their fear of the Power of Holy Light suddenly rose uncontrobly from the depths of their souls at this moment.

    The illumination of the Holy Light did notst long. It was only sustained for a second or two before being retracted quickly.

    ¡°Hold these Corpse Dragons down,¡± Lin Li instructed. After saying that, he suddenly vanished from above the expedition. When he appeared again, he was already at the back of the group of Corpse Dragons, and was flying straight towards the gigantic Undead tree in the distance.

    Did he leave just like that? Archbishop Martin, who had awakened from the baptism of the Holy Light, was shocked to see the change. He knew that the Holy Light just now would definitely be of great help to his subordinates. However, even then, it would be hard to resist that huge horde of Corpse Dragons without a Sanctuary powerhouse based on the expedition¡¯s strength alone!

    ¡°The Holy Light is with me! I actually advanced by two levels!¡± someone from the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team yelled. However, there were soon many more shrieks of surprise because they had advanced in level and abilities.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin finally discovered that the team he was leading had experienced a manifold increase in strength after experiencing the baptism of Holy Light just now. Those who were originally only at level-17 or 18 had advanced to the peak of level-19, and while those who already had the strength of the peak of level-19 did not directly step into the Legendary-realm, their mana waves clearly contained a tinge of the Laws of Holy Light. Hence, it was now even more likely that they would step into the Legendary-realm in the future.

    <i>Surely this isn¡¯t a dream, is it!? Even Pope Rosario can¡¯t do this!</i> Archbishop Martin immediately thought about the item that was emitting Holy Light just now and the fact that his subordinates¡¯ strength had surged. He was certain that it was definitely because of the Holy Light. Since that item could actually increase the Holy Light devotees¡¯ abilities so drastically, it suggested that it was definitely not an ordinary magical object. Instead, it definitely had something to do with the Brilliance Shrine.

    If the Brilliance Shrine could own that item, it would definitely y an iparable role in promoting the development of the Brilliance Shrine. As soon as they were baptized by the Holy Light once, the level-17 and 18 devotees of Holy Light managed to advance to the peak of level-19. There were many level-17 and 18 devotees in the Brilliance Shrine at present. If they could all advance to the peak of level-19, there would be many who could step into the Legendary-realm!

    However, Archbishop Martin was also well aware that it was basically impossible to truly obtain that item. The person who possessed that item was a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Even Pope Rosario would not easily offend a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, just because he couldn¡¯t get it, it didn¡¯t mean that he could not use it. Archbishop Martin soon thought of Lin Li¡¯s other identity as the Son of The Holy Light. Although Lin Li had always seemed unwilling to acknowledge that identity, facts were facts. He decided that if they could pull through this crisis safely this time, he¡¯d better try and see if he could poach Lin Li to the Brilliance Shrine.

    Even if Lin Li was still unwilling to ept his identity as the Son of The Holy Light, it would not be much of a problem to invite him to the Brilliance Shrine as a guest given the ties between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine. He felt that it would be a feasible idea to think of a way to use the power of that item to increase the strength of the Brilliance Shrine when Lin Li visited as a guest.

    In an instant, Archbishop Martin had already developed a n and some thoughts of his own. However, the important thing at hand was how they could ovee the ordeal of the Corpse Dragons. If they could not pull through, all of hisprehensive thoughts would just remain in his imagination. At the thought of this, Archbishop Martin immediately perked up, and began to organize his team members to face the Corpse Dragons.

    Seeing the changes in the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team, Donald and the others were filled with extreme jealousy. In the blink of an eye, the members of the Brilliance Shrine had not only regained theirbat power, but had also surged several times in strength. Meanwhile, the Alchemy Colossuses could only be repaired if they stopped to do so and allowed them to recover. It was hard to tell if their men and the Alchemy Colossuses were at an advantage or not. Besides, what really worried Donald was the fact that the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine would definitely be strengthened as they got closer as a result of this incident. That would be akin to causing his team to be even more alienated.

 Chapter 966 - Felling a Tree

    Chapter 966: Felling a Tree

    Donald was well aware that Lin Li had something that was important to the Brilliance Shrine, but he knew that Archbishop Martin was not a reckless man. He would not think of using force to fight against that Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, Donald could totally imagine that although Archbishop Martin wouldn¡¯t bend his back to Lin Li, he would still be kissing his feet.

    This would definitely disrupt the harmony within the expedition. How am I going to deal with my disadvantaged position? Donald felt a headache thinking about it.

    Yet, the present situation did not give Donald the luxury of time to contemte the matter. The horde of Corpse Dragons had made aeback after Lin Li left. Donald could only put this thought at the back of his mind, and focus on proving the worth of his team in this battle. He would not want to be disowned by the other two teams.

    Lin Li¡¯s departure brought away the Holy Light that previously deterred the horde of Corpse Dragons. Sensing that the ufortable light had disappeared, the dragons regained their menace, and charged towards the expedition. This time, the team was unlike before. They did not allow themselves to be passively beaten. The mages from the Tower of Dusk grabbed the chance to whip up all sorts of powerful spells,unching them at Corpse Dragons like a storm.

    At the same time, Connoris, Basel, and the other Legendary powerhouses from the Tower of Dusk flew up the sky, and dealt with the dragons with their most powerfulbat skills. Connoris challenged three Corpse Dragons with his Eternal Frost de. His formidable perfect body was not a little disadvantaged by the direct confrontation.

    Although the abilities of Basel, Lord of Nightmares, Crimson Dragon, and Demon Gordon were not as freaky as those of Connoris, theirbat skills were not to be trifled with. They might not be capable of confronting the hundreds of Legendary dragons head-on, but were able to create confusion within the horde.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller stopped dealing with the remaining Vampires, and joined the team to battle against the dragons. After all, the horde of Corpse Dragons was a muchrger threat to the expedition inparison to the defeated Vampires. They knew they could hand those Vampires to the people from the Rotterdam and Brilliance Shrine.

    At the same time, the Dracolich twins received Lin Li¡¯s order through Gloomy Dark. They stopped resisting the Undead army of the Greater Demons, and returned to the expedition like bolts of lightning to dy the Corpse Dragons. They brought the Death and Poison Domain to the team, and turned many Corpse Dragons green.

    The Death Knights rose to the air with the help of their Shapeshifters. They formed the Infinite-kill Formation above the expedition, and surrounded a few Corpse Dragons maliciously. As half of the team of Death Knights had already progressed to be Retribution Knights, the power of the Infinite-kill Formation had also been raised by a dozen times. Although the Corpse Dragons were in level-22 and 23, they could not ovee the Infinite-kill Formation at all.

    Archbishop Martin knew Lin Li¡¯s n when he saw the situation. He passed the authority tomand the Holy Light Knights and priests to Jeremiah, and brought a few Legendary-level priests to join the battle in the sky. After being baptized by the Holy Light, Archbishop Martin and the rest started to cast spells that manifested the Holy Light. Although the Immortal King had transformed those Corpse Dragons to be almost immune to the Purge Spell, the trace of Holy Light within the Purge Spell made it seem like they were casting Holy Light Magic on them.

    The world created by the Immortal King was based on thews that originated from the debris of the stars. The debris of the stars present in the Holy Light Magic was like a direct attack on the basicws. This was even more powerful than transforming thews. This was equivalent to having dictatorship over the world. Archbishop Martin and the rest were like apostles who had been endowed with power by their sovereign. Although that power was very minimal, it was enough to sanction the Undead creatures with the Holy Light.

    Despite being hesitant when he saw the intense battle in the sky, Donald gritted his teeth and flew up with his Legendary-level mages. His initial n was to stay on the ground to fight the low-level Undead creatures. After all, it was too dangerous to fight Legendary-level Corpse Dragons. However, how could he prove his worth if he didn¡¯t put himself out there?

    As the Legendary powerhouses left, the expedition on the ground was once again surrounded by the Undead army. The Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, Vampires, Great Demons, and many Undead beasts surrounded the team, andunched waves of merciless attacks.

    It was fortunate that the Rotterdam and Brilliance Shrine left Kanber and Jeremiah to take charge of the situation on the ground. They were at the peak of the Legendary-level, and although the danger was real even with them inmand, they were just able to hold their teams against the Undead army.

    Just like Archbishop Martin and his team, the Brilliance Shrine had the Holy Light within their spells after their abilities were enhanced. They recovered their ability to resist the Undead creatures with their Purge Spell, and were dealing with lower-level creatures between level-10 and level-20.

    Of course, the team with the most solid performance was the mages from the Tower of Dusk. Although they could not match up to the real Legendary-level mages, their Net Array gave them the ability not only to work together, but also separately. That was not in the ability of the Legendary-level mages. The mages from the Tower of Dusk coulde together to cast the Legendary-level spells with the highest level, and cast huge amounts of middle-level Legendary spells to create a magic storm at the same time. They could even rain low-level spells over the entire domain.

    Hence, although they were surrounded by the attacks from uncountable Undead creatures, they had an empty area around them. Any Undead creature that trespassed in that region would immediately be engulfed by a tremendous amount of magic.

    After the departure of the many Legendary powerhouses, the expedition could only maintain the deadlock with the Undead army. However, there was no need for them to progress. The most important thing for them to do at this point in time was to defend and protect their own lives.

    It was the same with the battle in the air. The most important job was not to kill the Corpse Dragons, but to help Lin Li keep them here. However, while the Legendary-level powerhouses from the expedition had the advantage at the start for catching the Corpse Dragons unprepared, the power of the hundreds of Corpse Dragons brought these mages into the state of passive defense very quickly.

    Although Connoris was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and had the tenacious perfect body, he had to remain passive against two, three dragons no matter how reluctant he was. It was imaginable for the rest. Norfeller had to use a speed as swift as lightning to move within the horde. It was not easy to y the dragons, either. His role was leaning more towards being a firefighter.

    At this time, Lin Li had gotten nearer to the Undead tree to get a better look at it. To Lin Li, the Undead tree was like one that reached into the sky. Its luscious crown covered the sky like a seal. The thorns on the trunk were like vertices of mountains, and they were surrounded by grayish-ck fog.

    However, just when Lin Li was about to fly towards the tree to get a closer look, shadows fell from the tree crown. He could recognize many different types of Abyssal Demons, including the Mostu Demons from the 61st level, the Khumn Demons from the 70th level, and the Fire Demons without fire... All of these demons had something inmon. All of them emitted an Undead aura. It was obvious that they had been converted to Demonic Liches by the Immortal King.

    Although there were only dozens of them, they were all in level-23 and 24. Lin Li was not afraid of these Demonic Liches, but he was very clear about the situation of the expedition thanks to updates from Ujfalusi and Norfeller. There was no time for him to wrestle with these Demonic Liches.

    ¡°Xiao Hua, help me deal with them!¡± Lin Li lifted his arms and shed out the Ring of Dream Garden without hesitation.

    At this time, Lin Li could not help but secretly rejoice. The modified Dragon Crystal had helped to enhance Xiao Hua¡¯s powers tremendously. If not for that, Lin Li would really need to waste his time with these creatures.

    Lin Li¡¯s summons brought Xiao Hua out of the Dream Garden. Xiao Hua brought along a magic storm made up of Legendary-level spells as he charged towards the bunch of Demonic Liches. The dragon that was at the peak of level-24 had the ability to challenge normal Sanctuary powerhouses with his never-ending mana and massive powers to cast Legendary spells instantaneously.

    The Demonic Liches were not pleased with Xiao Hua¡¯s wee gift. They activated their magical defense and readied themselves for the battle. Unlike the Skeletal Warriors who had no concept of life and death, these were high-level Undead creatures. They could sense the formidable energy within Xiao Hua¡¯s magic storm.

    Lin Li was not worried when left the Liches to Xiao Hua as he flew towards the Undead tree. He thought that there shouldn¡¯t be any more obstacles this time, but this thought vanished as soon as it appeared in his mind. Something came towards Lin Li, and he had to dodge to the side.

    There was a gigantic vine that swooped in the air like a streak of lightning that came with thunder. The speed and force it was moving at seemed to have the ability to break apart any space. If it were tond on a human, it might whip him into powder.

    This was not the end. Lin Li felt that something was amiss as soon as he dodged that vine. He put on the Space Robe and shifted his body to various locations speedily. There were more vines bursting from the ground that chased after Lin Li. They created a cacophony in the air.

    Very quickly, the ground was covered with the whip-like vines. They were like a nest of snakes that danced crazily to wipe Lin Li¡¯s shadows out. In the process, that powerful force created cracks in the space. It continued topress the space that Lin Li could escape to.

    At this time, Lin Li realized that those were not vines. Those were the roots of the Undead tree. It was obvious that this tree had its consciousness, and knew how to protect its territory.

    BOOM!

    Lin Li created a Light and Darkness Sword, and shed at the roots that chased after him. Yet, the powerful wave only managed to cut off a dozen roots before it was shattered by them. Those roots had already transcended the abilities ofmon nts. Each of the roots had tremendous Space Power and formidable destructive power.

    Lin Li had never imagined an Undead tree would have Sanctuary-level powers. With its level-26 or 27 abilities, the tree was even more powerful than him. Lin Li felt that he had hit an iron te. He could not go near the trunk of the Undead tree, and had to stay a distance away from it due to its merciless roots.

    Lin Li inquired about the situation of the expedition using his mental strength. He could not help but feel anxious after ascertaining that the team would definitely notst for long. Their enemies were too formidable. As much as he was not bothered by the lives of the people from the Rotterdam and Brilliance Shrine, Lin Li would never not consider his followers the same.

    It would not matter to the strength of the entire force no matter how many lives this mission imed from the Rotterdam and Brilliance Shrine. This was not the same for the Tower of Dusk. After all, its foundation was not solid enough. The team of mages made up more than half of the elites from the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li couldn¡¯t afford to lose them.

    Lin Li was absolutely positive that this tree was the key for them to leave this world. While he could not be sure how it could help, he knew that getting rid of it was the first step. If not, even if he were to find a passageway out of here, even the Legendary powerhouses might not be able to follow him out.

    But the question was: how the hell was he supposed to get rid of this tree? Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he did not have the confidence that he had the power to fell such a formidable tree. He could not possibly use an ax to cut down the tree like a lumberjack.

 Chapter 967 - Collapse

    <h4>Chapter 967: Copse</h4>

    Lin Li managed to buy himself some time to equip himself with debris of the stars, Pr Snow. As he recited a spell quickly, the temperature in the air dropped, and snowkes fell from the void. This was the Legendary-level snow-element spell, Snow Heaven. Every snowke contained incredible coldness sufficient to create an entire mountain of ice.

    The flying snowkes impeded the movement of the roots and froze them very quickly. As the temperature fell, the frozen roots broke and fell on the ground like shattered ss.

    However, before Lin Li could sigh in relief, and as the effect of Snow Heaven was about to die out, a strong and thick root broke out of the soil. It whizzed towards Lin Li¡¯s body very swiftly. That immense force was adequate to whip a mountain apart. Even if it was the earth, it would cause a gigantic crack.

    There was no doubt about the effectiveness of the Snow Heaven on the roots of the Undead tree. However, Lin Li was not satisfied by its effect. God knew how many roots the Undead tree had. Looking at the growth scale of the giant tree, it was not an exaggeration to say that the earth was made up of its roots.

    However, this did not disappoint Lin Li, for his eyes lit up with a realization. While it was true that the Undead tree had a lot of roots, just like the dense canopy, it had to have a main trunk. If he were to get rid of that, the tree branches would naturally lose their vitality.

    What Lin Li had to do was to get closer to the trunk of the Undead tree to chop the vital branch off. Yet, knowing where it was one thing, and having the ability to cut it was another. Since the Undead tree had its consciousness, it would only be natural for the tree branches to pay extra attention to guard its vital branch. As it was a huge tree, it was only normal for it to have numerous branches. Yet, it would be an arduous task to locate and cut off each of them.

    Lin Li had no other choice but to take the leap of faith. After making the decision, he activated the Space Robe and bolted towards the tree trunk.

    That Undead tree either seemed to have guessed Lin Li¡¯s intention, or just did not want him to be near it. Its strong and thick roots sprung out from the soil crazily. Some chased after Lin Li, while the rest tried to block him from the front. Knowing that Lin Li was using Space Power, the roots that were waving frantically created multiple traps that were made up of theyers of cracks in the space.

    Although the tree roots created a lot of problems for Lin Li, they very conveniently helped him figure out where to look for the main branch. Very quickly, Lin Li overcame the obstacles, and got close to the trunk of the Undead tree. He took out the debris of the stars, Nothingness, aimed it at his target, and activated it.

    While Lin Li did not have a way to quickly break through the thick soilyer, he thought of using Nothingness to create a huge crack on the ground to cut off the connection between the tree trunk and roots. The tremendous shatter that followed showed Lin Li that his approach was right.

    This proved a point as well¡ªthe debris of the stars had a greater space power at itsmand than the Undead tree. Lin Li only needed to wave his debris of the stars to cut all the tree branches. It was even more powerful than the Light and Darkness Sword.

    When more roots rushed Lin Li, he teleported in another direction. He waved Nothingness towards the ground like before, but it did not seem like it was the right ce. The Undead tree did not have any response this time.

    However, Lin Li was not anxious like before. He thought that he could just draw a circle around the trunk of the Undead tree to rid it of all its roots. Of course, for convenience¡¯s sake, Lin Li tried to use Nothingness on the tree trunk, but it created a crack in space that healed immediately. It was obvious that the tree trunk had a tremendous defense mechanism. Since it had a higher level than Lin Li, it was impossible for him to cut the tree trunk directly.

    Lin Li circled the trunk of the Undead tree, and waved Nothingness at its roots constantly. Lin Li was like a bug that moved amidst dense grass, and the roots that were chasing and obstructing him were like weeds swaying in the wind.

    If one were to look closely, the roots that were affected by Nothingness would lose energy and decay, turning into ashes within a few breaths. As Lin Li worked his way through, lesser roots surfaced from the ground. The ground and the trunk of the Undead tree trembled as though they were enduring great pain.

    Finally, the spurs on the tree started to drop, and the ashen tree bark revealed a faint color of green. Lin Li stopped moving. He saw that there were no rootsing for him anymore.

    Lin Li stood in the air silently. He watched the bark change its color and the leaves recover their greenness. However, not long after the giant tree recovered its color, it toppled.

    Lin Li was not surprised by this sight. This world was like a reversed world. Life in Anril was death in this world. The tree regaining its green was equivalent to the tree withering and yellowing in Anril. Life here was death in Anril.

    The fallen tree was like a mountain that copsed. The fall of the tree shook the entire world. A ck whirlpool gate appeared. It was like the gate to leave this world.

    However, Lin Li would not leave by himself. He bolted towards the door and picked up a seed that was the size of a fist. Lin Li had not known the origin of the Undead tree, but when he held the seed in his hands, there was a familiar aura that came to him. He was surprised to discover that it was the seed of the Tree of Eternity.

    Lin Li was extremely familiar with the Seed of Eternity. During his first visit to the Sky Castle, he acquired one at the Central Tower. However, that seed had already been dead. What was left was the massive mana within it. It was with the help of High Priest Rogge in the crack of the Eternal Darkness Altar that he managed to use a branch of the Tree of Eternity to revive the seed.

    Lin Li could clearly sense from this Seed of Eternity that there was tremendous life force within it. The aura felt the same as when the other seed was revived. Yet, Lin Li could not understand why a living Seed of Eternity would appear after the death of the Undead tree.

    However, Lin Li knew there was no time for him to contemte this matter. Although the Undead tree had fallen, the expedition was still surrounded by Undead creatures. Lin Li put the Seed of Eternity into his Ring of Endless Storm, and shot back to the expedition.

    The copse of the Undead tree seemed to decrease the power of the Undead creatures in this world. With the addition of a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, the battle results were conceivable. Lin Li first helped Xiao Hua y those Demonic Liches, then charged into the horde of Corpse Dragons.

    Xiao Hua cast the elemental storm without taking breaks. The mutated Corpse Dragons were engulfed by it one after another. There were no Corpse Dragons that could withstand the storm. Lin Li, on the other hand, was even more straightforward as he held the Holy Light in one hand and Gloomy Dark in the other. Pure white light intertwined with deep ck glow as they worked together to strangle mutated Corpse Dragons one by one.

    ¡°The gate to leave is just ahead.¡±

    After a while, hundreds of mutated Corpse Dragons were in. Lin Li activated the power of the Holy Light and covered the expedition with Holy Light. It drove the Skeletal Warriors and other Undead creatures away. None of them dared to charge at the expedition anymore.

    Very quickly, the expedition got through the gate below the Undead tree, and entered another space. This space seemed like the space they had been in before entering the Undead World. It seemed to be part of the Central Tower. Here, the exhausted expedition could finally take a breather.

    It was the same for the Legendary powerhouses. All of them felt a deep sense of relief. The physical exhaustion was not the problem; the mental exhaustion was unbearable. After Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest of them reorganized their teams, they immediately became like deted balloons. They quickly found a ce to sit down without even minding their image.

    Although the mages from the Tower of Dusk had magical equipment with the highest ranking, the journey had drained their mental strength greatly. However, they did not take a break like the people from other forces. Under n¡¯s orders, some of them continued to stand guard, while the rest of them started to meditate.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald could not help but gasp at the behavior of the mages from the Tower of Dusk. They finally understood why the team from the Tower of Dusk had such formidablebat prowess. It was clear that having special Magic Arrays was not the sole reason for the prosperity of the tower. Perseverance and discipline were another significant reason behind their performance.

    In the world of nna from 1300 years ago, the people from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam acquired many treasures from Osric¡¯s pce, but it seemed like they had suffered losses in the Undead World this time. Especially so for the team from the Rotterdam, which depletedrge amounts of magical crystals they¡¯d acquired in Osric¡¯s pce. Yet what it gained was the destruction of their Alchemy Colossuses and the damage of most of their defensive mechanisms. This damage was enough to give Donald a heartache.

    As for the team from the Brilliance Shrine, it would not be fair to say that they did not have any benefits. After all, the abilities of their Pdins and Priests were greatly enhanced with the help of Lin Li¡¯s debris of the stars, Holy Light. Originally, Archbishop Martin thought that this booster was a short-lived one. He was worried that it would be like enhanced Holy Light Magic that had aftereffects.

    However, Martin realized from the reorganization that no trace of the increased power seemed to be decreasing. As he sighed with relief, he started to think about what he had been contemting earlier. Yet, he knew that this was not the time to discuss that. Hence, he nned to leave it till his team had its rest, and was ready to set off.

    The Tower of Dusk was the only team that reaped real rewards from their mission in the Undead World. Not to mention that Lin Li had acquired a Seed of Eternity, the benefits gained by his Undead followers were considerable enough.

    Through the continuous battles in the Undead World, the Death Knights had the opportunity to swallowrge amounts of soul fire, and part of the team seeded in advancing into Retribution Knights. Now, the team of Death Knights could just be renamed as a team of Retribution Knights, for there were just a few Death Knights left in the team. Moreover, the Death Knights that were left were all at the peak of level-19¡ªtheir progress to the next stage was just a matter of time.

    Next, there were also Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who were already at the peak of the Legendary-realm. While it was not impossible, it would be an arduous task for them to step into the Sanctuary-realm just by engulfing the soul fire. However, being enlightened by the true essence of thews in the Undead World was the greatest reward they could ever wish for.

    To Undead creatures, there was only one way for them to seek enlightenment about the Undead World. That was to leave Anril to enter the Undead World that belonged to the Undead. Hence, in normal circumstances, they would only find their way to the Sanctuary-realm in the Undead World.

    The three Undead Lords of the Shadowglen were at level-22 and level-23 when they established the contract with Geresco. Yet, their power was still the same after thousands of years in Anril.

 Chapter 968 - Seed

    <h4>Chapter 968: Seed</h4>

    This was because they did not have the real understanding of the Undead World to master the essence of itsws. If they had entered the Undead World long ago, they might have be Undead Lords in the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, the legendary Undead World was a tant ce where only the fittest survived. The only way to survive there was by power. The Undead creatures swallowed one another¡¯s soul fire, the Undead Lords fought over territories, and the defeated could only lose their soul fire. Hence, not every Undead creature from Anril would have the courage to enter the Undead World. Even if they had the ability of the three Undead Lords from the Shadowglen, they would not be sure that they could have the confidence to survive in the Undead World.

    Furthermore, there was little chance for anyone to return to Anril from the Undead World. If there was a Necromancer who could cast the Tide of Death to summon huge amounts of Undead creatures from there, any Undead Lord would be in great danger. Perhaps only an existence like the Immortal King could have the ability to summon such Undead creatures with the Tide of Death.

    Ujfalusi and Norfeller had the honor to enter the Undead World that was created by the Immortal King, and to be enlightened by the true essence of thews within it. They would not need to take a trip of no return to the Undead World now. As long as theyprehended this essence, they had great potential to step into the Sanctuary-realm.

    This was the same for Ujfalusi¡¯s Crimson Dragon and Lin Li¡¯s red dragon. While they acquired huge amounts of soul fire, they had the sameprehension of the essence of thews within the Undead World. This meant that the doors of Sanctuary-realm had opened slightly for them, and were waiting for their arrival.

    While Lin Li was clear about the benefits his followers gained from the Undead World, this was not his current focus. He was contemting his earlier query. <i>What is the rtionship between the Tree of Eternity and the Undead tree? Why did a living Seed of Eternity appear after the copse of the Undead tree?</i>

    The thought of the all-epassing Undead tree helped him rte to how it had been said that the Tree of Eternity was in charge of the progress of the High Elves. Lin Li gained a vague sense of understanding when he linked all the thoughts to the first dead seed he acquired from the Central Tower.

    Perhaps Immortal King only had two Seeds of Eternity that were dead. Perhaps he created the Undead World with the intention to grow the dead seed. This was the same for Undead creatures. The passing of a life meant another form of birth.

    The death of Undead creatures did not conform to the transition between life and earth when they lost their soul fire. Since the Tree of Eternity did not have any soul fire, its death in the Undead World would be another form of birth. This might¡¯ve been the motive of the Immortal King¡ªto create a cycle between life and death.

    Of course, the deeper rules and mysteries were not what Lin Li couldprehend clearly with his present knowledge and experience. However, he could tell from the superficial clues that the Immortal King had achieved the cycle between life and death. The death of the Undead tree in the Undead World was birth in the form of the Seed of Eternity.

    However, the thought that he was about to acquire two Trees of Eternity excited Lin Li. His eyes lit up when he thought about the story he¡¯d heard before he transmigrated to Anril. In the game lore of the Endless World, it had been said that the High Elves were born from the Tree of Eternity. However, there was only one Tree of Eternity in Anril. What could be the mystery underlying this?

    It seemed foolish to rte Anril with the Endless World. However, after his experiences in Anril, Lin Li could be sure that there had to be some connection between the two worlds.

    He had questions. <i>Why did the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and Stars of Fury from the game only appear in Anril, but left no stories in Anril? Also, why did the Whispering God from the Endless World appear in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum? And why did I enter my Endless Labyrinth on thest day of my exploration of the Sky Castle?</i>

    These questions were enough to let Lin Li believe that there had to be many things inmon between Anril and the Endless World. Hence, Lin Li could not avoid pondering the reason why the High Elves only had one Tree of Eternity in Anril, but were not birthed from the tree like what happened in the Endless World.

    Lin Li had no idea about the reason behind all these discoveries. He naturally could not obtain the answers to these questions. However, he remembered from the legends of the Endless World that the High Elves that were birthed from the Tree of Eternity achieved greater prosperity than the High Elves in Anril. They ruled the entire world for a longer time, and achieved greater advancements. Since they were the same race, the only difference had toy in the Tree of Eternity.

    This thought gave Lin Li greater anticipation. If he were to nt this seed in the Tower of Dusk, what would happen to the development of the tower with their two Trees of Eternity?

    ¡°Master Felic, I wonder if you have time for a chat,¡± said Archbishop Martin smilingly. His tone was a little unusual. It was as if he was trying to suppress hisughter.

    Lin Li was someone who respected his elders. Although he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he maintained the same respect for an elder like Archbishop Martin. He invited Archbishop Martin to be seated in a chair beside him.

    ¡°Please be seated, Archbishop. I suppose you have ns for the expedition?¡± asked Lin Li.

    The most important thing for them to do was to explore the Sky Castle. Hence, Lin Li naturally thought of the Sky Castle when he saw Archbishop Martin approach them. After all, Archbishop Martin had always been approaching him to discuss ns regarding the expedition.

    This time, Archbishop Martin became embarrassed when he heard Lin Li¡¯s question.

    ¡°Master Felic, I think that it has been quite some time since you visited the Brilliance Shrine after you rid Pope of the Viper¡¯s poison,¡± said Martin after some hesitation.

    Archbishop Martin knew that Lin Li did not really see himself as the Son of The Holy Light. Hence, he did not mention it immediately. He started by talking about the incident that had happened to Pope Rosario in the past.

    However, Lin Li froze when he heard Archbishop Martin. He thought that his speech was not really relevant. The most important matter right now was to explore the Sky Castle. Why would he mention the bygones? This was not a time for reminiscence.

    Archbishop Martin felt extremely awkward when he saw Lin Li¡¯s confusion. It did not feel right to invite someone over just because he was of use to them. However, the thought of how the power of the Holy Light had helped to boost his men by a level or two was really tempting. Archbishop Martin just had to thicken his face for this matter.

    ¡°Master Felic, I was wondering if you would have time to visit the Brilliance Shrine after this expedition. I presume that the Pope would love to see you now that you are in the Sanctuary-realm,¡± said Archbishop Martin. He mentioned Pope Rosario in hopes of persuading Lin Li to agree to make the visit. He felt that since Lin Li only entered the Sanctuary-realm recently, he would love to have someone to discuss new ideas with.

    Although the request made by Archbishop Martin was not very timely, Lin Li did not try to infer his underlying intentions. Furthermore, he was clear that since he was making use of Light and Darkness as his foundation in the Sanctuary-realm, conversing with Pope Rosario would not be a bad idea.

    Hence, Lin Li did not reject Martin¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Archbishop Martin, you are too courteous. I had ns to discuss some matters with the Pope a long time ago. If we are toplete the exploration safely this time, I will head to Brilliance Shrine,¡± agreed Lin Li readily.

    Archbishop Martin sighed in relief when he heard Lin Li¡¯s reply. His eyes lit up, and showed great, insuppressible happiness. ¡°That¡¯s great, Master Felic! That¡¯s a deal then.¡±

    Lin Li was still puzzling over Archbishop Martin¡¯s excitement over his agreement to head to the shrine when he swept his gaze at the team from the Brilliance Shrine. Then, he finally understood Martin¡¯s intentions.

    However, Lin Li was not worried about the Brilliance Shrine being interested in his Holy Light. If it had been the past, he would have been extremely worried. Now that he had entered the Sanctuary-realm, he was certain that Rosario would not want to have a bad rtionship with him just for the Holy Light.

    Donald from the Rotterdam watched intently when he saw the passionate exchange Lin Li and Archbishop Martin were having with each other. He could not help but start to worry. Since the three teams had met, Donald had always seen the Tower of Dusk as a team who was there to make up the numbers. He would not have thought that the Tower of Dusk, a force he had not heard of before, would have such a Sanctuary powerhouse he could only look up to.

 Chapter 969 - Well of the Sun

    <h4>Chapter 969: Well of the Sun</h4>

    <i>I originally nned to get close to the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team, and try to maintain a certain bnce with the Tower of Dusk with the power of the two forces. However, the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team is obviously standing on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side now. Doesn¡¯t that mean that my team is in danger now!?</i>

    Donald now had to consider whether he should also find a chance to impress the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Tower of Dusk and curry his favor. However, the problem was that there was nothing he could offer. His only forte was his techniques in creating Alchemy Colossuses. However, the Tower of Dusk had a dwarf master of alchemy sh metallurgist whose attainments he was unclear of.

    In fact, Donald even wondered if the dwarf metallurgist was a legendary Guru of Alchemy because he¡¯d managed to discover so many issues with the work of the best metallurgist of the Rotterdam Kingdom. In the past, Donald and the others would still try to find excuses by saying that Angno had probably discovered some secrets that already existed in the Alchemy Colossuses in the first ce. However, now that he thought about it, he felt that the excuse was way too ridiculous. How could the metallurgist under a Sanctuary powerhouse really be incapable? Actually, he had just found excuses in the past because he had been unwilling to face reality.

    Alchemy was the forte of the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom, but their skill in alchemy was of no value to a Guru of alchemy. Donald thought about the miserable situation that his team was about to face, and was suddenly at a loss for what to do. Not to mention the cooperation between the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk, even if the Brilliance Shrine decided to stay in a neutral position, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team would be able to destroy them easily just with the strength of the Sanctuary powerhouse alone.

    While thinking about it, Donald couldn¡¯t help but fix his gaze on the Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who were on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side. All of a sudden, a beam of light shed in his eyes, as if a bolt of lightning had cleared the fog in his brain. He immediately came up with an idea.

    However, after getting an idea, Donald did not immediately look for Lin Li. Since Lin Li had just had an intimate conversation with Archbishop Martin, it was clearly not the time for him to suck up to him now.

    The expedition recuperated there for a while. Actually, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom were what required the most of their time. The members of the team from the Brilliance Shrine had all been baptized by Holy Light, and had their abilities improved greatly. They only needed to rest their minds for a while.

    However, Lin Li did not want to give up the cannon fodder of the Rotterdam Kingdom just yet. Even though he was racing against time and against Osric, he still gave the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom enough time to repair the Alchemy Colossuses. Once the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom had prepared everything, the expedition finally set off again. ording to the information that they had gotten during the exploration while some were resting, they arrived at a gate of this floor.

    To be frank, the people from the expedition couldn¡¯t help but feel terrified at the thought of the gate with the ck vortex and the intense battle in the two realms previously. God knew what kind of world was waiting for them behind the gate. It might just be their burial ground.

    However, they had no choice but to enter, because other than that gate, there was no other door for them to pass through on this entire floor. Hence, at the instant that they stepped through the gate, almost everyone couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath.

    Passing through the gate, the expedition arrived in yet another world. However, when Lin Li saw this world, he was stunned because it had an extraordinary significance to Lin Li. It was something that he could never truly forget no matter how many years had passed.

    It was an absolutely unimaginable and majestic pce that emitted a golden glow and grandeur, as if only the supreme celestial gods were fit to set foot in it. Facing such a pce, almost everyone felt small and insignificant. It was as if standing there was an unforgivable sphemy.

    The massive pce wasrge and majestic, and it resembled a god looking down on the mortals. The golden rays of light filled the entire space, and no one dared to look at it at all. Standing in front of the glorious pce, everyone involuntarily began breathing softly even though it was just a lifeless pce. The iparably somber ambiance made each and every one of them feel oppressed.

    They had never felt that kind of shock and pressure before, even when they were facing the Sky Castle that was a condensation of the wisdom of the High Elves. They could not imagine that such a pce which could not be described in words at all would exist in this world. Even the most magnificent High Elven buildings described in history were probably far inferior to the pce before them now.

    However, the reason for Lin Li¡¯s shock was different from others. He was not stunned by the grandeur of the majestic building, but because of the ovepping of his memories and reality. Yes, in the eyes of others, they had never seen this pce before. However, Lin Li was no stranger to it, because it was called the Well of the Sun.

    The name Well of the Sun came from the world of the game that Lin Li had yed before he transmigrated. ording to the background story of the game¡¯s setting, the Tree of Eternity copsed and caused the entire world to enter a frenzy of mana, forming a massive copse of the space. It also caused a huge rift on the maind.

    Of course, Lin Li was not familiar with the Well of the Sun only because he understood the background story well. It was because he had entered the Well of the Sun before. Technically, it was his main yer character, the Hunter, who did. However, that made no difference. He had also obtained the Stars of Fury from the Well of the Sun.

    After Lin Li arrived in Anril and discovered the rtionship between Anril and the Endless World, especially after obtaining the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he had also once tried to find some information about the Well of the Sun. He wanted to try and see if he could regain the Stars of Fury from the Well of the Sun in this world.

    However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, there was no information about the Well of the Sun in the world of Anril. Besides, it was not because of an information blockade, but because neither the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine nor the Supreme Council had any information about the Well of the Sun in their archives.

    In the Endless World, the Well of the Sun was a rather peculiar and terrifying ce. Rumor had it that one end of it waspletely connected to the Endless Abyss, and after the copse of the Tree of Eternity, there had been endless Abyssal Demons that swarmed into Anril through the Well of the Sun, causing massive disasters.

    Besides, the disasters caused by the Well of the Sun had never ended even during the era of human civilization in the Endless World. Every now and then, the major kingdoms of the world in the game issuedrge-scale group quests to rally yers to go deal with the Abyssal Demons that surged out of the Well of the Sun.

    If those disasters had also urred in Anril, they would have definitely been recorded in history as such matters simply couldn¡¯t be covered up even if one tried.

    At one point, the oue even made Lin Li who thought that there had to be a rtionship between the two worlds to begin doubting his own conjectures.

    However, in the world of Anril, the copse of the Tree of Eternity did cause some consequences. In fact, the copse caused one of thergest spatial rifts in the entire world, in the spot where the tree had copsed. However, it was also the safest one.

    The mention of a spatial rift would often make people change their expressions, for several famous ck Currents in history had brought about absolute horror to the people in the world. Besides, there was also the fall of the Darkness Shrine. The great rift in the Eternal Darkness Altar caused the disaster that almostpletely annihted the Darkness Shrine from the world. Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine had also gotten poisoned by a Viper during a ck Current.

    However, there had never been any magical beasts that surged out of the rift in the space where the Tree of Eternity copsed to harm humans. In fact, in the surroundings of the spatial rift, the environment was no differentpared to other ces, and there were no leakage of mana or any vigorous and abnormal fluctuations.

    Rumor had it that thergest space rift was almost harmless in the world of Anril. As long as one did not go too close and end up getting caught in it, they could just pretend it didn¡¯t exist. Due to the fact that therge spatial rift looked like a whirlpool, it was also known as the Great Whirlpool.

    Hence, Lin Li had always been troubled about whether the Well of the Sun existed or not. Facing this glorious pce, Lin Li finally understood that Anril did have the Well of the Sun, but the Immortal King had integrated it into his own World Domain.

    However, that matter gave Lin Li another question. How did the Immortal King move the Well of the Sun there? Of course, Lin Li believed that it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to do with the Immortal King¡¯s strength, but the issue was the timing of the appearance of the Well of the Sun.

    ording to the legends of the Endless World, the Well of the Sun appeared due to the fall of the Tree of Eternity. In reality, before the Tree of Eternity copsed, the Well of the Sun should have been named the Sun Pce, which was one of the two greatest pces of the High Elves. The other one was called the Moon Pce, but it was nowhere to be found after the great war, and it did not leave behind any traces or clues in Anril.

    However, in the history of Anril, the Tree of Eternity was destroyed by Geresco, the God of Mages, roughly at the end of the Dark Age. The copse of the Tree of Eternity was precisely what caused the High Elves to lose all hope of turning the situation around, thus allowing the rebellion forces of the various races to achieve the final victory.

    However, at that time, several years had passed since the Immortal King had gone missing. How did he appear again to take the Well of the Sun away? Could it be that he had been watching coldly from the sidelines all this time as the High Elves got wiped out?

    In the past, the Dragon of Destruction Azardas had foreseen the rise of the High Elves, and tried to destroy the Tree of Eternity, but he ended up getting killed by the Immortal King. If the Immortal King had been watching Anril, why did he protect the High Elves at first before allowing the Tree of Eternity to fall and the High Elves to be annihtedter?

    Could it be that the Immortal King feared Geresco¡¯s strength? Although that conjecture seemed a bit ridiculous, the Immortal King wasn¡¯t far from Geresco who was already close to the existence of a god. The fact that he could kill the Dragon of Destruction was enough to prove that the Immortal King was probably just as able as real gods!

    However, in the history of Anril, there had never been records of Geresco fighting the Immortal King, and it seemed that the two powerhouses that appeared one after another in Anril did not have a chance to meet at all.

    At the thought of the issue of time, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but remember another thing¡ªwhen he had first explored the Sky Castle, the elves¡¯ team found the unicorn that had supposedly given them hope when they had been held captive in the prison of the Central Tower. In the legends of the elves, the unicorn was the mount of the Goddess of Nature who had purified the entire poisonousnd of death and turned it into the current Emerald Forest that was full of vitality.

    However, after the purification, the unicorn somehow disappeared for no reason. Legend had it that the Goddess of Nature had once given the elves an oracle, but the elves settled down in the Emerald Forest after the end of the Dark Age.

    Could it be that the Immortal King already possessed the ability to transmigrate and time-travel? Although his conjecture seemed a little absurd and far-fetched, Lin Li knew that such a possibility existed in Anril. In fact, the Dragon of Time, which was one of the five Dragon Aspects, had the ability to travel through the past and future, thus making it the most mysterious Dragon Aspect.

    However, no matter what the truth was, there was at least something for Lin Li to rejoice about. After all,pared to the two previous worlds, he had explored the Well of the Sun before. Even though it would not be exactly the same as what he remembered, he would not be wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

    Besides, precisely because of his familiarity with the Well of the Sun, Lin Li was well aware that it would be more dangerous to wander around the Well of the Sun aspared to the previous two worlds.

    By now, the members of the expedition had already been standing in front of the pce gate of the Well of the Sun for a long time. They had just recovered from shock, and finally had the mood to carefully scrutinize the pce. In fact, if they took a close look, they would discover that the beautiful and majestic pce was not really perfect, and the bedazzling, gilded pce was actually iplete too.

    Despite the copse of the Tree of Eternity that caused a massive rift to appear in Anril, the pce actually managed to stayrgely intact, with only just some slight damage. That was actually a miracle. Of course, apart from Lin Li, the rest of the expedition did not know the reason for the damage. They merely felt that the damage didn¡¯t seem to make the pce any less magnificent or resplendent. In fact, it even made the entire pce give off a vicissitudinous vibe.

 Chapter 970 - Phantom

    <h4>Chapter 970: Phantom</h4>

    Although they did not know about the Well of the Sun, everyone in the expedition knew from their experiences in the previous two worlds that the interior of the pce would definitely not be as wonderful as it looked on the outside. Besides, the more beautiful it seemed, the more likely it was that there would be great dangers.

    After some observation, Archbishop Martin and Donald once again turned their attention to Lin Li. The strength that Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk had shown had already given them a great shock, and caused them to involuntarily hand over the authority to lead to Lin Li.

    Faced with such a situation, Lin Li did not stand on ceremony. Instead, he followed the previous formation and made the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom stay in front while the Holy Light Knights guarded the nks of the team. He issued orders to enter the pce.

    If it were in the past, Donald and the rest from the Rotterdam Kingdom would definitely express some displeasure about the arrangement, and then look for an opportunity to propose some conditions during the distribution of the spoils. However, now that he knew that Lin Li and the Brilliance Shrine had close ties with each other, Donald naturally dared not raise any requests. He even wanted to suck up to Lin Li.

    Prince Kanber, who was the heir to the throne of the Rotterdam Kingdom, still did not have much respect for Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse. However, under Donald¡¯s persuasion, he did not express any clear dissatisfaction with the arrangement. He simply remembered it and bore a grudge against Lin Li. Forming the vanguard of the expedition ording to the instructions, he deployed the Alchemy Colossuses with a look of displeasure.

    The gates of the gilded pce were slowly pushed open, and the expedition, which had the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom at the front, finally stepped into the golden pce that would make anyone feel ashamed of themselves.

    After stepping into the pce, the expedition discovered that the pce was not just gilded and resplendent on the surface. In fact, even the interior was filled with golden streams of light. The materials used to build the pce were all different, but shared amon characteristic: the dazzling golden light.

    If one were to use gold as the only material for the construction of their home, they would only seem like a wealthy upstart. However, this golden pce did not make them feel overwhelmed by a tacky and distasteful extravagance. Instead, it was solemn, noble, sacred, and not to be vited.

    Sensing the grand and majestic vibes around them, the members of the expedition even wondered if the enemy they might encounter this time would be some kind of clergy with Divine Power. However, soon after entering the pce, the enemies that swarmed towards them in groups suddenly made them feel so miserable that they felt nauseous. It was a group of hideous-looking Abyssal Demons that symbolized sin and filth!

    It was a group of Skinning Walkers that resembled werewolves standing upright. Their eyes were filled with a sanguine glow, and ck saliva was continuously flowing out of their fangs before dripping onto the ground messily. They had strong bodies, and their ws were half a meter long, resembling bent daggers. They looked absolutely hair-raising.

    The most disgusting thing was that the Skinning Walkers seemed to be wearing the coarsest type of armor as they were covered in hides that obviously belonged to other demons. One would be able to smell the stench of roting from them from far away. It was said that the Skinning Walkers¡¯ favorite pastime was to skin their enemies alive for their own collection. Although no humans had appeared here for many years, there were apparently many other demons that had been put through that treatment.

    The moment they saw the Skinning Walkers, the members of the expedition felt like they had seen a filthy, hideous, and repulsive man suddenly lying down on an iparably holy and noble goddess. The stark contrast and dissonance were so jarring that it almost sent them into a frenzy. The Alchemy Colossuses in front began employing their most powerful attacks without instructions.

    However, the Skinning Walkers were not only famous for their cruel and perverted actions. More importantly, they were probably the only Abyssal Demons in the Endless Abyss that could contend with Vampires in terms of speed. With their lightning-like speed, they managed to deter the higher-level Abyssal Demons, which did not dare to provoke them.

    The Alchemy Colossuses at the front of the expedition activated the Alchemy Arrays on their bodies in unison, causing powerful magic spells to instantly cover the area from which the Skinning Walkers were swarming towards them. However, the moment the magic spellsnded, they could see figures that dodged to the side at the speed of lightning.

    This wave of attacks seemed rather aggressive, but in reality, they only caused a pathetic amount of damage. After the light of the magic spells faded, they saw that only a few Skinning Walkers were left in the area that had been covered by the magic.

    The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom could not be med for being too weak. After all, they were not meant to be fast. Although they seemed to be much faster than ordinary mages based on their casting of the Alchemy Array, they were far from beingparable to those who couldunch instantaneous attacks based on the activation of the Alchemy Arrays and the casting of the magic spells.

    The Skinning Walkers were enraged, and let out wails and roars as they charged towards the expedition like bolts of lightning. The Holy Light Knights that were in charge of guarding the nks of the expedition also moved forward under Jeremiah¡¯smand.

    If it were the Holy Light Knights of the past, they would probably only win by a close margin even if they could win. They would definitely also have to pay a great price for it. However, now that they had been baptized by Holy Light Knights, almost all of the Holy Light Knights had advanced to level-19, and theirbat power had almost doubledpared to when they had just set foot in the Sky Castle.

    The loud Battle Song resounded and echoed through the space, and the Holy Light caused all of the golden light in the pce to dart away, forming a dense white band of light around the expedition. The Skinning Walkers that charged towards them like lightning immediately slowed down greatly after they reached the white light, as if they were stuck in a swamp. They couldn¡¯t help but reveal their ugly appearances[1].

    Immediately afterwards, the Holy Light Knights waved their Cross Spears, and began killing the Skinning Walkers mercilessly. The Skinning Walkers who had lost their speed almost had their power reduced by half. The addition of the strong purification of Holy Light caused their physique to weaken drastically. The Skinning Walkers that fell into the range of the Holy Light Battle Song could barely make an effective counter against the attacks of the Holy Light Knights. All that was left was their miserable shrieks of indignation and fury.

    The appearance of the Skinning Walkers did not stop the expedition, and at the same time that the Holy Light Knights were killing them, they still maintained the same advancing speed. Seeing this, the members of the expedition felt a sense of relief as it seemed that the world was not as difficult to deal with as the previous two worlds.

    However, at this time, Lin Li did not seem too rxed. Instead, he even frowned slightly. The appearance of the Skinning Walkers made him even more certain that this ce was rted to the Well of the Sun in the Endless World. With the knowledge of the Endless World that he had in his memories, Lin Li knew that the Skinning Walkers were actually just the beginning, and if the Well of the Sun had been that simple, he probably would not have been able to get the Stars of Fury back then in the Endless World.

    Seeing that the Skinning Walkers could not pose a threat to the expedition at all, Donald was inevitably a little tempted by the treasures that might exist in this pce. Hence, he walked towards Lin Li, and softly asked, ¡°Master Felic, should we search this entire pce?¡±

    In the past, Donald used to only address Lin Li as President Felic. Although it was not considered impolite, he was somewhat disdainful of Lin Li¡¯s position. After all, he was the Chief Imperial Mage of the Rotterdam Kingdom, while Lin Li was just the President of a nameless, minor force. Anyone would be able to see the massive difference in status.

    However, Donald no longer dared to think that way now. Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was both above all worldly power and close to the Brilliance Shrine. He would be able to get rid of Donald and his team easily. If he were to get up to some scheming tricks again, it would be no different from seeking death.

    While Donald was talking to Lin Li about that matter, Archbishop Martin walked towards them with the same thoughts in mind. After all, their purpose of going to that ce was to search for the Immortal King¡¯s treasure. Now that they were facing such a resplendent and beautiful pce, they would naturally think that there had to be a precious collection of treasures inside to match it.

    However, Lin Li did not exin anything. He simply calmly said, ¡°Continue advancing.¡±

    Hearing such a reply from Lin Li, Donald couldn¡¯t help but sulk, but after thinking about his qualms, he had no choice but to hang his head low. To him, whether or not he could gain something was no longer the most important thing. The most important thing was whether he could leave this ce safely with his team.

    Given the rtionship between the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk, Archbishop Martin of course did not have as many worries as Donald, but he understood that Lin Li definitely had his reasons to say that. Hence, he did not ask any questions.

    Lin Li definitely had his reasons to stop them from exploring the pce. However, it was not because he did not want to share the treasures with them, but because he knew that there was actually nothing valuable here anymore.

    In the beginning, when Lin Li had explored the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, he had actually had the same thoughts as Donald and the others, thinking that there would definitely be a massive amount of wealth in such a magnificent and majestic pce. However, after spending a long period of time searching, Lin Li had no choice but to conclude that it was only gilded on the outside and empty on the inside.

    Although there were all sorts of dangerous magic traps and mechanisms in the Well of the Sun, many of which were at the Master-level, logically speaking, ordinary Abyssal Demons would have no means to break them. However, after exploring, Lin Li discovered that the magic traps and magic gears there had long be ineffective¡ªnot because someone had cracked them, but because they had lost their mana source, and could no longer be activated.

    That was also something that confused Lin Li at that time. The Well of the Sun was originally the pce of the High Elves, and the mana sources for the magic gears and magic traps were at least Legendary magical crystals, whose greatest feature was that they could constantly and automatically replenish their own mana. The effects were simr to the mediation of mages. Although they were not really inexhaustible, they were more than enough tost thousands of years.

    Lin Li had only found out the real reason for the breakdown of the mana sourcester when he had broken into the depths of the Well of the Sun. Now that Lin Li had seen the Skinning Walkers, he knew that it was extremely simr to the Endless World¡¯s Well of the Sun. Hence, there was no need to waste precious time once again.

    The Abyssal Demons were intelligent as well, and they were not at all inferior to humans, as they knew to collect good items. Without the protection of magic gears and magic traps, how could the Abyssal Demons be deterred? After numerous years, the Abyssal Demons had already scavenged the Well of the Sun, and all of the magical gemstones that were embedded in the murals had been dug up.

    However, that was tooplicated to exin, and Lin Li couldn¡¯t say that he had explored the Well of the Sun once in another world which allowed him to know that there were no longer any treasures there. Fortunately, both Archbishop Martin and Donald did not dare to raise any objections to his proposal. Hence, he did not have to waste his breath on it.

    The expedition continued to delve deeper into the Well of the Sun while resisting the attacks of the Skinning Walkers. However, a new Abyssal Demon soon joined the battle.

    It was a type of Charming Demon that did not look like what they were called. In fact, they were hideous, with swollen bodies and countless tentacles that only looked disgusting. The reason they were called Charming Demons was because their bodies were emitting a psychedelic vibe at every moment. At the same time they also secreted sticky substances that had strong aphrodisiac effects.

    In the beginning, there were people who collected the mucus from these demons, and used it to prepare a strong aphrodisiac in the Endless World. Of course, the aphrodisiac was not meant for malicious actions. In the world of the game, obscene things were prohibited. Instead, it was meant for cultivating precious magical beasts as pets.

    However, Anril was not the world in the game. There would at most be some abnormal states, but in this world, the aphrodisiac of the Charming Demons was highly potent. Hence, Lin Li did not take the appearance of those Charming Demons lightly. He immediatelymanded the Mages to attack the disgusting Charming Demons while also taking out his debris of the stars, Holy Light, that was far purer than the Divine Power of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team. It immediately shrouded the entire team.

    When Lin Li had explored the Well of the Sun back then, he simply relied on his own strength, and his profession was Hunter. Although his attacking power had not been weak, he still had had a hard time dealing with the Charming Demons.

    However, things were different now. The pathetic defense of the Charming Demons was as good as useless under the bombardment of offensive spellsunched by the mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    [1] It probably means they¡¯d been so fast they¡¯d be blurred either.

 Chapter 971 - Irresistible Force

    <h4>Chapter 971: Irresistible Force</h4>

    However, under the bombardment of offensive spells, the Charming Demons would explode with a huge amount of aphrodisiac that would be almost as thick as mist. Even the golden rays of light ubiquitous in the pce would be obscured. Fortunately, Lin Li had used the power of Holy Light and made it engulf the entire expedition. Otherwise, even if the Charming Demons were all annihted, the people of the expedition would immediately be beasts in heat.

    If all the members of the expedition team were in heat, it would definitely be an absolute disaster. However, for the Abyssal Demons, the influence of the aphrodisiac made them experience a surge in strength, which was simr to when orcs used Berserking Skills. All of a sudden, the attacksunched by the Abyssal Demons became even more ferocious and menacing, as if they had be Undead creatures. They did not care about their injuries at all.

    However, in the face of this, the mages of the Tower of Dusk also immediately changed their tactics by beginning to use offensive Ice spells to deal with the Charming Demons. As the offensive Ice spellsnded, the plump Charming Demons immediately became ice sculptures before getting crushed by the Abyssal Demons rushing up from behind. That left the aphrodisiac of the Charming Demons with no chance to explode and spread in arge area.

    As the expedition continued to delve deeper, the Abyssal Demons that surged out from all sides increased in number. Besides, they were not just Skinning Walkers and Charming Demons. There were also more strong and powerful demons. There were Rock Demons that were formed from ck rocks, nine-headed demonic snakes, Abyssal Pygmies with short bodies,rge-sized ck Iron Demonic Apes, Winged Angels that flew in the sky, Abyssal Assassins whose bodies were like phantoms, and so on.

    Those Abyssal Demons did not belong to the sameyer of the abyss in the first ce, and some of them were even rivals. Once they met, they would definitely fight to death. However, in here, they seemed to have put all rivalry behind them, and becamerades in war. Obviously, there had to be a powerful existence above them that had absolute dominance over them and which they couldn¡¯t resist.

    This time, the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom put in more effort to perform harder for the sake of pleasing Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse. Firstly, the Alchemy Colossuses in front wasted no time in exerting a powerful offensive role to maintain the advancing speed of the expedition.

    The various Alchemy Arrays on the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ bodies flickered continuously as they ferociously attacked the Rock Demons and other Abyssal Demons that were getting in their way with their iron fists. There were sounds of vigorous shing, with sparks of collision and stone chips flying everywhere. The Alchemy Colossuses seemed to be bent on clearing up a path among the Abyssal Demons even if they had to m their bodies against them.

    Besides, that was indeed the case. Faced with the Alchemy Colossuses¡¯ tyrannical way of opening up a path, there were very few Abyssal Demons that could block the team even for a moment. After all, the Alchemy Colossuses were steel machines, and the Abyssal Demons were not Undead creatures. They would definitely feel it even when the rocks on their bodies were damaged.

    In fact, it was precisely such a battle that gave the Alchemy Colossuses a greater advantage that no creature could ever imitate. The vanguard that the 20 Alchemy Colossuses formed in front of the expedition was like a group ofrge machines that cleared up the path. Amidst the continuous sound of roaring, they moved forward unstoppably, clearing up a path amidst the demons.

    Seeing such a situation, the members of the team of the Brilliance Shrine couldn¡¯t help but be secretly startled. The construction of an Alchemy Colossus was not simple at all. Otherwise, if there was really arge number of such Alchemy Colossuses that formed a steel torrent, it would probably sweep through the entire Anril.

    The 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons behind the Alchemy Colossuses were not put away. Instead, they were also moving and continuously emitting rays of mana that were as thick as buckets. The mana cannons were invincible against enemies below the Legendary-level. Even Abyssal Demons like the ck Iron Demonic Apes, which were known for their defensive power, would be pierced by a single cannon shot when facing the light from the mana cannons.

    However, the only thing that was a pity was that although the light from the mana cannons was powerful, they consumed a shocking number of magical crystals as well. Level-10 magical crystals were basically used up in just a single shot. Level-15 magical crystals were only enough tounch a few to a dozen volleys. The magical crystals harvested previously during the exploration were almost depleted, and they probably would have to use the ones from their personal stash in no time. Unless they could reach their original goal, the expedition this time would definitely be a huge loss.

    Actually, that was not Donald¡¯sst resort. He just had to prove the value of his team¡¯s presence, like what Lin Li had said to him when they were in the Undead World. If they were of no value, they would only end up being abandoned. Through the previous experiences, Donald learned that if his team was left alone, not a single of its members would leave alive, let alone reach their goal.

    In fact,pared to the previous battle, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom faced tremendous pressure, but the situation looked much better thanks to Donald¡¯s desperate attempt to attack at all costs. Donald was anguished when he wasmanding. After all, Alchemy Colossuses were very precious even to the Rotterdam Kingdom, and every little bit of damage would cost a great deal of money to repairter on.

    However, Donald gradually had some enlightenment when he watched the Alchemy Colossuses that were fighting in front. Shouldn¡¯t the battles of Alchemy Colossuses be like this? The Alchemy Colossuses themselves were offensive weapons, and their battles should be intense and violent. Even if they had to use their own bodies to m against the enemies, they had to break through the obstacles in front of them.

    The Alchemy Colossus had always been a cutting-edge weapon in the Rotterdam Kingdom, and the materials used in its manufacture had to be rare and excellent. Otherwise, using ordinary materials would be an insult to the Alchemy Colossus. Naturally, every single Alchemy Colossus was high in value, so they were even more careful when using them for fear that the Alchemy Colossuses would be damaged.

    However, doing so would go against the significance of the existence of the Alchemy Colossuses, and cause the Alchemy Colossuses to be unable to y an effective role in battle. If they could not bear to use the Alchemy Colossuses, what was the point of building them? A true Alchemy Colossus should be constructed with the mostmon materials and crush all enemies in its path with its massive kic power and defense during battles.

    Thinking about the current construction cost of each Alchemy Colossus, he realized that if he were to build them using ordinary materials, he would be able to build 10 at the same cost. Besides, even if ordinary materials were used, the role they could y on the battlefield would definitely not be inferior to that of the delicate Alchemy Colossus. However, thebat power disyed by more than 10 Alchemy Colossuses made of ordinary materials would definitely be far greater than that of a single Alchemy Colossus that was built with precious materials.

    Of course, even though he had figured this out, Donald was still feeling the pinch. After all, the Alchemy Colossuses that were being used now were not built with ordinary materials.

    The Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom were fighting hard without hesitation and concern for anything else, causing the expedition¡¯s speed to be unaffected by the demons at all. They were pushing through the demons and roaring like steel chariots. On the other hand, the Holy Light Knights of the Brilliance Shrine were teaming up and singing the Holy Light Battle Song on both sides of the expedition. They continuously charged towards the demons that rushed up from the sides like spinning des that were mounted on wheels of steel chariots.

    In the middle of the team, the priests of the Brilliance Shrine were continuously enhancing the Holy Light Knights with all sorts of theurgy, while the mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team cleared the Abyssal Demons that were surging in with long-range attacks. After the numerous battles previously, the three teams from the three forces of the expedition had made considerable progress in improving their coordination.

    Under Lin Li¡¯smand, the expedition continuously adjusted their direction, advancing rapidly towards the deepest part of the pce against the intense attacks of the Abyssal Demons. Fortunately, Lin Li had had some experience in exploring the Well of the Sun previously. Otherwise, finding a proper route in the massive maze-like pce would not be an easy thing.

    However, as the expedition delved deeper, the Abyssal Demons that appeared around them became more and more powerful. Even the powerful Abyssal Demon Dragons had also appeared. The Well of the Sun was just like a small Endless Abyss. Other than the demons that could not leave the Abyss, most of the demons that weremonly seen there were present.

    However, in order to ensure the speed of the expedition¡¯s advancement, the Legendary powerhouses of the team gradually joined the battle. No matter how ferocious the Abyssal Demons were, the role that the Legendary powerhouses could y in a battle at this level was massive. Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk would be able to smoothly disintegrate the Abyssal Demons¡¯ attacks with every move they made.

    The Alchemy Colossuses waved their iron fists, and sted away enemies hampering the expedition¡¯s progress amidst the flickering light of the Alchemy Arrays on the Alchemy Colossuses. The loud and clear Battle Song echoed in the air as the Holy Light Knights crossed paths, causing the Abyssal Demons to be Souls of The Dead below the cross.

    The mages of the team were continuously chanting magic incantations, and magic spells sted down against the expedition like mags. The Abyssal Demons roared and died amidst the magic spells. When faced with a powerful Abyssal Demon, the Legendary powerhouses left their team and joint forces. There were almost no demons that couldst for a moment under their attacks.

    Everyone in the expedition focused on what they had to do, causing the operation of the team to be incredibly smooth. Not only did the advancement speed not decrease, they even began to show signs of speeding up. In the massive pce, they shuttled through like an irresistible force, leaving behind countless Abyssal Demon corpses in their wake.

 Chapter 972 - Lord Devourer

    <h4>Chapter 972: Lord Devourer</h4>

    However, just when everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly, an unexpected situation urred, and forced the expedition to stop in their tracks. When the team of mages cast a magic storm on a bunch of Abyssal Demons, a sudden force directed the magic storm in another direction, making it all enter a gate in the pce.

    What was stranger was the silence after the magic storm entered the door. There was no sound of explosion. It was as if it all had vanished without a trace.

    Shortly after, an ugly bloated monster crawled out from the gate. It was like an obese Abyssal Demon Dragon that had two spike-like horns on its ridiculously big head. Its mouth was so huge that it seemed like it¡¯d be able to swallow a raging bull.

    Its muscr limbs seemed to be exceptionally slim and weak on that obese body. That monster was moving on its belly like a snake or a disgusting maggot, inching out of the gate.

    The sight of that disgusting monster prompted the mages in the expedition to start reciting their spells. They generated a magic storm made up of powerful spells again, and cast it on the monster¡¯s body. At the same time, the 10 mobile crystal cannons from the Rotterdam cast 10 rays of blinding light as thick as water buckets on the monster.

    However, the monster was not deterred by those attacks. It lifted its head slowly as it opened its mouth. The mouth became bigger than its body, and sucked at the magic storm and cannons. At once, the sky-filling magic storm and cannon shotsnded in the gigantic mouth of the monster, and were never to be heard of again.

    The sight dazzled the expedition. The magic storm and magical crystal cannon shots were powerful attacks that not everyone could deal with, not to mention keeping them inside one¡¯s tummy.

    ¡°Lord Devourer Gol! I didn¡¯t expect the disgusting beast to be here!¡± shrieked Connoris. He lived in the Endless Abyss for countless years, and was thus rather knowledgeable about the different infamous Demon Lords in the Abyss. He recognized the monster immediately.

    ¡°Lord Devourer Gol? What a suitable name...¡± muttered Lin Li with an unusual expression. He seemed to be unsurprised by what he had witnessed.

    At this time, Donald who was eager to im the credit had already ordered the Alchemy Colossuses in his team to charge at Lord Gol. His 10 Alchemy Colossuses started to march towards Gol.

    It was obvious that the Lord Devourer Gol had tremendous ability to absorb magic. Using magic on it would only give the beast a sumptuous feast. But, anyone would be able to tell from the overstuffed body that movement was not its advantage. Even clumsy Alchemy Colossuses had movements more agile than the monster.

    Hence, Donald immediately ordered his Alchemy Colossuses to battle Lord Devourer. He thought that their immense strength would be able to tear its body into pieces.

    At this time, however, the Abyssal Demons around the expedition had not decreased in number. In fact, they were still entering the scene from all directions. Although the Rotterdam¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses had incredible force, it was not easy to leave the team to advance towards Lord Devourer.

    It was fortunate that despite his desire to let Lin Li notice his ability, Donald remained vignt. The Alchemy Colossuses he sent were not those in the front line of the expedition. It was another dozen Alchemy Colossuses that were slightly smaller, but had greater agility.

    They were like Warriors amongst the Alchemy Colossuses. They had huge weapons in their hands and machete-like des on their joints. After charging into the crowd of Abyssal Demons, they immediately disyed incrediblebat prowess. At the same time, other Alchemy Colossuses in the expedition and the 10 mobile crystal cannons worked to help the more agile Alchemy Colossuses clear the enemies in their path.

    The sight of his Alchemy Colossuses getting closer to Lord Devourer put a smile on Donald¡¯s face. It was as if he was already watching his Alchemy Colossuses tear the monster down.

    The people in the expedition had their eyes on the progress of the Alchemy Colossuses as they fought the troops of demons. They were like Donald. They thought that the 10 Alchemy Colossuses were the natural enemy of the monster, and as long as they could get close enough, the monster would be incapacitated.

    At the very same time, the gigantic Lord Devourer Gol lowered its head slightly. Then, it opened its enormous mouth to face the Alchemy Colossuses charging toward it.

    A cyclone appeared in front of Lord Devourer, and shook the Abyssal Demons that were directly in front of it. They wanted to flee the area, but were drawn backwards. They lost control of their movements and were sent flying.

    Arge number of Abyssal Demons started to shriek hysterically. This included the Rock Demons which resembled the Alchemy Colossuses in size (though they were slightly smaller), the short Abyssal Pygmies, as well as other types of Abyssal Demons. However, no matter how they struggled, they could not seem to resist that immense force of attraction, and entered the gigantic mouth of the Lord Devourer.

    ¡°Quick,e back!¡± Donald hollered when he saw what happened to the Abyssal Demons. He realized he had underestimated the appetite of Lord Devourer. It was definitely not a picky eater.

    However, Donald¡¯s order to retreat was toote. While the dozen Alchemy Colossuses knew that something was amiss when they saw Lord Devourer swallowing the Abyssal Demons, they realized that they had no power to resist the force exerted by the Lord Devourer.

    In the blink of an eye, several Alchemy Colossuses that were in the front started to rise into the air, and thus lost their strength to resist the Lord Devourer. They entered its mouth very quickly.

    While the body of Lord Devourer was enormous, what it had swallowed wasrger than its enormous body. Yet, it seemed that its body size remained the same after swallowing them. It was as though its stomach was a ck hole.

    Lin Li could not help but feel amazed at what he had just witnessed. It was not that he was plotting against the Rotterdam. It was an amazement with Gol¡¯s great appetite.

    Lin Li had confronted Lord Devourer alone as a Hunter who was exploring the Well of the Sun in the Endless World. Although he had seen Lord Devourer swallow many Abyssal Demons, it was not as shocking, as those were made of blood and flesh. They were unlike the Alchemy Colossuses that were made of firm metal.

    However, it was this sight that helped Lin Li feel certain that Lord Devourer had the mastery of a type of disintegrationw that could help its body digest anything in its system (not just its biological ability). If not, there could never be a digestion mechanism strong enough to help anyone digest a few Alchemy Colossuses almost instantaneously.

    Under Donald¡¯s orders, the 20 Alchemy Colossuses in the front line shot metal hooks towards the other Alchemy Colossuses that were trapped in the precarious situation. They started to use all their might to bring these Alchemy Colossuses back to the team.

    ¡°ROAR!¡± Lord Devourer growled. It seemed to be displeased that its food was snatched. Its growl gathered clouds above the expedition. Lighting bolts as well as hailstones and aerolites showered onto the expedition crazily like raindrops.

    It was fortunate that the mages from the Tower of Dusk had cast the magic shields in time. Layers of magic shields helped to shield the entire expedition. Although that merely blocked a single wave of magic attacks from Lord Devourer, it helped to win time for the rest of the team. As the priests and more people entered the battle, the defense of the team was finally stabilized.

    But at the same time, the Abyssal Demons around the expedition seemed to have descended into lunacy. They started to attack the team ferociously. Those whounched suicide attacks exhibited an impactparable to Legendary spells.

    The expedition that was relentless previously was forced to go on the defensive against Lord Devourer and the Abyssal Demons. The only bright side for them was the sess of the 20 Alchemy Colossuses in reiming their several counterparts from Lord Devourer.

    Donald really felt like crying now. If his Alchemy Colossuses had been damaged, he would still have been able to fix them. Even if he couldn¡¯t, he would still have kept his metallurgists within the Alchemy Colossuses. He had invested so much to nurture those talents! But now that the metallurgists had been swallowed together with their Alchemy Colossuses, it was obvious that there was no way for him to recover those talents.

 Chapter 973 - Arduous Battle

    <h4>Chapter 973: Arduous Battle</h4>

    However, now was not the time for Donald to feel remorse. The magic storm above might have been gotten rid of, but the frenzied Abyssal Demons were still wrecking havoc. He had to bring the team from the Rotterdam into the battle soon. While the metallurgists who were rescued by the rest of the Alchemy Colossuses had not recovered from their trauma, they had no choice but to put themselves together to enter the battle with the Abyssal Demons.

    Actually, the threat posed by those Abyssal Demons was rather limited. The real deal was Lord Devourer Gol which had a great appetite. Devouring was not its only ability.

    Lord Devourer was merely at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Lin Li could sense that it had not stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. However, no one knew how many demons it had absorbed over the thousands of years it had been living in the Well of the Sun. It was possible that it had devoured the treasures from the pce as well. The umted power from all of the things it had devoured had to be an unthinkable danger.

    Furthermore, ording to Lin Li¡¯s guesses, the magic gears and traps in the Well of the Sun had to be dysfunctional due to Lord Devourer. The countless magic gears and traps meant that there had to be at least 100,000 mana sources. Theirbined power would be terrifying.

    If one were topare Lord Devourer and the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, the former would definitely have much more power than thetter. Hence, although it had not entered the Sanctuary-realm, its massive power made it possible for it topete against Sanctuary powerhouses. After all, a real Sanctuary powerhouse would not have such a great amount of energy. What set them apart would only be theprehension of these abilities.

    While it cast its destructive spells, Lord Devourer opened its enormous mouth, and sucked at the expedition. It was clear that it had the intention to devour all of them.

    The expedition was a scrumptious feast to the Lord Devourer. The team was made up of a dozen Legendary powerhouses. If it could devour the expedition, Lord Devourer would have a high chance to barge into the Sanctuary-realm.

    The people from the expedition immediately felt the great force of attraction tugging at them the very moment it opened its mouth. This was especially so for the Alchemy Colossuses from the Rotterdam that were at the front line. They started to move with the force. The metallurgists within them could not help but be anxious when they thought of the sight of their teammates who were swallowed by Lord Devourer. They immediately fought against the force at their fullest capacity.

    By reason, if the Alchemy Colossuses that had huge and heavy bodies had trouble withstanding the force exerted by Lord Devourer, it would be extremely easy for the rest of the people in the team to be swallowed by it. However, the Holy Light Knights on the nks of the expedition were able to resist it with their battle formation that connected them all together as they formed the Light Domain.

    Unlike them, the Alchemy Colossuses were unable to form such a delicate and seamless battle formation. Their huge and heavy bodies seemed to turn them into targets for devouring.

    After noticing this situation, Donald immediately thought of a solution. That was to recreate the scene when they were rescuing the other Alchemy Colossuses. He let all the Alchemy Colossuses from the Rotterdam connect to one another with the help of chains. Although this hindered their mobility, it yed a part against the strength of Lord Devourer. It was as though they were ying the tug-of-war with Lord Devourer.

    ¡°GRRR!¡± Lord Devourer sucked at the expedition, but only Abyssal Demons entered its mouth. The taste of the demons which it had long been sick and tired of enraged it. After a long growl, the sky darkened immediately. The golden glow of light within the pce became a faint glow that seemed like it would be extinguished at any time.

    At the same time, the Abyssal Demons that were surrounding the expedition appeared to be deeply agonized. They shrieked as their bodies started to inte like a balloon quickly. The mana waves on their bodies seemed to be rising at a shocking speed as well.

    It was obvious that eating was not only the talent of Lord Devourer. The monster knew to transfer mana into the Abyssal Demons to forcefully raise their power. In the blink of an eye, those Abyssal Demons that were in the Legendary-level were raised to their next level. Those that were not in the Legendary-level rose to the peak of level-19 as well. There were also demons that exploded because they could not withstand the energy within them.

    There were a few thousand Abyssal Demons in this region now. This included hundreds of demons in the Legendary-realm. Their progress in energy could only show how massive the powers of Lord Devourer were.

    Of course, the forced power increase was not the Holy Light baptism Lin Li gave to the people from the Brilliance Shrine. It was an unnatural transmission of energy from Lord Devourer to the demons. It was brutal enough to burst demons; for demons which had yet to explode from the transmission, there would not be any good results waiting for them, either. If they were not eaten by Lord Devourer in the future, their lives would notst long, either.

    Yet, to Lord Devourer, these demons were only its food that it had long been sick and tired of. It paid no attention to their lives at all. Transferring mana to these demons to use them as baits for more delicious food was what that mattered more.

    Very soon, the Abyssal Demons that had their power raised stopped screaming in agony. They pounced towards the expedition with violent mana. All they wanted to do was to vent the energy within their bodies. To the expedition, however, it was not anything great.

    Those Skinning Walkers that originally thrived on speed became faster. It was difficult to notice their movements with the naked eye. The ck Iron Demonic Apes that had a strong build acquired more strength and increased in height. All of their punches had enough strength to send an Alchemy Colossus flying. The other Abyssal Demons were the same. Each of their abilities were raised by multiple folds, and they had incredibly strong bodies and mana.

    The Lord Devourer that had raised the power of the Abyssal Demons did not wait for its demons to send the delicacies to it, either. It continued to cast powerful spells against the expedition mercilessly. Those Legendary-level spells that showered the team would suffice to destroy a city instantaneously. No powerhouse in the peak of the Legendary-level would have the ability to withstand them. Their impact was even stronger than thebined attacks from the horde of Corpse Dragons.

    The doomsday-like scene and the terrifying magic storm stunned everyone. Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest shifted their gazes to Lin Li. They thought that only a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li would have the ability to resolve such a terrifying problem.

    And Lin Li did not disappoint them. He exerted a mysterious wave at the Sanctuary-level. The energy was not tyrannical, but it seemed inessible like the sky of stars. Then, Lin Li raised the Holy Light in his hands, and brought a blinding ray of light into the mess that was created by the magic storm. Instantly, the space trembled, and it was as though a sun rose where the light shone. Layers of light dispersed the magic storm immediately.

    After dispersing the magic storm, Lin Li teleported before Lord Devourer from the defended region.

    Instead of feeling fear, the Lord Devourer became excited knowing that his enemy was a Sanctuary powerhouse. While it could only enter the Sanctuary-realm after eating many beings at the peak of the Legendary-realm, Lord Devourer knew that a single Sanctuary powerhouse would bring him into the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although Lord Devourer was merely at the peak of the Legendary-realm, the powers umted within its body through the years of devouring its prey and other items gave it immense powersparable to that of real Sanctuary powerhouses. What itcked was the mastery of those.

    The Lord Devourer did not hesitate when it saw Lin Li appearing in front of it. It opened its mouth immediately, and used an immense force to surround Lin Li¡¯s body. It was as though Lord Devourer was ready to absorb the stars in the sky.

    However, Lin Li was not keen to enter the belly of Lord Devourer like the Monkey King[1]. He understood that Lord Devourer was not dependent on biological digestion, but rather aw that could help it disintegrate all sorts of materials. Despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li did not have the guts to test whether he had the ability to resist such aw.

    Hence, Lin Li activated his Space Robe, and teleported behind Lord Devourer. He used the Holy Light to concretize a white light, and threw it at the Lord Devourer.

    BAM! There was a sound of explosion, and the enormous Lord Devourer was thrown five to six meters away from its original spot. However, it seemed to be uninjured by the attack.

    Although Lin Li did not use any magic in this attack, the impact of the debris of the stars already surpassed spells in the Legendary-level. Yet, for it to leave zero injuries on Lord Devourer, it meant the beast had to have a defense capability even more powerful than the ancient wyrms.

    Of course, this was not out of Lin Li¡¯s expectations. He expected the beast to use all of the energy it had umted over time on defense. It was one of the reasons why it could have the ability to challenge a Sanctuary powerhouse. The energy it had absorbed over the years had turned into a crystal that no Sanctuary powerhouse would be able to break with a single attack.

    Although Lin Li had experience battling Lord Devourer when he was at the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, there was always a difference between the fictional and real world. Despite the two worlds being simr to each other, Lin Li was a Hunter in the Endless World. It was a game that could allow him to tap on the system to fight against his enemy. Now that he was a mage in Anril, the only power for him to use was his own.

    Although it was uninjured after being bashed by Lin Li, the action infuriated Lord Devourer. It stabilized its swollen body, and turned its gigantic head around. It opened its mouth, but did not mobilize the suction force. This time, it sttered a huge amount of magic towards Lin Li. It was like tide water surging towards him.

    Yet, the frightening tide of magic merely engulfed Lin Li¡¯s shadow. Lin Li activated his Space Robe, and teleported to the side of Lord Devourer. He created a Sr Sphere with thews of light and darkness, and dropped it on the body of Lord Devourer. It exploded instantaneously and sent Lord Devourer tumbling away.

    While Lord Devourer seemed to be at the losing end, it was merely appearances. It did not seem to be suffering from any injury. Its freakish defense mechanism would certainly induce a headache even in gods.

    Lin Li felt the danger as well. He teleported to another location around the monster, and watched as a giant hand that was made of mana appeared from the void. It made a grabbing action where Lin Li was previously standing at.

    Lin Li¡¯s inability to defeat Lord Devourer despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse spawned fear within Archbishop Martin and Donald and the rest of the expedition. However, since Lin Li had helped to attract its attention, it gave the rest time to focus on the other Abyssal Demons.

    Although these Abyssal Demons had their power forcefully raised by Lord Devourer, they weren¡¯t a great threat to the expedition. To eliminate the Abyssal Demons in the shortest amount of time, the expedition transited from defense tounching their attacks onto the Abyssal Demons wholeheartedly. This was especially so for the Legendary powerhouses. They left the team, and charged into the crowd of Abyssal Demons like tigers entering a herd of sheep, and used powerful spells and slew the demons relentlessly.

    Connoris waved the Eternal Frost de to create empty space to devour the lives of the Abyssal Demons. Norfeller used his Heaven¡¯s Wrath and bolted within the group of Abyssal Demons, leaving behind bodies that were sliced in two.

    [1] A character in the Chinese ssic, Journey to the West.

 Chapter 974 - Devour

    <h4>Chapter 974: Devour</h4>

    Ujfalusi recited his spell. Death aura filled the air, and one could see with the naked eye that the Abyssal Demons were aging and rotting very quickly.

    Master Basel, Archbishop Martin, and Donald exhibited their respective Magical Domains. The Power of Light and Elemental Powers brought the frenzied Abyssal Demons into destruction. The Alchemy Colossuses, Holy Light Knights, team of mages from the Tower of Dusk, and Death Knights worked together as though they were parts of a giant meat mincing machine. Without the influence of Lord Devourer, these Abyssal Demons had zero defense against the expedition.

    However, no one from the expedition felt a sense of joy because of this. They knew that killing all of the Abyssal Demons would not entail ultimate victory. The key that would decide whether they seeded was the other battleground¡ªthe ce their Sanctuary powerhouse was battling at.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald felt embarrassed when they saw the battle between Lord Devourer and Lin Li. They realized that exploring the relic site left behind by the Immortal King would¡¯ve been a distant dream if they had attempted it alone. The Immortal King was the most powerful existence in Anril¡¯s history. The treasures he left behind were definitely not whatmon men could vie for.

    There was no progress in the battle Lin Li was having with Lord Devourer. Lin Li made use of the Space Robe to teleport around the body of Lord Devourer. With each appearance, he would unleash a harsh attack on the beast. Yet, no matter how powerful each strike was, he did not manage to tear down the defense put up by the monster. The most he did was to shake the body of that swollen figure.

    Lord Devourer, on the other hand, put zero attention on the Abyssal Demons that were facing the ughter. Its focus was on Lin Li, and its primary goal was to devour the Sanctuary powerhouse before him. To Lord Devourer, those Abyssal Demons were not even its subordinates. They were its food that it had long been sick and tired of eating. Consumingrge amounts of them was no longer helpful in boosting its capabilities. The Sanctuary powerhouse before him, however, was its key to the Sanctuary-realm. Yet, its swollen body made it incredibly difficult for it to move and capture Lin Li. It could only growl in rage.

    However, Lord Devourer had a massive amount of mana that allowed it to pour Legendary-level spells all over the ce. This gave Lin Li and the rest of the expedition a lot of trouble. Some of the spells thatnded on the Abyssal Demons helped the team eliminate them, but the rest that fell on the pce turned the once magnificent-looking building into rubble.

    After realizing its inability to devour Lin Li, Lord Devourer stopped ying hide-and-seek with him. It turned to face the expedition, and directed a huge wave of offensive spells onto them.

    This created a huge problem for the people in the expedition. They had dispersed their battle formation to improve their efficiency in defeating the Abyssal Demons. This gave them little advantage in putting up a reasonable defense against their enemies. The magic storm raised by Lord Devourer had an impact more terrifying than thebined attacks from the horde of Corpse Dragons from the Undead World. Not to mention that the expedition was in a dispersed formation, it would be a challenge for them even if they were grouped together.

    No one knew whether it was Lord Devourer¡¯sck of patience with Lin Li that prompted it to change its target, or it was its strategy to threaten Lin Li with the safety of the expedition. Its actions definitely struck on Lin Li¡¯s weakness. After all, even if Lin Li did not care about the lives of the men of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam, it would be impossible for him to give up on the men under him.

    The people from the expedition could not help but feel a sense of hopelessness when they saw the magic storming at them. Even if they had Legendary powerhouses who could escape the rain of spells, the others would definitely be disadvantaged by it.

    This was especially for the team from the Rotterdam. The Alchemy Arrays that they used to defend themselves had been destroyed in the Undead World, and they had no time to restore them at all. Although the Alchemy Colossuses had bodies made of metal, they would absolutely not survive such an attack.

    In fact, it did not matter whether the expedition had put up any defense against Lord Devourer. Without the coboration among the Legendary powerhouses to help the team tide over this attack, they could only seek a way to escape.

    But, as the people from the expedition stared at the magic storm in despair and waited for doomsday, a figure appeared between the expedition and the magic storm.

    BOOM!

    Lin Li raised his small hand, but it was as though he had formed an invisible wall, and helped to prevent the magic storm from getting through. There was only continuous sound of explosion, and shock waves radiated through the battlefield.

    The trembling battlefield sent the expedition a few steps back. The Abyssal Demons, on the other hand, were swept away by the powerful wave.

    The expedition made use of this chance to gather and createyers of defense. They knew that Lin Li would need space to confront Lord Devourer.

    However, after the expedition prepared by putting up their best form of defense, Lin Li did not continue to attack Lord Devourer. Instead, he bolted back into the expedition.

    Everyone, including Archbishop Martin and Donald, were stupefied as they thought that Lin Li was injured from his earlier battle with Lord Devourer. The expedition had been pinning all their hopes on Lin Li. If their Sanctuary powerhouse did not have a way out, they knew that it would really be doomsday for all of them.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡± the men cried as they turned to look at Lin Li anxiously in hopes of getting an answer from him. Yet, before they could get any answer, Lord Devourerunched another attack aimed at them.

    ¡°Take full defense! I need some time!¡± hollered Lin Li as he let the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua and the Twin Dracoliches out.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald had seen the Twin Dracoliches in the previous battle in the Undead World, but not Xiao Hua. The sight of the tender and petite creature sparked doubts in everyone. They thought that it was ridiculous to use a palm-sized creature in such a fierce battle.

    Very soon, Xiao Hua disyed skills that stupefied everyone. Xiao Hua wasparable to Lord Devourer in terms of casting instantaneous spells of the Legendary-level. Theyers of defensive spells gave the entire team immediate protection. It was as though a work of numerous Legendary-mages.

    In fact, if not for its power to absorb any form of energy, Xiao Hua would definitely be aparable opponent to Lord Devourer. Yet, Lord Devourer¡¯s freakish powers would only turn Xiao Hua¡¯s energy into tonic. Hence, in the battle with Lord Devourer, Xiao Hua could only use its powers to defend. Otherwise, there would only be a greater problem for the expedition.

    After telling the team to take up full defense, Lin Li retrieved from his Ring of Endless Storm a set of equipment that was used to create potions. Afterwards, he stopped caring about the happenings around him, and poured all of his focus into creating a potion.

    This sight generated greater confusion for the people around him. Could there be any potion that would be useful to deal with that merciless Lord Devourer?

    Unlike the rest, although Archbishop Martin was clueless about Lin Li¡¯s intentions, his knowledge about Lin Li¡¯s identity as a pharmaceutics Guru helped him to stay calm when he saw Lin Li¡¯s actions.

    Although there was no real pharmacist in the team from the Rotterdam, most of them knew that creating potions was a delicate task. Any slight tremble or impure particle from the air would have a chance to bring failure to the creation of a potion. Hence, it was important for pharmacists to observe strict regtions when they worked on potions. This included having fresh air and little noise.

    Yet it was a battlefield, after all, and not an ordinary one. The expedition could only do its best to resist the constant attacksunched by the crazy Lord Devourer. The battlefield was filled with the sounds of explosions and trembling of the ground. Anyone who dared to request a pharmacist to create his potion in such an environment would definitely earn an immediateshing.

    Furthermore, no one expected someone as young as Lin Li (even if he was a Sanctuary powerhouse) to be proficient in pharmaceutics. This was not to mention that there might not be any potion strong enough to defeat the Lord Devourer. Was Lin Li going to create a high-ranking potion? A Master-level potion? Or a legendary potion from the level of pharmaceutics Gurus?

    Donald watched as Lin Li started toy the bottles and jars in an extremely calm manner. He could not help but want to take advantage of the breather to inquire about Lin Li¡¯s intentions.

 Chapter 975 - Mana Tide

    Chapter 975: Mana Tide

    Although Donald dared not question Lin Li, since he was a Sanctuary powerhouse, everyone¡¯s lives depended on Lin Li, after all. How could they feel safe without any rification?

    However, when Donald was about to make a move, Archbishop Martin pulled him back. Shaking his head, thetter said, ¡°Master Felic has his reasons for doing so, so don¡¯t affect him.¡±

    ¡°However, is there really some kind of potion that can be used to deal with that monster!?¡± Although Donald also hoped that that was the case, he couldn¡¯t quite convince himself given his experience and knowledge.

    ¡°All we need to do is to buy time for Master Felic. That¡¯s what we should do.¡± Actually, Archbishop Martin was not confident at all, but after thinking about the fact that Lin Li had given Pope Rosario an antidote for the Viper¡¯s poison, he had no choice but to once again pin all his hopes on Lin Li.

    However, without the support of the Sanctuary powerhouse, the expedition was still having a hard time hanging on amidst the attacks of Lord Devourer despite having the help of the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua and the Twin Dracoliches. The shattering of everyyer of magical defense would deal great damage to the casters of the expedition. Even Legendary powerhouses like Archbishop Martin and Donald could not negate the damage.

    One or two of such attacks might not have a noticeable effect on any caster, but if they umted to a certain level, even a caster that was at the peak of the Legendary-level would have to bear the consequences.

    Besides, Lord Devourer was not justunching offensive spells like crazy. There was also a unique rhythm in the casting amidst the overwhelming magic storm. Under the guidance of this rhythm of Lord Devourer, the defense of the expedition was gradually controlled by an invisible force too.

    That kind of control was subtle and unchangeable. In fact, even the members of the expedition knew from the beginning that they were too weak to make any changes. Regardless, the attackers would often be the ones in the active position, controlling the speed and the type of their attacks. However, the ones defending would only be in a passive position where they were led by the nose.

    Clearly, the ugly-looking Lord Devourer did not only know how to fight with brute force. Instead, under the facade of fighting with brute force, therey its unique cunningness.

    When the peak Legendary powerhouses of the expedition sensed that their rhythm of defense was getting out of control, it was no longer possible to change it. They could fully anticipate that once their own defensive rhythm waspletely incorporated into that of Lord Devourer, the only oue that awaited them and the others would be death. It was just like being unable to control themselves as they uncontrobly slid towards the abyss despite knowing that it was an abyss. All struggles would be futile.

    In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the presence of the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, the expedition would probably have been devoured by Lord Devourer¡¯s magic storm. In terms of the contribution to defense, even the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua alone could be on par with the rest of the members of the expedition. However, even then, no one was certain how long the expedition¡¯s defense couldst.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald, who were barely holding on, would turn to look at Lin Li every now and then, panic-stricken and with anxiety written all over their faces. As for the others, they wanted to take a look too, but they simply had no time to be distracted because of the enormous pressure brought about by Lord Devourer.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li seemed to be unable to feel the tense atmosphere around him, and all he could see was the pile of pharmaceutical apparatuses in front of him. He went through the steps smoothly one after another with absolute skillfulness. Despite the vibrations brought about by the vigorous collisions of the magic spells, there were no ripples in the potion in Lin Li¡¯s potion bottle at all. The magical mes did not flicker, either. It was as if Lin Li was isted from the world.

    However, Lin Li¡¯sposure did not have much effect on the people of the expedition. After all, they were the ones who were really under tremendous pressure, and they were also the ones who were worried that their defense would copse at any time. If that were to happen, they would be the unlucky ones to die. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would definitely be able to protect himself even if he could not kill Lord Devourer. However, the other members of the expedition, including the peak Legendary powerhouses, did not have that ability.

    Just as the members of the expedition were eagerly waiting for Lin Li toe up with a solution, the situation unexpectedly changed again. The magic storm that everyone could see suddenly rolled back towards Lord Devourer, but that was not something for them to rejoice about, because at the same time that the magic storm rolled back, the members of the expedition also felt a huge suction force that they could not contend with. The various defensive magic spells that were surrounding the expedition were also broken instantaneously due to the suction force.

    Most importantly, the timing chosen by Lord Devourer happened to be the same time that the new defense had yet to form. Of course, that opportunity was actually created by Lord Devourer which had managed to force the expedition into that state through its control of the rhythm.

    The tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua could instantly cast Legendary magic spells without limits. However, the rest of the expedition could not do so, not even the peak Legendary powerhouses like Archbishop Martin and Donald. After all, even simply spitting and cursing would take them some time to catch their breath. Not to mention, they were using Laws to control the magic. Casting one or two Legendary magic spells instantaneously was nothing much, but continuously doing so might cause one¡¯s brain to explode too.

    Lord Devourer¡¯s sudden attack instantly sent the expedition into the abyss, dashing their hopes of turning the situation around. Even the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua was powerless to change anything now. Once the defensive magic spells were cast, they were sucked away by the massive suction force.

    That giant mouth of Lord Devourer was just like a ck hole that could swallow up even the stars, and the entire space began to be warped before copsing amidst the massive suction force. In the periphery of the expedition, more than 10 Holy Light Knights who were engulfed in the Holy Light Battle Song were sucked away. They finally experienced what lightning speed was like, but it did not feel good at all.

    The people of the expedition all knew that the 10 Holy Light Knights were actually just one step ahead of themselves and the others, and it might not take more than a few seconds before all of them got sucked into the giant mouth. They all had the same ending.

    ¡°Master Felic!¡± While resisting the massive suction force, Archbishop Martin was looking over anxiously. However, they only realized after taking a look that Lin Li, who was still formting potions just now, had gone missing.

    Could it be that he had abandoned everyone and fled!? Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the rest also discovered that. At the same time, they also believed that it would be no issue for Lin Li to flee the ce on his own with his power that was in the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, after seeing that Lin Li was no longer around, it became the first possibility that almost everyone thought of.

    Indeed, all under the Sanctuary-realm were just insignificant minions whose lives a Sanctuary powerhouse obviously wouldn¡¯t care about. If they were in his shoes, their own lives would probably be the first thing they would care about in this situation. Sanctuary powerhouses were existences that were close to gods, and they might one day achieve immortality. Hence, why would they be willing to die with a group of minions? Actually, not to mention the people from the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam, even many of the members from the Tower of Dusk had developed the same thoughts.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li¡¯s figure suddenly shed in front of Lord Devourer, but he was not holding any debris of the stars. All he was holding was a crystal potion bottle that seemed in and ordinary. It contained a potion that was glistening with iridescent colors.

    Lin Li¡¯s sudden appearance startled Lord Devourer. It did not dare to belittle a real Sanctuary powerhouse, either, so it immediately cast Thunderbolt mes to kill him. However, when casting the magic spells, Lord Devourer would definitely stop devouring. Otherwise, the magic it cast would be devoured by it.

    At the instant that the Lord Devourer stopped devouring, Lin Li raised his hand and tossed the crystal potion bottle into Lord Devourer¡¯s mouth without even looking at the Thunderbolt mes.

    When Lord Devourer used his devouring ability, even the most toxic poison in the world would be instantly dposed into pure energy by the nomological power that would devour everything. However, Lin Li who had fought Lord Devourer once already was well aware that when Lord Devourer stopped devouring, it would also stop using the Laws of dposition.

    The potion bottle appeared for a moment before vanishing in Lord Devourer¡¯s giant mouth. On the other hand, Lin Li immediately activated the Space Robe on his body, and his figure flickered immediately before returning to the spot above the expedition. Immediately after, the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, appeared in his hand. A huge barrier of light and darkness immediately engulfed the entire expedition.

    Almost at the same time, Lord Devourer roared, and shot its mana out in all directions like an open floodgate using its massive body as the center. The pure mana surged towards the space in the surroundings like a tangible substance. Although it was notposed into any magic, it still had shocking power.

    Seeing Lin Li appear above the team, Archbishop Martin and the rest couldn¡¯t help but feel invigorated, and they were thrilled to see the changes that urred in Lord Devourer. Although they did not know what exactly Lin Li had done to Lord Devourer, they could tell that it was definitely having some issues.

    Yes, there was indeed something wrong with Lord Devourer¡¯s body, and the reason for it was the potion that Lin Li had thrown into its mouth.

    When Lin Li was fighting against the Elemental Dragon¡¯s projected avatar in the Haiga Mountain Range, he had once used the Heart-piercing Potion, which not only caused him to lose all of his mana, but also allowed him to create a terrifying Magic-forbidding Domain. The Magic-forbidding Domain was precisely the reason that the Elemental Dragon projected avatar lost itsbat power, and was almost hammered to death.

    However, this time, instead of taking it himself, Lin Li gave the Heart-piercing Potion to Lord Devourer. After all, Lin Li had experienced the pain of losing all of his mana once, and that was enough for him. Back then, he only used the Heart-piercing Potion because he could not give it to the Elemental Dragon. However, the gap between Lord Devourer¡¯s giant jaws wasrge enough for a small potion bottle to pass through even when it was closed. Why would Lin Li bother suffering himself?

    In fact, when Lin Li was exploring the Well of the Sun back in the Endless World, he managed to kill Lord Devourer with the Heart-piercing Potion. This time, he did not expect himself toe to the Well of the Sun again to encounter Lord Devourer. Otherwise, he would have prepared the Heart-piercing Potion instead of going through the trouble of making one on the spot. Previously, he did not gain much from the fight with Lord Devourer, but the more important purpose was to determine if Lord Devourer that he encountered now was exactly the same as the one in the Endless World.

    As soon as the Heart-piercing Potion was poured into Lord Devourer¡¯s mouth, the strong medicinal effect had already exploded quickly in its body before it could even use the nomological power of disintegration. By now, it wouldn¡¯t work anymore. Under the effects of the Heart-piercing Potion, the mana that Lord Devourer had devoured for thousands of years was suddenly freed from its shackles.

    The total amount of mana that Lord Devourer devoured was muchrger than what ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses had. Now that it was suddenly released, it actually became a mana tide. The principle behind the Magical Crystal Cannon was also a simple release of mana. That was just like an implosion of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Although it was less intense, it would be no exaggeration to say that the power it contained was earth-shattering.

    The substantial mana outside the barrier which looked like massive waves that were stirred up in the sea of the storm was continuously surging towards the light and darkness barrier with loud roars. The members of the expedition that were being shrouded in the light and darkness barrier werepletely dumbfounded at this point. They had never seen something like that before in their lives.

    Inparison, those Abyssal Demons outside the light and darkness barrier were far more unfortunate than the members of the expedition. In the mana tide, all sorts of Abyssal Demons would crumble like sand sculptures that had been washed away by the sea in the blink of an eye, regardless of how strong their bodies were. They would turn into the smallest particles of the world and disappear.

    Looking at everything that happened to the Abyssal Demons, the members of the expedition could not help but secretly feel fortunate. Fortunately, Lin Li had returned to the spot in the sky above the expedition in time, and used Holy Light and Gloomy Dark to form a barrier of light and darkness that covered the members of the expedition. Otherwise, except him, even the powerhouses that were at the peak of the Legendary-realm would struggle to survive in the magic tide.

 Chapter 976 - Garl

    <h4>Chapter 976: Garl</h4>

    The mana flooded the entire space endlessly, and even the golden light emitted by the pce turned into a peculiar color because of the mana that almost condensed and turned into a substance. The amazing mana tidested for a long time before fading away.

    At this moment, the originally ferocious and menacing Lord Devourer¡¯s bloated and huge body hadpletely slumped to the ground, looking like a revolting puddle of rotten meat. It looked nothing like what it was before. Upon sight of this, the members of the expedition finally breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, Lord Devourer had already been killed.

    When Lin Li put away the light and darkness barrier, and the others in the expedition had received signals that told them that they were safe, they sat on the ground one after another. Even peak Legendary powerhouses like Donald and Archbishop Martin could no longer be bothered about their image and gentlemanliness. They just wanted to sit down and catch their breath.

    The pressure from Lord Devourer¡¯s attacks just now was so massive that it caused the expedition to feel like breathing freely was an enjoyable privilege now. However, while they were resting, Archbishop Martin and the others couldn¡¯t help but look over the team. They couldn¡¯t imagine what Lin Li had done to Lord Devourer. Could it be that he had really killed Lord Devourer which had power that wasparable to that of a Sanctuary powerhouse with just a small bottle of potion?

    However, at this moment, Lin Li did notnd on the ground. Instead, he moved quickly and arrived next to Lord Devourer that was no longer showing any signs of life.

    Seeing this scene, Archbishop Martin and the others were even more puzzled. They wondered, <i>Could it be that there is some special value in the corpse of Lord Devourer?</i>

    Although Archbishop Martin and the others knew nothing about the origins of Lord Devourer, it was, after all, a horrifying existence that wasparable to a Sanctuary powerhouse in terms of strength. Putting aside the value of its corpse, its magical crystal that contained infinite mana alone was probably far more valuable than ordinary Legendary magical crystals!

    However, at the thought of this, they couldn¡¯t help but think about the scene that happened just now. ording to the amount of mana that was released, even if Lord Devourer had left its magical crystal behind, the mana in it had probably been depleted long ago.

    Of course, they were just curious. Regardless of the value of the corpse of Lord Devourer, there was nothing about Lin Li¡¯s behavior that the members of the expedition were displeased with. After all, Lord Devourer was destroyed by Lin Li¡¯s potion.

    When Lin Li arrived in front of Lord Devourer¡¯s corpse, a Light and Darkness Sword immediately condensed and appeared above Lin Li¡¯s head as expected. Next, he pointed at the pile of rotten meat, and the Light and Darkness Swordnded on it with an earth-shattering whistle. Lord Devourer¡¯s body, which initially could withstand attacks from the Light and Darkness Sword, had already lost its defensive ability at this moment. It was split in two under the attack.

    In fact, Lord Devourer¡¯s powerful defense came from the crystal armor that was formed outside its body with magical crystals, which the mana that Lord Devourer had devoured had been condensed into. However, after being fed the Heart-piercing Potion by Lin Li, the mana in his body lost its restraints, and theyer of magical crystals naturally disappeared too.

    Seeing that Lin Li had actually dissected the corpse of Lord Devourer, Archbishop Martin and the others from the expedition scurried over curiously too. However, in order to avoid letting Lin Li get the wrong idea, they did not directly surround the corpse, and instead kept a certain distance from it. Faced with Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, they wouldn¡¯t dare to covet anything despite the temptation of the artifact. In fact, they even had to worry about whether or not they would be able to get their hands on the target items of their exploration.

    Lin Li was not bothered by the arrival of Archbishop Martin and the others. Instead, he hung the Light and Darkness Sword over Lord Devourer¡¯s corpse, after which he coldly said, ¡°If you still refuse toe out, I¡¯ll grind you and your corpse up!¡±

    Hearing this, Archbishop Martin and the others were even more confused. They thought, <i>Hasn¡¯t Lord Devourer already died? Who is Master Felic speaking to now, then!?</i>

    However, when they were confused, they suddenly saw an orb the size of a human¡¯s fist writhing in the dissected corpse. However, it looked just like an orbpared to the sheer size of Lord Devourer¡¯s body. After it writhed for a while, a ball of blood and tissue emerged from the hole, followed by a strange thing.

    That thing was not much bigger than a human fist, and was about the same size as the young Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, though not as adorable. It had arge head, but that was of course only rtive to the rest of its body. Its head alone took up half of its figure.

    It had a pair of beady eyes. It did not have a nose, and its mouth took up half of its head, on which there were two short horns. The skin on its body was wrinkly and stained with the blood of the corpse. It looked extremely disgusting, and its limbs were still as dry and thin as twigs. They looked like they could not support its fist-sized body at all.

    Archbishop Martin and the others would never have thought that such an ugly thing would emerge from the body of Lord Devourer. However, the origin of this thing was unknown to them, just like that of Lord Devourer.

    However, when that thing appeared, Archbishop Martin and the others still kept their guard up, and got into a vignt stance unanimously. After all, it hade out of Lord Devourer¡¯s body, and God knew what dreadful dangers were hidden beneath its hideous appearance.

    It was Lin Li¡¯s second time seeing that thing, so he naturally did not have any special expression. He pointed a finger, and the Light and Darkness Sword which cut open the body of Lord Devourer moved above the head of the ugly creature, hovering around it like it would sh downwards at any moment.

    The moment the Light and Darkness Sword approached, the thing let out an ear-piercing shriek, and a portion of consciousness was transmitted into Lin Li¡¯s mind at the same time.

    ¡°D-don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯m just a parasitic demon on the body of Lord Devourer. Don¡¯t you want treasures? I can tell you where the treasures are hidden in this ce!¡± The thing begged Lin Li for mercy, and offered a deal that almost no one would be able to refuse.

    Even those who did not know that this gilded and opulent pce used to be the Sun Pce of the High Elves would definitely be able to tell what was extraordinary about this pce. There was probably no one who thought that there really wasn¡¯t a single thing of value here. Moreover, as long as there were treasures, they would definitely not be treasures in the ordinary sense. They would definitely exceed one¡¯s imagination in terms of value.

    People would die for money, while birds would die for food, and when faced with the temptation of treasure, it would be hard for both humans and demons not to be tempted. Otherwise, who would take such a great risk toe to such a ce? Hence, the deal that the hideous thing offered was irresistibly tempting.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li was not one of the vast majority, and although the treasure was just as tempting to him, the temptation would not exist if one knew that the treasure was nothing. Lin Li had explored the Well of the Sun before, so his understanding of it was probably greater than that of the ugly thing in front of him, and if there really had been any treasure here, he would have gone to get it himself long ago.

    ¡°Parasitic Demon? You¡¯re indeed a parasite, but I¡¯m afraid Lord Devourer was the one being a parasite to this poor fellow, eh?¡± Faced with the deal offered by the other party, Lin Li simply ignored it with disdain. There was a tinge of coldness in his consciousness.

    ¡°W-what are you saying? I don¡¯t understand...¡± The ugly thing did not panic because of Lin Li¡¯s words, and showed some bewilderment instead.

    Although it might be able to fool others with its behavior, it did not work on Lin Li, who had killed Lord Devourer once. Lin Li was not making any guesses, but rather was extremely certain that the ugly thing in front of him was the true Lord Devourer, and the dissected corpse was actually just a poor fellow which became the host to the parasite.

    In fact, it was thanks to the fact that the Endless World was a game. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have associated the ugly thing in front of him with the ferocious Lord Devourer.

    When he was exploring the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, Lin Li had killed Lord Devourer, but he did not immediately get the system notification that he had killed it sessfully. Initially, he thought that Lord Devourer was feigning its death, and so began bombarding the corpse some more, but to his surprise, he managed to force the thing inside toe out. He finally discovered the true identity of Lord Devourer that way.

    In fact, that huge, bloated body was just a walking corpse that was a host to the parasitic Lord Devourer, which was the ugly thing that looked like it could be blown away in a single breath. Its original body was actually the Devouring Demon from the Endless Abyss, a parasite that all demons abhorred.

    The Devouring Demon itself was actually very weak, and if it didn¡¯t rely on parasitizing the bodies of other High Demons, it would probably belong to the lowest level of existence in the Endless Abyss. They could only gradually take over the bodies of their hosts that were superior demons in order to grow into a Lord Devourer.

    However, not all Devouring Demons had the opportunity to be Lord Devourers, as the process involved a lot of coincidences and special characteristics. Otherwise, the entire abyss would have be a world of Devouring Demons long ago. It was definitely difficult to upy the body of a High Demon. With the Devouring Demon¡¯s strength, it might be killed by the mana waves emitted by the magical crystal of the High Demon even if it upied a corpse.

    However, once the Devouring Demon seeded in upying the High Demon¡¯s body, it would begin devouring arge amount of various types of power, from intangible magical elements to various tangible ores, which would be dposed and transformed into energy as long as theynded in the mouths of the Devouring Demons.

    While devouring and absorbing the energy, they would also use the energy to transform the host body by strengthening every aspect of the bodies of the High Demons that were already strong in the first ce. It was akin to building its own castle, eventually transforming the body into somethingpletely different that would grow into a terrifying existence that even ancient demons would have to avoid.

    Although a Devouring Demon that had lost its host would no longer have terrifying strength that wasparable to the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li would not waste his time on meaningless things. Lin Li was very clear that even though this Devouring Demon Garl had already be extremely small and weak, it could still regain the power that it had in the beginning.

    Although the Devouring Demon Garl could not match the young Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua in terms of quick spell casting, they seemed to be on par in terms of strength. However, the ability to devour every attack that came its way in one bite that the Devouring Demon Garl possessed was something that Xiao Huacked. Lin Li had actually already thought about it back when he first dealt with the Lord Devourer.

    However, in the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, Lin Li ended up killing the Devouring Demon with a single arrow after forcing it out mainly because there was no way he could make it his pet as a Hunter. After all, no matter howx the rules were in the Endless World, it was just a game.

    However, things were different now. Anril was a real world that did not have as many rigid restrictions as the game world. Thus, it was possible for the idea that Lin Li once had toe true.

    Seeing that the Devouring Demon Garl was still feigning ignorance, Lin Li pressed the Light and Darkness Sword that hovered over its head downwards. The Light and Darkness Sword even cut a small slit in the top of Garl¡¯s head. Afterward, Lin Li coldly said to Garl via his mental strength, ¡°Cease your tricks. You only have two options. You either submit or die!¡±

    Sensing the cold killing intent transmitted through the mental strength, the weak Devouring Demon Garl shivered slightly. However, the choice that Garl made was the exact opposite of what he feared. It was as if he would rather die than give in. He said, ¡°You just kill me, I, the Lord Devourer, will never be a ve to a human.¡±

    Since he had already been exposed, Garl naturally did not have to hide anything. However, that did not mean that he was not really afraid of death. In fact, he knew very well that when someone was given the choice between death and something else, the person who issued the choice actually wanted the other option to be chosen. The reason and logic were simple, but it also showed how valuable he was in Lin Li¡¯s eyes. The fact that Lin Li was not actually willing to kill him easily meant that there was room for negotiation.

    However, it was obvious that Garl did not understand Lin Li¡¯s means. He showed his unwillingness to submit to increase his value, but he did not realize that he was actually facing a human who was more terrifying than a demon.

    After hearing Garl¡¯s answer, a look of mockery appeared on Lin Li¡¯s face. He said, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple to die. As a demon, you should know that in fact, in many cases, death is actually a relief instead.¡±

    Garl was just about to say something to show that he had a backbone, but he sensed a wave of power being violently infused into the top of his head. The power did not seem to have any effect on his body, but it surged directly into his soul.

 Chapter 977 - Subdue

    <h4>Chapter 977: Subdue</h4>

    Garl immediately felt like his soul had been dropped into a wok of hot oil as it was overwhelmed with an excruciating and unbearable burning pain.

    That was actually just the pure purification of the Holy Light. If not for the fact that Garl¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t very strong, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind letting him experience the feeling of his soul getting burned by the Celestial Purification Fire, like what he had done to the Fire Demon King in the past. Of course,pared to the Celestial Purification Fire, the purification power of Holy Light was actually not weak. It just was not as explosive.

    Garl was still waiting for Lin Li to name his conditions so that he could bargain with him, but to his surprise, Lin Li was more tyrannical than he had imagined. Lin Li did not n to negotiate at all. However, at this moment, Garl was suffering from the endless pain in his soul that was being tormented by the purification power, and he wanted to ask Lin Li stop, but it was toote.

    Although Archbishop Martin and the others behind Lin Li didn¡¯t know exactly what Lin Li intended to do and what he had done to the ugly thing, they were also greatly shocked by the sudden shriek that came from the soul. Even though they saw that the ugly thing was still standing properly under the Light and Darkness Sword, they all knew that it was suffering from unimaginable pain and torment.

    After only a few seconds, Lin Li withdrew the purification power, but to Garl, those several seconds felt as long as hundreds of years. As the powerful Lord Devourer, Garl had never been through such torment before. This time, it was definitely a memorable experience.

    ¡°Can you tell me your choice now?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words once again appeared in Garl¡¯s mind. Although Lin Li¡¯s tone was calm, Garl nheless shuddered involuntarily as he recalled the excruciating pain in his soul just now. Lin Li was truly the demon of demons.

    However, was he really going to be a ve to a human? He thought about the freedom and the lofty feeling he enjoyed as a Lord Devourer on the one hand, and the lowliness he would be reduced to after bing a ve and having his life and freedom mastered by others on the other. Although Garl did not want to experience the pain he had just felt again, the huge difference between a Lord Devourer and a ve of a human still made him very hesitant.

    ¡°It seems like you haven¡¯t recognized the situation that you¡¯re in yet.¡± Lin Li did not have that much patience to waste on Garl. Seeing that Garl did not give him an answer immediately, he mobilized his mental strength again, and infused the purification power into Garl¡¯s body.

    In fact, Garl was just about to open his mouth to discuss the terms of submission to ask for better treatment from Lin Li, but to his surprise, Lin Li was actually so impatient. In the end, because of his hesitation, his soul was in mes again, and due to the fact that he took a breather in between, the agony and pain became even more intense.

    However, at this point, there was no longer any point in regretting. Amidst the burning pain in his soul, Garl could not spare a single bit of his mental strength to convey his intentions to Lin Li. The painsted for a few more seconds. Some kinds of pain would make one turn numb after some time, but the pain of the soul was something that could be felt clearly all the time.

    After a few seconds, Lin Li finally stopped, and did not ask Garl any more questions. He simply looked at Garl coldly. Actually, Lin Li had already sensed from the fluctuation in Garl¡¯s soul just now that thetter was giving in, but he did not give Garl the chance to speak at all, because he was very sure that he could not be kind at all when dealing with demons like the Lord Devourer. If he wanted to deal with it, he had to make sure that the demon waspletely subdued, otherwise the demon would still not be serious about working for him even if he was subdued.

    This time, Lin Li didn¡¯t ask any questions, but Garl did not dare to dy anymore. He quickly told Lin Li using his mental strength, ¡°Wait, human mage, can we talk things over calmly?¡±

    ¡°Talk? What right do you have to talk to me? Don¡¯t forget, you are now my prisoner.¡± Lin Li had taught Garl a memorable lesson through the power of purification, but he knew that he could not use that method too much. Even though Garl was the Lord Devourer, his soul was nowhere near the original Fire Demon King¡¯s soul in strength. If he were to do it a few more times, then even if he didn¡¯tpletely purify his soul, he would drive Garl crazy. That was not what Lin Li wanted.

    ¡°Yes, I am your prisoner and my life is in your hands. However, instead of killing me, you want me to submit to you. You should be a little interested in my abilities.¡± While saying that, Garl carefully checked Lin Li¡¯s expression, and when he said those words, Lin Li¡¯s brows moved a little. He quickly changed his tone, and said, ¡°Wait, I can submit to you, but I want the contract between us to be beneficial to both of us. If you must make me your ve, then I¡¯d rather be tortured to the point where my soul dissipates than give in.¡±

    After all, Garl had once been the Lord Devourer, and making him submit was akin to making an emperor in a human kingdom be a ve to someone else all of a sudden. It was indeed something that was more painful than death. Hence, despite having been tortured twice, Garl still raised such a request.

    Of course, Garl did not want to experience the pain of having his soul purified again, but if he, the hallowed Lord Devourer, had to be a ve, it would be a torture worse than death. Besides, Garl knew very well that since Lin Li did not kill him immediately, it meant that he was still of some value to thetter. Hence, the torture was just a form of coercion, and he believed that Lin Li would not want to torture himself until his soul dissipated.

    Of course, Garl knew that Lin Li definitely had a bottom line. As long as he did not cross it, things would still be negotiable, but if he did, death would probably be inevitable. Submitting was undoubtedly the bottom line, but there seemed to be room for negotiation regarding the terms of his surrender.

    There was a hierarchy among subordinates too. For example, among the group of Abyssal Demons under Garl, some were only meant for being cannon fodder and food, while others could get some degree of power and status.

    ¡°You want me to submit to you because of your following exploration, right? I can agree to submit to you, but I also want you to promise to give me back my freedom after you leave this ce.¡± Garl stated the conditions that he had thought through thoroughly. In his opinion, that was the most suitable. He felt that Lin Li clearly wanted him to submit because of the exploration of the pce. Once that was over, they would naturally go their separate ways.

    However, how could Lin Li let go of a ve with such a special ability? Garl¡¯s devouring force was not only useful for this ce. In the future, Lin Li would be going to seal the spacetime rift which would inevitably involve battles with strong enemies. If he could have abat force like the Lord Devourer, it would definitely save him plenty of effort.

    Moreover, Garl, who had lost his host, was currently not able to y much of a role in the Well of the Sun at all, and it would not be in Lin Li¡¯s interest at all to restore his freedom after leaving. Hence, Lin Li decided to make Garl his servant forever, like Ujfalusi and Norfeller.

    However, Lin Li could also see that despite the memorable torture he had just subjected Garl to, it was clearly not an easy task to get the other party to submit and agree to be a servant forever. It was also an issue of the bottom line. No matter how greedy one might be, there would always be a bottom line, or a measure of value between life and death.

    ¡°Garl, how can you benefit the exploration of this ce? Besides, even if I let you go, I¡¯m afraid all those demons that used to have scruples about your power and abilities would probablye to kill you as soon as they can. It may be great to have freedom, but you can only enjoy freedom if you live on forever.¡± The mental strength of a third person suddenly joined the conversation between Lin Li and Garl.

    ¡°Who is it!?¡± Garl suddenly realized that someone else in the human team recognized him after being called out by his name.

    ¡°I just changed my body, and you don¡¯t recognize me?¡± It turned out that it was Connoris who had spoken.

    As a former ancient demon deity and a Demon Lord who mastered conspiracy and deception, Connoris had dealt with Demon Lords at all levels of the Abyss during the millions of years he had lived in the Endless Abyss, and although he couldn¡¯t say that they were all close to him, he was at least familiar with them.

    Hence, Garl quickly recognized Connoris through the mental strength fluctuations, which surprised him. Although Garl did not know Connoris¡¯ identity of an ancient demon deity, he knew that Connoris had always been a sly and scheming existence that had never taken enough advantage in the Endless Abyss. All of the Demon Lords Connoris had dealt with had suffered great losses. Now that such an existence had appeared in the human team, Garl was truly shocked as it was beyond his imagination.

    ¡°Connoris, why are you here? Did you lie and coax these humans toe here?¡± After recognizing Connoris, Garl subconsciously asked about this based on his knowledge of the past. That was also enough to reflect how infamous Connoris was in the Endless Abyss.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just following my master, who is here to explore.¡± Connoris usually would not address Lin Li as his master, and although they had a contract between them, it was different from a ve-like contract. However, Connoris knew that Lin Li wanted to subdue Garl, so he specifically highlighted his master-servant rtionship with Lin Li this time to disy it to Garl.

    Garl was in greater disbelief after hearing Connoris¡¯ words. He could not believe that a cunning and malicious existence like Connoris would actually acknowledge a human as his master.

    Connoris naturally knew what Garl would think after hearing this, so he continued, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be surprised about, Master Felic is not an ordinary human. Look at me now, this body of mine is the perfect body that the High Elven Highlord Osric had specially prepared for himself. If I had not acknowledged my master and followed him, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten it.¡±

    Osric had once led his Magic Legion from the first level of the abyss all the way to the deepest depths, killing countless Demon Lords. To the demons of the Endless Abyss, he was just like their nightmare. Hence, in the Endless Abyss, Osric was a terrifying legend that was even more famous than the legendary ancient demons who created the Endless Abyss.

    <i>The perfect body that Osric had created for himself?</i> Garl¡¯s beady eyes immediately glistened with thirst when he heard Connoris¡¯ words.

    Although Connoris had a bad reputation for being scheming and sly, there were still many who often got tricked by him because Connoris¡¯ lies were never purely lies. In fact, what he said was more true than anything else, but if one were to do as he said, they would inevitably fall into his trap.

    The most terrifying lies were partial truths that were 1% lie and 99% truth. It could be said that on the one hand, Connoris was a liar, and on the other, he was extremely credible. That was a well-known fact to almost every demon in the Endless Abyss.

    Hence, despite finding Connoris¡¯ words to be unimaginable, Garl did not suspect it at all. Besides, he could also feel that Connoris¡¯ body contained a very terrifying and destructive force.

    ¡°Is this the reason that you¡¯re willing to lose your freedom and be a servant of a human?¡± Garl had a very strong desire for a powerful body as well, but there seemed to be some hesitation in giving up his freedom for it.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? My master may be a human, but he has even more potential than Osric, and might be able to reach the heights of the Immortal King in the future. What¡¯s wrong with submitting to a master like him?¡± Connoris boasted on Lin Li¡¯s behalf without feeling ashamed at all. Of course, it was not actually boasting, even though it might sound so to others.

    Garl was still not too trusting of Connoris¡¯ words. ¡°I admit, he is indeed powerful, but saying that he isparable to Osric or the Immortal King is a stretch. You¡¯re bragging too much, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°What do you know? My master may be human, but he managed to step into the Sanctuary-realm in his early twenties. Is this something Osric canpare to? I¡¯m afraid even the Immortal King might not have been able to achieve this.¡± Since Connoris had mentioned Lin Li and his master-servant rtionship, he had to put Lin Li on a pedestal. Otherwise, he would seem too embarrassing.

    ¡°What!?¡±

    Although he had already seen that Lin Li had a young face, Garl also knew that it was actually very easy for a Sanctuary powerhouse to change his appearance. However, most Sanctuary powerhouses generally wouldn¡¯t care about such things.

 Chapter 978 - Soul Contract

    <h4>Chapter 978: Soul Contract</h4>

    He did not even consider whether Lin Li was really that young. After all, it was not easy to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Even if he was as talented as a High Elf, he would still need at least a few hundred years of umtion.

    Therefore, when he heard that Lin Li was only in his early twenties, Garl was incredibly shocked. A Sanctuary powerhouse who was in his twenties was indeed not something that Osric couldpare to. Perhaps he could really reach the Immortal King¡¯s level of aplishments.

    In fact, while finding out about this piece of news, Garl had already subconsciously reduced his resistance to submitting to Lin Li. Connoris¡¯ strategy was exactly topare Lin Li to the Immortal King. Who would feel ashamed of being the Immortal King¡¯s servant?

    ¡°Enough, Connoris, since he doesn¡¯t agree, there¡¯s no need for us to waste time here.¡± After Lin Li said that, he pointed his hand and raised the Light and Darkness Sword, after which itnded on Garl¡¯s head.

    ¡°Wait, I agree, but we can only sign a master-servant contract!¡± After being frightened by Lin Li, the tiny bit of hesitation left in Garl immediately vanished. He frantically expressed his intention to submit.

    The master-servant contract that Garl mentioned was the kind that Lin Li and Connoris had signed. Although there was a certain restraint, the servant would still enjoy a rtive amount of freedom. For example, if Lin Li, the master, were to die, Garl, the servant, would definitely be affected, but he would not die together with Lin Li.

    Hearing Garl¡¯s call to stop, Lin Li stopped the Light and Darkness Sword and looked at Connoris. ¡°Connoris, you will decide the contents of the contract.¡±

    Connoris epted the order and smiled faintly. Soon, he handed a contract to Garl.

    Faced with the danger of death, Garl¡¯s mind was already in a mess and he was flustered. Although he carefully checked every term of the contract, he did not have the energy to study it. Hence, following the terms of the contract provided by Connoris, Garl siphoned a portion of his Soul Brand and epted the contract.

    However, to Garl¡¯s surprise, the situation changed after he sent out his Soul Brand in recognition of Lin Li as his master. ording to regr master-servant contracts, the master should simrly attach a wisp of Soul Brand to the contract in order to make itplete. However, Lin Li did not do that. Instead, he directly removed Garl¡¯s Soul Brand in the contract, and confined it with his mental strength. It was no longer a master-servant contract, but an actual Soul Contract.

    ¡°You...¡± No matter how silly Garl might be, he understood at this point that he had been fooled by Connoris. However, he could no longer change the situation. No matter how displeased Garl was, there was no way he could snap at this time. Besides, with his Soul Brand being controlled by someone else, he would not be able to die even if he wanted to. Lin Li would no longer have to use the purification power to deal with him.

    Garl was not a stubborn person anyway. Under such circumstances, he naturally wouldn¡¯t bring himself trouble. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and bear with it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be dissatisfied, Felic wouldn¡¯t take in a useless person. In the future, he might even find a stronger host for you to be a parasite to, and stepping into the Sanctuary-realm won¡¯t be that unattainable.¡± When Connoris was in the Endless Abyss in the past, he seemed to have been taken advantage of by the Lord Devourer. Now that he had done Garl in, he was extremely smug.

    ¡°Master Felic, this...¡± At this moment, Archbishop Martin and the others who had been waiting at the back finally couldn¡¯t help but step forward. The conversation they had and the signing of the contract were all done through spiritualmunication. Hence, Archbishop Martin and the others were rather confused because they did not know what Lin Li had just done.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine now. Archbishop Martin, sorry to have kept you waiting.¡± Lin Li did not say much, and directly dispersed the Light and Darkness Sword before turning around to return to the expedition.

    Seeing this, Archbishop Martin and the others realized that Lin Li had obviously subdued that ugly thing, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have let it go so easily. However, they could not imagine how that ugly thing could be of use.

    Seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t want to exin, Archbishop Martin and the others didn¡¯t ask any further questions. They simply looked at Garl and sized him up with peculiar looks before returning to the team with Lin Li.

    Although Garl had lost his host and the powerful strength that wasparable to the Sanctuary-realm, the Heart-piercing Potion did not have any effects on his body. He still had power that was near the peak of the Legendary-level. Hence, after seeing that Lin Li and the others were heading to the expedition, he immediately cast the Power of Flight and hovered behind Lin Li.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. A servant had to be conscious and alert enough. Garl had no choice but to submit to fate now. He only hoped that his human master really had great potential like Connoris had said, and would one day be able to reach the heights that the Immortal King had climbed to.

    However, what no one expected was that after Garl followed Lin Li to the expedition, the people did not react strangely because of his appearance. Instead, Angno, who was dressed in strange armor, suddenly scurried towards them.

    ¡°Devouring Demon! How dare you appear in front of Lord Angno? Watch me crush you into powder!¡± Angno actually recognized Garl, and red at him like they had a major feud with each other. He swung hisrge metal hammer, and looked like he really wanted to smash Garl into pieces.

    Garl was no longer the Lord Devourer. However, he still had power that was near the peak of the Legendary-level. How could he be hit by Angno¡¯s hammer easily? After casting the Power of Flight, his body shed, and he dodged the hammer that was being swung at him. He screamed, and said, ¡°I was just wondering why I smelled this stench from afar. It turns out that this disgusting race from back then still has a remaining descendant here.¡±

    Although Angno¡¯s entire body was wrapped in armor, it was clear that Garl had somewhat recognized him. Besides, judging from his words, he seemed to have some feud with the goblins. Besides, it might be a major one.

    Even Lin Li was a little surprised at this behavior of the two of them, not to mention Archbishop Martin and the others. The goblins had created civilization in the era before the High Elves appeared, but that era was also very short, and there was barely any historical record left behind. On the other hand, the Devouring Demon was actually very mysterious in the Endless Abyss, and no one knew how many Devouring Demons there were left in the Endless Abyss.

    Hence, be it from a personal consideration or a racial consideration, no one would think that Angno and Garl were rted in any way.

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about flying? Go ahead and fly!¡± Seeing that Garl had flown up into the air, Angno immediately raised his arm, and an Alchemy Array on the armor of his arm suddenly lit up. A fire snake then charged towards Garl immediately.

    Garl, who was flying in the air, did not dodge, and instead dealt with the fire snake. He suddenly opened his mouth and sucked it in. Just like the Alchemy Colossuses and Abyssal Demons that the Lord Devourer had devoured previously, Garl sucked in the fire snakeunched by Angno.

    Garl deliberately burped and looked down at Angno in disdain. ¡°Is that all you have? It¡¯s not even enough to fill the gaps in my teeth.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I shall make you the first Devouring Demon to die from being too stuffed!¡± Angno tossed his hammer while chanting something, all ready to summon his Alchemy Colossus.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li reached his hand out and patted Angno¡¯s head. He said, ¡°Enough, Angno. I don¡¯t care what problems you have with each other, but it¡¯s best to save them all forter. We don¡¯t have time for you to cause a stir now.¡±

    ¡°Felic, why did you take him as a servant? Devouring Demons are inherently treacherous, scheming, and sly. They¡¯re the most shameless and despicable. They don¡¯t deserve to exist in this world at all,¡± Angno said in displeasure. However, he had also stopped summoning the Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°Really? How much better are you people? If I remember correctly, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re the only one left of your race. See, it¡¯s proven whose race doesn¡¯t deserve a ce in this world,¡± Garl rebutted Angno in a sharp voice as he descended.

    ¡°And you, don¡¯t tell me that you Devouring Demons have taken over the abyss. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re the only disgusting one left in the entire abyss now. Besides, I believe it won¡¯t be long before you Devouring Demons arepletely finished.¡± Angno was rather hostile too. He swung his arms and sounded extremely threatening.

    Lin Li¡¯s new and old subordinates falling out was not something to be proud of. Archbishop Martin and the others were too embarrassed to keep watching, so they greeted Lin Li, and they went back to their teams to arrange for recuperation without waiting for a response.

    Looking at the strange gazes that were constantly cast at him by the people nearby, Lin Li rubbed his forehead helplessly, but he had no choice but to make Garl shut up using Soul Restraint. Finally, the two of them quieted down. However, he could still notice the intense animosity in Garl¡¯s and Angno¡¯s eyes when they were looking at each other. It was as if they were fighting with each other using their eyes.

    ¡°What exactly is going on here?¡± After looking at the two of them who were fighting intensely, Lin Li turned to look at Connoris helplessly. Among those present, Connoris, who was once an ancient demon deity, was probably the only one who knew what had happened between the goblins and the Devouring Demons.

    However, Connoris was not an omniscient, omnipotent god. He would only try to find out more about things that he felt interested in, participate in them, and then record them. After all, he had already existed for millions of years. How could he possibly record every single thing that had happened during those long years?

    Hence, regarding this matter, Connoris could only tell Lin Li vaguely that the annihtion of the goblins seemed to have some connection with the Devouring Demons. Rumor had it that the reason that the Devouring Demons gradually became extinct in the abyss was because the goblins had resorted to some means. In short, Angno and Garl were the only ones who knew the exact reason. Perhaps they might not be clear, either. Lin Li knew that there was a huge feud between the two of them that was rted to race.

    That matter was a real headache for Lin Li. If the members of his team did not get along with each other, it could be considered an extremely troublesome thing for the expedition. In particr, Angno and Lin Li did not have any contract with each other. He only stayed in the Tower of Dusk because Lin Li could provide him with enough materials for his alchemy research. However, Lin Li was not sure if he could let Angno work with his enemy willingly based on that alone.

    However, it was clearly not the time to resolve this problem now. Lin Li could only use the Soul Contract to restrain Garl while persuading Angno. He painstakingly managed to get Angno to agree not to argue with Garl for the time being.

    In fact, the main reason Angno agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request was that he had heard that Garl had signed a Soul Contract with Lin Li and had be Lin Li¡¯s ve. Angno was like a guest of the Tower of Dusk, and more specifically, Lin Li¡¯s guest. He was on equal terms with Lin Li. Hence, Angno¡¯s status was naturally higher than Lin Li¡¯s ve¡¯s, Garl¡¯s.

    ¡°You¡¯re just a ve, I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you now. When we go outter, I¡¯ll settle the scores with you,¡± Angno said to Garl in a disdainful tone.

    Garl was not annoyed to hear this. Instead, he said to Connoris, ¡°Did you hear that, Connoris? He said that we¡¯re just ves and not even worthy of talking to him.¡±

    Garl was initially displeased about Connoris lying to him, but after hearing Angno¡¯s words, he immediately got Connoris involved.

    However, as the ancient demon deity who mastered deception and conspiracy, how could Connoris have failed to tell what Garl was thinking? He nonchntly said, ¡°ve? I think you¡¯re mistaken. ves and servants are very different.¡±

    Connoris and Lin Li had signed a master-servant contract, and although he was also restrained from betrayal, he still had a rtively great amount of freedom. For example, if Connoris had not wanted toe to the Sky Castle this time, Lin Li could not really have forced him. If Lin Li died unexpectedly, Connoris wouldn¡¯t die together with him like he would if he were in a Soul Contract with Lin Li, although he would suffer some damage to his soul.

    As expected, Connoris¡¯ response made Garl grit his teeth in anger. He was the one who caused Garl to sign a Soul Contract with Lin Li! However, Garl was well aware that he had to suck it up since he was in his current situation. If he were to argue with them, he would only be bringing trouble to himself.

    However, Garl had allies too. After connecting with Lin Li¡¯s soul, he quickly sensed that both Ujfalusi and Norfeller had Lin Li¡¯s aura on them. Hence, he immediately flew to Ujfalusi and Norfeller, and tried to forge a friendship with them.

 Chapter 979 - Gate Of Sunfall

    <h4>Chapter 979: Gate Of Sunfall</h4>

    In Garl¡¯s opinion, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who were Legendary powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, had to have been duped by Connoris and Lin Li into signing the Soul Contract in the same manner. Since they were in the same boat, Garl naturally had to find a way to pull some connections he could use.

    However, Garl did not know that Ujfalusi hadn¡¯t signed the Soul Contract under Lin Li¡¯s threat. In the past, Norfeller had voluntarily signed the blood-oath with Lin Li. Meanwhile, Ujfalusi had followed Lin Li for such a long time, and he even advanced from a Lich that had just entered the Legendary-realm to one that was at the peak of that realm. He was just one step away from the Sanctuary-realm. How could he have anyints?

    Hence, even though they were all considered servants in terms of their status, Ujfalusi and Norfeller did not treat Garl as one of them. Moreover, everyone had just been harmed terribly by the Lord Devourer. It would be strange if they treated Garl well now. Seeing how overboard and ridiculous Garl was getting, Ujfalusi immediately pushed him away with a magic spell, and Norfeller even drew the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Dagger.

    After several failed attempts, Garl finally calmed down, and understood that the dynamics of the rtionship between the members of the team did not seem to be what he thought they were.

    After a period of recuperation, the expedition finally set out again. However, after the battle with the Lord Devourer, the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom suffered major losses. Although the recuperation had allowed them to recover, their morale was significantly lower.

    The expedition entered the Lord Devourer¡¯s pce, and found a gate in the depths. There was a spiral staircase that led upwards to a golden light in the distance on the other side of the gate. Upon sight of this, Archbishop Martin and the others could not help but look worried, because this was clearly different from the gates in the previous worlds that they had left. It was just a staircase that led to a higher level.

    On the first floor, they had encountered a powerful enemy like the Lord Devourer, causing the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam to suffer huge damage. At the thought of this, everyone would definitely be terrified. Archbishop Martin and the rest had no choice but to once again turn their attention to Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°There will no longer be enemies like the Lord Devourer on the upper level. As long as we¡¯re careful, there should not be any major casualties.¡± Lin Li really did not disappoint Archbishop Martin and the others. In fact, after making sure that this ce was exactly the same as the Well of the Sun of the Endless World, he was already certain of the situation on the floor above. Subduing Garl was actually just giving him a good excuse to exin that, although he could choose not to, but that would certainly not be convincing in the long run.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s statement, Archbishop Martin and the others finally secretly heaved a sigh of relief. If they had to go through that kind of battle a few more times, there would probably be nothing much left of their teams in the end.

    They did not doubt Lin Li¡¯s statement. After all, Lin Li had just subdued a demon, and it was only right that he would know what was going on here.

    The expedition passed through the gate and walked up the long staircase, all the way to the endless golden light in the distance. After walking for about an hour, they finally saw the silhouette of a majestic building at the end of their line of sight, and it was gradually bing clearer in the endless golden light.

    At this moment, the expedition finally realized that the ce where they had just fought the Lord Devourer was actually just a small corner of the pce. Yet, they were terribly shocked. In fact, the moment they saw it, they almost worshiped it. Clearly, the majesty of the Sun Pce was truly beyond imaginable.

    When Lin Li arrived at the gate of the second floor, he waved his hands and gestured for the team to stop advancing. Even though they did not have orders from Archbishop Martin and Donald, the members from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom already treated Lin Li as their supreme leader. They would follow his orders without hesitation.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald didn¡¯t have anyints about the situation. Anyway, even if Lin Li did not give them directmands, they would still go to him and ask him some questions, which would instead affect the team¡¯s execution efficiency. Well, Prince Kanber from the Rotterdam Kingdom was rather upset about it, even though Donald kept persuading him.

    Of course, Lin Li did not take a little ant like Kanber seriously. If Kanber just followed them obediently, everything would be fine. However, if he were to jump out recalcitrantly and affect Lin Li¡¯s ns, Lin Li would kill him effortlessly. Prince Kanber¡¯s identity meant nothing to a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li at all. If he were to really die because he had provoked a Sanctuary powerhouses, the old king of Rotterdam Kingdom would have to stand out and apologize to him.

    Lin Li made the team stop not to show any authority, but rather because the journey was going to be tough from then on. Due to the existence of the Lord Devourer, Garl, the mana sources of the magic gears and magic traps around the pce were devoured together with the treasures. Hence, other than the battle with the Abyssal Demons, the expedition did not have to worry about other threats.

    However, it was different here. They were not in Garl¡¯s territory, and the mana sources of the magic traps were intact. Hence, it was not overboard to say that every step they took was dangerous. Although given Lin Li¡¯s attainments in this regard, those magic traps and gears would not pose much of a threat to him, the expedition would easily slip into danger if they did not follow hismands.

    Following Lin Li¡¯s orders, the expedition stopped on the staircase in front of the gate, and hundreds of people and the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom formed a long line.

    It was arge gate that was extremely high, and even Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus might not be able to reach the top with its arms raised. There were also realistic me patterns carved on the arched door, and even the golden light that it emitted seemed to be influenced by the me patterns, making the arch look like a rising sun.

    There was no obstruction in the middle of the arched door, and one would be able to tell at a nce that there was still a flight of steps that extended to the main entrance of the pce on the other side of the door. Hence, Archbishop Martin and the rest were somewhat curious about why Lin Li made them stop there. They wondered what kind of danger it contained.

    However, to Lin Li, a master of magic gears and magic traps, it had apletely different significance. The arched door was actually set up with a very terrifying magic trap, and once someone barged through recklessly, they would be immediately incinerated to ashes by the mes of the sun, just as if they really walked into the sun. Not to mention the Legendary powerhouses, even a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li would be burned if he broke in.

    ¡°Garl, you can devour anything, can¡¯t you? Come on, if you have what it takes, devour this Burning Sun me God magic trap now.¡± Although Angno promised Lin Li that he wouldn¡¯t settle the scores with Garl for the time being, that didn¡¯t stop him from verbally picking on Garl.

    Hearing Angno¡¯s words, Garl did not even have time to respond before Archbishop Martin got a great fright. They finally discovered that there was a magic trap called the Burning Sun me God magic trap in the archway.

    Although they did not know exactly what level the magic trap was, they could tell from the name alone that its power was definitely quite terrifying. Didn¡¯t the name, Burning Sun me God, mean that it had the power to burn everything? Even though the name might be a bit exaggerated, it definitely wasn¡¯t something that people like them could deal with.

    Garl, who had been called out, had already lost his host, so his ability to devour was greatly affected. Besides, even if he had a host, it would be impossible for him to devour the Burning Sun me God magic trap.

    However, Garl refused to show weakness to Angno, and thus yelled at the top of his voice, ¡°Don¡¯t just talk about me, what about you? If you have what it takes, just break this trap.¡±

    If it had been a magic gear, Garl definitely wouldn¡¯t have said that. After all, magic gears and alchemy were rted to each other. However, magic traps were different. They might be some sort of Magic Array or Alchemy Array, or perhaps even a mageweath. Garl was very certain that as a goblin, Angno definitely would not be capable of cracking it.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think everyone else is as ipetent as you? Today, I¡¯ll show you what Lord Angno is made of.¡± Although Angno¡¯s forte was the Alchemy Colossus, he had still learned quite a bit about Alchemy Arrays from Lin Li during the days that he had spent in the Tower of Dusk. After all, he had a foundation in Alchemy Arrays. Although he could notpare to Lin Li, he had definitely reached the peak of the Master-level.

    Hence, Angno did not take the Burning Sun me God seriously, and instead sauntered across, ready to break the trap on the arched door. However, when he passed by Lin Li, thetter pulled him back.

    Seeing the look of confusion on Angno¡¯s face, Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°This is not a simple Burning Sun me God, but the Gate of Sunfall.¡±

    The Gate of Sunfall was usually seen as a Burning Sun me God magic trap, but if one were to just take it as that and try to crack it, it would probably trigger a ck hole hidden beneath it that would devour everything. It was truly a horrifying existence that even deities would not dare to touch.

    When Lin Li was exploring the Well of the Sun in the Endless World in the past, he had suffered a great loss right in the face of the Gate of Sunfall, and almost dropped his Hunter equipment set. Although heter escaped the gravitational pull of the ck hole, he lost his superior-grade Hunter pet which he had raised for a long time, the Shadow Leopard. Someone had once offered him 10,000 yuan for the Shadow Leopard, which had excellent Growth Stats, but he could not bear to sell it. If he had not got the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that he coveted, he probably would have wanted to cry to death.

    This time, if the Gate of Sunfall was identally triggered, no one in the entire expedition team would be able to escape except for Lin Li. Even Lin Li had needed the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in order to escape. Otherwise, he would not have been able to escape the fate of falling.

    ¡°The Gate of Sunfall...¡± Angno was so frightened when he heard that name that he broke out in a cold sweat. He could no longer care to bicker with Garl, and instead retreated again and again.

    Although the Gate of Sunfall was terrifying, at the end of the day, Lin Li had already had the experience of cracking it once. This time, he waspletely confident that he would be able to break the trap smoothly. Hence, after pulling Angno back, Lin Li stepped forward casually to approach the arched door. He did not feel the slightest tinge of nervousness at all. It was as if breaking the trap was an effortless thing for him as he began to do so in a rxed manner.

    Actually, the magic trap was just like a riddle set by the person who set it up. Those who could not guess it would never be able to disable it, but once they knew the answer, they would find that there was nothing difficult about it. If it had been Lin Li¡¯s first time cracking it, he would probably have still identally triggered the Gate of Sunfall like he had in the Endless World, even if he had the attainments of a Guru. Since he already knew about the existence of the Gate of Sunfall and how it would be triggered, however, the terrifying trap would not be a mystery to Lin Li.

    Lin Li smoothly and quickly cracked the trap in the arched door. He was so quick that it made the others think that the Burning Sun me God magic trap and the Gate of Sunfall were all false and non-existent. They were just exaggerations meant for scaring others. Of course, Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and the people of the expedition team would not doubt him. If he had been an insignificant figure, others might really have thought that way.

    Afterward, under Lin Li¡¯s orders, the expedition passed through the arched door smoothly, and made their way up the steps behind. Soon, they arrived at the main entrance of the pce.

    This time, Lin Li did not purposely stop the team, but instead waved, and the two heavy-looking doors of the pce¡¯s main entrance opened slowly and silently from inside.

    There was arge space behind the gate, and the ground was also paved with golden tiles. It looked simr to the first floor of the Lord Devourer¡¯s area. As the gate was opened, there were random noisesing from all directions inside the pce. Soon, countless Abyssal Demons rushed in.

    Those Abyssal Demons might not be able topare to the ones on the first floor where the Lord Devourer was, but they were definitely superior in quality. All Abyssal Demons were at least level-20. On the first few floors of the abyss, they would be Demon Lords. However, the Abyssal Demons here were only minions.

    Seeing the massive influx of Abyssal Demons, the expedition immediately formed battle formations, and instantly got into a conflict with the legion of demons.

    ¡°Garl, can you parasitize these demons?¡± asked Lin Li, who immediately thought of Garl who had lost his host when he saw the Abyssal Demons. A powerful host was absolutely mandatory for Garl to use his ability to devour everything. However, Lin Li was not quite certain about the conditions required for Devouring Demons to parasitize their target.

 Chapter 980 - Devouring The World

    <h4>Chapter 980: Devouring The World</h4>

    ¡°These...¡± Although Garl did not dare to deceive Lin Li, he replied with some hesitation. As the Abyssal Demons in front of him were all at the Legendary-level, they should be ratherpetent. However, from the perspective of Garl, who was once the Lord Devourer, the Abyssal Demons were rather insignificant. He still remembered that when they were signing the contract, Lin Li once mentioned that he would find a strong Abyssal Demon to be his host. Hence, he was naturally reluctant to settle for them.

    ¡°I need you to exhibit a certain amount of strength. Just find a random one and use it for the time being. I¡¯ll find you a better one in the future.¡± Lin Li and Garl had a spiritual connection, so he knew what Garl was worried about.

    ¡°Okay, okay, I can be a parasite to any demon as long as it has a body of flesh.¡± Since some of the Abyssal Demons that were swarming in were Stone Demons that had granite-like bodies, while some were Fire Demons that were covered in mes, Garl asked for one with a body made of flesh.

    That request of his was actually not unexpected, so when Lin Li asked Garl that question, he had already chosen a target among the bunch of Abyssal Demons. After hearing Garl¡¯s answer, Lin Li swung his hand, and arge magic hand broke through the void and moved towards the Abyssal Demons. Soon, the target was caught.

    It was a level-22 Abyssal Gryphon that was considered a superior existence among the Abyssal Demons. They were rted to the Gryphons tamed by the Gryphon Riders in the Fn Kingdom by blood. However, due to the different living environment, there were considerable differences in physical appearance and the power they could disy. For example, in terms of physical size, the Abyssal Gryphon was much more formidable. Its fur was ck, which was a popr color in the Abyssal Demon, and its power was more inclined towards darkness and evil.

    A level-22 Abyssal Gryphon was considered a powerful Abyssal Demon. In fact, it could even fight and kill two or three humans of the same level with its strength. However, despite having such strength, it could not resist Lin Li¡¯s magic hand at all. Other than roar incessantly, it couldn¡¯t even struggle.

    Lin Li had restrained the power of the Abyssal Gryphon and threw it at Garl. He firmly said, ¡°Just be its parasite for the time being.¡±

    Actually, purely in terms of casting spells, Garl was probably much stronger than most human mages of the same level. However, to a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, there was no meaning in having one or two more powerhouses that were at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    Lin Li had taken the trouble to take Garl under his wing because he was interested in Garl¡¯s ability to devour everything. Otherwise, he would have long shed Garl. Besides, in order to make Garl better exhibit his ability to devour, a powerful demon host was definitely required.

    Garl could still use its devouring ability without a host, but having a proper host body would undoubtedly allow it to use that ability to a greater extent.

    Actually, one would be able to imagine the devouring ability of Garl. No matter how powerful it was, how much could something with a body the size of a fist devour? The Lord Devourer had a massive body and mouth, and thus it could even swallow several Alchemy Colossuses at once with ease. However, would Garl, who now had a tiny body, be able to do so? He probably could only devour ants.

    Of course, even if he had the body of the Abyssal Gryphon, Garl would not be able to devour arge number of things like before. However, at least he would be able to make his devouring ability more useful and effective.

    In fact, to Garl, the host¡¯s body was like a dposition domain that was filled with Laws of disintegration. Unless Garl could enter the Sanctuary-realm, he would not be able to leave such a domain if he wanted to maximize his devouring ability.

    Moreover, unlike the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua which could continuously umte mana in its magical crystal, most of the power he devoured would not belong to him. Hence, he just needed to use the body of the host to store the mana that he had devoured before slowly absorbing it and transforming it himself.

    The Abyssal Gryphon, which had its power sealed, was lying obediently in the area in the middle of the expedition team with anger and horror in its eyes. Garl was considered a fully mature body, and bing a parasite to the Abyssal Gryphon that was only level-22 was rather easy. Although he didn¡¯t quite fancy the Abyssal Gryphon, he did not dare to defy Lin Li¡¯s order in the slightest. He flew towards the Abyssal Gryphon while muttering something.

    Upon sight of such an ugly little thing like Garl flying close to him, the Abyssal Gryphon immediately hollered in a hostile manner, revealing a threatening look. It clearly did not know how terrifying a Devouring Demon was. Garl naturally would not miss this opportunity, and as the Abyssal Gryphon roared, he flew into therge mouth immediately.

    Seeing this scene, Archbishop Martin and others who did not know what was going on were immediately frightened. <i>Isn¡¯t this courting death? The Abyssal Gryphon has sharp fangs that can crush hard steel, let alone the small Garl.</i>

    However, soon, the Abyssal Gryphon that Garl had flown into began to show shocking changes. Firstly, the Abyssal Gryphon¡¯s body expanded rapidly like an inted balloon, and its strong body that was initially filled with explosive power became extremely swollen a momentter.

    The Abyssal Gryphon¡¯s body looked like it was about to explode with a loud bang at any moment when it reached the size of three Alchemy Colossuses. However, that was not the end. Next, the Abyssal Gryphon¡¯s mouth began to split open at both corners all of a sudden. It only stopped when it reached its bloated neck.

    A snake could swallow prey many timesrger than its head because it could detach the bones in its jaws, and the Abyssal Gryphon was probably doing something simr. Hence, it could open its mouth to a great extent. The huge mouth of the Abyssal Gryphon was sorge that it was almost the same as its transformed body. Although it could not swallow an Alchemy Colossus in one bite, it still would not have any problem swallowing more than 10 people at once.

    The ck fur on the body of the Abyssal Gryphon was falling off and being reced by ayer of translucent crystals that were neatly arranged like scales. They gradually covered its entire body. The crystalline scales looked as fragile as ss, but their actual defense was probably no less powerful than that of the scales of wyrms.

    Soon, Garlpleted the transformation of his host¡¯s body, and of course, the Abyssal Gryphon¡¯s appearance becamepletely different again, just as expected. Its swollen body, exaggeratedlyrge mouth, and crystalline scales made the originally majestic Abyssal Gryphon be an extremely hideous unknown creature.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin and the others finally knew why Lin Li had taken the trouble to ept an underling like Garl.

    When they saw Lin Li dissecting the body of the Lord Devourer to force Garl out, Archbishop Martin and the others initially believed that Garl was just a parasitic creature in the body of the Lord Devourer, just like how parasites would inevitably exist in the bodies of humans or beasts. However, now that they had seen the Abyssal Gryphon being transformed into such a state that was actually somewhat simr to the previous Lord Devourer, they knew that the real Lord Devourer was not the demon that looked massive.

    Recalling the terrifying power the Lord Devourer had disyed before, Archbishop Martin and the others couldn¡¯t help but get chills. That power was enough to contend with Sanctuary powerhouses. If the Tower of Dusk had such abat power, there would definitely be a huge increase in their power.

    Of course, despite having a new host, Garl¡¯s current strength still could not bepared to that of the Lord Devourer. After all, back then, he had umted his power and strength here for thousands of years. He had devoured numerous Abyssal Demons and the treasures that were originally collected here in order to reach that height.

    ¡°Disgusting, it¡¯s actually such a disgusting creature again. It¡¯s so revolting that it makes me want to throw up. Is your brain full of feces?¡± Angno mocked, obviously not missing the chance to ridicule Garl since they were enemies.

    ¡°Shut up, shorty!¡±

    Garl was narrow-minded. If they were somewhere else at another time, he would definitely argue with Angno for three days and nights, or even directly get physical. However, he knew clearly that if he were to fight with Angno now, he would only end up provoking his master. Since Angno was not bound by a contract, there was of course nothing for him to worry about. However, he was bound by a Soul Contract, and he would definitely be the unlucky one.

    However, Garl was not showing his weakness by choosing not to argue with Angno. Instead, he just cunningly wanted to make Lin Li detest Angno using such a method. To put it simply, he wanted to drive him mad before perishing.

    ¡°What, shorty? Get out of that disgusting thing if you have what it takes. Let¡¯spete and see who¡¯s the short one!¡± Angno actually wasn¡¯t bothered by his height, because that was the truth anyway. Besides, ording to the beauty standards of goblins, it was undoubtedly a perfect height. However, he could not ept hearing those words from Garl, who was the size of a fist. <i>What right does he have to call me a shorty?!</i>

    Looking at the exasperated Angno, Garl felt a little smug, but he did not express it. Instead, he seriously said, ¡°Do you really think everyone is as free as you are? Look at the situation that we¡¯re facing now!¡±

    ¡°Garl, are you very free? Once you¡¯re done with the transformation, get out.¡± Lin Li was obviously aware of his little tricks. Besides, there was a Soul Contract between them. However, that was not a big deal, so Lin Li didn¡¯t bother ming him, the smart aleck.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s reprimand, Garl immediately changed his tone and sounded deferential like he was eager to please Lin Li. He moved his bloated body towards the area outside the team. He had already resigned himself to fatepletely. Since he had already signed the Soul Contract, he had to ept fate. Hence, he epted his identity as a servant.

    Although Garl had a host now, and had also undergone some transformation, his strength was still far inferior to the Lord Devourer¡¯s. There was only one way to increase his strength, and that was to umte power through constant devouring. Hence, the Abyssal Demons that were surrounding the expedition were naturally the best source of power.

    Using the passage that the expedition had cleared up, Garl writhed hisrge and bloated body and moved away. However, the Abyssal Demons did not fear him at all. As soon as he appeared, he was attacked by the Abyssal Demons.

    The Abyssal Demons here were all at the Legendary-level and above. The magic spells they used contained the nomological power of the Legendary-realm. At this moment, they were sting at Garl with terrifying sounds. Even peak Legendary powerhouses would not dare to confront them head-on by themselves.

    However, Garl was the nemesis of such dense and intense offensive spells. He opened hisrge mouth, and all the iing spells suddenly charged into his mouth. All sorts of offensive spells including Thunderbolt, ming Meteor, and many others formed a massive funnel, with Garl¡¯s mouth being the bottom of it.

    Everyone finally saw the benefits of Garl transforming the body of the host. Itsrge mouth was as wide as its body, and its entire body seemed like a big pocket and a bottomless pit that swallowed up the iing offensive spells. If Garl had not had a host, his small fist-sized body would not have been able to do so efficiently, since it had not reached the Sanctuary-realm yet.

    The overwhelming offensive spells that swarmed towards Garl were devoured in the blink of an eye. However, that was not the end. There were still more than 10 Abyssal Demons that were made of flesh. They were burly and almost not inferior to the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s Alchemy Colossuses. However, before the Abyssal Demons could even get close to Garl, they were sucked away from the surface as they surged into Garl¡¯s bloody mouth.

    Previously, looking at the scene of Garl devouring everything, Archbishop Martin and the others only felt horrified because the other party was their enemy. However, when they saw how daunting Garl was when devouring the things, and since they were in different positions, Archbishop Martin and the others were naturally in a good mood.

    Although the host¡¯s body that Garl had transformed was hideous, it could swallow everything in one gulp regardless of what offensive spells they were. It was still astonishing.

 Chapter 981 - Going Up All The Way

    <h4>Chapter 981: Going Up All The Way</h4>

    Garl did not use any special attacking means, and simply opened his mouth to suck everything in. In the blink of an eye, the Abyssal Demons were devoured. Only the few Abyssal Demons that were the furthest away from Garl were lucky enough to leave the devouring range of Garl. The other demons all fell into Garl¡¯s mouth.

    After devouring the Abyssal Demons, Garl did not return to the team immediately. Instead, under Lin Li¡¯smand, he moved his bloated body and switched to another direction before opening his mouth and devouring thepact magic spells and formidable Abyssal Demons like he did before.

    Looking at the Abyssal Demons on the battlefield that were wiped out by Garl in an instant, Archbishop Martin and the others were d yet regretful. They were d that they were on the same side with Garl. Since he had exhibited such a terrifyingbat power, he would definitely be of much help during the following operations. The regret was that the way he used to destroy the enemy was indeed wasteful. After all, the Legendary demons had Legendary magical crystals in their bodies.

    In Anril, Legendary magical crystals had always been invaluable and hard to obtain even at high prices. Each Legendary magical crystal would be enough to be treated as a heirloom of a family or a force. Although the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were wealthy top forces which had many Legendary magical crystals, the Legendary magical crystals meant just as much to them.

    Whenever Garl devoured a Legendary-level Abyssal Demon, it was equivalent to devouring a Legendary magical crystal. Although Archbishop Martin and the others knew clearly that it was someone else¡¯s battle spoil that had nothing to do with them, they still felt the pinch when the Legendary magical crystals disappeared before them.

    In the previous battle at the floor below, the Abyssal Demons were either devoured or turned into ashes by the mana tides because of the Lord Devourer. Hence, the expedition did not gain anything in the end. They initially thought that they would be able to obtain some magical crystals on this floor to at least make up for the previous losses, but it now seemed that their ns were about to be foiled again.

    Besides, since Garl¡¯s devouring applied to all targets, everything within his devouring range would be sucked into his mouth, be it the Abyssal Demons that were alive or the corpses of the demons that were killed by the Rotterdam Kingdom. The oue would be that nothing was left behind after peace was restored on the battlefield.

    Garl, who had devoured arge number of Legendary-level demons, didn¡¯t care about the looks that others were casting at him. He immediately used the power that he had devoured on transforming the host¡¯s body. His body continued to expand and his mouth also continued to crack open towards both his shoulders, while the crystalline scales on the body that originally looked as fragile as ss also began to glisten like jewels.

    Although Archbishop Martin and the others felt that it was quite a shame, there was nothing that they were displeased with. Actually, in their opinion, it would be an extremely lucky thing if they could survive and leave this ce. Completing the expedition would then be secondary, and any other thoughts would be extra.

    At the same time, the people of the expedition were filled with even more fear when they looked at the swollen body of Garl. They initially thought that Garl would need a very long time of umtion in order to regain his strength after losing the body of the Lord Devourer. However, it was proven that even if Garl did not have that kind of power, he was still a very terrifying existence.

    A momentter, Garl had already finished transforming his host¡¯s body, and was wriggling back to the team. He deferentially said to Lin Li, ¡°Respected Master, I, your servant, have done what youmanded.¡±

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have much of a reaction to Garl¡¯s attitude. He simply nodded coldly, and said to the rest of the expedition, ¡°Continue going forward.¡±

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t know much about Garl¡¯s character, he had Connoris, who was the master of conspiracy and deception, by his side. Hence, he had already been reminded, and knew that Garl was the kind who would get all cocky and arrogant once he was given somepliments. Although Garl was being restrained by the Soul Contract, and Lin Li did not have to worry about Garl doing anything to harm his interests, he still did not treat him nicely.

    However, Garl was not displeased with Lin Li¡¯s attitude at all. Instead, he felt that that was the attitude that a master should have. He began to show off to Angno. ¡°So, shorty, this is the difference between us. Do you now know why your race was annihted? You can dream on if you think that you can create a noble civilization with a few pieces of lousy metal.¡±

    This time, Garl dropped all pretense because he knew from Lin Li¡¯s attitude that thetter had already seen through his tricks. Since pretending to be innocent was no longer effective, there was no point in making things hard for himself. Hence, as soon as Garl returned, he began bickering with Angno.

    ¡°Atrocious. You shameless parasites, you only know how to hide in other people¡¯s bodies and steal from them without any creativity at all. You are the ones who should be annihted,¡± Angno cursed at the massive Garl while waving his arms.

    ¡°So? All you do is hide inside a steel shell. What¡¯s the difference between you and us?¡± Garl retorted in disdain while twisting his body and following the team.

    Under the lead of Lin Li, the expedition continued to move forward, cracking various magic traps along the way and ying all sorts of Abyssal Demons that swarmed towards them. Angno and Garl did not stop arguing. However, they kept it verbal, and neither of them initiated a tussle.

    Due to the fact that Angno and Garl were arguing in ancientnguage, the rest of the expedition did not know what they were actually arguing about, and it just sounded like gibberish. Of course, they could tell from their tones that they were going against each other.

    Lin Li could not be bothered to intervene. As long as they didn¡¯t touch the bottom line, he would let them make whatever noise they wanted. Anyway, they were just rivals that would eventually meet. Even if they did not argue, they would find other ways to fight, and it would be better to just have a verbal argument.

    The most dangerous thing about this floor of the Well of the Sun was not those Abyssal Demons, but the countless traps that were hidden deep inside. Compared to the traps inside, the power of the Gate of Sunfall was only moderately high.

    Fortunately, having the experience of exploring this ce once, Lin Li could safely say that he knew every inch of this ce like the back of his hand. Otherwise, even with his Guru-level attainments, he would definitely incur some losses. After all, they were exploring with arge group this time. If there was any danger, the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam might not be able to escape even if Lin Li could do so alone.

    Archbishop Martin and the others watched as Lin Limanded his subordinates to crack the hidden traps one after another. They couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat. Although they did not research magic traps much, they could still tell from some factors that were simr to mana fluctuations that the explosion of each magic trap would be powerful enough to kill the entire expedition.

    The treasure of the Immortal King really wasn¡¯t that easy to obtain! Havinge this far, Archbishop Martin had to admit that even if they mobilized all the power of the Brilliance Shrine, including Pope Rosario, it would still be impossible to get this far. They felt lucky to have met Lin Li, but in fact, Archbishop Martin and the others were already used to being this lucky. The only thing they told themselves to do was to follow Lin Li.

    During the process of breaking the magic traps, every member of the expedition, be it from the Brilliance Shrine or the Rotterdam Kingdom, had already gradually epted Lin Li as their supreme leader, and they would subconsciously execute every order of Lin Li¡¯s before remembering that their leader was Archbishop Martin or Master Donald.

    Archbishop Martin and the others didn¡¯t say a word about this situation other than smiling bitterly to themselves. After all, their hopes of leaving this ce were pinned on Lin Li. Only a fool would offend him because of such a trivial matter at this juncture. Besides, in such a dangerous situation, it was necessary to have a singlemander. If they were to be selfish and only look out for themselves, they would end up dying.

    In fact, not to mention the members of the two forces, even Archbishop Martin and Donald could almost be considered obedient to Lin Li at this moment. Of course, it wasn¡¯t humiliating for them. After all, Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, an existence that was on a whole other level that was superior to them.

    The only one who was a little reluctant about this was probably Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Although he was only at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he felt a sense of superiority as the sessor of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Besides, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to enter the Sanctuary-realm in the future. Therefore, Kanber did not have much respect for Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse who was rather mysterious and unheard of. He merely suppressed his emotions a little under the persuasion and request of Donald.

    Of course, Lin Li could not be bothered to hold it against him, precisely because Kanber could still be suppressed. After all, he still needed to use the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom as cannon fodder.

    With the experience that he had gained before, Lin Li could easily deal with the magic traps that had ingenious designs. They rarely posed an obstacle to the advancement of the expedition. Hence, they advanced through the second floor of the Well of the Sun much more quickly than before.

    It probably only took a few hours for them to pass through the pce and reach the spiral staircase that led upwards to the next floor.

    When they saw the spiral staircase, Archbishop Martin and the others almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. It was practically the smoothest journey that they had ever since they entered the Sky Castle. They actually did not even suffer any losses.

    Of course, in addition to having Lin Li crack the magic traps and magic gears, Garl¡¯s participation also yed a considerable role. Some of the Abyssal Demons that surged towards them were sucked into Garl¡¯s body before they could even cast a single magic spell. After Garl acquired a new host¡¯s body, the expedition did not engage in many battles, and thus did not suffer any losses.

    In this situation, the team naturally didn¡¯t need to rest. Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, the expedition adjusted their formation, stepped onto the spiral staircase, and continued to advance to the next floor rapidly. Of course, in the process, Garl and Angno argued incessantly. The members of the expedition had already gotten used to it.

    However, while constantly arguing with Angno, Garl was also shocked by Lin Li¡¯s performance. In the past thousands of years, the magic traps and magic gears had devoured countless Abyssal Demons, many of which were also peak Legendary powerhouses. Hence, Garl was far more aware of the terrors of the magic traps and gears in the Well of the Sunpared to the others in the expedition.

    In Garl¡¯s opinion, Lin Li¡¯s performance was simply magical. He did not need any cannon fodder to carefully explore the path in advance. He did not need any clues, either. Instead, it seemed that he was very certain that the magic gears and magic traps were right where they were, and it seemed that he could break all of them. It was as if he was more familiar with this ce than he was with his home.

    Garl even felt as if all the magic gears and magic traps had beenid by Lin Li. Otherwise, how could he have disarmed them so urately?

    Actually, even Lin Li himself was a little surprised with how smoothly things were going. It was fine for the same Well of the Sun to appear there. It was also reasonable for the same Abyssal Demons to appear there. However, how could all those magic traps and magic gears be exactly the same?

    Lin Li had even discovered some changes that he had made after studying those magic traps during his exploration of the Well of the Sun in the Endless World. At that time, Lin Li explored it alone, and apart from the countless magic traps and gears, he also had to face arge number of Abyssal Demons. Thus, with his mastery of the magic traps and gears, he modified several of them to help him deal with the Abyssal Demons.

    The discovery made Lin Li feel like someone had copied the answers to an examination script wholesale, including the name. That had nothing to do with coincidence. Thinking of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but recall thest time he had entered the Sky Castle, during which he even entered the Endless Labyrinth that he had designed. Even the way he left was exactly the same. Lin Li found that to be bizarre and terrifying. How could such phenomena be exined by coincidence?

    Although Lin Li had also received a lot of benefits in this world because of these events, such as getting the control crystal of the Sky Castle previously and subduing Garl plus sessfully breaking the magic traps and gears on the second floor now, Lin Li was not in the slightest bit ted, because he had no idea what was the secret hidden behind it.

 Chapter 982 - Nothingness

    <h4>Chapter 982: Nothingness</h4>

    Just like that, the expedition made its way up the spiral staircase to the third floor of the Well of the Sun, each individual having thoughts of their own. The third floor was not gilded like the first few floors. Instead, it waspletely pitch dark, as if the end of the stairs led to the endless void. However, in the endless void, there was at least still some light of the erupting Nether Storm, and there was not a single trace of light here.

    There was a clear dividing line at the end of the staircase, separating the dark side from the side with golden light. There seemed to be an invisible force that prevented the golden light on this side from illuminating the other side. On the other hand, the darkness of the dark side would not be able to affect the light side at all. The two were like two separate worlds.

    ¡°Respected Master, we¡¯re now in the territory of the Lord of Nothingness, Darc. That fellow has the ability to turn everything into nothingness, even I can¡¯t devour anything from him,¡± Garl exined, telling Lin Li everything that he knew about the situation using his mental strength when the expedition was about to enter the darkness.

    In fact, even if Garl did not say anything, Lin Li would still know because he was very clear about the world of darkness in front of him. Based on his experience in the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, Lin Li knew that the Lord of Nothingness was also an existence that was close to the Sanctuary-realm, and his ability to transform everything into nothingness would be a tricky problem even for Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Be it magic, natural light, air, or physical objects, they would all be instantly transformed into nothingness by the power of the Lord of Nothingness. It was almost the same as the Void of the Stars technique that Sanctuary masters would cast. However, the difference was that the Lord of Nothingness was not subjected to a time limit, unlike Sanctuary Masters who would return to the real world after the casting was over.

    Back then, Lin Li had racked his brains, wondering how to pass through this ce, and he even had to pay a huge price. In order to acquire the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, Lin Li spent most of his possessions on the quest to explore the Well of the Sun, which included Guru-level potions and superior-grade equipment. The quantity that he lost was almost enough for arming a whole guild in the game. However, Lin Li lost more than half of the items he brought with him to the Lord of Nothingness.

    However, in the face of the Lord of Nothingness that would give a Sanctuary powerhouse a headache too, Lin Li was definitely not as helpless as he had been, because he now had the real debris of the stars, Nothingness, which was the only thing that contained the power to kill the Lord of Nothingness.

    ¡°Master Felic?¡± Looking at a world of nothingness at the end of the staircase, Archbishop Martin and the others couldn¡¯t help but feel a little daunted. They went up to Lin Li in a bid to ask him, the leader, for his opinion.

    Suffering losses was definitely inevitable when exploring ruins, but who wouldn¡¯t want to reduce the losses they suffered? So far, the team from the Brilliance Shrine had already lost almost a fifth of its members, while the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom lost dozens of Alchemy Colossuses and metallurgists.

    Although they could not feel a single tinge of mana fluctuations in the world of nothingness in front of them, Archbishop Martin and the others were even more worried. Although no one knew what kind of dangers were hidden in the nothingness, the unknown was often even more frightening because no one would know what their death would be like and how to prevent it.

    Although Lin Li intended for the people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom to be cannon fodder, they would have to be worthy enough. This time, Lin Li, who was well aware of how pervertedly powerful the Lord of Nothingness was, was almost certain that once the entire expedition entered, no one except the few Legendary powerhouses would be able tost a single second at all.

    Hence, this time, Lin Li did not intend to waste any cannon fodder, as there would be plenty of ces for him to use it in the future. Thus, he said, ¡°ording to what you said, this ce belongs to the Lord of Nothingness. It¡¯s not suitable for too many of us to enter. Rest and recuperate here while I get rid of it. I¡¯ll then inform you guys when to enter.¡±

    While speaking, he took out the debris of the stars, Nothingness, which was in the shape of a spear, from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    Hearing that Lin Li intended to enter the world of Nothingness, Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but show how worried he was. He said, ¡°Master Felic, why don¡¯t you bring a few more people or let me apany you?¡±

    After all, to Archbishop Martin, Lin Li still had the identity of the Son of The Holy Light, and if anything were to happen here, it would be a great loss to the Brilliance Shrine. Besides, everyone in the expedition was still pinning their hopes of leaving on Lin Li. If Lin Li encountered a mishap inside, what would happen to the expedition? Would they be able to leave this world?

    Donald, who was next to him, quickly sincerely interjected, ¡°Yeah, Master Felic, we might not be of much help to you this time, but we can help you fight. Why don¡¯t you let us go with you?¡±

    Compared to Archbishop Martin, Donald was far less genuine about it. He only said those words because he knew that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t let anyone tag along. Of course, in Donald¡¯s opinion, Archbishop Martin definitely had the same intentions as him. After all, Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouse who was much strongerpared to them who were only at the peak of the Legendary-level. Since Lin Li said that he didn¡¯t need anypany, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want anyone to tag along, no matter the reason. If he could not even deal with the situation as a Sanctuary powerhouse, it would be useless to bring any more people over.

    Lin Li was naturally clear about Donald¡¯s thoughts. If it were before, he might really embarrass Donald and put him on the spot. However, Donald was now nothing more than an insignificant ant to Lin Li. Since they did not have any ties with each other, either, Lin Li did not have the time to bicker with him.

    He waved his hand to reject Archbishop Martin¡¯s and Donald¡¯s ¡°good intentions¡±, and instead strode towards the end of the staircase with the debris of the stars, Nothingness. Of course, when Lin Li crossed the obvious line of division on the stairs, the debris of the stars Nothingness that he owned also emitted a faint halo of light, making his silhouette appear extremely clear in the dark, even with barely any light.

    Archbishop Martin and the others knew nothing about the debris of the stars, Nothingness, which Lin Li was holding. Hence, they were not too surprised when they saw the scene. However, Garl was suddenly astonished to see it. Due to the existence of the body of the host, no one saw how horrified he was.

    However, Garl¡¯s soul fluctuation could not be covered at all. He had just felt some horror, and even before he had fully experienced it himself, Lin Li had already entered the nothingness andmunicated with him via soul contact.

    ¡°Garl, what are you hiding from me?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s question caused Garl to immediately break out in a cold sweat. As a ve, hiding something from his master would be a serious matter which would inevitably cause him to be punished no matter what. Garl had already resigned himself to fate, and epted the fact that he would have to spend the rest of his life as a ve. He naturally did not want to be punished for something unnecessary.

    Hence, Garl was shocked to hear Lin Li¡¯s question. Without hiding anything, he said, ¡°My noble and wise master, it¡¯s my fault for not telling you everything I know immediately. Actually, I only suddenly thought of this matter after I saw you taking out that magical weapon and sensing the magical waves on it.¡±

    Although it was the first time that Garl had been anyone¡¯s servant, he was obviously good at being one. The most important thing about being a servant was that regardless of whether one¡¯s master had wrongly used them or not, the first thing to do was to admit that everything was his or her fault, and that their master would never be wrong at all. The exnation woulde after the apology and admittance to their mistakes.

    ¡°Oh, you know this weapon?¡± In fact, when Lin Li asked that question, he had already thought about the fact that the problem might lie with the debris of the stars, Nothingness, because Garl¡¯s soul began fluctuating when its power was activated.

    However, in all the years that Lin Li had been in Anril, he had never heard of any legends about the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. In other words, almost no one knew about their existence. The power contained in each piece of the debris of the stars was enough to allow it to be considered an artifact by the people of Anril. However, it was not surprising that the slightest appearance of any of them would cause a huge bloodbath in Anril. How could there not be any legends about them?

    Hence, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the only person in this world who knew about the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was probably the Immortal King who had been missing for an unknown number of years. Even Osric, the Immortal King¡¯s proud disciple, probably did not know about the true origin of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, although he once possessed it.

    However, Garl, a demon who had lived in the Well of the Sun for thousands of years, actually seemed surprised when he saw the debris of the stars, Nothingness. What did that mean? The power exerted by Nothingness was an existence that seemed real yet illusory. Lin Li waspletely certain that Garl was definitely not surprised because he had sensed how powerful Nothingness was.

    Hence, Lin Li suspected that Garl knew about the debris of the stars, and had probably seen them too. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be curious about how Garl knew about them when he had lived in the Well of the Sun for thousands of years.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s next question, Garl knew that he had done the right thing, and continued, ¡°Respected Master, I don¡¯t know the origin of that magical weapon you¡¯re holding, but I feel that its power seems to be somewhat simr to an item here. There are six other magical weapons here that contain extremely terrifying power.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a little tempted. Other than Nothingness, there were apparently six more magical weapons that also contained terrifying power. Could Garl be referring to the seven pieces of the debris of the stars? However, he now owned all seven of them, so where did the ones in this worlde from? Could there be seven more?

    ¡°Do you know where those seven magical weapons you mentioned are?¡± Lin Li became more and more curious. Although he already owned seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and seven more ofparable power would not be of much use to him, he was not willing to let such powerful magical weapons fall into the hands of others, since he knew how powerful they were.

    ¡°My respectable master, as far as I know, those seven magical weapons are most likely in the hands of the owner of this world, and it seems that their power is the very reason that this world is so solid.¡± Despite having lived there for thousands of years, Garl did not have an affirmative answer. After all, in the Well of the Sun, the Lord Devourer¡¯s status was not actually high. He could only be considered an existence that was like a watchdog.

    The owner of this world? Lin Li remembered that when he explored the Well of the Sun in the Endless World, he did not seem to have encountered a powerful existence that could truly be called that, even though he had killed many powerful Abyssal Demons. After all, that Well of the Sun was in the world of an online game; hence, the Abyssal Demons were all ranked up ording to their level of strength. Although the Abyssal Demon on thest floor was considered a big boss-level creature, it was not qualified to be the owner of the Well of the Sun.

    Previously, Lin Li had been able to basically determine that this Well of the Sun was exactly the same as that of the Endless World based on various details. Besides, it was so exaggerated that there were even traces of the magic traps that he had modified. However, now that another owner of the Well of the Sun had suddenly appeared, Lin Li was confused again.

    Of course, based onmon sense, this was actually quite normal. How could the Well of the Sun of two worlds really be identical? Lin Li had merely jumped to conclusions at first. Hence, he couldn¡¯t ept the difference. If he had not found so many simrities as soon as he entered, he wouldn¡¯t have thought that there was anything special about the existence of the owner of the Well of the Sun.

    However, that also reminded Lin Li not to be too trusting of his own experience. After all, they were twopletely different worlds. If the previous experience was useful, there was nothing he couldin about even if he hadn¡¯t gotten an advantage. If he were to rely solely on his past experience, he might really end up trapping himself there.

    ¡°In this case, what do you know about the owner of this ce?¡± No matter where the owner of the Well of the Sun came from, Lin Li was certain that if he and the expedition wanted to get out of this ce, the owner of the Well of the Sun would definitely be the key. The owner of the Well of the Sun seemed to be able to master seven magical weapons that were simr to his debris of the stars. Hence, Lin Li definitely had to pay attention to him.

    However, to Lin Li¡¯s disappointment, Garl did not know much about the owner of the Well of the Sun. Most of the information he had was obtained from other Abyssal Demons, and he had never seen the true face of the owner of the Well of the Sun with his own eyes, let alone know the details about hisbat strength.

 Chapter 983 - Owner Of The Well of the Sun

    <h4>Chapter 983: Owner Of The Well of the Sun</h4>

    Seeing that he couldn¡¯t provide information that would satisfy his master, Garl began to panic a little. After all, he was still thinking about how he could one-up Angno. Besides, how could a qualified servant be unable to answer his master¡¯s questions? Therefore, after thinking for a moment, he somewhat hesitantly said, ¡°Respected Master, I have also heard some rumors from other demons, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re true or not, so...¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Lin Li could not me Garl for anything, because it couldn¡¯t be helped that he had a low status. He was just a watchdog. How could he know anything about his owner? Even if he did, it would still be based on hearsay.

    ¡°Yes, rumor has it that the owner of this ce already existed when we, Abyssal Demons, arrived.¡± Garl carefully told Lin Li all the information that he knew. Of course, he had to make up his mind to do it. After all, such information was definitely doubtful since it was obtained from hearsay.

    It already existed before the Abyssal Demon arrived? Lin Li immediately heard the problem within it. Putting aside the origin of the mysterious owner of the Well of the Sun, ording to Garl¡¯s statement, it seemed likely that the owner was not an Abyssal Demon. If it was not an Abyssal Demon, could it be that it was a High Elf that survived since the Well of the Sun used to be the Sun Shrine of the High Elves?

    However, the next thing Garl said was beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations. ¡°Although we don¡¯t know who the one who spread it was, there are rumors that the owner seems to be a human.¡±

    ¡°A human?¡±

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s thoughts, the owner would likely be a High Elf if it wasn¡¯t an Abyssal Demon. However, he never expected that it would be a human. Could it be another unsung human hero from the Dark Age?

    However, when Geresco had destroyed the Tree of Eternity back then, the Sun Shrine sunk into the spacetime rift, and turned into the present Well of the Sun. During that disaster, even the Sun Shrine was half destroyed, and Lin Li couldn¡¯t imagine that anyone could have survived that disaster. Could it be Geresco who had gone missing? However, the time when Geresco left Anril didn¡¯t tally with the time that the Well of the Sun was formed. Moreover, with Geresco¡¯s strength, he could have already shuttled through the void as he pleased. He wouldn¡¯t have been trapped in this ce.

    Although Garl said that the owner of the Well of the Sun was probably a human, Lin Li was not happy about it at all. He would never forget how he had obtained the seven pieces of the debris of the stars from the Well of the Sun in the Endless World. In other words, the other party probably had the real debris of the stars, and that was truly strange.

    Although he had chatted with Garl for quite a long time, Lin Li did not stop at all. Instead, he continued to walk towards the depths of the endless void. Besides, the debris of the stars, Nothingness, that he held was continuously emitting power that seemed real yet illusory. It shrouded him, and allowed him to resist the attack of the power of Nothingness in the surroundings.

    Although there was Nothingness around him, Lin Li had a clear memory of it in his mind, and the direction he was walking in at this time was exactly where the Lord of Nothingness was hiding. After covering a distance of about a few hundred meters, Lin Li finally stopped, and at the same time raised the Void Spear in his hand, swinging it into the Nothingness.

    As the Void Spear cut through the space, a massive rift was formed as if a ck cloth had been shed by a sharp de. The golden rays of light that belonged to the Well of the Sun were also darting out of the rift in the void. As the rift appeared, a fierce roar was also suddenly heard throughout the space. As the void vibrated rapidly, a pitch-ck figurended in front of Lin Li.

    However, the pitch-ck figure, which was also the so-called Lord of Nothingness, surprisingly did not attack Lin Li immediately after it appeared. Instead, it knelt in front of Lin Li.

    ¡°Great Supreme Monarch, please pardon my rudeness. I was just sleeping, and had no thoughts of disrespecting you.¡± The Lord of Nothingness was almost kneeling in front of Lin Li.

    Lin Li was taken aback by the Lord of Nothingness¡¯s words. <i>What is going on? Since when did I be a supreme monarch? I¡¯m afraid that the only one who could be addressed as the supreme monarch by the Lord of Nothingness is the owner of the Well of the Sun. Did this Lord of Nothingness also recognize the debris of the stars like Garl did, and thus mistook me for the owner of the Well of the Sun?</i>

    However, when Lin Li was being stunned, the Lord of Nothingness suddenly reacted, and his body, which was initially crouched in front of Lin Li, suddenly expanded and once again filled the entire space, filling up the crack that Lin Li formed. Immediately afterwards, the massive Power of Nothingness surged towards Lin Li again in a bid to turn Lin Li¡¯s body into nothingness.

    <i>If this is a plot, it¡¯s a bit silly!</i>

    Although Lin Li was stunned, his reaction was not slow at all. A wave of force suddenly emerged from the debris of the stars in his hands, moving towards the attack that was charging at him. The two waves of the Power of Nothingness collided, but it did not result in any fluctuations at all. The Power of Nothingness seemed to have been immediately swallowed and assimted by the debris of the stars, Nothingness, almost without any resistance.

    It wasn¡¯t that the Lord of Nothingness was too weak, but he just happened to be restrained by the debris of the stars, Nothingness. With the power of Nothingness, it was simply much easier for Lin Li to deal with the Lord of Nothingness now aspared to in the beginning. The debris of the stars, Nothingness, had the advantage of being able to create one huge rift after another. The Power of Nothingness that spread throughout the space was also devoured inrge amounts.

    Lin Li did not have to specte to determine the location of the Lord of Nothingness like he did in the Endless World previously. He did not have to rack his brains to think of battle strategies like he did in the Endless World, either. Now, he had finally experienced the feeling of putting the enemy in a position where they did not know what to do with him. The iing Power of Nothingness was only a supplement for the debris of the stars, and could not harm him in the slightest. The Lord of Nothingness, who was hidden in the void, could only watch as his power got devoured, while his Domain was sliced up.

    In just a moment¡¯s time, the Lord of Nothingness and the endless voidpletely disappeared from this world, and the pce that was hidden in it once again shone with dazzling rays of golden light. On a side note, the magic gears on this floor had long lost their effectiveness, like those in Garl¡¯s ce previously. Almost everything had been transformed into nothingness by the Lord of Nothingness.

    Those changes might not seem like much to others. After all, they did not understand the power of the Lord of Nothingness, and could not experience the terror he would bring, either. However, Garl who had lived in this world for thousands of years understood Nothingness very well.

    Although the Lord of Nothingness could not cast any offensive spells at the enemy unlike other demons, based on his ability to transform everything into Nothingness, he could be in the top ranks among all the Demon Lords in the Well of the Sun. However, the Lord of Nothingness and the Nothingness Domain that he had been managing for thousands of years had already been easily destroyed by Lin Li in just a few moments. Although Garl had already signed a Soul Contract with Lin Li, he still felt a sudden chill.

    ¡°Great Master, you¡¯re just as admirable as a deity. Even the sun in the sky of Anril can¡¯tpare to your brilliance. It¡¯s my honor to be able to be your servant...¡± Seeing that the Lord of Nothingness had been killed, Garl immediately started buttering Lin Li up.

    ¡°Cut the crap and tell them they cane over,¡± Lin Li ordered Garl harshly while thinking about the scene that took ce just now. <i>Why did the Lord of Nothingness mistake me for the owner of the Well of the Sun? Is it purely because of the power of the debris of the stars, Nothingness?</i>

    Of course, that was not impossible. After all, the debris of the stars, Nothingness, was too unique, and almost no one would believe that there would be two identical sets of the debris of the stars in this world. If the owner of the Well of the Sun really had seven pieces of the debris of the stars as well, it seemed that it would be normal for the Lord of Nothingness to mistake Lin Li for the owner.

    However, at the thought of this, Lin Li had another question in mind. Since the Lord of Nothingness had already identified Lin Li as the owner of the Well of the Sun, it meant that the rumors that Garl had mentioned before were true, and the owner of the Well of the Sun was really a human. However, that also meant that the Lord of Nothingness had most likely met the owner of the Well of the Sun. Otherwise, how could he be so sure that the owner of the Well of the Sun was a human?

    Hence, a question that was even more unfathomable to Lin Li appeared. Since he had seen it, why would he still be mistaken?

    ¡°Garl, what is the Lord of Nothingness¡¯s status like here? Could he have seen the owner of the Well of the Sun before?¡± asked Lin Li, who could not figure it out at all. Although Garl was not doing well there, he was at least the Demon Lord of a certain floor. Having lived there for thousands of years, he should more or less know something useful.

    Garl had just ryed Lin Li¡¯s instructions to the expedition. After hearing the question, he secretly recalled something, and gloatingly said, ¡°Although the Lord of Nothingness, Darc, is only on the third floor, he definitely has superior strength here. He was only banished to this ce by the owner because of something that he had done.¡±

    The problem of the Lord of Nothingness was somewhat simr to Garl. One liked to transform everything into nothingness, and the other liked to swallow everything. They were naturally detested by the owner for being so unscrupulous. They were lucky enough not to have been gotten rid of by the owner.

    The only difference between the two was that Garl was not strong enough to upy the top position, while the Lord of Nothingness had been banished to the lower floors. In that case, it was very likely that Lord of Nothingness should have met the mysterious owner of the Well of the Sun.

    <i>Do I have such amon face?</i> Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but remember that many people had mistaken him for the Immortal King in the past as well as recall the Immortal King statue in the Scar of Death that looked a lot like him. Even when he was in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, Brahere actually called him ¡°Father¡± a few times.

    <i>Is the owner of the Well of the Sun the Immortal King? He has seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and I¡¯m always mistaken for him. Who else could it be other than the Immortal King!?</i> The Well of the Sun was originally moved here by the Immortal King, and in a certain sense, the Immortal King was indeed considered the owner of the Well of the Sun.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shiver. If he really met the Immortal King, he would be in big trouble.

    The Immortal King was a powerful existence that was truly the closest to a god in Anril. In the past, Lin Li might have felt that this im was a bit exaggerated, but after experiencing everything that he had in the previous realms, such a statement was simply modest in his opinion.

    <i>Are mortals capable of creating worlds and creating life!?</i> That method of creation was probably something that even an ordinary god might not be able to master. It was a power that only a truly dominant god of creation could possess. Although Lin Li had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he was still far inferior to the Immortal King. Even if the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council were to join forces, they might not be a match for the Immortal King.

    However, after Lin Li thought about it carefully, he felt that it did not seem possible. If the owner of the Well of the Sun was the Immortal King, would Osric still be able to create such trouble in the Sky Castle? Or could it be that the owner was the Immortal King, but had already left this ce long ago?

    At this moment, the expedition team, which had been waiting outside for a long time, also quickly arranged themselves neatly in a single file and entered after receiving Lin Li¡¯s orders.

    When Archbishop Martin and Donald saw the stern expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, they immediately panicked a little before hurriedly going forward to ask, ¡°Master Felic, did you encounter any problems?¡±

    It was no wonder that the two of them were that nervous. In their opinion, it would definitely take a huge problem to make a Sanctuary powerhouse vexed.

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t tell them that he suspected that they might encounter the Immortal King here. Besides, there was no evidence yet. Even if there was, he could not just say it, either. Once he did, even Archbishop Martin and Donald would probably copse immediately, what more the ordinary members of the team. Not everyone had the courage to face the Immortal King.

    Of course, that was just a conjecture. Lin Li could not be certain that they would definitely encounter the Lord of Nothingness. Hence, he simply shook his head, and said, ¡°Nothing, I was just thinking about some of the methods that the Lord of Nothingness used to apply some Laws.¡±

    To be honest, his exnation wasn¡¯t convincing, but Archbishop Martin and Donald dared not interrogate Lin Li even if they had some doubts. They had no choice but to ept it. Not only did they ept it, they would have to smile andpliment Lin Li serviently by saying that he was hardworking, and that it was no wonder he had made such aplishments.

 Chapter 984 - Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 984: Shadow</h4>

    ¡°Keep moving forward, there are no magic traps or magic gears on this floor. There are no Abyssal Demons, either,¡± Lin Li said after seeing that the two of them were not saying anything. He was trying to suppress his worries.

    Just as Lin Li said, the expedition managed to move through that floor sessfully. There was not a single Abyssal Demon at all, and it was as if they were there for a vacation. However, the journey was only easy on that floor. When the expedition entered the fourth floor through the spiral staircase, they began to face difficulties.

    In the following stages of the exploration, even Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, found it difficult to force his way through with only his strength. He mostly had to rely on his past experience. The appearance of the owner of the Well of the Sun made Lin Li doubt his past experience, but what he was worried about fortunately did not happen during the journey.

    The Abyssal Demons and all sorts of magic traps and magic gears were identical to the ones that Lin Li had seen in the Endless World. They did not change much because of the appearance of the owner of the Well of the Sun. With his experience, the expedition managed toplete the journey somewhat smoothly, though they were still shocked and frightened. There were some inevitable casualties, but things were much better than the situation they faced on the first floor.

    In fact, if Lin Li had known that this ce would be exactly the same as the Well of the Sun of the Endless World when he fought Garl on the first floor, he would have prepared a Heart-piercing Potion in advance and saved the expedition from suffering so many casualties.

    Now, Lin Li was pretty much reliving the experience of breaking into the Well of the Sun. However, he was not alone this time, and had brought a team with him. Back then, Lin Li mostly wanted to use his stealth abilities as a Hunter to hide and sneak through some ces, but now he had to defeat enemies and ovee the obstacles with the team.

    Relying on his strength and experience, Lin Li and the team finally arrived at the core of the Well of the Sun after an arduous journey that was full of obstacles.

    Standing at the end of the spiral staircase, Lin Li felt a little uneasy. He was afraid that he might see the mythical Immortal King. However, in order to leave this ce, he had to face everything that came his way. Otherwise, he would just need to find a random ce where he could live the rest of his life in peace.

    Of course, there was also the possibility that the Immortal King had already left, and there was nothing on this floor except an exit. However, that was just Lin Li¡¯s thought. If he were to pin his hopes on a lucky coincidence, he might end up dying without even knowing how he died.

    Finally, Lin Li took a deep breath, calmed his fluctuating emotions, andmanded the team to enter thest floor of the Well of the Sun.

    After stepping onto thest floor of the Well of the Sun, they could finally see the sky above their heads, which was alreadypletely different from before. When they were on the lower floors, they could only see a ceiling of golden light when they looked up, but now there was a massive vortex in the sky that was probably evenrger than the entire nna. They could not see the end of it at all. It simply rotated in the sky, emitting a strong aura that made it seem like it was about to copse and be destroyed.

    Lin Li was naturally no stranger to that vortex. It was the trauma caused by the copse of the Tree of Eternity in the past. The vigorous mana tore through the spatial barrier, and left behind a huge vortex. Actually, therge vortex in Anril lost its terrifying force that was impossible for even the Legendary powerhouses to contend with only because the Immortal King had moved the Well of the Sun and the vortex there.

    This floor seemed extraordinarily quiet, and no sound was emitted from the pce except for the sounds of the footsteps of the members of the expedition. There were no Abyssal Demons that came out to block them, nor were there any magic gears and magic traps. They felt the same as they did when they destroyed the Lord of Nothingness on the third floor.

    <i>Could it be that the Immortal King had really left?</i> Lin Li definitely dared not believe it at all. On the contrary, the calmer it was, the more uneasy he felt.

    Archbishop Martin and the others who did not have such profound knowledge felt surprised after seeing the scene there, after which they could not hide their immense joy. No one enjoyed fighting. Besides, the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom had already paid a huge price. If they could really leave this ce sessfully without having to fight, it would naturally make them ted.

    Soon, the expedition arrived at the core of the pce where there was an even more majestic and grand golden pce, which was dazzling with an eye-catching light. However, there was a figure above the pce that was emitting seven differently colored streams of light. They were continuously surrounding the figure and dancing.

    There were no traces of mana fluctuations on that figure¡¯s body. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to be breathing at all. It was just like a lifeless sculpture. Hence, the members of the expedition did not discover the figure above the pce until they reached the center.

    That figure did not attract the attention of Archbishop Martin and the others, but after Lin Li saw it, he couldn¡¯t help but be horrified, because it was a person. The colors of the seven specks of light that flew around them corresponded to the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Hence, the moment Lin Li saw the figure, he immediately thought of the mysterious owner of the Well of the Sun that the Lord of Nothingness had mentioned.

    His mana fluctuations and aura were undetectable, not because they did not exist, but because he hadpletely integrated into this world, and his mana fluctuations had already formed a perfect harmony with this world. He was the world, and the world was him. That was something that only a top powerhouse of the Sanctuary-realm could do.

    Seeing that Lin Li had suddenly stopped in his tracks, Archbishop Martin and the others leaned over, and asked, ¡°Master Felic, can you determine where the exit of this ce is? This ce is too big. If we keep exploring, it¡¯s going to take a long time.¡±

    Archbishop Martin and the others did not detect any danger at all. All they wanted to do was to find the door to leave this world as quickly as possible. However, as he said, although this was already the core of the Well of the Sun, it was still very spacious, and it would take a long time for the expedition to search the entire ce.

    In the opinion of Archbishop Martin and the others, Lin Li had always been extremely confident in everything he did during the journey. It was as if he was extremely familiar with the ce. Although his behavior could be exined by the fact that he had subdued the Lord Devourer, Garl, Archbishop Martin and the others were all wise and experienced. How could they really believe that exnation that was full of loopholes?

    From Archbishop Martin¡¯s point of view, Lin Li had to have gained knowledge about this ce through other ways. After all, the Supreme Council was above the Tower of Dusk, and the Supreme Council was founded by the God of Mages, Geresco. Geresco was the only person in the history of the world of Anril who could bepared to the Immortal King. In conclusion, even if they could not get a clear answer, they were still certain that Lin Li knew that ce very well.

    Although Donald from the Rotterdam Kingdom wouldn¡¯t think of the Supreme Council and Geresco like Archbishop Martin did, he already found Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse whom he had not heard of, to be extremely mysterious. Hence, he felt that it was normal for Lin Li to know something that the others did not, since he could enter the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age.

    However, Archbishop Martin and Donald did not immediately receive a reply after they asked Lin Li for advice. Feeling bewildered, they couldn¡¯t help but notice Lin Li¡¯s expression, only to realize that it was extremely sullen. He had never reacted that way, regardless of how difficult of a situation they had faced previously.

    Seeing such a grim expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, Archbishop Martin¡¯s and Donald¡¯s heart sank, and they immediately followed the direction of Lin Li¡¯s gaze. Finally, they realized that the target that Lin Li was looking at was the inconspicuous statue-like figure which did not have any mana fluctuations or aura that they missed previously.

    In the eyes of Archbishop Martin and the others, it was just a statue, regardless of how realistic and lifelike it was. Given the attainments that the High Elves had in art, that was nothing surprising at all. They thought that it was probably ced at the top of the pce because of worshiping purposes, and that it might be a statue of the Immortal King.

    However, after seeing Lin Li¡¯s performance, Archbishop Martin and the others didn¡¯t dare to take it for granted anymore. They quickly ordered their team members to quickly go into a defensive mode. The fact that even a Sanctuary powerhouse was nervous meant that their respective teams were definitely not strong enough to battle such an existence. Other than being able to do their best to protect themselves by defending against it, what else could they do?

    At this moment, the figure, which everyone treated as a statue, suddenly spoke.

    ¡°I never thought that after waiting here for over 1,000 years, I would actually finally see you.¡±

    Although the figure was facing the entire expedition, Lin Li knew that he was actually talking to him.

    Lin Li did not understand what exactly that sentence meant, but he felt slightly less nervous. The figure was indeed very terrifying, but since it did not try to kill him immediately, and instead said something to him, it seemed that things hadn¡¯t reached their worst yet.

    Lin Li moved and left the expedition. He flew to the same height as the figure, and stopped at a distance he thought was safe in mid-air. At the same time, he could see the figure¡¯s appearance clearly because he was much closer to it now.

    However, after taking a look, Lin Li lost all hisposure again, and shock began to rise from the bottom of his heart. It was written all over his face. He finally knew why the Lord of Nothingness and the Abyssal Demons that he encountered in the past had mistaken him for the owner of this Well of the Sun. It was because the figure in front of him looked almost like an identical clone of him, be it in terms of features or build.

    The only difference between Lin Li and that figure was their respective attire. Lin Li was wearing the Space Robe that the Immortal King had created, while the figure was wearing ck leather armor. However, the different attire was exactly the reason that Lin Li was shocked. The figure¡¯s appearance was secondary.

    It was because Lin Li was very familiar with the ck leather armor that the figure was wearing. He was so familiar with it that he could even tell exactly where every part of that ck leather armor came from, and the power they possessed. The reason was that the ck leather armor was exactly what Lin Li had worn when he had explored the Well of the Sun. It was known as the King Of Hunters armor, and was said to be the most powerful Hunter¡¯s armor in the Endless World.

    The helmet of the King Of Hunters suit had a top-notch Eagle Eye skill which would allow one to easilyunch a fatal shot at a mouse from a kilometer away bound to it. It also came with a skill that would allow one to see through invisibility and expose a top Assassin.

    The King Of Hunters Torso might not have the strongest defensive ability, but it did have top-notch camouge effect. Lin Li managed to explore the entire Well of the Sun and obtain the seven pieces of the debris of the stars alone thanks to the camouge effect.

    The King of Hunters Gloves could increase the rate of Fatal Strikes to 50%, which meant that every second arrow would be a fatal strike. It could also increase an archer¡¯s uracy. Even those who had never touched a bow and arrow could immediately be a sharpshooter.

    The King of Hunters Wrist Guard came with an individual storage space that could store arge number of arrows and increase the speed of rapid-fire shots. Besides, it could add additional magical damage to every shotunched by arrows pulled out when one was wearing the wrist guard. Those who had a pair of such wrist guards would be a human cannon that could rapidly shoot continuously.

    The King of Hunters Pants came with a shift skill that would allow the wearer to evade quickly and dodge a fatal attack once the skill was activated.

    On the other hand, the King of Hunters Boots would allow the wearer to move quickly and stay immune to any environmental impacts. During a burst, the wearer could even leave the battlefield immediately.

    The King of Hunters armor would turn even a third-rate hunter into a powerhouse among Hunters. Back when Lin Li was still a Hunter in the Endless World, and had yet to obtain the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, he still managed to establish a prestigious reputation as the King of Hunters in the entire game world just by relying on the impable effects of the armor set.

    At this juncture, Lin Li had also finally figured out that the figure in front of him, who was wearing the King of Hunters suit, was the Hunter that he was when he barged into the Well of the Sun in the Endless World.

 Chapter 985 - King of Hunters

    <h4>Chapter 985: King of Hunters</h4>

    However, the problem was: why did his Hunter character transmigrate together with him? It seemed to have transmigrated at the same time, and it actually waited for him alone in that ce for over 1,000 years.

    <i>Damn it, this is too confusing. Did my ount get hacked when I transmigrated!?</i> Lin Li really wanted to find the customer service attendants of the Endless World and ask them what exactly they had done to his Hunter ount. Unfortunately, he would not have that opportunity.

    ¡°Who exactly are you, and why are you like this?¡± Since Lin Li did not have the chance to question the customer service attendants of Endless World, he had no choice but to ask the unknown person who had stolen his ount.

    From what the figure said just now, Lin Li could actually tell that the former had expected that he would be able to transmigrate to the world of Anril. However, he wasn¡¯t too sure, either. Otherwise, the other party wouldn¡¯t have said that he had been waiting for Lin Li to appear for thousands of years and not say anything after Lin Li eventually did. No matter what, Lin Li was certain that his transmigration definitely had something to do with the other party.

    Being able to transmigrate to Anril was frankly a good thing to Lin Li. After all, in the world that he came from, he was just an ordinary homebody no matter how outstanding of a gamer he was. He was neither the son of a high-ranking government official nor a wealthy heir. He could only generate a small ie by selling a few pieces of game equipment, and if he were to call himself a professional yer, others would only look at him with disdain.

    He was a far cry from what he was now: the President of the Tower of Dusk and a Sanctuary powerhouse who was high above many in Anril. Putting aside the glory and prestige he enjoyed, the fact that he could enjoy a long lifespan of thousands of years after stepping into the Sanctuary-realm was something that the world that he transmigrated from could notpare to. Although this world seemed to be a little more dangerous as he had explored the ce numerous times in the past few years, and experienced several near-death encounters, that did not mean that the world he was in previously was absolutely safe.

    In short, Lin Li was quite satisfied with the current situation. In the previous world, he would never be able to achieve all of these. However, that did not mean that he was going to thank the person who¡¯d sent him there. God knew what kind of conspiracy there was behind it. He did not want everything that he had obtained in Anril to be just a dream.

    That concern was the reason that Lin Li became more and more concerned about the secret behind his transmigration to Anril. He wanted to be the master of his own destiny, and not be in a passive position like before he transmigrated to Anril.

    However, the other party didn¡¯t answer Lin Li¡¯s question, and acted like he didn¡¯t hear it at all. Seemingly a little regretful, he said, ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯ve arrived toote. I¡¯ve already left this world. You have to wait for the next opportunity.¡±

    When he heard this, Lin Li had actually already made guesses about the other party¡¯s identity. The other party looked extremely simr to him, and also owned seven pieces of the debris of the stars. At the same time, he was also the owner of the Well of the Sun. It seemed that he could only be the mythical Immortal King who could rival the gods.

    Besides, Lin Li could also tell that regardless of whether the other party was the Immortal King or some kind of existence, the figure in front of him who was donning the King of Hunters set was definitely not his real form, but an incarnation that he created. However, even if it was an incarnation, Lin Li did not dare to be careless. The Immortal King was an impable existence, and the incarnation he created was definitely not something that someone like him, who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm, could contend with.

    However, apart from knowing that the figure was just an incarnation, Lin Li also had more doubts about the other party¡¯s words.

    ¡°Do you have something to do with the reason that I¡¯m here? Do you mean that you¡¯ve left Anril, or...¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of a way to express his question for a moment.

    <i>The other party said that he has already left this world, but which world is he referring to? The worlds here include Anril, the Undead World, the Dark Shadow World, and the worlds that the Sanctuary powerhouses created. There are also countless other unknown worlds in the endless void.</i>

    However, the world that he came from was definitely not one of the many worlds here. Hence, did the other party leave Anril or the collective of all the worlds here?

    <i>Also, why do I have to wait for the next opportunity? Isn¡¯t this decided based on the strength of the individual? Is the Immortal King unable to travel freely between worlds as well? Or does this so-called opportunity refer to the type of transmigration that brought me here to Anril?</i>

    While Lin Li was struggling to understand the concept of this world, the figure spoke again. ¡°You will get an answer to these questions, but not now. What you need to do now is to defeat this incarnation I left behind and prove your strength. When you appear in the ce in the Well of the Sun where you should be appearing, and find the item I left behind, perhaps we can truly meet.¡±

    The other party¡¯s words made Lin Li feel helpless for a while. After all, the other party was just an incarnation that perhaps had a wisp of Soul Brand left behind by the Immortal King. If he wanted to get all the answers he wanted to know from the incarnation, it would probably be akin to questioning a video recording.

    Of course, Lin Li was at least certain now that his transmigration to Anril was most likely rted to the Immortal King. The only thing that made him feel puzzled was that his Hunter game avatar was actually present there. He did not know how the Hunter had be the incarnation of the Immortal King.

    However, no matter how many questions he had, Lin Li did not have time to consider anymore. After that figure said those words, a ray of light suddenly darted out from the figure, and shot into the massive vortex in the sky. Immediately afterwards, the figure that was initially as calm and still as a statue immediately changed shockingly as the light disappeared.

    The entire space in the Well of the Sun began vibrating and roaring loudly like a human¡¯s heartbeat. In the sky, therge vortex that was slowly rotating also gradually began speeding up after the white light prated it. At the same time, countless Razer Pythons began glistening and jumping around in the vortex.

    The in ck leather armor of the figure standing at the top of the pce gradually began emitting colorful streams of light that made the figure look like a descending god. Even the shiny golden glow of the Well of the Sun seemed somewhat dim, thus bing the backdrop that entuated its brilliance.

    Of course, Lin Li was no stranger to this splendid brilliance, because it was radiated from the superior-grade gemstones that he had embellished the King of Hunters set with back then. However, he had always covered the glow of the gemstones on the set because he didn¡¯t like attracting too much attention everywhere he went.

    The basic stats of the King of Hunters set were initially already very strong. Besides, Lin Li had also used gemstones that were worth more than 1,000,000 yuan, causing the stats of the set to increase by several times. The King of Hunters set, which was considered an excellent set of equipment second only to the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, was the thing that allowed Lin Li to reach the pinnacle of the Endless World game.

    Unfortunately, in the past, Lin Li¡¯s enemies and opponents were the ones who had to deal with the troublesome King of Hunters set, but this time, it was Lin Li¡¯s turn.

    As the brilliant light radiated, tidal waves of mana began to surge outwards with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation at its center. Under the mana waves, there began to be clear, warped ripples in the golden light that filled the sky, resembling the waves of the sea in a storm where the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was in the middle.

    The members of the expedition below had all gone into a defensive stance where they tensed up as soon as Lin Li discovered the incarnation of the Immortal King at the top of the pce. Afterwards, they saw Lin Li leave the team, and actually start a conversation with that figure. Only then did they feel a little less nervous as they thought that they probably wouldn¡¯t have to do anything this time.

    However, to their surprise, the situation changed extremely quickly. The figure that looked just like a statue, and was having a friendly conversation with Lin Li erupted with a terrifying aura in the blink of an eye. The emotions of the members of the expedition fluctuated; the stark contrast made them feel so ufortable that they wanted to vomit blood.

    Fortunately, the team consisted of elites of various forces; hence, they did not rx entirely because of the slight relief they felt just now. They did not get flustered and mess up because of the sudden mana fluctuations, either. However, even then, the members of the expedition who were on the defensive and keeping their guard up were still involuntarily pushed backwards.

    Although many of them were Legendary powerhouses, and they also hadrge Alchemy Colossuses and elites who formed various battle formations, the power of the mana fluctuations were difficult for the expedition to deal with. They were being pushed backwards by the force like ants that were unable to resist against giants.

    Sensing the terrifying mana fluctuations, Archbishop Martin¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet, and his confidence in Lin Li had also begun to waver while they were retreating.

    As an archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, Archbishop Martin had also participated in the fight against the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains where the Brilliance Shrine cooperated with the Supreme Council. He had personally experienced the power of the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council and Pope Rosario. Hence, Archbishop Martin was much clearer about the power of Sanctuary powerhousespared to the others.

    Archbishop Martin couldpletely feel that the strength disyed by that figure was probably simr even to Pope Rosario¡¯s, and it was much stronger than Lin Li, who had just advanced to the Sanctuary-realm. He felt that he could no longer rely on his backer, Lin Li. Having made this conjecture, Archbishop Martin was extremely helpless.

    As for Donald and the others from the Rotterdam Kingdom, they were absolutely horrified. They were well aware that in the eyes of a Sanctuary powerhouse, they were just a bunch of insignificant ants who definitely would be abandoned during times of crisis, especially since their rtionship with the Tower of Dusk had always been strained. How could the Tower of Dusk be willing to take care of them during the crucial juncture?

    However, fortunately, the bunch of ants from the expedition were not taken seriously by the incarnation of the Immortal King, and were now enduring only the impact of the mana fluctuations. Otherwise, given the strength of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, they would probably face a huge cmity with a lift of the incarnation¡¯s finger.

    Of course, Lin Li did not have anything to rejoice about, because the incarnation was a test that the Immortal King had given him. At the thought of this, Lin Li was so enraged that he began cursing the Immortal King¡¯s ancestors in his heart. <i>What kind of test is this? This is just a plot to murder me.</i>

    Indeed, in the face of this incarnation left behind by the Immortal King that erupted with vigorous mana fluctuations now, Lin Li immediately sensed that the fluctuations were definitely not something that he could contend with. He was just a level-25 greenhorn that had entered the Sanctuary-realm recently. However, the incarnation had level-28 strength. In the Sanctuary-realm, the difference between every level was worlds apart. Besides, there was a difference of three levels between them.

    Even Lin Li felt unsteady under the mana fluctuations that erupted from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. He felt as helpless as a boat in a storm. Even though Lin Li was also in the Sanctuary-realm, he still felt extremely small, as if he were looking up at a tall mountain that reached as high as the clouds.

    With the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, thebat power that Lin Li was able to exert was indeed far beyond that of an ordinary level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse. However, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation also had seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Besides, he was also wearing the King of Hunters set that was embellished with superior-grade magical gemstones, while Lin Li was wearing only a Space Robe.

    The only thing that could give Lin Li a sense offort was the fact that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not have the Stars of Fury, which was a terrifying weapon that could maximize the power of the debris of the stars. Otherwise, Lin Li could just get ready to be killed by the other party. He would at least die a little faster and happier.

    Using the Hunter avatar and the power of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, Lin Li managed to kill the powerful demigod Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Although Lin Li had now stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and had hopes of bing a demigod-level existence, he would not be so conceited as to think that he was now stronger than the Dragon of Destruction.

    At this juncture, the seven specks of colorful light around the incarnation of the Immortal King were speeding up quickly, forming a brilliant stream of light while expanding the range of the revolving light. Next, Lin Li saw countless world shadows that were continuously emerging from the seven spinning pieces of the debris of the stars.

    They were not virtual shadows, but real worlds. However, time passed much faster there than in the Well of the Sun. It was as if the entire history of the rise and fall of the world was being disyed in a split second.

 Chapter 986 - Real And Fake Debris of The Stars

    <h4>Chapter 986: Real And Fake Debris of The Stars</h4>

    In those worlds, there were countless beings that were being reproduced in chaos, thus allowing the worlds to grow rapidly before falling during their prime. In the end, they were destroyed in a major cmity.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li got chills. Clearly, the other party was no longer limited to the Hunter profession. The countless worlds that were constantly emerging and being destroyed were exactly what the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had evolved from. They were true Sanctuary-level Magical Domains. Those worlds were real, and so were the beings in them. The person who controlled the Magical Domains was the creator of those worlds, and being able to create worlds was a level that only those that were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm could reach.

    In Anril, the profession of mages was known as the best of all precisely because a mage could create their own Magical Domain with theirprehension of nomological power after entering the Legendary-realm. In the Magical Domain, the mage who created it would be the master. That was something that other professions like Sword Sages and Assassins could not achieve.

    Hence, most of the time, mages who had their own Magical Domains would be able to exert much morebat power than other professions at the same level. Besides, the difference would be even more obvious once one reached the Sanctuary-realm because mages in the Sanctuary-realm were true sages in the entire world.

    Therefore, if the incarnation of the Immortal King was just a Hunter that was three levels superior to Lin Li, Lin Li was not truly helpless. However, the incarnation of the Immortal King had already given him a direct blow before he could even activate his Magical Domain.

    Lin Li was extremely bitter when he looked at the scene of the rise and fall of the worlds. The Immortal King was clearly out to kill him. However, Lin Li had no other choice but to fight. When the Immortal King left just now, he had already secretly experimented with the Sky Castle¡¯s control crystal, but he didn¡¯t get any reaction.

    In fact, after thinking about it, he realized that it made sense since the Sky Castle belonged to the Immortal King, and the control crystal was left behind by him. The Well of the Sun was also in the world created by the Immortal King. Since the Immortal King had given Lin Li such a test, how could he have missed out the loophole of the control crystal?

    Therefore, even though he knew that he was much weaker than the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li had no choice but to bite the bullet and go toe-to-toe against it.

    With that realization, Lin Li dared not hold back at all. The moment that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation disyed that power, Lin Li, too, activated all seven pieces of his debris of the stars.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars, namely Holy Light, Gloomy Dark, Pr Snow, Raging mes, Thunderbolt, Rebirth, and Nothingness, were all presented in different forms and glowing with different colors. They were continuously flying around Lin Li. Under Lin Li¡¯s control, the seven Laws of origin that constituted the world formed another Domain World in Lin Li¡¯s surroundings. It looked like another world that was somewhat illusory as if it existed in another dimension.

    However,pared to the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li¡¯s World Domain was obviously inferior. The World Laws that the Immortal King mastered contained countless worlds that were emerging and getting destroyed. The destruction of each world would produce a terrifying force that would make everything copse. That was the power that could only beprehended and mastered by a Sanctuary powerhouse who had reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and possessed the ability to break through the restraint of the World Laws of this world.

    However, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that Lin Li controlled merely formed a seemingly stable world that was slowly developing. It looked barren and deste, devoid of any signs of life or vitality. However, Lin Li had to create such a world because he had devoured a portion of the soul memory of Osric¡¯s clone in the world of nna back then.

    The Immortal King¡¯s Soul Imprint had already said everything that should have been said. The only purpose of the incarnation was to kill Lin Li. With the release of the magical waves, the incarnation finally awoke from his slumber with killing intent in his eyes. Next, he pointed his hand at Lin Li, and his Magical Domain that consisted of worlds that were continuously spawning and getting destroyed collided with Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain.

    The sounds of the collision of the Magical Domains of the two Sanctuary powerhouses was groundbreaking and earth-shattering. The shock waves of the collision alone caused the entire Well of the Sun to vibrate violently like a boat in a storm. It was as if it would topple over at any moment.

    Amidst the vibrations, there were groansing from the surrounding space, as well as the sounds of things shattering continuously. Various space rifts continuously opened up and closed in the void. Fortunately, this world was created by the Immortal King, and despite the collision between the Magical Domains of two Sanctuary powerhouses, it did not copse, and instead continuously repaired itself.

    However, the people in the expedition below were in a dire situation. They were initially already forced to retreat because of the magical waves that were erupting from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. The aftershock of the collision of the two Sanctuary-level Magical Domains was the reason that the magical defenses of the expedition continuously shattered one after another, and even the casting speed of the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua could not make up for the broken magic defenses in time.

    Watching the violent collision of Magical Domains in the sky and feeling the power of the unstoppable aftershocks made Archbishop Martin feel like he was on the verge of tears. He initially thought that he could earn a fortune in the Sky Castle, but after experiencing the consecutive ordeals, he felt terribly vexed as they were all almost fatal.

    Archbishop Martin and the others finally understood that even if they reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, and were said to be only one step away from the Sanctuary-realm, they were still insignificant in the eyes of the Sanctuary powerhouses, who could crush them without even using any special means.

    Since the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom had never been repaired due to the fact that the expedition¡¯s members were putting up defenses, they could only hide in the team and rely on the defensive spells of the other two forces to resist the powerful impacts. However, in the collision this time, theyers of magic defense were shattered one after another. In the end, the members of the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk could only fend for themselves. No one could be bothered to defend therge Alchemy Colossuses.

    The aftershock of the Sanctuary-level Magical Domains¡¯s collision alone instantly swept up the several Alchemy Colossuses that were at the front of the team. Their massive bodies were blown upwards like leaves that fell in the wind. Unable to resist at all, the Alchemy Colossuses below lit up before exploding because of the mana. Afterward, they were mmed at a spot much further away from the expedition, with no means to stand up at all.

    Although the rest of the members of the expedition were close together because of the unique battle formations of their respective forces, they were in a mess when continuouslypensating for the defensive magicyers that were destroyed. The few powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm almost fought with all their might to sustain the impact, but the fear in everyone¡¯s eyes would not dissipate.

    In the sky, Lin Li no longer had any time to care about the situation of the expedition. Faced directly with the incarnation of the Immortal King and the collision, he was in an even more dangerous situation than the expedition.

    The moment the two domains collided, the Domain World that Lin Li controlled seemed to have reached its doomsday as the sky copsed and the earth shattered, followed by the mass deaths of the living creatures that had evolved in it. The space of the Domain World also seemed to have broken like ss during the collisions, creatingrge cracks that not only destroyed the spatial structure of the Domain World, but also devoured the power that constituted the world.

    Even though Lin Li possessed nearly infinite mental strength, and was trying his best to control the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to stabilize and strengthen the Magical Domain, the collision that did not involve any fancy tricks still put him in a very dangerous situation. The Domain World that Lin Li controlled was constantly shattering from the impact of the collision, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that were integrated into the domain kept flickering and appearing, as if they would be forced out of the Domain World at any moment.

    <i>Damn it, who¡¯s the Sanctuary-mage here!?</i> Through the collision of Magical Domains, Lin Li couldpletely feel that the domain controlled by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was far stronger and more solid than his own. The collision was akin to a collision between an egg and a rock. The incarnation¡¯s Magical Domain was a rock, while his was a fragile egg.

    Moreover, through such a collision of domains, Lin Li also gained a clear understanding that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation used the debris of the stars to create this world, and not any other magical weapon. Lin Li could not figure out why there were two identical sets of debris of the stars, but he knew that he was clearly far inferior to the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation in terms of controlling his.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to continue colliding. Even though he had survived the collision once, his Magical Domain might really shatter like an egg if it were to happen once or twice more. He held the Helios¡¯ Scepter again, and quickly gathered the full power of his domain on the scepter while repairing the spatial rifts in his Domain World.

    However, just as Lin Li was about tounch a counterattack against the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, he saw thetter doing something that frightened him out of his wits.

    The incarnation in its Magical Domain suddenly raised its hand towards the void, and countless specks of light appeared in the sky at the same time. Next, the inconspicuous orbs converged and gathered towards the hand of the incarnation inrge amounts, quickly forming a hunting bow that had a quaint design.

    The Stars of Fury! Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shudder with his eyes wide open. Lin Li was way too familiar with the hunting bow in the hand of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. It was the Stars of Fury, the only weapon that could maximize the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Previously, Lin Li was still feeling thankful and d that although the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation possessed the debris of the stars, he did not have the Stars of Fury. However, in the blink of an eye, the Stars of Fury actually appeared in the incarnation¡¯s hand. It was almost the bane of his existence. Thebination of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury would be strong enough to even attack the gods in the sky, what more a greenhorn like him who had just recently stepped into the Sanctuary-realm.

    In his heart, Lin Li once again cursed the Immortal King thoroughly. At the same time, he dared not dawdle, and pointed forward the Helios¡¯ Scepter, which contained the condensed power of the world.

    It was not some type of magic spell, but a mere application of the seven types of power that constituted the world. At this moment, they merged to form a seven-colored pir of light that attacked the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation with a groundbreaking might, continuously prating the Domain World. In the blink of an eye, countless worlds were pierced through and destroyed.

    However, although the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was only less than a kilometer away from Lin Li, the seven-colored pir of light that constantly pierced through the worlds still did not manage to attack the incarnation. It was as if the distance between the incarnation and Lin Li was infinitely extended under the effect of the countless worlds that were spawning and being destroyed. Perhaps the seven-colored pir of light might still be unable to strike the target even after a day or two.

    At this moment, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had also raised the Stars of Fury in his hand, and grabbed the air with his other hand. An arrow that was made of the power of the world appeared. The incarnation then skillfully put the arrow on the bow and pulled it, after which the arrow flew through theyers of worlds, instantly colliding with the seven-colored pir of light with the sounds of the bowstring shattering.

    In a split second, the colorful pir of light that was in contact with the arrow shattered into bits, and the arrow shot in the direction that the pir of light hade from¡ªtowards Lin Li.

    From the way the Stars of Fury appeared, Lin Li knew that the Stars of Fury that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had was definitely not authentic. It was very likely that it had been condensed by the Immortal King using his mana. When he explored the Sky Castle for the first time, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, that appeared in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral was in the form of a bow that the Immortal King created using the Laws of the Stars of Fury and his mana. Hence, he had long known that the Immortal King had such an ability.

    However, Lin Li could also feel that the Stars of Fury in the Immortal King¡¯s hand, which was also condensed with magic power, was much more powerful than the one in the Seven-Realm Spiral. When he saw the arrow darting over, he was shocked and turned as pale as a sheet. If the arrow were to hit him, his life would really be over!

    Lin Li quickly waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and the barren Domain World immediately underwent earth-shattering changes. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars that had integrated into the Domain World disyed their power in different forms, forming solidyers of defense.

    However, the arrow shot by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was extremely powerful, so much so that it could shatter the sky, shoot down the sun, and crush the earth. It broke through the obstacles without pausing, and shot straight towards Lin Li¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 987 - Battle Begins

    <h4>Chapter 987: Battle Begins</h4>

    Throughout the years that he spent in Anril, Lin Li had experienced quite a few threats to his life, and he was lucky to have survived every time. However, even during the most dangerous moment, he had never truly felt hopeless. However, this time he could but suppress the feeling of death approaching in the face of the arrow.

    The Stars of Fury was not only a bow that could maximize the power of the debris of the stars, but also one that could be called an artifact. Even without the debris of the stars, it could make ordinary arrows exert terrifying power. Although the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not use the debris of the stars this time, he used the power of the debris of the stars to condense an arrow that contained power that Lin Li could not contend with.

    Compared to the Magical Domain controlled by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, the Magical Domain that Lin Li created with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was rather shabby, and it did not have a strong defense like the incarnation¡¯s. The arrow that came flying in was not affected in the slightest by Lin Li¡¯s resistance. It reached Lin Li in no time.

    Lin Li stimted the Space Robe on his body in the nick of time, and the moment the arrow shot into his body, it shed and moved in another direction. However, before he could stabilize his body, the incarnation of the Immortal King had already controlled the Magical Domain, and it collided again with his menacingly.

    With a loud bang, the entire space shook violently from the impact of the collision of the domains, and some of the tall buildings in the Well of the Sun also copsed amidst the violent shock. The entireyer was shed away.

    Lin Li¡¯s Domain World also began to copse tremendously, turning into a fragmented one that looked extremely miserable. It seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed at any moment. Lin Li did not feel d about escaping the arrow at all. Instead, the skin of his body was cut badly in the collision this time, and his robe was immediately stained with blood.

    The members of the expedition below encountered an even greater crisis during the second collision of the two Domain Worlds again. Countless specks of light were shaken out of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s Domain World. The specks of light looked just like fireflies at night, which did not seem dangerous at all.

    However, when those specks of light fell to the ground, they immediately expanded, and a horrifying scene took ce next. Large and powerful armies of humans, orcs, and High Elves emerged from the specs of light that formed a halo.

    The armies were all creatures from the World Domain that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had created. Just like in this world, they had professions such as Mages and Warriors, including many at the Legendary-level. That was the reason that those below the Sanctuary-realm were just like insignificant ants to the Sanctuary powerhouses. The creatures that looked like living beings were simply like a nest of ants that the Sanctuary powerhouses randomly tossed out.

    However, to the people of the expedition, the group of opponents were not just ants that they could crush to death easily. Although every world would be spawned and destroyed in a split second in the domain of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, the concept of time waspletely different for the creatures in those worlds. Hence, the armies that appeared were not products that could be spawned quickly. Each of them had rich experiences in life, just like the members of the expedition.

    Cavalry soldiers with heavy armor charged out one after another, each holding heavynces. Fresh blood could still be seen dripping from the heavy armor of the cavalry. They had obviously just experienced a bloody war before arriving.

    The heavily armored cavalry collided with the Holy Light Knights of the expedition, after which more than a dozen Holy Light Knights fell off their horses in the blink of an eye. They were then crushed into minced meat by the hooves of the horses that came afterwards. If the Holy Light Knights did not have the Holy Light Battle Song, the Holy Light Knights would definitely have a hard time dealing with it too. In the fight between the two teams, the Holy Light Knights were clearly at a disadvantage, and had lost the upper hand.

    The heavily armored cavalry was just the beginning. Next, infantry d in heavy armor appeared. Those soldiers were much taller and burlier than the people in Anril. Besides, they were just like mobile fortresses with their heavy armor. They were pointing their spears diagonally at the sky, and advancing orderly with heavy footsteps while surrounding the entire expedition. They slowly closed in on them, and restricted the space that they had.

    ¡°Fire!¡± There was a loud roar from the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, after which 10 mana cannons that each had the diameter of a bucket shot out from the spaces between the Alchemy Colossuses, sting straight at the infantry troops.

    Special Alchemy Colossuses like the mobile Magical Crystal Cannons were almost useless in the World of the Dead. However, this time they weren¡¯t facing any Abyssal Demons or other terrifying creatures, but an army made up of humans. However, they revealed the variety of weapons that they had for war.

    Although the infantry troops were fully equipped from head to toe, at the end of the day, they did not have powerful magical defenses. The 10 mana cannons immediately formed 10 furrows in the enemy army. Hundreds of infantry soldiers were melted by the mana cannons without even screaming.

    An ordinary army would long have copsed after suffering such casualties, but this army was a powerful and strong infantry troop. The casualties and injuries of theirrades did not slow them down at all. They were still as determined as before.

    ¡°Hurry, continue firing!¡± Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom yelled hysterically. Although he was already a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Legendary-level, he still couldn¡¯t help but get chills when he saw how brazen and fearless the infantry troops were.

    In fact, there was no need for Kanber to even give any instructions. The 10 mobile Magical Crystal Cannons had already adjusted their shooting angle and began to recharge once again. The light from the mana flickered in front of the cannons, and as soon as Kanber said those words, the 10 mana cannons had already beenunched again at the densely packed heavily armored infantry troops.

    However, a magical barrier suddenly appeared as soon as the mana cannons touched the vanguard of the infantry this time. Although it was very fragile and shattered instantly, another one appeared right behind it, and weakened the power of the mana cannons.

    Although the mana cannons still killed plenty of the heavily armored infantrymen in the end, their aplishments were obviously worse than before. The people from the expedition had already seen a number of mages appearing in midair using the Levitation Spell. They were behind the troops, and it was no doubt that the magical barrier that appeared was cast by them. However, they did not reveal any special expressions when looking at the heavily armored infantrymen that had died.

    The mobile Magical Crystal Cannons were still firing mana, but anyone could tell that their results were bing poorer. The mages from the opposing team were gradually adjusting to the attacks of the Magical Crystal Cannons. They would probably lose their effects in no time.

    Under the protection of the mages, the footsteps of the heavily armored infantry were also getting faster and faster. Those in the first few rows had already put down their spears, and were clearly nning to charge straight towards the expedition.

    At this moment, the mages of the expedition finally showed their prowess, especially the mages of the Tower of Dusk. Under Basel¡¯s and n¡¯smands, all sorts of powerful magic spells began crashing down like a thunderstorm. Many heavily armored infantrymen were immediately killed by the magic spells. Besides, the corpses also caused some impediment in advancement of the heavily armored infantry.

    However, the people of the expedition did not have time to heave sighs of relief at all. The mages of the enemy¡¯s team had already begun to counterattack, and countless magic spells flew towards the expedition.

    Although the opposing mages were all from the worlds that appeared and got destroyed in a split second, their abilities were not inferior to those of the mages of the expedition team at all. The number of mages alone was already more than 10 times that of the expedition. Besides, their individual strength was all above level-15, and there were also quite a few Legendary-mages, some of which were at the peak of the realm.

    If they were merelypeting in terms of mages, the expedition might not be able to resist the attacks and hold on, but they fortunately had the tender Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, and the Lord Devourer Garl. With the support of infinite mana, Xiao Hua was instantly generating Legendary-level magic spells inrge quantities. Each Legendary-level magic spell would cause arge number of soldiers to die.

    Although the Lord Devourer Garl was no longer as terrifying as he used to be, he could, after all, still exhibit his devouring abilities since he now had a host. His giant mouth, which had extended to his shoulders, opened like a ck hole, swallowing arge amount of magic spells that were cast by the enemy mages in a single gulp.

    In fact, Garl¡¯s devouring ability was not really uncontroble and indiscriminate, but when he had still been the Lord Devourer, he hadn¡¯t cared whether those Abyssal Demons under hismand lived or died, so he naturally hadn¡¯t bothered going out of his way to control his power carefully. However, he could not do that now that he was also a member of the expedition. If he were to use his devouring ability haphazardly, Lin Li definitely would not spare him.

    After devouring the enemy¡¯s iing magic spells in one gulp, Garl turned his mouth towards the ground, and his massive Devouring Force immediately pulled some of the heavily armored infantrymen off the ground and into his giant mouth. In the entire expedition, Garl was perhaps the only one who could fight the battle with rtive ease. While others were disying all the power they had, he just had to binge eat.

 Chapter 988 - Archery

    <h4>Chapter 988: Archery</h4>

    The battle was simply a pleasure for Garl. Not only did he not have to exert any effort, he could also constantly increase his strength by devouring the infantry troops. After devouring more than 10 of them, Garl even smacked his lips revoltingly and huped ungracefully.

    ¡°Disgusting, you disgusting bastard, do those tin cans even taste like anything!?¡± Angno mocked rudely when he saw Garl stealing the limelight during the battle.

    Faced with Angno¡¯s mocking, Garl naturally did not tolerate it. While controlling the magic spells cast by the enemies by devouring them, he retorted in a dull and low voice, ¡°Shut up, you stinky dwarf. Even if you jump into my mouth yourself, I won¡¯t devour you, because you¡¯re disgusting.¡±

    ¡°Oh please, if you have what it takes, let¡¯s have a contest. Let¡¯s see if you¡¯re going to devour me or I¡¯m going to beat you up, you ugly fellow!¡± Although Angno possessed an excellent suit of armor to protect him, he was still carefully hiding in the team of the Tower of Dusk and stomping his feet while cursing at Garl.

    Among the members of the entire expedition, only Angno and Garl had the time to argue with each other. The others were all frowning and feeling troubled because the enemies that they were facing at this moment were not just those human troops, but also others like the heavily armored cavalry, infantry troops, and mages. The enemies of various professions who were in different forms were also emerging from those floating specks of light.

    With a loud dragon roar, a group of Dragon Knights quickly expanded and emerged from the specks of light. The wyrms that they were mounting were obviously hybrids, but they still gave the people a great shock when they flew up into the sky around the expedition in a formation. The knights on the wyrms were also wearing heavy armor and raising their dragon spears that were each nearly 10 meters long. They were all emitting strong waves of power.

    The Dragon Knights first spat some ming dragon breath attacks at the expedition before extending their long spears and charging towards them. The Alchemy Colossuses that were standing around the expedition naturally became the priority target of the Dragon Knights. The two parties soon collided violently.

    Legend had it that the Alchemy Colossuses were the best weapons for killing dragons. Unfortunately, that was not referring to the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Although the Rotterdam Kingdom had researched, developed, and improved Alchemy Colossuses for thousands of years, their Alchemy Colossuses were far inferior to the Titan-level Alchemy Colossuses like Angno¡¯s. They did not have to think at all. Being able to make their Alchemy Colossuses reach the Legendary-level was already very hard toe by.

    Clearly, those who could be Dragon Knights were also the powerhouses of that world. Their nearly 10-meter-long spears were engulfed in ayer ofbat energy, and with just one dive, several Alchemy Colossuses that were attempting to dodge were stabbed in their chests. They managed to stab directly at the spots where the metallurgists were, though it was unclear if it was because the Dragon Knights understood the Alchemy Colossuses well or simply thought of them as some sort of creatures.

    Before the expedition could retaliate, the wyrms pped their fleshy wings and spat dragon breath in unison at close range towards the expedition. By the time the expedition resisted the dragon breath, and was about tounch a counterattack against the Dragon Knights, thetter had already flown into the sky again, and began flying in circles, searching for a new target once again.

    ¡°Hurry up and help, or we¡¯ll all be finished!¡± Seeing that the Alchemy Colossuses were damaged again, Donald yelled at the expedition again in anger. The Alchemy Colossuses were the greatest reliance of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, but now they werepletely destroyed in one go. Hence, it was a huge blow to the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team. However, there was nothing they could do, since the characteristics of the Alchemy Colossuses had already decided that they had to remain in the periphery of the team and sustain the attacks. They couldn¡¯t possibly hide among the expedition team.

    Of course, the people of the expedition also knew that regardless of how useless the Alchemy Colossuses were, such a battle was inevitable. At least, that would prevent the mages from fighting the enemies head-on.

    At this moment, Connoris of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team had already begun to show his prowess. He swung his Eternal Frost de that was shining with silver light at the Dragon Knights in the sky. Arge Space de appeared out of nowhere in front of a Dragon Knight. Before the Dragon Knight could react, his back was instantly cut in half before falling like a meteor into the formation of the heavily armored infantry.

    With his perfect body, Connoris would be able to remain undefeated even in a fight with ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. Although his power was not enough for him to join the battle between Lin Li and the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, he was still strong enough to deal with the enemies that were attacking the expedition.

    Connoris¡¯ attack seemed to have caused the Dragon Knights to be wary of him, and thus they reduced their dive attacks. Instead, they remained in the sky and shrouded the team in dragon breath. However, that was nothing to Connoris. The power of the Eternal Frost de could almost make the range of the attack negligible. Rays of Space de light managed to sh the wyrms and Dragon Knights.

    Of course, it was certainly unlikely for them to change the dynamics of the battlefield with Connoris¡¯ power alone. The other Legendary powerhouses of the expedition had also joined the battle.

    Ujfalusi summoned the Tide of Death, and arge number of Undead creatures poured out to attack the enemies by outnumbering them. Although the Undead creatures were not capable enough, they could still form a strong force when arge number of them united. Most importantly, Ujfalusi¡¯s power improved again in the Undead World, and with the support of the massive mana that was at the peak Legendary-level, endless Undead creatures surged out from the Tide of Death.

    On the other hand, the Vampire Norfeller snuck out of the expedition team, and entered the enemy¡¯s ranks where he began to set out to kill the enemymanders. A Legendary-level Assassin was an absolute nightmare for the enemy, and even those of other professions at the same level were rarely able to escape his assassination.

    Unfortunately, the enemies were not an ordinary army. Otherwise, they would have copsed long ago due to the assassination of theirmanders. However, their current enemies were almost indifferent to the death of their officers. They even began to take advantage of this by trying toy traps to hold Norfeller back.

    The Crimson Humerus Wyrm, the Lord of Nightmares, and the Demon Gordon had also already gone on a killing spree against the enemy. The Crimson Humerus Wyrm¡¯s dragon breath formed a trench of me through the enemy¡¯s camp. The Lord of Nightmares¡¯ Mind Control attacks had finallye in handy again. He was constantly controlling the enemies to decapitate theirrades.

    Such a battle was truly meant for Demon Gordon, whose body was made up of rare magical metals. The attacksunched by the enemy Warriors could not break through Gordon¡¯s defenses at all. Gordon transformed his arms into giant scythes, and killed numerous enemies at once.

    Compared to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team that wasunching numerous attacks from all sides, the situation that the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom were facing was less ideal. Almost all the Alchemy Colossuses had been defeated by the Dragon Knights. If not for Connoris, they would probably have all been destroyed by the Dragon Knights after a few waves of attacks.

    As for the Holy Light Knights of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team, they were still having difficulties holding out against the enemy¡¯s heavily armored knights despite having the enhancement of the Holy Light Battle Song and the support of the Holy Light Priests. Although the Holy Light Knights¡¯ power had been strengthened by the Power of Light, they were still facing arge number of heavily armored cavalry from the opposing side.

    Arge colony of ants would be enough to bite an elephant to death. No matter how ipetent the enemy¡¯s heavily armored cavalry troops were, they were definitely stronger than ants, and the Holy Light Knights were not strong enough to be considered an elephant, either. Although the Holy Light Knights¡¯ battle damage ratio was more than a dozen to one, the Holy Light Knights lost their advantage because they were outnumbered.

    Moreover, the enemies were not just enjoying the numerical advantage, but they were also not inferior to the expedition in terms of quality. Soon, many Legendary powerhouses appeared and began to focus on suppressing the Legendary powerhouses of the expedition. There were Legendary-mages, Legendary Sword Sages, archers, orcs, and Shamans. Although the Legendary powerhouses were not from Anril, their power was definitely not inferior to the Legendary powerhouses of the expedition at all.

    Facing such a powerful enemy, none of the Legendary powerhouses of the expedition could ck off. Besides, even if they were just being attacked by the other party, Archbishop Martin and the others had no time to pay attention to the battle in the sky, and could only pray in their hearts that Lin Li would be able to destroy the opponent as soon as possible.

    It was fortunate the members of the expedition had no time to pay attention to the battle in the sky, otherwise they would probably have lost the confidence to continue fighting. Lin Li, whom they had pinned their hopes on, was now being suppressed by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, and he could no longer be described as just disheveled. After all, there was a difference of three levels between them.

    At this moment, the Domain World that Lin Li had formed using the debris of the stars already seemed to have been shattered under the brutal collision with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. It looked like it would copse at any moment. Lin Li¡¯s robe was soaked in blood, and if it were not for his strong willpower, he would have long died under the incarnation¡¯s arrow.

    The opponents he had killed in the Endless World in the beginning probably felt the same as he did at this moment! Lin Li never thought that there would be a day when he would be reduced to such a pathetic and disheveled state. However, his enemies could respawn after their deaths in the Endless World¡ªunlike him now. He could not be revived if he died this time.

    The incarnation of that Immortal King not only possessed a powerful World Domain, he also had excellent archery skills that were surprisingly the same as the game archery system of the Endless World. Besides, each technique was also thousands of times stronger than that of the Endless World in addition to having the same features.

 Chapter 989 - Barely Surviving

    <h4>Chapter 989: Barely Surviving</h4>

    The incarnation reached out and grabbed the Domain World, after which a ball of World Power turned into an arrow that was ced on the bow. The arrow was thenunched at the sky and darted over their heads. With a loud sound of the bowstring vibrating, the arrow flew into the air and vanished, after which countless arrows fell onto Lin Li¡¯s domain like meteors.

    The arrows that were like a meteor shower were a wide-range skill that was not too powerfulpared to the other archery skills of the Hunter. However, the power possessed by each of the meteor arrows here was almost at the Legendary-level. They shuttled through the space with whistling sounds before falling densely into Lin Li¡¯s domain.

    In Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, the earth shattered and the sky copsed, resembling doomsday. The countless meteor arrows had sped up the destruction of this world. Amidst the endless explosions and roars, the entire World Domain was almost turned upside down as the earth and sky shattered into bits.

    Finally, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but spit out a mouthful of blood. The entire Domain World was filled with endless roars, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars detached from the Domain World uncontrobly.

    <i>Damn it, if this continues, it¡¯s really going to be over!</i> Lin Li could not even be bothered to wipe away the blood at the corners of his lips. He activated his mental strength with all his might to regain control of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars so as to reconstruct his Domain World.

    However, at this moment, an arrow broke through the air and instantly appeared in front of Lin Li. Lin Li dodged it in time, and he manipted the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to make them shield him. After a few loud roars, he managed to dodge the arrow by a hair¡¯s breadth. However, due to the dy, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had the time tounch another attack, leaving Lin Li with no time to reconstruct his domain.

    How could he continue fighting!? As a mage of the Sanctuary-realm, he couldn¡¯t even use his own domain. Even if he were to force himself to hold on, he would barely have a chance to turn the situation around. Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less about cursing the Immortal King anymore, as it was useless now that he could barely keep his own life.

    As Lin Li activated the Space Robe on his body, he was brainstorming for a strategy that he could use to deal with the matter and counterattack. Using the ability to sh and the defense of the debris of the stars, he managed to temporarily preserve his own life. However, he waspletely clueless about what to do. After all, the gap in strength was toorge, and could not bepensated for with any strategy.

    Potions? Alchemy Array? Mageweath array? Lin Li thought about his fortes, but he discovered to his dismay that even though he had mastered those aspects and it gave him prestige in Anril, none of them could save him at this time.

    Compared to Lin Li who was scurrying away and was in a huge mess, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation looked much moreposed and confident. Shrouded in the Domain World, he just had to grab arrows from the air which were condensed by the power of the world, and then shoot them at Lin Li effortlessly.

    However, after dodging several attacks from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li suddenly had some doubts. At this moment, he no longer had the chance to reconstruct a Domain World, which was absolutely fatal for a mage in the Sanctuary-realm. The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not actually need to use arrows all the time. As long as he suppressed and defeated the Domain World, Lin Li probably would not be able to escape even if he wanted to.

    <i>However, how could the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation not have thought of something so simple? Is he still intending to y the cat and mouse game at a time like this?</i>

    He clearly had the chance to kill the opponent, but he instead chose to tease the opponent like a cat chasing a mouse. Usually, such people would end up dying a terrible death as that was something that only arrogant, conceited, and lowly fools would do. Besides, although the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had gained sentience, he still was not like aplete human. How could he do such a stupid thing?

    <i>Could it be that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation is immobile?</i> At the thought of this, Lin Li tried to flee a little further away, but the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation clearly immediately chased after him.

    Seeing this, Lin Li also found his previous conjecture to be ridiculous. As the owner of the Well of the Sun, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation obviously wouldn¡¯t be stuck here.

    Lin Li originally wanted to try a little more, but when he looked over at the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, he got a great shock, and immediately activated the power of his Space Robe. He then began shing nonstop.

    It turned out that the incarnation of the Immortal King, who also seemed to be tired of the pursuit, actually pulled out a real piece of the debris of the stars from his Domain World, and ced it on his bow.

    The debris of the stars was a set of artifacts that contained the power of the origin of the world, and could kill even the Dragon of Destruction. Lin Li had never used the debris of the stars to kill his enemies before, and had never imagined how it would feel to be attacked by the debris of the stars. This time, the incarnation of the Immortal King was clearly going to give him a taste of it.

    The incarnation of the Immortal King had pulled out the debris of the stars, Raging mes, from the Domain World. It was an arrow that waspletely formed from mes. It was ced on the Stars of Fury, and Lin Li made some slight corrections to his vector. With the loud sound of the bowstring, the me arrow chased Lin Li for a long time, and looked as if it had lit up the entire space.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had undoubtedly inherited all of the Hunter¡¯s abilities, and had also seized the right opportunity and timing. When the red mes reached Lin Li, Lin Li could only grit his teeth, bite the bullet, and release his debris of the stars, Pr Snow, that went against Raging mes.

    After a loud boom, Lin Li looked a little more miserable as he flew out from the explosion. However, to Lin Li, being able to escape the attack of Raging mes was already something worth feeling fortunate for.

    However, although the situation just now was very frightening and dangerous, Lin Li did not seem happy about escaping at all. At the same time, he did not feel any nervousness or fear at all. He surprisingly became much calmer, which was not like him before.

    Yes, through that strike just now, Lin Li had felt that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s control of the debris of the stars did not seem to be as perfect as he had originally thought. It was also certainly because the Stars of Fury was not authentic, but more importantly, it was the problem with mastery. The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s mastery and control over the debris of the stars seemed to be slightly worse than that of Lin Li when he was in the Endless World. Otherwise, with the Stars of Fury that was condensed with mana alone, Lin Li would not have been able to block the Raging mes even if he also had the debris of the stars.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not seem to want to give Lin Li too much time to think. After Raging mes missed, heunched Pr Snow immediately. The power of Pr Snow was conflicting with that of Raging mes, and after the arrow was shot, the cold air that was emitted made the surrounding space feel like a blizzard.

    Faced with the power of this arrow, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to ck off at all. He quickly schooled his emotions, and released his debris of the stars tobat Pr Snow that wasing his way. There was another loud boom, and Lin Li, who was covered in pieces of ice, once again darted out of the explosion. Due to the fact that his Space Robe was covered in fresh blood, it was also frozen and became armor-like.

    However, Lin Li was frowning this time. He did not seem worried, but rather was pondering something. In this attack, Lin Li was already certain that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation probably could only exert 80% of the power that Lin Li exerted when he was in the Endless World.

    Although he could only exert 80% of the power of the debris of the stars, it was still not something that Lin Li could easily contend with, but that meant that there was actually a difference between the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation and the Hunter in terms of strength. Back then, in the Endless World, Lin Li used his Hunter avatar to kill the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, which was a demigod.

    If the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation could reach that level, Lin Li would have just been killed by him without even needing to flee. That would even save him from suffering.

    Why was that the case? After the Raging mes and Pr Snow wereunched, Lin Li blocked several attacks from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, and became increasingly certain of his own judgment. At the same time, he finally made a vague conjecture that perhaps the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation could use the power of the debris of the stars mostly because he had inherited something from the Immortal King.

    At the same time, Lin Li also noticed a problem. When the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation shot out the debris of the stars, it would cause abnormal vibrations in the Well of the Sun. Although the pieces of the debris of the stars were shot out quickly, they would also cause the Well of the Sun, and the entire space, to vibrate violently upon collision with Lin Li¡¯s defenses. However, Lin Li could still acutely distinguish in a split second exactly what caused the tremors.

    How did that help with the current situation? Lin Li was almost certain that even if the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation could only exert 80% of the power of the debris of the stars, he would really be too weak to resist the attacks if the Immortal King were to attack a few more times. After all, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation at least had the Stars of Fury condensed with mana, while Lin Li had nothing.

    Thinking of the Stars of Fury, Lin Li suddenly recalled that when he first explored the Sky Castle, he used the Crossbow of Reincarnation to shoot the Stars of Fury on thest floor of the Seven-Realm Spiral. He seemed to have allowed the Crossbow of Reincarnation to possess some Laws of the Stars of Fury.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li quickly took out his Crossbow of Reincarnation, and ced the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, on it. As soon as he did that, he saw the incarnation of the Immortal Kingunching another piece of the debris of the stars before he could even attack. It was the Rebirth that contained the power of the earth.

    Lin Li dared not dy at all. He hurriedly raised his Crossbow of Reincarnation, and forcefully pressed down the iing debris of the stars, Rebirth. Although the Crossbow of Reincarnation had some characteristics of the Stars of Fury, it was still far inferior to the Stars of Fury in the hands of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. Fortunately, although the Rebirth that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation shot was still powerful, it was significantly inferior in speed to Thunderbolt.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had beenunching the debris of the stars, and Lin Li was still not too sure about the judgment he had just made. However, when Lin Li used the Crossbow of Reincarnation and Thunderbolt this time, he clearly felt that as Thunderbolt erupted, the Well of the Sun actually vibrated as well. Although the vibration was masked by the vibrations produced by the collision between Thunderbolt and Rebirth, Lin Li still managed to detect it.

    The debris of the stars, the Well of the Sun! It suddenly dawned upon Lin Li that he had almost forgotten about the fact that he had obtained the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in the Well of the Sun in the first ce. Besides, after he took them away, the Well of the Sun almost copsed as well because the debris of the stars set was the foundation that supported the existence of the Well of the Sun.

    Now, Lin Li had a set of debris of the stars that he had collected and brought over from Anril. The set that was used by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation naturally belonged to the Well of the Sun, and acted as the foundation of its existence.

    Hence, that seemed to exin why every outburst of the power of the debris of the stars would result in an abnormal vibration in the Well of the Sun. It was because the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Well of the Sun were a whole in the first ce. The Well of the Sun existed using the power of the debris of the stars.

    However, how could that alone solve the problem that he was currently facing? Was he supposed to snatch the debris of the stars from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation? If Lin Li was truly capable of doing so, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a mess now.

    Although Lin Li had the help of the Crossbow of Reincarnation, he was only barely surviving. He was not qualified to trulypete with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. Besides, Lin Li was now a mage, and not a Hunter. He could notpare to the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation in terms of archery at all. With the difference of three Sanctuary-realm levels, Lin Li probably would have no hopes of changing the situation even if the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation used an ordinary bow.

    How exactly could he make use of the rtionship between the debris of the stars and the Well of the Sun? Lin Li could vaguely feel that that might be his only hope of turning the situation around, but he did not know exactly how he should go about doing it. If he could calm down and brainstorm about the clues, he might be able toe up with a solution.

    However, how could the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation be so kind as to give Lin Li the chance to think of a strategy? Under the pressure of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li could only try to flee in the sky while passively defending himself against one fatal blow after another.

    In the face of such an overbearing enemy like the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to let himself get distracted at all.

 Chapter 990 - Take A Gamble

    <h4>Chapter 990: Take A Gamble</h4>

    Lin Li was well aware of the power of the debris of the stars, and if he were to really suffer a hit, he would lose his life. However, he knew that if it continued to drag the fight out, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. Whenever the debris of the stars collided, he would be the one getting injured. Hence, he would only copse sooner orter.

    Seizing the fleeting opportunity, Lin Li drank two potions at once, and finally stabilized his condition a little. However, the major blood loss had already caused him to feel like he had slipped into a trance that would kill him at any moment.

    It couldn¡¯t be dragged on for any longer! Lin Li needed the Magical Domain. Even though the Magical Domain would not be able tost long in the face of the attacks of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, it could at least help him buy some time so that he could brainstorm for a while. However, the previous domain hadpletely copsed, after all, and it would take him some time to reconstruct the Magical Domain.

    When the incarnation of the Immortal King shot a piece of the debris of the stars at Lin Li again, Lin Li decided to take another gamble. He no longer blocked it with his own debris of the stars, and instead took out the giant-pir-like Titan Dragon Spear from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    The Titan Dragon Spear was the one that Lin Li had obtained in the Haiga Mountain Range. The Titan remains had already been used to build the ck Front Fortress. Due to the death of its owner, the Titan Dragon Spear had fallenpletely dormant, and had little to no use left at that time. Lin Li used it twice before, once against the Double Death Dragons, and once to subdue Angno. He also utilized only the destructive power of Thunderbolt that it contained.

    However, the Titan Dragon Spear that had suffered two heavy blows did not get energized in any way, and was only passively emitting destructive Thunderbolt. There were some cracks in the spear.

    Previously, Lin Li didn¡¯t think of using that item again, and simply kept it in his Ring of Endless Storm as a collectible. This time, Lin Li did not think of using the Titan Dragon Spear as a means to counterattack, and instead treated it as a piece of garbage that could hopefully block the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s attacks for him, even if it could only buy him a second of time.

    Hence, after throwing out the Titan Dragon Spear, Lin Li did not bother to look over at all. He immediately released the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, andunched a full-on attack on the Domain World.

    This time, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation shot out the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, which was the sharpest of all seven pieces of the debris of the stars. In fact, if Lin Li still wanted to use other debris of the stars to block the attacks like he did just now, it would probably be impossible for him to do so in time.

    The enormous Titan Dragon Spear obscured Lin Li¡¯s body entirely, and thus it was actually a good option. Of course, the most important issue was whether the Titan Dragon Spear could really block the attack of Thunderbolt like what the legends imed.

    The massive Titan Dragon Spear was like a giant pir from a temple that was heading straight towards the debris of the stars that came flying towards it. On one side, there were numerous rays of thunderous light, while on the other side, there was only a shabby and ordinary stone pir. It seemed that anyone could tell which was the stronger one here. However, when the two collided, the Titan Dragon Spear seemed to have detected the aura of destruction as countless cracks appeared on its ancient and simple-looking surface. Numerous destructive thunderbolts emerged like living creatures, jumping and flickering on the surface.

    On the other side, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, seemed to have felt a challenge to its might. All of a sudden, astonishing power emerged from it. It was as terrifying as the power that Lin Li had used in the Endless World to activate the Stars of Fury with all his might. It seemed like it could destroy everything in the world.

    In a split second, the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, and the Titan Dragon Spear that had been in slumber for thousands of years collided forcefully. With the collision point as the center, arge number of Razer Pythons darted out into the space around them like giant spider webs that covered the heavens and earth. Under the power of the destructive Thunderbolt,rge areas seemed to copse, and the entire Well of the Sun looked like it was about to be destroyed as well.

    Even Lin Li did not expect such a situation. Fortunately, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars finally reconstructed a Domain World. Otherwise, Lin Li would have been skinned alive even if he hadn¡¯t died from the aftershock of the collision.

    In that collision, the Titan Dragon Spear, which had been in slumber for thousands of years, seemed to have been invigorated again. The coarse exterior was removedyer byyer, gradually revealing its true appearance.

    The Titan Dragon Spear was a dragon-ying artifact that every Titan created after gradual umtion of the destructive Thunderbolt that they devoured bit by bit since they were young. Hence, the Titan Dragon Spear was in essence created from Thunderbolt. The Titan Dragon Spear looked like a lightning pir formed by countless intertwined Razer Pythons. The center of the pir was the wisp of destructive Thunderbolt that was formed in the void before the world was born from chaos, and although it was present only in a small amount, it gave off an astonishingly destructive aura.

    However, it would still be too much of a stretch to say that the Titan Dragon Spear wasparable to the debris of the stars. Although the Titan Dragon Spear did not get destroyed immediately in the collision, it was clearly inferior in strength, and was sent flying after being struck by the Thunderbolt.

    Fortunately, the direction of the debris of the stars was changed after Thunderbolt was sted away by the Titan Dragon Spear. It immediately pierced through the Domain World that Lin Li had just created, but it did not actually hit Lin Li¡¯s body. However, even so, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World once again copsed, and was almost destroyed.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t care less about the Titan Dragon Spear that had been knocked out of the sky. After dodging the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, he tried his best to repair the broken Domain World while capturing the inspiration that he got from reconstructing the Domain World.

    Originally, Lin Li reconstructed the Domain World for the purpose of buying more time for himself so that he could divide some of his attention to deal with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. In fact, Lin Li had no idea if he could think of any solution at all. He could only consider it a gamble.

    However, right after sessfully constructing the Domain World just now, Lin Li gained some inspiration. Since the debris of the stars in the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s hands was the foundation of the Well of the Sun, would he be able to rece it with his own set, and make it be the foundation of the Well of the Sun? If it was possible, wouldn¡¯t he be the master of the Well of the Sun? Even if he could not kill the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, with the power of the World Domain, he could at least contend with it.

    Besides, Lin Li had another guess. The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was exactly the same as him when he was exploring the Well of the Sun back then. Did that mean that the other party¡¯s existence also depended on the world of the Well of the Sun?

    Thinking of this, Lin Li felt that he ought to take a gamble since he would not be able to avoid death if he dragged it on like this anyway. Hence, he might as well try and take the risk. To him, his life was already considered a bet that was destined to be lost, so there was no difference between losing the bet and not taking the gamble. However, if he won, he would have the chance to live.

    However, what would he have to do to achieve that and gain control of the Well of the Sun using his debris of the stars? Recalling the scene in the Well of the Sun, Lin Li suddenly remembered that when he had obtained the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he actually collected them from various ces, and not from a single boss-level monster.

    In other words, the original locations of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were most likely meant for the sustenance of the Well of the Sun. Now, the incarnation of the Immortal King was holding the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, the locations in the Well of the Sun had to have already been emptied out. However, the Well of the Sun was in the world of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. Hence, it did not copse due to the absence of the debris of the stars.

    In that case, if he were to ce the debris of the stars back in the spots that he remembered, wouldn¡¯t he be able to gain control of the Well of the Sun? Lin Li wasn¡¯t sure if his guess was correct, but he was certain that there was no better choice.

    Lin Li wanted to verify his guess, but was still faced with the tough problem of getting out of this ce. Turn around and run? That was impossible. The other party was a top Hunter. If he were to do so, it would be no different from suicide.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was still constantly attacking Lin Li, and all kinds of arrows that Lin Li was familiar with were beingunched one by one. While Lin Li was struggling to hang on, he was also looking for a chance to escape safely. However, escaping from a top Hunter was not an easy task.

    However, Lin Li did have a slight advantage, which was precisely the fact that the other party was a Hunter, once belonging to him. Lin Li was just as familiar with the skills of a Hunter as he was with magic.

    As long as the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was not using any debris of the stars, Lin Li would be able to clearly know any of the subtle features and ws of the archery skills itunched. In fact, Lin Li had even discovered through the battle just now that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation still had some of his own ws from back then. The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was actually more like Lin Li¡¯s incarnation in the Endless World. In fact, some of his actions and subtle expressions were almost identical to Lin Li¡¯s back then.

    Watching the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation continue to exhibit the archery that he was familiar with, Lin Li knew that it was very likely that the chance that he had been waiting for was there.

    Indeed, after surviving several waves of the opponent¡¯s attacks and scrutinizing his actions, Lin Li¡¯s pupils constricted, and he put away the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that he had integrated into his Domain World. He then turned around and flew in the direction that he had thought of.

    At this time, the incarnation had also begun attacking. A sharp arrow appeared behind Lin Li like lightning, and prated his body immediately without obstruction. However, a moment before that, Lin Li, who did not turn back at all, adjusted his body slightly while escaping. The minor adjustment was the very reason he managed to avoid letting the arrow strike him in his vital point. Although he was still hit by the sharp arrow, this result was undoubtedly already a victory for him.

    The archery skill that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation disyed was the Heart-Piercing Arrow from the Endless World¡¯s System Skill set. Although there was no need to aim at the target when using this skill, Lin Li nheless subconsciously squinted out of habit when using it.

    The Endless World was a game world that ced emphasis on realism. Other than a few particr ones, most skills did note with the ability to lock onto targets. Hence, it was actually quite normal to squint and aim when shooting. However, every time Lin Li used the Heart Piercing Arrow, he would immediately open his eyes after squinting because he would realize that it was redundant to squint. That became Lin Li¡¯s habit when using that skill.

    Of course, normal people usually would not be able to notice their own habits. Likewise, Lin Li only realized it after others pointed it out to him.

    This time, Lin Li finally saved himself thanks to his awareness of that small habit. The power of the Heart Piercing Arrow was not huge, and its focus was onunching attacks at fatal parts of the body in order to achieve a one shot kill. Hence, after seeing that the incarnation hadunched a Heart Piercing Arrow, Lin Li immediately put away the World Domain that was his lifeline, and turned around to run away.

    Lin Li could dodge without turning back precisely because he knew where and when the Heart Piercing Arrow wouldnd.

    Having gotten the opportunity he wanted, Lin Li naturally did not dare to make the slightest dy at all. He maximized his Power of Flight, and dashed towards his target like a bolt of lighting. Due to the fact that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was a Hunter, he did not have the Power of Flight skill, and could only fly by relying on the power of the Domain World. Hence, it was slower than Lin Li.

    Besides, since it had to rely on the power of the Domain World to chase after Lin Li, the incarnation naturally couldn¡¯t take out the debris of the stars that constituted the world. He could only use the arrows condensed by the power of the world to attack Lin Li. After all, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation still relied on the Immortal King¡¯s legacy to gain control over the debris of the stars, and not on his own abilities.

    However, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was still using the Stars of Fury that was condensed using mana after all. It was probably only different in quality from the actual Stars of Fury. The true core Laws were actually not inferior. Thus, even if the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation used the most ordinary arrow, the power that erupted from it would be rather horrifying, not to mention an arrow made of condensed power of the debris of the stars.

    Lin Li dared not expose his back to a terrifying Hunter like the incarnation for a long time. Hence, after being struck by the Heart Piercing Arrow, he immediately fell into the pce of the Well of the Sun like a meteor in a bid to use the intricate andplex buildings to cover himself.

 Chapter 991 - Prey

    <h4>Chapter 991: Prey</h4>

    Every level of the Well of the Sun was a vast and boundless pce, and every building was so magnificent that humans seemed just like ants when they were in there. Most importantly, the materials that the pces were made of were not affected much during the disaster of the copse of the Tree of Eternity. Thus, they had to be very sturdy and durable.

    Lin Linded in the pce, and while he was flying close to the ground, he downed a healing potion that he had already prepared. Fortunately, the arrow that had struck him had already turned into mana and dissipated. The medicinal effects of the potion kicked in quickly and healed his wounds.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not follow Lin Li into the pces, and instead continuously changed positions above the pceplex under the shroud of the Domain World. On the other hand, he was keeping his eyes fixed on Lin Li, and thus thetter would not be able to escape his gaze even if he hid in a certain pce. It was as if the obstruction of those buildings didn¡¯t exist.

    Moreover, while the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was chasing Lin Li, the Stars of Fury in his hands were also continuously emitting thunderous roars. Under the effect of the Hunter¡¯s unique archery, each arrow was like a missile that was continuously chasing after Lin Li as it continued to fall. Although the pces that gave Lin Li some cover managed to survive in the disaster, they were not so lucky this time, and turned into debris under the bombardment of the arrows.

    At this moment, the members of the expedition who were fighting the armies of the alternate world finally noticed that the battle in the sky had somehow disappeared. They then heard the sounds of violent explosions, which were getting farther and farther away from them. In the face of such a situation, no one would be unaware of what happened. The faces of most people in the expedition turned extremely sullen.

    ¡°He escaped, he actually escaped just like that! I could already tell long ago that he was just using us as cannon fodder!¡± Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom was initially already extremely displeased with Lin Li. However, he only behaved properly because of Donald¡¯s persuasion and his fear towards Lin Li who was a Sanctuary powerhouse. Now that they were facing the oppression of the enemy and suffering continuous casualties, Kanber flew into an uncontroble rage, especially since Lin Li was no longer around.

    ¡°No, there must be a reason why Master Felic did that.¡± Donald got a great shock because of Kanber¡¯s words, and he hurriedly looked over at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. At the same time, he also wanted to give Kanber a reminder. After all, even if Lin Li was not there, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was definitely much stronger than the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Of course, deep down, Donald actually had the same thoughts as Kanber. Although the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was also there, even peak-level Legendary powerhouses were just like ants in the eyes of Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, in Donald¡¯s opinion, it really wasn¡¯t surprising at all that Lin Li had abandoned the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team in such a situation.

    However, he could not voice his thoughts out loud despite feeling that way. After all, the Tower of Dusk was now quite a powerful force in the expedition. Even if the people of the Tower of Dusk would not fall out with them after hearing those words, their morale would definitely be greatly affected. At the end of the day, no one would feel good about being abandoned.

    Although he had gotten a hint from Donald, Kanber was clearly already pent up with anger throughout the journey. Now that he finally had a chance to criticize Lin Li, how could he let it go so easily? Hence, he nonchntly said, ¡°Hmph, what reason could there be? He just didn¡¯t expect the enemy to ignore us and make him his absolute-priority target.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, Master Felic is deliberately trying to lure the enemy away. Otherwise, none of us would be able to resist the aftershock of the collisions between two Sanctuary powerhouses!¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise, Archbishop Martin was the one speaking up for Lin Li and berating Kanber instead of the people of the Tower of Dusk.

    Archbishop Martin was old and wise, so of course he couldn¡¯t see everything in an optimistic manner. However, the issue was the fact that Kanber said that Lin Li had escaped would affect more than just the morale of the members of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. In the current situation, a powerhouse like Lin Li was everyone¡¯s pir of support, and whether they could survive or not depended on him. Kanber¡¯s statement would affect the morale of everyone in the expedition.

    Hence, after hearing such idiotic words from Kanber, Archbishop Martin wished that he could knock all his teeth off. Of course, if an archbishop fought with a Knight, it would be obvious whose teeth would be knocked out.

    However, deep down, Archbishop Martin wished that Lin Li could escape. He did not forget that Lin Li still had another magic item that could quickly improve the Holy Light devotees¡¯ strength significantly, and was extremely valuable to the Brilliance Shrine.

    Archbishop Martin certainly did not want to die, either, but he was well aware of the current situation. Not only did the enemy have a powerful army, they even had a more powerful Sanctuary powerhouse. Regardless of which perspective he looked from, the expedition did not have a single advantage. Hence, he felt that the sessful escape of a Sanctuary powerhouse who was of crucial importance to the development of the Brilliance Shrine was considered a good oue.

    However, their conversation had actually had some effect on the rest of the members of the expedition. Some might believe Kanber, while some might believe Archbishop Martin, but no matter what, that still caused some ws in the defense of the expedition.

    At this moment, the expedition was already withstanding more pressure than it could endure when facing the elite army from the alternate world. The ws that might usually seem inconspicuous were thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back in this situation.

    ¡°Idiot! Stupid!¡± Archbishop Martin and Donald cursed almost unanimously. At this juncture, no one could be bothered about Prince Kanber¡¯s status anymore. The two of them definitely had adequate reason to be angry because Kanber¡¯s statement was the reason for the sudden increase in casualties of the expedition and the cause of them slipping into a dangerous situation.

    Seeing that a few Alchemy Colossuses had been destroyed in the blink of an eye, Kanber seemed to have also realized that he made a mistake. He secretly cursed Lin Li in his heart for escaping the battlefield, as well as Archbishop Martin and Donald who had scolded and insulted him. However, on the surface, he did not dare to say anything much.

    In the entire expedition, only the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team did not have any casualties during the crisis. Although the mages of the Tower of Dusk were also affected, they were in the center of the expedition, and even if they were injured, only the members of the team of the Rotterdam Kingdom who were in the periphery would be affected. Besides, there were many Legendary powerhouses who werepetent enough to handle the unexpected situation in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    At this moment, a massive Alchemy Array appeared in the center of the ground of the expedition, followed by a figure that was far taller than the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom appearing in the center of the Alchemy Array. Angno, who had been hiding among the mages and protected by them, finally couldn¡¯t hold back any longer when faced with the crisis of the expedition.

    Clearly, the timid Angno no longer felt safe under the protection of the mages. Hence, he summoned his Titan-level Alchemy Colossus¡ªhe would only feel at ease when hiding in his Alchemy Colossus.

    After entering the Alchemy Colossus, Angno stopped being cowardly, and instead swung the Alchemy Colossus¡¯s spear in a circle above his head. After he smashed the Dragon Knights, he yelled, ¡°Lowly bugs, shiver under the might of Lord Angno!¡±

    Under Angno¡¯s control, the Alchemy Colossus bypassed the expedition¡¯s defenses, and crushed more than 10 heavily armored infantrymen with its steel feet. The giant pir-like steel spear swung through the air with infinite might, and even if it only grazed the Dragon Knights a little, many of them ended up with broken bones and tendons.

    Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus was a true Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Compared to it, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team were just like children¡¯s toys. The Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was a true dragon-ying artifact that truly allowed goblins to create a short but outstanding civilization in the history of Anril.

    ¡°Alchemy Colossus? Is this the legendary Titan-level Alchemy Colossus!? How is that possible!?¡± The metallurgists of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team stared wide-eyed at the majestic Alchemy Colossus.

    In the Rotterdam Kingdom, which imed to have alchemical civilization as its foundation, people only heard of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in legends, and there were even many master metallurgists who asserted that there would be no Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in this world, because even if it was made sorge, it would involve a lot of unattainable technology that they could not even think of. It was even more so for the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus that, ording to legends, could exert Legendary-levelbat power and even contend with Sanctuary powerhouses.

    However, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom never thought that the dwarf in funny armor from the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team would actually summon a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were fighting a strong enemy at this moment, the metallurgists of the Rotterdam Kingdom would immediately stop whatever they were doing and swarm over to study the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    ¡°We must get it, we have to get it!¡± muttered Prince Kanber who had been scolded by Archbishop Martin and Donald. When he saw the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, he forgot the unhappiness in his heart, and began breathing rapidly while muttering to himself.

    Since Donald was right next to Kanber, he naturally heard thetter mumbling. However, he did not reprimand Kanber this time, because he was actually thinking the same thing. He could totally imagine the great advancement in alchemical civilization that could be achieved if they could obtain the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus and the various technologies contained within it.

    However, it was definitely not easy to get that Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Regardless of whether they could ovee the hurdle in front of them, even if they were able to return safely in the end, they would undoubtedly be courting death if they tried to snatch an Alchemy Colossus from a Sanctuary powerhouse. Thebat power of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus itself was not something that ordinary forces could contend with.

    Not only did the appearance of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus affect the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team, the incrediblebat power that could contend with a Sanctuary powerhouse also yed a significant role in helping with the expedition¡¯s current situation. The expedition¡¯s members who nearly copsed finally became equally matched with the army of the alternate world again with the help of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus.

    However, everyone knew that the state of equilibrium was actually unstable, and if Lin Li could not deal with the Sanctuary-level enemy, the expedition would still face an inevitable death.

    At this moment, Lin Li was also clear about the situation faced by the expedition through the soul contact. However, being chased by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, he was now in a difficult position to protect himself, and there was no other solution he could think of other than taking the gamble like what he had thought.

    However, Lin Li also managed to convey his message to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team through the soul contact. He told the servants who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm to look after and protect the other members of the Tower of Dusk. As for those from the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, he decided to leave them to their own devices as that was the fate of cannon fodder.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was following closely behind Lin Li, and the Stars of Fury in his hand were continuously roaring and casting arrows from the Endless World¡¯s game system. However, Lin Li managed to find a way to escape precisely because he was performing those archery techniques which Lin Li was familiar with.

    With the knowledge of those archery techniques of the Hunter, Lin Li, who was engrossed in scurrying away, suddenly changed directions as if there were eyes on his back. He then shot into the pce at the side. The position that he was in was where more than 10 arrowsnded at the speed of lightning. A violent, groundbreaking explosion followed immediately afterwards.

    It was the Rapid Explosion Arrows that was a fusion of the Rapid Arrow and Explosive Arrow archery techniques, which Lin Li had obtained after performing a series of quests in the Endless World. After obtaining it, it became the skill that Lin Li used the most often to kill monsters. After attracting arge group of monsters, he wouldunch a few rounds of Rapid Explosion Arrows and watch in joy as his EXP bar filled rapidly.

    Unfortunately, when it was his turn to be the prey, Lin Li could not feel happy at all. At most 15 Rapid Explosion Arrows could beunched in a row, and the explosive power of each of them was equivalent to Legendary-level magic spells. Even though Lin Li was now a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would still suffer dire consequences after being struck by one.

 Chapter 992 - Return To Position

    <h4>Chapter 992: Return To Position</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    If it were a face-to-face battle, Lin Li would naturally bepetent enough to take the attacks. Even if there were waves of attacks, his true body wouldn¡¯t really be injured, let alone with a Rapid Explosions Arrow. However, Lin Li could not stop now. Otherwise, he would lose all hope of turning the situation around.

    After dodging the attack, Lin Li did not seem happy at all. He did not stop, and he quickly passed through the pce with an afterimage. The majestic pce behind him also copsed with loud roars, causing debris to fall on his back.

    Looking at Lin Li who was fleeing, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not reveal any emotions at all. He did not seem angry that Lin Li had dodged it at all, and was terrifyingly calm. He simply raised the Stars of Fury in his hand again, and an arrow that was condensed with the power of the world appeared in his hand immediately before darting out with a loud, thundering sound.

    Like a meteor, the arrow pierced through the air and chased after Lin Li¡¯s figure. It formed a crack in its trajectory, and it already reached Lin Li¡¯s back in just a moment.

    The arrows shot by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation might all seem simr to outsiders, but Lin Li could urately determine the archery skill used by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation through the subtle features. Just as the arrow was about to hit his body, a piece of the debris of the stars emerged from behind Lin Li, and urately hit the arrow.

    With a loud explosive sound, Lin Li¡¯s figure once again shot out of the explosion, and passed over a high wall with the power of the explosion that gave him a boost in speed.

    ¡°Damn, if I had known this day woulde, why would I have trained to the point where my Hunter Archery skills were at their best!?¡± Lin Liined, and spat out a mouthful of blood, but he continued to scurry towards a statue near him. The golden wall behind him that he had just passed was also sted into ashes.

    Although Lin Li had blocked that arrow just now with a piece of the debris of the stars, he got more injured than he already was during the explosion. It was not that Lin Li could not dodge in time, but rather that it would be useless even if he dodged, because the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was using the Guiding Arrow, a Hunter¡¯s archery skill.

    For Archers, the Guiding Arrow could definitely be considered an Archery Skill that all archers dreamed of. The Guiding Arrow would ignore all evasive maneuvers, and once it wasunched, it would follow its target. Even if Lin Li activated his Space Robe, the Guiding Arrow would chase after him while splitting through the space. Hence, Lin Li could only resist it with powerful defense. Any dodging would be futile.

    BOOM!

    The massive statue immediately exploded after it was shot by an arrow. Its head then rolled on the ground, and gold-like debris darted everywhere. However, Lin Li had long disappeared at the back.

    Whoosh!

    10,000 arrows were shot at once, and they flew in the sky above Lin Li like a sudden storm that covered the sky. Every arrow that fell would st a deep ck hole in the hard crystal ground. The entire ground was covered in holes like it was a beehive. However, Lin Li was nowhere to be found.

    Although he had escaped the misfortune of being struck by 10,000 Heart Piercing Arrows, he sustained dozens of cuts. If he had been an ordinary person, he would have bled to death. Fortunately, as a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li had a strong body, and he also had superior-grade healing potions with him, thus allowing him to survive by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Under the pursuit of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li finally stopped for the first time. Right in front of him, there was a pagoda-shaped golden altar which had an empty groove at the top. That was one of the altars Lin Li had taken the debris of the stars from. It was the Holy Light Altar.

    Whether his guess would be right or not, and whether he could win the gamble or not was all dependent on this! No longer caring about what was happening behind him, Lin Li reached out to grab the debris of the stars, Holy Light, and pressed it into the groove of the golden altar.

    Almost at the same time, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s attack alsonded on his back forcefully. The arrownded like a star, shattering the Elemental Shield, and it sted through the Space Robe on Lin Li¡¯s body with massive power, almost blowing his spine into pieces.

    Under the powerful impact, Lin Li¡¯s body involuntarily flew into the distance while spitting out a mouthful of blood thatnded all over the ground like rainwater. The only thing that he could be thankful for was the fact that the debris of the stars, Holy Light, had been perfectly embedded into the golden altar.

    As the debris of the stars, Holy Light, returned to its position, the golden altar immediately blossomed with a radiant ray of light. The entire Well of the Sun trembled continuously in the light, seemingly excited about the return of the debris of the stars, Holy Light. A wave of Holy energy spread towards the surroundings quickly with the golden altar as the center. It fused with the space and seeped into the ground, dispelling all filthy and evil existences.

    If there had been people on the lower floors of the Well of the Sun at this time, they would have seen the Abyssal Demons that had not been killed by the expedition shrieking in agony like it was doomsday. Although there were no visible changes in their bodies, the holy aura in the space was causing extreme torment to their souls.

    At this moment, Lin Li was sted by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, and his body rolled around in space while he spat out arge amount of fresh blood. However, he soon stabilized his body without turning around. His Power of Flight had also reached the maximum, and he was flying quickly in another direction.

    As soon as Lin Li flew away, another rain of arrowsnded in the position that he was originally in, crushing that area into powder. However, there was not a single speck of debris thatnded in the range of the golden altar, as all of it was blocked out by the Holy Light.

    Although he was severely wounded again, Lin Li was ted this time because he could clearly feel that the debris of the stars, Holy Light, had returned to its position, which resulted in a considerable impact on the Well of the Sun. As the owner of the debris of the stars, Lin Li could even feel that he also seemed to have some control over the power of the Well of the Sun.

    Although the control he had was still far from being enough for him to defeat the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, it at least meant that Lin Li¡¯s previous guesses were correct, and he had made a right decision to take the gamble. If all seven pieces of the debris of the stars returned to their positions and allowed him to gain control of the entire Well of the Sun, he might have the power to turn the situation around.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s situation was not very optimistic, as the arrow that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had shot at him was one of the unique archery skills that belonged to the King of Hunters, Star-Shatter. That arrow even caused Lin Li¡¯s internal organs to rupture. If not for the Space Robe that diverted some of the power away, the arrow would have sted open a hole in his body.

    The injury could be considered the worst trauma that Lin Li had suffered since he had arrived in Anril. He was not in the Endless World where he could restore his health by consuming arge amount of health points. Even if Lin Li had the top-grade healing potions, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fully recover from his injuries in a short while.

    Besides, this was only the beginning. Lin Li could already foresee that he would definitely be struck with a fatal blow from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation because of the pause in his attempt to flee when he restored the remaining several pieces of the debris of the stars to their positions. Even if he only stopped for a moment, he would still receive a fatal blow from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. However, he had no choice, especially since it had already been proven that it would lead him to victory. How could he easily give up that chance?

    Suppressing his injuries, Lin Li could no longer be bothered to curse the Immortal King for being such a psychopath. The only thought he had was to rush to the next golden altar.

    Seemingly sensing the effects of the restoration of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation was finally triggered by Lin Li¡¯s actions. Not only did he speed up in his pursuit, he even shot the Stars of Fury incessantly. An arrow that contained terrifying power was chasing closely behind Lin Li.

    The violent explosions seemed to be chasing after Lin Li as they continued to appear in the pce, destroying the luxurious and majestic buildings. However, Lin Li would always emerge from the violent explosions, and sprint towards the next target with utmost determination.

    The heavily damaged Space Robe that Lin Li was wearing had lost most of its defensive effects, but Lin Li did not have time to put on another robe with better defensive power at all. It was almost as if he was using his body to resist the attacks that were raining down on him. With his experience, he tried to dodge the fatal blows one after another.

    ¡°Gloomy Dark!¡±

    Gloomy Dark, which emitted endless power like a ck hole, became the second piece of the debris of the stars to be returned to the golden altar. The golden Well of the Sun gradually began to lose its illusory appearance, revealing a real existence and aura that truly belonged to this world.

    However, in order to put the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, in ce, Lin Li had no choice but to once again resist the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s attack. Falling Moon, which was one of the special skills that were unique to the King of Hunters, was even more powerful than Star-Shatter. If Lin Li had not sped up to buffer the arrow as it hit due to the past experience he had, he would have really been shot and sliced in two by the arrow.

    However, even so, Lin Li was definitely severely wounded, especially since he had just been struck with a Shatter-Star arrow in front of him. He immediately lost the ability to feel anything in his lower body, and maybe his spine had really been shattered. Fortunately, Lin Li was a mage and could use the Power of Flight. Those of other professions would probably only be able to sit and wait to die at this point.

    Of course, even ordinary mages might not be able to use their Power of Flight after sustaining such severe injuries. Lin Li managed to maintain such a flying speed because he had maximum mastery of the Power of Flight, and also because he was harsh enough on himself. Physical pain was nothing to Lin Li as he had even experienced the agony that the Heart-piercing Potion would bring, which felt like it could prate his soul.

    As long as he was able to stay alive, he would not give up on fighting even if he was sted to the point where only half his body was left. At worst, he would change his body like Connoris did.

    Fortunately, not long after, Lin Li could finally feel his lower body again. It was likely that his spine had merely been dislocated just now. After all, the Sanctuary powerhouses had extremely strong bodies that were almost out of the realm of mortals, even if they were mages.

    Moreover, Lin Li felt that the Falling Moon arrow that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had used was less powerful than he remembered. It naturally was not because the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had shown him some mercy. It was likely that Lin Li managed to gain some control over a portion of the Well of the Sun, and caused the incarnation¡¯s power to be weakened because he had restored Gloomy Dark and Holy Light.

    That was definitely good news for Lin Li. He was still worried about how he could resist the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s attack if he lost the support of the debris of the stars by restoring it. It seemed that the restoration of each piece of the debris of the stars weakened the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation by a bit, and thus there would be a bnce.

    ¡°Pr Snow! Raging mes!¡±

    After Lin Li ced two more pieces of the debris of the stars back into the groove on the golden altar, he actually acquired more than half of the control of the Well of the Sun, and the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation who was chasing after him finally couldn¡¯t help but roar in exasperation.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation even tried to remove the debris of the stars that Lin Li had ced in the golden altar. However, the golden altar, which now had the power of the debris of the stars, was covered by a powerful force that even the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, who possessed level-28 strength, could not break.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation flew into a rage and roared in exasperation. However, the attacks thatnded on Lin Li did not explode with increased damage. In fact, Lin Li did not even have to turn around. With the detection of his mental strength alone, he could already clearly feel that the incarnation¡¯s strength was no longer as terrifying as it had been.

    If it had been at the very beginning, Lin Li probably would not have been eager to look for another solution. Now, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation might have lost some power, but Lin Li did not have a good time, either. The injuries of his body had not been treated in time, and he was afraid that he would not be able to exert even a tenth of his usual strength.

    Hence, Lin Li dispelled the idea of turning back to deal with the incarnation, and decided to finish what he had to. Once all seven pieces of the debris of the stars were restored, he would gain full control of the Well of the Sun, and he would be able to deal with the incarnation however he pleased by then.

 Chapter 993 - Disappear

    <h4>Chapter 993: Disappear</h4>

    Although the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had been created by the Immortal King, it clearly had some sentience. After all, even the Lord of Darkness that the Dragon of Destruction Azardas had created was capable of having a consciousness, what more the creation of a mythical figure like the Immortal King. Lin Li¡¯s actions caused the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation to feel a great sense of danger as well. He even began to attack Lin Li hysterically.

    If the incarnation of the Immortal King had attacked Lin Li so hysterically right from the beginning, Lin Li might really have died there. However, unfortunately for the incarnation, Lin Li was now gradually gaining control over the Well of the Sun, and could even manipte its power to help him resist attacks during his escape. Hence, it was much easier for him to flee.

    ¡°Thunderbolt! Rebirth!¡±

    Another two pieces of the debris of the stars were returned to their positions, and the entire Well of the Sun seemed to be revitalized by the power of the six pieces of the debris of the stars. Although the Well of the Sun had still been trampled and ruined by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, it did not seem like it had been destroyed at this moment.

    Lin Li, who had turned as pale as a sheet, was standing in front of thest golden altar, the corners of his lips stained with the blood that he had spat out just now. However, he was smiling at the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation who was chasing after him. Seeing that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had activated the Stars of Fury and shot an arrow, which was the strongest of all arrows belonging to the King of Hunters, Lin Li stabbed his debris of the stars, Nothingness, into the golden altar without hesitation.

    With the restoration of the debris of the stars, the entire Well of the Sun began to shake violently, and the power that contained the Laws of time and space emerged from the golden altar, spreading to the surroundings with the golden altar as its center. Under the nomological power, the entire Well of the Sun seemed to have experienced a reversed flow of time as the pce that had been ruined by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation began to slowly recover its original air.

    At the same time, Lin Li had a sudden enlightenment, and the entire Well of the Sun was deeply etched in his mind. It was as if the Well of the Sun had be an extension of his body. The injuries he sustained also recovered quickly without any Recovery Potions.

    The incarnation of the Immortal King was holding the Stars of Fury, but the terrifying power that was umting in the arrow was diminished because of the reversed flow of time. Next, the arrow turned into pure power and specks of stardust that dispersed in the surroundings. However, the mana-condensed Stars of Fury gradually turned into countless orbs that were hidden in space.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Seeing this, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation shrieked miserably, his voice filled with horror and indignation. However, his shrieking did not have any effect, as his body gradually became thinner.

    The Immortal King¡¯s incarnation charged towards Lin Li indignantly, and when his fist was about to touch the tip of Lin Li¡¯s nose, he turned into a ball of smoke that dissipated into space.

    Upon sight of the disappearance of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li finally let out a sigh of relief, and only then did he feel his legs turning weak. Fortunately, his injuries had long recovered, and his physical state was the same as when he just arrived. Even the Space Robe on his body, which had turned into a strip of cloth, was restored to its original state.

    With the disappearance of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that constituted the Domain World appeared from the void in the original spot of the incarnation before turning into seven rays of light that shot out in all directions of the Well of the Sun. Lin Li could tell that the directions the pieces of the debris of the stars were going in were exactly where the golden altars were.

    That surprised Lin Li as he wondered, <i>Could the two sets of debris of the stars be merged together?</i> Thinking of this, he arrived at the golden altar that was nearest to him, and removed the debris of the stars, Nothingness, after a moment of hesitation.

    Seeing that the scene around him did not change as he removed Nothingness, and the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation did not appear again, Lin Li secretly felt a sense of relief, and focused his attention on the debris of the stars, Nothingness, in his hand.

    Lin Li had a rather profound understanding of the debris of the stars, so as soon as his mental strength entered, he immediately felt the changes in the debris of the stars, but that was just one aspect. More importantly, the Laws in the debris of the stars seemed to have be even more perfect.

    Although Lin Li had not detected any ws in the debris of the stars when he first obtained it, it was because he hadn¡¯t known enough about the power of the debris of the stars yet. Although he had already had the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury in the Endless World, he had still been only a Hunter then. Besides, he had not had such an illusory perception in the game world.

    Hence, Lin Li only knew that the debris of the stars that he had been using was most likely wed when he felt the change in the Laws. In order to verify his guess, Lin Li quickly returned using the path that he took toe here. Along the way, he grabbed all of the pieces of the debris of the stars, and scrutinized them one by one using his mental strength.

    However, right after Lin Li got the debris of the stars, Holy Light, he suddenly felt arge amount of memories surging into his brain. After the fragments of memories appeared, Lin Li did not need to piece them together at all. Instead, they began fusing immediately and automatically, forming a rtivelyplete memory.

    When the memory fragments were put together, arge amount of information surfaced in Lin Li¡¯s mind hysterically. The information contained hisprehension and experience of using the debris of the stars, as well as his insights on the world and the creation of domains.

    As Lin Li stood still quietly, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars left his hand and hovered around his body. The seven origin powers emitted from the debris of the stars gradually formed an illusion of the Domain World.

    If anyone were to see it at this time, they would notice that Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was no longer as barren as before. Instead, it was full of life and vitality. In his Domain World, greenery and living beings as well as sentient beings with high intelligence began to appear, giving rise to brilliant civilization.

    The memory fragments that emerged in Lin Li¡¯s mind hade from his other seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and they were memories that truly belonged to the Immortal King. With those memories, Lin Li finally had a new understanding of the World Laws, resulting in a drastic change in the world of his domain.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s current Domain World still seemed somewhat worthlesspared to the one controlled by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation in the beginning, that also meant that Lin Li¡¯s Magical Domain had reached the peak of level-26.

    Besides, that was only the beginning, and the memories of the Immortal King had brought Lin Li far more benefits than that. However, with Lin Li¡¯s current foundation, he could only assimte them thus far. He would need more time to slowlyprehend and digest other profound information.

    At the same time, in addition to the increase in level, Lin Li¡¯s mastery and control over the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had also increased qualitatively through his deciphering of the Immortal King¡¯s memories. The Immortal King could condense the Stars of Fury out of thin air with his mana. Hence, he definitely had a thorough understanding of the Laws contained in the debris of the stars.

    Lin Li only realized that his understanding of the debris of the stars was just the tip of the iceberg after reading through the Immortal King¡¯s memories.

    Through the Immortal King¡¯s memories, Lin Li also finally understood why he had always felt incapable of fully exerting the true power of the debris of the stars in the past. It turned out that the absence of the Stars of Fury was not the only reason. It was also because he did not have theplete debris of the stars previously.

    With hisprehensive knowledge of the debris of the stars, the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation managed to split their power in two, one of which was spread in the world of Anril, and the other in Well of the Sun.

    The Immortal King¡¯s memories were far more valuable to Lin Li than gaining the ownership of the Sky Castle. After entering the Sanctuary-realm, every increase in level meant a step closer to the realm of the gods, and each step was evenrger than the distance from the sky to the earth.

    After Lin Li digested a portion of the Immortal King¡¯s memories, he actually managed to gain so much information and progress. Not only did his level increase to the peak of level-26, thebat power that he could now exert was definitely notparable to what he had been able to do before, since he had gained a better mastery of the debris of the stars.

    As Lin Li continued to digest and absorb more of the Immortal King¡¯s memories in the future, his path to the Sanctuary-realm¡¯s peak would definitely be smoother than before. Of course, the premise was that he had to get through the next obstacle. If he were to die in Osric¡¯s hands, he wouldn¡¯t have to think about anything else anymore.

    With this gain, Lin Li still wasn¡¯t certain that he would definitely defeat Osric, but he was at least more confident in dealing with thetter.

    Lin Li stood in ce for a long time until he felt that he could no longerprehend anything from the Immortal King¡¯s memories with his own power. He then slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand to put away the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Through this period ofprehension, Lin Li had gained a new understanding of the debris of the stars, and he could even feel the emotions conveyed by them. Even without the Stars of Fury, he could still exert power that was definitely hundreds of times greater than before.

    If Lin Li were to have another battle with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation now, he would no longer be in a pathetic state like before, though it was unlikely that he would win. If he used the same method, however, he would definitely be able to get rid of the incarnation without sustaining injuries.

    At this moment, the armies of the alternate world had already vanished because of the dissipation of the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. However, the expedition suffered major losses in the battle, and the effect of the reversed flow of time that happened when Lin Li gained control of the Well of the Sun did not work on the expedition. After all, it was a test that the Immortal King had prepared for Lin Li, and the cannon fodder was not taken into consideration at all.

    Seeing that the armies had disappeared, those who survived finally let out a sigh of relief, and fell to the ground ungracefully. They couldn¡¯t care if it was really safe or not. If there were any enemies, they would just ept it. They no longer wanted to put up a fight.

    Archbishop Martin¡¯s face turned pale when he looked at his team. After the intense battle just now, the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team had lost more than half of their members even though their strength had increased. That made the archbishop feel extremely agonized. Those members were the elites of the Brilliance Shrine and their future.

    However, Archbishop Martin was more concerned about Lin Li¡¯s state. As long as Lin Li was alright, the magical weapon that Lin Li had would definitely make up for the losses this time, and it could even make the Brilliance Shrine be stronger. It seemed cruel to say that, but that was the truth. No matter how pitiful the casualties were, they were already dead, and those that were alive still had to consider their own lives.

    Compared to the Brilliance Shrine, the losses suffered by the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team were far greater as almost all their Alchemy Colossuses were crippled. Seated together, Donald and Kanber looked around sulkily. If they could reach their goal of exploration this time, it would be worth it, but if not, they would definitely lose a lot.

    Even in the Rotterdam Kingdom where alchemy was the mainstay, the value of the Alchemy Colossus was still huge. If they could not gain anything from the expedition this time, how could Donald and Kanber answer to the king and the officials of the kingdom? Even Prince Kanber who was favored by the king would probably be directly deprived of his session rights, or even reduced to amoner.

    ¡°I wonder what happened to that Felic. If we could get the magical weapons from him, it would be considered a form of exnation for the king!¡± Kanber said softly to Donald as he looked at the team from the Tower of Dusk.

    The team from the Tower of Dusk had already suffered some casualties in the intense battle. However,pared to the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, their losses were negligible. The main casualties were the new mages who joined the team. Due to the fact that they were stressed, there were mistakes in coordination, and they basically injured themselves.

    The result naturally made the other two feel extremely jealous. However, they were mages. Hence, they obviously wouldn¡¯t rush to the front line like Warriors. Besides, the several Legendary powerhouses of the Tower of Dusk had done a lot. No one could say anything, since they did not contribute nearly as much during the battle.

 Chapter 994 - The Crown

    <h4>Chapter 994: The Crown</h4>

    There was a reason that Kanber thought of Lin Li. After all, it was obvious from the situation just now that Lin Li¡¯s strength was clearly inferior to the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s. In Kanber¡¯s opinion, the victory definitely did note easy even though Lin Li won. He might just be at hisst breath.

    Kanber had always been very interested in Lin Li¡¯s magical weapons and coveted them, but due to the fact that Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he suppressed his desire. However, if Lin Li was already at hisst breath, Kanber definitely would not miss this rare opportunity to give Lin Li a hard time.

    Hearing Kanber¡¯s words, Donald began to tremble in shock, and turned to look everywhere. When he saw that the people of the Tower of Dusk did not pay attention to them, he suppressed his voice, and said to Kanber, ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t mention that anymore. Even if Felic is injured, do you think we can deal with the people of the Tower of Dusk with our current power?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Don¡¯t we still have the Brilliance Shrine? Aren¡¯t they very interested in the other magical weapon that could emit Holy Light? We can cooperate with them. With the power of our two teams, we can definitely deal with those people from the Tower of Dusk,¡± Kanber said with interest, thinking to himself that his idea was definitely wonderful.

    However, at this moment, a figure suddenly flew in from afar, and it alreadynded in the middle of the expedition team in the blink of an eye. Due to the fact that it was flying too quickly, the members of the expedition even got a great shock as they thought that the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation had flown back. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the one who returned was Lin Li, who they thought had escaped.

    ¡°How is this... possible!?¡± Kanber was preupied with the thoughts of having gotten a great advantage, but he did not expect Lin Li to be unscathed, without a single wound on his body. He did not seem to have experienced a battle at all. When facing a full-fledged Sanctuary powerhouse, Kanber would know that the Sanctuary powerhouse was definitely not someone they could mess with even if his brains were fried.

    Donald, who was initially already tempted by Kanber, was just thinking about how to persuade the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team to join forces with him. However, there was no need to think about that anymore. Even the teams of the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine would not stand a chance against a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re back. How did it go? Has that enemy left?¡± Seeing that Lin Li had returned, Archbishop Martin immediately went up to him and asked him that question happily.

    Archbishop Martin was also confused by Lin Li¡¯s appearance as he did not seem to have gone through an intense battle at all. Hence, he asked if the enemy had left of his own ord.

    However, Lin Li did not deliberately correct Archbishop Martin. Instead, he nodded, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s organize the team and leave.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around to walk towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team before beginning to check on their situation.

    Through the soul contact, Lin Li had long gained an understanding of the situation of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages. Hence, he went to the team to berate the mages who had made mistakes during the battle. Faced with Lin Li¡¯s rebuke, the mages who had been named began reviewing their mistakes in public.

    Seeing this situation, Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had already done well enough, yet they still couldn¡¯t avoid being berated. What were his subordinates considered, then?

    After painstakingly waiting for the discussion of the Tower of Dusk to end, Archbishop Martin walked over and embarrassedly raised a request. He hoped that Lin Li could use the power of the Holy Light to help the members of the Brilliance Shrine recover from their injuries.

    Lin Li could actually fulfill that request easily and continue letting the team of the Brilliance Shrine be the cannon fodder. Hence, he readily agreed to it, and tossed out the debris of the stars, Holy Light. The immense power of Holy Light immediately shrouded the people of the Brilliance Shrine.

    Seeing the injured members of the Brilliance Shrine who were rapidly recovering because of the power of the Holy Light, Donald and Kanber from the Rotterdam Kingdom were green with envy. Unfortunately, they were not believers of Holy Light who could heal their wounded subordinates using such a method. Moreover, the biggest problem faced by the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom were not just casualties, but the damage done to the Alchemy Colossuses. It was not as simple as healing their injuries.

    Of course, Donald hadn¡¯t forgotten that there was another Master of Alchemy who owned a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in the team of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, after Lin Li put away Holy Light, he immediately went forward to ask for help in repairing the damaged Alchemy Colossuses.

    At this moment, Angno was still seated in the Alchemy Colossus, and arguing with Garl, the Lord Devourer.

    ¡°You disgusting fellow. If you have what it takes, repeat what you said just now. See if I¡¯ll crush your brains.¡± Under the control of Angno, the Alchemy Colossus mmed its heavy fists together with loud sounds.

    Faced with Angno¡¯s threat, Garl did not show any weakness. He disdainfully said, ¡°Damned dwarf, don¡¯t provoke me. Be careful, or I might swallow you in one bite.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Come and try swallowing me if you can. See if I¡¯ll rip your disgusting mouth apart.¡± Angno iled his arms, and a pair of huge des popped out of them.

    If Garl was still the Lord Devourer, he might really swallow Angno¡¯s Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in one gulp. However, Garl was now using the transformed Abyssal Gryphon as his host. Even if he widened his mouth to the maximum, he might not be able to swallow the Alchemy Colossus.

    Although the two of them were arguing, they did not really begin fighting, and were still mindful of the bottom line. While they were doing so, two giant hands appeared in the void and pulled the two of them apart. Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared between the two of them. While taking out the Summoning Lamp, he said to Angno, ¡°Angno, go take a look at their Colossuses. If possible, help them repair them.¡±

    Angno was a little dissatisfied, but he soon saw Lin Li taking out the Summoning Lamp and engulfing Garl¡¯srge body. He smugly said, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll let him off this time.¡±

    As he watched Angno put the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus in his own alchemical space, Donald, who had been waiting at the side, was dumbfounded. When Angno approached in his ridiculous and funny-looking armor, Donald came back to his senses. Taking Angno to see the damaged Alchemy Colossuses, he probed, ¡°Master Angno, our Rotterdam Kingdom has always been built on alchemical civilization. May I have the honor to invite you over so that we can exchange some pointers on alchemy?¡±

    Donald knew that Angno was not Lin Li¡¯s servant, as the two of them had not signed a servant contract. Hence, he developed the intention of poaching Angno. Since he no longer had the chance to get Lin Li¡¯s magical weapon, he would be able to offset the major losses that they suffered this time if he could sessfully get Angno to join the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team.

    ¡°Exchange? What do you guys have to exchange? Do you think that having a few pieces of garbage that can move will represent alchemical civilization? What a joke!¡± However, Angno did not show Donald any respect at all. After thinking about it and realizing that he might often run into the disgusting Garl in the Tower of Dusk in the future, all the more he did not have the thoughts about leaving. If he were to leave like that, wouldn¡¯t that make Garl think that he was afraid of him?

    Donald was just about to say something, but he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He quickly raised his head and looked over at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Even though he did not see the young Sanctuary powerhouse looking over at them, he still decided not to say what was on his mind.

    Although Angno had helped with the repairs, the Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom were mostly severely damaged. Hence, he only managed to repair a small number of them. Of course, most importantly, Angno was toozy to put too much thought into repairing the junk as it was truly torturous to him.

    However, no matter what, the Rotterdam Kingdom still managed to put together more than 10 Alchemy Colossuses, and they would more or less cover some of theirbat power. However,pared to the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk, theirbat power still seemed somewhat pathetic, causing Donald and Kanber to have great worries about the rest of the expedition.

    Although the Brilliance Shrine had also suffered heavy casualties in the battle, at least the ones who were alive were recovering well with the help of the Holy Light. Besides, the team from the Tower of Dusk hadn¡¯t suffered many casualties, and its strength could be considered unaffected.

    After some rest and recuperation, the expedition finally set off again, and headed to the ce where they left the Well of the Sun under Lin Li¡¯s leadership. Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had already sessfully explored the Well of the Sun, and obtained seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, he was extremely familiar with the Well of the Sun, and it was naturally not tough for him to leave this ce.

    Lin Li led the expedition to a square located in the center of the Well of the Sun, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew out with dazzling rays of light towards the Great Whirlpool above the Well of the Sun. As they approached the Great Whirlpool, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars spun faster, and the seven origin forces fused together. They gradually opened up a passageway in the Great Whirlpool.

    There was no need for them to fly up into the sky. An unparalleled force darted out of the huge vortex, leading the expedition up into the sky and into the passage.

    When everything in front of them was calm again, they realized that they were in another enclosed space, which was not quite the same as the one they were in before they entered the world. The surface area of the space was extremelyrge, and it looked just like a huge square. Other than a few murals and sculptures, there were also a pathway and various gates.

    It was in fact the underground space of the Sky Castle that could be considered the core of the Sky Castle. The Sky Castle was like a city built on an inverted pyramid. Hence, there was an extremely vast space underneath it as well. It contained the power core that gave the Sky Castle the power to travel through space, as well as the control center that controlled the magic traps and gears of the Sky Castle. It also contained the mana source of the entire Sky Castle.

    Seeing the situation around them, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others suddenly beamed with joy because their goal of exploring the Sky Castle this time was in a certain corner of this underground space.

    When the three forces were cooperating at the beginning, they once argued over which target to look for first. As a result, Lin Li suppressed them all, and demanded that they head to the Central Tower together first in order to make the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom his cannon fodder.

    The experience of this journey left Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others with barely any hope of finding their respective targets. The dangers in the Sky Castle were far beyond their imagination. The only hope they had was to leave this ce alive.

    However, no one had expected that they would arrive here after leaving the Well of the Sun. For a moment, Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others were so excited that they were about to cry tears of joy. However, after the excitement subsided, they suddenly remembered that they were in no ce to make decisions about the expedition¡¯s advancement.

    ¡°Master Felic, ording to the information we have received, the High Elven queen¡¯s crown that we are looking for this time seems to be somewhere here. Do you think we can spare some time to go there and find the crown?¡± Archbishop Martin asked anxiously. He was the first to reach Lin Li.

    ¡°Master Felic, the item that our ancestor of the Rotterdam Kingdom left behind in the Sky Castle seems to also be somewhere here. Can we go look for it first?¡± Donald asked carefully.

    In the beginning, Lin Li insisted oning to the Central Tower partly because he wanted to race against Osric, and also because he wanted to make the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom his cannon fodder. Hence, he did not want them to leave early after finding their target. However, now that they hade this far, both forces had suffered major losses, and it was impossible for them to leave early on their own, so Lin Li naturally did not bother holding it against them.

    Hence, Lin Li nodded, and said to Archbishop Martin and Donald, ¡°Alright, the two of you may discuss among yourselves whose target to look for first. Let me know when youe to a decision.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li didn¡¯t make things hard for them regarding this issue, Archbishop Martin and Donald were suddenly thrilled, and they quickly scurried to the side to discuss for a while. After reaching a consensus and striking a deal with each other, they decided to look for the target of the Brilliance Shrine first¡ªthe High Elven queen¡¯s crown.

    The High Elven queen¡¯s crown was rumored to have been made with the Sun Adamantine, and was embellished with six eternal gemstones that were made with the pulp of the fruit of the Tree of Eternity. Even an ordinary person would immediately be able to possess the incredible strength of the Sanctuary-realm after wearing it.

 Chapter 995 - King Of Curses

    <h4>Chapter 995: King Of Curses</h4>

    Besides, there were also many Guru-level mageweaths on the crown, the most famous of which was the Magic Rebound mageweath which couldpletely repel magic spells that were below the Sanctuary-level. It also had extremely high defense against Sanctuary-realm magic spells.

    Besides, when one was wearing the High Elven queen¡¯s crown, they would also have their mental strength increased directly by hundreds or thousands of times. At the same time, the wearer could also obtain an endless supply of mana through the eternal gemstone on the crown to dramatically increase the power of any magic spell that was cast.

    To put it simply, it was the crown of kings, and anyone who wore it would possess power that was strong enough to suppress everyone. Of course, that was not absolute. Otherwise, Geresco wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill the High Elven queen in the first ce.

    Most importantly, like the Moonlight Scepter, the High Elven queen¡¯s crown would only have its full effects disyed if worn by those with the blood of the royal High Elves. Although ordinary people could use it too, the effects would be greatly reduced, and at best it would be considered an excellent piece of magical equipment.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know what the Brilliance Shrine wanted the crown for, but he was not too interested in it. Hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t stop them from taking it.

    ording to the information that Archbishop Martin had, the expedition soon found the room where the crown was likely to be. This time, there was finally a use for Archbishop Martin¡¯s key. He managed to open the Magical Thousand-contraption Lock with great ease.

    In order to put Archbishop Martin and the others at ease, Lin Li did not enter together with them, and instead got Archbishop Martin and Prince Jeremiah to search the room by themselves. However, as soon as Lin Li watched the two of them enter, a loud roar could be hearding from the door, after which Jeremiah was blown out and smashed heavily against the wall opposite the door.

    Jeremiah spat out a mouthful of blood, and before Lin Li could ask him any questions, he anxiously eximed, ¡°Master Felic, please give me a hand. That crown is too impressive.¡±

    <i>The crown is too impressive?</i> Jeremiah¡¯s words made everyone in the room stunned. However, the roar of magic that continuously spread from the room showed how urgent the situation was.

    The fact that two peak Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t handle it made Lin Li, who did not n to interfere at first, feel somewhat interested. Besides, since Jeremiah had already taken the initiative to ask for help, Lin Li naturally did not consider whether it would cause any misunderstanding. He immediately walked towards the gate.

    After entering the room, the first thing Lin Li saw was Archbishop Martin resisting countless offensive spells. Besides, there was a crown floating in midair opposite Archbishop Martin, which was where the continuous attacks came from. However, the emptiness was only on the surface, and in reality, Lin Li could sense a strange spiritual fluctuation beneath the crown.

    ¡°Eidolon?¡± The discovery immediately made Lin Li think of a possibility.

    The Eidolon was in truth just like a memory fragment, a solidified form of spiritual fluctuations. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the Eidolon beneath the crown was very likely to be a form of the High Elven queen¡¯s Inheritance Seal. After the heir to the throne wore the crown, he would be able to obtain simr experiences and other inheritances left by the previous queen.

    However, the Eidolon would never have sentience, because it was just solidified spiritual fluctuations or some memories. Both Archbishop Martin and Jeremiah did not have any High Elven royal bloodline, and would naturally be attacked by the Inheritance Seal if they wanted to get the crown.

    However, it was not just an Inheritance Seal, as the crown itself contained powerful mana. Under the control of the Inheritance Seal, thebat power that it could exert was not something that a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Legendary-level could contend with, even though it was not at the Sanctuary-realm yet.

    ¡°Master Felic, the crown suddenly and automatically attacked us for some reason. Do you have any means to subdue it?¡± Seeing that Lin Li had entered the room, they quickly resisted the offensive spells while embarrassedly asking Lin Li for help.

    In fact, what was truly valuable about the crown was the Eidolon in it, or rather the Inheritance Seal. Even though there had only been two generations of High Elves because they had extremely long lifespans, High Elven queens had always been true powerhouses of the High Elves, and were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Their experience was priceless to anyone. Due to the restraint of the bloodline, no one would be able to exert the maximum power other than the royal High Elves.

    Since Archbishop Martin had taken the initiative to ask for it, Lin Li naturally could not turn him down. After thinking about it for a moment, he took out the Moonlight Scepter from the Ring of Endless Storm. Just like the crown, the Moonlight Scepter could not be used by those who were not royal High Elves. Even Lin Li was not an exception despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, Lin Li could still stimte some of its functions by injecting mana into it.

    In fact, when Lin Li took out the Moonlight Scepter, the Inheritance Seal on the crown had already been affected. When Lin Li injected mana into the Moonlight Scepter, and caused the gemstone on top of the Moonlight Scepter to shine, the Inheritance Seal on the crown immediately received a strong attraction. In almost an instant, the Inheritance Seal was sucked into the Moonlight Scepter, and the crown fell to the ground.

    Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t use the Moonlight Scepter, he couldpletely read the Inheritance Seal of the High Elven queen through his mental strength which had prated it. However, Lin Li still had fragments of the Immortal King¡¯s memories that he had not digested yet. For the time being, he could not use the memories from the High Elven queen¡¯s Inheritance Seal.

    Watching the crown fall, Archbishop Martin did not know what Lin Li had done at all. After thanking Lin Li immediately, he walked forward to pick up the crown happily. Finally, the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s team had somewhat achieved their goal this time, and had an exnation to give for the major loss of elites.

    At this moment, Donald and the others were standing in front of the main gate, watching Archbishop Martin put away the crown. They were all green with envy. At the same time, they eagerly wanted to achieve their goal as soon as possible as a way to make up for the huge losses on this expedition.

    Seeing that Lin Li and the others were all alright, Donald immediately went forward, and respectfully said, ¡°Master Felic, can we search for our target now?¡±

    At this point, the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team was actually inadequate to be cannon fodder now, but, after all, they had been supported by the Rotterdam Kingdom. Hence, as long as they were not courting death and the item they were looking for was not of great importance to Lin Li, Lin Li would not bother making things difficult for them.

    Hence, after the expedition left the room, they followed the information provided by Donald, and headed to the other side of the underground space in search of the so-called lost item of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s ancestor.

    ording to Donald, the item that they were looking for was in the control center of the Sky Castle. Although the existence of the control crystal of the Sky Castle would allow them to manipte the Sky Castle at wish, there was also a control center, which was a manual maniption option that came with fewer features and permissions than the magical crystal.

    Due to the existence of the control center, the remaining High Elves at the end of the Dark Age had the ability to manipte the Sky Castle and escape from Anril. Otherwise, the other people would not be able to use it, since even Osric, the proud disciple of the Immortal King, did not manage to get the control crystal.

    The control center could be found easily for the members of the expedition team because they had the structural diagram of the Sky Castle. However, this ce was different from where the High Elven queen¡¯s crown was ced because it was guarded. Firstly, there were nearly 100 Vengeful Spirits which all had Legendary-level strength. They were most likely left behind by the High Elves who had controlled the Sky Castle at first.

    At the same time, in the rooms to the left and right of the control center, there were also quite a few Alchemy Colossuses and alchemy puppets that should have been responsible for guarding the power of the control center. All of them were also of the Legendary-level.

    Even when the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team had just entered the Sky Castle, they probably would not have been able to get any benefits with such a force present. Besides, almost everyone in the team was now injured.

    The members of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team had initially thought that their search would go as smoothly as the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s, but to their surprise, they were actually that unlucky. They actually suddenly encountered such a wave of enemies that caught them off guard, and added insult to injury since most of them were already injured and weakened.

    If it weren¡¯t for the timely rescue of the Brilliance Shrine, the team from the Rotterdam Kingdom, which had long been beaten up, would probably have fallen terribly before the finish line. However, even with the joint efforts of the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam Kingdom, it was still a very difficult task to fight against hundreds of Legendary-level enemies. Being able to ensure that they did not suffer any casualties was already good enough.

    As for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, they had already begun walking over slowly, and did not show any intentions to provide any aid.

    Of course, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team could not be med for leaving them in the lurch. Jeremiah and the others were worried that Lin Li might want what they were looking for, so they initially did not want the people of the Tower of Dusk to tag along. Since Donald felt the same, there was no need for the people of the Tower of Dusk to go asking for trouble.

    In the beginning, Donald and the others were proud, and had strong backbones as they did not want to seek help from the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, mainly because they were worried that if the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team intervened, there would be changes after they obtained the item. However, Donald and the others did not persist for long before the door of the control center suddenly opened on its own.

    Next, the battle stopped, and be it the Vengeful Spirits, the Alchemy Colossuses, or the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom, everyone lost their will to continue fighting under a powerful pressure. A monster with a blurry face slowly floated out of the door of the control center like smoke.

    The monster gave off an extremely cold and vicious vibe of resentment which caused tension to build up and the temperature of the entire space to seemingly plunge immediately. Even Archbishop Martin and the other peak Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t help but feel their souls tremble as they felt that vicious resentment.

    The King of Curses, an existence of the Sanctuary-realm that was born to curse the world to be destroyed. Upon its birth, it would be subject to the merciless ughter of the World Laws. However, the King of Curses was allowed to survive here because the Sky Castle existed outside Anril.

    Walking out of the control center, the King of Curses formed a Curse Domain while endless resentment surrounded it.

    With the appearance of the King of Curses, two Alchemy Colossuses suddenly emitted the sounds of metal friction, followed by an instant copse and disintegration without warning even though they had not been damaged. The metallurgists who were seated in the Alchemy Colossuses suddenly lost their vitality and turned pale before bleeding from all apertures.

    After the Alchemy Colossuses, a few Warriors from the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team also began bleeding, and died miserably without even getting to scream. It was simply murder! Everyone in the team was stunned, but when they thought of escaping, they realized that they had lost control of their bodies.

    Even the few Legendary powerhouses were immobilized at this juncture, let alone the ordinary people. Even Archbishop Martin and the others felt that they were falling into a trance. Once they did, they would be subjected to ughter by the other party.

    Even the purifying power of Holy Light had lost its effects when faced with the King of Curses. That was a curse on everything in the world, including the heavens and the gods. With such a power, the King of Curses turned into a terrifying existence that even the gods avoided once it reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Even though there wasn¡¯t an intense battle, they were all in a situation that was far more dangerous than any other battle that they had engaged in. Although the expedition had also encountered plenty of enemies whom they could not contend with in the previous battles, they could at least resist them. However, now that they were facing the imprable curse of the King of Curses, they were simply incapacitated, and turned into sheep waiting to be ughtered despite being bent on fighting.

    ¡°Master Felic, please help us on ount of the effort that we¡¯ve contributed throughout the journey!¡± Donald had almost used all his might to yell those words.

    However, even Archbishop Martin did not hope that Lin Li would help them, because a Sanctuary Master¡¯s greatest reliance was their Domain World, and the power of the King of Curses happened to be the destruction it could cause to the World Laws. It was strong enough to be called the nemesis of mages in the Sanctuary-realm.

    With the power of the curse that could destroy the World Laws, the King of Curses would still pose a great threat to the mages in the Sanctuary-realm even if it was at a lower level than them!

 Chapter 996 - Control Center

    <h4>Chapter 996: Control Center</h4>

    With the power of the curse that could break the World Laws, the King of Curses could still pose a great threat to the Sanctuary Masters who were at higher levels than it, even though it was of a lower level.

    Lin Li was well aware of the terror of the King of Curses. If he had met the King of Curses previously, his only choice would have been to run away. However, Lin Li now wanted to find a chance to verify how much morebat power the gains that he had made in the Well of the Sun could give him.

    Hence, after hearing Donald¡¯s call for help, Lin Li did not just stand at the side and do nothing. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew out one after another, immediately forming arge Domain World that mmed down on the enemies.

    In the blink of an eye, the Legendary-level Vengeful Spirits and therge Alchemy Colossuses were left with no means to resist against the Domain World. They were almost reduced to pieces under the pressure of the power of the world. The King of Curses also exerted its Power of Curses, and caused arge amount of cold, chilly air to seep into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World in an attempt to disintegrate it.

    However, after getting the Immortal King¡¯s memory fragments and restoring the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li had already reached the peak of level-26. The Domain World that he had created had evolved into a world of endless vitality, and had be incredibly solid with the support of the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. If Lin Li¡¯s current Domain World were to collide with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s Domain World again, it would definitely not copse that easily even if it could not get the upper hand.

    Lin Li did not immediately kill the King of Curses, and instead carefully tried to sense the effects of the Power of Curses on his Domain World. Exploiting the Power of Curses, he found some minor ws of the debris of the stars, and corrected them before pointing his finger and causing the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to suddenly speed up and revolve quickly, wiping out the King of Cursespletely.

    As the King of Curses vanished, the people of the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom finally regained their mobility. However, Archbishop Martin and the others remained still, dumbfounded and unresponsive to everything around them. All they could think about was the scene of Lin Li killing the King of Curses just now.

    Although Archbishop Martin was only at the peak of the Legendary-level, he was extremely knowledgeable, and had developed great discernment after following Pope Rosario for so many years. Hence, after just taking one look, he immediately sensed that Lin Li¡¯s power had already changed drastically against when he first entered the Central Tower.

    <i>He stepped into the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age, and advanced to another level in the blink of an eye. Is he still human!? What does that make us!?</i>

    Even the mild-mannered Archbishop Martin somehow felt angry and anguished at this moment. Did he live all his life in vain!?

    On the other hand, Donald and Kanber were ted to have survived, but they also finally knew that Lin Li had not got harmed during the final battle at the Well of the Sun. Instead, he made a huge breakthrough in strength, and that made them finally give up their ns. They just wanted to leave the Sky Castle as soon as possible and get away from the psychopath.

    However, Donald knew very well in his heart that before leaving this ce, he still had to rely on Lin Li¡¯s protection. Hence, he moved closer to Lin Li with gratitude on his face, and said, ¡°Master Felic, it¡¯s all thanks to your help this time, otherwise all of us would have been buried here.¡±

    ¡°Alright, cut it out and go find what you¡¯re looking for, there¡¯s still work to be done,¡± Lin Li urged nonchntly with a wave of his hand. To him, the gratitude of cannon fodder was worthless, and the value of cannon foddery in the fact that they could be used at the most crucial and suitable juncture.

    Donald and the others were not bothered by Lin Li¡¯s urging, and instead were rather relieved because that showed that Lin Li did not seem to care much about the item that they were looking for.

    Soon, the members of the Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s team entered the control center, and found a metal box that contained a thick journal. It was rumored to be the notes that the Immortal King had taken when studying alchemy.

    Donald initially nned to tempt Angno with the notes in a bid to get him, the Master of Alchemy, to join the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    However, Angno merely took a few nces at the notes before tossing the journal back at them. When Donald was busy picking up the notes, Angno disdainfully said, ¡°This is just some low-level alchemy information, and yet you people treat it like a treasure.¡±

    It turned out that although those alchemy notes indeed belonged to the Immortal King, they were notes that he had taken down when he first started studying alchemy. It was likely that one of the ancestors of the royal family of the Rotterdam Kingdom back then had secretly taken away that journal using his authority, which the Immortal King might have forgotten about. However, it was, after all, the Immortal King¡¯s belonging, and the ancestor didn¡¯t dare to take it away openly. Instead, he left it in the room of the control center, but when he finally left, he did not have the chance to take it away, thus leaving behind that information for his descendants.

    The real journal that recorded the highest alchemical achievements of the Immortal King was actually the one that the Ashen Warlock had given to Lin Li. It contained the information about the creation of the perfect body. If the ancestor of the Rotterdam Kingdom had stolen that journal back then, the entire Rotterdam Kingdom would have probably incurred the wrath of the Immortal King.

    Hence, given Angno¡¯s Guru-level attainments in creating Alchemy Colossus, he naturally was not impressed by such an elementary item. However, what was elementary in Angno¡¯s eyes was actually considered profound to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom. After just flipping through a few pages, Donald was already certain that the content of the journal was enough to allow the Rotterdam Kingdom, which had reached a bottleneck, to achieve a huge breakthrough in alchemy.

    Finally, Donald and Kanber heaved sighs of relief because the value of the alchemical notes was enough to make up for the losses that they had suffered during the expedition. Besides, the two of them were almost certain that they would obtain a boost in status after returning to the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    After achieving their expedition goals, the members of the teams from the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom all wanted to leave this hellhole. However, it was not up to them. Although they had already found what they wanted, getting out of here alive in the end still depended on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Master Felic, I wonder what your goal of the expedition this time is. As long as you need our help, we will definitely do our best to assist you.¡± After Donald put away the alchemy journal, he immediately ran to Lin Li to ostensibly show his loyalty, but in reality, those were just nice words which he did not really mean.

    Of course, Donald didn¡¯t know that they had already acted as Lin Li¡¯s cannon fodder several times throughout the journey, and they even had to continue being his cannon fodder.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t exin to them what his goal was, but after the team was reorganized, he brought them straight to the underground central area where there was arge Teleportation Portal that led to the top floor of the Central Tower. It was also the same floor where the control crystal was ced.

    Actually, the real control center of the Sky Castle was the topmost floor of the Central Tower where the Sky Castle was controlled using the control crystal. The underground control crystal was just auxiliary. Under circumstances where there were no control crystals, it would allow one to obtain a basic control of the Sky Castle.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald and the others were already very familiar with the structure of the Sky Castle. Hence, when they saw that Lin Li was going to the real control center, they couldn¡¯t help but be a little surprised. At the same time, they made some unbelievable guesses too.

    <i>Could it be that his real purpose foring here was not to find any treasure, but to gain control of the entire Sky Castle!?</i> Archbishop Martin and the others were in disbelief at that thought.

    However, they thought about how Lin Li had no intention of exploring the other areas of the Sky Castle during the initial cooperation, and instead had his sights fixed on the Central Tower. That seemed to confirm Archbishop Martin¡¯s conjecture. Moreover, they also knew that Lin Li had already taken away the valuable things in the Central Tower when he had first explored the Sky Castle. If it wasn¡¯t for gaining control of the Sky Castle, why would he bother making another trip to the Sky Castle?

    At this moment, Donald and the others also finally reacted. They finally realized why the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team did not want anything when they were discussing the cooperation. It made them feel as if they were there to have fun. It turned out that it was because they were not impressed by those items at all. They wanted the entire Sky Castle.

    Frankly, Lin Li¡¯s ambition scared Donald and the others, who were well aware of the power of the Sky Castle but never had the intention of taking it for themselves. It was not that they did not want it, but rather that they had the self-awareness that they could not swallow it at all with their small amount of power. Besides, even if they had what it took, it would be impossible for the Rotterdam Kingdom to encroach on the entire Sky Castle.

    Besides, that point was also proven along the way. Even if the Rotterdam Kingdom had sent theirrge armies, they would not have been able to survive the battle against the Undead World and pass the barrier of the Well of the Sun. Donald knew very well that he and the others had made it that far because of Lin Li, the young President of the Tower of Dusk.

    It was way too terrifying for them. What kind of force was the Tower of Dusk? They had a young President with a bunch of Legendary-level monsters under him. Now, he even wanted to gain control of the Sky Castle! Donald no longer dared to imagine what a terrifying existence such a mysterious and powerful force would be if it were to acquire the Sky Castle.

    In the blink of an eye, the expedition had already left the underground space through the Teleportation Portal, and reached the top floor of the Central Tower. The space on this floor was just as spacious as before, with no redundant decorations, except a pyramid-shaped crystal tform that wasn¡¯t very tall on the ground in the center of the space.

    Looking at the control panel in front of him, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel some excitement, but at the same time, he also had some doubts about the absence of Osric, who was hiding in an unknown ce.

    Now, Lin Li had to ce the control crystal on the control tform before activating the control system of the entire Sky Castle. As long as he did that, the Sky Castle of the Immortal King would entirely belong to Lin Li. Even if Osric appeared, he would not be able to take the control away from Lin Li.

    Although they had gone through various obstacles along the way, Lin Li still felt that things seemed to be going too smoothly when he looked at the control panel in front of him. It was such smooth-sailing that it was almost unbelievable.

    However, no matter what, since they had already made it that far, Lin Li had no reason to give up. He couldn¡¯t possibly wait for Osric to appear. If Osric had been held up by something, Lin Li would have wasted plenty of time by being wishy-washy. Of course, he still had to be careful when necessary as he did not want all his efforts to go in vain.

    After getting the members of the expedition team to keep their guard up, Lin Li walked towards the control panel, and took out the control crystal from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    However, when he reached the panel and reached out to ce the control crystal in the groove, a figure suddenly appeared next to it at the speed of lightning. Before Lin Li could react, the figure had already attacked, and snatched the control crystal from Lin Li.

    Just as the figure appeared and snatched the control crystal, a powerful, unparalleled magical wave erupted like a volcano, sweeping in all directions. Even Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the peak of level-26, was sted away.

    Although they were far away from the control panel, the members of the expedition behind Lin Li were still swept away like leaves getting blown away by a strong gust of wind. They then fell to the ground groggily. Although the few remaining Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom wererge in size, they were still rolling away like gourds and crushing people, producing new wounded.

    Lin Li painstakingly regained his bnce in the air before looking at the control panel, only to see Highlord Osric, whom he had always been worried about.

    At this moment, Osric, who was holding the control crystal that he had just obtained, was staring at Lin Li, who was trying to regain his bnce, with gloomy eyes. Strictly speaking, it was Lin Li¡¯s first time meeting Osric. When Lin Li explored the Sky Castle for the first time, he only met the awakened Ghost.

 Chapter 997 - Highlord

    <h4>Chapter 997: Highlord</h4>

    In Osric¡¯s mausoleum, the only thing that controlled the entire body was the wisp of Osric¡¯s Soul Imprint. As for the world created by the Immortal King and nna from more than 1,000 years ago, those were just counterfeits.

    However, due to various reasons, Lin Li and Osric had already been embroiled in various feuds that could never be solved. Perhaps they could be considered old rivals. Even though they were from two different eras, the Sky Castle had be their meeting point.

    The Osric in front of Lin Li was not in the form of a Ghost, unlike what he always thought. Instead, it was a High Elf that was well and alive with a real body, and had the aura of life. He had bloodshot eyes, a pale face, and a tall and burly figure, which fitted the description of Osric in myths and legends. He was wearing the legendary Divine King Battle Robe, which was said to have been created for him. The ck battle robe was as dark as the night sky. Beautiful patterns were embroidered on his cor, and his silver pauldrons were covered in dim golden mageweaths. The fine silver lines on the robe formed a mageweath array with terrifying power.

    At this moment, Archbishop Martin and the rest finally recognized Osric, and while bewildered, they were filled with endless horror. After going through all the obstacles along the way, they felt that they had already seen everything the Sky Castle had to offer. However, when faced with the terrifying pressure radiated by Osric, they couldn¡¯t help but shiver uncontrobly.

    Actually, Archbishop Martin and the others were not the only ones. Even Lin Li, who had prepared for it, already felt extremely helpless when he was truly facing Osric. The horror that came from the bottom of his heart was something that he had never experienced before even when he was facing the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation.

    ¡°O-Osric, you¡¯ve been waiting here!¡± Lin Li said in a dry and hoarse voice. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars had already begun flying around him a long time ago. However, fear was still pouring out of his heart uncontrobly.

    Osric¡¯s expression was a bit stiff. After looking at the control crystal in his hand, he shifted his gaze onto Lin Li again. He then coldly said, ¡°I knew you would return. I have to admit, it was indeed my mistake for failing to keep you behind previously. However, this mistake won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to disappoint you. Even if you have a new body, you¡¯ll have to pay the price to keep me here.¡± After saying those words, Lin Li¡¯s fear dissipated greatly, and he quickly regained hisposure. However, Lin Li, who appeared to be calm, was actually constantly trying to cheer himself on. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the peak of level-26. He also had the help of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, so it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to fight Osric!

    Not impossible to fight? Despite cheering himself on, Lin Li still did not seem to have much confidence under the pressure of Osric.

    Besides, Osric wasn¡¯t angry when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words. Instead, he calmly said, ¡°I have to admit that humans do have an advantage in learning that really makes one jealous. I didn¡¯t expect that after only a short period of time, you have already grown to the point where you are qualified to stand in front of me, but unfortunately...¡±

    It was indeed a pity. If Lin Li had enough time to grow, he would definitely be a second Geresco, and even achieve greater sess and attainments than him! Archbishop Martin and the rest had already begun to struggle while standing up. When they saw Osric speaking to Lin Li, they suddenly felt extremely small.

    ¡°The High Elves have already vanished from Anril. Even if you get the Sky Castle, what¡¯s the point?¡±

    Of course, Lin Li knew that he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to affect Osric even if he got the Sky Castle. God knew what he was thinking. However, Lin Li knew that with his abilities alone, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Osric. Hence, if he wanted to buy time, he would have to make the people behind gradually get used to Osric¡¯s pressure.

    However, Osric clearly did not take Lin Li and those people in the expedition team seriously. He did not care if Lin Li was stalling for time, and he did not look at the expedition team at all. Once again, he looked at the control crystal in his hand, and somewhat resentfully said, ¡°Back then, when Teacher left the Sky Castle behind here, I always thought that it was meant for me, but it turns out he reserved it for himself. For the sake of his so-called immortality, he doesn¡¯t mind watching his race perish. To him, even his finger is more important than the survival of his race.¡±

    Hearing Osric¡¯s words, Lin Li recalled the notes that were filled with questions and resentment which he found in the Immortal King¡¯sboratory. At this moment, he also finally understood that Osric had always wanted to find the Sky Castle¡¯s control crystal.

    Indeed, the rule of the High Elves was overthrown at the end of the Dark Age, but the biggest reason that caused the High Elves to fall was precisely because of the absence of thest Sky Castle. Although each of the seven Sky Castles contained massive power, their most powerful form was the one where all seven werebined to form a Magic Array that could suppress the world.

    Had the seven Sky Castles really formed a Magic Array under the control of the High Elves, both sides would have been heavily wounded even if thebined resistance of the humans and other rebellion forces were led by Geresco City. In fact, if the High Elves had been ruthless enough, they would¡¯ve been able to destroy the entire Anril with the Magic Arrays of the seven Sky Castles.

    However, what really caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was Osric¡¯s im that the Immortal King had kept the Sky Castle for himself. Lin Li was puzzled by his statement. Since the Immortal King already owned the Sky Castle, why would he save it for himself?

    Although the Immortal King seemed to have disappeared before the war broke out at the end of the Dark Age, and no one knew where he had gone, Lin Li could vaguely sense through various signs that the Immortal King had been observing the war throughout the Dark Age, and had not really left Anril. The Well of the Sun was the very proof of that.

    The High Elves¡¯ Well of the Sun could sink into the Great Whirlpool only because Geresco had caused the Tree of Eternity to fall. Clearly, the Immortal King only kept the Well of the Sun in his world after that. Since the Immortal King had never left Anril, and the Well of the Sun had always belonged to him, why did he have to leave it for himself?

    ¡°Yeah, my race has already perished, but yours still exists, and I believe you will soon be able to see the significance of me taking ownership of the Sky Castle.¡± Osric¡¯s eyes shed, and he put away the resentment in his emotions. He opened his palm at Lin Li, and countless magic spells gathered and surged towards Lin Li like a roaring flood.

    Lin Li, who had already summoned the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, had been keeping his guard up against Osric. In the blink of an eye, the terrifying magic spells broke out, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars erupted with great power. A Domain World that was filled with vitality immediately appeared.

    Almost at the same time, Osric began tounch a bombardment of infinite magic spells. The dense sounds of explosions filled the air, while Lin Li¡¯s Domain World began vibrating vigorously under the violent magical explosion. Lin Li¡¯s Domain World also began shaking like it was the end of the world.

    Osric said that although Lin Li was qualified to stand before him, it was only because he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but in terms of strength and abilities, they were still worlds apart from each other.

    Lin Li was now a Sanctuary powerhouse that was at the peak of level-26, and the power of his seven pieces of the debris of the stars would allow him to gain the upper hand even in a battle against a level-27 Sanctuary powerhouse. However, as the Immortal King¡¯s proud disciple who had already be a Sanctuary powerhouse at the end of the Dark Age, Osric managed to be reborn now through some means, yet his strength was not reduced.

    The Domain World that Lin Li had built with the debris of the stars was torn by Osric¡¯s magic spells in the blink of an eye. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars broke free from the void. That was the difference in strength, and Osric did not have to use his own Magical Domain at all. He managed to crush Lin Li¡¯s powerful Domain World with just some ordinary magic spells.

    In the instant that Lin Li¡¯s Domain World shattered, Osric suddenly appeared in front of Lin Li, and he tried to punch Lin Li¡¯s head with his pale fist forcefully.

    Seeing that the fist was rapidly erging in front of him, Lin Li quickly activated his Space Robe, and he escaped from Osric¡¯s attacking range in a sh. Although he had escaped, Lin Li had broken out in a cold sweat. He was sure that if he had suffered a solid punch, his head would have been blown off.

    Just as Osric was about to continue chasing Lin Li, a giant sword beam sliced through the void, and immediately shed against Osric¡¯s hand, which was holding the magical crystal. However, in the face of the sword beam, Osric waved his hand gently and nonchntly. The sword beam that was enough to break a mountain peak shattered, and turned into countless orbs that dissipated into the void.

    ¡°Connoris, are you that impatient?¡± Osric asked with disdain, sneering at Lin Li.

    The sword beam was emitted from Connoris¡¯ Eternal Frost de. Lin Li was Osric¡¯s enemy. After snatching Osric¡¯s perfect body, Connoris simrly couldn¡¯t escape Osric¡¯s revenge. Hence, despite knowing that there was a huge difference between them, he was still forced to attack even though his soul was trembling uncontrobly because of Osric¡¯s remaining power.

    ¡°Osric, you¡¯ve sealed me for thousands of years. I can only feel at ease and the resentment in my heart will only vanish if I behead you with my own hands!¡± Knowing that they could never escape, Connoris stood out and pointed his Eternal Frost de at Osric.

    ¡°Lowly worm. How dare you mor in front of me. Seems like you¡¯ve be really brazen.¡± With the raise of his finger, a ray of light darted out at Connoris like a Magical Crystal Cannon shot.

    Connoris couldn¡¯t dodge at all. He only had time to prevent the attack from hitting his chest using the Eternal Frost de. Next, the entire space even shook violently amidst the roars with a loud bang. Connoris¡¯ body immediately flew out amidst the explosions. Along the way, he scattered various orbs, but the Eternal Frost de was turned into ashes by a single strike.

    Fortunately, Connoris¡¯ body was also a strong perfect body, and had undergone some strengthening and repair by Lin Li. If it had been anyone else, such as Legendary powerhouses like Kanber and Jeremiah, they probably would have been sted away.

    As Connoris was being blown away, Lin Li attacked Osric again, and the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was maximized. The seven waves of power condensed to form the World Sword that cut at Osric¡¯s head like lightning.

    The World Sword that contained the seven origin powers of the world could be considered the weapon that would allow Lin Li to exert the greatest attack other than the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. The World Sword would leave long cracks in the space that it passed through. They could not heal for a long time, and everything in the world turned dim under the sword.

    However, in the face of the World Sword, Osric nheless raised his hand. He used his physical body that was made of flesh to hold the World Sword in ce. Immediately afterwards, he saw Osric moving his hand suddenly and causing the World Sword to copse immediately. The power of the world immediately formed a magic storm, but Osric¡¯s battle robe did not move at all.

    However, after this period of time, the members of the expedition had gotten somewhat used to Osric¡¯s pressure, and at least they were no longer immobilized on the ground. Suppressing the fear within them, everyone began attacking Osric before Lin Li even instructed them to.

    The members of the expedition were well aware that if Osric really took control of the Sky Castle, the entire expedition¡ªand even Lin Li¡ªwould not be able to leave alive. Besides, if Osric the butcher took control of the Sky Castle, it would be a huge disaster for the entire Anril.

    All of a sudden, magic spells and light began swarming towards Osric like a storm. The few remaining Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom began swinging their giant steel swords and rushed upwards with heavy footsteps. The mobile Magical Crystal Cannons had also begun charging quickly, and the few mana cannons that each had the diameter of a bucket shot immediately.

    ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourselves!¡± Osric humphed, and the Divine King Battle Robe that he was wearing shone with various rays of light from the mageweath, causing the entire space to be reversed. The offensive spellsunched by the expedition also fell back onto them immediately.

 Chapter 998 - Fight

    <h4>Chapter 998: Fight</h4>

    Immediately, the offensive spells of the expedition team were disintegrated by Osric effortlessly. However, the members of the expedition team were in a mess because of the attacks that theyunched, especially the mobile Magical Crystal Cannons of the Rotterdam Kingdom that were crushed into bits because of the mana bacsh. Even the people around them were affected.

    Clearly, it was already impossible to snatch the magical crystal back from Osric. No matter how indignant Lin Li was, he had no choice but to admit that the difference in strength was huge. At this moment, Osric was probably far stronger and even more powerful than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    ¡°Keep attacking, his Attack Reversing mageweath array has a time limit!¡± As a Guru of Inscription, Lin Li immediately managed to identify the mageweath array on Osric¡¯s Divine King Battle Robe. At the same time, he was also well aware of all the information regarding it.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, the members of the expedition immediately began retaliating against Osric after dodging the reversed attacks.

    While chanting the Holy Incantation, Archbishop Martin tossed the Light of Judgment that was burning with silver mes at Osric¡¯s head. Waving the staff in his hand, Donald chanted a long incantation at the top of his lungs, and balls of destructive thunderbolts were summoned from the void. The tender Elemental Wyrm, Xiao Hua, Ujfalusi, Basel, and the mages of the Tower of Dusk were all powerful enough to destroy a city instantly or even tten a giant peak.

    Arge number of offensive spellspletely overwhelmed Osric¡¯s figure, and the roar of magic spells resounded through the air, causing the entire Central Tower to echo continuously with it.

    However, when everyone was going all out to attack Osric, Lin Li, who was givingmands to attack, did not join in. Instead, he once again triggered the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and allowed them to condense into a vibrant pir of light that was sted at the pyramid-shaped control panel in the center.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that there was only one defensive mageweath array on Osric¡¯s Divine King Battle Robe. Besides, Osric¡¯s strength was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and even without the robe, he would not be damaged by the expedition team¡¯s attacks at all. Hence, he made the expedition team continue attacking Osric only because he wanted to attract Osric¡¯s attention. The control crystal that was ced in the central control panel was Lin Li¡¯s real target.

    Since he couldn¡¯t get it, he had to destroy it! Faced with this situation, Lin Li had no choice but to be resolute. If he could not get the control crystal back, he would not be able to gain control of the Sky Castle. He wasn¡¯t willing to watch the Sky Castlend in Osric¡¯s hands.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s activation, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars emitted a massive power that could destroy the world. Their power was merged together to form a force that could st the earth into a bottomless abyss.

    However, in the face of the crazy attacks of the expedition, Osric held the control crystal, and calmly raised a hand to put up a barrier, watching Lin Li attack without doing anything. He did not seem worried at all, and after Lin Li¡¯s attacknded hard on the control panel, Osric finally sneered coldly, and gibed, ¡°Teacher created this control panel personally with the core of the stars. It¡¯s impossible to cause any damage to it even for me.¡±

    As expected, when the brilliant light dissipated, Lin Li was surprised to find that the control panel was still intact despite having already sustained the full-blown attack that he hadunched. Let alone being destroyed, there wasn¡¯t any damage at all.

    Seeing this, Lin Li and the members of the expedition couldn¡¯t help but feel hopeless and forced into despair. They could not defeat Osric, snatch away the control crystal, or destroy the control panel. Did they really have to let Osric gain control of the Sky Castle?

    In the history of Anril, Osric was known to be a ruthless butcher who could no longer be simply described as having bloodstained hands. He had killed numerous lives throughout. The High Elves had been exterminated by the rebellious alliance of humans and others. As the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric (and other High Elves) was just as resentful towards the humans and other races.

    If Osric, who was considered the most brutal butcher in history, were to really gain control of the Sky Castle, God knew what kind of crazy revenge he wouldunch on Anril. That would definitely be a terrible disaster for all the races in Anril.

    Of course, that was all for the future, and no one was sure if it would happen. Not everyone was so noble to sacrifice their own lives for the sake of world peace. However, the expedition was certain that if Osric gained control of the Sky Castle, he definitely would not let them off, and none of them would be able to escape.

    Despite knowing that all their efforts would be futile under such circumstances and having their hearts filled with despair, the people of the expedition nheless had no choice but to fight for their lives. Since they only had one life which they <i>might</i> lose if they fought and would <i>definitely</i> lose if they did not, they decided that they might as well go all out.

    ¡°Since we can¡¯t destroy the control panel, let¡¯s destroy the control crystal!¡±

    As that voice mounded, a pir of mana sliced through the sky and urately shot at the control crystal in Osric¡¯s hand. Angno, who had already begun activating and maneuvering the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, was the one who attacked. The mana cannon shot hade from the Magical Crystal Cannons on the arms of the Alchemy Colossus.

    However, Osric did not dodge the mana cannon shot that was darting at him. Instead, he clutched the magical crystal with his hand, and punched the mana cannon¡¯s attack. With a loud roar, thetter dissipated, but Osric¡¯s magical crystal did not get damaged at all.

    ¡°Yet another rebel who can¡¯t wait to be punished,¡± Osric gibed coldly, swinging his hand at Angno. Countless thunderbolts smashed into therge body of the Angno immediately.

    However, Angno had made a start, and the other members of the expedition team who had been inspired by him immediately focused all their attacks on the magical crystal in Osric¡¯s hand.

    Norfeller¡¯s body suddenly appeared beside Osric, and one of the two Retribution Daggers stabbed at his chest, while the other one stabbed at the magical crystal in his hand.

    Unfortunately, Osric was not a mere mage. He was both a Mage and a Warrior, but he had been ssified by humans due to their limited talent. The High Elves had always been proficient in both magic and physicalbat. Osric managed to dodge Norfeller¡¯s dagger, and he clutched the magical crystal, which sted at Norfeller¡¯s chest at the same time. There were clear sounds of bones getting crushed, and Norfeller¡¯s body was sted away.

    The two Knights, Jeremiah and Kanber, who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm began emitting intense rays of light, while the sharp swords in their hands formed arcs of light in the air. They all exhibited their strongestbat techniques and besieged Osric. However, their only goal was the magical crystal in Osric¡¯s hand.

    However, ording to the division of professions, Osric was not only a Mage at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he was also a Warrior. The meleebat techniques that Jeremiah and Kanber were proud of were just as childish and ridiculous in front of Osric.

    In the blink of an eye, two figures flew out from around Osric, sshingrge amounts of flesh blood along the way. Jeremiah and Kanber were mmed into the ground, and they each spat out a mouthful of blood, no longer able to stand up.

    Frankly speaking, with the power of the expedition, it was actually impossible to hurt Osric, let alone destroy the magical crystal that Osric was holding. They could not snatch it or destroy the magical crystal and the control panel. All of a sudden, the members of the expedition did not know how to fight even though they desperately wanted to.

    In this situation, the members of the teams of the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom could not qualify to even be cannon fodder. The onlybatants who could fight were Archbishop Martin, Donald, Jeremiah, and Kanber, the four Legendary powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. The other few Legendary powerhouses could not sustain a single attack at all, and they were too weak to fight. The few remaining Alchemy Colossuses were blown to pieces by Osric¡¯s offensive spells. After Jeremiah and Kanber fell to the ground, the remaining people of the two forces couldn¡¯t help but be timid.

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, Ujfalusi, Basel, and the mages were continuously attacking Osric with offensive spells, while the two Humerus Wyrms were hovering and revolving above Osric¡¯s head. From time to time, they would spit out some dragon breath or exhibit strong and powerful dragonnguage magic spells.

    Connoris, Norfeller, the Demon Gordon, and the Lord of Nightmares fought at close range with Osric without hesitation under the protection of their magic spells.

    Now, the Holy Death Knights could already be called the Retribution Knight Legion. They formed an Infinite-kill Formation and trapped Osric in it, trying to brutally murder him.

    However, the difference in strength was so great that not long after the Retribution Knights and Osric shed with each other, the Retribution Knights were almost crippled. Seeing that the Retribution Knights were no match for Highlord Osric, Lin Li had no choice but to get them to retreat for the time being.

    Next, Osric¡¯s figure flew into the sky in the blink of an eye, and threw the massive Crimson Humerus Wyrm away after pulling it down by its horn, causing it to smash against the wall in the distance.

    Osric fell from the air and stepped on the Demon Gordon¡¯s head, ttening him into a metal disc. Next, he started fighting the Lord of Nightmares.

    Seeing that the members of the expedition were continuously getting severely injured, Lin Li was getting increasingly anxious even though he was constantly attacking. That was Highlord Osric. It was no wonder that he could kill the Tyrant Bk in the Endless Abyss with his own power.

    As an ancient demon deity, the Tyrant Bk and the infinite Zago Demons were far more powerful than the expedition. It would be a far-fetched idea for them to use that power to subdue Osric, who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, at this time, Lin Li suddenly felt his heart shake. It turned out that Osric, who was currently engaged in the battle, had already begun to expel Lin Li¡¯s Mind Imprint. Once he removed Lin Li¡¯s Mind Imprint from the control crystal, he could rece it with his own. He would then be able to fully control the Sky Castle.

    However, after detecting the situation, Lin Li was ted instead of being frightened. He was just being worried about how to start defeating Osric, but to his surprise, thetter gave him the opportunity himself. Lin Li had extraordinarily massive mental strength, and no one in Anril couldpare to him. Even the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council were no match for him in terms of mental strength alone.

    Hence, Lin Li was quite confident in his own mental strength. Although Osric, who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, was difficult to deal with, he might not win in a battle of mental strength.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li summoned the Lord Devourer, Garl, from the Summoning Lamp, and instructed Garl to use his devouring ability to cooperate with others to continue attacking Osric. Meanwhile, he began injecting his mental strength into the control crystal continuously in a bid to have a great battle of mental strength with Osric.

    Compared to physical battles, battles of mental strength were like great wars, and the massive mental strength that Lin Li controlled was likemanding arge army. After he injected his mental strength into the control crystal, he immediately fused it with his mental strength imprint. He then set up a formation to face the invading mental strength of Osric.

    At this moment, Osric was dealing with the attacks of those people of the Tower of Dusk while injecting his mental strength into the control crystal to expel Lin Li¡¯s mental strength imprint from it. Hence, Osric was already aware of the sudden increase in Lin Li¡¯s mental strength imprint, but he wasn¡¯t affected by it in any way.

    The battle outside was already getting extremely intense, but the battle of mental strength was even more exciting and thrilling. Lin Li initially thought that he would be able to suppress his opponent easily with his massive mental strength. However, to his surprise, Osric was not that inferior in terms of mental strength.

    Besides, under the subtle maniption of mental strength, Osric actually trumped Lin Li by a notch as his mental strength was just like an elite army, constantly dividing and sieging Lin Li¡¯s mental strength. It continuously devoured the space upied by Lin Li¡¯s mental strength.

    After a few rounds and a few exchanges of strikes, Lin Li knew that he had shot himself in the foot. After all, Osric was the Highlord of High Elves, and he actually began deploying strategies during the battle.

 Chapter 999 - Failure

    <h4>Chapter 999: Failure</h4>

    Although Lin Li had transmigrated, the so-called tactics in his mind were just a 16-character guideline for gueri battles which did not y a significant role in battles at all.

    As the Highlord of the High Elves, Osric had once led the Magic Legion around and waged wars countless times, and could definitely be considered a master of strategy and tactics.

    Although Lin Li refused to give up, and was continuously injecting his mental strength into the control crystal in a bid to win using hisbat strength, Lin Li gradually lost the space his troops had because of Highlord Osric¡¯s continuous devouring. Eventually, he did not even have room to stand.

    In the end, Lin Li was defeated terribly in the battle of mental strength. Not only was the mental strength imprintpletely eradicated from the control crystal, arge portion of his mental strength was depleted too. If not for the fact that Lin Li had a massive amount of mental strength, the battle would probably have been enough to turn him into a retard.

    After losing the battle of mental strength, Lin Li finally stopped taking any chances, andunched a full-swing attack on Osric after activating the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Rays of light darted out from Lin Li¡¯s Domain World without any magic. It was purely the power of origin. They continuously bombarded Osric.

    However, the situation on the battlefield was still out of control, and the scales were tilting towards Osric. After sustaining several severe attacks, Norfeller finally vomited blood, and was left with no power to stand up like Jeremiah and the rest. Connoris had already lost the Eternal Frost de. Although he could still continue fighting Osric for a while with his perfect body, he still ended up being defeated.

    Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus was severely damaged during the battle, while Ujfalusi¡¯s Humerus Wyrms were almost smashed into bits. The Lord of Nightmares hovered in the air for a long time, but was still unable to reassemble his body. On the other time, the Demon Gordon was smashed into pieces of iron, and it was eventually immobilized with no power to recover.

    Finally, Lin Li stopped and wiped the blood away from the corners of his lips, while the seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew around his body and stopped attacking Osric.

    Meanwhile, there were no wounds on Osric, who seemed to have the same appearance as he did when he first appeared. With a cold smirk on his lips, he walked towards the control crystal as the members of the team watched in despair. He reached out and ced the control crystal in the groove of the control panel.

    <i>It¡¯s over, everything is over now!</i> Archbishop Martin and the others wanted to stop Osric as they watched, but were too weak to do so. They could totally imagine the disaster that would strike Anril once Osric gained control of the Sky Castle.

    A Sanctuary powerhouse who possessed the Sky Castle meant that even if all the Sanctuary powerhouses of Anril joined forces, they might not be able to stop Osric from exacting a crazy revenge on them. Besides, Geresco, the God of Mages, was no longer in Anril. No one would be able to make everyone unite.

    Of course, perhaps they might not live to see that, but after Osric seeded in acquiring the Sky Castle, how would he spare them? Maybe it would be a good thing to die there so that they wouldn¡¯t have to see how miserable the various races in Anril would be when subjected to Osric¡¯s torture.

    However, something incredibly strange suddenly happened at this moment when they were all hopeless and waiting to die. The mana in their surroundings suddenly began to fluctuate abnormally, as if the floodgates had been opened. The massive mana was surging everywhere and roaring, and was causing the mana in the entire space to fluctuate as well. They could even hear the rumbling sound of floods.

    <i>What exactly happened!?</i> The people only realized now that Osric, who had already won the battle, did not ce the control crystal in the groove of the control panel immediately. Instead, he stayed in ce, and seemed to have suddenly be a statue.

    They could all clearly see that Osric¡¯s body was still trembling, as if he was trying his best to put in the magical crystal. At the same time, Osric seemed to have aged quickly, as if time had sped up by numerous times. They got to watch the aging process of a young man turning into an old man.

    Seeing the change of Osric¡¯s body, even a brainless person would probably be able to think of the fact that it was a sign of his vitality being depleted.

    What could make a Sanctuary powerhouse age so quickly!? Thinking about the massive, abnormal fluctuations of mana in the surroundings that were surging like floodwaters, everyone suddenly had a terrifying conjecture. Did that manae from Osric¡¯s body!?

    The members of the expedition team could not figure out the reason for such a situation to ur, but they reckoned that it was probably the price to pay for gaining control of the Sky Castle. However, they knew that Osric was definitely at his weakest now. God knew if he would return to that state after gaining full control of the Sky Castle.

    Thinking of this, the crowd who had been in despair suddenly came to their senses again. Be it because of their interests or their unconditional love and kindness, none of them wanted a butcher like Osric to rule the current Anril.

    Archbishop Martin, Donald, Basel, and the other casters seemed to have been invigorated. Suppressing the severe injuries of their bodies, they stood up with great difficulty, and raised their staffs to attack Osric again in spite of their severe wounds.

    However, the surrounding space was now filled with the violent mana that was released by Osric, and was surging around like a tsunami. In this environment, even a caster that was at the peak of the Legendary-realm would face difficulty condensing mana to cast a spell, not to mention the fact that Archbishop Martin and the others were severely injured.

    Archbishop Martin had just chanted an incantation with great difficulty when the gemstone at the top of the scepter in his hand lit up. Before the mana even condensed, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his physical state had clearly been debilitated. The others were the same.

    However, even so, Archbishop Martin and the others did not have the intention of giving up. Not bothering to wipe the blood away from the corners of their mouths, they began chanting the incantations again because none of them knew if there would be another chance like this, and no one knew when Osric would recover.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li stood in front of Archbishop Martin and the others. However, he, the only Sanctuary powerhouse of the team, did not behave like Archbishop Martin and the others. Instead, he raised his hand and beckoned them to stop casting spells.

    Archbishop Martin and the others were baffled to see Lin Li¡¯s behavior. Although the surrounding space was filled with violent mana, they believed that it should not be enough to affect the spell-casting of a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, not only did the Sanctuary powerhouse not take advantage to add insult to Osric¡¯s injury while he was down, he even stopped them from attacking. They wondered, <i>Is he still taking the moral high ground against a butcher-like demon!?</i>

    However, despite being filled with bewilderment, Archbishop Martin and the others did not question Lin Li. It was not because they trusted Lin Li unconditionally, but rather that they were too weak to speak after venting everything.

    Of course, Lin Li was not the type to refuse to take advantage of others when they were in danger. In fact, that was actually his favorite thing to do. The reason he didn¡¯t want to take the opportunity to attack Osric now was actually very simple: it was redundant to do so.

    Indeed, it was redundant because although no one else knew what was going on with Osric, Lin Li was well aware. He was the one who had set Osric up.

    From the very beginning, Lin Li knew that he would never be able to get the Sky Castle easily. Even though he was already in front of the control panel, he seemed to be just one step away from his final victory. Even though he did not expect that Osric would regain his body and strength here, that did not affect his n for the worst-case scenario.

    Even when he was in the form of a Ghost, Osric definitely possessed unfathomable strength. Even though Lin Li had managed to advance to level-26 in the Well of the Sun, he did not have any confidence in defeating Osric when he was in the form of a Ghost. Hence, in other words, Lin Li knew from the very beginning that this battle was inevitable, and that his team would definitely lose.

    Since he already knew that they would lose, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t pin his hopes on a miracle. In fact, when he was nning the expedition in the Sky Castle, he had already begun to devise some schemes and strategies for dealing with this situation.

    In order to scheme against Osric, one first had to know what his real purpose was. Why did he choose to be resurrected in the Sky Castle, and not in his mausoleum which he had spent so much effort to build after a thorough thought process? Coupled with the fact that he had caused the Ghost Osric to be awakened when he took away the control crystal of the Sky Castle, Lin Li was almost certain that Osric¡¯s goal was the control crystal of the Sky Castle.

    Besides, Lin Li had a conjecture that Osric probably wanted to obtain the control crystal not just to gain control of the Sky Castle, but also because of some other reasons. After all, with Osric¡¯s current power, it was not impossible for him to get the Sky Castle up and running again even without the control crystal.

    In particr, Lin Li was actually creating an opportunity for Osric to seize maximum control and authority over the Sky Castle when he took away the control crystal. In fact, even without the magical crystal, Osric had indeed gained control of a significant portion of the Sky Castle.

 Chapter 1000 - Separation Of Soul And Body

    <h4>Chapter 1000: Separation Of Soul And Body</h4>

    In fact, Lin Li even vaguely felt that there seemed to be an invisible force influencing him and the others along the way. Although they had experienced several obstacles on the way, it seemed that all of those would never exceed the limits of the expedition¡¯s tolerance, except the incarnation in the Well of the Sun. Or rather, there weren¡¯t any that exceeded Lin Li¡¯s capabilities. In fact, although every battle was extremely dangerous, it would still turn out to be sessful for them.

    Lin Li did not think that the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle was something that a powerhouse like he who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm could invade easily. If that was really the case, the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle would be unworthy of its name, and the Immortal King could not be called the best figure in myths.

    Although Lin Li did not mention his impression to anyone throughout the journey, he was actually getting a clearer feeling that someone wanted him to arrive at his destination without attracting the attention and suspicion of the people from his team. That person was probably Osric.

    That discovery was the very reason that Lin Li was more and more certain that what Osric really valued most was not the Sky Castle, which was the strongest and most powerful weapon, but the special control crystal. Hence, even though Lin Li seemed to want to ce the control crystal on the control panel, he was just doing that as a distraction. It was not actually the real control crystal of the Sky Castle, but one of the bizarre magical crystals that Lin Li had obtained from the Malfa Family.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t 100% certain Osric would take the bait, but he was at least 70% to 80% confident in it because ording to the previous conjectures, Lin Li could entirely believe that what Osric had been waiting for was the moment he took out the control crystal from the Ring of Endless Storm.

    After all, with Osric¡¯s strength, it would not be difficult for him to deal with Lin Li and the others at all. However, even if he could kill Lin Li, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the control crystal out of the Ring of Endless Storm. If Osric wanted to obtain the control crystal, he would have to wait for Lin Li to take it out himself before snatching it from Lin Li.

    The only thing that Lin Li was worried about was the uncertainty if Osric was familiar with the control crystal, and whether he would recognize the difference between the real control crystal and the decoy.

    After all, Lin Li still hadn¡¯t figured out the true history of the control crystal, and he only knew that the purpose of the control crystal was not just to control the Sky Castle. Back when he had explored the Sky Castle for the first time, he had once had his mental strength infiltrated by the control crystal, and at the same time gained an enormous amount of information left by the Immortal King.

    Hence, even though Lin Li had used alchemy to transform the appearance of the bizarre magical crystal into that of the control crystal before arriving in the Sky Castle, and managed to pass it off as the real thing with identical mana waves, Lin Li could not replicate the power contained in the control crystal.

    Lin Li¡¯s worries did not vanish until Osric snatched the bait away from him. The fear within him also gradually dissipated when he began fighting with Osric in a battle of mental strength in the magical crystal. Even when Osric¡¯s mental strength had seeped into the magical crystal, he did not realize what was wrong. Clearly, Osric was really unfamiliar with the real control crystal.

    However, in order not to make Osric suspect anything, Lin Li did not rx or let his guard down. Instead, he pretended to go all out and fight Osric for the control crystal. He even didn¡¯t mind paying a huge price for it. Even at thest moment where Osric was going to ce the bait on the control panel, Lin Li was still trying his best to show his desperation, powerlessness, and indignation.

    When the bizarre magical crystal waspletely triggered, Osric¡¯s mana grew violent, and Lin Li finally heaved a sigh of relief. Despite Osric¡¯s unparalleled strength, Lin Li was not too worried that Osric would quickly break free from the influence of the bizarre magical crystal.

    Although Lin Li was not clear about the origin of such magical crystals that could devour mana, and the Malfa Family had likewise chanced upon them during an extremely coincidental encounter, Lin Li already had a clear grasp and understanding of their bizarre attributes. In fact, Lin Li even frequently made use of their features to train his mastery of mana.

    One reason Lin Li was able to do that was that his mental strength had been tempered by the control crystal, and another reason was because of the research he had put in over the past few years. As for Osric, it was almost impossible for him to understand and master the features of the magical crystals in a short period of time even though he was much stronger than Lin Li in terms of realm.

    Of course, his n was not really foolproof, but the biggest issue with it was that Osric had to have no experience with such magical crystals in order for the n to work. Even though Lin Li had already found out from the Ashen Warlock that such bizarre magical crystals did not appear since the Dark Age, he still designed another trap inside it just to be safe.

    Lin Li had already concealed a wisp of his mental strength in the magical crystal, which contained the power of Mephistos, the Lord of Souls. It would allow one¡¯s soul to be separated from his body. Previously, Lin Li had even fought a battle of mental strength with Osric in the magical crystal. Actually, the more important thing was to create a facade to cover the hidden mental strength to prevent Osric from scrutinizing the magical crystal with his mental strength.

    After receiving the Immortal King¡¯s notes from the Ashen Warlock, Lin Li knew that the perfect body created by Osric had some ws, which were the very reason that Connoris could never fuse perfectly with the new body in any way. Likewise, Osric would also encounter such problems.

    Due to this conclusion, Lin Li added the extra trap when designing the decoy to be safe.

    When he had first met Osric, Lin Li had already seen that the fusion of Osric¡¯s soul with his new body was indeed not perfect, and there were still some ws and issues in it. Although Osric had tailored the new body to perfection for himself, it was obvious that not all the ws had been addressed and resolved. Hence, even a powerhouse like Osric would take a long time for his soul to adapt to the new body.

    Thus, when Osric ced the magical crystal on the control panel and triggered its bizarre power, Lin Li also immediately activated the trap he left behind. Although the small trap would only have a fleeting effect on Osric, the momentary istion of his soul made Osric lose the best opportunity to get rid of the influence of the magical crystal.

    Mana was like water. The mana that surged out vigorously was like a river, while the calm mana was like ake. Once the bnce was disrupted, it would be difficult for them to calm down again as it would be akin to a bursting dam. Hence, even powerful andpetent mages dared not use their mana indiscriminately, because once the process of mana copse began, the situation would never be reversed. That was the same for the Highlord now. He was continuously having his mana devoured, and soon faced the copse of mana.

    Mana was continuously surging out of Osric¡¯s body like an unstoppable sh flood. Facing such a situation, Osric could not suppress it at all even though he was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. He could not even roar in anger, and could only look at Lin Li with resentment in his eyes.

    The copse of the mana left the perfect body with no means to sustain itself, and in the eyes of the people, Osric¡¯s appearance became old and aged at an extremely fast rate. His skin lost its luster, and he was covered in wrinkles and bruises.

    Osric¡¯s appearance reminded Lin Li of the first time he met the Ashen Warlock. However, the Ashen Warlock had aged over the years because he had been living for too long, while Osric was experiencing rapid aging because of the copse of mana that caused arge amount of vitality to be depleted in his body.

    When they saw the changes in Osric¡¯s body, Archbishop Martin and the others finally understood why Lin Li had stopped them from attacking. However, at the same time, they were also incredibly astonished. Osric was a powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, so how did he end up in such a state!?

    Lin Li¡¯s obstruction gave Archbishop Martin and the others reason to believe that the reason Osric had ended up in such a situation was very likely to be the young Sanctuary powerhouse. Once the idea popped up in their minds, they got chills, and fear immediately reced the joy within them.

    Such a scheme was simply too terrifying. It was even more horrifying than the powerful strength of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Osric, who was one of the most famous geniuses of the Dark Age, possessed incredible wit andpetency, both in strength and talent. However, a glorious and mighty figure who was a Sanctuary powerhouse that seemed almost invincible actually ended up in such a miserable state because he had been plotted against!

    Archbishop Martin and the others couldn¡¯t help but feel fortunate that they were not the enemies of the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, Lin Li would have long plotted against them, and destroyed thempletely.

    Of course, they wouldn¡¯t have known that they had already been treated as cannon fodder when Lin Li had plotted against them in the first ce.

    Looking at the appearance of Osric who was rapidly aging, almost everyone thought that the oue was final and set in stone. However, at that moment, an illusory shadow suddenly rushed out from Osric¡¯s body, followed by an infinite amount of mana that shrouded the entire expedition.

    Archbishop Martin and the others were astonished to see that, but it was already toote for them to respond to the sudden change. Fortunately, Lin Li seemed to havee prepared. His seven pieces of the debris of the stars entered the void, and the Domain World immediately engulfed the expedition, forming ayer of defense against the overwhelming attack spells.

    ¡°That¡¯s Osric¡¯s soul!¡± When the offensive spells collided violently with the Domain World, Archbishop Martin and the others finally reacted, and discovered to their absolute horror that the shadow flying out of Osric¡¯s body was Osric¡¯s soul.

    This scared Archbishop Martin and the others as they finally remembered that Osric was a Sanctuary powerhouse whom no ordinary people could contend with. Sanctuary powerhouses were already existences that were nearly godly. Even if his body was decayed, his soul would still be almost indestructible, and the strength it possessed would not be weakened by the loss of his physical body.

    The battle just now had proved how terrifying a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was. The members of the expedition team were practically useless in front of Osric. Even Lin Li, who was also in the Sanctuary-realm, had no means to retaliate. Now that Osric¡¯s soul had emerged with just as much power, it was obvious what their oue would be!

    However, Lin Li was not the least bit surprised that Osric¡¯s soul had appeared. In fact, he even expected it, simply because Osric¡¯s soul was not perfectly fused with his new perfect body. When Osric¡¯s soul and the perfect body did not fuse seamlessly, it would be akin to the rtionship between a metallurgist and the Alchemy Colossus he controlled. If anything went wrong with the Alchemy Colossus, he would be able to escape in time. On the other hand, if they fused perfectly, it would definitely be difficult to separate them.

    Of course, theck of a perfect fusion between Osric¡¯s soul and his body was one of the main reasons why Lin Li could get his trap to work. If Osric had achieved perfect fusion, Lin Li would not have been able to plot against him sessfully with that magical crystal. Given Osric¡¯s realm and abilities, he might¡¯ve really broken free from the influence of the bizarre magical crystal.

    Hence, nothing in the world was perfect, and one could never get the best of both worlds. Win some, lose some. Lin Li had long been prepared for the situation that they were facing now. At least Osric¡¯s strength would definitely be affected greatly after losing his body.

    ¡°Damn it, you all deserve to die!¡± Osric had never been so enraged before. Even when he parted ways with the Immortal King, and knew that the High Elves had already fallen, he was never this infuriated.

    Just like the Immortal King, glorious and dignified Highlord Osric was a mythical figure. Yet, he actually lost his new body after being plotted against by a junior. It was a huge insult and humiliation to him. In particr, this proved that all his previous ns had been seen through by Lin Li, and he had been plotted against several times before.

 Chapter 1001 - Mana Erosion

    <h4>Chapter 1001: Mana Erosion</h4>

    Afterunching a wave of offensive spells to vent his anger, Osric opened his own Domain World and suppressed Lin Li¡¯s Domain World mercilessly. In the previous battle, Osric couldn¡¯t be bothered to disy his Domain World. If the previous battle was just a teaser, the battle now was truly a true-blue fight for life.

    In Osric¡¯s Domain World, a prosperous world that was under the rule of the High Elves was disyed, just like Anril during the Dark Age, which was recorded in history. In this Domain World, the World Tree covered more than half of the world, and arge number of High Elves could be seen in the canopy of the tree, continuously attacking Lin Li.

    Even though it was just a spiritual existence, Osric¡¯s Domain World was much bigger and stronger than Lin Li¡¯s deste Domain World. Under the pressure of Osric¡¯s Domain World, Lin Li¡¯s one world seemed to be facing doomsday as various spatial rifts appeared amidst the constant tremors. The light of the debris of the stars shone through the rifts, looking as if they would break free at any moment.

    Fortunately, Osric clearly had not obtained the true essence of the Domain World yet, and thus it couldn¡¯t bepared to the Immortal King¡¯s Domain World. The Immortal King¡¯s Domain World was already a real and existing one which could coexist with and be parallel to Anril. Just like the worlds that Lin Li had walked through in the past, including nna from 1,300 years ago and the Undead World from the resurrected Tree of Eternity, it would be able to continue existing even after the departure of the Immortal King. In fact, it would even continuously evolve and survive on its own.

    Osric¡¯s Domain World clearly had not reached the level of the Immortal King¡¯s yet, which was the reason that Lin Li¡¯s Domain World could survive by a small margin. Although the seven pieces of the debris of the stars continuously shed and appeared in the rifts, they did not get shaken out under Lin Li¡¯s control. Hence, the Domain World did not copse under pressure.

    At this moment, everyone in the expedition team had already been integrated into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World by Lin Li. Hence, no one was idling about at all at this moment. Instead, they were continuously trying their best to resist the attacksing from Osric¡¯s Domain World. Deep down, they were well aware that that was all they could exhibit in a battle of this level. If they still did not put up a fight now, they would no longer have the chance to do so in the future.

    The people in the expedition team felt like they were experiencing a war at the end of the Dark Age because they were facing enemies like the High Elves in Osric¡¯s Domain World, whose countless High Elves were continuously attacking Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. Although the strength of each and every one of the members of the expedition team had been greatly improved, they were still weak and helpless in the face of the High Elves that were pouring in endlessly. They were like a tiny boat that would face the danger of capsizing at any moment.

    Lin Li did not defend himself passively, and even though it seemed that he had been suppressed, he did not give up on finding a chance to retaliate. Although Osric was still extremely powerful now, the loss of his body had still impacted him greatly.

    In particr, Osric had gone through a body fusion once, which caused plenty of his soul power to deplete. With the influence of the magical crystal, his strength was probably only at level-27 now. Although there was only a difference of one level between level-26 and level-27, the two were actually worlds apart. However, the debris of the stars that Lin Li had was already in itsplete form, and could truly exertbat power that ordinary level-26 Sanctuary powerhouses could notpare to.

    Osric was obviouslypletely enraged, especially when he saw that the insignificant minions of the expedition had actually joined the battle against him. The anger within him could not be suppressed at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re a bunch of minions, how dare you intervene? Die!¡± With a loud roar of anger, Osric extended his arms, and a giant hand that was condensed by mana immediately broke through Lin Li¡¯s Domain World and grabbed the people of the expedition.

    The giant hand of mana almost covered the sky of the entire Domain World, and seemed to emit infinite pressure. Before it evennded, it made the members of the expedition feel extremely hopeless. To them, it was simply a punishment from the gods who seemed to want to destroy them and the world together.

    Although Lin Li could leave the members of the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s and Rotterdam Kingdom¡¯s teams in the lurch, he could not abandon the elites of the Tower of Dusk from his team. He immediately waved his hand, and seven dazzling rays of light immediately emerged from the Domain World, forming arge colorful storm below the mana hand.

    BOOM!

    The giant mana hand collided with the colorful storm forcefully, causing the entire Domain World to shake violently as well. Thunderous sounds came with the appearance of the rifts in the space, and the sky and earth were continuously shattering amidst the tremors. The members of the expedition below the storm were also shaking violently, and were unable to stabilize themselves. They fell onto the ground in a messy manner.

    On the other hand, the giant mana hand that had collided with the colorful storm did not disperse separately, but instead reached a stalemate with it. The colorful storm was continuously revolving around the hand like a grinding wheel, wearing it down and making ear-piercing sounds of metal being rubbed against stone. When the members of the expedition heard those sounds, they found them extremely deafening, and it was as if their heads were about to burst because of the noise.

    If it had been in the past when Lin Li had not obtained the other half of the debris of the stars from the Well of the Sun, the colorful storm formed by the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars probably would have been pped away and dispersed by the giant mana hand. However, Lin Li was now holdingplete pieces of debris of the stars, and he also simultaneously obtained more experience in using the debris of the stars from the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. Hisbat power had increased by more than a few dozen times.

    Lin Li continuously triggered the release of the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and dazzling rays of light were fused into the colorful storm. Despite being under the pressure of the mana hand, the colorful storm did not decline at all, and instead grew even stronger. As the colorful storm revolved continuously and wore Osric¡¯s mana hand down, the hand seemed to have almost be illusory.

    ¡°You¡¯ve obtained what he wanted. Indeed, he¡¯s left everything for himself!¡± Although he had long seen Lin Li using the debris of the stars, Osric got even more infuriated when he truly felt its power.

    Osric had used the debris of the stars before. Back in the mausoleum, his perfect body used the debris of the stars, Nothingness. However, a powerhouse like Osric who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm did not take the power of the iplete debris of the stars seriously.

    However, through the collision between the giant mana hand and the colorful storm now, Osric was immediately certain that the power of the debris of the stars in Lin Li¡¯s hand was far fromparable to the power contained in the debris of the stars that he had used. If Osric still could not guess anything from the changes, he wouldn¡¯t deserve to be called a mythical figure second only to the Immortal King.

    As the Immortal King¡¯s favorite disciple, Osric had always thought that he would have a share of his teacher¡¯s legacy, be it the Sky Castle or the debris of the stars. However, the reality was that the Immortal King not only did not leave the Sky Castle to him, he had also given the debris of the stars to someone else, which was uneptable to him.

    However, Lin Li was baffled by Osric¡¯s angry words. Clearly, Lin Li had obtained the debris of the stars himself, but Osric seemed to have said that the Immortal King had left everything for himself, including the debris of the stars and more. When Osric snatched the magical crystal, he seemed to have said the same thing.

    Lin Li knew since long ago that he seemed to be very simr to the Immortal King in terms of appearance, and there had been many people who mistook him for the Immortal King in the past too. However, Osric was the Immortal King¡¯s disciple who had followed the Immortal King for countless years, so how could he be mistaken for someone just because of his appearance?

    Through the conversation he had with the Immortal King¡¯s Soul Imprint in the Well of the Sun, Lin Li could vaguely feel that his arrival in Anril seemed to have something to do with the Immortal King. However, Lin Li definitely did not think that his physical existence and the Immortal King would have anything to do with each other.

    However, facing the furious Osric, Lin Li knew that he couldn¡¯t ask anything, and was too weak to do so anyway. At any rate, the Immortal King¡¯s Soul Imprint had already mentioned that it was possible to get all the answers by going to the ce where the Well of the Sun was supposed to be, which was the same ce that the Tree of Eternity had fallen.

    For Lin Li, the most important thing now was how to defeat Osric and finally gain control of the entire Sky Castle. Even though Osric had lost his body, souls of Sanctuary powerhouses were almost indestructible. Lin Li could probably only truly destroy Osric¡¯s soul when he reached the Immortal King¡¯s strength.

    However, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, it was almost impossible to destroy Osric¡¯s soul even if he had the help of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    In the blink of an eye, Osric¡¯s mana hand that had invaded Lin Li¡¯s Domain World vanished under the colorful storm. However, that did not mean that Lin Li had obtained victory. The mana hand contained Osric¡¯s spiritual imprint, and even after being reduced to mana, it still existed independently in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, destroying the entire structure of the Domain World like a virus.

    In the face of the prative and pervasive erosion of mana, Lin Li had no choice but to summon the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, after which numerous rays of light swept through the sky and the ground.

 Chapter 1002 - Successful Control

    <h4>Chapter 1002: Sessful Control</h4>

    It was a contest on a whole other level where strength had be secondary, and what mattered the most was each party¡¯s experience. Even though it did not seem too intense on the surface, it was just as thrilling as a toe-to-toe battle.

    Osric¡¯s experience was definitely rich and iparable to ordinary people¡¯s, as he had killed plenty of powerhouses.

    However, Lin Li was not that inferior to him. Although he had only been in this world for a few years, and had not experienced many actual battles, he had other ways to gain experience.

    The Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, contained a lifetime of battle experience. Likewise, the magical crystal of the top powerhouse of the Abyss, Bk, also contained lifetime experience of Bk, the ancient deity. Most importantly, the control crystal of the Sky Castle that Lin Li had obtained allowed him to gain a huge amount of knowledge and experience from it even though he did not know the origin of the control crystal.

    With such a rich umtion of knowledge, there would not be a great gap between them even though Lin Li might not have more experience than Osric.

    What really gave Lin Li a headache was the indestructible nature of Osric¡¯s soul, which left him with no means to attack. If Lin Li were far stronger than Osric, he could seal Osric¡¯s soul. However, the problem now was that Osric was the stronger one, and Lin Li was already having a hard time resisting his attacks. He obviously did not have any remaining power or energy to seal Osric¡¯s soul.

    ¡°Go to hell. So what if you¡¯ve obtained those things? I want to let him know that he had made the wrong choice!¡± Osric¡¯s anger was clearly not just directed at Lin Li, but mostly at the Immortal King¡¯s unfairness. He roared angrily and erupted with an even greater power.

    With this terrifying power, Osric broke straight into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World with only one goal, and that was to kill Lin Li. He no longer cared about the control crystal. Those who defied and despised him had to die.

    Under the pressure of Osric, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was already swaying. This time, the entire Domain World copsed, and a massive wound had appeared in the sky. The ground was shaking and copsing.

    Faced with such a sudden change, Lin Li did not panic in the slightest, and suddenly raised his hand to release an emerald-green seed. It was the Seed of Eternity of the Undead World. As the tree fused into the space of the Domain World, a patch of green suddenly appeared on the ground in the center of Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. Immediately afterwards, it grew at an extremely fast pace.

    In the blink of an eye, a huge tree appeared in the middle of the world, and its roots spread all over the earth, while its canopy seemed to support the sky. It was the legendary Tree of Eternity, but in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, it was just an illusion created by the power of the Tree of Eternity.

    However, the power of the Tree of Eternity was extremely massive. Even if it was just a small portion of the power of the Tree of Eternity, it was enough to support Lin Li¡¯s Domain World and make it stable. As the Tree of Eternity appeared, therge wounds were healed in a split second, and the entire Domain World immediately became extremely stable.

    Under the power of the Tree of Eternity, Osric¡¯s mana which had invaded Lin Li¡¯s World Domain had its spiritual imprint removed in the blink of an eye. It was then integrated into Lin Li¡¯s World Domain, and became the power of the world.

    Seeing the change in Lin Li¡¯s World Domain, Osric was boiling with fury because he knew that he had fallen into Lin Li¡¯s trap again. Under the protection of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World almost became a real world, unlike the Immortal King¡¯s Domain World. It turned into a huge, solid cage for Osric who had broken into it.

    However, at this moment, Osric was not flustered at all despite being infuriated. After all, the power of his realm would allow him to break the Tree of Eternity¡¯s protection over the Domain World easily. Of course, the easiest method was to kill the creator of the Domain World. As soon as the creator died, the world would vanish.

    Hence, when Lin Li¡¯s world was still changing, Osric flew straight towards Lin Li without pausing.

    However, just as Osric was about to reach Lin Li, Lin Li did not panic. Instead, he smirked mockingly.

    Before Osric realized what Lin Li¡¯s smirk meant, a huge ck hole suddenly appeared in the Domain World. The ck hole was right in front of Osric, and a powerful and irresistible attraction emerged from it, pulling Osric into the ck hole while he was charging forwards.

    ¡°The Abyssal Passage!¡± Osric felt a familiar aura from the ck hole¡ªit was actually from the depths of the Endless Abyss. He immediately stopped and retreated. Although Osric had swept through the Endless Abyss countless times during the Dark Age, he was just a spiritual existence now, and could not quite resist the binding force of the Abyss on his soul. Once he was sucked in, it would be difficult for him to get out of it again.

    The ck hole that led to the Endless Abyss was forcibly opened up by Lin Li, who managed to do so by using the impact that the power of the Tree of Eternity had on the World Laws. Besides, that was the only solution that he coulde up with to deal with Osric for the time being. An indestructible soul was the most annoying thing to deal with, and once Osric¡¯s soul was ced in the Endless Abyss, it would probably be impossible for him to escape in less than 1,000 years.

    Lin Li took painstaking efforts toy such a trap. How could he allow Osric to escape easily? Under his maniption, the ck hole immediately became evenrger. It seemed like a monster¡¯s mouth that tried to swallow Osric who kept retreating.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you off!¡±

    With a roar of indignation and anger, the massive ck hole vanished. At the same time, Osric¡¯s figure also disappeared. Although he could not destroy Osric directly, Lin Li believed that in a few hundred years, Osric would no longer pose a threat to him even if he managed to regain his body and leave the Endless Abyss.

    Finally, everything calmed down, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Seed of Eternity broke free from the Domain World. Lin Li returned to the ground after he put it away. On the other hand, Archbishop Martin and the rest fell to the ground. After having had a close shave with death, they looked dumbfounded.

    Lin Li did not care about them. Instead, he walked straight to the control panel in the center where Osric¡¯s body hadpletely eroded and copsed. The Divine King Battle Robe was spread on the ground, with some ck ashes that could be vaguely seen beneath it. On the control panel, the bizarre magical crystal glistened in the groove, while powerful mana waves emanated from it. Clearly, it had devoured arge amount of mana from Osric.

    However, the function of the magical crystal was merely to trigger the mana to leave Osric¡¯s body, and its devouring ability was only mediocre. If the magical crystal could really devour all of Osric¡¯s mana, it would probably be about the same as the control crystal.

    Lin Li reached his hand out without hesitation, and removed the magical crystal from the groove of the control panel. The magical crystal that had put Osric through massive suffering actually remained extremely calm in Lin Li¡¯s hand. After putting away the magical crystal, Lin Li finally took out the real control crystal, and slowly ced it on the control panel.

    This time, no one came out to disturb Lin Li, and he managed to ce the control crystal in the groove of the control panel smoothly. Countlessplicated golden mageweaths began moving towards the entire control panel. The control crystal in the groove seemed to have also been triggered by a sudden power as bright dazzling rays of light emerged from it like from the sun.

    As the control crystal changed, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength that was attached to the control crystal was immediately magnified, engulfing every corner of the Sky Castle and prating it. Lin Li could clearly sense that he had now be the master of the Sky Castle, and all of its secrets appeared in his mind clearly.

    However, Lin Li could also feel that his current strength seemed to be somewhatcking, and he needed to get stronger to fully control the Sky Castle. At present, he could only control it a little like a child ying with a big sword. Picking it up was one thing, and swinging it well and gracefully was another. He needed to have a certain power that would match it.

    Lin Li secretly estimated that he would only be able to control the Sky Castle with ease when his strength reached a level like Osric¡¯s. Although he was already the true owner of the Sky Castle, he was still unable to use the full power of it.

    Although he found it a pity, Lin Li was not that bothered by it. After all, the Sky Castle now belonged to him, and it was only a matter of time before he could master itpletely. Moreover, Lin Li was confident that it would not take him long to reach that level at the rate that his strength was improving.

    If it was someone else, they would probably take hundreds or even thousands of years to advance from level-26 to level-28. However, Lin Li was different. He only took a few years to advance from a mage apprentice to the Sanctuary-realm that he was in now. The insurmountable gap in the eyes of others was not a problem for him at all.

    Lin Li familiarized himself with the operations that he could use at this stage, and began issuing orders for the Sky Castle. The previous destruction of the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers had left the Sky City in a mess. Since the Sky Castle now belonged to Lin Li, he naturally had to clean it up.

    With the issue of Lin Li¡¯s order, the doors of the heavy four underground warehouses distributed in the four different areas of the Sky Castle were slowly opened. Next, a batch of alchemy puppets walked out of the respective underground warehouses in an orderly manner, and began cleaning the Sky Castle up.

    The alchemy puppets could all fetch a high price in Anril, yet they had be janitors here. If Archbishop Martin and the others were to see them, they would probably die of jealousy.

    ¡°Master Felic, congrattions on finally gaining control of the Sky Castle.¡± Archbishop Martin stepped forward and congratted Lin Li sincerely.

    Through Osric¡¯s appearance just now and the shocking changes that had happened to the magical crystal that Lin Li had taken out again, Archbishop Martin could already guess what happened even though he knew nothing about it before. After congratting Lin Li, Archbishop Martin was secretly emotional. He thought that Lin Li had such an amazing n for the exploration of the Sky Castle this time.

    At the thought that the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle and the treasures belonged to Lin Li alone now, Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter even though he had always been close to Lin Li. If the Brilliance Shrine had such a Sky Castle...

    ¡°Congrattions, Master Felic, for acquiring the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle. In the future, the Tower of Dusk will certainly have a position in Anril that no one can reach easily.¡± At this point, Donald had no choice but to offer hispliments in hopes that Lin Li would not abandon him after having made use of him.

    Deep down, Donald was of course extremely jealous. It was the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, the most powerful magical weapon that the High Elves relied on to rule over Anril. If the Rotterdam Kingdom could have a simr Sky Castle, it probably would not be a problem for them to rule over Anril.

    However, Donald was well aware that he could not show the slightest hint of jealousy yet, as the rtionship between the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk was strained, and Lin Li could easily get a hold on them before destroying them. A Sanctuary powerhouse who controlled a Sky Castle was not to be trifled with, and was someone whom not anyone could contend with.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already achieved my agenda for the expedition this time. Everyone, will you be returning to Anril after this, or do you have other ns in mind?¡± Clearly, Lin Li was asking them to leave. After all, the teams from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine had already found what they were looking for. Now, even the entire Sky Castle belonged to Lin Li, and everything that was left in it belonged to him. He obviously wouldn¡¯t let the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine continue exploring.

    Being old and wise, Archbishop Martin and Donald knew even without Lin Li¡¯s reminder that they could not expect to get anything more from the Sky Castle. At this juncture, they finally figured out why the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was so generous in the distribution of benefits when they were discussing the matter of cooperation previously. Well, since the entire Sky Castle already belonged to Lin Li, why would he let them continue to take his belongings?

 Chapter 1003 - Tour

    <h4>Chapter 1003: Tour</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Yeah, thanks to Master Felic¡¯s help this time, we managed to find the crown. Otherwise, we might not have been able to do so at all.¡± After thanking Lin Li, Archbishop Martin apologetically said, ¡°However, before I leave, I have one more request, Master Felic. Could you fulfill it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Li knew that under such circumstances, the people of the teams from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine probably would not make any requests that were overboard. Hence, he did not mind it.

    ¡°We¡¯ve had a dangerous journey during the exploration of this Sky Castle. Felic, since you¡¯ve already mastered the Sky Castle, I wonder if you can let us take a tour around this Sky Castle that¡¯s famous in history?¡± Archbishop Martin asked embarrassedly.

    After all, people like Archbishop Martin and the others had not managed to watch the war at the end of the Dark Age. To them, the Sky Castle had always existed in the myths and legends. Although they had fortunately stepped into the Sky Castle this time, they had to go through a dangerous and arduous journey. Hence, they did not have the time, and were not even in the mood to admire the Sky Castle.

    Although Lin Li was a little surprised by Archbishop Martin¡¯s request, he could understand his reasons for it. Hence, he nodded, and said, ¡°Archbishop Martin, you¡¯re being too polite. Everyone has contributed to my sess in acquiring this Sky Castle. In this case, I will take you guys on a tour around the Sky Castle.¡±

    Of course, when he said that he was taking Archbishop Martin and the others on a tour, Lin Li was actually very curious. Although he could gain a thorough and detailed understanding of the Sky Castle, it was, after all, not as spectacr as when he saw it with his own eyes.

    Moreover, Lin Li actually sensed through the control crystal that the Sky Castle was actually not perfect, either, perhaps because it was too old, or for some other reasons. For example, when Osric barged in back then, he caused some parts of the Sky Castle to be damaged to a certain extent, and they could only function again after being repaired.

    Lin Li shut down the magic traps and magic gears in the Sky Castle, and led the expedition team out of the Central Tower. They began exploring the buildings along a street. While doing so, Lin Li even considered revamping the Sky Castle.

    Although the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council was not as powerful as the Sky Castle, it had turned into a Sky Castle that waspletely suitable for being manipted by humans after years of modification. If the two shed, the power that the Supreme Council¡¯s Sky Garden could exert would definitely be much higher than the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle¡¯s.

    In Lin Li¡¯s n, the Sky Castle would be the base and foundation of the Tower of Dusk in the future, just like the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council. Hence, making modifications to this Sky Castle almost seemed like an imperative task. After all, Lin Li could not stay in the Sky Castle all the time, and he would still have to rely on the people of the Tower of Dusk to control the Sky Castle in the future.

    Of course, the revamp and modifications had to be done very carefully, and if they identally ruined the Sky Castle, they would be in huge trouble. Fortunately, Lin Li had now gained the recognition of the three arbitrators in the Supreme Council who valued him highly. It should not be a problem for them to alter the data of the Sky Castle.

    At this moment, the Sky Castle had already been cleaned up by the alchemy puppets, and the entire Sky Castle now looked brand-new. It was a far cry from the shabby appearance it had when they first entered. The 36 towers were distributed in various parts of the city, and the Double-Realm Psychic Towers that the expedition team had turned into debris were cleaned up and recycled by the alchemy puppets. Each tower was now glowing with a faint magical light, making them look extremely majestic against the void in the background.

    Lin Li found the destruction of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers to be a pity because he would have to kill a massive number of beings in order to rebuild them. Not only was Lin Li not that cruel and ruthless, it would also be impossible to build as many as 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers even if he ughtered all the creatures in Anril.

    However, to Lin Li¡¯s relief, none of the 36 realm beads were damaged at all, and they could all be embellished in the ck Front Fortress. That could more or less make up for the loss of the Double-Realm Psychic Towers. Of course, even if the ck Front Fortress couldpare to the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, it would not be able topare to the Psychic Array formed by the 36 Double-Realm Psychic Towers.

    The High Elves called the Sky Castle their most powerful weapon not just because it had 36 Magic Towers, but because they also had numerous other magical weapons in addition to the Magic Towers. Many of them were normally hidden underground, but just the ones that were exposed were enough to shock Archbishop Martin and the others who visited the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Is this the legendary Thunder God¡¯s Spear!?¡±

    Under the lead of Lin Li, Archbishop Martin and the others arrived in front of a building that was simr to an altar. They could recognize the building from its appearance, and had identified it using the historical data they had read. Although it was called the Thunder God¡¯s Spear, there was actually no spear, and it was just a metaphor for it being the most powerful weapon used by the Thunder God.

    The altar was about a third of the height of a Magic Tower, and it was simr to a pyramid-shaped stone tform. The entire altar was covered inplicated mageweaths. Due to the fact that they had not been activated, they were merely emitting a faint glow of mana. Although the altar seemed a little unassuming, Archbishop Martin and others who were familiar with the historical data did not dare to take it lightly at all.

    Legend had it that during the war at the end of the Dark Age, the High Elves had once manipted a Sky Castle tounch a sneak attack on a city that the rebellion forces upied. Back then, the Sky Castle had activated the Thunder God¡¯s Spear, and bolts of lightning enveloped the entire city, turning hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands of rebels into ashes in just a few moments.

    Although the power of the Thunder God¡¯s Spear might not be much to Sanctuary powerhouses like Lin Li, it was definitely a destructive magical weapon in the eyes of Archbishop Martin, Donald, and the others.

    If such a Sky Castle suddenly appeared in the royal capital of the Rotterdam Kingdom with the Thunder God¡¯s Spear activated, the entire capital and the royal family of the Rotterdam Kingdom would be wiped out. That would be a huge tragedy for the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    At the thought of such a terrifying scene, Donald was so frightened that his face turned pale. Deep down, he also confirmed something, and that was that it was definitely a force that they could not afford to offend. At this moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel thankful and somewhat fortunate that he had changed his attitude in time. Otherwise, if he had provoked such an enemy, the Rotterdam Kingdom would probably have been not far from downfall!

    However, upon further inspection, Archbishop Martin and the others gradually became used to the fact that even though powerful magical weapons like the Thunder God¡¯s Spear were not rampant everywhere in the Sky Castle, there were definitely many of them. Besides, other than therge-scale lethal weapons, there were still many weapons that were targeted at powerhouses, one of which was named the Divine Punishment, which even the Sanctuary powerhouses dared not contend with head-on.

    Of course, Lin Li did not tell Archbishop Martin and the others that although there were many magical weapons in the Sky Castle, he could only use a few of them freely. For example, Lin Li could not fully exert the power of the Divine Punishment, which was said to be able to kill the Sanctuary powerhouses. He could only use it at full power when he reached Osric¡¯s level and gained full control of the Sky Castle.

    Apart from the external weapons, there was arge number of weapons and facilities used for the defense of the Sky Castle to prevent anyone from invading the Sky Castle. The strongest was naturally the Conquering Mageweath that Lin Li had seen on the diagrams in the beginning¡ªit could cause the inhabitants of the Sky Castle to turn into god-like existences. It had a simr effect to the Ice and Fire Natural Domain that Lin Li had ced in the Eternal Furnace. However, it was far stronger than the Ice and Fire Natural Domain.

    However, Lin did not introduce the Conquering Mageweath to Archbishop Martin and the others. Since they did not recognize it themselves, why would he go to the trouble of telling them? In addition, during the visit, Lin Li also discovered that the Conquering Mageweath was somewhat wed because of the fact that it had been turned into a Psychic Array.

    The previous time he had explored the Sky Castle and discovered the Psychic Array, Lin Li thought that someone had used the Conquering Mageweath as the basis forying out a Psychic Array that shared the same mana source with it. He had felt that it was an amazing design, but after observing it carefully now, Lin Li realized that although the design was ingenious enough, the Conquering Mageweath had still been inevitably affected.

    Be it the Conquering Mageweath or the Psychic Array, they were already in the Guru-level realm, and the slightest error would lead to devastating consequences. From Osric¡¯s behavior in the Sky Castle, Lin Li reckoned that the Psychic Array had probably been added by Osricter. Otherwise, given the Immortal King¡¯s abilities, he probably wouldn¡¯t have made such a mistake.

    Of course, Osric¡¯s level was also extremely high. Although the Psychic Array had a certain impact on the Conquering Mageweath, it didn¡¯t cause any unmanageable consequences, after all. Although the Conquering Mageweath could not be used now, the damage done was not massive. Lin Li believed that he wouldn¡¯t need much time to repair them with his current abilities.

    However, as the most important facility of the entire Sky Castle, the Conquering Mageweath likewise could not be operated by Lin Li now. Even if it were restored and repaired, Lin Li would need to gainplete control of the Sky Castle in order to truly bring out its full power.

    Although Archbishop Martin and the others did not know about such a terrifying existence as the Conquering Mageweath, at the end of the day, they were learned and knowledgeable, especially since they had done plenty of research before going to the Sky Castle. They could recognize some of the facilities in the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Holy, Blessing of Holy Light, is this the Blessing of Holy Light!?¡± Archbishop Martin couldn¡¯t help but exim when he reached a square.

    The square was not veryrge, and there wereplicated mageweaths on the ground and a facility which resembled a fountain in the center. However, it looked just like a sculpture. The entirebination was a mageweath array, the Blessing of Holy Light. It could emit pure and powerful Power of Light, and even the Brilliance Shrine could note up with a mageweath array like this.

    One of the two greatest effects of the Blessing of Holy Light mageweath array was treatment, which was said to have the power to bring the dead back to life. Even a crippled person would be able to restore his limb that he had lost under the Holy Light. The other effect, if nicely put, was summoning. However, it was actually a very evil ability that was simr to enchantment in Lin Li¡¯s opinion. Under the power of Holy Light, it would be able to permanently turn an enemy into an ally.

    Everyone knew that the Power of Light had the ability to purify all evil and filth, and the so-called purification was actually annihtion where the enemy¡¯s body and soul were burned together with Holy Light. However, the Blessing of Holy Light magic array had the ability to turn evil beings into the devotees of Holy Light.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, that ability was actually just the same as giving the Death Knights Divine Power. However,pared to giving the Death Knights Divine Power, the Blessing of Holy Light was much stronger and faster. Once the Holy Light shone at someone, they would turn into a part of the caster¡¯s team.

    If a group of enemies invaded the Sky Castle and the Blessing of Holy Light mageweath array was suddenly triggered, the enemies that were originally menacing would suddenly burst into tears under the baptism of Holy Light. Not only would it cause the power of the Sky Castle to increase, it would also be a big blow to the enemy.

    To the people of the Brilliance Shrine, the Blessing of Holy Light mageweath array had always existed only in legends. The sessive popes and prophets of the Brilliance Shrine had all tried to recreate the mageweath array, but none of them had seeded. Otherwise, Anril would have probably be the diocese of the Brilliance Shrine long ago.

    Hence, even Archbishop Martin, who was already a bit numb, became excited immediately after seeing the Blessing of Holy Light mageweath array. He wished he could dig it up and bring it away. Unfortunately, Archbishop Martin was well aware that if it were in the past, he probably would have been able to do it, but the Sky Castle already belonged to Lin Li now.

    It seemed that when he returned, he had to rack his brains to think of a way to make Master Felic join the Brilliance Shrine! Archbishop Martin secretly made up his mind.

    In Archbishop Martin¡¯s heart, Lin Li was probably just as important to the Brilliance Shrine as Pope Rosario was. Lin Li had Holy Light, which could directly enhance the strength of the followers of Holy Light. If the Brilliance Shrine could get Lin Li¡¯s help, there would definitely be a huge increase in the overall strength of the Brilliance Shrine, which was something that even Pope Rosario could not bring about.

 Chapter 1004 - Bottom

    <h4>Chapter 1004: Bottom</h4>

    Without the hindrance of the magic traps and magic gears, Lin Li managed to quickly lead the expedition team through the Sky Castle. Of course, as the tour progressed, Archbishop Martin, Donald and the others went from feeling envious to being jealous, and eventually numb. They simply could not imagine how powerful the Tower of Dusk would be and how high their status would rise with Lin Li¡¯s acquisition of such a Sky Castle.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald were ready to take their leave, but Lin Li did not respond immediately to their bidding of farewell. Instead, he seemed to have slipped deep in thought.

    It turned out that while Lin Li was showing them around, he had also been observing the entire Sky Castle with his mental strength to explore ces that were invisible to the outside world. However, Lin Li suddenly discovered just now that his mental strength seemed to have been hindered by a force somewhere in the Sky Castle.

    Lin Li was now the master of the Sky Castle, and there should not have been any secrets that were kept from him at all. Besides, the ce where his mental strength had been blocked did notply to him, the master, at all. Clearly, that power had a higher authority than his.

    Lin Li gained control of the Sky Castle through the control crystal, and if there was someone who had higher authority than him, it would probably be the Immortal King who had built the Sky Castle. That made him feel extremely nervous. Even though there had been various signs along the way that showed that the Immortal King had some kind of unknown connection with him, no one could be certain if the connection was good or not.

    Although Lin Li had had some indirect contact with the Immortal King, he still could not figure out the Immortal King¡¯s attitude towards him. Did he treat Lin Li as a sessor or a pawn? Or did he simply see Lin Li as a toy for easing his boredom?

    Lin Li did not acquire the Tower of Dusk with the intention of making it a lodging for himself and the members of the Tower of Dusk. Instead, he wanted it to be a powerful weapon that he could use when sealing the great spacetime rift. Hence, to him, it was not a good thing to have no control over such an existence. It was just like a ticking time bomb that would blow him to pieces at any time.

    After snapping back to his senses, Lin Li apologetically said to Archbishop Martin and the others, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, when I arrived, I realized that there¡¯s a ce that I have to explore and check. I will not see you off, then.¡±

    Archbishop Martin had nned to talk to Lin Li about thetter visiting the Brilliance Shrine again, but an idea suddenly popped up in his mind, and he said, ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re standing on ceremony with me. Do you need our help with anything? If you don¡¯t mind us being in the way, why don¡¯t we apany you?¡±

    Archbishop Martin¡¯s idea was very simple. He just wanted to seize every opportunity to get closer to Lin Li. Even though he would have to pay a price, it would definitely be worth it if he could obtain some benefits from Lin Li.

    Before Lin Li could even answer, Donald immediately interjected when he heard Archbishop Martin¡¯s words. ¡°Yeah, Master Felic, thank you for taking care of us throughout the journey this time. If there¡¯s anything we can help you with, please let us know.¡±

    Donald did not expect to get anything from Lin Li; he just hoped that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind the previous conflicts that they had, and that he wouldn¡¯t suddenly attack the Rotterdam Kingdom with the Sky Castle.

    <i>They¡¯re actually so eager to vie with each other to be my cannon fodder?</i> Lin Li was slightly stunned. When he saw how sincere Archbishop Martin and Donald were, he felt that it would be inappropriate to turn them down. Hence, he nodded, and said, ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s go take a look together.¡±

    Lin Li once again brought the members of the two forces back to the center of the Sky Castle, but after using his mental strength to observe for a while, he discovered that the ce where his mental strength had been blocked was not actually inside the Sky Castle, but rather at the bottom. Moreover, there was no passage in the Sky Castle that could lead to that mysterious spot.

    They were faced with yet another issue. There was an endless void outside the Sky Castle, and the Nether Storm was continuously brewing outside the canopy. If they were to leave the protection of the canopy and go to the bottom of the Sky Castle, they would be facing a huge risk. Even a true Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li would not be able tost long in the void, let alone ordinary people. If they encountered the Nether Storm, they would face the danger of falling.

    Although Lin Li was wearing a Space Robe, and could move across short distances, he dared not use it in the void unless he had the strength of the Immortal King. Otherwise, he might identally fall into the Nether Storm, and that would be courting death.

    When they heard this, Archbishop Martin and Donald immediately got caught in a dilemma. They were Legendary powerhouses, but in the face of the Nether Storm, they were no different from ants. Even without the Nether Storm, they would only be able to stay in the void for a few seconds at most, and every second meant great danger.

    ¡°Well, why did the High Elves build buildings down there? Besides, there isn¡¯t any passage to get there, either.¡± Archbishop Martin was feeling somewhat regretful. He had taken the initiative to offer his help, but he had not expected such an oue. If things went awry, he might even end up losing his life too.

    Donald, on the other hand, was just saying those words superficially, and did not actually n to put in any effort at all. He mainly wanted to see if there were any hidden treasures. After hearing that Lin Li wanted to go to that ce through the endless void, he immediately wanted to back out.

    It would have been alright to back out if he hadn¡¯t offered to help. However, he had offered his help, and if he went back on his word, he would really offend Lin Li. After being conflicted for a while, Donald said, ¡°Master Felic, since that building is built at the bottom of the Sky Castle, it probably doesn¡¯t have an important function. Why don¡¯t we go take a look another time after you¡¯ve brought the Sky Castle back to Anril?¡±

    Although Donald was just making excuses, his words actually made sense. They were now being surrounded by the endless void, and it would naturally be dangerous to go to the bottom of the Sky Castle. However, if Lin Li were to move the Sky Castle back to Anril, there would be no need to worry about the Nether Storm. By then, even an ordinary Archmage would probably be able to fly over and check using the Levitation Spell.

    However, Lin Li had thought about many other issues. Although it was true that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Nether Storm if he moved the Sky Castle back to Anril, he couldn¡¯t help but be worried about what exactly was hidden in that ce. If an existence like Osric was brought to Anril, for example, it would bring about a huge disaster to Anril.

    Of course, Lin Li was not a benevolent person, and he wouldn¡¯t care about the lives and deaths of irrelevant people. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be worried about the hidden existence that affected his control of the Sky Castle. Hence, if he brought the Sky Castle back to Anril, he would pave the way for someone else.

    Therefore, although the endless void outside contained infinite dangers, Lin Li still hoped to resolve this unstable factor there and then. If it was really beyond his ability to resolve it, he would rather give up on the Sky Castle than be blown into piecester.

    ¡°The two of you, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so dangerous there. Since your teams have already suffered major losses in this expedition, I think you¡¯d better return. I¡¯lle up with a solution for this matter on my own,¡± Lin Li said to Archbishop Martin and Donald.

    Although Lin Li said that, they dared not take it seriously; God knew if they would be targeted. Hence, Archbishop Martin and Donald, who had been a little hesitant, immediately righteously said, ¡°Master Felic, it¡¯s wrong for you to say that. Thanks to your care and help along the way, we managed to find what we wanted. Now that you need help, how can we just leave now?¡±

    Lin Li secretlyughed, and after saying a few polite words, he began thinking about how he could go down there. The simplest method was to walk to the edge of the Sky Castle and jump straight down. However, the simplest method meant that he would face the greatest risk. Even with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, it was impossible for him to go down into the area in the endless void. If he were to encounter a Nether Storm, he would definitely die.

    Using his mental strength, Lin Li carefully explored the interior of the Sky Castle several times, and finally picked out a path. Although it would not lead straight to the bottom of the Sky Castle, he would be able to reach the spot that was the closest to it. As long as he walked out of that space, he just had to stay in the endless void for a few seconds to reach the bottom.

    Of course, even then, it did not mean that there was no longer any risk. Even if he was fortunate enough not to encounter any Nether Storms, that environment was not something that ordinary Legendary powerhouses could stay long in. If one took that path, the candidates who could really go down with him would probably have to be at least at the peak of the Legendary-level, and they would also have to be protected by Lin Li.

    However, Archbishop Martin and Donald had no objections to this solution. Their teams had already suffered huge losses, and it would be best to keep their members from taking risks again. They offered to stay only because they wanted to leave a good impression on Lin Li. They did not really want to lose their underlings.

    Likewise, it was impossible for everyone from the Tower of Dusk to go down there. Hence, Lin Li chose Connoris and his two Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, Of course, in reality, the power that Lin Li could bring was not just the three of them. For example, he could summon the tender Elemental Wyrm Xiao Hua, the Lord of Nightmares who had been kept in the Summoning Lamp, and the Lord Devourer, Garl. They were no weaker than the three he would be bringing out on the surface. Besides, they did not need Lin Li to protect them conscientiously.

 Chapter 1005 - Loser

    <h4>Chapter 1005: Loser</h4>

    After making the necessary preparations, Lin Li brought his three men, Archbishop Martin, and Donald into the Sky Castle again. They walked along the decided route and went deeper into the Sky Castle.

    There were no doors that seemed to lead to the outside world from the passageway inside the Sky Castle. After all, the chaotic environment outside would destroy the Sky Castle if it only relied on one door. Furthermore, it would be easy for enemies to sneak into the Sky Castle through the door if there were any outside the Void Channel.

    However, theck of doors would not be an issue. As the owner of the Sky Castle, Lin Li was extremely clear about every nook and cranny within the Sky Castle (excluding the area that his mental strength couldn¡¯t reach). The ce they had reached was one of the rooms at the base of the Sky Castle. This room was used to store magical weapons like the Crystal Cannons. Hence, it also had oneunch pad inside. Although it was just aunch pad, it definitely had no problems amodating something the size of one man.

    As it was the strongest battle fortress, there were manyunch pads and magical weapons beneath the Sky Castle. The room which Lin Li brought the men to had a shelf of Dragon Cannons¡ªa weapon that was created from the integration of Alchemy and Mageweaths. Unlike the Crystal Cannons that relied onpressed mana in their attacks, the Dragon Cannonsbined the mana from the mana source with mageweaths and alchemy arrays in its attacks to create an even more powerful attack.

    The skills to create a magical weapon asplicated as the Dragon Cannons had since been lost in this era. One could only find shadows of the craftsmanship in the ancient legends. Hence, although Archbishop Martin and Donald had been numbed by the treasures in other rooms, they could not help but drool at the sight of the Dragon Cannons.

    After the Sky Castle entered the Endless Void, theunch pad would cast a shield. It was akin to fixing window panes on a window frame to prevent the Nether Storm from destroying the interior of the Sky Castle. As the owner of the Sky Castle, Lin Li naturally had his way of lifting the shield to let himself and the others leave.

    Lin Li observed the situation outside through the shield in front of theunch pad. A gust of Nether Storm swirled past his face, and made the firm shield tremble vigorously. Not to mention Archbishop Martin, even Lin Li could not help but shiver at the impact of the Nether Storm. He knew that its force was not something he could withstand.

    Lin Li had brought everyone to the space closest to the bottom of the Sky Castle. It would only take them a few seconds to fly to the destination. However, as his mental strength was obstructed, Lin Li could not use it to assess the situation asprehensively as he hoped. He even had to make preparations for a spontaneous retreat.

    After all, Lin Li was unsure whether they could immediately enter the space even if they arrived at the destination. If they were unable to resolve the problems in a short time, it would definitely be a dangerous choice to stay in the Endless Void for long.

    Lin Li initially nned to take his time to observe to look for patterns within the Nether Storm such as internals and directions. However, the Nether Storm was like a child who was not held back by anyone in the Endless Void. There might be a chance for it not to appear, and a chance for it to appear multiple times continuously within a few seconds. It seemed like there was no pattern at all.

    Although he had decided that this ce would allow him to travel to the bottom of the Sky Castle within the shortest amount of time, the sight of the irregr Nether Storms forced Lin Li to feel helpless deep inside.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald were extremely clear about their capabilities. They were alright to participate in adventures, but not in giving their lives away. Yet, they were too ashamed to take back their promise of apanying Lin Li there.

    Hence, the sight of Lin Li¡¯s hesitation sparked joy within the hearts of Archbishop Martin and Donald. Of course, they were not daring enough to demand a retreat. They could only turn their wishes in the form of suggestions to convince Lin Li to give up on the venture temporarily.

    However, it was as though Lin Li was deaf to the suggestion of Archbishop Martin and Donald. His gaze was fixed outside theunch pad intently. He knew that it would mean trouble if they were to head out. Although he did not like the idea of ying with his own life, he felt that there would be a greater danger to the Tower of Dusk if he were to leave an unknown threat in the Sky Castle.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald smiled awkwardly when they saw that Lin Li did not reply to them. They stopped giving him advice, and waited for Lin Li¡¯s reply in trepidation.

    Lin Li did not let them wait too long.

    ¡°The rest of you please step back a little,¡± instructed Lin Li as he turned to face the rest.

    ¡°Oh, a-alright!¡± stammered Archbishop Martin and Donald in joy. They turned to walk towards the door, but they stopped when they saw Connoris and the rest. It was then that they realized that Lin Li¡¯smand was to step back, and not retreat. Could this be a path of no return? Although both of them were deeply unwilling, they knew they had to stop.

    Lin Li did not care about how Archbishop Martin and Donald were behaving. After all, their abilities as Legendary mages were too limited; their presence did not matter to him. He got up close to a Dragon Cannon, and pushed it to the mouth of theunch pad.

    This sight confused Archbishop Martin and Donald. The Dragon Cannon had been painted as a formidable weapon in the legends with the im that it could copse a whole mountain. Yet, what would be of it in the Endless Void?

    After pushing the Dragon Cannon to the mouth of theunch pad, Lin Li whipped out a firm World Domain that was made up of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. He enclosed the whole room with the World Domain before using his mental strength to control the magical crystal to lift the shield at theunch pad.

    Please do not belittle the void for its name. Apart from the unruly Nether Storm, the void had all sorts of particles with vigorous energy that would cause great damage to both humans and infrastructure. Theyer outside the Sky Castle was the very rare Space Sand that could withstand the erosion by the violent particles. Yet, even Immortal King did notvish the Space Sand indoors.

    The eroding impact of the particles on the construction was just a part of it. These fes were like naturally chosen leaders that would trigger the magical elements within the Sky Castle and turn the entire Sky Castle into a powder keg.

    As Lin Li had already viewed the Sky Castle as his own, he did not dare tomit any irreversible mistake here. That was why he was so careful. If there weren¡¯t the Nether Storm, the World Domain would be enough to protect the architecture from the erosion of the energy particles.

    After casting the World Domain and lifting the shield at theunch pad, Lin Li retrieved a Legendary-level crystal from his Ring of Endless Storm, and put it at the mana source of the Dragon Cannon. Although Lin Li had never used a Dragon Cannon before, his knowledge as a Guru helped him find a way to activate it very easily.

    Very quickly, a halo surrounded that Legendary-level crystal. Its mana shed as it traveled along the Alchemy Array and mageweaths. Very quickly, it lit the entire Dragon Cannon.

    The Dragon Cannon that had been ced in the room for thousands of years finally disyed its hideous appearance. Its brightly lit Alchemy Array and mageweaths were like a perfect work of art that gave the ancient Dragon Cannon a mysterious aura.

    What followed was a loud explosion as a menacing ball of fire shot into the Endless Void. After it flew out of the Sky Castle, the ball expanded and filled up all of their vision. Although there was no sound of explosion, everyone could sense tremors within the castle.

    That young Sanctuary-level mage would be a wastrel if he were to cast the Dragon Cannon out of curiosity about its immense powers. Archbishop Martin¡¯s heart could not help but ache at the sight of how Lin Li used the Dragon Cannon.

    A Legendary-level magical crystal was definitely needed to activate the incredible power within the Dragon Cannon. That one Dragon Cannon had used up one-tenth of the mana within the crystal. This meant that the crystal had fallen from its original Legendary-level strength.

    Although the team from Brilliance Shrine and Rotterdam had reaped significant rewards from this exploration, the Legendary-level magical crystal was still no doubt a precious treasure. The sight of Lin Li incapacitating such a gem without any hint of hesitation gave Archbishop Martin and Donald a great urge to give an immediateshing to that spendthrift.

    However, Lin Li paid no attention to the depleted mana within the Legendary-level crystal. His sight was fixed on the ball of fire. His gaze did not move even after that big explosion.

    ¡°It missed?¡±

    Although Archbishop Martin felt extreme heartache from Lin Li¡¯s wasteful act, he knew that testing the impact of the Dragon Cannon was not Lin Li¡¯s sole intention. Hence, when he saw Lin Li fixing his gaze at the distance, he walked forward curiously to look outside the Sky Castle at the Endless Void.

    Archbishop Martin got a shock of his life when he saw what happened outside. The ball of fire was like a piece of ma that repelled the different Nether Storms in its surroundings.

    However, that ball of fire was not a continuous magic, after all. The impact of its explosion did notst too long. With the engulfing forces of the Nether Storms, the sun-sized ball of fire dissipated very quickly, while those Nether Storms continued to rage along their new paths.

    One of the attributes of the Nether Storm was that it would chase after exogenous energies. This was also why the Endless Void was a dangerous ce even to Sanctuary powerhouses: one could not simply avoid Nether Storms just because he wanted to. No matter how quick and agile a Sanctuary powerhouse was, he had to rely on magic to move in the Endless Void. Yet, the use of magic would transform Nether Storms into sharks that smelled blood. They would chase after the strand of magic wave until itpletely disappeared.

    It was impossible for one to win against a Nether Storm in speed. A Nether Storm could be birthed out of nowhere in the Endless Void. No one would be able to expect whether a Nether Storm woulde at them while they escaped. And even if Lady Luck prevented a Nether Storm from appearing in the front, there would be more and more Nether Storm chasing him from the back. Unless he were to find a ce to hide quickly, a Sanctuary powerhouse would be tired to death.

    Only someone as powerful as Immortal King whose World Domain had achieved reality would be able to activate it to move around the Endless Void freely.

    The goal of Lin Li¡¯s experiment was to make use of the nature of the Nether Storm to be attracted to exogenous energy to create a safe but temporary time-gap. Understanding that he would need time to travel to and fro the Sky Castle for his followers, Lin Li had been estimating the time needed for the fireballs to dy the Nether Storm and where he wanted them to explode.

    To fulfill this goal, Lin Li was not stingy with his Legendary crystals. He only stopped after activating 60 Dragon Cannons with six Legendary crystals.

    Seeing that his efforts in persuading Lin Li not to be a wastrel were in vain, Archbishop Martin finally epted the fate. <i>What an outrageous wastage of a treasure!</i> he thought as he looked at the powdered crystals beneath the Dragon Cannon in a daze.

    As for Donald, although he strived to perfect his rtionship with the Tower of Dusk, he knew that he did not have any bonds with the Tower. While he felt that it was a waste to use the magical crystals as such, the sight of Lin Li wasting magical crystals was more like a show to him.

 Chapter 1006 - Opening the Door

    <h4>Chapter 1006: Opening the Door</h4>

    Of course, Donald knew that the loss of a few legendary-level crystals would not mean much to the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he tried to suppress his emotions.

    However, there was no sign of heartache on Lin Li¡¯s face after he turned the Legendary crystals into powder. Instead, he rxed his furrowed brows gradually. He was now certain from his several experiments that he could use the Dragon Cannons to divert the Nether Storms and buy time for himself.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin and Master Donald, are the two of you staying here, or are youing with me?¡± asked Lin Li as he loaded crystals into the Dragon Cannons. He had the confidence to navigate the situation, but was toozy to exin it to them.

    Although they were apanied by a Sanctuary powerhouse, they did not have the confidence that the Sanctuary powerhouse would care to protect them in crisis. After all, this was a ce dangerous even to Sanctuary powerhouses. It would be fortunate for them to ensure their own lives. The rest of the men, including Archbishop Martin and Donald, was just like ants to Sanctuary powerhouses. But, since the two of them had promised to embark on the adventure with Lin Li, they were more fearful that they would incite hatred within Lin Li if they were to withdraw. Hence, they could only muster all their courage and agree to advance with him.

    Lin Li could not help but try to suppress hisughter when he heard the unnatural reply from Archbishop Martin and Donald. In reality, Lin Li did not really care about their decision. He was only certain that he would not leave the two people at such a ce. Although he was not a generous man, he was not petty enough to find fault with them over such a small matter.

    But, since Archbishop Martin and Donald insisted on apanying him, there was nothing for Lin Li to talk about, either. With his new discoveries, Lin Li adjusted the Dragon Cannons and summoned Demon Gordon.

    Bam! Bam! Bam! Three consecutive balls of fire shot towards the Endless Void, and exploded in different locations.

    Lin Li brought everyone through the opening into the World Domain without any dy.

    Lin Li immediately experienced the impact of the energy particles when he entered the Endless Void. Despite being rtively stable due to the help of the debris of the stars, it was still difficult for his World Domain to withstand the pration by the particles.

    Of course, no one in the World Domain had the same realization as Lin Li, because their mental energy was not connected to the World Domain. Even so, this did not prevent the rest of their hearts from palpitating. The Endless Void was infamous to everyone in Anril for being an extremely scary ce.

    After entering the Endless Void, Lin Li swerved to the bottom of the Sky Castle, and saw that one of the balls of fire had just reached the location of explosion. And, just like what he predicted, the direction of the storms changed upon meeting the balls of fire. Although there were still several storms chasing after them, their speed was greatly decreased. If those explosions were to continue, they would no doubt lure the storms away.

    Unfortunately, the explosions of the fireballs were not long-lived. Yet, it was a great idea for Lin Li to leave Demon Gordon in the room full of Dragon Cannons. He would help tounch new fireballs as long as Lin Li ordered him to do so.

    Hence, as soon as the three fireballs were about to be extinguished, Demon Gordon sent a few more into the void under Lin Li¡¯s orders. In this process, the shield at theunch pad swiftly opened and closed under Lin Li¡¯s control as well. Despite not having any obstruction from the World Domain, the rapid movement of the shield helped to prevent damage to the interior of the castle.

    The new explosions once again drew the Nether Storms that wereing in Lin Li¡¯s direction away. New Nether Storms moved towards the explosions as well.

    Lin Li brought the men to the base of the Sky Castle with the help of the explosions. It was only now that Lin Li discovered how the ce looked. It was the ce where his mental strength did not get to meet.

    What appeared in their view was an inverted tower. Its base was connected to the Sky Castle with its tip piercing into the Endless Void. It was as though they were standing upside-down.

    The architectural style of this tower resembled the tower that was situated above the Sky Castle. The tower¡¯s shape looked just like the shadow of that tower.

    The men had to readjust their positions before they set foot on the ground in front of the tower. As directions were not a concern within the Endless Void, the men reoriented to the upside-down feeling very quickly, and got to the door of the tower.

    ¡°Master Felic, this door...¡± muttered Archbishop Martin. He knew that the key of this tower was definitely not among the collection of keys which he gave to Lin Li when Lin Li took over the Sky Castle.

    While he had witnessed how the forces from explosions could help to attract the Nether Storms, he realized that the explosions could only buy them a few seconds of safety. Hence, the sight of the tightly shut door and the Nether Storms that wereing after them made Archbishop Martin extremely anxious.

    Furthermore, they did not have the key to the tower. Even if they had all the other materials ready, a dozen seconds would be needed for them to unlock one Magical Thousand-contraption Lock. This amount of time was not a problem elsewhere, but every second would mean danger in the Endless Void.

    Of course, Lin Li¡¯s inability to open the door was a relief to both Archbishop Martin and Donald as it meant that they would not need to enter the tower and deal with all the risks it might entail. Then, they would be returning to the Sky Castle with a trust from Lin Li won at no cost.

    Yet, there was nothing worth rejoicing for Lin Li. This tower was neither shown in the blueprint of the tower nor controlled by magical crystals within the Sky Castle. How could he leave such a mysterious tower in the Sky Castle without knowing its purpose?

    This was the dilemma: to immediately retreat or stay there to figure out ways to unlock the door. It wouldn¡¯t be a risk to retreat at this point of time, but if he were to leave the mysterious tower as an unknown, Lin Li was sure that he would never have the confidence to use the castle without worry. That meant that he would need to give up on the Sky Castle for the time being. However, if he were to stay there, he would be putting all his eggs in a single basket, and have to be prepared to face extremely great risks.

    Would this mean that he had to give up on the Sky Castle? Although Lin Li had experienced many close shaves with death, he was not somebody who loved to gamble with his life. Those were the times when Lin Li was forced to take the plunge in light of grave situations.

    Yet, it was not that Lin Li had no way out. He just had to decide between his life and the Sky Castle. While he might seem crazy at times, Lin Li was not a true lunatic, after all. He naturally knew which of the two weighed more.

    Lin Li did not hesitate for too long. He set his heart in a sh. Although the Sky Castle would be a valuable addition to his organization, it would be useless if he did not have his life to use it. Furthermore, giving up would only be temporary. He would still be able to uncover the mysteries of the tower if he had time to think of a better way to explore it.

    However, when he was prepared to call for a retreat, Lin Li sensed a unique wave emitting from his Ring of Endless Storm. He immediately sent his mental energy into the Ring of Endless Storm, and discovered that it wasing from a key that had been long forgotten.

    This key was one of the three of Geresco¡¯s treasures which Lin Li received after he had gotten through Tutankhamun¡¯s test in the ckstone Mountains. The three relics that Lin Li had received were the sacred Book of Eternity, the rare magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, and this key.

    ording to Tutankhamun, the key that Geresco had left behind was the key to unlock the Sky Castle. However, Lin Li had never used this key despite reaping huge rewards from his two expeditions in the castle.

    Lin Li had been reading the Book of Eternity almost every day. It had yed an irreceable role in his advancement into the Sanctuary-realm. As for the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, it had been transformed into one of Lin Li¡¯s rings which he brought around everywhere. It had been raising his mental strength almost every moment, and had contributed significantly to his progress.

    This key, however, had not been used from the day Lin Li acquired it. Hence, it had been left in the corner of the Ring of Endless Storm, almost forgotten until today.

    But this time, when Lin Li got closer to the upside-down tower, a reaction could be observed from this key that seemed to have been left forgotten. This reaction naturally helped Lin Li associate the key with the tower. <i>Could this be the key to unlocking this tower?</i>

    This thought changed Lin Li¡¯s mind. He decided to take the risk to find out whether this key could help to unlock the door of the tower.

    Lin Li¡¯s decision was not an impulsive one. Instead, it was because of the fact that the key had belonged to Geresco. After all, Lin Li still had a mission from Geresco, which was to seal the space cracks within the Anril World. Would Geresco, an existence as invincible as Immortal King and any other legends, send him to his death with such a great ploy?

    Although this did not mean that there would not be any danger, it was enough to give Lin Li the courage to take the risk.

    ¡°Master Felic, I see that the Nether Storms areing over!¡±

    Just when Lin Li made up his mind, Donald, who was in the World Domain, eximed anxiously at the top of his lungs.

    The appearance of Nether Storms was unpredictable. They could appear anytime, anywhere as long as they were in the Endless Void. Lin Li had made use of the impact of the explosions to attract some of the storms away, but now that they were at the base of the Sky Castle, he realized that the hindrance from the Nether Storms had reduced greatly. His problem now was how the mana wave from his World Domain seemed to be attracting the Nether Storms in the surroundings like a ma.

    What was even more shocking was that it did not just attract a wave of Nether Storms. Instead, Nether Storms from all directions were charging towards the World Domain. While Lin Li had the ability to ovee one of them, he did not have the confidence to stop himself from being minced into powder due to thebined forces from all of the storms.

    Hence, this horrific sight made Donald gasp. If he hadn¡¯t been within Lin Li¡¯s World Domain, he would have fled.

    Lin Li knew now was not the time to linger. But, he did not retreat as Donald and Archbishop Martin wished he would. He continued to lead everyone forward, and only stopped when they reached the gate of the tower.

    ¡°Master Felic, there is no time to waste now! Those Nether Storms are reaching us!¡± Donald shrieked. This situation of life and death was not the time to present himself prim and proper. Unfortunately, there was no chance for him to leave Lin Li¡¯s World Domain. All he could do was to shriek hysterically.

    ¡°Master Felic, or do you know how to unlock this door?¡± That was Archbishop Martin. While he appeared anxious, he was not as hysterical as Donald. There were just tremors underlying his voice.

    However, Lin Li did not have the time to provide anyfort to them. He retrieved Geresco¡¯s key from his Ring of Endless Storm a little worriedly, but when he saw the key flopping like fish out of water, he knew that he had made the correct choice.

    There was no need for Lin Li to say more. He released his hand gently, and let the key fly towards a dent that was located at the center of the door.

 Chapter 1007 - Figure

    <h4>Chapter 1007: Figure</h4>

    At the same time, the Nether Storms from all directions started surging towards them. The storms merged into one humongous storm, and engulfed the men and the entire tower. They vanished from where they were when that enormous Nether Storms left the upside-down tower.

    ¡°T-that was dangerous!¡± Archbishop Martin eximed fearfully as he wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. He did not expect to find himself in another ce.

    ¡°What is this ce? Are we inside that tall tower?¡± Donald wondered as he blushed at the thought of losing his cool earlier on. He was trying to divert the topic. Of course, he was just thinking too much. Lin Li and the rest of the men already had their attention on their new surroundings.

    This ce was huge, but it did not seem spacious. There were rows of shelves in the hall, and there were all sorts of magic books on them. It was like a huge and bright library. The silence within it could calm one¡¯s breathing.

    ¡°Oh gosh! Could this be the royal library that belonged to the High Elves?¡±

    The men gasped after they saw their surroundings. Although the era when Anril was ruled by the High Elves was also known as the Dark Age, it was no doubt the era when the magic civilization was the most prosperous. As this was Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, and he was the driving force of the development of the High Elves, the magic books here had to be rted to the High Elves.

    ¡°No! The magic books here did not belong to High Elves. They belonged to humans!¡± eximed Lin Li after he walked over to the nearest shelf. He nced at the covers of those books, and discovered thenguage that was written on the cover.

    ¡°What? How could they have belonged to humans?¡± gasped the others as they advanced towards the shelves after Lin Li.

    It was a known fact that although the High Elves did not ban humans from learning magic during the Dark Age, it was impossible for them to write any magic books for the humans. In the Dark Age, humans could only learn magic through the word of mouth, and slowly develop magic that belonged to the humans. Hence, every human mage at that time had their own set of notes about magic, which they valued as much as their own lives.

    Lin Li was extremely shocked as well, but he managed toe to terms with the huge collection of magic books when he remembered that the key belonged to Geresco. Geresco was known as the God of Mages who¡¯d pushed for the development of magic among the humans. Hence, it was not impossible for these magic books to belong to him.

    However, there was one thing that was confusing to Lin Li. He could not fathom the reason why these magic books were left behind in the castle. It had been more than 1300 years since the end of the Dark Age. He wondered how magic would have advanced in human society if humans had gotten hold of this collection.

    Yet, since Geresco had left the magic books here and he now possessed the key to the hall, Lin Li knew that all of these resources would be his to enjoy.

    Just when Lin Li was about to ransack the books in the hall, all the books suddenly flew down from their shelves and projected a ray of light onto amon point. A figure appeared in the middle of the hall.

    That figure was a mage donned in ck robes. Lin Li was stupefied when he saw the appearance of that figure.

    ¡°G-Geresco!¡± gasped Lin Li.

    He was right. The figure that appeared was the same figure Lin Li saw through the Spacetime Beacon Spell when he was with Tutankhamun. The Spacetime Beacon Spell was just like a recalling of time. It was just like meeting Geresco in real life.

    Of course, Lin Li regained hisposure very quickly. He knew that the figure was just an image left behind by Geresco.

    However, Geresco¡¯s figure alone was intimidating enough. His existence was as daunting as Immortal King. As someone who had witnessed the mightiness of Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, how would Lin Li not be intimidated by Geresco¡¯s incarnation?

    The others who were standing behind Lin Li could guess the real identity of the figure as well. While they had met Highlord Osric and Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, they did not expect to see Geresco¡¯s incarnation here. It was not easy formon men to see the three powerhouses of Anril¡¯s history. Now that they had seen the three of them, they did not know whether it meant good luck.

    At the same time, Geresco¡¯s incarnation moved. He waved his hands and blurred the men¡¯s visions. When they regained rity, Geresco¡¯s incarnation and Lin Li were nowhere to be found. The countless magic books vanished as well. They were left with a spacious hall and rows of empty shelves.

    Lin Li¡¯s view, on the other hand, was different from theirs. He saw that he was still standing before Geresco¡¯s incarnation in the hall. It was just that the rest of the men had gone missing. Lin Li could not even use his mental strength to sense where Connoris and his two Undead followers were.

    To Archbishop Martin and the rest, it seemed that Lin Li had been taken away by Geresco¡¯s incarnation, yet to Lin Li, it was the other way around: Geresco¡¯s incarnation had transported Archbishop Martin and the rest of the men elsewhere, leaving him alone in that space. While the simrity across the two situations was the unchanged hall, it was as though they were in two different dimensions.

    ¡°Geresco?¡± Lin Li asked carefully despite recognizing him long ago.

    Geresco¡¯s incarnation had yet to make any sound. His stern expression made Lin Li¡¯s heart skip a beat. Although Lin Li felt that Geresco would not do anything harmful to him due to the mission he¡¯d left for him, he was unsure whether the mind of the legendary figure was as predictable as he hoped it to be.

    Geresco¡¯s incarnation did not reply to Lin Li. After he gave Lin Li a cold nce, he waved the staff in his hand andunched an attack on Lin Li without any warning. The movement of the magic staff called out numerous arrow-like bolts of lightning that aimed at where Lin Li was standing.

    ¡°F*ck! Why didn¡¯t you warn me?¡± gasped Lin Li in shock. Geresco¡¯s incarnation was unlike Immortal King¡¯s incarnation who spoke beforeunching his attack.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s curse was of zero use in his situation. It was fortunate that Lin Li could react quickly to the threat by establishing thousands of defenses using his Domain World with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    In reality, Lin Li was d that the ability of Geresco¡¯s incarnation was akin to Immortal King¡¯s incarnation¡¯s. It felt like he was around level-25. As Lin Li was at level-26, he knew that the shadow¡¯s power was worse than his.

    Although levels were not the deciding factor for everything, Lin Li had been defeating opponents who were in a higher level than him ever since he entered Anril. Hence, although it caught Lin Li by surprise, the sudden attack made by Geresco¡¯s incarnation was not very daunting to him.

    Of course, Lin Li knew that Geresco¡¯s incarnation was not something formon men to trifle with, but he was confident in his full set of debris of the stars and his ability as a level-26 Sanctuary powerhouse.

    This was especially evident when Lin Li battled Highlord Osric at the control panel of the Central Tower. Although it seemed that he was greatly challenged by Osric then, the battle was a great boost of ego. After all, Osric was a Sanctuary powerhouse of level-27 or level-28.

    This did not mean that Lin Li had started to be arrogant. He just had the confidence to challenge Geresco¡¯s incarnation. It was absolutely crucial for one to be fearless in his battles. If not, he might not be able to exert his full potential, and discount hisbat prowess.

    Geresco¡¯s incarnationunched an extremely powerful first attack. The thousand arrow-like lightning bolts filled the space. They engulfed Lin Li and his Domain World without warning. Every single arrow-like lightning bolt manifested a terrifying aura that challenged even the stars.

    It was doomsday within Lin Li¡¯s Domain World as well. His sky was torn by the countless arrow-like lightning bolts, and the earth he was standing on started to erode. The cracks that filled his space made the entire Domain World seem as though it was a mirror that had shattered.

    Yet, there was no sign of anxiety on Lin Li¡¯s face. He used his mental strength to activate the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that were hidden in the space. At once, there were seven colorful rays shining within the Domain World. Then, the cracks in the entire domain started to heal at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

    The countless arrow-like bolts were like fishes caught in the of the seven rays of light. They could neither pass through the light nor create any impact.

    Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was extremely fragile when he was battling Immortal King¡¯s incarnation and the resurrected Osric. That was not because it was weak, but rather due to the huge difference in power. Strictly speaking, the reason why Lin Li could defeat both of them was not due to his own abilities.

    If not for the external factors, there would¡¯ve been a high chance for Lin Li to be defeated by Immortal King¡¯s incarnation and the resurrected Osric. However, while Geresco was only level-25, and one¡¯s level would not always be a deciding factor, it was a cap on his potential.

    No matter how talented a level-25 person was, he could only exert the powers within level-25. The only differencey in his experience and tactics when using his powers. If he were to use a method that exceeded level-25, then he would not be in level-25.

    It was just like Lin Li. He had made himself a match for a level-20 Legendary powerhouse when he had been at level-19, yet he could not use the Realm Magic that belonged to real Legendary-mages at that time. If he had been able to create Magical Domains, he would¡¯ve been a real Legendary-mage, and not a level-19 Archmage.

    Since Geresco¡¯s incarnation was at level-25, it meant that it was unable to use powers beyond level-25. Hence, he would not be able to create absolute destruction like Immortal King¡¯s incarnation and Osric in exerting maximum oppression to the Domain World created by Lin Li, a level-26 Sanctuary-mage.

    Just when Lin Li thought that he had gained temporary safety after he blocked Geresco¡¯s attack, he felt an unusual force in his surroundings. Before he could react, an enormous hand that was created from mana tore into the space, and caught Lin Li tightly in its grasp.

    This stunned Lin Li. Even if he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was close to the divine, he had a body of a vulnerable human. He could be wounded and die if he were to suffer from severe injuries. Although the soul of a Sanctuary powerhouse was immortal, there would be no way for him to enhance his powers without his physical body. Osric was a good example; the perfect body he had created was notparable to his original body.

    Lin Li was extremely satisfied with his current body. This was a body that was filled with great potential in magic. He would not be willing to ept if one were to offer him the perfect body of the Ashen Warlock.

 Chapter 1008 - Guidance Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1008: Guidance Battle</h4>

    The Ashen Warlock had existed since the Dark Age, and despite having lived for a long time, he had not reached the level of the Immortal King yet. Besides, he probably might not improve any further in the future. On the other hand, Lin Li had only arrived in Anril for a few years, and yet he had already be a Sanctuary powerhouse who had a huge potential and room for growth. A simpleparison would show the obvious differences between the two of them.

    However, the giant mana hand that grabbed Lin Li was not as simple as a hand that was condensed using mana. As soon as Lin Li was grabbed by the mana hand, he felt a massive amount of strange mana surging into his body, causing the mana that was running in his body to stagnate.

    Mana Shackle! A Sanctuary Master was struck with the Mana Shackle!

    The battle between Lin Li and Geresco¡¯s incarnation had onlysted for a few seconds from the beginning before ending up in the former¡¯s defeat in the middle of a Domain World that was made up of debris of the stars. That oue was a huge blow to Lin Li as it gave him a new perspective on his understanding of his own power.

    After Lin Li advanced to level-26 and his debris of the stars wasplete, he always thought that his power was enough for him to contend with a level-27 Sanctuary powerhouse. However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation was now only at level-25!

    Just as Lin Li was feeling hopeless, the mana hand that was restricting him suddenly disappeared, after which the mana that had been restrained in his body also returned to its original operational speed.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Li asked as he looked at Geresco¡¯s incarnation, finding it strange.

    ¡°Do you think you have everything just because you have strength? Do you think that by exhibiting all your power, you can defeat all your enemies!? You¡¯ve really disappointed me!¡± Geresco¡¯s incarnation hollered sternly with anger written all over his face, as if he was a teacher who was lecturing his student.

    Lin Li, who had just heaved a sigh of relief due to the disappearance of the mana hand, no longer looked relieved after hearing the words of Geresco¡¯s incarnation. Instead, he looked ashamed. He finally understood that just like the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, the Geresco¡¯s incarnation was testing him.

    Lin Li had obtained the three things left behind by Geresco, the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal that was used for improving mental strength, the Book of Eternity that was used for increasing one¡¯s magical knowledge, and the key that was undoubtedly used to verify what was learned. Just like a final exam after thepletion of a semester in school, Lin Li also had to go through an exam to test his knowledge.

    Lin Li had been studying the Book of Eternity for a long time, and he would read it during almost all his free time. He had gained a huge understanding of the content of the Book of Eternity, but it was another thing to put theory into practice during battles. In particr, after Lin Li had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm and gained the power of theplete debris of the stars, he had been pouring out all his power during most of the battles that he fought while neglecting the sharpening of his techniques, just like what Geresco¡¯s incarnation had said.

    For example, when Geresco¡¯s incarnation released countless arrows of lightning just now, the first thing that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind was to unleash his full power and resist the opponent¡¯s attack as hard as he could because he knew deep down that the level-25 incarnation of Geresco would not be able to suppress him during such a head-on sh of power.

    However, Geresco had taught Lin Li that not all enemies could be suppressed with a powerful head-on collision. The loud arrows of lightning were just a cover that concealed Geresco¡¯s invasion of the Domain World on the other side when they shed with the Domain World.

    Lin Li had seen such techniques in the Book of Eternity too, and he also knew how to use them. However, hepletely neglected it during the actual battle. Fortunately, Geresco¡¯s purpose was to test him, not to kill him. Otherwise, even if Lin Li had not died, he would have had to pay a huge price.

    Geresco did not give Lin Li much time to think. After lecturing him, the staff in his hand began to glow again, and a Domain World was immediately opened. Although it seemed rather elementary, it was because Geresco¡¯s incarnation was only at level-25, after all. It was actually not considered a world at all, and was worlds apart from the Legendary-level Domain World.

    However, Lin Li, who had already been taught a lesson, dared not belittle Geresco¡¯s incarnation at all. When he saw thetter opening the Domain World, he dared not dy for a single second, and quickly took out the Helios¡¯ Scepter. Therge gemstone on it was also glowing with eruptive mana.

    The battle between the two Sanctuary powerhouses broke out again, and although it seemed like a loud and powerful collision, both of them knew that the sounds were only superficial signs. Under the cover of the loud sounds, they each used their respective means, and the battle seemed to have be a battle of wits. It was no longer a sh of power, but also a sh of experience, knowledge, skills, and intelligence.

    ¡°So what if you¡¯re fast at casting spells? If you can¡¯t do any damage to the opponent, you¡¯ll just be wasting your time even if you can cast tens of thousands of spells immediately.¡± Geresco¡¯s incarnation was just like the strictest teacher who was continuously pointing out Lin Li¡¯s mistakes. If he were berating someone else instead of Lin Li, they might really kill themselves out of shame.

    At this moment, Lin Li finally discovered that even though he had learned a lot of magic, and had even stepped into the Sanctuary-realm that was coveted by countless people, he was still just like a mage apprentice in front of Geresco.

    That was not an exaggeration at all. Lin Li was a level-26 Sanctuary Master who had powerful debris of the stars. By right, he should have an advantage when facing the level-25 incarnation of Geresco. However, Lin Li seemed to have suddenly be stupid and powerless in the battle with Geresco¡¯s incarnation. He seemed to have continuously stepped into traps.

    On the other hand, the traps that Lin Li had put effort into designing were useless in the face of Geresco. After he had painstakingly made Geresco fall into his trap, thetter would get out of it effortlessly. It was akin to a small pit dug painstakingly by a child that would barely cause any injury to an adult who stepped into it.

    In just a few minutes, Lin Li and Geresco¡¯s incarnation fought for dozens of rounds, but Lin Li would have usually been caught by Geresco¡¯s incarnation after just two or three rounds. If Geresco¡¯s incarnation had had the intention to kill Lin Li, thetter would have probably died several times. However, based on that alone, it was obvious that Geresco¡¯s incarnation had not unleashed all its strength yet. Otherwise, how could he have used his power so freely?

    The fact that a level-26 Sanctuary powerhouse couldn¡¯t even be on par with a level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse was too much of a blow. All along, Lin Li had always been the one tounch attacks beyond his level, but this time he was the one being hit. That was a huge irony.

    However, Lin Li was not simply being hit. Despite having failed countless times and being beaten to a pulp within such a short period of time, he had also learned a lot during his fight with Geresco¡¯s incarnation. Compared to the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation, Geresco¡¯s incarnation was truly a dedicated teacher who would sternly point out Lin Li¡¯s problems after defeating him.

    Lin Li had initially learned a lot of knowledge from the Book of Eternity, and a variety of techniques of mana usage during battles was deeply etched in his mind. The only thing hecked was putting his theory into practice. Without actual practice, the knowledge he had would only remain theoretical. Only after having tested it himself would he be able to truly internalize the knowledge.

    After the sharpening and honing of his skills, Lin Li felt that he had gained a new understanding of the skills mentioned in the Book of Eternity. They were no longer just a type of knowledge, but had gradually be skills of his own. That was probably what integration was about.

    However, just as Lin Li unprecedentedly and perfectly exhibited the magic skills that he had mastered and made Geresco fall into a trap with a design that amazed him, Geresco gave him a huge blow.

    ¡°Techniques and skills are just going to assist you. The true power of a magees from his understanding of the world, and this is how the World Domaines about!¡± Geresco had finally stepped into the lethal trap that Lin Li had designed, but immediately after the staff in his hand stopped moving, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World immediately copsed, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars darted out of the Domain World.

    The situation was instantly reversed, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars seemed to have lost control as they left Lin Li¡¯s Domain World one after another. On the other hand, Lin Li was holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and staring foolishly at Geresco¡¯s incarnation while anger surfaced in his heart.

    Lin Li felt that he had surpassed many other Sanctuary Masters of the same level in terms of his understanding of the world thanks to hisprehension of the Laws of the debris of the stars. However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation had proven that Lin Li¡¯sprehension and understanding were far from sufficient.

    Lin Li couldpletely feel that this incarnation of Geresco was not only restricted to level-25, but his understanding of the world simrly was also at level-25. However, it was obvious that although Geresco¡¯s understanding of the world was not profound, he had a more thorough understanding of what he ought to know at level-25.

    ¡°Debris of the stars, Domain World!¡± Lin Li finally knew where his problemy. He was overly dependent on the Domain World that was created using his debris of the stars, which undoubtedly caused his understanding and control of the Domain World to be somewhat skewed.

    It was true that Lin Li could build a Domain World that exceeded his current level with the power of the debris of the stars so as to disy strongerbat power, but as a mage, his understanding of the world was actually what he truly needed the most.

    Just like what Geresco wrote on the cover of the Book of Eternity, knowledge was indeed the highest faith of a mage, and all other external items could only be used to provide assistance, not be a substitute for the knowledge possessed by a mage. A powerful external aid was like icing on a cake. If the user was ipetent, the aid would only seem like an empty gilded shell.

    With Geresco¡¯s reminder, Lin Li gave up on using the debris of the stars, and rebuilt his Domain World using his understanding of the world instead. Back then, in the nna created by the Immortal King, Lin Li had obtained the soul memories of the Highlord¡¯s impostor. At that time, he had already obtained some understanding of the Domain World. Hence, at this moment, it was actually more of a fusion of memories and turning someone else¡¯s possession into his own.

    Geresco¡¯s incarnation could acutely detect the problems that currently existed in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. He could also use those problems to destroy Lin Li¡¯s Domain World again. In this process, Lin Li was also constantly making up for his shorings, repairing the problems in his Domain World, and perfecting his control over it.

    In the process of fighting Geresco¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li finally understood why Geresco was known as the God of Mages. It was not only because Geresco had led the rebellion forces to overthrow the rule of the High Elves, nor because he had established the Supreme Council and started the era of human magic civilization. Instead, Lin Li felt that it was because Geresco was just like an omnipotent god who knew almost the answer to everything rted to magic.

    Lin Li could no longer remember exactly how many times he and Geresco¡¯s incarnation had fought, but he knew that he would often lose within an extremely short period of time. However, the fact that Lin Li could clearly sense his own growth and discover the problem before resolving it was part of his growth process.

    Boom! Apletely nk area with no mana fluctuations suddenly erupted with shocking power of destruction.

    Once again, Lin Li fell into a trapid by Geresco¡¯s incarnation, but this time he did not panic at all, and the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand immediately shone brightly. The World Domain around him seemed to be breathing and contracting to the point where it was almost sticking to his body. It then expanded violently like the explosion that happened during the birth of the world, immediately pushing away the damage of the surroundings.

    However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation that was opposite did notpliment Lin Li for his ability to adapt to changes. Instead, he quickly pointed his staff that was glowing with mana at Lin Li. Immediately, flowers of ck mes appeared in the air, and the ck mes that could burn the air immediately pressed onto Lin Li¡¯s Domain World before engulfing it with an uncontroble power.

    Previously, Lin Li had suffered because of the ck mes Flowers. Although the Domain World created by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was not susceptible to head-on collisions, such erosive and prative attacks were a huge headache for Lin Li. His previous Domain World relied on the massive power of the debris of the stars, and hisck of understanding of the world was the greatest weakness of his domain.

 Chapter 1009 - Stop

    <h4>Chapter 1009: Stop</h4>

    However, the Domain World that Lin Li had constructed this time did not involve the use of any debris of the stars. Instead, he constructed it using his understanding of the world, which had improved greatly especially after going through those battles. Although his current Domain World was not as powerful as the one constructed from the debris of the stars, it had higher tenacity.

    Despite seeing that the ck mes Flowers were burning the exterior of the Domain World, Lin Li raised Helios¡¯ Scepter unhurriedly, causing the entire Domain World to begin operating together with his movements. The power from the Domain World was just like an extension of Lin Li¡¯s limbs. It no longer seemed as obscure as before. Waves of power of the world were continuously vibrating and coordinating well, thus gradually extinguishing the ck mes Flowers.

    However, Lin Li had yet to fully achieve his agenda. He could not simply defend, as that would cause him to slip into a passive position where he could not make aeback, especially when dealing with an opponent like Geresco. In terms of seizing opportunities, there was probably no one in Anril who couldpare to Geresco. Hence, Lin Li had to deny the other party any chance to take advantage of something, and think of ways to turn thetter¡¯s opportunities into traps.

    While Lin Li was using the vibrating power of the world to extinguish the ck mes Flowers, his Domain World was also continuously expanding and disintegrating as if it was about to copse, and power of the world seemed to have be unrestrained as it spread towards its surroundings.

    Although Geresco had seen the changes in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, he did not take the bait. Instead, he waved his staff in his hand, after which a massive lightning halo expanded in all directions with his body as the center, bouncing off all the world power that Lin Li had spread towards him.

    Geresco¡¯s response was not beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations. If Geresco had taken the bait so easily, Lin Li would not have been tortured for such a long time. After the world power he manipted was bounced away, Lin Li immediately waved his Helios¡¯ Scepter, and the Six-pointed Star emitted rays of ck and white light. It was also spinning rapidly and scattering the light in all directions, almost engulfing Geresco¡¯s figure.

    After colliding with the rays of ck and white light, the lightning halo that Geresco had just released did not get bounced off like before. Instead, it seemed to have prated it without any obstructions, as if it was moving through the air.

    Lin Li used the power of light and darkness as well as Space Power on the ck and White Six-Pointed Star to ce it on a parallel surface. Since the ck and White Six-Pointed Star and the Lightning Halo did not exist in the sameyer of space, the Lightning Halo of course could not bounce off the power of light and darkness.

    However, due to the fact that they did not exist in the sameyer of space, the power of the ck and White Six-Pointed Star could not cause any substantial damage to Geresco. However, Lin Li¡¯s purpose of doing that was not to scare the other party. Amidst the rotation of the ck and White Six-Pointed Star, a ck hole was formed in the middle of the six-pointed star. A powerful suction force was generated, shrouding Geresco¡¯s incarnation. At the same time, a hand of light and darkness appeared from the ck hole, and reached towards the bottom of Geresco¡¯s incarnation.

    That magic spell was known as the Right Hand of God in the theurgy of Holy Light. A single grasp of it could uproot a city and bring it into another dimension. Legend had it that when the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council worked together to get rid of the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains back then, Pope Rosario had once used that magic spell to capture tens of thousands of rampaging magical beasts, after which he ced them in a different dimension.

    The Right Hand of God that Lin Li cast was even more powerful than the one that Pope Rosario had used back then. Due to the fact that the target was only Geresco¡¯s incarnation, the power was even more cohesive, and was much more difficult to resist. If Lin Li had cast it at another level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse, they might have already been brought to another dimension.

    However, despite being faced with the hand of darkness that was reaching out to him at the bottom, as well as the powerful suction force of the ck hole, Geresco did not seem to take them seriously at all. Just as the hand of darkness was about tond, a faint halo appeared around Geresco. All of the light then surged upwards, and converged into a pir of light that darted towards the air.

    After the silent contact, the hand of light and darkness fell into the pir of light, as if it was moving into a white hole from another ck hole. After the light pir engulfed the hand of light and darkness, it shot into the ck hole in the center of the six-pointed star, instantly causing it to be shrouded by light. When the light dispersed, everything disappeared without a trace, as if none of it had ever existed.

    However, at this very moment, there seemed to be sudden changes in Geresco¡¯s surroundings. The hall that was asrge as the library had already vanished, and was reced by a barren world. Lin Li stood quietly near it with an extremely sly smirk.

    Indeed, that ce was Lin Li¡¯s World Domain. Through various designs and schemes, he had finally incorporated Geresco¡¯s incarnation into his Domain World. In the Domain World, Lin Li was the supreme god. If Geresco¡¯s incarnation had level-26 strength, he might not be affected greatly, but the incarnation was restricted to level-25, after all.

    Although Lin Li could notpletely kill Geresco¡¯s incarnation even in his own Domain World, his advantage of being on his own territory could not be removed.

    Previously, Lin Li disintegrated his own Domain World and maximized the spread of the power of the world in hopes that he would be able to incorporate Geresco¡¯s incarnation into his Domain World when he reconstructed it. At that time, Geresco¡¯s incarnation obviously already knew Lin Li¡¯s intentions. Hence, he cast a magic spell to make Lin Li¡¯s world power bounce away.

    However, Lin Li did not allow the world power to bounce away freely. Instead, while casting the Right Hand of God, he seeped the diffused world power into the spatial level of the six-pointed star. On the other hand, Geresco¡¯s incarnation likewise used Space Power to bring himself to another spatial level in order to resist the attack of the Right Hand of God.

    At this moment, Lin Li used the world power that he had long prepared to reconstruct the Domain World in the same spatialyer, and to incorporate Geresco¡¯s incarnation into his Domain World. Although the process seemed simple, it actually involved profound knowledge of magic. He had also reached a certain level of extremity in the techniques of using magic.

    Besides, the exchange of blows only took ce for a second. Previously, Lin Li would have never been able toplete all these arrangements in such a short time.

    Lin Li had incorporated Geresco¡¯s incarnation into his Domain World. Although he did notunch a final attack, it was obvious who had obtained victory. Once a level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse was in the Domain World of a level-26 Sanctuary powerhouse, all experience and skills would be of no use, and their realms would be the decisive factor.

    Geresco¡¯s incarnation had indeed stopped all of his movements too. After looking around at the scene in the Domain World, he finally looked at Lin Li, and his sullen face finally eased up. He calmly said, ¡°The Immortal King has gone on a wrong path, and I think I have too. I wonder what your future path will be like.¡±

    Lin Li initially nned to show off a little, and he expected to hear some praises from Geresco too. However, to his surprise, he heard those words. With a look of astonishment, he immediately asked, ¡°Path? What do you mean?¡±

    However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation did not answer Lin Li¡¯s question. He seemed to be rxed because he hadpleted his mission, and his figure gradually became transparent. Soon, he vanished out of sight.

    ¡°Hey, what exactly do you mean!?¡± Lin Li probed. However, he still did not get any answers, even after Geresco¡¯s mana fluctuationspletely disappeared from his Domain World.

    With the disappearance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation, the surroundings changed again, and everything became warped and blurry. However, they soon returned to normal again. At this moment, Lin Li looked at the spot behind him, only to see his subordinates, Archbishop Martin and the others, as well as the magic books that were floating around slowly.

    In the eyes of Archbishop Martin and others, the space was also distorted. They watched as Lin Li¡¯s figure gradually appeared together with the magic books that seemed to be floating down slowly like they were struck with the Levitation Spell.

    ¡°Master Felic, it¡¯s great that you¡¯re alright. Where did you and Geresco¡¯s incarnation go just now?¡± Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be fine, Archbishop Martin immediately greeted him with happiness written all over his face. While walking, he asked about what had happened.

    ¡°Nothing, I just received some pointers about magic from Geresco¡¯s incarnation,¡± Lin Li answered briefly. He did not go into detail about what happened just now, and instead began to put those magic books into the Ring of Endless Storm one by one.

    Archbishop Martin and Donald were somewhat jealous to see Lin Li putting away the precious magic books for himself. However, that was all they felt. After all, the Sky Castle belonged to Lin Li. Hence, everything in the Sky Castle would naturally belong to Lin Li too. Besides, the Brilliance Shrine specialized in Holy Light Magic, while the Rotterdam Kingdom focused on the research of alchemy. Hence, magic books were not too valuable to them.

    Since Lin Li was not willing to exin what happened when he disappeared, Archbishop Martin and Donald could not probe further, either. If Lin Li had made some great gains, it would just make them feel even more envious and jealous. Hence, knowing that would create more trouble for themselves.

    Of course, Lin Li had, in fact, gotten a greater gain, just like what Archbishop Martin and Donald were worried about. Through this period of fighting with Geresco¡¯s incarnation, the experience and skills he had gained from the Book of Eternity and various other means had been verified well, and he had turned the belongings of others into his own.

    That definitely yed a huge role in the increase of Lin Li¡¯sbat power. Previously in the Well of the Sun, Lin Li¡¯s strength had reached the peak of level-26 through the battle with the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation. However, that was only in terms of power. If one could not use his power well, he would be worlds apart from level-27 even if he had reached the peak of level-26.

    However, after the sharpening of his skills that Geresco¡¯s incarnation had put him through, Lin Li could already maximize the power that he held. He was truly a step away from level-27. The only thing that Lin Li needed now was an opportunity for advancement. As long as the opportunity arrived, there would be no slip-ups in his advancement to level-27.

    The magic books actually did not have much of a purpose for Lin Li, but they could fill the library of the Tower of Dusk to a great extent. Moreover, with these magic books, the mages of the Tower of Dusk could have an even greater advantage when learning magic. After all, they were all written by Geresco, and were truly meant for humans.

    After putting all the magic books away, Lin Li led the crowd through the hall of the library following the structuralyout of the central tower. They arrived at the spot that could bring them to the next floor, but a problem cropped up there. There were clearly stairs, but when Lin Li and the others made their way up, they ended up back in the hall of the first floor when they reached the end of the stairs.

    ¡°Is there some magic gear here?¡± Archbishop Martin asked Lin Li in puzzlement.

    Lin Li took a closer look at the stairs, but he did not manage to see any traces of magic gears or magic traps. At the same time, he did not sense any strange magical waves, either. The stairs were just like ordinary stairs. Refusing to give up, Lin Li brought them up the stairs again and again, but the oue was always the same as they would always end up in the hall on the first floor.

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly thought of Geresco¡¯s incarnation. Although Geresco¡¯s incarnation was indeed restricted to level-25, he could beat Lin Li, a level-26 Sanctuary powerhouse, up. Could it be that the second floor was inessible to him now due to his current strength?

    He was now at level-26, and after receiving the pointers from Geresco¡¯s incarnation who had helped sharpen his skills too, he had gainedplete control of level-26 power, and was just one step away from level-27. Once he reached level-27, he would definitely encounter simr issues. If he wanted to master the power of level-27 as quickly as possible, he would probably still need Geresco¡¯s guidance. In that case, could Geresco have left another test for him on the second floor of the tower?

    In any case, Lin Li was at least certain that the existence of the tower should not pose any threat to his control of the Sky Castle.

 Chapter 1010 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 1010: Return</h4>

    ¡°Okay, it looks like we should go back.¡± Since they could not get to the second floor to explore it, and Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of any other solution, either, they had to put this matter aside for the time being. As for whether his guess was right, he would only find out after advancing to level-27.

    Hearing that Lin Li wanted to leave, Archbishop Martin and the others were secretly relieved because they finally did not have to take risks anymore! The Nether Storm was already terrifying enough, and none of them expected to see Geresco¡¯s incarnation there. If they went further up, God knew if they might encounter some terrifying creature.

    However, at the thought of the Nether Storm, Archbishop Martin and Donald immediately tensed up again. When they arrived, they were almost sucked into the Nether Storm. How could they take another risk on the way back? Besides, they also remembered clearly that when they entered, the surrounding Nether Storms gathered, and if they were to leave by the main door, they would be courting death, and not just taking a risk.

    ¡°Master Felic, how are we going to go back?¡± Archbishop Martin and Donald asked Lin Li at the same time.

    Looking at the two of them who looked extremely worried, Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°Of course we¡¯ll return the same way we came here.¡±

    Lin Li was not scaring the two old men. In fact, other than returning the same way that they came, there was really no other good solution. However, through the battle with Geresco¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li had already gained a deeper understanding and greater control of his Domain World. It wasn¡¯t impossible to protect them in the Nether Storm.

    Besides, Lin Li had left the Demon Gordon in the cannon room of the Dragon Cannon, and was ready to use the Dragon Cannon to alleviate some of the pressure on his side at any time.

    However, Archbishop Martin and Donald did not know of the great benefits that Lin Li had obtained from Geresco¡¯s incarnation. They only knew that the Nether Storm could devour even a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, despite feeling terrified, the two were still thinking of ways to return. Basically, it was impossible. After hesitating again and again, they had no choice but to resign to fate.

    Of course, they had no choice but to ept it. Lin Li wasn¡¯t discussing it with them in the first ce anyway. It was not up to them to decide whether to leave or not. It would be good enough if Lin Li greeted them. Seeing that the two of them had nothing important to say anymore, he opened his Domain World, and moved everyone inside his domain.

    Outside the tower, the huge Nether Storm that had converged had long since drifted away because it had lost Lin Li and the others who were its target. Hence, when Lin Li brought them out, nothing too shocking happened. However, due to their appearance, the Nether Storm that was floating nearby quickly changed its initial trajectory, and swarmed towards them as if it was a shark that had smelled blood.

    In the past, Lin Li would not be confident about escaping the Nether Storm. After all, there were no Dragon Cannons that he could use to attract the Nether Storm here. However, after being trained by Geresco¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li changed drastically within a short period of time.

    Lin Li was still at the peak of level-26, and the mana that he had did not increase during this period of time at all. However, his capability was far beyond that of the past. He had turned all the experience andbat skills that he gained from the Book of Eternity, the control crystal of the Sky Castle, and the Tyrant Bk¡¯s magical crystal into something of his own.

    Despite seeing the Nether Storms that were surging towards him, Lin Li did not panic, and it was as if he did not see them at all. He wrapped the rest in the Domain World, and flew towards the Nether Storms on his own. However, that gave Archbishop Martin and Donald a great shock while they were in the Domain World because they couldpletely tell that at Lin Li¡¯s speed, he would not be able to break away from the Nether Storms.

    However, at this moment, violent explosions suddenly urred one after another in the center of the Nether Storms that were far away. The power of the Nether Storms was not inferior to the Dragon Cannons at all. With the appearance of the huge explosion, the Nether Storms that were initially surging towards Lin Li hysterically clearly stopped for a moment, though they did not immediately change their direction. It was as if they were hesitating because of a temptation.

    The sudden change gave Archbishop Martin and Donald a huge fright. Although they were only at the peak of the Legendary-level, they had never had the experience of exploring a Nether Storm. However, they knew that the Nether Storm would not explode on its own. Hence, the explosion immediately made them think of Lin Li, which was also the thing that made them feel shocked and puzzled.

    If they could attract the Nether Storm by casting a magic spell, the Endless Void would no longer be as dangerous as it was said to be in legends. The Nether Storm was not a dog, and the magic spells cast by the mages were not Frisbees, either. The mages would cause more intense magical waves when casting magic, and the explosion of the magic would leave behind magical waves too. Hence, the idea of attracting the Nether Storms which were extremely sensitive to magical waves by just casting a few magic spells was simply far-fetched.

    However, Lin Li had now seen through thatmon sense. Hence, before the magic spells in the middle of the Nether Storm were detonated, almost no one noticed when he cast the magic spells as he was just like an assassin shooting an arrow in the dark.

    Such a casting method was definitely meant for those that were hiding in the dark, and for testing how many people could evade the sudden attacks when being caught off guard by a sudden magic spell that exploded on them. Inparison, Osric¡¯s subordinate who was a Mage-Assassin was simply impressive. He was just a Mage who was also an Assassin, while Lin Li¡¯s casting method was truly an assassination magic spell.

    In reality, the casting method that Lin Li used was a technique that he had learned from the battles with Geresco¡¯s incarnation. During the first battle that they had after they met, the mana hand of Geresco¡¯s incarnation invaded Lin Li¡¯s Domain World and grasped Lin Li, catching him off guard.

    In the Domain World that Lin Li had created, he was just like the supreme deity who ruled over everything, and was aware of all the changes in the Domain World. However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation could fool Lin Li¡¯s perception and cast the magic spell in his Domain World. That was much more profound than Lin Li¡¯s current methods.

    Lin Li probably still needed more training and tenacity to reach the level of Geresco¡¯s incarnation. However, he had already been studying the Book of Eternity for a long time, and had inherited the experience of many powerhouses. Hence, after some pointers from Geresco, it was not difficult for him to reach such a level. After all, there was no Domain World in the Nether Storm.

    Although the Nether Storm only paused for a moment, that was enough for Lin Li. Using that opportunity, Lin Li¡¯s flying speed immediately increased to the maximum, leaving behind a light shadow that flew up to the Sky Castle like aet.

    At the same time, the Demon Gordon who had been left in the chamber once again activated a Dragon Cannon, andunched a giant fireball into the void. It attracted the Nether Storm around theuncher before spreading in other directions.

    In the blink of an eye, Lin Li¡¯s body prated the firing port, andnded in the chamber of the Dragon Cannons. The Domain World was abruptly put away, and everyone was released.

    <i>It¡¯s finally safe!</i> Archbishop Martin and Donald finally heaved long sighs of relief. Although they could still feel their hearts pounding rapidly and everything seemed to have been simple, it was truly thrilling for them, and it was much more exciting than all the previous battles.

    ¡°Master Felic, if there is nothing else, I think we should also take our leave. I hope you will visit the Brilliance Shrine when you have the time,¡± said Archbishop Martin, who had recovered from the shock. He immediately bade Lin Li farewell for fear that his heart would explode if anything more were to happen.

    Donald simrly dared not stay behind any longer. Although it was a good thing to get close to the Tower of Dusk, it would not be worth it if he had to sacrifice his life too. The entire Sky Castle now belonged to the Tower of Dusk, and even if he risked his life to join the exploration, he might not necessarily obtain a valuable item for himself.

    Upon hearing that they were going to leave, Lin Li seemed to have suddenly thought of something as he patted his head and smiled awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but you guys can¡¯t leave yet.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Archbishop Martin¡¯s and Donald¡¯s heart immediately tensed up, and their faces grew sullen. Actually, they had always been a little worried and afraid that Lin Li would go back on his word, and make them surrender what they had gained during the exploration. After all, to them, the High Elven queen¡¯s crown and the Immortal King¡¯s alchemy notes were all extremely valuable.

    Hence, when Lin Li said that they could not leave yet, Archbishop Martin and Donald deciphered his words differently, and thought that Lin Li wanted them to surrender the items before leaving.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you mean?¡± Archbishop Martin was well aware that he was in no ce to negotiate with a Sanctuary powerhouse. It would be easier if he were facing Pope Rosario. However, he was unwilling to give those items away. After all, his team had suffered great losses this time. If they did not get anything at all, wouldn¡¯t he be a sinner?

    As for Donald, he seemed even more conflicted, and there seemed to be some fear in his expression too. In his opinion, the Brilliance Shrine was at least on good terms with the Tower of Dusk, and could perhaps negotiate with Lin Li. However, he had offended the Tower of Dusk several times before. Although he had tried to make up for itter, his effort had been one-sided, and Lin Li, the President of the Tower of Dusk, did not seem to ept it at all.

    Hence, in Donald¡¯s opinion, Lin Li probably meant that he wanted to settle scores with him on top of making him give up the alchemy notes. The people from the Rotterdam Kingdom might not be able to return, either.

    However, just as Archbishop Martin and Donald were letting their imagination run wild, Lin Li did not seem to have noticed anything. While taking them away, Lin Li said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. Due to some changes in the control of the Sky Castle, the original Teleportation Portal has already stopped functioning, so you won¡¯t be able to return using the Teleportation Portal.¡±

    Actually, the idea was very simple. It was akin to the change in the lock of the door of a house when there was a change in owner. Since Lin Li was the new owner of the Sky Castle, he had to readjust the Teleportation Portals. Otherwise, no one would be able to go to the Sky Castle. It was not a public park anyway.

    ¡°This...¡±

    <i>So that¡¯s it?</i> Archbishop Martin and Donald couldn¡¯t help but look at each other. There was a drastic change in their mood. They had been worried for a long time, and even their backs were drenched in cold sweat, but in the end, they had just been worrying for nothing.

    ¡°S-so that¡¯s what happened!¡± Archbishop Martin smiled awkwardly, and wiped the cold sweat off his head. Of course, heined about Lin Li deep down. <i>Don¡¯t be so vague with your words, okay? You¡¯ll really scare us to death!</i>

    ¡°Yeah, what did you guys think?¡± Lin Li did not expect a casual remark of his to scare them out of their wits. Hence, he was confused about their reaction.

    ¡°Yes, what we mean is that if the Teleportation Portal can¡¯t be used anymore, how are we going to go back?¡± Archbishop Martin was naturally embarrassed to say that he was frightened, but the question he asked was indeed an issue that they had to be concerned about. The Sky Castle was now in the Endless Void, and the Teleportation Portal was the only thing that connected to Anril. If the Teleportation Portal could no longer be used, it would be troublesome for them to go back.

    However, Lin Li smiled, and unconcernedly said, ¡°It¡¯s simple. I have to drive the Sky Castle to Anril, so I can give you guys a lift.¡±

    ¡°Sure, thank you, Master Felic!¡± Archbishop Martin and Donald were thanking Lin Li politely on the surface, but deep down, they were incredibly astonished. They knew that Lin Li had obtained the Sky Castle, but owning it and controlling it were different concepts. Being able to manipte the Sky Castle and move it to Anril meant that Lin Li could already exert arge portion of the power of thatbat weapon.

    Thinking about the fact that the Sky Castle was about to appear above Anril, Archbishop Martin and Donald couldn¡¯t help but slip into a trance. They could imagine the shock that the Sky Castle would bring to Anril when it appeared.

    The Tower of Dusk, which owned the Sky Castle, would definitely be a strong force that ruled over the world. Even the powerful kingdoms would probably have to look up to the Tower of Dusk as no kingdom would have the courage to be an enemy of the Tower of Dusk that owned the Sky Castle.

 Chapter 1011 - Changes

    <h4>Chapter 1011: Changes</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li did not say much to Archbishop Martin and the others. Instead, he brought them to the top floor of the Central Tower. Therge control crystal on the control panel was emitting a bright light. Lin Li went straight to the control panel, andmunicated with the control crystal through Mind Control. ording to the experience he had received long ago, he gave the Sky Castle themand to activate.

    With themand, the entire Sky Castle suddenly vibrated slightly, and the wall around that floor also became transparent. It looked as if it hadpletely disappeared, exposing the view outside. It made the people on that floor feel as if they were outside the tower. In fact, the continuously emerging Nether Storms could be seen clearly too.

    At the same time, they could also see that buildings and streets below the Sky Castle¡¯s tower were lighting upyer byyer, forming a huge andplex array. The 36 Magic Towers seemed to have also be shiningmp posts that were emitting dazzling rays of light, appearing as if small suns had gathered at the top of the tower.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going back,¡± Lin Li said to everyone. A bright ray of light suddenly erupted from the control crystal on the control panel. At the same time, the light on top of the 36 Magic Towers outside darted into the sky above the Sky Castle, forming a huge vortex of light in the void above it.

    When the vortex of light expanded to its maximum, the Sky Castle slowly rose under Lin Li¡¯s maniption. First, the vortex reached the canopy in the outeryer, then the highest building, the Central Tower, and the 36 Magic Towers that entered the vortex of light.

    As the Sky Castle entered the light vortex, the light vortex gradually shrunk into a Sr Sphere before gradually turning dimmer and disappearing in the void. Peace was finally restored.

    At the same time that the Sky Castle entered the light vortex, lightning suddenly appeared in the clear skies above the wilderness of the Ledin Kingdom in Anril. There seemed to be arge gash in the blue sky that appeared because of a sudden and massive wave of energy. Overwhelmed with fear, people below lost the power to run, and had no choice but to look on in petrification, waiting for the arrival of disaster.

    Soon, a mountain peak that seemed to have been overturned slowly moved out of the gash together with a strong aura of destruction. Even though everything was happening in the sky high above, the strong sense of oppression made the people below feel like they were on the verge of a breakdown. Everyone was forced to lie on the ground as they constantly prayed to all the gods they knew in their hearts.

    Finally, the Sky Castle detached itself from the opening in the sky, after which thetter gradually closed up. Floating quietly in the sky, the massive Sky Castle cast arge shadow on the wilderness, but it did not fall straight down, unlike what everyone had been worried about.

    The herdsmen and people from a caravan who were initially lying on the ground dared not look up at all, but after waiting for a long time, they saw the giant shadow moving slowly on the ground. They then mustered the courage and looked up at the sky, only to see that the upside-down peak was floating slowly in a certain direction.

    ¡°Oh my God, what is that thing? What power can make a mountain peak fly into the sky!?¡± The people below were extremely curious about the floating upside-down mountain peak while feeling thankful for having escaped.

    ¡°Oh dear, that¡¯s the direction of the Holy Mountain. Could it be that the peak is going to the Holy Mountain!?¡± After all, the people in the caravan were more knowledgeable, and immediately saw that the direction that the mountain peak was drifting in was exactly the direction where the Holy Mountain of Light was located.

    Almost everyone in the Ledin Kingdom was a devotee of the Brilliance Shrine. Seeing that the mountain peak was floating towards the Holy Mountain, a terrifying idea popped up in their minds. However, although the mountain peak looked as if it was drifting slowly, it was in fact extremely fast, and it was toote for them to catch up with it.

    At this moment, Lin Li who had sessfully driven the Sky Castle to Anril, did not seem happy at all. Instead, he frowned and seemed extremely worried.

    ¡°Master Felic, we¡¯ve already returned safely. What are you still worried about?¡± Archbishop Martin noticed that Lin Li looked rather worried, and couldn¡¯t help but be confused. In his opinion, it was something worth rejoicing over. Even if Lin Li did not express uncontroble joy, he should not seem so worried.

    Lin Li was snapped out of his thoughts, and he nced at Archbishop Martin. Still looking as worried as ever, he said, ¡°If I sensed it correctly, there seems to have been extraordinary changes in Anril since we left.¡±

    After all, Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose understanding of the world was far above that of those who were in the Legendary-realm. Hence, as soon as they returned from Anril, he immediately sensed the changes in the world. The structure of the world seemed to have be more unstable, while the density of the magical elements seemed to have increased hundreds of times.

    ¡°What? We seem to have only spent a month or so exploring the Sky Castle. How can there be so many changes?¡± Although Donald already knew that Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, he still did not quite believe what Lin Li said.

    Lin Li did not answer, and instead gave anothermand to the control crystal. He then closed up the canopy outside the Sky Castle. As the canopy closed, the Sky Castle was almostpletely exposed to the environment of Anril, and a massive amount of magical elements surged in, almost forming a magic tide.

    Although Donald was unable to sense the changes in the World Laws, he was still very sensitive to the magical elements as a Legendary-mage who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Hence, he immediately sensed that the magical elements in his surroundings had clearly grown tremendouslypared to when he¡¯d entered the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Since when have the magical elements in Anril be so intense? However, isn¡¯t that a good thing? Master Felic, what are you worried about?¡± Although Donald could sense the changes in the magical elements, he could not understand what Lin Li was worried about. After all, the increase in the density of magical elements was indeed a good thing for mages.

    Legend had it that there had been fourrge-scale magic tides in the history of Anril. Whenever each magic tide appeared, it would allow arge number of mages who were stuck in a bottleneck to break through, allowing human magic civilization to develop by leaps and bounds.

    The benefits of breaking through bottlenecks were not just an increase in strength. For example, if a level-19 Archmage could never enter the Legendary-realm, his lifespan might be about 100 years, but once he suddenly broke through a bottleneck and stepped into the Legendary-realm, he would immediately get another 100 years of life. Hence, to most mages, the appearance of a magic tide was definitely a wonderful opportunity that appeared once in a century.

    Only those who really stood at the top of Anril, such as the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council and Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine, would know that the magic tides brought about more than just opportunities to mankind. Whenever a magic tide appeared, it would be apanied by a great disaster known as a ck Current. Even Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine was injured by the Primordial Viper in one, which was evidence of how terrifying the ck Current was.

    That was also what Lin Li was worried about. Back in the ckstone Mountains, Tutankhamun had once mentioned the ck Current and the magic tides. In fact, the ck Current was not a true disaster. The real disaster for the entire Anril was the magic tides caused by the continuous expansion of the spatial rift. The expansion of the spatial rift would not only lead to the invasion of arge number of prehistoric magical beasts, it might also lead to the copse of the structure of the World Laws. By then, Anril might really crumble.

    The mission that Geresco had given Lin Li was to seal the spatial rifts caused by the copse of the Tree of Eternity after he became strong enough. Hence, Lin Li had always been particrly concerned about the spatial rifts. Even though he did not like being a hero who saved the world, he could not sit still and watch Anril get destroyed for the sake of his own survival.

    Now, the changes that appeared in Anril immediately made Lin Li think of the issue of the spatial rifts. The sudden increase in intensity of the magical elements seemed to be simr to the description of the magic tides in the legends. Did that mean that the disaster that Geresco mentioned had arrived in advance?

    Lin Li controlled the Sky Castle and flew straight towards the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine, not specifically because he wanted to send Archbishop Martin and the others back, but more importantly because he wanted to learn more about everything that happened in Anril recently from Pope Rosario. After all, only someone like Pope Rosario would be able to know more profound things.

    Although the Sky Castle was massive, they could still fly through it quickly. It only took them less than half an hour of flying above the boundless wilderness of the northwestern border of the Ledin Kingdom to reach the vicinity of the Holy Mountain.

    The arrival of the Sky Castle naturally made the people of the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom nervous. No one would be able to stay calm in the face of such a massive object. Soon, the Giant Vulture Knights of the Ledin Kingdom and the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine took flight from their respective quarters, and cautiously approached the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯ll just go out and exin to them, so don¡¯t be anxious yet. Please don¡¯t be impatient.¡± Seeing this, Archbishop Martin immediately tensed up. However, it was because he was worried that Lin Li might annihte the two major knight orders out of his impatience. After visiting the Sky Castle, he was very confident that the Sky Castle definitely possessed such power.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, don¡¯t be nervous. Since I¡¯m here as a guest, I don¡¯t want to be a malicious one. Please go and inform them,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly to the archbishop. At the same time, he was also observing the two knight orders that were flying close to the Sky Castle.

    The Giant Vulture Knights of the Ledin Kingdom rode giant vultures that had a wingspan of nearly 20 meters, and theirrge bodies could support a person riding on their backs. The knights were all wearing light armor, and they seemed extremely small on the backs of the vultures. They were each carrying a special crossbow, which was their main method of attack. Clearly, the Giant Vulture Knights did not have strongbat power, and only answered for vanguard during battles. Usually, they were in charge of keeping order in the city.

    On the other hand, the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine were riding pegasuses with white wings that were simr to those of unicorns. In fact, they were mutant pegasuses that had been passed down from the dark ages, and had nothing to do with unicorns. They purely had feathered wings. Besides, most of their wings were ck or mixed in color. The Brilliance Shrine had merely chosen the white ones.

    The pegasuses looked rather valiant, but in fact, they had almost nobat power. The knights on their backs were the ones who were mainly responsible for the battle. Hence, the Pegasus Knights of the Brilliance Shrine almost had no achievements that they were proud of. Their roles were simr to those of the Giant Vulture Knights of the Brilliance Shrine.

    After looking at the Giant Vulture Knights and the Pegasus Knights, Lin Li could also imagine why the Gryphon Riders of the Fn Kingdom could have such a high reputation. The giant vultures and pegasuses only gave the knights the ability to fly, while the gryphons were real magical beasts that were physically strong, powerful, and had high talent in magic. The Giant Vulture Knights and Pegasus Knights would probably be defeated terribly by the Gryphon Riders of the Fn Kingdom.

    While Lin Li was observing the Giant Vulture Knights and Pegasus Knights, Archbishop Martin had already arrived outside the Sky Castle, and dered his identity as the archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine. After a conversation, Archbishop Martin waved his hand domineeringly, and two groups of knights finally flew away from the Sky Castle.

    However, after Archbishop Martin came back, the crowd including Lin Li discovered that there was a drastic change in his expression. He no longer seemed as happy about returning as he used to be. Instead, he frowned.

    ¡°Archbishop Martin, how are you... Could it be that something had happened?¡± Donald asked in puzzlement.

 Chapter 1012 - Three Years

    <h4>Chapter 1012: Three Years</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s been three years. I didn¡¯t expect that after only a month or so of exploring in the Sky Castle, three years have already passed in Anril.¡± Although Archbishop Martin was replying to Donald, his tone was filled with disbelief.

    Upon hearing Archbishop Martin¡¯s answer, Donald did not believe it at all. He eximed, ¡°What? How can it be? Are you kidding!?¡±

    That was indeed unbelievable. When they were exploring the Sky Castle, they did not lose track of time just because there was barely any difference between day and night there. Even if there was an error in the calction of time, it would at most be a discrepancy of a few days. How could they have mixed up a period of a month or so with three years?

    Lin Li was also surprised by Archbishop Martin¡¯s words, but after carefully thinking about the process of exploring the Sky Castle, he immediately understood where the problemy.

    In the process of exploring the Sky Castle, Lin Li and the others had entered the few Domain Worlds created by the Immortal King. The first was the world of nna from 1,300 years ago, followed by the Undead World that had a revived Tree of Eternity, andstly, the world that contained the Well of the Sun. It was normal for the flow of time of those Domain Worlds and that of Anril to be different.

    For example, when they were in the Well of the Sun, the Domain World that was used by the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation showed countless evolutions in a moment, and the speed of the flow of time was maximized. However, those who were in that world would not feel an obvious difference in the passage of time.

    Hence, to Lin Li, there was nothing surprising about the fact that three years had passed, and what really made him worried was the timing of the cmity that Geresco had calcted, which Tutankhamun predicted. At that time, he said that it would happen in two to three years. In fact, when Lin Li entered the Sky Castle, there was already not much time left until the cmity that Geresco had predicted. Now that three years had passed, did that mean that the cmity had descended?

    At this moment, Lin Li thought about the changes he felt when he returned to Anril. The sudden increase in the density of the magical elements and the decrease in stability of the structure of the World Laws seemed to have indicated that the cmity had struck Anril.

    The cmity had already begun, but Lin Li did not think that he was already prepared for it. Although he was already a true Sanctuary powerhouse, that was precisely the reason he was clear about how difficult it would be to seal the spacetime rifts. Even though he had already reached the peak of level-26, and was in essence only one step away from level-27, he still did not have the confidence toplete this mission that Geresco had left behind.

    The only thing for him to be thankful for was the fact that although this cmity that Geresco had predicted had already begun, it had yet to go into full swing and escte to the point where it was unmanageable. In other words, Lin Li still had some time, and he did not have to seal the spacetime rifts immediately.

    ¡°Master Felic, what do you think about this matter?¡± Although Archbishop Martin was the first to get that news, he was still in disbelief about the fact that three years had passed even though they had only spent a month in the Sky Castle. Seeing that Lin Li had slipped deep in thought after hearing that news, he quickly asked Lin Li for his opinion.

    Since that was already the truth, there was no point in worrying anymore. Putting aside his worries for the time being, Lin Li said to Archbishop Martin, ¡°This actually isn¡¯t strange at all. Do you remember the strange worlds we entered when we were in the Sky Castle? That should be the cause of this problem now. Well, it¡¯s better not to talk about this issue now. There must have been plenty of changes in Anril in the past three years. I¡¯d like to meet with Pope Rosario and find out some things.¡±

    Archbishop Martin was initially already thinking about how he could invite Lin Li to the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s request to see Archbishop Martin, he agreed happily.

    Controlling the Sky Castle, Lin Li first headed to the capital of the Ledin Kingdom, andnded the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom on the ground. Thetter would have to figure out how to get back to the Rotterdam Kingdom on their own. Lin Li was not a cab driver, and was not obliged to send them all the way to their doorstep. Then, Lin Li changed the direction that he was moving in, and brought Archbishop Martin and the others to the vicinity of the Holy Mountain. He appeared out of courtesy, but he did not let the Sky Castle move all the way above the Holy Mountain.

    After handing the Sky Castle over to his subordinates temporarily, Lin Li followed Archbishop Martin to the Holy Mountain.

    Due to the fact that Archbishop Martin had been missing for three years, the people of the Brilliance Shrine thought that Archbishop Martin had died in the Sky Castle. At this moment, they were all exceptionally shocked to see the sudden appearance of Archbishop Martin. In particr, the archbishops like Englos and others who were his old friends all flocked to the foot of the Holy Mountain to wee him.

    ¡°Master Felic, why are you with Martin?¡± When Englos and the others saw Lin Li and Archbishop Martin walking over together, everyone felt a little strange. After all, after Archbishop Martin had entered the Sky Castle, he lost all contact with the Brilliance Shrine. Hence, they did not know that the three forces had united to explore the Sky Castle.

    ¡°This time, we managed to explore the Sky Castle smoothly all thanks to Master Felic. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you guys would really never see me again,¡± Archbishop Martin said emotionally when he saw his old friends, and thought about the near-death experiences that he had in the Sky Castle.

    ¡°Did you guys meet in the Sky Castle? Hurry and tell me what¡¯s going on. Why did you spend three years exploring the Sky Castle?¡± The few of them were immediately curious after hearing the archbishop¡¯s words. Thus, they quickly began asking about their exploration of the Sky Castle.

    However, Lin Li was extremely eager to find out about what happened in Anril, and did not have the time to discuss that matter with them. Hence, he said, ¡°Dear all, I hope to see His Holiness the Pope as soon as possible. Please help me call the pope. Let Archbishop Martin tell you guys what happened in the Sky Castle.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be in a real hurry, Englos and the others did not dy any further. They immediately sent someone to go to the Church of Dawn at the top of the Holy Mountain to call Pope Rosario. At the same time, the rest of them walked towards the mountain while asking Archbishop Martin about the various experiences he had during the exploration of the Sky Castle.

    Although Lin Li had used the people of the Brilliance Shrine as cannon fodder during the exploration of the Sky Castle, Archbishop Martin was extremely grateful to Lin Li for his help. Hence, when Archbishop Martin was recounting his experiences and sharing it with Englos and the others, Archbishop Martin did not hide his gratitude towards Lin Li, and simply praised him endlessly, treating him like a selfless role model. Even Lin Li felt a little embarrassed when he was listening to it by the side.

    As Archbishop Englos and the others heard Archbishop Martin praising Lin Li for saving him and his subordinates, they thanked Lin Li enthusiastically several times throughout the journey. No matter how thick-skinned Lin Li was, he couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed. After the person who had gone to invite Pope Rosario returned, Lin Li was finally freed from his misery. He quickly followed that person to see Pope Rosario.

    Lin Li chatted with Pope Rosario in the Dawn Cathedral for a long time before Pope Rosario personally walked him out of the door. Fortunately, the senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine like Englos and the others all knew that Lin Li was also the Son of the Holy Light who had helped Rosario get rid of the Viper¡¯s poison in his body. Hence, they did not seem too shocked. Others would probably have been bbergasted to the point of losing their minds.

    During Lin Li¡¯s conversation with Pope Rosario whichsted half a day, Englos and the others also found out from Archbishop Martin about the entire process of the exploration of the Sky Castle, as well as the fact that Lin Li had obtained the Sky Castle. Although Englos and the others were shocked that Lin Li had obtained the Sky Castle, Lin Li¡¯s battle with Highlord Osric and the strength he disyed was what they truly marveled at.

    Of course, Archbishop Martin did not forget to mention that Lin Li owned the powerful magical weapon that contained a pure power of Holy Light, and had the magical ability of increasing the abilities of the devotees through the baptism of Holy Light. When Englos and the others heard that, they immediately had the same idea as Archbishop Martin, and that was to make Lin Li visit the Brilliance Shrine frequently to increase their power through the help of that magical weapon.

    There was no need to think about snatching it from him at all. It was not that Englos and the others were righteous. If someone else had such a special magical weapon, they would not have to consider anything at all. They could either rope him in and get him to join the Brilliance Shrine, or rule him a heretic and exterminate him, which was something that the Brilliance Shrine had done plenty of since its establishment.

    However, Lin Li was different. Not only was he the Son of the Holy Light, he was also a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Apart from Pope Rosario, no one in the Brilliance Shrine would be able topare to him in terms of strength. Besides, Pope Rosario definitely wouldn¡¯t form a feud with a Sanctuary powerhouse over a magical weapon as such.

    Hence, when Lin Li walked out of the Dawn Cathedral, Englos and the rest hurriedly approached him, and politely requested to see the magical weapon that contained the power of Holy Light.

    Lin Li did not mind giving the Brilliance Shrine some benefits. After all, the Brilliance Shrine had been cooperating well with the Tower of Dusk. The senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine, Englos, and the others had always had friendly rtions with him too. However, he could not be bothered to do that now. Although he had learned about the changes that took ce in Anril in the past three years, and knew that the cmity had not escted to an unmanageable degree, he had been away from the Tower of Dusk for three years. Hence, he was eager to go back to see the development of the Tower of Dusk in the past three years.

    In particr, Rosario mentioned that the mages in Anril had been improving to various degrees due to the magic tides. Arge number of mages who had been stuck in a bottleneck and might never have been able to advance another step further had broken through their bottleneck under the influence of the magic tides. At the same time, the magical beasts of Anril had also advanced greatly in level after being affected by the magic tides.

    To others, it might seem like a good thing, but for people like Lin Li and Pope Rosario, it could not be regarded as the progress of human magic civilization. Instead, it acted as a hindrance in the development of magic civilization.

    Although it was a good thing to break through the bottleneck, the bottleneck might only be a temporary hurdle for some who were gifted in magic. With some training and enlightenment, they would be able to break through the bottleneck sessfully as well. However, the appearance of the magic tides seemed to have caused the mages to lose the experience of breaking through the bottleneck. If they were to encounter another one, it would be difficult for them to break through once more with their own power.

    For example, a person who suddenly received arge amount of money would more likely than not fail to n their finances well, and end up squandering away the money. On the other hand, those who earned their money through hard work would know that each cent did note easy, and they would know how to manage their money better.

    Hence, one could imagine that arge number of mages with magical talent would be ruined by the magic tides. Hence, the human magical civilization, at least in their generation, would almost be tantamount to bing stagnant.

    Lin Li had yet to reach the level of being responsible for the prosperity of the world. Hence, he did not care about the wellbeing of other mages, but he had to consider the mages of the Tower of Dusk, especially the elite ones who had potential. Lin Li did not want the magic tides to destroy the future of the Tower of Dusk.

    Hence, Lin Li was now eager to rush back to clean the mess created by the magic tides. He was not in the mood to waste time in the Brilliance Shrine at all.

    Of course, Englos and the others understood how Lin Li felt. Hence, they did not insist on making Lin Li stay. After Lin Li agreed to visit the Brilliance Shrine often in the future, they saw Lin Li off to the foot of the Holy Mountain together. The fact that almost all the senior executives of the Brilliance Shrine were sending a young mage away had caused a huge uproar in the city.

    After bidding farewell to Englos and the others, Lin Li used the Power of Flight to fly back to the Sky Castle. The massive Sky Castle that was like a gloomy cloud slowly moved in the direction of the Breezy ins.

    In the process of the flight on the Sky Castle, Lin Li had also begun arranging the mages under him to familiarize themselves with the operations of a portion of the Sky Castle. After all, the power of the Sky Castle could not be exerted by a single person.

    Besides, after Lin Li gained control of the Sky Castle, there was still a lot of work for him to do. For example, back when he followed Arbitrator Chris to the Sky Garden, Chris used a teleportation technique that did not require a Teleportation Portal at all to bring them to the Sky Garden at any time. However, it required some detailed settings.

 Chapter 1013 - Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1013: Battle</h4>

    Lin Li did not want to have to rely on flying whenever he boarded the Sky Castle. He felt that it would be much easier to open up a Teleportation Portal. Hence, the first thing that Lin Li wanted to do was to reset the teleportation function. Fortunately, Lin Li had obtained arge amount of information about the Sky Castle from the control crystal. Hence, it wasn¡¯t that difficult for him to set it up. It only required him to set a teleportation icon and activate the teleportation function of the Teleportation Portal in the Sky Castle.

    As he flew towards the Breezy ins in the Sky Castle, he saw that Dnd City and the area where the Tower of Dusk was located were currently shrouded in the thick fog from a battle.

    When Lin Li left three years ago, there was already a Magic City prototype in the surroundings of the Tower of Dusk. The scale of the Magic City had already expanded greatly after three years of development. However, it did not give off the vibe of a newly built city¡ªespecially the buildings in the periphery of the city that was covered in traces of war.

    Outside the Magic City, there was a teamposed of thousands of mages and mercenaries, which wasunching a fierce attack on the Magic City. Dozens of massive weapons were roaring loudly. Large burning stone balls and gigantic arrows that were as thick as a human waist were constantly bombarding the city walls around the Magic City, causing ripples to form on the magic shield that covered the walls.

    The one who wasmanding the team to attack the Tower of Dusk was none other than Canuman, the President of the Guild of Magic of Geresco City. The people around Canuman were just as strong as him, and the way they dressed showed that they were obviously not from the Guild of Magic. There were even some who were not humans.

    There was a ruthless-looking dwarf with only one eye, an elf with a face that was covered in sanguine lines, a Necromancer who was covering his face with a hood, and a person with a seductive-looking upper body and a serpent¡¯s lower body. Besides, there were also a few human powerhouses¡ªSword Sages, Assassins, and of course mages. However, all of them seemed sinister.

    ¡°Canuman, didn¡¯t you say that they were extremely weak? Why haven¡¯t we entered the city after more than 10 days?¡± asked the elf who had sanguine wreaths on his face, and was emitting a bloody aura instead of the natural aura of an elf. It was as if he had juste out of a pool of blood.

    That elf was one of the fallen ones who had turned into blood elves, betrayed the Goddess of Nature, and surrendered to evil. They turned their backs on their faith in the Goddess of Nature, and made a deal with demons to exchange for greater power. For the sake of obtaining the power from demons, they indulged in endless killing to acquire more souls.

    Canuman took a look at that elf, but he did not get angered by his derisivement, because he knew what to expect from those damned fallen elves. At the same time, they also had strength to match it. Although Canuman had sessfully reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, he still did not have the confidence to have an advantage against the blood elf.

    ¡°Vesha, this battle is too boring. Why don¡¯t we return to the tent and do something more interesting?¡± The one-eyed dwarf yfully flirted with the serpentine woman next to him as if there was no one around while supporting his weight with his giant axe on the ground.

    Faced with the teasing and flirting of the one-eyed dwarf, the serpentine woman Vesha did not seem weak. She smiled, and said, ¡°Sure, I hope your bones are stronger than I thought.¡± While saying that, she swung the long snake tail behind her twice.

    ¡°These mercenaries are really sly. All they do is take money without doing what they¡¯re supposed to. Seems like we really have to give them a little push,¡± the Necromancer whose face was covered in arge hood spoke in a hoarse and sinister voice. Before the ones around him even said anything, he raised the Skeleton Staff in his hand.

    ck fog appeared on the battlefield immediately like tidal waves, and surged towards the mercenary corps that were currently attacking the city. All the mercenaries that came in contact with the ck shrieked immediately as if they were put through massive agony. After the screaming vanished, the mercenaries that were eroded by the ck fog had bepletely different. The skin and flesh on their bodies had fallen off, and they had be Skeletal Warriors.

    However, the Skeletal Warriors that were transformed from humans were emitting silver rays of light because all the power of their bodies was gathered in their bones. They were clearly much stronger than ordinary Skeletal Warriors. Besides, unlike ordinary Skeletal Warriors that only knew to fight with their own power, they had inherited arge portion ofbat experience before their deaths. Hence, not only did their power not weaken, it even increased greatly.

    ¡°Damn it, Sandos, are you trying to turn us into the public enemies of the entire Anril?¡± Canuman wanted to get them to stop, but it was already toote. He had no choice but to yell at the Necromancer angrily.

    ¡°Canuman, your mission is to attack the Tower of Dusk. Once we get the Tree of Eternity, you don¡¯t need to worry about the rest. Besides, I¡¯d like to remind you that we can¡¯t stall for time and hold the Ashen Warlock back for too long. If he manages to rush over in time, we will be punished,¡± the Necromancer Sandos warned Canuman in a gloomy tone.

    Upon hearing Sandos¡¯ warning, Canuman immediately stopped being angry. He had no choice but to turn around and give an order to his team to attack in full swing. Actually, his orders were redundant. The mercenaries had already turned into Skeletal Warriors who were not afraid of pain and death. Hence, they were no longer sneaky, and instead focused all their attention on the battle.

    Although Canuman¡¯s mages were shocked by the change of those mercenaries, they did not get into amotion because of that. They continued to execute Canuman¡¯s orders, and let arge number of magic spells to bombard the gate of the Magic City.

    Although Sandos¡¯ words had clearly given the blood elf a reminder, the others dared not stand by the side idly and watch the battle. Instead, they took out their weapons and joined the siege. The one-eyed dwarf wielded a wheeled axe, the blood elf picked up his sanguine longbow, and Sandos summoned the Tide of Death, causing the endless army of Undead creatures to join the battle.

    Although the Tower of Dusk had a strong defense, their strengthy in the tower itself and the Eternal Furnace. The area outside the Magic City, especially the part that was built after Lin Li¡¯s departure, had a rtively weaker defense because Lin Li did not arrange any mageweaths or Alchemy Arrays there. Besides, other than the mages and the fearless Undead creatures, there were also numerous powerhouses that were at the peak of the Legendary-realm on the enemies¡¯ side. That power had far exceeded the current capacity of the Tower of Dusk.

    Finally, the gate of the Magic City crumbled with a loud roar, and the army of Undead creatures seemed as if they were swarming out from open floodgates into the city. Fortunately, those from the Tower of Dusk were already prepared to retreat, and thus there were not many casualties amidst the chaos.

    ¡°Damn it, there¡¯s a line of defense!¡± Canuman and the rest cursed unanimously after seeing the scene behind the gate.

    The second line of defense of the Tower of Dusk was built based on the buildings from three years ago, and this line of defense was far more powerful than the previous one due to all of Lin Li¡¯s borate designs.

    However, even though they had retreated to a more solid line of defense, Gavin and the other senior executives who were in charge ofmanding the members of the Tower of Dusk did not seem rxed at all. When Lin Li explored the Tower of Dusk, he brought away arge number of elites of the Tower of Dusk, and left none of the Legendary-levelbat forces behind. About seven of the enemies he was facing now were powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm and had extraordinary power. Even with a stronger line of defense, he might not be able tost for long.

    ¡°Gavin, I think we should retreat to the Eternal Furnace. Only with the power of the Eternal Furnace can we resist these enemies,¡± the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk who were standing in front of the tower said anxiously to Gavin while watching the Undead creatures swarm into the city.

    Indeed, although a few mages of the Tower of Dusk had also be Legendary-mages because of the influence of the magic tides, they had just stepped into the Legendary-realm, and could notpare to the powerhouses who were at the pinnacle of this realm. Only the Eternal Furnace at the top of the tower could allow the mages of the Tower of Dusk to temporarily get more power to contend with the invading enemies.

    Of course, Gavin knew about that too. However, retreating to the Eternal Furnace meant giving up everything including the newly established Magic City, and perhaps even the Tower of Dusk. Even if they could really make the enemies retreat with the power of the Eternal Furnace, it would not be easy for the Tower of Dusk to return to its original state. It was almost like reversing everything and starting all over again.

    If Lin Li was still in the Tower of Dusk, it would be extremely fast for the Tower of Dusk to recover even if everything was reversed. However, the problem was that Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk for three years, and even though Gavin believed that he would return safely, he did not know when exactly he would return. Gavin did not want Lin Li toe back and realize that the Tower of Dusk had already fallen and vanished.

    That was precisely the reason that Gavin implemented a defense n as such¡ªto preserve the property of the Tower of Dusk as much as possible so that it would not fall apart after this battle due to excessive losses.

    ¡°Get ready to activate the All-Kill Array and charge the Magical Crystal Cannons.¡± Gavin helplessly gave a new order to the subordinates around him as he looked at the army of Undead creatures that was attacking the second line of defense.

    When Lin Li left the Tower of Dusk, he actually left behind a sufficient number of magical crystals for them. However, there would still be a day that they ran out of magical crystals. Gavin had no idea when Lin Li would return, either. Hence, he dared notunch full-blown attacks at once for fear that they might use up all of the magical crystals and have none left for the crucial juncture.

    However, Gavin now had no choice but to make up his mind. If he was not determined, he might not have another chance in the future. If the enemies were to attack, all their magical crystals would end up with others no matter how many they had.

    With Gavin¡¯s order, the entire Tower of Dusk was immediately shrouded by faint light, and a terrifying atmosphere that was full of evilness and a murderous and destructive aura was spreading out in all directions with the Tower of Dusk as its center. The windows at the top floor of the Tower of Dusk were opened, and the barrels of the Magical Crystal Cannons were stuck out of the windows. The muzzles were also shining with the light of condensing mana.

    Seeing the changes in the Tower of Dusk, Canuman frantically reminded the crowd, ¡°Be careful, the Tower of Dusk has a mageweath array called the All-Kill Array, which is said to be a Guru-level mageweath array. Its power is incredible. Besides, there are more than 20 Magical Crystal Cannons at the top of the tower.¡±

    ¡°All-Kill Array? What a bold im. Let me see how the All-Kill Array works!¡± the Necromancer Sandos eximed, clearly dismissive of Canuman¡¯s reminder. He swung his skeleton staff forward, and immediately opened four more vortex-shaped doors in front of the crowd. He actually cast five Tides of Death at the same time.

    When the Tide of Death was in operation, it would consume the caster¡¯s mana. Hence, even if there were Necromancers who could cast 50 Tides of Death at once, they would not have enough mana to keep them running. It would be better to focus on sustaining one Tide of Death.

    However, the Necromancer Sandos clearly did not care about the Tide of Death¡¯s consumption of his mana. Although he had not stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he had a massive amount of mana that was not something that ordinary Legendary-mages couldpare to.

    The five Tides of Death and five armies of Undead creatures almost filled the space outside the line of defense of the Tower of Dusk. The fearless Skeletal Warriors were at the front, while the Hell Ghouls were continuouslyunching Hellfire bombs that rained down on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense. Groups of Vampires were hovering in the sky, looking for a chance to attack. Next, more than 10 Humerus Wyrms spat out erosive dragon breath.

    Surrounded by an army of Undead creatures, the Tower of Dusk became a reef in the vast ocean which seemed like it would be submerged in the water any time soon.

    However, the Tower of Dusk did not submit. The All-Kill Array was finally activatedpletely, and the terrifying power immediately engulfed the Tower of Dusk. The Undead creatures that rushed into the All-Kill Array were immediately crushed into ashes, as if they had fallen into a stone mill.

    At this moment, the 20-odd Magical Crystal Cannons were emitting iparably solid mana attacks which formed dazzling pirs of light that were bombarding the enemies. Every mana cannon shot thatnded would result in a long empty area among the army of Undead creatures. There were also some mana cannons that were shot at the Humerus Wyrms in the sky. Clearly, the Humerus Wyrms were not actual Humerus Wyrms. Under the powerful mana cannons¡¯s barrage, there were some that immediately disintegrated because of the bombardment.

 Chapter 1014 - Dwarves

    <h4>Chapter 1014: Dwarves</h4>

    ¡°Atrocious, what are you guys waiting for?!¡± Sandos seemed rather annoyed when he saw his army of Undead creatures being overwhelmed by the sharp counterattacks of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Okay, okay, aren¡¯t they just some bones? You can get as many of them as you want,¡± the blood elf said nonchntly before chanting an incantation.

    A huge Six-pointed Star Array emerged in the open space in front of the blood elf, after which a demon engulfed in ck gas and with two wings on its back crawled out of the Six-pointed Star Array.

    ¡°Destroy them. These are the souls that you want!¡± The blood elf tossed a bead that was filled with an unknown number of souls. He then pointed at the Tower of Dusk. However, when the Soul Bead that the demon wanted to devour rushed towards the Tower of Dusk, the Six-pointed Star Array on the ground did not disappear. Instead, another demon crawled out of it.

    10 Legendary-level demons that were wielding pitch-ck tridents were dashing towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense with heavy footsteps. The demons that had Legendary-level power were the Greater Demons that liked trading souls with humans the most. The blood elf summoned 10 of them at once, and he had probably used more than 10,000 souls.

    After praying, the one-eyed dwarf raised the wheel axe in his hand, and a thunderbolt suddenly fell from the clear sky, striking the spike at the top of the axe. However, the one-eyed dwarf did not get scorched by it, and instead his body seemed to expand as if it had been filled with gas. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a three-meter-tall giant.

    Legend had it that dwarves possessed the genes of the Titans, but that seemed like a joke to most people. The Alpine Giants being the descendants of the Titans seemed like a more reliable im. However, there was indeed such a legend among the dwarves. It was said that as long as a dwarf could truly awaken his own bloodline, he could transform into a powerful Titan.

    It was said that the dwarves had a powerful team that could awaken their bloodlines among the rebellion forces that tried to overthrow the High Elves at the end of the Dark Age. The team, which had less than 100 people, was named after the sacred relic of the dwarves, the Thunder God¡¯s Hammer. It also acted like a heavy hammer during the war of rebellion by resisting and thwarting the High Elves¡¯ suppression several times. Sdin, the first king of the Dwarf Kingdom, who was also the most famous hero among the dwarves, was the one who had led the team.

    ording to history, when using the power awakened by his bloodline, the Dwarf King Sdin could transform into a giant that was 10 meters in height, and had the power to rip dragons apart with his bare hands. In the war with the High Elves, the Dwarf King Sdin had fought with the strongest powerhouses of the High Elves several times, and his hammer was stained with the blood of numerous High Elves.

    Of course, the one-eyed dwarf¡¯s power after the awakening was still iparable to that of the Dwarf King Sdin. However, even in the form of a three-meter-tall man, the power that he had was extremely shocking. The giant ax in the hand of the one-eyed dwarf initially looked extremely out of ce due to the juxtaposition to his figure. However, after his body expanded vertically, the ax seemed much more suitable for him.

    After awakening his bloodline, the one-eyed dwarf let out a roar from the sky, and the giant ax in his hand smashed into the ground with a loud boom, causing the ground to quake violently. At the same time, from the spot that the ax bombarded, a massive rift that could swallow a person whole began expanding quickly towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s second line of defense, causing cracks to appear in the brick wall that was enhanced with magic.

    However, the attack that the one-eyed dwarfunched to vent his anger did not only affect the Tower of Dusk. During the process of the crack spreading in the ground, it also devoured arge number of Undead creatures, and it was as if it had opened up a nk corridor among the tide of Undead creatures.

    ¡°Damn! One-eyed dwarf, whose side are you on!?¡± Necromancer Sandos did not find the loss of the Undead creatures a pity, but when he saw that the one-eyed dwarf¡¯s attack had caused greater damage to him than to the Tower of Dusk, he immediately flew into rage.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m really sorry for identally damaging your bones!¡± the one-eyed dwarf said whileughing loudly, and raising the giant ax in his hand again. Even the numerous rays of lighting could be seen flickering on the giant ax.

    The one-eyed dwarf, who was no longer a dwarf, rushed into the army of Undead creatures and managed to cross the distance of several hundred meters in a few steps, knocking over and crushing many Undead creatures along the way. When he reached the second line of defense of the Tower of Dusk, he once again swung his ax, whose power had already umted. With a loud bang, the ground began quaking violently again.

    ¡°st him back!¡±

    Gavin, who was acting as themander of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, immediately got a great shock when he saw the ferocious behavior of the one-eyed dwarf. He frantically ordered his subordinates to focus all their power and attention onunching a counterattack. Based on the power of the one-eyed dwarf¡¯s attack and the vibration of the ground, Gavin couldpletely feel how tyrannical he was. He was even more overbearing than other weapons, and he might really cause their line of defense to be broken in just a few blows.

    After receiving Gavin¡¯s orders, four Magical Crystal Cannons turned their muzzles, and four solid mana cannon shots were immediately sted at the one-eyed dwarf in front of the defense line. Even if the one-eyed dwarf had strength that was at the peak of the Legendary-level, he would be in a pickle after being sted by four mana cannons.

    However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the one-eyed dwarf did not dodge in the face of the mana cannons¡¯ attack at all. In fact, he even had the time to grin widely. Immediately afterwards, the four mana cannon shots darted out in random order, instantly engulfing the three-meter-tall body of the dwarf.

    <i>Is that one-eyed dwarf a fool? He didn¡¯t even flinch or dodge in the face of the mana cannons!</i> Seeing this scene, the mages from the Tower of Dusk were a little stunned. Although they were d to get rid of a powerful enemy with ease, they instinctively found the current situation a little strange.

    ¡°Well, Master Sandos, how did Master Dantin just...¡± Clearly, Canuman was not very familiar with Sandos and the others. Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked when he saw that the one-eyed dwarf did not dodge the four mana cannons.

    Only Legendary-mages could use defensive spells against the attacks of Magical Crystal Cannons. However, it would definitely not be easy. Even if the one-eyed dwarf evolved again, his magical defense abilities would never reach such a high level. Why did he try to resist it head-on like a fool!?

    ¡°Psht, how can dwarves create the Magical Crystal Cannons without leaving a way out for themselves?¡± the blood elf said sneeringly and dismissively.

    <i>Even if they had left a way out, they couldn¡¯t have possibly tried to resist the attacks using their bodies!</i> Canuman thought to himself. However, he did not get angered because of the attitude of the blood elf, because he knew that there were many powerhouses hidden everywhere in unknown ces of the continent, even though the peculiar ones they saw now did not seem toopetent.

    Canuman initially nned to use the few powerhouses as his weapons, but he never thought that they would turn against him, be the leaders, and then set him up. However, that was good since the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council did not take him seriously anyway. Besides, these powerhouses were connected to figures who were rumored to be just as strong as the three Arbitrators.

    However, at this moment, the light that engulfed the one-eyed dwarf had also dissipated, and Canuman knew what the blood elf was referring to when he said that he had left a backup solution for himself to deal with the Magical Crystal Cannons. To his astonishment, he discovered that the one-eyed dwarf¡¯s body was not only not covered in any wounds after resisting the four mana cannons, but his muscles had also expanded. Clearly, he now had more explosive power.

    <i>He actually absorbed the power of the mana cannons!</i> Canuman couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. Although the mana cannons were condensed with pure mana at high intensity, no mage could retrieve a tinge of mana from within. However, dwarves could use their strong bodies to absorb the power and turn it into their own. That was truly unbelievable.

    Fortunately, in the human kingdoms, Magical Crystal Cannons were powerful defensive weapons, but they did not truly rece other defensive equipment such as crossbows that protected the city. Otherwise, once the Dwarf Kingdom waged a war with the human kingdoms, the magical crystals at the top of the city walls would be energizers for dwarves!

    Canuman also knew that even the dwarves could not make every single warrior of theirs possess the same power. The problem probablyy with the so-called bloodline awakening of the dwarves. However, after feeling shocked, he stopped dwelling on that matter. After all, no matter what the human kingdoms were like, it would have nothing to do with him, the President of a Guild of Magic.

    At the same time, the people on the side of the Tower of Dusk were already gasping uncontrobly in astonishment. Even the wyrms that were famous for their defensive abilities started stumbling after being struck by the Magical Crystal Cannons. How could the dwarf have been perfectly fine as if nothing had happened? He took on the blow of the Magical Crystal Cannons with his body that was made of flesh, and yet he wasn¡¯t injured at all. Instead, he seemed to have be even more menacing, as if he had taken some tonic. That was far beyond their knowledge.

    ¡°Continue to attack the enemies with the Magical Crystal Cannons. Mages, enter the Eternal Furnace and attack that dwarf with magic!¡± Gavin clenched his fists tightly while giving his subordinates ordersposedly. <i>Why isn¡¯t the President here yet!?</i>

    Three years ago, Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary-realm and the Tower of Dusk was in the limelight in the Breezy ins, and possibly even the entire Fn Kingdom. The Tower of Dusk almost became the holy ground of magic of the Breezy ins, and there would be magesing from faraway ces in hopes of joining the Tower of Dusk. Even if they were ipetent, they would still hope to register and be a member so that they could enter the Tower of Dusk¡¯s public library to learn.

    However, as Lin Li proceeded to the Sky Castle, time passed, and rumors spread in the Breezy ins that Lin Li had died in the Sky Castle. There was a sudden twist in the situation of the Tower of Dusk, and it changed for the worse. Gradually, some major forces began to lose faith in the Tower of Dusk, while some small and medium-sized forces also began to submit to other forces. The number of mages began to decrease continuously and rapidly as well.

    Gavin had tried hard to change this situation before, but to ordinary people, three years was simply too long of a duration. In Anril, the majority of things were based on strength, and unlike those ancient powers with a rich heritage, the Tower of Dusk could be considered to be struggling after the departure of Lin Li, their Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had once revealed some ruthless means that served as a deterrence to many. Otherwise, the Tower of Dusk would have been doomed by now. After all, rumors were still just rumors, and there was no confirmed news of Lin Li¡¯s death. Many were still worried that Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse, might return to settle scores with them.

    However, even then, it would be impossible for the Tower of Dusk to maintain their original position as there were many who were plotting against them, both openly and in secret. Otherwise, Canuman and the others wouldn¡¯t have managed to fight their way to Dnd, as they would have been chased out of the Breezy ins as soon as they entered.

    In the current situation, the Tower of Dusk was relying on the tower and the Eternal Furnace to barely prevent annihtion. However, they had no time to care about the other businesses that they ran outside the tower. Actually, many members of the Tower of Dusk had the intentions to surrender and leave. Even if the enemies were only in the periphery, they would be trapped inside over time.

    When Lin Li explored the Sky Castle, he brought away his Undead servants, the powerhouses under him, and many of the mages of the Tower of Dusk. As for the Tower of Dusk, they did not have a single experienced Legendary powerhouse at all. Instead, they still had to rely on the magic tides that suddenly appeared to allow a few Archmages to advance to the Legendary-realm. However, beginners of the Legendary-realm could not exert much of the power of the Legendary-realm. Although they could trump some of those who were below the Legendary-level, they were far from beingpetent enough to fight the current enemies.

    In the face of the enemies¡¯ frenzied attacks now, the Tower of Dusk might not have reached the point of being in critical danger yet, but there was almost no hope for anyone. Even if the enemies retreated, no one knew if it wouldn¡¯t be for the sake of luring out the people inside. During this period of time, such matters had happened several times. In other words, regardless of whether the enemies retreated or not, the Tower of Dusk could only stay on the spot.

    Under Gavin¡¯s orders, a portion of mages, who were mostly level-19 Archmages, entered the Eternal Furnace from the top of the high tower. Meanwhile, the person in charge of the core of the Eternal Furnace was Gerian, who had abandoned his Guild of Magic and followed Lin Li to live a carefree life for several years.

    Gerian was rather lucky. Initially, his limited talent in magic caused him to stagnate at level-19 regardless of how hard he worked. Besides, he was toozy to put in effort as well.

 Chapter 1015 - Summon

    <h4>Chapter 1015: Summon</h4>

    However, the magic tides appeared at just the right time, thus allowing Gerian to suddenly break through the Legendary-realm and be a Legendary-mage that he never imagined himself to be. Although Gerian could not even create his own Magical Domain with his current abilities, he was rather satisfied with the status quo because he could at least live a carefree life for hundreds of years.

    Other than the subordinates who had signed a contact with him, Gerian was the single person in the Tower of Dusk whom Lin Li trusted the most. Hence, before he left for the Sky Castle, Lin Li had already entrusted Gerian with the matters regarding the Eternal Furnace.

    At this moment, Gerian was watching the battle anxiously while staying in the Eternal Furnace. If not for Gavin¡¯s previous persuasion, he would have dashed down with the staff. The mages who had been waiting for the Mage Legion for a long time had all followed the orders, and arrived at the Eternal Furnace to report to Gerian with Gavin¡¯s orders. Having held his breath for a long time, Gerian immediately dashed towards the core of the Eternal Furnace without wasting any more time.

    ¡°Damn it, that kid Felic has only gone out for a few years, but Tom, Dick, and Harry have already barged in. Kids, don¡¯t waste your mana anymore. I¡¯m going to kill that bunch of bastards!¡± Gerian hollered while activating the Eternal Furnace ording to Lin Li¡¯s previous instructions.

    At the top of the Tower of Dusk, the Eternal Furnace, which was only faintly radiating some red light so far, suddenly emitted boundless mes like a sun above the tower. At the same time, the Ice and Fire Natural Domain which Lin Li had fused with the Eternal Furnace also engulfed the entire Eternal Furnace immediately, causing the Archmages who had been authorized to temporarily break through to the Legendary-realm immediately.

    More than 100 Archmages instantly became Legendary-mages. Due to the influence of the magic tides, many of the mages had broken through their bottlenecks, and their power was truly terrifying. However, the pseudo-Legendary-mages would return to their initial levels once they left the Ice and Fire Natural Domain of the Eternal Furnace. Otherwise, why would the enemies have shown up at their door?

    Canuman and the others who were opposite knew that the me Pce at the top of the Tower of Dusk was the legendary Eternal Furnace that Highlord Osric had built. However, they were clueless about the power of the Eternal Furnace. After all, back when Osric was building the Eternal Furnace, he encountered an ident, and suddenly began researching the perfect body halfway through the construction. He then created the mausoleum for himself. The real Eternal Furnace had never appeared in history before, let alone show its prowess during the battle.

    When arge number of Legendary-level magic spells suddenly dropped from the Eternal Furnace, Canuman and the others finally got a great shock. They could tell from the density of the Legendary-level magic spells that they were definitely cast by more than 100 Legendary-mages. To them, it was definitely not good news. Even though quite a few of them were Legendary powerhouses who were at the peak of this realm, it was impossible to ignore this numerical advantage of the Tower of Dusk because none of them had entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    Seeing the Legendary-level magic spells falling down like the rain, Canuman and the others couldn¡¯t help but feel their scalps turn numb. They had been dealing with the Tower of Dusk for a long time, and thought that they had already gained a thorough understanding of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s abilities. To their surprise, the Tower of Dusk had such a terrifying hidden power.

    ¡°Damn! Didn¡¯t you say that all their elite mages have been brought away? What¡¯s going on!?!¡± The one-eyed dwarf Dantin was the first to be owned as he had rushed to the front of the line of defense. Even though his strong body could withstand the attacks of four mana cannons, mana cannons and Legendary-level magic spells were fundamentally different.

    Dantin gave up on continuing to attack the defenses of the Tower of Dusk, and instead waved the giant ax above his head in time to shield himself from the countless magic spells. However, although he had blocked the attacks, his three-meter body was still sted away by the magic spells. Along their trajectory, they crushed several Skeletal Warriors before finally stopping at a spot near Canuman and the others.

    ¡°There must be something strange about the Eternal Furnace. Even if all their elite mages stayed behind, there can¡¯t be so many Legendary-mages!¡± Canuman hollered, seemingly exining, but also venting his anger. He no longer had theposure of a President of a guild.

    Canuman¡¯s Geresco City Guild of Magic was definitely worthy of being called the secondrgest guild after the nna Guild of Magic. There were even some who called Geresco City and nna City the two greatest magic capitals of Anril. It was not simply because it was the birthce of the God of Mages, Geresco, but more importantly because it was definitelypetent enough to be worthy of it.

    However, even the Geresco Guild of Magic would not be able to produce hundreds of Legendary-mages. Even after experiencing the magic tides, Canuman still had less than 20 Legendary-mages under him. In fact, even if all the Guilds of Magic excluding the Tower of Dusk joined forces, they might not be able to produce 100 Legendary-mages.

    Canuman always believed that Lin Li wasn¡¯t thatpetent, and had merely gotten so far because of sheer luck. Although the Guild of Magic, the Tower of Dusk, which had been established for six to seven years was incredibly wealthy, he felt that they did not have any foundation, and Lin Li was just a nouveau riche. Hence, he did not believe that such a guild would produce elite talents.

    Hence, when he saw around 100 Legendary-mages suddenly appearing on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, Canuman was almost going to lose his mind. However, he probably did not know it, and was still screaming ignorantly in exasperation.

    When the hundreds of Legendary-mages attacked at the same time, they caused the one-eyed dwarf to retreat out of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s second line of defense. Even though they were only pseudo-Legendary-mages, the Legendary-level magic spells were definitely truly at the Legendary-level with the enhancement of the Ice and Fire Natural Domain. The Undead creatures that were surrounding the line of defense barelysted even a second before they were sted into ashes by the storm of Legendary-level magic spells.

    Only the 10 Legendary-level Greater Demons that were summoned by the blood elf could barely survive the magic storm by relying on their high resistance to magic. However, after the magic storm passed, the Greater Demons did not impatiently continue to attack the Tower of Dusk, but instead turned back to look at the blood elf. When the blood elf threw out some Soul Beads, the Greater Demons finally roared and attacked the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense.

    ¡°These greedy and insatiable demons are simply more disgusting than those human mercenaries!¡± The blood elf who had once again spent some Soul Beads cursed angrily.

    ¡°Hah, shouldn¡¯t you have known what they are like from the first time you summoned a demon!?¡± the serpentine woman Vesha said with a coquettishugh before throwing out 24 poles that were shining brilliantly, which were totem poles that were the special weapons of the Orcs.

    The 24 totem poles expanded after the serpentine woman Vesha tossed them up into the sky, as if they had been inted. In the blink of an eye, they turned into thick pirs that had the diameter of a human waist. The pirs were covered inplex and beautiful patterns while glistening with colorful light. They continuously rotated around the people.

    At this moment, the second wave of magic storm at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side had already begun sting at the few enemy powerhouses. However, before the magic storm evennded, the disheveled serpentine woman Vesha suddenly let out an ear-piercing whistle, leaving those around her with no choice but to cover their ears.

    As Vesha shrieked, the 24 totem poles quickly condensed and rotated rapidly. At the same time, a wild beast¡¯s phantom appeared on each of the totem poles. Among the phantoms, there were arrogant white wolves, majestic brute bulls, sinister giant pythons, domineering lions, and so on. There were even the sacred beasts, the Behemoth Beasts.

    Although those were only phantoms, each one of them gave off Legendary-level magical waves, and it was akin to the appearance of 24 Legendary powerhouses. They roared at the sky at the same time, sending invisible waves at the magic storm.

    There was a loud boom in the sky, and the 24 beast phantoms suddenly became a little distorted while the totem poles quaked to the point of falling. However, the magic storm of the Tower of Dusk was also disintegrated amidst the loud boom. The mages under Canuman were not affected thanks to Vesha¡¯s protection.

    However, Canuman had a sullen expression. Although his subordinates had avoided the magic bombardmentunched by the Tower of Dusk, they were frightened by Vesha¡¯s shrilling whistle.

    ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re indeed only able to cast Legendary-level magic spells by relying on external forces,¡± the serpentine woman Vesha said with a humph. While manipting the 24 totems to counterattack, she exined to the people around her, ¡°From the interaction just now, I¡¯ve already sensed that the nomological power contained in their magic spellses from the same source.¡±

    Each mage had their own unique understanding of the World Laws, and the same applied for the identical fire elementalws. Since hundreds of Legendary-mages cast magic spells at the same time, there ought to be hundreds of types ofprehension of thews. Even if they used the same magic spells, there would definitely be differences.

    Although Vesha was not a mage, she was an Orc[1] Shaman who held the 24 totem poles, and was already going to step into the Sanctuary-realm soon. Her understanding of thews would definitely be not any less than mages¡¯. In fact, her perception would be clearer with the power of the totem poles.

    However, the news from Vesha did not let them breathe a sigh of relief. After all, regardless of the methods they used, the Legendary-level magic spells that were cast were substantial, and those that had to die or get injured suffered their rightful fate.

    ¡°Is that the Eternal Furnace of Highlord Osric? I really didn¡¯t expect that such a small force like the Tower of Dusk would have so many good things. Unfortunately, they¡¯re going to be wasted in their hands.¡± Staring at the Eternal Furnace at the top of the tower, the blood elf couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips.

    ¡°Stop talking about that. We¡¯d better think about how to attack and get in. Otherwise, what can we obtain by just standing here!?¡± Sandos did not stop the Tide of Death for a single moment. Hence, even though the Tower of Dusk had annihted arge batch of Undead creatures, the five death vortexes were still spitting out a steady stream of them.

    At this moment, the one-eyed dwarf that had been sted back stood in front of the few of them again. Faced with the people opposite, he cowardly cursed, ¡°Damn it, if I had the Sky-breaker, I¡¯d shoot those lousy things down!¡±

    ¡°Sky-breaker? You probably haven¡¯t even seen one yourself, so think of something practical,¡± the blood elf said with a look of disdain while raising the staff in his hand. The gem on top of the staff shed, and the skies that were originally clear immediately turned dark, blocking out all the natural light, as if it was the darkest moment before the dawn.

    Next, in the open space in front of the blood elf, a massive Six-pointed Star Array appeared once again, after which arge Abyssal Demon Dragon gradually emerged from the array. It was a greenish ck Abyssal Demon Dragon that was surrounded by churning ck mes, and had a pair of wings on its back that was covered with dark golden patterns, looking like magic symbols. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, there was a broken horn on the head of the Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s head; it was jagged and seemed to have been broken off with brute force.

    ¡°Gior, it¡¯s you again, it seems we haven¡¯t settled the scorest time!¡± the Abyssal Demon Dragon yelled at the blood elf instead of charging directly into the battlefield as soon as it emerged.

    Seeing such a situation, a few people next to the blood elf could not help but quietly move further away. Even though they were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, they dared not easily provoke the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    ¡°Haha, respected Lord Kiel, I summoned you this time precisely with the intentions of settling scores. I just hope that we can strike a deal before we settle the scores.¡± Clearly, the blood elf Gior did not take the Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel¡¯s threat to heart. To him, it was a piece of cake to fool such a brainless Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    Next, the two of them chatted about something, and the Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel nodded as expected. Without saying anything else, it turned towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, and leaped at them. After pping its fleshy wings twice, it had already flown past the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense. It spat out its dragon breath, which was in the form of ck mes, burning two Greater Demons that were attacking the line of defense.

    ¡°Damn it, Gior, you really have a connection with Kiel. When we return, I¡¯ll let my race refuse your summoning forever!¡± When a Greater Demon saw hispanion being burned by the ck mes, he immediately cursed. He wanted to turn around to see what was going on, but he did not expect to see the Abyssal Demon Dragon, which was the enemy of Greater Demons.

    [1] I feel like I¡¯ve made a simr note 200-300 chaps ago, but orc = beastman as far as Chinese characters are concerned. It¡¯s really hard to say which it is, and I¡¯ve already encountered ORCS with traits of BEASTMEN in another author¡¯s novel, so just think orc = beastman.

 Chapter 1016 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 1016: Return</h4>

    ¡°Shut up, minion, can you still go back!?¡± the Abyssal Demon Dragon roared, and leaped forward abruptly. It managed to seize the remaining Greater Demons effortlessly, stuffing them into his mouth one by one. He chewed incessantly, and the juice sttered everywhere as if he was eating some delicacy.

    After swallowing several Greater Demons in the blink of an eye, the Abyssal Demon Dragon finally began preparing to get down to business. The dark gold patterns on its fleshy wings lit up, and a powerful dark magic storm sted at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense. The Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel was worthy of being at the peak of the Legendary-level. Its frenzied bombardment caused the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense to flicker dimly and end up on the verge of copsing.

    However, the team from the Tower of Dusk had clearly gotten used to the endless attacks and means of the enemies. The appearance of the Abyssal Demon Dragon could not do much to them. Although they could not see the hope of defeating the enemy to resolve the crisis, they did not feel helpless because of their impending death, either. After all, the powerful Eternal Furnace was so strong that it might not be easily destroyed even by Sanctuary powerhouses.

    To the people of the Tower of Dusk, the only issue was whether or not their President would return, and whether or not he had really died in the Sky Castle. Although some of them remembered that Lin Li was dyed for six months when he explored the Sky Castle for the first time because of some reasons, could the same thing happen twice!?

    The mages who retaliated in the Eternal Furnace were all members of the Tower of Dusk. Although there were not many elites, learning the Magic Net Array was mandatory for all mages. Under the circumstances where the previous magic storm was unsessful, and they were faced with the Abyssal Demon Dragon summoned by the enemies, they immediately changed their strategy, and formed the Magic Net Array to unite everyone.

    The mages who were in the Eternal Furnace had already gained Legendary-level power under the effects of the Ice and Fire Natural Domain. Back when he was exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, Lin Li brought with him a team of Archmages who could already have Legendary-levelbat power with the help of the Magic Net Array. Now, the Magic Net Array united mages that could be considered Legendary-mages, and thebat power they had was terrifying.

    The hundreds of Legendary-mages could not be considered to have just stepped into the Legendary-realm, as the Ice and Fire Natural Domain was equivalent to their Magical Domain. Even if they were not at level-21 yet, they were close. Through the Magic Net Array, the mana and mental strength of numerous Legendary-mages were united. Although they could not contend with the Sanctuary powerhouses, theirbat power was definitely top-notch, at least at the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    The Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel was destroying the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense manically, and had even caused numerous defensive Alchemy Arrays to stop operating. An opening was about to be formed from the line of defense. However, at this moment, there was a sudden violent tremor in space, and a frightening mana wave flew out of the Eternal Furnace towards the Abyssal Demon Dragon.

    That was a magic spell that was at the peak of the Legendary-level, which was jointly cast by hundreds of Legendary-mages. It was known as the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory, which was the pinnacle of ice element magic spells. In the blink of an eye, it would be able to make the temperature of the space it engulfed drop to zero and freeze everything in it.

    Legend had it that very few mages could cast that magic spell ever since it was created by the God of Mages, Geresco, even though it was known by many people. It was extremely difficult to cast, and even the Legendary-mages who could cast it would only do so as ast resort when they were extremely hopeless. The reason was that although the power of the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory was terrifying, it would cause Legendary-mages including those at the peak of the realm to exhaust all their mana. It was far less reliable than other magic spells. At least they would still have the strength to escape even if they could not defeat the enemies when casting other magic spells.

    Although the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory did not have any shocking appearance when it was cast, and seemed like an ordinary haze that was condensed from diamond dust, it was still glistening brightly under all sorts of rays of light. It resembled snow particles that were blown up into the air by a gale. In fact, they could even feel the chillinessing from it. One could only see its terror from the space in between the cracks of the ice.

    The moment the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory was cast, the Abyssal Demon Dragon could also feel the danger within it. It had no choice but to give up the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense, while its massive body dodged to the side. The Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s body was far stronger than the wyrms. Not to mention, it was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and was about to enter the Sanctuary-realm. However, even then, it dared not belittle the power of that ball of dust. It subconsciously wanted to avoid it.

    The Instantaneous Ice Purgatorynded on the ground and exploded silently. All the space it enveloped immediately froze. The Abyssal Demon Dragon managed to dodge in time, but it was just a subconscious reaction, after all¡ªthe Abyssal Demon Dragon did not estimate the power of the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory correctly, thus causing the extent of evasion to be insufficient. Although its massive body sessfully evaded it, its tailnded in the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory.

    The tip of the Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s tail was immediately covered in white frost that quickly crept up the Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s body. Even though the Abyssal Demon Dragon was no longer within the area enveloped by the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory, the low temperature of the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory was not restricted to that area. The surrounding environment would also be affected.

    Hence, in the process of dodging, theyer of white frost spread rapidly from the tip of the Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s tail all the way to its body. The white frost was initially just a faintyer, but in the blink of an eye, the intensity increased, and it even turned the Abyssal Demon Dragon into a snow sculpture.

    However, the Abyssal Demon Dragon had dodged even deadlier attacks, after all, and it was not a problem for him to resist the power that overflowed from the Instantaneous Ice Purgatory. Indeed, when the dragon-shaped ice sculpturended on the ground with a loud boom, the snow on its body was shaken off due to the vibration too.

    However, those with sharp eyes would definitely be able to see that the scales on the Abyssal Demon Dragon had changed drastically in color. It might not have gotten frostbite, but it was definitely affected.

    He was reduced to such a pathetic state by a group of humans! The Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel was infuriated. Even among the Abyssal Demon Dragons, he was a peak powerhouse. How could he have been provoked by a bunch of humans who were like insignificant minions? He no longer cared about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s line of defense, and simply pped the fleshy wings on its back. Itsrge body then sprung up in the air, and flew towards the Eternal Furnace at the top of the Tower of Dusk.

    Bang! Bang!

    Therge body of the Abyssal Demon Dragon immediately became a target for the Magical Crystal Cannons in the air. During his flight towards the Eternal Furnace, the mana cannons sted at his body continuously, but the Abyssal Demon Dragon was not bothered at all. Although he could not absorb the power of the mana cannons and make it his own like the dwarves could, the power of the mana cannons could not really hurt his body.

    Resisting the mana cannons, the Abyssal Demon Dragon finally flew to the height of the Eternal Furnace, but before he could attack it, arge number of powerful magic spells darted out of the Eternal Furnace. The offensive spells immediately bombarded it, and its huge body swayed backward like a boat in a storm amidst the magic spells.

    ¡°Atrocious, these damned minions!¡± The Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel was a famous figure even in the Endless Abyss. He had always been the one to teach others a lesson, and thus had never felt that helpless.

    Canuman and the rest below were watching the situation with sullen expressions. They did not expect that the Eternal Furnace would exert such astonishingbat power. Unless a Sanctuary powerhouse appeared, it would be a far-fetched idea to break the Eternal Furnace.

    ¡°Let Kiel attract the attacks from the Eternal Furnace while the rest of you attack the Tower of Dusk. I refuse to believe that a small force like the Tower of Dusk would be infallible!¡± Canuman yelled viciously. He was filled with endless fury after his attack failed again.

    However, at this moment, Canuman and the others somehow felt their hearts palpitate as the surrounding air seemed to have be much denser. It even seemed a little difficult for them to breathe. Before they could even get a clear idea of where that came from, they could see a massive figure flying over towards them.

    ¡°What¡¯s that!?¡± Canuman could certainly see that the huge shadow was definitely not some dark cloud. However, apart from a dark cloud, he could think of nothing else that could fly in the air with such a huge volume.

    All of a sudden, a thought popped up in Canuman¡¯s head. As a member of the Supreme Council, he definitely knew that the Sky Garden belonging to the Supreme Council was actually a city in the sky. Although he had never seen the Sky Garden flying low, an insuppressible fear surged from the bottom of his heart when he thought about the massive size of the Sky Garden and looked at therge shadow that was flying past.

    Canuman didn¡¯t guess wrongly. The massive shadow was indeed a Sky Castle. However, he thought that it was the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council, and that the three Arbitrators had found out about his operation this time, and came to provide aid with the Sky Garden. In reality, Canuman would never guess that although it was indeed a Sky Castle, it was one that truly belonged to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk.

    After speaking to Pope Rosario in person, Lin Li moved the Sky Castle back to the Tower of Dusk. Although the two were very far away from each other, it only took the fast-flying Sky Tower a few hours to arrive. Besides, Lin Li and the rest were not flying at full speed, because they wanted to look at the scenery below.

    Knowing that he had left Anril for three years, Lin Li could already make a rough guess about the current situation of the Tower of Dusk even if he did not deliberately try to find out. However, he was still rather confident in the power of the Eternal Furnace, and he knew that if the Tower of Dusk were to really encounter any trouble, it could still stay strong with the help of the Eternal Furnace.

    Hence, when the Sky Castle flew close to the Tower of Dusk, and he saw the fierce battle below the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li did not seem too surprised. He, the leader of the Tower of Dusk who was in the Sanctuary-realm, left with the elite mages, and they were absent for three years without any news from them. It was only right for there to be some troublemakers.

    However, the rest of the Tower of Dusk, especially the leader of the mages, n, as well as the other mages, couldn¡¯t tolerate it when they saw the situation. Before they left, they were already the top force of the Breezy ins, and every force in the Breezy ins had to show respect to the Tower of Dusk. It had only been a short while, and yet some forces tried to attack them.

    ¡°President, let¡¯s go and wipe out those senseless bastards!¡± At this moment, n, the leader of the mages, naturally stood up in response to the crowd¡¯s moring, and requested Lin Li to join the battle.

    ¡°Yes, but not by yourselves. Do you remember what you have learned during this time? Have everyone go and prepare immediately, we need to show the power of the Sky Castle to everyone in Anril now.¡± While giving out the orders, Lin Li fiddled with the control crystal. The scenery around the higher floors was also continuously changing with it.

    ¡°Yes, President!¡± n responded without looking at the scenery that was constantly changing. He immediately and eagerly got his subordinates to get ready.

    During this period of time, the main task of n and the other mages was to familiarize themselves with the operation of the Sky Castle. Although the Sky Castle was not like the Sky Garden that had been modified, the mages could still get familiar with it easily. After all, even Lin Li could not fully exert the power of the Sky Castle now. Hence, it was enough for the mages to master some simple operations for the time being.

    While n was leading the others to make preparations, the scene of the Tower of Dusk being attacked could be seen on the walls of the control room. The Abyssal Demon Dragon in the sky, the Undead creatures on the ground, and the hundreds of mages could be seen. Atst, the image was fixed on Canuman and the others.

    Looking at the figures of those people, Lin Li reached out and stroked his chin while smilingly saying to Basel, ¡°Seems like these are the leaders who have been directing the attacks at the Tower of Dusk this time. I have to admit, they¡¯re really lucky. There are not many who can die below a Sky Castle in this era.¡±

 Chapter 1017 - Meteor

    <h4>Chapter 1017: Meteor</h4>

    Although it was clear from the chaotic battlefield below that the Tower of Dusk had suffered a major loss as well, there was not a single trace of anger in Lin Li¡¯s voice. It was not that Lin Li was gracious and magnanimous, but rather that those enemies were already dead to him. There was nothing to be angry about with the dead.

    ¡°Is that mage Canuman of the Geresco City Guild of Magic?¡± asked Basel who was standing next to Lin Li as he suddenly recognized Canuman in the images. He couldn¡¯t help but exim in surprise. ¡°Isn¡¯t Canuman from the Supreme Council? What is he doing here!?¡±

    ¡°Canuman?¡± Lin Li had really almost forgotten about the guy who had yelled at him during the meeting held by the Supreme Council, and got chased out by Apophis. After Basel¡¯s reminder, he finally remembered who Canuman was, but it was mostly because of Geresco City, which had a special name.

    However, although he remembered such a person, Lin Li did not pay much attention to it. He shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°Who cares where he¡¯s from? Since he dared to invade the Tower of Dusk, we¡¯ll let him die here.¡±

    Although Canuman had a fairly high status in the Supreme Council, Lin Li did not take him seriously at all. Even if the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council had not promised to make Lin Li the fourth Arbitrator, he still wouldn¡¯t have let Canuman off easily.

    Soon, n¡¯s voice could be hearding from the control room. The mages who reported to Lin Li had already gotten into their respective positions, and were ready to enter the battle. There was some excitement in n¡¯s voice. After all, it was the first time that he was using the Sky Castle in a battle.

    ¡°Good, start attacking,¡± Lin Li instructed n calmly after ncing around the battlefield.

    At this moment, the entire battlefield below the Sky Castle was enveloped by the massive shadow. Canuman and the others were staring at the Sky Castle in shock with their eyes and mouths wide open. Even though they could not see what was going on above the Sky Castle, the bottom, which was like an upside-down mountain peak, reminded him of the legendary Sky Castles.

    ¡°Canuman, did the Supreme Council find out about this operation?¡± Sandos asked with some panic in his voice. He was not afraid of the Sky Castle. After all, the power of the Sky Castle only existed in legends. What he feared was the three Arbitrators on board the Sky Castle. They were powerhouses who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and were godlike figures who came from the Dark Age.

    ¡°No.¡± Canuman swallowed hard with a sullen expression, and said to the crowd, ¡°It¡¯s not the Supreme Council, it¡¯s not the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council.¡±

    Canuman had been a member of the Supreme Council for many years, and although he was not extremely familiar with the Sky Garden, he at least had a deep impression of it. Hence, the bottom of the Sky Castle that was like an upside-down mountain peak allowed him to immediately deduce that it was not the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council.

    However, if it was not the Supreme Council¡¯s Sky Garden, where would a Sky Castlee from? Other than the Supreme Council, there seemed to be no other force in Anril that had such an overpowered weapon like the Sky Castle.

    Could it be...

    Canuman was suddenly a little afraid to think about it. He still remembered the rumor about the President of the Tower of Dusk, which imed that Lin Li had brought his men to explore the Sky Castle of the Immortal King. However, Lin Li had been gone for three years without any news of them, and many thought that he had died in the Sky Castle.

    However, if the Sky Castle that suddenly appeared above their heads was not the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council, there would only be one possibility left, and that was that Lin Li, who had disappeared for three years, had returned with the ownership of the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle!

    ¡°It¡¯s not the Sky Garden? I heard that the President of the Tower of Dusk went missing because he went to explore a Sky Castle. Is he the one controlling this Sky Castle?¡± The blood elf¡¯s words were exactly what Canuman was thinking. However, he did not sound too worried or horrified. Instead, there was uncontroble excitement in his tone.

    ¡°Canuman, look how timid you are. You¡¯ve turnedpletely pale. Why don¡¯t you think about it? Do you really think anyone can gain the ownership of the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle? Even if the Sky Castle was activated, how much power can it exert?¡± the one-eyed dwarf mocked in disdain when he noticed how worried Canuman looked.

    ¡°You!!¡± Canuman was immediately angered by his words. However, on second thought, he decided to suppress the anger he felt.

    <i>Yeah, the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council has undergone arge-scale modification ever since it was obtained by the Supreme Council, and be a human Sky Castle. Even if that kid Felic can start moving the Sky Castle, what can he do within three short years? How can he fully exert the power of the Sky Castle?</i>

    At the thought of this, Canuman¡¯s horror immediately vanished, and his eyes even glistened with greed. If he could obtain the Sky Castle and then acquire all of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses, his Guild of Magic would probably be the best Guild of Magic in the entire Anril in no time.

    Of course, Canuman wouldn¡¯t be so conceited as to think that he could contend with the Supreme Council just by owning a Sky Castle. However, there was probably no force below the Supreme Council that could be on par with him if he had the Sky Castle.

    Canuman now already treated that Sky Castle as his own. As for the others, they were undoubtedly looking at the Sky Castle with glistening eyes. As the strongest weapon in the entire Anril and the crystallization of the civilization of the High Elves, there was probably no one in Anril who wouldn¡¯t yearn to own it.

    However, just as the people below were thinking about it, and even forgot to continue attacking the Tower of Dusk, the Sky Castle above them suddenlyunched meteors. There were nearly 100 meteors which were each emitting astonishing mana waves and shing through the sky towards Canuman, trailing brilliant rays of light.

    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s attacking us!¡± Dantin, the dwarf, made a useless remark and raised his giant ax in exasperation. He actually wanted to resist the attack from the Sky Castle head-on.

    However, the others including Canuman were not as reckless as Dantin, as they all wanted to dodge. Despite not knowing what terrifying power the attack contained, they could guess that it was definitely not something that the Magical Crystal Cannons couldpare to.

    Indeed, not to mention their power, the shots of the Magical Crystal Cannons traveled in a straight line, and they could dodge them easily. However, the attack from the Sky Castle which was in the form of brilliant meteors seemed to have a life of its own. When the people below were dodging, the meteors automatically changed direction, and continued to chase them.

    BOOM!

    The first to be attacked were not the ones who were fleeing or the one-eyed dwarf Dantin who was in the mood to fight them toe-to-toe. Instead, it was the team of mages under Canuman.

    Although Canuman¡¯s Guild of Magic was named after the God of Mages Geresco, his mages did not inherit the ability to deploy the Magic Net Array that was created by Geresco. Hence, the numerous Legendary-mages and the hundreds of other mages could not gather all their strength for defense. Only the leader of the mages could exhibit his Magical Domain to protect the mages.

    However, when a meteor sted the Magical Domain, the leader of the mages immediately regretted his decision. Had he known that that would happen, he would have fled on his own. However, there was no cure for regret. The meteor immediately shattered the Magical Domain andnded among the mages.

    Amidst the roars, a small sun rose in the middle of the group of mages, and the bright, dazzling light instantly engulfed everything around it. Those that were engulfed by the light, be it Archmages or Legendary-mages, were all too powerless to resist, just like ice and snow under the sun. They were melting quickly in the light.

    Canuman and the powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm did not have time to care about it. No matter how they sped up and changed direction, the meteors would chase them like maggots sticking to a bone.

    Soon, Canuman¡¯s subordinate, the Deputy President of the Guild of Magic and a level-23 Legendary-mage, had a meteor smashed against his back. Before the Legendary-mage could struggle, two, three, and even more meteors came from behind. In the blink of an eye, the continuous bursts of light engulfed himpletely.

    The one-eyed dwarf Dantin, who was ready to fight hard, finally realized that something was wrong, and turned around to run away with the giant ax. However, he was not fast, and his reaction was slow too. Hence, it was already toote by the time he wanted to run. In the blink of an eye, meteors smashed into Dantin¡¯s body, leaving him with no chance to dodge at all.

    The one-eyed dwarf¡¯s ability to devour the power of mana cannons had lost its effectiveness at this moment. By the time the light from the meteors dissipated, the sturdy ax had vanished out of sight too. The powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-level and was a Dwarf Warrior who had awakened his bloodline was thus erased from the world of Anril.

    The serpentine woman Vesha wagged her snake tail, and quickly fled into the distance while the 24 totem poles surrounding her constantly radiated bright rays of light. The shadows of the beasts on the totems flew out of the totem poles, and charged at the meteors that were constantly chasing them. It took the dissipation of three beast shadows for a meteor to be destroyed. The totem poles, which had lost their shadows, also became dull, as if they had lost all their power.

    However, there was more than one meteor behind the serpentinedy Vesha. When there was only one totem pole flickering beside her, she finally blocked all the meteors that wereing after her. However, even then, Vesha did not stop running away, and the only thing she could think about was that the further she fled, the better.

    Among all of them, the blood elf was in a good position. With the power of darkness, as well as his inherent agility, he managed to escape danger even though he seemed extremely disheveled because of the pursuit. Besides, in the process of escape, he also constantly summoned brainless low-level demons from the abyss as meatshields against meteors pursuing him.

    On the other hand, Necromancer Sandos initially wanted to try using his Undead creatures to block the terrifying meteors, but as the meteorsnded, the Undead creatures that he summoned soon vanished. Even the vortex doors of the Tide of Death were blown apart. Hence, there were no Undead creatures.

    Besides, Sandos could also feel that with the explosions of the meteors, the light elements in the space had be increasingly dense, almost close to catching up with the so-called Brilliance Hall¡¯s. Under such circumstances, even if Sandos did not get sted by the meteors, he would probably be in an even more dangerous situation than the others.

    At the thought of this, Sandos gritted his teeth and scurried away in a mess. While doing so, he took out a magic scroll. As it was stimted, an antique gate appeared out of nowhere in front of Sandos. It was an extremely rare Teleportation Scroll. Moreover, the iparably solid appearance of the gate was evidence that it was definitely a valuable legendary scroll which would probably be able to send one hundreds of kilometers away in one go.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I will take revenge for all of youter!¡± Sandos muttered in a grim tone. Not daring to dy any longer, he charged straight into the ancient gate.

    Seeing that Sandos actually used the high-level Teleportation Scroll alone, the rest of the crowd were filled with resentment. If Sandos had used it when everyone was together, the power of the high-level Teleportation Scroll would have been enough to get everyone out. However, they now had to scurry everywhere while being chased by the meteors. They did not have the time to go to the entrance of the Teleportation Scroll at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re right in front of me, and you still want to escape?¡±

    Just when the crowd was fleeing and cursing Sandos in their hearts, an indifferent voice suddenly came from the sky, followed by arge opening in midair. They looked up to see an extremely young mage who was holding a staff in one hand and Sandos, who had just tried to flee, in his other. He stepped out of the openingposedly.

    ¡°Felic! Hurry and make these meteors stop. Do you know whom you¡¯re attacking? Do you want to betray the Supreme Council!?¡± eximed a disheveled Canuman who started hollering in exasperation and frustration when he saw Lin Li turning around all of a sudden in midair. Of course, he knew that he could not resolve the feud between him and the Tower of Dusk, but he believed that as long as he could escape this immediate disaster, he wouldn¡¯t be punished too severely given his position in the Supreme Council.

 Chapter 1018 - Three Years

    <h4>Chapter 1018: Three Years</h4>

    Lin Li did not reply to Canuman, and instead raised Sandos¡¯ hand effortlessly, as if it was weightless. Besides, not to mention that Sandos was just a bunch of bones, even if he was a strong and burly man, he would pose no threat to Lin Li at all.

    Sandos, who had been lifted up by Lin Li single-handedly, had initially already stopped struggling, but no one saw what Lin Li had done. They could only see Sandos acting like a madman all of a sudden as he shrieked while struggling. At the same time, wisps of white mes gradually appeared on his thin and dry body.

    Hearing the screams, everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at them, and they immediately understood the reason for Sandos¡¯ reaction. The wisps of white mes were exactly the Celestial Purification Fire that was rumored to be able to purify all the filth in the world! Everyone could not help but feel a sudden chill in their hearts. Without a doubt, the young President of the Tower of Dusk was using such a method to tell everyone about the consequences of invading the Tower of Dusk¡¯s territory.

    Sandos¡¯ shrieks and the meteors that were chasing them incessantly put them on the verge of a mental breakdown.

    ¡°Felic, if you dare to kill me, the three Arbitrators will definitely seek justice for me!¡± Canuman eximed, bringing up the three Arbitrators because he was already in a dead end, and that was hisst resort. He hoped that that would make Lin Li think twice, but he seemed to have forgotten that he was thrown out mercilessly by Arbitrator Apophis precisely because he had gone against Lin Li.

    However, how would Canuman know that Lin Li had long been selected as the fourth Arbitrator by the three Arbitrators? Moreover, even without the identity of the fourth Arbitrator, the three Arbitrators still wouldn¡¯t say or do anything to stop Lin Li if he wanted to kill Canuman. However, Lin Li did not kill Canuman immediately, and instead quickly moved in another direction on the battlefield.

    There were three who were doing their best to resist the attacks of the meteors, two of which were Sword Sages dressed in dark gold armor. The other one was a Legendary-mage who seemed to be in his thirties, and was shielded by the Sword Sages. Clearly, he had an extraordinary status, especially since the two Sword Sages seemed even more nervous, and showed their intent to protect him after Lin Li appeared.

    However, the Legendary-mage did not panic when he saw Lin Li appearing, and instead even sized Lin Li up as he seemed to be in the mood to do so. Then, he unhurriedly said, ¡°You must be the President of the Tower of Dusk. You¡¯re verypetent. Moreover, you¡¯ve now even obtained the legendary Sky Castle. I had no choice but to do that previously, because I couldn¡¯t find you. Since you have returned, let¡¯s have a discussion.¡±

    The Legendary-mage¡¯s words made Lin Li feel stunned for a while. He thought that the Legendary-mage would either directly fight him head-on or get down and beg for mercy, but he did not expect to hear such words from him. Besides, he did not sound like he was begging for mercy at all, and instead seemed to have a sense of superiority, as if he had the upper hand.

    Lin Li did not know if the Legendary-mage was calm or just had a sense of superiority. Lin Li asked with some derision, ¡°Oh? What do you want to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Stop your attacks first. You¡¯ve already killed Sandos and Dantin. If you kill others, I¡¯m afraid that we will really reach the point of no return,¡± the Legendary-mage said proudly.

    Lin Li was a little amused. Initially, he thought that that Legendary-mage could remain calm because he had a good control over his mentality and emotions. However, he turned out to be someone who failed to get a clear idea of the situation. He naturally did not follow his instructions and stop attacking the rest. Instead, he said, ¡°Seems like you¡¯re themander who¡¯s in charge of the attack against the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that fool Canuman isn¡¯t fit to lead us at all.¡± The Legendary-mage admitted to Lin Li¡¯s conjecture nonchntly, ignoring the gazes of those around him. He then conceitedly said, ¡°You can¡¯t know my identity yet, but I¡¯m just going to tell you that I¡¯m the only one who can recruit you, so you¡¯d better stop attacking immediately. Otherwise, you¡¯ll not only lose the chance to join us, but you¡¯ll also be our greatest enemy!¡±

    The Legendary-mages words were somewhat beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations. He initially thought that it was Canuman¡¯s intention to attack the Tower of Dusk, and that the Necromancer and blood elf et cetera were just hired to help him. However, it seemed that there was an unknown force helping Canuman and allowing him to go against the rules of the Supreme Council. Clearly, the strength of this unknown force was probably not too inferior to that of the Supreme Council, even though it could not be on par with it.

    That made Lin Li curious. It was fair to say that the Supreme Council was in control of all other forces in Anril, and no one would oppose that im. Even the two great forces that were second only to the Supreme Council, the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, probably could not ignore the Supreme Council.

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve failed to get thetest news. I really can¡¯t think of any other force in Anril that dares to ignore the existence of the Supreme Council.¡± Lin Li did not stop attacking, and instead continued speaking while squinting slightly in a bid to find out some things from him.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to know what our force is now. You only need to know that even the so-called Supreme Council is nothing at all in our eyes. If you join us, you will have our support, and it won¡¯t be impossible to rece the Supreme Council,¡± the Legendary-mage said proudly like a pious believer of a certain faith.

    Upon hearing the other party¡¯s proud and arrogant reply, Lin Li nodded calmly, and said, ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not the time to talk about this now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you some time to tell me everything you know.¡± After saying that, he made two giant mana hands appear out of the void, each holding a Sword Sage.

    Lin Li did not give them time to react at all. As soon as the mana hands grabbed the Sword Sages, he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and magic spells sted at the three enemies like a massive wave.

    The other party did not expect Lin Li to take on the challenge. Although the two Sword Sages were figures who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, there was no way they could escape from the hands of a Sanctuary powerhouse. After being restrained by the giant mana hands, the two Sword Sages were powerless, and could not retaliate against the magic spells at all. In an instant, they were devouredpletely by those magic spells.

    That Legendary-mage managed to cast ayer of magical defense in time, but, after all, there was a difference in realm between the two of them, and Lin Li¡¯s attack was sudden too. That Legendary-mage could not keep the defense up even for a single second, as it was immediately broken by the magic spell.

    However, Lin Li merely killed the two Sword Sages and left the Legendary-mage alive because he still wanted to find out some things from him. Hence, after the magic storm passed, the Legendary-magey on the ground in a disheveled manner without any severe damage done to his body.

    ¡°Just behave yourself and stay here. Someone wille and pick you upter. I still have some questions that I need you to answer.¡± After saying that, Lin Li vanished, and the next time he appeared, he was already in front of the blood elf.

    Among the few who escaped, the blood elf was in the best condition. With his incredible agility and therge number of demons as cannon fodder, he soon got rid of the meteors that were chasing him. However, that was also the reason Lin Li charged towards the blood elf after killing Sandos who used the Teleportation Scroll and those who pretended to be the real leaders.

    There were only a few seconds left until he could really leave the ce, but to his surprise, a figure suddenly appeared and hindered him from leaving. Not wasting any time at all, the blood elf immediately tossed his staff out and turned in a bid to move away from the obstruction at the same time.

    After being tossed by the blood elf, the staff immediately turned into a mottled python which had a headrger than that of the Abyssal Demon Dragon Kiel. Its body was as thick as an ordinary tower. If a carriage were to be put in its mouth, it would take a long and hard time to reach its bottom.

    As the mottled python was taking shape, arge bloodied mouth was already covering Lin Li¡¯s head. Its venomous fangs were also the size of a human. Even Lin Li seemed just like a fly in front of the giant python.

    However, the python could no longer close its mouth after looming over Lin Li, as ayer of light emerged around Lin Li and pushed up the giant python¡¯s mouth entirely. Regardless of how much force the giant python was using, it could not bite through the seemingly weakyer of light.

    Lin Li did not intend to take a day trip in the python¡¯s stomach. Making the intruders who attacked the Tower of Dusk bear the consequences of their actions was what he wanted to do the most now. Although he was standing still, the arm that he had extended simply moved out of thin air into the void, as if half of it was suddenly missing. It seemed extremely bizarre.

    At this moment, the blood elf changed his direction, and exerted all of his power while balls of red fog erupted from his body, causing his escape speed to increase rapidly. He was well aware that he might really die if he could not escape in time. Hence, he did everything he could to escape.

    However, before the blood elf could go far, he suddenly felt a palpitation, and then saw a huge hand piercing the void and grabbing him. At this moment, the blood elf finally knew why Sandos was killed even though he had used the high-level Teleportation Scroll.

    Arge amount of self-destructive genes caused the blood elf to almost lose his power to retaliate. He watched the giant hand grab him and drag him out of the void. By the time everything around him changed again, he was already back in front of Lin Li. He could still see the giant mouth outside the light that could not close.

    ¡°There¡¯s always a price to pay for everything you do.¡±

    As soon as he heard his words, he sunk into eternal darkness, and felt as if everything quickly disappeared.

    Lin Li threw the blood elf¡¯s corpse onto the ground with a loud thud. With the death of the blood elf, the mottled python that was fighting with the light also instantly reverted to the form of a staff and fell to the ground.

    Without looking at the staff at all, Lin Li moved and appeared right in front of the serpentine woman Vesha. As soon as Lin Li appeared, a massive wave of oppressionnded in the space around Vesha. The totem poles around her also began to break and shatter as they could not withstand the pressure.

    Seeing this situation, the serpentine woman Vesha dared not procrastinate at all. She took out a silver mask and held it in her hands. Two rays of light shot out at Lin Li through the eyeholes of the mask.

    That was the special magical weapon of the snakes, the Medusa¡¯s Touch, which would instantly turn anyone or any object that was hit by the light into stone. If Lin Li was only at the Legendary-realm, he would probably have to put in some effort to resist it, but unfortunately, being in the Sanctuary-realm meant a fundamental change in his understanding of the world. The petrifying light was not a big deal to him at all.

    Faced with the iing petrifying light, Lin Li simply waved his hand gently, causing the two rays of light to immediately change direction as they urately shone on the serpentine woman Vesha. With a shrill shriek, her body turned into a dull gray stone sculpture.

    ¡°Your turn, Canuman.¡± When Lin Li appeared in front of Canuman again, thetter was the only one left on the battlefield.

    ¡°Wait, I admit defeat, but I want the Supreme Council to judge and sanction me for my sins.¡± Canuman had initially wanted to make thest struggle, but he just wanted to survive now. Once he headed to the Supreme Council and pulled some careful tricks, he might be able to turn the situation around.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li was not afraid of what Canuman was going to do, but he was afraid of trouble. How could he let the Supreme Council deal with Canuman? He nced at the frightened Canumanposedly, and slowly raised his arm while pointing his finger forward.

    BOOM!

    The entire space seemed to have cracked because of Lin Li¡¯s action, while Canuman, who was in that space, could not make a single sound at all. He was torn into bits amidst countless spatial cracks and devoured by the void, thus leaving nothing behind.

    ¡°President!¡± Gavin and the others had seen the appearance of the Sky Castle, but due to the fact that the Sky Castle¡¯s attacks would not differentiate between foe and friend, they dared not leave the Tower of Dusk without permission. When they saw Lin Li killing all the fleeing enemies on the battlefield, they finally knew that their President had returned.

    Taking the mages of the Tower of Dusk with him, Gavin quickly arrived in front of Lin Li and suppressed his feelings of agitation while saying to Lin Li with guilt written all over his face, ¡°President, I¡¯ve you down the past three years!¡±

 Chapter 1019 - Legendary-mage Gerian

    <h4>Chapter 1019: Legendary-mage Gerian</h4>

    ¡°Enough, you¡¯ve already done well. I didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯d be away for three years. Otherwise, I would have left a few more people behind to help you man the Tower of Dusk, and things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way.¡± Lin Li waved his hand and told Gavin not to hold it against himself. Actually, Lin Li had a greater responsibility for this. He believed that if he had left a few powerhouses behind to take charge of the Tower of Dusk, or perhaps even made the Retribution Knights or the Mage Legion stay behind, no one would¡¯ve dared to bully the Tower of Dusk that brazenly.

    ¡°Felic, what¡¯s that thing in the sky? Did you really drive the Sky Castle back here!?¡± Gerian and the mages of the Eternal Furnace scurried over from behind together with Gavin.

    Wilkinson, the other pharmacists, and technical elites of other fields were following behind Gerian. When they first saw Lin Li, they eagerly wanted to rush forward to greet him and pour their woes out to him. However, when they heard Gerian¡¯s question, they immediately fell silent and looked at Lin Li eagerly, waiting to hear his exact answer.

    Since he had already driven the Sky Castle back, there was nothing for Lin Li to hide anymore. Hence, he nodded, and said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the Sky Castle that we went to explore. The others are still up there. They were the ones whounched the attack.¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s exact answer, everyone jumped for joy in excitement after staying silent for a while. A mere Eternal Furnace had already made the Tower of Dusk be an invincible ce. Now, they even had a real Sky Castle. No one dared to imagine what the Sky Castle would be like in the future.

    ¡°Okay, the battle here has ended. Everyone, just follow me and go up to take a look,¡± Lin Li said smilingly. He then chanted an incantation softly, and arge teleportation door opened in front of them.

    ¡°Is it really possible?¡±

    ¡°Oh my God, it¡¯s the legendary Sky Castle!¡±

    ¡°I knew it, I said that the President will be fine. Look, he has even driven the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle back!¡±

    ¡°I wonder if those who have been spreading rumors can still sleep after receiving this news.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and those forces who have terminated their business rtions to us. This time, even if they kneel down in front of us, we will only give in based on our mood.¡±

    The members of the Tower of Dusk were talking with each other excitedly while lining up and entering the Teleportation Portal.

    It seemed that there were a lot of scores to settle! Lin Li stood quietly by the side, and he could basically tell from their chatter what the members of the Tower of Dusk had experienced in the past three years. Lin Li had never been a kind and soft-hearted person. He would never be stingy with his own subordinates, but he wouldn¡¯t be gracious with his enemies. Simply put, he would pay his enemies back in their own coin.

    Once all of them had passed through the door of the Teleportation Portal and stepped onto the majestic Sky Castle, Lin Li was also about to follow them, but he remembered that there was a prisoner that he had left near them. It was not that Lin Li was forgetful, but rather that he was overjoyed to see that his subordinates were alright.

    Lin Li made Gerian and Gavin enter the teleportation portal before turning his head to look at the prisoner. He then reached his arm out to grab something in the void. There was a mana hand at the spot where the half-dead prisoner was, and it was reaching out and grabbing him.

    However, at this moment, there was a sudden fluctuation in the space, and another mana hand reached out to grab the captive on the ground.

    The two mana hands collided, and it did not seem to be a powerful magic spell. The captive it affected was simply blown to the side by an impact.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lin Li said with a solemn expression. Although such means were not rare, only a Sanctuary powerhouse could cast it. Without a doubt, the person who had attacked was a powerful Sanctuary powerhouse.

    At this moment, an old voice sounded from afar.

    ¡°President Felic, since your Guild of Magic did not suffer any losses, I¡¯ll take this kid away.¡±

    After he said that, another wave of magic emerged from the void before grabbing the prisoner.

    <i>What a joke, since when does just anyone have the right to hold my people captive!</i> Although Lin Li knew that the other party was in the Sanctuary-realm, and was not just a beginner, it did not mean that he had to show him respect. Anyway, he could tell that the other party was definitely not one of the few Sanctuary powerhouses whom he was close to.

    Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate at all. He pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and rays of lightning crashed down onto the hand of mana that was not far away. He then split it and made it disappear.

    ¡°President Felic, I suggest that you don¡¯t act impulsively out of anger. You¡¯ve already killed the others, but killing this person won¡¯t do you any good,¡± said the old voice, seemingly suppressing his anger.

    ¡°Sure, you can take him away, but before you do, I want to know what force you are from,¡± said Lin Li who wanted to keep the prisoner behind for the sake of finding out the force behind him. Otherwise, he would have long crushed him into powder.

    However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the old voice fell silent. Clearly, he did not expect that rascal to reveal such an important piece of information.

    <i>Since you don¡¯t want to answer, I¡¯ll go over and ask you!</i> Throughout this period of time, Lin Li had already roughly estimated the other party¡¯s location using the clues that he found when thetter was exhibiting the hand of mana. Hence, when he saw the other party remaining silent, Lin Li immediately summoned the debris of the stars, Nothingness, and waved it in the air, causing a crack to form. It was about to pierce through space and strike that old man.

    However, before Lin Li even entered, he heard a sudden shrieking from the spatial rift, immediately after which the clues that he was tracking vanished. It seemed that the other party¡¯s reaction was rather fast. When he sensed that Lin Li was going to catch him, he immediately vanished.

    Lin Li could but stop and turn around to pull the captive towards him. He then strode towards the door of the Teleportation Portal that led to the Sky Castle.

    Everything happened within less than 20 seconds, and thus no one in the Sky Castle noticed that Lin Li hadgged for that brief duration. However, Gavin, Gerian, and the others immediately rushed over while Lin Li was carrying the person who had passed out.

    ¡°President, who¡¯s this?¡± Gavin knew that Lin Li was holding one of the enemies who had attacked the Tower of Dusk, but thetter did not stand out in the battles during this period of time. Hence, they did not know why Lin Li chose to kill all the leaders and leave this one behind.

    Lin Li tossed the prisoner onto the ground, and said to Gavin and the others, ¡°Lock this one up in the dungeon of the Sky Castle. Use whatever means it takes to interrogate him and identify the force behind him.¡±

    ¡°You mean Canuman isn¡¯t the culprit behind this attack against the Tower of Dusk!?¡± Gavin couldn¡¯t help but be shocked when he heard the news. He frowned a little, and said, ¡°Lately, the peace in the Breezy ins has been disrupted, and rumor has it that many of the local forces have been attacked by unknown forces. Initially, we thought that they were just making excuses, but it turns out that there¡¯s really such a force.¡±

    ¡°Okay, the rest of you can look around. Let¡¯s go inside to chat. I¡¯d like to hear what exactly has happened in the Tower of Dusk and Breezy ins in the past three years.¡± Lin Li sent the captive away and brought Gerian, Gavin, as well as the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk to the Central Tower of the Sky Castle.

    They settled down in the hall on the first floor, and Gavin and the others began to tell Lin Li about what had happened in the past three years, as well as the various changes in the Breezy ins and the Tower of Dusk. Actually, Lin Li knew the first and greatest change: there was arge number of mages who suddenly improved greatly in strength because of the magic tides. There were many who had also broken through the bottlenecks that they had been stuck in for a long time.

    At this juncture, Gerian squinted, and his chubby face vibrated continuously due to hisughter. He said, ¡°Kid, did you notice? I¡¯m now a Legendary-mage too!¡±

    In fact, with Gerian¡¯s magical talent, he should at most reach level-15 or level-16. He only managed to reach the peak of level-19 thanks to the power of the Sky Castle¡¯s control crystal and the Tree of Eternity. However, the peak of level-19 could already be considered the maximum of Gerian¡¯s potential. There was almost no possibility of further advancement. When Lin Li left, he was already stuck at the bottleneck of the peak of level-19 for a long time.

    However, Gerian encountered the magic tides that urred once in a blue moon, and this time they were on a much greater scale than before. With the power of the magic tides, the old Gerian finally broke through the bottleneck in one go, thus bing a true Legendary-mage. Simrly, Gavin, who had always been in charge of the matters at the Tower of Dusk, had also entered the Legendary-realm. Many of the mages who had been eliminated from the Mage Legion had also reached the peak of level-19.

    Although Gerian knew that there was barely any hope for him to advance further in the Legendary-realm, Gerian did not care about it at all. What he cared about was his lifespan, which had increased by 180 years at once after he reached the Legendary-realm. That was the real reason for his happiness.

    ¡°Hah, back then, Old Merlin and I have been advancing together, and we¡¯ve always been on par with each other. However, Old Merlin probably would have never expected that I¡¯d one day step into the Legendary-realm. So, having a longer lifespan is victory.¡± Theyers of fat in Gerian¡¯s face were pushed together, and he couldn¡¯t stop grinning widely.

    After praising himself for a long time, Gerian continued telling Lin Li about the current situation in the Breezy ins, as well as the Tower of Dusk¡¯s future development in the Breezy ins. At this moment, Gavin seemed to be guilt-ridden. After all, no matter what, the Tower of Dusk had changed drastically since Lin Li handed the Tower of Dusk to him.

    ¡°Okay, get rid of that expression of yours. It¡¯s no big deal. Haven¡¯t I already told you long ago that being alive is the most important thing? As for those assets that we¡¯ve lost, just take it that we¡¯re letting them safeguard them for two years. We¡¯ll take it back from them with added interest in the future,¡± Lin Li said, waving his hand indifferently.

    Lin Li believed that as long as he spread the news about the fact that he had brought the Sky Castle back, those people would give him everything he needed without him having to do anything.

    In reality, just like what Lin Li thought, the news of his return with the Sky Castle immediately spread like wildfire in the Breezy ins after the Sky Castle flew over from the Ledin Kingdom andnded at the Tower of Dusk.

    The shock that that piece of news brought everyone was far greater than when Lin Li had entered the Sanctuary-realm at a young age. After all, the Sky Castle was something that only existed in legends and myths. Exploring it once was already an impressive feat, yet Lin Li even took possession of the entire Sky Castle. It was simply a legend of the era.

    Besides, that news was not difficult to verify. Those who went to Dnd City would be able to see the inverted mountain peak above the Tower of Dusk, which was forming a huge shadow on the ground. Other than the Sky Castle, what else in the world could float in the sky despite having such arge volume?!

    After understanding the situation of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li, Gavin, and the other senior executives discussed their following development strategy. The main reason for the decline of the Tower of Dusk in the past three years was that there was no real powerhouse to guard the Tower of Dusk. Now that Lin Li had returned with the Sky Castle, everything was naturally settled easily.

    Many forces had improved greatly due to the magic tides, and there were even many Legendary powerhouses who managed to step into the Sanctuary-realm because of it. However, they knew that there was still a great difference between them and the Tower of Dusk now. Putting aside the Sanctuary powerhouses, the Sky Castle alone was enough to make most forces fear him.

    After they were done making various ns for the development of the Tower of Dusk, the mages outside had already seen most of the Sky Castle. However, Lin Li did not intend to let all of them stay in the Sky Castle. After all, the foundation of the Tower of Dusk was on the ground, and the Tower of Dusk had yet to reach the level of the Supreme Council, which could rule over the entire Anril. Hence, Gavin brought them back to clean up the battlefield at the Tower of Dusk as well as the periphery of the Magic City so that the mages could stay there and learn.

    Of course, for the future task of sealing the spacetime rift, Lin Li had to arrange for someone to stay in the Sky Castle and assist in the operation. Therefore, he announced his decision that he would recruit the mages who achieved excellent grades after an examination and allow them to live in the Sky Castle, where they could learn about magic and the operation of some facilities in the Sky Castle.

 Chapter 1020 - Returning To The Library

    <h4>Chapter 1020: Returning To The Library</h4>

    After those matters were settled, Lin Li didn¡¯t stay behind in the Sky Castle any longer. He activated the Sky Castle¡¯s defense system, and brought his subordinates back to the Tower of Dusk. The two Undead servants and the Retribution Knights returned to the ck Front Fortress to digest and assimte all of the knowledge that they had received during this period of time. On the other hand, Connoris and Angno were researching and working on some random things in the Eternal Furnace. The other members of the Tower of Dusk also immediately began studying intensely, perhaps because they missed the opportunity the magic tides had brought.

    After arranging everything, Lin Li went to the library of the Tower of Dusk by himself, and ced all the magic books that he had collected in the tower under the Sky Castle on the bookshelves. The Tower of Dusk had not been established for long, and thus it did not have a strong foundation, unlike the other forces which had a heritage of thousands of years. Hence, the library had never been full. Even though the quality of the magic books was very high, the scarcity of books still made it seem weird. However, the library finally looked decent after Lin Li ced some books in it.

    Now, the library of the Tower of Dusk was probably just as rich in resources and magical knowledge as that of the Supreme Council. In fact, it was probably even moreprehensive. Most importantly, the magic books that Lin Li had obtained this time were all written by Geresco who had the characteristics of human mages in mind when he wrote them. Hence, they were magic books that truly belonged to humans.

    Although the human magic civilization had developed for more than 1,300 years since the end of the Dark Age, the crystallization of magic civilization that human mages now had was only limited to the magical knowledge below the Legendary-realm. After entering the Legendary-realm, most of the books they read were the magic books of the High Elves which were at most tranted and enhanced with some annotations of the predecessors.

    That resulted in a huge problem¡ªhumans did not have aplete and unified magical knowledge system of their own. They had no choice but to inherit the magical knowledge system of the High Elves. However, humans were very different from High Elves. A clear difference was that the High Elves had long lifespans, while humans could only live at most up to a few hundred years, even if they were Legendary powerhouses.

    Besides, the writtennguage of the High Elves had always been known for itsplexity and magnificence, which caused the tranted texts to vary in interpretation. The same text might be tranted in 100 different ways by 100 different trantors. If it was just a literature piece, there would be no problem with that, but the Legendary-realm involved the analysis and understanding of the Elemental Laws, and the most probable consequence would be a drastic difference between the intended meaning of the original text and the tranted text.

    If a mage were to go on the wrong path in the Legendary-realm, then even if the possibility of it was not cut off entirely, the difficulty of him stepping into the Sanctuary-realm would be hundreds of times higher. That was also an important reason why although there had been countless magical geniuses after 1,300 years of development of human magical civilization, there were very few who could enter the Sanctuary-realm.

    Only by perfectly understanding the basicws of the world could one be familiar with the nature of the world and be an existence that was closer to gods. If there was some deviation in the understanding of the basic World Laws, how would one be able to see through the essence of the world?

    For human magical civilization, the period of more than 1,300 years was just like a period of figuring things out and advancing forward. The experience of the High Elves still belonged to the High Elves, after all, and would lead human magical civilization to a more deviant path. Some people might find the path to entering the Legendary-realm, but they might not be able to find the direction to the Sanctuary-realm. Some might have found the door to the Sanctuary-realm, but they might not be able to step through it.

    Previously, in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle, Lin Li passed the test of Geresco¡¯s incarnation, which had also said that the Immortal King and Geresco had gone on the wrong paths. The Immortal King, who had single-handedly created the prosperity of the High Elves¡¯ dynasty, and Geresco, who was called the God of Mages, had both gone the wrong way. Clearly, it was extremely difficult to find the correct path without proper guidance.

    Besides, once one went wrong on the path of magic, it would basically be impossible to go back and start over. For example, Lin Li¡¯s teacher Andoine had chosen to use the Thorn Domain as his Magical Domain, which had basically cut off the possibility of him stepping into the Sanctuary-realm in the future. It would be impossible for him to start all over again. Even Geresco and the Immortal King could not start again. Not to mention, Lin Li had yet to reach their level.

    Of course, even with the existence of the batch of human magical books, it did not mean that all human mages reading them would reach the Sanctuary-realm. After all, the problem of the development of magic civilization was not something that could be resolved by a single person¡ªnot even Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages.

    However, Lin Li was not in the mood for developing human magical civilization. After all, he had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and what he was concerned about now was how he could increase his strength and that of the Tower of Dusk.

    With a batch of human magic books, Lin Li believed that the mages of the Tower of Dusk would not face major issues in reaching the Sanctuary-realm as long as they had enough talent in magic.

    This time, the outbreak of the magic tides allowed the mages who remained in the Tower of Dusk to experience a qualitative leap in their abilities, but the increase inbat power was disproportionate. If those mages were to go against the other mages whom Lin Li had brought to the Sky Castle, they would definitely lose terribly. After all, the people whom Lin Li had brought away had all experienced the tempering of countless intense battles. In terms of the use of mana andbat experience, the mages who¡¯d stayed behind could notpare to them.

    It was just like when Lin Li was in a battle with Geresco¡¯s incarnation in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle. Geresco¡¯s incarnation was limited to level-25, but with his rich experience, he still managed to give Lin Li a hard time. Clearly, the gap between realms could not be made up for with technique, but the gap between levels could bepensated for.

    The magic tides allowed the mages who stayed behind in the Tower of Dusk to break through their bottlenecks and experience a huge increase in their power. However, with the help of the magical books, Lin Li believed that they would soon be able to turn their superficial power into actualbat power.

    In general, although Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk for three years, and the development of the Tower of Dusk had taken a sharp turn for the worse in those three years, all the problems that they faced were no longer problems now that he had returned.

    While thinking about the development of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li carefully sorted out the magic books and ced them on the bookshelves. However, when he put thest magic book on a shelf, he suddenly felt a majestic mana wave surging from behind him.

    At the instant that the mana wave surged, Lin Li immediately reacted and made his Domain World engulf the space around him before turning around to look behind him where the mana wave came from.

    ¡°Geresco!¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be shocked when he saw the figure not far behind him. <i>This is the library of the Tower of Dusk, why is Geresco here?</i>

    Thinking about the magic books that he had just ced on the shelves, Lin Li finally realized that the magic books contained the condensed mental strength of Geresco¡¯s incarnation. Since he ced the magic books there, Geresco¡¯s incarnation was naturally brought there too.

    Although Lin Li was a little surprised to see Geresco¡¯s incarnation, he was not nervous and worried about it. Instead, a strong excitement surged in his heart because he knew that the appearance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation would only be beneficial to him.

    The battles in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle allowed Lin Li to gain a lot from Geresco, which was not a gain inferior to his ownership of the Sky Castle. Although the Sky Castle was massive, it was just a material possession, after all. Lin Li could use it as a tool, but he could not rely on itpletely. The improvement of his own abilities was what was truly important.

    Since Lin Li had passed a test before, the current Geresco¡¯s incarnation had advanced by one level, and was now restricted to level-26. Just like before, Geresco¡¯s incarnation did not say anything, and simply waved his hand, after which everything around them became distorted. By the time it returned to normal, the scenery around them was no longer that of a library.

    Although it was not the first time that Geresco¡¯s incarnation had brought him away to another ce, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit shocked. Lin Li was now a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm¡¯s level-26. Lin Li would be able to detect all the changes in this space, not to mention such an obvious transformation. However, everything seemed so natural as if it were a perfect fit. Lin Li even felt that he was already in that space in the first ce.

    Lin Li had originally thought that since he had passed a test and gained more experience and knowledge, the gap between him and Geresco would be reduced a little. However, it seemed to him now that Geresco was still a superior existence whom he could only look up to. Geresco¡¯s strength was simply boundless.

    The space that Geresco brought Lin Li to this time was not like an arena like before. Instead, it was a World of Void where there were countless boulders floating around, making Lin Li feel as if he had barged into an asteroid belt in space, and they were constantly shuttling around him.

    Although the asteroids seemed to be flying slowly, Lin Li could feel that the kic energy contained in the asteroids was on par with Legendary-level magic spells. In such an environment, not only would he have to face Geresco whose level was higher and who had richer experience and greater skills, he also had to consider the asteroids around him. It seemed that it was not going to be easy for him to pass that test.

    Just like before, as soon as Lin Li got a clear glimpse of the surroundings, Geresco¡¯s incarnationunched a harsh attack on him. The strength of Geresco¡¯s incarnation had increased to level-26, and thebat power he could now exert was far greater than before.

    After exchanging blows for two rounds, a giant sun-like fireball prated Lin Li¡¯syers of defense without any hindrance. While whirring at high speed, it stopped in front of him and constantly emitted scorching waves of heat. Looking at the giant fireball that was right in front of him, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be frightened to the point of breaking out in a cold sweat despite the zing heat.

    Lin Li had initially thought that since he had passed a test, mastered the knowledge, and integrated the experience he¡¯d gained, he would at least be able tost a few rounds against Geresco even if he was far from beingparable to him. However, he had not expected his confidence to be shattered by Geresco¡¯s incarnation as soon as he started.

    The giant fireball gradually dispersed, and Geresco¡¯s incarnation once again appeared in front of Lin Li. Holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter tightly, Lin Li was just waiting for the right moment to immediatelyunch an attack on his opponent. However, Geresco¡¯s incarnation did not give Lin Li that opportunity, and instead returned to the library together with Lin Li.

    Lin Li had never enjoyed such a treatment in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle. Instead, he had been abused by Geresco thousands of times, and he had been constantly learning and improving during the process. Hence, although Lin Li had once again been defeated in two rounds, he was already ready to be abused thousands of times again.

    However, Lin Li never expected that he¡¯d be defeated in one round. How could he learn anything from the battle, then?

    However, just as Lin Li was feeling puzzled, a magic book with a simple cover suddenly flew out of nowhere. The magic book flew straight to his side, hovered in front of him, and was then opened by an invisible force. Dozens of pages flipped before stopping.

    After Lin Li looked at the pages of the books, he immediately understood Geresco¡¯s intentions. Clearly, Geresco wanted to make Lin Li find out the reason for his failure in this exchange and think about the counterattacks that he could make. Actually, the reason for it was very simple, and that was that Lin Li¡¯s problem was extremelyplex.

 Chapter 1021 - Shock

    <h4>Chapter 1021: Shock</h4>

    Besides, if Lin Li needed Geresco to teach him everything, wouldn¡¯t Lin Li be walking on the same path as Geresco? He would only be following in Geresco¡¯s footsteps, and gradually losing his own creativity. Geresco definitely did not want to see such a situation. Lin Li could tell from the words that Geresco had said after Lin Li had passed the previous test that Geresco wanted him to walk a different path.

    Hence, the magic book that Geresco chose for Lin Liprised mostly fundamental concepts that Lin Li had to study carefully. However, there was no information about how Lin Li could do it. After getting the magic book, Lin Li simply sat down on the ground, and read it carefully without moving at all.

    While reading the contents of the magic book, Lin Li recalled the scene of him exchanging blows with Geresco¡¯s incarnation. He sat on the ground for more than an hour, and he only closed the magic book after simting the n of counterattacking against his opponent countless times.

    As Lin Li closed the magic book, Geresco¡¯s incarnation appeared in front of him again. It then brought him to another space.

    If there were others in the library at this time, they would see a very strange scene. Lin Li closed the magic book, and his body suddenly flickered. Next, a magic book flew in front of him, and automatically flipped to a certain page. The cycle continued, and whenever Lin Li¡¯s body shed, there would be a magic book opening in front of him. The ones that he had read would then automatically fly back to the bookshelf.

    Lin Li¡¯s original n was to just go there and sort out the magic books, but as Geresco¡¯s incarnation appeared, he gradually got immersed in learning. He repeatedly engaged in battles, found his problems, continued to learn, and then engaged in battles. The process made Lin Li lose track of the time outside and forget the fact that he had returned to the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, Lin Li might be the owner of the Tower of Dusk, but most of the time he was just an icon and the pir of spiritual support of the mages of the Tower of Dusk. His presence alone was sufficient for the Tower of Dusk. The Tower of Dusk had developed to a great extent, and there were very few things that required Lin Li¡¯s decisions. Gavin and the other senior executives could take responsibility for the operation of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, even though Lin Li had gone into seclusion at an untimely juncture, it did not affect the quick recovery of the Tower of Dusk.

    When Lin Li was learning from Geresco, the news of him returning with the Sky Castle had already spread throughout the entire Breezy ins, and even the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom. One would be able to see therge building floating in the sky as long as they got near Dnd City. Hence, no one doubted anything at all.

    In the three years that Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk, the various forces in the Breezy ins thought that Lin Li had died in the Sky Castle together with the elites of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they could already imagine the condition of the Tower of Dusk in the past three years. After all, the various forces submitted to them back then all because of the terrifying power of Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Everyone obviously did not want to be suppressed by a hegemon. Even the smaller forces were not willing to have another force suppressing them, not to mention therge and medium forces. Hence, in those three years, the rumors of Lin Li dying in the Sky Castle began to spread, and those forces finally appeared as they could no longer hold back.

    In the beginning, those forces dared not go overboard. After all, when Lin Li had been establishing the prestige and might of the Tower of Dusk, the ruthless means that he¡¯d shown had left a deep impression on everyone. Besides, the first time that Lin Li had visited the Sky Castle, he had also gone missing for half a year for an unknown reason. However, as soon as he¡¯d returned, he got rid of the Dark de.

    However, as years passed, the rumors were gradually deemed to be true. After all, no one thought that it would take such a long period of time to explore a ruin. Hence, as more and more time passed, those who wanted to take revenge started doing so. They med it on the Tower of Dusk for being domineering and overbearing to the extent that they wanted to subdue all forces in the Breezy ins.

    Moreover, in addition to Lin Li¡¯s rumored death in the Sky Castle, another important reason that gave many forces the strength to rise was also the appearance of the magic tides. With the appearance of the magic tides, the mages who were recruited by each force improved tremendously in strength.

    The mages who could only stay below level-15 immediately became Archmages, while the Archmages who initially could not step into the Legendary-realm finally did so. For some small forces that could not recruit mages, the magic tides naturally did not have much of an effect. However, for therge and medium forces who had many mages, it was a great opportunity.

    Although more than half of the elites of the Tower of Dusk had been taken away, there were still many mages left. Likewise, they had also gained many benefits from the magic tides, and be strong mages whom the other forces could not deal with easily. However, the Tower of Dusk had be the public enemy. Back then, the leaders of many factions could still remember clearly the scene of their forces being forced to submit.

    After the departure of Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse and more than half of the elite mages, the Tower of Dusk was just an ordinary major force in the Breezy ins. Besides, there were not too many powerful figures to watch over the Tower of Dusk, unlike in the otherrge and medium-sized forces which had at least a few Legendary powerhouses who were at level-23 or level-24. The Tower of Dusk and the Magic City were the only forces that the other forces could notpare to.

    However, if those forces wanted to deal with the Tower of Dusk, they did not necessarily have to attack the Tower of Dusk and seize it. If they were to do that, the forces would probably have to face considerable consequences in the end, even if they united. The leaders of those forces were not fools, and they wanted to deal with the Tower of Dusk for the sake of greater benefits, not to lose what they had.

    However, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s weakness was too obvious. When Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse was around, he acted as a deterrent, and the Tower of Dusk even safely sent mage apprentices to be in charge of their businesses. Others dared not do anything to harm the interests of the Tower of Dusk at all. However, when Lin Li was absent, the remaining manpower that the Tower of Dusk had could no longer protect the businesses that they were in charge of.

    Hence, in those three years, especially thest year, the factions that had long been coveting the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses joined forces to suppress the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses even though they dared not brazenly attack the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Magic City. Hence, that caused the Tower of Dusk to suffer some considerable losses.

    Although the Brilliance Shrine, the Darkness Shrine, the Gilded Rose, and the other forces were still maintaining business rtions with the Tower of Dusk, they would not provide much help to the Tower of Dusk. They were also the reason that the Tower of Dusk would not copse in three years. If they had lost all their businesses, no one would¡¯ve been willing to stay.

    The original forces that suppressed the Tower of Dusk were still thinking that it was only a matter of time before the Tower of Dusk copsed. However, to their astonishment, Lin Li returned with the Sky Castle after missing for three years. They were well aware of the consequences that they would face for going against the Tower of Dusk. The young President Lin Li had never been a kind-hearted person.

    Hence, for those forces that had suppressed the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li¡¯s return was just like doomsday. The alliance formed to suppress the Tower of Dusk crumbled as soon as they received the news. The leaders of the forces no longer seemed ascent, and were instead hysterically ming each other.

    Jaroteli City of the Breezy ins was the ce where the headquarters of the ck Sun Brothers Union was. The headquarters covered arge area, and the luxurious decor was even more eye-catching than the local casten mansion¡¯s. In Jaroteli City, one had to know the four leaders of the ck Sun Brothers Union who were in charge of all the money-making business of the city, and their power had prated every corner of the city. Even the casten had to suck up to them to stay in his position.

    The ck Sun Brothers Union held authority over the entire Jaroteli area, and had 50,000,000[1] subordinates that they could deploy forbat. They also had a team of more than 200 mages. Although the group of mages was insignificant in the beginning, and had mages that were lower than level-5, theirbat power became rather considerable after the magic tides.

    With such power, the ck Sun Brothers Union had an extremely high standing in the alliance that suppressed the Tower of Dusk. It would not be wrong to say that they were the leaders of the alliance. After finding out about Lin Li¡¯s return, Anlork and the other leaders of the ck Sun Brothers Union immediately gathered the leaders of all the forces in the alliance to discuss their n for revenge against the Tower of Dusk.

    However, what made Anlork and the others feel helpless was the fact that there was a chaoticmotion in the gathering hall of the ck Sun Brothers Union¡¯s headquarters, which made it seem like a noisy market. The leaders of the various forces were not in the mood to discuss how to deal with the Tower of Dusk at all. Instead, they were ming each other, as if that would allow them to shirk the responsibility.

    The leaders of the various forces had once gathered in the hall, and had a heated argument over interests. However, they were now desperately trying to put all the me on others. Lin Li¡¯s return had caused them to be disoriented and too worried to think about gains. No matter how intense their argument was, it would not count to the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Leader, bad news!¡±

    While they were arguing intensely in the gathering hall, a disheveled Warrior suddenly barged in from outside. He had a sanguine crow mark on his chest which indicated his identity as a member of the Breezy ins Blood Crow Bandits.

    The Blood Crow Bandits were arge bandit group based in the southwest of the Breezy ins which had more than 3,000 elite warriors, and controlled all the underground businesses of the Breezy ins. Even the lofty and mighty castens would have to bow down to their leaders.

    The Blood Crow Bandits also had a legion of nearly 100 mages, who were initially only at about level-10, and theirbat power was rtively useless. However, the appearance of the magic tides made the mages improve up to 100 times faster, and the originally useless legion of mages became the Blood Crow Bandits¡¯ trump card.

    That was also the very reason that the Blood Crow Bandits had the confidence to cooperate with other forces and go against the Tower of Dusk. However, their confidence was built on the basis that there was no real powerhouse in the Tower of Dusk. Now that Lin Li had returned to the Tower of Dusk with so many powerhouses and the Sky Castle, the number of mages the Blood Crow Bandits had no longer mattered.

    When he heard his subordinatementing, the leader of the Blood Crow Bandits, Engory, immediately had an ominous hunch. He suddenly stood up, and asked his subordinate, ¡°Speak up, what happened!?¡±

    Overwhelmed with grief, the Warrior of the Blood Crow Banditsy on the ground, and sobbingly yelled, ¡°Leader, it¡¯s over, it¡¯s all over, all our brothers are finished!¡±

    Upon hearing his subordinate¡¯s answer, Engory immediately felt his vision darken as his body swayed twice. Barely supporting himself against the table to stop himself from falling, he asked, ¡°Where are the two deputy heads? Where are the few guests that we hired to help?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all dead. When I went back, our entire headquarters had disappeared, and not a single person escaped!¡± the Warrior answered with endless horror written all over his face as he recalled the previous scene.

    Bam!

    Engory fell hard onto his chair. Although he knew that his fellow members who stayed in the headquarters would definitely not be able to escape when he was questioning him, he did not expect the Tower of Dusk to be so ruthless as to get rid of their headquarters that was as strong as a fortress. In the headquarters, there were more than just Bandits, Warriors, and mages. His family members were there too.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk is too brutal. Don¡¯t they know not to harm the family members of their enemies!?¡±

    Upon hearing what happened to the Blood Crow Bandits, the leaders of the forces in the gathering hall immediately started to point fingers one after another. However, although they were speaking with righteous indignation, they were actually trying to hide the horror and panic in their hearts. None of them knew who would be the next to suffer after the Blood Crow Bandits.

    ¡°No, since we can¡¯te to a consensus after these discussions, I will take my leave now. I have to go back and make arrangements immediately!¡± eximed a chubby mage whose face had turned pale. While wiping the sweat on his face, he swayed unsteadily and stood up while supporting himself against the table. He then walked towards the exit after bidding goodbye to them.

    [1] 50,000 is more likely.

 Chapter 1022 - Asserting Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 1022: Asserting Dominance</h4>

    What else was there to discuss at this point? Discuss how to deal with the Tower of Dusk? What a joke. The Tower of Dusk was helmed by a Sanctuary powerhouse, and though the factions had been strengthened by the magic tides, they would definitely still die in the face of a Sanctuary powerhouse!

    After the chubby mage took the lead, the others also immediately stood up to bid everyone goodbye in a bid to go back to their own territory as soon as possible. Even if they had to die, they had to settle their family first. There were even some who were thinking of disbanding their forces immediately after returning to avoid suffering the Tower of Dusk¡¯s revenge.

    The noisy and chaotic gathering hall fell silent in the blink of an eye, and the members of the ck Sun Brothers Union like Anlork and the others, as well as Engory who had lost everything and had nowhere to go, were the only ones left.

    ¡°Atrocious, do those guys not know that we can only go against the Tower of Dusk if we join forces!?¡± Anlork yelled furiously as he mmed his hand against the table forcefully, causing it to break into pieces. However, he could not hide the horror in the depths of his eyes.

    While he said that, assembling the forces together did not mean that they would have the power to go against the Tower of Dusk. Actually, he did not believe it, either. There was a Sanctuary powerhouse in the Tower of Dusk, and it was indeed true that those below the Sanctuary-realm were insignificant small fries. Besides, the Tower of Dusk had even obtained the Sky Castle

    this time¡ªa powerful weapon that the High Elves had used to dominate Anril.

    Suppressing the fear and horror in his heart, Anlork turned to look at the side, and suddenly asked, ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Master Canumane over yet? Haven¡¯t you guys informed him of the meeting today?¡±

    ¡°President, we already went to inform him yesterday, but when we went over again this morning, Master Tanu was no longer around,¡± a subordinate said to Anlork cautiously while standing behind him.

    ¡°What!?¡±

    Upon hearing his subordinate¡¯s reply, the other leaders of ck Sun Brothers Union could not help but exim in shock, just like Anlork. However, they soon understood that Master Tanu had surely fled after realizing that things were going awry. At the thought of this, their faces turned sullen because they were the only ones who knew that they hade to deal with the Tower of Dusk after being persuaded by Master Tanu.

    However, just when Anlork and the others were filled with anger, those who had just left in a hurry surprisingly scurried back, as if they had heard Anlork¡¯s call.

    Seeing this scene, Anlork and the others couldn¡¯t help but be a little shocked, as they did not believe that those people were also there to deal with the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he questioned in a hostile tone, ¡°Weren¡¯t you guys going to go back and prepare for the remaining matters? Why have you returned?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, Anlork, do you think I was willing toe back?! Tell me, did you secretly already submit to the Tower of Dusk and sell us out!?¡± The leader of one of the forces in the crowd cursed angrily at Anlork and the others. The others immediately responded to his words, and turned to look at Anlork and the rest ferociously.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Anlork was a little confused, but he was mostly infuriated. He was the mighty leader of the ck Sun Brothers Union. Since when had he ever been smeared and scolded harshly!?

    Under normal circumstances, none of the forces would dare to even cast angry gazes at Anlork because of how powerful the ck Sun Brothers Union was. However, some of them had clearly decided to go all out. After hearing Anlork¡¯s harsh questioning, they immediately put on looks of derision without feeling a tinge of fear at all. ¡°You¡¯re the one who did it, and you have the cheek to ask us? Didn¡¯t you trick us intoing here just to im credit from the Tower of Dusk!?¡±

    ¡°Make yourselves clear!¡± Anlork was so exasperated that he was shivering uncontrobly from head to toe. If not for his brothers who were holding him back, he would have long issued orders to have those people killed.

    ¡°Drop the act, the people of the Tower of Dusk are right outside, and your purpose has been achieved. Why bother fooling us?¡± The chubby mage who had left the earliest was seated on a chair and looking upward, clearly already prepared to resign to fate and die.

    ¡°The people from the Tower of Dusk!¡± Hearing those people¡¯s words, Anlork immediately felt his vision cking out as he involuntarily took two steps back, not knowing that he had knocked over the chairs behind him.

    At this moment, a group of mages from the Tower of Dusk stood outside the gathering hall, blocking the entrance. The people in the hall finally stopped berating Anlork when they saw the people of the Tower of Dusk. Shivering continuously, they looked out of the door, as if they were waiting for the Tower of Dusk to make thest verdict.

    The one in charge of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was the leader of the group of mages, n, and behind him were Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, as well as 100 level-18 and level-19 Archmages. Those Archmages were not the same ones who had followed Lin Li to explore the Sky Castle, but having 20 to 30 of them was enough to make the entire team seem domineering.

    ¡°You guys...¡± Pointing at n and the others, Anlork could not bring himself to finish speaking. They were indeed there to settle the scores with him, and there was nothing he could question them for.

    Without even looking at Anlork and the others, n reached his hand out, and a mage beside him immediately ced a scroll on his hand. Next, he opened the scroll and watched it move slowly while saying in a cold voice, ¡°Engory, the leader of the Blood Crow Bandits, Anlork, the president of the ck Sun Brothers Union, the deputy presidents Genavan, Robert, and Jordan, the leader of the Silver Sword Mercenary Corps, Caro, and the deputy head, York, the leader of the Red River Mercenary Corps...¡±

    In the beginning, the people in the crowd did not quite understand what exactly the people of the Tower of Dusk meant by reading out those names. However, as the names were read out one after another, they gradually found one thing inmon between those people¡ªthey had all once directly used force against the Tower of Dusk.

    The Tower of Dusk had always been particr about settling issues regarding businesses in a businesslike manner. No matter how despicable the means that their opponents resorted to, they would always counterattack with business tactics. If not, even if they had to resort to other means, it would not be a hard thing for them to wipe out all the forces in the Breezy ins with Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse around.

    Lin Li¡¯s purpose of establishing that principle was because he hoped that the Tower of Dusk could grow healthily in the business sector, and not get rid of all obstacles tyrannically with brute force. However, if anyone were to use non-business means to deal with the Tower of Dusk, they would definitely be dealt with using the harshest means.

    This time, Lin Li left for three years in one go, and those forces had already forgotten the rules of the Tower of Dusk. Forces like the ck Sun Brothers Union and the Blood Crow Bandits could note up with any clever business tactics, so they would naturally resort to using brute force, which was the most direct and simplest method. Anyway, in their opinion, the Tower of Dusk would not be able to continue upholding the rules, because Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse was not around. Thus, they felt that they could do whatever they wanted to do with them.

    After knowing the significance of n reading out those names, the leaders of the various forces in the hall had strange expressions too. Those who had their names called looked extremely dejected, while the others who did not get named were secretly thankful, but also worried. After all, they were involved in the suppression of the Tower of Dusk, and even if they were lucky not to die, they would probably have to pay a huge price.

    Finally, n rolled up the scroll and handed it to the mage beside him while looking coldly at the people around him. ¡°Kill!¡±

    That word was like a cold gust of wind that blew into the hall, causing the temperature to drop. The hall immediately became chaotic. Some were cursing loudly, while others were looking around for a way to escape. There were also some who were grimacing and trying to fight.

    Since the people in the hall could be the leaders of the various forces, they were naturallypetent. Almost all of them were Legendary powerhouses, especially a few level-21 and level-22 Legendary-mages who had advanced to level-23 or level-24 after the magic tides.

    ¡°What are you panicking for? There are so many Legendary powerhouses here. Are we supposed to just let them kill us!?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight them to death. Even if we die, they must pay the price!¡±

    Those tyrants were not kindhearted people in the first ce. n¡¯smand immediately triggered the ferociousness of those people, and they decided to go all out and drag a few people down with them. Besides, in their opinion, there was a possibility of survival. After all, there were more than 10 Legendary powerhouses on their side, while the Tower of Dusk only had three Legendary powerhouses even though they had more people.

    Hence, in their opinion, as long as they could escape sessfully this time and immediately leave the Breezy ins, then even if the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Tower of Dusk stepped in, he might not be able to get them all.

    Of course, those who wanted to fight for their lives were those whose names had been called. The remaining ones who weren¡¯t named had all snuck to the corner in the hall. To them, staying alive was the most important issue, and even if they had to lose everything they had, they would be able to rise again.

    Generally speaking, n was actually not acting too smart, and he felt that he could send some people to split up and siege the ce, which was the real foolproof way. Now that he had angered all of them, they would definitely be provoked, and that would make his mission a lot more difficult.

    It was not that n did not think it through well, but because the Tower of Dusk was not only seeking revenge this time. They also wanted to assert dominance in the Breezy ins and tell all the forces that the master of the Tower of Dusk had returned.

    Lin Li had been away for only three years, and the forces in the Breezy ins had already begun to forget about the authority of Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse. That just meant that the deterrence Lin Li had given them before was not enough.

    If it had been the Supreme Council, things would have been different. There had been rumors of the three Arbitrators dying in Anril. After all, the three Arbitrators rarely appeared in front of the world, but no force had ever dared to verify the truth. In the past 1,300 years, they had already umted so much authority and power that no one dared to provoke them. Even if the three Arbitrators did not appear for 100 years, those forces would not dare to covet the Supreme Council¡¯s power.

    The Tower of Dusk was established for a short period of time, and they did not have much time to manage it, so they could only assert dominance by resorting to menacing methods. Using the enemies¡¯ blood and lives to assert the dominance of the Tower of Dusk would make those people too scared to even think of touching the Tower of Dusk.

    Although the Tower of Dusk only had three Legendary powerhouses including n, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and had experienced many near-death situations which honed their skills. They were far more powerful than those who had received a sudden surge in power.

    Besides, they were supported by 100 Archmages who could get into a Magic Net Array and have the strength to confront a Legendary powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. In fact, even without Ujfalusi and Norfeller, the Archmages alone would definitely not allow them to escape easily, even if they could not kill the enemies.

    The people in the hall were just screaming for their lives when Norfeller disappeared into thin air, and turned into a ck bolt of lightning that shed into the hall. Norfeller was holding the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers in his hands which were glowing red under the fusion of power. Before the others could react, they saw two heads floating in midair, while blood spurted out like a fountain before sttering like rain.

    Seeing that two people had been beheaded as soon as they started to fight, the people in the hall finally realized what was going on. Intense fighting spirit emerged in the hearts of the Sword Sages, and the Legendary-mages raised their elemental shields, while two Legendary-level Assassins silently hid in the shadow of the shields.

    ¡°Master Ujfalusi, don¡¯t let them escape,¡± n said to Ujfalusi respectfully. Although he was a servant of Lin Li, no one in the Tower of Dusk dared to regard him and Norfeller as servants.

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll make sure none of them can escape.¡± Ujfalusi chuckled sinisterly and raised his Skeleton Staff. As a ray of light emerged from the gemstone on top, arge number of skeletons appeared in the hall and covered it.

    It was merely a Necromagic spell known as a Bone Cell whose function was to briefly limit the enemy¡¯s movement. Usually, it would cause one to be trapped by more than 10 bones.

 Chapter 1023 - Confidential News

    <h4>Chapter 1023: Confidential News</h4>

    However, when Ujfalusi cast it, the Bone Cell seemed to have be a skeleton fortress as the densely packed white bones engulfed the entire building such that not even a single fly could escape, let alone a human.

    After casting the Bone Cell, Ujfalusi chanted two incantations, and arge vortex door appeared out of thin air. A massive number of Undead creatures then surged out from the door like a white tidal wave, gushing towards the crowd.

    Those Undead creatures were naturally insignificant to the Legendary powerhouses, but there was limited space in the hall, and the exterior was covered by the sturdy Bone Cell. When the Undead creatures surged in, they seemed to have immediately filled the space in the hall. The leaders of the forces opposite had to cope with arge number of Undead creatures while guarding against Norfeller¡¯s sudden attack. Hence, they were somewhat in a mess.

    Although Norfeller¡¯s speed was dependent on the space, the Undead creatures did not affect him at all. There was a reason for Vampires to be called natural assassins. As a Vampire who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm and had maximized his talent, Norfeller managed to kill the army of Undead creatures in his way quickly and smoothly without much effort, especially with the support of Necromagic.

    A Sword Sage suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest as soon as he sted away the Undead creatures in front of him. He looked down, only to see a de that had pierced his back moving slowly out of it. There was a Legendary Assassin hidden in the shadow, carefully moving towards the gate. However, he suddenly felt his neck turn cold, and the scenes in his field of vision began tumbling continuously.

    The few Legendary-mages continued to cast magic spells, only to see that the number of Undead creatures was increasing. They had no choice but to fly into the air using their Power of Flight. However, as soon as they moved away from the army of Undead creatures, they saw a wave of radiant and lethal magic spells, and they were immediately sted by a magic storm.

    The entire battlested for only a few minutes. When Ujfalusi stopped the Bone Cell that covered the building and the Tide of Death, he looked at the building in the Bone Cell that had long turned into scraps. Amidst the ruins, Norfeller was holding the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers and holding down a few people whose faces had turned pale and bodies were trembling.

    The remaining few were naturally not on n¡¯s name list, and they were allowed to stay alive for a few reasons. Other than the fact that they had only used business tactics against the Tower of Dusk, they also wanted to use those people as a mouthpiece to propagate and publicize this matter. If all of them were wiped out, it might not cause a huge uproar even if they kicked up amotion. Hence, they had to keep a few of them behind to publicize that matter.

    Those who did not get killed no longer had the temperament of Legendary powerhouses as they stood still fearfully while being held down by Norfeller. Along the way, they passed by the corpses and arrived in front of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Although they were not presidents of any trade unions, they had also seen countless corpses in their lives, and had killed several times before. However, they had never been as frightened by corpses as they were now.

    Those who died were real Legendary powerhouses, and each one of them was extremely domineering. However, everything had turned into nothingness as they had all gotten wiped out by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team in the blink of an eye, be it a strong individual or one with the support of a powerful force.

    ¡°Master n, I waspelled by them, and I had no choice but to do those things that harmed the Tower of Dusk...¡±

    ¡°Master n...¡±

    After those few people stood in front of n, they immediately started bbering on and on, exining that they had theirpelling reasons for what they had done. Some even knelt down, admitted to their mistakes, and begged for forgiveness. There were also some who were so frightened that they were at aplete loss for words.

    It was not strange that a few of them knew n. After all, he was the leader of the Mage Legion of the Tower of Dusk three years ago. However, at that time, they did not take n, the said leader who was just a beginner in the Legendary-realm, too seriously. However, n now held the authority to decide if they could live or die. They couldn¡¯t help but be extremely respectful to him.

    ¡°Master n, these people might have gotten the punishment they deserved, but they definitely have some loyal followers. I hope that you can give us a chance to redeem ourselves and allow us to deploy some men to help you with the cleanup.¡± The president of one of the trade unions was good at finding chances as he actually wanted to send some people to help n purge the forces that used to be their allies.

    The few people at the side immediately showed their loyalty after hearing the reminder of theirpanion. They patted their chest and put their lives on the line, not daring to frown at all.

    However, n shook his head calmly and nced coldly at the crowd, causing them to flinch. He then slowly said, ¡°No need for that. Those forces no longer exist.¡±

    n¡¯s words made those people feel stunned as they had thought that the Tower of Dusk only wanted to hold the culprit responsible. After all, those who had died in the hall were all the leaders of various forces. In a certain sense, they were representatives of the forces too. However, they would soon realize that the Tower of Dusk had never been kind to their enemies.

    ¡°Master n, I have a piece of top secret information, and I hope that it¡¯ll be of use to you and the Tower of Dusk,¡± said the chubby mage who¡¯d been the first to leave in the beginning. His name was Ralph, and he was the president of a medium-sized trade union.

    ¡°Go ahead,¡± n said calmly, clearly not too interested in the top secret information that Ralph had mentioned. However, his attitude soon changed drastically after hearing Ralph¡¯s words.

    The chubby mage Ralph inched towards n carefully and suppressed his voice. He then said in a deranged manner, ¡°Master n, this alliance was not started by the ck Sun Brothers Union, but someone who yed an important role here. This person connected the major forces, and made them develop the idea to go against the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± n¡¯s expression was rather impassive, but after hearing Ralph¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but raise his brow and ask, ¡°How did you know about that? Where¡¯s that person?¡±

    Although n seemed a little shocked, he did not believe Ralph entirely. After all, there would definitely be some who would put the me on others and try to gain some credit so as to negate their sins at this juncture.

    ¡°Master n, I swear that what I say is true. If I make up nonsense, I shall die a horrible death.¡± Ralph could tell from n¡¯s tone that he was doubtful. He hurriedly patted his chest and swore an oath. When he saw the look of annoyance on n¡¯s face, he finally lowered his voice again, and said, ¡°I heard Anlork and the others calling him Master Tanu, and rumor has it that he¡¯s not from the Breezy ins or Anril at all. He¡¯s from the sea.¡±

    ¡°The sea?¡± n couldn¡¯t help but frown. If what Ralph said was true, he would miss a big fish this time.

    At this moment, n thought about the prisoner Lin Li had brought back after annihting the enemies. Although they had yet to find out anything from interrogating him, they could already confirm that there was a mysterious force behind the siege of the Tower of Dusk. In this case, could there be some special rtion between Master Tanu, the prisoner, and the mysterious force?

    At the thought of this, n knew that Tanu was probably a lead to luring out the mysterious force. Hence, he asked Ralph, ¡°What else do you know about this Tanu?¡±

    ¡°This...¡± Ralph¡¯s features were squished together on his chubby face, but after contemting for a long while, he hesitantly answered, ¡°That person named Tanu is very mysterious, and he only interacted with the leaders of a few forces. I¡¯ve only coincidentally met him once, but I remember that he had a strange tattoo on the back of his hand, but I don¡¯t know the origin of the tattoo.¡±

    ¡°Draw it. If your information is urate, I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯ve made it up for your mistakes with your credit.¡± Although he had only found out about the tattoo, n could vaguely sense that it would be an important lead.

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll do it immediately without any discrepancies.¡± Ralph was overjoyed to hear that he could atone for his mistakes. He immediately found a piece of paper and a pen, and then went to a suitable ce to begin drawing.

    Compared to Ralph, the others were far less fortunate. Although they managed to stay alive, they had no choice but to sign a contract to sell their lives and hand over their freedom and their businesses to the Tower of Dusk. After signing the contract, they would no longer be the presidents of trade unions, and would instead be ves to the Tower of Dusk who would have to slog their guts out for the Tower of Dusk even until their death. They could not turn their backs on the Tower of Dusk at all.

    Although the few of them were upset at the time of signing the contract, they only knew how fortunate they were after leaving this ce and receiving the news from others. n stopped them from taking part in the purge of the enemies, not because they wanted to let those forces off, but because the Tower of Dusk had already sent someone to handle them.

    Connoris¡¯ team was in charge of handling those factions. Other than the mages, they also had the Death Knights that had Divine Power. However, they should be called the Retribution Knights now. The death of the Blood Crow Bandits was the doing of Connoris. The Dark Decay that the 20 Retribution Knights released caused all the bandits and people in the den to die and instantly turn into ashes.

    After the death of the Blood Crow Bandits, the forces of those who had been named by n suffered the same fate too. Soon, the news began to spread in the Breezy ins, and the forces that had manpower of more than 1,000 were wiped out in the Breezy ins, as if they had never existed before.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s cruel retaliation had shaken the entire Breezy ins as more than a dozen forces werepletely wiped out. Other than letting the others know the strength of the Tower of Dusk, they also wanted to let them know how cruel and ruthless the Tower of Dusk was to their enemies. At this moment, those who had be ves to the Tower of Dusk finally knew how fortunate they were.

    After the Tower of Dusk managed to assert dominance, they soon regained all the assets that they had lost in the past three years, without any losses at all. The leaders of the various forces dared not dy as they quickly proceeded to the Tower of Dusk with hefty gifts in hopes to see the president and resign various business cooperation agreements.

    The top forces of the Breezy ins like the Mithril Alliance, the Caesar Family, and the Blood Moon n had gradually changed their attitude towards the Tower of Dusk. Although they had not suppressed the Tower of Dusk directly, they had either terminated their business cooperation with them or offered even harsher conditions.

    However, now that Lin Li had returned and reestablished his invible majesty in the Breezy ins, the various major forces immediately changed their attitude again. However, since they had all gained massive benefits in the magic tides this time, some of their members were even rumored to have be actual Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, even their attitudes had changed, and they were no longer like what they used to be three years ago.

    Of course, only the top forces had the confidence to show such an attitude. The other medium-sized forces would not have the right to speak to the authorities of the Tower of Dusk if they did not have a Sanctuary powerhouse as their leader. They would have to cowardly bow down. Hence, the leaders of those forces dared not make any mistakes in pleasing the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li was currently painfully and happily epting the teachings of Geresco in the library. While suffering, he was also continuously charging towards a higher level. How could he have the time to see some insignificant small fries? Even though he was initially rather concerned about the captive and the mysterious force, he could not be bothered to go over and ask them.

    After n returned with the picture that Ralph had drawn, he wanted to report to Lin Li immediately, but he was stopped outside the library. Hence, he had no choice but to discuss it with Gavin and Basel. Although he could not report to Lin Li immediately, that did not mean that he would put the matter aside. If he could give Lin Li all the answers when he appeared, he would show hispetency as a subordinate.

 Chapter 1024 - Illuminati

    <h4>Chapter 1024: Illuminati</h4>

    ¡°This is the picture? It doesn¡¯t seem like a mageweath or a Magic Array. Is it really just an ordinary symbol?¡± Among the few senior executives of the Tower of Dusk, Basel who had once lived in hiding in the library of Dnd was the most knowledgeable. However, after he looked at the photo that n handed him, he felt a little helpless as he could not recall that picture.

    ¡°This drawing is from a person named Tanu, and it¡¯s rumored that he¡¯s the one who instigated those forces to unite and deal with us. I suspect that this Tanu has something to do with the prisoner our president brought back previously. I wonder if you¡¯ve found anything simr from that prisoner,¡± said n as he voiced his conjecture. He looked at Gavin who was in charge of interrogating the prisoner.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice that. Wait for me while I get someone to check on that person.¡± Upon hearing n¡¯s conjecture, Gavin immediately looked for the person who was in charge of guarding the prisoner, and told them to search the prisoner entirely from top to toe. Although there was nothing on the back of the prisoner¡¯s hand, there was no rule that the picture had to be on the back of his hand.

    As expected, the person who proceeded to check soon returned to report that they had found a picture on the nape of that person and copied it. Although it was much smaller than the one on the back of Tanu¡¯s hand, they werergely simr.

    ¡°They¡¯re indeed in cahoots with each other, but what does this picture mean? Is it the symbol of that mysterious force?¡± Their subordinate¡¯s report allowed Gavin and the others to confirm something, but they were still clueless about the meaning of the picture.

    As for the captive, Gavin had also resorted to plenty of interrogative means, but the timidity of that guy became his life-saving card. They could easily knock him unconscious with a little trick. In fact, Gavin had even invited Ujfalusi over in a bid to let him use Necromagic to read the soul memories of the prisoner.

    Unfortunately, Ujfalusi who had already reached the peak of the Legendary-realm in terms of strength actually did not know what to do about him, either. His soul was as fragile as paper, and Ujfalusi dared not use much strength at all for fear that he might cause his soul to shatter, and thus cause them to be unable to get any useful information.

    Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, was probably the only one who could read some useful memories from the prisoner¡¯s soul. Unfortunately, Lin Li was now in seclusion in the library. Gavin and the others could not disturb him because of this matter, either. After all, the captive was right there, and they just had to keep him alive until Lin Li came out.

    Although they could not find out anything from the prisoner for now, Gavin and the others did not give up on investigating that particr picture. In fact, they even specifically sent a letter to the Ashen Warlock in hopes to get an answer from him. After all, the Ashen Warlock had lived in the Breezy ins for numerous years, and he might know something.

    Although the Ashen Warlock had been living covertly in Gran Town, and seemed unconcerned about the world, he knew everything that happened in the Breezy ins. He was a Sanctuary powerhouse who could not be bothered to care about the existence of randoms, but he decided to respond to Gavin and the others on Lin Li¡¯s ount.

    ¡°Illuminati? What kind of force is this? Why haven¡¯t I heard of it before!?¡± After receiving the Ash Warlock¡¯s reply, Gavin and the others gathered together to open the letter, only to see the word ¡®Illuminati¡¯ written on it. However, none of them, not even Basel, remembered anything about the Illuminati.

    Fortunately, thanks to Lin Li, the Tower of Dusk had always been on good terms with the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine. After finding out about the Illuminati from the Ashen Warlock, Gavin immediately wrote letters to the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine to ask about the Illuminati.

    Although the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine were established only at the end of the Dark Age, unlike the Ashen Warlock who had existed for countless years, they also held a lot of secret information about the history of Anril. Besides, they both had a massive number of devotees. Even though the Darkness Shrine had fallen, they had had their heyday, and the Brilliance Shrine was still prospering now.

    Soon after Gavin sent the letter, they received a reply from the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine. Finally, they learned the origin of the Illuminati. The Illuminati had a longer history than the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine. They had been in existence since the High Elves ruled Anril. In fact, they had been around before the Dark Age.

    In the Dark Age, the Illuminati had had arge base of devotees, and the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine had yet to exist at that time. Hence, the Illuminati could definitely be called the first major religion of mankind. Unfortunately, that was also what caused the High Elves to be wary, and the leaders of the High Elves began to annihte the Illuminati in each of their respective territories. Rumor had it that during that massive wipeout, there were more than 100,000 followers of Illuminati who had been killed by the High Elves. Many of the senior executives of the Illuminati had been eliminated too.

    After the purge, the Illuminati disappeared from Anril, as if they had beenpletely wiped out by the High Elves. At the end of the Dark Age, humans and other enved intelligent races set off a wave of resistance against the rule of the High Elves. The Illuminati, who had disappeared for centuries, once again appeared in front of everyone, and yed an important role in the war of resistance.

    Unfortunately, hundreds of years had passed, and the doctrine of the Illuminati was no longer epted by most of the humans. The establishment of the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine had alsopressed the survival space of the Illuminati. After the end of the Dark Age, the Illuminati once again disappeared from Anril, and there was no longer any news about them since then.

    ¡°ording to Ralph, that person named Tanu is from the sea. Do you guys think that it could be that the Illuminati had fled to the sea back then?¡± n asked with a frown, holding the Darkness Shrine¡¯s reply in his hand. He could tell from the reply that the Illuminati were definitely extraordinary.

    The Illuminati was a religion that could survive since the Dark Age and stay strong despite suffering the purgeunched against them by the High Elves, followed by the stiffpetition against the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine. Clearly, they had high tenacity. Although the Tower of Dusk had built a great reputation, and was helmed by a Sanctuary powerhouse, n was still full of scruples about the Illuminati.

    The religion of the Illuminati, which had been passed down for thousands of years, definitely had a few Sanctuary powerhouses among their faithful. After exploring the Sky Castle with Lin Li, n, too, knew that his president, Lin Li, was not someone ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses couldpare to. However, Lin Li was still human, after all, and he could not constantly stay in the Tower of Dusk. There was no way he could guard it forever.

    ¡°Just because that Tanu is from the sea, it does not necessarily mean that the Illuminati are also from the sea. Maybe they¡¯ve been lurking onnd.¡± Gavin¡¯s opinion made sense too. The fact that those from the sea had joined the Illuminati did not mean that the Illuminati¡¯s base was in the sea. There was no necessary causal rtionship between the two.

    However, Master Basel, who had been pondering quietly for a long time at the side, suddenly thought of something at this moment, and asked them, ¡°Have you guys forgotten about the kingdom in the sea?¡±

    ¡°The Gilded Kingdom!¡± n and Gavin called out a name unanimously.

    The Gilded Kingdom was an archipgo that was made up of thousands of inds. Although it was involved in sea trade with the nations on the maind, there was actually very little information about the Gilded Kingdom that could be found on the maind. Rumor had it that back when the Brilliance Shrine was blocked outside the Fn Kingdom when spreading its doctrine, they had coveted the Gilded Kingdom. They even sent two archbishops and 10 cardinals, as well as hundreds of believers of light to preach, but in the end, the higher-ups of the Brilliance Shrine were at a loss for words and could not voice their grievances.

    After the two archbishops went to the Gilded Kingdom by boat, the Brilliance Shrine began to receive letters that were about the problems encountered by the mission and what they had gained. However, after half a year, the Brilliance Shrine actually received letters of withdrawal from the two archbishops and other believers of light. In the letters, they even persuaded the pope of the Brilliance Shrine to give up on his faith in Holy Light. The pope was truly infuriated.

    The reason that the two archbishops and believers of light wrote back to the Brilliance Shrine to inform them of their withdrawal was because they had decided to change their faith, and became members of the Illuminati. The Brilliance Shrine failed to achieve their goals, and even lost their devotees. Not only did they fail to spread the doctrine of the Holy Light in the Gilded Kingdom, they also lost two archbishops and 10 cardinals.

    If it were not for the fact that the Brilliance Shrine had been keeping the news from the public, and even announced that the two archbishops were in distress at sea, the Brilliance Shrine would probably have really be theughing stock of Anril.

    Of course, Basel and the others were well aware of this embarrassing incident that the Brilliance Shrine encountered. However, they could only vaguely remember that there was some historical information that mentioned the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s missionary trip to sea to spread the doctrine of Holy Light. Even though they were unsure of the details, they could also guess that the mission had likely failed, otherwise it would have been widely publicized. As for the ims that the two archbishops had allegedly encountered a mishap at sea, it seemed rather iffy as the two archbishops were peak Legendary powerhouses, while the 10 cardinals were also at the Legendary-level. How could they have been as unlucky as to meet a mishap at sea?

    ¡°Did the Brilliance Shrine fail to spread the doctrine because the Illuminati had already taken over the Gilded Kingdom?¡± Once Gavin said those words, their faces turned sullen immediately.

    If the Illuminati were only lurking in the maind, they would probably have limited strength, if any. However, if the Brilliance Shrine had been developing in the Gilded Kingdom, it would¡¯ve been a problem on two levels. The Brilliance Shrine was developed in the Ledin Kingdom, and now they were a force that was second only to the Supreme Council.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom was just a kingdom in the sea, it was not a pathetic kingdom that was made up of only a small ind. It was trulyposed of thousands of inds which each covered arge area. Thergest one was 10 times the size of nna, and the ordinary inds were all just asrge as Dnd. If all the inds werebined, they would probably berger than the area covered by two human kingdoms. Naturally, they had arge poption too.

    Hence, if the Illuminati could really make the Gilded Kingdom their foundation, their strength after years of development would definitely not be far behind the Brilliance Shrine, even if they were not on par with it. The fact that a force that wasparable to the Brilliance Shrine targeted the Tower of Dusk was definitely not a good thing.

    After summarizing all the information, Basel and the others went to the library again in a bid to report the information to Lin Li and discuss what preparations the Tower of Dusk should make next. However, when the trio arrived at the entrance of the library, they saw a tightly shut door.

    The three looked at each other helplessly, but no one went to disturb Lin Li by getting him to open the door. In their opinion, Lin Li must have suddenly understood something since he closed the door immediately after he returned. Such opportunities for an epiphany were very rare, and once he was disturbed, it would be difficult for him to get such an opportunity again.

    At any rate, it wasn¡¯t like they could resolve the current situation even if they informed Lin Li about the Illuminati now. They could not go all the way to the Gilded Kingdom anyway. Besides, the Tower of Dusk had grown to the point where not any force could pose a threat to it. Putting aside the Eternal Furnace and the Sky Castle, the powerhouses by Lin Li¡¯s side were enough to protect the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they decided to wait for Lin Li to emerge before thinking about the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom.

    The matter of the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom might be major, but it was not something that the Tower of Dusk had to face urgently. Hence, Gavin did not disturb Lin Li, and instead put the matter aside to focus all his attention on restoring the operations of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, what Gavin and others did not expect was that although they had temporarily put aside this matter, they werepelled to face it. Soon after they investigated and found out some information about the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, one of the mines of the Tower of Dusk that was situated on the southern coast of the Breezy ins was suddenly attacked from the sea.

    A fortress-like battleship suddenly appeared in the sea near the mine, and a round of artillery bombardment wiped out the defenses of the mine. Next, arge number of crew members rushed in, and emptied out the warehouses of the mine. Before they left, they even destroyed all the mining routes on their way out, making it impossible for the mine to resume production for at least three months.

 Chapter 1025 - First Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 1025: First Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    If the one that was attacked was just an ordinary mine, it might not be a big deal. However, the mine that was attacked and looted was a Tera Mine that had hundreds of tons of Tera ore stored in the warehouse at the time of the attack.

    During the attack this time, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s direct losses amounted to billions of gold coins. Moreover, with the situation where there was no market for the Tera Mine, one might not be able to buy hundreds of tons of Tera ore even if they could afford to offer billions of gold coins.

    Not long ago, the Tower of Dusk had just established their might and asserted dominance using some brutal and bloody means. If someone dared to attack the Tower of Dusk under such circumstances, that would be an insult to the Tower of Dusk. Hence, after the news got out, there was a huge uproar in the Tower of Dusk, and the other forces of the Breezy ins were frightened too.

    ¡°Tell us about the situation. The defense system of the mine may not be foolproof, but others would have to pay a huge price for forcing their way in. That¡¯s making me suspect that those of you who are responsible for the security of the mine have neglected your duties, whether you were AWOL or you¡¯ve colluded with the enemies. If you choose to own up, I will consider giving you a lighter punishment,¡± n said to the few guards in a hall of the Tower of Dusk who were responsible for the security of the mine and were fortunate to have survived.

    The guards did not belong to the Tower of Dusk. Due to the fact that the Tower of Dusk was doing badly in the past three years, they were forced to stay in the headquarters, while the management team of the mine and other industries have long been reced by others. Some of the guards were from other forces, and were merely left behind by the Tower of Dusk during the handover in order not to affect the production of the mine.

    Initially, the Tower of Dusk was ready to send a team of mages to take over the security management of the mine; unexpectedly, something like that cropped up halfway. Under such circumstances, those who did not belong to the Tower of Dusk were naturally the prime suspects.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wronged, Master n. We¡¯re dying to be members of the Tower of Dusk. How could we possibly collude with the other forces? This time, the other party was really too strong. Their battleship and cannons alone directly exterminated hundreds of our guards. Later, they rushed into the mine, and since they were all Legendary powerhouses, we were not their match at all!¡± said that guard, who was pouring out his woes while telling n honestly about the attack that they suffered.

    The battleship was like a fortress on the sea, and all of their enemies were Legendary powerhouses! When n heard the news, he couldn¡¯t help but look at Gavin and Master Basel. Although they were all silent, they understood what each other meant through the gazes in their eyes.

    The Gilded Kingdom which had thousands of inds was the only kingdom which could have such a massive and powerful battleship. They were the only ones who could have such a powerful team that consisted entirely of Legendary powerhouses as well.

    These days, n and the others might have put aside the matters regarding the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, but they continued to have people collect information about the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom from all sources. Although they did not manage to collect much information, they were no longer as clueless about the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati as they used to be.

    The Gilded Kingdom was far away from the maind, and controlled thousands of inds as well as a sea region of an unimaginable size. Naturally, they could exert the power of the sea. They seemed to have conducted extensive research on alchemy, just like the Rotterdam Kingdom. However, the Rotterdam Kingdom used alchemy to build the Alchemy Colossuses, while the Gilded Kingdom used alchemy for their battleships.

    With the powerful battleships that had been refined with alchemy, the Gilded Kingdom had absolute dominance over the sea, and their powerful naval fleet spanned across the boundless sea. Although the Fn Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom were the hegemons of the maind, no one would dare to provoke the Gilded Kingdom when at sea.

    Hence, when they heard about the fortress-like battleship on the sea from the guards, n and the others immediately thought of the Gilded Kingdom. Other than the Gilded Kingdom, there would probably be no other nation or force that would be able tomand such a powerful battleship. Who else could it be other than the Gilded Kingdom?

    However, so what if they knew that it was the Gilded Kingdom? They couldn¡¯t possibly start a war with the Gilded Kingdom. If a war were to break out, the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships, because they had a Sky Castle. However, the Gilded Kingdom might very likely be supported by the Illuminati that had a heritage of numerous years. If the Illuminati were as strong as the Brilliance Shrine, the Tower of Dusk would be in trouble.

    Most importantly, Lin Li who could control the Sky Castle was now still in seclusion in the library, and n and the others did not want to disturb him at this moment. Hence, they had no choice but to let the Gilded Kingdom off for the time being. Anyway, they could not resume production in a short period of time, so they might as well just leave it alone for now.

    In the end, the invasion of the mine might have caused the forces of Breezy ins to get into an uproar, but the members of Tower of Dusk acted like nothing had happened, and did not do anything at all.

    How could Lin Li, who had just asserted dominance with some cruel means, be bullied to the point of not reacting? The Tower of Dusk¡¯s inaction made many forces of the Breezy ins confused. However, when they heard that a battleship of the Gilded Kingdom was the one that attacked the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mine, some of the forces couldn¡¯t help but gloat at them.

    However, it didn¡¯t end there. Soon after the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mine was attacked, another piece of news was spread from the Fn Kingdom. An important port of the Fn Kingdom had also been attacked by the Gilded Kingdom, and nearly 100 merchant ships that had docked at the port were sunk. The warehouses in the port were also ruined because of the artillery fire.

    It got extremely lively in the Fn Kingdom. Rumor had it that the king of the Fn Kingdom was so infuriated that he smashed his crown after hearing the news because one of the merchant ships docked in the port was carrying arge amount of treasures tributed to him by several castens of cities in the south. Besides, the king of the Fn Kingdom wouldn¡¯t be willing to take it lying down even without the loss of tributes. It was a clear provocation. Was the Gilded Kingdom thinking of starting a war with the Fn Kingdom!?

    However, there was no way the king of the Fn Kingdom could vent his anger. With the sub-par navy of the kingdom, they would be courting death if they started a war with the Gilded Kingdom. However, the Fn Kingdom was notpletely at a loss for what to do, either. The king actually went straight to the nna Guild of Magic in hopes that the Guild of Magic would step out to help him resolve the issue.

    Although the Guild of Magic was not under the rule of the Fn Kingdom¡¯s royal family, the Guild of Magic was responsible for ensuring the safety of the leaders of the Fn Kingdom. Hence, the Guild of Magic was responsible for the matter of the Fn Kingdom¡¯s port being attacked, and there was no excuse for them to ignore it.

    Therefore, at the request of the royal family of the Fn Kingdom, the nna Guild of Magic had no choice but to take over this matter. However, the nna Guild of Magic did not intervene immediately. Instead, after some investigation, they sent Macklin to go to the Tower of Dusk, clearly nning to let Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, help them resolve the problems at hand.

    Actually, President Aldwin was not to be med for not being responsible enough. The Endless Ocean was the world of the Gilded Kingdom, and without a powerful battleship, even a Legendary powerhouse would seem like an insignificant small fry there. A slight careless mistake would cause them to die without even getting to fight the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom. Only a Sanctuary powerhouse who had mastered the World Laws would have the power to deal with the Might of Nature in the vast ocean.

    However, the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council, who had stopped paying attention to the world for a long time, would not step in despite knowing about this matter. After all, in the opinion of the three Arbitrators, the people from the Fn Kingdom and the Gilded Kingdom were all insignificant, and they felt that it was not worth their while to intervene in something that was akin to a fight between mobs.

    Hence, Aldwin thought of Lin Li. After all, Lin Li had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and he did not see them as nobodies.

    When Macklin arrived at the Tower of Dusk, half a month had passed since the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mine was attacked. However, Lin Li still did note out of the library. Although Macklin was on good terms with Lin Li, Lin Li was ultimately a Sanctuary powerhouse. If Lin Li was free, it would be easy to talk to him about it, but now it was inappropriate for him to disturb Lin Li because of this matter. He could only wait at the side for Lin Li toe out on his own while discussing with Gavin and the others everything that happenedtely.

    Initially, Macklin was not too confident about being able to invite Lin Li. After all, the attack on the port of the Fn Kingdom was not quite rted to Lin Li. However, after having a chat with Gavin and the others, he learned that a mine of the Tower of Dusk had been attacked by the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship too. Despite knowing that feeling such emotions was a little hical, Macklin still couldn¡¯t help but be somewhat ted.

    <i>Damn it, the people of the Gilded Kingdom are really silly. Of all people, they had to provoke this ruthless kid! Once this kid Felices out, those guys are going to have a hard time!</i> Macklin understood Lin Li rather well, and he knew that Lin Li was very cautious and protective of his people. Yet, the people of the Gilded Kingdom dared to touch the Tower of Dusk¡¯s assets. They truly had a death wish.

    After knowing that the Gilded Kingdom had touched the mine of the Tower of Dusk, Macklin did not panic. He simply waited calmly at the Tower of Dusk for Lin Li toe out.

    However, while Macklin was waiting for Lin Li toe out, there was a sudden influx of guests in the Tower of Dusk again. Besides, the reason that those people came was surprisingly to seek help from the Tower of Dusk too¡ªthey had continuously been attacked by an unknown force in this period of time.

    Many of the guests were ready to see the Tower of Dusk be aughing stock, but no one thought that they would encounter the same thing. The Tower of Dusk was extremely wealthy, and they would not be affected by the loss of billions of gold coins¡¯ worth of Tera ore and the temporary closure of the Tera Mine. However, the losses were unbearable for the smaller forces, as those losses were just like daggers to their hearts. After thinking about it, they realized that Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk, was the only one who could stand up for them.

    Initially, only the leaders of a few smaller forces were there to seek help from the Tower of Dusk, and most of them owned only one or two mines. However, the unknown force seemed to have gradually be bolder as they attacked more and more powerful forces. Soon, even the Mithril Alliance showed up at the Tower of Dusk. A few major families of the alliance had been attacked too.

    After the Mithril Alliance, the Glittergold Trade Union, the Blood Moon n, the Caesar Family, and other top forces also sent people to the Tower of Dusk. Although those top forces might not be afraid of the unknown force, they could not take care of every industry, after all. The unknown force wasing and going like the wind such that they could not catch them at all.

    In fact, the top forces were now encountering the same issues as the Tower of Dusk. Although they were extremely powerful, they had many businesses, and even the strongest force could be attacked by smaller forces when split up. If they concentrated on a single business, it would be akin to giving up on the others. After all, no one knew which industry the enemy would attack.

    The reason that no one dared to touch the businesses of the major forces was that they had a great deterrent effect on other small forces, just like the Tower of Dusk before they asserted dominance. Actually, all top forces had established their authority using the lives of the enemies before. However, the unknown force that had suddenly appeared was clearly not a force from the Breezy ins. Even if the Mithril Alliance wanted to take revenge, there was nothing they could do.

    Of course, the Mithril Alliance and the other forces were not there to seek help from Lin Li, but rather wanted to join forces with him to nab the unknown force. Under the influence of the magic tides, the strength of the few major forces naturally increased, but most importantly, they now had Sanctuary powerhouses too.

    Elvis of the Mithril Alliance, who had long since stepped into the peak of the Legendary-realm, had been in seclusion to break through to the Sanctuary-realm. If everything had developed as per normal, Elvis would have no hopes of entering the Sanctuary-realm, but he encountered thergest magic tides in history, which allowed him to break through the bottleneck. A year ago, he had sessfully entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, due to the magic tides. Elvis¡¯ strength would probably stagnate at level-25 from now on¡ªunless he encountered another wave of magic tides that were more intense than this one. That would give him a slim chance of breaking through.

    Master Thomas, the first president of the Glittergold Trade Union, also relied on the magic tides to sessfully break through the bottleneck of the peak of the Legendary-realm, thus bing the first Sanctuary powerhouse of the Glittergold Trade Union. As for the top forces like the Caesar Family and the Blood Moon n, their Legendary powerhouses who had been stuck at the peak of the Legendary-realm had also stepped into the Sanctuary-realm within this short period of time.

 Chapter 1026 - Storm

    <h4>Chapter 1026: Storm</h4>

    Actually, that was not strange at all. Each of the top forces had an extremely strong foundation and a few old fogies who were stuck at a bottleneck at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Most of them no longer meddled with the affairs of their families and forces, and were instead focusing all their attention on breaking through the bottleneck. They would either step into the Sanctuary-realm and obtain thousands of years of life or stay in seclusion and quietly turn into a pile of ashes.

    Back when Lin Li was a guest at the Brilliance Shrine, he had heard of a forbidden ce in the Brilliance Shrine that was specially for those who were in seclusion to break through to the Sanctuary-realm. Due to the fact that no one dared to disturb them, it was unknown if the people who were in seclusion in that one room were alive or dead. Some might only have their corpses discovered decades or even centuries after their deaths.

    After all, only four magic tides had appeared in Anril so far, and not every Legendary powerhouse could get such an opportunity. Besides, not every Legendary powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm could sessfully break through with the magic tides.

    This time, the ones who visited the Tower of Dusk were not those few Sanctuary powerhouses. One of the reasons was that they had to continue familiarizing themselves with their newfound power. After all, they had to rely on an external force to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Another reason was that they had to guard the headquarters lest it got attacked by the unknown force, which was made up of Legendary powerhouses, during their absence. Of course, to some people, there might be another inexplicable reason¡ªthey felt that they were Sanctuary powerhouses who were now equal to Lin Li. Hence, there was no need for them to visit Lin Li personally.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the Tower of Dusk to gather the representatives sent by the various forces, just like when the forces came flocking to the Tower of Dusk previously to repair their rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. Besides, they could not see Lin Li, and had no choice but to pester Gavin and the other senior executives. They wanted to persuade Gavin to look at the bigger picture and get Lin Lit toe out of the library.

    However, in Gavin¡¯s opinion, Lin Li¡¯s improvement in strength was far more important than the continuous attacksunched on the businesses of the Tower of Dusk. At most they would repeat what they did two years ago, and recall all the manpower to the Tower of Dusk. Once Lin Li came out of seclusion, they would be able to get everything they lost.

    To the representatives of the various forces, waiting was an arduous chore, especially since they were continuously receiving news of a certain industry being attacked. That made their days feel like years. However, since Gavin and the others were not willing to get Lin Li toe out in advance, the others dared not act presumptuously, either. After all, offending a Sanctuary powerhouse was noughing matter. They could only remain in a state of panic, yet no matter how anxious they might be, they had no choice but to wait patiently.

    They waited for more than half a month, and were on the verge of vomiting blood. However, on this night, the guests of the Tower of Dusk felt a sudden and shocking magical wave when they were tossing and turning in bed, struggling to sleep. Under the magical wave, the Tower of Dusk seemed to be quaking a little too. The magical elements in the space suddenly surged countless times, forming a huge Elemental Storm outside the Tower of Dusk, which was howling angrily like a gale.

    Immediately afterwards, they felt that they could no longer suppress the mana in their bodies¡ªit was as if it had suddenly been summoned by the supreme, wanting to rush out from their own bodies. That gave them a great shock, and they did not have time to find out what was going on in the Tower of Dusk. They either fell onto the ground ory on the bed to suppress the surging mana in their bodies.

    That arduous feelingsted for an entire night before gradually subsiding. The guests were also drenched in sweat, as if they had been pulled out of the water. However, at this moment, they could no longer be bothered to care about their appearance and demeanor. They were desperately trying to carry their weak selves out of the door with horror written all over their faces.

    As soon as they came out of their respective rooms, they supported themselves against the wall and looked at each other with lingering fear. At this moment, Gavin had alsoe over with a few mages, and said to everyone, ¡°The president hase out. Let me bring you over.¡±

    Upon hearing Gavin¡¯s words, everyone suddenly thought of the shocking changes that happened at night, and couldn¡¯t help but be astonished. <i>Did the president of the Tower of Dusk cause those changesst night!? That was a groundbreaking abnormality! How brutal and ferocious must his strength be to be able to cause such abnormal changes?</i>

    The Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family were not on good terms with the Tower of Dusk, but they had no choice but to be deferential because of the pressure of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Initially, the messengers that they sent thought that now that they had Sanctuary powerhouses, they would finally not have to obey the Tower of Dusk, but they no longer thought that way now.

    They had had firsthand experience of the shocking changes that happenedst night, which were thousands of times more intense than when the Sanctuary powerhouses of their forces broke through. They probably had no hope of turning the situation around by relying on the Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Besides, they also noticed that the representatives of their forces had all be rather disheveled after the shocking changes that happenedst night. Even till now, they still had yet to recover from the shock. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk, be it Gavin who had stepped into the Legendary-realm or the other Archmages, werepletely unaffected.

    What did that mean? Although the representatives of the forces, especially those of top forces like the Mithril Alliance, were all at the Legendary-level, their mastery of mana was inferior to that of the Archmages of the Tower of Dusk. They did not think that they were the only ones who were affected by the movement yesterday. Clearly, the entire Tower of Dusk was in the range of influence. However, the Archmages of the Tower of Dusk did not seem to have been affected at all, unlike they who had ended up in such a mess. They couldn¡¯t even walk steadily, and were wobbling and swaying incessantly.

    Anyway, the president of the Tower of Dusk had finallye out, and thus the representatives from various forces also temporarily suppressed the shock that they had gotten from what had happenedst night. Under Gavin¡¯s lead, they headed to the conference hall of the Tower of Dusk. Of course, they secretly bore in mind the events ofst night and their new understanding of the president of the Tower of Dusk, which they intended to report to their superiors about when they returned.

    In the conference hall of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li was already seated in the first seat with the Head Judge of the Tower of Dusk, Master Basel, on his left, and Macklin, who had had an arduous night, on his right. As Gavin went to invite the representatives of the various powers, Macklinined to Lin Li about theck of proper rest even though he was a guest.

    ¡°Master Macklin, have you stepped into the Sanctuary-realm this time too? Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had the time to congratte you personally ever since I returned.¡± Lin Li had a casual chat with Macklin. Actually, he was not surprised that Macklin had entered the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°I might have entered the Sanctuary-realm, but that¡¯s all because of an external force. Unlike you, I didn¡¯t rely on my own abilities to enter the Sanctuary-realm.¡± Although Macklin was still far from the Sanctuary-realm, he had heard plenty of Aldwin¡¯sints about not being a genuine mage in the Sanctuary-realm[1].

    Lin Li smiled calmly, and said, ¡°The Sanctuary-realm is still the Sanctuary-realm, after all. No matter what you relied on to get to the Sanctuary-realm, it¡¯s better than having no hopes for the rest of your life.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s what I said. We should not be too greedy. No matter what, I¡¯ve already entered the Sanctuary-realm, and I now have a lifespan of more than 1,000 years. Who knows what kind of amazing chance I might get in this long lifetime?¡± Macklin did not be distant from Lin Li just because thetter had be a Sanctuary powerhouse. He was still as casual as he used to be.

    Of course, deep down, Macklin was long since amazed and surprised by the fact that Lin Li could advance so quickly in a short period of time. Initially, he¡¯d thought that Lin Li would stop progressing so rapidly after entering the Sanctuary-realm. After all, the Sanctuary-realm was different from the Legendary-realm, and advancing in the Sanctuary-realm by one level would take at least a few decades.

    However, after the abnormal changes that happened yesterday, Macklin specially asked Lin Li about it, only to get an answer that would drive others mad. Lin Li advanced to level-27. He remembered that Lin Li only took a little over three years to enter the Sanctuary-realm. In another three years, he managed to advance from level-25 to level-27. Even Geresco couldn¡¯t achieve such an incredible feat!

    Indeed, the shocking changes that happenedst night were triggered by Lin Li¡¯s advancement to level-27. Initially, Lin Li was already at the peak of level-26 when he arrived, and especially after the training that Geresco¡¯s incarnation had put him through, he was only a step away from level-27.

    During this period of time, Lin Li had been in seclusion in the library, and he once again received the strict guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation. If he still could not break through, it would probably be because Geresco was blind.

    In fact, Lin Li had almost broken through to level-27 at the beginning of his seclusion in the library. He had just had an exchange of blows with Geresco¡¯s incarnation, but he already felt that he was not good enough. Thus, he suppressed his level. After he had perfected his abilities at level-26, he finally broke through to level-27st night. That was also the reason for the ruckus that he kicked up when he broke through level-27.

    Lin Li and Macklin chatted for a while more, and Gavin also brought the representatives of a few forces to the conference hall. After everything that happenedst night, the representatives of the various forces began to look at Lin Li with fear and respect.

    Although the people who came to the Tower of Dusk this time were there for their own forces, everything actually revolved around one issue, and that was how they should deal with the Gilded Kingdom. At this moment, the representatives of those forces finally knew that the unknown force they were talking about was the Gilded Kingdom from the archipgo on the sea.

    At this moment, Macklin revealed his purpose for visiting Lin Li, and that was to seek his help after the attack on the port of the Fn Kingdom. However, although it was also about dealing with the Gilded Kingdom, Macklin¡¯s request was somewhat conflicting with the request of the representatives of these forces of the Breezy ins. Those forces naturally hoped that Lin Li could take charge of the Breezy ins and do justice for all the forces that had been attacked, but Macklin wanted to invite Lin Li to the Fn Kingdom because the port that had been attacked was on the southeastern coast of the Fn Kingdom, which was tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Breezy ins.

    Hence, before Lin Li even said anything, Macklin had already gotten into a heated argument with the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins. Although Macklin was a senior executive of the nna Guild of Magic, the forces of the Breezy ins would not sumb to the nna Guild of Magic.

    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s just a small issue. All of you are figures of status. How embarrassing it is to get into such a heated argument,¡± Lin Li interjected to stop them. Seeing that Macklin could not outargue so many of them, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t let him be berated.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s voice was soft and his tone was calm, his words made themotion cease immediately as everyone in the conference hall fell silent. Everyone knew that it was time for Lin Li to decide if he wanted to save the pride of the Fn Kingdom first or solve the problems of the Breezy ins first. They would get the answer in a moment.

    However, when the crowd quieted down, Lin Li remained silent and stood up. While everyone was confused, Lin Li waved his hand casually to open up a spatial rift in the air before walking into it.

    The southern part of the Breezy ins bordered the sea, which was blue and clear like the sky. A fortress-like giant battleship was lying motionless on the surface of the sea like a gigantic beast. On the deck of the giant battleship, several elegant and poised nobles were seated by a table, tasting some fine wine while enjoying the scenery around the battleship.

    However, at this moment, a spatial rift appeared out of nowhere less than a meter away from the deck, after which a figure slowly walked out of it.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that!?¡± The few of them who were leisurely enjoying the pleasures of life immediately stood up when they saw Lin Li appearing on the deck. They looked at him warily.

    However, Lin Li simply ignored their question, as if he did not hear them at all. He simply sized up the giant battleship, and confidently said, ¡°Nice ship. I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    ¡°This kid is courting death!¡± Upon hearing his words, the few of them who had been disregarded immediately flew into a rage. They drew their swords, while blue battle light emerged from their bodies.

    [1] I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m pretty sure Macklin was already in Legendary-realm before this. Maybe Aldwin dissed Macklin for being a noob? Otherwise, just the author thing I guess.

 Chapter 1027 - Settled

    <h4>Chapter 1027: Settled</h4>

    The navy of the Gilded Kingdom had always been known as the best navy in Anril, and the fact that they had dominated the Endless Ocean caused them to be arrogant and condescending. Even though they had seen Lin Liing out of the rift with their own eyes, and knew that he was definitely extraordinarilypetent, they were not afraid at all.

    At the same time that they revealed their intention to fight, the hatch behind them opened, and dozens of people walked out, all of whom were level-21 and level-22 Legendary powerhouses. Other than the Legendary Sword Sages and Legendary-mages, there were also more than 10 clergymen who dressed like priests.

    Lin Li had already learned about the Illuminati from Gavin and the others, and when he saw the emblems on the chests of the clergymen, he immediately knew that they were the priests of the Illuminati. As there was still very little information about the Illuminati, Lin Li could not tell from the emblems what their level was. However, Legendary powerhouses were not insignificant small fries.

    Despite being surrounded by tens of Legendary powerhouses, Lin Li¡¯s expression did not change in the slightest. He simply sized them up before shaking his head slowly. Although he did not say anything, they could tell the contempt in his gaze.

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom were infuriated. Throughout this period of time, they had been giving the various forces of the Breezy ins a hard time, and had also plundered various ostentatious and valuable objects from the so-called top forces. Hence, they did not take the forces of the Breezy ins and their so-called powerhouses seriously.

    They did not continue to probe Lin Li¡¯s origins. Instead, they stood in front and brandished their swords at Lin Li. The mages and priests behind also began chanting incantations. Although they did not take Lin Li seriously, troops were still troops. When facing their enemies, they would still exert their full power out of habit. After all, belittling one¡¯s enemy would be akin to suicide.

    However, when faced with the magic spells and Combat Energy, Lin Li waved his hands like he was swatting some flies. Countless spatial rifts suddenly appeared densely in the space around the people of the Gilded Kingdom, trapping all of them.

    The deck was immediately filled with shrieks, but the dozens of powerhouses had no means of resisting at all. They were immediately sliced into shreds, but due to the suction force of the rifts, all the blood and bones were sucked into them.

    After the densely packed spatial rifts disappeared, there was no longer any human on the deck except Lin Li himself. Besides, the ones who¡¯d vanished were not only those on the deck. Even though the gigantic battleship was assembled with alchemy, it required more than dozens of people to operate. Besides, how could the Legendary powerhouses who were of high status operate the battleship alone?

    In fact, Lin Li¡¯s original intention was to sink the ship directly into the sea, but after stepping on the deck, he found it rather interesting, and decided to wipe out the crew, and then keep the entire battleship intact. Besides, in the warehouse of the battleship, there were plenty of resources that they had plundered. Perhaps they wanted to take more before returning, but Lin Li was the one who was at an advantage in the end.

    Lin Li flew up into the sky and waved his hands, after which the giant battleship was sucked into his Endless Storm. At the same time, a spatial rift appeared in the space, and Lin Li walked over, leaving the peaceful sea.

    As a Guru of alchemy, Lin Li felt that the gigantic battleship of the Gilded Kingdom wascking in many areas, but the foundation of the entire battleship was not too bad. The Gilded Kingdom had really invested a lot of money into its construction as the materials used were all of superior grade. Although Lin Li could also create a perfect battleship, and the wealthy Tower of Dusk could also afford those materials, there was no need for him to waste his time and effort creating another one himself if there was a free one.

    Lin Li nned to modify the gigantic battleship, and then make it a marine fortress that could protect the various businesses by the sea. Although there was only one battleship, Angno and Lin Li could make modifications to it and make itsbat power increase by tens to hundreds of times. With the battleship around to patrol the seas, the Gilded Kingdom could forget about roaming freely like they were in their own backyard.

    After resolving the issues in the Breezy ins, Lin Li once again exhibited his power to teleport; he managed to reach the area near the port of the Fn Kingdom that had been attacked in just one step. The people of the Gilded Kingdom probably thought that the Fn Kingdom would not be able to deploy a decent navy. Hence, although the battleship here was away from the port, it did not stray too far.

    Now that Lin Li already had a battleship, he couldpletely protect the businesses of the Tower of Dusk after some modifications to it. Hence, he stopped thinking about getting battleships. Besides, what he wanted to do this time was not entirely to resolve the troubles. Most importantly, he wanted to save some of the Fn Kingdom¡¯s pride. To put it bluntly, he wanted to assert dominance.

    Hence, not only did Lin Li want to destroy the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship, he also wanted to make a big deal out of it. Even if he could not invoke fear within the people of the Gilded Kingdom, he could at least make them have some scruples, and not think that they could do whatever they wanted just because they had the advantage in the form of their battleships.

    Through the spatial rift, Lin Li arrived at the port, and used his mental strength to find the battleship of the Gilded Kingdom. He then arrived in the sky above the battleship in one step. This time, he did not waste any more time on deck. He held the Helios¡¯ Scepter in one hand and the Book of Eternity in the other.

    The Book of Eternity was not only a book of magic notes written by Geresco. It was also a powerful magical weapon. Every page of the Book of Eternity was made using a leaf of the Tree of Eternity, and the ink that was used was the original sap of the Tree of Eternity. If the Book of Eternity truly exploded with full power, it would probably not be inferior to the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    In the past, even when he had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li was not qualified to use the Book of Eternity at all. It was only after studying in the library for this period of time that he finally learned how to use the power of the Book of Eternity from Geresco¡¯s incarnation. However, even then, Lin Li could not exert the power of the Book of Eternity with his current power.

    Lin Li, who had appeared in the sky above the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s ship, did not give the people on the battleship a chance to react at all. The Book of Eternity opened on its own, and the gemstone on top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter emanated a dazzling ray of light, making it seem as if a sun had risen above the sea.

    After casting the magic spells, Lin Li waited for the light of the Helios¡¯ Scepter to dim before waving his hand and causing a spatial rift to form in the space. He did not bother looking at the situation below at all. At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship was engulfed by a massive iceberg, making it look like arge amber-white mass.

    Through the incredibly pellucid ice wall, the deck of the battleship as well as the naval warriors of the Gilded Kingdom¡ªall of whom appeared rxed, clearly unprepared for the sudden destructive attack¡ªcould be seen. Although the iceberg was in a tropical region, it could remain solid for billions of years, and had simply be a wonderful scenic spot for the port. It would probably attract the attention of many.

    It had only been a few minutes since Lin Li left, but Macklin and the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins had yet to recover from the shock. They did not know why Lin Li left all of a sudden, and they were still waiting to discuss with Lin Li the ns to deal with the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, just when the crowd suddenly snapped back to their senses, intending to ask Gavin and the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk about the situation, they suddenly saw a spatial rift appearing in the ce that Lin Li had left. Who else could it be except Lin Li?

    ¡°Felic, where did you hurry off to?¡± Macklin was seated right beside Lin Li. Hence, he immediately asked that question curiously when he saw him returning.

    Although the others didn¡¯t ask questions, they were all clearly filled with curiosity when looking at Lin Li.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. Everything has been settled,¡± Lin Li answered Macklin casually after returning to his seat.

    ¡°What? What do you mean everything has been settled?¡± Macklin had yet to recover from the shock, and he thought that Lin Li had gone to handle some matters of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he continued, ¡°Good that it¡¯s been settled. Do you think we can chat about the matter regarding the Gilded Kingdom now?¡±

    ¡°I mean, the matter regarding the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship has been settled,¡± Lin Li exined after seeing that Macklin and the representatives of the other forces seemed to have yet to figure it out.

    ¡°It¡¯s already settled!?¡± Macklin suddenly stood up and finally understood what Lin Li meant. Even though Lin Li was the one who said that, he could not quite believe his ears. Only a few minutes had passed, and even though he was a Sanctuary powerhouse, it seemed impossible to cover such arge distance in a short period of time, let alone fight the enemies.

    As for the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins, they all seemed to be in disbelief after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words too. On one hand, they felt that Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse, would not deceive them, and on the other hand, they felt that it was far beyond their imagination.

 Chapter 1028 - Gilded Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 1028: Gilded Kingdom</h4>

    However, regardless of whether they believed it or not, no one dared to question a Sanctuary powerhouse. Anyway, time would prove everything. After the extremely brief meeting this time, the representatives of the other forces bade farewell apprehensively. Other than verifying Lin Li¡¯s words, they still had to rush back to report to their superiors about Lin Li¡¯s abilities.

    Initially, Lin Li also intended to ask Macklin to stay behind for a few days in the Tower of Dusk. After all, Lin Li had been staying in seclusion in the library during this period of time, and had not entertained his guest, Macklin, well. However, although Macklin did not take the matter of the Fn to heart, he was extremely curious about what Lin Li had done, and was eager to see the wonders Lin Li had created.

    It was very easy to verify the news in the Fn Kingdom. There was a random structure on the sea, and the culprits who¡¯d attacked the port were there too. Hence, the news soon spread like wildfire in the Fn Kingdom. In fact, there were many who surged into the port from all directions, all for the sake of catching a glimpse of the rare scene.

    After seeing the iceberg with his own eyes, Macklin also reported to Aldwin about the Tower of Dusk. Within a few minutes, Lin Li covered almost half of the area of the maind, and although Aldwin had also stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he admitted that he would not be able to do that. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s other battleship had vanished in a moment.

    Perhaps only the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council could do something like that! After hearing Macklin¡¯s report, Aldwin could not help but think, <i>He¡¯s truly an incredible existence that ordinary humans can¡¯tpare to!</i>

    After receiving that news, the king of the Fn Kingdom was so ted that he could not stop grinning. If he hadn¡¯t been worried that it might be unsafe in the sea, he would have personally gone to see the wonderful iceberg.

    The battleship of the Gilded Kingdom had openly attacked the port of the Fn Kingdom, which was tantamount to insulting the Fn Kingdom. However, now that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship had turned into a tourist attraction that was free for viewing, it was a tant p in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s face. The king of the Fn Kingdom finally felt like he had vented the pent-up anger of several days.

    Compared to the Fn Kingdom, it would be harder to prove the authenticity of Lin Li¡¯s im in the Breezy ins. After all, Lin Li had taken ownership of the battleship without leaving any remains in the sea. He did not return the resources on the battleship to the respective forces, either.

    However, when Lin Li ced the gigantic battleship in the Magic City of the Tower of Dusk, and began to carry out the modifications, the forces that received the news naturally discovered that Lin Li wasn¡¯t lying at all. While verifying the truth of the matter, the news of the new scenic spot at the Fn Kingdom¡¯s port also spread to the Breezy ins. After tallying the news, the forces that were doubting Lin Li¡¯s abilities in the beginning were finally shocked by his strength.

    In the headquarters of the Mithril Alliance, Elvis, who had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, sunk deep in thought for a long time after hearing the reports from the messengers whom he had sent to the Tower of Dusk.

    Since the Dark Age, the Mithril Alliance¡¯s legacy had been passed down for thousands of years, and it had always been a top force in the Breezy ins. A force with such a rich heritage actually had to bow down to a new force that had been established only for a few years. That was something that no one in the Mithril Alliance could ept.

    However, it couldn¡¯t be helped, since the Tower of Dusk had such an incredible andpetent president who had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm at a young age. Under the deterrence of the Sanctuary powerhouse, the people of the Mithril Alliance had no choice but to resign to fate despite feeling extremely indignant. Otherwise, if they were to end up provoking the Sanctuary powerhouse and cause him to attack them, the Mithril Alliance would be too weak to contend with him, no matter how major of a force they might be.

    Fortunately, the magic tides suddenly appeared and gave Elvis, who had originally lost all hopes of stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, the chance to do so. Although the Mithril Alliance had always been apprehensive about the rumors of Lin Li dying in the Sky Castle, they had felt that even if Lin Li eventually returned, Elvis¡¯ presence of a Sanctuary powerhouse would be enough for the Mithril Alliance to gain equal footing with the Tower of Dusk.

    However, after listening to the report of his men, Elvis¡¯s heart, which had just been filled with eagerness and excitement, gradually turned cold again. Elvis had a deeper understanding of the terror of a Sanctuary powerhouse than others¡ªprecisely because he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Elvis could tell from the words of his subordinates that even though he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, the power of the young president of the Tower of Dusk was not something he could contend with.

    In fact, Elvis could even sense that the gap between him and Lin Li did not decrease even though he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, it seemed to be greater than that of three years ago when he was only at the peak of the Legendary-realm. Elvis believed that Sanctuary powerhouses like him would only end up dying in a battle against Lin Li.

    In the eyes of those who had yet to enter the Sanctuary-realm, Sanctuary powerhouses would not vary much in strength. Hence, after Elvis had reached the Sanctuary-realm, the members of the Mithril Alliance began to expect the Mithril Alliance to rise again from the doldrums. Even if the Mithril Alliance could not suppress the Tower of Dusk, they could at least be on par with the Tower of Dusk.

    However, after hearing Elvis¡¯s exnation, everyone realized a truth¡ªas long as Lin Li, the young president of the Tower of Dusk, was around, there would never be peace in the Mithril Alliance.

    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t pull a long face. I can see that the young president of the Tower of Dusk has ambitions that are far beyond this tiny Breezy ins. Sumbing to him is not that humiliating for us.¡± After all, Elvis had be a Sanctuary powerhouse, and his state of mind had changed greatlypared to before.

    Although Elvis inevitably felt a little powerless after knowing that there was a horrifying increase in Lin Li¡¯s abilities, he soon got over it. After all, a devil like him would probably appear only once in a blue moon. He ought to be content that he was lucky enough to enter the Sanctuary-realm. If he were to insist onparing himself to Lin Li, he would only be making things hard for himself.

    As for the others of the Mithril Alliance, they were naturally somewhat disappointed. It would be fine if they had never had any expectations, but as soon as they got their hopes up, their hopes were dashed again, and it was simply a torture.

    Elvis naturally knew what everyone was thinking, but they could only ept and figure it out themselves slowly. Persuasion alone would not be too effective. However, in order to avoid letting them feel indignant and develop some other thoughts that would create trouble for the Mithril Alliance, he had no choice but to give all of them a stern warning.

    At this moment, the other forces of the Breezy ins were having simr conversations as the Mithril Alliance. As usual, only Sanctuary powerhouses would know how terrifying other Sanctuary powerhouses were. Some of the forces kept a low profile after having a few members be Sanctuary powerhouses.

    At the same time, the various forces became more and more respectful towards the Tower of Dusk, thus causing their speed[1] to increase immediately. Within less than 20 days after Lin Li came out of the library, the businesses of the Tower of Dusk had already recovered, and were also developing rapidly.

    Lin Li also made use of those few days to modify the gigantic battleship, thus causing the fortress-like battleship to be even more terrifying. With this battleship to patrol the seas, the Gilded Kingdom would be courting death even if they sent another 10 battleships.

    After tossing the battleship into the sea, Lin Li weed another longtime acquaintance of his, President Hoffman of the Glittergold Trade Union.

    Despite the influence of the magic tides, Hoffman had not stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but his power had also reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, and he was only a step away from the Sanctuary-realm.

    In fact, it was a good thing for Hoffman. After all, with the power of the magic tides, he would only be considered to be in the pseudo-Sanctuary-realm, and there would be an obvious difference between him and a Sanctuary powerhouse who had broken through using his true abilities.

    Due to the fact that the old president Thomas had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, the Glittergold Trade Union now only needed a Sanctuary powerhouse to take charge for the time being. Hence, Hoffman chose to give up on this route, and continue to strengthen himself so as to enter the Sanctuary-realm based on his own abilities.

    Previously, the representatives of various forces gathered at the Tower of Dusk, and due to the fact that Hoffman was in the Dwarf Kingdom, he could not make it back in time. Hence, the Glittergold Trade Union sent Elvan, who was one of the shareholders of the Glittergold Trade Union, to represent them. This time, other than catching up, Hoffman looked for Lin Li to consult him about some things regarding the Sanctuary-realm. He also arrived with plenty of information about the Gilded Kingdom.

    The Glittergold Trade Union was one of the top trade unions in Anril, and its business was not only spread throughout the maind¡ªit had also spread to the Gilded Kingdom. It was safe to say that no other force in Anril would know the Gilded Kingdom better than the Glittergold Trade Union did.

    Hoffman¡¯s news first confirmed one of the conjectures that Gavin and the others had made. There was truly an inseparable connection between the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom. The rtionship between the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom was like that between the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom. The lord of the Illuminati had a lot of control over the Gilded Kingdom, just like the pope of the Brilliance Shrine over the Ledin Kingdom.

    The Illuminati was an ancient religion that believed only in one god¡ªthe ancient god Zagar. The ancient god Zagar was a deity that had been around since Anril¡¯s establishment. It was also the only true god of Anril who had broken the chaos, given rise to Anril, and created the two strong races, the Wyrms and the Titans.

    [1] Probably the speed at which they hurried to restore normal rtions with ToD.

 Chapter 1029 - Nonsense

    <h4>Chapter 1029: Nonsense</h4>

    Of course, every pope had the ability to exaggerate the god that they believed in, and the propagation of the doctrine of the creation of the gods wasmonce in the history of Anril. In fact, there was even an Immortal religion. The devotees believed in the Immortal King, and imed that the Immortal King who created the world was omnipotent.

    However, there was another characteristic about the religion of the Illuminati. The devotees imed that the god that they believed in still existed in Anril. Although no religion would say that the god that they believed in had died, most of them would say that their god was in heaven. Others could not consider anything else at all.

    However, the Illuminati¡¯s doctrine stated that the ancient god Zagar fell into a deep slumber after creating the world and the two major races, the titans and the wyrms, because of a certain force. They even stated explicitly where the ancient god Zagar had slept. Legend had it that it was in the most famous ce of the Endless Ocean, known as the Great Whirlpool.

    Upon hearing this, Lin Li also understood why the Illuminati could not trump the Brilliance Shrine in Anril. The Illuminati was too conservative with the description of the ancient god Zagar. How could the only true deity fall into slumber? He was clearly much inferior to the other omnipotent gods.

    Of course, Lin Li was not in the mood to care about the doctrine of the Illuminati. What he was concerned about was the power of the Illuminati. After all, the Illuminati¡¯s shadow was present in all the events that had happened to the Tower of Dusktely. Lin Li did not have to think much to know that he would sooner orter face the Illuminati.

    If the Illuminati¡¯s abilities were mediocre, Lin Li would not mind using the Sky Castle to get rid of the Illuminatipletely. However, it was basically impossible to do so. If the Illuminati were not capable enough, they would not be able to control the Gilded Kingdom. Based on that point alone, the Illuminati definitely wouldn¡¯t be inferior to the Brilliance Shrine.

    However, the Glittergold Trade Union unfortunately did not have a thorough understanding of the power of the Illuminati. Although the Glittergold Trade Union was famous in Anril, it was only an ordinary trade union to the Gilded Kingdom. It was not because the Gilded Kingdom had a trade union that couldpare to the Glittergold Trade Union, but rather that the Gilded Kingdom had imposed a lot of restrictions on foreign trade unions. They would definitely not allow foreign trade unions to control their local market.

    Hence, the Glittergold Trade Union could rarely get into contact with the senior executives of the kingdom or the Illuminati. Naturally, they could not get better information.

    Although Lin Li had obtained some news on the Illuminati from Hoffman, and knew how powerful the Illuminati was overseas, Lin Li might not necessarily be afraid of them even though the Illuminati wasparable to the Brilliance Shrine.

    In fact, in the aspect of the Sanctuary-realm, the so-called strengthparison between the various forces was actually aparison of the strength of the Sanctuary powerhouses. For the Sanctuary powerhouses, the number of devotees, Legendary powerhouses, and the amount of wealth they controlled did not matter. The Brilliance Shrine was extremely powerful, and they controlled the massive Ledin Kingdom as well. However, they dared not provoke the Ashen Warlock, who was all by himself, all because his only opponent was Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine. To him, the archbishops and others were insignificant existences.

    Hence, to Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, whether or not a force could pose a threat to him would depend on the abilities of their Sanctuary powerhouses. Although Lin Li was still unsure of how many Sanctuary powerhouses there were in the Illuminati, he was confident that with his own abilities and the power of the Sky Castle, the enemies would not be able to pose a threat to him and the Tower of Dusk even if they had a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    To put it more seriously, even if the Illuminati had Sanctuary powerhouses that were as strong as the three Arbitrators, and even if Lin Li could not contend with them, no one would be able to stop him from leaving unscathed. Hence, if the senior executives of the Illuminati knew that the Tower of Dusk had Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse, they would not really fall out with him.

    Besides, Lin Li was certain that the Illuminati should have long discovered this. Back when Lin Li had just reached the Tower of Dusk and killed those who were surrounding the Tower of Dusk, one of the Sanctuary powerhouses stood out to stop Lin Li from taking away the captive. Now, since he had confirmed that the prisoner was from the Illuminati, the Sanctuary powerhouse who tried to stop him had to be from the Illuminati too.

    Lin Li believed that no matter what the Illuminati¡¯s agenda was, they probably would not dare to continue pursuing it after finding out that the Tower of Dusk was helmed by him.

    As long as the Illuminati stopped courting death, Lin Li could not be bothered to settle scores with them¡ªnot because he was magnanimous, but because he didn¡¯t have the time to.

    The magic tides had already appeared, and the spacetime rifts had be more and more active. No one knew when the prehistoric magical beasts in the spacetime rifts would surge into Anril inrge batches. Lin Li¡¯s time was running out. Increasing his power and sealing the spacetime rifts was the top of his priorities now. Otherwise, even if the Illuminati had a few Sanctuary powerhouses, Lin Li would drive the Sky Castle to the Gilded Kingdom and settle scores with them.

    However, the other forces of the Breezy ins were not as confident as Lin Li. Even if the few top forces had Sanctuary powerhouses, they were essentially only pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, some of whom had simr lifespan as other Sanctuary powerhouses, but were only slightly stronger than those who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. They were words apart from Sanctuary powerhouses who had entered the Sanctuary-realm by relying on their own abilities.

    Such pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses could not evenpare to level-25 powerhouses who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, what more someone like Rosario. That was also the reason that the various forces were attacked badly by the Gilded Kingdom. Otherwise, any true Sanctuary powerhouse would definitely be able to resolve that issue.

    Hence, although the people who made a mess of the Breezy ins had already been killed by Lin Li, the various forces did not feel relieved just because of that. Instead, they began to feel a suffocating oppression.

    The ordinary small and medium-sized forces might be dauntless because of their ignorance, but forces like the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family, which had existed since the Dark Age, knew what the Illuminati was like. In fact, perhaps there were certain ancestors of their family who used to be believers of the Illuminati.

    Although they had Sanctuary powerhouses, major forces like the Brilliance Shrine were like behemoths that they dared not provoke. They might not know the exact strength of the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, but with the Brilliance Shrine and the Ledin Kingdom as examples, they could more or less guess that the Illuminati was not to be provoked.

    Now that they knew that the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom coveted the Breezy ins, the forces immediately began to get nervous. Although many of the forces weren¡¯t convinced with the Tower of Dusk, thetter did not harm their interests, but the Illuminati was different. The things done by the Legendary powerhouses that were sent by the enemies were evidence.

    They had resolved their temporary issues, but to the forces of the Breezy ins, there was still a greater problem that they had to face next. After all, the Breezy ins belonged to the Fn Kingdom only in name. If the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom invaded, the Breezy ins¡¯ people would probably have to rely on themselves.

    In order to deal with the next moves of the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, the first solution that the forces of the Breezy ins thought of was to form an alliance that could contend with them. However, there was a reason for the Breezy ins to be known as a chaotic ce. For thousands of years, it had never been unified, and there were all kinds of nasty things between its forces. Perhaps a few forces might be able to form a temporary alliance, but uniting all forces like what the Tower of Dusk had tried to do was simply a delusional idea.

    Besides, in the past, they had attacked the Tower of Dusk for the sake of benefits, and the Tower of Dusk was nothing to them at all at that time. However, the opponents that they were about to face now were the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom. There were too many things involved. Simply put, no one wanted to take responsibility, but everyone wanted to reap the benefits. In the end, the alliance meeting turned into aughing stock as it was dismissed after five days due to the incessant conflicts between forces.

    In fact, the forces were not entirely to me. There wereplicated rtionships between them, and even if they got the God of Mages, Geresco, toe out, he might not be able to settle their issues. Otherwise, the Breezy ins would probably have been unified a long time ago. How could they be known as thend of chaos if not for that?

    In the retaliation against the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, even the top forces like the Mithril Alliance, the Caesar Family, and others could not really unite the forces of the Breezy ins. Under the circumstances that they failed to form an alliance, the leaders of the few top forces finally gave up their ambitions, and once again sent their representatives to the Tower of Dusk in hopes that Lin Li could stand out and lead the forces of the Breezy ins against the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, what everyone didn¡¯t expect was that Lin Li went missing again soon after he came out of seclusion in the library. This time, even Basel, Gavin, and the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk had no idea where their president had gone.

    Hoffman stayed at the Tower of Dusk for three days. In addition to discussing with Lin Li the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom, he also asked Lin Li for advice about the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, after he sent Hoffman away, Lin Li immediately put aside the matters regarding the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom. He then began considering the issues of improving his own abilities.

    Through the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation, Lin Li increased his power to level-27 in the library, which was extremely fast to anyone. However, Lin Li was not satisfied with that, because he was well aware that having level-27¡¯s strength was simply insufficient for the things that he wanted to aplish in the future.

    Lin Li wanted to continue to receive the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation and improve his abilities through that, but it didn¡¯t seem to be possible for the time being. Unless Lin Li¡¯s strength could increase again, he would only be putting himself through torment if he wanted to learn from Geresco¡¯s incarnation again. It was just like how one would have to think of a way to erge a bucket full of water to continue pouring more water into it. That could be considered a bottleneck.

    Hence, Lin Li thought about the inverted tower in the Sky Castle, which was not just a simple library. When he first met Geresco¡¯s incarnation in the inverted tower, he was taught a lesson. However, it was just the first floor of the inverted tower, and he did not take the risk to explore the higher floors at that time.

    Although he did not explore it, Lin Li was well aware that the inverted tower was definitely a genuine treasure left behind by Geresco. The gains that Lin Li had made on the first floor were already extremely valuable. Even the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council would definitely be jealous.

    Even to Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, the countless precious magic books were still extremely useful. They would definitely be more beneficial to the other mages of the Tower of Dusk. Those magic books would pave a smooth journey to sess for the mages and lead them to the Sanctuary-realm.

    The guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation was enough to make any Sanctuary Master go mad. Geresco was named as the God of Mages because he was the leader of human magic civilization. Getting the personal guidance of the God of Mages was definitely something that all mages dared not imagine.

    Besides, that was only one of the benefits that he had obtained on the first floor of the inverted tower. Lin Li dared not be certain that the items on the second floor would be more valuable than the first¡¯s, but he was sure that the items on the second, third, andst few floors of the inverted tower would definitely not be less valuable than those of the first.

 Chapter 1030 - Barbarous Arena

    <h4>Chapter 1030: Barbarous Arena</h4>

    When Lin Li was in the Endless Void previously, he did not continue to explore the inverted tower, partly because of the time constraints, and partly because he felt that he was not capable enough. This time, Lin Li had already sessfully reached level-27, and with the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation, there had been shocking changes in his strength. Hence, when the rate of his improvement reached the doldrums, Lin Li felt that it was time for him to further explore the inverted tower.

    Thus, when the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins once again went to the Tower of Dusk in a bid to get Lin Li to step out and take charge of the alliance, Lin Li had already stepped through the door of the inverted tower.

    The first floor, which had been emptied to the point where only empty bookshelves were left, no longer had anything valuable for Lin Li. He directly walked past the bookshelves, and arrived in front of the stairs leading to the second floor of the tower. The invisible barrier that had once blocked the crowd from passing through was indeed no longer able to stop Lin Li. He sessfully stepped onto the stairs as if he was passing through a water curtain.

    Before Lin Li reached the second floor, he could already sense the subtle and ancient aura that was surging towards him from above as soon as he stepped on the stairs. At the instant that he sensed that aura, Lin Li began to hallucinate, feeling as if he was suddenly in the prehistoric times.

    What could it be? Lin Li¡¯s curiosity was immediately aroused, but he did not speed up in his tracks. He continued to slowly make his way up the stairs with some anticipation.

    When Lin Li reached the end of the stairs, he was greeted with the sight of a spacious hall. There were no ornaments in the small hall, only a crystal ball hanging on a stone tform in the center. There were numerousplicated mageweaths carved in the stone tform, and the crystal ball was not extremely rare, either. It was just a superior-grade crystal ball.

    Lin Li was not surprised to see this. However, there was indeed a vortex door opposite the hall, which was what was emitting the ancient aura. Lin Li knew that the truly valuable item was inside that door. However, there was no way he could know what the crystal ball was used for.

    Looking at the vortex door, Lin Li knew that it usually meant that there was another space or world behind that door. However, he did not hesitate because of it. If it was designed by the Immortal King or Osric, he would have to n carefully, but since it was left behind by Geresco, it meant that it might not be a lethal trap.

    Hence, Lin Li did not hesitate any longer. He walked over from the stone tform and the crystal ball before stepping through the vortex door.

    After stepping through the door, a spacious area appeared in front of Lin Li, and there were smooth lines carved on the ground, forming a massive array. There were giant stone pirs that towered over him in the surroundings. There were many rather beautiful ancient but smooth carvings on the stone pirs. They enclosed the space and made it a nearly circr field.

    Lin Li could tell from the surrounding scenery that it should be a venue that was somewhat like an arena. However, why would Geresco spawn this arena? Lin Li did not think that Geresco would leave behind any useless things as treasures in this tower.

    Lin Li carefully observed the arena, from the huge array formation to the decorative paintings on the stone pirs around him. Sensing the ancient aura that was emitted from the arena, an unbelievable possibility suddenly popped up in his mind.

    <i>Could this be the legendary Barbarous Arena that exists in myths!?</i> Even with his current state of mind and wide horizons, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart race when he thought of that possibility.

    The Barbarous Arena was not the kind of arena that was used for duels or entertainment. In the ancient legends, the Barbarous Arena was just as famous as the Tree of Eternity. However, it was easy to prove the existence of the Tree of Eternity, while the Barbarous Arena was said to be illusory.

    Legend had it that in the Frozen Hignds of Anril, there once lived a very powerful race of people. They could not use magic or the so-called Combat Energy, but their bodies possessed a great power that would make even dragons bow down to them. Due to their brutal power, the other races called them barbarians, while they imed to be descendants of the Titans.

    Truth be told, many of the races in Anril called themselves descendants of the Titans, and even the dwarves imed that they had the bloodline of the Titans. Hence, the barbarians were actually not recognized by the others. They simply refused to believe it.

    The barbarians chose to live in the harsh environment of the Frozen Hignds, not because of any oppression by other races, but because they believed that only by surviving in harsh conditions could they maximize the power of the bloodline of the Titans in their bodies. Another more important reason was that the Barbarous Arena was in the center of the Frozen Hignds.

    It was said that the Barbarous Arena was even more ancient than the Tree of Eternity as it dated back to before the Dark Age. The arena had already existed before the Tree of Eternity was born. Even the barbarians did not know when the Barbarous Arena appeared in the Frozen Hignds. However, it was said that the arena had once been the battleground of the gods.

    The Barbarous Arena was extremely important to the barbarians who had been training their strong and elite warriors there for several generations. It was also used for the selection among the strongest warriors to be the king of the barbarians.

    Whenever each barbarian reached the age of 12, they would have the right to enter the Barbarous Arena. Besides, it was mandatory for them to enter the arena to train. No one knew what power the Barbarous Arena used for its operation, but whenever someone entered it, an opponent of equal strength would automatically appear inside.

    No one knew where the opponents were from, and why they would appear in the Barbarous Arena. In fact, no one knew what opponents they would be facing. It might be a human, a High Elf, a magical beast, a demon, a wyrm, or something else. In short, there were endless possibilities.

    The fact that the Barbarous Arena had such incredible power was the very reason that people always thought that it was just an illusory existence that existed in myths. Even Sanctuary powerhouses who had already mastered the World Laws might not be able to understand the mystical power of the Barbarous Arena.

    Moreover, the power of the Barbarous Arena seemed to be limitless. If an ordinary person entered, their opponent would definitely be ordinary. If a Sanctuary powerhouse entered, his opponent would be apetent Sanctuary powerhouse of equal strength. Legend had it that even if a true deity entered, an opponent who was his match would appear too. Perhaps that was the origin of the im that the Barbarous Arena was the battleground of the gods.

    Lin Li carefully looked around, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was the Barbarous Arena that he had heard of. If this was really the Barbarous Arena, it would indeed be qualified to be ced in the inverted tower by Geresco.

    Just as Lin Li was specting whether this was the legendary Barbarous Arena, arge wave of mana suddenly surged out at a spot not far in front of him. The space also became heavily distorted. Immediately afterwards, a wyrm appeared, and it turned from a translucent, illusory figure into a solid one in the blink of an eye.

    Roar! A loud and clear dragon roar immediately resounded in the arena with the emergence of a wyrm.

    Looking at the wyrm that appeared out of thin air, Lin Li¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted because the wyrm that appeared was not like the ones that he usually saw. Instead, it was a king of the wyrms that had Sanctuary-level mana waves.

    It was a Silver Wyrm that was not veryrge but seemed extremely athletic from head to toe. Its body was covered with scales that glistened like a silvery armor. It did not seem terrifying, but it seemed more like a sheathed sword that was so sharp that others dared not look at it.

    Among the massive group of ancient wyrms, the Silver Wyrm had always been known as the Assassin of wyrms as it had incredible speed that other wyrms could notpare to. It was also known for its flexible and agile fighting style. Moreover, the Silver Wyrms also held the power of space, which made it impossible for others to ward off their attacks.

    Hence, although the level that the Silver Wyrm showed seemed to only be at level-26, Lin Li dared not be careless at all, especially since the powerful defensive abilities and massive power were part of its strength. Level did not mean anything at all.

    Besides, the Barbarous Arena had a characteristic where it would automatically match those who entered with opponents that were simr in strength to them. Although the Silver Wyrm was only at level-26, it had been released in the Barbarous Arena, which meant that itsbat power was not inferior to that of Lin Li, a level-27 powerhouse. In fact, it was probably stronger.

    After entering the Barbarous Arena, the Silver Wyrm seemed to have felt a little confused about suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar environment. However, in the blink of an eye, its bloodshot eyes became clear again. It had already noticed Lin Li who was standing close by. After roaring, it began attacking Lin Li without hesitation, perhaps because it regarded Lin Li as the culprit who caused it to end up there, or because it had gained some unknown information.

 Chapter 1031 - Continuous Battles

    <h4>Chapter 1031: Continuous Battles</h4>

    Its silver body was considered smaller among the wyrms, butpared to humans, it was still ratherrge. However, itsrge body turned into a silver lightning which immediately dashed towards Lin Li, issuing the loud sounds of the rapid expansion of the air.

    When the Silver Wyrm appeared, Lin Li already understood the workings of the Barbarous Arena. Hence, he had long kept his guard up. Looking at the moving body of the Silver Wyrm, Lin Li immediately reacted. An ice wall that was thicker and heavier than a city wall immediately appeared in front of him. At the same time, his body vanished behind the ice wall.

    The silver lightning struck the ice wall, but it did not make any sounds of a violent impact. The Silver Wyrm¡¯s figure appeared behind the ice wall, which also exploded into a thick fog. As the fog faded, a massive hole gradually appeared.

    The ice wall was not an ordinary ice wall, but rather was cast by Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse. It was as hard as diamond, and would never melt. Even if the ice wall was struck continuously by Legendary magic spells for a year, they might not even leave any trace on it. Although a powerful strike from a Sanctuary powerhouse could shatter the ice wall, it would be several times harder to prate it.

    The Silver Wyrm did not use any Space Power, and instead relied on its powerful body and its lightning speed to bore a massive hole in the ice wall. Even Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but have a change of expression as his heart was filled with immense excitement.

    At Lin Li¡¯s level, it was not easy for him to find an opponent. There were very few Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril in the first ce, and it was even rarer for there to be any that could fight Lin Li. Those who had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm thanks to the magic tides recently were only pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses who were not qualified to be Lin Li¡¯s opponents at all. Sanctuary powerhouses like the three Arbitrators of the Sanctuary-realm could not always train with Lin Li, either. Although there were Sanctuary powerhouses who were of the same strength as Lin Li, the lives of Sanctuary powerhouses were very precious. Who would fight him toe-to-toe for no reason?

    Hence, to Lin Li, having an opponent of equal strength who could go all out and fight with him was much more valuable than any massive amount of wealth.

    Nheless, he was facing an opponent of equal strength. Hence, Lin Li soon suppressed his excitement and his expression returned to normal as he becameposed again. He raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and engaged the wyrm calmly.

    After the Silver Wyrm missed, it also immediately exerted its Space Power, while its massive body moved nimbly in the space. It chased after Lin Li¡¯s figure, andunched a series of frenzied attacks like the Space Shuttle, Space Shackle, Space Trap, and many other peculiar attacks at him.

    The Silver Wyrm was like the master of the space in the arena. Lin Li¡¯s powerful offensive spells were immediately devoured by the spatial ck hole, while the bizarre yet lethal attacks passed through space without any hindrance. They appeared around Lin Li without warning, and even his Domain World could not stop them.

    However, Lin Li was not getting beaten up passively. He did not get abused by Geresco¡¯s incarnation and learn thosebat techniques for nothing. The gemstone on top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter shone brightly, and he continuously cast powerful magic spells that bombarded the Silver Wyrm ferociously without mercy.

    The battle between the two Sanctuary powerhouses was definitely groundbreaking, and the roaring noises were incessant. When the two powerful forces collided, it resulted in horrifying spatial rifts. If such an intense battle had happened in Anril, the space would have long copsed and crumbled. The aftershocks of the battle were probably enough to destroy a city countless times.

    However, despite the intense battle, the Barbarous Arena was not damaged in the slightest. The inconspicuous ground and the stone pirs that had been existing for numerous years did not chip despite the powerful impact of the Silver Wyrm¡¯s and Lin Li¡¯s horrifying magical bombardment.

    The exciting battle caused Lin Li to unknowingly fuse the knowledge that he had learned from Geresco with his body, and the mana in him was fully triggered, just like a river that was flowing calmly turning into a raging flood. Under the support of the endless mana, Lin Li cast the magic spells continuously, but he was not purely pouring out mana.

    After all, Lin Li was now facing an opponent whose strength was simr to his, and who was perhaps even much stronger than him; it was not something that could be suppressed with a magic storm. Unlike magic storms that were formed with arge number of magic spells, Lin Li was continuously casting arge number of magic spells without stopping. However, he nned every magic spell¡ªeach had a specific purpose.

    The momentary intersection between darkness and light, the intertwining between the biting cold and zing mes, and the various Elemental Laws were exhibiting incredible power and function under Lin Li¡¯s control. After just a few minutes of fighting, Lin Li gained control of the battle¡¯s rhythm. Although the two of them seemed to be on par with each other, the Silver Wyrm had actually fallen into a trap under Lin Li¡¯s coercion.

    As Lin Li controlled the pace of battle, scars gradually began to appear on the Silver Wyrm¡¯s body that was covered in shiny scales. In the end, when the Light and Darkness Sword pierced the space and the massive mouth of the Silver Wyrm, it stopped moving, and its massive body gradually became transparent. In the end, it vanished without a trace.

    Holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, Lin Li quietly looked at the ce where the Silver Wyrm vanished, and he quickly recalled the battle just now while analyzing the gains and losses. The experience that he had gained from such an evenly matched battle was a massive amount of wealth, and every bit of enlightenment would mean a substantial increase in his abilities.

    About a minute after the Silver Wyrm vanished, a powerful magical wave appeared in the space opposite Lin Li. Next, a massive wave of mana emerged from the space again, followed by a Fire Demon that was covered in mes. With the appearance of the Fire Demon, the entire arena seemed to have be a furnace as the heat that could melt steel filled the entire space.

    Compared to the Fire Demon King that Lin Li had encountered back in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, this Fire Demon was countless times stronger, and the surging mana wave showed that it had already reached the middle of level-27. In the Endless Abyss, such a powerful Fire Demon was definitely more dominant than a Lord of the Abyss. However, it somehow appeared in the Barbarous Arena.

    After appearing, the Fire Demon roared in exasperation, and began attacking Lin Li ferociously without hesitation. The Domain World that the Fire Demon exhibited was a world ofva where the ground was covered inva, while the sky was like an inverted sea of fire from whererge and smallva fireballs were constantly dripping down like rain. With a loud roar of the Fire Demon, the entire world ofva began burning up, and streams ofva formed a massive wave that smashed against Lin Li in a groundbreaking manner.

    The waves formed by theva contained the Lava Laws that the Fire Demon had mastered. The power of each stream ofva was akin to that of a Legendary-level magic spell. They were stacked upon each other like they were endless. Under the constant pounding of theva waves, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World let out groans like it was overwhelmed. The spatial barriers were soon covered in cracks.

    However, in the face of these, Lin Li remained still, and continued to cast magic spells that seemed ineffective. The magic spells that he cast vanished as soon as they entered the world ofva. Even a heavy rainstorm would vanish in it.

    Seeing his opponent¡¯s feeble counterattack, a look of contempt formed on the Fire Demon¡¯s hideous face. Initially, he could already sense that Lin Li¡¯s mana was not inferior to his, and he thought that it would be difficult to deal with him. Hence, he went all out as soon as the battle began, but it seemed that humans were just humans. Even if he was lucky to step into the Sanctuary-realm, he was still no match for the Fire Demon.

    Despite being a little disdainful, the Fire Demon did not rx because of this, and instead increased the intensity of his attack after roaring. He had already gotten sick of that game, and he just wanted to finish off that tiny human as soon as possible before seeing what kind of ce he hade to.

    ¡°Freeze!¡±

    As soon as the Fire Demon intensified its attack, Lin Li suddenly hollered in a low voice, and pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward. Immediately, a burst of extreme chilliness suddenly emerged from the streams of bright redva, which were extinguished without any struggle. At the same time, thickyers of frost covered the solidifiedva, as if it had turned into a wall of frost.

    After freezing theva wave, the extreme chilliness spread towards the surroundings without stopping. In the blink of an eye, it turned the Lava World of the Fire Demon into a snowfield. The spot beneath the Fire Demon¡¯s feet was the only area that still looked likeva. However, he could still see the entanglement between ice and fire.

    If the Fire Demon had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, he would probably have been in huge trouble. He might even have to give up his body. However, a level-27 Fire Demon was now standing in the arena, and he was much stronger than Lin Li. Despite having been set up by Lin Li, he got even angrier, and refused to lose the upper hand.

    The Fire Demon stomped his feet forcefully, and a ball of mes began spreading towards the surroundings with his body as its center, thus turning the frost a bright, fiery red color. Next, the dense sounds of fire cackling echoed in the arena as the frost that was covering theva shattered and began burning in the mes.

    Despite the changes, Lin Li did not seem dejected. If the Fire Demon was finished off like that, he would be disappointed in the Barbarous Arena and the fire demon. A battle between Sanctuary powerhouses was not aparison of mana strength or the understanding and usage of nomological power. Instead, it was aparison of their mastery of the World Laws.

    The final victory of the battle between Lin Li and the Fire Demon was only one aspect. Most importantly, he had found something worth learning from the Fire Demon, such asbat experience, power origin, and the mysteries of the Domain World. To Lin Li, the process of the battle was a learning experience. Of course, once Lin Li truly mastered everything from his opponent, there would be no doubt about the oue of the battle.

    However, the Fire Demon was stronger than Lin Li, after all. Besides, in the Endless Abyss, every minute and second was a chance for a battle, and he would definitely get richbat experience. Otherwise, there would be no way for him to survive in the Endless Abyss, let alone enter the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although Lin Li had obtained all sorts of knowledge from Geresco, the battle with the Sanctuary-level Fire Demon was still incredibly difficult. The two of them fought for dozens of hours, until their energy clearly began to drain. With a minor advantage, Lin Li painstakingly sent the Fire Demon back to the Endless Abyss.

    However, although the Fire Demon had broken free, it still wasn¡¯t over for Lin Li. A few minutes after Lin Li defeated the Fire Demon, another wave of horrifying mananded in the Barbarous Arena.

    This time, the opponent who appeared was a High Elf that was dressed in a resplendent battle suit. He was clearly more powerful than the Fire Demon, and was near the peak of level-27. Lin Li could tell from the attire of the High Elf that he was a royal, but he did not know his exact identity.

    The High Elf royal immediately kept his eyes fixed on Lin Li as soon as he appeared in the Barbarous Arena. He did not seem confused at all, nor did he try to figure out where he was. He was holding a luxurious longsword which had a gemstone on the hilt.

    Like the previous two opponents, this High Elf royal had no intention of talking to Lin Li at all. He simply picked up his sword, andunched a murderous attack on Lin Li.

    Unlike the High Elves, humans had a variety ofbat professions such as Mages, Sword Sages, and Assassins due to their own limitations. However, every High Elf could be considered an all-rounded elite.

 Chapter 1032 - Instant Kill

    <h4>Chapter 1032: Instant Kill</h4>

    In addition to the fact that High Elves had great talent, their incredibly long lifespan was undoubtedly an important reason for them to be all-rounded.

    In the eyes of the High Elves, magic andbat skills were all about the use of power, so holding a sword did not mean that they did not know how to cast magic spells. This High Elf royal was undoubtedly an elite of the High Elves who had extremely high attainments inbat skills and magic.

    After exchanging blows with the High Elf, Lin Li soon had a deeper understanding of his abilities. If this High Elf royal were to fight with the Silver Wyrm and the Fire Demon, it definitely wouldn¡¯t have as hard of a time as Lin Li.

    However, in the face of a more powerful opponent, Lin Li did not feel timid at all. In fact, he got even more excited, and the fatigue that he felt after the battle with the Fire Demon also vanishedpletely at this moment because he knew that fighting continuously with a powerhouse was the only way his abilities could increase rapidly.

    The battle with the High Elf royal was clearly much tougher than the previous ones, and Lin Li could be considered to have resorted to all possible means. After spending tens of hours, he finally defeated the arrogant High Elf royal. Of course, through such a battle, Lin Li could clearly sense that he had gained a lot of things too.

    After the High Elf royal, the Barbarous Arena continued to pick out stronger and more powerful opponents for Lin Li, including prehistoric magical beasts that had vanished from Anril, unknown human powerhouses, and even barbarians who imed to be the descendants of the Titans.

    Lin Li continuously squeezed his potential, and fused the knowledge that he had learned from Geresco through the battles. In the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li defeated 10 opponents in a row, and when the 11th opponent appeared, he finally couldn¡¯t persist any longer.

    The 11th opponent that the Barbarous Arena arranged for Lin Li was an ancient wyrm whose power Lin Li could not figure out. After the ancient wyrm appeared, it managed to force Lin Li into a desperate situation, causing him to have no means to put his rich repertoire ofbat techniques to use.

    Fortunately, a massive power that could not be contended with protected Lin Li, and sent him out of the Barbarous Arena. By the time Lin Li¡¯s vision became clearer, he was already outside the vortex door, and the stone tform and crystal ball were a short distance away from him.

    With some lingering fear, Lin Li turned around to go to the crystal ball before activating the power in the crystal ball. The crystal ball immediately showed the arena that Lin Li was in previously, and the scenes of him fighting his opponents were on disy. He could even adjust the speed of the yback, zoom in and out, and change the perspective of the screen. It was simply a 360-degree battlefield recorder.

    Previously, Lin Li would summarize gains and losses in the battle after each defeat of his opponents in the Barbarous Arena. Now, he was watching the battle scenes disyed in the crystal ball from the third-person view. Through the crystal ball, Lin Li could study all the battle scenes in detail and notice some of the things that he had failed to perceive previously.

    The benefits that the series of intense battles gave Lin Li were beyond his imagination. That was different from the fight between Lin Li and Geresco¡¯s incarnation. What Geresco¡¯s incarnation taught Lin Li was Geresco¡¯s knowledge, and what Lin Li obtained from the training and the battles of the Barbarous Arena truly belonged to him. Even the knowledge that Lin Li had obtained from Geresco¡¯s incarnation was incorporated into his body during the battles, causing his mastery of his power to reach an unprecedented level.

    Standing in front of the stone tform, Lin Li repeatedly watched the scenes of the battles that he was engaged in in the Barbarous Arena. When he finally internalized everything, he finally yed the scene of thest battle.

    Thest battle was actually very short as itsted only for a minute or two. Lin Li almost did not get to exhibit any of his countermeasures, and was soon sent back to that ce. Frankly speaking, Lin Li did not have much of an impression of that battle. He was all muddled up when he was sent back.

    Now, through the yback in the crystal ball, Lin Li finally had a chance to figure out why he suffered such a terrible defeat. However, what made him feel dejected was the fact that no matter how he tried to analyze it, he could not find a single chance of victory.

    Initially, when he was in the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li felt that thest opponent¡¯s strength was unfathomable, but now, after seeing the rey in the crystal ball, he vaguely felt that the opponent¡¯s strength was probably at the peak of level-29 of the Sanctuary-realm.

    <i>The peak of the Sanctuary-realm! Could it be the same as the three Arbitrators?</i> Lin Li had had a tough time defeating the first 10 opponents. Even after summarizing all his experiences, he knew that he might not be able to defeat his opponents easily even if he met them again. Besides, he would never be able to trump an opponent who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, because that was beyond his limit.

    After all, Lin Li had just reached level-27, and even if Geresco¡¯s incarnation had personally guided him, there was still a great difference between his level and the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. In the face of absolute power, all his experience, skills, ns, and schemes would just be a joke. Advancing in level would depend on the difference between them too. No matter what, an ant would never be able to raise a huge elephant.

    Perhaps he would only be able to defeat the ancient wyrm which was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm when he reached level-28! The longer Lin Li looked at the battle scene in the crystal ball, the more guilty he felt. He simply felt that his opponent was definitely not someone he could defeat at this stage.

    However, at the thought of this, an idea suddenly popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind. The Barbarous Arena had already arranged a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm to be his opponent. When he reached level-28, wouldn¡¯t he have to face a powerhouse who had surpassed the Sanctuary-realm!?

    Anyone who surpassed the Sanctuary-realm would probably be at the level of a deity! The absolute difference in realm was not something that could be made up with by other things, just like how Legendary powerhouses would never be able to go against Sanctuary powerhouses. Even Geresco and powerful existences like the Immortal King probably would not be able to ignore the gap between realms and kill an opponent that was at the level of a god!

    At the thought of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. Such a situation seemed to be far away from him, and he thought that he¡¯d better think about how he should deal with the opponent in front of him. Those at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm could be considered demigods; in fact, the difference between them and ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses could be considered a difference in realm.

    Lin Li stood in front of the crystal ball, and thought hard for many hours, but was never able to think of a way to win. Feeling helpless, he had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being. He turned around and stepped through the vortex door again. He then began the challenges in the Barbarous Arena.

    This time, his encounter was the same as previously. Lin Li painstakingly defeated 10 opponents, and then was almost defenselessly sent out by the 11th opponent who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. After he left, he carefully studied the scene in the crystal ball again and summarized everything that he had realized during the battle. He then entered the arena to start the challenges again.

    Although every challenge would end at the 11th opponent, Lin Li would still gain massive benefits from the Barbarous Arena. After all, a battle with an enemy of the same strength where he needed not worry about dying was a rare chance for anyone. Every battle would allow Lin Li to have a better control of power.

    Lin Li even had a vague feeling that as he became more proficient in mastering his power, he might really seed in crossing the level when he reached some realm, and challenge the opponent who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Of course, he could not enjoy good stuff alone. Other than continuously entering the Barbarous Arena to face the challenges, Lin Li also arranged for his own men to enter it to receive training. The amazing thing about the Barbarous Arena was that regardless of the strength of the person who entered, the Barbarous Arena would automatically assign an opponent of equal strength. In fact, even if a baby entered, the Barbarous Arena would also arrange a baby as an opponent.

    Thus, the Barbarous Arena was not only useful to Lin Li, it was also extremely beneficial and of great help to the Legendary-mages or the mages who had yet to reach the Legendary-realm.

    Hence, while continuously entering the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li also called Connoris and the others over. Although relying on the Barbarous Arena might not let them break through to the Sanctuary-realm from the peak of the Legendary-realm, it would allow them to hone theirbat power through the battles, and be the foundation for them to break through to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Other than Connoris and his other subordinates, Lin Li also instructed n to pick out a batch of mages who were loyal and had made outstanding contributions to enter the Barbarous Arena and receive training. After entering the Barbarous Arena a few times, the selected mages began to break through the Legendary-realm one after another.

    Although there was arge number of people who entered the Barbarous Arena, each of them would be allocated to an independent space in the arena, and thus they would not affect each other at all. Therefore, Lin Li was not interrupted, and he continued with his torturous yet gratifying challenges.

    Just as Lin Li continued to challenge his opponents in the arena, the Breezy ins fell into a state of chaos after a short period of calm. The protagonists of the chaos turned out to be a messenger from the Gilded Kingdom and the Ashen Warlock Rnd who lived in seclusion in the faraway Gran Town.

    Clearly, Lin Li¡¯s previous strike made the people of the Gilded Kingdom realize that it was not easy to attack the Breezy ins. Hence, after getting such an oue, the king of the Gilded Kingdom sent a batch of messengers to the Breezy ins in hopes of reaching his goals through other means.

    Although the people of the Gilded Kingdom also knew that the Breezy ins was known as thend of chaos, and there were countless forces of various sizes, they had also asked around, and found out that the one who held the highest authority in the Breezy ins was the Ashen Warlock who lived in Gran Town. Hence, they mored about negotiating with the Ashen Warlock.

    The Ashen Warlock had had no qualms about killing a prince of the Fn Kingdom and causing a stir with the Fn Kingdom¡¯s army for the sake of his dog. The messenger of the Gilded Kingdom initially thought that the inconspicuous Ashen Warlock who lived in seclusion was just a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and did not expect tond himself in trouble.

    The Ashen Warlock would never tolerate others disturbing his peace, and the Gilded Kingdom was extremely hysterical too. After the two parties met, there would definitely be trouble. Not giving the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom any chance to speak, the Ashen Warlock swung his arm, and immediately killed the envoys from the Gilded Kingdom.

    The Ashen Warlock only spared the life of one of the hundreds of envoys, whom he instructed to ry the message to them to look for the president of the Tower of Dusk if they needed something. He also wanted the messenger to tell the people of the Gilded Kingdom not to bother him unnecessarily, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t mind making a trip to the Gilded Kingdom.

    The one who stayed alive was scared out of his wits, and he fled back to sea without stopping. At this moment, he finally knew why the various forces of the Breezy ins would be willing toply with the instructions of an old man who lived in seclusion.

    As for retaliation, the people of the Gilded Kingdom would probably never dare to reveal their intention to take revenge. The Ashen Warlock was a maniacal Sanctuary powerhouse who could not be provoked by just anyone. If he were to go to the Gilded Kingdom, that would probably spell a disaster for the people of the kingdom.

    However, the people of the kingdom could also tell that the Ashen Warlock was obviously not interested to ask about the matters in the Breezy ins. It seemed that they really had to go see the president of the Tower of Ashes.

    Hence, after the messengers were almost wiped out by the Ashen Warlock, the Gilded Kingdom sent more. This time, they arrived at the Tower of Dusk in Dnd, which the Ashen Warlock had mentioned.

    The size of the Tower of Dusk gave the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom a great shock. Before he arrived, he had found out some information about the Tower of Dusk, and he knew that the Tower of Dusk was a new force that had only been established a few years prior. Although their businesses were developing well, they had the universal problem that all new forces faced, and that was theck of a background and foundation. However, it seemed now that the development of the Tower of Dusk was beyond the imagination of the messenger.

 Chapter 1033 - Envoy

    <h4>Chapter 1033: Envoy</h4>

    However, no matter what the Tower of Dusk had developed into, it was only a local force in the Breezy ins, and the emissary of the Gilded Kingdom represented the powerful Gilded Kingdom that owned the best fleet of battleships in Anril. There was a huge difference between the two, and when juxtaposed, it was just like the contrast between a remote mountain vige and a prosperous city. It was simply impossible topare the two equally.

    Hence, the envoy of the Gilded Kingdom naturally wouldn¡¯t bother about any diplomatic etiquette with the Tower of Dusk. After being surprised for a while, the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom began behaving the way he should, and headed straight to the entrance of the Magic City of the Tower of Dusk. He said to a mage who was in charge of reception, ¡°Go and inform your president that a messenger from the Gilded Kingdom has something to say to him, and ask him toe out to meet me. Also, my time is very precious, so don¡¯t bother throwing a grand ceremony to wee me.¡±

    The mage could not help but look troubled after hearing the words of the envoy of the Gilded Kingdom. Ever since his president stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they had never received such an arrogant visitor who had the cheek to mention a wee ceremony. The messenger had such a great sense of superiority! Even during the time when the Tower of Dusk was first established, anyone who dared to show such an attitude would usually end up in a terrible state!

    The mage who was in charge of reception scanned the people of the Gilded Kingdom from head to toe. Although he seemed extremely displeased, he was assigned a task, and thus did not procrastinate for long. After telling the messenger to wait, he turned around to inform the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk.

    At this moment, Lin Li was in the Barbarous Arena, continuously challenging stronger opponents. Hence, the mage who was in charge of reception naturally had no means of seeing him, and had no choice but to inform Gavin, the senior executive of the Tower of Dusk, about the arrival of the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The messenger of the Gilded Kingdom was rather lucky that Lin Li did not have the time to see him. Otherwise, even if Lin Li didn¡¯t kill him, he would definitely be kicked out of the Tower of Dusk for his haughty attitude. After hearing the news from his subordinate, Gavin, who had gone to meet the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom, mellowed down.

    ¡°Are you Felic, the president of the Tower of Dusk?¡± the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom asked when he saw Gavin.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Gavin chuckled, not bothered by the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom. Of course, he was not enthusiastic or friendly towards him, either. After gesturing to him to enter, he calmly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but our president isn¡¯t intely. May I know what you¡¯re here for?¡±

    Gavin did not exin much to the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom, and instead asked him for his purpose of visit. For a mild-mannered person who had a good temper, it was probably considered an intense reaction.

    Hearing that the president of the Tower of Dusk was not present, the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t help but frown. However, he didn¡¯t dwell on that matter, and instead said, ¡°Okay, I will just tell you truthfully. We¡¯re going to hold a conference in Calon City, and all forces of the Breezy ins have to attend. That¡¯s all.¡±

    As soon as he arrived, the messenger of the Gilded Kingdom did not mention his name at all, and now he did not even bother mentioning the topic of the conference. After that, he stood up and took his leave, as if he was terrified of staying another second longer.

    Gavin maintained aposed expression, and since the messenger did not say anything, he did not bother asking about it, either. When the messenger bade farewell, he stood up to send them to the entrance. After the people of the Gilded Kingdom sauntered away, the mages beside Gavin couldn¡¯t help but seem indignant. If not for Gavin¡¯s presence, they would have long beaten them up.

    Faced with theints of the people under hismand, Gavin waved his hand nonchntly, and instructed them to get to work while he headed to the inverted tower of the Sky Castle through the Teleportation Portal in the Tower of Dusk.

    Gavin waited for a short while in the hall of the inverted tower, and happened to see Lin Liing out of the Barbarous Arena with the others. Hence, he reported to Lin Li about the visit of the messengers from the Gilded Kingdom, as well as the conference that would take ce in Calon City in 10 days.

    ¡°Gavin, your temper is too good. It¡¯s a pity I couldn¡¯t make it. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have let them leave easily.¡± After countless intense battles, n was now full of a murderous aura, and he no longer seemed like a civilized and courteous mage.

    Gavin smiled at his sarcastic remark, and said, ¡°Well, there¡¯s an uing negotiation. If it doesn¡¯t go well, you¡¯ll have a reason to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°President, will you be taking us with you when the timees?¡± Seemingly having been tempted by Gavin¡¯s words, n turned around and asked Lin Li that question smilingly, as if he was asking for a benefit. Clearly, the group of mages led by n had somewhat turned into avid fans of battles after experiencing countless battles in the Barbarous Arena.

    Stroking his chin, Lin Li squinted, and said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve been here for a long time, it¡¯s indeed time to go rx and unwind. However, there are still 10 days to go, so if you guys can advance by another level within these 10 days, I¡¯ll take you there, otherwise just stay here.¡±

    With the shuffling of footsteps, everyone including n immediately vanished without a trace. It turned out they scurried to the arena.

    Seeing this scene, Gavin was a little dumbfounded. It had only been a short while, but all the mages had be fans of partaking in battles.

    ¡°Okay, Gavin, things have recently gotten back on track at the Tower of Dusk. If you have time, drop here often to train. Although it won¡¯t make you advance quickly in level, it will definitely be effective for sharpening yourbat skills and improvingbat power.¡± Gavin was an old member of the Tower of Dusk who had joined since its establishment. Of course, Lin Li would not forget his contributions.

    Although Gavin had experienced a considerable increase in his strength through the magic tides, his achievements would stagnate there for life if he could not think of a solution to digest it. If he were to enter the Barbarous Arena and undergo training with lots of actualbat, that would allow Gavin¡¯s power, which he had obtained effortlessly to be fused with his body.

    ¡°Yes, President, I will drop by often in the future as long as I have the time to.¡± Although Gavin was obsessed with getting more power, he knew that practicing magic was the right path for mages, and power, authority, and money were all only superficial, especially when he looked at his peers. Many of the mages who had joined in the same period of time had been constantly improving their strength, and he had long been eager to do so too.

    After a few words with Gavin, Lin Li resumed his usual routine, and continued to challenge stronger opponents in the Barbarous Arena. Although Lin Li still wasn¡¯t able to defeat his 11th opponent until now, he had gained a lot from the sessions, and now he could at leastst for a few seconds instead of being finished off instantly like he used to.

    Lin Li¡¯s opponent was a peak Sanctuary powerhouse, while Lin Li was only at level-27. Being able tost for a few seconds facing a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already an incredible achievement. Others would probably be shocked by what he had done.

    At this moment, there were five battleships from the Gilded Kingdom docked quietly in the port of Calon City, which was situated on the southern coast of the Breezy ins. The port, which was originally rather spacious, was upied by the five battleships, leaving the other merchant ships with no choice but to turn to a smaller port nearby.

    Calon City was originally the territory of the Dark de. The port was one of the important reasons that the Dark de was able to develop to such a scale such that it became the best of the top 10 bandit groups in the Breezy ins. Later on, the Dark de was destroyed by the Tower of Dusk, and thus the Malfa Family took over Calon City. On the other hand, the Tower of Dusk chose a seemingly abandoned mine near Calon City instead.

    At that time, Cheyenne of the Malfa Family was rather puzzled by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s decision. After all, it was obvious that a prosperous port would be far more valuable than an abandoned mine. However, Cheyenne regretted his choice soon afterward because the Tower of Dusk managed to found the Tera Mine in the abandoned mine. Besides, they also discovered that it was extremely rich in Tera ore.

    Of course, Cheyenne was also well aware that if the Tera Mine trulynded in his hands, it would not be a good thing, because it might cause the Malfa Family to face the disaster of destruction.

    On a battleship of the Gilded Kingdom in the port of Calon City, a few people who were obviously different from underlings were standing leisurely on the deck, and watching the scenery that the port offered.

    With the wealth brought by the port trade, Calon City was considered a prosperous city in the Breezy ins. However, even the highest building in the city did not seem to be taller than the deck of the giant battleship of the Gilded Kingdom. Thus, those several people who were standing on the deck could almost have a clear view of the city.

    The several people on the deck of the battleship were the leaders of the emissaries of the Gilded Kingdom, and the ones who were sent to the Tower of Dusk were just normal messengers. The former had a very high status in the Gilded Kingdom, and they did not think that the president of a force in the Breezy ins was worthy of their personal invitation.

    ¡°Admiral Nasry, you¡¯re being too conscientious, we¡¯re just going for a walk. With our battleship in the port, those pieces of garbage would not dare to touch us at all.¡± The one who said that was a handsome blond-haired man in his thirties who looked extremely arrogant.

    The arrogant blond-haired man was named Cantory, and indeed had the rights to be arrogant. Not only was he the most favored son of the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom, he was also a disciple of the priest of the Illuminati. In addition to his noble status, his strength was also a reason for him to be proud. Although he was only in his thirties, he was already a level-24 Legendary powerhouse and an unparalleled genius in the Gilded Kingdom.

    Admiral Nasry, whom Cantory addressed, was themander of the fleet on this mission, and themander-in-chief of the Third Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom. As themander-in-chief of the Third Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, Nasry was well aware of the importance of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy in this mission to the Breezy ins. Hence, he dared not be negligent at all.

    In fact, Nasry originally had the same thoughts as the majority of people in the Gilded Kingdom, and they all thought that their mighty navy would be enough to dominate the Breezy ins which was in a state of disunity. However, they did not expect to be dealt a huge blow before they could even implement their n. Not only did they lose many Legendary powerhouses, they also lost two giant battleships.

    After all, the Gilded Kingdom was an ind nation in the sea, and wasn¡¯t rich in mineral resources, so each giant battleship was very precious to them. This time, the Gilded Kingdom had their sights set on the Breezy ins, and more specifically, their mineral resources. They hoped to get the minerals they needed from the Breezy ins. Otherwise, their navy¡¯s development woulde to a standstill, and if that were to happen, it would affect the entire kingdom greatly.

    ¡°Cantory, we will definitely threaten the interests of the forces of the Breezy ins this time. We have to be very careful.¡±

    Nasry shook his head slightly. Cantory had a special identity, and he would be given huge credit forpleting the mission, but even if they failed, he would not have to suffer any consequences when he returned. Simply put, he was there for show. However, it was different for Nasry. If the n failed, then losing their manpower would be a trivial matter, but losing the two battleships was a serious issue. If he could not exin the losses, the failure of the mission would be the end of his career.

    ¡°Admiral Nasry, you¡¯re overestimating them. I see no need to negotiate at all. If they have the guts to go against us, we¡¯ll just destroy all of them.¡± In the Gilded Kingdom, Cantory was the top of his generation because of his noble identity and brilliant talent. Everything had always been smooth-sailing for him, and thus he naturally did not take the forces of the Breezy ins seriously.

    Cantory¡¯s words made Nasry feel rather ufortable as he made it sound as if he was timid. Hence, he reminded, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the forces of the Breezy ins may be in a state of disunity, but there is a Sanctuary powerhouse to support them. I believe you¡¯re well aware of how horrifying the Sanctuary powerhouses are. That Ashen Warlock is not someone we can deal with using our advantage in artillery.¡±

 Chapter 1034 - Negotiation

    <h4>Chapter 1034: Negotiation</h4>

    Jorre was an elder of the Illuminati. Actually, his status was even more prestigious than that of Nasry, themander-in-chief of the Third Fleet. Hence, when Nasry directed the topic to Elder Jorre, he was hoping that it would restrain Cantory and prevent him from creating trouble.

    Upon hearing Nasry mention the Ashen Warlock, there was a slight change in Jorre¡¯s expression, and even Cantory fell silent. Previously, they did not witness the consequences born by the messengers with their own eyes, but when they saw the messenger who seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, they could imagine how terrifying it was.

    Generally speaking, to Sanctuary powerhouses, those below the Sanctuary-realm were insignificant minions, and thus they would not hold anything against them. However, the Ashen Warlock waspletely different from other Sanctuary powerhouses. Not only did he hold it against the insignificant, he even dealt with them harshly, leaving them with no means to survive after offending him.

    The Ashen Warlock killed them just for offending him, and that was simply an insult to the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. However, after being humiliated, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had no choice but to grit their teeth and suck it up, not daring to think of revenge at all.

    Although the Illuminati was also helmed by a Sanctuary powerhouse, the elders of the Illuminati dared not mention revenge after checking the ancient literature and learning that even Highlord Osric had been rather afraid of the Ashen Warlock during the Dark Age.

    However, Cantory was not a fan of history, so he naturally did not know that the Ashen Warlock was a famous figure in history. Hence, after staying silent for a while, his arrogant expression returned, and he nonchntly said, ¡°There¡¯s only one Sanctuary powerhouse in the entire Breezy ins. At most, we¡¯ll get Teacher to step in and restrain him. Let¡¯s see what he can do after we kick him out of the Breezy ins.¡±

    After hearing Cantory¡¯s words, the expressions of Elder Jorre and Nasry turned sullen, as if they were afraid that the Ashen Warlock would hear their words from far away.

    ¡°Cantory, keep this between us. We¡¯ll be in great trouble if the Ashen Warlock hears this. Think about it, even if we get your teacher involved and wipe out the Breezy ins, won¡¯t the Ashen Warlock take revenge on the Gilded Kingdom?¡± Jorre said to Cantory with a stern expression.

    ¡°Yeah, judging from the way the Ashen Warlock acts, he¡¯s really capable of doing anything,¡± Nasry chimed in. Regardless of the methods he used, he would be given huge credit as long as he could get enough ores from the Breezy ins. He did not want to create unnecessary trouble.

    ¡°The Ashen Warlock has already made his stand clear. The president of the Tower of Dusk will be talking to us about the matters regarding the Breezy ins. I think this is a form ofpromise, and there¡¯s no need for us to continue provoking him,¡± Elder Jorre said righteously. He did not know that the president of the Tower of Dusk was not any less ruthless than the Ashen Warlock, and thus thought that the Ashen Warlock was giving him an out.

    ¡°I hope so.¡± Although Nasry agreed with Elder Jorre¡¯s words, he vaguely felt that it was a little inappropriate. He had heard that the Ashen Warlock would never leave Gran Town where he had lived for thousands of years. In that case, was the Ashen Warlock really the one who took the battleship away from the Gilded Kingdom? If it wasn¡¯t the Ashen Warlock, wouldn¡¯t it mean that there was another Sanctuary powerhouse in the Breezy ins that he didn¡¯t know of!?

    However, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s n was fortunately fully supported by the Illuminati this time. Even though Nasry could not figure out what the Illuminati wanted from the Breezy ins, he just had toplete the mission.

    10 days passed in a sh, and the various forces of the Breezy ins had also arrived at Calon City one after another within this period of time. If possible, none of them wanted to provoke a major enemy like the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Hence, they were already prepared to fulfill the requests of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati as long as they were not too absurd.

    As the owner of Calon City, the Malfa Family became a participant of the negotiation even though they had yet to reach the standards of a top force. They were in charge of preparing everything that was needed for the negotiation and entertaining the representatives of the Breezy ins.

    On the other hand, Lin Li and the rest arrived in Calon City on the 10th day. Since they had be allies with the Malfa Family a long time ago, thetter weed and entertained them enthusiastically. Cheyenne¡¯s disciple, Hutton, had also joined in to entertain Lin Li. Although Hutton had already stepped into the Legendary-realm, he was still far inferior to Lin Li. Cheyenne requested Lin Li to take Hutton under his wing and allow Hutton to learn and train in the Tower of Dusk because there was nothing else he could teach Hutton.

    Hutton was actually rather talented, and if not for the incredibly elite Lin Li, he would have been a top prodigy of his generation. Hence, Lin Li did not decline, and agreed to Cheyenne¡¯s request readily. After this matter ended, Hutton would follow him to the Tower of Dusk to be a student.

    On the second day that Lin Li and the members of the Tower of Dusk arrived in Calon City, the negotiation initiated by the Gilded Kingdom began in the City Council Hall in the city center of Calon City. The dozens of representatives of forces from the Breezy ins walked into the conference hall one after another, each with a stern expression. Even those who were close to each other did not hold much of a conversation.

    Even though the negotiation had yet to officially begin, they could still vaguely guess the intentions of the Gilded Kingdom. Clearly, the Gilded Kingdom was intending to encroach on the Breezy ins. If it was just the Gilded Kingdom, the forces of the Breezy ins would not have much scruple about it. After all, the Fn Kingdom failed to subdue the Breezy ins back then, not to mention the Gilded Kingdom which was situated in the sea. However, the Gilded Kingdom was supported by the Illuminati, which was an ancient force that was not inferior to the Brilliance Shrine.

    The Breezy ins was of a limited size, and the forces there had already distributed all of the local resources evenly. The Gilded Kingdom, which was a foreign force, was obviously trying to snatch away some benefits from each of the forces, and that was something that no other force was willing to ept. Back when the Tower of Dusk had risen, it had already taken away a huge portion of benefits from each of the forces. The Gilded Kingdom definitely had a greater appetite than the Tower of Dusk.

    Although some members of a few forces in the Breezy ins had be Sanctuary powerhouses thanks to the magic tides, they were all well aware that those who entered the Sanctuary-realm using the power of the magic tides could never bepared to true Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, none of them had the courage to go against the Gilded Kingdom. If they were to provoke the true Sanctuary powerhouses of the Illuminati, it would be toote to regret.

    The representatives of the many powers entered the conference hall and took their seats, each looking as if they were about to be sent to the torture chamber. In fact, it was quite the case. They waited for more than half an hour before the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom entered the conference hall. The one who took the lead was Cantory the son of the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom, followed by Elder Jorre of the Illuminati, Nasry themander-in-chief of the Third Fleet, and a few administrative staff who were holding several documents.

    After sitting in the main seat of the conference hall, Cantory looked up at the crowd, and cleared his throat gently with his chin raised before saying, ¡°Everyone is present, right? In this case, let¡¯s move on to the main topic of the conference.¡±

    Deep down, Cantory did not think much of these local forces. Even though they were the so-called top forces, they could notpare to the mighty Gilded Kingdom and the ancient force, the Illuminati! Hence, he did not take the negotiation seriously, either, and simply felt that it was redundant. He felt that the forces would never dare to defy him once he raised his conditions!

    ¡°Envoy Cantory, the members of the Tower of Dusk have yet to arrive. Should we wait a little?¡± the representative of a certain force reminded cautiously.

    Hearing that the people from the Tower of Dusk actually hadn¡¯t arrived yet, Cantory¡¯s face turned sullen immediately. He deliberately decided to bete for more than half an hour all because he wanted to show his dominance. However, he did not expect the Tower of Dusk to make him wait.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk? Aren¡¯t they just one of the forces of the Breezy ins? Since they¡¯re not taking this conference seriously, we don¡¯t have to wait for them,¡± Cantory said with a hostile expression. In his opinion, there were many forces in the Breezy ins, and the Tower of Dusk did not matter at all. Since they werete, he would make them bear the consequences for their unpunctualityter.

    However, Elder Jorre stopped Cantory at this moment, and said, ¡°We¡¯d better wait a little longer. After all, they are also a force of the Breezy ins. Let¡¯s discuss when everyone is present.¡±

    Elder Jorre did not say that because he had a good temper, but because he had recalled the words of the messenger whose life was spared by the Ashen Warlock. He did not think that the Ashen Warlock would appoint a random person to represent him. Clearly, the president of the Tower of Dusk was valued highly by the Ashen Warlock.

    Cantory frowned, and was about to say something to Elder Jorre, but he suddenly heard footsteps approaching outside the door. However, the footsteps were not hurried, and the neers finally appeared in the conference hall only after a few minutes.

    The people who arrived were Lin Li followed by Basel and n. Despite arrivingte at the conference hall, the trio entered without exining anything to anyone, went straight to the end of the hall, and sat down at the exact spot facing Cantory and the others.

 Chapter 1035 - Pseudo-Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 1035: Pseudo-Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    ¡°Who are you people? Why did you barge into the conference hall without permission?¡± Cantory flew into a rage as soon as he saw the attitude of Lin Li and hispanions. <i>He¡¯s just the president of a small local force, and yet he has the audacity to make me wait. Not only was hete, he didn¡¯t bother apologizing, either. How rude.</i>

    Hence, despite having guessed Lin Li¡¯s identity, Cantory nheless tried to take Lin Li a notch down in front of the representatives of the forces.

    Lin Li was not bothered by Cantory¡¯s words at all. Without uttering a single word, he simply looked up and nced at Cantory with disdain. Even though Cantory could be considered an elite of the younger generation because he managed to reach level-24 at such a young age, Lin Li only regarded him as an insignificant nobody.

    However, Cantory did not think so. Being the son of the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom and the favorite disciple of the priest of the Illuminati, he could be considered the best of the younger generation of the Gilded Kingdom, and had never been treated with such contempt. The wisp of disdain in Lin Li¡¯s eyes immediately made him feel as if he had been humiliated, and an uncontroble anger overwhelmed him in an instant.

    Bang! Cantory mmed his hand hard against the table and suddenly sprung up, intending to chase the members of the Tower of Dusk out of the conference hall.

    However, before Cantory even said anything, Elder Jorre who was beside him stood up as well. He urged, ¡°Enough, since they¡¯re here, let¡¯s get to the main topic.¡±

    At the same time, he was also hinting implicitly to Cantory that the young president of the Tower of Dusk was not simple.

    After getting Elder Jorre¡¯s hint, Cantory finally noticed the unusual mana fluctuationsing from the body of the young president of the Tower of Dusk. The fluctuations were not dense and ferocious. On the contrary, they were somewhat subtle and almost hard to detect. Cantory was not entirely clueless, and he didn¡¯t think that the president of the Tower of Dusk was an ordinary person without any power. In this case, the only possibility would be that he was in the Sanctuary-realm.

    <i>But he seems to be only in his early twenties. How can he have already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm!?</i> Cantory turned to look at Elder Jorre doubtfully, only to see a look of certainty and affirmation in thetter¡¯s eyes.

    Cantory could not bring himself to go on. Although he was not intimidated, he did have some scruples. After all, the pride of a Sanctuary powerhouse was not to be trampled on. Although he might not be afraid of Lin Li, since he had a powerful team, he might suffer heavy losses if he failed to get a satisfactory oue from the negotiation.

    At the thought of this, Cantory red at Lin Li with hatred, sat back down indignantly, and said, ¡°Okay, since everyone is here, let¡¯s get to the main topic. This time, I¡¯m here on behalf of the Gilded Kingdom, and I gathered you all here with the intention of discussing with you the acquisition of mineral resources. These are the mineral resources that we have selected after the survey, and the prices we offer respectively. Please take a look. If there is no problem, hurry up and sign the transfer contract.¡±

    Upon hearing Cantory¡¯s words, the administrative staff of the Gilded Kingdom handed a copy of the document to the representatives of each of the forces. There were dozens of representatives of the forces attending the conference, including the Tower of Dusk. Each force was given a copy, thus showing the enormous appetite of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The representatives of the various forces did not feel much at first, and they thought that since the Gilded Kingdom had surveyed the mines, they ought to be aware of their value, and would not offer any ridiculous prices. However, when they opened the documents, they were dumbfounded to see the prices offered for their mines.

    ¡°What!? 50,000 gold coins? The value of our daily production output is higher than this!¡±

    ¡°What a joke. You want to purchase our mine with 20,000 gold coins? This is daylight robbery!¡±

    ¡°The numbers here must have been written wrongly. The reserves in these two mines are enough tost for hundreds of years, and we¡¯re only being offered 100,000 gold coins? Since when has rhodita be cheaper than soil?¡±

    The conference hall, which was initially rtively quiet, immediately became noisier than a fish market, and the representatives of various forces could hardly believe their eyes. Not to mention that their forces did not intend to sell their mines, the prices offered by the Gilded Kingdom were simply outrageous. It was in robbery!

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, n looked at the information they had received, and couldn¡¯t help but smirk a little, revealing a mocking smile. In the information given by the Gilded Kingdom, it was stated that the Tower of Dusk owned five mines, two of which were Tera Mines, while the other three were mines that produced precious magical metals. However, the prices offered were pathetically low. They wondered if it was because the Gilded Kingdom was so poor that they could only afford such a low sum of money, or if the people of the Gilded Kingdom thought that the people of the Breezy ins were so poor that they had never seen gold coins before.

    ¡°President, look at the way the people of the Gilded Kingdom are behaving. Can we...¡± After reading the documents, n did not be enraged like the representatives of the other forces. Instead, there was a look of excitement in his eyes.

    Previously, the messengers that the Gilded Kingdom had sent had fortunately encountered Gavin who had a good temper, and thus could escape unscathed. However, almost all the mages who were led by n were battle fanatics who had long wanted to look for a chance to deal with the people of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hence, after seeing that the Gilded Kingdom had raised such uneptable conditions, n immediately thought of getting into a battle with them. It was not only because of the arrogance of the people of the Gilded Kingdom, but also because of the fact that they had sieged the Tower of Dusk and destroyed their mine. Even though the ones who sieged the Tower of Dusk and destroyed their mine had been killed by Lin Li, n and the other battle fanatics felt that there were still scores to settle.

    At this moment, everyone in the conference hall was filled with excitement. The representatives of the various forces had almost forgotten the identity of the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom as they were incredibly agitated, and had begun cursing their hearts out. They continuously berated the Gilded Kingdom for being shameless robbers and trying to rip them off.

    However, in the face of the usations of the crowd, Cantory¡¯s expression did not change at all. He simply nced at them and raised his chin while condescendingly saying, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s your honor that the Gilded Kingdom wants the resources that you have. We¡¯re already showing you due respect by offering to pay you. That¡¯s all we¡¯re going to offer, hurry up and sign the transfer contract. If you¡¯re too greedy, you might not get a single gold coin at all.¡±

    <i>How is this a damned negotiation? This is daylight robbery!</i> The faces of every representative of the forces turned sullen. However, other than cursing in exasperation, they dared not behave too outrageously. After all, they were facing the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. No matter how displeased they might be, they dared not stand up to them at all. Standing up for someone else now did not guarantee that others would stand up for them too when they were in trouble.

    However, at the thought of this, they couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the Tower of Dusk. Gradually, silence was restored in the conference hall again. The representatives of various forces were almost all behaving in the same way. They were looking at Lin Li and thinking, <i>Didn¡¯t you want us to submit to the Tower of Dusk back then? Now that the people from the Gilded Kingdom are here to rob us, shouldn¡¯t you be standing up for us, the forces that have submitted to you?</i>

    Besides, they all knew that the Tower of Dusk had to stand out even if they didn¡¯t want to. After all, although the forces were all rich in mineral resources, there was a huge difference in valuepared to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Tera Mine. The Tower of Dusk would definitely not be willing to sell the precious Tera Mine to the Gilded Kingdom like it was garbage.

    Sure enough, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, the trio of the Tower of Dusk led by Lin Li suddenly stood up from their seats. However, to their surprise, Lin Li and the others did not curse at the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom. In fact, they didn¡¯t seem angry at all. Instead, they were smiling vaguely.

    ¡°Why? Do you have an opinion!?¡± Cantory questioned, his heart tensing up when he saw Lin Li stand up. However, he gradually rxed again. He didn¡¯t think that Lin Li would have the guts to go harm him, an envoy of the Gilded Kingdom. If he were to do that, it would be akin to dering war on the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.

    In Cantory¡¯s opinion, even the mysterious Ashen Warlock would not dare to really go against the Gilded Kingdom. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have pushed the responsibility to a small force like the Tower of Dusk. Hence, the shock and intimidation in Cantory¡¯s eyes onlysted for a fleeting moment before quickly turning into an arrogant and condescending gaze.

    However, what everyone including Cantory did not expect was that Lin Li left with Basel and n after standing up, without saying anything at all.

    When the three of them three disappeared in the entrance of the conference hall, all the people in the conference hall looked at each other in puzzlement. None of them could understand what the Tower of Dusk¡¯s representatives were trying to express. <i>Did they find the prices uneptable? You should at least say something. Otherwise, how would I know if you¡¯re willing or not? Since it¡¯s a negotiation, there has to bemunication. What¡¯s the point of a silent protest!?</i>

    However, Lin Li¡¯s intention was to give the crowd a wake-up call. Since the Gilded Kingdom had offered such harsh conditions that were uneptable by their standards, he decided to give them a scare. Since the representatives of the Tower of Dusk were the first to leave, the people of the Gilded Kingdom would not hold it against them even if they developed some resentment.

    Hence, the representatives of the various powers in the conference hall tacitly chose not to say anything to the members of the Gilded Kingdom as they retreated and fell silent like a tide. In the blink of an eye, the conference hall became empty, leaving only the members of the Gilded Kingdom who were led by Cantory.

    ¡°T-this bunch of fools who don¡¯t know any better. What are they trying to do!?¡± Looking at the empty conference hall, Cantory was so infuriated that he was almost going to flip the tables. In his opinion, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati definitely had what it took to dominate the entire Breezy ins, and they were being kind enough to offer some marypensation in exchange for their mines.

    In the Gilded Kingdom, the trade unions and forces were all willing to pay a huge sum of money to the senior executives of the Gilded Kingdom for the sake of cozying up to them. However, the people of the Breezy ins were not only ungrateful for the terms they offered, they even created such a scene. It was truly absurd to him.

    ¡°It seems that the Ashen Warlock had his reasons for asking us to talk to the president of the Tower of Dusk.¡± Elder Jorre frowned a little and stroked his beard, feeling a little helpless about the situation in front of him. In fact, deep down, he also felt that the conditions that had been presumptuously set by Cantory were indeed somewhat inappropriate. However, it was a negotiation, after all, and it was meant for them to reach a consensus. It was too rude of the president of the Tower of Dusk to leave without partaking in the negotiation.

    ¡°Elder Jorre, I think we should skip the negotiation altogether. We¡¯ll decide after letting them see our power. Let¡¯s assert our dominance using the Tower of Dusk. By then, everyone will sign the contract obediently,¡± Cantory said while gritting his teeth, wishing that he could destroy the Tower of Dusk and trample all over the ignorant president of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Elder Jorre did not quite approve of Cantory¡¯s words, and thus shook his head, and said, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, the young president of the Tower of Dusk should be a powerhouse who has already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. However, with our current power, it won¡¯t be easy to deal with the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse. If it wasn¡¯t for my teacher¡¯s request, I could have stepped into the Sanctuary-realm by now too.¡± Of course, Cantory wouldn¡¯t believe that there would be anyone who was more talented than him in this world. He naturally thought that there was an 80% chance that Lin Li could¡¯ve stepped into the Sanctuary-realm only because of the power of the magic tides. Pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses would only have an increase in lifespan, and their power was essentially no different from that of those who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. In fact, they could be easily killed in a siege by a few powerhouses who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    ¡°The Gilded Kingdom must enter the Breezy ins. Nobody and no force can stop us. I believe they¡¯lle to us and initiate another negotiation once they¡¯ve figured this out. Let¡¯s keep them in suspense for a few days. They¡¯ll definitely panic. Resorting to violence is not the best option. After all, you have to bear heavy consequences for dealing with a Sanctuary powerhouse. We might as well wait for them to bow down voluntarily when they¡¯repelled by the circumstances.¡± Nasry did not want to lose any more manpower, and pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were far inferior to actual Sanctuary powerhouses.

 Chapter 1036 - Departure

    <h4>Chapter 1036: Departure</h4>

    Elder Jorre nodded slightly, apparently agreeing with Nasry¡¯s words more. He said, ¡°Not bad, the forces in the Breezy ins are disunited, and if we are too overbearing, we might end up prompting them to unite instead. The Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom are examples. Besides, our roots are out in the sea, and other than using battleships to dominate the ocean, we can¡¯t use other means. It¡¯d be much more difficult to send our troops to enter the maind than the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom.¡±

    After the members of the Gilded Kingdom chatted for a while in the empty conference hall and analyzed the current situation, they all thought that as long as they kept those forces in suspense for a few days, they would know how powerful the Gilded Kingdom was, as well as their intentions to enter the Breezy ins, and would thene crying to beg for another negotiation. Hence, Cantory did not take the slipup to heart, and simply waited for the forces to settle the issue with him.

    When Cantory and the others left the conference hall, they were no longer sulking, and instead looked rather triumphant. Cantory was initially still nning to go to the entertainment joints in Calon City for some fun, but after much persuasion by Nasry, he decided to return to the battleship in the port. They were just waiting for the forces of the Breezy ins to apologize to them and sincerely ask for another negotiation.

    On the third day after returning to the battleship, Cantory and the others were leisurely sipping wine and enjoying the sea breeze. All of a sudden, Nasry¡¯s adjutant hurried over, saluted them, and approached Nasry to speak to him softly. After hearing the report, Nasry¡¯s smile stiffened, and it was as if there were suddenly gloomy clouds in the clear sky.

    Seeing the changes in Nasry¡¯s expressions, Cantory, who was chatting with Elder Jorre, immediately showed his displeasure. He didn¡¯t think that something major had happened, but he was displeased with his whispering. Hence, he sternly questioned, ¡°Admiral Nasry, is there something that you have to hide from us?¡±

    Nasry calmed himself down, and said to the adjutant, ¡°Tell Envoy Cantory and Elder Jorre what you told me just now.¡±

    ¡°Envoy Cantory, Elder Jorre, here¡¯s what happened. Just now, I received some news that one of the battleships we sent back home got attacked during the journey.¡± The adjutant was a little terrified and flustered. Although he held a high position, he was far inferior to the several envoys in front of him. Although he would not be held liable, since he was just an adjutant, he knew clearly that if the big shots were to pursue the matter, they could me anyone.

    ¡°What!? The battleship got attacked? Where? Could there be a powerful sea beast?¡±

    The ocean was dominated by the Gilded Kingdom, and no one couldpare to the Gilded Kingdom in the sea other than a few gigantic sea beasts that were hidden in the depths of the ocean. Hence, when he heard that the battleship had been attacked, the first thought that came to Cantory¡¯s mind was that the battleship had been attacked by the sea beasts.

    However, the adjutant shook his head after hearing Cantory¡¯s question, and said, ¡°Envoy, the ones who attacked us were not sea beasts, but arge and powerful battleship. The naval troopers who were lucky to survive said that the g of the Tower of Dusk was hung on the battleship.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. How can there be a battleship in this world that¡¯s more powerful than ours? Even the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom don¡¯t have any. The Tower of Dusk is a local force, how can they have such a battleship? Could it be that those naval troops have messed up, and are trying to shirk responsibility!?¡± Although Cantory was not from the navy, he was extremely confident in their battleships.

    He was not blindly confident. In fact, the Gilded Kingdom could be the hegemon of the seas all because of their powerful battleships that had been incorporated with alchemy. They dominated the seas and would win every battle. Even ferocious sea beasts would turn into the prey of the battleships.

    Although the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom all had some troops on the coastlines, their investment in the navy was rather pathetic, and their so-called battleships were garbage that would shatter upon touch. They were not fit to bepared to the fleet of the Gilded Kingdom at all. If the Gilded Kingdom had had a powerfulnd army, they would have barged straight into the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom with cannons.

    Cantory and the others thought that the Tower of Dusk was just a new, emerging force in the Dnd region that might not even be able to create a wooden ship, let alone a battleship that wasparable to that of the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°No, Envoy, ording to the naval troopers that survived, the enemies¡¯ battleship seems to be very simr to the one of ours that went missing. Besides, they were the ones who boarded the ship first, and sank the battleship after looting all the supplies on our battleship.¡± Under the pressure of Cantory, the adjutant felt his legs shaking together with his voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s our missing battleship? Atrocious, it must have been given to them by that old fogy Ashen Warlock!¡± Their battleship being robbed was simply humiliating for them. Cantory was so infuriated that he smashed the table into bits, and turned to say to Nasry, ¡°Admiral Nasry, since they have the audacity to provoke us, don¡¯t you n to do something about it?¡±

    Two battleships of the Gilded Kingdom went missing in the Fn Kingdom and the Breezy ins, respectively. They determined that the one in the Fn Kingdom went missing because of the Arbitrators of the Supreme Council, while the one in the Breezy ins went missing because of the Ashen Warlock. In their opinion, only a true powerhouse like the Ashen Warlock could take over their battleship. Now, the g of the Tower of Dusk was hanging on the battleship, and thus they thought that the battleship was given to them by the Ashen Warlock.

    At this moment, Nasry was just as infuriated as Cantory. After all, the two battleships belonged to his forces, and as themander of the Third Fleet, he had an unshirkable responsibility in this matter. However, he did not re up like Cantory, and instead suppressed his anger while saying to his adjutant, ¡°Spread the news to the staff so that they cane up with a n for an assault as soon as possible. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pride cannot be stained by others!¡±

    Nasry did not issue that order because he let his anger get the better of him and had lost his rationality. Otherwise, he would have instructed them tounch the cannons on the battleship and st the entire Calon City. In Nasry¡¯s opinion, the enemies would not be able to operate the battleship skillfully without five to six years of training. Hence, if he could recapture the battleship, he would not only be able to make up for his previous mistakes, the battleship might also be able to y a significant role in this negotiation.

    However, Elder Jorre stopped the adjutant who was about to go and ry his orders. With a frown, he said to Nasry, ¡°Wait. Admiral Nasry, it might not be appropriate for me to butt in regarding the military affairs, but I have to say that the most important thing for us to do now is to obtain what we need peacefully. Once we start a battle, the following negotiation¡¯s process might be detrimental to us.¡±

    In fact, what worried Elder Jorre the most was not starting a battle with the forces of the Breezy ins. They all felt that the battleship was seized by the Ashen Warlock and given to the Tower of Dusk. That meant that the Ashen Warlock and the Tower of Ashes had an extraordinary rtionship. If they got into a battle with the Tower of Dusk, they might provoke the Ashen Warlock, and they might not get any benefits with their current strength.

    In fact, they initiated the negotiation in a bid to obtain the resources they needed from each force peacefully. However, they faced the deterrence of the Ashen Warlock. Otherwise, how could the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati possibly sit together to negotiate calmly with the local forces?

    ¡°What do we do, then? Are we supposed to just put up with it!?¡± Since when had Cantory ever suffered such a loss? He was naturally indignant.

    Elder Jorre sneered and stroked his beard. He coldly said, ¡°Isn¡¯t the president of the Tower of Dusk in Calon City? There was no progress in the negotiation this time all because he decided to leave all of a sudden. This time, although we have suffered heavy losses, we can make up for them if we can get the two Tera Mines from the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    Upon hearing this, Cantory and Nasry seemed enlightened. The attack that the Tower of Duskunched on them might have caused them to suffer heavy losses, but if they had a bargaining chip, they would be able to use it to force the Tower of Dusk intopromising in the following negotiation.

    ¡°Okay, in this case, go and inform the people in the Breezy ins. I will see what the people of the Tower of Dusk can say during this negotiation.¡± After having figured it out, Cantory immediately instructed his subordinates to inform the representatives of the forces in the Breezy ins to start a new negotiation.

    At the same time, a giant battleship that had characteristics which were unique to the Gilded Kingdom appeared in the sea region outside Calon City. However, it was slowly sailing in one direction under the g of the Tower of Dusk. Several mages stood on the deck of the battleship, wearing the identity badges of the Tower of Dusk. The one taking the lead was n who was in charge of the mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    After attacking the battleship of the Gilded Kingdom, n did notmand them to leave the sea region immediately. He even deliberately set off a lifeboat, hoping that the Gilded Kingdom could send another battleship after getting the news.

    He was not being conceited. Although their battleship was from the Gilded Kingdom, the performance had increased greatly after it was modified by Lin Li and Angno. Although the battleship was fused with Alchemy, it initially needed hundreds of skilled sailors to operate. However, after Lin Li modified it, the operation of the battleship became much simpler, and only required less than 20 mages to operate.

    In addition to simpler operation, the battleship¡¯s mana cannons were also furnished with Legendary magical crystals. Besides, Lin Li also decorated the battleship with some Guru-level mageweaths and Guru-level Alchemy Arrays, which made the battleship be a genuine unsinkable fortress in the sea.

    Even if the Gilded Kingdom sent five giant battleships, n would be confident of escaping unscathed after causing them to suffer huge losses. In fact, even if they faced a Sanctuary powerhouse, the battleship would still be able to sustain the enemy attacks for a period of time and allow the mages of the Tower of Dusk to leave through the Teleportation Portal in the armored superstructure of the battleship.

    However, n and the others unfortunately did not see the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships even after waiting for a long time. They had no choice but to return helplessly.

    The battleship of the Tower of Dusk naturally could not be docked in the port of Calon City. n left his men behind to guard the battleship while he disembarked. Within just half an hour, he returned to Calon City and reported all the gains to Lin Li. When n was done with reporting, the people of the Malfa Family happened to return with the news regarding the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s decision to start a new negotiation.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the people of the people of the Gilded Kingdom very arrogant? Why didn¡¯t they react after getting a p in the face?¡± Clearly, n was not satisfied with the gains today, and he was hoping that the people of the Gilded Kingdom would lose their temper, thus giving him an excuse to kill them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there will be a chanceter,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly while flipping through the Book of Eternity. He felt that the arrogant people of the Gilded Kingdom would not let the matter go just like that. Perhaps that matter had influenced them to suddenly decide to hold another round of negotiation.

    However, Lin Li was not bothered by the reactions of the Gilded Kingdom. Anyway, he did not n to let the Tower of Dusk suffer any losses during the negotiation this time.

    Indeed, as soon as the negotiation on the second day began, Cantory, the envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, began questioning the members of the Tower of Dusk in exasperation.

    Initially, Cantory intended to be a little gentlemanly when he thought about his n yesterday. However, when he saw the people of the Tower of Dusk, he immediately lost his cool. Before the members of the Tower of Dusk sat down, he immediately mmed his hand on the table and stood up. ring at Lin Li with bloodshot eyes, he barked, ¡°Master Felic, the cargo battleship that we used yesterday was attacked by the Tower of Dusk in the sea. How do you exin yourself!? Do you really want to get the entire Breezy ins involved in a war!?¡±

 Chapter 1037 - Boasting

    <h4>Chapter 1037: Boasting</h4>

    Fortunately, Cantory was not angered to the point of losing his sanity, and he still remembered to include the entire Breezy ins when berating the members of the Tower of Dusk. He even wanted to make the other forces of the Breezy ins to turn against the Tower of Dusk. They were trying to make it seem like they were sincere about negotiating with them, but the Tower of Dusk¡¯s actions were getting in the way.

    Cantory thought that the representatives of various powers would definitely stand up and use the members of the Tower of Dusk for failing to spare a thought for others and looking at things from the bigger picture, but to his surprise, the truth was far from what he imagined. After hearing his words, the representatives of those forces not only did not re at the Tower of Dusk, they even looked at them with contempt.

    <i>I knew it. That president of the Tower of Dusk definitely won¡¯t just leave so simply. It¡¯s the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s turn to be doomed this time!</i>

    In the conference hall, almost all of the representatives of the various forces developed the same thought at the same time. They understood Lin Li¡¯s means very well, and had even had firsthand experience with him. They knew that although the young president of the Tower of Dusk was not too vengeful, those who offended him and the Tower of Dusk would all face a terrible end.

    Of course, on the other hand, these forces also hoped that the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk would be strained further. Although they would not really start a war, they should at least be opposing each other. Only then could forces like them reap more benefits. After all, they were not too pleased with having to bow down to others.

    Faced with Cantory¡¯s questioning, Lin Li nonchntly returned to his seat before calmly saying, ¡°Is it that difficult to understand? We¡¯ve been negotiating for such a long time, but there hasn¡¯t been an oue, so that makes us foes. Isn¡¯t it normal to attack your enemy¡¯s battleship? Envoy, you¡¯re making a mountain out of a molehill.¡±

    ¡°What!? Making a mountain out of a molehill?¡±

    Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Cantory was almost infuriated to the point of vomiting blood. To the Gilded Kingdom, the losses that they incurred this time could not be measured in gold coins at all. Putting aside the value of the battleship that had been captured, the resources that were transported on the battleship were all rare magical metals and other resources that they had spent a lot of effort to collect, and were all very important to the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°President Felic, we originally came with sincere intentions, but your behavior is beyond the threshold of our tolerance. I hope that you can formally apologize to us andpensate us for our losses. Perhaps we might be able to continue with the negotiation if you do. Otherwise...¡± Seeing that Cantory was so infuriated that he had begun to be in a disarray, Nasry decided to step out and request the Tower of Dusk to apologize andpensate them.

    Lin Li remained seated, and simply nced at Nasry before disdainfully saying, ¡°You¡¯re being ridiculous. Since we¡¯re enemies, it¡¯s natural for each of us to use our own means. Since you are not satisfied with the fact that we attacked your battleship, you can deploy your men to attack the Tower of Dusk. As long as you can capture the Tower of Dusk, trust me, you¡¯ll definitely gain more than what you¡¯ve lost.¡±

    <i>Why would there be someone like that in this world? He actually encouraged his enemies to attack his base camp!</i> Lin Li¡¯s reply instantly caused the several people from the Gilded Kingdom to be stunned. No one expected the representative of the Tower of Dusk to be so obstinate and unreasonable.

    Did they really have to go and attack the Tower of Dusk? Elder Jorre could not help but smile bitterly. The people from the Illuminati had coveted the Tower of Dusk before, and they were the ones who instigated the people from Geresco City to attack the Tower of Dusk previously. However, even when the president of the Tower of Dusk had yet to return and the Sky Castle had not appeared yet, the other forces were not able to invade them because of the inconspicuous power of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, it was obvious how strong the Tower of Dusk¡¯s defensive power was. Not to mention, they now had a Sky Castle and a Sanctuary powerhouse for a president!

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s attitude was very clear. They openly admitted to attacking the Gilded Kingdom, and even taunted them to beat them up if they were displeased with it. Clearly, the Gilded Kingdom wanted to use this matter to make the Tower of Dusk give in, but that was already impossible. Hence, when the exasperated Cantory was thinking of saying something ruthless, Elder Jorre pulled him back in time, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re right, we haven¡¯t reached a consensus after an entire day of negotiations, so that puts us in a hostile rtionship with each other. In this case, I hope that we can reach a satisfactory agreement lest something terrible happens again in the future.¡±

    <i>Damn it, did I hear wrong? Are the people of the Gilded Kingdom so timid? You¡¯re a mighty envoy of arge nation in the sea. Why did you be such a coward after some rebuttal!?</i>

    Elder Jorre¡¯s words made the people in the conference hall find it hard to believe their ears. <i>They¡¯re the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati! Why would they do something so embarrassing!?</i>

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom pretended not to see the bizarre gazes that were cast on them, and temporarily put aside the matters regarding the Tower of Dusk. They then officially began the negotiation. However, although the Tower of Dusk had humiliated them, the Gilded Kingdom did notpromise on the negotiation terms. The terms they offered this time were still as harsh as before as they wanted to acquire the resources of the various forces at extremely low prices.

    Although the terms that the Gilded Kingdom offered were rather harsh, the representatives of various forces did not react as intensely as before. Instead, they proceeded with the heated negotiation as if they took the terms seriously. In particr, with the matters between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom, the representatives of the various forces also knew that the Gilded Kingdom indeed did not want to start a battle, and so offered terms that were so harsh that a negotiation was mandatory.

    Although the forces of the Breezy ins had always been xenophobic, they were not very resistant towards the Gilded Kingdom entering the Breezy ins. Most importantly, it was because of the existence of the Tower of Dusk, a powerful rising force that only the Gilded Kingdom could contend with. The forces of the Breezy ins did not want to live subservient to the Tower of Dusk again.

    Hence, in this negotiation, the representatives of the various forces also showed a certain amount of sincerity, but because the conditions offered by the Gilded Kingdom were truly uneptable, they had not been able to reach a consensus. If the conditions offered by the Gilded Kingdom were eptable by their standards, there would probably be an oue soon.

    However, the Gilded Kingdom did not want to pay too high of a price. In their opinion, they were showing the country bumpkins of the Breezy ins enough respect by chatting with them calmly. Others were all coveting a chance to suck up to the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Hence, in terms of the acquisition price, the Gilded Kingdom refused to give in, and only agreed to offer them some benefits in sea trade.

    However, only a small number of forces of the Breezy ins were situated along the sea. Those resources the kingdom demanded were the foundation of everyone, and sea trade had nothing much to do with them at all. Even the forces near the sea had never relied on sea trade as their main source of ie. The benefits that the Gilded Kingdom offered basically didn¡¯t matter much.

    Of course, the forces of the Breezy ins did not really want gold coins. If they really wanted gold coins, they would not need to let go of their resources at all. As long as they had the mines, they would be able to earn a massive number of gold coins. Since the Gilded Kingdom was not willing to pay them the amount of gold coins that those resources were worth, the various forces would naturally have to make up for the discrepancy in other aspects.

    Although the forces of the Breezy ins did not need the sea trade benefits that the Gilded Kingdom had offered, the Gilded Kingdom had more than just those resources. For example, they hadmercial contracts in other aspects and a high demand for manufacturing, all of which were more attractive than the gold coins.

    However, the attitude of the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom was very vehement, and they kept giving excuses by saying that the technology was a top secret of the kingdom, or that it would harm the interests of the country¡¯s merchants, and so on. In short, they rejected all of the requests of the forces of the Breezy ins.

    Negotiations had always involved several exchanges of offers and bargaining before reaching a consensus that both parties could ept. However, the Gilded Kingdom refused to give out a single gold coin at all. While the forces of Breezy ins continuouslypromised and lowered their demands, they could not put their foundation at risk.

    After some meaningless bickering, the focus of the negotiations was once again ced on the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. The various forces of the Breezy ins wanted to see what the Tower of Dusk would do to help them achieve more benefits. The Gilded Kingdom could also tell that the forces were waiting to see the Tower of Dusk¡¯s attitude. As long as they could subdue the Tower of Dusk, it would be easy to deal with the other forces.

    ¡°President Felic, I can understand that the Tower of Dusk attacked our battleship because we were enemies, but now that we¡¯re sitting together for a negotiation, shouldn¡¯t you show some sincerity too?¡± At this moment, Cantory had calmed down quite a bit, and although he was still thinking about how he should settle scores with the Tower of Dusk, he did not reveal any emotions on his face.

    Lin Li looked at the other party calmly, amused, and asked, ¡°Oh? What does sincerity mean to you?¡±

    ¡°Firstly, regarding the damage caused by your attack on our battleship, I hope that you can make up for it by returning our goods to us andpensating us. Also, you still have one of our benefits, and no matter who gave that battleship to you, I hope you can return it to us too.¡± At this moment, Cantory finally said all the words that he had prepared long ago after the discussion yesterday.

    It would be fine if they did not apologize. Since they were enemies, it was inevitable for them to attack each other. However, since they were sitting down for a negotiation, they had to express some sincerity, and it was inevitable to discusspensation. The representatives of the Gilded Kingdom were still hoping to get somepensation and take the Tera Mines from the Tower of Dusk. Naturally, they would not forget it just because of Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°Of course, we can discuss thepensation. As long as you transfer both your mines ording to our conditions...¡±

    Cantory¡¯s tone was very confident because he knew that the members of the Tower of Dusk would not have sat down to negotiate if they had been really inconvincible. Clearly, they would not be willing to start a war with the Gilded Kingdom. The Tower of Dusk was supported by the Ashen Warlock, but the Gilded Kingdom was supported by the Illuminati. No matter how brutal the Ashen Warlock was, would he really fight the powerful Illuminati for the Tower of Dusk?

    However, just when Cantory got to the point, Lin Li stood up and left with his people without bidding anyone goodbye.

    ¡°Hey...¡± Before Cantory even finished speaking, they unexpectedly left. He was suddenly at a loss for what to do, and his face turned beet red.

    Lin Li and the others walked away very simply, while the people who remained in the conference hall were really dumbfounded. Even a fool could see that the young president of the Tower of Dusk did not take the negotiation to heart. They simply did not care if it was going to be a peaceful coexistence or an intense war. However, be it the Gilded Kingdom or the forces in the Breezy ins, none of them dared to negotiate without the Tower of Dusk.

    Cantory sat there awkwardly for a long time beforeing to his senses, wanting to curse but not knowing what to say. The behavior of the members of the Tower of Dusk made him feel really infuriated and dejected as he didn¡¯t know how he should go about dealing with them.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom had a strong deterrence force, they were well aware that they could not really start a war with the Breezy ins. Putting aside the Ashen Warlock, even the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom would not sit back and watch the Gilded Kingdom invade the Breezy ins.

 Chapter 1038 - Letéˆ¥æªš Go Together

    <h4>Chapter 1038: Let¡¯s Go Together</h4>

    Actually, the Gilded Kingdom needed that negotiation more than the forces in the Breezy ins. That was also the reason they put on a domineering front as soon as they appeared, vehemently refusing to give any concessions, because they knew that once they let up, there would be a chance that their opponents would realize the situation that they were in. By then, those forces would definitely be even more aggressive.

    However, what Cantory and the rest did not expect was that the young president of the Tower of Dusk did not care about the so-called forceful deterrence of the Gilded Kingdom. He was either confident that he could deal with the Gilded Kingdom, or had already seen through the facade of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s envoys, and knew that they were only pretending to be intimidating. However, regardless of the reason, they¡¯d already caused Cantory and the others to fall into a dilemma.

    In that case, could they leave the Tower of Dusk out and reach an agreement with the forces of the Breezy ins? If the Tower of Dusk was just an ordinary local force, there would naturally be no problem with doing that. However, the Tower of Ashes was not an ordinary local force. How could they have the rights to rece a powerhouse like the Ashen Warlock[1]?

    At this moment, Cantory and the others finally realized that the Tower of Dusk that they did not take seriously had actually put them in such a tricky situation. They also yed an extremely important role in their n. In fact, it could be said that they would determine the sess or failure of the whole n. Therefore, although Cantory was incredibly infuriated and frustrated, there was nothing he could do about the Tower of Dusk.

    This time, the representatives of the various forces did not leave together with the members of the Tower of Dusk, but neither they nor the Gilded Kingdom were interested in continuing with the negotiation. Due to Lin Li¡¯s departure, the negotiation had to end fruitlessly again. Cantory and the others could no longer be bothered to bid the others goodbye as they hurriedly left the conference hall.

    The representatives of the various forces remained seated. They were also dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. Previously, they had thought that it was just a negotiation tactic of the young president of the Tower of Dusk, but this time they felt that he was not putting on an act. Instead, he really didn¡¯t take the negotiation to heart.

    This time, not to mention the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom, even the representatives of these forces were rather anxious. They were hoping that there would be a force that could contend with Tower of Dusk, but they did not really want to get into a war in the Breezy ins. All the forces would definitely be involved in such a conflict. By then, they would all end up bing cannon fodder, and that did not align with their interests.

    Besides, the Gilded Kingdom was afraid of the Ashen Warlock who was supporting the Tower of Dusk, but the forces of the Breezy ins knew that the young president of the Tower of Dusk was the most terrifying one. They did not think that the Gilded Kingdom would care about them if a war were to really break out. Besides, the Tower of Dusk would start taking revenge on them first. They still remembered clearly the consequences that some forces had suffered for offending the Tower of Dusk. It was truly a ruthless reprisal.

    The forces wanted the Gilded Kingdom to turn against the Tower of Dusk, but they didn¡¯t want to be the cannon fodder of either party. Hence, the negotiation would definitely be mandatory. However, the members of the Tower of Dusk were clearly no longer interested in the negotiation, and the other factions were just as anxious as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s representatives.

    In fact, the ins¡¯ forces were clear that what they were doing now was hical as they were already harming the interests of the Tower of Dusk. After all, the Tower of Dusk was originally already at the pinnacle of the Breezy ins and dominated over the rest. Now, they were trying to give the Tower of Dusk an opponent to deal with. That was obviously harming the interests of the Tower of Dusk.

    Due to their guilty conscience, those forces began to get increasingly anxious and worried after seeing the behavior of the representatives of the Tower of Dusk. They did not want to end up offending the Tower of Dusk and gaining nothing. This time, if they could reach a consensus, it would still be alright, but if they could not, their forces would not be able to escape, since they were situated in the Breezy ins.

    On the other hand, when the representatives of the various forces were discussing countermeasures for the matter of the Tower of Dusk in the conference hall, Cantory and the others from the Gilded Kingdom headed to a lounge outside the conference hall instead of returning to the battleship in the port.

    As soon as they entered the lounge, Cantory, who had been holding back for a long time, immediately lost his temper and vented his anger for a long time before stopping. He then said, ¡°Elder Jorre, I think you¡¯d better invite Elder Rustin and the others toe and just destroy the Tower of Dusk. These guys are simply too arrogant!¡±

    Elder Rustin Cantory mentioned was the chief elder of the Illuminati who was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, and was not inferior to the pope of the Illuminati in power. Cantory clearly did not just want to destroy the Tower of Dusk¡ªhe wanted to eliminate the Ashen Warlock as well.

    Hearing Cantory¡¯s words, Elder Jorre shook his head a little, and waited for Cantory to calm down before slowly saying, ¡°Rustin and the other Sanctuary-realm elders are all busy with monitoring the Endless Ocean, and have no time toe. Besides, if they really stepped on the maind, the horror that they would face would be more than just the Ashen Warlock. They might also have to face those people from the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council.¡±

    Ordinary people might be puzzled and wonder why they had to monitor the Endless Ocean, but as senior executives of the Gilded Kingdom, Nasry and Cantory knew the reason. In fact, they visited the Breezy ins this time as envoys as they were greatly involved in this matter. The problem of resources was actually not the most important.

    This time, thergest magic tides appeared in Anril. Although the Gilded Kingdom was far away in the sea, it was also greatly affected. At first, just like those on the maind, many of their mages who broke through the bottleneck saw a huge increase in their strength, which was an extremely joyous affair for many of them. However, to their surprise, there were also some unknown changes under the influence of the magic tides, thus causing the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s environment to be increasingly harsher.

    That was the very reason that the people of the Gilded Kingdom thought of sending envoys to the Breezy ins to collect arge amount of resources that they needed, and also to make preparations. If things in the Gilded Kingdom were to really reach an unmanageable state, the Breezy ins, which was in between the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom, would undoubtedly be the foothold of the Gilded Kingdom in Anril.

    In fact, another hidden purpose of buying the mineral resources that belonged to the local factions was to create a suitable excuse for the Gilded Kingdom to enter the Breezy ins. Hence, whether the negotiation in the Breezy ins went well would likely be rted to the future survival of the Gilded Kingdom.

    In addition to their inherent arrogance, Cantory and the others were domineering because they wanted to hide the awkward situation that the Gilded Kingdom was in. If others were to discover it, they would probably end up in a passive position.

    ¡°Do we really have to apologize to that unruly guy and invite him back for the negotiation?¡± Cantory asked indignantly. As the top elite of his generation, he had never bowed down to anyone and swallowed his pride to apologize, as it was harder for him than dying.

    ¡°Cantory, if we can secure our footing in the Breezy ins, do you think the Tower of Dusk can pose a threat to us?¡± Jorre asked while stroking his beard and looking at Cantory.

    At his words, Cantory¡¯s eyes finally lit up again. Actually, Elder Jorre¡¯s idea was very simple: he felt that it would not be toote to take revenge then. If the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati got a footing in the Breezy ins, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for them to deal with the Tower of Dusk?

    While the representatives of the forces from the Breezy ins, as well as the members of the Gilded Kingdom, were discussing the countermeasures to take after Lin Li¡¯s departure, Lin Li, who was the center of attention, leisurely led n and the others on a casual stroll in Calon City. They even went to the so-called ck market where they bought many inconspicuous articles. It was not for the sake of earning money, but purely for leisure and rxation.

    Lin Li only returned to the Malfa Family¡¯s residence when the sky was turning dark. However, he saw the representatives of the forces who had been waiting for an unknown period of time in the courtyard.

    They were pacing around anxiously, and immediately beamed with joy when they saw Lin Li returning with the others. They quickly approached, and were almost greeting Lin Li deferentially.

    ¡°Are you all here to send me off? I appreciate your goodwill. Since you guys have so much work to do, don¡¯t waste time here anymore,¡± Lin Li said while leading n and the others through the crowd. Soon, they arrived in front of a door of a certain ce.

    Lin Li¡¯s words caused the people present to feel awkward. Since they arrived in Calon City for the negotiation, they had already taken the initiative to meet Lin Li several times before. One reason was that they had a guilty conscience, and the other was that they felt that since the Tower of Dusk had the Gilded Kingdom as an opponent, they probably could no longer dominate the Breezy ins. Hence, the other factions would naturally not have to obey Lin Li.

    However, things had now developed beyond their control, and they had no choice but to take initiative to see Lin Li. They hoped that there would be a force to contend with the Tower of Dusk, but they did not hope for there to be a war in the Breezy ins again, as that would harm their interests. Besides, they still wanted the Tower of Dusk to stand up for them and help them reap more benefits from the Gilded Kingdom.

    Initially, they were somewhat reserved, and just hoped to persuade Lin Li to return to the negotiation. Some were even confident that they would seed in persuading him. However, before they could even get to the main topic, they could tell from Lin Li¡¯s words that they were going to leave.

    ¡°President Felic, are you leaving now?¡± asked Joseph, the representative and former patriarch of the Mithril Alliance, someone Lin Li knew too.

    Due to the fact that Joseph¡¯s behavior in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum had brought about significant losses to the Mithril Alliance, Elvis took over all of Joseph¡¯s authority. Now, Elvis had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and although he had done so with the power of the magic tides, his status in the Mithril Alliance was unshakable. Joseph had no choice but to follow Elvis and join the negotiation in the Gilded Kingdom as a representative of the Mithril Alliance.

    Joseph¡¯s question was exactly what everyone else thought. Hence, they fell silent at this moment, and were all looking at Lin Li nervously, waiting to hear his answer.

    Lin Li nced at everyone with a nonchnt smile, and he naturally said, ¡°Of course. Since there isn¡¯t an oue, why bother wasting time here? The Gilded Kingdom is very powerful. When I go back, I must make arrangements and get ready to face the music from the king of the Gilded Kingdom, and maybe you guys.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯sst sentence made everyone frightened to the point of getting goosebumps. What a joke! With that Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk could be considered extremely sturdy, and even if the forces in the Breezy ins united, they would not be able to defeat the Tower of Dusk unless they had someone like Geresco on their side. Besides, the Tower of Dusk had a terrifying Sanctuary powerhouse whose abilities were not inferior to those of the Ashen Warlock.

    After thinking about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power carefully, those people no longer hoped for the Tower of Dusk to fight with the Gilded Kingdom. If the two forces were to really duke it out, there would be no chance for them to reap any benefits, and they could only end up being the ones losing out.

    ¡°President Felic, you must be joking. If the Gilded Kingdom dares toy a finger on the Tower of Dusk, we, the Mithril Alliance, definitely won¡¯t condone it. No matter what kind of enemies we face, the Mithril Alliance will stay firm and stand by the Tower of Dusk.¡± Having learned his lesson previously, Joseph did not hesitate to show his loyalty to Lin Li.

    ¡°Yeah, President Felic, the Gilded Kingdom is nothing. They¡¯re just foreign barbarians. I think we¡¯d better just leave together. Anyway, the Gilded Kingdom doesn¡¯t seem sincere about the negotiation,¡± said a representative of the Caesar Family, who was also someone Lin Li was acquainted with. It was us¡¯ grandson, Charles, who had once been in a conflict with Lin Li.

    [1] I think the author made a mental shortcut here: they think TofA is supporting TofD, so they have scruples about TofD.

 Chapter 1039 - Unhappy Parting

    <h4>Chapter 1039: Unhappy Parting</h4>

    As Joseph and Charles, who represented the two top forces, spoke up, the other forces began to profess their loyalty to Lin Li. They were all acting as if they couldn¡¯t wait to show Lin Li what they felt from the bottom of their hearts. Of course, in short, they just hoped that Lin Li could stay behind for the negotiation to get more benefits from the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Lin Li did not express his stand towards everyone. After all, if the people of the Gilded Kingdom refused to give in, nothing they said would matter. Lin Li was not a warmonger, but he was not afraid of fighting a war, either. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s attitude was key.

    Soon after the representatives of the forces left, the servants of the Gilded Kingdom followed Lin Li all the way there, iming that the envoys had invited him over to discuss the matters regarding the negotiation. Seeing that the members of the Gilded Kingdom were still putting on airs at this juncture, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t give in to them. Instead, he told the servants to tell his envoys toe see him where he was, and not to disturb him unless it was for something important.

    After receiving the news from servants, Nasry and the others were so infuriated that they began gritting their teeth, but there was nothing they could do to the Tower of Dusk. After all, they were not in the Gilded Kingdom. Feeling helpless, Cantory and Elder Jorre had no choice but to bite the bullet and visit Lin Li. However, themander-in-chief of the navy, Nasry, had long escaped under the pretext of inspecting the battleship.

    Cantory and Jorre did not bring any followers with them, and they soon arrived near Lin Li¡¯s residence. However, when faced with that door, they could not take another step forward.

    Cantory, the son of the chancellor, the disciple of the priest of the Illuminati, and the elite of his generation, had always been the one others sucked up to. Since when had he ever swallowed his pride and bowed down to anyone?

    Although Elder Jorre seemed kind and personable on the surface, he was only putting on a superficial facade. Deep down, he was actually extremely arrogant. After all, he was one of the elders of the Illuminati, and when he was in the Gilded Kingdom, even the king had to show him some respect.

    Although the two big shots were notparable to deities and gods who were above all, they were at least of a high status. However, they actually had to swallow their pride and speak politely to the leader of a small force. That was akin to a king having to bow down to a local boss, which was truly a torment.

    However, they had no choice but to give in to the leader of a local force which they were originally disdainful towards. Between their dignity and the survival of their nation, they could only choose to give up their dignity and pride. However, despite having made a clear decision, it still wasn¡¯t easy for them to actually do it, especially since they were arrogant by nature.

    More importantly, through the contact that they had with Lin Li in the past few days, they had gained some understanding of his character. After the first negotiation which turned out to be fruitless, Lin Li attacked their battleship, and he suddenly left the venue during the second one. God knew what treatment the two would encounter during this visit.

    The two men hesitated by the gate for half a day, attracting peculiar nces from the people who passed by. Finally, they decided to step onto the stairs in front of the gate and inform the guards of their purpose of visit. They thought that since they were envoys of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be too rude to them no matter how arrogant he might be.

    However, to their surprise, the guard at the entrance left for two hours to go inform Lin Li of their arrival. Even a snail would have returned earlier. While waiting anxiously at the entrance, they had to suffer the embarrassment of being shot dirty looks by others, making them wish that they could turn around and head home.

    Thus, they waited for two hours at the entrance, and the guard <i>finally</i> reappeared. However, the guard was alone¡ªLin Li did note out with him to wee them. Hence, they were immediately angered. They were the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom, and even when they visited the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom, the kings would wee them with a grand ceremony and send ministers with high authority to receive them. However, Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk, actually disregarded their status even though he was just a leader of a small local force!

    ¡°The president would like you toe in,¡± the guard said without sounding overly respectful. Besides, he even returned to the spot where he had been standing previously after saying those words to them, not intending to lead them in at all.

    ¡°Sure! Sure!¡± Cantory said while gritting his teeth and secretly clenching his fists tightly in his sleeves. His nails dug deep into his palms, and he finally suppressed his urge to turn around and leave. Thest bit of rationality that he had was continuously reminding him to consider the greater good.

    Elder Jorre, who was beside him, immediately looked sullen. Given his status as an elder of the Illuminati, he had never received such treatment even when he met the king of the Gilded Kingdom. Yet, he now had to suffer such treatment in the Breezy ins. However, he could imagine that Lin Li would definitely say that there was no need for him to treat them with courtesy since they were in opposing positions if he were toin about it to Lin Li.

    The two of them looked at each other with anger and helplessness in their eyes. It couldn¡¯t be helped, since Lin Li was now more domineering than them. Lin Li was the key deciding factor of the sess of their mission, and even if they deemed Lin Li to be of lowly status, they would still have to swallow their pride andpromise.

    The two of them entered with sullen expressions. Although they were not ushered by anyone, they nheless managed to quickly find their way to the reception hall where Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk who they hated with a burning passion, was seated still. He was chatting with an old mage, and did not seem to care about their arrival at all.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Forcing himself to bear with the displeasure, Elder Jorre cleared his throat to catch Lin Li¡¯s attention before slowly saying, ¡°Master Felic, if you have any opinions about our negotiation this time, you may voice them. You left without a single word. How could we havee to a consensus in the negotiation then?¡±

    Hearing those hypocritical words from Elder Jorre, Lin Li smiled indifferently and nced at them. He nonchntly said, ¡°Elder Jorre, if you¡¯re still going to continue being insincere, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for any further discussion.¡±

    Although they often imed that they were negotiating for peace and that they were being very sincere, they would often behave arrogantly during the actual negotiation. Since they refused to give any concessions, how could that be considered a negotiation? Now that Lin Li had the Sky Castle, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati would not be able to pose a threat to the Tower of Dusk no matter how powerful they might be. Hence, there was no need for Lin Li to give in to them at all.

    Lin Li¡¯s words made the faces of Elder Jorre and Cantory turn as red as a tomato. Despite feeling humiliated and enraged, they had no choice but to suppress those emotions, because they were tasked with a mission. After taking two deep breaths, Cantory spoke again, his voice shaking with anger. ¡°Master Felic, what must we do to express our sincerity then?¡±

    ¡°You should be asking yourselves that question instead. You just have to remember that this is the Breezy ins, and not the Gilded Kingdom.¡± Lin Li began lecturing them austerely,pletely disregarding their status.

    ¡°You!!¡±¡±

    He was actually lectured by a country bumpkin from the Breezy ins who was a nobody and was younger than him! At this moment, Cantory was overwhelmed with fury. Having lived for more than 30 years, he had never been humiliated in such a manner. Other than the elders of the Gilded Kingdom, anyone who dared to speak to him with such disrespect would definitely be thrown into the sea.

    Although Elder Jorre was just as infuriated, he had lived for numerous years, and was experienced enough to remainposed despite being angered. Seeing that Cantory was about to lose his temper, he hurriedly pulled him to the side, and stood in front of Lin Li instead. ¡°Master Felic, since you want to see how sincere we are, we will show you enough sincerity. As long as you¡¯re willing to sit down for a chat with us, we can forgo the fact that your people have attacked our battleship. I can also give the battleship to you as a gift.¡±

    Hearing those words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sneer, and think to himself, <i>They¡¯re just trying to gain something without risking anything of their own! How magnanimous of you to say that you¡¯re not going to pursue the matter of the attack on your battleship! Regardless of whether the Gilded Kingdom gives the battleship to us or not, it already belongs to the Tower of Dusk. Why do I need you to make that decision?</i>

    Although Lin Li did not know why the Gilded Kingdom suddenly wanted to enter the Breezy ins, he could tell from the interaction he had had with them recently that entering the Breezy ins was extremely important to the Gilded Kingdom. He had to admit that although they did not show much sincerity during the negotiation, it was probably because they were persons of high status, and had never negotiated with anyone before.

    Having realized that, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t take them seriously. With a look of derision, he said, ¡°You two should go back. Express that sincerity of yours to others. Since you¡¯re considered envoys, I won¡¯t continue holding it against you.¡±

    Dumbfounded to hear Lin Li¡¯s words, Elder Jorre and Cantory even forgot about the anger that they ought to have. In their opinion, Lin Li left the previous negotiation because he was unwilling topensate them for the damages done to their battleship, and did not want to return it, either.

 Chapter 1040 - Navigation Data

    <h4>Chapter 1040: Navigation Data</h4>

    <i>Why hasn¡¯t he returned to the discussion table? Did he not agree to those conditions?</i>

    Wasn¡¯t it a generous move to let go of all of the requests they had made previously?

    Cantory and Jorre were not to be med as muddleheads here. Their status in the Gilded Kingdom had never allowed them to be faced with such a demanding situation. Given that they were situated far away in the Gilded Kingdom, they also had little opportunity to interact with the countries or forces from the maind. This was not to mention bending their heads to submit to any forces. To them, they were bestowing the greatest mercy by not retaliating against but forgiving someone who had threatened their benefits.

    Of course, both of them were not fools, either. They could tell that Lin Li was not convinced by the conditions they had raised. Furthermore, Lin Li had mentioned that he would close an eye given that the two of them were only emissaries from the Gilded Kingdom. This meant that there was still enmity between them; it would not be a peaceful discussion if they were to meet again outside this context.

    How would Cantory and Jorre not be taken aback after meeting such a brutally straightforward man!? Why couldn¡¯t they just agree to their conditions if they already view them with high regard?

    ¡°What do you mean then, President Felic? I wonder what conditions would bring you back to our discussion table?¡± Elder Jorre responded after he regainedposure. He had stopped ying negotiation tricks or caring about his ego. He just wanted to know Lin Li¡¯s goal.

    Lin Li smiled after seeing that Elder Jorre had finally epted their circumstances. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my requests are actually extremely simple. It would not be a burden on you. I presume that the Gilded Kingdom would have a lot of information about the Endless Ocean given that it had been exploring it for so many years. What I want to have is the most detailed nautical charts and the mostplete set of information it has regarding the Endless Ocean gathered right from the day it was founded. I don¡¯t think this meant much to you, does it?¡± he replied calmly.

    Wealth, magical equipment, and weapons were not what the Tower of Dusk needed right now. The only thing Lin Li was vying for instead was all of the navigation data the Gilded Kingdom had.

    While it would be myopic to say that the Gilded Kingdom would have gainedplete understanding of the Endless Ocean across the thousands of years since its founding, it was definite that they would have crucial pieces of information from entrenching themselves in the region for such a long time. If not, the powerful alchemical warships owned by the Gilded Kingdom would just be ants in the Endless Ocean.

    The request made by Lin Li was so simple that it was beyond the imagination of Cantory and Jorre. Yet, it ced them in an extremely difficult situation as well. While printing the information on a stack of papers would not cost much, the information was the foundation on which the Gilded Kingdom was built. It was the results of countless sweat shed and lives sacrificed by these navigators across the thousands of years. It was not something that could be priced.

    A more important reason was due to the fact that the Endless Ocean was a natural fortress to the Gilded Kingdom. It was a reason why no countries in the maind had actually had the chance to attack the Gilded Kingdom. The Gilded Kingdom had full ess to the Endless Ocean as well. This information was just like the key to the front gate of one¡¯s house. It would definitely threaten the security of the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°President Felic, ording to my knowledge, most of the forces that belong to the Tower of Dusk are on the maind. I wonder why you are interested in the nautical maps and data?¡± Jorre asked the frowning Lin Li very carefully. He was scared that he would provoke Lin Li unnecessarily.

    In reality, Cantory and Jorre were not the only people who were confused. The people from the Tower of Dusk¡ªn and Basel¡ªwere baffled by Lin Li¡¯s request as well. It did not seem like Lin Li had the intention of seeking trouble with the Gilded Kingdom. His Sky Castle was conveniently located nearby; the Gilded Kingdom would be an extremely essible ce. Lin Li would not need to tide the crazy waves of the Endless Ocean if he knew how to fly. It did not seem like he had the intention to establish marine trade, either. The resources of the maind were more than enough for the Tower of Dusk to meet its present development needs. Marine trade would only help them get a few more dors.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to give any exnation. ¡°You only need to tell me whether you agree to my requests. I am not obliged to exin why I want that information. Furthermore, do not y tricks on that information. I bet you know that your methods wouldn¡¯t work on me,¡± said Lin Li casually.

    Normal men would not have noticed anything amiss if Cantory and Jorre were to alter the records on the unpredictable Endless Ocean. However, as Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had an in-depth understanding of thews in the world, he would be able to detect any strand of information that did not align with thews. He was not afraid that the Gilded Kingdom would be dishonest in their deal.

    Although Jorre had not entered the Sanctuary-realm, he knew the abilities of Sanctuary powerhouses. One should not belittle a Sanctuary powerhouse who had zero understanding about the Endless Ocean. If he were to gain ess to the information, he would be able to spot errors at one nce. This was also the reason that made Jorre debate whether he should agree to the request. If it were other people who requested those materials, he might have already handled it to them.

    ¡°President Felic, the item you are requesting is a product of countless lives and blood sacrificed by the Gilded Kingdom over thousands of years. It is not something money can measure. Unless you promised us that mine at the shore, I don¡¯t think my king would approve this deal,¡± Cantory presented his conditions wittingly. He wanted Tower of Dusk to trade their Tera Mine for this information.

    ¡°So you are saying that you can¡¯t measure it with money? You¡¯re not wrong. But, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s your one and only copy of the information. Oh well, if you are not keen, I will not force you. Since the Tower of Dusk does not have ns to develop on the waters, both of you may take your leave,¡± concluded Lin Li, dismissing them. He did not n to give room for negotiation.

    ¡°Hold on, President Felic, hold on! Let us discuss,¡± cried Elder Jorre. After knowing that his status was insignificant before the young president of the tower, he finally decided to bend his back.

    ¡°Elder Jorre!¡± gasped Cantory. Cantory grew anxious after hearing Elder Jorre¡¯s words. He feared that they would be giving the information on the Endless Ocean without receiving any benefits in return.

    Although Cantory was very arrogant, he was not a prodigal who felt no pain giving away such a valuable national asset. But, a more important point was that he had once vouched to help his nation to tide all of its problems no matter how pricey it would be. Now that it would be incurring such a high price... he felt that it would injure his credibility as an envoy.

    ¡°Alright, let me give you some time to think about this, then,¡± said Lin Li as he sat motionlessly on his spot. It seemed like he expected the two of them to make the decision right here instead of giving them days and nights to decide on the partnership.

    Elder Jorre and Cantory were initially intending to return for a more detailed discussion. Lin Li¡¯s stance had also made them too ufortable to engage in a private conversation. Elder Jorre finally started the ball rolling by speaking to Cantory directly. ¡°Cantory, I know your concerns. But I¡¯m sure you are aware of the situation the kingdom is in right now. If that information can help us seed in the mission, I¡¯m sure both His Majesty and His Lordship would recognize your contributions,¡± he spoke with his voice lowered.

    ¡°But...¡± said Cantory. He wanted to rebut Elder Jorre, but he understood what the elder was also trying to bring across with those words. He was extremely clear about the situation the Gilded Kingdom was in. Although he was uncertain about what would happen to the Endless Ocean, he feared that the Breezy ins would being at them soon. If that day were toe, no one would know how much the nautical materials owned by Gilded Kingdom would be worth anymore.

    Furthermore, even if the Gilded Kingdom did not need to retreat, the drastic transformation of many marine regions had been very worrisome recently. As this might mean a discount on the value of their nautical information, it might be better off for them to hand them to the young president in case he were to add any more conditions to the deal after knowing the changes within the Endless Ocean.

    This thought settled Cantory¡¯s heart so much that he even felt a sense of joy.

    ¡°Elder Jorre, I understand. Let¡¯s do what you suggest then,¡± said Cantory in a suddenly different tone.

    Although Cantory and Elder Jorre had made the decision, both of them felt that it was only eptable if they could gain benefits from the deal as well. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for them to agree to the demands of the Tower of Dusk blindly.

    Hence, when they turned to continue the discussion, they tried their best to request as many benefits as they could. However, when they tried to put up the same stance as what they did to the other forces of the Breezy ins, they were overpowered by Lin Li¡¯s stance. Lin Li was not agreeable to any additional conditions. Resources had to be bought at the same price as though they were unrted to one another, and it would be a distant dream to join stocks with the Tower of Dusk.

    The negotiation went on for a while, and it was visible that Lin Li had started to show signs of impatience. Not to waste all the efforts they had put in to get to the current stage of rtionship, Elder Jorre and Cantory finally conceded that they should stop insisting further.

    It wasn¡¯t until they finally walked out of the main door that they realized that no one had invited them to take a seat when they entered the meeting room. They stood through their discussion without experiencing any niceties.

    The thought of the insulting interaction they had with the young president earlier on made their blood boil the very moment they stepped out of the room. Yet, they could only bottle it up, for they had only walked a short distance from the door.

    Of course, no matter how furious or how strongly they hoped to tear the Tower of Dusk into pieces, both men knew their priorities. After returning, they sent their men to inform the representatives of each of the forces in the Breezy ins that they were going to hold another meeting on the following day.

    This news surprised the representatives. Could it be due to a sessful deal established between the Gilded Kingdom and Tower of Dusk? Although it was not bad news to them, for they had no intention to incite a war in the Breezy ins, they could not help but feel curious which of the two headstrong organizations gained more advantage in their deal.

    However, the discussion had to continue despite a lop-sided deal. While the Tower of Dusk dared to put up a stance against the Gilded Kingdom, thetter was not a power that these representatives dared to disregard.

    On the day of the third meeting, the Tower of Dusk made ate appearance again, but this time, apart from the unpleasant expressions of the people of Gilded Kingdom, no one made any response to it.

    This meeting was actually a show for Lin Li to watch; there was nothing else to negotiate between the Gilded Kingdom and Tower of Dusk. Although the agreement had yet to materialize on paper, he knew that Gilded Kingdom would not dare to disregard it.

    The biggest show here was the exchange between the representatives from the Gilded Kingdom and the other forces of the Breezy ins, but Cantory and the rest were not as rigid and headstrong as before this time. They had loosened up on a lot of conditions.

    Although the forces of the Breezy ins had been intimidated by the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati, they would never let such a thick piece of meat slide from their mouths. Furthermore, having survived in a chaotic ce like the Breezy ins, the craftiness of these representatives was definitely not something Cantory and Elder Jorre could match up with.

 Chapter 1041 - Established Deal

    <h4>Chapter 1041: Established Deal</h4>

    The men could tell from the loosened attitude that the deal was an extremely important one for the Gilded Kingdom. Thus, they turned into blood-attracted flies that were driven to demand a piece of flesh from Gilded Kingdom.

    <i>What a shameless bunch of people!!</i>

    Cantory and Elder Jorre could only cuss in their hearts as they nodded to agree to every single demand. On the brighter side, these representatives from the Breezy ins were well aware that they shouldn¡¯t be too harsh on the Gilded Kingdom. It took half a day of a heated discussion to put all the agreement onto paper.

    The benefits reaped by the Gilded Kingdom were disproportionately narrowed down from what they were expecting at the start. After all, if not for the dire situation, no one would be foolish enough to sell the factions¡¯ mineral resources. Hence, Cantory tried his best to procure a few modest mines near the shore of the Breezy ins, and secure the ability to acquire resources with the other forces at discounted rates.

    They had also managed to aplish their mission of acquiring legitimate ess into the Breezy ins. As long as they were in possession of these mines, they would have the authority to dispatch their forces into the Breezy ins.

    Of course, this authority had its limits. The Gilded Kingdom would be prosecuted by all the forces in the Breezy ins if they were to exceed the agreed benchmark. Yet, everyone understood that the Gilded Kingdom would only be prosecuted if there were people who dared to report them. Hence, the Gilded Kingdom did not dwell on this matter for too long.

    The other forces in the Breezy ins gained significant benefits from the agreement as well. The Gilded Kingdom promised them wealth and technology, as well as all sorts of conveniences in marine trade.

    The forces left Calon City after the deal was settled. Lin Li brought his men back to the Tower of Dusk, and the Gilded Kingdom started to fulfill all of their promises. The nautical data which Lin Li had requested was also sent to the Tower of Dusk after around 10 days.

    The entrance of the Gilded Kingdom brought about obvious changes to the situation in the Breezy ins. Although it seemed like there was only one new addition to the Breezy ins, the ability the Gilded Kingdom had was not what any forces could match. Although the conditions limited the Gilded Kingdom from deploying too many forces in the Breezy ins, no other force dared to belittle Gilded Kingdom because of this. To them, the Gilded Kingdom was still a massive force to be reckoned with. It was a force that wasparable to, if not stronger than, the Tower of Dusk.

    Hence, Gilded Kingdom¡¯s efforts of securing new connections under the table managed to help them gather a group of forces who were not in approval of the Tower of Dusk. After all, the feeling of submitting to arger and more powerful organization gave them a different feeling aspared to being under a force with simr status.

    This helped to draw lines to the once chaotic congregation of forces in the Breezy ins: one group saw the Gilded Kingdom as their leader, while the other the Tower of Dusk. Although the two groups were not harmonious, it had not created any conflict. Yet, this did not mean that the peace would be longsting.

    Lin Li was very clear that the present state of peace in the Breezy ins was a mere illusion. He was expecting that a war would erupt not long after. After all, this was a conflict over territories. Gilded Kingdom would definitely not be satisfied with the current situation. He knew that thepromise shown by the Gilded Kingdom was due to ack of preparedness to wage a war.

    It was the same for Lin Li. He was willing to establish a deal with the Gilded Kingdom not only for their nautical information, but also due to hisck of preparedness for a war. Although the present ability of the Tower of Dusk would not let him fear the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati, Lin Li knew that it would be impossible for him to avoid losses if he were to have a war with them.

    Most importantly, Lin Li did not want to waste too much time here. He wanted the Tower of Dusk to have the ability to eliminate all of its enemies swiftly during the war, and not wrestle with them in a long and arduous process.

    Hence, the Tower of Dusk needed this time to grow their strength instead of entering a war in such a haste. The mages who followed Lin Li into the Sky Castle still needed to use this time to enter the Legendary-realm, while the rest who stayed in the Tower of Dusk had to use the time to assimte all the energy they had previously gained from the magic tides.

    Hence, nothing changed as a result of the deal. Everyone stuck to Lin Li¡¯s original ns of using the resources in the tower to advance. To them, it did not matter how the future would change. What was important was the possession of strong abilities that could help them ovee and survive all changes in the future.

    It was the same for Lin Li. Although he had obtained the nautical data, he did not use too much time to look into them. Instead, he continued to train at the Barbarous Arena. If he could have the abilities of the Immortal King and Geresco, it would mean that no one in Anril would be a threat to him. It would not matter whether the future entailed war or peace.

    Lin Li again defeated 10 powerful Sanctuary-level opponents, and was faced with an ancient wyrm. The ancient wyrm was as powerful as Sindera the Icest Wyrm. Lin Li had lost count of the times he wrestled with the ancient wyrm. Although he had been defeated by the wyrm countless times, he could feel significant improvement to his abilities. He started off being defeated by the beast almost instantly, and then switched to being able to withstand it for a few seconds, then minutes, and finally hours. Although Lin Li¡¯s mana saw no visible improvement, he saw drastic enhancement in hisbat abilities.

    Lin Li had wrestled with this wyrm for three days and three nights before being defeated by it due to a moment of carelessness thest time. This time, he had enough confidence that he could send this challenging opponent back to its nest.

    The wyrm that appeared at the arena did not attack Lin Li immediately like before. This time, the malicious looking wyrm showed signs of vignce against Lin Li. It seemed to be suppressing its massive mana. It was as though its mana was umted behind a floodgate that could be released at any moment to destroy any obstacles in its way.

    Lin Li had felt that he was not the only one who had been benefiting from the arena. The abilities of his opponents had been increasing as well, albeit slower and less visibly. Especially so for those opponents at the start¡ªtheir ability seemed to be stagnant, perhaps due to their intellectual limits.

    But, this wyrm had great intelligence and showed the most obvious improvement from the arena. Although its level remained the same, it had be more and more cunning, and even learned many battle tactics from Lin Li. It was this concurrent improvement that prevented Lin Li from defeating this opponent.

    However, Lin Li was considered Geresco¡¯s direct disciple. The things he had learned from Geresco were not as simple as what the ancient wyrm had learned from its observation of him.

    Sounds of explosion reverberated in the entire arena as the battle continued.

    Lin Li¡¯s agile figure shed around as he cast different powerful spells with his Helios¡¯ Scepter. The ancient wyrm was not a pushover, either; its entric voice sounded through the arena, and chased Lin Li mercilessly.

    Lin Li was getting more familiar with the attacks of the ancient wyrm. While it would seem a terrifying encounter to the eyes of the public, it was difficult to pose any threat to Lin Li. In reality, the strength of magic was not the only consideration for someone with his abilities. The mastery of thews in this world as well as the ability to strategize the usage of mana had greater roles to y at his level.

    No one should expect him to eliminate his opponent in a single strike. His series of spells was like chess pieces of a game. The gain and loss of one or two chess pieces would affect the entire game. Each and every chess piece worked in sync with others. Their main goal was to create a subtle trap together to lure the opponent into it.

    The ancient wyrm created a storm with his growls. Its blinding glow created a cast over the arena. But, after the cast dissipated, Lin Li saw that he was surrounded by a dozen of Sr Spheres. They were blocking all the open spaces, leaving no room for Lin Li to maneuver. Each of them emitted a gust of terrifying and destructive aura.

    Yet, Lin Li was not intimidated by this at all. It was a tactic he had once used.

 Chapter 1042 - Stone Slab

    <h4>Chapter 1042: Stone b</h4>

    Each one of those Sr Spheres was a powerful magic spell that had been temporarily sealed. The power of dozens of Sr Spheres exploding at the same time would never be as simple as one plus one equaling two.

    In the previous battle, Lin Li used that exact move to almost defeat the ancient wyrm, but unfortunately, his efforts went up in smoke because of a slight error in control. It was actually not very difficult to seal just one Sr Sphere, and the difficultyy in making all of them explode at the same time while allowing them toplement each other instead of canceling each other out.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t too surprised, because he had already detected from the magical waves of the sealed spheres that the ancient wyrm had only learned to make the move seem legitimate, and there was a major issue with the arrangement of the other magic spells. Lin Li did not have to flee in a hurry at all. After casting severalyers of magic defense on his body, the Helios¡¯ Scepter emitted a bright stream of light in his hand, striking one of the targets before the sealed sphere erupted.

    Almost at the same time, the ancient wyrm also detonated all the sealed spheres, causing horrifying magic spells to be sted out immediately. However, because of Lin Li¡¯s previous action, there was a loophole in the ancient wyrm¡¯s trap. When the sealed sphere that was the first to erupt attacked Lin Li, it somehow blocked the power of the other magic spells for Lin Li.

    Lin Li passed through the gap in the trap immediately as the gemstone on the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter flickered continuously. Like a flood, the wave of magic spells surged towards the ancient wyrm which still had a look of surprise in its eyes.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    As soon as it came back to its senses, the ancient wyrm knew it was caught off guard by Lin Li, and finally let out an angry roar. In the ancient wyrm¡¯s opinion, it was obvious that it had been tricked by this tiny human again. Otherwise, how could Lin Li have remained unscathed, unlike the ancient wyrm which had been tormented badly?

    However, the ancient wyrm was different from the other beasts, after all. Despite its anger, it did not get flustered and mess its n up. Seeing that Lin Li¡¯s magic spells were sting hard towards it, it immediately cast its Domain World.

    It was an extremely dim world where the sky was filled with countless stars, while the ground was covered with countless wyrm skeletons. Intense death aura was contained in it, but there was also the aura of decay. There was also some sacredness and might. It was the dragon graveyard, which was the final home of the ancient wyrms. It represented the death and peace of the ancient wyrms.

    The wave of magic spells that Lin Li had cast immediately surged into the world of the dragon graveyard, and countless skeletons of wyrms began growing some flesh again at a speed that was visible to the naked eye, as if he had turned back time. They then flew into the sky to deal with the overwhelming magic spells.

    ¡°World!¡± Lin Li raised his Helios¡¯ Scepter high, and instantly opened his World Domain, and a human world appeared in his domain. In that human world, the spirit of resistance of humans was fully showcased, from the beginning of mankind to the resistance against all sorts of difficulties, including fights against the sky, the earth, and the wyrms, as well as hunting magical beasts.

    At the same time, under the influence of the World Domain, the magic spells that Lin Li cast naturally incorporated the fighting spirit of humans. The challenges and battles against the wyrms and even gods involved a fearless spirit that allowed the power of Lin Li¡¯s magic spells to be multiplied.

    The collision of magic spells and the collision of worlds caused the space in the World Domains to be shattered like ss. After the various violent collisions, the world of the ancient wyrm¡¯s dragon graveyard began to change subtly. Countless green seedlings had appeared on the barrennd, and gradually covered the ground of the dragon graveyard, giving the dead and lonely world a wisp of vitality.

    In the center of the dragon graveyard, a special seedling began growing rapidly from the head of a wyrm skeleton. It then spread out and covered everything in the surroundings, making it its fertilizer. Under the nourishment of the wyrm skeletons, the seedling¡¯s growth became faster, and it became muchrger than the wyrm in the blink of an eye.

    Although Lin Li had spent a long time in the domain, everything was actually a matter of moments for Lin Li and the ancient wyrm outside. When the ancient wyrm sensed the problem in its domain, the inconspicuous seedling had already grown into a gigantic tree that almost covered the entire Domain World, just like the fallen Tree of Eternity in Anril.

    In fact, the sky-high tree in the dragon graveyard was simted by Lin Li using his own World Domain and his understanding of the Tree of Eternity. In the collision of the Domain Worlds, Lin Li turned his understanding of the Tree of Eternity into a seed, which he then nted in the ancient wyrm¡¯s domain. Once the Tree of Eternity grew up, the ancient wyrm wouldpletely lose control of its domain.

    For a Sanctuary powerhouse, the Domain World was not the embodiment of his full strength, but to two Sanctuary powerhouses that were initially evenly matched, a slight loss of control of their Domain World would mean the disruption of the bnce. Actually, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for an ancient wyrm to remove the Tree of Eternity from its own Domain World, but a slight change in power or time consumption would be enough to cause drastic changes in the situation.

    Taking this opportunity, Lin Li immediately unleashed his strongest attack, and a scene which looked like an apocalypse appeared in the Domain World, condensing the terrifying destructive power of the world into a lightning bolt, just like the one that broke through the chaos when Anril emerged. It sted the ancient wyrm hard.

    BOOM!

    The ancient wyrm did not even have time to let out a roar as its powerful body was instantly annihted by the lightning. Peace was restored in the arena as if nothing had happened. In the arena, Lin Li was holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter and levitating quietly with his eyes slightly closed as he recalled the scene of the battle with the ancient wyrm.

    After finally defeating the 11th opponent, what opponent would he encounter next? Would it be as terrifying as a god-like existence? Although Lin Li had reached the peak of level-27, he did not think that he had enough power to deal with a godlike existence. He might get killed immediately again.

    However, after Lin Li waited for a moment, he realized that the arena did not arrange a more powerful opponent for him again as before. Instead, a stone b that glowed faintly appeared on the ground.

    <i>Have I passed?</i> Lin Li was doubtful, but he nheless leaped from the sky andnded in front of the stone b.

    The stone b was engraved with strange words that looked somewhat like images that reminded Lin Li of the so-called hieroglyphs. Fortunately, hieroglyphic words were not asplicated as the High Elves¡¯ Print. Although he had never studied them before, he was able to guess some of the meaning.

    The stone b roughly recorded the development of some barbarians, but Lin Li was not an archaeologist, and was not very interested in these things. What he was really interested was the fact that the Immortal King was mentioned on the stone b, which stated that the Immortal King had suddenly descended in the tribe of the barbarians, plundered all their treasures, and then built a massive battleship which he sailed off in while the barbarians watched in horror.

    Lin Li was puzzled by that information. Although the Immortal King had always done shocking things, he who controlled the Sky Castle would not have to take the barbarians¡¯ treasures to build a battleship if he wanted to explore the Endless Ocean. Besides, what items could there be in the Endless Ocean that would entice the Immortal King to go to such lengths?

    Looking at the time recorded on the stone b, Lin Li carefully recalled the legends about the Immortal King, but he suddenly discovered that the time when the Immortal King left the ocean seemed to be the exact time when hest appeared in the world of Anril. Could the Immortal King havest appeared in the depths of the Endless Ocean?

    That caused Lin Li to be in disbelief. After all, with the Immortal King¡¯s power, he could even kill an existence as powerful as the Dragon of Destruction. The Endless Ocean was extremely terrifying for ordinary people, but it didn¡¯t seem to pose any threat to the Immortal King. What could have caused the Immortal King to go missing?

    After passing the test of the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li would still go in from time to time to challenge a few opponents, but his main focus was no longer on the arena. He knew that his current strength was already at a temporary bottleneck, and the Barbarous Arena would no longer be of much use at the moment.

    During this period of time, the members of the Tower of Dusk had also begun preparing for their expansion to the Endless Ocean. Firstly, they managed to gain control of Baburia City, which was hundreds of kilometers away from Calon City, with the connections of the Malfa Family. Baburia City was located at the mouth of the Versair River, and was a natural harbor that was not inferior to Calon City. The giant battleship that Lin Li had seized from the Gilded Kingdom would usually dock at that port.

    After gaining actual control of Baburia City, the Tower of Dusk immediately invested heavily in arge-scale reconstruction of the entire port, and established arge shipyard next to the port. With the navigation data of the Gilded Kingdom, as well as the alchemical techniques of Lin Li and Angno, the shipyard was continuously constructing battleships for the Tower of Dusk almost all day and night.

    <i>Is the Tower of Dusk really going to expand to the field of sea trade?</i> In fact, even Gavin and the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk were unclear about it. Besides, in their opinion, the Tower of Dusk could rely on their businesses onnd to support the needs of rapid development, and seamerce would not actually bring greater benefits to the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 1043 - Prehistoric Times

    <h4>Chapter 1043: Prehistoric Times</h4>

    However, it was Lin Li¡¯s orders, and even if Gavin and the others were confused, they wouldn¡¯t dare to disobey their president¡¯smand. Anyway, the Tower of Dusk now had a massive amount of wealth, and the hundreds of millions of gold coins invested in Baburia City were just peanuts to them.

    Of course, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s actions had also attracted the attention of other forces, especially the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s people who began to look nervous. Back then, Cantory and Elder Jorre agreed to give the Tower of Dusk the information on the sea, but they did not expect the Tower of Dusk to decide to develop their naval force so quickly.

    The Gilded Kingdom was far away in the sea. Once war broke out in the Breezy ins, they would definitely need to get aid via the sea. If the Tower of Dusk also had a naval force, they would pose a huge threat to the Gilded Kingdom if a war were to break out in the future. Although Cantory and the others were confident that the Tower of Dusk¡¯s greenhorn navy definitely could notpare to their fleet of battleships, it was troublesome for them too.

    In order to figure out the Tower of Dusk¡¯s intentions, the Gilded Kingdom pulled plenty of their connections in hopes of finding out something from Lin Li, the young president of the Tower of Dusk. However, after the matters of the port and shipyard were on track, Lin Li once again returned to the inverted tower of the Sky Tower, not giving anyone a chance to probe at all.

    In the inverted tower of the Sky Castle, Lin Li, who had already reached the peak of level-27, currently no longer needed to train himself through the Barbarous Arena. Perhaps he would feel some enlightenment in those battles, but there seemed to be no significant help to his improvement in strength.

    Lin Li, who had once again returned, mainly wanted to explore a higher level of the inverted tower in hopes of finding a better chance of breaking through. However, what he found bizarre was the fact that the space on the second floor of the tower had been explored, but he could not find the stairs that led to a higher floor no matter what. It seemed he could only enter the Barbarous Arena.

    However, after entering the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li had only experienced a few battles before getting sent out of it when he was defeated by thest opponent. Could it be that that was the end of the inverted tower? Clearly, that was impossible. Although the magic books on the first floor and the Barbarous Arena on the second floor each had iparable value, Lin Li believed that it was by no means the entirety of the treasures left by Geresco.

    However, just as Lin Li was being clueless, and was preparing to put the matter aside, he suddenly discovered that there seemed to be some issues with the stone tform that was used for storing the crystal ball after his observation through the crystal ball outside the Barbarous Arena. To be more specific, Lin Li could vaguely see something strange about the God¡¯s Eye mageweath that was carved on the stone tform.

    The God¡¯s Eye mageweath was rampant in every Magic Tower, and it was amon method used for monitoring the surroundings of the tower. Generally, most of them had only reached the Master-level standard. The difference between those and the mageweath on the stone tform was that thetter could not only be used to monitor another area, it could also record the scenes that took ce on the battlefield. It could also allow one to observe and study the battle scenes from all angles. Hence, making theplexity of the God¡¯s Eye mageweath had already reached the Guru-level standard. In fact, it could be considered a Guru-level mageweath.

    However, when Lin Li saw the God¡¯s Eye God¡¯s Eye mageweath for the first time, and memorized all of its functions at a nce, he stopped wasting his effort on it. After all, increasing his abilities was the most urgent thing that he had to do at this moment. Besides, simple supportive Guru-level mageweaths were not worth his time to study at all.

    However, Lin Li could not find the entrance to the next floor this time, and thus could not find another solution even if he wanted to spend more time and energy to continue improving his abilities. Naturally, he had the energy to pay attention to the aspects that seemed irrelevant. Lin Li initially wanted to take a casual look when he was bored, but after doing so, he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off it at all.

    Initially, there seemed to be a vague mageweath with an unknown use in the Guru-level God¡¯s Eye. Just like the Conquering Mageweath and the Psychic Array which shared the same mana pathway above the Sky Castle, the God¡¯s Eye mageweath array also shared the same mana pathway with another mageweath inside it.

    Besides, the mana pathways that the Conquering Mageweath and the Psychic Array shared were the main pathways to achieve the purpose of sharing the same mana source. However, the God¡¯s Eye mageweath could not be considered to be sharing the same mana pathway as the other mageweath. It was as if it formed another mageweath using the mana pathway, and they were in perfect synchronization. From that alone, it was clear that Geresco¡¯s skill in inscription was not much worse than that of Highlord Osric.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, his technique of drawing mageweaths was already at the peak Guru-level, and he was probably just a step away from bing a Divine Smith. If the mageweath was just a magic trap, it would take Lin Li at least a month or so to resolve it. Besides, the process would involve plenty of inevitable danger.

    Fortunately, Lin Lu discovered that the mageweath hidden in the God¡¯s Eye was also a trigger-type mageweath, but it was not a deadly trap. Actually, it made sense. Since Geresco left the treasure to Lin Li, how could it leave any deadly traps behind? Recharging was only a test for Lin Li.

    Lin Li spent half a day analyzing the entire mageweath before finally realizing that the mageweath contained in the God¡¯s Eye mageweath was in fact more of an evaluation device for testing the mana and talent of a mage. However, it was much more exquisite.

    Lin Li could not guess why the evaluation mageweath was so well hidden to the extent that he almost missed it. Be it magic, inscription, alchemy, or even pharmacy, it was actually all about the use of power and one¡¯sprehension of the Laws. Perhaps the power involved was different, but the Laws were the same. The ultimate goal was to step into the realm of the gods and obtain the same power as the gods.

    Lin Li managed to discover that hidden mageweath not only because he had Master-level attainments in inscription, but more importantly because he had a deeper understanding and mastery of the Laws after this period of honing and sharpening his skills. Hence, the hidden mageweath could only be considered a test to him. If he¡¯d discovered the mageweath as soon as he entered, that would¡¯ve meant that he had already reached a certain standard in his understanding of the Laws, and he naturally would not have had to enter the Barbarous Arena to train.

    After figuring out how the mageweath was triggered, Lin Li gently pressed his palm against the center of the mageweath on the stone tform, and slowly infused his mana and mental strength into it. With Lin Li¡¯s movements, the mageweath of the stone tform that was holding the crystal ball gradually became brighter to the point where Lin Li¡¯s figure vanished.

    At this moment, Lin Li also suddenly felt as if there was an eye that was secretly scanning him from inside out. Be it his mana, his mental strength and the sense of familiarity with the Laws, or thebat experience that he had umted in his body, they were all revealed in the endless light. It could be considered a detailed andprehensive evaluation of one¡¯s personal strength that no other evaluation couldpare to.

    After the light faded, receding like a tide, adder-like staircase leading to the next level appeared on a wall. However, there were no turns in the stairs that led straight ahead, and Lin Li could already see the end of the staircase from below. Lin Li left the crystal ball and the stone tform, made his way up the stairs, and soon arrived at the third floor that he thought about for a long time.

    The third floor was not very spacious, but due to the fact that there were not many appointments there, it seemed extremely empty. There was arge Alchemy Array that covered the entire ground of the third floor. However, it seemed that only the mana source in the center of the Alchemy Array was emitting the light of mana, while the others were in a dormant state. They were not immediately activated because he appeared, and not a single tinge of mana flowed in the mana circuit.

    The Alchemy Array was definitely the key to entering the third floor. Suppressing his excitement and agitation, Lin Li quickly strode away from the stairs, and cautiously entered the giant Alchemy Array to look at it carefully.

    The Alchemy Array was also close to the realm of a Divine Smith; in fact, Lin Li could vaguely sense the aura of a Divine Smith within it. That was also the very reason that he still felt far more inferior when he was looking at the Alchemy Array on the ground even though he was also a Guru in alchemy.

    However, what shocked Lin Li even more was the fact that the Alchemy Array that was near the level of the Divine Smith, which he could not master, was exactly the same as one he saw in the game, Endless World.

    That Alchemy Array in the Endless World was known as the gateway to the prehistoric times. It was the entrance to arge dungeon which would allow yers to enter a prehistoric world through the door of the outer realm.

    Since it was called a prehistoric world, it naturally contained plenty of terrifying prehistoric magical beasts that remained only in legends.

 Chapter 1044 - Viper

    <h4>Chapter 1044: Viper</h4>

    Those prehistoric magical beasts were some of the top prehistoric magical beasts that belonged to the same era as the terrifying existences like the ancient wyrms and the Titans. Hence, the dungeon with the gateway to the prehistoric times was definitely the one of the dungeons with the highest rate of deaths in the Endless World.

    However, if there was really a team in the dungeon in contrast, they would obtain huge gains even if they simply stayed longer in the dungeon. Aside from being terrifying, the beasts¡¯ bodies were filled with treasures, and as long as a team could kill a prehistoric magical beast, it would be akin to obtaining a gold mine.

    Lin Li did not have a guild in the Endless World, but he had once had a few friends who had entered the prehistoric world with him for a few raids. However, they were individuals who were not bound by the strict restrictions of the game guilds; hence, they would often have much to consider and be scrupulous about in such dungeons that required teamwork. Back then, Lin Li was backstabbed by his so-called friend, but of course, thetter did not get to enjoy his victory, and even got killed by Lin Li who took advantage of ater opportunity.

    Lin Li had only gone to the Door to the Prehistoric World a few times. After all, the difficulty of party dungeons was extremely high. Even though he was already the first in the leaderboards of the game, thebat power of an individual could not possibly bepared to that of major guilds. By the time he obtained the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury from the Well of the Sun, he saw the Dragon of Destruction.

    In fact, if not for the fact that he had transmigrated to Anril, Lin Li would have used the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury to break through the Door to the Prehistoric World. It might just create an unbelievable record in Endless World.

    Looking at the Door to the Prehistoric World in front of him, Lin Li was filled with doubts apart from being astonished. It was not that the things in the Endless World had never appeared in Anril before, but they were basically always rted to the Immortal King. For example, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, the Stars of Fury, the Endless Labyrinth in the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, and the Hunter¡¯s Shadow in the Whispering God were all directly rted to the Immortal King. There was also the Whispering God in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. Since Prince Brahere was a suspected illegitimate child of the Immortal King, he could be considered to be rted to the Immortal King.

    However, the Alchemy Array that was known as the Door to the Prehistoric World in the Endless World had appeared among the treasures left behind by Geresco. In that case, what did Geresco have to do with the Endless World, or with the Immortal King? One was the wise man who led the human race to overthrow the High Elves, and was known as the God of Mages. The other had a mysterious origin, and had the ability to kill the Dragon of Destruction, as well as create a prosperous era for the High Elves Dynasty. Apart from being the best of the best in their respective races, there seemed to be no realmonality between the two.

    Of course, to Lin Li, there was a simrity between Geresco and the Immortal King, and that was how they most likely had some sort of prediction of him transmigrating into this world. In fact, he even suspected that the Immortal King might have been the culprit who¡¯d caused him to transmigrate to Anril.

    Previously, Lin Li felt that he was walking a path that the Immortal King had specially arranged for him, including the various events of him obtaining the loyalty of Norfeller, repossessing the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, traveling to the Endless Labyrinth, and undergoing the test of the Hunter¡¯s Shadow.

    So far, Lin Li again felt that Geresco was the one pushing him instead. For example, he obtained the three treasures in the beginning, and then received the mission in the spacetime rift. Now, he had also received the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation.

    What kind of rtionship was there between the Immortal King and Geresco? In history, the two had almost surely never met. When one went missing, the other was just born. In fact, they could be considered people of two different eras. Yet, they crossed paths here, which was indeed rather mind-boggling for Lin Li.

    Of course, Lin Li was not the type to stubbornly mull over an issue. Besides, he believed that with the increase of his abilities, he would one day get the answer he wanted when he delved deeper. Hence, he soon set those doubts aside after thinking about them for a while. He shifted his attention back onto the Door to the Prehistoric World.

    After recalling everything associated with the Door to the Prehistoric World that he could, Lin Li soon discovered that although the Alchemy Array in front of him was simr to the Door to the Prehistoric World, it was notplete. There seemed to be missing parts in a few key nodes of the Alchemy Array, which was also the reason that the Alchemy Array could not be activated.

    If Lin Li hadn¡¯t seen the Door to the Prehistoric World, he might have to spend a lot of effort on this Alchemy Array in order to truly figure out where the problemy. However, with the memories he had now, Lin Li managed to instantly find the problems after merelyparing the two Alchemy Arrays.

    There were a total of 36 key nodes in the Alchemy Array, and their main functions were to line the two worlds. The Alchemy Array could be called the Double-Realm Psychic Tower only after solving that problem. Otherwise, it would just be a useless painting that was hung on the wall. At the thought of the power that connected the two worlds and the number 36, Lin Li suddenly remembered the 36 Realm Beads that he had obtained from the Double-Realm Psychic Towers when exploring the Sky Castle.

    With the power of the Realm Beads and the Psychic Array formed by the Double-Realm Psychic Towers, the world of Undead creatures was opened, and endless Undead creatures descended in Anril through the passage. The Realm Beads actually did not only connect to the world of the Undead creatures¡ªtheir true power was used to connect two worlds. Which worlds? That depending on where they were used. The Realm Beads used with the Double-Realm Psychic Tower was used to open up the passage to the world of Undead creatures. Hence, when used with the Door to the Prehistoric World, it would open up the world that was predetermined by the Door to the Prehistoric World.

    Lin Li was unsure if the Door to the Prehistoric World would open up a prehistoric world like in the Endless World, but he was certain that he could use the 36 Realm Beads there. After making that judgment, Lin Li didn¡¯t waste any more time, and immediately used them on the various key nodes of the Door to the Prehistoric World.

    Fortunately, there was no sequence that he had to follow. After thest Realm Bead was put in ce, the Door to the Prehistoric World immediately began transmitting mana from the central mana source to the surroundings all around. The dim magic circuits lit up, and soon the entire Door to the Prehistoric World became radiant. All the magic circuits and magic runes of the entire Door to the Prehistoric World began flickering with colorful light, as if it was a beautiful piece of art.

    However, Lin Li was not in the mood to appreciate art. Seeing that the entire Alchemy Array was about to be filled with mana, he immediately activated the Alchemy Array using the method that he had found and researched previously. The Alchemy Arrays that were carved in the ground began spinning at this moment. Next, an ancient-looking door gradually appeared in the center of the Alchemy Array.

    Lin Li was not entirely certain if there was a prehistoric world on the other side of the door. However, his power had already reached the peak of level-27, and he was confident that he would be able to retreat safely even if he encountered any dangers there. Hence, he did not hesitate much, and instead dashed straight into the door after it waspletely condensed.

    After some ripples spread, Lin Li looked up and found that he had indeed arrived in another world. However, the scenery in front of him made him feel a sense of familiarity again. The peaks of various heights were actually the Sunset Mountains that he had set foot in when he had transmigrated to Anril.

    Lin Li was extremely familiar with the Sunset Mountains. Back when he had transmigrated to that ce, he had fortunately been taken under the wing of Andoine. Otherwise, he would have probably been eaten up by magical beasts. When he followed Andoine and learned magic from him, he was often thrown into various corners of the Sunset Mountains to fight with those magical beasts. Hence, although Lin Li was not extremely familiar with this ce, he had a strong impression of it.

    <i>Why the Sunset Mountains?</i> That made Lin Li feel a little bewildered. The Sunset Mountains of Anril were now extremely dangerous to most people, but now the peak of level-27 was considered nothing to him[1]. Lin Li could even effortlessly kill the Legendary-level magical beasts.

    Of course, Lin Li was also well aware that since Geresco had ced the Sunset Mountains on the third floor, and he had to go through a detailed assessment of strength before entering, they were definitely not as simple as the Sunset Mountains in Anril. Hence, instead of dashing towards them immediately whilst in the air, he dispersed his mental strength and entered the Sunset Mountains to explore.

    However, as soon as Lin Li released his mental strength, a colorful liquid suddenly shot out of the dense forest below before he could even enter the Sunset Mountains. Although the liquid was spurted from the bottom, it was as quick as lightning, and it arrived in front of Lin Li in an instant.

    Fortunately, when Lin Li appeared, he had already exhibited an extremely powerful defensive magic spell. Otherwise, he would really be thrown into a frenzy by the sudden attack. Just as the colorful liquid appeared in front of him, an exceptionally solid Elemental Shield also instantly emerged from the void to shield Lin Li.

    Although it was just an Elemental Shield, it was cast by Lin Li, a level-27 Sanctuary Master. Hence, even if it was bombarded by Legendary magic spells, it would barely be damaged. However, what surprised Lin Li was that the vibrant liquid did not get repelled by the Elemental Shield when it came into contact with it. Instead, it made some strange sounds, and the Elemental Shield in front of him was instantly eroded by the liquid, which then continued to surge towards him.

    Lin Li was a little rmed by the scene, and he hurriedly activated his Space Robe, after which his body immediately shed in another direction. The vibrant liquid prated the afterimage that Lin Li left behind, and flew for some distance before finally turning into rainwater and sttering down onto the dense forest. Arge hole was immediately opened up below, followed by fumes of white smoke rising from it.

    After dodging the attack, Lin Li frowned at the residual smell in the air. With his knowledge as a pharmaceutics Guru, he could tell from the subtle and almost undetectable smell that the brilliantly colored liquid was the legendary Viper¡¯s poison.

    Lin Li had once helped Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine get rid of the Viper¡¯s poison that had gued him for many years, but the Viper¡¯s poison that Rosario was struck with was actually only the toxin of a descendant of the prehistoric viper. Lin Li couldpletely tell that the Viper¡¯s poison that just attacked him was countless times more violent than the poison that Rosario had had in his body.

    Didn¡¯t that mean that he had just been attacked by a real prehistoric Viper!? During the prehistoric times, the ancient wyrms and the Titans might have fought to dominate the world, and the prehistoric Viper seemed to be only a supporting role in that age. However, among the prehistoric magical beasts, there were also many existences that even those two races dared not provoke easily. There were also some that specially preferred to feed on the ancient wyrms and Titans. The prehistoric Viper was one of them.

    Legend had it that the Viper¡¯s poison could corrode everything that existed, and not only the Elemental Shield that had been formed by mana. There would even be holes that could not be closed after the erosion. During the prehistoric times, the prehistoric Viper had managed to stay firm at the top of the entire food chain because of its terrifying venom, and even the ancient wyrms and Titans could not pose a threat to it.

    Of course, other than its terrifying venom, the strength of the prehistoric Viper was not to be disregarded. Legend had it that the young Vipers that had just hatched would already have Legendary-level power and Magical Domains that wereposed of poison and curses. The mature prehistoric Vipers would also reach the Sanctuary-realm. Even gods would have to be wary of them.

    Was it a prehistoric Viper or its descendant? Lin Li soon got the answer.

    After the poisonous venom rained down, arge snake head that resembled a mountain immediately probed out of the dense forest with a pair of hideous unicorn brows on its head. ring at Lin Li who seemed extremely small inparison, its eyes were like blood moons, full of menace. The fact that the prehistoric Viper could poke its head out of the forest that was made up of numerous trees showed how massive it was.

    [1] Author¡¯s mistake. He (she) probably meant that whatever lives there is nothing to lvl27 Lin Li, or the author meant some lower level here since he (she) mentioned Legendary-lvl beasts.

 Chapter 1045 - Viperéˆ¥æªš Poison

    <h4>Chapter 1045: Viper¡¯s Poison</h4>

    When Lin Li saw the huge snake head, he immediately knew that he definitely wasn¡¯t facing a descendant of the prehistoric Viper, but thetter itself. Besides, he could clearly sense that the manaing from the prehistoric Viper was definitely around the Sanctuary-realm, and it was almost simr to thest opponent of the Barbarous Arena.

    However, although Lin Li had defeated an opponent that was as strong as the prehistoric Viper in the Barbarous Arena, it was because he had gained a deeper understanding of his opponent¡¯s abilities after countless battles. It was Lin Li¡¯s first time encountering the prehistoric Viper, and everything he knew about it was from legends. God knew how many discrepancies there were.

    More importantly, Lin Li did not have to worry about losing in the Barbarous Arena, as he would only be sent out of the Barbarous Arena even if he faced a lethal attack of an opponent. However, Lin Li did not think that he would have that many chances to study his opponent and experiment with it to test his conjectures here.

    The prehistoric Viper did not even give Lin Li a chance to think, and it immediatelyunched a fierce attack on Lin Li after popping its massive head out of the forest. It immediately started attacking Lin Li, and colorful fumes of smoke began to emanate from the prehistoric Viper¡¯s body. In the blink of an eye, it immediately enveloped the forest and the sky. Although it looked dazzling and enchanting, those who were in it would be able to feel its deadly negative aura as well as its toxicity, menace, filth, and evilness.

    When the colorful cloud of smoke rose, Lin Li did not dare to cken at all. He immediately raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and cast his World Domain. To a Sanctuary Master, his World Domain was the strongest offensive and also defensive method.

    When Lin Li first cast the World Domain, he created a barren world that was devoid of vitality, and was essentially just like the umtion of Laws. However, after the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation and the countless training and battles he had undergone in the Barbarous Arena, Lin Li¡¯s World Domain had already be a world that constantly evolved, showcasing the entire life cycle of living beings from birth to their pinnacle, followed by death and decay. The power of such a World Domain was extremely horrifying. If Lin Li were to fight with Osric again, they might actually end up in a stalemate.

    However, the venom of the prehistoric Viper was so terrifying that even gods dared note into contact with it easily. The curse and erosive Laws were a type of power that would extinguish all existences. Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine was also a powerhouse at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, yet he was tortured for decades after being poisoned by a descendant of the Viper.

    Hence, as soon as Lin Li¡¯s World Domain came into contact with the colorful smoke, it was immediately corroded without resistance. The Laws of the entire domain began tox under the erosion of the poison, and when reflected in the world of the domain, it was like a huge disaster. There was a huge hole in the sky, and the ground was covered in poisonous swamps. In the blink of an eye, the entire world was full of destruction, and it seemed like it would bepletely destroyed at any time.

    Besides, Lin Li could also sense that the poison was not only corroding his Domain World, but also corroding him because he was connected to the domain. No wonder Rosario fell victim to the Viper¡¯s poison despite being so powerful.

    When Lin Li cast his Domain World, he initially did not expect to rely on it to block out the Viper¡¯s poison. However, through the contact of the Laws, he managed to understand the nature of the Viper¡¯s poison. However, the Viper¡¯s poison was indeed a bit beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations, especially because it could spread along connections, making it truly impossible to guard against.

    Seeing that his Domain World was about to copse, Lin Li did not dare to dy any longer. After all, if his World Domain truly copsed, it would have a huge impact on him, the host. He immediately waved his arm to toss out the debris of the stars, Holy Light. The pure power of Holy Light immediately formed a Light of Purification force field that fought against the evil aura of the entire space.

    Although the power of Lin Li¡¯s debris of the stars could not be maximized without the Stars of Fury, there was no longer a w in the attributes of power. However, Lin Li found it taxing when fighting against the colorful smoke. At the same time that the sinister and poisonous aura was being purified, the Light of Purification force field was continuously getting corroded too. The space was slowly being eaten away one bit at a time.

    <i>This is definitely not going to work!</i> Lin Li knew very well in his heart that there would definitely be a moment where even the strongest defense would get broken. Only by turning the situation around and getting himself out of a passive position would he be able to defeat the prehistoric Viper.

    However, the prehistoric Viper was not a clueless greenhorn. In fact, at the Sanctuary-realm, all prehistoric magical beasts, be it a Viper or whatnot, would be on par with humans in terms of intelligence and emotional quotient. Since it had already gained the upper hand, the prehistoric Viper would not give the opportunity up easily, and thus it immediately intensified his attack on Lin Li.

    The prehistoric Viper suddenly propelled its body, which was hundreds of meters long, upwards before darting out of the forest. Enveloped by the colorful smoke, it levitated in midair. Immediately afterwards, the horn on the top of the prehistoric Viper shone brightly, and all sorts of affinity spells that contained thews of poison and curses surged towards Lin Li like a tide amidst the vibrant and brilliant light.

    All sorts of magic spells that contained sinister aura like the Arrow of Curses that contained the condensed Power of Insidiousness, the Star of Corrosion that prated through the space using the Power of Corrosion, and the Poisonous Meteorite came surging. If there were any lives in this world, they would definitely be destroyed and annihted by the poison. The aura that came out of it alone had caused arge area of the forest to wither. The gigantic trees that were thousands of years old were quickly corroded and copsed.

    On the other hand, Lin Li also fell into an extremely dangerous state. The purification force field that was supported by the Holy Light suddenly burst like a bubble, and even Holy Light itself was invaded by the poisonous gas. It was not that the power of Holy Light was inferior, but rather that it was impossible to release the power of Holy Light with mastery of thews alone. Only the Stars of Fury could do it. Without the Stars of Fury, even a real god would not be able to fully exert the power of the debris of the stars, let alone Lin Li. If Lin Li had the Stars of Fury, the power would be enough to turn Holy Light into a sharp weapon to kill the prehistoric Viper.

    Lin Li grabbed Holy Light, and the poison that invaded it caused Holy Light, which was initially extremely pure, to contain a wisp of peculiar color in the light. Of course, Holy Light could not be stained that easily. After it returned to Lin Li¡¯s hand, it immediately purified its color.

    However, after that, Lin Li dared not release Holy Light. Even though it would not really be stained by Viper¡¯s poison, it would probably take a lot of effort to get rid of itpletely if the toxins umted. Besides, he could tell that the Light of Purification of Holy Light would not produce any good effects aftering into contact with Viper¡¯s poison and the Power of Curses. Lin Li would not want to incur such losses.

    Hence, Lin Li put the debris of the stars Holy Light away, and waved his arm to cast the brilliance of Holy Light, blocking the poisonous magic spell that was in front of him, after which he activated the power of the Space Robe, and shed in another direction to evade the magic storm cast by the prehistoric Viper.

    However, as soon as Lin Li stabilized his body, he suddenly felt a strange movement in the surrounding space, and he suddenly had a bad feeling. He hurriedly dodged and dashed towards the side. He then realized that the spot he was in seemed to be burned by wax as it formed a huge hole in the space. Immediately afterwards, the prehistoric Viper dashed out of the hole.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li immediately understood in his heart that it was not the effects of the prehistoric Viper tracking him, but rather that there were holes left behind in the space at the instant that Lin Li activated the Space Robe. Hence, the magic spells cast by the prehistoric Viper caught up with him. It was just like digging a hole in thend. Even if one filled it up with soil, it still wouldn¡¯t be the same as the areas surrounding it.

    It was the same for space. The magic spells of the prehistoric Viper had a huge corrosive property, so the sturdier spaces would naturally be different from the more fragile ones. Hence, the magic spells actually flowed over instead of chasing after him.

    <i>Damn it, just because I¡¯m not showing my dominance, they think I¡¯m a pushover!</i> Although the magic spells flowed over, Lin Li was still extremely infuriated. After destroying the magic spells that were surging over, Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at the prehistoric Viper, and a huge sword immediately shed over.

    The giant magic sword that Lin Li cast seemed to be extremely simr to the Light and Darkness Sword that he used in the past. Although it was also created with the fusion of light and darkness, in addition to the power of light and darkness, there was also a fusion of the other five basic World Laws. It was no longer considered the Light and Darkness Sword, and in fact, it was more reasonable to call it the World Sword which was as powerful as the power of the world. Even the World Domain of a Sanctuary powerhouse would be destroyed by it.

    The World Sword shed out from the void, and sted at the colorful smoke with destructive power, shing down on the head of the prehistoric Viper. When the entire space was filled with the roars of the giant sword shing through everything, the colorful smoke that shrouded the prehistoric Viper also began stirring as if it would be blown away like smoke in the wind at any time.

    Lin Li was very confident in the power of his sword. Previously, he had faced many opponents in the Sanctuary-realm in the Barbarous Arena, all of whom were defeated by the World Sword. Although the prehistoric Viper was difficult to deal with, its power was near the Sanctuary-realm, and what made it difficult to defeat was its poison and curses.

    However, what Lin Li did not expect was that the prehistoric Viper suddenly retracted the colorful smoke around it when faced with the falling World Sword. Immediately afterwards, a colorful snake shadow actually rushed forward to collide with the World Sword. The colorful shadow, which was formed by the colorful smoke, was like a clone of the prehistoric Viper. After being in contact with the World Sword, it even wrapped its body, which was hundreds of meters long, around the sword.

    In the blink of an eye, the colorful snake shadow was wrapped entirely around the World Sword, making it seem as if the World Sword had been fitted with a colorful scabbard. Although the scabbard was used for protecting the sword, arge amount of poison immediately seeped into the World Sword, and the Laws that constituted the World Sword began cracking under the corrosion of the poison. When the World Sword was about to fall onto the head of the prehistoric Viper, the shadow of the colorful snake immediately dispersed, and reverted into the most poisonous colorful smoke while the World Sword vanished without a trace.

    Lin Li was dumbfounded to see this oue. The World Sword was a sword that was condensed from a world, and its power was probably the best of all Sanctuary-realm magic spells. He had thought of the possibility that the World Sword might be disintegrated by the prehistoric Viper, but the speed at which it happened was too exaggerated.

    The prehistoric Viper did not intend to give Lin Li the time to recover from shock. After disintegrating the incredibly powerful World Sword, it seemed to be enraged by Lin Li¡¯s attack. The horn on its head shone brilliantly, and the colorful smoke that filled the entire space immediately got riled up too, once again attacking Lin Li menacingly.

    However, faced with the attacks of the prehistoric Viper, Lin Li looked a little smug. Not panicking at all, he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and the colorful smoke that had begun stirring because of the prehistoric Viper once again calmed down. If one were to look carefully, they would realize that there was a vague dimness in the colorful smoke. As Lin Li triggered it, the inconspicuous dimness immediately erupted and swallowed the colorful smoke in the surroundings.

    This time, it was the prehistoric Viper¡¯s turn to panic. Although it was roaring with fury, the dimness was still expanding rapidly like ink dripping into water, staining the colorful smoke in the surroundings. In the blink of an eye, the colorful smoke turned into dark clouds that were as ck as ink. It was extremely gloomy and no longer as radiant as before.

    <i>It¡¯s my turn this time!</i> Lin Li sneered and reached out to grab something in the air, after which the gloomy clouds began rolling and surging towards the prehistoric Viper in the middle. Soon, the body that was hundreds of meters long was covered as if it was a giant pupa.

    Above the giant pupa, an extremely deep ck sphere of light appeared in the void with two smaller spheres orbiting around it like a satellite. The ck sphere was the debris of the stars Gloomy Dark, while the two smaller ones around it were the souls of the Double Death Dragons that had been sealed by Gloomy Dark.

 Chapter 1046 - Wind And Thunder Beast King

    <h4>Chapter 1046: Wind And Thunder Beast King</h4>

    When casting the World Sword, Lin Li had already prepared his backup solution out of a habit that he had developed through experiencing countless battles in the Barbarous Arena. In other words, he would have numerous sets of attacks that he would cast consecutively, and never let himself think that he could defeat his opponent with just one move.

    From the performance, it seemed that the purifying power of Holy Light should be the nemesis of the vicious and filthy power. However, without the Stars of Fury, Lin Li could not utilize the power of Holy Light to fight the power of the prehistoric Viper. Hence, he thought of Gloomy Dark. As the saying went, ¡°if you can¡¯t beat him, join him¡±. Bing one with it was definitely easier than destroying it.

    Under the cover of the World Sword, Lin Li cast Gloomy Dark, a key factor of the battle. It would be best if the World Sword could really kill the prehistoric Viper, but if the World Sword could not exert any effects, Gloomy Dark would be Lin Li¡¯s backup n.

    It was proven that Lin Li¡¯s arrangement worked as Gloomy Dark had sessfully devoured the prehistoric Viper¡¯s colorful smoke, and had even controlled the prehistoric Viper with the power it devoured.

    After writhing vigorously, the gigantic ck pupa finally calmed down. After the ck smoke gradually dissipated, all that was revealed was a massive snake skeleton. At the same time, there was surprisingly another ck satellite-like ball around Gloomy Dark, which was obviously the soul of the prehistoric Viper.

    Generally, Sanctuary powerhouses had reached the realm of having indestructible souls. That was also the same reason that Lin Li sent Osric¡¯s soul into the Endless Abyss. Initially, Lin Li was still worried about how he should deal with the soul of the prehistoric Viper, but it seemed that he no longer had to worry now.

    Lin Li summoned Gloomy Dark back into his hands, and he could acutely sense the changes in the power of Gloomy Dark. It was not considered an improvement; there were simply some changes. The three tiny balls around Gloomy Dark, especially the souls of the Double Death Dragons, had also gained many benefits, and they were probably already near the Sanctuary-realm. Perhaps an opportunity would be all it took to give rise to two Sanctuary-level Dracoliches. As for the soul of the prehistoric Viper, it was truly nearing the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and was now just in a deep slumber. Lin Li did not know when he could summon it.

    Apart from that, Lin Li also had two gains, which were the bones of the prehistoric Viper and the magical crystal that was near the Sanctuary-realm. The bones of the prehistoric Viper could be used to build a battleship. He reckoned that even the best battleship of the Gilded Kingdom was made out of a material that was inferior to the Viper¡¯s bones. On the other hand, the magical crystal at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm could be used as the power core of the alchemical battleship.

    After cing everything in the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li did not immediately go deeper into the Sunset Mountains, but continued where he had left off before getting disturbed. He dispersed his mental strength, and scattered it everywhere to carefully explore everything in this world. The exploration¡¯s result took Lin Li aback greatly. Although his mental strength only covered a small area of the Sunset Mountains, he managed to discover arge number of existences that were emanating Sanctuary-realm mana in that small amount of space.

    <i>Could it be that this world is really the world of prehistoric magical beasts?</i> Lin Li thought to himself in shock while exploring. <i>No wonder Geresco would use something like the Door to the Prehistoric World. If it had been just an ordinary gate that connected two worlds, the Sanctuary-realm prehistoric magical beasts would probably have surged into Anril long ago.</i>

    However, Lin Li was not frightened by the vast number of magical beasts. After all, the Sanctuary-realm prehistoric magical beasts rarely lived in groups, and they basically each had their own territory. Hence, there was an opportunity to take advantage of. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t figure out why Geresco would deliberately set up such a ce, since fights with prehistoric magical beasts could just take ce in the Barbarous Arena.

    Of course, it was safe to say that there would be no battle spoils in the Barbarous Arena, unlike in this ce where he could gain arge amount of wealth by killing prehistoric magical beasts at the Sanctuary-realm. However, that exnation was quite a stretch. Lin Li knew very well that wealth no longer mattered much to those at his level. Hence, Lin Li suspected that Geresco¡¯s true agenda for creating such a world was beyond just letting others have a hunting ground.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he could not effortlessly kill the prehistoric magical beasts, but it was already impossible for him to rely on fighting the prehistoric magical beasts continuously to improve his strength. What he needed now was the umtion of mana and an opportunity to break through, which was probably impossible to achieve solely through fighting the prehistoric magical beasts.

    Hence, if this world was merely a hunting ground, then it might have some value to Lin Li, but by his personal standards, its value was probably inferior to the Barbarous Arena¡¯s. He believed that the items of the prehistoric magical beasts would not matter to someone at Geresco¡¯s level. Clearly, the value of the world definitely did not lie with the prehistoric magical beasts.

    <i>So what secrets are hidden in this world?</i> After killing the prehistoric Viper, Lin Li did not choose to leave this world immediately, and instead spread his mental strength out. Not only did it search for the prehistoric magical beasts distributed in various areas of the Sunset Mountains, it was also trying to analyze the structure of the Laws of this world.

    Given Lin Li¡¯s current thoughts, the only valuable thing to him here now was probably the structure of the Laws. After all, the Domain World created by most people could not amodate so many Sanctuary-realm prehistoric magical beasts. Even just one or two would cause the entire Domain World to copse immediately.

    Hence, Lin Li hoped that he could acquire some knowledge and experience through the structure of the Laws. Perhaps he would be able to improve his strength again after using them in his Domain World. However, Lin Li¡¯s current strength was far inferior to Geresco¡¯s. It was not an easy thing to analyze the world created by Geresco.

    While Lin Li was racking his brains and analyzing the intricate structure of thews, a thick cloud of fog suddenly surged out from the West. It was very different from the colorful cloud of the prehistoric Viper, and it seemed white with some gloominess, with some flickering bolts of lightning. The dense sounds of thunder were also getting closer and louder with the fog.

    Sensing something strange, Lin Li opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the fog, only to see that rolling fog had gradually revealed a gigantic figure. The figure in the fog seemed like a robust cheetah, but it was several timesrger. Its two eyes that were glistening with a purple light seemed to be condensed with destructive lightning. Apart from the fog, there were countless lightning bolts that resembled snakes leaping around continuously, each emanating a destructive aura.

    Although the prehistoric magical beast had already vanished from Anril for thousands to tens of thousands of years, Lin Li could still recognize its origin at a nce. The figure in the cloud was a famous prehistoric magical beast, the Tempest Beast, which was born with the ability to control the nomological power of wind.

    Besides, the Tempest Beast did not like being on its own, unlike the prehistoric Viper. They usually moved about in groups that ranged from a few thousands to tens of thousands. They gathered to form a cloud-like mass that covered the sky. Even an ancient wyrm would flee far when it saw them.

    Purely in terms of strength alone, the Tempest Beast was superior to the prehistoric Viper. However, the prehistoric Viper had the most vicious poison in the world which was daunting for all beasts, regardless of size and power. Simply put, the strength of the prehistoric Viper might not have been at the top during the prehistoric times, but it still was an existence that no one dared to provoke. However, among the various prehistoric magical beasts, the Tempest Beast was definitely one of the strongest, and it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that it was a tyrant.

    Nheless, Lin Li did not show a single trace of fear when he saw that it was the Tempest Beast that appeared. Although his previous battle with the prehistoric Viper was rather difficult, it was because the Viper¡¯s poison was too difficult to deal with. Without the poison, it wouldn¡¯t take Lin Li too much effort to defeat it; hence, he wasn¡¯t afraid at all.

    As the cloud surged towards him, smaller Tempest Beasts also appeared after the one that was in the lead. Lin Li did not have any intentions to escape. The Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand shed, and he charged towards the fog like an arrow.

    The leading Tempest Beast let out an angry thunder-like roar when it saw Lin Li charging towards it instead of fleeing, making it feel extremely humiliated and provoked. After it roared, the surrounding clouds rolled up violently, and Tempest Beasts of various sizes roared at the tiny provoker too.

    In the blink of an eye, Lin Li was surrounded by hundreds of Tempest Beasts, followed by overwhelming Lightning magic spells that were surging towards him like menacing tides, about to swallow him in a moment. However, despite being the target of the attacks, Lin Li was still smiling coldly, and swinging the Helios¡¯ Scepter down in front of him without panicking. A me arc was immediatelyunched, and his body followed closely behind.

    The me sh that Lin Li tossed out casually immediately collided with the tides of countless magic spells while burning with striking golden mes. Like snowing into contact with fire, the magic spells swiftly melted without any sounds of the collision of magic spells.

    If High Priest Rogge of the Darkness Shrine or Nefa, the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction had seen this, they would probably have realized at a nce that the me Lin Li cast was very simr to the mes controlled by the me Dragon Lothar as it contained power that could burn and destroy thews of everything. Of course, the mes that Lin Li cast merely contained that kind of power. Otherwise, with that enlightenment, he would have probably already reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm long ago.

    However, despite being iplete, this power was sufficient for dealing with the Tempest Beasts. All the magic spells that came into contact with the mes would have their Laws burned away immediately. The mana that had been restrained by the Laws would naturally vanish too. Before the Tempest Beasts could even react, the me had already appeared in front of them, and the dazzling golden light did not dim in the slightest.

    A few of the Sanctuary-realm Tempest Beasts that had been attacked by the mes turned into lightning and spread outwards. However, the Tempest Beasts that only had Legendary-level power did not have enough strength to escape immediately. Before they even touched the mes, they already began burning up, and were turning into ashes by the mes that swarmed over.

    Seeing that more than 10 of its underlings which could even be considered its children had been destroyed by the evil enemy in a short moment, the Tempest Beast King was incredibly infuriated. It roared angrily, and a world of lightning immediately appeared. Thunderbolts bombarded the mes extinguishing the me sh in a moment.

    However, when Lin Li sent out the me sh, he followed it closely. Seeing that the mes were gradually extinguished, he immediately raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and the World Sword broke through lightning, shing at the head of the Tempest Beast King.

    When the Tempest Beast King saw the World Sword shing at itself, it sensed the terrifying power of destruction that it contained and roared angrily, after which two thunderbolts suddenly appeared in its pair of purple eyes, sting at the World Sword.

    Those two thunderbolts were not the same as the Thunder-series magic spells, and were instead the Creation Thunderbolts that grew in the eyes of Tempest Beasts since their birth. Legend had it that the Tempest Beasts were born under the Creation Thunderbolt when it created the world of Anril amidst the chaos. Hence, they were born with a tinge of the Creation Thunderbolt¡¯s aura in their blood after their birth. Over the years, they continuously nourished it with the mana in their bodies. Once it matured and took shape, its power was probably no less than the Titan Dragon Spear¡¯s.

    The strength of the Tempest Beast King was already close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and one could only imagine how powerful the Creation Thunderbolt that the Tempest Beast King had nurtured with its lifelong energy was. However, the Creation Thunderbolt was not cast randomly at any spot. Although it was not disposable, it would cause a huge plunge in the strength of the user every time it was cast. Weaker casters might even lose a few levels of their strength.

    Clearly, the Tempest Beast King had sensed the power that could pose a threat to him. Finally, it did not hesitate to release the Creation Thunderbolt that it had been nurturing.

    Boom! The Creation Thunderbolt and the World Sword collided with a loud roar, and the aftershocks and the violent tremors spread out in all directions, causing the fog to quake so much that it was on the verge of dispersing.

 Chapter 1047 - Meditation Ground

    <h4>Chapter 1047: Meditation Ground</h4>

    The Tempest Beasts in the fog were in a much worse state as they rolled and flew out in all directions. Those weaker were even shaken to death.

    The World Sword that had been bombarded by the Creation Thunderbolt was clearly covered in cracks, and the incredibly solid structure ofws was almost disintegrated by the terrifying power of the bombardment. However, even though the World Sword seemed to be on the verge of copsing, it had yet to copse in the end. Hence, it surged towards the Tempest Beast King¡¯s head and shed it.

    However, the Tempest Beast King was having a hard time hanging on. The Creation Thunderbolt clearly did not achieve the expected effect, and even caused its body to be extremely weak at this moment. Although its strength would not be affected greatly once it passed the moment of feebleness, as its power would not be affected too greatly, the World Sword that came shing at its head clearly did not give it the slightest opportunity to breathe.

    Faced with this situation, the Tempest Beast King had no choice but to do its best to dodge regardless of how reluctant it was. Fortunately, speed was its strength, and despite having shown signs of weakness, it was, after all, still a top Sanctuary powerhouse. If it was bent on escaping, no one would be able to stop it.

    However, although the Tempest Beast King managed to dodge, the other Tempest Beasts that were originally revolving around it were in trouble. They were initially still waiting to see their king show its might and destroy their enemy¡¯s attack with the Creation Thunderbolt, but they didn¡¯t expect the invincible Creation Thunderbolt to be ineffective. By the time they reacted, their king had already fled to the side, and the World Sword that emitted a terrifying aura had already been shed downwards.

    Although the World Sword had been terribly sted and damaged by the Creation Thunderbolt, it could not be matched by ordinary Tempest Beast. The World Sword that seemed somewhat damagednded on the bunch of Tempest Beasts, and arge number of Tempest Beasts were immediately ripped into shreds by the World Power of the World Sword.

    Only a few Sanctuary-realm Tempest Beasts managed to react in time, and they immediately cast their Wind Domains and turned themselves into a part of the thunderstorm. Finally, they managed to survive under the attack of the World Sword. However, even then, they also paid the price of having their domains copsing. With blood spurting out of them, they were forced out of the storm.

    However, preserving their lives under the attack did not mean that they werepletely safe. When the Sanctuary-realm Tempest Beasts thought that they had already escaped the ordeal, Lin Li, who was following closely behind the World Sword, suddenly appeared in a sh in front of them. Without any other actions, Lin Li simply pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward a little, after which it immediately emitted a dazzling golden light that engulfed those few Tempest Beasts.

    Hearing the wailing soundsing from the fireballs, the Tempest Beast King was so exasperated that it was almost going to vomit blood. It red at Lin Li, and the Creation Thunderbolt suddenly darted towards thetter. However, Lin Li did not bother fighting with the Tempest Beast King this time, and he ignored the burning Tempest Beasts too. He immediately shed and darted into the group of Tempest Beasts in another direction, starting a bloody massacre.

    Lin Li was now at the peak of level-27. Besides, with the guidance of Geresco¡¯s incarnation, as well as the training he got when fighting countless battles in the Barbarous Arena, he could easily take on battles with opponents that were beyond his level, let alone wipe out the ipetent Tempest Beasts that had yet to even reach the Sanctuary-realm. They were just like ants that Lin Li could crush easily with the wave of his hand. Besides, even the Tempest Beasts that had barely reached the Sanctuary-realm were almost powerless in front of him.

    Watching Lin Li put his subordinates in a grinder, the Tempest Beast King roared in exasperation, and its body turned into a lightning bolt as it chased after Lin Li. However, Lin Li was just as fast as the Tempest Beast King. Besides, he also had the ability to be as quick as sh thanks to the Space Robe.

    Sensing that the Tempest Beast King was getting closer, Lin Li immediately activated the Space Robe, and shed to the other side to kill all the Tempest Beasts in sight. On the other hand, when the Tempest Beast King was about to catch up to the target, it suddenly felt its vision getting blurry, and it lost track of its wretched enemy. It only discovered that the enemy had scurried behind it when it heard its underlings roaring.

    After several rounds, the Tempest Beast King roared, and the Tempest Beasts under it immediately no longer gathered together to wait for Lin Li to kill them. The Tempest Beast King thought that since its underlings had left, Lin Li would probably go after it. However, it did not expect that even though its underlings were fast, they could not beat Lin Li who was as quick as a sh. However, due to the fact that Lin Li had gone farther away while chasing the Tempest Beasts, the Tempest Beast King found it harder to catch up with Lin Li.

    In just a few moments, hundreds of hundreds of Tempest Beasts were ughtered by Lin Li, and the Tempest Beast King which was chasing after him was so furious that it was about to explode.

    <i>It¡¯s your turn now!</i> After Lin Li turned thest ordinary Tempest Beast into flying ashes, he turned around to face the Tempest Beast King, which wasing after him.

    The strength of this Tempest Beast King was actually much worse than the opponents that Lin Li faced in theter stages of the Barbarous Arena. Due to the special nature of the Wind Domain, the Tempest Beast King could fuse all the power of its subordinates into his own Wind Domain, thus allowing it to recover quickly after casting the Creation Thunderbolt. Now that Lin Li had already killed all those Tempest Beasts, and the Tempest Beast King¡¯s strength had fallen to the level that it was originally at, the Creation Thunderbolt could no longer be cast randomly.

    ¡°World!¡± Lin Li hollered, and the gemstone at the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter shone with a gorgeous light. The World Domain was immediately cast, pulling the Tempest Beast King into the domain. Immediately afterwards, countless World Swords suddenly emerged in his world, each one seemingly containing power that was no weaker than the one preceding it.

    If Lin Li was outside, he would only be able to condense a single World Sword with his full power. However, now that he was in his Domain World, he would be able to make fire turn cold and vice versa. Creating those World Swords would only require the change of somews.

    As soon as it saw this, the Tempest Beast King immediately exerted its Wind Domain with all its might, trying to break free from Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. However, Lin Li was the ruler and the supreme god of his Domain World. Thus, everything in the world was under his control. Since he had already captured the Tempest Beast King, how could he let it escape easily?

    Lin Li did not give the Tempest Beast King a chance to struggle, and simply gently pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward a little, after which the countless World Swords immediately began moving and darting towards the Tempest Beast King in the middle.

    In the beginning, the Tempest Beast King could barely hold on, but being in someone else¡¯s World Domain caused it to be unable to receive the support of the power from the outside world, and bit by bit, its power decreased. Besides, it was fighting against such powerful World Swords.

    After three sessive waves of attacksunched by Lin Li, the Tempest Beast King could no longer keep its defense up. With the copse of the Wind Domain, its huge body was also devoured by the countless World Swords, and it was annihted before it could even roar. Even its magical crystal was shed into pieces, but the good thing was that they were in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, and the mana of the broken magical crystal did not go to waste.

    The two eyes of the Tempest Beast King remained intact after the attacks of the World Swords, but they turned into two purple beads filled with lightning that were jumping around from time to time. Lin Li waved his hand to take the two beads, after which he infused his mental strength into them, and carefully began probing the so-called Creation Thunderbolt.

    The lightning in the beads was actually somewhat simr in nature to the power of the debris of the stars Thunderbolt, but not as powerful as thetter. Besides, without the nourishment of the Tempest Beast King, the power of the lightning in the beads was slowly dissipating. It would probably be exhausted soon.

    However, it was not that Lin Li did not have a solution for this issue. He just had to arrange an Alchemy Array and use his magical crystals to nourish the beads to make them grow more rapidly. Of course, he could not feed them for nothing. Lin Li thought that he could turn the beads into magical weapons and install them on a battleship that he created. The power of the Creation Thunderbolt was far stronger than any other magical crystal¡¯s.

    After putting away the two beads, Lin Li stood in midair and watched thendscape of the Sunset Mountains, feeling rather helpless. <i>What exactly was Geresco trying to do by creating this world? Did he want to hunt and kill the prehistoric magical beasts like I did?</i>

    Although Lin Li would not be faced with any danger given his current strength, it would be a terrible oue if he were to go overboard and end up attracting a bunch of Sanctuary-realm magical beasts.

    It was not impossible. The Sanctuary-realm prehistoric magical beasts were no fools, and they wouldn¡¯t really obediently wait for Lin Li toe at them.

    Truth be told, if this was not the world that Geresco left in the inverted tower, Lin Li would want to turn around and leave. He wouldn¡¯t waste his precious time on meaningless battles with the prehistoric magical beasts. Even if he could gain a lot by killing the prehistoric magical beasts, the value could notpare to his time.

    However, that also made Lin Li feel a little bewildered. Since this was not the primordial world, why were there so many Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts!? Especially during the battle with the Tempest Beasts, Lin Li discovered that many of the beasts were still in the growth stage, which meant that they were born in this world, and not captured by Geresco.

    That discovery reminded Lin Li of a situation he noticed just now when he was analyzing the structure of thews of this world before he got interrupted by the Tempest Beasts. The magical waves in this world were surprisingly far stronger than those of Anril, and the concentration of magical elements was rather astonishing. It was several times stronger than that of Anril even though thetter was now affected by the magic tides.

    However, due to the appearance of the Tempest Beasts at that time, Lin Li thought that his discovery was rted to the appearance of arge number of prehistoric magical beasts. After all, among that group of Tempest Beasts, not only was there the Tempest Beast King that was near the Sanctuary-realm, but also many Tempest Beasts that were near the Sanctuary-realm. The appearance of so many Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts would naturally result in drastic changes in the surrounding environment.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li slightly closed his eyes, and once again dispersed his mental strength. As expected, what he sensed was the same as before. Besides, he even discovered that the mana in his body was barely depleted after two consecutive battles that were rtively intense.

    Even Lin Li who imed to have an infinite amount of mana would have experienced a significant consumption of mana after going through two Sanctuary-level battles. When he was in the Barbarous Arena previously, the Barbarous Arena would help him recover when he was waiting for a new opponent to appear. However, he was not in the Barbarous Arena now.

    <i>Could it be that the reason lies in the special environment of this world?</i> Lin Li thought to himself, only to give himself a great shock. If he had guessed correctly, the speed of the recovery of mana in this world would be terrifying.

    Although Lin Li seemed to have won the two battles effortlessly, he had also cast the World Sword, which was more powerful than the Light and Darkness Sword, twice. Each casting of the World Sword would result in arge consumption of mana. Lin Li managed to hang on and continue because he had arge amount of mana. Those who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm would probably be unable to continue with the battle after using this spell once.

    In this state, his mana had recovered at a shocking speed. What would happen if he meditated in this world of his? At the thought of meditation, Lin Li suddenly thought of the words ¡°Meditation Land¡±!

    In fact, after every mage reached a certain level, they would specially choose a ce that was the most suitable for his or her meditation and treat it as their Meditation Land. They would have all sorts of requirements for it too. For example, they were particr about safety, peace, and, most importantly, the abundance of magical elements. Thus, the mage could significantly increase the efficiency of meditation by meditating in the meditation ce of his own choice.

    Of course, even if a mage were to select carefully, they would not find an incredible Meditation Land in Anril. The good ones were all upied long ago by the various major forces. For example, the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council, the Holy Mountain of the Brilliance Shrine, and the Eternal Night Canyon of the Darkness Shrine. Other than those powerful forces, the mages of the other forces would also take the Meditation Land as an important point of consideration.

    The ce where the Tower of Dusk was built was actually not a suitable ce for a Meditation Land. However, Lin Li was wealthy enough to make up for theck of a ce for meditation. After obtaining the Throne of Darkness, he had more than enough Legendary magical crystals, which would be enough for him to create a Meditation Land.

 Chapter 1048 - Golden

    <h4>Chapter 1048: Golden</h4>

    After sensing the changes in the surrounding environment, Lin Li really suspected if this world was a Meditation Land created by Geresco. Of course, the strong magical waves and the highly concentrated magical elements did not mean that it was suitable for meditation. After all, meditation was unlike eating and drinking where one just had to swallow the food and water.

    For example, after the magic tides appeared, the density of magical elements in Anril increased greatly. However, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, it still wasn¡¯t suitable for being a Meditation Land of a mage, because the magical elements had been pouring into the mages¡¯ bodies by force instead of being actively guided by the mage and transformed into their

    own mana.

    That oue resulted in the emergence of pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. Although many of them had already broken through the bottleneck, many of those who were talented in magic were also ruined. In today¡¯s Anril, many of the mages who truly had foresight were either seizing the opportunity to increase their power or thinking of ways to control the magical elements and suppress the growth of their mana.

    Hence, even though there were powerful magical waves and an extremely high concentration of magical elements in this world, it was still not the Meditation Land that Lin Li had imagined. He was not extremely certain about it now, and he would only find out after giving it a try for himself.

    However, meditation in the sky would definitely be impossible as he would certainly be the target of the prehistoric magical beasts. Lin Li searched from the sky for a ce that seemed suitable enough before flying over andnding on the ground.

    Lin Li firstid out arge rm Array that would allow him to wake up from his meditative state in time if any uninvited guests appeared. After all, there were too many Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts in this world. Even if he was confident in his own strength, he did not dare to lower his guard at all lest he got defeated.

    After making those preparations, Lin Li could finally put his mind at ease. He sat down in an obscure spot, and swiftly entered a meditative state before beginning to try absorbing the magical elements in the space.

    The attempt almost made Lin Li jump in fright as it was simply too terrifying. He had merely taken the initiative to start, but the magical elements in the outside world already seemed to be surging into his body like the floodgates had been opened. Most importantly, he did not have to put in too much effort into converting the magical elements, as they were easily transformed into his own mana as if they were already his own.

    It had to be mentioned that that was an extremely rare phenomenon! If the process of meditation was described with an inappropriate analogy, meditation for mages was just like hunting where mages had to hunt and capture the magical elements in the space, and then put in effort to tame them before finally turning them into their own mana.

    Of course, this so-called taming also involved the issue of depth. The pseudo-Sanctuary-level mages in Anril now were considered imperfect because they could not achieve the desired use of mana even though they had already converted all the magical elements into mana.

    Hence, absorbing more magical elements did not mean that more mana could be produced. Even if all of the magical elements could be transformed into mana, it did not mean that one could use the mana effortlessly as they pleased.

    However, Lin Li couldpletely feel that the magical elements of this world were much more ¡°obedient¡± than the ones in Anril. In fact, Lin Li did not even have to go through the taming process, as those magical elements naturally became his mana, and werepliant to all hismands.

    <i>This is a Meditation Land, it¡¯s really Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land! Lin</i> Li was so excited that he almost fainted. He was worrying about umting his mana, but he did not expect to stumble upon Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land. The feeling was like receiving a pillow right when he was dozing off. Although he had only given it a try, he could tell from some calctions that the gain he would get from meditating here for an hour was almost as much as meditating for a day outside.

    An hour¡¯s gain was akin to a day¡¯s in the outside world. Even a mage with ordinary aptitude would be a genius mage with the help of the Meditation Land. Any mage who found out about such an incredible Meditation Land would probably go crazy.

    Truth be told, the Tower of Dusk was not built in a good location. After all, there were many local forces in the Breezy ins, and strategic locations had been upied by them. All along, Lin Li had been using Legendary magical crystals to create a suitable environment for meditation for the mages of the Tower of Dusk. In particr, the control crystal that Lin Li obtained when he explored the Sky Castle for the first time allowed the meditation efficiency of the mages of the Tower of Dusk to increase greatly.

    However, now that Lin Li obtained the Sky Castle, he naturally had to ce the control crystal in the Sky Castle¡¯s control center, but he couldn¡¯t possibly let all the mages go to the control center to meditate. Although the mages¡¯ meditation efficiency in the Sky Castle was astonishingly high, that was only impressive by the standards of the general crowd. Lin Li had been rather unsatisfied with that speed and efficiency, because he was the only one who knew how tight the time was.

    Now that Lin Li had such an incredible Meditation Land, he would no longer have to worry about the speed of increase in the strength of his subordinates. The Meditation Land itself would allow the mages of the Tower of Dusk to go through the process of mana umtion within the shortest possible time. For example, a mage who had just entered the Legendary-realm would probably require at least a year or two to umte enough mana to reach the peak of level-21. However, if he were to enter the Meditation Land, it would only take a few to a dozen days. He would then be able to prepare for a breakthrough.

    However, when Lin Li was excitedly fantasizing about a better future, he suddenly felt a violent vibration on the ground, and he soon received an alert from the rm Array.

    Lin Li hurriedly stood up and looked in the direction indicated by the warning alert, only to see arge bunch of behemoths that were scurrying towards him with heavy footsteps.

    <i>Damn it, the prehistoric magical beasts again!</i> Lin Li did not curse out of fear of fighting the prehistoric magical beasts, but because their appearance made him think of a problem that he had to face.

    Since there were many Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts in this Meditation Land, Lin Li obviously would not feelfortable about letting his subordinatese here to meditate, for he was afraid that they might get killed by the prehistoric magical beasts. Although Lin Li could guard them for the first two rounds, it would not be sustainable in the long run. Besides, if they were to really get into scuffle, no mage would have the ability to meditate in that environment!

    Lin Li finally understood why there were that many prehistoric magical beasts in this world. Even if he kept a rabbit in the cage, it would probably turn into a rabbit of the Sanctuary-realm after more than 1,000 years as long as it wasn¡¯t devoured by the magical beasts.

    At the same time, Lin Li also knew why Geresco would ce the Meditation Land after the Barbarous Arena. Only after going through the training in the Barbarous Arena and increasing one¡¯s strength to a certain level could one survive in the Meditation Land. Otherwise, entering in advance would simply be courting death.

    When Lin Li was thinking about that, the bunch of prehistoric magical beasts that had disturbed Lin Li likewise rushed to the front and revealed their true appearance. They turned out to be the Behemoth Beasts that orcs worshiped as holy beasts.

    In the world of Anril, wyrms were known as the kings of the sky, while the Behemoth Beasts were known as the overlords of the maind. They had extremely strong bodies and massive power that could allow them to tten a hill. Besides, their defensive power was not inferior to that of the wyrms, either. Be it with physical attacks or offensive spells, it was rather difficult to break their iparably tough skin.

    There were probably dozens of Behemoth Beasts approaching, and the one in the middle should be their king. Their bodies were obviously taller and stronger than the other Behemoth Beasts. The body of the Behemoth King was dozens of meters tall, and had a gilded exterior as if it was cast in gold. Glistening under the bright sunlight, its ferocious image seemed even more prestigious.

    The Golden Behemoth!

    When he saw the Behemoth King¡¯s appearance, Lin Li¡¯s face turned solemn. The Golden Behemoths were one of the most noble ones in the line of session of the Behemoths. They were just like the royal High Elves. Not every Behemoth King was a Golden Behemoth, but every Golden Behemoth was definitely far stronger than the average Behemoth King.

    Legends had it that during the prehistoric times, Golden Behemoths were at the prime of their prosperity, and they even once became the thirdrgest race in addition to the ancient wyrms and the Titans at one point. However, for some reason, the prosperity of the Behemothssted only 1,000 years, and then they gradually declined due to the decrease in the number of Golden Behemoths.

    Based on its mana fluctuations, the Golden Behemoth in front of Lin Li was probably at the peak of level-28, which seemed to be a bit worse than hisst opponent in the Barbarous Arena. However, coupled with the powerful defensive power, the Golden Behemoth definitely had the qualifications to be Lin Li¡¯s toughest opponent yet.

    Lin Li guessed that the group of Behemoths appeared there probably because they were attracted here by the two major battles that urred previously. Sanctuary-level magical crystals were not only useful to Lin Li, they also had a fatal attraction to other magical beasts. He reckoned that the Behemoth Beasts rushed over because they were intending to reap the benefits from the battles.

    However, regardless of the reason, Lin Li did not intend to escape, and the Behemoth Beasts obviously wouldn¡¯t let him off, either. A battle between them was inevitable.

    The Golden Behemoth roared into the sky, and the Behemoth Beasts around it immediately scattered in all directions to surround Lin Li, clearly preventing Lin Li from fleeing.

    However, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, that waspletely unnecessary. If he wanted to flee, he could just directly fly up into the air. The Behemoth Beasts were known as the overlords of thend, but even the Golden Behemoths did not have the ability to fly, so there was no way they could stop him from escaping via flight.

    Clearly, the Golden Behemoth did not know that the small, wingless figure in front of it could fly away from its head at any time. Seeing that its underlings had already surrounded Lin Li, it immediatelyunched an attack on Lin Li nimbly. In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of Lin Li, and its massive ws were almost covering the sky above Lin Li¡¯s head. It then smashed downwards forcefully with a loud boom.

    Boom! With a deafening sound and a violent tremor, the Golden Behemoth formed a huge pit in the ground, and it was as if a meteor had hit the ground.

    Of course, Lin Li would not be killed that easily, and his body had already shot out like a sharp arrow right before the Golden Behemoth¡¯s wsnded. However, the Elemental Shield on his body had also been struck by the debris darting everywhere, and was shaking uncontrobly. That situation made him feel bbergasted. The debris propelled upwards was as powerful as Legendary-level magic spells. The Elemental Shields of ordinary mages probably would not be able to sustain such attacks.

    While flying, Lin Li suddenly turned over, and pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at the Golden Behemoth, after which a burst of golden mes surged towards the Golden Behemoth. With the appearance of the golden wave of mes, the surrounding temperature suddenly soared, causing the trees to be charred, and the ground in the path of the mes had turned into red-hotva.

    However, in the face of such a terrifying wave of mes, the Golden Behemoth had no intention of dodging, and it chased Lin Li instead. Its massive body bulldozed through the mes with a loud boom. If it had been some other magical beast, it would have been burnt into ashes. Even ancient wyrms probably wouldn¡¯t dare to go hard against it. However, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s gilded figure was intact, and even its fur was not burnt by the fire.

    Fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental condition was tough enough for him not to be frightened by this terrifying scene. When he saw the Golden Behemoth charging out from the mes, he immediately turned around, and flew in another direction without hesitation. Lin Li¡¯s strategy was the same as in thest battle, and that was to kill the ordinary Behemoths before focusing on battling the Golden Behemoth.

    However, although there were no Sanctuary-level Behemoth Beasts, their skin were all thick and coarse, thus making it difficult to deal with them. Lin Li was not afraid of agile opponents like the Tempest Beasts, which he could easily defeat as long as he seized the right opportunity. However, beasts with thick skin like the Behemoth Beasts were quite a headache for Lin Li. Even if he bombarded them with powerful magic spells, it would only produce a tenth of the results that he would usually obtain. In order to kill them, he would have to put in 10 times the effort.

    Lin Li rushed to two Behemoths and pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, after which two thunderbolts that had the diameter of a bucket sted the heads of the Behemoth Beasts. However, they simply shook their heads; they had merely be giddy from the attack. Besides, they soon came to their senses, and roared as they swung their ws at Lin Li.

 Chapter 1049 - World Sword

    <h4>Chapter 1049: World Sword</h4>

    <i>Damn it!</i> Lin Li cursed, and thrust the Helios¡¯ Scepter into the ground forcefully, after which two sharp stone spikes suddenly emerged from the ground. His goal was the stomachs of two Behemoth Beasts. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, no matter how coarse their skin was, their stomach would definitely be their weakness. The sharp stone spikes could poke holes in steel, let alone bodies made of flesh.

    However, the oue made Lin Li realize that he should never treat the bodies of the Behemoth Beasts as flesh. The two sharp stone spikes merely overturned the two Behemoth Beasts and left a white mark on their abdomens without causing any bleeding at all.

    At this moment, the Golden Behemoth had already caught up with Lin Li, thus leaving him with no choice but to temporarily give up attacking the two Behemoth Beasts andunch his Space Robe immediately. He then shed in another direction. However, this time, Lin Li also knew how tough the skin of the Behemoth Beasts was, and thus did not inspect or test it any further. Instead, he immediately whipped out the Light and Darkness Sword, and shed the Behemoth Beasts without any mercy.

    The defensive power of the Behemoth Beasts was definitely at the top in the entire Anril. Although Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword allowed him to easily kill a few Behemoth Beasts in one fell swoop, it was not as easy as shing and chopping them up. None of the Behemoth Beasts that died were dismembered. They had all died because their internal organs were destroyed by the Light and Darkness Sword.

    Besides, the Light and Darkness Sword was considered one of the most powerful weapons that Lin Li had. Other than its astonishing power, it also had a high consumption of mana. Usually, Lin Li would use the Light and Darkness Sword only when facing opponents that were in the Sanctuary-realm. However, he had to use it on the Behemoth Beasts that had yet to reach the Sanctuary-realm.

    Fortunately, this world was the Meditation Land of Geresco, and the surrounding magical elements were extremely abundant. Casting the Light and Darkness Sword was not too taxing for Lin Li. However, he was particrly displeased because it was a waste of his powerful sword, yet he would not be able to kill the Behemoth Beasts without using it.

    Lin Li continuouslyunched powerful attacks in front, bombarding the Behemoth Beasts surrounding him while the Golden Behemoth roared in anger and chased after him. Unfortunately, the Golden Behemoth was slow even though it was not clumsy. As long as Lin Li put his mind to it and focused on dodging, the Golden Behemoth could only chase after him.

    The Golden Behemoth did not bring many Behemoth Beasts with it. Although dozens of Behemoth Beasts was definitely a staggering number in Anril, they only managed tost for a second under Lin Li¡¯s full-swing massacre before being ughtered.

    At this moment, Lin Li was finally willing to face the Golden Behemoth, but it had be even more terrifying this time. Seeing its underlings killed one by one in front of it, the Golden Behemoth would have exploded in anger if not for its thick skin[1].

    At this moment, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body was emanating raging mes, and dense dark gold ancient runes began to appear on its skin, causing the surrounding air to be dyed with a golden halo, as if shrouded in a golden mist.

    Seeing the changes the Golden Behemoth was undergoing, Lin Li knew that he had gone too far this time as he caused the Golden Behemoth to advance in a state of anger. He wondered if any of the Behemoths he killed were the mates or children of the Golden Behemoth. Of course, even if the Golden Behemoth suddenly advanced, it would not make Lin Li feel terrified. He would at most regard it as hisst opponent in the Barbarous Arena.

    Before the Golden Behemoth moved, Lin Li swung the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and a Six-pointed Star Array appeared in front of him, followed by a ray of Divine Punishment Thunder, which sted at the chest of the Golden Behemoth. The power of the Divine Punishment Thunder was enough to destroy a mountain peak, but Lin Li knew that it could not hurt the Golden Behemoth at all. What he needed was to make the Golden Behemoth feel numb because of the lightning.

    If other mages found out that Lin Li had cast such a top Legendary-level magic spell for the sake of achieving an anesthetic effect, they would probably fly into a rage and scold him for being a wastrel. However, Lin Li knew that given the high defensive power of the Golden Behemoth, low-level thunder-series magic spells would not bring him the result he wanted at all. Only magic spells like the Divine Punishment Thunder would be likely to affect the enemy.

    Among all the elemental magic spells, thunder-series magic spells had always been known for their sharpness and power. Their attacking speed was simr to that of the Holy Light Magic spells, and it was almost impossible for one to evade it unless they could move in a sh like Lin Li or attach their bodies to the void.

    Due to their destructive nature, the power of the thunder-series magic spells surpassed their counterparts. At the same time, thunder-series magic spells also came with paralyzing effects that would usually decide the oue during an intense battle.

    From that point alone, thunder magic spells seemed to be the best option for mages. However, nothing in this world was perfect. Despite having such an attribute, thunder magic spells had never been the mainstream magic spell for the ages. The greatest reason was the difficulty in casting.

    Although it was said that one would never be able to evade once their opponent cast thunder-series magic spells, and would suffer great damage, the casting duration was rather long; hence, the process of spell casting might easily be interrupted by the opponent. If magic could not be cast, what was the point of it being powerful? Thus, ice element magic that was powerful enough and easy to cast was the favorite among the mages.

    However, for someone at Lin Li¡¯s level, it was almost no longer a problem. Sanctuary Masters had already reached the stage of being able to cast instantaneous magic spells thanks to their mastery over and familiarity with all sorts ofws. For most Sanctuary-mages, casting spells was as simple as developing a thought, unless they were spells that were near the God-level like the one Geresco had left behind for sealing the spacetime rift. Only those would require incantations or the condensation of mana.

    In particr, Lin Li himself developed in the direction of mastering the World Laws, unlike most Sanctuary Masters who chose to focus on a single domain. Now, he could create a World Domain, and had mastered the various World Laws to a significant extent. Magic spells like the Divine Punishment Thunder would not be difficult for him.

    The Golden Behemoth did not have any time to react, and a purple-golden thunderbolt that had a holy and menacing aura immediately bombarded its massive body. Countless snake-like arcs of lightning immediately darted out of the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body and leaped around with cackling sounds. Its appearance alone was hair-raising.

    The Divine Punishment thunder was absolutely powerful, as its name suggested. However, as Lin Li had expected, after the Golden Behemoth was hit by the Divine Punishment Thunder, Lin Li realized that it did not actually cause any damage to the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body upon closer inspection.

    However, Lin Li did not expect the Divine Punishment Thunder to be able to strike the Golden Behemoth down in one go. Despite the powerful magic defense of the Golden Behemoth, the Divine Punishment Thunder could bring about the numbing effect that he wanted. That fact alone was considered extraordinary. However, Lin Li did not carry high hopes for that small request. After all, luck had never been reliable, and real strength was the deciding factor.

    Hence, after casting the Divine Punishment Thunder, Lin Li did not stop to check the situation. Instead, he followed the figure straight up into the sky. At the same time, arge amount of mana in his body surged into the Helios¡¯ Scepter rapidly, causing the gemstone on the tip of the scepter to emit a dazzling light. The light almost shrouded his body as if a small sun had risen in mid-air.

    At the same time, Lin Li had acutely sensed that the Golden Behemoth had indeed been very unfortunate to have entered a state of numbing under the st of the Divine Punishment Thunder. Although the duration onlysted for a pathetic one-tenth of a second in the face of the Golden Behemoth¡¯s resistance, that was already an extremely wonderful opportunity for Lin Li.

    Lin Li knew that he had to seize the opportunity. Hence, he immediately pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter downwards, while the light from the gemstone immediately began condensing, and turning into a giant sword that could split the world open. It then shed at the Golden Behemoth that was in a state of paralysis.

    Although it was also a World Sword, Lin Li had put in more mana into this sword than usually. Even mountains that were made of steel would be shed and broken by the sword. Even the strongest fortress in Anril would be cut into half by it.

    However, when the powerful sword that would amaze and intimidate everyone first appeared in the world, it suffered a huge setback because of the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body.

    The de of the giant sword shed at the huge head of the Golden Behemoth, making a deafening sound that sounded as if heaven and earth copsed. However, the Golden Behemoth had merely slipped into the mud, and the shock wave generated by the strong collision caused arge pit that was a few meters deep to form in the ground. The trees in the surroundings quaked and fell in all directions, forming a terrifyingly massive nk area.

    On the other hand, the World Sword that condensed all the World Laws that Lin Li had mastered appeared to be as fragile as ss after challenging the Golden Behemoth¡¯s strong defensive power. It was immediately covered in dense cracks, and countless fragments even fell off and flew around.

    [1] It¡¯s a Chinese pun. Thick skin refers to being shameless.

 Chapter 1050 - Reincarnation

    <h4>Chapter 1050: Reincarnation</h4>

    Although each shard that sttered was only the size of a fingernail, it would cause a ground-shaking explosion when it fell into the surrounding forest, and its power was probably not inferior to that of Legendary-level magic spells. It was clear how terrifying of a power the World Sword contained. However, despite being terrifying, it could notpare to the Golden Behemoth, which was simply devastating.

    <i>This is outrageous!</i> Upon sight of that, Lin Li¡¯s eyeballs were almost going to fall out. Even an ancient wyrm would be cut into pieces when it collided with his World Sword. However, the sword which seemed to be able to split the world open could not give the Golden Behemoth a single wound at all.

    Lin Li had already known that the Golden Behemoth¡¯s defense was incredibly high, but he had not expected it to be so high that even a full-blown attack of his could not break it. How could he continue? Lin Li was incredibly frustrated. <i>Do I really have to flee from the sky!?</i>

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    Although the Golden Behemoth wasn¡¯t heavily injured by Lin Li¡¯s World Sword, having a strong defense didn¡¯t mean that it was numb to pain. Clearly, the blow from the World Sword made the Golden Behemoth experience unprecedented pain, which surprisingly caused it to go berserk when coupled with the anger of having its underlings get killed.

    After the deafening roar, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s aura was raised to a greater height, and the golden light that its body emitted became even more substantial. It was as if it was shrouded in ayer of golden mist. Immediately afterwards, the Golden Behemoth suddenly jumped out of therge pit, and swung its massive front ws as they smacked hard against the World Sword.

    Boom! A series of explosions sounded. In less than a second, the Golden Behemoth sted the World Sword dozens of times.

    Initially, the World Sword was already covered with cracks because of the recoil, and it could be considered to be barely maintaining its form of a giant sword. However, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s crazy attacks caused the Laws of the World Sword to eventually disintegrate until it became unrestrained. The massive amount of mana erupted in an instant too.

    The World Sword contained almost half of Lin Li¡¯s mana and all the Laws that constituted the world. After being blown apart by the Golden Behemoth, all of its power erupted like a nuclear bomb. Amidst the massive and deafening roar, as well as the violent shaking of the world, arge mushroom-shaped cloud rose in the air.

    Even Lin Li, who was standing in mid-air, was unable to stabilize his body under the powerful impact. He had no choice but to retreat continuously. By the time he finally stabilized his body, he looked at the giant mushroom-shaped cloud, only to gasp in shock.

    This time, Lin Li finally understood why the Behemoths could contend with the ancient wyrms and the Titans under the lead of the Golden Behemoths. If there were enough of such Golden Behemoths in the prehistoric times, it probably would¡¯ve been possible to annihte the ancient wyrms and Titans.

    Just as Lin Li was being incredibly astonished by the toughness of the Golden Behemoth, he was suddenly rmed, and he almost subconsciously activated the shing power of the Space Robe. Almost at the same time, a golden figure emerged from the mushroom-shaped cloud that had yet to disperse, and darted towards Lin Li like a cannonball.

    When Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared in another location, he saw a wisp of shadow that he had left in his original position being dispersed by the Golden Behemoth. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat because of that scene. He didn¡¯t think that he would be able to withstand the Golden Behemoth¡¯s p.

    Although the Golden Behemoth couldn¡¯t fly, its strong body and jumping abilities could not be ignored. Lin Li had originally been already hundreds of meters above ground, but the Golden Behemoth managed to catch up with him after just taking one leap.

    However, as soon as Lin Li opened his eyes, he saw the Golden Behemoth that had a ferocious gaze. With a roar of indignation, it crashed like a golden shooting star. However, in less than a minute, the giant golden cannonball shot up again.

    <i>I¡¯ll evade again!</i> At the thought of it, the shing function of the Space Robe was activated once again, leaving an afterimage of the Golden Behemoth in the same ce.

    The front ws of the Golden Behemoth dispersed Lin Li¡¯s afterimage with a gust of wind.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The Golden Behemoth was filled with fury, and its gilded body seemed to be covered in ayer of red. However, no matter how angry and indignant it was, it could only stare at Lin Li ferociously from afar as it turned into a meteor and fell to the ground.

    In fact, Lin Li¡¯s heart was also full of helplessness as he watched the Golden Behemoth fall to the ground. He didn¡¯t want to continue struggling with the Golden Behemoth, either, but the other party¡¯s defense was simply incredible. Even the World Sword could not bombard it, and it wasn¡¯t an easy thing to kill the other party.

    Of course, if it really reached the point where it was a life-and-death battle, Lin Li would still have a way to kill the Golden Behemoth. However, the problem was that this was, after all, different from the battle that he had with Osric in the control center of the Sky Castle back then. Lin Li had another way out, and it was only just a matter of choice.

    Hence, Lin Li now wanted to kill the Golden Behemoth, but he didn¡¯t want to pay too high of a price, which resulted in a somewhat awkward situation where they could not hit each other or do anything to each other, yet both of them refused to give up just like that.

    The Golden Behemoth¡¯s body was indeed very strong. When it fell from a height of hundreds of meters, there was no buffer when it came into contact with the ground; in fact, it even got propelled into the air again by the rebounding force. When looked at from afar, one would see streams of golden light being continuouslyunched into the air.

    Lin Li shed several times in mid-air, and felt that the mana that he had used up when casting the World Sword was almost restored in a short period of time. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh again. Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land was truly incredible. Only a Meditation Land as such could give rise to so many incredible prehistoric magical beasts.

    <i>Damn it, I refuse to believe that there isn¡¯t a single weak spot in your body!</i> Seeing that the Golden Behemoth was wailing and propelling itself upwards again, Lin Li did not sh again. Instead, he dodged towards the side a little, while a ball of light emerged from the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand at the same time. Bolts of lightning appeared in the air, forming a huge Destructive Thunder Purgatory that trapped the Golden Behemoth.

    However, the Destructive Thunder Purgatory was just like a weak cobweb in the face of the Golden Behemoth which managed to tear it into pieces with a swing of its ws. Nheless, it managed to offset some of the Golden Behemoth¡¯s upward force this time. After all, it was only relying on its jumping power, and could not really stay in the air.

    Immediately afterwards, the Helios¡¯ Scepter shed again, and a World Sword that was far inferior to the one from before yet was much more insidious appeared below the Golden Behemoth. The area that the sword was pointing at was the Golden Behemoth¡¯s an*s.

    It was not that Lin Li was perverted, but he really couldn¡¯t think of any other spot in the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body that could be considered a weakness to be exploited. Of course, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s eyes should be considered a weak point in its defense, but the problem was that the Golden Behemoth was not a fool. How could it allow anyone to poke its eyes?

    Now that the Golden Behemoth was in a moment of rage, it leaped into the air and attacked Lin Li without caring about anything else, thus giving Lin Li a chance to attack. Otherwise, if the Golden Behemoth were to stay on the ground, Lin Li might not really have the opportunity to attack <i>that spot</i>.

    After the World Sword appeared, it did not attack the Golden Behemoth, and instead hovered in midair, waiting for the falling Golden Behemoth to sit up. It was an utterly shameless move, but of course it would only work if the Golden Behemoth took the bait.

    Generally speaking, no matter how great the power one might have, there would be no way one could exert it in midair without an ability to fly. Hence, the Golden Behemoth could not stop itself from falling, and could no longer change the trajectory of its fall, especially since its body was so huge. The sheer size of its body caused it to fall quickly, and there was no time for it to adjust its posture at all.

    Finally, under Lin Li¡¯s close attention, the Golden Behemoth¡¯s buttocks collided with the World Sword. Truth be told, Lin Li could not tolerate the sight at this point anymore. It was simply a tragedy.

    However, there was no piercing sound this time. Seated above the de of the World Sword, the Golden Behemoth fell together with it. Besides, due to the fact that the World Sword had an upward force, it seemed to hold the Golden Behemoth up, and thus it didn¡¯t fall to the ground as fast as it did just now.

    <i>Are you kidding me? It has such a strong defense in that spot too!?</i> Lin Li dared not believe his eyes at all. Of course, in reality, Lin Li could already feel from the World Sword that he controlled that ayer of power was shrouded around the Golden Behemoth, and was the very same power that blocked the World Sword.

    That power was the golden light on the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body, which resembled thebat energy of the Sword Sages. However, if one looked closely, one would find that each particle that converged into the golden light was an ancient mysterious rune that contained a powerful force.

    Not only did Lin Li¡¯s World Sword not manage to break through thatyer of power and pierce the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body, it was gradually eroded and contaminated by the ancient mysterious runes that caused that power to be even stronger.

    Noticing this problem, Lin Li was beyond frustrated. It was no longer a problem of the thickness of its skin, but rather that theyer of power caused the Golden Behemoth to have no weakness at all. Lin Li believed that even if he could find a way to stab the Golden Behemoth¡¯s eyes, the result would probably be exactly the same as now.

    <i>Damn it, this is forcing me to do it brutally!</i> Lin Li gritted his teeth furiously, and waved his hand to remove the World Sword that was stabbed under the Golden Behemoth¡¯s buttocks. At the same time, he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter with his other hand, and instantly opened his World Domain. Immediately afterwards, he saw a ck and white Sr Sphere that quickly emerged from his World Domain before darting towards the Golden Behemoth that was still in midair.

    The ck-and-white Sr Sphere was thebination of light and darkness, just like the Angels of Light and Dark that Lin Li had once created. As long as the bnce of power of light and darkness was slightly altered, the conflict between the two powers would trigger a violent explosion. However, the power of this explosion was definitely not enough to be used against the Golden Behemoth. After all, even a full-blown strike with Lin Li¡¯s World Sword could not break the defense of the Golden Behemoth.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to st the Golden Behemoth to death, and instead had another n in mind. One by one, ck-and-white Sr Spheres began sting at the Golden Behemoth in mid-air, and sent violent explosions around its huge body. Of course, the explosions could not break the Golden Behemoth¡¯s defense, but how could it not fall when being bombarded hard in midair?

    Through the analysis of the mysterious ancient runes, Lin Li discovered a secret in the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body, and that was that the mysterious ancient runes had a subtle connection with the Laws of the earth. Although they did not belong to the Laws of the earth, they acted as a constant source of power for the Golden Behemoth, which allowed the Golden Behemoth to remain highly resistant to attacks.

    There was almost no limit to the defensive power of the Golden Behemoth which was on the ground. No matter how strong the blow might be, it would be able to increase its defensive power as long as it was on the ground. As long as the earth was not destroyed, itsyer of defense would never be broken unless its connection with the earth was broken.

    Lin Li was also inspired by the scheming and perverted move just now. If he wanted to make the Golden Behemoth lose contact with the earth, he naturally had to keep it in the air. Therefore, Lin Li came up with such a move to make sure that the Golden Behemoth never touched the ground.

    Of course, even if its connection with the earth was momentarily severed, it did not mean that the Golden Behemoth¡¯s defense would immediately crumble. Unless Lin Li used such a means to keep the Golden Behemoth in the air, its defense would probably take a year or two to weaken.

    However, Lin Li did not have that much time to spend with the Golden Behemoth. Hence, after keeping the Golden Behemoth in the air, he put away the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and reced it with a silver crossbow that was covered in dark gold mageweaths. The crossbow was the crossbow reincarnation that he had specially created to mimic the characteristics of the Stars of Fury so as to match the debris of the stars.

 Chapter 1051 - Undercurrent

    <h4>Chapter 1051: Undercurrent</h4>

    All along, Lin Li had never used the power of the debris of the stars from the time he started receiving guidance from Geresco¡¯s incarnation to the time he entered the Barbarous Arena to fight and train, because what he needed was to try to improve his own strength through various methods. Hence, he naturally could not rely on the power of external objects too often.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s strength could no longer be improved through such battles now. What he currently needed was the Meditation Land that Geresco had left behind, not fights with Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts. However, due to the fact that he had been deliberately refraining from using the debris of the stars, he almost somewhat ignored their existence.

    Now that Lin Li was facing the Golden Behemoth whose defense he couldn¡¯t break at all despite using all his might, he finally recalled the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that he had. In terms of sharp and powerful attacks, no magical weapon in Anril couldpare to the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. If there was one, it¡¯d be the debris of the starsbined with the Stars of Fury.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li did not have the Stars of Fury, and only owned a Crossbow of Reincarnation that he had built with his own hands and which had some of the characteristics of the Stars of Fury. Actually, apart from the Stars of Fury, thebination of the Crossbow of Reincarnation and the debris of the stars was probably the strongest in the entire Anril.

    After taking out the Crossbow of Reincarnation, the cold Pr Snow, burning hot Raging mes, violent Thunderbolt, and Nothingness appeared in his hand. They even changed into crossbow bolts that flickered with colorful light. While controlling the ck-and-white Sr Spheres to keep the Golden Behemoth in midair, Lin Li loaded the debris of the stars into the crossbow one by one.

    As the debris of the stars pieces were loaded, the crossbow was also visibly changing as the dark golden mageweaths began glistening radiantly and emitting a massive and terrifying aura. It was as if the gods had descended into the world at this moment. Under the influence of this aura, thend and sky seemed to have changed in color, just as if they were frightened. The dark clouds rolling in the sky seemed to be reaching the ground, and arge amount of magical elements converged to form a terrifying storm.

    Releasing four pieces of the debris of the stars was not Lin Li¡¯s limit, but it was the limit of the Crossbow of Reincarnation. After all, it was only an imitation of the Stars of Fury. If he added another piece, the Crossbow of Reincarnation would probably copse and disintegrate before the attack could beunched.

    At this moment, the Golden Behemoth, which was fixed in mid-air, also seemed to feel the threat from the aura of the debris of the stars. It roared and twisted its body desperately, as if it wanted to fall back to the ground as soon as possible. However, being in the sky, it did not have anything to leverage on, and could only contain a powerful force that it could not exert.

    If that blow of his turned out to be ineffective too, Lin Li would have no choice but to admit that the Meditation Land was not fated with him! While thinking about it, Lin Li pointed the Crossbow of Reincarnation at the Golden Behemoth that was fixed in mid-air. Lin Li himself was not too confident in this strike¡¯s effectiveness. After all, he didn¡¯t have the real Stars of Fury, and what he was holding was far from being able to exert the maximum power of the debris of the stars.

    Boom!

    Lin Li gently pulled the crossbow trigger, and with a crisp string sound, four intertwined rays of light shot out from the Crossbow of Reincarnation, striking the Golden Behemoth that was struggling in the air.

    That arrow caused the entire sky to lose its color, as if the only brilliance between the sky and the earth was that of the crossbow bolts.

    ¡°Arwooooo...¡±

    Sensing the great threat, the Golden Behemoth let out a groundbreaking roar, and the golden light that enveloped its entire body immediately intensified. It was even concentrated in the front, and was facing the shocking arrow[1] that darted towards the sky.

    With the loud roar, the golden light scattered, and the light condensed by the four pieces of the debris of the stars blew away the golden light that had condensed into a giant shield, and shot into the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body. The Golden Behemoth did not wail or cry, and was killed in an instant. The golden light that shrouded its body also surged into the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body as if it was frightened.

    ¡°Phew.¡± Lin Li finally let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Golden Behemoth had gone berserk and leaped into the sky. Otherwise, even if the four pieces of the debris of the stars emerged at the same time, it might be difficult to break its defense.

    Sensing that the Golden Behemoth had died, Lin Li stopped the bombardment, and flew close to the Golden Behemoth¡¯s corpse, taking it into the Ring of Endless Storms. Although Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm contained arge amount of precious materials and even the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, the Golden Behemoth was, after all, very rare, and also had a useful function. Besides, Lin Li also wanted to study the mysterious ancient runes on it and find out how they gave the Golden Behemoth such an incredible defensive ability.

    The disappearance of Golden Behemoth¡¯s signs of vitality seemed to be a very huge warning to the other prehistoric magical beasts. Lin Li couldpletely feel through his mental strength that there were still some other prehistoric magical beasts watching at the edge of the battlefield, and all of them were now speeding up and leaving the ce. On the other hand, the prehistoric magical beasts whose territories were near the battlefield also quickly moved as far away as possible at this moment.

    Indeed, with Golden Behemoth¡¯s unbelievably strong defense, even in such a world where the prehistoric magical beasts were everywhere, it was definitely an existence that stood at the top of the pyramid. Now that the prehistoric viper was dead, and so were the Tempest Beasts and the tough Golden Behemoth, they all knew that there had to be a terrifying existence there.

    After putting away the Golden Behemoth¡¯s corpse, Lin Li returned to the ground, but he did not immediately use the Meditation Land to restore his mana. Instead, he began to check the Crossbow of Reincarnation in his hand in bewilderment. Although the Golden Behemoth had been hovering in midair, and could not leverage on the power from the earth, the power exerted by the Crossbow of Reincarnation and the four pieces of the debris of the stars was actually somewhat beyond his expectations.

    Lin Li had built the Crossbow of Reincarnation with his own hands, and thus he understood it very well. Hence, he was well aware what kind of power the Crossbow of Reincarnation could exert. After all, it was just a replica that imitated a very small part of the characteristics of the Stars of Fury.

    That was the reason for Lin Li¡¯sck of confidence in the power of four pieces of the debris of the stars beingunched together at the very beginning. If possible, he would have evenunched all seven pieces of the debris of the stars together. In his opinion, even if thebination of the replica and the four pieces of the debris of the stars could break through the defense of the Golden Behemoth, it wouldn¡¯t be easy, and they might only seriously injure the Golden Behemoth.

    However, in reality, the four pieces of the debris of the stars had blown away the defense of the mysterious ancient magic runes before prating the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body unhindered. Lin Li was obviously surprised. Although it was far inferior to the Stars of Fury, the performance of the Crossbow of Reincarnation had undoubtedly reached 1% of the power of the Stars of Fury this time aspared to 0.1% previously.

    Althoughpared to the Stars of Fury, the replica was still far behind, it was akin to a direct tenfold increase in performance of the Crossbow of Reincarnation this time. The tenfold difference was manifested in the debris of the stars, which was absolutely terrifying.

    Lin Li carefully examined the Crossbow of Reincarnation, and felt that the materials, mageweaths, and arrays didn¡¯t seem to be any different from before. All of a sudden, he recalled when he¡¯d first explored the Sky Castle and encountered the Stars of Fury that was condensed with mana in thest realm of the Seven-Realm Spiral.

    At that time, Lin Li had also used the Crossbow of Reincarnation and three pieces of the debris of the stars to barely defeat the mana-condensed Stars of Fury. Lin Li remembered that when he had been collecting the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, a ball of something flew into the Crossbow of Reincarnation from the Stars of Fury replica that had been dispersed by a blow. It seemed that the increase in the performance of the Crossbow of Reincarnation was very likely because of the thing that had fused with the Crossbow of Reincarnation back then.

    Having understood that, Lin Li stopped dwelling on it. Anyway, the change in the Crossbow of Reincarnation brought no harm to him. In fact, it even allowed him to have an additional attacking method that was even stronger than others.

    The death of the prehistoric viper, the Tempest Beasts, and the Golden Behemoth made the area where Lin Li was located almost a forbidden ce in the eyes of the other prehistoric magical beasts. Lin Li¡¯s purpose of visit was not to hunt the prehistoric magical beasts, so he naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered to attack them. Instead, he focused on enjoying the benefits this Meditation Land brought.

    However, deep down, Lin Li was still troubled by a question. Did Geresco implement all of those things in the inverted tower purely for the sake of giving him the power to deal with those spacetime rifts in the near future? Although reality didn¡¯t seem to conflict with this assumption, Lin Li vaguely felt that Geresco¡¯s purpose did not seem to be as simple as that.

    Lin Li¡¯s hunch intensified when he reached the third floor of the Inverted Tower and entered the Meditation Land. The current setup of these three levels¡ªwhich included guidance, followed by battles to hone his skills, andstly a meditation ground for the umtion of mana¡ªalone seemed to be a chain process that was orderly and systematic. Even Lin Li did not know what kind of situation he would be pushed into if he followed the steps.

    Of course, despite having such a huge doubt in mind, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t give up all this¡ªat least not for the time being, as it seemed that Geresco¡¯s purpose for now was to help him improve as quickly as possible. As for what kind of problems he¡¯d face after his strength was raised to a certain level, he would have to leave it forter.

    Lin Li stayed for almost a month in Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land, during which time he gained way more than what the average person would achieve in several years or even more than a decade. Through a month of meditation, Lin Li¡¯s mana had umted to a rather terrifying degree. Although he was still stuck at the peak of level-27, his umtion of pure mana was simply at the top of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Meanwhile, things could be considered peaceful in the Breezy ins. It was as if the entry of the Gilded Kingdom did not result in any impact on the Breezy ins. Of course, that was only what it seemed on the surface. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it an undercurrent. Actually, everyone knew that the Breezy ins was about to change, so no matter how big or small the change might be, they were all secretly preparing for it.

    After entering the Breezy ins, the Gilded Kingdom immediately began to swallow the various local forces in the Breezy ins. Until now, no one knew how many forces of the Breezy ins secretly supported the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the various forces in the Breezy ins were gradually divided into three portions. One portion of them chose to support the Gilded Kingdom, while another portion remained loyal to the Tower of Dusk, and the remaining portion were neutral fence-sitters who were just waiting to see what happened so that they could go with the flow.

    After takeover and getting close to the local forces of the Breezy ins, the development of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins began to get on track. They sessfully integrated into the Breezy ins, allowing themselves to gain a considerable level of authority to speak in the Breezy ins despite being a foreign force.

    It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that the development of the Gilded Kingdom should affect the Tower of Dusk the most. After all, before the Gilded Kingdom entered the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk already had a dominant position in the region, and even forces like the Mithril Alliance and the others had already submitted to the Tower of Dusk. The appearance of the Gilded Kingdom and their actions during this period of time were almost considered a rebellion challenging the status of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, in the face of all the moves of the Gilded Kingdom, the Tower of Dusk had not reacted at all. They simply focused on managing their businesses, which confused the other forces of the Breezy ins as it didn¡¯t seem like the Tower of Dusk¡¯s usual style of handling things. They wondered if the Tower of Dusk was also afraid of the power of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Gavin, Basel, and other senior members of the Tower of Dusk were the only ones who knew that the so-called dominant ruling position was not of any practical use to the current Tower of Dusk. Previously, Lin Li wanted all the forces to submit to him, but it wasn¡¯t because he wanted anything from them, but rather because he wanted to ensure that the development of the Tower of Dusk would not be hindered by anything.

    No matter how the Gilded Kingdom developed and gained more authority, the Tower of Dusk would not bother with them as long as they did not touch their bottom line. It was just like adults letting children y freely as long as they didn¡¯t affect the adults. If they did, they would have to receive a beating.

    [1] Apparently four bolts turned into an arrow.

 Chapter 1052 - Fleet

    <h4>Chapter 1052: Fleet</h4>

    In particr, the Tower of Dusk now had a Sanctuary-level president and the Sky Castle, which was the High Elves¡¯ most powerful war weapon. Such power was enough for them to be above all in the Breezy ins. Unification would mean that they were all subjected to the same rule on the same level, but now the Tower of Dusk had a supreme position, just like the Ashen Warlock or the Supreme Council. Their status could not be shaken easily.

    However, with the arrival of a fleet from the Gilded Kingdom, the peace in the Breezy ins was once again disrupted. ording to the previous negotiations, the forces that the Gilded Kingdom could deploy in the Breezy ins were subjected to strict limitations and regtions. What did the fleet¡¯s emergence mean then? After receiving the news, all the forces in the Breezy ins, including those that had already pledged allegiance to the Gilded Kingdom, immediately became nervous.

    However, if the people of the Tower of Dusk did not stand up for the other forces, they wouldn¡¯t have enough courage to question the Gilded Kingdom. On the other hand, those who had pledged allegiance to the Gilded Kingdom did not manage to find out any substantial information from them based on hearsay.

    Hence, they thought of the Tower of Dusk and the various forces led by the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family. They immediately sent their envoys to the Tower of Dusk in hopes that the Tower of Dusk could pressure the Gilded Kingdom to rify the issue of the fleet.

    Initially, these forces thought that the Tower of Dusk would definitely take this opportunity to extort arge sum of money from the Gilded Kingdom. After all, during the previous negotiations, the Tower of Dusk had angered the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom and taught them a lesson. However, they didn¡¯t expect the people of the Tower of Dusk to remain unmoved even after receiving this news. Everything was as per usual, and they were going on with their daily duties as usual. They did not seem to have any intention to question the Gilded Kingdom and me them.

    Just like that, while the forces were nervously paying attention, the fleet that flew the g of the Gilded Kingdom slowly sailed into the newly built Port Tim a few dayster. The seabirds hovering over one of the battleships made the newly built seaport be lively again.

    Port Tim had originally been just a small fishing port. After the Gilded Kingdom officially entered the Breezy ins, it naturally couldn¡¯t keep its battleships docked at the Malfa Family¡¯s port in Calon City. Hence, they spent some money to purchase Port Tim, and put it through expansion and development. Since the new harbor was built in ordance with the standards of military ports, the size of the current Port Tim could be considered thergest among the various ports in the Breezy ins.

    Besides, when the fleet entered the harbor, the Gilded Kingdom ced the area around the harbor under martialw, driving away all the irrelevant people and spies from the various forces. Of course, doing so did not mean that they couldpletely eliminate the spies of the other forces. After all, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s forces had only just entered the Breezy ins. The martialw was actually for the sake of asserting dominance rather than establishing confidentiality. Clearly, Cantory and the others valued the fleet greatly.

    After the entire port was subjected to the martialw, Cantory, Elder Jorre, and Admiral Nasry of the Third Fleet even brought their subordinates to the port, and set up a grand scene to wee the fleet¡¯s arrival.

    Although the spies of the various forces of the Breezy ins were driven away from the harbor, they were tasked with finding a suitable position and keeping an eye on the situation from afar. When they saw what Cantory and the others had done, they were all stunned. Although they hadn¡¯t seen the situation of the fleet, they could already feel that something major was about to happen.

    Cantory and the senior executives of the Gilded Kingdom had already been investigated by the various forces of the Breezy ins. Although they could not find any top-secret information, they had gained a thorough understanding of those several people. The members of the various forces knew that Cantory, Elder Jorre, and Nasry were not only the leaders who were sent to the Breezy ins by the Gilded Kingdom, they were also figures of respectable status even within the Gilded Kingdom.

    Cantory¡¯s identity as the son of the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom was not too significant. More importantly, he was a student of the priest of the Illuminati. That identity alone probably allowed him to be somewhat superior to the several other princes. On the other hand, the status of Elder Jorre, who was an elder of the Illuminati, was not what any of the princes and ministers couldpare to, even though he did not have a high ranking.

    The admiral of the Third Fleet, Nasry, was a figure of extraordinary status in the Gilded Kingdom. The Gilded Kingdom itself was mainly focused on naval power, and the construction and development of the navy had always been their top priority. A strong navy could be considered the foundation of their nation. As he was an admiral, his status was obviously not inferior.

    Now, the three of them who were powerful figures of the Gilded Kingdom actually went to the port personally to meet the people from the fleet. Could it be that a powerful figure had arrived? All of a sudden, the spies began to tense up as their breathing quickened. That was definitely a piece of groundbreaking news. As long as they figured things out clearly, they would definitely be rewarded.

    A connection channel began to be built on the tform of the port for the battleships of the fleet. The people of the battleship were about to walk out, and the spies around the port began to get excited. They tried their best to think of a way to get closer to eavesdrop clearly. There were even some mages whounched the Warlock¡¯s Eyes into the air in a bid to take advantage of its invisibility to explore the port from a close distance.

    Unfortunately, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes could not escape the eye of powerful spell casters even though they could be hidden from ordinary people. As soon as the Warlock¡¯s Eyes approached the sky above the port, several Illuminati priests who were following Elder Jorre raised their hands into the air in unison, after which fireworks were set off in the sky, instantly sweeping away all the Warlock¡¯s Eyes.

    Of course, that was not the only means that the spies had. For example, some could go into stealth mode, some could stay hidden in the shadows, and some could even share the vision of rats and other animals. However, although they had various means, their personal strength was not incredible, and they were ipetentpared to true powerhouses.

    When the port was cleared once again, the people on the battleship finally came out while Cantory and the others received them. Upon sight of the people who exited, the spies were once again shocked. They even felt engulfed by pangs of panic that made them find breathing difficult.

    Unlike what the spies had expected, those that came out of the battleship were not a few important figures, but a shockingly powerful army. Although there were probably less than 1,000 individuals in the army, each one of them had magical waves that were near the Legendary-level. There were even some powerhouses who had truly stepped into the Legendary-realm.

    Although thebat power of such a team was far inferior to the Magic Legion under the lead of Highlord Osric, they were considered a terrifying force in the current Anril. Without the support of the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine, the armies of the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom were probably no match for it.

    <i>What does the Gilded Kingdom want? Is it really going to start a war?</i> Although the mages of the various forces in the Breezy ins had seen an improvement in strength under the influence of the magic tides over the past two years, no force would be able to contend with such a team.

    After the army got off the battleship, they immediately lined up neatly on the port, and finally a few important figures who each had an extraordinary aura walked out. At the same time, Cantory and others also took the initiative to wee them without hesitation. After greeting each other, they slowly walked towards the city while talking about something.

    When peace was restored in the port, the spies of the various forces also finally sobered up from the shock. One by one, they scurried back to their respective forces, and reported everything that they had just seen as soon as possible.

    Once the news got out, the entire Breezy ins was immediately triggered by the news. The sudden addition of such a powerful force from the Gilded Kingdom was a great threat to any other force. Now, the leaders of the forces of the Breezy ins could no longer stay calm. They were certain that the Gilded Kingdom was not in the Breezy ins for a vacation.

    They had hoped that the Tower of Dusk woulde forward and question Gilded Kingdom about the fleet, but now that they knew about the army, they felt even more threatened. Hence, those who had been sent to the Tower of Dusk were eagerly pestering Gavin and other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk, desperately hoping that the Tower of Dusk would stand up against the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, the members of the Tower of Dusk maintained the same attitude. In fact, even Gavin and other executives of the Tower of Dusk also suddenly went missing as they scurried to the Sky Castle¡¯s inverted tower to hide in peace. Although Gavin knew that the Gilded Kingdom suddenly dispatched a powerful army through those people, he also knew that the Gilded Kingdom would never pose a threat to the Tower of Dusk even if they had a stronger team.

    Actually, the attitude of the Tower of Dusk was very clear. As long as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions were not in conflict with the interests of the Tower of Dusk, they would leave them be. Besides, during the initial negotiation, the forces of the Breezy ins had all agreed to let the Gilded Kingdom enter the Breezy ins. Since they had made that choice back then, they ought to be the ones to be responsible regardless of what problems they faced.

    In a state of helplessness, some of the forces led by the Mithril Alliance bit the bullet and began protesting against the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions, demanding an exnation for their army¡¯s deployment. However, the members of the Gilded Kingdom obviously did not take them seriously, especially now that there was such a powerful force sent from the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, they obviously were not bothered by the so-called top forces of the Breezy ins.

    In order to exert pressure on the Gilded Kingdom, Elvis of the Mithril Alliance even rushed to Port Tim together with two Sanctuary powerhouses from other forces in a bid to force the Gilded Kingdom topromise under the power of the Sanctuary powerhouses. However, while no one knew what the three Sanctuary powerhouses had talked about with the people of Gilded Kingdom, they knew that they left Port Tim with sullen expressions soon after entering.

    Although Elvis and the others could only be considered pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, they had still stepped into the Sanctuary-realm after all. Yet, the people of the Gilded Kingdom did not show them any respect. Apart from feeling shocked, they kept their guard up too.

    After Elvis and the others left Port Tim, they did not return to their respective forces immediately, and instead headed to the Tower of Dusk. Since they were ultimately still Sanctuary powerhouses, Gavin could not ignore them like how he ignored others. He could only bring them to the guest hall, and then inform the president.

    However, the three pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, who were unapproachable in the eyes of ordinary people, were nothing to Lin Li. Soon, Gavin returned to the meeting room alone, and told the three that Lin Li did not have the time to see them now. ¡°The President is already aware of your purpose of visit. He wants me to tell you that it¡¯s better for the people of the Breezy ins to decide for the matters in the Breezy ins. He doesn¡¯t have time to waste on these issues.¡±

    Clearly, the Tower of Dusk was not going to get involved in this matter! Elvis and the others looked at each other. Despite being incredibly indignant, they had no choice but to get up and bid farewell. They knew very well that their identities as Sanctuary powerhouses were just a joke to genuine Sanctuary powerhouses.

    After they strayed far away from the Tower of Dusk, another Sanctuary powerhouse who was from the Mithril Alliance finallyined to Elvis in displeasure. ¡°Elvis, it seems that our identities as Sanctuary powerhouses carry no weight at all. Neither the Gilded Kingdom nor the Tower of Dusk takes us seriously. You¡¯ve contacted the president of the Tower of Dusk before. What do you think he means by this?¡±

    The person who spoke was a Sanctuary powerhouse named Rojet, who was an elder of the Taylor Family of the Mithril Alliance and the grandfather of Joseph, the previous helmsman of the Mithril Alliance. He was initially stuck at the peak of level-24 and was waiting to die. To his surprise, he managed to break through the bottleneck with the help of the magic tides, and stepped into the Sanctuary-realm.

    When he stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, Rojet was still thinking about bringing the Taylor Family to rise again, and he even wanted to lead the Taylor Family to dominate the Breezy ins and establish a kingdom belonging to the Taylor Family.

 Chapter 1053 - True Sanctuary Powerhouse

    <h4>Chapter 1053: True Sanctuary Powerhouse</h4>

    However, after Rojet learned about the situation of the Breezy ins and the distance between him and a real Sanctuary powerhouse, he finally realized how ridiculous his thoughts were.

    Nheless, Rojet had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, after all, and thus was feeling rather proud of himself. Hence, he was displeased with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s attitude.

    Hearing Rojet¡¯s words, Elvisughed bitterly before helplessly saying, ¡°You should have felt the powerful might of a Sanctuary powerhouse that came from the Sky Castle just now. That¡¯s not what we beginners in the Sanctuary-realm canpare to. No wonder they don¡¯t take us seriously. As for President Felic¡¯s attitude, I bet he just holds a grudge against us for our attitude during the negotiation.¡±

    Indeed, the team sent by the Gilded Kingdom had caused a lot of trouble to the various forces of the Breezy ins, and Lin Li was the one who helped them resolve the issues. However, when the Gilded Kingdom said that they wanted to negotiate for peace, the forces of the Breezy ins immediately changed their attitude, and thought of pitting the Gilded Kingdom against the Tower of Dusk so that they could reap some benefits. In the end, the forces ended up being frightened by every move of the Gilded Kingdom, while the Tower of Dusk remainedpletely unconcerned.

    ¡°He¡¯s also developing his force in the Breezy ins. If the Gilded Kingdom really starts a war, there won¡¯t be benefit to them! Young people are still young after all. No matter how powerful he might be, his perspective of things still isn¡¯tprehensive enough,¡± Rojet said sourly, clearly green with envy and jealous of Lin Li for stepping into the Sanctuary realm so young and being even morepetent than him.

    ¡°The Tower of Dusk is already invincible because they have the Sky Castle. They really don¡¯t have to worry about any action taken by the Gilded Kingdom,¡± said Abrad, who was a Sanctuary powerhouse from the Caesar Family, and had stepped into the Sanctuary realm when his lifespan was nearing its end just like Rojet. The two of them used to be rivals in love, but after more than 1,000 years, their conflict was gradually resolved.

    Although his tone was full of envy and jealousy too, Abrad was jealous of the Tower of Dusk for having the Sky Castle. If the Caesar Family also had a Sky Castle like theirs, they would have probably long ruled over the Breezy ins, and established a powerful kingdom that could contend with the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom.

    Hearing their bitterints, Elvis shook his head helplessly. Although the three of them were old, Rojet and Abrad were actually two generations older than Elvis. Hence, Elvis was in no ce to criticize the two of them at this moment. He had no choice but to change the subject. ¡°Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions do not pose a threat to the Tower of Dusk, it¡¯s not the same for us. We don¡¯t have the Sky Castle. I think we¡¯d better go back as soon as possible, and talk with the leaders of other forces toe up with some countermeasures for this matter.¡±

    Elvis¡¯s words pulled Rojet and Abrad back to reality as the two of them looked at the Tower of Dusk unanimously. After secretly sighing, they followed Elvis back to the headquarters of the Mithril Alliance helplessly.

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, Gavin returned to Lin Li¡¯s side again after sending the three away. Gavin wasn¡¯t too worried about the Gilded Kingdom. The Tower of Dusk was now helmed by a real Sanctuary powerhouse, while the mages under him were also bing increasingly stronger. As long as the people of the Gilded Kingdom did not go crazy, they definitely wouldn¡¯t provoke the Tower of Dusk casually.

    However, the Gilded Kingdom did not show any respect to Elvis and the other two Sanctuary powerhouses at all, which really surprised Elvis. After all, pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were still in the Sanctuary-realm. Although they could notpare to actual Sanctuary powerhouses, they were still far stronger than those who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s base camp was far away, so what gave them the confidence to disregard them? Could it be because of the fleet just now?

    ¡°President, the three of them have already left. I can tell that they¡¯ve been angered by the Gilded Kingdom. It¡¯s surprising that they didn¡¯t re up immediately.¡± Gavin was not gloating, but rather was displeased with the two-faced factions.

    Of course, if he looked at it from a different perspective, there was no reason for them not to do that. Who wouldn¡¯t spare a thought for their own interests? In this world of survival of the fittest, especially in the chaotic Breezy ins, anyone who still stood firm to those moral examples would definitely be defeated.

    However, despite understanding their rationale, no one would be willing to be betrayed by others. This time, the Tower of Dusk was not betrayed, but the forces definitely didn¡¯t have any good intentions for allowing the Gilded Kingdom toe over. Gavin was well aware of that.

    ¡°Of course they have to tolerate it. They might have entered the Sanctuary-realm, but they¡¯re only a half-finished product whenpared to real Sanctuary powerhouses,¡± Lin Li said calmly. In front of ordinary people, pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were Sanctuary powerhouses, but to the genuine Sanctuary powerhouses, they were no different from insignificant nobodies.

    Gavin originally wanted to nod and agree, but his expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Lin Li in shock. ¡°President, do you mean that they¡¯ve met a real Sanctuary powerhouse? Is there really a true Sanctuary powerhouse in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team this time?¡±

    That was definitely a shocking piece of news. If the Gilded Kingdom had sent a true Sanctuary powerhouse, then what exactly was the purpose of their operation this time? Had they really lost their minds, and were thinking of attacking the Tower of Dusk?

    ¡°Why else do you think they¡¯de here?¡± Lin Li nodded a little, but there wasn¡¯t any special expression on his face. Clearly, the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Gilded Kingdom did not make him feel threatened at all.

    In fact, just before that fleet from the Gilded Kingdom entered the port, Lin Li had already detected the aura of the Sanctuary powerhouse that shrouded that fleet. The aura had nothing to do with magical waves, and was instead a type of influence on the World Laws. Only those who had truly stepped into the Sanctuary-realm could capture the special aura of the Sanctuary powerhouses from the changes in the World Laws.

    Like Elvis and the other three pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, those who did not reach the Sanctuary-realm in terms of their mastery of the World Laws would not be able to sense the presence of a Sanctuary powerhouse through the changes in the World Laws. They still had to rely on their detection of magical waves to gauge the strength of others. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have gone to the Gilded Kingdom to find trouble.

    No matter what, there still weren¡¯t any actions taken by the Tower of Dusk, and it was as if everything that happened in the Breezy ins had nothing to do with them. In a few days¡¯ time, the Mithril Alliance managed to gather the leaders of several forces, and they nned to form anotherrge alliance to prevent the Gilded Kingdom from harming them.

    In the past, the alliance of the forces of the Breezy ins had managed to withstand the invasion of the Ledin Kingdom, and forced the Fn Kingdom to the point where they hadpletely no means to rule over the Breezy ins. Although it was partly because of the power struggle between the two kingdoms, one could not deny that the power of these forces in the Breezy ins also yed a fairly important role.

    Hence, whenever they were facing the pressure of powerful external forces, the first thing that the local forces thought would be to unite. For example, during the rise of the Tower of Dusk previously, the forces of Breezy ins felt threatened, so there was a suppression carried out on the Tower of Dusk, which involved almost all the forces in the Breezy ins. However, while the Tower of Dusk posed a threat to some forces, it also gave them a lot of benefits. The boycott failed only because of the Ashen Warlock¡¯s words. Otherwise, even if the Tower of Dusk had not been destroyed, their speed of development would¡¯ve definitely been greatly reduced.

    This time, in the face of the threat of the Gilded Kingdom, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s nonchnce left the Mithril Alliance and other forces with no choice but to rely on themselves. Hence, under the lead of the Mithril Alliance, the various forces naturally formed an alliance.

    Of course, after forming the alliance, they did not immediately go to deal with the Gilded Kingdom. After all, they had yet to figure out the true intentions of the Gilded Kingdom. For the sake of protecting their interests, no one was willing to start a war lightly, unless it was theirst resort. Hence, the first thing that the alliance did was to send a warning to the Gilded Kingdom in the name of the alliance, asking them to exin the purpose behind the arrival of their army, and to withdraw it from the Breezy ins as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

    Unfortunately, the warning they sent had no effect at all, as the Gilded Kingdom did not send any reply. The Gilded Kingdom seemed to havepletely ignored their existence as an alliance, and was still carrying out their unfathomable preparations in an orderly manner.

    However, the forces did not dwell on it for long. Soon, the Gilded Kingdom took action again. The group, which was greatly feared by many forces of the Breezy ins, did not show intentions of advancing ind towards the Breezy ins. Instead, it traveled south along the coastline of the Breezy ins after leaving Port Tim.

    The movements of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team were immediately reported to the forces of the Mithril Alliance and other factions. They naturally discussed and spected about the true intentions of the team again. The forces whose influence was in the maind were naturally secretly relieved at this moment as that at least showed that the Gilded Kingdom did not have the intention to develop ind for now.

    However, there were still some forces that were in the south of the Breezy ins¡ªon the course of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s advancement. After hearing the news, those forces immediately tensed up. They wondered, <i>Could it be that the Gilded Kingdom wants to upy more port cities? Or are they coveting the minerals along the coastline for the convenience of transportation?</i>

    Now, the alliance seemed to have be divided soon after its establishment. The ind forces naturally felt that the matter had nothing to do with them, so they decided to continue being fence-sitters, and watch what the Gilded Kingdom was nning to do next. However, the factions in the south could not calm down at all. After all, in their opinion, they had already been directly threatened. Hence, they suggested that the alliance immediately exert pressure on the Gilded Kingdom.

    In fact, a division was the scariest thing for an alliance with a dynamic like theirs. After all, there wasn¡¯t anyone who could really hold down all the forces. If the Gilded Kingdom directly attacked with arge army, and made clear their intentions to encroach on the entire Breezy ins, those forces would definitely see the Gilded Kingdom as themon enemy, and go all out to defend against the foreign enemy, just like when they had resisted the invasion of the Ledin Kingdom. However, once there was a conflict of internal interests, the effectiveness of the alliance would be limited.

    Be it intentionally or not, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions had immediately split the alliance of the Breezy ins, forming a clear divide between the coastal and ind forces. They kept arguing during the discussions, but the coastal forces were still the minority, after all. Despite the squabbles, they did not fall out.

    Of course, while arguing, they were also keeping their eyes fixed on the terrifying army of the Gilded Kingdom along the sea. Arge number of scouts were following the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s group, and they would report to the leaders of the various forces of the alliance almost once every two or three hours.

    In the meeting room of the alliance, a huge map of the Breezy ins was hung up. Whenever there was a new report about the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions, the leaders in the alliance would immediately identify the corresponding location on the map, hoping to determine the true agenda of the Gilded Kingdom through such a method.

    When the coastal forces saw that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was getting closer and closer to their range of influence, they got even more nervous, but they did not mor about returning immediately like the rest. Threatening to split up was just a strategy. If the Gilded Kingdom really took action on their forces, going back now would be akin to suicide! Although it was true that their forces which they had painstakingly built would likely be wiped out by the Gilded Kingdom, and that would bring about a huge heartache, it was better than dying.

    Of course, that did not mean that they had really gotten over it. While waiting for the final verdict, they were still trying to convince the people around them in hopes that they could send teams to support their own forces. They even took out their precious treasures without hesitation, and promised to give the other forces a portion of their resources while constantly emphasizing about how ruthless, immoral, and greedy the Gilded Kingdom was.

    In particr, Sadev the patriarch of the Cartia Family that lived on the coast of the Breezy ins, and was second only to the Malfa Family in terms of strength was going all out at this moment. He even announced that he was willing to offer half of the family¡¯s resources in exchange for the support of various forces, the reason being that the Cartia Family would be the first force to be attacked by the Gilded Kingdom ording to the constant reports.

 Chapter 1054 - Blackwater Swamp

    <h4>Chapter 1054: ckwater Swamp</h4>

    Most importantly, the Gilded Kingdom had once sent people to talk to the Cartia Family in a bid to get them to give up one of the magical metal mines that they had. However, as usual, the miserly people of the Gilded Kingdom offered an extremely low price, and the deal eventually fell through.

    Hence, in Sandev¡¯s opinion, the Gilded Kingdom had to have sent that army to target the Cartia Family. They probably would take away everything belonging to the Cartia Family and even annihte them. Compared to the Malfa Family, the Cartia Family was slightly inferior, and there were even very few Legendary powerhouses. They could not withstand the attacks of the Gilded Kingdom at all.

    However, despite Sandev¡¯s painstaking efforts to plead with them, only the leaders of a few neighboring forces of the Cartia Family helped to speak up for them, while the rest remained unmoved.

    Actually, others could not be med for being selfish. After all, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was simply too powerful. They had more than 1,000 powerhouses that were above level-15 and dozens of Legendary powerhouses. That level of power was not something that ordinary forces could contend with.

    Besides, Elvis had yet to tell them that there were Sanctuary powerhouses in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army. If news about it were to get out, the alliance would probably copse.

    At this moment, the sounds of footsteps shuffling quickly could be hearding from outside the door. Everyone in the conference hall had already gotten used to hearing it because they would hear it once every two or three hours. They knew about it because they had received some news beforehand, and thus all of them fell silent.

    As expected, a mage of the Mithril Alliance hurried in from outside, holding a crumpled note in hand. He walked to the leader of the alliance, Elvis.

    After getting the note, Elvis nced at Sandev, but thetter crumpled onto the chair before he even asked about the content of the note. Judging from the progress of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army and the direction of their advancement, they could tell that they had to have already been standing on top of the ruins of the Cartia Family. Thinking of this, Sandev seemed to have lost all his energy as he muttered with a look of dejection, ¡°Is it over? Is the Cartia Family going to be ruined under me!?¡±

    However, after taking a look at Sandev, Elvis remained silent, and frowned a little with a look of puzzlement.

    When he saw Elvis¡¯ expression, Abrad from the Caesar Family couldn¡¯t help but ask in puzzlement, ¡°Elvis, what exactly were you told? Did the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army do something to the Cartia Family?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been puzzled about,¡± Elvis said with a confused smile. He did not say anything further, and handed the note to Abrad.

    After Abrad took a look at the note, he looked just as confused as Elvis was. ¡°How can it be? Could those kids have made a mistake!?¡±

    Their conversation immediately aroused the curiosity of the people below as they eagerly wanted to see what information it was that made Elvis and Abrad look so puzzled. On the other hand, Rojet of the Taylor Family immediately eximed, ¡°What are you two doing!? There are so many people waiting here, what exactly is written on that note!?¡±

    Abrad shook his head and passed the note back to Rojet while Elvis said to everyone, ¡°ording to the information that we¡¯ve just received, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army did not enter the area where the Cartia Family is located. Instead, they¡¯re on the road that leads to this ce.¡± After saying that, he pointed at a spot on the map with his rod.

    ¡°What!? Are the people of the Gilded Kingdom fools? Or do they not know the way at all!? Why would they go to the ckwater Swamp!?¡±

    ¡°Haha, the people of the Gilded Kingdom are in for trouble this time. The ckwater Swamp is a ce of death even Sanctuary powerhouses do not dare to easily set foot in!¡±

    ¡°If half of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army cane out alive this time, they have to thank the gods for blessing them.¡±

    Seeing the location pointed out by Elvis on the map, the people in the conference hall immediately got into amotion as the leaders of the various forces pped and rejoiced. It seemed that they could already see how the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army would bleed in the ckwater Swamp and leave with heavy losses.

    As people of the Breezy ins, how could they not know about the ckwater Swamp? It was the most famous ce of death in the entire Breezy ins. In the ckwater Swamp, there was an abundance of miasma, poisonous swamps, and poisonous gases. The poisonous magical beasts were not the most terrifying ones. The poisonous bugs were what was truly deadly.

    Unique to the ckwater Swamp, the poisonous bugs might have a simple name of ckwater Poisonous Bugs, but their power was definitely not simple. Firstly, they contained deadly poison, and the toxins of the ckwater Poisonous Bugs contained a blend of death, filth, corrosion, curse, and other characteristics. Even a wyrm would notst more than three minutes after being bitten by one of them.

    Of course, when it came to bugs, the first thing that many would think of doing would be to burn them with fire. In fact, that was what most of them did too. As long as there was a mage who could cast fire magic spells, the team would probably not be in any danger. However, the ckwater Poisonous Bugs were different from other bugs as they were not afraid of mes at all. In fact, they would even be able to devour the me Energy in the fire, which was the reason that no one had tried to burn the ckwater Poisonous Bugs with fire.

    More importantly, the ckwater Poisonous Bugs were not only fearless towards fire, they were also immune to all kinds of magical damage. It would be easy to kill the ckwater Poisonous Bugs as one would just have to p them hard and turn them into mud. However, if there were more than 1,000,000 poisonous bugs, even 1,000 hands would not be enough. Besides, as long as one got bitten by a bug, there would be no other oue apart from death.

    No one knew how many ckwater Poisonous Bugs there were in the ckwater Swamp. They only knew that ck fog often rose in the swamp, and it was caused by the ckwater Poisonous Bugs. Anyone who entered the ckwater Swamp would not be able to guard against it at all as they would inhale a few ckwater Poisonous Bugs with every breath they took. They would not be able toe out alive at all. Fortunately, the vicious poisonous bugspletely could not leave the ckwater Swamp. Otherwise, all the living beings of Anril would be annihted.

    That was the reason that the forces of the Breezy ins were no longer worried even though the Gilded Kingdom was incredibly powerful and could dominate the Breezy ins. They didn¡¯t believe that anyone would be able to walk out of the ckwater Swamp alive.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that that terrifying ce would actually help us so much this time.¡± The people in the conference hall each had a rxed smile on their face. They were waiting to hear the footsteps again, and the good news that woulde with it.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine now, haha, that bunch of bastards actually went the wrong way, they must be out of luck.¡± Sandev, who was already desperate, immediately perked up as he could not stop smiling at all.

    However, Elvis and others did not seem too happy at this moment. Instead, they were frowning, and the bewilderment on their faces was getting even more obvious. They didn¡¯t think that the people of the Gilded Kingdom would make such a low-level mistake. Even though the Gilded Kingdom was an external force, there was no way that they wouldn¡¯t know about what happened in the ckwater Swamp.

    Hence, the people of the Gilded Kingdom did not really go the wrong way, and they were simply heading for the ckwater Swamp instead. That seemed to be a possibility, but it confused Elvis further. The ckwater Swamp was the deadliest ce in the Breezy ins, but unlike some other dangerous and forbidden areas, the ckwater Swamp had basically nothing of value because everyone knew that the ckwater Poisonous Bugs enjoyed devouring mana, and thus anything of some value would have been devoured by the ckwater Poisonous Bugs.

    If there was anything valuable in the ckwater Swamp, it would probably be the infinite amount of ckwater Poisonous Bugs. After all, their toxins were of some value to pharmacists. However, did the Gilded Kingdom go to such great lengths just for the sake of catching a few bugs? That exnation obviously did not make sense.

    Elvis and others did not voice their doubts, but everyone in the conference hall almost popped champagne to rejoice immediately. If they thought carefully, they would naturally be able to find what was amiss. However, they had been too stressed out by the matter of the Gilded Kingdom, and were more willing to believe that things were in their favor.

    Besides, in their opinion, regardless of whether the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army had taken the wrong path or not, it was a matter of fact that they had entered the ckwater Swamp. Given the horrors of the ckwater Swamp, it would be impossible to get out of it in one piece no matter what the agenda of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was. Hence, there was no need to consider what the Gilded Kingdom was getting up to this time.

    After an hour since the news was spread, the sound of footsteps outside the conference hall began to ring again, causing everyone in the hall to fall silent. The fact that the news hade so quickly made the people in the conference hall more confident about the conjecture in their hearts. Therefore, each one of them craned their necks to look at the door, waiting to hear about the losses of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team.

    As expected, the figure of the mage who delivered the news soon reappeared in front of the door of the conference hall, holding a note in his hand as well. However, the mage ignored the crowd who was full of anticipation, and instead quickly walked towards Elvis with a look of astonishment on his face.

    The crowd did not care much about the mage¡¯s expression, and they simply thought that he was horrified by the ckwater Swamp. All their eyes were on the note in the mage¡¯s hand as they stared at it until it reached Elvis¡¯ hand.

    However, what made them feel confused was the fact that Elvis merely took a nce at the note without immediately announcing any exciting good news to them. Instead, his face was instantly full of disbelief, just like that of the mage who had delivered the news.

    A few of them couldn¡¯t help but ask Elvis, ¡°Master Elvis, what is the news about? Has the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army been annihted?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the ckwater Swamp.¡± Elvis shook his head and took a deep breath before saying with a grave expression, ¡°From today onwards, there will no longer be a ce called ckwater Swamp in the Breezy ins.¡±

    After Elvis said that, the people in the entire conference hall immediately got into an uproar as they dared not believe their ears at all. Some even forgot Elvis¡¯ identity, and repeatedly asked him if he had read wrongly or if there was a mistake in the ry of the message.

    Elvis did not exin much, and simply passed the note around. In the end, almost every person who saw the contents of the note immediately became dumbfounded as they fell back into their chairs, and muttered incessantly about how it was impossible.

    At this moment, the scouts who had just ryed the news finally stood on the ground of the Breezy ins after the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army left. Actually, it could no longer be called the ckwater Swamp, which no one had stepped into for thousands of years, as it had already be history.

    At this moment, the ck fog that emitted the aura of death and erosion had bepletely different in appearance. The ck fog had already dissipated, and was reced by a salty odor, as if it was just the seaside.

    The decayed trees and various swamp nts in the surroundings were scattered all over the ground, covered in a thick shell of salt as if they had been carved in crystal. The ground that would have sunk deeper when stepped on was now covered with a hardyer of salt. Even a weapon would not leave an obvious trace in the ground.

    <i>Is this the ckwater Swamp that was once known as the deadliestnd of the Breezy ins?</i> The scouts looked at their surroundings in disbelief, unable to imagine what kind of power could actually reduce the ckwater Swamp to such a state.

    ¡°This is the power of the gods!¡± a scout eximed in astonishment and horror, as if he had be deranged because of the changes.

    However, none of their peers dared to mock his seemingly crazy words. Instead, they seemed to agree, and they recalled the shocking scene that they had seen previously. Shortly after the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army entered the ckwater Swamp, boundless seawater suddenly surged out of nowhere, and flooded the entire ckwater Swamp. By the time the water subsided, the ckwater Swamp turned into its current state. Such a drastic change was obviously done by something with the power of the gods.

 Chapter 1055 - Levidan Canyon

    <h4>Chapter 1055: Levidan Canyon</h4>

    ¡°Wait, where did the army from the Gilded Kingdom go?¡± asked a scout who finally remembered what he had to do after being amazed.

    Although the entire ckwater Swamp had turned into a world of salt, the scouts were best at tracking, and the army from the Gilded Kingdom was not small, either, and did not deliberately try to hide its tracks. Thus, the scouts soon managed to track down the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army, and carefully followed it while continuing to send new information to the alliance.

    In the conference hall of the alliance, everyone finally stopped doubting the change of the ckwater Swamp after receiving several messages in a row. However, their festive emotions were reced by immense fear and horror. The power of the Gilded Kingdom waspletely beyond their imagination.

    Although they did not see the shocking transformation of the ckwater Swamp with their own eyes, they could tell how terrifying the Gilded Kingdom was from the news that was constantly sent to them. Some of them even began to doubt whether the power of this alliance was really enough for them to contend with the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Elvis and the other three Sanctuary powerhouses knew that the change of the ckwater Swamp was very likely to be the doing of the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Gilded Kingdom. While making them feel horrified, it also made them feel somewhat grateful that they hadn¡¯t lost their temper at Port Tim back then. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

    Seeing that everyone¡¯s heart began to waver, Elvis was feeling just as helpless. That was the problem with an alliance like theirs. Unless their survival was in danger, they would all flock towards benefits and vie with each other for them. Whenever there was trouble, they would flee as fast as possible.

    ¡°Since the Gilded Kingdom has no intentions of attacking us, we¡¯d better do what we¡¯re supposed to, and stop wasting time here.¡± After confirming that his family had escaped an ordeal, Sandev recalled the fact that he had been rejected by the other forces when he asked for help just now.

    Sandev had lost his faith in such an alliance, and he felt that it would be better to simply go back and talk to the Gilded Kingdom about the mine. Although they would definitely lose some benefits, they would at least be able to take the opportunity to cozy up the Gilded Kingdom, which was at least better than wasting time here.

    Elvis naturally wouldn¡¯t let Sandev go just like that. He knew that there were definitely many people in the conference hall who shared the same thoughts as Sandev. If Sandev took the initiative to pull out, half the people in the conference hall would leave. Fortunately, after Elvis¡¯ persuasion, coupled with the fact that Sandev did not want to fall out with the Mithril Alliance, they finally managed to make them stay.

    ¡°Since the Cartia Family was not the target of the Gilded Kingdom, and the ckwater Swamp has been reduced to such a state, what is the real agenda of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army?¡± Elvis looked at the crowd whose minds were obviously somewhere else below. He had no choice but to turn to look at Abrad and Rojet, whom he started discussing the topic with. As for the others, he decided to leave them be as long as they didn¡¯t ask to leave.

    ¡°ording to thetest intelligence, the team seems to be advancing towards the Levidan Canyon after passing through the ckwater Swamp. Could it be that they found some precious resources there that we don¡¯t know about? Is that why they¡¯re creating such a scene to upy it first?¡± Abrad said in bewilderment as he stared at the map.

    ¡°Levidan Canyon? That¡¯s the...¡± Rojet was just about to say how dangerous the Levidan Canyon was, but he immediately thought of the shocking change of the ckwater Swamp, and was suddenly unable to finish his sentence.

    ¡°Resources that we don¡¯t know about? That¡¯s not impossible. After all, the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had also moved fromnd to overseas. They might have passed some information down and recorded some things we do not know.¡± Elvis knew that when the Illuminati had been developing onnd, they had been even more powerful than the Tower of Dusk during their prime. It was not surprising if such a power had passed down some unknown information.

    Of course, if the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army just wanted to find some resources, Elvis and the others would be relieved. Anyway, even if they knew some precious information, they would have no means of obtaining the items.

    In the Levidan Canyon, there lived demons named Levidan which were rumored to have originated from the bottom of the abyss. Strictly speaking, Levidan demons were not extremely powerful, and they were at most at the Legendary-realm. Most of them were near the Legendary-level, and only a few could have Legendary-level power.

    However, the Levidan demons had immortal bodies, and even the most powerful demons would have no means to do anything to them. Hence, they could livefortably at the bottom of the abyss. No matter what means were used and regardless of whether they were beheaded, cut into pieces, or burned with fire, they would not die. Even the power of purification of the Holy Light Magic would only result in a pseudo-death, and the Levidans would revive after being left alone.

    In addition, Levidan demons also had the ability to shape-shift and produce clones at will, though there would not be much of an increase in strength. However, they could still spell trouble. Due to the fact that the replication wasprehensive, even their memories would be fully intact with no discrepancies at all. The mana would remain the same, just like the habits, so much that it would be difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

    The Levidan demons in the Levidan Canyon had scurried out of the canyon at some time, but anyway, everyone knew that there should be a group of Levidans at the bottom of the abyss, thus giving rise to the name: Levidan Canyon.

    ¡°Perhaps it is the treasure hidden there before the Illuminati left the continent? Isn¡¯t it true that no one has been able to figure out the origin of those Levidan demons?¡± Rojet suddenly asked, making a far-fetched conjecture. He thought that those Levidans from the bottom of the abyss had probably been released by the Illuminati back then, all for the sake of guarding the treasures that had been stored when the Illuminati left.

    Upon hearing about a precious treasure and resources, those in the conference hall who had originally intended to stir some trouble immediately perked up. Some said that the resources belonged to all the people of the Breezy ins, and could not be snatched by the Gilded Kingdom. Some said that the treasure had to have been scavenged by the Illuminati, so the Illuminati ought to return it to them, and so on...

    At this moment, the army of the Gilded Kingdom, which was the focus of debate among the factions, had already entered the Levidan Canyon without hesitation, as if they didn¡¯t know the horrors of the Levidan Canyon. Perhaps they knew about them, but didn¡¯t take them to heart.

    In terms of scale, the Levidan Canyon might seem really ordinary in Anril, and was far fromparable to the Gargas Canyon in the north. In general, the Levidan Canyon seemed narrow and deep, so much so that sunlight couldn¡¯t reach its bottom. Hence, it was very dim in the canyon, adding to its eeriness.

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom got into a long snakelike line that seemed to wind through the canyon before disappearing into its depths. The spies of the alliance, however, had to stop at the entrance of the canyon. To them, the Levidan Canyon was no less dangerous than the ckwater Swamp.

    <i>Do we follow them in? Or should we wait a little longer to see what happens?</i> Nothing was as important as their own lives. After taking a look at the deep, dark, and gloomy canyon, the scouts decided to wait a little longer to see what happened. Although the Gilded Kingdom was leading the way, no one dared to guarantee that they would not leave one or two Levidan demons behind. Moreover, they might just get driven out by the Levidans soon after they entered. Or perhaps, like with the ckwater Swamp, the Levidan Canyon might be flooded with salt because of the people of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The group of scouts crouched at the mouth of the canyon, keeping their guard up in case of any movement around them, while the two mages in the middle each cast the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, which flew into the canyon. Having been with the team for so long, they knew that as long as they didn¡¯t go overboard, and did not disturb the people of the Gilded Kingdom, thetter wouldn¡¯t waste time to deal with them. Hence, they simply used the Warlock¡¯s Eyes to observe from afar. It wouldn¡¯t matter even if they were discovered.

    The two Warlock¡¯s Eyes flew into the canyon, wobbling and following the traces left by the expedition from the Gilded Kingdom under the maniption of the two mages. When they flew to a distance that was the limit of the mages, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes finally transmitted the scene in the canyon that was incredibly shocking to them.

    The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army finally faced the Levidans of the canyon. On the opposite side of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army, there were numerous Levidans, which probably amounted to close to 10,000. Although the Levidans did not have incredible strength, that was inparison with the Abyssal Demons at the bottom. In fact, the worst of the Levidans were around level-15, and there were hundreds of Legendary-level ones.

    With such a huge number and incredible power, the Levidans would be a huge disaster for the Breezy ins. The two mages who saw that scene through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes suddenly had a strange thought in their hearts.

    At this moment, the army of the Gilded Kingdom abruptly moved. In the face of the huge number of Levidans, the warriors of the Gilded Kingdom waved their weapons in their hands, and each one of them emanated navy blue Combat Energy as they killed the Levidans fearlessly. The entire battlefield was instantly in an uproar as the Levidan demons roared ferociously and the warriors yelled, the sounds of magic spells intertwining and reverberating in the deep canyon.

    Despite knowing that the Levidans had immortal bodies, the mages who observed the battlefield through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes realized that the Gilded Kingdom had used some means to cause great damage to Levidans. In this battle, the Levidans lost the immortality of their bodies as they were split open and blown apart easily. ck blood sttered everywhere, dying the canyon ck.

    Without their immortal bodies, the Levidans were like hedgehogs without spikes and tigers with their ws cut off. They could be considered to have lost their most powerful weapon. Moreover, even with the immortal bodies, their own defense was pathetic, and the removal of their immortality was akin to getting rid of all their defenses.

    The battle whichsted just under an hour ended with tens of thousands of Levidans being ughtered by the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army, and the battlefield seemed to have turned into the same state as the ckwater Swamp as the rock walls were covered in ck blood, while the ground was covered in the Levidans¡¯ limbs.

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom who were involved did not seem to have any reaction to it. Through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, the mages that had been observing the battle situation began throwing their guts up. Although they had gotten used to witnessing death as people of the Breezy ins, it was their first time witnessing such a tragic scene. Those Levidan corpses turned into ck mud in no time, which made it seem even more disgusting.

    After the battle ended, the people of the Gilded Kingdom did not take any extra action. They simply stepped on the Levidan corpses indifferently, producing nauseous sounds that would be made when mud was stepped on. They continued to advance with no expression.

    At this moment, the scouts had also found out about everything in the canyon through the mages¡¯ description. After being shocked, they finally remembered their duties, immediately wrote down all the information they had obtained, and sent it back to the alliance using the tamed sh Sparrow.

    However, after sending the information, the scouts were stuck in a dilemma again, and they could not decide if they should risk following the army into the canyon again. Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s group had already exterminated tens of thousands of Levidans, no one knew if there were still any left in the canyon. The Gilded Kingdom might have dealt with the Levidan demons easily, but the scouts of the alliance were clear of their own abilities. Although they had a lot of people, they would end up being tortured as long as one Levidan rushed into their group.

    However, after hesitating for a long time, they had no choice but to bite the bullet, and carefully enter the Levidan Canyon. After all, it was their duty, and they had many other peers who were from other forces. Besides, no one knew if there were any guardians inside, and they could not bluff their way through at all. The alliance had sent so many scouts because the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, which they had to keep an eye on, was just too strong, and they were worried that they would be perfunctory in their actions during the critical moment. Clearly, their approach worked.

    Soon after the scouts entered the canyon with fear, the mage in the Mithril Alliance headquarters in the Breezy ins who were responsible for delivering the news also entered the conference hall again with thetest piece of news.

    ¡°Tens of thousands of Levidans have been destroyed!¡±

    ¡°There is not a single casualty from the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

 Chapter 1056 - What Exactly Do You Want?

    <h4>Chapter 1056: What Exactly Do You Want?</h4>

    After hearing this news, everyone in the conference hall was astonished and dumbfounded as their faces froze. They could not believe it at all. Weren¡¯t the Levidans known to have immortal bodies? Even without their immortal bodies, they were stillrge in number! There were tens of thousands of Levidans, and they could not be crushed and killed easily like ants!

    The most uneptable thing was that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army did not suffer a single casualty, which didn¡¯t make any sense at all. Were the Levidan demons incapable of resisting, and simply waited obediently to be killed?

    Everyone was dumbfounded by the news, and they only gradually recovered from the shock after a long time. At the same time, they also realized how terrifying the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was. They definitely didn¡¯t think that the Levidans were incapable of resistance, and simply waited to be killed. That could only prove that the strength of the Gilded Kingdom was too horrifying, so much so that the Levidans could not retaliate even if they wanted to!

    Thinking about this, all the people present felt that a chill rising in their hearts uncontrobly. Each one of them couldn¡¯t help but ask themselves if their alliance would be strong enough for them to contend with the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s group.

    ¡°What exactly is the Gilded Kingdom trying to do!?¡± Elvis looked at the people below, and he could tell what they were thinking from the looks on their faces. However, even Elvis, who was a Sanctuary powerhouse, didn¡¯t think that his alliance would be able to contend with the Gilded Kingdom, let alone the others.

    Could it be that the Gilded Kingdom was just trying to assert their dominance and prove it to the forces in the Breezy ins? Regardless of whether it was intentional or unintentional, that action did cause the forces of the Breezy ins to be extremely astonished. They had yet to sh, but the Breezy ins¡¯ alliance was already caught off guard and incredibly frightened. If the Gilded Kingdom showed some hostility at this time, many forces in the alliance would immediately sumb to them.

    ¡°They did not stop at the Levidan Canyon, and instead crossed over directly. Where will they go next?¡± Seeing that the ambiance in the conference hall was rather somber, Abrad wanted to divert the attention of the people for a while so that they could stop thinking about the seemingly glorious battle results of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Abrad¡¯s efforts were fruitless as everyone in the conference hall was a bit frightened by the strength of the Gilded Kingdom. They were all thinking about their own future, and no one cared about the final destination of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team at all as it was no longer important to them. The important thing was that through the incident this time, they had finally found out how terrifying the strength of the Gilded Kingdom was.

    However, next to him, Rojet, who was also a Sanctuary powerhouse, naturally snapped back to his senses rather quickly. After hearing Abrad¡¯s words, he naturally shifted his gaze onto therge map. It was actually not too difficult to determine the destination of the Gilded Kingdom team now. Since two points could form a line, the ckwater Swamp and Levidans Canyons were like two points that formed an arrow to point out the direction of the army. As long as they searched in that direction, they would roughly know where their target destination was.

    Rojet¡¯s gaze slowly moved around the map as he secretly made some analysis in his heart while looking at it, deducing which ces would be worthless and which ones would be valuable but unworthy of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s efforts. Finally, he stopped and fixed his gaze on an inconspicuous corner of the map.

    At this moment, Elvis and Abrad also noticed Rojet¡¯s behavior. Initially, Abrad just made that casual remark because he wanted to divert everyone¡¯s attention. To his surprise, Rojet really tried to find it, and he seemed to have done it.

    Hence, the two of them followed Rojet¡¯s gaze, and looked at the map with curiosity. However, when they saw the map, they looked even more bewildered than before. They couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°That¡¯s impossible... Could it really be that ce?¡±

    The behavior of the three Sanctuary powerhouses finally caught the attention of the leaders of the various factions. They finally remembered where they were. They still had the support of three Sanctuary powerhouses, and thus might not necessarily be weaker than the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army.

    Of course, since they had yet to enter the Sanctuary-realm, they wouldn¡¯t know the difference between pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and genuine Sanctuary powerhouses. Besides, Elvis and the other two did not mention to anyone their trip to Port Tim. Hence, they naturally wouldn¡¯t know that those three Sanctuary powerhouses who were close to gods in their eyes had beenpletely embarrassed by the Gilded Kingdom.

    Thus, the crowd finally put aside their own thoughts for a while, and turned their attention to the three Sanctuary powerhouses in a bid to find out what they had discovered. They wondered if the Gilded Kingdom had made some unexpected move. When they looked at the three Sanctuary powerhouses, they saw Elvis pointing at a certain location on the map.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Cage Ind?¡± said someone who was familiar with the map. His tone was full of bewilderment too.

    ¡°Cage Ind?¡±

    The majority of people present were not familiar with that ce, but they were all aware of its existence because, in their opinion, it was a boring and unpopr ce. Although it was unlike the ckwater Swamp and Levidan Canyon, which were known to be deadly ces in the Breezy ins, it was definitely not a tourist attraction.

    Cage Ind was located in the center of a crescent-shaped bay at the southernmost end of the Breezy ins. It was surrounded by various cliffs, and the gap that led to the sea was covered with inds of varying sizes. It was just like a naturalbyrinth which norge ship could pass through to enter the bay.

    Cage Ind, which was located in the center of the bay, had existed since before the Dark Age. It was called Cage Ind because legend had it that there was once an ancient wyrm imprisoned there by a Titan.

    Of course, it was just a legend. In fact, it was not that no one had ever set foot on the ind. However, rumor had it that other than a plot of barrennd, there was no trace of an ancient wyrm or Titan.

    However, disregarding the fact that the ce did not fit the description in the legend, it did give off a peculiar vibe. Cage Ind had arge surface area, but it was barren and frightening. There was not a single tree or de of grass in sight, let alone any animals or magical beasts.

    The peculiar thing was that any creature that stepped into the range of the ind would react like they had been put under a strange curse as their vitality would deplete rapidly. Creatures with weaker vitality could probably not even survive three days on the ind. Even powerhouses that were level-15 and above and had a greater vitality than ordinary people wouldst at most 10 days.

    Of course, the vitality of Legendary powerhouses was stronger, and perhaps they mightst longer in such a peculiar environment. However, no one had ever heard of a Legendary powerhouse who was mindless and bored enough to go to that lone and barren ind to challenge the limits of survival.

    After the Dark Age, people rarely mentioned that ce because there was really nothing much to say about it. There were no animals, nts, or any valuable resources. Besides, with such a bizarre environment that would put one under a curse, Cage Ind almost became a forgottennd in the Breezy ins.

    Hence, when the name Cage Ind was mentioned, many people in the conference hall were at a loss, and they only found the name a little familiar. However, they did not have much of an impression of it. It was only after someone reminded them that the crowd slowly remembered that such an unpopr ce existed in the Breezy ins.

    Of course, after knowing that the destination of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was Cage Ind, the crowd felt even more puzzled. Judging from the behavior of the Gilded Kingdom after entering the Breezy ins, it seemed that the Gilded Kingdom needed the various resources of the Breezy ins very much. If the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was so poor that they had to find some minerals in the wilderness, it would be quite reasonable. However, they could not think of anything valuable in a deserted ce like Cage Ind.

    Hence, although the crowd did not say much about the conjecture that Elvis and the others came up with, their attitude showed their obvious apprehension. After all, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were not fools. Why would they go to that ce for nothing?

    However, as pieces of news were delivered one after another, Elvis and the others¡¯ conjecture was gradually proven to be true. The direction of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was very clear¡ªthey were heading all the way straight to Cage Ind. Along the way, they even encountered some new resource deposits, but they did not stop at all.

    The strange behavior of the Gilded Kingdom had confused the people of the Breezy ins, and they wondered if there was really something on Cage Ind that attracted them. However, as the goal of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army became clearer, what they dreaded the most did not happen. The people in the Breezy ins could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

    As thetest piece of news was delivered, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army had started to embark on their route to the ind. Someone from the alliance finally proposed to return to their own territories. The fact that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had gone on the ind meant that the threat in this incident had vanished. In the opinion of the leaders of the various forces of the alliance, there was naturally nothing left to discuss.

    Although the conference of the alliance had ended, the various forces did not pay any less attention to the Gilded Kingdom. After all, they were very curious about what the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army was doing on Cage Ind, and whether there were really any precious resources or even treasures hidden on that barren ind.

    Of course, most of them were still waiting to see the Gilded Kingdom make themselves aughingstock. If there had really been something great on Cage Ind, it would have probably already been discovered by others long ago. How could the Gilded Kingdom get anything?

    However, no one expected that as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team got on the ind, things began to develop beyond their expectations.

    After the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team embarked on their journey on the ind, more than 10 Legendary-mages in the team immediately began to set up a huge Alchemy Array there. Immediately afterwards, they each stood at a different position on the ind, raised the staffs in their hands, and chanted an ancient and mysterious incantation loudly.

    With the movement of those Legendary-mages, the Alchemy Array on Cage Ind gradually began to light up. The light gradually became lighter, and even became close to engulfing Cage Ind as if it had be a sun floating on the surface of the sea.

    However, when the light of the Alchemy Array reached its brightest, thick gray clouds suddenly appeared in the sky that was originally turquoise in color. They rolled continuously as if they were going to press against the top of their heads. The clouds were also filled with snake-like arcs of lightning and thunder rumbled.

    At the same time, the sea around Cage Ind seemed to have started boiling as it roared and tumbled while the waves soared high to a height of tens of meters. However, no matter how tall the waves were, they could not touch the ind, and it was as if there was an invisibleyer of protection outside the ind. However, the ind was also shaking vigorously, as if it was a boat that would capsize amidst the storm.

    The 10-odd Legendary-mages that were guarding the Alchemy Array were doing their best to keep it running. However, they had no idea what kind of power would cause the Alchemy Array to emit a flickering light. The operation was clearly not smooth.

    The scouts sent by the various forces of the Breezy ins watched the dramatic changes on Cage Ind from afar, only to be stunned by the earth-shattering scene. They did not know that they would see such a violent sight on the barren ind.

    Immediately afterwards, a low but prative roar of a dragon suddenly surged from the depths of the sea. Amidst the roar of the gigantic waves, the dragon¡¯s roar seemed exceptionally clear and distinctive. The area around Cage Ind seemed to have changed drastically too as the thick dark clouds in the sky seemed to reveal a dark red hue, as if blood clots were forming.

 Chapter 1057 - Dragon Prison Island

    <h4>Chapter 1057: Dragon Prison Ind</h4>

    The sea around Cage Ind was eventually dyed as ck as ink, and numerous gigantic waves surged, resembling a moving ck mountain range. The surface area was so massive that it seemed to be connected to the sky. The waves rolled and crashed against the sea, emitting a deafening rumble.

    However, that was only the beginning, and the scouts soon saw the lightning that was flickering and bouncing around the clouds in the sky suddenly converge like it had received somemand. In the blink of an eye, the sky above Cage Ind turned into a sanguine pool of lightning. Before the people of the Gilded Kingdom could react, a sanguine thunderbolt that emitted a bloody odor had alreadye sting down from the sky.

    Cage Ind was being bombarded by an intense wave of attacks, and the numerous sanguine thunderbolts seemed to cause the entire ind to shake vigorously as they sted the bodies of the Legendary-mages, causing them to turn into ashes. The magical shields of the Legendary-mages seemed to have be as fragile as paper in the face of the sanguine thunderbolts. They could not even buy the Legendary-mages a 10th of a second.

    Seeing that the sanguine thunderbolts were continuously crashing down, and had annihted half of the Legendary-mages in their own team in the blink of an eye, the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Gilded Kingdom finally took action. Of course, the scouts who had been spying from afar did not know that it was a Sanctuary powerhouse. The leaders of the various forces only discovered that there was actually a Sanctuary powerhouse involved in this operation of the Gilded Kingdom when they received all the information.

    The Sanctuary powerhouse who participated in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s operation this time was none other than Elder Zumar, who ranked fourth among the 10 elders of the Illuminati, and was one of the patriarchs who followed the priest to the Gilded Kingdom to spread and preach the Illuminati¡¯s doctrine. Hence, his status among the Illuminati was far above Elder Jorre¡¯s. That was also why Cantory, Elder Jorre, and the others would personally greet and receive him when the fleet entered the harbor.

    The Domain World that Elder Zumar cast out was a world that seemed like an ocean where there was a turquoise sky, a boundless sea, and an endless number of sea beasts that were of various forms. The ocean world engulfed Cage Ind as soon as it appeared, and the people of the Gilded Kingdom were pulled into the Domain World where they were protected by the Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Of course, just like the real ocean, the world of this domain was not calm and peaceful at all. When the sanguine thunderbolts outside continuously sted into the oceanic world, it began getting riled up too as it set off a huge storm against the invading forces.

    However, even Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World could not subdue and take in Cage Ind, as the oceanic world and Cage Ind were separated by an invisible force. It was as if there were some supreme World Laws that were impossible to break even for a Sanctuary powerhouse who understood the World Laws.

    The sanguine thunderbolts sted the oceanic world continuously while gigantic ck waves surged around Cage Ind, crashing against the oceanic world. From afar, one could see that the oceanic world was clearly bing distorted amidst the bombardment as if it was a bubble that was continuously gettingpressed vigorously by an immense force. It seemed to be on the verge of shattering loudly any moment.

    Elder Zumar, who was in the middle of the oceanic world, had a somber and grave expression on his face. The external attack on his Domain World had already left him with no choice but to go all out and use his full strength to maintain the stability of the Domain World.

    The news of battle on Cage Ind was quickly spread ind by the scouts through various means, thus immediately attracting the attention of the various forces of the Breezy ins. What really surprised them was the fact that the Gilded Kingdom had a Sanctuary powerhouse involved in this operation.

    What exactly was hidden on Cage Ind that would be worthy of the involvement of a Sanctuary powerhouse? Of course, a more surprising thing was that it seemed that the Sanctuary powerhouse from the Gilded Kingdom had not been able to make any fruitful moves on Cage Ind, either. Hence, the forces unanimously sent more scouts to Cage Ind in hopes of finding out what the Gilded Kingdom was trying to do and what secrets were hidden on the ind which had been forgotten for thousands of years.

    Fortunately, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had already cleared a safe passage straight to Cage Ind, so the additional spies sent by the various forces managed to arrive at the site rather quickly. For a while, the number of scouts around Cage Ind surpassed 1,000. They were no longer snooping around secretly. Instead, they each got into a good position, and watched the great battle on Cage Ind openly. It was as if they were there to watch a show.

    However, the Gilded Kingdom did not have the energy to pay attention to the actions of the scouts. Although Elder Zumar had blocked most of the attacks, it seemed unlikely for him to have the time to do anything else. As for the Legendary-mages who were lucky to have survived, as well as the warriors in the team, they were protected in the oceanic world, and could not leave for the time being.

    Just like that, the scouts of the factions from the Breezy ins watched as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Sanctuary powerhouse and the mysterious power of Cage Ind remained in a stalemate. They ended up watching for nearly 10 sessive days, and they even began to get a little bored.

    However, a wave of dense and violent roars suddenly beganing from above the sea on the 10th day. Before the scouts could go to investigate the situation, they saw a fleet of a dozen giant battleships sailing rapidly towards Cage Ind. Needless to say, only the Gilded Kingdom could afford to have such a fleet in Anril.

    After the huge fleet arrived, it immediately got into a battle formation, and surrounded Cage Ind. Although the sea around Cage Ind was frightening under the influence of that mysterious power, the giant battleships of the Gilded Kingdom did not seem to have been affected much. They stopped steadily as if they had existed at that spot for thousands of years.

    Since they had been having the sea beasts as their main opponents, the gunying of the cannons on their battleships was very flexible, and they could easily fire below the surface of the sea. After setting up the formation, the people on the battleships quickly adjusted the firing angles of the cannons, aiming them at the bottom of Cage Ind.

    The cannons used on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships were somewhat simr to the Magical Crystal Cannons produced by the Dwarf Kingdom which were also powered by magical crystals, and would fire afterpressing mana to the maximum. However,pared to most Magical Crystal Cannons, the ones on these battleships were muchrger, especially the main one which had a caliber that couldpare to that of 10 ordinary Magical Crystal Cannons. Each cannon on the battleship would probably use up one Legendary magical crystal per shot.

    That also had something to do with the environment in the Gilded Kingdom, which was situated in the endless sea where there were all sorts of sea creatures, including giant sea beasts that were evenrger than the ancient wyrms. If the power of the magical crystals was reduced, it would not be enough to pose a threat to those sea beasts at all. Only a Magical Crystal Cannons of such a massive size could allow the fleet of the Gilded Kingdom to dominate the seas.

    The consumption of one Legendary magical crystal per cannon was definitely not something that any force could afford to support on Anril. The Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom could not even bear to use ordinary magical crystals, let alone Legendary magical crystals. However, in the endless sea, Legendary-level sea beasts were too rampant, though they were not too violent, either. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to obtain Legendary magical crystals.

    Of course, even the Gilded Kingdom had yet to reach the point where they did not take Legendary magical crystals seriously. The main cannons on the battleship which had a massive consumption of Legendary magical crystals would only be used when they encountered the threat of giant sea beasts. If they were to really use it to deal with smaller fishes, they would not be able to afford the consumption, either. Clearly, they had already received instructions, and were aiming the main cannons below Cage Ind.

    Seeing the movement of the battleships, the scouts in the distance immediately began to breathe rapidly. As residents of the Breezy ins, or rather Anril, they really had very few opportunities to witness such scenes.

    In fact, not to mention the scouts, even the people of the Gilded Kingdom also rarely had the opportunity to witness the scene of the whole fleet firing unanimously. In particr, even those who served on a battleship for a lifetime might never be able to witness the main cannons firing.

    Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons of various sizes, the battleship was often equipped with weapons such as a projectile weapon named the Poseidon Trident. It was arge weapon that would be easily recognized as a harpoon that many ships were often equipped with. However, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Poseidon Trident was toorge. If it was fired at an ordinary merchant ship, the ship would probably be blown into pieces.

    Generally speaking, the Magical Crystal Cannons were used against enemies, while the Poseidon Trident was used for hunting sea beasts. After all, many of the giant beasts in the ocean possessed strong vitality. Although the Magical Crystal Cannons were sharp and lethal, they could only cause the sea beasts to get wounded and flee most of the time.

    The people on the fleet were ordered to attack at full power; hence, all the weapons were used, regardless of their purpose. After everything was ready, there were soon new orders for them to fire. In an instant, the thousands of Magical Crystal Cannons on more than 10 vessels began emitting dazzling rays of light as the cannons shot at the spot below Cage Ind. The dozens of Poseidon Tridents prated the waves and shuttled into the sea as if they were trying to overturn the entire Cage Ind.

    Seeing this scene, almost everyone thought that Cage Ind was going to follow in the footsteps of the ckwater Swamp, andpletely disappear from Anril.

    However, after all the attacks stopped for the time being, the people were surprised to find that Cage Ind did not seem to have undergone any changes. The only difference was that the sea around Cage Ind began surging even more violently than before, causing massive waves to charge upwards and crash against the battleships.

    The massive battleships of the Gilded Kingdom were sorge that they looked like floating inds. However,pared to the huge waves, the giant battleships seemed rather small, and each wave seemed to almost press them down to the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, alchemy was used in the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom, so almost no one had to work on the deck. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out.

    The fleet which had been thrown into jeopardy by the huge waves did not bother to adjust its formation, and immediately opened fire and attacked the bottom of Cage Ind again. This time, they attacked continuously, and were even at the risk of overloading their cannons.

    This was a feast for the eyes of the scouts in the distance. At the same time, they were overwhelmed by the strength of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet. With such a terrifying power, it was no wonder that they would be said to dominate the Endless Ocean. Even the naval fleets of Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom were destroyed.

    However, the stronger the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet was, the more bizarre Cage Ind looked. If it had been an ordinary ind, the first salvo from the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships would have been enough to destroy the ind. However, Cage Ind was still intact after being bombarded with the full force of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet for a long time.

    What exactly was hidden under Cage Ind? Was there really a legendary ancient evil wyrm that had been imprisoned there? After receiving the information from the scouts, almost everyone became quite interested in Cage Ind which they originally did not bother to mention at all.

    Of course, they had the self-awareness to know that they were not fit to intervene in this matter. Even a force like the Gilded Kingdom which had a powerful fleet and the Sanctuary powerhouse could not cause any substantial damage to Cage Ind. Wouldn¡¯t they be courting death if they intervened?

    Hence, all they could do was to instruct their scouts to speed up the frequency of news transmission so that they could understand the situation of the battle on Cage Ind as timely as possible. None of the leaders of the forces had the guts to take the risk seeing the situation for themselves. After all, there was no benefit to that, so who would do something that wouldn¡¯t be beneficial?

    As countless people watched Cage Ind, changes urred in the battle again. The situation was progressing in a direction that was extremely unfavorable to the Gilded Kingdom. A true Sanctuary powerhouse and a fleet with impablebat power fell into an absolute disadvantage before they could even see their enemies.

    At this moment, Elder Zumar¡¯s face had turned extremely sullen, and his Domain World was on the verge of copsing too. The battleships that surrounded Cage Ind also seemed to have been wrecked, and were beyond pathetic. In fact, they could be said to be in a miserable state.

    Two battleships have submerged to the extent that only the observation deck is still exposed on the surface, while another had already sailed away from the battle area with difficulty. The battleship was tilted, and had clearly been heavily damaged. As for the rest of the battleships, they were still persistently bombarding Cage Ind, but each of them was severely damaged.

 Chapter 1058 - Requesting Aid

    <h4>Chapter 1058: Requesting Aid</h4>

    Seeing such a situation, Elder Zumar knew that there was no hope for this matter to be resolved using his own power. Hence, he summoned Cantory who had arrived with the team while keeping up his Domain World, and suppressing the power of the mysterious existence below Cage Ind.

    ¡°Elder Zumar!¡± Cantory eximed, behaving like an obedient child in front of Elder Zumar. His unruly nature was not shown at all.

    ¡°Cantory, you have been in charge of the matters in the Breezy ins, and you¡¯ve had contact with the various forces of the Breezy ins. Now, I want you to immediately go and contact those forces of the Breezy ins and find a way to get them involved in this matter.¡± Elder Zumar quickly finished his sentence, and waved his hand to send Cantory away from his Domain World without waiting for his response.

    After hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, Cantory understood that he wanted him to go and ask for help from the forces of the Breezy ins. However, given how arrogant Cantory was, asking for help from others was simply a torture for him, not to mention requesting it from the forces of the Breezy ins which he looked down on in the first ce.

    However, before Cantory could say anything, he felt an unstoppable force surging towards him, and he couldn¡¯t continue saying what he wanted to. By the time he got a clearer idea of the situation around him, he realized that he was in a ce that he had passed by when he went to Cage Ind. No matter how reluctant he was, he had no choice but to act ording to Elder Zumar¡¯s instructions.

    ¡°Which force do you belong to? Take me to your leader!¡± Cantory decided to save himself the trouble, and directly grabbed from the vicinity a scout, who then led him to the leader of the force he belonged to. The leader was none other than the patriarch of the Cartia Family, Sandev.

    Sandev had previously been frightened by the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s group, thinking that the other party was trying to take revenge on his family. Although he¡¯d discoveredter that that had not been the case, there were changes in his heart. Ever since he returned from the Mithril Alliance, he had been thinking about how to get on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side and cozy up to them.

    Cantory¡¯s arrival was just what Sandev needed as it was a perfect opportunity for him to cozy up to the Gilded Kingdom.

    In order to cozy up to the Gilded Kingdom, Sandev of the Cartia Family naturally dared not dy in helping Cantory. He was even more hardworking than when he was handling his own matters. While serving Cantory like he was a prestigious guest, he sent out arge amount of manpower to contact the various forces of the Breezy ins.

    In fact, the leaders of the forces could already tell from the news about Cantory being sent out by Zumar, which was delivered by the scouts, that the Gilded Kingdom was probably having a hard time hanging on. After all, they all saw the state of the battle on Cage Ind, and it was obvious that the Gilded Kingdom was overwhelmed and stuck in a spot.

    The leaders of the forces of the Breezy ins were overjoyed to see the Gilded Kingdom in trouble. Why would they jeopardize it, and do something that wasn¡¯t beneficial to them at all? They were not fools, and knew that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had a real Sanctuary powerhouse, yet they were still in such a terrible state. Even if there were treasures on Cage Ind, they would probably die before they could enjoy them.

    However, they did not want their rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom to be too stiff, as that wouldn¡¯t be beneficial to them, either. Hence, after getting the news, they also sent some representatives to the Cartia Family. Of course, before they set out, the representatives were instructed to just go over and go through the motions, and perhaps see how the arrogant members of the Gilded Kingdom swallowed their pride.

    Looking at the representatives of the forces with a sullen expression, Cantory wished he could rip them into pieces. They were speaking to him respectfully and giving him endlesspliments, but when he got to the main topic, they immediately began patronizing him, causing the entire discussion to end up being just a waste of time.

    Given Cantory¡¯s usual temper, he would have long lost his temper in the past, but now he had to suppress the anger in his heart. Although he had always been arrogant, he had clear priorities and knew that it was not the time to cause trouble, since Elder Zumar and the rest were still waiting for reinforcements on Cage Ind.

    ording to his usual way of handling matters, Cantory even tried to use some sophistry to convince the representatives of the forces at the beginning of the discussion. However, he soon came to his senses, and realized that they were not in the Gilded Kingdom, but the Breezy ins where no one would be convinced by him.

    Hence, after realizing the truth, Cantory immediately began trying to tempt them with interests. Knowing that the forces of the Breezy ins were driven by profits, he thought that they would give everything they had to help as long as he offered them enough. However, despite being full of greed, the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins did not agree to Cantory¡¯s offers this time.

    They were not fools. Even if the Gilded Kingdom offered them a massive benefit, they would have to be alive in order to enjoy it. Although they did not know about the situation on Cage Ind, they could tell that it was not simple. Even the powerful Gilded Kingdom ended up in such a terrible state. If they intervened, they would only end up being cannon fodder, which would usually end up with nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, Cage Ind belongs to the Breezy ins, not the Gilded Kingdom. If the things inside escape, the first to suffer will be the Breezy ins.¡± Seeing that the n to tempt them had failed, Cantory tried to threaten them, which indeed made the representatives of the various forces below suddenly panic.

    During this period of time, the forces of the Breezy ins had also searched everywhere for information rted to the legend of the Cage Ind, but in addition to the legend of the ancient dragon that had been imprisoned by a Titan, there wasn¡¯t any other information that seemed reliable. Hence, no one except the people of the Gilded Kingdom knew what was below Cage Ind.

    Hearing Cantory¡¯s threat, the people of the Breezy ins dared not take it too lightly despite suspecting something. In the past, the Retribution Knight ravaged the Breezy ins, and subjected it to a devastating disaster which caused countless factions to disappear. The ones that were lucky to survive had also suffered major losses.

    Looking at themotion caused by the Gilded Kingdom on Cage Ind, they reckoned that there had to be something impressive in there. Even if it was not as impressive as Rodhart, it would definitely cause a bloodbath in the Breezy ins.

    Of course, that was only one possibility. Another possibility could be that the Gilded Kingdom was just making an exaggeration to implicate the forces of the Breezy ins. After all, even if these forces finally figured out what happened, they could not really do anything to the Gilded Kingdom.

    The news immediately made the representatives of the forces below talk to each other, which was to Cantory¡¯s relief. Although the benefits he offered were not enough to attract them, they probably would not refuse when their interests were concerned.

    However, while Cantory was waiting for the crowd to take a stand, Joseph, who represented the Mithril Alliance, suddenly said, ¡°Envoy Cantory, I think we can¡¯t give you an answer immediately. Well, you should know that we have always been at the mercy of the Ashen Warlock Rnd when ites to making arrangements for the Breezy ins. Now, President Felic of the Tower of Ashes can be considered Lord Rnd¡¯s spokesperson. Hence, we have to seek his opinion. As long as you can convince President Felic, we won¡¯t have an opinion.¡±

    Joseph did not want to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom or get involved in this matter. Hence, he thought of putting the me on the Tower of Dusk. Of course, he was too embarrassed to tell Cantory that the forces had once submitted to the Tower of Dusk, and thus said that Lin Li was the spokesman of the Ashen Warlock.

    ording to Joseph¡¯s idea, the entry of the Gilded Kingdom into the Breezy ins had undoubtedly caused considerable damage to the interests of the Tower of Dusk. Although the two sides reached an agreement in the negotiations, everyone knew that two tigers couldn¡¯t share one mountain. Thus, it was only a matter of time before a war broke out between the two top forces. The Tower of Dusk would gloat over the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s predicament, and obviously wouldn¡¯t step forth to help.

    Not only could the other faction decline to help the Gilded Kingdom, they would not have to fall out with them, either. Such a perfect solution where they could have the best of both worlds had always been the favorite of the forces of the Breezy ins. Hence, after hearing Joseph¡¯s words, the representatives of the other forces also immediately chimed in to support his idea.

    However, Cantory did not think so much. After all, when they hade to the Breezy ins, they had gone to the Ashen Warlock, only to be told that they had to speak to President Felic of the Tower of Dusk regarding all the issues in the Breezy ins. Hence, in their opinion, it would not be wrong to say that the president of the Tower of Dusk was the spokesman of the Ashen Warlock.

    However, what made Cantory feel troubled was the fact that he knew how difficult it was to deal with President Felic of the Tower of Dusk after the previous negotiations. Although the negotiations were finally settled, the process and oue were unsatisfactory.

    Initially, Cantory had felt that he might never have to deal with the Tower of Dusk again, and perhaps the next time they met would be when the Gilded Kingdom took over the Breezy ins. However, the people of the Breezy ins actually told him now to talk to the damned Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Cantory immediately felt a headacheing on.

    At this time, Cantory even felt regretful for not enjoying life well in the Gilded Kingdom, and insisting on going to the Breezy ins to suffer. However, it was toote for regrets now, and he knew that if he failed to handle this well, even his teacher wouldn¡¯t forgive him. He would also end up losing his status, glory, wealth, and so on.

    ring at the people who were seated nearby, Cantory knew that they were using the Tower of Dusk as a shield, and thus there was no longer any point in trying to tempt or threaten them. However, at the thought of his previous negotiation experience, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a headache. In the past, he had been extorted of all his kingdom¡¯s maritime information for the sake of entering the Breezy ins. What price would he have to pay this time!?

    To be frank, Cantory felt some fear towards the young president of the Tower of Dusk, which was a fact that might shock everyone. Cantory would rather stay on Cage Ind than swallow his pride to beg the young president of the Tower of Dusk to help.

    However, Cantory no longer had a choice now. Not only did he have to face the damned Felic, he had to make sure that he got the matter done. In other words, no matter how Lin Li made things difficult for him and how outrageous his requests were, he had to give in, even if Lin Li wanted to p him.

    At this point, Cantory knew that there was no point in saying anything else to these forces. As long as he could convince Lin Li, they would have no more excuses. If he couldn¡¯t, they wouldn¡¯t agree even if he threatened them with a knife.

    Although he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it, Cantory immediately left the crowd in the conference hall, and used the Power of Flight to fly towards the Tower of Dusk without dy.

    At the beginning, Cantory¡¯s flight speed was very fast, but when he saw the huge Sky Castle in the sky¡ªor perhaps it was because he had been flying too fast, and hadn¡¯t thought about how to face Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk, and how to persuade him to intervene¡ªhe slowed down.

    However, no matter how slow Cantory was, the journey could not be extended. He watched as the Tower of Dusk becamerger in sight while the surrounding Magic Towers became clearer. However, he was incredibly confused, and was at a loss for what to do.

    While hesitating, Cantory flew close to the Tower of Dusk and descended at the gate of the Magic City. In the past, he would have just flown directly to the Tower of Dusk. Of course, he didn¡¯t do so now¡ªnot out of courtesy, but purely because he needed more time.

    There weren¡¯t any strict entry requirements at the Magic City of the Tower of Dusk, so Cantory, who was wearing a magic robe, had already reached the gate before he even realized it.

 Chapter 1059 - Aid

    <h4>Chapter 1059: Aid</h4>

    At this moment, someone finally went forth to stop him and question him. After all, even the mages were not allowed to enter and leave the tower freely, let alone Cantory, an obvious outsider.

    Cantory, who had snapped out of his trance, subconsciously wanted to fly into a rage, but fortunately he reacted fast enough. As soon as he started ring, he remembered where he was, and quickly put on a calmer expression. He said to the mage who came to question him, ¡°I¡¯m an envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, and I would like to see your president for something urgent.¡±

    <i>The envoy of the Gilded Kingdom?</i> As soon as he heard Cantory report his identity, the expression of that mage from the Tower of Dusk immediately became sullen. In fact, many people, including some mages of the Tower of Dusk, felt that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s entry to the Breezy ins would affect the Tower of Dusk the most.

    Before the Gilded Kingdom arrived, the Tower of Dusk had reached a level where all the forces in the Breezy ins had to stoop low and submit to them. However, once the Gilded Kingdom arrived, there were two authoritative forces that the factions had to subdue to. Besides, it was obvious that the Tower of Dusk and Gilded Kingdom would sh sooner orter.

    Therefore, in the view of the majority of people, the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom were still at odds with each other even though they had reached a consensus for their negotiations¡ªthey had merelypromised with each other on the surface, so there just seemed to be less animosity and hostility between the two.

    Now that the enemy was standing right in front of him, the mage of the Tower of Dusk naturally wouldn¡¯t be nice to him. However, this mage didn¡¯t have a high status. Those in the Sky Castle who liked battles would probably have chased Cantory out.

    ¡°So you¡¯re an envoy of the Gilded Kingdom. Please wait here for a moment, I will go to report to our president.¡± The mage did not lead Cantory to the guest hall, and instead left without him after bringing him to the main hall.

    Cantory had never been treated that way all his life. If not for what had happened on Cage Ind, he would have probably turned around to leave angrily. However, he now had no choice but to hold his anger back and stay there. He even looked for a ce to sit down in the hall.

    Besides, what made Cantory feel terrible was the vast number of people who were passing by in the hall. The mage did not speak softly just now, and almost everyone in the hall heard him. Hence, they were all looking at Cantory with a hostile expression.

    If Cantory hade because of other things, he would have definitely raised his chin high to express his disdain for them. However, he was there to request help from the president of the Tower of Dusk. To put it bluntly, he was there to plead with Lin Li. Although the mages should not know this, he had a guilty conscience, and felt that they were aware.

    After a period of time, which Cantory felt was centuries long, the mage who had received him finally came out, and brought him to a meeting room. Without those intense gazes, Cantory finally felt better. However, when he thought about how he was going to face someone who was much harder to deal with, and even had to ask him for help, he immediately felt that his disaster had just begun.

    ¡°I heard that the Gilded Kingdom has recentlyunched a huge operation on Cage Ind. How can you have the time to visit our tiny force, Envoy Cantory? When I heard the report from the people downstairs just now, I thought that someone was assuming your identity. My apologies,¡± said Lin Li, who didn¡¯t deliberately make Cantory wait longer. At his current level, he wouldn¡¯t bother doing something so petty.

    Although Cantory was there to ask for help, he had never begged all his life. Others were always the ones to beg him. Even if he wanted to beg, he couldn¡¯t seem the part so easily. Seeing Lin Li enter the guest hall, Cantory sat still, and disdainfully said, ¡°It¡¯s really hard to see you, President Felic. Is this how the Tower of Dusk treats its guests?¡±

    Although it might not be considered hard for others, Cantory obviously thought differently. Given his status in the Gilded Kingdom, the people he wanted to see would be waiting for him way before he arrived. Almost no one would dare to make him wait.

    However, at the Tower of Dusk today, he was first made to wait outside in the hall where everyone cast peculiar gazes at him, and then, when he reached the guest hall, no one came to receive or entertain him. Cantory was long infuriated. He didn¡¯t forget what his agenda was, though. Otherwise, he would have long stomped off in a fury.

    Of course, Cantory was not just venting his frustration and displeasure, but rather wanted to pave the foundation for their conversation. Simply put, if he took control of the flow earlier, he wouldn¡¯t be in a passive position when requesting helpter.

    Lin Li smiled faintly, and didn¡¯t care about Cantory¡¯sint. Instead, he walked towards a seat and sat down. ¡°Envoy Cantory, you and I both know what the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom is. Besides, we have our own way of hosting guests, and it varies depending on the guest. Okay, just cut straight to the chase. Surely you didn¡¯te here to dere war this time, did you?¡±

    Cantory originally wanted to wait for Lin Li to apologize so that he could start talking about the matter of Cage Ind, but he did not expect Lin Li to answer so bluntly. Besides, those words reminded him of the previous negotiation he had with Lin Li when his fleet was attacked.

    <i>What¡¯s the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk? We¡¯re enemies, of course!</i> Thinking about the pressing issue at hand, Cantory¡¯s heart sank. Asking one¡¯s enemy for help was probably the greatest joke ever. Cantory felt that if he was in Lin Li¡¯s ce, he definitely wouldn¡¯t help his enemy, either. He would even kick him down further, and leave him with no means of survival.

    As he thought about it, Cantory subconsciously broke out in a cold sweat, and even hesitated to tell Lin Li his agenda. If Lin Li chose not to help, and even added insult to his injury, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s dream of dominating the Breezy ins would burst like a bubble.

    ¡°Envoy Cantory, the Tower of Dusk may be small, but we have a lot to handle every day. If you¡¯re really here just to be a guest, I¡¯ll get someone to take you around. I won¡¯t entertain you longer then,¡± Lin Li said, not standing on ceremony after seeing how hesitant Cantory was. He stood up and got ready to leave.

    ¡°Um... President Felic, please wait a moment,¡± Cantory said as he frantically stood up. Despite feeling infuriated, he put on a sincere expression, and said, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m here this time for a very important matter. I was appointed by Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, and I hope to cooperate with you in the matter on Cage Ind, President Felic.¡±

    Cantory also figured out that there was no one in the entire Breezy ins who didn¡¯t know about the disaster on Cage Ind. If the Tower of Dusk had really wanted to kick them while they were down, they would have done so long ago. However, he did not directly ask for help, and instead said that he was interested in a cooperation with the Tower of Dusk.

    If he requested help, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely be in a vulnerable position, being tantamount to meat that was waiting to be sliced, and they would have toply with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s requests. If it was a cooperation, the two parties would be of equal status. There would be no negotiation then. Now, if the Tower of Dusk demanded a high price, the Gilded Kingdom could bargain.

    Cantory¡¯s idea was good, but Lin Li was not the type to be taken advantage of easily. Hearing that Cantory wanted to cooperate, Lin Li immediately stood up and shook his head smilingly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not interested in Cage Ind, so there¡¯s no need to say anything about cooperation.¡±

    ¡°Wait, President Felic, if you have any conditions, we can talk things over slowly.¡± Cantory panicked a little. If the Tower of Dusk was just the Tower of Dusk, he wouldn¡¯t have to be too nervous. The problem was that the other forces in the Breezy ins were all acting ording to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s decision. If he could not persuade the president of the Tower of Dusk, the Gilded Kingdom might really not get any help in the Breezy ins.

    ¡°Envoy Cantory, this is not a matter of conditions. Cage Ind is not included in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s development n, so no matter what you¡¯ve discovered on Cage Ind, the Tower of Dusk would not be interested in intervening, so don¡¯t worry,¡± Lin Li said righteously, making Cantory feel like he was facing an immovable mountain.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Cantory felt like crying. Previously, the leaders of the Gilded Kingdom had not announced the purpose of this operation to the outside world, because they were worried that other forces would covet the secret treasures of Cage Ind. However, he really wished that they would be interested in Cage Ind now so that he wouldn¡¯t have to swallow his pride and ask for help.

    ¡°President Felic, I reckon you should also know very clearly about the matter on Cage Ind. I admit that the development of the situation has indeed exceeded our expectations, and the only thing we can do now is let Elder Zumar temporarily suppress the existence below Cage Ind. However, we can¡¯t suppress it entirely.¡± In a moment of helplessness and desperation, Cantory had no choice but to admit that the group from the Gilded Kingdom had indeed encountered a tough problem on Cage Ind.

    ¡°Oh? In this case, Envoy Cantory, you should be returning to the Gilded Kingdom now to ask for help immediately. Why do you still have the time toe to this Tower of Dusk to be my guest?¡± Lin Li was not intentionally trying to mock him. It was just that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to offer help if Cantory didn¡¯t state things clearly.

    Lin Li¡¯s words caused a look of embarrassment to appear on Cantory¡¯s face, and he had a hard time suppressing the anger in his heart. A momentter, he said, ¡°President Felic, you can probably imagine how big a disaster it would be for the entire Breezy ins if that horrible and terrifying existence under Cage Ind really escaped. Although the Gilded Kingdom is far away, Elder Zumar can¡¯t bear to see the beings in the Breezy ins suffering and dying. Hence, he sent me to contact the various forces in hopes that we can join forces to suppress that thing again before it breaks free.¡±

    Cantory rephrased his words, but in fact, he still made it sound like a cooperation, except that the purpose of cooperation was not for any profits, but to protect the safety of the Breezy ins. Besides, he even specially pointed out that the Gilded Kingdom was located overseas. If things were to really spiral out of control, he could at most just leave. However, where could the forces of the Breezy ins, including the Tower of Dusk, flee?

    However, after hearing his words, Lin Li nced at Cantory, and calmly said, ¡°You people were the ones who caused this to happen, so naturally you have to be responsible. If you don¡¯t wish to take responsibility, you can move out of the Breezy ins. Whatever happens in the future will no longer have anything to do with you.¡±

    Profits were the biggest motivation. Lin Li did not believe that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s forces woulde to the Breezy ins just for the sake of helping them solve a crisis. During the negotiation previously, Lin Li had already discovered that the Breezy ins was of vital use to the Gilded Kingdom, and Cage Ind should only be one of their agendas. Although he couldn¡¯t know the details, Lin Li could tell that no matter what the reason was, the Gilded Kingdom definitely wouldn¡¯t withdraw easily like what Cantory had mentioned since they had already entered.

    Offering benefits didn¡¯t work, and neither did ying the justice card. Did he really have to put his pride aside and beg!? Looking at Lin Li who refused to give in, Cantory was infuriated, but he could onlyfort himself by telling himself that he would settle scores with the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    ¡°President Felic, we are not trying to shirk our responsibility, but this matter is beyond our current capabilities. The Gilded Kingdom is far away in the sea, but we can¡¯t get any help from there for now. Hence, I¡¯m here this time because I hope to get your help.¡± Out of desperation, Cantory had no choice but to muster the courage and swallow his pride to reveal his true agenda.

    However, after saying this, Cantory did not feel any less worried. Instead, he panicked even more, as if he was waiting for thest verdict as he stared at Lin Li¡¯s face. He had tried to tempt Lin Li with interests and yed the justice card, but Lin Li refused to give him a nod of approval. Now, hecked even more confidence.

    ¡°Oh, I see. You could have just stated from the beginning that you need help.¡± Lin Li looked like he hade to a sudden realization. He nodded slightly, and said, ¡°Alright, since you really need help, I¡¯ll apany you to Cage Ind.¡±

 Chapter 1060 - Reason

    <h4>Chapter 1060: Reason</h4>

    <i>How can it be like this? It doesn¡¯t make sense!</i> Cantory yelled inwardly. He even felt a little dizzy as he couldn¡¯t believe his ears at all. After saying so much, he still didn¡¯t get Lin Li¡¯s nod of approval, yet now it came unexpectedly.

    <i>Did he just agree to help so quickly? Could it be that this president of the Tower of Dusk is really a kind-hearted person who likes to help others?</i>

    However, after snapping out of his shock, Cantory also immediately figured out that Lin Li was not helping others out of kindness, but was simply trying to give himself more reason to bargain for more during the negotiationter. During a cooperation, they would have an equal status. However, by asking for help, Cantory would clearly be putting himself and the Gilded Kingdom in a position that was lower than the Tower of Dusk¡¯s. Although the party that was requesting for help could not give everything the other party wanted, he had no rights to bargain.

    At this moment, Lin Li did not mention any conditions to Cantory. Instead, he reached his hand out into the air to open up a deep spatial rift.

    Seeing that Lin Li had casually formed a spatial rift in the air, Cantory was immediately dumbfounded. Even though he only had Legendary strength, he had naturally interacted with genuine Sanctuary powerhouses before since he was a disciple of the Illuminati. Initially, he always thought that Lin Li, the incredibly young Sanctuary powerhouse, definitely relied on the magic tides to be a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse, just like Elvis of the Mithril Alliance and the others.

    Although a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse was also a Sanctuary powerhouse, the former was far inferior, and they might never progress any further in the future. That was the very reason that Cantory, who had already reached the peak of the Legendary-realm, did not take the chance to break through to the Sanctuary-realm.

    At the same time, that was also the reason that Cantory did not take Lin Li, the Sanctuary powerhouse who was about his age, too seriously. In his opinion, he himself might be weaker than pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, but he would definitely surpass them in the future.

    However, an unbelievable conjecture immediately popped up in Cantory¡¯s mind when he saw Lin Li casually cutting out a spatial rift in the air. He remembered that his teacher once said that among all the Laws, the Space Laws might not be the most difficult toprehend, but they were definitely the most difficult to master. In order to fully master the Space Laws, the most basic and important ability one had to have was that of creating his own Domain World. That was also something that even genuine Sanctuary powerhouses might not be able to do.

    <i>Impossible! He¡¯s so young! How can he step into the Sanctuary-realm based on his talent!?</i> Cantory was known to be a genius in the Gilded Kingdom where he was called the best among the younger generation. Even his teacher, the priest of the Illuminati, had sung high praises for his talent. He had always believed that even in Anril, he was definitely the most talented. Hence, he definitely didn¡¯t believe that there would actually be someone who was even more talented in him in such a barbaric and backward ce like Anril.

    <i>Is that some kind of magical equipment?</i> After some careful search, Cantory suddenly realized that the magic robe that Lin Li was wearing was emitting an obscure fluctuation of Space Laws. That discovery made his eyes light up. <i>I knew it, how can someone in his early twenties master the power that even ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses can¡¯t master? That magic robe must be the reason!</i>

    <i>Indeed, Felic has even obtained the Sky Castle, he might just have been able to get some precious magical equipment from in there!</i> At the thought of this, Cantory finally regained some confidence in his own talent. At the same time, he had even greater disdain for Lin Li¡¯s decision to open the spatial rift in the sky. In his opinion, Lin Li¡¯s purpose in doing so was obviously to show off his strength, but he felt that there was nothing to show off, because he relied on magical equipment!

    ¡°Envoy Cantory, are you ready to go?¡± Lin Li stood in front of the spatial rift and turned to face Cantory whose face was gradually bing more radiant.

    ¡°Yes, we can set off anytime.¡± He regained his confidence proudly, and immediately felt much more relieved. He vaguely seemed to be raising his chin again.

    Cantory¡¯s change made Lin Li feel a bit puzzled, but he did not take it to heart, and instead directly stepped into the spatial rift. Although Cantory looked hesitant, he nheless bit the bullet and entered.

    When he stepped out of the spatial rift, Cantory found himself in the tiny Rafa City where the Cartia Family was. It was also the same ce where he met with the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins. After some calction, Cantory knew that it only took him a few minutes to get to that ce from the Tower of Dusk through the spatial rift.

    However, he had already determined that it was the power of that magic robe that allowed Lin Li to do it. Although the incredible moving speed was indeed amazing, Cantory didn¡¯t feel too shocked. He didn¡¯t even turn around to look at the spatial rift that was gradually closing. Smiling smugly as usual, he walked towards Lin Li, and said, ¡°President Felic, the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins are now in Rafa City. Let¡¯s discuss the matter of Cage Ind together.¡±

    In the conference hall of the Cartia Family in Rafa City, the representatives who were already ready to return to their respective forces headed back to the hall in disbelief after receiving the news. To them, the news was rather unexpected because everyone knew that the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom were in a hostile rtionship, so would the conscientious president of the Tower of Dusk really help the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team?

    After the representatives of the various forces were seated in the conference hall, Lin Li entered under Cantory¡¯s lead. After Lin Li appeared, the conference hall, which was still a bit noisy, suddenly fell silent. Almost everyone was surprised, and their jaws dropped as their bodies stiffened like y statues. They watched as Lin Li slowly moved over.

    <i>Seriously? That Cantory actually managed to invite President Felic here! Haven¡¯t they always shared a hostile rtionship?</i> In the opinion of the representatives of the various forces, the Tower of Dusk was probably the force that was the least likely to help the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins.

    The entry of the Gilded Kingdom into the Breezy ins had obviously affected the position of the Tower of Dusk. During the previous negotiations, the Tower of Dusk had also attacked the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom, and even revealed that they were at odds with each other. Although the negotiations ended sessfully, everyone knew that the peace was only temporary. Soon, there would definitely be a conflict between the two forces again.

    That was also the reason that they decided to use the Tower of Dusk as a shield when they were being coerced by Cantory. They even said that they would follow the Tower of Dusk¡¯s decisions. They had originally thought that with the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom, the Tower of Dusk would definitely not agree to help the Gilded Kingdom. Then, they would have an appropriate excuse to stay out of the matter.

    However, they had not expected to see President Felic of the Tower of Dusk there. Besides, it did not look like he hade to make things worse for the Gilded Kingdom. That waspletely beyond their previous expectations. This time, if the Tower of Dusk¡¯s president agreed to Cantory¡¯s request, they would no longer have a reason to refute, unless they went all out to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom.

    Everyone watched as Lin Li walked towards the middle of the conference hall without showing any intentions to discuss with them. He straightaway said, ¡°Alright, there is nothing much to talk about now. Ry the news and inform the leaders of your forces to make a trip here.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words caused their hopes to bepletely dashed. Everyone knew that Lin Li was referring to the hidden powerhouses like Elvis and the others. They didn¡¯t think that the young president of the Tower of Dusk would want the hidden powerhouses of those forces toe here just for a chat.

    After saying that, Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything more, and instead turned around to leave the conference hall. When he finally vanished from their sight, everyone immediately got into an uproar, and began discussing Lin Li¡¯s appearance. They couldn¡¯t understand how the arrogant Cantory managed to convince the Tower of Dusk¡¯s president to intervene despite their hostile rtionship.

    However, regardless of whether they could figure it out or not, none of these people dared to take Lin Li¡¯s words lightly. After all, they didn¡¯t know what would happen if they offended the Gilded Kingdom, but they were well aware of what would happen if they offended the Tower of Dusk. The reason that they agreed to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s request for help was most likely because of interests. Perhaps the Gilded Kingdom held some secrets about Cage Ind, and maybe there was really something wonderful there.

    After the fruitless discussion, they did not dare to dy any longer. After all, they were only the representatives of their respective forces, so they could not really decide on this matter. Hence, after leaving the conference hall, they immediately ryed the news to the leaders of their respective forces through various means.

    Looking at the empty conference hall, Cantory was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions, partly because he hadpleted the task that Elder Zumar gave him and found some help for the Gilded Kingdom, and he felt relieved and overjoyed; on the other hand, he could also tell from the scene just now that the young president of the Tower of Duskmanded a lot of authority in the Breezy ins, so he was rather jealous and resentful.

    As the esteemed envoy of the Gilded Kingdom and the proud disciple of the Illuminati, he actually had less influence than the leader of a minor local force. That made Cantory feel incredibly upset. At the same time, he had also gotten a clear understanding that the Tower of Dusk was going to be an obstacle to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s development in the Breezy ins, and one that could not be ovee.

    However, Cantory was not very worried about that problem, because he was already certain that the young president of the Tower of Dusk was only a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse. In his opinion, as long as Elder Zumar intervened, it would be a piece of cake for them to deal with a Sanctuary powerhouse who had relied on external forces to enter the Sanctuary-realm.

    In less than half a day¡¯s time, the hidden forces who had received the news rushed to the small Rafa City without dy. They were not like Cantory, who thought that Lin Li was just a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse. They could not say that they were very clear about Lin Li¡¯s true power, but they definitely had firsthand experience with it.

    Those people were pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses themselves, and they naturally had a more realistic perception of Lin Li¡¯s strength. They couldpletely feel the huge gap between Lin Li¡¯s strength and their own. However, regardless of whether they knew what Cantory was thinking, no one would remind him.

    The first to see Lin Li were Elvis, Abrad, and Rojet, the three Sanctuary powerhouses. After bowing to Lin Li, the first question Elvis asked was exactly what everyone was doubting, and that was why Lin Li had agreed to Cantory¡¯s request. Even after entering the Sanctuary-realm, Elvis still found Lin Li¡¯s decision to be incredible. Could it be that Sanctuary powerhouses just found joy in helping others?

    ¡°Master Felic, the Gilded Kingdom did notmunicate with any of us beforehand regarding this matter of Cage Ind. Why did you still agree toe and help them? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to let them die on Cage Ind!?¡± Elvis eximed, filled with anger at the thought of what the Gilded Kingdom had done to them at Port Tim. How could he be willing to help the Gilded Kingdom?

    In Elvis¡¯s opinion, it would be much better to destroy the forces of the Gilded Kingdom directly this time. With the power of that team, it would definitely be a huge loss for them even if the Gilded Kingdom was wealthy. That would also let the arrogant people of the Gilded Kingdom know that the Breezy ins was not a ce where they could do whatever they wanted.

    However, Lin Li smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, ¡°Actually, you guys have to thank the Gilded Kingdom for this matter. If they hadn¡¯t triggered the changes in Cage Ind in advance, you guys probably wouldn¡¯t have known what¡¯s hidden there.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made Elvis and the others perk up immediately as they unanimously thought, <i>Indeed, he won¡¯t do anything that doesn¡¯t bring profit. He obviously knows the secrets that are hidden on Cage Ind.</i>

    Although Elvis and others were not genuine Sanctuary powerhouses, they had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm after all, and so they had a good understanding of the mindset of real Sanctuary powerhouses.

 Chapter 1061 - Evil Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 1061: Evil Dragon</h4>

    They knew very well that for true Sanctuary powerhouses, those people under the Sanctuary-realm were truly insignificant mobs. For example, when Rodhart ravaged the Breezy ins, the Ashen Warlock could stop him. However, he did not take action at all, because no matter how many people died in the Breezy ins, they were insignificant ants who were not worth the effort in the eyes of the Ashen Warlock.

    Hence, after receiving the news that Lin Li had agreed to help the Gilded Kingdom, Elvis did not believe that Lin Li was helping others out of kindness, nor did he think that he waspassionate. They believed that the only real reason was that there was definitely something on Cage Ind that was attractive enough to entice him, a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°Master Felic, could it be that you know something about Cage Ind?¡± Elvis asked cautiously. Despite being well aware that even if there was really something impressive on Cage Ind, he didn¡¯t seem strong enough topete with the Tower of Dusk or the Gilded Kingdom, he still couldn¡¯t help but be a little curious.

    However, Lin Li shook his head, and said, ¡°You have to ask the people of Gilded Kingdom what exactly there is under Cage Ind. However, I have to remind you about something. You should all know very well about the legend of Cage Ind. There has been peace on Cage Ind for so many years, but there is such a huge uproar this time. Maybe the legend is not just a legend.¡±

    ¡°Master Felic, are you trying to say that an ancient evil dragon has really been imprisoned under Cage Ind?¡± Lin Li¡¯s words made Elvis and the others a little surprised. After all, in the opinion of ordinary people, legends were unreliable.

    ¡°Be it an ancient evil dragon or anything, Cage Ind has existed in the Breezy ins for a long time. No one can deduce exactly how long it has been since its appearance, and it seems that it has existed before the Dark Age. Since that thing on Cage Ind can exist for such a long period of time, it definitely isn¡¯t simple. Maybe it¡¯s a powerful existence that¡¯s at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Once that thing breaks free, I¡¯m afraid that the entire Breezy ins will be destroyed.¡± Lin Li did not give them a definite answer, and merely analyzed things based on the current situation.

    In fact, what Lin Li said was almost the same as the reasons that Cantory had used to persuade the representatives of the various forces previously. Although Elvis and the others did not believe Cantory, because he represented the Gilded Kingdom, they could not ignore Lin Li¡¯s words.

    Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Elvis and the others did not doubt their validity. Their expressions immediately changed. What truly shocked them was not the idea of the Breezy ins possibly being destroyed, but the words ¡°peak of the Sanctuary-realm¡±.

    Different people had different ideas about destruction. For ordinary people, destruction might be a horrible disaster, but for Elvis and others who belonged to ancient forces with rich heritages, it was probably considered nothing. For instance, when the Retribution Knight Rodhart ravaged the Breezy ins, the Mithril Alliance and other forces persevered even though nearly half of the poption of the Breezy ins perished.

    However, when Lin Li mentioned the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, they thought of a synonym for it, which was a ¡®demigod¡¯, appeared in their minds. It meant something only half a step away from bing a true god. If the unknown existence trapped on the Cage Ind really had the terrifying strength of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, not only would the Breezy ins be destroyed, the factions would definitely face a huge destruction too. That was a true annihtion, and even Elvis and the other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses probably wouldn¡¯t be able to save their own lives.

    ¡°The peak of the Sanctuary-realm!¡± Elvis and the others swallowed their saliva and looked at Lin Li, their faces as pale as a sheet. It seemed that they were hoping that Lin Li was only joking about what he had just said.

    However, Lin Li did not let them have their wishes fulfilled. Instead, he continued, ¡°You should know that nothing in this world is immortal, let alone a seal that traps such a powerful existence. The people of the Gilded Kingdom should have only touched the seal in advance to trigger the awakening of the existence that¡¯s been imprisoned. Besides, this is an opportunity for us. Otherwise, when that thinges out of Cage Ind, we will no longer have an opportunity.¡±

    ¡°In that case, we really can¡¯t just stand by and watch. If we really let that thing escape, we will be doomed. The people of the Gilded Kingdom can flee back to the sea, but we, the forces of the Breezy ins, will be in trouble.¡± Elvis and the others were obviously all persuaded by Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes. It may seem like we are helping the Gilded Kingdom now, but from another perspective, the Gilded Kingdom is actually helping us suppress that unknown existence. Hence, we are actually in the same boat as the Gilded Kingdom in this regard.¡± Lin Li¡¯s idea was rather simple: the enemy of an enemy was a friend. Regardless of the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk, they at least shared amon goal in this matter regarding Cage Ind.

    However, Lin Li did not tell Elvis and the others everything, and he actually left out an important point¡ªhe found the aura of Cage Ind very familiar. That was the reason that he was sure that the legend about Cage Ind was not fabricated. He had a hunch that the ancient dragon hidden below the seal was one he knew.

    After Lin Li talked to Elvis and others, the hidden powerhouses of various forces also arrived in Rafa City one after another. Some of them had not appeared for hundreds to thousands of years, and the outsiders even thought that they had already died countless years ago. They didn¡¯t expect all of them toe out this time.

    When almost everyone had arrived, the people once again gathered in the conference hall. Among them, more than 10 of them were pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, and there were only 20-30 Legendary powerhouses left. Although the number of people had decreased greatly, not every force had apetent powerhouse. However, it caused the conference hall to be filled with an unprecedented frightening aura.

    Even Cantory, who had always been arrogant, couldn¡¯t help but be secretly surprised when he saw the forces bringing out their manpower all of a sudden. Of course, the surprise onlysted for a moment, and Cantory knew that the Breezy ins was like a grain of rice. Although there were many powerhouses, they would not be able to contend with the Gilded Kingdom unless they united.

    ¡°Okay, Envoy Cantory, those who shoulde have already arrived. You ought to give us a detailed introduction too.¡± Although Lin Li was casually sitting on a seat in the conference hall, it made them feel that the powerhouses present vaguely saw him as their leader.

    Looking at the various powerhouses who were seated, Cantory knew that he had reached thest stage of his mission. As long as the information he gave was satisfactory to them, he would seed in obtaining help. However, he was not a clueless brat, and naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal to them all the information that he knew.

    ¡°I know that there has always been a legend about Cage Ind in the Breezy ins. Besides, I¡¯m going to tell you now that a legend is not just a legend,¡± Cantory said after weighing the pros and cons.

    Cantory¡¯s words had undoubtedly verified Lin Li¡¯s previous spection, and caused their faces to turn slightly pale. The crowd, including those who had been in the Sanctuary-realm for numerous years, couldn¡¯t help but feel a pang of fear when they thought that they had actually been neighbors with a terrifying existence that was a demigod.

    However, not everyone believed Cantory. After all, only a few people such as Elvis had heard Lin Li¡¯s previous conjectures, and they finally believed that it was true after tallying both statements. Most of them naturally didn¡¯t believe it, since it was their first time hearing of it.

    Hence, after being shocked for a while, someone immediately came forth to question Cantory. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to call this a warning, but Cage Ind is in the Breezy ins, and has existed for numerous years. We all know how bizarre it is, but we have never confirmed the legend that the ancient dragon trapped on the ind is purely a legend. The Gilded Kingdom is far away. Could it be that they know more about the Cage Ind than we do?¡±

    The arrogant Cantory¡¯s face immediately turned sullen after having his conjecture being doubted. However, thinking that this group of people in front of him would be the key to helping the Gilded Kingdom retreat unscathed, he had no choice but to suppress his feelings. He then exined to everyone, ¡°It¡¯s coincidental that we could grasp the situation of Cage Ind. This dates back to the beginning of the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    The Gilded Kingdom was established before the Dark Age by a group of people who had traveled all the way from Anril. Back then, the one who led them overseas to build their home on the seaside ind was Sabur who was known as a Great Sage.

    Legend had it that Sabur was once a noble leader of a ce called Toron Kingdom in the southern coastal region of the Fn Kingdom. Actually, he had already seen the change of the situation in Anril a long time ago. He knew that the High Elves would be the rulers of the continent one day. In fact, he could even foresee the High Elves subjecting the various forces that they dominated to cruel means.

    Hence, Sabur led his citizens who were willing to follow him to create dozens of gigantic battleships to avoid the impending battle. Of course, it was not that easy to brave the Endless Ocean, and their journey was not always smooth sailing, either. If not for Sabur¡¯s foresight, the dozens of battleships would¡¯ve been either overturned in the storm or ripped apart by the massive beasts.

    Even then, when Sabur¡¯s fleet reached the first ind that was suitable for survival and development, half of the fleet had already sunk to the bottom of the Endless Ocean, and those who were fortunate enough to have survived began to build their own homes on the ind under Sabur¡¯s lead. During the construction, Sabur also led the fleet back and forth between the ind and the maind countless times to transport arge number of people to the ind.

    Hence, during the Dark Age, there were two ces on the maind that people were most eager to visit: one was the Rotterdam Kingdom which had gentler administration, while the other was the Gilded Kingdom, which was known as a purend.

    With the influx of people, the Great Sage Sabur began organizing some powerful people, and established a team to expand their living space to the surrounding inds. While discovering newnds, they discovered that the inds that were originally thought to have never been visited by anyone actually contained many relics left from the ancient times. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s alchemy technology was obtained from several relics of goblins.

    The information about Cage Ind that they had was also obtained during the discovery of new inds. Sabur led the team to a ce that seemed to contain Titan relics, and obtained a map that led to Cage Ind in the Breezy ins. At the same time, a document that was found along with the map allowed them to discover that what was sealed under Cage Ind was none other than a powerful ancient evil dragon.

    ¡°Map? Envoy Cantory, I wonder if you can take out that map and let us take a look at it. After all, you were the one who said those things, and we can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s the truth. Hence, it¡¯d be better if you can give us some evidence.¡± The person who questioned Cantory just now suddenly interrupted Cantory, and requested to see that map. The rest immediately supported the notion.

    If it was just an ancient evil dragon, would the Gilded Kingdom have toe all the way from overseas? Anyway, if the ancient evil dragon had really broken free from the seal, the Breezy ins would be in danger, not the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the people of the forces wanted to know the real agenda of the Gilded Kingdom. In that case, the map would be a great clue.

    <i>Why is it him again!?</i> There was some anger in Cantory¡¯s gaze, and he looked in the direction where the voice came from. The person who spoke was actually just an elder who was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, and who came from an insignificant family. Usually, Cantory would not bother dealing with such people, but now he had to bear with it and suppress his anger.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the original copy of this map is too precious, and is now being stored in the treasury of the royal family. I have the copy of the map. If you don¡¯t mind, you may have a look.¡± As Cantory spoke, he took out a map that looked rather new from the space ring on his finger.

 Chapter 1062 - Imprisoned Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 1062: Imprisoned Wyrm</h4>

    The original meaning waspletely different from that of the copy. Due to the fact that the original copy existed a long time ago, there were indelible traces left on it, so it was difficult to falsify it. However, it was different for the copy. Although it was said to be identical to the original one, it was easy to tamper with, and some of the original content could simply be omitted to alter the entire meaning.

    Hence, after hearing that Cantory was just going to take out a copy of the map, the crowd was immediately displeased. Many of them thought, We¡¯re here to help the Gilded Kingdom. Putting aside your real agenda foring to Cage Ind, you even refuse to give us the original copy. You¡¯re not taking us seriously, huh?

    It immediately became livelier in the entire conference hall again. The powerhouses of the various forces who were usually in seclusion began to criticize Cantory for his insincerity. Some of them even stood up and called their friends, all ready to leave.

    Now, Cantory began to panic. Actually, he was telling the truth as the original map was indeed not in his hands, and certainly not in the treasure vault of the Gilded Kingdom. Instead, it was in the hands of Elder Zumar who was on Cage Ind. He didn¡¯t expect the discussion, which was originally going well, to go awry because of a single map. He was already ready to go provide aid for Elder Zumar.

    ¡°President Felic...¡± In a moment of helplessness, Cantory had no choice but to turn to Lin Li for help. In his opinion, Lin Li was the only one who could suppress those people.

    ¡°Well, everyone, we¡¯d better listen to what Envoy Cantory has to say.¡± As expected, the crowd in the conference hall soon quieted down again after hearing Lin Li¡¯s calm words. Those who stood up to leave sat down again.

    Although Lin Li had given Cantory an out, thetter was still furious about the scene as he secretly gritted his teeth in anger. He felt that Lin Li clearly could have stopped them right from the beginning, but he deliberately waited till now, all for the sake of making him embarrassed.

    Of course, Cantory did not reveal any of his thoughts on his face. He knew that the key to getting aid still depended on the young president of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, he specially thanked Lin Li before saying to everyone else, ¡°Please don¡¯t have any doubts about this. I can personally guarantee that the copy of this map has been exactly replicated from the original version without error.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, you don¡¯t have to guarantee anything. There are some things that we are all aware of deep down. What I really want to know is, since you have the map and you know that there is an ancient evil dragon sealed under Cage Ind, why do you have to overestimate your own abilities and try to provoke it? You caused us to be in so much trouble,¡± someone gibed sarcastically again, seeminglyining and venting his frustration after they returned to their respective seats.

    After Lin Li¡¯s words, the powerhouses of the forces stopped harping on the authenticity of the map. Anyway, in the previousmunication with each other, they all understood that it was impossible for them to stay out of the matter. Besides, with Lin Li, a real Sanctuary powerhouse, around, they would not have to worry about the Gilded Kingdom creating any trouble.

    However, no one would be happy to be implicated in such a troublesome matter. Usually, they would bear with the displeasure when facing the Gilded Kingdom as long as it did not harm their own interests. However, the Gilded Kingdom was the one in trouble and needed help now. Hence, they naturally wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to insult the Gilded Kingdom.

    Of course, suchints were not unreasonable. If the Gilded Kingdom did not know about the situation on Cage Ind, the current situation would be understandable. However, the Gilded Kingdom had obtained a map from the ruins, and they clearly knew the ancient evil dragon with terrifying strength was sealed under Cage Ind. So, why didn¡¯t they make any more preparations? The Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati were extremely powerful, so they could have just sent a few more Sanctuary powerhouses over. Why would they have to ask for help?

    This day was simply disastrous for Cantory, and it was the darkest day of his glorious life. Throughout his life, he had never been humiliated to such an extent. Faced with the taunts and mockery of the country bumpkins, he shivered furiously, but he dared not show a trace of anger on his face. He simply clenched his fists tightly inside his sleeves.

    ¡°We naturally have a reason for doing so. The Alchemy Array that is used to seal the ancient evil dragon is recorded on that map. It is mentioned that someone has to go to Cage Ind to strengthen the seal using that Alchemy Array once every few thousand years. Otherwise, once the seal is loosened, the ancient dragon will immediately take the opportunity to escape. By then, a huge destructive disaster will strike the world. That¡¯s one of the important missions that the Gilded Kingdom entered Cage Ind for.¡±

    Cantory sounded bitter at first, but everyone knew that those were just signs of him losing his temper slowly. However, he began to get smoother and smoother with his speech. He even sounded rather righteous, as if he had be an ally of justice. Atst, Cantory stood up, mmed his hands against the table, and behaved righteously. On the other hand, he was also trying to vent the anger within him.

    To be frank, Cantory really seemed righteous, as if it was his duty to protect the world. Ordinary people might really believe him, and even get moved to tears. However, the old men in the conference hall each had at least hundreds of years of experience, and were true elites. How could they be deceived by Cantory?

    Of course, in a certain sense, Cantory¡¯s words were not considered a lie, but he had reversed the dynamics of their rtionship. The Gilded Kingdom had obtained the map and the method to seal the ancient evil dragon on Cage Ind, which should be something they could rely on to explore Cage Ind. However, they had perhaps made a mistake in their calctions, and caused things to spiral out of control, thus leaving them with no choice but toe out and ask for help from the various forces of the Breezy ins. Otherwise, they could have just told the forces of the Breezy ins about the situation right from the start. Why would he have to be so secretive?

    On the other hand, Cantory was still being immersed in the ambiance and mood that he had created. Someone in the conference hall immediately pped his hands and chuckled. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect the Gilded Kingdom to be so impartial and selfless. You guys actually came all the way here for the sake of the Breezy ins and the safety of the world. You even hid it from us and went to Cage Ind fearlessly to face all the dangers alone. We really feel ashamed.¡±

    If someone else had said that, Cantory would have been proud and pleased to hear it, but since it was said by someone in the Breezy ins, he obviously knew that they were just mocking him. Fortunately, Cantory had vented some of his anger just now. Otherwise, he definitely would not be able to bear with it.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯ve already stated clearly the reason for our action this time. What else do you need to know about giving aid to us on Cage Ind?¡± Cantory understood that he would just be bringing himself trouble by dwelling on the other issues. There would be plenty of chances for him to settle scores in the future. The most urgent task now was to provide aid for Elder Zumar.

    ¡°Tell us about your situation on Cage Ind.¡± Lin Li¡¯s words were tantamount to a confirmation. He didn¡¯t mention the conditions for giving help, not because he was truly selfless, but because he wanted to decide only after seeing the actual situation so that he could maximize his benefits.

    In fact, not to mention Lin Li, everyone in the hall knew the exact reason that Cantory decided to hide the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s agenda. However, they knew that even if the Gilded Kingdom eagerly needed help, there should be some buffer space. If the Gilded Kingdom was forced into a corner, and they decided to release the ancient evil dragon, none of them would benefit from it.

    Although the scouts of the various forces had been watching the situation on Cage Ind, and constantly rying the news back to their forces, a battle of such a scale was not something that those scouts could understand. Perhaps they would be ripped into shreds by the aftershock of that battle as long as they didn¡¯t pay attention to the edges of the battlefield.

    Besides, the horizons of those scouts were also limited by their strength, so they could only just watch the battle, and then ry news about it back to their forces. They were unable to see the essential problems of the battle. To them, there might be barely any difference between the power of a Sanctuary powerhouse and that of a Legendary powerhouse.

    However, Cantory was at the peak of the Legendary-level, and had an impressive teacher. Hence, his horizons were naturally broader than those scouts¡¯. He could see the real essence of things from the fierce battle, such as why Elder Zumar lost the upper hand and the level of strength that the ancient evil dragon sealed under Cage Ind was now disying. Hence, Cantory, who had just left the battlefield, was the only one who truly knew the details of the situation.

    When Cantory began to tell them about the development of the battle on Cage Ind from beginning to end, those in the conference hall also fell silent, and did not interrupt or mock him. Besides, they all knew that what Cantory was saying was important to Lin Li, and also concerned their future actions.

    They were impressed by Cantory¡¯s eloquence. Without it, he would not have be the special envoy that the Gilded Kingdom sent to the Breezy ins. He talked about how they triggered the changes the moment the team arrived at Cage Ind, followed by how Elder Zumar led the members of their team to retaliate and attack the bottom of Cage Ind, all the way until the mysterious power counterattacked to send Elder Zumar out of the thrilling battlefield. At the same time, he didn¡¯t miss the various details that Lin Li was concerned about.

    After recounting everything, Cantory stopped and looked at the expression on Lin Li¡¯s face somewhat nervously, afraid that he would shake his head and refuse. Although he was rather confident about that matter, he would not be at ease until Lin Li expressed his stand.

    Lin Li sat still quietly, rubbing his chin gently while imagining the scenes that Cantory had described. After thinking carefully for a while as Cantory looked at him with anticipation and nervousness, Lin Li finally calmly said, ¡°Okay, it will be up to me to arrange how to provide aid to you guys now.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Cantory finally felt relieved. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to be restrained and frantically nodded. ¡°Okay, I will follow your arrangements, President Felic.¡±

    Lin Li stood up and nced at everyone in the conference hall. Although they were all hidden powerhouses of various forces, there was still a significant difference in their strength. If no proper arrangements were made for such a team, even Lin Li might not be able to protect them. Hence, before setting off, Lin Li had to put them together and form a genuine team.

    Of course, Lin Li could not train them like they were his mages at this moment. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was still waiting for assistance. He nned ording to Cantory¡¯s description of the situation on Cage Ind, and allowed the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis and the others to lead a team. Each pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse would have to lead a team of five Legendary powerhouses.

    Among the powerhouses of those forces, Elvis and the other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were probably the strongest. Although they had yet to be genuine Sanctuary powerhouses, they were much stronger than the Legendary powerhouses. However, so far, Lin Li only knew Elvis, Rojet, and Abrad. He didn¡¯t know the other three.

    However, Elvis was smart enough to know what to do. Before Lin Li asked, he went forward to introduce the other three pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses to Lin Li. The first to be introduced was a handsome middle-aged man, who looked like he was only in his forties, and stood out among the rest.

    He had shoulder-length blond hair which was lustrous and shinier than the hair of many beauties. His pointed ears were sticking out from his hair, resembling those of elves. However, though he had pointed ears and an incredibly handsome face, he was not an elf. He was tall and burly, unlike thenky Elves. Besides, his eyes were turquoise blue in color, dazzling and shining bright like sapphires.

    He looked like a handsome middle-aged man who would be secretly admired by younger girls. He was handsome yet masculine, and had a personable temperament. He was truly ady-killer.

 Chapter 1063 - Founder of Blood Moon Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1063: Founder of Blood Moon n</h4>

    However, one should not be deceived by his appearance. Everyone around could tell that he was definitely a fierce and vicious figure of the Breezy ins back in the day.

    Seeing that Lin Li was looking over, the middle-aged man who acted like a noble smiled ceremoniously and stood up to bow a little. His actions were natural, and he didn¡¯t seem to be pretentious at all.

    ¡°This is the founder of the Blood Moon n, the first president Sangeria. We¡¯ve had some ties with each other back in the past, and I thought that he died long ago. I didn¡¯t expect to see him here this time,¡± Elvis said, looking at Sangeria with aplicated gaze.

    When the Blood Moon n and the Mithril Alliance werepeting for interests in the Breezy ins, they had gotten into plenty of conflicts, and the former even caused the Mithril Alliance to end up with only five families, though they originally had 13. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they had an intense feud. However, Elvis was already in the Sanctuary-realm now, and there were naturally drastic changes in his state of mind. Besides, they had been coexisting in peace with the Mithril Alliance for years, so the hatred was no longer as intense.

    The first president of the Blood Moon n, Sangeria, was said to have been the deputy head of the High Elves¡¯ Blood Moon Guards during the Dark Age, and carried the blood of humans and High Elves. Unlike the bloodline of those in the Rotterdam Kingdom which was a forced fusion, his was a perfect fusion of pure human and High Elven bloodlines, and could not be inherited.

    In fact, the entire Blood Moon Guards, or rather the current Blood Moon n, were simply an experiment conducted by the High Elven nobles. In addition to the fusion of the gics of humans and High Elves, there were fusions of other bloodlines too. For example, the current president of the Blood Moon n, Mogadi, had genes fused with those of dragons.

    At the end of the Dark Age, the races formed an alliance to rebel against the rule of the High Elves, and under the leadership of Geresco, the God of Mages, and other major forces, the unbeatable High Elven army was defeated. At that time, the Blood Moon Guards, who were from the High Elves¡¯ side, and were called bastards by the rebels, naturally suffered heavy losses.

    After the leader of the Blood Moon Guards, who was a true High Elven noble, was killed by the rebellion forces in the battlefield, the deputy head Sangeria took over themand of the team, and led the survivors out of the battlefield to hide in an unknown ce until the High Elves had beenpletely wiped out. They then quietly left the Blood Moon Guards, and renamed themselves as the Blood Moon n, thus bing a major force in the Breezy ins which could contend with the Mithril Alliance.

    Once Sangeria awakened the High Elven bloodline in his body, he wouldpletely turn into a High Elf that possessed great magical talent. However, when not awakened, he would be purely human, though there were still traces of an elf in his appearance.

    Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouse now, so he could tell at a nce that Sangeria possessed the blood of the High Elves. Once the bloodline was awakened, he would explode with great power. Sangeria¡¯s actualbat power was probably the strongest among the six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, and not inferior to that of a real peak level-25 Sanctuary powerhouse.

    In fact, Lin Li could tell that even in terms of human bloodline, Sangeria was rather talented. After all, he had been chosen by the High Elves to have his blood fused with that of the noble High Elves. Clearly, he was an elite among the humans. If not for the fusion, his aplishments would have probably been beyond this.

    After arranging for Sangeria to be in charge of a few Legendary powerhouses, Lin Li turned to look at the two other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses whose appearance was much less outstanding than Sangeria¡¯s. Just like the elderly men around them, they had white hair and wrinkled faces. One was tall and muscr, while the other was like a chubby meatball.

    The taller one was Gatana, who was an elder of a small family called the Reio Family. It was safe to say that no one in the conference hall knew who he was. In the Breezy ins, the Reio Family was considered an extremely small family, and was probably inferior to the Malfa Family, let alone the five major families of the Mithril Alliance. Perhaps no one would have ever thought that such a small family would have a Sanctuary powerhouse. Although Gatana was only a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse, they could imagine that the Reio Family would soon develop.

    After trying his best to recall, Elvis finally remembered who Gatana was. Although the Reio Family was not very famous, Gatana¡¯s origin was definitely not small. Rumor had it that before the beginning of the Dark Age, there was a human kingdom in the Breezy ins known as the Badillon Kingdom, and dominated half of the Breezy ins, while Gatana was a royal of the kingdom.

    At the end of the Dark Age, Gatana also led a team in a war against the High Elves, hoping to overthrow the High Elves¡¯ rule and rebuild the Badillon Kingdom in the Breezy ins. However, Gatana was only at the Legendary-level at that time. Unlike the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom which had the support of Sanctuary powerhouses, he did notmand any authority in the rebellion alliance.

    Hence, after the end of the Dark Age, Gatana¡¯s dream of restoring the nation was unsurprisingly shattered by the resistance of the other factions. Afterwards, Gatana disappearedpletely from the Breezy ins, and the inconspicuous Reio Family was born.

    However, during the end of the Dark Age, the appearance of a Legendary powerhouse could not cause much of a storm in such a heroic environment. Elvis only remembered Gargas because he had once gone out to contact the various forces during the Retribution Knight Rodhart¡¯s rampage in the Breezy ins in hopes of uniting everyone to retaliate against Retribution Knight and the Death Knights. The Mithril Alliance was also one of those he contacted.

    However, at that point in time, the forces were quick to run in the face of the Retribution Knight Rodhart. How could they have gone out to risk their lives with Gatana? Legend had it that Gargas even managed to contact some people to fight with Retribution Knight. Of course, the oue was conceivable. At that time, Elvis thought that Gatana must have been killed by Rodhart, and did not expect to see him again.

    Clearly, Gatana did not give up on his dream to restore his nation. This time, after stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, he felt that he was powerful enough to fulfill his dream. Hence, he took the opportunity to reappear in front of everyone.

    On the other hand, the chubby old man who resembled a meatball was named Cardson, and did not belong to any force, though he did seem to have a widework of connections. It seemed that he was very close to everyone in the conference hall. As the elder of the Mithril Alliance, Elvis naturally was no stranger to Cardson. Hence, he introduced him to Lin Li almost without thinking.

    In fact, Cardson was somewhat rted to Lin Li. Firstly, he was also from the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, but he¡¯d joined it hundreds of years before Andoine did. However, when he left Jarrosus Guild of Magic, his strength was not very outstanding, so Lin Li didn¡¯t hear much about him when he was studying in the Guild of Magic.

    After going to the Breezy ins, Cardson was very fortunate to have be a disciple of the Ashen Warlock Rnd, but of course that dated back to almost 1,000 years. God knew why Ashen Warlock would ept such a sociable disciple who was never satisfied with his status quo.

    However, although he had a teacher like the Ashen Warlock in the Breezy ins, Cardson had never tried to obtain any benefits for himself using the Ashen Warlock¡¯s name. In fact, if someone hadn¡¯t exposed that fact unintentionally, no one would¡¯ve known about his rtionship with the Ashen Warlock.

    Lin Li was even more surprised by Cardson¡¯s profession, or rather his career. In the Breezy ins, when people mentioned Cardson, the first thing that came to mind would not be a Legendary powerhouse, but the best chef and gourmet in the Breezy ins. Some even called him the Ambrosial God of the Breezy ins.

    Unlike the hidden powerhouses of other forces, Cardson had never been in seclusion. Instead, he had been running a restaurant in Rnd City that was named after him. He was both the owner and the chef. However, the threshold to enter his restaurant was very high. It was not a matter of money, but whether or not he felt that they were fated. Patrons would also have to visit with precious and rare ingredients. Otherwise, even the casten of Rnd City did not have the right to enter and have some water.

    That was also the reason that Lin Li had never heard of ¡°Cardson¡¯s Restaurant¡± during his multiple visits to Rnd City, let alone taste the delicious food made by the Ambrosial God himself.

    However, Cardson was not an unambitious good-for-nothing who was merely living each day as it passed. Food was his highest pursuit, and he was willing to take all risks and pay all consequences for food. In fact, he even told someone that if he had to face an ancient wyrm, he would want to bite off a piece of meat from it, just to have a taste of it.

    Cardson actually put it into practice too. Over the past 1,000-plus years, he had probably eaten everything in Anril.

 Chapter 1064 - Gigantic Alchemical Ship

    <h4>Chapter 1064: Gigantic Alchemical Ship</h4>

    Legend had it that just after stepping into the Legendary-realm, Cardson even went to the Eternal d alone for as long as a year, all for the sake of tasting the meat of the Iceberg Snow Demon. Just as everyone else thought he would never make it out alive, he came out heavily wounded with a Legendary-level Snow Demon King on his shoulder.

    Legendary-level magical beasts were originally more powerful than Legendary-level humans. Besides, the harsh environment in the Eternal d had a huge impact on humans, but it was a natural habitat for a magical beast like the Snow Demon. Under such circumstances, he even managed to kill the Snow Demon King, which was something that many Legendary powerhouses of his generation were amazed by.

    A crazier thing was that Cardson actually hunted two Snow Demons shortly after entering the Eternal d. However, he identally discovered the traces of the Snow Demon King. Hence, due to his cravings, he actually tried to hunt the Snow Demon King down, and spent a year in the Eternal d chasing him. He then sessfully hunted the Snow Demon King.

    Seeing that Elvis had introduced him to Lin Li, Cardson immediately approached him, and enthusiastically said to Lin Li, ¡°Nice to meet you, President Felic. I heard that you were from Jarrosus Guild of Magic, and I happen to be from that hellhole too. I¡¯ve been wanting to invite you to try my cooking for a long time, but it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re such a busy man, and I never had the chance to invite you. Once we¡¯re done with the matters here, I must invite you to my ce and let you try mytest dish, the Ice and Fire Dragon¡¯s Heart. It¡¯s definitely unforgettable.¡±

    Lin Li did not hear any ingratiation in Cardson¡¯s words, and he could tell that thetter was purely enthusiastic and friendly by nature. Actually, he was a little simr to Gerian in that aspect. To put it nicely, he was not particr about details, but to put it bluntly, he was just insensitive. They also shared amon point¡ªthey were both chubby.

    ¡°Enough, Cardson, now¡¯s not the time to unt your culinary skills. One day, you will die because of your mouth.¡± Lin Li could tell from the way they conversed that Elvis and Cardson were very close to each other. Although he sounded like he was chiding Cardson, Elvis was actually giving him a reminder. After all, Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouses whom they, insignificant pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, could not afford to provoke.

    ¡°Haha, Master Cardson, don¡¯t worry. Since I¡¯ve been invited by a gourmet like you, I definitely won¡¯t miss it no matter what. I just hope that you won¡¯t be stingy with the precious food that you have when the timees,¡± said Lin Li, who didn¡¯t seem in the least bit annoyed about his friendliness. He even smiled and epted the invitation.

    Lin Li¡¯s reaction was really beyond Elvis¡¯s expectations, and even the other people in the conference hall were obviously a little surprised.

    The young president of the Tower of Dusk, who was also the youngest Sanctuary powerhouse in history, was known to be cold-blooded and ruthless to his enemies. Anyone who tried to harm the interests of the Tower of Dusk would be dealt a devastating blow. Therefore, they were all scrupulous towards Lin Li.

    However, they would also avoiding in contact with Lin Li as far as possible as they felt that being around him was just too dangerous. None of them knew if they would end up offending the vicious and ruthless Sanctuary powerhouse because of a careless mistake. Hence, they failed to get to know the real Lin Li, and were more believing of those rumors.

    However, as Lin Li spoke to Cardson, the crowd managed to see another side of him, or rather the real him. They were surprised to find that he was not arrogant and condescending at all. Perhaps they had failed to notice, but the seemingly ordinary conversation had caused some indescribable changes in their opinion of him.

    On the other hand, Cardson seemed to have failed to discover anything. He patted his round belly in a bubbly manner with a smile, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me master. If you don¡¯t look down on me, just call me Old Cardson. Don¡¯t worry, as long as you visit, I will never be stingy. It just so happens that I have a few dragon eggs at my ce. They¡¯ll taste wonderful with the Ice and Fire Dragon¡¯s heart.¡±

    Lin Li had a lighthearted and natural conversation with Cardson, after which he assigned a few Legendary powerhouses to him. Thus, the crowd in the conference hall was divided into six teams by Lin Li, each led by a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse. Lin Li did not need to bother about how each one of them would do as long as the six leaders acted ording to his arrangements.

    After Lin Li arranged everything, the long-awaited moment for Cantory finally arrived. Under his leadership, Lin Li brought his team of elites from the Breezy ins to fly to Cage Ind.

    The Rafah City of the Cartia Family was not very far from Cage Ind. Besides, they were using the Power of Flight to fly in a straight line. Hence, they soon saw the light and shadows caused by the magical explosion on Cage Ind as well as heard the rumbling thunder-like sounds.

    However, Lin Li did not lead the people straight to the battlefield, and instead chose a ce tond near the battlefield.

    ¡°President Felic!¡± Seeing that Lin Li had actually stopped with his people, Cage Ind became somewhat anxious. At this point, he could already tell that the battle situation on Cage Ind had be much worse than it was when he¡¯d left. Elder Zumar¡¯s oceanic World Domain had been suppressed and attacked greatly. At this moment, Elder Zumar probably wouldn¡¯t have the energy to send him out of the battlefield again.

    However, Lin Li ignored Cantory¡¯s urging, and instead stood still to carefully observe the scene on the battlefield. Although he had heard about the situation, and imagined it based on Cantory¡¯s description previously, he still needed to carefully observe and analyze the actual situation.

    After all, the opponent that he was going to face was likely to be the powerful demigod that he was familiar with, and so he needed a safe and stable entry point. Otherwise, if he were to forcefully intervene, the people Lin Li brought might be in danger even if he could stay safe. Lin Li brought them there to help, not to die for nothing.

    Thick clouds were rolling in the sky above Cage Ind, and countless thunderbolts came crashing down like a rainfall,nding on therge blue area in the center of the ind. Each thunderbolt would cause ripples in the blue area, and the countless thunderbolts caused the entire area to be overwhelmed as it began shaking.

    There were also shocking waves around the ind, making the entire sea area look like it was boiling up while swaying vigorously. The ck gigantic waves were probably not inferior to a powerful Legendary magic spell. The target of all the gigantic waves was also the blue area in the middle of the ind, making it look just like a volleyball court. The blue area was being bombarded to the point that it was impossible to stop.

    The reinforcement fleet which Cantory had mentioned was no longer in sight around the ind. The alchemical ships that dominated the sea had probably either sunk to the bottom of the sea or fled the sea in a mess. In such a battle, even the alchemical ships that could kill the sea beasts could not intervene at this point.

    <i>Is this the power of a true Sanctuary powerhouse!?</i> Staring at the battle on Cage Ind, Elvis and the others had an indescribable feeling in their hearts. They were well aware that although they and others stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they probably would never have such destructive power.

    At the same time, this kind of power also made them feel terrified, just like how ordinary people would feel an unstoppable powerlessness in the face of a natural disaster.

    Be it Elder Zumar of the Gilded Kingdom or the ancient evil dragon sealed under Cage Ind, the power shown gave them a great shock. They couldn¡¯t help but look at Lin Li, who was standing at the front, and wondered if the power possessed by this young Sanctuary powerhouse was just as intimidating.

    While the crowd was shocked by the battle on Cage Ind, Lin Li was constantly analyzing the information he wanted to obtain by observing the battle. As a Sanctuary powerhouse who was the closest to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li managed to see the intertwining collisions of the Laws which revealed the strength of both sides of the battle, namely Elder Zumar of the Gilded Kingdom and the sealed ancient evil dragon.

    Although judging from the scene, Elder Zumar of the Gilded Kingdom seemed to have lost the upper hand, and might even be on the verge of losing, Lin Li could clearly tell that Elder Zumar was not in that much danger.

    However, the premise was that the ancient evil dragon that had been sealed would not suddenly increase the power and intensity of its attack. Otherwise, Elder Zumar would be in more danger. Of course, since the seal had been loosened, the power of the ancient evil dragon would definitely decrease gradually. However, there was a process for strengthening.

    Through his mastery of the Laws, Lin Li could deduce the time needed for the process, so he could calm down and carefully observe the entire battle situation. After all, he didn¡¯t want Elder Zumar to be defeated, either, as he was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, and would be of great help to him in dealing with that ancient evil dragon.

 Chapter 1065 - Distance

    <h4>Chapter 1065: Distance</h4>

    Only by fully understanding the level of strength of both sides could Lin Li find an optimal entry point in that fierce battle, and truly manage to turn the entire battle around to get themselves out of a disadvantageous position.

    Besides, another important reason was that when Lin Li had established the Tower of Dusk, he could already vaguely sense a familiar aura from Cage Ind, which made him feel extremely doubtful. At the same time, it was also an important reason why he promised Cantory toe to the aid of the Gilded Kingdom team. It was because he knew that if what he feared became a reality, it would probably be a devastating disaster for the entire Anril.

    The closer he got to Cage Ind, the clearer the feeling became. When Lin Li reached the area surrounding Cage Ind, he was 80% sure of his conjecture. However, that also put him in greater disbelief, and all the information in his head suddenly became messy and confusing because of that feeling.

    ¡°President Felic?¡± Seeing that Lin Li was hesitant about leading the others to provide aid, and had stopped to watch the people of the Gilded Kingdom struggle, Cantory got extremely anxious. However, he couldn¡¯tin or rush Lin Li for fear that he might provoke him, and cause him to give up.

    Lin Li turned around to look at Cantory calmly with a deeper intent in his eyes. He slowly said, ¡°Envoy Cantory, don¡¯t worry, since we¡¯ve already agreed, we won¡¯t just sit back and leave you in the lurch. However, please also do not forget that we have agreed beforehand that the entire operation will be arranged by me.¡±

    In fact, everyone knew that those things that Cantory had told the crowd before were definitely half-truths, and he had covered much of the truth. However, no one was sure what Cantory was hiding and which of the things he said were true.

    However, Lin Li was now certain that if his hunch was right, the thing that Cantory was hiding was extremely frightening. He just couldn¡¯t deduce why the Gilded Kingdom was hiding the truth and what exactly they were nning. If he wanted to know everything, he would perhaps only understand what was going on after he actually stepped onto Cage Ind, and fought with the terrifying existence that had been sealed.

    ¡°Yes, yes, I was too anxious and eager. Feel free to tell me what arrangements you¡¯d like to make. I definitely won¡¯t interfere.¡± Cantory had his priorities right, and he knew that now was not the time to argue. If Lin Li was trying to stall for time, arguing would be a good excuse. He had no choice but to suppress his dissatisfaction, and look like he was ready to follow his orders.

    ¡°Alright, Cantory, please keep an eye on Cage Ind, and inform me as soon as any sudden change in the battle situation urs. I¡¯m going to make arrangements for the aid now,¡± Lin Li said to Cantory as he turned around and walked away. Without waiting for Cantory¡¯s response, he simply left and proceeded to greet the hidden powerhouses of the Breezy ins before going to the back to discuss the specific details of the assistance.

    At this moment, the powerhouses of the Breezy ins who had witnessed the frightening battle on Cage Ind each had a look of bewilderment. Elvis and the other six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses who saw the power of the real Sanctuary powerhouses could not hide the shock on their faces at all. They couldn¡¯t imagine how they could support the people of the Gilded Kingdom next.

    As for the other peak Legendary powerhouses, they were all even more terrified as they remained standing, dumbfounded and scared silly by the scene of that battle. In their opinion, a battle of such a level was not something they could intervene in. Given their pathetic strength, they would probably end up turning into ashes.

    The terrifying might of true Sanctuary powerhouses engaged in battle was hard to resist for the hidden powerhouses of the Breezy ins. When observing the battle, everyone felt oppressed by the might, and it was iparably difficult to get closer to the battlefield. Even Elvis and other six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses who were about 600 meters behind Lin Li couldn¡¯t move at all. The other peak Legendary-level powerhouses were even further away.

    Although Cantory¡¯s strength was also at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he managed to stand at the same distance away from the battlefield as Elvis and the others. Clearly, he was not called a genius for nothing. Although this did not mean that his strength could bepared to that of Elvis and other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, he was definitely not too inferior to him. Perhaps it had already reached the extent where he might enter the Sanctuary-realm at any time.

    When faced with such a situation on Cage Ind, many had already intended to retreat. Standing on the edge of the battlefield, they realized that it was extremely difficult to take a step forward. How could they still support the people of the Gilded Kingdom? Did they really have to put their lives on the line? They were not that selfless, and even if someone was selfless enough to give their life to support the Gilded Kingdom, they had to pay the price too.

    At this moment, Lin Li returned and took Elvis and others to a ce far away from the battlefield after sending Cantory¡¯s team away. Of course, although they had moved away, they only felt slightly better as they did not break free from the influence of that might, and were still in Cantory¡¯s sight.

    ¡°Master Felic, can that thing under Cage Ind destroy the Breezy ins? Couldn¡¯t it be that the people of the Gilded Kingdom are just trying to scare us?¡±

    Clearly, the peak Legendary-level powerhouse who spoke up had already be frightened after seeing the battle. It was obvious what he meant. Even if the thing under Cage Ind would not really destroy the Breezy ins and rampage like Rodhart did, he did not want to interfere in this matter anymore.

    The peak Legendary-level powerhouse¡¯s thoughts resonated with a number of them. After all, at the level that they were currently at, their lifespans were generally thousands of years. Even if their forces suffered a huge loss, they would eventually have a chance to revive and rise again as long as they were still alive.

    Hence, when they saw that someone had started, the people next to them immediately followed and chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Master Felic, the people of the Gilded Kingdom are outsiders, after all. Their death or survival has nothing to do with us. Cantory must have hidden a lot from us, so why should we take such a huge risk to help them?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that rascal won¡¯t even show us the original map, he must have hidden a lot from us. This might just be a scheme of his to wipe out the forces of the Breezy ins in one fell swoop,¡± said an old man who had a vivid imagination and was getting worried.

    Seeing that they were getting more and more carried away and paranoid, Elvis couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer. He coughed a little, and got them to stop before saying, ¡°Enough, everyone, stop making wild guesses. Let¡¯s follow Master Felic¡¯s arrangements.¡±

    Elvis¡¯s words immediately made everyone fall silent. They had already seen the power of a real Sanctuary powerhouse; hence, they were in awe of Lin Li. Thetter might not have shown his full strength to them, but they could tell from the fact that he was standing at the edge of the battlefield rxedly that he was a powerhouse others could not contend with.

    Previously, the hidden powerhouses of the various forces who were either so-called pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses or peak Legendary powerhouses were all unconvinced with Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse.

    After all, such a young Sanctuary powerhouse was unprecedented in the history of Anril. In their opinion, Lin Li definitely had ws since he could enter the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age. Even the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses thought that they would not be inferior to a young Sanctuary powerhouse with a weak foundation like Lin Li.

    After all, they all knew that Lin Li was from the inconspicuous Guild of Magic of Jarrosus. Although his teacher Andoine¡¯s identity was extraordinary, hispetency was not outstanding, and he even created the unpromising Thorn Domain for the sake of pharmaceutics. How could the student of an unreliable teacher have a good foundation?

    However, now that Lin Li was at such a close distance, it showed the difference between Lin Li¡¯s strength and theirs. Even though they hadn¡¯t seen Lin Li attack, they were all very clear that situations where one had to face the mighty oppression of a Sanctuary powerhouse were the best way to tell whether a person¡¯s foundation was solid. For example, Cantory was only at the peak of the Legendary-realm, but he could stand with Elvis and the others. That just meant that Cantory¡¯s foundation was already near the Sanctuary-realm, and he could enter the Sanctuary-realm at any time.

    Foundation was the most important. An umtion of thousands of years might not mean a solid foundation. Otherwise, the old fogies of the Breezy ins would have long since stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. Cantory was a proud disciple of the Illuminati, and under the meticulous teaching of the elder of the Illuminati, he wouldn¡¯t go wrong; hence, his foundation was definitely notparable to those of the old fogies of the Breezy ins.

    Of course, the hidden powerhouses of the Breezy ins wouldn¡¯t think that Lin Li¡¯s true mentor on his path of magic was Geresco, the God of Mages who had left Anril. Geresco, or to be specific, Geresco¡¯s incarnation, which Geresco had left in the Sky Castle, had guided Lin Li personally. Under such circumstances, it would be strange if there was an issue with Lin Li¡¯s foundation.

    A Sanctuary powerhouse with no problems with his foundation meant that he had almost no weaknesses, and that no one could try to challenge him. The people present were well aware of the distance between themselves and Lin Li. In this situation, who would dare to think of harming Lin Li? They had probably already seen Lin Li as someone who was on the same level as the Ashen Warlock.

 Chapter 1066 - Magic Net

    <h4>Chapter 1066: Magic Net</h4>

    Therefore, after hearing Elvis¡¯ words, all of them instantly fell silent, and focused their gazes on Lin Li¡¯s body. It seemed that they had recognized Lin Li as their leader at this moment, and there was no longer a hint of doubt in everyone¡¯s eyes. Instead, they vaguely seemed to have been convinced.

    Yes, they had been convinced! The Breezy ins was and of chaos where people believed in the supremacy of strength, and now everyone knew how terrifying a real Sanctuary powerhouse was, and how small they werepared to Sanctuary powerhouses. Even though they hadn¡¯t seen Lin Li attack yet, no one in their right mind would choose to go against such a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Lin Li saw the change in everyone¡¯s attitude, but he didn¡¯t take it to heart, and unhurriedly said, ¡°Everyone, I think you have seen the battle situation over there. I can tell you in advance that the existence sealed under Cage Ind is far stronger than all of us. However, whether it is for the sake of the civilians in the Breezy ins or for the sake of our respective factions, we cannot ignore this matter. So, I hope that you guys can do your best. If you still have reservations when ites to the battle, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to be doomed.¡±

    Be it Elvis and the other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses or the Legendary powerhouses, Lin Li of course saw their strength very clearly. However, their factions were older forces that had thousands of years of heritage. No one would believe that they didn¡¯t have any trump cards.

    However, Lin Li knew their nature too well, and was well aware that they were all sly and cunning old foxes who hoped that they didn¡¯t have to do anything. Hence, Lin Li immediately warned them not to have any reservations, and not to save their trump cards. He wanted them to give everything they had.

    Actually, Lin Li was not doing it for himself. Many had been refusing to use their trump cards because they failed to see the situation clearly. As a result, they never had the opportunity to use them. However, when the two parties were evenly matched, only trump cards could y the greatest role. On the other hand, if one were to reserve their trump card in the face of absolutely oppressive power, they would be courting death.

    Besides, when saying that to the crowd, Lin Li even took out a bunch of inconspicuous rings from the Ring of Endless Storm. The rings were made of violet gold, and there was a gray gemstone embellished on the rings. Those rings could be called the Magic Net rings, and were the essential magical essory of the mages of the Tower of Dusk. It was also a mandatory item for the mages to form a Magic Net Array.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t take the Magic Net rings out to make them form a Magic Net Array. Firstly, the Magic Net rings were a secret of the Tower of Dusk that would never be divulged to others. Secondly, the Magic Net rings were not the only items needed for the Magic Net Array to be formed immediately. The casters would have to train hard for a long period of time.

    However, the Magic Net rings could put the mental strength of all the users together to form arge mental strengthwork, allowing everyone in thework to quickly transmit information with one another. With the mental strengthwork formed using the Magic Net rings, those who had never cooperated with each other would at least reach a high level of cooperation in the battle. Although there might not be much of a tacit understanding with each other, they would at least not hold each other back, and would instead stay with each other like glued sand.

    ¡°Each of you will wear a ring. I believe that you should be able to quickly master its functions at your level,¡± Lin Li said, handing the rings to Elvis who was beside him so that he could distribute them to everyone.

    Everyone was initially confused about the inconspicuous-looking rings which didn¡¯t give off many magical waves. It was difficult to imagine them ying any significant role in the battle. However, when they wore the rings, they immediately felt amazed by their power, and gasped in shock when they felt a small amount of power.

    For individuals, the Magic Net ring would be of no use, but for a group, it was simply a priceless treasure! Apart from Cardson who aspired to be a chef, no one else was alone. Hence, they immediately understood the value of the rings.

    Although those people had rarely meddled in the affairs of their respective forces, everyone wanted their factions to develop again. Therefore, after understanding the role and value of the Magic Net rings, the old powerhouses immediately looked at Lin Li with fervor in their eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about the rings in the future. While you are familiarizing yourselves with their usage, you may also consider something. This time, we can¡¯t risk everything to help the Gilded Kingdom for nothing.¡± The Gilded Kingdom might have helped the Breezy ins in a certain sense, but Lin Li didn¡¯t want to let them off just like that.

    The people of the Breezy ins were truly getting surprised again and again. Firstly, regarding the matter of the rings, Lin Li did not tell them not to covet the rings, and instead said that it would be discussedter, which meant that there was room for discussion. They couldpletely imagine the drastic improvement in thebat power of their respective teams if everyone was equipped with such a Magic Net ring, even though their individual strength would be not enhanced.

    That was not an exaggeration at all. A small ring like that could allow teams to quickly have a tacit understanding and build a chemistry that required years of interaction to develop. For a team, individual strength would only y a very minor role, and a tacit understanding was the most important.

    Of course, Lin Li knew what they wanted. However, he didn¡¯t take to heart the fact that they wanted to use the Magic Net Array to increase their respective teams¡¯ ability. Although the Magic Net rings were amazing, they could only exert their amazing power when there was an array like a Magic Net Array involved. Besides, the other arrays could only increase the chemistry between the team members.

    Lin Li was not at all worried that others might replicate the Magic Net rings. Crystal sculptors were few and far between in Anril, not to mention ones at the Master-level. To put it bluntly, even if Lin Li told them the detailed steps to create the Magic Net rings, no one would be able to replicate them.

    Of course, Lin Li did not do this in order to find an additional source of wealth for the Tower of Dusk, but he really wanted to advance the strength of the forces. Only when their strength was improved would they be tougher when facing the Gilded Kingdom, and not drag the Tower of Dusk down when a conflict between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom really broke out in the future. Besides, they would also be able to y a role in resisting the cmity that Geresco had predicted.

    As for whether or not the forces would turn against the Tower of Dusk after they got the Magic Net rings, Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried at all. Since he was the creator of those items, he was certainly very clear about its advantages and disadvantages. If any force were to think that

    they would have the strength to challenge the Tower of Dusk after getting the Magic Net rings, they would have to pay a huge price.

    Lin Li¡¯s words gave the crowd some relief as they could all tell what he meant, and knew that it was possible for their own forces to obtain the rings and equip themselves with them. Besides, Lin Li¡¯s words had also made them feel excited. Clearly, those were the conditions that the Gilded Kingdom had to fulfill for receiving their help.

    Originally, they decided to go to the aid of the Gilded Kingdom to get their desired benefits from the Gilded Kingdom. However, Lin Li¡¯s attitude made them a little hesitant afterwards, and they didn¡¯t know if they should go back to negotiate terms with the Gilded Kingdom. Now that Lin Li had given the green light, they obviously wouldn¡¯t go easy on the Gilded Kingdom. While thinking about the purpose of the Magic Net rings, they were also discussing the n to exploit the Gilded Kingdom.

    After they mastered the usage of the Magic Net rings, they immediately put theory into practice, and began talking with each other through the mental strengthwork formed by the rings. As a result, the atmosphere seemed a little peculiar as the old fogies looked at each other with meaningful nces, causing others to get the goosebumps.

    At this moment, Cantory looked at the situation on Cage Ind before turning to look at Lin Li and others while they were conversing. He wanted to intervene a few times to urge them, but nheless bore with it. Given his wit and intelligence, he naturally guessed that the people who hade to help him were definitely not just discussing the n to provide aid. He reckoned that they were probably deliberating how to stab him hard in the back and exploit him.

    However, there was nothing to do even though he had thought of it. Despite how displeased Cantory was, he dared not show any of his unhappiness. Of course, he would still settle scores with the Breezy ins¡ªhe would have plenty of chances to do so after surviving the ordeal at hand.

    Cantory didn¡¯t know how long they actually waited, but he knew that he was on the verge of running out of patience. He didn¡¯t even realize that he was clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails were digging deep into his flesh. When he looked back for the umpteenth time, he finally saw the young president of the Tower of Dusk walking towards him with the others. At this moment, he was almost about to burst into tears of distress as the wait was simply too torturous.

    However, just like Cantory had thought previously, when they arrived and saw him, they did not discuss the n to give aid, and instead raised their conditions like greedy vampires immediately after seeing him.

    That was in ckmail and extortion! Cantory was filled with so much agitation that he was about to explode. Although he had long known about the shamelessness of these people in the Breezy ins, he never thought that they would be shameless to such an extent.

    Among them, the one who asked for the least already asked for 10 Legendary magical crystals as payment, but the Gilded Kingdom had a limited number of them too, and had to obtain them from killing sea beasts and engaging in battles that would put lives at risk. Some even asked for the Heart of the Ocean gemstone which was the specialty of the Gilded Kingdom. However, it didn¡¯t mean that they produced it inrge volumes; it just meant that the Heart of the Ocean could not be found elsewhere. Even in the Gilded Kingdom, it was a superior-quality magical gemstone that was extremely rare.

    However, Cantory couldn¡¯t refuse in the current situation. If he were elsewhere, such as Rafah City previously, Cantory could talk to them properly about those conditions. However, the panic-stricken Elder Zumar and the others were waiting right there. Cantory was in no mood to discuss with them.

    <i>Just you wait, I¡¯ll make sure you cough up everything you eat!</i> Cantory was filled with resentment, but he didn¡¯t show it. He agreed to their requests with a look of dismay, almost without any bargaining.

    Soon, the people of the Breezy ins reached various agreements with Cantory. They were not worried that the Gilded Kingdom would go back on their word. After all, although their demands were harsh, the Gilded Kingdom could afford to give them what they wanted. If they dared to go back on their word, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s image and reputation would be ruined. From then on, they would not be able to continue staying in Anril.

    Of course, Lin Li did not miss such an opportunity. Although the Tower of Dusk could be considered rich and powerful now, no one would say no to more benefits. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom was a nation on sea, and held a number of resources in the sea, which were rare onnd.

    Just like that, Cantory bore with the anger, and signed a contract aggrievedly. In the end, he looked at Lin Li and took a deep breath. He said, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s time for you to take action next.¡±

    Lin Li put away the contract without looking at Cantory at all. Instead, they looked at the Cage Ind, and indifferently said, ¡°Enough, begin taking action ording to my previous arrangements.¡±

    Lin Li did not include Cantory. Even though Cantory waspetent, he was an outsider, after all, so no one in the Breezy ins trusted him. Instead of letting him stay in a safe spot of the battle, they might as well let him stay at the side, and watch as a reward for signing so many contracts with them.

    With Lin Li¡¯s order, Elvis and the other six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses immediately flew up with the peak Legendary powerhouses under them, and split into six teams to surge towards Cage Ind. Due to the Magic Net rings¡¯ mental strengthwork, which connected all of their mental strength, and made them seem to experience an increase in their mental strength, the effect of the terrifying oppression of a true Sanctuary powerhouse had been reduced to the maximum.

 Chapter 1067 - Obsidian Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 1067: Obsidian Wyrm</h4>

    Hence, although they could barely get close to the battlefield previously, they could now move freely under that mighty pressure.

    The six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses led their respective teams, but they didn¡¯t attack the existence under Cage Ind right away. Instead, they each activated their Magical Domain that contained tinges of Sanctuary aura. ording to Lin Li¡¯s previous arrangement, they each upied a spot on the battlefield, connecting the Magical Domains to suppress the power of the existence under Cage Ind.

    At the same time, Lin Li also opened his own Domain World, and a vibrant world emerged from the thick dark clouds, descending onto Cage Ind. The heavy dark clouds were melting under the sun like ice and snow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    As Lin Li and the others took action, the power of that existence under Cage Ind was also dispersed by the crowd immediately. Elder Zumar, who was struggling to hold on on Cage Ind, finally had a chance to catch his breath. However, he couldn¡¯t get out of the trappletely, and still had to bear most of the attacks from that power.

    That was one of the steps in Lin Li¡¯s n, which was to absolutely not let the people of the Gilded Kingdom get out of the trap easily. Firstly, he was worried that the people of the Gilded Kingdom might flee immediately after getting out of the trap, and the other reason was that he wanted the Sanctuary powerhouse Elder Zumar to continue bearing most of the pressure. Since the Gilded Kingdom had held out for so long, they could continue for longer.

    Lin Li¡¯s concern was not unreasonable. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was a foreign force, and its rtionship with the forces of the Breezy ins was far from beingrades who fought against the same enemy. If the Gilded Kingdom chose to reap all the benefits after breaking free from the trap, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all.

    On Cage Ind, Elder Zumar who was supporting the oceanic world could obviously feel that the pressure outside had been reduced greatly. He finally heaved a sigh of relief, but the pressure was still on his shoulders, and his oceanic world was still the main target of the existence under Cage Ind.

    Just like what Lin Li was worried about, Elder Zumar wanted to pit the forces of the Breezy ins against the existence under Cage Ind while the Gilded Kingdom reaped the benefits. However, his n had obviously fallen through, and the other party simply did not give him the opportunity to fulfill his n.

    If Elder Zumar was alone, it probably wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to forcefully break away from the battlefield. However, he was still protecting the other people of the Gilded Kingdom in his oceanic world, and perhaps even a god would not be able to leave with those people.

    However, this time, it was a team of elites of the Gilded Kingdom, and even if Elder Zumar was stone-hearted, he could not bring himself to give them up. If they were abandoned, it would be a huge loss for the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Despite his powerful status, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer for it when he returned.

    At this moment, the existence under Cage Ind seemed to have felt the extra pressure as the magical waves in the entire ce became even more vigorous. The gigantic mountain-peak like waves seemed to have suddenlye to life as they beganunching an attack on the various sources of pressure.

    Those sources of pressure were naturally the teams led by the six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. In fact, with their strength, they were actually too ipetent to participate in a battle of such a level, but with the Spiritual Network formed by the Magic Net rings, their power was somewhat connected. Although they were far from bing one, theirwork could not be broken easily, especially since Lin Li and Elder Zumar bore the brunt of the attack for them.

    From that point, Lin Li could tell that the usage of power of the existence below Cage Ind waspletely instinctual. It was unclear if the imprisoned entity had really awakened. Anyone with a working brain would probably choose to gather power to focus on a single point instead ofunching a full-blown attack on everyone.

    It could be said that the existence under Cage Ind was instinctively distributing its power ording to the strength of the enemy. Hence, the stronger ones would bear more pressure, while the weaker ones would be under less pressure. Of course, that was only rtive. After all, for those who were weaker, even a small amount of power was quite a lot to bear.

    Fortunately, the people of the Breezy ins, who had long been warned by Lin Li, had each exerted their full strength from the moment they entered the battlefield. Therefore, in the face of the immense pressure, they did not have any close shaves with death even though they were coping with great difficulty. The six teams led by the six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses managed to hold back a considerable amount of the pressure, which yed a very important role in the overall situation during the battle.

    Seeing the performance of the people of the Breezy ins, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but be a little surprised as he¡¯d never thought that the Breezy ins would actually be able to put together such a force. Besides, their performance waspletely beyond his imagination, and he felt that they were a team right from the beginning.

    Of course, Elder Zumar did not know that the key reason that they could perform so well was because they were all wearing the Magic Net rings that Lin Li had given them. At the same time, it was also because they had vaguely recognized Lin Li as their leader. The forces were initially in a state of disunity where none of them wanted to submit to anyone. However, when a leader appeared and managed to convince everyone, they naturally united.

    The performance of those people in the Breezy ins was only a surprise to Elder Zumar as he was greatly astounded when he felt the massive magical fluctuationsing from above his head. If he hadn¡¯t understood the Ashen Warlock well, he would have even thought that the Ashen Warlock had appeared because he remembered that the only Sanctuary powerhouse in the Breezy ins who could reach such a strength seemed to be the Ashen Warlock. It also seemed that only the Ashen Warlock would dare to threaten the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.

    However, Elder Zumar felt that the magical wavesing from above were extremely different from those of the Ashen Warlock. He could clearly sense that the magical wave was full of vitality, creation, andprehension of the world. It could be described as perfection.

    Elder Zumar simply could not imagine what kind of person could master the World Laws to such an extent. Even the three Arbitrators of the Supreme Council who had challenged him in the past seemed to be inferior to this in terms of perfection. In fact, even though he refused to admit it, he couldn¡¯t deny that even the priest of the Illuminati did not master the World Laws to such a perfect extent.

    Overwhelmed with astonishment and curiosity, Elder Zumar tilted his head to look up at the vibrant Domain World, only to be greeted with a sight that shocked him even more. He did not expect to see such a young person in the Domain World. The figure even gave him an illusion that he had just seen Geresco the God of Mages who had led the rebellion and overthrown the rule of the High Elves.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, if you don¡¯t start sealing it now, when will you do it?¡± Lin Li said hostilely in midair when he sensed Elder Zumar¡¯s gaze. <i>What a joke. This old man is still spacing out at such a juncture. If that creature under Cage Ind escapes, let¡¯s see how you cry.</i>

    After being rebuked by Lin Li, Elder Zumar finally recovered from the shock. His face was flushed, and he said to his subordinates in the oceanic world, ¡°Quick, repeat what you¡¯ve done before and reinforce the seal.¡± As he said that, he expanded his oceanic World Domain to cover the entire ind.

    Hearing Elder Zumar¡¯smand, the people in the oceanic world dared not dy at all as they immediately took action. The mages who were previously responsible for reinforcing the seal immediately expanded the World Domain, returned to their respective positions, and activated the Alchemy Array used to reinforce the seal.

    However, with the reactivation of the Alchemy Array, the existence sealed below Cage Ind seemed to feel threatened, and immediately increased the intensity of the counterattack. The sea around Cage Ind seemed to overturn as the roaring waves emitted peculiar rays of light. The terrifying power seemed to also make the world tremble.

    It was as if there was a violent earthquake on Cage Ind as it started shaking vigorously like a small boat in a storm. Those who were activating the Alchemy Array were shaking to the point of rolling everywhere on the ground.

    Seeing such a scene, Elder Zumar did not dare to slow down at all. Instead, he quickly chanted a vague incantation while driving the staff in his hand into the ground. The power of the oceanic world immediately surged into the ind as if it was trying to pull the ind into the Domain World.

    Of course, with Elder Zumar¡¯s strength, it was almost impossible to incorporate Cage Ind into the Domain World. Not to mention him, a high-level Sanctuary-realm, even a peak Sanctuary powerhouse probably couldn¡¯t achieve such a feat. However, as the power of the Domain World surged in, the vibrations ceased a little, as if the storm gradually passed. The mages also returned to their respective positions and resumed their tasks.

    The people of the Breezy ins who shared the pressure outside Cage Ind had also slipped into a very difficult situation. After all, Elder Zumar was focused on maintaining stability on Cage Ind, and thus did not have the energy to take care of the pressure outside.

    The people of the Breezy ins were originally abination of pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and those who were at the peak of the Legendary level. Even with the Spiritual Network of the Magic Net rings, the strength of each team was at most equivalent to someone who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. However, the opponent they were facing was a powerful existence at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, which was also akin to a demigod.

    Although the seal of Cage Ind greatly limited the power of that terrifying existence, the counterattacks were still unbearable for the crowd from the Breezy ins. Under the intense counterattack, the people of the Breezy ins felt as if they would be ripped into shreds at any moment.

    However, when they found it hard to hang on, they suddenly realized that a strange light was hovering above their heads, and at the same time there was an additional presence in the Spiritual Network. A huge amount of power was poured into their bodies through the Spiritual Network. However, the item above the head of each team was different. Some had a ball of holy white light, while some had tree branches with tender leaves or mes.

    What helped the teams defend themselves against the attack were six of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that Lin Li had released, while the only one that remained in his hand was the debris of the stars, Nothingness. In fact, when Lin Li put them into groups, he had already taken that into consideration, and divided those with simr mana characteristics together all for the sake of using the power of the debris of the stars to help them at the critical moment.

    With the help of the debris of the stars, the teams from the Breezy ins supported themselves, and it was if the situation on the battlefield had been reversed. However, roars of a dragon came from below Cage Ind suddenly at this moment. The sound was extraordinarily clear despite the loud sounds of explosions.

    Immediately afterwards, a massive ck figure emerged from the water, breaking through the surface of the sea and surging into the sky. Those people finally saw that there were severalrge dragons which seemed distorted and illusory. However, they could still feel the daunting might of the dragon and the horrifying power.

    Those ck dragons were the ghosts of ancient wyrms after their death. Although their power had decreased, each one of them still had Legendary-level power. The ghosts of such wyrms might not pose a threat if there were only one or two of them. However, as more and more ghosts of the wyrms appeared, they would form a horrifying force.

    The wyrm ghosts were from the legendary Obsidian Wyrm race whose king was one of the five Dragon Aspects, the famous Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Even during the prehistoric times, the Obsidian Wyrms were terrifying existences which meant the descent of Eternal Darkness. Everything would be destroyed in darkness.

 Chapter 1068 - Crypt Lord

    <h4>Chapter 1068: Crypt Lord</h4>

    After all the wyrm ghosts rushed out of the sea, they immediatelyunched a frenzied attack on the crowd on the battlefield, causing the battlegrounds to quake vigorously again right after stabilizing. Each of the nearly 100 wyrm ghosts had strength that was above the Legendary-level[1]. As soon as they appeared, they caused the people of the Breezy ins to be in a tough battle again.

    At this moment, Lin Li could not be bothered about the others anymore, because he was now facing a Sanctuary-level wyrm ghost. The wyrm ghost was obviously muchrger than the other wyrm ghosts, and had a more solid body. It was as if it had aplete body.

    That was also the reason Lin Li could instantly recognize the identity of the wyrm ghost to be the powerful Antora who was known as the Death Shadow, came from the Obsidian Wyrm n, and was second only to the Dragon of Destruction Azardas while also being his most loyal subordinate. The Death Shadow Antora was once said to have had a very high status, and had even been perceived as the sessor of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas.

    However, legend had it that during the war between the Titans and the wyrms during the prehistoric times, the Death Shadow Antora had been ambushed in the Endless Ocean by 12 Golden Titans. Finally, Antora fell into the Endless Ocean. At the time, his blood was said to have spilled all over the Endless Ocean, and people could even hear a mournful dragon¡¯s cry.

    Truth be told, Lin Li was astonished when he recognized Antora. Fortunately, just like the other wyrm ghosts, Antora was no longer at the peak like he used to be in the past. Since he had already fallen from the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he was probably only at level-26 or level-27.

    However, even then, Antora was still a powerful opponent for Lin Li. Most importantly, the Legendary-level wyrm shadows that Lin Li faced were definitely a force not to be ignored.

    <i>Is Antora the existence sealed under Cage Ind?</i> If that was the case, it would be great, but unfortunately, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were still doing their best to repair the Alchemy Array. Antora was obviously only one of the wyrm shadows that had been sealed. Judging from the performance of the people of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li could tell that they obviously knew what was actually sealed under Cage Ind.

    In fact, at this point, Lin Li could already vaguely guess what was sealed beneath Cage Ind. However, he was in disbelief. After all, it was too different from the information that he had received from other sources.

    On the battlefield, therge number of wyrm ghosts were divided into three groups. One was in charge of sieging the forces of the Breezy ins, while another was responsible for attacking Elder Zumar¡¯s World Domain. Lin Li was now facing the Death Shadow Antora¡ªthe third entity.

    At this moment, no one could care anymore. The people of the Breezy ins could be considered the weakest, but with the Spiritual Network of the Magic Net rings, they could cooperate tacitly. However, when it came to fighting with the wyrm ghosts, their strength was insufficient. After all, they were outnumbered by the wyrm ghosts.

    Hence, at this moment, the people of the Breezy ins were going all out, and using as much strength as they could. During normal circumstances, they might have used some more underhanded means, such as getting theirpanions to die for them, but none of them dared to do so now. One reason was that Lin Li¡¯s presence had restrained them, and another was that once they spoke up, they might be the scapegoats of others instead.

    At this juncture, Elvis and the other five Sanctuary powerhouses were also performing their duties as leaders, thus making them the strongest in their respective teams and also those who had to bear the greatest pressure. However, despite this, none of them considered leaving theirpanions to escape. They might have failed to notice it, but Lin Li¡¯s words had already caused them to subconsciously obey and execute his orders.

    As Lin Li said before, they were all from factions that had thousands of years of heritage, and all had great trump cards. In the face of the frenzied siege of the wyrm ghosts, everyone knew that it was not the time to reserve their trump cards. If they didn¡¯t use them now, there might really be no chance to use them again in the future.

    Relying on his experience of exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum with Lin Li, Elvis was vaguely recognized as the leader of the six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. At this point, it was naturally the time for him to perform. Elvis raised his staff in his hand high and chanted a quick incantation, after which arge Six-pointed Star appeared out of nowhere. A massive figure, which was not inferior to the wyrm ghosts, gradually emerged from the Six-pointed Star Array.

    Soon, a huge ck beetle which looked like a rhinoceros beetle that had been erged countless times waved its scythe-like forelimbs, and emerged from the Six-pointed Star Array. The ck beetle had a shovel-like horn on its head, and its body was muchrger than a wyrm. Its body was covered in dark golden mageweaths and a spiky armor that had a metallic luster. Its giant mouthpiece and sharp scythe-like forelimbs were absolutely terrifying, and seemed to be able to slice a dragon in half.

    The ck beetle was the Crypt Lord that lived in the terrifying Endless Abyss, on the same floor as the Abyssal Demon Dragon. In fact, legend had its power was far greater than the Abyssal Demon Dragon¡¯s, and even Legendary powerhouses would not be able to escape unscathed from it.

    The Crypt Lord was the demon that Elvis had summoned after entering the Sanctuary-realm. With the power of the Crypt Lord, Elvis had the confidence to challenge real Sanctuary powerhouses despite being a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse.

    The Crypt Lord was definitely one of Elvis¡¯ powerful trump cards. Initially, Elvis had nned to use the Crypt Lord against the Tower of Dusk after signing a contract with it. However, he already knew now how horrifying a true Sanctuary powerhouse was, and he knew that even a powerful demon like the Crypt Lord was like an insignificant ant in the face of the real Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Elvis no longer had the intention to go against the Tower of Dusk, and he just wanted to befriend and suck up to the young president of the Tower of Dusk. There was an obvious opportunity right in front of him, and as long as he performed the task perfectly, he would be able to impress Lin Li.

    After the Crypt Lord was summoned, it immediately unfolded its wings under the armor while hovering in the air and making buzzing sounds, blocking the wyrm ghosts for Elvis¡¯ team. The Crypt Lord did not rely only on its armor and scythe-like limbs to survive in the Endless Abyss. Instead, it used an incantation that could make all objects erode.

    In the face of several wyrm ghosts, the Crypt Lord rubbed its scythe-like forelimbs forcefully, which sounded like metal being rubbed against metal. However, the wyrm ghosts probably never thought that the Crypt Lord would open its mouth and spit out a hurricane of countless tiny insects, which surged directly towards the wyrm ghosts.

    The two wyrm ghosts immediately spat out dragon breath which contained death aura and had the power to corrode the power of all living beings. Creatures spayed by a death dragon¡¯s breath would have their vitality depleted immediately, leaving behind only a lifeless shell. However, the flying insects that came out of the Crypt Lord were the most evil incantation. Since the insects were lifeless, why would they be afraid of the death aura of the dragon breath?

    In an instant, the bodies of two wyrms were engulfed by the flying insects, which even began emitting hair-raising sounds of gnawing and chewing. Although the two wyrm ghosts did not have a physical body, the sounds were still incessant. It was an incantation that prated one¡¯s soul, and would bring about boundless pain.

    However, those were not the only wyrm ghosts, and the Crypt Lord¡¯s hurricane of flying insects could not be released endlessly, otherwise the Crypt Lord would have extinguished all the wyrm ghosts alone. The two wyrm ghosts gnawed by the flying insects could not resist the pain which prated their souls, and thus fell into the sea like meteors. The Crypt Lord waved its scythe-like forelimbs, and pped its wings to move towards the other wyrm ghosts.

    Seeing that Elvis had released his trump card, Rojet, Abrad, and the rest decided to follow suit. Rojet took out an ancient-looking amulet that seemed to have been made of an ordinary bone, but it was extremelyrge, making it look like a shield on his hand. The amulet was known as a Chaos Amulet, which had a chance of making an enemy sink into a state of chaos with a beam of light. The chaos would result in the enemy going berserk and attacking randomly.

    The Chaos Amulet might not be useful in a one-on-one battle, but in a battle between armies, it would definitely be a powerful weapon that could disrupt the enemy¡¯s formation and create chaos. It was said that the Chaos Amulet was created by the Titans using the skull of an ancient wyrm. There was a variation of the Titans¡¯ text carved on it, which was actually a primitive mageweath.

    After Rojet took out the Chaos Amulet, he immediately activated some of its power, and a ray of gray light darted into a wyrm. The wyrm ghosts that were surging over in groups immediately broke into chaos as a wyrmunched a crazy attack on thepanions around it.

    However, the wyrm ghosts would only recognize enemies, and no emotions were involved. Hence, when itspanionunched an attack on another one, thetter would see it as its enemy. The surrounding wyrm ghosts immediately attacked their enemy, and though chaos erupted immediately, it didn¡¯t cause much of a dy.

    After all, when Rojet arrived, they didn¡¯t know what kind of enemy they would encounter, and although the Chaos Amulet was effective, it obviously did not have a great impact on the wyrm ghosts. If their enemy was the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, the Chaos Amulet would be of great use. After all, they were humans with emotions, and even if theirpanions went berserk, they would hesitate to kill. Hence, that would result in chaos, but that wouldn¡¯t happen for the wyrm ghosts.

    Of course, that also had a little advantage, and that was a reduction in the number of wyrm ghosts. However, the reduction process was slow, and their team might be wiped out before the wyrm ghosts even got affected significantly.

    Abrad of the Caesar Family was holding a strange Skeleton Staff in his hand at this moment. As the light on the Skeleton Staff flickered, a peculiar shape appeared below the feet of each of the people in his team. It looked like a Magic Array, but it wasn¡¯t one that others were familiar with.

    The Skeleton Staff in Abrad¡¯s hand was said to be the vertebrae of a Sanctuary-level shaman orc which was an existence known as the sacred bone. It contained the totem power of the orc¡¯s life, and anyone who got the bone would be a Sanctuary-realm shaman, and supplement hispanions with totem power.

    When exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, the Caesar Family had also used the orcs¡¯ War Totem Pole. Now, as the most senior and authoritative elder of the Caesar Family, Abrad held the orc shaman¡¯s sacred bone. Everyone reckoned that the Caesar Family had to be of the same origin as orcs.

    However, being involved with orcs didn¡¯t seem to be a glorious thing for humans. Hence, even Elvis and Rojet were unclear of what rtionship the Caesar Family had with the orcs. They only knew that the Caesar Family seemed to have been supported by the orcs after gaining independence from the Mithril Alliance.

    Under the totem power of the sacred bone, those in Abrad¡¯s team saw a surge inbat power, though their level remained the same. The Nature Halo allowed them to release their mana continuously, while the Guardian Halo allowed them to defend against the blows of the wyrm ghosts, and the Recovery Halo quickly healed injuries on their bodies. Under their feet, there were at least 10 different kinds of halo which turned them into superhumans that were invulnerable and insusceptible to pain, injuries, and negative magical effects.

    [1] This most likely means above low-level Legendary, and not yet Sanctuary.

 Chapter 1069 - Death Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 1069: Death Shadow</h4>

    Actually, Abrad¡¯s trump card was much more useful than Elvis¡¯s and Rojet¡¯s, especially in this battle. However, the more people there were, the weaker and less effective the totem power. Hence, Abrad could only take care of his own team, and not spread the totem power to everyone else.

    In another part of the battlefield, the teams led by the other three pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were also erupting with full power at this moment. None of them were reserving any power at all. Besides, the most intense battle was going on with the team led by Elder Sangeria of the Blood Moon n. Although there were only six of them, they did not lose the upper hand against the 10-odd wyrm ghosts.

    Sangeria, the leader, had already awakened all the High Elven blood in his body, and even his appearance had turned into that of a High Elf. Besides, the magical wave on his body had also soared with the awakening of the bloodline. He went from a pseudo-sanctuary powerhouse to the beginner Sanctuary-level.

    Besides, in terms ofbat style, Sangeria had also inherited the style of the High Elves,bining magic and martial arts perfectly. He was holding a single-handed staff in his left hand and a sharp magic sword in his right. Thebination of a flood of magic spells and a storm of sword attacks was hard for the wyrms to resist.

    The five peak Legendary powerhouses of other forces around Sangeria also appeared to have their forms change dramatically due to a potion that Sangeria had handed to them. Their power also surged higher than usual. Among them, some of them were covered with dragon scales, some were enveloped in mes, and some even had countless hard tentacles jutting out of their backs.

    The peak Legendary powerhouses were also dignified figures who probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten themselves into this state during normal circumstances. However, now that they were facing a powerful enemy, having to make a choice between death and maintaining their image, they chose to forgo their image.

    The Blood Moon n had been researching the technique of gic mixing, and the short-term fusion of bloodlines could be considered a by-product of their research. Fortunately, they were all peak Legendary powerhouses. Otherwise, the bodies of those below the Legendary-realm would probably have exploded.

    However, the peak Legendary powerhouses were now grimacing. Clearly, they were ufortable. After all, it was a forced change of bloodline, and they would never want to experience that pain again.

    The other two pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, Cardson and Gatana, were the weakest of the six. Hence, they were struggling in the battle against the wyrm ghosts. When all was said and done, Gatana was a descendant of the ancient royal family, and thus had some powerful magical equipment in hand. However, Cardson had been in pursuit of food all his life. Apart from hunting for ingredients, he rarely paid attention to fighting against others. Hence, it was a little difficult for him to fight in the battle.

    Fortunately, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet received news that several battleships remaining from the original battle and a dozen more had just arrived to support them. The fleet moved quickly to Cardson, attracting the attention of many wyrm ghosts in the process. Some even left Cardson and others to pounce onto the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom.

    In the previous battle, the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom had suffered a big loss, but that didn¡¯t mean that their battleships were too weak. The losses had urred only because the enemy they had faced had been too strong. However, their enemies were now the wyrm ghosts. Even the battleships that had been through a massacre of countless sea beasts and dominated the Endless Ocean had begun to show their might.

    The numerous mana cannons were shot at the wyrm ghosts. The cannons that had the girth of a bucket seemed to have be thinner, but the vast number of mana cannons could make up for that w. The Gilded Kingdom had clearly invested a lot into the operation as they used the Legendary magical crystals freely like they didn¡¯t cost anything, forming arge of mana cannons that mercilessly shredded the wyrm ghosts into bits.

    The wyrm ghosts were essentially somewhat simr to Vengeful Spirits as their bodies could change or turn into a solid state to allow themselves to be immune to most magic damage. However, the cannon shots were condensed purely from mana, and were in between the two forms of fluid and solid. Hence, it was the nemesis of the wyrm ghosts.

    Of course, if there were only one or two Magical Crystal Cannons, they wouldn¡¯t cause much damage even if they prated the bodies of the wyrm ghosts. However, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet went all out tounch all the cannons they had. The wyrm ghosts that were hit did not just have their bodies prated, they were also instantly strangled into nothingness by the countless cannons. There was no longer a possibility of reconstruction, either.

    However, the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom had to face more than just those wyrm ghosts. Although there was the suppression of Elder Zumar, the power of the terrifying existence sealed under Cage Ind still dominated the sea around the ind. The countless ck vortices were tearing at the solid steel hull.

    When everyone was in a tough battle, Lin Li, who was in the sky above Cage Ind, couldn¡¯t rx, either. He was facing Antora who was known as the Death Shadow. Even though Antora no longer had peak Sanctuary-level strength, and his strength was at level-27, he was in the special form of a ghost, making him hard to deal with.

    Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, causing his entire Domain World to m against Antora¡¯s massive body. If it had been an ordinary ancient wyrm, its bones would have broken. However, in the face of the Domain World, Antora¡¯s body suddenly swelled up and turned into a void that seemed to be enveloping the Domain World.

    Before having a clear understanding of Antora¡¯s abilities, Lin Li did not want to let a Sanctuary powerhouse of the same level as him invade his Domain World. Hence, faced with such a situation, he had no choice but to put away his Domain World and raise the Helios¡¯ Scepter to cast a magic storm made of different magic spells at Antora¡¯s empty body.

    It was not Lin Li¡¯s first time dealing with ghosts, so he was fairly clear on their characteristics. When a ghost condensed to take on a physical form, it would have extremely high magic immunity, and its defense against physical attacks would be very low. When a ghost turned into nothingness, it would bepletely immune to physical attacks, but the magic damage it sustained would also be the highest.

    Hence, such a ghost was not really something very difficult to deal with. After all, its physical immunity and magic immunity would not exist at the same time. It would also have to switch between forms. Inparison, Lin Li had also met any creatures that were worse, such as the Lord Devourer that could devour everything and the Whispering God that had extremely high immunity to both physical and magical damage.

    Of course, the Death Shadow Antora was a Sanctuary powerhouse that was near the peak of that realm. At this point, any creature would go through a drastic change. Hence, if anyone saw Antora as just a ghost, they would be in trouble.

    Lin Li waved his hand to stir up a magic storm, which then crashed towards Antora whose body had turned into a void. Ordinary ghosts would turn into true nothingness upon contact with it. Hence, if there were ordinary ghosts now, their forms would change immediately and gain strong magic immunity.

    However, in the face of the magic storm Lin Li cast, Antora did not condense its body like ordinary ghosts. Instead, it expanded and almost covered the sky above Cage Ind. The sky above the sea area seemed to have been covered by a darkness which did not allow a single ray of light toe through.

    With Antora¡¯s action, the sea also seemed to have sunk into darkness. However, some light shone on the surface, and the magic storm that Lin Li had stirred up also sted over with a deafening roar at the same time.

    However, after rushing into the darkness, the powerful magic storm did not emit any light. It was as if a stone was cast into a bottomless abyss; it was unknown if it had been devoured. The magic storm simply disappeared, and even the spiritual connection between Lin Li and the countless magic spells was broken.

    The darkness that blocked the sky was none other than Antora¡¯s Domain World. It was a world that had been shrouded in darkness and where darkness was the only Law left. Other than the Laws of light, all other Laws could also exist in this world, but they would be overshadowed by Darkness.

    That was also the origin of Antora¡¯s title, Death Shadow. All the enemies engulfed by this Darkness World would fall into permanent slumber and eventually bepletely assimted by the darkness. It was said that no enemy had ever been able to escape from the world of darkness until Antora¡¯s death. In its lifetime, it had engulfed countless powerful enemies in the world of darkness. The 12 Golden Titans that ambushed it had paid a great price to kill it even during an ambush.

    When Antora released the world of darkness, a massive ck w emerged from the darkness before scratching hard at Lin Li who was still in midair. Its massive ck w seemed to be able to pick up the entire ind. Resembling an inverted mountain peak, it broke through the air with a whistling sound.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even have to try. He could tell from the changes in the Space Laws that the dragon¡¯s w was not only clutching at something. It even sealed the entire space when it fell, making it impossible to move away using Space Power. The space that the w enveloped seemed to have suddenly be frozen. The surroundings seemed empty, but Lin Li who was outside could feel that the space seemed to have been cast in steel at this moment.

    With Lin Li¡¯s current ability and his mastery of the World Laws, it was not impossible to tear open this space. However, Lin Li did not choose to dodge even though the w¡¯s power seemed to be enough to rip the world apart. Instead, he stood still in the air, and raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter without dodging.

    In fact, when the ck wyrm w grabbed out, Elder Zumar and the others who were trying to strengthen the seal were the most worried ones on the battlefield. Of course, Elder Zumar and the rest were not worried about Lin Li¡¯s safety, but about being exposed to Antora¡¯s attack by Lin Li.

    Although Elder Zumar was not weak, and could face Antora alone, he still had to deal with the existence under Cage Ind in order to ensure that his people could safely go to repair the Alchemy Array. If he were to get attacked by Antora now, he definitely would not be able to ensure the safety of his people even if he himself might not get injured.

    Hence, Elder Zumar had been watching the battle in the sky above him right from the beginning, feeling even more nervous than Lin Li. He was still skeptical about the ability of Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if he was much stronger than pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, he might not be a match for the Death Shadow Antora. He didn¡¯t think that Lin Li and the rest who hade to their rescue would really go all out. After all, the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk had never been that harmonious with each other.

    However, Elder Zumar didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to show no intention of dodging Antora¡¯s attack, and the young mage even raised his staff against the huge ck dragon¡¯s w. As he raised the staff, the Domain World around Lin Li became distorted at this moment. Immediately afterwards, rays of colorful light darted at the gemstone at the top of the scepter. In the blink of an eye, the jewel became as dazzling as the sun.

    Seeing this scene and feeling the enormous power contained in it, Elder Zumar¡¯s face turned sullen immediately. Even though Lin Li was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, in the eyes of Elder Zumar who had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm for hundreds to thousands of years, he was still a junior.

 Chapter 1070 - Black Giant

    <h4>Chapter 1070: ck Giant</h4>

    However, the junior in his eyes actually disyed power that was not inferior to Elder Zumar¡¯s. In fact, he even surpassed him. Although it was a good thing for the current situation, it still put Elder Zumar in aplex mood. Since Lin Li was giving them aid, the stronger he was, the better. However, Lin Li was also his potential enemy, and thus it was definitely not a good thing.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who was in the sky, had already condensed the power of the entire Domain World in the gemstone at the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter, causing the light of the gemstone to engulf his body. A sun appeared in the dark sky.

    In fact, it was just a matter of a split second before the huge dragon w that stretched out from the darkness had already grabbed Lin Li. Almost at the same time, the shining Sr Sphere which resembled the sun constricted, and seemed to have been oppressed by the sun. However, in an instant, a huge sword of radiant light was thrust out from the giant sword with a menacing momentum as if it could cut the sky, and grabbed the center of the dragon¡¯s w.

    BOOM!

    The sound of a massive explosion filled the air, and the entire world seemed to tremble in the roar. The two massive forces generated shock waves during a head-on collision before spreading out rapidly in all directions, causing ripples to form that could be seen with the naked eye in space as if a boulder had been tossed onto the calm surface of theke.

    The battlefield in the surroundings was also affected by the impact of the shock wave, and the 10-odd wyrm ghosts in the surroundings were shattered and turned into ashes by the horrifying impact. Although there was a considerable distance between them, they still found it hard to calm down. Those that were weaker even almost fainted.

    That was the power of a true Sanctuary powerhouse! Everyone was astonished. Even though they had already thought of Lin Li¡¯s strength as the most powerful they could imagine, they realized that their imagination was still far from enough as the power had already exceeded their imagination.

    Elvis and others were certain that even though they¡¯d stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they would definitely be destroyed in an instant if they were in the middle of the impact. Their souls might be destroyed too. In the past, they respected and had scruples about Lin Li, but now they were filled with fear towards him.

    They knew very well in their hearts that that kind of terrifying power was definitely not something they could fight against. If Lin Li wanted to wipe their forces out, he probably could do so with the lift of a finger.

    At this moment, they were in huge fear for their forces and their previous schemes. They finally knew that the Tower of Dusk just couldn¡¯t be bothered to go against them, and did not refrain from doing so because they were scared. With such a powerful strength, the young president of the Tower of Dusk would perhaps not be afraid of even the famous Ashen Warlock at all.

    Indeed, the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis and the others could not understand what the Sanctuary-realm meant, but they knew how powerful it was, and that they could never resist it. At this moment, the shadow of the Ashen Warlock in their hearts seemed to have gradually been reced by Lin Li.

    At this moment, Elder Zumar was on Cage Ind, but he had been watching the battle above his head with astonishment and fright. The power Lin Li disyed made him forget his mission as he couldn¡¯t help but continuously think about the powerful figure that led the resistance in the war at the end of the Dark Age.

    Although Elder Zumar had always been very confident in his own strength, his confidence had wavered, and he couldn¡¯t help but tremble from within his soul. In particr, he was bbergasted when he thought about Lin Li¡¯s age. <i>How talented must he be to be able to have such terrifying power at this age!?</i>

    Previously, Elder Zumar thought that only the Ashen Warlock who was of an unknown origin was qualified to be his opponent in the entire Breezy ins. However, Elder Zumar had to admit that the young Sanctuary powerhouse before him was probably not that easy to deal with. It seemed that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s strategy against the Breezy ins had to be tweaked.

    Lin Li¡¯s attack made everyone on the battlefield develop all sorts of thoughts. However, at this moment, Lin Li didn¡¯t even consider what others were thinking. Hence, he also truly felt the power of Antora through the collision.

    Legend had it that during the prehistoric times, the Death Shadow Antora of the powerful Obsidian Wyrm race was also known as the finest descendant of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. Now, it seemed that it really wasn¡¯t an exaggeration. Through the tough collision, Lin Li could clearly feel the massive power of the other party, and he could imagine how terrifying Antora had been during his prime.

    The World Sword that Lin Li had condensed using the Domain World and the ck dragon¡¯s w collided vigorously, but the victory was indistinguishable. Although the ck wyrm¡¯s w had been shattered by the powerful World Sword, the World Sword also began to shatter, and all its Laws disintegrated under the impact of the tremendous power.

    Of course, Lin Li was already mentally prepared for this oue, and there wasn¡¯t a single trace of surprise on his face. Just as the World Sword shattered, the light of mana erupted from the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and as the World Sword disappeared from the Domain World, it once again enveloped the surrounding space.

    However,pared to Lin Li, Antora who had turned into the world of darkness immediately reacted more vigorously. Only the instincts of Antora were left. Perhaps he didn¡¯t even know that he was no longer the Death Shadow that the Titans feared. Hence, having his own attack being broken was simply an intolerable insult to his dignity.

    Hence, just as Lin Li reopened his Domain World, a furious roar sounded in the sky, and it seemed to belong on a mental level. Immediately afterwards, more than 10 giants which were as tall as mountain peaks charged towards Lin Li.

    The ck giants did not have any faces at all, and they seemed just like shadows of giants. However, each ck giant¡¯s body emitted powerful power fluctuations that were even more powerful than those of Elvis and other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. They were the Titans that had been swallowed by Antora¡¯s world of darkness and turned into Antora¡¯s darkness puppets.

    Like a silhouette, the ck giants were wielding giant spears that resembled Titan Dragon Spears, but they were also pitch-dark. In the blink of an eye, they dashed towards Lin Li and, without employing any technique at all, the 10-odd ck giants smashed their giant spears into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World with brute force.

    If it had happened during Antora¡¯s heyday, those ck giants would have been at least level-26 or level-27, and Lin Li would be surrounded by more than 10 level-26 or level-27 Sanctuary powerhouses. Even if he had received pointers from Geresco, he would probably have ended up being defeated.

    However, Antora was no longer what it used to be, and the strength of these ck giants had already declined greatly. The difference between these ck giants and Lin Li was now a realm, which was not something that numbers could make up for. Lin Li opened his Domain World, allowing the dozen ck giants to attack it, but he didn¡¯t waver at all.

    However, unlike theposed Lin Li, Elder Zumar and other people outside the battlefield could no longer stay calm. They were all extremely worried. Be it Elder Zumar or Elvis and the others, they all knew that Lin Li¡¯s victory or defeat would be the key to this battle. If Lin Li failed, they would face trouble too.

    The thing that made them increasingly worried was that Lin Li, who was surrounded by a dozen ck giants, seemed somewhat powerless even though he was counterattacking with magic spells too. His Domain World looked like it could be smashed by the ck giants at any moment.

    Although they were nervous and anxious, they were not surprised by the situation at all. They could even sense the massive power of the ck giants; hence, deep down, they didn¡¯t think that Lin Li could kill those ck giants easily.

    Faced with such a situation, be it Elder Zumar who led the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team or the team led by the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis, they all immediately stepped up their respective attacks. In their hearts, they also just hoped that Lin Li could sustain himself for longer under the siege, and give the others a chance to solve the issue.

    With those thoughts, Elder Zumar constantly urged the mages under him to speed up and strive to get the Alchemy Array running smoothly as soon as possible. As long as the Alchemy Array could run smoothly, the seal of Cage Ind would also be reinforced quickly. By then, given Elder Zumar¡¯s abilities, he would have high chances of defeating Antora if he joined forces with Lin Li.

    As for Elvis and others, they also wanted to eliminate their respective enemies as soon as possible. As long as they could attain their goal, the crisis on the battlefield would also be greatly alleviated. Unfortunately, not all wishes woulde true. After all, the strength of Elvis and the others was limited, and it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to get rid of the enemy quickly. Although they had already yed their trump cards, they could only maintain a stalemate with the enemy, which was dangerous.

    Lin Li¡¯s situation in the sky seemed to be exactly like what they were worried would happen. He seemed to be in a huge danger under the siege of a dozen ck giants. Besides, Antora, who was hidden in the darkness, did not stop bombarding Lin Li with all sorts of spells like Darkness Thunderbolt, Darkness mes, and Darkness Snow unrestrainedly. In short, everything was dominated by the Laws of Darkness, but had the characteristics of many other types of magic spells. They constantly sted at Lin Li¡¯s Domain World that was seemingly shaky.

    Under such a crazy siege, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World seemed to be facing its end as the sky and earth were torn open, with a huge hole in them, and it seemed as if the entire Domain World might copse at any moment. However, even in such a dangerous situation, Lin Li did not show any panic at all, and the Domain World, which could copse at any time, was only on the verge of copsing under his full support.

    Perhaps in the eyes of others, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World would definitely copse with a little more effort from the enemy, but when Antora strengthened his attack again, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World miraculously held up again. It was simply torturous for the bystanders, and probably even more intolerable for Antora.

    Lin Li suddenly extended his arm, but instead of casting magic to counterattack the ck giants or repair his Domain World with all his might, he retracted all six pieces of the debris of the stars that he had released, and they immediately flew into his Domain World. In just an instant, all the damage in his Domain World was repaired, making it good as new. It was as if the apocalyptic scene had just been an illusion.

    Of course, as the six pieces of the debris of the stars were put away, Elvis and the others, who had lost the help of the debris of the stars, were immediately put in a very dangerous situation. From their point of view, it was obvious that Lin Li withdrew the six pieces of the debris of the stars because the Domain World couldn¡¯t support them anymore. Hence, they couldn¡¯tin about anything, and had no choice but to squeeze out every ounce of mana and fight the dragon ghosts with their lives.

    <i>Is he going to defend himself and escape?</i> Elder Zumar thought to himself as he noticed the change on the battlefield. Angered by the thought, he also felt that it was justified. Sanctuary powerhouses had an extremely long lifespan, and their ultimate goal was to enter the realm of the gods, so they naturally had to pay more attention to their lives. In the eyes of Sanctuary powerhouses, ordinary people were insignificant nobodies. Even if the Breezy ins was destroyed, the Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t take it to heart.

    In fact, if not for the fact that he had a special mission, Elder Zumar wouldn¡¯t have gone there and put his life at risk. He couldn¡¯t possibly risk his life and future as a Sanctuary powerhouse for the sake of the safety of the Breezy ins!

 Chapter 1071 - Dragon Corpse

    <h4>Chapter 1071: Dragon Corpse</h4>

    However, when it came to his turn, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but be overwhelmed with anger. After all, if he couldn¡¯t seal the existence under Cage Ind, losing his life would be a major matterpared to the destruction of the Breezy ins.

    However, at this moment, after Lin Li repaired his Domain World, a strange sight appeared in it. There seemed to be something trapped in his Domain World like a bug in a ss bottle, charging everywhere in a seemingly unobstructed space.

    If one looked closely, they would be able to vaguely see a wyrm¡¯s shadow. Indeed, the shadow was Lin Li¡¯s current enemy, Antora, which was known as the Death Shadow.

    Unable to break Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, the Death Shadow Antora finally couldn¡¯t hold back any longer, and it simply sneaked into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World through the gap in a bid to give Lin Li a hard time in this Domain World.

    Unfortunately, just as Antora sneaked into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, Lin Li integrated the seven pieces of the debris of the stars with the Domain World, instantly maximizing the nomological power of the Domain World. At the same time, the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars immediately cordoned off the space that Antora was in.

    That was not coincidental at all. In fact, it had all been part of Lin Li¡¯s n right from the beginning. Lin Li¡¯s intention had been to lure Antora¡¯s true body into his own Domain World. Since Lin Li and Antora were about the same level, it was not an easy task to break Antora¡¯s world of darkness. Hence, the best thing to do was to let Antorae out on his own, and create an environment which restricted darkness.

    Nothing would be more suitable than a Domain World of another Sanctuary powerhouse when it came to restricting the Domain World of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Lin Li first used the World Sword to show Antora that they were evenly matched in strength, and it was considered a type of challenge, or rather provocation, at the same time. Under the siege of the ck giants, he pretended to be struggling to sustain the attacks, but he often managed to pull through, which angered Antora even more.

    After all, Antora had already lost himself now, and was just a ghost that was acting ording to his instincts without much consideration at all. He saw that the opponent who provoked him pulled through time and time again despite being on the verge of copsing and simplycking thest straw. Driven by anger, he dived into Lin Li¡¯s Domain World through the crack in a bid to annihte his enemy as soon as possible.

    However, how could Antora have expected that Lin Li still possessed seven powerful pieces of the debris of the stars which werepletely capable of bringing his Domain World to a higher level? Hence, Antora was captured by Lin Li with the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars right after it invaded the Domain World.

    After capturing Antora, Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter and chanted a quick incantation under his breath. As he did so, his Domain World also began to change rapidly. Everything in the Domain World began to emit a sacred light that caused the entire Domain World to be a world filled with holy aura.

    If Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine had been there, he would have recognized Lin Li¡¯s Domain World at this juncture to be the Holy Haven, which was the highest realm of Holy Light Magic. In the entire Brilliance Shrine, only the Pope who was known as the spokesman of Holy Light could create the Holy Haven.

    It was a world full of light that was not too ring but emitted a pure holy aura. Everything in the world was bathed in the light that made it seem incredibly sacred. Anyone would quickly develop a faith in Holy Light, and be a true believer of Light once they were in this world.

    Of course, Antora wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to be a Believer of Light, because it possessed a world of darkness, and was also a ghost that had the identity of an Undead creature. The Holy Haven was not heaven but hell for him. It was a ce where all filth and evilness could be purified by Holy Light, and his only fate would be topletely disappear from this world.

    Antora roared and struggled, but was never able to escape from Lin Li¡¯s Holy Haven. The powerful purification power kept baptizing his body and disintegrating the rules of Undead and Darkness in his body. Antora¡¯s body was now burning with Holy Heavenly mes, and its huge body was also rapidly shrinking while the world of darkness burned up as soon as it appeared.

    <i>Is he from the Brilliance Shrine!?</i> Elder Zumar was once again dumbfounded as the battle in the sky was just too unexpected. He could never believe that the president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic would actually cast the Holy Haven, which only the Pope of Brilliance Shrine could cast.

    With the help of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, the Holy Haven that Lin Li cast was probably not much inferior to that of Pope Rosario. Under such strong purification, Antora was soon burned down to nothing by the Heavenly Purification mes.

    After getting rid of Antora, the battle on Cage Ind became one-sided as the remaining wyrm ghosts could not cause any problems for Lin Li. It only took a short time for the wyrm ghosts to be wiped outpletely. Elder Zumar and the others were the only ones left now. As long as they could reinforce the seal, the matter woulde to an end.

    In order to let the people of the Gilded Kingdomplete their task sessfully, Lin Li didn¡¯t ck off at the side. Instead, he got Elvis and the others to help suppress the force from below Cage Ind.

    Perhaps because of the release of Antora and the numerous wyrm ghosts that consumed too much power, or because of the effect of Lin Li¡¯s suppression, the existence that was sealed under Cage Ind seemed to have also resigned to fate as they quieted down.

    Under such circumstances, the environment of Cage Ind was no longer as frightening as before. The mages of the Gilded Kingdom took advantage of this rare opportunity, and sped up the repair of the Alchemy Array. It took them only a few minutes to reactivate the entire Alchemy Array.

    Looking at the light emanating from the Alchemy Array, Zumar finally let out a long sigh of relief. Although he knew that Cantory had to have promised Lin Li and the others handsome benefits when requesting for their help, all the effort would be worth it as long as this task could be sessfullypleted.

    However, just when everyone thought that everything was alright, Lin Li, who had been staying in mid-air, had a somewhat strange expression on his face. Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly the reason for that feeling, he just felt that something was amiss.

    Lin Li would never ignore his premonitions, because that gut feel was what allowed him to get out of danger time and time again during all his close shaves with death. At the thought of this, he carefully observed Cage Ind before fixing his gaze on the Alchemy Array arranged by the Gilded Kingdom. He originally did not feel anything, but the more he looked at it, the more strange it seemed to him.

    All of a sudden, Lin Li¡¯s eyes lit up as if he understood something, and he immediately yelled, ¡°Hurry up, stop your Alchemy Array!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made the people of the Gilded Kingdom a bit baffled, and even Elvis and the others couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. Elder Zumar thought that Lin Li had guessed the purpose of his trip, and couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly as he looked up, and said to Lin Li who was in midair, ¡°President Felic, thank you very much for your assistance this time, but please leave it to us to handle the aftermath.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, stop the array, hurry up. You can¡¯t reinforce the seal like that!¡± Lin Li yelled in infuriation. The thing sealed beneath Cage Ind was already horrifying enough when it revealed some of its power. There would be huge trouble if it really escaped.

    However, at this juncture, the entire Cage Ind suddenly began to shake violently again. It even seemed to be more vigorous than before, as if the ind was about to be overturned. This time, Elder Zumar finally panicked, and yelled to his subordinate mages, ¡°Did you guys do something wrong!?¡±

    However, before the mages could answer, Cage Ind was split up in the middle, and the surrounding seawater immediately poured into the crack. The mages who originally stood in various positions in the Alchemy Array were immediately moved everywhere, and some unlucky mages even fell directly into the huge crack.

    While everyone on the ind was in chaos, a huge ck figure flew out of the crack, and an extremely terrifying aura immediately enveloped the entire sea.

    Staring at the huge ck figure flying out of the crack, Lin Li¡¯s pupils constricted, and he saw a ck wyrm, or rather a ck dragon¡¯s corpse¡ªhe could see the internal organs of the wyrm from the hole in its chest.

    At this moment, Lin Li also finally confirmed the suspicion in his heart. The aura that seemed familiar to him was from the ck dragon corpse in front of him. The aura felt familiar because the ck dragon was Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction which he had shot and killed in the Endless World!

    How could the corpse of Azardas the Dragon of Destruction appear here!? That was the first question that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind because he had found out from Nefa, a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction, and Rogge, a high priest of the Darkness Shrine, that Azardas seemed to have been buried under the ckstone Mountains after being killed by the Immortal King, and was guarded by another descendant Tutankhamun.

    <i>What is going on? Since the corpse of Azardas the Dragon of Destruction is here, what is Tutankhamun guarding?</i> Lin Li felt that there seemed to be no need for Nefa to lie to him. If he had known that the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction was there, he would have gone there long ago to dig the corpse out.

    However, the dragon corpse in front of him was not quite the same as the one in his memory. There did not seem to be a trace of destruction or evilness on the body, and all he could sense was a massive magical wave that was at least at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    A corpse alone could possess power that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. What level would it be when it was alive, then? When Lin Li first killed the Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World, he didn¡¯t have a clear feeling of it. After all, the Endless World was just a game. However, legend had it that Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction who was also one of the five Dragon Aspects, possessed strength that was at the level of the gods. In that case, Azardas¡¯ strength had to have been beyond the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and was close to the gods. Perhaps he might even be an existence with a god¡¯s position.

    In fact, Lin Li did feel a wisp of aura that did not seem to belong to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm from the corpse of the dragon, as it was rather majestic, and gave off a might that would have no tolerance for sphemy. Although it was extremely subtle, it would still affect one¡¯s soul. Of course, the influence was not great. Otherwise, the people present, including Lin Li and Elder Zumar who were high-level Sanctuary powerhouses, would have to immediately run as far as possible.

    Since it was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction that was sealed there, Cantory obviously didn¡¯t tell the truth when he¡¯d said that his ancestors had found the map in the ruins of the Titans. That was obviously made up ording to the original legend of the Breezy ins. The most important thing now was to deal with the corpse of the dragon. There would be plenty of chances for him to settle scores with the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li had a good understanding and experience of the strength and power of the Dragon of Destruction. Not to mention the legends that he had heard in Anril, he had paid a huge price to kill the Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World. At that time, he had had the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury. However, he¡¯d only managed to painstakingly kill the Dragon of Destruction by exerting the full power of the debris of the stars with the help of the Stars of Fury.

    However, Lin Li now had seven pieces of the debris of the stars, but he still didn¡¯t know where the Stars of Fury was. Fortunately, it was also a dragon corpse, and although it was still incredibly strong, there was still a huge difference between the corpse and when it was alive.

    Besides, Lin Li also noticed that the huge wound on the chest of this dragon corpse was where the magical crystal should be. However, the wound could now be seen clearly, but there was no longer a trace of the magical crystal. There was only flesh, blood, and some of its bones. Without the magical crystal, its strength would be greatly reduced. Hence, the dragon corpse only had power that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

 Chapter 1072 - Menacing

    <h4>Chapter 1072: Menacing</h4>

    There seemed to be no need to guess the whereabouts of the magical crystal, and they reckoned that 80% of them had been unearthed and taken away by the Immortal King. It was said that Tutankhamun and Nefa were hatched by the Immortal King using the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction. Anyway, they had already admitted it, and thus Lin Li could not judge if it was true or not.

    There had been many legends about the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction in Anril, such as about the Sky Castle that the Immortal King had created with the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse, and the sun in Osric¡¯s mausoleum that Highlord Osric had made using the eyes of the Dragon of Destruction. However, the vast majority of those legends were only conjectures. Although they seemed reasonable, all the legends were exposed once the dragon¡¯s corpse appeared.

    Although there was aplete Dragon of Destruction corpse in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm, he felt that he hadn¡¯t seen it in a long time when he saw a moving corpse. Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t really mind it. There was nothing he could say about a moving dragon corpse.

    The dragon corpse in front of him looked like a mountain that was hovering in midair with a pair of wide fleshy wings slowly pping on its back, causingrge waves to form on the surface of the sea. In addition to therge hole in the chest, the dragon corpse still seemed rather intact. It seemed that the Immortal King was not the type to be abused. In fact, the scales on the dragon corpse were unscathed too. Besides, they were still shining with a ck light.

    However, there was something that confused Lin Li¡ªwhat exactly the Immortal King wanted to do. How could he have casually tossed the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction around? The dragon corpse in Lin Li¡¯s own ring was cherished by him, yet the Immortal King threw such a precious material away. The difference was just too great.

    Of course, perhaps the Immortal King did not just throw it away casually, and was instead leaving the corpse there for some purpose. After all, the dragon¡¯s corpse was sealed below Cage Ind. However, given the Immortal King¡¯s abilities, he would probably be able to seal the corpse well, and not let it escape so easily. Did someone else seal it, then? The ancestor of Gilded Kingdom seemed to be a greater suspect. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have left the map for his descendants and told them to reinforce the seal.

    If that was the case, there would be another problem. It was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, which was unique in the world of Anril, and could be considered a priceless treasure. If the Immortal King had left it there, and it was discovered by the ancestor of the Gilded Kingdom, why didn¡¯t he take it away at that time instead of sealing it there? Could it be that sealing it here would bring them more benefits than using the corpse for creating other precious things?

    The appearance of the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction nted many doubts in Lin Li¡¯s head. However, the moving dragon corpse obviously did not intend to give Lin Li time to consider those questions. After the dragon corpse flew up, it opened itsrge mouth without any warning, and spurted a mouthful of dragon breath at Lin Li and the others while roaring at the same time.

    Due to the massive size of the Dragon of Destruction, its mouthful of dragon breath shrouded almost half of Cage Ind. Fortunately, Lin Li did not let down his guard in the first ce. As soon as he saw the dragon corpse opening its mouth, he immediatelyunched the Space Robe and dodged. However, Elder Zumar was in an unfortunate state because there were still a lot of subordinates whom he had to manage. Seeing the dragon breath swarming towards them, he hurriedly gathered his subordinates before dodging as well.

    However, there were still some people from the Gilded Kingdom who didn¡¯t have time to return to Elder Zumar¡¯s side, because they were shocked by the dragon corpse¡¯s power in the beginning. Their defense against the dragon breath was almost useless, and they were turned into ashes by the dragon breath before they could even scream.

    Seeing this scene, Elder Zumar was incredibly distressed. They were all elites of the Illuminati who had not suffered any injuries along the way. He hadn¡¯t expected them to die so worthlessly. However, the current situation gave him no room or time for taking pity on the casualties, because he had to consider the living subordinates in his oceanic world.

    ¡°President Felic, these people will only be dragging us down by staying here. Help me hold that dragon corpse back, and I¡¯ll send them away immediately.¡± Elder Zumar could no longer care about his pride as he immediately asked Lin Li for help.

    <i>What a joke. If I hold the dragon corpse back, who knows if you might just bring your people along and flee!?</i> Lin Li was not projecting his shorings on them; it was a world where interests reigned supreme. In a life-and-death situation as this, it would not be surprising for one to make that choice.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, do you think I can hold off this big corpse all by myself? I think you should let someone else help you send those subordinates away while you stay here with me. I think we¡¯d be able to hold it back for a while and buy some time.¡± Lin Li did not leave thempletely in the lurch, and instead made such a different suggestion. No matter what, he wouldn¡¯t let Elder Zumar leave him behind alone.

    ¡°Okay, we will follow your arrangement, President Felic.¡± Elder Zumar was a smart person who immediately figured out what Lin Li was worried about. Although he was very ufortable, he didn¡¯t reveal it. After all, when he saw Lin Li evading just now, he knew that Lin Li could leave any time. Hence, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be wise to anger him at this juncture.

    Seeing that Elder Zumar was smart enough to do the right thing, Lin Li did not deliberately make things harder for him. Instead, he called the two pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, Cardson and Gatana, to take the peak Legendary powerhouses in their teams and escort Elder Zumar¡¯s subordinates away from the battlefield. His main reason for doing so was because the two of them were the weakest among the six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, and he felt that it would be better to let them escort the people of the Gilded Kingdom away beforeing back. That would allow them to suffer a smaller impact after they returned.

    Although Elder Zumar was not very trusting of the abilities of Cardson and Gatana, he didn¡¯t have a choice now. He could only hand over his subordinates who were protected in his domain for the sake of their safety. After doing so, he did not dare to dy for a moment, and immediately flew towards Lin Li, acting as if he was ready to fight alongside him.

    However, with another mouthful of dragon breath from the dragon corpse, Lin Li and Elder Zumar immediately went separate ways. After all, that was the dragon breath of the Dragon of Destruction. Even if they were high-level Sanctuary powerhouses, they wouldn¡¯t dare fight hard against it with their own defense.

    Perhaps because it had sensed that arge amount of vitality was leaving Cage Ind, the dragon corpse simply did not bother about the two seemingly stronger enemies, and instead pped its wings and dashed towards the fleeing crowd of the Gilded Kingdom like a sharp arrow.

    Elder Zumar panicked. He didn¡¯t think that Cardson and Gatana would be strong enough to withstand the attack of the dragon corpse. Besides, during times of an emergency, those two would definitely not hesitate to leave the others and then escape. He couldn¡¯t me them, either. After all, they were in the Sanctuary-realm, and it was only right for them not to want to risk their lives for ordinary people.

    Seeing that the dragon corpse chased after them, Elder Zumar dared not dy further as he hurriedly pointed the staff in his hand forward, and then a variety of water and ice magic spells sted over. Although the dragon corpse was not slow, arge ice blue patch appeared on the ck, shiny back of the dragon corpse.

    Elder Zumar¡¯s magic bombardment had indeed attracted the attention of the dragon corpse, but what made people feel rmed was that the magic spells just now didn¡¯t really cause the slightest damage to the corpse. The ice blue patch on the back of the dragon corpse was shaken off with the movement of the dragon corpse, while the original target location of the magic bombardment was still lustrous.

    However, despite not being hurt, the dragon corpse also targeted Elder Zumar. After all, it wasn¡¯t that easy to challenge the might of a wyrm, let alone the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, which was once one of the five Dragon Aspect. As it roared hoarsely, its wings pped twice, and itsrge mountain-like body zoomed towards Elder Zumar in an instant.

    The dragon corpse did not spit any dragon breath, either. Instead, it reached itsrge ws out towards Elder Zumar.

    Right from the beginning, Elder Zumar did not neglect his defense, and his body was shrouded by his oceanic Domain World. Despite being a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World nheless burst like a bubble at the instant that he was scratched by the dragon¡¯s ws which contained terrifying power. The power was far stronger than before. Even though the ws did not contain the slightest amount of Nomological power, they still had the power to destroy the world.

    After his Domain World was scratched and destroyed, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t recover from the shock for a while even though he was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse. Besides, the massive ws seemed to have the power to cover the sky as they instantly cast a shadow over Elder Zumar.

    In the face of this development, Elder Zumar did not panic. Instead, he raised the staff in his hand while chanting the incantation, and as light shot out from the gem at the top of the staff, Elder Zumar¡¯s body crumbled with a loud bang and turned into countless drops of water before it was even moved. At a spot near the dragon corpse, countless water droplets suddenly emerged out of thin air, and immediately converged to form Elder Zumar¡¯s body.

    However, as soon as a bit of Elder Zumar¡¯s true appearance was revealed, the dragon corpse suddenly turned around and whipped Elder Zumar with a whistling sound with its tail which seemed powerful enough to tten a mountain peak. As soon as Elder Zumar managed to cast an ice wall, the dragon¡¯s tail already swept the ice wall and broke it beforending hard on Elder Zumar¡¯s body.

    With a loud sound, Elder Zumar¡¯s body was sent flying backwards, and his magic robe became tattered.

    After whipping Elder Zumar, the dragon corpse began chasing him nonstop. At this moment, Elder Zumar was almost too powerless to retaliate, and he couldn¡¯t defend, either. It was almost right to say that he was waiting to die. Lin Li knew that he would be in trouble if he didn¡¯t take action. If he were the only one left, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with the dragon corpse.

    Hence, Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and arge Light and Darkness Sword instantly condensed. As soon as it did, it ruthlessly shed at the massive body of the dragon corpse. The power of the Light and Darkness Sword was no longerparable to Lin Li¡¯s World Sword¡¯s, but its power was still amazing.

    The huge dragon corpse actually stumbled because of the sword. Of course, the scales of the dragon corpse were still perfectly intact after being shed by the sword, but the incredibly solid Light and Darkness Sword actually shattered immediately because of the impact.

    However, no matter what, Elder Zumar managed to escape a disaster with Lin Li¡¯s help. At Zumar¡¯smand, the muzzles of the cannons on the alchemical ships that still remained in the waters around Cage Ind were pointed at the sky, and rays of cannon light darted out.

    The dragon corpse was simply too massive, so much so that the alchemical ships below need not aim too carefully at the target, and all they had to do was to aim in the right direction. The light of the mana cannons sted at the dragon corpse.

    The light caused auras to form on the body of the dragon corpse, and the mana cannons that killed countless sea beasts and could even prate mountain peaks were actually useless when it came to attacking the corpse. There was not a single trace of injury on the neatly arranged dragon scales, and it was as if the light of the mana cannons were just used for illumination.

    The dragon corpse roared as it seemed to have been annoyed by the insignificant nobodies at the bottom.

    The alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom might be the toughest battleships in Anril, but their movements were rtively slower on sea. Seeing the dragon breath crash down, the battleships that were about to be engulfed by it immediately put up defensive magic shields while elerating in another direction in a bid to rush out of the range covered by the dragon breath.

    However, there were still two battleships that did not escape, and were enveloped by the dragon breath. The magical shields of the two battleships immediately burst like bubbles. Immediately afterwards, they sunk to the bottom of the sea, and arge depression formed in the surface of the sea after the dragon breathnded and eroded it. Water surged out of the sea, forming a massive vortex.

    When Elder Zumar saw that scene, he was full of regret. The value of the two alchemical battleships was on par with that of those which had left. Although the Gilded Kingdom was known as the country of alchemical civilization, and rose to fame in Anril because of their alchemical battleships, building a battleship was not easy. Had he known how fragile the alchemical battleships were when faced with the dragon corpse, Elder Zumar would have never let them stay there.

 Chapter 1073 - Reason

    <h4>Chapter 1073: Reason</h4>

    However, those alchemical battleships did give Lin Li a chance to fight. When he saw a wound in the chest of the dragon corpse, Lin Li pointed his Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and a huge Light and Darkness Sword broke through the air, stabbing straight into the chest of the dragon corpse.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the body of the dragon corpse might be tough and highly resistant to magic spells, but the huge wound had prated deep into its internal organs, so as there were no scales to protect it, he might be able to st the dragon corpse¡¯s stomach into ashes if he could pierce through this wound, and then trigger an explosion of light and darkness. In that case, its skin would be all that was left, and it probably would not be able to do anything major.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s approach, Elder Zumar, Elvis, and the others were also inspired to cast their strongest magic spells at the chest of the dragon corpse, which now became their target. In a moment, the sky was filled with all kinds of magic spells, causing it to shine colorfully. The only target of the magic spells was the wound in front of the dragon corpse¡¯s chest.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! There were continuous sounds of explosions in the air, and the dragon corpse¡¯s chest glowed incessantly, almost drowning out half of the dragon¡¯s corpse.

    The intense magic bombardment that was jointly cast by the Sanctuary powerhouses and peak Legendary powerhouses was so powerful that it could even tten a mountain range. However, when the magic light dissipated, the crowd found that the dragon corpse actually had a w blocking its wound on its chest, though the edges were not blocked, and the traces of the bombardment could still be seen.

    <i>Damn it, how are we supposed to fight like that!? We can¡¯t make it budge at all. If we hit it once, we might have to die!</i> At this moment, everyone including Lin Li felt powerless as the battle really made them feel helpless.

    Among all the people, Lin Li was probably the one with the highest number of trump cards, each of which would probably y a vital role in any other battle. However, while dealing with the dragon corpse¡¯s attack in this battle, Lin Li recalled the trump cards he had, and was helpless when he discovered that none of them could y a significant role.

    It was true that Lin Li had the debris of the stars, but in order to fully exert its power, he would still have tobine it with the Stars of Fury. Although Lin Li still had the Crossbow of Reincarnation, which could somewhat rece the Stars of Fury by replicating its effects, that was in the case of facing other enemies. Now that he was facing the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas, he knew exactly how much the Crossbow of Reincarnation could do.

    Back in the Endless World, Lin Li had fought with the debris of the stars, and although he managed to kill it in the end, the process was really like a nightmare. At that time, Lin Li had used the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury, but he still found it difficult to kill the dragon. Hence, it could be said that Lin Li knew the defensive ability of the dragon corpse better than anyone else did. Even though they were just facing a dragon corpse now, the Crossbow of Reincarnation would not y a significant role at all.

    Since they could not break the defense of the dragon corpse, they had to think of another solution. The first thing that Lin Li thought of was to use Necromagic, but was the dragon corpse an Undead creature or not? It would be reasonable to say that the corpse was an Undead creature since it had died, and yet could still move around freely like the living. However, Lin Li did not feel a trace of the aura of Undead creatures from the dragon corpse. Besides, the Dragon of Destruction was one of the five Dragon Aspects, and was a powerful existence with a deity¡¯s position. Even after its death, it was impossible for it to turn into an Undead creature.

    So, if the dragon corpse wasn¡¯t an Undead creature, what allowed it to move and fight? Lin Li considered for a moment, and decided to give it a try since there wasn¡¯t any other solution now anyway. He decided to regard it as a Hail Mary effort. After all, he had had the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse for several years, but he didn¡¯t really know what that thing was supposed to belong to after it came to life.

    ¡°Attract its attention!¡± Due to the fact that Lin Li had the highest attacking power among the crowd, he had managed to catch the dragon corpse¡¯s attention even though he, too, hadn¡¯t caused much damage to it. Lin Li decided to stop attacking now, and instead continuously activated the power of his Space Robe while his body shed in space to evade the dragon corpse¡¯s attacks.

    No one made any objections after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, even though the arrangement didn¡¯t seem to be very fair. Even Elder Zumar also began to unconditionally follow Lin Li¡¯s instructions. After all, he did not want to offend such a powerful foreign aid at this time.

    As expected, the dragon corpse was distracted by Elder Zumar, whosebat power was second to Lin Li, soon after it started chasing Lin Li. Seeing this scene, Lin Li also immediately stopped shing around, and flew to a spot that wasn¡¯t too far behind the dragon corpse. He raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and pointed it forward to cast a seemingly shapeless magic spell, Soul Ricochet.

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, even if the dragon corpse was not an Undead creature, it could still move like it was alive. It did not appear rigid and mechanical at all in terms ofbat, either. Hence, Lin Li felt that it had to be controlled by something. The dragon corpse disyed Sanctuary-level power, and even parasites like the Lord Devourer that could control their hosts dared not approach the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. If it went any nearer, it would probably be crushed and mushed up by the supreme dragon¡¯s might.

    Hence, Lin Li chose the Soul Ricochet, which was the strongest of all Spiritual Magic spells, and should be considered an enhanced version of soul shocking. Soul shocking would only cause the enemy¡¯s soul to be dizzy, but Soul Ricochet had a possibility of making the enemy¡¯s soul ricochet and fall apart.

    In particr, Lin Li now had massive mental strength, and it had be extremely pure after the refinement of the control crystal of the Sky Castle, so the Soul Ricochet that he cast would definitely be several times more powerful. However, Lin Li was unsure if the magic spell would be effective. After all, the soul of the Dragon of Destruction could not be dispersed easily. However, it should at least be able to make the soul of the dragon corpse dizzy for a period of time. Even if it was a short period of time, it would allow Lin Li and the others to take this opportunity to send arge amount of magic spells into the dragon corpse¡¯s stomach through the wound in its chest.

    The Soul Ricochet roared and surged directly into the dragon corpse¡¯s brain. However, what Lin Li did not expect was that there was no soul inside the dragon corpse, which had an empty brain too. There wasn¡¯t even a trace of the low-level soul fire, which was unique to Undead creatures.

    It had no life, no soul, and was purely a dragon corpse, Yet, it had a very highbat awareness, as if it was born to be proficient inbat. It didn¡¯t seem like a corpse at all.

    That made Lin Li confused again. Actually, an existence like the Dragon of Destruction should have an immortal soul, but where did its soul go to? Could it be that the thing that Tutankhamun was guarding at the bottom of the ckstone Mountains was not the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse, but its soul? Or rather, did the Immortal King not only take away the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, but also its soul?

    However, no matter what,unching a soul attack would undoubtedly be ineffective, and Lin Li was put in a difficult spot now. The various types of magic spells could not cause any significant damage to the dragon corpse. There was no way to deal with the dragon corpse at all! If he had the Stars of Fury, the dragon corpse would probably be sted into nothing. It didn¡¯t matter how precious it was, since he already had one in his ring. However, the problem was that he couldn¡¯t find the Stars of Fury.

    More importantly, the dragon corpse was soulless, but itsbat power was insane. It was no longer an issue of its defense, but rather a crazy offensive ability. Cardson and Gilded Kingdom returned after escorting the people of Gilded Kingdom away, but they soon left again. One was in great pain after being whipped by the dragon corpse¡¯s tail, while the other was disfigured by the dragon breath. If they didn¡¯t dodge fast, they would really die there.

    As for the others, the peak Legendary powerhouses basically quit the battlefield as they would end up dying by staying there for any longer, regardless of how many trump cards they had. Elvis and the other four pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were all wounded, but their condition wasn¡¯t severe to the extent that they would lose their fighting ability. Hence, they were barely hanging on.

    Even Lin Li who had received the guidance of Geresco and gained a lot ofbat experience in the Barbarous Arena almost suffered a huge loss when facing the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse. If he hadn¡¯t dodged fast enough with the Space Robe, he would probably have died.

    Lin Li and the others seemed to be besieging the dragon corpse in this battle, but they knew that they were the ones who had lost the upper hand. No matter how intense their attacks were, they could not hurt the dragon corpse, but once the dragon corpse began to counterattack, they would be in a frenzy and even flee anxiously to avoid being forced into a desperate situation.

    However, after facing such a scenario a few times, Lin Li suddenly found a key problem, and that was that the dragon corpse only had battle instincts left, yet it would miss its enemy many times. Just now, he observed that there were several urrences where the dragon corpse almost had the opportunity to kill Elvis and others, but suddenly retreated back into the sky above Cage Ind.

    <i>Could it be that this dragon corpse is like a dog on a chain, and can only move within a certain range of activity?</i> Lin Li couldn¡¯t help bute up with such a conjecture. Even though it was just a guess, he could take advantage of it once it was proven to be true.

    In order to confirm his guess, Lin Li gave a few more instructions to the others, such as telling them to fly far away from the sea area of Cage Ind whenever they encountered danger.

    With Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Elvis and others immediately fled even more quickly than before. As long as the situation was amiss, they would immediately fly away from the sea area of Cage Ind. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Li observed and discovered that the dragon corpse really seemed to have been chained to Cage Ind, and could only move freely in the sea area.

    So, what exactly was the reason for the dragon corpse to stay at Cage Ind? After all, the Gilded Kingdom failed to reinforce the seal, and since the dragon corpse was able to break through, the seal had probably lost its function. Could it be that there was some other seal to limit its range of activities? Of course, there was another possibility¡ªthat the dragon corpse purely wanted to guard something there, or could not bear to leave.

    Although those were possible reasons, the difference between the two was very big. If it was a seal that held it down, there might be a way to fix the seal, and make the dragon corpse stay under Cage Ind again. However, if it was simply the dragon corpse itself, Lin Li would be ready to flee because that meant that the dragon corpse would dash out of Cage Ind without hesitation. If things were to reach that point, Lin Li would probably give up.

    In order to verify the suspicions in his heart, Lin Li reduced the frequency of his attacks even though he was still on the battlefield. It was almost like he could gradually fade out of the battle. He was not cking, but rather trying to preserve energy, and was hoping to find some clues from this space.

    Elder Zumar had long begun secretly cursing Lin Li for his behavior. After all, among these people, Lin Li and he were the only ones who were a match for the dragon corpse. Now that Lin Li had faded out, all the pressure was on Elder Zumar, so he was obviously displeased.

    As for Elvis and the others, they were still strictly following Lin Li¡¯s instructions, although they couldn¡¯t figure out what Lin Li was going to do. They continued to fight with the dragon corpse, but none of them had anyints. At this point, they werepletely convinced with Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse, and they were sure that he would have great aplishments in the future. He might just be a powerful figure like Geresco. If they didn¡¯t take the opportunity to suck up to him now, they might never get the chance to do so again.

    Lin Li¡¯s decreased output of attacks caused the battle to develop quickly to a very dangerous point. Elder Zumar, who was a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse, was forced into a dangerous situation by the dragon corpse after bearing most of the pressure, while Elvis and the others were extremely disheveled. Although they were not the focus of the dragon corpse, the difference in strength was toorge in the end. It was as if they might be annihted at any time.

    After all, it was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas. Even without its soul and Dragon Crystal, its strength was still at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

 Chapter 1074 - Must Fight

    <h4>Chapter 1074: Must Fight</h4>

    Besides, unlike other peak Sanctuary powerhouses, it was a corpse that had a divine position, which meant that there was a fundamental difference between them, just like the difference between pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and actual Sanctuary powerhouses who were generally said to be half a step away from godhood.

    The dragon corpse had a powerful fighting instinct, and there was also a wisp of godly power in its power, which was left behind because it had reached the realm of gods. That wisp of godly power was not to be underestimated. Although it was considered nothing to the true gods, it was a terrifying power to the Sanctuary powerhouses below the realm of gods.

    Moreover, in the face of the godly power that was almost undetectable, Elder Zumar and other Sanctuary powerhouses all clearly felt that their power was suppressed by some kind of existence. However, at their current level, they still couldn¡¯t detect the existence of that wisp of godly power, though they somehow felt that they could not exert all their power.

    That caused the dragon corpse to be even more menacing, while Elder Zumar and the others were forced to run for their lives. They were simply being oppressed by the dragon corpse, and they would be thankful enough to remain alive, let alone to seal the dragon corpse again.

    Outside the battlefield, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were also nervously watching the battle above Cage Ind. Although their realm was still far inferior, they could tell that the situation on the battlefield had already be quite unfavorable for them. They were six Sanctuary powerhouses who lost the upper hand to a massive dragon corpse that they were besieging. That was simply too terrifying.

    Although Cantory was not qualified to participate in a battle of such a level, he had good eyesight, and he soon discovered Lin Li¡¯s shameless act of idling on the battlefield. He was originally filled with resentment towards Lin Li when he had to ask for help. Now that he had seen Lin Li¡¯sck of effort, he was filled with even more hatred.

    <i>Atrocious, does he want to get everyone killed!?</i> Cantory clenched his fists and teeth so hard that he was about to crush them. He hated the fact that he had yet to step into the Sanctuary-realm. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have to go around begging for help, tolerating their attitudes, and giving in to their greedy requests.

    In Cantory¡¯s opinion, he would definitely be an elite Sanctuary powerhouse as long as he could enter the Sanctuary-realm, just like how he was now in the Legendary-realm. He could even imagine how he would take revenge on the Tower of Dusk and every force in the Breezy ins.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who everyone thought was cking off on the battlefield, suddenly seemed to be deep in thought. During his careful observation of the battle just now, he finally discovered something strange: among the various kinds of power that filled the entire space, there were those that belonged to that dragon corpse, as well as those that belonged to Elder Zumar and the few pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses. However, there was a vague wisp of power that did not belong to any of the individuals present.

    That power was very weak, like a candle me that might get extinguished in the wind at any time. However, it was extremely tenacious. Whenever Lin Li felt it was going to disappear, it would persist and seem very different in the space that was filled with all kinds of violent power.

    <i>What kind of power is this?</i> Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of that question. If there was anything unusual on the entire battlefield, it would probably be that unknown power. Although the power didn¡¯t seem massive, it was extraordinary since it could exist in this space filled with all kinds of violent powers.

    <i>Could it be that this is the power that makes the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction unable to leave Cage Ind?</i> Putting aside the possibility that the problemy with the dragon corpse itself, Lin Li felt that the most suspicious thing in the entire battlefield was this power of unknown origin. Although it seemed a little unbelievable that such a weak force could restrain the dragon corpse which was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li really couldn¡¯t find anything else that was suspicious apart from it.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s attention was fully focused on it, he was just as aware as the others of the changes in the situation on the battlefield. Of course he was aware of what kind of situation Elder Zumar and the others would be in under the crazy attack of that dragon corpse. In fact, he might even be more aware than Elder Zumar and the others. How long more did they have to persist more in the face of the dragon corpse?

    This seemingly weak power should be the only clue Lin Li could find now. He knew very well that he had no other better choice, and that Elder Zumar and the others could not buy themselves any more time to find other possible clues under the attack of the dragon corpse.

    In the current situation, Lin Li had no choice but to continue pursuing that clue. If his conjecture was right, everything would be better, but if the clue turned out to be useless, Lin Li would have to leave immediately.

    Lin Li still had an acute self-awareness, and knew very well that he definitely couldn¡¯tpete head-on with the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction with his current strength at all. After all, it was a difference in realm, which was not something that could be made up for with skills or experience. Even Geresco might not be able to defeat this dragon corpse with the power of a god if he was at Lin Li¡¯s level.

    ¡°President Felic, how long are you going to observe for!?¡± Elder Zumar finally hollered as he couldn¡¯t curb his anger anymore after dodging a fatal blow from the dragon ws. Now, he truly resented Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. If the situation continued to progress in such a manner, Elder Zumar and the other elites of his kingdom would probably have to be buried in this hellhole before they could evenplete their mission.

    Naturally, Elder Zumar thought that Lin Li was just avoiding battle in a bid to reap the ultimate benefits after the two parties fought toe-to-toe against each other. However, in his opinion, it was an extremely stupid decision. If the two ended up suffering heavy losses, that would be fine, but given the dragon corpse¡¯s terrifying strength, it was obvious that the battle was one-sided, and there wouldn¡¯t be a situation where they both incurred huge losses.

    Faced with the tant urging of Elder Zumar, no one who had a decent sense of pride would continue to shamelessly ck off at this moment. They would at least have to make an effort to look like they were trying hard. However, Lin Li continued dodging the attacks and otherwise staying still without releasing a single fireball, as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything.

    None knew that Lin Li¡¯s mental strength had already started following that strange source of power and searching for its source at this moment. The force was extremely weak, as if it could break at any time. Hence, while tracing the source, Lin Li also put in a great deal of mental strength, and was not having it better than those who were fighting. However, it was impossible to manifest what he was doing; hence, it didn¡¯t seem as loud and frighteningly powerful as the intense physical battle.

    It would be difficult and dangerous for an ordinary person to spread their mental strength out in such an environment that was filled with all kinds of violent power, let alone chase an almost untraceable force. Even Lin Li was putting all his energy into the source of power. At the same time, he was also dealing with the everchanging situation on the battlefield. How could he have the energy to exin to others?

    ¡°Elder Zumar, Master Felic must be thinking about countermeasures, our task is to do our best to buy him time.¡± After all, Elvis had once explored Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum together with Lin Li, so he also knew that Lin Li would never be a person who couldn¡¯t set his priorities straight. Although he, too, was clueless about what Lin Li was doing now, he was also certain that he definitely wasn¡¯t idling about. They just couldn¡¯t understand his actions.

    Hence, despite being in a dangerous situation, Elvis nheless reminded Elder Zumar, lest he intentionally or unintentionally led the dragon corpse to Lin Li and caused a disruption in Lin Li¡¯s n. Of course, more importantly, he was trying to win Lin Li¡¯s favor by showing his unwavering trust in him as he felt that it would definitely have a considerable impact on the future rtionship between the Mithril Alliance and the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    Upon hearing Elvis¡¯s words, Elder Zumar was on the verge of vomiting blood out of anger. <i>He¡¯s cking off so righteously. How can there be such a shameless person!?</i> It was his first time cooperating with Lin Li, and although thetter had previously shown strength that surprised him, he did not think that Lin Li was really capable of suddenly turning the situation on the battlefield around. Hence, Elvis¡¯s words sounded like an attempt to curry favor with Lin Li to him.

    However, Elvis¡¯s attitude still made Elder Zumar somewhat scrupulous. Even though Lin Li was shamelessly cking off in the battle, he was still receiving the support of a few people. If he were to anger them, he might have to resist the strength of the terrifying dragon corpse alone.

    In the end, Elder Zumar had no choice but to temporarily drop the idea of causing trouble for Lin Li, and hope that thetter was really looking for a weakness of the dragon corpse toe up with a solution to turn the situation around like Elvis said.

    Lin Li was aware of that situation. Although he could not divert some attention to handle it at the moment, he had gained a good impression of Elvis for his sensibility. At this moment, the source of that faint power had finally gradually emerged after Lin Li¡¯s careful scrutiny.

    Just as Lin Li expected, the source of the weak power came from a certain location under Cage Ind, and the power was indeed connected to the body of the dragon corpse. Although Lin Li could not judge that power based on those clues alone, the fact that it could restrain the dragon corpse was enough to make it suspicious.

    However, Lin Li encountered a great resistance when he was about to move his mental strength deep into the sea below to confirm the source of the power. The power of the dragon corpse hadpletely seeped into this space, including the entire sea area around Cage Ind. Although the dragon corpse did not have its soul and magical crystal, the sea area around Cage Ind was already equivalent to the Magical Domain of the dragon corpse. Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was akin to a needle trying to be driven into an iron te. It was incredibly difficult.

    Fortunately, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength had long been refined by the control crystal of the Sky Castle, and was far beyond that of ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. If there really was a realm above the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength would probably be at that realm.

    After Lin Li¡¯s unremitting efforts, his mental strength seemed to have really prated the sea. Although he encountered a great resistance after that, it was still a good start. Hence, the following events were no longer too difficult to deal with. Following the faint force that he traced, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength broke through the heavy resistance, and explored all the way to the bottom of Cage Ind.

    Just as Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was exploring deep below the Cage Ind, the battle situation above Cage Ind had also developed to a dangerous stage. The dragon corpse that had a terrifying strength hadpletely taken control over the battle. Everyone in the battlefield, including Elder Zumar, who was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, was facing the greatest crisis of their lives.

    <i>Should we flee?</i> As soon as that thought formed in Elder Zumar¡¯s heart, he immediately severed it. Not only was it embarrassing to run away, he could not care less about the others even if he ran away from such a powerful dragon corpse. The elites of the Gilded Kingdom would definitely die there too. If the team he brought over was killed without evenpleting the mission; how could he answer to the king of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati?

    Although the others were unaware, Elder Zumar, the leader of this operation, was very clear of the importance of the operation to the Illuminati. The sess of the operation would have a great impact on the future survival of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.

    He had to go all out and fight!

    Although the Sanctuary powerhouses would rarely put their lives at risk because of their iparably long lifespans, Elder Zumar had no other choice now. If he failed and caused them to incur great losses, Elder Zumar would definitely lose all his glory, and might even be punished severely. He would rather die than face that.

 Chapter 1075 - Ancestors

    <h4>Chapter 1075: Ancestors</h4>

    Since those who came to Elder Zumar¡¯s aid were unreliable, he would have to rely on himself! After dodging another wave of fierce attacks from the dragon corpse, Elder Zumar suddenly retreated and raised the staff in his hand as he chanted a long incantation under his breath.

    With his actions, Elder Zumar¡¯s mana surged, and soon reached a very frightening height. At this point, Elder Zumar¡¯s strength had already reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and his mana was being stirred vigorously like a storm in the Endless Ocean.

    Seeing Elder Zumar having such a terrifying power all of a sudden, the dragon corpse was of course barely affected, but Elvis and others could not help but have a drastic change in expression. In their opinion, it was like seeing a mortal be a god right before their eyes. The terrifying fluctuation in mana even made them feel an urge to bow down and submit.

    That was not an exaggeration at all. After all, Elvis and others were only so-called pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses who had yet to even grasp the power of the early stages of the Sanctuary-realm. Compared to real Sanctuary powerhouses, they were just like insignificant ants. To them, the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already equivalent to the power of the gods, and was at a level that they probably could not reach in their lifetime.

    However, the dragon corpse was obviously not affected by Elder Zumar. Although it didn¡¯t have a soul or consciousness, it didn¡¯t take Elder Zumar, who had forcefully increased his power to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, seriously.

    Back then, the Dragon of Destruction Azardas had a position as a god, and even the current power of this dragon corpse contained a wisp of godly power. Although it was minute, it allowed the dragon corpse which was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm to be fundamentally superior to peak Sanctuary powerhouses. The difference was like an insurmountable rift.

    Elder Zumar had forcefully raised his power to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm; hence, he obviously had to pay a huge price for it. At this moment, the mana in his body was surging to the extreme, and it even caused ripples to form in the space around him. However, he no longer seemed as calm and majestic as he used to. Instead, his face was extremely sullen, and he seemed to be suffering from excruciating pain.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    Elder Zumar suddenly roared and pointed his staff forward, after which the mana in his body seemed to have found a vent as it surged out like a flood all of a sudden, causing huge waves to form in the air. Blue beasts that were formed by seawaterunched a ferocious attack on the dragon corpse.

    The blue beasts were almost asrge as the dragon, and some were about the same as the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Besides, the power that their bodies contained had almost reached the peak of the Legendary-realm. There were even some that were stronger than Elvis and the other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Lin Li, who did not stop paying attention to the battle, was not at all surprised that Elder Zumar had yed his trump card. After all, Sanctuary powerhouses would definitely have a few trump cards to save their lives, though they treasured their lives more than anyone else. Ordinary people would have an average lifespan of a few decades, but the Sanctuary powerhouses had extremely long lifespans. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t easily put their lives at risk.

    However, Lin Li felt more or less disappointed by the trump card employed by Elder Zumar. Such power might be able to scare pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis, but Lin Li could see the ws in it right away.

    That was the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, but at the same time it wasn¡¯t. Elder Zumar managed to acquire a massive amount of mana that wasparable to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm by overloading his body, but hisprehension of the realm could not be increased. Hence, when using the massive mana, Elder Zumar still could only manipte it ording to his actual realm, and he would not be able to exert a terrifying powerparable to miracles like those who were truly at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Simply put, when a person became stronger, they would at most be able to lift heavier equipment without being able to use it in other ways, because they did not possess any advanced skills.

    Besides, the difference between Elder Zumar and the dragon corpse was not just the difference between a high level and the peak of the realm. The key was that the dragon corpse¡¯s power also contained that wisp of godly power. Even if a true peak Sanctuary powerhouse was there, he might not be able to do anything to the dragon corpse, let alone Elder Zumar who had merely enhanced his mana.

    However, this trump card of Elder Zumar was notpletely useless. At the very least, it allowed him tost a little longer under the attack of the dragon corpse. Perhaps this time did not make much of a difference to Elder Zumar, but it was very important for Lin L. After all, the brief period of additional time increased the possibility of Lin Li finding the source of that weak power.

    In fact, the development of the battle was just like what Lin Li had expected. Elder Zumar¡¯s earth-shattering strike was insignificant in the face of the dragon corpse, and the marine beasts that were at the peak of the Legendary-realm were turning into water after being struck by the dragon corpse¡¯s tail. The terrifying gigantic waves smashed against the dragon corpse, but they seemed to just be giving the dragon corpse a bath, allowing the scales on the body of the dragon corpse to be glistening and dazzling.

    The result was so devastating that Elder Zumar almost vomited blood. Although he knew that his power was notparable to that of a real peak Sanctuary powerhouse, the gap was simply too huge.

    Elder Zumar felt that the power he now possessed would at least allow him to cause some damage to the dragon corpse even though he might not be able to fight the dragon corpse head-on. However, reality gave Elder Zumar a p in the face. Clearly, his power was still not enough for him to be the dragon corpse¡¯s opponent.

    Hence, as soon as Elder Zumar released that shocking burst of attacks as if he was about to kill the dragon corpse in the blink of an eye, he was once again chased by the dragon corpse. Of course, his trump card was notpletely useless, as it at least allowed him to escape the attack of the dragon corpse with a little more ease.

    Finally, just when Elder Zumar and Elvis and others found it hard to endure, a look of surprise formed on Lin Li¡¯s face. Through the pursuit of that faint power, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength found the source of that power in the deepest part below Cage Ind. Through his spiritual senses, Lin Li could basically determine that the source of that wisp of power was none other than a sealing array that was operating so slowly that it seemed like it might stop at any moment.

    That discovery surprised Lin Li, but at the same time he felt extremely conflicted. Obviously, the sealing array was being faulty for some reason. In order to reseal the dragon corpse, he clearly had to repair the sealing array. However, Lin Li would have to personally dive into the bottom of the sea in order to do that.

    If it was in normal times, Lin Li¡¯s strength, which was close to the Sanctuary-realm, would allow him to dive deep into the sea without difficulty, and it would be as easy as walking on the surface. However, things were different now as the entire sea area had be the domain of the dragon corpse. The power of the dragon corpse had seeped into every inch of space. Lin Li had merely put some of his mental strength into the bottom of the sea, and he could already feel the immense pressure. If it were to really dive deep into the bottom, the danger he would face would not be inferior to fighting the dragon corpse head-on.

    To Lin Li, diving into the deep sea sessfully was a huge challenge, and he might really end up falling there. Besides, diving deep into the sea didn¡¯t necessarily mean that he would be able to repair the seal. Even Lin Li, a Guru, could not be sure for now.

    In particr, the dragon corpse was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, so was it rted to the Immortal King? If the seal was set by someone else, Lin Li would be more confident in repairing it, but the Immortal King was an insanely powerful expert that could replicate the Stars of Fury. God knew what kind of seal he would have set under the sea.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, are you still refusing to tell the truth at this point? How exactly did this dragon corpsee about, and what exactly is the purpose of your visit to Cage Ind this time?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything about the seal, and instead joined the battle again, which relieved the pressure and burden on Elder Zumar and the others.

    However, before Elder Zumar could catch his breath, he heard Lin Li¡¯s question, and was shocked to the point of nearly losing his breath. It was not an easy question to answer, and he didn¡¯t know what Lin Li knew. Hence, if he gave an unsatisfactory answer, Lin Li might really leave them in a lurch in a moment of anger. However, telling the truth was obviously not a good choice, as that would defeat the purpose of fighting there.

    Of course, at the end of the day, Elder Zumar had experienced all sorts of things before. Hence, he soon got a grip on his emotions, and did not reveal any strange expression, either. He did his best to cope with the dragon corpse¡¯s attacks while panting heavily, and saying, ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked about it, I will tell you the truth, President Felic. The dragon corpse was indeed not sealed here by any Titan, but by our ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    In fact, the people of the Gilded Kingdom did not know the true origin of the dragon corpse, but just thought that it was the corpse of a very powerful ancient giant dragon. Moreover, when the people of the Gilded Kingdom first saw the dragon corpse, it already seemed to have a life of its own, like it was now.

    Before the Dark Age, the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom had already begun to migrate overseas, and established the Gilded Kingdom. While the entire Anril plunged into darkness, the Gilded Kingdom which was far away in the sea had undergone a period of rapid development thanks to the natural barrier the Endless Ocean constituted.

    Under the protection of the powerful alchemical ships, the Gilded Kingdom incorporated several inds that were suitable for living. Legend had it that during its peak, the poption of the Gilded Kingdom was almost asrge as that of Anril.

    However, the wonderful days were short-lived. When the banner of the Gilded Kingdom was erected on every ind in the Endless Ocean, a dragon corpse that did not have a soul or a Dragon Crystal appeared in front of them. It could devour an entire ind with one mouthful of dragon breath, and a roar could spark waves that were tens of meters high.

    No one knew what this dragon corpse was after. All they knew was that it was heading towards the depths of the Endless Ocean. The people on the inds it went to would either be turned into ashes by its dragon breath or washed away by the huge waves and tsunamis. In a short period of time, the dragon corpse caused an unimaginable loss for the Gilded Kingdom, which was just like the end of the world.

    The Gilded Kingdom deployed all its fleets to stop the dragon corpse from flying towards the capital, but that battle became a key turning point in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s decline. In that battle, the alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom which had been crossing the Endless Ocean seemed to have be useless, while 2/3 of the battleships sunk into the deep ocean forever.

    Fortunately, at thest moment, the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom and the priest of the Illuminati returned in time to start a crazy battle. The battlested more than 10 days, and the entire sea seemed to be in chaos as there were corpses of giant sea beasts floating everywhere on the surface.

    In the end, two Sanctuary powerhouses led the dragon corpse to Cage Ind, and managed to activate the seal that had been set there previously, thus sealing the ferocious dragon corpse under Cage Ind. However, the power of the dragon corpse was so strong that the seal set by the two peak Sanctuary powerhouses could not hold it down permanently. Hence, the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom left an Alchemy Array to seal it, and told their descendants in the Gilded Kingdom toe here every once in a while to reinforce the seal through the Alchemy Array to prevent the disaster from happening again.

    Elder Zumar unraveled the story, and Lin Li also managed to get the information he wanted to know. The seal under Cage Ind was indeed left by the ancestors of Gilded Kingdom. Besides, he could tell from the fact that the seal had to be reinforced every once in a while that the seal should not be of a high level. If it had been set by the Immortal King, it probably wouldn¡¯t have had to be reinforced every once in a while.

    Of course, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that naive to think that Elder Zumar was telling theplete truth. It could be said that 10% of what Elder Zumar said were lies to make it seem that he was telling theplete truth.

 Chapter 1076 - Restraint

    <h4>Chapter 1076: Restraint</h4>

    That was Lin Li¡¯s forte, and he naturally wouldn¡¯t be gullible enough to believe Elder Zumar. However, now was not the time to bother with that, and Lin Li was toozy to continue asking questions. Getting the information he wanted was enough for him.

    Since the seal was set up by the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom, and had to be reinforced every once in a while, the seal was of such a level that Lin Li was still rtively confident in repairing it.

    After saying those words to Lin Li, Elder Zumar didn¡¯t feel remorseful or guilty at all. Instead, he asked with an expectant look, ¡°President Felic, did you think of any solution?¡±

    ¡°Can you guys give this dragon corpse a heavy blow?¡± Lin Li asked, not answering his question.

    Elder Zumar was instantly frustrated after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question. If he was capable of striking the dragon corpse hard, he wouldn¡¯t have to go around looking for help! He felt that Lin Li was scolding him.

    However, Elder Zumar knew that Lin Li definitely wasn¡¯t joking with him in the current situation, and thus had no choice but to say with an awkward look, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t do that.¡±

    In fact, not to mention a heavy blow, their current problem was that they simply could not even cause significant damage to the dragon corpse. Even Elder Zumar, who had massive power that was near the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, could not do anything to the dragon corpse with any special means.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Lin Li said. He didn¡¯t have much of a reaction, nor did he mock Elder Zumar over this issue. Instead, he nodded slightly, and continued, ¡°In that case, think of a way to help me hold it back.¡±

    <i>What!?</i> Elder Zumar was really dumbfounded as he initially thought that Lin Li hade up with some feasible solution. Why did Lin Li still want him and the others to fight the dragon corpse at the end of the day? To put it nicely, they were told to hold back the dragon corpse, but in fact, they were just getting themselves abused! <i>Stall for time? We¡¯re putting our lives at risk!</i>

    However, Lin Li did not give Elder Zumar the opportunity to refuse, and instead activated the Space Robe on his body before disappearing beside Elder Zumar in a sh. Thus, Elder Zumar had to face the dragon corpse alone again. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to go all out to fight the dragon corpse.

    However, this time, Lin Li did not idle on the battlefield like he had just now, but he immediately opened his Domain World after avoiding the dragon corpse¡¯s attack from the front. However, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World could not be opened easily in such an environment, and the pressure around it caused the Domain World to make an overwhelming cracking sound as soon as it appeared.

    Usually, the Domain World opened by Sanctuary powerhouses would y a protective role in such circumstances, and once it expanded to a certain buffer space, it would be enough. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t stop after unfolding the Domain World, and instead increased the output of mana, and continuously expanded the Domain World to arger range.

    Normally, the Domain World of a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse would be able to expand almost infinitely, and it could even engulf a city or a kingdom. However, the area here was the domain of the dragon corpse where every inch of space was filled with the massive power of the dragon corpse. It was extremely difficult for Lin Li to expand his Domain World in such an environment.

    It was tantamount to a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse going into another Sanctuary-realm powerhouse¡¯s Domain World, and unfolding his own Domain World. It was just like two Sanctuary-realm powerhouses having a face-to-face battle. Besides, it was almost a battle that was devoid of any fancy tricks.

    Although Lin Li did not seem to be fighting the dragon corpse now, the expansion of his Domain World was equivalent to a toe-to-toe battle with the dragon corpse. Lin Li might have told Elder Zumar and the others to hold the dragon corpse back, but the one who really put in the most effort and was in the greatest danger was him.

    The others couldn¡¯t understand what Lin Li was doing. To put it bluntly, they felt that he was just courting death. They all knew how terrifying the dragon corpse was. The two Sanctuary powerhouses and four pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were all helpless in the face of the dragon corpse whose strength was probably close to that of the gods. If it was just a fight, the few of them could still persist for some time. If they were to really fight it head-on, it would be a death wish.

    However, Lin Li did not exin anything to them. Of course, he didn¡¯t have any extra energy to exin anything, and simply constantly increased his output of mana to expand his Domain World that was almost about to crumble inch by inch. Compared to Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, the surrounding space simply seemed to be frozen, as if someone was blowing an airbag that was hidden deep in the ground.

    Everyone was confused about what Lin Li was trying to do, but faced with the current situation, they had no choice but to follow Lin Li¡¯s instructions. In fact, even without Lin Li¡¯s instructions, they still had no alternative, as it seemed unlikely for them to escape as well. Elder Zumar had a reason not to escape, while Elvis and the others were too weak to do so. Even if they chose to escape, they would probably lose the trust of theirpanions in addition to facing the pursuit of the dragon corpse. By then, they would die a horrible death.

    Now, they could only put all their hopes on Lin Li in hopes that he, the young Sanctuary powerhouse, was not really doing nothing. They bucked themselves up, and focused onpressing every ounce of power in their bodies to escape from death again and again under the dragon corpse¡¯s attacks.

    At the beginning, the dragon corpse was still chasing Elder Zumar and others, emitting a terrifying dragon breath that was so powerful that it seemed to be able to rip the sky apart. However, although the dragon corpse did not have any soul and self-awareness, its powerfulbat instincts allowed it to quickly detect what Lin Li was doing, and thus his actions vaguely seemed to be posing a threat to it.

    The dragon corpse¡¯s instinct was actually simple. Anyone who posed a threat to it would be finished off first. Hence, the dragon corpse immediately shook off the people it was chasing before pping its wings and rushing towards Lin Li.

    However, in the face of the dragon corpse that was pouncing on him, Lin Li stayed still as if he didn¡¯t see it at all. He was still working hard to expand his Domain World. It was not that Lin Li wasn¡¯t aware of the danger involved, but rather that the expansion of his Domain World just now would be a waste of effort if he suddenly moved away. He¡¯d have to start from scratch.

    Of course, Lin Li would not really put his own life at risk. He had already weighed the dangers, and if he wanted to dodge, he could just sh away. Hence, the reason that he was staying still now was considered a test for others. If they couldn¡¯t hold the dragon corpse back, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have to try anything else. Anyway, it would be unlikely for him to seed no matter how many times he tried. He just had to evade. On the contrary, if those people were reliable, Lin Li would have a peace of mind and do what he wanted.

    In the beginning, Elder Zumar and others really hesitated a little. After all, they were facing the ferocious dragon corpse, and they could not dodge in time at all. How could they possibly dare to charge forward and stop the dragon corpse. However, when they saw that Lin Li was actually staying still without evading, and was still expanding his Magical Domain, they knew that they had to go over.

    <i>I hope you really have a way to deal with the dragon corpse!</i> Elder Zumar thought to himself with resentment. However, he dared not slow down at all, and instead waved the staff in his hand while approaching the dragon corpse. He did not dare to wait for the dragon corpse to approach, and instead pointed the staff from afar. The surging mana immediately spread outwards, and countless ice series and water series magic spells converged to form a huge magic torrent that surged towards the dragon corpse.

    At the same time, Elvis and others did not dare to hesitate any longer at this point as they simply started activating the mana in their bodies, and flew towards the dragon corpse. All sorts of magic spells like thunderbolt, lightning, mes, and hail swarmed towards the dragon corpse like a storm. They surprisingly drowned out the massive dragon corpse.

    If it was at the beginning, the crowd might still be excited about it, but they had already gotten used to it at this point. Everyone knew that the seemingly powerful offensive spells could barely cause an impact on the dragon corpse. The dragon corpse¡¯s defense was absolutely invincible, and they couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of weapon was actually able to leave such a huge wound in the dragon corpse¡¯s chest.

    Sure enough, just as everyone expected, the dragon corpse pped its massive wings twice amidst the countless magic spells, and all of the magic spells were instantly extinguished like candlelight. The figure that emerged from the magic storm was intact without any wounds, just like before.

    Although the indiscriminate bombardment of the crowd did not hurt the dragon corpse, it sessfully attracted thetter¡¯s attention. It might have a strongbat instinct, but that did not mean that it was smart. After all, it had lost its soul, and everything was based on instinct. Compared to low-level animals, its intelligence was probably inferior.

    Of course, Elder Zumar, Elvis, and the others had to begin escaping in a mess after being targeted by the dragon corpse. Fortunately, they were already prepared for it, but when they saw the dragon corpse surge towards them, they still immediately fled like shocked birds. Although it seemed embarrassing, no one cared about their pride in this situation. Staying alive was the most important.

    Not to mention, the enemy they faced was a terrifying existence at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. To be able to survive under the attack of the dragon corpse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already something worth bragging about. Only fools would try to act like heroes. If they died at the hands of the dragon corpse, others would definitely not say that they were heroes, and would simply call them idiots.

    The five Sanctuary powerhouses including Elder Zumar fled in all directions, while the dragon corpse followed its instincts without hesitation, and surged directly towards Elder Zumar who was the strongest. That made Elder Zumar feel extremely depressed. <i>What¡¯s wrong with being stronger? Why did the dragon corpse attack me!?</i>

    Although the dragon corpse wasrge, it wasn¡¯t clumsy when it flew. It only took two ps of its wings to catch up to Elder Zumar. Immediately afterwards, the dragon corpse opened its mouth, and spat out a ball of dragon breath that resembled ck clouds. It surged towards Elder Zumar like a storm.

    Elder Zumar was more experienced in dealing with it; hence, he managed to block the dragon breath with ayer of magical defense. However, at the same time, Elder Zumar did not stop, and instead made a sharp turn to change direction before speeding up to escape the dragon breath. It was because he knew that no matter how manyyers of magical defense, he could only block the dragon breath for a moment. Staying in ce would just be courting death.

    As expected, in the instant that Elder Zumar was about to dodge, the dragon breath had already destroyed dozens to 100yers of magical defense, and was about to press against his back. Although Elder Zumar had already evaded several times, he still could not help but break out in a cold sweat. He didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of joy for escaping. Instead, he felt like he was dancing on a tightrope. God knew when he might no longer be able to dodge.

    Besides, just as the dragon corpse was about to chase Elder Zumar, Elvis and the four other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses also once againunched an attack on the dragon corpse to attract some of its attention. Although they were also very reluctant to do such a silly thing as to make others attack, they were well aware that without Elder Zumar, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, it would be more difficult and dangerous to hold the dragon corpse back.

    ¡°Pester it, not let it chase after you!¡± After Lin Li¡¯s Domain World expanded to a certain level, it was as if it had reached its limit, and no matter how much mana he put out, it would be impossible to make the Domain World expand by another inch. The Laws of the Domain World had already begun crumbling too, and the entire Domain World looked like it was covered in spiderwebs.

    Clearly, although the crowd drew the dragon corpse¡¯s attention to themselves to prevent it from disturbing Lin Li, the dragon corpse¡¯s instinctive control over the power of this space was something that they couldn¡¯t affect at all. Hence, Lin Li wanted Elder Zumar to pester the dragon corpse, but not just lead it around. Instead, he wanted them to make it end up having no time to control the power in the space.

    To be frank, Lin Li¡¯s request was a little overboard. Elder Zumar and the others would be left with no choice but to flee under the attack of the dragon corpse. If they wanted to affect its power, they would have to fight it head-on.

 Chapter 1077 - The Descent Of The Sky Castle

    <h4>Chapter 1077: The Descent Of The Sky Castle</h4>

    Therefore, the crowd was a bit dumbfounded after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, and they even thought that they had heard wrongly. What he said seemed to be no different from making them step onto the path of death.

    Of course, Lin Li also knew that it seemed unrealistic to make them pester the dragon corpse. Regardless of whether or not they had the courage, their strength alone was too low for them tost a long time in the face of the dragon corpse, let alone make the dragon corpse put in more effort.

    Sensing that they were somewhat hesitant, Lin Li obviously knew what they were worried about. Hence, while maintaining the expansion of his debris of the stars, he took out four pieces of the debris of the stars, namely Raging mes, Pr Snow, Rebirth, and Thunderbolt, and tossed them out. The four pieces of the debris of the stars represented the power of the four elements, and could be used to strengthen Elvis and the other four pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Lin Li¡¯s mastery of the debris of the stars had already reached a high level, and he couldn¡¯t fully utilize the power of the debris of the stars only because he didn¡¯t have the Stars of Fury. However, with this mastery, he did not have to worry about the debris of the stars getting taken away by someone else. Even if someone else took it, he could easily just get the debris of the stars back.

    Elvis and others were no strangers to the debris of the stars. Before the dragon corpse appeared, they had already had their strength enhanced by the debris of the stars. However, at that time, they could not use the debris of the stars, and could only ept its power. Now, they finally had the opportunity to use the debris of the stars personally.

    No one would be greedy at such a juncture. They didn¡¯t think that Lin Li was a fool who would hand such a powerful magic weapon to them without leaving something for himself to rely on. Besides, even if they really had means to control it, they would not have the guts to covet the items of a real Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Elvis and others knew very well what Lin Li handed the magical weapons to them for. Hence, after getting the debris of the stars, they immediately began activating the huge power of the debris of the stars, andunching a ferocious attack on the dragon corpse.

    Besides, due to the fact that the debris of the stars contained the purest Laws, it was different from the way Elvis, Elder Zumar, and the others forcefully increased their strength by overusing their mana. With the help of the power of the debris of the stars, Elvis and the other four pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were actually exerting power that was not inferior to that of real Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Seeing Elvis and the others disying the power of a real Sanctuary powerhouse with the help of those magical weapons, Elder Zumar was filled with jealousy. If he had had such a magical weapon, he would have been able to y a greater role in the battle.

    However, Elder Zumar knew that Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t feel safe about handing the magical weapon to him, because of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. However, the fact that the strength of Elvis and the others increased made Elder Zumar feel a lot less pressured. Hence, it was more or less a relief.

    The five Sanctuary powerhouses immediatelyunched a siege on the dragon corpse, and they were no longer just leading the dragon corpse around this time, and were instead exerting their power to the extreme. Although they could not really cause much damage to the dragon corpse even by doing so, they could battle the dragon corpse to a certain extent.

    As the enemy¡¯s strength increased, the dragon corpse also once again increased the power of its output due to itsbat instincts. That also caused the bnce to be thrown off again. After all, the dragon corpse was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction which could not be defeated by the attacks of a few Sanctuary powerhouses.

    However, due to the fact that the dragon corpse increased the attacks on Elvis and others, Lin Li immediately felt that the pressure outside his Domain World suddenly decreased. His Domain World, which had stopped growing, began to expand outward again. This time, the expansion was clearly much faster than before, as if it was a rebound after being suppressed for too long. In the blink of an eye, the Domain World had already engulfed half of Cage Ind, and was still continuing to expand.

    Elder Zumar, Elvis, and the others were more and more confused about Lin Li¡¯s approach. They could never imagine Lin Li¡¯s reason for expanding his Domain World at this moment. <i>Does he want to incorporate the dragon corpse into his Domain World?</i>

    Generally speaking, incorporating the enemy into one¡¯s Domain World was indeed a means of oveing the enemy. However, in order to do so, one would have to consider the strength of the target. The dragon corpse was an existence that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and he would be courting death by incorporating it into his Domain World!

    However, Elder Zumar, Elvis, and the others did not have the time to ask Lin Li about it now. Although Elvis and the others had each had their power increased with the help of the debris of the stars, their situation had once again be tough and tricky because the debris of the stars had shifted the focus of its power.

    After all, Elvis and the others had only just gotten their hands on the debris of the stars, and were unable to fully grasp their power like Lin Li. Hence, they could only channel a portion of its power for their own use with their own understanding of the Laws. Although that power would allow them to be on par with real Sanctuary powerhouses, they could only be considered beginners in the Sanctuary-realm no matter what. They were still worlds apart from the dragon corpse.

    Therefore, apart from when Elvis and the others caught the dragon corpse off guard in the beginning, the subsequent battle was simr to the previous events. The only difference would be that Elvis and the others could no longer flee everywhere. Their task was to attract the attention of the dragon corpse and attack it. In order to do so, they would have to retaliate more intensely.

    ¡°Roar!¡± A hoarse dragon roar sounded, but it was emotionless. A soulless dragon corpse would probably no longer have any emotions like anger. Its roaring seemed to be out of instinct too.

    However, Elder Zumar, Elvis, and the others, including Lin Li, could also feel that the dragon corpse¡¯s power had been increased by another notch after the hoarse roar. The absence of anger did not mean that it wouldn¡¯t be explosive. Once its power output umted to a certain level and exceeded a certain critical point, the terrifying power that would be exerted would be on par with that of an angry dragon.

    With the dragon corpse facing Elvis, Elder Zumar, and the others whom the dragon corpse hadn¡¯t been able to get rid of for a long time, the power that the dragon corpse had been investing in the battle broke through that critical point. Elvis, Elder Zumar, and the others would not be able to resist that overwhelming and terrifying power even if they possessed the debris of the stars.

    Bang! The huge dragon tail heavily smacked the defensive crystal wall that Elvis and the others had constructed with the power of the debris of the stars. The defensive crystal wall that had just resisted many attacks was instantly shattered. Next, a dragon w which seemed to be hanging upside down like a mountain peak grabbed the defensive crystal wall with the power of heaven and earth, and smashed it into pieces.

    Although Elvis and others were not overwhelmed by the power of the debris of the stars, and were still continuing to increase their defense, the defensive wall constructed with the power of the debris of the stars seemed as fragile as eggshell in the face of the dragon corpse.

    The four pieces of the debris of the stars that Elvis and the others were holding were constantly shing, but the increase in their defense could not catch up with the speed of the dragon corpse¡¯s attack. Besides, due to the fact that they had given up on running around right from the beginning, they could no longer flee now. They could only watch theyers of defense being broken as their deaths approached.

    At this moment, everyone was in despair. Even Elder Zumar who was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse did not think they could survive the terrifying attack of the dragon corpse. Although it was said that the soul of a Sanctuary powerhouse was indestructible, there was no point in having a soul without a physical body.

    As for Elvis and others, they were overwhelmed with even more fear. Although they had also stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they had only gained an increase in lifespan, and had yet to reach the point where their souls were indestructible. If they died now, it would be the end of everything. It had been less than two years since they entered the Sanctuary-realm, and they hadn¡¯t enjoyed the glory of being in the Sanctuary-realm yet. No one would be willing to die like that.

    However, at this time, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World seemed to explode, and it expanded outward again rapidly in an instant, enveloping the entire sea area of Cage Ind. Afterwards, Lin Li immediately chanted an incantation and raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter without even looking at Elder Zumar and the others.

    With Lin Li¡¯s actions, an incredibly massive mana fluctuation suddenly emerged above Cage Ind, and the space seemed to be trembling. Next, ripples began to form in the sky before spreading outwards. However, the ripples did not gradually calm down, and instead got more and more intense with time. Eventually, they turned into waves, and the sky even became warped.

    Everyone was stunned by this scene. Even Elvis, Elder Zumar, and the others had already forgotten that they were in danger at this moment. They could not imagine what kind of power would cause such a terrifying change in the world. Even a peak Sanctuary powerhouse might not be able to do it.

    The dragon corpse that was about to kill Elder Zumar and the others also seemed to feel threatened by the enormous power in the sky. Perhaps that was the problem with not having a soul. After sensing a greater threat, the dragon corpse surprisingly gave up even though it was already close to killing the group. It then turned to face the sky, as if it was trying to confirm what it was that was posing the threat to it.

    Everyone watched as a sharp object that looked like an inverted tower emerged from the center of the violent fluctuations in the sky with a massive power. It was as if a miracle had descended in space.

    <i>Yes, it¡¯s the Sky Castle!</i> Those who had been to the Tower of Dusk would have seen the Sky Castle before even if they hadn¡¯t personally gone to the Sky Castle. At this moment, they immediately recognized the famous Sky Castle that was floating above the Tower of Dusk after regaining their senses. They couldn¡¯t help but exim in shock.

    To be frank, they didn¡¯t feel much when they saw the Sky Castle during their visit to the Tower of Dusk, as they felt that it was simply just a building in the sky. However, now that they had seen the Sky Castle breaking through the space and descending on the battlefield, they really felt the shock that the Sky Castle brought them. The terrifying might that was like the descent of a deity left them in awe.

    The Sky Castle¡¯s descent was rather quick, and everything from its emergence to its descent was only a matter of seconds. When the Sky Castlepletely descended into the battlefield, Lin Li continued with his actions. Under his maniption, the Alchemy Array and Mageweath arrays began to be activated at the same time.

    The Sky Castle that originally looked gray and dull immediately began glistening withplicated streams of light from the magic, thus turning the entire Sky Castle into a city of light. At the same time, the magical waves emanating from the Sky Castle, also became more and more violent as they surged in all directions like a tsunami.

    The dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction had clearly felt an unprecedented threat as it pped its wings twice and abandoned them to fly towards the Sky Castle. Perhaps it might seem foolish to others, but not to forget, the dragon corpse had peak Sanctuary-realm strength, and if it were to charge towards the Sky Castle, they might be the ones at a loss.

    However, since Lin Li summoned the Sky Castle, how could he let the dragon corpse break through to the top easily? The countless Mageweath arrays and Alchemy Arrays were soon charged to their maximum. Immediately afterwards, dazzling rays of light radiated out, and they covered the Sky Castle, making it look like a sun thatnded on the surface of the sea.

    All the magical weapons of the Sky Castle were switched on at the same time. The magic spellsunched by the Magical Crystal Cannons, Dragon me fireballs, Mageweath arrays, and Alchemy Arrays surged out at the dragon corpse immediately like a raging river that made the entire space quake.

    Upon sight of the groundbreaking attack, everyone present could not help but be frightened and petrified. The attack from the Sky Castle could not bepared to the ones that the Gilded Kingdom hadunched previously.

 Chapter 1078 - Seal Array

    <h4>Chapter 1078: Seal Array</h4>

    Elder Zumar believed that if the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet was attacked, all the battleships would probably turn into ashes in this incredibly ferocious attack.

    Elvis and the others, who had already given up the idea of going against the Tower of Dusk, were shocked to see the terrifying power disyed by the Sky Castle. Now, they were exhrated. They were now even more convinced that as long as they were led by the Tower of Dusk, even the Gilded Kingdom would not pose a threat to them.

    Of course, a more important thing was that the power disyed by the Sky Castle also allowed Elvis and the others to see some hope. In the face of the terrifying attack of the Sky Castle, the dragon corpse would definitely not be able to escape the fate of suffering a severe injury unless it was a true god. They were still sober, and did not expect the appearance of the Sky Castle to be able to signal the death of the dragon corpse immediately. However, as long as the dragon corpse could be seriously injured, it would not be impossible to kill it.

    Faced with the endless offensive spells from the Sky Castle, the dragon corpse finally felt threatened, and dodged for the first time. However, even though the huge dragon corpse did not seem too clumsy at this moment, it was toote for it to dodge. The offensive spells that were like a flood instantly sted into the dragon corpse, and a loud roar immediately filled the entire space.

    With the hoarse roar, the dragon corpse finally opened its mouth and spewed out ck blood. However, the ck blood did not remain in midair for long, as it was turned into nothing by the strong offensive spells in an instant.

    Seeing this scene, Elvis and others almost cheered in excitement. The battle hadsted for a long time, but the dragon corpse had suffered a real injury for the first time. Besides, the dragon corpse was actually sted to the point of vomiting blood. Clearly, it had suffered a severe injury. If that were to happen again a few more times, the dragon corpse might really die.

    However, although the magic facilities of the Sky Castle were still in operation, they did not continue to attack the dragon corpse, which left the crowd feeling regretful. Of course, they could imagine that an attack of such a scale could not be supported without hundreds of Legendary magical crystals. Even if the Tower of Dusk was rich, they would not be able to keep up with that consumption.

    However, unlike what everyone thought, Lin Li did not let the Sky Castle continue to attack for that reason. It was not that they were stingy with those few magical crystals. He knew better than anyone else what kind of strength the dragon corpse had. It had no soul, and relied entirely on its instincts. Hence, it would be almost impossible to kill the dragon corpse even with the power of the Sky Castle unless it was broken into pieces.

    Besides, it was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, a unique dragon corpse in Anril which Lin Li did not want to see get blown to pieces. Hence, regardless of the perspective, resealing the dragon corpse was one of the best options for Lin Li. Besides, Lin Li also wanted to find out what kind of secrets the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom were hiding when they sealed the dragon corpse there.

    Thus, after the dragon corpse was severely damaged by the Sky Castle, Lin Li immediately ordered the people controlling the Sky Castle to stop attacking, and switch to being on standby to prepare for any possible attacks. Afterwards, Lin Li expanded his Domain World before putting it away again immediately. It simply formed a protectiveyer around his body. He said to Elder Zumar and the others, ¡°Now, continue to stall it.¡±

    Logically speaking, the person who would be most reluctant to risk his life to fight the dragon corpse in this situation should be Elder Zumar. However, thetter only froze for a moment, and seemed to quickly remember something. He didn¡¯t turn Lin Li down at all, and simply turned around tounch an attack on the heavily wounded dragon corpse.

    Seeing Elder Zumar¡¯s performance, the corners of Lin Li¡¯s mouth curled into a smile as he had already expected it. Next, his body shed, and he vanished from the battlefield.

    Lin Li left the battlefield while Elder Zumar began fighting the dragon corpse. Although Elder Zumar and the others had no idea what was going on, they nheless chose to believe Lin Li. Anyway, they had the debris of the stars that Lin Li had handed them, and the dragon corpse had been severely injured by the Sky Castle. Hence, they would at least be able to defend themselves in this situation.

    In the depths of Cage Ind¡¯s ocean bed, there suddenly emerged warped fluctuations, and Lin Li¡¯s body sunk deep into the bottom of the ocean immediately afterwards, holding a small green person in his hand. It was the goblin, Angno, who had been researching alchemy in the Sky Castle.

    Although they were on the bottom of the sea, it was as if Lin Li was in a different world as the ink-like seawater had no effect on him at all. In fact, they could even see some misceneous objects passing through his body in the water. However, that was different from the Void of the Stars technique that would entrust one¡¯s body to nothingness. Lin Li simply used the power of his own Domain World to keep himself in his own Domain World.

    Angno, who was being carried by Lin Li, was still wriggling his body in a bid to break free from Lin Li¡¯s hand. At the same time, he was cursing at Lin Li for failing to keep to his promise. However, at this moment, Angno finally also resigned to his fate, as if he was a cat that was being lifted by its neck. With his limbs hanging limply, he craned his neck, and said, ¡°Okay, put me down. This is thest time, I repeat, this is thest time.¡±

    Since thest time he explored the Sky Castle and went through several near-death experiences with Lin Li, Angno had already been frightened to the point of being emotionally traumatized. After returning, he had been staying in the Sky Castle. One reason was that he wanted to study the alchemical technology of the Sky Castle, and another was that he felt that there was probably no safer ce in this world than the Sky Castle.

    In a certain sense, Angno was right, especially since there was nothing in Anril that could pose a threat to the Sky Castle now. Unless Lin Li offended all the Sanctuary powerhouses, one or two of them would never be able to fight the Sky Castle.

    However, what Angno hadn¡¯t expected was that Lin Li directly summoned the Sky Castle to the battlefield this time, and he almost got a heart attack when the horrifying aura suddenly surged into the Sky Castle. To make matters worse, Lin Li suddenly appeared in front of him before he could even calm down, and picked him up to leave without any exnation or discussion.

    Of course, there was no need for Lin Li to exin. Angno was not a fool, either. Seeing that the Sky Castle had been summoned, and that Lin Li was extremely anxious, he knew that there was definitely trouble. Unlike Connoris and the others, he did not sign any contract with Lin Li. Hence, he cursed and struggled throughout the entire journey.

    When he was carried to the depths of the sea, Angno finally resigned himself to his fate, knowing that he could not make Lin Li change his mind anyway. Moreover, he also felt that there was a lively battle on the entire battlefield above, while the bottom of the sea seemed to be rtively calm. Clearly, Lin Li did not bring him there to fight.

    Lin Li only put Angno down when he saw that he had stopped struggling. He then used the Domain World to carry him, and dived in the direction he had sensed with his mental strength. The reason he deliberately brought Angno over was mainly because of theplexity of this seal. After all, it was the seal that sealed the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Even if the Immortal King was not the one who¡¯did the seal, it was certainly not something minor. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to seal an existence at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm that had the power of the gods for thousands of years.

    Therefore, even though Lin Li was quite confident in his own abilities, he still didn¡¯t dare to be careless at all during such a critical juncture. Although he could not picture the details of the seal urately through mental strength detection, Lin Li knew that the seal had to contain some Alchemy Arrays since the people of the Gilded Kingdom had reinforced the seal using Alchemy Arrays.

    However, an Alchemy Array alone would never be able to possess the power to seal such a strong dragon corpse regardless of its level. It could be said that although the Alchemy Array yed an important role in the seal, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be the core of the seal. At most, it could only be used for replenishing mana.

    In other words, Lin Li needed to repair the core of the seal, and not only the Alchemy Array. If the dragon corpse had not run out, repairing it would not have been much of a problem for Lin Li. However, the dragon corpse had already run out now, and judging from the faint power of the seal, Lin Li was almost certain that the entire core of the seal had been severely damaged, and mightpletely stop functioning. It would be extremely troublesome to repair.

    Hence, Lin Li carried Angno over. If the situation was really that serious, he would at least have a helper. Although Angno mainly mastered the technology of the Alchemy Colossus, he was definitely not weak in terms of Alchemy Arrays. Besides, he had been following Lin Li for a long time, and even if he wasn¡¯t a Guru of alchemy, he had definitely reached the peak of the Master-level.

    The environment at the bottom of the sea was extremely harsh, but it did not cause much of an obstruction to Lin Li. Besides, the Sky Castle had caused the dragon corpse to suffer a severe blow, thus causing its power to weaken greatly. Hence, Lin Li took Angno, and quickly found a massive sealed space at the bottom of Cage Ind.

    At this juncture, there was already a massive hole in the crystal wall outside the sealed space, which was obviously caused by the dragon corpse that had rushed out. At this point, the entire crystal wall had also be very illusory and weak like a bubble. Through the hidden crystal wall, they could see arge andplicated array in the center of the space within the crystal wall. However, the light of the array was also constantly flickering, just like a candle in the wind that would be extinguished at any time.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li knew he could not dy any longer, as the Seal Array would be disabled if itpletely stopped functioning. If that happened, repairing would be the same as resetting the seal. With Lin Li¡¯s current ability, if he was given a year and a half to rebuild a simr seal, it would not be impossible to create a simr one. However, the dragon corpse would have probably gone somewhere by then.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li hurriedly stepped into the crystal wall, and ced Angno beside the massive Seal Array to begin repairing the incrediblyplicated Seal Array.

    However, when Lin Li took a clear look at theposition of the entire Seal Array, he inhaled sharply in shock. Although he had long guessed that the Seal Array would not be simple, the one in front of him now was still far beyond his expectations.

    The outermost part of the Seal Array was a level-12 Master-level Alchemy Array, which might not seem much to Lin Li, a Master of Alchemy. However, the 12 Alchemy Arrays seemed to have been put together perfectly by a machine. It was just like the Mageweath array of the field of inscription. From this point, it was clear that the person who set up the Seal Array was probably close to the Guru-level¡ªif he wasn¡¯t already at it.

    However, there were obvious signs of damage on the 12 Alchemy Arrays at this time as each of them flickered, while the mana of the mana circuits flowed extremely slowly. In fact, there were even blockages in some areas. That caused the 12 Alchemy Arrays to operate vaguely while their connection was gradually broken.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li was secretly thankful that he had brought Angno along. Otherwise, it would probably take him a long time to repair the 12 Alchemy Arrays alone. Although it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for Lin Li to repair the 12 Alchemy Arrays alone, the Seal Array did not contain only those 12 Alchemy Arrays, and he still had to repair the core of the array.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave these 12 Alchemy Arrays to you. You must repair them in the shortest time possible. Otherwise, I reckon you can guess what the consequences will be.¡± At this point, Lin Li could not be bothered to say anything more to Angno, and instead handed the task straight to him. He believed that Angno, who was afraid of death, would definitely not dare to be sly and pull some sneaky tricks.

    Indeed, Angno dared not ck off at this moment, even though he looked extremely displeased. He scurried towards the Alchemy Arrays immediately. The eagle-eyed goblin could naturally tell what was extraordinary about the Alchemy Arrays, and knew that he had to race against time to repair them even with his current ability.

 Chapter 1079 - Repair

    <h4>Chapter 1079: Repair</h4>

    Compared to Angno¡¯s job, Lin Li¡¯s task was more taxing. He had to repair the core of the Seal Array, which were four Guru-level mageweath arrays that contained the power of earth, fire, water, and wind, respectively. Besides, they were all the purest origin power of the world. The force and tremor that the four of them formed could be considered earth-shattering.

    It had been several years since Lin Li arrived in Anril, and he also had a rich and extraordinary experience in adventures. However, it was really the first time he had ever seen a Guru-level mageweath array like this one. Even with his attainment in mageweaths, he could not help but marvel at the ingenious design of the four mageweath arrays. Through the connection between the mageweath arrays, the four origin powers formed a perfect bnce in the Elemental World, and in fact, even ordinary peak-Sanctuary-realm powerhouses could not do so. No wonder it could seal such a strong dragon corpse for so many years.

    Of course, at this moment, the four Guru-level Mageweath arrays had already lost the domineering aura that they originally had had. They looked just like weak old men who were surviving on the stato flow of mana. The faint power that Lin Li had previously detected was condensed by the origin power of the four Mageweath arrays. He could tell how weak they were based on that. It was likely that they might copse at almost any time.

    Lin Li nced at the four Mageweath arrays, quickly analyzed the situation, and sorted out the issues that he had to repair and resolve ording to their priorities. After a while, he hurriedly started repairing as he didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer.

    The first thing Lin Li wanted to do was to stabilize the four Mageweath arrays. As long as they didn¡¯t suddenly copse during the repair, he wouldn¡¯t care about how much power they could exert.

    The basis for the operation of the mageweath arrays was the constant flow of mana in the mana circuit. Once the supply of mana waspletely interrupted, the mageweath array would lose all their power. Generally speaking, even if the mageweath arrays did not have the mana to maintain the operation, they still wouldn¡¯t copse. However, the four mageweath arrays were severely damaged now, and they were relying on the intermittent flow of mana to exist. If the flow of mana was interrupted again this time, the entire mageweath array would probably copse.

    Hence, the first thing that Lin Li had to do was to clear the obstruction in the mana circuit so that the mageweath array could maintain its current state, and not continue to deteriorate. Thus, he would have more time to repair the various other problems in the mageweath array. Otherwise, if only one mageweath array was repaired while the other three copsed, the seal still wouldn¡¯t work.

    Of course, Lin Li did not want to unblock all the mana circuits, as doing so immediately would be no different from directly repairing the entire mageweath array. What Lin Li needed now was to sustain the mageweath arrays in their current state. Hence, the first thing to unblock was the foundation mana circuit of the four mageweath arrays.

    However, the mana circuit was not a sewer, and could not be activated just by poking it with a rod. There were many things that had to be considered too. Lin Li also had to unblock the mana circuits ording to the degree of damage to the mageweath arrays. At the same time, he also had to control the amount of mana influx to prevent it from malfunctioning and destroying the weak mageweath array. It would be like a weak person getting a huge amount of nourishment all of a sudden, which might even kill him.

    Hence, even though it was just a mana circuit, it still required great skill and abilities to handle. Lin Li would have to have a veryprehensive grasp of mageweath arrays and formte aprehensive n for the mageweath arrays. To Lin Li, skill was not a problem. The problemy with time. It was a true race against time, and he could not make any slip-ups.

    In order to save every second of time, Lin Li released his Space Robe, while his body shed continuously in the massive mageweath array, and almost the entire mageweath array was covered with his afterimages. He was moving extremely quickly, but his hands were moving faster as he continuously took out all sorts of magic materials, and ced them in the damaged and broken mageweath arrays to repair thetter.

    Fortunately, Lin Li was already a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, under Geresco¡¯s guidance, he had gained a very deep understanding of the world¡¯s origin power. Otherwise, it would take him more time to calcte even if he had a master-level attainment in the field of mageweath arrays.

    Now, with his profound understanding and mastery of the world¡¯s origin power, Lin Li managed toplete the steps almost without extra thought. However, despite his speed, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat when hepleted thest step of clearing the mana circuit.

    The first step of the repair was about to bepleted, but when Lin Li hurried to the mana circuit of thest mageweath array that had to be cleared, he realized that the mageweath had already be dull. The mageweath was not to be underestimated, as its ingenious design was created by a Guru of Inscription, and its structure wasplex. It was definitely the pinnacle of inscription. Any slight mishap might cause the copse of the entire mageweath array, let alone a stoppage.

    At this moment, there was a tinge of frustration in Lin Li¡¯s heart as he felt that all his previous efforts had gone to waste. The stoppage of the mageweath array could not be fixed with just the clearing of the blockage in the mana circuit. In order to make it start running again, the other parts of the mana would have to be considered. In fact, it was no different from building a new mageweath array.

    However, the frustration in his heartsted only for a brief moment. He was not the type to give up easily in the first ce. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t havee through in several desperate situations. Soon, he got a grip on his emotions, and carefully began observing the mageweath whose state seemed hopeless.

    After taking a nce, Lin Li discovered that although the mana in the mageweath had already stopped flowing and had stagnated, there was still a force in the mana circuit that was subtly preventing the mageweath from copsing. It was a strange force that did not belong to the category of mana, but vaguely resembled the godly power of the Dragon of Destruction.

    However, the current situation did not allow Lin Li to consider much. Since the Dragon of Destruction had been sealed there, it didn¡¯t seem unfathomable that the mana circuit was tainted with a tinge of godly power. However, it was too weak at the end of the day. It would only allow the mageweath not to copse right away. Perhaps it wouldpletely copse a few secondster.

    After making that judgment, Lin Li dared not dy any longer, and he simply waved his hands to form some clouds. All sorts of magic materials were urately added to the mageweath. With his movements, a faint trace of mana that was emitting a ray of light gradually began flowing slowly into the mageweath along the circuit.

    Lin Li did notpletely repair the mageweath, and he simply let it maintain the basic operation so that it would notpletely copse. There were more crucial problems with the entire mageweath array. Lin Li only dared to let the mageweath array begin to operate fully and exert its full power when the entire mageweath array was repairedpletely. Otherwise, it would allow the dragon corpse¡¯s resistance topletely destroy the mageweath array.

    With Lin Li¡¯s efforts, the four Guru-level mageweath array finally showed a tinge of vitality. Although it did not exert any amazing power, it could at least cease operation in a short period of time[1]. At this point, Lin Li could finally rest assured, and repair the various functional problems in the mageweath array.

    Of course, that did not mean that there would be enough time for him to waste. After all, there was still a big battle going on outside in the sky above Cage Ind. Even though the Sky Castle had injured the dragon corpse, Elder Zumar and the others still couldn¡¯t contend with it.

    At this moment, apart from Elder Zumar and the others, Connoris, Ujfalusi, and Norfeller who hade out from the Sky Castle were also fighting with the dragon corpse in the air above Cage Ind. Although the three of them hadn¡¯t stepped into the Sanctuary-realm yet, and could not even be considered pseudo-Sanctuary Masters, they were not inferior to the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses in terms ofbat power.

    Connoris had the perfect body once belonging to Osric. Lin Li had also repaired the ws in his body, and the power of the body alone was enough for him to contend with the ancient dragon. Otherwise, Connoris would not be able to contend with it alone. The dragon corpse was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, and contained a wisp of godly power.

    As he was a peak Legendary-level Lich, Ujfalusi¡¯s mastery of Necromagic had also reached an extreme. Although the dragon corpse would not be harmed by Necromagic due to the power of the god in its body, the Necromagic that Ujfalusi cast would have a considerable impact on dragon corpses. For example, it would result in effects like retardation and a loss of bnce due to the death curses. As long as the dragon corpse was slightly affected, there would be a huge impact on the battle situation.

    As for the vampire Norfeller, he transformed into a ck lightning, and circled the massive dragon corpse before continuouslyunching attacks. The dragon corpse might not be clumsy, and in fact could be considered extremely quick, butpared to Norfeller who was known for his speed, it was far inferior. The dragon corpse¡¯s defense was incredible, though, and it did not suffer much damage even after being attacked by Norfeller. An ordinary wyrm would probably have long been chopped into pieces.

    Lin Li¡¯s underlings might be of the lowest level on the battlefield, but their presence resulted in a huge impact on the battle. Besides, the dragon corpse had been severely injured by the Sky Castle. Hence, it allowed them to stop the dragon corpse and free themselves from a dangerous situation.

    Of course, Elder Zumar and the others were astonished by the incrediblebat power disyed by the three who descended from the Sky Castle. If the three of them were to be Sanctuary powerhouses, the Tower of Dusk would immediately catch up with the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine to be a super force that ruled over the entire world.

    In particr, Elder Zumar had originally thought that it was amazing for the Tower of Dusk to be helmed by a young Sanctuary powerhouse. However, there were now three peak Legendary powerhouses whosebat power was not inferior to that of beginners of the Sanctuary-realm. The shock he felt was imaginable.

    The young president of the Tower of Dusk who was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse had subordinates on par with the beginners of the Sanctuary-realm in terms ofbat power. How did the small Tower of Dusk have such terrifying power!? After thinking about the power of the Tower of Dusk, Elder Zumar could not help but shudder.

    Although Elder Zumar believed that the power of the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom was definitely stronger than the Tower of Dusk¡¯s, they would certainly suffer if they really had a huge conflict. At this point, he hadplex emotions, and while hoping that the Tower of Dusk would be strong enough to get them out of the predicament, he also didn¡¯t want to see the Tower of Dusk disy any greater power.

    However, Elder Zumar was soon snapped out of his mood for thinking about those issues because he suddenly discovered that the wounds on the dragon corpse which had been inflicted by the Sky Castle were slowly recovering. It probably wouldn¡¯t take long for the dragon corpse to be as strong as it used to be previously. It was definitely not good news.

    The dragon corpse was a corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, and contained a wisp of godly power. Rapid recovery was only one of its trivial abilities. As for the wound on the chest of the dragon corpse, it still hadn¡¯t healed, because the wound was caused by the debris of the stars. Although the Sky Castle¡¯s attack was strong, it did not have the unique characteristics of the debris of the stars, andunched pure mana attacks. Hence, they couldn¡¯t stop the recovery of the dragon corpse¡¯s wounds.

    In the beginning, Elder Zumar did not tell this matter to the others, because he didn¡¯t want them to be distracted. However, they were not blind, and they naturally saw the problem when the healing became more obvious. They were flustered. Although three Legendary powerhouses whosebat power was akin to the early stage of the Sanctuary-realm had joined them, they were missing a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse to help them. Once the dragon corpse healed, it would be over for them!

    [1] So, if I got it right, it¡¯s safe to turn off.

 Chapter 1080 - Backdoor

    <h4>Chapter 1080: Backdoor</h4>

    Ujfalusi cast several curses that would cause one¡¯s wounds to dpose, but the immunity of the dragon corpse was too high, and Ujfalusi¡¯s curses were restrained by the power of the gods the corpse possessed. Hence, there was naturally no effect at all.

    Norfeller focused on the dragon corpse¡¯s wound in his attacks. After all, the wound was on its back, so it could not be easily protected, unlike the wound on its chest. However, Norfeller was far weaker than the dragon corpse, and the Retribution Dagger could not even expand the wound by a millimeter after stabbing into the dragon corpse¡¯s wound.

    Connoris was the strongest of the three, but only because he had the perfect body that allowed him to act as a shield for everyone. The fact that he could resist the dragon corpse¡¯s attacks did not mean that he could counterattack.

    As the dragon corpse¡¯s wounds healed automatically, the situation on Cage Ind became much tenser, and they had no choice but to pin their hopes on Lin Li.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who was still repairing the mageweath array on the bottom of the sea, also felt pressed for time. The immense power of the dragon corpse had seeped into every inch of space here, and Lin Li used the Sky Castle to strike the dragon corpse with all its might for the sake of getting to the bottom of the sea. However, he could now clearly feel that the power of the dragon corpse in the surrounding space was gradually increasing, and thus he immediately guessed that the dragon corpse¡¯s injuries were rapidly recovering.

    If the dragon corpse¡¯s power was restored to its original level, it would definitely put the people outside in an even more dangerous situation, but it was a huge disaster for Lin Li who was at the bottom of the sea. When the surrounding space was once again filled with the power of the dragon corpse, it would again be a space that was like a Domain World of the dragon corpse. It would still be dangerous for Lin Li even though he was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Based on the rate of increase of the dragon corpse¡¯s power around him, Lin Li could already estimate just how pathetic the amount of time he had left was. It was really going to be a race against time!

    Lin Li nced at the mageweath arrays that he had to repair. Repairing four Guru-level mageweath arrays in such a short period of time was the toughest task that he had encountered since arriving in Anril.

    Sensing how pressed for time he was, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but speed up, but he had to repair Guru-level mageweath arrays, after all. While focusing on speed, it was more important not to make mistakes. A slight mistake was all it would take to make his previous efforts go in vain. That was something that Lin Li definitely could not afford.

    The people on the battlefield above Cage Ind were already fighting for their lives, and so was Lin Li. The light on his Space Robe was flickering continuously, while the figures (afterimages) in the huge mageweath array were continuously shing and changing position. Besides, each figure was also doing a different action, and they seemed like his clones.

    Even though Lin Li was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, such frequent use of the power of space and the fast operation of the mana in his body had already caused his mana to be on the brink of overconsumption. Of course, he managed to achieve astonishing results from that. The mageweath array, which was originally dim, gradually began shining with the light of mana which had a range that was also expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

    However, with the process of the repair of the mageweath array, the speed gradually slowed down too. When Lin Li repaired the mageweath array previously, he merely considered the issue of the mana circuit and the damaged magic materials. However,ter on, Lin Li had to consider itprehensively as a whole, and not an individual mageweath array. After all, he had to restore the power of the seal, and thus he had to consider the connection between the four mageweath arrays. Otherwise, he would only be repairing the four mageweath arrays, and not the real seal.

    Although the seal had not been arranged by the Immortal King, the seal formed by four Guru-level Mageweath arrays had probably been created by someone at the pinnacle of the Guru-level.

    When he was repairing the mageweath array previously, Lin Li kept using all sorts of magic materials in his hands, and it seemed as casual as throwing garbage. However, when Lin Liid down the magic materials now, he would often pause for a few moments, looking extremely careful.

    At this juncture, more than half of the wounds of the dragon corpse in the battlefield above Cage Ind had obviously recovered. In the situation where a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse was absent, Elder Zumar and the others soon became extremely passive, and they seemed even more disheveled than before.

    <i>Damn it, what the hell is that Felic doing!? Why hasn¡¯t anything changed yet!?</i> Elder Zumar thought to himself. After having born most of the pressure, Elder Zumar was no longer like a dignified Sanctuary powerhouse, and instead looked like an ordinary old man who was being beaten up by a burly man. He was filled with indescribable misery.

    The expensive robe on Elder Zumar¡¯s body had already be tattered like beggar¡¯s clothing at this point, and was just like loose pieces of fabric, some of which had shown traces of corrosion. Thanks to the robe, Elder Zumar could escape death several times. However, his precious robe had beenpletely ruined.

    As for the others, their predicament was in fact not much better than Elder Zumar¡¯s. Even though they had to bear much less pressure, they were not experts to begin with. It was already quite difficult for them to survive until now. However, as the power of the dragon corpse gradually recovered, they felt like their death was approaching. They might just fall in a moment.

    The situation of the battle had already reached a critical point. Lin Li, who was at the bottom of the sea, suddenly stopped frowning while speeding up in his actions. After a round of numerous calctions, Lin Li finally sorted out his thought process, and he immediately began repairing the mageweath array smoothly without pausing.

    With Lin Li¡¯s movements, the four mageweath arrays were also gradually restored, and the four types of origin power also gradually began coalescing in the mageweath array. The wisp of power that bound the dragon corpse was originally fickle, but it now seemed to have gained a new lease on life with the reinfusion of the four types of origin power. It seemed to have gradually be stable before growing again.

    The dragon corpse in the sky was bing increasingly violent, as if it had sensed the binding force getting stronger. However, Elder Zumar and the others were the only ones bearing everything. During the previous battle, everyone including Elder Zumar had suffered injuries of varying extent. Hence, the situation was naturally more and more dangerous.

    The entire sky was filled with the violent power of the dragon corpse as the space was shattered under its ferocious attacks. Even the Sky Castle that was floating steadily above the battlefield seemed to be shaking continuously in the violent power fluctuations.

    At this juncture, Elder Zumar really hoped that the Sky Castle could inflict more damage to the dragon corpse. However, he knew clearly that he could only dream about it. Putting aside the fact that it would require arge number of Legendary magical crystals, an attack of a simr power might not be able to injure the dragon corpse, either.

    Lin Li could not see the situation of the battlefield in the sky, but he could imagine that even though the dragon corpse had no soul, being free from restraint was probably an instinctive urge of most living beings. Even a dog would not let others put a leash on it easily, let alone the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Otherwise, the dragon corpse would not have broken free from the seal and got out.

    What would be the oue of the dragon corpse, which was originally extremely powerful,bining with the frenzy of breaking free from shackles? However, Lin Li could not be bothered to pay attention to what was going on outside. If he couldn¡¯t repair the sealpletely, being able to leave now would be of no help at all at this juncture. Even if he would cause some casualties now, he had no other option.

    However, the situation also made Lin Li move faster. After all, if they couldn¡¯t hold the dragon corpse back, it would definitelye for him.

    At this point, Lin Li had also broken out in a sweat, and although he was just repairing a seal, the effort he put into this was probably far greater than when he¡¯d fought with Osric. In particr, he had expended more mental energy than the physical. Anyone else in his ce would probably be thoroughly mentally exhausted.

    However, when Lin Li was about topletely repair the seal, he suddenly saw something unusual from it. Through the repair of the seal, Lin Li had gained a clear grasp of the entire structure and design of the seal. However, that was also the reason that something that should not have been in the seal was cleverly embedded in it.

    ¡°Felic, why aren¡¯t you done yet? I¡¯ve already repaired the Alchemy Array. It¡¯s so exhausting,¡± said Angno who had already repaired the 12 Alchemy Arrays, and was sitting on the ground. He was speaking to Lin Li triumphantly.

    Angno did not have the ability to move like Lin Li. When he was repairing the 12 Alchemy Arrays, he relied entirely on his legs to run around. Actually, the repair of the Alchemy Array was not considered much. Instead, running back and forth was more tiring for him.

    However, Lin Li did not respond to Angno, and instead decided to use the precious time to study the strange thing that he had discovered in the Seal Array. Although he was only one step away frompletely repairing the seal, Lin Li knew that once the spell was repaired, he would have to leave the ce immediately because of his current level of power. By then, he would have no opportunity to study these things again.

    With Lin Li¡¯s attainment in inscriptions, he had to take his hat¡¯s off to the person who created such a clever design for the Seal Array. It was not that it was too advanced, but rather that the thought process involved was incredible. In fact, it was even more amazing than thebination of Conquering Mageweaths and Psychic Arrays in the Sky Castle.

    It seemed that the ancestor[1] of the Gilded Kingdom had left behind an infinite amount of wealth for his descendants! From the clues on the Seal Array, Lin Li managed to figure something out. At the same time, he was also amazed that the Immortal King, Osric, and Geresco were not the only amazing talents in the history of Anril. The fact that the ancestor of the Gilded Kingdom was able to seal the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, and even make such an arrangement showed that he was probably more talented than the three arbitrators.

    The entire Seal Array was indeed designed to seal the powerful dragon corpse, but the array that was hidden well and was discovered by Lin Li could seal the dragon corpse while continuously drawing power from thetter. It was the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, and even if it was dead and without the soul and magical crystal, the power it had was definitely massive beyond imagination.

    The mageweath that contained a wisp of godly power, which Lin Li had discovered previously, was actually the array that extracted the power of the dragon corpse and ovepped with the Seal Array. As for the ancestor of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li could more or less guess what he had extracted the power of the dragon corpse for.

    If all the power of the dragon corpse was extracted and infused into a person¡¯s body, it would probably immediately create a Sanctuary powerhouse that had a wisp of godly power. Actually, the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was nothing, and the key was still the wisp of godly power, which was the gateway to bing a god. As long as a Sanctuary powerhouse had a wisp of godly power, they would be able toprehend the mysteries of the Sanctuary-realm, and be a step away from the realm of gods.

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t leave such a good thing to the people of the Gilded Kingdom. He had taken a great risk to help them this time, after all, and asking them for something in return wasn¡¯t too much to ask for.

    However, it was still too early to extract that power. Although the array had already extracted a huge amount of power from the dragon corpse after so many years of operation, the real key to the power of the gods was still in the dragon corpse¡¯s body. The godly power would probably be extracted only when all the power of the dragon corpse was depleted.

    As a Guru of Inscription, Lin Li naturally had a way to deal with it. He had merely tampered with the array, and left a minor setting that was simr to a back door. Those who were below the Guru-level probably would not be able to tell. The entire Seal Array and the array that extracted the power of the dragon corpse was in Lin Li¡¯s control thanks to the back door.

    ¡°Felic, what are you getting up to? If you still don¡¯t repair the seal, we¡¯re going to die here.¡± Within a brief period of less than 20 seconds, the smugness on Angno¡¯s face had long disappeared. Instead, it was reced by horror.

    [1] It was previously unclear, but it seems like it might be one ancestor, not multiple ones, or only one among them has such skills.

 Chapter 1081 - Reseal

    <h4>Chapter 1081: Reseal</h4>

    Angno had already felt the pressure in this space increasing rapidly. Perhaps, at some point, it might crush his tiny body.

    Lin Li naturally also felt the change in the space. Clearly, the corpse dragon had already recovered greatly, and there was probably barely any difference between its current and former strength. Besides, due to the stimtion by the sealing of the power, the dragon corpse¡¯sbat power was probably far greater than before.

    Fortunately, Lin Li hadpleted his settings quickly, and immediately pulled out a few magic materials for repairing the seal from his Ring of Endless Storm. With several magical materials being added to the seal, the Seal Array that was formed with four Guru-level mageweath arrays finally began running smoothly.

    At the same time, the 12 Alchemy Arrays that had been repaired by Angno also began operating with the Seal Array. The mana that was emitting light quickly filled the entire Seal Array through the mana circuit, causing the entire Seal Array to be even more intense.

    Lin Lipleted thest step of the repair. At this moment, he simply ignored the changes in the seal, and shed to appear beside Angno. He then picked him up and immediately left the ce. However, just as Lin Li was about to leave, he found a somewhat ancient-looking notebook underneath Angno¡¯s buttocks.

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to study the notebook now; he only saw the name ¡®Colins¡¯ written on it. It seemed to have something to do with the Gilded Kingdom. Due to the sealing on the power of the dragon corpse, he could not exert the power of the Space Robe, and could only carry Angno while enveloping the two of them with the Domain World. They then propelled away from the seal like a cannonball.

    Behind Lin Li, the mana of the space surged, causing a huge whirlpool to form at the bottom of the sea before continuously expanding towards the surroundings. It was as if a ck hole had formed on the bottom of the sea. Even with Lin Li¡¯s strength, he could still feel the huge attraction from the seal while fleeing.

    That made Lin Li feel a trace of fear. If he hadn¡¯t left in time, he would probably have been sealed there forever with the dragon corpse even if he hadn¡¯t been crushed by that force. He wasn¡¯t doubtful at all. After all, that seal could seal such a powerful corpse. He reckoned that if he couldn¡¯t earn a deity¡¯s position, he probably would never be able to break the seal unless he reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    At this moment, something which left everyone in disbelief happened in the battlefield above Cage Ind. The dragon corpse, which was about to swallow Elvis and the others who were badly wounded, suddenly roared astonishingly. It was so loud that even Elvis and the others spat outrge mouthfuls of blood. However, they did not wait for the dragon corpse to erupt again. Instead, they watched the dragon corpse struggle in a frenzy in the air, as if it had gone berserk. It seemed to want to struggle free from something.

    At the same time, there were also amazing changes in the battlefield at Cage Ind as the sea surface around the ind seemed to be in chaos. A giant whirlpool began to rotate with the ind in the middle. With the continuous rotation, a powerful airflow seemed to be pulling the sky into the whirlpool too.

    Faced with such a situation, Elder Zumar and others did not dare to slow down. They even quickly exerted all their strength, and fled far away in desperation. After all, their bodies were not shackled by the power of the seal; hence, although their strength was far inferior to the dragon corpse¡¯s, it was not as difficult for them to escape as for the dragon corpse itself.

    Only when they felt that they hadpletely escaped from the whirlpool¡¯s suction force did they finally stop and turn back to look at the dragon corpse with horrified expressions. The dragon corpse which had seemed invincible just now was currently like a poor little bird caught in an invisible, and was constantly trying to break free from thetter. The soundsing from the giant whirlpool below were getting more and more terrifying as the sea surface seemed to be concave. The reefs that had been covered by the seawater were exposed, and it even gave them the illusion of being able to see the bottom of the sea.

    ¡°What... What exactly is going on!?¡± Although Elder Zumar¡¯s task was to strengthen the seal, he had never seen what it was like when its power was in full swing. Hence, he was full of horror now. He was well aware that this seal had been destroyed, and he had never heard that seals could automatically be restored after being destroyed. If that was the case, they wouldn¡¯t have to reinforce it from time to time.

    Of course, Zumar also thought of Lin Li who had vanished from the battlefield, but as soon as that thought arose, it was instantly dispelled. The seal under Cage Ind wasid down by the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom, and Zumar didn¡¯t think that the young president of the Tower of Dusk could have the ability to repair the seal.

    It was already an incredible feat for a young man like him to be able to enter the Sanctuary-realm. Even if he had started learning magic since he was a fetus, it would have only been a little over two decades. Even if he spent all day learning magic, the duration was still extremely short. Most mages his age would at most be Archmages who were far from the Sanctuary-realm.

    Zumar had no choice but to say that he was an unprecedented magical prodigy. If Lin Li also learned inscription in addition to learning magic, Elder Zumar would really wonder if Felic was sent by a certain god to y him out.

    However, Elvis and the others immediately thought of Lin Li without suspicion. To them, Lin Li was already a powerhouse whose status had vaguely surpassed that of the Ashen Warlock. No matter what unbelievable thing happened to him, it was only a matter of course.

    It was somewhat considered blind trust which was even close to worshiping.

    At this moment, a figure suddenly emerged like a cannonball from the seemingly calm sea in the distance. The figure was Lin Li, who was still carrying Angno in his hand. After the emergence, he did not leave and return to the Sky Castle immediately. Instead, he quietly watched the struggle of the dragon corpse like Zumar and the others.

    Upon sight of Lin Li emerging from the sea, Zumar immediately acted as if he had seen a ghost as he had a look of disbelief. <i>Why did this kid emerge from the sea? Did he really repair the seal below Cage Ind!?</i> That was the godlike method that his ancestors had used to save the Gilded Kingdom. How did it get repaired by such a young man like him?

    The seal had been repaired, and the dragon corpse had been sealed again, it should be a perfect oue for Elder Zumar¡¯s mission. However, Elder Zumar would never be willing to believe that the seal could have been repaired by a young man like Lin Li. In Elder Zumar¡¯s heart, the current priest of the Illuminati would not have the ability to repair the seal, let alone Lin Li.

    However, apart from this, Elder Zumar could not think of any other exnation as to why Lin Li had emerged from the bottom of the sea, and why the seal suddenly exerted its power again as Lin Li appeared. However, no matter what, when Elder Zumar looked at Lin Li who was far away, he couldn¡¯t help but feel more scrupulous as he had alreadybeled Lin Li as a powerful opponent.

    While struggling desperately, the powerful dragon corpse had also begun descending slowly toward Cage Ind. In the beginning, it was extremely slow, but it gradually sped up as time passed. In the end, it fell straight into the crack in Cage Ind like a meteor with a loud roar of anger and despair.

    Next, the cracked Cage Ind also began to gradually seal up. Eventually, all traces of cracks vanished. At the same time, a massive whirlpool formed in the sea before gradually slowing down in its rotation. The natural breeze would blow from time to time.

    ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s all thanks to you and yourpanions who have provided aid for us this time. Otherwise, the dragon corpse would really have broken free from the seal.¡± When Lin Li arrived, Elder Zumar finally recovered from the shock, and thanked Lin Li sincerely and earnestly while suppressing the shock and bewilderment in his heart.

    There was not a single trace ofcency on Lin Li¡¯s face. Instead, he calmly said, ¡°Elder Zumar, don¡¯t say such polite things anymore. I just hope that the Gilded Kingdom can quickly fulfill the previous agreement as soon as possible.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips, clearly trying his best to maintain hisposure. Although he didn¡¯t know what conditions Cantory had agreed on with the forces of the Breezy ins during the negotiation, he could imagine that the price to be paid was definitely hefty. After all, the forces of the Breezy ins did not share a good rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom, and yet they had taken the risk toe to their rescue. In his opinion, those greedy guys wouldn¡¯t have agreed if Cantory hadn¡¯t offered a huge price that would satisfy them.

    However, what really made Elder Zumar¡¯s heart ache was the losses incurred by the Gilded Kingdom in this battle. Although Cantory was a special envoy, there was still a limit to the items that he could have. Since Elder Zumar was well aware of that, he wouldn¡¯t take it to heart. However, the intense battle on Cage Ind had really cost the Gilded Kingdom a huge price. More than 10 alchemical battleships had sunk this time, and many elites had died. There were also many other types of damage of varying degrees.

    Such losses could no longer be measured in mary terms. The alchemical battleships were not built using only money, but also the wisdom and effort of countless people in the Gilded Kingdom, and each took nearly 10 years to produce. The kingdom¡¯s power allowed them to build only two to three alchemical battleships at the same time, and that was under the premise that they had sufficient materials, and did not require time for umtion. After all, the kingdom was far away, and some resources were scarce. It would take a long time for them to collect enough materials to build an alchemical battleship. In other words, the battle had caused the Gilded Kingdom to lose hundreds of years¡¯ worth of resources.

    When the dragon corpse had ravaged the kingdom, it had inflicted an extremely heavy blow to the kingdom, and even destroyed the entire fleet. After years of umtion, the size of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy still could no longer bepared to what it used to be. Clearly, the losses were huge. However, the Gilded Kingdom had now lost more than 10 alchemical battleships at once, which could definitely be considered a massive regression of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s power as a nation.

    Moreover, there was also the loss of talents, which was equally heartbreaking for Elder Zumar. He would have never expected them to suffer such a huge loss here after traveling through the ckwater Swamp and the Levidan Canyon without suffering a single casualty. Those talents were the elites who had been groomed by the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Although it was incredibly difficult to step into the Sanctuary-realm, no one could¡¯ve been sure that none of the now dead elites wouldn¡¯t have stepped into the Sanctuary-realm in the future. Even if they would not have entered the Sanctuary-realm, it still hadn¡¯t been easy to groom such a Legendary powerhouse, as it required the investment of arge amount of resources.

    Compared to the losses, the repayment that the Gilded Kingdom would have to give to the forces of the Breezy ins was no longer significant. After all, they would get those things back someday, but they would never be able to bring the dead back to life.

    Under the influence of the seal, the entire space where Cage Ind was located seemed to have be a magic vacuum. Arge amount of magical elements was sucked into the depths of Cage Ind together with the dragon corpse. As the dragon corpse was resealed, peace was gradually restored around Cage Ind, and arge number of magical elements surged from all directions like a tidal wave to fill the gaps in space.

    On the other hand, Cantory, who had been nervously watching the battlefield situation from the side, finally heaved a sigh of relief at this moment. However, he then remembered the young president of the Tower of Dusk, as well as the horrific power shown by the Sky Castle that hovered above their heads, and it made the joy he felt dwindle by more than half.

    Although it was said that the aid given by the Tower of Dusk and the various forces yed a very crucial role in this operation, it also allowed Cantory to see the difficulty that the Gilded Kingdom was about to face in the Breezy ins in the future.

 Chapter 1082 - Dust Descends

    <h4>Chapter 1082: Dust Descends</h4>

    There were many forces in the Breezy ins, and during the battle this time, they had disyed considerable strength. There were six pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and many other powerhouses who had power that was at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    If it was in the past when those forces were in disunity, Cantory naturally would not take them seriously, because the power of any one force would not be significant enough to cause trouble for the Gilded Kingdom. It was the same case even if a few forces formed an alliance. After all, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati were united, and theirbined power was far greater than what a few local forces could fight against.

    However, through this incident, Cantory who was at the side had clearly felt that the people of those forces of the Breezy ins had already recognized the Tower of Dusk as their leader. Cantory was not a good-for-nothing young master, and the fact that he could be the special envoy of the Tower of Dusk meant that he was reallypetent. Besides, his father was the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom. He could easily tell the changes in the situation.

    If the strength of the Tower of Dusk was simr to that of the other forces, Cantory would still optimistically think that the forces might just be temporarily perceiving the Tower of Dusk as their leader. However, the problem was that the young president of the Tower of Dusk as well as the powerful Sky Castle disyed incredible strength and power that shocked even him, let alone the people of those forces.

    Cantorypletely believed that after the incident today, the forces of the Breezy ins would really be unified under the lead of the young president of the Tower of Dusk. If that was the case, the original n of the Gilded Kingdom to gradually encroach on the Breezy ins would probably be foiled.

    Cantory was in charge of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s n to expand in the Breezy ins; hence, he naturally wasn¡¯t willing to let his n fall through just like that. Thus, when Elder Zumar, Lin Li, as well as Elvis and others flew over from the battlefield, Cantory looked at Lin Li with a scornful and resentful gaze. He even hoped that Elder Zumar could immediately intervene and kill the person who was about to ruin his ns.

    Unfortunately, in the battle with the dragon corpse just now, Elder Zumar was the one who put in the most effort, though he might not deserve the greatest credit. Elder Zumar was not severely injured now, but he had clearly consumed arge amount of mana and mental strength. He probably would not be able to exert even half of hisbat power.

    Given Elder Zumar¡¯s current condition, it was incredibly difficult for him to defeat a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Not to mention, there were a few other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and a bunch of Legendary powerhouses. More importantly, Lin Li had a Sky Castle. It would take a supreme battle weapon to cause a severe blow to such a powerful existence.

    In fact, Cantory even had to worry if Lin Li would think of dealing with him. With Lin Li¡¯s power, even Elder Zumar would probably only be able to look out for him, and then abandon the rest if Lin Li were to attack. The battle this time had already caused the Gilded Kingdom to suffer heavy losses. Even if the Gilded Kingdom was extremely wealthy and established, he could not ignore the elites¡¯ lives.

    Therefore, when Elder Zumarnded on the ground, Cantory immediately led his men to meet him. The forces of the Breezy ins had clearly been divided into two sides. Besides, with his hint, the others also secretly kept their guard up so as to prevent a sudden attack by the people from the Breezy ins if needed.

    Seeing the people of the Gilded Kingdom doing this, the people of the Breezy ins also behaved differently with a look of disdain. Some even seemed furious. Those who weren¡¯t bothered had had clearly witnessed the battle, and had a lot of faith and confidence in the president of the Tower of Dusk. Those who were angry felt that the Gilded Kingdom was kicking them to the curb after they¡¯d outlived their usefulness. After all, they had been invited to provide aid, and now that they had sessfully helped the Gilded Kingdom out of the tough situation, the Gilded Kingdom kept their guard up against them.

    At this time, Lin Li brought Elvis and the others tond on the ground of the Breezy ins. When they saw the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s people, Elvis bore with the pain in his body and grinned before turning to look at Lin Li. If thetter were to really give his orders and get everyone to attack the Gilded Kingdom, Elvis might really be the first to rush up.

    ¡°Ahem, President Felic and everyone else, thank you all so much foring this time. We still have to report to our superiors from the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, so we won¡¯t impose on you any longer. Please rest assured that we will fulfill the agreement and conditions that we have agreed on previously as soon as we return.¡± After receiving Elder Zumar¡¯s hint, Cantory, despite feeling indignant and resentful, knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to get into a conflict with those forces. Hence, he had no choice but to bear with the resentment andpromise.

    ¡°I believe that with the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s strength, they won¡¯t ruin their reputation because of a trivial matter such as this.¡± Lin Li, too, did not intend to make a move against the people of the Gilded Kingdom, though the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom could still be considered hostile. There would probably be a battle in the future. However, if they fell out with each other now, the conditions that they had discussed before would definitely be nullified, and that would prevent them from maximizing their benefits.

    Besides, the Gilded Kingdom could not be manipted easily. Although Lin Li had absolute faith in himself and the Tower of Dusk, he wasn¡¯t conceited to the point of thinking that he was invincible. As for Elder Zumar of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li wasn¡¯t confident of making him stay, either. If he was unable to vanquish the high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he would not be able to harm the foundation of the Gilded Kingdom even if the others were annihted.

    Besides, it wasn¡¯t a good opportunity to go to war now, as Lin Li had more important things to do. If a war were to break out between them and the Gilded Kingdom, most of his energy and time would have to be spent on the conflict, thus leaving him with no time to consider the other issues. War had always been thest resort for solving issues. Lin Li was not that free as to take the initiative to start one at this time.

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom were obviously relieved to hear his words. Initially, they had been really worried that the young president of the Tower of Dusk would be impulsive because of how young he was. Since Lin Li was still thinking about payment, it meant that he did not have the intention to fall out with them now.

    Since the Gilded Kingdom had suffered heavy losses in this battle, there were still quite a few things to do in the aftermath, while Lin Li and the people from the forces of the Breezy ins left too. Anyway, they didn¡¯t have to worry about the Gilded Kingdom going back on their word. If they were to really do such a shameless thing, it would probably be difficult for them to develop in the Breezy ins in the future. They would even be aughingstock of Anril.

    After respectfully bidding farewell to Lin Li, Elvis and the others left Cage Ind with their people. On the other hand, Lin Li returned to the Sky Castle above his head. The mageweath of the Sky Castle lit up again, and it flew away from the sky of Cage Ind in the direction of the Tower of Dusk with a loud roar.

    Watching the Sky Castle leave gradually, Cantory retracted his gaze, which was filled with jealousy, and then turned around to say to Elder Zumar, ¡°Elder, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve let that kid from the Tower of Dusk gain an advantage this time. Through the battle this time, he has already gained the respect of the people of those forces. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll be one of our biggest obstacles in the future.¡±

    How could Elder Zumar fail to recognize the issue that Cantory could see? In particr, the performance of the crowd in the battlefield just now had allowed him to have a clearer idea of how much Elvis and several other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses obeyed Lin Li, the young president of the Tower of Dusk. When Lin Li left the battlefield, they did not hesitate much, and still chose to stay on the battlefield. That was no longer as simple as a cooperative rtionship; rather, they seemed to bepliant subordinates to Lin Li.

    Elder Zumar even believed that as long as the young president of the Tower of Dusk let out amand, the forces of the entire Breezy ins would unite immediately. Besides, it would not be an alliance thatcked unity, but a massive one that was truly a huge force. If the situation of the Breezy ins became like that, the difficulties that the Gilded Kingdom would face if they wanted to develop in the Breezy ins would definitely rise exponentially.

    However, Elder Zumar did not say anything more about that issue, and simply nodded calmly. He turned around to look at Cage Ind where peace had been restored, and said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s time for us to go back.¡± After saying that, he used the Domain World to bring everyone up, and flew straight towards the fleet at sea.

    In fact, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had had a smooth-sailing journey from sea this time, and they had also traveled to Cage Ind by sea prior to this. This time, just like the forces of the Breezy ins had expected, the Gilded Kingdom indeed had the intention of showing its strength and asserting dominance by destroying the ckwater Swamp and the Levidans to shock the forces of the Breezy ins.

    However, Elder Zumar had probably never thought that their operation this time brought about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s sess, and allowed thetter to establish its prestige among the forces of the Breezy ins. However, Elder Zumar was not very concerned about that, because those were superficial factors that wouldn¡¯t affect the overall situation in the face of an absolute force.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, when we go back this time, should we invite a few more elders toe over? I believe that with you and a few elders joining forces, they¡¯d be destroyed even with the Sky Castle,¡± said Cantory who was on the gship with Elder Zumar on their way back. He was rather indignant. After all, he was a special envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, and was in charge of the expansion ns of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins. If he could really destroy the Tower of Dusk, it would definitely be of great help to their future ns.

    Of course, that was just a superficial reason as Cantory actually bore some resentment towards the Tower of Dusk. The experience of asking for aid this time was really arduous for him. Others might find it easy to ask for help as they would just have to swallow their pride a little, but the arrogant Cantory was a prestigious person who could make many bow down to him, yet he now had to sumb to the country bumpkin Lin Li, which was the greatest insult of his life.

    Besides, Cantory might not want to admit it himself, but he was jealous of Lin Li, the young president. After all, he had been known as a genius and the best elite among the younger generation of the Gilded Kingdom. Yet, there was now a Sanctuary powerhouse who was younger than him, and had truly stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. He obviously couldn¡¯t ept it.

    In order to make Elder Zumar agree with his suggestion, Cantory even said with a solemn expression, ¡°Elder, ording to the information we got, the Tower of Dusk has already started the construction of warships, and they seem to have directed their future development towards the Endless Ocean. Besides, Felic is very ambitious too. Maybe his target is our kingdom.¡±

    However, Cantory had been watching the battle from the sidelines, and had not really joined the battle against the dragon corpse. Hence, his knowledge of Lin Li¡¯s strength was limited to the fact that thetter was a real Sanctuary powerhouse. Elder Zumar had a clear understanding of Lin Li¡¯s abilities, and knew that he was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who was not inferior to him.

    Hence, Elder Zumar did not express his approval for Cantory¡¯s proposal, and instead shook his head slightly. He said, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen Felic¡¯s strength clearly yet. Hence, it¡¯s not strange for you to have such an idea. That Felic might be young, but I am afraid he isn¡¯t inferior to me in terms of strength. If you can¡¯tpletely suppress him with a formidable power, we will have to be prepared to suffer his revenge once he escapes.¡±

    Elder Zumar was not exaggerating at all. That was actually the reason very few Sanctuary powerhouses in Anril would form feuds with each other. Even if Sanctuary powerhouses could not be friends, they would at least stay in their ownnes and never cross paths. They would never try to kill each other as soon as they met, because they would have to be ready for getting plotted against in the future if they were to do so without sufficient preparation. Although Sanctuary powerhouses had a long lifespan, it would be a huge loss to waste it like that.

    That was precisely why the Ashen Warlock dared to directly threaten the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati not toe and bother him unnecessarily. In fact, he even destroyed the morale of the Gilded Kingdom. However, when faced with the Ashen Warlock¡¯s behavior, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had no choice but to bear with it, not daring to go against the Ashen Warlock, precisely because they were an established kingdom.

 Chapter 1083 - Change

    <h4>Chapter 1083: Change</h4>

    <i>That Felic actually had the ability to get into Elder Zumar¡¯s good books!</i> That made Cantory feel jealous and resentful, but he knew that Elder Zumar would never make a mistake in his judgment. He had no choice but to say with frustration, ¡°How old is that Felic, why does he have such power? Even Geresco never had such incredible achievements at his age!¡±

    Elder Zumar also had the same feeling. Besides, Cantory only knew about Geresco from legends, but Elder Zumar was from that era, and had seen Geresco in person before. Hence, Elder Zumar was even more certain that the young president of the Tower of Dusk would definitely not be inferior to Geresco if he was not restrained.

    However, Elder Zumar was not very worried about this point, because the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom had left a massive amount of wealth to their future generations under Cage Ind. As long as the massive amount of wealth was put to proper use, the Gilded Kingdom would be able to create a peerless powerhouse who wouldn¡¯t be inferior to Geresco.

    Of course, Elder Zumar also knew what Cantory had in mind. Clearly, he, the best genius of the Gilded Kingdom, had been agitated. In fact, even Elder Zumar himself was somewhat jealous to see a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who was only in his twenties standing right before him.

    In order not to let this jealousy affect Cantory, Elder Zumar calmly said with a faint smile on his face, ¡°Cantory, you don¡¯t have to lose confidence in yourself. Although you couldn¡¯t use the power of the dragon corpse in Cage Ind to break through to the Sanctuary-realm this time, I believe that with your talent and experience, you can also rely on your own power to step into the Sanctuary-realm in less than a year¡¯s time. When Saint Colins¡¯ predictiones true, the huge amount of wealth that he left behind will allow you to reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. By then, that kid from the Tower of Dusk will be nothing!¡±

    What Elder Zumar said was a legend that circted in the Gilded Kingdom, which was about Saint Colins¡¯ prediction that when a massive crack tore the sky open, the disaster that would destroy the world of Anril would descend, and the savior of the Gilded Kingdom would be born at that time to lead the people of the Gilded Kingdom through the disaster, after which the Gilded Kingdom would be the master of Anril.

    In the eyes of ordinary people, the legend was just a clich¨¦ one, and there was really nothing new about a savior being born before a disaster struck. However, the senior executives of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati knew that this was not a simple legend, but a true prediction of Saint Colins. The huge crack in the sky that Saint Colins had mentioned referred to the appearance of the great spacetime rift. That disaster was the entry of the prehistoric magical beasts into Anril, and the so-called savior referred to the chosen one who would obtain the great power of the dragon corpse under Cage Ind. The power would be sufficient for him to bring the Gilded Kingdom out of the disaster, and be the ruler of the world.

    Cantory, a so-called chosen one, was the most suitable person to inherit that great power of the dragon corpse ording to Saint Colins. That was precisely the reason that Cantory was so highly regarded by those in the know such as Elder Zumar. He was groomed by the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati from a young age, and even became a disciple of the priest of the Illuminati. Besides, Cantory had indeed lived up to expectations. His talent and achievements might no longer beparable to Lin Li¡¯s, but he was still one of the best in the entire Anril.

    This time, the Gilded Kingdom exined to Lin Li and the others that they were there to seal the crack below Cage Ind, but that was only one of their agendas. There was another important purpose, and that was to use the power of the dragon corpse under Cage Ind to allow Cantory to step into the Sanctuary-realm in one go.

    If it was simply to strengthen the seal, the Gilded Kingdom had already done it many times, and thus such a problem would not ur at all. However, this time they found an Alchemy Array that Saint Colins had recorded in their ancient records, which was the very same one that Lin Li had found in the seal previously. Hence, while reinforcing the seal, the people of the Gilded Kingdom wanted to use that Alchemy Array to trap all the power that escaped from the dragon corpse, and then inject it into Cantory¡¯s body to help him step into the Sanctuary-realm.

    Although it was said that Cantory would naturally be able to be a demigod once what Saint Colins had predicted came true, if he could step into the Sanctuary-realm a little earlier, he would have more time to understand the use of the power of the Sanctuary-realm. In due time, he would also be able to exert the massive amount of power better.

    However, it ended up bing a tragedy for the people of the Gilded Kingdom. The Alchemy Array seemed very simple, but it was not something that could be mastered by the average person. Although the Gilded Kingdom had been researching for hundreds of years, there were still problems when they put it to use. The appearance of two Alchemy Arrays that both extracted the power of the dragon corpse affected the operation of the Alchemy Array, and caused the dragon corpse to break the seal and escape.

    Although the dragon corpse had been resealed, Elder Zumar did not have the courage to try again. If he were to release the dragon corpse, it would be a huge joke. Not to mention whether the dragon corpse could be sealed again, the forces of the Breezy ins definitely wouldn¡¯t rescue them again.

    Fortunately, it was only a matter of time before the talented Cantory would enter the Sanctuary-realm. Just like Elder Zumar had said, Cantory would take less than a year to enter the Sanctuary-realm with his talent.

    Hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, Cantory nodded with a faint glint of excitement in his eyes. Perhaps Elder Zumar and the others were also worried that after Cantory might hamper his own progress after he found out. Hence, Cantory was originally not too clear about the entire incident, and had simply made some vague guesses about the matter. Now that the spection had finally been confirmed, Cantory couldn¡¯t get a grip on himself at the thought of possessing such massive power and bing the savior whom everyone in the Gilded Kingdom would respect and admire.

    Through the previous battle, Cantory had already seen how powerful the dragon corpse was. The two high-level Sanctuary powerhouses and a few pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses were suppressed by the dragon corpse to the point of being unable to resist. They had no choice but to flee and evade. The Sky Castle had made an astonishing sound, and it seemed like all its power had been used, but the dragon corpse was only seriously injured. That was definitely because the dragon corpse had such a strong defense. However, the power it exerted was probably close to the power of the gods.

    If Cantory had such power, the Tower of Dusk would not be a threat to him at all!

    <i>Felic might have stepped into the Sanctuary-realm at a young age, and is on par with Elder Zumar, but no matter how talented he may be, he can¡¯t surpass the Sanctuary-realm in a short while!</i> Cantory could not help but imagine a scene where he had the daunting power of the dragon corpse that wasparable to that of a god, descending on the Tower of Dusk where he wouldpletely wipe out the members of the Tower of Dusk with a lift of his finger.

    It was not some unrealistic fantasy, and Cantory believed that as long as he obtained the power of the dragon corpse, he would definitely be able to be the best in Anril like the Immortal King and Geresco. In fact, making great achievements that surpassed the Immortal King and Geresco would not be impossible.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, when will the disaster that Saint Colins had predicted strike?¡± Cantory asked Elder Zumar eagerly. His tone waspletely devoid of his previous disappointment. Now, being surpassed by Lin Li was not a big deal to him, because he thought that he would be the best in Anril, and he would have the chance to trample the Tower of Dusk fiercely under his feet sooner orter.

    Seeing that Cantory had finally schooled his emotions, Elder Zumar looked at him with a heartened smile like he was looking at his child, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t take long. ording to the current changes in the world of Anril, the disaster that Saint Colins predicted will probably happen within the next three years. However, you should not ck off because of this. The better your foundation is, the more you will achieve in the future when you obtain that power.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Zumar, I will work hard to improve and strive to step into the Sanctuary-realm with my own power as soon as possible for the sake of the future of the Gilded Kingdom.¡± Cantory wisely suppressed his excitement, and made a promise to Elder Zumar with a look of determination.

    The fleet of the Gilded Kingdom slowly left Cage Ind, where peace had already been restored, and the entire ind once again became dead silent. Except for the people who had experienced that battle, no one would believe that the corpse of an ancient dragon was actually sealed under such a barrennd.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, the Sky Castle returned to the sky above the Tower of Dusk. However, Lin Li was standing in the center of the Sky Castle, and looking at the surrounding buildings for a long time without moving. The battle with the dragon corpse should actually be considered as the first assertion of dominance that Lin Li had carried out after he obtained the Sky Castle. The annihtion of the group of people who attacked the Tower of Dusk could only be considered an insignificant test.

    Although the Sky Castle had hurt the dragon corpse and showed incredible dominance and offensive power in the eyes of others, the dragon corpse was a powerful existence that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, after all. However, Lin Li was not satisfied with the power that the Sky Castle had disyed.

    The Sky Castle was the strongest battle weapon back when the High Elves had ruled Anril. With the powerful Sky Castles, the High Elves annihted and deterred the ancient wyrms and Titans, also driving the prehistoric magical beasts into the spacetime rift. They suppressed the rebellions of countless races.

    The Sky Castle that Lin Li had obtained was the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles, and had once been controlled by the Immortal King himself. Therefore, the power disyed by the Sky Castle this time was worlds apart from Lin Li¡¯s expectations.

    Lin Li was actually very clear about the reason for this. One reason was that at the end of the day, the Sky Castle was built by the Immortal King ording to the characteristics of the High Elves. Hence, it was not that suitable for human maniption. It would only be able to disy its full power when controlled by High Elves. Another reason was that at the end of the Dark Age, the Sky Castle must have been tampered with by the High Elves, and perhaps even Highlord Osric, thus causing many magical weapons to go missing.

    Lin Li believed that if he could exert the full power of the Sky Castle like the Immortal King could, then even if he could not havepletely killed the dragon corpse, he would have at least been able to make the dragon corpse lose the ability to fight. If that had happened, he would not have had to take such a big risk on Cage Ind, and dive to the bottom of the sea to race against time and repair the seal.

    Hence, after manipting the Sky Castle and moving it back to the Tower of Dusk, the first thing Lin Li wanted to do was to modify the Sky Castle. Even if he could not restore it to the powerful state that it was in during the reign of the High Elves, it should at least be close. After all, the Sky Castle would be one of the most powerful weapons that he could rely on once hepleted the mission left by Geresco in the future. Otherwise, once the most powerful weapon became just a building in the sky, it would be too much of a waste.

    If there was enough time, Lin Li believed that he would definitely redesign the Sky Castle, and transform it to the point of being suitable for human maniption. However, Lin Li was running out of time now, and he could not afford to dy his ns by a few years, let alone spend decades to modify the Sky Castle.

    However, Lin Li was not at aplete loss for what to do. For example, the Supreme Council would definitely have the design sketches of the original modification of the Sky Garden. Although it was certainly impossible to copy it wholesale, he would surely still be able to save a lot of time.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li chanted an incantation under his breath as he didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. He swung his hand at the side, and a spatial rift was opened. Next, Lin Li immediately stepped into it without bothering to clean up the traces of battle on his body.

    When the surrounding scenery became clear again, Lin Li was already in the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council. With the intention to modify the Sky Garden based on experience, Lin Li was able to see the amazing details of the Sky Castle. Although the Sky Garden was not as powerful as the Sky Castle in Lin Li¡¯s hands, the Sky Garden would definitely have the upper hand against the Sky Castle because it was suitable for human maniption.

 Chapter 1084 - Rosen

    <h4>Chapter 1084: Rosen</h4>

    With such an understanding, Lin Li became more and more eager about implementing his n for the modification of the Sky Castle. Besides, he was almost certain that as soon as the modification of the Sky Castle waspleted, it would definitely surpass the Sky Garden in all aspects.

    However, before Lin Li could head towards the Eternal Tower in the center of the Sky Garden, he saw a figure with a powerful Sanctuary-level aura darting over from the Eternal Tower.

    ¡°Felic, how dare you set foot onto this ce!?¡± The person who arrived was none other than Rosen, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council. Besides, he had apparently also stepped into the Sanctuary-realm with the help of the magic tides. Hence, he seemed to be very confident when he met Lin Li again.

    Rosen had suffered a huge loss when he failed to scheme against the Tower of Dusk and obtain the Tera Mine from them. His prestige in the Supreme Council had also dropped a lot. Originally, he could still contend with Chairman Andoine, but after that failure, many members of the Supreme Council had moved to Andoine¡¯s side, causing Rosen to lose some authority. Besides, the more authority was lost, the lower his prestige. More and more councilors would then turn to join Andoine, causing him to fall into a vicious cycle.

    It was impossible for Rosen not to hate Lin Li, but he knew very well that Lin Li enjoyed the protection of the three arbitrators, and he would not be able to do anything to Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk without a valid reason. When Lin Li left the Sky Garden, he even disyed Sanctuary-level abilities. Hence, Rosen dared not provoke Lin Li casually.

    However, Rosen did not expect himself to reach the Sanctuary-realm in the magic tides, and immediately be the fourth Sanctuary powerhouse of the Supreme Council. Stepping into the Sanctuary-realm meant that he would be above all else and even be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council.

    As Rosen stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, the opinions of the people in the Supreme Council suddenly changed. Sanctuary powerhouses were qualified to be arbitrators, so a chairman of the Supreme Council was considered nothing. Even though the three arbitrators did not make changes to the personnel of the Supreme Council and Andoine was still the chairman, Rosen was more like the chairman during meetings. The proposals that he put forward were often supported by the vast majority of the members.

    Rosen had been staying away from touching the Tower of Dusk only because he had scruples about the attitude of the three arbitrators. He had a vague feeling that the three arbitrators¡¯ attitude towards Lin Li was not as simple as that of elders towards their juniors. There seemed to be something more to it.

    Those concerns were the reason that Rosen hadn¡¯t passed any obvious motions that would be targeting Lin Li despite having gained control of the Supreme Council. He still had to wait and observe the attitude of the three arbitrators and wait to get some evidence against the Tower of Dusk.

    While Rosen was experiencing the kind of powerful feeling brought to him by being in the Sanctuary-realm, he suddenly felt a Sanctuary-level aura that descended to the Sky Garden. Rosen was certain that the aura definitely did not belong to any of the three arbitrators, but it felt somewhat familiar to him.

    However, no matter what, as the deputy chairman, Rosen had no reason to ignore the fact that a Sanctuary powerhouse had suddenly descended in the Sky Castle. Hence, he immediately left his residence, and since he didn¡¯t know whether the visitor was a friend or foe, he disyed his might as a Sanctuary powerhouse as soon as he appeared.

    However, when Rosen saw the face of the visitor, his heart was filled with hatred and joy. He hated the fact that the person who came was Lin Li who had destroyed his favorite disciple and defeated him several times. However, he was d that he had already obtained some evidence against the Tower of Dusk. Just as he was thinking about how to get Lin Li to go to the Sky Garden, Lin Li surprisingly showed up.

    Looking at Rosen flying over aggressively andnding in front of him, Lin Li, who was stunned, asked in puzzlement, ¡°So it¡¯s you, Deputy Chairman Rosen. Isn¡¯t this the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council? As a councilor of the Supreme Council, why wouldn¡¯t I dare toe?¡±

    ¡°Good, good that you¡¯re here. Even if you didn¡¯te, I was about to get someone to inform you toe over so that you can be interrogated by the Supreme Council for the crimes youmitted.¡± Rosen then looked at Lin Li. Despite being filled with hatred, he still acted like he was impartial and merely going by the book.

    Hearing Rosen¡¯s words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but look at Rosen again in bewilderment. With Lin Li¡¯s strength, he could naturally see that Rosen¡¯s current so-called Sanctuary-realm power was actually the same as that of Elvis and others. He could only be considered a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse. The difference was that Rosen had, after all, the support of the Supreme Council, so he had a better understanding and mastery of the power of the Sanctuary-realm than Elvis and the others.

    Could it be that bing a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse was what gave him confidence? Of course, Lin Li knew that Rosen had always been at odds with him, and only piped down after the matter of the Tera Mine. He had behaved himself for three to four years, but was he going to act brazenly without scruples again just because he had be a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse?

    Lin Li guessed correctly. Stepping into the Sanctuary-realm had indeed given Rosen a great deal of courage. In Rosen¡¯s opinion, the reason that the three arbitrators valued Lin Li was because the Supreme Council hadn¡¯t had a new Sanctuary powerhouse in a long time. Now that Rosen was also a Sanctuary powerhouse, would the three arbitrators continue to protect Lin Li even though he hadmitted an unforgivable crime?

    ¡°Deputy Chairman Rosen, don¡¯t spout nonsense. It¡¯s not up to you to say whether I havemitted a crime or not. I came here this time because I have to see the three arbitrators for something, and I don¡¯t have time to y this guessing game with you.¡± If it was a normal conversation, it wouldn¡¯t matter much to Lin Li, but after hearing Rosen using him as soon as he spoke, Lin Li did not have the patience to continue wasting time with him.

    Seemingly having been amused by Lin Li¡¯s words, Rosen sneered, and said in a low voice, ¡°Councilor Felic, we still don¡¯t know if you can continue being a councilor of the Supreme Council. Hence, if you want to see the three arbitrators, please ept the interrogation process. If you can¡¯t even keep your status as a councilor, you will not qualify to see the three arbitrators.¡±

    To be frank, if Lin Li wanted to enter the Eternal Tower, no one except the three arbitrators could stop him. However, this was the Supreme Council, after all, and even if Lin Li didn¡¯t take Rosen seriously, he still had to show the three arbitrators some respect. After all, the Supreme Council had been established by Geresco and the three arbitrators, not by Rosen.

    Since they were both going to the Eternal Tower, Lin Li decided to let him tag along! With a nonchnt smile, Lin Li said, ¡°Sure, Chairman Rosen, please lead the way. I hope you won¡¯t waste too much of my time.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li nodded, Rosen couldn¡¯t help but feel happy. He had to admit that Lin Li hade in a timely manner as he happened to chance upon the three arbitrators when they were busy with the spacetime rift. As long as Lin Li¡¯s crimes were confirmed, the three arbitrators probably would not be able to continue defending Lin Li in the future.

    Together with Rosen, Lin Li arrived at the Eternal Tower in the center of the Sky Garden. Along the way, he wasn¡¯t affected by Rosen¡¯s words at all as he constantly looked around to observe theyout of the Sky Garden. In particr, Lin Li was somewhat envious of the Eternal Tower that was constructed with the trunk of the Tree of Eternity.

    Although the trunk of the Tree of Eternity had already died, the power contained in it was still considered inexhaustible. Besides, the Eternal Tower built with this tree was not only a Magic Tower, but also the core center of the Sky Garden. With the increase in the power of the Tree of Eternity, the power of the Sky Garden would definitely be increased several times or even a dozen times.

    More importantly, the power of the Tree of Eternity not only allowed the Sky Garden to be filled with rich mana, but also increased the recovery rate of the mana sources of various facilities. For example, if a Legendary magical crystal was used in a Magical Crystal Cannon, the recovery rate of the mana would not be sufficient to keep up with the output, and thus would result in a malfunction. However, with the power of the Tree of Eternity, the recovery speed of the mana of the Legendary magical crystal was greatly enhanced. Perhaps even its foundation would not be affected when it was used in a Magical Crystal Cannon.

    Under the inspiration of the Eternal Tower, Lin Li remembered that although he did not have any remnant of the Tree of Eternity, he had two Tree of Eternity seedlings that were still growing. If they were transnted to the top of the Sky Castle, the benefits that the Sky Castle would obtain would probably be far greater than the Sky Garden¡¯s.

    All that Lin Li was thinking about was the modification of the Sky Castle. Only when he heard someone call out to him did he snap out of his thoughts. Aldwin and Andoine were walking over towards the Eternal Tower.

    ¡°Teacher Andoine, Master Aldwin,¡± Lin Li greeted smilingly.

    However, Andoine did not immediately respond to Lin Li, and instead turned to look at Rosen with a frown. He then said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, why are you here? The three arbitrators have been busy with the magic tides and the spatial rifttely. I¡¯m afraid they don¡¯t have time for you. If there¡¯s anything,e again in a few days.¡±

    Andoine might have sounded a bit cold, but Lin Li, his student, hade from afar. Why would he just leave him alone? However, Lin Li could obviously tell what Andoine meant. He was trying to say that if Rosen and the others made things difficult for him, the three arbitrators wouldn¡¯t have the time to handle it for him.

    However, Andoine obviously did not know about the deal between the three arbitrators and Lin Li. The reason for Lin Li¡¯s boldness was not the protection of the three arbitrators, and now he was only showing them some respect by following the rules. To be honest, no one in the entire Supreme Council except the three arbitrators could stop Lin Li if he wanted to break into the Eternal Tower.

    ¡°Chairman Andoine, what are you saying? Councilor Felic is here to be interrogated by the council. How can he leave without permission before the matter is settled? You¡¯re councilor Felic¡¯s teacher, so you should be asked to stay out of this matter. However, since you¡¯re the chairman, you should know to be impartial. Why don¡¯t you just stay at the side to listen?¡± Rosen was not worried at all that Andoine¡¯s appearance would affect his ns. Firstly, there was a reason for this matter, and he had concrete evidence to back it up. Besides, more than half of the councilors had defected to him. Andoine could be considered a loner who could not stir any trouble.

    ¡°Rosen, do not forget the lesson you learned previously. The three arbitrators will naturally be the ones to question Felic. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being punished for taking things into your hands!?¡± Andoine had no choice but to mention the three arbitrators. He knew very well that if Rosen really wanted to bring Lin Li¡¯s matter to the council for a vote, he was really too weak to stop it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Teacher Andoine, I was confused to hear them mentioning some crimes. Since the three arbitrators are not free now, I can¡¯t just idle about. I¡¯ll take this as a way to kill time.¡± Andoine and Rosen had an intense conflict, but Lin Li did not have the slightest awareness. Instead, he persuaded Andoine.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the councilors who stood on Rosen¡¯s side were infuriated. <i>Kill time? Are such things meant to be time killers!? He¡¯s so obnoxious, does he really think that the Supreme Council can¡¯t do anything to him!?</i>

    However, Rosen was still rtively calm, and was looking at Andoine with a mirthless grin. ¡°Chairman Andoine, since councilor Felic is willing to be interrogated, why did you object? If you still have something to do, please go ahead and do so. I¡¯ll inform you of the oue of the interrogation afterwards.¡±

    Andoine looked at Lin Li helplessly. He really couldn¡¯t understand the reason for his intelligent student¡¯s moment of folly. <i>Can¡¯t he tell the obvious intentions of Rosen and the others!?</i>

    However, he had no choice but to secretly grit his teeth, and say, ¡°Sure, I will see what tricks you guys can get up to during the interrogation without me.¡±

    Andoine decided to go all out too. Since he even said those words directly, he was clearly on Lin Li¡¯s side. Regardless of what Rosen and the others could do, he had to stand up for his student.

 Chapter 1085 - Who Else?

    <h4>Chapter 1085: Who Else?</h4>

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t care what tricks Rosen and the others were going to y, Andoine¡¯s attitude still made him feel quite touched. Andoine might not be a qualified teacher, as he didn¡¯t teach Lin Li much magical knowledge. He had at most introduced Lin Li to magic. In terms of teaching magic knowledge alone, Geresco was more like Lin Li¡¯s teacher as he brought Lin Li to where he was now with the Book of Eternity. However, in Lin Li¡¯s heart, his only teacher was Andoine.

    Nheless, Lin Li was not so corny as to wipe his tears. Instead, he simply smiled at Andoine confidently, and then followed Rosen and the others towards the meeting hall of the Eternal Tower. Watching Lin Li, Rosen, and the others walk through the doors of the high tower, Andoine stomped his feet furiously, and followed closely with Aldwin and a few other councilors.

    ¡°Okay, Deputy Chairman Rosen, say what you have to say,¡± Lin Li said, facing Rosen while seated on a chair in the middle of the meeting hall, and surrounded by the threatening gazes of the councilors who stood on Rosen¡¯s side. If it had been an ordinary person, they would probably have been scared out of their wits and peed their pants. However, it was nothing to Lin Li, who had seen all major events. He had even faced the dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction without any psychological stress.

    Taking this opportunity, Lin Li also spread out his mental strength to sense the situation in the tower. However, he indeed didn¡¯t detect any mana fluctuations of the three arbitrators. He didn¡¯t know where the three arbitrators had actually gone. He did not want the three arbitrators to give him an out, but when he thought of the absence of the three arbitrators, he realized that he didn¡¯t know anyone he could go to to seek advice for the design of the Sky Garden.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s unconcerned and nonchnt attitude, Rosen couldn¡¯t help but be infuriated. However, he suppressed his anger because he didn¡¯t want to lose his temper in front of everyone. He said in a deep voice, ¡°Councilor Felic, let me ask you, have you ever met President Canuman of the Geresco Guild of Magic after you returned to the world of Anril from the Endless Void?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Canuman¡¯s name didn¡¯t ring a bell; hence, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but ask that question.

    ¡°It seems that Councilor Felic has poor memory. I will give you a reminder then. Back when you attended the council¡¯s meeting for the first time, you and President Canuman had gotten into a conflict. You should remember it now, right?¡±Rosen reminded, gritting his teeth and trying his best not to lose his patience.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s that person. I really wouldn¡¯t have remembered if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it. Okay, go ahead and ask.¡± Hearing Rosen¡¯s reminder, Lin Li immediately looked like he hade to a sudden realization. He then continued acting nonchntly like he was talking about a stranger.

    Of course, Canuman was really considered a stranger to Lin Li. Back when Lin Li attended the meeting, there were really too many people who appeared because of the Tera Mine. How could he have remembered every single one of them? Even if the Sanctuary powerhouses had superb memory, who would bother remembering all their names and features?

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s nonchnce, the councilors who were near Rosen could even hear thetter gritting his teeth. Rosen took a deep breath and said with a stern expression, ¡°Councilor Felic, please answer our question. Did you meet President Canuman after returning to Anril?¡±

    After saying, the entire conference hall became silent, while Andoine, Aldwin, and the others who entered became even more nervous. At this moment, everyone was waiting for Lin Li¡¯s answer. However, some were eager and full of anticipation, while others seemed worried.

    However, Lin Li frowned and seemed to have brainstormed for a long time before saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Deputy Chairman Rosen, how are you so sure that I must have met that person?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll give you another warning then.¡± This time, Rosen looked even more rxed as if he had already clinched victory. He sneeringly said, ¡°ording to our investigation about the Geresco Guild of Magic, Canuman had once led a group of mages from the Guild of Magic to the Tower of Dusk for an exchange, but he hasn¡¯t returned since then. You should remember it now, Councilor Felic.¡±

    ¡°Rosen, you¡¯re lying. Canuman brought his men to the Tower of Dusk for the sake of taking advantage and attacking the Tower of Dusk. If I had rushed there in time, I would have beheaded that bastard,¡± said Andoine who got agitated before Lin Li even answered.

    Andoine couldn¡¯t help but be excited. He was already guilty enough about the fact that he couldn¡¯t rush to help in time when his student¡¯s Guild of Magic got attacked. Now, Rosen and the others were still making a big deal out of it by fabricating lies. That was simply too shameless and despicable.

    As a party who was involved, Lin Li did not get agitated like Andoine did. Instead, he came to a sudden realization again. ¡°So that¡¯s what you were referring to. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have a habit of asking for the name of a dead person. I should have long pulled his soul out and asked him what his name was. My bad.¡±

    ¡°You butcher! My father only went to the Tower of Dusk for an exchange in hopes of easing the rtionship between the two Guilds of Magic, yet you were so vicious towards him,¡± said a young mage who seemed to have been drained by alcohol and lust. Bawling continuously, he barged in from outside the conference hall, and he began scolding Lin Li as soon as he entered.

    ¡°Councilor Felic, what else do you have to say? As a member of the Supreme Council, killing a fellow member will never be allowed, regardless of the reason.¡± While getting someone tofort Canuman¡¯s son, Rosen continued to speak to Lin Li solemnly.

    ¡°What a joke, Canuman led his people to attack the Tower of Dusk. Why aren¡¯t they allowed to retaliate!? Besides, Canuman¡¯s actions per se have already vited the rules of the Supreme Council. Who gave him the authority to attack the Tower of Dusk? He brought his death upon himself,¡± Aldwin retorted, pping his hand on the table and standing up.

    However, due to the fact that Rosen had made preparations beforehand, most of the councilors were on his side andpliant towards him. Although Andoine and Aldwin also had supporters, he didn¡¯te prepared; hence, only three or five of their supporters were present, leaving them far inferior to Rosen.

    Besides, even if they were to discuss that matter during arge-scale conference, most of the councilors would definitely support Rosen. After all, although Rosen was still the deputy chairman, he was also a Sanctuary powerhouse now, and everyone thought that it was possible for him to be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. If they didn¡¯t suck up to him now, they might not have a chance to do so in the future.

    ¡°Deputy Chairman Rosen, do you mean that when we encounter an attack by a Guild of Magic, we shouldn¡¯t retaliate, and ought to leave our doors open for the enemy?¡± Lin Li said with some amusement, reminded of a simr nonsensicalw that existed in the world that he came from.

    ¡°It¡¯s their fault that they attacked you, and the Supreme Council would naturally deal with them. Just like them, you people are just a Guild of Magic under the Supreme Council, so you don¡¯t have any power to sanction others, let alone kill them.¡± As a loyal follower of Rosen, Hubert who was at the side, immediately chimed in. He seemed like awyer in the world that Lin Li came from.

    ¡°If you do not deny this fact, I¡¯ll be sanctioning you for your actions and denounce you as a member of the Supreme Council on behalf of the Supreme Council. I will also strip you of your position as president of the Breezy ins Guild of Magic.¡± Rosen was not so silly as to make Lin Li pay the price with his life. Regardless of whether or not a Sanctuary powerhouse would have to die for killing an insignificant small fry, no one would be able to execute a death sentence.

    Of course, this punishment was also severe enough. The Breezy ins Guild of Magic was the Tower of Dusk. By stripping Lin Li of his duties as president, Rosen was actually trying to make Lin Li hand over the Tower of Dusk. Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, it naturally wouldn¡¯t make sense for him to upy the position of the president of the Guild of Magic if he wasn¡¯t a member of the Supreme Council.

    ¡°Is that so? Can you represent the Supreme Council now?¡±

    At this very moment, a voice sounded from outside the conference hall, and a thin old man who had a goatee on his chin swaggered in immediately afterwards. The people in the conference hall stood up one after another as soon as they saw the old man who walked into the conference hall. As one, they respectfully greeted, ¡°Arbitrator Apophis!¡±

    ¡°Lord, why have you returned!?¡± As soon as he saw Apophis enter, Rosen felt his vision turning dark, and he knew deep down that his n was about to fall through.

    ¡°I heard that someone could represent the Supreme Council, so I thought that Geresco had returned. Hence, I came in to take a look. Why? Were you guys discussing something?¡± Unlike the other two arbitrators, Apophis was much less serious. To put it nicely, he was easygoing. To put it bluntly, he was acting very immature for his age.

    However, everyone in the Supreme Council knew that Apophis was the least approachable among the three arbitrators. If they made any mistake, they could just admit to it sincerely, and they would be forgiven by the two arbitrators Megard and Chris more often than not. However, if they offended Apophis, they would be taught a hard lesson. Even if they bawled and kowtowed, they would still be punished severely.

    More importantly, the councilors present knew that Apophis was Andoine¡¯s teacher, and was also very close to Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. If he knew what he and others were doing, no one present would be able to escape his wrath, regardless of their status.

    Apophis¡¯ words made Rosen look a little embarrassed, but at the thought of the fact that he was a Sanctuary powerhouse now, he immediately felt confident. One of the two Sanctuary powerhouses was an elder of the Supreme Council, and the other was a sinner who hadmitted a grave mistake. Even Apophis should make the right choice.

    Thinking of this, Rosen mustered up the courage and walked towards Apophis. ¡°Arbitrator, we¡¯re now dealing with a serious vition of the rules of the Supreme Council. Felic, the president of Breezy ins Guild of Magic, has killed Canuman the president of the Geresco Guild of Magic, but I¡¯m afraid that such a matter will have a great impact on the reputation of the Supreme Council if he¡¯s spared from punishment.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Is that so? This is indeed a very serious problem. Do you know what the exact reason is?¡± Apophis did not re up, and instead asked Rosen that question with a smile.

    Seeing Apophis¡¯ appearance, Rosen was more or less a little gleeful as it seemed that he had bet right. Hence, he hurriedly looked like he was grief-stricken, and solemnly said, ¡°ording to Canuman¡¯s son, President Canuman led a team of mages to the Tower of Dusk to exchange and learn in a bid to ease the tension caused by the previous conflict. However, President Felic said that President Canuman had led others tounch an attack on the Tower of Dusk. However, President Canuman has already died, and there¡¯s no way to prove this im.¡±

    In other words, Rosen meant that there were at least some witnesses to prove that Canuman had gone there for an exchange, but the Tower of Dusk had no evidence to support their im. Hence, it was self-evident whom they should believe.

    ¡°Canuman¡¯s son?¡± Apophis muttered. However, he did not look at the person at all. He simply waved his hand.

    Rosen was also trying to introduce Canuman¡¯s son to Apophis and repeat what he said so that he could increase his credibility. However, to his surprise, he saw Canuman¡¯s son, who had already copsed onto the ground in anger, as soon as he turned around.

    Thinking of Apophis¡¯s actions just now, Rosen was so astonished that he broke out in a cold sweat. The arbitrator had indeed acted beyond expectations as he actually wanted to kill someone in front of everyone else. Canuman¡¯s son was ipetent and had a worthless life, but Apophis¡¯s attitude showed that he clearly wanted to support Felic.

    ¡°Who else now?¡± Apophis asked, ncing at the people. Anyone who made eye contact with him subconsciously lowered their head.

    ¡°Lord Arbitrator, even if Canuman¡¯s son was lying, and Canuman really went to attack the Tower of Dusk, Canuman was the president of a guild, after all. The Supreme Council should decide how to punish him. Councilor Felic has killed Canuman presumptuously, and that¡¯s clearly a vition of the rules.¡± Although Rosen did not retreat, his attitude had obviously changed, and he was no longer as firm as before.

 Chapter 1086 - Deputy Chairman

    <h4>Chapter 1086: Deputy Chairman</h4>

    ¡°So who do you think is qualified to do this, the deputy chairman? Well then, from today onwards, Felic will be the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council. If you have any objections, suck it up,¡± Apophis said nonchntly, as if appointing a deputy chairman was as simple as drinking water.

    Apophis¡¯s words immediately made the people in the conference hall dumbfounded as no one dared to believe their ears. That was too rash of a decision as he casually gave the Supreme Council one more deputy chairman. However, they were clear that Apophis was definitely not joking. In fact, it really took just a few words from the arbitrators to appoint a deputy chairman or chairman. However, all along, the three arbitrators did not care much about the Supreme Council, and thus it was up to the council to choose their own chairman and deputy chairman.

    In fact, although they found it incredible, they realized that it was actually very normal after thinking about it carefully. In their eyes, the Supreme Council was a big deal, but in the eyes of the three arbitrators, it was probably just like a toy. Apophis casually appointed a deputy chairman like he was ying a game and adding a random rule.

    On the other hand, Rosen was even more dumbfounded at this juncture. He¡¯d originally nned to kick Lin Li out of the Supreme Council so that he could pocket the Tower of Dusk. However, he did not expect to end up causing Lin Li to be appointed as deputy chairman, which was the same position as his. Besides, Rosen was a little confused as to what Apophis meant. Was Apophis making Lin Li the second deputy chairman of the Supreme Council, or did he mean for Lin Li to rece Rosen? If it was thetter, Rosen would suffer a double loss.

    However, Rosen would never dare to ask that question. Apophis was clearly enraged now, and if he didn¡¯t pop the question, he might even forget about it. However, if he did, Apophis might immediately denounce him as deputy chairman, and if that happened, he would be distraught.

    Lin Li, the newly appointed deputy chairman, did not have much of an expression on his face now, and instead was ncing at Apophis with a meaningful gaze. Although he did not say anything, there was obviously no gratitude in his eyes.

    <i>What a joke. It¡¯s just the position of deputy chairman, what is there to be grateful for!?</i> Lin Li hadn¡¯t forgotten the fact that he had been forced to be the fourth arbitrator during the deal he made with the three arbitrators back then. It just wasn¡¯t announced to the public. Back then, Lin Li had reluctantly agreed to bing the fourth arbitrator. How could he feel grateful to have been appointed as deputy chairman?

    After seeing the look in Lin Li¡¯s eyes, Apophis grinned embarrassedly with an awkward expression. ¡°Okay, there¡¯s nothing much left to do. Felic, you¡¯d better tell us what you came here for. You¡¯re not here to tease them out of boredom, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I came here this time specifically to borrow one thing from the three arbitrators,¡± Lin Li said, following Apophis out of the conference hall. When he passed by Andoine and the others, he gave them a reassuring nce.

    Watching as Apophis and Lin Li disappeared outside the main door, the people in the conference hall broke into amotion, and each one of them was in disbelief about what had just happened. A new deputy chairman of the Supreme Council was actually appointed so hastily; it was a fact that the crowd could not quite ept quickly. If it was one or two additional members, it might not be a big deal, but the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council would enjoy authority that was on par with the chairman¡¯s. He would definitely be one of the main decision-makers of the Supreme Council.

    Now, the Supreme Council made an exception, and suddenly appointed a new deputy chairman, which was not in line with the rules that they had followed for 1,000 years. Hence, it would definitely have a great impact on the current dynamics of the Supreme Council. More importantly, the new Deputy Chairman Felic and Chairman Andoine shared a teacher-student rtionship. Rosen would definitely have a hard time in the future.

    <i>Deputy Chairman Rosen is going to lose power!</i> Thinking of this, the councilors who were present subconsciously looked at Andoine and Rosen differently. Some even felt regretful for getting involved in this matter. Not only had they failed to obtain any benefits, they even ended up offending the chairman and the newly promoted deputy chairman.

    While the people in the conference hall were deep in thought, Lin Li and Apophis headed for the upper floors of the Eternal Tower after leaving. Apophis did not say anything more about what had just happened, and Lin Li actually didn¡¯t take it to heart, either. Just like what he had said before, it was just an activity to kill time during his boredom.

    Soon, Apophis brought Lin Li to the Eternal Library again, but the other two arbitrators, Megard and Chris, were not around. Apophis casually sat down on a chair, pointed to the chair next to him, and gestured for Lin Li to sit down before saying, ¡°Felic, you¡¯ve been back for so long. It¡¯s not right for you to wait until now to visit us three old fogies.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself, I¡¯m not here specifically to see you guys, but to borrow something from you,¡± Lin Li answered straightforwardly with no intention to cajole Apophis at all. He immediately stated his intention. Of course, it was not that Lin Li really disrespected Apophis, but rather that Apophis was too casual of a person for him to be serious with.

    As expected, Apophis was not surprised, and instead shook his head with a wry smile. He said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop my wishful thinking. Tell me exactly what you want to borrow, but first things first, if your wealthy Tower of Dusk doesn¡¯t have it, we may not necessarily have it, either.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you guys are really the only ones who have it.¡± Lin Li smiled and looked at the surrounding bookshelves that were filled with magic books. He then continued, ¡°I¡¯d like to borrow the blueprints of your Sky Garden. Is that okay?¡±

    The blueprints of the Sky Garden were extremely important, and if theynded in the hands of a rival, thetter would be able to find the ws of the Sky Garden and exploit them. After all, nothing in the world was perfect, and even the powerful Sky Castle would have unknown ws.

    ¡°Of course it wouldn¡¯t be okay for others to see it, but you... Are you nning to modify the Sky Castle? Wait a moment while I go get it for you, but I have to remind you that some things may not be suitable for that Sky Castle of yours.¡± Apophis did not hesitate in the slightest, and readily agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request. He then got up to go retrieve the blueprints of the Sky Garden for Lin Li.

    Soon, Apophis walked over from the bookshelves with a box which was about a meter long and about half a meter wide and tall in his hand. It made a dull and muffled sound when he ced it on the table.

    Although the Sky Garden was inferior to the Sky Castle that Lin had, it was also one of the seven Sky Castles, after all. Hence, the blueprints were definitely abundant. Lin Li removed the lid of the box, and as he had expected, he saw numerous scrolls of varying thickness in the box.

    Apophis sat back on the chair and crossed his legs casually. Holding his beard, he generously said to Lin Li, ¡°These are the blueprints that we have been using for the renovation of the Sky Garden over the years. You may take a look at them. They will belong to you in the future anyway.¡±

    Apophis was generous, but Lin Li didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, either, and he simply took out a scroll from the box before untying the ribbon on it. Only a very small part of the Sky Garden was illustrated on it, and there were also modifications to the magical weapons and Magic Arrays described on it.

    Although the blueprint was not as intuitive as looking at the building directly, it involved something even more profound that could not be seen on the surface. After just simting the contents of the blueprint in his head, Lin Li could already have a grasp of the essence of the transformations. It could be said that the transformation of the Sky Garden was worthy of being the one that turned the Sky Castle of the High Elves into that of humans. With those changes, the Sky Castle could already exert power that wasparable to that of the High Elves¡¯s Sky Castles during their prime.

    Of course, the modification of the Sky Castle was definitely not going to be a small project, as it was equivalent to almost rebuilding everything. The Sky Garden could be modified into its current state all thanks to the efforts of the people of the Supreme Council and the three arbitrators. It also took them hundreds of years toplete the transformation.

    Putting aside the fact that Lin Licked hundreds of years to transform the Sky Castle, the Tower of Dusk also couldn¡¯t afford the manpower and resources required for the transformation. Although Lin Li had obtained a massive amount of wealth through the various adventures, he still couldn¡¯t bepared to the Supreme Council.

    After the war at the end of the Dark Age, the Supreme Council, which was the leader of the entire rebellion alliance, acquired most of the wealth of the High Elves, and thus had a huge vault of treasures, unlike Lin Li who had to risk his life only to scavenge for remnant items.

    Hence, Lin Li had a clear goal in mind right from the beginning. He didn¡¯t expect to be able to transform the Sky Castle into an environment that would be suitable for humans all of a sudden, and merely wanted to allow it to exert greater power when operated by humans.

    After taking a look at the modification blueprint, Lin Li rolled it up and put it back into the box. He then put the lid back on with a loud thud, and said to Apophis, ¡°Thank you so much, this is going to save me a lot of time.¡±

    ¡°Good that it¡¯s useful for you. I¡¯m here this time to pick up a few things. Those two old guys are still waiting for me, so I won¡¯t hold you back any longer.¡± Clearly, Apophis was rather anxious. Otherwise, he would definitely stay to chat with Lin Li. Seeing that Lin Li had no other requests, he hurriedly ended the conversation.

    Lin Li did not care about Apophis¡¯s hasty departure. In fact, he wanted to rush back to the Sky Castle immediately after obtaining the blueprints. However, he could not leave without a word like Apophis. After all, he had already made a trip there, and he ought to have a chat with his teacher and acquaintances. He could spare that much time.

    He made his way down the high tower to see that Andoine, Aldwin, and a few other councilors were waiting in the main hall, while the conference hall was empty without a single soul in sight. Rosen had had his n backfire this time, and was obviously too ashamed to stay behind. Actually, Rosen was extremely unlucky. Thest time he¡¯d schemed against Lin Li, he allowed Lin Li to be a high-ranking councilor who was like one of the 10 controllers. This time, he even caused Lin Li to be the deputy chairman, which was a huge blow to him.

    As for those who¡¯d originally supported Rosen, they began to develop other thoughts when they saw that Rosen had lost power again. However, they were not shameless to the extent of defecting to Andoine¡¯s side immediately. However, they could imagine that Andoine would definitely get busy again, and the councilors would have plenty of excuses to visit him.

    ¡°Haha, not bad, kid, you became the deputy chairman all of a sudden. You should have seen how grim Rosen¡¯s expression was.¡± As usual, Andoine did not have the self-awareness of the chairman of the Supreme Council. He patted Lin Li¡¯s shoulder excitedly, which was exactly what he would do.

    One reason for Andoine¡¯s excitement was that he was happy for Lin Li, and another reason was, of course, that he had finally gotten the chance to vent his anger. Although he had never quite valued his position as the chairman, and he even wished that someone could take over his duties so that he could focus on the study of pharmacy, his proposals would be rejected every time he proposed something during a meeting, and that was definitely not a pleasant experience.

    ¡°Felic, Deputy Chairman Felic, you must pay more attention to the affairs of the nna Guild of Magic in the future.¡± Aldwin began to joke too. In fact, as the president of the Guild of Magic, his status was not inferior to that of the deputy chairman in the Supreme Council.

    They entered a lounge nearby, put aside the unhappiness brought about by the matter of Rosen, and began chatting about some things. Of course, they mainly wanted to hear about Lin Li¡¯s experiences in the Sky Castle. Aldwin and Andoine had nothing much worth talking about as they had been getting angered by Rosen most of the time.

    Lin Li recounted the thrilling experience of exploring the Sky Castle, and the final battle against Highlord Osric in particr made everyone gasp in amazement. After a period of small talk, Lin Li bade farewell to Andoine and the others before inviting them to visit the Sky Castle in their free time. He then left the Sky Garden.

 Chapter 1087 - Change

    <h4>Chapter 1087: Change</h4>

    Lin Li returned to his own Sky Castle. Due to the fact that he had just seen the Sky Garden, Lin Li felt that the Sky Castle looked more and more awkward, and his desire to modify his Sky Castle grew more intense. However, Lin Li knew very well that he had to take his time to modify the Sky Castle while ensuring that it would maintain a certain level ofbat power at all times.

    Using the control crystal of the Sky Castle, Lin Li did not have to go through the process of observing and measuring, because both the interior and exterior of the entire Sky Castle, as well as the structure and details, were all clearly etched in his mind. That allowed him to save a lot of time on the preliminary work.

    Lin Li knew that if he wanted to transform everything in the Sky Castle and turn it into something simr to the Sky Garden, it would be impossible toplete it in a short period of time. Hence, he merely formted a n to make modifications that were suited to his current needs.

    The first urgent need that Lin Li had to solve was actually not about the problem of the transformation, but rather theprehensive restoration of the Sky Castle. Although this Sky Castle was known as the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves, it had beencking maintenance and had been through 1,000 years of wear and tear, after all.

    Besides, for the past 1,000 years, the Sky Castle had been exposed to the erosion of the Nether Storm in the spacetime rift at all times. Even if the Sky Castle had a powerful protective canopy to resist the Nether Storm, it was there for over a millennium, after all. Even gods would probably die there, let alone the Sky Castle that had an intricate structure.

    When Lin Li explored the Sky Castle prior to this, there were several intense battles in the Sky Castle, especially the final battle with Highlord Osric, which resulted in significant damage to the Sky Castle. After all, a battle between Sanctuary powerhouses would probably result in the copse of the world if it took ce in Anril.

    The Sky Castle could still fly, shuttle through space, and evenunch attacks that were far more powerful, but one couldn¡¯t hide the fact that it was seriously damaged. In particr, after Lin Liunched a severe attack on the dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction with the full power of the Sky Castle this time, he was incredibly shocked by the state that the Sky Castle was in. He even thought that if the Sky Castle were tounch such an attack again, it would very likely cease to operate¡ªif it didn¡¯t copse entirely.

    Hence, regardless of whether it was suitable for human maniption or not, repairing all the damage to the Sky Castle was the most important thing Lin Li had to do now. Of course, in the process of repair, Lin Li could also save some time and resources by adding some designs rted to modification.

    However, in the repairing of the Sky Castle, Lin Li also faced an issue which he still had to face during the repair in the future. The seven Sky Castles were the most outstanding achievement of the High Elves, who had spent all the wealth that they plundered and found in Anril to build them. Although Lin Li did not have to rebuild the Sky Castle, he needed a massive amount of resources to repair the damages.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s management, the Tower of Dusk had indeed amassed a ratherrge amount of wealth in the brief duration of time. However, the size of their fortune was rtive. Compared to the local forces of the Breezy ins, it was definitely staggering, but ifpared to the royal family of every kingdom, the wealth of the Tower of Dusk would seem insignificant, let alonepared to the High Elves.

    However, Lin Li had made up his mind. Once the Sky Castle was restored to its prime, it would be able to provide great help to him and the Tower of Dusk. He didn¡¯t want the Tower of Dusk, which he had worked hard to get all his life, to remain floating in the air for everyone to observe.

    Hence, Lin Li began to pull things out from the Ring of Endless Storm. Apart from the items that Lin Li had plundered and obtained after arriving in Anril, the Ring of Endless Storm also contained many other items that he had brought over from the Endless World game.

    The Ring of Endless Storm had almost infinite space, so when he was in the Endless World, Lin Li put almost everything he could find in the Ring of Endless Storm. Apart from the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, there were Divinity Metal and many other various precious materials that Lin Li stored to obtain Life Skills.

    If Lin Li poured out all the stuff in the Ring of Endless Storm, it would probably be enough to flood and drown out an entire city. In the past, Lin Li had found it a shame that he could not put his huge collection of treasures to use, but now there was nothing other than the Sky Castle that would be worth his treasures.

    However, this time, Lin Li was vexed because of theck of materials. ording to his estimation, he would still need arge amount of resources to repair and transform the Sky Castle even if he took out all the materials in the Ring of Endless Storm. After all, no matter how rich he was, his collection of treasures could notpare to that of the High Elves. Unless he robbed the treasure vaults of the few kingdoms, it would be really difficult to create his ideal Sky Castle.

    Materials were only one aspect of the issue he had to face during the repair and modification of the Sky Castle. Another important aspect was manpower. Lin Li couldn¡¯t possiblyplete all the work alone. No matter howpetent he might be, he was still an individual, after all.

    Fortunately, the Tower of Dusk could help Lin Li resolve most of his issues and meet his current needs. The grooming of talents had always been of utmost importance to Lin Li. During the three years that Lin Li had left the Tower of Dusk for, the other members of the Tower of Dusk had never cked off in nurturing talents.

    Besides, the talents were not only mages, but also members of other professions such as forging, pharmacy, and inscription. In fact, they also nurtured talents in professions that other forces did not value.

    Hence, at this juncture where Lin Li needed talents the most, the various talents of the Tower of Dusk could finallye into y. Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, all kinds of talents in the Tower of Dusk gathered in the Sky Castle quickly. Lin Li formted a detailed restoration n in ordance with the needs of the Sky Castle, and assigned it to his subordinates. That allowed him to temporarily heave a sigh of relief.

    Of course, the tasks that Lin Li delegated to his subordinates were some jobs that didn¡¯t require much skill. After all, no matter howpetent those talents were, it was still their first timeing into contact with the Sky Castle. They could only continue learning further during the restoration process.

    During such a huge project like the repair and transformation of the Sky Castle, more manualborers were needed in addition to a variety of skilled personnel to carry out technical work. There wasn¡¯t a single city that was built solely based on technical work. The same went for the Sky Castle.

    Rumor had it that when the High Elves had built the Sky Castles, they had recruited countless powerhouses who were above level-15, some of who were even at the Legendary-level, to carry out manualbor. Although the Sky Castle was the product of the High Elves¡¯ civilization, every inch of thend was permeated with the blood of the people from the races that had been subjected to their rule.

    Although ordinary people were like insignificant ants in the eyes of the Sanctuary powerhouses, Lin Li would notpel others with cruel means like the High Elves had in order to use their lives toplete the transformation of the Sky Castle. Not only would it cause him to be condemned by others in this day and age, Lin Li was not at the level where he had forgotten who he was and perceived all other beings as insignificant nobodies.

    Why did the Supreme Council spend hundreds of years to modify the Sky Garden? In addition to the requirement for technical research, which was a greater part of the reason, it was mostly due to the modification process. They did not make their manpower overwork like the High Elves had done. After all, the Supreme Council knew very well the reason for the fall of the High Elves Dynasty, and naturally did not want to damage the reputation that Geresco had built for the Supreme Council.

    However, Lin Li did not want to spend as much time as the Supreme Council toplete the transformation of the Sky Castle, but he also did not want to go all out like the High Elves. That seemed to be wanting the best of both worlds, but fortunately, the Immortal King had solved that problem for him.

    The Immortal King had left arge team of alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses in the Sky Castle. Although some had been destroyed in the previous battles, the remaining number was still very impressive. When Lin Li first obtained the Sky Castle, he used that group of alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses to clean up the Sky Castle, which seemed to be in shambles after several ferocious battles.

    The alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses had originally been created by the Immortal King for the sake of conducting daily maintenance on the Sky Castle. However, due to the fact that there was no one to control the Sky Castle after the Immortal King had left, the Sky Castle was not maintained well.

    Although some High Elven souls hadbined with alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses to form some kind of Alchemical Undead creatures, they were destroyed when Lin Li and the others searched the Sky Castle. However, the Alchemy Colossuses and alchemy puppets only upied a small portion of what they had.

    If such arge alchemical team was ced outside, it would probably be more than enough for overthrowing an entire kingdom. If the souls of the High Elves had controlled all the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses, Lin Li and the others would definitely have suffered great casualties even if they had not failed.

    Compared to regr manpower, those alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses were obviously better. In fact, during the High Elves¡¯ dynasty, the Alchemy Colossuses and alchemy puppets helped them carry out manualbor in addition to helping them fight. After all, the tiny bodies of the goblins were too weak.

    The alchemy puppets on the Sky Castle had all been created by the Immortal King, and were definitely the pinnacle of alchemy. They were not only more powerful than the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses from the goblins¡¯ era, they also did not have to be controlled by humans, and were intelligent like robots. In fact, it might be more appropriate to say that they were alchemical creatures, except that even if they had intelligence, they were still under the control of the master of the Sky Castle.

    When they first heard that the president wanted to transform the Sky Castle in arge-scale project, Gavin and other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk were extremely conflicted about the issue regardingbor. They even thought about whether or not they should transfer the mercenary corps who had defected to the Tower of Dusk, for they were stronger than ordinary people at the end of the day. However, they were worried that if those who harbored evil intentions took this opportunity to blend in with the Tower of Dusk... it would be a disgusting thought even if it would not cause much damage to the Tower of Dusk.

    However, when Gavin and other elites of the Tower of Dusk brought all the technical talents to the Sky Castle, they werepletely stunned by the neatly arranged rows of alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses in the square. Although all of them had basically lived in the Sky Castle for a short period of time, they had never thought that there would be such arge alchemical army in the Sky Castle.

    ¡°President, who are these?¡± When Gavin walked through the space in the middle of the Alchemy Colossuses, he even felt vaguely terrified. He couldn¡¯t quite figure out what Lin Li wanted to do with so many battle weapons. Was he nning to nab some ves?

    Even Gavin behaved in this way, let alone others. The mages who had participated in the exploration had never seen such arge alchemical army arranged neatly. Even the Rotterdam Kingdom, which was known for Alchemy Colossuses, would not be able to produce so many of them.

    Hearing Gavin¡¯s question, which hinted that he was worried, Lin Li smiled and took out some ring-like alchemical equipment. He handed it to Gavin, and said, ¡°These are the control centers of the Alchemy Colossuses. Later, you have to distribute them ording to the needs of the project. The Alchemy Colossuses and alchemy puppets would save us a lot ofbor.¡±

    The control devices, which Lin Li had found in the control center of the Sky Castle, were actually not tooplicated in their design. Instead, they were more like a symbol that made the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses obey the person holding it.

 Chapter 1088 - God-level Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 1088: God-level Mageweath</h4>

    After all, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses were sentient, and could be said to be not much different from intelligent creatures. They were fully capable ofprehending orders given to them without detailed control. The key was just who themander was.

    The controller of the Sky Castle was the highest controller of all the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses. Even if others managed to obtain the control hubs, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses would still perceive the controller of the Sky Castle as the suprememander, just like how the king was the supreme ruler to soldiers even though they would obey themands of their generals. Not every general would be sessful in coercing the soldiers to rebel.

    Gavin was a little dumbfounded after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, and he even forgot to pick up those control devices. In any kingdom, those alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses were definitely existences that were like national treasures, and probably would not be put to use until the most critical juncture.

    Yet, his president Lin Li was now nning to use the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses to perform the mostborious tasks. He was simply using them as hardborers, which was akin to using Magical Crystal Cannons for killing mosquitoes. Other forces and even the kings of a few kingdoms would probably vomit blood after hearing Lin Li¡¯s idea.

    However, thinking about the work that he had to do next, Gavin also understood that that might be the best solution for the current situation as it wasn¡¯t feasible to hire arge number of hardborers. Besides, the transformation of the Sky Castle was a huge project which needed arge number of ves and manpower toplete. Yet, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses could perform the work that would require the efforts of hundreds of ves. There was no point in putting them at the side.

    Of course, the costs of hiring ves would definitely be much lower, especially since the project required hardbor. On the other hand, the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses had to be powered by magical crystals, and the mana consumption was directly proportional to the amount of work done. There would not be any discount at all. Besides, the value of magical crystals was not only measured by the amount of mana. Legendary magical crystals were priceless in Anril.

    Although others might not know, Gavin, a veteran of the Tower of Dusk and a trusted confidant of the president, was very clear that magical crystals were thest thing that Lin Li wouldck. If they were only going to build an ordinary city, such consumption of magical crystals would definitely not be cost-effective. However, they were now going to make changes to the Sky Castle left behind by the Immortal King, which was going to be a huge assistance to the future development of the Tower of Dusk. The consumption of magical crystals should also be considered worthwhile then.

    After figuring that out, Gavin finally recovered from the shock, and grabbed the control devices from Lin Li¡¯s hands. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President, we¡¯ll definitely make good use of the Alchemy Colossuses, andplete the tasks you¡¯ve given us as well as possible.¡±

    After handing over all the control devices to Gavin, Lin Li took Gavin and the others into a conference hall in the Central Tower where they began to set up the work of transforming the Sky Castle in detail. The first thing they had to do was to repair the damage of the Sky Castle, and at the same time leave some space for future changes. Otherwise, they would have to demolish some things in the future to make some changes. Not only would it be a waste of materials, the efficiency would certainly be greatly reduced too.

    In the conference hall, Basel, Gavin, n, the other senior executives of the Tower of Dusk, as well as representatives of various fields such as inscription, alchemy, architecture, magic gears, and so on participated. They all knew the importance of this transformation of the Sky Castle, and no one wanted there to be ws in their work. Moreover, they were well aware that the process of transforming the Sky Castle would also be a very rare opportunity for them to learn and practice.

    Master Basel had always been known in the Breezy ins for his rich knowledge, and everyone thought of him more as one of the literati and a schr rather than a mage. However, they had always thought that he was only knowledgeable about history and archeology, as well as research of High Elven text. However, very few people know that he also had considerable attainments in the field of inscription.

    In particr, after joining the Tower of Dusk and bing the chief judge of the Tower of Dusk, Basel had had the opportunity to exchange knowledge with Lin Li in the field of inscription, and he could be considered a Master of Inscription who was second only to Lin Li. Hence, during the transformation of the Sky Castle this time, Lin Li let Basel take charge of the mageweaths.

    The team led by Basel consisted of more than 30 inscribers. Although none of them could be called Masters, each of them possessed a very strong foundation. Back when Lin Li was teaching them, he ced the most emphasis on foundation. In his opinion, as long as theyid their foundation well, they would be able to master all mageweaths in a very short time, even if they had never seen it before. They were unlike some inscribers who were determined to pursue more advanced mageweaths and had the cheek to call themselves Masters of Inscription after identally inscribing a Master-level mageweath or two.

    Of course, there was another important reason for this: Lin Li basically spent very little time at the Tower of Dusk, and even less time teaching the inscribers. For example, Lin Li had spent three years exploring the Sky Castle, and even when he returned, he didn¡¯t have a moment to spare for them. Hence, apart from figuring out some things on their own, those inscribers spent most of their time constantly consolidating all of the information that Lin Li had taught them.

    Fortunately, they had excellent foundation, unlike the so-called inscribers of Anril whom Lin Li might have to teach by hand. Lin Li now only had to point out some key issues, and the inscribers would be able to quickly understand the essence of it. They were much better than the so-called Masters of Inscription.

    The goblin Angno was in charge of the restoration of the Alchemy Arrays and magic gears with a bunch of talented subordinates whom he could deploy. However, he was a harsh goblin; hence, he would probably scold his subordinates very often in the future.

    Beckley and a few other senior executives were in charge of the restoration project of the architecture of the Sky Castle¡ªmainly because the technical requirement in this aspect was much lower. By then, they would also be in charge of the majority of the alchemy puppets and Alchemy Colossuses.

    As for Gavin, who yed the role of the chief supervisor of the Tower of Dusk, he was not specifically responsible for any aspect, and was instead responsible for managing the assignment of tasks. After all, the Tower of Dusk still had to operate as per normal even during the repair process. Gavin just had more to manage.

    After assigning all the work, Gavin and others left the conference hall, while Lin Li remained seated alone, staring at the blueprint of the Sky Garden and spacing out. The tasks that he had delegated now were only for repairing the Sky Castle, and could be considered only the beginning of the transformation of the Sky Castle into something like the Supreme Council¡¯s Sky Garden.

    Lin Li was well aware that the transformation of the Sky Castle would definitely not be something that could be done in one go. Although the technological and manpower demands were temporarily solved, the materials needed was the crucial factor. Without the essential materials, it would be impossible even if he had plenty of technical personnel andborers.

    Hence, Lin Li could only form a hierarchy of priorities for the transformation of the Sky Castle. Repairing the damage was the most important, followed by some changes that would produce immediate results and enhance the performance of the Sky Castle. Lin Li already had a n in mind for that. The first thing he had to change was none other than the power system of the Sky Castle.

    Back then, this Sky Castle was known as the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves. However, power would not be infinite, just like how nothing in the world could truly be immortal. Wear and tear would cause even the gods to fall, let alone the power source of the Sky Castle.

    Besides, the Sky Castle had floated in the Endless Void for thousands of years, and its canopy had also been eroded by the Nether Storm for thousands of years. The mana that it consumed was absolutely unimaginable, especially the power source of the Sky Castle that Osric had entrusted his soul to for the sake of achieving immortality.

    If the power source of the Sky Castle had not been strong enough, it would have been consumed over the years, and Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it back to Anril. However, the consumption of the power source was very obviously far from beingparable to that of the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council.

    Of course, Lin Li also did not have the ability to rece the power source of the Sky Castle. Although there was no problem with the technology, he did not have any magical crystals that could rece the power source of the Sky Castle. Even the magical crystals of prehistoric magical beasts would not work.

    Although Lin Li still had the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction Azardas, he could not draw the mana of that magical crystal at all. Moreover, Lin Li was thinking of using that magical crystal to hatch two baby dragons like the Immortal King had done. After all, having two more helpers like Tutankhamun and Nefa would be much more cost-effective than simply using the magical crystal as a power source.

    Besides, Lin Li also had the magical crystal of the ancient demon deity Bk which he had obtained in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, but it was obviously not suitable for being the power source of the Sky Castle. Although the mana of that magical crystal was also quiterge, it was still somewhat insufficient to be used as the power source of the Sky Castle. Besides, the magical crystal was now the core of the Eternal Furnace and the power source of the crystal coffin.

    However, recing the power source of the Sky Castle was actually the worst solution because magical crystals were no longer purely aggregates of mana at the Legendary-level, as they also contained the Spiritual Brand of the former owner. It might seem exaggerated to call it a living being, but it was definitely no longer inanimate. Hence, Legendary magical crystals would constantly absorb the magical elements in space to replenish the mana simultaneously with mana output, just like what happened when mages meditated. That was the reason that the value of Legendary magical crystals far surpassed that of magical crystals below the Legendary-level.

    Since Legendary magical crystals already had the ability to automatically recover mana, Sanctuary-level magical crystals would definitely be far more impressive. Although Lin Li would never know what level the magical crystal used in the power source of the Sky Castle, he was certain that it would not be worse than the Sanctuary level. Perhaps it might be at the level of the gods.

    The reason that the current power of the Sky Castle seemed to have been weakened was because the previous consumption greatly exceeded the recovery speed of the magical crystal which was the power source. Hence, Lin Li needed to allow the power source to be restored better instead of recing it.

    Of course, directly stopping the Sky Castlepletely was unlikely. Lin Li could only consider that issue from other perspectives. Moreover, even if he really let the Sky Castle stop, the power source would not recover immediately. Besides, Lin Li still needed to maintain a considerablebat power on the Sky Castle in order to deal with various unexpected situations that might arise, such as being summoned to Cage Ind previously.

    Hence, Lin Li¡¯s n was to relieve the pressure on the Sky Castle¡¯s power source by adding a few lower-level power sources. Thus, not only would the pressure on the main power source be reduced greatly, it would also enhance the power of the Sky Castle.

    Of course, that seemed simple, but it was actually hard to execute as it involved the transformation of the power system of the Sky Castle, which was not as simple as adding a few magical crystals. Although it was not enough to affect the entire power system, Lin Li also had to take into ount the impact of the secondary power source on the power system. Otherwise, even if there wasn¡¯t any immediate issue after the mana was poured into the mana circuit, it would be a huge hidden problem.

    Lin Li left the conference hall, and headed to the control center on the uppermost floor of the Central Tower where he could use the control crystal to disy the power system of the Sky Castle in his mind. Firstly, it was the power source of the Sky Castle that was located at the very core of the Sky Castle and looked like a golden sun. There were dense cobweb-like mageweath arrays around the power source, with golden rays of light spreading outwards while passing through the mana circuit.

    Even Lin Li the Guru of Inscription could not identify the mageweath array that acted as the power core. In fact, he even thought of searching through his memories of the Endless World, but he did not find any existences that were simr to this mageweath array. However, to a Guru of Inscription, a mageweath would definitely be traceable even if it was one that he had never seen before.

 Chapter 1089 - Large Order

    <h4>Chapter 1089: Large Order</h4>

    In fact, mageweaths were just application of rules, which essentially was not too different from magic. Hence, as long as one mastered the Laws, it would be tantamount to mastering the foundation of mageweaths. The difficulty of deciphering the mageweaths would be greatly reduced too.

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be astonished after conducting that in-depth study. In his opinion, the mageweath array of the core was already near the level of the Divine Smith as it was definitely one of the mostplex mageweath arrays he had ever seen. He even wondered how the Immortal King hadid out such a magic array. Based on his estimation, at least 10 Gurus of Inscription would have to participate to set up such a huge andplex mageweath array.

    Lin Li was still quite aware of how to correctly crack the mageweath array. It was not absolutely impossible, but it would at least take a considerable amount of effort for him to study it. Cracking the mageweath array was far more difficult than advancing to the Sanctuary-realm from the Legendary-realm.

    Besides, Lin Li believed that even if he really cracked the mageweath array, it was almost impossible to rearrange it. Fortunately, there hadn¡¯t been major problems with the mageweath array for numerous years. Even if Lin Li wanted to add a secondary power source, he didn¡¯t have to go to great lengths to change it.

    After carefully studying the core mageweath array, Lin Li left the central control room, and went outside to look for Basel and the other inscribers who were his subordinate because even though he didn¡¯t have to make major changes to the core mageweath array, Lin Li knew that he would not be able toplete the job alone.

    After giving them a brief exnation of his n, Lin Li took Basel and the other inscribers straight to the core control room of the Sky Castle, which was the most important. Actually, it was just an extremelyrge hall, in which there was the most important core control center.

    When they saw the core mageweath array, Basel and the other inscribers were dumbfounded. They had never seen such aplex mageweath array in their lives. It was not just a conventional t mageweath. Instead, it was three-dimensional, and the mageweath arrays intertwined messily.

    Even Basel, a Master of Inscription, couldn¡¯t help but feel dizzy when he saw theplex array of mageweaths, let alone the others. A few inscribers who were lesspetent even turned pale after looking at the mageweath array for a few seconds. Their bodies swayed as if they were drunk.

    ¡°President Felic, could it be that we have to modify this mageweath array next?¡± Basel asked in disbelief. He even had a vague feeling in his heart as if modifying theplicated mageweath array in front of him was like a mortal trying to step into the realm of the gods.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not considered a modification. I just want to add some things.¡± Lin Li could tell that the crowd had already begun feeling afraid; hence, he answered them in a rxed tone.

    However, his tone barely had any effect on the crowd, and Basel couldn¡¯t help but purse his lips as he looked at the extremelyplex mageweath array while thinking to himself, <i>This thing is already soplicated. What else can be added to it!?</i>

    ¡°Okay, stop looking at the mageweath array and listen to me.¡± After seeing their reactions, Lin Li shook his head slightly, and beckoned everyone to go to him. He continued, ¡°This mageweath array might be veryplex, and may even be close to the legendary Divine Smith level. However, regardless of what mageweath it is, it has to follow the basicws of mageweaths. With your foundation, I believe that all of you have a fair grasp of the basicws of mageweaths. You guys are just being frightened by theplexity of this mageweath array. In fact, as long as you apply all your knowledge, you will realize that it¡¯s not that hard to decipher this mageweath array.¡±

    Of course, being able to decipher it did not mean that they could have the ability to set it up themselves. It was just like how it wouldn¡¯t be hard to read a famous piece of writing, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily possible to write something of equal standard just by virtue of being literate. However, Lin Li was certain that they would be able to advance greatly in the field of inscription as long as they could understand the mageweath array.

    Seeing the timidity in the eyes of everyone fading a little, Lin Li then began to talk about his n to add secondary power to this power source. Lin Li¡¯s n was not directly targeted at the core mageweath array, and he wanted to design another mageweath array for the secondary power source instead. He would then connect the two mageweath arrays through a mana circuit.

    The advantage of doing this was that the core mageweath array would at least be altered, and thus his workload would be reduced greatly. It was also much safer. Of course, there were advantages and disadvantages. The addition of a secondary power source would allow it to share a portion of the mana requirement for the Sky Castle. It wouldn¡¯t have to join the operation directly.

    However, Lin Li did not need a permanent secondary power source, as it was only a temporary measure for adapting to the current situation. As long as the power source of the Sky Castle was restored to its prime, the secondary power source would naturally be of little use.

    Lin Li chose to use the magical crystal that he had obtained after killing the Golden Behemoth in the Meditation Land. The Golden Behemoth itself was a more powerful prehistoric magical beastpared to the ancient wyrms. With it having survived in Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land for such a long period of time, the amount of mana in that magical crystal was definitely massive. Purely in terms of the amount of mana, the magical crystal of the Golden Behemoth was even stronger than that of the ancient me Dragon that was used in the Eternal Furnace.

    However, purely using the Golden Behemoth¡¯s magical crystal as the secondary power source was still somewhat insufficient to meet the massive demand for mana in the Sky Castle. Besides, Lin Li did not want the Golden Behemoth¡¯s magical crystal to be damaged because of that. After all, it was also a rather precious Sanctuary-level magical crystal.

    Therefore, in addition to the Golden Behemoth¡¯s Sanctuary-level magical crystal, Lin Li took out 12 peak Legendary-level magical crystals, which Lin Li had a rich supply of. Back when he was in the Throne of Darkness, he had umted quite a few Legendary magical crystals. Besides, he had also gained many items during various adventures.

    Lin Li arranged the magical crystal of the Golden Behemoth and the 12 peak-level Legendary magical crystals to form a secondary power source. That principle was actually simr to adding a secondary power source to the Sky Castle¡¯s power source, with the 12 Legendary magical crystals as the secondary power source.

    The mageweath array of the secondary power source was not too difficult of a problem for Lin Li. The difficultyy in connecting the secondary power source to the mageweath array of the main power source. Although Lin Li made it sound easy, it was just to reassure the others. In fact, the difficulty was on par with the peak of the Guru-level.

    Besides, in addition to connecting the two mageweath arrays, Lin Li also had to sort out and adjust the mana circuit of the entire mageweath array. The power source was providing power in the entire Sky Castle, and Lin Li had to sort out the power system of the entire Sky Castle in addition to the core control center. That was quite arge project; fortunately, Lin Li had subordinates who were inscribers. Otherwise, he would probably take a long time toplete it.

    While others repaired the damage done to the Sky Castle, Lin Li led Basel and the numerous inscribers to start modifying the power system of the Sky Castle. Even though Lin Li the Guru of Inscription, Basel, and other inscribers were in charge, it took them more than a month to finallyplete the transformation of the entire Sky Castle¡¯s power system.

    Of course, the gains Lin Li had made from this were also massive. Although he had merely added a secondary power source and adjusted the power system, there was instantly a massive increase in the power of the Sky Castle. Perhaps there was still a certain difference between the current Sky Castle and what it had been during its prime, but Lin Li had still made major changes to it.

    Moreover, with the secondary power source to share the pressure, the magical crystal that was the main power source would also gradually recover. Reaching the peak again was only a matter of time.

    Simply put, the more powerful the Sky Castle became, the faster they would be able to fly, and the higher their defensive ability would be. Besides, it would also be easier to travel through space. If Lin Li had used the Sky Castle in its current condition at Cage Ind back then, he wouldn¡¯t have had to go to such great lengths just to summon it.

    Moreover, the changes brought about by the incredible power was far beyond that. For example, after gaining a sufficient supply of mana, the 36 Magic Towers of the Sky Castle could finally exert their full power. At this moment, if the Sky Castle were tounch a full-swing attack on the dragon corpse again, it would really st the dragon corpse directly back to the bottom of the sea.

    In addition to the change in power, Lin Li, Basel, and the other inscribers also had a huge gain in the field of inscription. After the month or so of transforming the system, they could clearly feel themselves improving by leaps and bounds in the field of inscription. Perhaps the Tower of Dusk would have arge number of genuine Masters of Inscription in a short period of time.

    After the transformation of the power system of the Sky Castle was done, the repairs of the Sky Castle also gradually drew to a close. Of course, it was merely removing damage. Transforming the Sky Castle into the Sky Garden was not that simple. Lin Li also did not have enough materials to support therge-scale transformation of the Sky Castle for the time being.

    After testing the results of the transformed power system of the Sky Castle, Lin Li began to ponder the next goal of transformation, which was the Sky Castle¡¯s attack systems. Stronger power meant a faster speed and higher defense, but that was not enough to satisfy Lin Li. He didn¡¯t want to control the Sky Castle, and slip into a passive state of only being able to run or get beaten. A powerful offensive system was absolutely indispensable for the Sky Castle.

    The Sky Castle¡¯s striking power was already considered impressive in the eyes of the general public as it could even severely wound the terrifying ancient dragon corpse. However, Lin Li knew very well in his heart that the power of the Sky Castle was definitely insufficient for the situation that he would have to face in the future.

    In fact, Lin Li had read from some of the information about the Sky Castle that the offensive power of the former Sky Castle had not been that weak. Apart from the Conquering Mageweath and the 36 Magic Towers, it also had had countless powerful magic weapons, as well as arge number of Attacking Mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays.

    However, the Sky Castle now seemed to have been robbed by thieves as it barely had any powerful magic weapons left, and arge number of key materials was missing from the Attacking Mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays. In fact, Lin Li also wanted to obtain it. Osric was probably the only one who could achieve that.

    Lin Li also remembered that when he was in Osric¡¯s mausoleum, he had once faced a wall full of Magical Crystal Cannons, which probably amounted to a sum of thousands. Those Magical Crystal Cannons were much stronger than those created by the Dwarf Kingdom now. However, in order to enter the mausoleum back then, Lin Li and Andoine had had no choice but to destroy the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    The Magical Crystal Cannons were just an example. There had to have been more items or materials from the Sky Castle in Osric¡¯s mausoleum. However, they had been used elsewhere by Osric. At the thought of that, Lin Li developed an idea¡ªhe would empty out Osric¡¯s mausoleum when he had the time to visit again. He reckoned that the materials required for the modification of the Sky Castle would definitely be replenished greatly that way.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to go to Osric¡¯s mausoleum again for the time being, and he felt that finding a way to increase the attacking power of the Sky Castle was the most important thing. There were some things that were difficult to restore, but there were some things that could be satisfied with the current strength of the Tower of Dusk, such as the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Hence, Lin Li allowed Gavin to take charge of cing anotherrge order for Magical Crystal Cannons with the Dwarf Kingdom, which would be used to supplement the attack power of the Sky Castle. In addition to the Magical Crystal Cannons, Lin Li also thought of a powerful weapon called the Sky-breaker which existed at the end of the Dark Age. Rumor had it that it was so powerful that it could even st the Sky Castle.

    Although it might be a bit exaggerated to say that it could st the Sky Castle, it was proof of the massive power of the Sky-breaker, which could break the defense of the Sky Castle. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been such a rumor.

 Chapter 1090 - Passage

    <h4>Chapter 1090: Passage</h4>

    When Lin Li was inaugurated as the president of the Guild of Magic, the arbitrator Apophis had once sent him a congrattory gift, which was a sketch for the creation of the Sky-breaker. The method of creation of the Sky-breaker had been lost in the Dwarf Kingdom for thousands of years, and Lin Li believed that the sketch would definitely entice the Dwarf Kingdom.

    Of course, Lin Li would not be foolish enough to send the sketch to the dwarves. Instead, he only copied half of the sketches, and got Gavin to arrange for someone to send it to the Dwarf King Odin. He believed that with Odin¡¯s eyesight, he would definitely be able to distinguish the authenticity of the sketch. Before Lin Li said anything, the Dwarf Kingdom would definitelye begging the Tower of Dusk to create the Sky-breaker.

    Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons and the Sky-breaker, Lin Li also decided to exploit the Gilded Kingdom. During the battle on Cage Ind, the dragon corpse had attacked the Gilded Kingdom and put them in a miserable state, but Lin Li witnessed how powerful the cannons of their battleships were. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was a maritime force that had a heritage of thousands of years, and could dominate the Endless Ocean that was full of danger and crises, so how could they not have any good technology?

    However, it was not an easy thing to get the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship cannons. After all, the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom obviously had a hostile rtionship. The people of the Gilded Kingdom were no fools, so how could they allow their enemies to be equipped with their strongest weapons?

    When Cantory of the Gilded Kingdom asked for help from the Tower of Dusk and the various forces of the Breezy ins, he had promised them arge number of conditions. Although the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom did not have a good rtionship, the Gilded Kingdom dared not go back on their word as long as they didn¡¯t fall outpletely. The key point was the negotiation.

    Hence, for the sake of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleship cannons, the Tower of Dusk nevertheless sent out a team of talented negotiators to discuss with the Gilded Kingdom the purchase of the battleship cannons. He believed that with the wits of the sly old man Gerian, it would only be a matter of time before he brought the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s cannons back.

    After sending Gerian and the team of negotiators away, Lin Li didn¡¯t dy for a moment. He immediately started his other n, and that was to transnt the Tree of Eternity.

    Lin Li had obtained the first Seed of Eternity in the Central Tower of the Sky Castle, but it had already been dead when he obtained it. Later on, he¡¯d only managed to revive the seed with the power of a section of the branch of the Tree of Eternity. After that, Lin Li had nted the Seed of Eternity at the back of the Tower of Dusk, and now it had grown into a small sapling.

    However, what Lin Li hadn¡¯t expected was that he would actually obtain another Seed of Eternity¡ªwhich had undergone a drastic change¡ªwhen he explored the Sky Castle for the second time. That reminded him of a legend from the Endless World which stated that the High Elves were born under the Tree of Eternity, bringing about an unprecedented and prosperous dynasty which ruled the world.

    Therefore, Lin Li developed an idea at that time to nt both Trees of Eternity and observe the development that the Tower of Dusk would undergo under the power of the two trees.

    However, with the current situation on the maind, it was clearly not too safe to keep the Tree of Eternity nted in the Tower of Dusk. After all, Lin Li could not stay there for long. Besides, he had to resort to some means to increase the attack power of the Sky Castle. Hence, Lin Li thought of nting two Trees of Eternity in the Sky Castle.

    If there were two Trees of Eternity on the Sky Castle, they would still be a good offensive method for the Tower of Dusk even if the saplings were still worlds apart from mature trees. Under the power of the Tree of Eternity, the mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays of the Sky Castle would undergo qualitative changes. Even the mageweaths that originally had ordinary power would be able to increase their power by tenfold.

    In particr, the 36 Magic Towers had originally been the most powerful magical weapons on the Sky Castle, but due to theck of mana provided by the power source, their power could not be fully exerted. Now, Lin Li had an additional power source for the Sky Castle and adjusted the power system, allowing the Magic Tower to obtain sufficient mana.

    At the same time, under the influence of the power of eternity, the power released from the offensive spells would also change qualitatively, just like how the power of the magic spells cast by Legendary-mages and Sanctuary Masters would be worlds apart.

    The two Trees of Eternity could not only make the Magic Tower obtain more mana, they could also reduce the consumption of mana, and allow the recovery speed of the power source to increase. The effects might not be obvious in the short term, but it was undoubtedly beneficial to the Sky Castle.

    Of course, in addition to the many benefits to the Sky Castle, the existence of the two Trees of Eternity would also be an advantage to the mages who studied and lived in the Sky Castle. Although it was said that the growth of the two Trees of Eternity would not happen overnight, the essence of that eternal power was still the same. When enveloped by the power of the Tree of Eternity, the Sky Castle will be a huge Meditation Land, and every mage would definitely obtain unimaginable benefits.

    Hence, after the transformation of the power system, Lin Li immediately proceeded to transnt the Tree of Eternity. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, that posed no difficulty to Lin Li at all. He just had to incorporate the sapling of the Tree of Eternity into his Domain World, and then transnt it to the Sky Castle.

    However, when nting another Seed of Eternity, Lin Li happened to encounter a small problem. That Seed of Eternity had undergone a life and death situation. Although it had massive vitality, its power still contained a vague tinge of Undead aura that was not added by external forces, but was formed by the tree itself. Lin Li could not remove it all even with Holy Light.

    Atst, Lin Li finally thought of a solution when nting the Seeds of Eternity, and that was to use a mageweath to single out the Undead power, and send it to the Psychic Array. Although the Psychic Array was no longer as powerful as before, it was after all created by Highlord Osric, which was not something that ordinary Magic Arrays couldpare to. Besides, the Undead power of the Tree of Eternity might not be massive, but it was extremely pure, and could allow the Psychic Array to exert a fairly high power.

    After cing the two Trees of Eternity in the Sky Castle, Lin Li was finally able to catch his breath. At this point, the Sky Castle had not beenpletely modified and transformed into the Sky Garden¡¯s counterpart yet, but there were already drastic changes in itsbat power.

    Although the restoration of the Sky Castle had yet to bepleted at this point, there was no need for Lin Li to intervene too much, as everything was proceeding in an orderly manner ording to the n he had formted. However, Lin Li did not ck off, as he knew very well that he simply did not have time to waste given the current changes in Anril.

    After handing over all the work, Lin Li once again went to the inverted tower under Sky Castle, and entered Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land. However, Lin Li did note alone this time. Instead, he brought along Connoris together with his two Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller.

    Although Connoris, Ujfalusi, and Norfeller hadn¡¯t stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they were currently Lin Li¡¯s best assistants. The reason that Lin Li brought the three of them to the Meditation Land was not that he wanted to go there to umte mana, but to fully explore the Meditation Land.

    In the Meditation Land created by Geresco, there were numerous Sanctuary-level prehistoric magical beasts. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t afraid of them, he also didn¡¯t want them to affect his exploration.

    Moreover, in that battle on Cage Ind, Lin Li could also tell that Connoris and his two Undead servants had all reached a bottleneck. If they could never break through it, the help they could provide Lin Li with in the future would be smaller.

    After all, the enemies that Lin Li would face in the future were all Sanctuary powerhouses, and there might even be enemies that were as strong as the dragon corpse. Therefore, while improving his own strength, Lin Li also had to improve the quality of assistance that he would be receiving. Besides, Connoris and the Undead servants had already reached the peak of the Legendary-level, and were only a step away from stepping into the Sanctuary-realm. They were undoubtedly the best candidates to help advance.

    As soon as they stepped into the Meditation Land, Connoris and the two Undead servants were stunned by the infinite power of the Sanctuary-realm. Although ordinary Sanctuary Masters would not be able to beat them inbat power, the Sanctuary-realm aura here was too excessive.

    ¡°Is this the Meditation Land of Geresco?¡± Connoris had always imed to be knowledgeable, but at this juncture, his tone was apprehensive. He lowered his voice andined softly as if he was afraid of attracting the attention of those Sanctuary-level magical beasts. ¡°What is Geresco doing? Why did he raise so many Sanctuary-level magical beasts in the Meditation Land?¡±

    Faint sounds of bones knocking against each other wereing from Ujfalusi¡¯s body, and the soul fire in his eye sockets was flickering like it was getting blown by the wind. Upon hearing Connoris¡¯ints, he couldn¡¯t help but say in a hoarse and shaky voice, ¡°Respected Master, were these Sanctuary-level magical beasts left behind to you by Geresco?¡±

    Norfeller was the only one who had an icy cold expression, and he was standing silently behind Lin Li. However, he was already clenching the hilt of his sword tightly in his hand; he was actually just as nervous. After all, although he was only a step away from the Sanctuary-realm, he was still at the Legendary-realm. The suppression of the Sanctuary-realm power was still effective on him.

    ¡°Yes, this is Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land, and these Sanctuary-level magical beasts are indeed what he has left behind. However, we still have to rely on our own power to get what we want.¡± Lin Li shook his head slightly. He hadn¡¯t been able to understand why Geresco had raised that many prehistoric magical beasts there. Could it be that Geresco was an animal rights activist?

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± There was some regret in Connoris¡¯ tone, and he obviously found it a shame that the numerous Sanctuary-level magical beasts could not be Lin Li¡¯s assistants. If they could listen to a single person¡¯s gesture, the army they formed would probably be able to dominate Anril.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not dwell on this any longer. I brought you here this time mainly to explore this space. This Meditation Land is definitely not the top of the tower, so I suspect that there might be a passage that leads to a higher level here.¡± Lin Li began to tell Connoris and the others of his suspicions.

    Just like Lin Li said, there was an infinite number of books on the first floor of the inverted tower, while the second floor was the Barbarous Arena. The Meditation Land was only the third floor, so what did Geresco leave behind at the higher levels? That was what Lin Li really wanted to know.

    However, this space was simply a small world, and in the face of countless Sanctuary-level magical beasts, Lin Li did not know where to start his search. If he were to search the entire world, he would waste plenty of time, and he would also have to destroy all the Sanctuary-level magical beasts in the space!

    ¡°Geresco has raised so many Sanctuary-level magical beasts here. He definitely doesn¡¯t treat them as pets. Are they the ones guarding the entrance to the passage?¡± Connoris guessed with a frown. If they weren¡¯t watchdogs, they couldn¡¯t possibly be prey.

    However, there was still a problem with Connoris¡¯ guess. If the Sanctuary-level magical beasts were meant to watch the entrance, they should be able to guess the location of the entrance of the passage based on the distribution of their territories. However, after being in the Meditation Land for such a long time, Lin Li hadn¡¯t seen any pattern, as if the magical beasts were wild, and were simply upying territories based on strength without any purpose.

    ¡°These magical beasts are probably just a barrier for the people who are entering. If the passage really exists in this space, I¡¯m afraid we will have to start with the strongest of these magical beasts.¡± In a moment of helplessness, Lin Li had no choice but to think of a stupid solution, which meant that he would have to fight the few strongest magical beasts. Of course, if they were lucky, they might be able to find the passage after killing the first magical beast. Otherwise, it would be more troublesome.

    Lin Li had spent a long time in the Meditation Land, and apart from meditating and umting mana, he could use his mental strength to continuously explore the space. Although he could not find the passage to the next level during the exploration, he had gained a generic understanding of the magical beasts in this space.

    Hence, Lin Li took Connoris and the two Undead servants straight to the Meditation Land without much dy.

 Chapter 1091 - Asgor

    <h4>Chapter 1091: Asgor</h4>

    Soon, a Minotaur that was nearly 10 meters tall and was riding a double-headed Manticore appeared in front of Lin Li and the others. That Minotaur had power that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and was much bigger than the one Lin Li had seen in the Eternal Darkness Altar in the past. It was probably much stronger than the Dragon of Evilness, Nefa. Besides, the double-headed Manticore that the Minotaur was riding simrly had incredible power that was close to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Thebination of the Minotaur and the double-headed Manticore was definitely not something that anyone would dare to revoke easily, even in this Meditation Land that was full of Sanctuary-level magical beasts. That was also the reason Lin Li chose this ce first. In his opinion, it should be the most likely ce to set up a passage.

    In order to save time and deter other magical beasts, Lin Li immediately pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward without any hesitation or reservations. The light of the seven basic Laws immediately converged into a World Sword that cut through the space and shed towards the Minotaur.

    The Minotaur had survived in that space for thousands of years, and it had never seen anyone who dared to provoke it. When it saw Lin Li and the others attacking, the Minotaur flew into a rage, and swung the giant steel trident in its hand at the World Sword ferociously.

    At the same time, the two-headed Manticore that the Minotaur was riding also opened its huge mouth while facing Lin Li and the others, spurting out brilliant but lethal rays of light. It was a two-headed Manticore that was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and the magic light emitted by it was several times more powerful than the cannons on the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, in the face of the magic light emitted by the two-headed Manticore, Lin Li did not dodge at all. Instead, he opened his Domain World right away. When the magic light struck his Domain World, Lin Li¡¯s World Sword shed with the Minotaur¡¯s steel trident.

    With a violent roar, the steel trident in the Minotaur¡¯s hand was broken by the World Sword, which then shed the Minotaur¡¯s head immediately. The only ones who could resist Lin Li¡¯s World Sword were the Golden Behemoths and the ancient wyrms which were magical beasts that were known for their defense. Although the Minotaur was extremely strong, it obviously didn¡¯t have the incredible defensive abilities of the Golden Behemoth.

    Fortunately, the Minotaur reacted fast enough, and immediately spurred the two-headed Manticore to flee far away. However, the Minotaur was too careless after all, and after livingfortably for thousands of years, it seemed to have forgotten how to fight. Although the World Sword was in the shape of a sword, it was essentially still magic and an aggregate of nomological power. The de was not the only thing that hurt.

    Although the Minotaur managed to dodge the de of the sword, it was still struck by the power of the World Sword, and its tall andrge body was sted away when it was riding on the mountain-like two-headed Manticore. Along the way, it bled so much like it was raining blood.

    There were only two or three exchanges in this fight, but Connoris and the others didn¡¯t have to step in to help at all. The Minotaur and the two-headed Manticore were destroyed by Lin Li¡¯s World Sword. Two Sanctuary-level magical crystalsnded directly in Lin Li¡¯s hand as the World Sword disintegrated.

    Even Connoris, who was watching at the side, couldn¡¯t help but be dumbfounded, and he didn¡¯t know whether he should say that the enemy was too weak, or that Lin Li was just too strong. Actually, the Minotaur wasn¡¯t weak, as it also had the help of the two-headed Manticore. He could only say that Lin Li was too strong. He had yet to reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and yet he could already be on par with the two-headed Manticore[1].

    As for Ujfalusi and Norfeller, they also felt the huge gap between themselves and Lin Li, and thought that they probably would not be able to provide much help for Lin Li during the future battles if things continued to develop at that rate. That thought made them more and more eager to increase their abilities.

    After finishing off the Minotaur and the two-headed Manticore, Lin Li immediately took Connoris and the two Undead servants on a search in the den of the Minotaur. However, to Lin Li¡¯s disappointment, he did not find any clues rted to the passage even after searching every corner of that maze-like den.

    Nevertheless, Lin Li had long prepared for it. Since Geresco did not n to show them the passage, Lin Li definitely had to put in a lot of effort into finding it. Hence, after searching the Minotaur¡¯s den in vain, Lin Li immediately took Connoris and the others towards the next target he had already chosen.

    The Sanctuary-level magical beasts were indeed rather intelligent. The World Sword that Lin Li had just cast had resulted in a considerable deterrent effect on many magical beasts. As they flew all the way to their next target, the magical beasts they encountered along the way even escaped, and no one dared toe out to make trouble for them.

    However, even then, Lin Li¡¯s search was not smooth sailing at all. After searching the dens of a few Sanctuary-realm magical beasts, they still didn¡¯t find any signs of the passage, but the battles they encountered were far tougher than the ones in the beginning. Connoris and the two Undead servants began to join in the fights. After all, the Sanctuary-level magical beasts had already advanced beyond the realm of magical beasts. It was obvious if it was clever or cunning.

    After a few intense battles, Lin Li gained a few more Sanctuary-level magical crystals, but he still had no clue about where the passage was. Fortunately, it was Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land, so the mana that Lin Li, Connoris, and the others consumed could be recovered quickly. Otherwise, they would have to return at this time.

    At this time, Lin Li¡¯s group was in a deep valley in the Meditation Land which was emitting a death aura, but it was devoid of any scent of decay. It seemed to be a pure aura of death. Following the aura that they detected with their mental strength, Lin Li and the others flew towards the depths of the valley.

    If they still couldn¡¯t find the passage there, they would have to reconsider if the passage even existed! Actually, Lin Li had thought about that more than once, but the strange thing about humans was that we would often have infinite st tries¡±. They had already explored several such deep valleys, and Lin Li didn¡¯t carry much hope this time, either.

    All of a sudden, an incredibly powerful mental strength impact surged over from the deep valley towards Lin Li and the others. Even Lin Li who had a great mental strength couldn¡¯t help but find it unbearable. On the other hand, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were directly sted away by the pure mental strength. Connoris even froze on the spot as if he had momentarily lost control of his body amidst the impact of the Mental st.

    Bearing with the headache, Lin Li frantically raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and a light curtain was instantly erected in front of him. Under the impact of the Mental st, he could immediately see theyers of ripples that were stirred up on the light curtain, as if a massive object was about to emerge from the water.

    Upon sight of this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply. Those below the Sanctuary-realm would probably have been sted badly by the powerful Mental st.

    Immediately afterwards, a hideous monster slowly crawled out from the deep valley. The monster had a lion-like head and a python-like body that was covered in obsidian-like scales. There were also thick limb-like extensions on both sides of the python. It began digging its sharp ws against the rock, leaving behind deep scratch marks as if it was cutting through tofu.

    Seeing the appearance of this monster, Connoris, who had just regained control of his body, could not help but exim, ¡°This is Asgor. Why is it here!?¡±

    ¡°Asgor?¡± The name that Connoris mentioned reminded Lin Li of a legendary myth in Anril.

    Legend had it that the death god, who was in charge of the final destination of all living beings, was alienated by the other gods who feared him. Hence, he raised various terrifying creatures that were feared by many in his pce, the best of which was Asgor. Such monsters fed on the souls of the dead and possessed massive Spiritual Force. It was even bestowed with the magic to manipte death by the death god.

    During the prehistoric times, Asgor might not have been the most powerful magical beast, but it was definitely the most horrifying. Asgor would kill everything in its path and leave behind a ce of death that was devoid of vitality. Even the ancient wyrms and Titans could not escape their fates of getting killed by Asgor.

    Although that was only a myth and a legend, Lin Li could sense from the Mental st just now that even the Spiritual Force of the Lord of Souls in the abyss was far from beingparable to Asgor¡¯s.

    At this moment, Asgor had already stepped out of the shadows, and opened its bloody mouth while facing Lin Li and the others. It was as if it was roaring silently. An even more powerful Mental st was released, resulting in a noticeable distortion in space. It suddenly collided with the curtain of light that Lin Li had erected. In an instant, the defensive curtain of light shattered with a loud bang, bursting like a bubble.

    Before Lin Li could react, he felt as if he had been hit hard in the head by a hammer, or as if his soul was going to be shaken out of his body. Connoris and the two Undead servants had it worse. Connoris¡¯s body did not actually belong to him in the first ce, so the fusion of his soul and body was subpar. On the other hand, the Undead servants did not have much resistance against spiritual attacks.

    [1] Either the author meant the Minotaur here, or the Manticore was also that strong.

 Chapter 1092 - Last Refuge

    <h4>Chapter 1092: Last Refuge</h4>

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li knew he couldn¡¯t let Asgor continue to attack by changing its soul. Even if he could persist on with his incredible mental strength, Connoris and the two Undead servants would be in big trouble. Hence, as soon as the dizziness in his head dissipated, he immediately pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and a burning hot cloud of fire shrouded Asgor¡¯s head.

    It wasn¡¯t that Lin Li didn¡¯t want to use the World Sword to kill Asgor, but rather that it was difficult for him to concentrate on casting the World Sword under the impact of Asgor¡¯s Mental st. In fact, if another mage was in Lin Li¡¯s ce, he probably would not be able to even cast a small fireball.

    While Lin Liunched a counterattack on Asgor, Connoris had finally recovered from the Mental stunched by it. After all, Connoris was an ancient deity whose soul would never die. Hence, the attack did not take much of a toll on him. As soon as he regained control of his body, he waved the Eternal Frost de in his hand, and immediately attacked right after Lin Li did.

    Connoris was once the oldest ancient demon deity, so his understanding and knowledge of magical beasts like Asgor was not based on the unverifiable legends and myths. In fact, he was also considered a mythical figure. Hence, Connoris did not just hear about Asgor¡¯s powerful abilities from myths. Instead, he had a far more genuine understanding of it.

    Even when he was an ancient demon deity back in the day, Connoris would avoid provoking a monster like Asgor, let alone now where he hadn¡¯t even reached the Sanctuary-realm, and his body and soul hadn¡¯t fused perfectly yet. It was the time for him to be restrained by Asgor¡¯s ability.

    At this juncture, Connoris had already cursed Geresco to no end in his head. Asgor had already vanished from Anril during the early prehistoric times, so where did that psychopath Geresco get it from!? Besides, the Asgor in front of him had lived for thousands of years in this world where mana was several times more intense than in the outside world. There was clearly some victorious auraing from it. With such strength, Asgor would definitely be an elite and powerful existence even in the prehistoric times as the ancient wyrms and Titans would probably have to avoid it.

    Hence, Connoris dared not belittle Asgor at all. As soon as he recovered from the impact of the Mental st, he immediately followed Lin Li andunched a full attack on Asgor. At this juncture, he dared not hold back. While using the Eternal Frost de to swing out rays of light, he chanted an ancient demonic incantation.

    The ancient demon deity¡¯s incantation was the most primitive one that involved the essence of power, and could even be considered one of the origins of the current types of magic. As Connoris chanted the incantation, the magical elements in that space suddenly went berserk, and formed a formidable storm. Even the entire canyon seemed to be shaking like an earthquake as debris rolled down continuously from both sides, as if the canyon might copse at any time.

    The burning hot cloud of fire that Lin Li had conjured caused the surrounding rocks to turn red before shrouding Asgor¡¯s head. Almost at the same time, Connoris consecutively swung out several 10-meter-tall silver shes. The intense magical elements converged above Asgor¡¯s head, and an incredibly powerful ancient magic spell was also brewing, ready to strike Asgor with the most powerful blow.

    On the other hand, Lin Li¡¯s Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, had yet to recover from the Mental stunched by Asgor. Although both of them already had power that was close to the Sanctuary-realm, they still could not start the transition between life and death as long as they hadn¡¯t stepped into the Sanctuary-realm yet. No matter how strong they might be, they were still Undead creatures.

    Asgor¡¯s affinity spell, or rather Necromagic spell, was not purely a death magic spell. In legends and myths, Necromagic was a talent that the God of Death had bestowed to him. It was the power that would guide all living beings to their final destiny. Undead creatures that vited thew of life and death would not be tolerated even by the God of Death. Hence, the restraint that Necromagic had on Undead creatures was far more powerful than Holy Light¡¯s.

    In particr, Ujfalusi¡¯s soul fire was almost extinguished during the Mental st, and in fact, he was in a far more dangerous state than he would be in the face of a Holy Sanction. Although Norfeller was stronger than Ujfalusi, and even had the bloodline of the powerful Icest Wyrm, Asgor¡¯s attack was too intense. Fortunately, Lin Li and Connoris¡¯ attack had slowed Asgor down a little. Otherwise, the soul fire of the two Undead servants would have been permanently damaged even if they hadn¡¯t been destroyed.

    Facing the cloud of fire that wasing from above their heads and the space sh that would be enough to slice him in half, Asgor slowed down, but there was a clear trace of contempt in its horrifying huge eyes. Immediately afterwards, a stream of silver light darted out from Asgor¡¯s eyes, and the sounds of tens of millions of souls wailing surged out like a tidal wave, causing the space in front of it to distort violently.

    After casting the cloud of fire, Lin Li, who was preparing to cast the next magic spell, immediately felt as if a sharp sword had violently pierced his head. The sharp pain immediately caused his preparations for casting a spell to go down the drain. At the same time, the cloud of fire that he¡¯d cast also immediately lost spiritual contact with him. It dissipated before it reached Asgor.

    As Connoris¡¯s space sh was forced to move in another direction in that distorted space, it flew past Asgor and surged straight into the shadow of the deep valley behind. Although Asgor¡¯s affinity spell did not have control over Space Power, it could affect the fluctuations in the space through the powerful Spiritual Force. It was just like how an earthquake at the bottom of the sea would cause a tsunami.

    However, at this point, Connoris¡¯ demon deity incantation finally reached its climax, and the berserk magical elements in the air were all riled up. Arge eye opened above Asgor¡¯s head. It was muchrger than the Evil Eye Tyrant that Lin Li had seen in the past, and countless ck lightning bolts constantly bounced around the eyeball.

    It was known as the Eye of the Ancient Demon, which was said to be the origin of the birth of the ancient demon deities. Legend had it that when Anril was born, light and darkness separated from the power of Chaos. Light turned into the sun in the sky, while the darkness turned into the Eye of the Ancient Demon. 81 ancient demon deities were born from the Eye of the Ancient Demon, controlling all the power of darkness in Anril.

    However, legend had it that the five Dragon Aspects had joined forces to smash the Eye of the Ancient Demon after they rose to the position of deities. On the other hand, Azardas, the patriarch of Obsidian Wyrms, obtained the power of the Eye of the Ancient Demon, and became the Dragon of Destruction that mastered the power of Destruction and Darkness. The destruction of the Eye of the Ancient Demon was the reason that the 81 ancient demon deities could use the power of the Eye of the Ancient Demon to create the Endless Abyss.

    Hence, the thing that Connoris cast this time was only an illusion of the Eye of the Ancient Demon that was created using his mastery of the power of the Abyss. However, even if it was just an illusion, the power of the Eye of the Ancient Demon was definitely not to be taken lightly. Ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses would be severely wounded by it if they weren¡¯t even killed.

    In fact, even Lin Li didn¡¯t expect Connoris to pull such a move, which was one that he hadn¡¯t seen before, even when they were in dangerous situations. Even when exploring the Sky Castle previously where they had been forced into a desperate situation by Highlord Osric, Connoris had never used that magic spell.

    The huge eyeball revolved slowly in the sky, and a cold and violent aura descended into the deep valley, after which Asgor¡¯s figure gradually appeared. Immediately afterwards, the huge eyeball shook slightly, and a ck ray of light which was intertwined with immeasurable ck lightning prated the space andnded on Asgor¡¯s head.

    Asgor obviously felt threatened by the ck light, and couldn¡¯t help but get into a stance where it was ready to fight. It was not that Asgor didn¡¯t know to dodge, but rather that it was much more intelligent than ordinary magical beasts, and thus was well aware that dodging would be pointless when facing Connoris¡¯ strike.

    If it were other magical beasts, they might flee as far as possible upon sensing the threat contained in the ck light. After all, they knew to avoid danger. However, Asgor knew very well that once it chose to dodge, it would lose its opportunity.

    Hence, when facing the ck light that was sted down, Asgor not only did not dodge, but also raised its lion-like head high. Immediately afterwards, its body was instantly coated with ayer of silver light, and thick ck mist emerged from the space around its body at the same time. The aura of the God of Death immediately rose to the extreme too.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    Asgor let out a roar at the falling ck light, which seemed to be able to break the sky. It even prated the souls of Lin Li and the others.

    Amidst the shock of the roar, Lin Li wanted to take the opportunity to cast the World Sword, but the mental strength was dispersed as soon as it was condensed. Connoris¡¯ body stiffened too, and he clearly had already temporarily lost control of his body. Ujfalusi and Norfeller apparently had it worse. They originally nned to rush up to join the attack, but they retreated after being shocked by Asgor¡¯s roar that prated their souls.

    Boom! With a loud sound, the ck light from the Eye of the Ancient Demon finally sted at Asgor. However, as soon as they came into contact, the silver light emanating from Asgor¡¯s body instantly formed countless tiny runes which were as small as particles, and one would not be able to see them without mental strength strong enough. The runes converged into a faint silver mist, enveloping Asgor¡¯s body and giving this hideous monster some sacred vibe.

    Although Necromagic and Death Magic were rather simr, it wasn¡¯t strange for there to be a holy aura, since Asgor was called the pet of the God of Death. However, the Eye of the Ancient Demon that Connoris cast was full of a cold and evil aura, which made it obvious that it was evil.

    The sh of the two forces made the entire valley seem like it was about to be overturned as the aftershocks of the collision caused the cliffs on the sides to be on the verge of copsing. Even the area around Asgor was shaken to the point where dirt and rocks were sttered all over. A ring-shaped ditch was formed too. Only the area under Asgor¡¯s feet was intact, and it looked like a small ind.

    However, the power of the Eye of the Ancient Demon did not end there. The ck light seemed tond on Asgor¡¯s body endlessly, as if it wouldn¡¯t stop until the silver light on its body was torn apart. Under that powerful pressure, the ground under Asgor¡¯s feet also began cracking, and the cracks even started spreading rapidly from the top to the bottom. It was as if the ind in the ditch was about to be crushed into dust.

    However, at that moment, a huge ck vortex appeared under Asgor¡¯s feet, and a massive yet pure power of death surged out of the ck vortex. Immediately afterwards, there was a loud bang, and Asgor¡¯s body suddenly vanished. The ck light that was emitted by the Eye of the Ancient Demon immediately darted into the ck vortex.

    The ck vortex, which was like a bottomless pit, devoured a massive amount of ck light that surged in. At the same time, the power of death that came from it also spread rapidly along the ck light towards the Eye of the Ancient Demon. Everyone present clearly felt that the power of the Eye of the Ancient Demon was rapidly weakening under the erosion of the power of death.

    ¡°Thest refuge!¡± Seeing this, Connoris, who had just regained control of his body again, couldn¡¯t help but exim. The so-calledst refuge was one of the most frightening affinity spells of Asgor, and had terrifying power that would move everything into theherworld. Even the ancient wyrms would not be able to resist.

    However, Lin Li did not care about that issue. When he saw that Asgor¡¯s figure had suddenly disappeared, he immediately bore with the intense headache and spread his mental strength out, shrouding the entire space to look for Asgor¡¯s traces.

    All of a sudden, Lin Li waved his hand, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars darted out from the Domain World. The seven types of light converged into a dazzling pir of light that sted at Norfeller and Ujfalusi.

    However, none of them were fools, and no one would suspect that Lin Li was going to make a move on the two Undead servants. Ujfalusi and Norfeller did not seem surprised at all. Their soul connection with Lin Li allowed them to be aware of Lin Li¡¯s true intentions immediately.

 Chapter 1093 - Magical Crystal Seal

    <h4>Chapter 1093: Magical Crystal Seal</h4>

    As expected, just when the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was about to st at Ujfalusi and Norfeller, a figure not far in front of them suddenly shed and appeared in the void. It was Asgor that had just disappeared. Asgor was obviously nning to kill Ujfalusi and Norfeller, who were the weaker ones, before turning around to deal with Lin Li and Connoris.

    Asgor, which had just appeared in the void at this time, did not seem to have just resisted the Eye of the Ancient Demon. After all, Connoris was still far behind him in level. If Connoris had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, it would have definitely been put through huge suffering even if he was only in the initial stages.

    However, although Asgor dared to deal with Connoris¡¯ Eye of the Ancient Demon, it dared not underestimate the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars at all. After all, Lin Li¡¯s current method of using the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was probably just to maximize their power without the Stars of Fury.

    Sensing the terrifying aura that wasing from behind, Asgor had no choice but to give up the weak prey in front of him as it once again shed into the void. It even had the intention of making Lin Li kill his allies by mistake.

    However, Lin Li was already a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, after all, and his mastery of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars had reached the extreme. How could he possibly have made such a low-level mistake? The seven pieces of the debris of the stars surged out with a loud roar, and were about to hit Ujfalusi and Norfeller, but they burst apart instantly under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, and the seven types of power created a small world that shrouded the void.

    Asgor would have never expected that the attackunched by Lin Li would change in such a manner as it was immediately enveloped by the world made of seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and forced out of the void by their power.

    The world constructed by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was like a cage, but as soon as Asgor¡¯s figure appeared, it immediatelyunched a stormy attack on it. All sorts of magic like fire, ice, and lightning magic spells, as well as meteors, were being sted at Asgor like a rain of spells. Even ancient wyrms would probably be sted into dregs by it.

    However, in the face of the wave of attacks, Asgor calmed down again after a few loud roars. At the same time, aher power that came with death aura immediately surged out from Asgor¡¯s body. It then spread out towards the world made of seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and continuously eroded it.

    Soon, Lin Li sensed the changes in the small world through his connection with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Under the erosion of Asgor¡¯sher power, the small world began transforming into the Netherworld quickly. At the same time, the small world also gradually broke free from Lin Li¡¯s control.

    However, with Lin Li¡¯s current control over the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, even the Immortal King might not be able to take them away from him, let alone Asgor. Since Lin Li had managed to trap Asgor, he naturally wouldn¡¯t let him go so easily. Hence, he immediately activated the seven pieces of the debris of the stars with all his might, and they suppressed the struggling Asgor.

    Asgor roared loudly. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t the power of the debris of the stars, but rather that its body suddenly got sted apart.

    <i>Has it been settled just like that?</i> Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be dumbfounded. In his opinion, even with the full power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it probably wouldn¡¯t take a moment for him to deal with Asgor. However, Asgor actually self-destructed before it was at its most desperate state.

    ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s not dead yet!¡± Connoris knew the monster Asgor way better than Lin Li did. Seeing that Lin Li was stunned by Asgor¡¯s self-destruction, he immediately yelled to remind Lin Li.

    Indeed, at this very moment, a figure that was even taller than Asgor¡¯s original body but was somewhat illusory emerged from the space outside the world made up of seven pieces of the debris of the stars. It was none other than Asgor which had just self-detonated. Besides, the more surprising thing was that Asgor¡¯s strength did not decrease, and instead it became even stronger than before. Its mana fluctuations were already incredibly close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    That was Asgor¡¯s true strength as a powerful being favored by the God of Death that had an eternally indestructible soul. After being freed from its body, it was in the true form that was the most suitable for using the power of death, just like how a Lich was the most suitable for Necromagic, elemental lifeforms were the most suitable for elemental magic spells, and darkness was the most suitable for Dark Magic. Asgor¡¯s soul was the best form for casting death and Spiritual Magic.

    After transforming into its soul form, Asgor obviously did not intend to give Lin Li and the others a chance to adapt to the situation. The simultaneous casting of Roar of The Soul and Withering Death ced Lin Li and his two Undead servants under attack. The Roar of The Soul resounded directly in the depths of Lin Li¡¯s and the others¡¯ souls, making Lin Li feel like his soul was going to be torn apart. On the other hand, Connoris and the others felt even worse.

    The Withering Death spell that devoured vitality made Lin Li and the others feel like they had aged instantly, as if they could already see the end of their lives. Although Lin Li was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he could sense his power being reduced greatly like an unstoppable ebbing tide.

    After being repaired and perfected by Lin Li, the perfect body created by Highlord Osric actually also showed signs of aging under the Withering Death. There were also tinges of decaying from Ujfalusi¡¯s and Norfeller¡¯s aura, and the fluctuation of their soul fire became increasingly weaker.

    Unlike the others whose power was rapidly weakening, Asgor was clearly getting stronger and stronger, as if it was devouring their power inrge amounts. Faced with such a situation, Lin Li knew that he had to stop Asgor. As their power became weaker, their hopes of defeating Asgor became slimmer, and they might really end up dying there.

    Lin Li tried hard to bear with the pain of having his soul torn apart while raising the Helios¡¯ Scepter high in his hand. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars that made up the small world were immediately dispersed too. Each of the pieces of the debris of the stars unleashed an even greater power under Lin Li¡¯s urging, as if they were seven suns that were shooting towards Asgor which was in midair.

    Under the maniption of the Stars of Fury, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars would even be able to kill Azardas the Dragon of Destruction that held a divine position. Although Lin Li did not have the Stars of Fury, Asgor was not the Dragon of Destruction, and the power released by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars could even tear the earth apart, let alone Asgor which was only in the form of its soul.

    However, it was proven that Lin Li had still underestimated the soul form of Asgor. Although it might be easily torn apart by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, that could only happen if their power was sted into its body. Asgor, which was in its soul form, already had the power to travel freely between this world and the underworld, just like how Geresco could use the Void of the Stars to hold his body down in the void. Unless the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that Lin Li controlled could be sted into the underworld, it would definitely be incredibly difficult to kill Asgor.

    However, the underworld was the territory of the God of Death, which was the most powerful among the gods. Only those who had received the blessing of the God of Death and those who were dead would qualify to enter the underworld. In other words, if Lin Li wanted to enter the underworld to kill Asgor, he would probably have to kill himself first.

    Lin Li, Connoris, and the others could not attack Asgor in its soul form, but Asgor¡¯s Spiritual Magic and Death Magic posed a huge threat to them. Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, Ujfalusi and Norfeller had withdrawn far from the battlefield. Otherwise, they would probably be dragged into the underworld. Connoris was simrly barely hanging on. After all, his body and soul were not originally matched. He had to continuously suffer the pain of his soul and body getting separated.

    Lin Li naturally did not feel good, either. Even those who were not like Connoris could not bear with the pain of having their soul torn apart. In particr, there was somepulsion in Asgor¡¯s attack, and it was as if someone was telling him, ¡°Give up and enter the final refuge. Only then will you be free from all the pain.¡±

    Connoris finally remembered a solution, and immediately yelled at Lin Li, ¡°Magical crystal! Seal it using its magical crystal!¡±

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ reminder, Lin Li came to a sudden realization. Although Asgor¡¯s soul had entered the God of Death¡¯s underworld, its magical crystal was still left in this world after its self-destruction. There had to be Asgor¡¯s Soul Brand in the magical crystal too, and it was probably the key that connected Asgor¡¯s soul to this world.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li immediately waved his hand, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars gave up their attack on Asgor, and flew towards the magical crystal that had just been thrown on the ground. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars intertwined like a that engulfed the magical crystal with the same seal that Lin Li had seen under Cage Ind, which could seal the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction.

    When the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was shining the brightest, Asgor, which was attacking Lin Li and Connoris in mid-air, suddenly roared furiously and indignantly, causing a bewildered shadow to float out of Connoris¡¯ body. It was none other than Connoris¡¯ soul that had been shaken out of his body. On the other hand, Lin Li also felt that his control over his body was instantly weakened, and the pain of his soul being separated from his body almost made him give up.

    However, at this moment, he saw Asgor¡¯s somewhat illusory figure being entangled and pulled by an invisible force before flying towards the seal made by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. It was sucked in like mist, and Asgor¡¯s body, which was initially illusory and expanded to a massive size, had turned into a long line, and was sucked into the magical crystal by the seal.

    Immediately afterwards, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars began spinning nonstop, and rays of light were shot at the magical crystal in the middle, causing dense andplicated patterns to gradually form on the magical crystal that had pure color. As the light shed in the end, the magical crystal returned to its original form, and the patterns slowly became invisible.

    ¡°Phew.¡± Lin Li finally let out a long sigh of relief. He was drenched in sweat, not because of how tired he was from casting this seal, but because of the severe pain that his soul was suffering.

    Connoris¡¯ soul, which had already been separated from his body, also began to regain its rity soon after Asgor was sealed. It then darted back into the body. At the same time, Connoris cursed, ¡°Damn it, what is Geresco getting up to do? Does he think he¡¯s the God of Death? He actually raised such a dangerous creature like Asgor here!¡±

    Lin Li did not try to stop Connoris from cursing. Although, in a way, Geresco was his teacher, the battle had made him extremely exasperated. He even wondered if Geresco was part of an animal protection organization because he had collected all the magical beasts in the world!

    Lin Li shook his head, stepped forward, and picked up the magical crystal that sealed Asgor. Through the crystal wall of the magical crystal, Asgor¡¯s soul could vaguely be seen struggling and roaring in the magical crystal.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s look at Asgor¡¯s den. This guy was so difficult to deal with, the passage left by Geresco might be here,¡± Lin Li said to Connoris and the two Undead servants, who had just flown over, after putting away the magical crystal.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope we can find it here. I don¡¯t want to encounter this kind of perverted monster again. God knows how many monsters like Asgor that psychopath Geresco raised here,¡± Connoris said with lingering fear. Actually, he had suffered the most during the battle against Asgor. Ujfalusi and Norfeller had been assigned to move out of the battlefield by Lin Li, yet Connoris could only hang on there for dear life. The pain of having one¡¯s soul separated from their body was not something that ordinary people could endure.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯s words, Lin Li could only smile bitterly. The pain that came from the depths of one¡¯s soul was indeed an excruciating thing that no one wanted to experience for the second time. However, for the sake of the items that Geresco had left behind and improving his strength again, Lin Li had to bear with it and resign to fate.

    After taking a short break to recover some of his mana, Lin Li brought Connoris and his two Undead servants towards the depths of the deep valley. They went all the way to the bottom of the deep valley, and finally saw an ancient-looking door that was made of stone. In the middle of the stone door, there was a curtain of light that made it impossible to see what was on the opposite side. However, he already knew that the stone door was probably the entrance of the passage to the next floor.

 Chapter 1094 - The Star

    <h4>Chapter 1094: The Star</h4>

    ¡°Is this the passage that leads to the next floor?¡± Connoris asked as he walked towards the stone door, and reached out to touch the light curtain. However, the gentle touch made him flinch and jump away immediately like he had been struck by lightning.

    However, Connoris¡¯ performance gave Lin Li a great shock. Connoris¡¯ body was the perfect body that was known to be stronger than the ancient wyrms. <i>How did he have such an intense reaction right after touching the light curtain slightly? Is this not the door to the next level?</i>

    At the thought of this, Lin Li walked over and stretched a finger out before tapping the light curtain slowly. He couldn¡¯t be med for being so careful and cautious, because he had been scared by Geresco. God knew what there might be behind the light curtain.

    ¡°What is Geresco getting up to!? This damned light curtain almost made my body fall apart.¡± As Connoris spoke, he took a few steps back, clearly afraid after what happened just now.

    However, as soon as Lin Li¡¯s finger came into contact with the curtain of light in the middle of the stone door, an irresistible force surged over and yanked his entire body into the stone door.

    Upon sight of this scene, Connoris and the two Undead servants were rather dumbfounded. Lin Li was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, so what kind of power could drag him into the stone door without any means of resisting? After some hesitation, Connoris walked over again and reached out like Lin Li did, tapping the light curtain in the middle of the stone door.

    However, Connoris still felt a massive pain when waiting. Besides, the light curtain shrunk and flickered again, as if it hadn¡¯t taught Connoris enough of a lesson. Connoris was propelled away and his body mmed hard against the rock wall, forming a human-shaped hole in the wall.

    However, although the situation was bizarre, Ujfalusi and Norfeller were not very worried, because they were both bound by Soul Contract with Lin Li. If anything happened to thetter, the two of them would perish with him. Although they had lost soul contact with Lin Li, they could still feel that Lin Li was no longer in any danger. Besides, after seeing the tragic state that Connoris was in, they stopped trying to enter that light curtain.

    After Lin Li was pulled in by the unparalleled force, Lin Li discovered that the scene before him on the other side of the door waspletely beyond his expectations. Initially, he¡¯d thought that the inverted tower should probably be the same as the first floor, which was a learning space that could give him guidance for breaking through. However, he was now greeted with a room that seemed spacious but didn¡¯t upy toorge an area. Besides, he could feel some slight undtion under his feet, as if he was in the sea.

    After walking out of the room and going outside, Lin Li finally verified his conjecture. At this moment, he was in arge ship that was surrounded by a boundless sea. There were birds chirping and hovering around the ship with waves rolling all around.

    <i>Why am I on a ship? Why did Geresco bring me here?</i> Arge number of questions popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind immediately. Based on the information that he had obtained previously, it seemed that Geresco had left the inverted tower in order to let the person who obtained everything to get to a greater height. However, he could not figure out how the surrounding scenery had anything to do with improving his strength at this point.

    Looking at the surrounding scenery, he could tell that therge ship was obviously sailing in a certain direction, so there should be someone or something operating the ship, right? With that in mind, Lin Li turned around and headed towards the cabin of the ship. With his understanding of the structure of the ship, he soon found the pilothouse of the ship.

    However, something even more surprising happened. The ship was indeed not sailing on its own, but the one steering the ship was not human, either. Instead, it was a short skeleton with a small body. Besides, after hearing that Lin Li had entered, the small skeleton turned around without any hesitation, and said, ¡°Wee to <i>The Star</i>, my noble master.¡±

    ¡°Wait, who are you? Why are you calling me master? Where are we flying towards?¡± The tiny skeleton¡¯s words made Lin Li more and more puzzled. <i>Why did I be the skeleton¡¯s owner for no reason? Did Geresco leave this skeleton behind for me too?</i>

    ¡°ording to the former master¡¯s instructions, the first person to step on <i>The Star</i> after him will be my new master. So, you¡¯re my master and the owner of this ship, <i>The Star</i>.¡± The skeleton put its chicken-w-like hand on its chest and bowed to Lin Li respectfully, its bones cracking loudly at the same time.

    ¡°Former master? Was Geresco the master of this ship?¡± Lin Li asked again. Although he already had the answer in his heart, he still found it incredible, and truly could not figure out what Geresco was getting up to.

    Without any annoyance, the skeleton, which had soul fire flickering slightly in its eye sockets, patiently answered, ¡°Yes, my noble master! The master of <i>The Sta</i>r used to be Geresco, and now it¡¯s you.¡±

    Seeing how solemn the skeleton made it sound, Lin Li stopped hesitating, and continued to ask, ¡°In this case, can you tell me where this ship is sailing to now?¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, the soul fire in the little skeleton¡¯s eye socket flickered twice. Seemingly put on the spot, it answered, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, my noble master. <i>The Star</i> is traveling along the course set by Lord Geresco. I don¡¯t know where it¡¯s sailing to, either.¡±

    The skeleton¡¯s words made Lin Li feel somewhat speechless. After staying silent for a while, he said, ¡°Have you and this ship been sailing aimlessly on the sea for thousands of years?¡±

    The inverted tower had existed for thousands of years. If the skeleton and <i>The Star</i> had been sailing on the sea aimlessly for thousands of years, they should have already covered the entire Endless Ocean. How could they still be en route to the destination now?

    ¡°No, Master, ording to Lord Geresco¡¯s arrangements, <i>The Star</i> has only started sailing on the predetermined course when you appeared in the pilothouse,¡± the skeleton answered straightforwardly.

    After asking those questions, Lin Li knew that there was nothing more to ask, so he decided that it would be better to wait and see where <i>The Star</i> was sailing. Of course, while waiting, Lin Li did not ck off or idle about, either. Instead, he carefully studied the situation on <i>The Star</i>. It was not just arge ship. It was simply a battle fortress on the sea.

    When it came to battleships, there was probably no nation in Anril that couldpare to the Gilded Kingdom. The alchemical ship of the Gilded Kingdom was the most powerful type of battleship in Anril, and that wasn¡¯t an exaggeration at all. Its shocking defensive power and amazing armor were definitely not what the small boats of other nations couldpare to.

    However, after studying <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li discovered that the alchemical giant ship of the Gilded Kingdom was nothingpared to <i>The Star</i>. First of all, <i>The Star</i> was wayrger than the giant alchemical ship of the Gilded Kingdom, which looked like a tiny boat inparison. Besides, in terms of attack power, the giant alchemical ship of the Gilded Kingdom was simply not on par, as the main cannon of <i>The Star</i> would probably be able to turn the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s giant alchemical ship into ashes in one shot, and the main cannons of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s ships were merely ordinary cannons on <i>The Star</i>.

    While possessing such terrifying offensive power, <i>The Star</i> also had amazing defensive power. The defensive shields that were used on <i>The Star</i> were surprisingly simr to that of the Sky Castle, which was an excellent defensive method that could block even a Nether Storm. Once the defense on <i>The Star</i> was activated, a giant alchemical ship of the Gilded Kingdom would probably be unable to harm its foundation even if they released cannons and attacked nonstop.

    While Lin Li was studying <i>The Star</i>, a massive wave rose from the distant sea, after which a massive figure that was just asrge as <i>The Star</i> emerged from the huge wave. Lin Li went to the deck and looked at the massive figure in the distance, only to discover that it was actually a nine-headed sea dragon, whose species had already vanished from Anril a long time ago.

    The nine-headed sea dragon looked like a long-necked dragon from the dinosaurs¡¯ era, and the way the nine necks moved would give others a giddy spell. Lin Li knew that the nine-headed sea dragons were the dominant force in the Endless Ocean during the prehistoric times, and they were definitely the nightmare of those who sailed on the sea even during the Dark Age.

    The nine-headed sea dragon was different from thend-dwelling magical beasts that had multiple heads. Each of its nine heads had the ability to manipte water magic. Whenever one of them reached the peak of the Legendary-level, a new head would grow, and nine heads meant nine peak Legendary-level powerhouses. Although they couldn¡¯t break through to the Sanctuary-realm, their nine peak Legendary-level heads made ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses run as far away as possible whenever they saw the nine-headed sea dragon.

    Perhaps because <i>The Star</i> had entered the territory of the nine-headed sea dragon, thetter charged towards them without fear even though <i>The Star</i> was muchrger than it. Of course, there was nothing much in the Endless Ocean that would scare the nine-headed sea dragon, not even the Unicorn Whale that was muchrger than it. Usually, Unicorn Whales would be the nine-headed sea dragon¡¯s meal.

    Seeing the nine-headed sea dragon charging towards <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li was instantly astonished. Although the skeleton had already said that he was now the owner of <i>The Star</i>, he was clueless as to how to control the ship. Encountering the nine-headed sea dragon, the hegemon of the sea, was clearly not something worth rejoicing about.

    Besides, Lin Li was still waiting for <i>The Star</i> to take him to his destination. He didn¡¯t want the nine-headed sea dragon to disrupt his journey. Hence, before the nine-headed sea dragon got near <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li flew over while whipping out the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and attacking the nine-headed sea dragon.

    Lin Li was like a mosquito when facing the massive nine-headed sea dragon, but he was emitting the aura of a Sanctuary powerhouse, which made the nine-headed sea dragon somewhat wary. However, it was only slightly cautious. After all, as the hegemon of the sea, it had dealt with Sanctuary-level magical beasts before.

    Watching as Lin Li flew over, one of the nine heads of the nine-headed sea dragon roared, and a massive wave rose immediately. It then smacked Lin Li as if a mosquito. However, Lin Li was not a mosquito, and when the massive wave appeared before him, he dodged the massive wave. At the same time, he waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand.

    As Lin Li swung the Helios¡¯ Scepter out, the dark clouds in the sky above the nine-headed sea dragon suddenly began rolling, immediately after which massive ice cubes that were like tiny mountains appeared, whistling and smashing against therge body of the nine-headed sea dragon. If the nine-headed sea dragon had been reced with a giant alchemical ship of the Gilded Kingdom, it would probably have capsized after being smashed by the giant ice cubes that were falling down like rain.

    However, the nine-headed sea dragon was called the hegemon of the sea for a reason. When the giant ice cubes fell, massive waves surged up around the nine-headed sea dragon, and immediately sucked the ice cubes into the sea. At the same time, the nine-headed sea dragon didn¡¯t forget Lin Li, the culprit. Jets of water emerged from the sea ferociously likeva spewing out of a volcano in a bid to knock down Lin Li who was like a mosquito.

    Of course, Lin Li knew that the massive ice blocks did not pose much of a threat to the nine-headed sea dragon, and he pulled that move only because he wanted to test the strength of thetter. If Lin Li was only a beginner of the Sanctuary-realm, he might have to face the nine-headed sea dragon¡¯s attack. However, Lin Li was already a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Although the nine-headed sea dragon was equivalent to nine peak Legendary powerhouses, its power was still insignificant to high-level Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand lightly, and his Domain World immediately enveloped the sea, while the jets of water that darted out of the sea were instantly suppressed under the power of the Domain World. Immediately afterwards, Lin Li stopped wasting time with the nine-headed sea dragon as he coalesced the Light and Darkness Sword in the sky, and shed it at the nine-headed sea dragon immediately.

    The nine-headed sea dragon had nine heads but only one body. When the Light and Darkness Sword shed open the nine-headed sea dragon¡¯s body, it would still suffer considerable damage and die even if it had 900 heads. Since Lin Li had used the Light and Darkness Sword to slice the body of the nine-headed sea dragon, it was time to harvest the magical crystals of thetter.

    At this point, Lin Li also suddenly realized something. It was no wonder that the nine-headed sea dragon would vanish from the Endless Ocean. Killing one magical beast to obtain nine peak Legendary magical crystals was definitely the best deal. Of course, that was also a feat that could be achieved only by Lin Li. If it had been an ordinary person, he would probably have been eaten up by the nine-headed sea dragon.

    After killing the nine-headed sea dragon, Lin Li returned to <i>The Star</i>, and continued to study the structure of the ship while waiting to reach the destination.

 Chapter 1095 - Sea Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1095: Sea Battle</h4>

    However, the Endless Ocean wasn¡¯t a calm ce. Even though every part of the sea seemed to be the same, the area under the sea was the territory of marine magical beasts. Therge ship, <i>The Star</i>, was sailing in one direction, and it was impossible not to rm those magical beasts along the way.

    After killing the nine-headed sea dragon, the rest of Lin Li¡¯s trip was just like a hunt on the sea. He encountered gigantic magical beasts that could swallow an entiremercial ship in one gulp and tiny stingrays that were the size of a fingernail, but were capable of prating steel tes like a bullet. There were also sea demonesses that tried to lure sailors on sea with their alluring singing.

    Although the variety of marine magical beasts had allowed Lin Li to gain a lot of knowledge, those battles were not too significant for high-level Sanctuary powerhouses like him. After all, Sanctuary powerhouses were considered to be existences who were at the top of Anril no matter what era they were in. There were barely any that could really threaten him.

    Of course, such a situation also allowed Lin Li to vaguely deduce that <i>The Star</i> should not have entered the depths of the Endless Ocean yet. Rumor had it that many of the marine magical beasts in the depths of the Endless Ocean were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. That was the very reason that the Endless Ocean was considered a forbidden area of Anril even the Sanctuary powerhouses dared not step into.

    The Gilded Kingdom imed to have dominated and traversed the Endless Ocean, but they actually hadn¡¯t explored the Endless Ocean, and merely covered the areas that were closer to Anril. The fleet of the Gilded Kingdom only dared to explore a little deeper into the Endless Ocean when there were Sanctuary powerhouses present.

    Lin Li stood on the deck of <i>The Star</i> and gently waved his hand out against the sea breeze, after which a thunderbolt shot out with a loud roar at a marine beast that had just revealed its head at a spot near him. Lin Li had already gotten used to such battles. If not for the fact that the marine magical beasts wanted to obstruct <i>The Star</i>, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to deal with them.

    However, just when Lin Li was feeling bored, a few battleships with ck sails appeared on the horizon in the distance. The merchant and fishing boats that sailed on the sea usually had white sails, and only pirates would hang ck sails with their respective emblems painted on them, indicating the identity of their group. Hence, when Lin Li saw the ck sail on the ship, he immediately knew that he had encountered pirates.

    Although Lin Li had sailed all the way there on <i>The Star,</i> and encountered the attacks of many marine magical beasts along the way, it didn¡¯t mean that there weren¡¯t other ships sailing on the sea. In fact, Lin Li encountered the attacks of so many marine magical beasts mainly because <i>The Star</i> had been sailing straight in a single direction, and constantly invading the territories of the marine magical beasts.

    Be itmercial ships, warships, or pirate ships, all ships that sailed on the sea would have their own fixed routes which would deliberately avoid the marine magical beasts. Although that did not mean that it would be 100% safe to travel on the Endless Ocean, it meant a great reduction in the risk of getting attacked by the marine magical beasts.

    In particr, pirates would never be able to survive on the sea if they didn¡¯t have any secret safe routes, regardless of whether they were hijacking amercial ship or escaping pursuit. At this point, Lin Li finally understood why there was a sudden decrease in the number of attacksunched by magical beaststely. It turned out that <i>The Star</i> had coincidentally shed with the pirates¡¯ route.

    Those several pirate ships seemed to be equipped with good arms, and although they could notpare to the alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom, they were probably on par with the naval fleets of thend kingdoms like the Fn Kingdom. At the same time that Lin Li discovered the pirate ships, the pirates obviously also discovered the massive ship, <i>The Star</i>.

    Under normal circumstances, given the massive size of <i>The Star</i>, pirates would probably immediately flee upon discovering it. However, when the pirates whom Lin Li encountered saw <i>The Star</i>, they did not flee, and charged towards it instead, which seemed to be an overestimation of their own abilities.

    Lin Li found it rather strange too. The fact that those pirates could possess such a massive ship was clear evidence of their good development. Lin Li reckoned that they shouldn¡¯t have been so ignorant as not to realize what was going on. However, no matter how puzzled Lin Li was, it was a matter of fact that the pirates had charged over and begun firing at <i>The Star</i>.

    The first thing that was shot at <i>The Star</i> was a few beams of mana, which should have been fired from the Magical Crystal Cannons. From that point alone, he could tell that those pirates were extraordinary. Even the Fn Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom could not bear to use their Magical Crystal Cannons casually. The consumption of magical crystals was like a bottomless pit. However, the pirates did not seem to value the magical crystals much as they immediately began attacking with the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    However, the defensive abilities of <i>The Star</i> were not for show. Even if Lin Li did not deliberately open the strongest Magic Canopy, there were several passively activated Alchemy Arrays and defensive mageweaths on <i>The Star</i>. When the mana were about to hit the hull of <i>The Star</i>, several mageweaths emerged from the deck abruptly, and a magic shield immediately appeared to block the mana.

    Lin Li was just about to test the attacking power of <i>The Star</i> when the pirates showed up on their own ord. How could he miss the opportunity? He immediately activated his Space Robe and zoomed in a sh to the main control room, where there was arge crystal ball with a human head which was disying the surroundings of <i>The Star</i>. The crystal ball was the control center for the offensive weapons, and Lin Li could control all weapons andunch attacks freely through it.

    Lin Li ced his hand on the crystal ball, and adjusted the scene that was disyed on it. He then injected his mental strength into it, and selected several cannons that were facing the pirate ship. Apart from cannons that utilized mana like Magical Crystal Cannons, there were also weapons that fired magic and giant spears on the ship. Lin Li chose such aplicatedbination of weapons because he wanted to test their power.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, one of the Magical Crystal Cannons began to attack byunching an extremely solid white light. The surface that had been swept by the light seemed to be about to rip open. In an instant, the magical shield of the pirate ship was torn apart like a piece of paper as the white cannon light came into contact with it. Immediately afterwards, the part that was exposed above the sea was devoured by the mana.

    That was only one of the numerous cannons on <i>The Star,</i> and there were still main cannons and more powerful cannons that Lin Li had not used yet. The power of this cannon alone was several times stronger than the main cannons of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s ships. Hence, Lin Li couldn¡¯t imagine what it would be like when all the cannons of <i>The Star</i> fired at the same time.

    Of course, it would definitely be a spectacr scene, but Lin Li was not senseless enough to use the cannons to create fireworks. After the cannon destroyed the pirate ship, they should have found the situation tricky and fled. However, to Lin Li¡¯s puzzlement, the remaining pirate ships not only did not flee immediately, they charged towards <i>The Star</i> instead, as if they had realized that using long-range weapons would not be beneficial to them, and thus decided to board the ship to attack.

    However, that was good too. Lin Li was also happy to take that opportunity to test out the power and functions of the cannons of <i>The Star</i> from various ranges. Unfortunately, there were only a few pirate ships, and they were not enough to contend with the cannons of <i>The Star</i>, so Lin Li could not test all of them. In particr, each cannon of <i>The Star</i> was incredibly powerful, so it would usually take out a pirate ship with one shot.

    In the end, when there was only one pirate ship left, the pirates seemed to have finally backed away timidly as they hurriedly turned the ship around to escape. However, a ball of fire was shot from <i>The Star</i>, and it then uratelynded on the pirate vessel before engulfing thetter, and causing it to blow up in mes.

    Looking at the wrecked ship that was sailing on the sea, Lin Li shook his head helplessly. Although he had owned them, he felt like an adult bullying a child. Compared to <i>The Star</i>, the pirates¡¯ ships were insignificant. How could Lin Li be thrilled?

    However, just as Lin Li was about to leave the pilothouse, he suddenly realized that there was another fleet that appeared at the horizon of the sea disyed in the crystal ball. The new vessels were muchrger than the pirates¡¯ ships, and seemed to be about the same size as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s alchemical ships. However, they had a much more elegant and sleek design, which was unlike the bulky ships of the Gilded Kingdom. They didn¡¯t have any sails; hence, they should be moving with the power of alchemy. Besides, there were beautiful gs hung on the battleships, and it was obviously a regr naval fleet.

    At this moment, Lin Li also understood why the pirates had been so insistent on attacking, and refused to retreat even though they were obviously unable to contend with <i>The Star</i>. It turned out that the pirates were not brave, but rather that they had been chased by the naval fleet. Hence, they had had no choice but to charge towards <i>The Star</i> instead in hopes that thetter was justrge. Unfortunately, the pirates had made a mistake as they couldn¡¯t resist the power of <i>The Star</i> at all, and would only end up as ashes.

    Looking at the fleet of ships in the crystal ball, Lin Li could not help but frown slightly. He couldn¡¯t remember any other kingdom or force in Anril apart from the Gilded Kingdom that could have such a fleet. However, based on the appearance and style of the battleships, he could tell that they were obviously very different from those of the Gilded Kingdom as they were much more beautiful and elegant. They looked like pieces of art.

    Just as Lin Li was feeling bewildered, the vessels disyed in the crystal ball became clearer and clearer, and the figures moving on the deck finally revealed their true appearance. Upon sight of the appearance of those figures, Lin Li was immediately shocked, as they were not humans, but High Elves that had been extinct in Anril since thousands of years ago!

    <i>Why are the High Elves here!?</i> At this moment, Lin Li suddenly realized that he had probably entered the world that existed during the Dark Age. Everyone knew that Geresco had led the rebellion to overthrow the High Elves more than 1,300 years ago, causing them to be wiped out. In that case, the High Elves¡¯ navy obviously wouldn¡¯t have appeared after the Dark Age.

    Just as Lin Li was thinking about the issue of the time period, the fleet of the High Elves had also discovered <i>The Star</i>, and immediately got into a battle formation. Without asking, they began to fire their Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Sensing the strong magical waves, <i>The Star</i>¡®s main defensive Magic Canopy immediately shrouded the entire ship when the dense mana attacks of the cannons were about to st at it. Immediately afterwards, he saw the Magic Canopy being bombarded by the mana cannons, forming ripples like raindrops on a calmke.

    The High Elves showed how brutal they were when theyunched such a fierce attack without hesitation. Of course, even if the High Elves¡¯ fleet did not attack, Lin Li had already long wanted to use it to test the attacking power of <i>The Star</i>. After all, the pirates he had just encountered had been too weak.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s control, the main cannon of <i>The Star</i> slowly pointed at the High Elves¡¯ fleet, and the silvery white barrel shone brightly under the sun. The muzzle had a diameter of about 10 meters, and it soon converged a mana light that was almost too blinding.

    At this juncture, the fleet of the High Elves seemed to have realized that <i>The Star</i> was not to be trifled with, and they immediately stopped their attacks. One of the battleships also raised their g to request the people on <i>The Star</i> to rify their identities. Unfortunately, Lin Li knew nothing about marinemunication, and thus had no idea what the High Elves were talking about. Even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t bother to respond to them.

    When the light from the main cannon of <i>The Star</i> shone at its peak brightness, a mana cannon shot that could engulf everything was unleashed at the High Elves¡¯ fleet. That mana cannon attack was almost as powerful as a Sanctuary-level magic spell. Even if the mana source was a peak Legendary magical crystal, it would be turned into ashes in an instant.

    When the main cannon of <i>The Star</i> was building up mana, the fleet of the High Elves opposite had already felt the threat posed by the cannon. Hence, when they wanted to interact with the people on <i>The Star</i>, they also activated all the defensive power of their battleship.

 Chapter 1096 - Natural Domain

    <h4>Chapter 1096: Natural Domain</h4>

    However, even so, when the main mana cannons of <i>The Star</i> were shot, countless figures immediately flew out from the battleship that was targeted by the mana cannons. They had obviously already sensed that they would not be able to withstand the strike from <i>The Star</i> solely with the defensive functions of their battleship.

    Indeed, when the incredibly powerful mana cannons sted at the battleship of the High Elves, the defensive shield that looked extremely solid was instantly torn apart like a fragile eggshell. Next, the entire battleship was devoured by the light of the cannons. Even the High Elves who had escaped from the battleship but were slightly slower in getting away ended up turning into ashes by the mana cannons.

    After the light of the mana cannons dissipated, there was a massive hole in the formation of the High Elves¡¯ fleet as two battleships vanished without a trace. The arrogant High Elves had never incurred such losses before. At the same time, the remaining battleships spread out, and began bombarding <i>The Star</i> intensely.

    While the ships were attacking <i>The Star</i>, several High Elves on the battleships began emitting powerful mana fluctuations and flying towards <i>The Star</i> rapidly. One of the High Elves who was the leader was obviously a Sanctuary powerhouse whose strength was not much worse than Lin Li¡¯s. He was probably at level-26 or level-27. That High Elf¡¯s followers were obviously also at the peak of the Legendary-level. After all, being in the Legendary-level was very normal for High Elves.

    Although <i>The Star</i> had incredible attacking power, it was a tactical weapon, after all. It might be useful for dealing with Sanctuary-level marine magical beasts, but it would be useless against Sanctuary-level High Elves. In fact, although Lin Li had fought with the High Elves Osric and the souls of the High Elves, he hadn¡¯t had a battle with real High Elves before. Hence, Lin Li¡¯s body shed, and he left the main pilothouse of <i>The Star</i>. shing in midair, he moved towards the High Elves that were rushing over.

    When they saw a humaning out of <i>The Star</i>, there was clear contempt in the eyes of the High Elves. However, the few Sanctuary-level High Elves who were taking the lead looked clearly more attentive. Although the High Elves looked down on the other races, they had to admit that the elites of other races usually had high attainments.

    That was probably considered growth in adverse situations. Those who stepped into the Sanctuary-realm after smooth sailing would definitely be worlds apart from those who encountered several trials and tribtions before reaching the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, despite facing a human who was about as strong as him but was clearly outnumbered, the High Elf who was taking the lead did not show the slightest contempt. After seeing Lin Li¡¯s figure appear, he immediately waved his staff, and water dragons that coalesced in the void sted towards Lin Li.

    At the same time, several other High Elves followed, and immediately surrounded Lin Li while raising their staffs, andunching vigorous attacks on him. Although the High Elves were still only at the peak of the Legendary-level, their bloodline advantage allowed them to be far stronger than Elvis and the others who were pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses.

    After things got physical, Lin Li suddenly discovered a problem: he seemed to have been somewhat restrained during the battle, and was no longer as free as he used to be in the previous battles. He thought about it carefully, and realized that the reason was notplicated. They were in the sky above the Endless Ocean where water-series elements were the most abundant magical elements. The other magical elements existed there, but they were scarce.

    The space was just like a natural Water Magical Domain where anyone or any magical beast would receive great help when casting water-series magic spells. However, if they tried to cast spells of other magical elements, they would be hindered by thews of water. At this moment, Lin Li had a vague guess, and wondered if Geresco had created such a world for the sake of making him familiarize himself with the battle method suited to the Endless Ocean.

    However, if it was just for that purpose, Lin Li would find that Geresco was making mountains out of molehills. Perhaps getting familiar with fighting in an environment where water elements were abundant would be difficult for Legendary-mages, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem for a Sanctuary Master like Lin Li. There was no point in creating such a world.

    However, Lin Li could only park those doubts at the bottom of his heart. Perhaps he would get an answer to those questions only when <i>The Star</i> reached its final destination. At this moment, Lin Li had to familiarize himself with the way of fighting at sea, and then deal with the High Elves who were hampering <i>The Star</i> in its course.

    Lin Li put his doubts aside for the time being, and dazzling light emanated from the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand. Sharp ice spikes immediately darted upwards from the surface of the sea. Each ice spike was emitting a biting chilliness, and even the water vapor in the air had been frozen into crystals and snowkes that surrounded the ice spikes and glistened like stars.

    Facing the ice spikes that were emerging from the bottom, even the Sanctuary-level High Elf dared not be negligent at all as he hurriedly opened the Domain World. The High Elf¡¯s Domain World was somewhat simr to that of Elder Zumar of the Illuminati. It was also an oceanic world, but it was not as simple as that. In his Domain World, an oceanic ind was in the middle, and there was a gigantic tree that looked somewhat simr to the Tree of Eternity in the center of the ind, making the ind seem pleasant and serene.

    When the countless ice spikes cast by Lin Li were about to reach the High Elf, the giant tree in the High Elf¡¯s Domain World immediately extended its countless branches and leaves, forming a huge emerald-green shield for the High Elf. All of a sudden, a huge roar sounded in the sky, and countless ice spikes sted at the green shield so copiously that a thickyer of ice was soon formed on the shield.

    Although it was only a simple collision of power, Lin Li already had a fair understanding of his opponent¡¯s strength. The High Elves were indeed worthy of being the race that was favored by the heavens. Even at the same level, they were far more powerful than humans. The Sanctuary-level High Elf was probably lower than Elder Zumar in level, but his power was clearly not inferior to Elder Zumar¡¯s.

    In particr, there was also a power of the Tree of Eternity in the High Elf leader¡¯s Domain World. It was probably one of the benefits of being baptized by the power of the Tree of Eternity. Due to the power of the Tree of Eternity, the Domain Worlds created by the High Elves would be stronger, more durable, and much harder to destroypared to the Domain Worlds cast by humans of the same level.

    Unfortunately, the human that this High Elf encountered this time was not an ordinary human. Lin Li had two living saplings of the Tree of Eternity in his hands, and he probably knew much more about the power of the Tree of Eternity than those High Elves did. No one could truly master the power of the Tree of Eternity, perhaps not even the gods. Although the High Elf used the power of the Tree of Eternity to strengthen his Domain World, the power did not really belong to him.

    Sanctuary powerhouses had absolute control over the Domain World that they created, in which they were just like gods. It was because all thews that constituted the Domain World were the power that the caster hadprehended and eventually mastered. However, if the Domain World was mixed with the power that he could not master, how could he be the real master of the Domain World?

    The battle between the two Sanctuary powerhouses was definitely groundbreaking. There were rolling dark clouds and lightning in the sky and massive waves in the sea. Lin Li and the High Elf should be considered evenly matched, and the collision of their powerful forces resulted in turbulent aftershocks that filled the air with loud roars of agony and pain.

    However, the Sanctuary-level High Elf soon discovered that he seemed to have been tricked by the cunning human. It seemed that Lin Li was fighting him with all his might, but why did his underlings unfortunately get pulled into the aftershocks?

    The aftershocks of a battle between Sanctuary powerhouses were equally powerful and terrifying, and could not be resisted by those below the Sanctuary-realm. Although High Elves were much stronger than humans of the same level, there was still a great difference in the nature of power between them. Almost every one of them was embroiled in the aftershocks of the battle between the two Sanctuary powerhouses, but they were ripped into pieces before they could even yell.

    It could be considered a coincidence if one or two High Elves were affected, but if three or four suffered the same fate, it probably had nothing to do with chance. Even if the High Elf leader was slow-witted, he would definitely know that there was something wrong with that situation. That also proved that although the human Lin Li seemed to be fighting with all his power, he actually still had reserved some of it.

    At the thought of this, the first thing the High Elf leader felt was not the misery and grief of the death of his subordinates, but humiliation. How could the arrogant High Elf tolerate such behavior from Lin Li? It was just like suffering a p in the face. The High Elf leader¡¯s mana fluctuation immediately soared to a new height due to his anger, and heunched an overwhelming attack on Lin Li without bothering about the lives of his own subordinates.

    The Domain World of the High Elf leader also underwent a huge change at this moment. The area eclipsed by the Domain World expanded extremely quickly, while the giant tree in the center of the Domain World also grew rapidly as the branches and leaves twisted and spread rapidly to the space outside like countless poisonous pythons.

    The sudden outburst of power from the High Elf caused Lin Li¡¯s attacks to stagnate for a while, but Lin Li didn¡¯t show a single trace of anxiety. Instead, he seemed to be smirking derisively. In the face of the High Elf leader¡¯s crazy attack, Lin Li seemed to have coped with a few rounds with great difficulty before falling into the Domain World.

    Entering the Domain World of a Sanctuary powerhouse was actually a very dangerous thing to do. Even if both parties were evenly matched in strength, entering someone else¡¯s Domain World was akin to giving everything that they had to the other party. In every Domain World, the creator would be the god of this world, and could even easily deprive his opponent of all his power.

    When he saw Lin Li falling into his Domain World, the High Elf leader smiled menacingly before pointing his staff forward, and changing a long incantation in the High Elfnguage quickly. Under the High Elf leader¡¯s maniption, his Domain World was filled with the branches and leaves of the giant tree almost instantly, as if it was a cage made of nts. Lin Li was then trapped in the Domain World.

    However, just when the High Elf leader thought he had taken Lin Li down, a series of violent explosions suddenly urred in the Domain World. The tree branches that filled the entire Domain World seemed like a green tide that retreated towards the giant tree in the center.

    That change immediately made the High Elf leader a little confused as he had never encountered such a situation before. Hence, he immediately elerated the chanting of the incantation, and the gem at the top of the staff in his hand emitted a dazzling ray of light, as if it was a small sun that others dared not look at.

    At this juncture, Lin Li, who¡¯dnded in the High Elves¡¯ Domain World, seemed to be far more rxed than the High Elf leader. The former held the Helios¡¯ Scepter casually in one hand and a ball of green light in another, and the green mist vanished soon after it floated outwards as it fused with the Domain World.

    What the High Elfmander received was only the aura of the Tree of Eternity that was blended with the power of the Tree of Eternity that he had been shrouded in for a long time. However, through the study of the sapling of the Tree of Eternity, Lin Li managed to master the power of the Tree of Eternity, which was just like a supreme ruler whose might and authority was not to be contended withpared to the alloyed aura.

    Through theprehension of the power of the Tree of Eternity¡¯s origin, Lin Li gradually gained control of the Domain World. Although he was in the Domain World that the High Elf controlled, Lin Li finally raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and pointed it at the giant tree at the center of the Domain World. The tree immediately changed its target, and surged towards the original owner.

 Chapter 1097 - Sea Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1097: Sea n</h4>

    The High Elf leader panicked and sped up his chanting speed, while his voice became sharp and harsh. He was no longer as refined and elegant as before. However, his efforts were in vain because the branches that swarmed over soon entangled and cocooned him like an insect. Immediately afterwards, a dull and miserable cry sounded from the green cocoon, and the power of the Domain World quickly faded.

    When that Domain Worldpletely disappeared, Lin Li was left hovering in the sky with a rxed look, while the proud High Elf leader had already disappeared without leaving anything behind.

    In fact, if it were Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, Lin Li might not have won so easily. The High Elf leader only had himself to me for being a showoff and exerting power that he could not even master himself in front of Lin Li who had two saplings of the Tree of Eternity.

    After killing the Sanctuary-level High Elf leader, Lin Li returned to <i>The Star</i>, which was under his control, and began attacking the High Elves ferociously. That battle made Lin Li realize the power of <i>The Star</i>¡®sbat power as the High Elves¡¯ fleet became a prop for <i>The Star</i> to show its power.

    Under the fierce attacksunched by <i>The Star</i>, the remaining High Elven battleships were barely able to retaliate, and they either sank to the bottom of the sea or simply vanished.

    After the battle ended, Lin Li had gained a better understanding of <i>The Star</i>¡®s performance. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but want to possess a powerful sea fortress. Although he already had the Sky Castle now, he could not use it easily. If he had a sea fortress like <i>The Star</i>, it would definitely be of great help in the future, be it when he was exploring the Endless Ocean or when developing the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li had merely operated the arms system of <i>The Star</i>, and he still couldn¡¯t interfere with <i>The Star</i>¡®s voyage yet. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to do so at the moment, either. After all, he still had to wait for <i>The Star</i> to bring him to his destination where he could find out Geresco¡¯s intention for bringing him to this world.

    After the battle with the High Elves¡¯ fleet, <i>The Star</i> seemed to be sailing on a safer course, and there were no powerful sea beasts appearing along the way like before. Lin Li also began to rx a little. Apart from studying the structure of <i>The Star</i>, he spent the rest of his time waiting to reach the destination.

    Just like that, <i>The Star</i> sailed on the sea for another six or seven days. Lin Li finally saw a huge ind in front of <i>The Star</i> from afar. As <i>The Star</i> approached, he also got a clearer glimpse of the ind, and saw that there were countless buildings, as well as arge port where various kinds of ships were docked.

    <i>Where¡¯s this ce? Is Geresco¡¯s purpose to get me here?</i> Several doubts popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind as he really couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of secrets could be hidden on such a seemingly prosperous ind.

    Finally, <i>The Star</i> slowly sailed into the harbor on the ind, and the boats there hurriedly evaded when they saw the massive ship. Even though they had never seen <i>The Star</i> in action, they could tell from its massive size that their tiny vessels would definitely be smashed into bits immediately uponing into contact with it.

    Lin Li came out of <i>The Star</i>,and walked straight towards the center of the ind, ignoring the countless curious or fearful gazes that were being cast on him. He didn¡¯t have to worry about the safety of <i>The Star</i>, either, because there was a skeleton watching from above anyway. Besides, even if there wasn¡¯t anyone watching, <i>The Star</i> could not be operated or maneuvered by just anyone. In fact, no one below the Sanctuary-realm could safely step on the deck of <i>The Star</i> without permission.

    Looking at his surroundings curiously, Lin Li walked towards the center of the ind, which was not solely upied by humans. Apart from humans, which was the mostmon race, there were also dwarves, orcs, and even High Elves. Besides, even those whose races had feuds with each other seemed to be getting along peacefully here. Although it was not to the extent that they could call each other friends, they at least wouldn¡¯t get into conflicts.

    There was arge variety of stores on both sides of the streets that peddled a variety of goods from weapons and equipment, which were the mostmon, to the carcasses of sea beasts. Stores that sold a plethora of marine resources were the mostmon. In addition to a variety of live and dead deep-sea magical beasts, there were arge number of minerals sold, which were rarely found on the maind. An example would be aquamarine adamantine, which was sold for a cheap price here.

    Lin Li walked aimlessly on the ind, only to find the ind increasingly familiar. Standing on the top of one of the highest hills on the ind, he looked around and discovered that there were numerous mountains in the other directions in the distance, forming a crescent-shaped bay. The ind was located in the center of the bay.

    <i>Isn¡¯t this Cage Ind?</i> Looking at the surrounding scenery, Lin Li suddenly recalled the barren ind where the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction was sealed, and which the Gilded Kingdom had requested him and the others to go to give aid. Initially, Lin Li did not dare to believe it, but after matching it with what he remembered, he realized that that ce was 90% simr to Cage Ind in his memory, except for some minor details.

    <i>Is this really Cage Ind?</i> Lin Li looked away from the distance, and turned around to begin observing the surroundings, which were rather lively. Compared to the deserted Cage Ind, it was drastically different.

    At this point, Lin Li suddenly remembered that when he was walking over, he vaguely heard the conversations of the people passing by. Initially, he didn¡¯t take those words to heart, and thus did not deliberately listen to what they said, but now that he had recalled their conversations, he realized that it seemed that they were speaking in a differentnguage!

    Thinking of this, Lin Li decided to make his way down the hill and return to the somewhat lively street. At this juncture, Lin Li soon discovered the issue from their conversation because he had deliberately paid attention to it. Although the humans, dwarves, and whatnot were speaking in amonnguage, they had a strange ent.

    After thinking carefully, Lin Li suddenly remembered that the strange, entedmonnguage was not some local dialect, but a very ancientmonnguage. In Lin Li¡¯s memory, this ancientmonnguage seemed to be popr in Anril thousands of years ago.

    That should be during the Dark Age, which was also when the High Elves Dynasty was at its prime and most prosperous. Under such circumstances, there was very littlemunication between the various races, thus giving rise to the peculiar ent. In fact, it could even be considered amonnguage, or perhaps it was not really amonnguage, but a simplemunication method that arose from the exchange between the various races, and which had not been modified much.

    As the High Elves¡¯ rule over Anril weakened in thete Dark Age,munication between the various races increased day by day. Gradually, themonnguage began to be improvised, and thenguages of various races were fused to be more suitable for the use of various races. Hence, the ent of the ancientmonnguage gradually disappeared over time.

    Thus, although Lin Li also mastered the universalnguage, it still took him some effort to decipher and understand it. Fortunately, apart from the ent and words, there were barely any changes to themonnguage. Although he was struggling, he could still somewhat understand the meaning of their words.

    Lin Li walked on the street for a while, and he already had a conjecture that this world that Geresco had created seemed to be based on Anril from thousands of years ago. That was simr to the ancient world of nna that he had experienced when he first explored the Sky Castle.

    Of course, strictly speaking, the ancient nna that the Immortal King had created was in fact still in sync with the time in Anril. However, due to the fact that that world was closed to the outside world, there were very little changes, and it had been developing slowly like it had during the Dark Age. <i>Has the world now been developing for thousands of years, or is it just a scenario-based world created by Geresco at a specific time?</i>

    At this point, Lin Li found a tavern next to the street. Taverns were usually rowdy ces with all sorts of people; hence, it was just the ce for him to find out some more about this world or Cage Ind.

    Thus, Lin Li turned around, walked over to push the obscure wooden doors, and walked into the somewhat dimly lit tavern. Actually, the taverns from thousands of years ago were not much different from the ones in present-day Anril. It was dim and rowdy, and the air was filled with the smell of alcohol and tobo, as well as the revolting stench of sweat.

    Although it was still daytime, the tavern was full, and there were even some human sailors who were wearing singlets, bearded dwarves, and hideous orcs. As for the High Elves, they definitely wouldn¡¯t want toe to such a ce, because it was probably one of the filthiest ces of Anril in their opinion.

    However, in addition to the humans andmon races, Lin Li also discovered a group of peculiar-looking people or creatures in the tavern. They were covered in fine scales, and had bald heads with only holes for ears. The most bizarre thing was that they seemed to have gills, and were breathing using the gill-like structures that opened and closed with their breathing.

    Lin Li squeezed through the crowd, and arrived at the bar counter of the tavern. Straining his voice, he ordered a ss of ale from the bartender at the bar. It was the only ale that Lin Li knew of that hadn¡¯t changed much after thousands of years. It still tasted rancid and was as cheap as ever.

    Boom!

    Arge cup of ale was mmed hard on the table in front of Lin Li. The yellow liquid with white foam looked just like a cup of urine, but others were enjoying it very much.

    In particr, the dwarves were relishing and gulping downrge sses of ale which flowed down their thick beard to their chests. They then mmed the ss hard on the table, and patted their chest while burping before continuing to brag to the people around them.

    Lin Li picked up his ss, put up with the rancid stench, and pretended to take a sip. He then put down the ss, and casually asked the bartender, ¡°Bartender, where do those peculiar-looking people over theree from?¡±

    The bartender didn¡¯t seem surprised by Lin Li¡¯s ent, perhaps because he had seen all kinds of people in this ce and heard all kinds of ents. However, he revealed a look of bewilderment when he heard Lin Li asking about the group of people. ¡°It¡¯s probably your first time at sea since you don¡¯t even know who they are.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yes. Well, I¡¯m sure you know about the situation on the maind. I¡¯m out at sea this time with my elders, and we¡¯re trying to see if we can do some business at sea.¡± Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he was only in his early twenties, so his excuse didn¡¯t seem too suspicious.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the bartender grinned happily, and said, ¡°I knew it. Your tender skin tells me that you haven¡¯t been exposed much to the wind and waves. On the ount that we¡¯re both humans, I¡¯ll give you a heads-up. If you want to survive on this sea, the most important thing you need to watch out for apart from the High Elves are the peculiar people you mentioned.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so? Who are they? You actually likened them to the High Elves,¡± Lin Li said, ying along and pretending to be surprised.

    The bartender was obviously very satisfied with Lin Li¡¯s performance. While wiping the wine ss in his hand with a dirty rag, he lowered his volume, and mysteriously said, ¡°Even those High Elves dare not provoke them easily, let alone you people. They¡¯re the true masters of the sea.¡±

    During the era of Anril that Lin Li lived in, many people would probably think of the Gilded Kingdom at the mention of the Endless Ocean. With their powerful alchemical warships, the Gilded Kingdom could be considered the overlords of the Endless Sea where there was no one and no force that couldpare to the Gilded Kingdom. However, due to the fact that this world was set in the era that was thousands of years ago, the bartender¡¯s words immediately made Lin Li think of the Sea n.

    As their name suggested, the Sea n was an intelligent race that lived in the ocean. Legend had it that the High Elves ruled the maind of Anril during the Dark Age, while the Sea n ruled the boundless Endless Ocean.

 Chapter 1098 - Auction

    <h4>Chapter 1098: Auction</h4>

    In the information left behind by the High Elves, it was said that the reason that the High Elves did not delve into the Endless Ocean was because they were too noble. There were also some of their adventure stories included, but Lin Li believed that the High Elves did not pocket the rich resources of the Endless Ocean precisely because they did not dare to be involved in war with the Sea n.

    Although historical ounts might not be entirely credible, they at least proved that even if the power of the Sea n was not superior to the High Elves¡¯, they would definitely be feared by thetter. However, the people of theter generations were puzzled about the fact that the Sea n had gradually vanished before the end of the Dark Age. No one knew what happened to them. It was unknown if they had encountered a disaster that had driven them into extinction, or they simply didn¡¯t want to step onto the maind again.

    Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of the Sea n was limited to the historical information, which could even be considered fabricated. Hence, when he heard that the peculiar-looking people were the legendary Sea n that dominated the Endless Ocean, his interest was immediately aroused. Besides, he had a vague conjecture that Geresco had created such a world and brought him there because of something rted to the Sea n.

    ¡°Guest, if this is your first time here, I can rmend a few ces for you to go. There are two attractions here, one is Red Rose where the pretty chicks are at. There aren¡¯t only humans, but also catwomen and vixens. There are even sirens of the Endless Ocean.¡± At the mention of women, a lewd smile appeared on the bartender¡¯s face, and he rattled on and on about those desirable women as if he had already hugged them in his arms a long time ago.

    After saying his piece, the bartender realized that Lin Li wasn¡¯t too interested. Hence, he changed his tone, and said, ¡°The other ce is the Brian Auction House, which is thergest auction house here. As long as you have enough money, you can buy all sorts of novelties. In fact, you can even buy a few sirens without issue. Besides, you came at the right time, there happens to be an auction today. I promise you¡¯ll find your trip worthwhile.¡±

    However, Lin Li did not show much interest in what the bartender said. After chatting with the bartender for a few more minutes, he knew that he could not find out any more valuable information from the bartender. Hence, he left behind a few gold coins and the ss of untouched ale before standing up to leave the rowdy tavern.

    After watching Lin Li leave the tavern, the bartender looked away and stared at the untouched ss of ale, as well as the few gold coins on the counter top. He quickly put away the gold coins, and then turned around to take out one of them. Scrutinizing it continuously, he couldn¡¯t help but have some bewilderment in his gaze.

    The gold coins that Lin Li paid with were minted by the Fn Kingdom, and were used in the Breezy ins. The portrait of the first king of the Fn Kingdom was carved on one face of the coin. Thousands of years ago, the bartender would have never seen it, but gold would never change. Besides, the purity of the gold coins of the Fn Kingdom was probably much higher than that of coins from thousands of years ago.

    It was not that the metallurgy of the Dark Age was terrible, but rather that the High Elves couldn¡¯t be bothered to produce gold coins. Anyway, Anril belonged to them entirely; hence, they wouldn¡¯t have to use things like gold coins that didn¡¯t hold any value. Besides, the gold coins that were used by the various races at the bottom were made crudely. Sometimes, even broken pieces of gold were used for trade too.

    The beautifully minted gold coins that Lin Li left behind were not just gold coins in the eyes of the bartender, but also a symbol of wealth. In the opinion of the bartender, Lin Li was obviously from a wealthy family. Otherwise, who would have bothered with something like gold coins that were meant to be given to others?

    At the thought of this, a look of greed shed in the eyes of the bartender as he thought that Lin Li was a good target to rip off!

    The bartender was certain that he definitely had not seen such a gold coin before throughout the years of serving countless customers and receiving all sorts of gold coins. Hence, he was sure that Lin Li definitelymanded no authority on sea, since Lin Li imed that his family had never done business at sea before, and they had, in fact, never even been to sea.

    ¡°Henry,e cover me for a moment, I have something to report to the boss.¡± The bartender carefully put away the gold coins, waved his hand, and beckoned his colleague to tend to the bar for him for a while. He then turned around and walked quickly towards the back of the tavern.

    Outside the tavern, Lin Li walked slowly and leisurely down the street, listening to the confusing conversations of the people, which he could barely understand. At the same time, he was thinking about everything that he had heard and seen. Despite having followed <i>The Star</i> to Cage Ind, he still had no idea what exactly Geresco¡¯s agenda was. The only suspicious thing here was the Sea n that he had never seen before.

    However, there was too little information about the Sea n, and Lin Li couldn¡¯t think of any clues for now. He didn¡¯t know how he could link the Sea n to Geresco, either. Of course, with his current strength, he would probably be able to get a lot of information if he nabbed a few members of the Sea n and interrogated them. However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to manipte the Sea n, which was as powerful as the High Elves. He didn¡¯t want to be at odds with such a powerful force before even getting any exnation.

    Besides, Lin Li still hadn¡¯t figured out what kind of world he was in now. Was it an independent world like the nna created by the Immortal King, or did Geresco transport him to the world thousands of years ago?

    Logically speaking, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he should be able to tell the difference between the Domain World and the real world. Moreover, when he had just arrived in this world, he sent his mental strength into the space, and tried to understand theposition of the Laws of the world. However, the result waspletely unexpected as the world seemed simr to Anril. That was precisely the reason that Lin Li wondered if he had been sent several thousand years back in time by Geresco.

    If that was the case, Lin Li would not dare to act rashly. If he were to provoke an enemy that he was too weak to fight, he might be able to leave this world with the Alchemy Array on <i>The Star</i>, but that would also mean that he would not be able to find any more clues about this world. Even if the oue wasn¡¯t that bad, the situation would be numerous times tougher.

    Besides, the most important thing was that Lin Li didn¡¯t know what his problem was and what he should look for. In that case, how could he find answers? He couldn¡¯t possibly ask a random person if he knew Geresco. He wondered what Geresco was trying to get out of transporting him there.

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t really go about exploring everywhere rashly like a headless fly. At the very least, he felt that he could go and find out more about this world and Cage Ind, thinking that the answer he wanted might surface soon.

    After walking around Cage Ind, Lin Li had gained some understanding of the ind. In this world, the ind was not used to seal the dragon corpse, but was a ce of trade and interaction between the Sea n and the various races onnd. Simply put, it was a sea city.

    In this ce, the Sea n peddled the specialty goods of the Endless Ocean, and engaged in trade with the races of the maind in exchange for things that were unavable in the Endless Ocean. The lucky ones would return to the maind and sell those goods for a huge fortune. Hence, there were merchants from all over Anril in that ce, as well as various lurking pirates keeping a lookout.

    If Lin Li could find those pirates, he might be able to understand the situation here sooner! Since he did not intend to tackle the Sea n immediately, the pirates were undoubtedly a great choice. Apart from the Sea n, the pirates who lived on the sea were probably the only ones that had a good understanding of the Endless Ocean.

    Lin Li was feeling a little regretful now. If he had known earlier, he would have left a few pirates alive. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t too certain what kind of world this was at that moment. Besides, he had also been eager to test the arms of <i>The Star</i> on the pirates. In the end, the pirates and their ships turned into ashes after being sted by a few cannons. Obviously there wouldn¡¯t be any left alive.

    Now, it would be a tall order for Lin Li to find a few pirates. Although he knew that there were definitely many of them who were keeping an eye on the sea, they wouldn¡¯t make their identities known, after all, especially since they couldn¡¯t cause too much of a ruckus lest it affected this ce.

    However, Lin Li believed that this problem should soon be solved. He had a reason for giving those few gold coins away just now¡ªhe knew that the bartenders here did not just sell alcohol.

    In such a chaotic ce which seemed peaceful on the surface, there were definitely all sorts of people and manyplicated and hidden forces. Besides, a bartender would encounter countless people every day. Selling information and news that they had heard from the customers they served had be one of their sources of ie, or rather their main ie.

    Previously, Lin Li did not buy the information on the Sea n directly from the bartender because he knew very well that a stranger might not be able to buy real information even with arge sum of money. The reason was that the bartender might not dare to sell information on the Sea n.

    Hence, Lin Li tried to sound the bartender out by asking about the Sea n, and then unted his wealth. That might lead to two oues. The bartender might either report it to the Sea n or sell the information to the pirates. Unless the bartender was an ethical man, Lin Li¡¯s gold coins were definitely spent on something worthwhile.

    Of course, Lin Li did not intend to stay idle while waiting for the bartender to take the bait. After all, relying on the bartender alone might not allow him to get what he really wanted. He still had to make more preparations. Hence, Lin Li went to the most prosperous ce in the center of Cage Ind, where thergest building, Brian Auction House, that the bartender had previously mentioned was located.

    However, Lin Li did not intend to buy anything there. Instead, he hoped to find some clues. After all, apart from merchants from all over the world, those who would go to the auction house were probably the important figures of the various forces. Hence, that would give Lin Li a rough idea of the forces of this ce, and he might even be able to find some useful clues.

    Just like the bartender had said before, Brian Auction House was holding arge auction today which various people were attending. People of all walks of life entered the auction house sessfully. Lin Li walked to the door and asked about the conditions to participate in the auction. Actually, the rules were simple: he just had to pay some gold coins to be permitted entry.

    Lin Li paid 10 gold coins for a seat in the auction hall and entered. With his abilities, there was nothing wrong with asking to be allocated a private room, but he wasn¡¯t there to buy anything from the auction. Although he wouldn¡¯t be disturbed in the private room, the hall was clearly more suitable for the purpose of his trip.

    At this juncture, the auction had not started officially yet, and the people in the hall were talking to each other about something. Lin Li sat down in his seat. Although he was looking at the auction stage in front of him, he was continuously listening to the conversations of the people around him. The content of their conversation was not too important, as it was mostly about their frivolous lives and the items that they wanted to get during the auction.

    However, to Lin Li, it was the best opportunity to get to know this ce. Even a simple exchange of greetings between them would give Lin Li a little more information about this ce.

    After just a few minutes of sitting there and listening to their conversations, Lin Li learned the names of a dozen powers on this tiny ind, and even the rtionships between several of them. However, he did not find out much about what he really wanted to know regarding the Sea n. Clearly, the Sea n was an existence that they feared and respected. In fact, no one even dared to talk about them behind their backs.

    Soon, the auction finally began. The host of the auction was a human elder who seemed to be in his sixties or maybe 70 years old. He was emitting Legendary-level magical waves. During the Dark Age, Legendary-level humans were extremely rare. One reason was that it was difficult for humans to learn magic, and another reason was the strict control and regtions of the High Elves. It was Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing a Legendary-level host of the auction. Clearly, the Brian Auction House was extremely powerful and authoritative.

 Chapter 1099 - Bidding

    <h4>Chapter 1099: Bidding</h4>

    The auction that was hosted by that elder gradually reached the climax. The items were subsequently auctioned off in an intense bidding process after being disyed. Among the items that were being auctioned, there were magical essories, magical metals, art pieces, and even female ves of various races.

    The most popr item was several Magical Crystal Cannons that were created by a few dwarves. It was an absolute naval weapon that would be useful in battles on sea. The first climax of the auction was triggered by the few Magical Crystal Cannons that caused a huge uproar in the auction hall the moment they were disyed. The people in the auction hall were all yelling and calling their bids, flushed with excitement.

    However, themotion could not arouse Lin Li¡¯s interest. Although those auction items were indeed very precious and rare, they were only so in the opinion of the general public, while Lin Li had spent all his collection on the modification of the Sky Castle, so he was still indifferent towards the auction items.

    In particr, the few Magical Crystal Cannons that the people vied over seemed to be better than the Magical Crystal Cannons built by the Dwarf Kingdom thousands of yearster. In fact, they were evenparable to the cannons of the alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom. However, after seeing the incredible arms of <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li wasn¡¯t too interested in those Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Besides, during this auction, Lin Li was probably not the only person with those thoughts. At least more than 10 items had been disyed in the auction, but the people in the private rooms on the second floor had yet to call their bids¡ªprobably because they weren¡¯t enticed by those items, either. After all, those who could sit in the private rooms on the second floor were definitely the figures that were at the top of the hierarchy of the ind. Maybe a big shot of the Sea n was among them.

    While Lin Li was feeling bored, the old man who was hosting the auction put another new item on disy for the auction. It was a potion that emitted the aura of life.

    ¡°This is a potion called Life Commendation created by Master Karlotery. The most precious ingredient is a drop of the sap of the Tree of Eternity that has been added to the potion to make it dozens of times more effective. Even an ordinary person who drinks this Life Commendation potion will have a lifespan of at least 1,000 years.¡± The elder held the potion up high for disy, allowing it to glisten brilliantly under the light. Everyone immediately looked at it.

    Of course, what really attracted them were the effects of the potion which the elder pointed out. An ordinary Life Commendation potion would at most extend one¡¯s life by a few decades, which was basically unattractive to powerhouses who were above level-15. However, Life Commendation was simply incredible because it would allow one to have a lifespan of thousands of years.

    In particr, some people might only be one step away from advancing to the Legendary-realm, which would allow one¡¯s lifespan to be extended by thousands of years. If they couldn¡¯t reach the Legendary-realm despite being so close, it would truly be a huge regret in life. If one could have their lifespan extended by thousands of years, even the most foolish person would have the chance to enter the Legendary-realm. Hence, they would not feel the regret of being only one step away from the Legendary-realm.

    Besides, even Legendary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t mind having a longer life. If they suddenly had the chance to live for more than 1,000 years, it might not be impossible to step into the Sanctuary-realm realm. The extension of thousands of years of life also meant countless more possibilities that would drive one crazy.

    Most importantly, the Life Commendation potion contained a drop of the sap of the Tree of Eternity, making its effects lie beyond the extension of one¡¯s lifespan. The High Elves were strong because they often bathed in the power of the Tree of Eternity, so much so that their bodies were alloyed with the Tree of Eternity¡¯s aura. Hence, if someone could absorb a drop of the sap of the Tree of Eternity, the effects would probably be better than what the High Elves achieved.

    Hence, after the old man announced the starting bid of the Life Commendation, the people in the auction hall broke into a hysteria, and began raising the number boards in their hands to ce their bids. In the blink of an eye, the price of Life Commendation was increased by dozens of times.

    However, as the price was increased, more people began to withdraw from the bidding. After all, some wouldn¡¯t be willing to lose their entire fortune for the sake of getting a lifespan extension of thousands of years. Besides the increase in life expectancy could not be verified easily, unless they returned to the auction house again thousands of yearster to let everyone else know that their lifespan had been extended. Otherwise, who could guarantee the effectiveness of the potion in increasing one¡¯s lifespan by thousands of years?

    Moreover, no one can guarantee that they would always be safe and sound. After all, they were living at sea, and God knew if they would be involved in any trouble that they could not deal with. The Life Commendation would allow one¡¯s lifespan to be increased by thousands of years, but it didn¡¯t state that anyone would enjoy the same effects. The potion would be rendered useless if the user was beheaded.

    However, there were some people who didn¡¯t care about those issues at all. For those who were affluent, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to pay arge number of gold coins for Life Commendation even if there were barely any effects. Besides, Brian Auction House obviously had a good reputation on Cage Ind. Even if they put up a ss of in water for auction, and imed that it was a divine medicine, people would likely spend a bomb on it.

    Finally, when the bidding in the hall gradually died down a little, the big shots in the private rooms on the second floor participated in the bidding of Life Commendation. What really interested Lin Li was not the bids that the big shots ced, but the whispering about those powerful figures that was going on in the hall.

    In particr, not far from where Lin Li was sitting, a foreign tycoon who had probably just arrived was the only one who was raising the number board high in his hand even when almost no one else in the hall was bidding. However, just as he was about to raise it again, the person next to him, who probably was the one who brought him to the auction, held him back anxiously.

    ¡°You have a death wish. Do you still want to make a living on this ind in the future? The big shots up there are going to start cing their bids soon, don¡¯t get involved,¡± that person said softly with nervousness after holding the tycoon back.

    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t this an auction? Am I not allowed to buy things?¡± the tycoon asked in bewilderment, slowing down his movements.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that no one else is cing a bid? It¡¯s not too bad if you offend the other big shots, but there¡¯s a big shot of the Sea n among them. He hates it when others vie with him. He may not do anything to other big shots, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d be effortless for him to deal with you, a foreigner,¡± that person warned the tycoon nervously.

    ¡°A big shot from the Sea n?¡± The tycoon was not entirely clueless. Since he hade to Cage Ind, he definitely knew how terrifying the power of the Sea n was. Hence, after listening to hispanion¡¯s warning, he immediately cringed in fright, not daring to raise the number board in his hand again.

    <i>Big shot of the Sea n?</i> Hearing the conversation between those two, Lin Li immediately had his interest piqued. Information about the Sea n was exactly what he wanted. Who else but a big shot of the Sea n would know more about it?

    At the thought of this, Lin Li looked at the number board in his hand, and raised it up when the old man on the stage called for the second time. His action was particrly abrupt, and even the old man on the stage couldn¡¯t help but freeze in shock for a moment.

    When the old man was being stunned on the stage, the others also realized that there was someone among themselves who dared to participate in the bidding. They began whispering, and those sitting near Lin Li also tried to sit as far away from him as possible for fear of being mistaken for hispanions.

    After being shocked for a few moments, the old man on the stage finally snapped back to his senses, announced the new bidding price, and asked if anyone wanted to offer a higher price.

    That change obviously made the big shot of the Sea n rather annoyed, but he was obviously bent on obtaining the Life Commendation. Hence, a cold voice sounded from the private room. ¡°One level-20 magical crystal.¡±

    In this era, the forging of gold coins was inconsistent; hence, magical crystals were the real currency. Each level-20 magical crystal was of the early Legendary-realm. However, it meant that the Legendary magical crystal could no longer be simply measured in gold coins. Although a level-20 magical crystal was almost equivalent to 10,000,000 gold coins, 10,000,000 gold coins might not be enough for a level-20 magical crystal.

    The people in the hall didn¡¯t seem too shocked about the bid ced by the big shot of the Sea n, because they knew that the Sea n probably had an abundance of magical crystals. Even if they had peak Legendary magical crystals, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising, let alone a level-20 one. However, the people could tell that there was some displeasure in the tone of that big shot¡¯s voice. Clearly, Lin Li would be taught a hard lesson if he continued trying to vie with him for it.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to feel anything as he raised the number board in his hand again after hearing the voice of that big shot of the Sea n. ¡°Five level-20 magical crystals.¡±

    The people of the Sea n had many magical crystals, but so did Lin Li, and he could afford to take out Sanctuary-level magical crystals, let alone Legendary ones. Besides, Lin Li¡¯s goal this time was not really the Life Commendation, but to lure the big shot of the Sea n. Hence, he would naturally go all out.

    There was nothing strange about the fact that the big shot of the Sea n had offered a Legendary magical crystal, but Lin Li¡¯s offer of five Legendary magical crystals made the people get into a huge uproar. They hade to this sea city mainly to trade for the specialties of the Endless Ocean with the Sea n, and magical crystals were also an important part of the trade. In other words, many of the people present were actually there to buy magical crystals which they could sell for several times the purchase price on the maind.

    The other big shots sitting in the private rooms on the second floor also decided not to bid after hearing Lin Li¡¯s offer. Although they could offer more Legendary magical crystals with their strength, that would obviously be too uneconomical. An extension of thousands of years of lifespan was not worth it.

    Even the member of the Sea n in the private room was surprised by Lin Li¡¯s offer of five Legendary magical crystals. However, five Legendary magical crystals was not enough to hold him back, and just as the old man on the stage began to announce the first call, he immediately raised his bid to 10 Legendary magical crystals. The price was doubled in the blink of an eye. Clearly, the big shot of the Sea n was already exasperated.

    Even for the Sea n, 10 Legendary magical crystals was quite a huge fortune, so the Life Commendation was obviously very important for the big shot of the Sea n.

    The tycoon who had ced a bid previously nced at Lin Li cautiously, lowered his voice, and asked the person who had just warned him, ¡°Do you know where that young man is from? He actually dares topete with the big shot of the Sea n.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I don¡¯t know anything about his background, I only know that he probably won¡¯t live to see another day, and his family won¡¯t get to set foot in this ce again,¡± the person said gloatingly.

    ¡°Mr. Taru, can you tell me what the identity of that big shot of the Sea n is? He has such great authority!¡± The tycoon couldn¡¯t help but be a little surprised. It wasn¡¯t considered shocking that the big shot would kill to vent his anger, but what made him surprised was the fact that he couldmand the authority to ban a certain force from entering the market. Didn¡¯t that make him the owner of the market?

    ¡°That¡¯s Lord Onor of the Sea n, he is in charge of all the business of the Sea n in this city. So, do you think he has the ability to chase a force out of the city? Besides, that kid is a fresh face who can¡¯t even tell that it¡¯s Lord Onor¡¯s voice. He has obviously just arrived like you. I don¡¯t think any force will stand up for him,¡± the man named Taru said smugly as if he had such a great power too.

    Although the tycoon and Taru were speaking softly, Lin Li heard everything. Only then did Lin Li know that the so-called big shot of the Sea n only had a status that was simr to a procurement manager. He might be a respectable figure to those people, but he probably had an insignificant status in the Sea n.

    However, at present, Onor was the only member of the Sea n Lin Li could find there. If he wanted to find those with a higher status, he would probably have to go beyond that small sea city. Hence, after Onor ced his bid of ten Legendary magical crystals, Lin Li was no longer in the mood to waste his time there as he raised the board, and said, ¡°20 Legendary magical crystals.¡±

 Chapter 1100 - Giant Hands

    <h4>Chapter 1100: Giant Hands</h4>

    All of a sudden, everyone in the entire hall was dumbfounded. Was this still an auction? He actually doubled the previous bid! Even the top forces of the sea city probably could not afford to cough up 20 Legendary magical crystals immediately. As for the other forces, they probably could never afford that much even if they sold everything they had. Otherwise, they would have been equal to the big shots on the second floor.

    Even Lord Onor of the Sea n fell silent after hearing the bid. Clearly, even the Sea n was stringent with their spending of Legendary magical crystals. 20 Legendary magical crystals was enough to be exchanged for arge number of important resources.

    However, that didn¡¯t mean that Onor gave up on the Life Commendation. He walked to the window of the private room, nced at the crowd in the hall below, and turned his head to look at a Sea n warrior beside him. ¡°Go and ask around. I¡¯d like to find out who¡¯s so bold as to vie with me for something I want.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord.¡± The warrior bowed respectfully, and turned to leave the private room with a sinister look.

    After watching his subordinate leave, Onor finally couldn¡¯t bear the anger in his heart, and mmed his hand hard on the table. Gritting his teeth furiously, he said, ¡°I really want to know who¡¯s so bold as to vie with me for something I want.¡±

    After Lin Li, who was below, ced a bid of 20 Legendary magical crystals, even Onor of the Sea n stopped bidding, let alone the other forces. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, the old man called the bid thrice in a shaky voice ording to the rules before finally announcing the owner of the Life Commendation.

    Soon, someone from the auction house walked towards Lin Li, and led him toplete thest step of the transaction before handing over the item at the same time that Lin Li handed over the magical crystal. Of course, the people of the auction house had made considerations before. If someone were to deliberately raise prices and cause trouble, they would be confident enough to make the other party pay a huge price for it.

    Lin Li went to the back of the auction house, and took out 20 Legendary magical crystals from the Ring of Endless Storm in a rxed manner. There were even a few that were level-21 and level-22.

    Upon sight of the 20 Legendary magical crystals in front of him, even the person in charge of the auction house couldn¡¯t hide the excitement he felt. There were 20 Legendary magical crystals. Even if all the other items in the lineup did not get auctioned off today, he would still be given huge credit.

    ¡°Okay, Sir, here¡¯s the Life Commendation that you¡¯ve purchased in the auction. Please put it away well.¡± The person in charge put away the magical crystals, and handed the bottle of Life Commendation potion to Lin Li carefully. He then looked around, and softly said, ¡°You have to be careful. Someone else must be coveting this potion. I advise you not to stay here any longer. It¡¯s better that you think of a way to leave this ce immediately.¡±

    Lin Li nodded slightly, casually grabbed the Life Commendation potion, and fiddled with it instead of putting it away into the Ring of Endless Storm. In fact, with Lin Li¡¯s current attainment in pharmaceutics, it really wouldn¡¯t be difficult to prepare a Life Commendation potion. In fact, he could create a potion that would result in the effect of prolonging life for 1,000 years without having to add the sap of the Tree of Eternity. Hence, he didn¡¯t take the potion seriously even though it cost him 20 Legendary magical crystals.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s behavior, the person in charge of the auction house couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried. It was no longer as simple as a potion. It was 20 Legendary magical crystals. If all of them fell to the ground, the 20 Legendary magical crystals would go to waste. Of course, he was also ted and relieved that he had sold off the potion; if Lin Li damaged thetter, he wouldn¡¯t have to take responsibility for anything.

    Soon after Lin Li left with the Life Commendation potion, Onor¡¯s subordinate, the Sea n warrior, walked to the back of the auction house, and looked for the person in charge of the auction house. Although thetter had given Lin Li a reminder, he still had to tell the Sea n members the truth. That was called pleasing both parties.

    Unfortunately, the auction house had its own rules, and the person in charge had not asked much about Lin Li¡¯s origin. Hence, he naturally could not tell the Sea n warrior much. However, the person in charge of the auction house dared not defy the Sea n warrior, and had no choice but to hand over the magical crystals that Lin Li had given him to let him study it for a period of time.

    In the private room, Onor grabbed one of the magical crystals his subordinate brought to him, and could tell at a nce that it definitely didn¡¯t belong to a marine magical beast. The magical crystal was emitting the magical wave of an earth element, and it was obviously from a magical beast onnd. Onor was confused about the fact that it was used on sea.

    ¡°Have you sent someone to keep an eye on that human?¡± Onor asked as he tossed the magical crystal back to his subordinate.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve asked someone to keep an eye on him. As long as he leaves the sea by boat, we will receive the news immediately,¡± the Sea n warrior replied respectfully.

    The Endless Ocean was the territory of the Sea n, and even the most powerful battleships were no match for the Marine Gigantic Beasts that the Sea n rode. That was one of the reasons why the High Elves couldn¡¯t quite rule over the Endless Ocean. In fact, merchants and even ferocious pirates would all have to be connected with the Sea n. Otherwise, they would never be able to live on the sea.

    On the other hand, after Lin Li left the auction house, he also lost interest in staying any longer. He managed to make two people take the bait, but he would only know which one was useful to him after he was done reeling them in. However, in order to make the fishes take the bait,ying the bait was not enough. He had to make the fishes swallow it sessfully.

    Hence, returned to <i>The Star</i>, and decided to sail the ship out of the port. He reckoned that for the pirates and the Sea n, the sea was definitely a ce where they could be carefree and act without any scruples. Of course, Lin Li actually also needed a ce where he could pretend to be fearful.

    When Lin Li went to see the port, he realized that <i>The Star</i> was surrounded by a lot of people. Even for those who had gotten used to seeing all kinds of ships, <i>The Star</i> was still astonishingly massive. The people stood in the port and discussed <i>The Star</i>, some making assumptions about the maximum cargo load that the ship could take, others talking about the type of marine beasts it could be used to hunt.

    Everyone watched as Lin Li boarded <i>The Star</i>, after which <i>The Star</i> roared and slowly moved away from the port. In fact, although <i>The Star</i> was massive, it was definitely not slower than the fast-sailing ships. However, Lin Li deliberately ordered the skeleton to make <i>The Star</i> seem clumsier lest he scared the fishes away.

    After leaving the port, <i>The Star</i> immediately sped up, and sailed fast in the direction of the maind. Of course, it was only rtively fast in the eyes of others. In fact, they were traveling at less than a tenth of the normal speed of <i>The Star</i>. However, before <i>The Star</i> could travel far from the ind, a massive marine beast came up from beneath the surface of the ocean.

    That marine beast was almost the same size as <i>The Star</i>, and it was also carrying a castle-like building. The castle contained all sorts of magical weapons, from Magical Crystal Cannons torge harpoons. It was truly fully equipped.

    After taking a look at the giant marine beast, Lin Li knew that he had finally encountered the Sea n that he was looking for. Although he had never seen a Sea n beast, he could imagine that only the Sea n would be able to tame it to such an extent.

    As expected, after <i>The Star</i> was forced to slow down, several Sea n warriors came out of the castle on the back of the marine beast, holding tridents in their hands. One of the leading warriors pointed his trident toward <i>The Star</i>, and yelled, ¡°We suspect that your ship is carrying prohibited materials. We now order you to stop your ship immediately for inspection.¡±

    The voices of the Sea n were rather loud and prating, so much so that they could be used as sound wave weapons. If it was a normal interaction between ships, they would have to use signs tomunicate due to therge distance. However, the Sea n were yelling. Besides, even though Lin Li was in the pilothouse, he could still hear them clearly.

    However, Lin Li was almost amused to hear the warrior¡¯s words. <i>Fancy theming up with such an excuse.</i> Of course, regardless of the era and the nation, there would definitely be some explicitly restricted materials. Hence, the request for inspection could not be considered a fabricated excuse.

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t allow them toe on board <i>The Star</i> to check. Even if he had the intention to attract them to <i>The Star</i>, it didn¡¯t mean that he would let them get up to any nonsense on <i>The Star</i>.

    While waiting for a response from Lin Li, the people of the Sea n suddenly saw a gigantic magic hand stretching out from the void, and grabbing the castle on the marine beast¡¯s body. Next, it applied some force and yanked the castle from the back of the marine beast. Immediately afterwards, the gigantic magic hand shook the castle forcefully. Although none of the people in the castle was shaken out, the Sea n dared not stay in the castle any longer. They simply fled from the castle.

    ¡°Who the hell are you? Are you trying to dere war on the Sea n!?¡± Perhaps because the Life Commendation potion was too important, Onor did not hand the task of getting it over to his subordinates, and instead apanied the marine beast over. In fact, the castle on the back of the marine beast was even Onor¡¯s residence. Although the Sea n could move around onnd, they were still morefortable at sea.

    Onor was already a peak Legendary powerhouse; hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be as disheveled as the other Sea n warriors. After leaving the castle, he immediately flew to the sky above <i>The Star</i>, and pointed at Lin Li who was somewhere aboard it. That was when he hollered menacingly.

    Actually, he was well aware that he might have provoked a powerful person this time. Being able to rip the castle off the back of the marine beast in one go was probably a feat that could be achieved only by someone in the Sanctuary-realm.

    That was precisely the reason that Onor used Lin Li right after he spoke in a bid to make Lin Li reconsider his choices. Touching him would be the same as challenging the entire Sea n.

    At this point, the gigantic magic hand that had yanked the castle into midair tossed it into the sea casually before turning around to grab Onor. That gave Onor a great fright. After all, he hadn¡¯t reached the Sanctuary-realm yet, and his soul wasn¡¯t indestructible yet. Dying would meanplete death.

    However, Lin Li did not make it too difficult for Onor, mainly because he wasn¡¯t clear about the rtionship between the Sea n and Geresco yet. In case Geresco had any important connection with the Sea n, he would never be able to resolve the conflict if he ended up making the Sea n suffer casualties.

    With a loud thud, the gigantic magic hand suddenly dissipated, and Onor who was in midair also fell to the deck of <i>The Star</i>. He even rolled a few times before stopping. The beautiful navy blue dragon whale leather armor that he was wearing had lost its luster, and he seemed extremely disheveled.

    As a peak Legendary powerhouse, Onor was mmed onto the ground, where he began rolling uncontrobly. That was a huge humiliation to him, but that was not something he could control. When the gigantic magic hand suddenly dissipated, he had tried to mobilize his mana and maintain some dignity in the face of Lin Li, the human Sanctuary powerhouse. However, what made him feel iparably frightened was that all of his body¡¯s power had disappeared without a trace, and he became an ordinary person that did not have a trace of mana.

    ¡°Lord Onor of the Sea n, what are you trying to do by taking so many of your men with you and stopping my ship?¡± Lin Li did not intend to subject them to any brutal, torturous methods immediately. Although he had used some brutal means to grab Onor and ce him on the deck of <i>The Star</i>, he did not harm the lives of the Sea n.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± It took Onor a long time to suppress the horror in his heart. After all, he was facing a Sanctuary powerhouse who could easily kill him. Besides, even though he had been staying on the small sea market, and had almost never been to the maind of Anril, it didn¡¯t mean that he was clueless about the news there. On the contrary, he had a deeper understanding of the maind of Anril than some locals of the maind. However, he couldn¡¯t recall when a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li had appeared among the humans.

    Onor was well aware of the position that humans were in in Anril today. It was no exaggeration to say that in the eyes of the High Elves, the humans were simply a bunch of ves that had been freed and who were the lowliest of all. The dwarves at least had some forging skills that the High Elves valued highly, while the elves were at least good-looking, like the High Elves. However, what did the humans have? Be it in the eyes of the High Elves or the Sea n, humans were practically useless apart from the fact that they had an incredible reproduction speed.

 Chapter 1101 - Thunderstorm

    <h4>Chapter 1101: Thunderstorm</h4>

    Onor had a rich understanding of the human race. Although the human race had a huge poption, it was still an impressive feat for a human to be a Legendary powerhouse, what more a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, a living human Sanctuary powerhouse had now appeared in front of him. Even though Onor could not tell what level Lin Li had reached, it was enough to change his impression of the human race.

    Lin Li smiled faintly, and calmly said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am, you just have to answer my questions. I think you should be smart enough to tell that I should be the one asking that question.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s smile was benevolent and his voice was gentle, but it gave Onor the chills. Although Onor utterly despised the human race, he had to admit that the human race had the advantage of being very imaginative and creative. The reason that he had that thought and even got the chills because of it was that he had seen the various imaginative torture methods that his human subordinates had used when interrogating prisoners.

    Onor couldn¡¯t imagine the agony that one¡¯s mind, soul, and body would suffer when subjected to those torture methods. Over the numerous years, none of the fierce pirates or aggressive orcs dared to refuse to sumb to Onor¡¯s human subordinates after being tortured. They even came clean about the times when they wet their beds while sleeping.

    Besides, the thing that stuck with Onor the most was the innocent smiles that his subordinates would have when interrogating the prisoners. That was even more sinister and terrifying. When they were torturing others badly with such a smile on their faces, their subjects of torture would immediately reveal everything without further interrogation.

    When watching his enemies or prisoners wailing desperately while being tortured, Onor honestly felt somewhat thrilled. However, he had nownded in the hands of a human. Thinking about the brutal means of torture that he might be subjected to in the future, Onor felt like crying loudly.

    ¡°What do you want to find out? I¡¯m just doing a routine inspection of the ships thate and go. If that¡¯s offensive to you in any way, just take it that I¡¯m performing my duty. If you let me go now, I can pretend that this matter had never happened, or else your behavior will be equivalent to going against the Sea n,¡± Onor stammered, trying to control his shivering body. He could no longer care about his image now. Anyway, none of his subordinates were on the deck, and nothing was more important than his life. Besides, death was not the most terrifying part about it. The most terrifying part was wanting to die but not being able to.

    Lin Li was surprised by Onor¡¯s reaction. Legend had it that the Sea n was just as arrogant as the High Elves. Why did he behave like people without a backbone at this moment? Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t know that Onor felt that humans had a terrifying creative ability and imagination despite being talentless, and so he saw humans as demons.

    However, Lin Li did not have time to consider why Onor of the Sea n would behave that way. Instead, he took out the Life Commendation potion, and said, ¡°You¡¯re performing your duties and conducting a routine check? Lord Onor, I reckon you¡¯re here for this thing.¡±

    Onor was cowering at first, but when he saw Lin Li taking out the Life Commendation potion, he was immediately attracted to it as he stared at it like a hungry beast. After staring at it for a long time, he looked away reluctantly. Swallowing some saliva, he said, ¡°How is that possible? We¡¯re really just doing a routine check.¡±

    Lin Li proceeded to take out the Life Commendation potion, and shook it as if he hadn¡¯t heard Onor¡¯s words. The emerald green potion was glistening alluringly under the sunlight. Lin Li said, ¡°The Life Commendation potion should be of great use to you. If you answer my questions honestly and satisfy me, I¡¯ll have no qualms about giving this potion to you.¡±

    <i>What!? He¡¯s going to give it to me!?</i> Onor¡¯s eyes were wide open. Lin Li had spent 10 Legendary magical crystals on the Life Commendation potion, and yet he was giving it away just like that. However, he soon thought of the key point of Lin Li¡¯s words. A question that was worth 10 Legendary magical crystals definitely wouldn¡¯t be simple.

    Besides, since Onor had managed to reach the position of being in charge of all sea trade, he definitely wasn¡¯t a fool. He immediately thought that it was more likely than not that Lin Li had bought Life Commendation for the sake of luring him in. In that case, Lin Li was exploiting either the fact that he was the head of the sea trade or his identity as a member of the Sea n. If Lin Li merely asked about the sea trade, it would be fine for him to tell him everything, but if he asked about the Sea n...

    However, the temptation of the Life Commendation potion was too huge. Onor even forgot about the predicament that he was in now as he eagerly said, ¡°Are you being serious? Will you really give the Life Commendation potion to me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just a Life Commendation potion. It means nothing to me.¡± As Lin Li spoke, he tossed the potion bottle up and down very casually. He didn¡¯t act like he was holding a treasure worth 10 Legendary magical crystals at all.

    However, Onor was incredibly tense and nervous. Despite knowing that Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he was still worried that Lin Li might identally ruin the Life Commendation potion.

    Resisting the urge to dash forward and snatch the Life Commendation potion, Onor frantically said, ¡°Okay, okay, what do you want to know? I¡¯ll tell you everything as long as I know.¡±

    ¡°Do you know about Geresco?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t beat around the bush with Onor, and instead asked the question that he was the most concerned about right away. He felt that since Geresco had created such a world, there would definitely be something here that was rted to Geresco. Currently, the Sea n, which had long vanished in history, seemed to be the most likely to be rted to Geresco.

    However, when he heard Lin Li mentioning Geresco¡¯s name, Onor said carefully with a look of disdain, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t remember the names of humans. Can you go more into detail about it? For example, his upation, his age, and his looks...¡±

    Onor¡¯s words were like a wet nket to Lin Li, who wondered, <i>Am I really wrong? Geresco is the God of Mages who is on the same level as the Immortal King in Anril. With Geresco¡¯s strength, how can the Sea n not know about him if he had any connection with them!?</i>

    ¡°You don¡¯t know who Geresco is?¡± Lin Li asked again, emphasizing Geresco¡¯s name in the ancientmonnguage used by the Sea n.

    <i>I want to know too!</i> Staring at the Life Commendation potion in Lin Li¡¯s hand, Onor shook his head vigorously. He wanted to make something up, but he didn¡¯t know what Lin Li was talking about. If he said something wrong, he would not only fail to get Life Commendation, he might even anger Lin Li.

    Just as Lin Li was feeling disappointed about Onor¡¯s answer, he suddenly thought of a problem that he had overlooked, and that was the era that they were in now. Lin Li reckoned that it should still be the middle of the Dark Age, and ording to the history of the real Anril, it seemed that Geresco hadn¡¯t been born yet.

    Could it be that the world he came to was not created by Geresco, but he was really sent to that era of Anril? After all, even if Geresco hadn¡¯t been born yet in that era, Geresco should have left some clues if this world was created by him.

    Maybe what Geresco left behind was not in his name? Lin Li could only make a Hail Mary effort and ask Onor, ¡°In this case, is there a god that you believe in? Tell me all that you know about the gods you believe in.¡±

    Indeed, a Sanctuary powerhouse would be the only god of the world he created. Hence, if Geresco created that world, he might not use his real name. In fact, he might be regarded as some kind of creator or god by the people in this world.

    ¡°Gods?¡± Onor looked at Lin Li in bewilderment. Everyone knew that the Sea n believed in the sea god Neptune. If Lin Li was just an ordinary person on the maind, he might really be unaware of it, but he was a Sanctuary powerhouse, so how could he be so uninformed?

    However, regardless of what he thought, Onor had no choice but to answer obediently for the sake of the Life Commendation potion. ¡°We the Sea n worship the mighty sea god Neptune, who created this Endless Ocean and our Sea n.¡±

    <i>Neptune the sea god?</i> As soon as Lin Li heard it, he knew that this sea god must have nothing to do with Geresco, because in the mythology of Anril, there was such a god too. Besides, almost all of those who lived on sea would have to worship the sea god Neptune to pray for a smooth journey.

    That left Lin Li helpless. Clearly, he would never be able to find out about Geresco from Onor. He tossed the Life Commendation potion, and helplessly said, ¡°Okay, ording to our pact, this potion¡ª¡±

    Just when Lin Li was about to give the Life Commendation to Onor, a huge change in the sea suddenly happened. The turquoise blue sky became dark in the blink of an eye as it was covered in thick, gloomy clouds that were rolling continuously as if they were about to press onto the sea. Among the dark clouds, countless serpentine lightning bolts jumped and bounced about wildly, while thunder rumbled and made the space quake. It was as if the entire sky was going to copse.

    At the same time, the magic elements in this space had also started raging, and a massive, suffocating elemental storm wasunched in the air above the sea. They could even see the sparks that erupted from the collision between the magical elements that made the dim space light up with their naked eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? How can there be a storm here!?¡± Onor eximed as he observed his surroundings. Cage Ind was located in a crescent-shaped bay the storms rarely reached. Hence, it had be a fairly famous sea market. However, a storm had now descended out of nowhere. How could Onor not be surprised?

    However, Onor soon realized that it was not a simple storm, because an incredibly terrifying aura suddenly seeped out from the rolling ck clouds, causing Onor, whose mana was restrained in his body, to fall onto the ground,pletely motionless and unable to move a single finger. If not for the fact that his mental strength was greater than ordinary people, he would have probably lost his mind.

    Lin Li¡¯s attention had long been attracted by the strange situation in the sky. Although he was already a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he could still sense the massive pressureing from the sky. However, what really caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was not the great pressure, but the aura that seemed familiar to him.

    However, Lin Li was certain that the aura that seemed familiar to him definitely did note from Geresco, because it was an aura that contained Death and Destruction.

    At this point, the dark clouds in the sky had already turned as dark as ink, and not a single ray of sunlight could prate through them. Hence, the day seemed to have turned into nighttime. The countless jumping bolts of lightning amidst the clouds seemed to be bing more intense amidst the collision and fusion. Finally, theynded with a deafening roar.

    Each bolt of lightning contained terrifying power that was not lower than the Legendary-level. When theynded on the surface of the sea, it formed a huge and deep pit in the blink of an eye. Under the surface of the sea, the sea reefs were also instantly crushed into ashes. There would probably be a terrifying change in the sea after the disaster.

    Of course, under such circumstances, Cage Ind and the prosperous sea city would not be able to escape their doom, either. However, the results of the operation of the various forces, especially the Sea n, could be seen at this juncture.

    When the first wave of lightning fell, rays of colorful light rose to form a magic shield. There was a magic shield for each store and street.

 Chapter 1102 - Center of The Sea

    <h4>Chapter 1102: Center of The Sea</h4>

    Next, there were several regional shields that shrouded the sea city, divided the city into parts, and covered it. The strongest one was a substance-like aquamarine magic shield that was held up by more than 100 stone pirs erected around Cage Ind.

    The aquamarine magic shield was extremely different from ordinary magic shields which would burst like a bubble once the attack spells it blocked exceeded the limit. However, the aquamarine magic shield also had a buffering and transition function whereby the magic shield would absorb it and minimize the power of the attack if the damage suffered exceeded the limit.

    The aquamarine magic shield was as strong and durable as the sea, and when the bolts of lightningnded on it, they were like raindrops on the ocean. Attacks that were less powerful were blocked, while those that carried greater power would be weakened by the magic shield.

    The power of the Sea n was exhibited through the aquamarine magic shield. Their power was tough, and they had a perfect use of water elements. Under the protection of this magic shield, the sea city of the ind did not suffer much loss, even though there seemed to be an apocalypse outside.

    However, while the sea city was still rtively safe, the ships that had just left the port, or which were about to enter, were much unluckier. Although there were some ships that had magic shields too, those were only enough for coping with ordinary sea storms. In the face of the Legendary-level thunderbolts, their defense was incredibly fragile.

    In the blink of an eye, the ships on the sea were almost defenseless as they were sted into pieces by the countless lightning bolts. The debris was then blown into ashes and swept away by the waves. It was as if those ships had never existed on the sea before.

    The people whom Onor brought over, as well as the massive marine magical beast and the sea warriors that were tossed into the ocean, were just as unlucky. The sea should have been a safe ce for them in the first ce, but the disaster that suddenly struck caused the sea to turn into their graveyard.

    Lying on the deck of <i>The Star</i>, Onor looked at the disaster outside the magic shield that looked like an apocalypse, and watched the ships in the distance that were being sted into pieces. He was so frightened that he almost peed his pants. At this juncture, he didn¡¯t know if he should be d that he was caught on this giant battleship. If not for it, he would have probably faced the same fate as his subordinates.

    Lin Li tilted his head and looked at the dark clouds in the sky, as if he was trying to make his gaze prate through the gloomy clouds. He had quite a bit of faith in the defensive abilities of <i>The Star</i>. Putting aside the fact that the power of the lightning was equivalent to Legendary-level magic spells, even an attack from a low-level Sanctuary powerhouse might not easily break the defense of <i>The Star</i>.

    What made Lin Li really worried was the familiar aura that he felt which invoked violence, death, darkness, evil, and so on. He vaguely remembered it to be from an extremely terrifying existence. Although he could not link that aura with the powerhouses that he remembered, he knew that the terrifying existence was not something that he could fight at his current strength.

    At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly parted to form a huge hole, after which a small mountain-like object suddenly came crashing down like a meteor. The massive object was obscured in thick ck gas, so they could not quite see what it was.

    Just like that, the huge object mmed hard into the ocean near Cage Ind in the blink of an eye, causing waves that were hundreds of meters high to surge up as if all the water was about to be sted up into the sky. Compared to the surging water, Cage Ind seemed extremely tiny. If not for the magic shield outside the sea, the ind would have probably been swept clean by the wave.

    Seeing such a scene and sensing the aura that wasing from the massive object, a series of information suddenly appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind as he recalled the time when he went to Cage Ind to provide aid for the Gilded Kingdom. <i>When did Cage Ind be a ce to seal the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction?</i>

    Even the Gilded Kingdom did not have a clear answer. Before their ancestors sealed the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse, rumor had it that the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction had been on Cage Ind for an unknown period of time.

    <i>Is this scene that of when the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction was sealed for the first time?</i> Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of such a possibility as it seemed that there was still a long time in this current era before the ancestor of the Gilded Kingdom sealed the dragon corpse for the second time.

    Seemingly to confirm Lin Li¡¯s guesses, a giant handnded from the sky again before the huge waves stirred up by the massive object fell. The gigantic hand was condensed with mana, and was somewhat simr to the one that had grabbed Onor previously. However, it was muchrger. The hand that reached out from the gloomy clouds would probably press Cage Ind into the sea with just one finger.

    Besides, this gigantic magic hand was even more flexible than the one Lin Li had cast as it could move agilely like a living palm. It made three mysterious hand gestures flexibly in the sky, which seemed to be the gestures that mages would make when casting spells. However, even with Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of magic, he could not identify the Laws contained in the three gestures.

    When the first gesture waspleted, the sea around Cage Ind started surging violently like it was boiling. At the same time, the thunderbolts falling from the sky also suddenly became more powerful as they crashed down continuously like massive pirs of lightning.

    However, the second gesture caused the entire space to fall silent, while the frightening waves seemed to have calmed down in an instant. The surface of the sea became t, smooth, and reflective, as if it was frozen. The thunderbolts that came from the dark clouds also disappeared without a trace. The violent magical elements in the space seemed to have encountered something that left them in fear as they stayed fixed, not daring to move at all.

    With thepletion of the third gesture, the sea of Cage Ind immediately became wavy again, but it was no longer like an apocalyptic scene, and instead seemed like an ordinary sea storm. At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky also began to recede like a tide, revealing the original turquoise sky as the sunlight shrouded the sea area again.

    ¡°Well...¡± Onor felt the pressure disappearing from his body all of a sudden, but he did not dare to immediately stand up from the ground. Instead, he remained on the ground, dumbfounded at everything that was taking ce before him. However, the changes were beyond his imagination as he couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of person would have such a terrifying power.

    Lin Li remained still at this moment, and continued to watch the clouds disperse in the sky. Although he couldn¡¯t understand the mystery contained in the three gestures yet, he was very sure that it was a method to seal and suppress the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Considering the current era in this world, it was obvious that the one who sealed the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction definitely wasn¡¯t the ancestor of the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the Immortal King was the only possibility left.

    Lin Li did not understand why the Immortal King would appear in the world created by Geresco. <i>Could it be that Geresco had arranged this world and scene for the sake of letting his inheritors see the Immortal King seal the Dragon of Destruction corpse?</i>

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly discovered a figure shing in the sky before flying quickly towards the depths of the Endless Ocean. <i>Is that the Immortal King? Or is it Geresco?</i>

    ording to the history of Anril, the one who just sealed the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction should undoubtedly be the Immortal King. However, since this world was created by Geresco, who could y the role of the Immortal King?

    No matter what, Lin Li felt that he would probably have to ask the Immortal King if he wanted to know the answer. Hence, instead of taking action immediately and chasing the Immortal King who was flying towards the depths of the Endless Ocean, he picked Onor up, and pointed in that direction. ¡°Tell me what special existence there is over there.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that the Immortal King was flying aimlessly, so there had to be something attracting him in the depths of the Endless Ocean. Moreover, judging from the way the Immortal King sealed the corpse of the Immortal King just now, he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. ording to the history of Anril, the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction broke the sealter on, and caused a huge disaster to strike the Gilded Kingdom, which led the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom to seal it again.

    However, with the Immortal King¡¯s ability, he might be able to permanently seal the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, but it should not break the seal after 1,000 years. That was enough to show how much of a hurry the Immortal King was in when he sealed the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Moreover, Lin Li remembered another clue: the Savage stone b that he had obtained after clearing the Barbarous Arena. It was stated on the b that the Immortal King had descended into thend of the Savages, and plundered almost all of their wealth to build an incredibly powerful battleship. However, that was not the key; the key was that the matter of the Immortal King heading to the Endless Ocean was also mentioned on the b.

    In that case, what was there in the Endless Ocean that could make the Immortal King be in such a hurry? Lin Li was almost clueless about the Endless Ocean, so he thought of Onor, the Sea n member whom he was holding captive. Since Onor was the head of the sea trade locally, he obviously had a certain status among the Sea n, and he should have a lot of information about the Endless Ocean.

    ¡°What? There...¡± However, Onor hesitated a little after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, and did not answer as straightforwardly as he did before. Clearly, he had scruples.

    Onor¡¯s reaction aroused Lin Li¡¯s interest even more as he shook the Life Commendation potion again before saying, ¡°Tell me what special existence there is in that direction of the Endless Ocean, and this potion will be yours.¡±

    Onor hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he could no longer resist the temptation of the Life Commendation. Hence, he said, ¡°That¡¯s the direction that leads to the Endless Ocean, and the sacrednd of the Sea n lies in the middle of it.¡±

    One of the main reasons that Onor revealed that information was because he hadn¡¯t seen the Immortal King flying that way at all, and he didn¡¯t think that Lin Li would be able to break into the heavily defended sacrednd of the Sea n with a single battleship. Although he knew that the young Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he was confident that the Sea n would definitely be able to deal with Lin Li since they could go against the High Elves.

    ¡°The sacrednd of the Sea n?¡± Lin Li was taken aback by that answer as he wondered if the Immortal King was going to the sacrednd of the Sea n for something. At this point, he remembered that in the history of Anril, legend had it that the Sea n, which once caused the High Elves to be in fear, seemed to have fallen overnight. By the end of the Dark Age, the Sea n rarely appeared in front of others, and some even called the Gilded Kingdom the Sea n because they hadpletely forgotten what the real Sea n looked like.

    If the Immortal King had really gone to the sacrednd of the Sea n, could the Immortal King have been the one who¡¯d caused the sudden decline of the Sea n? With the Immortal King¡¯s strength, it didn¡¯t seem to be a tough feat for him. After all, even the Dragon of Destruction, one of the Dragon Aspects, was killed by him.

    However, why would the Immortal King do that? Was he out to get rid of the obstacles for the High Elves to rule over the world? If the High Elves really wanted to develop in the Endless Ocean, the Sea n might not really be able to resist it. Hence, the Immortal King did not have to attack the Sea n for the sake of High Elves¡¯ development.

    So, what was it in the sacrednd of the Sea n that attracted the Immortal King? Lin Li once again turned to look at Onor, whom he probably had to ask in order to find out what there was in the sacrednd of the Sea n.

 Chapter 1103 - Progress Of Revamp

    <h4>Chapter 1103: Progress Of Revamp</h4>

    However, before Lin Li could say anything, Onor waved his hand repeatedly, and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the sacrednd looks like. I might be in charge of the sea trade here, but I¡¯m far from qualified to enter the sacrednd of the Sea n. The reason I want to get the Life Commendation potion this time is to increase the lifespan of one of the elders in the n, which I hope will give me enough credit to be qualified to enter the sacrednd.¡±

    Hearing Onor¡¯s words, Lin Li knew that he couldn¡¯t find out anything useful from him. However, he could also tell that the sacrednd should be quite important to the Sea n. Otherwise, if the sacrednd was merely symbolic, the entry requirements should not be so strict, just like in the holy city of the Brilliance Shrine, where all believers of light would be able to enter freely, but not everyone was allowed to go up the Holy Mountain.

    Thinking about this, Lin Li did not continue to ask Onor any questions. Instead, he tossed the Life Commendation potion to Onor, and then waved his hand gently to toss Onor, who scrambled to catch the potion, down <i>The Star</i>.

    Immediately afterwards, Lin Li returned to the main pilothouse of <i>The Star</i> in a bid to make <i>The Star</i> move faster in the direction where the Immortal King had disappeared. However, at this juncture, Lin Li encountered another problem, and that was how he could obtain full control of the vessel. <i>The Star</i> had been sailing on its own throughout the journey.

    The first thing that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind was the tiny skeleton that he had seen in the main pilothouse. However, when he went there to tell the tiny skeleton about what he wanted, he got an answer that he wasn¡¯t satisfied with. The little skeleton was not the real pilot of <i>The Star</i>, and its duty was only to correct some deviations in the course of <i>The Star</i>.

    <i>Seems like I have to rely on myself for everything!</i> Lin Li had no time to waste on being frustrated, and instead opened his Domain World to envelop the entire ship. He began to seize full control of <i>The Star</i>.

    In fact, when he first boarded <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li thought about gaining full control of <i>The Star</i>, but in order to prevent it from deviating from the preset course, he put the idea at the back of his head, and tried to test the firepower of <i>The Star</i> instead.

    Although <i>The Star</i> was left behind by Geresco, it didn¡¯t seem to have Geresco¡¯s Soul Imprint, which made it much more convenient for Lin Li to seize control over the ship. After all, even if he was now a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, it was definitely not an easy task to get rid of Geresco¡¯s Soul Imprint.

    <i>The Star</i> now seemed to be an object that did not have a master, as the little skeleton had very limited control over <i>The Star</i>. After Lin Li incorporated <i>The Star</i> into his own Domain World, he became the supreme ruler who had maximum control over everything in the Domain World. He reckoned that it would be rather easy to gain full control of <i>The Star</i>.

    Hence, Lin Li did not take long to gain full control of <i>The Star</i>. While doing so, he also gained a very detailed understanding of the entire structure of <i>The Star</i>. Previously, he only knew that <i>The Star</i> was incredibly powerful with a ferocious attacking power and astonishing defensive prowess. However, after gaining a true understanding of the entire structure of <i>The Star</i>, he no longer saw it as a powerful ship. He simply thought of it as a marine artifact.

    If the alchemical battleship of the Gilded Kingdom waspared to a Legendary powerhouse, <i>The Star</i> would be described as a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse among battleships. The various alchemical techniques, mageweaths, Magic Arrays, and magic gears used in <i>The Star</i> were all breathtaking and stunning to Lin Li.

    However, Lin Li could not be bothered to study those things in detail at this point in time. The thing that he was the most eager to do now was to catch up with the Immortal King in hopes of getting the answers he needed.

    Although the figure of the immortal king had long disappeared from Lin Li¡¯s sight, the aura that the Immortal King had left behind gave him the most obvious hint. Hence, after gaining full control of <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li immediately maneuvered the vessel, and sailed at full speed towards the depths of the Endless Ocean.

    The Endless Ocean of Anril was not on the same level as the five oceans of the world that Lin Li came from before transmigrating. Even till now, no one knew what the end of the Endless Ocean was like. Legend had it that there were quite a few Sanctuary powerhouses who wanted to explore the end of the Endless Ocean, but those people either returned in a disheveled state or went missing forever. Hence, although there were also legends that the end of the Endless Ocean led to another continent or that it was the barrier of the world, no one could really stand out to confirm those spections.

    While controlling <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li chased after the aura of the Immortal King in the Endless Ocean, and sailed for nearly 10 days straight. With the speed of <i>The Star</i>, he could probably travel across the entire Fn Kingdom in that time. However, he still didn¡¯t find a single trace of the Immortal King. Apart from fighting with some sea beasts along the way, there was nothing much for Lin Li to do, and such a life was boring to him.

    In the end, Lin Li realized that he would just be wasting time if he waited there. After all, there was a whole lot of things that he had to do outside this world. Hence, he set the course and let <i>The Star</i> enter autopilot mode, leaving the little skeleton to correct the navigation. After that, he returned to the main pilothouse, and activated a Teleportation Portal in it. The Teleportation Portal, which he had also discovered after gaining control of <i>The Star</i>, would allow him to travel freely between this world and the Meditation Land.

    When Lin Li returned to the Meditation Land and stood in front of the Teleportation Array in the canyon, Connoris and the two Undead servants were working together to deal with a prehistoric magical beast. There were already three prehistoric magical beasts lying around the Teleportation Array. Clearly, Connoris and the two Undead servants didn¡¯t have an easy time when Lin Li was away.

    However, Lin Li could tell from the battle scene between Connoris, the two Undead servants, and the prehistoric magical beasts that they had made some gains in the Meditation Land. In about 10 days or so, Connoris and the others had not only sharpened theirbat skills, but their mana fluctuations had also grown significantly. They probably only needed an opportunity to enter the Sanctuary-realm.

    Sensing that Lin Li had returned, Connoris and the two Undead servants immediately intensified their attack, and quickly killed the prehistoric magical beast. When they were in front of Lin Li, Connorismented, ¡°Felic, where did you go after leaving us behind here? Look at how terrible our lives have been. These guys came over to bully us as soon as your aura disappeared.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine now, aren¡¯t you? Besides, you seem to have fused better with this body. Why don¡¯t you just stay here for a few more days? Maybe you¡¯ll be able to step into the Sanctuary-realm soon,¡± Lin Li said teasingly. Although his strength didn¡¯t improve in that world, and his doubts weren¡¯t answered, he had at least gained a clue. Thus, he was in quite a good mood.

    As soon as he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, Connoris immediately waved his hands, and said, ¡°No, with this perfect body, it¡¯s just a matter of time before I step into the Sanctuary-realm. I¡¯m not going to torture myself.¡±

    After cracking a few jokes, Lin Li brought Connoris and his two Undead servants away from the canyon while recounting what he had seen in the other world. Lin Li was not worried about whether the canyon would be upied by other prehistoric magical beasts after he left. Anyway, he had managed to get rid of an aggressive thing like Asgor. How could he be afraid of the prehistoric magical beasts?

    After leaving the Meditation Land, Lin Li did not dy a single bit, and immediately began to continue the transformation of the Sky Castle. During his absence, the mages of the Tower of Dusk continued transforming the Sky Castle in strict ordance with the various designs that Lin Li had given them. However, there were also various problems that Lin Li had to resolve himself when he returned.

    The first thing Lin Li had to do was to conduct aprehensive inspection of the various projects in the Sky Castle progressing during his absence. After all, the mages of the Tower of Dusk and the talents in the various fields were still growing, and many things could not be achieved solely with hard work. In order to avoid any hidden dangers left by the transformation of the Sky Castle, Lin Li had to scrutinize and inspect every project.

    Previously, Lin Li led his subordinates to transform the power system of the Sky Castle by adding a secondary power source to the power core. The transformation of the power system was not limited to an addition of the secondary power source. There was still the organization of the various parts of the power transmission system. The Sky Castle was arge city, after all, and the power transmission system had to carry out a great deal of processes, just like the pipelines of a city.

    Fortunately, although the workload was huge, it wasn¡¯t too difficult to carry out the processes. Hence, Lin Li handed the follow-up work to his subordinates. That did not mean that Lin Li did not need to care about anything else. After all, it was the fundamental and most important part of the Sky Castle. Lin Li did not dare to make any mistake in handling the power system of the Sky Castle at all. Although the power system could correct errors automatically, it might miss out some errors that would be likely to cause a devastating disaster for the Sky Castle.

    Hence, after exiting the inverted tower, Lin Li immediately led his subordinates, and began to check the power system of the entire Sky Castle. However, he was rtively satisfied with the results of the inspection. Although there were some problems, it was obvious that his subordinates weren¡¯t negligent or careless when carrying out the works.

    At the same time, the first batch of Magical Crystal Cannons purchased from the Dwarf Kingdom had also arrived in the Sky Castle. However, the Dwarf Kingdom hadn¡¯t given a clear exnation about the Sky-breaker, which Lin Li was most concerned about. ording to the report of Beckley who was in charge of the matter, the senior executives of the Dwarf Kingdom had already gotten into a heated argument over the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. King Dantin of the Dwarf Kingdom seemed to have revealed some intentions.

    During the war at the end of the Dark Age, the Dwarf Kingdom had created the Sky-breaker, which could be considered a unique battle weapon that was second to none. During the battle with the High Elves¡¯ Sky Castle, the powerful attacks of the Sky-breaker repeatedly broke through the Sky Castle¡¯s defense. Hence, it was known as the only weapon that could take down the Sky Castle.

    ording to logic, since dwarves had a powerful siege weapon like the Sky-breaker, they would definitely be able to get arge slice of the pie in the war that followed after the High Elves were overthrown. They wouldn¡¯t be in such a state now where they had to suffer the biting cold like they used to during the Dark Age. After all, during the war that decided the division of benefits, the Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t intervene; hence, there was nothing to stop the power of Sky-breaker. If it could break even the powerful defenses of the Sky Castle, what fortress could stop the dwarves?

    However, at the end of the war at the end of the Dark Ages, the dwarves¡¯ armory where the Sky-breakers were ced was attacked by the remaining High Elves who did so to retaliate. The attack resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, and the attackers directly destroyed the only 10 Sky-breakers belonging to the dwarves.

    The more infuriating thing for the dwarves was that shortly after the Sky-breakers were destroyed by the remaining High Elves, the creator of the Sky-breaker, Master Sol who was known as the God of Forging by the dwarves, disappeared without a trace overnight together with the blueprint of the Sky-breaker.

    Some said that Master Sol had truly obtained a divine position, and became the great God of Forging, while some said that the High Elves or the human alliance resorted to unscrupulous means to kill or kidnap Master Sol¡ªalthough his forging skills were unparalleled, he was only at the Legendary-level, so many people were inclined towards thetter exnation.

    However, no matter what, the disappearance of Master Sol and the blueprints of the Sky-breaker meant that the dwarves could no longer build new Sky-breakers. More than 1,300 years after the end of the Dark Age, countless outstanding Smithing Masters of the dwarves were still unable to build a single Sky-breaker even after spending a lot of effort on researching thetter.

    Hence, after the attack, the dwarves put the me on the human alliance, and used them of coercing the High Elves to destroy the Sky-breaker. At that time, apart from the Sky Castle which was taken away by the Supreme Council and the Sky Castle that had escaped to the Endless Void, the remaining five Sky Castles of the High Elves had been destroyed, so the Sky-breaker was undoubtedly no longer useful to the alliance. Instead, it became a threat.

 Chapter 1104 - Construction of Battleship

    <h4>Chapter 1104: Construction of Battleship</h4>

    The human alliance naturally denied this usation vehemently. At the same time, they also expressed their sympathy for the great loss of the dwarves. However, sympathy was one thing. When it came to dividing the spoils of victory, they did not show any mercy because of it. Instead, they became more carefree, and almostpletely excluded the dwarves. The environment in the territory of the dwarves was too harsh, but they might not have been able to even keep their territory if not for that.

    The High Elves¡¯ attack and the disappearance of Master Sol and the Sky-breaker blueprints had be a historical case that everyone had been involved in for nearly 1,000 years. In the recent 300-400 years, the tension between dwarves and the human kingdoms had eased up a little. At the very least, they restored the normal trade between the kingdoms.

    However, when the dwarves lost all hope of seeing the Sky-breaker again, a Sky-breaker blueprint appeared again. In terms of how to deal with this matter, if they obtained theplete blueprint of Sky-breaker, the senior management of the Dwarf Kingdom would be divided into two.

    One of them reacted vigorously, and believed that the Sky-breaker originally belonged to the dwarves, and thus they felt that the Tower of Dusk should return the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. They disagreed with the decision to help create the Sky-breaker in exchange for theplete blueprint of Sky-breaker. A powerful weapon like Sky-breaker should only belong to the dwarves. How could itnd in the hands of the greedy humans?

    They even made a suggestion that the Dwarf King Odin order the best dwarf warriors to go to the Breezy ins to retrieve the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. In their opinion, the Tower of Dusk was nothing more than a local human force, which was akin to a tribe in their kingdom. They couldn¡¯tpete with the Dwarf Kingdom at all.

    However, on the other hand, the other neutral camp suggested that they cooperate with the Tower of Dusk in order to get theplete blueprint of the Sky-breaker. After all, they were no longer in the era of war when the Dark Age just ended. Even if they created the real Sky-breaker, they might not have to rely on it to start a war.

    In this era, the Sky-breaker was more of a deterrent force that could boost the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s status in the maind. Once the Dwarf Kingdom waged a war using Sky-breakers, they would probably soon be the public enemy of the whole continent. No matter how powerful Sky-breakers might be, it wasn¡¯t enough to give the Dwarf Kingdom the power to challenge the kingdoms on the maind.

    The dispute between the two sides put King Odin of the Dwarf Kingdom in a dilemma. He was at a loss for what to do. After all, the Dwarf Kingdom was not a kingdom with a centralized monarchy, but was formed by the union of tribes. Although King Odin of the Dwarf Kingdom had a good reputation, he couldn¡¯t disregard the opinions of the tribal chiefs.

    However, during the argument, the ones who were more amicable gained the upper hand. Although the dwarves had a bad temper, not all of them were fans of war. That was the reason that the orders for the Magical Crystal Cannons ced by the Tower of Dusk could be fulfilled sessfully, allowing Beckley to ship back the first batch of Magical Crystal Cannons without any problems.

    The dispute caused by the blueprint of the Sky-breaker in the Dwarf Kingdom was actually within Lin Li¡¯s expectations. After all, the Sky-breaker was too important to the dwarves. However, Lin Li believed that the dwarves would eventually make the choice he wanted. Although some of them wanted to snatch the blueprint, they would probably have to shut up when they saw the terrifying strength of the Tower of Dusk.

    Hence, Lin Li was not too worried about the matter of cooperation in the manufacture of the Sky-breaker. In fact, it could be considered set in stone. The only problem was time. On the other hand, the Gilded Kingdom had made some trouble during the purchase of Magical Crystal Cannons for battleships. The people of Gilded Kingdom were no fools, and selling the naval Magical Crystal Cannons to the Tower of Dusk was giving a benefit to their enemy.

    The Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom had a hostile rtionship with each other, and that was a fact that was known to both parties as well as the people in the Breezy ins. Everyone knew that a war would break out between the two parties sooner orter. In such a situation, if the Gilded Kingdom sold their Magical Crystal Cannons to the Tower of Dusk, it would be the most foolish act in the history of Anril.

    However, the matters that happened on Cage Ind previously caused the Gilded Kingdom to plead for aid from the Tower of Dusk and the forces of the Breezy ins while promising many conditions. Although the Tower of Dusk did not mention the purchase of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Magical Crystal Cannons, they had also left some leeway. Unless the Gilded Kingdom was willing to be branded as liars who went back on their words, they would have to take the loss and go ahead with the sale.

    From a political point of view, as long as there were enough benefits for the nation, the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t mind forfeiting the agreement. After all, for more than 1,300 years after the end of the Dark Age, the kingdoms had been signing and breaking agreements for benefits and interests.

    However, since the Gilded Kingdom wanted to develop in the Breezy ins, they couldn¡¯t help but act like they were keeping to their word. Otherwise, they might really have a tough time in the Breezy ins. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom did not n to go to war with the Tower of Dusk just yet. If they rejected the Tower of Dusk¡¯s legitimate request, it would be no different from falling out.

    However, as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s envoy, Cantory was notpletely solutionless. Faced with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s request to purchase Magical Crystal Cannons, he didn¡¯t reject them directly, and instead began stalling for time like he was used to. Their Magical Crystal Cannon model might not be that different from that of the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s in principle, but it wasrger, and thus harder to manufacture. Those were Cantory¡¯s excuses.

    ¡°I know, ording to the previous agreement, we should not refuse your request to purchase the Magical Crystal Cannons from us, but the difficulty of the manufacturing process of our Magical Crystal Cannons is very high, and itsrge size makes it inconvenient to transport, so please wait patiently. I can¡¯t possibly dismantle the Magical Crystal Cannons on our battleships for you,¡± Cantory said with a helpless expression.

    Actually, Cantory¡¯s excuse was not exactly nonsensical. If it had been Lin Li, he would have been able to take away countless Magical Crystal Cannons by using his Ring of Endless Storm that had infinite space. However, the Gilded Kingdom did not have a powerful storage device like the Ring of Endless Storm. Hence, they still had to rely on their ships¡¯ cargo to transport goods, and thus it was indeed very difficult to transport arge number of Magical Crystal Cannons over.

    There was indeed some difficulty in manufacturing. After all, the Magical Crystal Cannon of the Gilded Kingdom was not simply an erged version of the Magical Crystal Cannon, because it involved the use of various types of alchemical technology. Otherwise, the Dwarf Kingdom would not have to fret over the Sky-breaker. They could have just created a massive Magical Crystal Cannon.

    However, the one in charge of negotiations about this matter was the old and sly Gerian from the Tower of Dusk, who was not gullible.

    ¡°Remove the Magical Crystal Cannons from the battleships? Sure, that saves the hassle of transportation!¡± Gerian¡¯s response almost made Cantory inhale.

    Although Cantory was stalling for time, Gerian didn¡¯t get impatient or angry. Instead, he sent a message to the forces that were engaged in trade with the Gilded Kingdom. All the forces terminated their business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom almost overnight, causing the Gilded Kingdom to be unable to buy even a single piece of copper in the Breezy ins.

    If this happened before the battle on Cage Ind, perhaps only some of the forces of the Breezy ins would abide by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s orders. However, after the battle on Cage Ind where the forces witnessed the strength of the Tower of Dusk and its Sanctuary-realm president who could severely damage the dragon corpse with one move, no one dared to offend such a force.

    Now, it depended on how long the Gilded Kingdom could hold on. After all, the Gilded Kingdom also had a great demand for the resources of the Breezy ins. Based on thetest news, Cantory had begun to gradually give in a little. He first promised to trade one Magical Crystal Cannon with the Tower of Dusk every month. Later on, he increased the number to two. However, Gerian wasn¡¯t satisfied yet. Two Magical Crystal Cannons a month might seem like a considerable number to others, but it was far from enough to meet the needs of the Sky Castle.

    The Sky-breaker and the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Magical Crystal Cannon didn¡¯t seem to have great effects, but Lin Li was very clear that both the Dwarf Kingdom and the Gilded Kingdom would sumb in the end.

    Hence, Lin Li did not care too much about those two matters. After instructing his subordinates to install the first batch of Magical Crystal Cannons in the Sky Castle, he immediately left for Ornd Port, which was a new seaport built by the Tower of Dusk close to the Tera Mine on the southern coast of the Breezy ins. It was originally meant as a dock for the battleship that they obtained from the Gilded Kingdom. Its main task was now to guard the coast of the Tera Mine to prevent anyone from attacking it again.

    However, after Lin Li obtained the nautical information of the Gilded Kingdom, he even invested arge amount of wealth to expand Ornd Port, and built a massive shipyard there. Although the Tower of Dusk now had no maritime trade, they were facing the powerful fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and relying on the transformed battleship alone was not enough for them to really safeguard their coastal areas.

    Besides, the prize battleship might have been transformed beyond recognition, but its foundation was still the giant alchemical battleship of the Gilded Kingdom. That caused many aspects of the transformation to be subject to considerable restrictions. It was a lot more restrictive than building a new battleship.

    Besides, Lin Li had a vague feeling that he might one day need an iparably powerful battleship to be able to cope with a crisis. He couldn¡¯t figure out the real reason for that hunch, as it was purely a premonition, or perhaps he had been influenced by the world that Geresco had created.

    After all, since Geresco had created a world like that and left behind such a powerful ship, <i>The Star</i>, he must have wanted his inheritor to learn something from it, and not just give him a show. Although Lin Li still couldn¡¯t figure out Geresco¡¯s intentions, he felt that he ought to be more prepared.

    After Lin Li arrived at the shipyard in Ornd Port, the basic frame of the battleship in the shipyard had just beenpleted, and the massive hull was breathtaking. Compared to the giant alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom, the newly built battleship of the Tower of Dusk was probablyparable to four or five such giant alchemical ships. When Lin Li first saw the ship in person, he even got reminded of the aircraft carriers from his previous life which were known as the giants of the sea.

    Upon sight of their president in the shipyard, the few who were in charge of building the battleship could not help but feel a little anxious. After all, the construction progress of this battleship was much slower than they expected. Well, no matter how experienced they were, it was still the first time they built such a huge battleship.

    Fortunately, Lin Li did not me them for the slow progress, and instead got all the people in charge as well as many shipbuilders to make substantial changes to the original design of the battleship. Fortunately, they had onlypleted the construction of the hull of the battleship. Otherwise, they would have to do a lot of dismantling and modifications.

    Lin Li¡¯stest modification n was a result of the inspiration he got from <i>The Star</i>. In addition to gaining full control of <i>The Star</i>, he also had a clear understanding of its entire structure. Theparison between the two made him realize that there were too many things that he had to improve on on the original battleship.

    For example, the most basic issue would be the power system of the battleship. The power system used in <i>The Star</i> was actually very simr to the power system of the Sky Castle. However, Lin Li had always believed that the power system of the Sky Castle could not be perfectly replicated and used on a battleship. After all, it was not just a matter of scaling and resizing, as there were many other issues like the power transmissionpatibility that had to be resolved.

    Hence, Lin Li had not considered transnting the power system of the Sky Castle to the battleship that was under construction. Instead, he stuck to the design of the power system of the giant alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom. However, the type of power system selected would have to match the battleship. That was a standard that the Gilded Kingdom had paid a huge price to determine over thousands of years of nautical technology development.

    Lin Li wanted to build an evenrger battleship. Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s design of the power system would be modified to enable the power system to support the operation of therger battleship, there would definitely still be a lot of problems. Some problems might not be obvious for the time being, but they would be exposed one by one after the battleship began sailing.

 Chapter 1105 - Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 1105: Invitation</h4>

    Fortunately, Lin Li had learned a lot on <i>The Star</i>, especially the design of the power system of <i>The Star</i>, which seemed to have opened a whole new door for him. Although he couldn¡¯t replicate the power system on <i>The Star</i> wholesale and nt it onto the warship that was under construction, he was confident in designing a power system that was even more suitable for this battleship.

    The people in charge of the shipyard, especially the master-level shipbuilders who had been hired from all over the world, couldn¡¯t help but be fascinated as they listened to Lin Li¡¯s exnation of the design of the new power system. Some of them even apuded when they heard some interesting points. The ingenious design made them feel like they were entering a whole new world.

    The power system was the foundation, and next they would have to deal with the defense system, firearms system, and so on. Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t copy the design of <i>The Star</i> entirely, and instead made certain corrections to each detail of the battleship ording to the actual condition of the battleship. He believed that even if the battleship would not be as impressive as <i>The Star</i> after it waspleted, it would definitely be one of the best in Anril.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t face much difficulty in solving the technical issues, because he could take reference from <i>The Star</i>. After the original design was modified, the construction of the new battleship would definitely require greater investment in aspects like the materials needed, which was an issue that had to be solved rather urgently.

    <i>What oue would there be if the giant alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom had hulls that were made of wood!?</i> Lin Li didn¡¯t want to end up failing terribly by building his battleship based on reference taken from <i>The Star</i>. Even if the battleship could not reach the standard of <i>The Star</i>, the materials needed were key to making the best out of it.

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s new design, the new battleship required arge amount of rare magical metals, but the demand could no longer be met by the resources that the Tower of Dusk had at the moment. However, in order to exert pressure on the Gilded Kingdom, almost all the forces of the Breezy ins had suspended or reduced their business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom, and many of them were in the business of rare magical metals. The Tower of Dusk took advantage of this opportunity to take over the magical metal stocks of those forces at a more favorable price than the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s.

    Those forces were also d about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s intervention. Anyway, it didn¡¯t matter who the buyer was as long as their goods could be sold. Besides, the Tower of Dusk did not abuse their authority and power to demand for lower prices, and even if their business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom resumedter, the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t be able to bargain for lower prices easily, since the Tower of Dusk had offered a higher price than them this time.

    Soon, the people in the shipyard began to build the battleship in an orderly manner ording to the new design. Due to the fact that Lin Li had personally participated, the construction progress was faster even though the updated design of the battleship had greater requirements. Of course, Lin Li did not only focus on the construction of the battleship. He would also return to the Sky Castle from time to time to guide everyone in the modification of the Sky Castle.

    Such days were not exactly rxing, because there were many problems that Lin Li had to take care of. However,pared to Lin Li¡¯s adventurous lifestyle before this or the period of time that he spent studying in the inverted tower, he was much less busy now.

    Time passed quickly, and it was rather calm and peaceful in the Breezy ins. Not only did the Gilded Kingdom not continue to cause any problems, the forces of the Breezy ins did not fight over interests after truly submitting to the Tower of Dusk.

    In the blink of an eye, a few months had passed, and the battleship built in the shipyard of Ornd Port had already reached the final stage of construction. Soon, it would be sent to sea for testing. Moreover, the Tower of Dusk had purchased several Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom over the past few months. After Lin Li and Angno¡¯s transformation, they were ready for instation on the newly built battleship.

    However, just when the new battleship was ready for testing, the Gilded Kingdom, which had been silent for a long time, finally caused a stir again. Of course, this time they were not looking for trouble, but instead sent a team of envoys, and imed that it was a friendly visit to the Tower of Dusk.

    The leader of this mission was naturally Cantory, who was the special envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati. They were apanied by an entourage of nearly 100 people. The size of such a mission was already on the same scale as diplomacy conducted between two nations, especially since Elder Zumar, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, was present. Perhaps even the diplomacy between two nations would not be worth the appearance of this Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Of course, the Tower of Dusk did not feel ttered at all. The members thought that it was normal for them to send a Sanctuary powerhouse since their president was a true Sanctuary powerhouse too. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom had been wishy-washy about the purchase of the battleship-ss Magical Crystal Cannons, which had upset many mages of the Tower of Dusk. They felt that they were already doing the Gilded Kingdom a great favor by allowing them to enter.

    When the Gilded Kingdom envoys arrived, Lin Li was still conducting a finalprehensive inspection of the newly built battleship in the shipyard in Ornd Port. After receiving the news from the Tower of Dusk, he did not intentionally hang out with the people of the Gilded Kingdom, and instead carefully finished the inspection before returning directly to the Tower of Dusk by shuttling through space.

    When Lin Li returned to the Tower of Dusk, Gavin, a senior executive, was receiving the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom. Cantory and Elder Zumar, the two main figures of the group of envoys, were ushered into the reception hall of the Tower of Dusk, while the others were entertained by someone else.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, it¡¯s been a long time since we met. What brings you here today?¡± Lin Li stepped into the reception hall and greeted Elder Zumar with a smile.

    Seeing Lin Li walk in, Elder Zumar immediately stood up from his seat, also smiling, and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually quite guilty now that we¡¯re talking about it. I haven¡¯t thanked you for helping us on Cage Ind previously, President Felic. This time we havee to pay a friendly visit to the Tower of Dusk. At the same time, we¡¯d also like to express our gratitude to you, President Felic.¡±

    After that battle on Cage Ind, Elder Zumar already had a new impression of Lin Li, and thought of him highly. Hence, he no longer put on airs around him. However, there was some displeasure in Cantory¡¯s eyes, even though he still had a diplomatic smile on his face.

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s nothing to thank me for. Strictly speaking, that was just a transaction. If you really want to thank me, I would like the Gilded Kingdom to fulfill the agreement between us and prepare the Magical Crystal Cannons that we want,¡± Lin Li said half-jokingly. In other words, he meant that he wanted them to stop beating around the bush and saying meaningless things. If they were sincere, they would stop being wishy-washy about the Magical Crystal Cannon orders.

    ¡°President Felic, you¡¯ve gotten the wrong idea. We are facing some difficulties. The production of Magical Crystal Cannons is very difficult, and we have to reserve some for the nation too. However, please rest assured that once we manufacture some new ones, we will definitely reassign priority to meet the needs of the Tower of Dusk.¡± Being old and experienced, Elder Zumar did not seem embarrassed at all. Instead, he was very sincere.

    Lin Li did not continue to put him on the spot, either. Instead, he walked to his seat, turned to Elder Zumar, and said, ¡°Elder Zumar, please have a seat. You may not be here to deliver the Magical Crystal Cannons this time, but since you¡¯re here, you¡¯re a guest too. Let¡¯s sit down and discuss what it is that you¡¯re here for.¡±

    ¡°President Felic, we¡¯re here this time mainly to extend an invitation to you. We will be celebrating the establishment of the Gilded Kingdom soon, and as a special envoy of the Gilded Kingdom, I have been entrusted by His Majesty the king to invite you, a friend of our kingdom, to our founding celebration.¡± While speaking, Cantory took out an exquisite and beautiful invitation card, and handed it over to Lin Li with a smile on his face.

    <i>Friend?</i> Hearing this, the people present at the Tower of Dusk could not help butugh. Indeed, politicians were all hypocritical. Everyone knew that the founding celebration was just to assert the power of the nation to deter those who had the audacity to be the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s enemies.

    If the same trick was used on other forces or kingdoms, it might still be somewhat effective, but the Gilded Kingdom was wrong to have tried that on the Tower of Dusk. The Tower of Dusk was now helmed by a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse. They also had a Sky Castle, which was built as a weapon by the High Elves, as well as a team of elite mages. If they really had to disy their strength, the Tower of Dusk would probably frighten them instead.

    Lin Li looked at the invitation in his hand with a smile, and said, ¡°I have long heard that the Gilded Kingdom has a heritage of thousands of years, and since you live on the sea, your kingdom has a very different look from the countries of the continent. I believe you have also invited other forces apart from the Tower of Dusk, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, this time it¡¯s going to be a millennium celebration, and the scale of the celebration is going to be muchrger than usual. In addition to the Tower of Dusk, we have also invited the Mithril Alliance, Caesar Family, the Glittergold Trade Union, and other forces of the Breezy ins.¡± Cantory was rather frank about it, and he even sounded very proud. He was obviously already thinking about how shocked the Tower of Dusk would be when they saw the strength disyed by the Gilded Kingdom.

    When they heard Cantory¡¯s answer, the people of the Tower of Dusk immediately understood that the Gilded Kingdom obviously wanted to deter the other forces of the Breezy ins too, and not just the Tower of Dusk. They wanted to take advantage of this so-called founding celebration to disy the strength of the Gilded Kingdom to the other forces in the Breezy ins to make them choose between the Tower of Dusk and Gilded Kingdom.

    In fact, during the Cage Ind incident back then, the Gilded Kingdom had pulled the same trick. Instead of heading straight to Cage Ind with their battleships, they chose to pass through the ckwater Swamp and Levidan Canyon to showcase the mighty strength of the Gilded Kingdom in front of the forces of the Breezy ins. Unfortunately, things ultimately escted beyond their expectations, and did not go ording to n. In the end, they not only failed to achieve a deterrent effect, they even had to ask for help from the Tower of Dusk and the forces of the Breezy ins.

    ¡°Okay. By the way, didn¡¯t you mention that the Magical Crystal Cannons are toorge to be transported conveniently? Why don¡¯t you help me prepare a batch of Magical Crystal Cannons, and I take them back myself after the celebration?¡± Lin Li did not dy anything, and directly made that request to Cantory.

    The Gilded Kingdom had been refusing to honor the deal for the Magical Crystal Cannons by using the excuse of problematic transportation. Thus, they had been supplying only two cannons to the Tower of Dusk each month. Of course, that excuse was, to some extent, also a fact. A standard cargo ship could only transport one Magical Crystal Cannon at a time, and if the Gilded Kingdom only operated two ships a month, it could indeed only transport two.

    Lin Li was very enthusiastic about solving this problem for the Gilded Kingdom. No matter how many Magical Crystal Cannons there were, it would not be a burden to his Ring of Endless Storm at all. If he were to load them openly, he could probably load the entire fleet of the Gilded Kingdom into his Ring of Endless Storm too.

    However, they had no idea that Lin Li had such an incredible storage device. After all, spatial storage magic devices were very precious and rare in the entire Anril, not to mention one with infinite space like the Ring of Endless Storm. Generally speaking, even if it was very precious, such devices were known as artifacts that only had a few cubic meters of space ording to legends. A few cubic meters of space would not be enough for an ordinary magical crystal, let alone the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, there was some contempt in Cantory¡¯s eyes instead of anger. He smirked, and said, ¡°Is that so? We¡¯re more than happy to have you share the pressure of transporting the Magical Crystal Cannons for us, President Felic.¡±

    When Cantory said that, Elder Zumar who was at the side, vaguely felt that there was something wrong, but he couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint where the problemy. As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, the only possibility he could think of was that Lin Li was probably intending to use his Domain World to store all the Magical Crystal Cannons. However, the Domain World was not omnipotent, and Sanctuary powerhouses were not gods, either, and it was impossible to constantly keep the Domain World open to transport the Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Breezy ins.

    Hence, Zumar didn¡¯t stop Cantory. Instead, after Cantory finished speaking, Zumar said to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, let¡¯s put aside the matter of the Magical Crystal Cannons for now. I have something else to share with you that I believe you will be interested in.¡±

 Chapter 1106 - Black-bearded Man

    <h4>Chapter 1106: ck-bearded Man</h4>

    Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t figure out the problem immediately, and so had no choice but to change the subject for a while, hoping that Lin Li was just joking. After all, although he had heard that the Tower of Dusk was building ships, he didn¡¯t think that the Tower of Dusk could have a huge fleet of ships all of a sudden.

    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s settled then. I hope the Gilded Kingdom won¡¯te up with any more excuses for dy by then.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t immediately respond to Elder Zumar, and instead confirmed it with Cantory before turning to look at Elder Zumar. Smiling, he said, ¡°Elder Zumar, what are you talking about? What makes you think I will definitely be interested?¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Cantory suddenly panicked, but he was soon relieved. In his opinion, Lin Li probably only said that because he couldn¡¯t find an out for himself. His thoughts were the same as Elder Zumar¡¯s. Apart from using a huge fleet of cargo ships, he really couldn¡¯t think of any other way for Lin Li to transport therge number of Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Breezy ins.

    Elder Zumar frowned slightly, and vaguely felt that something was wrong. However, when faced with Lin Li¡¯s questions, they couldn¡¯t consider those matters anymore. He had no choice but to put those matters aside and say, ¡°This time, our nation¡¯s founding celebration coincides with the opening of the sea city that opens once in 10 years. There will be many extremely precious specialties of the Endless Ocean avable there. President Felic, are you interested in going for a stroll there?¡±

    ¡°Sea city?¡± Upon hearing that term, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but remember the lively sea city on Cage Ind in the world created by Geresco. Indeed, as Elder Zumar had said, Lin Li was more interested in the sea city which was said to open once every 10 years. Lin Li was much more interested in that than in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration.

    The envoys of the Gilded Kingdom stayed at the Tower of Dusk for three days, during which they visited the Magic City of the Tower of Dusk before bidding farewell. However, the members of the Tower of Dusk did not invite them to go back to the tower again for another tour. It was indeed a huge regret for them.

    After sending off the envoys from the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li also returned to the shipyard in Ornd Port where the hideous steel beast was quietly lurking, and waiting for the test of the storm of the Endless Ocean. On the docks on both sides of the shipyard, the shipbuilders and the numerous craftsmen who had participated in this construction project were also extremely excited as they were waiting for the first trial of the ships they had built.

    ¡°President, please name this battleship,¡± said respectfully one of the people in charge as he walked towards Lin Li. The battleship, which hadn¡¯t been given a name yet, had to be named by the president.

    ¡°Let¡¯s call it <i>The Star</i>.¡± Lin Li saved himself the trouble, and directly named it after <i>The Star</i>. However, he was also well aware that this battleship was worlds apart from the original <i>The Star</i>.

    Soon, the name <i>The Star</i> was painted on the side of the battleship, along with the emblem of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li and some crewmen then stepped on the deck of <i>The Star</i>. Those crew members were not all involved in the construction of this battleship. Most of them were from the various ports. After all, that battleship was not the real <i>The Star</i>, and Lin Li could not maneuver it alone.

    Those crew members were basically above level-15, and were considered experts with rich experience. However, there had never been arge naval fleet in the Breezy ins, and it was the first time they had seen such a huge battleship. Thus, after they stepped on the deck, the crew yelled and shrieked in surprise continuously. To them, <i>The Star</i> was like a city at sea.

    ¡°<i>The Star</i>? This big thing looks simr, but it¡¯s probably just in terms of appearance!¡±

    Amidst the countless exmations, Lin Li suddenly heard someone say that. Although that person¡¯s voice was soft, Lin Li the Sanctuary powerhouse heard it clearly. Lin Li immediately turned around and scanned the crew, only to see that there were two of them who seemed to be a bit out of ce with the people around them even though they looked ordinary.

    Lin Li found it extremely strange as he felt that the two of them sounded like they knew what the real <i>The Star</i> was like. <i>The Star</i> that Lin Li knew was from the world from thousands of years ago created by Geresco. How did those insignificant individuals know about <i>The Star</i>?

    Feeling doubtful, Lin Li stepped forward, and the people around those two crew members immediately shunned them like the gue. Now, it would be impossible for them to hide in the crowd even if they wanted to. Hence, they had no choice but to remain standing, waiting for the possible punishment. After all, if they were the owners of the ship themselves, they would not want others to secretly badmouth their ship, even though it might seem terrible to them.

    ¡°Do you know about <i>The Star</i>?¡± After Lin Li walked over, he didn¡¯t berate the two of them like others expected. Instead, he waved his hand to gesture for the surrounding crew members to leave, and asked that question that made others feel puzzled.

    ¡°Lord, I¡¯m so sorry, my brother just didn¡¯t think twice before speaking. <i>The Star</i> is the most majestic battleship we¡¯ve ever seen, how could there be any other ship that canpare to it?¡± said the younger-looking crew member of the two. His brother was a bearded man who looked much fiercer.

    ¡°No need to be nervous, I¡¯m just asking if you know about <i>The Star</i>.¡± Lin Li waved his hand to tell them not to be nervous. He then asked the bearded man the same question.

    ¡°I...¡± The bearded man hesitated for a moment before looking at hispanion. ¡°Lord, my family has been living at sea for generations, so I¡¯m aware of the legends at sea. <i>The Star</i>, which you¡¯ve mentioned, is only something that I heard about in the legends. I was just spouting nonsense just now, please forgive me.¡±

    <i>Legends of the sea? Living at sea for generations?</i> Lin Li looked at the two men, gently rubbed his hand on his chin, and said, ¡°You two are probably not ordinary sailors. I won¡¯t hold it against you for what you¡¯ve done previously, but I don¡¯t want my subordinates to be hiding anything from me. Now, I¡¯ll give you a chance to exin. If you don¡¯t exin, I won¡¯t make things difficult for you, but I won¡¯t let you continue staying on this ship, either.¡±

    The bearded man was much more straightforward. As soon as he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, he turned around and got ready to leave, but his brother who was beside him pulled him back while turning around, and saying to Lin Li, ¡°Lord, we do have our reasons. If you¡¯d like to know, why don¡¯t we go somewhere else? I¡¯ll tell you everything that I know.¡±

    Lin Li smiled and cast his Domain World with a wave of his hand, directly engulfing the two of them. ¡°Okay, can you tell me now?¡±

    When Lin Li cast the Domain World, the two crew members immediately became extremely nervous. However, by the time they were engulfed by the Domain World, they coincidentally revealed a look of hopelessness. Clearly, they had already felt that such power was simply not something they could fight against. Compared to Lin Li, they were just like insignificant ants.

    ¡°Okay, Lord, since you¡¯re asking, we can only tell you the truth.¡± Seemingly having resigned to fate, the bearded man said in a hoarse voice, ¡°We¡¯re not afraid of letting youugh at us when we tell you our true identity. We¡¯re just a bunch of lowly pirates at sea. Unfortunately, we ran into the Gilded Kingdom, and as you can see, we¡¯re the only survivors.¡±

    ¡°Lowly pirates? I doubt it. Otherwise, how could you have thought of hiding on my battleship? I¡¯m afraid this is the only ce where you can hide from the Gilded Kingdom. I don¡¯t care if you used to be pirates or whatever, but if you want to continue working for me, you must tell me honestly where you came from!¡± Lin Li¡¯s tone became stern all of a sudden. He didn¡¯t care about whether they were pirates or not, but he couldn¡¯t tolerate having his subordinates hide things from him. Although the two of them were too weak to cause a stir on <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to defend them for nothing.

    ¡°My nickname at sea is ck-beard, and I had six ships and hundreds of subordinates under me. However, they all died at the hands of the Gilded Kingdom. Only my brother Jack and I escaped. Due to the fact that we hijacked some merchant ships of the Gilded Kingdom, the Gilded Kingdom wants to arrest us, but we¡¯re not willing. The Gilded Kingdom has already issued a warrant to have us arrested. The bounty for me is 100,000 gold coins, you can take it if you want, but there is no bounty on my brother, so please let him go.¡± Before Lin Li inquired further, ck-beard immediately came clean.

    ¡°100,000 gold coins? Haha.¡± Lin Li burst intoughter as 100,000 gold coins was nothing to him. However, he could tell that ck-beard was not as simple as he seemed on the surface. At this moment, he sounded righteous, but he was actually just trying to provoke Lin Li.

    Those who were knowledgeable enough would know that ck-beard was a pirate leader, so how could he be unaware of the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom? Given the hostility between the two, how could they be willing to hand over the fugitive wanted by the Gilded Kingdom for a mere 100,000 gold coins?

    ¡°ck-beard, Jack, good. You two may stay, but like I mentioned, I don¡¯t care if you were pirates before, but since you¡¯re on my ship, you have to do your best to work for me.¡± Lin Li immediately retracted his World Domain and released ck-beard and Jack. At the same time, he took out another potion, tossed it at ck-beard, and said, ¡°I think your abilities must be beyond that. This potion can cure your injuries. If you¡¯re not scared that I might have tampered with it, just drink it.¡±

    ¡°With your strength, you can deal with us easily.¡± ck-beard grabbed the potion and removed the lid of the bottle before downing it without hesitation.

    In fact, from guessing the other party¡¯s identity as a pirate to associating it with his thick beard, the information about the pirate ck-beard had already surfaced in his heart. Although the Tower of Dusk had been operating businesses on the maind of the Breezy ins all along, they had only begun getting in touch with the forces at sea when the Gilded Kingdom appeared.

    However, Lin Li knew just as much as the people who lived at sea about the forces on the said sea. Lin Li still had a document with detailed nautical information that he had obtained from the Gilded Kingdom. It also introduced the forces of the sea.

    Of course, since it was recorded by the Gilded Kingdom, they were naturally extraordinary forces. Besides, ck-beard and the pirates he led happened to be on the list. Lin Li reckoned that that was probably the reason that the Gilded Kingdom acted like they wanted to nab ck-beard, be it dead or alive, after annihting theirir.

    ording to the information of the Gilded Kingdom, ck-beard¡¯s name was Julio, and he belonged to a family of pirates. His ancestors dated back to the Dark Age, and were the leaders of pirates of the Endless Ocean. Although Julio said effortlessly that he once had six ships and hundreds of subordinates under him, those six ships were extraordinary. Those who had seen them before knew that although ck-beard¡¯s ships could notpare to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s giant alchemical ships, they were much stronger than those of the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom.

    Apart from the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s alchemical battleships, most of the ships were still using sails. ck-beard¡¯s six battleships seemed to be sailing ships too on the surface, but in fact, they were powered by the alchemical power system that had thousands of years of heritage hidden below.

    Hence, no matter what thebat power of ck-beard¡¯s pirates was like, their speed was definitely the best. In the Endless Ocean, speed was a great advantage, and almost none of the merchant ships that were targeted by ck-beard¡¯s pirates managed to survive because of their enemies¡¯ speed.

    Unfortunately, this time, ck-beard¡¯s ships turned into pieces, and hundreds of his subordinates were also fed to the fish. Although he and Jack managed to escape, theirbat abilities had already fallen below the Legendary-level because of their injuries. Although they had healed their injuries, the Gilded Kingdom issued a wanted notice for them, causing them to be too afraid to show their faces. Everyone was out to kill pirates, and the Gilded Kingdom was not worried that the others wouldn¡¯t kick them in the rut.

 Chapter 1107 - Steel Monster

    <h4>Chapter 1107: Steel Monster</h4>

    Besides, ck-beard could just recruit more subordinates, but once the six alchemy-powered battleships were destroyed, he would never be able to build the same battleships again. Moreover, ck-beard would never be able to go back to the way he used to be in the past without those battleships. He couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed.

    Hearing that the Tower of Dusk was recruiting sailors, ck-beard, who had been making a living at sea, and knew that the Tower of Dusk was the only force in the Breezy ins that dared to go against the Gilded Kingdom, brought Jack along with him to submit an application. He believed that as long as he hid himself on the ship of the Tower of Dusk, he would be able to avoid being found by the Gilded Kingdom. On the other hand, he also had some hope in his heart that he would one day be able to use the Tower of Dusk to exact revenge on the Gilded Kingdom for his deceased fellow pirates.

    However, ck-beard didn¡¯t expect to attract the attention of Lin Li, the young owner of the ship, with a casualint. Of course, at this moment he finally learned that the young man Lin Li was actually the owner of the Tower of Dusk and a super powerhouse who had already reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    After learning about ck-beard, Julio, Lin Li stopped thinking about it, and was instead very interested about <i>The Star</i> which Julio had mentioned. Hence, when Julio¡¯s strength was starting to recover, Lin Li again asked, ¡°How did you find out about <i>The Star</i>? Don¡¯t tell me about any myths and legends. I¡¯ve never heard any legend about <i>The Star</i>.¡±

    If there had been any legends and myths, they would have already spread everywhere. Although they might not be known to all, Lin Li had never heard about any legends after sailing in the sea for such a long time. He mostly heard about sailors going out to sea and digging up treasures and so on.

    At this moment, Julio had already sensed that his physical injuries were rapidly recovering, and it probably wouldn¡¯t take long for his strength to be restored to the Legendary-level again. Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, he hurriedly suppressed the surprise in his heart, and respectfully said, ¡°Lord, the legend about <i>The Star</i> is in fact only a legend passed down in our family for generations. Legend has it that our ancestors have led this fleet of ships, and escaped along a very secret route to avoid the siege of the High Elves¡¯ fleet.¡±

    Hearing Julio¡¯s words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but recall a saying that went ¡°The apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree.¡± Since Julio¡¯s ancestor faced the siege of the High Elves, he was clearly quite an aplished pirate back in the day.

    ¡°However, just as they were about to break free from the High Elves¡¯ fleet, they encountered a massive battleship. In the end, our ancestor was sted into pieces by that battleship. Fortunately, our ancestor was lucky to have escaped when the High Elves caught up. Immediately after that, he saw a very shocking scene whereby the powerful High Elves¡¯ fleet was destroyed by the massive ship. It was <i>The Star</i>.¡± Failing to notice the peculiar expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, Julio simply told him about the legend calmly. He reckoned that Lin Li¡¯s tone did not change because he must have heard too much from the elders in the past.

    Listening to Julio¡¯s exnation, Lin Li¡¯s expression became even more odd because it reminded him of his own experience in that world created by Geresco. At that time, he used a pirate ship that came towards him as a target in order to test the arms of <i>The Star</i>. Besides, he had also destroyed a fleet of the High Elvester on.

    Hearing Julio¡¯s narration, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel confused. <i>Did I really get sent thousands of years back by Geresco, and end up destroying the pirates and fleet belonging to Julio¡¯s ancestor?</i>

    Of course, Lin Li also knew that it was actually unlikely. Not everyone could travel in time¡ªlegend had it that only one of the five Dragon Aspects had that ability. Even gods did not have such power.

    Lin Li could only say that everything he encountered in that world should have been predetermined by Geresco. He felt like he was just watching a movie, except that the difference was that he was part of the movie, but only acted as a spectator.

    Apart from that, most of the legends told by Julio were just some cliche ones about <i>The Star</i> fighting with some marine beasts. Besides, such legends were rampant in the sea, and the only differences between them were the main characters.

    After putting aside the matters of <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li and Julio chatted for a while about sailing on the sea. He had to admit that Julio was definitelypetent since he had the ability to lead a bunch of pirates in the Endless Ocean for so many years. If it had been a fluke, it would¡¯ve onlysted for a while, and one might not be lucky all the time. All they could rely on was their true capabilities.

    As for the things rted to navigation, Lin Li could only keep it in theory. However, having lived on the Endless Ocean for so many years, Julio definitely had a rich experience after fighting on the sea for years. Actually, even the most famous navigator in the Gilded Kingdom might not be able topare with Julio.

    Obtaining the two sailors with rich experience, Julio and Jack, was quite a considerable gain for Lin Li. However, Lin Li could sense that although Julio and Jack had always been respectful towards him, they probably did not recognize him as their captain, because they had been calling him ¡®lord¡¯ and not ¡®captain¡¯ all the way throughout.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about that. As long as the two of them behaved themselves and worked for him, he wouldn¡¯t care about the way they addressed him.

    Soon, the preparations for the testing of <i>The Star</i> werepleted, and the sailors also began to get familiar with what they had to do under the guidance of the shipbuilders. Although <i>The Star</i> was sailing with alchemical power, and did not require the sailors to adjust the sails, the sailors still had things to do, and their tasks required far more skill and experience than on other ships.

    The testing of <i>The Star</i> involved not only testing the performance of <i>The Star</i>, but also familiarization with operating the vessel. No matter how much experience those sailors had when working on a ship, they would probably have to relearn and practice many of the operations on <i>The Star</i>.

    Finally, when everything was ready, <i>The Star</i> slowly set off from the shipyard under Lin Li¡¯s control, and the hideous steel beast appeared for the first time in Ornd Port. It was four or five timesrger than the giant alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom, and was just like a steel fortress moving on the sea.

    All the people in the harbor who saw it were immediately stunned, and those who were a little closer to <i>The Star</i> could feel arge ck shadow covering the sky above their heads. Fortunately, before the trial was conducted, they had made sufficient preparations to leave enough space in the port for <i>The Star</i>. Otherwise, the waves stirred up by <i>The Star</i> alone would have been enough to cause a disaster.

    ¡°Oh goodness, is this the new battleship built by the Tower of Dusk? This is incredible!¡± Many people couldn¡¯t help but exim loudly. Although people who came and went to the port knew that the Tower of Dusk was building a battleship, none of them imagined that it would turn out to be such a steel monster.

    ¡°Can this big guy really sail on the sea?¡± There were also people who expressed doubts about the sailing ability of <i>The Star</i>. In this era, the people thought that ships should only be made of wood, and thought that something as heavy as steel should not be able to stay afloat on the surface of the sea. Although the emergence of the alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom had gradually shown people that ships made of steel could also sail on the sea, the massive size of <i>The Star</i> was still beyond their knowledge.

    At the same time, some people also noticed the weapons on <i>The Star</i>, which gave them a huge shock as they immediately eximed, ¡°Hurry and look at that. Is that a battleship cannon? One, two... If all of them are fired at the same time, I¡¯m afraid a fleet will be instantly blown to pieces.¡±

    The Magical Crystal Cannons on <i>The Star</i> were all purchased from the Gilded Kingdom during this period of time. Although the Gilded Kingdom had been dying and making excuses, the supply of two Magical Crystal Cannons a month allowed them to umte a significant number after several months. Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons, <i>The Star</i> was also equipped with other weapons, such as the Magical Crystal Cannons produced by the dwarves as well as harpoons that resembled ballistae.

    As some people said, if the weapons on <i>The Star</i> were to fire in unison, the power would be enough to destroy a city by the sea. With such powerful firearms, <i>The Star</i> would probably deter even the fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, what more the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom.

    Those were things that were visible. There were many other means of attack that were concealed on <i>The Star</i>, such as mageweaths and Alchemy Arrays. Their attacks were like des in scabbards that would be the enemy¡¯s nightmare once unsheathed. Enemies who ignored their existence would have to pay a painful price for it.

    The massive ship was slowly sailing away from the port towards the boundless sea, where it began its first trial. At the same time, the scouts of various forces also informed their respective superiors of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s construction of <i>The Star</i> as soon as possible.

    Although there were almost no forces in the Breezy ins today that would make the Tower of Dusk their enemy, the forces were still concerned about the Tower of Dusk¡¯s actions. Hence, when the news of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s construction was released, the forces immediately sent scouts to Ornd Port.

    In fact, everyone was well aware of that, and the Tower of Dusk also knew that the various forces would definitely send scouts to investigate. However, <i>The Star</i> would definitely appear in front of them, after all, so the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t mind the prying of other forces too much.

    After <i>The Star</i> left the harbor, it did not sail further away, but started testing the battleship¡¯s performance in the sea near the port. For example, they tested aspects like the maximum speed of the battleship, the maneuverability of the battleship at sea, and of course the power of their firearms.

    However, they couldn¡¯t test the power of the firearms near Ornd Port. Although Lin Li did not mind letting other forces know how powerful <i>The Star</i> was, he didn¡¯t want to destroy the environment near Ornd Port.

    There happened to be an area less than 100 miles from Ornd Port where reefs were abundant in the sea. It was known as the Death Sea. Legend had it that during the Dark Age, a High Elves¡¯ fleet once sank there, and there was even the talk of ghost ships. Of course, those things were not to be taken seriously. For ordinary people, a slightly dangerous ce would be exaggerated badly, and even the demon deities would be involved.

    Not wanting to cause any waste, Lin Li decided to test the power of the firearms of <i>The Star</i> set in this so-called Death Sea. With the speed of <i>The Star</i>, they soon arrived at the Death Sea after leaving Ornd Port, which was indeed a bit different. The seawater in other areas was blue, but the seawater here was ck and gloomy.

    However, even those experienced sailors would not take it seriously, let alone Lin Li. Under Lin Li¡¯smand, a Magical Crystal Cannon began to get charged before the muzzle was pointed at a bare ind in the middle of the Death Sea.

    After he issued anothermand, more than a dozen dazzling pirs of light instantly shot out from the muzzle of a single Magical Crystal Cannon. Even the sailors on <i>The Star</i> couldn¡¯t help but keep their eyes tightly shut for fear of being blinded by it. When the light disappeared, they carefully opened their eyes to look in the direction of the target, only to see that there was nothing but a massive whirlpool left.

    After the Magical Crystal Cannons attacked, Lin Li tested the other means of attack on <i>The Star</i> in the sea one by one. By the time the test was over, the so-called Death Sea was no longer what it used to be. It was as if it waspletely erased from the map.

 Chapter 1108 - Sailor

    <h4>Chapter 1108: Sailor</h4>

    The sailors on the ship were stunned to see the aftermath of the test on the Death Sea. They even felt that it was surreal. Many of them had witnessed battles on sea, some of which were between armed merchant ships and pirates, while some were between just pirates. Those battles gave them bragging rights in the tavern. However, they now realized that the things that they had been bragging about were just like child¡¯s y.

    Staring at the calm sea, Julio, who had regained his Legendary-level strength, couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional. Unlike other sailors, he had personally experienced the terrifying power of those alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom. His fleet of ships that had been running through the sea for many years could not hold a candle to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s. In fact, that battle on sea had left a deep impression on him, making him find his adversaries invincible.

    However, after seeing the powerful firearms of <i>The Star</i>, the invincible image of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet in his mind was instantly destroyed. He couldn¡¯t help but imagine how terribly the fleet of the Gilded Kingdom would be crushed by a ship like <i>The Star</i>.

    In the pilothouse of <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li wasn¡¯t calm, either. After all, this battleship truly belonged to him. Even though it had its ws, and was inferiorpared to the original <i>The Star,</i> he was certain that this battleship was one of the best in Anril today.

    After some tests, <i>The Star</i> ended its first trial, and was sailed back to Ornd Port for arrangements to be made to fix some details in the shipyard. About three or four days after the first trial, all the forces of the Breezy ins sent messengers to congratte the Tower of Dusk.

    While congratting the Tower of Dusk, they also expressed their intention to follow <i>The Star</i> out to sea to attend the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. After all, the Endless Ocean was never a safe ce. The Gilded Kingdom had a powerful fleet that could travel freely to and from the Breezy ins, but the forces of the Breezy ins were not protected by a fleet like the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s. Although they had one or two armed merchant ships that could be sailed to the neighboring sea areas, it would be difficult for them to reach the Gilded Kingdom.

    Initially, the forces were still feeling frustrated about securing their transportation to the Gilded Kingdom after receiving the invitation. However, now that they had seen the powerful battleship built by the Tower of Dusk, they naturally immediately thought of hitching a ride to the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li agreed readily to the request of those forces. After all, the Tower of Dusk was no longer what it used to be. It had now be the recognized leader of many forces in the Breezy ins. Hence, it was normal that they would want to follow the Tower of Dusk to the Gilded Kingdom.

    The invitation to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration was very important to all the forces of the Breezy ins. After all, no one really wanted to wage a war in the Breezy ins, as that would not be beneficial for anyone. Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s entry to the Breezy ins made the various forces of the Breezy ins feel threatened, the current situation showed that the Gilded Kingdom had brought them considerable benefits.

    For example, a lot of forces in the Breezy ins had already reached a bottleneck in their development, but they suddenly had a huge patron because they had the resources needed by the Gilded Kingdom. There were also major forces such as the Mithril Alliance, which were in cooperation with the Gilded Kingdom in the field of alchemy and other areas, and had gotten a lot of benefits. Now, it should be considered a honeymoon period for them.

    Hence, for the time being, none of the forces of the Breezy ins wanted to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom, despite knowing that the Gilded Kingdom would have a conflict of interests with them sooner orter if they wanted to develop in the Breezy ins. At the very least, they wanted to maintain the current peace.

    In particr, the Mithril Alliance and several other top forces cooperated with the Gilded Kingdom in even more areas. Their businesses wererger in scale too. Hence, they sent some important figures to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. Of course, the ceremony was secondary, and the most important thing was to express their intention to maintain peace. At the same time, they also hoped to make a further step in the progress of their business and cooperation.

    The representative of the Mithril Alliance was an old acquaintance of Lin Li¡¯s, Joseph, who once served as the helmsman of the Mithril Alliance. Although Joseph was stripped of his position after exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum because he failed to handle the rtionship with the Tower of Dusk well and caused the Mithril Alliance to suffer a considerable loss during that exploration, he still had a high status in the Mithril Alliance. After all, he also represented the Taylor Family, which was more powerful than the others in the Mithril Alliance.

    Although he had lost his position as the helmsman because of Lin Li, he didn¡¯t show any displeasure or hostility after meeting thetter. When congratting Lin Li for the sessful testing of <i>The Star</i>, Joseph was all smiles, and even personally gave Lin Li a congrattory gift.

    On the other hand, the Caesar Family was led personally by us. Although he was the patriarch thereof, and it was a little dangerous for him to go all the way to the Gilded Kingdom to attend the celebration, it also showed how much they valued the event. However, after meeting Lin Li, us privately told Lin Li that no matter what happened in the Gilded Kingdom, he would definitely regard the Tower of Dusk as their leader.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t take us¡¯s words seriously, because he knew very well that profit was the most important thing for them. us¡¯s words were more of an insurance for himself rather than an expression of his loyalty to Lin Li. If the Tower of Dusk was at a losing end, it would be unreliable to depend on the other forces to ovee the ordeal.

    Although the Blood Moon n had always kept a low profile in the Breezy ins, and could even be considered mysterious, they were clearly not willing to miss the invitation of the Gilded Kingdom this time. The one who came forward was Mogadi, the current president of the Blood Moon n. Besides, legend had it that the people of the Blood Moon n had been hiding on the Endless Ocean for quite a long time in order to avoid the purge of the allied forces of the various races at the end of the Dark Age. Hence, Mogadi hit off rather well with Lin Li when they talked about sailing. That made the people from other forces quite envious.

    Besides, the Glittergold Trade Union also sent a representative. After all, the Glittergold Trade Union also had quite a lot of business over in the Gilded Kingdom. Moreover, with the entry of the Gilded Kingdom into the Breezy ins, the business of the Glittergold Trade Union had also expanded gradually. However, Hoffman and Thomas were not the representatives this time. Instead, it was Master of Inscription Elvan, who was also a shareholder.

    It was not that Hoffman and Thomas were putting on airs or disregarding the interaction with the Gilded Kingdom this time. It was mainly because the Glittergold Trade Union was unlike the other forces, and had businesses almost everywhere in Anril. Even the smaller shareholders were extremely busy, let alone the major shareholders Hoffman and Thomas.

    The reason that they had sent Elvan to be the representative was mainly because he was the only one in the trade union who was in charge of inscription instead of business. At the same time, with his identity as one of the four main shareholders, he also had enough authority and prestige to represent the Glittergold Trade Union. Hence, the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t feel like they had been taken lightly.

    The pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses like Elvis and the others who participated in the battle on Cage Ind did not show up for the celebration this time. They had a rtively extraordinary status in their respective forces, and generally did not care about factional affairs. However, there was a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse who arrived uninvited. It was Cardson who was known as the greatest gourmet of the Breezy ins.

    Cardson was not included in the invitation list of the Gilded Kingdom, and the ones who were invited were mainly the various forces of the Breezy ins. Although Cardson was ratherpetent, he did not belong to any force in the Breezy ins, and all he had was a small restaurant.

    The reason Cardson came uninvited was entirely due to his hobby and penchant for food. He imed to have tasted every single edible item on the maind of Anril, and thus wanted to go to the Gilded Kingdom to try the plethora of exotic food they had to offer. In addition to eating, he also liked cooking. In the eyes of others, the Gilded Kingdom was just a dangerous ce that was infested with various marine magical beasts, but to him, it was a treasure vault of food ingredients.

    Hence, as soon as Cardson saw Lin Li¡¯s face, he immediately offered to be the chef on <i>The Star</i>, not standing on ceremony with him at all.

    The fact that a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse wanted to be the chef on the battleship might sound incredible to others. After all, a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse was also a powerhouse and a god-like existence in the eyes of ordinary people.

    However, Lin Li could understand Cardson¡¯s feelings. In fact, Cardson¡¯s pursuit of food was akin to his own or others¡¯ pursuit of power. Moreover, although Lin Li did not share his pursuit of food in the least, there was no harm in being able to enjoy delicious food during the voyage. Hence, he readily agreed to Cardson¡¯s request.

    After sessfully bing the chef on <i>The Star</i>, Cardson did not take himself as an outsider as he immediately began to set up his own kitchen on the vessel. Although there was already a kitchen on <i>The Star</i> since there were many other sailors on board who had to eat too, that kitchen was far below Cardson¡¯s standards.

    Lin Li did not interfere with Cardson. He simply instructed his subordinates who were in charge toply with the former. Anyway, no matter how he changed the kitchen, it wouldn¡¯t affect the safety of <i>The Star</i>, so he let Cardson do what he wanted.

    In addition to the representatives of the Mithril Alliance and other top forces, some otherrge and medium-sized forces also sent representatives to Ornd Port in hopes of following <i>The Star</i> to the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Endless Ocean was very dangerous for the vast majority of people, and it was obviously much safer to follow a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Lin Li weed them on board too. Anyway, there was enough space on <i>The Star</i> which could fit thousands of people. The Gilded Kingdom was not inviting any Tom, Dick, and Harry. Hence, even if all the people invited were on board <i>The Star</i>, there would only be 200-300 people in total.

    A few dayster, <i>The Star</i> was ready to set sail. Lin Li brought the representatives of various forces onto the deck of the vessel. With a long roar, the huge <i>The Star</i> slowly sailed out of Ornd Port, and headed for the Gilded Kingdom, which was located deep in the Endless Ocean, following the route that was mapped out.

    The way to reach the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s capital was not a problem for Lin Li, as he still had the navigational information he¡¯d extorted from the Gilded Kingdom. Although the information had hidden the military forces deployed by the Gilded Kingdom at sea and some information involving the secrets of the kingdom, he could still use it to map out a route to the capital of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The territory of the Gilded Kingdom was sorge that if the inds at the borders of the kingdom were connected on the map, the area covered would probably be about half of the maind of Anril. However, almost 80% of the area there was the vast ocean, and the numerous inds were their real territory.

    The so-called Nation of the Thousand Inds was not an exaggerated term at all, as the Gilded Kingdom really had annotated nearly 1,000 inds on the map. However, there were many more inds that could not be marked, and some might only be enough to house less than 100 households. Even the people of the Gilded Kingdom might not be able to count how many inds there were in its territory.

    Hence, the Gilded Kingdom did not seem to be very far from the Breezy ins based on the boundaries, but that was just the distance between the ind that was at the boundary and the Breezy ins. Even with the fast speed of <i>The Star</i>, it would take about a month to reach the capital of the Gilded Kingdom where the celebration was held.

    One of the many excuses that the Gilded Kingdom gave to Lin Li for dying the delivery of the Magical Crystal Cannons was the great transportation distance, which was the reason that they only provided two Magical Crystal Cannons to the Tower of Dusk each month. They were self-aware enough to feel bad for that. Otherwise, if the Magical Crystal Cannons were to be shipped to the southernmost ind of the Gilded Kingdom, the delivery time would probably be once every six months.

 Chapter 1109 - Setting Sail

    <h4>Chapter 1109: Setting Sail</h4>

    Lin Li had sailed on <i>The Star</i> in the world created by Geresco, so there was not much novelty left in the sea for him. However, the others felt different. Other representatives of the top forces like Joseph were only hegemons on thend of the Breezy ins. They rarely had the chance to go to sea. Hence, when they were really on the Endless Ocean, they couldn¡¯t help but be amazed when they felt the ripples of the Endless Ocean.

    However, such emotions did notst long. No matter how majestic and spectacr the scene might be, they couldn¡¯t stare at it for long. In the Endless Ocean, the boundless sea was everywhere. Anyone would be annoyed in the long run.

    <i>The Star</i> left Ornd Port and sailed on the sea for three or four days, during which time there was rarely anyone who would run to the deck to appreciate the unchanging scenery of the sea. Only Cardson, who saw the Endless Ocean as a food treasure vault, would scurry to the deck all the time to see if there were any rare marine magical beasts out there.

    The worst thing was that the Endless Ocean was a world of water elements where other types of magical elements were scarce, thus making it impossible to kill time with meditation. Unless the mage specialized in water magic, his efficiency of meditation would be incredibly low in such an environment. Even if he meditated for a day, it might not be more fruitful than an hour of meditation on the maind.

    However, at this time, as the captain of the ship, Lin Li did not ck off. Even though <i>The Star</i> had already been tested once, there would still be various problems and issues that surfaced. After all, Lin Li had no way to replicate <i>The Star</i> of Geresco¡¯s world, and could only take reference from the real <i>The Star</i> and the alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom to build the current <i>The Star</i>.

    Although the voyage had been smooth during the test, and seemed to have reached the point of perfection, there might be problems that would never be exposed unless they sailed the ship across a long distance. During the three or four days of the voyage, a variety of problems on <i>The Star</i> gradually emerged. Although they were not major problems, Lin Li had to personally find out and resolve them.

    While adjusting <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li and the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins also exchanged some information about the Gilded Kingdom. Although those forces of the Breezy ins had not been in contact with the Gilded Kingdom for a long time, they had gradually gained a better understanding of the Gilded Kingdom through cooperation in various fields and business channels.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom could be considered the best in Anril when it came to alchemical battleships and nautical technology, it was not as well-known as the Rotterdam Kingdom that was famous for their Alchemy Colossuses. In the Gilded Kingdom, both magic and martial arts were developed in a fairly bnced manner, and there was no bias.

    In such an environment, both magic and martial arts had been developed extremely well. Although the development hadn¡¯t reached the extent that Legendary-mages and Legendary Sword Sages were rampant, the power of those two aspects was definitely not negligible.

    The greatest force in the Gilded Kingdom was the Illuminati, whose status was akin to that of the Supreme Council in the world of magic. Every decision made by the Illuminati would have a huge impact on the Gilded Kingdom, and their influence was far greater than that of the king of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hence, during the trip to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration this time, the people had to consider not just getting in touch with the Gilded Kingdom, but also how to handle the rtionship with the Illuminati. Otherwise, no matter how friendly they were and how well they got along with the Gilded Kingdom, the Illuminati might be able to change things easily.

    While the voyage on the sea was boring and mundane, it also gave the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins an excellent opportunity tomunicate. After all, when in the Breezy ins, they each had their own things to get busy with. Unless necessary, they wouldn¡¯t sit down together tomunicate. However, they were now in an environment full of water elements, which was terrible for practicing and meditation. Apart frommunicating, there was nothing else they could do to kill time.

    However, when <i>The Star</i> had been sailing for nearly 10 days, an extraordinary storm swept <i>The Star</i> without warning. It was considered sudden because even the ck-beard Julio whose family had been making a living in the Endless Ocean for numerous generations did not notice the signs of the storm.

    In fact, even Lin Li, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who had a mastery of the World Laws, did not notice the abnormal changes in the Space Laws before that. Everything happened all of a sudden, and it was as if <i>The Star</i> had moved from one world to another.

    Such a situation was not consideredmon in the Endless Ocean¡ªit was extremely rare. Sailors who wandered on the Endless Oceans called the sudden descent of the storm the Fury of the Sea God as they believed that they had to have done something to anger the sea gods that warranted a punishment. That was the most terrifying bit about the Endless Ocean. Compared to that, the threat of the marine magical beasts was nothing. After all, the marine beasts had their own territories, and wouldn¡¯t wander about in the sea. Hence, there were safe routes.

    However, there were nows to the Fury of the Sea God, and the so-called safe routes could not avoid the attack of the Fury of the Sea God. Those who made a living at sea could only make sacrifices to the Sea God through various methods when going out to sea. They were actually just trying to seek psychologicalfort.

    That storm waspletely beyond the perception of those people on <i>The Star</i>. It was as if the Endless Ocean was showing them its majesty. The firmament which had been as blue as the normal sky already became incredibly gloomy in the blink of an eye. It would only light up asionally due to the lightning. On the surface of the sea, the wind lifted dozens of waves that were hundreds of meters high. When theynded, they would roar loudly as if the ground was crumbling. In such a storm, even the marine beasts would be crushed into bits.

    When Lin Li was in the world created by Geresco, he had also brought <i>The Star</i> with him to brave the sea storms, but he had never encountered a storm of such a scale. Lin Li had no idea if the real <i>The Star</i> would be safe in the storm, but he knew that his ship was definitely in danger.

    <i>The Star</i> was huge, and was three or four times the size of the alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom, and it was a massive steel fortress that was sailing very smoothly in the sea. The wind and waves simply could not shake it at all. However, the steel fortress clearly couldn¡¯t suppress the waves now as it was being shaken up and down like a canoe.

    At the same time, perhaps because <i>The Star</i> was built with magical metal, the lightning in the sky was attracted to The Star inrge quantities, as if it had encountered a huge ma. The smallest bolt of lightning had a radius that was asrge as that of a bucket, and power contained in it was not inferior to the full force of a Legendary powerhouse.

    That scene was just as intense as when Lin Li and the others had fought with the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s dragon corpse, except that they were natural forces created by the power of the Laws contained in the Endless Ocean. Actually, the opponents that Lin Li faced were almost equivalent to the Endless Ocean.

    Of course, to <i>The Star</i>, the power of the Fury of the Sea God was incredible, but it was nothing in the Endless Ocean.

    When the endless lightning sted down on <i>The Star,</i> Lin Li also hurriedly activated all the defenses on the vessel, and pushed the power of the defenses to the maximum immediately. As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouses who had a good understanding of the World Laws, Lin Li had a very clear understanding of the power of the endless lightning in the storm. He knew very clearly that with the defenses of <i>The Star</i>, it was impossible for them to have any restraint when faced with the attacks from the world.

    All of a sudden, all the defensive mageweaths on The Star radiated dazzling rays of light. The light shrouded the entire ship, and it was just like a sun thatnded on the sea in the dim space.

    Almost at the same time as the activation of *The Star¡¯*s defenses, the endless lightning storm also came crashing down, surrounding the ship and attacking it. Under the power of the attacks, <i>The Star</i> began revolving, and the defenses were sted away.

    When encountering this storm, the sailors on <i>The Star</i> were almost desperate because it seemed that no one had ever heard of anyone being able to escape from the Fury of the Sea God since the most distant past. Although the sailors were strong andpetent, their strength was simply insignificant in the face of the Fury of the Sea God. A single bolt of lightning would be enough to turn the sailors into ashes.

    However, at this moment, Julio suddenly dashed out of the cabin and seemed to have nailed his legs onto the deck of the ship that was shaking vigorously while yelling at the sailors who were hiding everywhere, ¡°Damn it! Are you just going to wait for your deaths here? Get up and start working. Move the ship out of the area affected by the storm!¡±

    Although the roar of thunder outside was deafening, the sailors could also hear Julio¡¯s roar. At the very beginning, none of the sailors moved at all. After all, with their knowledge, any struggle would be futile when encountering a storm like the Fury of the Sea God. However, they soon realized that the defense around the battleship actually blocked the destructive lightning.

    The sailors were not those of the Gilded Kingdom, but those who followed the merchant ships along the coast of the Breezy ins. They never knew of any ships that could persist under the attack of the Fury of the Sea God. However, even though the ship was still shaking violently now, it made the sailors see some hope surviving.

    In particr, when they saw that the bearded man who had just roared at them was now desperately adjusting the helm of the ship, and seemingly trying to steer the ship out of the stormy area, they couldn¡¯t help but think, <i>Even if we die, we have to put up a fight before dying. Otherwise, it¡¯d be too frustrating.</i>

    None of the sailors who could be on the Endless Ocean were ipetent fools. The reason that they gave up on resisting at the beginning was because they felt that they had no power to struggle in the face of a storm like the Fury of the Sea God. However, Julio had now taken the lead, and when the sailors saw that the defenses hadn¡¯t been broken immediately, they had some hope again.

    At this moment, <i>The Star</i> was like a roller coaster that was violently undting and rocking on the ocean. However, the sailors had lived on the sea for many years, and would not be shaken off. Even though they seemed to have a very hard time moving around the ship, they nheless inched towards their posts step by step. Once they did, they immediately got to work.

    Amidst the deafening roar of thunder and the huge waves, the yelling of the sailors also sounded on <i>The Star</i>. Under the joint efforts of the sailors, <i>The Star,</i> which seemed to have lost its ability to resist because of the storm, finally began to move towards the outer edge of the storm with great difficulty.

    Seeing such a scene, Lin Li put away his Domain World. In fact, the storm that was known as the Fury of the Sea God was only terrifying for the ordinary people. Most merchant ships would definitely be destroyed when they encountered this storm. However, as a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li was already an existence that was close to the level of the gods. It would not be difficult for him to protect <i>The Star</i> and break free.

    The reason Lin Li didn¡¯t do it at the beginning was because he wanted to put <i>The Star</i> and the sailors to test. After all, the sailors had been recruited from the Breezy ins. Although they were experienced andpetent, <i>The Star</i> was still too differentpared to other ships. The experience they had gained from sailing on other vessels might not be useful on <i>The Star</i>.

 Chapter 1110 - Small Island

    <h4>Chapter 1110: Small Ind</h4>

    When he saw that the sailors had given up on resisting, Lin Li was still a little disappointed, and was getting ready to use the Domain World to protect <i>The Star</i> from the storm. However, Julio¡¯s performance made Lin Li¡¯s eyes glisten. After all, Julio was a fearless man who had sailed through the Endless Ocean for many years. He wouldn¡¯t easily resign to fate in the storm. It was no wonder that he could escape from the siege of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet.

    When the sailors regained their morale after being hollered at by Julio, Lin Li finally stopped worrying, and watched them steer <i>The Star</i> towards the periphery of the storm.

    After the sailors struggled hard with all their might, coupled with the alchemical power system and powerful defenses of <i>The Star</i>, the vessel finally broke out of the terrifying area that was affected by the storm. When <i>The Star</i>¡®s voyage became calm again, the sailors looked at the area affected by the storm behind them, which they were gradually sailing further away from, and they couldn¡¯t help but cheer in unison.

    <i>What a joke. That¡¯s the Fury of the Sea God, which has always been unheard of since the ancient times! Who can escape from it!?</i> Apart from feeling overjoyed to have sessfully escaped, the people also felt incredibly proud of themselves. Of course, they also understood that the reason they could escape in the end was mainly because <i>The Star</i> was too powerful. If not for <i>The Star</i>, they would probably not have a single chance to escape even if they wanted to.

    When the sailors first boarded <i>The Star</i>, they didn¡¯t think that the ship had any special features, even though they were amazed by its sheer size. They even wondered if such arge steel ship would sink in the middle of the sea. After all, the quality of a ship was not decided by its size. The standards of all the ships on sea, be it merchant ships or warships, were all determined after countless tests over numerous years. Once the standard was exceeded, there would be all sorts of problems during the voyage.

    However, now that the sailors had seen the power of <i>The Star</i> in the storm, they subconsciously developed a sense of belonging, and even had a hunch that they would be proud to be the crew of <i>The Star</i> in the future.

    After the wind and waves around them calmed down, the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins came out of their cabins with lingering fear. Although they had long heard about how terrifying the storms on the Endless Ocean were, they had a firsthand experience this time.

    At this juncture, those people couldn¡¯t help but feel thankful that they had fortunately chosen to board <i>The Star</i>. Otherwise, they really wouldn¡¯t know what kind of ship could still survive that terrifying storm.

    ¡°Lord, due to the storm, <i>The Star</i> has temporarily deviated from its course. However, please don¡¯t worry, I will pinpoint our location as soon as possible, and get <i>The Star</i> back on its original course.¡± Julio allowed the helmsman to take over the maneuvering while he went to Lin Li to report to him the situation of <i>The Star</i>.

    Of course, the dangers they encountered in the voyage was no less than encountering a storm. Many ships which might have been lucky enough to escape a storm were lost in the vast ocean because they had deviated from their course. The so-called ghost ships that the sailors had been spreading rumors about were mostly lost on the sea. In the end, those on the ships had no choice but to die in despair, leaving the wrecked ship afloat on the sea.

    Everything on the boundless ocean seemed to be the same, unlike onnd where there were obvious geographical features. Hence, during such times, the experience of the navigator was very important because he had to correctly confirm the direction and position of the ship based on his rich experience. He would also have to determine the distance from the correct course, and then ultimately lead the ship back onto it.

    In terms of sailing experience, no one couldpare to Julio whose family had lived on the Endless Ocean for generations. Perhaps even the Gilded Kingdom, which boasted very advanced nautical technology, might not be able to produce a navigatorparable to Julio, let alone average factions.

    Although Lin Li had the nautical information of the Gilded Kingdom, his knowledge of sailing was only at the theoretical level. When it came to putting it into practice, Lin Li might not be able to quickly find what he needed among theplex information.

    Of course, with Lin Li¡¯s familiarity with the World Laws, it wasn¡¯t actually necessary to rely on that information in order to get <i>The Star</i> back on the right course. However, Lin Li wanted to see how capable Julio was, so he handed that task to thetter. Anyway, even if Julio took <i>The Star</i> off course, Lin Li had the confidence to remedy that.

    Julio also knew that he would have to show enough value in order to get maximum protection from the Tower of Dusk from the Gilded Kingdom which had issued a warrant to have him nabbed. Otherwise, although the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom was strained, they wouldn¡¯t bother getting into any unnecessary conflict for a useless piece of trash.

    Hence, after receiving Lin Li¡¯s consent, Julio went all out. He verified the direction of the tide of the ocean, the direction of the sea breeze, the sun¡¯s position, and even the type of fishes in the sea as well as the direction they swam in before finally determining the current location of <i>The Star</i> and the distance away from the original course.

    The storm known as the Fury of the Sea God was indeed terrifying enough to be one that the sailors feared. Although <i>The Star</i> was safely out of the storm, Julio determined after some calctions that it was already very far from the correct course. Without a navigator as experienced as Julio, it would probably be difficult for the ship to ever return to the correct course.

    After listening to Julio¡¯s report, Lin Li did not question it at all. Instead, he directly delegated the task ofmanding <i>The Star</i>¡®s voyage to Julio.

    Although Julio remained unmoved on the surface, he was actually overjoyed because that meant that Lin Li had already recognized his ability and valued him to a certain extent. Of course, Julio wasn¡¯t certain if that was enough for him to gain the protection of the Tower of Dusk and make the Tower of Dusk offend the Gilded Kingdom for him. Hence, he could only do his best to increase his value.

    Under Julio¡¯smand, <i>The Star</i> changed its course and headed in the direction of the correct course. However, after a night of sailing, another abnormal sight urred the next morning. Moreover, the first to detect the abnormality were not the experienced sailors, but the guests from the various forces of the Breezy ins who were on board <i>The Star</i>.

    The mages on board <i>The Star</i> clearly felt that the flow of magic elements in space gradually elerated since the middle of the night, and reached a terrifying level in the morning. It was as if there was a vacuum that the magical elements were rapidly flowing towards to fill it up.

    As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li had actually felt the abnormality of the magical elements too, which made him feel extremely curious. Hence, instead of informing Julio, he intended to go to the source that triggered the abnormality to find out what was going on.

    As <i>The Star</i> sailed, an ind gradually emerged from under the sea horizon, and began to get clearer. At this juncture, even the sailors on <i>The Star</i> had detected the abnormality, while the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins went to the deck and looked at the ind in the distance.

    The ind was muchrger than Cage Ind, and was shrouded in a thick forest which gave it a boost of vitality. What really caught everyone¡¯s attention was the local density of magical elements, which was hundreds of times higher than normal. The rapid flow of magic elements in the surrounding space was due to a powerful force of attraction on the ind that seemed like a ma that was attracting the surrounding magical elements.

    Although Lin Li was more curious about what was on the ind, he was not willing to let <i>The Star</i> approach it before getting a clear idea of the situation. After all, the Endless Ocean was not likend. Even though the Gilded Kingdom had developed in the sea for numerous years, they dared not im to be familiar with every parcel of the Endless Ocean, let alone Lin Li who had just read some information.

    Hence, for the sake of safety, Lin Li raised his hand to cast the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, and flew over the ind. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes was a means of detection that was often used by the mages. It could travel to some unknown areas on behalf of the mages, and give feedback about the scene.

    At the same time, those mages from various forces in the Breezy ins like Joseph, Elvan, and the rest had also cast the Warlock¡¯s Eyes. After all, only the caster could see what their Warlock¡¯s Eyes was seeing. Hence, instead of waiting for others to see it and ry it to them, they might as well see it for themselves. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes was not a difficult spell to cast, nor was it energy-consuming anyway. Even level-15 Magic Shooters could use it with ease, let alone Legendary powerhouses.

    However, they didn¡¯t expect their respective Warlock¡¯s Eyes to copse before it reached the ind because it couldn¡¯t withstand the impact of the magic elements. The density of magical elements on the ind was not only high, the force on the ind was also constantly absorbing more magical elements from the surrounding space, making the flow of the magical elements form an Elemental Storm. The Warlock¡¯s Eyes was a rtively low-level magic spell because it didn¡¯t contain nomological power. It could easily copse under the impact of the storm.

    Lin Li was the only one who took that situation into consideration, and used the nomological power to stabilize the Warlock¡¯s Eyes that he had cast. Hence, the Warlock¡¯s Eyes that he had cast was able to reach the sky above the ind without any problems. Through the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, he saw a Magic Tower that was inscribed withplex and mysterious mageweaths situated in the center of the ind.

    ¡°President Felic, is there anything on that ind?¡± When us and the others saw Lin Li¡¯s grim expression that appeared after he sent his Warlock¡¯s Eyes out to the ind, they immediately became curious. They knew that the young President Felic was a true Sanctuary powerhouse; what was on the ind that could make a Sanctuary powerhouse behave in such a manner?

    At this point, Lin Li was controlling the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, and making it circle the Magic Tower. However, under the strong interference of the Elemental Storm, he could only see the mageweaths without the details even though he was a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, through his observation with the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li had some answers. He had seen some of the mageweaths on the tower when he had been in the Sky Castle. It was said to be near the Divine Smith level, but it was only partial because the mageweath on the Sky Castle itself was defective, and with Lin Li¡¯s current ability, repairing something like that was something that he dared not imagine at all.

    Lin Li now reckoned that if the mageweath on the Magic Tower now was the Void Spirit mageweath, it should be aplete one.

    Besides, the possibility was very high because the main function of the Void Spirit mageweath was to gather arge number of magical elements. There was no other mageweath that couldpare to it in terms of that function. Besides, the abnormality on the ind now was probably caused by the Void Spirit mageweath. Hence, a mageweath that could operate normally had to have aplete core at the very least.

    With Lin Li¡¯s ability, he couldn¡¯t easily repair a missing core part of the Void Spirit mageweath. However, if the core part of the mageweath was intact, and only some minor details were missing, Lin Li would still be somewhat confident in restoring it to perfection.

    Hence, after retrieving the Warlock¡¯s Eyes, Lin Li did not immediately answer the others¡¯ questions, but instead ordered the people on <i>The Star</i> to stop it. The vessel was not an artifact, and the sudden stop resulted in some minor bursts. Clearly, the alchemical power system had begun to show some issues under the Elemental Storm.

    However, Lin Li could not worry about that now. He immediately turned his head to the crowd, and said, ¡°Everyone, I found a Magic Tower in the middle of that ind. It¡¯s probably a magic relic that has been left behind from a certain era. The abnormality of the magical elements on the ind is caused by a mageweath on the tower. Hence, I n to delve deep into the center of the ind to explore a little and see the mageweath for myself. Are you interested to join me?¡±

 Chapter 1111 - Void Spirit Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 1111: Void Spirit Mageweath</h4>

    Lin Li asked if they were interested in going with him, but he was clearly trying to tell them that he would definitely be exploring the ind even if they were not willing to take the risk. The people present were all elites who could obviously tell what Lin Li meant.

    In particr, Elvan of the Glittergold Trade Union was a Master of Inscription himself, and when he heard that the abnormality on the ind was actually caused by a mageweath, he was immediately interested. He said with some excitement, ¡°Since all of this was caused by a mageweath, I have to go and take a look!¡±

    Immediately afterwards, us and the others also stated that they were willing to go with Lin Li to explore the ind. However, they did not sound as excited as Elvan. After all, inscription was not for everyone. Even though many mages had some knowledge in inscription, they could at most draw some ordinary mageweaths, and the mageweaths that they were facing now were beyond what they dared to think about. Therefore, the power of mageweaths seemed to be irrelevant to others. They were naturally much less attracted too.

    The reason that those people agreed to go to the ind to explore was mostly for Lin Li¡¯s sake. They wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to the Tower of Dusk. To them, getting on good terms with the Tower of Dusk, and especially Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, was obviously more important than obtaining an unknown mageweath.

    However, just when everyone agreed in unison to tag along to the ind, Joseph of the Mithril Alliance put forward a different opinion. ¡°President Felic, we don¡¯t know anything about the ind, so I¡¯m afraid it would be inappropriate if we wasted too much time here and ended up missing the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. Besides, we have already deviated from our original course, which is going to cause some dy.¡±

    That made the crowd a little surprised. Joseph was no longer a child. How could he have failed to understand that Lin Li had already made up his mind to explore the ind? Of course, Joseph made sense too because no one was certain of the situation on the ind and the hidden dangers of the magic tower. If they ended up dying their journey by half a month, they would miss the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration.

    However, most of the people were more concerned about their rtionship with the Tower of Dusk. Therefore, after hearing Joseph¡¯s objection, us, the patriarch of the Caesar Family, said, ¡°It¡¯s just a national celebration. If we miss it this year, we¡¯ll just attend the one next year. Besides, it¡¯s just a small ind. President Felic is a Sanctuary powerhouse, he might juste out quickly after entering.¡±

    Elvan of the Glittergold Trade Union was a little displeased too. There was a powerful mageweath right before him, and yet someone was preventing him from studying it. That was beyond tolerable and akin to denying a famished person food. Hence, Elvan, who had always been eloquent, proudly said, ¡°What do you know? Maybe it¡¯s the pinnacle piece of a Gilded Kingdom. Just look at the magical elements in this space, the mageweath must be incredible. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s celebration is nothingpared to this. If you¡¯re in a hurry, you may leave.¡±

    <i>You must be kidding. This is the Endless Ocean, what do you mean we can go if we¡¯re in a hurry!?</i> Joseph was immediately speechless.

    Lin Li ignored Joseph¡¯s objections, and instead said to the others, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, since the ind was discovered by all of us together, we will split the spoils equally. Even if the only thing of value on the ind is the mageweath, Master Elvan and I will share the benefits with you guys if we get anything out of studying it.¡±

    The people initially agreed to follow Lin Li to explore the ind not for the sake of obtaining benefits, but for getting close to the Sanctuary powerhouses. However, now that Lin Li had agreed to share the benefits with them, it was a pleasant surprise.

    Although the vast majority of them did not have much knowledge in inscription, they could tell from the abnormality on the ind that the mageweath that caused it was extremely powerful. If they were relying only on their own skills, they probably would not be able to study and use it. Now, they were only going to apany Lin Li to the ind to take a look. If they could get some benefits too, it would be a free advantage.

    As soon as he heard Lin Li say this, Joseph looked at the expressions of the people around him, and knew that he wasn¡¯t going to get the support from any of them. He had no choice but to helplessly say, ¡°Since that¡¯s what you guys think, I won¡¯t say anything.¡±

    us patted Joseph¡¯s shoulder with a joyous smile, and said, ¡°That¡¯s right, Joseph, think about it. You won¡¯t suffer a loss when you¡¯re with President Felic. Back then, we managed to gain lots of benefits from Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum because President Felic was with us. Otherwise, we might not have been able toe out alive.¡±

    However, the experience in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum was not a beautiful memory for Joseph. Although they had made some gains, the Mithril Alliance had incurred losses in the end, and Joseph was stripped of his position as the helmsman because he failed to handle the rtionship with the Tower of Dusk well.

    Having his sore spot rubbed was embarrassing in the first ce, so when he heard us mention the matter of Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, Joseph¡¯s expression immediately became sullen.

    Lin Li did not let <i>The Star</i> continue to approach the ind, but led the crowd to leave the ship directly, and move towards the ind using the Power of Flight. On the ind, the magical elements had umted to a rather terrifying degree. Although <i>The Star</i> had a strong defense, it was difficult to block the pration of the magical elements, and that would not be good for the various magic facilities on the vessel.

    The representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins on <i>The Star</i> basically had Legendary-level strength, and even though the Legendary-level Sword Sages could not fly far, they would have no problem flying to the ind from <i>The Star</i>.

    Soon, Lin Li and other people arrived at the mysterious ind, but they did not fly directly to the center of the ind, and instead chose to explore the edges. One reason was that they weren¡¯t certain what dangers existed on the ind, and the other reason was that the magical elements in the center of the ind formed a huge vortex that made it difficult for them to maintain their Power of Flight.

    The natural environment on this ind was quite good, and the crowd entered a dense forest uponnding. Although the denser the magical elements in the space, the better for mages, there had to be a limit for everything. When the concentration of magical elements in the space exceeded the limit, it would be unbearable.

    As a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li could endure in such an environment, but the other Legendary powerhouses began to find it unbearable, as evidenced by the looks of dismay on their faces. As soon as they entered this ce, they immediately felt a feeling of suffocation, as if there was no air for them to breathe in this space except for the magical elements, which were continuously and forcibly surging into their bodies without care for their intentions.

    Fortunately, the people who followed Lin Li over were all Legendary powerhouses. Otherwise, those who were weaker would probably expand and burst like an airbag under the crazy infusion of magical elements.

    After a few moments of adjustment, the crowd gradually adapted to the environment. At the very least, they were not as ufortable as when they first arrived. Besides, theirfort was not the only problem. After all, the difference between the environment here and the outside was drastic. The mana required for a spell to be cast was 10 times the norm, and that was definitely not a good thing. They might end up hurting themselves or theirpanions.

    When everyone had adjusted to the state, Lin Li made arrangements for the team, and they began exploring towards the center of the ind.

    However, just after exploring the forest for a short distance, Lin Li and the rest of the group encountered an attack from magical beasts. The ones that attacked them were a few single-horned minotaurs that were verymon in Anril, and were at most level-15. Basically, such magical beasts were often food in Anril.

    However, the ones here were obviously different from the ones that weremonly found in Anril. They all seemed to be on steroids as their bodies were twice or thrice that of normal ones, and they also had power that was close to the Legendary-level. When they charged out of the surroundings, they shuddered incessantly.

    Of course, with the strength of Lin Li and his team, even if the strength of the minotaurs reached the Legendary-level, it would not be possible for them to cause much trouble. After a wave of offensive spells, almost all of them died.

    However, the strength of those one-horned minotaurs still amazed the people as they never knew that those beasts that weremonly found on dinner tables could be that ferocious. Many teams that hunted them in Anril would probably change their professions upon encountering those from the ind.

    Lin Li, who understood the Void Spirit Mageweath, looked much less surprised. Clearly, the minotaurs had also been affected by the power of the Void Spirit Mageweath. Among all the mageweaths there was probably none that couldpare to it in terms of the ability to gather magical elements. The Void Spirit Mageweath had existed on the ind for some time, and umted plenty of magical elements on the ind. The magical beasts would inevitably be powerful.

    Fortunately, it was a lone ind. Otherwise, if the Void Spirit Mageweath appeared on Anril, it would probably be possible to create an army of magical beasts of terrifying strength in no time. If a low-level magical beast like the one-horned minotaur could have strength that was close to the Legendary-level, what would the other high-level magical beasts be?

    The environment of this ind reminded Lin Li of Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land. When it came to the density of magical elements, this ce was probably not inferior to Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land. However, the magical elements here were forcibly sucked over; hence, they were in a state of frenzy, and were not suitable for mages to meditate and absorb. On the other hand, in Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land, the magical elements were equally dense, but they were mild, and could turn into the mana of mages without requiring any conversion.

    After understanding the strength of the magical beasts on this ind, Lin Li made arrangements for the team again. One group was in charge ofbing and exploring the ind. It was not thatrge in area, so it wouldn¡¯t take much time for the Legendary powerhouses tob through it. On the other hand, Lin Li took the rest of the people, and headed straight for the magic tower in the center of the ind.

    After passing through the dense forest, the magic tower which had mageweaths inscribed on it finally appeared in front of Lin Li and the others. However, Lin Li did not approach it recklessly, and instead made arrangements again to allow the weaker ones to stay behind and be on guard. After carefully observing the Magic Tower and ensuring that there were no magic traps or magic gears, he brought the few peak Legendary powerhouses to the high tower.

    ¡°Wh-what kind of person managed toplete such aplex mageweath?!¡± As a Master of Inscription, Elvan couldn¡¯t suppress his excitement when he saw the magic tower. However, when he approached the tower and saw the dense mageweath, he couldn¡¯t help but be a little dumbfounded again because he couldn¡¯t understand it at all despite being a Master of Inscription. It seemed that the inscription knowledge involved hadpletely exceeded what he knew.

    Lin Li did not respond to Elvan, as all his attention was caught by the mageweath, so he didn¡¯t hear the other man at all. Besides, when he looked at theplicated mageweaths around him, he was extremely excited too because he knew that it was definitely the Divine Smith level Void Spirit Mageweath.

 Chapter 1112 - Divine Smith Level Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 1112: Divine Smith Level Mageweath</h4>

    Mageweaths of the Divine Smith level were a field that even Lin Li had never ventured into, because it hadpletely exceeded the limits of what humans could master as it was the realm of the gods. Even though Lin Li was a full-time Guru of Inscription, he was clueless when it came to the field of Divine Smith mageweaths because reaching the realm of the Divine Smith was as difficult as obtaining a god¡¯s position.

    Besides, although Divine Smiths did not enter the realm of the gods through martial arts, theirbat power was not worse than that of Divine Mages. At the realm of Divine Smiths, the difference between professions would be insignificant. Be it Divine Smiths or Divine Mages, their actions contained the will of a god, and they could instantly kill countless Legendary powerhouses. Even Sanctuary powerhouses, who were close to the realm of the gods, were still insignificantpared to the Divine Smiths.

    Lin Li suppressed the excitement in his heart, and began to carefully study the Void Spirit Mageweaths on the magic tower. If he could really learn something from it, he probably wouldn¡¯t be far from obtaining godhood mentioned in the legends.

    However, the realm of the gods was not something that mortals could reach easily and master. Lin Li stayed there and studied for three whole days and nights, only to realize that he had gained nothing in the end. It was even more impossible for Elvan to get anything out of it. Instead, he seemed drained out of his energy and vigor from studying the mageweath.

    Finally, Lin Li had no choice but to ept reality. After all, it was a mageweath of the Divine Smith level. Even if he continued to stay there for another three to 30 years, he might not be able to reach an oue. However, Lin Li could not waste so much time here, as there were still too many things that he had to do.

    Hence, Lin Li came up with a stupid solution, and that was to copy the Void Spirit Mageweath on the tower. Although it would not have the power of the real Void Spirit Mageweath, the inscription knowledge that it contained would definitely remain unchanged.

    Of course, it would not be easy to copy it. Although Lin Li had a lot of manpower, there were still many things that he had to do himself. Otherwise, studying it would be difficult if someone made a mistake.

    Lin Li picked a few mages who had a little knowledge of inscriptions, and began getting a print of the Void Spirit Mageweath together with them and Elvan.

    However, just when Lin Li reached the mageweath on the door of the magic tower, the door of the tower, which had been closed, opened all of a sudden. Next, Lin Li managed to see the interior of the tower that made him overwhelmed with shock through the gap in the door.

    Lin Li saw a manticore that was shackled and restrained by magic chains and mageweaths under the sunlight. What really frightened Lin Li was that the manticore that was being restrained was actually a nine-headed manticore.

    The nine-headed manticore was a magical beast that was even more terrifying than the Evil Eye Tyrant. Nine heads represented nine powerful affinity spells, which also meant that the nine-headed manticore¡¯s power had already reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    As soon as the doors of the magic tower, Lin Li sensed the terrifying aura that was even stronger than that of the me Dragon Lothar that he¡¯d encountered in the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar. Back when he dealt with the me Dragon Lothar, two Sanctuary powerhouses, the high priest of the Darkness Shrine Rogge and the Evil Dragon Nefa, worked together to deal with Lothar, but were ultimately defeated by it. If it weren¡¯t for the power of the Tree of Eternity, which put Lothar back into a deep slumber, none of them would have survived in the end.

    Even though Lin Li already had the strength of a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he was still scared soulless upon sight of the shackled nine-headed manticore. Worse still, the magic chains and mageweaths that bound the nine-headed manticore tightly actually loosened up when the door of the tower was opened.

    The nine-headed manticore had been locked up in there for a long time, and as soon as the binding on the body was loosened, it broke free impatiently with great power, and dashed through the door of the magic tower.

    Everything happened in the blink of an eye, from the opening of the door of the magic tower to the nine-headed manticore breaking free. Although Lin Li was stunned, he snapped back to his senses in time, and quickly activated the power of his Space Robe, after which his figure immediately shed and appeared in midair.

    The people around the tower acted like they had seen a ghost when they saw Lin Li as he suddenly shed away from the front door of the tower, still feeling bewildered. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the pinnacle of the world. You could almost say that there was barely anything in this world that could threaten him.

    However, immediately afterwards, they saw the nine-headed manticore dashing out of the door of the tower, scaring the crowd out of their wits immediately. For them, the nine-headed manticore was a powerful magical beast that could contend with the gods in myths. Everyone reacted and realized why Lin Li appeared to be so flustered despite being a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Fortunately, the nine-headed manticore seemed to have treated them as insignificant nobodies who didn¡¯t exist. As soon as it dashed out of the door, it chased after Lin Li. To the nine-headed manticore, Lin Li was the only one among the people present who was worth its pursuit.

    While it was charging Lin Li, the nine-headed manticore opened its mouth and roared, after which countless silver thunderbolts appeared in the air and sted towards Lin Li. The air seemed to have be a prison where countless thunderbolts were crashing down like a tide, almost drowning the ind. The roaring made the space quake incessantly too.

    Ordinary thunder magic spells would oftene with warning signs in the form of gloomy clouds because they used the nomological power of the world. However, the nine-headed manticore had clearly reached the level of Void Thunder. That was the power of the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, which had reced the World Laws with its ownws. It was only a step away from reaching the realm of the gods, and obtaining the legendary godhood.

    Fortunately, Lin Li was prepared for this, and when his body shed in mid-air, he immediately cast out his own Domain World, which could be considered his own most powerful defense means at the moment. As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he had mastered the World Laws to a fairly high degree, and the Domain World that he created was probably not much inferiorpared to the real world.

    When he was exploring the Sky Castle and fought with Highlord Osric in the end, Lin Li still had to add the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to his Domain World to be able to barely block Osric¡¯s terrifying attack. However, with his current Domain World, he would still have to put in some effort into fighting without the debris of the stars, but he at least wouldn¡¯t be in such a pathetic state.

    Now, facing the nine-headed manticore which was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li really did not dare to be negligent at all. Hence, he immediately cast his Domain World without any testing. As soon as the Domain World was opened, the nine-headed manticore attacked. The endless thunderbolts converged to form a silver ocean that instantly caused Lin Li¡¯s Domain World to be submerged.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who was in his own Domain World, looked outside and saw that there were silver thunderbolts and lightning everywhere. The thunderbolts and lightning each contained terrifying power, and were constantly sting his Domain World. The aftershocks of the power that seeped in made the Domain World seem apocalyptic.

    However, despite facing that, Lin Li didn¡¯t look as nervous as he used to, and instead seemed calm and relieved. Through the power of the attacks that the Domain World sustained, Lin Li could tell that while the nine-headed manticore was powerful, it was not as difficult to deal with as he had previously thought.

    The nine-headed manticore was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, but its power did not contain any power of the gods, and it was still far from being a so-called demigod.

    The dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction on Cage Ind back then had left Lin Li and Zumar, the two high-level Sanctuary powerhouses, and several pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses helpless even though they had joined forces.

    Simrly, the me Dragon Lothar which appeared in the rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar had also put High Priest Rogge and the Evil Dragon Nefa in a pathetic state because of its power that contained a trace of the power of the gods. A trace of godly power would make a huge difference and set one Sanctuary powerhouse apart from another. There was a simr example: a level-19 Archmage who hadprehended some nomological power would be far stronger than one who hadn¡¯t. It was a fundamental difference that couldn¡¯t be made up for with strength.

    Of course, even though the nine-headed manticore did not have any godly power, it didn¡¯t mean that it was easy to deal with. It had power of the Sanctuary-realm and nine types of powerful affinity spells. Ordinary peak Sanctuary powerhouses probably wouldn¡¯t be its match, either, let alone Lin Li. However, the fact that the nine-headed manticore did not have any godly power at least gave Lin Li a chance to fight, and saved him from being in the hopeless state that he would be in if he faced a demigod.

    While sustaining his Domain World and resisting the attacks of the nine-headed manticore, Lin Li also began retaliating. A dazzling ray of light instantly emanated from the Helios¡¯ Scepter that Lin Li was holding, immediately causing the power of the Domain World to surge. Right afterwards, countless sharp swords and spears darted out of the Domain World, instantly shuttling towards the nine-headed manticore through the silver thunderbolts.

    However, just as the countless swords and spears came close, one of the heads of the nine-headed manticore roared, and an earthy yellow shield appeared in front of it. The shield emitted iparably thick fluctuations of earth power, as if it was made ofpressed earth.

    Lin Li¡¯s attack immediately collided with the nine-headed manticores earth shield, and deafening roars filled the sky, making it seem as if the firmament was about to copse. The aftershock of the collision had also swept towards the surroundings, and even the ind below wasn¡¯t spared. The trees that had been living for years were uprooted by that power spreading towards the surroundings.

    At this moment, the people on the ind were maximizing their power, as if they were in an apocalypse. They were barely holding on amidst the power of the aftershocks. However, even so, the few weaker ones were blown away with the trees. Fortunately, they were experienced Legendary powerhouses at least level-22 or level-23. Although they were inevitably injured, their injuries were not fatal.

    In the blink of an eye, the ind changed dramatically, and the ind that was originally lush now looked like a bald person with only some sparse trees in the surroundings. Apart from the central tower that was still in ce, arge number of the surrounding trees were swept away, and the ground seemed to have been overturned too.

    Upon sight of that scene, Lin Li began to get worried about damaging the magic tower, especially since they weren¡¯t done copying the Void Spirit Mageweath outside the tower. If it was destroyed just like that, it would be a huge pity. Hence, he immediately moved and flew towards the sea outside the ind.

    In addition to wanting to lure the nine-headed manticore away from the ind, Lin Li also hoped that it would stop appropriately and give up on fighting with him. Though he would get nine magical crystals after killing it, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about where it would go. In his opinion, nine Sanctuary-level magical crystals were far inferior to the Void Spirit Mageweath. After all, no matter how powerful magical crystals might be, they were just tools to provide mana for people, but the Void Spirit Mageweath was equivalent to the key to the door to the realm of Divine Smith.

    Of course, it was proven that no matter how intelligent a magical beast was, it was ridiculouspared to humans. What Lin Li hoped for in his heart did not happen, as the nine-headed manticore seemed to have recognized him and taken chase regardless of everything. Perhaps the nine-headed manticore desperately needed to vent its anger and resentment after being imprisoned for so many years.

    Faced with such a scenario, Lin Li actually wasn¡¯t disappointed. A wish was still a wish, after all. He just had to ept the truth. However, being able to lure the nine-headed manticore away from the ind was already good enough for Lin Li. At least he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about damaging the Void Spirit Mageweath.

    However, being able to be free did not mean that Lin Li could fight the nine-headed manticore alone. Besides, he did not n to do so, either. The direction he lured the nine-headed manticore was exactly towards <i>The Star</i>. At the same time, he had also summoned the Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua, who had just awakened in Dream Garden.

 Chapter 1113 - Heart Of The Ocean

    <h4>Chapter 1113: Heart Of The Ocean</h4>

    After devouring the magical crystal of an adult Elemental Dragon, Xiao Hua managed tost until the end of the exploration in the Sky Castle. However, it began to fall into a deep sleep again upon returning. During its slumber, Xiao Hua finally turned the power of the magical crystal into its own.

    Although Xiao Hua¡¯s size did not change, it was no longer childlike, and its strength was not worse than any Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s at this point, even though it had yet to step into the Sanctuary-realm or be an adult Elemental Dragon. In fact, purely in terms of mana, Lin Li might not hold a candle to Xiao Hua even though he was a Sanctuary powerhouse with nearly infinite mana.

    Aftering out of Dream Garden, Xiao Hua first circled around Lin Li twice cheerfully before turning to face the nine-headed manticore, striking it with an intimidating magic storm. The magic storm that Xiao Hua was casting now was probably as powerful as a full-blown attack of a peak Legendary powerhouse. The power of countless peak Legendary-level magic spellsbined was definitely groundbreaking. If it was sted at the ind below, everything would probably vanish in the blink of an eye.

    After summoning Xiao Hua, Lin Li did not stop, and instead took out the Summoning Lamp and chanted a few short incantations. Afterwards, arge swollen body that looked just like a giant worm made of flesh appeared in midair. Although there was a pair of wings on its back, they had already lost their function, and it was now just floating in the air.

    That monster was Lord Devourer Garl, whom Lin Li had subdued in the Well of the Sun. For some unknown reason, Angno and Garl would argue nonstop whenever they met, and they would even show a tendency to fight. Hence, apart from letting Garle out asionally for a breather, Lin Li would keep him sealed in the Summoning Lamp most of the time. This time, he brought him along.

    Before Garl couldin to Lin Li when he rose to midair, he was faced with the attacks of the nine-headed manticore that were like a tidal wave. Garl temporarily put aside his unhappiness of being imprisoned for so long, and immediately opened his huge mouth that wasrge enough to devour the sky.

    The terrifying thing about the nine-headed manticore was the powerful affinity spell in each of its nine heads. At the same time, it also had nine Sanctuary-level magical crystals for providing mana. Facing the nine-headed manticore that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was akin to facing nine powerhouses that were close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, which was not something that just anyone could tolerate.

    However, the Lord Devourer had the ability to devour everything, and the groundbreaking magic spells were just like a huge feast for him. If the nine-headed manticore contained a wisp of godly power like the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse, Garl would probably be sending himself onto a path to death by doing that. However, despite being massive, the nine-headed manticore¡¯s power was still considered mortal. Hence, Garl could devour it smoothly.

    The momentum and power of the attack of the nine-headed manticore were immediately weakened by the magic storm attack of the Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua and the crazy devouring force of the Lord Devourer Garl. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew out from the Ring of Endless Storm one after another, their horrifying force condensing into a World Sword that shed towards the nine-headed manticore.

    At the same time, <i>The Star</i> on the sea below also received a message from Lin Li through soul contact. All of the weapons rose and pointed at the nine-headed manticore that was in midair; the battleship-ss Magical Crystal Cannons, ordinary Magical Crystal Cannons, harpoons, attack spells, Alchemy Arrays, and other weapons were all activated.

    After a few seconds of charging and bracing, all the weapons on <i>The Star</i> roared almost simultaneously, and the various mana cannons, harpoons, and offensive spells immediately surged up from the sea and sted at the nine-headed manticore in the air.

    If the nine-headed manticore had even a hint of godly power, Lin Li would probably have no choice but to flee. However, the situation waspletely different now as the attacks from the sea and the air immediately engulfed the nine-headed manticore. Therge and powerful Earth Shield shattered with a loud thud under the sting of the World Sword. All the attacks thennded on the nine-headed manticore.

    After a series of roars, everything finally calmed down again, and the heavily injured nine-headed manticore fell to the surface of the sea like a meteor. However, Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and a magic hand appeared out of thin air, scooped up the nine-headed manticore, and ced it in the Ring of Endless Storm immediately.

    After dealing with the nine-headed manticore, Lin Li caved in because of the pitiful gaze in the Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua¡¯s eyes, and allowed it to devour the magical elements on the ind that had been umted for an unknown period of time by the Void Spirit Mageweath. However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that nice to Garl, as he immediately turned the Summoning Lamp and put Garl, whose eyes were filled with resentment, into it.

    Lin Li returned to the ind, and everyone looked at him with much more fear and respect in their eyes, disheveled and battered. The nine-headed manticore was a powerful existence that was rumored to be able to contend with the gods ording to legends, but it was destroyed just like that! That gave them a little more understanding of Lin Li¡¯s terrifying strength.

    Without the disturbance of the nine-headed manticore, the process of copying the Void Spirit Mageweath was resumed, and it took another day and night before it was finallypleted.

    After putting the Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua, who was patting its belly and burping, back into the ring, Lin Li led the group to reboard <i>The Star</i>. In the past few days, the damage of <i>The Star</i> had been repaired, and it immediately set sail and left the ind ording to the original n on Lin Li¡¯s order.

    However, <i>The Star</i> was not in a rush, and instead maintained an appropriate speed, at which it seemed to be cruising leisurely. At the beginning, Joseph also deliberately approached Lin Li twice to ask about it, but when he saw how nonchnt Lin Li was, he had no choice but to keep mum.

    Of course, apart from Joseph, others also found it very strange, but they finally realized Lin Li¡¯s intentions when <i>The Star</i> stopped near another ind. In fact, Lin Li¡¯s intention was notplicated¡ªhe just wanted to take this opportunity to explore the sea.

    The appearance of the ind with the Void Spirit Mageweath previously was evidence that the sea here had been uninhabited for many years. Otherwise, it would have probably been discovered by others long ago before Lin Li and his sailors could even reach it. Even those who lived at sea near the coast of the Breezy ins had been living there for much longer than Lin Li had, what more the Gilded Kingdom that had dominated the Endless Ocean for years. If the ind with the Void Spirit Mageweath was near a certain route, the abnormal rapid umtion of magical elements would have long caught the attention of others.

    Lin Li also had a huge doubt about the origin of the magic tower and the person who built it. Who could have added a Divine Smith level Void Spirit Mageweath, and even locked a nine-headed manticore in the tower? Lin Li had no idea where to find the answers, and had no choice but to pin his hopes on a certain ind on the sea in a bid to find some clues.

    Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t drop everything just to explore andb the sea. He was actually just trying his luck now. It would be a good thing if he could find something, but if his efforts were futile, he would have to follow his original n, and leave the sea for further explorationter.

    In fact, apart from Lin Li, the others were also curious and full of doubts about the ind. Hence, they didn¡¯t object to Lin Li¡¯s approach, and even seemed quite enthusiastic about the exploration. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to make a fortune? They would really gain a massive amount of wealth if they could find some ancient ruins during the exploration.

    ¡°President Felic, why are we stopping again? We can see everything on this tiny ind at a nce. There can¡¯t be anything hidden on it, right?¡± Joseph initially wanted to stop talking about it, but when <i>The Star</i> stopped again near a barren ind, he couldn¡¯t help but ask about it again anxiously.

    In Joseph¡¯s opinion, it would be justifiable and reasonable to stop and explore whenever they encountered a forest or an ind that was structured peculiarly, but he felt that there was nothing to explore on the barren ind where everything could be seen clearly at a nce.

    That left Joseph with no choice but to wonder if Lin Li was really trying to explore, or was simply using this excuse to dawdle. After all, the invitation to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration this time was a good opportunity for the forces to form good rtions with the Gilded Kingdom, and that would not be a good thing for the Tower of Dusk.

    After all, the Tower of Dusk could be considered the greatest obstacle to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s further development in the Breezy ins. Thus, the two forces were destined to be rivals. If the Gilded Kingdom roped in a few more forces of the Breezy ins, the Tower of Dusk would have a few less forces on its side. That would pit them against each other.

    Hence, Joseph had that suspicion. If the Tower of Dusk was intentionally procrastinating so that they all missed the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, it would undoubtedly be to a great benefit of the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, Joseph was not foolish enough to bring this issue up directly; in fact, he didn¡¯t even tell anyone else about it. After all, they were on <i>The Star</i>, and they didn¡¯t want to be thrown into the sea halfway through the journey. Besides, it was just a wild guess based on his gut feeling, which was impossible to prove until the final oue was produced.

    At this point, us and others also found it bizarre, but they didn¡¯t voice their doubts like Joseph did, though their eyes were still filled with bewilderment. After all, this ind was still too simple; in fact, it didn¡¯t even seem like an ind, but rather a boulder submerged in the sea.

    However, Lin Li did not immediately answer to clear their doubts. Instead, he smiled, and said to the crowd, ¡°You may try to hit that boulder and see which one of you can smash it.¡±

    The crowd was even more puzzled after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, but they nevertheless proceeded to try attacking the boulder. However, the attack allowed them to witness something even stranger as their attack spells and Combat Energy would all vanish without a sound after being sted at the boulder. At first, they simply threw a few fireballs at it, but afterwards they had no choice but to increase the intensity of their attacks, and even came close to using all their power. However, the boulder remained intact.

    ¡°What?¡± Now, they finally realized the strangeness of the boulder. They were all Legendary powerhouses who could easily smash steel into pieces, let alone a boulder.

    Seeing that they had stopped and walked towards him with their faces full of confusion, Lin Li smiled, flew away from <i>The Star</i>, andnded on the boulder. Immediately afterwards, a spear appeared in his hand. It was the spear that the debris of the stars, Nothingness, had turned into, and contained the power to cut through all space.

    Holding the Void Spear, Lin Li shed at the boulder randomly a few times, after which arge piece of it was cut off and fell into the sea. Finally, a ray of azure light came through. His movements also became faster and faster, so much that the outer shell of the boulder on sea was removed, revealing arge azure crystal.

    ¡°I-is this the Heart of The Ocean?¡± After seeing the azure crystal, the crowd on <i>The Star</i> couldn¡¯t help but exim in astonishment.

    The Heart of The Ocean was a specialty of the Endless Ocean¡ªa pure water-series magical gemstone that was known as a holy relic of the Sea n during the Dark Age. However, in their memory, thergest one they had seen was only the size of a baby¡¯s fist, which was also of the highest grade. A fingernail-sized Heart of The Ocean could fetch a price of tens of millions of gold coins, and the value of one that was the size of a baby¡¯s fist could not be measured in gold coins at all.

    Apart from containing pure water-series mana, the Heart of The Ocean also had a powerful ability to turn the attacking power of any attribute into water-series mana. Of course, the absorption was limited. In addition to the volume and purity of the Heart of The Ocean, as well as many other factors, the strength of the wearer also had a considerable impact. In other words, the stronger the user, the greater the power. Hence, with the Heart of The Ocean embellished in the sea, there would be no need to worry about the problem of elimination in the future when their strength increased.

 Chapter 1114 - Pirates

    <h4>Chapter 1114: Pirates</h4>

    Therefore, the Heart of the Ocean was definitely a coveted treasure for mages who cast water-series spells. As long as they wore the Heart of The Ocean as a magical essory, their victory in a fight against an opponent of the same level would be guaranteed. As long as the opponent¡¯s attacks did not exceed the tolerance limit of the Heart of The Ocean, it would be able to absorb them and replenish the mana of the mage wearing it.

    Now, there was a massive Heart of The Ocean right in front of them, which was beyond their knowledge. Besides, it was merely the part that was exposed on the surface of the sea, and they no longer dared to imagine what there was beneath the sea.

    After removing the stone shells, Lin Li dived to the bottom of the sea, and the crowd saw the massive Heart of The Ocean shaking and gradually rising out of the surface of the sea soon afterwards. Finally, when Lin Li came out of the sea holding the Heart of the Ocean, they managed to get a clear glimpse of its sheer size.

    Of course, the Heart of The Ocean was not exaggeratedlyrge to the extent that it would extend all the way to the bottom of the sea, and was probably about 10-odd meters high and wide. However, even then, it was definitely enough to make the crowd rub their eyes to take a second look. If they exchanged that massive Heart of The Ocean for gold coins, they would probably have enough to buy a kingdom. If it was ced in Anril, it would definitely make all mages go mad and get into a frenzy. Many might even choose to specialize in water magic for the sake of it.

    Holding the huge Heart of the Ocean gemstone, Lin Li flew back to <i>The Star</i> and ced it on the deck with a loud thud. Seeing this scene, the crowd was almost going to lose their minds. <i>That¡¯s the Heart of the Ocean, how can he just dump it onto the ground like that? What if it gets damaged...</i>

    ¡°Everyone, like I said before, each one of you will get a share of this since we found it together.¡± Lin Li was generous enough to share the Heart of The Ocean with them, but of course the truth was that he knew very well in his heart that this Heart of The Ocean gemstone was onlyrge in size, and arger size did not mean that it was much more amazing. Besides, he could not make such a huge gemstone into a ring and wear it.

    ¡°President Felic, how can we do that? This Heart of The Ocean was discovered by you alone. How can we have the cheek to take it?¡± Many of them turned his offer down immediately, but they were just being polite as their glistening eyes were glued onto the Heart of The Ocean on the deck. Clearly, they didn¡¯t really mean what they said.

    Looking at their expressions, Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°Okay, everyone, just ept it.¡±

    After saying that, Lin Li waved the Void Spear in his hand there and then on the deck. To their surprise, he was going to split the gemstone up right on the spot. Therge Heart of The Ocean was quickly divided into fist-sized gemstones which he distributed to the crowd. Representatives of top forces like us, Alvin, and the others were given 10 pieces of the Heart of The Ocean each. Even Joseph, who had been urging them to hurry to the Gilded Kingdom, was given a share too.

    At the end of the distribution, there were still more than 30 pieces of the Heart of The Ocean, each the size of a human head. However, no one was jealous and unhappy. After all, being able to get a share of the Heart of The Ocean was a godsend for them. After dividing the Heart of The Ocean, Lin Li waved his hand and swept the remaining pieces into the Ring of Endless Storm before instructing <i>The Star</i> to continue sailing.

    Lin Li was not being a fool by sharing the Heart of The Ocean that he had found with the crowd. In fact, the pieces of Heart of The Ocean gemstone that he had given away were considered nothing to him. What he truly valued was the most central part of the Heart of The Ocean, which was actually the real Heart of The Ocean.

    The formation process of the Heart of the Ocean was not like for other magical gemstones that were formed under heavy pressure over tens of millions of years. Instead, it started from a core, which was simr to other elemental lifeforms in nature. Over the years, the core would continue to absorb and umte water magical elements as if snowballing. When the umtion reached a certain level, the Heart of the Ocean would truly be a water elemental life form. Once it was born, it would be the best of all.

    The pieces of the Heart of The Ocean that Lin Li gave away were at best just polymers of the water element and the Heart of The Ocean in the usual sense. However, the core was the most valuable part, and was several times more powerful than the ones that he had given away. Apart from the great power it contained, its core was like a seed that could grow more Heart of The Ocean gemstones. As long as it was nurtured in a ce with abundant water elements, it would constantly provide Heart of The Ocean gemstones.

    The following part of the voyage of <i>The Star</i> was still mainly exploration, and sometimes it would deviate from the nned course. However, this time the people on the ship were no longer confused, and were instead looking forward to further exploration to see what other treasures Lin Li could find. Even Joseph, who had been urging them to hurry to the Gilded Kingdom, no longer said anything. On one hand, he knew that it would be useless to urge Lin Li as it might make everyone else angry. On the other hand, he also wanted to get more good items.

    In fact, everyone knew that the Endless Ocean was very rich in resources, but looking for precious items in the Endless Ocean was not easy at all. First of all, they would be prone to encountering storms on the Endless Ocean, and they would also face the dangers posed by the marine beasts.

    Even though things had been peaceful so far, and everything looked the same around them, Lin Li had given them an eyeopener on this journey, and they would have never imagined how Lin Li, the young president, could find something of value in a ce that clearly seemed to be the same as everywhere else.

    That half of the Heart of The Ocean was at least exposed on the surface of the sea, and despite the thick stone shell wrapped around it, it was still visible. However, Lin Li managed to find other precious aquatic nts and water gemstones that were hidden deep under the sea, and that was simply amazing.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t amazing or magical to Lin Li. Be it the precious herbs or water gemstones under the sea, or even rare magical metals, they shared the same characteristic of having special magical waves. As an advanced Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li was much more sensitive to magical waves than the Legendary powerhouses. Finding some abnormal magical waves was simply a piece of cake for them.

    More importantly, Lin Li was not only a mage. He also had high attainments in various fields like pharmaceutics, forging, jewelry, reconnaissance, and so on. Hence, based on the abnormal magical waves, he could easily determine what was hidden on the bottom of the sea. If he could only sense magical waves, even a tiny magical wave emitted by a small fish would halt <i>The Star</i> on its route.

    Of course, while getting an eyeopener, the people also gained a lot of benefits. Despite being the representatives ofrge and medium-sized forces who had broad horizons, they were still extremely overjoyed at this moment. Azure magical metal and deep-sea crystals were precious things in the Endless Ocean that they could never buy from the Gilded Kingdom regardless of how much money they offered. However, they seemed to be encountering one at every turn here. It was simply a godsend.

    <i>The Star</i> stayed in the sea for a few days, allowing Lin Li to investigate and obtain almost all of the precious and valuable things before finally sailing away and returning to their original route to the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Around this course, ships had beening and going for thousands of years, and anything of value had long been dug up by the Gilded Kingdom or someone else. Hence, Lin Li finally stopped his treasure hunt.

    <i>The Star</i> continued sailing along the channel towards Four Seasons Ind, where the capital of the Gilded Kingdom was located. After sailing for about another half month, they passed by several inds along the way, which meant that they had gradually entered the core territory of the Gilded Kingdom. The surrounding area was also obviously no longer as deste and quiet as before. From time to time, they could see merchant ships or fishing boats sailing in all directions.

    Although <i>The Star</i> seemed to be a rare battleship in the Breezy ins, it rarely attracted attention here. It was not that there were many ships there that were simr to it, but because everyone here had already gotten used to seeing all kinds of rare and peculiar ships. A massive ship like <i>The Star</i> could barely shock them.

    ording to estimation, they had half a day¡¯s journey to go before they would reach Four Seasons Ind at this juncture. However, just when the crowd finally rxed, waiting for <i>The Star</i> to sessfully reach Four Seasons Ind, a fleet in the distance suddenly broke into the channel, and approached <i>The Star</i>.

    The size of the fleet wasrge, and there were nearly 20 battleships which looked inferiorpared to the alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom, butpared to the warships of the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom, they were clearly much more powerful. However, the ships of this fleet did not bear the g of the Gilded Kingdom, or even any g of a trade union.

    As soon as they saw the fleet that did not bear a g, they got into battle formation and charged towards them in a frenzy. Lin Li and the others immediately realized that they should have been pirates, but they were puzzled as to why a pirates¡¯ fleet could show up in the core sea territory of the Gilded Kingdom, which was a powerful maritime force.

    The oing pirate ship opened fire with a loud boom, as if a thunderbolt had struck the sea. Afterwards, continuous roaring followed, apanied with several mana cannons. Clearly, the pirates¡¯ ship was well-equipped with arms too.

    At the same time that the pirates¡¯ leading ship attacked <i>The Star</i>, the other 10 ships didn¡¯t stop, and instead split into two teams that began surrounding <i>The Star</i> from the nks. Two other pirate ships also suddenly appeared behind <i>The Star</i>. Clearly, they hadin in ambush, and the pair was guarding <i>The Star</i> to prevent it from escaping.

    Since they had already opened fire, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t be kind to them. He immediately ordered the crew to start attacking the pirate ships, and the cannons on <i>The Star</i> immediately started bombarding the pirate ships around it while the other magical weapons started roaring too.

    If they were ordinary pirates, the counterattack of <i>The Star</i> would probably cause more than half of the pirate ships to sink. However, this fleet activated a magical shield when <i>The Star</i> began to counterattack. Magical shields on ships could only be facilitated with Magic Arrays or Alchemy Arrays, so they were much more valuable than magical weapons.

    Moreover, what surprised Lin Li and the others was that the magic shields on those pirate ships were obviously not ordinary, since they could block the mana cannons of <i>The Star</i>. The Magical Crystal Cannons on <i>The Star</i> were only avable to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy, and were basically by far the most powerful magical weapons in Anril.

    With powerful magical weapons and a shield that could resist the bombardment of the Magical Crystal Cannons of the ship, it was no wonder that this pirate fleet actually dared to brazenly appear in the core territory of the Gilded Kingdom. However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the origin of the pirates¡¯ fleet was; it was clearly impossible for ordinary pirates to reach such a high level.

    Since the Magical Crystal Cannons could not break their magic shield, were they supposed to use a Sky-breaker to make the pirates¡¯ ships sink!? Lin Li finally became a little more serious as he carefully observed the magic shield of the battleships opposite them. However, he did manage to see some clues. When the pirates¡¯ ships were bombarded by the mana cannons, the magic shield that engulfed the attacked ship would be strengthened, while those of the two ships beside it would suddenly weaken.

    After seeing the situation, Lin Li immediately understood that the battle formation of the pirate ships was not simply an attack formation. Be it the Tower of Dusk or the Mithril Alliance and other forces, their mage legions and teams of elites would usually master a battle formation that could enhance theirbat power, such as the Magic Net Array mastered by the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mage legion.

    The formation that the pirates got into clearly affected the array to a certain extent. The most obvious effect was reflected in the change of magic shield. When a battleship was bombarded, other battleships that were not under fire would superimpose their defensive power onto the former to help it resist the attack. Of course, the shoring of this was obvious too. If more than one battleship was attacked at the same time, how would the defensive power be distributed?

 Chapter 1115 - Massacre

    <h4>Chapter 1115: Massacre</h4>

    However, those who owned ordinary warships would probably be stunned if they encountered this situation where their attacks could not break the defense of the pirate ships. Besides, if it wasn¡¯t a fleet of simr size, how could it go to attack multiple pirate ships at the same time, and still maintain a sufficient intensity of attacks?

    Of course, those problems were only for others to consider. The firepower of <i>The Star</i> was not what an ordinary battleship couldpare to. After Lin Li told his discovery to Julio, the pirate leader who had a rich experience in battles and was in charge of issuingmands during the battle, thetter immediately developed a new battle n for the situation.

    This time, the battle immediately changed, and <i>The Star</i> first bombarded a single pirate ship. After attracting enough defense, the backup magical weapons immediately sted at the pirate ship at the side that was weakening. The attacks of the several mana cannons instantly broke the defense of the pirate ship, and formed a few huge holes in the front and back. The seawater surged in inrge amounts, and the wrecked pirate ship was pulled to the bottom of the sea in the blink of an eye.

    Seeing that they had suffered some losses, the pirates immediately intensified their attacks on <i>The Star</i> without caring about their own safety at all. They were truly desperadoes. Although <i>The Star</i> was powerful, it faced a fleet of nearly 20 well-equipped ships, after all.

    Soon, under the strong attack of the pirate ships, <i>The Star</i> began to show signs of serious damage. If it wasn¡¯t repaired in time, it might cause a considerable impact on the battleship. In particr, <i>The Star</i> might not have been sted by the pirates¡¯ ships, but the massive impact still caused the power system to suffer some problems.

    Seeing such a situation, Lin Li¡¯s heart was filled with regret. After all, it was not the real <i>The Star</i>. In the world created by Geresco, there wouldn¡¯t be such pirates that created trouble even when he was facing the High Elves¡¯ fleet that had the upper hand.

    Of course, <i>The Star</i> was gradually falling under the attack of the pirate fleet, but it was not enough to make Lin Li feel worried. He just found it a pity that <i>The Star</i> which he had put in effort to build was worlds apart from the real <i>The Sta</i>r in terms of firepower and defense.

    As problems began to ur with the power system, the firepower of <i>The Star</i> gradually began to weaken, especially the Magical Crystal Cannons that required mana. At the same time, the magic shield that was initially very solid clearly became extremely fragile now, as if it was a bubble that might burst at any time.

    At this moment, the pirate ships also began pushing closer to <i>The Star</i> once again. The 10-odd battleships were surrounding <i>The Star</i>, and aiming their cannons at it. However, they did not immediatelyunch an attack. Obviously, the pirates intended to seize <i>The Star</i>. After all, the counterattackunched by <i>The Star</i> just now had already disyed its extraordinary firepower and performance.

    However, in the face of the hundreds of cannons on the pirate ships that were ready to fire, Lin Li, who was watching the situation outside with the crowd, did not seem worried in the slightest. It was just a ship which didn¡¯t mean much to Lin Li. Even if they wanted <i>The Star</i> to capsize, they wouldn¡¯t be able to harm Lin Li and the others.

    Not to mention Lin Li, an advanced Sanctuary powerhouse, the Legendary powerhouses like us and Elvan also had the ability to fly directly to the pirates¡¯ ships to create a devastating disaster for them. Although it was unlikely for the pirates to have the support of Sanctuary powerhouses, Lin Li was someone not to be trifled with.

    The main reason why Lin Li did not make a move was to test the fighting ability of <i>The Star.</i> After all, it was only the first time <i>The Star</i> participated in a sea battle. Although Lin Li was knowledgeable and learned, he was not a master shipbuilder, and those involved in the construction of <i>The Star</i>, too, did not have prior experience in manufacturing such a huge ship. Therefore, Lin Li could only find out the issues with <i>The Star</i> after testing it.

    At this moment, the pirates¡¯ ships were already quite close to <i>The Star</i>, and even the sailors on both decks were able to see each other clearly. There was a pirate standing on the watchtower of the gship, holding a magic device that would amplify his voice. He yelled, ¡°Those on the ship opposite, listen up, this ship has been taken over by us. All of you, get out of the cabin immediately and put your weapons down. Put your hands on your heads and kneel on the deck!¡±

    When that pirate shouted, three Legendary powerhouses in the pilothouse of the gship grinned while sizing up <i>The Star</i> that was soon to be their own. They were the leader and deputy heads of the pirates, and were known to all that made a living at sea.

    The leader of the pirates was a middle-aged man with a mustache who was donning the uniform of a naval officer of the Gilded Kingdom. However, there was a skull on the emblem on his chest. Such contemptuous practice against the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy was considered unique in the Endless Ocean. Those who knew a little about the Endless Ocean would immediately think of the Sea Demon King, Om.

    Among the various legends of the Endless Ocean, the Sea Demon King Om could be considered a very legendary figure that would give even the navy of the Gilded Kingdom a huge headache. He had led a band of pirates named the Sea Demons, and dominated the sea for decades. All prey that he had set his sights on would never be able to escape.

    In fact, legend had it that his fleet had been engaged in many battles against the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet, and the naval officer uniform that he was wearing was stolen from a Gilded Kingdom¡¯s warship after they captured it. The fact that they had the audacity to seize even the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy ships was evidence of how bold the Sea Demon King was. He often wore that military uniform to mock the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy.

    The two people next to the Sea Demon King Om were just as famous as him in the Endless Ocean. One of them was Jerat, who was known as the Sea¡¯s Venom, while the other was Sobnar, who was known as the Serpent of The Sea. The two of them were Om¡¯s most trusted right-hand men and the deputy heads of the Sea Demons.

    ¡°Chief, we¡¯re really lucky today. We were just on a routine rampage, and we managed to catch such a big fish. From the draft of this ship, you can tell how many goods there must be in it. Besides, they¡¯re also equipped with so many weapons, they¡¯re definitely transporting valuable items,¡± Jerat said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s g was not hung on <i>The Star</i>, and they had never seen the emblem on <i>The Star</i> before, either. Hence, they reckoned that <i>The Star</i> was probably an armed merchant ship from the maind.

    ¡°We just have to make minor changes to this ship, and it¡¯ll be ready to be our new gship. Its power can be fully exhibited only in our hands.¡± Sobnar was not only the deputy head of Sea Demons, he was also an expert in shipbuilding who basically modified all the ships of the Sea Demons. Hence, while Jerat was concerned about the value of the goods on board, he was concerned about the value of the ship. In his eyes, the value of the ship was obviously higher than that of the goods.

    After hearing their words, Om looked increasingly smug. ¡°Not bad. After we get this ship, you¡¯ll be in charge of the transformation and modifications.¡±

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, Chief, this ship is surely going to be our most powerful fortress after I transform it,¡± Sobnar said, patting his chest.

    Just when the three men were discussing what to do after seizing <i>The Star</i>, a pirate ran in from outside, and saluted before saying, ¡°Chief, those people on that ship are not moving at all. Do you think we are ready to board the ship?¡±

    However, at this moment, Om did not give orders immediately, and instead waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates before turning around and going to the rear of the pilothouse. It turned out that there was actually a person in a ck robe with arge hood that covered his face seated in the pilothouse, appearing extraordinarily mysterious.

    Om, who was called the Sea Demon King by the outsiders, did not seem arrogant at all. Instead, he saluted the ck-robed man respectfully before saying, ¡°Lord, the people on that ship are not responding, and we¡¯re getting ready to send our men to board the ship and seize it. What do you think?¡±

    However, the ck-robed man did not immediately answer him. After a moment of silence, he assented faintly and agreed to Om¡¯s request. Honestly, this was considered very rude, but Om did not get angry at all. After hearing the ck-robed man¡¯s response, he saluted respectfully, and then retreated.

    Om, who had returned to the front, regained his arrogant aura, and immediately ordered his subordinates to board the ship and fight.

    When orders were given out to seize <i>The Star</i> on the gship of the pirates¡¯ fleet, the people on <i>The Star</i> didn¡¯t feel nervous at all. What a joke, they had an advanced Sanctuary powerhouse and arge bunch of peak Legendary powerhouses. How could they be shocked by a bunch of pirates?

    ¡°Seems like the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet isn¡¯t that great, after all. They actually let the piratese all the way here. Any further and they¡¯ll reach their capital.¡± us shook his head slightly, looking as if he was finding the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s defense pitiful, but he was actually just mocking them.

    Indeed, the Gilded Kingdom was known as the best kingdom in nautical technology in Anril which had an invincible fleet across the Endless Ocean. Yet, the pirates actually showed up at their door, and no one of the Gilded Kingdom was present. That was truly a p in their face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention that. It seems that we can¡¯t make it for dinner on Four Seasons Ind.¡± Elvan had already recovered from the impact of the Void Spirit Mageweath, and began joking with the others.

    ¡°Why? Is my cooking terrible!?¡± As the chef of <i>The Star</i>, Cardson immediately jumped out when he heard that someone wanted to eat elsewhere.

    Of course, Cardson was just joking. Although he was now a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse, he didn¡¯t have the habit of treating those below the Sanctuary-realm as insignificant ants, especially since he had been running his own small restaurant where he would chat happily even with ordinary people.

    After traveling together on the sea for a while, the others had also gained some understanding of Cardson¡¯s character, so they could tell that he wasn¡¯t really ming them. Hence, they started talking to Cardson about the food ingredients of Anril,pletely forgetting the matter of being surrounded by pirates.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and half-jokingly chide the technicians who were fixing the battleship¡¯s technical issues, ¡°Hurry up and get the ship fixed early so we can go to Four Seasons Ind for dinner. If you can¡¯t fix it, you¡¯ll all go hungry at night!¡±

    However, the pirates outside had already yelled several times at this point. They then started a countdown and threatened to sink them together with the ship if they didn¡¯t do as they were told.

    Finally, Cardson and others got tired of listening to them, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, those guys out there are so noisy. We¡¯d better get rid of them early.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Felic, we¡¯ve gained a lot of free benefits throughout this journey. Now, it¡¯s time to put in some effort.¡± After saying that, us called the others along and left the cabin.

    When they saw that someone had finally walked out on <i>The Star</i>, the pirates on the ship outside thought that they were finally scared and were going to surrender. However, before they could even cheer for long, they suddenly saw those who came out of the cabin flying up into the air. They finally reacted and realized that they were all Legendary powerhouses.

    A few Legendary-mages on <i>The Star</i> flew up into the sky and started waving the staffs in their hands without uttering a single word. They began to pour mana out towards the surrounding pirate ships too. Thunderbolts, ice, mes, and all sorts of magic spells began to light up the ce. However, that had be the nightmare of the pirates because they did not expect to encounter so many Legendary-mages.

    At the same time that the Legendary-mages bombarded the pirates¡¯ ships with arge number of magic spells, a few Legendary Sword Sages jumped up from the deck of <i>The Star</i>. However, they did not fly into the air, and insteadnded hard on the decks of several pirate ships like cannonballs.

 Chapter 1116 - The Fifth Fleet

    <h4>Chapter 1116: The Fifth Fleet</h4>

    Under the attacks of the 10-odd Legendary powerhouses, the pirates who seemed to have an absolute advantage fell from the clouds to the abyss. Those pirates who had beenmitting arson, murder, and theft at sea became the subject of ughter this time, and they were all wailing in agony as they fled from the ship. However, even if they jumped into the sea with no qualms about their lives, they would not be able to avoid the fate of getting crushed into bits by the attack spells and Combat Energy that followed.

    One by one, the pirate ships began to sink to the bottom of the sea. Some of the pirate ships were engulfed by zing mes that were still burning intensely even on the surface of the sea. Some of the pirate ships were frozenpletely before being chopped into pieces by Combat Energy that came from dozens of meters away. Some were even worse off as they were shrouded in gray fog. The pirates on the ship wailed in pain and watched themselves age rapidly while the ship decayed and broke down.

    Although the strength of the Legendary powerhouses was not considered much in front of a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, they were god-like existences for those below the Legendary-level. More than 10 Legendary powerhouses were simply beyond what those pirates could resist. In about less than 10 minutes, half of the pirates¡¯ ships sunk to the bottom of the sea in various ways.

    At this moment, the Sea Demon King Om and the others were standing on the pirates¡¯ gship,pletely dumbfounded because of the changes going on outside. They could never imagine the origin of the lone battleship on which numerous Legendary powerhouses suddenly appeared. They couldn¡¯t help but think to themselves that they had probably met a tough opponent this time!

    Seeing that the fleet they had worked so hard to operate was about to bepletely destroyed by those Legendary powerhouses, Om finally snapped back to his senses. Without saying anything more to the other two, he turned around and walked towards the back of the pilothouse.

    ¡°Lord, we¡¯re really in trouble this time, I need your help to save us, otherwise we...¡± Om said in a shaky voice.

    The mysterious man in the pilothouse who was wrapped in a ck robe finally slowly raised his head, but his face was still concealed by the shadow of the hood.

    ¡°Tell your people to retreat,¡± the man said before raising his hand to release a magic re.

    The magic re prated the ceiling of the pilothouse and darted into the sky before exploding with a loud boom, causing a huge mageweath to be drawn in the sky. At the same time, Om also returned to the front of the pilothouse to order his subordinates to retreat. He then took the lead to maneuver the gship to turn away and flee into the distance at full speed. In fact, the other remaining battleships immediately fled without waiting for Om¡¯s orders. Seeing that the gship had already left, no one would be silly enough to stay there and wait to die. Instead, they immediately followed the gship at full speed.

    However, the 10-odd Legendary powerhouses who came down from <i>The Star</i> clearly did not intend to let them off so easily. The Legendary-mages directly used the Power of Flight to chase after the fleeing pirate ships while still attacking them continuously with offensive spells. The Legendary Sword Sages were not willing to seem weak. Although they could not stay in midair for a long time, flying for a short distance with explosive speed was far better than the Power of Flight of the Legendary-mages as they charged towards the fleeing battleships like cannonballs.

    During their attempt to escape, the pirates¡¯ battleships still could not avoid the fate of sinking to the bottom of the sea. However, just as the people on <i>The Star</i> tried to catch up with the gship that fled at the front, another fleet came over from afar. The fleet of battleships all bore the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s g, and they were obviously the naval fleet that the Gilded Kingdom relied on to traverse the seas.

    The sudden appearance of the naval fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, which had 15 alchemical battleships and 20-odd iron ships, all sailing over quickly in a neat formation, and revealing the mightiness of dominating the sea, was unexpected. Even if the naval forces of the kingdoms in Anril werebined, they might not be able topare to this fleet.

    Upon sight of the naval fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, those on <i>The Star</i> who were chasing the pirates couldn¡¯t help but slow down their movements. After all, they were there because they were invited to participate in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, not to annihte the pirates for the Gilded Kingdom. Since the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s naval fleet had appeared, they wouldn¡¯t bother continuing.

    At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s naval fleet, which was fast approaching them, signaled to them in a bid to tell them, ¡°This is the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s territory. We order both sides to stop fighting immediately. The navy of the Gilded Kingdom will judge the dispute.¡±

    The people on <i>The Star</i> also simply gave up on pursuing the pirates, and returned to the deck one by one. Anyway, the pirates would die regardless of whether theynded in the hands of the people on <i>The Star</i> or the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, they didn¡¯t mind letting the Gilded Kingdom show their authority.

    As <i>The Star</i>¡®s crowd stopped chasing, the pirate¡¯s gship and the remaining two ships also followed and stopped, seemingly knowing that it was impossible to escape in this situation. When they saw the few iron battleships of the Gilded Kingdom, they immediately approached and raised their white gs. Next, the iron battleships of the Gilded Kingdom approached, and the warriors and mages boarded the pirate ship. Soon, the remaining pirates began surrendering.

    However, after the pirates were disarmed, the fleet was still in a vignt formation, and they continued to surround <i>The Star</i>. In particr, the 15 alchemical battleships soon surrounded <i>The Star</i>, and the gship of the fleet soon signaled a request to board the ship for inspection.

    ¡°President Felic, it seems that the other party doesn¡¯t know our identity yet, let me go exin to them.¡± Joseph was afraid that Lin Li would lose his temper and not give the Gilded Kingdom any respect. They were already considered to be in the territory of the Gilded Kingdom. If their rtionship was strained, it would not benefit them at all.

    However, Joseph¡¯s worry was obviously a little redundant. Although Lin Li was already a Sanctuary powerhouse standing above all at the peak of Anril, he was definitely not a person who liked to cause trouble for nothing. Hence, after Joseph¡¯s words, he nodded and said, ¡°Well, please go and greet them then.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Joseph secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly moved to go up to the gship of the other fleet. Of course, the gship of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet was not something that just anyone could go up to. Joseph had to fly into the air and negotiate with them for a long time before he was finally allowed tond on the deck of the battleship.

    After a while, the gship of the Gilded Kingdom fleet broke away from the fleet formation and approached <i>The Star</i>. Joseph first returned to thetter to report, after which several boarding bridges were extended to the deck of <i>The Star</i>.

    First, a group of warriors arrived at the deck of <i>The Star</i> via the bridge which then split into twones. Next, a young officer in his early thirties arrived on the deck of <i>The Star</i>, apanied by elite warriors.

    The young naval officer had a head full of curly blond hair and a pair of turquoise eyes. He was rather muscr, but his face was a little pale. However, his strength was a little too inadequate for an officermanding such a fleet because he hadn¡¯t even reached the Legendary-level.

    However, the warriors beside him were all level-18 or level-19, and no matter where they were, they would be elites. Even the top forces of the Breezy ins like the Mithril Alliance and the Caesar Family could not form such a team of elites.

    They could tell from the elite warriors that although the young naval officer did not have impressive strength, he probably had an extraordinary status in the Gilded Kingdom. Otherwise, even themander of this fleet would not be qualified to make that team of elite warriors stay on guard.

    After the young officer came to the deck of <i>The Star</i> surrounded by the guards, someone who looked like a deputymander stood out, and introduced to the people on <i>The Star</i>, ¡°This is Lord Dno, themander of our kingdom¡¯s Fifth Fleet, the son of High Priest Poer.¡±

    Generally speaking, the children of officials or wealthy men would rarely announce the names of their fathers when introducing themselves. Even the special envoy, Cantory, who was in charge of the development n of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins didn¡¯t go round reporting his father¡¯s name. However, Lord Dno looked extremely arrogant and smug when his subordinates introduced him and his father, clearly not finding anything wrong with it.

    Hearing the deputymander¡¯s introduction, the people on <i>The Star</i>, especially Joseph and other representatives of the forces that cooperated with the Gilded Kingdom, couldn¡¯t help but look surprised. They had naturally never heard of Dno before, but they had some understanding of High Priest Poer from their interaction with the Gilded Kingdom.

    High Priest Poer was not just a priest of the kingdom, but also the teacher of the king of the Gilded Kingdom, and had an extraordinary status in the Gilded Kingdom. If Cantory had not be a disciple of the priest of the Illuminati, he probably would not be qualified to bepared to Dno andpete with him in terms of whose father was more powerful. After all, no matter how much authority the chancellor had, it was all given by the king, who had always been very respectful towards High Priest Poer.

    Lin Li was naturally aware of High Priest Poer¡¯s existence, but he wasn¡¯t as surprised as others. After all, Sanctuary powerhouses, especially those who were at higher levels, were basically above all else in the world of Anril. Hence, Lin Li barely had any fluctuations in his emotions because of this matter. Even if Dno was the son of the Illuminati priest, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be fazed.

    Seeing how shocked the others on <i>The Star</i> were because of his identity, Dno still felt rather proud even though this had happened to him countless times before. However, when he turned to look at Lin Li who was standing in the middle of the crowd, he couldn¡¯t help but be stunned for a moment.

    Lin Li¡¯sposure seemed to be an eyesore to Dno at this moment, especially because Dno felt that Lin Li was being contemptuous and disdainful of him. Whenever he announced his identity, the people that he faced would immediately seem astonished, be it someone from the Gilded Kingdom or elsewhere. They would also start being extremely respectful towards him, and some would even try to bootlick and tter him.

    At this moment, the people on <i>The Star</i> had already quickly recovered from the shock. After all, they were all Legendary powerhouses who were considered powerful. Since he was the person who had justmunicated with the Gilded Kingdom, Joseph began to introduce the people on his side to the Gilded Kingdom.

    Dno did not pay much attention to the identities of the people from the Breezy ins at all. To him, the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family were just some local forces, and the so-called top forces of the Breezy ins were just existences that were akin to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s trade unions or pirates.

    Dno could not figure out why Cantory still hadn¡¯t managed to gain control of the entire Breezy ins even though the forces seemed mediocre. If he had been in Cantory¡¯s ce, he would have just led his military into the Breezy ins without wasting his breath to negotiate.

    However, Dno was not entirely nonchnt. At least, he was very curious about Lin Li, the young man who he felt was being dismissive of and belittled him. <i>My father is the high priest of the kingdom and whose identity in the Gilded Kingdom would surely make the hearts of those who hear it tremble. Who would have the right to belittle me!?</i>

    ¡°This is President Felic, the president of the Tower of Dusk of the Breezy ins.¡± The first person Joseph introduced was Lin Li, who was the Sanctuary powerhouse that was of utmost importance even though he was very young. After introducing Lin Li, he began to introduce us of the Caesar Family and Mogadi of the Blood Moon n, followed by the representatives of the other forces.

    However, at this point, Dno was no longer listening to Joseph¡¯s introduction, because the only thing he wanted to know was the information about the young mage who dared to belittle his identity. However, after hearing Joseph¡¯s introduction, he could not help but sneer and think to himself, <i>I¡¯ve never even heard of the Tower of Dusk before. Seems like that guy¡¯s attitude ispletely because of his ignorance.</i>

    After waiting impatiently for Joseph to finish his introduction of the people on <i>The Star</i>, Dno nodded, and then raised his chin slightly to look at the people condescendingly. ¡°This is the territory of the Gilded Kingdom. No matter what your dispute is about, it has already threatened the safety of our territorial waters. The other party has already put down their weapons, so I now order you to also immediatelyy down your weapons and ept the temporary escort provided by the Fifth Fleet. We will give you a fair and final verdict at the Naval Court when we reach Four Seasons Ind.¡±

 Chapter 1117 - Disarm

    <h4>Chapter 1117: Disarm</h4>

    Although Legendary powerhouses were powerful, they were still far from being powerful enough to ignore the political powers of the mortal world. In fact, be it the Gilded Kingdom or the maind kingdoms like Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom, there were quite a few Legendary powerhouses working for their regimes. Only Sanctuary powerhouses who were near the level of the gods could be considered to be above the world.

    Although there were quite a few Legendary powerhouses on <i>The Star</i>, Dno, who had a high status, did not take ordinary Legendary powerhouses seriously at all. Dno might be below the Legendary-level, but he had a father that no one else couldpare to. High Priest Poer was not someone ordinary Legendary powerhouses could afford to provoke. Besides, he was now in control of the powerful Fifth Fleet. If any of them were insensible enough to stand out and offend him, he could easily st any Legendary powerhouse and destroy them.

    Hence, despite facing so many Legendary powerhouses on <i>The Star</i>, Dno was still full of confidence, and looked like he was bent on going by the book. After he gave out those instructions, the warriors of the Gilded Kingdom Navy around him also immediately got ready for battle. Clearly, if anyone behaved strangely, they would not hesitate to suppress them by force.

    After hearing Dno¡¯s words and seeing the actions of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy, the people on <i>The Star</i> immediately showed their displeasure. They came here because they were invited to participate in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, and not to be provoked. Besides, the fleet they confronted just now obviously belonged to the pirates. Was there still a need for a judge?

    In this situation, even Joseph who had always wanted to build friendly rtions with the Gilded Kingdom was rather displeased. However, thinking about Dno¡¯s identity, Joseph had no choice but to suppress his displeasure and get ready to go forward to negotiate with Dno because he didn¡¯t want to offend High Priest Poer of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, before Joseph could say anything, us of the Caesar Family protested in a hostile tone, ¡°What!? Why do you want us to ept your custody? We are guests invited by the Gilded Kingdom to attend the founding celebration of your nation. Pirates appeared in your territorial waters and tried to rob us. Not only are you not giving us an apology, you even want to treat us as prisoners. This is outrageous and unreasonable!¡±

    ¡°Exactly, we even helped them to destroy a band of pirates. They should be thanking us!¡± Many agreed with us and chimed in after he spoke. Those people were all powerhouses of the Breezy ins, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they dominated the Breezy ins. Hence, they had never been mistreated and belittled that way before.

    Hearing the tones of the people who were getting more and more agitated, Dno¡¯s face gradually turned sullen too. He had never encountered anyone in the territorial waters of the Gilded Kingdom who dared to disregard him. Hence, he turned to look at the deputymander beside him, and sternly ordered, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and disarm them, and then take over the ship.¡±

    <i>He¡¯s getting the soldiers to disarm dozens of Legendary powerhouses. Does he think that the soldiers are all Sanctuary powerhouses?</i> After hearing Dno¡¯s words, the people on <i>The Star</i> were amused by the absurdmand instead of being angry.

    However, Dno obviously did not think so. Although his warriors were naturally not qualified to fight a group of Legendary powerhouses, he was certain that thetter definitely didn¡¯t dare to go against the Gilded Kingdom!

    Besides, Dno also felt that the president of the Tower of Dusk seemed mediocre in strength, but actually had an unusual status among them. Hence, Dno felt that as long as he could subdue Lin Li, the others should be easy to deal with.

    With Dno¡¯s strength that was below the Legendary-level, he couldn¡¯t see what kind of strength Lin Li actually possessed. Moreover, he did not believe that a young man like Lin Li who was only in his early twenties could possess any great strength. Therefore, in Dno¡¯s opinion, Lin Li was a perfect target for him to establish dominance.

    Hence, without the slightest hesitation, Dno took a step toward Lin Li in a bid to subdue him. Upon sight of Dno¡¯s action, the guards around him immediately followed suit. However, in order not to spoil Dno¡¯s mood, they chose not to follow too closely. In fact, they didn¡¯t think that Lin Li, the young mage who seemed to have weak magical waves, would pose any threat to Dno.

    As Dno approached Lin Li, he cast a water-series restraining spell without saying anything at all. Actually, the spell simply created a massive ball of water that would drown ordinary people who were trapped in it in a short period of time. However, the spell was only at level-10 which would not be effective on Archmages that were above level-15, let alone Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Actually, if it was merely a failure of the restraining spell, it wouldn¡¯t be considered much, but as a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li had already put up numerous potent passive defensive magic spells around him that were. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t have to pay much attention to it. As long as he was attacked, the spells would immediatelyunch a counterattack or put up a defense. Hence, very few in Anril could sneak an attack on a Sanctuary Master.

    Dno thought he had found an easy target, but he didn¡¯t expect to have met a tough opponent. As soon as the spell flew near Lin Li, a ray of light shed from his body abruptly while he didn¡¯t bat a single eyelid, followed by a series of magic runes that appeared out of thin air, instantly extinguishing the restraining spell. However, that was not the end of it. As the restraining spell vanished, the defensive magic spell on Lin Li¡¯s body erupted too, and sted at Dno immediately.

    It was because Dno was too weak, and only managed to cast a level-10 restraining spell that it didn¡¯t trigger a powerful retaliation from Lin Li. Instead, it only resulted in some repulsion. Otherwise, the entire Fifth Fleet would turn into ashes immediately.

    Even so, the shocking force of the counterattack was not something Dno could resist, and he was blown away forcefully before he could figure out what had happened. However, the guards behind Dno reacted rather quickly. As soon as they realized that something was amiss, they immediately tried to catch him lest he was sted into the sea.

    However, the guards were only at level-18 or level-19, and stopping the Sanctuary powerhouse from retreating or someone moving with equal force was not an easy matter, either. The guards almost used all their strength, and only managed to pull Dno up after thest few were squeezed into the sea.

    However, after pulling Dno up, the guards did not catch their breath yet, and they suddenly felt that there was something wrong with Dno. In the past, thetter would have stomped his feet and cursed out loud whenever he suffered a loss like that, yet he was so quiet now.

    The two guards at the front who were holding Dno were out of breath after being smashed, but they could no longer be bothered to care about their own state. Instead, they hurried to check Dno¡¯s condition. They were stunned by Dno¡¯s appearance.

    At this moment, Dno no longer looked as arrogant as he used to be as his face was extremely pale, and hey on the ground with his eyes tightly shut. He had passed out because of the impact. Besides, there was blood flowing out of the corners of his eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears. He was obviously severely wounded.

    Dno was the son of High Priest Pore. If something terrible happened to him here, they wouldn¡¯t escape the me, either. Seeing the situation, the guards immediately got into a frenzy. Some were calling Dno¡¯s name desperately, while some were hugging him and shaking him violently.

    On the other hand, the warriors of the Fifth Fleet all thought Dno had died when they saw how flustered the guards were. One by one, they unsheathed their swords and surrounded <i>The Star</i>. Although they had just heard that the people who came from Anril were very likely to be guests who had been invited to the founding celebration, even the nobles of the Gilded Kingdom itself could not escape the wrath of High Priest Poer, let alone the outsiders.

    At this juncture, the people on <i>The Star</i> were indeed a little nervous. After all, they also knew that Dno was the son of the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom. If something really happened to Dno, the Gilded Kingdom would probably fall out with the Breezy ins. Some of them were already thinking that they should kill the warriors of the Gilded Kingdom, and that they wouldn¡¯t have to attend the founding celebration after offending the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, they could just return to the Breezy ins to prepare for the war.

    All of a sudden, the atmosphere on the deck of <i>The Star</i> became a bit tense, as if a single spark would cause a big explosion.

    At this moment, in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom on Four Seasons Ind, there was an extremely beautiful and opulent alchemical battleship sailing slowly into the sea. Strictly speaking, the alchemical battleship could no longer be considered a battleship, because there were almost no decent weapons installed on board. It looked just like a luxurious cruise ship.

    There was a middle-aged man wearing a blue magic robe standing on the deck of the luxurious cruise ship with a few diplomatic officials from the Gilded Kingdom, inspecting the various arrangements on the ship.

    After walking a round, an official of the Gilded Kingdom respectfully said to the blue-robed middle-aged man, ¡°Lord Forcus, please rest assured, everything here has been arranged in ordance with your instructions and is in line with the standards of the nation. They will not feel neglected in the slightest.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Forcus nodded slightly, but there was a vague nervousness in his expression because he knew very well in his heart that the person he was going to see this time was not simple, and he could not afford to make the slightest mistake.

    The few officials beside Forcus looked extremely confused, but they were carrying out Forcus¡¯ instructions attentively. They really couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of guest would be able to warrant the personal wee of Forcus.

    Although Forcus was not an official of the Gilded Kingdom, nor was he a royal, his status was extraordinary in the Gilded Kingdom because his teacher was Elder Zumar of the Illuminati.

    In the Gilded Kingdom, the Illuminati was equivalent to the Brilliance Shrine of the Ledin Kingdom or the Supreme Council in the Fn Kingdom. It was an existence that overrode the forces of the mortal world. The priest of the Illuminati was like a god worshiped by the nation of the Gilded Kingdom, and was notparable to any king or minister. Zumar was one of the most authoritative elders of the Illuminati, and since Forcus was Elder Zumar¡¯s disciple, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be taken lightly, either.

    That was exactly what the officials of the Gilded Kingdom could not figure out. With Forcus¡¯ status, he probably wouldn¡¯t receive others personally even if they were kings of the other kingdoms. Besides, Forcus did not represent only himself, but also Elder Zumar, and, in fact, even the entire Illuminati. It was beyond the imagination of those people.

    However, a sailor suddenly scurried over with a flustered expression. ¡°Lord Forcus, look over there, there seems to be some debris of a wrecked ship floating over.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Forcus was astonished. He had never heard of a storm on the sea recently. Why would there be a wrecked ship!? However, he thought that since the person he had to receive was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose strength was not inferior to that of his teacher who was in the Sanctuary-realm, he wouldn¡¯t be in danger even if there was a storm.

    As expected, a sailor soon came over to report that they had found some traces of the ship that seemed to belong to the pirates from the debris of the wrecked ship that they had found. As the battleship sailed, more and more debris appeared on the sea, along with a number of mutted corpses that attracted arge number of bloodthirsty fish. The attire on those corpses also clearly showed their identity as pirates.

    ¡°Lord Forcus, it seems to be a certain band of pirates. This area is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Fleet, it seems that the Fifth Fleet is conducting a purge,¡± an official from the Gilded Kingdom said to Forcus with a respectful expression.

    ¡°These pirates are really foolish, how dare theye here. Are they really poor?¡± Looking at the pirate corpses that the fishes were fighting for, many of them wereughing and gloating.

 Chapter 1118 - Forcus

    <h4>Chapter 1118: Forcus</h4>

    However, when Forcus heard this, his expression suddenly changed, and he said, ¡°If I remember correctly, themander of the Fifth Fleet seems to be Dno, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord, themander of the Fifth Fleet is indeed Dno, the son of High Priest Poer,¡± the person beside him answered with some confusion. Although Dno was the son of the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom, there was still a difference between him and Forcus, Elder Zumar¡¯s disciple. He reckoned that Forcus wouldn¡¯t feel scrupulous.

    However, Forcus¡¯ reaction waspletely beyond their expectations, and his tone was full of anxiety. ¡°Quick, don¡¯t waste any more time. Charge forward immediately at full speed.¡±

    Forcus appeared again this time because of his teacher Elder Zumar¡¯s orders. He was there to meet the guests from the Breezy ins, especially the young president of the Tower of Dusk who was his top priority during this mission. He could not neglect it at all.

    It was not only because of his teacher Elder Zumar¡¯s instructions. In fact, Forcus was also involved in the battle on Cage Ind. Hence, it was clear to him how terrifying the strength of the young president was. He was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose strength wasn¡¯t inferior to that of his teacher Elder Zumar, and who was definitely a powerful existence that was at the pinnacle of Anril.

    That was the reason that Forcus had been checking the battleship dozens of times along the way, not daring to neglect any details at all. He was afraid that the Tower of Dusk might think that he was being negligent. Besides, more importantly, Forcus knew that the rtionship between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom was not too cordial. Thus, it was possible for the Tower of Dusk to find a random excuse to make things hard for them.

    Now, Forcus was really flustered. If the Tower of Dusk encountered pirates, the pirates would be doomed, and the Gilded Kingdom would just be mocked for having poor security in their territorial waters. However, if they encountered Dno, there would be a huge issue.

    Since Forcus was part of Dno¡¯s circle, he was naturally well aware of Dno¡¯s personality. Although he was themander of the Fifth Fleet in name, he was actually just a scion who liked throwing his weight around and abusing his authority because his father was the high priest. If an arrogant man like him would receive guests politely, pigs would fly. Besides, the president of the Tower of Dusk was extremely young, and no one would believe that he was a Sanctuary powerhouse upon their first meeting. Dno might really cause issues.

    Finally, with the battleship sailing at full speed, a fleet that had set up a battle formation finally appeared in front of Forcus. After looking at the situation, Forcus¡¯ heart sank, and he immediately sprung up from the deck of the battleship, flying towards the side. While flying, he also kept praying in his heart that things would not develop in the direction he feared.

    However, as the scene ahead became clearer and clearer, Forcus¡¯ heart sank further and further. He could already see the tension on the battleship in the middle. It seemed that a conflict between the two parties had already broken out.

    However, there was one thing that made Forcus feelforted¡ªthere was at least some room for easing the tension. That meant that the young president of the Tower of Dusk had yet to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom. Otherwise, with the strength of the high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, they would have defeated and annihted the Fifth Fleet at any time.

    ¡°Everyone, please calm down, don¡¯t do anything!¡± Forcus shouted loudly while flying down to the deck of <i>The Star</i>.

    ¡°Lord Forcus, please be sure to avenge us. Not only did this group of people refuse to ept our inspection, they even shot and injured ourmander!¡± Dno¡¯s deputymander eximed, greeting Elder Zumar¡¯s disciple Forcus joyously as soon as he saw himnding on the deck.

    Since Forcus could be the disciple of Elder Zumar, he naturally had great talent too. Although he couldn¡¯tpare to Cantory yet, his strength was also close to the peak of the Legendary-realm. Hence, when he saw Forcus, the deputymander of Dno immediately became more confident.

    Initially, Forcus felt rather thankful when he saw that the people on <i>The Star</i> were alright. As long as there were no casualties, verbal disputes could still be settled and resolved. However, he immediately heard the deputymander saying something about taking revenge for Dno, and his heart tensed up. He thought Dno was killed; no matter what, Dno was the son of High Priest Poer of the Gilded Kingdom. If he died there, it would definitely be troublesome.

    However, Forcus soon heard the deputymander saying again that Dno was merely wounded, which was to his relief. However, the worry in his heart did not vanish because of it. Everything seemed to be fine on his side, but the main thing was not his own side, but what Lin Li and his people thought.

    Regardless of whether Dno died or not, it at least showed that both parties had already made a move against each other, and that was indeed troublesome. They were facing a Sanctuary powerhouse whom not everyone could offend. If they really angered Lin Li, there would definitely be a huge disaster in the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°Master Felic, I am here to greet you and your guests from the Breezy ins on behalf of my teacher, Elder Zumar. They do not know your identity, and have caused some misunderstanding, please do not take it to heart.¡± Forcus didn¡¯t bother to look at Dno who had already passed out. Instead, he went forth to apologize to Lin Li respectfully.

    Initially, the people from the Fifth Fleet were thinking that Forcus was there to give them support and back them up, and they didn¡¯t expect Forcus to behave in such a manner. It truly made them dumbfounded.

    As a disciple of Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, Forcus had a higher status than Dno. Why did he apologize to the outsiders without even getting a clear understanding of what had happened? Besides, they were even more surprised by the meaning of Forcus¡¯ words. It seemed that Elder Zumar was very familiar with the outsiders, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t let his disciplee to greet them on his behalf!

    On the other hand, Lin Li heard Forcus¡¯ words on <i>The Star</i>, but he didn¡¯t have much of an expression, and instead nodded very calmly. In fact, he did not have much of an emotional fluctuation. To him, Dno was just like a mob who wasn¡¯t significant enough to affect his mood.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not seem to me them, Forcus finally felt secretly relieved. Hence, he apologized and turned around to get them to wake Dno up in a bid to make Dno apologize to the other side. He thought that that would be a good solution.

    Actually, Dno did not suffer any severe injury, and he was mainly just too weak as he simply passed out. Of course, if he had been stronger, the counterattack would have been more powerful, and perhaps he would have been killed in one fell swoop.

    With everyone¡¯s joint efforts, they sshed water and pped Dno, and thetter finally snorted before opening his eyes with some confusion. He was still a little puzzled about the situation as he didn¡¯t know how he¡¯d suddenly fainted. Only when he saw the faces of his subordinates around him did he suddenly remember where he was.

    Dno suddenly stood up and hollered at his subordinates without even noticing that Forcus had arrived. ¡°What are all of you doing? They actually had the audacity to attack themander of the Fifth Fleet, and that¡¯s an act of war against my kingdom. Hurry up and take them down!¡±

    If it had been in the past, the subordinates around Dno would have definitely carried out his instructions without hesitation. However, to Dno¡¯s surprise, they seemed to be in a dilemma after hearing his order. Those people were not fools, and they weren¡¯t willing to attack Legendary powerhouses in the first ce. They could tell from the fate of the pirates how they would end up.

    ¡°Dno, what are you talking about? Hurry up and apologize to Master Felic!¡± Forcus was frightened to the point of turning pale after hearing Dno¡¯s words. He was initially already troubled by the invitation, and yet Dno thought of continuing to stir trouble. That was adding fuel to fire.

    Seeing that his subordinates were not listening to his orders, Dno was about to lose his temper, but at this moment, Forcus¡¯ voice came through the crowd and reached his ears. Dno was first stunned, after which he rubbed his ears hard, thinking that he was hallucinating because of the injury that he had just sustained. However, in the next moment, the people around him quickly shed and darted to the sides. He saw Forcus walking towards him furiously.

    Although Dno¡¯s father was a high priest, and Dno could be considered one of the top figures among the younger generation of the Gilded Kingdom, he did not have supreme status. For example, Cantory, the disciple of the priest of the Illuminati, was not only of high status, but was also known as the best genius of the Gilded Kingdom. That was far from what Dno couldpare to. Another example would be Forcus, the disciple of Elder Zumar, who definitely surpassed him in terms of status and strength.

    Therefore, when facing Forcus, Dno also had to lower his pride, and deferentially ask, ¡°Lord Forcus, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°Dno, Master Felic and these representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins are our distinguished guests who have been invited to attend the founding celebration. Dno, it¡¯s fine if you did not know before, but now that you do, you should be going over to apologize for offending them!¡± In fact, Forcus was giving Dno an out on ount of Dno¡¯s father.

    However, Dno refused. Sumbing to Forcus did not mean that he was willing to submit to just anyone else. Besides, in the situation just now, he had fainted because of Lin Li¡¯s defensive spells. How could he be willing to be embarrassed in front of so many subordinates?

    Hence, Dno cringed, and said, ¡°Lord Forcus, you probably do not understand the situation. This group of people got into a conflict with others on our territory. We just wanted both parties to stop and ept the judgment of the Naval Court. However, they not only refused to listen to our arrangements, but also shot and injured me. It doesn¡¯t matter that I got injured, but this is an insult to the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± As soon as he heard Dno¡¯s words, Forcus stopped him from speaking. He then said to the people around him, ¡°Take yourmander away and check his body. He probably isn¡¯t back to his senses yet!¡±

    Although Forcus was not a member of the fleet, the status of the Illuminati still had a great influence on the people of the Gilded Kingdom. Besides, those warriors were initially not willing to fight with a group of Legendary powerhouses anyway. After hearing Forcus¡¯mand, they immediately pulled the noisy Dno away to the Fifth Fleet.

    Soon, almost everyone of the Fifth Fleet had already left the deck of <i>The Star</i>. Only then did Forcus approach Lin Li again with a wry smile. ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, Dno has been spoiled rotten by his father, and he made a fool out of himself here.¡±

    By saying this, Forcus made Dno seem like Lin Li¡¯s junior, thus making it inappropriate for Lin Li to me him.

    Of course, using such tricks depended on the subject. If it was the past Lin Li, he might not give in. However, as a Sanctuary powerhouse who stood at the peak of Anril like a god that looked down on the living beings, Lin Li found Dno¡¯s actions to be like a joke. Hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t take it to heart.

    After some pleasantries, Forcus exined his agenda. At this moment, the opulent battleship also sailed over. Although Lin Li had <i>The Star</i>, he still led the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins and stepped onto the luxurious battleship that was supposedly meant for weing them out of courtesy.

    Of course, after stepping on the battleship of the Gilded Kingdom, he inevitably faced some diplomatic conversations. The Gilded Kingdom applied the standards of international meetings in receiving Lin Li and the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins, thus making the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins feel a bit ttered. However, Lin Li did not feel much about it. Clearly, be it the Gilded Kingdom or the Illuminati, they clearly hoped that they could maintain peace with the forces of the Breezy ins, and the Tower of Dusk in particr, for a period of time.

    On the battleship of the Gilded Kingdom, Forcus enthusiastically introduced the customs of the kingdom to Lin Li. Whenever the battleship passed by an ind, he would have a lot of legends to tell Lin Li. Besides, the closer they got to Four Seasons Ind, the more inds there were in the sea. Some wererger, and thus had cities that were asrge as Anril[1] built on them.

    [1] That¡¯s what the raws say, obviously a typo of nna or some other city.

 Chapter 1119 - Foreign Scenery

    <h4>Chapter 1119: Foreign Scenery</h4>

    There were inds that were as small as towns or viges from the maind of Anril, and were inhabited by only a few households. There were also inds with unique sceneries that only had one castle on them. They were obviously owned by the nobles of the Gilded Kingdom.

    But, there was one notable thing about the inds surrounding the main navigation route. All of them were bustling with energy regardless of their surface area. There were countlessrge and small ships sailing in and out of the many ports, andrge alchemy machinery were loading and unloading cargo from the ships.

    On the way, Lin Li and the others were also invited by Forcus to stop by a few of the more popr inds owned by the Gilded Kingdom. They got to witness the Gilded Kingdom culture firsthand, and were invited to celebrate the Independence Day in the Gilded Kingdom.

    Of course, the scenery they saw was only a small part of the Gilded Kingdom. The defining feature of Gilded Kingdom was its capital that was located on Four Seasons Ind, the cultural and political hub of Gilded Kingdom.

    Although people tended to associate Four Seasons Ind with the capital of Gilded Kingdom, the area of the ind was as huge as half of Fn Kingdom. In addition to the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, there were also dozens ofrge and small cities. Moreover, there was no extreme weather on the ind at all. It was made up of ¡°four¡± seasons of spring and filled with bird chatter and the smell of blossoms. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was a fairnd on earth.

    When the battleship and <i>The Star</i> slowly steered into the biggest port of the Gilded Kingdom¡ªHelena Port, they found themselves received by arge-scale weing ceremony. A long red carpet had been rolled all the way to the pier, and navy guards stood neat on the sides of the carpet and yed melodious music with elements that resembled the Dark Age¡¯s music. The officials of Helena Port as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gilded Kingdom were standing on the dock, awaiting the arrival of Lin Li and the others.

    Although the forces from the Breezy ins were each a hegemon of one of its regions, the grand ceremony made them feel like savages setting foot in the city. After all, such a high-quality ceremony was usually only conducted between kingdoms to wee ministers of foreign affairs. It was not something that these forces wouldmonly experience.

    ¡°Master Felic, our Majesty, the king of our country, is very happy to hear that you have epted our invitation. Therefore, he has specifically ordered us to wee you all with a ceremony that is of the highest standard,¡± Forcus exined as he stood beside Lin Li.

    Lin Li nodded and remained silent. He stepped onto the red carpet and led the representatives of the other Breezy ins forces out of the pier under the guidance of Forcus. To be honest, Lin Li had never experienced or witnessed such a grand scene. If it had been in the past, he would have felt very lost now. However, now that he was already a sanctuary powerhouse, these objects of vanity could hardly cause the slightest excitement in his heart.

    Behind Lin Li, us, Joseph, and the other representatives of the various forces from the Breezy ins couldn¡¯t help but feel a little nervous despite being all Legendary powerhouses. After all, they would not have received such niceties if they hade to Gilded Kingdom alone. They were very clear that the ceremony was conducted for Lin Li, and they merely shared the spotlight.

    The music yed by the Royal Military Orchestra engulfed the entire pier with a majestic yet solemn atmosphere. After the music stopped, more than two dozen salutes[1] sounded continuously, bringing the entire weing ceremony to a climax. The number of salutes clearly represented the high status of its guests as well as the great importance Gilded Kingdom ced on them.

    In order to wee Lin Li and the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins, the Gilded Kingdom definitely put a lot of effort into the weing ceremony. The scale of the ceremony was unprecedented, and this naturally invited spection from countless people. It was difficult for them to imagine whom the Gilded Kingdom would greet with such a grand reception.

    At the same time, <i>Sea Dragon</i> from the Fifth Fleet appeared silently near Helena Port. On the observation tform of the battleship, Dno and his adjutants and several other officers of the Fifth Fleet were also watching themotion at the pier.

    The Fifth Fleet had its own naval port, but Dno was not a person willing to take any losses. Furthermore, the humiliation he experienced in front of so many followers felt more ufortable than death. Therefore, after ordering the other battleships to return to the military port, he let the Fifth Fleet¡¯s gship enter Helena Port from a distance. He wanted to find out why Forcus would want to greet the people from the Breezy ins in person.

    Dno knew that these people were representatives of various local forces in the Breezy ins from an introduction in the past. This was what made him not give the group any importance despite the grand weing ceremony they were given.

    Every Gilded Kingdom Independence Day celebration would attract big and tiny forces from all directions. Therefore, it was not a big deal to be invited to the celebration. Being invited did not mean that they were valued more highly than one another.

    Dno was highly suspicious of the rtionship between Forcus and the president of Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, how would Forcus greet thetter in person? The borrowing of a luxuriously decorated battleship for this purpose was not a problem with Forcus¡¯ status. As Forcus was not to be trifled with, it would be impossible for him to take revenge on the president if Forcus was involved.

    Of course, Dno was a little dumbfounded when he saw the grand weing ceremony from the tform he was standing on. Forcus¡¯ status was not ordinary, but it would not be easy for anyone to conduct a weing ceremony of such arge scale. If there was not enough reason for the ceremony, Forcus would be impeached by the ministers even if he were the disciple of Elder Zumar.

    ¡°Damn it! Who the hell is that kid? How did he manage to make Forcus organize such a grand ceremony to wee him?¡± Dno said through gritted teeth as he threw an angry fist on the guardrail.

    Dno was not a fool. The sight of the weing ceremony was enough to help him realize that the identity of these people from the Breezy ins was unlike that of the usual attendees of the Independence Day celebration. They had to be formally invited guests who were held in high regard by the king. It definitely would not be easy for him to seek revenge if they had the support from the royals of the kingdom.

    Although Dno had an amazing father, it didn¡¯t mean that he could be unscrupulous in the Gilded Kingdom, especially if the royal family was involved. If the people from the Breezy ins were really important guests of the royal family, he would be asking for a beating if he were to seek trouble with them. If that were to happen, his father would definitely not forgive him.

    While Dno was determined not to give up on revenge, he could only look in the direction of the dock with a gloomy face.

    ¡°My Lord, are you worried about the difficulty of seeking revenge?¡± asked Dno¡¯s adjutant knowingly.

    ¡°Unless you have any thoughts about this?¡± responded Dno. He knew that his adjutant had to have an idea around the situation for him toe forward.

    ¡°My Lord, we can do it like this...¡± Hajis said as he smiled, and leaned towards Dno¡¯s ear to whisper his idea.

    ¡°Well, good idea, good idea! Let¡¯s do it!¡± eximed Dno excitedly with a glow in his eyes as he nodded profusely. Hajis¡¯s suggestion took Dno¡¯s gloominess away.

    Lin Li and the others left Helena Port with Forcus after the ceremony on a luxurious carriage to Hopra, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom that was located on Four Seasons Ind. Althoughbelled as a carriage, the vehicle operated using alchemical power. To Lin Li, it resembled a car from the world he was in before transmigrating. The speed of an alchemy carriage was naturally much faster than that of an ordinary one, and it was also very stable when traveling at high speeds.

    Hopra was not in the center of Four Seasons Ind, but rather located slightly closer to Helena Port. This was also one of the reasons why they chose to wee Lin Li there. Therefore, they took only half a day to see the majestic city walls of Hopra City. Otherwise, with the enormous area of Four Seasons Ind, it would have taken four to five days to reach the central area with the speed of this carriage.

    Although Lin Li and the others lost a lot of time at sea, there was still a long way to go before the Independence Day celebration. However, there was a festive atmosphere everywhere throughout their journey, and they could see every single civilian beaming with joy.

    Preparations for the celebration had already begun in Hopra City. For instance, holiday decorations were hanging on city buildings, and there were many temporary stages built to prepare for festive performances. The shops on both sides of the streets hung out slogans that screamed celebratory phrases, and rolled out many holiday discounts for their customers.

    Furthermore, the buildings in Hopra City, the cultural and political center of Gilded Kingdom, had inherited the elements of the Dark Age. It did not matter which social ss the buildings belonged to. Not only extravagant and luxurious apartments, but also civilian houses emitted grace and elegance. They were picturesque.

    The residents of Hopra City also donned costumes that had strong Dark Age elements. No one among the foreign guests knew if this was casual street fashion or festive clothing, yet they could tell the contrast in fashion between Helena Port and the capital¡¯s streets. The people at the port were dressed in clothing closer to modern fashion despite the Dark Age styles.

    Lin Li and the rest couldn¡¯t help but gaze at the streets of Hopra in admiration. Even Lin Li himself started to fantasize that he would have happily settled down in the beautiful city if he had been an ordinary person.

    However, Lin Li also knew that this sight had to be a facade, for there would always be dirty corners hidden from the sun. While the city seemed to be full of grace and elegance, there had to be the darker sides that the people of Hopra weren¡¯t aware of.

    Since the people in the Gilded Kingdom were all caught up with the preparation of the celebration, the king of the Gilded Kingdom didn¡¯t have time to meet Lin Li yet. Hence, Forcus brought Lin Li and the rest directly to the luxurious apartments that they had prepared for them.

    After helping Lin Li and the rest settle down, Forcus apologized to everyone that he had to return to his teacher, Elder Zumar. However, before leaving, he deliberately assigned some followers to arrange tour guides to bring them around.

    Lin Li and the rest were either Sanctuary or Legendary powerhouses. Although they had been sailing on the sea for a long time, no one felt worn out by it. Hence, they did not n to take a break after Forcus¡¯ departure. Instead, they found their own guides, and were ready to explore Hopra City.

    This time, Lin Li did not bring his two Undead followers here, and the sailors of <i>The Star</i> were still on the ship. He called no one when he left his apartment, and started to wander aimlessly in Hopra City.

    [1] Probably it¡¯s about gun salutes or something of the sort.

 Chapter 1120 - Guest

    <h4>Chapter 1120: Guest</h4>

    However, Lin Li was not exactly wandering aimlessly, either. He went to the specialty shops that sold items from the Endless Sea. Of course, there were too many special items in the Gilded Kingdom, ranging from small saltwater fish to herbs and gems from the deep sea. Not all of them were of value to Lin Li.

    Although it was just a simple tour, Lin Li had to admit that it really felt like an eye-opener. He was shocked to discover that the Sea Crystal that was considered extremely rare in Anril was a verymon gem here, and cost the same as themon ones in Anril.

    Those deep-sea herbs were also very attractive to Lin Li, a pharmaceutics Guru. For example, the Dark Soulgrass, which was very difficult to obtain in the maind of Anril, was a herb that only grew in the crevices that were thousands of meters deep. Yet, it was sold like cabbage in this city.

    It was just that the Dark Soulgrass here contained a lot of water elements that had to be extracted If Lin Li were to use it to make potions. In fact, this was not a characteristic unique to Dark Soulgrass. Many kinds of herbs sold here were rich in water elements¡ªeven those that grew on remote inds.

    In addition to herbs and gems, there were also many other precious marine products, such as strange-looking monsters that were unrecognizable to Lin Li. There was a horned turtle that was as huge as a house disyed in the market sold as ordinary livestock. The butchers would cut the turtle flesh ording to the orders of their customers and pack it neatly for them. It was said that thergest of its kind was as huge as a small ind. Some of them were also domesticated to act as a foundation for people to build their castles on.

    Lin Li walked around various markets in Hopra City, and purchased some fancy items. However, he wasn¡¯t makingrge-scale purchases. It was more to satisfy his curiosity, or for purposes he knew would be beneficial to him. This was also because he still remembered from Elder Zumar¡¯s invitation letter that there would be a once-in-a-decade sea market sale closer to the celebration date.

    Although Lin Li still did not know what the sea market of the Gilded Kingdom would look like, the sight of the lively markets here instilled in him great expectations for the uing sea market.

    It was said that the sea market would not only attract merchants of the Gilded Kingdom, but also caravans from the maind of Anril and people living in the depths of the Endless Ocean. Yet, they were not the main highlights of the event. It was said that there would be a visit from the merchant from the mysterious continent on the other end of the Endless Ocean. He would be here to sell various specialty goods that were produced on that continent.

    The sky gradually grew darker as Lin Li strolled through several markets. That was when he decided to return to the residence arranged by the Gilded Kingdom. However, when he returned, he discovered that the afternoon had brought over some new guests, and he identified a number of acquaintances among them.

    ¡°Haha, Master Felic, I heard about your arrival a long time ago, and I have been wanting to pay you a visit, but in vain. Looks like you have gone out on your own.¡± The voice belonged to the owner of the Time Consignment Store, William. Although William was a man of high status in the Breezy ins, he did not arrive by <i>The Star</i>, but a fleet of ships instead. It was obvious that he was prepared to visit the sea market and return with rare purchases.

    ¡°Hey, Master Felic, it has been long!¡± This was Prince Lionheart Johnathan, a famous royal of the Fn Kingdom. He had been chatting with William, and when he saw Lin Li, he immediately walked over to greet him enthusiastically.

    Although Jonathan didn¡¯t have much contact with Lin Li, he probably met him at one of the meetings held by the Pharmacists¡¯ Union. He was also present during Lin Li¡¯s inauguration ceremony as a representative of the Fn Kingdom. However, at that time, Jonathan had not thought that this young magician would have had such an achievement. Not only did Lin Li lead the Tower of Dusk to be the most powerful force in the Breezy ins, he also sessfully stepped into the Sanctuary realm to be the youngest Sanctuary powerhouse in history.

    Therefore, when greeting Lin Li, Johnathan could not help but still feel a little worried even though he was a royal of the Fn Kingdom. After all, his status as a prince was nothing to a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t put up an arrogant stance despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse. He responded to Johnathan smilingly, and greeted the others behind him.

    ¡°Felic, long time no see! I heard that you have acquired Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, and I would love to pay you a visit over there,¡± a voice addressed Lin Li directly by his name. Few dared to call his name after Lin Li stepped into the Sanctuary realm. The owner of the voice, High Priest Sendros from the Darkness Shrine, walked towards Lin Li.

    ¡°Master Sendros, you...¡± said Lin Li before Sendros came up close to him. He could feel the unique aura of a Sanctuary realm powerhouse from Sendros. He knew very clearly that Sendros¡¯s level up was not a fluke¡ªunlike with Elvis and the rest. Sendros was a real middle-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°All thanks to your Tribute of Darkness. Otherwise, I could have only been half of a Sanctuary powerhouse,¡± replied Sendros. Now that his body had darkened due to the Tribute of Darkness, his original stiff expression had transformed into one that seemed gentler.

    ¡°Felic, you are really biased! How could you help this dead-face formte the Tribute of Darkness? There, there. Look at how arrogant he has be!¡± That was Englos, the archbishop of the Brilliance Shrine, who had arrived with Sendros.

    While he had small talk with everyone, Lin Li could not help but be distracted by his thoughts. He felt that it was not a big deal for the people of Fn to be here. What mattered was the status of those powerhouses from the Darkness Shrine and Brilliance Shrine: one was a high priest in the Sanctuary-realm, while the other was an archbishop who was a step away from the Sanctuary-realm.

    In any case, the Gilded Kingdom was a secr kingdom, and the two shrines were the real forces of influence. Lin Li did not believe that the two men of such status would want to attend the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Independence Day.

    However, Lin Li did not ask them about their intentions. After all, no matter how good they were on private terms, they had the interests of different forces to consider. Therefore, he suppressed his curiosity, and continued chatting with a few people. He also invited Englos and Sendros to his Sky Castle after this event.

    While Lin Li had a very happy chat with his old friends, someone was not feeling the same on the other side. Dno had just returned to the naval harbor on <i>Sea Dragon</i> to hear that Forcus had reached the headquarters of the fleet, and wanted him to head back immediately.

    Upon hearing this news, Dno could already guess what Forcus was about to do, but now that <i>Sea Dragon</i> had already entered the port, he knew it was toote to hide. He could only bite the bullet and go meet Forcus.

    ¡°Master Forcus, I heard that you were in a hurry to meet me,¡± said Dno sincerely with as much innocence as he could muster. While he was unafraid of Forcus, he knew Forcus¡¯ mentor, Elder Zumar, was not someone to offend. If he were to get into his bad books, Dno knew that even his father would not be able to protect him.

    ¡°Dno, your fleet has returned quite some time ago. What was taking you such a long time?¡± asked Forcus in a harsh tone.

    ¡°I-I was just patrolling around,¡± Dno replied casually. How could he reveal his intentions of seeking revenge on that group of people who came from the Breezy ins?

    However, Forcus was not a foolish man. ¡°I don¡¯t care where you have gone. Now I just need you to give me an exnation. Who gave you the permission to harass the guests from the Breezy ins!? They are the guests of His Majesty and the Illuminati!¡± reprimanded Forcus sternly as he sized Dno up with a grave expression.

    ¡°Master Forcus, you can¡¯t say that. As themander of the Fifth Fleet, I am responsible to maintain the peace and stability in our kingdom¡¯s waters. They had a conflict in our waters, so there was nothing wrong for me to intervene. It was them! Not only were they indifferent to our mediation, they also used force to resist our management! This behavior has infringed the rules of our territory,¡± protested Dno as he shifted the me to the others. He evenbeled the guests as intruders.

    If it had been an average person, he would have been fooled by Dno¡¯s righteous facade. Forcus was so clear about Dno¡¯s character that he didn¡¯t believe his rhetoric at all. However, Forcus was not concerned about whom the responsibility belonged to. Since things had happened, the most important thing was to prevent Dno from causing any more trouble.

    As a result, Forcus did not bother to find fault with Dno¡¯s words. Instead, he warned him directly.

    ¡°Dno, no matter what happened previously, I want you to remember that those from the Breezy ins, especially people like President Felic, are in extremely good books of both the royal family and the Illuminati. You¡¯d better not create any trouble for me, otherwise don¡¯t me me for not warning you.¡±

    ¡°Master Forcus, if that is what you are saying, do you mean that we have to close our eyes to whatever crimes they are going tomit in our territory? Just when did our Gilded Kingdom be such a pushover? And those people are merely from the Breezy ins. Are we going to kneel before them if they are from the Ledin and Fn Kingdom?¡± replied Dno indignantly.

 Chapter 1121 - Reception Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 1121: Reception Ceremony</h4>

    Forcus really wished to p Dno to death when he heard Dno say that.

    ¡°Let me tell you, President Felic is not someone you should offend. If you make him angry, even your father won¡¯t be able to protect you,¡± said Forcus as he tried his best to hold back all of his rage.

    Forcus¡¯ response shocked Dno. He felt that the Tower of Dusk was just a local power in the Breezy ins, and the so-called ¡®guild president¡¯ was also a very young chap. He really couldn¡¯t think of what Felic could do to him that his father couldn¡¯t shield him from.

    However, Dno did not dare to confront Forcus about it. He could only agree with Forcus with his most sincere tone. ¡°Yes, Master Forcus! I understand!¡±

    ¡°I really hope you mean your words,¡± replied Forcus as he nodded calmly, and left the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet. He did not dare to go overboard with Dno due to the status of Dno¡¯s father.

    However, Forcus¡¯ departure did not ay Dno¡¯s anger. He flipped one of the tables in the room furiously. He could not ept how he needed to swallow his pride despite being the son of the kingdom¡¯s high priest. This was certainly not something he had ever encountered in his life.

    Not long after Forcus¡¯ departure, Adjutant Hajis, who had heard the intense conversation, entered the room. He walked round the flipped table towards Dno.

    ¡°Sir, if what Master Forcus said was true, how should we proceed?¡± asked Hajis cautiously.

    ¡°Hmph, continue with the same n. I have to regain my pride. If not, how would I be able to raise my head in the future?¡± Dno said through his clenched teeth.

    Forcus felt that he should be able to restrain Dno with his serious stance. Hence, he decided to put his attention away from Dno for the time being. After leaving the naval port of the Fifth Fleet, he reported Lin Li¡¯s arrival to his mentor, Elder Zumar. As Dno¡¯s father was the kingdom¡¯s high priest, he thought that he would just let Dno¡¯s issue slide. Hence, he did not think there was a need toin about Dno to his mentor.

    In the following morning, Forcus made his way to Lin Li¡¯s apartment again. There were two reasons for him to make his way here. One: to fulfill his mentor¡¯s request to be as hospitable to them. Two: to ensure that there were no jokers here to provoke the dangerous man. He witnessed the tactics used by the tower¡¯s president when he visited the Breezy ins with his mentor the other time. He was the man who threatened to destroy one of his battleships when negotiation did not go his way. If there were anyone who offended the president, he knew that a catastrophe would rain on the Gilded Kingdom.

    Forcus¡¯ worries were not exaggerated. Although there were Sanctuary powerhouses in the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, a battle between Sanctuary powerhouses would leave a disastrous aftermath.

    Hence, Forcus visited Lin Li really early. It did not matter what Lin Li nned to do. He just wanted to apany him for everything. Yet, when he arrived and sent his request to meet Lin Li, he heard that the man was having a meeting with Johnathan, a prince of the Fn Kingdom.

    This piece of news definitely stunned Forcus. He did not expect the young president to be acquainted with someone as high up as the prince of the Fn Kingdom. Of course, it was not unusual for two outstanding individuals to know each other, but it was unusual for the prince to visit the president at such an odd hour. This underscored the importance and respect the prince had for President Felic.

    Although Forcus knew that Lin Li had a very high status in the Breezy ins, and had even surpassed the status of the Ashen Warlock, he knew the status Prince Jonathan had in the Fn Kingdom as well. If the prince were to make this visit, he wouldn¡¯t be just showing an attitude of the Legendary powerhouse. His attitude represented the entire Fn Kingdom.

    Since Lin Li did not have the time to meet him, Forcus could only wait for him elsewhere. He knew that as long as Lin Li did not leave this ce, there shouldn¡¯t be any joker who would mess with him here.

    However, it didn¡¯t take long for Forcus to be shocked by what he saw. After Prince Jonathan from the Fn Kingdom came Prince Jeremiah from the Ledin Kingdom. And Prince Jeremiah was even more ridiculous. Although Jeremiah did not bow down to the president, his stance was low enough.

    After Prince Jeremiah was Donald, the chief mage of the Rotterdam Kingdom. This time, Donald was not apanied by Prince Kanber. Although the team from the Rotterdam made huge losses from the expedition to the Sky Castle, the fact that hepleted the mission helped Prince Kanber to secure his status as the heir to the throne. Hence, it was also natural for him not to travel such a great distance to the Gilded Kingdom to join the celebration.

    This was something good for Donald. He finally did not need to worry how to clean up after Prince Kanber. However, Donald¡¯s status was not enough to represent the royal family. Hence, it was Prince Tory of the Rotterdam who apanied him here.

    Aspared to Prince Kanber, Prince Tory was obviously calmer. Donald probably reminded to lower his posture and stance whenever he conversed with Lin Li. Hence, it did not seem like Lin Li was speaking to a prince of a kingdom. Although there was no obvious ttery in the royal¡¯s speech, it could be heard that Tory definitely wanted to be in the good books of Lin Li.

    Forcus was bbergasted to witness the simrity among the envoys of the three human kingdoms in their interactions with the young president of the Tower of Dusk. After all, the Tower of Dusk was only one of the many forces in the Breezy ins. If it couldmand the respect of the three human kingdoms, it had to be a really significant force. Obviously, the influence of the young President Felic in the continent of Anril was no longer limited to the Breezy ins.

    However, this seemed to be just the beginning. There were more things after that surprised Forcus. Immediately after the three human envoys came Archbishop Englos from the Brilliance Shrine and High Priest Sendros from the Darkness Shrine.

    Forcus had to rub his eyes when he saw how friendly the three of them were with one another. He even wondered if all he saw was an illusion. Brilliance Shrine¡¯s and Darkness Shrine¡¯s status was definitely superior to that of the three human kingdoms and the whole of Anril. A single decision from them could drastically change the entire situation in the maind.

    Although Forcus knew that the Tower of Dusk had great authority in the Breezy ins, and that they could make the region tremble with a little stomping, he felt that the Breezy ins was notparable to the whole of Anril. While he was clear that the president of the Tower of Dusk was not somebody to be trifled with, he thought that this was merely due to his status as a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, the scenes he had witnessed made him rethink his assumptions.

    This thought made Forcus shiver from the weight on his shoulders. He knew that if he were to make any mistakes in receiving him, he would not only offend President Felic, but also harm the entire Gilded Kingdom.

    Of course, apart from being anxious, Forcus was also feeling quite fortunate. Fortunately, he appeared in time to prevent the bastard, Dno, from doing anything more outrageous to the president. Otherwise, Dno would not have been able to save himself even if his father were to step in.

    Forcus waited for quite a while, but he still did not see Englos and Sendrosing out. Just when he was hesitating if he should send people in to inform Lin Li about his presence, he saw some people walking into Lin Li¡¯s ce. The group was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson. Behind him were two diplomats and a court guard.

    ¡°Master Forcus, you are really here. His Majesty wanted to discuss with you how we should wee the guests,¡± said the court guard, who immediately approached Forcus when he saw him...

    Forcus stood up quickly upon hearing Jefferson¡¯s words. He was intending to inform His Majesty of what he¡¯d witnessed earlier too. Hence, he swapped positions with Jefferson, and reminded him to treat President Felic of the Tower of Dusk with utmost respect. ¡°Alright, I will go with you right away. Master Jefferson, I will leave the responsibility to you first. Do pay more attention to him, and shower him with all the things he needs.¡±

    Although Jefferson was puzzled by the respect the royals and the Illuminati had for the president from the Tower of Dusk, he agreed to Forcus¡¯ request without hesitation.

    After all, Jefferson was an extremely experienced andposed minister, and Forcus was very confident of his capabilities. Then, thetter headed to the pce with the court guards hurriedly.

    At this time, Lin Li was very engrossed in his conversation with Englos and Sendros. They only had the chance to briefly greet one another when they met each other yesterday. Therefore, they had many things to talk about today. Of course, their priority was to consult Lin Li about various issues they faced in pharmacy.

    This was especially so for Sendros. After he¡¯d stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, his vision in all aspects had suddenly been broadened. This helped to improve his pharmacy attainments greatly as well. However, he found that as his knowledge of pharmaceutics grew, he also had more questions about it.

    This was just like what a wise man in Lin Li¡¯s previous world had once shared: the more knowledge one had, the more clueless one would be. It was like the act of drawing a circle on the ground. Therger the circle, the more it was exposed to the unknown. In fact, even though Lin Li was definitely the greatest pharmacist in Anril, he did not dare to say that he really knew everything about pharmacy.

    But what Englos cared about was the star fragment, Holy Light, that was owned by Lin Li. Of course, he did not know the name of that star fragment. He only heard Archbishop Martin said that it was a magical weapon that could emit the purest Holy Light to boost the abilities of all believers.

    Of course, Englos did not request to see the treasure as directly as he hoped to. He only invited Lin Li to visit the Brilliance Shrine and perhaps use that thing to help the devotees improve their abilities. He also asked Lin Li about his ns to reconstruct the Sky Castle, and whether the Brilliance Shrine could help to provide any materials.

    The three people chatted for nearly the entire morning. It was only at noon that Lin Li received Forcus¡¯ request to meet. This prompted Englos and Sendros to get up from their seats to bid Lin Li goodbye reluctantly. But, before they left, they vaguely told Lin Li that they would need his help in the future, and would contact him again.

    The appearance of the two at this Independence Day celebration was indeed questionable. Lin Li felt that it would have been enough for them to send an emissary like a cardinal and ck robe priest, respectively. They had to have other motives that caused them to make this personal visit.

    Moreover, in addition to Englos and Sendros from the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, Lin Li was also thinking about the three envoys from the Ledin and Rotterdam Kingdom. The envoys from the three major human kingdoms were all people with high status. Lin Li suspected that they were governed by the same motivation that drove Englos and Sendros here.

    After all, the Gilded Kingdom had been established since the beginning of the Dark Age. It was a kingdom that had the longest history in Anril, and this meant that it could have age-old secrets from the Dark Age. Yet, Lin Li did not bother to use too much of his energy to think about this issue, for he had better things to do. So what if he were to acquire another Sky Castle?

    Lin Li met Forcus and the Foreign Affairs Minister, Jefferson, when he sent Englos and Sendros out of his room. Forcus, however, did not have ns to enter his room for any conversation.

    ¡°President Felic, our king has prepared to meet you. He sent me to invite you and the rest from the Breezy ins over,¡± said Forcus.

 Chapter 1122 - Search

    <h4>Chapter 1122: Search</h4>

    Lin Li and the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins might have their own forces in the Breezy ins, but they were seen as a team of envoys of the Breezy ins by the people of the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the king of the Gilded Kingdom did not only receive Lin Li, but all the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins too. Of course, he mostly paid attention to Lin Li. After all, everyone knew how prestigious the Tower of Dusk was in the Breezy ins.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t put on airs or act pretentiously, either. After sending someone to inform the others from the Breezy ins, he made some preparations, and brought everyone to a carriage to head to the pce.

    At the dock of Helena Port, the Gilded Kingdom held a weing ceremony, which was extremely grand as well.

    In front of the main gate of the king¡¯s pce, there was a red carpetid on the ground that led all the way to the inside of the pce. The royal orchestra on both sides was ying melodious music, while some important ministers of the Gilded Kingdom, including some royal family members, were waiting for the arrival of Lin Li and the other envoys of the Breezy ins.

    The carriage stopped in front of the red carpet, and Lin Li led all the people of the Breezy ins to alight from the carriage one by one. With the guidance of Forcus and the Foreign Affairs Minister Jorbus, they walked down the red carpet, all the way to the main gate of the pce. Forcus then began introducing Lin Li and the others to the members of the Gilded Kingdom who hade to greet them, including the chancellor of the kingdom, the various ministers, armymander-in-chief, and some princes.

    However, the princes and ministers all had interesting expressions on their faces as they didn¡¯t expect the distinguished guest the king wanted them to receive to be such a young mage. Fortunately, they could still get their priorities right, and no one stood out at this time to create trouble.

    After meeting the people one by one, a pce guard came out from the royal pce, and read out loud, ¡°His Majesty would like to see the envoys of the Breezy ins.¡±

    Next, Forcus led Lin Li and the others along the red carpet, while the princes and ministers who greeted them previously also followed behind the people of the Breezy ins. Soon, Lin Li and the others arrived at the pce where the king of the Gilded Kingdom received the foreign envoys.

    On the other hand, King Bradlor got up and stepped down from his throne when he saw Lin Li and the others enter. In everyone¡¯s memory, the king would only ever get up to personally wee the esteemed elders of the Illuminati.

    In fact, not to mention the princes and ministers of the Gilded Kingdom, even the expressions of people of the Breezy ins¡ªexcept for Lin Li¡ªchanged slightly. After all, they were just representatives of the local forces of the Breezy ins. Although they usually disregarded the royals of the various kingdoms, they couldn¡¯t help but feel ttered at this moment.

    Of course, the people of the Breezy ins could tell that the Gilded Kingdom should probably be inclined to resorting to milder methods, which was also in line with the interests of the people of the Breezy ins whose main purpose this time was to maintain peace with the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, that was nothing to Lin Li, because Bradlor was just a king of a human kingdom. No matter how grand the ceremony might be, it wasn¡¯t enough to make a Sanctuary powerhouse feel anything.

    Next, they engaged in some diplomatic conversations which were none other than just some friendly words and derations of their interests in cooperation andmon development. It was basically impossible to talk about anything too practical during such asions.

    After the personal reception of King Bradlor, the guests attended a grand wee party that was prepared by the Gilded Kingdom. However, King Bradlor only made a brief appearance before leaving. The ones left behind were the princes and ministers of the Gilded Kingdom and the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins, who took the opportunity to discuss the cooperation. All of them had made considerable gains.

    Despite being the star of the banquet, Lin Li did not stay for long. As soon as King Bradlor left, he also bid farewell to Forcus and others who had apanied him. He left the banquet hall.

    Although Lin Li seemed unapproachable, Forcus was secretly relieved after Lin Li left. To him, the greatest mission was to prevent the people on his side from provoking those of the Breezy ins as much as possible. He wished he could just lock them up in a tiny ck room, and make sure that they nevere into contact with anyone of the nation.

    After meeting the king, the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy ins immediately got busy, and started negotiating with the Gilded Kingdom about the cooperation in various fields. At the same time, they were also waiting for the founding celebration to begin as well as the opening of the sea market that would happen only once in a decade.

    Lin Li was rtively free the past few days, and apart from talking to Englos and the others about pharmaceutics, he spent most of his time taking a tour around the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Being on tenterhooks, he kept his guard up against the famous scions of the various kingdoms[1].

    Fortunately, Forcus had also notified the princes and ministers in advance to take their children in hand. Otherwise, if they got into trouble, they would face more than just some scolding. Forcus had a high status in the Gilded Kingdom, and the king had also issued an order, so those princes and ministers naturally did not dare to defy the orders. Hence, in the past few days, Forcus did not encounter much trouble even though he apanied Lin Li to many ces.

    Forcus apanied Lin Li to a lot of ces, and when he watched Lin Li step through the gate, he finally felt like a stone was lifted off his chest. However, just as he was rejoicing in his heart that they were going to be safe today, he saw a man dressed in the costume of *The Star¡¯*s crewman rushing in from afar.

    ¡°Wait a minute, you¡¯re a sailor from <i>The Star</i>, aren¡¯t you? Why are you so flustered? Did something happen?¡± Forcus¡¯ heart tensed up again, and he hurriedly stepped forward to stop the sailor.

    When Forcus had received Lin Li previously, he had boarded <i>The Star</i>, so the sailor remembered him. Hence, he stopped with a frown, and said, ¡°Lord Forcus, don¡¯t you know that your subordinates have broken into <i>The Star</i> and seized all the people on board? Please move out of the way, I have to report to the captain of the ship immediately.¡±

    Boom! Forcus was instantly dumbfounded, as if a heavy hammer had hit his head hard. He was racking his brain for fear that someone might end up causing trouble. After so much deliberation, he didn¡¯t expect something to happen at <i>The Star</i>.

    It turned out that two days ago, the sailors were repairing the damages of <i>The Star</i> when she was docked at Helena Port. All of a sudden, a few alchemical battleships belonging to the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom broke into the port and surrounded <i>The Star</i> before aiming their cannons at <i>The Star</i>.

    Before the sailors on board <i>The Star</i> could react, Dno led a group of elite warriors and boarded <i>The Star</i> aggressively. This time, on top of the elite warriors, Dno also brought more than a dozen level-20 Legendary-mages and Sword Sages.

    There were only a few sailors left on <i>The Star</i>, and although they were not weak, they were at most only at about level-15. Besides, the sailors were very familiar with ships only, and even if their strength was on par, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able topete with the well-trained soldiers.

    At this moment, Julio and his brother Jack were in charge of <i>The Star</i>. Due to their rich sailing experience, Julio was temporarily appointed by Lin Li as <i>The Star</i>¡®s first officer, while Jack was his assistant.

    Upon sight of Dno charging onto the ship aggressively with his army, Julio had initially thought that trouble had struck, and it was obviously toote for him to hide. However, after waiting for a moment, he discovered that none of the people on Dno¡¯s side had even noticed him. Only then did he remember that he had shaved off his thick ck beard long before entering the waters of the Gilded Kingdom.

    When Julio was a pirate, one of his most prominent features was his thick ck beard, which was the reason for his nickname, ck-beard. Now that he had shaved his beard clean, there was a drastic change in his image, and no one would think of the famous pirate ck-beard when they saw him.

    Seeing that no one on Dno¡¯s side recognized him, Julio was slightly relieved, but he also thought about the fact that since they were not there to nab him, they were obviously there to create trouble.

    At this moment, Julio, the first officer of <i>The Star</i> and the main person in charge of all the ship for the time being, immediately had a change in expression, and he rxedly greeted, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you, Lord Dno. Is barging onto our ship how you treat your guests?¡±

    Although Dno was themander of the Fifth Fleet, he didn¡¯t care much about the fleet¡¯s affairs. Besides, Julio had had a huge change in image after shaving his beard. Hence, he simply did not recognize that the man in front of him was the pirate who was a fugitive wanted by the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hearing Julio¡¯s question, Dno raised his chin and humphed contemptuously without paying attention to Julio at all. However, the eagle-eyed adjutant who stood next to him loudly said, ¡°We have received information that <i>The Star</i> is sheltering the most wanted criminal of our nation. We have to search <i>The Star</i> now, and anyone who tries to stop will be considered an aplice.¡±

    ¡°Wanted criminal? What a joke. After we entered the port, no outsider has ever stepped on <i>The Star.</i> You¡¯re just using a random excuse to check. This is utter nonsense.¡± Hearing the adjutant¡¯s words, Julio couldn¡¯t help but frown. It wasn¡¯t that he was worried about the ship being searched. Anyway, he was the fugitive that they were looking for, but none of them recognized him.

    However, Julio knew too well that if he let them search <i>The Star</i>, they¡¯d definitely create a huge mess, and perhaps even cause some damage to <i>The Star</i>. That would be really troublesome. Besides, <i>The Star</i> was not just a ship, but also represented the Tower of Dusk. Wouldn¡¯t the Tower of Dusk be insulted if they were allowed to search however they wanted?

    ¡°There is because I said so. Do I still have to exin this to you!?¡± Dno sneered and waved his hand. ¡°Someone, search them. Don¡¯t miss anything!¡±

    ¡°Wait, Dno, <i>The Star</i> belongs to the Tower of Dusk, and ording to diplomatic regtions, every inch of space on <i>The Star</i> is the territory of the Tower of Dusk. You are now trespassing, and that¡¯s tantamount to invading the Tower of Dusk. Are you looking to start a war!?¡± Although Julio was a pirate, he was definitely not an ignorant boor, since he could dominate the Endless Ocean for so many years. He could argue well too.

    Julio¡¯s words might be effective on ordinary people, but Dno was the son of the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom, and allws and regtions were invalid to him.

    ¡°Start searching. Anyone who dares to stop us will be considered aplices and get arrested!¡± Dno didn¡¯t care about thew at all. Most importantly, he just wanted to vent his frustration. Besides, he also knew that there was almost not a single Legendary powerhouse on <i>The Star</i>; hence, the crew couldn¡¯t resist him.

    Seeing this situation, Julio did not let the sailors get into a conflict with Dno and the others, because he knew that they couldn¡¯t stop Dno. Hence, Julio could only let the sailors stop resisting. They weren¡¯t afraid of dying, but they just wanted to avoid unnecessary casualties, and not give Dno and the others any more excuses.

    However, when Dno and his men were arrogantly trying to search <i>The Star</i>, Julio had also secretly activated the internal defenses of <i>The Star</i> so as to prevent the core from being damaged. After being sealed by the internal defense mechanisms, some importantpartments were well protected, and even the most senior shipbuilder might not be able to see it. Hence, the losses could at least be minimized.

    Initially, Julio thought that Dno was simply there to mess things up. After all, the Gilded Kingdom had already held such a grand wee ceremony, and they clearly valued the envoys from the Breezy ins. Therefore, in his opinion, even if Dno was unreasonable, he would at most just create some trouble to irk him, and not blow things out of proportion.

    However, the truth proved that Julio had still underestimated Dno¡¯s audacity after all. After the search, Dno¡¯s subordinates actually really brought a person out of the cabin¡ªsomeone whom Julio and the others did not recognize. They imed that the person was the most wanted criminal of the Gilded Kingdom.

    [1] This sentence is probably about Forcus considering the next paragraph, and probably refers to scions of the Gilded Kingdom only.

 Chapter 1123 - Effortless

    <h4>Chapter 1123: Effortless</h4>

    ¡°What else do you have to say? The wanted fugitive has been found, and I now suspect that some of you are his aplices. Someone, keep an eye on them. This ship is now in the custody of the Fifth Fleet. We¡¯ll talk after getting a clear idea of the facts!¡± Dno smiled smugly, and waved his hand to get his subordinates to go forth and seize the sailors of <i>The Star</i>.

    However, as soon as Dno and his men escorted the so-called wanted fugitive out of the cabin, Julio knew that the matter would not end well. Hence, he immediately secretly arranged for a sailor to leave <i>The Star</i> stealthily and report the situation to Lin Li.

    Since Helena Port was far from the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s capital, the sailor had to hurry up and swim quickly. Even though he wasn¡¯t weak, he spent close to two days to rush there.

    By the time Forcus snapped back to his senses, the sailor of <i>The Star</i> had already bypassed him and reached Lin Li¡¯s door. Seeing this, Forcus dared not dy and hurriedly rushed over too in a bid to find out exactly what had happened before thinking of a solution.

    However, before Forcus stepped on the stairs, Lin Li and the sailor had already walked out. He scurried over, and eagerly said, ¡°President Felic, there must be some kind of misunderstanding here. Rest assured, I will settle this immediately.¡±

    In fact, at this point, there was no longer a need to investigate, because Forcus already had an answer in mind. Except for the scoundrel Dno, there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone else who would do such a thing. Looking at Lin Li¡¯s calm expression, Forcus suddenly felt like a storm was brewing, and he wished he could kill Dno.

    Of course, Forcus was just thinking about it, and what he was really worried about was that Lin Li might fly into a rage and kill Dno. If it were any other official or son of a noble, Forcus would not be as worried as he was now. At most, he just had to let a few of them sacrifice their lives to make up for it.

    However, although Dno was ipetent, he had an impressive father, the Sanctuary powerhouse High Priest Poer of the Gilded Kingdom whose status was not inferior to King Bradlor¡¯s. Otherwise, how could a good-for-nothing like Dno be themander of the Fifth Fleet? If Lin Li really killed Dno, Poer would definitely not let the matter rest, and if both parties were unwilling topromise, a battle would be inevitable.

    Forcus¡¯ worries were the reason that he had to take the rap even if he was unwilling to do so. He would just conduct some investigations, and then make a few of Dno¡¯s subordinates the scapegoats. He thought that the matter would then blow over.

    However, Lin Li looked at Forcus indifferently, and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter, you don¡¯t have to bother.¡±

    If it were during normal times, those words would seem polite, but at this moment, Forcus was so frightened that he started shivering as he felt chills all over his body. Although he could not feel any anger from Lin Li, he knew that things were developing in a direction beyond his control. A Sanctuary powerhouse was not someone whom anyone could provoke!

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even have to guess, and he already knew the culprit. Although he wasn¡¯t furious about it, it was impossible to pretend that nothing had happened. The gods would never forgive anyone whomitted sphemy, and Sanctuary powerhouses likewise would not be generous enough to forgive all the nobodies who offended him. Otherwise, everyone would dare to step all over him. It was not the time to bepromising and benevolent. It was about the pride and dominance of a Sanctuary powerhouse, just like the reason that the gods would punish sphemers.

    ¡°President Felic, I know it¡¯s our fault for that matter. Regardless of who exactly the culprit is, I just hope you can give me some time, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer.¡± Forcus was extremely anxious, and he simply took all the me, no longer calling it a misunderstanding. He just hoped that Lin Li could let him handle that matter.

    After all, for Forcus, as long as the matter was handled by himself, he would at least have some control over it. No matter how much responsibility he had to take, there would still be some room for adjustments. However, if the matter waspletely handled by Lin Li, Forcus would be in a passive position.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like our president didn¡¯t give you a chance when you went to receive us previously, yet something like this has actually happened, so it¡¯s obvious that your so-called way of handling things isn¡¯t working at all,¡± said Hordark, the sailor who went to report to Lin Li. He immediately couldn¡¯t help but be infuriated.

    Before Forcus went to receive the people of <i>The Star</i>, Dno caused a stir on <i>The Star</i>, and in the end, they apologized and guaranteed that it would not happen again. Only then did the matter blow over. In Hordark¡¯s opinion, Forcus should have warned Dno after that incident and transferred him away. Yet, in the end, Dno used the excuse of arresting a fugitive to take <i>The Star</i> into custody.

    Hearing the sailor¡¯s words, Forcus cursed in his heart, but there was nothing else he could do to defend himself. He could not say directly that there was nothing he could do to Dno. If he said that, all the more Lin Li wouldn¡¯t agree to let him handle it.

    ¡°President Felic, I will report this matter to His Majesty and my teacher immediately. This time, we will definitely give you a satisfactory exnation,¡± Forcus said, bringing up the king and his teacher because he knew that he obviously couldn¡¯t gain Lin Li¡¯s trust anymore. <i>You think my identity is not authoritative to handle this matter, right? The King and Elder Zumar should hold enough power, then.</i>

    However, no matter what Forcus said, Lin Li did not respond, and simply took out the Summoning Lamp, and chanted an incantation to release the Lord Devourer, Garl. Garl¡¯srge body was like a giant hot air balloon that floated above the heads of the crowd and loomed over the entire area.

    ¡°Master, I obey your orders!¡± Garl said to Lin Li respectfully after appearing.

    In fact, when Garl was initially coerced into signing the Soul Contract by Lin Li, he wasn¡¯t very convinced, but after everything that happened, he watched Lin Li¡¯s strength grow rapidly day by day. It took him only a short while to reach the higher Sanctuary-realm.

    His human master managed to obtain such a terrifying strength at such a young age, and he was definitely powerful even whenpared to the Immortal King and Geresco. Garl dared not be displeased at all. Hence, when he was summoned again, Garl immediately put himself in the right position and behaved respectfully.

    Lin Li had suddenly summoned a monster, and Forcus could feel the terrifying aura emanating from the monster even though he did not know its origin. That immediately made him even more anxious than before as he begged, ¡°President Felic, please, you must give us a chance to redeem ourselves. That rascal Dno must have taken things into his own hands regarding this. I¡¯ll report to His Majesty immediately and bring Dno to you. He will be at your disposal!¡±

    In Forcus¡¯ opinion, <i>The Star</i> and the sailors on board would all have toe out to apologize as long as he intervened. Everything would then be solved perfectly. After all, for the president of the Tower of Dusk, Dno was just like a nobody, and as long as he apologized sincerely, Lin Li should not take it to heart.

    However, once the Tower of Dusk stepped in to handle the matters, the nature of the issue would change, and it would be a diplomatic incident. It would no longer be a matter between the president of the Tower of Dusk and the small fry Dno, but a dispute between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom. It might even affect the rtionship between the entire Breezy ins and the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Tower of Dusk was the leader of the Breezy ins, and almost all the forces of the Breezy ins had to look up to them.

    However, in the face of Forcus¡¯ plea, Lin Li stayed indifferent, and simply raised his head to look at Garl who was in the sky. ¡°You already know what happened. Beg, borrow, or steal, I want you to get them to hand over our sailors. Go.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Master. I will make them hand over your sailors.¡± As soon as Garl heard that Lin Li didn¡¯t restrict him, and only cared about the oue and not the result, Garl was extremely excited. Hence, after agreeing, he flew hisrge body towards Helena Port.

    ¡°President Felic!¡± Seeing this scene, Forcus knew that it was useless for him to say anything else. Looking at the monster¡¯s ferocity, he knew that it was definitely going to deal with Dno, and he could not dy longer.

    With a bitter expression, Forcus hurriedly bade goodbye to Lin Li, and used the Power of Flight to fly towards Helena Port. The only chance he had now was to grab <i>The Star</i> and the sailors on <i>The Star</i> before things got out of control. He would then ask for Dno to be handed over.

    However, what Forcus didn¡¯t expect was that Dno was flying over with his warriors arrogantly before Forcus even set off. Seeing that Dno still had the guts to appear there, Forcus flew into a rage, and immediately stopped andnded in front of Dno. He furiously barked, ¡°Dno, what are you doing? Are you turning a deaf ear to my words!?¡±

 Chapter 1124 - Tough

    <h4>Chapter 1124: Tough</h4>

    Dno was really startled when he saw Forcus¡¯ suddenly appear beside him. However, he soon returned to normal, and frowned a little before saying, ¡°Lord Forcus, I was just about to go look for you. We found a wanted fugitive who has a bounty on him on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s ship. Now, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s ship, as well as the sailors on board, have all been seized by me, and I was just about to go to that President Felic to hear his exnation.¡±

    Forcus was immediately furious when he heard Dno¡¯s words, and he almost vomited blood. He was still thinking about how to clean up this mess, but Dno actually wanted to cause even more trouble by trying to go and question Lin Li!

    At this moment, Forcus really couldn¡¯t be bothered anymore, and he wanted to just let Dno die. The seizure of <i>The Star</i> and the sailors on board was actually already considered very offensive to the young Sanctuary powerhouse, yet he still wanted to question Lin Li. It was simply a death wish.

    However, Forcus couldn¡¯t really do that, because Dno was the son of High Priest Poer, and if he really died in the hands of the Tower of Dusk, there would be no way to turn the situation around. If things got to that stage, no one would be able to stop the war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk from breaking out.

    Hence, despite the hatred in his heart, Forcus nheless gritted his teeth, and eximed, ¡°Dno, haven¡¯t I warned you before? Do you know that you¡¯ve made a huge mistake!? You¡¯d better go back immediately and release those sailors from <i>The Star</i>, and then go with me to apologize to President Felic! There will then be a possibility to reach a peaceful resolution of this matter. Otherwise, you will be the sinner of the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

    ¡°Lord Forcus, you didn¡¯t get something wrong, did you? The Tower of Dusk should be apologizing to us instead.¡± This time, Dno was no longer afraid of Forcus, and he even sounded derisive, as if Forcus had be a wimp who betrayed the country¡¯s interests.

    <i>Damn it, do you think I¡¯m willing to lower myself and beg? You were the one who caused this trouble!</i> Forcus was infuriated, and he pointed at Dno and berated, ¡°President Felic is the guest of the Gilded Kingdom His Majesty personally received. By doing this, you are disrespecting His Majesty!¡±

    Unfortunately, Dno was obviously full of courage this time, and he showed no intentions of apologizing even after what Forcus said about the king of the Gilded Kingdom. Instead, he nonchntly said, ¡°Is that so? Great. I was nning to tell His Majesty about this and let him see how these outsiders have vited thew of our nation. Lord Forcus, do you want to join me?¡±

    Just when Forcus and Dno were embroiled in a messy argument, Garl, who had received Lin Li¡¯s orders, had already arrived at Helena Port. The people in the port initially did not notice anything until they were enveloped by his shadow. They only realized then that a horrifying monster actually appeared above their heads, and they immediately fled frantically.

    Hovering in the sky, Garl originally wanted to suck some people of the Gilded Kingdom, but when he thought of Lin Li¡¯s orders, he had no choice but to suppress his appetite for the time being. He yelled, ¡°People of the Gilded Kingdom, listen up! Release <i>The Star</i> and the sailors immediately. Otherwise, I will remind you once every 10 minutes!¡±

    The people of the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom had long noticed the sudden appearance of the monster in the sky, and all the battleships immediately activated their defensive shields while getting into battle mode. Initially, they thought that some kind of magical beast had invaded Helena Port, but after hearing the thunderous roar, they realized that the other party was actuallying for <i>The Star</i>.

    <i>A reminder once every 10 minutes? He can go ahead!</i> Due to the fact that they had a powerfulmander with an impressive family background, the people of the Fifth Fleet usually disregarded others. They had always had an extremely high sense of superiority even towards the other fleets of the Gilded Kingdom, let alone the outsiders from the Breezy ins.

    Hence, even after hearing Garl¡¯s roaring, the people of the Fifth Fleet still remained rxed. In their opinion, if the other party was a magical beast that invaded the port, they would probably have to get ready for a huge battle, but since it was from the Breezy ins, there was nothing to worry about. He reckoned that the outsiders would definitely not dare to make trouble in the territory of the Gilded Kingdom, and he was at most just scaring them.

    With that thought in mind, the people of the Fifth Fleet not only did not panic because of Garl¡¯s appearance, they even ran to the deck and waited to see the creature that had arrived aggressively with ferocity in a bid to watch him leave fruitlessly.

    When Garl arrived, he was actually afraid that he would scare them to the point of submitting immediately and releasing <i>The Star</i> and the sailors. That way, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do whatever he wanted to do. However, the situation now was exactly what he wanted, though he still felt infuriated because he had been belittled.

    <i>10 minutes? I don¡¯t have a timer!</i> Garlughed, and didn¡¯t care about the 10-minute interval that he had just mentioned. He simply lowered his body and opened hisrge mouth to devour everything byunching a strong suction force at one of the Gilded Kingdom battleships on the sea.

    This time, those people of the Fifth Fleet really had an eyeopener. They walked towards the battleship of their fleet, only to see that their upper defense shield had suddenly be warped, as if an invisible force was pulling the defense shield upwards. As it was being pulled, they also saw that the hull of the battleship was changing its trajectory, as if the force was pulling the entire battleship upward.

    Before the people of the Fifth Fleet could figure out what was going on, there was a series of explosions from the battleship, and the powerful defensive shield actually turned into a sphere of light that darted away from the battleship and hurtled into the sky. At the same time, the naval troops on that ship were alsounched into the sky together with arge number of loose items, following the light into the giant mouth of Garl.

    ¡°T-that monster is devouring our people!¡± someone eximed in horror as he finally snapped back to his senses. In fact, everyone could tell that the naval troops on that battleship were flying into the mouth of the monster, and they were obviously being devoured.

    Actually, it wasn¡¯t something new to them. After all, there were numerous marine beasts in the sea, and they had encountered lots ofrge magical beasts that devoured humans together with ships. However, this monster was sent by those from the Breezy ins, and yet it attacked the Fifth Fleet there. <i>Are they not scared of causing a war!?</i>

    ¡°Damn it, they really don¡¯t obey the rules, aren¡¯t they afraid of causing a war!?¡± Adjutant Hajis eximed. He had stayed behind ording to Dno¡¯s orders, and was in charge of watching over <i>The Star</i>. They thought that the people from the Breezy ins should havee to them to beg for mercy while they rejected righteously. In the end, the president of the Tower of Dusk would have to apologize in person.

    However, it was obvious that the development of the situation from the beginning was beyond their expectations. The Tower of Dusk had no intention of apologizing, and instead sent such a horrifying monster to force the Fifth Fleet into releasing <i>The Star</i> and the captured sailors. The worse thing was that the monster originally said it¡¯d give them 10 minutes, but attacked before five minutes passed, catching them off guard. They found that to be shameless.

    ¡°Lord Hajis, issue an order to counterattack. That monster is devouring our warriors!¡± Several naval officers rushed into the pilothouse with righteous indignation, and asked Adjutant Hajis to start a battle.

    However, Hajis was a little hesitant. After all, what had happened before could only be considered a diplomatic incident, but the problem had changed in nature, and it might really result in a war!

    ¡°Lord Hajis, that monster even sucked our battleship into the sky!¡± reported a naval trooper who scurried in when Hajis was hesitating.

    Hearing this, Hajis and others could not help but immediately look outside, only to see that a huge alchemical giant ship hadpletely left the sea, and was flying faster and faster towards the sky. Meanwhile, the monster was sucking the ship with a huge suction force, its mouth like a ck hole.

    ¡°Damn it, it wants to destroy our battleship, Lord Hajis!¡± A few naval officers also panicked when they saw that scene. It would be quite costly to build a giant alchemical ship, even for the Gilded Kingdom which was famous for its nautical technology. It was not a small fishing boat.

    They had no idea what the monster was trying to do by sucking the ship into the sky, but they were certain that once the suction force was withdrawn and the ship dropped, there would be a massive disaster at the port. The huge hull of the alchemical ship would cause an impactrge enough to sweep everything in the port.

    However, their fears were obviously not well-found. Garl didn¡¯t suck the alchemical battleship into the sky for the fun of dropping it. The alchemical battleship was made of arge number of precious magical metals and Legendary magical crystals for providing power. To the Lord Devourer Garl, it was a rare feast.

 Chapter 1125 - Devouring Battleships

    <h4>Chapter 1125: Devouring Battleships</h4>

    Hence, the people of the Fifth Fleet saw an even more horrifying scene. The giant alchemical battleship that was sucked up into the sky suddenly began to disintegrate in midair, and all the metals were broken down into a substance that was like fine sand before being deposited into the giant mouth of Garl.

    ¡°It devoured our battleship!¡± This time, the people of the Fifth Fleet were really frightened. Although it seemed to be a better thing than having the battleship dropped on the port, watching the huge giant alchemical battleship being disintegrated and devoured was even more agonizing for them.

    ¡°Listen, people of the Gilded Kingdom, I need some time to digest now. If you still don¡¯t release <i>The Star</i> and the sailors on it, then I¡¯ll have to keep reminding you.¡± While digesting the battleship he engulfed, Garl once again issued a warning to the people of the Fifth Fleet below.

    Actually, Garl had never eaten to his heart¡¯s content like he did now ever since he submitted to Lin Li. It was an entire giant alchemical battleship that contained arge number of magical crystals that acted as a mana source for the Magical Crystal Cannons on the ship. The mana that Garl gained was enough for a person who had just entered the Legendary-realm to reach the peak of the Legendary-realm immediately.

    Unfortunately, to break through to the Sanctuary-realm, it took more than a simple condensation of mana. Otherwise, Garl would probably be the first ever to step into the Sanctuary-realm through devouring mana. In fact, it was also because the Devouring Demon had the ability to devour all the mana that it was more difficult for it to break through to the Sanctuary-realmpared to ordinary people or creatures.

    At this moment, the people of the Fifth Fleet below were also stunned by Garl¡¯s words. If only the giant alchemical battleship was sunk to the bottom of the sea, it could still be fished up and sent for repair, or the materials from the battleship could be reused elsewhere. However, the problem now was that the giant alchemical battleship had already been devoured entirely by the monster Garl. That was considered a huge loss for the Fifth Fleet.

    ¡°Hurry up and send an urgent letter to inform Lord Dno to order all battleships to prepare for battle and aim all weapons at that monster. Once you receive the order, shoot it down immediately,¡± said Hajis, who still did not dare to take matters into his own hands at the end of the day. In his opinion, even if they had to start a war, it should be Dno¡¯s responsibility. Anyway, he already had an impressive father who would ensure that he wouldn¡¯t be punished even if he got into trouble.

    The naval fleet of the Gilded Kingdom often fought battles at sea, and they relied on more than just semaphores tomunicate with each other. The Gilded Kingdom had inherited their alchemical technology from the early Dark Age, and it was far more profound than that of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Hence, using Alchemy Arrays to send messages andmunicate over long distances wasn¡¯t too difficult.

    After receiving the order, the soldier in charge ofmunication immediately went to themunication room of the gship, activated the Alchemy Array used formunication, and began to contact Dno who was in the capital. Just as they were about to start doing so, the Lord Devourer Garl outside also began to send his second reminder. Another giant alchemical battleship was sucked into the air and disintegrated into mana of various nature.

    At this moment, Dno, who was in the capital, was still arguing with Forcus,pletely unaware of how horrendous of a time his fleet was having. All he could think about now was how to deal with the person who had made him embarrass himself. He was hoping to see the other party regret ever offending him.

    Furious because of Dno, Forcus had no idea why Dno was so courageous today. Even after he mentioned the king and Elder Zumar, that idiot Dno still refused to change his mind.

    However, while the two were arguing, one of Dno¡¯s subordinates suddenly scurried over holding a crystal carved with magic runes. He reported, ¡°Lord, there is an urgent message from <i>Sea Dragon</i>, do you want tomunicate with them?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, is the fugitive causing trouble? This bunch of wastrels really can¡¯t do anything right,¡± said Dno, who didn¡¯t actually sound very angry. Instead, he looked at Forcus smugly, and he was obviously trying to say, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m detaining them, but what can you do about that?¡±

    ¡°You!!¡± Forcus was so furious that he was on the verge of vomiting blood, wishing he could just leave him to die.

    At this moment, the magical crystal that was used formunication had also lit up, ready to map out a somewhat blurred picture above. In the image, a grimacing person anxiously said, ¡°Lord Dno, the people of the Tower of Dusk have summoned a monster, and they want us to release their ship and sailors immediately.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, do you have to ask me for instructions even for something as simple as that!? Tell them that we suspect that they are rted to a few bands of pirates, and that investigations are ongoing.¡± After saying that, Dno was ready to ceasemunication.

    However, the man over there hurriedly called out to stop him. ¡°Lord, that monster is devouring our battleships. He said that if we don¡¯t release their ship and sailors immediately, he will devour one of our battleships at intervals until all of them are gone!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Although Dno was shocked, he soon looked stern, and again yelled, ¡°How brazen of them! You bunch of wastrels, don¡¯t you know how to retaliate? Notify the military immediately to take all the battleships over. No matter who they are, we have to kill them before doing anything since they have the audacity to touch our battleships!¡±

    However, Forcus, who was at the side, had already been petrified at this point. Things were really going awry. Once they went to war, it would be impossible to salvage their rtionship regardless of which party won.

    ¡°Dno, do you know what you are doing? Do you really want to cause a war between us and the Tower of Dusk!?¡± Forcus roared furiously.

    ¡°War? Lord Forcus, you really think too highly of that Tower of Dusk. It¡¯s just a local force in the Breezy ins. Once we set foot in the Breezy ins, wouldn¡¯t it be easy to exterminate them?¡± Dno said with disdain.

    Indeed, the Gilded Kingdom was also one of the several powerful nations in Anril. They not only had a powerful naval fleet, the strength of their army was also not inferior to the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s or Fn Kingdom¡¯s. However, the Tower of Dusk was just one of the many forces in the Breezy ins, even if they had a high status. After all, the forces in the Breezy ins were in disunity, and the Tower of Dusk might have a few powerhouses, but the Gilded Kingdom did too. Besides, the Gilded Kingdom had the support of the Illuminati.

    Hence, no matter how he looked at it, Dno did not think that the Tower of Dusk, a local force in the Breezy ins, would be a rival to the powerful Gilded Kingdom. As for how much His Majesty valued it, he felt that it was only because of the development needs of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins. Even if they fell out, it was unlikely that His Majesty would take the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? President Felic is a Sanctuary powerhouse!¡± Forcus really wanted to p Dno.

    ¡°A Sanctuary powerhouse? So what? My father¡¯s a Sanctuary powerhouse too, and there are so many of them in the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Why should we be afraid of him just because he¡¯s a Sanctuary powerhouse?¡± Dno said nonchntly. Although he wasn¡¯t verypetent, his father, High Priest Poer, was a true Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, he wasn¡¯t afraid of Sanctuary powerhouses.

    ¡°Even the corpse of the ancient dragon that once caused a great disaster was severely damaged by a single blow from that Sky Castle belonging to the Tower of Dusk. Do you think we can withstand such an attack?!¡± Forcus hollered at Dno, seemingly in hysterics.

    ¡°What¡¯s so great about the Sky Castle? At the end of the Dark Age, the High Elves¡¯ Sky Castles were struck down too. If that Sky Castle touches our airspace, my fleet can shoot it down with a single salvo,¡± Dno said proudly with his arms folded.

    Hearing Dno¡¯s reply, Forcus suddenly felt like dying. He really couldn¡¯t imagine how a respectable Sanctuary powerhouse like High Priest Poer could have such a foolish son. He knew that it was useless for him to say anything now as Dno wouldn¡¯t be scared until death was in his face.

    ¡°Lord Forcus, if you have nothing more to do, I would like to leave first. We still have some questions for that Felic, and we will need him to cooperate with the investigation.¡± Dno waved his hand smugly, and swaggered off with his many subordinates to the embassy.

    ¡°You...¡± Staring at the backs of Dno and the others, Forcus stretched out his hand powerlessly, but could not say anything else. There was nothing he could do now, and it seemed that he had to find some time to report this to his teacher in hopes that thetter would be able to appease Lin Li lest disaster struck the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Forcus couldn¡¯t leave yet. Even though Dno had angered him greatly, he could not really just let Dno wander off. If Dno was killed by Felic, it would be an irreparable situation.

    Hence, Forcus had no choice but to perk up and follow Dno and the others closely in hopes of saving Dno even when they got into a dispute.

    At this moment, Helena Port had already turned into a battlefield. The battleships that were guarding <i>The Star</i> at the port and the ones that had just received orders toe from the military port to support them were all there. There were tens of battleships of various sizes, and they were all pointing their weapons at the sky as giant mana cannons were shot into the sky.

    The power of the mana cannons probably could not be matched by any magical beast even in the Endless Ocean. Even if an ancient dragon appeared there, it might be sted away at any time. However, although the Lord Devourer Garl¡¯s strength was only the peak of the Legendary level, its ability to devour everything would definitely make every one of its opponents get a huge headache.

    In the Well of the Sun at the beginning, Lin Li and several peak Legendary powerhouses and the elites of the various forces failed to do much to Garl even when they joined forces. In fact, they even let Garl devour quite a few Alchemy Colossuses of the Rotterdam Kingdom. Later, Lin Li managed to subdue Garl only after using the Heart-piercing Potion.

    However, the people of the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom now were not aware of the true origins of Garl the Lord Devourer; hence, they didn¡¯t know its weakness. Besides, even if they did, no one would be able to formte the Heart-piercing Potion at this moment.

    Hence, although the Fifth Fleet¡¯s attacks seemed so powerful that they could allegedly destroy the world, they were just supplements for the Lord Devourer Garl. The solid mana cannons were made of the purest mana, and Garl didn¡¯t have to digest it at all. He could turn it into his own power directly after devouring it.

    ¡°Haha,e on,e on, go all out and attack!¡± Garl said while guffawing without restraint.

    The people of the Fifth Fleet below were all dumbfounded. Although they were still keeping up the attacks, they were getting more and more scared. <i>What kind of monster is this? Why can it devour even the powerful mana cannons? Other magical beasts would have probably had their bodies pierced through. Damn it, how do we fight this? That monster devours all our attacks, and even spews out a magic storm every now and then.</i> The battleships were sted to pieces in a matter of moments.

    ¡°Damn it, let¡¯s go!¡± Seeing that that powerful battleships were losing their usefulness in front of that monster, those Legendary powerhouses knew that if they continued at this rate, they would definitely be in a disadvantageous situation. Hence, more than 10 Legendary powerhouses flew into the air from the battleships, and they exerted all their power one by one and besieged Garl the Lord Devourer.

    At this moment, Dno was already leading many of his subordinates into the embassy of the Gilded Kingdom in Hopra City where Lin Li and the others were.

    ¡°President Felic, we found...¡± As soon as Dno entered, he spoke with gusto, but before he finished his words, he felt that something was amiss. Apart from Lin Li whom he was looking for, the representatives of the other forces of the Breezy ins were also in the room.

    Logically speaking, the issue with <i>The Star</i> should have been a problem between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. In the past, the people of the forces of the Breezy ins would have been overjoyed to see the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk fighting. However, things were now different. Putting aside the fact that the Tower of Dusk had a high status in the Breezy ins, and the fact that they had gained plenty of benefits from Lin Li along the way, their interests alone were reason enough for them not to stand by and not do anything at this juncture.

 Chapter 1126 - Standing Up

    <h4>Chapter 1126: Standing Up</h4>

    After all, they had already formed a cooperative rtionship with the Tower of Dusk where thetter¡¯s well-being concerned theirs too. As long as the Tower of Dusk was still in dominance, they would definitely be in control of the negotiation with the Gilded Kingdom too. If the Tower of Dusk was at a loss, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely have the upper hand during the negotiation.

    Of course, not all of them thought the same way. For example, Joseph and a few other representatives who were afraid of trouble did not appear among the crowd.

    If Dno was smart enough, he should have thought of a way to divide the people of the Breezy ins at this time, and alienate the Tower of Dusk entirely. However, Dno simply did not take them seriously. Besides, the wise adjutant wasn¡¯t around, so he did not even bother with the others, and simply arrogantly said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, do you think I will release your ship just because you released a monster? Stop dreaming, now that my fleet has arrived at the port, that monster you released will soon be destroyed, and it will be the concrete evidence of your housing a fugitive of the kingdom.¡±

    Although Dno was maligning and using him, Lin Li did not react much. However, the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins were already in an uproar. They had arrived at that ce together on <i>The Star</i>, and ording to what Dno said, wouldn¡¯t they and the others be suspected too?

    Besides, more importantly, the representatives of the Breezy ins were not three-year-olds, and they all knew what tricks Dno was ying. Dno had framed the Tower of Dusk without restraint, and that made the other people of the Breezy ins feel a sense of crisis.

    Dno themander of the fleet could easily frame the Tower of Dusk. Hence, wouldn¡¯t the other forces that were inferior to the Tower of Dusk be at the mercy of the Gilded Kingdom? At this moment, the feeling of joy that they had felt after they had been personally received by the king of the Gilded Kingdom vanished from their hearts.

    ¡°Outrageous, do you really think that the people of the Breezy ins are pushovers?!¡± us of the Caesar Family yelled at Dno furiously, and turned to face the others. ¡°Everyone, since the Gilded Kingdom is underestimating us, let¡¯s show them that the people of the Breezy ins can not be provoked easily!¡±

    Of course, us wasn¡¯t really angry. Although he was displeased with Dno, he wanted to take this opportunity to show his loyalty to the Tower of Dusk, and that was a priority to him. Frankly, such an opportunity was really rare. After all, there were very few ignorant forces in the Breezy ins who dared to provoke the Tower of Dusk. Talk was cheap, and he had to use his actions to prove his loyalty.

    Although they were now facing a massive force like the Gilded Kingdom, the Tower of Dusk still had the final say in the Breezy ins. There was no problem with sucking up to the Gilded Kingdom, but if they had to pick between the Tower of Dusk and the Gilded Kingdom, a smart person wouldn¡¯t choose thetter. Otherwise, the forces in the Breezy ins would have to give up their businesses that they had managed for hundreds or even thousands of years.

    Yes, the Gilded Kingdom seemed to be more powerful, and they also had the support of the Illuminati, where Elder Zumar was probably not the only Sanctuary powerhouse. However, the Sanctuary powerhouses were almost immortal, and who could guarantee that the power of the Gilded Kingdom would be enough for them to kill Lin Li, who was already a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse? That was also the reason that the Gilded Kingdom had put up such a front this time, hoping to maintain the current peace with the Tower of Dusk and Breezy ins.

    The Gilded Kingdom could not do anything to Lin Li, but it would be a piece of cake for Lin Li to deal with the forces in the Breezy ins. The Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t possibly send some Sanctuary powerhouses to help the small forces deal with the Tower of Dusk. Even if they would, it would probably be toote. After all, the Tower of Dusk had a Sanctuary powerhouse and the Sky Castle, making it a piece of cake for them to get rid of some nobodies.

    However, cozying up to the Tower of Dusk would bring about more benefits to them. Along the journey, they had already gained plenty of benefits, and each of them had obtained many of the various treasures in the Endless Ocean.

    Most importantly, with the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Tower of Dusk as the leader, the various forces were not at a loss during the negotiation with the Gilded Kingdom, even though they did not get a lot of benefits. They did not think that the Gilded Kingdom would be so nice to them because they were from the Breezy ins. If not for the Tower of Dusk and Lin Li, the forces probably would have been disregarded by the Gilded Kingdom.

    That was not an assumption. It was obvious from the things that the Gilded Kingdom had done in the Breezy ins at the beginning that the Gilded Kingdom was not as peace-loving as they imed to be. At that time, the Gilded Kingdom did not know the strength of the Tower of Dusk yet, and they directly sent teams of elites to conduct robberies around the Breezy ins, causing the forces of the Breezy ins to be overwhelmed with anxiety. It was only when the Tower of Dusk showed its impressive strength, and destroyed the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom that thetter had no choice but to negotiate with them.

    Hence, us understood that even if they wanted to strengthen their cooperation with the Gilded Kingdom, the first condition they had to fulfill was to cozy up to the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, regardless of whether they were the top forces of the Breezy ins or families with rich heritage, the people of the Gilded Kingdom would not take them seriously.

    us took the lead to express his dissatisfaction with Dno, after which everyone else immediately chimed in in agreement. After all, those who coulde on behalf of their respective forces were not fools.

    ¡°What? Do you guys want to stand up for him? Don¡¯t forget, this is not the countryside where youe from. None of you can shirk the responsibility for this matter!¡± Dno did not take any of them seriously, because this was his territory, and he could easily transfer an army over to take down that group of people.

    Besides, Dno did not believe that the country bumpkins from the Breezy ins would really have the guts to make any trouble there. As he said, it was the Gilded Kingdom, and even the envoys of the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom had to obey them and act ording to instructions, let alone the forces of the Breezy ins.

    ¡°Hah! Everyone, we, the people of the Breezy ins, are being belittled. Can you tolerate it? Anyway, I can¡¯t! Those of you who are willing,e with me, we¡¯ll go snatch <i>The Star</i> back from the port, and let the people of the Gilded Kingdom see that the country bumpkins of the Breezy ins are not to be trifled with!¡± us said to the people behind him sneeringly as he turned around. Before they could reply, he took the lead and dashed straight toward Helena Port.

    ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s been so frustrating talking to them in the past few days. This is a good chance for us to let them see that we people of the Breezy ins are not that easy to fool,¡± said Mogadi, the president of the Blood Moon n, as heughed and clenched his fits while spreading his wings open. He then flew towards us.

    As soon as they saw us and Mogadi, the members from the two top forces, leave, the remaining people were naturally not willing tog behind. Without even looking at Dno and the others, they used the Power of Flight, and flew towards Helena Port on their own.

    Seeing this situation, Dno was a little dumbfounded. The reaction of the people of the Breezy ins was obviously beyond his expectations. In his opinion, once he put the me on the Tower of Dusk, those people should have immediately drawn a line between themselves and the Tower of Dusk. Otherwise, they could just forget about the cooperation with the Gilded Kingdom. However, what he didn¡¯t expect was that this group of people, who he thought would be timid and afraid of losing out, actually chose to openly confront the Gilded Kingdom at this moment.

    The group of people from the Breezy ins were all Legendary powerhouses, with the worst being level-22. There were many who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm too. Such a force might not be able to go against the entire Gilded Kingdom, but there was definitely no problem with dealing with Dno¡¯s Fifth Fleet.

    Pointing at the crowd, Dno was suddenly speechless, though it was unclear if it was because he was angry or frightened. Of course, with the speed of those Legendary powerhouses, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him even if he was loudly cursing at them now.

    At this moment, Forcus also finally followed them in, his face frighteningly pale. In fact, even his lips were trembling slightly. As soon as he entered, he pointed at Dno, and said in a trembling voice, ¡°Dno, is this what you want!? Do you know that you have caused a big trouble!?¡±

    Given Dno¡¯s character, he definitely wouldn¡¯t admit to his mistakes at this juncture even if he knew he was wrong. He turned to look at Lin Li furiously, and hollered, ¡°Tell those people toe back immediately. Otherwise, they can¡¯t me me for being hostile!¡±

    ¡°Bastard, why don¡¯t you quickly admit your mistake and apologize to Master Felic!?¡± Before Lin Li could say anything, Forcus was hollering furiously in frustration.

    Forcus had juste in from outside, and happened to see the group of Legendary-mages like us flying straight over his head in the direction of Helena Port. He obviously knew what they were going to do. He could imagine that they would definitely blow things up, and even his teacher would not be able to resolve the issue by then.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m not at fault, so why should I apologize? I don¡¯t believe they would really dare to touch my sailors and navy. Aren¡¯t they afraid of starting a war!?¡± Despite having an ominous hunch, Dno still did not believe that those people from the Breezy ins would dare to openly confront the army of the Gilded Kingdom.

    At this moment, Lin Li, who had been sipping on his tea while remaining seated leisurely, indifferently said, ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to apologize. Not everything can be solved by an apology. If there¡¯s nothing else, please make yourselvesfortable.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s see how long you can continue pretending!¡± Dno had no interest in staying there, and turned around to leave after his remark.

    Forcus looked at Lin Li hopelessly before looking at Dno who had left with his men. In the end, he gritted his teeth and went out after Dno again. He knew that it was impossible for him to persuade Lin Li to stop. After all, Lin Li¡¯s ship and sailors had been seized, and Dno was still the key to solving this incident.

    ¡°Dno, do you really want to push the Breezy ins to dere war!?¡± Forcus hollered as soon as he left.

    However, Dno simply looked at Forcus in disdain, and said, ¡°The Tower of Dusk is hiding the greatest fugitive of the kingdom, and they are obviously vicious. I refuse to believe it. How dare a bunch of country bumpkins go against us? I will see how bold they are!¡±

    After saying that, Dno took several Legendary powerhouses who were under him towards the Helena Port. Although Dno hadn¡¯t reached the Legendary-level yet, he had a powerful father who was a Sanctuary powerhouse; hence, he naturally had a lot of treasures and means to escape.

    Forcus was hopeless when he saw that scene. He reckoned that the only way to resolve this issue was to ask his teacher to intervene. At the thought of this, Forcus turned around and cast the Power of Flight instead of going after Dno. He was ready to ask Elder Zumar to step in and help.

    Seeing that Forcus didn¡¯t catch up, the expression on Dno¡¯s face suddenly changed. He no longer seemed as arrogant as before, and was instead worried and panic-stricken. He was not really entirely fearless. He¡¯d initially wanted to save some of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s pride and just teach them a lesson for making him embarrassed previously. However, if this issue really caused a war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins, then while he didn¡¯t know what the Gilded Kingdom would do to him, he was certain that his father would definitely teach him a hard lesson.

    Besides, Dno was well aware that the people of the Breezy ins were all Legendary powerhouses. If they really decided to fight the Fifth Fleet, thetter would probably be severely damaged. Even though he did not care much about the lives of those ordinary warriors, it was a matter of his pride. If the people of his fleet were harmed, wouldn¡¯t it be telling everyone outright that themander of the fleet was ipetent!?

    At this moment, Dno somewhat hoped that the people of the Breezy ins would not be as courageous as they seemed to be previously. He hoped that perhaps they were just putting on a brave front for the president of the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 1127 - High Priest

    <h4>Chapter 1127: High Priest</h4>

    Hence, as soon as Dno came out, he left his other subordinates behind, and only took a few Legendary-level ones to the port in a bid to find out how things had developed so that he could make some preparations in advance.

    us, Mogadi, and the people of the Breezy ins who had left before Dno had already reached Helena Port. Actually, when they were on the way there, many of them were still thinking about whether they should fight with the Gilded Kingdom or juste here to put on a show.

    However, when those people from the Breezy ins came to the port and saw the scene on the sea, they werepletely dumbfounded. The sea was no longer full of a lively and cheery vibe like when they hade, and the festive atmosphere had been reced by chaos.

    In the sky, a massive monster was sucking a battleship of the Gilded Kingdom up into the sky and rapidly disintegrating and devouring it. On the surface of the sea, there was the debris left by several wrecked battleships, some of which had half of their hulls already plunged into the sea. Some were also blown into pieces. Fortunately, after the port had been designated as a port for receiving guests, the civilian ships had already been diverted to other ports, otherwise none of them would have been spared from destruction.

    On the surface of the sea, only about 10-odd battleships of the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom could still maintain theirbat power. Among them, there were only seven that were giant alchemical battleships. The other few were ordinary ships meant for guarding. Those battleships were attacking the monster in the sky at full power. However, regardless of the attacks that theyunched, they could not cause any damage to the monster.

    While they were hesitating, a giant alchemical battleship on the sea suddenly let out a loud boom, and a figure carrying a shiny kitchen knife flew out amidst the explosion immediately afterwards. Yes, he was carrying a kitchen knife. The figure was none other than the top chef of the Breezy ins, Cardson, whose knife was his symbol.

    Cardson was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and even though he was just a pseudo one, the people of the Fifth Fleet could not contend with him. Although there were many Legendary powerhouses in the Fifth Fleet, almost no one was able to block the sharp de of Cardson¡¯s knife.

    As soon as they saw that, the people of the Breezy ins knew that this battle was a sure win for them. At this moment, they stopped hesitating, and took out their staffs and drew their swords one by one before pouncing on the remaining battleships on the sea. The battle was already one-sided, and the addition of the Legendary powerhouses of the Breezy ins had catalyzed the defeat of the Fifth Fleet.

    Soon after the people of the Breezy ins joined the battle, Dno also arrived with a few of his subordinates. However, out of concern for their safety, they did not get too close to the battlefield, butnded far away on top of a tower, watching the one-sided battle in the distant port.

    Looking at the situation in the port, Dno immediately turned pale, and he was about to have a mental breakdown. He muttered to himself in a shaky voice, ¡°What? How did that happen? What do I do? What do I do!?¡±

    At this point, the situation hadpletely exceeded Dno¡¯s expectations as he¡¯d never thought that things would develop to this point. Ever since he had been old enough to remember things, he had never encountered any setbacks. However, his fleet had now been devastated, and he was terrified and helpless for the first time.

    ¡°Lord, the most important thing to do now is to think about how we can resolve this issue,¡± said one of Dno¡¯s subordinates. Of course, seeing the Fifth Fleet mutted, they were also infuriated with Dno. However, they had to remind him since Dno had an impressive father.

    ¡°Is there still a solution for this? That bastard Hajis came up with such a lousy idea that almost got us killed!¡± Dno cursed furiously.

    As soon as they heard this, a few of Dno¡¯s subordinates looked at each other, knowing that Dno had already found a scapegoat. However, they were Legendary powerhouses, and didn¡¯t have to worry about being made cannon fodder. Hence, they naturally didn¡¯t bother putting in a good word for Adjutant Hajis.

    ¡°Lord, Lord Cantory has been dealing with those people in the Breezy ins, why don¡¯t you look for him for a solution?¡± the subordinate asked, giving Dno an idea.

    Hearing this idea, Dno¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, and he eagerly said, ¡°Yes, yes, I will go look for him, he must have a solution!¡±

    In the Gilded Kingdom, Cantory was known as the best of his generation. Apart from having extremely high talent, he also had an extraordinary status. Cantory¡¯s father was the chancellor of the kingdom, and might seem to be no match for Dno¡¯s father who was a high priest, but Cantory¡¯s teacher was the high priest of the Illuminati, which put him at a level above the princes of the kingdom. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been given the mission to go to the Breezy ins.

    Dno could be considered Cantory¡¯s underling. Before Cantory went to the Breezy ins, Dno had been following him around, and enjoying life together with him. This time, Dno had caused such a huge trouble, which actually had something to do with the fact that Cantory called the people of the Breezy ins rude.

    ¡°Quick,e with me to find Cantory, he must have a solution!¡± At the thought of this, Dno immediately perked up and dared not dy any longer. Instead, he hurriedly went to search for Cantory with a few of his subordinates.

    Dno was considered rather lucky. Perhaps due to the fact that the founding celebration was near, Cantory did not go to the Illuminati at this moment, and instead stayed in the chancellor¡¯s residence. In a panic, Dno rushed to the gate of the chancellor¡¯s residence, and barged in without letting the guard at the gate to inform them of his arrival. However, Dno was also considered a regr visitor, so the guards knew who he was, and basically did not stop him.

    Soon, Dno met Cantory, who had just finished meditating. Before waiting for the other party to ask, he eximed, ¡°Brother Cantory, you have to help me out this time, I¡¯ve gotten into huge trouble!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What could be difficult for you to handle? I¡¯m really curious,¡± Cantory said with a smile as he raised his hand to gesture for Dno to have a seat.

    However, at this moment, Dno was no longer in the mood to sit down and talk slowly. With a bitter expression, he said, ¡°I wanted to teach that Felic a lesson, and I initially thought of showing him our dominance, and letting him see that this is the Gilded Kingdom, not the Breezy ins. However, that guy is out of his mind. He openly went against my fleet...¡±

    Dno admitted to everything in front of Cantory, and even told him how he got humiliated from the beginning to how he gradually lost control of the situation while trying to regain his pride.

    ¡°Atrocious, he is too arrogant. How could this bunch of country bumpkins do such things?!¡± After hearing Dno¡¯s recount, Cantory looked a little indignant, though it wasn¡¯t clear if he was honest or not.

    ¡°Now that things havee to this, I have no choice but toe to you for a solution. At this rate, my fleet is going to be ruined.¡± Seeing that Cantory also seemed to be infuriated, Dno was immediately delighted, and he frantically voiced his request in hopes that Cantory could help him settle it.

    However, Cantory was not a scion like Dno, and naturally wouldn¡¯t agree to everything. Besides, he understood the Breezy ins and the Tower of Dusk well. He had also dealt with Lin Li the young powerhouse, and thus he knew that Lin Li was not to be trifled with. Besides, Elder Zumar had also once warned him not to mess with Lin Li the young Sanctuary powerhouse, so why would he stand up for Dno?

    However, Cantory did not immediately reject Dno. He moved his eyes, and then smiled as he said, ¡°Dno, by right, those people of the Breezy ins have indeed gone overboard this time, and I definitely can¡¯t stand by and do nothing. However, that guy is a Sanctuary powerhouse, after all. Even if I step out, it¡¯d be impossible to restrain him unless my teacher intervenes¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes, get the high priest to intervene. Even if that brat from the Tower of Dusk is a Sanctuary powerhouse, it must be very easy for the high priest to kill him,¡± Dno eximed eagerly with excitement before letting Cantory finish.

    An Illuminati high priest was a godlike existence in the Gilded Kingdom, and legend had it that he had easily driven the Immortal King away. Of course, that was only a legend, but since it had been passed down in the Gilded Kingdom, it was enough to prove the status of the Illuminati high priest in their hearts.

    Hence, as soon as he heard Cantory say that he wanted to invite the high priest of the Illuminati, Dno immediately got excited, as if he had already seen thetter destroying the people from the Breezy ins.

    However, immediately after that, Cantory shook his head, and looked at Dno with an ambiguous expression in his eyes. ¡°However, if I asked my teacher to step in to help, he would definitely find out the cause of the issue because of how impartial he is. Once he did, not only would the people of the Breezy ins pay the price, the others who are responsible would definitely not be able to escape.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing this, Dno immediately froze in shock, at a loss for a response.

    Indeed, Dno really hadn¡¯t thought of that issue. The Illuminati high priest was not an official of the kingdom, and wouldn¡¯t spare him on the ount of his father. Dno dared not say that he wasn¡¯t responsible for this matter, and if the high priest of the Illuminati really found out about it, even his father wouldn¡¯t be able to protect him.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t let your teacher find out, but what should I do!?¡± Dno was immediately dejected, and he felt as if he had fallen from heaven to an abyss.

    However, when Cantory saw that scene, he seemed to have expected it as there wasn¡¯t a trace of surprise on his face at all. Instead, he smiled, and said, ¡°Actually, this isn¡¯t a serious matter, my teacher doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be involved.¡±

    ¡°What? Is there another solution!?¡± Dno eximed, looking as if he had found thest straw to clutch at as he stepped forward and grabbed Cantory¡¯s sleeve. ¡°What solution is there? Tell me quickly, I¡¯m scared I won¡¯t be able to protect my fleet.¡±

    Cantory pulled his sleeve away, and adjusted his clothes before saying, ¡°You¡¯re letting your anxiety rule your head. You should be looking for your father at a time like this. Even if you¡¯re at fault, do you think High Priest Poer will do anything to you!?¡±

    Hearing this, Dno suddenly came to his senses, and eximed, ¡°Yeah, so what if that brat from the Tower of Dusk is in the Sanctuary-realm? My father has already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm for years, and dealing with him would be a piece of cake! Cantory, thank you for the advice, I will not impose on you any further, goodbye!¡±

    Dno bade him goodbye twice, and before Cantory said anything, the former turned around and ran outside. After leaving the chancellor¡¯s residence, he used his magical equipment for flight again, and flew at full speed to his own home. Although he did not care much about the death of his subordinates, he would be without any help if the Fifth Fleet was destroyed by the people of the Breezy ins. He would then be the biggestughingstock of the Gilded Kingdom. For the sake of his pride, he would not allow the Fifth Fleet to be destroyed by the people of the Breezy ins like that.

    ¡°Father, Father, you must do me justice!¡± Dno began yelling in misery before he even entered. As he walked, he even messed up his clothes as if he had been tortured greatly.

    ¡°Dno, you¡¯re not getting any younger, why are you still so unstable? What are you yelling for?¡± At this moment, the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom, Poer, was looking at some documents in the study, and when he heard his son scurrying over while yelling, he couldn¡¯t help but frown and reprimand him.

    Although Dno shuddered in shock after hearing his father¡¯s scolding, he quickly remembered the purpose of his visit, and wept while eximing, ¡°Father, I can¡¯t be amander anymore!¡±

    ¡°Why? Is His Majesty going to transfer you elsewhere?¡± High Priest Poer asked indifferently. In fact, he didn¡¯t quite approve of his son being themander of the Fifth Fleet. After all, he knew what his son was like; no one was clearer about it than him.

    However, his son kept begging him to let him be themander, while the king, too, took the initiative to bring it up. Considering that the Fifth Fleet usually wouldn¡¯t carry out anybat missions, he agreed. However, deep down, he hoped that his son would just be obedient and practice magic or at least step into the Legendary-realm. Otherwise, his lifespan would only be a few decades long.

 Chapter 1128 - Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 1128: Confrontation</h4>

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my fleet, it¡¯s about to be destroyed!¡± At this moment, Dno no longer seemed as arrogant as when he was facing the outsiders just now. He was just like a child who had had his candy snatched away from him.

    As an elite who had been highly respected in the Gilded Kingdom ever since he was a child, he had really never been mistreated this way before. Even the king of the Gilded Kingdom had to show him some respect. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have given him the authority tomand the Fifth Fleet. Hence, when he saw Dno¡¯s behavior, High Priest Poer was a little surprised, and could not think of anything that could make his son so aggrieved.

    ¡°What exactly happened? Exin properly, what are you crying for!?¡± High Priest Poer frowned. Although his tone was stern, his gaze was full of concern.

    ¡°Father, it¡¯s those people from the Breezy ins. A few days ago, I chanced upon their ship being attacked by pirates when I was out on patrol with my fleet, and so I helped them drive the pirates away. However, during a routine inspection, they refused to cooperate, and the captain of that ship, the president of the Tower of Dusk who is named Felic, even tried to chase us away.¡±

    Dno changed some facts with ease, and he mainly wanted to himself look as innocent as possible. Others who knew Dno definitely wouldn¡¯t believe him. After all, they were very clear about what he was like.

    However, although Poer was Dno¡¯s father, and he should understand his son well, the issue was that what he knew about his son was just the side that Dno had been showing him. Since Poer had his son at an older age, he naturally thought well of his precious son.

    Seeing that his father did not seem to doubt what he said, Dno gradually stopped feeling fearful, and he continued, ¡°Later on, Forcus arrived, and said that the people of the Breezy ins are guests who have been invited by His Majesty. Hence, on his ount, I decided not to bother with those people. However, at that time I was a little suspicious about their refusal because if they had nothing to hide, why were they so vehement about declining the inspection?

    ¡°So, after their ship entered the port, I sent my subordinates to keep an eye on their ship. Two days ago, I received a report from my subordinates that a suspicious person who was most likely to be the fugitive with a bounty that we were searching for was found on their ship. I led my subordinates over, and I initially wanted to negotiate with them to get them to hand over the fugitive or let us onto the ship and arrest him personally.

    ¡°However, they vehemently refused to let us go in and arrest the fugitive, and even wanted to resist forcefully. I had no choice but to have them brought under control, and I soon got to search the ship, and finally caught the fugitive. In order to investigate the fugitive¡¯s rtionship with them, I took over their ship temporarily. However, when I was about to speak to President Felic, the owner of the ship, regarding this matter, he didn¡¯t want to hear my exnation at all. He simply released a monster which went to the port to try and take their ship back.

    ¡°Later on, the people of the other forces from the Breezy ins heard about it, and all ran to the port and imed that they wanted to show the Gilded Kingdom how powerful they were. Now, my fleet has been defeated by them, and it seems that they¡¯re going to be beaten up soon. Father, that¡¯s why I came to you and asked you to do me justice!¡±

    The highest level of lying was to mix in some truths with one¡¯s lies. Dno was obviously an expert at lying. Although he had only made some changes in the details to cover up for his mistake, he managed to make himself and his people seem like they were right. Besides, High Priest Poer didn¡¯t believe that his son would do anything outrageous. Hence, he naturally believed him without any doubts.

    Hence, after hearing what his son said, High Priest Poer flew into a rage, and hollered, ¡°Outrageous, we treated them with courtesy, and they thought that we were really scared of them!¡±

    ¡°Father, please save my subordinates!¡± Seeing this, Dno immediately begged his father, pretending to be miserable.

    ¡°Hmph, I will see what gives them the guts to create trouble here in the Gilded Kingdom!¡± High Priest Poer humphed coldly, and then reached out to grab his son Dno before flying straight out the door towards Helena Port.

    At this moment, only the gship and four or five giant alchemical battleships of the Fifth Fleet remained on the surface of Helena Port¡¯s harbor. The iron ships had long been sunk into the sea or blown to pieces. As for the remaining giant alchemical battleships, their hulls were also wrecked, and it was as if they would fall apart at any time.

    It was apletely one-sided battle, and although there were also a few Legendary powerhouses among the Fifth Fleet, their manpower and strength were worlds apart from the Breezy ins¡¯ side¡¯s. Even without the addition of these people from the Breezy ins, the strength of the Lord Devourer Garl alone would be enough to destroy the entire Fifth Fleet.

    At this point, the people of the Fifth Fleet were desperate and hopeless. All they could do was watch their battleships get destroyed and their peers die or weep on the surface of the sea. Besides, they could not even escape, and it was impossible to leave the port too. If they left the fleet, death would await them.

    The weapons that they had used on the battleships to shoot at the people of the Breezy ins were gone in vain, but those Legendary powerhouses of the Breezy ins were not the default targets¡ªsea beasts were. The ships¡¯ cannons which were invincible at sea could not even strike the Legendary powerhouses that were like insignificant mosquitoes. Although there was a great target in the sky, they hadpletely given up from the beginning of the incessant bombardment because regardless of what they did and how powerful their weapons were, they were merely feeding that monster.

    However, just when the people of the Fifth Fleet were already desperate to surrender, an extremely massive pressure came from the sky, as if the entire sky had sunk and the air in the space had frozen. Immediately afterwards, two figures that seemed familiar to the crowd appeared in the sky. One was Dno, themander of the Fifth Fleet, while the other was the respectable High Priest Poer of the kingdom.

    As soon as High Priest Poer appeared on the battlefield, he immediately released the massive pressure of a Sanctuary powerhouse, instantly making everyone on the battlefield stop subconsciously. There wasn¡¯t even a single ripple on the sea, as if time had stopped.

    The ones who were the most affected were naturally the Legendary powerhouses of the Breezy ins. Although they could easily abuse the Fifth Fleet, they were just like ants in the face of Sanctuary powerhouses. Even Cardson who was a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse did not have any intention to resist Poer, let alone the others.

    If they were in the Well of the Sun, the Lord Devourer Garl might still be able to fight against High Priest Poer, a Sanctuary powerhouse. However, its body that had been nurtured for thousands of years and devoured countless demons and treasures from the Well of the Sun had long been destroyed by Lin Li.

    Its current body wasn¡¯t weak. Unfortunately, it had only been nurtured for a short period of time, and it wasn¡¯t strong enough to contend with a true Sanctuary powerhouse like Poer yet.

    Looking at the scene on the sea, Dno felt an urge to cry out loud. His fleet had not beenpletely destroyed, but it would be difficult to repair it. The casualties of the naval troops were fine, but the loss of the giant alchemical battleships could not be made up for easily. Each giant alchemical battleship cost a bomb, and it would probably take the Gilded Kingdom decades to recoup the losses.

    High Priest Poer¡¯s expression was even worse at this juncture. Although he had heard about the situation from his son, the scene in front of him was still beyond his expectations. The most powerful fleet of the Gilded Kingdom was almost wiped out by the people from the Breezy ins in the port. It was just like a p in their faces.

    As a Sanctuary powerhouse and a high priest, Poer had to care about his and the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pride even if he ignored the death of the warriors or the huge loss of the fleet. If that matter wasn¡¯t handled properly, he and the Gilded Kingdom would be aughingstock.

    Hence, after shocking everyone with a huge pressure, High Priest Poer immediately raised the staff in his hand, and a Domain World immediately engulfed the space. Next, countless magic runes emerged from the space like dazzling silver sand, and surged towards the people of the Breezy ins. It was actually trying to seal everyone¡¯s power.

    At this moment, Lin Li was chatting with several guests who had heard of the event in the embassy of the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. The guests were Prince Johnathan of the Fn Kingdom and Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom, as well as Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine and High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine.

    The few representatives of the top forces of Anril were also rmed by themotion caused by those Legendary powerhouses from the Breezy ins. They finally went to ask Lin Li about the situation. After all, a group of Legendary powerhouses was flying towards Helena Port ferociously; anyone would know that something major had happened.

    Bombarded with questions, Lin Li did not hide it at all, and instead told them about everything that happened very briefly, as if he was talking about something that he wasn¡¯t involved in. In fact, to a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse like him, it was indeed not that big of a deal.

    ¡°Master Felic, should we also put pressure on the Gilded Kingdom through some diplomatic means, and urge them to release <i>The Star</i> as well as the crew as soon as possible?¡± Prince Jonathan took the initiative to express his willingness to help Lin Li with this matter. He couldn¡¯t imagine the seriousness of the situation at Helena Port now, so he wanted to take the chance to show Lin Li his goodwill.

    ¡°Yes, Master Felic, the Ledin Kingdom can also interact with the Gilded Kingdom on your behalf. I believe that with our intervention, the Gilded Kingdom will have topromise with us even if they¡¯re stubborn.¡± With the same thoughts in mind as Johnathan, Prince Johnathan followed suit and expressed his willingness to help. The experience in the Sky Castle had made himpletely convinced of Lin Li¡¯s abilities. Hence, he wasn¡¯t out to make a fool out of himself at this time, and was instead just trying to repair their rtionship.

    However, deep down, Prince Johnathan and Jeremiah were actually secretly d about the situation. Considering the interests of the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom, they were not willing to see the Gilded Kingdom getting too close to the forces of the Breezy ins.

    The Fn Kingdom was still the sovereign of the territory of the Breezy ins, even though thetter was almost always autonomous. It was eptable for the Gilded Kingdom to do business with the Breezy ins, but if the Gilded Kingdom really expanded into the Breezy ins, it would be akin to invading the Fn Kingdom.

    However, the Fn Kingdom had almost no control over the Breezy ins, so it was impossible to stop the Gilded Kingdom from doing anything in the Breezy ins. If they wanted to drive the Gilded Kingdom back to the sea, the Fn Kingdom could only pin their hopes on the Tower of Dusk and the forces of the Breezy ins.

    On the other hand, the Ledin Kingdom also wished that the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t gain a footing in the Breezy ins, as the previous two nations had been able to live together peacefully for so many yearsrgely because of the fact that the Breezy ins had been autonomous. Be it the army of the Ledin Kingdom or the Fn Kingdom, they could not easily step into the Breezy ins.

    Hence, thest thing that the two nations wanted was for the forces of the Breezy ins to get too close to the Gilded Kingdom. The Tower of Dusk¡¯s attitude was the most important here, so Jonathan and Jeremiah put in all their efforts to express their goodwill to Lin Li in a bid to make thetter stand on their side.

    While Jonathan and Jeremiah were expressing their goodwill to Lin Li, Englos and Sendros were seated at the side and smiling silently. They had interacted with Lin Li often, and were well aware that he was not the type to let himself suffer any losses. Given his status as a Sanctuary powerhouse, the Gilded Kingdom would probably have to sumb.

    However, at this moment, there was a yful smile on Lin Li¡¯s face as he said to the few of them, ¡°After I hit the son, the father is indeed here. I¡¯m sorry, everyone, it seems I have to excuse myself for a while.¡±

 Chapter 1129 - Everyone Is Shocked

    <h4>Chapter 1129: Everyone Is Shocked</h4>

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s random words that popped up out of nowhere, everyone seemed puzzled, but they saw that Lin Li had already stood up and casually made a spatial rift in the space in front of him. He then stepped into it calmly, and his figure immediately disappeared in the spatial crack.

    ¡°How powerful is that kid Felic now!?¡± Sendros couldn¡¯t help but exim emotionally when he saw that scene. Although Lin Li seemed to be very rxed, Sendros had a good understanding of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, and so knew that this seemingly easy move was by no means something that an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse could pull off.

    Englos, who was beside him, smacked his lips enviously and shook his head with a smile before saying, ¡°This kid is far ahead of us. I reckon I¡¯d be too embarrassed to seem like I¡¯m close to him the next time I see him.¡±

    On the other hand, the two princes, Jonathan and Jeremiah, looked even more dumbstruck as the scene before them hadpletely exceeded their scope of understanding. Although they were both peak Legendary powerhouses, that was also the reason that they had a more profound understanding of the power of this world. The scene of making a rift in space with one¡¯s own power was like a miracle to them, and they dared not even think about it.

    At this moment, the Legendary powerhouses of the Breezy ins in the sky above Helena Port were already caught in a crisis. Faced with the terrifying power of High Priest Poer, they had no means to resist at all. The countless magic runes that emerged in the space condensed into a magic chain that coiled around the people of the Breezy ins. Once the magic chain entangled their bodies, they would immediately lose all their power, be it mana or Combat Energy.

    <i>Damn it, a bunch of country bumpkins. This is the true power of a real Sanctuary powerhouse. Try being arrogant in front of me again!</i> Dno followed closely behind his father. Looking at the astonished people of the Breezy ins, he smiled smugly. Deep down, he had already started to think about how he was going to deal with them after taking them down so as to regain his pride.

    Of course, the people of the Breezy ins were just some nobodies, and what Dno was the most eager to see was his father defeating Felic, the president of the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>So what if he¡¯s only in his twenties? He must have reached the Sanctuary-realm only because of luck. How can hepare to a real Sanctuary powerhouse like my father?</i> In Dno¡¯s opinion, even if Felic was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would still be defeated by his father, Poer.

    However, at this moment, there was a violent explosion in the space, and it vibrated so much that Dno almost fell from the sky. Immediately afterwards, they saw the magic chains in space that shackled the people of the Breezy ins getting pushed away violently by an invisible force. In fact, they even began to dissipate rapidly like snow that hadnded in mes.

    On the other hand, High Priest Poer, who was casting the spell, also let out a low grunt, and suddenly withdrew his hand to pull Dno back. The magic runes that were shing continuously in the space also seemed to have gotten a great fright as they instantly vanished, which restored the space to its original appearance.

    Only then did the people on the field realize that a young figure had somehow appeared between the people of the Breezy ins and High Priest Poer.

    ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re here!¡± After seeing the figure that appeared out of thin air, the people of the Breezy ins could not help but exim in joy and surprise.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have frightened all of you,¡± Lin Li said with a smile as he looked at the people behind him.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s timely appearance, the people of the Breezy ins finally breathed a sigh of relief. Many of them had participated in that battle on Cage Ind, and naturally knew how terrifying Lin Li¡¯s power was. Although High Priest Poer had given them a great pressure just now, they firmly believed that as long as this President Felic was around, they would definitely seed and win the battle.

    After hearing the words of the people of the Breezy ins, High Priest Poer also knew the identity of this young man. However, he was still as shocked as ever.

    At this moment, High Priest Poer simply could not believe his eyes, because Lin Li was just too young for a Sanctuary powerhouse. A Sanctuary powerhouse in his early twenties? When did this world be so crazy? Even Geresco wasn¡¯t so incredibly gifted!

    Moreover, what shocked High Priest Poer even more was the strength that Lin Li disyed as breaking into the Domain World of another Sanctuary powerhouse was not something that an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse could do.

    The ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses would have a hard time breaking into their enemy¡¯s Domain World even if they were of a higher level. However, not only did Lin Li, a young Sanctuary powerhouse, break into his Domain World, he even struck and forced him to retract his Domain World. If he hadn¡¯t experienced it firsthand, High Priest Poer would have probably never believed such a thing was possible.

    Looking at the young Lin Li whom he should have felt disdainful towards, Poer couldn¡¯t help but be wary of him. Although he had only had a brief contact with Lin Li, he knew that if he had to fight with Lin Li, he might be the one to suffer a huge loss.

    ¡°Father, this is the guy who kept the fugitive on his ship and the one who summoned the monster!¡± Dno was not even a Legendary powerhouse, so naturally he could not tell that the two Sanctuary powerhouses had already sized each other up during the brief contact. Hence, he simply pointed at Lin Li andined to his father, wanting him to teach Lin Li a hard lesson for himself.

    High Priest Goer soon hid the fear in his eyes, and asked, ¡°Are you President Felic of the Tower of Dusk?¡±

    Lin Li reached out and grabbed the Summoning Lamp before turning to look at the Lord Devourer Garl. Without much emotion, he indifferently said, ¡°Not bad, it seems that your son has already introduced me to you, so I won¡¯t introduce myself.¡±

    Lin Li did not bother to ask the identity of the High Priest Poer. He could tell who thetter was from the robe that he was wearing and the striking resemnce between him and Dno. Of course, if it was a normal exchange, Lin Li would have to ask about his identity out of respect despite having already guessed it. However, they were now in a hostile rtionship with each other, and Lin Li just wanted his ship, <i>The Star</i>, and his sailors to be alright. The other party¡¯s identity did not matter to him.

    After speaking to High Priest Poer, Lin Li stopped paying attention to them, and instead turned his head to face the people of the Breezy ins, and said, ¡°Okay, you guys go and see how <i>The Star</i> is doing. Throw all of those who do not belong on the ship into the sea.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Felic, please rest assured,¡± the Legendary powerhouses of the Breezy ins immediately answered respectfully before flying towards <i>The Star</i>, which was detained in the corner of the port.

    Seeing how Lin Li ignored him, High Priest Poer couldn¡¯t help but coldly say with a hostile expression, ¡°President Felic, don¡¯t you think you should give an exnation to the Gilded Kingdom for what happened here!?¡±

    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t your son tell you everything?¡± Lin Li asked nonchntly as he turned around. The interaction just now made him gain a considerable understanding of High Priest Poer¡¯s abilities. Even though Poer was also a true Sanctuary powerhouse, that kind of strength was not enough to intimidate Lin Li.

    In fact, with Lin Li¡¯s current Sanctuary-level power, there were only a few people in the entire Anril who could be his match. Besides, Lin Li also had the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and he could also summon the Sky Castle over at any time. Such incredible power was already enough for him to be fearless of any threats.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t like going to war, it didn¡¯t mean that he would let himself suffer losses for the sake of the so-called peace with the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, even if the Gilded Kingdom really fell out with them, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t find it a pity at all.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s words sounded extremely arrogant to High Priest Poer, who felt that Lin Li was treating him and the Gilded Kingdom as if they were nothing. High Priest Poer had been in the Sanctuary-realm for numerous years, and his reputation in the Gilded Kingdom was even on par with King Bradlor¡¯s. No one had ever dared to speak to him like that.

    High Priest Poer immediatelyughed, and stared at Lin Li grimly with a sinister gaze. ¡°President Felic, I believe we have expressed enough sincerity when we received you, the guests of the Gilded Kingdom. However, this does not mean that you can ignore our nation¡¯sws and regtions. You were harboring a fugitive, and now you even caused us to suffer so many casualties. Do you want to go to war with our country!?¡±

    High Priest Poer knew very well that if he really had to fight with Lin Li, he might not be a match for him. Hence, he took out a sharp weapon¡ªthe threat of war¡ªin a bid to make Lin Li bow. Moreover, his words were not just meant for Lin Li alone. In fact, he also meant for the representatives of the various forces in the Breezy ins to hear it so that they would feel oppressed and alienate Lin Li.

    After all, the other forces of the Breezy ins had gained significant benefits from the cooperation with the Gilded Kingdom. If war broke out between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins, the forces of the Breezy ins would definitely end up losing those benefits, and lose even more during the war. He reckoned that anyone would make a wise decision at this point.

    ¡°If we have to go to war, so be it. What¡¯s the big deal? Since the Gilded Kingdom is not sincere in this cooperation, we don¡¯t have to give you any respect.¡± After taking <i>The Star</i> back, us and several other leaders walked towards Lin Li again to inform him of the situation on <i>The Star</i>, and also to show their determination to stand with the Tower of Dusk. Hence, after hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words, us and the others seized the opportunity to express their choice before Lin Li even said anything.

    <i>How dare an insignificant Legendary-level being talk to me?</i> Poer humphed coldly as if he had been greatly insulted, and was just about to teach them a lesson.

    However, at this moment, another figure flew over from afar, and yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Poer, President Felic, please calm down!¡±

    The person who came was none other than Forcus¡¯s teacher, Elder Zumar, who had cooperated with Lin Li to seal the dragon corpse on Cage Ind. Obviously, Elder Zumar had already received a report from his disciple, Forcus, which was the reason that he dropped everything to hurry over. However, as soon as he entered the space above the port, and saw what was going on, Elder Zumar¡¯s heart twitched¡ªpartly because of the huge loss of the fleet, and partly because he was worried about the rtionship between them and the Tower of Dusk.

    Initially, Elder Zumar did not intend to intervene when he saw High Priest Poer there. After all, High Priest Poer was not from the Illuminati, but represented the royals of the Gilded Kingdom. He thought that since there was nothing wrong with Dno, High Priest Poer would try his best to appease the young president of the Tower of Dusk out of consideration for the interests of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, to Elder Zumar¡¯s surprise, the two of them started moring about starting a war before they could even talk for a bit. This time, he did not dare to stand by and watch, so he immediately mored for both parties to calm themselves down.

    Elder Zumar¡¯s appearance made the ambiance a little less tense. After all, putting aside his identity as an elder of the Gilded Kingdom, he was also a true high-level Sanctuary powerhouse even High Priest Poer had to respect.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, you came just in time. Those outsiders have really gone overboard. Not only did they ignore our country¡¯sws to harbor a fugitive, they even destroyed our fleet out of anger and shame!¡± Knowing that his abilities were not enough for him to cause significant harm to the young Sanctuary powerhouse Lin Li, Poer also knew that he would be asking for trouble if he really started a fight. Hence, as soon as he saw Elder Zumar, he immediately found an out, andined to Elder Zumar with righteous indignation.

    ¡°Did wemit the crime of harboring fugitives just because you said so? We came all the way here by ship, and no strangers came on board at all. Who knows when that fugitive got shoved onto the ship!?¡± us and others were instantly displeased too. Actually, he did not want to really go to war with the Gilded Kingdom, either, and he would prefer to maintain peace as far as possible.

    Actually, Elder Zumar had already found out about the bigger picture from his disciple Forcus, but it was hard to draw a conclusion about the truth of the matter at the moment. Hence, he waved his hands and gestured for everyone to be quiet for the time being before saying, ¡°I believe we just have to conduct an investigation to find out what exactly happened, and the truth wille to light. There must be a misunderstanding here, and the fugitive might have sneaked onto <i>The Star</i>. President Felic, you were being too impulsive!¡±

 Chapter 1130 - Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 1130: Evidence</h4>

    Seeing that the entire Fifth Fleet had been damaged, Elder Zumar obviously felt the pinch. However, considering the future development ns of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati in the Breezy ins, as well as the strength of that young president of the Tower of Dusk, he had no choice but to me everything on Lin Li¡¯s impulsiveness in a bid to make the matter blow over.

    However, Lin Li did not buy it at all. As soon as Elder Zumar finished speaking, he smiled, and responded, ¡°Elder Zumar, I¡¯m well aware of the individuals I have on board <i>The Star</i>. Sneaking up there? Can anyone just sneak onto your alchemical battleships?¡±

    ¡°Elder Zumar, you heard it, he has already said that it can¡¯t be that the fugitive has sneaked onto the ship, so it must be that they have deliberately housed the fugitive!¡± High Priest Poer immediately continued after Lin Li. He was extremely displeased with Elder Zumar¡¯s approach of making things easier for him because he was right in the first ce, so there was no need for Elder Zumar to find excuses for him at all.

    ¡°It seems High Priest Poer has some issues withprehending. In this case, I might as well make it clearer: my ship, <i>The Star</i>, has never harbored the fugitive that you are looking for, and no one secretly sneaked onto it.¡± Although Lin Li didn¡¯t care if a war would break out with the Gilded Kingdom, he was never willing to take the me for something that he had never done.

    Besides, even though Elder Zumar seemed to be looking for a way out, he had in fact set up something there. If Lin Li admitted that the fugitive might have secretly boarded the ship, the matter of harboring the fugitive would be over, but they would settle scores with him for destroying the Fifth Fleetter on. After all, it would be reasonable for the Gilded Kingdom to board the ship and arrest the fugitive in that case. Besides, Lin Li would also seem like he was overreacting.

    ¡°Hmph, we caught the fugitive on your ship, it¡¯ll be pointless even if you deny it.¡± Seeing that there were two Sanctuary powerhouses, namely his father and Elder Zumar, on his side, Dno immediately felt courageous and confident.

    ¡°Um, President Felic, do you have an exnation for that matter?¡± Elder Zumar asked, pretending to be put on the spot, but he was actually trying to express that Lin Li had put him in a tough predicament because he refused to reciprocate the fact that he had given him an out.

    ¡°Hah, what is there to exin? I have 100 ways to shove a random stranger onto your ship, how could you not have thought of that, Elder Zumar?¡± Lin Li said, looking at Elder Zumar with derision in his eyes.

    This time, Elder Zumar was really put in a difficult position. In the beginning, his intention was to have the people of the Tower of Dusk admit that the wanted fugitive had sneaked onto <i>The Star</i> so that the Gilded Kingdom would have a good reason for detaining the ship. Afterwards, he would also be able to make the Tower of Dusk exin the reason for causing such a big loss to the Fifth Fleet. Although it would not be enough to make the other partypensate with a fleet, it would be enough to give them an added leverage for future negotiations.

    However, Elder Zumar did not expect Lin Li to be so adamant about it. Not only did he refuse to admit to harboring a fugitive, he also refuted the conjecture that the fugitive had possibly sneaked onto the ship. Hence, it would be difficult to solve that matter.

    If it was proven that Lin Li was lying, how could the matter be put to rest? Would the Gilded Kingdom really go to war with the Tower of Dusk? Or would they have to bear with the humiliation? If it was proven that Dno was the one who had been lying, how could they make up for the losses? They would definitely be put at a disadvantage for the future negotiations.

    ¡°Nonsense, are you insulting my character? It¡¯s an undeniable fact that the fugitive was found on your ship, and many of us can prove it. Well, do you have any evidence to prove that the fugitive wasn¡¯t on your ship!?¡± Dno retorted, panicking because Lin Li was vehemently refuting. He decided to make that request because he suddenly remembered the countermeasure he had discussed with his adjutant previously.

    In fact, ording to Dno¡¯s previous conjecture, the worst that could happen after he seized <i>The Star</i> and the crew on board should be a confrontation with the king. Regarding that issue, he had already made all the arrangements beforehand, and thus had all the evidence and witnesses he needed.

    However, to Dno¡¯s surprise, Lin Li had no intention to reason with him, and simply sent a monster out to snatch <i>The Star</i> from him at that time. The monster even crushed the Fifth Fleet. As things were now finally returning to the expected trajectory, he immediately said everything that he had prepared beforehand with great impatience.

    ¡°Oh? Dno, since you were the one who caused this matter, you should be the one to prove your im.¡± Elder Zumar nced at Dno, totally able to imagine what this entire situation was about because he understood Dno well. If the Fifth Fleet hadn¡¯t been destroyed, he might have reprimanded Dno a few times for being insensible, and then let the matter blow over. However, now that the Fifth Fleet had been damaged, he knew that there had to be something fishy about this matter, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go all the way.

    Dno did not know how much Elder Zumar hated him, and was simply overjoyed when he was asked to show his proof, thinking that he finally had the chance to show the evidence that he had prepared long ago to defeat Lin Li. Hence, he agreed and immediately brought them to the port. He then waved his hand to beckon a subordinate whose face had turned pale toe over. He said, ¡°Do not be afraid, the high priest and Elder Zumar will make decisions for us. Go and get all the people involved in the capture of the fugitive immediately. We now need their testimonies.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord, I¡¯ll head there immediately,¡± the subordinate answered in a shaky voice. He then turned around, and proceeded to get the people who were involved, just as Dno instructed.

    Fortunately, Dno had made arrangements for those people, and not all of them were on the battleships. Otherwise, it would probably be difficult to find a bunch of witnesses now. Soon, more than 10 warriors of the Fifth Fleet scurried over, shivering and obviously still in shock from the intense battle. In fact, their leader was precisely Dno¡¯s adjutant Hajis.

    ¡°Okay, all of you, perk up and answer all of Elder Zumar¡¯s questions truthfully. Do you hear me?¡± Dno specially instructed, afraid that they would say something wrong when they were panicking.

    ¡°Yes, Lord,¡± they chorused.

    Looking at them, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but frown a little. After a moment of silence, he said, ¡°I¡¯m asking you, did you guys go with Dno to <i>The Star</i> to nab the fugitive?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder Zumar, apart from us, there were also a few others. However, some of them have fallen in the battle just now, and some were heavily injured, so they can¡¯te here now,¡± Hajis answered Elder Zumar on behalf of everyone after he looked at Dno, and the people behind him all followed and nodded.

    ¡°So, how did you get the information that the fugitive was on <i>The Star</i>?¡± Elder Zumar immediately asked without saying anything else.

    Hajis pretended to be recalling something so as to make himself seem more reliable. ¡°The thing is, the people on <i>The Star</i> were adamant about not letting us inspect the ship, and vehemently refused to let us do so. Hence, Lord Dno sensed that there was something suspicious about them. After <i>The Star</i> entered the port, Lord Dno specially asked a few of us to carefully keep an eye on <i>The Star</i>, and report to him immediately if there was anything unusual. Later, one of us saw a familiar figure who looked a lot like a wanted fugitive on the deck of the ship.

    ¡°Lord Dno considered that the fugitive is too important to the kingdom, so he thought of negotiating with the people on <i>The Star</i> in hopes that they would hand him over. However, the people on <i>The Star</i> simply ignored us, and insisted that the person we wanted to find was not on their ship. Later, as ast resort, Lord Dno ordered to temporarily take into custody all the people on the ship, and also instructed us not to hurt them before starting the search.¡±

    After taking a look at Lin Li, Elder Zumar turned around to ask, ¡°So, was the fugitive on the ship?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he was in a hidden room. If not for the fact that we had done a careful inspection, we would have almost missed it,¡± Hajis said, his answer making everyone behind him nod profusely.

    By saying that they almost missed the fugitive in the secret room, they were clearly trying to say that the people on <i>The Star</i> were deliberately hiding the fugitive. Otherwise, how could a stranger find such a secret room on the ship?

    ¡°How is it? I know my son very well, he wouldn¡¯t lie about such things.¡± High Priest Poer¡¯s expression was extremely smug. He turned around and looked at Lin Li with a mirthless smirk. ¡°President Felic, with so many witnesses to prove it, what else do you have to say!?¡±

    ¡°Is this the so-called evidence? Well, in that case, we can also vouch that Dno is actually not your biological son.¡± Hearing the words of the so-called witnesses, us and the others could no longer tolerate it. At this moment, when he heard that High Priest Poer wanted to make a conclusion based on the testimony of these few people, they immediately objected in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°You people have a death wish!¡± High Priest Poer was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose reputation in the Gilded Kingdom wasparable to King Bradlor¡¯s. Just when had he ever been insulted like that before? His face turned sullen immediately, and he just wanted to pinch them to kill them.

    However, Lin Li was still there, so how could he allow High Priest Poer to kill the people from the Breezy ins? Besides, Lin Li agreed with us¡¯ words. Finding a bunch of random people to testify and conclude the oue based on that was simply outrageous and unreasonable.

    Seeing that High Priest Poer wanted to attack, Lin Li humphed coldly, and the gemstone on the Helios¡¯ Scepter immediately lit up. Although the two of them were Sanctuary powerhouses, while Elder Zumar was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, there was nothing for Lin Li to fear.

    ¡°Calm down, both of you, calm down.¡± Knowing that Lin Li wasn¡¯t scared, Elder Zumar naturally did not dare to let the two of them get into a fight there. Besides, at this moment, the national celebration was about to begin soon, and there were lots of people swarming over from all directions. Destroying Helena Port would be a small matter, but the defeat of High Priest Poer of the Gilded Kingdom would be embarrassing.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, you heard it, they insulted me first, so I must make them pay the price!¡± Although High Priest Poer was quite harsh with his words, he did not make any further move. In his heart, he also knew that he might not be a match for Lin Li with just his own strength. Hence, he wanted to drag Lin Li down with him too.

    ¡°Insult? If it was ording to your logic just now, their words seem to be the truth instead of an insult,¡± Lin Li said, ignoring the murderous gaze in High Priest Poer¡¯s eyes, while the Helios¡¯ Scepter swayed in his hand in a seemingly casual manner. However, each time it swayed, there was a special rhythm. Clearly, there was an extremely terrifying magic spell charged on the scepter. It seemed to be able to destroy Helena Port easily.

    At this moment, Elder Zumar finally managed to cate High Priest Poer, and then turned around to look at Lin Li. ¡°President Felic, no matter what, they have already provided the evidence with witnesses to testify for them. If you don¡¯t have any evidence, I¡¯m afraid we have to ept their testimony.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, show us some evidence too. Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t believe our testimonies? In that case,e up with some credible evidence too,¡± said Dno, who was also infuriated because of what us and the others said. Most people probably would not be able to stay calm after someone said that they were not their father¡¯s son. After hearing that Elder Zumar was asking them for evidence at this moment, he immediately mored.

    Of course, Dno also had an agenda for saying so, and that was to get Lin Li to find some other witnesses apart from his sailors or ept the testimonies of Dno¡¯s subordinates.

    However, after hearing Dno¡¯s words of coercion, Lin Li simply turned around, and said to a new sailor who had juste over, ¡°Get on the ship and ask them to bring all the items in the pilothouse over.¡±

    Be it High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar, or Dno who¡¯d nned all this, they didn¡¯t believe that Lin Li coulde up with any strong evidence to support his ims in this situation. Regardless of whether or not Dno¡¯s witnesses were credible, they had at least caught the fugitive on <i>The Star</i>, and that was a fact that could not be disputed.

    Lin Li wanted to prove that the fugitive had nothing to do with <i>The Star</i>, and protest against the fact that the fugitive had been caught on <i>The Star</i>. However, he could not get the crew to be the witnesses, so it was extremely difficult unless he could get the fugitive toe out and confess everything himself, or get someone from Dno¡¯s side to dispute the ims.

 Chapter 1131 - Crystal Ball

    <h4>Chapter 1131: Crystal Ball</h4>

    Hence, at this moment, High Priest Poer and Dno were both waiting to see Lin Li make a joke out of himself, curious what kind of ridiculous piece of evidence he coulde up with. Although Elder Zumar was not like High Priest Poer, he certainly did not want Lin Li to really be able to provide any evidence because of his consideration of the interests of the Gilded Kingdom.

    In fact, not to mention High Priest Poer and the others, even us and the other people from the Breezy ins behind Lin Li did not have much confidence in the evidence Lin Li mentioned. However, Lin Li still seemed very confident in the evidence that was about to be brought to light as he remainedposed.

    Some were worried, while some were gloating. No one was optimistic that Lin Li would be able to produce any concrete proof; hence, they waited at the port for the so-called evidence to appear, each having their own thoughts. As for Dno whose fleet had just been damaged, he did not seem to be sad at all. Instead, he remained arrogant, and was constantly sneering at Lin Li.

    However, they soon saw a few crewmen of <i>The Star</i> carrying an object and walking over under the lead of a Legendary-mage from the Tower of Dusk. The object was ratherrge, about half the size of a man, and it seemed to be quite heavy too. Otherwise, it would not require several level-15 crewmen to bring it over. However, the exterior of the item was covered up by something, and others could not see what was inside at all.

    Seeing this scene, the people froze in unison, after which they could not help but be curious, because the evidence that the president of the Tower of Dusk was about to reveal was clearly not just some nonsensical empty promise. It was a great surprise to them. After all, the fugitive was caught on <i>The Star</i>, and apart from the testimonies of witnesses, they really couldn¡¯t imagine what else there was that could prove that the fugitive had nothing to do with the ship.

    After the item was carried to the spot in front of them, Lin Li gestured to the Legendary-mage, who then reached out and removed the exterior of the object to reveal the true appearance of the item inside.

    To be honest, when the item was carried over, Dno¡¯s heart trembled, but when he saw what was inside, he was relieved and pointed at the item while guffawing loudly. ¡°What a joke, this must be the evidence you are talking about! A crystal ball of such a massive size may be rtively rare, but how does this prove that you did not hide the wanted fugitive on the ship?¡±

    It turned out that the so-called evidence that Lin Li had people carry over was a massive crystal ball, which could definitely be considered a superior treasure. However, crystal balls were not very rare, and they were used in many ces, especially in the magic towers of the mages where crystal balls were mandatory. However, they generally wouldn¡¯t be thatrge, and crystal balls that were the size of a human head were considered extremely precious.

    However, no matter how big and rare the crystal ball was, there seemed to only be one use of it, and that was to conduct real-time surveince and observation of the surroundings using the Heaven¡¯s Eye mageweath. Most importantly, it allowed one to monitor the things that were going on within the scope through the crystal ball.

    Although Dno had yet to reach the Legendary-level, he had a Sanctuary-level father, after all, so what kind of rare things had he not seen before? He had yed with various magical weapons that were almost considered artifacts, let alone a crystal ball. Hence, he was naturally also very clear about the use of the crystal ball. Besides, the alchemical battleships in the Gilded Kingdom were equipped with such crystal balls to monitor the situation around the ship as well.

    Hence, as soon as he saw Lin Li taking out a crystal ball, Dno immediately felt relieved. What <i>a joke, how can such a thing be used as evidence? Does he want to show us what¡¯s going on around here now!?</i>

    However, Dno¡¯s father, High Priest Poer, and Elder Zumar, the two Sanctuary powerhouses, had a very different reaction from Dno at this time. They did not seem amused at all, and instead their eyes widened in shock, revealing the shock within their hearts.

    As a true Sanctuary Master and the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom, Poer was naturally more knowledgeable than the others. Besides, at his level, as long as mana and World Laws were concerned, he would be able to grasp it almost instantly. Even if he hadn¡¯t studied some things before, he would be able to reach a level that was close to a Master-level.

    In particr, the field of inscription had always been closely rted to magic in instances like the drawing of magic scrolls, which required some knowledge in inscription. Hence, the two Sanctuary powerhouses¡ªHigh Priest Poer and Elder Zumar¡ªmight not have much attainment in inscriptions, but they were definitely not clueless. In fact, in many aspects, they even had more profound insights than the Legendary-level Masters of Inscription.

    After seeing Lin Li disy the crystal ball, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were immediately attracted to the mageweaths inscribed on the crystal ball. They could see at a nce that the mageweaths on the crystal ball were not just themon Heaven¡¯s Eye mageweath, but some that were much moreplex and mysterious, or even far beyond their understanding of mageweaths.

    If only the Heaven¡¯s Eye mageweath could be seen on the crystal ball, Poer and Zumar would probably have the same reaction as Dno, and reckon that Lin Li couldn¡¯te up with any proper evidence. However, after seeing that there were so many mageweaths on the crystal ball, they immediately panicked.

    ¡°President Felic, what are you doing?¡± Elder Zumar asked, forcing himself to smile. The Gilded Kingdom had already suffered a great loss as the Fifth Fleet was damaged, and if they were proven to be responsible for the mess, the Gilded Kingdom would really be doomed this time.

    Lin Li smiled faintly, and did not answer immediately, but waved his hand and beckoned for therge crystal ball to be brought over. As the crystal ball floated in front of him, he said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to see some evidence? It¡¯s right here.¡±

    ¡°Drop the act, it¡¯s just a crystal ball! Do you really think we are country bumpkins like you who have never seen much of the world!?¡± At this moment, Dno had already sensed that there was something off about the situation because of the reactions of his father and Elder Zumar. However, he still refused to ept it, and was hoping for a fluke.

    Lin Li simply ignored Dno, stretched out his finger, and tapped the floating crystal ball twice, immediately after which aplex mageweath lit up. It then began operating. Under the backdrop of that magical light, the entire crystal ball was enveloped in ayer of mysterious light that seemed to be able to suck one¡¯s soul out.

    Immediately afterwards, they saw the intertwining rays of magical light in the space above the rotating crystal ball gradually form a clear image of the ce where the people were at the moment. Their expressions were all captured and disyed clearly.

    Upon sight of this scene, Dno got smug as he thought that there was obviously nothing different between this crystal ball and the ones that he had seen before. Hence, he derisively mocked, ¡°Is this all that you¡¯re going to show us? What a joke, what can this prove? Please stop wasting our time!¡±

    However, as soon as Dno said that, he suddenly felt that there was something amiss about the atmosphere around him, especially with his father and Elder Zumar. Logically speaking, they shouldn¡¯t have been shocked to see a crystal ball, but they looked extremely horrified as if they had seen a ghost.

    Overwhelmed with puzzlement, Dno turned to look at the crystal ball again, and scrutinized the scene disyed in it, only to realize that it was not fixed on their surroundings, and the scenes were gradually rewinding instead.

    <i>Could it be that this thing can show the images of the past?</i> Dno finally panicked and fell silent, staring anxiously at the images disyed in the crystal ball.

    At this moment, Lin Li stretched out his finger again, and tapped the crystal ball, after which the scenes in the crystal ball changed rapidly. The scenes of the tragic battle at sea were then disyed. Of course, it was tragic only for the Gilded Kingdom because it was a thrilling massacreunched by the people of the Breezy ins.

    Seeing the scene again and watching the consecutive destruction of the battleships, as well as the helplessness of the warriors of the Fifth Fleet who could not resist, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar could not help but feel indignant and helpless even though they were already Sanctuary powerhouses.

    However, due to the eleration of the yback in the crystal ball, the tragic sea battle fortunately also quickly vanished, and the scenes were soon restored to calmness. If not for the asional appearance of some figures, they might have thought that they were looking at stills. They could tell that those scenes should have been recorded during those two days that <i>The Star</i> had been seized, which meant that the main show was about toe.

    Indeed, just as they thought, Dno appeared in the scene with his subordinates, escorting the so-called fugitive out of the port. However, since the scene was yed backwards, the scene disyed was that of Dno and his men retreating back to <i>The Star</i> with the fugitive before going back into the cabin.

    By the time he saw this, Dno was already incredibly flustered because he already knew what would appear on the screen next. On the other hand, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar, as well as the people of the Breezy ins, were all holding their breaths and waiting for the truth to surface.

    Finally, Lin Li tapped the crystal ball again, and the images changed rapidly once more before slowing down to a normal speed. Next, they saw Dno taking the fugitive into the cabin, after which the fugitive began to remove his sailor¡¯s uniform, and change into another set of clothes.

    When the fugitive in the scene was done changing, the crowd that was initially calm immediately got agitated because the sailor¡¯s uniform that the fugitive was wearing was actually the uniform of the Fifth Fleet.

    ¡°No, this is fake, you fabricated this. How can you see the past events disyed in the crystal ball? This must be fake,¡± Dno eximed furiously, and he even felt a strong urge to rush forth and smash that crystal ball.

    Actually, at this point where the fugitive was seen changing back into the uniform of the Fifth Fleet, even a fool would know exactly what was going on. However, Lin Li did not stop the yback, and instead continued to let the crowd watch the fugitive who had changed back into his uniform follow Dno and the others all the way out of <i>The Star</i>¡®s cabin and then to the deck.

    ¡°High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar, I wonder if this evidence is satisfactory to you,¡± Lin Li said with a calm expression while reaching out to pause the yback at the scene of Dno, the others, and the fugitive as they stood in the dock.

    ¡°Th-this is!¡± At this point, High Priest Poer was speechless. After all, there were no video recording cameras or any editing software in Anril. Hence, such a thing could not be faked at all.

    However, what really shocked High Priest Poer Elder Zumar was not the truth of the matter that was on disy, because the harboring of the fugitive was not their concern at this time. What shocked them was the crystal ball¡¯s ability to disy a yback.

    In this world, there was no magic equipment simr to a camera, and one would have to use the elusivews of time to go back in time to see the events of the past. Legend had it that only the Dragon of Time, one of the five great Dragon Aspects, had the ability to travel through time and monitor the past and future of Anril. Apart from the Dragon of Time, even ordinary gods and deities might not have the power to see the past and future.

    Of course, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar also knew that the ability to look at events from the past was still notparable to the Time Dragon¡¯s ability to travel through time. However, even so, they were almost certain that the mageweath that gave the crystal ball the ability to show the yback of past events should be at least of the Guru-level.

    A Guru-level mageweath! It was no wonder that Sanctuary powerhouses like High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were shocked. In Anril today, Masters of Inscription were rare, and Gurus of Inscription were simply godlike existences. Of course, they didn¡¯t think that the Guru-level mageweaths on the crystal ball were inscribed by Lin Li, who was only in his early twenties. In their opinion, Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t have the time to juggle other fields of knowledge, since he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age!

 Chapter 1132 - Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 1132: Punishment</h4>

    However, no matter what, this crystal ball actually had Guru-level mageweaths inscribed on it, which made it 100 times more valuable and precious than it already was. More importantly, there were also many more mysterious mageweaths on the crystal ball in addition to the Time Lapse mageweath. Master Poer and Zumar simrly could not recognize them.

    <i>Even a magical crystal of his contains such a profound technology.</i> Poer and Zumar had no choice but to reevaluate the value of the entire <i>The Star</i>. If <i>The Star</i> was really built with the support of a Master of Inscription, they were certain that even the most advanced alchemical battleships in the Gilded Kingdom might not beparable to it.

    However, Lin Li did not care much about the reactions of High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar, because the Time Lapse mageweath was really not thatplicated for him. For example, when Lin Li was with Tutankhamun in the ckstone Mountains, he had seen the battle between Geresco and the prehistoric magical beast the Evil Eye Tyrant. The Time Lapse technique that was used then was much more profound andplex than this one.

    Although Lin Li was using the Time Lapse technique in the crystal ball, he could not use it to go back in time by 1,000 years, but one or two years would be no issue.

    In fact, Lin Li had learned that from the inverted tower. Outside the Barbarous Arena, there was a crystal ball that was used to screen the yback of battle scenes. Through the crystal ball, he could rey the battles that he had fought in the Barbarous Arena, and watch them from all perspectives to increase his battle experience.

    Lin Li ced such a crystal ball there not purely for the sake of preventing himself from being framed like that. In fact, the true function of the crystal ball was for observing the operational process of the entire battleship, <i>The Star</i>. Hence, when problems urred, he would be able to find the root cause easily. Dno was just out of luck as he couldn¡¯t imagine that Lin Li had ced such an impressive magic prop on <i>The Star</i>.

    ¡°No, this is all fake, fake!¡± Dno was on the verge of losing his mind. Apart from the embarrassment of having his tricks exposed in public, he was also overwhelmed with panic because he knew that he would have to bear the responsibility for the huge losses suffered by the Fifth Fleet if people believed the scene in the crystal ball.

    Even if Dno¡¯s father was High Priest Poer, the sin of damaging the fleet of the kingdom for no reason was not something that could be forgiven easily. Perhaps King Bradlor wouldn¡¯t kill Dno on ount of High Priest Poer, but he would definitely not let him hold an important position in any field in the future. At the same time, Dno would be the sinner of the kingdom to themoners and the nobles of Gilded Kingdom. After all, it was his willfulness that caused the kingdom¡¯s fleet to be destroyed.

    Hearing his son throw a tantrum there, High Priest Poer, who had just recovered from shock, finally couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. He turned around to p Dno, sending him flying, and causing him to fall hard on the ground with a loud thud.

    However, seeing this scene, Lin Li did not show any emotions at all, as it was just a lowly trick to gain sympathy. High Priest Poer was a real Sanctuary powerhouse, and although he was not a warrior, his p was hard enough to smash a mountain. High Priest Poer had now just pped Dno and sent him flying while clearly still sparing him some mercy since Dno was still his son, after all.

    ¡°Do you have any doubts about this evidence that I have produced?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t look at Dno who had passed out, and instead asked High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar that question.

    Hearing these words, Elder Zumar secretly smiled bitterly, and he reckoned that they could only resign to fate. Besides, giving them such evidence would make it difficult for him to gain the upper hand in the future negotiations. Looking at them, he bitterly said, ¡°President Felic, the matter is clear, and it is indeed our responsibility this time.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± As soon as Elder Zumar finished speaking, High Priest Poer stepped out and red at Lin Li and the others with resentment in his eyes. ¡°President Felic, this time it¡¯s true that I¡¯ve failed to take Dno in hand, and let him do such a thing. However, if you could have taken out the crystal ball earlier and exined to us the truth of the matter, we would have naturally let Dno release your ship and sailors immediately. However, you did not do that, and chose to resort to violence right away, causing irreparable damage to our fleet. That doesn¡¯t seem like the right thing to do.¡±

    It was obvious what High Priest Poer meant. He was just trying to say that since Lin Li had concrete evidence, he could have disyed it, and they would naturally make Dno release the seized ship and sailors. However, Lin Li chose to take matters into his own hands and snatch the ship back, which resulted in a huge loss to the Gilded Kingdom. He felt that Lin Li had to bear some of the responsibility too.

    Of course, the most important thing was that High Priest Poer still wanted to reduce the responsibility that was to be born by his son. He felt that the major losses of the Fifth Fleet could not be med on his son, because the impulsive behavior of the Breezy ins¡¯ side was the real reason that caused things to develop to this point.

    ¡°Excuse me, my greatest concern was the safety of my ship and my sailors. The wellbeing of your fleet is what you should consider. Regardless of what you do, you have to pay the price for it,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly. Indeed, he didn¡¯t have to care, because those below the Sanctuary-realm were just like insignificant ants, let alone the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet.

    ¡°Okay, okay, indeed, we should bear the main responsibility for this matter. However, what President Felic did was truly a little too much. How about wepromise and each take a step back?¡± Although Elder Zumar was also distressed by the huge loss incurred by the Fifth Fleet, and was quite dissatisfied with Lin Li¡¯s attitude, he had no choice but to be the peacemaker now out of consideration for the ns of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.

    ¡°Each take a step back? Dno is at fault for seizing their ship, but did he cause them any fatal injuries or casualties? How about us!?¡± High Priest Poer did not agree to Elder Zumar¡¯ suggestion, because in his opinion, Elder Zumar and he were Sanctuary powerhouses, and even though he wasn¡¯t a match for Lin Li, the two of them would still be able to defeat Lin Li.

    Lin Li smiled and waved his hand to get his men to move the crystal ball back, after which he took out the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and said, ¡°I strongly agree with High Priest Poer. The Fifth Fleet is at best only an essory, and the real culprit has yet to receive the punishment he deserves.¡±

    <i>What a joke, is the authority and prestige of a Sanctuary powerhouse something that just anyone can provoke? Dno is just an insignificant mob, how dare he try to set up a Sanctuary powerhouse and frame him? If he doesn¡¯t get punished for that, the prestige of Sanctuary powerhouses is going to be ruined!</i>

    Being Sanctuary powerhouses, both High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were naturally clear about that. If Dno had not been the son of High Priest Poer, he would have probably been thrown out and handed to Lin Li long ago. However, the problem now was that High Priest Poer definitely wouldn¡¯t bear to give up his son. No matter how ipetent Dno was, he was still his son. On the other end, Elder Zumar wouldn¡¯t make Dnoe forth to appease Lin Li¡¯s anger despite knowing that he had fallen out with High Priest Poer.

    However, when they were in a stalemate, a bunch of pce guards hurried to the port. The huge uproar in Helena Port had already caused the Fifth Fleet to be hurt, and as the king of the Gilded Kingdom, how could Bradlor be clueless of what happened?

    After the group of royal guards came to the front of the crowd, the chief stood out and saluted the three Sanctuary powerhouses before reading out King Bradlor¡¯s decree to invite the three of them to the royal pce to exin the cause of the whole thing. Of course, he probably would have been more hostile if they had been ordinary people, but he had to be polite because they were Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Seeing that the king had intervened, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were immediately relieved, while Lin Li smiled ambiguously.

    Lin Li secretly made some arrangements for <i>The Star</i>, after which he flew straight to the kingdom¡¯s pce with Poer and Zumar without dy. Lin Li knew very well that being the king of the Gilded Kingdom, Bradlor would definitely favor Poer and Zumar. However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to fool him.

    High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar naturally knew that if the matter was handed over to King Bradlor to handle, they should more or less be taken care of. In other words, Dno would be reprimanded, but he wouldn¡¯t end up dying as a consequence.

    Soon, the three arrived at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s royal pce, and under the lead of the pce guards, they met King Bradlor who had a sullen expression on his face, which was to be expected. Although it was not the main battle fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and was usually only responsible for patrolling the waters of Four Seasons Ind, the Fifth Fleet was a regr naval fleet, after all. Now that it waspletely ruined, they would have had to cancel the fleet system if not for the fact that the battleship, <i>Sea Dragon</i>, was still there.

    Moreover, if it was just an ordinary battle at sea, the battleships could still be towed back for repair, but Lin Li was too relentless this time as he made Garl the Lord Devourer devour many of the battleships. If the kingdom wanted to restore the Fifth Fleet, it would almost be the same as forming a new fleet.

    However, although Bradlor¡¯s face was grim, he also knew that there were three Sanctuary powerhouses standing before him; hence, he did not vent his anger. After taking a few deep breaths and feeling that he had gotten a grip on his emotions, he asked High Priest Poer about the process of everything that happened.

    Even if Lin Li wasn¡¯t there in front of him, High Priest Poer, a Sanctuary powerhouse, couldn¡¯t possibly lie about this matter. Hence, even if his son had nonsensically seized <i>The Star</i>, and the people of the Breezy ins fought with the Fifth Fleet, High Priest Poer told the story without hiding anything.

    Of course, in the process of narrating, High Priest Poer also conscientiously downyed his son¡¯s responsibility by emphasizing that Lin Li did not give them the opportunity to investigate before taking action on the Fifth Fleet.

    On the other hand, Lin Li sat at the side and listened quietly with no intention to interrupt at all, as if everything that High Priest Poer said had nothing to do with him.

    On the contrary, Elder Zumar looked rather anxious as he looked at King Bradlor¡¯s expression. After all, the Fifth Fleet had already been destroyed, and it concerned the interests of the Gilded Kingdom. The one who was the most distressed was not High Priest Poer, but King Bradlor. The only thing that High Priest Poer cared about was his ipetent son Dno, but King Bradlor was the real victim of this incident.

    Hence, Elder Zumar had no choice but to worry. If King Bradlor really could not suppress his anger, and wanted to go to war with the Tower of Dusk or even the entire Breezy ins, all their previous efforts would be in vain.

    However, after hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s ount, Bradlor did not lose his temper like Elder Zumar had feared. Although anyone could see that Bradlor was trying his best to suppress his anger, he still politely asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, I wonder if you have anything to add to what High Priest Poer just said.¡±

    ¡°No, High Priest Poer has already made it very clear, and I¡¯m here to see how you¡¯re going to deal with it so I can make preparations in advance,¡± Lin Li said indifferently, shaking his head.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s tone was very t, anyone could tell that if King Bradlor¡¯s solution was not to his satisfaction, the war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk would probably be inevitable.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s reply, a trace of anger shed in Bradlor¡¯s eyes, but he said in a calm tone, ¡°Okay, I will give you a satisfactory answer, President Felic.¡±

    Bradlor was the king of the nation, yet he was now saying that he would give Lin Li a satisfactory answer, which was really putting himself in a lower position. Hearing this, High Priest Poer immediately panicked, and said, ¡°Your Majesty, Dno may be in the wrong, but President Felic has gone too far. The Fifth Fleet has been ruined, yet we still owe them an exnation?¡±

    ¡°High Priest, you should keep an eye on Dno and take him in hand. Forcus has gone to receive President Felic and others on behalf of me and Elder Zumar, which already is an expression of our attitude. However, Dno started a conflict between us and the Breezy ins without hesitation. This is more than just willfulness.¡± Bradlor hated Lin Li for destroying the Fifth Fleet, but he was equally furious at Dno¡¯s presumptuousness.

 Chapter 1133 - Ends Just Like That

    <h4>Chapter 1133: Ends Just Like That</h4>

    In particr, Bradlor had already fully shown how much he valued the Breezy ins¡¯ envoys by holding such a grand wee ceremony for them previously. Dno¡¯s behavior was a disrespect to him, the king, and to put it more seriously, he had deliberately sabotaged the ns of the Gilded Kingdom, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a sinner of the kingdom.

    Upon hearing Bradlor¡¯s words, High Priest Poer immediately tensed up, and thought to himself, <i>Is Bradlor really nning to put my son¡¯s life on the line to please this country bumpkin named Felic!?</i>

    High Priest Poer was getting all worried and anxious. Fortunately, Elder Zumar frantically chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Poer, you do need to take your son in hand and discipline him when you go back.¡±

    High Priest Poer was about to argue with Bradlor about it, but he immediately figured everything out after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words. Logically speaking, Dno hadmitted a huge sin that would warrant him a few years of jail time. However, King Bradlor and Elder Zumar told Poer to just take Dno home and discipline him, which meant that it was not a punishment.

    ¡°If the three of you don¡¯t have any other questions, I will announce the conclusion of the matter.¡± King Bradlor nced at the three Sanctuary powerhouses who were seated at the sides, and said, ¡°This time, the cause of the incident was Dno¡¯s willfulness and presumptuous behavior, which caused such a huge loss to the Fifth Fleet. Hence, he is no longer suitable to continue serving as themander of the Fifth Fleet. From today onwards, Dno will be stripped of all his positions and reflect on himself behind closed doors at home[1]. I¡¯ll only let him out after he has changed his nature. As for the damage to your reputation, President Felic, we will nextpensate you to your satisfaction in the cooperation negotiations. Do any of you have an opinion about this?¡±

    He had to admit that Bradlor was really worthy of being the king of a nation as he could tolerate what ordinary people could not. The Fifth Fleet was almost destroyed, but he still said he¡¯d give Lin Lipensation for the damage done to his reputation. In fact, he was just buying Dno¡¯s life from Lin Li in hopes that Lin Li would not pursue the matter against Dno.

    Lin Li did not care if Dno was going to be dead or alive. After all, Dno was just an insignificant nobody to him. In fact, the matter was that Dno had caused the Gilded Kingdom to suffer a great loss, while Lin Li did not lose anything. On the other hand, exchanging the life of a nobody for the sake of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s future was not too bad of a deal.

    Hence, Lin Li nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°Fine, since His Majesty Bradlor said so, I won¡¯t pursue this matter any further. I just hope that nothing like this will happen again.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Felic, this will definitely not happen again in the future,¡± Elder Zumar hurriedly assured. What a joke, Dno had already caused a huge trouble and ruined the Fifth Fleet. If not for the fact that his father was High Priest Poer, he would have probably been executed. With this experience, even a fool would know what to do and what not to do.

    No matter what, there was at least a conclusion for the matter. Although King Bradlor was obviously biased toward the other side, Lin Li would not be bothered to hold it against them, as long as he did not suffer a disadvantage.

    Of course, King Bradlor was the one who was the most dejected. Not only had the Fifth Fleet been destroyed, Lin Li even got a hold against him which made it difficult for him to have the upper hand in future negotiations. However, there was nothing that could be done, because Dno was the son of High Priest Poer, and Lin Li¡¯s attitude would affect the future development of the Gilded Kingdom.

    High Priest Poer also felt a little sorry towards Bradlor as his son was too ipetent, and ended up ruining the Fifth Fleet. Besides, he also made Bradlor pay a huge price. However, Poer did not me everything on his own son; deep down, he still felt that the one who was truly responsible for this matter was the Tower of Dusk¡¯s President Felic and the country bumpkins of the Breezy ins.

    However, High Priest Poer also knew that the attitude of President Felic of the Tower of Dusk was very important to the development of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins. It was probably going to be very difficult to regain their pride.

    By the time High Priest Poer returned to his home, Dno, who had been knocked out by his p, had also been sent back earlier on.

    Dno had been waiting for his father to return in a bid to find out how things had turned out since he regained consciousness. He did not care what happened to the Fifth Fleet, but the loss of his prestige was infuriating for him. He had merely detained their ship, and yet Lin Li destroyed his entire fleet and his subordinates. It was akin to receiving a harsh beating for hurling an insult.

    ¡°Father, how did it go? Is His Majesty going to war with the Breezy ins!?¡± Dno could not imagine what kind of consequences there would be if the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins went to war, but he hoped that he could teach those country bumpkins a hard lesson.

    Upon hearing Dno¡¯s words, High Priest Poer was so furious that he raised his arm in a bid to hit him, but after doing so, he didn¡¯tmit to the p. Retracting his hand after a long time, he eximed in exasperation, ¡°How dare you have the cheek to ask about this? Aren¡¯t we already in enough trouble?¡±

    Initially, Dno was truly frightened by his father¡¯s intention to p him, but after seeing that his father did not really hit him, he got a little braver, and said, ¡°Father, I know I was at fault, but I didn¡¯t expect him to have that stuff on his ship. Moreover, that Felic really went overboard, if he had informed me earlier that he had those things, I would have just released his ship right away. However, he chose to send a monster to snatch his ship back without even giving me the time to react. I bet he did it on purpose because he wanted to use this chance to assert his dominance.¡±

    ¡°So what? Can you use your brains and think twice before acting in the future? The Fifth Fleet is in a jeopardy because of you, and I ended up embarrassing myself in front of His Majesty too. Don¡¯t bring this up again and stay at home for a while. If you dare to go out again, I will break your legs.¡± Although High Priest Poer was aware that he had indeed spoiled his son rotten, it was only normal for fathers to spoil their children. Hence, although he was angry on the surface, and even thought about how he should deal with Dno, he ended up just lecturing him.

    ¡°However, Father, the Fifth Fleet is already in such a sorry state. As themander, I ought to go in and take a look.¡± Refusing to be kept at home, Dno was just using the Fifth Fleet as an excuse to go out. His main motive was to go look for a few friends to vent his anger.

    ¡°Fifth Fleet?¡± Hearing this, High Priest Poer flew into a rage, and pointed at Dno¡¯s nose while lecturing, ¡°How dare you mention the Fifth Fleet? His Majesty has already removed you from all your positions, so you¡¯d better stay at home and reflect.¡±

    ¡°What!? Why? What about that fellow named Felic? Whatpensation did His Majesty demand from him?¡± Although he didn¡¯t care what happened to the Fifth Fleet, the position of fleetmander was still very enticing to Dno.

    Dno asked again and again before he finally found out from his father about the final oue of the matter. He didn¡¯t expect to be stripped of his title and that the king would even want topensate Lin Li. He felt that there was no ground for that at all, as there was no reason for them to have topensate the culprit who had caused such heavy damages to his fleet.

    Dno would¡¯ve been able to ept the oue if he had merely been stripped of his position as themander of the Fifth Fleet as it would be pointless given how ruined the Fifth Fleet was. However, after hearing that Lin Li had not only failed topensate for the loss of the Fifth Fleet, but even asked the Gilded Kingdom topensate him, Dno found it intolerable.

    Dno wasn¡¯t being patriotic. After all, he also knew that he was the one who¡¯d caused the trouble, and if the news of the kingdom having topensate others for that matter spread, he would not be able to hold his head high in the circle in the future.

    After thinking for a long time, Dno still couldn¡¯te up with any solutions. However, he thought of someone, and that was Cantory who¡¯d given him the advice to seek help from his father. Initially, High Priest Poer felt rather embarrassed by that matter, but Dno could not afford to think so much. He only thought that since his father intervened and made them stop attacking the Fifth Fleet, Cantory¡¯s idea was obviously very useful. Hence, Dno thought of Cantory this time again, and wanted to ask him for some ideas to vent his anger.

    The so-called reflection was actually just an excuse. Lin Li would not really send his people to keep a close eye on Dno to see if he was really reflecting at home. Hence, there wasn¡¯t any difference between Dno¡¯s situation now and in the past. He left home freely, and headed to the chancellor¡¯s residence to seek help from Cantory.

    Soon, Dno left the residence in high spirits, as if he had already gotten some amazing idea from Cantory. After returning home, he did not dy at all, and simply asked the servant before scurrying away to look for his father.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to lock yourself up and reflect on yourself? How dare you have the courage to wander about?¡± High Priest Poer was reading a magic book, and his face turned sullen when he saw his son Dno barging in.

    However, Dno was not frightened by his father¡¯s scolding, and instead went forth with a sheepish smile. ¡°Father, I¡¯ve already thought of a solution.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve thought of a solution? What solution? What kind of trouble are you trying to get me into again!?¡± High Priest Poer couldn¡¯t help but feel a headache as he thought, <i>Why can¡¯t my son just be quiet for a few days?</i>

    ¡°Father, simmer down, I have thought of a way to make that Felic bow down to us.¡± Dno did not mention that Cantory was the one who told him about it, and instead took all the credit for it.

    ¡°Okay, the matter will end here. Stop creating trouble for me. I¡¯m warning you, you¡¯d better stay at home during this period of time and not go out to provoke that group of people from the Breezy ins.¡± Of course, High Priest Poer did not believe that his ipetent son would be able to think of any solution. He would probably just create a mess again like he had before. If the same thing happened again, even Poer would not have the cheek to continue being the High Priest.

    ¡°No, Father, we don¡¯t have to intervene this time,¡± Deputy Chairman hurriedly exined. Before his father said anything, he hurriedly added, ¡°Father, I¡¯ve already heard about it. The Tower of Dusk belonging to Felic is actually supposed to be called the Breezy ins Guild of Magic, which is under the sanction of the Supreme Council. Aren¡¯t you very close to Chairman Rosen of the Supreme Council? As long as you write a letter to him, I believe that Felic will have to apologize to us once Chairman Rosen intervenes.¡±

    High Priest Poer could not help but frown, and he chided in annoyance, ¡°Enough, stop getting involved in this matter and go back to your room immediately. This time, if you don¡¯t reach level-19, don¡¯t even think about stepping out of your room again!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Upon hearing his father¡¯s words, Dno¡¯s face instantly turned sullen, and he wanted to say something, but didn¡¯t have the guts to. He had no choice but to leave his father¡¯s study while turning his head to look with every step he took.

    However, after Dno left, a smile graced High Priest Poer¡¯s face. Although he acted as if he had already let the matter go, he could not really let it go, and he was well aware of it himself.

    He might have already be a Sanctuary powerhouse, but Sanctuary powerhouses were still humans who were inherentlypetitive. Even the gods in the myths and legends would fight brutally over trivial matters. Although High Priest Poer had already epted the conclusion given by King Bradlor, he had been overwhelmed with fury.

    They were all Sanctuary powerhouses, but why did he have to suffer such a huge loss? Not only was the Fifth Fleet destroyed for nothing, they even had topensate Lin Li! Although thepensation was the decision of King Bradlor, High Priest Poer could not take it that he wasn¡¯t involved. His son was the one who¡¯d caused the trouble, but did not have enough power to suppress the man named Felic. In the end, King Bradlor had topensate Lin Li, and that was an utter embarrassment to High Priest Poer!

    Although Poer did not care about what Dno said, he also felt that it was a good idea. Felic might be a Sanctuary powerhouse, but he was also the president of the Guild of Magic under the Supreme Council. Hence, he probably could not reject the orders of the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council!

    [1] Basically house arrest.

 Chapter 1134 - Representative Of The Supreme Council

    <h4>Chapter 1134: Representative Of The Supreme Council</h4>

    High Priest Poer went to a corner of the study, where a special small table was set up, on which there was a mageweath that looked extremelyplex. He then took out a few magical crystals, and ced them on several nodes of the mageweath. After thest magical crystal wasid down, mana began to flow quickly along the magic circuit, and soon the entire mageweath began to emit a faint magical light.

    As the light of the mageweath got brighter and brighter, an illusory light curtain that resembled a mirror began to take shape above the mageweath. About another 10-odd minutes passed, and the light curtain finally changed again, gradually revealing the scene in a room while a scrawny old man walked into it.

    ¡°My friend, why did you remember to contact me today? Have you already thought of a solution to the issue about the mageweath that we discussed during ourst meeting?¡± asked Rosen, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council.

    Each person had their own social circle, just like Andoine who had forged friendly ties with some pharmaceutical masters of the Pharmacist Guild because of his obsession with pharmaceutics. He also made connections with those who had high attainments in pharmaceutics in the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom, as well as viins who were normally considered to be horrendous.

    The pharmacists would often hold some gatherings to discuss issues about pharmaceutics, which were simr to the gatherings held by inscribers. Rosen and Poer might be the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council and the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom, respectively, and it seemed impossible for them to cross paths, but because of theirmon love for inscription, they shared a close friendship.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, something happened recently, so I wasn¡¯t in the mood to study those mageweaths,¡± Poer said, shaking his head. He seemed to be in a difficult situation.

    Hearing Poer¡¯s words, Rosen thought of something. Since he wasn¡¯t going to discuss inscriptions with him, and even took the initiative to contact him, Poer obviously had a favor to ask of him. High Priest Poer was a real Sanctuary powerhouse. Although Rosen would not deliberately try to suck up to him, he attached great importance to the friendship between him and Poer.

    Hence, Rosen did not think much about it, and took the initiative to ask, ¡°My friend, is there something that you need help with?¡±

    Rosen¡¯s straightforwardness was mainly because he considered the fact that it surely indeed required great strength to solve this matter, and it was unlikely that Poer would need help with something that he could do himself since he was a Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, Rosen reckoned that Poer would need help with something that was within his means, such as the provision of some specialties of the maind or mageweath materials.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. I heard that the Guild of Magic of the Breezy ins, which is also known as the Tower of Dusk, is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council. Is that the case?¡± High Priest Poer was afraid of making a fool out of himself, and thus decided to get a clear idea of things first. After all, he had never heard about the establishment of a guild of magic in the Breezy ins by the Supreme Council before.

    Rosen, who was seated opposite the curtain of light, immediately kept his guard up when he suddenly thought of the Tower of Dusk. However, he did not show much of his emotions, and simply smiled a little before calmly saying, ¡°Yes, the Breezy ins Guild of Magic was established by us four to five years ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh. The thing is, the Gilded Kingdom celebrates the establishment of the kingdom soon, and we invited quite a few forces of the Breezy ins, including the Tower of Dusk, to the founding celebration. However, the young president of the Tower of Dusk might bepetent, but there are issues with his character and the way he treats others. We got into a minor conflict because of a trivial disagreement. Can you remind him in the name of the Supreme Council not to affect the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Supreme Council?¡± Poer asked. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, he obviously couldn¡¯t directlyin to Rosen, so he beat about the bush for a while before getting straight to the point.

    In fact, High Priest Poer didn¡¯t expect Rosen¡¯s orders to be enough to make President Felic of the Tower of Dusk lower himself and be respectful towards him. No matter what, Lin Li was also a very strong Sanctuary powerhouse, and even if he was just the president of the Guild of Magic under the Supreme Council, he had a significant status in the Supreme Council too.

    Hence, High Priest Poer simply hoped that Rosen could put some pressure on Lin Li in the name of the Supreme Council, and convince him to treat the previous events as a misunderstanding. In that case, the Gilded Kingdom would have a smoother negotiation with the Tower of Dusk in the future, and not lose the upper hand because of this matter.

    However, as soon as Rosen heard High Priest Poer¡¯s words, his heart sank. Now, Rosen had already suffered a loss because of Lin Li. Firstly, he nitpicked on Lin Li, and in the end, Lin Li became a prestigious member of the Supreme Council. Secondly, he ended up causing Lin Li to be the deputy chairman, which was on the same level as his. If he tried to nitpick on Lin Li again, how high of a position would Lin Li rise to in the Supreme Council again?

    In particr, the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council had shown tant favoritism to Lin Li, which was obvious to everyone in the Supreme Council. Hence, Rosen was afraid that he might end up losing his position as deputy chairman if he had any more contact with Lin Li.

    Once he heard that High Priest Poer wanted him to pressurize President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, Rosen knew that the Gilded Kingdom and Poer must have suffered huge losses because of Lin Li. Otherwise, Poer, who was a real Sanctuary powerhouse, definitely wouldn¡¯t swallow his pride to ask him for help.

    Although Rosen was friends with Poer, the only reason their friendship existed was the study of inscription. They wouldn¡¯t risk their lives for each other. Rosen wouldn¡¯t be willing to lose his position as deputy chairman of the Supreme Council because of Poer, or create trouble for Lin Li and end up offending the three arbitrators. Besides, Lin Li was now the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council who was of equal status to Rosen, so how could Rosen dare to boss him around?

    However, Rosen would not directly reject Poer. After all, Poer was also a true Sanctuary powerhouse and the high priest of the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, he smiled a little, and said to High Priest Poer, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send someone to find out more about the situation. By the way, I have a meeting to attend, let¡¯s end it here for today.¡±

    High Priest Poer did not notice anything amiss, and he didn¡¯t think that Rosen would patronize him, either. In his opinion, this matter should be a piece of cake for Rosen. Hence, after Rosen said that he was going to attend a meeting, Poer didn¡¯t think much of it, and simply said, ¡°Alright, I will not impose on you any further. Goodbye.¡±

    After disconnecting, Rosen, who was far away in the Sky Garden, did not attend any meeting, and instead remained seated at the table, staring nkly into space. After a long time of silence, Rosen suddenly smacked the table and stood up. He cursed, ¡°Damn it, he must be joking. That kid Felic is a jinx, and I can¡¯t wait to steer clear of him whenever I see him. Why would I create trouble for myself? Poer must be muddle-headed. Of all people, he had to get involved with that jinx and implicate me too!¡±

    After that lesson, Rosen dared not think of provoking Lin Li at all, and he would be thankful enough to keep his position as the deputy chairman. He did not want to get himself into trouble again for a nominal friend like Poer. If that happened, even his life would be in danger, what more his position as the deputy chairman. Lin Li was valued greatly by the three arbitrators!

    However, High Priest Poer could no longer hear Rosen¡¯sints, and was simply rejoicing because he thought that he was finally able to solve the matter. In his opinion, although Lin Li was very strong, he had to show some respect to the Supreme Council. Besides, the Guild of Magic that he presided over was subject to the Supreme Council¡¯s sanctions.

    Therefore, in the next two days, High Priest Poer¡¯s mood could be considered pleasant, and he had also specially sent someone to keep an eye on the embassy area to wait for the Supreme Council toe over and make Lin Li apologize to him for what happened before.

    Two dayster, the subordinates sent to keep an eye on the area really came to report to him saying that the envoy of the Supreme Council had arrived. As soon as he heard this news, High Priest Poer immediately got excited, packed up, and brought his two followers with him to meet the messenger sent by the Supreme Council.

    Of course, High Priest Poer could not publically say that he was waiting for the Supreme Council to pressure the president of the Tower of Dusk, as that would seem like he was waiting for the Supreme Council to do the job for him. Therefore, his statement was that Rosen, the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council, had close ties with him, and thus he was going to personally meet the messenger on behalf of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, when High Priest Poer arrived at the ce of reception, he was told that the messenger of the Supreme Council had already gone to visit the president of the Tower of Dusk, which made High Priest Poer increasingly certain that Rosen had sent someone to put pressure on Lin Li.

    Logically speaking, High Priest Poer should have returned home with his mind at ease, and wait for the messenger of the Supreme Council to bring Lin Li to apologize to him. However, after suffering such a huge loss, he was really eager to see Lin Li getting dealt with. Hence, he did not return, and instead headed to the embassy area with his two followers in a bid to see for himself how helpless Lin Li would be when faced with the pressure of the Supreme Council. He also wanted to see Lin Li eventually submitting to pressure.

    Not all Sanctuary powerhouses would beposed when faced with everything, and even gods would start a battle because of a slight agreement, let alone the Sanctuary powerhouses who were still humans. In particr, High Priest Poer and Lin Li were both Sanctuary powerhouses, and thus the former would not give in to thetter.

    High Priest Poer rushed to the embassy area with his followers, and only caught up with the messenger of the Supreme Council when they arrived. The messenger sent by the Supreme Council to the Gilded Kingdom this time was the senior councilor Herza, who was specifically responsible for the foreign affairs of the Supreme Council, apanied by several other councilors who were all Legendary-mages.

    It was not Herza¡¯s first visit to the Gilded Kingdom; hence, High Priest Poer was not a stranger to him. As soon as they met, he smilingly said, ¡°Councilor Herza, when I heard that the messengers of the Supreme Council had arrived, I knew that you were definitely the one in lead. Why didn¡¯t you wait a little longer? I was about to bring someone to receive you, but I didn¡¯t expect to miss you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s you, High Priest Poer. I came here this time for the founding celebration and also because of some internal matters that we have to discuss with President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, I came here first when I heard that President Felic had already arrived long ago.¡± Although Herza was only a Legendary-mage who was still far from the Sanctuary-realm, he was now representing the Supreme Council, and thus he wasn¡¯t humble or deferential when speaking to Poer.

    Hearing Herza mention that they had internal matters to discuss, High Priest Poer was overjoyed as he reckoned that Rosen must have settled the matter that he¡¯d entrusted him with two days ago!

    In High Priest Poer¡¯s opinion, the only matter that the Supreme Council could be talking to Lin Li about at this time had to be the matter that he had told Rosen to help him with. He thought that they were definitely going to put pressure on Lin Li. The thought of finally making that detestable punk bow down to him made High Priest Poer feel extremely excited. ¡°However, we can¡¯t skip the weing ceremony. How about this: if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll apany you inside first, and when you¡¯re done with your errands, I¡¯ll immediately arrange a weing ceremony as well as a ce for you to rest.¡±

    Seeing how enthusiastic High Priest Poer was, Herza was a little confused. He hade to the Gilded Kingdom before, but he had never seen Poer so enthusiastic. However, he couldn¡¯t reject the High Priest¡¯s kindness, either. Thinking that there was nothing confidential about what he was going to do, Herza gave in. ¡°Okay then, please wait a moment, High Priest Poer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, fine, let¡¯s go in then.¡± High Priest Poer could no longer be bothered about anything else, and all he could think about was Lin Li bowing down to him.

    Hence, under the apaniment of High Priest Poer, Herza walked into the embassy. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the servants of the embassy who hurriedly greeted High Priest Poer without asking any other questions, because they were from the Gilded Kingdom too.

    ¡°Okay, this is the messenger of the Supreme Council, Councilor Herza. He needs to see President Felic of the Tower of Dusk for something, go and ry the news,¡± High Priest Poer said to the servants, somewhat overstepping his boundaries.

    Herza knew that High Priest Poer enjoyed a high status in the Gilded Kingdom, and thus did not find that strange at all. Seeing that the servants had left to report, he took a seat casually in the hall.

 Chapter 1135 - Small Island

    <h4>Chapter 1135: Small Ind</h4>

    Although High Priest Poer was very eager, he could not show it or make it too obvious. Hence, he sat at the side and chatted with Herza while waiting for the good show.

    However, that made Herza and the others of the Supreme Council feel a little puzzled. High Priest Poer¡¯s status in the Gilded Kingdom was almost the same as King Bradlor¡¯s. Although Herza represented the Supreme Council, High Priest Poer was being too enthusiastic, and there was nothing for them to talk about at all.

    He said that there was no need for the high priest to be ushering the guests to the weing ceremony and arranging for a resting ce and so on, because these tasks were within the foreign affairs minister¡¯s scope of duty. Others who were unaware might think that high priest Poer was trying to cozy up to Herza.

    In fact, High Priest Poer was also very ufortable. He wasn¡¯t that familiar with Herza in the first ce, and their interests were in inscription and pharmaceutics, respectively. What was there for them to talk about? If High Priest Poer hadn¡¯t tried to strike up a random conversation, there was nothing else he could do, either. It would be strange if he just sat still and waited.

    They waited in the hall downstairs for almost 15 minutes before Lin Li finally came down from upstairs, smiling widely. He said in an apologetic tone, ¡°Master Herza, I¡¯m so sorry. Master Sendros has been holding me back to talk about some matters regarding pharmaceutics. Sorry to have kept you waiting.¡±

    On the other hand, Herza stood up with a smile, and said, ¡°It¡¯s rare to have such an opportunity. I¡¯ve prepared quite a few questions that I have to ask you. Sendros might be cursing me now.¡±

    After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Li let Herza take a seat while he sat down beside him, acting as if he did not see High Priest Poer. He finally asked, ¡°Master Herza, you came to see me without resting as soon as you reached the Gilded Kingdom. There must be something, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Herza said with a nod.

    <i>Now we¡¯re getting down to the main point!</i> As soon as he heard that, High Priest Poer instantly perked up, and decided to forget about the fact that Lin Li had just ignored him. He straightened his back in his seat, waiting to see the good show, and also getting ready to ept Lin Li¡¯s apologyter on.

    Herza was so focused on talking to Lin Li that he didn¡¯t notice the change in High Priest Poer¡¯s posture. After nodding, he said, ¡°As a special envoy of the Supreme Council in the Gilded Kingdom, there¡¯s no reason for me not toe over to report before anything else when I know that the fourth arbitrator has already arrived.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± After hearing his words, Lin Li knew that the three old men who were eager to get out of the situation had to have already announced the news. Otherwise, even if Herza had known about it, there was no way he would have said it in public.

    To be frank, Lin Li really felt vexed at this point, even though he had long promised the three arbitrators that he would help them take care of the Supreme Council in the future as the fourth arbitrator. However, there was still a bunch of things for him to handle on his side as he had to transform the Sky Castle and even look for the Immortal King¡¯s secrets. He also had to improve his strength in order toplete what Geresco had asked him to. How could he have the time to care about the messy affairs of the Supreme Council.

    In fact, the three arbitrators had probably also considered that issue, and were afraid that if they announced the news of Lin Li bing the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council anyter, Lin Li might just create something simr to the Supreme Council. At that time, they would no longer be able to pin their hopes on Lin Li. After all, transforming an old system was far more difficult than establishing a brand-new one.

    At this moment, the high priest who was seated at the side and waiting for Lin Li to bow down and apologize to him under the pressure of the Supreme Council instantly sulked. <i>This damned rascal has actually be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council! This is the most incredible news I have ever heard in my life!</i>

    Since Lin Li had already be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, how could he still expect Lin Li to bow down and apologize to him under the pressure of the Supreme Council? Although High Priest Poer was not a member of the Supreme Council, he knew that the arbitrators were the highest leaders of the Supreme Council. Hence, he could forget about his ns.

    ¡°Haha, congrattions! Felic, I¡¯ve long said that your talent and strength are far beyond the mere position of the president of a Guild of Magic. If you¡¯re willing to join the Darkness Shrine, I can let you take over after me as the high priest. Unfortunately, you¡¯re not interested,¡± said Sendros, who happened toe downstairs at this moment. When he heard that Lin Li had be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, he could only sigh with some regret.

    In fact, Sendros had been wanting to poach Lin Li and convince him to join the Darkness Shrine since a long time ago. Unfortunately, the Supreme Council had beat him to it, and first made Lin Li a member of the Supreme Council before promoting him to deputy chairman, and eventually an arbitrator.

    Lin Li could only smile bitterly when he heard Sendros¡¯ words. Although being the fourth arbitrator sounded nice, the three arbitrators had already made it clear that they were just like repairmen who had to fix the numerous ws in the Supreme Council. It was not an easy job at all.

    Lin Li did not respond to Herza, nor did he know how to respond. At this time, he happened to see High Priest Poer, who was seated behind them. Hence, he said, ¡°High Priest Poer, I¡¯m really sorry, but I didn¡¯t notice you just now. Is there a reason you¡¯re here?¡±

    At this moment, High Priest Poer already felt like a clown, and was hoping that everyone wouldn¡¯t notice him, but he didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to actually shift the topic of the conversation and put the attention on him. He immediately looked a little awkward before forcing a smile, and saying, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s such a coincidence, we meet again. I¡¯m here to apany Councilor Herza so that I can arrange a weing ceremony as well as a ce to rest for the Supreme Council¡¯s envoy after he is done with errands.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Lin Li said with a nod. He then turned around, and said to Herza, ¡°Master Herza, let¡¯s talk about other thingster, don¡¯t keep the host waiting for too long. I think you¡¯d better attend the weing ceremony with High Priest Poer and have your amodations settled beforeing back to discuss this with me.¡±

    ¡°Um, okay.¡± Herza still didn¡¯t know what was going on between Lin Li and High Priest Poer, so he didn¡¯t think much about anything else. With an apologetic expression, he turned around and said, ¡°High Priest Poer, sorry to have let you wait for a long time. Let¡¯s go and finish going through the motions now.¡±

    ¡°Alright, pleasee with me,¡± High Priest Poer said. He was just thinking of leaving asap, and as soon as he heard Herza¡¯s words, he nodded his head in agreement.

    The news that Lin Li had be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council could be considered rather sensational, and once the news were announced, many of the people who were at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration would probably seem dismayed. However, due to Lin Li¡¯s request, the few people who were aware of it did not spread the news. However, Sendros told Englos about it, causing thetter to pound his chest in chagrin because it was toote for him to take action. In the Darkness Shrine, Lin Li was regarded as the Darkness Incarnate, and he was likewise treated as the Son of The Holy Light by the Brilliance Shrine, which had thought of forging connections with Lin Li before.

    As for High Priest Poer, he felt extremely embarrassed even though no one saw his intentions at that time. He naturally wouldn¡¯t go round spreading the news. Besides, in his opinion, bing the fourth arbitrator was definitely a matter worth rejoicing for Lin Li. Hence, he felt that there was no need for him to publicize for his enemy.

    As such, Lin Li did not get disturbed after that matter. Otherwise, he would have been overwrought and overwhelmed if he had to receive visits from all factions. However, visiting the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li had nothing special to do, and thus thought about the world in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle. A long time had passed, and he wondered if <i>The Star</i> in that world had lost track of the Immortal King.

    Anyway, there was nothing more for him to do here anymore. He believed that no one from the Gilded Kingdom would dare to touch <i>The Star</i> anymore after suffering such a huge loss. Hence, after informing Sendros and Englos who often came to discuss pharmaceutics, he broke through the space, and returned to the Sky Castle that was far away in the Breezy ins.

    After returning to the Sky Castle, Lin Li first checked the progress of the Sky Castle¡¯s transformation, and then charged into the inverted tower. He passed through the gate of the Meditation Land, and once again arrived in the world of that Dark Age that Geresco had created.

    When Lin Li appeared, he was still in the pilothouse of <i>The Star</i>, and he could see all the records of <i>The Star</i>¡®s voyage during his absence through the crystal ball there. Seeing the blurry figure of the Immortal King in the recorded scene from a few days ago, Lin Li was relieved that <i>The Star</i> had not lost track of the Immortal King, and the mystery would eventually be revealed. Otherwise, Lin Li would have had no idea how to search for clues in the vast ocean.

    He continued to sail on <i>The Star</i> for two days, and just when Lin Li thought he was going to continue feeling bored, he suddenly felt a very terrifying magical wave which contained a peculiar death aura in front of him. It was as if there was a hint of life in it, and it was precisely the magical wave that was unique to the Immortal King.

    After sensing the abnormal situation, Lin Li immediately drove <i>The Star</i> forward at full speed, thus maximizing the scope of the crystal ball. Finally, the picture of a small ind was quickly erged. The figure floating above the ind was none other than the Immortal King.

    It was a barren ind which actually had arge area, but it was covered with short greenery. Actually, there were tens of millions of such inds in the Endless Ocean, and there was nothing strange about it at all. However, the Immortal King stopped in the sky above the ind, and terrifying mana fluctuations that emanated from it left Lin Li feeling curious.

    While Lin Li was making guesses, the Immortal King hovering above the ind finally made a move. The Immortal King reached out and pointed at the ind, only to see the massive mana surging into the middle of the ind. Immediately afterwards, a tower about 10 meters tall quickly condensed in the center of the ind.

    Upon sight of this scene, Lin Li, who was standing in front of the crystal ball, was really astonished. Although he knew that the strength of the Immortal King was probably very close to that of a true deity, this means of creating things out of thin air still left Lin Li in shock. Although Sanctuary powerhouses could create their own Domain World and even life, it was apletely different concept from creating things in Anril.

    It was just like how one was free to imagine whatever, but they would have to be subjected to the rules of reality once they returned to reality. Everything created in one¡¯s Domain World was akin to one¡¯s imagination, while creating things in the real world was really a method of creation of something out of nothing.

    After the astonishment, Lin Li also made another discovery: the tower created out of thin air by the Immortal King was actually very simr in shape to the tower on the lone ind that he found sailing in the outside world. The only difference was that there was a Void Spirit Mageweath engraved on the tower outside.

    However, seeing that the Immortal King hadn¡¯t left after creating the tower, Lin Li had a hunch that the Immortal King would do something again.

    Indeed, just a few momentster, the Immortal King once again made a move, and hurriedly created a few magic seals. The mana condensed under his maniption entangled the high tower that appeared out of nowhere. Each portion of mana would leave aplex mageweath or runes on the tower after it touched thetter.

    In a short while, the appearance of the tower hadpletely changed, and it looked extremely mysterious under the wrapping of the mageweath and the runes. After looking at it, Lin Li finally saw that the runes on the exterior of the tower were made up of the Divine Smith Void Spirit Mageweath that he couldn¡¯t understand.

    Lin Li had been puzzled at first, and wondered what kind of person would create such a tower with Divine Smith mageweaths on the lone ind on the Endless Ocean. Now, he finally understood that it was all done by the Immortal King, who was probably the only one in Anril who had such an ability.

    However, that left Lin Li with some doubts. What was the Immortal King trying to do by building such a tower and adding Divine Smith Void Spirit Mageweaths to it?

    Before Lin Li could dwell on that issue any further, the Immortal King, who had alreadypleted the Void Spirit Mageweath, darted out in another direction again like a bolt of lightning.

 Chapter 1136 - Empty Sea Area

    <h4>Chapter 1136: Empty Sea Area</h4>

    Lin Li subconsciously wanted <i>The Star</i> to catch up immediately, but after the Void Spirit Mageweath was activated, there were changes on the ind which caused him to pause for a moment. With the huge amount of mana gathering on the ind, the barren ind seemed to be filled with gas as it suddenly started growing rapidly, turning green and lush in front of him. At the same time, the beings on the ind also began to go through growth spurts under the catalysis of the mana. It was as if millions of years passed instantly as the creatures began growing rapidly.

    In just a few hours, the ind had been covered by a dense forest, and the creatures had also mutated into strong and powerful magical beasts. In the process, magical beasts from other areas were constantly being attracted over too, and among them was the Nine-headed Manticore that Lin Li had personally killed.

    Of course, at this point, the Nine-headed Manticore was left with only one head, and thus could be considered an extremely ordinary manticore. After dashing onto the ind, the manticore immediately began fighting the magical beasts on the ind and charging towards the center. At the same time, the other magical beasts were also surging towards the tower, their eyes filled with an incredible desire. It was as if there was something in the tower that was attracting them, and they were even willing to kill their own kind in order to vie for the opportunity to get closer to the tower.

    As soon as the Manticore reached the tower, its second head began to grow, and it fought with the other magical beasts even more intensely for the chance to enter the tower. After all, the Manticore carried the bloodline of a prehistoric magical beast. After a tough battle, it finally shot into the high tower, and the gates shut tightly.

    After seeing this, Lin Li did not stay behind any longer, and instead elerated <i>The Star</i> to follow the Immortal King closely. However, to Lin Li¡¯s surprise, the Immortal King did not just build that one tower. During his flight, he changed his direction, and left the same magic tower on six other inds.

    While following the trail of the Immortal King, Lin Li annotated the six inds that had the tower on the nautical map in order to explore them after he returned to the outside world.

    The Immortal King built a total of seven towers in the Endless Ocean before he finally stopped changing directions, and flew straight ahead in one direction. Upon sight of that, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel ted. It seemed that it was finally time for the answer to be revealed.

    However, Lin Li maneuvered <i>The Star</i> to make it follow the Immortal King for two consecutive days, only to lose track of the Immortal King in the space above an ice-covered ind that should have been located to the north of Four Seasons Ind.

    Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t find the Immortal King most of the time during his previous pursuit too, the Immortal King¡¯s unique aura gave him a very clear guidance. However, the Immortal King had not only now vanished, even the special aura had disappeared without a trace.

    <i>Seems like there¡¯s something very wrong with this ind!</i> Lin Li did not recklessly dash towards the ind, and instead began exploring the area around the ind by maneuvering <i>The Star</i>. He finally realized the ind had arge surface area. Although he didn¡¯t know if it could bepared to Four Seasons Ind, he reckoned that it should be considered a rare fairlyrge ind in the Endless Ocean.

    However, the fact that he couldn¡¯t find out any information about it from the Gilded Kingdom made Lin Li bewildered. Besides, when he stopped and looked at the nautical information of the Gilded Kingdom, he found that the existence of this ind was not recorded on any maps.

    In fact, even the small inds which the Immortal King had created Magic Towers on simrly weren¡¯t annotated on the maps. However, those inds were rtively remote and small, so even if they were not recorded, Lin Li didn¡¯t find it too strange. However, the current ind was different. Even if it was of no value, the Gilded Kingdom shouldn¡¯t have ignored it.

    The Immortal King¡¯s trail disappeared, and Lin Li had no way to continue tracking him. However, he felt that the Immortal King¡¯s disappearance should be rted to this ind. He didn¡¯tnd on the ind to explore, because, after all, he couldn¡¯t leave the Gilded Kingdom for too long. Who knew how much time the exploration would take? Moreover, he also nned to go back to the Gilded Kingdom, and find out more about the ind.

    Hence, Lin Li sailed further away from the ind, and when he returned to the pilothouse, he returned to Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land through the Teleportation Portal there.

    After walking out of the inverted tower, Lin Li thought for a moment. If he could find out about the ind from the Gilded Kingdom, he would probably need more manpower to explore the ind.

    When they went to the Gilded Kingdom, the team consisted only of Lin Li and the group of sailors he had recruited, as well as the mages who were about to be trained. He didn¡¯t bring his Undead servants at all. If the two Undead servants had been on <i>The Star</i> when Dno and his men had raided it, Dno probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to seize <i>The Star</i> even if he had brought many subordinates with him.

    Therefore, when Lin Li returned to the Gilded Kingdom this time, he called the two Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, along. On the other hand, Connoris and Angno who had initially been responsible for keeping an eye on the modification of the Sky Castle had alreadypleted their respective duties, and thus they were also brought over by Lin Li.

    As for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mage legion, Lin Li did not intend to bring them over this time, and decided to wait until he found out more about the situation on the ind before contemting if he should bring them. Anyway, with his current ability, it wouldn¡¯t take him much effort to break through the space and bring the mages along.

    After the two Undead servants, Connoris, and Angno arrived, Lin Li waved his hand to open a spatial rift, and stepped into it with the four of them. By the time they stepped out of the rift, they were already in the embassy room that the Gilded Kingdom had arranged for the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li made some arrangements for the four of them, and soon a servant came over to report that Sendros and Englos hade to visit. Although the two of them regretted not getting to cozy up to Lin Li and building connections with him, they had learned lots of pharmaceutical knowledge from Lin Li. Hence, after detecting the abnormal waves in the space, they hurriedly rushed over eagerly.

    However, upon meeting them, Lin Li discovered that three of them had arrived, and the one who followed Archbishop Englos was Prince Jeremiah from the Ledin Kingdom. Although there was some unpleasant conflict between him and Prince Jeremiah, Lin Li wouldpromise as long as Jeremiah didn¡¯t harm his interests.

    Besides, when Lin Li returned, he was considering how to inquire about the ind in the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was upset because of Dno, and he was almost certain that they would definitely give him lots of excuses if he sent his subordinates to find out some information from them.

    Hence, Lin Li decided that he couldn¡¯t send his people to find out about the ind, and that it would be better to get someone from another force to do the talking. Englos and Sendros had extraordinary status, and they represented the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, respectively. Hence, they were likewise not suitable candidates for finding out information for him. Besides, the inquirer could not be too close to the Tower of Dusk, so he naturally didn¡¯t have to consider the members of the forces in the Breezy ins.

    When he saw Prince Jeremiah who was with Englos, Lin Li finally found his candidate. Given Prince Jeremiah¡¯s identity and lofty character, others would definitely not think that he had an ulterior motive for asking the Gilded Kingdom about the ind. They would simply think that he was just curious.

    However, Lin Li could not directly leave the matter to Jeremiah to handle, because if his agenda was too obvious, it would certainly still cause others to have suspicions. In particr, a noble like Jeremiah might get set up by others before he could even get any information.

    Hence, after chatting with Englos and Sendros for a while, Lin Li gradually shifted the topic from pharmaceutics to sailing. They also talked about sea specialties and herbs. He even took out the nautical information that he had cheated the Gilded Kingdom out of.

    Pointing to a nautical map, Lin Li talked about the various precious herbs he found growing in the area of the Endless Ocean during his journey. They were extremely enticing to Englos and Sendros. Although Prince Jeremiah was not very interested in pharmacy, he was very concerned about the value of those herbs. When Lin Li mentioned some herb, he would often ask how much it could be sold for on the maind.

    ¡°However, this area is really odd,¡± Lin Li said, pointing at a certain area on the nautical map, which happened to be where the ice ind was. However, it was nk on the map. Or rather, it was just illustrated as part of the Endless Ocean.

    Prince Jeremiah was thinking about sending a fleet of ships to obtain some precious resources from the sea to sell. When he heard Lin Li¡¯s sudden remark, he looked at the map, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s so odd about it? Isn¡¯t it just an empty sea?¡±

    Lin Li shook his head slightly, and patiently exined, ¡°Look at the oceanic information annotated on this map. If this information is urate, there should be something that exists in this ocean here. However, given the advanced level of nautical information in the Gilded Kingdom, there is no reasonable exnation for such a mistake to ur.¡±

    ¡°Master Felic, do you mean that they¡¯re hiding something here?¡± Jeremiah knew nothing about sailing in the sea. However, his imagination was quite rich, and immediately wondered if the Gilded Kingdom had some great secret.

    ¡°This nautical map is the very same one that is used by the military of the Gilded Kingdom, it seems that they were intentionally downying the significance of this sea region. The subsequent maps were also based on this one. I¡¯m afraid that even the ordinary people of the Gilded Kingdom are unlikely to know what¡¯s actually there now. Maybe only the senior-level executives of the Gilded Kingdom know the truth.¡± After saying that, Lin Li stopped dwelling on the matter of the sea region. Instead, he shifted the topic back to the herbal and mineral resources of the Endless Ocean.

    However, although Lin Li did not mention it, Jeremiah did not stop feeling curious, and he suddenly said, ¡°This matter is very simple. After arriving here, I got to know a lot of nobles in the Gilded Kingdom. I¡¯ll ask them to inquire about it. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to find out something as long as it isn¡¯t a core secret of the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright. If you find out anything, I can give you a copy of this nautical map, Prince Jeremiah.¡± Lin Li promised to do Jeremiah a favor nonchntly.

    As soon as he heard that, Prince Jeremiah¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. If he wanted to set up a fleet, having a copy of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s military nautical map would definitely bring them greater benefits and convenience. Moreover, it would also be very helpful for the future development of the Ledin Kingdom and its expansion to the sea. He thought that he would definitely be praised by the king.

    In the subsequent conversation, Lin Li never mentioned the matter of that area in the sea again, but Jeremiah already bore it in mind. As for the sly old foxes Englos and Sendros, they could actually already tell that Lin Li was setting Prince Jeremiah up, but none of them revealed it. Instead, they cooperated with Lin Li to continue discussing the issues regarding pharmaceutics.

    ¡°Oh, right. Excuse me, I have a gathering to attend with some new friends I met, and it¡¯s almost time, so I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Prince Jeremiah was already in a daze when he was listening to the discussion about pharmaceutics. His obsession with finding out more about that sea area grew more and more intense, and he couldn¡¯t help but take his leave.

    After leaving the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, Jeremiah gave it some thought, and decided to head straight to the venue of the gathering with a few nobles and princes of the Gilded Kingdom, which he originally wanted to pass on. After all, the mostplete and detailed nautical map would be useful to the kingdom and individuals, so Prince Jeremiah decided to go to those people and inquire about it from them.

    When he arrived at the gathering ce, Jeremiah knew that he definitely couldn¡¯t ask them about the sea immediately. After socializing for a while, he decided to take the opportunity when a nobleman was introducing the glory of the Gilded Kingdom. He suddenly asked, ¡°Hey, why didn¡¯t you mention the sea area to the north of Four Seasons Ind? Is there nothing interesting in that sea?¡±

    ¡°The sea area to the north of Four Seasons Ind?¡± A nobleman of the Gilded Kingdom looked at Jeremiah like he was an idiot instead of answering his question immediately.

 Chapter 1137 - Ominous Land

    <h4>Chapter 1137: Ominous Land</h4>

    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Jeremiah asked, bewildered by the way they were staring at him. If the sea area was some core secret of the Gilded Kingdom or an area that concerned the interests of the Gilded Kingdom, they ought to be looking at him with their guard up, or even have some hostility in their gazes. However, they were looking at Jeremiah with derision, making him feel like an idiot.

    The nobleman of the Gilded Kingdom whom Jeremiah posed that question to also seemed to feel that his behavior was a bit inappropriate, and quickly restored his usual attitude. He said with some mysteriousness, ¡°Prince Jeremiah, I think it¡¯d be better for you not to know about it. I¡¯ll head over now and introduce a few friends to youter.¡±

    Looking at the nobleman who left with the wine ss, Jeremiah felt that he seemed to be evading the question, which piqued his curiosity further. The nobleman¡¯s behavior made him feel that there was something that he couldn¡¯t say, and that he wasn¡¯t hiding it because he wanted to. Hence, what exactly was there in that sea that the people of the Gilded Kingdom were unwilling to mention?

    Of course, Jeremiah would not just give up like that. After the nobleman of the Gilded Kingdom left, he looked at the others present at the gathering, constantly recalling the identities of the ones whom he had just met recently. When he found one whose status seemed simr to that of the nobleman who had just left, he would go up and chat with them before eventually shifting the topic to the sea.

    In normal circumstances, Jeremiah¡¯s identity as the prince of the Ledin Kingdom would make him the limelight of the gathering as everyone would be eager to talk to him more. However, Jeremiah waspletely neglected this time, and whenever he tried to find out about the sea area, the people he asked would find an excuse to leave. Those who were nice would just remind him not to be curious about that part of the sea.

    Jeremiah was on the verge of losing his mind in the face of such a situation. Seeing that there was nothing he could find out during the gathering, he decided to inform the host that he would be taking his leave as he intended to look for someone of a higher status to inquire.

    The host of this gathering was Pedro, the son of Jefferson, the minister of maritime affairs of the Gilded Kingdom who also held an important position in the First Fleet¡ªthe kingdom¡¯s ace fleet. Although his status was inferior to Cantory¡¯s, he was also said to be the best among the younger generation.

    ¡°Prince Jeremiah, why do you want to leave so early? Did someone offend you? I was nning to introduce a few friends to you.¡± Upon hearing Prince Jeremiah bidding goodbye, Pedro was puzzled, and he thought that a mindless person had offended his distinguished guest.

    Jeremiah had asked Pedro about the sea area just now, but he, too, only gave him a reminder. Upon hearing Pedro¡¯s answer, Jeremiah shook his head, and said, ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing much, but whenever I ask about that part of the sea, everyone starts avoiding me like I¡¯m the gue. That makes me really curious. You guys know about it, but I don¡¯t, so wouldn¡¯t that make me a fool? If you were in my ce, what would you think? I¡¯m not in the mood to continue attending the gathering, so I came to tell you about it in advance lest the ambiance is affected.¡±

    Of course, Jeremiah¡¯s statement was also a little exaggerated; in fact, not all the nobles at the gathering knew about the sea region that he was asking about. Besides, even if they knew about it, it didn¡¯t mean that they were obliged to answer. Jeremiah was more or less being unreasonable.

    However, after hearing Jeremiah¡¯s exnation, Pedro didn¡¯t think much about it, and he looked a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a long time, he said, ¡°Prince Jeremiah, since you want to know, let¡¯s go over. However, before telling you about it, I have to give you a kind reminder. I hope that you will stop being curious after this.¡±

    ¡°Haha, what a joke, I just don¡¯t want to be here. I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s being kept in the dark. Even if there¡¯s some amazing treasure in that sea, I¡¯d need a boat to go over.¡± Seeing that Pedro was finally nning to tell him the answer, Jeremiah¡¯s mood seemed to have gotten better too. He joked while walking towards a corner in the hall.

    Besides, Jeremiah was telling the truth too. Given the Ledin Kingdom¡¯s standards in sailing, it was already quite a difficult task for them to go to the Gilded Kingdom to attend the celebration without any problems, what more to explore the sea.

    The two of them went to a somewhat quiet ce where Pedro took a sip of red wine, and frowned a little before saying in a deep voice, ¡°Shocking treasure? Prince Jeremiah, I have to say that your imagination is too rich. Unfortunately, there are no treasures there. The reason that they are reluctant to mention that sea area is not that they¡¯re trying to hide anything from you, but because that area is really unknown for us.¡±

    ¡°Unknown?¡± That indeed exceeded Jeremiah¡¯s expectation. He had originally thought that if it was not the core secret of the Gilded Kingdom, it should be a ce that could bring about great benefits for the kingdom, or perhaps a gathering ce of some terrifying marine magical beasts.

    However, the people of the Gilded Kingdom actually called it thend of the unknown. Apart from the great dangers that were lurking there, it also meant that it was a ce full of unknowns. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have to give him a vague description. They could instead just state clearly what kind of dangers and marine magical beasts there were.

    ¡°Yes, Prince Jeremiah, are you still interested in listening?¡± Pedro swirled the red wine in his ss and looked at Jeremiah smilingly.

    Honestly, Jeremiah would really have lost interest in listening in normal circumstances because there was arge bunch of unknownnds in Anril. However, although Jeremiah lost interest in the so-called unknownnd, he was very interested in the nautical map of the Gilded Kingdom that Lin Li had. Hence, even if he wasn¡¯t very interested, he still wanted to get a clear idea of it.

    ¡°Of course, I have nothing else to do anyway. Just tell me what¡¯s going on with this unknownnd,¡± said Jeremiah as he sat down on the chair next to him, looking like he was all ears. It was as if he was nning to continue listening.

    Seeing that Jeremiah was insistent on listening further, Pedro shrugged his shoulders helplessly, and sat down on the chair opposite him. He then ced the ss on the table, and said, ¡°Actually, don¡¯t me them for refusing to tell you about it, because they only know that it¡¯s and of unknowns and are unsure of the details. I heard it from my father too. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell you much. Strictly speaking, the unknownnd does not refer to that sea, but to an ind in that sea.¡±

    ¡°An ind?¡± Jeremiah could remember very clearly that the sea area was extremelyrge as annotated on the mountain. Therge sea area became a forbiddennd because of an ind. It seemed that it was not a false im.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an ind that has been cursed, and it used to be the territory of the Gilded Kingdom too. Although it isn¡¯t as vast as Four Seasons Ind, it is also one of thergest inds owned by the kingdom. Due to its location in the north, the ind¡¯s environment is rtively harsh, and it was used as a ce of exile for the kingdom¡¯s convicts in the beginning.¡± Pedro was rather slow in his speech, and it seemed as if he was trying to recall the relevant information along the way, perhaps because it had been a long time since anyone mentioned that ind.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom was almost the only ce with purend in Anril, especially during the Dark Age, the Gilded Kingdom was alsoposed of human beings who were inherently full of desires. Naturally, there would be vitors ofws; hence, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the Gilded Kingdom would have such a ce.

    Jeremiah did not say anything else, and simply continued listening to Pedro¡¯s ount quietly. Of course, he was no longer thinking about treasures, and he merely wanted to remember every single word that Pedro said so that he could report to Lin Li.

    Pedro didn¡¯t intend to tell Jeremiah a long story, either. After a brief introduction of the ind, he soon got to the main topic. ¡°Those sinners mined minerals for the kingdom on the ind in order to atone for their sins, but it is said that some sinners discovered some magical items that contained powerful mana by chance just a few thousand years ago, probably during the so-called Dark Age of Anril.¡±

    ¡°The news soon spread in the kingdom, but no one took it seriously at first, as they all thought that the sinners were just getting up to some tricks. However, some adventurers from our kingdom and other ces like Anril or the depths of the sea swarmed towards the ind.¡±

    Although Jeremiah was listening attentively, he actually felt extremely bored. However, when he heard Pedro say that they had found some powerful magical items on the ind, he immediately perked up again, and hurriedly asked, ¡°Really? Are there some ancient ruins or relics there?¡±

    Fortunately, Jeremiah had been pretending to be attentive at first, and his sudden excitement did not arouse Pedro¡¯s suspicion. Pedro took a sip of wine slowly before continuing, ¡°Those people believed that there were Titan relics on that ind, and were very likely to havee from the prehistoric times. Hence, that deste ind suddenly became livelier, and countless ships headed in the direction of that ind in that period of time.¡±

    ¡°What about the Gilded Kingdom? Did you just let them go to that ind to explore?¡± Jeremiah was a little anxious for the Gilded Kingdom, and naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about how the Ominous Land became cursed.

    ¡°Hah, do you think those people were able to get anything on the ind?¡± Pedro smiled, seemingly finding their fervor ridiculous. ¡°No, they couldn¡¯t get anything, and ever since that news was released, everyone who went on the ind ended up dying regardless of the size of their groups and their strength.¡±

    ¡°Well, ancient ruins are not just for anyone to explore. Back then, I personally went to explore the Sky Castle of the Immortal King, and I really had a close shave with death.¡± Jeremiah was the most proud of his own experience of exploring the Sky Castle. Although he yed an unimportant role during the exploration, he made it to the end, after all, and evenpleted the task to bring the High Elven queen¡¯s crown back.

    However, Jeremiah¡¯s bragging made Pedro immediately look interested as he said, ¡°It turns out you¡¯ve taken part in the exploration of the Sky Castle. I know that the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle is said to be the most powerful of the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves. Why don¡¯t you tell me about your experience of exploring the Sky Castle?¡±

    Although Jeremiah was eager to show off, he knew what was more important to him, so he waved his hand, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic. I¡¯ll tell you about thister, you¡¯d better continue talking about that Ominous Land.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Pedro nodded helplessly, and drank the rest of the wine in his ss before continuing, ¡°They all died, and even several groups of adventurers who were famous in the Gilded Kingdom at that time did not escape the fate of dying on that ind. The matter escted, and the kingdom had to intervene. Hence, one of the kingdom¡¯s fleets entered the sea, and sent tens of thousands of soldiers to that ind. However, when those soldiersnded on the ind, a disaster suddenly struck.¡±

    Hearing Pedro¡¯s words, Jeremiah could not help but tense up, vaguely feeling that the reason for the Ominous Land¡¯s name was rted to this disaster. However, what kind of disaster would make that area a forbiddennd known as an Ominous Land for thousands of years? He really couldn¡¯t imagine it.

    ¡°It was an extremely terrifying blizzard that descended on that ind without warning, and the kingdom¡¯s fleet didn¡¯t have enough time to react. The area within a radius of hundreds of kilometers immediately became an icynd. All the battleships were frozen in the sea before they could retreat, and the tens of thousands of soldiers who went on the ind turned into ice sculptures in an instant.¡± At this point, Pedro¡¯s voice was no longer frivolous, but he did not feel much about it, either. After all, the legend dated back to a long time ago.

 Chapter 1138 - Strange Positioning

    <h4>Chapter 1138: Strange Positioning</h4>

    ¡°Just a blizzard?¡± Jeremiah did not expect the disaster Pedro was talking about to be a blizzard. A natural disaster like a blizzard might be very terrifying for ordinary people, but Legendary powerhouses would be able to ovee it.

    However, Jeremiah thought about what Pedro just said, and he soon realized what the problem was. The ones who went on the ind belonged to the First Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and given the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s power, their fleet definitely had plenty of Legendary powerhouses. If even the Legendary powerhouses were instantly frozen, a blizzard would indeed be considered a terrifying disaster.

    Indeed, after hearing Jeremiah¡¯s question, Pedro didn¡¯t lose his temper, but he looked at him with contempt as if to say, ¡°What do you know?¡± He continued, ¡°The Gilded Kingdom managed to remain independent in the Endless Ocean in the Dark Age. Apart from the bnce between the High Elves and the sea race, the kingdom¡¯s strength was also very important. Without it, it would have been destroyed by the sea race or the High Elves. The naval troops that went to the ind could be considered the kingdom¡¯s ace fleet, and consisted of nearly 100 Legendary powerhouses. Even the weakest one had strength above level-15. There wasn¡¯t ack of Legendary powerhouses among themanders, either. Their strength was far from what the other fleets couldpare to.¡±

    ¡°There were so many powerhouses, did no one escape?¡± Jeremiah did not believe Pedro entirely. After all, Pedro¡¯s information was from thousands of years ago, and could be considered a myth or a legend. <i>However, I¡¯m certain that there are Legendary powerhouses in the fleet.</i>

    ¡°Yes...¡± Pedro nodded, and seemed to find it incredible. He frowned, and said, ¡°None of the many powerhouses managed to survive that disaster which caused the fleet to lose contact with the kingdom. When the kingdom sent people to check again, they saw a hellish scene. All the battleships were frozen, and the soldiers with various expressions on their faces were standing frozen on the decks. After learning of the situation, the kingdom immediately began to research on some rescue measures, but when the rescue fleet entered that sea again, they found that everything had disappeared without a trace, even the ind covered with ice had vanished.¡±

    ¡°Uh, so everything was gone?¡± Jeremiah asked, feeling a little amused at this point. It sounded so dire, but in the end, there was nothing left, and all evidence had disappeared. <i>Could the cursed ind not be real?</i>

    Pedro could tell that Jeremiah was filled with some suspicion. In fact, even many of the Gilded Kingdom doubted the authenticity of this legend. However, Pedro became his father¡¯s assistant, and began to handle the maritime affairs of the kingdom. That was the only reason he could know more about things that others didn¡¯t. Hence, he said to Jeremiah, ¡°In fact, the kingdom also obtained plenty of information afterwards. Some sea merchants and fishermen reported that the cursed ind was once seen in that sea. However, ording to what they said, the kingdom would miss it whenever they sent someone to check. Hence, in the end, the kingdom had to designate the sea as a restricted area, and even removed the ind from the map.¡±

    Hearing the myths and legends, Jeremiah could not distinguish the truth, but it fortunately had nothing much to do with him. He just had to bear them in mind and ry them to Lin Li so as to obtain the precious sea maps.

    After chatting with Pedro for a while, Jeremiah could not sit still any longer, as he was afraid that he would forget what he had just memorized. Hence, he once again asked Pedro to leave. At this moment, it happened to be the end of the gathering too, so Pedro did not make him stay any longer. However, when sending Jeremiah away, Pedro gave him a few more reminders, and told him not to have the slightest curiosity about the Ominous Land again.

    Although it was already close to midnight by the time he left the gathering, Jeremiah nheless rushed to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. He was being so sneaky that he was almost mistaken as a thief.

    After getting the report from his men, Lin Li paused his meditation, and got someone to bring Jeremiah to a room. He actually did not expect Jeremiah to be that efficient in handling that matter¡ªthere were actually results by midnight even though he had only put him to the task in the afternoon. <i>It seems this kid is not useless.</i>

    After seeing Lin Li, Jeremiah immediately ryed the information that he had found out with great excitement. He almost repeated everything Pedro said wholesale. Of course, he also gave himself lots of credit during the process, and praised his ingenuity for being able to find out the information.

    After listening to Jeremiah¡¯s ry, Lin Li could not help but fall into deep thought as he could tell from the information that the ind was definitely not simple. A single blizzard actually froze an entire fleet immediately, and none of the hundreds of Legendary powerhouses managed to escape. That was probably something that even an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse was not capable of.

    In particr, what caught Lin Li¡¯s attention was not those matters, but the fact that someone had discovered powerful magical objects. He reckoned that those people must have also destroyed something on the ind while retrieving the items, which triggered the shocking changes. Hence, could everything that had happened on that ind be rted to the Immortal King? Lin Li recalled the scene that he had seen in his previous life, and felt that it seemed that he was supposed to explore it himself.

    Lin Li snapped out of his contemtion, and saw that Jeremiah was staring straight at him, after which he immediately remembered the benefit he had promised to give Jeremiah. He wouldn¡¯t go back on his word, since it was just a map. Hence, he took out the scroll from the Ring of Endless Storm, and handed it to Jeremiah. ¡°Okay, Prince Jeremiah, thank you so much. This is the map for you.¡±

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re being too polite. It¡¯s my honor to be able to help you. There¡¯s no need to thank me. I shall ept this map, then,¡± Jeremiah said with glistening eyes when he saw the map in Lin Li¡¯s hands. Although he was speaking politely, he was quick to take the scroll.

    Of course, for Jeremiah, the gains far exceeded just a map. More importantly, he also managed to be friends with Lin Li, the young Sanctuary powerhouse. When he returned from the Sky Castle, he got scolded by the king of the Ledin Kingdom for offending Lin Li. Besides, he had not only obtained a precious map this time, he even managed to get closer to Lin Li. He reckoned that he would be awarded great credit after he returned this time.

    After getting the maps, Jeremiah enthusiastically asked if there was anything else he could help Lin Li with. Only after hearing Lin Li say no did he leave the embassy of the Tower of Dusk reluctantly.

    When Jeremiah left, Lin Li thought about it for a while before waving his hand to open up a spatial rift and stepping into it. He shuttled through the spatial rift, and had already returned to <i>The Star</i>, which was docked in Helena Port. Afterwards, he sent his subordinates again to get ck-beard Julio and his brother Jack toe back and see him.

    What Jeremiah had inquired about should be considered the official version of information from the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, Lin Li intended to ask Julio and Jack about it, and find out what kind of knowledge they had about that so-called Ominous Land.

    ¡°Captain, do you have any orders for us?¡± Julio asked after saluting Lin Li. At this point, it was already midnight. Although sleep was no longer mandatory for those above the Legendary-level, he felt that it was still an urgent matter since he was summoned at this time.

    Lin Li gestured for the two toe forward, and then pointed at the Ominous Land annotation on a sea map on the table that had already been opened. He said, ¡°Do you guys know anything about this sea?¡±

    Julio and Jack took two steps forward towards the table, but when they saw the location that Lin Li pointed at, Julio was the first to react. He scrutinized the map, and then said in an anxious tone, ¡°Yes, this is known as an Ominous Land of the Gilded Kingdom. There¡¯s a cursed ind in the sea, and a powerful fleet of the Gilded Kingdom was once destroyed there.¡±

    Hearing Julio¡¯s answer, Lin Li was a little surprised at first, but after thinking about it, he felt that there was nothing strange about it. Julio was an experienced pirate who had been active on the Endless Ocean for many years, and even belonged to a family of pirates who had a rich heritage of more than 1,000 years. Hence, they naturally had plenty of information that ordinary people in the Gilded Kingdom did not.

    ¡°So, what else do you know about this Ominous Land?¡± Lin Li asked.

    ¡°Actually, this area of the sea is precisely the reason we managed to escape from the blockade of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s navy.¡± While Julio was saying that, his expression became unnatural, perhaps because he was feeling a bit scared about the choice he had made back then. However, under such circumstances, they would¡¯ve definitely died if they had fallen into the hands of the navy of the Gilded Kingdom. When they had barged into the cursed sea, they at least had a chance of survival.

    ¡°Have you been to this sea before?¡± Lin Li asked. Julio¡¯s answer had instantly aroused his interest. After all, what Jeremiah had found out was information from thousands of years ago, while Julio had been to that sea before. Hence, he probably knew some different information.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Julio said with a nod, and looked at his brother Jack, both of them looking horrified. They said in a slightly shaky voice, ¡°Besides, we seem to have seen that cursed ind too.¡±

    Immediately afterwards, Julio told Lin Li about the cursed ind that he had seen. What Julio said was basically not much different from what Jeremiah had found out, especially the fact that hundreds of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships were instantly frozen when they were in the vicinity of the ind. That went to show that both parties were talking about the very same ind.

    ¡°So, if you were asked to find that ind now, would you still be able to find it?¡± Lin Li asked, once again gesturing for them to look at the map. After all, although that sea might only take up a small part of the Endless Ocean, the actual area was probably evenrger than the Fn Kingdom. Finding an ind was indeed a tough order.

    In particr, Lin Li remembered what Jeremiah had said when he arrived¡ªthe Gilded Kingdom had wanted to rescue the fleet that was frozen, but failed to find the indter on. Although that didn¡¯t seem convincing, because the Gilded Kingdom had very advanced nautical technology, the environment of the Endless Ocean had always been unpredictable. Hence, it wasn¡¯t strange for the sea to have been affected by something, triggering changes that would make someone get lost.

    Julio hesitated for a while, but he nheless went forward to look carefully at the map while recalling how they had escaped and passed by the ind while calcting the distance in ordance with the speed of the ship. After all, there wasn¡¯t a proper route near that sea, and Julio couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact location of the ind at the time. Hence, he could only make deductions based on the various circumstances.

    Hence, after nearly two hours of calctions, Julio finally managed to pinpoint a location in the sea.

    ¡°If I calcted correctly, the ind should be near this area. There might be some error, but it should not exceed this range,¡± he said while circling out an area.

    However, when Lin Li saw the location pointed out by Julio, he seemed rather doubtful and apprehensive because the location pointed out by Julio was thousands of nautical miles away from the location identified by the Gilded Kingdom which Jeremiah had found out. Logically speaking, the Gilded Kingdom should not have been unaware of where its fleet was buried. However, they allegedly really could not find the ind afterwards.

    <i>What¡¯s going on? Is someone lying? Or is there some unknown mystery?</i> Lin Li could not tell immediately. After all, Jeremiah seemed to have no reason to deceive him, and he reckoned that no one would deliberately mislead Jeremiah.

    <i>It seems that I still have to go and explore it myself!</i> Lin Li knew that there was only so much he could inquire about the ind, and it was unlikely for him to find out more without putting in any more effort. Hence, he decided not to dy any further, and go to the cursed ind to explore further in a bid to see if it was rted to the Immortal King.

    After developing that thought, Lin Li immediately ordered his sailors to get ready to set sail on <i>The Star</i>. Immediately afterwards, he opened the spatial rift once again, and brought the two Undead servants, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, as well as Connoris and Angno to <i>The Star</i> from the embassy.

    While <i>The Star</i> was docked at Helena Port, they had already repaired all the previous damage and rectified the problems discovered during the battle a long time ago. Hence, there was actually nothing much to prepare, especially since Lin Li did not want the news of <i>The Star</i>¡®s departure to spread too quickly. Hence, there was no need for them to disembark and replenish their food and water.

 Chapter 1139 - Another Ship

    <h4>Chapter 1139: Another Ship</h4>

    Julio soon arrived at the pilothouse, and reported to Lin Li that <i>The Star</i> was ready to set sail. He had already guessed where <i>The Star</i> was going. After all, he had just been asked about that sea.

    If he had just stepped on <i>The Star</i>, he would have definitely chosen to leave the ship immediately lest he died along with the destruction of the ship.

    However, after seeing the battle between Lin Li and High Priest Poer, Julio knew that the young Sanctuary powerhouse of the Tower of Dusk was just as powerful as High Priest Poer. He felt that there would be nothing to worry about when going to the cursed ind with such a powerful person.

    In the dark, <i>The Star</i> slowly left Helena Port; the process was silent due to the use of an alchemical power system. It was not until the dawn of the next day that the people at the port discovered that the massive battleship had disappeared from the port overnight without making a single sound.

    Lin Li was no longer concerned about what reaction he would spark among the people in the Gilded Kingdom. At this moment, Lin Li was standing on the deck of <i>The Star</i> with Connoris and the others as they sailed to the north of Four Seasons Ind.

    Almost at the same time, severalrge battleships with pirate gs were sailing quickly against the wind on an abandoned route that was far away from <i>The Star</i>. When Lin Li saw these pirate ships, he was surprised to find that they belonged to the same band of pirates that had fought a battle at sea, with the one in lead being <i>Sea Demon</i> which was saved by the Fifth Fleet at thest moment.

    In the pilothouse of <i>Sea Demon</i>, the three leaders of the band of pirates, the Sea Demon King Om and his brothers Garat and Sobnar, did not seem arrogant or tyrannical at all. Instead, they were all full of respect. There was a thin old man with white hair standing opposite them with his back facing them and looking out of the window of the pilothouse.

    ¡°High Priest, the battleship is now traveling at maximum speed. If nothing goes wrong, we will be able to see that ind after traveling at this speed for about 10 days or so,¡± said the esteemed Sea Demon King Om, who was nodding while reporting to that elder at this moment.

    ¡°Yes, you just have to maneuver the vessel and lead the way so that there will not be any idents,¡± the high priest said while turning around to look at Om and the others. It was High Priest Poer who had suffered a loss because of Lin Li previously.

    Upon hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words, Om frantically bent forward even lower, and respectfully said, ¡°Yes, High Priest, with you three godlike Sanctuary powerhouses, I believe that even if we encountered a nine-headed sea dragon, it still wouldn¡¯t hamper us.¡±

    It turned out that there were two other figures apart from High Priest Poer sitting in the seats that originally belonged to Om and the others in the pilothouse. The one in the leader¡¯s seat was the ck-robed man who had sent the signal to summon the Fifth Fleet. At this moment, he was still wearing a hood with his face covered, just as before. Hence, no one could see his current appearance.

    The one seated in the second seat was the white-haired old man who was none other than Elder Zumar of the Illuminati. When Om reported to High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar frowned slightly, but he did not say anything to intervene. He simply nced at High Priest Poer from time to time, seemingly hesitating to speak.

    Seeing that the other two were not intending to speak, High Priest said to Om and the other two, ¡°Just work on your duties carefully. If youplete this sessfully, I will pardon you on behalf of the kingdom. The three of you and your subordinates will also be given awful status. You guys are aware that the Fifth Fleet is now being rebuilt, so it¡¯s not impossible even if you want to join the fleet. As for the curse on you, Elder Zumar of the Illuminati will also help you break it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for trusting us, High Priest, we will definitely work hard so as not to let you down.¡± Upon hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s promise, Om and his brothers immediately thanked High Priest Poer to express their loyalty enthusiastically. They were almost baring their hearts to him.

    ¡°Enough.¡± High Priest Poer waved his hand in annoyance, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make empty promises, I just want to see the results. If you guys mess up, I reckon you can imagine the consequences even if I don¡¯t tell you!¡±

    Om and his brothers who were initially exhrated immediately broke out in a cold sweat when they heard what High Priest Poer said afterwards. In the face of the Sanctuary powerhouses, the Sea Demon King was still like an ant even though he dominated the seas. The Sanctuary powerhouses could destroy them effortlessly.

    ¡°Yes, High Priest, rest assured that we won¡¯t have the slightest negligence in handling this matter,¡± Om said, resisting the urge to kneel down as they made a promise to High Priest Poer.

    ¡°You are dismissed.¡± High Priest Poer did not say anything more, since he had already promised them the benefits, and even issued threats. He reckoned that the pirates wouldn¡¯t be able to get up to any tricks anymore.

    Om and the other two smiled and saluted continuously after hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words. At the same time, they hastily exited the pilothouse, but as soon as they left, their faces turned sullen altogether.

    Well, most people probably wouldn¡¯t look too happy to hear that they were going to the Ominous Land which had been rumored to be sinister for thousands of years. Even the pirates wouldn¡¯t be entirely fearless. Om and his brothers had heard plenty regarding the legend of the cursed ind.

    However, when faced with three Sanctuary powerhouses, Om and his brothers were like insignificant ants who had no right to say no. They didn¡¯t have to guess it at all. As long as they showed some unwillingness in front of the three Sanctuary powerhouses, they would immediately disappear from this world without a doubt.

    Although in a certain sense, Om and his brothers would definitely gain a lot out of this matter, the pirates would never be able to enjoy glory openly. Once a pirate, forever a pirate. Their future descendants would also have to be hated by everyone.

    As long as the matter waspleted, Om and his pirates would end up with bloodstained hands, but they would also bewful citizens of the Gilded Kingdom. In fact, ording to High Priest Poer¡¯s promise, they would also be allowed to join the kingdom¡¯s navy, which was more glorious than being a pirate.

    However, the benefits always went hand in hand with the risks. In order to gain more, one would have to take a corresponding amount of risk. They had already learned of that truth when they first started being pirates. They didn¡¯t think that High Priest Poer would go back on his word, but they were really unsure if they could bear the risk.

    Although the three Sanctuary powerhouses were presiding over matters here, Om and the others weren¡¯t fools, either. They didn¡¯t think that the three Sanctuary powerhouses would really protect the malicious pirates if they really encountered great danger. They might even be used as cannon fodder against the enemies.

    After racking his brains, Om still couldn¡¯te up with a good solution. After all, he was facing unparalleled Sanctuary powerhouses, and under such circumstances, there was nothing they could do except resign to fate. Perhaps they could only pray that the three Sanctuary powerhouses would not kick them to the curb when they outlived their usefulness.

    While Om and his brothers were feeling conflicted over the mission, High Priest Poer was smiling and discussing with Elder Zumar the details of the mission in the pilothouse of <i>Sea Demon</i>. From the expression of High Priest Poer, it seemed that he was already certain that he wouldplete this mission sessfully.

    However, unlike High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar looked extremely worried, seemingly not too optimistic about this mission. After High Priest Poer¡¯s excited speech, Elder Zumar shook his head, and said in a low voice, ¡°Poer, I don¡¯t think you should be that optimistic. That ind has once destroyed our kingdom¡¯s fleet, after all, which is something that neither you nor I can do. No matter what exactly was on the ind, I have a feeling that this mission will definitely not be easy.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Zumar, you¡¯re being too conscientious. Since the three of us joined forces, there¡¯s nowhere in Anril we can¡¯t go. Rest assured, if there had really been something that we can¡¯t contend with on that ind, the Gilded Kingdom would have long been destroyed by it.¡± High Priest Poer obviously did not take Zumar¡¯s words to heart. Instead, he persuaded Zumar to stop worrying. He continued, ¡°Besides, His Majesty Bradlor was the one who put us to this mission. We¡¯re not just doing it for ourselves, but also for the future of the kingdom. Even if we really encounter any dangers, so what?¡±

    In fact, High Priest Poer¡¯s words did make some sense. In this world, Sanctuary powerhouses were already existences who stood at the peak of the world. Now that the three Sanctuary powerhouses had joined forces, they would have the power to fight even in the face of the gods. There was barely anything in this world that could threaten them.

    Seeing that High Priest Poer had even mentioned the king and the future of the Gilded Kingdom, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t refute, and had no choice but to sigh helplessly. ¡°Okay, put this matter aside for now. I hope that everything will go as well as you wish. However, Poer, can you forgo the grudge that you bear against President Felic? There are really no benefits to that.¡±

    During the battle on Cage Ind back then, the strength that Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk disyed had left a deep impression on Elder Zumar.

    The power of the Sky Castle, which descended through space to the battlefield, could actually cause severe damage to the ancient dragon¡¯s corpse. If it descended to the Gilded Kingdom, it would probably really cause a huge mess there.

    However, Elder Zumar was not scrupulous about the powerful Sky Castle, but Lin Li whose strength seemed to be simr to his.

    Although Elder Zumar hade to the conclusion that Lin Li¡¯s strength could bepared to his after observing Lin Li during the battle on Cage Ind, he somehow had a vague feeling that he would be the one losing if he fought with Lin Li.

    Hence, on the ount of their longtime friendship, Elder Zumar still wanted to remind High Priest Poer not to end up losing an out because of a moment of spite.

    However, in the face of Elder Zumar¡¯s persuasion, High Priest Poer seemed somewhat unimpressed. Although he had suffered a huge loss for no reason when they fought at Helena Port previously, and knew that he was probably no match for Lin Li, not everything could be determined by strength, and even if Lin Li was stronger than him, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be helpless when facing him.

    ¡°Zumar, stay out of the matter between me and Felic. He has himself to me for being too arrogant. He actually destroyed the entire Fifth Fleet over a trivial matter, and made my son take all the me. I will never forgive him for such a thing!¡± High Priest Poer answered resolutely in the face of his old friend¡¯s persuasion. He didn¡¯t hide his hatred for Lin Li.

    In High Priest Poer¡¯s opinion, he ought to be the one to teach his son a lesson even if thetter was truly ipetent. Outsiders would be insulting him if they tried to teach his son a lesson. If he couldn¡¯t even protect his son as a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would be embarrassed.

    Hearing his words, Elder Zumar frowned. On one hand, he did not want to see his old friend suffer, and on the other hand, he did not want this matter to affect the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati¡¯s ns for expansion in the Breezy ins.

    After all, it wasn¡¯t the time for the Gilded Kingdom to go to war with the Breezy ins now. Currently, what they needed was peace, but the Gilded Kingdom definitely needed it more than the Breezy ins, especially since they hadn¡¯t retrieved the legacy on Cage Ind yet. If they went to war prior to this, they would definitely encounter a huge resistance if they wanted to take the legacy of Cage Ind in the future.

    ¡°Poer, the Tower of Dusk has an extraordinary status in the Breezy ins, and almost all the forces of the Breezy ins are now subservient to the Tower of Dusk. The issue between you and President Felic is not just between the two of you. It also concerns the future development ns of the Gilded Kingdom in the Breezy ins.¡± Elder Zumar decided to raise the interests of the kingdom in hopes that High Priest Poer would put aside the grudge for the time being and consider the kingdom¡¯s interests.

 Chapter 1140 - Saint

    <h4>Chapter 1140: Saint</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, High Priest Poer obviously had his own opinion on this matter, and he unconcernedly said, ¡°Zumar, your worries arepletely uncalled-for. Are those forces of the Breezy ins really willing to submit to the Tower of Dusk? The reason that they did is only because no one else can go against Felic. If Felic died, those forces would definitely flock to the Gilded Kingdom immediately.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly. If Felic could be killed easily, there would be no need to make things soplicated. Everything would be much simpler. They could just send the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s troops, and make the entire Breezy ins a territory of the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°However, as you know, Felic¡¯s identity is beyond just the president of the Tower of Dusk, he¡¯s now also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Have you never thought that the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council would definitely hold it against us if anything happened to Felic!?¡± Seeing how stubborn Poer was, Elder Zumar got a little anxious.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom was a maritime kingdom, and belonged to a world that was almost independent of the maind of Anril, it didn¡¯t mean that they knew nothing about Anril. In particr, the Supreme Council was beyond just a powerful force on the maind, and even to the Gilded Kingdom, it was still a massive authority that was above all factions.

    If something happened to the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, the consequences would be far greater than just a war breaking out between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins. There would also be a war between the Illuminati and the Supreme Council. Given the superiority of the Supreme Council and the Illuminati, a war between them would definitely leave a massive impact on the entire world, which would perhaps be as great as that of the war at the end of the Dark Age.

    However, after Elder Zumar mentioned the Supreme Council too, High Priest Poer remained silent with a smile. He didn¡¯t oppose, nor did he express the slightest agreement with Elder Zumar¡¯s words.

    High Priest Poer¡¯s reaction made Elder Zumar shiver uncontrobly as he had a vague feeling that there seemed to be some sinister intentions behind the smile of his old friend.

    Seeing how indifferent and unresponsive High Priest Poer was towards his active persuasion, Elder Zumar had no choice but to shake his head helplessly and sigh. Besides, due to the conversation between the two of them, the ambiance in the pilothouse became a little somber. Elder Zumar stood up and turned to face the mysterious man in the ck robe who was seated. He then said in a respectful tone, ¡°Saint Edmund, we¡¯re going to enter the stormy sea region soon, I¡¯ll go out to patrol.¡±

    Although Elder Zumar said that he was going out for a patrol, he actually just wanted to go out for a breather. Since he couldn¡¯t persuade High Priest Poer no matter how hard he tried, he had no choice but to ignore it by choosing not to see it lest he was overwhelmed with worry.

    The ck-robed man who was addressed as Saint Edmund did not make any response ever since Elder Zumar began to argue with High Priest Poer. At this juncture, he simply assented arrogantly after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words.

    However, in the face of such a response, Elder Zumar didn¡¯t seem displeased at all. He simply bowed respectfully before slowly leaving the pilothouse that felt oppressive.

    High Priest Poer was not in the least bit surprised to see this scene. In the entire Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, there were only a few who could make Elder Zumar put on such a respectful and deferential attitude. The ck-robed man known as the saint Edmund was one of them.

    There were four main sanctuaries in the Illuminati, namely the War Sanctuary, Life Sanctuary, Guardian Sanctuary, and the Chaos Sanctuary, each of which had different responsibilities. The War Sanctuary fought on behalf of the Illuminati, and its existence was the reason that the Gilded Kingdom could survive in the Endless Ocean where the High Elves and Sea n were present.

    The duties of the Life Sanctuary was to treat those who were ill and rescue lives. At the same time, they also had to spread the doctrine, just like the priests of the Brilliance Shrine. Using some healing theurgy, they healed and alleviated the illnesses of people while turning them into their fellow devotees.

    The Guardian Sanctuary was simr to the Court of Heresy of the Brilliance Shrine, and was in charge of maintaining the prestige and authority of the Illuminati by sanctioning the heretics who defiled the Illuminati externally. They also monitored the internal sector of the Illuminati. The Guardian Sanctuary could be considered the one with the highest authority among the Illuminati, with the members of the other three sanctuaries within its scope of supervision.

    Among the four main sanctuaries, the one that carried the most responsibilities was the Chaos Sanctuary. The operation of arge force required plenty of processes and matters to be done, which was far beyond what the three major sanctuaries could fulfill. The most basic and mandatory requirements would be money and all sorts of resources that were needed for sustenance. Even a top force like the Illuminati required basic necessities.

    One of the functions of the Chaos Sanctuary was to obtain various resources for the Illuminati to maintain a healthy operation. Besides, the Chaos Sanctuary was also in charge of research on potions, inscription, and alchemy and recruiting talents in all fields for the Illuminati.

    However, this was only one part of the many functions of the Chaos Sanctuary, and some of the other duties were not made known to the public, such as doing some sordid things for the Illuminati. After all, a great force would still have to send some underlings to do the dirty deeds.

    The leaders of the four sanctuaries were revered as saints whose status in the Illuminati was second only to the pope¡¯s. At this moment, the ck-robed man who seemed mysterious and was seated in the pilothouse of the Sea Demons was Saint Edmund, the leader of the Chaos Sanctuary.

    Saint Edmund was a senior member of the Illuminati who had reached the Sanctuary-realm during the Dark Age. Using the entry to the Sanctuary-realm as a standard, Edmund was probably superior to Apophis and the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    The time of entry to the Sanctuary-realm could not necessarily be used as a measure of the strength of the Sanctuary powerhouses. Otherwise, the Illuminati would have probably already developed to the point of expanding in Anril. However, as he was one of the four saints of the Illuminati, Edmund¡¯s strength was naturally not to be underestimated. Even if he hadn¡¯t reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he probably wasn¡¯t far off.

    Although High Priest Poer belonged to the Gilded Kingdom, and did not have any affiliation to the Illuminati, he could not help but be cautious in the face of Saint Edmund. When he was arguing with Elder Zumar just now, he was afraid that Edmund would interject. If Edmund told him to forgo the matter, he really wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything.

    However, Edmund did not make anyments on this matter until Elder Zumar left the pilothouse. Thus, High Priest Poer heaved a sigh of relief.

    Elder Zumar, who had left the pilothouse, was now standing alone on the deck of the ship, looking around the boundless and vast sea. Deep down, he was still feeling vexed. Even though High Priest Poer seemed confident in front of Zumar, thetter did not think highly of this old friend.

    However, Elder Zumar knew that it would be pointless to dwell on this matter as the most important thing that he had to do now was toplete the task of exploring the ominous ind. However, he would never have imagined at this time that the young man he was wary of was headed for the same goal as him thousands of nautical miles away.

    <i>The Star </i>was traveling at a speed that was disproportionate to its massive size, crashing through the waves and sailing towards the depths of the ocean. In the pilothouse of <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li was frowning while looking at the massive map hanging on the wall. The pirates who had dominated the seas, Julio and Jack, were now standing behind him with some anxiousness while staring at the nautical map.

    There were now a few new annotations on the spot on the map where the Ominous Land was. In fact, <i>The Star</i> had alreadypletely deviated from the predetermined course, and if <i>The Star</i>¡®s trajectory was marked on the map, it would be arge circle around that area of the sea.

    Initially, the goal of <i>The Star</i> was very clear, and that was to follow the course to the destination mapped out by Julio. However, what Lin Li and Julio did not expect was that when <i>The Star</i> reached the destination, it was still surrounded by a boundless ocean, and there was no ind in sight.

    In the beginning, Julio thought that he had made a mistake in his calctions, and tried to recall the course they had traveled for a long time. Although he had found some errors, they still couldn¡¯t find the ind after rectifying the mistakes. Julio and Jack could no longer calm down at this point, for they feared that Lin Li would think they were intentionally hiding something.

    Julio and Jack had a rich experience with Lin Li¡¯s methods. When there was chaos in the Helena Port previously, the two of them were on <i>The Star</i>, and witnessed the course of the entire battle. Lin Li, the young president of the Tower of Dusk, could have wiped out the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom easily. If the two of them tried to deceive him, the consequences would definitely be unbearable.

    However, Lin Li did not me Julio, but after circling around the sea, he frowned and scrutinized the nautical map carefully, as if he was trying to find some clues. He could sense that there was no reason for Julio to deceive him, and his previous projections were not too far off.

    In addition to the location that Julio mentioned, Lin Li also drove <i>The Star</i> to the legendary ind in the Gilded Kingdom where it was located. However, his efforts were proven futile. Since they still couldn¡¯t find a trace of the ind ording to those rules, the problem probablyy with the ind.

    <i>The ind couldn¡¯t have run away on its own!</i> Although, logically speaking, the idea seemed to be a bit absurd, Lin Li had no choice but to start considering that issue seriously.

    There was no reason for such arge ind to suddenly go missing, and even if there were deviations in the legends that had been passed on for thousands of years, Julio who had traversed the seas for years couldn¡¯t have remembered wrongly. Besides, in addition to these two clues, Lin Li actually searched for the ce where the ind should appear in the other world ording to his memories, only to realize that there was still nothing.

    Looking at the nautical map carefully, Lin Li suddenly remembered that when he was chasing after the Immortal King in that world, he saw that the Immortal King had chosen seven small inds to build the tower with the Void Spirit Mageweath.

    Following the information in his memory, Lin Li marked the location of the seven inds on the nautical map. Actually, he had never understood why the Immortal King would choose those inds, because based on the distribution of those inds, there seemed to be no connection between them. However, he also felt that the Immortal King wouldn¡¯t have randomly chosen those seven inds, because there was no reason to.

    Firstly, Lin Li suspected that those seven inds might have formed a Magic Array or a mageweath or something like that. However, be it a Magic Array or a mageweath, or even an Alchemy Array, the magic nodes had to be connected with a magic circuit in order to exert its effects.

    However, the seven inds seemed to be independent existences in the vast ocean.

    <i>Could it be that there is some magic circuit under the surface of the sea?</i> Lin Lipared all the mageweath arrays, Magic Arrays, and Alchemy Arrays that he knew of with the map, only to realize that none of them fitted.

    Of course, Lin Li had gained something out of it too. At least he could be certain that if the seven inds really formed something, it would be something that was beyond his knowledge as a Guru of all fields.

    However, Lin Li did not give up. While Julio and the rest looked at him in bewilderment, he grabbed a pen, and continued to draw on the nautical map. His sketches were actually very simple as he merely connected the seven small inds with straight lines one by one. In his opinion, no matter what the seven inds could constitute, there had to be an invisible connection between them. Although it might not be urate, it would be more intuitive.

    As Lin Li continuously drew connections, a bizarre pattern which looked like an irregr polygon soon appeared on the nautical map. However, he didn¡¯t stop at that, and continued to use lines to connect the non-adjacent inds again.

    Lin Li suddenly paused as he discovered that the location of the ind that Jeremiah had found out about was at the intersection of the connecting lines, perhaps by coincidence or something. Lin Li instantly perked up.

 Chapter 1141 - Iceblast Wyrm

    <h4>Chapter 1141: Icest Wyrm</h4>

    Knowing that it was most likely just a coincidence, Lin Li continued to start linking the remaining inds on the nautical map.

    There were seven inds in total, and Lin Li randomly linked any two of them together by a line, only to finally make an even more surprising discovery. Not only was the location that Jeremiah inquired about at the intersection of those lines, the location that Julio mentioned was likewise at another intersection. The discovery he made in the other world was also at an intersection.

    It seemed that the seven inds where the Void Spirit Mageweath were ced had a real connection with the so-called cursed ind. However, the lines between the seven inds were now resembling a that engulfed the sea, with several intersections between the lines. Could it be that the ind would move around the sea?

    Perhaps the ice ind would really appear at every intersection in this sea, but Lin Li didn¡¯t have that much time to explore all the intersections one by one. They were now in the Endless Ocean where that area could only be considered a tiny part of the sea, but even then, it was extremelyrge, and if one were unlucky, they would probably end up spending months on searching it point by point.

    Lin Li stopped and took two steps back to carefully observe the on the nautical map and the three points of intersection that had been identified as areas that the ind had appeared in. He did not think that that ice ind would randomly appear in any of the intersection points, and that it definitely followed some kind of pattern instead.

    ¡°Julio, send my orders to arrange for <i>The Star</i> to search these locations ording to the sequence!¡± Lin Li immediately ordered Julio after identifying the seven intersection points on the nautical map.

    ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± Although Julio couldn¡¯t understand the significance of Lin Li¡¯s annotations on the map, he immediately turned around and left the pilothouse before starting to order *The Star¡¯*s crew to sail quickly towards the first intersection point.

    Although the distance from one point to another on the map seemed to be just a few centimeters, that distance would probably be magnified to thousands of nautical miles in the Endless Ocean. Fortunately, <i>The Star</i> was powered by the alchemical power system, or else it would probably take a long time for them to arrive if they relied only on the power of the sails.

    Thus, <i>The Star</i> was fully powered, and she searched each point ording to Lin Li¡¯s annotations. After searching the sea for another eight days, they felt the temperature dropping, andrge ice floes began to appear on the sea. They finally saw the ice-covered ind.

    ¡°Captain, that should be the legendary ind!¡± As soon as Julio discovered the ind, he immediately ran to report to Lin Li, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted off his chest.

    Of course, when Julio reported, Lin Li had actually also seen the ind that was gradually appearing in front of them, as well as the surrounding battleships that had been frozen for thousands of years, and now looked like ice sculptures. When the Gilded Kingdom provoked the Fn Kingdom, Lin Li intervened and froze the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s battleships, creating an extraordinary monument for the Fn Kingdom. However, it was nothingpared to what was presented before him now.

    However, just as <i>The Star</i> was approaching the ice ind quickly, a ck shadow suddenly darted out from the sky and flew towards <i>The Star</i> like a lightning. In the blink of an eye, it had already reached the ship.

    There was a huge Icest Wyrm flying above <i>The Star</i>. It was almost the same size as <i>The Star</i>, and was covered in thick blue ice armor and surrounded by silver clouds that wereposed of ice crystals. With the appearance of this Icest Wyrm, the sea around the ship quickly froze, and extended towards the hull of <i>The Star</i> as if it hade to life.

    In this situation, the speed of <i>The Star</i> plunged to the minimum. In the beginning, the sounds of the ship could still be hearding from the bow, but they vanished in no time. Although <i>The Star</i> was powered by an alchemical power system, and it was considered extremely powerful, the ship was now frozen together with the ice. It was as if it was moving together with an iceberg on top of it. No matter how powerful it was, its power was bound to be exhausted eventually.

    At the same time, a huge Sanctuary-level power had also shrouded the entire <i>The Star</i>, causing the sailors on the vessel to fall onto the floor. Even though the sailors on <i>The Star</i> were all extremelypetent, they were only sopared to ordinary people, and they were just insignificant nobodies in front of a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Besides, the Icest Wyrm that had suddenly appeared was not at an ordinary level of the Sanctuary-realm, and based on the massive power alone, it was obvious that it was at least level-26 or level-27. Even among Sanctuary powerhouses, it was considered extremely powerful. The sailors who had yet to even reach the Legendary-level obviously could not resist the power that was like the heavenly might itself.

    At this moment, Lin Li who was initially in the pilothouse also appeared outside in the sh. He simply humphed when he was faced with the Sanctuary-level might emitted by the Icest Wyrm. It was like a shocking bolt of lightning, and the massive Sanctuary-level power vanished in an instant like snow that melted under the sun.

    Immediately afterwards, three figures leaped out from behind Lin Li and darted straight towards the Icest Wyrm. They were Connoris and two Undead servants. The actualbat power that they were able to exert was not inferior to that of an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Of course, no matter what, Connoris and the others had yet to step into the Sanctuary-realm after all. Hence, they could only fight with those who were in the early stages of the Sanctuary-realm. The three of them probably could not contend the wyrm even with joint efforts.

    The Icest Wyrm was already level-26 or level-27, which meant that it could be considered a middle-stage Sanctuary powerhouse. However, after the three including Connoris pounced on the Icest Wyrm, Lin Li did not seem to want to attack at all. Instead, he stood still in the air, and watched the battle between Connoris¡¯ group and the Icest Wyrm.

    In terms of level, the Icest Wyrm was much more powerful than the three of them. In fact, if the Icest Wyrm had been reced by a powerhouse like Elder Zumar, Lin Li would have already struck at this point. However, Lin Li could now feel that although the Icest Wyrm was level-26 or level-27, its realm did not seem to match its level. In other words, this Icest Wyrm somehow could not truly disy the strength of a mid-rank Sanctuary powerhouse yet.

    Connoris and the two Undead servants had reached the peak of the Legendary-realm long ago. However, as Lin Li became stronger, he far surpassed them. With their strength, the help they could provide Lin Li would probably gradually be insignificant if they could not step into the Sanctuary-realm. That was also the reason that Lin Li had simply be an onlooker this time. He hoped that the battle with the Icest Wyrm would allow Connoris and the two Undead servants to hone their skills and reach the Sanctuary-realm sooner.

    Besides, with the umtion of strength of Connoris and the two Undead servants, they would definitely improve rapidly after reaching the Sanctuary-realm. They would probably directly reach the point where they could fight mid-stage Sanctuary powerhouses alone. Only when they obtained such strength would they be able to provide greater help to Lin Li and take on more important tasks in the future.

    The weapon that Connoris used was the Eternal Frost de that had belonged to Retribution Knight Rodhart. While rushing towards the Icest Wyrm, Connoris hurriedly chanted the mysterious ancient deities¡¯ incantation. As he did that, a huge magical rune instantly condensed in the air, emitting a terrifying aura that could destroy heaven and earth, and being just like a massive seal that stomped on the Icest Wyrm with a loud roar.

    The area around the Icest Wyrm was surrounded by ice crystal clouds. When Connoris attacked, they seemed to havee to life, and started stirring upwards. When they reached the spot in front of the Icest Wyrm, the ice crystal clouds became extremely thick, as if they had coalesced into a huge ice shield to collide with the iing magic runes.

    The ice crystal cloud around the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body was not formed by frozen water vapor. In each of the ice crystal particles, there were Laws of Ice instead, and there was a microcosm that could not be seen with the naked eye in every single particle. The countless ice crystals condensed into an ice shield that was even more solid than icebergs that were tens of thousands of years old. Even if a beginner-level Sanctuary powerhouse attacked at full force, they probably would not be able to form a single crack in the ice shield.

    More importantly, because of the existence of the small Domain World in the ice crystals, the huge ice shield had a strong defensive ability against spatial attacks. The countless ice crystals constituted Domain Worlds, and each Domain World was a different space. It was as if it wasposed of countlessyers of faults which made the Icest Wyrm¡¯s defense almost imprable.

    However, Connoris was never one who fought with brute strength, and when he had still been an ancient demon deity, he mastered the art of deception and scheming. He now had the powerful perfect body, but his nature did not change because of that. He knew long ago that his power could not bepared to a level-26 or level-27 Icest Wyrm. Hence, although the ancient magic runes looked extremely terrifying, there was actually another mystery involved.

    In an instant, the massive magic runes collided with the Icest Wyrm¡¯s ice shield, but there was no violent sound. Instead, it was as if a burning red iron stuck into the water as they fused with the ice shield. Immediately afterwards, the magic runes that had been branded into the ice shield emitted a dim ray of light that almost instantly dyed the entire ice shield with a grayish color.

    At the same time, the de of Eternal Ice Connoris was holding also swung at the Icest Wyrm. Theyers of space were intertwined, and they were already crashing into the ice shield that had been dyed gray. At this moment, a bizarre thing happened as the massive ice shield that still looked extremely solid and sturdy turned into nothing in front of the Space shes.

    The dozens of Space sh prated the gray ice shield, and sted the Icest Wyrm before it could react. At this moment, the Space shesnded on the ice armor of the Icest Wyrm, causing countless ice kes to st in all directions.

    When Connoris¡¯ attacknded on the Icest Wyrm, Uljfalusi and Norfeller followed suit and attacked. Uljfalusi summoned Crimson, the Humerus Wyrm, which spurted a corrosive dragon breath that swept over to the Icest Wyrm like a storm as soon as it appeared. On the other hand, Uljfalusi raised his scepter, and quickly chanted a series of magic curse incantations that would corrode, weaken, and slow down as they surged towards the Icest Wyrm like a tidal wave.

    Although Uljfalusi had not stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and those curses could not have too much impact on the Icest Wyrm yet, a single trace of the Icest Wyrm¡¯s power being weakened would have a huge impact on the entire battle.

    Besides, the Icest Wyrm did not have the realm to match its level-26 or level-27 power, and its resistance to Uljfalusi¡¯s curses seemed to be far less than that of an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, under the onught of Uljfalusi¡¯s curses, the Icest Wyrm¡¯s movements gradually became sluggish, while its ice armor began to lose its luster. Perhaps because the changes were too slow and the results were not immediate, the Icest Wyrm would sooner orter be hampered by the curses as long as there were no unexpected changes in the battle.

    From afar, the massive Icest Wyrm could be seen being engulfed by a ck line that was constantly wrapping around it. It was none other than the vampire Norfeller, who had transformed into a ck bolt of lightning. The ice crystal cloud around the Icest Wyrm was extremely powerful as it could freeze all intruders. However, there was still the power of the Icest Wyrm Sindera in Norfeller¡¯s body, which was extraordinarily resistant to freezing.

    The Icest Wyrm Sindera was once the patriarch of the Icest Wyrms and one of the few powerhouses who were at the very pinnacle. Although Norfeller still could not bepared to Sindera the king of the Icest Wyrms after devouring Sindera¡¯s blood, his power was no worse than that of the average Icest Wyrm.

    At this point, Norfeller had already spread his wings which were covered in golden patterns and magic runes that automatically emittedyers of powerful power, allowing them to effortlessly push the iing ice crystal clouds away.

 Chapter 1142 - Weapons

    <h4>Chapter 1142: Weapons</h4>

    Hence, although Norfeller was in the ice crystal cloud, he seemed to have a unique passage that kept him from being affected by the power of the ice crystal cloud.

    Norfeller was holding a pair of Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers that were emitting rays of light dozens of meters long, which continuously shed the ice armor of the Icest Wyrm. Each strike thatnded on the ice armor would leave a deep mark, and the ice armor would be slowed down greatly under the influence of the residual power of the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers.

    Facing three opponents who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm but had power that wasparable to that of an early-stage Sanctuary powerhouse, the Icest Wyrm was not disheveled and overwrought, but it was quite tough for it to deal with them. First, it had to face Connoris who spewed out the dragon breath that could freeze even space, followed by the ice crystal cloud. Next, Ujfalusiunched countless Ice Spears. The ice armor on its body also shot out a cluster of ice spikes that blocked Norfeller who was attacking him from time to time like a mosquito.

    However, when the Icest Wyrm was faced with their attacks, it had actually already lost the upper hand. Hence, it was actually being led by the nose by the three of them.

    Upon sight of such a scene, Lin Li shook his head slightly at the side. Even though he could tell long ago that the Icest Wyrm¡¯s realm was not in line with its power, and itsbat power was definitely greatly reduced, the Icest Wyrm¡¯s behavior exceeded Lin Li¡¯s expectations. It was no longer the issue of realm. It was just like a beginner who only had raw power.

    Even without anybat tactics, being a level-26 or level-27 powerhouse, it was able to suppress Connoris and the two Undead creatures. After all, the three of them were still not powerful enough to fight toe-to-toe against the Icest Wyrm Sindera. Once they were suppressed, they would not be able to escape if they could not find a way to resolve the issue.

    However, the Icest Wyrm actually took their attacks in stride, which was equivalent to giving up its advantage. In the end, it was fooled by Connoris and the other two. It was not actually foolish, as it knew to tackle the situation at hand. However, it was stupid enough to give up its advantage. That made Lin Li confused.

    Logically speaking, the wisdom of the Icest Wyrms was definitely not inferior to that of ordinary humans, and some were even slier than humans. Besides, this Icest Wyrm had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and even though it was not exactly intelligent, it shouldn¡¯t have be silly after reaching the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, when Lin Li was still feeling a little bewildered, the Icest Wyrm suddenly seemed to have either be enlightened or turned foolish. Its massive power erupted, and it no longer cared about how Connoris and the others attacked it. The Sanctuary-level mana was surging out like a raging flood as countless powerful ice-series magic spells surged towards Connoris and the others.

    Connoris and the others were caught off guard. Due to the fact that Norfeller had been close by, he almost got stabbed by the countless ice arrows, so he had no choice but to retreat in distress. On the other hand, Connoris also immediately felt the surrounding temperature plunging to bottom. Even his perfect body had also somewhat stiffened.

    Compared to Connoris and Norfeller, Ujfalusi was in fact only a little inferior; with the help of Crimson the Humerus Wyrm, his strength was on par with theirs. However, in the face of the Icest Wyrm¡¯s sudden outburst, Ujfalusi¡¯s shorings were also exposed immediately. The Humerus Wyrm Crimson was engulfed by the ice in the blink of an eye, almost bing immobile. If not for the fact that the Humerus Wyrm could fly without using wings, it would have long fallen.

    Faced with the sudden outburst of the Icest Wyrm, Connoris and the others stopped feeling contemptuous as they truly treated it as a life-and-death battle from then on. At the same time that Connoris was wielding the Eternal Frost de, he quickly chanted an ancient demon deity incantation, and a massive ck vortex appeared in the sky. Several bolts of lightning with arge girth darted out of the vortex, sting at the Icest Wyrm continuously.

    The bat wings on Norfeller¡¯s back expanded by several times at once, and the golden patterns and runes on them also emitted dazzling rays of light which dyed the entire pair of wings golden yellow. At the same time, Norfeller¡¯s body was also covered in golden patterns that gave him a powerful aura. The Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers in his hands also emitted a ray of light that was nearly 100 meters long. The terrifying power would probably be able to slice off a mountain peak with a casual swing of the sword.

    Ujfalusi, who stabilized his body, was surrounded by ck fog, and countless spirits wailed in it, causing the space to be distorted. The ice-series magic spells were shattered as they spread towards the Icest Wyrm¡¯s body.

    At this moment, Connoris and the two Undead servants had almost channeled all their power. The attacksunched by the three of them surged like a storm towards the Icest Wyrm with a terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth, resulting in countless cracks in space.

    Seeing this, Lin Li, who was watching from the side, finally nodded. <i>This is what training should be like. The battle before was just like child¡¯s y.</i>

    Although the Icest Wyrm had level-26 or level-27 power, Connoris and the others were far from what the Icest Wyrm couldpare to, be it in terms ofbat experience orbat skills, especially since the power of the Icest Wyrm did not match its realm, and it definitely wasn¡¯t going to be easy for it to rely on that power to defeat Connoris and the other two.

    Connoris and the others fought with the Icest Wyrm in the sky for hours, and Ujfalusi continuously released various curses, umting them. Under the influence of the countless curses, the Icest Wyrm was visibly weakening as the ice armor on its body began to automatically fall off. The ice crystal clouds around it also faded.

    At this moment, Norfeller released a full-blown attack with all his might, turning his body into a golden bolt of lightning. The two Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers intertwined and sted the Icest Wyrm¡¯s head like a golden drill. At the same time, Connoris¡¯ ancient magic spell was alsopleted as a huge Magic Array appeared out of thin air below the Icest Wyrm. Countless ck tentacles shot out from the Magic Array towards the Icest Wyrm.

    With a loud boom, the Icest Wyrm that Ujfalusi and Connoris suppressed could not evade the attack from Norfeller in time at all, just getting sted. Like a golden bolt of lightning, Norfeller¡¯s attack instantly pierced through the skull of the Icest Wyrm.

    Immediately afterwards, they sawrge chunks of the ice armor falling off like a melting cier, soon revealing the true appearance of the ice armor underneath. At this moment, they realized that the so-called Icest Wyrm was actually just a Humerus Wyrm, but it had been turned into an Icest Wyrm because it was wrapped in the ice armor.

    Seeing this, Lin Li also understood why the Icest Wyrm behaved in such an idiotic manner during the battle.

    Connoris and the others, who were still proud of having defeated a level-26 or level-27 Sanctuary powerhouse, immediately turned sullen when they saw the skeleton underneath the ice armor. Compared to a real Icest Wyrm, the power of the Humerus Wyrm was far inferior, even though it had already reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, how did the Humerus Wyrm run to this ind and regain the appearance of an Icest Wyrm? Lin Li recalled what he saw in the other world, but there was no sign of the Humerus Wyrm at all. It seemed that it hade to the ind for an unknown reason. After all, it had no foundation on this ind.

    After killing the Humerus Wyrm, Ujfalusi also went to study the skeleton. He initially thought that he would be able to get the skeleton of an Icest Wyrm. However, after taking two nces, he couldn¡¯t help but be greatly disappointed as he said to Lin Li, ¡°Master, that¡¯s just an ordinary Humerus Wyrm. It seems to be an Ice Dragon, the descendant of the Icest Wyrm.¡±

    In Anril, the Ice Dragon was almost on par with the Green Dragon. Although it could be considered a wyrm, it was far inferiorpared to a genuine ancient wyrm. Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, both Green Dragons and Ice Dragons were the most powerful creatures in Anril, but to Lin Li and Connoris, the Ice Dragon was no different from other magical beasts.

    Since the Ice Dragon¡¯s skeleton had little purpose, Lin Li did not bother to recover it, and only let Norfeller dig out the Ice Dragon¡¯s Dragon Crystal. However, when he saw it, Lin Li finally understood why the Ice Dragon had level-27 power.

    It turned out that the Dragon Crystal of the Ice Dragon was not as regr as other Dragon Crystals, as each side was of a different size. It looked just like arge and a small Dragon Crystal being glued together. Lin Li grabbed the Dragon Crystal and tried to sense its condition with his mental strength, only to realize that the appearance reflected the actual situation.

    The smaller part of the Dragon Crystal was the Dragon Crystal of a true Ice Dragon, while therger one was the Icest Wyrm¡¯s Dragon Crystal. However, the Soul Brand was no longer present on the Icest Wyrm¡¯s Dragon Crystal, as it seemed to have been erased by some power. It seemed that the Humerus Ice Dragon found the Icest Wyrm¡¯s Dragon Crystal, and wanted to fuse it with its own Dragon Crystal, thus resulting in such a deformed Dragon Crystal. That was also the reason that the Humerus Ice Dragon got part of the Icest Wyrm¡¯s legacy, and had level-26 or level-27 power. Unfortunately, it could not reach the corresponding realm beforeplete fusion.

    Lin Li could not think of what he could do with the deformed Dragon Crystal. It definitely wouldn¡¯t work as a mana source, as one part of it was at the Sanctuary-level, while the other was at the peak of the Legendary-level. The Dragon Crystal itself was unbnced, so it definitely couldn¡¯t be a stable mana source.

    However, Lin Li was not short on Sanctuary-level magical crystals now; hence, he decided to just put it away before figuring out how to use itter.

    With the death of the fake Icest Wyrm, the ice around <i>The Star</i> stopped growing, and the ship soon broke through the surrounding ice before continuing to sail towards the ice ind nearby. 10 minutester, <i>The Star</i> had reached the edge of the ice ind where theyers of ice that would not melt for ages were not something that <i>The Star</i> could break through.

    Under Lin Li¡¯smand, the vessel stopped, and was engulfed in ayer of light that prevented it from freezing. Looking at the depths of the ice ind, Lin Li thought about it for a while before turning around and going back to the pilothouse. Soon, a group of mages from the Tower of Dusk walked out.

    They did not belong to the same batch of mages Lin Li had brought over when he first explored the Sky Castle, but the ones who had stayed at the Tower of Dusk during those three years.

    The mages that Lin Li had brought to the Sky Castle had already gone through enough livebat training, and all theycked was the umtion of mana. Hence, they could sessfully step into the Legendary-realm sooner orter. Due to the magic tides, the mages who had stayed at the Tower of Dusk managed to push to the Legendary-level. However, just like those pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, they were only considered pseudo-Legendary-mages.

    With the previous battle with the Icest Wyrm, Lin Li knew that the expedition to the ice ind would probably be tumultuous. With his current strength, he did not have to worry about magical beasts, but for the mages of the Tower of Dusk, it would be considered a good training.

    Hence, Lin Li brought the pseudo-Legendary-mages over in a bid to let them train and be true Legendary-mages through the battles.

    After Lin Li led them to disembark from <i>The Star</i>, Angno, who was still dressed in the amusing colorful armor,manded the crowd to carryrge pieces of alchemical equipment off the ship. They were all created after research based on the Immortal King¡¯s alchemical notes. There were offensive weapons as well as defensive shields and items for other purposes.

    Lin Li also had to have his own weapons on the Sky Castle instead of relying on himself to purchase weapons from various sources. After all, there were some things that couldn¡¯t be bought with just money, such as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s ship cannons and the Sky-breaker of the Dwarf Kingdom.

    The ship cannons purchased from the Gilded Kingdom were just enough for <i>The Star</i>, and Lin Li would have to purchase more if he wanted to equip the Sky Castle with them. Although the cannon was powerful, it was a singr weapon that could not be the only weapon used on <i>The Star</i>.

    As for the legendary Sky-breaker, the dwarven king¡¯s attitude was still unclear, and it would take some time for the opinions in the Dwarf Kingdom to be unified. God knew when they would be able to equip the Sky Castle with Sky-breaker.

 Chapter 1143 - Journey

    <h4>Chapter 1143: Journey</h4>

    Besides, even if the Dwarf Kingdom agreed to the suggestion of a joint manufacture of Sky-breakers, the Sky-breaker was not a Magical Crystal Cannon, and it could not be built overnight.

    The first to disembark from <i>The Star</i> was arge steel chariot that looked like a tank, except that there was no turret or cannon, but an intricate andplex Alchemy Array. The power center of the Alchemy Array was iid with a huge golden magical crystal which Lin Li had removed from the Golden Behemoth.

    Golden Behemoths had incredible defense, and they could even resist the power of Lin Li¡¯s World Sword. However, the perverse defensive ability was not attributed to the Golden Behemoth¡¯s massive body size. Besides, it could be one with the earth, so when Lin Li killed the Golden Behemoth, it was when he managed to lure the Golden Behemoth into the air.

    This magical crystal from the Golden Behemoth¡¯s body not only contained Sanctuary-level mana, but also the mysterious ability to be one with the earth. Hence, Lin Li used the magical crystal to build an Alchemy Array with a powerful defensive ability together with Angno. They then installed it in the steel chariot and conducted a test. The steel chariot could open a massive defensive field, and be one with the earth like the Golden Behemoth. In fact, it could even resist the full force of a Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s strike.

    The steel chariot was followed by an oddly shaped magical weapon that looked like a steel tower. There was a fist-sized eye on the top of the steel tower which Lin Li had obtained after killing the Tempest Beast King in Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land. It could emit a powerful chaotic thunderbolt, whose power was no less than that of the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Tempest Beast King¡¯s eyeball was initially meant to be a weapon of Tempest Beast King. Besides, with the power of the Chaotic Thunderbolt, it could definitely be considered one of the most powerful weapons on <i>The Star</i>. However, <i>The Star</i> was going to be equipped with Sky-breakers sooner orter, while the Tempest Beast King¡¯s eye would be used for something else in the future. Hence, Angno designed such a weapon to maximize the power of the Chaotic Thunderbolt.

    In the rear, there were two crossbow cannons of the same size which seemed to be simr to ordinary defensive crossbows. However, if someone with greater and more profound knowledge of inscriptions saw the crossbow cannons, they would definitely be astonished to the point of having their jaw drop¡ªthere wereplex mageweaths inscribed on the crossbows, each of which were probably Guru-level.

    The two crossbow cannons were created by Lin Li based on some of the characteristics of the Stars of Fury while incorporating some of the Sky-breaker¡¯s concepts. It had been a long time since Lin Li obtained the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. He had naturally studied it carefully too. Although there was no way to create a Stars of Fury on his own, he vaguely felt that the Sky-breaker seemed to have some connection to the Stars of Fury. Hence, he designed and created those crossbow cannons based on his memory of the Stars of Fury and the Sky-breaker¡¯s blueprint. Although it might notpare to the Sky-breaker or the Stars of Fury, its power was probably much greater than the average Magical Crystal Cannons¡¯.

    Unfortunately, Lin Li had to be the one to personally create the crossbow cannons because he was the only one who was clear about the issues that involved the Stars of Fury, which were hard to exin and difficult to learn easily. Hence, there was no way to mass-produce the crossbow cannons. It was also impossible to install arge number of them on <i>The Star</i> and the Sky Castle. They could not rece the ship cannons and Magical Crystal Cannons of the Gilded Kingdom.

    There was also some magical equipment based on Lin Li¡¯s ideas that Angno subsequently realized using alchemy. There were also some contraptions that were based on ssic alchemical equipment from the era of the goblins. There were also ones that Angno hade up with while letting his imagination run wild, such as magic wings that would allow ordinary people to fly into the sky.

    For Legendary-mages, flying was as easy as walking, and even Archmages would have the ability to fly into the sky using the Levitation Spell. However, in the short era of the goblins, magic wings were necessary alchemical equipment for the majority of goblins. Due to the fact that goblins could not learn magic, they had to rely on alchemical equipment to fly.

    It seemed that the magic wings were somewhat useless. After all, the Legendary-mages could use the Power of Flight, and obviously wouldn¡¯t use magic wings. However, although the Power of Flight was a basic magic spell which almost every Legendary-mage knew how to cast, it was a magic spell that had to be maintained with a constant output of mana.

    Not every Legendary-mage had nearly infinite mana like Lin Li who could almost ignore the consumption of mana. The magic wings consumed only magical crystals, which allowed the Legendary-mage to maintain the amount of mana at the peak so as to deal with various situations after a long flight. Hence, even for Legendary powerhouses, magic wings were very useful.

    After carrying all kinds of alchemical equipment off <i>The Star</i>, Lin Li led the team towards the center of the ice ind. In fact, the location where <i>The Star</i> docked was not actually the ice ind, but an extended area. As the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team marched, they could still see the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom that had been frozen for thousands of years around them. They could also see the sailors on the decks of the battleships.

    Their faces could no longer be seen, and they had already formed a hellish scene because of the cold and gloomy frost. The white snow and crystalline ice were extremely horrifying instead of giving off a pristine vibe.

    Even the mages of the Tower of Dusk who had stepped into the Legendary-realm couldn¡¯t help but be fearful and horrified at this time. After all, they had not experienced anything major. Although the Tower of Dusk had been in a difficult situation in the Breezy ins during the three years that Lin Li had been away, the scene wasn¡¯t as shocking.

    Lin Li had also long sensed the change in the mood of those mages. He had to admit that he had made the right choice to bring them out for training. Such a scene was enough to make their emotions fluctuate and even cause them fear. If they really encountered a dangerous situation, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to stay calm.

    However, Lin Li did not point it out, as he felt that the greenhorns would only mature psychologically after experiencing a few proper battles. There was no need for him to enlighten them again like a psychological mentor.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team soon crossed the gloomy and hellish d, and the rookie mages in the team were secretly relieved. At this time, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team had finally stepped on the ind, though there was still an unknown thickness of ice beneath their feet.

    The area of the ice ind was sorge that it didn¡¯t seem different from a continent, and undting mountains could be seen in the distance. However, everything on this ice ind was wrapped in ice and snow, forming arge white patch which was hard to look at.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s order, the team stopped temporarily for a short break. Although the distance of the previous journey wasn¡¯t too long, the rookie mages were still extremely stressed out. Hence, Lin Li told them to take a break lest they failed to concentrate in battle and make mistakes that should not be made.

    However, while the team was resting, Lin Li did not idle. Even Connoris and the two Undead servants did not know what he went to do; they only knew he had left the team alone, but soon returned. Connoris and the others didn¡¯t ask much, knowing that Lin Li would definitely say something if he wanted to. If Lin Li didn¡¯t say anything, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything out of him.

    After Lin Li¡¯s return, the team from the Tower of Dusk once again regrouped, and slowly moved in the direction of the center of the ice ind. Thanks to a short rest, the mages had indeed recovered a lot, and were at least not as panicky as before.

    During the team¡¯s advancement, Lin Li sent Norfeller out to reconnoiter in advance. Lin Li was probably the only one who would send a peak Legendary powerhouse out as a scout. However, as a natural assassin, Norfeller would definitely make a good scout.

    They traveled for nearly 50 kilometers, and could already be considered to have reached the depths of the ice ind. They could no longer see the sea, and only the mountain peaks could be seen. asionally, they would chance upon some houses, but most of them had long been crushed by the snow.

    Upon returning, Norfeller reported to Lin Li, but Lin Li merely turned around to look at the rookies without giving any instructions. He simply let Norfeller continue to go ahead and scout.

    As soon as Norfeller left, the team suddenly came over with shuffling sounds of footsteps. Immediately afterwards, they saw a group of monsters that had white fur and were three or four meters tall. They were covered in ice, and were charging towards the group while roaring.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Snow Monster!¡± someone in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team roared loudly.

    The white-furred monsters that rushed over were none other than a famous magical beast in the far northern ice ins of Anril continent. The Snow Monsters were like giant white-furred apes. Adult Snow Monsters were at least level-15, and their arm strength was at least 1,000 pounds of great power. With a single p, they could turn a boulder into dust.

    Besides, the Snow Monsters also had ice element affinity spells, and couldunch ice element magic spells that were below level-15. In fact, they could even create a natural disaster like the snowstorm. Most importantly, the Snow Monsters would emit a type of retardation curse which was basically a simple version of a Magical Domain. As long as someone stepped into the region, their movements would be slowed down greatly.

    However,pared to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, the strength of the Snow Monsters was still quite inferior. After all, the Tower of Dusk still had Legendary-mages. Even the pseudo-Legendary-mages could definitely deal with the Snow Monsters well.

    Seeing that there were hundreds of Snow Monsters rushing down, the mages of the Tower of Dusk immediately got into a formation and raised their staffs, all ready for a battle.

    Logically speaking, the rookie mages¡¯ response was reasonable, but Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shake his head slightly. There was nothing wrong with being careful, but too much caution was not a good thing. The monsters were indeed powerful to ordinary people, but they were nothing in the face of Legendary powerhouses.

    However, even the Snow Monsters with average abilities made the Legendary-mages cautious. Besides, when the Snow Monsters got nearer, the rookie mages became more and more solemn. In fact, they were even clutching their staffs so tightly that their knuckles had turned pale. Although they didn¡¯t do anything wrong, the scene seemed rather amusing as they looked just like rats that were scared by a cat.

    ¡°Attack!¡± eximed Dorick, n¡¯s deputy who was in charge ofmanding the rookie mages. However, he was also a rookie who hadn¡¯t participated in many battles.

    Dorick ordered them to attack after the group of Snow Monsters reached the theoretical best magic range. Next, the group of rookie wizards quickly chanted incantations, and the gemstones on their staffs began glistening immediately afterwards, while a terrifying magic storm swept the Snow Monsters.

    They were a group of Legendary-mages. Even if a few of them were still only pseudo-Legendary-mages, the magic they cast was notparable to that of ordinary Archmages. The terrifying magic storm instantly engulfed the group of unlucky Snow Monsters, not giving them a chance to attack at all. A few secondster, everything disappeared, and even the small mountain was blown away, while the Snow Monsters were turned into powder.

    The rookie mages couldn¡¯t help but cheer joyously when they saw the Snow Monsters had vanished. Dorick, theirmander, also quickly ran towards Lin Li who had a peculiar expression. However, he reported the news to him very seriously.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li could not help but cover his forehead. However, he didn¡¯t say anything, and simply waved his hand to instruct Dorick to return. However, that was a good thing because the rookie mages at least would no longer feel as badly because of the sinister scene of the ice ind after the battle.

    They embarked on their journey again, and Connoris leaned closer to Lin Li smilingly. ¡°Felic, after seeing their performance, aren¡¯t you going to say something?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to say? They¡¯ll learn their lesson after suffering a loss,¡± Lin Li said in a hostile tone. The way the rookie mages behaved had truly embarrassed him. Fortunately, there were no teams from other forces present.

 Chapter 1144 - Learning A Lesson

    <h4>Chapter 1144: Learning A Lesson</h4>

    Just like Lin Li said, they wouldn¡¯t feel the pain and learn their lesson unless they suffered some losses. Soon, the group of rookie mages from the Tower of Dusk finally learned their lesson. After they sted the magical beasts they encountered with all their might time and time again, they finally discovered that they had unknowingly consumed more than half of their mana.

    Although Lin Li had equipped his mages with extremely high-quality magical equipment meant for defense, attacking, rapid mana recovery, and many other purposes. In particr, the magical equipment for rapid mana recovery almost allowed the mages to have several times more mana than the other mages of the same level.

    However, those pieces of magical equipment were not artifacts after all. The recovery of mana was rapid, but it wasn¡¯t enough to support the repeated output of powerful magic spells. Besides, in an environment like the ice ind, the magical elements in the space were far less active than in the outside world. That made their mana recovery much slower than before.

    The Snow Demons that the team encountered this time were not ordinary magical beasts that could be got rid of easily, though it was mostly because of the environment here. The Snow Demons were at least at the Legendary-level, and many of them were at level-21 or level-22.

    The rookie mages who consumed plenty of mana were pitted against the Snow Demons that had an absolute advantage, thus making the battle unmatched in the first ce. Afterunching several waves of attacks, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages had no choice but to defend passively. Even if themander Dorick had thought of countless solutions to reverse the situation, none of them worked.

    Those Snow Demons not only cast magic continuously, they also kept emitting a sharp whistling sound which made the rookie mages flustered so much that they couldn¡¯t even chant any incantations anymore.

    The Snow Demons were different from other magical beasts, and it was said that they carried the blood of the Abyssal Phantom. Each one of them was born with a female humanoid body that was perfectly voluptuous, making them extremely attractive. Their sharp whistles were not ordinary, either, as they came with mental spells that could easily disrupt the mages¡¯ spellcasting.

    The performance of the group of rookie mages was conceivable. Their consumption of mana was extremelyrge in the first ce, and now their spellcasting was interrupted time and time again. The consumption of mana was almost exponentially increased. Soon, the group of rookie mages turned pale, and some mages even began throwing up because of the interruption.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li knew that there was nothing much to do anymore. If that went on, the rookie mages might reach the other extreme again. It was just like how n calcted the use for every trace of mana carefully. That likewise wasn¡¯t a good habit.

    ¡°Uljfalusi, get rid of that group of Snow Demons,¡± Lin Li said indifferently.

    Uljfalusi didn¡¯t even summon a Humerus Wyrm, and simply took two steps forward and raised the skeleton staff in his hand. Immediately afterwards, the ice and snow in the area where the Snow Demons were standing instantly turned ck, and countless skeletal arms extended from the ck snow, dragging the Snow Demons that were close to the ground.

    This time, the group of Snow Demons were immediately frightened to the point of turning pale, and their expressions became twisted too. All the pleasant things before had been ruined. They wailed and shrieked while struggling, but they could not break free from the skeletal arms that seemed extremely fragile. They had no choice but to be dragged into the ground.

    In an instant, Snow Demons were all gone, while the ck ground gradually retracted and shrank until it became a tiny ck dot before vanishingpletely. The snowfield also turned clean and pure again, but there were some messy stains left. Without them, they wouldn¡¯t have guessed what happened here.

    Seeing that the Snow Demons had disappeared, the rookie mages also finally recovered from shock. Dorick walked towards Lin Li with a guilty expression, and said, ¡°President, I¡¯m sorry, it was my misconduct that caused such a result.¡±

    Although the team did not suffer any losses, the president actually had to stand by his subordinates during a battle against the Snow Demons. Clearly, it was their negligence! Dorick had originally been confident that he and the others would be able to share the burden and relieve some of Lin Li¡¯s pressure, but now he was so embarrassed that his face turned red.

    Instead of reprimanding him, Lin Li merely calmly asked, ¡°Do you know what your mistake was?¡±

    ¡°Yes, President, we took too much for granted, thinking that we were so great just because we stepped into the Legendary-realm. However, in reality, we still have too much to learn,¡± Dorick said with some guilt.

    ¡°Okay, take a 10-minute break, think about what went wrong earlier, and then move on.¡± Lin Li waved his hand, and told Dorick to go back and make arrangements for the mages to rest.

    When Dorick returned to the team, and began to arrange for the mages to recover their mana as soon as possible, Lin Li looked at the ce where the Snow Demons were just now, and couldn¡¯t help but get a little lost in thought. He wasn¡¯t thinking about the alluring figures of the Snow Demons, but rather wondering if he should catch some Snow Demons and bring them back for the mages to learn how to cast spells under interference.

    10 minutes passed quickly, and the group of rookie mages had almost recovered their mana. Besides, while they were resting, they listened to Dorick¡¯s summary of the previous problems, and had more or less learned their lesson.

    The team set out again, and the rookie mages vaguely changed. Previously, they were indeed serious, but deep down they probably didn¡¯t think that the adventure would be too difficult. After all, they were all Legendary-mages, and would make quite a powerful team out there. Besides, with the previous lesson, they finally knew that the adventure was not a leisurely excursion, and that there was just too much for them to learn.

    In the ensuing process, the team encountered even more hindrance from magical beasts, and the mages finally behaved and reacted the way they should. Of course, for them, a group of rookies, to suddenly be elites who were experienced in battle was obviously not quite realistic. That could only happen after they continued partaking in battles and honing their skills. They might even have to pay the price in blood or lose their lives.

    All of a sudden, Norfeller, who had gone to scout ahead, flew back and came close to Lin Li. He reported, ¡°Master, a team of humans has been spotted ahead, and it seems to be from the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    Lin Li was really surprised to hear that because the Gilded Kingdom imed that this ce was the Ominous Land, and it seemed that no one hade here to explore for thousands of years, so why did the Gilded Kingdom sent their team to explore as soon as Lin Li and his team had just arrived? Of course, this ind was within the territorial waters of the Gilded Kingdom, so there was nothing wrong with them sending a team to explore it. However, that would result in an inevitable conflict with the Gilded Kingdom again.

    Although he was surprised, Lin Li didn¡¯t take it too seriously, and let the team move on. Anyway, if the team from the Gilded Kingdom knew what they were doing, a cooperation was possible too. However, if they decided to be foolish, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind adding on to the legend of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The team of the Tower of Dusk continued to move forward, and soon saw the team of the Gilded Kingdom in front of them. Without needing Lin Li¡¯s order, the mages quickly got into a formation under Dorick¡¯smand vigntly. Everyone knew that when exploring ruins or during a quest for treasures, the most frightening existence was not those magical beasts or magic gears, but their own kind.

    As expected, when the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages changed their formation, the team from the Gilded Kingdom also immediately reacted in a way that was obviously not very friendly. The mages and warriors broke away from the team, and rushed towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. The mages raised their staffs and chanted incantations, while the warriors drew their swords, all without the intention of talking to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team as they simply attacked immediately.

    The team from the Gilded Kingdom was the expedition led by the Illuminati¡¯s Saint Edmund, Elder Zumar, and High Priest Poer. They arrived two days earlier than the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, but due to the fact that theynded on another side of the ice ind, they didn¡¯t see those warships of the Gilded Kingdom like when <i>The Star</i> came over.

    After discovering that Lin Li¡¯s team had actually appeared on the ice ind too, High Priest Poer was really surprised and ted. He was surprised that Lin Li was able to find the ind, knowing that the ind would move and not remain stationary. Apart from the pirates who often frequented the surrounding waters, few people would be able to urately deduce the location of the ind. Meanwhile, he was d that he could run into the enemy he wanted to get rid of in the future in such a ce that was considered to be isted from the world. Here, he could let go of all his worries, and would not have to consider the fact that the enemies were under the Supreme Council nor worry about the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins.

    Hence, High Priest Poer had no intention of talking to Lin Li at all as he simply ordered his team to attack. Although he also knew that Lin Li had Sanctuary-level strength, and was more powerful than him, he was not the only Sanctuary powerhouse there. In particr, there was also Saint Edmund who was in charge of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati, and was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, he thought that it probably would be a piece of cake for him to deal with Lin Li.

    Seeing that High Priest had ordered his subordinates to attack the Tower of Dusk without hesitation, Elder Zumar panicked, and frantically said, ¡°Wait, Poer, you can¡¯t do this, do you want us to start a war with the Tower of Dusk!? Don¡¯t forget, Felic is still the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council!¡±

    However, after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, High Priest Poerughed unconcernedly, and said, ¡°Zumar, don¡¯t worry, if we were elsewhere, I¡¯d definitely take your advice. However, if we kill all of them here, who would know that we were the ones who did it? So what if the Supreme Council is in charge of them? Without evidence, they can¡¯t pin the me on us.¡±

    ¡°Poer, you!¡± When Elder Zumar saw that High Priest Poer refused to listen to him, he had no choice but to turn to Saint Edmund, and say, ¡°Saint Edmund, please stop Poer quickly, or I¡¯m afraid it will cause a war between us and the Supreme Council!¡±

    However, in the face of Elder Zumar¡¯s request, Saint Edmund remained silent, seemingly approving of Poer¡¯s behavior. Indeed, from everyone¡¯s perspective, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was significantly stronger than the Tower of Dusk. Although Edmund did not bear a grudge against Lin Li, he thought that it would be the right choice to get rid of Lin Li before they got into a likely conflict in the future.

    Just when Elder Zumar was persuading High Priest Poer, those who were sent from the team of the Gilded Kingdom had already rushed to the spot with the best engagement distance, and were ready to attack. The battle would begin at any time.

    However, looking at the people from the Gilded Kingdom who rushed over, Lin Li¡¯s expression remained indifferent, and he waspletely unmoved. He simply raised one hand, and pointed at the group of people. Next, the warriors sent by the Gilded Kingdom suddenly loomed over, and fell onto the ground, while the movements of the mages of the Gilded Kingdom froze. Their incantations stopped, and the magic light on their staffs stopped shing, as if time had been stopped in its tracks.

    Upon sight of such a scene, High Priest Poer could not help but feel overwhelmed with hatred as he hollered at the subordinates beside him, ¡°All of you must die!¡±

    High Priest Poer was prepared to go all out to get rid of his enemy, even if all his subordinates had to die. Perhaps there seemed to be no great feud between him and Lin Li to ordinary people, but as he was a Sanctuary powerhouse, his pride mattered more to him than anything else. The fact that his son had gotten bullied was just like an insult to him.

    Hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s orders, the mages and warriors in the group immediately got into formation to attack without hesitation at all. They then bulldozed towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    Although they had all heard the argument between Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer, such an argument between big shots was meaningless to them. They just needed to know whom they should listen to. Although Elder Zumar had a high status, and was probably superior to High Priest Poer, he wasn¡¯t their direct leader, after all.

    However, just as the team from the Gilded Kingdom was getting ready tounch arge-scale attack, Saint Edmund who had been staying silent for a long time suddenly interjected, ¡°Stop.¡±

    Edmund¡¯s voice was very soft, but everyone heard him very clearly. Upon hearing his words, they finally stopped. Although High Priest Poer was their direct leader, Saint Edmund was a godlike existence in their hearts.

 Chapter 1145 - Black Robe

    <h4>Chapter 1145: ck Robe</h4>

    Everyone knew that Saint Edmund was one of the few figures who were at the pinnacle of the Gilded Kingdom, and even King Bradlor had to be respectful towards them.

    Saint Edmund¡¯s words were indeed beyond High Priest Poer¡¯s expectations. <i>Didn¡¯t you already give me silent approval? Why are you stopping me now?</i>

    ¡°Venerable Saint, these people from the Tower of Dusk have always been extremely rude, and they even destroyed the kingdom¡¯s Fifth Fleet. They clearly have no intention of being at peace with us,¡± High Priest Poer said anxiously. In the beginning, he was still hoping that Saint Edmund would intervene to help him take revenge. After all, he knew very well that he was not Lin Li¡¯s match yet. However, he did not expect Edmund to intervene and stop him right when they were about to start a battle.

    Edmund frowned slightly, obviously somewhat dissatisfied with High Priest Poer¡¯s attitude. He then said in a deep voice, ¡°Poer, I hope you remember what you are here for. Don¡¯t forget the important task at hand for your own selfish reasons.¡±

    Edmund, of course, did not stop High Priest Poer because he could not bear to go hard against the Tower of Dusk. In fact, if the members of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team were all wastrels, he wouldn¡¯t mind letting High Priest Poer abuse his authority and annihte them.

    However, Edmund¡¯s judgment was far better than High Priest Poer¡¯s. He could already tell from Lin Li¡¯s strike alone that Lin Li had incredible strength. In this case, if they still wanted to fight a battle, it would probably end up in a loss-loss scenario. In that case, how could they carry on with the mission?

    The team of the Tower of Dusk had already gotten ready to fight, but after Edmund stopped High Priest Poer, Lin Li raised his hand to beckon the mages to temporarily stop preparing for battle.

    In fact, Lin Li¡¯s thoughts and concerns were somewhat simr to Saint Edmund¡¯s. If the other party was just the High Priest Poer and those nobodies, he would simply order his subordinates to attack without even waiting for High Priest Poer to make any moves. Even if Elder Zumar joined in, Lin Li would not be too worried. After all, he still had powerful weapons like the debris of the stars. Hence, he really was not afraid of Zumar and Poer ganging up against him.

    However, apart from Zumar and Power, there was another mysterious man in a ck robe whom he had to face, thus leaving Lin Li with no choice but to consider the consequences of starting a battle.

    Lin Li was not arrogant enough to think that he could single-handedly fight three Sanctuary powerhouses, especially since making sure that none of them escaped was definitely tough.

    Hence, the two parties very tacitly agreed to temporarily put aside their hostility, and showed some intention to negotiate. Saint Edmund of the Gilded Kingdom brought Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer away from the team, and went towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, while Lin Li brought Connoris and the two Undead servants toward the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side.

    No matter what, the two sides did not break into battle in the end, so Elder Zumar was secretly relieved. He introduced to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, let me introduce you, this is Saint Edmund of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hello, Saint Edmund.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t expect to meet a big shot of the Illuminati here. The four Saints of the Illuminati, who were second only to the Holy Lord of the Illuminati, could be said to be above all others among the Illuminati.

    Edmund assented with a nod, but did not say anything to Lin Li, and instead seemed to be putting on an arrogant attitude. It was no wonder that he¡¯d behave that way, since he had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm years ago, and was even older than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. How could he be friendly to a young man like Lin Li?

    Lin Li had seen plenty of people who liked putting on airs just because they were old. Hence, he didn¡¯t care about Edmund¡¯s attitude, but rather turned to Elder Zumar, and asked, ¡°Elder Zumar, I didn¡¯t expect us to meet here. What are you guys nning to do?¡±

    Although Elder Zumar did not want a conflict to break out between the two parties, it didn¡¯t mean that he liked Lin Li, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal the real situation that they were in to thetter. Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, he nced at the team from the Tower of Dusk behind Lin Li with a smile, and said, ¡°We were entrusted by His Majesty to investigate the curse put on this ind. Felic, I believe that you should know about the legend of this ce, so I won¡¯t say anything more. President Felic, what did youe all the way here and create a ruckus for instead of staying on Four Seasons Ind?¡±

    Lin Li did not believe that they were there for an investigation of the curse that Elder Zumar mentioned. The legend of the curse had been circting for many years, and if the Gilded Kingdom had wanted to investigate, they would have done so long ago. However, since they were not willing to disclose the real reason, Lin Li could not force them, either. Hence, Lin Li said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so sorry. We just wanted to cruise around the sea and enjoy the scenery, but we did not expect to deviate from the course and end up here.¡±

    Lin Li was obviously lying, and Elder Zumar even wanted tough. It was an excuse that was as weak and ridiculous as a peeping Tom saying that he had gotten lost, and entered thedies¡¯ room by mistake. Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and even if he had no experience with sailing, it was impossible for him to get lost at sea. Besides, Lin Li had the nautical information that he had extorted out of the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re really lucky. Those who have been wanting to find this ind for years haven¡¯t been able to, but you managed to reach this ce after getting lost,¡± Elder Zumar said sarcastically. He was actually just trying to say that Lin Li¡¯s lie and excuse were too lousy.

    However, Lin Li looked at the surrounding scenery as if he didn¡¯t understand at all, and said, ¡°Indeed, I¡¯m very lucky. I didn¡¯t expect to be able to see such a mesmerizing scenery upon reaching a random ind. Elder Zumar, if there¡¯s nothing that you have to do, why don¡¯t youe and sit at my ce? I¡¯ve brought a special wine from the Breezy ins, so we can sip the wine while enjoying this beautiful scenery.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li was bing more and more absurd, Elder Zumar lost patience, and hurriedly stopped Lin Li from continuing. ¡°Okay, President Felic, let¡¯s talk openly and honestly, saying such things is just a waste of everyone¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°Sure, Elder Zumar, please set an example,¡± Lin Li immediately retorted.

    Elder Zumar secretly cursed Lin Li in his head for being cunning before turning his head to look at Saint Edmund. Seeing that Edmund didn¡¯t object, he then said to Lin Li, ¡°Alright, I will be direct then. The goal of our exploration this time is to go to the center of this ind. Where are you nning to go, President Felic?¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence. It just so happens that we are going to the center of the ind too,¡± Lin Li said, revealing his goal. However, he did not state the true agenda of the exploration, and instead waited for Elder Zumar to continue speaking lest he suffered a loss.

    Just when Elder Zumar was about to open his mouth again, Edmund coughed lightly, and said, ¡°Stop ying these word games. In order to avoid unnecessary conflict, I might as well tell you the purpose of our exploration this time. I believe that you should have already heard and understood something about the legend of this ind. This ind is known as a cursed ind. Thousands of years ago, there was a tragedy where countless adventurers died, and a fleet of the Gilded Kingdom was involved too. However, some things happenedter, and I reckon no outsiders know about it.

    ¡°Oh? May I hear the details?¡± Lin Li had already heard of the legend that Edmund mentioned from Jeremiah. However, the fact that Edmund mentioned that the legend was notpletely known to outsiders really piqued his interest.

    ¡°Perhaps even in the Gilded Kingdom today, very few know that this so-called cursed ind is also the origin of the Illuminati. The first Holy Lord who single-handedly created the Illuminati was born on this very ind.¡± Edmund¡¯s words made everyone feel astonished. There was probably no one who knew that the ind, which was called the ominousnd by the Gilded Kingdom, was actually the birthce of the first Holy Lord of the Illuminati!

    Logically speaking, as the birthce of the first Holy Lord of the Illuminati, this ind should be a holy ce in the eyes of the Illuminati and even the Gilded Kingdom. However, the contrast between that and reality was just too great, and the ind had be the so-called Ominous Land which housed all the criminals who had been exiled and banished there, almost making this location a filthy ce.

    ¡°You mean this ce that is now the Ominous Land was the holynd of your Illuminati?¡± Although Lin Li knew that he was a Sanctuary-powerhouse, and wouldn¡¯t care about the Holy Land, he was still in disbelief.

    Edmund was not angry at Lin Li¡¯s questions. If it were someone else who dared to question him, he might have already taught the other party a lesson. However, he could tell from Lin Li¡¯s minor attack just now that thetter had the right to speak to him like an equal.

    Hence, in the face of Lin Li¡¯s bombardment of questions, Edmund simply shook his head without exining. ¡°When the first holy lord of the Illuminati Aquilo was born, this ind was still only an extremely ordinary ind, while Aquilo was just an ordinary fisherman on the ind. However, ording to the holy records, a sudden change urred on the ind one night when Saint Aquilo was just 17 years old. All of a sudden, there was a change, and it was obviouslyte at night, but the ind was engulfed by endless light that was maintained for dozens of days. During the change, Holy Lord Aquilo received the king¡¯s favor, and he obtained godlike power.¡±

    Lin Li had learned about the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati from all perspectives ever since he came into contact with them. In particr, he put in a lot of effort into finding out about the Illuminati which could almostpete with the Supreme Council. Although he did not know much about the first holy lord of the Illuminati Aquilo whom Edmund mentioned, he still knew a thing or two about the Illuminati¡¯s doctrinal beliefs.

    The Illuminati believed in the ancient god Zagar, and imed that Zagar was the one who had created the world, as well as the ancient wyrms and Titans which had once dominated Anril for countless years. In their teachings, it was mentioned that ¡°The true god awakened in chaos, and created the first light of the world for there to be light.¡± They believed that light was the beginning of the world, and therefore the king Edmund mentioned was Zagar, the ancient deity of the Illuminati.

    The Illuminati¡¯s beliefs seemed to be somewhat simr to those of the Brilliance Shrine, but they were actuallypletely different. The Brilliance Shrine believed in the Holy Light that could purify all evilness and filth in the world, or rather, it could be said that their faith was purely a holy Law. On the other hand, the Illuminati believed in the light of creation, the light that could epass everything in the world, which they believed to carry Zagar¡¯s willpower.

    ¡°Holy Lord Aquilo obtained the inheritance of the God-king of Light, and became the Son of Light in the midst of day, so he created the Illuminati and spread the teachings of light to the world. In the following decades, the faith was spread to every ind inhabited by humans, and even the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom became devotees. At that time, this ind became the holynd of the Illuminati countless devotees would travel to by boat for a pilgrimage,¡± Edmund said, giving a brief introduction of the origin of the Illuminati. Although he seemed calm, his tone of voice contained a sense of pride and longing for that era.

    However, Lin Li was unfazed. As a mage, he was basically meant to be faithless, and naturally would not have any redundant feelings. Of course, from Edmund¡¯s story, he could also imagine how the ind thrived to be the holynd. However, the difference between what the ind used to be and now was huge, and Lin Li had thus developed a greater interest in what happened to the ind. He asked, ¡°How did this ind be a ce of exile and end up in such a state?¡±

    Knowing that it was not time to reminisce and bask in nostalgia, Edmund put away his thoughts, and said in a slightly more somber voice, ¡°Everything changed when a man in a ck robe suddenly came to this ind. Shortly after he did, an earth-shattering battle broke out, after which the will of the God-king of Light whom we worship was suppressed.¡±

    <i>Man in a ck robe?</i> Lin Li was shocked, and he immediately thought of the Immortal King. <i>Didn¡¯t I end up finding this deste ind because I was in pursuit of the Immortal King¡¯s traces!?</i>

 Chapter 1146 - Hit It Off

    <h4>Chapter 1146: Hit It Off</h4>

    However, Lin Li¡¯s face remained unchanged because he didn¡¯t want to reveal the information about the Immortal King. Hence, he said in a skeptical tone with some apprehension, ¡°Are you saying that a man in a ck robe suppressed the will of the God-king of Light that you believe in? This seems a bit unlikely, right? Since the God-king of Light is the God of Creation, his will must be extremely powerful, so how can it be suppressed by a human? Besides, since this is the sacrednd of the Illuminati, would you allow the god of your faith to be so offended?¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the expression on Saint Edmund¡¯s face finally changed slightly. However, it was a look of grief, and not anger. ¡°Of course we didn¡¯t just stand by and watch, it¡¯s just that that ck-robed man was too powerful. He was so powerful that we suspect that he wasn¡¯t human at all. ording to the sacred scriptures, that battle almost destroyed the sacrednd, and the foundation of the Illuminati was nearly uprooted. The founding saint, Aquilo, also unfortunately fell in that battle. Besides, it was only because he was affected by the battle between the two parties.¡±

    After saying that, everyone in the surroundings couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply. The people of the Illuminati knew that the founding Saint, Lord Aquilo, was a mythical existence ording to the sacred scriptures. Legend had it that his strength was close to the gods¡¯ back then, and he could be considered to have reached the point where he was able to fight against the gods. However, such a powerful existence actually fell because of the aftershocks of a battle. How powerful was the battle then?

    As for the people on Lin Li¡¯s side, although no one had read the Illuminati¡¯s scriptures, they could imagine how powerful that person who could create the formidable Illuminati was. After all, it was not a peaceful era back then. There were High Elves on the maind and the powerful Sea n in the depths of the ocean. Hence, without sufficient power and strength, it was definitely impossible to create the Illuminati.

    At this moment, Lin Li was more and more inclined to think that the ck-robed man was the Immortal King. The Immortal King was a powerful figure that could even annihte the Dragon of Destruction. Hence, it might not really be much of an exaggeration to say that he could suppress the will of the ancient deity Zagar.

    ¡°So, what is your purpose ining here?¡± Although he had heard about the Illuminati, Lin Li did not forget about the important thing he had to do. Hence, he directly asked for the reason that Edmund and the rest of the group were there.

    ¡°We¡¯re here just for the follow-up n and to conduct some exploration in advance. In the near future, we will mobilize all of our forces toe here, and bring back the sacred relics that the Illuminati had lost here back then.¡± Edmund finally revealed his agenda. He then turned to Lin Li, and said, ¡°President Felic, shouldn¡¯t you also tell us what your intention behind the visit is?¡±

    The secret story of the Illuminati that Edmund mentioned took ce at least thousands of years ago, but why did he choose toe to take the so-called holy relic only now after such a long period of time? Edmund seemed to be deliberately ignoring that point, but Lin Li did not probe further despite being filled with doubts.

    Lin Li was well aware that it was simply impossible to expect Edmund to tell him the truthpletely. If he dwelt too much on that issue, the temporary peace between the two parties would have to be broken. Lin Li wasn¡¯t there to start a war with the Illuminati, but to search for information left behind by the Immortal King. Hence, he was naturally unwilling to cause any dy in his important matters because of that.

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s inquiry, Lin Li smiled, and said without blinking, ¡°Actually, the reason I came to this ind is simple. When I was on the maind, I explored some ruins from the Dark Age and chanced upon some information about this ind in the tomb of a Sanctuary powerhouse of the Dark Age. It¡¯s said that that Sanctuary powerhouse said that in the center of this ind, there is an extremely powerful magical weapon. I couldn¡¯t help it. The Tower of Dusk has only been established a few years ago, and the foundation is still weak, so I took the opportunity toe here during the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration.¡±

    One of them imed to be there to recover the sacred relics, and one said he was there to find a powerful magical weapon. In the opinion of the public, there was definitely a conflict of interests because what if the holy relics and the magical weapon were the same thing? Would they go to war immediately? Even if the two were not the same thing, this ce used to be the sacrednd of the Illuminati, so it was reasonable that any powerful magical weapon that could be found there used to belong to the Illuminati. In that case, how could the Illuminati watch others take their own things?

    However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s statement, Edmund did not seem to mind it much, and instead said, ¡°After all, this ind used to be the sacrednd of the Illuminati. Although thousands of years have passed, we still have a collection of the information about the situation on the ind. Since you¡¯re also heading to the center of the ind, why don¡¯t we put aside our past conflicts for the time being and head there together, President Felic?¡±

    After hearing Saint Edmund¡¯s words, everyone present, be it the people from the Tower of Dusk or the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, was astonished. It was akin to leading a burr around the house instead of driving him away!

    In particr, High Priest Poer immediately panicked, and turned around to say something to Edmund. However, before he could do so, Edmund raised his hand to make a gesture, causing Poer to drop the idea.

    Although Poer was the high priest of the kingdom, and had a very high status in the Gilded Kingdom, the Gilded Kingdom was a devotee of the Illuminati. Hence, how could he, the high priest of the kingdom,pare to the Illuminati¡¯s Saint? Although he could ignore Elder Zumar¡¯s words, he definitely didn¡¯t dare to adopt such an attitude when facing Saint Edmund.

    Hence, seeing Edmund¡¯s gesture, High Priest Poer immediately stopped himself from raising an objection. He had no choice but to turn around and glower at his enemy, Lin Li.

    However,pared to others, Lin Li wasn¡¯t quite surprised, as he was still smiling calmly. He was well aware that Edmund did not have any good intentions, and the reason he asked him toe along was very likely because he wanted Lin Li to be his cannon fodder.

    With this, Lin Li could also specte that the journey would probably be dangerous, and Edmund was not confident that he could deal with the trouble alone. However, Lin Li did not take it to heart. Anyway, even without Edmund and the others, they would still go to the center of the ind to explore all the same. Now that Edmund¡¯s team had joined, it was uncertain who would be the cannon fodder.

    With that thought in mind, Lin Li did not hesitate much at all and nodded. ¡°Sure, since you have extended this invitation to me, Saint Edmund, there is nothing else I have to hesitate about. I hope that we can get along well on the way from now on.¡±

    With that, the two teams reached a verbal agreement to get along peacefully for the time being. After taking a short break, they set out again to the center of the ind.

    After passing through undting frozen mountains, they were greeted with a boundless snowfield where the temperature was freezing. There were very few creatures in Anril that could survive in such an environment. At the same time, there was also a violent ice Elemental Power shrouding this snowfield and forming a terrifying ice storm. There was no Elemental Power of other elements.

    ording to the judgment of several Sanctuary powerhouses, perhaps only those who were in the Legendary-level and above could survive in such an environment. Those below the Legendary-level would probably be frozen as soon as they stepped into it. Faced with such a situation, the two teams unanimously made the same decision to let those who were too weak to withstand the conditions head back first.

    After everything was arranged, the two teams,posed entirely of Legendary powerhouses, stepped into the ice field, and continued to travel towards the center of the ind.

    However, soon after the two teams entered the snowfield, they were attacked by a group of ice elemental lifeforms. This hellish ce where the majority of creatures couldn¡¯t survive was a haven for ice elemental lifeforms as they did not have any natural enemies there, and there was a constant stream of ice Elemental Power that was continuously infused into their bodies.

    After long years of growth, the ice elemental lifeforms each had either Legendary-level or near-Legendary-level strength. Besides, they would appear in clusters of hundreds or even thousands. In the snowfield where they had an absolute advantage, they could exert more power.

    If it was a team with members that were of the same level as the ice elemental lifeforms, they might really face a tragic end. However, the two teams now had four Sanctuary powerhouses, which were far stronger than Legendary-level existences.

    On the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side, High Priest Poer seemed to be venting his discontentment and anger as he destroyed arge number of ice elemental lifeforms that swarmed towards him with a single strike. High Priest Poer was a real Sanctuary powerhouse who could easily destroy those Legendary-level ice elemental lifeforms. Hence, the Legendary powerhouses in the team did not even have the chance to attack, and were just acting as spectators.

    However, the battle on the side of the Tower of Dusk was much more eventful. With Lin Li¡¯s strength, destroying those ice elemental lifeforms was much easier for him than for High Priest Poer. After all, there was a clear difference in strength between the two of them. However, Lin Li did not attack, and even Connoris and the others didn¡¯t.

    The ones who fought with those ice elemental lifeforms were the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk. Although they had reached the Legendary-realm, they might not be able topare with those ice elemental life forms in terms of strength. Fortunately, they had the Magic Net Array that could allow them to survive under the waves of attacks of the ice elemental lifeforms.

    Although finding the traces of the Immortal King was the most important thing at the moment for Lin Li, he wasn¡¯t willing to give up what he felt was an excellent opportunity to hone the skills of the rookie mages. Otherwise, he would have just let them go back.

    However, the speed of the Tower of Dusk team naturally slowed down greatly, leaving the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team with no choice but to stop and wait for them.

    ¡°We actually have to bring this bunch of garbage with us here, I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s on his mind.¡± High Priest Poer disliked Lin Li greatly, and thus couldn¡¯t help but sneer again when he saw that they were being slowed down by Lin Li¡¯s team again.

    However, unlike High Priest Poer, Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar remained silent. Instead, they seemed to be watching the battle that the Tower of Dusk was in.

    ¡°Is this the Magic Net Array created by Geresco? I didn¡¯t expect that this Magic Array would really change thebat power of the mages so drastically,¡± Elder Zumar remarked in amazement while watching with great enthusiasm. It was as if he was trying to memorize the Magic Array with his eyes.

    Unfortunately, the Magic Net Array was not an ordinary formation used in the military. The formation was just one aspect, and the true core was not something that could be learned with the naked eye.

    Hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, High Priest Poer¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he no longer looked as furious. Instead, he said in a somber tone of voice, ¡°If we can get this Magic Array from the Tower of Dusk, it will definitely be a great help in improving the strength of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati.¡±

    Previously, when he first came into contact with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, High Priest Poer wanted to rely on the strength of his side to wipe out the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. However, he waster stopped by Saint Edmund. At that time, Saint Edmund told him not to affect the operation because of his selfish reasons.

    Hence, at this moment, High Priest Poer stopped speaking from his personal perspective, and instead looked like he was all out for the interests of the kingdom for the Illuminati. Of course, what he said was indeed true and faultless. There were numerous mages in the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. If they could master the Magic Net Array, their strength would definitely be improved greatly.

    However, Edmund was still clear-headed after all. He shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°Cut it out, our goal now is toplete the task of exploration. Leave those things forter.¡±

    Edmund naturally also knew the benefits of the Magic Net Array, but it was obviously not the time to talk about it now. He was also nning to let the team of the Tower of Dusk be the cannon fodder. If they showed any intention to covet the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Magic Net Array, they would probably fall out with them.

 Chapter 1147 - Ice Phoenix

    <h4>Chapter 1147: Ice Phoenix</h4>

    Hearing these words, High Priest Poer stopped persuading them despite his reluctance. However, he was not entirely disappointed, because Saint Edmund mentioned talking about those issues at ater time, not dropping it entirely. As long as Saint Edmund was willing to deal with the Tower of Dusk, it would be a piece of cake to get rid of them.

    After a while, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team finally ended the battle. Although there were no casualties among the mages, they were clearly exhausted. However, before High Priest Poer coulde up with any ideas, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had already each taken out a potion and drunk it. Immediately afterwards, the mages¡¯ mana and mental strength recovered quickly.

    This time, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were shocked again. Although they had also prepared a lot of high-level potions for the exploration this time, they were still astonished after seeing the magical effect of the potions. It wasn¡¯t that they had never seen potions with such miraculous effects before, but rather that they knew that those that could produce such effects were usually Master-level potions.

    Master-level potions were definitely rare and highly valued in all parts of the world. However, the mages of the Tower of Dusk actually downed them like water! Seeing such a scene, the people on the side of Gilded Kingdom were green with envy, wishing they could snatch those empty potion bottles, and see if they could umte the residue into a bottle of potion.

    Of course, Saint Edmund and the other two Sanctuary powerhouses had betterposure, though they were still secretly amazed by the Tower of Dusk¡¯svish habits. Potions with instant mana recovery effects were generally used to save lives, and were often used as a trump card that would be pulled only during the most critical juncture. The mages of the Tower of Dusk could obviously recover well after some rest, and yet they each wasted such a precious potion for the sake of restoring themselves to the best state. Such wastrels!

    When the team of the Tower of Dusk finished cleaning up the battlefield, the people of the Gilded Kingdom began seeing them as nouveaux riches. The people of the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t understand it at all. Was there a need to use such expensive potions for such a trivial battle?

    However, Lin Li was very satisfied with the battle just now. The rookie mages were very talented in the first ce, and had excellent theoretical knowledge too. After several true battles, they soon got into battle mode. Although their performance had yet to beparable to that of the mages Lin Li had brought to the Sky Castle, he believed that they would definitely be the elites of the Tower of Dusk after experiencing a few more battles and honing their skills.

    In the process of traveling towards the center of this ominous ind, the two teams¡ªfrom the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk, respectively¡ªencountered several more attacks from the ice elemental lifeforms. The closer they got to the center of the ice ind, the more powerful the ice elemental lifeforms became. Besides, there were many that were near the Sanctuary-realm.

    The team of the Gilded Kingdom basically dealt with them, and finished the battle quickly without much painstaking efforts, especially since they had the help of the Sanctuary powerhouse, High Priest Poer. On the other side, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team often caused a long dy in the battle because of Lin Li¡¯s n for honing their skills.

    Afterwards, the mages of the Tower of Dusk clearly could have ended the battle sooner, but Lin Li instructed them to switch to a newbat method, causing the battle¡¯s duration to be prolonged again.

    The members of the Gilded Kingdom were naturally quite displeased with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s procrastination, especially High Priest Poer who disliked the people of the Tower of Dusk in the first ce. However, regardless of their interventions or mockery, Lin Li remained unfazed, and continued doing what he wanted to.

    Facing the interventions of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, Lin Li¡¯s response was simple. While watching his subordinates fight, he nonchntly answered, ¡°If you¡¯re in a rush, you don¡¯t have to wait for us. It doesn¡¯t matter, we can find our way there ourselves.¡±

    Lin Li obviously understood what the people of the Gilded Kingdom were nning to do. They undoubtedly wanted to make the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team cannon fodder. In particr, in the current situation, the members of the Gilded Kingdom knew more about this ice ind aspared to them. Hence, the Gilded Kingdom obviously had such ns.

    However, Lin Li clearly had the same idea too.

    Upon receiving that response from Lin Li, High Priest Poer almost vomited blood in exasperation. However, there was no way for him to re up, because Saint Edmund had already told him to simmer down in advance. In a moment of helplessness, the members of the Gilded Kingdom had no choice but to end the battle and wait for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    Of course, High Priest Poer had also tried to help the Tower of Dusk deal with the enemies. Although it seemed to be holding themselves cheap by helping their rival get rid of the enemy, the thought of ruining Lin Li¡¯s n to train his subordinates bnced it out.

    However, as soon as High Priest showed the slightest intention of striking, Lin Li would instantly release a terrifying mana wave. Clearly, Lin Li would never allow anyone to ruin his n. Once High Priest Poer attacked, he would face retaliation by Thunderbolt.

    In the end, Saint Edmund of the Gilded Kingdom stopped High Priest Poer in time, preventing the conflict between them from breaking out in advance. Hence, the team from the Gilded Kingdom had no choice but to end their battle and wait for the Tower of Dusk to do the same.

    Just like that, the two teams traveled for nearly a day with breaks in between, and finally entered the central area of the ice ind. After they did, the ice elemental lifeforms also disappeared, and did not attack them.

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s n to train their subordinates naturally had to be put on hold. The Tower of Dusk did not waste any more time, and the two teams naturally enjoyed a boost in their marching speed. It was as if they could reach their destination in the next moment.

    However, before Saint Edmund could rejoice, a loud ring resounded through the clouds, followed by a terrifying aura that shrouded the group. Immediately afterwards, they saw in the air a massive white bird-shaped magical beast rushing towards the two teams on the ground.

    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s the Ice Phoenix! How did this thing appear here!?¡± High Priest Poer couldn¡¯t help but exim in shock.

    It was said that the power of the phoenixes was far greater than that of the ancient wyrms in the prehistoric times. However, the very fact that the phoenixes were extremely rare meant that they could not participate in the battle for supremacy between the ancient wyrms and the Titans in Anril. However, in the war between the ancient wyrms and the Titans, the phoenixes had always been extraordinary; hence, neither the ancient wyrms nor the Titans wanted to push the phoenixes to their opponent. Clearly, although the Phoenix n was small in number, the ancient wyrms and the Titans were wary of their strength.

    The Ice Phoenixes were considered the aliens of the phoenixes. Even in the prehistoric times, there were very few of them due to the fact that the phoenixes basically had fire as the origin of power, unlike the ancient wyrms that had a variety of origins of power.

    As their name implied, the Ice Phoenixes had the Laws of Ice as their origin power. Compared to the phoenixes that ordinary people knew, they were at the other extreme of power. The Ice Phoenix that appeared in front of the two teams today had power that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, its power even contained some divine aura, and it was probably near the realm of the gods.

    Shrouded in white and crystalline feathers, the Ice Phoenix had wings that were hundreds of meters long and nine long tails trailing behind it. It was surrounded by clouds that had condensed into ice, giving it a majestic vibe.

    Even Saint Edmund of the Gilded Kingdom had no idea if the Ice Phoenix was the one that had caused the changes in the ice ind, or that the ice ind had caused the Ice Phoenix toe over. However, the several Sanctuary powerhouses knew that the Ice Phoenix definitely wouldn¡¯te just to chat with them.

    The Ice Phoenix was definitely the strongest opponent that the two teams had met so far. Once the Ice Phoenix issued a threat, the members of the two teams except for the Sanctuary powerhouses would probably face a massive disaster.

    Facing an opponent at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, there was no need for anyone to be cannon fodder. Those below the Sanctuary-realm would probably die as soon as they came into contact with the aftershocks. Hence, the Sanctuary powerhouses broke free from their respective teams, and flew into the air almost unanimously.

    Seeing that the several Sanctuary powerhouses wereing forth, the Ice Phoenix almost ignored them, and simply spread its wings while vibrating. A terrifying ice storm swept towards the Sanctuary powerhouses. In the ice storm, countlessrge ice crystals flew rapidly. Even a mountain range would probably be sted into dust by the impact.

    As soon as they saw this situation, the several Sanctuary powerhouses dared not slow down in the slightest, and each of them immediately cast their strongest defensive magic spells. Even peak Legendary powerhouses could not resist and endure for a second in the storm.

    Although it was said that all under the Sanctuary-realm were insignificant ants, neither Lin Li, Saint Edmund, nor the others were willing to see the talents they nurtured die.

    Saint Edmund pointed his scepter forward, and a huge shield that wasposed of a dull light was immediately erected in front of him out of thin air. Elder Zumar and High Priest Poerunched their respective Domain Worlds, which were definitely the most powerful defensive means of all Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Both Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer had water element as their base; hence, the Domain Worlds that they created were also ocean worlds. However, it could be seen that Elder Zumar¡¯s was obviously stronger than that of High Priest Poer.

    Elder Zumar¡¯s ocean world was already based on the elementalws of water which resulted in many otherws, thus creating an ocean world full of vitality. High Priest Poer¡¯s ocean world seemed much duller, and apart from the vast sea, all the inds were still like floating icebergs.

    At this moment, Lin Li had also swung out the Helios¡¯ Scepter, but he did not unfold his Domain World. Instead, he erected a crystal-like Ice Shield in front of himself. Not only did it shield him, but also Connoris and the two Undead servants.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not cast a Domain World, and instead cast a magic shield, High Priest Poer was full of disdain.

    Although High Priest Poer had suffered an unjust loss during their brief battle, deep down, he did not think that Lin Li would be much more powerful than him. Now that Lin Li had mimicked Saint Edmund, and cast only a magic shield to defend against the terrifying attack of the Ice Phoenix, Poer felt that Lin Li was going to make a fool out of himself.

    When Elder Zumar saw Lin Li¡¯s move, he was just as shocked, and he secretly criticized Lin Li for being too arrogant. Although his knowledge of Lin Li¡¯s strength was far greater than that of High Priest Poer, he likewise did not think that Lin Li¡¯s strength could bepared to that of Saint Edmund.

    High Priest Poer hoped that Lin Li would suffer a big loss, or even get killed by the Ice Phoenix, but Elder Zumar had even more considerations. Although he also hoped for a chance to get rid of the young president of the Tower of Dusk, he did not think that now was a good time. The strength of the Ice Phoenix had already reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and was even vaguely near the realm of the gods. If they lost a Sanctuary powerhouse, they would probably pay a huge price even if they obtained victory in the end.

    However, it was toote to say anything, and the Ice Phoenix wouldn¡¯t give them any time to discuss anything. The terrifying ice storm swept over in the blink of an eye, and the several Sanctuary powerhouses ovepped their magic defenses. In an instant, it was as if the sky was snowing as countless ice crystals sttered everywhere.

    High Priest Poer was waiting to see Lin Li make a fool out of himself, but he didn¡¯t expect to be the first to be doomed. Under the ferocious impact of the ice storm, the Domain World he created was like a cracked eggshell as countless spatial rifts appeared in it.

 Chapter 1148 - Vanishing Vampire

    <h4>Chapter 1148: Vanishing Vampire</h4>

    Immediately afterwards, that extreme chilliness in the ice storm seeped through the spatial cracks, causing the ocean world to turn into an icy cold snowfield. Even the vast ocean had frozen.

    The Domain Worlds created by Sanctuary powerhouses hadpletely integrated theirprehension and mastery of the World Laws. Hence, they had absolute control over their own Domain Worlds. However, under the invasion of the extreme chilliness, High Priest Poer soon discovered to his horror that his control over the Domain World was being rapidly weakened. It was as if his will was about to be extracted from the Domain World.

    In the nick of time, a grayish glow suddenly enveloped High Priest Poer¡¯s Domain World, blocking the further invasion of the extreme chilliness. High Priest Poer knew that Edmund was helping him; hence, he dared not get distracted at all. Taking this chance, he hurriedly repaired his Domain World.

    Inparison to High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, after all. His Domain World had already reached a nearly perfect level. Under the influence of the ice storm, Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World remained still like a reef in the sea despite the waves that were crashing against it.

    Saint Edmund was considered to be the most rxed one. Therge dim shield in front of him was like a huge furnace that burnt and melted the iing ice storm before it even touched the shield.

    Of course, it was not that the Ice Phoenix was ipetent, but rather that the ice storm was only a probing attack. It wasn¡¯t surprising at all that Saint Edmund, who was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, could easily block such an attack. It was also because of this that Edmund could shelve out some energy to take care of High Priest Poer, who was the weakest among the three Sanctuary powerhouses.

    At the same time, Saint Edmund also looked over at Lin Li, only to secretly be shocked. Edmund wasn¡¯t surprised that Lin Li managed to resist the Ice Phoenix¡¯s ice storm with a seemingly ordinary ice shield. After all, the previous conflict had already allowed him to see that Lin Li¡¯s strength was indeed extraordinary. However, it now seemed that Lin Li¡¯s strength was still a little beyond his expectations.

    Contrary to High Priest Poer¡¯s hopes, the ice shield that Lin Li cast was not instantly washed away, copsing in the ice storm. The ice shield instead seemed like a snowball that constantly attracted ice crystals from the ice storm, making the ice shield bigger and bigger.

    Edmund couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. After all, it was not a real snowball, as it waspletely a battle between Laws. <i>Could it be that that young Sanctuary powerhouse can already devour and assimte the originws of the Ice Phoenix!?</i>

    Of course, Edmund would not know that Lin Li had the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, that contained pure water elementalws. His understanding and mastery of water elementalws was far from that of an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse of the same level.

    In fact, if Lin Li had concentrated on one or two basic elementalws, his strength would probably have already approached or even reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. However, if that had been the case, Lin Li¡¯s strength would certainly not have been nearly invinciblepared to others of the same level as it was now. He would at best be a Sanctuary powerhouse who was stronger than average.

    Of course, Lin Li was not devouring and assimting the originalws of the Ice Phoenix. He only used his mastery of the elementalws of water to guide the Ice Phoenix¡¯s originws to a certain extent. It was just like going with the flow, and not shing head-on with the power of the Ice Phoenix. Hence, the pressure naturally decreased.

    However, at this moment, even a powerhouse like Saint Edmund could not be too distracted when facing the powerful Ice Phoenix. After looking away from Lin Li, Edmund pointed his scepter forward, and countless huge thunderbolts sprang up in the air behind him, sting towards the Ice Phoenix one by one.

    The thunderbolts looked dull at first nce, but they were emitting a menacing and sinister aura. Facing the ice storm of the Ice Phoenix, those thunderbolts were like fish in water as they were almost unhindered by the ice storm. They then sted into the body of the Ice Phoenix one after another.

    The deafening roars filled the air and caused it to tremble vigorously, while the Ice Phoenix let out a furious chirp upon getting attacked. Next, the Ice Phoenix pped its wings and emitted an extreme chilliness. Even the space was frozen, and the thunderbolts seemed to have suddenly be motionless in the air. In the blink of an eye, they were shrouded in frost and fell downwards.

    As the Ice Phoenix managed to freeze even thunderbolts, it was no wonder that it was imed to be able to freeze everything in the world! Although Lin Li hid behind the ice shield, he could see the changes on the battlefield very clearly. Although the elementalws of water he had mastered through the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, were higher than the ice originws of the Ice Phoenix, he also had to admit that he could not maximize the operation of thews of ice like the Ice Phoenix could.

    However, Saint Edmund¡¯s attack was not entirely ineffective, as it at least managed to make the Ice Phoenix stop the ice storm, so they would not have to constantly be suppressed. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer also immediately began to counterattack against the Ice Phoenix.

    High Priest Poer had just resisted the ice storm of the Ice Phoenix with the help of Saint Edmund, which would not be a big deal under normal circumstances. However, he wanted to see Lin Li make a fool out of himself this time, and he didn¡¯t expect to end up in such a disheveled state. He was ashamed and furious. Hence, he went all out without any restraint.

    As High Priest Poer cast a spell, a dark cloud quickly covered the sky above the battlefield, followed by a heavy downpour. It was as if the ocean had been turned upside down in the sky. It was not an ordinary rainstorm, as each drop of rain was condensed with the elementalws of water, being even heavier than a mountain peak, and probably could st the ground open and form a bottomless pit. If such a rainstorm were to fall on an ind, the ind would probably be wiped outpletely in the blink of an eye.

    At the same time, Elder Zumar had also begun maximizing his strength, and condensing huge waves in the sky that were constantly crashing into the Ice Phoenix. Each wave seemed to contain a huge force and a momentum that could destroy all obstacles, thus stirring up the space in the battlefield.

    However, in the face of the attacks of the three Sanctuary powerhouses, the Ice Phoenix did not show the slightest hint of panic. It pped its wings twice, and shook off the ice-condensed feathers which started darting towards the crowd like a million arrows. Each of the frosted feathers was flickering with ancient magic runes, emitting the extremely cold aura of the primordial world. It was as if one¡¯s soul would be frozen as soon as they saw it.

    Immediately afterwards, the massive body of the Ice Phoenix also leaped towards Saint Edmund together with the frosted feathers. Clearly, the Ice Phoenix had sensed that Saint Edmund was the strongest among the opponents. As long as it could get rid of him, it wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the others.

    Seeing that the Ice Phoenix was rushing towards him, Edmund almost panicked, but while he retreated, he pointed the scepter in his hand forward, and dim rays of light appeared in the sky with some ancient god statues. They were all hideous, and theirrge bodies were not even inferior to the Ice Phoenix¡¯s, each holding a huge ax, rod, sword, and spear, respectively, as they charged at the Ice Phoenix that was dashing over.

    In the doctrine of the Illuminati, the ancient god Zagar had released countless wills after he slipped into deep slumber. The main one was the existence that was called the God-king of Light, while the second was the Light of War, followed by the Light of Guardianship, the Light of Life, and the Light of Chaos. The Illuminati¡¯s four main sanctuaries were established ording to this. As the saint of the Sanctuary of Chaos, Edmund mastered the Light of Chaos of Zagar.

    The six ancient gods that Edmund summoned were all condensed by the power of the Light of Chaos, and each of them possessed level-25 power. Of course, due to the fact that they did not have an independent will, they naturally couldn¡¯t reach the Sanctuary-realm, so their strength was probably about the same as that of those pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses.

    However, the strength of the six gods that were equal in strength to pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses, as well as Saint Edmund¡¯s abilities, made Lin Li amazed. Besides, Lin Li could tell that what Edmund had shown was clearly not his full strength. As for what level of real strength Edmund had reached, Lin Li had no clear idea, either.

    At this moment, the Ice Phoenix and the six god statues were already engaged in battle. Due to the fact that thetter were formed by the power of the Light of Chaos, they were rather resistant to the extreme chilliness emitted by the Ice Phoenix. Hence, they were not frozen. However, the origin power of the Ice Phoenix and its terrifying abilities allowed even light to be frozen. Hence, the six god statues could only hold it back.

    While the six god statues were embroiled in a scuffle with the Ice Phoenix, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were alsounching full-blown attacks at the Ice Phoenix under Saint Edmund¡¯s lead. The powerful magic spells were sweeping over like a thunderstorm.

    Those on Lin Li¡¯s side naturally didn¡¯t idle, either, as they would cast some spells from time to time. Although the power seemed intimidating, they did not stand out at all among the attacksunched by everyone. The two Undead servants and Connoris could be considered to be fully engaged in the battle, not sparing any effort.

    Although Connoris and the two Undead servants had yet to reach the Sanctuary-realm, and their strength was worlds apart from the Ice Phoenix¡¯s, they were experienced in battles, and could be considered oldrades. Having fought various tough battles against powerful opponents, they had long built a tacit understanding.

    Although Connoris and the two Undead servants might not be able to y a key role in a battle of such a high level despite sharing a tacit understanding, they could at least ensure their own safety. In particr, Connoris, the ancient demon deity who mastered the tricks of deception and conspiracy, was the best at blending in.

    Connoris waved the Eternal Frost de andunched a Space sh that cut through the ice crystal cloud around the Ice Phoenix before shing the Ice Phoenix itself. Even though the Space sh had broken through the ice crystal cloud, it still could not really hurt the Ice Phoenix.

    While driving Crimson the Humerus Wyrm and hovering around the periphery of the battlefield, Ujfalusi wielded his skeleton staff and chanted various curses. Although it didn¡¯t seem very effective, they were eating away at the power of the Ice Phoenix bit by bit, just like ants gnawing on an elephant. Perhaps their power might really erupt at a critical juncture.

    However, what was strange was that Norfeller could still be seen during the battle at first, but he somehow disappeared from the battlefield as it progressed.

    During the battle, High Priest Poer had been watching Lin Li¡¯s subordinates. Although he had almost suffered because he was distracted, the hatred in his heart still made him unable to control his eyes. On the one hand, he wanted Lin Li¡¯s people to get killed by the Phoenix, but on the other hand, he wanted to find a reason that would convince Edmund.

    In High Priest Poer¡¯s opinion, he would be able to convince Saint Edmund to change his mind as long as he discovered that the Tower of Dusk was doing little. After all, what Saint Edmund needed was cannon fodder, and not a bunch of wastrels waiting to enjoy the benefits.

    However, how would Lin Li let High Priest Poer see any ws? Although he didn¡¯t go all out during the battle, their performance was beyond reproach. He didn¡¯t release those powerful magic spells for nothing, and if there were no effects, it could only be attributed to the overpowering strength of the Ice Phoenix. If Lin Li was med for not attracting the Ice Phoenix over, it could only be said that the three Sanctuary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom were too detestable.

    The two Undead servants and Connoris hadn¡¯t reached the Sanctuary-realm yet, but they were already fighting around the Ice Phoenix. Even if High Priest Poer wanted to pick on them, he couldn¡¯t find a w to pinpoint. At this point, High Priest Poer suddenly noticed that Norfeller the vampire from the Tower of Dusk had actually disappeared.

    A vampire who had not stepped into the Sanctuary-realm would not y a significant role in a battle of such a level. However, out of disdain and hatred towards the Tower of Dusk, High Priest Poer immediately felt that the Tower of Dusk was probably up to some kind of conspiracy.

    With that in mind, High Priest Poer even somewhat disregarded his own safety, and took the risk of letting himself get distracted to search the battlefield. All of a sudden, he discovered that there seemed to be some changes in the Ice Phoenix as some golden orbs began to appear on its neck.

 Chapter 1149 - The Immortal Body

    <h4>Chapter 1149: The Immortal Body</h4>

    After seeing the appearance of the golden orbs, High Priest Poer was instantly astonished. It turned out that the golden orb was actually a bat that was shrouded in golden light. At the thought of the vampire that had disappeared from the battlefield, he knew that the identity of this golden bat was naturally self-evident.

    <i>But what exactly does that vampire want, running to the neck of the Ice Phoenix!?</i> High Priest Poer couldn¡¯t imagine it at all, and he wondered if the vampire was sucking the blood of the Ice Phoenix. <i>No way, is that vampire not afraid that he might copse from an excessive consumption of blood? Besides, that Ice Phoenix¡¯s blood must contain ice origin power, and a single drop of it can freeze an ocean. That vampire must be tired of living to actually dare to suck the blood of the Ice Phoenix!</i>

    Indeed, vampires had to be selective about the blood they sucked as the blood from creatures like the Ice Phoenix contained extreme power which would be akin to poison for the vampires. In particr, the Ice Phoenix¡¯s blood contained the power of ice, and vampires were cold-blooded creatures. Hence, their blood would be frozen as soon as they sucked in such power, even if they might otherwise be able to withstand it.

    However, High Priest Poer probably would have never expected Norfeller to be an extraordinary vampire. The main power in Norfeller¡¯s blood was the blood essence of the Icest Wyrm Sindera, which was the strongest of all Icest Wyrms. The power of ice in its blood was not any worse than the Ice Phoenix¡¯s.

    In fact, if Norfeller couldpletely absorb the blood essence of the Icest Wyrm in Sanctuary-realm, the power would be enough for him to reach the Sanctuary-realm. However, topletely absorb the blood essence of the Icest Wyrm Sindera was difficult for Norfeller, even if Lin Li gave him some potions. He could only absorb it bit by bit over a long period of time. Perhaps he would be able to absorb it fully only after hundreds or thousands of years.

    At this moment, Norfeller met the Ice Phoenix, and it was very differentpared to the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s power.

    The phoenixes had power as their origin, and the Ice Phoenix¡¯sws of ice were actually not simply a derivative of thews of water, but a type ofws that rejected the power of fire. If the origin of fire was at an extremely high temperature, the ice origin of the Ice Phoenix was at an extremely low temperature that rejected the power of fire.

    The power of the Icest Wyrm hadws that used the element of ice, while the Ice Phoenix rejected all fire elements. Hence, for Norfeller, the power of the Ice Phoenixplemented the power of the Icest Wyrm Sindera.

    Connoris and Uljfalusi¡¯s attacks were actually meant for creating an opportunity for Norfeller to get close to the Ice Phoenix¡¯s body, and suck the Ice Phoenix¡¯s blood.

    In the beginning, when High Priest Poer saw Norfeller of the Tower of Dusk sucking the blood of the Ice Phoenix, he thought that Norfeller had a death wish, but he soon discovered that the power emanating from the vampire¡¯s body was actually growing at a terrifying rate, while the golden glow of its body began to emit countless silver magic runes.

    <i>Damn it, can he really suck the blood of the Ice Phoenix!? If this vampire can really absorb the blood of the Ice Phoenix, God knows what kind of monster it will grow into. The strength of the Tower of Dusk will then be greatly increased again!</i>

    High Priest Poer suddenly had an idea, and he suddenly turned the staff in his hand. All the magic he had cast was focused on the Ice Phoenix¡¯s neck. In any case, he was only attacking the Ice Phoenix. If it affected the vampire, the vampire would have to count himself unlucky!

    However, Lin Li had been thinking about how to improve the strength of a few of his subordinates. At this moment, he was finally given a godsend opportunity, so how could he sit back and watch others ruin things? After High Priest Poer cast his magic, Lin Li simrly waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and a massive Light and Darkness Sword emerged, stabbing into High Priest Poer¡¯s magic spells. Next, with a gentle twist, the Light and Darkness Sword vanished.

    ¡°Felic, what are you doing? Why are you blocking my attack? Are you on the same side as that Ice Phoenix!?¡± High Priest Poer hollered furiously, angered that his ns were foiled.

    However, Lin Li smiled, and nonchntly said, ¡°High Priest Poer, must I spell some things out loud?¡±

    At this moment, Edmund and Zumar had also discovered the abnormality on the Ice Phoenix. They also saw that the golden bat was bing brighter and brighter on the Ice Phoenix¡¯s neck, and thus they could naturally guess what High Priest Poer was doing. However, there was nothing they could say in this situation, since High Priest Poer was a member of their team.

    ¡°President Felic, I believe he just didn¡¯t notice for a moment. This is a misunderstanding, please consider things from a bigger perspective,¡± Elder Zumar exined loudly to Lin Li while casting magic.

    Calling it a misunderstanding was really a universal exnation; everything could be exined by calling it a misunderstanding. However, Lin Li now also had no intention to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom. As long as High Priest Poer stopped getting up to some tricks, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t bother too much. After all, they were all now facing an Ice Phoenix that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    High Priest Poer, whose ns had failed, did not dare to harbor those thoughts again after Saint Edmund shot him a menacing gaze. After all, High Priest Poer could notpare to Saint Edmund in terms of power, status, and aptitude.

    Of course, Edmund was not ming High Priest Poer for those tricks, but rather for failing and getting caught. If High Priest Poer was not so eager to make a move, they could have easily killed off Norfeller with the power of the three powerhouses. At that time, they would even have every right to justify themselves as they could me it on Norfeller for going to the neck of the Ice Phoenix.

    However, the failure of High Priest Poer revealed their agenda, and Edmund and the others had to keep their guard up during the battle. Otherwise, if they were careless, the Tower of Dusk would get a hold on them. Now, they could only hope that Norfeller would copse under the power of the Ice Phoenix. Otherwise, they would be in trouble.

    Unfortunately, as the battle progressed, the several Sanctuary powerhouses could obviously sense that the power of the Ice Phoenix was rapidly declining. Although they were besieging it, the fact that Norfeller was sucking the neck of the Ice Phoenix was probably an important reason.

    Finally, the golden bat on the neck of the Ice Phoenix emitted a dazzling ray of light that was as bright as the sun. The light enveloped almost the entire upper body of the Ice Phoenix. After the light faded, everyone saw that Norfeller, who was on the neck of the Ice Phoenix, had already returned to human form, but he was still holding the neck of the Ice Phoenix and drinking the fresh blood.

    At the same time, the several Sanctuary powerhouses could sense the increase in the mana fluctuations that Norfeller¡¯s body emitted when he was absorbing the blood of the Ice Phoenix. He was charging towards the Sanctuary-realm without stopping.

    When the mana fluctuation reached a limit, they saw a pair of wings expanding and turning silver on Norfeller¡¯s back. There were golden patterns that constituted arcane ancient magic runes, each of which exuded a mysterious and powerful aura, on them. It was just like with the ancient beasts.

    Immediately afterwards, the mana fluctuations increased again, and a bright red color began to appear in the space around Norfeller too. The bright sanguine color continuously became denser while expanding outwards. Soon, the entire space seemed to have been submerged in a sea of blood.

    Finally, Norfeller suddenly let go of the Ice Phoenix¡¯s neck, and let out a whistle that made heaven and earth quake. At this moment, he finally stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and turned his domain into a world of fresh blood. The boundless ocean of blood that was full of death aura, and also vitality, was surging in the Domain World.

    ¡°Sanctuary-realm, a vampire of the Sanctuary-realm!¡± The crowd of the Gilded Kingdom was a little dumbfounded. In Anril, no vampire had ever reached the Sanctuary-realm. In fact, for creatures like vampires, stepping into the Legendary-realm was already considered rare, and no vampires had reached the Sanctuary-realm even in myths.

    Norfeller might be the first vampire in Anril to reach the Sanctuary-realm. It was unprecedented, and probably would never ur again. After all, not every vampire could be as lucky as Norfeller to have absorbed the blood of Icest Wyrm Sindera and Ice Phoenix.

    Besides, it was not just a matter of luck. Without Lin Li, the pharmaceutics Guru who used pharmaceutics to blend the blood of the Icest Wyrm into his blood, one drop of it would be enough to make any vampire dead. Besides, without the Icest Wyrm Sindera¡¯s blood as the foundation, it would be impossible to absorb the Ice Phoenix¡¯s blood.

    However, at this time, the Ice Phoenix also reacted. It was no wonder that it was getting weaker and weaker¡ªits blood was being sucked by a filthy creature. Seeing that Norfeller actually dared to advance to another realm in front of it, the Ice Phoenix was so furious that it grabbed Norfeller with its ws.

    Although the Ice Phoenix was a little weakened, it was a powerful existence that was close to the level of the gods, after all. Even a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse would not dare to resist it. Besides, Norfeller was a vampire that had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm. At this moment, Norfeller was immersed in hisprehension of the Sanctuary-realm while the mana in his body was continuously increasing. He couldn¡¯t dodge the giant ws of the Ice Phoenix at all.

    Seeing this situation, the people on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side were overjoyed. In particr, High Priest Poer seemed to have already seen the young president of the Tower of Dusk getting all furious and dejected after Norfeller got killed by the Ice Phoenix.

    The people on Lin Li¡¯s side were indeed astonished, and they immediately got ready to save Norfeller. After all, this was the first subordinate of Lin Li to reach the Sanctuary-realm and one of the first few to be his servant. Regardless of the perspective, he could not watch Norfeller die. However, as soon as he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, he lowered it again slowly, as if he had given up.

    Almost at the same time that Lin Li put down his scepter, the Ice Phoenix¡¯s huge ws had already grabbed Norfeller¡¯s body. A single blow was all it would take to tear Norfeller apart. Was a powerhouse who had just reached the Sanctuary-realm going to die before he could disy the mighty power of the Sanctuary-realm?

    ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s such a pity, you could have had one more Sanctuary-realm powerhouse as your subordinate. I didn¡¯t expect this to happen,¡± High Priest Poer said gloatingly.

    However, as soon as High Priest Poer said that, he saw that the Ice Phoenix had once again changed. Norfeller, who had already been grabbed and torn apart by the Ice Phoenix, merged into the sea of blood in the Domain World in the blink of an eye. At a spot far away from the Ice Phoenix, a bloodied man emerged from the sea of blood, and his sanguine color quickly faded, revealing his original face. It was Norfeller who everyone thought had been killed by the Ice Phoenix.

    Seeing this scene, High Priest Poer¡¯s face suddenly turned burning hot, and it was as if he had been given a hard p on his face.

    On the other hand, Lin Li who had been a bit nervous, smiled. It turned out that just as he was about to rescue Norfeller, he received a message from Norfeller via soul contact¡ªthetter told him not to worry.

    The Domain World of fresh blood created by Norfeller, who had stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, might not have a very powerful defense or offense, but it possessed almost infinite vitality. In the world of fresh blood, he could be considered to have an immortal body. As long as the world of blood did not dry up, he would be able to revive and be reborn.

    Besides, the blood essences of the Icest Wyrm and Ice Phoenix in Norfeller¡¯s body shed during the fusion. The two powerful streams of energy were not something that Norfeller could easily control. His strength might even plummet because of their conflict.

    However, with the death this time, Norfeller fused the two streams of power into the world of fresh blood. Not only did it resolve the problem in his body, it also strengthened the world of fresh blood, and made it even more perfect. Besides, the world of fresh blood was likewise his power source, and the two powers could also continue to enhance his abilities.

 Chapter 1150 - Splitting The Spoils

    <h4>Chapter 1150: Splitting The Spoils</h4>

    The mana fluctuations that emanated from the body of Norfeller who had been reborn had already reached the strength of a mid-stage Sanctuary powerhouse. The sanguine-colored clouds stained the entire space red, and the Ice Phoenix¡¯s body was stained with blood too.

    Seeing such a scene, the people of the Gilded Kingdom knew that it was impossible to stop the vampire from advancing. Saint Edmund could take it easy, and he pointed the scepter in his hand forward before saying, ¡°What are you waiting for? There¡¯s an urgent matter at hand. Try to end the battle as soon as possible.¡±

    With Edmund¡¯s order, High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar did not dare to slow down, and immediately continued to attack the Ice Phoenix. At the same time, after the mana fluctuations stabilized, Norfeller also immediately joined hispanions and resumed the battle.

    The strength of Norfeller, who had sessfully stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, was no weaker than any mid-rank Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s. In particr, his power contained the inherent power of the Ice Phoenix. He waved his hand and cast an intense sanguine glow that immediately formed a deep wound on the Ice Phoenix¡¯s body. Besides, in the process of the battle, the Ice Phoenix¡¯s body was continuously suppressing the blood that could not stop gushing out. It turned into a mass of blood that entered Norfeller¡¯s world of fresh blood.

    Even if the Ice Phoenix was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and hadprehended the mysteries of the realm of gods, it couldn¡¯t withstand the siege of so many Sanctuary powerhouses. After all, it had yet to reach the realm of the gods, and was far from being able to disregard Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Finally, after a few hours of fighting in an intense battle, the Ice Phoenix, which had lost a lot of blood and was covered in wounds, raised its head and roared into the sky, as if a meteor had crashed into the ground.

    After the battle ended, Uljfalusi came close to Lin Li, and yearningly said, ¡°Dear Master, I have a request, but I don¡¯t know if I can get your consent.¡±

    Lin Li was in the process of learning about Norfeller¡¯s acquired abilities. After hearing Uljfalusi¡¯s words, he nodded, and indifferently said, ¡°Just tell me what you want.¡±

    ¡°Respected Master, I hope to obtain the corpse of that Ice Phoenix as a way to improve my strength and better serve you.¡± Seeing that Norfeller had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, Ujfalusi hoped to also improve because he was still in the Legendary-realm. Being anxious, he naturally thought of the corpse of the Ice Phoenix,

    Ujfalusi had be Lin Li¡¯s servant after Norfeller because he¡¯d lost to Lin Li in a battle. Although he initially did not willingly submit to Lin Li as a servant, and had only signed the Soul Contract under a death threat, he began to enjoy the benefits of being Lin Li¡¯s servant over some time. He no longer had to be on tenterhooks and remain sneaky all the time. Hence, he stopped being resistant to his identity as a servant, unlike before.

    Besides, although Ujfalusi¡¯s skeleton domain had been destroyed by Lin Li with Holy Light during their battle, which caused him to fall to the Legendary-realm, his strength coupled with the Legendary-level Humerus Wyrm Crimson was still much higher than Norfeller¡¯s. Hence, he could definitely be called Lin Li¡¯s best fighter.

    However, at some point, Uljfalusi found that his position as the best fighter had gradually gotten further and further away from him. As hisbat level increased, some of his massacre means had lost their effect, such as the death vortex that originally caught one¡¯s enemy off guard and could summon countless Undead armies. Now, they were all useless in the face of Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Without enough strength, he would not be qualified to explore with Lin Li, and if he couldn¡¯t do that, there would be no way to get more treasures that could improve his strength. It was a vicious cycle that Ujfalusi felt trapped in. This could perhaps be considered hisst chance. If he still couldn¡¯t improve his strength, he might have nothing to do with Lin Li in the future anymore.

    Logically speaking, the team of the Tower of Dusk and the team of the Gilded Kingdom were considered to be in a temporary partnership. On the other hand, Norfeller had already sucked the blood of the Ice Phoenix. In that case, the Ice Phoenix corpse should also be given to the Gilded Kingdom, which was considered an unspoken tacit agreement in their cooperation.

    Uljfalusi was also aware of this. After all, it was not the time to turn against the Gilded Kingdom now. However, the corpse of the Ice Phoenix was too tempting to him. It was not just the corpse of a prehistoric magical beast, but a corpse that contained a wisp of the power of the gods.

    Uljfalusi had a feeling that his opportunity to step into the Sanctuary-realm was very likely to be the corpse of the Ice Phoenix. If he could really obtain the corpse of the Ice Phoenix and fuse it with Humerus Wyrm Crimson, not only will the strength of the Humerus Wyrm Crimson improve by leaps and bounds, he would also gain massive benefits from it because he was the summoner.

    It was out of this consideration that Uljfalusi mustered the courage to make his request to Lin Li despite knowing that it would be difficult to gain approval. He was rather anxious too. After all, he was not asking Lin Li just to give him something, but to deal with the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, after hearing Ujfalusi¡¯s request, Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to feel that his request was too much. In fact, how could Lin Li not hope that all of his men would be able to step into the Sanctuary-realm sooner, and provide him with more help? Now, Norfeller had already stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and would be able topete with a mid-rank Sanctuary powerhouse. If Ujfalusi could also sessfully step into the Sanctuary-realm this time, he would not be inferior to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team.

    Therefore, in the face of Uljfalusi¡¯s request, Lin Li was not upset at all. Instead, he even turned to face Saint Edmund, and said, ¡°Saint Edmund, I need this Ice Phoenix corpse for something. Name your conditions.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even beat around the bush at all, and he simply got straight to the point. It was as if he was bent on getting the Ice Phoenix corpse. Of course, another reason was that he knew that Saint Edmund definitely wouldn¡¯t fall out with him because of the Ice Phoenix at this point. Hence, there was room for negotiation.

    Besides, if the corpse of the Ice Phoenix was in the hands of the Gilded Kingdom, it wouldn¡¯t be indispensable to them, even though it couldn¡¯t be considered worthless to them, either, since there was a peak Sanctuary-realm magical crystal in it, after all. Only when the corpse was in the hands of a Necromancer could its value be maximized.

    However, before Edmund could say anything, High Priest Poer anxiously yelled, ¡°What? What a joke, do you think that that¡¯s an ordinary magical beast¡¯s corpse!? You guys have already obtained the most valuable blood of the Ice Phoenix, so this corpse should belong to us!¡±

    Since Ujfalusi was a Lich, High Priest Poer was naturally able to guess what Lin Li was nning to do with the Ice Phoenix¡¯s corpse now. High Priest Poer was already very upset when the vampire of the Tower of Dusk entered the Sanctuary-realm by feeding on the blood of the Ice Phoenix, so how could he sit back and watch one more member of the Tower of Dusk turn into a Sanctuary powerhouse?

    However, High Priest Poer was spouting nonsense when he said that the Ice Phoenix¡¯s blood was the most valuable part of its body. The value of an item also depended on the beholder. The blood of the Ice Phoenix was probably akin to garbage to the others, unless they were Norfeller. After all, not everyone could absorb the power in the blood of the Ice Phoenix. Even if it was used in the concoction of a potion, perhaps only a pharmaceutics Guru would be able to use it.

    Lin Li knew that High Priest Poer did not have the final say in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, and thus he naturally did not bother to argue about anything with him. Therefore, he didn¡¯t even nce at High Priest Poer, and simply looked at Saint Edmund, waiting for him to answer.

    Saint Edmund was no fool, and he had naturally thought of the problem that High Priest Poer could think of. Although he did not react as intensely as High Priest Poer did, that did not mean that he was willing to see the Tower of Dusk¡¯s strength improving again.

    Originally, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had three Sanctuary powerhouses, while the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team only had one Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if Lin Li was incredibly powerful, there was Saint Edmund to deal with him. However, the actual situation was not as simple as adding and subtracting power. If that was the case, it was almost certain that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team surpassed the Tower of Dusk in terms of strength.

    The first reason why Edmund did not agree to the proposal of High Priest Poer earlier was that he did not want to create any problems. After all, the battle between Sanctuary powerhouses was not an ordinary gang fight. Another reason was that he wanted to make the Tower of Dusk the cannon fodder so as to weaken the strength of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team so that they could enjoy some benefits.

    However, the Tower of Dusk actually now had an additional Sanctuary powerhouse whose power was at the mid-stage of the Sanctuary-realm. That closed the gap between the two teams by a huge margin, and it would not be easy for the Gilded Kingdom to defeat the Tower of Dusk.

    Although a Sanctuary-level vampire was not enough to disrupt Edmund¡¯s n, this could definitely be considered a variable. In this case, how would Edmund be willing to see another Sanctuary powerhouse emerge in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team?

    ¡°President Felic, this Ice Phoenix is already at the peak level of the Sanctuary-realm, you should know very well how valuable it is. You say that you need it for something, but so do we since it¡¯s such a precious item,¡± Elder Zumar said to Lin Li after gaining Saint Edmund¡¯s approval.

    Elder Zumar was just unwilling to get into a conflict with the Tower of Dusk, especially in this current situation, but it didn¡¯t mean that he was biased towards the Tower of Dusk. Hence, deep down, he likewise did not want the Tower of Dusk¡¯s strength to increase any further. The Ice Phoenix¡¯s corpse was a treasure, and each feather was valuable. How could he let the Tower of Dusk have it?

    Lin Li had long expected the Gilded Kingdom to turn him down, but since it was Elder Zumar who addressed the request, it meant that there was still room for discussion. Hence, after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, Lin Li still had a faint smile on his face, and said, ¡°This Ice Phoenix is indeed a treasure, but it¡¯s not easy to turn it into something of real value. Elder Zumar, you should also know that the origin power of the Ice Phoenix is actually thews of ice. Hence, even if it is used to create some magical equipment, very few people can use it. In this case, where does its value lie?¡±

    The Ice Phoenix¡¯s body was full of treasures, but if he couldn¡¯t use it, it would all be a waste. It was just like how the value of a pile of gold could only be realized when it was used to purchase things. If stored in a warehouse, it would be as good as nothing. The various parts of the Ice Phoenix corpse could be turned into magical equipment, but if no one could use it, the problem would not be solved, and the value of the Ice Phoenix corpse would stagnate at being part of a collection.

    Lin Li¡¯s words had really left Elder Zumar speechless for a while. The power of the Ice Phoenix was indeed too extreme. Even though it had a peak Sanctuary-level magical crystal, it probably couldn¡¯t be used as a mana source of an Alchemy Array because of that reason. Although Elder Zumar wanted to say some things out of spite, he was not good at lying, and couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it.

    However, High Priest Poer did not care about that. After hearing that Lin Li seemed to be belittling the Gilded Kingdom, he immediately said in anger and annoyance, ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re being too nosy. Since we want the Ice Phoenix, we naturally have a way to bring out its value. Besides, even if we can¡¯t use it and just leave it in the warehouse, that¡¯s still our business.¡±

    Upon hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words, even Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar could not help but frown. Although there was some truth to this, it made them feel ufortable. It was as if Poer were saying that the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati were extremely ipetent. Even though they were indeed unable to optimize the use of the Ice Phoenix, just like what Lin Li said, Poer could not tantly state it.

 Chapter 1151 - Crypt

    <h4>Chapter 1151: Crypt</h4>

    No matter what, both parties were now in a cooperative rtionship, even though it was only temporary. They would rather leave the item to rot in the warehouse than chat with them? That was not something that should be said to one¡¯s partner. Although that was what they felt, the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati would seem too narrow-minded if they said that out loud.

    In fact, given High Priest Poer¡¯s status, he might not think of that under normal circumstances. However, Lin Li was his enemy. If he was in a conflict with Lin Li, he would definitely want to gain some upper hand and maintain a smile. However, the problem was that he had suffered losses so far, but he still couldn¡¯t regain his pride. He was obviously furious and ashamed.

    At this moment, Lin Li was still smiling, and he did not bother about High Priest Poer. He said to Saint Edmund, ¡°Saint Edmund, why don¡¯t you consider my suggestion? I believe you should be very clear that this is a win-win situation for both of us.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li still refused to give up, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer coincidentally wanted to speak again. However, at this moment, Saint Edmund suddenly gestured for them not to speak before slowly saying, ¡°Um, President Felic, what conditions do you intend to use in exchange for us to give up this Ice Phoenix?¡±

    Saint Edmund¡¯s words were really beyond Zumar and Poer¡¯s expectations. However, Zumar seemed just bewildered, while Poer dared not voice his anger. Nheless, they were simr in the sense that neither of them could figure it out. How did Saint Edmund suddenly change his mind again?

    ¡°That depends on what you want.¡± There was no trace of surprise on Lin Li¡¯s face, as if he had expected them topromise.

    <i>Am I supposed to give you whatever you want?</i> Of course, Edmund did not believe that Lin Li would really go out of his way for the corpse of the Ice Phoenix, so he pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°How about this? I don¡¯t need you to reallye up with anything in exchange, President Felic. My conditions are simple. In the next exploration, we want to have the priority to choose if we discover anything.¡±

    Hearing this, Elder Zumar, who was still a bit puzzled, suddenly had an epiphany. Indeed, giving the corpse of the Ice Phoenix to them would be pointless. Could it be that the Lich could immediately step into the Sanctuary-realm? It was the corpse of a peak Sanctuary-level Ice Phoenix, and turning it into an Undead creature using just a peak Legendary-level Lich within a short period of time was probably impossible. Hence, handing over the corpse of the Ice Phoenix to the other party would not result in a huge impact.

    Elder Zumar still remembered that when he met with the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, the other party had said that they hade here to look for a magical weapon. Of course, it was fake too, but it was certain that the other party had to havee here to look for something important, perhaps some special magical weapon or equipment.

    Magical weapons and Ice Phoenix were different, and if they could get the former, they could definitely put it to use somehow. It was like the difference between a sharp sword and a sword billet. Perhaps an excellent sword billet could be used to create a brilliant sword, but that would take a long time. Meanwhile, a sharp sword could be used for killing immediately.

    Saint Edmund used the corpse of the Ice Phoenix in exchange for the priority to choose. In Elder Zumar¡¯s opinion, Saint Edmund had obviously done it on purpose. If the Tower of Dusk was really out to get a powerful magical weapon or equipment, the other side would use the priority right to prevent them from getting it.

    Of course, that was not the important thing. After all, it was a verbal agreement which did not have much binding power. In fact, even if the Tower of Dusk did not want toply with the agreement, the Gilded Kingdom would not lose out. Even if they really fell out with each other, the Gilded Kingdom would still be the one in the right. The Supreme Council could be unreasonable with others, but the Illuminati was a powerful force, and they had to be reasonable with it.

    Besides, during this exploration, the Gilded Kingdom nned to make the Tower of Dusk cannon fodder. Hence, it was unclear what the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team¡¯s resulting fate would be. The Ice Phoenix corpse might just be temporarily held by the Tower of Dusk, and it was unclear who would get it in the end.

    Hence, although the condition seemed insignificant as its value was far below the Ice Phoenix¡¯s, it was just Saint Edmund¡¯s trick. Having figured that out, Elder Zumar once again smiled, and waited to see how Lin Li would respond.

    They would have never thought that Lin Li was there not to find some powerful magical weapon. In fact, he didn¡¯t actually n to find anything. Lin Li¡¯s only agenda was to follow the trail of the Immortal King to figure out what Geresco was trying to guide him to after leaving such a world behind.

    Lin Li seemed to have failed to see Edmund¡¯s intentions, and he simply resolutely answered, ¡°Sure, deal!¡±

    After agreeing to Edmund¡¯s terms, Lin Li nodded at Ujfalusi who had been waiting at the side. Ujfalusi immediately scurried towards the corpse of the Ice Phoenix excitedly, and raised his staff to chant an incantation. As he did so, a huge ck hole appeared beneath the Ice Phoenix¡¯s corpse, dragging it into Ujfalusi¡¯s Undead space.

    Afterwards, both teams set off again towards their destination, and Elder Zumar took the opportunity to pull High Priest Poer to the side to exin to him Saint Edmund¡¯s intentions. Finally, High Priest Poer looked less sullen. Meanwhile, Lin Li called Norfeller, who had just stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, whispering some instructions to him. Next, Norfeller left the team alone quietly.

    If he only received the corpse of the Ice Phoenix after defeating it, how could it be enough!? Back then, he had only heard a little bit about the Ice Phoenix in the Endless World game. Legend had it that the Ice Phoenix had an extremely unique power; hence, it would never be able to give birth to its own offspring in its lifetime. However, after its death, it would attain nirvana and give birth to itself.

    All the previous experiences made Lin Li feel that there were too many things in Anril that were simr to the Endless World. In that case, could the legend of the Ice Phoenix be the same in both worlds? If it was really the same, there might really be a newborn Ice Phoenix appearing in the Ice Phoenix¡¯sir now.

    Hence, Lin Li sent Norfeller over to search for the Ice Phoenix¡¯sir. Since Norfeller sucked the blood of the Ice Phoenix, he would definitely have an instinctive sense for the aura of the Ice Phoenix. Even if the Ice Phoenix¡¯sir was thousands of kilometers away, he would be able to detect it with his senses. Of course, the greater possibility was that the Ice Phoenix¡¯sir was on this ind, thus making things easier.

    The battle with the Ice Phoenix took ce in the central area of the ind. Hence, it didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at the real central location of the ind. The ce felt familiar to Lin Li, and the surrounding magical elements had already reached a terrifying level of density. It was even richer than that of the inds with Void Spirit Mageweaths.

    In the center of the ind, a massive ck vortex appeared above their heads, and it seemed to have been made of a massive amount of mana. The mana fluctuations emanating from it made several Sanctuary powerhouses turn pale.

    Upon sight of such a scene, Lin Li immediately understood that it was no wonder there were so many strong magical beasts on this ind that could attract the Ice Phoenix. Clearly, there was also some kind of mageweath on that ind¡ªthe Void Spirit Mageweath or even another type of mageweath that was more powerful than the former. In short, it was definitely a mageweath above the Divine Smith level.

    There was a ck, bottomless crypt corresponding to the position of therge mana vortex. It was just like a massive mouth that was devouring heaven and earth. The depth of the crypt was not visible to the naked eye, and even if one tried to use their mental strength to probe, it would be impossible to reach the bottom.

    Fortunately, the members of both teams were above the Legendary-level, so they had arge amount of mana that was enough to support them to maintain their flight for a long period of time. Otherwise, if they fell, it would definitely be fatal.

    When the team from the Gilded Kingdom arrived next to the crypt, Elder Zumar looked at Lin Li, and said, ¡°President Felic, this is our destination for this exploration. We¡¯ll head down first. After all, we know this ce better.¡±

    Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s intention was to have the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team be their cannon fodder, anyone who was made to go down first would be wary in this situation. Getting the other party to take the lead in reconnoitering when trying to make them cannon fodder would be the silliest thing to do, unless the other party were fools. Hence, it was sometimes good to take the lead, especially when one was aware that the situation ahead was not that dangerous.

    After speaking to Lin Li, Elder Zumar and hispany cast the Power of Flight to fly down towards the crypt. All of a sudden, their figures surged into the bottomless crypt like dumplings, making the scene look spectacr.

    After flying into the crypt, High Priest Poer had a look of derision on his face, and he seemed to be gloating too as he said to Elder Zumar, ¡°The vast majority of those people in the Tower of Dusk have just reached the Legendary-realm a short while ago. With their low strength, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that easy to safely fly to the bottom.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that, they¡¯ll be of some help to us this time, after all. Besides, with Felic, that Sanctuary powerhouse, we won¡¯t face any major problems even if the situation gets tough.¡± Although Elder Zumar did not show it, he was anticipating a good show somewhat.

    However, while the two were talking, they suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the surrounding atmosphere as many people were looking upward. Hence, they simultaneously tilted their heads and looked up. However, their expressions seemed excited. Some were amazed, some were disappointed, and others were shocked or even jealous.

    Apart from Lin Li and a few other top powerhouses in the team of the Tower of Dusk, the rookie mages were all carrying a strange kind of alchemical equipment on their backs. The strange alchemical equipment looked just like the wings of a flying bird, but they were translucent, and were about four or five meters long. Its entire body emitted a faint magical light. When the mages were flying downwards, the magic wings would p once or twice to adjust the speed of flight.

    <i>There¡¯s actually alchemical equipment in this world that enables flight!</i> That made the people of the Gilded Kingdom, who had always been proud of their level of alchemy, a little unable to ept it for a while. There were even a few people who were so distracted by the surprising sight that they identally hit a rock wall, and almost fell to their deaths.

    High Priest Poer, who had snapped back to his senses, now had bloodshot eyes, and it was as if he wished he could go and snatch the magic wings immediately. It was not that he had never seen any precious items before, but the magic wings were just too useful, and he had no choice but to be jealous.

    Although using the Power of Flight to fly was not difficult for Legendary-mages, the mana consumption was rapid and continuous. Perhaps the mana consumed during a short flight might not bepared to the powerful magic spells, but the mana thus consumed was definitely terrifying. After all, not everyone was as impressive as Lin Li.

    However, the magic wings of the Tower of Dusk definitely consumed arge amount of mana in the opinion of High Priest Poer and the others, but it was almost negligible. To them, it was simply incredible. There had always been a saying in Anril: one would get how much they put in. Flying would require them to give in a corresponding amount of mana, which was just right. However, the magic wings of the Tower of Dusk had changed their perception.

    Although equipping oneself with magic wings seemed to only bring about the benefit of saving mana during a long-distance flight, Legendary-mages were not the only ones in this world. There were also other legendary professions like Legendary Sword Sages who did not have the Power of Flight, and could only stay in the air for a long time using Combat Energy. However, if the Legendary Sword Sages were equipped with magic wings, they would definitely be terrifying when allowed to fly freely in the air.

 Chapter 1152 - Envoys of Light

    <h4>Chapter 1152: Envoys of Light</h4>

    Even if they were not Legendary powerhouses, any Archmage, Warrior, Magic Shooter, ormon man would be able to don magic wings and fly freely. If an elite team were to do the same, it would probably be a terrifying force for any country.

    ¡°Saint Edmund?¡± High Priest Poer dispelled his delusions, and turned his head to Saint Edmund.

    Edmund was naturally more aware of the value of the magic wings. He also knew that the alchemy technique used in their creation was what made magic wings precious. Magic wings could only help users fly, but the mechanism within them could be used to power a flying warship.

    Hence, Edmund stopped looking at the team from Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°We have to acquire this technology, but now is not the time. Perhaps we need to have a good talk with the Tower of Dusk at the end of this,¡± he said calmly.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, I know that fe. I¡¯m afraid he might not be willing to share it. A better idea will be to use threats. Let¡¯s kill those people who came from the Tower and detain that kid. That would probably force him to share the technology,¡± suggested High Priest Poer cunningly.

    The high priest had developed a feud with Lin Li because of his son, Dno, and would eagerly avenge him if not for the pressure from Saint Edmund. Now, Edmund¡¯s interest in Lin Li¡¯s technology gave Poer an idea of how his revenge could be sought. He naturally would not want to miss this opportunity.

    This time, although Saint Edmund did not endorse Poer¡¯s idea, he did not explicitly object to it, either. He only smiled and said nothing. Then, it seemed like he forgot about it as he led the rest of the men into the depths of the cave.

    No one knew how deep this cave was. The teams from Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk took nearly a day to see the bottom of the cave. After a day of continuous flying, everyone except the three Sanctuary powerhouses seemed to be exhausted as well.

    To be honest, it was apudable that the group had the stamina to sustain their flight. The continuous consumption of mana for flying was even greater than casting small balls of fire for the entire day.

    Yet, all the rookie wizards from the Tower of Dusk seemed really rxed. They had not consumed much energy at all due to the magic wings. All they had to do was to control the direction of the flight, and let the wings take care of the rest. They could even eat and drink during the flight, as if they were on an outing.

    The people from the Gilded Kingdom could not help but feel envious when they saw the mages from the Tower of Dusk. The behavior of those mages was a in insult to them. If not for the need to concentrate on their Power of Flight, they would have raged at them.

    Afternding, the team from the Tower of Dusk put away all the magic wings, and were ready to set off. But, the team from the Gilded Kingdom had to rest and recharge to regain their energy.

    The sight of this prompted Lin Li to gesture to his men to get some rest while they continued to stay vignt despite not having used much effort in their flight.

    During the break, Lin Li also took a closer look at the strange surroundings. It was only reasonable for the surroundings to be a pitch-ck space due to the absence of sunlight. However, the space was as brightly lit as the space outside. It was unlike what a cave should look like.

    He could vaguely see the silhouette of a magnificent pce amidst the brightest spot in the distance.

    After discovering the pce, the people from the Gilded Kingdom became really excited. Even Edmund, a Saint who was known for hisposure, showed a sh of excitement on his face. He started to mutter some prayers under his breath.

    The people from the Gilded Kingdom could not concentrate on their rest when they saw how carefree the people from the Tower of Dusk were. It was only the sight of Edmund that encouraged these devotees to stand and gather behind him. They followed Edmund and the three Sanctuary powerhouses towards the pce while muttering the prayer in unison.

    But, the people from the Tower of Dusk were indifferent to their decision. Lin Li in particr merely closed his eyes, and sent his mental strength to search for the aura of Immortal King.

    Lin Li was naturally very familiar with the aura of the Immortal King. After all, he had followed him for such a long time in another world. Hence, it did not take long for Lin Li to detect the unique aura that epassed the energy of life and death. The source was the pce that was amidst the brightness.

    However, Lin Li also felt something different in that aura. It was unlike what he had expected with his prior understanding of the aura. Instead of the stability and peaceful vibes he expected, the aura he detected was one that was full of violence and destruction.

    The anomalous aura made Lin Li wonder if anything terrible had happened in that pce. If that was true, it would be terrifying. Battling Immortal King was definitely not going to be a joke even for someone like Lin Li!

    The awareness of the problem immediately motivated Lin Li to want to remind the men who were speeding towards the shining pce. Although the partnership with them was a temporary one, Lin Li did not want to see the team from Gilded Kingdom suffer too many losses. After all, their help was neededter in their explorationter.

    However, it was toote when Lin Li was prepared to warn the people from the Gilded Kingdom.

    The team from the kingdom had already gotten very near the shining pce. At this moment, the light around the pce grew stronger. Before the team could react, the light had condensed together to create four Envoys of Light that were over 10 meters in height.

    These four Envoys of Light exuded an infinite amount of light, and all of them had a pair of wings made of light. Their hands were sped before their chests, holding a light sword that had its tip pointing to the sky. Then, the four Envoys of Light opened their eyes at the same time, causing their figures to disappear instantaneously.

    What followed was the shrieks from the group of men. A few Legendary powerhouses were killed by the Envoys of Light without engaging in any form of resistance. Not to mention the Legendary powerhouses, even the three Sanctuary powerhouses¡ªEdmund, Zumar, and Poer¡ªhad no time to react to the atrocity.

    Each of the four Envoys of Light was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Their sudden attacks could definitely ughter Legendary powerhouses within a second and shock powerhouses in the Sanctuary-realm.

    This sudden urrence stupefied the people from the Gilded Kingdom. They could not understand why these light angels would want to attack them. Weren¡¯t they believers of the God-king of Light? If these envoys were the servants of the God-king of Light, why would they murder the devotees of the God-king?

    After killing the Legendary powerhouses, the four light angels descended to the ground slowly. They stood before the pce, facing the team from Gilded Kingdom upfront.

    At this time, Lin Li managed to see the appearance of the four Envoys of Light clearly. Although their physical forms resembled the light and dark angels he had created, he discovered something drastically different in them.

    The light and dark angel created by Lin Li was a form of life in his magical domain. Lin Li was akin to a creator who could assign what he wanted to have in his world. Yet, when he left his world, his angels of light and dark were as good as a ball of mana, and nothing like life.

    These four Envoys of Light, however, were tantly alive. This would not have happened unless someone went against thews of nature, and turned this underworld into a domain world.

    It was a known fact that domain worlds were worlds created based on knowledge ofws. It was just like an imagined world that knew no limits. However, being an imagination, nothing could be transferred to the real world. Lin Li believed that neither Immortal King nor Geresco would have the ability to transform the real world with their imagination.

    More importantly, these four Envoys were not just ordinary life forms. Each of them had power close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. They had to have been created by an invincible creator.

    While these four Envoys did not continue their attack on the people from Gilded Kingdom after they killed some Legendary powerhouses, they stood neatly before the team. Although it seemed like they were standing on the ground, anyone who took a closer look would realize that their legs were a distance away from the ground, as if they were unwilling to be in contact with the dirt on the ground.

    The angels started to speak a string of very strangenguage. Their tone was of unfathomable indifference, as if they were faced with a group of insignificant ants.

    Thenguage used by the four Envoys of Light puzzled everyone, for it did not seem to be any kind of ancientnguage that had been passed down. It was unlike anynguage in use in today¡¯s world employed by humans, dwarves, elves, or orcs that evolved from ancientnguages. In thesemonnguages, there would be elements of the past that could be traced back to a few thousand of years into the ancient eras.

    Thenguage used by the four Envoys would definitely puzzle the world¡¯s most esteemed ancient linguist. That was because thenguage used by the Envoys had already deviated fromnguage patterns. No one could detect its history at all.

    There were two people among the men who were not as confused as the rest of them. They were Lin Li, the owner of the Book of Eternity and Geresco¡¯s inheritance, as well as Saint Edmund from Illuminati.

    Geresco had used many different kinds ofnguage in his production of the Book of Eternity. He not only used the standard ancientnguage, but also thenguages of the High Elves, Dragons, and even Titans. When Lin Li visited the upside-down tower in the Sky Castle, he alsoid his hands on a rich collection of linguistic books. Therefore, when he heard what the four Envoys of Light were saying, Lin Li immediately knew that they were using the Titan Language.

    Thisnguage was not only used formunication, but also in divine writings. Because every character and syble in thenguage had the ability to carry thews in the world, thenguage manifested invincible power. Any syble could bring about a catastrophe to Anril.

    ¡°Ignorant and foolish ants! Your actions have broken the peace of the divine domain. This will surely lead to the downfall of your entire race!¡±

    Lin Li soon figured out what the four Envoys of Light were saying. However, he did not really understand what they meant. <i>What is the divine domain about? And what catastrophe are they referring to?</i>

    To be honest, although Lin Li knew that the four Envoys of Light were powerful, he thought that they were not powerful enough to bring about any catastrophe to Anril. He felt that any of the three arbitrators from the Supreme Council would have the power to kill the four Envoys countless times. He even had the confidence that he would be able to take on a couple of them himself.

 Chapter 1153 - Fake Devotee

    <h4>Chapter 1153: Fake Devotee</h4>

    Several Legendary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom had been killed in seconds, but no one looked that flustered. In particr, High Priest Poer was smiling incessantly before kneeling on the ground, and piously saying, ¡°Envoy of Light, please forgive us for our rudeness. We are the most devout believers, and we havee to wake the supreme god from his slumber.¡±

    However, the words of High Priest Poer did not impress the four Envoys of Light. In a tone that was full of majesty, the four Envoys of Light unanimously said, ¡°Thest believer of the god in the world died thousands of years ago. Unless he can be reborn, no one will be able to awaken the god. Your lies can¡¯t deceive us, they will only make you more despicable.¡±

    High Priest Poer did not understand what the four Envoys of Light were saying, and he simply felt that the tone of the four Envoys of Light did not seem too friendly. Hence, he was about to continue to say something. However, at this juncture, he heard Elder Zumar calling him from behind, and suddenly looked up, only to discover that a sharp saber that emitted a bright light had appeared in front of him.

    Fortunately, High Priest Poer was a true Sanctuary powerhouse, after all. If he had been a pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouse, he might have died under that saber. At the instant that he was attacked, the defensive magic spell that solidified on his body immediately reacted. An elemental shield immediately shed with the light saber.

    However, the strength of High Priest Poer was the lowest among the four Sanctuary powerhouses, and he was barely close to the middle of the Sanctuary-realm. On the other hand, the Envoys of Light were already close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. The power of the saber was groundbreaking, and it instantly shattered the giant elemental shield into pieces.

    High Priest Poer finally reacted, and at the instant that the elemental shield shattered, he immediately retreated. At the same time, the defensive magic spells were cast continuously. All of a sudden, the sounds of the magical shield shards filled the entire space.

    Finally, when High Priest Poer could no longer retreat, Saint Edmund suddenly pointed his scepter forward, and a dim curtain of light immediately appeared in front of High Priest Poer, shielding him from the saber. However, under the collision, High Priest Poer was affected by the aftershock, and ended up vomiting blood. He looked extremely disheveled.

    ¡°What are you still standing there for!?¡± Saint Edmund hollered furiously as he waved his scepter, and began attacking the Envoy of Light.

    In the hearts of the people of the Gilded Kingdom, the Envoys of Light were the messengers of the god, and yet they were now asked to attack them. They were really at a loss for what to do. However, at this juncture, Elder Zumar alsounched an attack on the Envoys of Light after Edmund did.

    This time, the crowd also ignored the fact that the opponents were Envoys of Light, and immediately got into a battle formation where they chanted incantations and cast magic spells.

    They were four Sanctuary powerhouses who were close to the peak of the realm, and being in the Sanctuary-realm was basically being at the top. Even a slightprehension of the power of the gods would allow them to be superior to others. Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had broken the restrictions of faith, there was obviously still a considerable gap if they wanted to fight against the four powerful Envoys of Light.

    Although there were three Sanctuary powerhouses in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, Saint Edmund was the only one who could confront the Envoys of Light head-on. Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer were slightly inferior, especially High Priest Poer who was barely in the middle of the Sanctuary-realm. Previously, he had suffered some injuries, and thus was a little powerless during the battle with the Envoys of Light.

    Hence, as soon as the two parties shed, the team of the Gilded Kingdom immediately lost the upper hand. Edmund was no longer as rxed as he was when facing the Ice Phoenix previously. He was fighting two Envoys of Light alone, and could barely remain undefeated. However, the others were in more trouble. Even though Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer had joined forces, they could only be on par with the Envoys of Light. The remaining Envoy of Light turned to face the Legendary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Although the Legendary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom managed to see an enhancement in theirbat strength through a special battle formation, they were still worlds apart from the Sanctuary powerhouse near the peak of the realm. Clearly, once that Envoy of Light went over, it would certainly be a one-sided massacre that the Legendary powerhouses couldn¡¯t quite resist.

    Seeing this situation, Elder Zumar was really anxious. He hurried over to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, and eximed, ¡°President Felic! If you don¡¯t attack now, when will you!? Are you going to watch them break us down one by one!?¡±

    Initially, the people of the Gilded Kingdom had intended to make the Tower of Dusk the cannon fodder, but they didn¡¯t expect themselves to be the primary target of the Envoys of Light instead. Faced with four Envoys of Light that were close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, Elder Zumar had no choice but to be thick-skinned and ask the Tower of Dusk for help.

    Lin Li had the intention to make the people of the Gilded Kingdom suffer, but he also knew that he couldn¡¯t really let them suffer much. After all, he still had to rely on them to find the clues rted to the Immortal King. Hence, just as the remaining Envoy of Light was about to attack the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, Lin Li¡¯s figure suddenly shed, and collided with the Envoy of Light.

    Through that exchange, Lin Li also understood why the three Sanctuary-realm powerhouses, Edmund, Zumar, and Poer, were suppressed so much by the Envoys of Light. The space that they were in was condensed by the Envoys of Light, and it was practically their Domain World. Although the Envoys of Light were near the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, theirbat power was definitely at the top of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Lin Liunched the Inferno Purgatory immediately, and countless jets of fire emerged from the ground, chasing after the Envoy of Light one after another. In particr, under the catalysis of his massive mental strength, the jets of fire could even devour a wyrm. Besides, the spewing mes were extremely dense, and they were almost forming an entire patch.

    The bodies of the Envoys of Light were massive and tall. It was simply impossible to devour them with the terrifying jets of fire. However, at this moment, when the pir of fire passed through the body of the Envoy of Light, something strange happened. The Envoy of Light, which could have been called a living being, suddenly began to distort. It was just like half of the body was broken up, and the jets of fire were instantly returned to their original form.

    <i>Damn it, it¡¯s really an Envoy of Light, huh!</i> Looking at them, Lin Li secretly felt resentful as there was almost no way to fight them. No matter how sharp a de was, it would be shed and broken, and no matter how powerful the magic spell was, it could not freeze or burn light.

    Of course, if an Envoy of Light could constantly remain in that state, it would truly be invincible. In fact, the radiant body of the Envoy of Light was somewhat simr to the Void of the Stars. However, the light of the Envoys of Light was almost an inherent ability. Its speed of transformation could not bepared to a mere Void of the Stars.

    Seeing the changes in the Envoy of Light, Lin Li secretly felt resentful, and he knew that he basically wouldn¡¯t get any advantage when engaging in a long-range battle with the Envoys of Light using magic spells. Hence, faced with the oing Envoy of Light, he did not retreat or dodge, and instead swung the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand as he began tussling with the Envoy of Light.

    For the average mage, closebat with enemies was akin to having a death wish. After all, when a mage cast a spell, he would need some time to chant an incantation, and even instantaneous magic spells required some buffer time in order to emanate power. A true closebat battle would be much easier for Warriors and Assassins. All they had to do was stab the enemies with sharp des.

    However, when Lin Li first became a mage, he did not meet the traditional standards of a mage. When fighting against opponents, he did not care about whether he was using magic spells or other means. If he could knock his opponent unconscious with his staff, he would also not bother about being a gentleman. He would use his mace like a staff.

    Such a fighting method was simply horrendous to some dogmatic mages, some of whom might even think that it was tarnishing the profession itself. However, in fact, mages did not have so many rules in the Dark Age. As long as they could defeat their opponents, they would resort to all means.

    For example, the High Elves did not have any mages or Sword Sages, and there was no division between magic and martial arts to them. It was just a type of use of power andws. Of course, it also had something to do with the long lives of the High Elves. After all, humans had short lives, and they might end up dying without any attainments, let alone be involved in multiple areas of knowledge.

    On the other hand, Lin Li had learned more than just a few profound magic incantations from Geresco¡¯s relics, and he learned more about the nature of power, as well as how to use his power flexibly to fight, especially since he was now a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse. It could be considered a universal method. In terms of swordy, he might not be inferior to a Sword Sage.

    Hence, in the closebat with the Envoy of Light, Lin Li was not at all flustered even though he was a mage. Holding the Helios¡¯ Scepter in one hand and the debris of the stars, Nothingness, in the other, he would sometimes emit powerful waves of magic spells. From time to time, he would also use Nothingness in its spear form skillfully.

    However, the Envoy of Light¡¯s power was really giving him a headache. To Lin Li, taking down the opponent was not an easy task, and if they remained in a stalemate, no one could do anything about it.

    As Lin Li struck, the crisis that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had just faced seemed to have been resolved. However, before the people of the Gilded Kingdom could heave a sigh of relief, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed again. One of the two Envoys of Light who were fighting with Saint Edmund suddenly withdrew from the battle, and turned into countless orbs. Even in this world full of light, it still made them feel like they were watching a gxy.

    Immediately afterwards, the countless orbs began to converge again. Hundreds of human-sized Envoys of Light appeared on the periphery of the battlefield in the blink of an eye, and immediately split into two groups. One of them swooped towards the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, while the other charged towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team.

    The fact that Edmund was able to fight the two Envoys of Light alone did not mean that he really had the strength to fight against the two Envoys of Light, as he was barely coping with them. Hence, he could not stop the withdrawal of one Envoy of Light, and had no choice but to watch it change into hundreds of Legendary-level Envoys of Light.

    The human-sized Envoys of Light each had the strength of the Legendary-level, and due to the fact that they were split from a peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouse, each body contained a trace of the power of the Sanctuary-realm. Despite having only peak-Legendary-level power, the Envoys of Light were probably on par with pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses in terms ofbat prowess.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had brought Legendary powerhouses who were considered elites elsewhere, and there were very few forces in Anril that were capable of doing so, they could not hold a candle to the Envoys of Light.

    There were about 40 Legendary Envoys of Light rushing towards the Gilded Kingdom team, all holding light sabers in their hands. As they swung the sabers forward, a thick pir of light descended from the sky and crashed into the battle formation of the Gilded Kingdom team like a Magical Crystal Cannon. The members of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team were flustered.

    However, the Legendary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom were naturallypetent since they had been picked by Edmund and the others. Under themand of severalmanders, the crowd quickly recovered from the panic, and barely managed to stabilize themselves while facing the terrifying attacks of the Legendary-level Envoys of Light. However, there was an obvious difference in strength, and anyone could tell that there was no way tost for long.

    Upon sight of this scene, Elder Zumar and the others looked extremely anxious. Lin Li struck to block an Envoy of Light just now, but there was no one to block the remaining ones for them now. Besides, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team likewise was under the attack of more than 60 Legendary Envoys of Light. Clearly, they were tied up and overwrought.

    Perhaps because they had sensed that there were two top-level powerhouses in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, Connoris and Ujfalusi, the Legendary-level Envoys of Light were obviously putting in more effort on them.

 Chapter 1154 - Made Arrangements

    <h4>Chapter 1154: Made Arrangements</h4>

    Seeing this, Connoris and Uljfalusi immediately left the group, and charged at the Legendary-level Envoys of Light to kill them. After all, the two of them couldn¡¯t deploy a Magic Net Array, and could not integrate themselves with the group of mages from the Tower of Dusk. Hence, they would rather fight by themselves as they found that much morefortable.

    Connoris, who had the perfect body, might not have stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, but hisbat power was definitely not inferior to any of those who were in the early stages of the Sanctuary-realm. However, in the face of a group of peak Legendary-level Envoys of Light, Connoris had to focus fully and maximize his power.

    Connoris held the Eternal Frost de in his hand, and armorposed of magic runes appeared on his body. The production of such armor was an inherent ability of his perfect body. The magic runes were condensed using nomological power, and had extremely high defensive power. Even if there were hundreds of Magical Crystal Cannons, they would not stand a chance at damaging the armor even if they continuously bombarded it for several days and nights. Besides, the more incredible thing was that the armor could also absorb the power of the attacks, and use it for self-recovery or attack.

    Connoris had the ability to use the rune armor only after he fused his soul with the perfect body to another level. This time, when facing the peak Legendary-level Envoys of Light, he did not dare to hold back any longer, and unleashed all of his power as soon as he rushed forth.

    At the same time, as a former ancient demon deity, the power that Connoris possessed was beyond the perfect body. In the battle with the Envoys of Light, Connoris wielded the Eternal Frost de while continuously casting various ancient magic spells, thus stopping 10 peak Legendary-level Envoys of Light by himself.

    On the other hand, Uljfalusi also summoned Crimson the Humerus Wyrm, while a huge vortex of death opened quickly on the ground, attracting arge number of Undead creatures, which surged out of the Door of Death like a huge flood. Those Skeletal Warriors and other low-level Undead creatures were naturally unable to pose any threat to the Envoys of Light, but after the low-level Undead creatures, some powerful Undead creatures were also summoned.

    With Uljfalusi¡¯s current strength, he was able to summon arge number of Legendary-level Undead creatures from the realm of the Undead despite being below the Sanctuary-realm. Legendary-level Humerus Wyrms, Liches, Skeletal Kings, and many other Undead creatures began charging out of the Door of Death, surging towards the Envoys of Light.

    Since the power possessed by the Envoys of Light was not a pure purifying power like Holy Light that could restrain Undead creatures, the appearance of the army of Undead creatures had effectively slowed down the Envoys of Light, thus buying valuable time to react for the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    In terms of individual strength, the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk were really no match for the Legendary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom. Although they had already gone through several vicious battles, and made obvious progresspared to when they first came here, it was still impossible for them to turn from rookies to elites who were experienced in battles.

    When the Envoys of Light charged over to the team, the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk were truly at a loss for what to do. However, fortunately, Ujfalusi and Connoris managed to buy time for them to react.

    Under themand of Dorick, the deputymander of the mages, the mages quickly formed a Magic Net Array, and activated all therge magical equipment that they had brought over. The first and most conspicuous one was the War Shield that was created using the magical crystal of the Golden Behemoth. It could be considered a holy grail of defense. After the War Shield was activated, an earthy yellow defensive force field enveloped the entire team of the Tower of Dusk.

    Although the earthy yellow light film seemed to be very fragile, when the attacks of the Envoys of Light fell on it, the power of the War Shield was instantly revealed. The pirs of light from the Envoys of Light managed to only result in some ripples on the earthy yellow film of light when they bombarded it. On the other hand, the power of the pirs was transferred to the ground with the ripple.

    With the protection of the War Shield, the mages of the Tower of Dusk felt a greater sense of security, and began putting their skills to use. Although their respective individual strength was notparable to those of the elites of the Gilded Kingdom, their powers were perfectly fused together through the Magic Net Array, as if they had be peak Legendary powerhouses with infinite mana.

    Seeing this scene, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were full of jealousy. Initially, they found it strange, and wondered what the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team brought those burdensome devices there for. However, they now realized that they were not burdensome at all, and they were just like a Magic Tower. At the same time, after seeing the power of the War Shield, they got even more curious and expectant about the other pieces ofrge magical equipment that the Tower of Dusk had brought over.

    At this time, while muttering andining, Angno also began to operate another piece ofrge magical equipment, which was an attacking weapon that was iid with the Tempest Beast King¡¯s Eye that contained the power of the creation of thunderbolt. Although it emitted only a finger-thin purple thunderbolt, it possessed a terrifying power that would instantly destroy a mountain peak. If the magical crystal of the Golden Behemoth created a War Shield, the Tempest Beast King¡¯s Eye was undoubtedly a battle spear.

    Under Angno¡¯s operation, that magic device soon flickered with the light of mana. The light of mana moved along the mageweath, and converged on the Tempest Beast King¡¯s eye. With a cackling sound, a finger-thick purple thunderbolt darted at the Envoys of Light.

    Seeing that therge magical equipment had emitted such a tiny thunderbolt, the people of the Gilded Kingdom would haveughed if they had not been facing the attack of the Envoys of Light. Anyone would think that it was not powerful.

    However, something that made the people of Gilded Kingdom dumbfounded soon happened. The Legendary Envoys of Light who charged towards the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team fearlessly all dodged when the Thunderbolt came surging over.

    In the end, an Envoy of Light who couldn¡¯t dodge in time was struck by the thunderbolt, which rendered his body powerless as he was sted into ashes in an instant. Even then, the Envoy of Light that had been sted began converging again in the blink of an eye. Anyone could tell that he was injured by the thunderbolt.

    Now, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were astonished. They even couldn¡¯t help but wonder what it would be like if that insignificant thunderbolt had hit the kingdom¡¯s alchemical battleship.

    With the powerful defensive power of the War Shield and the creation thunderbolt of the Tempest Beast King¡¯s Eye, as well as the two powerhouses Connoris and Ujfalusi, the team of the Tower of Dusk was in a much better situation than the team of the Gilded Kingdom even though they were facing more Legendary-level Envoys of Light. Even in the battle with the Envoys of Light, the team of the Tower of Dusk still had the capacity tounch counterattacks against the enemy instead of being passive and defensive like the team of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, no matter what, the main factors in the situation were a few Sanctuary powerhouses. If they were too slow, neither the team from the Gilded Kingdom nor the team from the Tower of Dusk would be in a good state.

    At the beginning, when Edmund was facing the attack of two Envoys of Light, he basically could not channel any attention to think about anything else. With the departure of an Envoy of Light, the pressure Edmund was under was reduced quite a bit. Although he still couldn¡¯t defeat his remaining opponent, he wasn¡¯t tense at all times. At this moment, he began to consider how exactly they would be able to defeat the four Envoys of Light.

    ¡°Felic, where is that vampire of yours? Why isn¡¯t he out yet!?¡± At this moment, High Priest Poer recalled that there was still a vampire who had just advanced to the Sanctuary-realm over at the Tower of Dusk. However, at this moment, he had already gone somewhere. It was no wonder he had been feeling that something was amiss with the battle.

    In fact, High Priest Poer was well aware that there would not be any effect on the situation even if he had another Sanctuary powerhouse to fight alongside him under such circumstances. After all, the Envoys of Light were already peak Sanctuary powerhouses, while Norfeller had only just reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    High Priest Poer was worried that the Tower of Dusk might have hidden the Sanctuary-level vampire for the sake of a conspiracy against them, especially since vampires were known as natural assassins. A Sanctuary-level assassin hiding in the dark was too horrifying.

    However, Lin Li appeared unconcerned about High Priest Poer¡¯s words, and while circling around his opponent, he indifferently said, ¡°I have my own arrangements for my subordinates. Don¡¯t bother about it, High Priest Poer.¡±

    High Priest Poer bore a grudge against Lin Li, and now that he was faced with such a situation where the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team was hiding their strength, he felt even more resentful. However, although he was teaming up with Elder Zumar to deal with an Envoys of Light, he couldn¡¯t do it as easily as Lin Li, and would nearly have his head cut off by an Envoy of Light if he wasn¡¯t careful. Hence, despite cursing in his heart, he did not dare to put his life at risk, and had no choice but to suppress the resentment for the time being.

    However, at this moment, Saint Edmund used a dark thunderbolt to force his opponent to back off temporarily before loudly saying to them, ¡°Now, follow my arrangements. Zumar and Poer, stay close to me and lure your opponents over. Felic, you too. The three of you try to buy me some time and stall these three Envoys of Light! For the other teams, don¡¯t let your opponents go beyond 1,000 meters around me.¡±

    Zumar and Poer naturally did not dare to disobey Edmund¡¯s word, and Lin Li likewise wanted to see what means Edmund had to deal with the Envoys of Light. Hence, after hearing Edmund¡¯s words, the three men went close to Edmund, and lured their respective opponents along.

    Soon, the three of them reached Edmund, and thetter immediately took the opportunity to push his opponents to them while he pulled away from the battle alone. The two teams of the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk were facing a group of Envoys of Light, and not a single one. Besides, they were all stronger than the two teams, so taking the Envoys of Light into an area within 1,000 meters around Edmund was definitely not an easy task.

    The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team itself could barely maintain a stalemate with the Envoys of Light. As soon as the team began to move, the ws in the battle formation were immediately exposed. However, no one dared to disobey Saint Edmund¡¯s order, nor did they dare to hesitate in the slightest even if they had to put their lives at stake.

    On the other hand, the team from the Tower of Dusk was doing slightly better with the support of the two powerhouses Connoris and Ujfalusi as well as the powerful andrge magical equipment.

    However, they at least managed to bring their respective opponents into the range as Edmund instructed them too. The team of the Gilded Kingdom even suffered some casualties because of it.

    Seeing that all the Envoys of Light had entered the range he had set, Edmund immediately flew into the air, raised his scepter high in his hand, and rapidly chanted a long string of incantations.

    Thenguage that Edmund used was the same ancient Titannguage that the Envoys of Light had used previously. Now, he was chanting runes that condensed countless entities in space, emitting a strange light that scattered everywhere, and caused the entire space to shake violently.

    As Edmund chanted the incantation, the four Envoys of Light who were fighting with the crowd below also suddenly began to change peculiarly. Firstly, it was as if the light that their bodies emitted seemed to be suppressed by a mysterious force, and the speed of conversion gradually became much slower. Next, the radiant light that enveloped their bodies also gradually became dimmer, and the light wings on their backs began to lose their glistening feathers that were condensed by light.

    ¡°Despicable human, how did you master this spell!?¡± The Envoy of Light that had initially split itself into hundreds of Envoys of Light suddenly fused back together, and then roared and charged towards Edmund who was in the sky, seemingly trying to interrupt Edmund¡¯s spell-casting.

    However, seeing that Edmund¡¯s method worked, Lin Li obviously wouldn¡¯t let the Envoy of Light interrupt Edmund. His figure suddenly flickered and disappeared before appearing again in front of the Envoy of Light. As he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter at the Envoy of Light, thousands of violent thunderbolts emerged from behind him, and sted towards the Envoy of Light.

 Chapter 1155 - Intentional

    <h4>Chapter 1155: Intentional</h4>

    If it was before, the Envoys of Light couldpletely ignore attacks like the ones Lin Li

    had justunched since they had the light body. However, under the suppression of the incantation chanted by Edmund, the Envoys of Light could no longer cast their light incarnate spell as freely as before. Thus, even the Envoys of Light who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm dared not go hard against Lin Li¡¯s magic spells, and had no choice but to be defeated.

    However, after Lin Li left, Lin Li¡¯s original opponent was naturally handed over to Poer and Zumar. In the beginning, there were three Sanctuary powerhouses going against three Envoys of Light, but now it was just Poer and Zumar against three Envoys of Light. With Poer¡¯s and Zumar¡¯s strength, they were instantly put in a crisis.

    ¡°Damn it! You did that on purpose!¡± High Priest Poer dodged the attacks of the Envoys of Light pathetically. There were even some wounds on his body because he had been slit by a sword. He was immediately furious again.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even bother to pay attention to High Priest Poer, and he simply opened his Domain World and chased the Envoy of Light who had been forced down. Just now, he had received a message from Connoris through spiritual contact. Thetter hoped that he could take this opportunity to capture the two Envoys of Light.

    If this had been in the past, Connoris¡¯ words would have been a joke. The Envoy of Light was a powerhouse who was near the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, not some random beast. Lin Li had put in arge amount of effort to be able to contend with it, and although he seemed to be having an easy time, he knew the dangers that were involved.

    However, things were different now. He had no idea what Saint Edmund did to make the power of the Envoys of Light plummet. Besides, it was still continuing to weaken. Although the Envoys of Light were close to the peak Sanctuary-realm, they looked just like runners who had just finished a marathon.

    Hence, after hearing Connoris¡¯ request, Lin Li didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediately opened his Domain World, enveloping that Envoy of Light in the Domain World immediately.

    However, just after getting the Envoy of Light into his own Domain World, Lin Li immediately felt that something was wrong. After entering his Domain World, the Envoy of Light began to recover rapidly, and he would probably return to full strength again within a few minutes.

    That Envoy of Light could also sense the change in his body. Hence, he immediatelyughed again, and gibed, ¡°Foolish human, I should really thank you for isting me from that damned space.¡±

    The Envoy of Light was still using the ancient Titannguage. During the battle just now, he already knew that Lin Li was not in cahoots with that group of people who imed to be believers. Hence, he didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to know such an ancientnguage too.

    However, when Lin Li heard the words of the Envoy of Light, he immediately understood what the issue was. Although he did not know how to cast the secret spell that Edmund used, he could make his Domain World simte the exact same environment out there. After all, in his own Domain World, he was the deity of the world, and there was no need for him to use an incantation to use his Laws at all. He could change everything with a mere thought.

    Lin Li immediately dispersed his mental strength, and spread it outside the Domain World. In the blink of an eye, he could see all the changes in that space clearly. As a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse, he had already had a considerable level of mastery of the World Laws. It was not much of a problem for him to detect the subtle changes.

    Immediately afterwards, there began to be changes in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. The Envoy of Light, who was still waiting to regain his power and then seize this Domain World, suddenly felt the previous changes happening to his body again. He instantly knew that what he had said just now caused him to be in trouble.

    He had a chance to get out of the trap, but because of a moment ofcency, he let his mouth slip. How could the arrogant Envoy of Light stand it? After feeling ashamed and furious, the Envoy of Light immediately maximized his power, and constantly wrecked Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, seemingly trying to destroy it before he lost power.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was not a single world that was constituted by just one or two Laws like those of other Sanctuary-realm powerhouses. In this Domain World, Lin Li had used the seven basic Laws of earth, fire, water, wind, light, darkness, and chaos. Those were the seven basicws of the real world.

    The real Anril was evolved from the seven basicws of earth, fire, water, wind, light, darkness, and chaos. Although Lin Li¡¯s Domain World could not yet bepared to the real world, its solidity was not something that the Envoy of Light could break. Besides, the Envoy of Light was still in his Domain World, and was subject to considerable restrictions even though it had yet to be incorporated into thews of the Domain World by Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li engulfed the Envoy of Light using the Domain World, it still seemed to people outside that he was fighting the Envoy of Light. That was how incredible Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was. The fact that he had used the basic World Laws was the very reason he could easily simte the environment of the outside world. Those whose realm did not surpass his level would not be able to see any changes. Edmund might be able to see something, but Edmund had spent all his energy on casting that secret spell now.

    Lin Li continued to fight with the Envoy of Light while keeping his eyes fixed on the other three Envoys of Light. Right from the beginning, he had been very interested in finding out what exactly the Envoys of Light were. Now that Connoris said that he had a use for them, he would naturally catch as many as he could.

    At this moment, Edmund, who was in midair, had already reached the final juncture of casting his spell, and a huge illusory god statue, which was the incarnation of the ancient god¡¯s chaos willpower that was a sacrifice of the Illuminati¡¯s Chaos Sanctuary, appeared behind his thin and dry body.

    The incarnation of the chaos willpower was nearly 100 meters high, and there were two horns on his head, as well as eight arms on his back like he was a spider. He was holding a sharp weapon in each hand: either a sharp sword, a giant axe, a staff made of dragon skull, or the Titan Dragon Spear.

    Logically speaking, the Envoys of Light were the divine servants of the ancient gods, and thus the chaos willpower should be a wisp of the will of the ancient gods. Hence, there should be no conflict between the two. However, the incarnation of the chaos willpower that Edmund summoned seemed not to remember the existence of the Envoys of Light at all. After the appearance of the incarnation of the chaos willpower, a pair of huge palms quickly formed a secret hand seal in midair. A pale power from the void immediately descended into this space.

    From the moment the incarnation of the chaos willpower appeared, the Envoys of Light had already lost the power to resist. Although they knew that it was only an illusory image, the fear they had towards the ancient gods came from the bottom of their hearts, and they dared not think of resisting at all.

    When the incarnation of the chaos willpower cast the powerful secret spell, the Envoys of Light began shivering while being all huddled up on the ground. They wailed continuously.

    At this juncture, the Envoy of Light in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was not affected by the incarnation of the chaos willpower; hence, he did not behave the same as the three Envoys of Light outside. Lin Li didn¡¯t want to let Edmund and the others find out that he had captured the Envoy of Light, so he immediately simted an incarnation of the chaos willpower in his Domain World as well. After all, he was the supreme god in his Domain World, and it would be a piece of cake for him to simte the chaos willpower.

    With the appearance of that incarnation of the chaos willpower in the Domain World, the Envoy of Light also immediately huddled up on the ground like its three other counterparts. He was too weak to resist. At this point, Lin Li also knew that the final moment had arrived, and if he didn¡¯t hurry and seize the opportunity, the other party would probably die and turn into dust.

    Indeed, as the incarnation of the chaos willpower cast a spell, the three Envoys of Light outside began to dissipate rapidly like snow in fire. Their bodies, which were initially nearly 10 meters tall, started shrinking while bing distorted and transparent. They were almost going to disappear.

    At thest juncture, Lin Li suddenly opened his Domain World, and pulled the nearest Envoy of Light into it. None of those present noticed that there was any difference between that Envoy of Light and the rest. All they saw were four Envoys of Light howling and shrieking while vanishing entirely.

    Indeed, theypletely dissipated, and even the two Envoys of Light in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World also vanished without a trace. However, as the creator of the Domain World, Lin Li could totally turn back time in the Domain World, and condense the Envoys of Light again.

    After everything was over, Saint Edmund also descended from the sky. He nced at his team from the Gilded Kingdom, and calmly instructed them to start reorganizing themselves.

    However, while everyone else began to rest and regroup, Edmund did not ck off, and instead went to the spot where the Envoys of Light had dissipated. Once again, he chanted an incantation, and the light that had dissipated in space also began to condense. However, the Envoys of Light did not appear this time, and there was instead just a Sr Sphere that hovered in space. A blurry figure began to appear in the Sr Sphere.

    Upon sight of this, Lin Li immediately thought that Edmund was probably using some kind of secret solution to get some information from the dissipating Envoys of Light. Hence, he immediately strode towards Edmund and looked at the Sr Sphere.

    Seeing that Lin Li was walking over to him, Edmund did not avoid anything, and simply nodded, and said, ¡°President Felic, the images in this Sr Sphere are some of the memories possessed by the Envoys of Light. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have aplete mastery of this secret technique. Hence, I can¡¯t obtainplete information.¡±

    At this point, Lin Li was fully focused on the images in the Sr Sphere. Although it was just like what Edmund said about there beingpses in the scenes in the Sr Sphere, the information revealed still made him secretly surprised. There was an amazing battle disyed in the scene. Although they could not see the parties involved in the battle, the sounds were shocking.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, I wonder if you know who the two parties engaged in the battle are?¡± Lin Li asked, concealing his surprise as if nothing was wrong. In fact, when he asked, he already had a vague spection that he had to confirm with Edmund.

    Looking at the image in the Sr Sphere without even turning around, Edmund said, ¡°It should be the owner of the Envoys of Light. ording to the Illuminati¡¯s ssics, the god fell into a deep slumber after a battle, I think it should be this one.¡±

    ¡°Just a deep slumber? Is it just sleeping inside this pce?¡± Although Lin Li¡¯s tone hadn¡¯t changed significantly, his brows were slightly furrowed. He didn¡¯t sense a very powerful aura from that pce, but thinking about what High Priest Poer had said to the Envoys of Light just now, he had to rify things.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Edmund hesitated a little, knowing that Lin Li had recalled everything he said to High Priest Poer. Hence, he couldn¡¯t deny it, either. He simply ambiguously answered, ¡°Yes and no.¡±

    ¡°In that case, Saint Edmund, don¡¯t you think your answer doesn¡¯t seem to make much sense? Well then, I will assume that you came here just to awaken your god. It¡¯s a shame I don¡¯t believe in your god, so in order to avoid offending your god when the timees, I think it is better for us to leave now.¡± Lin Li was not trying to spite Edmund into telling the truth. In fact, he already had an answer after seeing his behavior, and thus immediately nned to escape. He was well aware his rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom was hostile, and now that they were going to awaken a god, he obviously had to leave before the god attacked him!

    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Edmund hurriedly called out to stop Lin Li. During the battle with the four Envoys of Light just now, he had already witnessed the strength of the Tower of Dusk. How could he let such a powerful helper leave him at this point?

    Lin Li had turned around to leave, but after hearing Edmund¡¯s words, he slowly turned around, and said, ¡°Saint Edmund, is there anything else? Or are you nning to force us to stay behind?¡±

    ¡°Hah, President Felic, don¡¯t get the wrong idea. I heard you said just now that you came here to search for a magical weapon. Why are you leaving even though you haven¡¯t found it yet?¡± Edmund asked, letting out a strained chuckle.

    However, Lin Li turned around, and smilingly said, ¡°Saint Edmund, don¡¯t worry about me. We¡¯ve already obtained the Ice Phoenix corpse previously. With that item, our trip was not fruitless. Even if there are bigger gains, I won¡¯t put my life at risk.¡±

    <i>What a joke, those four Envoys of Light are already powerhouses that are close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Their owner must have terrifying strength. It¡¯s probably a terrifying existence that¡¯s already in the realm of the gods.</i>

 Chapter 1156 - Doubtful Point

    <h4>Chapter 1156: Doubtful Point</h4>

    Although Lin Li had learned a lot from Geresco, and he was indeed more capable than a Sanctuary powerhouse of the same level, he was not that arrogant as to think that he had the strength to fight against a true god. Lin Li was not afraid of battling those who were of higher levels than him, but he would be seeking death if he tried to fight someone of a higher realm.

    Lin Li told Edmund and the others that he was there to search for a magical weapon, but in fact, he was just there to find clues regarding the Immortal King. Risking one¡¯s life by engaging in a deadly confrontation with a powerful existence that might possess a god¡¯s position for the sake of a clue that was not yet certain to be useful was a huge loss in Lin Li¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, you are well aware that the rtionship between us is strained and hostile. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m the first person who will have to be dealt with. If you were in my ce, would you continue to go on?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t hide it at all, and made his concerns clear. He felt that there was nothing to be ashamed of, and he wasn¡¯t willing to suffer for the sake of pride.

    ¡°President Felic.¡± Edmund hesitated for a moment before continuing, ¡°You might have misunderstood, our action this time is just an arrangement for the future. Awakening the god is what we, the Illuminati, will do in the future. For now, we just have to go in and retrieve the sacred relics that have fallen inside.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but to be honest, this exnation of yours doesn¡¯t seem that credible.¡± Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t really believe all of Edmund¡¯s ims. Who knew if they would awaken the ancient god by then? If something like that really happened, he couldn¡¯t possibly go and use them of not keeping their word. A loser had no right to use the victor.

    Lin Li¡¯s words made Edmund look a little conflicted and seemingly worried about how he could convince him. After just a few moments of hesitation, Edmund saw that Lin Li seemed to be getting impatient, and thus had no choice but to helplessly say, ¡°President Felic, as you have seen earlier on, the Envoys of Light who are the servants of our god were not very weing of our arrival. So, before confirming God¡¯s stand, we won¡¯t risk awakening him, either.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li felt bewildered. Previously, Edmund and the others had already told the Envoys of Light that they came here just to wake up their god. Edmund¡¯s words seemed really ridiculous to him. As a believer of god, he actually had to worry about his god being merciless to them after being awakened.

    To be frank, Lin Li felt that there had to be a problem with the Illuminati¡¯s faith. The devout believers of Light at the Brilliance Shrine would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for faith, but the Illuminati actually kept hesitating to awaken their god that was still in slumber. They did not behave like believers at all.

    Of course, the believers didn¡¯t behave like believers, and there seemed to be something wrong with their god too. Just as Edmund had said, the four Envoys of Light did not seem to recognize their identity as believers. Otherwise, even if they were not allowed to enter the shrine as believers, there was no need to attack, either.

    Lin Li was really confused about the rtionship between the Illuminati and their god.

    The Illuminati¡¯s faith was not something that Lin Li, an outsider, could figure out immediately. Besides, what really made him feel doubtful was actually Edmund¡¯s attitude. Regardless of whether Edmund wanted to awaken the ancient god or to retrieve the sacred relic, it seemed that the departure of the Tower of Dusk was beneficial and harmless to them. After all, the rtionship between the two forces was quite hostile, and Edmund would be able to betterplete the task without the Tower of Dusk.

    However, when Lin Li announced his intention to withdraw, Edmund tried to make him stay, as if they could notplete the mission without the participation of the Tower of Dusk. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, there was either some kind of trap waiting for him in the Gilded Kingdom, or there was a massive danger that Edmund was not confident enough to handle alone.

    In such circumstances, it was naturally the best option for Lin Li to withdraw. Anyway, there was more than one clue regarding the Immortal King, and they would at most wait for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team to finish handling the matter before sneakilying back to explore the ce themselves.

    At this point, Edmund knew that if he didn¡¯te up with something credible, Lin Li would definitely turn around and leave. It was actually not strange at all. If he was facing the same issue, he would definitely be filled with doubt too. He could only put the me on High Priest Poer for getting toocent, and revealing the matter about the ancient god being in slumber here. He even said that he wanted to awaken the ancient god.

    Edmund sighed and nced around, as if there were some words he did not want others to hear. Of course, no one dared to eavesdrop on his conversation. As he was one of the four saints of the Illuminati, his status was definitely simr to that of the god that they believed in.

    At the same time, when Edmund scanned the surroundings, Elder Zumar, who saw Edmund¡¯s behavior, also immediately took a few steps to the side, as if he was watching out for Edmund. High Priest Poer originally intended to stay there to listen to what Saint Edmund had to say. However, immediately afterwards, he saw the stern gaze that was being shot at him, and so had no choice but to walk alongside Elder Zumar.

    Watching the actions of Edmund and the others, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bewildered. What was it that they had to do behind his back? In fact, Lin Li really couldn¡¯t think of anything that Edmund coulde up with to clear his doubts now other than a Soul Contract.

    However, it was impossible to sign such a Soul Contract! To Sanctuary powerhouses, a single seed of their soul would be enough for the other party to see everything clearly. Hence, there were very few Sanctuary powerhouses who would be willing to sign a Soul Contract with others, even if it was beneficial to them.

    When Lin Li found it strange, Edmund once again shifted his attention onto him, and said in a low voice, ¡°President Felic, I know what you are worried about. Actually, it¡¯s normal for you to have such a concern. However, we are very sincere about this. I¡¯m telling you, very few people in the Illuminati know the truth, so I hope you can put your worries to rest.¡±

    Edmund had no choice but to invest his energy into this. Others did not know what was going on in the pce, but as a saint of the Illuminati, he understood the situation very well. Besides, even when being clueless, he could guess that the inside of the pce would never be simple.

    ¡°Oh? Saint Edmund, aren¡¯t you scared that I might spread the word about this?¡± Lin Li said, looking at Saint Edmund half-jokingly. Although he said that, he was obviously really interested in Edmund¡¯s so-called truth.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Edmund smiled calmly, and nonchntly said, ¡°I believe that President Felic would not do that kind of thing. Besides, President Felic, you should be clear that there are some things that others won¡¯t necessarily believe just because you said so.¡±

    Religion had always been a double-edged sword, and although it could make one have firm beliefs, it could also blind them. Even if someone could produce the truth and prove that their beliefs were false, the vast majority of believers would probably just ignore the facts, and regard the other party as a heretic, or even lynch them.

    ¡°Okay then, I will hear it and decide if there¡¯s a valid reason for me to take the risk,¡± Lin Li said, looking like he was all ready to listen. However, he was still thinking that he should take his people away after listening. Regardless of the perspective, he did not think that there was anything worth taking the risk for.

    Edmund seemed to have read Lin Li¡¯s mind, but he slowly said in displeasure, ¡°Regarding the battle that happened thousands of years ago, I believe you still remember it. In that great battle, not only did the gods fall into a deep slumber, the founding saint of the Illuminati, Aquilo, had also unfortunately fallen. However, he did not really fall.¡±

    Although Lin Li had long been distracted, and was even ready to leave after listening to Edmund¡¯s words, he was truly shocked when he heard Edmund revealing that unknown secret. ording to Edmund, didn¡¯t he mean that Aquilo, the founding saint of the Illuminati, was also in the depths of this pce, just like the god who fell into a deep sleep?

    Although Sanctuary powerhouses had generally already reached the point where their souls were indestructible, it was only rtive. Both parties in the battle were godlike powerhouses, and in fact, the power of the four Envoys of Light was enough to prove that the ancient god was very likely to have already reached the realm of the gods. Besides, the one that could make it fall into deep slumber was naturally the Immortal King whose strength was undoubtedly so powerful that even the Dragon of Destruction wouldn¡¯t be able to kill him.

    In front of such a god-level existence, even the Sanctuary powerhouses who were at the peak and almost close to the level of the gods were just like fragile ants that could be killed easily. As for the so-called indestructible soul, it was just like a joke. The aftereffects alone were enough to make the soul of any peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouse die.

    ¡°You mean, he¡¯s sleeping in that pce just like your gods? In that case, I don¡¯t seem to have a good reason to stay, huh?¡± Lin Li was initially worried that the sleeping god that they awakened might cause trouble for him, but now that there was a founding saint, he wished he could flee immediately!

    Regardless of whether he was in slumber or not, the fact that he could survive such a tough battle was enough to show that his strength was extraordinary. Hence, be it the god or the founding saint that the Gilded Kingdom was going to awaken, it was not a good thing for Lin Li at all.

    ¡°President Felic, please hear me out, will you? Lord Aquilo once learned a secret method which can allow the dead to be revived from his friend, and the key to the resurrection is in that sacred relic that we are going to take back. So, what we have to do is to retrieve that relic and take it back to Lord Aquilo. We need to seek his permission to awaken the god,¡± Edmund said, revealing more inside information in order to make Lin Li stay in hopes of making him drop his suspicions.

    The god that the Illuminati believed in was actually ranked after Aquilo, and it seemed that they were unsure if they should awaken the god they believed in even after the resurrection of Aquilo. The more Lin Li listened to it, the more he felt that the Illuminati was strange. He wondered which god they believed in.

    In particr, Edmund also said that they had to first awaken Aquilo, and seek his permission to awaken that god. In other words, if Aquilo disapproved, they wouldn¡¯t awaken that god. What was that about!? Since when could their lord decide such things? Wasn¡¯t their god the supreme being to them?

    However, Lin Li wasrgely interested in the so-called friend who taught Aquilo the secret method of resurrection. As an outsider, Lin Li could not make anyments about whoever the Illuminati believed in. However, the secret method of resurrection was definitely not to be missed.

    Although Anril was a world of magic, death was irreversible there too, and that did not refer to physical death, but a true annihtion of one¡¯s body and soul. If one died physically, they could still turn into an Undead creature and live on in another form. However, if both their physical body and soul died, that would beplete death. Even the gods probably would not be able to bring apletely dead person back to life.

    In that case, how did the founding saint Aquilo die? In the god-level battle, even Sanctuary powerhouses were considered insignificant, and would be destroyed easily. Hence, the secret method would be a miracle even if it merely let Aquilo retain a trace of the Soul Brand.

    Lin Li knew he could not find out much about that secret method, but he didn¡¯t think it would be of much use to him, either. After all, if only a wisp of Soul Brand was left, and he had to wait for others to resurrect him after being trapped for thousands of years, it would be better to just die. However, he was still very interested in the so-called friend of Aquilo who could create that secret method.

 Chapter 1157 - Scripture

    <h4>Chapter 1157: Scripture</h4>

    ¡°What kind of person can actually create such a secret method? Is the friend of your lord another deity?¡± Despite knowing that Edmund probably wouldn¡¯t lie to him about that, Lin Li¡¯s tone was still apprehensive.

    Edmund originally nned to just brush him off, but he didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to be that interested in the secret method. He even asked about the person who taught Aquilo that secret method. He hesitated for a moment, and seemed to be calcting in his heart before he added, ¡°That person is the one who caused the great war, and ultimately suppressed the will of our god.¡±

    ¡°You mean... Well, since he was a friend of your lord, how could he have suppressed the god you believed?¡± Lin Li almost blurted the name of the Immortal King because it was a bit too unbelievable. The Immortal King was actually friends with the Illuminati¡¯s founding saint, and even taught him the secret resurrection method. He even ended up getting into a conflict with the Illuminati¡¯s founding saint, and suppressed the god.

    Judging from Lin Li¡¯s expression, Edmund could tell that something was wrong; hence, he immediately eximed, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you everything about what happened during the process all in one go now, but Lord Aquilo seemed to have been able to predict what would happen. Hence, he left behind the resurrection method. The resurrection of Lord Aquilo is also the Illuminati¡¯s goal for the past few thousands of years, and for the sake of achieving it, we are willing to pay any price!¡±

    Just now, Lin Li doubted the Illuminati¡¯s faith, but now that he had heard Edmund¡¯s words, he felt that his imagination was still toocking. It seemed that the god whom they believed in was of a low status in their hearts. At least, he was inferior to the founding saint Aquilo. The Illuminati would do whatever it took to resurrect Aquilo, but they were clearly not that sincere in awakening their god. Perhaps the Illuminati worshiped Aquilo rather than the god.

    ¡°So, what else do you know about that friend of your Lord Aquilo?¡± Lin Li asked in hopes to find out more about the Immortal King from the Illuminati. After all, that was the reason he was there. Besides, in his opinion, there would not be a need for him to join the adventureter if he could find out the answer he had been looking for from Edmund.

    Edmund did not expect that Lin Li would be so interested in that person, but it was a good thing in his opinion. Hence, he said, ¡°We have some information about this person, and it¡¯s said that he came from Anril. He is definitely the only human who can have that kind of strength and power. Lord Anril not only became friends with him, but even learned a lot of profound theories and information about magic from him.¡±

    ¡°What? He¡¯s not a High Elf?¡± Edmund¡¯s words took Lin Li by surprise, and he couldn¡¯t help but lose hisposure a little and ask that question.

    Lin Li had always thought that the one who had suppressed the god of the Illuminati was the Immortal King, and he had indeed found this ce by following the trail of the Immortal King. However, Edmund imed that it was a human mage. <i>Could it be that the Immortal King is a human!?</i>

    All along, the Immortal King had been in a form of a High Elf in the relics of the High Elves as well as the ancient records. Hence, be it Lin Li or the Dark Age historians, and everyone else in Anril, they all thought that the Immortal King was a High Elf. After all, the High Elves Dynasty was almost created single-handedly by the Immortal King. How could the Immortal King not be a High Elf then?

    Besides, after the High Elves ruled Anril, they did not give the humans any privileges at all. In fact, they were even harsher and more cruel to humans aspared to the other races. That was also the reason that the era of the High Elven Dynasty was called the Dark Age by theter generations.

    However, Edmund now actually said that the person who was treated as the Immortal King by Lin Li was actually a human mage. In that case, either Lin Li was mistaken, or the entire poption of Anril was. However, in that era, there was almost no one who could be on par with the Immortal King¡¯s strength.

    Geresco, who was known as the God of Mages, was recognized as having strength that was on par with the Immortal King¡¯s. He was even considered to have surpassed the Immortal King in terms of his achievements from the perspective of humans. However, the two of them did not belong to the same era. It was said that when Geresco was born, the Immortal King had already left Anril, and no one knew exactly where he had gone.

    This time, although Lin Li did not react much on the surface, he was full of shock. How could the Immortal King be human? How was that possible? However, apart from the Immortal King, who else could have such great strength! <i>Maybe the Immortal King had used some kind of disguise technique to turn himself into the appearance of a human? However, with the power of the Immortal King who doesn¡¯t even take the gods seriously, how could he disguise himself as a human!?</i>

    Besides, Lin Li had a doubt. <i>What exactly did the Immortal Kinge here for? Did he want to suppress the god that the Illuminati believed in? Or did he want to befriend the founding saint of the Illuminati? Why did the Immortal King teach the Illuminati¡¯s founding saint the secret resurrection method? Could it be that the Immortal King and the founding saint of the Illuminati were on the same side, and were colluding to suppress the ancient god?</i>

    However, Lin Li could not ask that question. After all, regardless of the perspective, he would either be doubting the Illuminati¡¯s religion or undermining the founding saint. Lin Li decided to put aside the idea of continuing with the exploration. At least, Lin Li did not want to fall out with Edmund for now.

    ¡°So, what else do you know about that human mage? What exactly did he look like? What kind of magic spells did he use? How long has he stayed here for? Why did he get into a conflict with the god you believe in?¡± Lin Li asked agitatedly.

    Edmund was confused by Lin Li¡¯s series of follow-up questions, and when he figured it out, he was confused. ¡°President Felic, I can only tell you that the powerful human mage came here for the purpose of one thing that our god has. It¡¯s not recorded in the Illuminati¡¯s scriptures what exactly that item was. Perhaps it has been known, but no one paid attention to it. After all, our goal is to resurrect Lord Aquilo.¡±

    Putting aside the sleeping god, Lin Li could not be bothered about those details. He looked at Edmund¡¯s expression, and felt that Edmund wasn¡¯t lying. Hence, he decided to believe him. It seemed that he really had to explore this time. The item that the Immortal King was interested in was definitely impressive. The world that Geresco had created allowed him to track the Immortal King all the way here might exist to let him find that item too.

    However, Lin Li would not immediately agree to Edmund¡¯s request. He instead considered for a moment before saying, ¡°I can apany you, but I have a condition.¡±

    It was obvious that he was interested in exploring again, but he had to take the opportunity to negotiate and raise some conditions from the Gilded Kingdom. If High Priest Poer, who already hated Lin Li, heard this, he would probably vomit blood in anger. However, Edmund was obviously much more tolerant than ordinary people. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, he did not show the slightest displeasure, and even braced himself for some unruly requests made by Lin Li. Appearing sincere, he said, ¡°Please go ahead, President Felic.¡±

    Lin Li nodded without feeling embarrassed at all, and said, ¡°Actually, my conditions are simple. After this matter is over, I hope to be able to read the scriptures of the Illuminati, regardless of whether weplete the task or not. The scripture I¡¯m referring to is not the nonsense that you show to ordinary believers.¡±

    There was more than one scripture of each religion. There was a scripture that recorded the true history of the religion, and also one for the believers to enhance their faith. What Lin Li wanted to read was obviously not the kind that was meant for fooling their believers. There was a problem that they inevitably had to face. The things recorded in the scripture of the history were not all wonderful, as some were dark and sinister. Even among the Illuminati, only a few senior members would be qualified to read those items. Once they were spread, it might result in a huge impact on the reputation of the Illuminati.

    More importantly, Lin Li also had the identity of the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Although the Supreme Council and the Illuminati were not in a hostile rtionship, as one developed on the maind, while the other developed on the sea, no one could deny that there was still apetitive rtionship between those two forces to a certain extent.

    Hence, although Lin Li did not make an excessive request or ask for a massive amount of treasures and wealth, his request was still tough for Edmund to ept. Edmund had mentioned before that the Illuminati would do anything to revive Aquilo, and clearly it was time to put it into action.

    However, after a long hesitation with a conflicted expression, Edmund finally nodded, and said, ¡°Alright, President Felic, as long as you are willing to continue exploring with us, you will be qualified to read my Illuminati¡¯s scripture regardless of the final oue.¡±

 Chapter 1158 - Palace Of Light

    <h4>Chapter 1158: Pce Of Light</h4>

    ¡°Deal, let¡¯s get to preparing then.¡± After saying that, Lin Li resolutely returned to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, and began to let the crowd prepare for the next exploration.

    On Edmund¡¯s side, Poer and Zumar immediately approached Edmund after seeing Lin Li leave. High Priest Poer red at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, and then respectfully asked Saint Edmund, ¡°Saint, how did the negotiation with Felic go? He looks so smug, as if he has gained some benefit.¡±

    In the eyes of High Priest Poer, Lin Li was utterly detestable. Now that Lin Li had a calm expression, he immediately thought that Edmund had given Lin Li some benefit. At the thought of it, he felt even more disgruntled, and thus immediately asked Edmund about it as soon as he came over.

    ¡°Nothing, I just agreed to let him read our scriptures after the matter here is settled,¡± Edmund said indifferently, seemingly not taking this matter to heart.

    However, after hearing Edmund¡¯s answer, High Priest Poer almost lost his temper and leaped up. Although he, like the Illuminati, also believed in the ancient god Zagar, he was not a member of the Illuminati, but one of the royals. Hence, despite having a high status in the Gilded Kingdom as the high priest, he was not qualified to read the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s scriptures.

    Although there was generally no need for High Priest Poer to read the Illuminati¡¯s scriptures, that difference in treatment was still uneptable for him. He might not be a member of the Illuminati, but they at least believed in the same god, and he was close to the Illuminati. If he couldn¡¯t have the right to read the scriptures, why was Lin Li granted permission!?

    ¡°Saint Edmund, this seems a little inappropriate. Felic is just our temporary partner, and we might even officially go to war with him in the future. Besides, he¡¯s also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. He might just use this opportunity to develop a conspiracy against us.¡± In order to keep Lin Li from getting what he wanted, High Priest Poer made the matter sound as serious as he could in hopes of talking Edmund round, and making him change his mind.

    However, Edmund was not convinced. Instead, he skipped that topic, and said to High Priest Poer, ¡°Tell all of them to get ready, we will set off immediately once the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team is ready too.¡±

    High Priest Poer dared not show any displeasure despite being brushed off. He had no choice but to turn around and inform his team to prepare for the departure. However, he naturally hated Lin Li even more.

    After waiting for High Priest Poer to leave, Elder Zumar hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn¡¯t help but politely say, ¡°Saint, it doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate for an outsider to read our scriptures.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, if possible, I would want to see that punk read our scripture because that would mean that we seeded in our mission this time. Anyway, after we enter, follow my arrangements for everything. Let¡¯s hope nothing goes wrong,¡± Edmund said. It was rare for him to exin more than he should. Although he had promised Lin Li that kind of condition, he seemed to be in a good mood.

    Indeed, he could tell from the Envoys of Light that they just faced that the journey ahead would not be easy. Now, with the help of the Tower of Dusk, the possibility ofpleting the mission was increased greatly. Just like Edmund had said to Lin Li, there was no big deal in letting others read the scripture.

    After Lin Li returned to the team of the Tower of Dusk, he immediately told them to start checking their equipment as they made arrangements to deal with the next possible danger. At this point, a faint metallic odor of blood suddenly spread over from afar, and the vampire Norfeller appeared in front of the Tower of Dusk immediately afterwards.

    Aftering close to Lin Li, Norfeller presented a huge ice-blue egg that seemed to be carved out of crystal to Lin Li with both hands. He said, ¡°Master, ording to your instructions, I searched the Ice Phoenixir and found this.¡±

    <i>Seems like I guessed correctly!</i> Lin Li was overjoyed as he grabbed the crystal egg, and began observing it carefully in his hand.

    However, the observation made Lin Li¡¯s heart sink, and the joy that had surfaced on his face disappeared. He soon began frowning instead. The Ice Phoenix¡¯s egg waspletely different from what he had imagined. If he had not trusted Norfeller entirely, he would have thought that the real egg had been reced by something else in the process.

    Logically speaking, the Phoenixes were reborn through such a method, and so their eggs should contain endless vitality that gave them the ability to gain a new life. However, now that Lin Li had obtained the egg, he did not feel a trace of vitality in it. In fact, the egg even emanated a rich Undead aura that was even denser than that of most genuine Undead creatures.

    In this case, was it still possible for the egg of the Ice Phoenix to be reborn in nirvana? Besides, it was not just a question of whether it could be reborn or not. The phoenix egg in Lin Li¡¯s hands even gave Lin Li the creeps. It was as if the aura of death that was emanating from the egg was able to prate one¡¯s soul and erode it.

    Lin Li did not mind it, since his mostpetent subordinates, Ujfalusi and Norfeller, were Undead creatures. There was also a Retribution Knight in the Eternal Furnace. However, he couldn¡¯t keep holding onto the peculiar phoenix egg.

    Hence, after Lin Li got the Ice Phoenix egg, he merely looked at it, and then threw it back to Norfeller. It was full of death, and Lin Li was unsure if it could be used for the rebirth of the Ice Phoenix. He decided to let Norfeller, an Undead creature, y with it.

    At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team had already rested and reorganized themselves, all keeping their guard up in a formation and ready to start entering the pce. After Elder Zumar deliberately came over to inform them, Lin Li issued an order, and the team from the Tower of Dusk immediately followed closely behind, walking together towards the pce in the light.

    The pce that was shrouded in the light was still blurry from afar, and although the light was not blinding, it made the pce seem foggy. Only once the two teams came closer and were about a few meters away from the gate did they get a clear glimpse of it.

    The first impression they had of the pce was that it was massive and majestic. Instead of a pce, it seemed more like a city. Standing in front of the gate of the pce, they could not see the borders at all. The outer wall was hundreds of meters high, and even the top had been obscured by the light, and looked just like a mountain that reached the clouds.

    They then found it opulent, and the pce was extremely luxurious. Besides, it was different from the extravagant style of the High Elves. However, all in all, it was still personable and pleasant. It looked as if it was created with a massive amount of wealth. The outer walls of the pce were also covered in purple and golden patterns that added a touch of splendor to the gold which might seem tacky alone. Between those purple and golden patterns, there were also countlessrge gemstones that were bedazzling like the stars in the night sky.

    God knew how much wealth had been spent on the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. The current national treasury of the Gilded Kingdom probably could not bepared with the value of this pce. They were truly an incredibly wealthy nation. If an ordinary person were to scrape off a gem on the wall, it would be enough for him to live in luxury for several lifetimes.

    The gemstones were not only beautiful. Each one was a specialty of the Endless Ocean, and the material used for the purple and golden patterns was a precious magical metal: purple adamantine. Each gram of purple adamantine was worth a massive amount of gold, and it was usually priceless.

    However, those things did not mean much to Lin Li, and he wouldn¡¯t lose hisposure over it. In his opinion, only the things he could use were considered valuable. Otherwise, they would just be considered ordinary stones and metals even if others marked up the price. Besides, with his attainments in various fields, it was not difficult to find a few ores in the Endless Sea, so there was no need to be surprised at all.

    On the other hand, on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side, High Priest Poer seemed to be shivering with agitation. If not for Edmund and Zumar, he would have probably ordered everyone to demolish the pce and bring the gemstones back. After all, it was considered a shockingly massive amount of wealth which would almost immediately increase the power of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Unfortunately, with Edmund of the Illuminati around, High Priest Poer could only think about it without taking any action. Although the pce had already been abandoned, it was the sacrednd of the Illuminati at the beginning. Those items were considered the wealth of the Illuminati, and even the Gilded Kingdom did not have the power to casually use them.

    Finally, the two teams passed through the open door, and walked into the pce, only to see that the interior was even more luxurious and opulent. Words couldn¡¯t describe the ostentatiousness of the interior where the ground, the walls, the roof, the massive pirs, gold, gems, and all sorts of rare and magnificent magical elements as well as magical elemental crystals made it difficult for them to walk.

    However, although the pce was extremely beautiful and luxurious, the interior was obviously in a mess as the decorative furnishings were mostly destroyed and ced randomly. There were broken pearls, crystal ornaments, twisted silvermp sands, and many other golden ornaments.

    Lin Li could tell from the extravagance of this pce that the Illuminati were not slipshod with their offerings to their god. Without the previous conversation with Saint Edmund, Lin Li would have probably thought that the Illuminati¡¯s faith in their god had reached a terrifying height. However, Lin Li found it ironic when he looked at this magnificent pce and recalled what Edmund had said to him just now.

    As both teams advanced towards the depths of the pce slowly under Saint Edmund¡¯s lead, the sounds of heavy footsteps came from the depths ahead. Immediately afterwards, a group of Spiked Earth Dragons charged over from the depths of the pce.

    The Spiked Earth Dragons were simr to the earth dragons of Anril which looked like wingless dragons. They were magical beasts that carried the blood of wyrms, and had thick hind legs, with two rows of spikes that trailed from its head to its tail. In the Endless Abyss, the Spiked Earth Dragon was considered a rtivelymon abyssal magical beast which could be found in the first 10 floors.

    There were nearly 100 Spiked Earth Dragons, but they were no match for the teams of the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk at all. Before the Spiked Earth Dragons could reach the teams, arge wave of magic spells had been sted at them, turning them into ashes in the blink of an eye.

    Although the Spiked Earth Dragons did not pose any threat to the two teams, Edmund seemed more and more prudent. In fact, he even ordered the team to slow down their advance again.

    While some people felt that Saint Edmund was a bit too cautious, a group of Abyssal Demons dashed out from the depths of that pce once again. This time, it was a group of Azteks from the Darkness Abyss. They were pping the fleshy wings on their backs, and swooping over to the two teams with peculiar howling.

    The test from Tutankhamun that Lin Li had epted in the past required him to enter the Darkness Abyss where he encountered the attacks of the Aztek demons. At that time, Lin Li was just about to touch the threshold of the Legendary-realm. In order to avoid the Aztek demons¡¯ pursuit, he had to resort to various methods. However, it would now be a piece of cake for the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk to deal with the Aztek demons, let alone for Lin Li.

    The Aztek demon¡¯s most powerful and sharpest method of attacking was to pounce in front of the enemy, and go into self-destruction. The power of that self-destruction was even near the Legendary-level. However, here, the Aztek demons¡¯ self-destruction saved the two teams the hassle of killing them. They just had to open up their magical defense, and let the demons explode.

    Amidst the bloodbath, the two teams resisted against the flesh bombs, and almost continuously rushed towards the depths of the pce. Soon, a bunch of Azteks self-exploded, leaving only a ground full of flesh and blood while the unique stench of the Abyssal Demons, Azteks, permeated the air.

 Chapter 1159 - Block

    <h4>Chapter 1159: Block</h4>

    In the following journey, which wasn¡¯t too long, the two teams kept encountering all kinds of attacks. Their opponents included Abyssal Demons, Undead creatures that reeked of the odor of dposition, and even a small group of Death Knights that got into a fight with them. The demons and Undead creatures were not all as weak and vulnerable as before. Many of them were at the Legendary-level too.

    However, the strength of those two teams was not something that could bepared to ordinary adventurers. Be it the team of the Gilded Kingdom or the team of the Tower of Dusk, they were both teams with top abilities which very few forces could produce. The Sanctuary powerhouses of both teams did not have to do anything at all. With the Legendary powerhouses in the team, they could easily clear away that wave of obstacles in no time.

    However, at this point, Lin Li was secretly muttering something to himself because the appearance of these enemies, coupled with this pce full of light, seemed really odd to him. Rumor had it that the Illuminati believed in the will of light of the ancient god Zagar. It was the so-called God-king of Light. Although it was different from the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s Holy Light of Purification, and was much less pure, it did not seem to be rted to the demons and Undead creatures. However, why were there so many demons and Undead creatures in the pce that was created for worshiping the God-king of Light?

    Besides, Lin Li also deliberately observed the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, only to realize that Saint Edmund seemed to be not at all surprised or furious with the presence of these demons and Undead creatures. On the other hand, the rest of the Gilded Kingdom team also chanted the prayers of the Illuminati along the way while continuously killing the enemies blocking the way. It was as if they felt that the ce had been dirtied.

    In this pce, there were lots of terrifying magic traps hidden beneath the golden splendor in addition to the endless demons and Undead creatures, blocking the two teams and preventing them from advancing. Those magic traps were hidden sinisterly in the pce full of light, like shadows under the sun. They seemed to be on the verge of devouring the people who had fallen into the traps.

    The magic traps were naturally resolved by Angno of the Tower of Dusk. Although the goblin Angno¡¯s forte was the technology of Alchemy Colossus, he was definitely a master in magic gears and magic traps too. It could be said that there was nothing rted to magic gears or magic traps in Anril that Angno could not deal with.

    Of course, with Angno¡¯s timid character, he would never crack any magic trap alone. Hence, the vampire Norfeller who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm had temporarily be Angno¡¯s bodyguard as he apanied him everywhere to resolve the deadly traps. ording to Angno, Norfeller was fast enough, and even if he encountered any danger, he would be able to escape immediately.

    Angno might be timid, but he was definitely hot-tempered, and when he was cracking magic traps, he would often mock the person who had set them up. Even though the people who had set up the magic traps basically wouldn¡¯t hear his words of mockery, he would feel a great sense of satisfaction and superiority by doing so.

    However, Angno behaved a little differently today. After cracking some magic traps, he returned to Lin Li¡¯s side and praised it for the first time. ¡°Felic, count yourself lucky for bringing me along this time. These magic traps are definitely up to standard. Even I have to think about it. These magic traps are definitely up to standard, and you definitely won¡¯t be able to escape without cracking it. Fortunately, we came in from outside. Otherwise, it would require a lot of effort.¡±

    At the same time that he was praising the magic traps, Angno naturally bragged about himself continuously too. On one hand, he wanted to show how skilled he was, and on the other hand, he wanted to gain some benefits from Lin Li after the matter was over. Angno and Lin Li did not sign a Soul Contract. Hence, he would take some remuneration in exchange for his effort.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Li filtered out Angno¡¯s boasts; he had heard those words too often. After that, Lin Li told the team to continue advancing, and after they met a new magic trap, he would tell Norfeller and Angno to resolve it.

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself about the uses of the magic traps that Angno had mentioned. ording to Angno, the main purpose of the magic traps in the pce seemed not to be to deter outsiders.

    Generally speaking, be it in the relics or mausoleum, or even some important ces, the most important purpose of magic traps was to prevent the intrusion of outsiders. However, the magic traps in this pce seemed to be easy to crack from the outside, and difficult to crack from the inside. Didn¡¯t that mean that the magic traps were designed to entrap something? If that was really the case, wouldn¡¯t it be a luxurious prison?

    In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, that was quite unbelievable. <i>Isn¡¯t this pce built by the Illuminati to worship the God-king of Light? How can there be such magic traps? Could it be that the Illuminati have trapped something powerful here? Or is it the God-king of Light that was trapped here?</i>

    Despite having those questions in his heart, Lin Li was merely thinking about them, and did not intend to go confirm it with Edmund. After all, this spection was akin to an usation against the Illuminati. Which religion would do such an outrageous thing!?

    There were drawings of the pce left over from the past in the hands of Saint Edmund. Hence, under his leadership, the two teams in this huge pce managed to proceed without any detour, though they took some time to clear the obstacles. The two teams took only about half a day¡¯s time to reach the center of the pce.

    In the heart of the pce, there was no luxury hall, but a crypt that was simr to the one they had seen when entering the underground world previously. Of course, it was not quite appropriate to call it a crypt, because it was surrounded by avish decor, and it seemed like a deep well. At the side, there was a wide staircase that spiraled down along the perimeter of the crypt, leading straight into its depths.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li became even more puzzled. <i>The ce of worship of the Illuminati¡¯s god was not in the center of the pce. Could it be that the depths of the pce part refers to the depths of this huge crypt? This is really absurd. Which religion would worship the god they believe in deep under the ground?</i>

    The two teams followed the spiral staircase along the side of the crypt, and delved deeper into it. It took them a long time to reach the bottom, where another world appeared in front of them. The underground area seemed to be much more extensive than the top, and the borders could not be seen at all. When they looked up, they could not see the ceiling, either. Besides, the space was full of light, and thus it didn¡¯t seem like an underground world at all.

    Far ahead in front of the team, an extremelyrge shadow could vaguely be seen. It looked like a massive mountain. At this moment, even the people of the Gilded Kingdom and Elder Zumar were dumbfounded.

    Clearly, even in the Illuminati, only very few people knew about it. Elder Zumar had a high status in the Illuminati, but he seemed to have never heard of it.

    Saint Edmund¡¯s eyes were also filled with vague excitement. Pointing at the extremelyrge shadow in the distance, he said to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, that¡¯s our destination over there, the ce where our god is sleeping. Lord Aquilo and the holy relic that can bring him back to life are also there.¡±

    After hearing Edmund¡¯s words, Lin Li nodded and looked at the distant shadows, feeling a little out of breath. In fact, from the moment he entered this ce, he had already felt a terrifying aura that was not inferior to that of the Immortal King. However, the aura was dead, and it should havee from the ancient god that was deep in slumber.

    However, Lin Li could not sense the aura of Aquilo of the Illuminati, and it was as if there wasn¡¯t such a person at all. After all, it made him feel much more at ease; at least he could tell from this situation that the Illuminati would not be able to resurrect Aquilo for a while. He wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Aquilo and the Illuminati attacking him together.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t quite understand.¡± Lin Li looked away and turned around to face Edmund.

    As soon as he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, Edmund¡¯s heart skipped a beat, afraid that the other party would suddenly regret it again. If the Tower of Dusk withdrew now, it would be too depressing. Even though the situation was beyond his expectations, he still didn¡¯t want his trip to be fruitless this time.

    ¡°President Felic, please go ahead,¡± Edmund said as he turned around to look at Lin Li. Although his expression was normal, his eyes were filled with some nervousness.

    Lin Li smiled a little and slowly walked forward while asking, ¡°Saint Edmund, regarding the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, you said that the illuminati have been working on this for thousands of years. However, why did you wait until now?¡±

    Others did not know about the situation on the ind, but the Illuminati had been keeping this secret for thousands of years. Yet, nothing had been done during those several thousand years. Since the Illuminati said that they would do everything they could, why didn¡¯t they send all the Sanctuary powerhouses? With the Illuminati¡¯s strength, it would be more than sufficient to explore this ce. Yet, why was Edmund sent only at this juncture?

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Edmund did not get angry, and instead smiled bitterly while saying, ¡°Of course we have been working hard to aplish this goal for a few thousand years. However, after the great war, all Sanctuary powerhouses would be blocked by a powerful force here. Later, we exiled some criminals here to excavate the ind in advance. We didn¡¯t expect it to cause another disaster, and cause this ce to be an Ominous Land.¡±

    ¡°Blocked by a force?¡± Lin Li was a bit puzzled. When he came, he didn¡¯t feel anything special, and now that there were five Sanctuary powerhouses, he still didn¡¯t see any force that hindered them.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Edmund nodded. Seeing that Lin Li was puzzled, he continued to exin, ¡°For thousands of years, this ind has been shrouded by a powerful force, and even our current lord can¡¯t step onto this ind. However, there was a legend in our canon that the powerful human mage from Anril said that another version of him would be back in a few thousand years. Hence, I came here this time to see if that power has disappeared, and also to bring back the sacred relic.¡±

    <i>Another version of him would be back in a few thousand years!</i> That made Lin Li recall something. From the time he came to Anril, it seemed that he had been mistaken quite a few times. For example, the vampire Norfeller acknowledged him as his master in the first ce because he said that his original master said that the Immortal King would being. There was also the instance where the Undead Lord who possessed a mage in Daylight Square in nna also treated him as the Immortal King.

    Even when exploring Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, the Soul Brand of Prince Brahere also mistook Lin Li for the Immortal King. Brahere was very likely the illegitimate son of the Immortal King and the High Elven queen. If even he could mistake him, Lin Li obviously resembled the Immortal King greatly.

    However, no matter what others said, Lin Li knew very well that he was a game geek who had transmigrated from another world. How could he be the Immortal King? However, there were too many coincidences, such as the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, the Stars of Fury, the Sky Castles, and the Endless Labyrinth. His incarnation dressed in the King Hunter suit even appeared on thest floor of the Well of the Sun.

    All of it was rted to Lin Li, and the coincidences were too peculiar.

 Chapter 1160 - Imprisoned Titan

    <h4>Chapter 1160: Imprisoned Titan</h4>

    Of course, Lin Li could only think about those things in his head. After all, it involved too many things, and if he were to say it out loud, he would probably be treated as a madman.

    As the two teams continued to move forward, the extremelyrge shadow gradually became clearer in front of everyone. When they saw the appearance of the shadow, they were instantly stunned. The massive shadow was a living Titan.

    The topless Titan sat on the ground with his lower body covered in an armor dress made of dragon hide. He looked just like a statue carved out of a mountain. The head of the Titan was asrge as a castle, and his nostrils were like tiny caves. Previously, he was said to be alive because his bare chest was still heaving up and down, and his breathing was heavy.

    Behind the Titan, there was arge rift of a certain width, but the opposite was already blocked by the fog. There was only a long lock bridge that stretched all the way towards the fog. If the rift was ced outside, even a Legendary powerhouse would be able to fly straight through. However, everyone knew that it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a lock bridge.

    Seeing that the Titan seemed to be sleeping, the two teams of people didn¡¯t need any instructions at all as they slowed down in unison for fear that a slight movement would wake the Titan up. Everyone knew that the Titan definitely wasn¡¯t there to sleep. It might just be there to guard the back of the lock bridge.

    When they came closer, they discovered some abnormalities with the Titan. In this world full of light, there were countless rays of bright light on the Titan¡¯s body, and they seemed like chains made of light that were wrapped tightly around the Titan.

    Faced with this situation, both teams had the same idea: to quietly bypass the Titan, and then pass through that lock bridge to reach the opposite side of the rift. Even Lin Li was not willing to mess with a living Titan at this point.

    In the prehistoric times, the Titans were powerful existences thatpeted with ancient wyrms to dominate the world, and each of them had terrifying strength. Although both teams now had five Sanctuary powerhouses in total, among whom there were high-level ones like Edmund and Lin Li, it was naturally best not to fight.

    However, just as the two teams approached carefully, the Titan suddenly opened hisrge sun-like eyes, which began emitting ring rays of light.

    Immediately afterwards, the Titan roared loudly, which sounded like a mountain had crumbled. The sound waves shook the two teams, and caused the weaker ones to tumble all over. Besides, with the roaring, the Titan that was seated on the ground suddenly stood up, and the light chains that wrapped his body tightly shattered fragilely.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li could not help but sigh in his heart. It seemed that the battle was inevitable. In fact, it made sense. Previously, it was all wishful thinking on their part. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, the Titan had obviously noticed the arrival of the crowd.

    When seated, the Titan was already like a mountain. After he stood up, he was simply massive. Its foot alone was almost the size of an alchemical battleship of the Gilded Kingdom. When he opened his palm, it was as if it could cover the sky, and his pinkie was evenrger than a single person.

    When the Titan stood up, the two teams immediately prepared for a battle. Of course, defense was the most important. Besides, they had begun evacuating far away while keeping their guard up. A battle of such a high level was not something that they could participate in. A slight ripple would probably be enough to turn them into ashes.

    While the two teams left, Edmund, Lin Li, and the other three Sanctuary powerhouses immediately emanated powerful mana fluctuations in hopes that they would attract the attention of the Titan so that their subordinates would not be ughtered. If the Titan really had to deal with the two teams of Legendary powerhouses, it would not be considered a massacre, but killing mosquitos or ants.

    Although the five Sanctuary powerhouses were much smaller than the Titan in size, and seemed like mosquitoes flying around a person, the Titan dared not belittle the mana fluctuations. After all, the five Sanctuary powerhouses were just like him.

    Hence, after breaking free from the light chains, the Titan didn¡¯tunch crazy attacks like the others who just got out in such situations. Instead, he paid attention to Edmund, Lin Li, and the others while opening his palm and extending it to the side.

    Immediately afterwards, thunderbolts appeared on his palm as the Titan moved, and they even rapidly became stronger. In the blink of an eye, a spear that was like a huge pir began flickering as the Titan held it tightly. It was precisely a Titan Dragon Spear, a weapon unique to the Titans.

    Seeing that the Titan had even taken out the Titan Dragon Spear, Edmund hurriedly tried to exin to the Titan his intention ofing. ¡°Please wait a moment, we came here with no intention to be your enemy¡ª¡±

    However, before Edmund could finish, the Titan suddenly became furious, and hollered at Edmund and the others, ¡°Horrible and despicable humans, stop trying to sell your lies. I was trapped here for thousands of years, and your despicable and shameless deeds will definitely incur the wrath of the Titans!¡±

    After roaring, the Titan did not wait for Edmund to say anything else, and simply waved the Titan Dragon Spear in his palm, after which thousands of thunderbolts emerged from the void and bombarded Edmund. The thunderbolts that emerged from the void were not the lightning magic spells that mages cast using Elemental Laws, but the creation thunderbolts born from the Endless Void.

    The thousands of void thunderbolts swarmed out of the void like a tidal wave. They condensed waves of thunderbolts that began roaring and swarming towards Edmund and the others. The terrifying thunderbolts alone were enough to make any Legendary powerhouse die. The thunderbolts that gathered had a terrifying might that seemed to be able to destroy heaven and earth.

    At this point, Edmund also knew that the battle was unavoidable. Hence, he had no choice but to point the scepter in his hand forward, instantly opening a Domain World that was full of dim light. Edmund¡¯s Domain World was just like a chaotic world, and the Laws in the Domain World werepletely different from what ordinary mages understood.

    In Edmund¡¯s Domain World, the four elementalws of earth, fire, water, and wind werepletely manifested in a bizarre way. For example, the earth flowed like water, while the mes nourished everything, and the water burned everything that it touched. The invisible wind had a dense aura, and the manifestations were not fixed, either. They would change rapidly and make the entire Domain World seem extremely chaotic. If an ordinary mage saw all this, he would probably go mad immediately. Only Edmund who created this world would know what the true Laws were.

    In the face of the tidal wave of thunderbolts, Edmund¡¯s chaotic Domain World did not even produce any hindrance, allowing the endless thunder to pour into the Domain World. However, when the thunderbolts surged into the Domain World, they were immediately warped by the Laws of chaos in the Domain World without damaging it at all.

    Compared to Edmund, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer had a much harder time coping with the thunderbolts. Clearly, the Titan was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and even after being imprisoned here for thousands of years, he still seemed as strong as before. Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer did not get any advantage at all.

    Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer, too, were already self-aware, and knew that it would not be easy to deal with the Titan alone. Hence, the two of them joined forces at the beginning. Both of them felt like they were in the same boat. Hence, it was right to join forces. However, fortunately, the one that the Titan wanted to deal with was Edmund. Otherwise, if Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer had to face him, they would be in danger of falling.

    Lin Li did not seem to have it as easy as Edmund, as he was simply resisting the impact of the thunderbolt using the Domain World. However, under the bombardment of the endless thunderbolts, his Domain World seemed like a reef in the sea, allowing the wind and waves to crash into it while it remained still.

    Of course, it was not that Lin Li was already strong enough to ignore the Titan¡¯s attack. The debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, that he held in his hand could be said to be the origin of all lightning, and restrained the power of thunderbolts. When he incorporated the power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, into his Domain World, the Domain World was not strengthened greatly, but it gave Lin Li an unparalleled advantage in the fight against the thunderbolts of the Titan.

    Edmund did not know that Lin Li had such a heavenly magical weapon. Hence, when he saw Lin Li resist the Titan¡¯s thunderbolts, he was still extremely surprised even though he had expected Lin Li¡¯s strength.

    Although Edmund seemed to have it rtively easier, the Laws of distortion could not be used casually, especially to distort the creation thunder mastered by the Titans. He was the only one who knew the dangers involved; hence, the impact he suffered was far beyond the others. It also gave him a better understanding of Lin Li¡¯s strength.

    However, the enraged Titan obviously did not intend to just give up. After sending out the thunderbolts, the Titan Dragon Spear in his hand swung upwards towards Edmund. In the hands of the Titan, the Titan Dragon Spear was like a battle spear, but in the eyes of the small humans, it was just like a mountain that was crashing down on him. As the Titan Dragon Spear was swung, it resulted in a massive gale that was even more violent than wind magic spells.

    If it was just a mountain, it wouldn¡¯t be considered much for a Sanctuary powerhouse. The Sanctuary powerhouses were definitely strong enough to smash a mountain with the swing of their hands. After all, the Sanctuary-realm was close to the realm of the gods.

    However, at this point, Edmund was facing the Titan, which even the ancient wyrms feared, and could not bepared to mountains and stone pirs. The Titan Dragon Spear had the most overwhelming Laws of Destruction. During the prehistoric times, many powerful ancient wyrms died under the attack of the Titan Dragon Spear.

    Before the Titan Dragon Spear actually came into contact with Edmund¡¯s Domain World, the immense oppressive force was already distorting Edmund¡¯s Domain World. The aura of destruction and rebirth that emanated from the Titan Dragon Spear prated Edmund¡¯s Domain World, and weakened thews in it.

    The real creation thunderbolt was said to have broken through the world of chaos to create the current world of Anril. Although Sanctuary powerhouses were powerful, they had yet to reach the point of being able to create a world. If the world was a piece of iron, the Domain World would be a wooden board. Since the creation thunderbolt could cut through an iron board, it would be a piece of cake for it to cut the wooden board.

    Although what Edmund was facing could not be considered the creation thunder in the true sense, and was only a Titan Dragon Spear that contained some Laws of the creation thunderbolt, the impact on the World Laws couldn¡¯t be ignored. Edmund knew that with his own Laws of chaos, it would probably be hard to resist this fierce blow, so he did not dare to slow down at all, and immediately retreated.

    Edmund dodged in time, but the Domain World was still grazed by the tip of the Titan Dragon Spear. However, that already caused a huge rift to form in his Domain World, and arge amount of mana that Edmund had poured into the Domain World was immediately released like a flood without restraint, as if his pocket had been cut.

    Fortunately, Edmund was a peak Sanctuary powerhouse, and he repaired it in the blink of an eye. Immediately afterwards, he sted the Titan.

 Chapter 1161 - Titan Sacred Relic

    <h4>Chapter 1161: Titan Sacred Relic</h4>

    Although each of the balls of chaos was extremelyrge to humans, and seemed to be able to fit a dozen people, they simply seemed like small marbles in front of the tall Titan. The Titan turned the Titan Dragon Spear, and sent the marbles flying.

    While the Titan Giant put its main focus on Edmund, Zumar and Poer, who were originally suppressed, finally got the chance to catch their breath. However, the situation left them with no time to rest. After sensing the slight decrease in pressure, they immediatelyunched a counterattack against the Titan as well.

    At this juncture, a Light and Darkness Sword silently appeared behind the Titan, and was aimed at the Titan¡¯s heart. When most of the Titan¡¯s attention was caught by Edmund, a massive amount of power erupted from the Light and Darkness Sword, surging towards the target like a bolt of lightning.

    The Light and Darkness Sword naturally came from Lin Li. However, it was like a small daggerpared to the Titan¡¯s size. Still, if the dagger stabbed him, it would definitely be lethal. Hence, Lin Li specially kept his eyes fixed on the Titan¡¯s chest.

    Although the Titan had a powerful strength that wasparable to the ancient wyrms¡¯, its simple physical defense was inferior to the ancient wyrms¡¯. Hence, Titans often used the skin of the ancient wyrms they hunted to make strong leather armor for themselves. That was one of the main methods they used to improve their defensive capabilities.

    However, the Titan was now topless, and only had wyrm armor covering his lower body. Hence, Lin Li got the idea to sneak an attack in a bid to use the sharpness of the Light and Darkness Sword to stab the Titan in his chest. The Titan was not an Undead creature. Once his chest was damaged, his power would definitely be impacted severely even if he wouldn¡¯t die immediately.

    Lin Li did not use a powerful World Sword, partly because he didn¡¯t want to reveal his trump card too soon, and also because he didn¡¯t want to end up bing the main opponent of the Titan.

    Besides, Lin Li believed that since Edmund and the others still insisted on bringing the crowd here after learning of the situation here, they would certainly have the means to deal with the Titan. After all, as one of the four saints of the Illuminati, Edmund was not so impulsive as to act without considering the consequences.

    Hence, Lin Li was not the only one who held back in the battle; even the vampire Norfeller did not participate in the battle under his orders. Naturally, that was to the resentment of the people of the Gilded Kingdom, especially High Priest Poer, who had always harbored a grudge against Lin Li. His gaze seemed like he was about to eat someone up.

    However, Lin Li would not bother about those things. No matter how others looked at it, he just wanted to obtain real benefits.

    Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword secretly sneaked up to the Titan, and tried to stab him in his chest. It was just about to pierce through. However, at that moment, a mysterious rune suddenly emerged from underneath the Titan¡¯s skin. After all, this was the first time Lin Li fought with a living Titan, and his knowledge of them was only from some information that he had read. There were still many unknown things, such as the sudden appearance of arcane runes.

    With the appearance of the rune, countless thunderbolts emerged from the space around the Light and Darkness Sword, and charged towards the Light and Darkness Sword. In the blink of an eye, the Light and Darkness Sword that Lin Li used as a lethal weapon was destroyed by the bombardment of thousands of thunderbolts.

    That was a Titan. Even when defending against the enemy¡¯s attack, he would attack instead of passively defend. Although Lin Li¡¯s Light and Darkness Sword was not as powerful as the World Sword, it was definitely of top power among the attacking means of the Sanctuary powerhouses. However, it couldn¡¯t even endure for a moment under the st of the magic runes.

    However, those results were still within Lin Li¡¯s expectations; although the Titan was also a peak Sanctuary powerhouse, it was much stronger than the four Envoys of Light previously. If the Titan could be killed so easily, why would the Titans everpete with the ancient wyrms to dominate Anril?

    The rune did not disappear after annihting the Light and Darkness Sword, and instead began revolving rapidly while more and more thunderbolts came seeping into the void. In the blink of an eye, the entire space almost turned into a sea of lightning.

    However, that was not all. Immediately afterwards, the Titan raised the Titan Dragon Spear, and roared loudly while 17 mysterious runes emerged from his body, making it a total of 18 runes that revolved around the Titan Dragon Spear. The thunderbolts in the space were almost condensed into liquid, and it was as if each drop contained the terrifying power to destroy the world.

    Fortunately, the remaining members of both teams had retreated far away at the beginning. Otherwise, even the several Sanctuary powerhouses would not be able to protect them. Besides, the Sanctuary powerhouses who were fighting with the Titan also felt a massive pressure at this point as the range of their Domain World was almostpressed to the limit.

    However, in the face of such a situation, Edmund did not seem anxious at all, and was instead gleeful. He then suddenly put away the scepter in his hand, and took out a staff that had an odd shape. It seemed to have been built with crystals under poor craftsmanship. The top of the staff was not set with any magical gemstones, but arge eyeball that was dried up.

    Lin Li immediately recognized that eyeball toe from the Evil Eye Tyrant, whose magical crystal was one of the three things that he had obtained from Tutankhamun in addition to the Book of Eternity and the key to the inverted tower of the Sky Castle. The Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s magical crystal had now be a ring that would allow him to increase his mental strength continuously.

    In addition to the magical crystal that could constantly help people improve their mental strength, the Evil Eye Tyrant also had another valuable attribute, and that was its eyeball that was full of evilness that could prate the heart of a person and create a variety of negative emotions so that people would unknowingly slip into them.

    After taking out this oddly shaped staff, Edmund took out a crystal ball with his other hand. Of course, this crystal ball was not an ordinary crystal ball that mages used to monitor the surroundings, but one that was carved out of an unknown crystal.

    Even the knowledgeable Lin Li could not recognize what kind of material was used in the crystal ball that Edmund took out. Besides, Lin Li was almost certain that not only was that material not found in Anril, he had never seen it in the Endless World before, either. However, the mana fluctuations emanating from that crystal ball were not unfamiliar to him. It was the kind of fluctuation that was very simr to the Power of Light that filled this space.

    At this point, the Titan seemed to have sensed something too. The scattered power that originally attacked the Sanctuary powerhouses was violently retracted, while a dazzling serpent-shaped light was shot out of the Titan Dragon Spear, aiming at Edmund. All of a sudden, the lightning of the entire space was condensed, and the destructive power pounced on Edmund under the guidance of the Titan Dragon Spear.

    On the other hand, when Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer saw Edmund taking out those two items, they could guess that he was going to use his trump card against the Titan, even though they were unsure of what those two things were. The Titan seemed to be wary of the items in Edmund¡¯s hand, confirming their spections.

    Hence, Elder Zumar and Poer immediatelyunched a full-blown attack on the Titan tacitly without waiting for Edmund¡¯s order. High Priest Poer waved his staff, andyers of frost emerged from the void with loud roars. Elder Zumar even cast the power of the Domain World, and a water dragon converged from the ocean of the Domain World. In an instant, the Titan¡¯s massive body was enveloped too.

    However, with the strength of Zumar and Poer, it would not be an easy task. It would be no exaggeration to say that even if they really put their lives on the line, they might not be able to make the Titan really see them as his match. Even though they were also at the Sanctuary-realm, they were just nobodies to him, and they belonged to insignificant existences that could be destroyed with a wave of his hand.

    Under normal circumstances, their full-blown attacks would not be taken lightly. However, their attacks were just like mosquito bites to the Titan.

    ¡°President Felic!¡± Seeing that his attacks were unable to hold the Titan back, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but yell at Lin Li anxiously.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t want to make himself the Titan¡¯s main opponent, it also depended on the time. Since Edmund already had the intention of using the trump card, it was naturally more important for them to cooperate with Edmund. Hence, Lin Li pointed the Sun King Scepter forward, and the Light and Darkness Sword condensed in the void. At this point, the Light and Darkness Sword was significantly more powerful. The size alone seemed to be able to split the Titan in half.

    Besides, Lin Li had also added the power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, into his Light and Darkness Sword. Actually, it could no longer be called the Light and Darkness Sword. However, the power debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was hidden in the depths of the sword, and even Saint Edmund might not be able to detect it.

    Nheless, the Titan was very sensitive to the power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt. After all, the Titan¡¯s power came from the thunderbolt that split the chaos and created this world. The debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was just like the creation thunder, and it could be said that the nature of the two powers was simr to each other. Hence, the Titan could sense it easily.

    The Titan who was trying to kill Edmund suddenly slowed down when he sensed that the Light and Darkness Swording behind him actually contained the extremely pure power of the creation thunderbolt. While turning the Titan Dragon Spear to collide with the Light and Darkness Sword with a look of horror, the Titan asked Lin Li, ¡°Lowly human, what is my race¡¯s sacred weapon doing in your hands!?¡±

    Legend had it that the sacred relic of the Titans was a Thunderbolt Spear that was condensed from the residual power of the creation thunder after splitting the chaos to create the world. Every newborn Titan would be baptized by the power of the Thunderbolt Spear, and only after being nted with the seeds of the creation thunderbolt would he have the ability to absorb the power of lightning and condense the Titan Dragon Spear that uniquely belonged to oneself.

    Of course, the Titan did not see the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, and had merely felt a very familiar power. Hence, he thought that Lin Li was holding the Titans¡¯ sacred object. However, the Titan did not wait for Lin Li¡¯s answer, and instead waited for Saint Edmund¡¯s trump card.

    Edmund was holding the staff iid with the eye of the Evil Eye Tyrant in one hand and the crystal ball carved out of an unknown crystal in his other while chanting a mysterious incantation. As he did, the crystal ball emitted a bright but not blinding light, and attracted the light in space. It seemed to be pulsating too. The eye of the Evil Eye Tyrant that was iid in the staff was also emanating millions of rays of bizarre light that shot at the head of the Titan.

    In an instant, the Titan who had been shot by the bizarre light had a look of bewilderment in his eyes. Even the power of Titan in the nearby space seemed to pause momentarily. Although it was only a momentary change, it had created a perfect opportunity for Edmund. Immediately afterwards, the light in the space condensed into countless light chains and wrapped around the Titan¡¯s body with the guidance of the crystal ball.

    The Titan barely retaliated, and was instantly engulfed by the countless chains of light. It was just like prey that was caught by a spider, and it was almost tangled into a massive light cocoon.

 Chapter 1162 - Divinity

    <h4>Chapter 1162: Divinity</h4>

    However, just when the crowd thought that everything had been settled, the Titan, who was tightly entangled and bound by the light chains, suddenly regained rity in his vision. Immediately afterwards, he realized the situation that he was in, and was so infuriated that he hollered in the sky, while a massive power erupted from his body as he tried to shatter the light chains.

    This time, the light cocoon, which was already massive in size, suddenly expanded dozens of times, and seemed to be on the brink of bursting. Under the impact of the Titan¡¯s struggling, the crystal ball in Edmund¡¯s hand also seemed to be overwhelmed as it emitted a subtle crackling sound. In the blink of an eye, it was covered in cracks that resembled a spiderweb.

    ¡°Titan, if the records are right, your name should be Cronos, right? Since you¡¯ve stayed here for so many years, please continue to guard this ce ording to the original agreement,¡± said Edmund, who was getting a little panicky. After saying that, he immediately sped up in his chanting of the incantation, causing the crystal ball to emit an even brighter light that continuously condensed into light chains that engulfed the Titan.

    Perhaps because of Edmund¡¯s words, or perhaps because he felt the futility of his struggles, the Titan Cronos suddenly stopped struggling, and furiously hollered, ¡°Damned Zagar and you horrendous humans. The Titans will not let you off. One day, you will pay the price for this!¡±

    Lin Li and the others naturally knew that the ¡°damned Zagar¡± that the Titan Cronos was referring to was the ancient god that the Illuminati believed in, or rather the so-called God-king of Light. However, the feud between them didn¡¯t seem to be something that outsiders could find out about. The only thing that they could guess was that the reason that Cronos had been imprisoned here for thousands of years was 80% likely to have something to do with the ancient god Zagar.

    ¡°The Titans? Anril is no longer the world that belongs to the Titans. The Titans have already been annihted tens of thousands of years ago, and you¡¯ve been held captive here for such a long time. Have you be stupid!?¡± gibed High Priest Poer who was full of disdain for Cronos¡¯ threat. He simply stated a widely known fact in Anril.

    Indeed, the Titans and the ancient wyrms had long been wiped out together at the end of the prehistoric times. Even the High Elves¡¯ Dynasty had been overthrown more than 1,000 years ago, and Anril now belonged to the humans. Yet, Cronos actually threatened them using the Titans. In everyone¡¯s opinion, it was simply ridiculous.

    However, after hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words, Cronos¡¯ tone became a little more disdainful. ¡°You lowly worms will never understand that the Titans are the eternal masters of this word. You people thought that we¡¯ve disappeared, but one day, we will return to this world and make you pay for what you have done!¡±

    However, High Priest Poer obviously did not believe what Cronos said, as he simply felt that he was just saying those things out of spite in order to vent his anger. On the other hand, Lin Li could not help but be shocked after hearing this because it reminded him of the words that he heard in the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar after the me Dragon awakened previously.

    Lin Li still remembered that the me Dragon immediately roared and imed to want to look for the Titans and get some exercise after it rushed from the Fire Elemental World into the great rift. Lin Li also tried to persuade the dragon, telling him that the Titans had long vanished from Anril tens of thousands of years ago. However, the me Dragon was still insistent that the Titans still existed, and were still quietly watching over Anril, and waiting for a chance to return to Anril.

    At that time, Lin Li and High Priest Poer both felt that the me Dragon had merely be muddled up after sleeping for too long. However, now that he had heard from Cronos that the Titans would return to Anril again, he had no choice but to bear it in mind.

    ¡°Did you say that the Titans haven¡¯t died, and will return to this ce?¡± Lin Li immediately asked.

    However, Cronos looked at Lin Li without answering his question. Instead, he hollered at Edmund, ¡°If I continue to be imprisoned here for thousands of years, I¡¯d rather choose to break freepletely and let my soul return to the Hall of Gods!¡± Afterwards, before Edmund and the others could react, a dazzling bolt of lightning immediately emanated from the 18 mysterious runes that were originally released.

    ¡°Damn it, you actually detonated the divine runes!¡± Edmund eximed in horror as soon as he saw that. He hurriedly infused more mana into the crystal ball in his hand, guiding the Power of Light in the space into a wall of light in a bid to block the power of Cronos¡¯ runes that self-destructed.

    After Lin Li heard Edmund¡¯s exmation, he finally remembered a legend about the Titans, and dared not slow down for a moment at all. He immediately cast his World Domain, in which he added the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to solidify it to such a great extent that it was almostparable to the real world.

    Lin Li was not making mountains out of molehills. Legend had it that ever since the Titans were born, they would receive the baptism of the World Creation Thunder every 100 years. They even condensed into a rune in its body. Due to the fact that the power of the World Creation Thunder contained a wisp of divinity, the rune was called a Divine Rune, and was to the Titans what magical crystals were to magical beasts. The Divine Rune could be considered the source of the Titan¡¯s entire power, and each one possessed a massive amount of power.

    That Titan had exploded 18 Thunderbolt Divine Runes, which was equivalent to a magical beast detonating its own magical crystal, releasing all of its power at once. The massive power was definitely beyond what one could imagine, especially since Cronos was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, its explosive power was even more terrifying. If it were in Anril, it would probably turn the Fn Kingdom into a bottomless abyss.

    The two teams, which were already far from the battlefield, also got the order to exert their full power immediately. On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, they immediately put up their War Shield which emitted an earthy yellow light that shrouded the entire team. At the same time, the mages also formed a Magic Array, deploying numerous magical defenses.

    On the other hand, the team of the Gilded Kingdom did not have the same means as the Tower of Dusk. Not only did they not have powerful magic equipment like the War Shield, they also did not have a Magic Net Array. Fortunately, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer, who appeared where the team was in the nick of time, exhibited their Domain Worlds entirely in a bid to resist most of the impact for the team.

    At this moment, the thunderbolts that the 18 Divine Runes of the Titan Cronos emitted were also shining at their brightest, and the 18 vigorous roars converged into one, as if the sky had copsed. The entire space began to crack like ss that was on the brink of shattering at any time.

    Almost simultaneously, the crystal ball that Saint Edmund was holding also exploded into countless pieces with a loud boom, while the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s eyeball on the staff also instantly dried and shriveled up. Edmund couldn¡¯t care to feel the pinch about the destruction of those two items, and hurriedly reced them with the Chaos Scepter. He then exhibited the Domain World.

    The terrifying power of the 18 Thunderbolt Divine Runes that the Titan Cronos had made self-destruct seemed to sweep in all directions like a tidal wave. Even the Power of Light that filled the space seemed to have been washed away immediately. Besides, the several Sanctuary powerhouses were like tiny boats in the thunderstorm that were swaying incessantly because of the impact of the mana tide.

    However, Lin Li seemed to have sensed something from the power that was constantly impacting the Domain World at this point. It was ethereal, mysterious, and even somewhat aged. Although there was only a tiny wisp of it, his soul seemed to tremble a little.

    That suddenly reminded Lin Li of some of the legends about the Titans¡¯ Thunderbolt Divine Runes that he had learned of in the Endless World. The 18 Thunderbolt Divine Runes were the source of all the power of the Titans and the root cause for the Titans to be referred to as gods. They not only contained massive power, but also a mysterious divinity.

    Of course, this so-called divinity was only given its name muchter. In fact, the divinity seemed to have existed in this world before there were gods. However, this trace of divinity was perhaps not useful for other races at all, because no one seemed to have been able to master the power of the Titans¡¯ Divine Runes since the ancient times.

    However, Lin Li added the power of the debris of the stars to the Domain World when he was resisting the power of the Divine Runes. The power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was almost of the same origin as the power of the Thunderbolt Divine Rune. Hence, it had a great attraction to the trace of divinity in the Thunderbolt Divine Rune.

    The runes that the Titan Cronos had detonated had not only released the terrifying power in the Divine Run, but also made the divinity erupt. When the trace of divinity came into contact with Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, it was naturally attracted to the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt.

    However, Lin Li had no way to exactly confirm the use of the wisp of divinity and how useful it would be. Perhaps he might not be able to get anything from the divinity, but it was also possible that he might find the key to step into the realm of the gods byprehending the divinity. At least now, Lin Li did not have the free time to settle down and seriously study the mysteries in that wisp of divinity.

    After some time passed, the mana tides triggered by the detonation of the 18 Divine Runes finally receded.

 Chapter 1163 - Land Of Hibernation

    <h4>Chapter 1163: Land Of Hibernation</h4>

    The Titan Cronos had already sat down on the ground again. There was no longer any vitality in therge mountain-like body.

    In the Haiga Mountain Range at the beginning, Lin Li obtained a Titan skeleton, and used it to create the ck Front Fortress. However, Lin Li did not covet the Titan¡¯s corpse this time, partly because the corpse was no longer of much use to him, and also out of consideration for the following exploration. After all, he was now in a cooperative rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team. Lin Li had already obtained the corpse of the Ice Phoenix, and if he asked them for the Titan¡¯s corpse again, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely be displeased. Hence, he decided to give the useless corpse to the Gilded Kingdom.

    Of course, Lin Li did stand to gain something this time. The debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, had captured a glimpse of divinity; hence, if it could make himprehend something, it would definitely be something that no amount of wealth could bepared to.

    Hence, after the battle ended, Lin Li generously waved his hand, and said to the people of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, ¡°The Titan¡¯s corpse is just as valuable as the Ice Phoenix. Since we¡¯ve obtained the Ice Phoenix, you can have this.¡±

    However, Lin Li¡¯s words did not make the people of the Gilded Kingdom happy at all. Although they all knew that the Titan¡¯s corpse was valuable, they didn¡¯t have a way to bring it back. It was massive, and not just a little pet that could be brought back easily or tucked away randomly. Apart from Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storms, what else could be used for bringing the mountain-like Titan away?

    ¡°Damn it, that rascal must be doing it on purpose!¡± High Priest Poer glowered at the team of the Tower of Dusk and cursed softly.

    On the other hand, Elder Zumar had no choice but to shake his head helplessly after sizing up the Titan¡¯s corpse for a while. ¡°Our task at hand is very important. Leave this thing here for the time being, we¡¯ll figure it outter.¡±

    The two teams bypassed the Titan¡¯s corpse, arrived at the lock bridge behind the Titan, and walked all the way to the opposite side of the great rift. The length of the bridge was unknown, and it seemed to be really long as the two teams still couldn¡¯t see the end even until they reached the back. Fortunately, the lock bridge was very wide, and could fit about 10 carriages side by side. Hence, it didn¡¯t feel squeezy for them.

    After walking for a long time, the two teams finally saw a huge building that was gradually being revealed amidst the light. Based on the outline of the building, it seemed to be a tall and majestic wall that was hundreds of meters high. The edges could not be seen at all.

    Clearly, Saint Edmund of the Illuminati knew what was at the end of the lock bridge. After seeing the scene in front of him, he immediately ordered his team to speed up. The team from the Gilded Kingdom did as they were told, and thus the Tower of Dusk naturally could notg too far behind. They followed closely behind the team from the Gilded Kingdom, and headed towards the end of the Lock Bridge.

    When the two teams walked into the Lock Bridge, and stepped into thend opposite the great rift, the city walls, which were still a bit hazy in the light, were finally fully revealed in front of them. However, the thing that was revealed was drastically different from what they imagined. Although it was indeed a tall and majestic wall, it seemed very shabby and dpidated. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to call it a wrecked wall. Besides, the wall directly opposite the Lock Bridge was a tall city gate section, but the gate had disappeared long ago.

    At this juncture, Edmund raised his hand to signal the team to stop temporarily before turning around to say to the crowd, ¡°We have now reached the real core of the Holy Land, which is also the God¡¯snd of hibernation. Now, we must all be careful not to make any noise. Otherwise, it will be disrespectful to the god.¡±

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s words, the faces of the people from the Gilded Kingdom immediately became much more serious as they all seemed to be reverent. Although they did not belong to the Illuminati, there was no difference in their beliefs, and everyone knew how huge of a sin it would be to disrespect the god. Hence, no one was willing to take any risks.

    However, when Lin Li saw this, he couldn¡¯t help but be amused, because he could already guess from the previous conversation with Edmund that Edmund and other senior members of the Illuminati didn¡¯t actually believe much in the so-called God-king of Light. Hence, Edmund¡¯s words sounded extremely ironic to Lin Li. He felt that the ones who were really disrespectful to the god were them, the senior members of the Illuminati.

    Of course, Lin Li merely mused to himself about it, and he wouldn¡¯t really voice it. Besides, he could also tell from Edmund¡¯s words that the god that was in hibernation there was probably not in deep sleep, as it would be easily awakened by any slight noises.

    Hence, Lin Li also instructed his subordinates to be careful when they entered lest they got into big trouble before the Gilded Kingdom was harmed. They would really be devastated then.

    The two teams got even warier, and slowly walked into the ancient underground city through the huge hole in the city gate.

    When walking to the ancient city, everyone realized that the scene inside was considered rtively ipletepared to the wrecked walls. The ancient city presented before them was just a path of ruins. There wasn¡¯t a single intact building at all.

    Edmund must have understood the situation long ago from the information provided. Hence, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it, and instead led his team to the depths of the ancient city below. On the other hand, Lin Li followed behind with the team of the Tower of Dusk, but he discovered something that seemed very interesting from those ruined walls.

    Lin Li found some ancient Titan Print on those ruined walls that were still somewhat in shape. However, after some identification, he realized that it was really quite difficult for him to make out anything from it. Besides, the print was iplete because of the wreckage of the building, but even if they were clear, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to tell with his current abilities.

    After following the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team all the way there, Lin Li only managed to recognize a few words from the Titan Print on the ruined walls, such as some words about shrines and prisons. He couldn¡¯t connect them to form aplete, coherent sentence.

    However, in addition to the Titan Print, Lin Li also discovered that the material used in the underground ancient city¡¯s buildings was actually a material that did not exist in Anril. Despite being knowledgeable, Lin Li couldn¡¯t even recognize what kind of material it was¡ªit seemed to be something that didn¡¯t even exist in the Endless World. However, he felt that the building materials were vaguely simr in nature to the crystal ball that Edmund had just taken out.

    At the thought of the crystal ball that Edmund had used earlier on to draw the Power of Light of the entire space to suppress the Titan Cronos anew, Lin Li guessed that the crystal ball was very likely to be rted to the ancient god who had been in slumber there. Hence, he wondered if the ruins here had something to do with the ancient god. In that case, could the materials of this world be from the legendary Divine Kingdom?

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be shocked by his own conjecture too. Reaching the realm of gods and creating a Divine Kingdom were twopletely different concepts. It was likeparing a Sanctuary powerhouse who had just entered the Sanctuary-realm to a Sanctuary powerhouse who could create his own Domain World. The two were simply worlds apart. Legend had it that only when one reached the position of a high-level god could they create a Divine Kingdom that truly belonged to oneself. It was almost no different from creating a world. It could be said that a god that could create a Divine Kingdom would definitely be a superior existence among the gods.

    If the ancient god that the Illuminati believed in was really the one that brought the Divine Kingdom to Anril, the power of that ancient god would be really terrifying. Although Lin Li had always been brave, the thought of the fact that he might be facing a god with a Divine Kingdom this time made him feel terrified.

    At the same time, Lin Li also had no choice but to be amazed by how terrifyingly powerful the Immortal King was since he could suppress an ancient god who had a Divine Kingdom. The power was truly unimaginable!

    At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom suddenly stopped in their tracks, while Saint Edmund turned around, and sternly said to everyone, ¡°In the depths of this ancient underground city is the ce where our great founding Saint, Lord Aquilo, sleeps. However, before we enter, I have to warn everyone, including all of you from the Tower of Dusk. Once you see the Holy Lord, you mustn¡¯t touch his body. Otherwise, you will definitely receive the Divine Punishment of the God-king of Light.¡±

    The fact that Edmund said that it would lead to the Divine Punishment of the God-king of Light might mean nothing special to the others, but it meant something different to Elder Zumar and Edmund. If someone touched the body of Aquilo, it might awaken the God-king of Light. Otherwise, there would be no Divine Punishment.

    ¡°Yes, Saint Edmund, we understand!¡± everyone in the Gilded Kingdom, including Zumar and Poer, who knew some insider information, answered respectfully.

    On the other hand, under Edmund¡¯s gaze, Lin Li also nodded, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t create trouble for myself. Besides, if anyone tries to get up to some tricks, I won¡¯t let them off.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Li was slightly stunned because he immediately realized that he should not have said something like that. No matter what he thought deep down, he wouldn¡¯t be that straightforward as to say it out loud. However, despite sensing that something was amiss, he had indeed said those things after all. He couldn¡¯t figure it out, but didn¡¯t dwell on the reason behind his strange behavior.

 Chapter 1164 - Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 1164: Ruins</h4>

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Edmund didn¡¯t feel that there was anything inappropriate about it, and thus led his team to set off to the depths of the ancient underground city again. On the other hand, High Priest Poer, who was already extremely dissatisfied with Lin Li, seemed to harbor a lot more resentment against Lin Li after hearing what he said. From time to time, he would re at the team of the Tower of Dusk with his eyes full of hatred.

    Lin Li had already seen High Priest Poer¡¯s behavior, but he didn¡¯t take it to heart. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was now led by Saint Edmund who called the shots. No matter what, High Priest Poer couldn¡¯t possibly go against Saint Edmund. Besides, to Lin Li, High Priest Poer¡¯s strength was simply insignificant.

    However, as the two teams gradually delved deeper, there vaguely seemed to be a strange sound of murmuring in the air. Besides, the voice seemed to be ringing in their hearts. Even with their ears covered, they couldn¡¯t block out the noises. Lin Li tried to hear clearly what the murmuring voice was saying, only to realize that he couldn¡¯t understand it at all.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t understand what message the murmuring voice was trying to ry, Lin Li felt that there seemed to be a bizarre power in the voice that was guiding him along subliminally.

    In the beginning, Lin Li thought that it could be that the Immortal King had left something behind again, and was trying to guide him to do something. However, after listening carefully, he realized that the muttering seemed to mean nothing at all. It was as if someone was murmuring meaninglessly in his ears.

    Even though he couldn¡¯t understand what message the murmuring voice was trying to ry, nor could he find the source of the voice, Lin Li instinctively felt that something was amiss, and so stopped in his tracks, and addressed Edmund, who was still continuing to lead the team in front. ¡°Wait a minute, Saint Edmund, something doesn¡¯t seem right around this ce. Do you have more information about this ce?¡±

    Lin Li did not tell them about the voice he heard, and instead hoped that he could find out something that could exin that voice from the information Edmund had. After all, this ce was once the sacrednd of the Illuminati, and Edmund had to have a significant amount of information about this ce since he had led his team all the way here.

    However, although the team from the Gilded Kingdom also stopped in their tracks, High Priest Poer, who was standing beside Edmund, snapped in displeasure before Edmund could answer Lin Li. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What can be wrong here? If there¡¯s something wrong, we¡¯d know better than you. Since you have agreed to follow our lead, just tag along behind us and stop asking so many questions.¡±

    High Priest Poer¡¯s senseless interjection not only took Lin Li aback, the other members of the two teams couldn¡¯t help but be stunned too. Although almost everyone present knew that there was a feud between High Priest Poer and Lin Li, High Priest Poer had always been rather restrained in front of them. They were confused about his sudden loss ofposure and manners!

    Lin Li soon recovered from the shock, and the anger brewing within him seemed to be threatening to erupt as he couldn¡¯t quite contain it longer. He was not a good-tempered person in the first ce, and although he was not considered a vengeful person, he would never let off those who offended him. During the rise of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins, those who had offended the Tower of Dusk had all ended up turning into ashes. Clearly, Lin Li would never go easy on his enemies.

    Hence, after hearing High Priest Poer¡¯s words, Lin Li disdainfully sneered. ¡°High Priest Poer, I have to remind you that I am not one of your subordinates, and my team is not some mercenaries you hired. If you can provide the information I want, we can continue to cooperate. Otherwise, we will at most just go separate ways.¡±

    ¡°Listen up, this is the former sacrednd of the Illuminati, not a ce for you hillbillies to create a ruckus in. Since you¡¯re here, you¡¯d betterply with our arrangements, and not create trouble for yourself,¡± High Priest Poer threatened with a sinister gaze as he glowered at Lin Li while pulling out his staff as if he was going to strike as long as they had a conflict.

    The threat from High Priest Poer naturally made Lin Li displeased. While stroking the Helios¡¯ Scepter, Lin Li looked at him, and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but I never leave my fate in the hands of others. It seems there¡¯s no way we can resolve this. As for the trouble you mentioned, I¡¯m not afraid at all. In fact, I¡¯d love to experience it again.¡±

    Although Lin Li¡¯s tone was not as aggressive as High Priest Poer, his words were assertive and sarcastic. He said that he wanted to experience it again because they had both fought once in Helena Port before. During that fight, High Priest Poer suffered a huge loss, and if Lin Li hadn¡¯t shown him mercy then, he would have made a fool of himself in public.

    By right, High Priest Poer should have been reciprocative to Lin Li¡¯s act of mercy, but the former had always been haughty and arrogant, especially since he couldn¡¯t stand up for his son at all. Hence, he naturally treated that fight as a lifelong shame. Thus, he obviously wouldn¡¯t reciprocate.

    Seeing that the two of them were on the brink of getting into a fight, Elder Zumar had no choice but to intervene. He first said to High Priest Poer, ¡°Poer, you went overboard with your words. President Felic is in a cooperative rtionship with us, so he naturally has the right to know the information that is relevant to the exploration. I¡¯d better chat with President Felic while you go cool down.¡±

    High Priest Poer was about to continue to say something, but suddenly felt a gaze being fixed on him. He quickly turned his head to look, only to see that Saint Edmund was staring at him with a hostile expression. He could ignore Elder Zumar, but he could not defy Saint Edmund. Hence, he simply glowered at Lin Li before turning around to return to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team.

    Elder Zumar watched High Priest Poer leave before he turned back around, and said to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, please understand that it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t want to share the information with you. After all, it has been thousands of years since west entered this ce, and even though we have some information in our hands, no one knows what kind of changes have taken ce after thousands of years.¡±

    Elder Zumar¡¯s exnation was reasonable, but Lin Li did not immediately respond, and instead stood still in ce, seemingly having slipped into a trance. Although they couldn¡¯t tell anything on the surface, Lin Li was actually overwhelmed with anger at this point as he simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about what Elder Zumar said.

    In fact, from the moment High Priest Poer was persuaded to leave, Lin Li seemed to have suddenly snapped back to his senses as he got a great shock from recalling his thoughts just now. Although they were only in a verbal conflict, Lin Li knew that deep down, he really wanted to fight hard against High Priest Poer and kill him directly.

    Although Lin Li was well aware that he was quite disgusted by that High Priest Poer, it seemed to be the first time that he had ever felt an urge to kill him. During the previous conflict they had, Lin Li didn¡¯t lose out at all; hence, there was no reason for him to detest him that badly.

    At this moment, Lin Li even felt like he wasn¡¯t himself, and that he wasn¡¯t the one who wanted to kill High Priest Poer just now.

    At this juncture, Lin Li suddenly thought of the murmuring voice that had been ringing in his ears since he entered this ce. Although the murmuring seemed to be meaningless, he had been acting impulsively since he heard it, and even developed the desire to kill. He wondered if his behavior just now was due to the voice.

    Lin Li first thought about himself before thinking about the high priest. Although he still felt a strong killing intent when he thought of High Priest Poer, he also felt that there was something wrong with High Priest Poer just now. No matter what, High Priest Poer was an authoritative figure of the Gilded Kingdom, and it didn¡¯t make sense for him not to have the slightest bit of patience. Besides, it couldn¡¯t be because of his character, because he had been rather restrained earlier on.

    <i>Could it be that I wasn¡¯t the only one who could hear that voice?</i> That thought popped up in Lin Li¡¯s mind all of a sudden, and he ignored Elder Zumar. Instead, he immediately turned around to look at the many subordinates behind him.

    After taking a look at them, Lin Li got a great shock again. Perhaps because of the conflict with High Priest Poer just now, the mages of the Tower of Dusk were also looking at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team with a killing intent at this moment. It was as if they would immediately attack the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team as long as Lin Li issued an order.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t even need to ask, as he already had the answer just by looking at the expressions of his subordinates. At this moment, he didn¡¯t say anything more, and simply waved his hand, after which a faintly glowing magic shield immediately enveloped the entire team. In this magic shield, he used the power of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, which cleansed the souls of his subordinates in the process of blocking the influence of the murmuring voice.

    Indeed, right after Lin Li cast this magic shield, the expressions of the mages of the Tower of Dusk eased up in the blink of an eye. Of course, their original intention was to protect the prestige of their president, Lin Li. Hence, they weren¡¯t puzzled by their emotions just now.

    After doing that, Lin Li turned around, and said to Elder Zumar, ¡°Well, Elder Zumar, since I promised you guys, I naturally won¡¯t leave because of this trivial matter. You may rest assured.¡±

    <i>Can I rest assured? You two were so close to fighting just now!</i> Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but mock in his heart, but on the surface, he nheless said some polite things, and thanked Lin Li for his understanding.

    While Elder Zumar and Lin Li were talking, Saint Edmund had been watching them, but when he noticed that Lin Li suddenly turned around, and added a magic shield to the team from the Tower of Dusk, he, too, turned to look at his own team, only to realize that they seemed to be in a bizarre mood. He then thought about High Priest Poer¡¯s abnormal behavior, and also suddenly thought of something.

    Therefore, when Elder Zumar returned, Edmund said something to Elder Zumar before waving the scepter in his hand, and the four vague chaos god statues immediately surfaced around the Gilded Kingdom team. They extended their arms to the sides, and a dim light shield enveloped the team of the Gilded Kingdom.

    After the dim light shield isted the team from the outside world, the people from the Gilded Kingdom seemed to have woken up from a big dream. When they thought about how close they came to fighting with the Tower of Dusk, they were much more agitated than the people over at the Tower of Dusk. After all, many of them had suffered losses because of Lin Li before, and no one wanted to lose their lives over this unnecessary conflict.

    After the minor conflict, both teams embarked on their journey again, and continued to walk towards the core area of the ancient underground city under the lead of Edmund.

    However, when the team moved again, Lin Li nced at the team of the Gilded Kingdom, and happened to see that High Priest Poer was looking at them too. Logically speaking, after isting the influence of the murmuring voice, everyone¡¯s emotions should have returned to their usual state, but Lin Li saw the extreme hatred in High Priest Poer¡¯s eyes.

    However, High Priest Poer¡¯s abilities were insignificant to Lin Li. Besides, there was a feud between them in the first ce, and Lin Li had already gotten used to it. Hence, he didn¡¯t mind it very much.

    As the two teams advanced, the surrounding ruins of the ruined walls gradually decreased and eventually vanished. All that was left was yellow sand, and it was as if they had walked into a boundless desert. Besides, although it was an underground world with no scorching sun above their heads, the light was giving the desert a sweltering heat, as if there were 10 suns side by side in the air.

    Lin Li noticed that the yellow sand beneath his feet was not the ordinary yellow sand of the desert, but was somewhat simr in nature to the crystal ball that Edmund had taken out earlier on. Upon a closer look, he saw the yellow sand was made up of extremely fine crystals, each of which emitted a subtle divine power.

    He wondered if the crystals could be condensed. If they could, the boundless desert would turn into a huge treasure. However, even though Lin Li secretly used the power of the Domain World, he still could not condense them, and it seemed that there was an unparalleled force between each crystal, making it impossible for them toe together again.

    <i>How did this deserte about? Who would create such a desert in this ancient underground city?</i> Lin Li thought of the limited information he had gotten from the ruins outside about things like the God Shrine and Divine Kingdom. He wondered, <i>Could it be that this was once the Divine Kingdom of that ancient god, but it was sted into dust by a tyrannical and unparalleled force?</i>

    Lin Li dared not believe that conjecture himself. The Divine Kingdom was the ultimate form of the Domain World which could be said to have reached the same level as the real world. If anyone could st a high-ranking god¡¯s Divine Kingdom into bits with a single blow, that person would probably be able to destroy the real world effortlessly.

 Chapter 1165 - Radiant-winged Giant Python

    <h4>Chapter 1165: Radiant-winged Giant Python</h4>

    <i>Maybe the god who created the Divine Kingdom likes creating a desert in his own Divine Kingdom!</i> That was actually not considered rare. Although deserts were a barren and scary ce in the eyes of ordinary people, they contained a powerfulw. Perhaps the God-king of Light that the Illuminati believed in had obtained the throne by relying on thews of light in the desert. Lin Li let go of the sand in his hand, and stopped considering that problem. He then led his subordinates to the back of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team.

    Although it was difficult to tell the directions in this boundless desert, and there was no sun in the sky to navigate with, while the divine might that filled the desert also made it impossible for them to cast their mental strength, Edmund obviously had some means to confirm the direction. Under Edmund¡¯s lead, the team headed straight towards the desert in a certain direction almost without stopping.

    Just like that, the two teams walked in the desert for nearly half a day. The people in the teams thought that they would continue proceeding calmly, but all of a sudden, they felt the ground shaking violently, causing them to shake and tumble around.

    On the other hand, Edmund, who had been walking in the front of the team, also immediately had a change in expression. He swung his scepter forward into the emptiness ahead, while his massive fist broke through the air, mming hard on the sand that seemed to be rolling like waves. It seemed that a storm had immediately been set off in the desert, and arge amount of sand was sent flying everywhere, revealing arge pit. However, the pit waspletely empty as there was nothing inside.

    Just as everyone was still feeling puzzled about Edmund¡¯s reaction, they suddenly heard some sounds of shuttlinging from the spot beside the team. Before they could turn their heads to take a good look, a ck shadow had already sprung out from under the yellow sand, and lunged towards the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team like a bolt of lightning.

    The monster that suddenly appeared was like a giant python. Half of its body was hidden under the sand, but the upper half that had been exposed was already hundreds of meters long. The python¡¯s body was covered in silver-white scales that emitted a faint white glow. At first nce, it seemed to be a silver-scaled giant python, and there seemed to be nothing special about it except its massive size.

    However, there was a long horn which was emitting a bright white light, and resembled a holy horn in the middle of the monster¡¯s forehead. Besides, on both sides of the monster¡¯s head, there were two more curved devil-like horns shrouded in white light.

    As the monster emerged from under the yellow sand, two radiant wings appeared on both sides of its back. The one nearest to its neck was thergest, with a span of more than 10 meters when unfolded. They seemed bat-like, except that they were emitting a silver-white light. At the top of the radiant wings, jagged scythe-like spikes that were two or three meters long appeared. They would probably be able to slice a person. There were several rows of radiant wings that were gradually shrinking behind them, elongated, and delved deep into the sand. They did not know if there were still more light wings below.

    Such a monster had never appeared in Anril before, and even in the prehistoric times that were dominated by the prehistoric magical beasts, there had never been any records of such a monster. Even in the Endless World that Lin Li came from, which was heavily popted with lots of monsters, there had never been any. After searching through his memory, he still couldn¡¯t remember any information about the monster.

    After the Radiant-winged Giant Python came out from under the yellow sand, it pounced straight towards the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team without giving them any time to react. Although half of its body was still buried under the yellow sand, the sand parted naturally like sea while the python moved. It did not affect its movement at all.

    In an instant, the Radiant-winged Giant Python had already reached the front of the Gilded Kingdom team. It then lowered its head and suddenly opened its mouth wide open, and a white ray of light sted at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team like a Magical Crystal Cannon. The ray of white light was just like a divine punishment from the sky, and it instantly enveloped them.

    The strength of those people in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was above the Legendary-level, and they probably didn¡¯t have to dodge at all, as they could just resist it using their own defensive magic spells. However, the white light spewed by the Radiant-winged Giant Python was essentially venom or even venomous light. It was not something that the Magical Crystal Cannons couldpare to.

    When the white light of the Radiant-winged Giant Python sted downwards, 10-odd Legendary powerhouses were within the st range of these ten-odd Legendary powerhouses. However, at this moment, it was already toote for them to evade. No one could dodge at the speed of light. Even if the white light was not real light, its speed was not that much inferior.

    However, in an instant, the white light spewed out by the Radiant-winged Giant Python had already fallen on the heads of those people. Only a few Legendary powerhouses who were in the periphery still had the time to avoid it, while those several in the middle had already been sted. There was no violent sound of an explosion or any howling, but the people around them watched as the several of them immediately vanished without a trace like shadows being shone under the light.

    At this moment, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer finally reacted and raised their scepters in unison, after which two massive magic storms surged towards the Radiant-winged Giant Python. At the same time, the other Legendary powerhouses in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team also immediately spread out into the distance, and attacked the Radiant-winged Giant Python with their own means.

    Unfortunately, the Legendary-level offensive spells were just like tickles for the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and only the attack spellsunched by Zumar and Poer could make it feel a sense of threat. Seeing that the two magic storms were surging towards it, the Radiant-winged Giant Python did not dodge at all. The light emitted from the horn on its forehead suddenly burst into a Sr Sphere, after which several Sr Spheres flew out of the void and sted at the two magic storms.

    Together with the team of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li had been following behind the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, and due to the random conflict just now, a considerable distance was left between the two teams. Perhaps because of this, once the Radiant-winged Giant Python appeared to attack the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, it seemed to ignore the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team that was following behind.

    Hence, when the Gilded Kingdom was attacked, Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team stopped a short distance away, and got into defensive positions. They did not ditch the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team to retreat, nor did they immediately join the battle. Instead, they took the opportunity to observe the Radiant-winged Giant Python that they had never seen before.

    In fact, even Saint Edmund from the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team which had suffered several blows simrly chose not to intervene, and instead stood at the side to watch the battle between his subordinates and the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    However, at this moment, a sand dune suddenly appeared, followed by another monster that emerged from the ground before surging towards the people of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Fortunately, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had already made arrangements for defending. They not only activated the war shield, they even used the Magic Net Array and cast countlessyers of defensive spells.

    Before the people could see clearly what the monster under the yellow sand was, the monster already swept heavily at their magic defense. The team of the Tower of Dusk used the Golden Behemoth¡¯s war shield.

    In general, there would usually be very few people or forces that could basically break the defensive shield. However, this time the War Shield was blown apart in one go like ss, without even sustaining the attack for a second.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk were really shocked because while the defensive power of the War Shield might not be able topare to the true Golden Behemoth, it was definitely not supposed to be broken easily. Now that the monster had shaken it to break it, how impressive must it be?

    However, when faced with this situation, Lin Li was not the least bit surprised. First of all, the monster¡¯s strength was definitely at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and the War Shield was not an absolute defensive artifact. Hence, it was not at all unusual for it to be broken. Secondly, it was because of the environment too. The reason that the War Shield had such a high defensive ability was mainly because of the power of the earth. When Lin Li killed the Golden Behemoth, it died only because it had been lured up into the sky. Although this ce seemed to be a desert, it was actuallypletely different from one. Hence, the War Shield naturally could not borrow the power of the earth.

    Although the War Shield had been broken, it did have a considerable resistance against the monster¡¯s attack. After breaking the War Shield, the monster¡¯s attack spell hit the mages¡¯ defensive magic spells, and this time there was a series of bursting sounds as theyers of magic spells were broken like pieces of paper.

    When the mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion were only at the level of Archmages, they could exhibit power that wasparable to the peak of the Legendary-level by virtue of the magic of the Magic Net Array. Now, although the mages whom Lin Li brought with him this time were all just rookies, their respective strength had already reached the Legendary-realm each. Purely in terms of mana, they were not inferior to the average Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, the monster that attacked them this time was obviously notparable to a normal Sanctuary powerhouse, and with just a seemingly casual sweep, theyers of solid magical defenses burst like bubbles. Besides, as the magic defense broke downyer byyer, the mages naturally had to suffer the bacsh. All of a sudden, the entire team was in a passive position.

    Ujfalusi, who was with the team, was tasked with taking care of the group of rookie mages lest they ended up suffering casualties in a moment of negligence. Hence, he was also anxious to see such a scenario. Although he could not connect his mana with the team through the Magic Net Array, his personal strength alone was already no less than that of an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Seeing that the situation was somewhat critical, Ujfalusi immediately raised his skeletal staff, and countless huge skeletons gushed out wildly around the team in an instant, forming a wall of white skeletons that protected the mages.

    Almost at the same time as the formation of the skeleton wall, the monsters attacked, and numerous bone fragments shot in all directions with a loud boom as a massive hole was formed in the seemingly unbreakable skeleton wall. As the caster, Ujfalusi was sted by the terrifying power that made his soul fire tremble. He was just like a candle in the wind as he had clearly been severely injured.

    After all, Ujfalusi had yet to step into the realm of the gods, and even though his mana was at a high level, his use of power was not perfect. The collision with the monster really made Ujfalusi experience the horror of the Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Norfeller, who was also an Undead servant, had smoothly stepped into the Sanctuary-realm by sucking the blood of the Ice Phoenix, which allowed him to immediately gain strength that was no less than that of middle-ranking Sanctuary powerhouses. However, Norfeller was not good at defense. Instead, he was good at assassination, and he probably could notpare to Ujfalusi in terms of defense.

    Hence, at this critical juncture, Norfeller the newly minted Sanctuary-realm could note up with any countermeasures at all. He could only emit a sanguine glow to envelope the team. However, it was unknown how effective it could be.

    However, a faintyer of light rose around the team of the Tower of Dusk at this moment, and it was so inconspicuous that it would go unnoticed if not looked at closely. In the eyes of the crowd, the light seemed to be like ripples that were spreading outward, and they came into contact with the monster in less than a moment.

    The light, which seemed to have little power, suddenly exploded with a powerful force after it came into contact with the monster. It then immediately bounced off the monster that surged over. The light shivered violently next, forming a film of light on the periphery of the team, which shrouded them.

    At this moment, anyone could imagine that no one except the president of the Tower of Dusk could achieve such a feat. The people who were safe immediately turned their attention to Lin Li, and saw that light was converging towards the Helios¡¯ Scepter in Lin Li¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 1166 - Tentacles of Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 1166: Tentacles of Chaos</h4>

    Immediately afterwards, everyone turned to look at the monster that had been flicked away. However, after looking at it, they couldn¡¯t help but get a huge shock. Initially, the thing that attacked them could only be considered a half-monster because what hit them turned out to be a long tail that was covered in silvery white scales. There were a few pairs of radiant wings on the spot that was closest to the ground. If it didn¡¯t have any wings, it should be the tail of the Radiant-winged Giant Python that attacked the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s group.

    A mere swipe of its tail brought such a big crisis to the team, and even made Ujfalusi severely wounded. The mages of the Tower of Dusk could not help but wonder where the Radiant-winged Giant Python came from, and why it had such terrifying power!

    ¡°This monster is not something you can deal with, back off,¡± Lin Li said with a serious expression as he ordered the mages to leave the battlefield.

    After taking a blow for the mages just now, Lin Li gained a certain understanding of the strength of the Radiant-winged Giant Python through the contact he had with it, even though it seemed effortless in the eyes of others. Although the Radiant-winged Giant Python was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, its strength was beyond just the Sanctuary-realm, and it was probably even more powerful than the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction.

    Lin Li could tell from the whip of its tail that the power it possessed was not inferior to that of a Sanctuary powerhouse. Hence, it was obvious how terrifying the Radiant-winged Giant Python was. Those mages definitely could not take part in a battle of such a high level. Otherwise, Lin Li would have to spend all his energy on taking care of them like a babysitter.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s protection, the team of the Tower of Dusk retreated into the distance. The tail of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, which was exposed on the sand, tried to chase after them twice, but it was blocked by Lin Li.

    Looking at the tail that was constantly swaying, Lin Li found it really absurd. He was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and yet he was now going hard against the tail of a magical beast. If word about this were to get out, it would probably make the jaws of arge group of people drop.

    However, even though he was facing only the tail of a Radiant-winged Giant Python, Lin Li did not dare to take it lightly. Not only did he directly expand his Domain World, he also incorporated the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars into his Domain World in one go.

    At the same time, after Saint Edmund joined the battle that the team of the Gilded Kingdom was engaged in, they quickly retreated from the battlefield like the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team did under the protection of the three Sanctuary powerhouses. However,pared to the team of the Tower of Dusk, the team of the Gilded Kingdom suffered more severe casualties. Apart from the several Legendary powerhouses that had been engulfed by the poisonous light of the Radiant-winged Giant Python at first, more than 10 members were severely injured.

    The only ones who remained on the battlefield were Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer. Although they had only fought several rounds with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, they were also disheveled. In particr, High Priest Poer, who was the weakest among the few Sanctuary powerhouses, suffered just as much pressure as the rest.

    A short while after the battle began, High Priest Poer¡¯s image was already very different from before. Not only did the luxurious robe that he was wearing turn into rags, High Priest Poer¡¯s scepter had also been broken in half. Yet, no matter how precious the things that had been destroyed were, pride sometimes mattered the most to the high priest of a nation.

    High Priest Poer was put in a miserable state by the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and the first thing that came to mind was not how strong he was, but where the people of the Tower of Dusk had gone. In his opinion, if the people of the Tower of Dusk, especially Lin Li, could help to share the pressure, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a terrible state.

    By the time High Priest Poer took the time to look over at the team of the Tower of Dusk, he got even more exasperated, so much that his lungs were about to explode. In his eyes, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s mages had long retreated far from the battlefield, while Lin Li was still doing something with the Radiant-winged Giant Python. Poer did not see how powerful the tail of the Radiant-winged Giant Python was, and merely thought that the people of the Tower of Dusk were studying the Python¡¯s tail rxedly while they were dealing with the Radiant-winged Giant Python with all their might.

    Besides, the tail that Lin Li fought hard against for a while not only did not attack Lin Li again, but instead giggled and burrowed back under the yellow sand, as if to confirm High Priest Poer¡¯s conjecture. Its action had further made it seem as if Lin Li had merely stood by the side without providing any help. The resentment within High Priest Poer rose to the maximum, and while it did not erupt immediately, the resentment in his eyes became even more intense.

    Lin Li did not pay attention to the changes in High Priest Poer; in fact, High Priest Poer was just a nobody to him. Although Lin Li and High Priest Poer were both at the Sanctuary-realm, the difference between them was huge. It was just like the gap between an adult and a child.

    Seeing that the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s tail had slipped away, Lin Li didn¡¯t stay any longer, and instead arrived at the battlefield where the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team was in a sh. Lin Li knew very well that the Radiant-winged Giant Python was by no means something he could deal with alone, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to wait for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯sbat power to be depleted.

    When Lin Li came close to the Radiant-winged Giant Python, he pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords emerged from the void before darting towards the head of the Radiant-winged Giant Python like arrows. Each Light and Darkness Sword was as powerful as the full force of an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse. If hundreds of Light and Darkness Swordsnded on a certain city, they would definitely wipe it out in its entirety.

    When the hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords appeared, Edmund and others were the first to be startled. Although Edmund had seen how powerful Lin Li was, the terrifying attack was beyond his expectations. More importantly, from this point on, Edmund no longer dared to casually make judgments or assumptions about Lin Li¡¯s strength. God knew if Lin Li had exhibited his full strength.

    Hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords shot towards the head of the Radiant-winged Giant Python in an instant, and all of a sudden, a loud roar filled the entire battlefield. The area that the Light and Darkness Sword exploded became distorted, and the dazzling rays of light emitted, as well as the darkness,pletely shrouded therge head of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    However, just when the crowd thought that the bombardment could at least injure the Radiant-winged Giant Python even if it could not kill it, the power of Light and Darkness that were entangled suddenly formed a vortex which gradually shrunk. First, the horns of the giant python were revealed, followed by half of its head. Finally, both the light and dark disappeared into the huge mouth of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. The terrifying power of hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords was actually devoured by the Radiant-winged Giant Python!

    ¡°What kind of monster is this? Why have we never heard of it before!¡± Elder Zumar looked at the Radiant-winged Giant Python with bewilderment. He wanted to find some traces of wounds on the Radiant-winged Giant Python, only to be disappointed.

    The terrifying power of the hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords actually failed to even remove a single scale of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. If it weren¡¯t for the powerful fluctuations emanating from those Light and Darkness Swords, Edmund and the others would have probably thought that Lin Li had just been putting on an act.

    When Lin Li saw this result, he was also a little dumbfounded. He was well aware of how powerful his attacks were. Although the Light and Darkness Sword was not his strongest means of attack, the power of hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords was not inferior to the World Sword¡¯s.

    Just as the crowd was in a daze, the Radiant-winged Giant Python tilted its head and hissed, after which the hundreds of pairs of radiant wings on its back pped. Its body then flew towards the sky. The lower half that was still buried in the yellow sand also emerged, and its full body appeared in front of Lin Li and Edmund.

    At this juncture, they finally knew that the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s body was actually hundreds of meters long. After it spread its wings fully, it looked like a centipede that had reced its feet with wings. The wings were so densely packed that it was hair-raising.

    After the Radiant-winged Giant Python flew into the air, the light in the entire space seemed to be converging on it quickly, forming a beautiful ribbon of light in the sky. At the same time, the Radiant-winged Giant Python emitted a dazzling light, making it seem as if a peculiar sun had appeared in the sky.

    Along with the phenomena, a faint but powerful might that was strong enough to make one¡¯s soul tremble also gradually enveloped this space. With the emergence of this divine might, several Sanctuary powerhouses unanimously felt that the mana in their body was going out of control. They began to be so frightened that they dared not reveal their heads, like mice in front of cats.

    That was the difference between Sanctuary powerhouses and gods. Regardless of how terrifying the power of the Sanctuary powerhouses was, they couldn¡¯t resist the suppression of the faint wisp of divine might. A single wisp of it was enough to greatly affect the power of those several Sanctuary powerhouses, and at least nearly half of their strength could not be exerted. Sensing the changes, the Sanctuary powerhouses below also panicked. If the Radiant-winged Giant Python continued, there would be no need for the battle to go on.

    Saint Edmund of the Illuminati waved his Chaos Scepter, and took the lead in attacking the Radiant-winged Giant Python that was in midair. As the Chaos Scepter emitted powerful rays of light, the entire space shook violently, and dozens of huge dull gray vortexes emerged in the sky. Immediately afterwards, thick tentacles that wererger in girth than the Radiant-winged Giant Python emerged from the vortexes before darting towards the Radiant-winged Giant Python that was in the middle of the vortex.

    The tentacles in the sky not only had a terrifying strength sufficient to crush mountains, but they also came with chaos willpower. They were known as the Tentacles of Chaos. Those that were affected by the chaos willpower would lose themselves in the chaos, or be targets of ughter. They might even go mad and die.

    Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer followed closely behind, and they released their mana almost all at once. They cast the magic spells that they were best at, and the seawater that gushed out of the void flooded the desert in the blink of an eye, causing several waves to rise and charge towards the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    At this moment, a giant sword that was about the same size as the Radiant-winged Giant Python also charged towards the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s vitals with a loud, thunderous roar. The giant sword, which seemed to be able to open up the sky and the earth, was the World Sword that Lin Li had formed using his World Sword. It was more than 10 million times stronger than the Light and Darkness Sword.

    As soon as the World Sword was cast, it immediately made everyone¡¯s attacks seem dull andckluster, especially with the majestic power of the power of the world. In fact, it was not even inferior to the divine might emanating from the Radiant-winged Giant Python. In everyone¡¯s eyes, it was as if the entire space had been emptied out, leaving behind only the World Sword. It was as if this space was going to be cut in half by this World Sword in one stroke.

    Seeing Lin Li raise his hand to release such a terrifying attack, Edmund was really surprised and overjoyed. He was even more grateful for his decision previously. He was almost certain that if he had really fought with the Tower of Dusk, he would have had to pay a high price for victory, and he would not have had to consider this mission at all.

    However, Edmund also knew very well in his heart that the strength of the Radiant-winged Giant Python had already surpassed the level of the Sanctuary-realm. Unless a Sanctuary powerhouse was there, there would still be no way for him to avoid the tough battle. Hence, even if Lin Li cast a powerful magic spell like the World Sword, Edmund probably could not rx.

    The four Sanctuary powerhouses attacked with all their might, and the Radiant-winged Giant Python was obviously a little enraged. Although thetter had a huge body, its movements seemed extremely agile and fluid, without any clumsiness. In the face of the Tentacles of Chaos that Edmund whipped up, its figure instantly turned into a white lightning bolt, and shuttled through therge formed by the hundreds of Tentacles of Chaos. The hundreds of pairs of radiant wings on its back seemed to be the sharpest swords in the world, and could cut the tentacles without any issues.

    The Tentacles of Chaos that Edmund summoned were not real tentacles, but tentacles that were condensed using the power of Chaos, which could not be broken even by the full-force attacks of ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. However, in the face of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, the Tentacles of Chaos were as fragile as noodles, which was a great shock to the people who were watching.

    After dealing with Edmund¡¯s Tentacles of Chaos, the Radiant-winged Giant Python pped its wings twice, and countless rays of white light emerged from the sky in an instant, surging into the gigantic waves that Zumar and Poer had jointly cast. Each time the lightnded, it would cut off arge portion of the giant waves and seawater like an eraser. In the blink of an eye, their attacks seemed to vanish without a trace.

 Chapter 1167 - Nothing to be Done

    <h4>Chapter 1167: Nothing to be Done</h4>

    Seeing that the Radiant-winged Giant Python had effortlessly destroyed the attack that they had cast with all their strength, Zumar and Poer were so vexed and distraught that they almost vomited blood. That was a true difference in strength. The massive gap was not something that could be closed just by working hard.

    Just as the Radiant-winged Giant Python used the strange white light to eliminate the enormous and powerful waves that Zumar and Poer had joined forces to cast, Lin Li¡¯s World Sword had already traversed the void, and chased after the Radiant-winged Giant Python before shing its skull.

    When the World Sword shed downwards, even the space could not withstand the pressure of the force of the world. Spiderweb-like cracks began to appear on it. Not to mention magical beasts, even if it was a mountain, the World Sword would be able to sh it in two.

    Once the World Sword reached the head of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, dazzling rays of light began to emerge from the radiant wings on its back before engulfing its body, making it look like a light cocoon. Immediately afterwards, the World Sword also shed the light cocoon, immediately resulting in a vigorous shock in the space. Spatial cracks quickly spread out in all directions, and it was as if a hole had been formed in the sky.

    The light cocoon that was wrapped around the Radiant-winged Giant Python also sunk because of the force of the World Sword, and it almost fell to the ground. At the same time, the surface of that light cocoon was instantly covered with cracks of various sizes. It was as if it would disintegrate with a gentle touch.

    However, all of that was just a merry wish in the hearts of the people. When the World Sword rose again, and was about tond on the light cocoon, it actually began to crumble into bits despite looking extremely strong. No one knew what was going on.

    In particr, Lin Li was shell-shocked because he was the one who cast the World Sword, and so had a clearer feeling of the impact in the World Sword than others. The copse of the World Sword was not due to the force of the recoil¡ªthere was no recoil that could make the World Sword shatter into bits like a porcin vase.

    The World Sword was cast using Lin Li¡¯s own Domain World, and unlike the Light and Darkness Sword that onlybined the extreme powers of light and darkness, it contained all the Laws that constituted the world. All the Laws in the World Sword were closely connected to each other, just like the rtionship between thews in the real world. How could such a World Sword copse and disintegrate simply because of the power of recoil?

    In fact, when the World Sword touched the light cocoon of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, Lin Li already felt that something was amiss. During that moment of contact, Lin Li felt a strange power seeping into the World Sword through the contact point, and as the power infiltrated the sword, there was immediately an uncontroble change in the various Laws that constituted the World Sword.

    The power was not massive, but it was just like a virus. When it seeped into the World Sword, it contaminated thews while growing rapidly alongside them. If Lin Li wanted to eradicate that power, he would have to also eradicate all thews in the World Sword that were tainted with that power.

    Hence, that resulted in the copse of the World Sword. On the one hand, it was because of the influence of that power, and on the other hand, it was because Lin Li had taken the initiative to forgo a portion of the power of the World Sword.

    However, in the eyes of Edmund and the others, it was quite an intimidating scene. They did not know what had happened, and merely saw that the World Sword, which they had learned to contend against, had shattered under the recoil resulting from a collision with the light cocoon of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. In that case, how terrifying must the strength of the Radiant-winged Giant Python be?

    Edmund and the others did not suspect that Lin Li might have faked it. After all, it was a matter of fact that the World Sword had sted the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s light cocoon to the point of almost shattering. They could at least tell from that that the power of the World Sword was far beyond theirs. Now that something like that had happened, they could only say that the strength of the Radiant-winged Giant Python was really too unexpected.

    At this moment, the light cocoon, which had been cracked by the World Sword, suddenly gave off millions of rays of light which were even more powerful than the Magical Crystal Cannons of the Gilded Kingdom as they bombarded the surroundings unrestrainedly without a specific target.

    At this point, Lin Li had already canceled the World Sword, which had more than half of the mana consumed in the attempt to dispel the bizarre power. Even if they had power that was far greater than ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses, the loss still caused him to be hurt.

    However, seeing the Radiant-winged Giant Pythonunch another terrifying attack, Lin Li could not care less about the loss of the World Sword. He hurriedly activated his Space Robe, and his figure began to continuously flicker in space, dodging the dense rays of light that were being shot over.

    When Lin Li first obtained the Space Power, he had to inevitably make preparations before he unleashed the power in it. However, he was now a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, and he could use the power of the Space Robe like it was his own, especially after obtaining Geresco¡¯s inheritance in the inverted tower. It would not be overboard to say that he could move it like it was his arm.

    Although the Radiant-winged Giant Python emitted beams of dense light at a quick speed, the power of Lin Li¡¯s Space Robe allowed him to constantly sh back and forth between the gaps, letting him survive several close shaves with death.

    However,pared to Lin Li, the situation faced by Edmund and others was less than favorable. Thews of space and time could be considered the most profound and arcane of all. Not everyone who stepped into the Sanctuary-realm would be able toprehend them. In fact, not to mention the Sanctuary powerhouses, even the average god-level powerhouse might not be able toprehend and master thews of space and time.

    Hence, Edmund and the others naturally failed to dodge the dense bombardment of the Radiant-winged Giant Python as they could not sh around like Lin Li. All they could do was try to evade as much as they could, and use their Domain Worlds to resist the attacks they couldn¡¯t dodge.

    It wasn¡¯t too bad for Edmund, who was at least powerful enough as a Sanctuary powerhouse, and could resist the Radiant-winged Giant Python. Although it was not effortless, it wasn¡¯t a Herculean task for him. However, Zumar and Poer were in huge trouble. Their Domain Worlds had countless holes sted in them.

    Seeing this scene, Edmund began to panic. Although he was also tied up, he didn¡¯t want to lose two Sanctuary-realm subordinates here. Hence, he stopped dodging, and used the Domain World to resist the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s attacks while raising his Chaos Scepter, and quickly chanting an incantation in the ancientnguage of the Titans.

    With the chanting of the incantation, Edmund¡¯s Domain World immediately began to change, and quickly condensed into arge statue of chaos. The statue was hundreds of meters tall, and had six arms on its back, holding a variety of weapons. Its body was also engulfed by a dim light fog, which was imprable even for the light of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    However, the Chaos Statue was also a little translucent, and Edmund could vaguely be seen. He was in the chest area of the statue, and appeared as if he was driving an Alchemy Colossus. After the sessful condensation of the Chaos Statue, there was some faint divine power, but it was not controlled by Edmund. Instead, it was a wisp of divine power that descended from the sky.

    The Chaos Statue that Edmund condensed attracted a wisp of divine power, and it was as if the God of Chaos had descended. Although there was only a wisp of divine power, it allowed the statue to be extremely sturdy as mana condensed. It could perhaps resist Lin Li¡¯s World Sword without any problems.

    When the Statue of Chaos appeared, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but secretly be amazed. Indeed, Edmund¡¯s strength was not to be underestimated, since he could be one of the four saints of the Illuminati. When dealing with the Ice Phoenix, Edmund could have killed it easily if he had condensed that Statue of Chaos.

    However, Lin Li could also guess that Edmund must have paid a huge price to condense the Chaos Statue. Otherwise, facing the Winged Angels that appeared afterwards and even the Titan Cronos, the expedition would not have needed to go to such great extents. Once the Chaos Statue was revealed, it would at least be much easier, even if it would not make them invincible.

    The first thing that Edmund did was to save Zumar and Poer, who were already in danger. However, just as Edmund manipted the Chaos Statue, and moved closer to Zumar and Poer, he suddenly felt a chilling from behind him. The six arms of the Chaos Statue could only make it in time to cross their weapons and make a defensive stance before they felt an unstoppable forceing from behind them.

    Upon hearing the loud explosive sound, the massive body of the Chaos Statue was actually sted by that huge force, and tumbled forward in a disorderly manner. However, Edmund seized the opportunity and turned around, only to realize that the Radiant-winged Giant Python in the light cocoon had somehowe behind him.

    The Radiant-winged Giant Python managed to p Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue far, far away with a single whip of its tail, and before Edmund could stabilize his body, it pounced over again like a bolt of lightning. One was a python that was hundreds of meters long, and the other was a statue that was hundreds of meters tall. Neither of them used any magic spells, and it was just like an ordinary fight between gangsters.

    Fortunately, with the appearance of the statue, the millions of beams of light that bombarded them maniacally also stopped. At this moment, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but they still could not intervene in the battle between Edmund and the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t go up and engage in closebat with the Radiant-winged Giant Python like Edmund, he didn¡¯t stay idle, either. There were several rays of dazzling light emitting from the Helios¡¯ Scepter that Lin Li was holding, and at the same time, all sorts of powerful magic spells were continuously sting at the two parties battling. Although Edmund and the Radiant-winged Giant Python were entangled, Lin Li did not have to worry about friendly fire, because he had good control over magic spells.

    Of course, even Lin Li¡¯s World Sword didn¡¯t manage to cause substantial damage to the Radiant-winged Giant Python, let alone the other magic spells, which could barely hurt the Radiant-winged Giant Python. The others thought that Lin Li was being foolish by wasting mana, and felt that it would make more sense to find a way to umte power to deal the Radiant-winged Giant Python a hard blow.

    At this juncture, the battle between Edmund and the Radiant-winged Giant Python had also reached a cooldown stage. However, those who were not blind would be able to see that Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue would not be able to sustain battling for a long time. In just a few minutes of fighting with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, the Chaos Statue was no longer as majestic as before, as four of its six arms were snapped, while its body was covered in wounds of various sizes. In particr, there was a deep pit in the chest of the Chaos Statue, and it almost exposed Edmund who was hiding within.

    The scene made everyone panic. If even Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue was defeated, there would really be no hope for everyone. However, there was no point in being flustered for no reason. No one could condense a powerful Chaos Statue like Saint Edmund previously, unless another Saint joined in. Besides, their attack spells were all just like tickles to the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and wouldn¡¯t even catch its attention.

    ¡°President Felic, what else can you do? Use all your possible means now!¡± Edmund knew that he was already on the verge of giving way, and he could no longer care about his pride at this point. Unlike the others, he didn¡¯t think that Lin Li was being silly and doing useless work, but rather felt that Lin Li had to have a reason for doing so. He thought that Lin Li was very likely to be looking for the weakness of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    As expected, right after Edmund shouted, Lin Li, who had been constantly moving around them, also suddenly stopped. At the same time, the Helios¡¯ Scepter disappeared from his hand, and was reced by a silver crossbow. The fact that a mage chose to use a crossbow instead of a scepter was baffling to the crowd.

    However, Lin Li did not have the slightest intention to exin as he simply aimed the crossbow at the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and resolutely activated the mechanism. Immediately afterwards, a bolt of lightning darted towards the chest of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    The ck ray of light seemed ordinary, but Edmund, who was in its attack range, could sense something that the others could not. At the instant that the ck light surged over, he felt like there was boundless darkness closing in on him, and trying to devour his soul and will while he was unable to resist.

 Chapter 1168 - Twin Snakes of Light and Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 1168: Twin Snakes of Light and Darkness</h4>

    This ck light that Lin Li shot out was none other than Gloomy Dark, one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Through the battle with the Radiant-winged Giant Python just now, he already knew that its power waspletely a type of Power of Light. Although it was different from Holy Light, the power of Gloomy Dark would definitely be in conflict with the other type of power.

    Although the Power of Light and the Dark Force were not necessarily restrained by each other, Lin Li believed that the power of the Radiant-winged Giant Python could not bepared to the power contained in the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, regardless of how strong it was. In such a situation, the Dark Force in Gloomy Dark was naturally suppressing the Power of Light in the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    The silver crossbow that Lin Li was using was the Crossbow of Reincarnation that he had created based on the design of the Stars of Fury. Although the Crossbow of Reincarnation might only have one percent of the power of the Stars of Fury with Lin Li¡¯s current ability, Lin Li had also obtained the Stars of Fury that the Immortal King had left behind, which was formed with mana. Some of its characteristics were incorporated into the Crossbow of Reincarnation too.

    Hence, even though the Crossbow of Reincarnation was still far inferior to the real Stars of Fury, it could still exhibit the power of the debris of the stars to a great extent. Under the catalysis of the Crossbow of Reincarnation, the power of the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, was dozens or hundreds of times higher than the power that Lin Li had exerted. Even gods and deities wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate the power of that arrow. Besides, the power of Gloomy Dark was still restraining the Power of Light of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    As soon as the ray of ck light darted out, itnded smack in the middle of thergest pair of wings on the back of the Radiant-winged Giant Python in an instant. Immediately afterwards, there was a groundbreaking sound of an explosion, and the Radiant-winged Giant Python was flung far away together with Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue.

    After sensing the unparalleled power, Edmund couldn¡¯t help but be thankful that that arrow hadn¡¯t shot at him. Otherwise, even with the Chaos Statue, he might not be able to save himself.

    At the same time that the Radiant-winged Giant Python was blown away by the terrifying force, the spot on its back that had been struck by Gloomy Dark seemed to shatter like ss. White crystals sttered everywhere, and arge wound appeared in its body. Besides, arge white crystal, which acted as the source of power of the body, could be seen in the wound.

    The single blowunched by Lin Li actually caused such a severe injury to the Radiant-winged Giant Python, which immediately lifted the spirits of the crowd as they pulled themselves together. Since the start of their encounter with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, the crowd could be considered to have exhausted all their means, but they did not manage to cause any harm to the Radiant-winged Giant Python at all. Even Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue, which seemed to be fighting hard against the Radiant-winged Giant Python, was in a passive position as it could not deal it any damage, either.

    However, the oue of Gloomy Dark¡¯s strike did not satisfy Lin Li. He expected the Crossbow of Reincarnation, the terrifying power contained in Gloomy Dark, and the restraining effects that the Dark Force had on the Power of Light to at least be able to severely injure the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    Although the Radiant-winged Giant Python seemed to have been severely wounded on the surface since there was such arge hole in its back, Lin Li clearly saw that the magical crystal inside the Radiant-winged Giant Python was still intact despite having suffered the attack of Gloomy Dark.

    The Radiant-winged Giant Python, too, was not an ordinary magical beast, but rather was one that was condensed with the Power of Light. With such characteristics, the terrifying wound on its back was considered nothing. Perhaps it would close up in the blink of an eye. In order to really cause fatal damage to the Radiant-winged Giant Python, one would have to start by attacking the magical crystal in its body. Only by destroying the magical crystal of the Radiant-winged Giant Python could one really kill it.

    Indeed, just as that thought shed in Lin Li¡¯s mind, the frightening wound on the back of the Radiant-winged Giant Python had already begun to heal quickly under the massive amount of Power of Light. Seeing this scene, Lin Li did not bother to continue thinking. Since the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, could not exert a restraining effect, what would happen if it was reced by the debris of the stars, Holy Light?

    Lin Li¡¯s figure darted abruptly, dodging a poisonous ray of light that was ejected by the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and his figure once again appeared in the direction of the back of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. At the same time, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, turned into an arrow that was ced on the Crossbow of Reincarnation. With a crisp sound of the string being pulled, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, turned into a ray of white light that shot towards the recovering wound on the back of the Radiant-winged Giant Python.

    That was not a random experiment. In fact, Lin Li had already known since a long time ago that Gloomy Dark had a great restraint on Dark Force, and that was the reason that he used Gloomy Dark on the Twin Dracoliches to ultimately defeat them before binding their souls to Gloomy Dark.

    Hence, Lin Li decided to use Holy Light instead of other debris of the stars now that Gloomy Dark was not working.

    After seeing Lin Li shoot a ck light, followed by another white light that also emitted a terrifying aura, Edmund and the others were simply stunned. They had no idea what exactly it was, but they knew that it contained an extremely terrifying power, and everyone at this moment could not help but imagine that they were the opponents who were facing the blow as they wondered if they could resist it.

    In fact, Edmund and the others didn¡¯t even have to make assumptions, because there was a living example in front of them. They had had personal experience with the Radiant-winged Giant Python¡¯s defensive abilities. Since the Radiant-winged Giant Python had been severely injured by the ck light, they¡¯d definitely have it worse because their defense was certainly lower than that of the Radiant-winged Giant Python!

    Just as the crowd was feeling astonished by Lin Li¡¯s power, the Holy Light that Lin Li hadunched already sted hard into the body of the Radiant-winged Giant Python and right into the massive magical crystal that was vaguely exposed.

    Immediately afterwards, there was a vigorous change, and the debris of the stars, Holy Light, was almost unstoppable as it charged right into the magical crystal. At the same time, a dazzling ray of light emanated from it. The Radiant-winged Giant Python also froze in mid-air, like an Alchemy Colossus that had lost its controller. Besides, the massive body was also shaking vigorously.

    However, the Radiant-winged Giant Python was obviously not willing to just wait for death. Although it could not move for a while, the hundreds of pairs of radiant wings on its back suddenly burst open with a loud explosive sound. They then turned into countless light des that shot over in all directions.

    The first to be attacked by the light de were Edmund and the Chaos Statue that he had summoned. Although he had been blown away by Lin Li¡¯s Gloomy Dark along with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, he had not flown far from the Radiant-winged Giant Python. As a result, when the Radiant-winged Giant Python suddenly pulled such a trick, and filled almost the entire space, it left Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue with no means to dodge.

    In just a moment, Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue was bombarded by thousands of light des. Besides, the power of the light des was much greater than that of any attackunched by the Radiant-winged Giant Python. After all, it was the power from the radiant wings¡¯ self-destruction.

    Edmund¡¯s Chaos Statue could not resist the bombardment of the thousands of light des, and was shed into bits in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, Edmund condensed the remaining power of the Chaos Statue into a giant shield that protected him against the attack, and allowed him to escape. Otherwise, he might really have died there.

    After the self-destruction, the Radiant-winged Giant Python, which had been originally emitting bright light, quickly lost its luster like a withering flower. Immediately afterwards, the body of the Radiant-winged Giant Python began to crack like dry earth, while crystalline structures and dust continuously fell out of it.

    Finally, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the huge body of the Radiant-winged Giant Python quickly shattered with the loud sound of an explosion. Light crystals of various sizes turned into pure light right after leaving the body of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, and then vanished without a trace. Arge magical crystal was left behind in the sky, and there was also an arrow that was emitting a dazzling light stuck in the top of the magical crystal.

    However, that was not the end. The massive magical crystal that was eye-catching and as bright as a sun in the sky was gradually getting dimmer and dimmer, as if the sun had gone from noon to evening. On the other hand, the arrow on top was getting brighter and brighter. It was obviously devouring the power of the magical crystal, and only when the magical crystal shattered with a loud thud and sttered everywhere did the arrow fly towards Lin Li¡¯s hand immediately.

    Lin Li took back the arrow that the debris of the stars, Holy Light, had transformed into, and immediately used his mental strength to sense the changes within, only to realize that there was an extremelyrge amount of mana stored inside. The mana seemed to be ipatible with the power of Holy Light as it was restrained somewhere by itself.

    Frankly, there was probably no Power of Light in this world that could be purer than the one contained in the debris of the stars, Holy Light. Hence, it was not strange for Holy Light not to want to devour that power. However, although the power was not of much use to Holy Light, Lin Li still thought of a way to utilize it.

    If the massive amount of power was detonated all at once, the power would probably be so terrifying that even a powerhouse that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm might not be able to withstand it. After all, the power was almost already more than half of the power of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. Who could resist it?

    The only thing that Lin Li regretted was that once the power was detonated, it would truly be gone. Hence, the power could be his one and only trump card that could only be used once.

    However, Lin Li was not a person who did not know how to be content. The fact that he could kill the Radiant-winged Giant Python was already something to be thankful about. Besides, the fact that he could obtain a trump card was already an unexpected surprise. What else was there not to be content about?

    After the Radiant-winged Giant Python went up in smoke, Lin Linded back on the ground, and the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team immediately rushed over from afar. In particr, after Connoris saw Lin Li, he seemed to want to say something, but when he saw Lin Li talking to Edmund and the others, he suppressed the urge, and waited patiently at the side.

    Lin Li and Edmund did not have much to talk about, and they were undoubtedly just being kind to each other while talking about the importance of each party in the battle. Although Edmund was genuinely curious about the magical weapons that Lin Li had used in the end, their rtionship was not that close yet, so he didn¡¯t have the cheek to ask.

    In fact, Elder Zumar had seen Lin Li use the debris of the stars during that battle on Cage Ind back then. However, at that time, Lin Li did not use the Crossbow of Reincarnation tounch Gloomy Dark and Holy Light. Hence, Elder Zumar naturally didn¡¯t realize that he had seen those two items before.

    After a casual and polite conversation with Edmund and the others, Lin Li immediately returned to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team. Upon sight of Lin Li, Connoris immediately came close to Lin Li, and softly said, ¡°Felic, do you know where that monster just now came from!?¡±

    Lin Li was thrilled to hear Connoris¡¯s words. Although the former had expended arge amount of energy to finally kill the Radiant-winged Giant Python, its origin seemed like a thorn in his flesh. He was not simply curious, but felt that there was something fishy about this ce. If he could figure out the origin of the Radiant-winged Giant Python, it might really give him a better understanding of the ce.

    ¡°Why? Do you know where that monster came from?¡± Lin Li asked Connoris softly while they walked towards the team.

    Instead of bragging about how knowledgeable he was, Connoris looked a little hesitant this time, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t be certain if my conjecture is right or not, but if I guessed correctly, this ce is incredible.¡±

    ¡°Oh, tell me about it.¡± Lin Li stopped in his tracks. Even though Connoris was being very careful with his words this time, he already had a hunch that maybe Connoris¡¯ guess would not be wrong. After all, everything here was indeed very peculiar, and it was probably not as simple as a sacrednd of the Illuminati.

    With a serious expression, which rarely appeared on his face, Connoris frowned a little, and asked, ¡°Have you heard the legend of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness?¡±

    ¡°Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness?¡± Lin Li froze for a moment. He seemed to be unable to recall what they were at once.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s reaction, Connoris shook his head, and continued, ¡°The Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness are not magical beasts, but divine beasts that were born with the world. There is even a saying that ims that the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness had already been bred for countless years in the chaos, and the moment the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness became mature was the moment the world was born.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to say that that monster is one of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness?¡± Lin Li was clearly apprehensive. Although the Radiant-winged Giant Python was already extremely powerful, it would seem inferior in terms of power if it really had such a terrifying origin like Connoris had imed.

 Chapter 1169 - Divine Temple

    <h4>Chapter 1169: Divine Temple</h4>

    ¡°Of course not, the power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness is not something that ordinary people can imagine. It is said that they maintain the bnce of the entire dimensional universe, but do not interfere with the operation of anyws. They can even be considered transcendent beings. Legend had it that during the mythological era, the gods would copy the concept of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, and create their incarnations to maintain the bnce of the Divine Kingdom for the sake of the stability thereof during the creation of the Divine Kingdom.¡±

    However, Lin Li did not ignore the information that Connoris had revealed just because of that reason. He hurriedly probed, ¡°Do you mean that that Radiant-winged Giant Python just now was probably one of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness created by some god?¡±

    ¡°The Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness consist of the Serpent of Light that controls the Power of Light, named Shagar, and the Serpent of Darkness that controls the Dark Force, called Intoro. The Radiant-winged Giant Python that we encountered before might be the incarnation of the Serpent of Light,¡± Connoris said with a worried expression.

    Lin Li also felt the same about Connoris¡¯ worries. If the Radiant-winged Giant Python was really Shagar the Serpent of Light, the Divine Kingdom of a certain deity had probably really descended on this ce. Besides, he also remembered the words that he had seen in the ruins outside that a Divine Kingdom had been mentioned.

    Although the Radiant-winged Giant Python, or rather the incarnation of Shagar the Serpent of Light, had revealed some shocking information that there might have been a Divine Kingdom descending here, it actually didn¡¯t seem that unbelievable to Lin Li on second thought. After all, the ancient god that the Illuminati believed in existed in this ce. He could only say that the strength of that ancient god was somewhat beyond Lin Li¡¯s expectations.

    Lin Li was naturally able to guess that the Divine Kingdom that was likely to have descended should be the one created by the ancient god Zagar that the Illuminati believed in. Otherwise, the incarnation of the Serpent of Light Shagar would not have fallen to this level. He could imagine that during the groundbreaking war that the Immortal King had gone to with the ancient god Zagar, Zagar¡¯s Divine Kingdom had been destroyed, and Zagar had been suppressed somewhere here.

    Hence, proving that there was a Divine Kingdom descending here could only mean that the Immortal King was incredibly powerful, so much so that he could even suppress an ancient god that owned a Divine Kingdom. As for that ancient god Zagar, he had been suppressed by the Immortal King, after all. As long as these people from the Gilded Kingdom didn¡¯t reallye to wake him up, he wouldn¡¯t be too much of a worry for Lin Li even if he was extremely powerful.

    However, this information that Connoris revealed also made Lin Li think of another problem. Since the incarnation of Shagar, one of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, had appeared, the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness was probably not far away.

    Of course, after taking out the incarnation of the Serpent of Light Shagar, Lin Li was not that worried about the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness Intoro. Since they were called Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, they should be simr in strength, and since they now had a way to kill the Serpent of Light, it should be much easier to deal with the Serpent of Darkness when they encountered it as well.

    ¡°Legend has it that the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness might have been created by the gods for the sake of stabilizing their Divine Kingdoms, but they have a rtively extraordinary status in the Divine Kingdoms. It can be said that in the eyes of the divine servants of the Divine Kingdom, the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness possess the same status as the god they believe in.¡± While speaking, Connoris scanned his surroundings, as if he was trying to find something in the desert.

    Lin Li was a little puzzled. Connoris looked around, but he did not manage to see anything in the desert. Hence, the former couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you think that this has anything to do with our current exploration?¡±

    ¡°Legend has it that in the Divine Kingdoms, the gods will create their own temples for their servants to worship and conduct sacrificial rituals in order to gain the power of faith. Due to the supreme status that the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness have in the Divine Kingdoms, they will also be worshiped and receive offerings in the temples. That¡¯s the only way that the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness can get the power of the real Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness in order to maintain the bnce of the Divine Kingdom,¡± Connoris exined.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯s exnation, Lin Li¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Aftering to a sudden realization, he said, ¡°Do you mean that there¡¯s probably a temple for the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness here? If we can find the temple of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, we might be able to find out something more about this ce.¡±

    The Illuminati said that this was their sacrednd that was meant for them to worship the ancient god Zagar, but in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, it was somewhat not credible, because he had seen lots of things that were older than the Illuminati along the way, especially after walking into those underground ruins. In other words, this ce might have existed a long time ago, in an era when the Illuminati probably hadn¡¯t been established yet.

    At this juncture, the team of the Gilded Kingdom was already prepared to set off, but Elder Zumar deliberately ran over to ask Lin Li¡¯s opinion. Initially, Elder Zumar opposed High Priest Poer¡¯s decision to deal with the Tower of Dusk only because he didn¡¯t want to create unnecessary trouble in the mission. However, after the battle with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, Elder Zumar was alreadypletely certain of the significance of the team of the Tower of Dusk to his own mission this time. Or rather, it could also be considered the attitude of Saint Edmund, but he could not attack right away. Hence, Edmund asked Elder Zumar to inform the Tower of Dusk of their stand on behalf of himself.

    Lin Li did not talk to Elder Zumar about the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, nor did he mention anything about the temple. Instead, he readily agreed to follow the Gilded Kingdom and depart. However, by the time the two teams set off again, Lin Li was thinking about just how he should find the temple of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness.

    In fact, Lin Li knew that whether that temple existed or not was still a problem. After all, what Connoris said was only a legend from the mythological era. Besides, given the current situation, the temple would have probably long been turned into dust even if there had been one.

    Of course, as long as there was a small sliver of possibility, Lin Li would still want to give it a try. If he really found something, it would be of great help to the exploration this time. However, Lin Li had no clue how he should start searching. There was nothing but yellow sand around them, so God knew where the temple was hidden.

    After following the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team for a while, Lin Li suddenly felt a little movement from the power of the Serpent of Light bound in the debris of the stars, Holy Light. That gave Lin Li some inspiration. Since the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness were originally worshiped in the temple, could the power of the Serpent of Light be used to find the temple where they were worshiped?

    Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t rm anyone beside him, and instead quietly released an extremely tiny strand of the power of the Serpent of Light in the Holy Light. After the power was released, it shuttled to a desert area in the distance, and vanished as if it had been attracted by something.

    Fortunately, when the wisp of power of the Serpent of Light was released, Lin Li used his mental strength to focus on it in order not to lose track of it. After tracking down the location where the wisp of power had vanished, Lin Li immediately led the team there without bothering to inform the people of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Only when the team from the Gilded Kingdom in front of him walked a little further did they realize that the team of the Tower of Dusk, which was following behind just now, had gone in another direction. High Priest Poer was enraged, but after considering that he wasn¡¯t capable enough, and especially since he had witnessed how terrifying Lin Li was after the previous battle with the Serpent of Light, he decided not to run directly to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team and curse at them.

    However, High Priest Poer did not want to leave it at that, and immediately ran to Saint Edmund in a bid to convince him to deal with the Tower of Dusk. Although Lin Li had shown terrifying power in the previous battle with the Serpent of Light, Poer felt that Lin Li had to have paid a considerable price to be able to exhibit such powerful methods. Hence, he thought that it was the best time to deal with them.

    However, Edmund¡¯s attitude seemed a little ambiguous this time. After raising his hand to stop High Priest Poer from continuing toin, he stopped giving Poer any more hints, and instead asked Elder Zumar to go to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team to rify matters.

    At this juncture, Lin Li had also arrived at the ce where the power of the Serpent of Light had disappeared together with his team. It looked just the same as the other areas, with arge patch of yellow sand everywhere. However, ording to his mental strength tracking, Lin Li knew that the temple he was looking for was probably underneath this yellow sand.

    ¡°President Felic, Saint Edmund asked me to ask you if you have found something again.¡± Just as Lin Li was getting ready to excavate it, Elder Zumar also rushed over to ask for advice without any aggressive questioning.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, I just think that there might be something down here. Elder Zumar, if you¡¯re willing, you may stay behind together and take a look with us. If you don¡¯t want to dy, you can also go ahead, and we¡¯ll get there soon.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t hide anything, mainly because he also considered the fact that Intoro, the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness, hadn¡¯t appeared yet, so he guessed that it might be hiding in the temple. Although he already had a way to deal with the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness, he needed someone to hold it down and restrain it.

    ¡°What can there be?¡± Elder Zumar looked at the desert in bewilderment, only to find that it looked just like the rest of the desert. However, out of curiosity, he decided to stay behind and take a look. Hence, he said, ¡°Since President Felic doesn¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll stay behind and take a look too.¡±

    Lin Li ignored Elder Zumar, and instead raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter after determining the location, and cast several tornadoes which were made to rotate continuously in a certain area, blowing arge amount of the yellow sand on the ground upwards before propelling it elsewhere.

    Finally, after ayer of sand that was several meters thick had been removed, the corner of a building was revealed. Seeing this, Lin Li was over the moon, and he immediately increased the power of the tornado excavation. Soon, a somewhat dpidated temple waspletely exposed at the bottom of the huge sand pit.

    In the beginning, Elder Zumar still felt that Lin Li was fooling around, and even thought about how he should go up to persuade Lin Li after seeing that nothing had been dug up. However, after he saw the dpidated temple that was slowly being revealed, he got riled up, and hurriedly asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, do you think I can invite Saint Edmund toe here to this building too? After all, he¡¯s a saint who has some knowledge of this ce, he might be able to find more information here that will be useful to us.¡±

    Lin Li was thinking of getting a few more people to guard against the appearance of the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness, and Elder Zumar¡¯s timely interjection was just what he wanted. Hence, he nodded graciously, and said to Elder Zumar, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to make a trip then, Elder Zumar.¡±

    As soon as Elder Zumar got the green light from Lin Li, he replied politely before immediately returning to the team of the Gilded Kingdom, and informed Saint Edmund about the situation. Soon, the team from the Gilded Kingdom, too, changed direction and rushed over to the temple. On the other hand, Saint Edmund, Elder Zumar, and High Priest Poer, the three Sanctuary powerhouses, were ahead of them as they arrived at the edge of therge sand pit.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there was actually a temple buried under this boundless yellow sand!¡± Edmund recognized the dpidated building immediately, but he didn¡¯t bother to find out from Lin Li just how it had been discovered. If it had been in the past, Edmund would have asked about it, but after the previous battle, he had begun to perceive Lin Li as a Sanctuary powerhouse who was on the same level as himself, so his attitude naturally changed.

    After unearthing the dpidated temple, Lin Li scrutinized and searched it with his mental strength, but he did not find the power of the incarnation of the Dark Serpent. After waiting for Edmund and the others toe over, he invited, ¡°Saint Edmund, if you¡¯re interested, why don¡¯t we go in together and take a look? We might make an unexpected discovery.¡±

    Although this ce was known as the sacrednd of the Illuminati, Lin Li was the one who had unearthed the temple; hence, without Lin Li taking the lead, Edmund would not have the cheek to enter. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s invitation, Edmund had a change of opinion towards Lin Li, regardless of what happened between them before this.

    On the one hand, Lin Li brought his Undead servants and Connoris, while on the other hand, Edmund led the other two Sanctuary powerhouses to the bottom of the giant pit, where they entered through the run-down and shabby door of the temple.

    The style of the temple was a stark contrast to the buildings outside. It was notvish or opulent, and was instead rather in and simple.

 Chapter 1170 - Land Of The Descent of The Gods

    <h4>Chapter 1170: Land Of The Descent of The Gods</h4>

    There were some murals on the ruined walls of the interior of the temple. Although they could barely be seen because they had beenrgely ruined, it could still be vaguely seen that the murals were scenes of some past battles.

    Seeing them, Lin Li could not help but be doubtful. He could tell from the architectural style of the temple and the morsels of information revealed on the walls that the ancient God of Light that the Illuminati believed in was probably not closely rted to this ce. <i>Could it be that this temple was not created by the ancient God of Light? Apart from the Ancient God of Light, could there be other gods that exist here?</i>

    In fact, even Edmund and the others were full of doubt after seeing everything in the temple. Clearly, the information that Edmund had could not fully exin the existence of this temple.

    While looking at the murals around them, the group arrived in the main hall in the middle of the temple where there were several damaged statues of deities. Only a portion of each was left, but it could vaguely be seen that one statue was that of the Serpent of Light, Shagar. The power of the Serpent of Light released by Lin Li also escaped into the damaged statue, seemingly trying to rely on the Power of Faith in the statue to obtain a rebirth.

    However, Lin Li and others could sense that there was no longer a trace of the Power of Faith in the ruined statues, as they had already turned into ordinary mud statues. The few of them searched carefully, but did not find anything valuable, let alone find out the origin of the temple.

    Nheless, Lin Li did not give up. He could instinctively sense that the appearance of the temple definitely implied an extraordinary existence. Hence, he was investigating in greater detail than the others. Before finding any clear and useful information, Lin Li scrutinized every single piece of rubble and broken stones.

    Seeing how insistent Lin Li was, High Priest Poer naturally wouldn¡¯t miss the chance to mock him again. He said to Edmund and Zumar, ¡°This is just a very ordinary ruin. There are many ruins like this in the desert, he can¡¯t possibly unearth and scour every single one of them, right? Some people just like thinking that they can receive benefits for nothing. They always think that they can easily get treasures just by reaching out. How can there be so many treasures in this world for him to unearth? I bet he¡¯s just wasting his time.¡±

    However, Lin Li did not bother to pay attention to High Priest Poer, and instead continued to rummage through the pile of things that was considered garbage in the eyes of others. On the other hand, Elder Zumar, who seemed to find his words atrocious, hurriedly tried to persuade Poer. ¡°Poer, you can¡¯t say that, President Felic just wants to find out more about this ce. It might be helpful to our mission if he can really find any useful clues.¡±

    ¡°Zumar, fancy you speaking up for him. Don¡¯t forget what kind of rtionship he has with us. He extorted quite a lot from you when we were in the Breezy ins back then, didn¡¯t he?¡± Naturally, High Priest Poer would not listen to Zumar. He even brought up Zumar¡¯s encounter in the Breezy ins.

    However, while High Priest Poer and Elder Zumar were having a small argument over the outsider Lin Li, Lin Li suddenly stopped in his tracks, and began observing a stone carefully.

    Seeing this scene, High Priest Poer was about to mock Lin Li a few more times, but to his surprise, Edmund had already walked over. At this moment, Poer had no choice but to drop the idea before getting a clear idea of the situation. He decided to wait and see what Edmund was going to do before doing anything lest he got scolded.

    ¡°President Felic, have you found anything?¡± Edmund walked towards a spot near Lin Li, and stopped in his tracks at the right juncture. He did not immediately get over to see what Lin Li had found, and instead tried to ask him about it.

    Lin Li did not pretend to keep them in suspense or anything, and tossed the stone over, as if he hadn¡¯t noticed the change in Edmund¡¯s attitude. He then said, ¡°There seems to be something recorded on this, but there are too many defects, and I can¡¯t figure out what it means. There should be some other stones that are simr to this, maybe they can provide some clues.¡±

    Edmund took the stone piece and looked at it, only to see that there were only a few ancient words inscribed on it. They were not in the Titan Print, but another type of ancientmonnguage. After careful scrutiny and identification, he could only confirm that the words written on it roughly meant ¡°Our God¡±, and there was no special significance.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s discovery made Edmund rather surprised too. He turned around, and said to Zumar and Poer, ¡°What are you two waiting for? Look around and see if there are any stones with such ancient words.¡±

    Despite being reluctant, High Priest Poer did not dare to disobey Edmund at all, and had no choice but to follow Elder Zumar, and pick up the rubble in the temple to examine it like what he had mocked Lin Li for doing earlier on.

    On Lin Li¡¯s side, Connoris and the two Undead servants did not ck off, either. They could almost be considered to be digging through the ground and looking for some useful clues. Even when they saw some stones that were scratched, they would turn them over and check if the scratches meant anything at all.

    After the search, they really discovered lots of things, especially hundreds of such lettered stones. However, even so, they could not be put together to form aplete object, as most of them hadpletely turned into dust.

    When put together, they could roughly form a stone b, but of course, most of it was missing. Lin Li and Edmund were standing in front of the badly damaged b, and trying to identify the words on it in a bid to discuss the general meaning of the message.

    To be honest, that was even harder than finding the pieces of stone. After all, too much of those statements was missing, and almost none of them wereplete. One could imagine how difficult it was to infer the real content recorded on the stone b from the words incoherently put together.

    After the discussion between Lin Li and Edmund, they roughly pieced the stones together to form some sentences. First of all, it was mentioned on the stone b that endless light rose from the east, which was clearly not referring to sunrise. In Lin Li and Edmund¡¯s opinion, it could very likely be referring to the power of the Ancient God of Light, Zagar. In particr, it was mentioned in thetter part that the Divine Kingdom had been dissolved, and eventually copsed. Afterwards, the noble gods gathered the courage, while the millions of believers offered their lives. However, they still couldn¡¯t stop doomsday.

    The owner of this Divine Kingdom would temporarily be called the God of Bravery, and perhaps this temple was meant for the God of Bravery, but the sudden descent of the ancient God of Light Zagar had destroyed this ce. The God of Bravery probably didn¡¯t end up well, and was likely to have fallen with his own Divine Kingdom.

    The fact that the Ancient God of Light killed the God of Bravery was actually not that big of a deal, because the Ancient God of Light was not an ordinary deity, and it was originally much stronger than the average god. The reason why they were called ancient gods was because they were born as gods, and were supreme existences that had godhood ever since the world existed. They were a powerful race where even infants had a divine position.

    Gods were different. For example, the so-called God of Bravery gradually improved his strength through his own hard work in order to be god. That could actually be seen from his name as a god and his mastery of power. The ancient gods generally mastered the most essential Laws, while those that had newly be deities often mastered some derivative Laws.

    If the Laws werepared to a tree, the gods that mastered the branches would be examples like the God of Bravery, God of Speed, God of Strength, God of Forging, God of Wine, and so on. They were all rtively new gods as opposed to ancient gods. The core of the tree was the power mastered by the ancient gods, such as the Ancient God of Light, Ancient God of Darkness, Ancient God of Fire, Ancient God of Water, and so on.

    After getting such a piece of information, Lin Li was genuinely a little dumbstruck. In the beginning, he thought that even if there was a Divine Kingdom that had descended, it should¡¯ve been the Divine Kingdom of the Ancient God of Light that the Illuminati believed in. He also thought that the incarnation of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness should¡¯ve also been created by the Ancient God of Light. After the Immortal King came here, he destroyed the Divine Kingdom of the Ancient God of Light, and left the ruins there while suppressing the Ancient God of Light.

    However, there was now a new God of Bravery. Although he should be considered a new god based on his power, the fact that he could have a Divine Kingdom meant that he definitely had extraordinary strength too. In that case, what secrets were hidden in this ce? Why did a deity get attracted? Why did an ancient gode, and start a war between the two gods?

    Lin Li then thought of the Immortal King who hade all the way here, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what secret he was seeking. Did Geresco also lead him here from that world, all for the sake of that secret? What kind of secret could it be? It actually attracted so many powerhouses!

    On the other hand, although Edmund¡¯s expression was as per normal, he was also staring at the stones for a long time. The piece of information was obviously also beyond his expectation. Perhaps no one among the Illuminati could have imagined that a god hadnded on their sacrednd.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, I wonder what your take on this matter is. You didn¡¯t seem to have mentioned to me before that such a thing had actually happened on your sacrednd.¡± Lin Li could actually tell that even though the people of the Illuminati definitely knew more about this ce than he did, their knowledge was definitely very limited too. He was not trying to mock Edmund by asking that question, but rather he wanted to use this to find out more about the Illuminati.

    As expected, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Edmund could not help but smile bitterly. Not bothering to hide anything more, he honestly said, ¡°President Felic, you might have misunderstood something. Although this sacrednd used to belong to the Illuminati, no one among the Illuminati has ever stepped into this ce except for the founding Saint, Lord Aquilo. We only managed to find out more about this ce from the notes that Saint Aquilo had left behind back then.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li nodded, and didn¡¯t say anything else that would put Edmund in an awkward spot. Edmund¡¯s answer had also further confirmed Lin Li¡¯s conjecture that the Illuminati¡¯s knowledge of this ce was obviously not much deeper than his. Besides, even if the Illuminati had notes left behind by Aquilo, thousands of years had passed, and God knew what kind of changes had urred there. Hence, even if the Illuminati had obtained some information, it wasn¡¯t actually reliable.

    After decoding the contents of the stone pieces, Lin Li and Edmund left the dpidated temple with their respective subordinates. However, the discovery that they made in this temple clearly did not give them any unexpected surprises, but made their hearts heavier instead.

    Indeed, the God of Bravery had fallen, and the Ancient God of Light had also been suppressed by the Immortal King. Hence, it seemed that there was no longer any danger there. However, no one could be certain if the shocking secret hidden here would not cause any unexpected changes again with the arrival of Lin Li and the others. Lin Li and Edmund were both more apprehensive and suspicious of this ce.

    After leaving the temple, the two teams were back on their journey. Edmund was still following the ancient information of the Illuminati, and led the team in the direction of the possible existence of the holy relics.

    Although Lin Li did not trust the information that the Illuminati had, he did not bother to question the direction that Edmund was leading them in. After all, no matter what, Lin Li was clueless about this ce, and regardless of whether Edmund was reliable or not, he at least knew some information.

    Soon after the two teams left, several vortexes appeared in the surrounding desert. Immediately afterwards, a group of giant scorpions that wererger than carriages climbed out of the pit, and began attacking the two teams.

    The appearance of the giant scorpions was simr to that of the giant scorpions that appeared in the deserts of Anril. However, their bodies were glowing, and it was as if they were d in silver armor. It was probably because of the environment here. Besides, their strength was generally at the Legendary-level and above, making them terrifying beings in Anril.

    However, the two teams had already seen plenty of powerful existences; hence, none of them made a big fuss about the Legendary-level Radiant Giant Scorpions.

    Faced with the attack of the Radiant Giant Scorpions, the several Sanctuary powerhouses did not strike, and instead left it to their subordinates. After all, given the environment that they were in, they definitely had to be on guard against any idents that might ur at any time. God knew if there would be another horrifying creature like the Radiant-winged Giant Python again.

 Chapter 1171 - Seven Monuments

    <h4>Chapter 1171: Seven Monuments</h4>

    The Tower of Dusk¡¯s team naturally had another intention, and that was to let the mages get as much training as possible. A battle at the level of the Titans and the Radiant-winged Giant Scorpion was not something that the mages could interfere with. If they identally got involved in the battle, they would all end up facing destruction. Hence, when an opponent at the level of the Radiant Giant Scorpion appeared, Lin Li naturally would not let go of this opportunity to train his subordinates.

    On the other hand, Lin Li said that he would guard against idents, but he was actually taking the time to study the power of the Serpent of Light Shagar¡¯s incarnation in the debris of the stars, Holy Light. Lin Li not only treated the power as a trump card, but also hoped that he would be able to explore the secrets of the Divine Kingdom.

    Divine Kingdoms could only be possessed by gods, and although Lin Li¡¯s current strength seemed to be insufficient for him to create one yet, he thought of another use for the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness after hearing Connoris¡¯ description. If he could simte the power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness and apply it to his Domain World, what kind of changes would there be in his Domain World?

    Lin Li was not being delusional; rather, if it was someone else, he wouldn¡¯t have possibly realized that idea. However, Lin Li had the two pieces of the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, which contained the purest power of light and darkness, respectively. As long as Lin Li couldprehend a trace of the mystery from the power of the Serpent of Light Shagar, he could obtain massive gains.

    The battle with the Giant Scorpion of Light was soon over, and be it the team of the Gilded Kingdom or the Tower of Dusk, there were no casualties in the battle. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team originally brought along with them various elites among Legendary powerhouses, each of whom was very experienced in battles. Hence, they naturally wouldn¡¯t encounter any incidents during a battle of such a level.

    Although the rookie mages of the Tower of Dusk had only experienced very few battles, they gradually seemed less like rookies. Each of the battles that they had experienced involved the risk of losing their lives, and if they were careless, they would not only harm themselves, but also theirpanions. Such a battle was even more intense than when they were fighting in the Barbarous Arena in the Tower of Dusk,

    Various magical beasts appeared after they dealt with the Giant Scorpion of Light along the way, perhaps because they hade out of the territory of the Radiant-winged Giant Python. However, they had amon feature: they all used the Power of Light. It was clearly because of the environment. Apart from the Giant Scorpion of Light, there were also creatures like Gryphons and dragons, or even worms, all of which were Radiant.

    However, just when the crowd thought that it would remain bright and radiant as it was, there were some abnormal changes in the desert that caught their attention¡ªthey discovered that ayer of ck fog gradually shrouded the desert. There was also a ck whirlwind that was continuously rotating in the middle of that ck fog.

    In the beginning, Edmund and others were not very concerned, and were ready to lead the team to keep going in the original direction. However, after Lin Li saw the ck fog, he suddenly had a sh of inspiration, and thought of the incarnation of Intoro, the Serpent of Darkness.

    The Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness were originally a pair, and the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness had never appeared. Lin Li, who had been wanting to obtain the mystery of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, had kept it in mind. On the one hand, he was worried that the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness would suddenly appear and catch him off guard. After all, it was a powerful existence that was close to the level of the deities. On the other hand, he was afraid that the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness had ceased to exist. If that had been the case, it would¡¯ve probably been almost impossible to obtain it.

    After seeing the ck fog in the distance, Lin Li immediately thought of the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness he was looking for. In this environment, which was full of light, the Serpent of Darkness was probably the only one that could maintain such a special existence.

    This time, Lin Li did not scurry over, and instead informed Edmund that he would go over there to check it out. In fact, Lin Li was not being unreasonable, but since he was being cold and aloof, Lin Li naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered. After the battle with the Radiant-winged Giant Python, Edmund¡¯s attitude gradually changed, and Lin Li did not bother making things hard for them.

    Of course, there was a more important reason: Lin Li was still not sure if it was really the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness Intoro. If the condition of the Serpent of Darkness was just like that of the Radiant-winged Giant Python previously, Lin Li would naturally need a few helpers.

    Before, Lin Li unearthed that temple, and as a result unearthed a secret that Edmund was clueless about. At this moment, Edmund naturally wouldn¡¯t miss what Lin Li wanted to find.

    As expected, after hearing that Lin Li was going over there to check out the situation, Edmund also immediately said he would tag along. However, Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer stayed behind with the rest in order to avoid any unnecessary casualties to the group.

    Lin Li and Edmund soon arrived at the ce that was shrouded in ck fog, which was rather faint, and seemed to be about to dissipate at any time. However, due to the fact that the surroundings were filled with light, it seemed more striking. Otherwise, the ck fog would not attract anyone¡¯s attention in the world outside.

    The ck tornado that was continuously rotating in the sparse ck fog seemed to be more than 10 meters high, but the core part was only the height of an average human. Besides, the ck tornado was also rotating very slowly, like an old man in debilitated health.

    As soon as Lin Li walked into the thin ck fog, he felt an aura that was very simr in nature to the aura of the incarnation of the Serpent of Light. Almost without any suspense, Lin Li immediately confirmed that the ck tornado was evolved by the incarnation of the Serpent of Light.

    Lin Li was puzzled at first because the ancient God of Light had already destroyed the Divine Kingdom of the God of Bravery. Why would it leave the incarnation of the Serpent of Light behind, then? However, there now seemed to be an answer to everything, and that was that the incarnation of the Serpent of Light had not escaped that disaster. However, with the Ancient God of Light being suppressed by the Immortal King, the incarnation of the Serpent of Light had probably been reborn with the Power of Light that was emanating from the Ancient God of Light.

    On the other hand, the Serpent of Darkness was much unluckier as every inch of space was filled with the Power of Light, making it impossible for it to obtain enough Dark Force to be reborn. As a result, it was worn down by the Power of Light, and turned into the state that it currently was in. If Lin Li and the others had arrived a few decadester, the incarnation of the Serpent of Darkness might have gone up in smoke already.

    At that moment, Lin Li did not care to exin anything to Edmund, and simply took out the debris of the stars, Gloomy Dark, and tossed it into the center of the ck tornado. As Gloomy Dark entered, the ck tornado that was initially spinning slowly seemed to have regained its vitality as it suddenly sped up. However, the volume of the tornado seemed to be rapidly shrinking too.

    Seeing this scene, Edmund could already guess what Lin Li was doing without asking. Clearly, he was using some magical equipment to absorb that Dark Force. However, he was puzzled by the fact that the Dark Force was not actually that powerful. In fact, it was inferior to the power of the magic spells cast by a Sanctuary powerhouse, so how was the Dark Force used here?

    However, Saint Edmund did not ask Lin Li any more questions despite being full of doubts. After all, even if the tension between them had eased up, it still wasn¡¯t to the point where they could chat about everything under the sun. If he didn¡¯t ask that question now, there wouldn¡¯t be any negative impact between them. If he couldn¡¯t even think of that, he wasn¡¯t worthy of being a Saint.

    Soon, Lin Li put away Gloomy Dark, and used his mental strength to detect and capture the mass of Dark Force. Indeed, that mass of Dark Force was like an antpared to an elephant whenpared to the power of the Serpent of Light¡¯s incarnation. However, what he wanted was not a massive Dark Force. Even if there was only a wisp of power, it would be enough as long as it allowed him to have a glimpse of the mystery of the power of the Serpent of Darkness.

    After putting away Gloomy Dark, Lin Li smilingly said to Edmund, ¡°It¡¯s just a mass of Dark Force. I doubt it¡¯ll give us any useful information, let¡¯s continue on our way.¡±

    Since Lin Li stopped talking about the Dark Force, Edmund didn¡¯t ask anymore. Hence, he nodded, turned around, and returned to his team while Lin Li did so too. When Edmund returned to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s team, Zumar and Poer both immediately greeted him, and wanted to ask about the results of Edmund¡¯s examination, but they only saw Edmund shaking his head indifferently.

    After the two teams set off again, and walked for a short period of time, they soon saw seven tall buildings with vague appearance in the desert in front of them. Before they could get a clear look of the buildings¡¯ appearance, Edmund already seemed extremely excited. Although Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer did not know much about the matter, they immediately had an answer in their hearts when they saw Edmund¡¯s behavior.

    Immediately afterwards, under Edmund¡¯s order, the team of Gilded Kingdom immediately sped up, while the team of the Tower of Dusk also sped up once they saw the Gilded Kingdom doing so. Well, they naturally understood what the Gilded Kingdom was doing this for. However, Lin Li asked them to maintain their original speed since they wouldn¡¯t lose track anyway.

    As they got closer and closer to their destination, the true appearance of the seven tall buildings, which originally looked a bit hazy in the light, was gradually revealed. They were probably nearly 100 meters tall, with pointed tops and sleek bodies. They looked like a massive sword that was inverted and stuck into the ground.

    By the time they got closer, the crowd also finally realized that they were not magic towers, but seven tall and majestic spiked monuments. These seven monuments were emitting a faint golden light. The majestic aura was so domineering that many could not help but be reverent.

    The surface of the seven monuments was inscribed with extremelyplex mageweaths and numerous starry-like magic runes. Even in this environment that was full of light, they were still dazzling and eye-catching. The bottom of the monuments was also embellished with numerous magical crystals that should be providing mana for the monuments. Each magical crystal was probably in the Sanctuary-realm or above.

    On a side note, the seven monuments were not lined up, but arranged in a circle. At the same time, there were powerful forces connecting the monuments together to form a massive mana barrier. Furthermore, they were surrounded by a bright ray of light that was like the sun.

    When the two teams reached the bottom of the monuments, and were only a thousand steps away from the light in the middle, they finally saw the light above. There was also a sphere of light that was hovering in the air.

    At this juncture, Edmund could no longer suppress the excitement within him as he raised his arms with enthusiasm, and eximed, ¡°That¡¯s our holy artifact. As long as we bring it, we can revive Saint Aquilo!¡±

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s words, all the people from the Gilded Kingdom immediately seemed to be full of zeal and ardor. If not for the fact that they still remembered where this ce was, they would have probably cheered immediately. Even the mages of the Tower of Dusk, who were following behind, seemed to be rather agitated. Although the holy artifacts of the Lord had nothing to do with them, they seemed to be witnessing a miracle.

    Lin Li, Connoris, Angno, and the two Undead servants were the only ones who were indifferent to that. At that moment, Lin Li was instead even more vignt as he was ready to fight at any time. Usually, when it came to such junctures, one should not lower their guard.

    After suppressing the initial excitement in his heart, Edmund turned around, and began to arrange for the crowd to prepare for the ceremony of the holy artifact harvest. The people of the Gilded Kingdom immediately got busy. Firstly, they built a temporary altar under themand of Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer.

    Although it was said to be a temporary altar, it was definitely not set up casually. The materials used to build the altar were all brought in from outside, and it was almost as if they had brought the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s treasure vault in. Each item was supreme-grade magic material that was extremely valuable. There was no negligence during construction, and everyone was extremely serious. Even the slightest mistake would be corrected immediately. Thus, an exquisite altar was erected.

 Chapter 1172 - Rebellion

    <h4>Chapter 1172: Rebellion</h4>

    The team of the Gilded Kingdom then surrounded the altar, and lined up neatly around the altar like stars arching over the moon. At this juncture, Edmund was also holding his scepter while stepping onto the tform together with Zumar and Poer. They stopped when they were only one step away from the top. Edmund then continued to walk to the center of the altar.

    Aftering to the center of the altar, Edmund first bowed, and seemed to be secretly reciting something. Immediately afterwards, he raised his scepter high and chanted some incantation, which could also be called a curse.

    Despite seeing that the people of the Gilded Kingdom had already begun the ritual of collecting their holy artifact, Lin Li did not feel rxed at all. When the people of the Gilded Kingdom were preparing for the ceremony, he had already carefully looked at the mageweath on the monuments. However, despite being a Guru of Inscriptions, he still could not catch a glimpse of one percent of the mystery of the mageweath.

    Lin Li had always been the most afraid of power that was beyond his control, but the people of the Gilded Kingdom had been progressing well, so he had no choice but to wait and see what happened. After all, he knew how important this matter was to those in the Gilded Kingdom, and if he interrupted at this juncture, they would probably fall out with each other.

    However, when Edmund began to chant the incantation, Lin Li suddenly felt his heart beating rapidly, while the suffocating sounds of murmuring once again rang in his ear. Besides, the murmuring this time seemed to have be clearer and prative, so much so that the desire within him almost could not be suppressed.

    Regarding the source of murmuring, Lin Li also finally determined that it was from the cluster of rays of light that was surrounded by the seven monuments. Although Edmund did not state it clearly, Lin Li could guess that the light should have been the belief of the Illuminati.

    However, although the murmuring was making Lin Li displeased, it was only to this extent. Lin Li¡¯s mental strength was far beyond that of ordinary people. Besides, as the Evil Eye Tyrant magical crystal was continuously strengthened and the magical crystal of the Sky Castle was refined, his mental strength would reach an extremely exaggerated extent.

    A strong mental strength meant stronger and more solid willpower. Besides, the Ancient God of Light had been suppressed by the Immortal King for thousands of years. Hence, it was almost impossible for it to try to influence Lin Li using the murmuring. Thus, although Lin Li had kept his guard high, he did not lead the team away immediately.

    At this juncture, the team of the Gilded Kingdom was carrying out the ritual in an orderly manner. Saint Edmund was holding his scepter high, while the incantation he chanted became more and more high-pitched. His body was trembling slightly too, and it was as if he had channeled all his power into this.

    Elder Zumar and High Priest Poer were standing nervously on the steps of the altar, gripping their scepters so tightly that their knuckles turned pale. Those below the altar were staring at the mysterious holy artifact, as if the ritual would bepleted sessfully as long as they kept their eyes glued to it.

    Therge mass of light that represented the God of Light, which was surrounded by seven monuments with sharp tops, began pulsing more and more quickly. In the beginning, the beating would ur only about once every few minutes, but now it was as fast as the heartbeat of a person after a vigorous workout. The changes were the reason that the members of the Gilded Kingdom kept their guard up, fearing that they would release the Ancient God of Light by ident.

    However, the Ancient God of Light obviously would not be released so easily. When the frequency of pulsation was maximized, the seven monuments surrounding it began to change, while the magical crystals in the seven monuments began to light up. Immediately afterwards, mana flowed along the circuit, and quickly traveled up the monuments, causing the mageweaths to flicker quickly while emitting a powerful might.

    At the same time, in the barrier formed by the seven monuments, several rays of light began to st at the Ancient God of Light like bolts of lightning. Each ray of light thatnded made the mass of light of the Ancient God of Light slow down. It was just like a tamer using a whip tosh a misbehaving beast.

    At this point, the ceremony of the Gilded Kingdom had already reached a critical juncture, and a pir of light came crashing down from the sky and onto the barrier. The barrier, which could suppress the ancient gods, did not hinder the pir of light in the slightest, allowing it to shroud the holy artifact of the Illuminati that was hovering in midair. Under Edmund¡¯s constant summoning, the holy artifact of the Illuminati slowly flew towards the outside of the barrier along the pir of light that descended from the sky.

    Seemingly sensing the aura outside, the mass of light that the Ancient God of Light had evolved into immediately began to struggle again despite having just been dealt with. However, the seven monuments were not kind to him at all. Countless rays of light immediately shot out from the void, and twisted the mass of light continuously.

    Just like that, the Ancient God of Light was suppressed by the power of the seven monuments, while the holy artifact of the Illuminati followed the pirs of light to approach the top of the barrier. Seeing this, the people of the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t help but sigh in relief, be it Edmund, Zumar, or others. As long as they could sessfully obtain the holy artifact, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for them to resurrect Saint Aquilo. This time, the mission would bepleted perfectly too.

    However, at this point, High Priest Poer, who was waiting on the steps, suddenly dashed towards the altar. Elder Zumar, who was waiting with Poer, was momentarily confused by his actions, but he soon snapped back to his senses, and tried to stop him. All of a sudden, he felt an unparalleled force that sted him away.

    Elder Zumar was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse. Even if his abilities were below the Sanctuary-realm¡¯s peak, and he could not contend with peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouses, he wouldn¡¯t be blown away immediately. However, now that this unbelievable thing had happened, the person who attacked was High Priest Poer, whose strength was the lowest among the Sanctuary powerhouses present.

    While sting Elder Zumar away, he did not pause for a single moment, and he soon arrived in front of Saint Edmund. Immediately afterwards, he pointed his scepter forward, and a revolving sphere of light appeared. The power of the light almost turned into a massive light vortex that sted towards Edmund.

    Under normal circumstances, given Edmund¡¯s strength, it would definitely not be enough to cause him the slightest hurt. However, things were now different. He had originally channeled most of his power into the ritual that he was presiding over. Hence, he didn¡¯t have spare capacity to defend and keep his guard up against others. At this moment, it was already the most critical point of the ritual, and it could not be disturbed at all.

    Faced with the sudden attack of High Priest Poer, Edmund did not have any means to resist at all as he was simply sted off the altar. This time, Edmund was severely injured. Due to the disruption of the ceremony, his mental strength faced a huge bacsh, and he couldn¡¯t recover immediately.

    After sting Edmund off the altar, High Priest Poer took two steps forward, and stood with his magic staff held high in his hand in the spot where Edmund was just now. They had initially already reached the final moment of the ritual, but High Priest Poer simply reced Edmund¡¯s mental strength with his own to take everything.

    At this moment, the people below the altar finally realized what was going on up there. However, apart from a group of people who immediately went over to check on Edmund¡¯s condition, no one else dared to rush up to the altar. One reason was that they knew that they were too incapable, and the other reason was that they could not understand what was going on.

    After all, for these people, Saint Edmund and High Priest Poer were not to be provoked. Besides, they did not belong to the Illuminati in the first ce, and most of them were from the Gilded Kingdom. Since they were direct subordinates of High Priest Poer, they did not dare to act presumptuously.

    Elder Zumar, who had been sted away, was not that severely injured, so he immediately flew back to the altar, and tried to strike at High Priest Poer. However, he was still a step toote. Just as he was nearing the altar, the holy artifact in the barrier already flew out from the pir of light, and fell straight into the hands of High Priest Poer.

    ¡°Poer, what were you doing!?¡± Elder Zumar eximed in disbelief. They had already defeated the Titan and the Radiant-winged Giant Python, but they were hampered by someone of their own team in the end.

    High Priest Poer raised his hand to catch the flying holy artifact, and in the instant that he did, he was shrouded by the infinite light. A massive amount of mana emerged from the light like a tide, and the light that he was shrouded in condensed into a massive pair of radiant phantom wings immediately afterwards. There was faint divine power being exuded by it.

    High Priest Poer had obviously grabbed the holy artifact, but he did not immediately respond to Elder Zumar. Instead, the phantom-like wings behind him suddenly vibrated and spread towards the surroundings like ripples. He then held the holy artifact high in the air and guffawed loudly.

    ¡°Poer, are you out of your mind?! Do you know what you¡¯re doing?!¡± Elder Zumar had almost reached High Priest Poer, but was swept away by the spatial ripples and pushed backwards without any means to resist.

    At this juncture, Poer seemed to have finally snapped out of his exhration as he proudly and disdainfully said, ¡°Out of my mind? Of course not. I know exactly what I¡¯m doing. I followed you guys all the way here precisely for this moment. Now it¡¯s time for me to harvest everything!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Our mission is to resurrect Saint Aquilo. What are you doing this for?!¡± Zumar could not believe his ears at all, and even if he wanted to do that, it would be too terrifying.

    ¡°What for? The Illuminati now belongs to the Gilded Kingdom. What do you take the Gilded Kingdom for? A tool or a ve? The kingdom wants to develop and expand to the maind. What have you done? Not only did you refuse to contribute, you even tried to talk to the forces in the Breezy ins about reaching a peaceful agreement. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the kingdom gets destroyed by you!¡± High Priest Poer seemed to have several years of resentment pent-up within him, which he vented all at once. He even seemed to have broken into hysterics.

    High Priest Poer¡¯s words immediately made Elder Zumar infuriated. Without the Illuminati, the Gilded Kingdom would have never gained a foothold in the Endless Ocean or developed to its current extent. During the Dark Age, there were High Elves on the maind and the Sea n in the Endless Ocean. If not for the Illuminati, the Gilded Kingdom would have long been destroyed.

    ¡°You¡¯re full of nonsense. In the history of the Gilded Kingdom, the Illuminati have blocked several invasions of powerful enemies of the kingdom, and resolved so many crises for you guys. Not to mention the siege of the marine beasts, didn¡¯t the Illuminati pay a huge price to keep the High Elves and the Sea n out of the Gilded Kingdom when theyunched invasions against you? As the high priest, you couldn¡¯t have forgotten about that.¡± Elder Zumar wanted to go up and snatch the holy artifact from Poer, but he knew that he was no match for thetter. Hence, he pinned his hopes on verbally arguing with him in hopes that High Priest Poer would regret and repent after hearing his words.

    However, after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, High Priest Poer sneered, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t make yourself sound so noble, do you think everyone is a fool? Actually, everyone was well aware that once the High Elves or the Sea n had upied the kingdom, the Illuminati would¡¯ve lost their foothold. Anril has been ruled by the High Elves for so many years, and the humans weren¡¯t annihted at all. Who said that the Gilded Kingdom would definitely be destroyed by the High Elves? You said that you were doing it for the kingdom, but you were doing it for yourselves.¡±

    Elder Zumar was rendered speechless by his words. No one could be sure about that. After all, since the matter hadn¡¯t happened yet, there were endless possibilities. Although the invaders would suppress the people and practice very, those were possibilities that everyone could think of as it could be consideredmon sense. However, if someone said that the High Elves would make the people of the Gilded Kingdom their guests after upying thend, no one could say that that would definitely be impossible, because no one knew if the High Elves wouldn¡¯t act out of the ordinary.

 Chapter 1173 - Whispering Of The Ancient God

    <h4>Chapter 1173: Whispering Of The Ancient God</h4>

    Of course, Elder Zumar could say that with the strength of the Illuminati, they would still continue to exist even if the High Elves ruled over the Gilded Kingdom. However, he wasn¡¯t crazy after all, and wouldn¡¯t say such foolish things with a straight face.

    On the other hand, when High Priest Poer saw that Elder Zumar was speechless, he looked even more smug as he continued, ¡°The Illuminati was originally established and developed with the support of the Gilded Kingdom. Yet, have you ever considered bringing about benefits for the Gilded Kingdom? You only ever think of your own interests. For the sake of your own interests, you made the Gilded Kingdom reach a peaceful agreement with those small forces of the Breezy ins, and now you want to resurrect someone who died thousands of years ago!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t you know the reason why the kingdom chose to adopt the strategy of peaceful development in the Breezy ins? The resurrection of Lord Aquilo is a private matter of the internal sector of the Illuminati, which is also supported by His Majesty. You¡¯ve heard His Majesty issuing the decree himself, haven¡¯t you? You shouldn¡¯t be unaware of that.¡± While arguing with High Priest Poer, Elder Zumar quietly paid attention to the situation on Saint Edmund¡¯s side. He said so much to Poer partly because he wanted to persuade him to stop, and also partly because he wanted to buy some time for Edmund to recover his strength.

    ¡°Of course I know, isn¡¯t it all because of him?¡± At this point in time, High Priest Poer suddenly pointed a finger at Lin Li, who was standing far away. All of a sudden, he got extremely agitated, and he hollered in a resentful tone, ¡°It¡¯s all because of him! You were afraid of him and that Ashen Warlock. You made the kingdom go against its usual practice and sign some peace agreement with those lowly forces just because you were scared of suffering damage to your power. Even when he did something so terrible in the kingdom and destroyed the Fifth Fleet, you all pretended not to acknowledge it.¡±

    Lin Li had been standing far away from them all this while. Despite the shocking changes that happened over at the side of the team of the Gilded Kingdom, he was still just observing. In his opinion, no matter what happened in the Gilded Kingdom, it was just an internal strife, and as long as they didn¡¯t provoke him for nothing, it would be unnecessary for him to get involved since he was just an outsider.

    However, when Lin Li saw that High Priest Poer had suddenly pointed at him, he knew that he had to intervene, even though he didn¡¯t care much about this. Along the journey, he had long since noticed that High Priest Poer would often stare at him hostilely. Hence, ever since High Priest Poer got his hands on the holy artifact, Lin Li had already expected that this would happen, so when facing such a situation, he was not surprised at all, and instead continued watching the esction of the conflict while pondering over the mageweaths of the seven monuments.

    The mageweaths on the seven monuments were even moreplex than the Void Spirit Mageweaths that he had encountered previously. Lin Li was certain that they were really masterpieces that were at the level of the Divine Smith level. Although there was a hugemotion going on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side, Lin Li was thinking about how to get the mageweaths on the seven monuments and take them back. In his opinion, the mageweaths were the greatest treasure, and if he could understand some of them, it would be worth the trip.

    On the side of the team of the Gilded Kingdom, High Priest Poer was still pointing at Lin Li while saying to Elder Zumar, ¡°When you were outside, you had so many excuses, and you refused to help the kingdom get rid of this obstacle. Now, you should have had the best opportunity to do it here, but you still chose to defend him. The kingdom is stuck at sea and unable to develop to the maind because of people like you. Now that I have this holy artifact, I can be the one to lead the kingdom to infinite glory.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get up to any nonsense. His Majesty will not condone this. You¡¯ll bring the kingdom to destruction!¡± Seeing that Edmund was slow to recover, Elder Zumar became more and more anxious. While saying that, he waved his staff, and tried to snatch the holy artifact back from Poer.

    However, Poer, who now had the holy artifact, had reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm in strength, and even possessed a wisp of divine power. Hence, Elder Zumar¡¯s approach was almost useless. Before Elder Zumar could get close, Poer waved the holy artifact in his hand, and a pir of light struck at Elder Zumar horizontally, making him vomit blood and get flung backwards.

    However, after sting Elder Zumar away again, High Priest Poer did not take advantage of his victory and rush to attack. Instead, the massive phantom-like wings on his back trembled, and he flew straight towards Lin Li. Even though he had wild thoughts of bringing the Gilded Kingdom to infinite glory, the first thing Poer wanted to do was, of course, to deal with Lin Li and settle their scores.

    In the beginning, High Priest Poer could pin his hopes on Edmund, and he had been trying to convince Edmund to attack Lin Li. However, his efforts were futile, and the result was very disappointing for him. In particr, after defeating the Radiant-winged Giant Python, he obviously felt that Edmund¡¯s attitude had changed. Hence, his hopes were diminished.

    However, now that Poer had obtained the Illuminati¡¯s holy artifact, and his strength instantly reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he was immediately confident about ending the feud with his individual abilities. Although the peak of the Sanctuary-realm was still within the Sanctuary-realm, but with that divine might, his strength was several times more powerful than that of the average Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the peak of the realm. When facing a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, the difference was obvious.

    However, looking at an approaching High Priest Poer, the expression on Lin Li¡¯s face did not change, and he looked as indifferent andposed as before. In fact, he merely took a nce before turning to look at the seven monuments instead. It was as if High Priest Poer wasn¡¯t a Sanctuary powerhouse who was at the peak of the realm.

    Upon sight of Lin Li¡¯s nonchnt reaction, High Priest Poer was instantly enraged. In his opinion, Lin Li ought to seem intimidated and frightened even if he did not kneel down to beg for mercy immediately. However, Lin Li¡¯s reaction made him wonder if he was having an illusion that he had gained massive strength but was actually the same as usual.

    ¡°Felic, drop the act. You¡¯re probably scared soulless now. You didn¡¯t expect me to be the winner, huh?! Now, I will kill you, and soon your men will apany you in hell too,¡± High Priest Poer said while stopping in midair. The phantom-like wings on his back were still pping slightly, forming ripples in the space.

    As High Priest Poer arrived, the unparalleled divine might immediately shrouded the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team too. Not to mention the mages of the Tower of Dusk, even a powerhouse like Connoris could not stand it. Although Norfeller had already sessfully stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, and reached the middle stage thereof, he could not break free from the suppression of the divine might, either.

    The reactions of the people of the Tower of Dusk were quite within High Priest Poer¡¯s expectations. Although Lin Li¡¯sposure made him feel overwhelmed with anger that seemed to be on the verge of erupting like a volcano, the rest of the people of the Tower of Dusk gave him a lot of confidence.

    However, just as High Priest Poer was admiring the looks of astonishment on their faces, Lin Li finally looked away from the seven monuments, and looked at him indifferently. ¡°Why? Are you that confident that you think you¡¯ll be the final winner?¡±

    ¡°Haha, why? Aren¡¯t you going to continue pretending to ignore my strength? Don¡¯t think that no one can deal with you just because you have two peculiar magical weapons. Compared to the holy artifact that I¡¯m holding now, your magical weapons are just like trash. I¡¯ve now detected the calling of the godhood, and I¡¯m just one step away from bing a deity that you can only look up to. Can your magical weapons do that? Your strength is inferior to mine, and your magical weapons are trash. What do you have topare to me?! If I¡¯m not the final winner, do you think it would be you, a person who¡¯s about to die?!¡± High Priest Poer hollered deliriously with arrogance while staring at Lin Li in a bid to see him getting frightened.

    However, to High Priest Poer¡¯s disappointment, the expression on Lin Li¡¯s face did not change at all regardless of whether he was pretending or not. Lin Li was just standing casually while rubbing his nose. He suddenly smiled, and said, ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wanting to ask.¡±

    When High Priest Poer heard this, he thought that Lin Li was trying to beg for mercy without stooping low. Although he would not spare Lin Li even if thetter knelt down and begged for mercy, he felt that it would be an immense pleasure to see his enemy in a horrible plight. Hence, he did not immediately attack, and instead sneeringly said, ¡°Why? Do you want to ask what you can do to make me spare you? That¡¯s not impossible. If you kneel down now and make an oath to be my ve, I might let you live for a while longer.¡±

    Making a Sanctuary powerhouse take an oath and be someone¡¯s ve was akin to making one crawl under one¡¯s knees. High Priest Poer¡¯s intention was purely to gain some benefits from Lin Li before taking revenge. In fact, it was clear that he wouldn¡¯t let Lin Li off regardless of what thetter said.

    Hearing the insults, Lin Li did not react much, but the people from the Tower of Dusk behind him were infuriated. Even Connoris, who had often resorted to whatever it took to achieve his goals, and even Angno, who was not bound to Lin Li by a contract, were instantly enraged by High Priest Poer¡¯s words.

    Despite the oppression of divine might, Connoris and the others, including the mages, immediately got into a stance and were ready to fight. As long as Lin Li issued an order, they would attack High Priest Poer with all their might.

    However, Lin Li raised his hand and gestured for them to stop. He then raised his head, and said to Poer, ¡°No, I know very well that the feud between us will never end unless someone dies, but I¡¯ve been wondering if you ever get sick of hearing that fly buzzing around your ears all the time.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made everyone confused, but High Priest Poer¡¯s expression changed drastically when he heard that. He eximed in shock, ¡°What are you saying!?¡±

    Lin Liughed nonchntly while reaching out to pull out his ears. He said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just feel really annoyed hearing a prisoner who has been imprisoned for thousands of years murmuring endlessly in my ears. So, I¡¯m just trying to ask you if you have a solution to bear with the buzzing? Or are you just as annoying as he is, so you two get along well?¡±

    ¡°What?! You can hear the whispers of God? How is that possible?!¡± High Priest Poer was bbergasted as he lost his cool, and he was full of disbelief, as if he had heard something incredible.

    On the other hand, Saint Edmund of the Gilded Kingdom was just as astonished as Poer. However, Edmund seemed a little gleeful, and he muttered, ¡°How could he hear God¡¯s Whispers without getting tempted by it?!¡±

    The severely injured Elder Zumar was being carried to Edmund by his subordinates. He was very hopeless about the situation initially, but after hearing about the muttering, he couldn¡¯t help but ask in bewilderment, ¡°Saint Edmund, what¡¯s about this God¡¯s Whispers?¡±

    ¡°Although the Ancient God of Light was suppressed and slipped into deep slumber, his instincts are constantly summoning everyone who managed to enter this ce and tempting those who can hear him. When Poer did such a thing, I suspected that it could be because of the God¡¯s Whispers, but of course, the biggest reason is his heart¡¯s desires,¡± Edmund said while looking at Lin Li and Poer as he revealed the truth. He seemed to be ming himself for his ownck of good judgment.

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s words, Elder Zumar, however, was still a little confused as he said with a frown, ¡°In that case, since Felic also heard God¡¯s Whispers, wouldn¡¯t the situation be even more unfavorable for us? Poer is causing enough trouble for us, and if Felic acts like him too, the Ancient God of Light might really be released.¡±

    However, Edmund shook his head, and looked over with some hope in his eyes as he said, ¡°No, the fact that Felic can say that means that he hasn¡¯t been tempted by the God¡¯s Whispers. How strong must his willpower be that he can resist the temptation of God¡¯s Whispers? We might need to count on him to ovee the crisis this time!¡±

 Chapter 1174 - Half-step to Godhood

    <h4>Chapter 1174: Half-step to Godhood</h4>

    Despite the fact that Edmund made it sound as if there was plenty of hope, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t bring himself to rx at all. After all, apart from the temptation of the so-called God¡¯s Whispers, there was a real and substantial difference in strength between Lin Li and Poer, which the temptation of God¡¯s Whispers could close. So what if Lin Li did not get tempted by the God¡¯s Whispers? One was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, while the other was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. The two could not bepared to each other at all.

    Although High Priest Poer was surprised that Lin Li could also hear the God¡¯s Whispers, the thoughts he had after recovering from the shock were exactly what Elder Zumar feared. Even if the other party could hear the God¡¯s Whispers, what did that mean? He was truly at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and there was nothing Lin Li could do!

    Thinking of this, the astonishment on High Priest Poer¡¯s face immediately vanished, and he resentfully said with menace, ¡°Quit getting up to such tricks. Even if you¡¯ve heard Him, so what? Do you really think I¡¯ll spare you on the ount of this?! This time, no one can save you. After I kill you, the Gilded Kingdom will be the new ruler of the Breezy ins under my lead.¡±

    After saying his piece, High Priest Poer waved the holy artifact in his hand forward, and a huge ray of light sted towards Lin Li and the others, not giving Lin Li a chance to speak at all. The Light sh was several hundred meters long, resembling a crescent. Not only did it target Lin Li, it even aimed for the other members of the Tower of Dusk who were within the range of attack.

    At this point, Lin Li finally saw clearly what the holy artifact that High Priest Poer was holding. It looked just like a fist-sized gemstone, or rather arge diamond that was embellished in aquamarine metal. It looked like the pendant from a ne, and the reason that its appearance was blurry was because therge diamond was emitting a dazzling ray of light that was as bright as the sun. If not for the fact that High Priest Poer was using the power of the holy artifact at close range, and allowed the light to dim momentarily, he would look like he was holding a sphere of light in his hand.

    In the face of High Priest Poer¡¯s attack, Lin Li¡¯s expression remained calm, but deep down, there was no trace of negligence and carelessness at all. After countless battles spent honing his skills, Lin Li had long gotten rid of that mentality.

    Seeing that ray of Light sh shoot over, Lin Li waved the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and the Light and Darkness Sword immediately appeared in front of him while the crescent-shaped light shed over. The attacks from both sides were incredibly terrifying, and in an instant, it was as if heaven and earth had collided. Amidst the deafening roar, the aftershocks of the collision instantly swept out in all directions, shaking the ground into even smaller particles of yellow sand. Next, a huge crater that was more than 10 meters deep was formed.

    Once they saw this scene, the people behind Lin Li immediately understood that such a level ofbat was simply too intense for them to participate in. Hence, after catching Lin Li¡¯s hint, Connoris and the two Undead servants immediately retreated from the battlefield while protecting the mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    Watching the people of the Tower of Dusk retreat, High Priest Poer did not attack them, and instead looked at Lin Li with a sinister smile. He then said, ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll let them live for one more moment. Once I kill you, I¡¯ll let them apany you soon!¡±

    As soon as High Priest Poer finished speaking, he suddenly felt a piercing chilliness rising up from behind him, but he didn¡¯t turn around to look, and instead he retracted therge pair of phantom-like wings on his back, just like a bird retracting its wings. They formed a massive light shield, and there was a massive boom immediately afterwards as a Light and Darkness Sword darted out from the void, and shed at the light shield.

    Although High Priest Poer was sted by the massive blow and his body was swaying, he apparently did not suffer any damage. After stabilizing his body, he evenughed triumphantly, and pointed his staff at Lin Li before hollering, ¡°How can you harm me with an attack of such a low level? Don¡¯t you understand? Any resistance from you will be in vain!¡±

    However, Lin Li was not the type who liked talking nonsense while fighting. Although the sneak attack did not work, he was not in the least bit discouraged, and when his body shed, dozens of Light and Darkness Swords surfaced. With the swing of the Helios¡¯ Scepter, he rotated like a windmill towards High Priest Poer.

    Moreover, after the dozens of Light and Darkness Swords were released, Lin Li did not stop there, and instead continued to raise the Helios¡¯ Scepter high while continuously chanting an incantation. As the chanting proceeded, a massive ball of lightning that was like a shooting star in the void began darting towards High Priest Poer like a thunderbolt.

    Although High Priest Poer¡¯s abilities had been increased to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he was still far from being able topare with Lin Li in terms ofbat. He was the high priest of a kingdom, and he would naturally have his subordinates handle most matters. It would not be wrong to say that he was living in luxury. There was no need for him to engage in a battle personally at all. However, Lin Li was different. Not only had he experienced several adventures, the experience he had gained in countless battles was definitely not what ordinary people couldpare to.

    Hence, High Priest Poer might be powerful, but he was obviously not strong enough to suppress Lin Li. If High Priest Poer really ascended to godhood, his powerful divine might could make Lin Li immobile. However, he was only at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and no matter how close he was to the Divine-realm, he was still not there yet.

    High Priest Poer was like a bull with massive power, while Lin Li was like a swift and agile cheetah. Even if a bull had the power to knock mountains down, it would be akin to being powerless if he couldn¡¯t strike the cheetah. Sooner orter, the cheetah would find an opening and kill it.

    High Priest Poer coped with Lin Li¡¯s attacks in a disheveled manner. Although he did not suffer much injury, he could not keep up the smugness any longer. He just said that he could easily get rid of Lin Li, but he was now in such a pathetic state!

    ¡°Poer¡¯s power was increased by force, and he doesn¡¯t have enough correspondingbat experience. Whoever¡¯s going to win the battle is not confirmed yet.¡± Although Edmund was injured and lost the power to fight, his vision was not affected.

    As for Elder Zumar and the rest of the Gilded Kingdom, they finally felt less worried even though they could not follow the battle as clearly as Edmund did. However, deep down, they still didn¡¯t think that High Priest Poer would be defeated. After all, the pressure of the peak Sanctuary-realm power was too much. They just hoped that Lin Li would expend Poer¡¯s power before Edmund recovered. However, it would be more realistic to hope that they would both end up in a terrible state.

    The team of the Tower of Dusk was also nervously paying attention to the battle in the sky. Norfeller had a few impulsive urges to rush up to help, but was dissuaded by Connoris. Although Norfeller had already reached the Sanctuary-realm, and reached the mid-stage, his strength was really insufficient. If he went forth, he would only be creating more trouble for Lin Li.

    At this juncture, the battle in the sky had already entered the cooldown stage, even though it had only started a short while ago. Besides, the strength of Lin Li and High Priest Poer¡¯s behavior seemed to have been reversed. Lin Li waspletely suppressing High Priest Poer who was obviously stronger, beating him up into a pulp.

    Of course, the holy artifact in the hands of High Priest Poer was definitely not a lousy good, since it could be the holy artifact of the Illuminati. With the help of the power of this holy artifact, High Priest Poer did not suffer any substantial damage even though Lin Li had dealt him a great blow. The Light and Darkness Swords and powerful Sanctuary-level attack spells were all useless in the face of the defense created by the power of that holy artifact.

    However, although he did not suffer any substantial damage, High Priest Poer was feeling terrible. He was full of confidence about killing Lin Li and subduing the Illuminati to bring the Gilded Kingdom to infinite glory just now. However, he couldn¡¯t even deal with Lin Li, let alone achieve the rest of his goals. Besides, there were still the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council to deal with in Anril.

    At the thought of this, High Priest Poer felt a burning sensation on his face, as if everyone below was mocking him. He waved the holy artifact, and thousands of rays of light were emitted at once, forcing Lin Li to retreat far. Immediately afterwards, he raised his arms high, and fully activated the power of the holy artifact.

    Under High Priest Poer¡¯s pushing, the holy artifact of the Illuminati and therge diamond on it started emitting a light that got increasingly intense. It was no longer a glowing light, but an existence that was like a white hole. The power became increasingly terrifying, while the divine might was more and more intense. It erupted from the white hole.

    When High Priest Poer was trying to activate the power of the holy artifact without hesitation and suppressing the seven monuments of the ancient God of Light, he seemed to have felt a call as he maximized the power. Poer was holding the holy artifact, and under the light, there were shocking changes to his body. His hair, skin, and bones seemed to have turned into crystals of light, just like with the previous Winged Angels. However, his power was several timesrger.

    With the changes to his body, High Priest Poer¡¯s strength also began increasing rapidly. The peak of the Sanctuary-realm was already the limit in the first ce, and there was little room for further improvement. However, High Priest Poer¡¯s strength continued to increase, while his body also emitted a hidden divine might. The divine might was no longer provided by the holy artifact, but rather was generated by Poer. That just meant that his strength had approached or even reached the so-called demigod realm.

    At the same time, High Priest Poer¡¯s expression changed rapidly, and he no longer looked as sinister and resentful as he used to. Instead, he had a peaceful expression; in fact, he seemed emotionless. Of course, despite theck of expression on his face, his eyes were still fixed on Lin Li. He obviously still regarded Lin Li as the most important opponent at the moment.

    Seeing the changes that had urred in High Priest Poer¡¯s body, Edmund¡¯s face instantly turned pale, and he murmured, ¡°H-how is that possible? How did his strength rise to the level of a demigod?!¡±

    ¡°What? Demigod?!¡± Elder Zumar, who was at the side, initially also just felt that High Priest Poer¡¯s strength had be greater, but he was so shell-shocked when he heard Edmund¡¯s words that he turned pale.

    The demigod realm was said to be the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, but also a transcendence from the Sanctuary-realm. That was the realm that was truly the closest to the Divine-realm. A demigod was one who was only half a step away from bing a god and a true deity. It could not be reached purely through umtion of power. One had toprehend the various Laws or find their own path to godhood. That was precisely the reason that Saint Edmund was so surprised because he didn¡¯t believe that a single object would allow one to be a demigod.

    When Lin Li, who was fighting with High Priest Poer, noticed the changes to thetter¡¯s body, his expression finally became much more sullen. Lin Li had met a powerhouse who had be a demigod once in the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar. It was the me Dragon Lothar. Fortunately, it had just woken up from a long slumber then, and Lin Li had the branch of the Tree of Eternity as well as the Seed of Eternity. Only then did he manage to have a close shave with death while making the almost-invincible me Dragon Lothar go back to sleep in the fire element ne.

    However, Lin Li did not think that he could use the same method, because he had to face a powerhouse that was a Demigod without the help of powerful Sanctuary powerhouses like Rogge and Nefa this time.

 Chapter 1175 - Crystal Sword

    <h4>Chapter 1175: Crystal Sword</h4>

    After High Priest Poer maximized the power of the holy artifact, he was now half a step from the divine level, and seemed to be a different person. It could also be said that he was not a person anymore. His whole body crystallized, and his hair turned snow-white. He was like a crystal statue that radiated light from the core.

    As Poer¡¯s mana umted to its threshold, the artifact in his hand suddenly flew from his hands, and circled around him like a satellite. His arms were stretched out to both sides, and crystal-like mes emerged from his palm, burning the expensive magic staff in his other hand to ashes.

    Poer¡¯s arms were spread open, and the crystal-like mes continued to hover above his palms. The artifact continued to circle around him, and the phantom-like wings behind him slowly pped. He emitted an extremely dangerous aura that caused everyone below to feel oppressed and breathless.

    The saint from Illuminati, Edmund, looked really stupefied when he saw Poer¡¯s transformation. Fear could be seen in his eyes.

    ¡°How could the ancient God of Lighte out of his seal?¡± gasped Edmund.

    Edmund¡¯s exmation changed Elder Zumar¡¯s expression. ¡°Saint, what are you saying, isn¡¯t the ancient god suppressed in the seal?¡± he asked.

    Both of the men directed their gazes to the center of the seven monuments. They saw the ball of light floating within the shield calmly. It looked as though it had just gone back to sleep.

    Despite the transformation, Edmund and Zumar felt a strong sense of unease. When the High Priest Poer was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, they could still see a strand of hope that Lin Li could defeat him, even though he was less powerful than Poer. Now that Poer had risen to the stage where he was half a step from the divine level, they were convinced that the high priest was not whatmon Sanctuary powerhouses could handle. Even if Lin Li had rich battling experience, he would never be able to make up such a huge gap in power.

    Edmund and Zumar were not the only ones worrying about this; Lin Li thought of the darn issue as well. Although he had learned a lot from Geresco, and had definitely mastered the ability to battle across levels, there was still a limit to the number of levels.

    What did it mean for someone to be half a step from being a divine? It suggested that although one had yet to ascend to the seat of a divinity, he had definitely left the Sanctuary-realm, and could be considered as a semi-divinity.

    While Lin Li had confidence in his own ability, he absolutely did not have the ego to believe that he had the ability to confront a semi-divine. It wouldn¡¯t be an understatement to say that the difference in their abilities was as huge as the distance between heaven and earth.

    But, despite the awareness of the power gap he had with Poer, Lin Li was not panicking. Instead, he was calmer than before because he knew very well that panicking was useless at a time like this, and could only put him to death even faster.

    Moreover, Lin Li was extremely clear that there could only be one winner between himself and the high priest. Since Poer was determined to get rid of Lin Li, the only choice thetter had was to fight for himself.

    Poer did not speak as many futile words as before. He moved his hands and transformed the two crystal-like mes into two long crystal swords that emitted white mes.

    Immediately after, Poer disappeared from his location, and reappeared in front of Lin Li. He pointed one of the crystal swords at Lin Li¡¯s heart and the other horizontally towards his neck. It was enough to give any Sanctuary powerhouse an instant death.

    His movement did not make use of thew of space. The speed of his movement was based on pure power that wasparable to the speed of light. Despite expecting the speedy attack, Lin Li was still caught off guard. It was lucky for him to have his defensive spells ready on his body. The spells were triggered when the attack arrived.

    Lin Li reacted by sending a ring of fire from his body into the surrounding space. This was amon spell used by magicians to prevent enemies from giving close-up attacks.

    Although the level of the Resistance Ring Of Fire was not high, and it could be used by any Archmage, its effect was different when it was cast by a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li. The mes had a golden glow, and epassed Lin Li¡¯s knowledge of the debris of the stars Raging mes. It definitely also disyed the strength of a Sanctuary powerhouse in optimizing thews of magic.

    If this ring of resistance was set against ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses, the terrifying force would create a headache for its opponent. However, Lin Li¡¯s opponent was not anymon Sanctuary powerhouse. He was one that had already surpassed the Sanctuary level, and was half a step from bing a divinity. The effect of the ring of fire could only be discounted before Poer.

    The high priest did not even look at the ring of fire. The two long crystal swords remained in his hands as he allowed the fire to rush towards him. As the fire came into contact with his body, it was extinguished almost instantaneously as though it was a spark of fire under a crazy wind.

    Of course, this was not the only defensive spell that Lin Li covered his body with. Just when he triggered the ring of resistance, he held a massive ice shield before him, and cast all kinds of defensive spells around himself.

    However, Lin Li knew that his defenses could only work againstmon powerhouses in the Sanctuary realm. He could only use them to buy time before an opponent who was half a step from bing a divine. The time he could buy was not substantial, either¡ªat most a 10th of a second.

    An average person might not be able to do anything within a 10th of a second. However, it was enough time for Lin Li to trigger the powers from his space robe. Just when Poer¡¯s swords broke the differentyers of defense, and were about to reach Lin Li¡¯s body, Lin Li¡¯s space robe glowed, and only left his afterimage behind.

    The afterimage vanished when the swords pierced through it. The high priest would have cussed if he had been the usual Poer. But, it seemed that he did not mind this failure. He only waved his swords, and drew a ming cross in the air.

    The direction the ming cross came right at Lin Li, who just reappeared in the void. This time, he was prepared for the attack. His Helios¡¯ Scepter glowed, and he waved a Light and Darkness Sword at the ming cross.

    However, Lin Li did not stop to look at the results afterward. He activated his space robe and reappeared in another location. The reality showed that he had certainly made the right choice. Just when the formidable Light and Darkness Sword came into contact with the ming cross, the sword dissipated in the blink of an eye. The ming cross was not affected at all. It shot along its original trajectory, and shattered the space with its mes.

    After avoiding the ming cross, Lin Li immediately called out his strongest defenses: the World Domain. At this point, Lin Li was not thinking about retaliation at all. Doing so would only be equivalent to an ant attempting to shake a tree. He might not even injure Poer if he used the World Sword.

    Poer appeared behind Lin Li right after thetter disyed his Domain World. The former waved his crystal swords at the Domain World, and it resulted in something that was more terrifying than Lin Li¡¯s World Sword. It created countless cracks in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World as if it was made of ss.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had already integrated the seven pieces of the debris of stars into the Domain World before this. The debris¡¯ formidable powers helped to protect the Domain World from being destroyed by the swords within a single blow. However, the immense impact from Poer¡¯s sword flung Lin Li straight to the ground like a ball.

    POM!

    A sound of explosion erupted as a huge sandpit appeared on the ground. It was as if a meteor had hit the ground. However, it did not stop Poer. After he bashed Lin Li to the ground, he dashed after him like a sh of lightning, diving into the sandpit.

    Shortly after the high priest entered the sandpit, a thunderous sound roared from the sandpit and its surrounding ground. What followed was streaks of light that spewed out of the ground. They brought a figure into the sky, and the figure was none other than Lin Li whom Poer had sent into the ground earlier on.

    At this moment, Lin Li was certainly in a daze. Seeing that Poer¡¯s movements were not at all hindered below the sand made Lin Li feel as if he was ambushed by thousands and millions of people. The attacks were all-epassing and had almost no loopholes.

    The terrible thing was how each and every attack was filled with immense force. The effects of subsequent attacks were not at all hindered by the number of spells that were cast. Every attack created huge damage to Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, and it could have been destroyed if not for the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Because of the time needed to repair the damage, Lin Li did not have a chance to use his space robe before he was flung out from the ground.

    Although the Domain World had not yet been destroyed, Lin Li¡¯s condition was not ideal. As the Domain World was closely rted to its creator, mana was not its only concern; mental strength and soul were involved as well. If Lin Li had been reced by Edmund or other Sanctuary powerhouses, they would have lost it after their Domain World got damaged.

    When Edmund and the rest witnessed Lin Li falling from the sky and being sted back up, their hearts sank to rock bottom. It was very obvious that Lin Li¡¯s richbat experience was useless before the high priest who was half-a-step from being a divine. The former could only allow himself to be beaten from the start to the end.

    Although Lin Li had not yet been killed by Poer, Edmund and the others saw no hope for him. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before it happened. None of them could think of any possibility for Lin Li to turn the tables.

    Simrly, the people from the Tower of Dusk were incredibly anxious as well. Not to mention Connoris, the rookie mages from the team could also tell that Poer had gained the upper hand. But, they also knew that their anxiety was of no use. This was not a battle they had the ability to participate in.

    Lin Li, however, felt no such sense of disparity. He had not given up. While the power disparity made the situation seem bleak to the rest of the people, Lin Li knew that he would only lose all hope if he were to give up at this juncture.

 Chapter 1176 - The Only Chance

    <h4>Chapter 1176: The Only Chance</h4>

    Lin Li¡¯s mind was raging with strategies as he confronted the high priest. He was trying to think of a way to counter Poer¡¯s attacks. Of course, instead of a confrontation, it was more urate to say that he was trying his best to bear Poer¡¯s beating. He knew that he would be doomed if he were to abandon his resistance against those attacks.

    Lin Li definitely had a lot of powerful trump cards, which included the Lord of Nightmares and the Lord Devourer that were sealed in his Summoning Lamp, as well as Xiao Hua that was living in his Dream Garden Ring. It was they who gave Lin Li the confidence to agree to Edmund¡¯s invitation to continue this exploration.

    However, he knew that these trump cards would only be effective at the Sanctuary-realm. If he were to have a conflict with the Gilded Kingdom, these cards would definitely help the Tower of Dusk gain the upper hand. These trump cards would not suffice when his opponent was half a step from bing a divine.

    The power of Lord Devourer was definitely freakish as it could convert any material or force into his own energy. But, a powerhouse who was half a step from the divine level already had a strand of divine energy in his body. It was something that Lord Devourer had no ability to digest. If Lord Devourer were to ingest Poer¡¯s powers in any amount, he would surely be bloated.

    As for Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua that possessed unlimited mana, he definitely could be referred to as the king of team attacks. But, since he had yet to enter the Sanctuary-realm, he was even further distanced from the divine realm. The disparity in power was not something he could bridge.

    While the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were powerful items, their powers could not be optimized by Lin Li¡¯s present abilities against a demigod. When Immortal King defeated the Dragon of Destruction with the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, heplemented the debris with the Stars of Fury to maximize their effects. However, Lin Li only had a replica of the Reincarnation Crossbow. It was not enough for him to maximize the impact of the debris of the stars.

    Simr to how High Priest Poer was notparable to the Dragon of Destruction, Lin Li was notparable to the Immortal King, either. Immortal King was a freak who could directly suppress the ancient God of Light, while Lin Li was only a high-ranking powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm.

    Lin Li could not help but sigh at this thought. Although he had many trump cards, there was none that could help turn the tables against Poer. Just when he was wondering if this would be his downfall, he caught a glimpse of the seven monuments. A thought, or a sense of hope, shed across him.

    The sh with the high priest helped Lin Li to gain a better sense of thetter¡¯s abilities. He could detect three forms of energy running in his body. Apart from his original energy, there was also the energy from the holy artifact and that from the Power of Light.

    Poer was a middle-ranked Sanctuary powerhouse. The acquisition of the holy artifact raised his abilities to the peak of the realm. It was the invincible Power of Light that turned him into a demigod. Lin Li could also feel the strong resemnce the Power of Light had to the abilities of the ancient God of Light.

    In reality, Lin Li had been suspecting that the ancient God of Light had a part to y in helping Poer ascend to the status of a demigod. If not, it would be utterly absurd for a holy artifact, or rather magical equipment, to turn someone into a demigod. From how the ancient God of Light used the God¡¯s Whispers earlier, it suggested to Lin Li that although the ancient God of Light was suppressed, it definitely had influence over this space.

    Lin Li reasoned that he would have to deal with this energy to defeat Poer. He was confident in getting rid of Poer as long as he could get this energy out of thetter¡¯s body. When Lin Li was still feeling worried about how he could do that, he thought of the seven monuments.

    These seven monuments had been built by the Immortal King to suppress the ancient God of Light. They had to have incredible resistance against him. Therefore, Lin Li believed that if he could discover the secrets in those monuments, he might be able to reverse the tide.

    Of course, it was not an easy job. Although he was an inscription master, the mageweaths on those monuments were at the divine level. Frankly speaking, uncovering the secrets of divine-level mageweaths would be as challenging as battling a demigod.

    If Lin Li had a quiet and stable environment to study the monuments in peace, there was a possibility of him understanding the mysteries within those mageweaths. However, the problem now was the need for Lin Li to multitask in resisting Poer¡¯s attacks and repairing the Domain World. How would he have the luxury to concentrate on studying the mageweaths?

    Yet, this was the only thing Lin Li knew that could help him to turn things around. While he did not have many discoveries when he was studying the Void Spirit Mageweath in the past, he had gotten some knowledge of how a divine-level mageweath might function.

    While Lin Li was not certain that he could make new discoveries to turn the tables, Lin Li was not someone who would give up easily. But, a problem he faced was whether he could buy enough time to study the mageweaths on the monuments.

    It was obviously impossible to count on the men below for help. Even if Edmund had not been injured, thebined abilities from both teams would not have sufficed against the high priest. Hence, Lin Li knew he could only rely on himself. The stress, however, was real.

    Lin Li continued to patch up his Domain World, and dedicated careful attention to study the mageweaths on the monuments. However, he had to redirect all this attention to repair the Domain World that suffered great damage from Poer.

    Not to mention that he wanted to study a divine-level mageweath. Lin Li realized that the tightness of time would not allow him to read direct texts. After a few tries, Lin Li grew anxious as well. Then, he suddenly thought of the force that was bound by the debris of the stars, Holy Light, when he killed the incarnation of the Serpent of Light.

    Lin Li employed the Holy Light to engulf a huge portion of its mana when he was killing the serpent. Although it was not all of its mana, it was as powerful as the suicide attack a Sanctuary powerhouse couldunch on his enemies if he were to release all of that mana at once.

    Lin Li, however, had not used this strategy, as he knew that its impact was not enough to hurt the demigod. But now, what he needed was not to bring great harm to Poer. What he needed was a few minutes. If he could not uncover any secret of the divine-level mageweaths within this timeframe, it would not matter even if he were to have 10 or 100 more times of the duration.

    Suddenly, a thought appeared in Lin Li¡¯s mind, and he extracted one of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, from his Domain World. This immediately caused the power of the Domain World to reduce by a level. It seemed like Poer¡¯s Power of Light was going to rush into his Domain World as well.

    But this time, Lin Li was not in a hurry to repair the damage made by Poer. He turned Holy Light into an arrow, and positioned it on the Reincarnation Crossbow. As the arrow flew from the crossbow, the energy from the Serpent of Light erupted.

    Of course, the high priest did not let such an amount of force concern him. He did not even care to dodge the attack. Although the attack could badly injure a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm, it would not threaten a demigod like him.

    The power of the Serpent of Light came from the Power of Light in this space, which came from the ancient God of Light. It could be said that both of the energy types originated from the same source. Hence, when Poer sensed that the energy from the arrow was the same as the Power of Light he manifested, he thought that it was like a supplement rather than a threat.

    However, when that force hit Poer, something unbelievable happened. While the arrow carried the Power of Light, it also embodied the will of the serpent. Although it was not a strong force, it was like a virus that shed with the energy within Poer. The energy from the ancient God of Light instinctively saw it as an intruder, and started to direct its attention to dispelling the serpent¡¯s will.

    Of course, it would not take more than a minute for the demigod to dispel the serpent¡¯s will. How would this period of time be of any use to Lin Li? The mystery within a divine-level mageweath was not something that could be understood within a minute. Even if Lin Li were to be a Divine Smith, it would be impossible for him to figure out a divine-level mageweath that he had yet to see before.

    But, Lin Li¡¯s one minute was not equivalent to that ofmon men. Just when the will of the incarnated serpent took its effect on Poer, Lin Li cast a readied spell with his Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    This spell transformed Lin Li¡¯s Domain World drastically. The time within the entire Domain World started to speed by. A second outside the Domain World was equivalent to a few days in it, and a minute outside was dozens of days inside. Lin Li had just distorted time.

    Of all thews, thews of time and space were the most difficult to understand and master¡ªeven for divines. Fortunately, the possession of the Book of Eternity, as well as debris of the stars Nothingness gave Lin Li the chance to take a glimpse of the secrets of space and time. It was a piece of the debris of the stars that was left behind by the God of Mages, Geresco.

    What Lin Li was doing now was to use his understanding of time to distort the time inside his Domain World. With that, a minute outside became equivalent to one dozen days inside his world. Of course, doing so was not without a cost; Lin Li¡¯s mental strength and life force started to deplete significantly with the passing of every second.

    This was a precarious situation that Lin Li would never dare to waste any minute or second. He devoted all of his focus to study the mageweath that was on the monuments. While a dozen of days seemed like a long time, the time was really tight for anyone to use it to study divine-level mageweaths. Not to mention a thorough study, the challenge was real for one to even uncover a trace of their mystery.

    To the rest of the men below, Lin Li¡¯s arrow had not the slightest impact on Poer¡¯s body. The glow on his body recovered after a few shes. They saw the high priest continue his attacks by waving his crystal swords towards Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. While it took Poer nearly a minute to recover, none of them could see the impact this minute had on the entire situation.

    What people saw was the Domain World on the verge of copse due to Poer¡¯s attacks and Lin Li¡¯s passiveness towards it. Unlike before, he had stopped being active in repairing the Domain World.

    Lin Li¡¯s performance brought Edmund and the rest absolute despair.

 Chapter 1177 - Holy Artifact

    <h4>Chapter 1177: Holy Artifact</h4>

    To everyone else, Lin Li had already given up on resisting. Although they knew that Lin Li¡¯s continued resistance would only dy their defeat, it was something that gave them a speck of hope. Now, this speck of hope was nowhere to be found.

    Edmund was full of regret at this moment. If he had seen through Poer¡¯s ambitions, he would definitely not have brought him here. Now, it was toote for regret. He knew that there would only be catastrophe for the Illuminati and Gilded Kingdom once the demigod left this ce.

    They watched as Lin Li¡¯s Domain World copsed under the thunderous attacksunched by High Priest Poer. They knew that the copse of Lin Li¡¯s Domain World would mean that their doomsday had arrived. Yet, none of them had any idea on how to ovee this.

    Seeing this, a smile shed across Poer¡¯s expressionless face. His one and only obsession was to ughter Lin Li by his hand. When his goal was about to turn into reality, he finally let himself transform into the servant of the ancient God of Light.

    As a series of explosions thundered across the space, Lin Li¡¯s battered Domain World finally copsed under Poer¡¯s attacks. It shattered like ss hit by a metal hammer under the eyes of all the despairing men.

    High Priest Poer did not cease his attacks after he destroyed Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. He waved his crystal swords to weave an enormous, and cast it at Lin Li. Without the protection of his Domain World, what awaited the high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse was only doom.

    The sight of this scene shattered all of everyone¡¯s hopes. Edmund and the rest closed their eyes in despair, while the people from the Tower of Dusk rushed towards Lin Li. While it was futile, they really hoped to help shelter Lin Li from that critical blow.

    Suddenly, Lin Li opened his eyes. Although the Domain World had shattered, and he was faced with Poer¡¯s inevitable attack, there was no trace of panic on Lin Li¡¯s face. He raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and recited a spell speedily. As he did that, the gem sitting on top of the scepter radiated dazzlingly.

    However, the light from the Helios¡¯ Scepter was not directed at High Priest Poer. Instead, it went past him and down to the seven monuments below. Although the monuments were a great distance away from Lin Li, it reached the monuments almost instantaneously.

    The light activated the mageweath on the seven monuments. If one were to pay attention to them, they would discover that the movement of the mana within the mageweath was slightly different than before. Moreover, the power of the seven monuments was originally used on the shield to suppress the ancient God of Light. Now, it was spreading outwards and attracting the Power of Light towards it.

    The cast by High Priest Poer was about to reach Lin Li when the transformations started to happen on the seven monuments. However, the glow of the dimmed rapidly at the critical moment. Then, it suddenly disappeared when it was about toe into contact with Lin Li.

    The sight of the high priest¡¯s astonishment brought a smirk to Lin Li¡¯s face. Although he looked extremely worn-out, he continued to activate the powers of the mageweath.

    ¡°Who cares if you are a servant of the divine or the will of the ancient god. I will show you where you belong,¡± said Lin Li calmly.

    Shortly, the men saw Poer¡¯s phantom-like wings being tugged by an invisible but massive force. The wings started to distort very quickly. The distortion started from the edges. The wings disintegrated into minute particles, and were sucked into the shield that was held up by the seven monuments, forming a magnificent glow along their trajectory.

    After the phantom-like wings vanished, Poer¡¯s body started to disintegrate as well. His silver hair and crystal-like body were like weathered stones, dposing byyers. Very quickly, Poer¡¯s body disappeared from the sky, and the holy artifact from Illuminati flew directly into Lin Li¡¯s hands.

    The ball of light within the shield of the seven monuments started to vibrate vigorously again, but not for long. The monuments cast 1,000 rays of light on the ball, and calmed it down.

    It was only now that Lin Li knew he could afford to be more rxed. He sighed in relief, and descended with the holy artifact in his hand. While it seemed like only close to a minute had passed, this minute had been filled with too much pressure and anxiety for Lin Li.

    It was not easy for Lin Li to distort time with his present abilities. Apart from consuming a huge amount of mental strength and life force, he had to take a tremendous risk. Why then did he activate the mageweath from the monuments against Poer only when his Domain World copsed? It was not because he took all the time to understand the divine-level mageweath. Instead, it was because he was trapped within thews of distorted time, and nearly lost himself in it. It was the copse of the Domain World that broke the barrier of time, and freed Lin Li from the turbulence.

    Frankly speaking, the high priest was Lin Li¡¯s savior. Of course, that would not have changed Lin Li¡¯s determination to defeat him. After regaining his consciousness, he used all he knew about the divine-level mageweath on the monuments to suppress Poer.

    Edmund and the rest could not believe their eyes. Did they just witness Lin Li defeat the high priest? All of them stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded. They dared not flinch for fear of waking up from this dream.

    Unlike them, Connoris and the two Undead servants from the Tower of Dusk who were connected to Lin Li¡¯s soul naturally knew that it was reality. They bolted to Lin Li the moment they saw him making an extremely weaknding. They wanted to check on Lin Li and protect him from a possible sneak attack from the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°Felic, how did you do that? I knew you would have a way out!¡± Connoris said excitedly as he started to pat Lin Li¡¯s shoulders profusely the very moment he reached thetter. Being a close rival for the goblin Angno when it came to fearing death, Connoris would never want to part with his perfect body and die alongside Lin Li. Hence, no words could be used to describe his excitement when he saw Lin Li defeat Poer.

    In reality, Connoris was not the only one who felt this way. No one but Lin Li knew how he seeded in defeating a demigod. After all, all of them saw Lin Li being terribly helpless a minute ago. They could not believe how he reversed his fate within the next minute. It was just like a fairy tale.

    Just when Connoris wanted to continue patting Lin Li¡¯s shoulders, Norfeller stopped him with his hands. ¡°Master needs a rest,¡± he chided Connoris coldly.

    If it had been before, it would have been extremely easy for Connoris to bully Norfeller, but now that Norfeller had entered the Sanctuary-realm, Connoris really did not dare to trifle with him anymore. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I was just too excited, wasn¡¯t I? Hmph, wait till I enter the Sanctuary-realm...!¡± Connoris sulked as he withdrew his hands from Lin Li.

    At the same time, Edmund and Elder Zumar walked over as well. Edmund had mixed feelings when he saw Lin Li standing behind his two protective Undead servants. Never would he have thought that he would require the help from an outsider in their mission.

    Lin Li patted Norfeller on his shoulders, and walked past his two servants. Although he seemed rather weak, he was still more alert and energetic than Edmund and Elder Zumar who had suffered great injuries.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, Elder Zumar, do you not have an exnation for this?¡± asked Lin Li indifferently.

    Edmund had previously promised that they would not wake the ancient God of Light from his sleep in their retrieval of the holy artifact. It was this promise that convinced Lin Li to bring his men on board this mission. But, although the God of Light secretly yed a part in the mishap, the slipup of the Gilded Kingdom was definitely not to be looked past.

    Furthermore, Lin Li was not someone who would do favors for free. While it seemed like Lin Li was being polite when he asked for an exnation from Edmund, it was clear that he was asking forpensation from the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati.

    Edmund was not frustrated by Lin Li at all. The former knew that he was in the wrong, and was clear that the holy artifact was still in Lin Li¡¯s hands. He hade all the way here for the holy artifact. He needed it to revive Saint Aquilo, the founder of the Illuminati. Now that Lin Li had acquired the key to the mission, Edmund would definitely not mind being scolded by Lin Li.

    ¡°President Felic, we would really like to apologize for this unexpected mishap caused by our slipup. I would also like to represent the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom to thank you for how you have contributed to us,¡± said Edmund with extreme sincerity. While his sincerity stemmed from the knowledge that Lin Li had their holy artifact, it was also due to his genuine admiration for Lin Li¡¯s great potential.

    Lin Li gradually regained hisposure as he spoke.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, let¡¯s talk about something more practical. I have helped to resolve such a problem, and have acquired your holy artifact. Just like before, I want to read the highest scripture from Illuminati and other ancient research articles. I hope you do not use any reason to patronize me when the timees,¡± said Lin Li as he waved his hand.

    ¡°How would we do that? President Felic, since we have promised you the conditions, we would definitely fulfill them. I will also report to our lord about the great favor you have done for us. I¡¯m sure the Illuminati and Gilded Kingdom would have handsome rewards for you too,¡± replied Edmund, who grew a little embarrassed. Before this, he even got onto good terms with High Priest Poer when they plotted against Lin Li. He did not expect High Priest Poer to create such a huge mess that they had to trouble Lin Li to help solve.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll trust you again, then. This is your holy artifact, you can have it back,¡± replied Lin Li as he threw the holy artifact to Edmund without a care.

    Lin Li¡¯s move was too unexpected and quick for Edmund to react to retrieve the holy artifact that was thrown at him. If Elder Zumar had not stepped in to catch it, the holy artifact would have smashed into Edmund¡¯s face.

    One would have known how invincible the Illuminati¡¯s holy artifact was when it helped to raise High Priest Poer from the middle to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, no one would believe that Lin Li would throw such a powerful holy artifact as though it was amon object if they did not witness it themselves.

    Of course, Lin Li was not as selfless as he appeared to be. He had already studied the holy artifact carefully, and discovered that the holy artifact was not evenparable to the debris of the stars, Holy Light. While it was an impressive holy artifact to the Illuminati, it was rather useless for someone like Lin Li who had the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Lin Li was not a scrooge who would umte all the good stuff for collection purposes. He believed that doing so would only undermine the value of those treasures.

 Chapter 1178 - The Lord

    <h4>Chapter 1178: The Lord</h4>

    Since the holy artifact would be useless to Lin Li, it only made sense for him to use it in exchange for better things.

    Edmund only snapped back to reality when he saw the holy artifactnding in the hands of Elder Zumar. His eyes radiated an inconceble glow of excitement.

    ¡°Th-this! This is the Eye of Light. We have finally found the Eye of Light! We finally have the hope of resurrecting Lord Aquilo!¡± he said with trembling lips after he turned to Elder Zumar.

    Edmund¡¯s words erased everyone¡¯s despair, and even the people from the Gilded Kingdom started cheering. Although it was High Priest Poer who promised to lead the Gilded Kingdom to eternal glory, the Illuminati seemed a lot safer and more reliable to the people from the Gilded Kingdom.

    It was Lin Li¡¯s first time hearing the name of the artifact. However, its name did not matter to Lin Li. ¡°Alright, Saint Edmund. Now the holy artifact has been recovered. Do you have any other tasks on hand?¡± asked Lin Li.

    Edmund suppressed his delight, and received the Eye of Light from Zumar. ¡°Yes, we will be able toplete the resurrection ritual with the Eye of Light once we find Lord Aquilo¡¯s body,¡± replied Edmund.

    ¡°Oh, you can continue with your tasks then. I¡¯ll go take a break,¡± Lin Li said indifferently as he turned towards his camp for a much-needed rest. Now that the holy artifact had been found, it was as though nothing ever concerned him. While he seemed to be alive and kicking, the drainage of his mental strength was terrifying in the minute when he tried to understand the secrets within the mageweath. This was despite his massive amount of mental strength. If he had been amon man, he would have turned into a demented soul after consuming the same amount of mental strength.

    Lin Li had managed to turn a minute into a dozen of days to allow himself time to gain a little knowledge about the mageweath on the monuments. Yet, this amount of knowledge was sufficient to help Lin Li get rid of Poer, a demigod. This was enough to prove that the mageweath was a formidable existence.

    And this was not the only benefit that Lin Li had gained from the interaction with the mageweath. While he had only managed to understand a small portion of the divine-level mageweath, this bit of knowledge was enough to raise his status beyond a Guru-level artisan. He was now akin to a demigod in his credentials as an inscriptionist. Although he had yet to be a divine, it was definite that he had surpassed the Guru-realm.

    Of course, it would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that he had be a demigod. Yet, this experience was like a lighthouse that directed Lin Li by giving him rity on his progress towards bing a Divine Smith. He knew that it would only be a matter of time for him to be one, and it was now definite that he had found his way in the vast ocean.

    Furthermore, since there was still aplete divine-level mageweath on those seven monuments, it meant that it was not a lighthouse, but a sea route that was secured by countless lighthouses. Lin Li would not need to explore or worry that he might be going on a detour, for he knew he could simply follow the route all the way to his destination.

    Therefore, after returning the holy artifact to Edmund, the first thing that Lin Li did was to send his men to duplicate the entire mageweath from those monuments. With the Void Spirit Mageweath that he acquired previously, Lin Li¡¯s confidence of bing a Divine Smith was quadrupled now that he had acquired two kinds of divine-level mageweaths. It was as though he had bought double insurance for himself to clinch that achievement. If that would not let him advance to a divine smith, Lin Li would certainly not forgive himself.

    Under themand of Lin Li, the mages from the team started their work around the seven monuments. Each of the monuments was at least 100 meters tall, and the magic runes on it were like a sky of stars, while the magic nodes on it were asplicated as spiderwebs.

    Edmund, who had been part of the meeting to n for the search of Aquilo¡¯s body saw the people from the Tower of Dusk working on the monuments. He could not help but leave the discussion to Elder Zumar and the others to join Lin Li.

    ¡°President Felic, it seemed like you have used the powers from these seven monuments to defeat Poer. I suppose you are very familiar with the mageweath on these monuments?¡± asked Edmund.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, you might have misunderstood. I just happen to be interested in inscriptions, and thought that it would be nice to bring the blueprint of this mageweath back for a closer look. It would be an exaggeration to say that I am familiar with it as I merely got to skim through it,¡± replied Lin Li very frankly.

    Lin Li was not trying to be humble. The mageweath on the seven monuments was a divine-level mageweath. It was an extremely great achievement for him to even understand the surface of the mageweath. Not to mention that he was an inscription Guru, even if he were an inscriptionist at the divine-level, it would be impossible for him to fully understand an unfamiliar mageweath within a short while.

    Although Edmund had little understanding of inscriptions, he could guess how powerful this mageweath was from how it could suppress the God of Light. And it was definitely remarkable for Lin Li to use it to defeat a demigod despite only having a superficial understanding of the mageweath.

    However, this was not the only reason that motivated Edmund to approach Lin Li. After some hesitation, Edmund started, ¡°President Felic, I learned from our scripture that as long as there was someone who could master the mageweath from these seven monuments, we would be able to speed up the resurrection of our Lord. So, I would like to ask if you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Saint Edmund, you really think very highly of me. This is a divine-level mageweath. If I had been able toprehend it, I would not have been in such dire straits facing Poer. I¡¯m afraid I do not have that power, and I have to reject your request,¡± Lin Li interrupted Edmund before thetter could finish his speech.

    Edmund was not troubled by Lin Li¡¯s rejection. ¡°Not now, President Felic. I know that it would be too much for you to handle it now. What I meant is, I hope you could help us resurrect Lord Aquilo once youprehend this mageweath,¡± exined Edmund smilingly.

    <i>Is Edmund booking an appointment with me?</i> thought Lin Li. He finally understood what Edmund was trying to do. Frankly speaking, he was not even certain how much time he would need to master the divine-level mageweath. He might even take centuries, yete to no conclusion.

    However, it would not hurt for Lin Li to make an empty promise in exchange for future benefits. This pact would certainly make the Illuminati more careful in their rtionship. This would definitely be of considerable impact to himself and the Breezy ins.

    Therefore, Lin Li did not continue to reject his request. ¡°Sure, I will return to help you resurrect your lord once I fullyprehend this mageweath,¡± agreed Lin Li without further hesitation.

    ¡°I am so grateful for your promise,¡± thanked Edmund profusely. The first thing he did when he heard Lin Li¡¯s agreement was to thank Lin Li, regardless of whether the task would seed. He did not have the mental capacity to think about any other matter.

    Now that the high priest had been defeated, the God of Light became more settled than before as well. Hence, the mages from the Tower of Dusk had a simple job as they concentrated on their work with the seven monuments. The mageweath on the monument was very soon duplicated by the mages.

    At the same time, the people from the Gilded Kingdom had regained most of their energy. Of course, they were all waiting for the people from the Tower of Dusk to finish their work. Although Edmund and Elder Zumar suffered heavy injuries, they were recovering very quickly as well. While the two Sanctuary powerhouses had yet to return to their peak condition, they had regained enough energy to continue their journey at this time.

    After Edmund and Elder Zumar confirmed the details with Lin Li, the two teams left the ce that suppressed the God of Light, and advanced towards the expected location where Lord Aquilo¡¯s body should be. This time, they did not encounter any attacks by magical beasts. Perhaps thetter were all intimidated by the aura of the demigod.

    Very quickly, the two teams reached the ruins that once seemed to have been a pce in the desert. When they saw the ruins, Edmund and Elder Zumar sighed in relief. They recognized the ruins as the ce where their founding lord, Aquilo, died.

    Edmund and Elder Zumar had been feeling rather shameful in front of the people from the Tower of Dusk due to the trouble they had with High Priest Poer. They would be even more embarrassed to think of aplishing their mission if they could not find Lord Aquilo¡¯s body now.

    After ascertaining that there was no danger in the ruins, Edmund instructed his team to stay put. Then, he went to Lin Li to invite him into the ruins. By right, now that they had found the ce, the task to resurrect Aquilo should fall back to the Illuminati. There was no reason why he would want to bring an outsider like Lin Li into the ce.

    It was Lin Li¡¯s promise that motivated Edmund to do so. Edmund hoped that Lin Li could help to speed up Lord Aquilo¡¯s resurrection after he gained mastery of the mageweath. Hence, even though there was nothing for Lin Li to do right now, Edmund felt that it would only be respectful if he were to invite Lin Li into the ruins to witness Aquilo¡¯s resurrection.

    Lin Li would be lying if he were to say that he was not curious about the founding lord Aquilo. Furthermore, ording to Edmund, Aquilo was a man who had fought alongside the Immortal King. Lin Li would not want to miss anything that might be rted to the Immortal King. Hence, he readily agreed to Edmund¡¯s invitation.

    Lin Li did not bring anyone from the Tower of Dusk into the ruins. He let Connoris and his two Undead servants stand guard outside in case of any unexpected idents. After all, Lin Li did not feel safe in this strange ce after the trouble he had with the God of Light.

    After settling everything, Lin Li entered the ruins alongside Edmund and Zumar. They walked through a tattered cloister, and got to the main building. The main building was half-copsed, and had huge chunks of broken stone pirs leaning everywhere. After they passed by some piles of rubble, the three people saw a limp figure that resembled a dry corpse sitting in the center.

    The figure had a head that hung low and a body that seemed to havepletely lost its water content, just like a corpse that was dried up in a desert. Dry and wrinkly skin was tightly wrapped around the bones, and the ck robe that it donned had a very distinct Dark Age fashion style. One would be able to tell that the ck robe was a valuable and exorbitant treasure from the vigorous mana waves that it continued to emit even though a few thousand years had passed. In his boney right hand was a broken magic staff. The other end of the staff had rolled a short distance away from the body, and the gem that was etched on top had long shattered into smithereens. The same wrinkled left hand that was ced on hisp was showing a very weird gesture, as if a magic seal of a certain spell.

    Although they could not see the face of the dry corpse, Edmund and Zumar were extremely certain that this corpse belonged to Aquilo. They rushed to the corpse the moment they saw it, and bowed deeply before the dry corpse reverently.

    ¡°Almighty Lord, please forgive us for our ipetence, for we have only reached you now. You have beenpromised for all these thousands of years!¡± cried Edmund. Underlying his voice was a sense of guilt and indignation.

    Lin Li stood at the side quietly. He had little thoughts about Edmund and Zumar¡¯s reaction to the corpse. As the souls of Sanctuary powerhouses were immortal, Lin Li believed that they would be able to find Aquilo¡¯s soul or at least his soul print in the dry corpse.

    After using half of the time to plead for forgiveness, Edmund and Zumar finally stood up, took out the holy artifact, Eye of Light, and prepared to start the resurrection ritual for Aquilo.

    However, when Edmund retrieved the Eye of Light, the space in the ruins turned dark. It was as though the day had turned into night. The transition shocked Edmund and Zumar. They were so fearful of potential dangers that they even brought out their magic staffs.

 Chapter 1179 - Resurrection

    <h4>Chapter 1179: Resurrection</h4>

    Suddenly, a ray of light appeared before Aquilo¡¯s corpse. It slowly transformed into a blurry figure. Although his face was unrecognizable, the robe that it donned told the three men that he was the hologram of Aquilo, who was waiting for his descendants to bring him back to life.

    The sight of the hologram that Aquilo left behind helped Edmund and Zumar realize that Aquilo had to have something important to tell his descendants. Their hands that were tightly clenching their staffs finally loosened up upon this thought. Furthermore, despite knowing that it was a hologram, both of them bowed before the figure very respectfully as though they were meeting the man himself.

    This piqued Lin Li¡¯s curiosity as well. He had been acting as the bystander. If he could hear information from the man directly, it would definitely be a more credible source than those ancient records.

    After a moment¡¯s wait, the mana wave from Aquilo¡¯s hologram gradually settled. The men could hear a sigh from the recording. Underlying the sigh was sadness and regret. It was as though it came from a loving elderly who saw their child acting in a problematic way.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡±

    Edmund and Zumar could not believe that these were the first words that they would hear from Aquilo. The Illuminati had spent a few thousand years nning to enter this ce to resurrect Lord Aquilo. They certainly could not fathom why Aquilo¡¯s hologram would discourage them froming!

    However, there was no way for Edmund and Zumar to rify any of their doubts. After all, it was a magic hologram that was speaking. What they could do was to remain patient and watch the hologram patiently in hopes that it would answer their doubtster.

    Edmund and Zumar did not wait too long for their queries to be addressed. ¡°Since you have arrived, I presume that you would have some understanding of this ce, and have discovered the strangeness of it. However, please do not continue your exploration no matter what you have experienced. There is a terrible secret in this ce that could bring a devastating catastrophe to the Illuminati and Gilded Kingdom.

    Aquilo¡¯s words immediately reminded the men of the shrine where they found the God of Bravery. From that shrine, they knew that there was definitely much more to this ce. If not, how would it attract the two divines and a freak like Immortal King?

    Lin Li started to suspect that the Aquilo¡¯s secret might be the reason why Geresco led Lin Li here, and he could tell from Aquilo¡¯s voice that Aquilo knew about this secret. This understanding brought out all his hopes as he Lin Li eagerly waited for Aquilo to continue speaking. He couldn¡¯t wait for the secret to be revealed!

    Aquilo paused after speaking that line. It seemed like he was trying to cope with some difficult feelings as he created this recording. Then, he continued after a while.

    ¡°You do not need to know what the secret is. Do not even try to look for it. This is a cursed sea where even the gods will be doomed. The secret is definitely not something mortals should be privy to. After watching this hologram, I hope that you can get out of this ce immediately, forget everything that happened here, and nevere here again!¡± said Aquilo in a very stern tone.

    Lin Li nearly spat blood when he heard Aquilo. <i>What the hell does he mean by saying that there is no need to know the secret? Isn¡¯t that what I am here for?</i> Of course, Lin Li was very clear that there would be a great possibility for the people from the Illuminati to make their way here had Aquilo revealed anything about the secret.

    Lin Li thought that Aquilo had to be referring to the God of Bravery when he mentioned that this was a ce that would bring gods to their doom. Yet, from the information he learned from the shrine, he understood that the fall of the God of Bravery was caused by the God of Light. It did not seem to be due to a curse. <i>Why did Aquilo say that this ce is cursed?</i>

    But, Aquilo did not stop here. ¡°It does not matter whether you are from the Illuminati, or whether you know I am. I can share a clue with you if you are still curious about this ce. Once, a powerful mage left seven magic towers on the seven inds in this region. As long as you can master the secrets within the seven magic towers, you will be able to inherit the treasures that were left behind by that mage; the secret of this ce is one of them,¡± continued Aquilo.

    Lin Li was reminded of the ind where they discovered the Void Spirit Mageweath and the seven magic towers created by Immortal King in the world created by Geresco. Through this, Lin Li was very confident that Immortal King was the powerful mage Aquilo was referring to.

    It was the location of the seven inds built by Immortal King that gave Lin Li a clue where to find this ce, Ice Ind. At that time, he already had the thought that the existence of the seven inds had to have a connection to Ice Ind. Now, this guess was ascertained by Aquilo¡¯s recording. However, Lin Li did not expect the seven inds to be so important that they were also rted to Immortal King¡¯s legacy and the secret hidden in this ce.

    However, what gave Lin Li a headache was the divine-level mageweaths established on the seven magic towers. He did not have the confidence to understand the seven magic towers in a short while. It was not something that could be fulfilled with time. If he was lucky, he would be able to master them with the help of a single realization. If not, a century might be insufficient for him to gain any enlightenment.

    As for Edmund and Zumar, although they were also interested in the secret mentioned by Aquilo, and also hoped to acquire the inheritance of the powerful mage that suppressed the ancient God of Light, they had good self-awareness that it would be impossible for them to master that divine-level mageweath. Furthermore, they would also not want to go against Aquilo¡¯s will out of reverence for him.

    The man in the hologram continued speaking while the trio had different thoughts regarding Aquilo¡¯s words. ¡°However, I do not think you would stand any chance. He said that his other self would be here in the future. Perhaps¡ª¡±

    The hologram disappeared before Aquilo could finish speaking due to the depletion of the mana that had been sustaining it. As the image dissipated, the space around the men returned from night to day.

    <i>Perhaps? Perhaps what? Say it before you disappear, a*shole!</i> thought Lin Li frustratedly. Aquilo¡¯sst words made him recall that Edmund might have mentioned something along the same lines before as well. The hologram just had to end when Lin Li was eagerly anticipating to hear from someone who had interacted with the Immortal King himself to give more of his insights.

    <i>What did he mean when he said that the Immortal King¡¯s other self woulde here in the future?</i> Lin Li felt a personal connection with the words that the Immortal King had left behind. He always felt that his transmigration to Anril was somehow rted to the Immortal king.

    Lin Li was really devastated when he watched the hologram disappear just like that. He really hoped he could grab Aquilo and shake all the secrets out of him. Fortunately, he remembered Edmund and Zumar were around. They would definitely not allow him to do anything that would offend Aquilo¡¯s body.

    And although Edmund and Zumar were curious about the secret, they stayed loyal to their mission. They were not here to discover any secrets, but to resurrect Lord Aquilo with the holy artifact. The Illuminati had already wanted to resurrect Lord Aquilo a few thousand years ago. Everything would be secondary before that.

    After they saw that the surroundings had returned to normal, Edmund and Zumar stood up and started preparing for the resurrection ritual. This ritual was notplicated. They did not need to prepare any altar like how they did to obtain the holy artifact. They only set up an alchemy array around Aquilo¡¯s body.

    After setting up the alchemy array, Edmund stood in position, and took out the Eye of Light. While he started to recite a long and obscure spell, a light was produced by the holy artifact again. This time, the light that it produced was gentler than the time it was in High Priest Poer¡¯s hands. While the light was strong, it was not blinding.

    As the light shone, the Eye of Light hovered out of Edmund¡¯s hand, flew towards Aquilo slowly, and stopped above his chest. Then, it started to turn, and directed rays of light onto the body.

    Under the influence of the Eye of Light, Aquilo¡¯s shriveled body was like a piece of dried earth that came into contact with the rain. It was obvious that the skin that was once like a wilted tree trunk started to radiate with a little vitality. However, the change was extremely slow. No one knew how long it would take for them to resurrect Aquilo.

 Chapter 1180 - Great Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 1180: Great Rewards</h4>

    Lin Li did not really put it to heart when he first agreed to Edmund¡¯s request that he would help the Illuminati speed up Aquilo¡¯s resurrection after he mastered the mageweath that was on the seven monuments. It was not because Lin Li thought lowly of the promise, but because he was not sure when he would be able to master the mageweath. After all, it was a divine-level mageweath, and Lin Li was a busy man. It would not make sense for him to devote all his time and energy to the study.

    However, the suspense that Aquilo¡¯s hologram created convinced Lin Li that he had to start considering how much energy to devote to the study of the mageweath. He knew that the earlier he could master the mageweath and resurrect Aquilo, the earlier he would be able to hear him speak about the Immortal King.

    Of course, there was also the possibility that Lady Luck would give Lin Li the rity to everything before he could master the mageweath. But, Lin Li was never someone who would surrender himself to fortune. He always believed that efforts were more dependable than luck.

    Edmund ended the resurrection ritual while Lin Li¡¯s mind was raging with all the different possibilities. He limped towards Lin Li with the help of Elder Zumar. ¡°President Felic, we havepleted our task here for the time being. I hope you will remember to help us speed up Lord Aquilo¡¯s resurrection after you master the mageweath on the monuments,¡± said Edmund.

    If it were before, Lin Li would definitely not treat this promise as his priority. He was nning to think about helping the Illuminati only when he waspletely free from other matters. But, he now really hoped to let Aquilo speak even without Edmund¡¯s request. It seemed like he had already put this matter to heart.

    However, Lin Li did not show that sense of eagerness to anyone. ¡°Rest assured. Since I have given you my promise, I will definitely help you when I have the ability,¡± he replied calmly as he gave Edmund a slight nod.

    Edmund felt a little relieved hearing Lin Li¡¯s affirmation. However, he was clear that it would depend on the Illuminati¡¯s rtionship with the Tower of Dusk as well. If the two forces were to enter a conflict, and officially be enemies with one another, this promise would definitely not take effect.

    Of course, Edmund had the confidence that he could convince the higher-ups to change their attitude towards the Tower of Dusk. After all, war would not be the best option for anyone.

    The three men gazed at Aquilo as he was recovering. With different thoughts in mind, they left the ruins.

    Edmund hadpleted his mission, and Lin Li had no intention for further exploration. Although they had seen the monuments that suppressed the ancient God of Light and found Aquilo, they knew that this was only the tip of an iceberg. Despite his abilities, Lin Li did not have the confidence to continue with deeper exploration so recklessly. After all, this was a ce that could bring gods to their fall.

    Furthermore, Lin Li had reaped considerably great rewards this time round. What he needed to do was to process all the rewards, and convert them into his own ability. For example, if he could understand and master the powers of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, he would definitely be the most powerful man in the Sanctuary-realm without being able to create his own divine world. The Divine-level mageweath that he acquired had also helped him gain rity of the road to bing a Divine Smith. He could even use it to enter the Divine-realm.

    Since both of the teams did not have ns to continue their exploration, their respective leaders started to lead them back on the path that they came from after they reconsolidated their resources. This time, their journey back outside the gold shining pce was faster. It only took them half a day.

    However, the two teams faced a problem when they reached the bottom of the great dark entrance of the underworld. They took nearly a day to descend from the top when they first came here, and the weaker ones were nearly drained of all their mana. It would certainly be moreborious for them to fly out of this ce.

    Although flying out of the ce would require more mana for the people from the Tower of Dusk, they had the magical crystals on their magic wings that would help them to take care of that. Not to mention if one were a Legendary mage or not, a Magic Shooter would have been able to fly out of this ce very easily with the magic wings.

    But, things were different for the people from the Gilded Kingdom. They had to use their own mana to fly. The weaker ones would definitely fall back down after depleting their mana. Hence, the people from the Gilded Kingdom became very vexed as they calcted the chances of them flying out alive.

    Moreover, the weaker ones had had the help from their three Sanctuary powerhouses when they had descended. Now that High Priest Poer was out of the team, and Edmund and Zumar were injured, they did not have the ability to take care of them now.

    Edmund naturally thought of this problem as well. He turned to look at the people from the Tower of Dusk, and saw their mages wearing the magic wings on their backs. After some hesitation, he got Zumar to apany him to find Lin Li.

    ¡°Saint Edmund, I see that you are not preparing for your departure. Do you have anything else to do here?¡± asked Lin Li curiously as he supervised his men preparing for their departure, but saw Edmund and Zumar approach him.

    ¡°Erm,¡± replied Edmund a little embarrassedly. ¡°It is like this, President Felic. We were ill-prepared when we came here. We did not expect that we would consume such a great amount of energy when we entered this ce, and it would be even harder for us to leave. I see that your men have the help of those magic wings, and I was wondering if you have spare ones to lend some of them to us,¡± he asked Lin Li, knowing that he would be owing him another favor.

    ¡°Oh, I see,¡± responded Lin Li. It was only then that Lin Li realized that the people from the Gilded Kingdom had the ability to enter, but not to leave this ce. Yet, as his main objective of having the magic wings was also to test their functionality, Lin Li only brought enough magic wings for each of his men. While Lin Li had some spare ones to prepare for unexpected glitches, he did not have enough to equip therge team from the Gilded Kingdom.

    Edmund and Zumar knew of this possibility too. Who would bring so many pairs of spare magic wings to an adventure mission? They were here to explore, not set up a business. Furthermore, while the magic wings looked simple, they were definitely made with very important alchemy techniques. If Edmund were Lin Li, he would not be willing to lend them to other people so easily. The reason why he came to ask Lin Li was because that was hisst resort. If not, they would have to continue to stay here till they recovered their energy to bring their men out in batches.

    Therefore, Lin Li¡¯s difficult expression convinced Edmund to take back his request. ¡°President Felic, it is alright if that is not a good idea for you. We will think of other ways,¡± said Edmund.

    However, just when Edmund and Zumar were preparing to leave disappointed, Lin Li called out to them. ¡°Saint Edmund, Elder Zumar! While I do not have enough of these magic wings, I¡¯ve got something to lend you if you¡¯re just trying to get out of here safely,¡± said Lin Li.

    By the time Edmund and Zumar turned back, Lin Li had already brought out a behemoth airship from his Ring of Endless Storms. Such airships were not unique to the world that Lin Li came from. They were also an important mode of transportation during the time when the goblins were establishing an alchemy civilization.

    However, with the demise of the goblins, many products of their alchemical civilization were lost as well. And since the airship could easily turn its users into the target of potential enemies due to its slow flying speed, no one cared to develop it anymore. As a result, it naturally lost the hopes of flying in the sky.

    ¡°Th-th-this...¡± gasped Edmund and Zumar. They could not believe their eyes when they saw Lin Li let out such an enormous airship. The technical aspects of the airship aside, Lin Li¡¯s ability to carry such a gigantic item with him so casually meant that the space in his ring had to be massive. It was definitely more than a ring in the Space Artifact.

    While the people from the Tower of Dusk opened their magic wings and swooped towards the ck hole in the sky, the people from the Gilded Kingdom started to operate Lin Li¡¯s airship, and they inched upwards very slowly. Although its speed was incredibly slow, it was easy, safe, and reliable in its operation.

    Lin Li brought his men out of the underworld very quickly, and they flew directly towards the edge of Ice Ind, where they anchored <i>The Star</i>. Lin Li did not care to wait for his airship, as he knew that it would take the people from the Gilded Kingdom three to five more days to get out of that ce. Since it was not a remarkable technology, Lin Li did not mind leaving it with them for the time being.

 Chapter 1181 - Troubleéˆ¥æªš Huge

    <h4>Chapter 1181: Trouble¡¯s Huge</h4>

    Lin Li ordered an immediate return after getting on board of <i>The Star</i>. The massive ship crushed the surrounding ice as it started to operate. The sailors steered it in the direction of Four Seasons Ind.

    The people from the Gilded Kingdom only surfaced from the pit of the gigantic hole at the heart of Ice Ind three days after <i>The Star</i> left the ind. Edmund could sense that Lin Li was not on Ice Ind anymore. Hence, he did not try to find Lin Li, but let his men slowly ride the airship towards where they came from.

    Yes, you did not read it wrongly¡ªthey were certainly moving at the slowest speed. This airship that Lin Li left for them was only a sample that was built out of interest. It was definitely worse than the airships built by goblins. To make things worse, this was an airship that had no motorpartment. Hence, it had to rely on humanbor to operate. The mages had to constantly input their mana to let the airship move in the sky.

    ¡°Saint Edmund,¡± Elder Zumar called out to Edmund outside his cabin. He had suffered less injuries than Edmund, and had fully recovered after a few days of rest. He suddenly thought of a problem that they had neglected.

    Although Edmund was more powerful than Elder Zumar, the interruption caused by Poer¡¯s sneak attack created a bacsh on his mental strength and soul when he was conducting the ritual to retrieve the holy artifact. While it was not easy for one to subject their mental strength and soul to attacks, it would be a real problem if one were to injure them. Hence, Edmund chose a cabin to concentrate on recovering his injuries immediately after boarding the airship.

    Edmund woke up from his meditation when he heard Elder Zumar¡¯s voice. ¡°Come in,¡± responded Edmund as he opened his eyes slowly.

    Elder Zumar entered with a forlorn expression. He waspletely devoid of the excitement he had after they aplished the mission.

    Edmund could not help but feel surprised when he saw Elder Zumar¡¯s expression. Now that they had aplished their mission, had President Felic¡¯s promise to help them speed up the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, and were also on their way back, what could be troubling Zumar again?

    ¡°Zumar, are you facing any issue with the recovery from your injuries?¡± asked Edmund. The only thing that Edmund could imagine would trouble Zumar was about his recovery. After all, High Priest Poer entered the peak of the Sanctuary-realm with the help of the power from the Eye of Light, and his powers greatly surpassed Elder Zumar¡¯s. He thought that there were stillplications in the injuries Zumar had gotten from Poer.

    However, Zumar shook his head after hearing Edmund¡¯s question. ¡°Saint Edmund, do you still remember the message that Poer sent back to the Illuminati when we first met President Felic from the Tower of Dusk?¡± asked Zumar.

    ¡°What did you say? Damn it, how could I forget this!¡± eximed Edmund as he sprang from his seat, and started pacing around the space. ¡°That bastard! I was still feeling relieved that we would not ever have to deal with any troubles caused by him ever again. How could I let that slip my mind?¡±

    To say the truth, Edmund had definitely not been sincere in his initial partnership with the Tower of Dusk. He had felt threatened by Lin Li¡¯s ability and wanted to treat the Tower as his cannon fodder, and leave all of them there forever. He had not expected there to be so many happenings that would change his perspective of the Tower of Dusk.

    Because of that, he had been turning a blind eye to all the tricks that High Priest Poer had plotted against the Tower of Dusk as long as it would not trigger a direct confrontation. After all, the people from the Tower of Dusk had been as good as dead to Edmund. He certainly had not minded when Poer had not reported any information back.

    As a result, he had not managed to curb Poer¡¯s growing ambition. Poer had be susceptible to the God of Light¡¯s temptation, and turned into his servant. They even had had to get help from Lin Li to stop Poer. Then, the hopes of speeding up Aquilo¡¯s resurrection had fallen upon Lin Li, and the rtionship between both of the forces had taken a turn too. Edmund could not believe that he would have forgotten about Poer¡¯s disastrous actions if not for Zumar¡¯s reminder.

    ¡°I doubt the people in the Gilded Kingdom would stir any trouble. I remember Poer¡¯s son has already been removed from his position as themander of the Fifth Fleet, and is now reflecting on his actions at home. Even if Poer managed to send that message out, I don¡¯t think his useless son would be able to do anything about it,¡± Edmund spoke after some time. It was as if he was trying to convince himself about this possibility.

    ¡°I think we should still hurry back. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid that the people there would really create a huge problem for us,¡± suggested Elder Zumar. Although he agreed with Edmund¡¯s idea, Zumar believed that it would be safer for him to return to Four Seasons Ind as soon as possible.

    ¡°Alright. Since we do not have any other matters here, let¡¯s head back to Four Seasons Ind once we get on the ship,¡± agreed Edmund as he nodded.

    However, Edmund and Zumar saw a depressing sight when the airship brought them to the ce where the Gilded Kingdom had docked their ships. Their battleships had turned into ice sculptures, and from the aura that the sculptures emitted, they could tell that they were the work of the Ice Phoenix.

    Their trip back would be more troublesome without the ships. It was impossible for them to fly back to Four Seasons Ind as they had yet to fully recover from their injuries. They were d to have Lin Li¡¯s airship. If not, they could only get stalled until the two Sanctuary powerhouses recovered from their injuries.

    However, the speed of this airship was absolutely frustrating. It was like a cloud that was floating extremely slowly in the sky. Only God knew when they would float back to Four Seasons Ind. Perhaps it would not even happen after Edmund and Zumar recovered from their injuries.

    Just when Edmund and Zumar were worrying about the message that Poer had sent back to Four Seasons Ind, two young men were sitting in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom on Four Seasons Ind, sipping wine while enjoying the dance performed by a group of gorgeous dancers.

    ¡°Brother Cantory, I doubt the fe from the Tower of Dusk will be able to return. Why can¡¯t we do anything to the people we have caught?¡±

    That was the beloved son of High Priest Poer, Dno. His father¡¯s departure had returned him his freedom to do whatever he liked. As long as he kept a low profile and did not let His Majesty know of his activities, he was basically as free as ever.

    Cantory smiled gently when he heard Dno¡¯s impatient question. He put down his wine ss, and said, ¡°What¡¯s your hurry? Since that Felic fe is not going to be back, aren¡¯t their people naturally at our disposal? But, the people from the Breezy ins had yet to believe this news. We can only wait for your father¡¯s return to extinguish their hopes fully.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we get rid of the people from the Breezy ins together with them? Aren¡¯t they merely Legendary powerhouses? How big of an issue would that make? Brother, even if you are not willing to mobilize the Illuminati for that, I can easily do it with the connections I have in the kingdom,¡± replied Dno disdainfully. He was slightly drunk, and was toozy to weigh any consequences. He only wanted to eliminate all his enemies to avenge his wounded pride. It did not help that he was someone brainless in nature.

    ¡°Dno, can you use your brains more often? That fe from the Tower of Dusk has already died on the cursed ind. He has nothing to do with us. I¡¯m also certain that there would not be a good ending for the people he had left here for their offense against the noble prince of this kingdom. As for the people from the Breezy ins, each of them is backed by massive organizations. It will only be beneficial for us to convince them to join our camp,¡± said Cantory after he gestured to send the dancers away. He was definitely more meticulous than Dno.

    Dno was slightly awakened by Cantory¡¯s reprimand, but while he was not convinced, he did not dare to show it. Although he had a high status in the kingdom for being the son of the kingdom¡¯s high priest, his status was definitelycking aspared to Cantory who was the candidate for the Illuminati¡¯s next lord.

    Cantory knew that it would not make sense for him to include such a fop in any conspiracy. Hence, he only warned Dno not to spoil his ns, and did not care to make any exnation. ¡°Alright, you just keep your hands out of this matter, you will be able to seek your revenge one day. You have to return now. I would be punished if His Majesty were to know of our meeting,¡± said Cantory.

    ¡°Haha! Brother Cantory, you have to be joking. You are the lord of Illuminati. Even the king has to be polite to you. How would he punish you? Well, I will return then. Felic is definitely an unfortunate fe! He can¡¯t even see the end of his men now,¡± said Dno as he stumbled out of the door.

    Although Cantory looked down on Dno, he was rather gleeful when he heard Dno refer to him as the lord. As a sessful disciple of the Illuminati and a savior by prophecy, Cantory was certain that he was the only one who had the right to be the next lord.

    In reality, Cantory was indifferent to the news that Dno shared with him. So what if it was impossible for Felic from the Tower of Dusk to return to this ce? The people from the Tower that he left behind were only ants with level-15 abilities. There was no need to waste his efforts on them.

    He only had to find some trash with the title of a prince to use the ants ofmitting a l¨¨se-majest¨¦. He believed that helping Dno retaliate against the Tower would help him gain an extrayer of insurance if he had the support from High Priest Poer to help him rise to the seat as the next lord of the Illuminati.

    What really mattered to Cantory were the representatives from the Breezy ins. If he could win them over, he would be able to strengthen his support base and put the Illuminati and Gilded Kingdom in a good light. Hence, what he needed was not to think about how he could deal with the people from the Tower of Dusk, but to convince the representatives from the Breezy ins of the fall of the Tower.

    At the same time, a massive behemoth came speeding over from the northern part of Four Seasons Ind. It was traveling in the ocean at a speed that did not match its size. Its name, <i>The Star,</i> that was painted on the body of the ship was clearly visible to the small ships around it.

    After leaving the mysterious part of the sea, <i>The Star</i> traveled at full speed for three to four days. They finally saw the silhouette of Four Seasons Ind from afar. When they first got there, they used a dozen days to travel in the region just to locate Ice Ind. Now that they were returning, they only had to move in a single direction towards where they came from. Naturally, the return trip was much faster.

    Soon, <i>The Star</i> entered the crowded Helena Port under the amazement of countless people. Yet, Lin Li did not bring his men down the ship. Instead, he opened an alternative dimension in the pilothouse, and led his men through the crack in space. They returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk at the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, just when Lin Li passed through the crack and stepped into the embassy, a figure came rushing at him. It was Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom.

    ¡°President Felic, why are you only back now? Trouble¡¯s huge!¡± eximed Jeremiah. He was holding a few nautical reports that were from Lin Li¡¯s room. He definitely did note here to wait for Lin Li¡¯s return.

    Lin Li recognized the items in Jeremiah¡¯s hands immediately, but he did not take it to heart. Since he chose to leave the items in his room, they were definitely not treasures to him. However, one¡¯s man trash might be another¡¯s treasure. Those items were of some value to a nautical rookie like Jeremiah.

    Hence, Lin Li pretended not to see the items the prince was holding. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Prince Jeremiah. I didn¡¯t expect that you would be the first one I met when I arrived. But, what trouble were you talking about? What happened?¡±

    Jeremiah initially felt rather embarrassed when he saw Lin Li here. After all, his actions were akin to thieving. He only felt much better when he realized that Lin Li did not take the matter to heart.

    ¡°President Felic, why weren¡¯t you contactable for the past several weeks? Your men were arrested by the people from the Gilded Kingdom in your absence!¡± cried Jeremiah anxiously.

 Chapter 1182 - Not Enough Warning

    <h4>Chapter 1182: Not Enough Warning</h4>

    ¡°Oh?¡± responded Lin Li as he frowned gently.

    Lin Li had previously left the weaker sailors in Helena Port because he thought about the potential dangers on Ice Ind. These sailors were around level-15 and level-16, and had no significance to the Tower of Dusk. He believed that no one would want to waste any time on them. Furthermore, the saga around the Fifth Fleet had just ended, and he was confident that no one from the Gilded Kingdom would dare to create any trouble for the Tower.

    However, some things were just very ridiculous. Lin Li really did not expect or understand why people from the Gilded Kingdom would put their crosshairs on those sailors.

    Seeing that Lin Li might be unconvinced, Jeremiah grew even more anxious. ¡°Hey, there was even a rumor that you went to that cursed ce, and would never be back. Because of that, they even directed significant pressure on those people from the Breezy ins. There would¡¯ve been a high chance for them to surrender to the Gilded Kingdom had you returned a few dayster,¡± exined Jeremiah.

    <i>The people from the Gilded Kingdom knew I went to the cursed ind?</i> thought Lin Li. The first possible culprit behind the rumor that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind was Poer. That old man definitely did not expect himself to be the one who was not going to return to this piece ofnd.

    As for the sailors who were arrested, Lin Li could also guess that it had to be done by Dno, the man who hated him to the bones. He knew that no one else would see any value in those sailors. However, although the sailors were only employed under the name of the Tower, Lin Li certainly wasn¡¯t intending to leave them there.

    <i>Maybe it¡¯s time to let some people know I have returned from that ¡°cursed ind¡±!</i> thought Lin Li, smirking. <i>Seems like they have not learned enough from the case of the Fifth Fleet...</i>

    Jeremiah couldn¡¯t help but feel unsettled by Lin Li¡¯s smirk. ¡°President Felic, erm, I¡¯m here because I¡¯m scared that your things might be destroyed by them, and wanted to help you put them away. Now that you are back, I should return them to you,¡± he said hurriedly as he handled the nautical reports to Lin Li.

    Although he knew that he would be able to beplimented by the king of the Ledin Kingdom if he were to bring the reports back, he really did not dare to test Lin Li¡¯s personality.

    Lin Li nced at those materials, and said, ¡°These reports are not of use to me anymore. If you are interested, you can just bring them back.¡± Although Lin Li was a man who did not like to get the short end of the stick, he was never a stingy man. Since Jeremiah shared such a piece of news with him, he thought that he could just reward him with those materials.

    Jeremiah couldn¡¯t believe his ears when he heard Lin Li. But, he quickly snugged those reports back in his arms ecstatically. ¡°Are you sure you are giving them to me? I have been so busy, and was of no help to you. How could I keep such precious gifts?¡± asked Jeremiah embarrassingly.

    While the nautical reports were of no use to Lin Li, they contained crucial information to help the Ledin Kingdom expand their reach into the waters. They were a door to the Endless Ocean.

    Although Jeremiah had already obtained the duplicated copy of the nautical reports when he was helping Lin Li gather the information about the cursed ind, there wasn¡¯t anything that could really describe the Endless Ocean. The information from the Gilded Kingdom was notprehensive enough.

    Moreover, the Ledin Kingdom did not have much nautical expertise. Even if they acquired the information provided by the Gilded Kingdom, it would require great investment to study it thoroughly. The notes that Lin Li had just given him were filled with his own notes and interpretations. They were definitely superior to the resources shared by the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li waved his hands to signal to Jeremiah that he did not need to be so concerned about the gifts. ¡°Are you in a rush? If not, would you like to share more with me about the recent happenings?¡± asked Lin Li.

    ¡°How could I be busy? Sure, let¡¯s do that!¡± responded Jeremiah excitedly. He felt really honored to be able to have such a chat with a Sanctuary powerhouse. He would definitely choose this opportunity over the need to save his house if it were on fire. He got a harshshing thest time from his kingdom due to his actions at the Sky Castle. Hence, this was the perfect time for him to build a rapport with Lin Li.

    Although Jeremiah was a prince, and was a gilded and foppish man, he was not totally useless. His personality made him many connections when he got to the Gilded Kingdom.

    Furthermore, he was the special envoy of the Ledin Kingdom. Since the Ledin Kingdom and Gilded Kingdom had no direct conflict in their respective interests, the Ledin Kingdom would not be implicated even if the Gilded Kingdom were vying for the Breezy ins. As the Breezy ins rightly belonged to the Fn Kingdom, the people from the Gilded Kingdom did not deliberately shun Jeremiah, either.

    Of course, Lin Li did not care about what attitudes the higher authorities in the Gilded Kingdom had towards the Breezy ins. His main reason for chatting with Jeremiah was to find out about his men and the reasons behind their arrest.

    After all, Lin Li would not have a clear understanding of all their personalities, as the sailors on <i>The Star</i> were only employees of the Tower of Dusk. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if those sexually starved sailors turned into lusty beasts when they set foot onnd after they ended their long and boring sea voyage.

    Although Lin Li had always been biased toward his people, he was not an unreasonable man. While he would definitely rescue the sailors, he would also teach them a lesson if they really did anything outrageous.

    What Lin Li didn¡¯t expect was the hugemotion that came with the arrest of the lowly ranked sailors. As he saw it, it would be extremely easy for Dno to get rid of the sailors without attracting much attention. However, after learning more from Jeremiah, Lin Li only found the matter amusing.

    He was surprised to hear that the sailors were arrested due to the alleged crime of assaulting the prince of the Gilded Kingdom. Frankly speaking, their profession was not only lowly, but also full of risks; there were just too many different circumstances in their months and years of voyage that would cause them to lose their lives in. No one with a little bit of talent wanted tomit to such a dangerous profession. Hence, it was absurd to hear that any sailor would dare to find themselves more trouble onnd and subject themselves to more risks.

    Moreover, princes of any country had to be someone of prestige and power. Lin Li really could not imagine that any prince from the reputable Gilded Kingdom would enter a conflict with the sailors who were definitely beneath them.

    Furthermore, how would the bodyguards and servants of the prince allow their master to be beaten up? It would also be impossible for people as lowly as level-15 and 16 to evene close to the prince, let alone to beat him up. Lin Li really could not make sense of the story. He even started to wonder if that prince loved to y the game of secret visits.

    Jeremiah was not exactly sure of the situation, either. He only knew that both parties met near a bar, and started getting physical after some verbal disagreement. Only after the police arrived did they discover that it was the prince who was being beaten up.

    Hearing this, Lin Li was sure that it was a farce, and knew there was no need for him to understand anything else. He only wondered about the identity of that prince. How could a prince from the Gilded Kingdom agree to let himself be involved in such an act of assault? Did he have masochistic tendencies?

    ¡°Vincent?¡± mused Jeremiah. ¡°He is only a distant nephew of the king of the Gilded Kingdom. Although he has the title of a prince, he only knows how to unt his wealth, and has no power at all,¡± continued Jeremiah.

    Lin Li finally understood why a blockhead like Jeremiah would be so indignant when he spoke of Prince Vincent. He learned that the prince was the disgrace of the Gilded Kingdom; not only did he know nothing about governance, he was merely a wimp in level-10. It would have been better if he had been an ordinary man as it was not unusual for someone without status to be stuck in level-1. However, as Vincent was the prince of the Gilded Kingdom, he had ess to all the resources since his birth. If all the riches and resources could only bring him up till level-10, he really was a useless person.

    Although Prince Jeremiah had a foppish personality, he was at least in the Legendary-realm, and his knowledge in governance gave him the qualifications to be the emissary of the Ledin Kingdom. Moreover, his ability to gather so many nautical reports from Lin Li would definitely be a huge contribution to his kingdom.

    Aspared to Jeremiah, Prince Vincent only knew to abuse his authority as the prince to acquire loot around the town. He had a lot of businesses under his name in the Gilded Kingdom that were managed by people who wanted to borrow his title. The only thing that belonged solely to him was an ind that was used as a fief.

    More importantly, he seemedpletely oblivious to how the others were looking down on him. Having created never-ending troubles for King Bradlor, he had his title removed a few times. Only with the plea from the other royals did he regain his title as a prince.

    Jeremiah¡¯s introduction of Vincent ascertained Lin Li¡¯s belief that his sailors had to have been framed by people with evil intentions. Knowing that, he would definitely not sit idly by even though the sailors were only the employees of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Do you know where they¡¯re being held? Are they still in Port Helena?¡± asked Lin Li directly.

    Jeremiah became very excited once he heard Lin Li ask about it. ¡°Since it involved the people from the royal family, it was no longer considered an ordinary safety issue. They have been locked up in the capital¡¯s jail managed by the royal guards two days ago.¡±

    Although the royal guards of the Gilded Kingdom were not as well-known as the kingdom¡¯s naval fleet, which was known for their discoveries across various oceans, they were elites of the Gilded Kingdom. Their main responsibilities were to guard the kingdom and ensure the safety of all royals. Hence, since the sailors were convicted of assaulting the prince, their case had to be managed by the royal guards.

    Jeremiah was very clear that President Felic who was standing before him was a figure who knew no fear. He was absolutely capable of retaliation if he were to be provoked. The Fifth Fleet was immediately crippled by Lin Li merely for detaining <i>The Star</i>. This time, although it was merely a few sailors who¡¯d got into trouble, their immediate detention meant theck of intention to negotiate with the Tower of Dusk. Jeremiah certainly could smell an impending drama.

    Sure enough, after hearing about the location where the sailors were being held, Lin Li stood up. ¡°Thanks for telling me this news. If the Gilded Kingdom is so persistent over a few sailors, it seems that I have to bring them back personally,¡± Lin Li said to Jeremiah.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, President Felic! This is my duty. Do you need me to put diplomatic pressure on the Gilded Kingdom as the emissary of the Ledin Kingdom?¡± asked Jeremiah joyfully after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words of appreciation. He hurriedly took the opportunity to get on his good side.

 Chapter 1183 - Akin To Waging A War

    <h4>Chapter 1183: Akin To Waging A War</h4>

    However, Lin Li did not ept Jeremiah¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be troubling you for such a small matter,¡± said Lin Li as he waved his hands.

    In reality, Jeremiah was rather anxious after his words left his mouth. He was not afraid of rejection. He was afraid that Lin Li would ept his suggestion. As this was a conflict between the Tower of Dusk or the Breezy ins and the Gilded Kingdom, there was no legitimate reason for the Ledin Kingdom to cast any political pressure on the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Breezy ins belonged to the Fn Kingdom, and was not a little bit rted to the Ledin Kingdom.

    Hence, Jeremiah could not help but sigh in relief when he heard Lin Li rejecting his offer. Of course, he could only try to look disappointed by Lin Li¡¯s response.

    Lin Li was well aware of Jeremiah¡¯s thoughts. But, there was nothing for him to bear a grudge for. Hence, Lin Li said nothing after rejecting Jeremiah. He brought his men, and made a grand exit from the embassy.

    Jeremiah could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva when he watched the group of people leave the embassy with Lin Li. As a Legendary powerhouse, he had the ability to gauge the abilities of people around him through his senses. While he did not dare to get distracted doing that during his earlier conversation with Lin Li, Jeremiah got a shock when he discovered it as the group was leaving the space.

    Although Jeremiah knew that there was still a difference between true Legendary powerhouses and those who reached the same realm with the help of magic, each and every Legendary powerhouse from the Tower of Dusk emitted incredibly strong aura. Jeremiah was shocked to learn that these people seemed to have entered the realm for many years.

    When he was at Sky Castle, Jeremiah witnessed how terrifying the Tower of Dusk was with their Net Array. At that time, the Net Array was used by a bunch of Archmages. He could not imagine its impact if it were to be used by this bunch of Legendary powerhouses.

    Apart from the team that was made up of Legendary powerhouses, what surprised Jeremiah even more was Lin Li¡¯s Vampire servant, Norfeller. Although he had not yet entered the Sanctuary-realm, Jeremiah could sense the aura of the Sanctuary-realm from Norfeller.

    Although Jeremiah could not figure out Norfeller¡¯s capabilities in the Sanctuary-realm, he was certain of the threat that were to be posed by the Vampire even if he was at the beginning stage of the realm. Vampires were natural assassins. An assassin with the abilities of the Sanctuary-realm would be a terrifying existence to anyone.

    Jeremiah tidied the stack of nautical reports in his arms, and wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead. He could not help but gloat at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s impending misery for offending the president of the Tower of Dusk.

    After Lin Li brought his men out of the door, he immediately attracted the attention of many representatives of the different forces. One could not possibly ignore the grand appearance of a team of Legendary mages that was led by a Sanctuary powerhouse. The guards from the Gilded Kingdom were definitely among those who were bbergasted.

    Just as the team from the Tower of Dusk swerved across the sky, the different embassies flung their doors open. The guards from the Gilded Kingdom were the first to be flung out of the buildings, which us and the other representatives from the Breezy ins came speeding out of next. They were all rushing after the Tower of Dusk.

    Although the people from the Breezy ins had not offended anyone in this period of time, they were all ced under house arrest by the Gilded Kingdom. While they were under the eyes of normal guards, none of them dared to confront the Gilded Kingdom, as they weren¡¯t sure of the likelihood of Lin Li¡¯s return. After all, without the backing from a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, their power as powerhouses in the peak of the Legendary-realm was definitely insignificant to the people in the Gilded Kingdom.

    The appearance of Lin Li who had been rumored to have died in the cursednd was like a stimnt to the people from the Breezy ins. Their suppressed rage that had been umting over the past few days was let free. There was no way for the guards of the Gilded Kingdom to stop them.

    After catching up with the people from Tower of Dusk, us and the others really had an urge to speak to Lin Li and ask him about the rumor. But, seeing that Lin Li did not have any intention to care about them, they could only suppress their curiosity, and follow behind his group obediently.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom was extremelyrge, such distance did not matter to the people who were flying in the air. The team did not take long before theynded at the main entrance of the grounds that were guarded by the royal guards. A ray of light from the team of mages sted the main gate into ashes before the guards at the door could enquire about their intentions.

    It terrified the soldiers on duty, and sent them fleeing into their campsite shouting for assistance. ¡°We are being attacked! Quick,e and help!¡±

    ¡°Mr President, why don¡¯t we go straight in?¡± asked Dorick, the deputy head of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li waved his arms and rejected Dorick¡¯s suggestion. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. We are not unreasonable people who use violence for everything,¡± said Lin Li calmly despite having just torn down someone¡¯s gates upon arrival.

    Dorick did not make further remarks or any expressions after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. He simply returned to the team of mages to adjust their formation. Yet, Lin Li¡¯s words sent the people from the Breezy ins into a shock. They were aware that many forces in the Breezy ins were brought to immediate downfall over the past few years as they had hindered the Tower of Dusk from achieving certain interests. Not long ago, the seizure of <i>The Star</i> brought about the doom of the Fifth Fleet as well. They really could not ept Lin Li¡¯sment when he said that they weren¡¯t unreasonable people who would resort to violence unnecessarily.

    Lin Li did not wait too long in front of the gate. Rapid footsteps could be heard rushing towards the main entrance, and a team of heavily armed soldiers came rushing out like a flood. They surrounded the people from the Tower of Dusk very quickly.

    Lin Li calmly waited at his original position, and did not react to the situation at all. The air was filled with indifference as the other people from the Tower of Dusk nced at the Warriors from Gilded Kingdom. They knew that any mage from their organization would be able to eliminate all of these level-10 Warriors in the blink of an eye if they wanted to.

    The Warriors of Gilded Kingdom were not foolish to get physical with the people from the Tower of Dusk, either. Although they did not have the ability to sense how capable the people from the Tower of Dusk were, their legs were already trembling from the oppressive aura emitted by the Legendary powerhouses.

    Just when the two sides seemed to be in a stalemate, footsteps and an arrogant shouting voice could be heard from the insides. ¡°A*sholes, are the bastards from the Breezy ins tired of living? I¡¯ming out to see who has the guts to destroy the doors that belong to the royal guards of the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

    It was natural for the royal guards to be able to recognize the people from the Breezy ins due to their long stay in the kingdom. Yet, no one could recognize Lin Li, as it had been quite some time since his departure, despite his receiving such a grand wee by the kingdom and crippling the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The people from the Breezy ins grew angry when they heard that darn voice. Although they had been well-respected by the Gilded Kingdom when they first arrived, it was because they were associated with Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse. They only discovered the reality when the attitudes towards them made a sharp turn after Lin Li left to explore the cursednd.

    Although each of them was well-respected for their power in the Breezy ins, they were insignificant in the eyes of the Gilded Kingdom. The Gilded Kingdom had a high priest in the Sanctuary realm and numerous higher-ups in the Legendary realm. This was not including the people from the Illuminati. What could the people from the Breezy ins use topare with the Gilded Kingdom?

    Apanied by the sounds of footsteps and curses, several figures finally walked out of the gate of the camp. That unruly voice belonged to Dno, the son of the high priest.

    Dno, however, stood dumbfounded upon seeing Lin Li. He pointed at Lin Li speechlessly. It was as though someone was squeezing his throat, and he could not make a sound anymore.

    Beside Dno was a stern-looking middle-aged general. ¡°How dare you create trouble at the camp of the royal guards of the Gilded Kingdom! Do you really think that the kingdom can¡¯t do anything to the people from the Breezy ins?¡± he hollered at the crowd after taking two steps past Dno.

    That was thest straw for the people from the Breezy ins. Lin Li¡¯s return gave them all the courage they could possibly need to go against the people in the Gilded Kingdom. They knew that the Gilded Kingdom was nothingpared to Lin Li when the former kept silent after having their Fifth Fleet destroyed by the Tower.

    However, just when the people from the Breezy ins were about to retaliate, Lin Li raised his arm and stopped them. ¡°I am here to collect my people,¡± said Lin Li in a tone devoid of emotion.

    His words triggered the rage of the middle-aged general. How could he ask for anyone¡¯s release when the first thing he did was to tear their gates?

    ¡°Collect your people!? Let me tell you, if you dare to do that today, I will¡ª¡±

    The furious general hollered until his gazended on Lin Li. Like Dno, he froze and lost his voice.

    The status of the middle-aged general was naturally not ordinary with his power to lead the royal guards of the Gilded Kingdom. Lin Li was not a stranger to him, for he was one of the many people sent by King Bradlor to wee Lin Li when thetter set foot here. His position in the kingdom also gave him ess to the truth behind the destruction of the Fifth Fleet despite the kingdom¡¯s effort to deceive its people with their made-up story.

    Just now, the middle-aged general could only see the Breezy ins¡¯ people about to riot, but did not notice Lin Li standing among the crowd. As he suddenly realized that the man who had crippled the Fifth Fleet actually found his own subordinates, he was suddenly a little scared. He didn¡¯t want his guard unit to fall like the Fifth Fleet.

    At this time, Dno finally recovered from his horror. He pointed to Lin Li, and shouted, ¡°N-no, no way! How can youe back? Didn¡¯t you die in the cursednd?¡±

    ¡°Apologies for falling out of your expectations. I suppose you are aware of my intentions ining here. Return the sailors to me,¡± said Lin Li. Although he was using a calm tone, it was one that gave no room for negotiation.

    Lin Li¡¯s tone reminded Dno of how Lin Li requested the Fifth Fleet to return <i>The Star</i> thest time. It was the same tone that brought the Fifth Fleet to destruction after Dno rejected his request. The memory triggered Dno¡¯s rage, and he started to smirk. ¡°Are you thinking of turning this ce into Helena Port? Feel free to do that if you have the guts! But, let me remind you that this is the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, and you are standing in the camp of the royal guards. If you dare to do anything here, it is akin to dering a war on the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

 Chapter 1184 - Lawless

    <h4>Chapter 1184: Lawless</h4>

    The middle-aged general next to Dno was initially as frightened as thetter. But, Dno¡¯s reminder gave him all the courage to speak up. ¡°President Felic, let me introduce myself. I am the general of the royal guards, Cate. Your men had been charged with the crime of assaulting Prince Vincent. They have vited thews of the Gilded Kingdom. We have eyewitnesses and concrete evidence. Your sailors have to face the kingdom¡¯s trial. If you bring your men away now, I can forgive you for destroying thepounds of the camp. If not, I will hold you ountable as intruders.¡±

    General Cate¡¯s words sent a few other royal guards out to defend their entrance. Although they were all trembling, they readied themselves for an imminent battle. Of course, they were all more trusting of Cate¡¯s words. They believed that the people from the Breezy ins would not dare to take action so recklessly.

    ¡°Felic, stop thinking so wishfully. Don¡¯t you know that your sailors havemitted the felony of assaulting Prince Vincent? They won¡¯t be able to leave this ce alive,¡± remarked Dno, gloating. Thest time, he did not expect <i>The Star</i> to have a Time Lapse crystal ball, and that caused him to fail in his plot against the Tower. This time, he was certain that they would not have any evidence to turn the situation over. It was definitely a real prince that was beaten by the sailors.

    Lin Li shook his head gently when he heard Dno¡¯s words. ¡°Bring them out,¡± he said very straightforwardly. He was toozy to reason with such a man.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Did the cursednd make you deaf? Let me tell you that your people are doomed!¡± Dno snapped arrogantly, thinking that Lin Li was talking to him.

    However, Dno and Cate would not have imagined that Lin Li¡¯s words were actually directed at his own men. After hearing Lin Li¡¯s order, the mages from the team charged into the camp without hesitation. Although the royal guards were elites of the Gilded Kingdom, they were no different from ants before the Legendary mages from the Tower of Dusk.

    Fortunately, the mages from the Tower of Dusk were not as inhumane as Garl, the Lord Devourer. Although they cast spells to deter the royal guards, they did not aim to kill. Of course, even so, their powers were enough to cause great pain to them. A small air bomb was enough to send a dozen guards flying like bowling pins.

    In the blink of an eye, the group of soldiers was cleared from the path; none of them remained standing. The surroundings were filled with their groans of pain. Of course, this meant that they were still alive, and thus luckier than the people from the Fifth Fleet.

    Cate and Dno could not help but start to stumble backward as the team of mages closed the distance between them. ¡°Why would you dare to do this? Lawless! This iswless! Are you dering war on the kingdom?¡± snapped General Cate in anger.

    Dno became a little hysterical. One would possibly not know if that hysteria was caused by fear. ¡°Felic! How could you dare to do this? You are doomed! You are inviting disaster to the Breezy ins! You are dering a war!¡±

    However, Lin Li¡¯s expression stayed the same. ¡°Hurry, go find them now,¡± he ordered.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. President!¡± replied the mages from the team. They threw away their initial hesitation, and charged towards the gates of the camp.

    Although Cate was at the peak of the Legendary-realm, he only had the guts to put up a brave front before the team of Legendary-mage from the Tower of Dusk. He quickly pulled Dno to the side when he saw the Legendary-mage charging over. ¡°Good guts! Why don¡¯t you tear down this ce today? I¡¯m excited to see who will be thest to cry!¡± hollered Cate with the same demeanor.

    Originally, the mages from the Tower of Dusk only intended to end their work after finding the sailors. Cate¡¯s words triggered their anger, and they decided to satisfy themander¡¯s wishes.

    They were no longer as reserved as before. Magic sparks started to fly and sounds of explosions erupted within the camp of the royal guards. What followed was the noises of buildings copsing. One could see a piece of t ground if he were standing at the entrance.

    Cate¡¯s blood started to boil at the sight. He pointed at Lin Li with his trembling finger, but remained beyond words. His speechlessness was caused by two things.

    First, rage.

    Second, fear.

    He was afraid that saying more would invite more destruction. He now understood that the president from the Tower of Dusk was not only an unreasonable man, but also one who would not consider the consequences of his actions.

    Unlike Cate, Dno had apletely different reaction. He did not care whether the guards were dead or alive, let alone the damage they would suffer. He only hoped this issue could be made as big as possible, until the Breezy ins and Gilded Kingdom turned against each other. To him, his position was definitely reasonable this time round, and the kingdom would definitely not do anything to him.

    Soon, the mages from the Tower of Dusk found the sailors who were detained in the cells. It was great as all they suffered were a little cuts and bruises, and had not yet been subjected to torture. No matter how much Dno hated Lin Li, it did not make sense for him to treat the sailors like how he wished to treat Lin Li. The sailors were doomed ording to thews of the kingdom anyway.

    The sailors had the same thought as Dno. Yet, they didn¡¯t expect Lin Li who had been rumored to have died at the cursednd to return, and create such a huge racket just to rescue them. Hence, all of them started sobbing in great gratitude when they saw Lin Li.

    Seeing that the sailors were not seriously injured, Lin Li felt that there wasn¡¯t a need to seek any more trouble at the royal guards¡¯. Hence, he ordered his men to pack up, and was ready to bring everyone back to the embassy.

    ¡°H-halt!¡± General Cate plucked up the courage to chase out. ¡°President Felic, have you considered the consequences of raging a war with the Gilded Kingdom over these few sailors?¡± said Cate as he pointed at Lin Li exasperatedly.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± responded Lin Li indifferently. He did not even care to turn his head towards Cate in response before leading his men back to the embassy.

    The sight of their departure made Cate tremble in rage. He really wanted to gather all his troops and arrest all of them. However, even though he was really furious, he was aware that that Sanctuary powerhouse from the Tower of Dusk was the one who¡¯d brought the Fifth Fleet to its downfall. He knew that his people would definitely be an insignificant force against the Tower.

    Dno walked up to General Cate with an expression that showed deep hatred. ¡°General Cate, isn¡¯t this clear disregard for the Gilded Kingdom? We have to inform the king about this, and let His Majesty see their true colors,¡± said Dno through his gritted teeth.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s time to let this bunch of darn fes know that the Fifth Fleet is not the only trump card of the Gilded Kingdom!¡± replied Cate as he clenched his fists. The hatred in his heart wasparable to Dno¡¯s when he gazed upon his pathetic campsite and groaning soldiers. ¡°Let¡¯s see who has their backing this time!¡±

    In reality, there had not been any unified view within the Gilded Kingdom regarding how they should treat the people from the Breezy ins. There was a group of peace supporters who believed in reaching out to the forces from the Breezy ins peacefully, and inviting them to enter a partnership before gradually acquiring each of those forces. There were also the military supporters who believed that the military should just send their troops to the Breezy ins, and force these forces into submission.

    Bradlor, the king of the Gilded Kingdom, was more inclined towards using peaceful means. Hence, that motivated him to extend his invitation to all of the forces from the Breezy ins to encourage them to be part of their national day celebration. He even sought the grandest way to wee Lin Li.

    However, the kingdom¡¯s military had not given up on the idea of using force against the Breezy ins. The generals believed that the only way to gain fame and glory was to clinch victories in their battles. In fact, they had been devising ways to convince King Bradlor of this ever since Lin Li brought the Fifth Fleet to its downfall.

    However, Bradlor chose the former option after weighing the pros and cons. That did not mean he was a weakling. It meant that he had chosen an option that was the best for the Gilded Kingdom. If that could not bring him towards his goals, he would definitely consider the second option.

    Although war was a violent method, one would need a valid reason to start a war. This was especially so for the Gilded Kingdom which wanted to rule over the forces in the Breezy ins. An important thing for the kingdom to do was to win the hearts of the people there. After all, they had suffered an unreasonable loss when the Tower of Dusk destroyed the Fifth Fleet.

    But, this time, it was a hard fact that the sailors from the Tower of Dusk had assaulted Prince Vincent. The Tower of Dusk also created a huge ruckus over these sailors in the military territory. Although the result was not as tragic as the Fifth Fleet¡¯s ending, the embarrassment was real. It was as if the Tower of Dusk had pped the king¡¯s face and trampled the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom. Could there be any other behavior worse than this?

    Dno and Cate soon saw eye to eye with each other. Cate let the guards leave the aftermath of themotion as evidence of the crime. Then, they sped off to the pce, and spread the news to the supporters of the military.

    Momentster, Dno and Cate arrived at the gates of the pce. In order to avoid appearing too deliberate, they did not wait for the military supporters to arrive. After sending their plea to meet the king, they waited to be summoned into the pce.

    On their way to the king, the two men learned from the guards that King Bradlor was in a meeting with his ministers. And those ministers were the key figures in support of peace. This information brought a smile to the two men, and motivated them to elerate their pace.

    These ministers had been arguably more powerful than the military when King Bradlor decided to adopt a peaceful strategy. This time, Dno and Cate had enough confidence that they would be able to use their information to give these supporters of peace a tight p.

    Before entering the discussion hall, they changed their expressions, and disyed deep grief and great indignation. Then, they ran into the hall and knelt before King Bradlor. ¡°Your Majesty, please bring us justice! The people from the Breezy ins are too outrageous!¡± cried the two men.

    Hearing that, King Bradlor, Minister Carron, and the rest of them looked at both of them puzzledly. ¡°What¡¯s with the two of you? Stand up to speak! Dno, didn¡¯t I let you stay at home? Why are you here with General Cate?!¡± hollered King Bradlor furiously when he saw theirck ofposure.

    Dno¡¯s excitement in making theint caused him to forget about the fact that he was still being punished by the king. Although his father was the high priest of the kingdom, it was the king who had the final say. Hence, he stood at his spot nkly, and was at a loss for words.

    ¡°Your Majesty, President Felic from the Tower of Dusk is extremelywless! He totally has no regard for the Gilded Kingdom!¡± cried General Cate, themander of the royal guards. He shifted the king¡¯s attention away from Dno. This time, it was his unit that suffered great losses. The agony underlying his tone was definitely not feigned.

 Chapter 1185 - Divided Opinions

    <h4>Chapter 1185: Divided Opinions</h4>

    Bradlor frowned when he heard Cate¡¯s words. Instead of asking him what happened, Bradlor asked, ¡°Did you mean President Felic hase back from thend of curses?¡±

    In fact, Bradlor and the other ministers were in a discussion about the news of Lin Li¡¯s death that was sent back by High Priest Poer. They were thinking if they should keep to their original strategy to acquire the Breezy ins peacefully if the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t be able to return from the cursed ind.

    The kingdom¡¯s greatest concern about the Breezy ins was the power of the Tower of Dusk, especially their president in the Sanctuary-realm. Sanctuary powerhouses were not to be trifled with. Even if the Gilded Kingdom had the ability to suppress one Sanctuary powerhouse, they would definitely pay a hefty price for it. Moreover, Lin Li was not only the president of Tower of Dusk, but also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Things would definitely be very serious if the Supreme Council were to be involved.

    Yet, things would be different without Lin Li. While there was still the Ashen Warlock in the Breezy ins, he might not want to have a direct confrontation with the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Ashen Warlock advocated for peace in the Breezy ins. The Gilded Kingdom had confidence that they would be able to acquire the Breezy ins without creating too great of a racket.

    Hence, Bradlor already had thoughts to change his initial strategy. Of course, the prerequisite was to be absolutely certain that Lin Li would never return. Otherwise, they would be caught in a sticky mess.

    Cate froze when he heard the king¡¯s response. Yet, his rage made him react to it very shortly afterwards. ¡°Yes, Your Highness, it is that Felic from the Tower of Dusk who created trouble for us at the campsite upon his return. He not only snatched our prisoners, but also injured numerous soldiers. He razed our camp t!¡±

    ¡°What, this actually happened?¡± gasped King Bradlor and the other ministers when they heard Cate¡¯s story. They thought they had heard it wrongly.

    Just when they were bbergasted, and did not know how to respond to Cate¡¯s sharing, a few men walked into the discussion hall. The one that led the group was one of the two main ministers of Gilded Kingdom, Burgess. Burgess was the representative of the military supporters, and his son was Cantory, the proud and capable disciple of the Illuminati.

    ¡°Lawless, simplywless!¡± Burgess hollered as he entered the hall angrily. He only bowed respectfully at King Bradlor when he got closer to him. ¡°Your Majesty, please pardon me foring in without seeking permission. It was all because of that unreasonable Felic. His disregard for the Gilded Kingdom is uneptable!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Could you be here for the same reason as Cate? Tell me more about it,¡± responded Bradlor. While he trusted General Cate, he could not help but feel skeptical when he heard his story. It was the involvement of Dno that made him doubt if the story had been exaggerated.

    Bradlor stole a look at Dno and Cate, and ced his gaze back on King Bradlor. ¡°Your Majesty, the entire kingdom is talking about it. It¡¯s the greatest shame our kingdom has experienced in a few thousand years!¡± he said gravely.

    ¡°Master Burgess, please do not jump to conclusions so hastily. Our Majesty needs to know the details of the matter before he is able to make a decision,¡± snapped Carron, the minister who supported the peaceful acquisition of the Breezy ins. He was definitely triggered by Burgess¡¯ provocative words.

    Carron and Burgess were two key ministers of the Gilded Kingdom who hadparable power and status. However, Burgess had a capable son who was chosen by the Illuminati as a disciple to be groomed as a potential candidate for their sessor. This lifted Carron¡¯s status, and made his words weigh more than Burgess¡¯.

    This time, King Bradlor had selected to use the opinions of the peace supporters in their ns to reach into the Breezy ins. As he was the representative of the peaceful supporters, it was a rare opportunity for Carron¡¯s words to weigh more than Bradlor. Because of this, Carron was really motivated to keep the king on his side.

    Furthermore, what Burgess had said was definitely exaggerated. <i>What did he mean when he said ¡°a few thousand years¡±? The Gilded Kingdom has been around for a few thousand years, and has experienced the worst. The kingdom nearly got wiped out from the Endless Ocean when the ancient wyrm descended. What could be worse than that catastrophe?!</i>

    Burgess snorted coldly upon hearing Carron. ¡°Carron, you were the one who advocated for a peaceful rtionship with the Breezy ins. You even invited them to our national day celebration. The kingdom cut no ck in offering them the best experience and time here. Yet, I think this has made them think that the kingdom was afraid of them. Their actions have be more and more relentless. Our Majesty forgave them for the Fifth Fleet incident very generously, and they did not have the slightest sense of guilt! This time, they even had the audacity to raze our military region to the ground. If this is not trampling the honor of our kingdom, I don¡¯t know what else is.¡±

    Seeing that Burgess and Carron were about to enter into an argument, King Bradlor mmed the armrest of his throne. ¡°Stop fighting! Burgess, what did you say about the military grounds?¡± he said gravely.

    ¡°Your Majesty, since General Cate is here, I think it would be more appropriate for him to share about it,¡± replied Burgess after he saw that they had created enough tension.

    ¡°Your Majesty, a few days ago, we arrested a few sailors who assaulted Prince Vincent at Helena Port. After interrogation, we discovered that they were the employees of the Tower of Dusk serving on <i>The Star</i>. They were left behind by the organization when thetter left the harbor. As it is a grave crime to attack royalty, we locked them in our cells to await their sentencing,¡± exined Cate. He paused and stole a nce at King Bradlor.

    Although this matter was not a plot that was conspired by Dno previously, and had item evidence and eyewitnesses and the personal testimony from Prince Vincent, it did not mean that it was really impable. They might discover something new if they were to choose to dive deeper into the investigation. After all, it was a case that consisted of a noble prince and a few lowly sailors. The appearance of both parties just invited doubt.

    However, King Bradlor¡¯s main concern was clearly not about the case, but the situation at the military grounds. Hence, he frowned andmanded Cate to continue his story.

    Bradlor¡¯s words assuaged General Cate¡¯s anxiety a little. He caught on to Bradlor¡¯s curiosity, and continued his speech with great spirit and grief. ¡°Today, President Felic from the Tower of Dusk suddenly returned and came to ask for the sailors. To honor the dignity of our kingdom, I tried to use reason to persuade him otherwise. Yet, he proceeded to order his men to barge into our grounds to bring the criminals out. He even let his men injure numerous of our soldiers and raze our territory to the ground!¡±

    Cate¡¯sments led to an uproar in the discussion hall. The generals who were military supporters acted exaggeratedly, as though it was their first time hearing the news. The generals who supported peace all had looks of disbelief.

    The most important matter was not what had happened to the militarypound, but the fact that Felic had wreaked havoc in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Anything that happened here had a direct impact on the reputation of the kingdom, and it would be unforgivable for any kingdom to have their dignity trampled by any party.

    Hence, King Bradlor frowned after he heard Cate¡¯s story. ¡°Are you speaking the truth?!¡± asked Bradlor sternly.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I swear to God that I speak of no lie! You could head over to our site now to speak to the soldiers and look at the ruins there!¡± replied Cate without a hint of hesitation.

    ¡°Your Majesty, that Felic is going too overboard. He has returned our great hospitality with such atrocities! If this were to continue, what would happen to the glory of our kingdom?¡± added Burgess hurriedly when he saw Bradlor descending deep in thought.

    The military generals stood up to back Burgess up indignantly. ¡°Your Majesty, we will just need one word from you. As long as we dealt with Felic and the people from the Breezy ins, we would definitely be able to acquire the Breezy ins.¡±

    Carron grew anxious when he saw the military faction requesting for a war. ¡°Your Highness, although President Felic seems to be going a little overboard, it is too hasty to dere war because of it,¡± Carron voiced out hurriedly.

    ¡°Hasty? Our kingdom¡¯s reputation and honor is being trampled now! How could you say that it is too hasty when all we want to do is to maintain the kingdom¡¯s dignity? Are you only going to take action to resist them when they charge into this pce?¡± retorted Burgess angrily and righteously.

    As King Bradlor had been adopting the suggestions of the supporters of peace, he gave a lot of weight and recognition to their words. Hence, Burgess had been suppressing his anger for quite some time. The talk of honor was only a fa?ade. As long as the Gilded Kingdom entered a war with the Breezy ins, Burgess would be able to overwrite Carron¡¯s influence, and acquire all the power and benefits for being recognized by the king.

    Since Carron¡¯s status wasparable to Burgess¡¯s, there was nothing for him to fear. However, he did not immediately shoot Burgess¡¯ words down, for he knew that it might make him seem like he had no regard for the kingdom¡¯s honor. Hence, he was full of indignation as well. ¡°Your Majesty, I feel deeply saddened by this situation as well. But, we might be gambling on the future of our kingdom if we were to react so impulsively,¡± persuaded Carron.

    ¡°Gamble? Are you saying that we are gambling when what we want to do is to fight for the honor of our kingdom?¡± snapped Burgess as he started to make a fuss after catching Carron¡¯s dubious choice of words.

    Carron, however, was unaffected. ¡°Burgess, I can understand your fury. But, have you wondered who has to pay the greatest price if we were to dere war on the Breezy ins? That Felic is a solid Sanctuary powerhouse, and his Tower of Dusk even owns a war treasure like the Sky Castle. Have you thought about the consequences for our side even if we were to win the war?¡±

    King Bradlor¡¯s rationale for a peaceful approach was due to his fear of the abilities of the Tower of Dusk. Hence, when he heard the rumor that Lin Li would never be back from the cursednd, he immediately gathered his ministers to discuss if they should make any modification to their strategy. Now that Lin Li had returned with full strength, Bradlor naturally knew that he had to raise the same concerns.

    Sure enough, Bradlor¡¯s expression became visibly hesitant when he heard Carron mention the power the Tower of Dusk had. Sanctuary powerhouses were not to be trifled with. If the Gilded Kingdom did not have sufficient abilities to counter the potential losses, their war would only bring everyone to the abyss. The fall of their proudest and greatest Fifth Fleet could only show that it was nothing before a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    However, Burgess seemed to havee prepared with his piece as well. ¡°Did Master Carron forget that we are not battling by ourselves, and have the support from the Illuminati? They would naturally help us get rid of Felic and the Tower of Dusk. Are you insinuating that the almighty lord and the four Sanctuary-level saints of the Illuminati have no ability to deal with Felic?¡±

    ¡°How can you then be sure that the Illuminati would have the ability to help us deal with Felic? Do not forget that Felic is also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. Illuminati would never risk entering a war with the Supreme Council to help us deal with Felic and the Tower of Dusk. That is not something you can decide,¡± said Carron as he brought out the Illuminati to counter Burgess¡¯ narrative. The only person who could make the decision for the Illuminati was their lord. Were they going to bring this proposal to him now?

    ¡°Mister Minister, are you then saying that we should let people ride on our heads?! Even if you are willing, we aren¡¯t!¡± the military supporters retorted furiously. Although they knew that Carron was speaking reasonably, they could not help but feel indignant. While their status was lower than Carron¡¯s, each of them had power and authority in the military. Naturally, they weren¡¯t scared of Carron, let alone watched their words when they were with him.

 Chapter 1186 - The Cause

    <h4>Chapter 1186: The Cause</h4>

    ¡°Quiet down! What a racket!¡± hollered Burgess pretentiously after he waited for the other generals to air their views. ¡°Your Majesty, we definitely should not ask the lord of the Illuminati for their opinion right now. But, my son is the disciple of the lord, and his words could represent the views of the Illuminati. Why don¡¯t we ask him over?¡± said Burgess as he turned to King Bradlor.

    What Bradlor feared was Lin Li¡¯s abilities as a Sanctuary-level powerhouse. If they could get help from the Illuminati, he wouldn¡¯t need to bother to look like he was an advocate of peace at all. Hence, he agreed to Burgess¡¯ proposal. ¡°Alright, go ahead. Summon Cantory over,¡± replied Bradlor.

    Lin Li¡¯s problem cooked up a dispute between the two ideological camps within the kingdom. It even caused King Bradlor¡¯s judgment to waver. All of this happened while Lin Li brought his men back to the embassy for the Tower of Dusk as if nothing concerned him.

    The representatives from the Breezy ins did not return to their respective embassies immediately. They followed the group to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. All of them had felt the clear difference in the treatment they received from the Gilded Kingdom when Lin Li left to explore the cursed ind. They were definitely well aware of the reason¡ªthey did not have the backing of Sanctuary powerhouses.

    While the Mithril Alliance and Caesar Family had Sanctuary powerhouses, they could tell that it was only a fa?ade, and no one from the Gilded Kingdom ever saw them as a threat. To real Sanctuary powerhouses, people in the Legendary-realm were no different from ants. There wouldn¡¯t be any threat even if there were 1,000 of them.

    But beginner Sanctuary powerhouses were not the same. They were not too far away from peak Legendary powerhouses, and the number of Legendary powerhouses still mattered to them. Dozens of Legendary powerhouses were enough to challenge beginner Sanctuary powerhouses. Moreover, the Gilded Kingdom seemed to have the support from a powerful force like the Illuminati whose might wasparable to the Supreme Council¡¯s. These forces were not short of real Sanctuary powerhouses. Before them, beginner Sanctuary powerhouses and Legendary powerhouses were definitely at a disadvantage.

    Therefore, Lin Li¡¯s return reassured the people from the Breezy ins, and they saw him as someone they could depend on. They followed closely after Lin Li¡¯s group for two reasons: first, to show their allegiance to Lin Li; and second, to hear from Lin Li regarding his next steps. Although Lin Li did not seem to care, they believed that his actions had definitely provoked the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hence, some of them hastily reached out to Lin Li the moment they entered the embassy. ¡°President Felic, you might have been a little too impulsive in this matter! That was the military grounds, and we are in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. We¡¯re afraid that the Gilded Kingdom might use that reason against all of us!¡±

    While the Gilded Kingdom did not say much when Lin Li wiped out their precious Fifth Fleet, things were different this time as it was the royal military grounds that were involved. There might not be a big deal if their camp were to be located in Helena Port. However, it wasn¡¯t. It was situated in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. This changed the essence of the problem. While the military suffered minute losses, the kingdom suffered greatly in its reputation.

    However, Lin Li only gave a faint smile. He did not seem affected by the reaction of the Gilded Kingdom. He directed his attention to the sailors that he had just brought out of the cells. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± asked Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li was clear that this matter had to have been plotted by the Gilded Kingdom¡ªor more specifically, Dno¡ªhe wasn¡¯t sure of all the details. He needed these sailors to share them with him. If the sailors were part of the problem, Lin Li would definitely not let them return to <i>The Star</i> anymore.

    The several sailors had initially thought that they were going to be beheaded for their deed of assaulting the prince of the kingdom. They did not expect Lin Li to make such an effort to rescue their insignificant lives from the cells. The fact that they were able to look at the outside world again after escaping from death filled them with extreme ecstasy.

    However, they felt trepidation on the way back to the embassy. This was because they were aware that the situation had really grown beyond their scope. If there were to be a war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins just because of them, they knew they would be the sinners of the Breezy ins.

    Of course, these sailors were not people who would want to sacrifice their lives to prevent a war from happening. This was what made them grow anxious. Now that they were freed, they certainly did not want to be sent back to the cells for the same reason. After all, they were only outsiders who were hired to operate <i>The Star</i>. They did not have many interactions with Lin Li, and were not aware of the personality of this young Sanctuary powerhouse.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, they knelt neatly before Lin Li with looks of guilt, and one of the more experienced sailors decided to volunteer to speak up. ¡°Captain, this was what happened. We really did not know that darn fatso was the prince of the Gilded Kingdom...¡±

    As these men were the sailors of <i>The Star</i>, they naturally addressed Lin Li as ¡®captain¡¯ instead of ¡®president¡¯. After hearing their side of the story, Lin Li quickly understood the details of the situation. He discovered that it was really a simple matter: a few sailors were drinking and having fun with the waitresses in the bar, and they met an extremely cocky fatso who wanted to book the ce. The sailors started to makements among themselves as it was the first time they heard somebody book a bar. Yet, theirments were picked up by the fatso, and he flew into an outrage. Their bickering transformed into a physical fight, and the police rushed into the bar. They recognized the identity of that fatso, and arrested the sailors for assaulting the prince of the kingdom.

    Lin Li knew he guessed it right after he heard from the sailors. He saw through Dno¡¯sme plot. Yet, it was a fact that those sailors had assaulted Prince Vincent. This made the cause of the fight secondary. It was unforgivable formoners to assault any noble person in this world.

    After sharing their story, the sailors looked at Lin Li pitifully, and no one dared to utter a single word. These men had been left at Helena Port due to theirck of ability to embark on the precarious journey. It was evident that they could only make so little contribution to the Tower of Dusk and <i>The Star</i>. In the end, they not only did not render any help, but caused such a big trouble. If they had been their own captains, they wouldn¡¯t have tolerated themselves.

    However, these sailors were not Sanctuary powerhouses, after all. None of them knew what was on Lin Li¡¯s mind. Lin Li¡¯s expression remained the same after hearing their story. He only gave them a gentle nod, and waved his hands to signal them to take a rest. He did not even tell them how he was going to deal with their behavior.

    ¡°President Felic, no matter what the Gilded Kingdom intends to do, the Caesar Family is definitely going to stand with the Tower of Dusk. If they want to use this as an excuse to dere war on us, let¡¯s let them know that the people of the Breezy ins are not to be trifled with!¡± said us from the Caesar Family after the sailors left the room.

    us could tell from Lin Li¡¯s treatment of the sailors that Lin Li absolutely would not give in to the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, he immediately made their stance clear. Since the Caesar Family would never be able to withdraw from the conflict between the Gilded Kingdom and the Breezy ins, he knew that he definitely had to take a side.

    Although it seemed like the Gilded Kingdom had greater power as they had the backing of the Illuminati, us knew that he would immediately offend the Tower of Dusk if he were to choose to support the Gilded Kingdom. After all, the Caesar Family was situated in the Breezy ins which was located far away from the Gilded Kingdom.

    us had a deep understanding of the power the Tower of Dusk had. Not to mention that president in the Sanctuary-realm, he knew that the Sky Castle was not something that the Caesar Family could challenge. If the Tower of Dusk were to attack the Caesar Family, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely not be able to send help to such a far ce.

    Moreover, us was clear that his organization was not well looked upon by the Gilded Kingdom. He was sure that Caesar Family was just a disposable force to the kingdom.

    us¡¯ worry was not invalid. Hence, he reasoned that it would be more beneficial if he were to pledge allegiance to the Tower of Dusk. He was certain that the Tower of Dusk did not have ns to rule the Breezy ins, unlike the Gilded Kingdom. There was nothing for the Caesar Family to lose if they were to be an ally of the Tower of Dusk.

    And the representatives of the other forces present all had the same idea as us. All of them righteously dered their allegiance after us, as though they were ready to live and die with the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, Lin Li was not unaware of what these people were thinking about. But, there was no need for him to expose them, either. He patiently waited for most of them to say their piece before waving to gesture them to stop. ¡°I am aware of all your intentions. But, this matter is not as grave as you think it is, so if there is nothing else, you can return to your embassies,¡± said Lin Li smilingly.

    Seeing that Lin Li was unaffected by the matter, the representatives from the Breezy ins knew that there was nothing else for them to say. Although they were also curious about the happenings on the cursed ind, they knew it would be disrespectful to bug them for the story for they had just returned from the long journey. Hence, they started to bid Lin Li goodbye.

    Only when the rest of the people from the Breezy ins left did the vice captain of the team of mages, Dorick, went up to Lin Li uneasily. ¡°Mr. President, just now we...¡±

    It was Dorick who led the men to barge into the military grounds. He was also the one who ordered his people to turn the ce into ruins. Hence, he was a little worried that he would invite trouble for his president and the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li stopped Dorick with his hand as well. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it, you¡¯re doing a good job. Since the Gilded Kingdom wanted to burn the bridges, there is no need for us to show them any respect, either,¡± said Lin Li.

    Lin Li hade to Anril a few years ago, and had seen enough of this world. It was a ce that reflected the survival of the fittest. People with power had the right to disregard rules. No one would me them as long as they had a harder fist.

    In fact, this was the same for one¡¯s progression in abilities. Before reaching the Legendary-realm, everyone had to adhere to thews of the world. At the Legendary-realm, people started toprehend and use thews, and at the Sanctuary-realm, they started to master and change them before ascending to divinity. Hence, rules were meant to be broken by people with power.

    ording to thews of the Gilded Kingdom, the sailors would be given a death penalty for assaulting their prince. However, Lin Li¡¯s fist wasrge enough to rescue them from the cells. While it was akin to giving the kingdom a humiliating p on their face, when Lin Li¡¯s mages razed the military territory into t ground, Lin Li¡¯srge fist would render the Gilded Kingdom helpless.

    Although Lin Li was not a person who liked to abuse his power, he was never one who would offer his right cheek after he got a p on his left. Although it seemed like Lin Li had gone considerably overboard in this matter to the rest of the people, Lin Li was extremely clear that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to rescue his sailors had he gone through the supposedly legitimate channels.

    Lin Li could totally imagine how long the Gilded Kingdom would have tried to dy in returning him his men if he had picked the civilized way. He might¡¯ve even put their lives at stake if the kingdom had decided to execute them before he learned of it. This would be another p on Lin Li¡¯s face.

    After sending Dorick and the others away, Lin Li returned to his room, and took out the blueprint of the mageweath of the seven monuments to study it. He did not want to dy any longer. He was totally not affected by the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s possible retaliation. He was prepared that there might be a war, and thought that there would not be a need for him to waste his time thinking about it.

    The mageweath on the monuments was a divine-level mageweath. Although he had gained a little understanding of it in the underworld, it was too insignificant. Yet, that did not mean that it did not have any use in solving the mystery. It was just like one of the ends of a tangled string. As long as he started with this end of the string, he was certain that time was all he needed to unravel the mystery.

 Chapter 1187 - Two Parties

    <h4>Chapter 1187: Two Parties</h4>

    However, time was a huge problem for Lin Li too. Even though he had a way to distort thews of time, he couldn¡¯t use that solution often. When he was in the underground world, he was also forced by High Priest Poer who left him with no choice but to distort thews of time to buy time for himself.

    Within less than a second, Lin Li paid a huge price, and that was if his strength could no longer improve, his life expectancy would be hundreds of years shorter than the other Sanctuary powerhouses¡¯ due to the distortion of thews of time. Although it was said that Sanctuary powerhouses had infinite lifespan, it was actually just an exaggeration because no one could live forever. Even gods and deities would fall, let alone the Sanctuary powerhouses who had yet to break free from the restraint of World Laws.

    Besides, if he kept using that method to distort thews of time, the price to pay in the long run would be far beyond just having his lifespan shortened. His soul and mental strength might be damaged, and in serious cases, he might lose all hopes of achieving godhood. Hence, even with the ability to distort thews of time, Lin Li did not dare to use it indiscriminately. He had no choice but to study the mageweath properly.

    Actually, there was a mageweath array in the Tower of Dusk that could form the Time Domain, which many of the mages of the Tower of Dusk had entered before. In there, they also mastered some magic spells and techniques. However, that Time Domain was effective only for mages below the Legendary-level. For Sanctuary powerhouses like Lin Li, it wasn¡¯t very useful.

    The Time Domain that Lin Li used was mainly meant for nurturing herbs and magical beasts or catalyzing the potency of potions, etc. If the Time Domain had been useful for him too, he would have be an old man by now because he often stayed there to prepare potions.

    If there was a mageweath array that could generate a Time Domain that could distort thews of time like Lin Li had before, it could be considered to be at the Divine-Smith-level. At least, with Lin Li¡¯s current attainments in inscriptions, he still couldn¡¯t set up such a mageweath array. Perhaps when Lin Liprehended 30% to 50% of the Divine-Smith-level mageweaths on the monument, he might be able to set up such a powerful Time Domain. However, he was now far from being able to do that.

    However, even if Lin Li could not get a clear understanding of the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he didn¡¯t gain anything during the process of studying it at all. Lin Li realized that studying it was akin to sitting for an inscription exam as it required arge amount of knowledge in inscription, and it was almost like a summary of the knowledge he had acquired.

    Be it in terms of pharmaceutics or inscription and skills of other progressions, Lin Li did not obtain his knowledge bit by bit. Instead, he had it instilled in his head after using the Scroll of Wishes in the game before transmigrating to this world.

    He had great theoretical knowledge, but when it came to practical application, he was inevitably a little inflexible. That problem hadn¡¯t surfaced before, but it wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t have such a problem, but because the standards of professions in this world were too low. A Master-level professional would be akin to standing at the top of the world, so what problems could Lin Li, a Guru-level figure, possibly have to rack his brains to solve?

    As Lin Li had encountered a Divine-Smith-level mageweath, the issue of hisck of ability to apply his knowledge well was exposed. Studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was akin to giving a chance to truly transform the inscription knowledge that had been forcefully instilled in his mind into his own knowledge.

    Hence, although Lin Li was unable to study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath thoroughly, he was making progress in his inscription studies almost at every moment. After he had truly integrated all the knowledge, it would probably be a matter of time before he could crack the Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

    That was the reason that Lin Li soon becamepletely immersed in studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. At this moment, he hadpletely forgotten about everything else as nothing was as attractive to him as the mageweath.

    While Lin Li was immersed in the world of inscription knowledge, King Bradlor and the ministers in the royal pce of the Gilded Kingdom also met Cantory, Burgess¡¯ son.

    Although the ministers who were now present in the royal pce¡¯s Council Hall were all important to the kingdom, and were also Cantory¡¯s elders, they were all respectful towards Cantory. None of them dared to look at him with contempt or treat him as a junior.

    Cantory was the disciple of the Illuminati¡¯s lord, and there was a high possibility that he would seed this position. Hence, Cantory¡¯s current status was probably on par with that of his father, Chancellor Burgess. Moreover, if Cantory really became a saint of the Illuminati in the future, even King Bradlor would have to bow respectfully while greeting him.

    However, even with such a status, Cantory didn¡¯t seem too arrogant. He strode towards King Bradlor, and bowed respectfully to him as a junior.

    Seeing Cantory¡¯s performance, Bradlor nodded slightly with some satisfaction. Cantory had obtained such a high status at such a young age. If anyone else were in his ce, they would probably be extremely arrogant and conceited. For example, High Priest Poer¡¯s son Dno, who was about the same age as Cantory. Yet, there was such a huge difference between them.

    Bradlor raised his hand to gesture for Cantory to spare the formalities and take a seat beside his father, Burgess. He then asked in a gentle tone, ¡°Cantory, you should know why I asked you toe here. In this case, I¡¯d like to hear your opinion on this matter.¡±

    There shouldn¡¯t be a feud between Cantory and Lin Li, but there was definitely some hatred. Back in the Breezy ins, Cantory had suffered huge losses because of Lin, especially when they went to the Tower of Dusk to ask Lin Li for help because of the incident on Cage Ind. For Cantory, that experience could be considered the most humiliating one in his life.

    Hence, deep down, Cantory felt a strong urge to start a war with the Tower of Dusk, and then use the power of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati to destroy the Tower of Dusk and Lin Li to vent his anger. However, when he heard Bradlor asking him for his opinion, he did not directly say that he wanted to go to war with the Tower of Dusk, because that would seem too crude and direct.

    Cantory did not answer immediately, and instead lowered his head and thought for a while, as if he was carefully considering the trade-offs. Bradlor, who was seated high on the throne, naturally admired him for doing so. Cantory was young and talented, but not overly impatient. He was probably the best candidate for a sessor in Bradlor¡¯s opinion. Unfortunately, he was not his son.

    After pondering for a moment, Cantory raised his head, and said to Bradlor, ¡°Your Majesty, I have indeed also understood the details of this matter. When I was on the mission to the Breezy ins, I experienced the brutal and overbearing nature of President Felic, but I didn¡¯t hold it against him at that time for the sake of the greater good. However, this matter concerns the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom. If we don¡¯t express our stand, the Gilded Kingdom might really be aughingstock.¡±

    What Cantory said was precisely the reason that others wanted to persuade King Bradlor to go to war. Hence, those who were in support of war were smiling, while the ministers who supported peace had sullen expressions. On the other hand, Bradlor frowned slightly, and said to Cantory, ¡°Does this mean that you also agree to go to war with the Tower of Dusk and Breezy ins?¡±

    However, after hearing Bradlor¡¯s words, Cantory shook his head slightly, and said, ¡°Your Majesty, once the war starts, it will be tantamount to us being tied to a carriage with a horse that has lost its mind. We won¡¯t stop until the very end. There might be a straight road ahead or a cliff, but no matter what, we must go on. So, going to war can only be used as ast resort. Besides, not everything can be solved by going to war.¡±

    As soon as they heard Cantory¡¯s words, Burgess and others who were in support of the war suddenly had a change of expression. No matter how they deciphered it, it didn¡¯t seem that Cantory supported the idea of going to war with the Breezy ins. Those who supported peace also nodded one after another, as if Cantory said what was on their minds.

    However, Bradlor was really confused as to whether Cantory wanted to go to war or not. Hence, after being stunned for a while, he slowly asked, ¡°So, Cantory, what do you think about this matter?¡±

    Smugness shed in Cantory¡¯s eyes. In an earnest tone and with a humble expression, he soon said, ¡°Your Majesty, I think we should give President Felic a chance to redeem himself before deciding whether to go to war with the Tower of Dusk. If President Felic is willing to publicly apologize to our kingdom for this matter, and hand over the people who attacked Prince Vincent, as well as the people who made a scene at the barracks of the royal guards, we can get along with him peacefully.¡±

    Hearing the idea that Cantory hade up with, Bradlor couldn¡¯t help but have his eyes light up. Previously, he had been confused because of the two sides that supported different things, and Cantory¡¯s suggestion was a good way to save some pride for the kingdom while also avoiding a war. However, Bradlor asked one more question. ¡°What if President Felic refuses to apologize or hand over those people?¡±

    ¡°If that happens, there¡¯s nothing we can do, because we¡¯re already being as kind as we can. I believe Teacher will not tolerate someone insulting the kingdom.¡± Cantory spoke with confidence, as if he was certain that he would be able to convince the Illuminati.

    After Cantory said those words, those who were in support of starting a war were immediately speechless. The Gilded Kingdom had suffered a huge loss, and they felt that making the president of the Tower of Dusk apologize was not a big deal. It would be overboard if he didn¡¯t apologize at all.

    Although Minister Carron felt that there was something amiss with the situation, there was nothing he could say. After all, as the chancellor of the kingdom, Carron couldn¡¯t put the dignity of the kingdom at risk even if he insisted on his own political views.

    The camp that was in support of the war, which was led by Burgess, was full of bewilderment, and it was as if he couldn¡¯t understand how Cantory coulde up with such an idea. From Cantory¡¯s point of view, it seemed to be a way to prevent a war from breaking out as they could avoid war as long as the Tower of Dusk apologized. If they didn¡¯t go to war in the Breezy ins, it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing for the camp that was in support of the war.

    Not to mention the military generals, even Cantory¡¯s father, Burgess, seemed to be puzzled about his son¡¯s decision. He was aware that Cantory was definitely in support of a war, but thetter gave such a suggestion just as Bradlor was about to be convinced.

    However, at this point, it seemed to be toote to say anything as Bradlor agreed very much with Cantory¡¯s idea. Hence, he immediately called the Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson toe over. However, it was already veryte; hence, he asked Jefferson to go to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk early tomorrow morning, and bring the troublesome President Felic over.

    The Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson was in support of peace. Hence, after hearing the king¡¯s order, he knew that the king was not going to start a war immediately, which made him feel a sense of relief. He even found Cantory to be extraordinarily lovely today. In order to avoid having those who were in support of war say anything, he left the conference hall immediately after receiving the orders.

    After Jefferson¡¯s departure, the people in the council hall didn¡¯t have much to discuss, as they were all just waiting for tomorrow to arrive so that they could see how the Tower of Dusk would arrive. Bradlor asked the ministers to return to get some rest. Of course, while resting, they also had to deal withpensation. After all, the royal guards¡¯ barracks had been demolished, and it couldn¡¯t be resolved with just an apology. They had to ask forpensation.

    The ministers of the two camps immediately split into two distinct sides as soon as they left the council hall. They were each discussing something. At this point, Burgess couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer as he looked at Cantory in displeasure, and said, ¡°How could youe up with such an idea? This matter was initially a great opportunity for us to persuade His Majesty, but it¡¯s now gone because of what you said.¡±

    Although the ministers around Burgess couldn¡¯t confront Cantory, they looked rather angered too. In their opinion, what Cantory did was akin to betrayal as he had made them lose the military credit that they were about to get.

 Chapter 1188 - Astonishment

    <h4>Chapter 1188: Astonishment</h4>

    However, in the face of his father¡¯s rebuke and the furious res of the other ministers, Cantory merely smiled confidently, and said, ¡°Father, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve been in the Breezy ins for such a long time, and gotten a good understanding of Felic. Making him apologize to us is a Herculean task, let alone making him hand over his subordinates. Since he could stir up such a huge ruckus at our guards¡¯ barracks for the sake of his sailors, how can he be willing to hand over his subordinates?!¡±

    ¡°You mean Felic will never ept our conditions no matter what?¡± Burgess asked, looking at his son, seemingly deep in thought.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, negotiating with him is redundant. We can just go to war!¡± eximed Dno who hade over at some point in time. After hearing Cantory¡¯s words, he was still quite puzzled, and couldn¡¯t help but speak up.

    If Dno was the only one who asked, Cantory really wouldn¡¯t bother to exin, but he saw that several other military generals also seemed bewildered by his decision. Hence, he shook his head, and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already made such a hugepromise. If Felic still doesn¡¯t appreciate it and reciprocate, what excuses can those few who are in support of peacee up with?¡±

    Hearing Cantory¡¯s exnation, the surrounding crowd came to a sudden realization, and all looked at Cantory with their eyes full of admiration. Someone almost stood out and praised him for his intelligent approach. They then looked at those few who were in support of peace with contemptuous and disdainful gazes, as if they had already tricked the peace-supporters.

    In fact, the peace-supporters were still rather optimistic about it. In their opinion, they could avoid a war by asking the Tower of Dusk to apologize andpensate them while making Lin Li hand over his subordinates. They thought that Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t turn them down. Hence, the main focus of their discussion now revolved aroundpensation. They were also thinking of a solution that would protect the kingdom¡¯s pride while also ensuring that the Tower of Dusk wouldn¡¯t reject it.

    After receiving King Bradlor¡¯s order, Jefferson, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom, headed straight to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk early the next morning with a few subordinates. However, on the way, he also secretly instructed his subordinates not to speak up after meeting the members of the Tower of Dusk, and to follow his arrangements. The subordinates naturally did not dare to oppose. Anyway, Jefferson would be there to protect them, and it was just making a trip there.

    The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pce was near the embassy; soon, Jefferson led them to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy. There were two people standing in front of the embassy gate, both dressed in the mage robes of the Tower of Dusk. The Gilded Kingdom had originally arranged for soldiers to guard the entrance. However, Lin Li suddenly left with some people, and when he returned, the guards had already been chased away long ago.

    Jefferson walked to the embassy gate with a formal smile on his face. He said to the two mages in front of the gate, ¡°Hello, I am Jefferson, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom, and I¡¯m no stranger to President Felic, either. I have an urgent matter to see him for now, please inform him.¡±

    Normally, Jefferson wouldn¡¯t be that polite to the two gatekeepers, but when he got closer, he realized that the two mages who were merely guarding the gate were at the Legendary-level. Although there was still the Sanctuary-realm, Legendary-mages were already like godlike existences in the eyes of ordinary people.

    Although Jefferson would not be defeated by two Legendary-mages, Legendary-mages still had a high status in the Gilded Kingdom. Legendary powerhouses were Legendary powerhouses, after all. Even if they were just watching the gate, they were not to be belittled.

    The two mages from the Tower of Dusk looked at Jefferson and the others, but they did not make things hard for them. One of them nodded, and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go and see if President Felic has the time to meet you or not.¡± After saying that, he turned around and walked into the embassy.

    Before Jefferson could say anything, a young diplomatic official behind him could not contain his displeasure about their attitude anymore, and took a step forward. He said, ¡°We¡¯re here to solve the problem sincerely, but you¡¯re making us wait outside the gate. Is this the attitude you should have when solving a problem?¡±

    Before the remaining mage of the Tower of Dusk could answer after hearing the words of the young diplomatic official, Jefferson flew into a rage, and pulled him over to give him a tight p on his face. He cursed, ¡°What did I tell you before we came? Who allowed you to say those words?!¡±

    Although the members of the Gilded Kingdom seemed to be righteous, the peace-supporters including Jefferson all needed the Tower of Dusk¡¯s help. If Lin Li agreed to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s demands, the peace-supporters would continue to maintain their political stand. Otherwise, the war-supporters would suppress them.

    Hence, Jefferson now stooped low mainly because he was worried that he might anger the people of the Tower of Dusk.

    On the contrary, the mage of the Tower of Dusk seemed to be unable to tolerate it any longer as he stood out to persuade. ¡°Lord Jefferson, don¡¯t get physical, young people are insensible. Just chide him a little.¡±

    Hearing these words, the subordinates behind Jefferson couldn¡¯t help but roll their eyes. They could all see clearly that the mage of the Tower of Dusk who was talking was much younger than the official who got pped.

    At this moment, the mage who went in to inform them walked out, and said to Jefferson, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that President Felic happens to be free. Come with me.¡±

    <i>I¡¯m lucky? Hah, what¡¯s going on? We¡¯ve been arguing for a day, but the Tower of Dusk seems to bepletely uninvolved.</i> Jefferson smiled bitterly.

    Jefferson took a step towards the embassy, and a few of his subordinates rushed to follow him, but they were stopped by the mage at the gate. The young man was about to argue, but after sensing it, Jefferson turned around and told his subordinates to wait at the gate. In fact, since the young official intervened, he no longer dared to bring them to see Lin Li for fear that someone from the war-supporting camp would deliberately try to stir trouble.

    Under the lead of the mage of the Tower of Dusk, Jefferson soon met Lin Li, but he was shocked by Lin Li¡¯s appearance. At this moment, Lin Li still looked rather fatigued and haggard, as if he hadn¡¯t slept for a few days and nights.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s appearance, Jefferson suddenly felt more at ease. In his opinion, the reason why Lin Li looked like this had to be because he had been fretting about the serious consequences of making a scene at the guards¡¯ barracks, and was worried about going to war with the Gilded Kingdom. He thought that his heart had to be in turmoil; hence, he looked that haggard.

    ¡°President Felic, you don¡¯t seem to be well. Are you facing any health problemstely?¡± Jefferson asked, pretending to be concerned.

    Lin Li raised his hand and asked Jefferson to sit down. He then shook his head listlessly, and said, ¡°Thanks for your concern, it¡¯s nothing serious.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s answer, Jefferson sneered in his head. <i>Despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse, he¡¯s actually so worried. Fancy him saying that it¡¯s nothing serious!</i> Of course, he could not say it directly. Instead, he tactfully said, ¡°President Felic, I came here this time to solve your worries.¡±

    Once he heard Jefferson¡¯s words, Lin Li immediately looked extremely surprised, and he scanned Jefferson from head to toe before saying with great suspicion, ¡°What did you say, Lord Jefferson? Please clear my doubts!¡±

    After Lin Li had rescued those sailors yesterday, he had been staying in his room to study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. If it were something else, Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t feel that exhausted even after a month without sleep. However, the mageweath of the Divine-Smith-level had depleted a huge amount of his energy after just a night of studying even though it seemed easy to study.

    Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, the Divine-Smith-level mageweath had already reached the level of the gods, and it was like an ant trying to lift an elephant. The knowledge contained in the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was like a massive elephant, while that in Lin Li¡¯s head was like an ant. They were simply worlds apart.

    The problem in Lin Li¡¯s mind was the mageweath of the Divine-Smith-level. Hence, when he heard Jefferson¡¯s words, he was a little surprised, and he thought, <i>Could it be that the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom is also a Divine-Smith-level inscription master?</i>

    However, Lin Li soon snapped back to his senses, and thought that Jefferson clearly wasn¡¯t a Divine Smith. Be it in inscription or other professions, one would be a true god once they reached the level of the Divine Smith. Even though they might not be strong before bing a Divine Smith, the strength they possessed would definitely not be weaker than an ordinary god¡¯s.

    However, Lin Li did not sense a single trace of godly aura from Jefferson, and he merely felt a level-19 mana fluctuation.

    After reacting, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. It seemed that he had been driven mad by the Divine-Smith-level mageweath¡ªso much so that he actually developed that thought. He adjusted his mood a little, and said, ¡°Lord Jefferson, we¡¯d better talk about what you¡¯re here for. My problems can¡¯t be solved by you.¡±

    Jefferson naturally could not imagine that Lin Li was actually vexed about a Divine-Smith-level mageweath, so he decided to continue making assumptions based on his own guesses. He smiled ambiguously, and said, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s wrong of you to say that. Some things cannot be decided based on personal strength, so I might have a solution for the difficult issue that you¡¯re facing.¡±

    <i>Damn it, the more you say it, the more it seems like it. You¡¯re just here to pretend, huh? Or do you really have a way to solve the Divine-Smith-level mageweath?!</i> Lin Li simply stood up, walked towards Jefferson, and said, ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re so confident,e with me to examine the Divine-Smith-level mageweath.¡±

    When Jefferson saw how agitated Lin Li was at first, he thought that Lin Li was going to ask for his help to solve the conflict with the Gilded Kingdom this time. However, immediately after that, he heard Lin Li mentioning the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, and the smile that had just appeared on his face suddenly stiffened.

    ¡°What? Divine-Smith-level mageweath?¡± Jefferson was a bit dumbfounded. He knew nothing about ordinary mageweaths, let alone the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. If he had that ability, he probably wouldn¡¯t have to take on the thankless job as a foreign affairs minister even if he only had Master-level attainments.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been studying it for an entire night, but I still couldn¡¯t get a clear idea of what it is. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so knowledgeable, Lord Jefferson. You¡¯re actually confident about solving this issue for me. Please.¡± Of course, Lin Li knew that Jefferson didn¡¯t have the ability to do that, but after studying for an entire night, he felt that he had to vent some of his frustration and anger. Hence, he deliberately tried to make things hard for Jefferson.

    Only now did Jefferson realize that Lin Li simply disregarded the major matter that he had mentioned to Lin Li because thetter was preupied with the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. With a bitter smile, he said, ¡°President Felic, pardon me for not making things clear enough. I¡¯m here this time under the orders of the king to ask you to go to the pce to discuss something, not to study a mageweath.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Lin Li finally returned to his seat and looked at Jefferson. He calmly said, ¡°Is your king nning to apologize to me for what they¡¯ve done to my sailors? That¡¯s unnecessary, I still have other important things to handle, so I can¡¯t be bothered to hold it against you guys regarding that matter. Just make sure not to create trouble for nothing in the future.¡±

    <i>Luckily, I¡¯m the one who came! If it was His Majesty or the other officials that are in support of the war, they would probably go to war with the Tower of Dusk.</i> Jefferson almost vomited blood after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words.

    ¡°President Felic, what you did yesterday is very uneptable for the Gilded Kingdom. If this had happened anywhere else, we might have been able topromise, but this concerns the pride and dignity of the Gilded Kingdom since it happened in our capital. So, His Majesty would like you to go over to clear up this matter and reach a consensus on a solution that can satisfy both of us.¡± Seeing the way Lin Li was behaving, Jefferson knew that if he directly said that he wanted the Tower of Dusk to apologize andpensate, Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t give in. Hence, no matter what, he had to try to invite him to the pce before anything else.

 Chapter 1189 - Three Noes

    <h4>Chapter 1189: Three Noes</h4>

    Hearing Jefferson finally exin his agenda foring, Lin Li sized him up again before smiling ambiguously, and saying, ¡°Okay, in that case, I¡¯ll go meet your king and settle this matter quickly lest you keep bothering me.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li nodded and agreed, Jefferson immediately continued even though Lin Li¡¯s smile put him ill at ease. ¡°Good that you think so, President Felic. In this case, let¡¯s head to the pce now lest His Majesty waits for too long.¡±

    In fact, if Lin Li hadn¡¯t studied the mageweaths of the Divine-Smith-overnight, and caused his energy to be depleted, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to waste time going to see the king of the Gilded Kingdom. In Lin Li¡¯s heart, nothing mattered more than the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, and he didn¡¯t care if the king of the Gilded Kingdom wanted to go to war or not.

    Now, the reason that he agreed to Jefferson¡¯s invitation was mainly because he wanted to take this opportunity to give his mind a break and recover some energy. Of course, if the Gilded Kingdom went overboard, he wouldn¡¯t mind venting his anger again, and doing more damage to the Gilded Kingdom. Destroying the barracks was just a trivial matter, and he would be thrilled only if he hurt the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li followed Jefferson out of the embassy, and the group soon arrived at the kingdom¡¯s pce. The pce guards then ushered them into the council hall.

    At this juncture, King Bradlor of the Gilded Kingdom and the ministers who were either supportive or against war were all waiting in the council hall, and had been doing so for a long time. The ministers who supported peace were reporting to King Bradlor the list ofpensations that they had worked out and coted overnight. On the other hand, those who supported the idea of going to war were watching the peace-supporting ministers sneeringly, looking forward to the final oue.

    Jefferson first entered the council hall and bowed to Bradlor before saying, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve invited President Felic here, and he¡¯s waiting for you to call him.¡±

    Bradlor nodded with a stern expression, and said, ¡°Okay, ask him toe here!¡±

    Immediately afterwards, the pce guards outside the council hall began to exim, ¡°Summon Felic, the president of the Dusk Tower of the Breezy ins!¡±

    A momentter, Lin Li stepped into the council hall, and looked around for a while before keeping his eyes fixed on King Bradlor who was sitting on the throne. He walked up and bowed to him out of courtesy. Before Bradlor said anything, Lin Li said, ¡°Your Majesty, is there a reason you asked to see me?¡±

    ¡°What are you feigning ignorance for? You instructed your men to force their way into the barracks of the royal guards, hit my soldiers, and snatched the prisoners. Do you think you don¡¯t have to pay for that?!¡± themander of the royal guards, Cate, barked furiously as soon as he saw Lin Li. Although it was now considered a good thing for those who were supportive of the war, the fact that it happened to the royal guards made him feel insulted.

    ¡°Shut up, General Cate, mind your words!¡± Bradlor first chided Cate before looking at Lin Li again. He then looked at Lin Li again with a slight frown, and said, ¡°President Felic, General Cate is a little agitated, but what he mentioned is indeed the reason that I asked you toe here. This matter concerns the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom, I hope that you can give me an exnation.¡±

    Bradlor had previously adopted the advice of the peace-supporters to take a more peaceful approach in the matter regarding the Breezy ins, but it did not mean that he was a king with a weak character who would let everyone else trample all over the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom, so when he spoke to Lin Li, there was also some anger and displeasure in his tone.

    When they heard the emotion in Bradlor¡¯s tone, the several ministers who were war-supporters were naturally secretly overjoyed as that made them stop feeling worried. On the other hand, the peace-supporters all seemed rather anxious, fearing that the king would forget about his previous ns in a moment of anger.

    Faced with Bradlor¡¯s usations, Lin Li merely smiled nonchntly, and asked, ¡°Exnation? What exnation do you want, Your Majesty?¡±

    In the eyes of the people in the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li¡¯s expression was really infuriating. Even the peace-supporters couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. If not for the consequences of starting a war, they would have dered war on the Tower of Dusk. On the contrary, the war-supporters seemed to be much moreposed than before. After all, they were very certain that the king would eventually dere war on the Breezy ins, and it wouldn¡¯t be toote to wait until then to settle scores.

    A trace of anger appeared in Bradlor¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t lose his temper in the end. Instead, he turned to look at Cantory who was standing beside Burgess, perhaps to curb his anger and avoid talking to Lin Li.

    Cantory, who had received a hint from Bradlor, coughed gently and walked out from behind his father, Burgess. He then arrived in front of Lin Li, and slowly said, ¡°President Felic, we meet again, but this time you¡¯ve really given us a huge problem.¡±

    Lin Li smiled, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He had agreed toe over with Jefferson only because he had momentarily reached a bottleneck in his research on mageweaths. Hence, he decided toe here to take a breather. To him, it didn¡¯t matter what the Gilded Kingdom wanted to do. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t be at a loss.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not respond to him, Cantory didn¡¯t re up as he merely smiled, and said, ¡°His Majesty didn¡¯t n to pursue the matter regarding the Fifth Fleet out of consideration for our friendship, but, President Felic, you¡¯ve truly crossed the line this time. For the sake of the kingdom¡¯s pride, we have the determination to fight the Tower of Dusk at all costs. However, His Majesty can¡¯t bear to see the Breezy ins getting destroyed in war, so he has decided to give you a chance to redeem yourself.¡±

    As soon as Cantory said that, King Bradlor suddenly seemed extremely glorious and majestic, as if he would wage a war with no regard to the lives of the people in the Breezy ins if Lin Li did not agree to the conditions that the Gilded Kingdom was going to propose. Of course, Cantory knew very well in his heart that the arrogant and domineering Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t agree. However, he had to keep up with the act while also gaining the goodwill of King Bradlor.

    In fact, after hearing Cantory¡¯s remarks about him, Bradlor looked at the former with more admiration in his eyes. In the beginning, Bradlor felt a little humiliated and embarrassed because he didn¡¯t dare to start the war due to various concerns despite being bullied. However, there was no other solution. As the king, there was too much for him to consider, and if he acted ording to his mood all the time, the country would probably have been ruined. However, after hearing Cantory¡¯s words, Bradlor felt much better. He wasn¡¯t scared of the Tower of Dusk, but rather he couldn¡¯t bear to kill all the people of the Breezy ins!

    However, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sneer after hearing Cantory¡¯s words because he felt that the Gilded Kingdom was too ipetent to even kill the people in the Breezy ins, let alone spare them. The navy of the Gilded Kingdom was indeed the top naval force in Anril, but in the eyes of a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, it wasn¡¯t considered much. If the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t deploy Sanctuary powerhouses that could contend with Lin Li, all their troops would die regardless of how many they sent.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t know if there were any other Sanctuary powerhouses in the Gilded Kingdom, but High Priest Poer had been left in the world under the cursed ind forever. The fact that he could be high priest of the Gilded Kingdom with such a low level ofpetency meant that the abilities of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Sanctuary powerhouses were definitely limited.

    Of course, the Gilded Kingdom was supported by the Illuminati, which was not inferior to the Supreme Council. The four saints whom Lin Li was aware of were definitely close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. However, even if the Illuminati gave their full support to the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the saints and elders.

    In fact, Lin Li didn¡¯t even need to seek help from the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council, as he had the support of the Ashen Warlock of the Breezy ins, who was not inferior to the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. However, no one knew that he owed Lin Li a huge favor because his new perfect body was created by Lin Li using the Eternal Furnace.

    The Ashen Warlock had been created by the Immortal King, whom most of the former¡¯s skills originated from. In fact, Ashen Warlock seemed more like the Immortal King¡¯s inheritor than Osric did.

    Besides, Lin Li had several powerful trump cards, such as the powerful Sky Castle and the Dragon Horn that could summon the Icest Wyrm Sindera. If the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati joined forces to wage war on the Breezy ins, the Gilded Kingdom would probably be the one to suffer.

    When Cantory saw that Lin Li was keeping a straight face, he knew that his spections were probably going toe true. Since Lin Li refused to agree to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s conditions, he could use this as a reason to ask his teacher to support the idea of waging a war on the Tower of Dusk. By then, it would be a piece of cake for them to ovee the young president of the Tower of Dusk with the abilities of the saints of the Illuminati.

    Of course, Cantory did not seem d at all. Instead, he looked rather grim as he said with a heavy heart, ¡°His Majesty decided to give you another chance, President Felic, but you must publicly apologize to our kingdom andpensate for all the losses of the royal guards and their barracks. Most importantly, President Felic, please hand over the several prisoners that you snatched away from us, as well as those who caused trouble at the premises of the royal guards yesterday.¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be overjoyed after hearing the conditionsid out by the Gilded Kingdom. Not to mention the mages who had destroyed the barracks of the royal guards, he wouldn¡¯t hand over the sailors whom he had rescued, or else that would be a waste of his efforts in saving them.

    Lin Li nced at Cantory calmly, and he suddenly smiled. ¡°The sincerity of the Gilded Kingdom has really touched me, but I have my own principles, and I won¡¯t regret what I¡¯ve done, nor will I do something that I will regret. So, I won¡¯t ept your conditions.¡±

    ¡°President Felic, think carefully, this matter concerns the life and death of the Tower of Dusk and the Breezy ins. Don¡¯t bring about a disaster to the Breezy ins and the Tower of Dusk because of a moment of recklessness.¡± Carron, one of the peace-supporters, became a little anxious after hearing that Lin Li had turned them down without hesitation.

    Carron felt resentful towards Lin Li for his unwillingness to cooperate. Although he was a peace-supporter and a minister of the Gilded Kingdom, and he felt just as insulted by Lin Li¡¯s behavior, he didn¡¯t want them to go to war. Apart from the impact on people¡¯s livelihood, he also didn¡¯t want to be suppressed by the ones who supported war.

    In contrast to Carron, the ministers who supported war, such as Burgess, felt rather smug and overjoyed even though they seemed agitated. Deep down, they really admired Cantory as he seemed to bepromising, but he was leaving the peace-supporters with no way out.

    Seeing that the situation was developing in the direction he wanted, Cantory decided to add fuel to the fire, and leave the ministers who supported peace speechless. Hence, he pretended to be sincere, and asked, ¡°President Felic, are you displeased with one of the conditions? We¡¯re just trying to find a win-win solution, feel free to voice your opinions.¡±

    ¡°What I mean is very simple. Firstly, I won¡¯t hand over my men, nor will Ipensate you. I won¡¯t apologize, either, and I didn¡¯te here to apologize this time. I would like an exnation for the fact that my sailors were arrested by the Gilded Kingdom for such absurd reasons during my absence,¡± Lin Li said righteously as he stared at Bradlor who was on his throne.

    <i>Damn it, after such a long time, it¡¯s our fault again!</i> Bradlor was so infuriated that he was about to vomit blood.

    Of course, Bradlor knew that there had to be some hidden agenda in this matter. He also felt that no matter how ipetent Vincent might be, he shouldn¡¯t have gotten into a conflict with the lowly sailors, since he was the prince of the Gilded Kingdom. However, at this point, it was no longer rted to that matter. Most importantly, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pride could not be trampled on.

 Chapter 1190 - Saint Intervenes

    <h4>Chapter 1190: Saint Intervenes</h4>

    ¡°President Felic, no matter what happened with the sailors previously, why didn¡¯t you handle it using a normal method? The fact that you brought your men to create a scene at the royal guards¡¯ barracks was an insult to the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom. You can¡¯t deny that, can you?¡± Bradlor said, suppressing the anger within him. If possible, he would have tried to take down Lin Li. However, he also understood that since High Priest Poer wasn¡¯t around, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take down a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sneer as he stared at Bradlor withoutpromising, and said, ¡°Since the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom is that important, can it be trampled on so easily by the Tower of Dusk? You have to earn pride and respect, not take it from others. Since the Gilded Kingdom is embarrassed, you should earn your pride back yourselves.¡±

    The Tower of Dusk might only be one of the many forces in the Breezy ins, but Lin Li didn¡¯t think that they were inferior to the Gilded Kingdom. Since the Gilded Kingdom dared to capture the people of the Tower of Dusk, it was already considered offensive and a provocation to the Tower of Dusk, regardless of how important the sailors were. Hence, Lin Li naturally would not be polite with the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°President Felic, do you know that you¡¯re dering war on the Gilded Kingdom!?!¡± eximed a middle-aged general who had been silent almost from the start. He was one of the several important ministers who were in support of war. After hearing his words, everyone in the council hall of the pce fell silent, while the military generals from both camps glowered at Lin Li furiously.

    The middle-aged general who spoke was tall and burly, with sideburns and a full beard on his face. He was d in a navy blue uniform with golden embroidered hems. There was a golden whale emblem on the chest area of his uniform. It was of extraordinary significance, and was said to be one of the badges given by the founding king to the families of several statesmen as a symbol of the highest honor of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The statesman¡¯s family that received the whale emblem had once been called the Whale Family. The middle-aged general was Cridia, the current patriarch of the Whale Family. He was also themander of the First Fleet, which was known as the ace naval fleet of the Gilded Kingdom.

    As themander-in-chief of the First Fleet, which was the kingdom¡¯s ace fleet, Cridia could be considered the top military powerhouse in the kingdom, be it in terms of the strength of the fleet under hismand or the heritage of his family.

    Although Cridia didn¡¯t quite express his opinion in the council hall of the pce, the generals who were in support of war were all voicing their opinions ording to his wishes. Even Cate, themander of the royal guards who had never been on good terms with the navy, was also very respectful to Cridia.

    At the same time, while Cridia was speaking of war, Bradlor¡¯s face turned sullen, and he seemed to no longer have any expectation for the so-called peace.

    In fact, although the people of the Gilded Kingdom had greeted Lin Li and the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins with utmost respect using the national salute of the greatest honor, all of them, including King Bradlor, actually didn¡¯t see thetter as important people who were worthy of being on equal status with them at all. Well, they couldn¡¯t be med for it. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was a human kingdom that wasparable to the Fn Kingdom, Ledin Kingdom, and Rotterdam Kingdom, while the forces of the Breezy ins were merely regional forces.

    Bradlor had previously gone to visit Lin Li and the others personally in a bid to resort to peaceful means in order to eventually achieve his final goal of encroaching on the Breezy ins. Once the kingdom really acquired the Breezy ins, the forces including the Tower of Dusk, Mithril Alliance, and whatever would all be under the jurisdiction of the Gilded Kingdom. How could Bradlor possibly put the Tower of Dusk and the other forces on a level equal with the kingdom?

    Hence, in the opinion of Bradlor and the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom, the pride of the Tower of Dusk was second to that of the Gilded Kingdom. It was no big deal for the Tower of Dusk to be embarrassed, but the pride of the Gilded Kingdom could not be trampled on.

    Lin Li would never let himself lose out; hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t give in to the Gilded Kingdom. After hearing Cridia¡¯s tant threat, Lin Li¡¯s face remained unchanged, and he simply answered nonchntly as if nothing had happened at all. ¡°War? I¡¯m looking forward to it too. Since you¡¯ve taken things so far, I will wait for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army¡¯s arrival at the Breezy ins.¡±

    As soon as Lin Li said that, there was no longer any room for negotiation. Bradlor¡¯s expression changed immediately, and then 20-30 warriors walked out from the corridors on either side of the throne. All of them were Legendary powerhouses, and they stopped between him and Lin Li. At the same time, the throne that Bradlor was sitting on also emitted a brilliant ray of light, and arge and powerful shield protected him.

    What a joke. How could Bradlor not be prepared for a negotiation with a Sanctuary powerhouse? If Lin Li were to make things hard for him or even kill him, there would be no chance of regaining their pride anymore.

    However, Lin Li did not have the slightest intention of making a move, and watched the movements of the Gilded Kingdom with an icy cold gaze. When the Legendary-level guards of the Gilded Kingdom had set up a defensive battle formation, and catalyzed the magic shield to the maximum, he finally said in disdain, ¡°King Bradlor, you underestimate me too much. If I really want to attack you, do you think you can stop me with this?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words were not exaggerated at all. Although Bradlor had put up several defenses that seemed to be very solid and strong, they could only withstand and block at most one or two attacks from the average Sanctuary powerhouse. If Lin Li really wanted to kill Bradlor, he could turn everything into ashes with a single Light and Darkness Sword.

    Lin Li¡¯s words immediately made the people in the council hall nervous. At this point, all of them, regardless of whether they were in support of a war or not, thought of a deadly problem. It seemed to be amon thing for the president of the Tower of Dusk to take them by surprise and act out of the ordinary. If they really provoked him, he might get rid of all the elites of the Gilded Kingdom.

    It was instantly silent in the council hall, as if the air had frozen. When the tension between the both sides rose, and they seemed to be ready to fight, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the council hall, which sounded extraordinarily ear-piercing to the people in the hall. At this moment, everyone¡¯s heart was about to jump out of their chest, and it was as if the slightest movement would lead to Lin Li misunderstanding them and attacking.

    However, immediately after the sound of those footsteps, two figures walked into the council hall one after the other. Upon seeing the people who entered, the people of Gilded Kingdom finally heaved a sigh of relief because they were none other than Saint Edmund of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati and Elder Zumar, who followed closely behind the former. They believed that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything with those two around.

    After Edmund led Elder Zumar into the council hall, they were immediately shocked. Edmund then frowned, and chided, ¡°What are you doing here? Stand down!¡±

    Cate, the captain of the royal guards, was immediately surprised when he saw the powerhouse Edmund. ¡°Saint Edmund, Elder Zumar, Felic is going to harm His Majesty. Please help us take him down!¡±

    The royal guards were originally in charge of guarding the capital, and if the king and ministers were now implicated because of the barracks incident, Cate would be in serious trouble. Even if he died here with all of them, his family would definitely not escape the sanctions of the kingdom. If the people found out about this matter, they¡¯d probably be skinned alive.

    Hence, when he saw that Edmund hade, General Cate was really more excited than anyone else. In his opinion, Edmund was one of the four saints of the Illuminati, and his strength was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. He felt that Lin Li was far fromparable to him. As long as Saint Edmund intervened, Felic would have no choice but to swallow his pride and admit his mistake no matter how arrogant he might be.

    Edmund and Zumar were originally leading the team to Four Seasons Ind on the aircraft that Lin Li had left behind. However, before they could get far from Ice Ind, Elder Zumar remembered something terrible. High Priest Poer had previously sent a message back to the Gilded Kingdom to say that he was confident of keeping Lin Li and the others of the Tower of Dusk on Ice Ind forever.

    The two men didn¡¯t dare to imagine how the Gilded Kingdom would treat the representatives of those forces in the Breezy ins and Lin Li¡¯s subordinates after learning of that news. They dared not imagine how Lin Li would react after he returned to Four Seasons Ind, and learned those things that the Gilded Kingdom might have done.

    Hence, they were no longer in the mood to follow the aircraft and leave leisurely. After their injuries had healed a little, they immediately flew back to Four Seasons Ind as quickly as they could. After the two returned to the capital, they didn¡¯t go anywhere at all, and instead went to the pce to see Bradlor in hopes that he hadn¡¯t gone overboard.

    However, they didn¡¯t expect to see such a scene with so much tension as soon as they entered the council hall.

    ¡°Bradlor,e with me.¡± Edmund did not have much of an expression. After all, he knew nothing about the situation yet. Hence, he called out to Bradlor before walking towards the back of the council hall.

    Edmund was a Sanctuary powerhouse from the Dark Age. Although Bradlor was already advanced in his years, he wasn¡¯t as high in seniority. Besides, as the other was the saint of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati, Edmund¡¯s qualification and status were no worse than those of Bradlor. Hence, he wasn¡¯t deferential to Bradlor.

    Bradlor was also relieved to see Edmund and Zumar. With them around, he reckoned that no matter how powerful Lin Li was, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him. Hearing Edmund call himself, he hurriedly removed the defensive spells on the throne, and ordered the Legendary-level guards in front of him to retreat. He then red at Lin Li with hatred, and followed Edmund to the back of the council hall.

    Edmund left with Bradlor, while Elder Zumar stayed in the council hall to watch the two parties to ensure that they wouldn¡¯t break into a conflict. Elder Zumar approached Lin Li, and said in a personable tone, ¡°President Felic, what happened? There must be some misunderstanding, right?¡±

    Elder Zumar could tell that something must have happened between the Gilded Kingdom and Lin Li. However, as long as there was no fight, it was not to the point of no return. Hence, there was room to make amends.

    As the saying went, never p a smiling person. Lin Li didn¡¯t give Elder Zumar a hostile reaction, and simply shook his head a little. He calmly said, ¡°You have to ask them if there¡¯s a misunderstanding or not.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t hear any anger or other emotions from Lin Li¡¯s tone, Elder Zumar¡¯s face turned sullen, and he turned to look at the people of the Gilded Kingdom. He asked, ¡°Can someone tell me what exactly happened just now?¡±

    ¡°Elder Zumar, we actually don¡¯t want this to happen, either, but our efforts for peace don¡¯t seem to be recognized by President Felic.¡± Cantory could sense that there was something off about Saint Edmund¡¯s and Elder Zumar¡¯s attitude. Hence, before rifying the situation, he chose not toin, and tried to exin things more tactfully.

    Of course, the generals who were in support of war did not share the same thoughts as Cantory. As soon as they thought that they now had two Sanctuary powerhouses on their side, they felt that it was a good time to take down Lin Li. Hence, they immediately lost control of their emotions.

    Firstly, the leader of the royal guards, Cate, eagerly said to Elder Zumar, ¡°Elder Zumar, Felic has gone overboard this time. Not only did he break into the barracks of the royal guards to take the prisoners away by force, he also razed it to the ground and wounded countless warriors. He trampled on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pride, and yet he refused to even apologize.¡±

    Hearing General Cate¡¯s words, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but frown. He sized Cate up, and then asked in a deep voice, ¡°Prisoners? Are you guys repeating Dno¡¯s trick? President Felic is our guest, is this how you should be treating our guests?!¡±

    Previously, Dno framed *The Star¡¯*s crew, and used the Fifth Fleet to seize the vessel, only to have his act exposed by Lin Li¡¯s Time Lapse crystal ball. In the end, the Fifth Fleet suffered a huge loss, and the Gilded Kingdom became the party in the wrong. Hence, they no longer had the cheek to pursue the matter and hold it against the Tower of Dusk.

 Chapter 1191 - Request For Help

    <h4>Chapter 1191: Request For Help</h4>

    Hence, as soon as he heard Cate mentioning the prisoners, Elder Zumar immediately thought of that matter. At the same time, he was also secretly resentful towards them as he thought, <i>Why haven¡¯t those fools learned their lesson yet? Hasn¡¯t Dno already set an example for them?!</i>

    ¡°Elder Zumar, you misunderstood. This time, we didn¡¯t malign anyone. Many people witnessed the sailors of <i>The Star</i> attacking and beating Prince Vincent up. Regardless of which country we¡¯re in, assaulting a member of the royal family is a felony that will warrant a death sentence. We didn¡¯t execute those prisoners out of consideration that the people of the Tower of Dusk are our guests. Hence, we decided to wait for President Felic to return before discussing what to do about those people. However, President Felic obviously doesn¡¯t take the Gilded Kingdom seriously. As soon as he returned, he snatched the prisoners away, and even caused such a huge ruckus. That left us in a passive situation,¡± the right wing minister Burgess said to Zumar politely, but he didn¡¯t show any intentions ofpromising.

    <i>A few sailors attacked and assaulted Prince Vincent?</i> As soon as Elder Zumar heard this, he knew there had to be something fishy about the matter. Thus, he immediately coldly said, ¡°In this case, tell me, did those sailors assassinate Vincent, or did Vincent create trouble with the sailors?¡±

    In fact, Zumar could guess even without thinking that the sailors did not have the courage or a need to assassinate the prince. Even if someone wanted to assassinate a royal, they wouldn¡¯t target a good-for-nothing like Vincent. Clearly, the problem of this mattery with Vincent, who was probably instigated by the ministers who were in support of a war.

    Of course, Burgess couldn¡¯t answer Elder Zumar¡¯s question, and he also knew that it wasn¡¯t necessary to answer. However, he insisted, ¡°Elder Zumar, no matter what, it¡¯s a fact that those sailors attacked and beat Prince Vincent up. Besides, the fact that President Felic led his men to cause a huge trouble at the barracks of the royal guards is a tant provocation and an insult to the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s dignity. In response, we¡¯re only asking for President Felic to apologize to our country, and hand over those prisoners, as well as the ones who were involved in creating a nuisance.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder Zumar, you naturally won¡¯t feel anything, since the victim of this matter is not the Illuminati. However, is the dignity of our Gilded Kingdom something worthless that can be trampled on at will?¡± Immediately after Burgess spoke up, a few ministers whose status was not inferior to Elder Zumar¡¯s also expressed their displeasure to him.

    As the most authoritative person in the military, Cridia also chimed in with a solemn expression at this point. He said in a low voice, ¡°Elder Zumar, it¡¯s the irrefutable duty of the soldiers of the Gilded Kingdom to maintain the dignity of the kingdom. It¡¯s also a political affair that we have to handle. Is the Illuminati going to interfere with the political affairs of the kingdom?¡±

    Cridia¡¯s words were rather serious as he was separating religion from politics and national affairs. Even though the rtionship between the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom was close, interference in political affairs by a religious organization was quite a taboo. The Illuminati could certainly influence the decisions of the Gilded Kingdom, but there was an unspoken rule that everyone was clear about. However, he couldn¡¯t talk about it. Once he did, the Illuminati would clearly be at fault.

    If other people had said that, Elder Zumar would have long flown into a rage, but after hearing it from Cridia, he decided to curb his anger. The Whale Family was a statesman¡¯s family which existed since the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s beginnings. It could be considered an ancient family that had thousands of years of heritage, and even Elder Zumar had to give him face.

    Elder Zumar was speechless after hearing Cridia¡¯s words. After taking a nce at everyone else, he coldly said, ¡°I just want to tell you that even if President Felic bes an enemy of the Gilded Kingdom, he is still the guest of the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    Previously, High Priest Poer hadunched a sneak attack on Saint Edmund who was presiding over the ritual back in the underground world, and even snatched the holy relic of the Illuminati. Although High Priest Poer was bewitched by the Whispering God back then, Zumar knew very well that there were lots of people who had the same thoughts as High Priest Poer in the Gilded Kingdom. They were merely hiding their desires.

    However, why didn¡¯t those people think about what the Gilded Kingdom would be like without the Illuminati? Therefore, Elder Zumar directly made his stand clear. The Gilded Kingdom could go ahead and deal with the Tower of Dusk, but if they did, the Illuminati would not give them their support at all. Without the support of the Illuminati, on what grounds could the kingdom deal with the Tower of Dusk?

    As expected, once they heard such biased words from Elder Zumar, Burgess and the others were speechless. The reason that they chose to dere war on the Breezy ins was because they thought that they would have the support of the Illuminati, and that they would be able to suppress the Sanctuary powerhouses of the Breezy ins with the help of the Illuminati, and then have the soldiers upy the Breezy ins. However, without the Illuminati¡¯s support, it would be difficult to deal with Lin LI, let alone the powerful and famous Ashen Warlock in the Breezy ins.

    However, as the favorite disciple of the Illuminati¡¯s lord, Cantory finally stood out at this juncture, and said to Elder Zumar, ¡°Elder Zumar, I will report to Teacher about this matter with utmost honesty. I believe his decision is enough to represent the decision of the Illuminati.¡±

    As soon as Cantory said that, the ministers, including Burgess, all felt less troubled than before. Exactly, no matter howpetent Elder Zumar might be, he was just an elder of the Illuminati, and could not represent the entire Illuminati. The one who could truly represent the Illuminati was the lord, who was Cantory¡¯s teacher. In terms of status, Elder Zumar could notpare to him at all.

    Although Cantory did not directly undermine Elder Zumar, Elder Zumar was not a fool, and could naturally tell the meaning behind those words. However, it was the truth because as the disciple of the Illuminati¡¯s lord and the prophesized world¡¯s savior who was also the next contender for the holy lord¡¯s seat, Cantory was far beyond what Elder Zumar couldpare to.

    Besides, Cantory did not say that he supported the idea of the Gilded Kingdom waging a war on the Breezy ins on behalf of the Illuminati. Instead, he merely said that he would inform the lord of the matter truthfully. However, no one knew what Cantory would say when reporting to the lord. Hence, Elder Zumar also had some difficulty retorting against Cantory.

    Seeing that Elder Zumar had nothing more to say, the several ministers and generals who were in support of war immediately began to attack the Tower of Dusk by criticizing their tyrannical behavior. Anyway, now that Elder Zumar was present, and there was also Saint Edmund to help them, they didn¡¯t think that President Felic of the Tower of Dusk would dare to do something to harm them openly.

    However, just as they were all condemning Lin Li and criticizing his actions with righteous indignation, a voice suddenly came from the back of the council hall. It made all of them fall silent immediately.

    ¡°What the lord means is very clear. President Felic is a friend of the Illuminati, what are you trying to do?!¡± Saint Edmund hollered as he walked over from the back of the council hall together with King Bradlor.

    <i>President Felic is the friend of the Illuminati? What a joke!</i> Saint Edmund¡¯s words immediately made everyone in the council hall fall silent as they turned to look at him in disbelief. However, not a single person dared to question Edmund in his face, not even Cantory, who was a disciple of the holy lord.

    Outsiders might not know yet, but as a disciple of the lord, Cantory was well aware of the situation in the Illuminati. Although the four saints of the Illuminati were said to be subordinate to the lord, they actually had the power to supervise the lord. Compared to the lord, they might just be slightly inferior in terms of status. Many of the Illuminati¡¯s decisions were made after the lord discussed them with the four saints as the former could not dictate it alone.

    Saint Edmund of the Chaos Sanctuary was responsible for diplomatic duties and contacting the external forces on behalf of the Illuminati. Hence, in a sense, Edmund¡¯s stand could somewhat represent the Illuminati. Given Edmund¡¯s status, he definitely had proof and his reasons for saying so.

    Hence, after hearing Edmund¡¯s words, Cantory immediately froze on the spot. Although he was the disciple of the lord, and was also said to be the most promising sessor of the lord, he hadn¡¯t assumed the position yet. Besides, even the lord now was quite respectful to the four saints. Hence, even if Cantory became the next lord, he wouldn¡¯t dare to disregard the four saints.

    All the ns that he had formted had been foiled, and yet he ended up with such an oue. Deep down, Cantory genuinely resented Lin Li to the core. However, he didn¡¯t show any of his emotions or the slightest bit of dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he retreated to his father¡¯s side while saying, ¡°Sorry, Saint Edmund, since this is Teacher¡¯s decision, we¡¯ll follow yourmand.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President Felic is not only a friend of the Illuminati, but also a friend of the Gilded Kingdom.¡± Bradlor smiled bitterly and spoke to the ministers after hearing Edmund¡¯s words.

    Bradlor¡¯s attitude had really changed drastically. Previously, they were so close to dering war against the Tower of Dusk, and yet they actually said that Felic was a friend of the Gilded Kingdom. Not only were the ministers who were in support of the war bbergasted, even the peace supporters were confused.

    ¡°But Your Majesty...¡± General Cate was a little anxious because the matter had escted to such a great extent, and since the Gilded Kingdom chose not to hold it against the Tower of Dusk, they would definitely get someone to take the rap. As the captain of the royal guards and the main person in charge, he probably had to be the scapegoat.

    Bradlor raised his hand to stop Cate before saying, ¡°I know, this matter was caused by Prince Vincent. Vincent is a royal, and yet there was misconduct on his side, and he caused the reputation of the royal family to be marred. I¡¯ve decided to ground him as a warning. On the other hand, General Cate is also guilty of negligence of his duties, so he will be punished with a demotion and detainment.¡±

    Bradlor¡¯s announcement caused a huge uproar in the council hall as no one knew what Edmund and Bradlor had talked about to cause such an extreme change in Bradlor¡¯s attitude. However, since Saint Edmund and King Bradlor had already said so, there was nothing else they could say.

    After King Bradlor announced the punishment for Prince Vincent and General Cate with a stern expression, Edmund also came close to Lin Li. He wasn¡¯t enthusiastic and friendly, but he wasn¡¯t cold, either. ¡°President Felic, sorry to have caused so much trouble for you.¡±

    Although his attitude wasn¡¯t very enthusiastic, it still made the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s jaws drop in shock. Saint Edmund had more dealings with the Gilded Kingdom. After all, he was responsible for the external and diplomatic affairs of the Illuminati. However, anyone who had interacted with him before would feel like they were on tenterhooks, and no one had ever seen such a warm side to him before.

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s words, Lin Li smiled faintly, and said, ¡°Saint Edmund, you¡¯re being too polite. It¡¯s just a trivial matter. If there¡¯s nothing else, I will take my leave now.¡±

    Lin Li was initially nonchnt about the possible war with the Gilded Kingdom; hence, he didn¡¯t take to heart the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s moring before this. Anyway, they would at most go to war, so there was no point in getting upset over them.

    ¡°Alright, President Felic, I¡¯ll visit you again sometime.¡± Edmund didn¡¯t have the lofty attitude of a saint when facing Lin Li. Instead, he was exchanging pleasantries with him like they were friends.

    Of course, Lin Li was well aware of the reason behind Edmund¡¯s attitude. After all, they were waiting to resurrect the founding saint of the Illuminati on Cursed Ind. After exchanging some pleasantries, he left the council hall with Elder Zumar as if nothing had happened.

    After waiting for Lin Li to leave, King Bradlor nced at the ministers below with a helpless expression, and said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it for today, everyone, you may leave. Remember this lesson, and from today onwards, stay far away from the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    After hearing King Bradlor¡¯s words, all the ministers, be it those who were in support of war or peace, left the council hall in silence with their heads hung low in dejection. Those who were in support of war were obviously disappointed that there wasn¡¯t going to be a war, and although the peace supporters were in favor of peace, they didn¡¯t feel any glory for the kingdom in thetest events.

    However, after the ministers left the pce, Burgess and Cantory, as well as several generals including Cate, did not leave separately. Instead, a few carriages arrived in front of the Chancellor¡¯s residence. Burgess and the others got out of the carriage. They then looked at each other with a bitter smile before entering the Chancellor¡¯s residence.

 Chapter 1192 - Speculation

    <h4>Chapter 1192: Spection</h4>

    Edmund¡¯s words were undoubtedly a shocking piece of bad news for the war supporters. If there were other reasons, they could still continue to work hard for the sake of waging a war, but the Illuminati had made such a clear stand. How could they continue egging the kingdom to use military power against the Breezy ins?

    As soon as they entered, the several of them sighed almost in unison before each taking a seat on a random spot. They suddenly looked at each other speechlessly.

    ¡°High Priest Poer sent a letter to us previously. Didn¡¯t he say that he wants to annihte Felic and the others together with Edmund? Why have things ended up like this again?¡± General Cate was the first to air his grievances because he had been badly embarrassed this time. He initially thought that he could turn a bad thing into a good thing, but he didn¡¯t expect the Illuminati toe up with such a trick.

    The right wing minister, Burgess, was also frowning greatly at this moment while thinking hard about the change in the council hall of the pce. The Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had been coexisting for thousands of years in the Endless Ocean. Although there had been all sorts of conflicts, they were considered internal strife, after all. What was it that could make the Illuminati disregard the dignity of the Gilded Kingdom and work hard to befriend a force from the Breezy ins?

    Besides, it was not the usual attitude of the Illuminati. If the Illuminati had always been that kind to the Tower of Dusk, things wouldn¡¯t have been that bad, but as Cate said, at the very beginning, High Priest Poer was full of confidence as he joined forces with Edmund to keep the Tower of Dusk at the cursednd. Clearly, Edmund and the rest from the Illuminati did not have a good impression of the Tower of Dusk back then. Yet, why was there a drastic change in their attitude?

    It was a crucial problem for the war supporters because they had to figure out the reason for the Illuminati¡¯s change in attitude before they could find a solution to deal with the root cause of the problem. Otherwise, given the Illuminati¡¯s current attitude towards the Tower of Dusk, the war supporters would probably be suppressed by the peace supporters.

    Seeing that his father seemed to have overlooked this issue, Cantory could not help but ask with a look of bewilderment, ¡°Could it be that something happened on that Cursed Ind? Felic and his men returned unscathed, and so did Edmund and Zumar. Yet, even till now, there is still no news of High Priest Poer. Don¡¯t you guys find it strange?¡±

    However, after hearing Cantory¡¯s question, Burgess smiled as if he had already known about it long ago. ¡°You know how many opportunities there are on that Cursed Ind, regardless of how terrifying it may be. Otherwise, the Illuminati would not have been so interested in that ce. Although Poer had gone this time to cooperate with the Illuminati, he definitely wouldn¡¯t return empty-handed given his character.¡±

    Although only a limited number of people of the Illuminati were aware that Cursed Ind used to be the sacrednd of the Illuminati, everyone knew that the Illuminati was very interested in that ind, which they had repeatedly tried over the past few thousand years to gain ess to. Hence, even if no one knew the state of the curse, they could vaguely guess that there was probably something impressive on Cursed Ind.

    All along, no one had been able to really explore Cursed Ind. In the eyes of the outsiders, the greatest hurdle that was hampering them was not the danger that was presented before them, but a massive force that prevented them from stepping on the ind at all. This time, the force seemed to have vanished, while the Illuminati and High Priest Poer had finally set foot on the ind. It was probably a huge opportunity for everyone.

    Even if there was any danger on Cursed Ind, High Priest Poer was a real Sanctuary powerhouse, and although his power and strength was inferior to Lin Li¡¯s, he was close to a god-like powerhouse in the eyes of Burgess and others. Hence, they didn¡¯t think that the fact that High Priest Poer didn¡¯t return with the rest was due to a mishap.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the Illuminati beat us to it this time. Even if there are any impressive treasures on that Cursed Ind, they¡¯ve probably already been taken away by the Illuminati,¡± Cate said with some regret at the thought of the legends about the Cursed Ind.

    Burgess shook his head, and then helplessly said, ¡°Only elders like Saint Edmund of the Illuminati would know when they cannd on the ind. Even Cantory has no idea, let alone us. We can¡¯t beat them to it. Instead of thinking of such unrealistic things, we might as well think about how to deal with the Illuminati¡¯s attitude.¡±

    ¡°But what exactly does that Felic have? Even if he has reached the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age and is incredibly talented, the Illuminati shouldn¡¯t value him so highly,¡± said Cantory, who was full of resentment and jealousy towards Lin Li and thetter¡¯s magical talent. However, he had to admit that Lin Li¡¯s magical talent was rare.

    However, magical talent was only useful for individuals, and was meaningless for a powerful force like the Illuminati. There were lots of Sanctuary powerhouses among the Illuminati. Apart from the lord and the four saints of the Illuminati, there was also Elder Zumar. In Cantory¡¯s opinion, although Felic was extremely talented in magic, his strength could not bepared to that of the lord of the Illuminati. Hence, he could not understand why the Illuminati valued Lin Li so highly.

    ¡°Felic is the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, and only the Supreme Council can make the Illuminati suddenly change their attitude,¡± Cridia, who had been waiting quietly at the side, interjected. He pointed out the crux of the issue.

    The fact that Lin Li was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council was actually known to everyone present. However, when they thought of Lin Li, they also always subconsciously associated him with the Tower of Dusk. After all, even Lin Li himself had always presented himself as the president of the Tower of Dusk, and rarely mentioned the Supreme Council.

    Hearing Cridia¡¯s words, the people present could not help but be shocked, and Burgess was bbergasted too. ¡°Could it be that the Supreme Council and the Illuminati have reached some kind of agreement?¡±

    Although the Supreme Council and the Illuminati were in the Fn Kingdom and the Gilded Kingdom, respectively, the two were worlds apart. However, since the establishment of the Supreme Council, there was still some contact between the two forces.

    At the beginning, after the High Elves were overthrown in Anril, the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom had thought of developing on the continent. However, during that era, Anril was full of talents, especially with the presence of the Supreme Council and the God of Mages, Geresco. Hence, the Illuminati ended up failing to obtain any benefits.

    When the Illuminati got the news that Geresco seemed to have left Anril, they began to get some thoughts again. However, Apophis and the other three arbitrators had be qualified enough to be Geresco¡¯s sessors. Hence, the Illuminati had once again missed their chance.

    Although there had been two unpleasant exchanges, it did not cause the two forces to be archenemies. After all, for such forces, there was no permanent enemy¡ªas long as the other party did not harm their interests. Even if they couldn¡¯t be friends, they didn¡¯t have to be enemies. Hence, it gradually allowed the two forces to establish somemunication.

    After getting a reminder from Cridia, Burgess and others finally had toe to terms with Lin Li¡¯s other important identity, which was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. His status was probably not inferior to that of the four saints of the sanctuaries.

    Immediately afterwards, they thought of Herza, the messenger that the Supreme Council sent to attend the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. In particr, as soon as Herza arrived, he immediately visited Lin Li. Although he was just the messenger of the Supreme Council, it was a basic etiquette to visit the fourth arbitrator first. However, Burgess couldn¡¯t help but develop some suspicions.

    In their opinion, although Herza was the messenger of the Supreme Council, he wasn¡¯t important enough to reach an agreement with the senior members of the Illuminati. Instead, Lin Li, who was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, was qualified to be on the same level as Saint Edmund. Perhaps Herza had ryed the message of the other three arbitrators, and reached a certain agreement with them previously.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s extraordinarily troublesome for us.¡± Burgess¡¯ face became even more sullen as he pinched his beard hard, almost ripping it off.

    The other ministers and generals seemed to have thought of something too as their expressions were no longer full of pure anger. Instead, they were somewhat worried. The Illuminati and the Supreme Council were two of the top forces of Anril. If they had merely reached some insignificant cooperation agreement, there would be no need for the saints and arbitrators to intervene. Since it was now the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council who was in contact with the saint, the agreement had to be rather incredible.

    Although the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had coexisted for thousands of years, the rtionship was not as harmonious as it appeared to be. No one wanted their power to be weakened and restrained. While being interdependent, kingdoms and religions each wanted to be the dominant one too. Hence, there had always been a conflict between each other.

    Although the Illuminati had a lord who was near the level of the gods and four saints who were in charge of four major sanctuaries, as well as a Sanctuary-level elder like Elder Zumar, true strength was not only determined by the number of Sanctuary powerhouses a force had. The Gilded Kingdom had been established for thousands of years; hence, they naturally had a strong foundation.

    Putting aside the few statesman families of the Gilded Kingdom, the royals definitely had a few formidable trump cards since they could control the Gilded Kingdom for thousands of years.

 Chapter 1193 - Relationships and Secrets

    <h4>Chapter 1193: Rtionships and Secrets</h4>

    However, the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom hid their trump cards very well, and even the people of the several old noble families might not know about it. It wasn¡¯t that there hadn¡¯t been any rebellion in the history of the Gilded Kingdom. In fact, there was even arge family that wanted to take the royal family¡¯s ce. However, those several rebellions ended in strange ways, even before the royal family showed their trump cards.

    The family that rebelled was originally the head of several old noble families, and was conferred with the title of Ocean Dragon Family by the founding lord of the Gilded Kingdom. When the Ocean Dragon Family was in rebellion, their naval fleets and army all held arge amount of power in the Gilded Kingdom. There were three Sanctuary powerhouses in charge too. There were even rumors that the Illuminati was secretly in support of the rebellion. Although they were only rumors, it was a matter of fact that the Illuminati had been maintaining a neutral position in the civil war.

    Thus, the rebels almost bulldozed through the Gilded Kingdom, taking every ind under their control before finally surrounding the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Almost everyone thought that there would be a new leader in the kingdom if the Illuminati didn¡¯t intervene.

    However, no one expected that the situation would be reversed overnight even without the help of the Illuminati. The three Sanctuary powerhouses of the Ocean Dragon Family somehow went missing, while the generals of the rebel army also vanished. The Ocean Dragon Family lost everything overnight.

    Not to mention others, it was said that even the Illuminati could not figure out what the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom had done. The vast majority of people merely attributed everything to the will of God. Some also imed that it was because they were favored by God. All in all, the rebellion soon came to a halt, and the Ocean Dragon Family was removed from the Gilded Kingdom.

    That incident was the reason that the Illuminati had scruples about the Gilded Kingdom even though thetter seemed weak on the surface. Although the Illuminati was obviously much stronger, they could not suppress the royal power. The royal family of the Gilded Kingdom did not use their unknown trump card to suppress the Illuminati. It was unclear if it was because they didn¡¯t want to reveal it, or because it didn¡¯t hold enough power.

    However, in any case, this bnce between the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati was a chance for others to develop. After the removal of the Ocean Dragon Family, the few remaining old families still held military power and various important resources of the Gilded Kingdom that couldst for generations. However, no one thought about bing the king anymore.

    The few old families included Cridia¡¯s Whale Family, Cate¡¯s Ice Bear Family, Burgess¡¯ Albatross Family, and so on. Their positions in the Gilded Kingdom were handed down to them ording to the line of session. After all, they were deep-rooted families, and it was unlikely that there were idiots who would take control. For example, the Great Whale Family had been in control of the first fleet of the Gilded Kingdom for generations, while the Ice Bear Family was in control of the elite army, and the Albatross Family had upied the post of chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom for generations.

    Although those families almost no longer had the intention to rebel due to the fear of the royal family¡¯s trump cards, it didn¡¯t stop them from seeking benefits for their respective families. Moreover, the bnce that had been struck between the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati was the very reason that they had the opportunity to gain a lot of benefits by chance.

    Using the power and authority they held, the several old families took the opportunity to take advantage of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati to reap benefits in an almost unrestrained manner. While acquiring massive wealth, those families also gradually formed a third party force. Although it was still far from beingparable to the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati for the time being, it would probably rise to be on par with them in the future.

    Of course, with their current ability, it was almost impossible to reach the point where they could contend with the Gilded Kingdom or the Illuminati. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was now still holding a trump card that others couldn¡¯t fathom, and the strength that the Illuminati had umted for thousands of years was known to all. Hence, even if they formed a trinity with the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, it didn¡¯t mean that they could contend with either party or make the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati afraid of them. Rather, they simply became the key factor that would affect the bnce of the forces. If they defected to either party, they could work together with the said party against the remaining party. That would result in the suppression of a single party, so neither of the other two would dare to harm the third party force easily.

    Another point was that Burgess¡¯ son, Cantory, was now a disciple of the lord of the Illuminati and the most promising candidate who had the greatest potential to be the next lord. Indeed, if Cantory really became the next lord of the Illuminati, they would probably have enough power to suppress the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, if the Illuminati and the Supreme Council reached a secret agreement that would destroy the bnce between the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, it would indeed be rather terrifying for them.

    First of all, if the Illuminati could gain the power topletely suppress the Gilded Kingdom, the third party force that they had formed would be somewhat redundant. Secondly, their means of amassing wealth were not exactly honest and upright. Once the Illuminati no longer had to be wary of and scrupulous towards the Gilded Kingdom, they might just ughter them like fat sheep.

    Even if the Illuminati did not take it out on them, the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom might confiscate their power one step at a time in order to strengthen its own ability to resist. After all, after the Ocean Dragon Family¡¯s rebellion, the Gilded Kingdom no longer trusted the old families as much as they used to in the beginning. They allowed the families to continue holding power only because they didn¡¯t want to cause chaos and force the families to go to the Illuminati¡¯s side.

    In fact, after the rebellion of the Ocean Dragon Family, the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom had begun to gradually support the emerging force. The rise would naturally have to begin by taking some power from the old families and giving it to the new force, but those families were not that easy to deal with. If they didn¡¯t make any mistake, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for the royal family to fall out with them. Hence, the emerging force that had the support of the royal family had not really touched the core interests of those families, nor could it go against them.

    Due to Cridia¡¯s words, the group led by Burgess began to let their imagination run wild, and the more they thought about it, the more terrified they were. They had seen with their very own eyes how affable Saint Edmund, who was usually austere and aloof, was to Felic, the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. If the Illuminati and the Supreme Council didn¡¯t have any close rtions, how could Edmund have treated Felic so nicely?

    ¡°No, this can¡¯t go on, I can¡¯t let the Supreme Council and the Illuminati cooperate!¡± Cate eximed. Since he could be the military chiefmander of the royal guards, he was naturally not an ignorant fool who waspletely clueless. He soon thought of the terrible consequences that would entail. However, he couldn¡¯t think of a solution for the problem. The Illuminati didn¡¯t belong to him anyway, and all he could do was mor meaninglessly.

    Burgess turned to look at his son, Cantory, in hopes that thetter could give him some useful information that he had obtained as the disciple of the lord of the Illuminati.

    However, in the face of his father¡¯s inquisitive gaze, all Cantory could do was shake his head helplessly, and say, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard a single thing about this matter, and I doubt they¡¯d tell me about it, either.¡±

    It was true that Cantory was the disciple of the lord of the Illuminati, but he was just learning magic from him, and had no right to really participate in the making of the important decisions of the Illuminati. Besides, his identity was known to everyone, and the members of the Illuminati were no fools, either. Hence, how could they possibly tell him about such an important matter?

    Although Cantory relied on his status to build some connections among the Illuminati, he definitely couldn¡¯t get close to someone as authoritative as Saint Edmund. Not to mention that he hadn¡¯t be the lord of the Illuminati yet, even if he really seeded the lord, the four saints would not take orders from him.

    ¡°In fact, what I am most worried about now is not about surviving while being sandwiched between these two parties, though it¡¯s just as important. Our family has been operating in the Gilded Kingdom for such a long time, and this matter will at most cause our family to decline for a while. We won¡¯t be overthrown, but...¡± Burgess said worriedly.

    Burgess¡¯ words baffled everyone. What could be more important than the destruction of their livelihood and survival? Once their conjecture became true, these families would lose the right to continue doing the things that used to bring them massive benefits, even if they might not be suppressed immediately. They had to stop doing many of the things they used to in order to avoid letting the royal family and the Illuminati get hold of evidence against them.

    ¡°Burgess, what are you saying? Shouldn¡¯t you be the most worried about our future?¡± asked Cridia. He didn¡¯t hide his concerns, since they were all in the same boat.

    Barges nodded slightly and nced at them before saying in a low voice, ¡°What I¡¯m worried about is that there might be a huge disaster if the royals or the Illuminati find out about the things that our ancestors have left for us.¡±

    When they heard Burgess bring up the matter that they almost never talked about, everyone¡¯s face stiffened immediately. The atmosphere in the room began to be bizarre too.

 Chapter 1194 - You Should Be Thankful

    <h4>Chapter 1194: You Should Be Thankful</h4>

    When talking about the future situation of forces and families, they were all worried, but now they were horrified, as if they had really reached the point of being on the verge of death.

    ¡°Impossible. We¡¯re the only ones who know of that secret, and no one could have leaked any information about this matter. Do you suspect that one of us had...¡± As soon as Cridia said that, the people in the room immediately became paranoid again as they sized each other up, as if anyone could be the traitor.

    However, just when the crowd began to suspect each other, Burgess hurriedly exined, ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying that anyone among us is a traitor, but don¡¯t forget that many people ended up in the hands of the royal family and the Illuminati after the Ocean Dragon Family rebelled. Although the ancestors have agreed that this matter can only be told to the sessor of the family, we can¡¯t guarantee that nothing happened with the Ocean Dragon Family.¡±

    After hearing Burgess¡¯ exnation, the people in the room finally stopped suspecting, though they all still looked grim with grave expressions on their faces. Just as Burgess said, after the rebellion of the Ocean Dragon Family failed, many of the important members of the Ocean Dragon Family were captured by the royal family and the Illuminati. No one was certain that none of those who were captured were aware of the secret.

    Everyone in the room fell dead silent for a while, and all that could be heard was the sound of the slightly rapid breathing of the crowd. Although almost all of them were Legendary powerhouses, they still couldn¡¯t control their emotions under that terrifying pressure. Seeing this, Cantory felt a little puzzled because he had never heard his father mention anything about the secrets of the ancestors.

    ¡°Father, what exactly do you mean by that?¡± After a long time, Cantory still could not help but voice the doubts he had in mind. His question immediately broke the silence in the room, and so the atmosphere in the room eased up immediately.

    Burgess snapped back to his senses and looked at his son, but he shook his head indifferently, and said, ¡°It¡¯s not the time to tell you yet. You just need to know that the ancestors of our families are keeping amon secret that concerns our survival. Unfortunately, the Ocean Dragon Family refused to take our ancestors¡¯ advice, and as a result, not only did they get defeated and perish, they also left such a huge problem for us.¡±

    Since the several old families managed to follow the founding lord of the Gilded Kingdom and establish the Gilded Kingdom in the Endless Ocean, they were naturally no ordinary people. Although they were loyal to the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom at that time, it didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t consider the interests of their own families. In this world, all subjects had to obey the king¡¯s orders even if they were ordered to die. However, they would often prioritize their families¡¯ interests.

    During the years when the Endless Ocean was barren, there were many secrets waiting for explorers to discover. Thus, it was a great opportunity for them to explore the countless uninhabited barren inds and abysses deep under the sea. The Gilded Kingdom could rise and develop not only because the founding lord was wise. Opportunities were a crucial factor too.

    For example, the fleet of alchemical ships of the Gilded Kingdom could now dominate the four seas, and they could develop impressive alchemical technology allegedly because of the ancient relics they had found in the beginning. Without that discovery, the Gilded Kingdom would probably only have been a small, struggling country in the sea, if they could¡¯ve been established at all. They would also be on the verge of getting destroyed by any force at any time.

    However, seeing that his father did not intend to tell him the truth, Cantory did not continue to ask more questions. Instead, he remained seated and contemted for a while. He then suddenly looked up at his father, and said, ¡°Father, I still have no idea what that secret really is, but I think we can be slightly more optimistic about things for the time being.¡±

    Cantory¡¯s words immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention. Of course, that did not mean that they believed Cantory. After all, Cantory didn¡¯t know what the secret was yet. With some bewilderment and hope, Burgess nheless asked, ¡°Oh, is that so? Tell us what you think.¡±

    Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Cantory didn¡¯t feel intimidated at all. Instead, he raised his chin confidently, and said, ¡°I think we¡¯re all thinking too much about that secret. If the royal family and the Illuminati had really found out the secret from the Ocean Dragon Family, they would have probably already done something. However, why have the Illuminati and the royals not taken any action after thousands of years? I reckon that even if they got some information from the Ocean Dragon Family, it must be vague, and the authenticity of it must be indistinguishable. So, we can¡¯t mess up and get all flustered lest we attract their attention.¡±

    Cantory¡¯s words made theme to a sudden realization, and they finally looked more at ease. In fact, they were not being nervous for nothing, but rather they all knew how torturous it had to be to keep such a massive secret that was rted to the survival of the families. Cantory managed to tell at a nce what they had neglected precisely because he was a spectator.

    Seeing that they had finally felt less nervous, Cantory was naturally smug, but he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, he continued, ¡°I think that we should now consider how to deal with the consequences that mighte with the cooperation between the Supreme Council and the Illuminati.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any good suggestions?¡± asked Burgess, who liked his son more and more. Having a son like Cantory was probably the thing that he was the proudest of in this life.

    Cantory smiled modestly, looked around, and then unhurriedly said, ¡°If they can get some allies, so can we.¡± After saying that, he looked away toward the depths of the Endless Ocean.

    They initially wanted to say something about their so-called allies, but after seeing Cantory¡¯s gaze, they immediately seemed to have understood something.

    While the people of several old families were being uneasy and discussing countermeasures to take after seeing Edmund¡¯s attitude toward Lin Li, King Bradlor was also asking Saint Edmund for advice about what had happened in the council hall during the day.

    Burgess and the others were shocked by the change in Edmund¡¯s attitude, while Bradlor was confused as to why the lofty saint of the Illuminati would suddenly be so friendly to Lin Li.

    Of course, Bradlor also knew that Lin Li had the identity of a fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. However, he knew that in terms of seniority, Edmund was still a Sanctuary powerhouse who was more senior than the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council. Even if Lin Li was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, he was probably several generations junior to Edmund.

    However, Bradlor hadn¡¯t had the time to ask in detail after going to the back of the council hall with Edmund back then. They had no choice but to resolve the matter ording to Edmund¡¯s wishes first.

    After they sent Lin Li away, while Burgess and the other ministers left, Bradlor finally couldn¡¯t contain the doubts within him. With no one else in the room, he gestured for Saint Edmund to sit down, but just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by Edmund who raised his hand.

    ¡°I know what you want to ask, but I must tell you this, don¡¯t underestimate Felic!¡± Edmund eximed as soon as he spoke, making Bradlor frightened.

    His sentence might sound like nothing, buting from Saint Edmund, it was definitely significant. As thetter was the saint of the Chaos Sanctuary of the Illuminati and a powerhouse from the Dark Age, there were probably less than five people whom Saint Edmund wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate.

    Although in Bradlor¡¯s opinion, Lin Li could be considered a rare genius who had reached the Sanctuary-realm at the age of 20, Lin Li was, after all, a member of the Supreme Council. Even if he could be a god in the future, he wouldn¡¯t bring any benefits to the Illuminati. On the contrary, the Illuminati should actually kill him in advance. Otherwise, how could the Illuminati contend with the Supreme Council in the future?

    Geniuses would only have infinite value when they were alive. A dead genius would be no different from an ordinary person. How could the Supreme Council possibly take revenge on the Illuminati at all costs for a dead genius? The three arbitrators of the Supreme Council who had also ruled the Supreme Council for thousands of years wouldn¡¯t make such an unwise choice, so there was nothing for the Illuminati to worry about.

    Besides, Edmund was close to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and he had been in the Sanctuary-realm for thousands of years. Meanwhile, Lin Li had only stepped into the Sanctuary-realm for a short period of time. Even if he had incredible talent, how could he bepared to Edmund who had thousands of years of experience? How could Edmund be wary of him?

    ¡°Saint Edmund, I remember hearing from High Priest Poer that Felic is only slightly stronger than him. I¡¯m afraid Elder Zumar alone will be enough to suppress him, even if you don¡¯t step in. I¡¯m really confused by your words,¡± Bradlor said with puzzlement.

    When Lin Li destroyed the Fifth Fleet, Bradlor didn¡¯t hold it against him on the surface, but he obviously wasn¡¯t pleased with it, so he asked High Priest Poer how strong Lin Li was. However, High Priest Poer was an arrogant person, so there was no way he would say that he was far inferior to a greenhorn like Lin Li. Hence, he naturally said that he had been negligent and belittled his enemy.

    Although Bradlor took into ount High Priest Poer¡¯s vanity and prideful nature, he also felt that even if Lin Li was stronger than High Priest Poer, his strength had to be limited. That was also the reason that Bradlor had the courage to look for Lin Li and confront him about the matter of the royal guards in the council hall. After all, as the head of a country, Bradlor was well aware of how great the impact of his own safety was on the entire kingdom. Hence, he wouldn¡¯t be so silly as to put himself in danger.

    However, Bradlor¡¯s question made Edmund sneer in disdain. Edmund sized up Bradlor, making him feel a little ashamed. He then shook his head, and said, ¡°Even I can ovee your defensive means, let alone that President Felic. You should be thankful I came back just in time. Otherwise, he would have probably demolished this pce and killed you.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Bradlor was immediately shocked to hear that. Although he knew that Edmund would not joke about such a thing, he still couldn¡¯t believe his words. Edmund was simply saying that Felic was stronger than him!

    Although Bradlor had only sent 20 to 30 special guards during the crisis, and had activated the magical defense of the throne, those methods had been verified by Sanctuary powerhouses, and ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses would not be able to break through the twoyers of defense in the first ce.

    Even though a single Legendary-level guard would not be able to defeat a Sanctuary powerhouse, they could get into a powerful battle formation created by the ancestors of the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom. With the power of the battle formation, they could unite and be one. Although they might not be able to contend with a Sanctuary powerhouse, they could buy precious time for the king.

    What was really powerful was the defensive mageweath on the king¡¯s throne. It was not a simple defensive mageweath, but part of a massive mageweath array that was set up in the entire pce. When Bradlor activated its defensive power, he also mobilized the mana in the entire pce through the mageweath array. That was not something that ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses could break through.

    Although it was said that even the most powerful defense could be broken, only a Sanctuary powerhouse of Edmund¡¯s level could break through the defense of the defensive mageweath array of the pce. Otherwise, if it were another Sanctuary powerhouse, Bradlor would have enough time to leave unhurriedly even if the former could break the defense.

    Seeing how amazed Bradlor was, Edmund didn¡¯t exin any further, and instead calmly said, ¡°Level does not represent strength, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of that logic. I¡¯ve seen him attacking on Cursed Ind before too, but even I couldn¡¯t quite see through his strength.¡±

    In the underground world of Cursed Ind, Edmund had seen Lin Li execute lethal techniques like the usage of the Light and Darkness Sword and the World Sword. Hence, he naturally had a deep understanding of Lin Li¡¯s overwhelming offensive power. Logically speaking, Lin Li should have gone all out when fighting High Priest Poer, who had already entered the demigod realm. However, Edmund had a vague feeling that even in that situation, Lin Li should have reserved some power and retained hisst trump card.

 Chapter 1195 - Half-Step Into The Realm of Gods

    <h4>Chapter 1195: Half-Step Into The Realm of Gods</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that Lin Li had an easy time dealing with High Priest Poer who was at the demigod realm. Unless Lin Li¡¯s trump card could allow him to summon a true deity, it would probably be a waste to use any other trump cards. They were all useless against the powerful enemies of the demigod realm, but that didn¡¯t mean that they would be just as useless against other Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, Edmund dared not underestimate the trump card that Lin Li had.

    Seeing that Edmund had said so too, Bradlor had no choice but to believe him despite being unable to figure it out. After all, with Edmund¡¯s status, there was no need to deceive him at all, and it wouldn¡¯t do any good to the Illuminati, either. On the contrary, if he really schemed against the Gilded Kingdom, Edmund wouldn¡¯t have to say anything to Bradlor, as he could just have him go and provoke Felic.

    Thinking about the conflict that happened in the council hall during the day, as well as Edmund¡¯s reminder, Bradlor couldn¡¯t help but feel a little scared. If Lin Li was really as terrifying as Edmund made him out to be, and if Edmund couldn¡¯t make it back alive, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    ¡°So, what are we going to do next?¡± asked Bradlor, thankful that things hadn¡¯t escted beyond control. At the same time, he was also asking Edmund for advice on how he should handle his rtionship with the Tower of Dusk in the future.

    ¡°With my understanding of Felic, he won¡¯t take what happened today personally, but you have to pay more attention in the future, don¡¯t let those ipetent ones provoke him and his subordinates again. As for the rest, just know that if you can get on good terms with him, it definitely won¡¯t be a bad thing for the Gilded Kingdom. I believe you should know what to do.¡± Although Edmund rarely interacted with Lin Li, he could tell just from the fact that Lin Li didn¡¯t kick them when they were already down after High Priest Poer seriously injured him and Elder Zumar that Lin Li wasn¡¯t a petty person.

    If it had been anyone else, they would have probably caved in to the temptation, taken the opportunity to kill them, and then snatched the treasure away when Edmund and Elder Zumar had been severely injured to the point of almost bing defenseless. Since the Illuminati wouldn¡¯t have pursued the matterter anyway, Lin Li could have just pushed all the me to High Priest Poer. Even if the Illuminati had suspected anything, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to make any usations, and might even have had to be controlled by Lin Li because of the holy artifact.

    However, after dealing with High Priest Poer, Lin Li not only did not do anything to Edmund, but also gave them the holy artifact. He even helped them find the corpse of the founding saint, Aquilo. Hence, in Edmund¡¯s opinion, Lin Li was the type who wouldn¡¯t provoke anyone unnecessarily, unless they offended him. As long as they didn¡¯t mess with him for no reason, everything would be fine.

    Of course, just because Edmund had such an understanding, it didn¡¯t mean that Bradlor would think the same. After all, Bradlor was clueless about what had happened in the underground world, so after finding out that Lin Li was a powerhouse whom even Edmund didn¡¯t dare to underestimate, he immediately thought about ways to patch things up with Lin Li.

    However, Edmund was obviously not intending to talk about Lin Li anymore. Hence, Bradlor naturally could not ask about it any further. Instead, he changed the topic of conversation to the matter regarding Cursed Ind, and asked, ¡°Saint Edmund, everything went well during the trip to Cursed Ind this time, right?¡±

    Despite being the king, even Bradlor didn¡¯t have the right or authority to interfere with the affairs of the Illuminati, let alone find out their secrets. Hence, he merely asked that question politely.

    Hearing that Bradlor had asked about Cursed Ind, Edmund couldn¡¯t help but look at him. Seeing that there wasn¡¯t a change in his expression, he knew that High Priest Poer should have been presumptuous, and had done those things out of his own ord. However, Edmund did not say anything about High Priest Poer. After all, High Priest Poer was a member of the Gilded Kingdom, and if the saint talked about it now, it wouldn¡¯t do any good for the rtionship between the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom.

    Edmund looked away, and emotionally said, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to President Felic this time. Otherwise, the matter wouldn¡¯t have beenpleted so smoothly.¡±

    In fact, if it weren¡¯t because Lin Li had dealt with High Priest Poer, they probably wouldn¡¯t havee back alive, let alone resurrect Aquilo.

    Edmund¡¯s words did not make Bradlor think too much about it. Even though Edmund admired Lin Li¡¯s strength and power, Bradlor didn¡¯t think that the Illuminati¡¯s mission was almost entirely aplished by Lin Li. Bradlor could tell from Edmund¡¯s words that the Illuminati should havepleted their mission on Cursed Ind. Otherwise, Edmund wouldn¡¯t have said that it was smooth and sessful.

    ¡°Does that mean that High Priest Poer didn¡¯te back with you guys?¡± Bradlor eventually asked about High Priest Poer. After all, High Priest Poer was considered one of Bradlor¡¯s underlings and a Sanctuary powerhouse who was rare in the Gilded Kingdom. Lin Li and Edmund had both returned, but Poer hadn¡¯t returned yet. Hence, no one would ignore that problem.

    ¡°He stayed there,¡± Edmund answered indifferently.

    That was a vague statement that could be interpreted in many ways. It could mean that Poer had died there, got trapped, or decided to stay there out of his own ord. However, Bradlor did not take things seriously. No matter what, High Priest Poer was also a Sanctuary powerhouse, so he merely thought that Poer had stayed there to handle some matters.

    Hence, when Bradlor saw that Edmund seemed to be unwilling to continue talking about the matter, he stopped probing about Poer. Instead, he said, ¡°Saint Edmund, since everything has been going well with the Illuminati, the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom¡ª¡±

    However, before Bradlor could finish his sentence, Edmund stopped him with a serious expression, and said, ¡°Bradlor, it¡¯s not the time to talk about that matter now, you just need to remember that the Illuminati will keep their word and stick to the original agreement. Okay, I still need to report the matter of Cursed Ind to the lord. I shall not impose on you any further.¡±

    Bradlor also suddenly came back to his senses. Seeing that Edmund was about to take his leave, he hurriedly got up to walk him out personally. Putting aside their identities as the king and a saint, Bradlor was Edmund¡¯s junior in terms of seniority. After sending Edmund away, he returned to the pce alone while continuing to think about how to patch things up with Lin Li.

    With Edmund¡¯s reminder, Bradlor temporarily dropped the idea of regaining his pride. After all, the Gilded Kingdom was the root cause of the matter. Despite being reluctant and indignant, Bradlor still had to consider the interests of the kingdom. Besides, he didn¡¯t really want to go to war, either.

    As the protagonist of this incident, Lin Li returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. After patronizing the people of the Breezy ins, he sent them all away. What happened in the royal pce today did not cause him to feel any emotion. A war was terrifying and destructive, but if the battlefield wasn¡¯t in the Breezy ins, what would the impact be on the Breezy ins?

    The Gilded Kingdom was far away, and even if they had the most powerful fleet in Anril, they had to have a way to get on the maind of the Breezy ins if they wanted to invade it. Lin Li was confident that with his own strength and the powerful Sky Castle, he would be able to block the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army at sea easily.

    Hence, after returning to the embassy, Lin Li did not think much about the matter in the pce, and instead returned to his room where he continued to study the mysterious Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

    Yesterday, Lin Li spent almost a day and a night on research, but his progress in studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was negligible. He probably hadn¡¯t even figured out a single tinge of the mystery within. However, Lin Li had an obvious feeling that he had gained a lot out of this process.

    The Divine-Smith-level mageweath could be considered a Book of Eternity of the field of inscription. It could even bring about benefits that were beyond the field of inscription for Lin Li. Be it magic spells, mageweaths, potions, or even inscriptions, the World Laws were a crucial factor after one reached a certain level.

    Although Lin Li was already a Guru of Inscription, those at the Guru-level and Master-level still belonged to the world of humans and mortals. How could the power of mortals bepared to the power of the gods? Not to mention the power of the gods, even if it was only a wisp of divine power, it was not something that ordinary people could contend with.

    It was just like how High Priest Poer had a wisp of divine power after he became the ve of the ancient God of Light and reached the demigod realm. With that power, High Priest Poer forced Lin Li into the state of being almost defenseless. In fact, not to mention Lin Li, even if Edmund and Zumar had not been injured, they would probably only have been suppressed by High Priest Poer¡¯s overwhelming power.

    If it was a real god, Lin Li and the rest would not have to resist at all, as the other party could kill them easily with the lift of a finger. That was the difference between gods and mortals. The power of gods was already beyond the constraints of this world, which was something that mortals could notpare to at all.

    As long as mortals were still mortals, they would definitely be bound by the power of the world, and all the power they used would have to be within this world. It was just like theparison between a pond and the sea. A pond might be deep, but there were still boundaries, and no matter how strong the wind might be, there was no way it could lead to huge waves. Ascending to godhood was akin to turning the pond into an ocean that could produce terrifying storms and massive waves. The boundless power was not restrained at all.

    The Divine-Smith-level mageweath controlled the World Laws, and if Lin Li could figure it out, he might be able to ascend to godhood right away. However, since ancient times, there had only been a few who could do that, and the Immortal King was the only Divine Smith in history.

    Of course, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, Geresco the God of Mages was probably also qualified to be called a Divine Smith. For example, the Sky Castle and its facilities were not something that ordinary Guru-level people could create. However, Lin Li hadn¡¯t exactly discovered any Divine-Smith-level works of Geresco yet.

    That showed that it was not an easy task to be a Divine Smith. Fortunately, Lin Li had this Divine-Smith-level mageweath to study, which seemed to be giving him a direction and guiding him straight to the threshold of Divine Smith. Therefore, the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was of absolute importance to Lin Li as it was better than searching blindly, even though he did not pin all his hopes on it.

    As for bing a Divine Smith or ascending to godhood, there was not much difference between them. When one reached the Divine-realm, everything would boil down tows. The magic spells cast by mages werews, and so were the mageweaths of inscribers and potions made by pharmacists.

    Hence, when it came tobat power, the power used would not be inferior to mages¡¯ after one reached a certain realm. In terms of creativity, Divine Smiths were much stronger than ordinary gods. After all, they could create miracles anytime and anywhere.

    Of course, Lin Li would probably take a long time if he wanted to rely on this Divine-Smith-level mageweath to reach the Divine Smiths¡¯ realm. After all, this Divine-Smith-level mageweath was still too profound for him, and it was something that he had to use endless energy to study.

    However, Lin Li had his advantages too as he had a set of skills that were beyond just mageweaths and inscriptions. He was also good at forging, pharmaceutics, and other fields of knowledge. Although they seemed to be separate entities at this stage, they were actually all rted to the nature of Laws. It would be impossible not to involve thews.

    Besides, when studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, Lin Li did not forget about what he had learned in the underground world, and that was the power left in the debris of the stars by the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness. The power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness was used by the gods to stabilize their Divine Kingdom. A Domain World with the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness could almost be considered a real world. In fact, it was evenparable to Anril.

    Lin Li did not have the luxury of turning his Domain World into the legendary Divine Kingdom all of a sudden. However, once he found out the secret of the power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, and added the power to his Domain World, no one else in the Sanctuary-realm wouldpare to him.

    The Domain World was the foundation of a Sanctuary powerhouse, and its strength and stability would directly affect the strength of the Sanctuary powerhouse. If Lin Li had such a powerful Domain World, and condensed it into a World Sword, he would probably have terrifying strength that would allow him to severely wound the demigod-level High Priest Poer with the World Sword if he had to face him again.

 Chapter 1196 - Sea God Pillar

    <h4>Chapter 1196: Sea God Pir</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Why didn¡¯t Lin Li just concentrate on one? In fact, that was a discovery he made during his research. The Divine-Smith-level mageweath was used to suppress the Ancient God of Light, so thews involved in the mageweath were somewhat simr to the power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness that suppressed the Divine Kingdom. It could be said that Lin Li¡¯sprehension of the Divine-Smith-level mageweaths might give Lin Li a more profound and deeper understanding of the power of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness. That understanding might even give him more help in his research on mageweaths.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t know how long it would take to study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath thoroughly, the gains he made during this study were also massive. The Divine-Smith-level mageweath was like a huge treasure that allowed him to reap a great amount of new knowledge with every bit of progress he made.

    Lin Li was so immersed in his research that he was almost oblivious to what was going on outside as he waspletely unaffected by the previous incident. Of course, he didn¡¯t have to think about those nonsensical things anyway, as everything would be fine as long as the Tower of Dusk was not at a loss. On the other hand, the Gilded Kingdom seemed to have been insulted and humiliated. It was not within Lin Li¡¯s concern whether the Gilded Kingdom had suffered a mistreatment or not. It was their fault for not taking their clowns in hand.

    On the sixth day, the Gilded Kingdom sent the Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson over again. However, Jefferson did note to dere war, and instead he was there to remind Lin Li that the decennial Sea Market of the Gilded Kingdom was about to begin.

    In addition, Jefferson also ryed a message from King Bradlor, saying that he had heard of Lin Li¡¯s remarkable attainments in pharmaceutics. Hence, he hoped that Lin Li would put up a few potions for auction after the Sea Market began.

    In fact, Bradlor did not think that Lin Li coulde up with any impressive potions. In his opinion, Lin Li managed to step into the Sanctuary-realm at such a young age entirely because he had devoted all his energy to learning magic, and concocting potions and studying pharmaceutics was just a hobby of his. It was simply impossible for him to have any impressive achievements.

    Of course, Bradlor was not nning to make Lin Li make a fool out of himself, but rather he was intending to buy every single potion that Lin Li put up for auction, regardless of what it was. That would boost Lin Li¡¯s ego, and the king would also be able to use that method to express some of his goodwill to Lin Li. Otherwise, there was no way Bradlor would swallow his pride ande to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk to beg for forgiveness.

    Lin Li did not think that much about it, and was merely curious as to how Bradlor found out that he was proficient in pharmaceutics even though Lin Li had never showcased his skills there before. However, he did not bother to dwell on that matter. Anyway, he would just do Bradlor a favor and put a few potions up for sale when the time came.

    Hence, after speaking to Jefferson for a while, and agreeing to put the potions up for sale, Lin Li brushed him off and sent him away. After Jefferson left, Lin Li did not immediately go back to his room to continue studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, but instead decided to go out for a stroll to unwind and rx after being reminded of the matter of the Sea Market.

    In the six days that Lin Li had spent at the embassy, there had already been drastic changes outside. Although there were still 10 days away from the official opening of the Sea Market, the people in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom were already in the mood for it, especially on the streets that were crowded with lots of people including many of the Sea n as well as other ns who were dressed in strange clothes.

    Compared to the Sea Market in the world that Geresco had created, the decennial Sea Market in the Gilded Kingdom was countless timesrger. For instance, the number of types of Sea n members in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom now was much higher than that of those who were at the Sea Market in Geresco¡¯s world. There were those of the Silver Shark n who were chinless and had pointed noses and sharp and jagged teeth. There were also those of the Jellyfish n who had transparent tentacles and blurry faces, as well as the Lobster n whose eyes were beady like those of lobsters, and who had long spikes on their heads. Their pincers seemed clumsy, but they were just as nimble as human hands.

    To be honest, although Lin Li was already a Sanctuary powerhouse, this was truly an eye-opener for him. He had seen shrimp and crab soldiers in mythical television dramas before he transmigrated, but he had never seen any in real life ever since he stepped into Anril.

    However, the civilians of the Gilded Kingdom seemed to be used to seeing the members of the Sea n because they would just walk past them like how they walked past Lin Li. Of course, the Sea n members were indeed also foreigners for them, and while the strange-looking Sea n members might all seem aggressive, they were all disciplined. They followed the rules well, and there were even some Sea n members who were zealously bargaining for a better price with somemoners of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li came out with the intentions of rxing and unwinding, but in fact, he didn¡¯t purely want to do so. More importantly, he was there to purchase some items. Studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath required more than just cing it on the table and staring at it all day. In order toprehend the various principles of mageweaths, he had to test them himself by conducting experiments. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t know if what he hadprehended was correct or not. The tests required more than just drawing mageweaths, and he had to test some magic theories with various types of magical materials.

    There was an abundance of magic materials needed for those experiments in the Tower of Dusk, but Lin Li couldn¡¯t possibly open a spatial rift and return to the Tower of Dusk for the sake of retrieving some materials. Hence, if the problem could be solved with money here, it would be best to solve it with money.

    When Lin Li first came to the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, he shopped at the variousrge markets here, but the items peddled at those markets at the time were just some ordinary items that he wasn¡¯t interested in at all. This time, Lin Li did not go wandering around, but went straight to thergest market in the capital city which he remembered.

    Thergest trade market in Hopra City, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, was a gift from the sea. In fact, it could be considered a trade city too. In Lin Li¡¯s opinion, it was like a shopping mall that was full with a variety of stores which he used to visit before he transmigrated. However, inparison, the trade market called the Gift of the Sea was several timesrger in scale, and it was truly as its name suggested.

    The door of the trade market wasrge and wide, seemingly about the same size as a real city gate. However, there were no heavy opaque doors, and people could instead see the lively and bustling scene behind the gate at a nce. There were fourrge words ¡®Gift of the Sea¡¯ written at the top in amonnguage known to all.

    There was an avenue that was wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side, leading all the way to the deepest part of the Gift of the Sea. There were several times more passersby on the avenue than the outside, especially those of the Sea n and other ns. However, the avenue was fortunately wide enough to fit all of them, thus making it less crowded. Of course, when the Sea Market officially opened, the avenue would definitely be full of people regardless of how wide it was.

    Lin Li walked slowly and leisurely along the avenue, with some Sea n members and other ns passing by him from time to time, and making him feel like he had entered a zoo. There were numerous stores lined up neatly on both sides of the avenue, as well as three- or four-story buildings with luxurious exterior designs. They were obviously owned by powerful merchants.

    Whenever he passed by the stores, there would be a slightly narrower road with two forks that each led to a different side. Inparison, the stores on those two sides were inferior to those of the main avenue, just like in the world that Lin Li was in before he transmigrated. The stores in the prime locations were naturally owned by powerful merchants. Those who held the least power would probably have to set up their stores in the nooks and crannies.

    When Lin Li first arrived in Hopra City, he shopped in all the major markets in the city, and had a general understanding of the stores there. Of course, back then, there was still a long time before the start of the Sea Market, so the stock at those stores was far lessplete than now. Now, they could take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune. They put all their goods on disy, and raised the price of all goods by a few percent.

    However, those stores which were basically operated by some trade unions of the Gilded Kingdom, were stocked up with rare goods that were hard to find, though they were insignificant to Lin Li. After buying some magical materials in those stores, Lin Li headed straight to the innermost part of the market without paying attention to the other stores he walked past.

    There was a special area in the store, which upied a fifth of the area of the market, that was set aside for the merchants of the Sea n. It was said that the owner of all the stores in this area belonged to one of therge ns of the sea, known as the Octopus n. In addition to the Gift of the Sea, there were also such designated areas in other markets of Hopra. However, they belonged to the different ns of the Sea n.

    The main reason for the segregation was to prevent conflict between the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Sea n. After all, when it came to interests, merchants would put aside issues like rice and diplomacy. They would resort to anything for the sake of a 200% profit. That included the human merchants and the merchants of the Sea n. In fact, the segregation was meant to protect the merchants of the Gilded Kingdom. If they provoked the Sea n, they would definitely die.

    Of course, these things had nothing to do with Lin Li; in fact, the segregation made it easier for him to find the Sea n specialties that he needed.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Lin Li to arrive in the area where the Sea n merchants operated. This ce seemed more like thend of the Sea n. Although there were also some human merchants buying things there, the proportion was quite smallpared to the number of Sea n members. After all, the Sea Market had yet to officially open, and the real liveliness would begin only when the major merchants andmercial giants of the maind arrived.

    Even though Lin Li had broad horizons, he still felt that he had gotten an eye-opener when he walked through the market. Although the Sea n merchants usually had business dealings with the Gilded Kingdom, they naturally put up all the best items in their inventory for sale in this major market.

    When passing the first store, Lin Li was surprised by the items on disy. It was a store owned by the Silver Shark n, and they mainly peddled magical gemstones and magic crystals. There were two blue crystal pces ced in the most conspicuous spot of the store.

    Since they were ced in the most conspicuous spot in the store like they were the best items, they were naturally not ordinary crystals. If one looked carefully, they would find ayer of silvery light on the surface of the pirs, which light was made of countless extremely small magic runes.

    Although Lin Li had never seen such a thing, he immediately thought of a treasure in the deep sea after he saw the magic runes and sensed thews in the pir. It actually wasn¡¯t a crystal, but a pir condensed by thews of the sea. Hence, it was called Divine Sea Pir.

    Legend had it that if the Divine Sea Pir was ced on a ship, the ship would remain still even in the midst of a thunderstorm, let alone capsize. It could be said to be a life-saving treasure for ships traveling on the sea. If a mageweath could activate the power of the Divine Sea Pir with the pir as the core, it would help the ships suppress the wind and waves within 50 kilometers. In that case, even a fleet of ships would be protected.

    If the sea merchants had such an impressive Divine Sea Pir, the risks they encountered when doing business on the Endless Ocean could be reduced by half. The reason that only half and not all of the risks were reduced was that the risks of doing business at sea were far beyond strong wind and waves. They also included the pirates, who were the biggest enemy of the sea merchants. The Divine Sea Pir could suppress the wind and waves, but not the pirates. In fact, the Divine Sea Pir might even attract the attention of the pirates as they might very likely covet it.

    Of course, ship protection was the most basic of the many functions of the Divine Sea Pir. The most functional feature of the Divine Sea Pir could probably be maximized only in the hands of mages above the Legendary-realm, or perhaps even the Sanctuary-realm.

    For instance, if a Sanctuary powerhouse like Elder Zumar whose World Domain was the ocean world had such a Divine Sea Pir, he would be able to increase the power of the ocean world by at least 50%.

 Chapter 1197 - Blood of the Sea God

    <h4>Chapter 1197: Blood of the Sea God</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Just like how a Golden Behemoth could leverage on the power of the earth, Elder Zumar would be able to use the Divine Sea Pir as a medium tomunicate with the ocean and obtain its power while he was in the ocean. It was almost equal to having infinite mana.

    However, for Lin Li, the Divine Sea Pir was much less attractive because the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, that he owned contained the purest elementalws of water, which were much more profound than the oceanicws of the Divine Sea Pir. As for the function of suppressing the wind and waves to ensure the safety of the ship, it was redundant because he felt that some ordeals and tribtions were necessary for personal growth. No matter how excellent a fleet might be, it would be useless if it hadn¡¯t experienced any dangerous weather or other adverse conditions at sea.

    Hence, although Lin Li was a little surprised to see the Divine Sea Pir here, he didn¡¯t intend to pocket it. However, he had no idea that Elder Zumar, who had received the tip-off, immediately went to the same store that he visited, and bought one of the Divine Sea Pirs without hesitation soon after Lin Li left.

    Lin Li naturally wasn¡¯t aware that the item that he hadn¡¯t taken a liking to was treated as a treasure and bought by someone right after he left. Of course, to Elder Zumar, the Divine Sea Pir was indeed a rare treasure. It was insignificant to Lin Li merely because he owned an incredible treasure like the debris of the stars.

    However, the Divine Sea Pir seemed to be just an appetizer. As Lin Li gradually explored further into the market, he also began to be dazzled. There was a plethora of ocean specialties like magical gemstones, rare magical metals, and deep-sea magical nts that were almost extinct. Those items were far more useful for Lin Li than the Divine Sea Pir. Hence, he bought some along the way.

    There were also some items that Lin Li chose not to buy, but it didn¡¯t mean that they were inferior. He just didn¡¯t need them. There were even some rare items that Lin Li hadn¡¯t seen or heard of since he came to Anril. Instead, he identified them based on the legends of the Endless World before he transmigrated.

    For example, he saw a few seemingly rusty bronze shields, which were actually the legendary ancient ck Turtle shells. It was said that the ancient turtle was born with a mageweath on its shell, which would increase in level together with the turtle¡¯s growth. Legend had it that it might even grow to the Divine-Smith-level.

    However, the mageweaths on the turtle shells in front of Lin Li had only reached the Master-level, and they would at most make a few good shields. If they were Guru-level mageweaths, Lin Li might be willing to buy them to study them. If there was a live turtle, he might be willing to buy it and let it continue growing too. Unfortunately, they were just a few shells, which he felt weren¡¯t worth his money.

    Of course, Lin Li was now a Guru of Inscription, and was studying a Divine-Smith-level mageweath. Thus, he was naturally indifferent towards the mageweath on the ck Turtle¡¯s shell. However, even Masters of Inscription were few and far between in Anril. For others, the shells might be considered absolutely precious.

    Hence, before the smug shopkeeper coulde forward to show off anything to him, Lin Li shook his head slightly and left, leaving the shopkeeper to stare at his back.

    However, during his exploration, Lin Li also really saw a lot of deep-sea specialties. Hence, he spent some time looking at them before arriving at a store that specially sold inscription materials slightlyter than nned.

    The store was named Calicoli, which didn¡¯t have much of a significance as the store was just named after the owner who was from the Octopus n. He had also studied and researched inscription before. Hence, his store was well-stocked with the necessary items.

    At the mention of the Octopus n, some people might think of arge octopus or squid, but their bodily shape was actually quite simr to that of humans. However, on the surface, they did look a little like octopuses as they were bald and hairless, with a pair of beady eyes and a few finger-thick tentacles on their chin and neck which would twist from time to time.

    Although they seemed a bit disgusting, they were quite powerful among the Sea n. In particr, the Octopus n¡¯s members were far more talented in inscription than other beings. They could be considered natural-born inscribers. ording to the standards of Anril, the most ordinary member of the Octopus n had to at least be a mid-level inscriber.

    A mid-level inscriber might sound mediocre, and ifpared with the ranking levels of mages, he would probably be below the level of Archmages. However, in Anril, inscribers were even rarer than pharmacists. In the Supreme Council, inscribers like Moore, who had merely reached the edge of the Master-level, were already considered to be of a high level.

    However, inscribers like Moore were a dime a dozen among the Octopus n where there was probably a countless number of them. That was also the reason that the Octopus n was a very powerful race even in Anril.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t casually chance upon this store. In fact, he had patronized it once during hisst visit to the Gift of the Sea. However, at that time, the things in this store were still rtively ordinary, and none of them enticed Lin Li. He also heard the shopkeeper say that the shelves would be stocked with excellent goods during the several days leading up to the Sea Market. That was the reason he decided to head there directly.

    As soon as Lin Li entered the store, he felt that there was really a great difference herepared to before. First of all, the mana fluctuations emanating from the various magical materials were much moreplicated and intense than before. The type and quality of the magic materials in this store today were obviously far from what ordinary goods couldpare to.

    Of course, Lin Li could feel that because he was powerful enough. If others who were weaker were in his ce, they might not be able to feel it so clearly. After all, those magic materials had been specially ssified and preserved, and some of them could note into contact with the outside world. The shopkeeper naturally could not expose all the magic materials like they were seasoning powder.

    ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯vee at the right time, it just so happens that a batch of superior magic materials has arrived in store yesterday.¡± When the owner of the store, Calicoli, saw Lin Li, he immediately walked forward to greet him. Regardless of race, all smart merchants would understand the principle that a good service attitude would drive sales. Therefore, even if the Octopus n had a high status among the Sea n, they couldn¡¯t be arrogant before customers.

    Moreover, thest time Lin Li came over, Calicoli also discussed with Lin Li some inscription questions. Although Lin Li didn¡¯t say much, Calicoli himself was an advanced inscriber. Even though he couldn¡¯t tell what Lin Li¡¯s attainments in inscription were, he knew that Lin Li was better than him.

    After greeting Calicoli, Lin Li directly handed over a list of items to him without saying anything more. ¡°I need these magic materials, see if you have them. Of course, I want those that are of the best quality.¡±

    Calicoli took the list, nced at it, and then nodded before saying, ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll get them for you. Rest assured, the items in my store are definitely of the best quality.¡±

    Calicoli took the list and proceeded to fetch the magic materials for inscriptions for Lin Li. While waiting, Lin Li casually browsed through the store to see if there was anything worthy of his money.

    While browsing, Lin Li suddenly stopped in front of a transparent crystal box which contained glittering ck-golden sand. The sand seemed to have some metallic characteristics mixed with a subtle crystalline characteristic. The magical waves it emitted as well as the vitality it exuded made it seem like it was alive.

    While using his mental strength to sense the nature of the sand, he carefully searched his memory for information that might match the characteristics of the sand. When his mental strength permeated through the closed crystal box and touched the ck sand, something even more bizarre happened. The ck sand in the box immediately converged and huddled up into a ball like a frightened creature.

    The change gave Lin Li a sh of inspiration as he suddenly recalled something that he had heard in the in-game Endless World that he was in before he transmigrated. The setting of the Endless World game was ancient mythology that began with the creation of the world and the various intelligent races. In the myth, after the creator created the world by extracting the particles from chaos to first create the various intelligent and sentient races, he proceeded to create the other living beings in the world with the remaining materials.

    The particles extracted from chaos were called Sand of Origin, a substance that was neither metal nor stone, but had infinite activity. It was said that a tiny amount of Sand of Origin was all that was needed to give forged weapons or equipment the magical ability to repair themselves automatically.

    Although the myth was magical, the Sand of Origin was not extremely rare. It was said that it could be found inrge quantities in a corner of the vast ocean. Before Lin Li transmigrated to Anril, he had thought about going to that ocean to search for the so-called Sand of Origin. Unfortunately, before he could do so, he had already been sent to Anril.

    At this point, Calicoli had also prepared all the materials on Lin Li¡¯s list. As soon as he came out, he saw Lin Li staring at the box of ck sand; hence, he walked towards him, and asked, ¡°Master Felic, are you interested in the Blood of the Sea God too?¡±

    ¡°The Blood of the Sea God?¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t expect it to have a name, and he was also surprised to find that it wasn¡¯t the Sand of Origin that he knew about.

    ¡°Yes, the Blood of the Sea God is a divine object of the Sea n. As you can see, it has an extremely high activity, and can be considered to be an immortal existence. If you add some when you¡¯re drawing mageweaths, the mageweaths drawn will be able to be preserved for longer. If they are added to forged weapons and equipment, it will allow them to have an auto-repair function,¡± Calicoli exined enthusiastically as he introduced it to Lin Li.

    After learning about its properties from Calicoli, Lin Li was more and more certain of his conjectures, and thus couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why is it called the Blood of the Sea God, then?¡±

    ¡°Haha, this goes all the way back to a legend passed down by our Sea n. Legend has it that millions of years ago, evil ancient gods from several worlds away suddenly descended on the Endless Ocean, and tried to use the power of the Endless Ocean to drown the entire world. In order to protect the Sea n and other races onnd, the great Sea God got into an intense battle with the evil ancient gods, and eventually suppressed them. However, during that intense battle, the Sea God had also suffered some injuries, and his blood flowed into the Endless Ocean. Hence, it resulted in the Blood of the Sea God.¡± Calicoli couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of pride that was unique to the Sea n at this point. Clearly, ording to this legend, if it weren¡¯t for the Sea God they believed in, Anril would have probably sunk to the bottom of the ocean by now.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t very interested in those iffy legends. After Calicoli finished speaking, he pointed his finger at the crystal box, and asked, ¡°So, how much are you charging for this box of Blood of the Sea God?¡±

    ¡°500,000 coins a gram.¡± Calicoli did not stand on ceremony at all. He exined the myth to Lin Li all for the sake of setting the mood to fetch a high price for the sand. In particr, when he saw that Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to recognize the Blood of the Sea God at first, he felt that Lin Li certainly wouldn¡¯t know the true value of the item. Of course he had to grasp the opportunity to rip Lin Li off.

    Although Lin Li was not short on money, he wasn¡¯t willing to let others take advantage of him, so he slightly shook his head and declined. ¡°Apart from the material, one of the more important factors that determine the duration of existence of a mageweath is the stability of the source and supply of mana. If the source of mana is no longer abundant in mana, there would be no point in the existence of the mageweath. As for the automatic repair function of the weapons and equipment, the sturdiness of weapons and equipment will also drop by at least a notch with the addition of the Blood of the Sea God, right?¡±

    Nothing in this world was perfect, and there were downsides to everything. If a weapon was solid, strong, and sturdy, and had the ability to automatically repair itself, it would be worthy of being called a divine artifact. However, it was impossible for divine artifacts to be formed just by simply adding a morsel of the Blood of the Sea God. Besides, Lin Li knew that although the Blood of the Sea God and the Sand of Origin were rtively rare, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean that they were minute in amounts. It was said that in the game of Endless World, the Sand of Origin wasmonly found in the seabed of a certain area in the ocean.

    ¡°In this case, Master Felic, how much do you think the Blood of the Sea God should be worth?¡± asked Calicoli, who did not expect Lin Li to immediately turn down his offer even after hearing all the benefits he had listed. Hence, he had no choice but to find out how much the Blood of the Sea God was worth in Lin Li¡¯s opinion.

 Chapter 1198 - Octopus Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1198: Octopus n</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°50,000 gold coins a gram. You should still be able to make quite arge profit from it. If you¡¯re not agreeable to the price, forget it, this thing isn¡¯t of much use to me anyway.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t bother to waste time bargaining with Calicoli, since the Blood of the Sea God wasn¡¯t of much use to Lin Li, even though it had magical effects. The reason he wanted to buy some was not for drawing mageweaths, but because he wanted to try feeding it to Gordon the Demon.

    When Lin Li first went to the Sky Castle, he subdued Demon Gordon who fed on metal, converting the metal it devoured into its own power. He could also transfer the metal¡¯s magical properties to himself.

    Demon Gordon was supposed to reach a bottleneck at the Legendary-level and remain there forever because he had already devoured the vast majority of the metals present in Anril, so there was no longer any way for him to enhance his power. However, Lin Li had a few Divinity Metals that he had brought over from the Endless World, and they contained the ability to grow infinitely.

    After Lin Li fed a piece of Divinity Metal to Gordon, his ability continued to increase slowly even though he stopped devouring other metals. However, the rate of increase was a bit slower. Now, although Gordon¡¯s strength was still increasing, he obviously couldn¡¯t keep up with Lin Li¡¯s pace. For example, during the few battles on Cursed Ind, Gordon couldn¡¯t give Lin Li any help at all during the battle against the Ice Phoenix, the incarnation of the Serpent of Light, or High Priest Poer.

    Gordon could initially also be used as a trump card, but not anymore. Lin Li naturally did not want to let Gordon go to waste. Hence, after seeing the Blood of the Sea God, Lin Li got the idea to try and let Gordon devour some Blood of the Sea God, thinking that there might be some surprises.

    Of course, Lin Li also wanted to experiment a little, and there was no reason that he would let himself be shortchanged and taken advantage of for such a reason. Hence, he offered the price of 50,000 gold coins a gram. If Calicoli agreed to it, he would buy some to carry out his experiment. If not, he would just leave.

    Hearing the price Lin Li quoted, Calicoli knew that it was impossible for him to take advantage and rip Lin Li off. Although the price was staggering, he knew very well that 50,000 gold coins a gram was not far off from the price he had originally intended to offer. In other words, Lin Li managed to urately guess the real value of the Blood of the Sea God even though he had never seen it before.

    Although the Blood of the Sea God had a good reputation, it actually wasn¡¯t very rare in the sea territory of the Octopus n. Unlike ordinary minerals which were non-renewable, the Blood of the Sea God was considered a renewable resource because of its ultra-high activity. Besides, as Lin Li mentioned, the addition of an automatic repair ability came with hidden side effects that were not negligible. Hence, the price couldn¡¯t rise to an outrageous amount.

    However, 50,000 gold coins a gram was still quite a high pricepared to other magic materials. No matter what, the Blood of the Sea God was also considered unique to the Octopus n, and would indeede in handy when drawing mageweaths. In particr, one of the main sources of wealth for the Octopus n was the high-level magic scrolls. The addition of the Blood of the Sea God allowed the magic scrolls created by the Octopus n to have a longer lifespan than ordinary magic scrolls.

    After all, the mana source of the power of the magic scrolls did note from magical crystals, as no one would add arge magical crystal to a magic scroll. Thebination of the magic materials and the mana that would be added during the creation of the magic scrolls acted as a guide to mobilize the magical elements in space, turning them into the mana source together with the variousws used in the mageweaths. In fact, it was just like turning the process of spell casting by a mage into a mageweath. Majority of the mana used by a mage came from the magical elements in space.

    Hence, the main thing that determined the lifespan of a magic scroll was the mageweath drawn on the magic scroll. As long as the mageweath could exist for a long time, the magic scroll would not malfunction, and could even y its proper role at critical junctures. No one would want the magic scrolls that they had spent a ton of money on to end up malfunctioning in a few years¡¯ time. In particr, it would be a huge ripoff if someone tried to use the magic scroll during critical moments, only to find out that it had long expired.

    This advantage of long lifespan alone could be considered a signature advantage of the Octopus n¡¯s magic scrolls. Besides, the Octopus n¡¯s attainments in inscription were quite elite, and the magic scrolls they produced were almost all fine and exquisite. Hence, no one could resist the magic scrolls of the Octopus n. The revenue from the magic scrolls alone could ount for half of their total annual revenue. Hence, it could be seen why the Blood of the Sea God was not rare among the Octopus n.

    Of course, the lifespan of the magic scrolls was long, but it didn¡¯t mean that they could be preserved for hundreds and thousands of years or passed down as heirlooms. The mana in the magic materials would also dissipate. If it could be preserved for thousands of years without any reduction of mana, they would probably be at about the same level as the semi-divine artifacts. It was not something that an ordinary inscription master could produce, nor was it achievable with the Blood of the Sea God. Even if it could be preserved for hundreds of years, however, that was attractive enough for the people who would spend twice or thrice the price of ordinary magic scrolls.

    Hence, Calicoli felt that the price of 50,000 gold coins a gram was still quite eptable even though it was only a 10th of the previous asking price. However, when Calicoli was about to agree and ask Lin Li how much of the Blood of the Sea God he intended to buy, someone interjected.

    ¡°How much does that Blood of the Sea God cost? I want it all!¡±

    Two people then walked over. They were none other than Lin Li¡¯s old acquaintance, Cantory, and another Octopus n member who looked simr to Calicoli.

    The one who said he wanted to buy all the Blood of the Sea God was Cantory, who walked towards Lin Li with a smile on his face, and said with some embarrassment, ¡°What a coincidence, President Felic, I didn¡¯t expect you to be here too. I¡¯m really sorry, I also came here because I heard that the Blood of the Sea God can be bought here.¡±

    Was it really that coincidental? In fact, Lin Li was well aware that it was just one of Cantory¡¯s tricks to embarrass him and get in his way. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother to say anything. After taking a nce at Cantory, he turned to look at Calicoli, and said, ¡°There should be about 40 grams of Blood of the Sea God in this box, so that¡¯s exactly 2,000,000 gold coins. This is the amethyst card of the Glittergold Trade Union. Ring this up together with those magical materials.¡±

    Although the Glittergold Trade Union did not monopolize the entire financial sector in the Gilded Kingdom like they did in Anril, it still had a highly authoritative position in the financial sector here with the massive financial power they amassed in Anril, even with all the restrictions in the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the amethyst card of the Glittergold Trade Union could be used here like cash. They just had to perform a few more transactions and transfers during the payment.

    Just as Calicoli was about to take the card from Lin Li, Cantory spoke again. ¡°50,000 gold coins for a gram of Blood of the Sea God is such a low price. How about I pay you 100,000 gold coins a gram for this? I¡¯ll take all 40 grams.¡±

    Cantory dropped his pretense, and his agenda was revealed when he offered twice the price that Lin Li offered.

    Hearing Cantory¡¯s words, Calicoli retracted his hand again. For merchants, profit was the ultimate pursuit, and everything else was secondary. Besides, he hadn¡¯t epted Lin Li¡¯s money yet, so the firste, first serve issue did not exist at this juncture. It was only normal for the good to be sold to the highest bidder. The original offer of 2,000,000 gold coins had now be 4,000,000. Only a fool wouldn¡¯t agree to such a good deal.

    Of course, Lin Li knew already what Cantory was getting up to right from the beginning, so he wasn¡¯t surprised by Cantory¡¯s behavior. After Cantory offered the price of 100,000 gold coins a gram, Lin Li didn¡¯t even bother to look at him as he simply said to Calicoli, ¡°200,000 gold coins a gram.¡±

    200,000 gold coins a gram could already be considered the upper limit of the true value of the Blood of the Sea God, and it would be a foolish act to raise it any higher. Although Lin Li was not short of gold coins, he wouldn¡¯t make any stupid decisions for the sake of spiting someone. If Cantory continued to raise the price, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind giving up the Blood of the Sea God.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s new offer, Cantory¡¯s expression changed immediately. 8,000,000 gold coins was not a small amount. Although Cantory could afford that sum of money, he would be the one to be embarrassed if he paid such a high price for something that he couldn¡¯t use just to embarrass his enemy.

    If Cantory wanted to win the bid against Lin Li, he obviously couldn¡¯t offer the same price. He would at least have to offer a sum of more than 8,000,000 gold coins. He could offer a couple of million gold coins more than Lin Li, but he would at most make Lin Li a little irked. He would also seem like a miser, and in the end, he would be making a fool of himself instead.

    Besides, even if the price was only 8,000,000 gold coins, it still didn¡¯t seem like a good deal for Cantory. 8,000,000 gold coins could allow him to buy a load of useful things, and there was no point in spending money on something of no value. He was not an inscription master, so the Blood of the Sea God was of no use for him. If he let someone else have it, he could probably recover some losses, but he could only sell it to others at the normal price, and not such a staggering price. In the end, he would be at a loss.

    Calicoli was waiting for Cantory to offer a higher price, but after waiting for a long time, Cantory remained frozen in shock. Calicoli finally grabbed Lin Li¡¯s amethyst card again and was ready toplete the deal. However, he had already gotten the better end of the deal since the original sale price was 50,000 gold coins a gram, and the price had been quadrupled now.

    However, just as Calicoli was about toplete the transaction with Lin Li, the Octopus n member who had been standing next to Cantory suddenly spoke up, and directly said to Calicoli, ¡°I want that thing. Send it to the Tide Pce for meter.¡±

    Calicoli did not care much about his fellow n member at first, because the Octopus n was ratherrge, and it was impossible for everyone to be familiar with each other. However, when he heard him mention the Tide Pce, Calicoli was shocked, and couldn¡¯t help but look at his fellow nsman.

    As soon as he did, Calicoli turned pale, and he hurriedly walked out from behind the counter to bow to him respectfully. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°It¡¯s you, Lord. Please pardon my ignorance, I¡¯ll send it over now.¡±

    Lin Li also knew quite a bit about the Sea n, which was said to be one of the seven strongest races in the Sea n. The king of the Sea n was called the great monarch, just like the king among humans. The other monarchs were also equivalent to the princes of human kingdoms.

    The Octopus n member Cantory brought over this time obviously had a high status in the Octopus n. In this case, Calicoli definitely couldn¡¯t offend him for the sake of earning money. Besides, the Octopus n member was obviously there to boost Cantory¡¯s ego and give him support. He obviously didn¡¯t need the Blood of the Sea God!

    It was not something that Lin Li could handle with gold coins alone. After all, there were very few people who would choose money over their lives. However, the Blood of the Sea God didn¡¯t matter much to Lin Li in the first ce, so he wouldn¡¯t mind not buying it.

    Hence, Lin Li did not say anything. He simply put away the amethyst card, turned around, and prepared to leave as he chose not to purchase the magic materials that he intended to buy, either. He could buy them in another inscription material store anyway, so he felt that there was no point in making things difficult for Calicoli here.

    However, just as Lin Li turned around to leave, the big shot of the Octopus n spoke again in an arrogant tone, ¡°These things are of no use to me, but you must have high attainments in inscriptions since you intended to buy these things. Unfortunately, the Octopus n also has some attainments in inscriptions. If you cane up with a piece of work to impress me, I don¡¯t mind giving you these things for free.¡±

    The big shot of the Octopus n was quite polite, but everyone could tell that it was not just a in exchange of inscription insights. Instead, he was simply insulting Lin Li. Everyone knew that the Octopus n was the best in inscriptions in Anril, just like how the Rotterdam Kingdom was the best at alchemy. He was definitely a monarch of the Octopus n; hence, his talent in inscription had to be the best in the whole Octopus n.

 Chapter 1199 - Master of Inscription

    <h4>Chapter 1199: Master of Inscription</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, despite being a young man in his early twenties, Lin Li was already a Sanctuary powerhouse, which was also the reason that others assumed that his attainments in inscription were mediocre. After all, inscription required a great deal of energy to study and learn. Even if a person started learning inscription from a young age, two decades might not be enough for them to aplish great achievements, not to mention in the case where arge amount of time was spent on learning magic.

    Hence, after the big shot of the Octopus n said that, Cantory¡¯s expression immediately became smug as if he had already seen Lin Li¡¯s feeling embarrassed and being in a wretched state. Although it seemed to have no direct effect on Lin Li, and Cantory wouldn¡¯t get any real benefit from it, he felt that it would be good to vent some of his anger.

    As for the big shot of the Octopus n, he didn¡¯t have any special expression on his face apart from his usual arrogance. After all, for someone like him, defeating a human in the field of inscription didn¡¯t seem to be something to be particrly proud of. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for the Cantory, he would not have bothered to waste his precious time on such a human who he could tell at first nce had little attainment in inscription.

    While hearing the provocation of the big shot of the Octopus n, Lin Li didn¡¯t have much of an emotional fluctuation. He merely nced at them indifferently before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t have anything that can convince you, but if you have something that convinces me, you may show it to me.¡±

    Cantory gloatingly thought to himself, <i>Hah, he really doesn¡¯t know any better! If he¡¯d simply fled without saying anything, it would¡¯ve been fine. Unfortunately, he clearly doesn¡¯t want to give up, and he wants to see our strength. However, in this case, it is the same as epting the challenge, and I¡¯m afraid Felic will only continue embarrassing himself further.</i>

    The big shot of the Octopus n guffawed loudly twice. As if he had seen through Lin Li¡¯s intentions, he said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯m in a good mood today. I shall show you what inscription really is.¡± After saying that, he strode out of the store.

    They soon arrived outside the store, and the Sea n members nearby who had received the news also gathered over there at this juncture. Although not all of them were from the Octopus n, they were still from the Sea n, after all, so when they heard that someone of their n was about to teach a human a lesson, they naturally didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity to witness the exciting scene.

    After going out of the store, the big shot of the Octopus n cast a disdainful nce at Lin Li, and without saying anything else, he bellowed. In an instant, eight magic arms appeared out of nowhere. They did not take any magic materials, and simply began to draw some mageweaths quickly with ink that they inherently produced.

    In the beginning, the movement of the eight arms could be seen, but they soon became phantoms that seemed to stir up a mass of fog in the middle of the rod. Magic patterns and magic runes also began to appear on the road.

    At the same time, a mana fluctuation also appeared in the center of the road before increasing rapidly. Soon, the bubbling stream turned into a massive flood. Towards the end, the mana fluctuations forced the surrounding Sea n members to look around, and they couldn¡¯t help but retreat one after another.

    In space, arge number of magical elements was attracted by an invisible force, and they were umting to form a massive Elemental Storm which connected to the mageweaths on the ground. The top of the Elemental Storm was just like a massive vortex that covered the sky and distorted the space.

    It could be seen from the phenomena alone that the mageweath that was being drawn was definitely not ordinary. Although Cantory did not research much on inscriptions, he could still feel them. Hence, when he looked at Lin Li, the smugness in his eyes got more and more intense.

    However, to Cantory¡¯s disappointment, there wasn¡¯t the slightest surprise and panic on Lin Li¡¯s face, even though thetter was also watching the drawing of the mageweath. It was as if it was just a very ordinary thing. That made Cantory feel secretly resentful as he couldn¡¯t help but think, <i>How pretentious. Let¡¯s see how long you can keep pretending. Let¡¯s see if you can continue being this smug when it¡¯s your turn to draw the mageweath.</i>

    At this juncture, Lin Li did not even pay attention to the look in Cantory¡¯s eyes. Instead, he watched the big shot of the Octopus n perform. Although his attainments in inscription were so high that he felt that watching the big shot draw the mageweath was akin to adults watching children fight, he couldn¡¯t say that the Octopus n was useless.

    Lin Li noticed that the big shot of the Octopus n had used a unique technique to draw the mageweath, which was something that the humans couldn¡¯t learn at all. For example, he would start drawing on different positions at the same time without making the power of the mageweath appear to conflict with each other. However, it was impossible for humans to draw it like that, because humans only had two arms each, so the sequence of drawing would be important.

    Although humans could also cast the Magic Arm spell, such as the Hand of The Mage that Lin Li had once used, it was still the same as using one¡¯s mind on the drawing of mageweaths. The Hand of The Mage that mages cast could basically only be used to make a grasping action. There was no way it could carry outplicated tasks like drawing a mageweath.

    The eight magic arms of the Octopus n were considered a type of affinity spell of theirs. Those eight arms were a part of their body, just like their normal arms. Hence, there was no need for deliberate maniption. When drawing mageweaths, the effect achieved by the eight arms was akin to a few people drawing mageweaths together with incredible efficiency.

    Of course, the magic arms of the Octopus n were not only used to draw mageweaths, but could actually bepared to powerful magic weapons. Each magic arm possessed great power, and ordinary people would not be able to resist an attackunched with brute force. They could also make multiple magic hand signs to cast multiple magic spells at the same time without stopping.

    That was also one of the important reasons that the Octopus n could be one of the seven hegemons of the ocean. It was not that others showed them respect only because they could draw mageweaths. In the ocean, great strength was revered, and the Octopus n had gained their current position entirely because of their powerful strength.

    The other thing that Lin Li was interested in was the magic ink that the big shot of the Octopus n used to draw mageweaths. Usually, inscribers would use a variety of magic materials to prepare different types of customized magic ink that was to be used for drawing different mageweaths. For example, if one wanted to draw ice element mageweaths, they would have to add ice element magic materials to the ink. Likewise for fire element mageweaths.

    However, the Octopus n had the ability to generate magic ink that was attached to their own mana with unparalleled magic affinity and stability. More importantly, the magic ink was suitable for almost any type of mageweath, and they could exert the corresponding power of the mageweath without letting the impact be affected by the attributes.

    In addition, the magic ink generated by the Octopus n also yed a huge role in improving the sess rate of drawing mageweaths. If inscribers added a drop of the Octopus n¡¯s magical ink when preparing their own, there would be a high rate of sess because it would correct all the deviations in the original form, preventing a failure of the mageweath. Hence, if the other inscribers could get a vial of the Octopus n¡¯s magical ink, they would put it away and cherish it like it was a precious treasure. Even the loss of a single drop would be really heartbreaking for them.

    In the blink of an eye, the mageweath drawn by the big shot of the Octopus n was almostpleted as he was at the final stage of drawing. The entire space began to tremble slightly. Immediately afterwards, the eight magic arms ended the drawing with thest few strokes. Therge Elemental Storm in the sky above the mageweath also suddenly started rotating quickly. It even surged towards the mageweath.

    With a loud boom, the ground seemed to shake a few times, and the sky was instantly clear again. A mageweath that was exuding the light of mana finally appeared in front of everyone.

    As soon as the mageweath was formed, everyone around it, be it humans or those of the Sea n, unanimously gasped in shock. Although not all of them had studied inscriptions, they could feel the powerful might that emanated from the mageweath. Everyone could feel the terrifying power contained in the mageweath, and it was as if a cmity was brewing within, threatening to erupt at any time.

    ¡°This is a true Master-level mageweath!¡± Those who had studied inscriptions could not help but gasp in amazement with zealous gazes at this juncture. For them, to be able to see a Master-level mageweath being created out of nothing was akin to a mage watching a battle between two masters fighting. They could learn a lot just by watching.

    With a look of enthusiasm, Cantory said to the big shot of the Octopus n, ¡°Harquess is indeed very impressive. The mageweath that he casually drew contains such terrifying power. This is probably a peak Master-level masterpiece. No wonder he¡¯s known as a rare genius of inscription among the Octopus n.¡±

    Cantory had always been known as the best of his generation in the Gilded Kingdom, and he had always been showered withpliments. However, he wasn¡¯t stingy with hispliments for Harquess today. That just proved that they indeed had an extraordinary rtionship, and that Harquess had a prominent status in the Octopus n.

    Afterplimenting Harquess, Cantory turned to look at Lin Li, and smugly said, ¡°President Felic, you might not know this, but this is Harquess, the beloved son of Monarch Hegel, who is also an inscription genius. His attainment in the field of inscription has reached the peak of the Master-level, and he¡¯s only one step away from reaching the Guru-level. What do you think of this mageweath, President Felic?¡±

    Hearing Cantory introduce Harquess, the surrounding crowd had already gotten into an uproar before Lin Li even reacted. Harquess obviously enjoyed great fame, and had a high status in the Sea n. He was respected by the rest of the Sea n too, and in fact, many of the female members of the Sea n even began screaming and swooning near him hysterically like they were smitten fans of an idol.

    Harquess seemed to have been very ttered by such a scene, and the arrogance and conceit on his face seems to have intensified after hearing thatpliment. With some contempt in his gaze, he looked at Lin Li, and said, ¡°President Felic, my mageweath has beenpleted. Now, isn¡¯t it time for you to show us yours too?¡±

    After hearing Harquess¡¯ words, everyone fixed their gaze on Lin Li. They had already found out just now that Harquess was drawing the mageweath topete with a human in inscription. However, after seeing the mageweath that Harquess had drawn, everyone was already looking at Lin Li with disdain and contempt.

    <i>What a joke, he¡¯s just a human, and he actually wants topete with the genius of our Sea n in inscription. He must be overestimating his own abilities.</i> Almost all of the Sea n members felt the same at this time. Everyone knew that the Octopus n had superior attainments in inscriptions. Besides, Harquess was also an elite of the Octopus n, so there was no way Lin Li couldpete with him.

    Seeing this scene, Cantory naturally felt much morefortable, and he was just waiting for Lin Li to admit defeat or make a fool of himself. He didn¡¯t think that Lin Li was proficient in inscription. Just like what everyone thought, Felic could not have any significant attainments in other aspects, since he had spent most of his energy on magic since he had already be a Sanctuary powerhouse despite being only in his early twenties.

    However, when faced with their mockery and contempt, Lin Li kept a straight face. In his opinion, the mageweath that Harquess drew was indeed unique, especially since it was enhanced with the talent that was unique to his n. Hence, it allowed his mageweath to be rather outstanding even among all Master-level mageweaths.

    Among the inscribers Lin Li had met so far, Harquess¡¯ attainments in inscription could be considered the best. Even without the enhancement of his talent, Harquess¡¯ knowledge in inscriptions alone was enough for him to be considered a Master of Inscription. However, for Lin Li who had just started to get in touch with Divine Smith level mageweaths, he really wasn¡¯t that impressive.

 Chapter 1200 - Stains

    <h4>Chapter 1200: Stains</h4>

    Seeing how smug Harquess was, Lin Li shook his head in amusement, and casually took out a bottle of ordinary starfish ink that was notparable to the ink of the Octopus n. In fact, it should be one of the mostmon materials used for drawing mageweaths. If one wanted to use the starfish ink to draw mageweaths, they would often have to add other magic materials, and mix them together ording to a certain form before the ink could be used.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t take out the bottle of starfish ink with the intention to draw mageweaths. Instead, he tossed it towards the mageweath on the ground in front of the crowd. The ink bottle was shattered with a loud bang, and the ink inside that was contained in it sttered in all directions, instantly staining the Master-level mageweath.

    Lin Li¡¯s actions immediately stunned everyone, who felt that what he had done was simply too shameless. They thought that he was trying to ruin Harquess¡¯ mageweath because he couldn¡¯t draw a better mageweath himself. In their opinion, that was simply shameless!

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re the president of a guild. How can you do such a shameless thing?!¡± Cantory snapped, unable to contain his anger anymore. He was initially extremely displeased with Lin Li. Seeing how shameless Lin Li was, he no longer cared about his manners and gentlemanliness.

    The people around him also began pointing fingers at Lin Li, but they dared not go forward to hit him, because they felt that his strength was unfathomable. In particr, Harquess was considered the pride of the Sea n, so even if they didn¡¯t dare to fight Lin Li, they still had the guts to criticize him.

    However, after doing all of that, Lin Li did not even bother with those people, nor did he say anything more to Harquess. He simply headed straight back to Calicoli¡¯s store, picked up the things he wanted to buy, including the box of Blood of the Sea God, and left after paying for them with some gold coins.

    In the eyes of the people present, Lin Li¡¯s actions were detestable and obnoxious. He had not only polluted and marred Master Harquess¡¯ mageweath, because he was too ipetent to draw a good mageweath, he still had the cheek to take those items and leave self-righteously. They wondered, <i>How can there be such a shameless person in this world? Even those despicable and scheming viins would at least pretend a little. This guy has got no shame at all!</i>

    At this moment, the people present suddenly became more agitated as they kept cursing at Lin Li who had already left. Since he was no longer there, they naturally dared to curse without restraint even though Lin Li was far more capable and stronger than them. However, they didn¡¯t expect Lin Li, the young mage in his early twenties, to be a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    At this juncture, Cantory obviously wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. Looking at the furious Harquess, he eximed, ¡°Harquess, I¡¯m so sorry, I should have considered that Felic is from a faraway countryside in the Breezy ins, and has always been shameless and tyrannical. He never spares a thought for others regardless of what he does. To be honest, if it weren¡¯t for the generosity of the king of my kingdom, I¡¯m afraid I would have dered war on the Tower of Dusk!¡±

    Cantory then began to rattle on and on, from how Lin Li had brutally destroyed the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom over a trivial matter to how Lin Li had recently disrespected the Gilded Kingdom, and made a scene at the barracks of the royal guards. Of course, when talking about that matter, he also repeatedly emphasized how concerned the Gilded Kingdom was about the overall situation, and how he could not bear to see the Breezy ins suffer. After all, those events were considered the dirty linen of the Gilded Kingdom, so he naturally had to exin why the kingdom had been tolerating Lin Li time and time again.

    However, to everyone¡¯s bewilderment, Harquess remained silent when Cantory told him all about Lin Li¡¯s overbearing, despicable, and tyrannical behavior. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the marred mageweath on the ground.

    Harquess was naturally furious about the fact that the mageweath he had created was married right after he had finished it! Be it when he was in the n or in other ces, his masterpieces would immediately be surrounded by plenty of people who would sing praises for his works right after they werepleted and put on disy. However, this time, his work was actually stained in front of everyone else, making him feel an urge to go out immediately and teach that human mage a lesson.

    However, after taking a look at his mageweath which he thought was marred, the exasperated Harquess suddenly froze in ce, and could not move at all. The stains should have looked extremely obvious, but when he looked at the stains, he suddenly felt that it seemed to somehow match the mageweath.

    Deep down, Harquess did not think that the ink that Lin Li threw out casually would contain any kind of profound meaning. However, even with such thoughts, he still could not help but keep his eyes peeled to the mageweath.

    No one noticed that the anger in Harquess¡¯ eyes was gradually reced by a somber look when his attention was drawn to the mageweath. Gradually, Harquess didn¡¯t even realize that there was nothing else in his eyes, as it was as if all the mor around him had gradually vanished. The only thing that existed was the marred mageweath and the stain on it.

    After all, Harquess was a distinguished Master of Inscription, and even without the advantage of the natural talent of the Octopus n, his attainment in inscription was truly at Master-level. Although he was still in disbelief, he really felt that his mageweath seemed to have undergone an unexinable change after the stain appeared.

    <i>Could it be that there is something mysterious about that stain?!</i> With further observation, Harquess¡¯ thoughts began to waver. At this point, he suddenly remembered a part ofmon sense that he had overlooked. If Lin Li had damaged his mageweath, the mageweath should have retaliated!

    Mageweaths could not be destroyed easily, and if a mageweath could be damaged by a bottle of ink, there would be no point in the existence of the profession of inscription. If that were the case, whenever one encountered traps and defensive barriers made of mageweaths, they could break it easily with a bottle of ink.

    In fact, not to mention sshing a bottle of ink, even if the mageweath was sted by a powerful magic spell, it would not be destroyed as long as the power of the magic spell did not exceed the power of the mageweath. If one wanted to make the mageweath malfunction, they would have to have a deep understanding and profound mastery of the structure of the mageweath, itsws, and the way it worked. As with cracking magic gears, one would have to follow the correct steps to stop the operation of the power of the mageweath. Otherwise, it would definitely cause a strong counterattack of the mageweath.

    The mageweath that Harquess created was truly at the level of a master, and once its power erupted, it would probably be enough to erase the Gift of the Sea market from the city. If Lin Li had really marred the mageweath with a random bottle of ink, the mageweath should have issued a powerful counterattack.

    That sort ofmon sense was known not only to inscribers, but also the vast majority of people who knew nothing about inscriptions. Due to the fact that it was toomon, the infuriated Harquess didn¡¯t even think of it. In fact, even the people around him probably didn¡¯t think of that ordinary issue, either.

    With that strange feeling that arose within him, and after remembering thatmon-sense problem, Harquess couldn¡¯t be calm anymore. Regardless of the effect that the stain had on the mageweath, the fact that it did not cause the mageweath to retaliate was enough to show that Lin Li was not simple!

    With that thought in mind, Harquess couldn¡¯t be bothered to be angry, either, as he channeled all his mental energy and attention on his work, trulymitting his energy to studying the impact of the stain on the mageweath.

    In Harquess¡¯s opinion, although he could not tell anything at first, it was only because he did not think in that direction. Simply put, he had underestimated his opponent. With his attainments in the field of inscription, it should not be difficult to solve the issue if he really put effort into studying it carefully.

    However, when Harquess really channelled his energy into trying to decipher the effects of the stain, he discovered that things seemed far from as simple as he thought. He was surprised to find that under the influence of that stain, the structure of his own mageweath, which was initially the most basic one, had changed into one thatpletely exceeded his knowledge.

    Harquess originally thought that regardless of the changes, the change of the mageweath would not break free from the original framework. It would at most influence the original power of the mageweath by enhancing or reducing it. After all, things could not be added or removed from a formed mageweath easily.

    However, Harquess now realized that he was somehow unable to recognize the mageweath that he had personally drawn. In other words, the mageweath had essentially be apletely new one in terms of its structure and itsws. If the original mageweath was offensive, the current one might be defensive. If the original mageweath had water attribute, the current one might have fire attribute or attributes of other elements.

    What made Harquess even more stumped was that he was now unable to analyze the nature and power of this brand-new mageweath, which was actually his own mageweath that was altered by the ink. He had never seen any mageweath like the current one at all, and despite his deep knowledge of inscriptions, he could not analyze it.

    At this point, Harquess knew that he had already lost. Regardless of whether Lin Li had really drawn a new mageweath in its entirety, the fact that the bottle of ink that he had casually tossed had resulted in a drastic change was enough to show that Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of inscription were not something that he couldpare to.

    However, Harquess did not want to give up just like that. The more he could not analyze the mystery of this mageweath, the more he concentrated on it. As he was the most outstanding Master of Inscription among the young generation of the Octopus n, the pride within Harquess made him unable to bring himself to give up such a challenge easily.

    On the other hand, in the opinion of the people beside him, especially Cantory, Harquess¡¯ emotional changes from his initial fury, to his suppression of anger, and finally to the point of turning pale and shivering, were obviously a manifestation of anger.

    <i>Felic, you¡¯re finally getting karma for your obnoxious and condescending behavior. This time, you¡¯ve provoked a person whom you cannot afford to provoke!</i> Cantory was secretly overjoyed, and he said to Harquess, ¡°Harquess, don¡¯t worry, I will testify for you regardless of where we go. Felic was beingpletely unreasonable. Not only was he ipetent, he even shamelessly stained your mageweath. We must make him apologize to you in person.¡±

    Cantory thought that the next thing he and Harquess should do was to work together and think of a way to make things hard for Lin Li. However, he did not expect that despite everything he said, Harquess actually did not respond to him at all. It was as if he had not heard anything!

    At this point, Harquess indeed didn¡¯t hear what Cantory said, and it was as if all that was left in this world was the mageweath that he was looking at. However, even so, he couldn¡¯t get any useful information out of the mageweath. In fact, he couldn¡¯t even figure out the role of the mageweath, let alone the other deeper aspects.

    At the same time, Harquess¡¯ mental strength was being depleted at an rming rate, as if the mageweath was a ck hole that devoured mental strength. Even though arge amount of mental strength was fused with it, it did not result in any ripples.

    Although Harquess¡¯ mental strength was countless times greater than that of a normal person, it couldn¡¯t withstand such a massive consumption. After just a few minutes of watching, Harquess finally could not stand it any longer as he snapped out of his concentration, and stumbled backwards uncontrobly with a look of exhaustion on his face.

    ¡°Harquess, what¡¯s the matter with you?!¡± eximed Cantory, who was standing right beside Harquess. He quickly reached out to hold Harquess while secretly rejoicing. <i>I didn¡¯t expect Harquess to be so narrow-minded to have been angered by Felic to such an extent. If the elders of the Octopus n saw this, they¡¯d definitely go confront Felic and settle scores with him immediately!</i>

    However, Harquess still did not respond to Cantory. Instead, he took two steps forward and took out a 16-sided crystal from his arms. It was known as Memory Crystal, and could record some important images and store them for a long time.

    Harquess had finallye to terms with reality, and figured out that the mageweath was not something he could understand and crack. Hence, he wanted to use the Memory Crystal to record the mageweath and bring it back to consult the elders about it. As he mouthed a silent incantation, the Memory Crystal flew out of his hand, and hovered above the mageweath. The faint rays of light spread out, and the mageweath was soon engraved on the Memory Crystal.

 Chapter 1201 - Nearing the Divine Smith Level

    <h4>Chapter 1201: Nearing the Divine Smith Level</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the beginning, Cantory didn¡¯t quite understand it, but he soon came up with an exnation. He thought Harquess probably wanted to record the mageweath, and then use it as evidence against Lin Li in the future.

    However, no one expected that the memory crystal in the mageweath above would emit a cracking sound all of a sudden as it immediately cracked before exploding entirely. The information contained in the mageweath had already exceeded the storage limit of the Memory Crystal. That just showed that the level of the mageweath was probably far greater than Harquess expected.

    The Memory Crystal did not save the image of the mageweath, and instead exploded in an unbelievable manner. Of course, Cantory didn¡¯t think that it was caused by the mageweath, but rather he felt that it might have been caused by Harquess¡¯ operational error in a moment of anger.

    However, Cantory could not state it explicitly, and merely persuaded, ¡°Harquess, there¡¯s actually no need to record that information, we just need to get a few people to bear witness, and it¡¯llpletely count as evidence.¡±

    Hearing Cantory¡¯s words, Harquess¡¯ eyes lit up, but he did not leave the mageweath there for others to keep an eye on it. Instead, he cast his Eight Arms magic spell, and the eight magic arms began to revolve around the mageweath and st towards the surroundings. Soon, a deep pit was formed in the ground below the mageweath. Immediately afterwards, the eight magic armsnded on the edge, and with a massive sound, they actually lifted up the entire ground that that mageweath was on.

    ¡°Cantory, excuse me, I have to go back to handle something urgent. I¡¯ll get going now!¡± After saying that, Harquess did not wait for Cantory to reply to him as he simply propped himself up against the ground using those eight arms. He propelled into the sky and flew swiftly in a certain direction.

    Watching Harquess leave, Cantory finally smiled. In his opinion, the Octopus n would definitely form a feud with the Tower of Dusk!

    On the other hand, Harquess flew all the way to argeke near Hopra City while holding therge stone b in hand. There was arge and luxurious pce in the center of theke, where there was a mass ofrge shadows in the water. Clearly, the building under the surface of the water was even more majestic. The pce was the Tide Pce of the Octopus n, and could also be considered the Octopus n¡¯ embassy in the Gilded Kingdom.

    Although the Sea n could move onnd, the environment in the water was obviously morefortable for them. That was the reason that the Sea n preferred to stay in their pce built in theke, unlike the emissaries of other forces or nations who chose to live in the embassies provided by the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hence, the Octopus n was not the only one that had a pce like the Tide Pce. There were a few other powerful Sea ns that also had simr pces. Anyway, even if there wasn¡¯t a naturalke avable, they had the strength and ability to dig up argeke. Hence, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, Hopra City, was surrounded by dozens ofkes of various sizes, which seemed to form a uniquendscape.

    Harquessnded on the tform of the Tide Pce like a meteor, and two Octopus n guards immediately greeted him. When they saw the stone b that Harquess was holding up, the two guards couldn¡¯t help but be astonished, but they quickly suppressed it, and went forward to salute him with great respect. ¡°Greetings, Lord!¡±

    Harquess acknowledged them with a nod. After flying, his mood had gradually calmed down a little. Immediately afterwards, he asked, ¡°Have the Great Monarch and the elders returned yet? What are they doing now?¡±

    ¡°Lord, the Great Monarch and the elders have just returned from the Red Sea Pce, they shouldn¡¯t have gone to rest yet,¡± an Octopus n guard answered respectfully.

    Like the Tide Pce of the Octopus n, the Red Sea Pce was the pce of the Giant Shark n, which was anotherrge n of the Sea n in the Gilded Kingdom. The Octopus n was famous for their knowledge and expertise in inscriptions, while the Giant Shark n dominated with their strongbat power, especially the elite Giant Shark n knights whosebat prowess was simply invincible in the Endless Ocean.

    When Harquess went to look for Cantory, his father, the Great Monarch Hegel, and a few elders had gone to visit the Red Sea Pce of the Giant Shark n. As soon as Harquess returned, he asked if his father and the elders had returned. He was so anxious that he didn¡¯t want to wait any longer.

    After hearing the guards say that father and others had returned, Harquess immediately held up therge stone b, and darted towards the Tide Pce without any dy. Although the Tide Pce wasrge, Harquess was eager and desperate as he flew almost without stopping towards the pce that his father resided in while holding up the stone b. If not for the fact that the guards in the pce knew who Harquess was, they would have probably thought that someone was there to wreck the pce because there was no reason to hold up such arge b of stone.

    Arriving at the door of his father¡¯s pce, Harquess said to the guards at the door, ¡°Go in and tell them that I have an urgent matter to see the Great Monarch for.¡±

    Although Harquess would at most only be chided a few times by his father if he went in directly without notice because of his father¡¯s love towards him, his father Hegel, the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, was not the only one present this time. There was also an existence that he was very afraid of. Even his father Hegel had to be respectful to the other party.

    After going in to inform them of Harquess¡¯ arrival, the guard soon came out, and said to Harquess, ¡°The Great Monarch has asked you to enter¡ª¡±

    However, before he could finish his words, he felt a gust of wind blowing in front of him as Harquess vanished without a trace.

    By the time Harquess arrived at the pce, he saw the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, Hegel, sitting at a table and flipping through the inscription notes of his ancestor. Hearing the sound of Harquess entering, and without even turning around to look at him, Hegel indifferently said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go on a tour with Cantory? What is the urgent matter that you¡¯re here to see me for?¡±

    ¡°Father, there is an urgent matter. I¡¯ve brought something here, please have a look at it!¡± Harquess said while cing the stone b heavily on the ground in the middle of the pce. Although the stone b was not very heavy, he had used the eight magic arms to carry it all the way over to the pce. Hence, it had been quite a considerable burden for him. Besides, he had previously already depleted a great amount of his mental strength, making it quite a taxing task for him to hold up until now.

    Hearing the sound of the b hitting the ground, Great Monarch Hegel then shifted his attention away from the notes, and turned to look at his son. Seeing the b on the ground, he couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly, and said, ¡°What is this? It looks pretty new too. You didn¡¯t get duped by the scheming human merchants again, did you?¡±

    Hegel did not see the mageweath on the stone b. It was not that he had bad eyesight, but rather that Harquess ced it in the wrong direction. Hegel naturally didn¡¯t expect his son to have dislodged the stone b of a store on the street. The b was decades old, so he thought that a sly human merchant had sold it to his son as a fake relic.

    ¡°No, Father, this is...¡± Harquess finally caught his breath, and realized that he had ced the b with the wrong side up. With a bitter smile, he then said, ¡°Father, please look at the other side, I don¡¯t have the strength to turn it over now, so...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Hegel finally realized that his son was exhausted, and the fluctuations of his mental strength had also weakened. It was as if he had just experienced an intense life and death battle. He quickly asked, ¡°Whom did you fight with, was it the punk of the Thunder Eel n?¡±

    The Thunder Eel n was another dominant Sea n. Unlike the Giant Shark n, the Thunder Eel n was considered the mages of the Sea n as they had the magic talent to manipte lightning. There was also the most contact between the Thunder Eel n and the Octopus n due to the fact that they were connected by sea.

    The Octopus n had produced a genius, Harquess, but the Thunder Eel n was not inferior. There was a genius named Manson who was simr to Harquess, but he had already reached the Sanctuary-realm. Geniuses tended topete with each other. Despite the good rtionship between the Octopus n and the Thunder Eel n, Harquess and Manson, the respective geniuses of the two ns, would fight almost as soon as they saw each other.

    Hearing his father¡¯s words, Harquess smiled bitterly, and said, ¡°Father, it¡¯s not Manson. Please look at the other side of that stone b.¡±

    Seeing that his son had insisted that he look at the stone b, Harquess didn¡¯t say anything else, and simply waved his hand with a look of suspicion to turn the stone b over. Initially, Hegel also thought that nothing remarkable woulde out of such an ordinary stone b, but when he really saw the mageweath on the stone b, he immediately became as shocked as Harquess was at first as he got immersed in it.

    Seeing that his father had begun to study that mageweath, Harquess was full of expectations. As the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, Hegel¡¯s attainments in inscription were naturally not what Harquess couldpare to, and the former¡¯s mental strength was also greater. Therefore, in Harquess¡¯ opinion, although this mageweath had stumped him, his father would definitely be able to figure it out.

    However, as the time passed, Hegel still hadn¡¯te out of that state, decreasing Harquess¡¯ expectations by the minute. At the same time, panic also arose within Harquess¡¯ heart. If his father couldn¡¯t figure it out, either, how terrifying must the inscription attainments of the human, Felic, be?!

    10 minutes passed very quickly, and Hegel finally humphed coldly before stumbling backwards with a pale face. Harquess came to a sudden realization, and hurriedly went forth to hold his father. ¡°Father, this mageweath...¡±

    Hegel slowed down a little, regained his bnce, and then said to Harquess, ¡°Harquess, where did you get this mageweath from? I can tell that you drew this mageweath, but why has it gone beyond your realm?¡±

    Hegel naturally saw the traces of his son¡¯s drawing on the mageweath on the stone b a long time ago. Hence, at the beginning, he thought that Harquess had gotten a breakthrough, and thus brought the mageweath over to let Hegel evaluate it. However, after he started his scrutiny, he discovered that the level of the mageweath was far from what his son could draw.

    Not daring to hide the truth, Harquess told his father everything about how he and Cantory met Lin Li at the market, and then asked topete with Lin Li in inscription. Of course, he didn¡¯t say that he had taken the initiative to provoke Lin Li, and instead said that he just wanted to spar with Lin Li because he could tell that Lin Li was good at inscription.

    After speaking, Harquess could not help but further ask, ¡°Father, please look at this mageweath. What level is it at? Why did Felic cause such a huge change in my mageweath after just sprinkling some ink on it?¡±

    However, after hearing his son¡¯s question, Hegel had no choice but to shake his head with a bitter smile, and said, ¡°I think we should consult Elder Gido and Elder Kazar about this mageweath. Maybe they can tell some of the mystery within it.¡±

    Harquess was dumbfounded. The main thing was that his father said that maybe the elders might be able to tell what the mageweath was.<i> In that case, what level is the mageweath at, and how did Felic create such a terrifying mageweath just by sshing some ink onto it?! </i>

    While Harquess was spacing out, Hegel did not dy, and immediately asked someone to invite the two elders Quito and Kazar toe over. By the time Harquess came back to his senses, the two elders were already in front of the stone b. However, just like Hegel, the two elders got engrossed in studying the mageweath for 10 minutes, but they snapped out of it at the same time, both looking extremely exhausted.

    ¡°Great Monarch, I think we¡¯d better ask Elder Hayes toe over. This mageweath is simply not something we can figure out,¡± Elder Quito said with a bitter expression. He had already heard about the origin of this stone b, and the thought of the fact that he had been stumped by a human inscriber even though the Octopus n was famous for inscriptions made him have an ominous feeling.

    Elder Kazar, who was at the side, sighed. ¡°However, I reckon that even Elder Hayes might not be able to figure this out. ording to my experience, I¡¯m afraid the level of this mageweath is at the peak of the Guru-level.¡±

    ¡°What? Peak of the Guru-level?!¡± Harquess was in disbelief. <i>That human mage is so young, how can he be a Guru of Inscription?!</i>

    The Octopus n had long lifespans, with the average being 1,000 years. Being more than 300 years old, Harquess was considered a young man, and he had also studied inscriptions for more than 200 years. With Harquess¡¯s talent, reaching the level of a Master of Inscription in 200 years was a rare feat. He was considered a genius. Yet, the human inscriber actually managed to reach the Guru-level in his early twenties, which was terrifying. Even if he had started learning inscriptions as a fetus, he would have only studied it for 20-odd years. <i>How terrifying must his talent be?! </i>

    The four people who had been stumped by the mageweath dared not look at it again, because their gazes would be attracted to it as soon as they looked at it. With their current mental strength, they could no longer withstand the terrifying depletion. If it was just ordinary people, they might not be able to read it, but the Octopus n was good at inscription by nature. Hence, the attraction of such a profound mageweath seemed to prate to the depths of their souls, and make them suffer greater damage.

 Chapter 1202 - Background

    <h4>Chapter 1202: Background</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Soon, the grand elder of the Octopus n, Hayes, finally arrived while the four of them waited expectantly. The four looked extremely haggard, and they were immediately frightened. Except for Harquess, the other three were all Sanctuary powerhouses. What exactly happened that made them end up looking so worn out and haggard?!

    When the four of them saw Hayes, they hurriedly perked up and saluted him in unison. In the entire Octopus n, there was probably no one more prestigious than Grand Elder Hayes. In fact, even Great Monarch Hegel had to salute him as a junior.

    Hayes was about to ask the four of them about the situation, but the stone b on the ground suddenly caught his eye. Just like how the four of them reacted just now, his attention was also instantly attracted to the mageweath as he becamepletely immersed in studying it.

    However, after just a few minutes, Hayes snapped out of that state, and was far less disheveled than the four of them. Clearly, Hayes didn¡¯t expend all his mental strength on the mageweath like the four of them had.

    Looking at the state that Hayes was in, the four of them were immediately overjoyed, and Great Monarch Hegel eagerly asked, ¡°Grand Elder, how is it? Have you figured out this mageweath?¡±

    While Hegel was asking the question, the other three were also full of expectation, waiting for Grand Elder Hayes to nod his head. In their opinion, as the person with the highest inscription attainment in the Octopus n, Grand Elder Hayes had to be able to decipher this mageweath, otherwise this mageweath should not even be something that existed in this world.

    However, amidst their expectant gazes, Grand Elder Hayes slowly shook his head, and said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t decipher this mageweath. Its structure andws have vaguely touched the Divine-Smith-level, and that is the power of the gods!¡±

    Grand Elder Hayes¡¯ words were like a bolt of lightning that struck their souls, leaving thempletely dumbfounded for a moment. They felt that the mageweath was very profound, but they didn¡¯t expect that they had underestimated it by countless timespared to Grand Elder Hayes¡¯ evaluation.

    Even though Elder Hayes¡¯ attainments in inscription were already unparalleled in the Octopus n, Hegel and the other four people still couldn¡¯t believe it. An existence near the Divine-Smith-level was simply a mythical existence. In thousands of years of the history of the Octopus n, there had never been anyone who reached the Divine-Smith-level. Yet, a human in his early twenties actually managed to reach that level.

    Although Harquess was astonished, he felt that it was all too surreal. Hence, he mustered the courage to say, ¡°Grand Elder, I was the one who drew the base of this mageweath and it¡¯s only at the Master-level. That human called Felic merely sshed some ink at it. How could it have be like what you mentioned?¡±

    Indeed, if it was a carefully drawn mageweath, it would still more or less seem usible to say that it was near the Divine-Smith-level. However, it was originally a Master-level mageweath drawn by Harquess, and it was quite unbelievable to im that it reached the peak of the Divine-Smith-level just because Lin Li sshed some ink onto it.

    Hearing Harquess¡¯ words, Great Monarch Hegel and the other two elders were also stunned as they finally realized that they had been so preupied with that mageweath that they had forgotten that the way that mageweath was formed was even more unbelievable. As inscribers, they all knew how much effort it took to draw a mageweath. However, ording to Harquess, that human actually just sshed a bottle of ink onto it, and made it reach the Divine-Smith-level. That was simply more mythical than myth.

    However, Hayes slightly shook his head. He didn¡¯t get angry because of the crowd¡¯s doubts, either. Instead, he looked into the distance, and, after a moment of contemtion, said, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, it¡¯s just that you guys haven¡¯t reached that level yet, so you cannot understand what kind of realm that is.¡±

    Hayes¡¯ words immediately aroused the curiosity of the four people. Although Hegel and the two elders were already experienced Masters of Inscription, they were still far from the peak of the Master-level Hayes was at. Besides, in addition to his profound knowledge and attainment in inscription, another reason that Hayes could be the grand elder of the Octopus n was because of his age. Not to mention the Octopus n, even in the entire Sea n of the Endless Ocean, there were probably very few who couldpare to him. The entire Dark Age was probably just a fragment of his life.

    Hegel couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Grand Elder, what kind of realm is that?!¡±

    ¡°What kind of realm is that...¡± Hayes muttered, as if he was speaking to himself. He then turned to look at Hegel and the others with a bitter smile on his face. ¡°That¡¯s a realm that I can¡¯t even touch. However, there was a supreme genius in my n thousands of years ago. He might be the only one who has reached that realm.¡±

    Hearing these words, Hegel and others could not help but turn pale. Although Hayes didn¡¯t state explicitly who the genius was, they were familiar with that legend, and thus thought of a person immediately.

    It was Heldanos, who was known as the legend of the Octopus n, and was originally from a poor family of the lowest ss. However, he had an enviable talent in inscription that the rest of the Octopus n was jealous of. It was said that he had already be a Master of Inscription when he was more than 100 years old, which was considered young to the Octopus n. More than 200 yearster, he entered the Guru-level, and eventually reached an unprecedented stage.

    It was not exaggerated to call it unprecedented at all, as it was an evaluation that Grand Elder Hayes made after exchanging some inscription knowledge with Heldanos. At least in the Octopus n, there was no other person who would be qualified to make such an evaluation.

    No one knew what kind of realm it was. They only knew that Heldanos faced tens of thousands of Giant Shark n knights during the great ocean battle that swept across the Endless Ocean. During that battle, Heldanos casually drew a mageweath that caused an upheaval on the ocean. Under the power of that mageweath, tens of thousands of Giant Shark Knights instantly exploded into powder, while the entire ocean was stained red by blood. There was also arge, bottomless trench on the seabed. The trench was still emitting extremely terrifying mana fluctuations, and it became a barrier that the foreign enemies of the Octopus n could not ovee easily.

    Afterwards, there were people who wanted to study the mageweath that Heldanos had drawn in order to find out what it was, but to everyone¡¯s disappointment, that mageweath was contrary to thews of inscription in all aspects, and it almost couldn¡¯t be considered a mageweath, as it was just like a random freehand drawing. However, it was the very thing that made their souls tremble, and even feel like they had seen the arrival of a god.

    However, after the end of that war, Heldanos left the waters of the Octopus n, and no one knew his whereabouts since then. Of course, in the legend of the Octopus n, Heldanos should have reached the level of the Divine Smith, and be the only one Divine Smith inscriber of the Octopus n.

    ¡°Could it be that that human inscriber has really reached that terrifying realm?!¡± At the thought of his previous provocation, Harquess¡¯ expression turned pale. It was truly embarrassing for him. In the face of a powerful human inscriber, he actually had the cheek to call himself a genius in inscription!

    ¡°It¡¯s both within and beyond thews. Even if it¡¯s not as good as Heldanos¡¯ mageweath, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not far off,¡± Hayes said while gazing at the mageweath on the stone b. He was actually just as astonished as the rest. He had seen Heldanos, so Heldanos¡¯ power might be a legend for others, but he had had a personal experience with it.

    ¡°After Heldanos, no one of our n has ever been able to reach that realm. I didn¡¯t expect a young human inscriber to have reached it,¡± said Grand Elder Harquess. At this point, Hegel had no choice but to trust Harquess¡¯ judgment regardless of how unbelievable it seemed. After making some remarks about Lin Li¡¯s inscription attainments, he then remembered one more thing, and turned to look at his son Harquess. He sternly questioned, ¡°Harquess, tell me honestly, what exactly happened? Don¡¯t hide anything, or I¡¯ll never forgive you if I find out!¡±

    Harquess was taken aback, and wanted to stick to his original story, but when he saw the austerity on the faces of his father and the three elders, he had no choice but to tell the truth. ¡°Father, here¡¯s what happened. Cantory and I were just casually shopping at the Gift of the Sea, and Cantory chanced upon the Blood of the Sea God in a store. Initially, I could have given him some if he wanted, but he was probably too embarrassed to ask for it, so he wanted to buy some from the store himself. However, the human inscriber named Felic also happened to be interested in the Blood of the Sea God that was avable at the store we went to. Hence, both of them started arguing.¡±

    As soon as Hegel and the three elders, who were esteemed figures, heard this, they knew that this matter could not be as simple as that. Hegel humphed coldly, and said, ¡°That kid Cantory probably knows that human inscriber named Felic, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Harquess wasn¡¯t a fool, either¡ªhe had merely belittled Lin Li the human inscriber at first. Later on, all his attention was drawn to the mageweath; hence, he didn¡¯t think much of it. However, after hearing his father¡¯s words, he suddenly thought of the matter again, and figured that there had to be something amiss about it.

    Harquess had known Cantory for more than a year or two, and their rtionship could be considered close. Hence, he was clear that Cantory wasn¡¯t quite interested in inscription. Besides, the Blood of the Sea God was a material that would be used only in advanced mageweaths. What would Cantory need it for?

    Seeing Harquess¡¯ reaction, Hegel and others knew what was going on even if he didn¡¯t answer explicitly. To put it nicely, Cantory wanted Harquess to stand up for himself, but to put it bluntly, Cantory was just making use of Harquess. However, Cantory was the disciple of the lord of the Illuminati. Otherwise, Hegel would have nabbed him, and taught him a lesson for making use of his son. Hegel would never allow that.

    ¡°Do you know the origin of that human inscriber?¡± asked Grand Elder Hayes, who did not bother to mention the matter of Cantory, but asked about the information about Lin Li. After all, Harquess was still young, and there were many things that he had to experience on his own. If he merely listened to the ounts of others, the effects might not be ideal.

    Seeing that Harquess didn¡¯t berate him, and instead asked about the human inscriber, Harquess finally felt relieved. He carefully tried to recall what happened. Although his attention was drawn to the mageweath at that time, he could more or less recall what Cantory said when he was beside him.

    ¡°ording to what Cantory said, that human inscriber should be called Felic, and seems to be the president of a force called Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins. In addition, the Gilded Kingdom seemed to have suffered some losses because of him, but King Bradlor did not pursue the matter against him.¡± After a long time, that was all Harquess could recall.

    Although Harquess¡¯ words were unclear, Hegel and others looked at each other after hearing the words ¡®Felic¡¯ and the ¡®Tower of Dusk¡¯ with strange expressions on their faces.

    ¡°Great Monarch, is that Felic that Harquess mentioned the same one we heard about out there?¡± Elder Quito said to Hegel and others. Although he seemed to be inquiring, his tone was somewhat firm.

    However, Harquess was puzzled, and he wondered, <i>Why do Father and the three elders seem to have heard of that human inscriber named Felic? Why am I the only one who doesn¡¯t know anything?</i>

    Seeing that the several elders seemed to have no intention to reprimand him, he bravely asked, ¡°Father, do you know that human named Felic?¡±

    Hegel shook his head with a faint smile, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know him, but that Felic has be quite famous in the Gilded Kingdom recently. I¡¯m afraid no one doesn¡¯t know that the Gilded Kingdom has suffered a huge loss because of him.¡±

    Lin Li first destroyed the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s First Fleet, and then the barracks of the royal guards. The losses in those two incidents were not small at all. Even if the Gilded Kingdom wanted to conceal them, it was impossible for them not to spread a word about it. Besides, the Octopus n and the other hegemons of the sea were not any weaker than the Gilded Kingdom. It wouldn¡¯t take much effort to find out about that matter. Soon, the embarrassing events of the Gilded Kingdom made them aughingstock that everyone gossiped about.

    However, at this juncture, Hegel and the others could not bring themselves tough when looking at the mageweath on the stone b. They seemed to have guessed why the Gilded Kingdom repeatedly showed weakness and refused to retaliate even after being attacked tantly. Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription who was in the realm of the Divine Smith. Even the Octopus n dared not provoke him, let alone the Gilded Kingdom which wasn¡¯t proficient in inscriptions.

 Chapter 1203 - Apologize

    <h4>Chapter 1203: Apologize</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At this point, Hegel and the others exchanged nces with each other, while Grand Elder Hayes looked at Harquess with a solemn expression. In an austere voice, he admonished, ¡°Harquess, this time you should be thankful that things didn¡¯t escte to the point of being unmanageable, and that Master Felic didn¡¯t intend to hold it against you. However, you can¡¯t think that this matter is over just because he didn¡¯t do anything to you. You should now find an opportunity to apologize to him and express your sincerity clearly.¡±

    ¡°What? You want me to apologize to him?!¡± Harquess eximed immediately with a look of reluctance after hearing his words. It wasn¡¯t that he had a grudge against Lin Li, but rather that he felt that it was too embarrassing when he thought of the previous provocation.

    ¡°Why? Are you not willing? You must know that as long as you can learn a single bit of knowledge in inscription from him, it will probably be useful for you for the rest of our life. This is a rare opportunity for you, and for us, the Octopus n, it¡¯s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.¡± Hayes glowered at Harquess, making him lower his head. While seemingly recalling something, Hayes calmly said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to consult Heldanos about inscription back then, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach the level that I¡¯m at now. During that exchange of knowledge with Heldanos, I gained a fair bit of insight that even till now is like a brightmp that¡¯s showing me the way forward.¡±

    Everyone was shocked to hear Grand Elder Hayes¡¯ words as it could be considered a historical secret. In the legend that they had always been told, Hayes and Heldanos exchanged a fair amount of knowledge on inscriptions, which meant that their levels and profoundness were about the same. Even though there might be some disparity between them, it wasn¡¯t a great difference. However, consulting meant an entirely different thing altogether. It meant that Heldanos¡¯ attainment in inscription was high enough for him to be Hayes¡¯ teacher.

    Hayes sighed slightly. In a somewhat regretful tone, he said to Harquess, ¡°Unfortunately, my talent is limited, and I¡¯m not destined to make greater achievements. However, you¡¯re different: you¡¯re the most talented person in the history of our Octopus n apart from Heldanos. As long as you seize this opportunity, I believe you will go farther than us.¡±

    Although Hayes had painted a beautiful picture, Harquess was actually very conflicted deep down. On the one hand, he had understood that there was a conflict between that human inscriber and his close friend Cantory. Hence, for the sake of achieving this somewhat unrealistic goal, he ought to keep a distance from Cantory. On the other hand, the human inscriber Felic was way too young as he was only in his early twenties, and it would be too embarrassing to bow down to such a young man.

    However, even though he was stuck in a dilemma, Harquess dared not disobey Grand Elder Hayes. No matter what, he would just agree first. Hence, he hurriedly lowered his head, and said to Hayes, ¡°Yes, Grand Elder, I know.¡±

    ¡°I hope you really do,¡± said Hayes, who also knew that he could not be too eager about urging Harquess, the genius of the n, to suddenly bow down to a young human. Hence, he didn¡¯t dwell on it, and simply said to Hegel and the other two elders, ¡°Not only Harquess, but you guys as well. Try to poach Master Felic and get him to stand on our side as far as possible. You should at least let him know of our good intentions. Besides, you should also take in hand your disciples who love making trouble. The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s loss is a lesson for us, don¡¯t let our n be aughingstock as well.¡±

    Be it the Great Monarch Hegel or the two elders, Quito and Kazar, none of them dared to disobey Grand Elder Hayes. Moreover, with their status, they could naturally figure out that roping in a powerful Master of Inscription like Lin Li would definitely be beneficial for the Octopus n. Hence, the three of them hurriedly bowed to Grand Elder Hayes, and solemnly said, ¡°Please rest assured, Grand Elder!¡±

    Grand Elder Hayes nodded, and then turned around to look at Harquess. He chided, ¡°What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and go apologize to Master Felic.¡±

    ¡°Ah... Oh, okay!¡± Harquess was the most afraid of Grand Elder Hayes. If Hayes wanted to punish him, even his father, the Grand Monarch Hegel, would not dare to plead for him. With that thought in mind, he bowed and left the pce one step at a time reluctantly. He waspletely different from his angsty and aggressive self when he first entered.

    After Harquess left, Great Monarch Hegel and the other three elders again began to carefully study the mageweath on the stone b. However, they did not dare to devote all their attention to studying it, because they were well aware that it was not something that they could study and figure out entirely with their own efforts. The four of them had to study it together.

    On the other hand, Lin Li didn¡¯t take the matter seriously at all. Compared to the Divine-Smith-level mageweath that he was studying now, that matter was far less important, and wasn¡¯t worth his effort at all. Carrying the magic materials that he had bought from the market with him, he locked himself in a room as soon as he returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, Lin Li did not immediately begin to study that Divine-Smith-level mageweath, and instead summoned Demon Gordon that had been left out in the cold for a long time. Gordon had devoured the Divinity Metal, and even if he did not continue devouring other metals, he would still continue to advance, though the speed was too slow. God knew when he would reach the Sanctuary-realm.

    This time, Lin Li bought the Blood of the Sea God with the intention of feeding it to Gordon and testing its effects. The Blood of the Sea God was an extremely active substance; when added to weapons and equipment, it would give them the ability to repair themselves. In that case, he wondered what kind of effects there would be after feeding it to Gordon.

    In fact, Demon Gordon¡¯s body was made of metal, so it already had the power of self-recovery in the first ce. As long as its magical crystal was not destroyed, the entire body would be pieced together again even if it was blown into pieces. However, the recovery speed was extremely slow, and the greater the trauma, the slower the recovery. It would take a long time before itsbat power could be recovered enough for it to be ready for battle again.

    Lin Li still did not know how to let Demon Gordon reach the Sanctuary-realm, and could only find a way to squeeze its power. In fact, if Demon Gordon could recover immediately, it would still give the enemy a huge headache no matter how much damage it suffered. Anyway, Lin Li himself absolutely detested demons who could not be killed no matter what.

    After summoning Demon Gordon, Lin Li didn¡¯t waste any time at all as he directly took out the box of the Blood of the Sea God without dy, and ordered Demon Gordon to devour it. Given Demon Gordon¡¯s nature, it definitely wouldn¡¯t devour this metal, but with Lin Li¡¯s order, he would have no choice but to swallow it obediently even if it was mud. Hence, Demon Gordon took the crystal box, and poured the several million gold coins into his mouth in one go.

    After swallowing the Blood of the Sea God, Gordon¡¯s body reacted immediately, while the metal seemed to have turned into a soft ball of dough. On the other hand, there seemed to be something wrapped in it that was struggling to emerge. As a result, Demon Gordon¡¯s body began bloating on one side, while a pit was formed on the other. It was changing continuously, as if it was about to explode.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li also got a great shock, and he wondered if the Blood of the Sea God was a lethal poison for Gordon! Initially, Lin Li thought that even if Demon Gordon couldn¡¯t swallow the Blood of the Sea God, he could just spit it out again without suffering any substantial harm. Hence, he ordered Gordon to just devour it. However, Lin Li had no choice but to admit that it seemed he had been too careless.

    Of course, there was another reason that was perhaps a little cruel, and that was that Gordon was no longer of much value to Lin Li. Hence, he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be a waste to let Gordon devour the Blood of the Sea God which was almost worthless to Lin Li. Thus, even if it failed, there was nothing to be frustrated about.

    If it were the two Undead servants, Lin Li definitely wouldn¡¯t bear to do that. For example, when Norfeller consumed the blood of the Icest Wyrm, Lin Li spent plenty of effort and energy on concocting it carefully. Only when he confirmed that it would not cause any negative impact on Norfeller did he let him consume it.

    Lin Li was much less meticulous and conscientious when it came to Gordon. After all, his Undead servants were far more important to him than Gordon.

    At this juncture, Gordon¡¯s body no longer looked the same as it used to, because it now looked like a giant golden porcupine with countless spikes emerging from his body. In the end, it suddenly froze, and Gordon¡¯s body seemed to have been frozen by ice, but he could still be seen trembling slightly.

    Immediately afterwards, he heard the sounds of the flowing sand, and Gordon¡¯s body began to disintegrate like a sand sculpture that had suddenly copsed. In the blink of an eye, all that was left on the spot that Gordon was standing on was some glistening sand and metallic particles, which continued to disintegrate further into even smaller particles. A momentter, it turned into a metallic fluid.

    Lin Li was shocked by the change, but after sensing it carefully for a while, he realized that although Gordon seemed to have been destroyed, he still had some soul contact with him. In other words, even though Gordon had turned into fluid metal and the magic crystals had disintegrated, he hadn¡¯t died yet.

    While Lin Li was amazed by the change in Gordon, he suddenly sensed a message from Demon Gordon through the soul contact. The content of the message was very simple. It was a type of hunger and an extreme thirst for mana. Lin Li did notck any magical crystals, so he took out a few magical crystals, and added them to the fluid metal.

    In the beginning, Lin Li tossed a few level-15 and level-16 magical crystals into it, but the message from Demon Gordon remained the same. Hence, he grabbed a Legendary magical crystal and tossed it over. After he tossed 10 of them in total, there were finally some changes in the puddle of liquid metal.

    Watching the changes of the liquid metal, Lin Li felt like he was watching the Terminator. Gordon was just like the liquid cyborg in the Terminator as he moved up from the ground, and quickly condensed into a two-meter-tall humanoid figure. However,pared to its original appearance, Gordon now looked a lot less bulky and much more streamlined, just like a beautiful metal statue.

    There was only arge amount of metal residue left of the liquid metal that had spread apart on the ground. During the changes, Gordon had clearly finally expelled the metal of inferior quality that was umted in his body. It was just akin to the improvement of one¡¯s personal aptitude. After the changes, Gordon¡¯s body was strengthened several times.

    At the same time, the mana fluctuation on Gordon¡¯s body was also gradually increasing towards the peak, and it stopped only when it reached the point of approaching the Sanctuary-realm. After all, it wasn¡¯t that easy to reach the Sanctuary-realm, and even with the help of Divinity Metal and the Blood of the Sea God, he could only let Gordon be close to the Sanctuary-realm. Whether or not Gordon could reach the Sanctuary-realm would still have to depend on his own abilities.

    After his body was condensed, Gordon knelt on one knee, bowed respectfully to Lin Li, and said in a muffled voice, ¡°Noble Master, thank you for giving me a new life!¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li was really a bit surprised as he didn¡¯t expect Gordon¡¯s IQ to have increased when Gordon¡¯s body changed. Gordon was actually a rtively normal kind of demon in the Endless Abyss, and his intelligence was far below that of the Demon Lords. They were basically still closer to the beasts. However, Gordon had now clearly advanced beyond the category of beasts, and be an intelligent being.

    Even if Gordon¡¯s power wasn¡¯t improved, the improvement of his intelligence alone was enough to strengthen him. Besides, during the transformation, Gordon¡¯s power had already almost reached the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, he was truly worthy of being a trump card.

    Seeing that Gordon had finally transformedpletely, Lin Li waved his hand and moved Gordon back to the contract space. In fact, Lin Li was well aware that the changes in Gordon were partly due to the fact that he had devoured the Blood of the Sea God, but more importantly, it was because of the Divinity Metal. Without the Divinity Metal that Gordon had previously swallowed, Gordon would have probably copsedpletely after swallowing the Blood of the Sea God.

    However, there was one thing that Lin Li found to be a pity¡ªalthough Gordon¡¯s strength had increased a lot, it had yet to reach the point of unlimited rebirth. If he didn¡¯t have enough mana, he would still die eventually.

    Lin Li put away Gordon, and was in quite a good mood since he now more or less had a powerful underling. Even an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse would probably have a hard time when facing Gordon. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let Gordon fight a Sanctuary powerhouse head-on. After all, the difference in realm could not be closed so easily.

 Chapter 1204 - Demon Gordon Advances

    <h4>Chapter 1204: Demon Gordon Advances</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, just as Lin Li was about to start studying that Divine-Smith-level mageweath, one of his subordinates suddenly reported at the door that there was a gift for him.

    Lin Li opened the door, and saw that it was a mage from the Mage Legion who was holding a box with both hands. Hence, he asked, ¡°Jason, is this the gift? Where is the person who sent the gift?¡±

    ¡°President, the one who sent the gift is amoner from the Gilded Kingdom who imed that someone had sent him to give you the gift on their behalf. He didn¡¯t reveal any more information,¡± the mage Jason said with curiosity written all over his face.

    <i>People would often want their intended recipients to know that they were the senders of the gifts. Why would this person send it anonymously? Could it be that the gift is not a gift, but something provocative?</i>

    Lin Li frowned slightly. After taking the box, he said to Jason, ¡°Okay, I get it, you go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Yes, President,¡± Jason answered, and bowed respectfully before excusing himself.

    Lin Li took the box back to the room, and ced it on the table, but he did not open it immediately. The first thing that came to his mind was that there was a bomb in the box. He had seen lots of news of such incidents in his previous life before he transmigrated. However, on second thought, he realized that given the level he was at now, there weren¡¯t any bombs that could pose a threat to him.

    <i>In this case, could it be a provocative package sent by someone else? For example, did they capture someone from the Tower of Dusk and cut off his ear or finger, or decapitate him and send his head here?</i> That was actually quite amon thing even in Anril as it was amon trick used by the bandits when they kidnapped someone or wanted to take revenge.

    Lin Li did not bother to think any further, and simply opened the box to reveal the contents immediately. When Lin Li saw the item, he vaguely guessed who the sender of the gift was. There were some crystal boxes that were arranged neatly in the box, with some Blood of the Sea God that he had bought today.

    There were a total of 16 crystal boxes in the box, each of which contained about 40 grams of the Blood of the Sea God. Although it was not a rare thing, the Octopus n was probably the only ones who could take so many out at once. Cantory and Harquess of the Octopus n were the only ones who knew that he had bought the Blood of the Sea God at the market. Cantory definitely wouldn¡¯t give him a gift, so Harquess was the only possibility left.

    In fact, just as Lin Li guessed, Harquess was the one who sent the Blood of the Sea God. However, although Harquess knew that Lin Li had extremely high attainments in inscription, he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to swallow his pride and face Lin Li directly. Still, the grand elder insisted that he apologize to Lin Li, so he came up with such a solution. He thought that the gifts should count as an apology, and he would be able to answer to the grand elder while saving himself some embarrassment.

    However, Harquess didn¡¯t expect that Lin Li didn¡¯t even take the incident at the market seriously. If Harquess had reallye to apologize or build friendly rtions with him, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have bothered to make things difficult for him or face him with a hostile attitude. Unfortunately, Harquess projected his own shorings on orders, and missed the chance to get close to Lin Li.

    Lin Li bought the Blood of the Sea God just to help Gordon advance in level. Besides, Gordon¡¯s abilities had been increased greatly after devouring the Blood of the Sea God too, so he naturally didn¡¯t need the Blood of the Sea God anymore. Moreover, he could formte ink that was of better quality for the mageweaths that he drew. Hence, he didn¡¯t need the Blood of the Sea God, so he tossed it to a certain corner.

    Lin Li then proceeded to focus all his attention on studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath again. This time, Lin Li¡¯s understanding of the mageweath had also grown deeper. He was advancing beyond just theoretical analysis, and had gradually begun putting theory into practice. After all, theoretical analysis was just theory, and only through practice could one gain a deeper understanding of the theory, and verify if there were any deviations from the theory.

    This time, the embassy of the Tower of Dusk was basically closed to visitors. Even people like Englos of the Brilliance Shrine and Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, who both had a good rtionship with Lin Li, were denied entry a few times too. The Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati began to send people to visit Lin Li and establish friendly rtions every other day, but they had no choice but to give up.

    In the embassy, Lin Li barely took a step out of the room, and whenever he did, it would only be for the sake of disposing of arge number of discarded mageweaths every day. Although only a small amount of ink was used during the creation of mageweaths, the magic materials used to prepare the magical ink were rare and expensive materials that were sold by the gram.

    The vast amount of mageweaths that Lin Li discarded every day was enough to bury a person, and the consumption of magical ink was really terrifying. If converted into gold coins, the amount spent each day was probably enough to make a small country go bankrupt.

    At the same time, there would often be frightening roarsing from Lin Li¡¯s room that would make the entire embassy tremble a few times. Fortunately, Lin Li had set up defensive mageweaths in his room. Otherwise, not to mention his room, the entire embassy area would probably have been razed to the ground because of the impact.

    Themotion frightened everyone in the embassy area, and many emissaries of the forces even moved out of the embassy area as if they were taking refuge. Of course, even if they weren¡¯t scared, they probably couldn¡¯t continue staying there anymore. Who would be able to rest in peace amidst themotion?

    Just like that, time passed day after day, and the people in the Embassy of the Tower of Dusk also gradually calmed down. When everyone thought that things were finally going to pass, a dazzling ray of light suddenly emerged from one of the rooms in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy. As the ray of light lit up, the entire embassy also became somewhat transparent under the light, as if it had turned into a crystal building all of a sudden.

    However, the phenomenon happened only for a moment, and it didn¡¯t attract much attention. After all, most people in the embassy area had long moved out to get some peace. After the phenomenon vanished, the door to Lin Li¡¯s room in the embassy of the Tower of Dusk finally opened again.

    ¡°President!¡±

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion knew that Lin Li had to have reached a critical moment in the matter that he was working on when they sensed the phenomena. Hence, under the organization of Dorick, the deputy head, they all guarded outside Lin Li¡¯s room to prevent anyone from going in to disturb Lin Li.

    Lin Li walked out of the room and nodded at everyone before tossing a scroll in his hand to Dorick. ¡°Take this scroll to the people of the Gilded Kingdom, and take part in the auction they said they would attend.¡±

    Dorick took the scroll, but he didn¡¯t dare to open it to take a look. Instead, he bowed to Lin Li respectfully, and said, ¡°Yes, President, I¡¯ll get right on it. During this period of time, Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine, High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Jefferson of the Gilded Kingdom have all visited.¡±

    ¡°Okay, got it,¡± Lin Li said before turning around to return to his room. However, this time he started to rest instead of studying anything. He consumed more than just money this time as his mental strength was almost reaching the point of overburdening it. Fortunately, there were finally some results in his research, and the scroll that Dorick brought to the auction should be considered one of the results of his research during this period of time.

    However, Lin Li was well aware that he was far from figuring out the Divine-Smith-level mageweath thoroughly. The gains he had made today were considered small, and if he wanted to reach the Divine-Smith-level, he would probably have to put in millions of times more effort to do so.

    Lin Li knew very well that he could not study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath thoroughly in a short time. He hadpleted a stage of research and gained corresponding knowledge. However, if he wanted to gain more, he would probably have to put in hundreds of times more effort and time. If he had enough time, he could stay in seclusion for a couple of hundred years, and maybe master the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. However, he didn¡¯t have that much time, and there were lots of things for him to handle.

    In particr, the cmity that Geresco had predicted to appear together with the unprecedented magic tides. God knew how long the barrier ofws of Anril could be sustained. Perhaps in a day, or in a year, the prehistoric magical beasts that had been driven into the spacetime rift at the beginning might descend, and bring the world to its doom again.

    Although it was said that once one had mastered that Divine-Smith-level mageweath, it would be possible to reach the Divine-Smith-realm, that still seemed too far away, after all. Therefore, Lin Li couldn¡¯t really put down everything and concentrate on that Divine-Smith-level mageweath. If he were to bet everything on such an uncertain chance, it would definitely be the most foolish act. If disaster struck in the end, and he could not obtain more power from the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he would have already wasted the other opportunities he had to improve his strength. It would really be a huge double loss then.

    Besides, he also had to strike a bnce between work and rest. If he wanted to go into seclusion and study the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he could just go back to the Tower of Dusk and do so. There was no point in doing so in the Gilded Kingdom. It was just like going on a trip to a scenic spot, but staying in the hotel for two days instead of enjoying the scenery. The trip would be pointless then.

    Hence, after Lin Li wrote all the knowledge he gained in the past few days on the scroll, he put the Divine-Smith-level mageweath away too. Anyway, he could study it anytime since it was with him. However, the Sea Market was about to open soon, and it would be a pity if he missed it.

    However, Lin Li was not going alone this time. Instead, he took Connoris and Angno along with him. Although Lin Li had a lot of knowledge in his head, especially the knowledge of the game world from before he transmigrated, he did not dare to im himself to be omniscient, and he might not be able to see through everything at a nce. Since it was said that the precious and exotic treasures of Anril were all gathered at the Sea Market, Lin Li could not guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t make any blunders at all. Hence, it was necessary to bring some helpers.

    However, Lin Li could draw some parallels with the world that he lived in before he transmigrated; hence, he knew the value of those items. There were some things that he could not understand through that method. No matter what, Connoris was an ancient demon deity who had lived for tens of millions of years, so he was naturally very knowledgeable. In particr, his understanding of Anril was probably much clearer than that of Lin Li.

    Angno¡¯s knowledge was naturally inferior to that of Connoris, but his purpose in going to the Sea Market was mainly to find some materials that could increase thebat power of his Alchemy Colossus. It wasn¡¯t that Angno suddenly wanted to work hard; at the end of the day, he was just timid.

    Angno now knew that the enemies that Lin Li met were stronger and stronger. Besides, it was getting harder and harder for him to survive in those Sanctuary-level battles by virtue of only his Alchemy Colossus. He wanted to hide and stay far from the danger, but he couldn¡¯t hide forever.

    Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus was a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus, and its strength was definitely at the peak of the Legendary-level. However, it was the end of it. Others could rely on their own efforts to reach a higher realm, but Alchemy Colossuses were inanimate, so how could they grow stronger?

    Hence, there was only one way to improve the strength of the Alchemy Colossus. For example, he could get more advanced materials for the essories, or have a more powerful weapon system. However, he could not change those things so easily, especially as the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was considered to be at the peak of Alchemy Colossuses. He had used all the best materials, and changing was not a simple matter.

    The reason that Angno came out together with them was that he hoped that he could find more precious materials to modify his Alchemy Colossus. Of course, the rare materials that could increase thebat power of the Alchemy Colossus were definitely extremely expensive. However, that was not a problem that he had to consider. Anyway, the Tower of Dusk was really rich in his opinion.

    Lin Li took both of them from the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, and the first thing they did was to go straight to the market known as the Gift of the Sea. Although Lin Li had already been there a few days ago, it had been mainly to purchase some materials for formting magical ink, so he hadn¡¯t wasted time looking at the other things. The Gift of the Sea in Hopra City was considered thergest market, and one would not be able to browse through all the stores and stalls in such a short period of time.

    However, before Lin Li even reached the Gift of the Sea, he began to feel regret, mainly because the coward, Angno, decided to put on his colorful and funny-looking armor even though they were just going to shop at the market. He was truly attracting lots of attention along the way. However, Angno did not have the slightest bit of self-awareness at all as he kept yelling loudly along the way, and even whistled at somedies. Lin Li truly felt embarrassed.

 Chapter 1205 - Where Did This Clown Come From?

    <h4>Chapter 1205: Where Did This Clown Come From?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°See, I told you not to take this guy here,¡± said Connoris, who, as a demon deity, supposedly had a strong tolerance level. However, at this point, he couldn¡¯t quite stand Angno anymore.

    Unlike Angno, Connoris could be considered a handsome man. His current body was the perfect body that Highlord Osric had created, and the perfection was not only reflected in his strength, but also in his wless appearance. After all, the High Elves were a beautiful race to begin with as the men were incredibly suave, while the women were gorgeous. Highlord Osric was an impressive figure himself, so the perfect body he prepared definitely wouldn¡¯t be inferior.

    Lin Li took his subordinates on a shopping trip on the streets. One was revoltingly hideous and looked ridiculous, while the other was a handsome dreamboat. Yet, their master Lin Li seemed to belong with either. Of course, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be jealous of them, but the thought of taking the two of them to the market made him feel troubled and helpless.

    At this moment, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of his two Undead servants. If he was apanied by Ujfalusi and Norfeller, others would probably be quick to shun them given their cold Undead aura, so they wouldn¡¯t attract any attention.

    However, as soon as Ujfalusi returned, he started getting busy with refining the Ice Phoenix¡¯s corpse, though he had no idea what woulde out of it at the end. Apparently, he intended tobine the corpse of the Ice Phoenix and Humerus Wyrm Crimson to create an unprecedented Undead creature, and thenbine the two to reach the Sanctuary-realm using their power.

    Although Norfeller was already a Sanctuary powerhouse whose strength was in the middle of the Sanctuary-realm, he had only recently stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, so he needed some time to let his body adapt in order to fully exert his power.

    No matter what, Lin Li, Connoris, and Angno finally arrived at the Gift of the Sea market. When they got there, there were finally fewer people who looked at them. After all,moners generally wouldn¡¯t visit this ce, and the patrons of the market were often those who were capable orpetent figures of status. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t surround them and gawk at them like nobodies who hadn¡¯t seen much of the world.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s the Divine Sea Pir,¡± said Connoris, who saw the so-called Divine Sea Pir that Lin Li had seen previously soon after they entered the market. However, there was only one Divine Sea Pir left in the store now because Elder Zumar had already bought the other one.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Lin Li stopped in his tracks, and turned to look at the Divine Sea Pir in the store before asking Connoris, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is there any special use for that thing?¡±

    Connoris smiled, nced at Angno, who was scrutinizing the rare metal, and then said to Lin Li in a softer voice, ¡°Felic, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of the power of the Divine Sea Pir even if I don¡¯t tell you about it. This thing is really not very useful for you.¡±

    When Lin Li visited the marketst time, he saw the Divine Sea Pir, and was aware that it was used either for ships to suppress the wind and waves, or for mages who specialized in water elemental magic toprehend thews of the sea. None of its functions was useful for Lin Li, so it wasn¡¯t worth his gold coins. Lin Li was rich, but he wasn¡¯t a wastrel, so he would only spend money when necessary, or it would be a waste.

    ¡°Yes, this thing is indeed of little use to me, and it¡¯s not worth spending so much money on,¡± Lin Li said with a nod as he told Connoris what he was thinking.

    However, after hearing his words, Connoris shook his head, and said, ¡°This thing is of no use to you, but it¡¯s very useful to that dwarf. Think about it carefully, I believe I don¡¯t need to say anything more.¡±

    As the saying went, two heads were better than one. Lin Li frowned slightly after hearing Connoris¡¯ reminder while mentally linking the Divine Sea Pir to Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus. The power of the Divine Sea Pir helped with theprehension of thews of the sea, but the Alchemy Colossus definitely wouldn¡¯t need it. So, the function that would be useful for the Alchemy Colossus would be the resistance to wind and waves. Onnd, Alchemy Colossuses were definitely the most powerful steel monsters, but on sea, they could not exert massive power. Hence, if the Divine Sea Pir was used on the Alchemy Colossus, it would be able to exert power on sea as it did onnd!

    With that thought in mind, Lin Li gradually stopped frowning, while his eyes were filled with a tinge of excitement. If his theory worked, he would be able to create a terrifying Titan-level Alchemy Colossus that could move freely on sea and exert greatbat power, even without a major increase in power!

    Seeing that Lin Li and Connoris suddenly stopped in their tracks, Angno, who was dressed inical armor, shook his head and walked over. He asked, ¡°What are you guys dawdling about? There isn¡¯t any good stuff here, let¡¯s go in and take a look elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Angno, let me ask you, can that Alchemy Colossus go onto the sea?¡± Lin Li asked in a bid to confirm something in case Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus had an incredible ability to fight in the sea. If that were the case, the Divine Sea Pir would not be of much use to him.

    ¡°Go on the sea? What a joke, it¡¯ll sink! Is there something wrong with your brains?!¡± Angno panicked immediately, afraid that Lin Li would develop funny ideas again. Alchemy Colossus were steel giants, not alchemical warships. If they were thrown into the sea, they would definitely sink and be destroyed. As the controller, he would definitely drown to death as well.

    Hearing Angno¡¯s words, Lin Li knew what the answer was, and he pointed at the Divine Seal Pir while asking, ¡°Do you have a way to put that thing in your Alchemy Colossus?¡±

    Although Lin Li also had studied and gained a deep understanding of the Alchemy Colossus, Angno, who was the owner of the Alchemy Colossus, would definitely know better in terms of understanding its structure. The Alchemy Colossus was not a big box that could fit anything. Although the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus was asrge as a hill, its structure was very precise, and could not be altered haphazardly.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Although Angno had also lived for tens of thousands of years, he really might not be able topare with Connoris and Lin Li in terms of knowledge, especially that of the products of the sea. The Goblins might have prospered onnd before, but they had yet to reach the level of expanding to the Endless Ocean, so he naturally had very little understanding of the sea.

    Lin Li patiently told Angno in detail about the power of the Divine Sea Pir. Angno was confused at first, but after hearing that the Divine Sea Pir could allow his Alchemy Colossus to travel on sea and dominate it as if onnd, his eyes gradually lit up too.

    ¡°Hey, Boss, give me that Divine Sea Pir or whatever it¡¯s called!¡± Angno eximed without hesitation after hearing Lin Li¡¯s introduction. He didn¡¯t even consider the price of it at all.

    Angno had already calcted and nned everything thoroughly. He was now in the Gilded Kingdom which was a kingdom at sea. If his Alchemy Colossus could move in the sea, he would have another means of survival in this ce that was surrounded by the vast ocean!

    However, after hearing Angno¡¯s exmation, the owner of the store said in disdain, ¡°Get lost. Where did this clowne from? Go elsewhere to make trouble, don¡¯t affect my business.¡±

    It was not that the owner of the store did not want to sell his items, but rather that he felt that Angno¡¯s appearance and outfit were really too funny and ridiculous. Hence, he thought that Angno was a clown who performed for donations at the Sea Market. Besides, he felt that Angno was too casual about the purchase of the Divine Sea Pir, which was considered a treasure of the store¡ªits price was sky-high, and not something that everyone could afford.

    ¡°What? Clown?! You¡¯re a damned catfish monster, what right do you have to call me a clown? Do you do anything about aesthetics? My outfit is so popr with thedies, how dare you call me a clown?!¡± Angno flew into a rage as soon as he heard the owner call him a clown. He pointed at the catfish-headed boss and stomped his feet furiously.

    Although Angno¡¯s colorful armor did make him look like a clown, no one had ever dared to call him a clown in his face. In the Tower of Dusk, everyone knew that he was a brilliant master of alchemy who was also the president¡¯s prestigious guest. Hence, they merely thought that it was a special interest of his to wear thatical costume. Meanwhile, since Lin Li had tantly attacked and insulted the Gilded Kingdom, its people naturally did not dare to provoke the people of the Tower of Dusk.

    As a result, Angno really thought that his armor was opulent and dazzling, giving him the confidence to whistle at the passing women when they were in the market. When he saw them smiling back at him, he felt that his ego had been fed. However, a catfish-headed Sea n member actually called him a clown now. Angno obviously couldn¡¯t take that lying down.

    Although the owner of the store indeed had the head and the face of a catfish monster, he was naturally also immediately provoked when he got insulted. He immediately wanted to attack the dwarf Angno and kick him out. However, before the shopkeeper could do anything, a group of people came in from outside the store led by a luxuriously dressed man, who was obviously a nobleman.

    Although the Catfish n was from the Sea n, it was different from the other Sea n members. They basically each had their own territory on sea, especially the overlords of the seven seas that also upied the boundless ocean. However, the Catfish n did not upy their own territory, though their presence could be found in every territory of the Sea n. The Catfish n sold sea specialties for a living, and their businesses spread throughout the four seas. Their existence also provided a great deal of convenience for the Sea n because they were not implicated even during the great battle at sea.

    For the Catfish n, business was the most important, and everything else would be secondary, even if there was a major feud. Hence, when the Catfish-headed owner saw a human nobleman walk in, he knew that there was potentially going to be a huge business deal for him. He stopped paying attention to Angno and walked up to greet him. ¡°Dear distinguished guest, what would you like to look at?¡±

    Seeing that the catfish-headed boss actually ignored him, Angno was filled with greater displeasure as he scurried over, and yelled, ¡°Hey, catfish monster, did you hear me? Bring that Divine Sea Pir over, I want it!¡±

    Not wanting Angno to affect his business, the owner had no choice but to toss a silver coin at him in disdain. ¡°Okay, take this money and leave quickly, don¡¯t affect my business!¡±

    The silver coin made a crisp sound as it rolled towards Angno¡¯s feet. Dumbfounded to see the silver coin, Angno turned to look at Lin Li, and asked, ¡°Hey, do I look so much like a clown?¡±

    Lin Li and Connoris both nodded affirmatively.

    At this moment, the human nobleman who entered, looked at the catfish-headed owner with glistening eyes, and said, ¡°You have the Divine Sea Pir here!? Where is it? I need to purchase a decorative ornament for my castle. The Divine Sea Pir sounds like it could match my castle, I¡¯m going to buy it!¡±

    <i>This nobleman is really impressive, he wants to buy the Divine Sea Pir without even asking about the price, and he even wants to use it as a decorative object for the castle!</i>

    Hearing this, the catfish-headed owner¡¯s eyes lit up immediately, as if he wouldn¡¯t be at ease unless he ripped such an impressive nobleman off. He rubbed his hands, bowed forward lower, almost drooling, and said, ¡°I can tell that you have a good taste and judgment. This Divine Seal Pir is the condensation of thews of the sea. With it...¡±

    The catfish-headed owner sang praises for the Divine Sea Pir, making it sound as if there was only one of it in this world, and that the owner thereof would immediately be a deity who could rule the world.

    After hearing his long speech, the nobleman waved his hand impatiently, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care what it is, as long as it matches my castle and no one else has it, that¡¯s enough. I can¡¯t be bothered to hear your long-winded speech. Name your price.¡±

    The catfish-headed owner choked on his saliva, but he didn¡¯t show a single trace of dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he said with a subservient smile, ¡°Yes, yes, the Divine Sea Pir is really rare. Since you like, I¡¯ll sell it to you at the lowest price I can go, 43,000,000 gold coins.¡±

 Chapter 1206 - Prince

    <h4>Chapter 1206: Prince</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    43,000,000 gold coins was a hefty sum. One gold coin was enough for an ordinary family to live well for a month. 43,000,000 gold coins would be enough to buy four or five alchemical battleships of the Gilded Kingdom. However, the nobleman simply agreed without frowning at all. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll go ahead with that price. Give it to me.¡±

    ¡°Wait! I wanted to buy it first, why should we sell it to him?!¡± Seeing that the Divine Sea Pir was about to be sold to someone else, Angno got really anxious because the Divine Sea Pir concerned his future, and would guarantee that he could live at sea. Besides, he was the one who wanted to buy it first, so he felt that the catfish-headed owner had no right to sell it to others. As for the price of 43,000,000 gold coins, he simply ignored it because Lin Li would be the one footing the bill at the end of the day.

    ¡°What are you moring about? I¡¯ve already given you money, why are you still loitering around here?!¡± the catfish-headed owner hollered. However, while rebuking Angno, he couldn¡¯t stop looking at Lin Li and Connoris.

    However, the nobleman who wanted to buy the Divine Sea Pir smiled happily, looked at Angno, and said, ¡°Hey, that clown over there, do you still want to buy the Divine Sea Pir? Listen carefully, it¡¯s 43,000,000 gold coins, not 4,300 gold coins. Can you even afford it? Besides, if you cane up with 4,300 gold coins now, I¡¯ll give you the Divine Sea Pir! Can you afford it or not?!¡± While saying that, he handed his crystal card to the catfish-headed owner.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking down on me, huh? Be careful, I might smash money at you!¡± Angno retorted. He was not good-tempered in the first ce, and after hearing another person call him a clown, he was naturally displeased, and wouldn¡¯t be nice to him.

    ¡°Hah, smash money at me? I will see who else in this Gilded Kingdom can smash money at me, Vincent!¡± When the nobleman heard Angno¡¯s words, he sneered in derision with an arrogant expression.

    <i>Vincent?</i> That name seemed to have rung a bell as Lin Li suddenly felt that it seemed somewhat familiar. However, after thinking about the people he knew, he realized that there seemed to be no one called Vincent among them.

    The catfish-headed owner no longer bothered with Angno. After receiving the crystal card from the nobleman, he immediately began to transfer the money. However, no one expected the catfish-headed owner to stop after performing some actions at the register. With a look of dismay, he then said to the nobleman Vincent, ¡°Lord, there¡¯s insufficient bnce in your crystal card.¡±

    ¡°What?! How is that possible?¡± Vincent snatched the crystal card from the owner, and looked at it again and again. Seemingly having suddenly remembered something, he said, ¡°Damn it, I just remembered that I paid the Coral Trade Union arge sum of money for goods this morning. How about you reserve the Divine Sea Pir for me for three days? I¡¯lle and purchase it in three days¡¯ time for 43,000,000 gold coins, not a single one less.¡±

    ¡°Lord, I¡¯m just a merchant, I have to do business whenever possible. Besides, the people who are here to shop are all powerful figures of high status. I¡¯m just a merchant, how can I afford to provoke them?¡± the catfish-headed owner said with a bitter expression, as if someone who he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke woulde to buy the Divine Sea Pir in the next moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, let me tell you, I¡¯ll be convinced and let you do whatever you want if you can sell it to someone else at a price of 43,000,000 gold coins,¡± Vincent said while his fat cheeks jiggled. He pointed his fat finger that was as thick as a radish at the catfish-headed owner. He viciously barked, ¡°If you sell it any lower than 43,000,000 gold coins, don¡¯t me me when I make sure you can¡¯t run this store anymore!¡±

    At this juncture, Lin Li, who was at the side, not only found Vincent¡¯s name familiar, but he also felt that the act that the owner and Vincent were putting up seemed very familiar. Although he could not recall who Vincent was, he could tell that they were just putting on an act to raise the price. However, there was one thing that Lin Li could not figure out. <i>How are they so sure that I can afford to pay those 43,000,000 gold coins? That¡¯s a massive amount of money for any force.</i>

    While Lin Li was secretly wondering and thinking about it, two people among the crowd suddenly walked in from outside. ¡°Hagi, why is it so lively here in your store today? The Sea Market has yet to begin, but your business is already so prosperous, huh?¡±

    When the catfish-headed owner saw the two of them, his expression changed immediately, and he could no longer be bothered to hold it against Angno anymore. He stepped forward, and said, ¡°Master, Donald, Prince Tory, what would you two like to see today?¡±

    It turned out that the two people who walked into the store were the emissaries sent by the Rotterdam Kingdom. One of them was the imperial mage Donald, and the other was Prince Tory of the Rotterdam Kingdom. On the one hand, they were here to participate in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, and on the other hand, they were naturally there to shop at the Sea Market where all the treasures of the world were gathered.

    Besides, Prince Tory and Donald hade to the Sea Market more frequently than Lin Li did. After all, Lin Li first went to Cursed Ind, and since he returned, he had been studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. Hence, he had just begun shopping at the Sea Market. On the other hand, Donald and Prince Tory didn¡¯t have that many things to do. Apart from socializing with the nobles of the Gilded Kingdom, they would spend the rest of their time shopping at the Sea Market.

    It was obviously not the catfish-headed owner¡¯s first time seeing Donald and Prince Tory. He called their names as soon as he came forth, and he seemed extremely enthusiastic.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Prince Tory. I¡¯ve always wanted to visit you, but unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had the time and opportunity to do so. Feel free to let me know if there¡¯s anything you¡¯ve set your sights on. They¡¯ll be on me,¡± said the nobleman Vincent, who was really wealthy. He was just about to spend more than 40,000,000 gold coins on a decorative item for the castle, and now he wanted to buy some things for Prince Tory and Donald.

    However, Donald and Tory merely nodded at Vincent before walking straight to Lin Li and Connoris. Vincent and the catfish-headed owner Hagi watched in shock as Donald and Tory politely said to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯ve just visited the embassy, but I was told that you weren¡¯t in. I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here.¡±

    Hearing Donald and Tory greet Lin Li as Felic, the wealthy and powerful great nobleman, Vincent, suddenly shuddered and turned around to look at Lin Li and Connoris. After he took a look, the nobleman immediately turned pale, while the fat on his cheeks began to jiggle.

    Although the catfish-headed owner Hagi was surprised by Donald and Prince Tory¡¯s behavior, their business was still the most important. Hence, when he saw that they had gone to chat with one other, he turned around, and said to Vincent, ¡°Look, I can at most reserve this Divine Sea Pir for you for three days. If someone offers me a higher price, I have to sell it to them.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, I don¡¯t want it anymore, I don¡¯t want it,¡± Vincent said while waving his hands in annoyance. Seeing that Lin Li hadn¡¯t noticed him, he hurriedly moved his fat body over, and scurried out of the shop like he was fleeing.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s good, I want it if he doesn¡¯t!¡± eximed Angno, who didn¡¯t sense that anything was wrong. He was thrilled to see that Vincent wasn¡¯t going to vie with him anymore.

    Watching Vincent leave, Hagi felt a little dejected because the others didn¡¯t seem to be interested in the Divine Seal Pir. Hence, he turned around to look at the clown Angno, and couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°You clown, you¡¯re bent on ruining my business, huh?! Come on, let¡¯s go talk to the people of the Gilded Kingdom. I will see how the Gilded Kingdom maintains the order of the market!¡± He then reached out to grab Angno.

    In fact, Angno might have been treated as an ordinary customer if he had wanted to buy something cheap. However, as soon as he entered, he asked to buy the Divine Sea Pir, and to make matters worse, he was dressed in colorful armor that made him look really ridiculous. He didn¡¯t look like he could afford the Divine Sea Pir at all. Now that his business deal that was worth more than 43,000,000 gold coins had been ruined by Angno, Hagi wished he could skin him alive. He no longer cared about maintaining peace.

    Hagi wanted to pull Angno over to settle the score, while the fat nobleman Vincent had also moved to the entrance of the store. However, at this moment, he heard Lin Li¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Prince Vincent, where are you in a hurry to go to?¡± Lin Li finally remembered that his sailors had previously been caught by the Gilded Kingdom for assaulting the prince of the Gilded Kingdom whose name was Vincent!

    However, Vincent indeed did not have much to do with the matter afterwards, and the main issue was that the Gilded Kingdom felt embarrassed because of the matter regarding the royal guards. Hence, Lin Li did not pay much attention to Vincent, and merely found his name familiar, but he did not recall who he was immediately.

    However, that did not mean that the others didn¡¯t remember Vincent, either, because Vincent was a prince of the Gilded Kingdom, after all. After Donald¡¯s casual mention, Lin Li was reminded about it, and he immediately remembered that Vincent was the one who¡¯d caused his sailors to be arrested.

    Prince Vincent, who had already reached the door, was about to walk out, but after hearing Lin Li expose his identity, he froze right on the spot. Afterwards, he turned his stiffened body around mechanically with an awkward expression on his face, and said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, President Felic, what a coincidence!¡±

    ¡°Haha, it is indeed a coincidence. I was just thinking of paying you a visit sometime so as to apologize to you for what my sailors have done.¡± Lin Li actually didn¡¯t want to do anything to Vincent, since the matter was actually considered over. Besides, Cantory and Dno had also made use of Vincent to reap some benefits. Anyway, Vincent had merely suffered a beating, and had his title of a prince removed by Bradlor.

    However, Vincent didn¡¯t dare to think so. Even though Lin Li and his men created such a huge ruckus, the Gilded Kingdom didn¡¯t dare to pursue the matter. If Lin Li were to kill him or sever his limbs, his nephew, the king, would definitely not stand up for him! The matter regarding the royal guards was a tant insult, but Bradlor could bear with it too. In that case, how could thetter¡¯s loser of an uncle receive his support?

    At the thought of this, Vincent couldn¡¯t help but shudder as if he couldn¡¯t bear the weight of his fat body. His face was also soon covered with sweat droplets as if he had juste out of the water. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°Master Felic, I¡¯m joking, that matter was clearly my fault, and I deserved to be beaten up too for causing your sailors to suffer. I should be the one to apologize.¡¯

    Hearing that Prince Vincent was actually talking to Lin Li in such a subservient tone, the catfish-headed owner, Hagi, who was next to him was a bit dumbfounded. After listening to his words, he realized that Prince Vincent seemed to have also been beaten up by Lin Li¡¯s sailors! He was the prince of the Gilded Kingdom, so how could he have gotten hit by a few lowly sailors? How could the Gilded Kingdom have tolerated it!?

    ¡°Is that so? Are you really going to apologize?¡± Although Lin Li originally did not intend to find trouble with Prince Vincent, he decided that he had to reap some benefits since the other party had taken the initiative.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Vincent froze in shock for a while. He initially thought that the matter was over, and that things could be settled by saying some nice things. He didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to hint for him to give him something substantial.

    As Lin Li looked at the stunned Vincent, the former¡¯s smile gradually faded, and was reced by a cold expression. He asked in displeasure, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Prince Vincent, were you just making a casual remark?¡±

    Vincent shuddered, and immediately snapped back to his senses before frantically saying, ¡°What do you mean? President Felic, you must be joking. I genuinely want to apologize to you. I just don¡¯t know if you can give me this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Well, this shows a little bit of your sincerity,¡± Lin Li said as he finally nodded in satisfaction. He then pointed to the Divine Sea Pir beside him. Without standing on ceremony at all, he said, ¡°Just now, I heard you say that you want to buy that Divine Sea Pir. It just so happens that my subordinate is quite interested in it, what do you think we should do?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see, I will not buy it then. You may have it,¡± Vincent said after hearing his words, and he couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief. It turned out that he didn¡¯t want Vincent to spend a huge amount of money, but rather he just wanted Vincent to let him have the Divine Sea Pir. Vincent was just pretending to be impressive, and he wasn¡¯t nning to really buy that Divine Sea Pir anyway. Since Lin Li wanted it, Vincent would let him buy it. Well, he wouldn¡¯t be at a loss anyway.

    However, since Lin Li said he wanted to see Vincent¡¯s sincerity, how could Lin Li let Vincent get away with it that easily? The former immediately sneered, and said, ¡°Prince Vincent, if I¡¯m the one buying it, how can I see your sincerity?¡±

    Prince Vincent finally understood that Lin Li was trying to exploit him! The Divine Sea Pir was going to cost 43,000,000 gold coins. Where was he supposed to get so much money? Not to mention 43,000,000 gold coins, he couldn¡¯t even afford 4,300,000 gold coins. Otherwise, how could he havee to put up an act?!

    The thought of the miserable fate that he would end up suffering if he refused made Vincent¡¯s face turn pale immediately as he teared up too. ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m no longer a duke, and the royal family has also stopped providing for my living expenses. I¡¯m relying only on the rent collected from a few stores I¡¯ve rented out. I don¡¯t have that much money to buy the Divine Sea Pir!¡±

 Chapter 1207 - Visitor From The Rotterdam Kingdom

    <h4>Chapter 1207: Visitor From The Rotterdam Kingdom</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, Lin Li would not be fooled by Vincent¡¯s crocodile tears. The other party was the prince of a nation, and even if he was a wastrel, he could still make a lot of money by relying on his title as a prince for several years. How could he be possibly reduced to the state of having to live on rent? As for helping others stage acts, Vincent would at least get amission of a few million gold coins if he could sell the Divine Sea Pir at 43,000,000 gold coins.

    Lin Li had long seen through Vincent¡¯s and the catfish-headed owner¡¯s tricks, but he did not expose them directly. Instead, he sneered, and said, ¡°Is that so? But I just heard that you asked the owner to reserve the Divine Sea Pir for you for three days, and now you¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t have enough money?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Vincent was full of regrets at this point, but he had himself to me for being so unlucky to have run into Lin Li. After hesitating for a long time, he said, ¡°President Felic, I was just joking with Hagi. That thing costs more than 40,000,000 gold coins, even if I buy it, I can¡¯t sell it for a high price.¡±

    ¡°You were joking? I took it seriously, though.¡± Lin Li then turned around to face the catfish-headed owner Hagi. Seeing that Vincent was wiping his sweat incessantly, he calmly said, ¡°Hagi, huh? Please bring me that Divine Sea Pir and charge it to Prince Vincent¡¯s ount. You two like joking with each other all the time anyway.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hagi froze in shock now too. <i>What a joke, charge it to Vincent¡¯s ount? I¡¯ll never get my money back then.</i>

    ¡°President Felic, this is all his idea, and I¡¯m just helping him. He said that this thing can be sold for a high price, it really has nothing to do with me!¡± Vincent began to panic because he wasn¡¯t favored by the royal family in the first ce, and if he were to get himself in debt now, he would probably really end up with nothing.

    ¡°What? Does this mean that you two are colluding to cheat others?! I didn¡¯t expect that there would be such a thing in the Sea Market of the Gilded Kingdom. I really want to question Bradlor and ask him what¡¯s going on in this Sea Market!¡± Lin Li eximed with righteous indignation, as if he had just realized it.

    Vincent was frightened and scared out of his wits. If Bradlor were to get involved, the former would probably never get his title back. He frantically pleaded, ¡°President Felic, let¡¯s talk things over calmly! Hagi, what are you waiting for? Bring the Divine Sea Pir over here. Are you waiting to be kicked out of the Sea Market?¡±

    Hagi was just as terrified and shocked. Although the Divine Sea Pir wasn¡¯t really worth more than 40,000,000 gold coins, he could at least sell it for 10-20 million gold coins. When the old human came over previously, he had bought one of the Divine Sea Pirs at the price of nearly 20,000,000 gold coins. Yet, Hagi had to give it away now without earning a single cent.

    However, Hagi didn¡¯t dare not to give it away. If the matter was really exposed, and the Gilded Kingdom were to find out, he would at most be kicked out of the Sea Market. However, if others found out that he yed such dirty tricks in business, no one would one to have any business dealings with him anymore!

    ¡°Um... President Felic, how about this? I¡¯ll sell the Divine Sea Pir to you at the cost price of 20,000,000 gold coins. I won¡¯t earn a single cent of your money. Previously, you spent a magical crystal that was worth a few million gold coins at Calicoli¡¯s store. This should be peanuts to you,¡± said Hagi, who, of course, couldn¡¯t bear to give the Divine Sea Pir away just like that. In his opinion, he was sincere enough to have given him a 50% discount.

    Hearing Hagi mention the previous incident, Lin Li finally knew why they had deliberately staged such an act. Previously, Harquess of the Octopus n had tried to spar with Lin Li in inscription, but in the end, Lin Li didn¡¯t let Calicoli deduct the money for the goods from his card. Instead, he just left behind a few Legendary magical crystals which were worth at least a few million gold coins. It was definitely more than the cost of the goods.

    Hearing Hagi¡¯s words, Lin Li did not say anything, but Vincent anxiously hollered, ¡°You¡¯re still thinking of making President Felic pay? Hagi, are you out of your mind!? You got those tens of thousands of gold coins by cheating that person who has poor judgment, and used it to get the Divine Sea Pirs. The cost price doesn¡¯t amount to 20,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°What? I traveled thousands of kilometers, and went through a lot of hassle to painstakingly bring them here. Are my efforts not worth any money? I¡¯m only selling it to him for over 20,000,000 gold coins, that¡¯s not too much to ask for, is it?! You¡¯re the one who offended him, it has nothing to do with me. Why should I give the Divine Seal Pir away for nothing?¡± Hagi immediately lost his temper, and got into a huge tiff with Vincent.

    After looking at the two of them argue for a long time, Lin Li interrupted them, and said, ¡°How much the Divine Sea Pir is worth has nothing to do with me, you two take your time to calcte. Vincent, since you¡¯re so sincere in apologizing, I will ept your sincerity.¡± After saying that, he waved his hand, and the blue crystal pir darted out, andnded on his hand.

    ¡°Vincent, I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m going to charge that Divine Sea Pir at a price of 20,000,000 gold coins, you can put your castle as coteral, but don¡¯t try to deny this and feign ignorance.¡± Hagi knew that he could not afford to offend Lin Li, and thus had no choice but to make Vincent pay. Anyway, Vincent had already revealed everything, and said that he had lost his title as a duke. There was nothing to be afraid of then.

    Vincent was naturally unwilling to show weakness at all. He then pulled Hagi, and eximed, ¡°What 20,000,000 gold coins? It clearly costs only tens of thousands of gold coins. Don¡¯t think of getting a single gold coin from me!¡±

    Their argument was getting heated, but Lin Li was no longer interested. He said to his subordinates, ¡°Connoris, Angno, we¡¯ve already bought what we need, it is time to go.¡± He then ignored the two who were in an argument, and strode away from the store leisurely.

    Seeing this, Connoris and Angno immediately followed Lin Li out. However, when passing by the two, Angno still could not help but kick them each for calling him a clown. Of course, although being called a clown was infuriating, he had obtained the Divine Sea Pir, which meant that he could have one more means of survival on the sea, and it was indeed something that was worth rejoicing over.

    On the other hand, Donald and Prince Tory of the Rotterdam Kingdom naturally would not stay here for any longer. They nced at each other speechlessly, both understanding that they could not afford to offend Lin Li easily.

    The incident in the store had caused some dy, but they weren¡¯t there simply to watch the show. They were certain that Prince Vincent would definitely go to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk to look for him. The Catfish n was quite powerful, and Vincent had been deposed as a duke. Without the king to support him, it would not be easy for him to pay for the Divine Sea Pir.

    Although Vincent was known to be a wastrel in the Gilded Kingdom, he was still of some use to Lin Li. Bradlor might have stripped him of his title, but Lin Li was certain that it wouldn¡¯t take long for it to be restored. After all, he was Bradlor¡¯s uncle.

    With the help of Vincent¡¯s title as the prince, the business of the Tower of Dusk could be expanded into the Gilded Kingdom would be much easier. Using the Gilded Kingdom, the Tower of Dusk could collect all kinds of precious resources from the Endless Ocean with greater ease. It would also provide great motivation for the development of the Tower of Dusk.

    Of course, at this juncture, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t talk about those matters with Vincent. Only by pushing this prince to the breaking point and conditioning him into submission could he truly make thetter work for the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li put the Divine Sea Pir away into the Ring of Endless Storm, and continued to wander around casually in the Gift of the Sea. When he returned a few days after his previous visit, there were obviously many more Sea n members than before in the market. There was also a greater plethora of goods sold in the stores, which were bedazzling.

    ¡°Sir, what would you like to see? Take a look at this, it¡¯s molten adamantine that was produced at the bottom of the deep sea volcano. It contains the power of the elements of fire and water, and it¡¯s the best material for creating magical equipment!¡± Hagi exined, introducing the goods in the store to Lin Li while his saliva sttered everywhere<sup>1</sup>.

    The Catfish n was indeed worthy of being the merchant tribe of the Sea n as their stores ounted for almost half of the Gift of the Sea. However, they each had their specific origin, and there were different ns of the Sea n, such as the Giant Shark n and some other ns from the sea area near the mysterious continent in the east. There was arge variety of goods, and they were almost all themon resources and minerals of the Endless Ocean.

    However, thosemonly seen things were not Lin Li¡¯s purpose when shopping in the Sea Market. The transformation of the Sky Castle indeed required arge number of materials, but even with the financial strength of the Tower of Dusk, they could not afford to buy everything they needed, not even if they went bankrupt. Hence, the true problem with the Sky Castle was not that they couldn¡¯t get the materials, but rather that they could not afford them all. Even if they went bankrupt, they could only build half of the Sky Castle.

    Hence, while things like magic metals and adamantine might not be expensive, Lin Li did not intend to buy them, because he didn¡¯t want to waste money on things he didn¡¯t need. He felt that it would be better to find something that he really needed or something that could take effect quickly, such as the Divine Sea Pir that was ready to be installed in the Alchemy Colossus.

    With the Divine Sea Pir, Angno¡¯s Titan-level Alchemy Colossus could travel smoothly on sea, and exert greatbat power when facing the strong and powerful enemies at sea. It was another level of enhanced strength. Although Lin Li was rich, there was a limit to how much he should spend. He wouldn¡¯t spend tens of millions of gold coins on a decorative ornament, and would rather spend on what he really needed.

    After browsing through a few stores, Lin Li was more or less disappointed. Although the goods in those stores were good, they would be garbage if he didn¡¯t need them. In fact, the store owners might have lots of resources, but they might not have ess to good things all the time. Previously, Hagi was lucky enough to have obtained the two Divine Sea Pirs, but not everyone might be that lucky.

    Of course, Lin Li¡¯s trip was not fruitless. After just half a day in the market, he had already spent tens of millions of gold coins. For example, he got some deep-sea blue gold that could be used to create magical essories. A tiny bit of it would greatly improve the quality of magical essories, but it was very expensive. There were also some Sea Ghoul Weed, Deep Ocean Lantern Weed, and many other rare herbs that were good for the preparation of certain potions.

    Those things were not avable only in the Sea Market, but they were just quite rare during other times. Lin Li bought these things just because he happened toe across them, and thought that if he bought them now, he would not have to look for them specifically when neededter. Moreover, after the purchase, Lin Li also obtained the contact details of the store owners so that he could purchase goods directly from them in the future.

    The items sold in this market were not particrly outstanding, but it was very difficult to bargain for a cheaper price. Previously, Vincent had paid for the Divine Sea Pir, but Lin Li paid for his subsequent purchases with real money. After all, there werews in this market, and the prices had to be kept within a rtively fixed range. Selling them at too high or too low of a price would be breaking the rules of the market.

    After shopping at the Gift of the Sea, it was already gettingte. Lin Li took Connoris and Angno back to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. However, as soon as they walked through the embassy¡¯s doors, they saw that there were already guests waiting inside¡ªwaiting for Lin Li. They were none other than Donald and Prince Tory of the Rotterdam Kingdom.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be surprised that they were waiting there because they had previously already met at the market, and if there had been anything up, they could have just talked about it there. There was no need toe here at all. Of course, Lin Li could not voice it out loud. He smiled, and said, ¡°Master Donald, Prince Tory, you¡¯ve been waiting for a long time, huh? I didn¡¯t get to chat more with you guys in the day, I¡¯m really very sorry.¡±

    Although Lin Li and the Rotterdam Kingdom had had a conflict when exploring the Sky Castle previously, Donald and Prince Tory had been rather friendly to Lin Li ever since they arrived in the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, Lin Li naturally didn¡¯t have to be hostile to them.

    After seeing Lin Li enter, Donald and Prince Tory frantically stood up. They were not as arrogant as the others of Rotterdam Kingdom. Donald took two steps forward with a smile, and said, ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re being too polite. We¡¯ve just arrived a while ago. Actually, we¡¯ve long wanted to visit, but never had the opportunity. We decided toe here to visit you before the news got out because we saw you at the market today. If we¡¯re anyter, we might not have a ce to sit anymore.¡±

 Chapter 1208 - Secret Merchant

    <h4>Chapter 1208: Secret Merchant</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Donald was the chief imperial mage of the Rotterdam Kingdom who had a very high status, he had already witnessed the strength of Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk during the time spent in the Sky Castle. Besides, Lin Li had also insulted the Gilded Kingdom twice, but there was nothing the Gilded Kingdom could do to retaliate, thus making Donald feel that Lin Li was profound and unpredictable.

    Hence, Donald made up his mind to build a good rtionship with Lin Li, and even went out of his way to swallow his pride and tter thetter. If he could have a good rtionship with Lin Li, it would be the greatest thing he gained from the trip to the Gilded Kingdom.

    Lin Li naturally heard Donald¡¯spliments, but he did not have any special reaction. Instead, he remained smiling, and said, ¡°You must be joking, Master Donald, we¡¯re acquaintances. All my friends and acquaintances will be given a seat when they¡¯re here.¡±

    Lin Li actually didn¡¯t mean anything else, but Donald and Tory were overjoyed to hear his words. However, they knew very well that anyone could say polite and nice things, and whether or not they could really be friends with Lin Li would depend on their actions. After all, not all friendships were the same, and some were stronger than the others. Effort had to be put into a friendship to keep it going too. At this point, Lin Li merely decided not to hold what happened previously against them.

    After they were seated, Lin Li also went to sit down on the master¡¯s seat. He then said to the two of them, ¡°I went on a shopping trip in the Sea Market today, and I have to say that it¡¯s really such an eye-opener. Why didn¡¯t you two go on a tour around the market too? Why did youe here instead?¡±

    Of course, Lin Li knew that Donald and Prince Tory hade over with the purpose of bonding. However, unless they were really close friends, they had to put in effort to spend time with Lin Li and keep their friendship going. After all, their rtionship hadn¡¯t reached that level yet.

    If they were from the Fn Kingdom, Ledin Kingdom, or the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine, which had business dealings and cooperations with the Tower of Dusk, they could at least discuss their partnerships. However, the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom had only interacted with the Tower of Dusk during the exploration of the Sky Castle. Later on, they did not cooperate in business or any foreign affairs, so there was no contact at all.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Prince Tory smiled, and said, ¡°President Felic, since you¡¯ve visited the market today, you must also know that although the goods sold at the market are not too bad, almost none of the goods are really excellent. The Divine Sea Pir that you bought was an exception, and you can¡¯t find something of its level in all stores.¡±

    Prince Tory¡¯s words were really what Lin Li wanted to hear. The Gift of the Sea was already thergest market where they could find anything they wanted. If not, there would probably be little hope of finding it in other markets. In fact, it made sense because it was only human nature to sell a good thing for a high price. They would naturally want to put it up for auction to fetch a higher price.

    Lin Li did not avoid or hide anything, and simply nodded, and truthfully said, ¡°Yes, it might be lively at the Sea Market, but there aren¡¯t any rare or precious treasures. It seems that it¡¯s better to wait for the auction after the Sea Market officially opens.¡±

    After the official opening of the Sea Market, there would be a series of auctions that were held not only by the Gilded Kingdom, but also by other powerful merchants orrge Sea n forces. At that time, there would truly be a huge disy of all kinds of exotic treasures, each of which probably would not be inferior to the Divine Sea Pir.

    Seeing that Lin Li agreed with him, Prince Tory gleefully said, ¡°The auction is indeed a good ce for disying exotic treasures, but apart from the auctions, there¡¯s another ce where we can find precious treasures.¡±

    Upon hearing Prince Tory¡¯s words, Lin Li was really interested as he raised his brows, and asked, ¡°What are you referring to, Prince Tory?¡±

    ¡°President Felic, have you ever heard of the profession of a secret merchant?¡± asked Prince Tory when he saw that he had aroused Lin Li¡¯s interest. His tone also sounded much more casual than before.

    When he started talking to Lin Li, Prince Tory was really anxious mainly because he was frightened by what Lin Li had done in the Gilded Kingdom, and was afraid that he would mess things up again if he were to say something wrong. However, after some icebreakers and chatting with him for a while, he realized that this young Sanctuary powerhouse was not as difficult to get along with as he had imagined.

    Indeed, Lin Li was just like that. If others were nice to him, he would treat them with respect too. If they were to provoke him, he would insult them back. Hence, although Prince Tory was leaving him hanging, Lin Li wasn¡¯t annoyed, and instead asked, ¡°Secret merchants? Are they different from ordinary merchants?¡±

    Although Prince Tory had kept him in suspense, he knew he could not go too far, so he said, ¡°To put it bluntly, secret merchants are in fact merchants who do sordid business. On the surface, they may be ordinary businessmen, or people who hold ordinary upations, but their abilities are far beyond ordinary.¡±

    Once Lin Li heard this exnation, he came to a sudden realization, and at the same time, he guessed what exactly Prince Tory was probably talking about. The so-called secret merchants were just ck market merchants who had treasures, but could not sell them openly at the auctions. Naturally, they were obtained through sordid means, so they had to sell them on the ck market.

    At the end of the day, it was because Lin Li had too few resources. He should have thought of the ck market long ago! Although Lin Li generally wasn¡¯t interested in ck market, the Sea Market of the Gilded Kingdom was now open, and the so-called secret merchants in the world were all out to make a fortune here. It was definitely something on arger scale than the ordinary ck market.

    ¡°I think I may know what ce you are talking about, but you need to have resources and connections to enter such a ce.¡± At this moment, Lin Li actually knew the reason that Donald and Tory came to visit him.

    Just like Lin Li said, those secret merchants were running sordid businesses, so they naturally couldn¡¯t promote and run them openly like auctions. They couldn¡¯t just let strangers in, either. Even if they had a strong background or some powerful backers, they might not be able to enjoy protection. Hence, the secret merchants were very picky with their guests. Either their guests would have to be rmended by a frequent patron, or the secret merchants would have to be familiar with their backgrounds.

    Prince Tory and Donald were not surprised by Lin Li¡¯s words. At this point, Lin Li¡¯s intelligence would be questionable if he still couldn¡¯t guess it.

    ¡°As expected of President Felic, you¡¯ve made a really good guess.¡± Although this matter was not difficult to guess, Prince Tory still gave Lin Li a thumbs-up andplimented him sincerely. ¡°Yes, the ce I¡¯m referring to is the market of secret merchants, which is sponsored by the Secret Merchants Alliance.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s an alliance for secret merchants?¡± Lin Li froze for a moment, and thought, <i>Wow the ck market merchants of this ce are really bold, they actually have an alliance too. Aren¡¯t ck market merchants usually careful and afraid of having their identities exposed? Even with their peers, they would be extremely wary and keep their guard up against each other. By creating an alliance to unite everyone, won¡¯t they be in trouble?¡¯</i>

    However, after hearing Prince Tory¡¯s introduction, Lin Li also guessed why those secret merchants were so brazen. Although the Secret Merchants Alliance was ax organization that was led by the 10 most established secret merchants of Anril who might not know each other¡¯s identity, the Secret Merchants Alliance also united all thepetent secret merchants of Anril. If there was an outrage and they went all out, it would probably not be difficult to overthrow a kingdom.

    Of course, the purpose of merchants was to earn money. Secret merchants were still merchants, and as long as they weren¡¯t forced to the point of no return, they would not go all out and fight with all their might. Anyway, they had already amassed arge amount of wealth, and they would at most just give up. Even though it was said that they could overthrow a kingdom, it just meant that the amount of money they had was astonishing.

    The important point was that no one knew the real identity of the secret merchants. They could be bishops of the Brilliance Shrine, princes of a kingdom, or even people with more shocking identities. Hence, no force dared to guarantee that none of their members was a secret merchant. Even if they wanted to attack the Secret Merchants Alliance, their efforts would usually prove futile.

    Hence, as long as the Secret Merchant Alliance did not go too far, there was basically no force that made things difficult for them. The existence of the Secret Merchants Alliance allowed the deals and transactions between secret merchants to be carried out more easily. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that easy to join the Secret Merchants Alliance, and even the most junior secret merchants had to have at least more than 10 years of experience.

    ¡°It is said that the Secret Merchants Alliance existed since the Dark Age, and there are even rumors that the rebellion army had once obtained the support of the Secret Merchants Alliance during the war at the end of the Dark Age. Thus, they managed to finally overthrow the rule of the High Elves. Of course, this is only a legend, or perhaps something that the Secret Merchants Alliance had made up to make themselves seem impressive.¡± At this point, Prince Tory couldn¡¯t help butugh out loud because he clearly didn¡¯t think that the legend was believable.

    Prince Tory briefly introduced the Secret Merchants Alliance before revealing the legend that could be taken as a joke. That was all he knew about the Secret Merchants Alliance. Anyway, even the secret merchants of the alliance probably could not reveal much information.

    Lin Li was not very interested in finding out more about the Secret Merchants Alliance. He just wanted to buy some useful things anyway. ording to Prince Tory¡¯s introduction, there should be more good things in the Secret Merchants Market that the Secret Merchants Alliance organized since it was such a huge alliance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the legend anymore. You two didn¡¯te here just to tell me stories, did you?¡± Lin Li asked half-jokingly with a smile as he looked at Donald and Prince Tory.

    Although the purpose of their visit was already obvious, Lin Li still had to hear it from the horses¡¯ mouth. Besides, Lin Li had also thought that even if Donald and Tory didn¡¯te today, the news and oue of their research today would spread, and people woulde to do the same thing that they did. After all, in the Gilded Kingdom, Donald and Tory were not the only ones with resources. There were the Fn Kingdom, the Ledin Kingdom, the Darkness Shrine, the Brilliance Shrine, and the Illuminati. They were probably already clear about the secret market.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not take the initiative to speak, Prince Tory was more or less disappointed. However, he maintained a smile, and said, ¡°Yes, President Felic, Master Donald and I came to visit you this time to invite you toe with us to the Secret Merchant Market. We hope to have the honor to be your guides.¡±

    Prince Tory¡¯s attitude was really quite positive, and one could hardly see a bit of the inherent arrogance possessed by the nobles of the Rotterdam Kingdom. In the hearts of the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom, they had always perceived themselves to be the humans who had saved Anril, and always viewed the people of other kingdoms with the identity of their saviors. For example, although Prince Kanber was aware that their strength was no match for the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team¡¯s, and that Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse, he was still extremely arrogant.

    Lin Li was indeed quite satisfied with Prince Tory¡¯s attitude. It was not that he was fishing forpliments. After all, anyone who was treated condescendingly would definitely be displeased. Hence, Lin Li did not continue to say any pleasantries, and simply nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m a little tempted now. When is the Secret Merchant Market going to begin?¡±

    Although they did not manage to make Lin Li ask them to take him to the Secret Merchant Market, their purpose was considered to have been achieved! Unable to contain his joy, Prince Tory said, ¡°President Felic, if there¡¯s nothing you have to do, we might as well go now. The Secret Merchant Market opened five days ago, and it takes ce every other night, just in different ces. Tonight, it should be on a ship named <i>The Mermaid</i>. There¡¯s still some time to go before it sets sail today.¡±

    <i>The Mermaid </i>was a famousrge cruise ship in the Gilded Kingdom, and based on the name, it was obvious what businesses were usually run on it. The real owner of the cruise ship was said to be from the Siren n, and was known as a mermaid. The characteristics of the Siren n was that the female sirens were beautiful; in fact, they were even on par with the High Elves who were known for their perfection. However, the male sirens were hideous.

 Chapter 1209 - The Mermaid

    <h4>Chapter 1209: <em>The Mermaid</em></h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, although the women of the Siren n looked beautiful and gentle, they were not to be messed with. In fact, they were all born Spiritual Mages who specialized in Spiritual Magic and mental spells. Spiritual Magic was not that easy to defend against, not to mention affinity spells of the Siren n. During the casting, there was almost no magical wave. Hence, people tended to be struck by it before they even realized.

    Hence, there were all sorts of Sea n ves who were sold openly and secretly in the Endless Ocean, including Giant Shark Knights, but the women of the Siren n had never been sold.

    The men of the Siren n might be ugly and hideous, but they were all very strong and powerful archers of the sea. Logically speaking, arrowsunched in the water would not be shot far, and even when they touched the bodies of humans, there wouldn¡¯t be great damage. However, the males of the Siren n should technically be Magic Archers because they had a wisp of oceanicws that would allow the arrows that they shot into the sea to possess greater power.

    During the great war of the ocean, the archers of the Siren n performed outstandingly, especially against the mages of the Thunder Eel n. The Ocean Archers had paid only a small price to annihte the entire mage legion of the Thunder Eel n. Although the soldiers yed an important role, it was enough to prove that the Ocean Archers had incrediblebat power.

    While the Giant Shark n troops reinforced the Thunder Eel n, and deterred the Siren n¡¯s troops, the Giant Shark Knights had paid quite a huge price. Besides, it was said that an important reason for the victory of the Giant Shark n was due to the small poption of the Siren n, and the Siren n¡¯s queen did not want to suffer many casualties, so she ordered for them to return. Otherwise, even if the Giant Shark n had really won in the end, they would have had to suffer miserable consequences.

    Hence, although the Siren n was small, they were also one of the seven great hegemons of the Endless Ocean. In fact, they were the top among the seven.

    Putting aside the rtionship between the Secret Merchant Alliance and the Siren n, the rtionship between <i>The Mermaid</i> and the Siren n was enough to deter most people from creating trouble there. There was probably no safer ce than <i>The Mermaid </i>to host the Secret Merchant Market. Besides, that point alone was enough to show that the Secret Merchant Market was definitely quite upscale, and there was an 80% chance that something of good quality would appear.

    The famous ship, <i>The Mermaid</i>, was docked at Helena Port, and there were luxurious lighting and decorations, making it look like a shining bright pearl at night. There were some luxuriously dressed bigwigs on the quay who were greeting each other warmly or chatting with some friends. They boarded the opulent cruise ship one after another under the guidance of several ushers.

    At this moment, several figures descended from the sky. They were Lin Li, Connoris, Donald, and Prince Tory. Although the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, Hopra City, was a distance away, they could arrive in an instant.

    The arrival of Lin Li and the others did not attract much attention. After all, those who were here to attend the Secret Merchant Market were not ordinary people. However, after Lin Li and the othersnded, another strange sound came from the air, causing everyone to subconsciously look upwards.

    There was a dazzling silver alchemical machine that had a strange shape. It looked like arge steel bird that quickly flew to the sky above the crowd before slowlynding on the ground. When the alchemical machine settled on the ground, a dwarf dressed in colorful armor jumped out, and scurried towards Lin Li and the others.

    Angno rushed towards Lin Li, andined in displeasure, ¡°Felic, how mean of you not to ask me along to such a fun ce.¡±

    Lin Li stroked his forehead helplessly because he didn¡¯t expect Angno to chase after him. He didn¡¯t intend to bring this dwarf along, not because he was afraid of being embarrassed, but because Lin Li¡¯s purpose of going to the Secret Merchant Market was to get some treasures, so he had to keep a low profile. However, Angno¡¯s armor was too eye-catching, and if Angno tagged along, there was no way he could keep a low profile.

    He couldn¡¯t help it. Since Angno tagged along, Lin Li couldn¡¯t chase him away, either. After all, Angno was free and not bound to any contract, unlike Connoris and the others who had signed Soul Contracts with Lin Li. Sometimes, Angno wouldn¡¯t follow Lin Li¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Master Angno, you¡¯re here too,¡± Donald couldn¡¯t help his eyes lighting up as soon as he saw Angno.

    Back when they were in the Sky Castle, Donald had witnessed for himself Angno¡¯s attainments in alchemy. However, he wouldn¡¯t dare to suck up to Angno, because he had painstakingly gotten closer to Lin Li. If his ns were ruined because of that, it would be tragic.

    Besides, Donald was also well aware that as long as he built a good rtionship with the Tower of Dusk, there would be more opportunities to ask Angno for advice on Alchemy Colossuses. Moreover, even if they wanted to poach Angno, they couldn¡¯t. Those who were greedy would usually end up losing everything.

    Hence, Donald merely greeted Angno before acting as the guide who brought Lin Li and the others to <i>The Mermaid</i>.

    There were several attendants waiting at the gangway of the ship. When they saw Donald and the others, they raised their hands to gesture for them to wait before politely saying, ¡°Guests, please show your invitation cards.¡±

    Although there was no need to worry about anyone causing trouble on <i>The Mermaid</i>, there were still rules at the Secret Merchant Market. They were running a sordid business, so they naturally couldn¡¯t let just anyone enter. Usually, they would send invitations to the acquaintances and invited guests ahead of time, and thetter would be required to disy their invitation cards at the entrance.

    Donald and Tory took out their respective invitations, and showed them to the attendants. Donald then said, ¡°Get the people who are in charge toe here, I¡¯d like to take a few friends in with me today.¡±

    After reading the invitation cards, one of the attendants looked at Lin Li and the others behind him. He then said to Donald, ¡°Yes, please wait a moment.¡± After saying that, he turned around, and went up the gangway to board the ship.

    After that attendant boarded the ship, Donald turned around and exined to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, these are the rules here, and they apply to everyone. Please don¡¯t mind it.¡±

    Although it was a little troublesome, Lin Li was there to get some treasures, and he could still afford to wait. Hence, he waved his hand, and smilingly said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s just waiting for a while.¡±

    A few momentster, a person in charge who was wearing a white mask came out with the attendant. The mask was covering his face, and there was a silver swordfish drawn on the mask. He smiled, and said, ¡°Master Donald, Prince Tory, wee here. I heard that the two of you are going to bring your new friends here. Can you introduce them to me?¡±

    Previously, Lin Li had learned from Donald and the others that all merchants and senior managers in the Secret Merchant Market would cover their faces with masks to hide their true identities, and the patterns drawn on the masks were their code names. The senior managers would wear white masks, while the variety of masks that merchants wore were unlimited. Hence, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if they wore a pig mask.

    At this moment, Donald gave way by moving to the side, and said to that manager, ¡°Swordfish, once I mention the name of this person I¡¯d like to introduce, you will know who he is. It¡¯s President Felic!¡±

    ¡°President Felic! Which President Felic?¡± Swordfish froze for a moment as he was momentarily stunned.

    Seeing that Swordfish wasn¡¯t cooperating with him at all, Donald immediately red at him, and emphasized, ¡°Of course it¡¯s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk!¡±

    This time, Swordfish finally reacted. Although his expression was concealed by the mask, his tone was full of shock as he said, ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s President Felic of the Tower of Dusk! I¡¯ve long heard of your name, but I unfortunately haven¡¯t had the chance to meet you before. It¡¯s a great honor to have you here!¡±

    How could he not have heard of President Felic who had destroyed the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and razed the barracks of the royal guards in one go? Those two incidents were known to everyone in the kingdom. Most importantly, the Gilded Kingdom had no choice but to tolerate the humiliation despite having been insulted twice. That made them wonder just how powerful must President Felic of the Tower of Dusk be that he could make the Gilded Kingdom so careful!

    Lin Li did not really take to heart Swordfish¡¯spliments. Thetter had definitely heard of Felic before, but it shouldn¡¯t be that exaggerated. After all, merchants tended to lie all the time. Hence, Lin Li merely nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I came here with the intention to get some items, and these two people behind me are my friends. Can we go in now?¡±

    Swordfish hurriedly nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, yes, if we had known that you were interested in our market, we would have sent the invitation in advance, Master Felic. This is negligence on our part, please pardon us.¡± He then personally guided Lin Li and the others to board <i>The Mermaid</i> from the gangway.

    <i>The Mermaid</i> was slightlyrger in size than the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s alchemical battleships, but much smaller than <i>The Star</i>. In fact, when standing on the deck of <i>The Mermaid</i>, one would be able to see <i>The Star</i>. However, the size of <i>The Mermaid</i> could be considered rare among the ships.

    After Lin Li and the others boarded <i>The Mermaid</i>, the Secret Merchant Market had yet to officiallymence. After waiting for another half hour or so, <i>The Mermaid</i> finally set sail, and the moon was already in the middle of the sky. <i>The Mermaid</i> left the dock slowly, and headed for the sea, reminding Lin Li of the casino ships that existed in the world he transmigrated from, where the gambling would begin only after the ship had sailed into the middle of the sea.

 Chapter 1210 - Just As He Wished

    <h4>Chapter 1210: Just As He Wished</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li was puzzled. There were no unowned seas here, and the entire sea territory belonged to the Gilded Kingdom. <i>The Mermaid</i> couldn¡¯t possibly sail all the way outside the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s seas.

    ¡°Master Felic, the Secret Merchant Market is about to open, let¡¯s go over together.¡± Donald was a regr customer of the market too. When he saw the ships moving over, he immediately walked up to Lin Li, and gave him a reminder.

    Lin Li nodded, and took Connoris and Angno with him to follow Donald and Prince Tory towards the ships. While walking, he asked, ¡°Master Donald, those ships should belong to the secret merchants, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they are secret merchants who dare to sell anything. Sometimes, they even have the guts to move marine beasts to this market. However, ships like these are usually used to carry trafficked ves or precious marine creatures,¡± Donald exined to Lin Li while leading the way at the front.

    Although <i>The Mermaid</i> wasrge enough, it was just a ce for trading, and it was impossible to load any goods directly onto it. In particr, the items that Donald mentioned, such as ves, sea creatures, or anything that would easily cause a bigmotion, were usually prohibited on board. If one wanted to purchase those items, they would have to go through the Secret Merchants Alliance, which would send someone to supervise the handover of goods to ensure the interests of the customers after the deal was confirmed.

    Under Donald¡¯s guidance, Lin Li and others soon arrived in the cabin of <i>The Mermaid</i>, which was rather spacious. At this moment, the secret merchants there had already set up their goods in their respective spots.

    Putting aside all the other factors, this scene alone reminded Lin Li of the farmers¡¯ markets that he would visit in his previous life before transmigrating, except that it was, of course, much more orderly and organized than the rowdy farmers¡¯ markets. Be it the customers or secret merchants, they were all extremely quiet while browsing through the goods, and waiting for customers to show up.

    There were probably nearly 100 stalls in the entire cabin, each with a width of about two meters. ording to Donald¡¯s introduction, those secret merchants who owned stalls were of the lowest level. In order to gain ess to the truly superior-grade fine goods, they would have to go through the door at the end of the cabin.

    However, for Lin Li, it didn¡¯t matter if the goods were fine and exquisite or not, because the key was that they had to be useful to him. Only things that he could put to use were the most valuable. Even if he possessed a unique item that was one of its kind in the world, it would still be useless if he didn¡¯t need it. Besides, the quality of the goods sold by the secret merchants here definitely wouldn¡¯t be too bad, since they could run their stall here at the Secret Merchant Market.

    Hence, when Donald intended to bring Lin Li and the others upstairs to the next floor above, Lin Li politely declined. ¡°Thank you, Master Donald, but please go ahead with Prince Tory. I intend to take my servants for a tour around here.¡±

    Donald also knew that everyone had their own secrets, and he had already done enough by bringing Lin Li and the others there. If he followed them everywhere they went, he woulde off as annoying. The purpose of most patrons of the Secret Merchant Market was to find and buy some treasures. No one would be willing to let others find out which treasures they had gotten immediately after they bought them.

    Hence, after Lin Li turned him down, Donald didn¡¯t seem too disappointed, and instead politely said, ¡°Alright then, take your time, Master Felic. Tory and I will not disturb you anymore, I hope you can find something that you like.¡±

    Donald and Tory soon left, while Lin Li brought Connoris and Angno to start browsing slowly through the goods avable at each store owned by a secret merchant. The Secret Merchant Market was much different from the Gift of the Sea, where there was basically a variety of resources avable for sale. The goods peddled at the Secret Merchant Market were usually rare items.

    However, one point to note was that the authenticity of the goods at the Secret Merchant Market was not guaranteed or regted, so one would have to have a discerning eye in order to purchase authentic goods. If one were to buy a counterfeit item, they would have to me it on their bad luck. The secret merchant would not offer a refund, nor would the Secret Merchants Alliance entertain such matters.

    For instance, Lin Li saw a replica of the Titan Dragon Gun at a stall owned by a secret merchant which had an identical appearance to the true Titan Dragon Gun¡¯s ording to the myths and legends. It also contained some power of lightning. However, the most fake detail about it was that its size was only twice or thrice of that of an ordinary spear used by humans. For the Titans, it was probably only akin to a toothpick.

    There were also some who sold treasure maps that were imed to be of the mausoleum of the Great Monarch of the Sea n. Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t certain that the map was fake, he reckoned that no one would dare to unearth the mausoleum of the Great Monarch of the Sea n even if it was authentic, because the Sea n wasn¡¯t extinct yet! Besides, even if the map was true, the secret merchants could have gone to explore the mausoleum themselves as that would bring them more money than selling the map.

    Simply put, the Secret Merchant Market was like an antique market where the goods might be authentic or not. If one ended up buying a counterfeit item, they could only me it on their poor judgment. However, on the other hand, the secret merchants would tend to make mistakes at times too. Hence, it could be said that it was all up to the discretion of the buyer and seller. Even if they suffered a loss, they shouldn¡¯t me anyone for it.

    Of course, there were only very few counterfeit goods. Even though the secret merchants were all wearing masks, and weren¡¯t afraid that their reputation would be ruined, the Secret Merchants Alliance wasn¡¯t willing to tarnish theirs because of the counterfeit goods. Although the Secret Merchants Alliance did not make it mandatory for the secret merchants to sell only authentic goods, they had a standard evaluation criteria of their own. If the secret merchants went overboard, being kicked out of the alliance would be considered a light consequence.

    For example, there were definitely no counterfeit goods in the cabin on the second floor where Donald and Prince Tory went to, as the goods peddled there were obviously of superior qualitypared to those outside. The secret merchants who were allowed to set up their stalls on the second floor were not only capable, but more importantly, they were credible and trustworthy to a certain extent.

    This time, there was quite arge number of guests who were invited to the Secret Merchant Market; there were about a few thousand of them. Some of them headed straight to the cabin of the second floor as soon as they entered, just like Donald and the others. However, most of them started browsing slowly on the first floor, just like Lin Li. Fortunately, the hall on the first floor was extremely wide and spacious, thus providing ample room to prevent overcrowding. Besides, they were all figures of status, so they wouldn¡¯t be so disgraceful as to wander around indiscriminately and squeeze their way through the crowd.

    Among the guests, some of them were naturally Lin Li¡¯s acquaintances, such as Prince Johnathan of the Fn Kingdom, Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom, Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine, and High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine. Unlike Lin Li, who had only been in Anril for a few years, they were all bigwigs of high status who had attended the Sea Market several times before. Hence, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to be the regr guests of the Secret Merchants Alliance.

    Even the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins like Joseph and us were no strangers to the Secret Merchant Market, what more those bigwigs. After all, the Secret Merchant Market was not held only in the Gilded Kingdom, as simr markets were also held regrly on the maind, though of a lower standard.

    Although Lin Li saw some acquaintances, he did not go over to greet them, nor did they approach him. They merely nodded at each other in greeting. They all knew that the Secret Merchant Market would be open for six or seven hours at most, so they might not have enough time to really browse through everything there. Thus, they didn¡¯t want to waste their own and others¡¯ time exchanging pleasantries, which could be done at other asions.

    ¡°Hey, President Felic, you¡¯re here too!¡± However, not everyone was self-aware enough to understand that logic. Since it was the Sea Merchant Market, of course the famous Cantory from the Gilded Kingdom had to be present. There was also another person whom Lin Li was familiar with standing next to Cantory, and that was Harquess of the Octopus n, who had previously tried topete with Lin Li in inscription.

    Thest time Cantory met Lin Li in the market, he imed it to be a coincidence, but actually, it was all part of his premeditated n. Otherwise, how could he have possibly met Lin Li by coincidence in such arge market? Unfortunately, Cantory did not achieve the oue that he wanted the other time, because he didn¡¯t expect Harquess to keep his cool even after having his mageweath marred by Lin Li¡¯s ink.

    However, it was truly a coincidence this time because Cantory really did not expect to actually meet Lin Li again in the Secret Merchant Market. Although he wanted to use the power of the Octopus n to deal with Lin Li, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to make his n and animosity too obvious. Just as he was fretting over how he could look for Lin Li again, he stumbled upon Lin Li by coincidence, which truly made him overjoyed.

    Hence, when Cantory saw Lin Li, he immediately came over with Harquess. In his opinion, Harquess chose not to settle scores with Lin Li previously only because Lin Li left too soon. He reckoned that Harquess would probably lose his temper this time.

    However, Cantory only focused on creating trouble for Lin Li now, and thus didn¡¯t notice the paleness of Harquess¡¯ face.

    Harquess was now extremely terrified of meeting Lin Li, and it was as if the admonishments of his father and the elders were still ringing in his ears. However, he could not bring himself to suck up to Lin Li, and thus merely hoped to live each day as it passed, and avoid Lin Li as much as possible. However, given the rtionship between him and Lin Li, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Cantory.

    ¡°Oh, I heard that there is a Secret Merchant Market here, so I came to take a look.¡± After taking a quick nce at Cantory, Lin Li replied to him indifferently, and then turned around to look at the items sold at the stores at the side.

    In Cantory¡¯s opinion, he was smart to have never genuinely fallen out with Lin Li. Although they were both aware of the animosity between them, they wouldn¡¯t behave like archenemies until they really fell out with each other. That way, he could continue to approach Lin Li, and then look for opportunities to make Lin Li fall into his traps. He wouldn¡¯t behave like Dno, who had gone against Lin Li as soon as they met. Now, Dno didn¡¯t even dare to appear in front of Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li did not deal with Cantory, it was merely because he didn¡¯t take Cantory seriously at all. However, that also meant that Cantory¡¯s strategy was still somewhat a bit useful. If Dno had been the one who came over to talk to Lin Li, he would have already been thrown far away.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not pay attention to him, Cantory was resentful and infuriated, but he didn¡¯t show it. Instead, he sounded a little regretful as he said, ¡°President Felic, you probably do not know this, but you ruined a Master-level mageweath with the ink that you sshed the other time. It¡¯s such a pity. If you had simply admitted defeat at that time, you might have been able to befriend Harquess, and Harquess probably wouldn¡¯t have minded giving that Master-level mageweath to you.¡±

    On the one hand, Cantory was using Lin Li of being a sore loser, and on the other hand, he was telling Lin Li that he had missed an opportunity to befriend Harquess. Of course, he was not feeling sorry for Lin Li, but rather he wanted to see Lin Li¡¯s remorseful expression. Although he had no way to make the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk go to war or trample all over Lin Li, he could use such a method to deal a blow to his enemy, and at least get some happiness out of doing so.

    In Anril, there were very few Inscribers apart from the Octopus n. Masters of Inscription were even rarer. Hence, for every individual and force, getting to know a true Master of Inscription was an extremely rare opportunity.

    Cantory had been to the Breezy ins as a special envoy; hence, he knew that the Tower of Dusk had only been established for a few years now. A newly established force like theirs would be able to save a few years of struggling if they had the help of a Master of Inscription. He reckoned that Lin Li would definitely be filled with remorse and regret if he knew that he had missed the opportunity to get acquainted with a Master of Inscription.

    However, after hearing Cantory¡¯s words, Harquess felt incredibly ashamed and started blushing before Lin Li even reacted. Yes, even the Octopus n would tend to feel embarrassed at times. Harquess was well aware that even the Grand Elder Hayes was in awe of Lin Li¡¯s attainments in inscription. Hence, Harquess was actually far inferior.

    Harquess still remembered his father¡¯s and the elder¡¯s admonishments. <i>Missed the opportunity to befriend me? The Octopus n is desperately trying to befriend President Felic!</i>

    However, on the one hand, Harquess did not want to embarrass his friend Cantory, and on the other hand, he really could not swallow his pride to say something nice to Lin Li. Harquess was not that thick-skinned to agree with Cantory, but he also couldn¡¯t bring himself to suck up to Lin Li.

    Therefore, when Cantory was about to say something else, Harquess secretly pulled his good friend Cantory over in hopes that he would not say anything embarrassing again.

    Unfortunately, Cantory did not know that the ink, which did not seem to mean much to him, had actually shocked the Octopus n, which was one of the seven hegemonies. Feeling Harquess tugging at him, Cantory thought that Harquess was intending to teach Lin Li a lesson himself, which was exactly what he wanted.

 Chapter 1211 - Nether Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 1211: Nether Pearl</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hence, Cantory immediately took a step to the side, and sneeringly said, ¡°President Felic, if you regret what you¡¯ve done that day, there¡¯s still a chance for you to redeem yourself. As long as you apologize to Harquess sincerely, he might choose to forgive you because he¡¯s very magnanimous.¡±

    Harquess initially thought that he had managed to stop Cantory, but he didn¡¯t expect Cantory to make things worse for him. <i>What a joke, you want President Felic to apologize to me? If Father and the other elders find out, they¡¯ll skin me alive!</i>

    Cantory didn¡¯t really intend to resolve the conflict between the two of them, but rather he knew right from the beginning that Lin Li would not apologize. In fact, this was exactly the same trick that he yed at King Bradlor¡¯s pce previously. He just wanted Lin Li to reject the suggestion, and end up provoking Harquess.

    After what happenedst time, Cantory was already clear that he couldn¡¯t rely on the Gilded Kingdom or the Illuminati to deal with Lin Li. Hence, he thought of using Harquess of the Octopus n, which was one of the seven hegemons of the sea that was not inferior to the Gilded Kingdom.

    In fact, the incident that happened at the market previously made Cantory think that he was about to seed. However, to his surprise, Harquess didn¡¯t do anything else after kicking up a ruckus, and taking the stained mageweath back with him. Of course, he would have never been able to guess how shocked the Great Monarch and grand elder of the Octopus n were after Harquess brought it back to them. He merely thought that the Octopus n couldn¡¯t be bothered to hold it against Lin Li.

    Cantory believed that if Lin Li said something outrageous this time, Harquess would definitely be angered further, and not let Lin Li off easily again.

    However, before Lin Li could say anything, Harquess suddenly waved his hand with a look of dismay, and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Cantory, we¡¯re pressed for time, and we didn¡¯te here for this. It¡¯s more important to do what we have to.¡±

    However, Harquess couldn¡¯t bring himself to appear deferential towards Lin Li, and had no choice but to use their limited time as an excuse to leave as quickly as possible.

    Harquess¡¯ words made Cantory more or less disappointed, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it. He didn¡¯t think that Harquess, the young monarch of the Octopus n, would be afraid of Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. After all, Harquess had a point. The Secret Merchant Market would only be open for a short period of time, so if they wasted too much time there, others might buy all the good things that they wanted.

    Cantory merely red at Lin Li resentfully before turning around to say to Harquess, ¡°Harquess, you¡¯re right, we shouldn¡¯t waste our precious time on someone so unrepentant. Someone here just doesn¡¯t know how to treasure such a great opportunity to get to know a Master of Inscription. What a pity.¡±

    Cantory wanted to say something to spite Lin Li further, but thetter was acting as if he hadn¡¯t heard him at all. He merely continued to browse every stall belonging to a secret merchant. From time to time, he would slow down to look at some of the items at the stall.

    Lin Li¡¯s reaction made Cantory feel as if he was talking to a wall, which was really upsetting. Hence, although he changed his mind, and decided not to talk about Harquess¡¯ mageweath again, he didn¡¯t really leave with Harquess immediately. Instead, he stayed close to Lin Li.

    However, Cantory had no idea that his behavior had not only had no effect on Lin Li, but it even made Harquess, who was beside him, feel extremely uneasy. Harquess wanted to stay far away from Lin Li so that he would at least have a suitable excuse when his father and the elders asked about it.

    However, Harquess couldn¡¯t leave alone without Cantory. Whenever he secretly avoided Lin Li and stayed far away from him, he would end up getting dragged towards Lin Li by Cantory. To be honest, if not for the longtime friendship between him and Cantory, Harquess would have pped Cantory to death.

    Although there were now two more pests following him, Lin Li didn¡¯t take it to heart at all. Instead, he continued to do what he had to, treating the both of them like they were nonexistent. On the other hand, Connoris and Angno naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered about the two of them. They had lived for thousands of years. Cantory¡¯s little tricks were childish, and it wasn¡¯t worth their time and effort at all.

    Lin Li would stop from time to time while shopping. After browsing through more than 10 stalls, he finally showed a change in expression when he saw the things at a certain stall. He was looking at a fist-sized ck sphere that was probably like an erged version of a ck pearl. As soon as he looked at the ck sphere, his attention was immediately drawn to it because it contained a massive death aura.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve got great judgment, Sir. This is the Nether Pearl that we paid a great price to obtain from the Nether Sea. Look at its luster and mana fluctuations, it¡¯s definitely at the peak of the Legendary-level. If this is embellished on a magic staff, it¡¯ll definitely be a powerful tool for a mage,¡± said the masked secret merchant. He immediately gave Lin Li a pompous introduction of the pearl when he saw that Lin Li seemed to have taken a liking to the pearl.

    The Endless Ocean was actually just a general term for the boundless ocean. The various regions of the Endless Ocean actually each had a specific name. For example, the region ruled by the Octopus n was known as the ck Sea, while the area ruled by the Giant Shark n was known as the Red Sea, and the area ruled by the Siren n was known as the Luminous Sea.

    The Nether Sea had a different name in the beginning¡ªthe Sea of Abundance, and was the most fertile sea region in the Endless Ocean. That was precisely the reason that the Sea of Abundance naturally became the sea area that many coveted and vied for. There were countless intense battles that caused countless Sea ns to perish, and the death aura gradually spread throughout the entire oceanic region, causing the Sea of Abundance to be a Death Sea.

    Compared to Anril, the area of the Endless Ocean was countless timesrger, and there was naturally a shocking number of Sea n members there too. Legend had it that as many as tens of billions of Sea n members had died in the great war of the sea that spread through the Endless Ocean back then. If all the corpses of the Sea n were thrown onto Anril, there would be enough to bury Anril under them.

    The famousnd of the Undead, the Nether Valley, which was located near nna had be a deadnd because the High Elves hadunched a massacre that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The Sea n members that died in the Nether Sea amounted to as many as hundreds of millions or even a billion. Under the pollution of the death aura, it was no wonder that the former Sea of Abundance turned into the Nether Sea.

    In the current Endless Ocean, the Nether Sea could be considered an absolutend of the dead that no living being would dare to go near. Even when one was in the periphery of the Nether Sea, their vitality would be devoured irreversibly, not to mention within the Nether Sea. Even if one made it out alive, they would not be able to live for long.

    Besides, the erosion of the death aura was only one aspect. The more terrifying threat was the Undead creatures of the Sea n that dwelt in the Nether Sea. Even if only a tenth, or even one percent became Undead creatures, it would still be a terrifying number. Fortunately, there seemed to be a certain force in the Nether Sea that bound the Undead creatures of the Sea n to it. Otherwise, there would probably be a massive disaster.

    However, it wasn¡¯t that living beings were absolutely nonexistent in the Nether Sea. Well, at least there was a type of giant sea mussel that the people were aware of. It was called the Giant Moro Mussel, and still lived in the Undead region of the sea. The Nether Pearl, which the secret merchant mentioned, was a product formed by the Giant Moro Mussels after devouring death aura.

    It was said that the Giant Moro Mussels had another name in the beginning¡ªGiant Colorful Mussels, and produced colorful pearls emitting various rays of light instead of Nether Pearls. The colorful pearls contained magical power that could make the products in the sea grow rapidly, which was an important reason that the sea was called the Sea of Abundance.

    The current Giant Moro Mussels were not Undead creatures, but werergely different from real living beings. They could be considered half-dead.

    Legend had it that the Giant Moro Mussels continuously devoured the Undead aura in the Nether Sea, and condensed it into Nether Pearls in their bodies, all for the sake of purifying it in the Nether Sea in hopes that they could recreate the glory of the Sea of Abundance.

    However, countless years had passed, but the Nether Sea did not change in the slightest because of the existence of the Giant Moro Mussels. Instead, the death aura even became richer, and affected the area above the sky. Even on days with fair weather, the sky above the Nether Sea would still be covered in gray clouds that not a single ray of sunlight could prate.

    Just like the secret merchant said, the Nether Pearl was indeed considered a holy artifact of a Necromancer. If a Necromancer owned a Nether Pearl, he would be able to cast the Tide of Death easily even if he was only at the level of the Archmage. He almost wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the burden on his mana that the Tide of Death would bring about. At the same time, Necromancers would be able to reach the Legendary-realm easily as long as they kept the Nether Pearl with them and sensed the Death Energy in the Nether Pearl at all times.

    For Legendary-level Necromancers, the Nether Pearl boasted great benefits too. For example, when embellished on a magic staff, it would be akin to putting Necromancers in a reservoir of mana, and also significantly improve the sess rate of Legendary-level Necromagic spells.

    Of course, this thing was not of much use to Lin Li. However, he had a lot of subordinates who were Undead creatures. Apart from his Undead servants Ujfalusi and Norfeller, there were also dozens of Retribution Knights in the ck Front Fortress. If a level-20 Retribution Knight could have a weapon that was embellished with a Nether Pearl, his power would probably reach level-22 or level-23.

    Unfortunately, there was only one Nether Pearl for sale at the stall of this secret merchant, which was far from enough to be equipped on all the Retribution Knights under Lin Li. He could only equip the leader of the Retribution Knights with it so that the other Retribution Knights could also have their strength augmented along with the increase in their leader¡¯s strength.

    At the thought of this, Lin Li reached out to pick up the Nether Pearl after obtaining the permission of the secret merchant. It was actually really different from ordinary items. As soon as Lin Li¡¯s fingertip touched it, he immediately sensed a prative chilliness that spread down his finger. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li managed to block the chilliness, but if a Legendary-level powerhouse was in his ce, they would probably be at a huge disadvantage.

    After picking up the Nether Pearl, Lin Li channeled his mental strength into it to check the level of power within it as well as theposition of its Laws, only to receive a huge disappointment. The Nether Pearl was near the peak of the Legendary-level, and the mana seemed to be pure, but theposition of Laws seemed to be very disorganized.

    It might seem contradicting, but it wasn¡¯t difficult to achieve that. As long as one could channel the mana generated within outwards using some special means, the Nether Pearl could temporarily have a rtively pure Undead power.

    The secret merchant didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to scrutinize the Nether Pearl inside out after picking it up to have a look. Thinking that Lin Li really intended to buy it, he hurriedly said, ¡°Rest assured, Sir, this Nether Pearl is definitely genuine. You may take it home with you with 5,000,000 gold coins.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sneer, and thought to himself, <i>This Nether Pearl is genuine, but it¡¯s of inferior quality. How dare you sell it for 5,000,000 gold coins? What an unscrupulous merchant indeed.</i>

    In fact, counterfeit goods were not the majority of the goods in the Secret Merchant Market, but goods of inferior quality were. For example, a merchant might brag about a powerful ancient magical weapon in an exaggerated manner, but in fact, it could only be used once. Another example would be a magical prop that might really contain terrifying power, but no one knew what price they had to pay after using it.

    The same went for the Nether Pearl. Although its mana was close to the peak of the Legendary-level, its basic Laws were very messy, which was the reason that its true value plummeted. If a Necromancer had a magic staff iid with a Nether Pearl, not only might his strength not increase, he might suffer physical damage too.

    Be it Necromancers or Undead creatures, the source of power did note from magical crystals, but rather was generated from the burning of the soul fire. The Death Energy in the Nether Pearl was like the fuel for soul fire. The consequences of using impure fuel were imaginable. For example, if gasoline of inferior grade was added to a car that required superior-quality gasoline, there would be a huge impact on the engine of the car.

 Chapter 1212 - Exorbitant Price

    <h4>Chapter 1212: Exorbitant Price</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hence, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the Nether Pearl was worth less than 50,000 gold coins, let alone 5,000,000.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s disappointment was fleeting, and he soon remembered some of the tricks that those unscrupulous merchants would often pull. Selling an inferior item like it was of superior grade was one of such tricks. Another trick would be to take advantage of the shoppers¡¯ck of knowledge to sell them the inferior goods. On the one hand, they didn¡¯t want to let the inferior item seem unattractive after beingpared to the item that was of superior quality. On the other hand, they wanted to use this opportunity to raise the price of goods of better quality. If the inferior item could be sold for 5,000,000 gold coins, the one of superior quality had to cost at least 10,000,000 gold coins!

    Hence, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, this secret merchant might have more than one inferior-quality Nether Pearl, or in fact, even more Nether Pearls that were truly of a good quality. Although it was only his conjecture, there was still a high possibility that it was true. After all, if he had paid such a huge price to go to the Nether Sea, how could he have gotten only one Nether Pearl?

    However, as Lin Li was about to ask the secret merchant to show him a Nether Pearl of a better quality, Cantory, who had been tagging along, walked over.

    ¡°Huh? Nether Pearl?¡± Cantory eximed pretentiously, as if he had just discovered the Nether Pearl. He then asked the secret merchant, ¡°How much do you n to sell this Nether Pearl for?¡±

    Cantory was not a Necromancer, so the Necromagic wasn¡¯t of any use to him. In that case, he was clearly trying to create trouble for Lin Li again. He had been following Lin Li around just for the sake of finding a chance to irk Lin Li.

    Of course, Cantory did not just blindly vie with Lin Li for whatever he wanted to buy, because that would be too foolish. He had some understanding of the Tower of Dusk, and was aware that Lin Li had two Undead servants. Moreover, the Nether Pearl was the holy artifact of Undead creatures, so Cantory was certain that Lin Li really nned to buy the Nether Pearl.

    Seeing that there was another person asking about the Nether Pearl, the secret merchant immediately became interested as he quickly answered, ¡°Sir, you must have a good understanding of the Nether Pearl. This one has reached the peak of the Legendary-level, but I¡¯m selling it for only 5,000,000 gold coins. Even a Legendary magical crystal costs more than 5,000,000 gold coins, but this Nether Pearl has many more functions and uses than a Legendary magical crystal.¡±

    ¡°5,000,000 gold coins is too expensive, I¡¯ll take it if you lower the price to 4,000,000 gold coins,¡± said Cantory, who didn¡¯t raise the price immediately, and instead bargained to lower it a little.

    However, Cantory didn¡¯t have any good intentions in lowering the price, nor did he really intend to buy the Nether Pearl. In fact, even a Nether Pearl of the best quality was worth only less than 2,000,000 gold coins. Although Cantory bargained for a lower price, it was still much higher than what it was really worth, and he did that so as to prevent Lin Li from lowering the price any further.

    Although Cantory had asked for a discount of an entire 1,000,000 gold coins, the secret merchant did not lose his temper, because he knew clearly how much the Nether Pearl really cost. Even if he sold it for 4,000,000 gold coins, he would still be earning a huge profit. Hence, after Cantory quoted the price, the secret merchant turned to Lin Li, and asked, ¡°Sir, what price would you like to offer?¡±

    It was not a proper store where items were usually sold on a firste-first-serve basis. In the Secret Merchant Market, the only rule that applied when making deals was that the highest bidder won. Although it was not an auction, it was simr to one.

    However, to the surprise of the secret merchant and Cantory, Lin Li smiled faintly, and put the Nether Pearl back on the disy without any reluctance. He then said, ¡°4,000,000 gold coins is still too expensive. In this case, he can have the pearl.¡±

    <i>He decided not to buy it just like that?</i> Cantory was dumbfounded. He initially thought that he would stop raising the price further even if Lin Li offered 4,000,001 gold coins because Lin Li would already make a huge loss if he were to buy it at that price. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Lin Li would give up on the Nether Pearl without even raising the price by a single gold coin. In that case, he would have to buy that Nether Pearl.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, I forgot that you have two Undead servants under you, they should need this Nether Pearl more than me. Forget it, I¡¯ll let you have this Nether Pearl,¡± said Cantory. Although Cantory had brought enough money with him to the Secret Merchant Market, he couldn¡¯t waste his money on useless things. If he were to spend 4,000,000 gold coins on the Nether Pearl that was useless to him, he would have to buy fewer of the items that he really needed, which would not be a cost-effective trade-off at all.

    Seeing that Lin Li had decided not to buy the Nether Pearl, the secret merchant thought that he could at least sell it to Cantory. Anyway, even if he sold it for 4,000,000 gold coins, he would still make a huge profit. However, to his surprise, Cantory decided not to buy it, either. His spirits were immediately dampened, and he looked at the both of them while trying to persuade them to change their minds. ¡°You two should stop giving in to each other. This Nether Pearl is not an ordinary item. I dare say that I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s selling a Nether Pearl here in the entire Secret Merchant Market. If you miss this opportunity, you never know when you¡¯ll be able to buy such a fine Nether Pearl again!¡±

    However, Lin Li still shook his head, and pointed at Cantory while saying to the secret merchant, ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t afford 4,000,000 gold coins. Doesn¡¯t the rule of highest bidder wins work here? You can sell the pearl to anyone who can afford it.¡±

    The secret merchant was stunned for a while, and he seemed to have realized something. He then turned to Cantory with some displeasure, and said, ¡°Sir, you should know the rules here. This may not be a proper auction, but the rule of the highest bidder wins still applies. Since you¡¯ve won the bid, don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t afford this price!¡±

    He managed topel Cantory and put him in a difficult spot with just a simple sentence. The identities of the secret merchants were kept confidential, but the identities of the guests were not. Even though Cantory was the son of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s chancellor and the disciple of the Lord of the Illuminati, he would still be listed as an unwee guest if he were to break the rules of the Secret Merchant Market. In the future, he would no longer be permitted entry into any Secret Merchant Market.

    The secret merchant¡¯s words were infuriating for Cantory too. <i>What do you mean I can¡¯t afford it? If I can¡¯t even afford to spend 4,000,000 gold coins, I wouldn¡¯t havee to the Secret Merchant Market at all. </i>Considering the consequences and his pride, Cantory secretly gritted his teeth, and bore with the pinch of having to part with his money. ¡°Fine, 4,000,000 gold coins, not a single one less!¡±

    The only thing that made Cantory feel better was that although he could not use the Nether Pearl that he had bought with 4,000,000 gold coins, he could resell it to others, and at least recoup some of his losses. What really made Cantory upset was the fact that he had failed to scheme against Lin Li, and even ended up making a fool of himself.

    The secret merchant and Cantory quicklypleted the transaction. Seeing that Lin Li was still around, Cantory sneered, ¡°Why? You must be disappointed, President Felic! If the Nether Pearl was given to Undead creatures, it¡¯d be even more useful than any artifact. I may not be able to use it, but I know a few Necromancers, and I believe they¡¯ll need it.¡±

    Cantory was enraged too, for his n to scheme against Lin Li failed, and he even ended up losing 4,000,000 gold coins while embarrassing himself. Of course he¡¯d be displeased. However, he still felt that Lin Li needed the Nether Pearl desperately, so he was indignant, and tried to get back at Lin Li.

    At this point, Angno who was at the side, said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, why did you let him have that thing? You¡¯re not short of money anyway. That skeleton Ujfalusi needs to break through to the Sanctuary-realm, doesn¡¯t he? He should have a higher chance of breaking through if he has this thing, right?¡±

    As soon as Angno said that, Cantory began to get conceited again. Holding the box containing the Nether Pearl in one hand, Cantory stared at the Nether Pearl like he was admiring a piece of art. While looking at it, he said, ¡°Ah, this is a Legendary-level Nether Pearl. Even a Necromancer who has just entered the Legendary-realm can exert the power of a peak Legendary powerhouse if he¡¯s wearing this. If a peak Legendary powerhouse got it, wouldn¡¯t he be able to reach the Sanctuary-realm?¡±

    Cantory seemed to be murmuring to himself, but if associated with what Angno said, it was obvious that he was directing his words at Lin Li.

    However, Lin Liughed nonchntly, and turned his head to say to the secret merchant, ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already sold the inferior goods at a high price. You should take out the item of superior quality now.¡±

    The secret merchant also said that he was the only person who sold Nether Pearls in the entire Secret Merchant Market. Others might think that he meant that he had sold the one and only Nether Pearl in the Secret Merchant Market to Cantory. However, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, the secret merchant clearly meant that he had more Nether Pearls for sale.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the secret merchant could not help but be stunned for a while, but he didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. Anyway, in this Secret Merchant Market, goods that had been sold couldn¡¯t be refunded, so the secret merchant didn¡¯t have to worry about making Cantory displeased. He wasn¡¯t ashamed that he had sold an inferior item to Cantory, either. As long as the rules of the Secret Merchant Market were not vited, all transactions would be protected by the Secret Merchants Alliance.

    However, Cantory was a bit dissatisfied with Lin Li¡¯s words as he squinted at Lin Li, and snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t crack wise just because you¡¯ve missed the opportunity yourself. Besides, who are you to say that I bought an inferior item? I know what you¡¯re thinking, you just want to undermine the value of this Nether Pearl, and then find a way to buy it from me at a low price, right? Unfortunately, I¡¯m not going to fall for your trick, this Nether Pearl is truly at the peak of the Legendary-level.¡±

    Angno was a little confused too. He looked at the Nether Pearl in Cantory¡¯s hand, and asked Lin Li, ¡°Felic, is what he bought not a Nether Pearl?¡±

    Although Lin Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about Cantory, he wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to rub salt into his wound. Hence, he exined to Angno, ¡°Theposition ofws in that Nether Pearl is very chaotic, and the power of death contained in it seems to be somewhat purer only because someone managed to channel the mana of otherws out of it using some special means. If Necromancers were to use this, their soul fire might even be extinguished, let alone have their strength improved.¡±

    As soon as the secret merchant heard Lin Li¡¯s exnation, he knew that Lin Li was an expert in this field. He turned around and took out from behind himself arger crystal box, which contained numerous neatly arranged Nether Pearls. He ced the crystal box in front of Lin Li, and said, ¡°Sir, there are a total of 39 Nether Pearls here that range from the beginner Legendary-levels to the peak. Of course, the price varies too.¡±

    Upon sight of the box of Nether Pearls, Cantory, who was ready to refute Lin Li, was also a bit dumbfounded. At this juncture, even a fool would realize that he had fallen into the cunning merchant¡¯s trap, or rather Lin Li¡¯s trap too. However, as a regr customer of the Secret Merchant Market, he also knew the rules here, and had no choice but to suppress his resentment. He gritted his teeth and looked at Lin Li. ¡°Even if my Nether Pearl is inferior, it still cost 4,000,000 gold coins. If there¡¯s one of top quality, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d cost at least 10,000,000 gold coins.¡±

    Cantory knew that if what Lin Li said was true, his n to resell the pearl to recoup his losses wouldn¡¯t work. Hence, he decided to go all out, and try to use the price that he had bought his Nether Pearl at to raise the prices of the Nether Pearls in the box that the merchant was carrying to make Lin Li suffer a loss.

    The secret merchant naturally would not miss the opportunity to make money, so he immediately went along with Cantory¡¯s words, and introduced to Lin Li, ¡°Look, Sir, the price of this peak Legendary-level Nether Pearl is 16,000,000 gold coins, while this one at level-23 costs 12,000,000 gold coins. I also have some that are level-21 and level-22, those cost 9,000,000 gold coins, and this level-20 one costs 6,000,000 gold coins.¡±

    Hearing the exorbitant prices that the secret merchant had quoted, Cantory finally felt less displeased. <i>Even a level-20 Nether Pearl costs 6,000,000 gold coins, how can the tiny Tower of Dusk have so much money? Let¡¯s see how you can still pretend this time.</i>

    However, after listening to the secret merchant¡¯s offer, Lin Li kept a straight face and nodded slightly before saying, ¡°That¡¯s quite a reasonable price. I¡¯ll take the entire box.¡±

    Both Cantory and the secret merchant were astonished to hear Lin Li¡¯s words, and the first thought that came to their minds was that Lin Li had to be crazy. Yes, even the secret merchant himself didn¡¯t think that his Nether Pearls were worth that much money. However, he was out to earn money, so he quoted such a high price.

    Cantory sneered and nced at Lin Li in disdain before mocking, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so rich and generous, President Felic. Are you nning to sell the Sky Castle?¡±

 Chapter 1213 - I Want Everything

    <h4>Chapter 1213: I Want Everything</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In Cantory¡¯s opinion, even if the Tower of Dusk had great power in the Breezy ins, they were still just a local force, and he thought that it would be impossible for Lin Li to get that much money at once. Of course, Cantory knew that Lin Li had another identity, and that was the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. However, the Supreme Council did not belong to him alone, so how could they possibly pay such a huge sum of money for him?

    The secret merchant also swallowed his saliva with great difficulty, and stammered, ¡°Sir, are you taking everything?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lin Li smiled and looked at the secret merchant. ¡°However, you have to reduce the price by 90% of whatever you quoted just now.¡±

    <i>What?! Reduce the price by 90%!? Damn it, that won¡¯t be enough to cover my cost price. Is he ying a prank on me?</i>! The secret merchant almost vomited blood after hearing Lin Li¡¯s request.

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re going a little too far with your joke. Are you sure you know where you are now?¡± the secret merchant questioned in a hostile tone. In fact, anyone would react the same way. Although the buyer would tend to bargain for the lowest price possible, asking for a 90% discount was a very insincere offer.

    However, Lin Li was not anxious at all. He nced at the box filled with Nether Pearls, and said, ¡°It seems that you are not too satisfied with this price. How about I give you a method to safely enter and exit the Nether Sea in exchange?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The secret merchant instinctively felt that it was impossible. He had paid a huge price to enter the Nether Pearl, and he merely managed to painstakingly harvest these Nether Pearls at the periphery of the Nether Sea.

    Since the Nether Sea had been formed, countless people had brainstormed for ways to enter the Nether Sea andb it for the treasures that had gone missing there during the great war of the ocean. However, they usually ended up bing the Undead creatures of the Nether Sea. Not to mention the average person, even Sanctuary powerhouses would not be able to resist the erosion of the death aura in the Nether Sea. How could anyone be able to safely enter and leave the Nether Sea?

    Cantory, who was at the side, couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter as he said, ¡°President Felic, are you joking? I bet you¡¯ve never even seen the Nether Sea before, have you? Trust you to have the cheek to deceive others with that. If you have that ability, why would you have toe here to buy Nether Pearls? You can jolly well go pick some yourself!¡±

    Being a native of the Gilded Kingdom, Cantory naturally was no stranger to the situation in the Nether Sea. Even his teacher, the lord of the Illuminati, couldn¡¯t delve deep into the Nether Sea. Hence, he didn¡¯t believe Lin Li knew of a method that would allow people to enter and leave the Nether Sea safely at will. Besides, just as he said, if Lin Li could really enter and leave the Nether Sea freely, he didn¡¯t have to tell anyone about it, as he could have free ess to the resources in the Nether Sea.

    However, in the face of the questioning, Lin Li seemed to be unaffected as he nonchntly asked the secret merchant, ¡°So? Are you going to ept this deal or not?¡±

    Seeing how confident Lin Li was, the secret merchant couldn¡¯t help but waver, especially since he knew that he was facing a Sanctuary powerhouse. Besides, he had also heard of Lin Li¡¯s glorious deeds in the Gilded Kingdom, which left him with no choice but to consider the possibility of Lin Li having a feasible method. If he could really enter and exit the Nether Sea freely, he would be able to obtain massive benefits from it. Nether Pearls were not the only thing that existed in the Sea of Abundance.

    ¡°A-are you serious?¡± the secret merchant asked, feeling like he was being silly too. However, his nature as a merchantpelled him to avoid missing such an opportunity, regardless of how absurd it seemed.

    Lin Li nodded, and casually said, ¡°The method is very simple, and there is no harm for me to tell it to you now. You just need some Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potions, and you¡¯ll be able to prevent erosion by the death aura in the sea. Although the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion is a lessmonly known potion, there are pharmacists who can concoct it.¡±

    ¡°Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion? I¡¯ve only heard of Light Blessing Potion, Darkness Blessing Potion, and Elemental Blessing Potion. I¡¯ve never heard of a Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion. Even if it exists, it¡¯s probably a curse that turns living beings into Undead creatures, isn¡¯t it?¡± Cantory couldn¡¯t help but mock with a disdainful expression when he heard that Lin Li¡¯s so-called method was actually to use such a bizarre potion.

    That secret merchant also looked at Lin Li in disbelief, but he didn¡¯t question Lin Li right away like Cantory did. Instead, he waited to hear Lin Li exin further.

    ¡°The Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion temporarily transforms the user into an Undead form so that he or she wouldn¡¯t be eroded by the death aura anymore. Once the user is exposed to the sunlight or is in an environment with insufficient death aura, the power of the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion will be dissolved quickly by the sunlight, thus allowing the user to revert back to being a living being,¡± Lin Li exined briefly the function of the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion without looking at Cantory.

    If it was used on pure Undead creatures, it would at best result in a small increase in their strength, which would be rather insignificant. When used on living beings, it would allow them to temporarily have the Undead aura of Undead creatures without truly turning into one. For example, Undead creatures would not die as long as their soul fire was not extinguished, but living beings would die once they were attacked in their vital points, even if they had the Undead aura. After all, only their aura changed.

    Hence, even though the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion was not an advanced potion, nor did it require many precious herbs, it wasn¡¯t very well-received. Things that did not have a market demand were bound to be eliminated. Thus, soon after the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion was invented, it waspletely forgotten by people.

    ¡°Is there really such a potion?¡± That secret merchant was somewhat apprehensive because he had indeed never heard of such a potion, and also because the method seemed too simple to be true.

    Of course, if it could really allow him to enter and leave the Nether Sea safely, the benefits he could obtain from it would be far from what these Nether Pearls couldpare to. Hence, despite being doubtful, the secret merchant had some hopes, and was waiting for Lin Li toe up with some solid evidence.

    ¡°You can give it a try,¡± Lin Li said as he turned his hand over, and a vial of transparent potion appeared in his palm. It was the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion, which was consumed by new Death Knights of the Tower of Dusk.

    The Death Knights that had been consecutively summoned by the Retribution Knights were usually too weak to y any significant role at the beginning. Hence, their strength had to be improved as soon as possible. Apart from the functions that Lin Li mentioned just now, the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion could also speed up the absorption of power of death for Undead creatures. It was just like a nutritional solution for the Undead creatures.

    However, most Necromancers could not obtain the allegiance of the Death Knights, while other low-level Undead creatures were consumables. It would be too extravagant to nurture them with the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion. Only the Tower of Dusk would have sufficient Death Knights and could afford to use such a method.

    ¡°Are you kidding? How can there be that kind of potion?!¡± Cantory eximed when he saw that Lin Li had really taken out a potion. He suddenly remembered his investigation on the Tower of Dusk when he was in the Breezy ins, which gave him an ominous feeling because he learned that the pharmaceutical business seemed to be exactly one of the mainstays of the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>Is it true?</i> The secret merchant wondered as he took the potion from Lin Li¡¯s hand apprehensively. However, when he saw how certain Lin Li was, he decided to give it a try so that he wouldn¡¯t really miss the opportunity to make a fortune. Of course, there was no need to really go to the Nether Sea to test it out. He simply beckoned a ve over, and then ordered him to down the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion.

    A ve belonged entirely to his master, so even if his master wanted him to kill himself, he would have no other choice, not to mention drinking a potion. Hence, although the ve was trembling, he nevertheless brought the potion bottle close to his mouth, and chugged it in one go before closing his eyes tightly to wait for his death.

    However, at this juncture, something that shocked the secret merchant and Cantory, as well as the surrounding crowd of people, happened. As the ve drank the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion, his vitality soon vanished, and was reced by a death aura that was simr to that of Undead creatures. However, the ve¡¯s appearance remained unchanged, except that there was now a faintyer of ck mist around his body.

    ¡°Take this!¡± The secret merchant tried to contain his excitement as he took out a Nether Pearl and gave it to his ve. Nether Pearls contained a pure and powerful death aura that would erode an ordinary person, and turn them into an Undead creature once they touched it. Hence, if that ve did not get eroded by the death aura of the Nether Pearl, it would mean that there was a great possibility that the potion would allow him to resist the death aura in the Nether Sea.

    <i>Die, die, die, he must die!</i> Cantory secretly prayed in his heart while looking at the ve nervously too. He hade over to make Lin Li make a fool out of himself, not to watch Lin Li get his way. However, it seemed that he was the only one who was unlucky because he had spent 4,000,000 gold coins on something that was of no use to him while failing to stop Lin Li from reaching his goals. The thought of the smug andcent look Lin Li would have on his face afterpleting the deal with the secret merchant made him feel terrible.

    Apart from Cantory, that secret merchant and the other secret merchants from the several stores nearby, as well as the curious onlookers who hade over to take a look, all seemed a little nervous as they waited with bated breaths as every one of them knew that if there was really a method to get in and out of the Nether Sea without being eroded by the death aura, they could treat the entire Nether Sea like it was their backyard.

    Everyone watched as the ve picked up the Nether Pearl from his master¡¯s hand. After Nether Pearl was taken out of the crystal box, everyone could see a dense ck gas coalescing on its surface, as well as what seemed to be countless resentful spirits howling and struggling within. If an ordinary living being were to touch it, the ck gas will immediately spread out towards their body, while the countless resentful spirits would also emerge to rip apart the soul of the living being.

    However, they were now presented with a scene that was simply unbelievable to them. The ve was holding the Nether Pearl in hand, but they didn¡¯t see what they had expected. Instead, the ck gas on the Nether Pearl seemed to have been fixed in ce as it didn¡¯t spread towards the ve at all. At the same time, the countless vengeful spirits in the ck gas were also merely roaring silently when they detected the breath of living beings, not in the slightest bit interested in the ve.

    Now that the effect of the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion had been proven, everyone¡¯s breathing began to quicken as they all came forward to ask Lin Li about the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion. Some even nned to cooperate with Lin Li.

    Although the erosion by death aura was just one of the dangers that came with the exploration of the Nether Sea, and they also had to face the risk of being threatened by the Undead Sea n of the Nether Sea, the threat of the Undead creatures of the Sea n took on physical form, and could be dealt with using other means. For example, they could fight the Undead creatures or avoid them if they were unable to retaliate.

    However, the erosion of the death aura was pervasive, and one wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from it at all, thus making it the hardest to deal with. It might be an exaggeration to say that one could ess the Nether Sea freely once they had the potion, but as long as the erosion by the death aura was no longer a factor to consider, the difficulty of exploring the Nether Sea would be reduced by more than half.

    Under such a huge temptation, the surrounding crowd couldn¡¯t help but cave in to their desires, and all crowded around Lin Li in a bid to discuss a cooperation with him, regardless of how rich they were and how high their status was.

    Seeing this scene, the secret merchant began to panic as he hurriedly held up the box of Nether Pearls with both hands, and handed it to Lin Li while saying to everyone else, ¡°Okay, everyone, stop arguing, this is a deal between President Felic and me, please don¡¯t affect us.¡±

    ¡°What a joke, you¡¯re offering only some Nether Pearls! President Felic, as long as you cooperate with the Seven Seas Trade Union, we will provide you with as many Nether Pearls as you need!¡± said a smiling pot-bellied merchant who had squeezed through the crowd.

    ¡°Badelo, you¡¯ve thought of such a good n, haven¡¯t you? Everyone knows the enormous value of the things hidden in the Nether Sea, and the Nether Pearls are insignificantpared to that. Yet, you actually have the nerve to cooperate with President Felic on such terms.¡± Another tall andnky man squeezed in, and rebuked Badelo disdainfully. He then put on a deferential smile, and said to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m from the Sahediron Trade Union, and I¡¯m very sincere about cooperating with you. How about we go elsewhere to discuss the cooperation?¡±

    On the other hand, Cantory, who was waiting to see Lin Li embarrass himself, had already been pushed away by the excited crowd that was squeezing in to get closer to Lin Li. He was filled with a strong frustration and dejection. 4,000,000 gold coins were not a big deal to him, but what irked him the most was that he had been tricked by his enemy whom he absolutely hated. That was simply uneptable to him, but there was nothing he could do while hearing thepliments that the crowd was showering Lin Li with.

 Chapter 1214 - King Hunteréˆ¥æªš Blade

    <h4>Chapter 1214: King Hunter¡¯s de</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In particr, Cantory was more enraged by the fact that Lin Li didn¡¯t take a single nce at him, and simply treated him like he was nonexistent. If he had lost after a brutal fight, he would¡¯ve felt less disgruntled because he had at least caused some trouble for him. However, the fact now was that he seemed just like a clown who was creating a nuisance and getting ignored, which was a huge insult and humiliation to him!

    At the thought of this, Cantory found it harder and harder to curb his anger as he even felt an urge to fall out with Lin Li.

    However, just when Cantory was on the verge of an outburst, Harquess, had been standing next to him, pulled him back in time, and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Cantory, let¡¯s get to the important matters that we have to handle, and stop wasting time here.¡±

    On the one hand, Harquess did not want to see Cantory getting into trouble, since they had, after all, been friends for years. On the other hand, Harquess was also worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to exin to his father and elders back at home if things were to go out of hand. His father and elders had instructed him to form a friendship with Lin Li, and if things got worse, he would not only fail toplete the task they gave him, he would also allow things to develop in the opposite direction. If that were to happen, he would lose his position in the Octopus n.

    After being pulled back by Harquess, Cantory finally calmed down a little, and kept his eyes fixed on Lin Li, who was standing among the crowd. He gritted his teeth, and said, ¡°Hmph, okay, we¡¯ll let him be smug for the time being!¡±

    Hearing his words, Harquess secretly shook his head. In his opinion, Cantory was a great person, but his only w was hisck of foresight and broad horizons. However, if it were not for the admonishments of his father and elders, Harquess would have probably acted in a simr manner. With that thought in mind, Harquess couldn¡¯t help but look at Lin Li, still in disbelief that his attainments in inscription had actually made his father and the elders feel inferior to him.

    After Cantory left, Lin Li managed to get his hands on that box of Nether Pearls too. As for the cooperation, Lin Li did not promise anyone anything. Anyway, the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion was something that only the pharmacists of the Tower of Dusk could concoct. Hence, anyone who wanted to go to the Nether Sea would have to buy the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion from the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li never thought of cooperating with someone and monopolizing the Nether Sea through cooperation, either. Otherwise, he could have just gone to do so himself instead of seeking cooperation with others.

    Although the resources in the Nether Sea were very attractive, there were countless Undead creatures of the Sea n present, and the Nether Sea was not something that two forces could monopolize. If they didn¡¯t have enough strength, they would only be able to explore the periphery of the sea instead of delving deeper. Thus, the quality and quantity of their gains would imaginably be very low.

    Hence, Lin Li would benefit the most if more and more forces explored the Nether Sea and discovered the resources in it for him instead of gaining monopoly. As long as the Tower of Dusk was always in control of the supply of the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potion, the other forces would only be working for the Tower of Dusk regardless of how they tried to explore.

    After obtaining the Nether Pearls, Lin Li took Connoris and Angno away, and proceeded with browsing the items sold at each stall of the Secret Merchant Market. However, Cantory had stopped following them. Although Lin Li had never taken Cantory seriously, he was d to enjoy some peace and silence without Cantory¡¯s incessant moring.

    Lin Li managed to purchase those Nether Pearls at 10% of the original price set by the secret merchant. Of the 30 or so Nether Pearls, almost half of them reached the peak Legendary-level, which was enough to give the Retribution Knight Legion a great boost inbat power. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse probably wouldn¡¯t dare to contend with a legionposed entirely of Retribution Knights whosebat power was at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    However, that was only Lin Li¡¯s first gain in the Secret Merchant Market and the beginning of his shopping trip. He reckoned that there had to be many more precious items waiting to be discovered by him.

    As expected, Lin Li began to spend a lot of moneyter on, and his expenditure amounted to as much as hundreds of millions of gold coins, which he did not hesitate to pay.

    Lin Li bought some rare metals that contained the Elemental Power of water at a stall of one of the secret merchants¡ªit could be used to help Angno modify the Alchemy Colossus. They had previously bought a Divine Sea Pir at Gift of the Sea, which would only give the Alchemy Colossus the ability to fight in the sea once it was equipped, and if the parts of the Alchemy Colossus were reced with some that could bepatible with the Divine Sea Pir, it would allow the power of the Divine Sea Pir to be fully exerted.

    The Divine Sea Pir contained extremely powerful rules of the sea that could allow one to mobilize the power of the ocean for his own use. If they used the Divine Sea Pir solely for the sake of letting the Alchemy Colossus fight on sea, that would be a huge waste. If the Alchemy Colossus could really use this power, itsbat power would probably be simr to that of a Sanctuary powerhouse, even though it might not be able to create a world.

    In particr, Lin Li still had some Divinity Metal. Although he could not rece all the parts and essories of the Alchemy Colossus, he would be able to use the metal in some key parts of the core, which would be of great help to the Alchemy Colossus. Although there was nothing too striking about the Divinity Metal, it had the growth attribute, which other types of metalscked. If the Divinity Metal was used during the transformation, the Alchemy Colossus might one day grow to the Sanctuary-realm.

    In addition to those rare metals with the water attribute, Lin Li also obtained many precious herbs in the market. Besides, there was another point. Due to theck of pharmaceutics Gurus in Anril and the fact that ordinary pharmacists couldn¡¯t use those precious herbs at all, the prices of precious herbs weren¡¯t ridiculously high. In fact, some were even sold at discounted prices.

    Due to the characteristics of the marine environment, those herbs were basically drawn to the water attribute. Actually, herbs with the water attribute were mostly used to formte Recovery Potions, but there was a difference between static water and dynamic water. The Elemental Power of water in the sea was inclined to being in an excited state, and thus the herbs with the water attribute were the best material for formting potions meant for improving the attack power of magic spells.

    Lin Li spent more than three hours and hundreds of millions of gold coins on the first floor of the Secret Merchant Market. Of course, not all the deals were made using gold coins, because magical crystals were also considered valid currency that was epted at the market. Lin Li had an abundance of magical crystals.

    However, just as Lin Li finished shopping on the first floor, and was about to head to the second floor, he stopped in his tracks near the door leading to the second floor because he detected an aura that seemed vaguely familiar to him.

    Lin Li turned his head in the direction of the familiar aura, only to see a luxuriously dressed nobleman who was fiddling with a dagger in front of the stall belonging to a secret merchant who was wearing an eagle-headed mask just a short distance away. The aura that seemed familiar came from the dagger that the nobleman had slightly unsheathed. As he ced the dagger back in, the aura immediately disappeared without a trace. That seemed to be the reason that he didn¡¯t notice the dagger when he came over from that stall earlier on.

    However, despite feeling an urge to take a closer look at the dagger, Lin Li did not reveal anything in his expression, because he knew very well that when dealing with merchants, one important thing to keep in mind was to never let the merchant see how interested you might be in the goods he peddled. Otherwise, the cunning merchants would definitely take advantage of that, and raise the price to more than 10 times of the original amount.

    Lin Li did not exin to Connoris and the others, and simply pretended to be nonchnt as he returned to the vicinity of that stall that he had just left a short while ago. While casually browsing through the items at the stall, he secretly transmitted his mental strength towards the dagger that the noble was holding.

    Although Connoris and Angno were confused, they were smart and experienced enough. Hence, they did not ask Lin Li any questions, and simply followed him back to the stall. Besides, with their understanding of Lin Li, they knew that Lin Li had probably developed an interest in something.

    At this juncture, Lin Li had already started using his mental strength to test the dagger. However, to his surprise, the inconspicuous sheath that came with the dagger had blocked his mental strength, and prevented it from prating it.

    Fortunately, the nobleman pulled the dagger out a little again, as if he could hear Lin Li¡¯s thoughts. The moment the dagger was slightly unsheathed, Lin Li immediately seized the opportunity, and allowed his mental strength to touch it.

    However, the results of the test with the mental strength made Lin Li shocked, even though he was usuallyposed enough to keep his cool.

    <i>The de of the King Hunter! It turned out to be the de of the King Hunter!</i> Lin Li was in huge disbelief with the oue. In the game of Endless World, he was wearing the Hunter King suit, which was definitely the top equipment in the entire game. The King Hunter¡¯s de was one of the parts of the Hunter King set, and was ranked among the top weapons, though it was not as good as the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars.

    <i>How did the King Hunter¡¯s de end up here?</i> Lin Li suddenly recalled the Immortal King¡¯s incarnation that he had encountered in the Well of the Sun when exploring the Sky Castle. Not only was that incarnation using the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, it was also wearing the King Hunter¡¯s Suit that Lin Li had once owned. However, at that time, the debris of the stars and the Stars of Fury were both condensed with mana by the Immortal King, as with the King Hunter¡¯s Suit.

    That also meant that the Immortal King probably had the real King Hunter¡¯s Suit. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to coincidentally create an exact replica. The appearance of the King Hunter¡¯s de reminded Lin Li of the world in the game, and also allowed him to associate it with the Immortal King.

    However, Lin Li did not rush to ask about it, and instead stood a short distance away to look at the things in front of him while listening to the exnation that the secret merchant over there was giving to the customers.

    After hearing the exnation, Lin Li learned that the King Hunter¡¯s de came from Cursed Ind in the past. He remembered that it was mentioned in the legend of Cursed Ind that Cursed Ind might have been deste in the beginning, but it hadn¡¯t been covered in ice and snow. Instead, someone found a few powerful magical equipment pieces on the ind, and touched something, which resulted in the current appearance of the ind. The King Hunter¡¯s de was rumored to be one of the several pieces of magical equipment that had been dug out, and eventually ended up with that secret merchant.

    However, the nobleman was clearly not interested in the secret merchant¡¯s words; in fact, when he heard about Cursed Ind, he was so frightened that he tossed the King Hunter¡¯s de back to the secret merchant. By the time the secret merchant wanted to say something, the nobleman fled as if he had been marred with bad luck.

    At this moment, Lin Li slowly walked towards the stall, and first looked at other things before turning to look at the King Hunter¡¯s de, making it seem as casual as possible.

    The secret merchant with eagle-head mask was a little dejected at first because his customer had fled in fright, but when he noticed that Lin Li was also looking at the dagger, he immediately deferentially said, ¡°Sir, what are you interested in? All the things that I have here are fine and exquisite!¡±

    Lin Li did not respond to his question, and instead reached out to pick up the King Hunter¡¯s de. However, as soon as he did, his expression turned sullen again because only half of it was left.

    ¡°This is what you call a fine product?¡± Lin Li asked disdainfully while shaking the half of the dagger in his hand.

    However, the secret merchant with the eagle head mask didn¡¯t feel awkward at all as he exined, ¡°Sir, this dagger may be broken, but its sharpness is definitely beyond your imagination. You should know how hard Starry Metal is, but this dagger can cut through it easily like it¡¯s a piece of fruit.¡±

    While speaking, the secret merchant with the eagle head mask took the King Hunter¡¯s de from Lin Li¡¯s hand, and shed at a piece of Starry Metal. Just as he said, a piece of the Starry Metal was shed off by the de, and the surface of the cut was as smooth as a mirror.

    However, Lin Li felt a little sad about the King Hunter¡¯s de because it could be considered the pinnacle of human craftsmanship, and if it was further improved, it might reach the level of an artifact. Despite being one of the top 10 weapons in the past, it was now used to cut Starry Metal to prove its sharpness. It was undoubtedly a huge insult to the King Hunter¡¯s de.

    ¡°Okay, considering how sharp it is, I¡¯ll take this severed half of the dagger. How much are you going to charge for this?¡± Lin Li asked, showing a little bit of interest at the right time. If he were to spend money to buy it while seeming to bepletely uninterested, he might end up arousing suspicion. After all, the cunning merchants were no fools.

    ¡°6,000,000 gold coins. It¡¯s definitely going to be a bang for your buck!¡± said the secret merchant with the eagle head mask when he saw that there was some hope of selling the dagger.

 Chapter 1215 - Egg of the Blue Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 1215: Egg of the Blue Dragon</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    6,000,000 gold coins were nothing to Lin Li, but in the eyes of others, it would be an absolutely foolish thing to spend so much money on a broken dagger. Hence, Lin Li shook his head, and looked at the secret merchant with a contemptuous gaze. He then said, ¡°Trust you to have the nerve to charge 6,000,000 gold coins for a broken dagger!¡±

    ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t say that. This dagger might be broken, but you¡¯ve seen how sharp it is. Besides, this is something from Cursed Ind, and all the items that came with it were sold for dozens of millions of gold coins each. I¡¯m offering it to you at only 6,000,000 gold coins precisely because it¡¯s broken. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid I would charge even higher than 60,000,000, let alone 6,000,000,¡± the secret merchant with the eagle head mask said without the slightest tinge of shame, as if the dagger was really an artifact.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that ites from Cursed Ind or wherever, that means nothing to me. If I just want to keep it as a collection piece, I¡¯m perfectly capable of buying something even more ancient. A broken dagger is a broken dagger. Even the mageweath on it is iplete, all it has left to offer is its sharpness. The price of 6,000,000 is too absurd, it seems like you don¡¯t intend to sell it.¡± After saying that, Lin Li used a verymon but also very effective bargaining tactic by turning around and pretending to leave.

    If a merchant was confident in the value of his goods, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of such a ying-hard-to-get trick when faced with such a situation. However, the secret merchant with the eagle-headed mask, who obviously did not have much confidence in the broken dagger himself, quickly eximed, ¡°How much are you nning to offer, then?!¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words were not an exaggeration. In fact, it was true to a certain extent. The most important thing about a magical weapon was the array formation or the mageweath on it. However, there was no way the mageweath on a broken dagger would beplete, and an iplete dagger wouldn¡¯t be able to exert much power. In that case, what else could it do except be sharp?

    Of course, except for Lin Li himself, no one would know the reason that the King Hunter¡¯s de became the King Hunter¡¯s de precisely because the mageweath that really determined its power was not on the t side of the de, but on its cross-section. It was akin to a stack of countless pieces of paper. Hence, even if the middle was broken off, but there were still countless intact mageweaths on the remaining part, the power would still be reduced by a small margin.

    After the secret merchant with the eagle mask called out to him, Lin Li turned around, and nonchntly said, ¡°Its sharpness and its origin are worth only 1,000,000 gold coins. That¡¯s my final price. Any more, and we don¡¯t have to discuss it further.¡±

    Although 1,000,000 gold coins were not considered much for the secret merchants who were able to set up a stall in this market, there were obvious defects on the dagger, and the secret merchant would still be making a huge profit from selling a piece of garbage as such for 1,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°1,000,000 gold coins is too little, I spent more than 1,000,000 gold coins to get this dagger¡ª¡±

    As soon as the secret merchant tried to raise the price by a little bit, he saw Lin Li turning around to leave without hesitating again. He frantically said, ¡°Fine, fine, 1,000,000 gold coins it is!¡±

    After paying 1,000,000 gold coins, Lin Li finally got the King Hunter¡¯s de that had once belonged to him. In fact, he was now a mage, and thus even aplete King Hunter¡¯s de would be of no use to him, let alone a broken one. However, he didn¡¯t buy the King Hunter¡¯s de for himself, but for Norfeller.

    The weapon that Norfeller had been using all along (and still presently) was the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Dagger pair that Lin Li had purchased from the Time Consignment Store back then. The Heaven¡¯s Wrath Dagger was indeed a good weapon, especially after it was embellished with the Gem of Curse. However, it was only considered good for Legendary powerhouses. Now that Norfeller had be a Sanctuary powerhouse, the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Dagger seemed to be inadequate for his current strength.

    On the other hand, the King Hunter¡¯s de might have been broken, but its power was much stronger than that of the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Dagger. With Norfeller¡¯s Sanctuary-level strength and the King Hunter¡¯s de, hisbat power would definitely improve by leaps and bounds. Another impressive trait about the King Hunter¡¯s de was that it had an inconspicuous sheath that couldpletely shield the power fluctuations of the dagger, making it the most suitable weapon for assassins.

    After obtaining the King Hunter¡¯s de, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but realize an astonishing fact that he had discovered in regard to the underground world of Cursed Ind. The fact that even such a powerful weapon as the King Hunter¡¯s de had been broken showed that the battle between the Immortal King and the Ancient God of Light must have been intense and groundbreaking back then.

    Unfortunately, he had now only acquired the King Hunter¡¯s de. If he could find theplete King Hunter¡¯s Suit and equip Norfeller with it, Norfeller¡¯s strength might soar high enough for him to defeat a Sanctuary powerhouse easily with no issue.

    Though it was broken, the value of the King Hunter¡¯s de was actually no less than that of the Nether Pearls in Lin Li¡¯s opinion. Lin Li was definitely capable of picking the Nether Pearls himself, but he just didn¡¯t want to waste time doing so. However, there was only one King Hunter¡¯s de in the entire Anril.

    Of course, the King Hunter¡¯s de represented the pinnacle of human craftsmanship, after all. If Lin Li could one day reach the peak of the Guru-level in all relevant fields, he might just be able to create a weapon on par with the King Hunter¡¯s de. However, that would likewise require some time. Now, he had be a Guru of Inscription, and evenprehended a tinge of the secrets of the Divine Smith level, but the creation of a weapon like the King Hunter¡¯s de required more than just inscriptions.

    After getting the King Hunter¡¯s de, Lin Li took a closer look at the cross section, and became more and more certain of his previous conjectures. The Immortal King¡¯s main weapon was not the King Hunter¡¯s de, but the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Even Lin Li himself had almost eliminated the King Hunter¡¯s de, and brought it with him just to enhance the attributes of his suit back when he obtained the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars in the game.

    The King Hunter¡¯s de was inferior to the Stars of Fury, but it was still the representative piece of the pinnacle of human craftsmanship. Yet, it was broken in that great battle. The impact that broke it was probably powerful enough to annihte any Sanctuary powerhouse in an instant. When the Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction, he didn¡¯t use the King Hunter¡¯s de, but the King Hunter¡¯s de was actually broken during the battle with the Ancient God of Lightter on. Clearly, the Immortal King didn¡¯t have an easy victory, either.

    <i>Fortunately, I didn¡¯t release the ancient God of Light back then! </i>When thinking in retrospect, Lin Li felt a little fearful as he imagined how terrible things would¡¯ve been if the Ancient God of Light had been released. At that time, he and the members of the Illuminati had absolutely no means toy a finger on the Ancient God of Light at all. Not to mention the debris of the stars, even if he had had the Stars of Fury, he still wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist at all.

    As of now, Lin Li was very satisfied with his purchases from the Secret Merchant Market, and he wouldn¡¯t have a single regret even if he left now. Moreover, this was only the first level of the Secret Merchant Market, and it was said that the truly superior items were found only on the second floor. However, it was impossible for Lin Li to bargain much on the second floor as what he had done on the first, because the prices of the items on the second floor were definitely not going to be too far off from their value.

    Of course, if he really chanced upon something that would be useful again, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind paying more money to buy it. He wasn¡¯t a miser, and he believed in the logic that the value of money existed only when it was spent. If he were to never spend it at all, money would be nothing but garbage.

    Lin Li soon arrived at the second floor of the cabin together with Connoris and Angno. The hall of the second floor was obviously much more luxuriously decorated than the first floor, with red and gold velvet carpetid over the ground and gilded walls. Although the space on the second floor was much smaller, there were very few senior secret merchants, so it seemed to be more spacious.

    The sales method on this floor was simr to that on the first floor, but there was basically a clear price tag on every good, with detailed descriptions as well as some documents of proof of authenticity that were issued by the Secret Merchants Alliance. There were basically no counterfeit or inferior goods on this floor, but the prices were indeed exorbitant.

    After browsing through a few stalls, Lin Li already had a rough understanding of the quality of the goods on this floor. He couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by the tricks and tactics of the senior secret merchants. They were truly very resourceful as each item that they sold was of great value.

    At the first stall that Lin Li went to on the second floor, he right away saw an egg of a Blue Dragon, which was still alive and about to hatch. Like the Crimson Dragon, the Blue Dragon was a descendant of the ancient wyrms. The Crimson Dragon was the descendant of the me Dragon, while the Blue Dragon was a descendant of the Icest Wyrm that held the powerful nomological power of the water element.

    The strength of adult Blue Dragons could reach the peak of the Legendary-level, which was far more powerful than the Green Dragon King that Lin Li had met. However, adult Blue Dragons were very arrogant, and would never be subordinates of other creatures. Even High Elves could not quite tame adult wyrms back then.

    However, if someone could hatch an egg of a wyrm, and raise it to adulthood while taming it in the process, they would be able to gain the wyrm¡¯s approval, and be a powerful and rare Dragon Knight. Clearly, a wyrm¡¯s egg was even more precious than an adult wyrm.

    For ordinary people, hatching and taming a dragon while raising it to adulthood was by no means a simple task. Not to mention the limitations due to the lifespan of humans, which was generally lower than that of the wyrms, the costs of raising and nurturing a wyrm alone were already staggering. The food consumption of a wyrm alone was enough to make a medium-sized force go bankrupt, yet keeping a wyrm fed was just one of the many conditions needed to provide the wyrm with the best environment for growth.

    However, those who could enter this ce were naturally wealthy, and many of them had Legendary-level strength. Hence, it wasn¡¯t impossible to nurture and raise a wyrm, and thus the dragon egg was soon bought by a noble Sword Sage at a price of 10,000,000 gold coins.

    Dragon eggs were not considered remarkable items at the Secret Merchant Market, because there were many other simr creatures like the eggs and hatchlings of marine magical beasts. For example, the hatchling of the Nine-headed Sea Serpent was not inferior to the egg of the wyrm, and upon reaching adulthood, it would definitely be a hegemon of the sea that was even stronger than a wyrm.

    In addition to the eggs and hatchlings of marine magical beasts, there were also adult marine magical beasts for sale at the market. However, they were usually enormous, and thus could not be put on disy at the market. The cargo ships around <i>The Mermaid</i> containedrge goods like those marine beasts. Afterpleting a deal in the market, the Secret Merchants Alliance would step in to helpplete the handover of the goods.

    Adult marine magical beasts usually could not bepared to wyrms, so they were less difficult to tame. Of course, it would basically be impossible to turn a domesticated marine magical beast into abat partner. It could only be a powerful tool. However, for the average person, having a powerful marine magical beast in the Endless Ocean was enough support.

    For example, if a sea caravan could have a powerful marine magical beast to act as an escort during their voyage, they would be able to deter and prevent harassment by pirates. An adult Legendary-level marine magical beast was a terrifying existence at sea, and it would be a piece of cake for it to annihte a band of pirates. Of course, if a band of pirates likewise had a marine magical beast, it would be much simpler for them to hijack the caravans at sea.

    However, be it a wyrm egg or a marine magical beast, they were basically of little use to Lin Li because he wasn¡¯t short of Legendary-levelbat power. In a Sanctuary-level battle, Legendary-levelbat power would not make much of a difference, unless they were on a scale that was asrge as the Retribution Knight legion.

    Besides, Lin Li owned a Crimson Humerus Wyrm that was just as powerful as an adult wyrm. Thus, there was no need for him to waste his time and resources on raising a baby wyrm or a marine magical beast.

    In addition to those living creatures, the secret merchants also had many carcasses of prehistoric marine magical beasts. During the prehistoric times, the prehistoric magical beasts dominated Anril, and many terrifying prehistoric marine magical beasts lived in the Endless Ocean. Their individual strength was sometimes even more powerful than the ancient wyrms¡¯.

    One of the senior secret merchants was selling the eyeball of a giant prehistoric Barbarous Whale which was even taller than a human, and looked like it was carved out of a whole sapphire as it emitted a formidable aura. The might that came with it was not inferior to a Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s, and it was simrly very powerful too.

    In the prehistoric times, the prehistoric Barbarous Whales were the overlords of the Endless Ocean as they could turn the entire ocean into a Domain World that was difficult for those at the Sanctuary-realm to break through. However, the power of the prehistoric Barbarous Whales and their mastery of the World Laws were simrly derived from magical crystals, just like those of other prehistoric magical beasts. Hence, although the eyeball seemed powerful, and even contained mana that was not inferior to a Sanctuary-level magical crystal¡¯s, that was all it had to offer.

 Chapter 1216 - Seahorse Slave

    <h4>Chapter 1216: Seahorse ve</h4>

    If the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale was sold on the first floor of the market, it would definitely have an exorbitant price tag. However, due to the constraints of the Secret Merchant Alliance, the price of the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale was controlled to a certain extent, and wasn¡¯t too bbergasting.

    That wasn¡¯t all. The secret merchant even gave a clear and thorough exnation of the uses of the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale. One was that it would help with taming marine magical beasts because the prehistoric Barbarous Whale could suppress the marine magical beasts of the Endless Ocean with its aura. Another was that the eye could be used as a Sanctuary-level magical crystal that would act as a mana source. However,pared to Sanctuary-level magical crystals, the mana here would not be restored automatically. Hence, although the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale looked rather overwhelming, very few people asked about it. They would at most take a few nces, and then turn around to go elsewhere after listening to the introduction.

    However, Lin Li was a little interested in the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale, and decided to acquire it after seeing that the price was rather reasonable. The eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale was quite useful to Lin Li as it could be used as a powerful weapon for <i>The Star</i>.

    Lin Li had read some information about the prehistoric magical beasts of the Endless Ocean when he was on <i>The Star</i> which was left behind by Geresco. Hence, he also knew some things that others might not be aware of. Although the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale was not a magical crystal, and did not contain powerful magicws by nature, it was still a very powerful weapon of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale.

    It was said that thergest prehistoric Barbarous Whale had a size that was equivalent to hundreds of wyrms, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t be flexible enough to fight with other enemies using its body. Hence, one of the most powerful weapons that the prehistoric Barbarous Whale had was its gigantic mouth that looked like it wasrge enough to devour the world, which would allow it to suck ancient wyrms from the sky and swallow the magical beasts of the ocean together with a massive amount of seawater. Another powerful weapon would be its pair of eyes that emitted light that had the ability to turn everything into the power of water. Even an ancient wyrm would not be able to resist it.

    Of course, that secret merchant might not be unaware of these traits. However, it was just the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale, and not a living whale. Thus, it wouldn¡¯t be able to exert that terrifying power.

    However, Lin Li was different. With his peak Guru-level attainments in inscription, he waspletely confident of stimting the power of the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale using mageweaths. Of course, it was only going to be an additional weapon to <i>The Star</i>, and in fact, it wasn¡¯t considered a remarkable itempared to the Nether Pearls and the King Hunter¡¯s de.

    After putting the eye of the prehistoric Barbarous Whale into the Ring of Endless Storm, Lin Li continued to search for the things he needed in the market. Unfortunately, he no longer found anything suitable for his needs, even though the items he sawter could be considered rare treasures.

    For example, there were magical items of the High Elves from the Dark Age, sacrificial objects of the Sea n from tens of thousands of years ago, the burial objects of a certain Great Monarch of the Sea n, and many others. The power of those items might be great, but they were far inferiorpared to the debris of the stars that Lin Li had. Even if he acquired them, there was nothing he could use them for.

    On the other hand, the importantbat powers like Connoris¡¯ Eternal Frost de, Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus, Ujfalusi¡¯s Ice Phoenix corpse, and Norfeller¡¯s broken King Hunter¡¯s de did not need any magical weapons. Thus, those items would not give their power and abilities a significant boost, and buying them would be a waste.

    As for the mages of the Tower of Dusk, they relied on the Magic Net Array that Geresco had left behind. The individual orbinedbat strength of a few people would only affect the operation of the Magic Net Array. The most suitable thing for them would be the magical equipment that Lin Li had designed and created himself, not the items with pompous legendary backgrounds.

    Hence, after turning around and casually buying a few more things that were not of great use, Lin Li no longer felt like shopping anymore.

    However, just as Lin Li was about to return, he stopped in front of a senior secret merchant¡¯s stall which basically didn¡¯t have any treasures up for sale. There was only some written information which Lin Li took a closer look at, only to realize that this secret merchant was a ver.

    Although Lin Li came from another world where everyone was imed to be equal, he never thought he had the ability and obligation to make changes to the system in Anril. The system¡¯s existence was justified. Anril was a world of survival of the fittest. Even the Immortal King probably wouldn¡¯t be able to change the system of Anril, let alone Lin Li.

    Besides, the development of the Tower of Dusk required manpower in addition to arge amount of wealth and financial power. Although the Tower of Dusk could recruit arge number of people from the Breezy ins, some people might not bepetent enough to make the cut even if they were willing to do it, while some who werepetent weren¡¯t willing to. In that case, he would have to rely on ves. Of course, the ves had to have strength that was at least level-10, otherwise they would not be of any use at all.

    ves that could be sold in this upscale Secret Merchant Market were definitely of a better grade than those outside. Otherwise, the Secret Merchants Alliance would never have arranged for the ver to be there. Having figured that out, Lin Li picked up the information at the stall, and began reading it as he intended to purchase a batch of ves for the Tower of Dusk. After all, arge amount of manpower was still required for the transformation of the Sky Castle.

    Although the ves for sale at this stall were of a variety of races, they could generally be ssified into two categories: one for entertainment purposes, and the other to provide powerful support. The ves belonging to the first category were basically handsome and beautiful or gifted, while those of the other were extremelypetent. There were even some who were at the Legendary-level. Such strong and capable ves were either used for diatorial performances or used as guards and escorts. Some were even used as cannon fodder during explorations. In short, they were meant for practical use.

    Lin Li flipped through those introductions, and finally stopped at the introduction of a batch of ves of the Seahorse n after he had gone through several entries.

    It was said that the seahorses used to be the hegemons of the sea that resided in the Sea of Abundance, which was the current Nether Sea. At that time, the seahorses were so powerful that even the current seven overlords of the ocean would have to bow down to them.

    The most powerful force of the Seahorse n was the Seahorse Knights. Although they were not known for their strength, they could perfectly fuse magic andbat together into one. They could also be called the Magic Knights of the sea. Hence, as opposed to the High Elves, the Seahorse n used to be called the perfect n of the sea as their ability tobine magic andbat allowed them to possess power that was greater than the famous Giant Shark Knights¡¯. The battle formations that they got into were invincible in the Endless Ocean.

    The High Elves conquered Anril, and even the Endless Sea, but not the Endless Ocean. Legend had it that the Seahorse n was arge part of the reason for their failure to do so. Without the powerful Seahorse Knights, the High Elves might have extended their dominance into the Endless Ocean, and put the Sea ns under their rule as they had done to those onnd.

    However, even until now, no one knew what had happened to the Seahorse n that caused them to lose all their glory despite having been overlords of the ocean. ording to theter propaganda of the seven other overlords, the Sea God was angered by the Seahorse n, and thus took everything away from them, though no one knew the real reason for that. The fall of the Seahorse n was the very reason that the seven other overlords could escape suppression and rise. In order to vie for the wealth of the Seahorse n and the status of the ruler, they began a great war at sea.

    During that war, each Sea n suffered considerable losses, but the ones who ended up in the most tragic state were still the seahorses. Not only had they lost their ce in the Sea of Abundance, they even had to face the oppression of various Sea ns. The rest at least still had some allies, but the Seahorse n had be the public enemy of all the Sea ns. Even after the end of the great war, the Seahorse n still couldn¡¯t recover and recuperate like the others. Instead, they had to remain stranded and lead miserable lives.

    Without their own sea, the Seahorse n had no choice but to split up and wander around in the Endless Ocean. Once others found out about their temporary residence, the other Sea ns woulde to besiege them immediately. The seahorse ves that Lin Li had developed an interest in had probably ended up in the hands of the secret merchant because they had unfortunately had their temporary residence discovered.

    Even till now, there was no clear exnation for the Seahorse n¡¯s loss of power, and Lin Li merely knew that the Seahorse n had very few powerhouses that could break through the Legendary-realm. If a seahorse couldn¡¯t break through the Legendary-realm, they would not be able to be a Seahorse Knight, and thus their value would be reduced greatly.

    Logically speaking, a batch of seahorse ves with no potential for future development would not be of much use to Lin Li. Be it Lin Li or the Tower of Dusk, they did notck such a force, and they probably weren¡¯t even qualified to be cannon fodder. They couldn¡¯t stay onnd for long, and had to be in the sea most of the time, so he couldn¡¯t quite use them for hardbor. Hence, they were probably worse than ordinary people.

    However, when Lin Li thought about the Seahorse Knights that had dominated the four seas ording to the legends, he couldn¡¯t help but be tempted. Just because others didn¡¯t have the means to help them break through to the Legendary-realm didn¡¯t mean that Lin Li didn¡¯t. Even though he did not have an exact solution now, he had plenty of resources like the Tree of Eternity and Geresco¡¯s relics. It was possible for him to find a solution.

    Lin Li took another close look at that introduction to see that there were more than 60 members of the Seahorse n, among which the old, weak, and sick had been eliminated, leaving only the strong and young ones. In terms of strength, they were definitely not far off from what the legends imed, with the strongest being only level-19, and the weakest being only level-15. However, even if they couldn¡¯t break through the Legendary-realm, they should be able to serve as sailors on <i>The Star</i>. At least he wouldn¡¯t be buying a bunch of garbage.

    ¡°Are these seahorse ves also on the cargo ship outside?¡± Lin Li asked as he picked up the document containing their information.

    ¡°Yes, Sir, you¡¯ve got impable judgment. The Seahorse n has quite a bnced development among the many Sea ns as they are good at bothbat and magic. It would be perfect to use them as escorts,¡± the senior secret merchant immediately introduced to Lin Li passionately.

    However, Lin Li secretly sneered when he heard that. In this day and age, the so-called bnced practice of martial arts and magic was just a trap because bnce meant mediocrity. If the Seahorse n couldn¡¯t break through to the Legendary-realm, they wouldn¡¯t be considered jacks-of-all-trades, but rather they would be consideredcking in every aspect. Anyone who used the seahorse ves as escorts would definitely be putting their lives in danger.

    Although the prices of the items here were fixed and stated clearly, there was still some room for bargaining. Lin Li immediately voiced his opinions and harped on that point to reduce the price by 20%.

    The Seahorse n didn¡¯t fit the aesthetic standards of ordinary humans, because they had long faces and long necks, matched withnky, bamboo-like bodies. Their skin was dark blue and covered with green spots, causing their strength to be the only trait that they could leverage on. However, everyone knew that the Seahorse n would never break through to the Legendary-realm, and while their strength might seem impressive to ordinary people, they weren¡¯t considered much to those who could enter this ce.

    In fact, the most important reason that this senior secret merchant could bring the seahorse ves over to the market, and put them on sale was that it was not easy to nab some Seahorse n members. It was unknown if it was because they were on the brink of extinction, or because they had all hidden somewhere, but all in all, they were scarce and rare.

    Hence, after some bargaining, Lin Li bought those 60-odd seahorse ves at a 20% discount. After buying those seahorse ves, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother to continue wasting time shopping around, and instead requested the secret merchant to go out with him for the handover of the ves.

    Soon, under the arrangement of the Secret Merchant Alliance, they arrived at a cargo ship outside <i>The Mermaid</i>, and more than 60 female and male seahorse ves who were tied together by ropes were urged out of the cabin of the cargo ship by a few masked men.

    Lin Li sized them up using his mental strength, and discovered that their physiques were not too bad, which showed that the ve sellers didn¡¯t mistreat them because they were to be sold at the Secret Merchant Market. The three strongest seahorse ves had just reached level-19, while the ordinary ones were only at level-16 or level-17. The weakest one was only at level-15, perhaps because he was too young.

    After Lin Li finished inspecting the ves, the handover waspleted. Next, Lin Li brought the ves who had already resigned themselves to fate onto another ship provided by the Secret Merchants Alliance, and set off to Helena Port.

    Since <i>The Star</i> was docked at Helena Harbor, Lin Li immediately arranged for the seahorse ves to board <i>The Star</i>. Although the strength of the seahorse ves was no weaker than that of the sailors on <i>The Star</i>, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them escaping, because he had the ve contract with the Soul Brand of the ves in hand. After instructing the sailors on <i>The Star</i> to show the seahorse ves around to familiarize themselves with <i>The Star</i>, he left to return to the capital of the Gilded Kingdom together with Connoris and Angno.

 Chapter 1217 - Giant Sharks

    <h4>Chapter 1217: Giant Sharks</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°What?! It¡¯s already been sold?!¡±

    The Secret Merchant Market was originally quite quiet, especially since the guests on the second floor were wealthy and noble figures who made sure to remain polite and maintain the gentlemanliness of nobles even when bargaining.

    However, the sudden roar of fury was like a bolt of thunder that broke the silence, and attracted the attention of everyone in the hall of the second floor. There were several luxuriously dressed nobles standing in front of the stall of the secret merchant who¡¯d just sold the seahorse ves. The person who yelled was the one standing in front.

    Those nobles were all at least two meters tall and above, looking rather strong and muscr, but the skin they exposed was silvery white. Their beady eyes were flickering with a shocking light, and their mouths were sorge that they seemed to be reaching their necks. There were also gills on both sides of their necks, opening and closing slightly.

    Even a randommoner of the Gilded Kingdom would be able to tell these ferocious and bizarre-looking people were from the Giant Shark n, one of the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, what more the other guests that were present. Besides, the people in the hall also recognized at once that their leader was the young monarch of the Giant Shark n, Grina.

    The Giant Shark n was in control of thergest sea area in the Endless Ocean and the richest marine resources, especially since they had thergest slice of the pie after the great war in the ocean back then and obtained countless benefits. Among the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, the Giant Shark n was definitely the strongest as they even had the potential to be the ruler of the Endless Ocean at one point.

    However, the strength of the Giant Shark n did not reach the point where it could subdue all the other ns in the sea in the end. After severalrge-scale battles, they still failed to conquer the seas in the face of the joint resistance of several Sea ns. However, the Giant Shark n managed to stop in time as they were able to achieve a deterrent effect on the other ns despite having sufferedrge losses too.

    No one knew how strong the Giant Shark n had be, but one thing was for sure: it was definitely stronger than it had been before the great war. After so many years of rest and recuperation, coupled with the digestion and absorption of the spoils they¡¯d reaped from the war, even the other Sea ns had already developed to an unprecedented extent, not to mention the Giant Shark n. If the Giant Shark n could not reach the level that they used to be at, they wouldn¡¯t be qualified to be one of the seven overlords.

    Hence, after seeing that the person who mored turned out to be Grina, the junior monarch of the Giant Shark n, the nobles and bigwigs of the other ns looked away in unison. Everyone knew that the Giant Shark n was notorious for being unreasonable. Even if they stared at Grina for a little longer than they should, they might arouse his displeasure, let alone if they confronted him.

    Faced with the junior monarch of the Giant Shark n, the senior secret merchant secretly wiped some sweat off his forehead, and couldn¡¯t help but be secretly thankful that he had sold the seahorse ves away before the nobles arrived. Otherwise, they might shortchange him to the point of paying lower than the cost price.

    Although the Secret Merchants Alliance were prestigious and esteemed in the Endless Ocean, and imed to guarantee fair transactions in the market, there was never absolute fairness in this world. Even the Secret Merchants Alliance would not really go against an overlord like the Giant Shark n for the sake of a secret merchant. Anyone would know whom to choose between the young monarch of the Giant Shark n and a senior secret merchant.

    Facing Grina, the junior monarch of the Giant Shark n, the senior secret merchant couldn¡¯t help but behave respectfully even though he had a mask on. He said, ¡°Dear honored guest, the 67 seahorse ves you mentioned have indeed, very unfortunately, been sold to someone else.¡±

    After receiving the confirmation, Grina couldn¡¯t help but secretly clench his fists, but he nevertheless suppressed the anger within him. No matter what, the Secret Merchants Alliance was still somewhat authoritative. If he were elsewhere, he wouldn¡¯t care about whether he was being reasonable or not, and would simply punish the secret merchant for causing him to make a wasted trip

    At this point, a Giant Shark n member who stood beside Grina asked the secret merchant another question on Grina¡¯s behalf, perhaps because he was afraid that Grina might lose his temper. ¡°Let me ask you, who bought those seahorse ves? I believe that people who cane here are definitely not ignorant. You should know who he is, shouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    Those who were able to be secret merchants, especially those at the senior-level, naturally had their own sources of information. Besides, Lin Li had already done two groundbreaking things despite having only been to the Gilded Kingdom for a short period of time. It would be strange if the secret merchant didn¡¯t know who he was. Anyway, the ves had already been sold, so there was naturally no need for the secret merchant to continue keeping Lin Li¡¯s identity confidential. Hence, he hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, the person who bought those seahorse ves was President Felic of the Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins.¡±

    ¡°Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins?¡± Perhaps because he had just arrived in Gilded Kingdom, the name Felic did not ring a bell to Grina. After all, among the many forces of the Endless Ocean, there had never been one named the Tower of Dusk.

    Seeing this, the secret merchant quickly continued to exin without waiting for Grina to question him further. ¡°Yes, they were invited by the Gilded Kingdom to attend the founding celebration this year. Soon after they arrived, they got into quite a huge conflict with the Gilded Kingdom.¡±

    Afterwards, the secret merchant briefly told Grina and the others about the two incidents that happened between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. Those two incidents were actually not thatplicated, and the Tower of Dusk had simply embarrassed the Gilded Kingdom. However, for some reason, the Gilded Kingdom had been tolerating them time and time again.

    ¡°Hmph, Bradlor is really such a degenerate! That¡¯s just how the humans are, they¡¯re so wishy-washy about everything.¡± After hearing that, Grina immediately showed extreme contempt and disdain. He didn¡¯t think that the Tower of Dusk, which he had never heard of, really had any impable strength and power. He reckoned that Bradlor had to have just been worried about ruining the founding celebration.

    Actually, it wasn¡¯t strange that Grina would have such thoughts, and he definitely wasn¡¯t the only one who did. The Gilded Kingdom was a human kingdom that held significant power in the Endless Ocean, while the Tower of Dusk was a small, nameless force from the Breezy ins. Anyone in the right state of mind would be able to tell which one was stronger.

    In fact, only a few people were aware of the real reason, something even some of the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom did not know of. Even with this senior secret merchant¡¯s sources of information, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find out more. Thus, what he told Grina was just somemonly known facts.

    Hearing that the one who bought the seahorse ves was just the president of a small nameless force, one of Grina¡¯s subordinates, who was beside him, stepped forth, and said, ¡°Junior Monarch, since those seahorse ves have just been sold, they couldn¡¯t have gone that far. Do you want me to take some people with me and chase after them to bring the seahorse ves back?¡±

    ¡°No hurry. Now that we know who they are, why would we still need to worry about them running away?¡± Although Grina was a little peeved, he was not in a hurry at this time. For him, knowing whom the seahorse ves had been sold to was enough. Not to mention a small and nameless force, even if the seahorse ves were now in the hands of the Gilded Kingdom, Grina was confident that all it would take for him to gain ownership of the seahorse ves was a word from him.

    In Grina¡¯s opinion, the seahorse ves could basically be considered theirs as long as they did not fall into the hands of the rivals of the Giant Shark n. Hence, he wasn¡¯t in a hurry anymore, and simply started shopping casually with his subordinates in the Secret Merchant Market in a bid to pick up some things he liked along the way.

    At this point, Lin Li and the others had already returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. The first thing Lin Li did was to give the broken King Hunter¡¯s de to the vampire Norfeller, and told him how to use it.

    The King Hunter¡¯s de was the pinnacle of human craftsmanship, and even though it was broken, it was still a very powerful magic weapon. However, it was strange that no one asked about it in the Secret Merchant Market, especially since it was marketed as an item with a rich history and incredible sharpness. In fact, it was precisely because there was a special method to use and activate the power of the King Hunter¡¯s de that not just anyone could use it. In Anril, Lin Li was probably the only person who knew of the method other than the Immortal King.

    The dagger was shrouded in ayer of faint silver light with rays of subtle de light several meters long darting out. However, there wasn¡¯t a single mana fluctuation in the light. If one didn¡¯t look at it, it would easily go unnoticed.

    In the in-game world, the King Hunter¡¯s de might have been the professional weapon of hunters, but there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between Hunters and Assassins. The only difference was in their targets. Most of the time, the sensitivity of magical beasts to danger was actually much higher than that of humans. Hence, the King Hunter¡¯s de¡¯s ability to conceal its aura was very useful for Assassins as well.

    Of course, hiding aura was only one of the abilities of the King Hunter¡¯s de, and the truly powerful aspect of the King Hunter¡¯s de was its power. After the Heaven¡¯s Wrath Daggers that Norfeller originally used were embellished with the Gems of Curse, they became extremely powerful magical weapons. However, Norfeller was now already a Sanctuary powerhouse, yet his power seemed a little insufficient in a Sanctuary-level battle.

    The King Hunter¡¯s de was named after the King Hunter, and was known to be capable of killing all the magical beasts in this world. Although it was quite an exaggeration, its power was definitely not ordinary. The in-game world was almost the same as Anril, and there were also many powerful magical beasts in addition to just some tigers and lions. Even the wyrms which were famous for their defense would have their scales slit open easily like paper by the King Hunter¡¯s de.

    With Norfeller¡¯s Sanctuary-level power, the King Hunter¡¯s de would definitely exert its maximum power, and even the Domain Worlds of ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses would not be able to resist it.

    After letting Norfeller get familiar with the King Hunter¡¯s de, Lin Li didn¡¯t idle about as he quickly chanted an incantation to open the spatial rift leading to the Sky Castle, and stepped in. Upon returning to the Sky Castle, Lin Li gave the Nether Pearls that he obtained to his subordinates who were in charge of creating the magical weapons, and instructed them to create new weapons for the Retribution Knights

    In addition, Lin Li arranged for Wilkinson and the others, who were responsible for concocting potions, to increase the number of Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potions by a small amount. He was certain that the matter in the Secret Merchant Market would soon spread, and when the time came, there would definitely be many peopleing to the Tower of Dusk to buy the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potions. However, that which was rare was dear. Even though the costs of producing the Nether Servant¡¯s Blessing Potions were very small, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t really open the floodgates and produce them in bulk, because he obviously had to exploit the merchants.

    By the time Lin Li returned to the Gilded Kingdom again, it was already dawn. However, just as he stepped out of the spatial rift, he heard some noises, and reckoned that there seemed to be amotion. Dorick, the deputy head of the Mage Legion, was waiting in the outer room of the room.

    Lin Li walked out from the inner room, and saw Dorick, who had waited for a long time, and was sorting out the things that they bought from the Secret Merchant Market. While walking, he asked, ¡°Dorick, what¡¯s up with all the noise outside?¡±

    Dorick, who was still looking a bit anxious, was visibly relieved to see that Lin Li had returned. He heaved a sigh of relief, and immediately went forward to bow to him. He said, ¡°President, you¡¯re back. There are a few Giant Shark n members outside who are demanding that you hand over the Seahorse ves you boughtst night. Based on the way they addressed the person leading them, he should be the junior monarch of the Giant Shark n.¡±

    ¡°Hand it over to them?¡± When Lin Li heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer. Regardless of whether the seahorse ves were of any use to him, he wouldn¡¯t hand them over without rhyme or reason. The Giant Shark n was prestigious in the Endless Ocean, and was vaguely the leader of the hegemons of the sea. However, they were far from being able to frighten him.

    At this moment, another mage from the Mage Legion came outside the door, and asked, ¡°Deputy Head Dorick, has the president not returned yet? Those Giant Shark n members outside say that if you still don¡¯t appear, they will barge in themselves. Connoris and Lord Norfeller are still stopping them.¡±

    ¡°Just tell Connoris and Norfeller to send them away without any concerns,¡± Lin Li instructed Dorick, and continued to sort the things, not wanting to bother wasting time on the members of the Giant Shark n.

    At this point, Connoris and Norfeller were standing at the entrance of the embassy, together with Dorick who had juste over and the mages of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion. There was a bunch of aggressive Giant Shark n members in front of them, and their appearance was almost identical to sharks¡¯. Fortunately, the Giant Shark n members were clearly of distinct sses, which allowed others to tell them apart.

    Apart from some guards, there were five Giant Shark n members who seemed to have supreme status, and one of those five was dressed nobly. The five people were led by the junior monarch of the Giant Shark n whose strength was already at the peak of the Legendary-level. With the inherent divine power of the Giant Shark n, even ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses might not be able to defeat him. On the other hand, the other four people were extremely famous in the Endless Ocean too as they were known as the Four Divine Generals whose strength was above the Legendary-realm.

 Chapter 1218 - Tension

    <h4>Chapter 1218: Tension</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Giant Shark n was not entirely trying to show off their power by kicking up such a big fuss, though it was one of the reasons. Rather, they just wanted to ensure the safety of the prince, Grina. The Giant Shark n managed to rise to their current position and status entirely because of theirbat power, and it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that they had enemies everywhere. If someone knew that the prince of the Giant Shark n ended up alone, they mightunch an assault against the Giant Shark n, especially since the Gilded Kingdom was so far away from the turf of the Giant Shark n. If there was a mishap, they wouldn¡¯t be able to receive aid in time.

    ¡°Hurry up and get your president toe out! How dare he let our prince wait for such a long time? Does he really think he¡¯s a big shot?¡± said one of the guards beside Grina. Although he was just a guard, he was nheless snobby and arrogant,pletely disregarding the people of the Tower of Dusk.

    At this juncture, Dorick walked out, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but our president doesn¡¯t have time to see you!¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± The people of the Giant Shark n were all stunned, not daring to believe what they had just heard. Grina was the prince of the Giant Shark n whom even King Bradlor of the Gilded Kingdom had to treat with great respect when summoned by Grina. Yet, the president of the Tower of Dusk, which was just a small force of the Breezy ins, actually refused to meet Grina!

    After recovering from the shock and processing what the other party said, Grina flew into a rage and even began to tremble. As the prince of the Giant Shark n, he had never suffered such mistreatment before. It was simply a huge insult to him! He came here only with the intention of buying some seahorse ves, and he also felt that the Tower of Dusk, which was just a small force, would never turn him down. However, he didn¡¯t expect that he wouldn¡¯t get a chance to meet Lin Li at all.

    ¡°President Felic has really piqued my curiosity further. I will see who he really is. How dare he disrespect the Giant Shark n like that?!¡± Grina couldn¡¯t contain his anger any longer, and after saying those words through clenched teeth, he signaled for his subordinates to charge into the embassy.

    Grina had four Sanctuary powerhouses with him. In his opinion, the Tower of Dusk was just like a nobody. If it were the pce of the other six major Sea ns or the embassy of a human kingdom, he might still have some concerns. However, he felt that the Tower of Dusk was just a minor force from the Breezy ins that they could easily barge into.

    However, when the people of the Giant Shark n were about to attack, Norfeller, who was standing in front of the embassy, suddenly disappeared without a trace. Afterwards, the entire space was shrouded in a faintyer of sanguine fog, while the people of the Giant Shark n unanimously felt that they were being watched closely by something with a killing intent.

    At this moment, even the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n who were at the Sanctuary-realm couldn¡¯t help but tense up and feel a little scared. They even felt that they would face a fatal blow if they took another step forward. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t be spared from what was awaiting them.

    They never thought that the Tower of Dusk actually had a Sanctuary-level Assassin. Very few Assassins could reach the Sanctuary-realm, but those who could would definitely be terrifying, nightmarish existences. Assassins who had reached the Sanctuary-realm had the ability to fuse themselves with the World Laws, and even fellow Sanctuary-level Assassins would not be able to detect their presence easily. They could be considered impossible to defend against.

    In particr, a more terrifying thing was that Norfeller, the Sanctuary-level Assassin, was also a Sanctuary-level vampire, the likes of whom Grina had never seen before. Unlike ordinary Assassins, Norfeller was a vampire who was a master of Dark Magic. Thebination of Dark Magic and an assassin would be a great threat to almost any kind of profession, which was the reason that people often said that vampires were natural-born Assassins.

    With Norfeller¡¯s action, the people of Giant Shark n suddenly seemed to have frozen in ce, while the Four Divine Generals immediately protected Grina anxiously. They knew that even they might not be able to avoid the assassination of a Sanctuary-level vampire, let alone Grina, who was only at the peak of the Legendary-level.

    ¡°Anyone who dares to take a step closer will die!¡± An ethereal and cold voice that was full of a killing intent came out of the void.

    Norfeller was just giving the people of the Giant Shark n a warning now, so they could sense the intense killing. However, once he attacked, even a Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t be able to sense the killing intent at all.

    However, Grina would never be able to tolerate such a situation. He pushed away the Divine General who was standing in front of him, and looked at the members of the Tower of Dusk. ¡°Why? Do you want to attack us? You must not want to leave the Endless Ocean in one piece!¡±

    Grina was not scaring them. Although the Giant Shark n could not be considered the ruler of the Endless Ocean now, no one would doubt their ability to dominate given their current power. For a force that made a living on sea, offending the Giant Shark n on the Endless Ocean would be tantamount to digging their own grave.

    However, in the face of Grina¡¯s threat, the people of the Tower of Dusk did not react much, as if they weren¡¯t aware of the Giant Shark n¡¯s existence. Of course, apart from Connoris and the others, the mages of the Tower of Dusk really didn¡¯t know much about the Giant Shark n.

    Besides, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had always been very confident in their president, especially since they could make it back from Cursed Ind under Lin Li¡¯s leadership. Having witnessed with their very own eyes how capable and formidable their president was, they definitely wouldn¡¯t take Grina¡¯s threat seriously.

    Connoris and others were even more nonchnt. Lin Li was the only one they respected and the only person whose orders they would obey. They did everything he told them to without considering the consequences at all. Besides, they knew Lin Li¡¯s strength even better than the others, and were also aware of the trump cards that he had. Although the Giant Shark n had four Sanctuary powerhouses here, they were confident of defeating them if they really got into a fight.

    However, as tension arose, and they were about to get into an intense fight anytime soon, Elder Zumar and his apprentice, Forcus, happened to arrive in time.

    Elder Zumar and Forcus came over this time to get in touch with Lin Li. After all, they had to rely on Lin Li to carry out the resurrection n of the Founding Saint of the Illuminati. However, when he saw what was going on, Elder Zumar could not help but cry out in his heart, regretting his decision toe because he had arrived at the wrong time.

    <i>This is such a disadvantage!</i> Elder Zumar was extremely frustrated, but since he had unfortunately encountered such a matter, he couldn¡¯t really act like he didn¡¯t see anything, especially since Lin Li was still of great use to the Illuminati now. If they got into a conflict, the Illuminati wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the resurrection on their own.

    Thinking about the trade-offs, Elder Zumar was extremely conflicted. He then eximed, ¡°Please don¡¯t be impulsive, let¡¯s talk properly!¡± While saying that, he walked towards the spot in between the two parties together with his disciple, Forcus.

    However, as soon as he did, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but shudder as he could vaguely sense an ethereal killing intent sweeping past his body. Back on Cursed Ind, he had watched Norfeller, the vampire of the Tower of Dusk, ascend to the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, he immediately figured out why the Giant Shark n would be that nervous. No one would be able to stay calm if they were targeted by an Assassin who was at the Sanctuary-realm.

    What made Elder Zumar feel particrly troubled was the fact that the leader of the Giant Shark n was Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n. Having been developing on the Endless Ocean for so many years, the Illuminati inevitably had to deal with the Sea ns. Hence, Elder Zumar was rather familiar with Grina.

    The people of the Giant Shark n had always been extremely haughty and arrogant. After all, everyone knew how powerful the Giant Shark n was, and Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, was even more conceited. Now that Grina was being disregarded by the assertive President Felic of the Tower of Dusk who wouldn¡¯t tolerate disrespect, it was difficult for Elder Zumar to persuade any of them.

    Elder Zumar¡¯s appearance eased up some of the tension at the scene, but the attitude of both parties remainedrgely the same. If they had been pretending, one of the parties would likely have used this opportunity to give themselves an out, but clearly neither of them was.

    Elder Zumar stood in the middle between the two sides, feeling the fury of one party and the cold killing intent of the other. He really wanted to just stay out of it and leave, but for the sake of the interests of the Illuminati, he had no choice but to get involved. Thus, he chuckled bitterly, and said, ¡°Prince Grina and my friends from the Tower of Dusk, please simmer down. We can always talk things over calmly!¡±

    Although Elder Zumar had intervened in time, he still hadn¡¯t figured out how the Tower of Dusk and the Giant Shark n got involved with each other. He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was someone from the Gilded Kingdom that was confronting the Tower of Dusk, but it was Grina of the Giant Shark n who had juste to the Gilded Kingdom!

    Although Elder Zumar was a prestigious figure of the Gilded Kingdom, he was far inferiorpared to the prince of the Giant Shark n. However, no matter what, Elder Zumar was still backed by the Illuminati, after all. Grina could disregard Elder Zumar, but not the Illuminati. Hence, Grina got a grip on his anger, and humphed coldly. ¡°Zumar, this matter has nothing to do with you. If I don¡¯t teach the person who had the guts to offend me a hard lesson, he won¡¯t learn that there are some people in the Endless Ocean that he cannot afford to mess with.¡±

    Grina did not give Elder Zumar a chance to make peace, and instead made his decision to go against the Tower of Dusk clear. Thus, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t say what he had prepared to, and had no choice but to turn to the Tower of Dusk. He said, ¡°My dear friends of the Tower of Dusk, can anyone tell me what is going on here?¡±

 Chapter 1219 - Reverse Sanctuary-realm

    <h4>Chapter 1219: Reverse Sanctuary-realm</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    On the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side, Dorick, the deputy head of the Mage Legion, was about to tell Elder Zumar the reason for the conflict, but Connoris red at him to stop him. Immediately afterwards, Connoris turned to look at Elder Zumar, and smilingly said, ¡°Elder Zumar, you don¡¯t have to care about this. We happen to want to see just how capable the Giant Shark n is to have the audacity to say that all beings of the Endless Ocean should obey them.¡±

    Although Connoris was once an ancient demon deity who was a master of deceit and conspiracy, he now possessed a powerful and perfect body. If he wanted to reach the Sanctuary-realm, he would have to hone his skills through battles in addition toprehension. Hence, Connoris no longer avoided battles, and instead yearned to have more of them.

    Before following Lin Li to the cursednd, he had indeed encountered a lot of battles, but they were of too high a level for Connoris to participate in. The power of the incarnation of the Serpents of Light and the demigod High Priest Poer were far greater than his, so he couldn¡¯t quite sharpen his skills by fighting with them.

    Fortunately, Lin Li caught two Light-Winged Angels, and gave them to Connoris for research, which concluded his trip fruitfully. However, the Light-Winged Angels were life forms that could be created only by gods. Connoris was not even in the Sanctuary-realm yet, so it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him toprehend anything out of them.

    Hence, honing his skills and abilities through battles was still very important to Connoris as it was one of the most feasible ways that he could use to reach the Sanctuary-realm. In Connoris¡¯ opinion, the Giant Shark n was a good opponent. For the sake of stepping into the Sanctuary-realm, Connoris didn¡¯t bother to think about what consequences it would cause.

    In Connoris¡¯ opinion, how to deal with the ensuing consequences that might include the retaliation of the Giant Shark n or a war was for Lin Li to consider. Since Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried now, there was naturally no need for Connoris to be afraid of causing any trouble.

    Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but feel vexed and dismayed to have failed to persuade either party. Fortunately, his disciple Forcus approached at this juncture, and told Elder Zumar softly about everything that he had found out from the onlookers.

    The Giant Shark n, one of the seven overlords of the ocean, and the Tower of Dusk, which had recently be a household name in the Gilded Kingdom, were significant enough to be able to garner attention from the people for every little thing they did. Besides, they were now going toe-to-toe against each other. Hence, there had long been many onlookers crowding around the embassy, and they were naturally aware of what happened since the beginning.

    After listening to Forcus¡¯ words, Elder Zumar finally figured out why the Giant Shark n suddenly confronted the Tower of Dusk. However, learning of the reason actually made him find the problem trickier and the situation harder to handle because unlike a minor conflict that could be resolved with some persuasion, it was something more serious.

    Being a member of high status in the Illuminati, Elder Zumar more or less knew why Grina was insistent on having those seahorse ves.

    Since the great ocean war¡¯s end, the Giant Shark n had been going around capturing seahorse ves at all costs. Everyone knew that there was nothing extraordinary about the strength of the seahorse ves, very few among which could reach the Legendary-realm. If the Giant Shark n just wanted to capture some ves for hardbor, it didn¡¯t seem necessary to insist on picking the seahorse ves.

    Hence, many forces that had been paying attention to the Giant Shark n, including the Illuminati, had a conjecture about the Giant Shark n¡¯s peculiar behavior regarding the seahorse ves. They believed that they had likely gone to great lengths to capture the seahorse ves for the sale of the relics of the former Seahorse Royals to obtain their powerful secrets.

    Although there were many forces that also tried to capture some seahorse ves in hopes of finding out something from them, the research results were a huge disappointment to them. The reason that most of the seahorse ves could not reach the Legendary-realm was purely because theycked talent, just like the other ns that could not reach the Legendary-realm.

    However, while countless people of the human race and other intelligent races failed to enter the Legendary-realm, there were also many geniuses that continued to appear, yet there seemed to be no geniuses in the Seahorse n. If those who couldn¡¯t reach the Legendary-realm were considered wastrels, the Seahorse n would be aplete good-for-nothing.

    However, the Giant Shark n had obtained thergest slice of the pie during the ocean war, and no one knew what secrets they held. Perhaps there were some secrets about the royals of the Seahorse n. Otherwise, there was no way they could exin their attitude towards the Seahorse n.

    Therefore, regardless of whether there were secrets or not, and regardless of what the secrets were, Elder Zumar was certain about one thing: it would be a Herculean task to make Grina give up on the idea of acquiring the seahorse ves.

    <i>Can I try to persuade President Felic of the Tower of Dusk to give up those seahorse ves that he has already bought?</i> At this point, Elder Zumar felt even more vexed. If it were someone else, he might be somewhat confident, but Lin Li was an exception.

    Look at what Lin Li did after he came to the Gilded Kingdom! In a fit of rage, he destroyed the Fifth Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, and not long after that, he razed the barracks of the kingdom¡¯s royal guards to the ground. That was a huge insult to the Gilded Kingdom. Elder Zumar could tell from those two incidents that Lin Li was definitely not the type who would be willing to give in easily, especially when the other party wanted to do things the hard way. Lin Li would definitely be more insistent and vehement than the other party in those cases.

    ¡°My friends from the Tower of Dusk, could you ask President Felic toe out for us to have a good talk? They¡¯re just some ves, there¡¯s no need to get into such a huge conflict because of this.¡± Although Elder Zumar knew that the situation was difficult to handle, he couldn¡¯t just ignore it. Hence, he merely hoped that Lin Li woulde out for his sake.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, you don¡¯t have to go on. I know what you want to say, and I can answer on Felic¡¯s behalf. He has spent his money on those seahorse ves, so they¡¯re his rightful property. If you want those ves, you have to either have some ties with him or have enough power. I doubt any of those Giant Shark n members have either of those two qualities. So, I¡¯m afraid they can forget about it.¡± Connoris was bent on getting physical with the Giant Shark n, and thus he was obviously full of contempt towards the Giant Shark n when speaking about them. Of course, he wasn¡¯t simply taking matters into his own hands, but rather he knew that Lin Li didn¡¯t respect the Giant Shark n at all. Otherwise, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have been unwilling to see them. In that case, it meant that there was no room for negotiation.

    As expected, after hearing the words of Connoris, the people of the Giant Shark n lost their temper. One of the Four Divine Generals, Zorro, took two steps past Elder Zumar, and tried to punch Connoris. He furiously hollered, ¡°You¡¯re just a Legendary-level ant, and yet you dare to speak so shamelessly. In this case, we¡¯ll show you if the Giant Shark n has the ability or not!¡±

    Connoris¡¯ strength was only at the peak of the Legendary level, and the people around them could clearly tell that Zorro, who was one of the Four Divine Generals, was a level-27 Sanctuary powerhouse. The two of them were definitely worlds apart. When Zorro struck, the people around almost immediately guessed that the Legendary powerhouse of the Tower of Dusk was definitely going to be blown to pieces.

    Elder Zumar was horrified, and he was torn between watching Connoris get killed and intervening to block Zorro¡¯s attack. All of a sudden, he was at a loss for what to do. If Connoris, a member of the Tower of Dusk, was killed, Lin Li would definitely go to war with the Giant Shark n given his character. However, if Elder Zumar were to block Zorro¡¯s strike, the Giant Shark n would definitely hate him and the Illuminati, and that would be giving the Illuminati a powerful enemy for no reason.

    All in all, Elder Zumar had seen how Connoris attacked back in thend of curses, and although he had a certain understanding of Connoris¡¯ strength, he didn¡¯t think that Connoris was strong enough to contend with Zorro, a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    In fact, Zorro¡¯s punch was indeed not simple at all. The fluctuations emitted from the Laws of the power even allowed a ferocious ancient Giant Shark to be condensed in thin air. It opened itsrge mouth, and pounced on Connoris.

    Despite considering the fact that they were now on the turf of the Gilded Kingdom, Zorro didn¡¯t use any destructive martial arts techniques, and instead just condensed his power, and struck with his fist. However, his power was definitely not something that a Legendary-level powerhouse could resist. The n he had in mind was that he would st the embassy of the Tower of Dusk into pieces after killing the nobody with a single punch, and force Felic to appear.

    ¡°Hey, hey, this guy is mine!¡± Faced with the punch that Zorrounched, Connoris remained calm without showing a single trace of horror. Instead, he even seemed a little joyous. He was saying those words to Norfeller, who had already merged into space. Having finally found such an opponent like Zorro, Connoris didn¡¯t want Zorro to be pressured into retreating by Norfeller¡¯s assassination.

    Although Norfeller was usually cold and aloof, he wasn¡¯t unkind and inhumane, especially since Connoris was on his side. Hence, after hearing Connoris¡¯ words, Norfeller did not make a single move or strike at Zorro. Instead, he locked his killing intent on the other people of the Giant Shark n. As for whether Connoris could withstand the attack of a Sanctuary powerhouse, it was not something that was within his consideration. Even if Connoris got killed, he¡¯d purely bring it upon himself.

    On the other hand, since Connoris dared to confront and challenge a Sanctuary powerhouse, he naturally also had something to fall back on. Although in terms of level, he and Zorro of the Giant Shark n were worlds apart, his perfect body allowed his strength to far surpass that of the people who were at the peak of the Legendary-realm.

    In fact, this perfect body itself was at the Sanctuary-realm. How could Highlord Osric have possibly provided a Legendary-level body for himself? However, Connoris still hadn¡¯t been able to fully exert the power of the perfect body. Otherwise, he would have long reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, in the face of the punchunched by Zorro the Sanctuary powerhouse, Connoris didn¡¯t even bother to take out the Eternal Frost de, and instead punched him back. He wasn¡¯t as formidable as Zorro, and he looked like an ordinary person swinging his fist. In the eyes of everyone else, he was just like a praying mantis swinging its scythes at an ancient beast.

    In an instant, their fists collided, and the scene that appeared in front of everyone was that of a rtively thin person¡¯s fistnding on the Giant Shark¡¯srge mouth. Everyone thought that Connoris should be getting swallowed by the Giant Shark¡¯s mouth and chewed into bits. However, the stranger thing was that a few seconds passed, and the two of them, whose strength was obviously worlds apart, seemed to have reached a stalemate.

    Immediately afterwards, a sight that made them even more bbergasted appeared. Large cracks suddenly appeared from the spot that Connoris¡¯s and Zorro¡¯s fist collided, and quickly spread out towards its body. At this moment, the loud sound of the explosion spread to the ears of the crowd who watched as the Giant Shark¡¯s phantom burst like a fragile bubble. Zorro, one of the famous Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n, was suddenly sted away.

    Even Elder Zumar, who was still hesitant, was so stunned that his jaw dropped and remained wide open for a long time. Connoris, who was only at the peak of the Legendary-realm, actually sted away a Sanctuary powerhouse. <i>Why is the Tower of Dusk full of such perverse monsters?! The young president, who stepped into the Sanctuary-realm a long time ago, could even resist the attacksunched by a demigod. There¡¯s also that vampire that went against thews ofmon sense, and became an unprecedented Sanctuary-level vampire. Now, Connoris, who should be rtively ordinary, was actually able to st away a Sanctuary powerhouse despite being only at the peak of the Legendary-level. Is there anything that the Tower of Dusk cannot do?</i>

    Among everyone, the one who was the most astonished and bewildered was Zorro, who had personally experienced the power of Connoris. If thetter had been at the same level as him, Zorro would still have been able tofort himself. After all, he didn¡¯t really exert the power of the Sanctuary-realm to the fullest. However, the problem was that Connoris was only at the peak of the Legendary-level, and was an ant in the eyes of the Sanctuary powerhouses! If Zorro hadn¡¯t experienced it himself, he would have never believed that such an absurd thing could be true.

    Finally, the group of the Giant Shark n, too, realized what an unbelievable thing had happened. Garcia, who was also one of the Four Divine Generals, immediately emitted the might of the Sanctuary-realm. Terrifying power condensed in his hands immediately, and he was about to unleash a destructive attack on Connoris.

    However, at this juncture, a cold light appeared out of nowhere in front of Garcia¡¯s chest before piercing right through his heart. It appeared without warning, and the killing intent that had previously been fixed on Garcia remained unchanged too.

 Chapter 1220 - Mediation

    <h4>Chapter 1220: Mediation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Immediately afterwards, a sanguine light appeared, and a bloodied hole emerged in Garcia¡¯s chest. Garcia put his hands together in a bid to st away the enemy in front of him, only to end up missing. Norfeller, who had fused with the space, had already retreated God knew where.

    Fortunately, unlike the human race, the hearts of the Sea n were located in the center of their bodies, slightly below their throat. Although Norfeller was a Sanctuary-level Assassin, he clearly didn¡¯t understand the physical structure of the Sea ns very well, so he assassinated him as he would humans. In the end, he merely poked a hole in Garcia¡¯s body.

    Unlike the Sanctuary-level mages, powerhouses of the Giant Shark n like Garcia used their strong bodies and their mastery of thews of power to reach the Sanctuary-realm. They couldn¡¯t createrge and powerful Domain Worlds like mages could, but their bodies themselves were like Domain Worlds.

    Hence, for Sanctuary powerhouses like Garcia who had already reached level-27, being stabbed and having a hole born in their chests would be considered a minor injury as long as their heads or hearts were not destroyed. Having their limbs severed wouldn¡¯t be fatal for them, because their limbs had the ability to regenerate rather rapidly.

    However, the issue now was not about the severity of their injuries! Garcia was stabbed in the chest by a sword before he could even attack, which was a tant insult to his face. If he had been stabbed from behind or somewhere that was impossible to defend, he might feel somewhatforted. The fact that he couldn¡¯t even defend himself against an attack that came from the front was too embarrassing.

    Zorro, who had been sted away by Connoris, was feeling just as ashamed and miserable, even though he didn¡¯t sustain any injuries. At the very least, Garcia¡¯s opponent was a rare Sanctuary-level vampire. However, Zorro was sted away by the punch of a Legendary-level opponent, which made him feel more humiliated than Garcia.

    Hence, afternding firmly on the ground, Zorro did not stop for a single second, and immediately charged towards Connoris again. He wasn¡¯t convinced that Connoris was stronger than him, and he believed that the reason for the current situation was merely because he had underestimated Connoris. Hence, the only way he could regain his pride would be to destroy Connoris with massive power.

    In a certain sense, Zorro¡¯s mindset was right. The difference between the peak Legendary-realm and the Sanctuary-realm was a difference in power which could not be made up for by increasing quantity. However, he probably never expected Connoris to be a freak who was at the Legendary-realm but had a perfect body that was at the Sanctuary-level. Besides, his perfect body was evenparable to that of the wyrms and the Titans. The Giant Shark n had powerful bodies, but they seemed inferior to the perfect body.

    Connoris¡¯ situation was akin to a Titan-level Alchemy Colossus being manipted by a greenhorn. Although the controller¡¯s skills had not reached the level of perfection yet, it wouldn¡¯t affect the level of the Titan-level Alchemy Colossus. Even if the Alchemy Colossus couldn¡¯t be used to perform any fancy tricks, each punch that itunched was at the level of the Titans. That was the reason that Connoris could fight a Sanctuary powerhouse despite being only at the Legendary-level.

    Seeing that Zorro rushed forth again, Connoris smiled and dashed towards the former like a bolt of lighting. In the blink of an eye, their figures collided with a thunderous roar that filled the air. Amidst the dense roar, the aftershocks of power rippled through space and spread in all directions like ripples on water.

    Even the blind could tell that it was no longer just probing. Zorro¡¯s punches contained so much power that they seemed to be able to break through space. The ancient Giant Shark condensed from the power fluctuations began twisting its body, and leapt onto Connoris vigorously like a shark that had smelled the odor of blood.

    The battle had already begun, and the people of the Giant Shark n below naturally couldn¡¯t stand by and watch without doing anything like they did just now. In particr, they were really shocked by what happened to Garcia and Zorro because it made them realize that the small and nameless force could not be dealt with as easily as they had imagined.

    Seeing that two of the Four Divine Generals had been attacked by the members of the Tower of Dusk, the arrogant and snobbish Grina immediately felt his face turning hot. Just now, he threatened them, and said that he would make sure that they couldn¡¯t leave the Endless Ocean alive. Yet, his Divine Generals couldn¡¯t even defeat the other party. Although he wasn¡¯t the one at a disadvantage, it was just like an insult to him.

    However, just when Grina signaled his men to prepare for action, the killing intent that shrouded all the Giant Shark n members suddenly vanished without a trace. They didn¡¯t rx or let their guards down. Instead, they tensed up even more, and protected Grina by standing around him.

    They all knew that the appearance of that killing intent was just a warning from Norfeller, the Sanctuary-realm vampire. However, the disappearance of the killing intent didn¡¯t mean that they were no longer in danger, because assassins tended to conceal their killing intent right before they attacked. If the killing intent could be detected, they wouldn¡¯t be considered true assassins.

    Although Grina and many of his subordinates were enraged, and really wanted to kill the people of the Tower of Dusk, they had no choice but to curb their anger in the face of the threat of a Sanctuary-level vampire.

    Seeing that Connoris and Zorro were fighting, Elder Zumar knew that if he didn¡¯t intervene and do something about it, there would probably be huge trouble. Hence, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and open his Domain World before rushing up to the sky and stopping between Zorro and Connoris. Elder Zumar¡¯s intervention was so abrupt that it caught Zorro and Connoris off guard. Two terrifying forces immediately sted against his Domain World.

    Although Elder Zumar was also a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, he had a hard time withstanding the simultaneous attack from Zorro and Connoris. His Domain World was an oceanic world, and it seemed to have been turned upside down after being bombarded by both the forces at the same time. It resulted in an apocalyptic scene of space shattering and water gushing in.

    In Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World, a blue crystal pir quickly began rotating rapidly, emittingyers of power that was quickly repairing the damage of the Domain World. Fortunately, Zorro and Connoris also coincidentally stopped at this juncture. Otherwise, even with the help of the Divine Sea Pir, Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World probably would have copsed in the end.

    ¡°Everyone, please listen to me, don¡¯t forget that this is the capital of the Gilded Kingdom. Fighting here is very disrespectful to the Gilded Kingdom!¡± Elder Zumar said anxiously after seeing that the two people had finally stopped fighting for the time being. However, both of them started fighting again before he could even finish speaking.

    Hearing Elder Zumar mention the Gilded Kingdom, Grina couldn¡¯t help but frown. Although the Giant Shark n was one of the seven hegemons of the Endless Ocean, it didn¡¯t mean that they could really do whatever they wanted in the Endless Ocean. After all, the Giant Shark n was not the ruler of the entire Endless Ocean.

    The Giant Shark n was very powerful, but the Gilded Kingdom definitely wasn¡¯t weak. The Gilded Kingdom managed to dominate and stand tall in the Endless Ocean for thousands of years all because of their true power and strength. The Giant Shark n had powerful Giant Shark Knights, while the Gilded Kingdom had giant alchemical battleships that gained a great reputation through dominating the Endless Ocean. They were not inferior to the Giant Shark Knights at all.

    The most important thing was that the Gilded Kingdom had been staying out of the wars between the Sea ns, which allowed the seven Sea ns to strike a subtle bnce. If the Gilded Kingdom opposed the Giant Shark n, it would definitely have a huge impact on the development of thetter. Likewise, if they became allies with the Giant Shark n, the Giant Shark n would probably be a huge step closer to unifying the Sea ns.

    Grina and his men came to attend the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration in hopes of getting closer to the Gilded Kingdom so that they could reach some kind of agreement. If they created any trouble in the capital of the Gilded Kingdom this time, Grina¡¯s mission would probably be greatly affected this time.

    However, when the four Divine Generals were hesitating, Grinaughed out loud, and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you have an ulterior motive for saying this, don¡¯t you, Elder Zumar? I¡¯ve heard about the conflict between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. Bradlor would probably want us to teach the Tower of Dusk a lesson for him. Besides, you are an elder of the Illuminati, not an elder of the Gilded Kingdom, so how can your words represent the Gilded Kingdom?¡±

    Grina was wavering at first, but he soon thought of the information regarding the Tower of Dusk shaming the Gilded Kingdom twice he heard previously. Regardless of the reason for Bradlor¡¯s decision to tolerate it for the time being, Grina believed that Bradlor would probably be d if he taught the Tower of Dusk a lesson. It might even be more helpful to his mission on this trip instead.

    Elder Zumar was at a loss for words. He would never tell anyone the real reason that the Gilded Kingdom was being tolerant towards the Tower of Dusk, and his identity indeed did not give him the right to represent the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, Elder Zumar actually didn¡¯t know what to say in response to Grina¡¯s words.

    Seeing Elder Zumar¡¯s behavior, Grina was even more convinced that his conjectures were true. He waved his hand and asked his men tounch an attack on the people of the Tower of Dusk. Two Divine Generals had to stay by his side to protect him, but he had many other Legendary-level guards. Coupled with Sanctuary powerhouses like Zorro and Garcia, they could easily destroy a small and nameless force!

    After all, although Zorro and Garcia had suffered some losses, it only concerned their pride. It didn¡¯t mean that Connoris and Norfeller were really stronger than them. Besides, now that Zorro and Garcia should be aware of their opponents¡¯ strength, they should have no problems in the next sh.

    Apart from the two Divine Generals who remained by Grina¡¯s side to protect him, the other Legendary-level guards immediately moved towards the embassy of the Tower of Dusk after receiving Grina¡¯s orders. In their eyes, other than Connoris and Norfeller, who seemed to have some capabilities, the members of the Tower of Dusk were simply insignificant.

    Faced with thepulsion of the approaching Giant Shark n members, the mages of the Tower of Dusk quietly drew their magic staffs without much emotion, and arranged the Magic Net Array. They then got into standby. Although Ujfalusi did not summon the Hand of The Mage, he didn¡¯t loaf around, either, and instead touched the Skeleton Staff while the death aura around him gradually became denser.

    Seeing that more trouble was about to happen, Elder Zumar suddenly had a sh of inspiration, and eximed, ¡°Wait, Prince Grina, this is the capital of the Gilded Kingdom no matter what, and all matters should be handled by the Gilded Kingdom. Since I can¡¯t represent the Gilded Kingdom, I¡¯ll ask someone who can represent the Gilded Kingdom toe here.¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Although he was skeptical about Elder Zumar¡¯s words, Grina nevertheless temporarily told his subordinates to stop. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe Elder Zumar¡¯s words, but rather he thought that Elder Zumar did make some sense because he ought to inform someone from the Gilded Kingdom even though he might be standing up for them. Although he just wanted to vent his anger, it would be great if he could gain some benefits from this too.

    Seeing that Grina seemed to have finally epted his advice, Elder Zumar immediately summoned his disciple, Forcus, and instructed him to go to the royal pce immediately, and report to King Bradlor about what happened here.

    In fact, Forcus didn¡¯t think that Bradlor would still stand on the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side after being humiliated by them twice. After all, he didn¡¯t have the right to know the true reason for Bradlor¡¯s tolerance for the Tower of Dusk. However, since Elder Zumar had instructed him to do that, he had no choice but to do as he was told.

    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± Forcus answered, and immediately headed to the pce.

    The embassy area was not far from the pce, and Forcus didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. Hence, it only took him a few minutes to reach the gate of the pce. Immediately afterwards, the guards went to report, and Forcus was soon brought to King Bradlor under the lead of the pce guards.

    After a detailed discussion with Saint Edmund, Bradlor¡¯s attitude toward the Tower of Dusk had also changed dramatically. Previously, he had pretended to hold the Tower of Dusk with great respect when receiving them and the other forces of the Breezy ins, all for the sake of avoiding conflict. However, he hadn¡¯t really taken them seriously at all.

    However, King Bradlor was now considering how to form good rtions with the Tower of Dusk. Unfortunately, the two incidents had put a strain on the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. Bradlor would never swallow his pride and curry favor with Lin Li. Hence, building good rtions with the Tower of Dusk had be one of his greatest troubles.

 Chapter 1221 - The Intervention Of The Prince

    <h4>Chapter 1221: The Intervention Of The Prince</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Hence, after hearing his subordinates report that Forcus wanted to see him regarding something about the Tower of Dusk, Bradlor immediately dropped the beloved art piece in his hands, and asked Forcus to take him there.

    ¡°Your Majesty, Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, has gotten into a conflict with the people of the Tower of Dusk. Teacher failed to persuade them, so he sent me to ask you for help, Your Majesty.¡± As soon as he saw King Bradlor, Forcus saluted, and told him about everything that happened in the Tower of Dusk.

    <i>What? Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, had a conflict with Felic of the Tower of Dusk?!</i> Bradlor was bbergasted to hear the news. Neither Grina nor Lin Li could be convinced easily. Grina was backed by the Giant Shark n, which was one of the seven hegemons of the Endless Ocean, while Felic had already shown his prowess to the Gilded Kingdom. Both of them were strong-headed, and now that they had gotten into a conflict, it was inevitable that Bradlor would have to offend one of them by asking them topromise.

    ¡°Did Elder Zumar¡¯s persuasion not work at all?¡± Bradlor asked with a tinge of hope. If possible, he wouldn¡¯t be willing to get involved, and it would be best if the Illuminati could just go on his behalf. However, he knew how unrealistic his idea was because Forcus had alreadye looking for him, which clearly meant that Elder Zumar clearly couldn¡¯t handle the matter.

    Indeed, Forcus shook his head with a helpless expression, and eagerly said, ¡°Your Majesty, you should know that there¡¯s no way Teacher can convince them. He just wants both parties to stop fighting. So, Your Majesty, please think of a solution as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the situation goes out of control, they will really get into a brutal fight!¡±

    There were Sanctuary powerhouses in both the Giant Shark n and the Tower of Dusk. If they really went all out and fought, the aftershocks alone would be enough to destroy arge city. Of course, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom could not be destroyed so easily. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to dominate the Endless Ocean for so many years. However, even then, there was no way the shing parties could be given the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Otherwise, the Gilded Kingdom would be greatly embarrassed.

    Hence, the Gilded Kingdom had to intervene. Otherwise, they would only be insulted again. However, King Bradlor was faced with a difficult choice again, and it was almost impossible to stay in a neutral position because that would offend both parties. Hence, he had to pick a side to stand on. He would either offend Grina of the Giant Shark n or Felic of the Tower of Dusk.

    If it had been before the two incidents, Bradlor would have definitely chosen to stand on the Giant Shark n¡¯s side. After all, the Tower of Dusk was only one of the forces in the Breezy ins, while the Giant Shark n was one of the hegemons of the Endless Ocean. Inparison, the Giant Shark n could obviously bring more benefits to the Gilded Kingdom, and the Tower of Dusk couldn¡¯tpare to them in that aspect. However, things were different now. After receiving Saint Edmund¡¯s admonition, Bradlor no longer saw Lin Li as a simple person.

    ¡°Someone!¡± Bradlor quickly came to a decision, and when the person who had been summoned entered, he said, ¡°Quick, go ask Prince Monterey toe here.¡±

    Prince Monterey was Bradlor¡¯s younger brother, who had always been known as a genius since he¡¯d been a child. Not only was he talented in magic, he was good at handling politics too. After Bradlor ascended the throne, Monterey contributed greatly to stabilizing the country and helping the people develop.

    In the royal court of the Gilded Kingdom, Monterey was on equal ground with the Third Chancellor, who helped Bradlor reach a bnce with the foreign officials led by the ministers. Hence, in Bradlor¡¯s heart, Prince Monterey had always been trustworthy and the person who made him feel at ease the most.

    Previously, Prince Monterey had been patrolling the other sea areas of the Gilded Kingdom, and had only returned to the capital in the past two days. After all, as a prince, he couldn¡¯t miss the kingdom¡¯s founding celebration regardless of how busy he might be.

    Bradlor told Monterey about the matter regarding the Tower of Dusk a long time ago, including Saint Edmund¡¯s stand. Hence, Monterey was well aware of what attitude the Gilded Kingdom should have toward the Tower of Dusk. Monterey prioritized the interests of the royal family, while the foreign ministers who were led by the two chancellors put the interests of their respective families first. That was precisely the reason that Bradlor approached Prince Monterey, and not the two chancellors.

    In front of the gates of the embassy of the Tower of Dusk in the embassy area, the members of the Tower of Dusk and the Giant Shark n were still on standby, ready to fight, while Elder Zumar was standing in the middle of the two sides with his Domain World still open. He seemed to be getting ready to deal with a conflict that could erupt at any time, and he looked more nervous than them.

    Forcus had been away for less than 10 minutes, but Elder Zumar felt that each and every second was passing very slowly. At the same time, he didn¡¯t feel any less worried, as he was afraid that Bradlor would send someone unreliable. He knew very well that after the previous incident regarding the royal guards, most of the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom had developed animosity towards the Tower of Dusk. If Bradlor really sent a person like that, the matter would probably get worse.

    While Elder Zumar was panicking alone, the people of the Tower of Dusk and the Giant Shark n remained still because they didn¡¯t care what good intentions Elder Zumar had. Anyway, neither of them wouldpromise. Although they didn¡¯t do anything on the surface for Elder Zumar¡¯s sake, they were arguing with each other, especially the Giant Shark n that was desperately trying to regain their pride.

    Finally, when everyone was getting a little impatient, they heard the sounds of neat footstepsing from the direction of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s royal pce. A team of royal guards made a turn at the end of the street, and walked over uniformly. The royal guards wereposed of infantry guards and cavalrymen, each possessing strength that was above level-15. The ones tagging along at the back were the teams of Sword Sages and Legendary-mages.

    After the royal guards came over, they immediately stood in between the Giant Shark n and the Tower of Dusk like Elder Zumar. Surrounded by the Sword Sages and Legendary-mages, Prince Monterey walked towards Elder Zumar.

    ¡°Prince Monterey, I¡¯m relieved and at ease that His Majesty has sent you,¡± said Elder Zumar, who finally heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the visitor was Prince Monterey.

    Prince Monterey was in his early forties, and his blond hair wasbed neatly. Although he wasn¡¯t very tall, he exuded a dignified and stern aura. Hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s words, he smiled and nodded. ¡°Elder Zumar, please leave the rest to me.¡±

    Although Elder Zumar had long wanted to leave this ce, he was no longer in a hurry now that Prince Monterey took over. Besides, he also wanted to see how Prince Monterey would handle the matter. If it was different from what he thought, he would have to get involved again.

    Seeing that Prince Monterey had arrived, Grina restrained his arrogance a bit, and said, ¡°Prince Monterey, this matter is between us and the Tower of Dusk, it has nothing to do with the Gilded Kingdom. However, considering that this is the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, I think we should inform you beforehand. If we cause any lossester, the Giant Shark n will definitelypensate you for it.¡±

    What Grina meant was very simple. He wanted to solve the problem on the turf of the Gilded Kingdom, and wanted Prince Monterey to bear witness. Should they end up causing any damages, they wouldpensate them for it afterwards. He obviously didn¡¯t think that the people of the Gilded Kingdom were there to stop him. After all, the Gilded Kingdom had suffered a lot of losses because of the Tower of Dusk, so he made a decision on their behalf without seeking Prince Monterey¡¯s opinion.

    Prince Monterey, who had just greeted Elder Zumar, turned around after hearing Grina¡¯s words, and said, ¡°Prince Grina, I¡¯ve already gained an understanding of this matter. Since President Felic bought those seahorse ves first, he has the right to do anything he wants with them. It seems a bit inappropriate for you to forcefully demand that the seahorse ves be given to you.¡±

    Prince Monterey¡¯s words made all the people of the Giant Shark n freeze in shock, while Grina couldn¡¯t believe his ears at all. ¡°What? Prince Monterey, do you mean I¡¯m at fault?¡±

    The Giant Shark n felt that they were obviously superior to the Tower of Dusk. <i>Is Prince Monterey out of his mind? How can he offend the Prince of the Giant Shark n for the sake of defending the Tower of Dusk? Did Prince Monterey, who has always had a good reputation, receive some benefits from the Tower of Dusk, so he¡¯s willing to harm the interests of the Gilded Kingdom?</i>

    In fact, not to mention the Giant Shark n, even the royal guards who followed Prince Monterey over were also puzzled by Prince Monterey¡¯s behavior. They initially thought that they were going to deal with the Tower of Dusk and teach them a lesson for what they had done previously together with the Giant Shark n. However, no one expected Prince Monterey to defend the person whom the Gilded Kingdom should be hating the most at the expense of offending the prince of the Giant Shark n.

    On the contrary, Elder Zumar finally heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Prince Monterey¡¯s words. If Prince Monterey tried to take this opportunity to restore the lost pride of the Gilded Kingdom like the war-supporting ministers wanted to, Elder Zumar would have no choice but to ask Saint Edmund to intervene.

    The expressions of the people of the Tower of Dusk remained unchanged, as if Prince Monterey was doing what was rightfully expected of him. In their opinion, even if the Gilded Kingdom did note forward, they wouldn¡¯t possibly suffer big losses. In that case, Prince Monterey¡¯s approach was quite insignificant to them.

    However, Connoris, who had just been through an intense battle, immediately looked displeased. Of course, although Connoris would like to fight with the Giant Shark n, he wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person, after all. Even if things didn¡¯t go his way, he wouldn¡¯t say much.

    After all, the Tower of Dusk could be fearless facing provocation and going to war, but they wouldn¡¯t do something so unreasonable as creating trouble out of nothing even if they were vengeful. At the end of the day, the previous two incidents arose because the Gilded Kingdom was at fault, and Lin Li merely resolved the issue based on his own wishes. Now, the Gilded Kingdom was obviously being biased towards the Tower of Dusk, and although the members of the Tower of Dusk felt that it was a little unnecessary, they wouldn¡¯t me them for it.

    Hence, Connorisnded back on the ground, and stared at the people of the Giant Shark n coldly with folded arms. Despite feeling displeased, he didn¡¯t say anything provocative anymore. Norfeller was still hidden in the space, and didn¡¯t show up at this time or show a single trace of killing intent. Who knew if the prince of the Giant Shark n would let the matter rest for the sake of the Gilded Kingdom or not. They might still have a fight at the end of the day.

    At this moment, Prince Monterey was ring at Grina, who was quite angered. With a smile, the former said, ¡°Prince Grina, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯ve done something wrong. Everyone knows that the Giant Shark n has always been straightforward, and will do whatever they want spontaneously. Unlike us, you don¡¯t beat around the bush all the time. However, this is not the Red Sea, and we have a proper code of conduct here. Since you guys are here as guests, please abide by our rules.¡±

    Although Prince Monterey¡¯s words were polite, and he sugarcoated the recklessness of the Giant Shark n as straightforwardness, he didn¡¯t give the Giant Shark n any leeway. Instead, he told them straight to follow the rules of the Gilded Kingdom. The Giant Shark n might be very powerful among the Sea ns, but the Gilded Kingdom was not to be controlled by others. In terms of strength, they might not be inferior to the Giant Shark n. Hence, Prince Monterey was not afraid of angering them.

    Grina might be arrogant, but he wasn¡¯t a fool, so he could naturally tell what Prince Monterey meant. He kept his beady eyes fixed on Prince Monterey with a cold gaze, and hostilely said, ¡°Prince Monterey, does King Bradlor know that you¡¯re here?¡±

    Grina also suspected that Prince Monterey might have received some benefits from the Tower of Dusk because there was no other reason to exin his behavior. The Gilded Kingdom had suffered lots of losses because of the Tower of Dusk, and got humiliated by them thoroughly. Yet, they were holding themselves cheap by defending the Tower of Dusk.

    Prince Monterey was not angered by Grina¡¯s suspicions, and he still looked as noble as ever. He calmly said, ¡°President Felic of the Tower of Dusk is a guest of the Gilded Kingdom. If our guests were offended, it¡¯d be our negligence as the hosts. So, Prince Grina, please don¡¯t make things hard for us. If you have any objections, you mayin to His Majesty, but please leave with your men for the time being

 Chapter 1222 - Riddance

    <h4>Chapter 1222: Riddance</h4>

    As Prince Monterey said that, the pce guards that came along with him also immediately got into formation to guard against the people of the Giant Shark n. Although Grina and the people of the Giant Shark n didn¡¯t take the strength of the pce guards seriously, they would bepletely falling out with the Gilded Kingdom if they fought thetter. No matter how arrogant Grina was, he had to consider the consequences. After all, he couldn¡¯t bepletely nonchnt about his rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom like Lin Li.

    ¡°Okay, Prince Monterey, I¡¯ll do you a favor today.¡± Grina was, of course, feeling indignant and reluctant because he had not only failed to obtain the seahorse ves, he even ended up embarrassing himself in public. There was no way he could stomach it easily. However, there was nothing he could do. Just as Prince Monterey said, they were on the turf of the Gilded Kingdom, and not in the Crimson Sea where the Giant Shark n was. The prince of the Giant Shark n was not the master here, so how could he really fall out with the Gilded Kingdom?

    However, Grina did not intend to just forget this matter. Since he couldn¡¯t convince Prince Monterey, he could go straight to King Bradlor, and talk to him about this matter. The Giant Shark n needed the Gilded Kingdom as an ally and vice versa. Grina believed that Bradlor wouldn¡¯t choose to give up the friendly rtions between the kingdom and the Giant Shark n for the sake of the tiny Tower of Dusk!

    Grina looked at the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk, and then at the embassy of the Tower of Dusk in the back. Although the prince didn¡¯t get to meet Lin Li this time, he had obviously formed a grudge against thetter. It was no longer an issue of the seahorse ves, but rather it concerned the pride of the Giant Shark n. Grina was the prince of the Giant Shark n. Yet, he and two of his Divine Generals were put to shame by the Tower of Dusk. That was not a feud that could be resolved easily.

    Prince Monterey was actually feeling quite helpless because he had long heard about how difficult President Felic of the Tower of Dusk was to deal with, and this time, he really had a taste of it himself. In any case, Grina was still the prince of the Giant Shark n, and regardless of the reason he insisted on having the seahorse ves, Prince Monterey felt that there was no need for Lin Li to refuse to see Grina at all.

    The fact that Lin Li refused to meet Grina was already extremely disrespectful, let alone getting his subordinates to stop the Giant Shark n from entering. <i>President Felic first embarrassed the Gilded Kingdom, and now he¡¯s doing the same to the Giant Shark n. He must be good at this.</i>

    After humphing coldly, Grina left the embassy of the Tower of Dusk with his subordinates. He decided that he would first head to the pce Gilded Kingdom to confirm with Bradlor if his stand was the same as Monterey¡¯s. If Monterey was just taking things into his own hands, Grina wouldn¡¯t mind making Monterey his enemy too.

    After all the people of the Giant Shark n left, Monterey turned to the people of the Tower of Dusk, and said to Connoris and the others, ¡°I originally wanted to meet your president, but it seems that he should be very busy. In this case, I won¡¯t trouble you.¡±

    Although Monterey resolved the matter for the Tower of Dusk, he also bore great resentment towards Lin Li. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t been so adamant, the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t have been forced to make such a tough choice.

    They were just some seahorse ves, and the forces of the Endless Ocean had been researching the former for years. Yet, those researching still didn¡¯te to a conclusion, and they didn¡¯t know what the ves could do for the Giant Shark n. Anyone would probably be willing to give up a bunch of useless ves to gain the favor of the Giant Shark n. However, Lin Li was unlike ordinary people because he would rather offend the Giant Shark n than swallow his pride.

    <i>What exactly is that President Felic thinking?!</i> Prince Monterey shook his head helplessly, and he was no longer in the mood to meet Lin Li, so he left the embassy area together with the pce guards.

    On the other hand, after Grina left the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, he took the Four Divine Generals with him to the pce of the Gilded Kingdom, and asked to see King Bradlor.

    After sending Prince Monterey over, Bradlor had been waiting in the pce for Monterey to inform him of the oue. When he heard the report from his subordinates that Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, had asked to see him, he knew that things should have ended as he had hoped. However, he soon felt troubled again. Although he no longer had to deal with the stubborn President Felic, Grina wasn¡¯t that easy to deal with, either.

    Of course, Bradlor couldn¡¯t refuse to meet Grina like Lin Li did. After all, the king¡¯s attitude represented the attitude of the Gilded Kingdom. Refusing to meet the prince of the Giant Shark n would be akin to dering war on the Giant Shark n.

    Besides, Bradlor knew that Grina had to be extremely displeased at this juncture, and needed him to think of a way to help him vent his dissatisfaction. Otherwise, it would have a bad impact on the rtionship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Giant Shark n.

    Soon, under the lead of the pce guards, Grina arrived in front of Bradlor alone. When Grina saw Bradlor, he bowed to him ording to diplomatic etiquette before eagerly asking, ¡°Your Majesty, there¡¯s something that I¡¯d like to ask you about, and I hope to get a clear answer from you. Did you give Prince Monterey the authority to do what he has done today? Is his stand representative of yours?¡±

    Grina¡¯s tone was a bit blunt, and he seemed to be questioning Bradlor as he asked if the other party had given Prince Monterey instructions to act that way today as soon as he met the king. In fact, he already had an answer after simmering down during the journey. However, that made him even more displeased as he thought that him going against the Tower of Dusk was considered standing up for the Gilded Kingdom, yet the Gilded Kingdom came over to stop him. He thought that they were really holding themselves cheap.

    Bradlor could naturally tell how resentful Grina was, but there was nothing he could do. He could only smile calmly, and gesture for Grina to sit down. He then said, ¡°Prince Grina, you¡¯re the prince of the Giant Shark n and their future leader. Your status is preventing you from doing whatever you want. I believe that you¡¯ve gained a slight understanding of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s power just now, but that¡¯s only a small portion of it.¡±

    ¡°So what? A mere Tower of Dusk can¡¯t do anything to me even if they go all out. I heard that the Tower of Dusk doesn¡¯t quite get along with the Gilded Kingdom, either. You may be able to tolerate their disrespectful attitude, or maybe you have other ns in mind, which I can¡¯t interfere with as an outsider. However, I can¡¯t tolerate the contempt that he has for the Giant Shark n. So, I hope you can give me an exnation as to why you allowed Prince Monterey to do that,¡± Grina said assertively with great displeasure as he revealed how the Tower of Dusk had been disrespectful to them.

    One should not rub salt into others¡¯ wounds and remind them of their unhappy past, but that was exactly what Grina was doing to Bradlor. Bradlor initially nned to persuade Grina not to provoke the Tower of Dusk, but he didn¡¯t expect Grina to be that ignorant. His face immediately became a little sullen, and he indifferently said, ¡°Prince Grina, you just need to know that I¡¯m doing this not for the Tower of Dusk, but for you! Okay, regardless of whether you understand my intentions or not, that¡¯s all I can say!¡±

    Bradlor¡¯s retort could be considered a cue for Grina to leave. After hearing those words, Grina immediately regretted his behavior, and when he heard that Bradlor no longer wanted to talk about this, he had no choice but to stand up and leave in displeasure.

    Grina did not believe that Bradlor was really helping him as the other party imed. However, he had some concerns, after all, so he didn¡¯t want to fall out with the Gilded Kingdom here. Even though the seahorse ves were very important to him, he couldn¡¯t reveal the reason why, so he could only let it go for now. However, he had already decided that once he had an opportunity to meet with the Tower of Dusk again, he would definitely settle scores with them.

    Grina left the pce in a huff, and was ready to take his subordinates back to the Red Sea Pce of the Giant Shark n, which was outside the city. However, before he could go far, he heard someone shouting at him. He turned around, only to see that it was Cantory, the elite of the younger generation of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Cantory was close to Harquess, the prince of the Octopus n who did not have much interaction with Grina. However, Grina had some ties with Cantory. In short, Cantory and Harquess didn¡¯t have many mutual friends, but there wasn¡¯t much conflict, either, because it was just making friends.

    Hence, although Grina was enraged, he nevertheless stopped and looked at Cantory. He said, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. Why don¡¯t I see you and that soft-bodied organism going round spilling ink today?¡±

    Grina was actually referring to Harquess and the Octopus n with that derogatory term. It was just like how the Octopus n called the Giant Shark n ¡°eyeless creatures¡± because of their beady eyes that didn¡¯t seem to match their tall and burly bodies.

    Drawing mageweaths was the forte of the Octopus n, who seemed to be the schrs of the Sea ns. On the other hand, the Giant Shark n dominated the sea because of their natural strength. Hence, they could be considered the martial artists of the Sea ns. Schrs and martial artists had always been rivals by nature, be it among humans or the Sea ns.

    Cantory smiled and ignored Grina¡¯s words. Instead, he walked towards him, and said, ¡°Grina, I¡¯ve heard about what happened today.¡±

    As soon as he heard Cantory¡¯s words, Grina¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. One should not insult others with something that would rake up their unhappy past. What happened today was quite humiliating for Grina, and now that Cantory suddenly mentioned this matter, it was tantly rubbing salt into his wound. Grina was extremely displeased when he left the pce today, and now his mood worsened. He immediately snapped, ¡°Cantory, are you here to make fun of me?¡±

    Cantory quickly waved his hand and stopped smiling. ¡°Please don¡¯t be mistaken, I¡¯m in no ce to do that to you. You probably have no idea that I¡¯ve experienced the haughtiness and arrogance of that President Felic more than you have.¡±

    Grina was ready to fall out with Cantory, but after hearing his words, he couldn¡¯t help but be stunned as he sized up Cantory, and said, ¡°You mean those two incidents that happened in the Gilded Kingdom? Since your king doesn¡¯t even care, what does it have to do with you?¡±

    The shark prince was naturally referring to the attacks suffered by the Fifth Fleet and the royal guards of the Gilded Kingdom, which could definitely be considered disgraceful events for the Gilded Kingdom. However, the one who was truly humiliated was King Bradlor, even though Cantory had a high status too.

    ¡°You probably don¡¯t know that Felic and I have dealt with each other many more times apart from when he was here in the Gilded Kingdom.¡± Cantory shook his head, and then told Bradlor about how rude Lin Li was during the negotiation. However, he didn¡¯t talk about the matter regarding Cage Ind, because that concerned a massive amount of his wealth, after all.

    After listening to Cantory¡¯s ount, Grina immediately felt as if they were on the same boat, and his expression was less hostile. He said, ¡°Oh, I see. I really wonder what Bradlor is thinking. How can he put up with such a person again and again?¡±

    ¡°Ultimately, His Majesty has to consider the interests of the entire kingdom, so there are some things that he can¡¯t do even if he wants to.¡± Cantory sighed as if he understood perfectly. He had already told Grina what the so-called Gilded Kingdom¡¯s interests were, and that was to expand to the Breezy ins without waging a war.

    That made Grina somewhat puzzled because ording to what Cantory said, killing Lin Li would allow the Gilded Kingdom to do just what they wanted and reap the benefits from it. There was no reason for him to stop Grina. At the thought of this, Grina brought Cantory out of the city towards the Red Sea Pce. Along the way, he asked, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t you guys get to expand to the Breezy ins freely without any hindrance if we helped you get rid of Felic?¡±

    ¡°But this is the Gilded Kingdom, and they are His Majesty¡¯s guests. If something happens to them here, the reputation of the Gilded Kingdom will definitely be affected. When the timees, not only will the forces of the Breezy ins lose trust in the Gilded Kingdom, they will even make a big deal out of this.¡± Cantory sighed helplessly, but he had given Grina a hint that the Gilded Kingdom wouldn¡¯t stop him from dealing with the people of the Tower of Dusk as long as he chose to do it in the right ce.

    Cantory had initially wanted Harquess to help him deal with Lin Li, and thus had brought him to the Secret Merchant Market. However, even though he could not figure out what exactly had happened, he still had a vague feeling that Harquess seemed to be deliberately trying to avoid Lin Li.

 Chapter 1223 - Sea Market

    <h4>Chapter 1223: Sea Market</h4>

    While Cantory was feeling puzzled, he happened to hear what happened in front of the entrance of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Embassy, which was a pleasant surprise to him. Regardless of what was going on with Harquess, he understood Grina well, and knew that thetter was definitely not the type who would be willing to suffer any losses.

    Hence, Cantory immediately put aside the matter regarding Harquess for the time being, and rushed over to chat with Grina. If Harquess really had any qualms about dealing with Lin Li, Cantory thought that Grina could be the perfect recement for Harquess, and teach Lin Li a hard lesson on his behalf. If he was overly sensitive, and got the wrong idea about Harquess, it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing to give Lin Li an additional opponent, either.

    Cantory and Grina headed to the Red Sea Pce of the Giant Shark n, but Cantory just left when they were about to arrive. They were the only ones who knew what their conversation was about during the journey. On the other hand, the people at the embassy of the Tower of Dusk all resumed their respective duties as if nothing had happened.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t pay attention to what Dorick said except for the conclusion. Afterwards, he continued to take out the items that he had bought from the Secret Merchant Market.

    The most useful items that he had bought from the Secret Merchant Market were the Nether Pearls and the King Hunter¡¯s de. The Nether Pearls had already been delivered back to the Tower of Dusk, while the King Hunter¡¯s de was given to Norfeller. The other items, such as some rare deep-sea herbs, would have to be processed before they could be of use to Lin Li. Although they had been processed by the secret merchants using some basic procedures, Lin Li felt that they weren¡¯t finely processed enough, so he had to do something more to them to best preserve the power of the herbs.

    In addition to processing those items, Lin Li also had to help Angno modify the Alchemy Colossus in order to maximize the power of the Divine Sea Pir. Although the Alchemy Colossus was said to be able to move freely in the ocean as long as the Divine Sea Pir was ced on it, the effects were only kic. It was just like how a log could float on water, but not be a battleship.

    Angno was a Guru of Alchemy, and he also had a rich knowledge of Alchemy Arrays, but he still needed the help of Lin Li, the Guru of Inscription, in order to fully exert the power of the Divine Sea Pir. Lin Li was very d to do that. Though Angno was timid and so afraid of death that he usually wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to participate in any fights, when it was time for him to really participate in the battle, it meant that the situation had reached a critical point more likely than not. Hence, it would be a good thing if the power of the Alchemy Colossus could be strengthened as it would provide some help during a battle or even y a key role.

    In addition to helping Angno modify the Alchemy Colossus, Lin Li also had to help Connoris research the two Light-Winged Angels. Although those Winged Angels couldn¡¯t allow Connoris¡¯ strength to be improved directly, the life forms could provide some reference for Connoris to better understand how to master his perfect body.

    However, Lin Li had imprisoned the Light-Winged Angels in his Domain World, and they couldn¡¯t be released at will. Those two Light-Winged Angels were also at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and were only subdued by Lin Li because they were in his Domain World. Hence, if he released them now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pull them back into the Domain World again.

    Hence, if Connoris wanted to study the Light-Winged Angels, he would have to ask Lin Li to expand his Domain World, and allow him to enter to conduct his research.

    Of course, while Connoris was studying the Light-Winged Angels, Lin Li would gain something out of it too. If he could get a clear idea of the life form the Light-Winged Angels were, he would be able to create simr existences in his Domain World, and they¡¯d be different from the Angels of Light and Dark, which were purely energy bodies, that he had previously created.

    Thus, Lin Li didn¡¯t really cken or idle about even though he wasn¡¯t studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. He spent his time modifying the Alchemy Colossus, studying the Light-Winged Angels, and processing those herbs and other precious materials. Day by day, time flew by like an arrow.

    In the blink of an eye, a few days passed, and the grand decennial Sea Market finally officially began. The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom sent an exquisite and beautiful invitation card to the Tower of Dusk to invite Lin Li to an auction that was to be held a few dayster. It was an opening auction for the Sea Market, and was one of thergest ever.

    Before the auction began, some auction items would be put on disy like an art exhibition, so everyone could admire the auction items. However, not all the auction items would be put on disy, and only those that were valuable enough would be included. The finale item would also be kept secret from the guests prior to the auction in order to maintain a sense of mystery.

    One of the main roles of this exhibition was to allow the guests who were nning to attend the auction to find out more information about the auction items in advance so that they could decide which ones they wanted to bid for. Of course, another purpose of it was to allow them to prepare enough gold coins. To put it nicely, it was to prevent them from missing out on what they really wanted to buy due to insufficient gold coins. However, for the organizers, it was for the sake of pushing the prices of auction items higher.

    There were two ways to participate in the exhibition: one was through an invitation, while the other was through purchasing a ticket, which cost a bomb. After all, the auction items were very expensive and valuable, so not just anyone could be allowed to enter.

    After receiving the invitation, Lin Li took some time out of his schedule to take a look at the auction items with some of his subordinates. The auction was indeed worthy of being the opening auction for the Sea Market. There was not only arge number of auction items, but the quality of the items was also considered exotic. However, the magic scroll that Lin Li had put up for auction was not present.

    On the one hand, the magic scroll could not be presented visually like magical equipment, and when put on disy, it would look just like a simple roll of animal hide. On the other hand, the scroll was created by Lin Li after he studied the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, and contained a trace of the power of the Divine-Smith-level. Its value was probably not inferior to that of any of the exotic treasures there.

    Of course, Lin Li couldn¡¯t rule out the fact the auctioneer had poor judgment, and treated Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll as an item of low value, thus ssifying it under the category of items that were not worthy of being disyed.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t bothered by it, because he wasn¡¯t short of that money anyway. If someone were to buy it at a cheap price, that person would be considered very lucky. He was merely patronizing the Gilded Kingdom by putting up such a magic scroll for auction. After all, there was no need for him to be so petty, since the Gilded Kingdom had taken the initiative to be kind to him.

    Lin Li took a tour around the exhibition, and he basically had a rough idea about the auction items. Hence, he stopped thinking about the other things. At the same time, Bradlor was also listening to the reports of some officials in the pce of the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°What, it¡¯s not disyed in the exhibition?¡± Bradlor asked as he couldn¡¯t help but frown.

    The official bowed, and respectfully said, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, I took a careful look at every corner of the exhibition hall, but I didn¡¯t see the magic scroll that President Felic brought over.¡±

    Bradlor sighed, and after a moment of silence, he said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that it wasn¡¯t included in the exhibition. Otherwise, if the value of that item is exposed, it¡¯ll probably lead to more trouble, and who knows what that petty Felic might do again?¡±

    The best things would not be put up for disy at the exhibition, but neither would those that were of extremely low value. He didn¡¯t think that Lin Li would offer any real treasures. Since it wasn¡¯t the best item, and it wasn¡¯t included in the exhibition, Bradlor thought that it had to be because its value was too low.

    Bradlor¡¯s concerns were not uncalled for. If an item that was clearly of low value was ced together with other exotic treasures, the owners of the other auction items would probably be displeased, while the petty Felic would treat it as an insult to him.

    Such a situation was also considered a good thing for Bradlor. Anyway, no one would know the true value of the magic scroll, so no one would suspect him when he bid for it with arge amount of money. Others might even think that it was a treasure.

    Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the grand opening ceremony of the Sea Market as well as a series of celebratory activities began. The Sea Market was not only rted to the merchants. As the Sea Market opened, arge number of circus troupes from around the world, as well as a variety of renowned performer groups, would go to the Sea Market to boost the festive mood.

    Although those thrilling and exciting performances were not worth mentioning at all to those who were powerful enough, the ordinary people of this world were in fact simr to the people of the world Lin Li belonged to before he transmigrated. Many things were incredible to them, such as acrobatics and beast-taming or some bizarre creatures, which were very popr amongmoners and even more appealing than the auction.

    In addition, there were also performances such as singing, dancing, and theatrical acts, which were the favorite of the nobles of various countries, mages, and other professions. Besides, there were also celebrities who were good at singing, dancing, and acting in theater dramas in this world. Legend had it that there was once a theater star who was just an ordinary person, but had a long list of suitors who were all Legendary powerhouses. She could also be called a role model for the others who were in the same profession as her.

    In addition to those art performances, there was also another kind of performance that almost all people enjoyed, and that was the brutal diatorial performance that often involved bloodshed. In fact, not to mention the people of this era, even the High Elves were passionate about the diatorialpetitions¡ªso much that they even created countless things specially for the diatorialpetitions. Examples included the battle formations that many forces used and the Tower of Death that was specially used for the training of diators.

    Of course, since there were diatorialpetitions, there was nock of gambling and bets. In fact, the exciting bloodshed of the diatorialpetitions was only one aspect that contributed to its strong appeal. The other aspect that was attractive to them was that there were often many bets on the diatorialpetitions. It seemed that gambling was part of the nature of intelligent races, and even the elves who imed to believe in nature were no exception.

    Hence, after the official opening of the Sea Market, the nobles andmoners were all still in the festive mood that permeated the entire capital of the Gilded Kingdom. In fact, even the entire Four Seasons Ind was brimming with a festive mood.

    Of course, there was another important reason for it: the founding celebration would be happening soon. The founding celebration was actually the true celebratory festival of all people in the Gilded Kingdom. The Gilded Kingdom would be holding a series of activities during the founding celebration, such as a worship ritual to the ancestors, a military parade to show the strength of the military, holidays for the people, and an amnesty.

    Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary-realm powerhouse, he had transmigrated to this world only a few years ago. Hence, during these few days, he ate and drank to his heart¡¯s content, watched the circus performances, enjoyed the singing and dancing, forced himself to act like he was moved to tears for some theater dramas, and acted just like an ordinary person.

    After two days of unwinding and rxing, it was finally the day of the auction which Lin Li had been invited to. When Lin Li was about to set off to the auction venue with Connoris, Elder Zumar also brought his disciple Forcus, as well as Prince Monterey, who resolved the conflict between the Giant Shark n and the Tower of Dusk the other day, to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk.

    After exchanging some greetings, Elder Zumar introduced Prince Monterey to Lin Li, and also mentioned the previous incident. ¡°President Felic, let me introduce, this is Prince Monterey who intervened the other day to deter those people from the Giant Shark n who tried to disturb you.¡±

    The Illuminati and the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom were rtively simr in terms of their attitude towards Lin Li. Hence, Elder Zumar brought up the incident that took ce a few days ago in hopes that he could impress Lin Li. Having interacted with Lin Li for such a long time, Elder Zumar was already well aware that Lin Li would respect those who showed him due respect. Putting aside the nonsensical matters, he was actually quite a nice person.

    In fact, although Lin Li hadn¡¯t stepped in previously, he had still detected the changes outside with his mental strength. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t show Monterey any hostility, and instead said with a calm smile, ¡°Nice to meet you, Prince Monterey.¡±

    Lin Li did not deliberately show any extreme enthusiasm just because of Monterey¡¯s identity. Instead, he remained calm as if Monterey was any other stranger he was meeting for the first time. He would probably react the same way even if Elder Zumar introduced a farmer to him now.

    However, his attitude seemed aloof in Monterey¡¯s opinion. In terms of fame, Prince Monterey was not inferior to both the prime ministers of the Gilded Kingdom. In fact, he also had a very good reputation among themoners because he had increased the prestige of the royals. If it was someone else, they would probably be more or less enthusiastic about meeting Monterey for the first time.

 Chapter 1224 - The Shadow of The Battleship

    <h4>Chapter 1224: The Shadow of The Battleship</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, during the period of time that Prince Monterey had been back, he already gained some understanding of Lin Li, so he wasn¡¯t bothered by Lin Li¡¯s attitude. He simply said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve actually wanted to get to know you a long time ago, President Felic. However, you weren¡¯t free previously, so I chose not to disturb you. It¡¯s a great honor that I got to see you today.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Prince Monterey. May I know why the two of you are here to see me?¡± asked Lin Li, who was about to go attend the auction. Although he guessed that Monterey and Elder Zumar had probablye to see him because of something rted to the auction, he nevertheless asked that question.

    ¡°Hah, President Felic, you should be going to attend the auction, right? May I join you?¡± Prince Monterey asked, lowering his status. He didn¡¯t put on airs and act all lofty like many princes would. That was actually quite difficult for a noble.

    It would be rude to be hostile to a person who had a friendly attitude. Lin Li was not an unreasonable person, after all, and he didn¡¯t show any hostility to Monterey. Besides, the previous two conflicts Lin Li had with the Gilded Kingdom arose because Lin Li humiliated them. There was no point in harping on it and being mean to Monterey. Besides, Lin Li also needed someone who was familiar with the various forces of the Endless Ocean. Hence, he nodded amodatingly, and agreed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, Prince Monterey.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li and Prince Monterey had a rather pleasant conversation, Elder Zumar, who was at the side, secretly heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Okay, the auction is about to begin, why don¡¯t we chat as we walk?¡±

    Thus, they left the embassy and walked slowly towards the auction venue. Along the way, they exchanged many meaningless pleasantries.

    Since the auction was the opening show of the Sea Market, the venue that they had chosen was naturally not a random ce. It was held in a magnificent building near the pce, second only to the pce itself. It was thergest art exhibition hall of the Gilded Kingdom where many precious and exquisite artworks were usually put on disy. At this moment, the art exhibition hall had already been redecorated as the venue of the grand auction.

    The world was not purely about violence and war. After years of evolution, there were also countless people who were in an endless pursuit of art, and for that reason, countless artists created artistic treasures that shone brightly like stars. These dazzling treasures decorated the cruel Anril like wildflowers blooming in the brutal jungle where it was all about the survival of the fittest.

    In this world, art served many other purposes besides providing an aesthetic visual pleasure to the people. In many myths of Anril, there were various stories of people who became powerful through art and also various legends about people who reached the level of the Divine Smith and became a deity of a certain field.

    For example, the God of Painting in myths was said to be able to draw everything in the world with a single brush. Each painting created by the God of Painting would be a world, and he could change the real world with a single stroke of the brush by turning ordinary mountains into erupting volcanoes, making the sea hang upside down in the sky, and causing thend to copse and crumble in an instant.

    Of course, those who were in a real pursuit of art would not be bothered if art could give them powerfulbat force, and they simply yearned to reach the pinnacle of the field of art. Perhaps it was this very pursuit that allowed them to have a clearer understanding of the world, but the artwork that they created usually contained a certain World Law, which wasn¡¯t intentional. Hence, such artworks were often extremely sought after by people who hoped to experience the mystery of those artworks.

    A true masterpiece was often more popr than powerful magical equipment in the auction house. After all, no matter how powerful magical equipment might be, it was still an external object of the world. Meanwhile, if one couldprehend the mystery of the Laws from an art masterpiece, it would allow them to improve their realm.

    The Gilded Kingdom was founded in the early Dark Age, and thus they had hardly experienced destructive wars. As such, many pieces of precious artworks were perfectly preserved. Although this art exhibition hall was temporarily used as the auction venue, many precious artworks were still showcased in the exhibition hall for the visual enjoyment of the guests who were there to attend the auction.

    Besides, it was said that the Gilded Kingdom had also put up several Master-level art pieces for auction this time. Of course, the Gilded Kingdom wasn¡¯t in need of money, but rather they were just trying to promote the auction by doing so.

    When Lin Li arrived at the auction venue, the auction had yet to officially begin, so he began admiring the artworks in the exhibition hall in thepany of Prince Monterey, who exined the origins of the artwork. He even introduced each piece that was on disy without any impatience.

    Lin Li and the rest were not the only ones in the art exhibition hall. There were also many guests who had arrived in advance to wait for the auction to begin, and were now appreciating the exquisite and fine pieces of art in the hall. Fortunately, the exhibition hall wasrge enough, with a floor area of tens of thousands of square meters. Thus, even though there were many guests, it still made the ce look quiet and spacious.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t quite appreciate the so-called art in the beginning, as art was purely aesthetic and useless to him. However, as a Sanctuary powerhouse whose mastery of the World Laws had reached a very high level, the artworks were now abination of variousws to him. The more intricate and ingenious the structure of thosews, the more perfect and beautiful they tended to be.

    In fact, in some ways, those artworks shared many simrities to the mageweaths that Lin Li drew. Perfect mageweaths could also be called artworks. However, those artworks presented thews in ways that were more easily epted by the public, while mageweaths were a straightforward and the simplest presentation of thews.

    Although Lin Li was already a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse and a Guru of Inscription who was near the level of the Divine Smith, and whose mastery of the World Laws was probably far greater than that of the masters who created these artworks, there were still lots of things that Lin Li could learn from the artworks. In particr, the amazing structure of thews contained the wonderful thoughts of countless masters of art that gave Lin Li a lot of inspiration.

    In addition to apanying Lin Li to appreciate the art pieces and exining their origins along with the legends that revolved around each of them, Monterey also introduced Lin Li to some guests they met along the way. The guests in this exhibition hall were all invited to the auction, so that meant that their status and identities were naturally extraordinary. They were all bigwigs of various forces.

    ¡°President Felic, let me introduce, this is Prince Falth, and this is Grand Elder Lanrick, both of whom are from the Sea Serpent n. The Sea Serpent n is one of the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, and Prince Falth is the most outstanding genius of the Sea Serpent n in the past thousands of years. He will definitely lead the Sea Serpent n to a prosperous development in the future.¡± Standing in front of a painting of the sunrise at sea, Monterey introduced the few Sea Serpent nsmen who had long necks to Lin Li.

    The most distinct feature of the Sea Serpent nsmen was their long necks and gaunt bodies. When they walked, they looked like they didn¡¯t have any bones at all, and their faces were covered in dense scales, while their eyes were emitting cold and sinister rays of light. The warriors of the Sea Serpent n did not have the strength of the Giant Shark Knights, and their forte was their agility. The most impressive trait about them was the deadly toxins that their bodies produced. When applied to weapons, the toxins would cause their weapons to be more lethal. When they were sprayed like poisonous fog, anyone that came into contact with the fog would suffer from skin erosion and eventually die. It was extremely deadly and vicious.

    However, although the Sea Serpent n was one of the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, their strength was actually ranked at the bottom. Their deadly toxins may be insidious, but they would be effective only when it came into contact with the bodies of the enemies. The Thunder Eel n could be considered their nemesis. Also, although the Giant Shark Knights mainly engaged in closebat, their massive power and strength usually prevented the Sea Serpent warriors from getting close to them.

    Of course, even so, the Sea Serpent n could be considered a massive force in the Endless Ocean. They dominated the Deste Sea, which was the sea region with the mostplex terrain in the entire Endless Ocean. There were lots of trenches of various sizes and depths all over the seabed. Although it was impossible for them to develop and expand outwards due to their terrain, they had a great advantage in defense, so no one was willing to harbor any ill intentions towards them.

    The Deste Sea was a neighboring sea of the Gilded Kingdom, and the Sea Serpent n didn¡¯t have the ability to expand outwards. Thus, the Gilded Kingdom and the Sea Serpent n got along quite well.

    Falth, the prince of the Sea Serpent n whom Monterey introduced to Lin Li, had actually begun to gradually gain more power, and probably would be the Great Monarch soon. However, Monterey was purely just trying to tter Falth by calling him the n¡¯s greatest genius to appear in the past thousands of years. In fact, Falth¡¯s strength was only about level-24.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about the other party¡¯s strength when it came to making friends. As long as he could hit it off well with them, he would be willing to be good friends with ordinary people too. However, if he couldn¡¯t get along with them, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t bother paying any attention to them even if they were a Sanctuary powerhouse or even a so-called deity.

    When Monterey was introducing Falth to Lin Li, Falth also seemed a little interested at first. After all, with Prince Monterey¡¯s status in the Gilded Kingdom, those who were worthy enough to be introduced by him to others should be people of an equal status as Monterey. However, after he heard Monterey¡¯s introduction that Lin Li was just the president of a small and nameless force in the Breezy ins, Falth¡¯s expression became much more aloof and indifferent.

    After having a brief conversation with them out of courtesy, Falth left together with that grand elder. He seemed to bepletely uninterested in talking to Lin Li. Falth¡¯s behavior made Prince Monterey more or less embarrassed, but Lin Li did not care in the slightest. Instead, he turned around and continued to admire the painting of the sun hanging above the sea during sunrise.

    After Lin Li looked at the artworks for a few more minutes, there was suddenly a smallmotion in the initially quiet exhibition hall. Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but turn to look in the direction of the noise, only to see that a bunch of people seemed to have gotten into a dispute. One of the parties involved was someone Lin Li knew¡ªHarquess of the Octopus n¡ªwhile the other was someone from the Sea n who was wearing a magic robe.

    Seeing that Lin Li was looking over there, Prince Monterey immediately walked over and took a look too. He then introduced, ¡°Those with tentacles on their necks are the people of the Octopus n who are led by their prince, Harquess. The Octopus n are natural-born inscribers, and rumor has it that Harquess has already be a Master of Inscription. Those who are arguing with them look simr to the Sea Serpent n, but they¡¯re actually from the Thunder Eel n. Their leader is Manson, the prince of the Thunder Eel n. The Thunder Eel n are Thunder mages of the Sea n who are born with the power to manipte lightning, and their strength is second only to the Giant Shark n¡¯s among the seven overlords of the sea.¡±

    The appearance of the Thunder Eel people was indeed somewhat simr to the Sea Serpents as their necks were much longer than that of humans. However, there were gills on both sides of the neck of the Thunder Eels that seemed to be opening and closing slightly. They were also emitting lightning fluctuations from their bodies. The prince of the Thunder Eel n, Manson, was about the same age as Harquess. However, he had already reached the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Mage Legion of the Thunder Eel n could be considered the only force in the Endless Ocean that couldpete head-on with the Giant Shark Knights. The Siren n might not be weak, but they were constrained by theirck of manpower. However, the Thunder Eel n was different because they had tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Thunder Eel mages. If all of them were casting lightning magic spells at the same time, the entire sea would probably be a pool of lightning. Not to mention the Sea n¡¯s troops, even Sanctuary powerhouses would end up getting battered badly by the Thunder Eel n.

    The Thunder Eel n actually shared a good rtionship with the Octopus n, but Manson and Harquess would fight whenever they met. Both of them were geniuses of their respective ns. Having reached the Sanctuary-realm a long time ago, Manson naturally didn¡¯t care much about the Legendary-level Harquess. On the other hand, Harquess was proud of his attainments in inscription, so he was naturally extremely dissatisfied with Manson¡¯s contemptuous attitude.

    Monterey suggested that he bring Lin Li over and introduce him to Manson and Harquess, but Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested at all. The reason for the dispute between Manson and Harquess was their arrogant personalities. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to waste his time on doing something that wouldn¡¯t bring him any benefits.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯sck of interest, Monterey did not say anything further, and instead continued to apany Lin Li to appreciate the artworks. After looking at a few, Lin Li suddenly stopped in front of a painting which was nearly 10 meters long and five or six meters wide. It should be considered a rtivelyrge painting in this hall. It was a painting of the shadow of a battleship that was sailing into the distance under the setting sun.

    Perhaps the painting would be ordinary and nothing more than a visual pleasure for most people, but Lin Li had a different feeling about it because the blurry shadow of the battleship actually shared some resemnce with <i>The Star </i>that Geresco¡¯s incarnation had left behind. Of course, it was just a blurry shadow of a battleship, after all, and Lin Li couldn¡¯t be certain that it was the real <i>The Star</i>.

 Chapter 1225 - Queen of Siren Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1225: Queen of Siren n</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, if that was all, it might not even be worth it for Lin Li to stop and take a second nce at it. Even if he was certain that the ship which the shadow belonged to was really <i>The Star</i>, the resemnce was not particrly significant. The real reason Lin Li stopped was that the aura of the painting made him feel a strange sense of familiarity. After sensing it carefully, he discovered that the aura was surprisingly very simr to that of the Divine-Smith-level mageweath that he had been studying recently.

    In other words, the structure of thews used on this painting seemed to have some simrity with the Divine-Smith-level mageweath that the Immortal King had left behind on the seven small inds. However, Lin Li was certain that the painting was definitely not created by the Immortal King, because the structure wasn¡¯t fine enough. It would seem more usible if it was said to be created by the Immortal King¡¯s student.

    ¡°What¡¯s this painting about?¡± Lin Li looked at the information in the introduction to see that the creator of the painting was named Heldanos, but he had never heard of that name before. Hence, he turned to ask Prince Monterey about it. Based on the painting alone, Lin Li could tell that Heldanos definitely had high attainments in inscription, which were probably higher than his. He reckoned that many habitants of the Endless Ocean should be aware of such a capable person.

    Indeed, after taking a look at the painting, Prince Monterey smiled, and said, ¡°This painting is a gift that the Octopus n gave us during the founding celebration of the Gilded Kingdom 100 years ago. It¡¯s said that the painter of this painting is Heldanos, an extraordinary and legendary figure of the Octopus n who has extremely high attainments in the field of inscription. So, even though it¡¯s just a painting, it¡¯s a very valuable collectible.¡±

    <i>Collectible?</i> Lin Li realized that Prince Monterey talked about a collectible! For ordinary people, such an exquisite piece of artwork was indeed a collectible. However, those who had the ability to sense thews in the painting at a deeper level would feel that it was far beyond just a piece of art.

    The painting contained plenty of the creator¡¯s experience andprehension of inscription. Instead of calling it a painting, it would be more appropriate to call it Heldanos¡¯ notebook of inscription, or even his legacy. It would then no longer be as simple as a collectible. Those who could understand the painting would definitely obtain massive benefits from it.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s skill in the field of inscription might not be inferior to that of Heldanos, he could still get a lot of inspiration from the painting. Perhaps there were some details that Lin Li had overlooked or neglected, but he managed to find some clues from Heldanos¡¯ painting. That was the reason that pharmacists, inscribers, mages, and warriors often got together to exchange information. As the saying went, there would always be someone to learn from among a group of three.

    Logically speaking, such a work of art should be of great use to the Octopus n whose foundation was in inscription. Hence, how could they have given it to the Gilded Kingdom as a gift? Besides, there were also inscribers in the Gilded Kingdom. How could they have not found the arcane mysteries contained in that painting?

    ¡°Yes, this is quite a good painting, and it¡¯s a rare piece of art,¡± Lin Li said with a nod, but he didn¡¯t mention the more profound details of the painting.

    Prince Monterey shot Lin Li a nce, and merely thought that he was just being polite. Hence, he didn¡¯t think much of it, and said, ¡°President Felic, do you like paintings too? But this is a gift from the Octopus n, after all, and it won¡¯t be nice for us to give it to someone else. However, there are some pieces that are created by our local master artists which are not inferior to this one. They¡¯ll be up for auction this time too.¡±

    The Gilded Kingdom had really invested a lot of resources into this auction. The artworks disyed in this art exhibition could be considered national treasures. If they were put for sale elsewhere, they would definitely be able to fetch a staggering price that would even be enough to buy a city. However, for Lin Li, the other pieces of art might not be more useful than Heldanos¡¯ painting, regardless of how valuable they might be.

    However, based on Monterey¡¯s words, Lin Li managed to deduce some information. Clearly, to the Gilded Kingdom, Heldanos¡¯ painting meant nothing more than just a gift from the Octopus n. In fact, they didn¡¯t value it very much. It was no wonder that that was the case, actually. On the one hand, they couldn¡¯t see the arcane mysteries contained within the painting, and on the other hand, Heldanos might be famous in the Octopus n, but not necessarily so in the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°Won¡¯t this painting be put up for auction?¡± Lin Li asked, pointing at the painting. He was quite drawn to the painting, and he hoped to get his hands on it if possible so that he could study it carefully. After all, it was left behind by a Guru of Inscription who was on par with him, and Lin Li had just taken a few nces at it. In order to fully see andprehend everything in the painting, he needed more than just a short while of looking at it.

    If this painting was put up for auction, Lin Li would definitely buy it at any cost. Unfortunately, it was still a gift from the Octopus n to the Gilded Kingdom, after all, and gifts as such usually had a great symbolic significance. Even if it was a piece of garbage, they would have to preserve it well. How could they sell it to others so casually? He reckoned that the Gilded Kingdom decided to put the painting on disy most likely because of their friendly rtions.

    Although it was said that Lin Li did not have anything against fleecing others to get what he wanted, and was in fact more than d to do it all the time, it was clearly not a good time to do it now. Hence, he decided that he would wait until the auction was over. Anyway, the painting would still be there after the auction.

    With a n in mind, Lin Li stopped studying the painting here, and followed Monterey to go elsewhere to look at the other artworks. However, no one noticed that Monterey had secretly turned around to take a nce at the painting after they left, seemingly thinking about something.

    Time passed quickly when they were appreciating the artworks on disy. As they got closer and closer to the start of the auction, the number of people in the exhibition hall increased. Apart from the people of the Thunder Eel n, the Octopus n, and the Sea Serpent n, which were among the seven overlords of the ocean, Grina of the Giant Shark n and his Four Divine Generals were also there at the auction.

    Immediately afterwards, the Jellyfish n and the Barbarous Whale n, which were ranked at the bottom of the seven overlords, and were limited in strengthpared to the Sea Serpent n, also appeared. The Jellyfish n was simr to the Octopus n, and was very talented in the field of pharmaceutics. They could be considered the n of pharmacists of the sea. The Jellyfish n got along well with the other ns, and even during the great ocean wear, they still maintained a neutral attitude. Hence, although they weren¡¯t very strong, no one dared to harbor ill intentions towards them.

    Of course, the Jellyfish n could be one of the seven overlords of the ocean not purely because they were taken care of by others. The potions they concocted were not only used for recovery and saving others, they also created potions that could be extremely deadly. Legend had it that the Jellyfish n had an extremely tyrannical potion that would be enough to pollute the entire ocean, turning it into a dead area in the blink of an eye.

    With such a powerful weapon in hand and a good rtionship with each of the overlords of the sea, the Jellyfish n did not take the initiative to start a conflict with anyone, so naturally no one was willing to provoke them, either.

    On the other hand, the Barbarous Whale n was said to have the bloodline of the ancient Barbarous Whale, and they were akin to the Titans of the Sea ns. In terms of natural strength, the Giant Shark Knights would never be able topare to the Barbarous Whale n. An adult Barbarous Whale could have a height of above four meters, and had the ability to smash a mountain peak and make it copse with a single punch. One Barbarous Whale n member would be able to contend with 100 Giant Shark Knights.

    However, the Barbarous Whale n had a small poption, and there were probably less than 20,000 of them in the Endless Ocean. If their poption could surpass 100,000, the Endless Ocean would probably belong to them.

    Six of the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean arrived at the auction. Just as the auction was about to begin, there was yet anothermotion at the entrance of the exhibition hall. It turned out that the queen of the Siren n had walked in, surrounded by a group of men.

    The Sirens were the most good-looking n of the sea, and their beauty was not subjective to the aesthetic standards of the people who looked at them. For example, dwarves liked females who were as buff and stout as them instead of beautiful and slender women of the human race. However, when they saw the female Sirens, their previous aesthetic standards would be changed immediately. Even beasts that usually liked other female beasts of their own kind wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the temptation of female Sirens. That probably had something to do with the natural seductive charm of the Siren n.

    The Siren n was matriarchal, and the supreme leader was not a king like in the other Sea ns, but a queen, just like the elven queen of the maind. The governing system of the Sirens was simr to that of the elves, and they also adopted the system of having a council and elders. Their gorgeous appearance and system that was simr to that of the elves¡¯ made everyone call the Siren n the elves of the sea. However, many male Sirens were quite hideous, unlike the elves who were all attractive regardless of gender.

    It wasn¡¯t known if the Siren Queen Halleleah was the most beautiful Siren, but the beauty and charm she exuded under her graceful and noble aura made her absolutely breathtaking. In fact, when she appeared in the exhibition hall, all those who saw her immediately fell silent, and it was so quiet in the exhibition hall that even heartbeat could be heard.

    There was an ugly male Siren beside the Siren Queen Halleleah. Those who were familiar with the Siren n would know that the male Siren was Halleleah¡¯s husband, the first prince of the Siren n, Prince Cleve.

    When the queen¡¯s husband was mentioned, people would often associate him with a pretty boy who sponged off his wife. After all, the queen was too domineering, and she would always outshine the people around her. However, Prince Cleve was an absolute exception. All the people of the Endless Ocean knew that he was just as outstanding as Halleleah.

    Prince Cleve was definitely not a pretty boy. Of course, he was only so in the eyes of others. In the opinion of those beyond the Sea n, Cleve¡¯s appearance was theplete opposite of Halleleah¡¯s because he was truly extremely hideous. However, such an awful appearance might be a different kind of aesthetic to the Sirens.

    Hence, Prince Cleve¡¯s appearance was not the key point, but his strength was. In terms of individual strength, Prince Cleve was definitely the first true Archer in history to ever reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm among the Sea n. Even in the entire Endless Ocean, he was still an absolute powerhouse.

    It was very difficult for Archers to reach the Sanctuary-realm, and martial artists usually adopted the path of self-improvement by turning their bodies into a world. With the power of their strong bodies, they managed to break through realm after realm, turning their physical bodies that were made of flesh into immortal bodies. On the other hand, magesprehended the World Laws, and used the power of the World Laws for themselves to control thews and create worlds.

    However, in order for Archers to reach the Sanctuary-realm, they would have to have an equal understanding of the World Laws with mages. At the same time, they would also have to temper their bodies like mages. Hence, since ancient times, Archers who had reached the Sanctuary-realm were almost few and far between. There were probably less than five who could reach the peak of the Sanctuary-realm in the history of Anril.

    Of course, while contributing more, the power that an Archer could possess once he reached the Sanctuary-realm was also very terrifying. Each arrow that Prince Cleve shot could reach a target that was more than 1,000 kilometers away and pierce through the Domain World of Sanctuary-Mages. During the ocean war, Prince Cleve managed to kill countless Legendary powerhouses and dozens of Sanctuary powerhouses. He was truly a Sanctuary-realm killer.

    In addition to massive individual strength, Prince Cleve¡¯s military talent was also extremely outstanding. The Sirens¡¯ powerful army of Ocean Archers led by Prince Cleve had performed outstandingly in the great ocean war. Even the Giant Shark Knights of the Giant Shark n and the Thunderbolt Mages of the Thunder Eel n were defeated by the Ocean Archers.

    Prince Cleve¡¯s ugliness entuated Queen Halleleah¡¯s beauty, and he had also protected the Siren n with his power. He and Queen Halleleah were just like the sun and the moon of the Sea n, and all the Sirens could feel his light shining on them. Their reverence for him was not inferior to that for Queen Hallelujah in any way.

    The other Sea ns, including the unbeatable Giant Shark n members, were all in awe and respectful when the Siren n was mentioned.

    Hence, when they saw Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve enter, everyone quickly retreated to the sides. No one dared tough at Halleleah or belittle the ugly Cleve, who was a supreme powerhouse. Most of them did not even have the courage to go forward to greet them.

    Prince Monterey and Lin Li were standing far away from them. Thus, Monterey whispered to Lin Li the introduction of the two big shots of the Siren n, and even asked Lin Li if he wanted to go over and get to know them.

    Although peak Sanctuary-realm Archers were very rare, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that interested in Prince Cleve, because he was now only interested in information rted to the Immortal King. Hence, after hearing Prince Monterey¡¯s question, Lin Li merely waved his hand, and looked away before continuing to admire the art piece beside him.

 Chapter 1226 - Private Room

    <h4>Chapter 1226: Private Room</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    At this moment, Grina of the Giant Shark n, Harquess of the Octopus n, and some other important figures of the other ns had alle forward to greet the Siren Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve. Even though there were many young and outstanding talents, as well as authoritative and esteemed elders, none of them dared to be disrespectful to Halleleah and Cleve.

    Halleleah and Cleve returned the bows gracefully, and even chatted with those they were familiar with from time to time. Although they were vastly different in terms of appearance, others felt joyous when facing them, and in fact, they even felt that they were valued by Halleleah and Cleve.

    After greeting those people, Halleleah and Cleve noticed Prince Monterey who was standing near them, and thus weaved through the crowd to walk over.

    Before Halleleah and Clifford said anything, Prince Monterey took the initiative to walk towards them, and greeted them smilingly. ¡°Queen Halleleah, Prince Clifford, I didn¡¯t expect you two toe here in person this time. You should have informed us in advance. His Majesty would have definitely weed you with the grandest ceremony.¡±

    ¡°Prince Monterey, you don¡¯t have to be so polite, it was ast-minute decision of ours toe to the Gilded Kingdom. We¡¯re just here to shop at the Sea Market to unwind and rx, so there¡¯s no need to engage in suchplicated diplomatic etiquette,¡± Prince Cleve said indifferently while shifting his gaze from Prince Monterey to Lin Li, who was admiring the art piece beside him. He asked, ¡°Prince Monterey, aren¡¯t you going to introduce your friend to us?¡±

    <i>Indeed, birds of a feather do flock together!</i> Prince Monterey should be considered a famous and powerful figure in the Gilded Kingdom who had talent and strength. His friends should also be simr to him, and it was impossible that he would have friends that were too far off. Hence, when they saw Lin Li who was beside Lin Li, Halleleah and Cleve were both curious, and thus decided to go and find out.

    Seeing this, Prince Monterey hurriedly called out to Lin Li, and introduced him to Prince Cleve and Halleleah. ¡°This is President Felic of the Tower of Dusk from the Breezy ins, who¡¯s also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council. He¡¯s only in his early twenties, but he has already reached the Sanctuary-realm, and he¡¯s just as talented as Geresco was back then.¡±

    Prince Monterey was not stingy with hispliments for Lin Li, and he was singing praises about him to no end. In fact, he was stating facts, but it sounded a little unbelievable to others.

    Of course, Prince Monterey introduced Lin Li not simply to gain Lin Li¡¯s goodwill, but also to save himself some pride. No matter what, he was still the prince of the Gilded Kingdom, after all, and he couldn¡¯t make friends with just anyone. If he merely stated that Lin Li was the president of a small and nameless force, no one would know who he was, but things would be different if Monterey made it clear that Lin Li was also one of the four arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    Indeed, after hearing Prince Monterey¡¯s introduction, Halleleah and Cleve couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. Lin Li¡¯s identity as the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council was indeed able to shock others. Others might not have heard of the Tower of Dusk before, but the Supreme Council was one of the forces that were on the pinnacle of Anril.

    Although there were only three Sanctuary powerhouses in the Supreme Council, the strength of a force was not determined by the number of Sanctuary powerhouses. Otherwise, given the numerous Sanctuary powerhouses of the Illuminati, thetter would have long exchanged positions with the Supreme Council. The three arbitrators of the Supreme Council who were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm might have alreadyprehended the mysteries of the Divine-realm, which was something that ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses absolutely could notpare with.

    However, in this ce, the Tower of Dusk might not be less famous than the Supreme Council. The two major incidents that Lin Li had caused since his arrival in the Gilded Kingdom had already be known to all by now. Compared to the Tower of Dusk, the Supreme Council seemed a little distant, and they wouldn¡¯t quite think about the two incidents that were caused by the members of the Tower of Dusk here.

    ¡°So you are President Felic, I¡¯ve heard about you, and I have to say, you¡¯re very interesting,¡± Prince Cleve said to Lin Li smilingly. Although his hideous appearance made him seem a little ghastly, his tone was kind and full of goodwill.

    Queen Halleleah, who was at the side, remained silent, but her gentle smile made everyone else a little dazed, including Lin Li. However, Lin Li had powerful mental strength, so he had a high resistance and immunity to bewitching Spiritual Spells. Hence, he came back to his senses in an instant.

    Of course, Lin Li also knew that Queen Halleleah didn¡¯t have any ill intentions. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to break free from the spell easily. Queen Halleleah might be a little less powerful than Prince Cleve, who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, but Spiritual Spells were always the most difficult to defend against. The actual threat that Queen Halleleah posed to an enemy during a battle was probably even greater than that Prince Cleve posed.

    Lin Li knew how he should act around others, and was well aware that he should return friendly gestures. He immediately smiled, and said, ¡°I can¡¯t help it, I¡¯m young and full of vigor. I won¡¯t let myself suffer any losses, and I can never change that habit of mine. However, I¡¯ve also heard a lot about you, Prince Cleve, I¡¯m truly in awe of you.¡±

    Their friendly exchange consisted of just a few simple pleasantries. After all, they had just met each other. However, in the eyes of many sea people, the Siren Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve were legendary figures, yet they took the initiative to get to know Lin Li, which made the jaws of the people around them drop.

    In fact, not only could those people of the Sea n not figure it out. Even Lin Li was a little confused himself. He didn¡¯t think that he was a domineering and formidable person. In that case, the behavior of Prince Cleve and Queen Halleleah was somewhat intriguing. However, if they didn¡¯t state the exact reason, there was no way Lin Li could guess it. Hence, he had no choice but to just say a few polite words before watching them leave.

    ¡°Are you Felic?¡±

    Immediately after the Siren Queen Hallelujah and Prince Cleve left with their subordinates, Grina of the Giant Shark n also approached Lin Li, and sized him up with a hostile gaze.

    Although he had long born a grudge against the Tower of Dusk, it was Grina¡¯s first time seeing Lin Li. When Grina asked for the seahorse ves previously, Lin Li didn¡¯t intervene himself at all. He merely sent a few subordinates, who managed tond Grina in a disheveled state. Now that the mastermind was right in front of him, Grina was furious.

    However, this was the exhibition hall of the Gilded Kingdom, and Lin Li was apanied by Prince Monterey of the Gilded Kingdom. Regardless of how arrogant Grina might be, he knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to settle scores with Lin Li now.

    After taking a nce at Grina, Lin Li continued to act like he didn¡¯t know Grina at all. He asked, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Felic, and you are?¡±

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s slightly confused expression, Grina was so enraged that he felt as if he was about to develop some internal injuries. He had been treating Lin Li as his archenemy. Yet, Lin Li didn¡¯t even know who he was, which was simply the greatest contempt for him!

    Seeing the situation, Monterey hurriedly stood between the two of them, and said to Lin Li with a smile, ¡°President Felic, this is just a minor misunderstanding. Since you two have now met, I think it¡¯s Heaven¡¯s will that you two should clear up the misunderstanding and bury the hatchet. What do you think?¡±

    As a politician, Monterey was obviously good at lying through his teeth too. He actually called the meeting something that was arranged by fate ording to Heaven¡¯s will. If Lin Li and Grina really intended to make up with each other, but couldn¡¯t bring themselves to lower their pride, they would be able to use this excuse to do so.

    Unfortunately, Grina did not want to patch things up with Lin Li at all. On the one hand, it was because he couldn¡¯t give up the seahorse ves for some reasons, and on the other hand, it was because of the humiliating incident that urred in front of the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, which made him feel extremely ashamed. At this time, the fact that he did not immediately take action against Lin Li was already enough respect shown for Monterey. How could he possibly ept that it was just a misunderstanding?

    On the other hand, Lin Li felt that there was no need to make up with Grina, since thetter was the one who¡¯d created trouble at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy in the first ce. If trying to snatch the seahorse ves by force could be considered a misunderstanding, everything in this world could probably be considered a misunderstanding. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t take it to heart, either, because if the Giant Shark n wanted to continue behaving insensibly, he wouldn¡¯t mind letting them know that he was not to be trifled with.

    In the end, no one responded to Monterey¡¯s words, which made him feel embarrassed and extremely helpless. He had no choice but to say, ¡°Okay, the auction is about to begin. No matter what, I think we should all calm down before waiting for the opportunity to speakter.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll let you have an advantage this time. If you¡¯re smart enough, you¡¯d better send them to me obediently. Otherwise, if anything were to happen to you at sea, don¡¯t me me for not warning you.¡± After issuing a stern warning, Grina left with his subordinates, and headed straight to the entrance of the auction hall.

    Seeing that Grina had left, Monterey secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and then turned to helplessly say to Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m not scaring you, but if you don¡¯t have a pressing need for those seahorse ves, it¡¯d be better for you to do the Giant Shark n a favor, and send the ves to them. After all, this is the Endless Ocean, and the Gilded Kingdom only has rights over this area of the sea. We have no authority to interfere with what the people of the Sea n do out there.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the kind reminder, Prince Monterey, but you don¡¯t have to worry about this matter, I can handle it myself,¡± Lin Li said indifferently, waving his hand. So what if the Giant Shark n was the overlord of the ocean? Once he released the Sky Castle, there would be nothing they could do. In fact, even with <i>The Star</i> alone, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of Grina¡¯s threat at all.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s response, Prince Monterey couldn¡¯t help but sigh secretly, knowing that his efforts were futile. Hence, he had no choice but to set this matter aside for the time being, and take Lin Li and Connoris to the auction venue.

    At this juncture, almost all the seats at the auction venue had been upied. There were humans and all sorts of Sea ns. If any timid people were to barge in, they might just get frightened to death. Among those present, Lin Li also recognized some familiar ones, such as the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins¡ªus, Joseph, and the others.

    The representatives of the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom, as well as the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine, on the other hand, were seated in the VIP private rooms on the second floor. Due to the fact that the side facing the auction stage was open, the people in the private room could be seen at a nce. Lin Li also saw some of the representatives of the Elven Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom in the VIP private rooms.

    Lin Li could tell that the Gilded Kingdom had created quite a stir this time. Almost all the top forces of Anril and the Endless Ocean were gathered at the auction this time. In addition to the ones Lin Li could recognize, there were several other people in the private room who seemed rather peculiar.

    All the pure humans in Anril looked exactly like the ones from the world that Lin Li was in before he transmigrated. However, the few people in the private room Lin Li saw had yellow skin and ck hair, which he felt was something familiar, but Lin Li knew that they definitely had nothing to do with the world he was from. Rather, they were from some secret continent of this world that was faraway from Anril.

    Of course, that also made Lin Li a little interested in that mysterious continent. He wondered if the situation there was simr to the one in the world that he hade from before he transmigrated. He hoped that he would be able to travel to that mysterious continent on <i>The Star</i>, and have a look when he had the time to someday.

    Under the lead of Prince Monterey, Lin Li quickly arrived at a VIP private room on the second floor of the auction hall. It had a luxurious and extravagant decor that didn¡¯t consist only of a wide variety of precious decorative materials, but rather there were also art pieces on the walls, which should have been disyed in the exhibition hall. It made the private room seem opulent, but not tacky.

    ¡°President Felic, are you satisfied with this pce?¡± Monterey asked Lin Li with a smile. He had put in a lot of effort into decorating the private room, and although the room number was not one of the first few, it was decorated ording to the standard of the private rooms that were exclusive to royals.

    Monterey had used his wits in this instance. Those who were outside the private room wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that it was Prince Monterey¡¯s preferential treatment for the Tower of Dusk, but the interior decor of the private room was aplete disy of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s utmost sincerity towards Lin Li. Anyone who wasn¡¯t blind would be able to tell how sincere the Gilded Kingdom was.

 Chapter 1227 - Sincerity

    <h4>Chapter 1227: Sincerity</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li nced at the decorations in the private room, and somewhat understood the intentions of the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, he nodded, and said, ¡°Thank you very much, this is a nice ce, I¡¯ll stay here. Prince Monterey, if you have some matters to handle, please go ahead.¡±

    <i>You¡¯re chasing me away as soon as we enter, how depressing!</i> Although Prince Monterey did intend to leave for a while, he did not expect Lin Li to chase him away so quickly.

    <i>Fine, I won¡¯t dwell on the details as long as the oue is perfect!</i> Prince Montereyforted himself while bidding goodbye to Lin Li. He could now go to King Bradlor, and report everything to him.

    After Prince Monterey left, Lin Li and Connoris sat facing the auction site while tasting the wine that was on the table, and looking at the various humanoid creatures who had bizarre appearances.

    The Sea n was a massive n, and the opposite of the Sea n should not be the human race, but all intelligent races on the maind. However, the human race was very strong and powerful in Anril, almost overshadowing the other races. Hence, the human race had be the representative of the races onnd.

    Apart from the previously mentioned seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, there were many other ns of various sizes among the Sea n. For example, the Giant Lobster n that had arge pair of pincers was actually quite strong atbat, and not at all inferiorpared to the seven overlords. Their status in the Endless Ocean was probably equivalent to that of a top force of the Breezy ins. There were also ns such as the Walrus n, the Giant Crab n, the Swordfish n, and many others, and they were all major forces in the Endless Ocean.

    There were also some peculiar ns such as the Sea Ghoul n that almost had no fixed form. They were actually not rted to Undead creatures, and were instead closer to water elemental creatures. There was also the Underwater Tree Men n that was said to have formed from a team of elves that fled to the Endless Ocean, and used some secret technique to turn themselves into that form in order to be able to survive in the sea.

    There were many such sea ns in the Endless Ocean, but only those who were present now were qualified toe here. The weaker and smaller Sea ns would either be affiliated with a certain overlord or quietly struggle to survive in the sea. They obviously wouldn¡¯t have the chance to participate in such a grand auction.

    While Lin Li was waiting for the auction to begin, the vague sounds of an argument could be hearding from a certain room behind the auction stage, even though the doors were tightly shut. All the people who passed by the door couldn¡¯t help but quickly speed up and leave as if there was a terrifying existence in the room.

    In the room whose doors were tightly shut, the two parties who were engaged in an argument were a white-haired elderly man and Prince Monterey. The fact that the white-haired elder would have such a heated argument with Prince Monterey, who had a high status, meant that the elderly man naturally wasn¡¯t an ordinary person.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, His Majesty has personally instructed that regardless of what item President Felic brings, it must be put up as the final item of the auction.¡± Prince Monterey came over this time because he was instructed by Bradlor to find out about the auctioning of Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll.

    Grand Duke Vidi was also a member of the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom, and his father was Prince Ronsent, the younger brother of Bradlor¡¯s grandfather. However, ording to the rules of the session of titles in the Gilded Kingdom, Vidi had to automatically lower his title by one level after inheriting his father Prince Ronsent¡¯s title, thus bing a duke.

    The system had been implemented with a decree in order to maintain the vitality of the nobility of the Gilded Kingdom. ording to the decree, the underachieving descendants of a noble would have their title lowered by one level, and if it continued across the seeding generations, their descendants might eventually bemoners. However, if someone made a great contribution to the Gilded Kingdom, their title might be promoted to a duke, and it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to be princes again as long as they were of the royal bloodline.

    As opposed to the political genius Monterey, Grand Duke Vidi could be considered a business prodigy of the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom. Under the management of Grand Duke Vidi, the royal treasury of the kingdom had been enjoying a steady and rapid growth. The Royal Trade Union that Grand Duke Vidi managed was one of thergest trade unions in the Gilded Kingdom, and generated a massive amount of wealth for the royals each year. At this rate, Grand Duke Vidi would probably be rightfully promoted to the title of ¡®prince¡¯ in a few years.

    The white-haired Grand Duke Vidi was overwhelmed with fury as he glowered at Monterey without showing any weakness. ¡°Monterey, don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re tarnishing the reputation of our auction by doing this?! This is not something that we can lie about. Once the final item is disyed, everyone will be able to tell that there¡¯s something wrong with it!¡±

    The reputation of an auction was very important, and the people were willing to attend the auction and bid for the items avable because they believed that they could buy authentic goods there, regardless of how much they might cost. However, if an item that was obviously of inferior quality was put up for auction as the final item, what would the people who attended the auction think?

    Even if they had already auctioned off the previous items, the appearance of an inferior item would make them lose trust in the auctioneer, and even doubt the quality of the items that they had bought.

    More importantly, the auction was officially held by the Gilded Kingdom. If the credibility of the auction was tarnished, it would be akin to the reputation and credibility of the Gilded Kingdom being damaged. When the time came, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s reputation in the Endless Ocean, or perhaps even in the entire Anril, would be greatly damaged.

    Prince Monterey had, of course, thought about that issue; nevertheless, he waved his hand unconcernedly, and said, ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, I understand what your concerns are, but don¡¯t worry, as long as you put up Felic¡¯s item for auction as a final item, it won¡¯t matter if it has a corresponding value or not. As long as the price that it fetches ispatible to its position, no one can say anything!¡±

    It was clear what Prince Monterey meantÒ»even if the item was a useless piece of garbage, no one would suspect that it was useless as long as he offered a staggering price and won the bid for it.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to continue. I call the shots at this auction! Even if His Majesty Bradlores, my decision will remain the same. I won¡¯t allow this to happen at my auction. I don¡¯t understand your political tricks and strategies, and I won¡¯t let you tarnish my reputation. If you are dissatisfied with me, feel free to let someone else take over!¡± Grand Duke Vidi resolutely refuted again adamantly when faced with Prince Monterey¡¯s persuasion, leaving no room for negotiation.

    Grand Duke Vidi was a business genius, but he didn¡¯t know much about politics. In fact, it could be said that he absolutely loathed politics. In his opinion, the Gilded Kingdom could resort to other means to improve rtions with the Tower of Dusk, or even directly offer them some benefits. There was no reason for them to make him risk losing his entire reputation for this!

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, please simmer down, we¡¯re discussing this with you now, aren¡¯t we? If you don¡¯t agree, we will naturally have to respect your opinion. No one else is more suitable to be in charge of this auction than you.¡± Seeing how agitated Grand Duke Vidi was, Prince Monterey hurriedly tried tofort him. They had already promoted the auction and done lots of publicity for it. If they were to rece Grand Duke Vidi with someone else at thest minute, it would definitely lead to lots of spection, and it would then be more difficult to settle the matter.

    Seeing that Monterey had relented, Grand Duke Vidi finally looked slightly less hostile, and he said, ¡°Monterey, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m being too stubborn and rigid, but rather that business is different from politics. Once a business¡¯s reputation is damaged, it won¡¯t be that easy to rebuild it even if you try to make up for it by paying 10 times or even 100 times the price for your actions. If you want to curry favor with President Felic, you may do so with him in private. Well, it¡¯s not your first time doing that anyway. However, this is my auction, so my rules apply. I will never allow such a thing to happen during my auction. That would be an insult to me, and to all the people involved in the auction. You will never be able to pay that price.¡±

    Although Monterey¡¯s title and status were higher than those of Grand Duke Vidi in the Gilded Kingdom, he was still Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s junior, so he couldn¡¯t put on airs as the prince. Hence, he had no choice but to nod while Grand Duke Vidi lectured him. He then said, ¡°You¡¯re right, but the Illuminati¡¯s rtionship with us is concerned too. Even if you can¡¯t put it up as a final item, you can at least arrange for it to appear at a good time.¡±

    One of the most important positions for items during an auction was the opening item. It did not refer to the first item to be auctioned, but rather the first item that had a value that corresponded to the status of the auction after several mediocre items had been auctioned off as a warm-up for the auction. In fact, the auctions of those mediocre items were meant to buy some time for theters.

    Next, it would be the item that was showcased during the climax halfway through the auction. Throughout the auctions, there would be a few small climaxes ording to schedule. The items that were put up for auction in the middle of the auction would usually encounter a huge bidding frenzy. Towards the end of the auction, there would also be several consecutive final items that would be up for bidding, pushing the auction to its ultimate climax.

    Monterey meant that Grand Duke Vidi should at least let Lin Li¡¯s item be up for bidding at a good moment even if it couldn¡¯t be put up as the final item. That would at least make things less awkward. Thest thing he wanted was for Lin Li¡¯s item to be auctioned as a mediocre item that was meant to patronize the guests because that wouldn¡¯t attract much attention. Worse still, no one might bid for it. Monterey was not too worried about thetter possibility, but he knew that it would still make Lin Li look bad.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi refused to concede, and simply said with a sullen expression, ¡°The timing that the item is disyed during my auction depends on its true value. A worthless piece of garbage won¡¯t even qualify to be one of the first several items to be auctioned, let alone take other positions. Okay, that¡¯s enough, the auction is about to begin soon. Please go!¡±

    Grand Duke Vidi didn¡¯t give Monterey a chance to speak at all as he simply pushed the door open, and asked Monterey to leave. Prince Monterey had no choice but to shake his head, and walk out while thinking about how he could make Lin Li seem as glorious as possible without making others feel that the Gilded Kingdom was holding themselves cheap.

    However, when Prince Monterey left, Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s expression was still as sullen as he paced around the room anxiously and somewhat nervously. He would look at the door from time to time, seemingly waiting for something.

    All of a sudden, footsteps began to shuffle outside the door, and before the person reached the door, Grand Duke Vidi hurried over to pull open the door. As soon as the door was opened, Grand Duke Vidi had a look of disappointment on his face. He looked at the person at the door, and chided, ¡°Why are you being so panicky!? Look how disgracefully you¡¯re behaving!¡±

    The person who came was a supervisor of the auction. Upon being reprimanded by Grand Duke Vidi, he was so shocked that he flinched, and said, ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, it¡¯s time to begin. Do you think we should start?¡±

    ¡°What?! Damn it, why hasn¡¯t there been any result from those guys? It¡¯s just a paper scroll, why are they taking so long to figure it out? How dare they have the cheek to ask for a higher remuneration?!¡± Grand Duke Vidi cursed as he turned around in a huff and entered the room again.

    The supervisor of the auction followed him inside with a sheepish grin, and said, ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, I guess they should be able to reach a conclusion soon. Do you think we should wait for a while? Or should we begin the auction right away? Maybe they¡¯lle to a conclusion after we auction off a few items.¡±

    ¡°What if there is no oue at the end? What if the final verdict is that the scroll is of zero value? Damn it, we¡¯re holding an auction, but they can¡¯t even get a clear idea of the auction item. What am I raising this bunch of good-for-nothings for?!¡± Although Grand Duke Vidi cursed with dissatisfaction, he had obviously lowered his volume greatly because the good-for-nothings that he was referring to were clearly some people he didn¡¯t quite dare to offend.

    ¡°If all else fails, how about we do a no-reserve bid for that item? Although we can¡¯t figure out what that scroll is, that power is absolutely genuine. When it¡¯s time to auction it, we will not give an introduction, and just put it on disy. It¡¯ll be up to the bidders¡¯ discretion, and they can decide on their own.¡± The supervisor of the auction was a smart person too, and he immediately came up with an idea that maybe wasn¡¯t quite feasible, but they had no choice except to adopt it as ast resort.

    Hearing this solution, Grand Duke Vidi couldn¡¯t help his eyes lighting up as he reached out to pat the man on the shoulder. He said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s a great idea. If nothing else works, we¡¯ll go ahead with it. Now, follow me to the front.¡±

    After being praised by Grand Duke Vidi, the supervisor of the auction suddenly grinned joyously. He was almost certain that he would definitely receive more than just a simplepliment from Grand Duke Vidi. Although he might not be promoted to a high post, he would have a bright future.

 Chapter 1228 - Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor

    <h4>Chapter 1228: Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Grand Duke Vidi soon arrived at the front of the auction hall. He fixed his clothes and appearance a little before striding onto the auction stage. As Grand Duke Vidi appeared, the noise in the auction hall ceased immediately as all eyes were on the auction stage.

    ¡°Dear honored guests, a very warm wee from the Gilded Kingdom that you have traveled across many miles toe to...¡± Grand Duke Vidi had hosted many auctions before, including severalrge-scale ones like this one. Hence, he was very familiar with opening speeches, and it could be said that they simply rolled off his tongue.

    After the opening speech, the auction hosted by Grand Duke Vidi officially began. Immediately afterwards, the first several auction items were brought to the stage. However, everyone knew that even at such arge auction, the auction items used for the ¡°warm-up¡± definitely wouldn¡¯t be impressive. Hence, it was rtively quiet in the auction hall.

    At this moment, Prince Monterey had already returned to King Bradlor¡¯s private room, and told him about the content of the conversation he had with Grand Duke Vidi.

    After hearing Monterey¡¯s ount, Bradlor smiled bitterly with a helpless expression. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°I knew it, Vidi is too stubborn to be convinced. In this case, the item that President Felic brought should be put up for bidding at the start of the auction, right?¡±

    Previously, Bradlor had also heard from Saint Edmund and the others that the Tower of Dusk seemed to be better known for their capabilities in pharmaceutics and potions. Hence, when he asked the Foreign Affairs Minister to look for Lin Li, he instructed him to request for Lin Li to put two potions up for auction. However, he didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to be so unrelenting, or rather insensible, to have decided to put a scroll up for auction. If the scroll had been created by a famous master, he would have had nothing to say, but it had turned out to be Lin Li¡¯s creation.

    Bradlor did not believe that Lin Li, an incredibly young Sanctuary powerhouse, would actually have time to study inscriptions. Even if he asionally dabbled in it, there would definitely still be a significant difference in his skillspared to true Inscribers who specialized solely in their field. Thus, he assumed that the value of the scroll had to be very low.

    In his opinion, Lin Li¡¯s scroll would probably be only considered a mediocre item that was to be used to buy some time at the auction. Hence, Bradlor asked Prince Monterey to go look for Grand Duke Vidi in hopes of leveraging on his power to make Lin Li¡¯s scroll the final item of the auction.

    Since Grand Duke Vidi had rejected Monterey, he reckoned that Lin Li¡¯s scroll would probably be one of the few items that were used for the ¡°warm-up¡±! With that thought in mind, Bradlor said to Monterey, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do now. Pay attention to the situation at the auction. Once you see Felic¡¯s scroll, bid for it with a decent price.¡±

    If it was a bid for the final auction item, Bradlor would be willing to offer a remarkable amount of gold coins to purchase the scroll that seemed to be of little use to him without making others suspect anything or find that something was amiss. However, he would be seen as a fool if he paid such arge amount of gold coins for a lousy item. Bradlor was just trying to carry out Saint Edmund¡¯s instructions and build a good rtionship with Lin Li, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was willing to be a fool in the eyes of the people.

    ¡°Your Majesty, there is one more thing that I think we should exploit.¡± Prince Monterey knew that if Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll was disyed at the beginning, they definitely couldn¡¯t offer an exaggerated price for it, so they would have to think from other perspectives.

    Bradlor looked down, turned around, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°When waiting for the auction to begin today, I apanied President Felic around the exhibition hall to appreciate the art pieces, and I discovered that he seemed to have a huge interest in a particr painting.¡± Although Prince Monterey did not understand why Lin Li would be interested in such a painting, he thought that it would be a good point that they could make use of.

    ¡°Is that so? A painting? I didn¡¯t expect Felic to have such a hobby. Well then, we can save ourselves some effort. Which painting does he have his eye on?¡± Hearing this news, Bradlor smiled faintly. Although the artworks disyed in the exhibition hall were all fine and exquisite masterpieces that had an immeasurable value, giving Lin Li the painting would be much easier than spending arge amount of money on a useless piece of garbage in his opinion.

    Prince Monterey thought back for a while before saying to Bradlor, ¡°Your Majesty, the painting that President Felic likes is one of the gifts that the Octopus n gave us back then which is said to be the masterpiece of Heldanos, a famous figure of the Octopus n.¡±

    Upon hearing his answer, Bradlor frowned slightly because that painting was a diplomatic gift from the Octopus n, and its value was secondary to its symbolic significance. If it was a painting created in the Gilded Kingdom, he wouldn¡¯t be put in a tough spot. However, it was a diplomatic gift, so he would have to consider the diplomatic implications and how the Octopus n would react if he gave it to Lin Li.

    ¡°Is there something special about that painting?¡± As soon as Bradlor asked that question, he vetoed his conjecture because if there really had been something special about it, the Octopus n probably wouldn¡¯t have sent it to them as a diplomatic gift.

    Prince Monterey naturally shared simr sentiments, and he shook his head with some bewilderment in his eyes. He answered, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything special about it. It might be because Heldanos is quite famous in the Octopus n, so I reckon that it should be fine as long as Imunicate with the Octopus n about it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we can¡¯t give it to Felic just like that. Hasn¡¯t he already seen that painting previously? Put it up for auction, then. Tell Vidi to add one more slot for another auction item. He shouldn¡¯t be so stubborn and turn down such a simple request.¡± Bradlor¡¯s ns were quite well-thought. He would be stooping too low if he gave it straight to Lin Li as a gift, but if he put it up for auction, Lin Li should be able to guess his intentions. Thus, he would be able to withhold his dignity while achieving his goal of showing some goodwill to Lin Li, which could be considered the best of both worlds.

    Monterey had the same intentions, but before putting up Heldanos¡¯ painting for auction, he would still have tomunicate with the Octopus n and inform them about it. Otherwise, the Octopus n might be offended if they put up the diplomatic gift, which was a symbol of their friendship, up for auction.

    Communication was Monterey¡¯s forte, or rather the forte of most politicians. Sugarcoating things was what politicians were best at doing. They could turn the bad things into good, and make disasters sound like a reflection of the nation¡¯s spirit. They coulde up with a thousand exnations for their act of gifting someone¡¯s gift to another person, and even make them feel that it was for the sake of mutual friendship.

    Lin Li, who was seated in the luxurious private room, had no idea that his interest in the painting had caused the two big shots of the Gilded Kingdom to be so overwrought and busy. He and Connoris were enjoying some wine while watching the auction.

    In fact, Lin Li had a rtively clear idea of what he wanted to buy at the auction this time. As long as it didn¡¯t exceed certain standards, he would definitely buy it regardless of the price he had to pay. Of course, there were still some uncertainties because there hadn¡¯t been any information about thest few mystery finale items of the auction, so he reckoned that there might be some that would appeal to him. However, the items that were disyed at first didn¡¯t arouse his interest.

    One of the first three items to be disyed was a fine and luxurious sword that a certain big shot had used before, and which was decorated with many gemstones. Its aesthetic and decorative value was far beyond its practicality. Next, there was a Dragon¡¯s Eye gemstone that was the size of a fist, and would definitely allow the user to possess the attack power of a dragon if it was embedded in a magical weapon. Lastly, there was a magical essory of the High Elves that contained Legendary-level defensive power.

    If those three items were disyed at ordinary auctions, they would definitely be given good positions, and might even cause a considerable bidding climax. However, they were considered mediocre here, and although they didn¡¯t end up being unsold, it only took two to three bids for each of them to be auctioned off.

    ¡°Now that a few items have been auctioned off, I believe those of you who have seen the auction items on disy are getting a little impatient. I believe that the item that¡¯s up next will definitely make this trip worth your while.¡± The host of the auction, Grand Duke Vidi, waved his hand, and instructed his subordinates to bring over the main auction items when he realized that the guests were already starting to get into the mood.

    The auction item was covered with a red cloth, and it seemed to be taller than the average human. It was carried over to the disy tform on the stage by two men. Due to the fact that most of the previous auction items had been disyed without any concealment, there hadn¡¯t been much suspense. Grand Duke Vidi walked over, and reached his hand out to clutch the red cloth, after which he gave it an abrupt tug to lift it.

    A set of dark golden armor was revealed, and it exuded a luxurious, majestic vibe under the spotlight of the auction venue. The base of the armor was dark golden, and sanguine patterns could be seen vaguely, making the armor seem even more mysterious.

    It was a set of full-body armor that included a helmet and boots. All the parts were hung and put together to form the shape of a human body. There was a facete on the helmet and a visor that was made of crystal, as well as a sanguine gemstone on the forehead of the armor. Under the light, it was emitting rays of red light.

    The armor also consisted of pieces that covered the shoulders and chest. The pauldrons were each shaped like a menacing beast with intimidating white fangs, while the breastte was covered inplicated mageweaths. The light of the mana flowed along the mana circuits, emitting an alluring brilliance. Further down, there was a soft armor made of dragon hide covering the abdomen. It provided enough defense and protection without affecting the flexibility and agility of the wearer.

    The skirt of the armor consisted ofyers of palm-sized scale-like armor pieces that were stacked together, each flickering with the light of the mageweaths. The armor further below covered the legs and feetpletely, and only the parts at the joints were made of the hide of wyrms.

    The armor was rotating slowly on the high disy tform on the stage, giving the audience a 360-degree-view of the armor. At the same time, there was also arge magic projection at the back that disyed every single detail of the armor with precision. Not to mention the distinct features of the armor, even some small scratches were fully disyed in the projection.

    Grand Duke Vidi waited for a moment to give the crowd some time to observe the armor. He then introduced, ¡°This armor is called Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor, and was left behind by the Ocean Dynasty from ancient times. Legend has it that it was the exclusive armor of the Ocean Divine General, Bacarolet. The basic material used in the armor is the Ocean Purgatory adamantine from a huge vortex in the center of the Endless Ocean, as well as the skin of an Abyssal Demon Dragon at the peak of the Legendary-realm. The mageweath on the armor is a Domain Barrier that only a Sanctuary powerhouse can cast. It also contains a great mageweath that will increase the user¡¯s strength by 100 times. There are also instantaneous lightning mageweaths that will increase one¡¯s speed and so on.¡±

    In ancient times, the various Sea ns were unified and belonged to a single dynasty that was ruled by the Seahorse n. It could be seen from the characteristics of the current Sea ns just how powerful they would be when united. The Giant Shark Knights were closebat assants that would attack at the front, while the Siren n¡¯s archers would be in charge of long-range attacking, the Thunder Eel n¡¯s Thunder Mages would be responsible for casting spells, and the Jellyfish n¡¯s pharmacists would concoct potions for recovery and healing.

    However, thousands of years ago, the Seahorse n suddenly lost their power for some reason, and a huge power struggle broke out among the ns as they vied to be the next ruler, thus resulting in the great Ocean War. Now, some of the sea ns had be the seven overlords of the ocean, and those that had no special abilities were either lingering around and struggling to survive, or have all been driven to extinction. No one could unify them and recreate the glory of the Ocean Dynasty.

    During the reign of the Ocean Dynasty, the Ocean Divine General Bacarolet was themander of the Giant Shark Knights, and he was said to have peak Sanctuary-level power. He had allegedly performed brilliantly in all the wars with the High Elves. However, before the fall of the Ocean Dynasty, the Ocean Divine General died under the full-swing attack of the High Elves¡¯ Sky Castle during a war with the High Elves.

    The Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor was actually just a spare set of armor belonging to Bacarolet. The armor that he had used during the battle was actually a stronger one called the Sea God Armor, which had been turned into dust together with his body by the attack of the Sky Castle.

    For the current Sea ns, that history was a distant past, so Bacarolet was now like a mythical figure to them, and didn¡¯t bring them a huge shock. Their true concern was still the power of the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor. If it was just a useless piece of junk, it wouldn¡¯t be worth their money even if it had been worn by a deity.

 Chapter 1229 - Deal

    <h4>Chapter 1229: Deal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor was only Bacarolet¡¯s spare armor, it was still a very powerful magic armor set in this era ording to Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s introduction. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have qualified to be Bacarolet¡¯s spare armor.

    The most powerful attribute of the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor was the Domain Barrier. Domain Worlds could be created and owned only by mages. Even Sanctuary-level Warriors wouldn¡¯t be able to create their own Domain Worlds, let alone use their domains to defend themselves like mages. However, thebination of mageweath arrays on the armor gave it Sanctuary-level power, which was the best defense.

    Next, it was the Powerful Mageweath which seemed to be straightforward, and whose functions could be deduced from its name, but it did not mean that it was rudimentary. The Powerful Mageweath could be considered a mageweath that was used the most frequently in armors or magical equipment. However, the best Powerful Mageweaths generally increased the power by at most over 10 times.

    However, the Powerful Mageweath on the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor could increase one¡¯s power by a hundredfold. How incredible would it be if the power of the Giant Shark n, which had massive strength by nature, was increased by a hundredfold?! If the people of the Giant Shark n were to wear the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor, they would probably be able to tten a mountain peak with a single punch after being enhanced by the Powerful Mageweath. Clearly, the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor was a suit of armor that was made for the Giant Shark n.

    Hence, when Grand Duke Vidi announced the start of the bidding for the armor, the people of the Giant Shark n immediately ced a bid that was double the starting bid, pushing the price to 2,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°Connoris, this armor seems to be quite useful for you, do you want it?¡± Lin Li asked. His main closebat fighters were Connoris and Norfeller. However, being an Assassin, Norfeller wouldn¡¯t benefit from the armor, so it seemed that only Connoris would need it.

    However, after looking out of the private room to look at the auction item, Connoris shook his head in disdain and declined. ¡°That kind of thing is only suitable for those brainless shark monsters, it won¡¯t be of any use to me.¡±

    In fact, that wasn¡¯t very surprising. In terms of strength, Connoris¡¯ perfect body was several times stronger than those of the Giant Shark n, and it was evenparable to the ancient wyrms and Titans. Besides, Connoris was not purely a closebat fighter. As a great ancient demon deity, closebat and magic were his forte, and wearing the armor might affect his performance instead. Hence, the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor wouldn¡¯t provide much help for him, and would instead even be his burden.

    Seeing that Connoris did not want it, Lin Li naturally did not bother to say anything more. Besides, that armor might be rare for others, but Lin Li could create armor that was even more powerful as long as he had enough time and materials. In fact, even Angno¡¯s funny-looking armor might not be inferior to the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor.

    Of course, the value of the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor was not ordinary for the Sea n. In particr, the Domain Barrier gave the armor an extremely excellent defensive power, even though it could not bepared to the Domain World of Sanctuary Masters. If a Legendary-level Sword Sage were to wear the armor, there would probably be no problem for him to contend with Sanctuary powerhouses.

    After the people of the Giant Shark n offered a price of 2,000,000 gold coins, there was a brief moment of silence in the auction hall, but soon it became lively again. The people of the Sea Serpent n quoted a price of 2,500,000 gold, and before Grand Duke Vidi could ask if anyone would offer higher bids, the Barbarous Whale n ced a bid of 4,000,000 gold coins.

    The bidding stopped for a moment at the price of 4,000,000 gold coins, but immediately afterwards, it shot up again by 500,000 gold coins. Those who had previously ced bids had no choice but to give up, while some gritted their teeth. Apart from a few Sea ns, even the Octopus n joined the bidding.

    Among the various Sea ns, the Octopus n should be considered one of the few more financially powerful ones. Their main source of ie was their magic scroll business, which was about to monopolize the magic scroll industry. Although the Giant Shark n was also the strongest of the seven overlords of the sea, and even controlled thergest Red Sea region, their economic growth was mediocre inparison to the Octopus n¡¯s.

    The prince of the Octopus n, Harquess, suddenly joined in the bidding. Apart from the presence of Grina of the Giant Shark n, whom he didn¡¯t get along with, the most important reason that he decided to join the auction was the mageweath on the armor. A mageweath that could create a Domain Barrier was definitely a mageweath that was close to the peak of the Guru-level. For Harquess, it was definitely worth studying.

    However, in the eyes of Grina, the only reason Harquess would do that was to irritate him. The Giant Shark n and the Octopus n were not considered archenemies, but their rtionship definitely wasn¡¯t cordial, especially between Grina and Harquess who could argue for three days and three nights.

    In fact, it wasn¡¯t the first time that people would do such things to irritate each other at auctions. During the auctions at the Sea Market in the past, such actions weremonce. People would insist on buying things they didn¡¯t need, just to anger their enemies. Even if they didn¡¯t seed in buying it in the end, they would still be thrilled to have raised the price and made the other party spend a huge sum of money.

    Of course, such things did not happen only between Harquess and Grina. Anyway, the several Sea ns had never gotten along very well with each other. It would either be Grina and Manson vying with each other or some other big shots vying with each other. Actually, in the end, no one was the true winner, because the one who reaped the most profit was the auctioneer. Due to thepetition between them, an item that could have been sold at 5,000,000 gold coins ended up being auctioned off at more than 10,000,000 gold coins.

    After Grina offered a price of 10,000,000 gold coins, the tension in the auction hall finally eased. The only person who was still bidding was Harquess of the Octopus n. The others who tried to win the bid for the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor were intimidated, and decided to give up halfway through the auction.

    ¡°10,000,000 gold coins going once! 10,000,000 gold coins going twice!¡± Grand Duke Vidi eximed while suppressing his joy. 10,000,000 gold coins was definitely a good price for the auction.

    In the private room that the Giant Shark n was in, Grina had already picked up a ss of wine, and was tasting it while waiting for Grand Duke Vidi to call the third time, and the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor would belong to him. To him, 10,000,000 gold coins was already a huge sum of money, and it was actually above his budget. If anyone offered a higher price, he would have no choice but to give up, or else it would affect his ns forter.

    However, Grina wasn¡¯t extremely worried about that point. He was afraid of affecting his ns forter, but so was everyone else. In fact, before the auction began, they had engaged professionals to analyze a variety of situations. For example, if the Octopus n was interested in an item, they would have rough estimates for how many gold coins they could spend on it without affecting their ns forter.

    However, at this moment, someone in the auction hall spoke up just as Grand Duke Vidi had raised the wooden hammer, and was about to drop it.

    ¡°12,500,000 gold coins!¡±

    Upon hearing his voice, many people immediately turned their heads to look in the direction where the voice came from, only to see a human mage who was seated in a private room on the second floor with a bidding sign in his hand.

    ¡°Felic!¡± Grina almost choked on a mouthful of wine when he heard the offer, and hurriedly looked out the window, only to see that it was Lin Li who was swaying the bidding sign.

    Lin Li was not deliberately going against Grina, but rather he suddenly recalled that he had a friend who also needed such armor. It was a warrior named Sean, whom he had befriended before he came to the Breezy ins. However, after Lin Li arrived in the Breezy ins and started managing the Tower of Dusk, Sean went under the tutge of a certain Sword Sage. It had been a long time since then, and Lin Li reckoned that Sean should have already made significant progress.

    Lin Li was just that loyal to his friends. Once one became Lin Li¡¯s friend, they would forever remain his friend. Now that Lin Li had found armor that was suitable for Sean, a price of more than 10,000,000 gold coins meant nothing to him. He didn¡¯t want to meet Sean again without a presentable gift.

    However, Grina had no idea about that, and he merely thought that Lin Li was purely going against him. However, when he was about to raise his bid again, Zorro of the Giant Shark n, who was at the side, quickly reached out to stop him. ¡°Prince, please don¡¯t forget that we have further ns. We can let them have the armor for now. Anyway, they won¡¯t be able to leave the Endless Ocean.¡±

    Grina might ignore the persuasion of others, but after hearing Zorro¡¯s words, he finally calmed down a little, and said with a cold and menacing smile, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll let him keep it for me for a few days!¡±

    At this moment, Grand Duke Vidi called the bid for the third time, and finally lowered the wooden hammer in his hand forcefully. He dered, ¡°Since there are no higher bids, the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor is sold to President Felic of the Tower of Dusk!¡±

    ¡°What are you buying such a thing for?¡± Connoris asked with some puzzlement. Although 12,500,000 gold coins was peanuts to the Tower of Dusk, it would be a waste to buy armor that would not be of any use.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember that I had a warrior following me around back in nna?¡± Lin Li said with a smile as he finished the wine in his ss in one go.

    Hearing Lin Li mention that matter, Connoris asked in shock, ¡°Come to think of it, you mean that burly but silly guy?¡±

    Sean could be considered a giant among humans, and it wouldn¡¯t be exaggerated to call him a humanoid magical beast. He wasn¡¯t really silly, and was actually just a little naive. If he had really been a fool, he wouldn¡¯t have be the sessor of that old man whose name Lin Li did not know.

    ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t seen him for a long time. When I came to the Breezy ins, Sean went under the tutge of an old man. When we parted, he was already almost breaking through level-15. With his talent and the teachings of that old man, he should have already reached the Legendary-level. This armor is the perfect meeting gift for him.¡± Lin Li had never asked Sean whom exactly thetter had met in nna, but based on the rapid progress that Sean had been making, Lin Li could tell that the person who taught him definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. Only then did Lin Li put his mind at ease and go to the Breezy ins.

    Actually, it had already been a few years, and based on Sean¡¯s fast progress, the person who taught him would have had to be a fool if Sean hadn¡¯t reached the Legendary-level yet. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t know if Sean would go to the Tower of Dusk to look for him.

    In order to prepare a meeting gift for Sean, Lin Li casually purchased the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor, but it gave everyone at the auction a huge shock. It was the opening item, and yet it had fetched a price of more than 10,000,000 gold coins. They reckoned that thepetitionter would surely be even more intense.

    Moreover, what surprised the people in the auction hall was not the price of the item; well, all the people there were wealthy, and many of them could easily afford a sum of more than 10,000,000 gold coins. What truly shocked them was the fact that Lin Li had the audacity to snatch something from Grina.

    Harquess of the Octopus n and Grina who vied with each other had equally powerful backgrounds, and though the Giant Shark n was also the strongest of the seven overlords at sea, the other six ns weren¡¯t necessarily afraid of them. However, they thought that the Tower of Dusk was just a small and nameless force of the Breezy ins. Yet, they had the audacity to offend the Giant Shark n.<i> Aren¡¯t they afraid of dying in the Endless Ocean? </i>

    However, some people soon thought of the two major incidents that happened in the Gilded Kingdom previously that were extremely humiliating to thetter, and how Lin Li managed to make them swallow their anger and not retaliate. Hence, they wondered what the background of the Tower of Dusk really was like since they actually had the guts to offend the Giant Shark n after escaping scot-free despite having offended the Gilded Kingdom!

    ¡°Felic is really fearless. I really suspect that he doesn¡¯t feel scrupulous towards anyone in this world!¡± eximed Bradlor, who felt extremely vexed after seeing that Lin Li had offended Grina again. The previous incident had just been settled, and yet Lin Li had offended Grina again. He reckoned that he would have to rack his brains to think of a way to settle this dispute after the auction again!

    However, regardless of what others thought, Lin Li didn¡¯t bother considering the consequences he would bring about by doing so. He didn¡¯t even take Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, seriously. So what if the Giant Shark n was the strongest of the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean? They weren¡¯t the ruler of the Endless Ocean anyway. Besides, even if the Giant Shark n could control everything in the Endless Ocean, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t think that there was anything he had to worry about.

 Chapter 1230 - Mirage Pearl

    <h4>Chapter 1230: Mirage Pearl</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    After a small climax that arose because of the high price that the opening item fetched, the auction continued under Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s presidency. The next item that was brought to the stage for auction was not any magical weapon or equipment, nor was it a rare and precious gemstone source. Instead, it was a deed from the Gilded Kingdom.

    ¡°The next auction item is the title deed of an ind belonging to the Cubos Family,¡± Grand Duke Vidi said as he projected a map at the back to present the location of the ind. He then began to introduce the ind in detail.

    It was called Star Crescent Ind, and wasposed of a crescent-shaped main ind and several star-shaped satellite inds. The ind was roughly more than 100 square kilometers big, and there were two piers. The Cubos Family¡¯s castle was on the main ind, along with a building that was meant for the servants to stay in.

    Lin Li intended to acquire an ind in the Gilded Kingdom so that it could be used as the Tower of Dusk¡¯s residence there. However, the environment of Star Crescent Ind did not meet his requirements. One reason was that it was too close to Four Seasons Ind, and another was that there were no avable resources on and around the ind. It could be said that Star Crescent Ind was only suitable for vacation, and it wouldn¡¯t bring any profits to Lin Li.

    However, for others, especially the nobles and merchants, Star Crescent Ind was still rtively valuable. Hence, after Grand Duke Vidi introduced the ind, and announced the start of the bidding, many nobles and tycoons began to raise their bidding signs, and there were numerous bids, causing the price to soar to 3,000,000 gold coins.

    It was 3,000,000 gold coins, not 3,000,000 copper coins. To put it in context, somemoners had never even seen a gold coin in their entire lifetime. 3,000,000 gold coins was extremely expensive for an ind, and even if the ind was made of gold, it probably wouldn¡¯t be worth so much money. However, being able to own an ind like this near Four Seasons Ind was a great honor and glory for the nobles and tycoons.

    In the end, Star Crescent Ind was auctioned off to a tycoon from the Catfish n for 3,600,000 gold coins.

    After the auctioning of Star Crescent Ind, the people in the auction hall once again regained calm. The next few auction items were precious, but not very outstanding. Thus, they were auctioned off for several dozen or more millions of gold coins after a few rounds of bidding. Among them, the one with the highest value was a magical weapon from the Ocean Dynasty: a longbow made of Starlight Metal and the tendons of a wyrm. As expected, it was auctioned off to Prince Cleve of the Siren n.

    At this juncture, King Bradlor and Prince Monterey, who were in the royal private room, were extremely bewildered. They were puzzled that the magic scroll that Lin Li had brought, which they thought was worthless, hadn¡¯t been put up for auction yet. <i>Could it be that the value of the scroll is so low that it isn¡¯t even worthy of being a filler item? That¡¯s too mean of them!</i>

    On the other hand, the staff of the auction had already sent the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor that Lin Li had purchased to the private room that Lin Li and Connoris were in.

    The staff of the auction left after the deal waspleted. Connoris then took a look at the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor with a smile, and said, ¡°This is a good thing. No wonder that punk of the Giant Shark n would be willing to offer so much for it. If he finds out that you¡¯re intending to give it to that silly kid Sean as a meeting gift, I bet he¡¯ll be so enraged that he¡¯ll vomit blood.¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that much about it. He decided to buy the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor only because he needed it. If he hadn¡¯t needed the armor at all, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t have specially gone out of his way to ce such a high bid on the armor. In his opinion, Grina was far less important than those over 10,000,000 gold coins.

    After receiving the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor, Lin Li took a closer look at the mageweaths on it, and paid specific attention to the ones that resulted in the formation of the Domain Barrier. In his opinion, the mageweaths were still rather poorly made, and there was still plenty of room for improvement. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that he had suffered a loss. In fact, it was because Lin Li had been studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath for such a long time that he could make such a critical judgment. Otherwise, the mageweath would have been perfect to him.

    <i>Those over 10,000,000 gold coins shouldn¡¯t have gone to waste!</i> Lin Li came to a conclusion after looking at the mageweath. He then put the armor into the Ring of Endless Storm before turning around to continue looking at the auction stage.

    At this time, there was already another very eye-catching auction item on the auction stage, which was something ratherrge. It was a spherical item that was more than two meters high, but was not as clear as a crystal ball. Instead, the interior seemed to be a little cloudy. If one looked carefully, they would be able to see that the clouds in the sphere were moving continuously like the clouds in the sky.

    ¡°I reckon some of you must have already recognized the next auction item. In that case, I won¡¯t keep you in suspense anymore. Indeed, thisrge crystal is precisely the Mirage Sphere of the Mirage Beast, which was a great ocean overload of the ancient times. The level of this Mirage Sphere is already close to the Sanctuary-level, and it can create a mirage as huge as Hopra City,¡± Grand Duke Vidi introduced therge Mirage Sphere behind him to the crowd on the stage with some excitement in his tone. Of course, he wasn¡¯t exactly excited, but rather he just wanted to set the mood.

    As expected, the crowd under the stage immediately had their interest piqued after hearing Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s introduction. Some had heard of the prehistoric Mirage Beast, while some hadn¡¯t. Hence, the exchange made the auction hall rather noisy all of a sudden.

    It was said that in ancient times, there were countless powerful and terrifying existences in the Endless Ocean, just as there were countless prehistoric magical beasts in Anril. Some examples included the Nine-headed Sea Dragon, the prehistoric Barbarous Whale, and the Ancient ck Tortoise, which were all existences that were at the level of the ocean overlords. They were in fact superior to the ancient wyrms and Titans.

    On the other hand, the prehistoric Mirage Beast was the overlord of the overlords at that time, and things like the Nine-headed Sea Dragons were just its food. It was said that the Mirage Beasts¡¯ talent was to create an illusion out of thin air, which was impossible to escape. Anyone who got trapped in it would end up being devoured by the Mirage Beast. Besides, as the Mirage Beast continued to grow, the illusions it created would change too. The range of the area it enveloped would also change. Therger the range, the more confusing the illusion.

    Once the Mirage Beast broke through to the Sanctuary-realm, the illusions it created would be real and even stronger than the Domain Worlds that Sanctuary Masters created. They would basically form the prototype of a Divine Kingdom. Like Sanctuary Masters in their respective Domain Worlds, the prehistoric Mirage Beasts were like gods in the illusions that they created, in which they could manipte thews at will.

    At this stage, the illusion could no longer be called an illusion, because everything within it was real yet unreal. It was unreal because it was imagined by the Mirage Beast, but it was also real because it truly posed a lethal threat to the enemies. In their illusions, the Mirage Beasts could not only create powerful magical beasts, they could even create bizarrebyrinths and countless magic gears and magic traps that were beyond imaginable. It was all created from their imagination.

    The Mirage Beasts¡¯ power to create illusions was hidden in the Mirage Sphere. If someone could obtain a Mirage Sphere, they would be able to stimte the power within it through some special means, and create an illusion ording to their imagination. However, the power of the Mirage Sphere could no longer be increased, and the level of the illusion that could be created would be limited to the level of the sphere. It had nothing to do with the user. Hence, regardless of whether the user of a Legendary-level Mirage Sphere was at the Legendary-realm or Sanctuary-realm, the effect would be the same. The level of the illusion would remain unchanged.

    ording to Grand Duke Vidi, the Mirage Sphere that was being auctioned now was at the peak of the Legendary-level, and its power contained a hint of the Sanctuary-realm power. Most Mirage Beasts would be reaching adulthood at that level. After reaching the Sanctuary-realm, it would truly be an invincible existence.

    However, even with just a trace of the power of the Sanctuary-realm, the illusion created by the Mirage Sphere would definitely have power that was not to be belittled. Perhaps the entire illusion was fake, but that trace of Sanctuary-level power could condense some truth that made it difficult to guard against.

    Moreover, due to the fact that it was not created with a mageweath or array formations, breaking the illusion using somew was almost impossible. It could be said that such a Mirage Sphere was definitely the best item to use for guarding one¡¯s residence. Even the best thieves in the world might not be able to leave the illusion.

    Hence, after Grand Duke Vidi introduced the Mirage Sphere in detail, and announced the start of the bidding, the people in the hall immediately got into a bidding frenzy again. The starting price of the Mirage Sphere was 5,000,000 gold coins, but the crowd managed to increase it to 10,000,000 gold coins in the blink of an eye.

    However, as the price increased, some people had no choice but to withdraw from the bidding. After all, more than 10,000,000 gold coins was not considered a small sum for the vast majority of people. ording to the rate of the increase in price, the final transaction price of the Mirage Sphere should probably be at least 20-30 million gold coins.

    Although the power of the Mirage Sphere was coveted by many, it wasn¡¯t a must to get their hands on it for most people. After all, they had been living fine without the Mirage Sphere all these years. Simply put, the Mirage Sphere was the icing on the cake, and if one was wealthy, it would be fine to spend arge amount of money on it. However, there was no need to.

    Soon, those who were still continuing to bid for the Mirage Sphere were those from the major Sea ns. Apart from them, there were also the representatives of the three human kingdoms, the Ledin Kingdom, the Fn Kingdom, and the Rotterdam Kingdom. There was also Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine, who was likewise cing bids and pushing the price up.

    ¡°20,000,000 gold coins!¡± When the bidding began to cool down, the prince of the Thunder Eel n, Manson, finally ced a bid of 20,000,000 gold coins.

    The frenzy began again, and the bidding that had slowed down a little began to get heated again. It increased all the way to 29,000,000 gold coins before slowing down again. Although there was only a small difference between 29,000,000 and 30,000,000, the guests at the auction couldn¡¯t help but think about the consequences of paying over 30,000,000 gold coins.

    That was the strange thing about human mentality. Each increment in price seemed to be a threshold to be crossed, and those who managed to cross it would have topete with others until they reached the next threshold.

    Hence, if one went past the 30,000,000 gold coin benchmark, they would basically have to consider if they could afford nearly 40,000,000 gold coins.

    ¡°This Mirage Sphere is actually so valuable. However, it¡¯s just meant for the creation of an illusion. Even if it contained a trace of Sanctuary-level power, it wouldn¡¯t cause much impact on the Sanctuary powerhouses,¡± Connoris said in disdain as he looked at those who kept raising their bids.

    Indeed, just as Connoris said, the illusion created by the Mirage Sphere was just an illusion, and only when the sphere reached the Sanctuary-realm would everything in the illusion be real. Only then would it be a formidable, lethal weapon. It was just like the massive difference between a Legendary-mage and a Sanctuary Master.

    Not to mention dealing with Sanctuary powerhouses, the illusion created by this Mirage Sphere would be far from enough to deal with Connoris. That trace of Sanctuary-level power would not be able to do the slightest damage to Connoris¡¯ perfect body at all. The remaining illusions were not lethal, either, so Connoris would be able to break through easily.

    However, Lin Li shook his head with a smile, and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you usually quite smart? Why do you refuse to use your brain after you¡¯ve gotten the perfect body? Look at these people who are bidding.¡±

    Besides the overlords of the Endless Ocean, the ones who were bidding belonged to the three human kingdoms, which were veryrge forces in Anril. Of course, apart from them, others probably would not be able to afford tens of millions of gold coins.

    Connoris looked at those people, only to realize that a few wealthy tycoons did not take part in the bidding for the Mirage Sphere. The few tycoons were not any less wealthy than the major Sea ns and human kingdoms. In fact, legend had it that they were rich enough to afford an entire kingdom.

    Clearly, the remaining ones who were still bidding were not doing so because of the price. In that case, it was because of the function of the Mirage Sphere. Connoris immediately figured out the reason, and said, ¡°Indeed, that ability of the Mirage Sphere wille in pretty handy in war.¡±

    Indeed, the illusion created by the Mirage Sphere could not pose a threat to Sanctuary powerhouses, but there weren¡¯t that many Sanctuary powerhouses in this world.

 Chapter 1231 - Not Considered A Lie

    <h4>Chapter 1231: Not Considered A Lie</h4>

    Besides, they both had Sanctuary powerhouses to preside over the team and provide support. Hence, the real deciding factor of victory was still their respective military teams that would go toe-to-toe against each other on the battlefield. Besides, even the most elite legion was at bestposed of Legendary powerhouse. Hence, the Mirage Sphere would be a great lethal weapon against enemies below the Sanctuary-realm.

    That was precisely the reason that the major forces were vying endlessly for the Mirage Sphere. No one hoped for their enemies to get something that was powerful enough to be a deciding factor of a battle¡¯s oue.

    ¡°Felic, why don¡¯t you buy it, then? Surely you can afford it, right?¡± Connoris couldn¡¯t help but ask Lin Li again after figuring it out.

    The Tower of Dusk had now developed to the point of being an extremely powerful force, and if they fought at full strength, they might not be inferior to the Sea ns or human kingdoms. Hence, if Lin Li could get hold of the Mirage Sphere, he would definitely be able to increase the strength of the Tower of Dusk by another notch.

    ¡°What can I use that thing for? I¡¯m just the president of a Guild of Magic, I don¡¯t n to unify and rule Anril,¡± Lin Li said half-jokingly. Of course, that was also a fact because Lin Li¡¯s top considerations at the moment were: one, to search for the Immortal King, and get a clear idea of the mysteries of his transmigration to this world; and two, to think of ways to deal with the great cmity that Geresco had predicted.

    Hence, given the level of battles that Lin Li would likely face, the Mirage Sphere wouldn¡¯t be of much use to him. On the other hand, the Mage Legion of the Tower of Dusk had the Magic Net Array that Geresco had left behind, as there was the Sky Castle, which was a powerful battle weapon. There was no need for an illusion-creating item like the Mirage Sphere at all.

    Besides, if Lin Li wanted to create illusions, he was fully capable ofing up with hundreds of ways to do so by putting his attainments in inscription to use. Moreover, the power of the illusions he could create using inscription would only be higher, if not simply equal to that of the Mirage Sphere. The power of the Mirage Sphere contained only a wisp of Sanctuary-level power, but Lin Li¡¯s mageweaths had already reached the point of containing some Divine Power. In that case, there was no reason for him to spend so much money on an item that wouldn¡¯t be of any use to him at all.

    However, while the Mirage Sphere might be useless to Lin Li, it boasted several benefits that would be of great use to the major Sea ns and the human kingdoms. Perhaps one of their goals in participating in this auction was to clinch the Mirage Sphere, which could decide the oue of a battle. After all, there probably wasn¡¯t another inscriber in Anril who had reached the terrifying level that Lin Li was at.

    ¡°50,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    During the brief period of time that Lin Li spent talking to Connoris, several bids had been ced, and at this point, Prince Johnathan of the Fn Kingdom had even called a bid of 50,000,000 gold coins.

    As he called his bid, everyone in the hall immediately fell silent, and all that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the people present. 50,000,000 gold coins for a single item was a staggering price that had rarely appeared even during the past auctions of the Sea Market over the years. For a kingdom, 50,000,000 gold coins was a few years¡¯ worth of tax revenue, and a kingdom without arge pool of financial reserves would probably go bankrupt after spending so much money in one go.

    ¡°Damn it, 50,000,000 gold coins? Is the Fn Kingdom ready to go bankrupt?!¡± Grina of the Giant Shark n eximed while breathing heavily and panting. Even for the Giant Shark n, 50,000,000 gold coins was a massive figure. Furthermore, he hade to the auction this time with the intention to buy more than just the Mirage Sphere.

    In fact, 50,000,000 gold coins was supposedly also a ratherrge sum for the Fn Kingdom, but after they¡¯d overthrown the High Elves, they had reaped plenty of benefits from them. Although the Supreme Council had thergest slice of the pie, the Fn Kingdom had received arge share of it too, especially in terms of money, which generally referred to gold coins and gemstones. Since those things were not of much use to the Supreme Council, most of them were given to the Fn Kingdom. Hence, 50,000,000 gold coins was just peanuts to them now.

    Of course, the Fn Kingdom was not the only wealthy kingdom. The Ledin Kingdom and Rotterdam Kingdom, as well as several other Sea ns, would all have no issue withing up with 50,000,000 gold coins. However, at this point, they also had no choice but to choose between 50,000,000 gold coins and the Mirage Sphere.

    Prince Tory of the Rotterdam Kingdom let out a long sigh, and decided to give up on bidding. Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he nevertheless shook his head, and put down the bidding sign that he was holding. Grina of the Giant Shark n had already crushed the wine ss he was holding into pieces with his hand, but he still hadn¡¯t ced a higher bid.

    ¡°51,000,000 gold coins,¡± said Manson, the prince of the Thunder Eel n, who tried his luck by raising the price by a million gold coins. An auction wasn¡¯t a simplepetition of who had more money. Instead, it also involved psychological warfare and mind games where lots of strategic thinking was involved when making purchases.

    There were more than just one or two superb items to be sold at the auction. No matter how wealthy one might be, they couldn¡¯t possibly buy all the good items. Besides, there was a stiffpetition going on, and the price wasn¡¯t fixed, but entirely dependent on the bidders. Hence, it wasn¡¯t a wise choice to blow all of one¡¯s money on a single item unless they weren¡¯t nning to buy anything elseter on in the auction.

    The price of 51,000,000 gold coins that Manson offered had already exceeded the amount of money that the Thunder Eel n had nned to spend on the Mirage Sphere. An extra million might not affect their n much, but if the Fn Kingdom continued to increase the bid, they would have no choice but to give up.

    Manson refused to give up. After all, the power of the Mirage Sphere was still very important for the Thunder Eel n. Although their n was powerful, they had a fatal w: they would have a hard time retaliating once their battle formation was breached. If they could have the protection of the illusions created by the Mirage Sphere, their mages would enjoy an additionalyer of protection. Even if the Giant Shark Knights invaded their battle formation, they could still deal with it with ease.

    ¡°51,000,000 gold coins... Is there anyone else who would like to offer a higher price? 51,000,000 gold coins, going once,¡± Grand Duke Vidi said as he looked around the venue. Seeing that there wasplete silence, he began to prepare to close the bid.

    However, before Grand Duke Vidi could call the second time, a voice came out from the private room where the people of the Fn Kingdom were in, causing a huge uproar in the venue again.

    ¡°53,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Prince Jonathan¡¯s voice filled the air in the auction hall and immediately caused an uproar, just like a boulder thrown into water. Although he had only increased the bid price by another 2,000,000 gold coins, it showed his strong determination to get hold of the Mirage Sphere. From this point alone, the crowd could already predict that Johnathan would more likely than not continue to bid for it if someone ced a higher bid.

    Manson of the Thunder Eel n was shaking his head slightly, thinking to himself that he had no choice but to give up the Mirage Sphere. Although the Mirage Sphere would be very useful to the Thunder Eel n, it wasn¡¯t attractive enough for him to want to put everything he had on the line just to acquire it. However, the Fn Kingdom was obviously bent on seizing it. If they continued to bid against each other, the price might exceed 60 or even 70 million gold coins, which wouldn¡¯t be cost-effective, and might even be a huge loss.

    After calling thrice, Grand Duke Vidi lowered the wooden hammer in his hand with a loud thud toplete the auction for the exorbitantly expensive Mirage Sphere. Everyone watched with regret and otherplex emotions in their eyes as the staff of the auction carried the massive Mirage Sphere away. They could imagine that the Mirage Sphere would soon belong to the Fn Kingdom.

    However, for the many Sea ns, it wasn¡¯t too terrible of a thing that the Fn Kingdom had won the auction for the Mirage Sphere. After all, the Fn Kingdom was not only a continental country, but also a kingdom with no forces at sea. Even if they had a powerful weapon like the Mirage Sphere, it wouldn¡¯t have much of an impact on the Sea ns.

    The only ones who had to worry about the rise in the Fn Kingdom¡¯s power were the Ledin Kingdom and the Rotterdam Kingdom, especially since there had always been a major conflict between the Fn Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom. God knew when the two kingdoms would go to war. Although Prince Jeremiah was a spoiled noble, he could still think of the issues that would entail. Hence, he regretted not making up his mind to try bidding for the Mirage Sphere.

    The Mirage Sphere was delivered away from the stage for the handover to bepleted, while the auction continued to proceed under Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s presidency. At this time, there was a knock on the door of the private room that Lin Li was in. After gaining Lin Li¡¯s permission, Prince Jonathan walked in with two followers by his side.

    ¡°Prince Jonathan, congrattions on winning the Mirage Sphere and having your wishes fulfilled,¡± Lin Li said with a smile as he stood up and motioned Prince Jonathan to take his seat.

    However, Prince Jonathan¡¯s face did not seem to be ted. After taking his seat, Johnathan said, ¡°President Felic, I know your character, so I won¡¯t beat around the bush. I came here this time because I have a favor to ask of you.¡±

    Although Prince Jonathan didn¡¯t have much contact with Lin Li, they were both still from Anril, after all, and he had a good understanding of Lin Li¡¯s character. Hence, after he entered, he didn¡¯t bother saying any pleasantries, and simply cut straight to the chase about his purpose of visit.

    ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Prince Johnathan, we¡¯ve been cooperating closely, and you¡¯re making us seem distant by saying that. Feel free to let me know what I can help you with. If it¡¯s within my means, I will naturally not decline,¡± Lin Li said. He wasn¡¯t being polite. The Tower of Dusk and the Fn Kingdom had long been in a business rtionship where the Fn Kingdom was one of the major customers of the Tower of Dusk for potions, weapons, and equipment. Although they weren¡¯t on extremely good terms, there at least hadn¡¯t been any obvious conflicts between them.

    ¡°Well, President Felic, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that we¡¯ve just bought the Mirage Sphere. In fact, this was one of my main goals when I decided to participate in this auction. However, I still need to pair the Mirage Sphere with some special mageweaths in order to fully exert its power, otherwise this thing will only be a decorative ornament. President Felic, since you¡¯re now the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council, I¡¯d like to seek your help in inviting a few Masters of Inscription from the Supreme Council.¡± Prince Jonathan didn¡¯t know how incredible Lin Li¡¯s attainments in inscription were, so he just hoped that Lin Li could use his status as an arbitrator to help them invite a few Masters of Inscription from the Supreme Council.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lin Li froze for a moment before saying with a smile, ¡°Prince Jonathan, you should know that I¡¯ve only recently be the fourth arbitrator, and given the characters of the Masters of Inscription, I doubt they¡¯d do me the favor. However, I¡¯ll take note of this and ask them for help, but if they do not wish to grant me the request, I can¡¯t force them to do anything. Please don¡¯t carry high hopes.¡±

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t lying, because inscribers held extremely high status in Anril. If Mages werepared to the ss of nobles, inscribers would be the nobles of the nobles. In the Supreme Council, inscribers simrly enjoyed extremely high status, and even Andoine, the chairman of the Supreme Council, might not be able to demand that the elderly inscribersply. Although they might not necessarily disobey the three arbitrators, the inscribers might not be willing to obey themands of Lin Li, the newly minted fourth arbitrator.

    Prince Johnathan naturally understood the rules; hence, he wasn¡¯t disappointed by Lin Li¡¯s vague answer. However, he believed that Lin Li¡¯s words should hold some weight because he was still the fourth arbitrator no matter what. Besides, he wouldn¡¯t freeload off of the inscribers, either. He just needed a middleman to help him contact them.

    Seeing that Lin Li agreed to his request, Prince Jonathan was sensible enough not to impose on him any further as he stood up to leave the private room.

    After Prince Jonathan left, Connoris burst intoughter, and mockingly said, ¡°He asked you to help him engage the help of the inscribers, but little does he know that a Guru of Inscription was actually seated right in front of him. So, what do you n to do? Are you going to help him yourself, or are you really going to let those few mediocre inscribers of the Supreme Council help him?¡±

    If those Masters of Inscription of the Supreme Council were to find out that they had been called mediocre, they would probably fly into a rage and leave. For instance, Master Moke who drew mageweaths for the Tower of Dusk back then was incredibly arrogant, and had his nose high up in the air. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t revealed some of his abilities, Master Moke would¡¯ve probably still been unaware of where he stoodpared to Lin Li.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it when the timees. Anyway, he just wants to stimte the power of the Mirage Sphere. That doesn¡¯t require an overlyplicated mageweath, those few inscribers of the Supreme Council should be able to cope with it,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to help Jonathan, but, after all, the friendship between the Fn Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t that strong. Besides, Jonathan might not believe Lin Li if thetter said that he could draw him a mageweath. Hence, there was no point in wasting his effort on doing that.

    After Lin Li had some small talk with Connoris, another auction item was brought to the stage, and Grand Duke Vidi reached out to remove the red cloth, unveiling the painting beneath it. This time, the people present were a little puzzled. Although this piece of art also had the ability to make othersprehendws, theparative effect didn¡¯t seem obvious, so it was clearly not worthy of being at such an auction.

    ¡°This painting is a gift to the Gilded Kingdom by the Octopus n, and was also created by Heldanos, the Legendary Master of the Octopus n.¡± In fact, even Grand Duke Vidi himself couldn¡¯tprehend why Bradlor and the others had decided to put this item up for auction, which he felt was absurd. Not to mention the strain that doing so might put on the diplomatic ties with the Octopus n, the value of the painting alone wasn¡¯t enough to fetch a high price at the auction.

 Chapter 1232 - Sunset At Sea

    <h4>Chapter 1232: Sunset At Sea</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, doubts were doubts, and Grand Duke Vidi didn¡¯t forget what his duties were. He first praised the painting endlessly before bringing up the friendship between the Gilded Kingdom and the Octopus n ording to Monterey¡¯s instructions lest the Octopus n thought too much about it.

    In the end, Grand Duke Vidi announced the official start of the bidding for the painting of the sunset at sea that was created by Heldanos with a starting price of 1,000,000 gold coins.

    However, unlike the other auction items, which many of the guests had gotten into a frenzy for right after the bidding began, no one started bidding for this one. This time, there wasplete silence, and it seemed possible to hear the sound of a pin drop!

    1,000,000 gold coins was indeed not arge sum of money to the people participating in the auction. Even the ones who had the least financial power probably wouldn¡¯t take the sum of 1,000,000 gold coins seriously. However, no one would be willing to do such a silly thing as to spend 1,000,000 gold coins on a painting.

    The people here had participated in the auction with the purpose of buying things that they really needed. As long as something was useful to them, they would definitely fight for it regardless of how high the price might be. However, they really couldn¡¯t think of anything they could use the painting for. Although the painting was significant, it was only so because others gave meaning to it. However, it waspletely insignificant to the people at the auction. In that case, who would be willing to spend 1,000,000 gold coins on something they didn¡¯t need?

    On the other hand, Lin Li, who was seated in the private room, seemed to have understood something. In fact, the reason for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s actions was already very obvious. If Lin Li still couldn¡¯t tell by now, he wouldn¡¯t be worthy of being the longtime president of a Guild of Magic. Lin Li didn¡¯t ce his bid immediately, not because he didn¡¯t want the painting, but because he didn¡¯t want others to know that he wanted it.

    Although Lin Li was not short of money, it would naturally be best if he could spend the least amount of money to get what he wanted. He was well aware that if he acted like he was bent on taking that painting home, the other participants of the auction would definitely startpeting with him. At the very least, he knew that Grina of the Giant Shark n definitely wouldn¡¯t mind raising the price higher just so he could take revenge on Lin Li for snatching the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor away from him just now.

    Grand Duke Vidi secretly resented Bradlor for making him do it, but he had no choice but to talk about the positive attributes of the painting again and again. Although it wasmon for items to go unsold at an auction, such an urrence at this auction would definitely greatly affect their reputation.

    However, a painting was a painting, and it couldn¡¯t bepared to more powerful items like the Mirage Sphere. Grand Duke Vidi racked his brains to think of ways to promote the painting on an artistic level. Even if he described it as the most precious artwork that no one in this world had ever seen before, he still couldn¡¯t change the fact that it was just a piece of art.

    <i>It seems that this item is really going to go unsold this time! That would undoubtedly be a w of this auction, and it might even turn into aughingstock,</i> Grand Duke Vidi thought to himself helplessly.

    Faced with such a situation, Bradlor and Monterey, who were in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s private room, looked at each other in puzzlement. <i>Didn¡¯t Felic set his sights on this painting? Why hasn¡¯t he ced a bid for it yet now that it¡¯s up for auction? Did we get the wrong idea, or does he think 1,000,000 gold coins is too high of a price?</i>

    However, when Grand Duke Vidi was ready to announce that the item was going to go unsold, someone from the private room of the Octopus n interjected.

    ¡°2,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    No matter what, that painting was a gift from the Octopus n to the Gilded Kingdom and a masterpiece created by Heldanos, a legendary figure of the Octopus n. If it ended up being unsold at this auction, the Octopus n would definitely feel embarrassed too. Hence, when they saw that no one was bidding for it, they had no choice but to offer a price of 2,000,000 gold coins themselves.

    Hearing the Octopus n¡¯s offer, Grand Duke Vidi was somewhat relieved. Although there wasn¡¯t any frenzied bidding, it was good that the item at least didn¡¯t go unsold.

    ¡°3,000,000 gold coins!¡± Lin Li finally ced his bid. 3,000,000 gold coins for a painting was quite an absurd price to others, but what Lin Li saw was not art, but the inscription knowledge that the painting contained. If it wasn¡¯t in the form of a painting but a journal, the Guru of Inscription Heldanos¡¯ notes would probably be worth more than 30,000,000 gold coins.

    Grina of the Giant Shark n was feeling a little bored at first, and he even wanted to see the reaction of the Octopus n once the item was announced as unsold. To his surprise, the Octopus n first offered to buy their own painting, andter on, Felic of the Tower of Dusk ced a bid too.

    Now, Grina was immediately interested too. Not to mention the previous feud that they had, the fact that Lin Li had snatched the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor from him made him furious too.

    Now that he was aware of Lin Li¡¯s interest in the painting, of course Grina had to create trouble for him. Although he didn¡¯t want the painting, nor did he know what the painting could do for him, he would be able to somewhat get back at Lin Li if he could raise the price high. With that thought in mind, Grina raised the bidder sign in his hand high.

    However, Cantory, who was beside Grina, quickly stopped him, and said, ¡°Prince Grina, don¡¯t you find this a little bizarre?¡±

    ¡°Bizarre? What¡¯s so bizarre about this?!¡± Grina turned around and looked at Cantory. He smugly said, ¡°Since he wants that painting, I¡¯ll make him spend a hundred times more than he should for it. Otherwise, how can I vent the anger within me?¡±

    Cantory smiled and shook his head while ncing at the private room opposite theirs. He calmly said, ¡°Prince Grina, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s really strange for a painting of such little value to appear at such a prestigious auction? There must be something fishy about this.¡±

    ¡°What? Do you mean that he¡¯s trying to lure me to bid for it?¡± Grina was not a fool, either. After getting Cantory¡¯s reminder, he immediately thought of such a possibility, and also thought of many other reasons.

    If Lin Li were to ce his bid first, Grina wouldn¡¯t mind making things hard for the former, but after hearing Cantory¡¯s reminder, he felt that there was some conspiracy involved! Grina tapped his fingers on the desk a few times, and couldn¡¯t help but develop such thoughts.

    It was especially so because both Lin Li and the Octopus n were not on good terms with him. Hence, he had no choice but to suspect if they wereying a trap for him.

    It was no wonder that Grina would think that way because such urrences were extremelymon at auctions. A useless item would usually end up being sold at an extremely high price because ofpetitive bidding between spiteful parties that were out to get at each other. Of course, it also involved psychological warfare. If one party was better at thinking, they could have the upper hand.

    However, Grina wasn¡¯t good at psychological warfare, so he looked at Cantory, and asked, ¡°Are you going to give up just like that?¡±

    ¡°Give up? Nah, we can try testing them and decide what to do next based on their reaction. We might be able to feed them with their own medicine.¡± Cantory had a strong feud with Lin Li too; hence, he naturally wasn¡¯t willing to give up such an opportunity, and he came up with that idea for Grina.

    ¡°3,500,000 gold coins!¡± Grina eximed as he decided to test the waters after a moment of hesitation.

    As soon as Grina finished speaking, Lin Li ced a higher bid again. ¡°4,500,000 gold coins!¡±

    He raised the price by another million gold coins, seemingly trying to get Grina into the mood for bidding higher. Lin Li raised the bid price by a million at a time, but Grina had merely increased it by 500,000 gold coins. How could the prideful Grina be willing to do such an embarrassing thing? If the price was increased by a million gold coins at a time, the price would soon exceed 10,000,000 gold coins after just a few rounds. 10,000,000 gold coins might not be considered much to financially powerful figures like them, but in some situations, it mighte in handy.

    Grina was about to raise his bid by another million gold coins, but just as he was about to raise the bidder sign in his hand, he lowered it again. Although he was impulsive, he wasn¡¯t a fool. Since he had long thought of the possibility that it might be a trap for him, how could he have not kept his guard up? Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but look at Cantory again to ask for his opinion.

    Cantory didn¡¯t say anything, and simply raised his hand and extended two fingers.

    Grina immediately figured out what he meant. Hence, he raised the bidder sign in his hand, and eximed, ¡°6,500,000 gold coins!¡±

    Cantory wanted Grina to raise the price by 2,000,000 gold coins at once just to give Lin Li the false impression that they had fallen into his trap. However, it was just a painting, and there wasn¡¯t much they could leverage on. Hence, after calling his bid, Grina said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, if he ces another bid, we can stop.¡±

    Grina didn¡¯t oppose Cantory¡¯s idea, since he didn¡¯t fall into the trap anyway. Making Lin Li pay 7,000,000-8,000,000 gold coins above what he could have bought it for was also a means for him to vent his anger.

    As Cantory and Grina had expected, Lin Li, who was in the private room opposite theirs, raised the bidder in his hand again. However, this time he didn¡¯t raise the price by 2,000,000 gold coins like he did previously, and instead just raised it by a million gold coins to 7,500,000.

    ¡°Just as I thought! Stop here, Grina,¡± Cantory said while pping his hands. The rhythm of the increment of 1,000,000 gold coins waspletely different from that of 2,000,000 gold coins, and there was a very subtle psychological reaction involved. He was now certain that Lin Li was trying to use the painting toy a trap for Grina, so there was no longer a need for him to do anything else.

    Grina trusted Cantory¡¯spetency in mind games that involved schemes and tricks. In the eyes of the Sea ns, humans were extremely cunning. Hence, Grina didn¡¯t oppose Cantory¡¯s analysis and judgment. Instead, he returned to his seat and tossed the bidder sign onto the table with a smile. ¡°Haha, this feels awesome. Let¡¯s see how Felic can continue pretending. I bet he can¡¯t cry even if he wants to now.¡±

    Cantory had schemed against Lin Li several times, but he had never gotten the upper hand. This time, it was definitely an unforgettable experience for Cantory. If he didn¡¯t have to continue staying for the auction, he would go outside to drink to his heart¡¯s content in order to celebrate.

    Grand Duke Vidi, who was on the stage below, finally lowered the hammer and confirmed the validity of this sessful auction. He announced, ¡°We don¡¯t have any higher bidders. This painting, Sunset at Sea, which was created by Heldanos, will go to President Felic of the Tower of Dusk!¡±

    All of a sudden, the people in the auction hall cast their gazes at the private room that Lin Li was in. No matter what, they couldn¡¯t figure out why anyone would be willing to spend more than 7,000,000 gold coins on a painting. Perhaps everyone had already perceived Lin Li as a lunatic at this point.

    However, Lin Li, who got the painting, couldn¡¯t even care less about that. The painting contained the notes left by a Guru of Inscription who was on par with him. Even if he had spent 70,000,000 gold coins on it, he would¡¯ve thought that it had been worth every gold coin of his because it was a treasure in his opinion.

    At this time, the door of the private room was knocked on again. Prince Monterey personally delivered the painting to Lin Li. Afterpleting the handover, Monterey didn¡¯t leave immediately, and instead asked, ¡°President Felic, the painting belongs to you now, but I¡¯m very curious about something. If you don¡¯t mind, can you tell me what is so special about this painting that you¡¯re so attracted to it?¡±

    There were rumors that Lin Li had bought the painting because his n to scheme against Grina had backfired. However, Monterey knew that Lin Li had been interested in the painting since a long time ago; hence, he naturally wouldn¡¯t believe the rumors.

    Lin Li did not hide his intentions. After putting the painting away, he said to Prince Monterey, ¡°Actually, I have you to thank, Prince Monterey. This painting is actually of no use to ordinary people, but I managed to see some knowledge rted to inscription when I saw it in the exhibition hall previously. This painting is like the inscription notes belonging to Heldanos as it contains all of his experiences and knowledge in the field of inscription. However, these things can¡¯t be seen by ordinary people.¡±

    Although Lin Li was telling the truth, Prince Monterey didn¡¯t really believe it. It seemed ridiculous to him that a painting would contain any knowledge in inscription. If it had really been that amazing, the Octopus n members, who were experts in the field of inscription, wouldn¡¯t have given the painting to the Gilded Kingdom as a gift.

    However, after all that Lin Li had said, Prince Monterey couldn¡¯t possibly probe any further. Hence, he merely shook his head, and said, ¡°Congrattions, President Felic. The auction hasn¡¯t ended yet, and I shall not impose on you further.¡±

    Although Prince Monterey didn¡¯t deliberately try to spread what Lin Li said, many people nevertheless caught wind of Lin Li¡¯s exnation. However, in their opinion, Lin Li was just making it up to save himself from the embarrassment.

 Chapter 1233 - The Bellerophon Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1233: The Bellerophon n</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ¡°Haha, that guy is probably vomiting blood right now! Trust him toe up with such a far-fetched exnation!¡± Grina and Cantory had both heard his exnation, but they thought that Lin Li was just making things up like the others. Besides, this just added on to the proof that their previous spection about the backfiring of Lin Li¡¯s n to scheme against Grina. It was an extremely humiliating thing for Lin Li, so it was no wonder that he woulde up with such an excuse, or so they thought.

    The tiny uproar drew the attention of everyone at the venue, so much so that they were all getting distracted from the auction. When the next few items were being auctioned, it didn¡¯t arouse any frenzied bidding or intensepetition, which made Grand Duke Vidi a little frustrated.

    However, a manager of the auction suddenly dashed onto the stage, and whispered something into Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s ear. No one knew what he said, but they saw Vidi frowning before appearing bbergasted. In the end, his expression turned sullen.

    Finally, Grand Duke Vidi gave his subordinate some instructions, and waved his hand to gesture for him to leave the stage. He then proceeded with the auction.

    Soon, another auction item was brought to the stage, which immediately drew the attention of the crowd at the auction. However, the auction item seemed rather inconspicuous on the surface. In fact, it could even be considered ugly.

    It was a magic staff that was grayish yellow in color, and its exterior was not straight. Instead, it looked like a withered branch. Based on the appearance of the staff, no one could see what it was actually made of. The material was neither metal nor wood, and there were no gemstones iid in it, either. One end was thick, while the other was thin.

    ¡°Most of you will probably find this staff peculiar, and you might even wonder, how can such a thing be called a staff?¡± Grand Duke Vidi picked up the ugly staff, showed it to the crowd with a tone of mockery, and then continued, ¡°However, I will mention a name that perhaps won¡¯t be unheard of to all of you, and that is Mocajerio.¡±

    Indeed, as Grand Duke Vidi said, all the people present got into an uproar after hearing Mocajerio¡¯s name, disrupting the initial peace of the venue.

    Mocajerio was a famous Sanctuary Master among the Sea ns, but his fame was not entirely because of his strength. After all, he was not the only Sanctuary powerhouse among the Sea ns. An important reason for his fame was actually because he was from the Gobiidae n, which had an extremely short lifespan of only 30-odd years on average. Even at the Legendary-realm, the Gobiidae n¡¯s lifespan would only be extended to 100 years. It was almost impossible for any of them to break through to the Sanctuary-realm within such a short period of time.

    However, Mocajerio was definitely an anomaly in the Gobiidae n. First of all, he was definitely a genius as he managed to reach the Legendary-realm at the young age of 15, which was definitely an amazing feat that would make him worthy of being considered a genius in the entire Endless Ocean.

    However, even if the people of the Gobiidae n reached the Legendary-realm, they would still only have a life expectancy of less than 100 years. If they wanted to use those few decades to break through to the Sanctuary-realm, it would be impossible unless they were like Lin Li. However, there was probably no one in this world who would be as absurdlypetent as Lin Li. It was the same for Mocajerio. ording to records, even when he reached the age of 90-something, he still didn¡¯t see any signs of a breakthrough to the Sanctuary-realm, and it was as if there was nothing else he could do except wait for the day of his death to arrive.

    However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Mocajerio, who still hadn¡¯t reached the Sanctuary-realm when he was almost 100 years old, didn¡¯t get taken away by the reaper when he reached a full 100 years of age, unlike his fellow nsmen. Instead, he continued studying the ways to break through to the Sanctuary-realm.

    Mocajerio finally broke through to the Sanctuary-realm at the age of 200, thus bing the first ever Sanctuary Master of the Gobiidae n. No one knew how many years the lifespan of the Gobiidae n, which had short life expectancy, would be extended by after they reached the Sanctuary-realm. All they knew was that Mocajerio lived for more than 10,000 years before vanishing.

    Hence, the Gobiidae n and many other Sea ns with short lifespans were all dying to know how Mocajerio had managed to break free from the shackles of a short life expectancy.

    ¡°I think you have already thought of something. Yes, this Coral Staff is the one that Mocajerio has been using since he was a child, and did not rece it even after he broke through to the Sanctuary-realm. We have already verified the authenticity of this Coral Staff with the help of a few dozen authenticators. Now, we will begin the auction of this Coral Staff. The starting bid is 5,000,000 gold coins.¡± After giving the introduction, Grand Duke Vidi ced the Coral Staff on the shelf on the table, and everything was disyed clearly on a huge projection that appeared on the curtain behind.

    As it was a staff used by a Sanctuary powerhouse, the power of the Coral Staff was actually not considered great. Hence, many weren¡¯t that enthusiastic about this staff. However, the Gobiidae n was not the only Sea n with a short lifespan; it was just that the rest had it better than them. For Sea ns with short lifespans like them, the power of the staff was not important. The key was that the Coral Staff might contain the secrets of Mocajerio¡¯s method of breaking free from the shackles of their lifespans.

    Hence, after Grand Duke Vidi announced the start of the auction, the Sea ns with inherently shorter life expectancy beganpeting for the Coral Staff zealously. The secret to longevity, or even immortality, was not attractive only to the species with shorter life expectancies. Even those whose lives were longer hoped to master the secret of immortality.

    Although the minimum bid increment stated in the rules of the auction was only 200,000 gold coins, the price of the Coral Staff was still soaring upward by a million gold coins at a time. However, even so, not many people gave up, and it seemed that many people treated the Coral Staff as their most important goal in this auction.

    In fact, humans were actually also considered a species with rtively low life expectancy, with the norm being only 60-70 years for most ordinary people. However, humans had great potential for development, and once they broke through to the Legendary-realm, they would have their life expectancy increased by thousands of years. Once they reached the Sanctuary-realm, their lifespan could almost be considered infinite, even though they could not necessarily be considered to have achieved immortality. Hence, during thepetitive bidding for the Coral Staff, manyrge forces and ns chose to remain seated and watch the intensepetition instead of joining the bidding.

    With the fluctuating increment between bids, the price of the Coral Staff soared, and gradually exceeded the 10,000,000-gold-coin benchmark. In the blink of an eye, the price was about to break through the 60,000,000-gold-coin mark, making this round of bidding even crazier than that for the Mirage Sphere previously. However, as the price exceeded 60,000,000 gold coins, some weaker forces finally had no choice but to give up, causing the bidding to cool down a little.

    ¡°On behalf of the Sea Serpent n, I¡¯m cing a bid of 63,000,000 gold coins!¡± Falth, the prince of the Sea Serpent n, suddenly eximed. He even reported the n that he was from. Clearly, Falth was not just bidding for the item, but also issuing some sort of a threat. Among the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, the Sea Serpents had the shortest life expectancy of about only 300 years on average. Hence, the Sea Serpent n was bent on obtaining the Coral Staff.

    As expected, after Falth ced his bid, many people who participated in the bidding showed a drastic change in expression. After all, the Sea Serpent n was one of the seven overlords of the ocean whose power and strength was far beyond what the other weaker Sea ns couldpare to. In particr, the Sea Serpent n was known to be the most vicious and insidious among the seven overlords. If they were provoked, they would really be capable of doing anything.

    Besides, it could be seen from Falth¡¯s bid that the price of the Coral Staff was probably reaching the maximum of his budget. The Deste Sea where the Sea Serpent n resided was not abundant in sea specialties and resources. Although those tens of millions of gold coins were not exactly going to put a dent in their bank, they would obviously save as much as possible.

    However, the temptation of the secret to immortality was clearly great enough to make the others ignore the threat of the Sea Serpent n. Soon after Falth called his bid, an extremely abrupt voice sounded in the venue.

    ¡°15,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Everyone immediately turned to look in the direction that the voice came from, only to see a peculiar-looking Sea nsman raising the bidder sign with shaky hands.

    That Sea nsman was rtively short, with a stature of only about 1.2 to 1.3 meters, and he seemed to be a goblin of the sea. He was wearing a hat made of a colorful conch and a fist-sized golden conch hanging on his neck.

    Although Lin Li was seated in the private room on the second floor, he happened to be able to see that strange-looking Sea nsman. He carefully tried to recall the memories he had of the Sea n, and finally remembered some information about them with painstaking effort. It was obvious how insignificant they were among the many Sea ns of the ocean.

    Despite the threat of the Sea Serpent n, that short Sea n person was still insisting on bidding for the Coral Staff. In fact, the Sea n that he came from had quite a shy name¡ªthe Bellerophon n. However, among the many Sea ns, the Bellerophon n was definitely ranked at the bottom in terms of strength. Not to mention the seven overlords of the ocean, they were in fact far inferior even to the Gobiidae n.

    The Bellerophon n had close to zerobat power, and while they could pick up magic, theycked talent. Even the so-called geniuses of their ns were only at the standards of level-10 mages. They could learn martial arts, but their achievements would be stunted by their petite bodies.

    However, the Bellerophons had an innate talent, and that was their ability to enhance the physical traits of their own n through the sound waves of their conch, such as giving them ardor, courage, tenacity, etc. It could be said that Bellerophons were born to be a support-type n that had to be attached to a powerful force, just like the other symbiotic creatures in the ocean.

    Logically speaking, a purely support-type n as such should be very popr with other Sea ns like the Giant Shark n, which, although they had very powerful Giant Shark Knights, would gain a great boost in theirbat power if they wereplemented with a support-type n like the Bellerophons, who would augment their abilities and power. In fact, it was said that during the era of the Ocean Dynasty, the Bellerophons had quite a high status, and they were present in many major legions.

    Unfortunately, during the tumultuous period of the Ocean War, the Bellerophons would be the enemy¡¯s priority target, regardless of which side they fought alongside on the battlefield. During the Ocean Dynasty era, the coordination and cooperation of soldiers of arge variety of ns were very important. Hence, there were also teams that specialized in protecting the Bellerophons on the battlefield. However, the Ocean War was a war between ns where all cavalry and infantry troops, as well as archers, joined the fight in a chaotic manner. Thus, protecting the Bellerophons was no longer a priority.

    By the end of the Ocean War, the talented Bellerophons were almost fully annihted, and there wasn¡¯t even a single Legendary-level powerhouse left among them. Besides, due to the fall of the n, the Bellerophons didn¡¯t gain any benefits after the war. Without the support of abundant resources, they couldn¡¯t nurture any outstanding talents, thus resulting in a vicious cycle.

    Currently, the Bellerophons had already lost their value in the eyes of the major Sea ns, and no one would bother to rope them in, because they wouldn¡¯t be able to provide much help to them. Hence, just like the other weaker Sea ns, the Bellerophons could only upy a small, barren area of the sea while struggling to keep their n from going extinct. Their only other source of ie, which was considered paltry, was generated through being employed by some other smaller forces. After all, for those smaller forces, any increase inbat power would be good enough, even if it was only a little bit.

    The average life expectancy of a Bellerophon was about 40 to 50 years. However, they would require at least 100 years to reach the Legendary-realm. Among the Sea ns, they were considered a standard species with a short lifespan. Without any outstanding geniuses and long life expectancy, the Bellerophons were actually already on the brink of extinction at this point as they were truly struggling to survive.

    However, no one could decide if a genius emerged among them or not. Hence, the Bellerophons had no choice but to pin their hopes on prolonging their lives. In fact, the powerful ns didn¡¯t exactly rise because of their geniuses. Perhaps, there were other ns that had the same level of innate talent as them, but enjoyed longer lifespans. Hence, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to have members that had reached the Legendary-realm. For the Bellerophons, it was simply impossible because they wouldn¡¯t live long enough to reach the Legendary-realm in 100 years.

    Hence, life expectancy was a huge problem that gued many species with shorter lifespans, as it was a crucial factor that hindered their development. For example, the High Elves would break through to the Legendary-realm upon reaching adulthood, and those who had reached the Sanctuary-realm were not rare, either. Hence, they were the self-proimed descendants of gods and the most perfect race. However, the High Elves had life expectancy of a thousand years and above, unlike humans. If humans could all live for such a long time, they might not necessarily be inferior to the High Elves.

    The same went for the Bellerophons. With an average life expectancy of only 40 to 50 years, no one except extremely rare geniuses would be able to break through to the Legendary-realm within their lifetime. Besides, doing so would also require arge amount of resources and support. Back in the era of the Ocean Dynasty, the Seahorse n valued the Bellerophons for their abilities, and all it took was a single order for them to gather arge amount of Legendary-level resources to allocate to the Bellerophons. However, in the current age, all Sea ns would keep their resources for their own use. Who would bother wasting their precious resources on the Bellerophons?

 Chapter 1234 - Sold!

    <h4>Chapter 1234: Sold!</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li thought about the Bellerophons, and realized that he was rather interested in their talent of blowing the conch, and would love to interact with the Bellerophons if he had the chance. He even had thoughts of hiring some of them just to know them better.

    Lin Li had been observing the auction for a while. He knew that while the Coral Staff was a weapon that belonged to Sanctuary powerhouses, it wascking aspared to his Helios¡¯ Scepter. He was also not interested to know the secrets of immortality, as he saw no practical use for them.

    Yet, the Bellerophon quoted the price of 65,000,000 gold coins, and although his voice was not loud, it generated a racket within the conference hall. That was because people were not only astonished by the hefty price the Bellerophons were willing to pay, but also shocked by the boldness of the Bellerophons to challenge the Sea Serpents.

    Falth from the Sea Serpent race was extremely furious. He seemed like he could flip the table at any point now. If he had not remembered where he was, he would have sprung out of his seat to tear the midget from the Bellerophon race into pieces. However, knowing that it was the setting of an auction event, Falth continued to stay as civilized as possible. He was just like Grina from the Giant Shark n, who had to admit his loss when their dragon armor was snatched earlier.

    ¡°S-sure, sure,¡± Falth muttered in agreement. Then, he raised the sign in his hand and gritted his teeth. ¡°70,000,000 gold coins!¡± said Falth.

    Unlike the Bellerophons, Falth had already reserved many items at the auction, and spent tens of millions of gold coins. Moreover, this was not the only auction in the sea market. While there had been lots of quality items from the beginning, it did not mean that there wouldn¡¯t be better things at the end.

    Hence, one could say that Falth used hisst 70,000,000 gold coins. If not, he would have talked less and disyed his wealth by quoting arger sum.

    There was an uproar after Falth quoted his price. To them, it wasn¡¯t about how much a person could afford. It was about whether one might be spending it in a worthy manner. They definitely thought that 70,000,000 gold coins was an exaggeration for the purchase of an immortal secret that might not even exist.

    ¡°72,000,000 gold coins!¡± someone said in a very decisive tone. It was definitely not expected of the Bellerophon, who was still trembling and hesitant when he raised his name te. It was obvious that he had decided to go to the extreme. Since he had already offended the spiteful Sea Serpents, he did not intend to call it quits right now. Furthermore, that Coral Staff and its secrets concerned the fate of the entire Bellerophon. This had to be the moment he was waiting for!

    POM! Falth mmed his hand into the ss cup, and shattered the cup that was ced on the table. He coldly nced at that dwarf-like Bellerophon below him, and was skeptical that such an unsightly race could have so much money. He could not help but wonder why they¡¯d still lived such pitiful lives for the thousands of years if they had such a great amount of wealth.

    Falth had considered letting the Bellerophons win the auction and rob them after. But, he wasn¡¯t certain that there wouldn¡¯t be other people with simr intentions. He was also worried that he would lose the opportunity to do that if the Bellerophons continued staying in Gilded Kingdom after they acquired the Coral Staff.

    The Coral Staff was particrly important to the Sea Serpents. Falth would not want to take the risk of losing it if he could. Hence, he thought that the most assuring way was to acquire it himself by legal means.

    This helped to boost Falth¡¯s determination. ¡°50,000,000 gold coins and 10 Legendary magical crystals,¡± said Falth as he raised the sign in his hands and turned to face the auction table.

    Crystals of the Legendary-level could easily cost up to tens of millions of gold coins. They usually weren¡¯t something that could be bought with money. Yet, such crystals would definitely need to have a price if they were to be offered at an auction.

    Of course, this was not an umon sight at auctions. Just like pawning, one would have to offer their magical crystal at a much lower price at an auction if they could not offer immediate cash. Auction was a race against time.

    Soon, the auctioneer gave an estimate of the value of the crystals. After all, the crystals were different in their standards. There were crystals as low as level-21 to crystals as level-24. The value the auctioneer estimated for the 10 Legendary magical crystals was 35,000,000 gold coins.

    This value was definitely very low. It meant that on average, one Legendary magical crystal would only cost 3,500,000 gold coins. While he would be able to sell the crystals for a higher price in the market, Falth had no other choice here. The auction would not wait for him. Hundreds of millions of gold coins would not be able to change the oue of the auction after the three knocks of the hammer.

    The price of the item had already reached 85,000,000 gold coins the moment Falth offered 50,000,000 gold coins as well. It had surpassed the price offered by the Bellerophons by tens of millions of gold coins. Falth was growing anxious.

    ¡°O-one more, one more Sanctuary-level magic crystal!¡±

    Falth had originally thought that the item would be his to take away. He did not expect the person from the Bellerophon n to raise his sign after him. Sanctuary-level magic crystals were absolutely priceless treasures. It would be no exaggeration to say that hundreds and thousands of Legendary magic crystals would not have matched up to the value of one Sanctuary-level magic crystal.

    Although this Sanctuary-level magic crystal was at the beginning of the Sanctuary-level, the energy within it was certainly not within the reach of any Legendary-level crystal. Hence, the value of a Sanctuary-level magic crystal was not to be determined by the amount of mana it epassed. What was more important was the unique knowledge about the Sanctuary-realm it contained.

    One would be abusing the gift of God if he were to use a Sanctuary-level magic crystal as the source of mana. As long as mages meditated around a Sanctuary-level magic crystal, they would recover 100 times faster and enhance their abilities by 100 times. Thews within Sanctuary-level magic crystals were like guidingmps that would allow anyone who managed to gain any amount of enlightenment to reap great benefits.

    A Sanctuary-level magic crystal was like an inexhaustible treasure. The 70,000,000 gold coins from the Bellerophon alone were definitely nothingpared to it.

    Although the Endless Sea was rich in resources, Sanctuary-level magic crystals were extremely rarely found there. After all, magical marine creatures of the sea were considered divine existences. They were not easy to deal with. Moreover, even if one were to have the ability to defeat Sanctuary-level marine beasts, they might not even find them as easily as they wanted. The Endless Ocean was not Geresco¡¯s meditation ground. He wouldn¡¯t nurture that many Sanctuary-level beasts for the people of the sea to hunt them.

    Although the seven great masters of the sea had split many benefits during the ocean dynasty, and might have collected Sanctuary-level magic crystals, it would be impossible for them to use the crystals for other matters.

    What surprised the crowd was who the owner of the Sanctuary-level magic crystal was. As the Bellerophons were an incredibly weak force among the Sea ns, no one would ever believe they would have the ability to defeat a Sanctuary-level magical beast. Their abilities would not even allow them to y Legendary-level magical beasts.

    Another possibility surfaced in the minds of these people. Since it was impossible for the Bellerophons to kill a Sanctuary-level marine beast in the Endless Ocean, their Sanctuary-level magic crystal had to have been passed down from the previous dynasty. Although the standing of the Bellerophon was rather low among the other forces at the Endless Ocean, they had been once even more formidable than the seven overlords under the past dynasty.

    No matter what, it was a fact that the Bellerophons had taken out the Sanctuary-level magic crystal in exchange for the Coral Staff. The audience was now eagerly awaiting the response from the Sea Serpents.

    Falth from the Sea Serpents became extremely troubled when he heard what the Bellerophons offered. He knew that the Sea Serpents had one Sanctuary-level magic crystal that was employed in their Deste Sea Pce. He neither had the power nor the time to retrieve that Sanctuary-level magic crystal, however.

    <i>Seems like I would have to think about another n. But, it¡¯s great that the staff has only fallen into the hands of such an insignificant race.</i> This thought managed to calm Falth¡¯s frustration down greatly. He threw the sign in his hands away, and plopped back into his seat.

    Now, the only thing Falth was thankful for was whom the Coral Staff ended up with. He was confident that he would be able to use a little trick to snatch the Coral Staff from the Bellerophons. If it was with the other powerful forces or their close allies, the Sea Serpents would definitely not be able to do anything about it.

    The Sea Serpents were not the only ones who had decided to take a back seat in the auction now. No other forces had the capability to rival the value of a Sanctuary-level magic crystal. They all shook their heads in resignation. Of course, some of them perhaps had the same thought as Falth. Then, it would depend on the fastest fingers.

    Auctioneer Vidi asked for more offers ording to the auction script thrice. He did not try to hype up any hearts in the middle now. That was because he knew that no one would ever pay a price higher than a Sanctuary-level magic crystal. Of course, he was extremely satisfied that the Coral Staff could be raised to such a price in the auction.

    After warning three times, the hammer in Vidi¡¯s handnded hard on the table. ¡°The deal is set. The ultimate buyer of this Coral Staff is Patriarch Molix from the Bellerophon n!¡± he announced loudly.

    Vidi¡¯s announcement invited some scattered apuse among the audience. To be honest, none of them thought that it was something to be celebrated. They knew that they wouldn¡¯t be the only ones who would target the Bellerophons after this auction.

    Patriarch Molix from the Bellerophon n did not show any expression when he heard Vidi¡¯s words. He returned to his seat quietly, as though he was unaffected by the discussions and gazes around him. He only appeared to return to earth when the management from the auction approached him to confirm the deal. Molix was seen trembling when he handed the Sanctuary-level magic crystal in exchange for the Coral Staff, which heter clutched tightly in his arms.

    Instead of taking his leave immediately after acquiring the Coral Staff, Molix returned to his seat and closed his eyes. He muttered something under his breath while he gently rubbed his hands on the Coral Staff.

    In fact, the deal was not a loss for the Bellerophons. Magical crystals at the Sanctuary-realm were of no use to them. Their lifespan was the biggest constraint to their development. They would not have been able to surpass the Legendary-realm within 30 to 40 years even if they had the Sanctuary-level magic crystal. Since it was useless holding on to it, why would they not use it to exchange for some hope?

    Falth from the Sea Serpent n gritted his teeth when he saw Molix embracing the Coral Staff. After trying really hard to suppress his rage, he turned to one of his men to whisper a few words before dismissing him.

    ¡°What¡¯sing next is another mysterious piece of art. Let¡¯s invite the piece up the stage,¡± announced Vidi enthusiastically after the hustling crowd calmed down.

    With that, a cubical box was carried up the stage. The box was not big; it was around one meter in dimension. Yet, it took four men to carry it. Everyone could see how the structure that supported the weight of the box bent. It was as if they were carrying a mountain.

    After cing the box on the stage, the four men got down the stage. Auctioneer Vidi paced towards the box andy his hand on the red cloth that covered the box. ¡°Guys, get your number tes ready. You are about to see something great,¡± he announced as he gazed at the audience.

    With that, he grabbed and pulled the red cloth off the box. Everyone could see a cubical box underneath it. The box was made of crystal and seemed to have extremely thick walls. The actual space within it was only the size of a human head. In it, there was an irregrly shaped ck object. While it seemed like a piece of coal, there was something blood-red in its core, and it also emitted a faint golden glow.

    ¡°What is this...?¡±

 Chapter 1235 - 100,000,000

    <h4>Chapter 1235: 100,000,000</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Everyone became really confused when they saw the item being auctioned. No one had a clue what it was. It looked like neither a magical crystal nor a magical gemstone.

    Even Lin Li, who imed to be extremely knowledgeable, could not help but frown in puzzlement upon seeing the item. Although it had been contained in a crystal box, Lin Li¡¯s formidable mental strength helped him detect some unusual waves within the box. He could sense that there were not only elements of evilness and filthiness, but also elements of holiness that were emitted by the item inside. It was a very strange feeling.

    However, while Auctioneer Vidi wanted to create suspense, he would not want to keep the audience guessing. After all, it was an auction, and not a show. The audience¡¯s expressions put a smile on Vidi¡¯s face. ¡°Everybody, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering about this item. This means that I would have to share about its origin and a disaster in the history of the Endless Sea,¡± he started as he rested his hand on the crystal box.

    Vidi¡¯s words did not wash the look of wonder from the people¡¯s faces. That was because there were just too many different kinds of disasters that happened in the Endless Ocean in the tens of millions of years. Just recently, they suffered from an attack by the ancient dragon that descended upon the Gilded Kingdom. While the Gilded Kingdom took the most damage, it was considered one of the disasters of the Endless Ocean. And the catastrophe that impacted the Sea n the most was a random one that led to the fall of the oceanic dynasty. It not only doomed the dynasty, but also resulted in battles that swept the entire Endless Ocean. Hence, Auctioneer Vidi wasn¡¯t helping the audience when all he mentioned was a catastrophe.

    ¡°Auctioneer Vidi, can you just tell us directly? What¡¯s so special about this item for it to be arranged as the final piece?¡± cried the audience exasperatedly. Although all of them were well-respected representatives, their curiosity about the item made them neglect their manners.

    ¡°I would need more than a day and a night to share about the disasters that happened at the Endless Ocean. But, the disaster that is rted to this item is definitely the most horrifying catastrophe that has been recorded in the history of the ocean. And the culprit of the disaster was also known as the All Evils!¡± shared Vidi gravely.

    The atmosphere changed when the audience heard the name. As residents of the Endless Ocean, they ought to be familiar with the term regardless if they belonged to the human race or Sea n.

    <i>All Evil? What the hell is that?</i> Lin Li thought as he became even more confused. While he had knowledge of the Endless Ocean, he wasn¡¯t as informed about the whole of their history. And the term ¡°All Evils¡± only reminded him of the phrase ¡°lewdness is the worst of all evils¡±.

    Not to mention Lin Li, Connoris, who was once an ancient deity, had no idea what Vidi was talking about as well. Connoris shook his head helplessly when he saw Lin Li¡¯s inquiring eyes. After all, Connoris did not explore the Endless Ocean when he was still an ancient deity. Heter devoted all his time with the other ancient deities to the creation of the Endless Abyss, and thus strayed from the Endless Ocean.

    However, there were a significant number of people who were not sure what an ¡®All Evil¡¯ was. After all, the participants of the auction were not only forces from the Endless Ocean, but also those from Anril. Hence, Vidi did not wait for the audience to discuss it among themselves. ¡°The All Evil is an ancient beast in the Endless Ocean that was formed out of an umtion of hatred and lewdness,¡± Vidi exined.

    Vidi¡¯s words reminded Lin Li of something simr to the All Evil¡ªthe Whispering God he met at Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. That Whispering God was formed out of an umtion of the grievances of countless evil spirits that even Sanctuary powerhouses did not have a way to deal with. If Lin Li had not found Whispering God¡¯s magical crystal, it would¡¯ve been impossible for him to defeat the Whispering God that day.

    ¡°The All Evil took thousands of years to gain its physical body, and was born with powerparable to the Sanctuary-realm. It was considered the most malefic existence of the Endless Ocean. In its historical records, an All Evil once appeared in the Endless Ocean tens or thousands of years ago. Its birth set off a reign of terror and the deaths of countless powerhouses and people of the sea,¡± continued Vidi.

    In reality, it was difficult for the disaster caused by the All Evil to incite much emotion in the people of the sea. After all, it had been a long time since the catastrophe happened. As the auctioneer, however, Vidi would definitely not let the air turn stale. He followed up with his vivid story in a very grave tone.

    ¡°At that time, Amithlon, the king of the Ocean Dynasty, gathered over 20 Sanctuary powerhouses from different forces to raze the nest of the All Evil. That battle created an uproar in the entire region of the ocean. The waves were surging over a few hundreds in height, and the seawater was steaming so much that the sky was covered. The All Evil was provoked, and the air was filled with grievances that melted the space shield,¡± said Vidi. It was obvious that Vidi had done his homework for this auction to be able to make a historical storye to life. Even those who were familiar with the story were immersed in it.

    Vidi¡¯s voice dominated the auction. Everyone was sitting extremely uptight. There were even some that were slightly trembling with nervousness.

    There were over 20 Sanctuary powerhouses during the Ocean Dynasty, of which eight were at their peak. With the help of magical equipment that was close to the Divine-level, they would be able to challenge a real divine. Of course, the other Sanctuary powerhouses were notmon people, either. Every one of them had his stories recorded in the history of the Endless Ocean.

    That battlested over a month, and affected a few hundred thousand square meters of sea area as well as countless people of the sea. There were also close to 10 Sanctuary powerhouses who died from the battle with the All Evil. The hellish region had over 10,000,000 grieving souls shrieking in the air, covering the sky with a thick death aura that no thread of sunlight could prate.

    In the end, it was Amithlon, the king of the Ocean Dynasty, who gathered the eight ocean gods to summon the will of the Endless Sea and killed the monstrous beast. But, the birth of the All Evil created great losses for the ocean dynasty that it could not even recover from after thousands of years. There were even people who said that the decline of the Ocean Dynasty began from the appearance of the All Evil.

    ¡°And now, what you see on this stage is the heart of All Evil. It not only has a great amount of peak Sanctuary-realm mana, but also an energy that can suppress all evils.¡± Vidi finally shared the origin of the item after recounting it.

    Although the audience would have been in awe when they heard Vidi¡¯s narrative, the final reveal was what caused them to gasp in unison. This was not excluding the big shots who were staying in their cabins.

    To these people, it wasn¡¯t important whether the thrilling story was true or fabricated. It was the name ¡®All Evil¡¯ that caught their attention. They knew that it had to be something impressive for it to have its name recorded in history.

    At this time, Grand Duke Vidi fiddled with the disy table, and projected the image of the heart onto the big screen behind him. ¡°Well, I believe you already have some preliminary understanding of the Heart of All Evil. We are going to proceed with the auction now. The starting price is 10,000,000 gold coins.¡±

    The starting price of 10,000,000 gold coins was definitely not a lot for the people participating in the auction. Even the person with the least wealth would be able to retrieve this amount of money readily. However, most of them were aware that the heart would definitely not be sold at a few millions. Hence, there was a period of silence while they waited for Grand Duke Vidi to start the bidding.

    ¡°50,000,000 gold coins!¡± Falth¡¯s voice was the first to be heard sounding from his cabin.

    The jump from 10,000,000 gold coins to 50,000,000 gold coins was a huge but reasonable one. In doing so, Falth bypassed many otherpetitors who had their eyes on the heart. To him, the two values were not of a great difference, and definitely were not reflections of its true value.

    Indeed, his offer brought out disappointment on the faces of many. The excitement in the hall dampened as these people lowered their tes helplessly.

    Right after Falth was Grina from the Giant Shark n. ¡°60,000,000 gold coins!¡± he called out as he raised his number te.

    Originally, ording to the rules of the auction, the norm for raising the price was 1,000,000 gold coins. This much was nothing for a dominant power like the Giant Shark n. The rate of increase would only slow down if the bidding price reached their limit.

    As soon as Grina¡¯s voice fell, various cabins started to offer their bids. Very quickly, they raised the price of the Heart of All Evil to 90,000,000 gold coins.

    Although the Heart of All Evil was the mysterious item of this auction, it was not difficult for these forces to gain information about it beforeing here. It was obvious that they were all vying for the heart, and all came prepared.

    ¡°100,000,000 gold coins,¡± Falth called out. Although he did not have so many gold coins on hand, he had 10 Legendary magical crystals that were worth over 30,000,000 gold coins. In reality, no one would be able to offer hundreds of millions of gold coins in cash at once.

    Moreover, even if one had this much cash, it was not possible to trade all of it. Although the value of gold coins was not high, they were crucial for the financial stability of organizations. This was especially for several Sea ns and human kingdoms. If they were to trade all of their coins, they would risk a copsing economy.

    Strictly speaking, ¡°100,000,000 gold coins¡± was merely a number. It would be impossible for anyone to offer 100,000,000 actual gold coins. Of course, this was not a random number, either. Before attending arge auction like this, the participants would usually go to financial institutions like the Glittergold Trade Union to convert some of their items into coins to be credited onto their crystal cards.

    The mostmon item to be used was magical crystals that were below the Legendary magical crystals. There had been a consensus reached by each of the forces about the value of these crystals ording to their level of power. Hence, it would be easy for them to trade them among themselves. However, they would need the financial institution to approve their decision to retrieve their crystals at a premium.

    Hence, there would rarely be anyone who would use their Legendary magical crystals to exchange for gold coins. This was especially so in their preparation for an auction. If they failed to obtain anything from the auction, it would not be easy for them to retrieve their precious crystals. After all, Legendary magical crystals andmon magical crystals were two different concepts.

    Apart from Legendary magical crystals, financial institutions would also ept other resources such as magical metals and mineral veins in exchange for gold coins. Yet, there were also desperate people such as the Bellerophons that would convert all of them into gold coins to ensure that they had the highest chance of getting what they wanted at the auction.

    Falth¡¯stest bid of 100,000,000 gold coins was without the mentioning of his 10 Legendary magic crystals. This was because he had already obtained an estimate of their value when he tried to bid for the Coral Staff earlier. Even if he had yet to convert them into gold coins, he would be able to use them like gold coins here.

    But, it was obvious for Falth that he had ounted for the value of his Legendary magical crystals and had reached his limit. He knew he would really hurt if he were to add to the bidding.

 Chapter 1236 - Loan

    <h4>Chapter 1236: Loan</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, the Sea Serpents were the least powerful tribe among the seven overlords, and their sea region was not one that was rich in resources. It would be impossible for them to win the Heart of All Evil from the other overlords without breaking some bones.

    ¡°150,000,000 gold coins!¡± quoted Prince Cleve. This was a calcted move. He could tell that Falth had reached his limit, and Cleve was trying to eliminate Falth with the new price.

    As expected, Falth¡¯s expression changed upon hearing the new price. If the Siren n had been an inferior force, he would have threatened them with the status of the Sea Serpents like how he had done with the Bellerophons. Yet, he knew that the Sea Serpents could only subject themselves to the threat of the Siren n. After all, the two forces were starkly different from each other in their respective abilities.

    ¡°160,000,000 gold coins!¡± Another voice sounded from Octopus n¡¯spartment before Falth responded. The Octopus n was one of the richest among the seven overlords. They were reaping great revenue from their annual sales of magic scrolls.

    The price raised by the Octopus n reced Falth¡¯s grave expression with one that screamed resignation. He plopped back into his seat. Although it was not impossible for him to offer this amount of gold coins, he was clear that the other party had not reached their limits. His effort to gather these gold coins would be in vain.

    Just like what Falth thought, the price of the Heart of All Evil did not even stop at 160,000,000 gold coins. The value soon raced past the 200,000,000 mark as offered by the several overlords such as the Giant Shark and Octopus n. At this point, there were not many bidders left except the Siren n, Giant Shark n, and the Octopus n.

    Of course, 200,000,000 was considered arge number to the three Sea ns. The speed of the bidding also slowed down. It was beginning to only inch by the millions.

    Lin Li originally had taken some interest in the Heart of All Evil. Yet, the absurdity of the price dissipated all that interest. Although he could afford the price, there was a question of whether it was a worthy investment.

    The Heart of All Evil had two main uses: supplying an unlimited amount of mana and suppressing all forms of evil. To Lin Li, these weren¡¯t important functions. He could easily use Sanctuary-level magic crystals to supply purer mana, and counter evil with the help of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, the debris of the stars. His interest in the heart was purely out of a desire to study it. Lin Li certainly believed that it would not be worthy for him to spend such a fortune for it.

    Having lost interest in the Heart of All Evil, Lin Li directed his attention to other ces. It was then that he realized that the Bellerophon who had previously obtained the Coral Staff was nowhere to be found. This was not surprising for someone who obviously attended the auction for the staff. Now that he had acquired an item which many were vying for, it only made sense for him to take his leave as soon as possible.

    Aspared to the Heart of All Evil, Lin Li was more interested in the Bellerophons. Hence, he used his mental strength to reach the embassy to order Norfeller to secretly keep an eye on the Bellerophons.

    Unlike the rest, Lin Li did not view the Bellerophons as weaklings, and thus he even had the intention to hire a group of Bellerophons. However, now that the Bellerophons had acquired the Coral Staff, Lin Li thought that it was only normal for the Bellerophons to take the chance to erase their tracks. Hence, Lin Li let Norfeller keep an eye on them to ensure that he could still find the Bellerophons after hepleted his current ns.

    After making the arrangement, Lin Li redirected his attention to the auction. The value of the Heart of All Evil had been raised to 230,000,000 gold coins by Prince Cleve from the Siren n. The Octopus n had withdrawn from the race. The onlypetitor of the Siren n was Grina from the Giant Shark n.

    Grina did not raise his number te immediately, but only did it after Grand Duke Vidi called the price twice to signal that he would like to increase the price by a million gold coins. Meanwhile, Zorro, one of his Four Divine Generals, appeared in Falth¡¯s cabin.

    It was obvious that Grina was stalling for time while he let Zorro bargain with Falth. After several rounds of bidding, Grina was very clear that he might not be as prepared as the Siren n in this auction. Hence, he shifted his focus onto Falth¡¯s tens of millions of gold coins.

    ¡°You want to use the aquamarine veins in the eastern part of the Red Sea to exchange for all the gold coins in my hands?¡± asked Falth. Although he had a calmposure, Falth was deeply ted. He thought that this transaction would prevent him from leaving the auction empty-handed.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s five years of mining rights!¡± Zorro emphasized expressionlessly as he took out a contract. The aquamarine veins in the eastern part of the Red Sea had ample resources, enough tost hundreds of years. It was not something that could be bought with tens of millions of gold coins. Even if it was only five years of mining rights, however, as long as one were to put in enough effort, the revenue to be gained would definitely be more than tens of millions of gold coins.

    Falth knew the benefits very well. But, he was even clearer that the Giant Shark n needed his gold coins extremely urgently. Hence, he naturally hoped to use the chance to reap more benefits from the Giant Shark n.

    ¡°Well, you should know that we have yet to reach the finale of this auction, and that there is still going to be onest item. If I were to give you all my gold coins, the Sea Serpent would definitely suffer huge losses if thest item was something crucial to our development,¡± exined Falth slyly. He was really gleeful to be able to have an advantage over the Giant Shark n.

    However, Zorro remained unaffected by his advancing of the price. ¡°Well, then, Sir Falth, I wonder, what are your conditions? I also hope to remind you that I can easily find other interested dealers here. My master made you our first choice as he considered the good rtionship between our ns. If your conditions are overly harsh, I will have to find someone else,¡± exined Zorro.

    Hearing this, Falth was reminded that he shouldn¡¯t be too demanding in his conditions. He was certain that he wouldn¡¯t be the only one attracted to the deal. ¡°Alright then, I want 10 years of mining rights and a guarantee that our deal will never be affected regardless of whether you have thest bid for the Heart of All Evil,¡± replied Falth after he heard the price of the heart being pushed to a new high.

    ¡°10 years is too much. At most seven years of mining rights,¡± asserted Zorro with Grina¡¯s bottom line. His words were very crisp and ryed with an unquestionable tone.

    Although he was dissatisfied with Zorro¡¯s attitude, Falth knew that seven years of mining rights was a considerable benefit. Hence, Falth did not say anything else, and epted the contract from Zorro. Before he signed on it, he edited the original contract to ensure that the deal wouldst for seven years and stay unaffected regardless of whether the Great Shark n won the bidding.

    Afterpleting the transaction with Falth, Zorro immediately returned to his cabin to report to Grina, who had been buying the time.

    Upon receiving the news, Grina was invigorated, and changed his original strategy of raising the price by a million. He proceeded to raise the price by 20,000,000 gold coins, pushing the price of the Heart of All Evil to 270,000,000 gold coins. As he did that, he was also implying to the Siren n that they had found external help.

    Sure enough, the Siren n descended into a short period of silence after Grina added 20,000,000 gold coins to the bid. After all, the Siren n was going to reach their limits just when the Grina reached theirs. Now that Grina had found external support, it would be almost impossible for the Siren n to win if they continued to rely on themselves.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure who gave that kid more money. It seems like we would need to put in some effort in this bidding,¡± said Prince Cleve as he turned to look at his wife. He was not very worried about it.

    Queen Halleleah smiled gently, and shifted her gaze to the Heart of All Evil that was on the stage. ¡°I did not expect to see the heart here. Seems like our years of searching have not gone to waste. It is certainly worth to put in more effort to acquire it. However, I do not know whom has Grina found help from. Let¡¯s ready ourselves as well,¡± she said.

    Everyone in this auction venue had at least tens of millions of gold coins in their hands, while the seven overlords definitely had hundreds of millions of them. This auction would certainly not drain them dry. Hence, Queen Halleleah had to make some ns now. If not, it would be incredibly difficult for her to put her hands on the Heart of All Evil.

    She knew she had to offer the best deal for not only others, but also something that would be reasonable for herself. Since everyone at the auction knew the Siren n needed money topete in the bidding, they would certainly take the opportunity to suck the Sirens dry. If not, they would definitely be fools.

    Grina from the Giant Shark n used seven years of mining rights to exchange for tens of millions of gold coins from Falth. Although Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve did not know the details of the contract, they were certain that Grina had paid a hefty price for it. Hence, he was really wrecking his brain to think about an attractive offer.

    The couple also had to consider another crucial matter¡ªthe reluctance of the other forces to offend the Giant Shark n while they lent their support to the Sirens. Even if they were not afraid to offend the Giant Shark n, most of them would definitely use it as an excuse to extort more benefits from the Sirens. Hence, it could be said that the Sirens had already been disadvantaged.

    Halleleah and Cleve could not help but feel slightly helpless when they thought of that. Cleve only continued to increase the price by a million gold coins each time he heard Vidi¡¯s voice. He was trying to stall for time as well.

    This was contrasted by Grina¡¯s enthusiasm. After the Sirens raised the price by 1,000,000 gold coins, he immediately raised his sign, and called out, ¡°280,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°280,000,000 gold coins! The Giant Shark n has just raised the price to 280,000,000 gold coins! Is there anyone else who is willing to bid it at a higher price?¡± asked Grand Duke Vidi with great excitement. He could no longer suppress his emotions. It was an unprecedented value.

    While Grand Duke Vidi was ted by the progress, it added more pressure to Halleleah and Cleve. Suddenly, a thought shed across Cleve¡¯s mind. ¡°I have somebody in mind that we might be able to approach. This person has some tension with the Giant Shark n, but is fearless of them. It¡¯s just that we do now have much interaction with him, so I¡¯m not sure if he will want to lend us this favor,¡± shared Cleve.

    Cleve¡¯s words turned Halleleah¡¯s frown upside down. ¡°Might you be referring to President Felic, who was indifferent to Grina¡¯s pride?¡± she asked knowingly.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Prince Cleve nodded. Yet, he did not be more rxed because of the mutual understanding. Instead, he started frowning. ¡°Unfortunately, we are not familiar with him, and thest item of this auction has not yet appeared. I¡¯m not sure if he would be willing to give up on his opportunity to render help to us,¡± continued Cleve.

    ¡°How can we be sure if we don¡¯t try? We are looking for a fair deal,¡± assured Queen Halleleah. Although she knew that it might be difficult, she was willing to give it a go for the sake of the Heart of All Evil. Since it was going to be a fair deal, it did not matter whether they had a close-knitted rtionship with Felic. The key was Felic¡¯s boldness to go against the Giant Shark n.

    Lin Li and Connoris were feeling a little bored sitting in their cabin. They were really not interested in the Heart of All Evil, but could only watch the two forcespete in the bidding. Then, they heard a knock at their door. Connoris went to the door, and saw Prince Cleve standing outside.

    ¡°President Felic, are you free to have a chat?¡± asked Prince Cleve. Although he looked ugly, Prince Cleve radiated a warm and affable aura. His voice could be considered hoarse but also attractive.

 Chapter 1237 - Sirenéˆ¥æªš Tears

    <h4>Chapter 1237: Siren¡¯s Tears</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although Lin Li was not really familiar with Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve, and did not have much of a good impression of them, he did not have a bad impression of them, either. Hence, Lin Li stood to invite Prince Cleve to have a seat in the room. ¡°Why, of course,¡± he replied smilingly.

    Lin Li had been observing the situation at the auction, and was clear of Prince Cleve¡¯s intentions. Grina¡¯s sudden move had definitely forced the Sirens to dy the bidding. It was obvious that thetter were having problems with their funds.

    Although Lin Li did not have many interactions with the Sirens, and had only exchanged a simple greeting with the Siren couple, he knew that he would need to have a partnership with the forces here if he wanted the Tower of Dusk to expand towards the Endless Ocean. While it was not Lin Li¡¯s personality to suck up to those forces, he wouldn¡¯t outrightly reject people who reached out to him willingly.

    ¡°Now is a key moment to bid for the Heart of All Evil. I suppose something urgent brought you here,¡± Lin Li said after he invited Prince Cleve to sit. There was no need to beat around the bush.

    While the Sirens were trying to stall for time, everyone knew that the tactic was not the safest option. Moreover, Prince Cleve was also uncertain that President Felic would be willing to help. Hence, he naturally did not dare to spend too much time here.

    Therefore, Prince Cleve did not care to conceal his true intentions when he heard Lin Li¡¯s inquiry. ¡°I bet you know why I am here, President Felic. We were initially confident that our funds would be able to let us obtain the Heart of All Evil through bidding, and did not expect the Giant Shark n to seek external funding. We can¡¯t predict the amount of funds they obtained, so I hope to make a deal with you,¡± said Cleve with a helpless smile.

    ¡°Oh, what kind of deal? Feel free to let me know,¡± encouraged Lin Li. After all, he had been wanting to establish a partnership with the Sirens. As he had yet to have many interactions or a good rtionship with them, Lin Li believed that a fair deal would be the first step to their rtionship. If he were to present himself too eagerly, not only might the Sirens not appreciate his goodwill, they might also look down on his Tower.

    Lin Li¡¯s words immediately sparked hope in Cleve¡¯s heart. Of course, he did not try to show too many emotions on his face or in his tone. ¡°Although the sea region that is under the control of the Sirens is not the most fertile aspared to the other parts of the sea, it is a region that is rich in minerals and other resources. We can give you the mining rights in exchange for financial support,¡± Cleve continued calmly.

    Prince Cleve proposed the same benefits as Grina when thetter tried to work with Falth. After all, one could take all his time to harvest resources from the sea, but not during an auction. Their offers were like advanced payments of profits partners could obtain from their territories.

    However, Lin Li was not a fan of Prince Cleve¡¯s proposal. After all, he had attained mastery in mineral surveying, and knew that thebined territories imed by the seven overlords were not the whole of the Endless Ocean. Hence, he could very well use his own means to look for resources he needed in the other parts of the vast sea.

    Therefore, Lin Li smiled and shook his head after he heard Prince Cleve¡¯s proposal.

    Prince Cleve could tell that Lin Li was not interested in his offer. Fortunately, that was not his only proposal. ¡°Furthermore, I have heard of your tension with Grina from the Giant Shark n, and I suppose that they will create trouble for you in the future. I believe that with our escort, your merchant fleets will be able to travel unimpeded in the Endless Sea in the future,¡± said Cleve.

    This promise made by Prince Cleve definitely was of irresistible allure to people who needed to make a living at sea. Although the Giant Shark n was ranked first in strength among the seven overlords, the three overlords¡ªthe Thunder Eel n, Siren n, and Octopus n¡ªwere not too far off in strength. In the Endless Sea, the protection from the Siren n would definitely trump any blessing from the sea god. Not to mention pirates, the Siren n was definitely not a force anyone with simr capabilities would want to offend.

    Lin Li shook his head smilingly despite the great benefit. ¡°I appreciate your goodwill, but I can deal with the Giant Shark n myself,¡± responded Lin Li.

    Although the Giant Shark n was extremely powerful in the Endless Sea, it was far from being intimidating to Lin Li. If he had been fearful of them, he would not have dared to offend Grina so greatly in front of the embassy of the Tower of Dusk.

    Lin Li¡¯sck of interest in the mining rights and the Sirens¡¯ protection troubled Prince Cleve. He did not know what to offer Lin Li anymore, and Vidi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t helping. ¡°Then, President Felic, I wonder what you need from the Sirens?¡± asked Cleve as he shook his head helplessly.

    Cleve thought that it would be easier to ask Felic directly. After all, they were in the midst of an auction. There was no time to lose. While Queen Halleleah was still adding to the bidding, the auction would end if she couldn¡¯t answer Grina¡¯s question about the Sirens¡¯ eligibility to partake in it. Then, the Heart of All Evil would fall into the hands of the Giant Shark n immediately.

    Lin Li did not intend to make things difficult for Prince Cleve. After all, he did not have any tension with the Sirens. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be anxious. In fact, what I need is very simple, and won¡¯t trouble you much,¡± assured Lin Li smilingly.

    ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± asked Prince Cleve curiously. He couldn¡¯t quite believe it, and even started making mental preparations to pay for a hefty price. After all, they were the ones who were in need of help. Anyone would not want to miss the opportunity to take advantage of the Sirens.

    ¡°I want the Siren¡¯s Tears,¡± responded Lin Li slowly.

    The Siren¡¯s Tears were considered a specialty of the Sirens, but they were not a special product that the Sirens were known for. This was because thetter did not deliberately produce them. The Siren¡¯s Tear was telling in its name; it was literally a tear that belonged to the Sirens.

    Of course, to be more specific, the tears belonged to female Sirens. Tears were a product of emotions, and emotions were not something that could be controlled or deliberately produced. Something good about the Siren¡¯s Tears was theirposition. Their insoluble nature made it easy for people to collect them. This was because no one would remember to collect their tears when they were sad, or be a joker by going around to collect people¡¯s tears when they cried.

    The female Sirens were born to be masters of Spiritual Spells, and their mental strength would peak when they cried. Hence, their tears contained the purest mental strength. Through the means of pharmacy, Lin Li would be able to use their tears to prepare a potion that could help to rapidly raise and recover mental strength.

    Recovering mental strength was not a big deal, as there were other ingredients apart from the Siren¡¯s Tears that could help to do the same. However, the boosting of mental strength was a different story. That was a defiance of natural order, and the Siren¡¯s Tears were an essential ingredient for that to happen.

    For any person, the amount of mental strength was basically fixed at birth, and was also known as their magical talent or potential. Therefore, someone¡¯s talent might stop at the level of an Archmage, for instance. No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn¡¯t ever be able to step into the Legendary-realm. There were also people who were deemed unfit to learn magic.

    Expanding one¡¯s mental strength was akin to raising one¡¯s innate talent in magic, and there had not been a way for anyone to do so for the longest time. Potions that were created to help people ovee their bottlenecks were only crafted to stimte their undiscovered potential. They were not there to increase their mental strength out of nowhere.

    This was what made the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant one of the three relics of Geresco alongside the Book of Eternity and the key to the upside-down tower. Things with the power of raising mental strength were definitely a defiance of natural order in Anril.

    As a Pharmaceutical Master, Lin Li happened to have the recipe of a potion that could help to enhance mental strength. It was called the Divine Revtion Potion, and the Siren¡¯s Tears were a key ingredient. Although the effects of the potion would not beparable to the Evil Eye Tyrant¡¯s, Lin Li was confident that he could produce enough potions if he had enough ingredients. It wouldn¡¯t be as limited as the Evil Eye Tyrant.

    As long as Lin Li could create the potion that could raise mental strength, he would be able to nurture magic talents in the Tower of Dusk. The mages there were originally chosen for their strong magical potential. If they could consume the Divine Revtion Potion to expand their mental strength, their future would really be unlimited. Not to mention the future, a lot of them were now stuck at the Legendary-realm, and Lin Li was confident that the Divine Revtion Potion would help many of them step into the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, the mining rights and sea protection were not as important as the Siren¡¯s Tears. There was a saying that one would need to be strong to shape a metal. As long as the Tower of Dusk was strong enough, no one at the Endless Ocean would be able to stop them.

    Prince Cleve couldn¡¯t help but freeze when he heard Lin Li¡¯s request. The Siren¡¯s Tears were considered a rare product given how they were produced. Yet, they had not been sold to the others before. It was not that the Sirens were not concerned about their earnings, but the fact was that the item did not have much use for the others.

    No warrior or mage would be able to withstand the vigorous mental storm if they were to consume the tears directly due to the pure mental strength within them. There was even a chance that they would damage their original mental strength and be a cripple. Hence, no matter how rare a Siren¡¯s Tear was, there was no demand for it.

    The reason why the Siren¡¯s stored the tears was because of their ability to help female Sirens recover their mental strength rapidly. The Siren¡¯s Tears were considered a reserve resource during battles.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m not sure if you know this, but the Siren¡¯s Tears are not something that outsiders could consume. They wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the mental storm,¡± exined Prince Cleve patiently despite the urgent need for funds.

    His goodwill multiplied Lin Li¡¯s positive impression of him. Lin Li was very clear that while the tears were a rare product, they weren¡¯t very valued among the Sirens. Anyone would have readily agreed or fiercely marketed them in exchange for his funds. No one would be concerned enough to expose their dangers and downsides at such a time.

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, Prince, but I have my uses for them, and do not intend to consume them directly. So, if you are agreeable, should we discuss the price of the Siren¡¯s Tears?¡± replied Lin Li. Although now he had good feelings towards the prince, Lin Li did not expose any of his ns about the Divine Revtion Potion to the other party. After all, the effect of the potion was a defiance of natural order. He was absolutely positive that the knowledge of it would hike up the price of the tears.

    Seeing that Lin Li was not concerned about the repercussions of the Siren¡¯s Tears, and knowing that he himself was in urgent need of funding, Prince Cleve naturally stopped resisting. ¡°President Felic, we have never sold the Siren¡¯s Tears, so there is no way I could give you an urate estimation of the price. However, since they are considered rare and also a strategic reserve of our n, I hope to price each drop at 50,000 gold coins. Do you think that is appropriate?¡±

 Chapter 1238 - Finale

    <h4>Chapter 1238: Finale</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As it was almost useless to outsiders, it was natural for the tears not to be circted in the market. Hence, it was impossible for Prince Cleve toe up with an appropriate price ording to its value in the market. But, just like what Prince Cleve had shared, as the tears could not be manufactured readily, pricing them at 50,000 gold coins per drop was a reasonable move.

    In fact, to Lin Li, the price of 50,000 gold coins for every drop of tear was too cheap for a life-changing potion like the Divine Revtion Potion. ording to its recipe, every bottle of the potion would require three drops of Siren¡¯s Tears. Together with the other ingredients, its cost would not exceed 300,000 gold coins.

    To the general public, 300,000 gold coins was considered a veryrge number, yet it was nothingpared to the financial strength of the Tower of Dusk. Moreover, not to mention the cost of 300,000 gold coins, a million gold coins would not have been able to match the true value of a disruption to natural order.

    ¡°Okay, deal!¡± Lin Li agreed to the partnership without hesitation. After all, they were still at an auction. There wouldn¡¯t be a need for the partnership if the auction were to end before that. Furthermore, he did not have a bad impression of the Sirens. Who knew if they would have other forms of partnerships in the future? There was no need to be too calctive at this time.

    Prince Cleve naturally felt pleased by Lin Li¡¯s swift agreement. He took out a nk contract to detail the deal. After all, he was here to participate in the auction, and did not have many Siren¡¯s Tears with him now, so he could only sign a contract first.

    ¡°President Felic, I wonder how much money you are willing to lend me?¡± asked Prince Cleve after he signed the contract.

    Right now, no one could figure out how much external aid Grina¡¯s side had with him. Therefore, Prince Cleve wanted to rify in case he might need to seek help from more people. Lin Li¡¯s support would definitely make it easier for him to seek more helpter on.

    Lin Li did not respond to Prince Cleve directly. Instead, he turned towards the auction table and raised the sign in his hand. ¡°350,000,000 gold coins!¡± he said.

    His voice put the crowd in a shock, for no one had expected the new bid to not only break the 300,000,000 mark, but at an extra value of 50,000,000 gold coins. What was even more unbelievable was whom the voice belonged to. It was not from a force with huge status, but from a small force that no one knew.

    Grina, who had been feeling a sense of victory, nearly spurted a mouthful of blood after he heard the bid quoted by Lin Li. Although he had the support from the Sea Serpents, their total funds could definitely not reach 350,000,000 gold coins. What else could he use to bid for the heart?

    <i>Do I need to approach other forces for support? </i>wondered Grina. Yet, deep inside he knew that it was toote to do so. None of those forces would have the ability to offer so much money as well. Even if he were to approach the other overlords, he would never find a force like the Sea Serpents who would be willing to help. After all, they were in constantpetition with one another. Unlike the Sea Serpents, they would definitely not allow the Giant Shark n to make use of them so easily.

    ¡°350,000,000 gold coins from President Felic from the Tower of Dusk! Anyone else?¡± asked Grand Duke Vidi fervently as though he was on drugs.

    This was when Grina realized whom the new offer was from. He peeled his window and stuck the upper half of his body out of hispartment anxiously. ¡°Impossible! How can he afford to pay 350,000,000 gold coins? I demand that the auction organizers verify his funds!¡± Grina shouted at Grand Duke Vidi.

    Grina¡¯s shouting immediately enlivened the crowd at the auction. To them, the Tower of Dusk was a mere force from the Breezy ins. None of them had heard of its name before this. And 350,000,000 gold coins was not a small sum. Even though it was a premium auction for the wealthy, there was a high chance for thebined sum of all their wealth to fall short of the amount.

    In fact, the participants were not the only ones who were doubting Lin Li¡¯s credibility. Grand Duke Vidi was feeling skeptical as well.

    At the same time, Prince Cleve was also dumbfounded by Lin Li¡¯s approach. Didn¡¯t they reach mutual agreement to exchange the Siren¡¯s Tears with funding from the Tower of Dusk? Why did the Tower raise their own sign to bid 350,000,000 gold coins? ¡°President Felic, what are you doing?¡± Prince Cleve asked in a daze.

    Lin Li saw through Prince Cleve¡¯s worry. ¡°Your Highness, there is no need to be anxious. I know you wanted the Heart of All Evil, but I am not sure how much money I need to defeat Grina. So, I decided to take the Heart down once and for all. You can pay whatever you can in gold coins, and can cover the rest in exchange for the Siren¡¯s Tears. Doesn¡¯t this save us a lot of time?¡± he replied with a smile.

    Prince Cleve sighed in relief after hearing Lin Li¡¯s exnation. He was relieved to know that Lin Li did not have the intention to take the Heart of All Evil for himself.

    ¡°President Felic?¡± There was a call outside the cabin.

    Lin Li raised his arm to open the door with an invisible force. If it was a guest like Prince Cleve, Lin Li would definitely not have opened the door in such a rude way. Hearing Grina¡¯s shouting amidst the loud discussion among the other participants, Lin Li naturally knew what the visitor wanted to do.

    The voice outside the door belonged to one of the people in charge of the auction, and he was here to verify if Lin Li had enough funds to im the Heart. He was about to enter the cabin when he caught a glimpse of Prince Cleve from the Siren n in it. Instantly, he had a clearer understanding of the situation.

    However, since he was here, he knew he needed to go through the motions. After greeting Lin Li and Prince Cleve, the person in charge came close to Lin Li. ¡°President Felic, I am Frank, one of the people in charge of the auction. As the bid is toorge, we need to verify the funds you hold. I hope you understand,¡± he requested politely.

    ¡°Hold up, are you doubting our credibility?¡± asked Prince Cleve defensively. He knew that Lin Li was helping himself to im the Heart of All Evil. How could he let Lin Li be subjected to such usations?

    Immediately, Frank broke out in a cold sweat. Now, he was 100 percent sure of the partnership between the Siren n and the Tower of Dusk. If it was only the Tower of Dusk, he could have used the rules of the auction to back his request for the fund verification. The involvement of the Sirens made it tricky to do so.

    Frank bowed hastily while he wiped the sweat off his face. ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, Prince Cleve! I¡¯m just going through the motions. How could we not trust your credibility? I¡¯ll return now!¡±

    Frank did not dare to stay any longer. After saying a few words of apology, he sped out from thepartment without looking back, and ryed the information to Grand Duke Vidi, who naturally had nothing to say. While it did not sound easy to produce 350,000,000 gold coins despite their partnership, no one dared to doubt their credibility.

    Grand Duke Vidi gestured to everyone to remain silent as he walked back up the stage. ¡°It has been verified. The president of the Tower of Dusk, Felic, is fully qualified to participate in the auction. Thus, we will continue with the auction for the Heart of All Evil! Thetest bid is 350,000,000 gold coins, does anyone have a higher price to offer?¡±

    Vidi¡¯s words sent the crowd into an immediate silence. Grina was extremely furious. The calmness of the Sirens at Vidi¡¯s announcement could only mean one thing¡ªthey had partnered up with the Tower of Dusk. Grina could not believe that his efforts had all gone down the drain.

    Bam! The wooden hammer Vidi¡¯s handnded heavily on the table. ¡°Congrattions to President Felic of the Tower of Dusk. You have won the bidding for the Heart of All Evil with a price of 350,000,000 gold coins!¡± he announced loudly.

    Very quickly, the Heart of All Evil was transported to Lin Li¡¯spartment. While it was Prince Cleve who proposed to leave the heart with Lin Li until he retrieved enough Siren¡¯s Tears to exchange for it, his proposal was rejected by Lin Li, who had already formed a good impression of him. Lin Li let Cleve directly return to his room with the Heart of All Evil.

    Prince Cleve was naturally grateful for Lin Li¡¯s gesture. In addition to promising to deliver the Siren¡¯s Tears as soon as possible, he also expressed his desire for further cooperation with the Tower of Dusk.

    At this point, it felt like the auction had ended. Just when the crowd was prepared to leave, Grand Duke Vidi let his men bring another item up the stage, and hooked the curiosity of the crowd once again. <i>How could the Heart of All Evil that was worth 350,000,000 gold coins not be the finale of the auction? May there be anything better than the Heart?</i>

    However, their curiosity soon dissipated with the Grand Duke¡¯s announcement. If not for Vidi, they would have left the scene.

    ¡°The next to be auctioned is from the Tower of Dusk¡ªa magic scroll created by President Felic!¡± Grand Duke Vidi announced the origin of the item loudly. With that, the venue burst into a cacophony of noises.

    There might be greater excitement if it was an item which Lin Li had brought to the auction. That was because it might mean that it was a work of some Guru of Inscription from the ancient era. The knowledge that it was created by President Felic did not help to sustain the audience¡¯s interest at all. They were already certain that the magic scroll was not something of value without even looking at it.

    Everyone knew that no one in the whole of Anril would be able topare to the Octopus n in their expertise in magic scrolls. There would probably be some interest in the item if it was from the Octopus n. No one believed that a young human being could have a potentialparable to the Octopus n, however.

    In the royalpartment, Bradlor from the Gilded Kingdom was equally confused. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t that stubborn Vidi say he would never leave that for the finale?¡± he asked as he turned to look at Prince Monterey.

    Initially, Bradlor was expecting Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll to appear before the Heart of All Evil. Seeing that it hadn¡¯t appeared before that, he¡¯d thought Vidi had decided against featuring it at the auction. Fortunately, he had tried to please Lin Li with Heldanos¡¯s artwork earlier. If not, this item would definitely send him into a great dilemma. He did not expect such a huge twist at the end.

    Monterey was full of confusion as well. ¡°Your Majesty, I am bewildered too. I remember Grand Duke Vidi being very firm in his response. Did he change his mind? I don¡¯t think he would want to leave the scroll to the finale to mock Felic!?¡± he replied dumbfoundedly.

    Prince Monterey¡¯sst words jolted the thoughts of Bradlor as both of them nced at each other knowingly. It would not matter if the scroll was left out of the auction, as Gilded Kingdom had already tried to show their friendliness through Heldanos¡¯ artwork. They were worried that Grand Duke Vidi wanted to settle his personal grudge by mocking Lin Li with the scroll.

    Moreover, this was not unwarranted spection. The out-of-the-world bidding for the Heart of All Evil made no other item in the auction suitable to be ced in the finale. Not to mention the ultimate value of the scroll, it was suspicious for anyone to bring the scroll out at such a timing.

    However, it was impossible for Bradlor to prevent it from happening. The item had been ced on stage. It was a reality that the scroll had be the finale of the auction. Bradlor really hated this thought. He really had the urge to hand Grand Duke Vidi and give him a whipping. How could the grand duke go back on his words with such an unforgivable act?

    Grand Duke Vidi really felt unjust when he heard the heated discussions and sensed the tant usations of his character. Who would have thought that no inscriber had the ability to decipher the power of such an ordinary-looking magic scroll? He even had to let people bring the scroll out to a special space for a test trial. It was only a while ago that the testers returned with an unbelievable report regarding the scroll.

 Chapter 1239 - Gravity Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 1239: Gravity Mageweath</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Grand Duke Vidi had initially thought that the magic scroll probably wouldn¡¯t be put up for auction, even if its level had been verified after the appraisal. After all, the Heart of All Evil had already created a miracle in the history of auctions. However, after reading the appraisal report, Grand Duke Vidi nevertheless brought the item over despite being full of disbelief.

    As opposed to themotion that most of the people had gotten into, there was apletely different scene in the private room of the Octopus n. The person who was taking part in the bidding was Harquess of the Octopus n. When he heard that the next auction item was created by Lin Li, who was also known as President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, Harquess immediately recalled the evaluation that his father and the Grand Elder had made about Lin Li previously.

    <i>Has that human mage¡¯s attainments in inscription really reached the level that the Grand Elder mentioned?</i> Although Harquess refused to believe it, he didn¡¯t dare to doubt the judgment of the Grand Elder and his father. Hence, he had developed quite a great interest in that auction item. After all, Lin Li had merely added a mageweath to the one that Harquess had drawn previously, but his elders were already very impressed. Now that this item was created by Lin Li, Harquess reckoned that it should be enough to disy Lin Li¡¯s level of attainments in inscription.

    ¡°Felic, the hosts of this auction seem to have quite a good judgment as they know how valuable your scroll is.¡± Connoris wasn¡¯t surprised at all that Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll was brought to the stage after the Heart of All Evil. Others might not know how capable Lin Li was, but Connoris had been Lin Li¡¯s subordinate for such a long time. Of course he knew howpetent Lin Li was.

    Lin Li smiled nonchntly. His magic scroll was put up for auction only because it was a request made by the Gilded Kingdom, and he was doing Bradlor a favor. Lin Li didn¡¯t actually care about how much the magic scroll would be sold for. The person who managed to buy it would be considered lucky, but even if no one bought it, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t find it a pity.

    However, Bradlor didn¡¯t know what Lin Li¡¯s attitude was. Besides, even if he did, he definitely wouldn¡¯t allow the auction item to go unsold. If the mageweath hadn¡¯t been presented on the stage for the auction, he would¡¯ve let it go since the Gilded Kingdom had already expressed their goodwill to Lin Li by putting up Heldanos¡¯ painting for auction.

    However, since the magic scroll had been brought to the stage for auction, Bradlor could only think of a way to give the scroll a decent and eptable transaction price ording to his initial n. Of course, that wasn¡¯t a big deal to him, the king of a kingdom, because it was just a matter of spending some gold coins. What really worried him was whether the reactions of those people in the hall would make Lin Li feel awkward.

    ¡°Everyone, everyone, please be quiet, please be quiet!¡± Grand Duke Vidi eximed, unable to maintain hisposure because of the chatter andmotion going on below the stage.

    Fortunately, Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s words still carried some weight. After the discussion, the people at the auction were interested to hear Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s exnation as to why exactly the scroll would be put up for auction at this juncture. Hence, they gradually quieted down, and looked at Grand Duke Vidi, who was on the stage, with peculiar gazes.

    Grand Duke Vidi could sense the meaning in their gazes, but after taking a look at the magic scroll, he bit the bullet and picked it up.

    Holding the mageweath scroll in hand, Grand Duke Vidi rehearsed his lines in his head before saying to the audience below the stage, ¡°I will not tell you the level of this scroll for now...¡±

    ording to customary practices, he was supposed to first introduce the magic scroll¡¯s level, which could be superior-level, Master-level, or even Guru-level. However, when Grand Duke Vidi was about to do so, he suddenly remembered that the level of the scroll had yet to be determined after the appraisal. Hence, he had no choice but to pretend to keep them in suspense.

    However, the audience below the stage weren¡¯t convinced by his trick. They wouldn¡¯t mind being kept in suspense if it was some mysterious item, but there was nothing mysterious about a mageweath scroll as there were only just a few levels that the scroll could be at.

    Besides, this magic scroll was created by a human mage who was only in his early twenties. They would never believe that the young mage would be able to create an impressive mageweath scroll. In their opinion, Grand Duke Vidi was being ridiculous by keeping them in suspense.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, could it be that the magic scroll you¡¯re holding is only at the apprentice-level?¡± someone immediately eximed while guffawing loudly.

    ¡°Yes, it indeed isn¡¯t easy to see an apprentice-level magic scroll at such an auction. Haha!¡± Immediately afterwards, many people joined in the moring.

    Hearing the noisymotion from below, Grand Duke Vidi immediately looked embarrassed and awkward, but he had no choice except to pretend like he didn¡¯t hear it. He loudly continued, ¡°Next, I¡¯ll be showcasing the power of this mageweath. I believe you will alle to a judgment after you see it.¡±

    ¡°What else is there to showcase? Just start the auction now! I¡¯ll offer one gold coin!¡±

    The one who made such a disrespectfulment was none other than Grina, who was boiling with fury because he had suffered plenty of losses caused by Lin Li. First, it was the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor that Lin Li had snatched away from him, which was followed by the Heart of All Evil that he was bent on acquiring, but somehow failed to do so because of Lin Li again. He now bore a strong grudge against Lin Li.

    Grina had decided not topete further with Lin Li for the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor, because he¡¯d wanted to save his gold coins for the Heart of All Evil, which he regarded as his most important goal at the auction. However, he didn¡¯t expect to end up failing to get his hands on the Heart of All Evil too, thus leaving him with nothing but a massive bunch of gold coins.

    Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, had never suffered such a huge loss before, and he was already doing the Gilded Kingdom a favor by not taking the Four Divine Generals with him to settle the scores with Lin Li. Now that Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll had appeared at the auction, he couldn¡¯t contain his anger.

    After Grina took the lead, the rest of the people naturally didn¡¯t have any more scruples as they began cing their bids like Grina did, increasing the price by one gold coin at a time. They even made a huge ruckus, as if the bidding was intense.

    Seeing such a scene, there was nothing else Grand Duke Vidi could say. He had no choice but to untie the string around the scroll, and slowly unroll the scroll ording to the appraisal report.

    In fact, Grand Duke Vidi felt that he could have just unrolled the scroll in one go because there was a powerful defensive Magic Array on the stage to act as a barrier. Even a Master-level magic scroll would not cause any damage to the auction hall, let alone Lin Li¡¯s scroll.

    However, while thinking about the contents of the appraisal report, Grand Duke Vidi couldn¡¯t help but slow down in the unrolling despite doubting the truth of the matter. He stopped unrolling the scroll when a two-finger width section of the scroll was revealed. As the scroll was unrolled, a dense force was emitted from the scroll, and immediately shrouded everyone in the auction hall.

    The people in the hall were initially still moring and raising the bid price by one gold coin at a time,pletely ignoring the situation on the stage. However, they suddenly felt a strong force being imposed on their bodies out of nowhere. That caused the rowdy crowd to quiet down all of a sudden.

    However, the quietness did notst for long, and immediately afterwards, they became even louder. Inparison, those from the smaller forces did not behave too outrageously, and were merely venting their displeasure. Those who didn¡¯t care much about Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s identity began questioning him and doubting the fairness of the auction. There were some who even questioned Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s character, and got the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s reputation involved.

    ¡°I thought it was something impressive, turns out it¡¯s just a Gravity Mageweath. How dare they put such a low-level mageweath that even an inscription apprentice wouldn¡¯t bother creating up for auction?!¡± Feeling the power on the magic scroll, Grina¡¯s derisiveughter got even louder.

    <i>Gravity Mageweath!</i> In fact, almost everyone thought of the same thing after they sensed the dense force that was being put on their bodies. It could be seen from their reactions that the Gravity Mageweath was not something profound. Not to mention professional inscribers, even those who had very little understanding of inscription knew what the Gravity Mageweath was.

    The Gravity Mageweath had a simple function, and that was to add a greater gravitational force which was akin to tying arge pile of iron to a person. Hence, many warriors would use such a method for strength training.

    In addition, opening a Gravity Mageweath scroll during a battle would cause some impact on the enemy¡¯s actions, though it wouldn¡¯t be too major. After all, warriors had probably gotten used to moving with additional gravitational force. On the other hand, the spell casting of mages wouldn¡¯t get affected by gravity. Hence, regardless of which aspect it was, the uses for the Gravity Mageweath were very limited.

    Strictly speaking, there were no specific or distinct levels for Gravity Mageweaths, which even inscription apprentices could create. However, as the ability of the inscriber increased, the power of the Gravity Mageweath would also be improved to a certain extent.

    However, the increase wouldn¡¯t be too great. For example, the power of a Gravity Mageweath drawn by a Master-level inscriber would probably be about the same level as a high-level mageweath. Hence, inscribers generally wouldn¡¯t spend their energy on Gravity Mageweaths.

    Based on the dense force, everyone guessed that the magic scroll in Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s hand was only a low-level Gravity Mageweath, and thus they were even more disdainful. To them, it was worse than a Master-level mageweath! Everyone was extremely dissatisfied with Grand Duke Vidi for putting this lousy, garbage-like magic scroll up for auction.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, you must be kidding. You¡¯re going overboard with the joke, and we don¡¯t have all the time in the world to y this game with you.¡± After determining that the magic scroll was a Gravity Mageweath, everyone in the auction hall stood up and prepared to leave. Those who qualified to attend the auction were all prestigious figures of status in the Endless Ocean, and there was nothing worth rejoicing about being pranked like this.

    If it was just a harmless joke, they would justugh it off, but they found Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s decision to bring such a lousy mageweath, or so they thought, onto the stage for auction to be an insult to them. Even though they didn¡¯t think that Grand Duke Vidi really had the guts to offend so many people, they didn¡¯t want to continue entertaining his joke.

    In particr, Grina, who hated Lin Li for sabotaging his auction ns, also resented Grand Duke Vidi. He remembered the answer that the Gilded Kingdom had given him after he got into a conflict with the Tower of Dusk previously. After the failure he encountered during this auction, and seeing the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s attitude and stand, he naturally thought that the Gilded Kingdom and the Tower of Dusk had to be in cahoots.

    However, Grina didn¡¯t mor about leaving the auction like the others. In his opinion, the Gilded Kingdom had put on this act obviously because they were trying to get closer to the Tower of Dusk. If he left just like that, it would be doing them a favor.

    Hence, when everyone was kicking up a fuss, and iming that they were about to leave, Grina stood in front of the window of the private room with almost half of his body leaning outwards. He yelled, ¡°Everyone, please be quiet, I believe that Grand Duke Vidi will give us a satisfactory answer for this matter. Otherwise, we¡¯ll have every reason to doubt the fairness of this auction!¡±

    As the prince of the Giant Shark n, Grina was clearly not brainless. He tried to take the opportunity to blow things up. If the fairness of the auction was doubted by everyone, the items that had been auctioned off previously would have to be put up for auction again. During the buffer period, Grina would be able to make better preparations for a counterattack.

    Grina¡¯s words made the faces of Bradlor and Monterey, who were in the royal private room, turn incredibly sullen. This auction was not only held in the Gilded Kingdom, but also hosted by the Gilded Kingdom. Grina¡¯s act of questioning the fairness of the auction was tantamount to questioning the credibility of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Bradlor couldn¡¯t air his grievances regarding this matter, because at the end of the day, he was the one who¡¯d caused it all. If he hadn¡¯t tried to use the auction to forge some friendly ties with Lin Li, he wouldn¡¯t have asked thetter to put his scroll up for auction. If he hadn¡¯t sent Monterey to persuade Grand Duke Vidi, the scroll wouldn¡¯t have been put up for auction on the stage, either.

 Chapter 1240 - Powerful Figure

    Chapter 1240: Powerful Figure

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Noticing how sullen Bradlor¡¯s face was, Prince Monterey felt extremely ufortable, but he had no choice but to persuade, ¡°Your Majesty, things may not be as terrible as they seem. We should have faith in Grand Duke Vidi, and in... President Felic.¡±

    When it came to having faith in Lin Li, Prince Monterey still couldn¡¯t help but stutter. In fact, he wasn¡¯t very certain about it, nor was he confident in Lin Li¡¯s mageweath. After all, just like Bradlor, he was ayman who barely knew anything about inscription. He merely had a slight understanding of mageweaths because he usually came into contact with them. Hence, they could never guess what Grand Duke Vidi had in mind when he put the scroll up for auction, and whether the scroll was an impressive item.

    While everyone was getting riled up and breaking into amotion incited by Grina, Prince Cleve of the Siren n stood out, and said in a low voice, ¡°Grina, you can¡¯t make baseless ims just like that. I believe we all understand what Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s reputation is like, and I¡¯m sure he has his reasons for doing this. If there isn¡¯t anything that you have to see to urgently, why don¡¯t you guys sit down and hear him out?¡±

    In the Endless Ocean, Prince Cliff¡¯s reputation was on par with that of the Great Monarchs of the other Sea ns, which was far beyond what Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, couldpare to. Hence, after hearing Prince Cleve¡¯s words, the crowd in the hall suddenly quieted down.

    In fact, the greatest winner of this auction was undoubtedly the Siren n which had sessfully won the auction for the Heart of All Evil. Now that Grina wanted to question the fairness of the auction, Prince Cleve of the Siren n naturally had to stand out to refute him.

    In fact, Prince Cleve couldn¡¯t figure out why Lin Li would put up such an item for auction, either, but having crossed paths with Lin Li once, he could sense that Lin Li wasn¡¯t the type to fool around and pull a prank on others. Hence, he instinctively felt that the scroll probably wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed to be.

    Of course, the Siren n managed to acquire the Heart of All Evil all because of Lin Li¡¯s help. Not to mention that the magic scroll that hadn¡¯t been fully exhibited yet, even if it was eventually proven that the scroll was nothing but a Gravity Mageweath, Cleve would never criticize Lin Li.

    No matter what, Prince Cleve¡¯s words still carried more weight than Grina¡¯s. Even though the people were still in disdain of the Gravity Mageweath on the auction stage, they at least stopped moring about wanting to leave the auction, and no longer openly questioned the fairness of the auction.

    ¡°Hmph.¡± Grina humphed coldly, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he returned to his seat furiously. Despite being extremely displeased with Prince Cleve, he dared not express his dissatisfaction too obviously. After all, Prince Cleve was just as authoritative as the Great Monarchs of the various Sea ns of the Endless Ocean. No matter how arrogant Grina was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to disregard or disrespect Prince Cleve.

    Grand Duke Vidi, who was standing on the stage and showcasing the magic scroll, felt extremely grateful to Prince Cleve for calming the people down even though he knew that Prince Cleve wasn¡¯t doing it for his sake. Of course, he couldn¡¯t thank Cleve now, because the most important thing to do currently was toplete the task at hand.

    Hence, while praying that the appraisal report was true, Grand Duke Vidi slowly unrolled the magic scroll in his hand again. Perhaps because of ack of confidence in the magic scroll, Grand Duke Vidi revealed a quarter of the scroll this time, which was enough for the people to see a portion of the mageweath on it.

    If it was really just a Gravity Mageweath, the power that was released would remain about the same even if it was fully unrolled. Hence, when Grand Duke Vidi unrolled the scroll, the crowd below the stage didn¡¯t bother paying much attention. Although they had been persuaded by Prince Cleve to stay, they were all still chatting among themselves about other matters, and thuspletely ignoring Grand Duke Vidi who was on the stage.

    However, just when the crowd was unprepared, the dense force that was engulfing them suddenly became 100 times denser. Immediately afterwards, dense sounds of things breaking filled the hall. Under the oppression of the invisible force, everyone could feel a massive force being imposed on their bodies all of a sudden, causing the chairs they were sitting on to be crushed forcibly.

    Everyone felt that the bones in their own bodies seemed to be crackling under the massive force that was threatening to crush them at any time. Those who were weaker were forced to sit on the ground and were rendered immobile. They even began to develop breathing difficulties.

    Fortunately, all the defensive Magic Arrays in the auction hall had finally been stimted. The pirs in the auction hall, which initially looked rather ordinary, seemed to have their facade removed immediately as they began glistening brightly. The golden rays of light that were being emitted from the pirs soon fused together and became one, protecting everyone in the venue.

    At this moment, everyone in the venue finally heaved a sigh of relief, and those people who had been forced to sit on the ground finally got up from the ground clumsily too. They were initially feeling rather awkward, but when they saw that everyone else was in the same state, they felt much better, and soon looked at the auction stage in unison.

    Even the weakest of those people was near the Legendary-level. Ordinary Gravity Mageweaths had no effect on them at all. In their opinion, this mageweath should probably be at the Master-level since it could make them feel so overwhelmed. If not, it almost reached it.

    However, although the force made everyone feel rather disheveled and awkward, it was not powerful enough for them to take it seriously. After all, it was far from beingparable to the Heart of All Evil.

    Moreover, aftering back to their senses, they were rather infuriated because they thought that Grand Duke Vidi had deliberately caused them to make fools of themselves. Otherwise, he would have warned them in advance. Of course, it didn¡¯t ur to them that they probably wouldn¡¯t have taken it seriously even if Grand Duke Vidi had given them a reminder beforehand.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, don¡¯t you think your approach is overboard?¡± someone questioned in exasperation. The guests were all dignified figures, and the embarrassing slipup that just happened felt like an insult thrown in their faces. Even though they were facing the grand duke of the Gilded Kingdom, they couldn¡¯t stomach it.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, you must get things right. We respect you for your reputation as a merchant, but we¡¯re not afraid of you at all!¡± someone barked, seemingly wanting to go on stage to settle scores with Grand Duke Vidi.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi was also a little confused at this point as he stared at the wreckage below the stage while holding the scroll with trembling hands. It wasn¡¯t that he had been frightened by the force of the scroll, but rather everything that had happened so far seemed to fit the description in the appraisal report very closely. Hence, he thought of the terrifying conclusion at the end of the report.

    Of course, Grand Duke Vidi was still skeptical and doubtful of the terrifying conclusion at the end of the report. Despite hoping it to be true, his rationality repeatedly told him that it was impossible.

    It was extremely lively in the auction venue, and it was certainly unprecedented. Although intense bidding sessions over popr items weremonce during auctions, that would just be an issue between bidders.

    However, the current dispute was between the host of the auction, Grand Duke Vidi, and the bidders, which was absolutely unprecedented. Grand Duke Vidi, who had be themon enemy of all the bidders, snapped back to his senses, and felt like crying when he heard the people berating him.

    However, not all of them were ming Grand Duke Vidi. Among the various bidders, there were quite a few human inscribers who were all looking at the scroll in Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s hand in confusion.

    Apart from the Octopus n, which was talented in the field of inscription, inscribers were very rare in Anril. However, all the top figures of the Endless Ocean were gathered at the auction, so of course there had to be a few human inscribers present among them. However, due to the limitation of talent, the level of those inscribers was not very high, and even the best among them hadn¡¯t reached the threshold of the Master-level.

    However, even an inscription apprentice knew that the power of a mageweath would be determined by and kept constant at the power of the inscriber at the time of the drawing, which was amon sense in inscription. Even if the mageweath was given a new mana source, the amount of mana that could be carried would remain the same, so the power that could be exerted naturally would not change.

    However, the current situation was somewhat misaligned with themon knowledge and facts of inscription known to those inscribers at the auction. They noticed that the power of the magic scroll was constantly enhanced as Grand Duke Vidi unrolled it, which didn¡¯t seem logical ording to thatmon sense of inscription. They wondered, Could it be that there is some kind of mechanism set up in the magic scroll that¡¯s specifically used to adjust the input of mana? Once the scroll is unrolledpletely, what level will the mana reach?

    As the prince of the Octopus n, there was no way Harquess wouldn¡¯t have been able to see the details that those few human inscribers had noticed. In fact, when Grand Duke Vidi had just started to unroll the magic scroll that everyone thought was a Gravity Mageweath, Harquess had already sensed the peculiarity of the scroll.

    In particr, when Harquess had felt the force that everyone merely thought was an enhanced gravitational force, he had already felt that something had been amiss. However, at that time, he¡¯d only felt that the force had been a little strange, and he hadn¡¯t dwelled further on it. After all, the knowledge in the field of inscription was vast and profound. Even though he was already a Master of Inscription, he didn¡¯t dare to im that he had mastered all the mageweaths below the Master-level.

    However, after Grand Duke Vidi unrolled the magic scroll and the force became stronger, which led to the unusual phenomena, Harquess finally came to terms with the extraordinariness of Lin Li, the human inscriber who even the grand elder of his n thought was an expert in inscription.

    As the magic scroll was unrolled, the mageweath on it was revealed. Harquess immediately focused his attention on it. Despite being seated quite a distance from the stage, Harquess could still clearly see the portion of the mageweath that had been revealed.

    Unfortunately, even after racking his brains, Harquess still couldn¡¯t tell what kind of mageweath was drawn on the scroll.

    ¡°Felic, what¡¯s the name of this magic scroll of yours?¡± Although Connoris seemed to be very confident in Lin Li, he actually only developed his faith in him based on his past experience and understanding of Lin Li.

    After drawing the magic scroll, Lin Li simply brought it to the Gilded Kingdom for the auction without showing it to anyone. Hence, it was also Connoris¡¯ first time sensing the power contained in the magic scroll. However, he was clueless as to what was contained in it.

    Strictly speaking, the incidents that urred in the hall were actually caused by Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll. However, Lin Li was just sipping on some wine in the private room leisurely as if he didn¡¯t care about what was going on outside at all. Anyway, it was thest auction item, and he couldn¡¯t possibly bid for his own item. Hence, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to the auction anymore.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ question, Lin Li swirled his wine ss gently and stared at the opulent color of the wine that was flowing down the inner surface of the ss. He calmly said, ¡°Mount Tai!¡±

    After hearing his answer, Connoris was stunned for a moment, but he soon began to frown. What¡¯s Mount Tai? Despite being an ancient demon deity of Anril, he had never heard of such a thing before, but he could infer that it was some kind of mountain. However, he couldn¡¯t figure out what a mountain had to do with a mageweath.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t exin further. Well, he couldn¡¯t possibly say that the name originated from another world. Although given his current strength, he wouldn¡¯t face any huge trouble even if he told others about his transmigration, he didn¡¯t want to waste his precious time on answering such a pointless question.

    Mount Tai is Mount Tai. Call it a hillbilly among nameless ces that¡¯s unheard of, or a mythical mountain that was destroyed. Whatever it is, it¡¯s up to them to decipher it.

    Seeing that Lin Li did not intend to exin further, Connoris stopped probing, and instead turned to look over at the auction stage to continue watching the show unfold.

    ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, are you still not embarrassed enough? Hurry up and get rid of that junk for a few gold coins lest you continue making a fool out of yourself here,¡± Grina said scornfully. He had also been frightened by that force just now, but like most of the people there, he was clueless about inscriptions, and naturally didn¡¯t think that there was anything strange about that matter just now.

 Chapter 1241 - Exhibition

    <h4>Chapter 1241: Exhibition</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Many people chimed in after hearing Grina¡¯s derisivement. Even though the magic scroll had already disyed greater power, it still wasn¡¯t a high-level Gravity Mageweath scroll in their opinion. Besides, Gravity Mageweaths had very few functions in the first ce, and they weren¡¯t very powerful, either. Hence,pared to the other items at the auction, they felt that it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it junk.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi turned a deaf ear to the voices, and continued to slowly unroll the scroll. As the magic scroll was unrolled, the dense power became increasingly stronger. However, due to the defensive Magic Array of the auction, the people below the stage didn¡¯t feel much.

    Still, Grand Duke Vidi felt a little anxious when he saw the situation because it concerned the reputation of the Gilded Kingdom and Grand Duke Vidi himself. If he hadn¡¯t been afraid of causing casualties, he would have just switched off the defensive Magic Array and let them have a feel of the power of the magic scroll.

    In a moment of panic and anxiety, Grand Duke Vidi couldn¡¯t help but have his hand shake a little. If this was just any other magic scroll, a slight shake wouldn¡¯t have any impact on it, but when Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s hand trembled, he suddenly unrolled the scroll further until about a quarter of it was exposed. With that change, the power of the mageweath spread out too.

    The people who were protected by the defensive Magic Array were still criticizing and condemning Grand Duke Vidi, as well as Lin Li, the owner of the magic scroll. However, they suddenly heard the sounds of a massive explosion outside that resembled the sound of the earth crumbling. Their ears began buzzing, and immediately afterwards, they were horrified to find that the faint golden Magic Array above their heads was covered with numerous cobweb-like cracks. At the same time, it was also emitting crackling sounds, and the array seemed to be on the verge of shattering.

    This time, the people below the stage were really dumbfounded. Even though it was really just a Gravity Mageweath, it was absolutely shocking that it could contain such massive power. For the majority of them, it definitely wasn¡¯t their first timeing to the Gilded Kingdom, and thus they had quite a good understanding of the famous art exhibition hall of the Gilded Kingdom. There was a Master-level Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrierid out in the hall. When erged, it could envelop the entire kingdom, and when it was shrunk, it could only protect a wine ss in the room. More importantly, it had a high defensive power, and those who were at the Legendary-level and below would not be able to shake the barrier at all. Even an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse would have a hard time breaking it.

    However, even the strong and powerful Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier began to crack under the power of the magic scroll that everyone treated as a Gravity Mageweath. Even though the force was blocked by the barrier, the people who were protected were still frightened to the point of turning as pale as a sheet. They didn¡¯t dare to imagine how terrifying it would be if the power that could shatter the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier were to be imposed on their bodies. Perhaps even Legendary powerhouses would have a hard time surviving under that force.

    King Bradlor, who originally thought of saving Lin Li from the embarrassment by offering a decent price for the magic scroll, involuntarily let his jaw drop when he stared at the scene going on in the hall. No one knew better than him how powerful the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was. It was a powerful defensive barrier that was set up jointly by eight Sanctuary powerhouses, and it contained the characteristics of a Domain World.

    Each of the eight Sanctuary powerhouses contributed a powerfulw that they were good at, and they jointly created a barrier that had a near-perfect structure ofws. In other words, the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was equivalent to a solidified Sanctuary-level Domain World in essence. Although that didn¡¯t mean that the power of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was equivalent to the sum of the power of the eight Sanctuary powerhouses, it was definitely more powerful than the individual Domain Worlds of each Sanctuary powerhouse.

    During the rebellion that had once urred in the Gilded Kingdom, the Ocean Dragon Family which was one of the ancient families tried to st Hopra City, the capital of Gilded Kingdom, but they could not conquer it in the end. The most important reason behind their failure was the existence of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier. During that rebellion, the Ocean Dragon Family had resorted to various methods, but they still couldn¡¯t cause the slightest damage to the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier. Eventually, they were suppressed by the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Even the corpse of the ancient evil dragon, which possessed terrifying power that was near the Divine-realm, could not do much damage during the great cmity that it had created for the Gilded Kingdom, because of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier that kept the Gilded Kingdom safe. Although the corpse of the ancient dragon did not deliberately try to attack Hopra City, it did not let go of this ce easily. The Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier had yed a significant role in saving Hopra City from destruction during the disaster.

    However, the Gravity Mageweath that everyone thought was just a piece of garbage actually emitted such a terrifying power that could cause the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier to crack. In that case, could that magic scroll still be considered a piece of garbage? At the very least, it was definitely considered an extremely powerful magical weapon even if it was still a Gravity Mageweath.

    ¡°D-did President Felic really draw that mageweath?!¡± Bradlor immediately asked Monterey in huge disbelief after finally recovering from the shock. Although he seemed to be asking Prince Monterey about it, he was actually asking himself that question. If he didn¡¯t care about his identity, he would give himself a tight p to see if he was still dreaming.

    At this moment, Prince Monterey was actually just as shocked as Bradlor. Even though he had interacted with Lin Li far less frequently than Bradlor did, the simple truth was that Lin Li was a magic prodigy who had reached the Sanctuary-realm in his early twenties. Hence, Bradlor felt that it was impossible for him to still have the time and energy to have such amazing attainments in the field of inscription!

    Of course, Bradlor and Monterey did not know that Lin Li not only had such impressive attainments in the field of inscription, but also Master-level attainments in the field of alchemy, pharmaceutics, forging, and so on. If they were to find out about it, both of them would probably go mad. After all, it required a ton of time and lifelong effort to make such great attainments in those fields.

    Besides, the vast majority of people might not be able to have such attainments even if theymitted a lifetime¡¯s worth of time and effort to studying. The minority who could have such remarkable achievements would be considered geniuses in their respective fields, just like Harquess, the prince of the Octopus n, Wilkinson, the genius pharmacist of the Pharmacist Guild, and so on. On the other hand, Lin Li was like the epitome of a genius in all fields. If others were to discover his attainments, he would probably be treated as the reincarnation of a deity.

    ¡°I reckon so. There¡¯s no need for President Felic to lie to us about this.¡± That was the only way Monterey could answer Bradlor¡¯s question. Of course, he wasn¡¯t giving a baseless answer. After all, after interacting with Lin Li a few times, he could tell that Lin Li wasn¡¯t after fame and fortune. Hence, thetter wouldn¡¯t do such a despicable thing as to pass off other people¡¯s works as his own.

    At this moment, Grina, who was inciting the crowd to denounce Grand Duke Vidi, couldn¡¯t help but look a little more solemn. Even though the power exhibited by that magic scroll was not enough to make him feel shocked, he could from the massive power alone that it was clearly inappropriate to call it garbage.

    There were numerous treasures and magical weapons that could exert such power in the Giant Shark n¡¯s treasure vault, but the issue was that most of those things were obtained by the Giant Shark n during the fall of the Ocean Dynasty. It was impossible for them to produce such an item. Yet, Lin Li had created that magic scroll in front of them. Since he could create one, he could definitely create even more.

    In other words, the things that they treated as treasures could be created in bulk by Lin Li as he pleased. That was undoubtedly making the value of the treasures in Grina¡¯s collection depreciate, thus making Grina feel extremely bothered. If this magic scroll that he had just called a piece of junk was really one, what would the treasures in his collection be considered?

    In fact, the Four Divine Generals that hade here together with Grina were already rather tempted by the magic scroll. If it weren¡¯t for the way Grina behaved just now and the feud between them and the Tower of Dusk, they would have probably persuaded Grina to buy the mageweath.

    Although the Giant Shark n¡¯s Four Divine Generals were at the Sanctuary-realm, they couldn¡¯t create their own Domain World. Hence, in their eyes, this magic scroll which could exert such massive power was the best thing that could make up for their shorings.

    Of course, even now, they still thought that the magic scroll was just a rtively ordinary Gravity Mageweath scroll, except that it was much more powerful than the majority of Gravity Mageweaths. However, it was precisely because they decided that it was a Gravity Mageweath scroll that they coveted it a little. If a Sanctuary-level warrior, who was already powerful enough, had the enhancement of such an incredible mageweath that could almost contend with the Gravity Domain, they would probably be the nightmare of any enemy.

    Unfortunately, the magic scroll was created by President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, and given Grina¡¯s personality, he definitely wouldn¡¯t spend any money on it. The Four Divine Generals might be Sanctuary powerhouses, but Grina was ultimately the prince of the Giant Shark n, and they couldn¡¯t disregard him.

    Grand Duke Vidi, who was standing on the stage to showcase the magic scroll, was also stunned by the power of the mageweath at first, and even wanted to quickly roll up the scroll a little. However, he soon saw the expressions of the people below the stage, and immediately changed his mind. <i>You people were mocking me just now, huh? I shall let you see the true power of this magic scroll!</i>

    Things have developed to the point that Grand Duke Vidipletely forgot that his previous attitude towards the magic scroll was actually no different from that of the audience below. He merely brought the scroll to the stage, and introduced it to the audience because it was part of his duty as the host.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi was a human with feelings too, and it was impossible for him not to have felt even a tinge of anger. If the magic scroll was really a piece of garbage, he could only admit that he was unlucky, but now that the magic scroll disyed extraordinary power, it gave him hope in regaining his pride, so he naturally refused to give up just like that.

    Hence, Grand Duke Vidi, who was holding the scroll, took a deep breath and got a grip on his emotions, but he didn¡¯t stop just like that. He grabbed the magic scroll tightly in his hands, and continued to slowly unroll the magic scroll to disy its power to the audience below the stage.

    As the magic scroll was unrolled further, the power that surged out became increasingly powerful, and it filled the entire hall with crackling sounds. Although it was blocked by the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier, everyone noticed that the ground beneath their feet seemed to be slowly sinking under that heavy pressure.

    The light of the magic defense also began to flicker under the heavy pressure, while the flow of mana in the surrounding pirs of golden light that released the defensive power was clearly increasing rapidly. It seemed to be reaching the limit of its tolerance.

    Although the power of the magic scroll did notnd directly on the body of any individual, everyone present felt extremely oppressed as everything around them seemed to be suffocating. They felt as if the sky was about to copse and as if their soul was about to be crushed by the great pressure. Even the bigwigs in the private rooms upstairs couldn¡¯t help but look sullen.

    The Four Divine Generals around Grina immediately intervened, and formed a defensive barrier that shrouded the entire private room using their Combat Energy. Although they didn¡¯t think that the power of the magic scroll could breach the defense of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier, they still had to protect Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, well.

    The scene in several private rooms was simr to that in the Giant Shark n¡¯s private room. Be it Sanctuary powerhouses or Legendary powerhouses, they were all putting their defensive measures to use. It wasn¡¯t that they were being timid and cowardly, but rather everyone there was powerful and noble. If something were to happen to them, it would be toote to regret it, so it was better to make preparations in advance.

    However, Harquess wasn¡¯t doing anything in the private room of the Octopus n at the moment, and was merely keeping his eyes fixed on the magic scroll that Grand Duke Vidi was holding. As Grand Duke Vidi further unrolled the magic scroll, the mageweath on it was revealed. Although there wasn¡¯t a full view of it yet, the mystery of it could already be seen.

 Chapter 1242 - Quote

    <h4>Chapter 1242: Quote</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Although others could not tell anything from the mageweath, Harquess was a newly minted Master of Inscription who was also from the Octopus n, which had a strong foundation and rich heritage in inscription. Even though he couldn¡¯t understand the mysteries contained in the mageweath, he could also tell that it definitely wasn¡¯t a simple Gravity Mageweath, as it had, in fact, transcended themon theory of the field of inscription in many aspects.

    However, when Harquess wanted to study it carefully, he suddenly thought of his mageweath that had been stained with ink and gave off an alluring power that made him suffer a ton back then. The thought of it made him dispel his idea immediately as he called one of the subordinates behind him to immediately go back and invite his father or any of the elders here.

    Although Harquess did not have a good impression of Lin Li, he remembered the admonishments that his father and the grand elder had given him previously. At this moment, he naturally didn¡¯t dare to act presumptuously when faced with the mageweath Lin Li had created. Hence, regardless of the quality of the magic scroll and whether it was authentic or not, Harquess thought that it would be better to wait for his father and the grand elder toe over before making a decision.

    The magic scroll in Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s hand was already almost halfway unrolled, and everyone could see clearly that the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier had begun showing signs of crumbling under the suppression of an invisible force. Despite refusing to believe it, the people couldn¡¯t stop themselves from developing terrifying thoughts. They reckoned that maybe the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier would really crumble once the magic scroll waspletely unrolled.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi did not stop what he was doing; in fact, he even seemed somewhat maniacal. No one would be able to remain collected andposed when holding an item that possessed such a terrifying force. Grand Duke Vidi even felt an impulse to pocket the scroll instead of putting it up for auction. In fact, simply put, Grand Duke Vidi was enthralled because he had never been in control of such a massive power before.

    However, at this moment, King Bradlor suddenly stood in front of the window of the private room, and yelled at the people below, ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, stop, we¡¯d better start the auction formally!¡±

    Bradlor had no other choice. If this went on, the crumbling magic defense in the hall might really be crushed and destroyed. The destruction was not what he was worried about; if anything happened to the guests here, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely be in trouble. Although there were very few guests who could contend with the Gilded Kingdom, the kingdom¡¯s reputation would still be greatly affected even if an insignificant nobody was to get injured here.

    Grand Duke Vidi finally snapped back to his senses after hearing Bradlor¡¯s words, and remembered where he was now. After sobering up, Grand Duke Vidi looked at the magic defense that was crumbling because of the oppressive mageweath, and couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly rolled up the magic scroll.

    When the magic scroll was put away, the terrifying power, too, vanished without a trace, while the stimted Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier naturally began to converge again. Once everything was calm again and peace was restored, Grand Duke Vidi cleared his throat, raised the magic scroll in his hand, and said, ¡°Everyone, you should have witnessed the power of this magic scroll just now. The auction for this scroll will officially begin now with a starting bid of 5,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    If Grand Duke Vidi had said at the beginning that the minimum bid price of the magic scroll was 5,000,000 gold coins, he would have definitely been mocked and mmed by the crowd. However, now that they had experienced what just happened, everyone in the auction hall stayed silent after hearing Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s words. No one stood out to question the price, either.

    Even Grina, who hated Lin Li to the core, and wished he could make the scroll go unsold to put Lin Li to shame, couldn¡¯t bring himself to offer a price of a few gold coins at this time. If he continued to do that again, he¡¯d be the one getting embarrassed.

    ¡°Wait, Grand Duke Vidi, before the bidding starts, can you tell us the name of this magic scroll!?¡± Harquess was a bit anxious when he saw that Grand Duke Vidi was about to announce the start of the auction, and thus decided to ask that question in order to buy some time. After all, his father and the elders had yet to arrive, and he couldn¡¯t make a good judgment or evaluation of the scroll.

    Of course, Harquess asked a very reasonable question because every item had a name, regardless of what it was. Since it was a magic scroll, the audience had the right to know what it was called and what the name of the mageweath on it was, as well as its level. The so-called mystery auction items were only kept confidential just before the start of the auction. When the auction was about to begin, the information regarding the item would definitely be told to the crowd in all rity.

    Hence, the people who had previously treated the roll as a piece of junk began moring at Grand Duke Vidi at this moment as they demanded a proper introduction of the scroll from him. Even though they might not be willing to spend money to buy such a magic scroll, they were still curious out of human nature.

    However, Grand Duke Vidi was stumped by the question. He had previously called it a mysterious auction item precisely because he wanted to avoid having to give them an exnation. If he said that they couldn¡¯t even identify the level of the magic scroll, the reputation of his auctions would be severely tarnished.

    ¡°Um.¡± Grand Duke Vidi hesitated and thought about the power that this magic scroll had just exerted before biting the bullet, and saying, ¡°This magic scroll is called Mount Tai, which is derived from the meaning of Titan Holy Mountain. It is a masterpiece that definitely isn¡¯t inferior to most Guru-level creations. More information will be revealed to the person who wins the auction of this item by President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, whom you may approach to find out more. I shall not go further into detail about this item for now.¡±

    The magic scroll was named ¡°Mount Tai¡±. That was the only information about it that had been revealed, but Grand Duke Vidi, too, could not figure out which mountain it referred to. However, in order to make the item fetch a better price, he decided to just mention the Titan Holy Mountain. As for the level of the magic scroll, the auctioneers had consulted many Inscribers, but none of them could identify it. Hence, Grand Duke Vidi simply said that it was a Master-level mageweath<sup>1</sup>, which he thought would be apt considering Lin Li¡¯s young age.

    In Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s opinion, having Master-level attainments in inscription at Lin Li¡¯s age was already unbelievable enough, and he didn¡¯t think that Lin Li would be able to be a Guru of Inscription. In Anril, Gurus of Inscription were few and far between. Even the Octopus n that was naturally highly talented in inscription had very few Gurus of Inscription.

    In the field of inscription, a Guru of Inscription was the equivalent of a Sanctuary powerhouse or even an existence that was closer to the gods than Sanctuary powerhouses. Grand Duke Vidi didn¡¯t believe that Lin Li could have the same level of attainment in the field of inscription, even though he had reached the Sanctuary-realm in magic.

    However, Harquess was a bit skeptical about Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s exnation because he still remembered clearly Grand Elder Hayes¡¯ evaluation of the stained mageweath that earned the awe and respect of the elders of the Octopus n even though all Lin Li did was spill a bottle of ink onto it. In that case, Harquess thought that it was impossible for a mageweath drawn by Lin Li to be only at the Master-level.

    However, Harquess thought for a second, and guessed the reason that Grand Duke Vidi said that. Since the mageweath had been drawn by someone whom even Grand Elder Hayes had spoken highly of, ordinary inscribers obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to identify its level. Not to mention the human inscribers, there were probably very few or even none who could urately identify the mageweath even in the Octopus n.

    ¡°10,000,000 gold coins!¡± eximed Bradlor. He had been waiting for Grand Duke Vidi to announce the start of the auctioning of the scroll for a long time. Hence, he immediately ced his bid. He initially thought of buying it at a decent price to do Lin Li a favor, but after seeing the power of that magic scroll, he developed a strong desire to acquire it.

    If he could buy a magic scroll that could shake the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier with just 10,000,000 gold coins, it would be akin to finding a treasure without much effort. However, Bradlor knew that it probably wouldn¡¯t be possible for him to acquire the magic scroll easily now that everyone had seen its power during the showcase just now.

    As expected, as soon as Bradlor ced his bid, another four or five people did so too, and the bid price was raised to more than 20,000,000 gold coins in the blink of an eye. That was just the price offered by the people on the first floor, and those of the more powerful forces in the private rooms of the second floor had yet to ce their bids.

    Among the people present, Grina of the Giant Shark n was probably the one with the strongest financial power. In order topete for the Heart of All Evil, he¡¯d even agreed to exchange the mineral mining rights for the funds of the Sea Serpent n. Although they did not manage to win the auction for the Heart of All Evil in the end, the deal between him and the Sea Serpent n was still valid; hence, he didn¡¯t return the funds to the Sea Serpent n.

    However, how could Grina be willing to spend arge amount of money on something created by his enemy? Even if it was a Guru-level magic scroll, he wouldn¡¯t be willing to fork out a single gold coin for it, not to mention when it was a Master-level one. Hence, Grina was excluded from the list ofpetitors.

    At this juncture, Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren Queen looked somewhat regretful, for they had already invested all the funds they had prepared, coupled with the financial support from Lin Li, to acquire the Heart of All Evil. Although they were also interested in that magic scroll, they didn¡¯t have the means to acquire it.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect President Felic to have such a high attainment in the field of inscription too. He¡¯s really unpredictable!¡± Queen Halleleah eximed emotionally as she looked at the scene below.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m afraid Grina has offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have, and formed a feud with the wrong person for the Giant Shark n.¡± Prince Cleve also nodded in agreement. Suddenly reminded of something, he said, ¡°Since President Felic has such high attainments in inscription, I wonder if he can draw a powerful mageweath for the Heart of All Evil?¡±

    Although the Heart of All Evil contained a very powerful force, the use of it alone would not allow much power to be exerted, so there had to be a mageweath to match it in order to stimte and control its power. Prince Cleve had initially intended for the Octopus n¡¯s elders to help draw a mageweath toplement the Heart of All Evil. However, although the Octopus n and Siren n were on good terms with each other, they were stillpeting forces of the Endless Ocean, and weren¡¯t exactly extremely close. Hence, they weren¡¯t sure if the Octopus n would help.

    Unlike them, Lin Li¡¯s Tower of Dusk was not a force that belonged to the Endless Ocean, and thus would not have a conflict of interests with the Siren n. Besides, Prince Cleve had also managed to get closer to Lin Li when he approached Lin Li for help previously. In fact, forging closer rtions was not just about giving each other benefits. Asking for help and making some deals was also one of the ways to be closer to someone else. People tended to get closer with increased interactions, and sometimes offending the other party to a small extent might also be an opportunity to deepen the ties between both parties.

    Prince Cleve had not known that Lin Li had had such high attainments in inscription in the beginning, but now that he had seen how powerful the magic scroll was, he immediately thought of asking Lin Li to help draw theplementary mageweath for the Heart of All Evil. Of course, he would give Lin Li something in return for his effort. Since Lin Li needed the Siren¡¯s Tears, they could give them to him as a form of remuneration.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Queen Halleleah nodded elegantly, and took her eyes off the scroll to turn to look at Prince Cleve, who was beside her. She said, ¡°After the auction is over, go contact President Felic again.¡±

    During Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve¡¯s conversation, the price of the magic scroll Lin Li had created was already pushed to 50,000,000 gold coins by the crowd. Such a high amount could be considered the limit of the price that a magic scroll at the peak of the Master-level could fetch. As long as it was still below the Guru-level, the final transacted price shouldn¡¯t be too far off from 50,000,000 gold coins.

    The person who ced the bid of 53,000,000 gold coins, which was the highest bid so far, was Harquess of the Octopus n. However, even so, Harquess still seemed a little anxious because his father and elders had yet to arrive. Hence, he could not tell if the magic scroll was worth a higher price, and didn¡¯t know if he should continue topete for it if there were higher bids for it.

    Unfortunately, things did not always go ording to one¡¯s wishes. Just as Harquess was being worried that someone would offer a higher price, he heard a new offering from someone in another private room.

    ¡°55,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    The person who ced that bid was Manson, the prodigy of the Thunder Eel n. Although he did not have much knowledge of inscriptions, he was obviously interested in the great power disyed by the magic scroll, just as anyone would be. Besides, Manson and Harquess weren¡¯t on good terms in the first ce. Thus, when Manson saw that Harquess was interested in the magic scroll, he naturally had to make things hard for Harquess.

 Chapter 1243 - 100,000,000

    Chapter 1243: 100,000,000

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Of course, Harquess and Manson weren¡¯t the only ones who were interested in the magic scroll that Lin Li had put up for auction. King Bradlor of the Gilded Kingdom wanted to keep the scroll for himself too. Hence, he immediately ced his bid as well. ¡°60,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    Bradlor didn¡¯t take part in the bidding for the sake of doing Lin Li a favor, but because he had been enticed by the power of the magic scroll. Others were interested in the magic scroll because the power it contained could shake even the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier, while Bradlor was keen on acquiring it because he knew exactly how powerful the defensive powers of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was.

    Based on the scene just now, Bradlor could deduce the level of power the magic scroll had exerted. Although the magic scroll had not been fully unrolled, Bradlor was certain that the power that it exerted was definitely enough to crush a mountain, submerge a fleet of alchemical battleships, and sink an entire ind to the bottom of the sea.

    The magic scroll was definitely a great war weapon that was powerful enough to rece a fleet of alchemical battleships, and building a fleet of alchemical battleships would cost far more than 60,000,000 gold coins. How could Bradlor be willing to miss such a powerful weapon?

    After a few rounds of bidding, the price of the magic scroll had already exceeded 80,000,000 gold coins, which was naturally peanutspared to the price of the Heart of All Evil. However, it was considered extremely expensive for a Master-level magic scroll. After all, although this magic scroll was rare, there seemed to only be one function to it, and it was far fromparable to the Heart of All Evil that could suppress a sacrednd.

    Seeing that the price had exceeded 80,000,000 gold coins, Harquess, who was in the private room, began to panic. He wanted to offer a higher bid, but he didn¡¯t know if the magic scroll was worth a higher price or not. However, if he chose not to do so and ended up missing out on a good item, it would cause him to be reprimanded by his father and elders.

    When Harquess was caught in a dilemma, the door of the private room suddenly opened. Immediately afterwards, Great Monarch Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes strode in from outside.

    ¡°Father, Grand Elder,¡± Harquess hurriedly greeted as he went forward to salute his father and Grand Elder gleefully. After both of them were seated, he told them about the auction of Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll.

    For the past few days, Hegel and Hayes had been studying the mageweath stone b that Harquess had brought back. Ultimately, the base of that mageweath was Harquess¡¯ creation, and it had be a high-level mageweath with the enhancement of some additional material. Hence, it was extremely difficult to find thews within.

    Therefore, when Hegel and Hayes heard that a magic scroll that Lin Li had drawn was put up for auction, Hegel and Hayes immediately rushed over to take a look.

    Although Grand Duke Vidi had rolled up the magic scroll, Hegel and Hayes had already gained some understanding of the magic scroll after hearing Harquess¡¯ description. At this moment, Grand Duke Vidi had already begun asking if there were any higher bidders ording to the rules of the auction. When Hegel and Hayes heard that the price had exceeded 90,000,000 gold coins, they looked at each other before saying to Harquess, ¡°Let¡¯s buy it, regardless of how much it costs.¡±

    Others valued the magic scroll because of the power it possessed, but for a Master of Inscription like Hegel, the real value of Lin Li¡¯s magic scrolly in the inscription knowledge that it contained. In the mageweath of the stone b that they looked at previously, they saw a trace of the power belonging to the Divine-Smith-level; hence, the magic scroll was much more valuable to them than to the others.

    ¡°100,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    The biding from the private room of the Octopus n immediately made the guests in the auction hall fall silent. Many people raised their heads and turned to look at the private rooms on the second floor. It was an extremely unbelievable price. Although they knew that what they had just seen was only a portion of the power contained in the magic scroll, they still didn¡¯t think that it was worth 100,000,000 gold coins.

    They couldn¡¯t figure out why the Octopus n, which had unparalleled attainments in the field of inscription, would offer 100,000,000 gold coins. Everyone knew that the Octopus n was highly talented in the field of inscription as they not only had many Masters of Inscription, they were also presided over by Grand Elder Hayes, who was a Guru of Inscription. Given the Octopus n¡¯s abilities, there wasn¡¯t a need for them to spend so much money on a magic scroll that was at the peak of the Master-level.

    Of course, there were some smart people who figured out that the magic scroll definitely wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed to be on the surface based on the Octopus n¡¯s actions. However, they were well aware that they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get anything from the magic scroll even if they paid such a huge price to acquire it. After all, not everyone had the same attainments in inscription as the Octopus n.

    After hearing the price of 100,000,000 gold coins, Grina of the Giant Shark n couldn¡¯t quite believe his ears. He thought, Isn¡¯t it just an ordinary Gravity Mageweath? How can it be worth 100,000,000 gold coins?!

    ¡°Grina, could it be that there is really something special about Felic¡¯s magic scroll? Should we...?¡± Zorro, one of the Four Divine Generals, asked with some hesitation. In terms of financial power, there was probably no one who couldpare to the Giant Shark n in the entire auction house. Hence, if there was really something impressive about the magic scroll, the Giant Shark n would definitely be confident in clinching it.

    However, Grina was not a generous person. Not to mention that the item belonged to his enemy, the sheer price of 100,000,000 gold coins was already making him feel extremely frustrated. After hearing Zorro¡¯s words, he waved his hand, and furiously hollered, ¡°Forget it, I bet the Octopus n are in cahoots with him. It¡¯s just a magic scroll, how can it be worth such a high price? Do they take us for fools?!¡±

    Grina didn¡¯t want to believe that one of Lin Li¡¯s magic scrolls could really be worth that much money, and he naturally thought of another possibility. Perhaps, the Octopus n is just pretending to bid to deliberately push the price higher so as to fool those who don¡¯t know much about mageweaths.

    Despite disagreeing with Grina, Zorro and his peers didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. Even though the Four Divine Generals were Sanctuary powerhouses, they were subordinate to the prince of the Giant Shark n, and everyone knew that Grina was the future helmsman of the Giant Shark n. Hence, they wouldn¡¯t try to offend him.

    The price of 100,000,000 gold coins for a Master-level magic scroll was already far beyond what it was worth. As opposed to fixed mageweaths that were carved on certain spots, magic scrolls might be portable, but the power was greatly inferior to that of a fixed mageweath because fixed mageweaths would often have a special mana source, while magic scrolls could only rely on the mana that was infused during the drawing process. Hence, its power was naturally far inferior.

    Hence, after the Octopus n ced a bid of 100,000,000 gold coins, everyone in the hall fell silent, and those who¡¯d wanted to acquire the magic scroll at first had no choice but to reconsider carefully.

    ¡°100,000,000 gold coins. Seems like there are still people here who know their stuff. The price of your magic scroll has actually reached 100,000,000 gold coins!¡± Connoris said with a straight face, not at all surprised by how high the price had risen.

    On the other hand, there wasn¡¯t a single trace of joy on Lin Li¡¯s face as he remainedposed, and asked, ¡°100,000,000 gold coins, huh? The Octopus n has saved a ton of money.¡±

    If the people outside heard Lin Li¡¯s words, they would probably be agitated to the point of vomiting blood. There were many other things they could do with 100,000,000 gold coins, such as buying arge ind or building a powerful fleet. However, the Octopus n chose to spend it on a magic scroll, and yet Lin Li still said that they had saved a ton of money!

    However, that was only based on the fact that it was a ¡°Master-level mageweath¡± ording to Grand Duke Vidi. If it was really only at the peak of the Master-level, 100,000,000 gold coins would definitely be called a sky-high price. Even if Masters of Inscription and Master-level mageweaths were rare, 100,000,000 gold coins was enough to hire a Master of Inscription.

    However, those who knew nothing about inscriptions didn¡¯t know what level the magic scroll named ¡°Mount Tai¡± should be, nor did the Octopus n. Only Lin Li, the person who¡¯d created it with his own hands, knew the value of the magic scroll.

    Mageweaths below the Master-level could be described as a manifestation of the usage ofws, while Master-level mageweaths involved the maniption and control ofws. For example, if the wind was consideredws, raising the sails of a ship to drive it forward would be the use ofws. If there was no wind that day, but a person could create wind to drive the ship forward, what the person did would be considered the maniption ofws.

    When one reached the Divine-Smith-level, which was above the Guru-level, they would have reached the realm ofw creation and broken free from the dependence on thews of this world. Just like a powerhouse at the Divine-realm, they wouldn¡¯t be bound by thews of the world, and a single word or thought of theirs could allow them to createws as they wished.

    One of the reasons that Lin Li named the mageweath ¡®Mount Tai¡¯ was, of course, his nostalgia and sentiments for his hometown. However, it was also because Mount Tai was nonexistent in this world, which also meant that thews used in the mageweath did not belong to Anril. They werews that belonged to Lin Li, and were involved with the Divine-Smith-realm.

    Of course, Lin Li was still far from reaching the Divine-Smith-level; hence, thews he created weren¡¯t extremely powerful. However, even then, the power contained in the Mount Tai magic scroll was notparable to the power of an ordinary Sanctuary-level mageweath. If the Mount Tai magic scroll waspletely unrolled, the capital of the Gilded Kingdom would probably be destroyed.

    If the fact that the magic scroll was near the Divine-Smith-level and contained thews that Lin Li had created was revealed, the people would probably fight for it at all costs, even if the price went up to a billion gold coins, let alone 100,000,000 gold coins. However, Grand Duke Vidi had now mistaken it for a peak-Master-level mageweath, which naturally made it seem a lot less attractive to others. The Octopus n would definitely get the better end of the deal if they bought it at just 100,000,000 gold coins.

    Bradlor originally nned to give up. After all, a peak Master-level mageweath was not rare in the Gilded Kingdom. However, after hearing the Octopus n¡¯s offer of 100,000,000 gold coins, he couldn¡¯t help but be tempted. If even the Octopus n that was extremely talented in inscription was so interested in the mageweath, it probably wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed to be on the surface.

    Bradlor did not suspect that the Octopus n would pretend to bid for Lin Li. Only someone like Grina would project his shorings on others. Hence, when Bradlor saw that Grand Duke Vidi was about to ask for the third time, he raised his bidder sign, and eximed, ¡°120,000,00 gold coins!¡±

    ¡°120,000,000 gold coins?¡± Manson of the Thunder Eel n could not help but frown after hearing the price which was far beyond his evaluation of the scroll.

    After hesitating for a moment, Manson put down the sign in his hand and gave up on bidding. With 120,000,000 gold coins, he could buy an Epic-level staff or other powerful magic equipment that could allow him to increase his personal strength. That would be far better than having a scroll with a single function.

    And hearing this price, Harquess, who was in the private room of the Octopus n, couldn¡¯t help but hesitate too. He turned to look at his father and the grand elder. Even for the wealthy Octopus n, 120,000,000 gold coins was still a considerable sum of money, and if the mageweath turned out to be different from their expectations, they would have wasted their money.

    However, Hegel, the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, red at him and hollered, ¡°Continue to bid for it, did you forget what I just said! If we don¡¯t get our hands on this magic scroll, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson when we go back!¡±

    Taken aback, Harquess cringed in horror, and quickly raised the bidder sign in his hand as he yelled, ¡°130,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    ording to what Grand Duke Vidi had just said, the minimum bid increment for this item was 1,000,000 gold coins. Hence, in Harquess¡¯ opinion, an increment of 10,000,000 gold coins at once was already very high, and would stop him from suffering major losses. However, his action aroused the displeasure of Hegel, who glowered at him again.

    ¡°140,000,000 gold coins!¡± Bradlor had already made up his mind to buy the magic scroll. Anyway, the power of the scroll alone was equivalent to that of arge fleet of alchemical battleships. Even if the mageweath wasn¡¯t as mystical and full of secrets as he had thought, he definitely wouldn¡¯t make a loss.

 Chapter 1244 - Actual Value

    <h4>Chapter 1244: Actual Value</h4>

    However, this scene was baffling for those people in the hall because Grand Duke Vidi had already said that it was a Master-level magic scroll that could probably be bought with just 10,000,000 gold coins, yet the current bid price had exceeded 100,000,000, which got the people wondering if the big shots were out of their minds.

    All of a sudden, the hall was filled with the sounds of various discussions, and some even connected Bradlor¡¯s behavior to the embarrassing incidents that happened to the Gilded Kingdom previously, thinking that the Gilded Kingdom was again trying to curry favor with Felic, the president of the Tower of Dusk. Of course, their spection was right, but only pertaining to Bradlor¡¯s initial behavior and intentions.

    Now, Bradlor waspletely enthralled by the power of the magic scroll. Even though he did not have a deep understanding of the scroll, he wasn¡¯t worried that he might be spending too much on something inferior, because the Octopus n was also vying for the magic scroll.

    However, it was not an easy thing to snatch the magic scroll from the Octopus n. In terms of financial power and resources, the Gilded Kingdom was definitely far ahead of any other Sea n. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have had a foothold in the Endless Ocean.

    However,pared to the Sea ns, Bradlor had many more concerns. Strictly speaking, the Gilded Kingdom did not belong to him alone, nor did it entirely belong to the royals of the kingdom. For example, the senatorial families in the kingdom also held significant status and authority that would allow them to overthrow the royals if they joined forces.

    Hence, if Bradlor wanted to spend arge sum of money on the scroll, he could either take the money out of the royals¡¯ treasury or hold a debate with the senatorial families and ministers to decide whether or not to dip into the financial reserves of the kingdom. Not to mention whether the ministers would agree to use the kingdom¡¯s money, the fact that it was an auction meant that there was no time for them to hold a parliamentary debate beforeing to a decision. Hence, Bradlor could only use the money from the treasury of the royals.

    On the other hand, it was different from the Sea ns. Although the Sea ns also had councils consisting of elders, they were mainly involved only when the matter concerned the survival of the Sea n. Otherwise, the Great Monarch of the Sea n would usually call the shots and have the final say. For the Sea ns, the royals did not have a treasury separate from the national treasury, so they could spend money without as many scruples and concerns as Bradlor did.

    ¡°160,000,000 gold coins!¡± The Octopus n offered a new price, raising it by another 20,000,000 gold coins.

    Besides, before Bradlor could respond, the Jellyfish n, which hadn¡¯t participated in the bidding at the beginning, ced a bid of 180,000,000 gold coins. The Jellyfish n were known for their forte in pharmaceutics, and could be considered the pharmacists of the Sea ns. Running a lucrative business in the pharmaceutics industry, the Jellyfish n was definitely not inferior to the Octopus n in terms of financial power.

    The bidding for the magic scroll had initially already reached the cooldown period. Yet, the Jellyfish n suddenly intervened and joined the bidding too. However, that was not the end. After the Jellyfish n ced their bid, a merchant who was said to be representing the mysterious eastern continent also joined the bidding. In the blink of an eye, the price of the magic scroll exceeded the benchmark of 200,000,000 gold coins.

    In the opinion of the crowd at the beginning, the magic scroll was just an item that had only one function, so regardless of how rare it might be, they all thought that it would never exceed the price of the Heart of All Evil no matter how high it was pushed to. However, it now seemed that although there was still quite arge gap between the current bid for the magic scroll and the final transacted price of the Heart of All Evil, the momentum of the price increase was not to be belittled.

    However, when the bidding price was pushed all the way to a price point that was nearing the 300,000,000-gold-coin mark, the bidding began toe to a halt. Bradlor had already given up on bidding for it because 300,000,000 gold coins was beyond what he could afford, and there was no time to hold a discussion with the kingdom to decide if they could use the funds of the national treasury. After a long hesitation, the merchant from the eastern continent also no longer raised his bidder sign, because he felt that the magic scroll was not worth his entire budget regardless of how powerful it might be.

    The only remaining contenders were the Jellyfish n and the Octopus n, both of which were whales of the Sea ns. However, they, too, began to hesitate a little when they saw how exaggeratedly high the price had soared.

    At this point, it was almost time for the final winner of the auction to be decided. Besides, the price of nearly 300,000,000 gold coins might be a little lower than the final transacted price of the Heart of All Evil, but it was definitely considered a remarkable record in the history of auctions.

    As the host of the auction this time, Grand Duke Vidi should by right be very satisfied to have auctioned off the magic scroll and the Heart of All Evil at record-breaking prices. However, when Grand Duke Vidi saw that the bidding had somewhate to a standstill, he developed a crazy thought. <i>Why can¡¯t the transaction price of this magic scroll be higher than that of the Heart of All Evil?</i> Everyone knew that the power of the magic scroll that he had shown them just now was far from the maximum power of the magic scroll. In that case, how massive must its full power be, they wondered.

    Although there was an appraisal report of the magic scroll on the table, the maximum power of the scroll was not stated on the report. The only information about the power was that it would be increased geometrically as it was unrolled further. Hence, Grand Duke Vidi wanted to take advantage of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier to let the people at the auction see just how powerful the magic scroll was and gauge for themselves whether it was worth 300,000,000 gold coins.

    In fact, at the end of the day, it was all because Grand Duke Vidi hadn¡¯t been able to vent his anger. No one would be able to stomach getting humiliated and taunted, and take it as if nothing had happened. Not to mention, Grand Duke Vidi was a noble who had always been respected by everyone.

    At this moment, the Octopus n¡¯s bid had already reached 290,000,000 gold coins, and the Jellyfish n seemed to be showing signs of giving up. However, Grand Duke Vidi did not follow the usual practice of asking if there were any higher bidders. Instead, he picked up the magic scroll, and said to the crowd, ¡°Everyone, I might have shown you some of the power of the magic scroll, but I believe many of you still think that it¡¯s not as functional as the Heart of All Evil, and isn¡¯t worth as much as the Heart of All Evil. Therefore, I hope that I can have the chance to show all of you the full power of the magic scroll so that you may evaluate its actual value.¡±

    Of course, Grand Duke Vidi did not do that purely to vent his anger. On the one hand, he was feeling very curious about the power of the magic scroll, but if he auctioned it off now, it would be difficult for him to see the power of the magic scroll. On the other hand, he was also trying to incite another round of bidding by exhibiting more details.

    Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s words caused yet another uproar in the auction hall. After all, the crowd had kind of seen the power that was contained in the magic scroll, and they didn¡¯t understand why Grand Duke Vidi wanted to disy it again. In particr, Harquess of the Octopus n was furious because he was already so close to getting his hands on the magic scroll. Yet, Grand Duke Vidi didn¡¯t follow the rules.

    In a fit of anger, Harquess stood up and was ready to protest against Grand Duke Vidi. However, Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes unanimously stopped Harquess. Looking at the stage, Hegel said, ¡°Let him showcase it. After all, the two of us haven¡¯t seen the mageweath on the scroll yet, and we¡¯d like to see if it¡¯s worth it or not.¡±

    When Hegel and Grand Elder arrived, Grand Duke Vidi had already ended the disy of the magic scroll, and what they knew about that magic scroll was all they had heard from Harquess. Although they could tell that Lin Li¡¯s attainment in the field of inscription was extremely high based on the mageweath, that didn¡¯t mean that the magic scroll was really impressive. After all, Masters of Inscription could also draw such mageweaths. In case it was just an ordinary magic scroll, the hundreds of millions of gold coins would be spent in vain.

    Since even the Octopus n didn¡¯t oppose it, the others who had withdrawn from the auction naturally wouldn¡¯t have much of an opinion. Seeing that no one was objecting to the proposal, Grand Duke Vidi grabbed the magic scroll, and slowly unrolled it to disy it to the crowd again. With the previous experience, Grand Duke Vidi switched on the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier before unrolling the magic scroll. Hence, the magic scroll was soon presented in the same position as before.

    Perhaps because they had already made preparations in advance, the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier this time was much stabler than before. Although it still seemed to be under great pressure, it was no longer shaking and looking like it was on the verge of crumbling. Seeing this situation, Grand Duke Vidi put his mind at ease, and continued to unroll the scroll.

    At this point, Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n and Grand Elder Hayes were staring intently at the magic scroll in Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s hands, as if their entire souls had been drawn to it. As they observed further, the expressions on their faces became impatient as they seemed to be wishing that they could grab it immediately and study it.

    Harquess was not at such a high realm yet, and he couldn¡¯t tell much from the magic scroll. Hence, he stared at his father¡¯s and the grand elder¡¯s expression for fear that they had made a mistake in their judgment.

    However, at this very moment, Hegel and Harquess had a sudden change in expression, and massive octopus phantoms appeared behind them in unison. At the same time, the tentacles that were formed from mana appeared from the space behind before drawing mysterious mageweaths towards the auction stage below the private room.

    <i>He¡¯s not going to snatch the magic scrolls, is he!?</i> Harquess was shocked, and he turned to look at the auction stage, only to see that Grand Duke Vidi had already unrolled half of the magic scroll, while the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier, which was resisting the power of the magic scroll, was covered in arge number of cracks, as if it might copse at any time.

    Next, there was a series of loud explosive soundsing from the auction as masses of dazzling bright lights emerged from the huge golden pir that held up the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier. The phantom of eight wyrms emerged from the golden pir, and looked up to the sky with a loud roar, as if it was the end of the world.

    At this moment, the mageweaths drawn by Hegel and Hayes had already fused into the magic barrier that was about to shatter to induce a force into the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier.

    At the same time, the Sanctuary powerhouses of several other forces had also struck at the same time. Several powerful Sanctuary-level defenses piled up below the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier. However, the Sanctuary-level defenses were actually not as powerful as the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier. After all, they still couldn¡¯tbine their respective defensive forces. Due to the fact that they were using the power of the mageweaths, Hegel and Hayes managed to use mageweaths to strengthen the power of the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier.

    Hence, under the powerful pressure of that magic scroll, the sounds of the magic defenses shattering resounded throughout the venue. The Sanctuary-level magic defenses were simply as fragile as eggshells that could barely sustain the burden for a second. The only thing to be thankful for was that there were many Sanctuary powerhouses, and even if each of their mageweaths could hold up for only a second, they could still buy some time.

    Grand Duke Vidi, who made this change, was a little dumbfounded at this point. He originally intended to slowly disy the power of the magic scroll and then put it away when they reached their limit. However, he had obviously overestimated his ability to control, and when that happened, he froze right on the spot.

    ¡°Damn it! Vidi, what are you doing? Hurry up and put that thing away!¡± King Bradlor was about to go mad. The people present were all important figures of their respective forces, such as the princes of the Sea ns and the presidents of trade unions. If anything happened to them, the Gilded Kingdom would be the public enemy of the Endless Ocean.

    Bradlor¡¯s roar finally made Grand Duke Vidi sober up a little as he hurriedly put away the magic scroll that he was holding. However, even so, the power that had been released wouldn¡¯t vanish immediately. Under the pressure of that terrifying power, the eight wyrms that were manifested from the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier finally vanished in thin air while wailing. That meant that the Eight-Ocean Dragon God Barrier was copsing too.

    Upon sight of such a situation, the Sanctuary powerhouses who were present didn¡¯t dare to procrastinate at all as they continuously releasedyer afteryer of magical defenses to resist the residual terrifying power of the magic scroll. After a few minutes of stalemate, the power of the magic scroll was finally blocked.

    ¡°320,000,000 gold coins!¡± Before everyone could snap back to their senses, the members of the Jellyfish n immediately ced a higher bid. Clearly, Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s approach was effective as the terrifying power that the magic scroll disyed made the Jellyfish n, who had originally nned to give up, join the bidding again.

 Chapter 1245 - Practice Piece

    <h4>Chapter 1245: Practice Piece</h4>

    On the other hand, King Bradlor initially intended to berate Grand Duke Vidi to vent his anger, and also to give an exnation to those who were shocked. However, when he saw that the Jellyfish n ced a higher bid so soon, Bradlor had no choice but to set the matter aside for now, and wait until the auction was over before settling scores with Grand Duke Vidi.

    ¡°350,000,000 gold coins!¡± eximed Hegel of the Octopus n, even more determined to get the magic scroll after he saw its power. In fact, he didn¡¯t even ask Harquess to bid on their behalf, and instead stood in front of the window of the private room to ce the bid personally.

    Apart from Lin Li, the creator of the magic scroll, there was probably no one else in the auction hall who knew the value of the mageweath better than Hayes and Hegel did. It could be said that the magic scroll would be as useful to them as the Immortal King¡¯s Divine-Smith-level mageweath was to Lin Li as it acted as a guiding light to the Divine-Smith-level for Lin Li. Not to mention a few hundred million gold coins, even if they were told to pay using half the sea area of the Octopus n, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate at all.

    ¡°360,000,000 gold coins.¡± When cing that bid, the Jellyfish n had already hesitated a little. Even though the terrifying power of that magic scroll was extremely appealing to them, they could only sense the massive power in the magic scroll. After all, their talent was in pharmaceutics.

    Sensing the hesitation of the Jellyfish n, Hegel didn¡¯t want to continue dragging it further. Immediately afterwards, he eximed, ¡°400,000,000 gold coins!¡±

    This time, the people in the entire auction hall got into a sudden uproar. The Heart of All Evil had previously already set the highest record price in the history of the auction. To their surprise, the record was soon broken again by a magic scroll that everyone had questioned repeatedly. Everyone was also in disbelief of the price. After all, it was just a magic scroll in their eyes.

    The Jellyfish n finally gave up, and Grand Duke Vidi had also recovered from the shock. He raised the wooden hammer in his hand, and loudly addressed the crowd, ¡°400,000,000 gold coins, Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n has offered 400,000,000 gold coins! Are there any higher bids? 400,000,000 gold coins, going once!¡±

    Of course, there weren¡¯t going to be any higher bidders. Apart from the fact that the magic scroll wasn¡¯t worth that much money in their opinion, no one present could afford so many gold coins, either.

    Grand Duke Vidi asked thrice in ordance with the rules of the auction before finally lowering the wooden hammer in his hand onto the table with a loud thud. He then dered, ¡°Sold! The new owner of this magic scroll ¡®Mount Tai¡¯ is Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n!¡±

    It was as if there was a sudden storm in the auction hall, and everyone sprung up from their seats while apuding and turning to look at the private room of the Octopus n. On the one hand, they were congratting Hegel for sessfully obtaining the magic scroll, and on the other hand, they were congratting the auctioneers for breaking the record. Besides, everyone had a hunch that the price of this item was not only unprecedented in the history of auctions, but also a record price that no one might be able to break in the future.

    However, at this point, Grina was on the verge of flipping the table and smashing things in the private room. Watching the magic scroll of his enemy getting sold for a sky-high price of 400,000,000 gold coins was definitely not an amazing feeling. Grina could imagine how smug Lin Li would be when he faced thetter in the future.

    With the sale of thest item, the auction drew to an end, and Grand Duke Vidi made a speech to thank the crowd before officially calling it a day. The people in the auction hall also began to leave one after another, but as they were leaving, they were discussing excitedly with each other the birth of a new record that they had just witnessed.

    Lin Li and hispany were also ready to leave. The money that he would get from the auctioning of the magic scroll would be calcted and paid to him when the staff of the auction house visited him at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy in the future. However, soon after he got up and led Connoris to the door, he heard a knock on the door from outside the private room. It turned out to be Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve.

    ¡°President Felic, may I ask if it¡¯d be convenient for you to spare us some time?¡± Prince Cleve asked courteously after he saw Lin Li.

    If someone was around, their jaw would drop at this juncture. Prince Cleve was not only the prince of the Siren n, but also a dignified figure of an extremely high status in the Endless Ocean, whereas Lin Li was only the president of a small, nameless force of the Breezy ins. Their status was simply worlds apart. The fact that Prince Cleve was being so polite to Lin Li was beyond their imagination.

    ¡°Queen Halleleah, Prince Cleve, pleasee in!¡± Although Lin Li was not ttered and surprised, he had a better impression of the two of them. While inviting them into the private room, he said in a rxed tone, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, this is someone else¡¯s turf, after all, and I have nothing to serve you. Please have a seat.¡±

    Lin Li knew that the Siren¡¯s Tears that he wanted would definitely not be delivered to him at this time, so Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve were clearly there for another reason. It happened that he also had ns to cooperate with the Siren n, so he decided to just take the opportunity to discuss it.

    ¡°President Felic, congrattions for having your magic scroll sold at a record price. I doubt anyone will be able to break that record in the future!¡± After Prince Cleve got seated, he first congratted Lin Li for the sale of his magic scroll at the price of 400,000,000 gold coins. Of course, more importantly, he wanted to bring up the topic that he would talk to Lin Li aboutter.

    As soon as he heard Cleve mention the magic scroll, Lin Li knew that the other man¡¯s agenda probably had something to do with mageweaths. Hence, he said with a faint smile, ¡°I was just invited by Bradlor to put something up for auction. I¡¯m quite surprised that it managed to fetch such a high price too. You two probably aren¡¯t here just to congratte me, right? It¡¯s not our first time crossing paths, so if there¡¯s anything, feel free to let me know, Prince Cleve.¡±

    ¡°President Felic, pardon me for being blunt, but did you really create that magic scroll?¡± After hearing what Lin Li said, Prince Cleve decided not to beat around the bush anymore, and simply asked the question that he was the most concerned about.

    Even though Grand Duke Vidi had just said that the magic scroll had indeed been created by Lin Li, Cleve still found it hard to believe.

    In fact, there were many people at the auction who had the same doubts as Prince Cleve, and perhaps only the people of the Octopus n would believe that the powerful magic scroll had been created by a young man like Lin Li.

    The vast majority of people were more willing to believe that Lin Li had simply taken the work of a certain legendary Master of Inscription, and imed it to be his own in order to enhance his reputation. That was the only way they could convince themselves and justify the fact that the magic scroll was sold at a final price of 400,000,000 gold coins.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of displeasure after hearing Prince Cleve¡¯s question, and simply smiled nonchntly. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve just gained some knowledge from studying mageweaths recently, and I happened to be invited to the auction by King Bradlor, so I decided to put this scroll that I created during a practice session up for auction.¡±

    Lin Li was telling the truth, but it would seem unbelievable to others that a practice piece could be auctioned for 400,000,000 gold coins. Even Prince Cleve could not help but look at his wife Queen Halleleah after hearing those words.

    The female Sirens were all masters of manipting mental strength who were extremely sensitive to fluctuations in the mental strength of humans. In other words, they were like walking lie detectors, and the mental strength fluctuations of others could not escape their senses at all. Although Queen Halleleah didn¡¯te here with the intention of being Cleve¡¯s lie detector, but to show her respect for Lin Li, it didn¡¯t stop her from checking if Lin Li was lying or not.

    However, the results caught Queen Halleleah by surprise because Lin Li¡¯s mental strength fluctuations seemed vast and boundless.

    Among the many Sea ns in the Endless Ocean, the female Sirens, who were natural-born masters of mental spells, had massive mental strength that very few people couldpare to. On the other hand, Queen Halleleah, who was the strongest existence among the Sea ns, had unparalleled mental strength.

    However, although it was only a simple contact via mental strength, Queen Halleleah¡¯s mental strength, which she had always been proud of, seemed like a small boat in the boundless seapared to Lin Li¡¯s mental strength fluctuations. It was extremely difficult for her to withdrawpletely.

    <i>How can he have such massive mental strength?!</i> Queen Halleleah was dumbfounded. She imagined that only gods could have such massive mental strength. Yet, the person who owned it was a human who was only in his early twenties!

    With that thought in mind, Queen Halleleah couldn¡¯t help but take a few more nces at Lin Li, only to feel like she couldn¡¯t figure him out at all. <i>What kind of man is he? He became a Sanctuary powerhouse in his early twenties, and has achieved so much in the field of inscription. Yet, he even has such a terrifying mental strength. Is he still one of the humans I know?</i>

    Queen Halleleah¡¯s mental strength inspection could not be detected by ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses at all, but Lin Li not only had massive mental strength, it had also been refined by the Immortal King. Hence, he managed to detect it upon first contact. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t expose Halleleah, and merely smiled at her.

    At this moment, Prince Cleve also discovered his wife¡¯s strange reaction, but male Sirens were not proficient in the field of mental strength and mental spells, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t know how shocked his wife was at the moment.

    Fortunately, Queen Halleleah soon recovered from the shock, and looked at her husband with a nod of her head to indicate that the mageweath was indeed created by Lin Li. Although she did not detect whether Lin Li was lying at all using her mental strength inspection, when she thought about Lin Li¡¯s great and boundless mental strength, she instinctively felt that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t lie about it.

    <i>This is such a rare genius! His massive mental strength isparable to the gods, so who can be certain that he doesn¡¯t have such high attainments in the field of inscription!?</i> After discovering that matter, Queen Halleleah¡¯s considerations were no longer about the issue of mageweaths, but the hope that she could cooperate more with Lin Li, who was a great genius that didn¡¯t seem human at all.

    Prince Cleve did not know what his wife was thinking, but after receiving her confirmation, he finally told Lin Li about the favor that he needed from him. ¡°President Felic, the thing is, I knew that you must have extremely high attainments in inscription when I saw your mageweath. Well, we managed to get the Heart of All Evil with your help previously, but in order to optimize its power, we still need a mageweath to match it. Therefore, we came here this time in hopes that you could create aplementary mageweath for the Heart of All Evil at your convenience.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li alsopletely understood their intentions. In fact, it was just a trivial matter for him. Besides, through his contact with Prince Cleve, he also had a good impression of the Siren n, and intended to cooperate with them. Hence, he didn¡¯t pretend and simply nodded. ¡°Oh, I see. It happens that I also yearn to visit the vast, beautiful ocean. Once I¡¯m done with handling the matters here, I¡¯ll find some time to visit you.¡±

    Lin Li was not trying to suck up to them. Apart from the beauty of the female sirens, the Siren n shared many simrities to the elves in various aspects, which was the reason that they were called the elves of the sea. One of the aspects was the construction of their living environment. In the Endless Sea, the Sirens were located in the Star-Crescent Sea, which was famous for its beautiful scenery, and wasn¡¯t inferior to the Emerald Forest of the elves.

    Prince Cleve and Queen Halleleah felt extremely proud after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words. Of course, they were mostly overjoyed that Lin Li had agreed to help. Prince Cleve suppressed the joy within him, and stood up to say to Lin Li, ¡°Alright, President Felic, in a few days we will deliver the Siren¡¯s Tears that you wanted¡ª¡±

    Halfway through Prince Cleve¡¯s sentence, there was a sudden violent tremoring from the ground. At the same time, they also felt a massive and aggressive auraing from Helena Port. They were now in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s capital, which could be considered the safest ce in the whole Gilded Kingdom. Yet, there was such a bizarre change, which was simply unbelievable.

    At this moment, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the time to say anything at all. He hurriedly walked out of the private room. The people in the auction hall were also walking out of the auction hall one after another in a bid to find out what exactly had happened.

 Chapter 1246 - Wild Whale Rabu

    <h4>Chapter 1246: Wild Whale Rabu</h4>

    When Lin Li and the others walked out of the private room, they happened to see Bradlor and Monterey, who had also just walked out, and were surprised to see that Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve were beside Lin Li. However, the surprise was fleeting because to Bradlor, the more important thing to do now was to get a clear idea of what had happened outside. Everything else was secondary.

    At the same time, there was also a disastrous scene outside Helena Port as the dark clouds that were umting in the sky looked just like ink. There was a storm raging right above the surface of the sea, and waves were surging hundreds of meters high. The roar of the waves crashing against each other sounded incessantly in the sea, as if there was thunder rolling at the bottom of the sea.

    There were two fleets belonging to the Gilded Kingdom at the periphery of the sea, and one of them was the Seventh Fleet which was responsible for the safety of this sea in ce of the Fifth Fleet. The other was the First Fleet, which was also known as the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s ace fleet. The stark contrast between the two fleets was obvious when they were put together. Firstly, the most obvious difference was in size¡ªthe size of the First Fleet was thrice that of the Seventh Fleet. Secondly, it was the number of alchemical battleships. There were 25 alchemical battleships that acted as the mainbat power of the First Fleet, making it almostparable to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s ship, <i>The Star</i>. The other supportive battleships were also well-equipped.

    However, at this time, those two fleets¡ªbe it the main battleships or auxiliary battleships¡ªwere just like tiny boats in a storm that would sink anytime. In such a situation, the two fleets could only barely maintain their formation, but none of them dared to dive deep into the storm to check out the situation.

    On the bridge of <i>The Great Wave</i>, a ship belonging to the First Fleet, Cridia, themander-in-chief, was frowning while looking at the depths of the dark thunderstorm. As a navalmander-in-chief, he could naturally tell that the scene before him which resembled a natural disaster was not rted to the climate of the ocean, but rather was an abnormal phenomenon triggered by something.

    Cridia could not imagine what kind of terrifying existence could trigger such a catastrophic change in weather, but he was sure that it definitely wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.

    The fact that he could rise to such a high position was not only because of the senatorial families, but also because of the umtion of his merits in battle. As far as Cridia could remember, one of the most thrilling experiences of his was leading the First Fleet on a mission to expel a Sanctuary-level marine magical beast from the kingdom, but the battle then seemed to pale inparison to the scene in front of him now, even though the Sanctuary-level marine magical beast had also caused shocking phenomena.

    That was precisely the reason that Cridia didn¡¯t impulsively send his subordinates to go deep into the ocean to check out the situation. He was well aware that even his powerful gship would not be able to go deep into the center of the storm easily, let alone the other battleships that were meant for reconnaissance.

    Now, all Cridia could do was to wait for the two fleets to be battle-ready, and wait for the being in the storm to reveal itself. Of course, the best-case scenario would be that the terrifying being was just passing by that area of the sea. Otherwise, he reckoned that it would be impossible to stop that existence even with both fleets.

    At this moment, the storm suddenly stopped, and the massive waves and ripples all disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. The surface of the sea was so calm that it even looked like a mirror. However, the dark clouds in the sky did not dissipate, and instead became thicker and thicker. There were also countless bolts of lightning in the sky.

    As soon as he saw the situation, Cridia immediately tensed up and instructed his fleet to get ready for a battle.

    Once Cridia issued the order, there were once again changes on the surface of the sea that seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds. A massive shadow gradually surfaced like an ind rising from the bottom of the sea. At the same time, it was also leaning towards the two fleets.

    Finally, Cridia saw the true appearance of the shadow, and it turned out to be a humongous ck whale. Although giant whales were not that rare in the Endless Ocean, the one in front of him now was extremely different from themon giant whales. Not only was its body dozens of timesrger, it also looked a lot more menacing and ferocious than ordinary giant whales.

    This ck giant whale, which probably shouldn¡¯t be called a giant whale, had arge, thick ck horn that resembled the mast of a battleship on the top of its head. At the same time that it surfaced from the ocean, a huge pair of fleshy wings spread open on its back. They seemed to berge enough to cover the sky, but the slight pping did not seem to cause any waves.

    When Cridia saw the true appearance of the ck whale, he couldn¡¯t help but be so frightened that he almost fell onto the ground, even though he usually kept hisposure in all situations. Despite remaining silent on the surface, he was screaming crazily in his heart. <i>The Wild Whale Rabu! It¡¯s the legendary Wild Whale Rabu, why is it here?!</i>

    Fortunately, Cridia didn¡¯t yell out loud. Otherwise, the people of the fleet would probably lose all their morale after hearing the terrifying name.

    The Wild Whale Rabu was said to have the same bloodline as the ancient Barbarous Whale and the ancient demon deities. Hence, besides having the massive and powerful body of the ancient Barbarous Whale, it also had some characteristics of the Abyssal Demons. It was born at the end of the prehistoric times, and was at least a few hundred thousand years old now. It had caused countless disasters in the history of the Endless Ocean, and even another great beast, Myriad Evil, could notpare to it.

    Fortunately, the Wild Whale Rabu would often slip into hibernation for thousands of years at a time. Otherwise, the Endless Ocean would have been destroyed by him.

    Before the establishment of the Ocean Dynasty, the ones who dominated the Endless Ocean was the Sea Spirit n, known as the descendants of the Sea God. The Sea Spirit n was said to enjoy the protection of the Sea God. Although they did not unify and rule over all the Sea ns like the Ocean Dynasty, they were definitely ranked at the very top in terms of strength. At that time, they were also the most likely n to dominate the Endless Ocean.

    In terms of appearance, the Sea Spirit n resembled the High Elves of the maind of Anril, and their talent was not inferior to that of the High Elves. During their prime, the Sea Spirit n had nearly 20 Sanctuary powerhouses and countless Legendary powerhouses. Their powerful troops dominated the Endless Ocean, and all the Sea ns were in awe and respect of them.

    However, Rabu¡¯s sudden awakening in a trench in the sea where the Sea Spirit n resided resulted in a huge disaster that struck the Sea Spirit n. At that time, an evil thunderstorm engulfed the Sea Spirit n¡¯s territory in the sea, turning the entire area into the feeding ground of Rabu the Wild Whale. When the storm subsided, the dark clouds scattered, and the Sea Spirit n that was once powerful and domineering waspletely wiped out of the Endless Ocean, thus bing a n that existed only in myths and legends.

    Now, the terrifying Wild Whale Rabu actually appeared in the sea territory of the Gilded Kingdom, which made Cridia¡¯s hands and feet mmy even though he had been through all sorts of situations.

    ¡°Attack, attack at full power!¡± Cridia eximed at the top of his lungs aftering back to his senses.

    All the battleships facing the ck whale immediately activated their weapons, and the light of the cannons on the alchemical battleships intertwined to form a massive. The Sea God ballista bolts that were as thick as human waist darted towards Rabu, almost drowning out its massive body.

    However, an attack of such a level was indeed considered insignificant to Rabu. Although the attacks seemed powerful, they were only at the Legendary-level, and it wasn¡¯t that easy to hurt the Wild Whale Rabu.

    With the groundbreaking roar, massive ripples once again formed on the surface of the sea that had just calmed down, and numerous waves emerged before smacking against the attacks of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleets. The Sea God ballista bolts that were made of hard metal were powerful enough to pierce even mountains, but they were crushed by the waves that seemed rather ordinary. The light of the cannons on the ship, which was condensed from pure mana, had power that was akin to Legendary-level attack spells, but it was simrly destroyed easily by the waves.

    The powerful attacks that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleetsunched seemed to be able to destroy everything, but they were extremely powerless in the face of Rabu. The attacks were akin to an ant¡¯s attempt at punching an elephant, absolutely useless.

    Immediately afterwards, Rabu retaliated, and the wind and waves on the surface of the sea fell violently, followed by the appearance ofrge water des that resembled the dorsal fins of sharks, which charged towards the vessels of the Gilded Kingdom. Therge water des had risen higher than the gpoles of the alchemical battleships, and broke through the water with sharp, whistling sounds. They seemed to be trying to slice the battleships.

    Fortunately, Cridia was very conscientious. Even though he had instructed the fleets tounch a wave of attacks, he did not forget about the defense. In fact, at the beginning of the attacks, he knew that the attacks would be futile, and the goal of his fleet was no longer to expel Rabu, but to survive in its presence.

    Hence, while attacking, the fleet had also gotten into a defensive formation and maximized the defensive array. The defensive force field engulfed the fleet like solid crystals.

    However, the defense could not really stop the attack of Wild Whale Rabu. The others weren¡¯t aware of the legend about Rabu, so they were still rather confident in the fleet¡¯s defense. However, Cridia couldn¡¯t bring himself to be that optimistic. If the Wild Whale Rabu¡¯s attack could¡¯ve been resisted easily, the powerful Sea Spirit n would not have been annihted.

    Just as Cridia feared, when the first water de hit the fleet¡¯s defensive force field, thetter started shaking; in fact, they could all clearly see the cobweb-like cracks that appeared on the crystal-like defensive forcefield.

    The closest battleship, which was protected by the defensive force, had also begun shaking violently under the impact of the collision. Like a lone boat floating on waves, it seemed extremely powerless and helpless.

    However, there were countless such attacksunched by Rabu. At this moment, all the people on the battleships began operating the defensive arrays at full power. Even though they didn¡¯t know that the ck giant whale was the legendary Wild Whale Rabu, they knew that the attacks were definitely not easy to block.

    The Seventh Fleet was the first to bear the brunt. Due to the fact that they were only responsible for the offshore defense, and were deployed for the sake of it, they definitely couldn¡¯t face a powerful enemy like Rabu, even if they could cope with some illegal merchants or pirates.

    The water de shes that Rabuunched sted the Seventh Fleet¡¯s defense field, which seemed to be sturdy, one after another, shattering it in the blink of an eye. Even the powerful alchemical battleships were sliced in half by the des in the blink of an eye.

    Upon sight of what happened to the Seventh Fleet, Cridia had no choice but to close his eyes helplessly. It wasn¡¯t that he was being ruthless, but rather his fleet was barely able to support itself under the attack of Wild Whale Rabu, so he didn¡¯t have the means to save the Seventh Fleet at all. In fact, the situation faced by the First Fleet was extremely critical too, and the defensive arrays on the battleships were already overloaded, but they were still as fragile as eggshells, and were on the verge of shattering.

    Finally, the gship of the Seventh Fleet exploded, and gradually sank to the bottom of the sea, thus concluding that the Seventh Fleet had be part of the history of the Gilded Kingdom. Faced with such a situation, Cridia no longer seemed mncholic, because he knew that the current fate of the Seventh Fleet was the future of the First Fleet. Perhaps the First Fleet would follow in the footsteps of the Seventh Fleet in the next moment.

    At this moment, a few figures cut through the sky from Helena Port like bolts of lightning, and appeared above the First Fleet. They were none other than the Sanctuary powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom and the few senatorial families. Now that Rabu had arrived, they had no choice but to intervene, even though they usually stayed out of such matters.

    There were also many other figures arriving one after another after them. They were Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren n, Grina and the Four Divine Generals of the Great Shark n, as well as many other Sanctuary powerhouses of the Thunder Eel n, Octopus n, Barbarous Whale n, and various other Sea ns. Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati and High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, followed by Lin Li and his subordinates of the Tower of Dusk, had all arrived too.

    It could be said that all the Sanctuary powerhouses and peak Legendary powerhouse who were on Four Seasons Ind had all flown over to this area at this point. Of course, they didn¡¯t share amon goal. Lin Li and the others from the maind were there only out of curiosity.

 Chapter 1247 - Tiding Through The Crisis Together

    <h4>Chapter 1247: Tiding Through The Crisis Together</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s the Wild Whale Rabu. Why did it appear here?!¡± To the mighty figures of the Sea ns, the Wild Whale Rabu was more than just a myth and legend. Although Rabu had appeared in the waters of the Gilded Kingdom, it was a nightmare that the Sea ns had no choice but to face.

    Upon seeing the sudden abnormalities caused by Rabu that had previously existed only in myths and legends, Bradlor almost passed out. In the beginning, Bradlor was in high spirits because of the Sea Market and the founding celebration. However, the appearance of Rabu dampened his mood and made his heart sink.

    <i>Does God want to destroy the Gilded Kingdom!?</i> Bradlor struggled and managed to keep himself conscious, but deep down, he wished that he had passed out. Everyone knew that Rabu was the nemesis of the Endless Ocean as it would destroy everything in its path. Apart from the destruction of the Sea Spirit n that was mentioned in the myths, there were also historical records of deaths of many Sea ns caused by Rabu.

    Although there were many Sanctuary powerhouses gathered there now, Bradlor didn¡¯t feel confident at all. ording to the legends, there were nearly 20 Sanctuary powerhouses that got annihted by Rabu, along with the powerful legionsposed of numerous Legendary powerhouses.

    Moreover, the Sanctuary powerhouses of those Sea ns wouldn¡¯t make saving the Gilded Kingdom their priority. When the worst came to the worst, they would probably all flee and go separate ways. No one would be willing to stay behind and perish together with the Gilded Kingdom. With that thought in mind, Bradlor was in desperation.

    At this moment, when Bradlor turned his head and saw Saint Edmund, he immediately felt like he had found a straw to clutch at. He eagerly said, ¡°Saint Edmund, the Illuminati and the Gilded Kingdom have always stood in solidarity with each other. Now that we¡¯re facing such a huge crisis, you can¡¯t leave us in the lurch.¡±

    Hearing Bradlor¡¯s words, Saint Edmund couldn¡¯t help but seem conflicted. He naturally understood how Bradlor felt, and knew that Bradlor had stated a fact. If the Illuminati left the Gilded Kingdom, it would lose its foundation, and thus wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain its existence for long. However, they were now about to face the legendary Wild Whale Rabu. Even if the Illuminati used all their power, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to Rabu.

    ¡°Everyone, the Wild Whale Rabu has awakened again, and I¡¯m afraid that the Endless Ocean will suffer countless cmities. I hope that we can all put aside our past feuds and grudges against each other for the time being, and tide through this crisis together, not only for the sake of the Gilded Kingdom, but also for the sake of the peace in the Endless Ocean.¡± Although Edmund was only a Saint of the Illuminati, his words carried considerable weight because of his great power.

    Besides, Saint Edmund was right. No one could be certain that Rabu would really go into hibernation again after destroying the Gilded Kingdom, and God knew who its next target would be. Staying as far away as possible from Rabu didn¡¯t guarantee absolute safety, because Rabu¡¯s activity in the sea didn¡¯t follow a regr pattern at all. Perhaps it might now turn around and charge towards the other sea areas.

    Simply put, Rabu was the public enemy of all the Sea ns, and thest time it went into hibernation was the result of the joint efforts of all the Sea ns, which the Ocean Dynasty had unified. Although the Ocean Dynasty was no longer around now, and the powerful Ocean Royal Family had declined, the powerhouses of the other Sea ns were still present, and they might be able to recreate their glory.

    Edmund¡¯s words immediately gained the approval of the crowd, especially the strongest of the several Sea ns. Regardless of whether they were genuine about it or not, they dered that they definitely wouldn¡¯t stand by and do nothing.

    At this moment, the defensive force field of the First Fleet below finally faltered and copsed under a random attack Rabuunched. Some of the lightweight battleships that were not prepared for the attack were immediately shattered into pieces by the aftershock, and sunk to the bottom of the sea. Only 20-odd heavyweight alchemical battleships were barely holding on under the powerful attack.

    Seeing this situation, Saint Edmund knew that the First Fleet of the Gilded Kingdom would really be destroyed if he didn¡¯t take action. At this moment, he swung the Chaos Scepter in his hand, and a four-headed and eight-armed Chaos Demon Deity appeared. The massive power engulfed the remaining battleships.

    Seeing that Saint Edmund had attacked, the remaining Sanctuary powerhouses naturally didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer as they started attacking Rabu which was far away.

    He didn¡¯t know whether to say that the Gilded Kingdom was lucky or unlucky to face Rabu as soon as it awakened after being in hibernation for more than 1,000 years. However, all the powerhouses of the various ns were fortunately gathered here at this time. If it were another time, the Gilded Kingdom probably wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the ordeal even if they had a trump card.

    However, even though there were so many Sanctuary powerhouses, it didn¡¯t mean that the Gilded Kingdom could really survive the ordeal. Rabu had existed since prehistoric times, and its current strength had already reached the level of a demigod, which was considered a nearly invincible existence. Although the Gilded Kingdom had the support of the Sanctuary powerhouses of various ns, it wasn¡¯t easy for them to deal with such a terrifying existence like Rabu.

    Under the protection of the huge Chaos Demon Deity statue, the remaining ships of the First Fleet began to evacuate from the sea because a battle at this level was no longer something they could participate in. A powerful giant alchemical battleship was just like a child¡¯s toy inparison to Rabu. As long as its power wasn¡¯t at the Sanctuary-level, it wouldn¡¯t be able to cause the slightest harm to Rabu.

    However, it was obvious that even a powerful Sanctuary powerhouse like Saint Edmund could barely hold up under Rabu¡¯s attack. Rabu¡¯s fins were likerge des that were parting the sea and striking the Chaos Demon Deity¡¯s body ruthlessly. Each strike seemed to be able to make the Chaos Demon Deity¡¯s body tremble vigorously.

    Fortunately, the surrounding Sanctuary powerhouses of the various Sea ns didn¡¯t stand by and do nothing at this juncture. They began attacking Rabu and shared some of the brunt that Saint Edmund had to bear.

    First of all, the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n summoned the ancient Giant Shark that was silver and glistening, and then leaped from midair onto its back. The Four Divine Generals casually reached their hands into the sea, and long aquamarine spears dozens of meters long appeared in the hand of each of them. While riding on Rabu¡¯s back, they looked like war gods, and they began charging towards Rabu.

    Although Grina had been greatly angered during the auction, and he was extremely displeased with the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s decision to defend the Tower of Dusk, it was a good chance for him to salvage his pride now. If his team contributed greatly to oveing the ordeal this time, the Gilded Kingdom would no longer have the cheek to defend Grina¡¯s enemy, the Tower of Dusk.

    Another important reason was that the legend of the Wild Whale Rabu dated back to a long time ago before the present era. Young Sea n members like Grina did not have a very clear understanding of how terrifying Rabu was. In Grina¡¯s opinion, his Four Divine Generals were all Sanctuary powerhouses, and as long as Rabu wasn¡¯t a true deity, it would definitely have limited abilities.

    Hence, under Grina¡¯smand, the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n charged towards the battlefield without hesitation. They were Sanctuary powerhouses, but their Combat Energy was not conspicuous, and seemed to be just a faint goldenyer that was wrapped around their bodies, resembling golden armor.

    Although the Four Divine Generals did not experience the era of Rabu¡¯s massacres, they were Sanctuary powerhouses, after all, and thus had a clearer understanding of the horrifying aura exuded by Rabu. Hence, when attacking Rabu, the four of them formed a diamond-shaped battle formation, and then darted towards Rabu like four rays of lightning.

    Although the Four Divine Generals had suffered quite a huge loss in front of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy, arge part of it was because of the fact that they had underestimated the Tower of Dusk. As Sanctuary powerhouses, they naturally wouldn¡¯t take an enemy like Connoris, who they thought was stuck at the peak of the Legendary-level, seriously. However, they didn¡¯t expect that Connoris was powerful enough to rival the Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Now that they were facing Rabu who was a demigod, the Four Divine Generals would probably be fools if they still had the same mindset as before. At this moment, they fully exerted their Combat Energy and exuded their true Sanctuary-level power without any negligence.

    However, before the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n could reach Rabu, thetter pped its fin-like wings, and its massive body flew out of the sea, looking like a mountain peak that was floating above the sea surface. However, it didn¡¯t fly very high, and was hovering only about less than 20 meters from the surface of the sea, revealing its body.

    Immediately afterwards, arge jet of water suddenly spurted out from Rabu¡¯s back, which looked simr to an ordinary whale blowing water. However, the water jet became thicker and higher, as if it was about to soar up to the clouds. It darted into the sky, and then spread apart before falling down like millions of water arrows that engulfed the entire sea, and not just the Four Divine Generals.

    There were several inds in this sea area because it was near Four Seasons Ind. Those that were once quite prosperous already lost all vitality. Under the impact of the water arrows that Rabu spouted, the inds couldn¡¯t survive. Each water arrow that fell on the inds would result in a loud explosive sound, followed by the copse of the ind. Soon, all the inds copsed and vanished without a trace in front of everyone.

    Seeing this scene, Bradlor was really heartbroken. Even though the wealth and people on those inds had been wiped out, there would still be hope for reconstruction as long as the inds still existed. Unfortunately, Rabu pulled a ruthless move on them this time, and destroyed the inds too. Even if they could survive this cmity, it would be difficult to make up for the losses.

    In other words, every inch ofnd of each ind was very valuable to a sea kingdom. If an ind was upied by an enemy, they would still have hopes of regaining possession of the ind, but if the inds were destroyed, there was nothing that could be done, and it would be tantamount to the Gilded Kingdom losing their sea territories.

    In particr, the inds in the vicinity of Four Seasons Ind each had indispensable and irreceable functions, be it in terms of military or economy. Now that the inds had been destroyed, it would be impossible to rebuild them, and it was almost as if this sea area had lost its original value.

    On the other hand, the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n could only temporarily focus their energy on dealing with the countless water arrows. Although the water arrows seemed ordinary, each one contained an extremely terrifying power that even the four Sanctuary powerhouses who were physically strong didn¡¯t dare to risk contending with.

    The Four Divine Generals wielded the aquamarine spears in their hands skillfully, and continuously shattered the water arrows that fell on them. Their Combat Energy was like golden mes that shone brightly, and looked like four golden torches from afar.

    Seeing that the Four Divine Generals under him had been blocked, Grina¡¯s expression turned sullen. He initially thought that even if they couldn¡¯t deter Rabu, they should also be able to make Rabu suffer some pain, and show the crowd how powerful the Giant Shark n was. However, the Four Divine Generals were the ones who were suffering now, and Rabu didn¡¯t take them seriously at all.

    Of course, the surrounding crowd was not aware of Grina¡¯s intentions, so when they saw that the Four Divine Generals had charged forward, they thought that they naturally couldn¡¯tg behind. Manson, the prince of the Thunder Eel n, might have just entered the Sanctuary-realm, but he was a true Sanctuary powerhouse after all. Seeing this situation, he wanted to rush forward to disy his incredible power as a Sanctuary powerhouse, but as soon as Manson moved, he was stopped by the Thunder Eel n elders who were behind him.

    ¡°Stand down! This is not a battle that you can participate in!¡± Elder Gabrie of the Thunder Eel n hollered after blocking Manson.

    Although Manson had already reached the Sanctuary-realm, he was still worlds apart from Rabu. Besides, Manson was the prince of the Thunder Eel n. Even if he was strong enough, Gabrie wouldn¡¯t let him take the risk.

    As the grand elder, Gabrie had an extraordinary position in the Thunder Eel n too¡ªso important that even the Great Monarch of the Thunder Eel n had to be respectful to him.

    Hence, despite being reluctant, Manson didn¡¯t dare to show a hint of dissatisfaction with Gabrie. He had no choice but to retreat to the back obediently.

    After stopping Manson, Gabrie didn¡¯t bother looking at his disgruntled expression. Instead, he rubbed his hands together and waved his palm at Rabu without chanting any incantations. A purple electric python that was as thick as a bucket was soon shot at Rabu with a loud roar.

 Chapter 1248 - Bystanders

    <h4>Chapter 1248: Bystanders</h4>

    Although the Thunder Eel n was known as the mages of lightning at sea, their abilities were inborn. This was the same as magical beasts from the lightning elemental group that could only cast spells through recitation.

    The elder of the Thunder Eels, Gabrie, was a veteran Sanctuary powerhouse and a legendary figure in the Endless Sea. It was said that at the end of the Dark Age, he once took on the form of a human to participate in the great war that overthrew the High Elves. Furthermore, there was also a story about how he went to the Anril to challenge the human God of Mages, Geresco. No one knew if the story was true, or what the results of their battle were. But, for Gabrie toe out alive, he had to beparable to his opponent.

    The purple lightning snake that was released by Gabrie contained the original rules of lightning. When it appeared, it set the air on fire, and its tyrannical destructive aura even brought difort to everyone around it. People could also spot streaks of crack in the space along the trajectory that the eel-like lightning travelled.

    Immediately after, the purple lightning snake seemed to have traveled across different spaces. It sted on Wild Whale Rabu the moment it left Gabrie¡¯s hands.

    A point of light first appeared on the body of the huge ck whale. Then, the people could see numerous Thunder Eels emerging from around the light. It was as if the eels had enveloped half of Rabu¡¯s body. The space became incredibly bright, and the ear-splitting sts from the thunderbolts were like a storm. It sounded as if the space was about to copse.

    If it had been anymon beast from the sea, it would have been burnt into charcoal. But, Wild Whale Rabu was obviously not any ocean beast. The terrifying lightning attack rained for quite a while on its huge body, followed by the attacksunched by the serpent-shaped lightning on its horn. In the blink of an eye, the Sanctuary-realm attacks made by Gabrie were all absorbed by the horn of Wild Whale Rabu.

    There weren¡¯t any injuries on Wild Whale Rabu. Instead, its horn that had absorbed all the terrifying forces look more dazzling and dazzling than just now.

    ¡°Roar!¡± Rabu let out a low roar. Although there were no words, the pervasive tone of disdain was apparent to all. It was as though the whale was voicing its contempt for the Four Divine Generals and Gabrie from the Giant Shark n as they were not qualified to be its opponents.

    The Four Divine Generals could not allow themselves to be belittled by Wild Whale Rabu. Although they were all aware that the whale was a beast that had lived through the prehistoric times, and was half a step from being a divine, it did not mean that they would tolerate such disrespect.

    The Four Divine Generals roared in unison as their bodies suddenly became a dozen timesrger, as if they had all turned into golden statues. Then, the four golden statues ignored the water arrows falling over their heads, and wielded their aquamarine spears (which had also grown dozens of timesrger) and rammed them into Wild Whale Rabu.

    However, Wild Whale Rabu was indifferent to their attack. It gently pped its sky-covering wings, and sent countless tornadoes from the sea surface towards the four of them.

    Two was the maximum number of tornadoes that the Four Divine Generals could dodge. The countless tornadoes that wereing at them gave them no chance of escaping at all; they could only try their best to resist. Yet, their efforts in resisting were like a trap; the harder they resisted, the more intense the tornadoes grew.

    Fortunately, Elder Hayes from the Octopus n joined the battle at the same time. There were eight enormous magic arms waving above his head which formed a mageweath with a terrorizing aura. Thepletion of the mageweath caused the seawater to bubble violently, forming tentacles made of water and surging from the water body.

    Some of these tentacles swirled towards the tornadoes. Although they couldn¡¯t destroy the tornadoes, they helped to buy time for the Four Divine Generals from the Giant Shark n to make their escape. The rest of the tentacles were wrapped around Wild Whale Rabu, as though they were determined to pull Wild Whale Rabu back into the sea.

    Then, Prince Cleve from the Siren n took out a long crystal bow, and created an arrow with countless magnificent magical elements. In the blink of an eye, the arrow that appeared was radiating terrifying magical waves.

    With a sound, the arrow that was notched on the bow shot towards Wild Whale Rabu like a meteor. Prince Cleve looked a bit weak after heunched the arrow. Anyone would be able to tell that the attack had to be one of his trump cards.

    At the same time, Wild Whale Rabu seemed to be paying some attention to the arrow. Blinding silver lights shot out from its horn as the whale directed a bolt of lightning towards the meteor-like arrow. It was more powerful than Gabrie¡¯s serpent-like lightning.

    The sight did not disappoint Prince Cleve. If his arrow could be so easily countered, it wouldn¡¯t have the right to be his trump card.

    The arrow shed when it was about to collide with the bolt of lightning. Then, it pierced through the lightning as though the two attacks belonged to two different worlds.

    As expected, Cleve¡¯s arrow struck Rabu¡¯s body after it pierced through the lightning, and a lump of magnificent light rays shone through the body. What followed was a tremendous tremble and a sound of explosion. It was as though the earth was about to copse.

    The whale was hit! Everyone¡¯s face radiated with joy when that happened. It was as though that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, their joy was short-lived. It vanished very quickly when they saw that the arrow merely sent the whale a step back. It did not injure the whale at all.

    No doubt, the sight was upsetting to Cleve as well. He gritted his teeth and raised his bow once more, andunched seven consecutive arrows towards Wild Whale Rabu. Every arrow manifested Sanctuary-level powers, and their trajectories brought about long streaks of cracks in the space.

    At this time, while Saint Edmund had already escorted the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s fleet out of the region, his gigantic Chaos Demon Deity was still in sight. It pounced towards Wild Whale Rabu as its eight arms created magic fingerprints. Countless gigantic whirlpools appeared in the sky, and streaks of Light of Chaos shot out from them, and sted towards Rabu collectively.

    Sanctuary powerhouses from the other ns did not stay idle, either.

    Elder Gabrie did not sit back after his first unsessful attack. He continued to charge towards Wild Whale Rabu with two balls lightning balls that sent bolts of lightning towards it.

    The Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n did not dy any longer after they broke free from the tornadoes. Their aquamarine spears sounded as they approached Wild Whale Rabu fearlessly, establishing the dominance of abat energy at the Sanctuary-realm.

    The elder of the Octopus n, Hayes, continued to create streaks of mageweath out of thin air. Although they had a mixture of binding and weakening effects, they ensured that Wild Whale Rabu¡¯s was enveloped with spells that were tasked to bring its powers down.

    Even the two Sanctuary powerhouses from the Sea Serpents revealed their venomous fangs as they circled around Wild Whale Rabu, looking for a chance to attack.

    The attacks made by the many Sanctuary powerhouses were like constant waves crashing against Wild Whale Rabu. Yet, Rabu was like a reef in the sea that remained unmoved by all the waves. At the same time, the sea surface started to shake violently. What followed was waves ofva spewing out of the sea. However, theva did not cool down after it spewed out. Its color turned the sea red, as though it was on fire.

    Zorro, a Divine General from Giant Shark n, did not manage to dodge in time. He got sshed by theva head-on and washed up the air with the silver shark he was riding on. Fortunately, the high temperature of theva was not deadly to a Sanctuary powerhouse like him. If he had been one of the Legendary powerhouses, he would have been burnt to ashes. But, even so, the injuries that Zorro suffered were not light at all. The glow of hisbat energy significantly dimmed aspared to before.

    ¡°Grrrr...¡± Wild Whale Rabu growled. It was finally losing its patience with the mole crickets around it. Its growl spawned great waves that surged 100 meters tall. The waves did not return to the sea straight away, but evolved into gigantic water elemental statues in the air.

    Each of these water elemental giants radiated Sanctuary-level aura. After they took shape, they stepped on the sea surface and pounced towards the Sanctuary powerhouses who surrounded Rabu. After all, Rabu was a powerhouse that was half a step away from being a divinity. With it having a great mastery of thews of the world, it did not require Rabu any effort to create these Sanctuary-level giants.

    And that was not all. Countlessrge whirlpools appeared as the water elemental giants wrestled with the Sanctuary powerhouses. The movement of the whirlpools cleared the water within it, and turned them into enormous holes.

    Then, gigantic bestial heads that were made of water rose from the center of the whirlpools. Some of them tried to bite the Sanctuary powerhouses who were close to them, while the rest started to stter all sorts of magic attacks at the surroundings. There were hundreds and thousands of such heads emerging from the sea, and their spells seemed to envelop the entire sea.

    At this time, the Sanctuary powerhouses from various ns were in hot soup. Defeating Rabu was not the main priority anymore; it was already not easy to keep their lives.

    ¡°Damn it! Now I understand how a Wild Whale could bring the entire Sea Spirit n to their downfall!¡± remarked Bradlor in resignation. He really could not think of how they could ovee this cmity.

    Grina from the Giant Shark n was deeply troubled as well. He certainly did not expect Wild Whale Rabu to be so powerful. If he¡¯d known, he would have brought his men far away from the area instead of sending his Four Divine Generals against Rabu. Why would he care about Wild Whale Rabu when it was just a whale that might return to hibernation after it eliminated the Gilded Kingdom?

    But now it was a littlete for regret. Although the Four Divine Generals had only been locked in battle with Rabu for a short while, the injuries on their bodies were not light. However, it was impossible for them to leave the battle now; they¡¯d either get rid of Wild Whale Rabu or get killed by it. There was no other possibility.

    But, it seemed to be impossible for them to defeat Wild Whale Rabu. Most of the Sanctuary powerhouses from all the ns were gravely injured, while the furious Wild Whale Rabu remained unharmed. Anybody who had brains would be able to tell that the oue would definitely not be favorable if this situation were to persist.

    It was now that Grina realized something problematic. While the Sanctuary powerhouses from the Gilded Kingdom and each of the Sea ns had stepped up to fight against Wild Whale Rabu, Felic from the Tower of Dusk was still being a bystander.

    It certainly did not help Grina feel better knowing that Lin Li was a foe who snatched stuff from him. It was first the ves from Seahorse n, followed by the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor and Heart of All Evil at the auction; all of these on top of the humiliation he felt when they were outside the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. Seeing Lin Li¡¯s indifference made Grina¡¯s blood boil. He couldn¡¯t stay cool any longer.

    ¡°President Felic, are you going to continue watching?¡± Grina questioned loudly, not only because of the hectic environment here, but also to draw the attention of other people. He knew that everyone was on the same boat against Rabu, so anyone who were to do a half-a*sed job would definitely be abhorred by the others.

    Sure enough, Grina¡¯s words immediately drew the attention of the surrounding crowd, and people¡¯s gazes were all at once directed at Lin Li.

 Chapter 1249 - I Have Given You the Solution

    <strong>Chapter 1249</strong>: I Have Given You the Solution

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Oh, yes, President Felic is a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse. How can he stay put and allow the others to risk their lives? The rest of the people who stayed behind were either people of great status or those who did not have enough ability to participate in the battle. How could Lin Li, as a Sanctuary powerhouse, be part of the bystanders? people thought.

    Hence, Grina¡¯s reminder added looks of disgust on the people¡¯s faces.

    However, Lin Li remained unaffected. ¡°You can see better if you stand here,¡± said Lin Li calmly with his eyes focused on the battlefield.

    Lin Li¡¯s statement created more dissatisfaction among the people. Is he treating this battle as a child¡¯s y?

    This was especially so for Bradlor, who only tried to keep Lin Li on his good side because of Saint Edmund. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the two ps thatnded on his face. And now, the Gilded Kingdom had already reached the brink of death. If they failed to get rid of Wild Whale Rabu, the kingdom would be doomed. Bradlor naturally felt that it was not the time to care about ttering Lin Li anymore.

    ¡°President Felic, I know it is inappropriate for me to say this as you are our guests, but as a fellow human being, I hope you would assist us in defeating that whale,¡± said Bradlor as he turned back to Lin Li.

    Although he was unhappy with Lin Li for choosing to be a bystander, he knew he should not be too tough with him. He even brought up the fact that they were all fellow human beings. He was, after all, trying to seek help from Lin Li, and the Gilded Kingdom was the only force in the Endless Ocean that was made up of mankind.

    ¡°Your Majesty, you should stop putting your hopes on him. You should now be well aware what kind of person you¡¯ve been defending all this while!¡± snapped Grina as he took the chance to vent all his indignation that he¡¯d previously suppressed.

    Grina¡¯s words deepened Bradlor¡¯s frown. ¡°President Felic, I understand we had a misunderstanding previously. But, hasn¡¯t it been resolved?¡± he continued talking to Lin Li with pleading eyes.

    Although Bradlor was convinced that Lin Li¡¯s entry into the battle as a high-ranking Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference to the current situation, he was reluctant to let go of any glimmer of hope. After all, he was the king of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Bradlor¡¯s plea did not waver Lin Li¡¯s determination. ¡°Haha, I have already given you the solution to ovee that big guy. Don¡¯t me me if you don¡¯t want to use that item.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Everyone who heard Lin Li showed signs of disbelief. Just say the truth if you are unwilling to help us! What do you mean by saying that you have already given us the solution to ovee Wild Whale Rabu? They had witnessed how powerless so many Sanctuary powerhouses were against Rabu. How could an item be so powerful to drive the whale away?

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t kid us. Who do you think you are? How could a single item have the power to defeat a wild whale? Why don¡¯t you care to base your lies on some credible evidence?¡± Grina sneered at Lin Li right after he heard him.

    A trace of anger appeared on Bradlor¡¯s face as he felt that Lin Li was teasing him. However, he naturally did not want to aggravate Lin Li in the face of the present situation. ¡°President Felic, I do not know what item you are speaking about, but it seems to me that you do not have a n to deal with that whale,¡± said Bradlor.

    At this time, Prince Monterey, who had been standing next to them, showed signs of enlightenment. ¡°President Felic, are you referring to that magic scroll you brought to the auction?¡±

    The only item that Lin Li gave them was that magic scroll that fetched a sky-high price of 400,000,000 gold coins at the auction house. But, although that magic scroll demonstrated a decent power at that time, could it be used to deal with Wild Whale Rabu?

    Lin Li did not answer Prince Monterey¡¯s question. He turned his gaze towards the battlefield in the distance. Since he had said what he should, he was going to leave the rest to them.

    Prince Monterey¡¯s reminder lit up Bradlor¡¯s face. ¡°Great Monarch Hegel, what do you think of trying out President Felic¡¯s magic scroll?¡±

    At the end of the day, that magic scroll was imed by the Octopus n with 400,000,000 gold coins. Bradlor could only inquire and hope that the Octopus n would give the magic scroll a try.

    Grinaughed hysterically when he heard that. ¡°King Bradlor, you¡¯d better not waste your effort at that Master-level magic scroll. Even if it is at the peak of the Master-level, it definitely would not have enough power to deal with that wild whale,¡± said Grina with a tone full of disdain.

    Grand Duke Vidi once said at the auction that the magic scroll was only at the peak of Master-level. And for his reputation, the vast majority of people wouldn¡¯t think he would speak nonsense. Hence, no one doubted the credibility of the magic scroll. Even if that magic scroll had amazing powers, one certainly could not use it against the Sanctuary-level Wild Whale Rabu.

    The Octopus n¡¯s knowledge of the scroll, however, did note from Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s description. Their knowledge wasrgely based on their own judgement. Therefore, Great Monarch Hegel retrieved the magic scroll, and flew towards the distant battlefield with the idea of giving it a try.

    Even though they could see Hegel¡¯s intention, none of the people who were staying here believed that a magic scroll like that could really be used to deal with Wild Whale Rabu. This was especially true for Grina from the Great Shark n and the ministers from the Gilded Kingdom, who originally despised Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk.

    No one would have expected Wild Whale Rabu to be so terrifying despite having read about all of its atrocities in mythical records. Now that they witnessed how none of the many Sanctuary powerhouses managed to gain any advantage against Wild Whale Rabu, they realized how truthful the myths and legends were. Everyone believed that only divines had the ability to subdue such a powerful whale.

    The words of President Felic from the Tower of Dusk were certainly a joke to them. How could a Master-level magic scroll help Grand Duke Vidi tide over facing this catastrophe? Could that magical scroll possibly exert the power of the divine?

    Therefore, Grina continued to caution Bradlor as Great Monarch Hegel proceeded with the magic scroll. ¡°King Bradlor, are you really going to pin the hopes of the kingdom on that piece of trash? In my opinion, you¡¯d better take advantage of the time to arrange the kingdom¡¯s retreat. Now that everyone is stalling that wild whale, this is a great chance for you to ensure the survivors of Four Seasons Ind behind you stay alive. That is the very foundation of the Gilded Kingdom, and you shouldn¡¯t gamble with that!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Your Majesty! It is better to make use of this opportunity to arrange for the evacuation of as many people from the ind as possible. You have to protect the bloodline of the kingdom!¡± persuaded Cantory anxiously as he came over with several ministers from the senatorial families.

    Cantory would not have wanted toe here if he had known how hopelessly strong Wild Whale Rabu was. He would have made his escape long ago to flee as far as possible. But, since he was here with King Bradlor, it would not be nice of him to flee without permission. Hence, he could only try his best to persuade Bradlor to give the official order.

    The ministers who represented the senatorial families immediately took sides with Cantory when they heard his proposal. After all, the foundation of the senatorial families was on Four Seasons Ind. If Wild Whale Rabu were to decide to charge towards the ind, none of them would be able to escape. They could only be doomed with the entire kingdom.

    While persuading Bradlor, these people did not forget to condemn Lin Li. If not for his suggestion, they believed King Bradlor would have ordered for retreat. Although they wouldn¡¯t be able to evacuate many civilians, it would be a crucial time to help their families escape the most danger.

    ¡°Your Majesty, please acknowledge this precarious situation. How could a mageweath scroll have the ability to deal with that wild whale? I think Felic is just trying to take the chance to eradicate us. Please, think about our millions of citizens!¡± This was from Cantory¡¯s father, Minister Burgess. He had such a concerned tone, as if he really cared about the safety of the people.

    Even Minister Carron, who usually held conflicting opinions with Burgess, stepped out to support what had been said. After all, he had to consider his own family, who was still on the ind. ¡°Your Majesty! How can we leave the fate of our country to an outsider? Regardless of whether that magic scroll is of use, it¡¯s always better to be safe than sorry,¡± urged Carron anxiously.

    These people certainly were speaking with sense. Who knew if the mageweath scroll really had the power to ovee Wild Whale Rabu? If they were not able to deal with that whale, it would still be a problem for the Gilded Kingdom to solve.. Their persuasion made Bradlor hesitate. Should he really give up on Four Seasons Ind and the civilians stuck on the ind?

 Chapter 1250 - Divine Power

    <h4>Chapter 1250: Divine Power</h4>

    The order to evacuate could not be issued easily, especially at such a juncture where disaster had struck. After all, it wasn¡¯t as simple as herding sheep, because human nature was very difficult to control. The evilness of human nature tended to be revealed during times of crisis and disasters. If the people on Four Seasons Ind were to evacuate now, God knew how chaotic the ind would be. The chaos alone would be considered a huge disaster.

    If the magic scroll turned out to be useful and effective in chasing Wild Whale Rabu away, Bradlor would still end up with a huge mess to clear on Four Seasons Ind. Not only would it cause the Gilded Kingdom to suffer huge economic losses, there would also be a huge blow to the kingdom¡¯s reputation. After all, at this point, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were not the only ones on Four Seasons Ind, there were also representatives of other forces.

    Hence, issuing an order to evacuate was an extremely difficult decision for Bradlor. Regardless of what he chose, he would have to face a great risk.

    However, Bradlor¡¯s hesitation made the ministers more and more anxious because they didn¡¯t want their own families to die together with the Gilded Kingdom. However, Bradlor was still the king, after all, and without his orders, they couldn¡¯t flee on their own.

    ¡°Okay, okay, the few of you, head back to Four Seasons Ind immediately to coordinate the evacuation of the people, but you must make sure that there isn¡¯t any unrest or chaos...¡± Bradlor hesitated, but eventually decided to evacuate the Gilded Kingdom nationals on Four Seasons Ind to preserve some native poption.

    However, just as Bradlor issued the order, Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n had already flown close to Wild Whale Rabu. Hegel did not slowly unfold the scroll to demonstrate the power of the magic scroll as Grand Duke Vidi had at the auction, because thetter was trying to ensure the safety of the guests at the auction. At this point, there was no need for Hegel to do that.

    Hence, after flying close to the Wild Whale Rabu, Great Monarch Hegel grasped the magic scroll in his hand, and unrolled it without hesitation. As the magic scroll unfolded, time seemed to have stopped along with everyone¡¯s breathing.

    The magical elements in the space, which were originally invisible and untouchable, suddenly emerged at this moment. It was as if each and every single particle of the magical elements was shining colorfully, lighting up the entire space resplendently.

    Immediately afterwards, a ray of dazzling light emerged from the magic scroll, making it seem as if Hegel was holding a sun in his hand. From that light, several bizarre and mysterious magic symbols darted out. With the appearance of each magic symbol, there would be a violent tremor in space, as if the magic elements¡¯ king had appeared.

    The magic symbols seemed to be leading the magic elements to form a river of elements of different colors that surged towards the sky above Rabu. The elements tumbled in the sky and intertwined above Rabu¡¯s head, and a huge phantom was gradually formed from the intertwining rivers of elements.

    The massive phantom gradually solidified, and seemed as if it was about to reveal its true appearance amidst the mist. This time, the crowd could finally see clearly that therge phantom was actually the image of a majestic mountain. Given the vastness of Anril, there were countless mountains that were even more majestic than the one in the image. However, the crowd felt from the depths of their souls that the mountain seemed out of reach, which was an unprecedented feeling that they had never experienced with other mountains before.

    ¡°Mount Tai? Is that Mount Tai? The Holy Mountain of the Titans?¡± They couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of the exnation on Mount Tai that Grand Duke Vidi had given during the auction. Looking at the image of that majestic mountain before them, they were even more convinced of Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s exnation. Apart from Mount Tai that belonged to the Titans, there was probably no other mountain in Anril that could bepared to it.

    Of course, these people absolutely couldn¡¯t have imagined that Mount Tai, which they thought was the Holy Mountain of the Titans, was actually just a make-believe existence. The majestic mountain in the image was actually just the Mount Tai that existed in the world Lin Li had belonged to before he transmigrated, and had nothing to do with the Titans.

    However, it was no wonder that they would associate the image with the Titans. Apart from the exnation that Grand Duke Vidi had given previously, another important factor that made them feel that way was, more importantly, the impact that the image had on their emotions. Although the majestic mountain was only hanging above the head of Wild Whale Rabu, and was just an image formed by the condensation of magic elements, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel reverent toward it from the bottom of their heart.

    At this juncture, Wild Whale Rabu was no longer asfortable as it had been when dealing with the Sanctuary powerhouses just now. It seemed to have also felt threatened by the image above its head. With a deafening roar, itsrge pair of fleshy wings pped twice, and its huge, mountain-like body flew upward towards the image of the mountain, as if it really wanted to carry a mountain peak with its own strength.

    If it was just an ordinary mountain, or even if there were 100 ordinary mountains, Wild Whale Rabu, a demigod, would be able to lift it and flip it over effortlessly. However, the mountain peak created from the condensation of magical elements now was only an external image manifested from the magic scroll. In fact, its interior wasposed of brand-new rules that did not belong to this world.

    Wild Whale Rabu could only reach a height of several meters off the surface, after which it could no longer go higher regardless of how loud it roared and how hard it pped its wings. As the power of the magic scroll in Hegel¡¯s hand continued to spread, the image of the majestic mountain became more and more solid, thus suppressing Wild Whale Rabu, and causing it to sink.

    Everyone was stunned by that scene. Even Hegel, who had initially already gained some knowledge of the magic scroll, couldn¡¯t quite believe what he was seeing at this moment. The others who thought that the magic scroll was merely at the Master-level were so shocked that their jaws dropped in surprise.

    Bradlor had already ordered the ministers to go back and organize the evacuation of the kingdom nationals who were on the ind. When they saw this scene, they could no longer be bothered to say anything else, and instead got ready to go back and save the elites of their respective families. However, they couldn¡¯t move their feet at this moment.

    Grina of the Giant Shark n was on the verge of vomiting blood. Although Hegel of the Octopus n was using the magic scroll, it was still the work of Grina¡¯s enemy. In other words, Lin Li had once again stolen the limelight this time.

    <i>Can a magic scroll like that really subdue Wild Whale Rabu? Rabu is a powerful enemy that many Sanctuary powerhouses can¡¯t defeat!</i> Grina wanted to say something that would affect the confidence and morale of the crowd, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak after opening his mouth. Although he hated Lin Li, he could clearly see that the magic scroll seemed to be effective. If he insisted on criticizing it, he would make himself seem like a fool instead.

    <i>Damn it, how can it be that strong?!</i> All Grina could feel was a hot and sharp burning pain on his face. The magic scroll that he had criticized and put down like nothing was actually emitting such a massive power now, proving him wrong through and through! Besides, Lin Li didn¡¯t deliberately put him to shame, but rather Grina had brought it upon himself because he started belittling it out of nowhere, only to end up shooting himself in the foot!

    At this point, Grina¡¯s heart was full of regret and resentment. He regretted running off his mouth anxiously without waiting longer, for if he had waited a few more minutes just now, he wouldn¡¯t have been so embarrassed now. At the same time, he had also developed greater hatred for Lin Li now because he was convinced that Lin Li had to have deliberately plotted this to cause him to make a fool of himself.

    However, Grina was still somewhat rational enough not to immediately want to settle ounts with Lin Li. On the one hand, they were coping with the cmity only because they could rely on Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll. On the other hand, he didn¡¯t know if Lin Li had other simr magic scrolls. He didn¡¯t think that Lin Li had brought only one magic scroll of such terrifying power with him to the auction. If he had been in Lin Li¡¯s shoes, he would have definitely brought more than one such terrifying magic scroll to the auction. Therefore, in his opinion, Lin Li might have a simr magic scroll or one that was even more powerful than the one that was auctioned off.

    Even Rabu, the scourge of the Endless Ocean, couldn¡¯t resist the power of the magic scroll easily. No matter how arrogant Grina was, he wasn¡¯t thatcent to think that he could measure up to Rabu.

    Simrly, on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s side, Cantory and the several ministers representing the senatorial families were all feeling very conflicted. If they had a choice, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to evacuate Four Seasons Ind, but the opportunity to transcend the tribtion now was given by the person whom Cantory saw as an enemy and had always despised. Hence, he felt rather ufortable about it.

    If that magic scroll could really help the kingdom ovee this terrifying ordeal, Lin Li would be the great benefactor of the Gilded Kingdom. Not to mention twice, even if Lin Li insulted the Gilded Kingdom 200 more times, the great favor he had done them this time would leave them with no choice but to keep mum and ept it. After all, it was tantamount to rescuing the Gilded Kingdom from the path to extermination, which was a favor that could not be repaid easily.

    Although Cantory needed not be the one to repay the kindness and favor, Bradlor, the king of the Gilded Kingdom, could not ignore it. In other words, even if Cantory and the others were in the right and wanted to deal with Lin Li in the future, they wouldn¡¯t be able to retaliate even if Lin Li made them look particrly bad, as Bradlor would 100% have to stand on Lin Li¡¯s side in the future.

    However, if that magic scroll was proven to be useless, and the Gilded Kingdom did not end up owing Lin Li any favors, it would equally be a bad thing for Cantory and the others. If no one could stop Rabu, the Gilded Kingdom would be exterminated, and the senatorial families wouldn¡¯t be spared, either. As for the so-called evacuation, it was actually impossible to evacuate everyone without incurring any losses. Preserving some ¡°seeds¡± meant that they had to keep a few descendants alive in order to ensure that they did not go extinct.

    Moreover, without the Gilded Kingdom, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the senatorial families to survive in the Endless Ocean just with the power of their families. The environment of the Endless Ocean was closer to thew of the jungle than Anril, and it was all about the survival of the fittest there. After all, the main forces of Anril were humans, but the Endless Ocean was dominated by the Sea ns.

    At this juncture on the battlefield, the Wild Whale Rabu had clearly already exerted its full force as a rich and dense ck fog began spreading around, almost engulfing its body, and making it look like a mass of ck clouds. However, even so, Rabu still couldn¡¯t break free at all under the suppression of the image of therge mountain manifested from the magic scroll. Instead, it was being pressed downwards, almost reaching the bottom of the sea.

    Great Monarch Hegel held the magic scroll, and continuously stimted its power. Despite having a stern expression on his face, he was actually filled with joy and euphoria. At this moment, he didn¡¯t feel the pinch of paying 400,000,000 gold coins for this magic scroll at all. Even if he had to spend four billion gold coins on such a powerful magic scroll, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate, because it was definitely worth the price.

    Being a Guru of Inscription himself, Great Monarch Hegel could clearly sense that the power of the magic scroll was already reaching the Divine-Smith-level, which was the power that only gods could possess! For the Octopus n, the magic scroll would not only be an offensive magic weapon forunching attacks, but also a guiding light to the realm of Divine Smith, which couldn¡¯t be bought with money.

    For example, Grand Elder Hayes of the Octopus n had be a Guru of Inscription a long time ago, but he had teaued precisely because he hadn¡¯t been able to find his way to the Divine-Smith-realm. Hence, he hadn¡¯t made any progress for years. However, after obtaining the stone b that Harquess had brought back, it was as if a brand-new door had been opened for him in the field of inscription, allowing him to gain a breakthrough in hisprehension of inscription.

    The mageweath on the b was just a mageweath that Lin Li had created after sshing ink onto Harquess¡¯ work. However, this magic scroll was created entirely by Lin Li, and had to be several times more powerful than the mageweath on the stone b that they had gotten previously. Perhaps, with the inspiration of this magic scroll, they might still be able to truly reach the peak of the Guru-level of inscription, and get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Divine-Smith-realm.

    At this moment, with the pressure of the magic scroll, Rabu¡¯s body waspletely pressed into the sea. Moreover, there wasn¡¯t a single drop of seawater left in the sea, as all the seawater had been squeezed into the surroundings, causing arge and bizarre hole to form.

    Rabu, which had been suppressed, was still roaring incessantly in exasperation, and constantly stimting all its power to break free from the suppression of Mount Tai. It didn¡¯t expect to fall into such a predicament without even getting to devour any delicacies after awakening this time.

 Chapter 1251 - Suppression

    <h4>Chapter 1251: Suppression</h4>

    Besides, with the continuous, overbearing suppression, the uniquews contained in the image of Mount Tai continued to prate Rabu¡¯s body. The crowd could even clearly see that arge number of incredibly arcane magic runes had formed arge that was constantly sealing its power.

    <i>This is too terrifying!</i> Bradlor now regretted his decision. Had he known earlier that the magic scroll was that powerful, he would have done whatever it took to get it, even if it meant that he had to spend all the money in the royal family¡¯s treasury. At this juncture, he couldn¡¯t help but me Grand Duke Vidi. If thetter hadn¡¯t said that the magic scroll was only a Master-level piece, Bradlor would have never given up on it.

    <i>Master-level? How can a Master-level magic scroll possibly suppress the Wild Whale Rabu that¡¯s a demigod?!</i> The people who had oncepeted with the Octopus n during the auction of the magic scroll shared the same thought with Bradlor. At this moment, Grand Duke Vidi had almost be their enemy, and everyone was full of resentment towards him.

    After witnessing the power of the magic scroll, everyone looked at Lin Li in apletely different light. They thought, <i>Who is this person?! He¡¯s only in his early twenties, and not only has he reached the Sanctuary-realm in the field of magic, he also has such an unimaginable attainment in the field of inscription.</i> Well, ordinary people might not be able to achieve ster attainments in their lifetime even if they specialized only in one field, let alone in multiple fields.

    However, Lin Li did not care about the fact that they were staring at him. The Divine-Smith-level mageweath that the Immortal King had left behind was able to suppress even powerful ancient deities, while his was worlds apart from that because it was only able to suppress a Wild Whale that was a demigod.

    With thatparison, Lin Li didn¡¯t feel proud when he saw the power that his work was unleashing at this moment. Instead, he felt a strong sense of dissatisfaction. The Immortal King, who could suppress ancient deities, was far beyond what Lin Li couldpare to, and Lin Li felt that his abilities were really insignificant. Only those who didn¡¯t have wide horizons would kick up such a fuss. If the Immortal King was there, he might mock this magic scroll for being juvenile.

    Of course, Lin Li was also very confident that as long as he continued to study diligently, he might be able to reach the level that the Immortal King was at, or even surpass it.

    Finally, under the strong pressure of the magic scroll, Mount Tai, Rabu sunk to the bottom of the sea and deeper into the seabed. The ferocious Rabu which was releasing its wrath just now had stopped roaring as it could no longer struggle at this point. It wasn¡¯t that it had resigned to fate, but rather all the power in its body had already been suppressed and sealed.

    The crowd that was watching from outside ignored the danger, and dived deep to the bottom of the sea at this moment to look at Rabu, which used to be the scourge of the Endless Ocean. In particr, Bradlor had to see Rabu being in a powerless state with his very own eyes. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue living on Four Seasons Ind with a peace of mind.

    <i>Is it all over?</i>

    Arge, deep pit had formed at the bottom of the sea, and it seemed to be connected to the Endless Abyss. It was formed entirely by the power of the magic scroll, which had dragged Rabu to the bottom of the sea and further into the seabed. When standing around the pit, they could only roughly see the image of Mount Tai.

    Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n looked at Lin Li, who was near him, while stimting the power of the magic scroll. He carefully asked, ¡°Master Felic, can we stop now?¡±

    Although Hegel¡¯s attainment in the field of inscription was not low, this was the first time he had used a magic scroll that involved some Divine-Smith-level elements. Hence, he didn¡¯t know much about the power of this magic scroll, and was afraid that Rabu would emerge again once he put away the magic scroll.

    Lin Li was naturally very confident in his work. He nodded at Hegel, and said, ¡°Put it away, the power of that Wild Whale has been suppressed, and it can¡¯t escape.¡±

    In fact, Hegel¡¯s worry was exactly the same as that of the others. Besides, for Bradlor, suppressing Rabu there was akin to putting a time bomb in the Gilded Kingdom. If he didn¡¯t get a clear idea of the situation, Bradlor would probably get nightmares every day on Four Seasons Ind in the future.

    Hence, Bradlor carefully walked towards Lin Li, and asked in a respectful tone, ¡°Master Felic, that Wild Whale Rabu isn¡¯t going toe out again, right? Um, can you please give us a simr magic scroll like the one you¡¯ve just used so that we will be able to suppress that Wild Whale in case it emerges again?¡±

    Bradlor had thought of a good n, and decided to take this opportunity to request Lin Li to draw him a magic scroll like Mount Tai. It was a magic scroll that could suppress Rabu and exude power that was close to the power of the deities, making it a priceless item.

    Lin Li naturally knew what Bradlor¡¯s intentions were. He smiled, and said, ¡°Your Majesty, not to worry, Wild Whale Rabu has already been suppressed, and its power will slowly be depleted. By the time the power of the magic scroll dissipates, Rabu¡¯s strength will only be at the Legendary-level, and no longer pose a threat to you.¡±

    ¡°Who knows if it¡¯s true or not? You may have suppressed Wild Whale Rabu here, but if it escapes again, the ones to suffer will be the Gilded Kingdom. Maybe that was your intention all along, and you just want to leave us with this threat!¡± Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Cantory immediately couldn¡¯t help but interject. Anyway, the Wild Whale Rabu had been suppressed, and the magic scroll was in Lin Li¡¯s hands. He really didn¡¯t want to see Lin Li be the savior of the Gilded Kingdom, so he wanted to take this opportunity to nt that thought in Bradlor¡¯s head.

    Cantory did have a point. The fact that Rabu was suppressed in the waters of Four Seasons Ind meant that it would forever pose a huge threat to the Gilded Kingdom. Although Lin Li was very firm in his stand that Rabu wouldn¡¯t escape, they were still paranoid and worried about it. Given the current situation, Bradlor and the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom obviously couldn¡¯t put their minds at ease.

    Besides, the rtionship between Lin Li and the Gilded Kingdom was not exactly close-knit; in fact, they had even gotten into a conflict before. Hence, no one could be certain that Lin Li really didn¡¯t hold a grudge against them, and that Rabu had really been suppressed, and would no longer be a threat to the Gilded Kingdom.

    It would have been fine to make such a conjecture in private. However, Cantory was too reckless to have said those words in front of everyone. As soon as he spoke, the Siren n and Octopus n who wished to have a good rtionship with Lin Li, as well as those who were in neutral positions, immediately looked sullen.

    In the eyes of the Siren n and Octopus n, Cantory was biting the hand that fed him and exacting revenge on his savior. Although the magic scroll was in the hands of the Octopus n, Lin Li was ultimately its original creator. The magic scroll had suppressed Rabu, and helped the Gilded Kingdom ovee this ordeal. Yet, Cantory was not only ungrateful, he even began to suspect Lin Li. Moreover, the ones who were controlling the magic scroll were the Octopus n. If anything, the Octopus n would have been suspected too.

    Bradlor didn¡¯t expect Cantory, who was usually magnanimous and smart, would suddenly be so muddled up at this moment. The king was initially thinking about how he could get closer to Lin Li, but Cantory¡¯s words had just disrupted his ns.

    ¡°Cantory, shut up!¡± At the end of the day, Bradlor was the king of the Gilded Kingdom, and although he was usually more polite to Cantory because thetter was the disciple of the Illuminati¡¯s lord, he couldn¡¯t care less at this time.

    Bradlor¡¯s outrage instantly made Cantory freeze in shock. Since he became a disciple of the lord of the Illuminati, he had never been reprimanded so harshly by Bradlor, which led him to no longer take Bradlor seriously even though thetter was the king. However, Bradlor¡¯s current austerity made him realize that the king was still the king whom he couldn¡¯t ignore or disregard at this point.

    Almost immediately after Bradlor¡¯s angry rebuke, Saint Edmund of the Illuminati red at Cantory with extreme dissatisfaction, and sternly chastised, ¡°Cantory, you¡¯re going overboard. Hurry up and apologize to President Felic immediately!¡±

    Saint Edmund was now certain that Lin Li had made another huge breakthrough in his attainments in the field of inscription, which meant that there was hope for speeding up the resurrection of the founding Saint, Lord Aquilo. Under such circumstances, he would never allow anyone in the Illuminati to offend Lin Li, not even the three other Saints, let alone Cantory. Even if the lord was here, Saint Edmund would not change his stand.

    Cantory was surprised by King Bradlor¡¯s rebuke, but Saint Edmund¡¯s words were a huge blow to him. Cantory had always prided himself on the fact that he was the disciple of the lord of the Illuminati, and was the most promising candidate for the sessor of the Illuminati. With such a status, he had never suffered such a treatment before.

    What Cantory found the most difficult to ept was the fact that the people of the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati were not the only ones around. The several Sea ns and various human forces were also present. Yet, he was now being made to apologize to Lin Li, the president of a force from the Breezy ins. Even though Lin Li had unimaginable attainments in the field of inscription, it still made Cantory feel extremely humiliated.

    However, Cantory did not dare to have the slightest disrespect for Saint Edmund. After all, he had yet to be the next lord of the Illuminati. Besides, even the current lord would treat the Saints of the Four Sanctuaries of the Illuminati with great respect.

    Hence, even though Cantory¡¯s identity and status might seem impressive to others, he was nothing to Saint Edmund. If he were to anger Saint Edmund, Cantory might possibly be dismissed as a disciple of the lord, let alone be the future sessor to the current lord.

    Faced with the double pressure of Bradlor and Saint Edmund, Cantory had no choice but to swallow his pride reluctantly even though it would bruise his ego. Even his father, Burgess, and the ministers who were close to them didn¡¯t dare to stand out to speak up for him.

    In a moment of helplessness, Cantory had no choice but to turn to Lin Li and face him with a forced smile on his face. He said, ¡°President Felic, please forgive me, I was just too worried about the safety of the kingdom. I didn¡¯t mean to be so callous with my words, I hope to seek your understanding...¡±

    Although Cantory was apologizing, he didn¡¯t sound apologetic at all, because he had first used his concern as an excuse, and even expected Lin Li to understand the reason for his offensive words.

    However, Lin Li did not take it seriously, either. Before Cantory finished speaking, he turned to Bradlor and the others before saying, ¡°Your Majesty, since the Wild Whale Rabu has been suppressed, I¡¯ll get going. I have something else to tend to.¡±

    After saying this, Lin Li reached his finger out, and slid it in the air to form a spatial rift, which he then stepped into together with Connoris.

    Cantory¡¯s face became beet-red immediately, and he watched the spatial rift close gradually before disappearingpletely, unable to contain his resentment anymore. Standing rooted to the ground, he clenched his fists so tightly that his nails were digging into his flesh, but he didn¡¯t feel the pain at all. He even began trembling a little.

    <i>What a shameful thing to do! I¡¯ve swallowed my pride to apologize to him, but not only did he not say something nice in return, he even ignored mepletely!</i> Faced with Lin Li¡¯s tant disregard, Cantory felt even more humiliated than when Bradlor and Saint Edmund made him apologize to Lin Li in front of everyone.

    In Cantory¡¯s opinion, Lin Li should have at least said something kind to him out of courtesy after hearing his apology, even if it didn¡¯t move him to tears. Cantory thought that since he had already stooped low to apologize, Lin Li ought to say that he didn¡¯t take it to heart and forgive him! Yet, Lin Li didn¡¯t even look at him, and instead merely bade farewell to Bradlor before leaving via a spatial rift. Cantory felt that he was left alone looking like a fool.

    The biggest issue that bothered Cantory was the fact that there were many people around who had watched him, the promising elite of the younger generation of the Gilded Kingdom, getting ignored and disregarded tantly. He could no longer hold his head high again! Anger simmered within him, and was consuming his sanity down to the veryst trace.

    Fortunately, Cantory¡¯s father, Burgess, who knew his son well, walked forward and patted Cantory on his shoulder at this moment. He said, ¡°Okay, President Felic clearly understands the concerns that you have for the Gilded Kingdom, and he has merely taken his leave because an urgent matter has cropped up. We should get going too.¡±

    Of course, Burgess was lying through his teeth because everyone could tell clearly what Lin Li¡¯s attitude was like. However, the rest of them didn¡¯t have any feud with the Gilded Kingdom, and were aware of Cantory¡¯s status in the Illuminati, after all. Hence, no one stated it explicitly in Cantory¡¯s face.

 Chapter 1252 - Explanation

    Chapter 1252: Exnation

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    In fact, the vast majority of the crowd didn¡¯t even bother to pay attention to Cantory, because all their attention was on the information they had inferred from that magic scroll. Wild Whale Rabu was already a demigod, but it was actually so easily suppressed by the power of the magic scroll named Mount Tai, which left them wondering just what level the magic scroll was at and how high Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of inscription were.

    As long as one had brains, they would probably be able to imagine that the level of the power that was unleashed had to have been close to the Divine level since it could suppress Wild Whale Rabu. In that case, there was no way the magic scroll was only at the peak of the Master-level, and they reckoned that it was probably near the Divine-Smith-level. Based on further inference, they deduced that Lin Li, the young president of the Tower of Dusk, probably had inscription attainments that were at the Divine-Smith-level, if not close to it.

    Gurus of Inscription were considered rare in the entire Anril, even among the Octopus n that had high attainments in inscription. As for inscribers who were at the Divine-Smith-level, there were probably less than five even in myths and legends, let alone in Anril.

    Of course, they also knew that if Lin Li had really be a Divine Smith of Inscription, it would have been tantamount to reaching the Divine-realm, and he would have long be a true deity. Hence, they deduced that Lin Li should only be approaching the level of a Divine Smith of Inscription, and the level of his inscription knowledge was probably just touching the Divine-Smith-level.

    However, even if he wasn¡¯t a Divine Smith of Inscription, Lin Li¡¯s attainments in inscription were still unprecedented in Anril. Faced with such a situation, the people present could not help but think about how they should get along with such an impressive figure who was close to the Divine-Smith-level in the future.

    The ones who were the happiest about this discovery were none other than Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren n, as well as Great Monarch Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes of the Octopus n.

    Through the suppression of Wild Whale Rabu, Hegel and Hayes had both witnessed the full power of this magic scroll, and werepletely certain that it was close to the level of the Divine Smith. At this moment, both of them were feeling thankful and fortunate that they had decided to spend 400,000,000 gold coins on this magic scroll, and had not missed it because of the staggering price.

    Initially, Hegel and Hayes intended to meet Lin Li immediately after Rabu was suppressed so that they could take advantage of this opportunity to befriend him. However, to their dismay, Lin Li decided to leave through a spatial rift after speaking to Bradlor briefly, perhaps because of Cantory. That made them feel inevitably regretful and also resentful towards Cantory. In fact, they even considered making Harquess cut off all contact with Cantory after they returned.

    Putting aside the feud between Cantory and Lin Li, in Hegel and Hayes¡¯ opinion, it was really foolish of Cantory to have said those words just now. As the prince of the Octopus n, Harquess would seed Hegel to be the Great Monarch of the n in the future, and it wouldn¡¯t be a good thing for him to keep hanging out with a stupid person like Cantory lest he was affected.

    Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren n were really overjoyed after ascertaining that Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of inscription were close to the Divine-Smith-level. Previously at the auction venue, they had already spoken to Lin Li and requested him to visit the Siren n sometime to help them draw a mageweath that would beplementary to the Heart of All Evil, to which Lin Li agreed.

    They initially just thought of having a Master of Inscription like Lin Li to help them create a mageweath, but it turned out that he was a Guru of Inscription who was reaching the Divine-Smith-level. To Halleleah and Cleve, Lin Li¡¯s agreement to do them that favor was something that no amount of money could buy.

    Besides, it was obviously still a good opportunity for them to get closer to Lin Li. Hence, while they were rejoicing about the fact that they had obtained such a great chance, Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve couldn¡¯t help but despise and look down on Cantory, who had just offended Lin Li, even more. Although they didn¡¯t know what feud there was between Cantory and Lin Li, they felt that regardless of the reason, it was still very unwise of Cantory to offend Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription, without regard for the interests of the kingdom.

    On the contrary, Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, was somewhat impressed with Cantory, and couldn¡¯t help but take another nce at him. He could tell from Cantory¡¯s behavior that Cantory detested Lin Li to the extent that he couldn¡¯t tolerate the other party¡¯s presence at all. For Grina, who also regarded Lin Li as his enemy, Cantory was undoubtedly someone worth getting close to because he could be of great help to him in dealing with Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll had indeed shocked Grina, the Giant Shark n had always resorted to using brute force to solve problems, and they were contemptuous about things like mageweaths. In Grina¡¯s opinion, even if the magic scroll could suppress the terrifying power of Wild Whale Rabu, it wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to his Giant Shark Knights.

    No matter how powerful the magic scroll may be, can it also destroy tens of thousands of Giant Shark Knights in one go? Grina was extremely confident in the Giant Shark Knights of his n. Besides, Lin Li still wasn¡¯t an actual Divine Smith yet, and even the true deities were not invincible, let alone a person who was just close to the Divine-Smith-level.

    ¡°Great, this disaster is finally over. Thanks for helping us, everyone. I have some things to attend to, so I will take my leave now,¡± said Saint Edmund, who was rather dissatisfied with Cantory¡¯s attitude. After thanking those who had intervened to help deal with Rabu, he left with Elder Zumar without even taking another look at Cantory.

    More importantly, of course, Saint Edmund was eager to meet Lin Li to discuss the matter of resurrecting Lord Aquilo, the founding saint. Since Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of inscription had reached a level that was close to the Divine-Smith-level, there should probably be some hope in resurrecting the saint ahead of schedule.

    For Saint Edmund, nothing was more important than the resurrection of the founding Saint, Aquilo. If not for the fact that they still needed Cantory for other purposes, he would have probably beheaded Cantory and brought his head to Lin Li.

    Staring at the back of Saint Edmund who was leaving, Cantory knew that he had offended him as well. Although he was not sure why Saint Edmund thought so highly of Lin Li, his hatred for Lin Li was raised by a few notches because of it too. In his opinion, it was clear enough that if it weren¡¯t for Lin Li, Saint Edmund wouldn¡¯t have been so austere and harsh to him even if he had said something callous.

    However, at this point, Cantory knew that the people present were intending to get closer to Lin Li more likely than not, so he had no choice but to suppress his hatred in the bottom of his heart. He took a few deep breaths, got a grip on his emotions, and turned around to say to Bradlor, ¡°Your Majesty, I was just worried that Wild Whale Rabu would escape again and bring disaster to our kingdom, but I didn¡¯t expect that President Felic would misunderstand me. When we return, I¡¯ll definitely find an opportunity to exin to President Felic.¡±

    After hearing Cantory¡¯s exnation, Bradlor did not seem relieved at all. Instead, he looked at Cantory with great disappointment in his eyes, and said, ¡°Cantory, what you did today was indeed overboard and done with ack of consideration. I hope you really know that you are wrong. As for apologizing to President Felic, just do as you wish.¡±

    As the king of a nation, Bradlor was experienced and wise enough to tell that there was actually still no hint of remorse in Cantory¡¯s words. In fact, knowing what Cantory was like, Bradlor was worried that Cantory might do something that would offend Lin Li even more if he forced Cantory to apologize again.

    Besides, Bradlor could also tell from the fact that Lin Li had ignored Cantory just now that Lin Li simply didn¡¯t take Cantory seriously. In that case, it wouldn¡¯t matter if Cantory apologized or not. He believed that as long as the Gilded Kingdom could express due sincerity, there would still be a chance to make things right with Lin Li.

    Seeing the hypocritical look on Cantory¡¯s face, Bradlor shook his head helplessly, turned around, and flew back towards Four Seasons Ind with Prince Monterey and his ministers.

    Since even Bradlor had left, the others naturally did not bother to stay behind anymore. Apart from the curious ones who wanted to go see the ce where Rabu had been suppressed, the rest of the crowd also left the sea.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Felic to have hid his abilities so well!¡± Sendros of the Darkness Shrinemented to his close friend, Englos. He thought he already knew Lin Li well enough, but he didn¡¯t expect to be taken by surprise yet again.

    After hearing his words, Englos couldn¡¯t help but shake his head andugh bitterly as he said, ¡°Yes, given how young he is, I¡¯m afraid no one would think that he has made such great aplishments in the field of inscription if he didn¡¯t say so himself. To be honest, even if he said it himself, I¡¯m afraid the majority of people would not believe it. Well, just look at how those people at the auction reacted when the magic scroll was first put on disy on stage.¡±

    Among the people present, Sendros and Englos could be considered the ones who were the closest to Lin Li. They had previously crossed paths numerous times in Anril, but they only knew that Lin Li had extremely high attainments in pharmaceutics, and were unaware of his remarkable attainments in the field of inscription.

    The fact that Lin Li could reach the Sanctuary-realm of magic at such a young age was already extremely incredible in the eyes of most people. Now, it was revealed that he also had attainments that were beyond imaginable in the fields of inscription and pharmaceutics. That made Sendros and Englos find it hard to believe that Lin Li was really just a human.

    Of course, it was not toote to find out. Compared to the forces of the Endless Ocean who were now feeling anxious and paranoid, Sendros and Englos felt a lot lessplicated. After all, the two of them were far closer to Lin Li than those forces of the Endless Ocean, so they didn¡¯t have to rush to befriend Lin Li.

    At this moment, Lin Li and Connoris had already passed through the spatial rift, and returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. However, back in the embassy, Connoris also finally found it hard to contain his curiosity about the magic scroll as he couldn¡¯t help but ask Lin Li which level thetter had reached in terms of inscription.

    After all, Lin Li had never demonstrated the power of the magic scroll in front of Connoris and the others ever since he created it, and instead had it sent straight to the auction at the invitation of the Gilded Kingdom. Therefore, Connoris also did not expect that the magic scroll actually had the ability to easily suppress an enemy that was a demigod.

    Back in thend of curses, Lin Li had suffered quite a lot of hardships in order to deal with High Priest Poer who was a demigod. Who would have thought that after such a short period of time, Lin Li would be able to rely on a magic scroll to easily subdue a Wild Whale that was far stronger than High Priest Poer, and suppress it at the bottom of the sea.

    Of course, although Connoris was not entirely clueless about inscription, he definitely didn¡¯t have any remarkable skills in it. Hence, even if Lin Li exined to him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the theories of inscription at all. After probing for a while, he had only learned that the magic scroll had indeed reached a level that was close to the Divine-Smith-level.

    However, that answer was sufficient to clear Connoris¡¯ doubts, and also made him even more determined to follow Lin Li, whom he was now even more confident in. Although Connoris was once an ancient demon deity, he was still far from the true Divine-realm. Otherwise, he would not have been reduced to being sealed in a hammer at the end. Stepping into the Divine-realm and achieving godhood had always been a far-fetched dream for him.

    Although Lin Li was the one who was reaching the Divine-realm, it also gave Connoris some hope. After all, he was a follower of Lin Li. Since he started being subordinate to Lin Li, his miserable fate had been reversed, and he had gotten out of a hopeless predicament. Not only did he break free from the shackles of the hammer, he had also obtained the perfect body of Highlord Osric, which gave him hope in breaking through to the Sanctuary-realm. Later on, with the enhancements and repairs that Lin Li made to the perfect body, its potential was greatly raised, and Connoris thought that it would be possible for him to be a deity one day.

    Now, the main reason for Connoris¡¯ dy in reaching the Sanctuary-realm was actually the overpowering strength of the perfect body. Bodies could bepared to buckets, and for others, their bucket might be easily filled with water, and once the bucket was full, it would represent the breakthrough to the Sanctuary-realm. However, Connoris¡¯ perfect body was like a massive bucket that would take a long time to fill. However, once his bucket was filled, the achievements he would be able to make with his perfect body would definitely be far beyond what ordinary people could measure up to.

    Moreover, Connoris believed that as long as Lin Li was able to reach the Divine-realm and be a true god, Lin Li would be able to easily solve all problems for Connoris even if thetter encountered any issues with his perfect body in the future.. By then, Connoris would have a greater chance of reaching the Divine-realm himself.

 Chapter 1253 - Sending Money

    Chapter 1253: Sending Money

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    When Connoris first signed the contract with Lin Li to be his servant, he was actually more or lesspelled into it, and didn¡¯t actually do it willingly. However, after seeing the achievements that Lin Li had made so far, he no longer felt indignant. In his current opinion, bing Lin Li¡¯s servant was no longer a choice that he was forced to make because of the circumstances he was in, but a great opportunity.

    Soon after Lin Li returned to the embassy, one of his men came to report that Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati hade to visit. Lin Li naturally knew the purpose of their visit, so he immediately asked someone to invite them to the living room, while he subsequently made his way there.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, I¡¯d like to apologize to you on Cantory¡¯s behalf for everything that he has said to you. I¡¯ll also tell the lord to be stricter with Cantory and discipline him.¡± As soon as they met, Saint Edmund first expressed his apologies to Lin Li. After all, Cantory had indeed gone overboard.

    However, Lin Li was not bothered by it. After asking the two of them to take a seat, he said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. As long as those flies don¡¯t fly in front of me, I won¡¯t be bothered to care about it. Apart from the apology, what else are you here for this time, Saint Edmund?¡±

    Lin Li was not an extremely magnanimous person, but he would sometimes feel that those nobodies weren¡¯t worth his time at all. If Cantory had done something that was really significant enough to catch his attention, Lin Li would have probably crushed him to death with a simple lift of his finger. He wouldn¡¯t even care who Cantory¡¯s master was.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Saint Edmund sighed helplessly in his heart, even though he knew that Lin Li didn¡¯t care about this matter. In fact, given Lin Li¡¯s and Cantory¡¯s young age, Saint Edmund would rather they be friends so that he wouldn¡¯t have to swallow his pride all the time to beg others for help.

    In fact, Lin Li wasn¡¯t very picky when it came to making friends, and anyone, even an ordinary powerless person, could be his friend as long as they hit it off well. Otherwise, even if they were the lord of the Illuminati, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t take another nce at him.

    ¡°President Felic, judging from that magic scroll, you should have made another major breakthrough in your attainment in the field of inscription, right? I wonder if you¡¯re now somewhat certain and confident about the matter I spoke to you about previously,¡± Saint Edmund said as he put aside the regret in his heart, and broached the topic regarding the purpose of his visit.

    The matter that Saint Edmund was referring to was naturally the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, which they had talked about under Cursed Ind back then. Since Lin Li had promised to help them, he certainly wouldn¡¯t back out now. Hence, he indifferently said, ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re referring to that. Let me make things clear, I might have made some breakthroughs in the field of inscription, but I¡¯m still far from the Divine-Smith-level, and I can only vaguely grasp the mysteries within.¡±

    Lin Li was not being modest. Although Mount Tai could suppress Wild Whale Rabu, it was still far from the Immortal King¡¯s Divine-Smith-level mageweath. In fact, Lin Li had only studied a small portion of it, which was probably less than 1%. Hence, even if Lin Li created a mageweath that could speed up the resurrection of Aquilo ording to Edmund¡¯s request, it would still be impossible to really bring Aquilo back to life immediately.

    However, instead of looking disappointed, Saint Edmund was excited, and said, ¡°No problem, I believe that with your level of attainments in inscription, you¡¯d definitely be able to resurrect Saint Aquilo at least a few decades earlier than nned. That would be of great help to us.¡±

    ording to his initial estimation, it would take at least nearly a century to resurrect Saint Aquilo with the power of that holy relic. Although 100 years was nothing for the Illuminati that had already existed for thousands of years, it would naturally be best if they could halve that duration.

    Moreover, the senior members of the Illuminati had all sensed the recent changes that had urred in Anril. Although they were not sure what would happen to this world in the end, they could vaguely guess that it would definitely be something disastrous. Hence, it was unknown if they still had another 100 years to wait for Saint Aquilo to be resurrected.

    Edmund was once the follower of Saint Aquilo, and thus had a deep understanding of thetter¡¯s strength. He was well aware that it would undoubtedly be of great help to the Illuminati if Saint Aquilo could be resurrected once there were any changes in this world.

    Hearing Saint Edmund¡¯s words, Lin Li nodded, and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said so, I don¡¯t mind making a trip there. Saint Edmund, do you still remember the terms that we have agreed on?¡±

    When Lin Li had promised Edmund, he had once mentioned that he would help on the condition that he could read the Illuminati¡¯s canonical texts. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to read the canon that was used to fool others, but the original canon that only the higher-ups of the Illuminati could read, which involved all the secrets of the Illuminati since the beginning of its establishment.

    Although the original canon of the Illuminati involved much of the dark past of the Illuminati, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if Lin Li, an outsider, found out.

    After all, after being in operation for thousands of years, the faith of the Illuminati believers was strong enough not to be shaken easily. Even if Lin Li was aware of all the sordid things that they had done in the past, and began spreading it around, not many believers would be convinced by his words, because he was an outsider.

    Hence,pared to the resurrection of Holy Lord Aquilo, the risk of giving Lin Li their top canon was nothing. Hence, after hearing Lin Li mention that condition again, Saint Edmund grabbed a very ancient-looking book, and handed it to Lin Li without hesitation.

    The ancient-looking book was very thick, and there were probably more than 1,000 pages, making it suitable for being a pillow. The cover was made of white beast hide which had slightly yellowed over the years. There were tworge words written in gold at the top. Although the book was well-preserved, it had been thousands of years, after all, and some traces of wear and tear could be seen clearly on the pages.

    Besides, Lin Li could also sense that the book contained an extremely strong power of magic. Although it could not bepared to Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, it was still quite a powerful magic prop that was probably considered a holy artifact in the Illuminati. The Illuminati was willing to take out the original canon because they wanted to prove the authenticity of it, and also to express their sincerity.

    After Lin Li received the canon of the Illuminati, he naturally couldn¡¯t look through it seriously in front of Edmund. Hence, he merely flipped through two pages casually before cing it on the bedside table, and saying to Edmund, ¡°Good, I¡¯ll borrow this canon for a few days, go prepare the materials needed for the creation of the mageweath. We¡¯ll go to Cursed Ind in three days.¡±

    Although Lin Li had left his mental strength seal on Cursed Ind that would allow him to travel through space and reach it regardless of how it shifted, there were lots of peculiarities on that ind. Even though they had already explored it once, Lin Li felt that what he had explored was hardly beyond 1% of what it contained.

    Hence, in order to be safe, Lin Li decided to travel there through a conventional method. Otherwise, God knew what kind of consequences opening the spatial rift would lead to.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s agreement, Edmund and Zumar could not help but be pleasantly surprised. After exchanging some pleasantries with Lin Li and settling on the time to leave, they left with a list of materials that Lin Li had casually given them.

    Soon after Edmund and Zumar left, Lin Li returned to his room. Less than 15 minutester, someone came in to report that another person hade to visit. The visitor this time was Grand Duke Vidi, who had presided over the auction that had just ended.

    ¡°President Felic, I¡¯m really sorry, the magic scroll you created waspletely beyond our appraisal abilities. That¡¯s why I said it was a Master-level piece during the auction. I hope to seek your forgiveness. Fortunately, your magic scroll has also fetched a record-breaking price in the history of our auction. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t have the cheek to face you,¡± Grand Duke Vidi said, apologizing to Lin Li as soon as he saw him.

    It wasn¡¯t that Grand Duke Vidi was making a mountain out of a molehill. After all, inscribers often gave others the impression of being arrogant and aloof. Lin Li also showed that he wouldn¡¯t let himself suffer any losses after he arrived in the Gilded Kingdom. During the auction, Grand Duke Vidi actually called his magic scroll, which could suppress even Wild Whale Rabu, a Master-level piece. No inscriber would be able to tolerate that.

    Besides, the price of 400,000,000 gold coins was not really considered a staggering price for such an incredible magic scroll. If the people had been aware from the start that this magic scroll had the power to suppress such a high-level enemy like Wild Whale Rabu, many people would definitely have vied for it even if the price had been four billion gold coins.

    Hence, after Grand Duke Vidi heard about the suppression of Rabu, the joy he derived from the fact that the magic scroll had fetched a record-breaking price at the auction immediately vanished. Instead, he broke out in a cold sweat. Besides, he was very certain that he would be aughingstock because of the price of the magic scroll, which he was initially very proud of, after the incident that happened today was spread to the public. Well, it was an item that was worth billions of gold coins, and yet it was sold for only 400,000,000 gold coins. That was obviously an absolute joke.

    If others wanted to make a joke out of this, they could do so all they wanted as far as the grand duke was concerned. However, Grand Duke Vidi did not dare to pretend that nothing had happened in front of Lin Li. Besides, Bradlor had given Grand Duke Vidi a harsh scolding when he¡¯d summoned him previously, with no regards to the fact that he was the cash cow of the royals. Vidi could also sense that Bradlor was truly infuriated.

    Hence, while wiping the spit that Bradlor had rained on his face, Grand Duke Vidi urged the staff of the auction to rush to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk to apologize.

    Although the price of the magic scroll was considered low, Lin Li didn¡¯t take the scroll to the auction for the sake of getting some gold coins. In fact, he was even ready to see the magic scroll being auctioned off at a price of tens of thousands of gold coins. Besides, Grand Duke Vidi was right. Given the current standards of ordinary inscribers, it was basically impossible to identify the level of the magic scroll. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t me Grand Duke Vidi.

    After hearing Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s apology, Lin Li merely smiled calmly and pointed at the chair beside him. He said, ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, please have a seat. I put that magic scroll up for auction only because King Bradlor had asked me to. If I¡¯d really intended to exchange it for money, I could have found someone to bid for it with a higher price. So, you don¡¯t have to hold it against yourself.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li was speaking calmly, and didn¡¯t seem to have med him, Grand Duke Vidi secretly sighed with relief. He then took out a crystal card, and handed it to Lin Li with both hands with some guilt on his face while saying, ¡°President Felic, no matter what, we¡¯ve indeed made a mistake during the auction. This crystal card contains 400,000,000 gold coins, which is the proceeds from the auction, and an additional 100,000,000 gold coins, which is a form ofpensation from us. Although this is far from being enough forpensating for your losses, this is as much as we can withdraw now. If you¡¯d like, you may take a look at the treasures that we have in our treasure vault. We¡¯re willing topensate you with those collection items.¡±

    Logically speaking, when an item was sessfully auctioned at the auction, a portion of gold coins would have to be deducted from the sales proceeds asmission to be paid to the auctioneer. ording to themission percentage, the auction house would supposedly have raked in tens of millions of gold coins from the auction of the magic scroll.

    However, no matter how thick-skinned Grand Duke Vidi was, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to charge Lin Li anymission fees after having made such a grave mistake. After all, that magic scroll would have definitely fetched a staggering price of billions of gold coins if it had been sold during a public auction. This time, it had really been sold at a price that was way below its value.

    However, the auction house would not be able to afford to take out billions of gold coins topensate for Lin Li¡¯s loss even if the Gilded Kingdom emptied their treasury. Grand Duke Vidi could only afford to fork out 100,000,000 gold coins as a token of apology to Lin Li. He hoped that he could seek Lin Li¡¯s understanding, and even offered to furtherpensate him with the items of the auction house.

    The auction items that could be used as finale items would not appear at the auction of every single Sea Market. Hence, the auction house would usually put away some precious treasures and keep them in their collection in order to prepare for the situation where there were no items worthy of being a finale item.. Over the past several thousand years, they had definitely umted quite a considerable collection of treasures which were about as valuable as items that could be used for the finale pieces of their auctions.

 Chapter 1254 - Welcome With A Smile

    <h4>Chapter 1254: Wee With A Smile</h4>

    Lin Li no longer stood on ceremony, and took the crystal card. He said, ¡°Okay then, I will ept this crystal card, but I don¡¯t see the need to take an item from your collection. However, there¡¯s indeed something on my agenda that I haven¡¯t done yet.¡±

    Grand Duke Vidi thought that the matter would be over after he saw Lin Li epting the crystal card, but he didn¡¯t expect that Lin Li would reject his suggestion for Lin Li to take something from the auction item collection. He could tell that Lin Li probably had some other request, which made him really nervous, for he was afraid that Lin Li would raise some conditions that the Gilded Kingdom could not ept.

    However, it was impossible for him to turn Lin Li down. Grand Duke Vidi came here this time by order of King Bradlor, who demanded that the former try to improve the rtionship between the kingdom and Lin Li at all costs. Even though Vidi was well aware that Bradlor wasn¡¯t really going to ignore whatever consequences there might be, he still had to hear what Lin Li¡¯s request was.

    Thinking of this, Grand Duke Vidi seemed to be caught in a dilemma, and he cautiously asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, what do you have on your agenda? Please feel free to let me know if there is something that requires the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s help. We will definitely help you as long as it¡¯s within our means.¡±

    Grand Duke Vidi was very conscientious, and had deliberately brought up the Gilded Kingdom in his answer. Only the authorities of the Gilded Kingdom would know if it was within their means. In other words, if Lin Li¡¯s request was beyond the expectations of the Gilded Kingdom, they could use the excuse of being incapable of meeting it.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t take Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s intentions to heart, and simply nodded in acknowledgment, as if he couldn¡¯t tell what Grand Duke Vidi meant. He then said, ¡°Apart from the fact that I had been invited by the Gilded Kingdom, another reason that I¡¯m here is mainly to purchase a batch of ship cannons. I¡¯m sure the Gilded Kingdom is capable of selling the cannons to me. Also, please rest assured that I will pay as much as the cannons cost. I won¡¯t take advantage and shortchange you.¡±

    <i>Purchase cannons?</i> Grand Duke Vidi was aware that the Tower of Dusk had previously bought ship cannons from the Gilded Kingdom, and that the Gilded Kingdom had deliberately caused a huge dy in the order¡¯s fulfillment back then. However, at that time, the Gilded Kingdom regarded the Tower of Dusk as an enemy that would hamper their development in the Breezy ins. Hence, they naturally hadn¡¯t agreed to the deal resolutely.

    However, things were different now. When Grand Duke Vidi arrived, he heard King Bradlor say that he wanted to form good rtions with Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription, at all costs. In that case, selling some ship cannons to the Tower of Dusk was not quite big of a deal.

    Hence, Grand Duke Vidi once again sighed in relief after hearing that those were the only conditions Lin Li needed him to fulfill. Even if they had to give Lin Li a batch of ship cannons free of charge in exchange for the chance to get closer to Lin Li, who was a Guru of Inscription, the Gilded Kingdom would definitely be able to ept it. Besides, Lin Li had just said that he would be paying for it.

    Of course, even if this request was nothing to the Gilded Kingdom, Grand Duke Vidi could not really say it out loud. Instead, he thought about it while looking rather conflicted before answering, ¡°President Felic, it¡¯s actually not difficult for the Gilded Kingdom to sell some cannons to you, but the manufacturing process for the cannons is quite difficult, and even our fleet has only a small number of cannons in reserve. President Felic, how many Magic Crystal Cannons would you like to buy?¡±

    Grand Duke Vidi was afraid that Lin Li would ask for too much, so he told Lin Li of his side¡¯s difficulties. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to sell the magical crystal cannons to Lin Li, but rather that the Gilded Kingdom didn¡¯t have many in reserve for their own use, either. In his opinion, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t make the Gilded Kingdom sell him all the magical crystal cannons they had, regardless of how thick-skinned he might be.

    After hearing that, Lin Li smiled and gently touched the Ring of Endless Storm that he was wearing with his fingers. He said, ¡°Hah, Grand Duke Vidi, don¡¯t worry, I also heard from Elder Zumar and the others that the magical crystal cannons are quite difficult to transport due to their massive size. Hence, I¡¯ve already discussed it with them, and they said that they would sell me as many as I can transport.¡±

    Grand Duke Vidi waspletely relieved to hear that. The Magical Crystal Cannons were usually used as the main weapon on the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s giant alchemical battleships. Hence, they were naturally muchrger than ordinary ship cannons and ballistas. It could be said that Elder Zumar wasn¡¯t wrong when he said that even thergest cargo ships could transport at most only three to four Magical Crystal Cannons at a time.

    Although Grand Duke Vidi had seen <i>The Star</i> before, and knew that it could be called thergest of all battleships, it was the only battleship that the Tower of Dusk had. Even if they took up every inch of space in the ship, how many Magical Crystal Cannons could it fit? Of course, the Tower of Dusk could also spend money to charter some cargo ships, but even if they chartered 100rge cargo ships, they could at most transport a little more than 300 Magical Crystal Cannons at a time. The Gilded Kingdom did have a little more than 300 Magical Crystal Cannons to spare. Besides, Lin Li might not necessarily be able to find more than 100rge cargo ships to transport the cannons.

    ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re right. The Magical Crystal Cannons arerge, and ordinary cargo ships can at most fit two each, while thergest ones can fit three or four. When you were in the Breezy ins, the logistics issues had indeed made the transaction very troublesome. President Felic, why don¡¯t you let me know how many Magical Crystal Cannons you intend to purchase? If the transportation is inconvenient for you, we can provide you with some help.¡± Grand Duke Vidi knew that Lin Li couldn¡¯t transport that many Magical Crystal Cannons at once, so he generously offered to help. Of course, there was still a limit as to the help they could give Lin Li, and it mainly depended on how many Lin Li actually wanted to purchase.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy as many as I can fit in my storage space. Grand Duke Vidi, you don¡¯t have a problem with that, do you?¡± Of course, Lin Li wasn¡¯t going to reveal the number of Magical Crystal Cannons that he intended to buy. God knew how many the Gilded Kingdom had in stock. Given the enormous capacity of the Ring of Endless Storm, he would have no problem loading all the battleships of the Gilded Kingdom into it, let alone just some Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Grand Duke Vidi would never be able to guess that Lin Li had an incredible item like the Ring of Endless Storm, and he merely instinctively felt that something was wrong, though he couldn¡¯t put a finger on it. He simply thought that he had been reading too much into it, and thus nodded resolutely. ¡°Alright, in that case, I will not persuade you further. You maye to me when it¡¯s convenient for you, I¡¯ll take you to collect those Magical Crystal Cannons.¡±

    Although they had onlye to a verbal agreement without writing the terms down in the form of a contract, Lin Li believed that the Gilded Kingdom would not go back on their word and back out. After all, their attitude was clear. Lin Li could tell that they were obviously trying to butter him up.

    Besides, once the Magical Crystal Cannons were loaded into the Ring of Endless Storm, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to make Lin Li take them out again. In this case, even if Lin Li took away all the Magical Crystal Cannons, they would have no choice but to suck it up and ept it.

    After agreeing on the matter of the Magical Crystal Cannons and a simple exchange of words, Grand Duke Vidi stood up with a gleeful expression, and bade farewell to Lin Li. In his opinion, since he had made up for his mistake at the auction and reached an agreement with Lin Li regarding the Magical Crystal Cannons, he should havepleted the task that King Bradlor had given him.

    After sending Grand Duke Vidi away, they received several batches of guests again in the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li was familiar with some of them, such as Sendros, Englos, Prince Jeremiah, and Prince Johnathan, as well as the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins. There were also some whom Lin Li wasn¡¯t familiar with, such as Elder Ronald of the Jellyfish n and Prince Manson of the Thunder Eel n, both of whom were from forces of the Endless Ocean.

    Lin Li was not an unfriendly person, so he weed his visitors smilingly without putting on airs, unlike most inscribers who were often lofty and arrogant. That made the visitors, especially those who had not known Lin Li prior to this, have a good impression of him.

    After all, what they originally heard about Lin Li were his notorious acts of brutally putting the Gilded Kingdom to shame, which made them think that Lin Li was ill-tempered and difficult to get along with. However, after this brief interaction, they felt that Lin Li waspletely different from what the stories and rumors made him out to be.

    In fact, Lin Li was the type to treat those who respected him with even greater respect. He would never put on airs in front of those who expressed goodwill to him, even though he was powerful enough to just disregard them. As for those who liked provoking him and inviting trouble, Lin Li would never mind using some ruthless means to teach them a lesson.

    Lin Li spent three days receiving guests and seeing them off over and over again. The magic scroll that could suppress Wild Whale Rabu had allowed Lin Li to rise to great fame in the Gilded Kingdom. Besides, due to the fact that the Sea Market was open during this period of time, the forces of various sizes from the Endless Ocean, and even the entire Anril, were gathered there. After the Sea Market ended, Lin Li would conceivably be a household name in Anril.

    Three dayster, Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar came to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk again to inform Lin Li that they had made all the preparations, and were ready to set off to the Cursed Ind again.

    Since he had already agreed, Lin Li didn¡¯t find any excuse to procrastinate, and instead first checked the inscription materials that Saint Edmund had brought over. The Illuminati had been in operation for thousands of years, so they naturally had plenty of good items in their collection. Besides, the Sea Market was being held during this period of time, so even if theycked something, they could find it easily at the Sea Market.

    Besides, the quality of these inscription materials could be considered the best, and they even included two full bottles of magical ink produced by the Octopus n, which was condensed with the power of the Octopus n¡¯s bloodline. It was just as important as blood was to a human. Generally, it would be difficult to purchase such magical ink at the Sea Market, not to mention one that contained the magical wave of the Sanctuary-realm.

    After checking, Lin Li found that the inscription materials were to his satisfaction, and there was nothing wrong with the processing, either. Thus, he said to Saint Edmund, ¡°These things are not too bad. There aren¡¯t any problems with them, we can set off now.¡±

    Saint Edmund couldn¡¯t help but be nervous when Lin Li was checking the materials. After all, he did not have high attainments in the field of inscription like Lin Li did, so he didn¡¯t know whether the things he had prepared were suitable for use or not. However, when he saw Lin Li nodding, he finally heaved a sigh of relief, and suppressed the joy within him before calmly saying, ¡°President Felic, we are relieved to hear that there are no issues with the materials.¡±

    After some discussion, they decided to travel to the Cursed Ind by boat. With the Sanctuary-level power of Lin Li, Edmund, and the others, it would be much faster to fly there directly, but they hadn¡¯t explored the ind fully, and so no one knew if there were really no more powerful enemies there.

    Although Lin Li did not care about the depletion of mana, because he had a massive amount of mana, not everyone was as powerful as him. If they all flew there directly and ran into opponents that were at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, such as the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, they would be in huge trouble.

    Of course, there was no need for them to split up and go there in separate vessels this time, because with <i>The Star</i> around, Lin Li could just have the Illuminati¡¯s team on board with him as he made his way there.

    In addition to the Sanctuary powerhouses Edmund and Zumar, Priest Richard of the Chaos Sanctuary was also part of the Illuminati¡¯s team. Richard could be considered the direct subordinate of Saint Edmund, and his strength was at the peak of the Legendary-realm. This time, the Illuminati¡¯s team was not asrge as the one that headed to the ind the other time. Although there were only 40-odd members, they all had Legendary-level strength.

    On the other hand, Lin Li told Norfeller and Ujfalusi to stay behind, and took Connoris, Angno, as well as the mages of the Mage Legion with him instead. Ujfalusi was still working on the Ice Phoenix¡¯s corpse, while Norfeller was secretly watching the auction¡¯s vicinity for the Bellerophon¡¯s Coral Staff.

    However, even without these two Undead servants, Lin Li still had greatbat power. Although Connoris was still a tiny step away from the Sanctuary-realm, he would have no problem dealing with ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses. Meanwhile, Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus was now equipped with the Divine Sea Pir, which gave him a considerable increase in strength even when he was in the sea. As for the mages, they were all Legendary-mages who were on par with, if not stronger than, the Illuminati¡¯s team.

    Soon, the massive sea fortress, <i>The Star</i>, once again set sail away from Helena Port, and sailed at full speed towards the waters around the Cursed Ind.

    Since Lin Li had left his mental strength seal there, he wasn¡¯t afraid that he would lose track of the ind as it drifted around this time. After over 10 days, they arrived at the ind again.

    After stepping onto the ind, both teams started rushing toplete their goal without further dy. Along the way, they indeed had previously encountered the interference of some magical beasts, but those magical beasts were simply courting death by attacking them. In fact, the only thing that gave them trouble thest time they were there was the Ice Phoenix.

 Chapter 1255 - Mageweath

    <h4>Chapter 1255: Mageweath</h4>

    It only took both the teams half a day to reach the massive bottomless crypt in the center of the ice ind. Just like the other time they were there, the mages in Lin Li¡¯s team took out their magic wings. However, Lin Li did not ignore the Illuminati¡¯s team this time, and even gave Saint Edmund a batch of magic wings.

    With this batch of magic wings, the Illuminati was no longer as disheveled as they had been when theynded in the crypt previously. However, even so, the two teams took a few days to reach the bottom from the top. After all, the crypt had a huge depth, and even if they were free-falling, it would take some time to reach the bottom. Besides, they had to deliberately control the speed of descent.

    The first thing that the teams saw was the gilded pce in the middle which resembled the sun, but this time, it was no longer blocked by the light-winged angels. The rays of light were just a little dazzling. After entering the pce, groups of Abyssal Demons began to appear one after another. Perhaps, they hadn¡¯t wiped out all of the demons the previous time, or there was something in the pce that could summon demons from the Endless Abyss.

    However, regardless of what kind of Abyssal Demons they were, they wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to the two teams. The teams simply bulldozed through, leaving behind the flesh of demons all over the ground. However, they entered the pce quietly. As for the magic gears and magic traps in the pce, Angno had already cracked them and opened up a path for them, so they wouldn¡¯t hamper the team¡¯s progress.

    It was almost a smooth way, and the two teams arrived at the crypt that was deep in the pce. They once again looked for the rift that had once been guarded by a Titan before passing through the ruins of the ancient city, and finally entered the well lit desert.

    Upon arriving, the teams finally slowed down. Under Lin Li and Saint Edmund¡¯s orders, they got on standby and continued advancing towards the desert. They were well aware that even if they came to explore once more, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of all the magical beasts here. There were even Abyssal Demons that seemed infinite in number in the pce.

    Sure enough, as the two teams delved deeper, the poisonous scorpions of therge desert began to appear continuously. They would usually hide in the sand and conceal their magical waves. When there was prey passing by, they would emerge and attack their prey.

    Perhaps because the incarnation of the Serpent of Light, which used to upy the desert, was no longer around, the number of desert scorpions alone was more than 10 times greater than thest time the two factions had been there. If they let their guard down just because they had explored it once, they would really have to pay a huge price for it.

    However, the good thing was that the poisonous desert scorpions were the only ones there, and terrifying existences like the incarnation of the Serpent of Light no longer appeared. Saint Edmund and Zumar only knew that the Radiant-winged Giant Python was a Sanctuary-level magical beast of the desert, so they were secretly thankful for their good luck.

    Lin Li naturally knew that the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness were used by the true deities to stabilize their Divine Kingdoms, and were much rarer in this world than any ancient magical beast or prehistoric mutant magical beasts. Previously, the incarnation of the Serpent of Light had managed to survive in the power of the light radiated from the Ancient God of Light only by chance. It was impossible for a second one to appear.

    Along the way, the teams killed lots of desert magical beasts, and finally arrived at the seven spiked monuments. Under the suppression of the monuments, the Ancient God of Light seemed to have detected their presence, and once again began moving. However, this time, Edmund and his team had already made their preparations, and High Priest Poer didn¡¯t tag along this time.

    When Lin Li saw that the Ancient God of Light wanted to create trouble again, he immediately secretly made several magical gestures, after which dazzling rays of light emerged from the monuments. Immediately afterwards, whips made of condensed light were flung hard towards the mass of light in the middle of the monuments. Although they couldn¡¯t hear anything, the people outside could guess the immense pain and misery of beingshed by the light whips.

    The members of the Illuminati who had followed Edmund over were the core members of the Chaos Sanctuary, and seemed to have been alerted previously. Hence, when they saw the Ancient God of Light that the Illuminati believed in being suppressed and abused, they did not say anything, even though they were clearly astonished.

    This time, their purpose was not to attack the Ancient God of Light, so they didn¡¯t stay there for long. After leaving the seven monuments, the teams continued to proceed deeper into the desert, soon finding their way to the temple where the founding saint, Lord Aquilo, was at.

    The mage legion of the Tower of Dusk and the Illuminati¡¯s team were made to stay on guard outside the temple. The experience they had when they had arrived allowed them to learn that even though it was their second time here, this ce was still full of uncertainty and danger. Saint Edmund didn¡¯t want to see the mageweath that Lin Li created slip up at such a critical moment.

    Lin Li walked alone into the crumbling temple, and arrived at the center where Aquilo was. At this moment, Aquilo lookedrgely simr to the way he did before they left previously. After all, only a few days had passed. The Illuminati¡¯s holy artifact, the Eye of Light, which was on Aquilo¡¯s body was now emitting a faint glow that was engulfing Aquilo¡¯s body.

    It could be seen that although the power of the Eye of Light was constantly repairing Aquilo¡¯s body, it was doing so at an extremely slow speed. At such a slow rate of recovery, Aquilo¡¯s body would at least take 100-odd years to be healedpletely, and even longer for resurrection and his mobility to be restored.

    Lin Li observed the surroundings, and then waved his hand forward, after which several human-sized tornadoes appeared in space. The small tornadoes revolved around Aquilo¡¯s body, and cleared away the surrounding debris on the ground in the blink of an eye.

    Not only did the small tornadoes clean up the mess on the ground, they even polished the ground. Apart from where Aquilo was seated, the surrounding ground simply seemed to be as smooth and t as a mirror.

    After all, the mageweath that Lin Li created this time would be near the Divine-Smith-level. Even with his current attainments in the field of inscription, it was impossible for him to draw a mageweath of such a high level as easily as he would an elementary mageweath. Therefore, first of all, he needed a t ne that would not affect the mageweath in any way.

    After the small tornadoes dissipated, Lin Li took out the inscription materials prepared by the Illuminati. Although the materials had already been processed, he had to mix them further in order for them to be used for creating the mageweath. As with the mixing of colors for paintings, the creation of mageweaths required the consideration of every single magic circuit, mageweath symbol, and their corresponding effects on the mageweath in order to deduce the type of materials that were required to be matched with them.

    Of course, after the research Lin Li had done on the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he now had a good idea of how to mix and match the materials without having to spend too much time on calctions. After putting all the arranged materials in ce, he immediately started to prepare the special ink for the drawing of the mageweath.

    The basis of this special ink was naturally the Sanctuary-level octopus ink, which was probably second to none in the entire Anril. Lin Li divided the two bottles of ink into 24 portions, each of which had to be mixed with a specialbination of materials. If Lin Li was a Divine Smith inscriber, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have to go through such trouble, as he would be able to turn even the mostmon ink into the right ink as he wished. However, Lin Li had to adopt such a somewhat tedious approach in order to draw a mageweath that was close to the Divine-Smith-level.

    After dividing the ink, Lin Li immediately began to quickly prepare the ink. He added various materials to the Octopus n¡¯s ink in various doses. As he moved, the ink, too, gradually began to emit unique magical waves and various colorful magical lights.

    It took more than an hour for Lin Li to finally finish concocting 24 different types of ink. Of course, to ordinary inscribers, his speed could be considered incredible and godly. The preparation of inscription ink was simr to the concoction of potions as both processes involved the mixing of a variety of properties belonging to the materials and a careful control of the timing and technique. However, when Lin Li was preparing them, he seemed to have done it without taking a second look at what he was mixing. He seemed to be doing it with greater ease than a bartender mixing a cocktail.

    After preparing the ink, Lin Li began to officially draw the mageweath. He gently dipped the crystal pen in one of the portions of ink, and the bright red liquid was immediately sucked into the cavity of the pen. Lin Li then continuously shed past Aquilo and around him like a phantom, while various mageweath patterns and magic symbols appeared on the t and smooth ground.

    The mageweath that Lin Li was now going to create was, strictly speaking, already considered a demigod-level mageweath as it seemed to be a little beyond the Guru-level, but below the Divine-Smith-level. However, simply in terms ofplexity alone, this mageweath was of a much higher level than the Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

    After all, Lin Li had yet to be a Divine Smith, so even if he was trying to use his Guru-level knowledge of mageweaths to exin Divine-Smith-levelws, he would need to have arge amount of information. That was the difference between the Guru-level and Divine-Smith-level, which was tantamount to using a huge quantitative change to exin a qualitative change.

    What Lin Li drew was not just a simple mageweath, but one that was created by using arge amount of inscription knowledge to analyze thews of the Divine-Smith-level. If a highlypetent Guru of Inscription were toe over, he would definitely be able toprehend plenty of rare inscription knowledge from the mageweaths.

    As Lin Li drew, a huge andplex mageweath began to gradually take shape on the ground. It was actually a mageweath array made up of 24 mageweaths, but unlike the All-Kill Array of the Tower of Dusk, the 24 mageweaths werepletely different from each other.

    Drawing a mageweath array was not as simple as drawing more than 10 mageweaths and putting them together. Such a simple method would not form an array. Drawing a mageweath array required the consideration of the influence that one mageweath would have on the other mageweaths that it was put together with and vice versa, as well as the connection between mageweaths.

    Hence, in Anril, inscribers were rare, and Masters of Inscription were even rarer, while Masters of Inscription who could draw Mageweath arrays were few and far between. When the Tower of Dusk had been established, the inscriber of the Supreme Council, Moke, who had drawn the mageweaths for the Tower of Dusk, had been greatly frightened by Lin Li¡¯s All-Kill Array, which was actually just a simple mageweath array.

    Mageweath arrays were rare because of the high difficulty of drawing. The first mageweath to be drawn was naturally just an ordinary mageweath that could be drawn easily, but when drawing the second, one would have to consider its influence on the first mageweath. Likewise, when drawing the third, one would have to consider its influence on the first and second mageweaths, and so on. Thus, it could be said that every time a mageweath was added to the mageweath array, the difficulty of drawing another mageweath and expanding the array further would rise exponentiallypared to drawing the one preceding it.

    The All-Kill Array of the Tower of Dusk was just a mageweath arrayposed of 10 mageweaths, but it was already enough to shock Moke, the inscriber of the Supreme Council, to the point of being speechless. What Lin Li was going to draw now, however, was a mageweath arrayposed of 24 mageweaths, whose difficulty level could be considered to be beyond the level of mortals.

    Even with his peak-Guru-level attainments in inscription, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but start slowing down after drawing 10 mageweaths. Compared to the All-Kill Array, the mageweath array he was drawing now not only had a muchrger number of mageweaths, the level of each mageweath was also far higher than with those of the All-Kill Array. After all, what he was trying to do now was to surpass the level of mortals like himself, and try to touch the level of the Divine Smith. He also wanted to steal some of the power of the deities through the Divine-Smith-level.

    At this critical moment, Edmund and Zumar, who were already Sanctuary powerhouses, couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious and apprehensive as they stood outside the wrecked temple. If they hadn¡¯t been worried about disturbing Lin Li, Edmund and Zumar would have really charged inside immediately and watched Lin Liplete the mageweath with their very own eyes.

    Especially with the passage of time, some visions gradually appeared in the nearby space, and the magical elements began to fluctuate vigorously. Arge amount of elements of light began surging towards the temple. In the beginning, the elements of light were surging rather slowly like a mild breeze, but they gradually seemed to be a light wind, which subsequently escted to wind that surged from all directions and picked up speed.

 Chapter 1256 - Humanoid Worms

    Chapter 1256: Humanoid Worms

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The visions made Edmund and Zumar feel even more troubled. They continuously craned their necks and looked inside the temple. Although they could not see anything, they couldn¡¯t control their thoughts and kept looking over as if it was the only thing that would put them at ease, only to be disappointed...

    However, by the time the elements of light were almost surging like a gale, there was a sudden movementing from the temple, which finally attracted the attention of Saint Edmund and Zumar.

    Immediately afterwards, a group of extremely strange-looking creatures began dashing over from an area that they hadn¡¯t explored previously. Each of the creatures had an upper body that was simr to humans and a lower body that resembled a big, fat worm, as well as arms that were like the scythes of praying mantises. Although they didn¡¯t have legs, and could only move forward by wriggling their bodies, they were not any slower than other beasts. Instead, each of them had Legendary-level power.

    Even Saint Edmund couldn¡¯t identify what creatures they were, though he knew that they definitely had hostile intentions. Hence, he immediately instructed his team to get into battle formation.

    The mages of the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t rx at all since they arrived. After all, the one who had been drawing the mageweath was their president, Lin Li. Hence, after seeing the monsters, the mages barely reacted, and werepletely unaffected by the monsters¡¯ appearance. They were behaving the same as they did when facing human enemies.

    The humanoid worms were like knights that were about to charge as they dashed towards the Illuminati¡¯s and Tower of Dusk¡¯s team without showing any signs of stopping. At the same time, their pairs of scythe-like forearms swung out in unison towards the two teams, shooting out des immediately.

    However, an attack of such a level was simply insignificant to the Illuminati and the Tower of Dusk. Not to mention Sanctuary powerhouses like Edmund and Zumar, even their teams wouldn¡¯t be hurt by it.

    Firstly, the mages of the Tower of Dusk raised their magic staffs in unison, after which a thick ice wall that was several meters high instantly appeared in front of the two teams, blocking the Wind de Attacks of the humanoid worms. Next, the mages in the second row also raised their staffs while chanting a few short magic incantations. In an instant, numerous basin-sized fireballs fell from the sky like a meteor shower before sting at the humanoid worms.

    Logically speaking, the humanoid worms should have something to fall back on since they hade charging so aggressively. After the mages of the mage legion cast their magic spells, they didn¡¯t expect it to cause much damage to the humanoid worms. However, to their surprise, when the fireballsnded on the humanoid worms, they lit all 100-odd of them afire like sparks touching a pot of hot oil. Even those that didn¡¯t get struck by the fireballs failed to escape.

    Dumbstruck, both teams looked in front of them, only to see that the humanoid worms were all engulfed by mes and struggling vigorously, looking like moving torches. In just a few minutes, the group of humanoid worms fell silent, and the mes went out, revealing numerous piles of charred ash.

    ¡°What exactly are these things? How dare they charge at us when they¡¯re so pathetically weak?!¡± Connoris was in disbelief as he¡¯d initially thought that he could have the chance to have a good fight, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to end just like that.

    On the other hand, Edmund and Elder Zumar, too, felt that there was something strange about the situation, even though they were relieved that the battle had ended very quickly. After all, they had just faced hundreds of Legendary powerhouses. Even if they were just Legendary-level magical beasts, the two teams shouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat them so easily.

    However, immediately afterwards, an evenrger group of humanoid worms emerged from the same ce that the previous one hade out of. Unlike the previous group, the newly emerged humanoid worms were all lined up neatly in formation like a standard military squad. Among them, there were a few that were muchrger and stronger than the rest, and seemed to be the leaders.

    Seeing that more enemies had appeared, the mages of the Tower of Dusk raised their staffs andunched several attack spells before the worms coulde close. Just like before, theyunched countless fireballs that sted at the humanoid worms, almost enveloping all of them within the range of attack.

    However, this time, those fireballs didn¡¯t set the humanoid worms ame as easily as they¡¯d managed to the previous time. This time, the aftershock of the explosions had merely affected the battle formation of some humanoid worms, and while those that had been struck by the fireballs did sustain injuries, they were not fatal. The sparks that sttered onto the other humanoid worms immediately bounced off them andnded on the ground. The mages didn¡¯t achieve the same battle results as before.

    They¡¯re humanoid worms all the same, just a different batch. Yet, they¡¯ve developed immunity to the damage done by fire elemental magic? Saint Edmund and the others all found it incredible, but the circumstances left them with no chance to carefully search for answers. The humanoid worms¡¯ squad had already rushed in front of the two teams while resisting the attack spells.

    At this point, there was no time for bewilderment. The teams of the Illuminati and the Tower of Dusk immediately began fighting the humanoid worms intensely.

    Although the two teams were taken aback by the humanoid worms¡¯ immunity to fire elemental magic spells, they soon discovered that ice elemental magic would do extremely high damage to the humanoid worms too, as if they had zero immunity to ice elemental magic.

    Hence, shortly after the intense battle began, the Illuminati¡¯s and Tower of Dusk¡¯s team were the only ones left standing, while the humanoid worms had all turned into corpses with badly mangled flesh that was covered in broken ice bits.

    Before the members of both teams could catch their breath, another group of humanoid worms came charging over again from the same direction as just now. Having gained some experience, the mages of the Tower of Dusk did notunch meteor-like fireballs at the humanoid worms, and instead chose tounch Frozen Orbs that revolved and scattered icicles incessantly.

    However, the humanoid worms this time turned out to have be immune to ice element magic spells again. The Frozen Orbs were already a Legendary-level advanced offensive spell. Yet, it failed to cause much damage to the humanoid worms. The mages then recast the fireballs, but just like before, they didn¡¯t manage to cause serious damage to the humanoid worms.

    At this point, Edmund and others seemed to have made a conjecture that the humanoid worms had the ability to learn from experience and physically evolve to adapt. The first batch of humanoid worms that appeared had zero immunity to fire elemental magic spells, but the second batch had it. However, the second batch proved to be susceptible to ice elemental magic spells. Yet, the third batch was immune to both fire and ice elemental magic spells. They reckoned that it probably wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

    Indeed, just as Edmund and the others had guessed, as each batch of humanoid worms emerged and got annihted, the difficulty of destroying each of the subsequent batches became higher than with the one preceding it. Atst, the batch of humanoid worms that appeared in front of them looked drastically different from the first batch of humanoid worms. The bodies of the humanoid worms were initially cream-colored, but they had now be colorful, and were donning hard armor. The armor had not only provided high immunity to various types of magic, it also strengthened their physical defense.

    At this moment, the teams of the Illuminati and the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t fight with as much ease as before. While the attack spells had caused some damage to the humanoid worms, whose level of immunity against magic was still limited after all, the results were worlds apart from those of the first battle. Some of the members of the Illuminati¡¯s team were Legendary-level Sword Sages, and their attacks were the cause of the newly added armor on the humanoid worms¡¯ bodies. However, if the humanoid worms were struck in their fatal spots, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape death.

    However, the battle was much more arduous and difficult than before. After all, the humanoid worms were all at the Legendary-level and above. The leaders who hadrger bodies had even reached the mid-Legendary-level. Some general-level humanoid worms that had already reached the Sanctuary-realm also appeared.

    The humanoid worms managed to evolve so drastically within the short span of just a few hours. Edmund and the others couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing at all. Even the powerful magical beasts had gone through more than 10,000 years of evolution to be as strong as they were now, yet the humanoid worms managed to shorten the evolutionary process to just a few hours, which simply seemed unrealistic.

    However, the truth was that the weaklings that they had fought just a few hours ago had now gained a massive spurt in their strength, as if they were on steroids. The mages of the Tower of Dusk had it slightly easier because they were using the Magic Net Array to resist against the attacks, but the Illuminati¡¯s team was in a much more wretched state.

    Connoris was the most excited one in this situation because he thought that a battle would be meaningful only if it was challenging enough. He felt that the one-sided battles that they had fought just now were aplete waste of time and effort. Instead of using the Eternal Frost de, he swung his fists and charged towards the humanoid worms. He then began fighting them using the most basic martial arts techniques that warriors mastered, such as punches and kicks.

    However, Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar didn¡¯t join the battle. Instead, they kept a close watch on the crumbling temple for fear that someone or something might barge in and disturb Lin Li. Moreover, they had already seen a noticeable change in the surrounding space during the battle. Clearly, Lin Li had reached the critical point of drawing the mageweath.

    At this moment, the elements of light in the space had formed several rivers of light that gushed into the depths of the temple from all directions. Under the influence of the light, the brightly lit space had also be much dimmer.. The spot where the Ancient God of Light was being suppressed wasn¡¯t too bad, but the spot where the humanoid worms were emerging from had be so dark that it looked like it was almost dusk.

 Chapter 1257 - Letéˆ¥æªš Begin

    <h4>Chapter 1257: Let¡¯s Begin</h4>

    Due to the fact that the Ancient God of Light was suppressed there, the entire space was filled with light that came from the ubiquitous elements of light, so much so that every single corner was well lit. In fact, the people who came here were all enveloped in light too, so none of them had shadows.

    However, with Lin Li¡¯s progress in drawing the mageweath, arge number of elements of light gathered in the temple. There wasn¡¯t a sun in this space, and since the elements of light had been attracted to the temple, the areas where elements of light were scarce naturally became dimmer too.

    After arge number of elements of magic were gathered in the temple where Aquilo was located, it no longer looked as worn-down as before, as the entire temple was shrouded in a bright and dazzling light, creating an extremely sacred atmosphere. Hence, only two spots in this space were left shining brightly, one being the ce where the Ancient God of Light was being suppressed by the seven monuments, and the other the crumbling temple that was absorbing arge number of elements of light.

    When the elements of light in the space were absorbed to a certain extent, a few of the rivers of light hanging above the temple also became sparser. Only the river of light that came out of the Ancient God of Light was still as bright as before. It seemed as if a chain of light had connected the Ancient God of Light to this temple.

    That situation had once again caused the Ancient God of Light to struggle. No one was willing to be someone else¡¯s mana source, let alone the Ancient God of Light that used to be almost invincible. However, the seven monuments that the Immortal King had left behind thoroughly suppressed the Ancient God of Light. Regardless of how the Ancient God of Light struggled, it couldn¡¯t shake them at all.

    The Ancient God of Light¡¯s reaction was somewhat simr to that of the humanoid worms that had appeared out of nowhere. It seemed that therge depletion of elements of light had brought about a considerable impact on the humanoid worms, causing them to turn berserk. Before they disappeared, another batch of humanoid worms emerged from the direction that they came from. There was even a massive body that resembled a hill at their back.

    After the numerous evolutions, the humanoid worms had already disyed considerable strength in battle against the two teams. Yet, more appeared now, and there was even one that seemed to be the boss of the humanoid worms, making Edmund and the others tense up.

    The massive humanoid worm at the back seemed somewhat simr to the ones that had first appeared. It had a giant-like upper body and a white fat, fleshy lower body that resembled a worm. However, there was still a difference between this one and the rest. It had eight pairs of enormous eyes that were neatly arranged in two rows, an extremely unsettling sight.

    ¡°This big guy is mine!¡± Connoris had long gotten sick of fighting against the ordinary humanoid worms because that was no longer satisfying for him. Although all the other humanoid worms had already evolved, their capabilities and strength were far inferior.

    Despite being a former ancient demon deity who had once mastered deceit and conspiracy, Connoris chose to fight with brute force like a barbarian this time because he wanted to break through to the Sanctuary-realm through the battle as soon as possible, and not just to satisfy his sadistic desire to kill. However, the ordinary humanoid worms could barely provide much help to him. Instead, it was the boss-level figure that had enticed him.

    The mana fluctuations around the massive humanoid worm had already reached the Sanctuary-level or the middle of it. For Connoris, he was the perfect opponent that could really hone his skills and catalyze the fusion of the perfect body with himself.

    After greeting Edmund and the others, Connoris waved his hand and summoned the Eternal Frost de, after which his body darted out from the battling group, and charged towards the massive humanoid worm.

    Angno, who had been hiding at the back of the group, began to lose hisposure when he saw the humanoid worms surging over like a tidal wave. He was terrified of death, and the reason he tagged along this time was that he didn¡¯t think it would be dangerous, because he had already had prior experience.

    However, given the current situation, Angno felt a lot less confident. He even regretted tagging along with Lin Li, but there was no time to regret now, and he knew very well that the more important thing was to keep himself safe. By the time the humanoid worms swarmed over, he would no longer have the opportunity to summon the Alchemy Colossus.

    At the thought of this, Angno didn¡¯t dare to dy at all, and he hurriedly chanted an incantation to activate the Summoning Array. As he did so, arge Alchemy Colossus soon appeared in the empty space in front of him as the ground that was covered by the Alchemy Array seemed to have turned into a puddle of water while a massive alchemical statue gradually emerged from below.

    His Alchemy Colossus had now been equipped with the Divine Sea Pir that Lin Li had bought previously, causing faint blue light and patterns to appear on the surface of the entire Alchemy Colossus. Moreover, due to the massive power of the Divine Sea Pir, the Alchemy Colossus was also faintly emitting a wisp of Sanctuary-level aura.

    The Divine Sea Pir itself was condensed from a type of oceanw, and was simr to Lin Li¡¯s debris of the stars. Although the power of the Divine Sea Pir was not as pure and incredible as that of the debris of the stars, it was also considered quite rare in Anril.

    The enhancement of the Divine Sea Pir might not allow the Alchemy Colossus to immediately reach the Sanctuary-realm, but it was enough to allow its power to contain a trace of Sanctuary-level power. That trace was not to be belittled, and it was already a qualitative change in powerpared to the power below the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin now, let¡¯s kill these disgusting worms!¡± Angno eximed from inside the Alchemy Colossus. He gained a lot of confidence once he was in the Alchemy Colossus, and he smashed the spear in his hand, which resembled a giant pir, against the humanoid worms.

    After evolving again and again, the humanoid worms had gained resistance to all types of magic, and even obtained a powerful physical defense. However, they were limited by their gic foundation, after all, and the resistance they obtained would still be limited. For example, the attack of the Alchemy Colossus was purely a suppression by force, and there was no magic involved at all. Regardless of how hard their outer shell had be, they would only end up getting crushed.

    Although the Alchemy Colossus had yet to reach the Sanctuary-level, its destructive power was still extremely terrifying when its physical size grew to a certain extent. Under Angno¡¯s maniption, the Alchemy Colossus showed its prowess, and crushed 10-odd humanoid worms with the terrifying gigantic sword. Immediately afterwards, the Alchemy Colossus stepped to the side, and stomped its massive foot of steel on the humanoid worms, crushing yet another 10 or so to death.

    Initially, Edmund and Zumar had already begun contemting if they should join the fight, but after seeing Angno¡¯s performance, they immediately suppressed the idea. To them, the most important thing was to guard against any enemies rushing into the temple lest they disturbed Lin Li, who was drawing a mageweath.

    Of course, Edmund and Zumar could not help but be taken aback by the massive power that the Alchemy Colossus had disyed. After all, in the opinion of most people, an Alchemy Colossus was an inanimate object no matter what, and couldn¡¯t possiblyprehend and master anyws like truly sentient living beings could. Hence, they thought that reaching the Legendary-level in strength by umtion was already the limit, and it was simply impossible to break through to the Sanctuary-realm like that. However, Edmund and Zumar could now clearly sense a trace of Sanctuary-level power from the Alchemy Colossus, which was somewhat contrary to what they knew.

    Of course, given Edmund and Zumar¡¯s ability, they had already felt the aura of the Divine Sea Pir, contained in the power of the Alchemy Colossus. However, it would be impossible to fully exert the power of the Sanctuary-realm unless one had a corresponding Sanctuary-level ability to control. Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus had truly exerted the power of the Sanctuary-realm, even though it was only a trace of it.

    However, Edmund and Zumar soon thought of Lin Li and the magic scroll that could suppress Wild Whale Rabu. It was just a magic scroll, and yet it could already exert the power of the Divine-realm. Thus, he had to be capable of making an Alchemy Colossus exude Sanctuary-level power!

    At the thought of that, Edmund and Zumar felt much more confident in Lin Li who was drawing mageweaths in the temple, and were full of expectations.

    At this moment, Lin Li had indeed reached a very critical moment in drawing the mageweath inside the temple, just everyone else thought. He had alreadypleted 20 out of the 24 mageweaths required, and although there were only four mageweaths left to draw, he was only halfway through the process considering the efforts and difficulty involved in drawing thest four mageweaths.

    The 20 mageweaths that he had already drawn had just begun to exert their power, and were constantly injecting the absorbed elements of light into the Eye of Light. They then manipted the Eye of Light to filter out the marks that originally belonged to the Ancient God of Light before using the Power of Light to cleanse Aquilo¡¯s body.

    In fact, Lin Li could already stop at this juncture because a mageweath array formed by the 20 mageweaths wouldpletely be capable of speeding up the resurrection of Aquilo. However, Lin Li was not satisfied. Since his original n was to create a mageweath arrayposed of 24 mageweath arrays, he had toplete it regardless of how difficult it might be.

    At this time, Lin Li¡¯s drawing had slowed down, and almost every inch and tiny magic symbol of the mageweath would require him tomit all his energy to drawing. Although he wasn¡¯t sweating much, he had a grave expression, and he was extremely careful with each movement.

    In fact, the difficulty of drawing a mageweath arrayposed of 24 ordinary mageweaths was already unimaginable, not to mention that of drawing 24 mageweaths to form a mageweath array that was close to the Divine-Smith-level. Although Lin Li had attainments that were at the peak of the Guru-level in inscription, had studied the mageweaths left by the Immortal King for some time, and even used the Mount Tai magic scroll to prove and put to test what he had learned, he still had to be very careful with the mageweath that would speed up the resurrection of Aquilo.

    Each additional mageweath would double the power of the mageweath array, and once hepleted thest four, there would be a sixteen-fold increase in strength. That would then be a mageweath that Lin Li would truly consider to be near the level of the Divine Smith.

    In fact, the function of this mageweath was to continuously absorb the power of the Ancient God of Light, and then inject it into Aquilo¡¯s body through the Eye of Light. Lin Li didn¡¯t know if that was the reason the Ancient God of Light had been suppressed in this space, but to say the least, the Ancient God of Light¡¯s existence was very crucial to the resurrection of Aquilo.

    Based on this, Lin Li began to get more and more interested in the rtionship between Aquilo and the Immortal King. Although he now held the canon of the Illuminati, he would probably have to hear the truth about what happened to Aquilo back then straight from the horse¡¯s mouth. Hence, Lin Li also hoped to resurrect Aquilo sooner, and wasn¡¯t just helping the Illuminati fulfill their wishes.

    There was another thing that made Lin Li choose not to cut corners on this matter, and that was that he was very much looking forward to seeing what level Aquilo would reach after his resurrection. After all, injecting the power absorbed from an ancient god into a human body was like an experiment in apotheosis, which made Lin Li incredibly interested in the results.

    Although ording to the Illuminati, the founding Saint Aquilo¡¯s strength was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and near the Divine-realm, Aquilo was still a mortal because he hadn¡¯t ascended to godhood yet. Now, the power of the Ancient God of Light was continuously being injected into Aquilo¡¯s body, so Lin Li was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of existence Aquilo would be after his resurrection.

    Lin Li waspletely immersed in the drawing of the mageweath array, just like when he was drawing the magic scroll named Mount Tai. Outside the temple, the battle between the two teams and the humanoid worms had also reached an extremely intense point.

    The humanoid worms that were swarming over like a tide might not be powerful or big, but the vast number of them made up for their shorings. In particr, the two teams had to guard the temple behind them while they were fighting, so they were rather tied up during the battle.

    However, it wasn¡¯t easy for the humanoid worms to break through the teams¡¯ defense and barge into the temple. Apart from the mages of the Tower of Dusk who had now formed a Magic Net Array, the Illuminati¡¯s team wasn¡¯t that easy to deal with, either. The Illuminati had umted battle experience on the Endless Ocean for thousands of years, and if they hadn¡¯t had significant strength, they would have probably been devoured by other forces.

 Chapter 1258 - The Gates Open

    Chapter 1258: The Gates Open

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The people that Saint Edmund brought this time were all elites of the Chaos Sanctuary who used an extremely special battle formation. Although they seemed to be fighting individually in a chaotic manner, it contained various arcanews. Although it was inferior to the Magic Net Array of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team, it allowed the team¡¯s power and strength to be greatly enhanced. Under the impact of the tide-like wave of humanoid worms, the team managed to stay strong like a reef that did not falter regardless of how violently the wind and waves were crashing against it.

    At this point, Connoris had already rushed in front of the massive humanoid worm that was asrge as a hill. Connoris seemed as small as a bug, while the humanoid worm was like a hill. However, as he struck with a deafening roar, the massive humanoid worm howled, and his massive body slid backwards by a great distance.

    Connoris refused to concede, and immediately brandished the Eternal Frost de in his hand, after which several silver rays of Space sh appeared and struck the giant humanoid worm before it could regain its bnce.

    The humanoid wormcked agility because of its massive body, so it was dodging very clumsily. The punch that Connoris swung at it threw it off bnce; next, it was struck by numerous Space shes. It had no choice but to protect itself with itsrge scythe-like arms. However, the portion of its body that was exposed didn¡¯t seem to have a high level of defense, as it was instantly smashed into bits by the Space shes.

    However, the juices of its flesh didn¡¯t seep into the desert, and instead started wriggling on the ground, turning into a bunch of smaller humanoid worms. They looked simr to the humanoid worms that were now attacking the two teams. At the same time that the juice turned into humanoid worms, the wounds on the massive body began healing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. Seeing this, Connoris knew that the hill-like humanoid worm had to be the mother of those humanoid worms.

    The mother humanoid worm could give birth to generations of evolved humanoid worms, but it didn¡¯t have the ability to evolve. Otherwise, if it was really the same as thervae, Connoris probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat it easily.

    At this moment, the mother of the humanoid worms let out an ear-piercing howl while opening its arms, after which the two rows ofrge eyes suddenly opened, ring at Connoris. Afterwards, numerous barrel-thick pirs of light darted out at Connoris and the temple in the distance,

    As the giant eyes opened, Connoris immediately sensed a dangerous aura. By the time the light pirs shot over, Connoris immediately got a great fright, and frantically dodged. Connoris¡¯ perfect body wasparable to the ancient wyrms¡¯ physique, and yet he was afraid of touching the giant light pirs. Clearly, the power of the pirs was terrifying.

    After Connoris dodged, he immediately began to regret it. The temple was right behind him, and if the light pirs struck the crumbling temple, it would probably turn into ashes immediately. Although the level of Lin Li¡¯s strength was now significant enough to prevent him from getting hurt, his efforts in drawing the mageweath would probably go down the drain.

    Fortunately, although Saint Edmund and Elder Zumar hadn¡¯t joined the battle, they had been watching the changes in the situation. When they saw the attackunched by the mother humanoid worm, Elder Zumar didn¡¯t dare to hesitate any longer as he immediately opened his Domain World to shield the crumbling temple.

    As soon as Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World was opened, the pirs of light fell in bombardment, only to hit the barrier of the Domain World. Initially, Elder Zumar thought that the power of the light pirs would probably be the same as that of the Magical Crystal Cannons at best, but he got a great shock when he came into contact with it.

    The pirs of light unleashed by the mother humanoid worm might seem simr to the Magical Crystal Cannons, but the Magical Crystal Cannons couldn¡¯t emit power that contained Sanctuary-level power. Each of the pirs of light was as powerful as the full strength of a Sanctuary powerhouse, and they started bombarding Elder Zumar¡¯s Domain World, causing a drastic change in thetter like it was an apocalypse.

    Sensing the power of the light pirs, Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but be thankful that he had spent all his savings on the Divine Sea Pir to strengthen his Domain World. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be certain if he could hold up this time. Even so, the barrier of his Domain World was now covered with cracks under the bombardment of several pirs of light. It seemed to be on the verge of falling apart.

    Connoris was displeased to see that situation. The enemy that he was initially supposed to deal with ended up bringing such great danger to the team, which made him look rather bad.

    ¡°Damned worms!¡± Connoris cursed furiously. Immediately afterwards, his body began expanding rapidly like it was being inted with air. In the blink of an eye, his stature, which was originally like that of an average human, expanded to the size of Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus.

    Immediately afterwards, Connoris began swinging hisrge fists at the mother humanoid worm. It wasn¡¯t an illusion nor an expansion spell, but a type of affinity spell of the ancient demon deity, the Body of the Demon Deity. His punch immediately caused the mother humanoid worm to overturn and copse on the ground. Immediately afterwards, Connoris leaped over and pinned the mother humanoid worm to the ground before punching it to the point it started howling incessantly.

    Seeing that Connoris had finally pinned down the mother humanoid worm, Edmund and Zumar were secretly relieved. At the same time, the strength that Connoris showed also made them feel a little surprised. After all, Connoris had yet to even reach the Sanctuary-realm, but he actually managed to suppress the Sanctuary-level mother humanoid worm, which was simply unbelievable.

    Of course, Connoris had yet to reach the Sanctuary-level, after all, so although he had gained an upper hand, the two teams soon reached a stalemate. However, even then, the mother humanoid worm didn¡¯t have the energy to do anything else, and merely went toe-to-toe against Connoris.

    In the blink of an eye, the Tower of Dusk¡¯s and the Illuminati¡¯s team had already fought the humanoid worms for a few days, in which time the surrounding space had also gradually changed. Apart from the temple where the Ancient God of Light was suppressed, it seemed to be nighttime in the other ces as the elements of light that had originally filled the space now gathered in this side of the temple. The only source of Power of Light for the temple was the Ancient God of Light.

    That made Edmund and Zumar feel somewhat excited. Clearly, Lin Li had already reached the final moment of the mageweath-drawing process, and might justplete it sessfully soon.

    At some point, there was a sudden tremor that emitted from the space, and the light that enveloped the entire space suddenly converged, as if it had been sucked by something inside. The light soon reappeared; this time, it was even more dazzling than before. In fact, it even formed a solid barrier of light outside the temple.

    Edmund and Zumar had yet to react, but they suddenly felt their vision blurring as a figure appeared in front of them in a sh. It was Lin Li, who had been drawing mageweaths in the temple.

    Although he already had an answer in his heart, Edmund nevertheless somewhat apprehensively asked, ¡°President Felic, how is the situation? Has the mageweath beenpleted sessfully?¡±

    Although Lin Li seemed a little fatigued, he was alsopletely rxed. He nodded, and said, ¡°Fortunately, the mageweath waspleted sessfully.¡± To him, drawing the mageweath this time was not just meant for fulfilling the wishes of the Illuminati, because it had also given him plenty of inspiration that allowed him to make another considerable breakthrough in his attainments in the field of inscription.

    On the other hand, both Edmund and Zumar couldn¡¯t contain their joy after hearing Lin Li¡¯s affirmative reply. Edmund suppressed his excitement, and then asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, when will Lord Aquilo be resurrected now with the help of the mageweath you have drawn?¡±

    Edmund and the others only knew that with the help of the mageweath that Lin Li had drawn, the resurrection of Lord Aquilo would bepleted ahead of schedule, though the duration by which it was shortened was uncertain; it could be a year or perhaps decades. Although they didn¡¯t specify the number of years by which they wanted Lord Aquilo to be resurrected sooner when asking Lin Li for help, they inevitably had some expectations which would usually seem unrealistic.

    Lin Li did not keep them in suspense. After making some calctions in his head, he said, ¡°My current attainments in inscription are still far from the true Divine-Smith-level. Although I have seeded in drawing the mageweath sessfully, this mageweath is not at the Divine-Smith-level, after all. Hence, it won¡¯t be able to make this resurrection speed increase by much.¡±

    The hearts of Edmund and Zumar sank when they heard Lin Li¡¯s answer. Can it really be brought forward by only a few years? If that¡¯s the case, it won¡¯t make much of a difference.

    However, Lin Li did not bother looking at their expressions. Instead, he turned to look at the ongoing battle in the distance while nonchntly saying, ¡°It will be sped up by about two times, but apart from the role of mageweaths, it also depends on Saint Aquilo himself. If he can work well with the mageweath, he might be able to be resurrected even earlier than that.¡±

    So it¡¯s going to take half the time it would originally have taken! Edmund and Zumar were both so agitated that they were on the verge of tears. The result had far exceeded their expectations. After waiting for thousands of years, it was finally time for them to see some results. Even a peak Sanctuary-level powerhouse like Edmund could barely control his emotions at this point.

    However, Lin Lipletely ignored Edmund¡¯s and Zumar¡¯s reaction. Instead, he seemed to be more interested in those humanoid worms. In fact, after seeing those humanoid worms, he could already sense an aura that was rather simr to that of the Light-Winged Angels they had encountered previously.

    Lin Li was certain that the humanoid worms were definitely creatures that did not belong to this world, and had probably been created by some fallen deities in their own Divine Kingdom. With Lin Li¡¯s strength, it would be a piece of cake to destroy the humanoid worms. Even the mother humanoid worm that was fighting with Connoris could not stop him in the slightest. However, he did not strike immediately, because he already felt that Connoris¡¯ strength seemed to have increased greatly during the battle with the mother humanoid worm. Hence, he thought that the ordinary humanoid worms could be used to hone the mages of the Mage Legion.

    Since Lin Li had finished drawing the mageweaths, the two teams naturally stopped focusing entirely on shielding the temple, because there was no longer a need to. Instead, theyunched a counterattack against the humanoid worms. The mages of the Tower of Dusk and the members of the Illuminati¡¯s team were all elites among their peers to begin with. Once they stopped having any scruples, there was a huge change in the battle situation.

    Even though the humanoid worms had gained a variety of abilities through evolution, they still couldn¡¯t stop the elites of both teams from ughtering them. The mages of the Tower of Dusk were constantly casting all kinds of magic spells which then continuously sted at the humanoid worms, and turned them into bits like a thunderstorm. The Illuminati¡¯s team didn¡¯t fall far behind, either. The Sword Sages waved their sharp swords, and began casting Chaos magic spells that killed the humanoid worms.

    In particr, Angno¡¯s Alchemy Colossus was fighting mightily like Optimus Prime as it smashed the spear hard against the ground, smashing dozens of humanoid worms into bits. With a casual stomp of its foot, the Alchemy Colossus crushed the humanoid worms into badly mangled corpses. During the battle over the past few days, the number of humanoid worms that had been killed had probably reached hundreds of millions.

    Of course, the real deciding factor for victory was still the battle between Connoris and the mother humanoid worm. Even Connoris didn¡¯t expect to have fused even further with the perfect body after the past few days of fighting. Perhaps it might sound insignificant, but it had resulted in a world of a difference in Connoris¡¯ strength. It was as if he had be another person.

    Connoris could even feel that the door to the Sanctuary-realm had opened to him, and he could step into it as soon as he put his foot forward. That feeling made him feel extremely excited, but it was unfortunate for his opponent, the mother of the humanoid worms. If it couldn¡¯t defeat Connoris then and now, it didn¡¯t stand a chance at all.

    Connoris flipped the mother humanoid worm onto the ground again. Immediately afterwards, he strode over to sit on it with one hand pressed against its body. He then grabbed the humanoid worm¡¯s scythe-like forearm with his other hand. As Connoris¡¯ muscles bulged, a hissing sound could be heard as he ripped the mother humanoid worm¡¯s forearm off resolutely.

    In the face of the humanoid worm¡¯s wailing, Connoris did not hesitate to strike at all. Instead, he cupped the humanoid worm¡¯s skull with both hands, and then headbutted it with all his might. When the head of the mother humanoid worm was sent flying from its massive body, it actually disintegrated with a loud bang, and turned into countless light orbs that flew towards the temple before fusing with the light barrier. There was now only a 2..3 meter tall monument at the ce where the mother humanoid worm was originally at.

 Chapter 1259 - Rift

    <h4>Chapter 1259: Rift</h4>

    With the death of the mother humanoid worm, the remaining humanoid worms also turned into light orbs, and flew into the light barrier of the temple one after another. The Illuminati¡¯s and Tower of Dusk¡¯s team were the only ones remaining on the entire battlefield at the moment. Even the corpses of those humanoid worms had surprisingly vanished too. If not for the mess on the ground, it would seem as if the battle had never happened.

    At this moment, Connoris lifted the Body of the Demon Deity spell, and grabbed the stone tablet left behind by the mother humanoid worm. He then flew close to Lin Li, and said, ¡°Felic, take a look at this thing. Can you read what¡¯s written on it?¡±

    There were some words written on the stone tablet, but they were in anguage that dated back to even before the prehistoric times. It was anguage from the early era of myths. Lin Li couldn¡¯t identify the fontpletely, and could only vaguely identify a few words based on the notes left behind by the Immortal King.

    ¡°Sylvia, the God of Insects, Father, Cmity, Copse, Fall of the Gods!¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t derive much information from the stone tablet, and merely knew that it seemed to be from a deity known as the God of Insects. Clearly, the God of Insects had also fallen in this space, just like the God of Bravery. Besides, the word ¡®gods¡¯ was also stated on the stone tablet, so Lin Li reckoned that it was probably not just referring to the God of Insects and the God of Bravery. Perhaps there were many other gods that had fallen there too.

    In fact, when he¡¯d firste to explore this ce, Lin Li had already guessed that it was certainly not as simple as a ce where the Ancient God of Light was suppressed. The subsequent discovery of the temple of the God of Bravery had at least also proven that this ce was indeed not just meant for the suppression of the Ancient God of Light.

    Lin Li could vaguely feel a tinge of godly aura from the stone tablet, and he reckoned that the mother humanoid worm had managed to survive the destruction of the Divine Kingdomrgely because it had swallowed the stone tablet. Of course, Lin Li wasn¡¯t that interested in those disgusting creatures like the humanoid worms, but he reckoned that the stone tablet that carried a tinge of godly aura could still be used for something.

    On the other hand, Edmund and Zumar were bothpletely immersed in the joy of the imminent resurrection of the founding Saint, Lord Aquilo, so much so that they couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to the stone tablet. However, after rejoicing, Edmund began to get a little worried and came close to Lin Li. He asked, ¡°President Felic, do we have to arrange for people to guard the mageweath?¡±

    With the previous wave of attacks from the humanoid worms that surged out like tides, Edmund and Zumar, too, knew that this wasn¡¯t a peaceful space. God knew what other types of monsters there would be apart from the peculiar humanoid worms. If they simply ignored it, something might dash out and destroy the mageweath after everyone leftter.

    ¡°Elder Zumar, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m afraid the strength of this temple¡¯s defense is not inferior to that of the ce where the Ancient God of Light has been suppressed. If you¡¯re still worried, you may give it a try,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly. Although the mageweath array that he had drawn was not at the level of the Divine Smith, it could still be considered of the demigod level. It wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could destroy.

    Elder Zumar felt a little embarrassed after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, but since it concerned the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, he ultimately had to be very careful. He immediately came close to the temple, looked at theyer of light that enveloped the temple, and slowly reached out to press his hand against it.

    As soon as he did, Elder Zumar immediately discovered that theyer of light seemed to feel like a tangible object when he pressed it. Besides, as he began to stimte his mana, theyer of light began to develop a strong resistance to it. In fact, it even seemed to be increasing simultaneously with the increase in the power of his mana.

    Even when Elder Zumar increased his mana to the point of being equivalent to a powerful Sanctuary-level magic spell, his palm still didn¡¯t advance by a single millimeter. Although he wasn¡¯t using magic to st theyer of light, Elder Zumar was certain that even if he exerted all his power, it would be impossible to prate it, and he might even get hurt by the force of the light¡¯s retaliation.

    At this moment, Saint Edmund, too, spoke up with an unconcealed excitement in his eyes. He said, ¡°Alright, Zumar, you don¡¯t have to try anymore. I¡¯m afraid even I won¡¯t be able to break thisyer of light.¡±

    ¡°Saint, thisyer of defense is indeed much stronger than I thought. However, it seems a little exaggerated to say that even you can¡¯t break it,¡± said Elder Zumar, who wasn¡¯t quite convinced by Edmund¡¯s words. After all, the main function of the mageweath was to speed up the resurrection of Saint Aquilo, not defend.

    Saint Edmund was a peak-Sanctuary-level expert who, although he hadn¡¯t reached the demigod level, was still already a top existence in the Sanctuary-realm. If even he said he couldn¡¯t break the defense, perhaps only a god would be able to do so.

    In fact, even real gods that hadn¡¯t reached the level of the Ancient God of Light would probably be unable to destroy theyer of light that was enveloping the temple, much less enter to destroy the mageweath. If it was just a defense put up by the mageweath array that Lin Li had drawn, it naturally wouldn¡¯t be that powerful. However, it was connected to the mageweath that suppressed the Ancient God of Light.

    The power used in thisyer of light was derived from the Ancient God of Light. As long as the Ancient God of Light¡¯s power was not exhausted, no one would be able to break thisyer of defense. Apart from the Immortal King who had suppressed the Ancient God of Light, nothing in this space could have such great power.

    In fact, not to mention the others, even Lin Li who¡¯d drawn the mageweath array couldn¡¯t enter the temple easily at this moment. The entire temple seemed to have been shrouded in light, but in fact, it was filled with elements of light that had condensed in every inch of space, bing incredibly dense and solid. Only Lord Aquilo of the Illuminati could remain in it safely with the help of the Illuminati¡¯s holy artifact, the Eye of Light.

    Although Saint Edmund didn¡¯t reach out to test it, he could roughly tell how powerful the defense was based on Elder Zumar¡¯s behavior and the power he sensed from theyer of light. Hence, he asked Elder Zumar to stop before turning around to look at Lin Li. He then said with a sincere expression, ¡°President Felic, thank you so much for this!¡±

    For the entire Illuminati, resurrecting the founding Saint, Aquilo, was one of the top priorities, something which the Illuminati had been waiting for thousands of years to carry out. Although it was supposedly just a deal between Lin Li and the Illuminati where Lin Li asked to read their canon in exchange, the Illuminati would undoubtedly get the better end of the deal if Aquilo could really be resurrected. Hence, even though Edmund had such a high status, he couldn¡¯t help but thank Lin Li with utmost sincerity.

    However, right after Edmund thanked Lin Li, the ground suddenly began vibrating violently before Lin Li could respond. Next, a massive rift appeared on the ground in a distant spot that had already turned dim. The scene looked just like an apocalypse.

    That situation immediately made everyone here tense up again as they nervously wondered if a terrifying creature was about to emerge once more. Although the humanoid worms that they had just faced hadn¡¯t done much damage to the two teams, they gave them an idea of the terror of this space, and God knew what kinds of monsters were lurking there.

    At this moment, Lin Li made eye contact with Edmund and the rest, after which they flew unanimously towards the rift, sooning close to it. Edmund and the others were worried that if something powerful emerged from within, it would affect the resurrection of Saint Aquilo. However, Lin Li could vaguely sense a familiar auraing from the rift.

    When he came close to the crack, Edmund immediately dispersed his mental strength to find out what was hidden underneath the rift and whether there was a powerful existence that would threaten Aquilo¡¯s resurrection. However, before he could even find anything, Edmund suddenly turned pale as if he had suffered a huge blow, and it was as if there was a force that was pushing his body backwards.

    Elder Zumar, who was at the side, panicked when he saw that situation, and he quickly reached out to hold Edmund and stop him from falling. He anxiously asked, ¡°Saint, is there something under the rift?¡±

    Before Edmund could answer, there were once again strange urrences in the rift as it seemed as if there were countless voices yelling from below. Even though they were not yelling in a modernnguage, the meaning of their words seemed to have appeared clearly in their minds.

    ¡°Let me out! Save me! I want to go out!¡±

    The even more shocking thing was that there was a sacred majesty hidden in the miserable screams. Such a sacred might often belonged to the gods who were high up on pedestals, and was bound to make one feel reverent. However, it had now appeared together with miserable wails that sounded even more tragic than beggars begging for food. The two wereplete extremes.

    Saint Edmund began to recover at this point. Just now, it was precisely because his mental strength had touched the sacred aura under the rift that he felt an unbearable difort that felt like thunder roaring in the depths of his soul. He then looked at Lin Li, and said, ¡°Master Felic, how do you n to deal with this rift?¡±

    In Edmund¡¯s opinion, they couldn¡¯t let such a threat exist at this moment. Otherwise, once he and the others left, they would be in trouble once a powerful monster or creature emerged from the rift. However, if he were to just go in and explore, he wouldn¡¯t be confident, especially because of the pressure that his mental strength had just sensed.

    Hence, Edmund thought of Lin Li as he hoped that Lin Li and the team from the Tower of Dusk could follow him to explore the rift again.

    However, Lin Li came here with Edmund solely for the sake of drawing the mageweath, and he didn¡¯t say that he would help them solve their problems. Edmund was well aware of that himself; hence, he felt a little conflicted, and wanted to ask Lin Li for his opinion.

    Lin Li looked at the rift. Even though he could sense the aura of the Immortal King, he didn¡¯t intend to explore it at this moment. Just like Edmund, he also felt the sacred aura under the crack, and he was even more certain that it wasn¡¯t as simple as a sacred aura.

    Thinking about the fall of the gods as stated on the tablet, Lin Li had no choice but to consider the possibility that the owner of that sacred aura was very likely not a sacred being. Although Lin Li was eager to find out the Immortal King¡¯s trail, he also knew what his strength was really like, and was aware of what he could and could not do with his strength.

    Although Lin Li was very tempted by the rift, he was aware of the great dangers involved. Even though he was confident in his abilities, he didn¡¯t dare to think about it now. If a divine-level being were to appear just like what he was worried about, it would be toote to regret.

    Gods were gods. Back then, the demigod High Priest Poer managed to put Lin Li in a disheveled state. Lin Li managed to get rid of him only with the help of the Immortal King¡¯s suppression mageweath. Even if an enemy as powerful as High Priest Poer emerged now, Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get any advantage.

    Hence, in the face of Saint Edmund¡¯s question, Lin Li merely slowly shook his head, and said, ¡°Sorry, Saint Edmund, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve felt the aura in this rift. It¡¯s no longer something that we can deal with given our current strength. However, judging from those voices, they probably won¡¯t be able to emerge from the rift, so you don¡¯t have to worry too much about the resurrection of Saint Aquilo.¡±

    There was some truth to Lin Li¡¯s words. The existences that contained a sacred might would have probably all rushed out by themselves by now if they weren¡¯t restrained by something. There was no need for them to stoop low and ask for help. However, just because they couldn¡¯te up, it didn¡¯t mean that there was no danger under the rift. Who knew to what extent they were being restrained? If they merely couldn¡¯t get out of the rift, the members of the Illuminati and the Tower of Dusk would be courting death if they went down into the rift.

    Lin Li was very brave, but he wouldn¡¯t take the risk to do such an insignificant thing in such a dangerous ce. Although it was true that the Immortal King¡¯s aura existed in that crack, it didn¡¯t mean that Lin Li would go there immediately. Perhaps he would return again to find out what was going on when he reached the level of a demigod. However, he was still a far cry from that for now.

    After speaking to Edmund, Lin Li instructed the mages to immediately prepare to retreat without any hesitation. Not many people could be as decisive as him in the face of such a huge temptation. To Lin Li, the trace of the Immortal King¡¯s aura was of extraordinary significance, but not enough to make him lose sight of his priorities.

 Chapter 1260 - Little Skeleton

    Chapter 1260: Little Skeleton

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    However, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Edmund and Zumar panicked a little. Even though Lin Li had already told them not to worry, they couldn¡¯t really rx, because it concerned the goal that the Illuminati had been painstakingly working towards for thousands of years. It would have been fine if there had been no special aura in that crack, but the problem was that there was such a peculiar aura that was impossible for them to ignore.

    ¡°President Felic, please wait, I know it¡¯s making things difficult for you, but can we have a chat about this? The sudden appearance of this rift will definitely give us sleepless nights if we don¡¯t explore it,¡± Saint Edmund said with a look of dismay in hopes that he could persuade Lin Li to go with him to explore the rift.

    ¡°Yeah, President Felic, if you have any requests, please feel free to say so. As long as we can find out the situation in this rift, we won¡¯t take a single share of the spoils from the exploration,¡± Elder Zumar chimed in, making a generous promise to let the Tower of Dusk have all the spoils that they discover during the exploration, should there be any.

    Hearing their words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help butugh, and said, ¡°Stop saying that, you guys. Even if there are good items, you need to be alive to use them. Both of you must have sensed the aura in the rift, and whatever is inside is by no means something that a person of the Sanctuary-realm can touch. As for the mageweath, you can rest assured that as long as the power of that Ancient God of Light does not decline, even a god won¡¯t be able to destroy it. Now, we¡¯d better get out of here.¡± After saying that, Lin Li left with his subordinates in the direction that he came from.

    However, at this moment, a massive mana wave suddenly emerged from the rift in the ground, instantly attracting everyone¡¯s attention. Next, a white skeleton arm emerged from it, and seemed to be facing great difficulty while grabbing the edges of the rift.

    Before the crowd could react, another skeleton arm stretched out from the side, and tried to grab the edge. Next, force was applied by both arms, and a skeleton head that seemed to have been carved out of jade slowly popped out of the dark rift.

    Things were much simpler next. The white skeleton leaned forward slowly, and put a leg on the edge of the rift, after which it dawdled for a while before crawling out of the rift. When it stood up near the edge of the rift, everyone finally saw a small skeleton that had a stature of less than 1.5 meters.

    ¡°Undead creature?¡±

    Undead creatures were no strangers to those who were present; in fact, they were even more familiar with the Skeletal Warriors who were the cannon fodder among Undead creatures. However, they felt rather puzzled by the bizarreness of the fact that such a petite skeleton crawled out of the rift that they were so afraid of.

    The skeleton that crawled out of the rift scanned its surroundings, and the soul fire in its eyes flickered twice when it saw the two teams. It then walked towards them.

    It was just a skeleton, and even if it was an existence like a Skeleton King, it would still only be at the Legendary-level. However, with each step that the skeleton took towards the crowd, there was a significant enhancement of the mana fluctuations around its body. Step by step, it turned from an inconspicuous being into an existence whose strength was at the Legendary-realm, and eventually the Sanctuary-realm.

    When the skeleton stopped again, the mana fluctuations of its body actually reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and there was even a vague trace of the aura of the gods.

    Demigod!

    Edmund and the others were stunned because the skeleton seemed to be on par with High Priest Poer who had been bewitched by the Ancient God of Light. However, it was a terrifying existence that was already as powerful as Wild Whale Rabu.

    Although Edmund was a powerhouse who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, he still hadn¡¯t touched the arcane mysteries of the Divine-realm, and was a far cry from demigods. Faced with a skeleton that was at the level of a demigod, Edmund couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy, because he knew that he was no match for it.

    The others were in an even more wretched state when facing the powerful pressure of the demigod. The mages of the Tower of Dusk were still struggling to rely on the Magic Net Array to support themselves, but the members of the Illuminati were almost about to get on their knees as they were panic-stricken.

    The skeleton took another step toward the crowd.

    The two teams involuntarily took a few steps back in unison. In fact, when some of the members of the Illuminati¡¯s team were retreating, they fell backwards because they couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure of the divine. However, no one dared tough at those who had fallen onto the ground, because all they could see was the skeleton that was walking towards them one step at a time.

    Edmund and Zumar had already subconsciously raised their staffs, and it was as if they would attack the skeleton as long as it took another step closer. The mysterious skeleton had clearly brought great pressure to the two of them because a demigod was definitely not that easy to deal with.

    Under the previous siege of so many Sanctuary powerhouses, Wild Whale Rabu hadn¡¯t even shown a single sign of defeat, and instead forced many Sanctuary powerhouses into dire straits. If it weren¡¯t for Lin Li¡¯s magic scroll, the Gilded Kingdom would have probably been removed from the Endless Ocean by now. The skeleton was a demigod too, so it was no wonder that Edmund and the others would be that tense.

    However, at this juncture, something even more shocking happened. The demigod-level skeleton that had crawled out of the rift actually fell to the ground on one knee in front of Lin Li in in sight.

    ¡°Great Master, you¡¯ve finally arrived. The former master has left something for you, and it¡¯s time for me to hand it over to you. Pleasee with me to take a look!¡± The jaw of the demigod skeleton kept moving, and its voice was extraordinarily clear in this silent space.

    Master? The demigod-level skeleton actually called President Felic his master! When Edmund and the others heard that, they were bbergasted and bewildered. In this world, Sanctuary powerhouses were top-level existences, and very few would acknowledge others to be their masters, let alone a powerhouse that was close to bing a god. However, the skeleton was now calling a Sanctuary powerhouse his master, which was a stark contrast to the image of demigods that everyone had in their minds.

    Surprisingly, Lin Li didn¡¯t seem shocked at all. In fact, when the little skeleton appeared, he already recognized that it was the same skeleton that was waiting for him on The Star in the world created by Geresco.

    That also provided an exnation for a doubt that Lin Li had as he finally understood why he would board The Star ande all the way here in the world that Geresco had created. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t the only one who came here. Geresco the God of Mages had also been there. Otherwise, there was no way the skeleton would be there.

    It was obvious that Geresco was the one who had arranged for Lin Li to see everything that he had in the world created by Geresco. Otherwise, there was no way Geresco could have seen the Immortal King suppressing the Ancient God of Light, because that had happened several thousand years ago, way before Geresco was born.

    However, Lin Li had yet another question. What was the rtionship between Geresco and the Immortal King? Why did Geresco track the trail of the Immortal King and arrange for Lin Li to continue doing such a thing? What was he trying to achieve? The answer to his questions might well be in the rift that the skeleton had crawled out from!

    Lin Li initially didn¡¯t n to touch the rift even though he could vaguely sense the aura of the Immortal King. However, after hearing what the skeleton said, Lin Li finally felt tempted. Of course, another important reason was that the appearance of the little skeleton had proven that although the rift was terrifying, it probably shouldn¡¯t be too dangerous.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Lin Li finally nodded.

    After instructing them to stay put, Lin Li followed the petite white skeleton to the rift in the ground. The closer he got to it, the more Lin Li could feel the chaotic aura of the gods. It was as if there was still an unknown number of gods waiting underneath the rift.

    Standing in front of the rift, Lin Li finally knew why the little skeleton that was at the demigod-level had crawled out of the rift. There was a wave of power that drained all the people who entered of their power. It was just like a powerful domain.

    Fortunately, Lin Li was extremely familiar with that power as it came from the same source as the power of the Ancient God of Light. Given Lin Li¡¯s research on the Immortal King¡¯s mageweath, it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to resist the effects of the power.

    At the same time, Lin Li also had an answer for the appearance of the rift. The mageweath array that he had created for the Illuminati was actually done with the knowledge he had gained from studying the Immortal King¡¯s mageweath. When the elements of light in the space converged because of the mageweath array, it was probably a precursor for the appearance of the rift.

    Standing in front of the crack, Lin Li stretched out his fingers and drew a few strokes in the air, which immediately caused countless magic runes to fly out of the space. Like fine specks of dust, the magic runes converged in ordance with the traces Lin Li had drawn, and then exploded with a loud thud before shrouding him and the skeleton.

    Lin Li immediately sensed that the force that suppressed his mana had begun to dissipate and move away from him like a tide. The little skeleton next to him had clearly felt the change too, but it didn¡¯t seem shocked at all, as if it was exactly what should have happened.

    Indeed, a considerable amount of research on the Immortal King¡¯s mageweath was required for the appearance of the rift to be triggered. With the achievements in the research on the mageweath, it was naturally not difficult to avoid the power of the suppression. The skeleton had stayed in the rift and waited for its master for countless years, so it should naturally be clear about this.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t ask much about this trick, and simply followed the skeleton straight to the bottom of the rift, which wasn¡¯t toorge, and was probably only a few hundred meters deep and more than 10 meters wide. However, Lin Li felt as if he had entered an inverted funnel as the further down he flew, therger the surrounding space became. When he was about to reach the ground, the space seemed to have be the same as that above the rift.

    The next thing Lin Li saw was a rather conspicuous mage tower.

    Although there were 12 floors to the mage tower that seemed great and majestic, each floor was only about three or four meters high. Thepletely ck tower was made of an unknown material, and seemed to have ordinary magical waves, just like most ordinary mage towers in Anril.

    Of course, Lin Li was not so superficial as to underestimate the value of the mage tower just because of its inconspicuous aura and size. Therefore, after feeling slightly surprised, he followed the little skeleton into the door of the mage tower.

    Lin Li got a great shock after he entered.

    The space inside the tower was extremely different from what was outside, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal, as it was just an application of thews of space. Although not all mage towers had such an extravagant usage of thews of space to expand the space, it wasn¡¯t too surprising given the power of the Immortal King or Geresco.

    However, what really shocked Lin Li was the things on the first floor.

    The first floor of the mage tower had a floor area of about more than 10,000 square meters and a height of nearly 100 meters. There were dozens of huge crystal containers ced around the hall, and each of them had a height of tens of meters, resembling crystal towers. However, they were actually just clear and crystalline in appearance. Lin Li had already sensed that they were made from the condensation of a massive amount of mana based on the magical waves they emitted.

    The magic runes could be seen flowing like water in the containers that were made of condensed mana. There were several masses of light in the container. The miserable cries of help that came from the rift previously were actually emitted continuously from the masses of light, which were emitting a faint sacred might.

    It turned out to be numerous gods that had been sealed! Lin Li could no longer put his emotions into words after getting the answer. The numerous gods seemed like experimental subjects that were being suppressed there. Could there be anything more exaggerated and incredible in this world?!

    Lin Li could sense from thews that the other party had mastered that the gods in the first hall here should all be lower-ranked gods because thews that were mastered by them were rtively low-levelws. For example, there was the God of Trees that had mastered thews of nts and trees, the God of Thorns, the God of Flowers, the God of Dust, and so on.. The low-level gods were far from beingparable to the God of Bravery, let alone the Ancient God of Light.

 Chapter 1261 - I Believe You Can Do It

    Chapter 1261: I Believe You Can Do It

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Among the gods in legends and myths, those gods should be considered subordinate gods that depended on some stronger gods. For example, the God of Trees and God of Thorns should be subordinate to the God of Forests, who was subordinate to the Goddess of Nature.

    However, although they had low status among the gods, they were still true gods, after all. Each one of them could easily kill a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li. In this hall, there were dozens of such subordinate-level gods, which brought a great shock to Lin Li.

    The little skeleton didn¡¯t introduce much about them to Lin Li, and instead continued walking forward to take Lin Li to the other side. It was just like an indifferent prison warden who simply ignored the wailing and roaring of the surrounding gods. Regardless of how glorious and authoritative they used to be, the little skeleton called the shots here now.

    Seeing the way the little skeleton was behaving, Lin Li naturally couldn¡¯t kick up a big fuss. Despite feeling shocked, he remained calm on the surface. As he reached the second floor of the Mage Tower, he discovered that apart from the gods that had been sealed, there were actually many more things that were extremely astonishing.

    For example, the ground was paved with crystals that were actually a type of magic material that had long be exhausted in Anril, and appeared only in myths and legends. It was said that the gods had used it to build pces. A fist-sized piece would release a massive amount of mana that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-level and contained extremely pure Sky Laws.

    There were also the pirs that were made of Chaos Adamantine, which was said to be a rare magical metal that was created with the condensed power of Chaos. It couldpletely amodate all the magical elements andws. Although it didn¡¯t have powerful mana, it was definitely a top-grade magical weapon or the best material for building the best magical weapons and props. The Stars of Fury, which Lin Li had been trying to find for a long time, contained an extremely important type of metal, and that was Chaos Adamantine.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars each contained a pure nomological power, and if the Stars of Fury didn¡¯t contain any Chaos Adamantine, it would probably be impossible for it to move their power. With the Chaos Adamantine, the Stars of Fury had the foundation to control the debris of the stars. Coupled with the special Divine-Smith-level mageweath, it had the ability to fully exert the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    In addition, the Chaos Adamantine had another powerful effect: it would greatly enhance the level of a magical weapon when added in small doses during thetter¡¯s creation. It could allow a Guru of Forging to create a Guru-level masterpiece. If Lin Li, who was also a Guru of Forging, could get his hands on some Chaos Adamantine, it would probably be possible for him to create a weapon that was near the level of an artifact.

    Lin Li did not pay attention to what the first level of the Mage Tower was like, because the sealed gods had given him a great visual impact, so much so that he didn¡¯t have the time to think about other things. However, when he reached the second level, he could already shell out some of his attention to observe the other items, even though the gods there were of a higher level.

    In fact, apart from the sealed gods, there weren¡¯t many rare items in the hall on the first floor. However, there were more than just gods on the second level. Apart from the rare magic materials that were extremely enticing to Lin Li, there were also many magical objects that seemed ordinary but contained terrifying power.

    For example, there was a wisp of fire element on themps. Once it was released, the skies would be all lit up, and it would be a piece of cake to burn the sky. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s Domain World would be burned down to nothing once it came in contact with a spark.

    The ancient Mirage Sphere that had been sold at a high price during the recent auction turned into an ordinary decorative ornament here. Lin Li could even sense that each Mirage Sphere had given rise to a world on its own. If someone got their hands on it, it would be akin to having a world of their own.

    There was an hourss used for timekeeping, which really didn¡¯t seem impressive, but it actually contained the condensed Laws of Time. If someone mastered its method of use, they would even be able to use it to reverse thews of time and space within a certain range, which already concerned the power of the Divine-realm. It probably wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it an artifact.

    It could be said that each drop of water and speck of dust in the Mage Tower contained a massive power. Even though Lin Li had always felt that he had seen a lot of the world, he felt like a country bumpkin entering a city when he was in the Mage Tower.

    Aftering to Anril, Lin Li had explored plenty of ruins, from the Eternal Furnace to the Throne of Darkness, followed by Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum and the Sky Castle. The powerful magic props that he had harvested were enough to make anyone jealous. However, Lin Li still felt that he was too poor.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t possibly stop to study those things, and could only continue moving up the stairs with the little skeleton. Of course, Lin Li was well aware that the Mage Tower was, more likely than not, left to him by the Immortal King or Geresco. Hence, he didn¡¯t eagerly try to get those items.

    Lin Li followed the little skeleton up the first floor, second floor, and then the third. Gradually, Lin Li started to feel numb. To him, it was just like a prison for the gods, where the gods of the lowest level were housed on the first floor, and the gods on the higher floors were much stronger.

    Gradually, gods that were at the level of the God of Bravery such as the God of Rivers, God of Righteousness, and God of Forests appeared in front of Lin Li. The second-tier gods were several times or even more than 10 times more powerfulpared to the subordinate gods below. They were already powerful existences that could establish their own Divine Kingdoms.

    For gods, a Divine Kingdom was not just like a backyard or garden, nor was it just meant to serve as a ce of worship. It was also an extremely powerful weapon that was both offensive and defensive. A Divine Kingdom mattered to a god as much as a Magical Domain mattered to a mage. It waspletely a difference in realm.

    However, even then, gods that could create Divine Kingdoms were still confined within this Mage Tower like prisoners. When the little skeleton and Lin Li passed by them, they howled and begged incessantly for someone to release them, just like prisoners who had been imprisoned for a long time.

    Lin Li could not say that he was not interested in those gods, but he didn¡¯t find them as rare as he did at first. After the initial shock, he seemed to have been more enticed by the various decorations and arrangements in the tower. Since the Mage Tower could seal and suppress so many gods, it naturally had an impressive setup.

    First, it was the mageweath that suppressed all gods, which was simr to the mageweath that suppressed the Ancient God of Light. It was absolutely a good reference for Lin Li. Apart from that, there was also arge number of mageweaths that were used for defense and attacking, as well as some illusion arrays. They were all mageweaths that were at the Divine-Smith-level, which bedazzled Lin Li.

    Although the mageweaths were powerful, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for Lin Li topletely master them. He could only consider it an eyeopener regarding what Divine-Smith-level mageweaths were like so that he could study them in detail in the future.

    However, although Lin Li could not master these mageweaths, he could also tell the amazing aspects thereof, especially with the one that was suppressing the gods. It actually had the ability to constantly extract the divine power of all deities. Not only did it treat the gods as a mana source, but also borrowed the nomological power that the gods mastered.

    After discovering this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by how generous the Immortal King was. Not only did he imprison the gods, he even treated them as ves and experimental products.

    The level of the gods that were suppressed got higher and higher as Lin Li continued to explore the ce with the little skeleton. When he reached the 11th floor of the Mage Tower, Lin Li was already used to seeing gods, and there was probably nothing that could shock him any further. However, when he saw the items on that floor, Lin Li was once again astonished to the point that his jaw dropped.

    It turned out that the ones being suppressed on the 11th floor were dozens of ancient gods. Ancient gods were different from ordinary gods. Ancient gods were born from chaos, and had the inherent power of origin. The other gods generally became gods through the study of certainws, which they eventually mastered. Compared to the ancient gods, they were worlds apart.

    For example, the Ancient God of Light had an innate mastery of light. Although there were gods that could be the so-called God of Light through the study of thews of light, they were a notch lowerpared to the Ancient God of Light. It could be said that among the various gods, even the powerful main god wouldn¡¯t be able to fight the Ancient God of Light easily, and would be innately subject to the suppression of the ancient gods.

    Lin Li initially thought that it was quite a big deal for the Immortal King to be able to suppress the Ancient God of Light. Even after entering the tower and seeing the gods that had been confined, he didn¡¯t think of the suppression of the Ancient God of Light. However, everything that he was looking at now gave him a better idea of the Immortal King¡¯s strength.

    The ancient gods that were suppressed here, such as the Ancient God of Darkness, the Ancient God of Fire, the Ancient God of Chaos, and the Ancient God of War, all had power that was not inferior to the power of the Ancient God of Light. However, they still couldn¡¯t avoid the fate of bing mana sources and experimental objects as they couldn¡¯t escape from the imprisonment.

    Finally, under the lead of the little skeleton, Lin Li arrived at the top floor of the Mage Tower. However, it was again very different from the previous one. Not only was the space obviously much smaller, it wasn¡¯t decorated much.

    The little skeleton walked to two hidden doors, and stopped before respectfully saying to Lin Li, ¡°Master, the things the previous master left you are in this room.¡±

    The opening in the doors was enough to fit half a person, and there was some faint light that was being emitted from it. Lin Li looked in through the doorway, and saw that it seemed to be a study inside, with rows of neatly arranged bookshelves that were full of books. There was a figure seated in front of a bookshelf with his back facing the door. He would only move his arm asionally, and seemed to be flipping through something.

    Lin Li was no stranger to that figure, which was the God of Mages, Geresco, who had taught him countless times in the inverted tower. Of course, the Geresco here was probably not Geresco in his real form, but a phantom simr to the one in the inverted tower.

    Lin Li was initially still rather worried when he arrived. After all, he knew nothing about this ce, and couldn¡¯t trust the little skeletonpletely, either. However, after seeing Geresco¡¯s phantom, Lin Li naturally didn¡¯t have to worry about any traps here. Although he was a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, it would be a piece of cake for Geresco to destroy him.

    Lin Li reached out, and gently pushed the door open a little before stepping in.

    However, as soon as Lin Li took a step inside, he immediately felt his vision turning blurry, and by the time it became clear again, he was already in another world. He was now standing on an ind in the sea, and the only thing in sight was the vast, boundless ocean and roaring waves.

    Immediately afterwards, numerous meteors came falling from the sky with dazzling sparks. They cut through the sky with a whistling sound, and stirred up huge waves in the sea as each one fell. The deafening roar they emitted seemed like infinite thunderbolts.

    Lin Li stood on the ind and watched the apocalyptic scene of the massive meteors falling endlessly. If it was just a cmity of falling meteors, it wouldn¡¯t be much for a Sanctuary powerhouse, but Lin Li was extremely astonished.

    Lin Li could feel a strong divine aura from the falling meteors, which were actually deities, and not meteors!

    The gods had fallen! Was there anything more shocking than this? While being shell-shocked, Lin Li suddenly remembered the imprisoned gods that he had seen along the way, and couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was some connection between the two.

    At this moment, a voice which seemed very familiar to him suddenly sounded in Lin Li¡¯s ears.

    ¡°I believe you will be able to do what I managed to!¡±

    It was Geresco! Lin Li naturally recognized Geresco¡¯s voice, but he wondered what Geresco was talking about. Is this the reason for the fall of the gods? Or did Geresco who hade here after following the Immortal King¡¯s trail already pass the Immortal King¡¯s test, and is telling me about his experience?

 Chapter 1262 - The Ancient God of Water

    Chapter 1262: The Ancient God of Water

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Although the Immortal King and Geresco both imed to be the most powerful existences in the history of Anril, Lin Li could not have possibly confused the two of them. The Immortal King and Geresco belonged to twopletely different eras, and during Geresco¡¯s era, there had never been an event where the gods had fallen. In that case, the reason for the fall of the gods should have been the fierce and menacing Immortal King. Geresco might just be the second master of this ce which he had inherited after passing the test of the Immortal King.

    However, Lin Li also did not have time to consider these issues, because the scene in front of him had changed again. The meteors that were falling from the sky had already vanished, but there was one that was darting towards him.

    This is probably the test! Lin Li¡¯s figure shed, and he suddenly appeared in the air outside the ind. The meteor that came crashing down smashed hard into that not toorge ind.

    All of a sudden, there was a deafening roar, and the entire ind copsed before quickly sinking to the bottom of the sea, forming a massive whirlpool. Immediately afterwards, a tall figure darted out from the center of the whirlpool like a cannonball and charged towards Lin Li.

    The enemy who charged towards Lin Li was four or five meters tall, and his body seemed to be somewhat transparent as it was made of water. As he moved, numerous ripples formed on his body. Lin Li could sense an extremely pure power of water elements from the mana fluctuations that he was emitting. In fact, it was not inferior to the debris of the stars, Pr Snow at all.

    Before the enemy coulde close, Lin Li had already felt a dense and rich aura that swarmed towards him, as if he wasn¡¯t facing just an enemy, but the boundless Endless Ocean.

    That feeling immediately reminded Lin Li of the Ancient God of Water that controlled the elementalw of water, whom Lin Li had passed by before arriving here.

    Lin Li waved Helios¡¯ Scepter, and more than 10 giant pythons that were condensed from wind elements began charging towards the enemy. With his current Sanctuary-level power, even the ethereal wind elements could condense to form things that were as sturdy as steel. If the 10-odd Wind Elemental Pythons intertwined themselves around an ancient wyrm, even it wouldn¡¯t be able to struggle and break free easily.

    The 10-odd Wind Elemental Pythons almost blocked the space around the Ancient God of Water, thus leaving it with no means to retreat. However, the Ancient God of Water simply ignored it, and didn¡¯t show any intentions to dodge. Instead, it charged straight towards Lin Li.

    Just as the Wind Elemental Pythons were about toe in contact with the Ancient God of Water, the Ancient God of Water seemed to humph in disdain. Immediately afterwards, a vast ocean appeared out of thin air, and the Wind Elemental Pythons were instantly engulfed and devoured byyers of huge waves.

    Faced with this scene, Lin Li kept a straight face, and continued to point the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, after which a 100-meter-long Light and Darkness Sword appeared and shed at the Ancient God of Water. However, that wasn¡¯t all, because almost at the same time that the Light and Darkness Sword was shed outwards, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World appeared around him too. The World Power that wasposed of various basicws sted out continuously from the Domain World in various forms. It was as if a storm had swept towards the Ancient God of Water.

    The ancient gods were superior existences that were high above gods. Not to mention the strength of a Sanctuary powerhouse like Lin Li, even the main gods would have to sumb and bow down to the ancient gods with their power. Although Lin Li was not facing a genuine ancient god now, its strength was definitely not to be underestimated, since Geresco had produced it.

    In fact, Lin Li even guessed that the Ancient God of Water in front of him was part of the sealed Ancient God of Water. Not only did it have the power of the ancient gods, it also had the will of the ancient god. Although it did not have theplete power of the ancient god, the divine power it contained was not something that Lin Li could contend with.

    The power of the Light and Darkness Sword was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-level, and among the attack spells that Lin Li had mastered, the World Sword, which was a condensation of the World Laws, was the only one that couldpare to it. However, the World Sword could not be maneuvered easily. At least, when facing such a powerful enemy like the ancient god, Lin Li did not dare to use the World Sword recklessly.

    The Light and Darkness Sword had an extraordinary power against ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses, but its power was far inferiorpared to the ancient gods. Under Lin Li¡¯s maneuver, the Light and Darkness Sword shed at the Ancient God of Water¡¯s head, while the other party looked more and more disdainful. With a mere thought, the massive waves in the surrounding air immediately charged towards the Light and Darkness Sword.

    Without the roaring of the violent collision, the Light and Darkness Sword that shed against the waves paused a little before disintegrating like a sand sculpture struck by waves. It was stripped awayyer byyer, and it vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye. The huge wave that crashed against the Light and Darkness Sword did not weaken in the slightest, and continued to charge at Lin Li with a loud roar.

    The moment the huge wave washed the Light and Darkness Sword away, Lin Li managed to feel the nomological power that condensed the Light and Darkness Sword, as well as the massive power that would break down everything. Although water wasn¡¯t solid, it had a powerful abrasive power, and even the water of a small stream would have the ability to smoothen the rough edges of a hard and sturdy rock over time, let alone the power of the unparalleled massive waves.

    Immediately afterward, the massive wave once again crashed against Lin Li¡¯s Domain World as it swept through everything in its path. The power that seemed to be able to drown the entire world ced Lin Li¡¯s World Domain on the verge of copse upon first contact.

    Faced with such immense pressure, Lin Li had no choice but to release all seven pieces of the debris of the stars at once, and their light immediately shone brightly throughout the entire Domain World before injecting a powerful force into thetter, which was already somewhat faltering. Given Lin Li¡¯s current power coupled with the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it could be said that no one in the Sanctuary-realm would be able topare to his Domain World. Even High Priest Poer, who was already a demigod, couldn¡¯t defeat Lin Li aftersting in his Domain World for such a long time.

    However, the ancient gods were ultimately true gods that were superior to all other gods. Their par was far from what demigod-level Sanctuary powerhouses couldpare to. Besides, the most powerful Divine Kingdom of an ancient god was an existence that was far beyond the level of the Domain Worlds of mages at the Sanctuary-realm who were about to be gods.

    The Ancient God of Water was obviously bent on killing Lin Li, whom it saw as an insignificant small fry. Without even testing the waters or anything, the vast ocean around it changed drastically, and the appearance of the Ancient God of Water¡¯s Divine Kingdom began to be revealed. Millions of believers emerged from the sea of the Divine Kingdom, and worshiped the Ancient God of Water while their prayers seemed to condense into a massive wave as a majestic divine might immediately filled the entire space.

    Lin Li and his Domain World werepletely surrounded by the Ancient God of Water¡¯s Divine Kingdom, while the sound of prayers and the majestic divine might ced great pressure on Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. The creatures that were born in his Domain World seemed to have sensed the calling of the Ancient God of Water as they began to appear conflicted.

    Under such oppression, Lin Li was almost powerless and unable to retaliate. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars that had been integrated into his Domain World were constantly shing in space, as if they were on the verge of charging out of the Domain World. Although there wasn¡¯t a doomsday-like catastrophe in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, he could sense that his Domain World was getting out of his control.

    Faced with such great pressure, Lin Li raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and the endless, massive mana in his body darted out almost immediately. In his Domain World, the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, suddenly broke free from the space, and even turned into two massive snakes, one ck and one white. They began roaming rapidly in the Domain World.

    That was a method to temporarily strengthen one¡¯s Domain World, which Lin Li had obtained through his research on the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness. This method required the usage of the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, to rece the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness to make the Domain World almost as solid as a Divine Kingdom.

    With the appearance of the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness, the divine power of the Ancient God of Water that had prated Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was finally restrained to a certain extent. Thews that constituted the Domain World also finally resumed operation to a certain extent, allowing the Domain World that was initially almost drowned out by the ocean to reemerge from the surface of the water.

    However, Lin Li knew very well that even with the use of such a method, his Domain World, which was now like a pseudo-Divine Kingdom, would not be able to hold up for long against the Ancient God of Water¡¯s Divine Kingdom, let alone defeat it.

    Sensing the changes in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, the Ancient God of Water seemed slightly surprised. After all, Domain Worlds that had simr characteristics to that of Divine Kingdoms were rather rare in this world. Even a powerhouse that had newly advanced to godhood might not be able to create their own Divine Kingdom immediately. Only gods that had reached the level of main gods would be able to use the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness to stabilize their Divine Kingdoms.

    Apart from having obtained some of the mysteries of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness from their incarnations, a more important reason that Lin Li managed to achieve such a feat was because he had the two pieces of the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark. The debris of the stars contained the purest nomological power, and was the best magical item set to be used for manifesting the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness. Even a true god might not be able to possess such a thing. With Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, Lin Li finally managed to have the chance to manifest the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness in his Domain World, even though his strength was only at the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, Lin Li¡¯s realm was ultimately still too low. Moreover, he hadn¡¯t mastered much of the arcane mysteries of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness.. Even with Holy Light and Gloomy Dark as the foundation, the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness that had been formed were far from perfect, and could only be considered an inferior product.

 Chapter 1263 - Flood

    Chapter 1263: Flood

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    After adding the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness to his Domain World to enhance its resistance and defense, Lin Li immediately focused his energy on drawing the mageweaths. With his current strength, it was simply impossible for him to fight the Ancient God of Water¡¯s phantom toe-to-toe, even if it only had a 10th of the Ancient God of Water¡¯s strength. Hence, he thought of the Mount Tai mageweath, which was the result of his recent research.

    The Mount Tai mageweath was a condensation of Lin Li¡¯sprehension of the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, and the main reason it could suppress the demigod-level Wild Whale Rabu was not actually its great power. Most importantly, it was because thews used in the Mount Tai mageweath werepletely independent of thews of Anril as they were actually newws that Lin Li had created.

    The reason for a powerhouse¡¯s great strength was his mastery of nomological power. Meanwhile, demigod-level powerhouses had fused thewspletely with their bodies and souls. Hence, in order to suppress the other party under the originalws, one would have to apply power that was dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than the other party¡¯s.

    Lin Li¡¯s Mount Tai mageweath waspletely different from anyw in this world, being something that even Wild Whale Rabu had nevere into contact with before. In the face of thews of the Mount Tai mageweath, Rabu was just like an elementary-level mage apprentice. Hence, as long as the Mount Tai mageweath could exert power that was equivalent to Rabu¡¯s, it would be able to suppress Rabu at the bottom of the ocean.

    Ancient gods had the inherent control of a certain type of powerfulw; in fact, they could even be considered a type ofw themselves, which was the advantage that they had over the other gods. At the same time, it was also a major disadvantage because they would forever be constrained by the limits of thisw.

    Of course, for the other gods apart from the ancient gods, the creation of newws was not a simple task at all. After all, those gods were born in this world, and even if they had reached the level of being able to createws of their own, thews that they created would still be based on the basicws of this world, which was the limitation of their thoughts.

    Lin Li was the only one who could create newws that were independent of this world because he had the knowledge of another world. Thew of the Mount Tai mageweath was not that of a mountain, but was based on a popr saying which meant ¡°a world of a difference¡±. Otherwise, he could have just used a certain type ofw to mobilize the power of other mountains in Anril that were much more majestic than Mount Tai instead of creating newws.

    However, after understanding how hard it was to create newws, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but have doubts about the origin of the Immortal King again. Strictly speaking, the Immortal King¡¯s Divine-Smith-level mageweath actually involved a creation ofws in the true sense, while Lin Li¡¯s Mount Tai mageweath was somewhat of a trick.

    However, regardless of how wild and vivid one¡¯s imagination might be, it could never break free from the limitations of reality. For example, the phrase ¡°when pigs fly¡± might seem absurd, but it was still imaginable because pigs did exist in reality, and the scenario of pigs flying was still within the basis of reality. Another example would be that a farmer could never imagine what an emperor had for his meals every day, because he had no knowledge of what an emperor ate at all. Perhaps the best food he could imagine was meat.

    Hence, it was extremely difficult to break through the impact of reality on the human mind. Even the gods that had reached the level of being able to createws might not be able to createws that were really free from all the limitations of reality. Thews created by the subordinate gods and main gods were all created based on the basicws of Anril, so they had never been able to surpass the ancient gods who were the origin ofws.

    Lin Li managed to create thews of the Mount Tai mageweath because he came from another world that was different from Anril. Then, the Immortal King was able to create newws because he truly had a mind that was free from restraints, and also because he was...

    That reminded Lin Li of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars and the things that originally belonged to the game, Endless World, as well as the shadow of the King Hunter in the Well of the Sun. He had a hunch that was bing increasingly stronger: the reason he came to Anril might really be rted to the Immortal King in some way.

    However, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t imagine what exactly the rtionship between the two was. Fortunately, it was just considered a goal of his, and he thought that perhaps he would one day be able to get the answer he wanted from the Immortal King. Now, what he needed to do was to defeat the powerful Ancient God of Water.

    The Ancient God of Water¡¯s power might be iplete, but his willpower and his mastery of thews would not be weakened by the suppression of power. The powerful Water Divine Kingdom had flooded the entire space. There was an extremely luxurious crystal pce in the boundless ocean where millions of the ancient god¡¯s followers were praying piously.

    Lin Li needed time toplete the drawing of the Mount Tai mageweath, but the Ancient God of Water obviously wouldn¡¯t give Lin Li any time to do so. As the ancient divine texts flowed out, the entire Divine Kingdom got into a huge uproar. The millions of believers leaped up and gathered in midair to form a huge wave that covered the sky, and subsequently smashed against Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. The massive power of it was enough to crush the entire maind into bits.

    When the massive wave struck, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was overturned. The earth crumbled and the sky copsed, forming an apocalyptic scene that seemed like doomsday. The debris of the stars that had been integrated into the Domain World was shaken by the massive force to the extent that it was about to break free. The phantoms of the two ck and white pythons were rolling in the sky of the Domain World incessantly, futilely trying to repair the space that was about to crumble.

    However, it was just the attack of onerge wave. The subsequent huge waves left Lin Li with no chance to stop for a moment and catch his breath at all. As the space of the Domain World crumbled, the power of the Ancient God of Water surged in from every possible crevice, forming a huge flood that seemed to be drowning the world inside Lin Li¡¯s Domain World.

    Such a terrifying power would probably be enough to destroy even the sun, what more a small Domain World like Lin Li¡¯s. The suppression of the incarnations of the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness that were manifested with Gloomy Dark and Holy Light allowed the Domain World to barely maintain some cohesion. Otherwise, thews that constituted the Domain World would have probably disintegrated a long time ago.

    It was known to many that water and fire were merciless. At this moment, Lin Li finally had a true understanding of the power of water.

    Although the elementalw of water was one of the four basic elementalws, mages, just like everyone else, generally felt that the water element attack spells were not powerful enough, and were in fact inferior to ice element offensive spells, which were derived from water elements. For example, the attack power of the most ordinary attack spell Water Arrow was still inferior to that of the offensive spell Ice Arrow. Hence, many mages would prefer to use ice elementalws because of the strong attack power and defensive ability.

    However, the Ancient God of Water had now shown Lin Li the true power of the water elementalws, which was drastically different from the knowledge of water elementalws that the vast majority of mages had. The destructive and terrifying power it possessed was far from what the ice elementalws couldpare to. Destroying the world and drowning everything was what the true power of the water elementalws could do. Compared to the powerful water elements, the power of the ice elementalws was simply insignificant.

    Of course, for Lin Li, the more powerful the Ancient God of Water was, the more dangerous a situation he would be in. Hence, he didn¡¯t have time to marvel about the Ancient God of Water¡¯s use of water elements. Instead, he focused entirely on drawing the Mount Tai mageweath. In order to get enough time for himself, he shrunk his Domain World to the smallest possible size and shrouded almost only the area within 10-odd meters around himself. He sacrificed space for the strength of the Domain World.

    After shrinking his Domain World to a certain extent, the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness that were formed with Gloomy Dark and Holy Light almost revolved around him. They continuously emitted ck and white rays of light that came with an extremely arcane aura that was integrated into the Domain World to strengthen it.

    Initially, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World covered an extremelyrge area, and was apletely realistic microcosm. However, that also meant that it was subject to more attacks from the Water Divine Kingdom. Now that Lin Li shrank his Domain World to the smallest possible size, the power of its defenses was concentrated, and the contact area that was susceptible to attacks naturally became smaller too.

    Unfortunately, the current size of the Domain World was already Lin Li¡¯s limit. Otherwise, if he could shrink it to the size of a speck of dust, there was probably nothing that could be done to him. Only a true Divine Kingdom could be expanded to a size that wasrger than Anril and shrunk to the size of a speck of dust that was invisible to the naked eye.

    After all, Lin Li had yet to achieve Godhood, and wasn¡¯tpletely free from the shackles of Anril, either. Hence, he couldn¡¯t free himself from Anril and integrate his body into his Domain World. Everything was still limited to thews of Anril.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t think that his chances of victory were high just because of this. After all, he was facing an ancient god that was far above all other gods. How could it possibly not have any means of retaliation? He just hoped that he could buy a little time toplete the Mount Tai mageweath.

    Indeed, as Lin Li shrunk his Domain World, most of the Water Ancient God¡¯s attacks immediately struck empty air. However, upon seeing this, the Ancient God of Water immediately switched tactics, and simply tried to crush Lin Li with the Water Divine Kingdom,pletely assimting Lin Li and his shrunk Domain World into the Divine Kingdom.

    Before Lin Li could continue drawing the Mount Tai mageweath, he felt his vision turn dark; immediately afterwards, he saw that there was water everywhere around him. Water began gushing towards him from all sides, cing him under massive pressure, so much so that the lights of his Domain World began flickering incessantly, seemingly on the verge of copsing.

    Under such circumstances, others would probably no longer be in the mood to draw a mageweath anymore, or might even be crushed to death by the terrifying pressure while drawing the mageweath. Lin Li was just as worried, but he knew that the only hope he had of defeating the Ancient God of Water was dependent on the Mount Tai mageweath. Hence, even when faced with such a dangerous situation, he couldn¡¯t give up on drawing the mageweath.

    However, while drawing the mageweath, Lin Li of course wouldn¡¯t just suffer the attacks of the Ancient God of Water without doing anything. While continuing to mobilize his mana to draw the Mount Tai mageweath in the air, he released the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, from his Domain World. He then catalyzed the nomological power of water to retaliate against the World Laws.

    The water elementalws contained in Pr Snow were not inferior to thews mastered by the Ancient God of Water. However, Lin Li did not have the Stars of Fury, and could not fully exert the power in Pr Snow, though it was not impossible to fight against the Ancient God of Water by buying some time through the power of Pr Snow to draw the mageweath.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, nomological power emanating from Pr Snow was not going hard against the Ancient God of Water, but rather it was integrating the power of the same source into the surrounding Water Divine Kingdom. Of course, Lin Li was not trying to gain control of the Water Divine Kingdom. He still had a reasonable self-awareness. However, doing so would give Lin Li some relief from the pressure from the Water Divine Kingdom by redirecting the power that was crushing him away from his Domain World under the guidance of the power of Pr Snow.

    Although Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be immune to the massive pressure, it could be alleviated to a certain extent. Pr Snow might have been drawn away from the Domain World, which was almost about to be crushed, but thetter¡¯s condition was clearly much better than before.

    Lin Li took the opportunity to quickly draw the Mount Tai mageweath, his arms moving so quickly that they almost formed a phantom. The patterns that were condensed from mana, as well as the arcane magic runes, were continuously taking shape in front of him, evolving towards bing a perfect mageweath.

    However, the Ancient God of Water soon discovered Lin Li¡¯s trick. As an ancient god who innately controlled thews of water, how could he have possibly failed to notice the changes in his Divine Kingdom? Lin Li¡¯s actions were like a tant provocation to the Ancient God of Water because someone actually dared to use the nomological power of water right in front of him!

    The water around Lin Li immediately receded in all directions and retreated to a great distance, making it seem as if Lin Li was in a bubble at the bottom of the sea. However, the Ancient God of Water was not letting him off. Immediately afterwards, the water around him suddenly surged and charged towards Lin Li with a loud roar.

    The water around Lin Li was initially already putting great pressure on his Domain World. Coupled with the surge now, its power would probably be increased by hundreds or thousands of times. It was as if the seawater of the Endless Ocean smashed into a single person immediately. Even the real gods would probably falter, let alone Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Faced with such an attack, Lin Li naturally did not dare to be careless at all. He had no choice but to temporarily stop drawing the mageweaths, and instead raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter while quickly chanting a magic incantation.. As soon as he was done, the boundless water around him had already charged towards him while roaring loudly, seemingly trying to crush him.

 Chapter 1264 - Suppression

    Chapter 1264: Suppression

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    However, of course, when the water struck Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, it simply passed through almost without any hindrance, as if the Domain World was no longer existent. Water then surged in from all directions with a terrifying power, converging at the spot where Lin Li was, just like a bunch of bulls colliding. However, the power was more than a million times stronger, and it immediately formed a huge vortex.

    However, Lin Li, who was at the center of the impact, was not affected in the slightest. Not only was his body undamaged, he didn¡¯t even move a single inch. He was still drawing the mageweath with great speed, the various magic patterns flickering with the light of mana.

    Of course Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be affected. Just as the attack was about to reach him, he had alreadypleted the Void of the Stars technique that Geresco had once performed. In this moment, his body was already anchored in the void andpletely unaffected by the power of this world.

    Under the terrifying pressure of the water, Lin Li initially didn¡¯t dare to cast the Void of the Stars Technique at all. After all, it couldn¡¯t beunched immediately. Being subjected to the enormous water pressure around him, he would be crushed by the millions of tons of hydrostatic pressure even if there was a hole that opened for only a one-thousandth of a second after he cast the Void of the Stars.

    In a bid to kill Lin Li in one fell swoop, the Ancient God of Water tried to umte more power tounch a terrifying attack, but ended up giving Lin Li the opportunity to cast the Void of the Stars.

    There was a w to the Void of the Stars. It allowed Lin Li and the Ancient God of Water to exist in what seemed like two separate spaces, and thus the Ancient God of Water couldn¡¯t attack Lin Li, but Lin Li couldn¡¯t attack it, either. However, what Lin Li had to do now was not to counterattack against the Ancient God of Water, but to take the opportunity toplete his Mount Tai mageweath. He knew very well that even if he gathered the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt the Ancient God of Water at all, and the Mount Tai mageweath was the only possible way he could win.

    However, the Ancient God of Water was notpletely powerless against Lin Li¡¯s Void of the Stars technique. More than 100 majestic pces emerged from the Water Divine Kingdom, with a statue of the Ancient God of Water in front of each of them. Next, the statues suddenly began to sh, and a massive Magic Array appeared in the center above the hundreds of statues, cing Lin Li in the middle.

    With the appearance of the Magic Array, Lin Li immediately felt that an inexplicable force hadnded on his body in the void. That gave Lin Li a huge fright. The Void of the Stars technique required one to attach their physical body to a certainyer, and if one wanted to attack the caster of the Void of the Stars, they would have to identify theyer of void that his body was in. That was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

    However, Lin Li did not expect that the Ancient God of Water had not only mastered the elementalws of water to the extreme, but also had a profound understanding of thews of space. Hence, he managed to quickly locate the void where Lin Li¡¯s physical body was.

    However, when Lin Li thought about the Ancient God of Water¡¯s identity, he felt that it did make sense, after all. It was an ancient god that was far above the other gods. How could ancient gods possibly rely on their inherent mastery of the nomological power? Even the ordinary gods did not purely master only thews that allowed them to be gods, but rather they also had knowledge of some otherws.

    No one could be a god just by mastering a single type ofw. Even if one specialized in a certainw, they would still have to understand otherws in order to deepen theirprehension of this onew they specialized in. Hence, even the God of Fire, God of Earth, God of Botany, and so on had a far greaterprehension of thews than mortals of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Faced with Lin Li¡¯s Void of the Stars technique, the Ancient God of Water instantly found the void in which Lin Li was hiding. Next, water surged into it with massive power, almost ripping apart thatyer of void. With a single sh of the light on Lin Li¡¯s body, Lin Li was forced out of the void, and propelled back into the space where the Ancient God of Water¡¯s Divine Kingdom was.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t panic much this time. Looking at the mighty and majestic Ancient God of Water in the Divine Kingdom, he reached out to add thest magic rune to the mageweath in front of him.

    In an instant, the Mount Tai mageweath erupted with a dazzling light, and transformed from a mageweath that was the height of a human into a golden that covered the sky and the earth in the blink of an eye. 36,000 mageweaths began spinning slowly in the sky like a millstone. The hundreds of thousands of magic runes shed continuously like stars in the sky. A strange, massive power that didn¡¯t belong to this world engulfed the Water Divine Kingdom.

    Under the oppression of the Mount Tai mageweath, the Water Divine Kingdom, which was already filling up the entire space, was instantly suppressed without any power to retaliate. It then began falling like a tide. The sky and sun were revealed, but the power didn¡¯t seem to subside. Instead, it begannding at an increasingly quick speed.

    The Ancient God of Water, who was standing in the Divine Kingdom, raised his hands and roared while being overwhelmed by the nomological power of water, seemingly trying to block the oppressive force. Although the otherworldly force wasn¡¯t stronger than the Ancient God of Water, he couldn¡¯t resist it.

    The Water Divine Kingdom began shrinking bit by bit, gradually turning into a domineering and majestic ancient city that surfaced around the Ancient God of Water. It had walls that were over 30 meters high, and wasrger than the capital of the Gilded Kingdom, though much smallerpared to the boundless Divine Kingdom. However, even so, the ancient city began to seem a little warped and faint under the suppression of that Mount Tai mageweath, as if it would disappear at any moment.

    At this moment, the Ancient God of Water suddenly roared, and stomped his left foot, after which the Divine Kingdom shrunk and almostpressed the ancient city to the point of crumbling. However, the remains gathered into a huge force that struck the Mount Tai mageweath in the sky.

    In an instant, numerous roars filled the air, and several pure yet massive clusters of nomological power charged into the sky before exploding under the obstruction of an invisible power. If the terrifying power were to fall on Four Seasons Ind, a few blows would probably be enough to st it into ashes. However, it wasn¡¯t effective here at all.

    With both hands in the air, the Ancient God of Water still couldn¡¯t stop itself from falling. The tendons on its body were bulging, and even the massive power that was constantly surging towards its hands could be seen. However, in the air where its hands were, the power of the Mount Tai mageweath was not affected at all, and it seemed to be constantly pressing downward.

    Lin Li stood in the void and watched coldly as the Ancient God of Water was suppressed by the power of the Mount Tai mageweath. At the same time, he was sensing the powerful mana fluctuations, which were gradually bing inconspicuous. Eventually, countless rays of golden light were cast on the massive body of the Ancient God of Water, suppressing thetter¡¯s power bit by bit until it turned into a mass of light, just like the gods being suppressed outside.

    Lin Li had created the Mount Tai mageweath with his mana and mental strength, which was very different from drawing on a scroll with inscription ink. Hence, Lin Li¡¯s mental strength immediately charged into the light mass that the Ancient God of Water transformed into through the mental strength connection with the Mount Tai mageweath.

    The Ancient God of Water¡¯s willpower in the mass of light had already beenpletely suppressed, and what was left was the Origin of Water that the Ancient God of Water had mastered. The Origin of Water could be considered the purest elementalws of water and the power source of the Ancient God of Water. More importantly, it contained the divinity of the ancient god.

    Although Lin Li had the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, and the elementalws of water that it contained were not inferior to those of the Ancient God of Water, it was impossible to prate it using his mental strength. Besides, Lin Li could also sense that the seven pieces of the debris of the stars actually also had their own willpower. However, their willpower was different from that of ordinary people. It was a willpower that was high above all beings in the world.

    However, the willpower of the debris of the stars seemed to be in a dormant state. Hence, Lin Li did not dare to casually probe it using his mental strength.

    However, the Origin of Water was different. The willpower of the ancient gods had already been suppressed, and the remaining Origin of Water was just like a masterless power. Lin Li was at ease, and it could even be said that he could use his mental strength to search and probe everything without any scruples.

    After sometime, perhaps a moment or a much longer period of time, Lin Li finally withdrew his mental strength from the Origin of Water. At the same time, he let out a long sigh of relief. To him, the Origin of Water boasted great benefits, and it allowed his mastery of the elementalws of water to improve by leaps and bounds. The various issues that he¡¯d previously encountered in mastering the elementalws of water seemed to have been resolved perfectly at this moment.

    Besides, the Origin of Water also contained the divinity of an ancient god, which was a great guidance for Lin Li in achieving godhood. Although he wouldn¡¯t take the path that the Ancient God of Water did, being able to understand some information about the ancient gods and other deities in advance through the divinity in it would also be an important inspiration for him.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t let go of the Origin of Water, and instead he stowed it away into his Ring of Endless Storm. Although it contained the divinity as well as the will of the Ancient God of Water that was suppressed, and Lin Li could not think of a way to use it yet, he couldn¡¯t let that be a reason to dispose of it.

    As the will of the Ancient God of Waterpletely disappeared from this space, its original appearance was restored, and once again there were violent movements. The original ind where Lin Li stood suddenly began to grow in all directions, rapidly eating away at the space that initially belonged to the sea.

    However, a few breathster, the sea that was originally boundless actually turned into a barrennd right in front of Lin Li, without a single trace of seawater left. Immediately afterwards, a giant that seemed to be made of rock slowly stood up in the middle where the ind was originally located.

    With a loud roar, the entirend changed once again. Mountain ranges and several giant mountain peaks began to rise as if they hade to life. The longest mountain range was almost invisible at a nce, and the tallest peak seemed like a sharp sword that was piercing into the sky.

    The Ancient God of Earth!

    Seeing the changes in the environment, coupled with the divine aura that was emanating from the other party¡¯s body, Lin Li immediately knew that it was the Ancient God of Earth who inherently mastered thews of earth.

    Almost at the same time that the Ancient God of Earth appeared, Lin Li felt a powerful force that shrouded him. Although it was unclear if it was a pulling force or pressure, Lin Li was dragged downwards towards the ground forcefully. That was actually the Gravity Spell, which everyone mistook the Mount Tai Magic Scroll for during the auction. However, the Gravity Spell, which the people belittled, actually seemed different when cast by the Ancient God of Earth.

    In addition to falling, Lin Li¡¯s body was also constrained by the power, and it was almost impossible for him to move his body. At this rate, he would definitely fall to the ground like a meteor and turn into a pile of badly mangled flesh. He would be a Sanctuary powerhouse who had fallen to his death.

    It was said that when the Ancient God of Earth used the simple Gravity Spell during the Age of Mythology, it could even pull celestial bodies down from the void, and create a cmity like an artificial meteor shower. Hundreds of tons of celestial bodies came raining down from the void, and the power of each was not inferior to the full-force attack of a Sanctuary powerhouse. A Sanctuary powerhouse would instantly be turned into ashes after getting struck by it, and even their soul would be burned to ashes by the mes.

    Just like the Ancient God of Water, the Ancient God of Earth in front of Lin Li now had only a small portion of his power left, coupled with his willpower. Hence, his strength was far from the point of overriding the gods, and was in fact just a little more divine than that of demigod-level powerhouses.

    Of course, having more divinity was already quite an impressive feat because that meant that the ancient god was still a true deity despite having been weakened, and not a demigod that had just reached this realm.

    Upon sensing the huge attraction, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World changed immediately as well. The debris of the stars that had been integrated into the Domain World became dominated by the new life containing thews of earth. Dealing with the power of the Ancient God of Earth using the power of the debris of the stars, Rebirth, was akin to using Pr Snow against the Ancient God of Water previously.

    Under the power of the debris of the stars, Rebirth, Lin Li¡¯s falling speed slowed down and gradually stabilized, while he regained his mobility. At the same time, he also raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand, and the sky was suddenly filled with gloomy clouds. Numerous lightning balls begannding on the Ancient God of Earth with deafening roars.

    However, before the countless balls of lightning could reach the head of the Ancient God of Earth, arge rock palm suddenly extended from the earth below, and with its gentle wave, all the attacks in the air vanished.. Immediately afterwards, the Ancient God of Earth stomped his foot, and a mountain peak stabbed out of the earth like a sharp sword before darting towards Lin Li.

 Chapter 1265 - Mutation

    Chapter 1265: Mutation

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The peaks seemed like the Earth Spike magic spells that had been erged countless times. Like the fangs of a giant beast, the peaks chased after Lin Li¡¯s figure, and tried to impale him incessantly. On the other hand, Lin Li seemed to have be a sparrow shuttling through a thick forest, casting magic spells and dodging the terrifying Earth-Spike-like peaks.

    The battle with the Ancient God of Water proved that the Mount Tai mageweath was still very effective in suppressing ancient gods. However, when facing the Ancient God of Earth, Lin Li did not use the Mount Tai mageweath immediately, and instead did his best to go in circles with his opponent. In fact, he even ced himself in an extremely dangerous situation.

    It wasn¡¯t that Lin Li was trying to put himself through suffering, but rather he didn¡¯t want to give up such an opportunity to familiarize himself with the power of the ancient gods so easily. Instead of a test left by Geresco, it was more like a chance to learn to fight with gods. There was no other ce in this world that would give one a chance to fight against gods. What other person could suppress the power of the ancient gods to such an extent and send a Sanctuary powerhouse there for training?

    The ancient god was very powerful. Even though the majority of his power had been suppressed, Lin Li still wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him easily. However, if Lin Li had used the Mount Tai mageweath all the way, it would probably have been difficult to reap many benefits from it. The Mount Tai mageweath definitely wasn¡¯t omnipotent, and if he met a true god again in the future, the effects that the Mount Tai mageweath could exert would probably be limited too. By then, it would be toote for regrets.

    Lin Li could still get a mass of Power of Origin after suppressing the ancient gods and a clearer understanding of the originws from it. However, it would be akin to getting a book; while one could flip through the pages and gain some knowledge from their content, it didn¡¯t mean that one would be able to internalize the information and know how to apply it. Only through the battles with the ancient gods could Lin Li clearly see the way that the ancient gods used the Power of Origin, which was also important for his integration of the knowledge he had gained.

    Seeing that the peaks that were piercing through the sky still couldn¡¯t catch Lin Li, the Ancient God of Earth lost his patience at this point, and swung his fist into the sky abruptly. Although that punch seemed ordinary, the appearance of the sky suddenly changed with it.

    The sky, which was originally turquoise blue, turned into the same color as earth, and it was as if the entire earth was hanging upside down in the sky. Lin Li was flying in the air, and if he looked above him, he would even feel as if he was hanging upside down. Besides, like the earth beneath his feet, mountains and peaks were also emerging from the earth above his head. The sword-like mountain peaks also began charging towards Lin Li.

    This time, Lin Li was facing a bombardment of attacksing from all directions, and it wasn¡¯t that easy for him to rely on his flexibility and agility to dodge them. Besides, the intertwined peaks formed a cage that made Lin Li¡¯s range of activity shrink more and more.

    Such an attack was not really that terrifying for Lin Li. Without the influence of the terrifying gravity, even an ordinary Sanctuary powerhouse might not be in much danger, let alone Lin Li. Hence, it made Lin Li feel that the Ancient God of Earth seemed to be ying the cat-and-mouse game with him andpletely treating him like a ything.

    ¡°Ant, hand over that thing in your hand, and I¡¯ll grant you the honor of bing my believer!¡±

    A mellow voice suddenly sounded in Lin Li¡¯s mind. It naturally belonged to the Ancient God of Earth because there was no one else around apart from Lin Li himself and the Ancient God of Earth. That also made Lin Li understand that the Ancient God of Earth had been coveting what he was holding.

    Although the Ancient God of Earth did not state explicitly what it was, Lin Li could already guess that the Ancient God of Earth was probably after his debris of the stars, Rebirth, which contained the purews of earth.

    At this moment, the Ancient God of Earth possessed only a small portion of his power that was drawn from his main body. Hence, he was barely maintaining his power as a god, and naturally couldn¡¯t break free from the restraint. If the Ancient God of Earth could obtain the debris of the stars, Rebirth, he would at least be able to restore arge portion of his strength, if not the full amount that he had during his prime.

    With the temporary lifting of the suppression by the Divine-Smith-level mageweath and the recovery of arge part of his strength with the aid of the debris of the stars, Rebirth, the Ancient God of Earth might have a chance to break free. No one was willing to be imprisoned forever, what more an ancient god who was once above all other gods and deities.

    ¡°If you want it,e and get it yourself by defeating me!¡± How could Lin Li possibly give something as important as the debris of the stars to the Ancient God of Earth? His battles with the ancient gods were supposed to be a test left by Geresco, and even if the ancient god was unwilling to fight Lin Li, thetter would have to force the former to fight instead of trying to find a way to avoid the battle.

    The only thing Lin Li would get out of handing his debris of the stars over to the Ancient God of Earth was bing a ve to thetter! Lin Li wouldn¡¯t hold himself cheap like that. The Ancient God of Earth had to have been suppressed for too long, so much so that his brains were fried.

    Lin Li¡¯s answer had undoubtedly angered the Ancient God of Earth. He was one of the powerful ancient gods, and the qualifying criteria to be their ves were extremely demanding, and generally only true gods and deities would qualify. Besides, Lin Li was just an ant-like mortal to him, and yet he actually dared to say something so arrogant. The ancient god felt that it was simply the greatest insult to him.

    ¡°In that case, die, ant!¡± the Ancient God of Earth hollered furiously, and numerous mountain peaks appeared in the sky and earth. Just like the sharp fangs of gigantic beasts, they chomped down on Lin Li.

    Lin Li had already anticipated the Ancient God of Earth¡¯s reaction. The Helios¡¯ Scepter flickered, and various 100-meter-long Light and Darkness Swords emerged from around Lin Li¡¯s body before shing towards the mountain peaks like a windmill. The entire space was instantly filled with continuous roars as the Light and Darkness Sword collided with the mountain peaks that resembled sharp swords. It was as if Lin Li and the Ancient God of Earth were in a sword fight.

    However, the Ancient God of Earth¡¯s methods were clearly not limited to that, as his attacks were followed by magic spells that contained thews of earth. They were bombarding Lin Li like a storm. The earth elemental magic spells that the Ancient God of Earth cast were not merely flying sand and stones, but he had also disyed an excellent application of thews of earth. The Ancient God of Earth could even use thews of earth to cast magic spells in conjunction with otherws, such as Thunderbolt mes and Thunderstorm Gale, each of which contained destructive power.

    Lin Li¡¯s Domain World was rapidly changing in size. Hundreds of Light and Darkness Swords danced in the air to form a shadow of light, constantly blocking attacks from all directions. However, Lin Li¡¯s strength was eventually far weaker than that of the Ancient God of Earth. In the beginning, he could use a Light and Darkness Sword to offset an attack, but he gradually had to put in more and more power.

    When a huge mountain peak which resembled a Sky Castle fell straight towards Lin Li, dozens of Light and Darkness Swords immediately flew out of the defensive range, and shed towards the mountain. If this were elsewhere, Lin Li would be able to sh it into pieces even if it was more than 10 timesrger than this one. However, this mountain peak that contained thews of earth, or rather one that was purely made up ofws of earth, was not that easy to deal with.

    The numerous 100-meter-long Light and Darkness Swords began sting at the mountain peak that flew over along with the sound of air exploding. However, the collision between the Light and Darkness Swords and the mountain peak did not cause a single explosion. Instead, it was as if the attacks hadnded on a desert as they sunk and vanished upon contact. Immediately afterwards, the mental connection between Lin Li and the Light and Darkness Swords was instantly cut off.

    However, Lin Li did not panic at all. Ordinary magic spells would vanish as soon as the link was cut off, but the Light and Darkness Swords, which utilized two extreme forces consisting of light and darkness, werepletely free from the restraint of Lin Li¡¯s mental strength. As a result, the two forces exploded because of the conflicting power.

    As expected, the moment the connection was severed, a low explosion sounded from that massive mountain peak. Numerousrge bulges began to appear on the mountain peak, resemblingrge bubbles in boiling water.

    Unfortunately, that was the limit. Although the power of the Light and Darkness Swords was terrifying, it wasn¡¯t enough to disintegrate the mountain peak. The massive mountain peak was still falling towards Lin Li like a meteor with a deafening roar.

    If it had been an ordinary mountain peak, Lin Li would not have suffered much damage even if he got hit by it because of the great defensive power of the Domain World. However, this mountain peak wasposed entirely of thews of earth, and the mountain peak was only its physical form. Essentially, it was the bombardment of thews of earth, which Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to underestimate.

    Lin Li did not use the Void of the Stars technique again, because he knew it would not be of much use against ancient gods. As the light on the Helios¡¯ Scepter flickered, a looming spear of light suddenly appeared in Lin Li¡¯s Domain World. It was none other than the debris of the stars, Nothingness.

    Lin Li took out the Crossbow of Reincarnation, while the Nothingness spear turned into an arrow that was ced on the crossbow. Immediately afterwards, it darted out with the buckling of the crossbow mechanism. Nothingness had the most bizarre power among all pieces of the debris of the stars. It contained thews of time and space, and was the one Lin Li had mastered to the lowest extent. However, the power of Nothingness was not to be doubted. When he killed the Dragon of Destruction in the Endless World, the power of Nothingness yed an extremely crucial role.

    After Nothingness wasunched, it shed through the space with an unpredictable light, and shot straight into the mountain peak. Next, a massive vortex seemed to have appeared in the middle of the huge mountain peak, and began devouring the surrounding rock. In the blink of an eye, the mountain peak which was evenrger than a Sky Castle vanished without a trace in midair. All that was left was the faint vortex, which seemed to be about to vanish.

    Clearly, the Ancient God of Earth did not expect Lin Li to have so many good things, and was momentarily stunned by the development. However, although the power was bizarre, it was still far from being enough to defeat him in his eyes. Hence, he didn¡¯t feel anything else other than surprise.

    The Ancient God of the Earth pointed his hand forward, and more than 10 mountain peaks once again rose up immediately around Lin Li, constantly rotating around him. One by one, they ruthlessly collided with Lin Li; at the same time, the earth above his head, which seemed to be a reflection of the earth below, tried to crush Lin Li like arge millstone.

    After a few moments of exchanging blows, Lin Li finally couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. With his strength as a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, there was still a great difference between him and the Ancient God of Earth, even though thetter had been greatly restrained. The fact that Lin Li had not been killed in seconds by the Ancient God of Earth was already something to be proud of.

    Of course, although he didn¡¯t spend much time fighting, Lin Li gained a good understanding of the Ancient God of Earth¡¯s usage of thews of earth. Although his attainments couldn¡¯t bepared to those of the Ancient God of Earth, it could be said that gaining this understanding was akin to opening a door for Lin Li. The inspiration it gave him could not be measured ording to any standard.

    Sensing that he was already having a hard time holding up, Lin Li stopped wasting any more time, and instead reached out to start drawing the Mount Tai mageweath. However, the Mount Tai mageweath was significantly different from before this time because Lin Li had made changes to it ording to the characteristics of the Ancient God of Earth. In fact, it was thanks to this battle that Lin Li had gained a better understanding of the Ancient God of Earth. Otherwise, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to suppress the Ancient God of Earth using the original Mount Tai mageweath.

    Although many things were triggered when Lin Li drew the Mount Tai mageweath again, it didn¡¯t affect Lin Li¡¯s drawing speed. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars were reintegrated into his Domain World to enhance its defensive power. Afterwards, he began drawing the new Mount Tai mageweath quickly while dealing with the storm-like attacks of the Ancient God of Earth.

    Due to the fact that he had gained experience from that battle with the Ancient God of Water, Lin Li managed to free himself from danger this time, even though he was in quite a disheveled state. Finally, when the Domain World was about to copse, the Mount Tai mageweath in front of Lin Li was alsopleted. As Lin Li drew thest stroke, thepleted Mount Tai mageweath flickered and flew out of the Domain World. Its light almost made the entire space gilded.

    Under the suppression of the Mount Tai mageweath, the earth above his head and under his feet melted rapidly like snow under the sun. The sky above his head was blue again, and a turquoise blue sea appeared beneath his feet. All the power of thews of earth was forced back into the Ancient God of Earth¡¯s body. The Ancient God of Earth, who was originally like a Titan, also began to copse under the pressure.

    Sensing the power of the suppression, the Ancient God of Earth roared indignantly, and he kept sting his arms towards the surroundings, as if he was trying to disperse the oppressive force. However, his attacks seemed to be futile as he couldn¡¯t touch the power of the Mount Tai mageweath at all.

    Lin Li stood still in the air, and watched as the Mount Tai mageweath and magic runes began to flicker on the Ancient God of Earth¡¯s body.. The tall body of the Ancient God of Earth gradually began shrinking before eventually turning into a mass of yellow light.

 Chapter 1266 - Detonation

    <h4>Chapter 1266: Detonation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li waved his hand and grasped the mass of yellow light before channeling his mental strength into the mass of light immediately. Just like bees sucking nectar, it absorbed the knowledge of thews of earth in the mass of light into his mind.

    After a long time, Lin Li finally opened his eyes, and stowed away the mass of light that represented the power of Origin of earth into his Ring of Endless Storm. Immediately afterwards, the debris of the stars, Rebirth, flew out from his Domain World, and released a light that was drastically different from before.

    Sensing that he was getting more and morefortable with controlling Rebirth, Lin Li had greater anticipation for the next test.

    At this moment, the loud sounds of a violent explosion suddenly came from the sky. Immediately afterwards, Lin Li saw a huge fireball smashing towards him. <i>Is it the Ancient God of Fire¡¯s turn this time?</i> However, regardless of what it was, Lin Li did not dare to really take on the attack. Instead, he activated his Space Robe and flew in another direction.

    When the fireballnded on the position where Lin Li was originally standing at, it seemed to stop as if the emergency brakes were applied. Next, the fireball stretched out and turned into a figure that was engulfed by mes, emitting a suffocating divine power like a god descending from the sky.

    It was an ancient god, but not the Ancient God of Fire that Lin Li thought he was. Although his body was covered in zing mes, the mes did not contain a trace of the Origin of Fire. After stretching his body, that ancient god turned to face Lin Li, and his body shook a little. Soon, the mes that shrouded his body were instantly extinguished by a strange power.

    As the mes vanished, the ancient god¡¯s appearance was unraveled. He was nearly 10 meters tall, and the muscles of his naked body seemed to be cast in steel. There was no doubt that he possessed the power to overturn the sea and sky.

    The Ancient God of Strength! Lin Li finally recognized his opponent to be the Ancient God of Strength who had mastered the Origin of strength, and who was said to be able to lift Anril with both hands, break through millions ofyers of space with a single punch, and easily make Anril sink by several meters ording to the myths.

    There was another god that was simr to the Ancient God of Strength: the low-level main god, Hercules. However, Hercules was just like a nobodypared to the Ancient God of Strength. Hercules had achieved godhood through his mastery of thews of strength, while the Ancient God of Strength had an inherent mastery of the Origin of strength, which was the source of all strength.

    Lin Li initially hoped that he would be able to battle the masters of all four elementalws, but he didn¡¯t expect to face the Ancient God of Strength. While feeling disappointed, he also felt a little vexed. If he had guessed correctly, the Ancient God of Strength could not be easily suppressed by the Mount Tai mageweath.

    Strictly speaking, Lin Li¡¯s Mount Tai mageweath was very simr to the Origin of strength of the Ancient God of Strength. Although Lin Li was indeed the one who had created thews of the Mount Tai mageweath, it was verypatible with the nature of the Origin of strength. Under such circumstances, it would naturally not be that easy to suppress the Ancient God of Strength who possessed the Origin of strength.

    BOOM!

    The figure of the Ancient God of Strength suddenly vanished on the spot, letting out a thunderous roar. Immediately afterwards, a fist that blocked Lin Li¡¯s entire field of vision suddenly came crashing towards him almost at the same time as the disappearance of the Ancient God of Strength urred. Even though Lin Li¡¯s surroundings were still protected by the debris of the stars, the Domain World didn¡¯t seem to have the slightest effect in blocking the steel punch as it was crushed into pieces. Under the blow from the Ancient God of Strength, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were actually forced out of Lin Li¡¯s Domain World.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had already prepared for this long ago, so he immediately deployed the Space Robe. As it flickered, he vanished right on the spot, and dodged the Ancient God of Strength¡¯s punch. When Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared in another direction, he couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat.

    The mere punch of the Ancient God of Strength made Lin Li feel a sense of danger that he hadn¡¯t felt before in his previous battles with the two Ancient Gods. He was certain that his body would have been blown to pieces if he had taken that punch, and even his Sanctuary-level soul, which was said to be indestructible, would not be able to avoid annihtion.

    It was not that the Ancient God of Strength was necessarily more powerful than the previous two Ancient Gods, but rather his fighting method was indeed mind-boggling and vexing for a mage like Lin Li.

    There was a saying in Anril that mages were the nemesis of warriors because warriors had to fight in closebat in order for their attacks to be effectively lethal. However, there was also another saying that warriors were the nemesis of mages because once a warrior got close to the fragile bodies of the mages, the mages would be doomed.

    It was like how fire and water would cancel out each other, but once a fire was big enough, it would be able to vaporize water. Likewise, when there was arge amount of water, it would be able to put out mes. Hence, there was no such thing as a nemesis and whatnot, and everything boiled down to strength. Regardless of profession, as long as one was strong enough, they would be the nemesis of their enemies.

    However, the issue was that if it was a field that Lin Li was familiar with, he would at least be confident in dealing with it even if his enemy was powerful. However, the Ancient God of Strength was stronger than him, and even masteredws in a field that he wasn¡¯t familiar with. Hence, he was undoubtedly Lin Li¡¯s nemesis.

    Lin Li was now facing a warrior that was much stronger than him, so the Ancient God of Strength was definitely considered his nemesis.

    At the beginning, Lin Li had once relied on the strength of his body to defeat a mage like himself. However, his closebat skills were insufficient for dealing with a powerhouse like the Ancient God of Strength.

    The Ancient God of Strength¡¯s punch missed, and he immediately sensed where Lin Li was moving. Without even looking, he turned around andunched another punch. The massive power broke through the air, and there wasn¡¯t a trace of Combat Energy at all. However, a terrifying force sted at Lin Li across the air.

    Lin Li¡¯s figure shed, and he emerged from the void. Once again, he felt the sense of extreme danger followed by a heavy blow to his Domain World, which had just regained a little stability. He didn¡¯t dare to stop here at all, and hurriedly activated his Space Robe in a bid to move farther away this time so that he could buy himself some time for a counterattack.

    However, the Ancient God of Strength that hadunched an attack through the air suddenly reached his hands out in front of him, and he ripped the space apart to form a spatial rift in an instant. Lin Li could easily open a spatial rift, but the one that the Ancient God of Strength ripped open had pierced through countlessyers of space and spread towards Lin Li.

    This time, Lin Li couldn¡¯t even unleash his Space Robe. Due to the fact that the space had been destroyed by the Ancient God of Strength, his shing movements could only push him towards the Ancient God of Strength. It was just like opening a hole in the basin, and letting all the water in it flow towards the hole.

    Besides, once the power in the spatial rift spread towards his body, it would be even more terrifying than any artifact. Even his Domain World would have to be torn together with it. Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to resist it with his body as he quickly dodged aside while pointing the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, after which a 100-meter-long Light and Darkness Sword shed at the Ancient God of Strength.

    However, Lin Li knew very well that the Light and Darkness Sword wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt the Ancient God of Strength at all, and that the so-called counterattack was only to gain some opportunity.

    Indeed, when facing the Light and Darkness Sword, the Ancient God of Strength had a look of disdain on his face, and he directly reached his hand out to grab it. It was one of the strongest attacks that Lin Li relied on, and yet the Ancient God of Strength managed to grab it with just one hand. Besides, he seemed to bepletely rxed, as if he caught something trivial.

    Immediately afterwards, the Ancient God of Strength humphed coldly, and crushed the Light and Darkness Sword, even though he seemed to have only grasped it with some force. The Light and Darkness Sword, which was more than 100 meters long, started shattering, and ck and white light fragments scattered in all directions like butterflies.

    At the same time, the figure of the Ancient God of Strength also passed through the thousands of ck and white fragments, rushing towards the front of Lin Li. He then smashed his palm against Lin Li¡¯s head. When his palmnded, he had already sealed the space with the power of his fingers, making it difficult for one to fly, let alone escape by teleportation.

    Lin Li immediately felt that the surrounding space seemed to have frozen all of a sudden, and even the air felt like a stiff iron te. It was as if the power of his Mount Tai mageweath had engulfed his body, making it difficult for him to even move a finger.

    In the face of the huge palm that came smashing downwards, Lin Li had no choice but to condense his World Domain, and catalyze the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to the maximum. The entire World Domain had already been shrunk to the smallest size possible; at the same time, it was also the sturdiest it could be. If the World Sword was said to be the strongest attack, the World Domain was now the strongest defense.

    However, even Lin Li himself was unsure if such a high degree of defense was enough to withstand the force of a single blow from the Ancient God of Strength, let alone counterattack. Although the power of the Ancient God of Strength was notplete, it definitely had an overpowering edge over Lin Li, so it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to counterattack.

    Lin Li had just gotten ready when the Ancient God of Strength¡¯s attack struck him. Next, his giant palmnded on Lin Li¡¯s Domain World with a loud boom. However, the strike did not send Lin Li flying like a ball. Although he was in midair, there was a sudden forceing from below, which surged upwards and withstood the blow for him.

    With that boom, Lin Li still felt as if his body was beingpressed, even though he was isted by the Domain World. The impact of the attack had also caused his Domain World to crumble, while the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were smashed out.

    However, just as the Domain World was about to shatter, Lin Li seized the moment to put his ability to move in shes to use by vanishing right on the spot. However, although he had left, the Domain World was still there. Immediately afterwards, his Domain World flickered again. It turned out that it had been detonated by Lin Li, causing the World Laws to erupt in a manner that was even more terrifying than the explosion resulting from the conflict of the power of Light and Darkness. It was almost on par with the severity of the self-destruction of a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Of course, detonating one¡¯s Domain World was not something that could be done casually, as the Domain World was not a type of magic spell that could be cast when needed. After a Sanctuary powerhouse stepped into the Sanctuary-realm, they¡¯d begin to build their own Domain World based on their understanding of the rules. Once the Domain World was established, it would exist in perpetuity, and continue to be strengthened as its master¡¯sprehension ofws deepened. Hence, it could be said that the Domain World was the second life of a Sanctuary powerhouse, something akin to a magical crystal that a Sanctuary powerhouse has condensed outside of his body.

    The Domain World could be broken, but it could still be repaired after some time. However, once it was destroyed, it would truly be irreparable. Hence, the loss of a Domain World through self-detonation would probably be second only to the self-destruction of the mana core for mages.

    Yet, Lin Li resolutely detonated his own Domain World, as if it didn¡¯t belong to him at all. However, the power released by his Domain World had indeed yed a significant role; at least it had put the Ancient God of Strength in a disheveled state.

    When the figure of the Ancient God of Strength emerged from the light, his body was already battered with wounds, and one of his arms was even badly hurt to the point that only his bones were left. Unfortunately, this degree of injury was nothing to the Ancient God of Strength, and the other wounds on his body had also healed rapidly. In fact, even his arm, which only had its bones left, was soon covered with ayer of muscle, followed by anotheryer of skin.

    On the other hand, Lin Li wiped the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth. Although he was as pale as a sheet, he nevertheless raised his arm steadily, and quickly drew a mageweath out of thin air in front of himself. Although the fight with the Ancient God of Strength didn¡¯tst for long, Lin Li had already gained some understanding of the Origin of strength, and finally had a n for modifying the Mount Tai mageweath.

    However, drawing a mageweath required time regardless of how quick he might be. The Ancient God of Strength clearly wouldn¡¯t give Lin Li the time he needed. In fact, while the wounds on his body were still healing, the Ancient God of Strength had alreadyunched another attack on Lin Li.

    The Ancient God of Strength pressed his fingers together, and shed his palm towards Lin Li in midair, after which a ray of light immediately shot at Lin Li. It wasn¡¯t Combat Energy, but an attack that was purely triggered with strength, simr to the way one could fan some wind with his or her palm. However, the power of the Ancient God of Strength was far beyond the simple action of waving his hand.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to stop drawing the mageweath. With a mere thought in mind, the debris of the stars, Rebirth, darted out and transformed into a mountain peak to meet the attack of the Ancient God of Strength. There was a loud, explosive boom, and the mountain peak that Rebirth had transformed into crumbled almost immediately upon contact. It was as if it was made of y. Immediately afterwards, the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, too, darted out, and a solid crystal-like ice wall supported the back of the crumbling mountain peak.. However, the ice wall made of Pr Snow shattered like ss immediately, unable to hold up for even a second.

 Chapter 1267 - Light and Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 1267: Light and Darkness</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Gloomy Dark, Holy Light, Thunderbolt, and several other pieces of the debris of the stars darted out one after another in a defensive state, ready to take on the attack of the Ancient God of Strength. With the destruction of eachyer of defense, Lin Li would involuntarily spew a mouthful of blood. His mental strength was continuously shaken, and it left him with a splitting headache. However, even so, he didn¡¯t stop moving his hands, and was still continuously drawing magic symbols and pattern after pattern.

    Although the mageweath had yet to bepleted, the dense and rich mana fluctuations had already spread out in all directions like water ripples. Even the ripples that were spreading in space could clearly be seen distorting under the suppression. With the fluctuations, a terrifying power that seemed to be able tobine heaven and earth began to gradually umte on the mageweath.

    Now that the Ancient God of Strength finally had a chance to break free after having been suppressed for thousands of years, he naturally wouldn¡¯t let it go. After sensing the threat of the mageweath, the Ancient God of Strength immediately lost his sanity and charged towards Lin Li, bombarding him with attacks at full force in a bid to interrupt the drawing of the mageweath.

    All of a sudden, Lin Li was surrounded by the shadows of the Ancient God of Strength, and the attacks from the Ancient God of Strength were like a tidal wave, almostpletely submerging Lin Li¡¯s figure. A terrifying power that seemed to be able to destroy the earth emerged from each punch that the Ancient God of Strength threw. Several cracks appeared in the space, almost depriving Lin Li of the space that he was currently in.

    In the face of the berserk Ancient God of Strength, Lin Li had no choice but to turn the seven pieces of the debris of the stars into seven rings of light of different colors that revolved around him, resisting the storm-like attacks. Although the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was massive, Lin Li couldn¡¯t fully exert it. Whenever the debris of the stars suffered a heavy blow, arge hole would seem to form in his soul.

    Although the Ancient God of Strength was not any more powerful than the previous two ancient gods, the pressure it put on Lin Li was far greater. Fortunately, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were strong enough. Otherwise, they would have been blown to pieces by the Ancient God of Strength.

    As Lin Li drew thest magic symbol, the magical elements in the space converged into a thunderstorm that surged into the mageweath, causing it to shine brightly immediately while exuding a dense force. The entire space seemed to have solidified immediately, and the Ancient God of Strength froze in midair, his outstretched fist still trembling slightly.

    Immediately afterwards, the mageweaths that were shining brilliantly flew out from in front of Lin Li, and covered the Ancient God of Strength. The mageweaths seemed to have turned into mana chains that intertwined around the Ancient God of Strength¡¯s body. The numerous star-like magical runes prated the body of the Ancient God of Strength, and sealed his powerpletely.

    Faced with the suppression of the magic runes, the body of the Ancient God of Strength shuddered, and the power within his body emerged continuously, causing the light of the mageweaths to flicker incessantly. However, the Ancient God of Strength¡¯s resistance seemed rather futile under the suppression of the mageweath, and the power that emerged was getting weaker and weaker.

    While watching the Ancient God of Strength struggle, Lin Li panted heavily, and tried to bear with the excruciating pain in his head that made him feel as if his head was about to shatter. At the same time, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars hovered around his body like satellites.

    <i>Suppress it!</i> Lin Li thought to himself, and he made a magic gesture with his hands in front of his chest, after which the mageweath immediately emitted an even more dazzling ray of light. In an instant, even the Ancient God of Strength¡¯s aura seemed to have vanished from this space, while the massive body of the Ancient God of Strength shriveled up like a deted ball under the engulfment of the mana.

    However, in a few moments, the Ancient God of Strength, who had just attacked Lin Li so intensely to the point that Lin Li was breathless, turned into a mass of light that contained the Origin of strength. Lin Li grasped the mass of light, and immediately channeled his mental strength into it in order to understand and grasp the mysteries of the Origin of strength.

    If a Sword Sage could obtain the Origin of strength, ascending to godhood probably wouldn¡¯t be difficult. Although Lin Li was not a warrior, he would still benefit greatly from this Origin of strength. He might not have thebat power of a Sword Sage, but at the very least he would be able to deal with opponents who mastered such nomological power with greater ease.

    Besides, this understanding and mastery of the Origin of strength also gave Lin Li¡¯s Mount Tai mageweath more room for improvement, allowing him to gain more insights in the field of inscription.

    Of course, when Lin Li simrly ced the same Origin of strength into the Ring of Endless Storm, the space began to change immediately afterwards too. The sky and the earth seemed to have been kneaded together like dough, causing the two to be indistinguishable. In such a chaotic space, the various magical elements began to be extremely chaotic too as the earth, fire, wind, and water elements intertwined and transformed, so much so that it was impossible to grasp the power within. In a space as such, it was simply impossible for mages to mobilize the surrounding magical elements, and it was very likely that the mobilized fire elements would turn into water elements in the next moment and so on. As a result, the mages would face continuous bacsh because of the failure of casting.

    Immediately afterwards, an ancient god with four faces and eight arms appeared in that distorted space. It was the Ancient God of Chaos that Saint Edmund of the Illuminati had continuously summoned in the form of statues on several asions previously. He had an inherent control of the Origin of chaos, and possessed the bizarre ability to defy allws.

    Without a single moment of dy, Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and a gigantic Light and Darkness Sword immediately shed through space towards the Ancient God of Chaos. Immediately afterwards, he held the Crossbow of Reincarnation, and ced the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, on it as if it were an arrow. As the crossbow mechanism was triggered, it turned into a bolt of lightning that darted towards the Ancient God of Chaos with a whistle.

    Lin Li was well aware that it would be difficult for the power of the Light and Darkness Sword to pose an effective threat to an enemy of such a high level like the ancient gods. Hence, after using the Light and Darkness Sword, he immediately attacked using the power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt. The Light and Darkness Sword was just a smokescreen for Thunderbolt.

    As expected, a peculiar fluctuation suddenly radiated from the Ancient God of Chaos¡¯s body as soon as the Light and Darkness Sword approached it, throwing the space into jeopardy as chaos broke out. When the fluctuation came into contact with the Light and Darkness Sword, the initially solid Light and Darkness Sword began flickering. Lin Li could clearly sense that the structure of thews in the Light and Darkness Sword had begun to lose its stability because of the bizarre fluctuations. The powers of light and darkness, which were initially bnced, began to sh uncontrobly too.

    With a loud explosive sound, the Light and Darkness Sword lost control as the conflicting forces of Light and Darkness finally resulted in an explosion. However, the power of the explosion was far from being enough to hurt the Ancient God of Chaos.

    In the light of the explosion of the Light and Darkness Sword, the Thunderbolt that turned into a sharp sword immediately pierced outwards, and struck the Ancient God of Chaos in his chest, catching thetter off guard. However, seeing that Thunderbolt was about to strike the Ancient God of Chaos, a strange feeling suddenly rose in Lin Li¡¯s heart. Subsequently, he saw that Thunderbolt was whistling towards him.

    Fortunately, Lin Li reacted quickly enough tounch his ability to move like the sh as he quickly dodged to the side by more than 10 meters. Watching his afterimage getting pierced by Thunderbolt, he couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat. If he hadn¡¯t dodged in time, he would have probably died at his own hands.

    Clearly, thews that the Ancient God of Chaos had jeopardized were not just the four elementalws, but also thews of space and time, which had all be chaotic under his influence. In fact, even Lin Li was uncertain if Thunderbolt was really targeting him, and merely took a gamble to dodge to the side in a sh.

    Only when the power of Thunderbolt weakened slightly did Lin Li finally recall Thunderbolt. He then turned his head to look at the Ancient God of Chaos, only to see that all eight of his arms were iling about incessantly while various powerful magic spells wereunched at Lin Li.

    The magic spells cast by the Ancient God of Chaos seemed to be ordinary elemental magic spells, such as Meteor Shower, Fire Storm, Destruction Thunderbolt, and so on. However, Lin Li could sense that thews in those magic spells were extremely bizarre and chaotic. Each of those magic spells contained numerous types of nomological power. Besides, thews were continuously changing, making it difficult for him to respond effectively.

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li hurriedly released two pieces of the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, which turned into two 1,000-meter-long pythons that intertwined and circled around his body. At the same time, the debris of the stars, Nothingness, turned into a spear that appeared in his hand. After injecting a massive amount of mana into it, Lin Li swung it towards the Ancient God of Chaos in the distance.

    The magic storm of the Ancient God of Chaos sted at the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness that Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had transformed into. In an instant, it resulted in violent tremors of the space. Besides, the spear-form Nothingness that Lin Li swung out also caused arge spatial rift to appear in the spot where the Ancient God of Chaos was, as if it were the maw of a gigantic beast that was about to devour the Ancient God of Chaos in one mouthful.

    Without the Mount Tai mageweath, even the Domain World couldn¡¯t recover from the previous self-detonation. However, with the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li and the Ancient God of Chaos exchanged several blows. It wasn¡¯t that the Ancient God of Chaos was less powerful than the first three ancient gods that had appeared earlier, but rather the growth that Lin Li had achieved through fighting the first three ancient gods had already reached a shocking extent.

    The growth was not limited to the field of inscription, but rather entailed the thorough understanding of the origin ofws, and the experience he had gained from fighting with the ancient gods allowed Lin Li to greatly improve his abilities in magicbat.

    The ancient gods were once above the other gods. Even if their power had been greatly weakened, ancient gods withplete willpowers still made for terrifying opponents. There was probably nothing in Anril that could be better for honing one¡¯s skills than fighting with the ancient gods.

    If Lin Li¡¯s strength didn¡¯t improve with such a good opportunity in hand, it would really be a great disappointment to the Immortal King and Geresco.

    With the intention to train himself, Lin Li did not use the Mount Tai mageweath even in the face of an extremely dangerous situation. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars were his strongest backup that he could fall back on. With the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li¡¯s battle with the Ancient God of Chaossted for two hours, which was quite an impressive achievement.

    Although Lin Li was disheveled, which was a stark contrast to the Ancient God of Chaos who did not seem to have suffered any damage at all, Lin Li was only a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who had yet to reach the level of a demigod. Being able to hold out for such a long time against the Ancient God of Chaos with his current strength was absolutely unbelievable to everyone.

    However, in reality, Lin Li still wasn¡¯t satisfied with the situation. In his opinion, his greatest goal was to defeat this Ancient God of Chaos by relying on his own power without even using the debris of the stars.

    Of course, Lin Li was very clear of the reality he was subjected to. After all, the Ancient God of Chaos was a true ancient god. Even though his power had been weakened, the divinity he possessed didn¡¯t decrease because of it. With Lin Li¡¯s current abilities, it wouldn¡¯t be realistic to try to defeat the Ancient God of Chaos without using the power of the debris of the stars.

    Sensing that he could no longerprehend anything else from the Ancient God of Chaos, and that he was reaching the limit of what he could withstand, Lin Li finally decided to end the battle. However, he still didn¡¯t bother to draw the Mount Tai mageweath. Instead, he started fine-tuning his mana to manifest the Mount Tai mageweath in the form of a magic spell. With a point of the Helios¡¯s Scepter, a magical wave that was simr to the Mount Tai mageweath began sting towards the Ancient God of Chaos.

    The Ancient God of Chaos was naturally unwilling to be suppressed again. Thus, he immediately activated his ability, and began to distort all thews in his space. With the distortion, the space became somewhat illusory, and his figure turned vague as if the clouds were about to dissipate.

    However, after such a long time of fighting, Lin Li had already gained a considerable understanding of the Ancient God of Chaos¡¯ tricks. Although he didn¡¯t dare to say that he definitely had a means to suppress the Ancient God of Chaos, he wouldn¡¯t be fooled easily. The magic spell that contained the aura of the Mount Tai mageweath immediately sted into the distorted space. First, a powerful force emerged, and the warpedws were instantly corrected.

    Although the power of the Ancient God of Chaos subverted all thews, the power of chaos was still a type ofw. Since thews were traceable, Lin Li just had to find thews within. Besides, Lin Li might not have seen through thews of chaos of the Ancient God of Chaos, but he had also mastered a certainw through the battle. Hence, he naturally had a means to restrain it for the time being.

    With the sting and invasion of the magic spell, the illusory-looking space immediately solidified, and everything seemed to have been restored to its original appearance. Although the power of the magic spell had only provided a moment of correction, thews soon emerged under the power of suppression.. They converged and condensed into chains that began intertwining around the Ancient God of Chaos, after which countless magic runes prated the body of the Ancient God of Chaos.

 Chapter 1268 - Shadow

    Chapter 1268: Shadow

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Finally, thew origin that the Ancient God of Strength had left behind after being suppressednded in Lin Li¡¯s hands. It was a ball of light that resembled chaos. Just like before, Lin Li immediately channeled his mental strength into the Origin of chaos to conduct a detailed check and examination before stowing it away in the Ring of Endless Storm.

    After doing that, Lin Li felt his vision turning blurry, and there were changes in the scene in this space. A new ancient god didn¡¯t appear, and the surroundings suddenly reverted to the study that he had initially stepped into.

    I¡¯ve finally passed the test! Lin Li was overjoyed. Passing the test meant that he could see the figure with the back facing him, and obtain the answers to his questions.

    However, immediately afterwards, Lin Li discovered that something was amiss because the decor and furnishings of the study actually seemed brand-new, with no signs of wear and tear that should have appeared after the passage of thousands of years. Although there were some magic spells that could prolong the life of some items, signs of wear and tear could never be removed.

    While Lin Li was feeling puzzled, he suddenly felt a trace of vignce, followed by a terrifying force that was surging towards him immediately afterwards.

    Thunderbolt! After taking a clear look at what was attacking him, Lin Li was incredibly astonished. He was certain that the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were in his hands, so what was this Thunderbolt that was trying to attack him?

    Fortunately, Lin Li had been keeping his guard up even after he arrived here, which allowed him to react to Thunderbolt, which had the shrewdest attacking method. The Space Robe that he was donning flickered abruptly, and he was already in another spot of the study by the time he appeared again.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to get your weapon back...¡±

    At the same time that Lin Li moved in a sh, the voice that he had heard previously sounded in his mind again. As the voice appeared, the study that had limited room at first immediately became extremely spacious as if it had been inted. The rows of bookshelves that were near him quickly erged and flew into the distance. Immediately afterwards, a figure seemed to have walked out of the illusion, and appeared in a spot near him.

    ¡°Geresco!¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but call out. The original figure that appeared in front of him turned out to be Geresco, the God of Mages who had trained him rigorously countless times in the first floor of the inverted tower.

    However, the Geresco in front of him was d in a mage¡¯s robe, and holding the weapon Lin Li had always dreamed of: the Stars of Fury. At the same time, the masses of light from the seven pieces of the debris of the stars also started revolving around Geresco¡¯s body like satellites.

    When Lin Li saw the view of his back outside the study earlier on, Geresco¡¯s was the first person that came to his mind. Hence, Lin Li wasn¡¯t too shocked to see Geresco¡¯s shadow here. However, he was puzzled as to how the Stars of Fury had ended up with Geresco.

    ording to the legends of Anril and the information he had received from various sources, Lin Li was certain that the Stars of Fury and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were weapons that¡¯d belonged to the Immortal King. Even though Lin Li could ascertain that the Stars of Fury was only a condensation of mana, he didn¡¯t expect it to appear in Geresco¡¯s hands.

    Is the rtionship between Geresco and the Immortal King a type of tacit historical legacy rtionship like that between me and Geresco? Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but think of a possibility. ording to the history of Anril, it seemed that Geresco was born in the Fn Kingdom only after the Immortal King had gone missing. Hence, Geresco certainly could not have be a disciple of the Immortal King like Highlord Osric. Thus, the only possibility left was that Geresco should have obtained the Immortal King¡¯s legacy through a certain opportunity, such as the Sky Castle and the ce where the gods were now being suppressed.

    Even though Lin Li could somewhat exin the rtionship between Geresco and the Immortal King with such a conjecture, he was still puzzled by what Geresco said. What does he mean, take back my own weapon? Doesn¡¯t the Stars of Fury belong to the Immortal King?! Thest time I really had the Stars of Fury was when I was ying the Endless World game using the Hunter avatar. Does Geresco know about what happened before I transmigrated?

    Lin Li¡¯s transmigration to this world was his greatest secret, which he had never mentioned to anyone. Meanwhile, Geresco the God of Mages came into existence more than 1,000 years ago, and there was no ovep in the time of his existence and that of Lin Li, so there was no way he could have known of Lin Li¡¯s transmigration.

    Or is it just a slip of the tongue? Lin Li really couldn¡¯t figure it out, and had no choice but to attribute it to that reason. Anyway, no matter what, he did want to obtain the Stars of Fury, and make it his personal weapon, so Geresco wouldn¡¯t be wrong if his words were interpreted in this way.

    However, Lin Li was soon no longer in the mood to consider this issue, because Geresco¡¯s shadow had already raised his Stars of Fury.

    Damn it! Thebination of the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars is powerful enough to annihte even the Dragon of Destruction! Lin Li immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and could no longer be bothered to think about the doubts he had as he frantically channeled all his attention to the maniption of his seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Although the Stars of Fury that Geresco¡¯s shadow was holding was not real, Lin Li was well aware that even if it was just a Stars of Fury that was condensed with mana, the attackunched with it by a powerhouse of such a high level would not be inferior to the real thing at all. It was not Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing such a means. The first was in the Seven-Realm Spiral of the Sky Castle, followed by the time in the Well of the Sun where the Hunter shadow used it too. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to underestimate the Stars of Fury that Geresco¡¯s shadow was holding now.

    At this moment, Geresco also finally activated the trigger of the Stars of Fury crossbow, and Pr Snow, which had already been ced on top, immediately darted towards Lin Li.

    The debris of the stars, Pr Snow, which was powered by the Stars of Fury, released a power that was far different from that of Lin Li¡¯s maniption of Pr Snow. After leaving the Stars of Fury, Pr Snow dared towards Lin Li in the form of a sharp arrow, and the surrounding temperature also instantly plunged to zero. The air was filled with glistening ice crystals, and even the entire space was frozen to the point of being covered with cracks.

    From Lin Li¡¯s point of view, there was nothing but a huge silver wave that seemed to be surging towards him like it was sweeping through the world. Pr Snow was at the center of the silver wave, charging towards him with a terrifying power that seemed to freeze everything in its path.

    With the knowledge of the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, Lin Li was sure that even gods would be drowned out by the silver wave, and even their solid Divine Kingdoms would be frozen and shattered into powder. On the other hand, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse like himself would probably be unable tost even a second before dying.

    Pr Snow, Raging ns! Lin Li immediately activated two of his pieces of the debris of the stars. Instead of releasing an extreme chilliness, Pr Snow turned into a huge wave that collided with the silver wave, while Raging mes attached itself to the wave, making it seem as if it was a sea of mes.

    Without the Stars of Fury, Lin Li wasn¡¯t confident of fighting against Geresco¡¯s Pr Snow using only his Pr Snow. Hence, he added Raging mes to his own Pr Snow, andbined the power of ice and fire.

    In the eyes of others, ice and fire might be ipatible, but when Lin Li first obtained Pr Snow and Raging mes, the power of these two pieces of the debris of the stars had even formed a Natural Domain of water and fire. Lin Li¡¯s currentbination of the two was based off a simrw structure that he hadprehended from the Natural Domain of water and fire.

    In the blink of an eye, the silver wave formed by Geresco¡¯s Pr Snow and the sea of burning mes formed by Lin Li¡¯s Raging mes and Pr Snow collided with each other violently. The silver wave rolled with the power to freeze everything in its path, while the sea of burning mes emitted zing heat while containing the power of water that eroded everything.

    The collision of the two forces did not cause much of a shocking movement, but anyone could see that there was a vigorous fight between the silver wave and red mes. The extreme chilliness emitted by the silver wave froze the mes, but the scorching heat made the silver wave engulfed by the mes, as if it was covered in ayer of fiery red.

    If Lin Li used purely the power of the red mes, the sea of fire would probably soon turn into an ice field. Due to the buffer effect resulting from the power of Pr Snow, the power of the mes was maximized to an extent that it couldpete with Pr Snow that was powered by the Stars of Fury.

    The space where the two forces collided was instantly filled with cracking sounds of things breaking. It was an erosive power that even theyers of spatial barriers could not withstand. In the center of the collision of the two forces, almost all matter ceased to exist, and even countlessyers of the endless void were shattered by the impact. If someone used the Void of the Stars technique here, they would probably be instantly turned into flying ashes by the impact along with the void that their physical body was attached to.

    Using the power of the two pieces of the debris of the stars, Pr Snow and Raging mes, to resist the power of Geresco¡¯s Pr Snow that was powered by the Stars of Fury was already quite an achievement for Lin Li. It was the various gains and significant improvement in strength he had obtained from the battle with the ancient gods that allowed him to achieve that.

    However, Lin Li naturally would not be satisfied with the status quo. What he wanted to do now was to defeat the Geresco who was holding the Stars of Fury in front of him, and not just contend with him. Hence, while blocking the iing Pr Snow, Lin Li raised the Helios Scepter in his hand, and a huge vortex appeared in the sky, after which severalrge pirs of lightning smashed into Geresco with loud roars.

    Although the Stars of Fury was held only by Geresco¡¯s shadow, it was still a shadow that belonged to the God of Mages, Geresco. Of course, it had more than just those means. After the attack by Pr Snow was blocked, Geresco merely held the Spear of Nothingness in his other hand, and shed it against the sky while facing the huge pirs of lightning. With his movements, a spatial rift appeared in the sky above his head, and devoured the hundreds and thousands of lightning pirs1.

    Under Geresco¡¯s maniption, the debris of the stars, Rebirth and Thunderbolt, flew towards the Stars of Fury, after which a yellow ray of light intertwined with a turquoise ray of light, turning into two sharp arrows that darted towards Lin Li.

    Damn it, you¡¯re just leveraging on the Stars of Fury! Seeing this scene, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but curse in his heart. With the Stars of Fury, a single piece of the debris of the stars would possess terrifying power, and now that there were two pieces of the debris of the stars being shot in unison, the power was probably enough to y gods.

    However, there was no point in being jealous. Lin Li was now facing the God of Mages who had the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars. Fortunately, Geresco wasn¡¯t too ruthless, and the strength of the shadow itself wasn¡¯t that terrifying, as it was only at the higher end of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Thus, Lin Li still saw some hope of winning. Otherwise, if the strength of the shadow was greater, Lin Li would be better off giving up.

    The debris of the stars, Rebirth, contained thews of earth, and had the power to control the growth of all things, making it the most bizarre power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. The debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, contained the elementalws of wind and the destructive power of wind and lightning. It was the sharpest of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Thebination of these two pieces of the debris of the stars, and thebination of earth and wind, life and destruction, was not a simple addition of powers.

    How do I deal with this?! Lin Li waved the Helios Scepter, and two pieces of the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Pr Snow, formed a 1000-meter-long Light and Darkness Sword that took on the attack of Rebirth and Thunderbolt. At the same time, the debris of the stars, Nothingness, immediately split into thousands of rays of light that formed countless spatial rifts in the space, making it seem like a sieve.

    The countless spatial rifts began devouring the power emanating from Geresco¡¯s Rebirth and Thunderbolt like a swarm of cannibalistic ants. Immediately afterwards, the Light and Darkness Sword collided with Geresco¡¯s attack, causing massive power to emerge immediately. The aftershocks that spread around even dispersed the silver waves and burning sea of mes, while the debris of the stars began flying backwards.

    Arge vortex was formed in the center of the collision, just like a ck hole in the void that was devouring every ounce of magic around it. Even Lin Li, who was still far away, felt a pulling force that was trying to drag him into the spatial vortex.

    No matter what, he had finally blocked Geresco¡¯s attack, which made Lin Li, who did not have the Stars of Fury, feel rather smug and conceited. However, immediately afterwards, he turned as pale as a sheet when he saw Geresco cing the debris of the stars, Pr Snow, Raging mes, Rebirth, and Thunderbolt, on the Stars of Fury.

 Chapter 1269 - Excellent

    Chapter 1269: Excellent

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Are you kidding me?! The power of four pieces of the debris of the stars, and four pieces of the debris of the stars that contain elemental rules, is more than enough to ughter even the gods! This test is out to kill me! Faced with this terrifying scene, all Lin Li could do was curse Geresco in his heart for being such a psychopath while releasing all seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s control, the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was connected to be a unified entity instead of seven separate pieces of the debris of the stars. Thews contained in the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were the seven basicws that constituted the world. Lin Li¡¯s mastery andprehension of the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars was the very reason he could create his World Domain. However, the current seven pieces of the debris of the stars did not form a Domain World.

    There was an origin to the name debris of the stars. Each piece of the debris of the stars contained a basicw that constituted part of the world, and when the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were ced together, they would form a Star Core with aplete set ofws. The Star Core was known as the seed that gives birth to a world and the basic core that could create a perfect world like Anril. Hence, it was also called the Heart of the World.

    With his mastery of the sevenws, Lin Li could create a World Domain and also turn his World Domain into World Sword, but he was far from reaching the level of being able to condense the Heart of the World. The real Heart of the World was something that even the gods couldn¡¯t possess or manipte. Hence, the Divine Kingdom created by gods would be stabilized by the Twin Serpents of Light and Darkness.

    Lin Li was now entirely using the power of the debris of the stars, turning the seven pieces of the debris of the stars into the Star Core. However, this Star Core still couldn¡¯t bepared to a real Star Core, because it was akin to something that had been broken and pieced back together. Although the appearance remained the same, it would still be impossible to ignore the cracks.

    Of course, even if it was just a Star Core that was pieced together, it already had the shape of the Heart of the World after the sevenws influenced each other. The power it contained was shockingly massive. If it were a real Star Core, even existences that were as powerful as gods would seem like ants in the face of it. Hence, even if the Star Core formed by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars contained only 1% of the true Star Core, it would definitely be a power that made even gods shudder.

    That was already the most powerful attack that Lin Li could release at the moment. Even when he¡¯d been in the Endless World, he had never done such a thing. Even though his Hunter avatar in the Endless World had the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, and there had been times when the seven pieces of the debris of the stars wereunched in unison, he had never tried to form a Star Core with all seven pieces of the debris of the stars.

    After the seven pieces of the debris of the stars converged into a mass of light in front of Lin Li, the entire space began flickering with some illusory shadows under the influence of that power. It was as if there was a world that had been created in this space, and was constantly being developed into a perfect world like Anril. However, it was merely the influence brought about by the mana fluctuations of the Star Core. The illusory world seemed intangible and susceptible to being blown away by the wind.

    Geresco¡¯s Stars of Fury, which was right across from Lin Li, had alsounched those four pieces of the debris of the stars. The power of the four pieces of the debris of the stars representing the fourws of earth, fire, water, and wind fused together perfectly thanks to the Stars of Fury. Simrly, they constituted an Elemental World that was emitting terrifying fluctuations.

    At this moment, Lin Li felt as if the world was crushing him as the ground below him began trembling vigorously, while thunder and lightning filled the sky above his head. The ocean was burning with zing hot mes and full of waves that were blown up by the gale.

    Although Lin Li was carrying out an extraordinary operation by piecing the seven pieces of the debris of the stars together to form the Star Core, he still didn¡¯t feel confident about facing Geresco¡¯s attacks. After all, Geresco had the Stars of Fury, which resulted in a world of a difference that left Lin Li feeling hopeless.

    However, giving up was obviously impossible for Lin Li. Despite his despair, he was bent on doing his best to fight. He knew very well that although it was just Geresco¡¯s test, it was not to be taken lightly, and the consequences of failure would be more than just having to redo it all over again. His soul might really be destroyed.

    Lin Li chanted an incantation with a special rhythm, and continuously catalyzed the power of the Star Core, making the illusory world in the space seem almost realistic. Under his stimtion, the Star Core, which wasposed of seven pieces of the debris of the stars, began emitting rays of light like a new star, which would shock one¡¯s soul. They then darted towards the four pieces of the debris of the stars that Gerescounched.

    It was a collision of two worlds. The Star Core that was formed by the seven pieces of the debris of the stars collided with the Elemental World that was formed by the four pieces of the debris of the stars. All of a sudden, all Lin Li could see was lightning, a roaring sea of fire with huge raging waves, and thunderbolts falling like raindrops from the sky together with meteors. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars were at the center, emitting a light that would sometimes shrink to a mere circle, and sometimes expand into countless rays of light.

    It seemed as if Lin Li had blocked Geresco¡¯s attack, but he didn¡¯t feel a trace of relief at all. He hadn¡¯t forgotten that while he had used all seven pieces of the debris of the stars, there were still three with Geresco.

    As expected, Lin Li suddenly discovered that the ground beneath his feet had turned pitch-ck at some point, as if he was standing on the Endless Void. At the same time, Lin Li felt an extremely familiar forceing from behind him, which was actually emitted from the debris of the stars, Holy Light and Nothingness.

    Without a doubt, it was the power of Nothingness that caused Holy Light to appear behind Lin Li, forcing him into a desperate situation immediately.

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars in front of him were fighting hard against the Elemental World formed by the four pieces of the debris of the stars. However, three other pieces of the debris of the stars appeared behind him. What else did Lin Li have that could contend with the three pieces of the debris of the stars? Even if the three pieces of the debris of the stars were stimted in an ordinary manner, and notunched with the Stars of Fury, Lin Li didn¡¯t have anything that could contend with them.

    When he felt the force of the three pieces of the debris of the starsing from behind, Lin Li clenched his jaw, and quickly flew towards the front like a bolt of lightning. The battle between the Elemental World and the Star Core caused the surrounding space to crumble and copse before regenerating. Even gods would be reduced to ashes when they arrived in the center.

    However, Lin Li dashed straight into the center of the collision of the two worlds without any hesitation, as if he totally didn¡¯t sense the massive threat in front of him that wasn¡¯t inferior to that behind him.

    Since Lin Li dared to rush into the center, he naturally wasn¡¯tpletely unprepared. Just as the horrifying pressure was about to rip his body apart, he suddenly vanished right on the spot in a sh. Immediately afterwards, the Star Core that was fighting against the Elemental World expanded rapidly as if it was filled with air. It was as if a new world was about to be born.

    The enormous power of the Star Core emerged with a great force that seemed capable of sweeping everything away. The lightning in the sky dispersed and devoured the sea of fire and waves that were swarming over. It then caused the three pieces of the debris of the stars behind Lin Li to be fixed in midair.

    The Star Core expanded incessantly together with the space. When the Star Core became the size of a, it still seemed small and somewhat insignificant in this space. At this juncture, Lin Li, who had just vanished, was actually standing on the huge. Clearly, his entry had triggered the changes in the Star Core, and caused it to turn into a.

    The majority of the that the Star Core had turned into was covered by an azure sea, with thend being covered with volcanoes that were erupting incessantly. There were also grass and trees growing rapidly in most ces. The vast forests and grasnds had turned the maind green, but thend on both ends was still covered with ice and snow. Anyone from the same origin as Lin Li would be able to recognize at a nce that the huge was Earth, which he had transmigrated from.

    There was no other solution. In order to stimte the power of the Star Core to the maximum, Lin Li had no choice but to shape the Star Core based on the model that he remembered. Of course, it was just a pseudo-earth that looked exactly the same as it did in the prehistoric times. In fact, there was no other life form other than the nts. After all, Lin Li was just a Sanctuary powerhouse who wasn¡¯t capable of creating real life yet.

    Instead of resisting the attack, Lin Li immediately opened a rift in the power of the before Geresco could react, allowing the Elemental World and the three pieces of the debris of the stars behind him to enter.

    Although Geresco¡¯s shadow¡¯spetency was simr to Lin Li¡¯s, he would probably be able to destroy the if he could use the Stars of Fury to release the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Hence, before Geresco used an even more insane method, Lin Li immediately drew all seven pieces of his debris of the stars to the.

    Although Lin Li had created the using the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, it was essentially the same as the World Domain he created. He was the supreme god of this world and the controller of everything on the. Even a god would be suppressed by the power of this world once he entered.

    When the Elemental World surged into the, it immediately brought about a great disaster to the. The sky burned and turned into a fiery red color, while the sea began boiling. Arge bottomless crack appeared in the earth, and it was as if the was about to copse in the next moment. However, at this moment, Lin Li stood between the heaven and earth, and slowly raised his hand. Without chanting any incantation or releasing any mana fluctuations, the catastrophic scene was erased like words on a ckboard.

    With the disappearance of the Elemental World, Geresco¡¯s four pieces of the debris of the stars were also revealed. They turned into four streams of light that kept shooting through the world, as if they were caged birds that were trying to break free. The other three pieces of the debris of the stars that originally attacked Lin Li from behind did not escape that fate, either.

    This world was Lin Li¡¯s home turf, and even though he was facing Geresco, it was ultimately just a shadow of Geresco, and not the real him. Hence, it wasn¡¯t that easy for these seven pieces of the debris of the stars to escape.

    After keeping the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in this world, Lin Li immediately increased his control over this world, and continuously stimted the power of the Star Core. The seven pieces of the debris of the stars also became more and more sluggish as they flew around in the world, resembling a person who had fallen into a swamp. In the end, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were eventually fixed in the air, no longer able to move an inch despite their continuous trembling.

    Next, it was the shadow¡¯s turn! Now that Lin Li had suppressed the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, Geresco¡¯s shadow would no longer be much of a threat to him even if he had the Stars of Fury.

    However, just as Lin Li was considering how to deal with Geresco¡¯s shadow, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that had been confined suddenly vanished. Lin Li was taken aback because he had already used all his might to confine the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, and yet they managed to escape. There was nothing he could do anymore.

    However, immediately after that, a voice once again surfaced in Lin Li¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Very well, it seems that you didn¡¯t disappoint me!¡±

    Hearing those words, Lin Li felt that he had immediately lost control of the world and the as it turned into an illusion, revealing the Star Core that was situated at the center of the. At this juncture, he had freed himself from the world on the, and watched as it reverted to the Star Core before splitting into the seven pieces of the debris of the stars that flew back to him.

    At this moment, Lin Li looked around again, only to realize that he was back in the same study as before, and was still standing in the spot that he had walked towards just now. If not for the seven pieces of the debris of the stars around him, he would have even thought that the fight just now was simply a dream. Based on what Geresco¡¯s shadow had just said, it was obvious that he had passed Geresco¡¯s test. Even though he hadn¡¯t truly defeated that shadow, he managed to control the shadow¡¯s seven pieces of the debris of the stars. Even if the battles he faced next were going to be difficult, the oue was somewhat certain.

    When Lin Li looked at the back of the figure seated in the study once again, the familiar-looking figure also turned around at the same time.

    However, Lin Li was thoroughly surprised to see the true face of the figure, so much so that he almost eximed in shock.. Deep down, his heart was filled with astonishment because the person that he thought was Geresco had a face that was extremely simr to the Immortal King¡¯s.

 Chapter 1270 - Magic Formula

    Chapter 1270: Magic Form

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Although Lin Li and Geresco¡¯s shadow had been in contact on multiple asions, thetter¡¯s face would be somewhat blurry every single time they met. Hence, Lin Li couldn¡¯t see his true face at all, so he was extremely familiar with Geresco¡¯s figure, but not at all with his face.

    What Lin Li found even more unbelievable was the fact that not only did the other party resemble the Immortal King in terms of appearance, he was also almost exactly identical to him. If the figure hadn¡¯t been sitting down and wearing a different outfit, Lin Li would have even thought that he was looking at his reflection in the mirror.

    Even with Lin Li¡¯s mental capacity, he felt overwhelmed by the mind-boggling sight in front of him now. The information that had once puzzled him suddenly surfaced in his mind at the moment, and he recalled the statue of the Immortal King that looked exactly identical to him in the Death Rift previously, as well as the Undead Lord¡¯s exmation in the parade square of nna previously.

    Why do I look so simr to the Immortal King and Geresco? What is the rtionship between the Immortal King and Geresco? How am I rted to the two of them? Tried as he might, Lin Li couldn¡¯t find the answers to his questions. Regardless of what the rtionship between the Immortal King and Geresco was, Lin Li was at least well aware that he couldn¡¯t be the reincarnation of either of them, which made the situation even more difficult to exin.

    At this moment, Geresco turned around to look at Lin Li with a gentle and refined smile on his face, as if he could read Lin Li¡¯s mind. He calmly said, ¡°I know you have plenty of doubts in mind. Since you¡¯ve now passed the test, there are some things that I can let you know about..¡±

    Geresco¡¯s words made the dumbfounded Lin Lie back to his senses. When Lin Li¡¯s attention was drawn to Geresco¡¯s body, he discovered an extremely shocking truth. He discovered that Geresco¡¯s shadow, who was sitting across from him at the moment, was clearly different from the shadows he hade in contact with in the past. The current Geresco seemed to have the aura of a real person, unlike a mere shadow that was condensed with mana.

    However, Lin Li was also certain that it was absolutely impossible for the figure to be the real Geresco. Even though he had never seen the real Geresco before, he knew that Geresco, the God of Mages who could bepared to the Immortal King, definitely wouldn¡¯t have the magical waves of the figure in front of him.

    The figure in front of him was not just a shadow. Instead, it seemed more like a living person. The mana fluctuations of its body were much weaker than those of the real Geresco which Lin Li imagined. Thus, that made Lin Li feel rather doubtful of his previous judgment, and he suspected that the figure wasn¡¯t Geresco¡¯s shadow. After all, he was familiar only with Geresco¡¯s shadow.

    With that thought in mind, Lin Li stared at the figure, and warily asked, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    The figure merely smiled in response to Lin Li¡¯s performance, and didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by it. While putting down the book in his hand, he indifferently said, ¡°I was Geresco at the end of the Dark Age.¡±

    The period when the High Elves ruled Anril was called the Dark Age. ording to the High Elves¡¯ development, the Dark Age was divided into three periods: the early, middle, andte period. The High Elves rose during the early period of the Dark Age, reached their prime in the middle of the Dark Age, and were overthrown at the end of the Dark Age. ording to the records of the Supreme Council, Geresco the God of Mages was born at the beginning of the end of the Dark Age.

    In fact, there was another symbol of the Dark Age, and that was the Immortal King, who was the guardian of the High Elves. He had led the High Elves to glory, but his departure also marked the beginning of the decline of the High Elven dynasty, which was also the beginning of the end of the Dark Age.

    Hence, when he heard the figure say that he was Geresco at the end of the Dark Age, Lin Li was suddenly full of confusion. Geresco is Geresco, what does he mean by saying that he was Geresco at the end of the Dark Age? What a bizarre introduction.

    ¡°The end of the Dark Age?¡± Lin Li grasped the key in his words, and quickly again asked, ¡°What about before the end of the Dark Age?¡±

    While Geresco¡¯s introduction was bizarre, Lin Li¡¯s question in response was just as strange. It was just like asking someone who they were before they were born, which was simply impossible to answer. In fact, Lin Li realized how strange his question was only after he heard himself.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Geresco merely stared at him, and shook his head smilingly without giving a shocking answer.

    Does he not want to answer, or is he unable to answer? Although Lin Li was a little dissatisfied, he didn¡¯t dwell on this issue. After all, Geresco wasn¡¯t a prisoner that he had captured. Hence, he had no choice but to put aside that question, and asked, ¡°What are you doing here then?¡±

    Lin Li had always thought that this was the ce where the Immortal King had suppressed the Ancient God of Light and imprisoned the gods. Hence, he¡¯d expected the Immortal King¡¯s shadow to be the one appearing in front of him instead. However, the one standing in front of him now was Geresco, the God of Mages. Thus, Lin Li wondered if Geresco had really received the Immortal King¡¯s inheritance.

    In fact, there were many simr spections about Geresco receiving the Immortal King¡¯s legacy in Anril. Besides, many of the events that Lin Li had experienced seemed to prove that point too. For example, the inverted tower that Geresco City had left behind in the Immortal King¡¯s Sky Castle, as well as the images regarding the Immortal King in the world created by Geresco.

    Instead of avoiding the question this time, Geresco said in an indifferent tone, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you, and I knew you woulde.¡±

    Geresco¡¯s answer reminded Lin Li of the purpose of his visit. It was exactly because of the guidance in that world. Geresco¡¯s words had now proven that the reason the other party created that world was indeed to attract him here.

    However, he reckoned that the other party¡¯s intention was not as simple as just putting him through a few tests. With Geresco¡¯s strength, moving the things here, including the restrained ancient gods, to the inverted tower of the Sky Castle was not a difficult task at all. Hence, if it had been just a simple test or a learning experience for Lin Li, he could have just conducted it in the inverted tower. There was no point in expending so much effort to lead him there.

    At the thought of this, the doubtful look in Lin Li¡¯s eyes intensified. He looked at Geresco, and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for me here? So what exactly did you guide me here for? Are you just trying to test me?¡±

    Geresco shook his head, and turned around to scan his surroundings instead of answering Lin Li¡¯s question immediately. He then said, ¡°I¡¯m doing this on behalf of someone who wants to apologize to you.¡±

    Hearing his words, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but frown. Geresco¡¯s words were clearly beyond his expectations as he seemed to be implying that someone else should be aware of his arrival.

    Who¡¯s that person? Is it the Immortal King? Lin Li was reminded of the records in the canon of the Illuminati, such as the person who suppressed the Ancient God of Light saying that another version of himself would return again after a certain number of years.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that he would be the reincarnation of the Immortal King, because he was well aware of which world he had transmigrated from. All he knew was that his transmigration was very likely to be rted to the Immortal King, but apart from that, there seemed to be no rtion between the two anymore.

    Besides, Lin Li also noticed that Geresco had mentioned apologizing to him on behalf of someone. What does this apology mean? Could it be that the Immortal King is feeling apologetic for leading me to this world without asking for my opinion?

    ¡°Who is that person? Is it the Immortal King?¡± Lin Li frantically asked.

    However, Geresco didn¡¯t answer that question, and instead raised his hand to point at everything in the study. He said, ¡°These things here are a form of apology to you from him.¡±

    In fact, even if Geresco didn¡¯t answer, Lin Li could already guess that the person Geresco was talking about was probably the Immortal King. However, he couldn¡¯t understand what the rtionship between Geresco and the Immortal King was, and why the one telling him those things was Geresco instead of the Immortal King himself.

    Unfortunately, when Geresco finished that sentence, his figure suddenly became blurry, and he vanished from the room like a plume of smoke in the blink of an eye. Lin Li was the only one left in the room. Dumbfounded, he wanted to reach out to call out to Geresco, but to no avail.

    Although the conversation they had was too brief, and Geresco¡¯s answer was vague and iplete, the doubts in Lin Li¡¯s heart were resolved to a certain extent. For example, that world in the inverted tower was indeed meant to lead him here, and the reason he was there was exactly because the Immortal King had left some things behind for him.

    Of course, Lin Li still had plenty of questions and doubts. What exactly is the rtionship between Geresco, the Immortal King, and myself? Why did I transmigrate into this world? Why are there so many gods suppressed here? Why is my knowledge of the other world ovepping with that of this world?

    Many of Lin Li¡¯s questions remained unanswered, but obviously no one wasing to answer them now. He had no choice but to put the matter aside reluctantly, and ce his focus on this study that was probably left to him by the Immortal King. He seemed to have discovered something on the desk where Geresco had been seated just now.

    Lin Li hurriedly walked up, and saw that all there was left on the table was a piece of paper, on which there were a few simple characters that were written very casually. Although the characters were very simple, Lin Li recognized at a nce that the characters made up the famous Franky Magic Form, which was extremely famous in Anril. It was said that no one in Anril had been able to prove it so far.

    Legend had it that Mage Franky actually wasn¡¯t verypetent, and had only reached level-8 at the time of his death. However, the magic form that he left behind, which was named after him, was officially recognized to be the mostplex magic form ever. Since its birth, no one had been able to crack it.

    Why would Geresco leave behind such a magic form? Lin Li intuitively felt that this magic form had probably appeared here for a reason. Perhaps it was just another test that Geresco had left for him.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t think that Geresco was fooling around by leaving such a magic form that no one had ever deciphered behind in the study. He thought that there had to be a certain connection between the magic form and the items in the study. Perhaps it was a guide for him to study the magic books.

    Besides, although Lin Li had only been in Anril for a rtively short period of time, he was aware of the Franky Magic Form. The reason that it was said to beplicated was because the magical theory involved in it was applicable to almost everything in the field of magic. It could be said to epass a broad range of knowledge, from that of a mage apprentice to that of a Sanctuary Master. In fact, some had even guessed that the magical theories involved in the Franky Magic Form were not limited to the Sanctuary-realm, and had probably gone beyond it and into the Divine-realm.

    That was also precisely the reason why the magic form hadn¡¯t been deciphered by anyone, even though it had existed in Anril for thousands of years. Apart from Geresco, the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council could be considered the people with the highest attainments in magic in Anril. However, even they couldn¡¯t sessfully decipher the Franky Magic Form. Hence, the vast majority of mages even called it a crazy idea of a delirious man.

    Lin Li did not bother exining anything to anyone, and instead sat in front of the desk with that piece of paper in hand. At the same time, he grabbed a piece of white paper and a goose feather quill beside him. After dipping the quill in ink, he began doing the calctions.

    Although the magic form was extremely famous, it was Lin Li¡¯s first time thinking about it and doing the algorithms so seriously. As soon as he wrote a few lines on the paper, he frowned immediately, and tossed the quill to the side. He then got up and walked towards the bookshelves. A few momentster, he returned to his seat with a magic book that was thick enough to be used as a pillow. He then started flipping through the pages quickly.

    Lin Li did not inform the people outside, because he initially thought that he wouldn¡¯t spend much time on the Franky Magic Form. However, once he was immersed in it, he immediately forgot about the passage of time as all his attention was focused on the magic form. He couldn¡¯t help himself at all.

    Holding the thick magic book in one hand and a quill in the other, Lin Li would sometimes feel like he hadprehended something and write arge number of algorithms on the paper. Sometimes, he would dwell on something and frown for a long time.

    After flipping through the magic book, he tossed it to the side casually, together with a thick stack of drafts that could almost drown someone. Lin Li then stood up again to grab a magic book from the bookshelf before resuming what he had been doing. He flipped through the book, and did multiple calctions continuously before tossing them all to the side again.

 Chapter 1271 - Return

    Chapter 1271: Return

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    There were times when Lin Li would seem to suddenly recall something that would spur him to rummage through the pile of drafts to pick out a few crumpled balls of paper. However, most of the time, he would crush the sheets of paper into balls and throw them back into the pile of drafts disappointedly after reading them several times.

    Just like that, Lin Li became immersed in the algorithms of Franky Magic Form, and the rows of bookshelves in the study were gradually bing empty. Almost every inch of space he was seated on was covered in magic books that he had tossed aside and the discarded piles of drafts that he had scribbled messily on.

    Time passed, day after day. Lin Li almost forgot about the people and everything outside, as well as the purpose of his visit and the doubts he had. In fact, he even forgot what he was trying to crack the Franky Magic Form for. Lin Li almost put all the irrelevant matters in the back of his mind for the sake of the seemingly simple form. His only goal left was to crack the form.

    A month had passed, and Lin Li had already emptied arge part of the bookshelves in this study, while all the magic books that he had read were strewn across the ground randomly. However, his frown had turned into a bump, and he had discarded plenty of quills. The drafts that he had thrown had covered almost the entire ground..

    Another month passed. By now, the bookshelves in the study were already empty. Lin Li had already memorized the content of the magic books. Despite being a Sanctuary powerhouse, he looked rather haggard at this point. Clearly, he had exhausted plenty of effort on the Franky Magic Form.

    Two months had passed. If Lin Li had spent two months studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, he should have already gotten an oue by now. However, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t crack the magic form, and the countless drafts that he had discarded were enough to bury someone. He had applied some little known magic principles and theories, but it all seemed to just be a waste of paper.

    Fortunately, Lin Li had already memorized the contents of those magic books, so he didn¡¯t have to waste time looking through them for reference when doing his calctions, and he was much faster at calcting than before.

    Three months passed, followed by four. Lin Li¡¯s face looked increasingly haggard, but a glint of wisdom gradually appeared in his eyes. If one were to look him in the eye, they would feel as if they were facing a wise man who had 1,000 years of wisdom, and had gained insight into everything in the world. It was as if all the mysteries of this world would be unraveled in his eyes.

    However, Lin Li slowed down in his calctions, and he would often have to think for a long time before he could write a line of characters on the piece of paper. After doing so, he would immediately turn as still as a statue and keep his eyes fixed on the characters that he had written, not moving an inch at all.

    In the blink of an eye, Lin Li had already spent nearly six months in the study. However, haggard was now an understatement when describing his appearance. He was so frail and exhausted that it seemed that a gust of wind would blow him onto the ground. His eyes were terrifyingly bloodshot because he hadn¡¯t had any shuteye in six months, and had expended a lot of his energy. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand such torment. However, the light in Lin Li¡¯s eyes became increasingly brighter, as if there was infinite wisdom condensing within them.

    Finally, on this day, Lin Li¡¯s quill snapped with a loud pop as he drew a hard stroke on the piece of paper. However, joy was written all over his face as he kept staring at the draft in his hand like it was an ultimate treasure,pletely ignoring the broken quill.

    ¡°Pfff!¡±

    Lin Li took a long breath, and even felt a little dizzy when he stood up. However, the joy on his face did not diminish at all. Although he had gone through great pains and put in plenty of effort into deciphering the Franky Magic Form, the results he gained were definitely worth everything he hadmitted to it. Although he wouldn¡¯t achieve godhood and be a supreme powerhouse just by deciphering a form, he could be said to have sorted out all of his magical knowledge in the process of deciphering. The benefits of that were even better than achieving godhood.

    The process of cracking the form could be likened to ridding one¡¯s body of all impurities strengthening it. However, the process of deciphering the Franky Magic Form was to remove all the impurities from the magical knowledge in his memory.

    Lin Li was indeed a magical prodigy. Within a few years ofing to Anril, he had already reached a height that others might not reach even after hundreds or thousands of years. However, his quick progress was also the reason that he could more or less ignore the basic magical knowledge, and stop paying attention to some unimportant details.

    The limit of the height of a house was dependent on its foundation, and the same was true for the field of magic. Without a strong foundation, one would still face the risk of copsing at any time even if they could achieve great progress with excellent talent and luck.

    The process of deciphering the Franky Magic Form allowed Lin Li to organize almost all the knowledge he had gained in the entire field of magic and rectify many of the issues that he hadn¡¯t noticed previously. The foundation of Lin Li¡¯s magical theory knowledge had be extremely solid after deciphering the form.

    The entire process took him a total of six months. With the deciphering of the form, Lin Li¡¯s abilities were also improved rapidly. After the magic form was cracked, he had already reached level-29 of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Besides, it had also led to many other improvements. Through his study of the Franky Magic Form, his attainments in the field of inscription had also improved significantly. He was now only one step away from the Divine-Smith-level.

    After sorting out all the knowledge he had gained during this period of time, Lin Li finally realized that he had been here for too long, and it was time to leave. He wondered how much had changed in the world outside over the past six months.

    Although Lin Li had already memorized the content of all the magic books on the ground, he didn¡¯t leave them lying there, and instead stowed them all away in his Ring of Endless Storm. He nned to ce them in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s library when he returned, which would be a great benefit for the mages of the Tower of Dusk.

    After packing up, Lin Li walked to the door of the study. Just like when he entered, the door was left ajar, and the little skeleton outside seemed to have been standing there all this while.

    Upon sight of Lin Li, the little skeleton finally moved. He stepped forward and bowed to him respectfully before saying, ¡°My respected master, congrattions on having obtained what the previous master left behind. Are you ready to head back now?¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and casually asked, ¡°How long have I been in there?¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve been inside for 20 days,¡± the little skeleton said in a t tone of voice as he walked beside Lin Li on their way back.

    However, when Lin Li heard that answer, he couldn¡¯t help but stop in his tracks with some surprise on his face. Although there was no sunrise and sunset in that room, and he had also lost track of time because of how immersed he was in deciphering the magic form, he had deduced based on his understanding of thews of time that he had been inside for nearly six months.

    Was there a maniption of thews of time involved? Lin Li immediately thought of a possibility. In fact, it wasn¡¯t that unusual of a practice, because there was a mageweath array that could alter thews of time to speed up the growth of some nts and animals in the special training room of the Tower of Dusk. Another instance was also when Lin Li used his Domain World to change thews of time when he faced High Priest Poer back then.

    However, the control of thews of time in the study was clearly much more advanced than Lin Li¡¯s. Firstly, it managed to go unnoticed by Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse, which was something that ordinary time maniption methods could not achieve.

    A Sanctuary powerhouse¡¯s mastery of thews had already reached a considerably high level. A notch higher, and they would go beyond thews to achieve godhood. Hence, the changes in thews hardly went unnoticed by Sanctuary powerhouses.

    However, despite having stayed in the study for such a long time, Lin Li didn¡¯t sense that anything was amiss at all, as everything felt exactly the same as outside. That was enough to show how advanced Geresco¡¯s means were. Of course, Lin Li only felt a slight feeling of surprise, which soon faded when he thought of the Divine-Smith-level mageweath and the gods that had been suppressed.

    After following the little skeleton out of the Mage Tower, he soon reached the bottom of the crack. Since the little skeleton had to stay here to continue to look after everything, Lin Li flew up from the rift using the Power of Flight.

    The teams of the Tower of Dusk and the Illuminati had been waiting outside the rift for more than 20 days. The team of the Tower of Dusk naturally had to follow Lin Li everywhere. On the other hand, the Illuminati¡¯s team couldn¡¯t leave in advance, because Lin Li was here to help them, and they didn¡¯t know what was going on in the rift just now. Although Lin Li had already helped the Illuminati draw the mageweath, befriending a Guru of Inscription was equally important to the Illuminati.

    Fortunately, after waiting for more than 20 days, they finally saw a figure flying straight out from that rift. Of course, before determining who the person was, the two teams remained vignt and put their guard up. After all, they had felt from the rift countless powerful and terrifying auras that left them with no choice but to be extremely careful.

    When the figure flying out of the crack stopped in midair, Edmund and the others could ascertain from his clothing that he was Master Felic whom they had been waiting for. Hence, Edmund and Zumar immediately went forward to receive Lin Li, unable to conceal the joy on his face.

    However, just as Edmund and Zumar were approaching Lin Li, they suddenly stopped, while their faces stiffened immediately because they both felt as if Lin Li had seen through their souls when he merely cast a nce at them. A strange sense of fear and horror even instantly surged from the bottom of their hearts.

    How is this possible!? Edmund, who had snapped back to his senses, still felt an uncontroble sense of fear when he recalled the way Lin Li had nced at them.

    Although Edmund was no longer as condescending towards Lin Li as he used to be in the past, it was mostly because of Lin Li¡¯s attainment in the field of inscription. To Edmund, a peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouse, Lin Li¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t exactly significant.

    However, Edmund now felt that he couldn¡¯t see through Lin Li¡¯s abilities at all. It wasn¡¯t that Lin Li was concealing them, but rather Lin Li¡¯s strength had reached a height that he could no longer estimate easily.

    That idea made Edmund extremely frightened. It has only been 20-odd days. What exactly is in that rift? It actually made his strength improve to such an extent. Of course, although he was curious, he didn¡¯t have any intentions to go out and explore. After all, the demigod-level skeleton had mentioned before that Lin Li was the owner of everything in the rift.

    While Edmund and Zumar were feeling shocked by Lin Li¡¯s strength, Lin Li had also descended from midair, and flown over to approach them.

    ¡°Felic, what exactly is in that rift down there? Your strength seems to have increased a lot!¡± asked Connoris, who didn¡¯t have as many considerations as Edmund and the rest. After all, he was bound with a servant contract to Lin Li, so he immediately asked him some questions out of curiosity upon seeing him.

    Hearing Connoris¡¯ question, Lin Li smiled, and said, ¡°Is that so? But I think it¡¯d be better for you not to find out what¡¯s down there.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t that Lin Li was being petty. Not everyone in this world was able to face a bunch of confined gods as calmly as he could. Lin Li had received an atheistic education in the world he came from, so he wasn¡¯t awestruck even when he saw the gods of this world. However, the people of this world were different because the gods were considered supreme existences to them. Even Connoris, an ancient demon deity, had an ancestral demon that he worshiped.

    Although these gods had been suppressed, the divinity that escaped was still a great influence for those who entered. Even Connoris would probably lose his sanity because of the divinity. He would either be the divine servant of those gods or lose his mind.

    Connoris knew that Lin Li had to have a reason for not telling him, so he didn¡¯t harp on it, and instead asked Lin Li about his following ns.

    While Connoris and Lin Li were talking, Edmund and Zumar walked over too. They had both heard what Lin Li said to Connoris, so neither of them mentioned the matter of the rift, and instead, like Connoris, they asked if they were going to leave this ce.

    However, at this juncture, a terrifying magical wave emerged from the rift behind, as if a volcano had erupted. Immediately after that, a body that was shrouded in mes darted out of the rift, and flew into the air like a meteor moving in reverse.

 Chapter 1272 - Vie

    Chapter 1272: Vie

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    With the appearance of this figure, an aura that contained divinity immediately spread throughout the entire space. The members of the Illuminati¡¯s and the Tower of Dusk¡¯s team immediately became extremely nervous. Even though they couldn¡¯t see through the other party¡¯s strength, they felt that their souls were engulfed by boundless fear.

    Edmund and Zumar were so frightened that their expressions changed drastically. They couldn¡¯t be bothered to say anything else to Lin Li, and frantically returned to organize and prepare their team for a battle. They could sense that the power possessed by the figure that emerged from the rift was probablyparable to a demigod, if not on par with that of real gods. It was undoubtedly going to be a tough battle.

    The figure stopped in midair, but he didn¡¯t immediately notice the two teams below. Instead, he looked up to the sky and let out a deafening roar that was full of pain, agony, and anger, as well as a tinge of inexplicable surprise.

    For a god that had been suppressed for such a long time, during which period his mana was continuously drawn out of his body, like a ve, it was not only agonizing but also a huge insult. If they couldn¡¯t control themselves, the gods would have probably extinguished their Divine Fires after knowing that they could not leave.

    .

    After venting their anger, the figure finally noticed Lin Li and the others. He could clearly guess that Lin Li had a close rtionship with the person who¡¯d suppressed him, and might even be his sessor.

    After being suppressed for thousands of years and having his mana drawn out of him continuously, this god could no longer put into words his hatred for the person who¡¯d suppressed him there. Now that he had guessed that Lin Li might be that person¡¯s sessor, this deity naturally refused to miss this opportunity for revenge.

    Hence, the god roared and suddenly extended his arms, after which an erupting volcano appeared behind him.

    The God of Volcanoes? Lin Li could already confirm the identity of the individual who had escaped.

    The God of Volcanoes was just a subordinate god to a main god, the God of Divine Fire, that mastered thews of volcanoes derived from thebination of fire and earth. Even though he was a subordinate god, he was not something that ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses could contend with. However, the God of Volcanoes had been suppressed in the rift, and had had his mana drawn out of him for a few thousand years. If he¡¯d been suppressed for a few thousand more years, his Divine Fire might have been extinguished, and he would really have fallen off his pedestal as a god.

    However, Saint Edmund and the others were unaware of this. All they knew was that the sudden appearance of the figure had ced such great pressure on them that they almost suffocated. Not to mention the others, even a seasoned peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouse like Edmund was clearly extremely nervous at this point.

    In other circumstances, they would at least be able to escape even if they couldn¡¯t defeat the god. However, they were now standing in front of the resurrection ce of the founding saint, Lord Aquilo. If he were to escape at this time, who knew what would happen to the resurrection of Lord Aquilo? The Illuminati had been working hard towards that goal for thousands of years, and no one was willing to fall into eternal despair again after seeing a glimmer of hope.

    Edmund, Elder Zumar, and the other members of the Illuminati¡¯s team all seemed to be ready to go all out at this point. For the sake of the resurrection of Lord Aquilo, they wouldn¡¯t mind giving up their lives without hesitation even if they were facing a true god.

    At this moment, Lin Li, however, frowned slightly and muttered, ¡°How could I have been so careless? I let one escape.¡± While saying that, he turned around and raised his arm, pointing at the God of Volcanoes who was about to rush over to massacre them.

    No one knew what was going on. Lin Li turned around and pointed his hand forward, after which numerous dazzling rays of light suddenly emerged from space, and extended towards the God of Volcanoes who was ready to go on a rampage. The God of Volcanoes had those rays of light intertwined around his body when he had just dashed out for more than 10 meters. He instantly let out a loud roar of agony.

    After being intertwined with the light, the God of Volcanoes¡¯ body began emitting fumes of ck smoke, as if it was firewood that was being burned. He now could not care less about venting his anger on Lin Li and others, as he started struggling and roaring in agony like he was being subjected to torture. The cries and roars of pain made the people below find it unbearable too.

    If the God of Volcanoes was in his heyday, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t need to try anymore. He just had to run as far as possible. However, the God of Volcanoes had been imprisoned, and had his mana stripped away from him for thousands of years. Hence, he had been greatly weakened, and when he escaped, he had simrly paid a considerable price, leaving the level of his strength at that of demigods.

    Lin Li had even defeated a few ancient gods in Geresco¡¯s test. He was definitely capable of defeating this subordinate god who had more than half of his power removed and was barely surviving.

    Soon, the God of Volcanoes stopped roaring, and his entire body turned into ck cracked stone that began crumbling and falling like cooledva.

    The astonishment that Edmund and the others felt when a godnded in front of them in the blink of an eye could no longer be put into words. Although they also knew that the god only possessed divinity, and did not have much power, Lin Li had handled it too effortlessly. Even if he was just a demigod-level enemy, they thought that Lin Li shouldn¡¯t have been able to kill him so easily!

    From the moment he saw Lin Li again, Edmund had already sensed that there was a change in Lin Li, which he couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on. After seeing how Lin Li managed to easily kill a god, they felt that Lin Li¡¯s abilities were even more mysterious. For Edmund, a seasoned powerhouse, it would be impossible to kill the God of Volcanoes easily. Even the Illuminati would have to pay a huge price for it.

    However, the problem was that Edmund could clearly sense that Lin Li¡¯s strength had definitely yet to reach the Divine-realm or even the demigod-level, which was puzzling for Edmund. Since they were both at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, why was there such a huge difference between them?

    Lin Li, who had just killed a god, acted as if nothing had happened at all. He then turned around and pped his hands while saying to everyone in the Tower of Dusk, ¡°Okay, everyone, get ready, it¡¯s time for us to leave.¡±

    Edmund¡¯s heart was full of bewilderment, but he also knew that he couldn¡¯t ask about such things. Hence, he had no choice but to swallow his questions, and instruct his team to get ready to leave. However, there was one thing that he knew very well: he had to inform the Illuminati about Lin Li¡¯s strength as soon as possible.

    Bing enemies with a Guru of Inscription who was near the Divine-Smith-level and could easily kill a god would be an absolutely foolish thing to do. Besides, not only did they have to make sure not to be Lin Li¡¯s enemy, the Illuminati also had to resort to some means to improve their rtionship with him. That was the only choice that would be in line with the Illuminati¡¯s interests.

    After the matter of the underground world ended, the teams of the Tower of Dusk and the Illuminati finally returned to the surface of the Cursed Ind, where they boarded The Star, and headed back to Four Seasons Ind.

    At this moment, Grina, the prince of the Giant Shark n, seemed to be happier than ever. During the auction previously, he had suffered a considerable loss as he had not only failed to win the auction of the items he wanted, he even lost a few years¡¯ worth of mining rights to the Sea Serpent n. Logically speaking, he shouldn¡¯t have been in a good mood.

    The reason that Grina was suddenly in high spirits was because the group of seahorse ves that the Tower of Dusk had bought in advance previously was now standing in front of them. The outsiders had no idea what the seahorse ves meant to the Giant Shark n, but Grina knew that getting his hands on them would be enough to make up for the fact that he failed to bid for what he wanted.

    The Seahorse n had once ruled the Endless Ocean, but the royals of the Ocean Dynasty lost their power because they had angered the Sea God. However, the Ocean Dynasty had amassed arge amount of wealth that was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. After the betrayal of the Giant Shark n and other major Sea ns, the wealth of the Ocean Dynasty was divided and shared among the ns. The share that the Giant Shark n had obtained was probably less than one-tenth of the total. The Seahorse nsmen that were lucky to have survived would know the answer to where the remaining wealth had gone.

    Grina had gone to confront the Tower of Dusk, only because he had heard that some of those seahorse ves seemed to be the descendants of the royal Seahorse n. Of course, the fact that he belittled the Tower of Dusk was also an important reason. Otherwise, if it had been any other force, he would have definitely contemted if it was worth falling out with them before taking action.

    Grina waved his hand to have the seahorse ves escorted away before turning around to speak to Cantory, who had given him the information, with great enthusiasm. ¡°Cantory, my brother, it¡¯s all thanks to the news you gave me that I managed to find those damned ves.¡±

    In fact, Cantory merely told Grina that Lin Li had left with the core members of the Tower of Dusk. However, Grina couldn¡¯t say so, or else it would look as if he was afraid of the Tower of Dusk, though he was indeed unsure if he could really snatch the seahorse salves away from Lin Li.

    On the other hand, Cantory, who had been thinking about how tond Lin Li in trouble, was naturally pleased to see that Grina had snatched away the ves that Lin Li had bought. However, he was still rather rational. After epting Grina¡¯s thanks, he instructed, ¡°Brother Grina, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of the rtionship between the kingdom and the Tower of Dusk. So, please keep this matter a secret for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Grina patted Cantory on his shoulder, but he said with some obvious disdain on his face, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what that old fogy Bradlor is thinking. Why is he sucking up to the Tower of Dusk? What¡¯s so good about the Tower of Dusk? They just have two Sanctuary-realm powerhouses, what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡±

    Cantory didn¡¯t know how to answer him, and merely shook his head with a bitter smile before bidding him goodbye. In fact, he also wanted to say that not only was the Gilded Kingdom sucking up to the Tower of Dusk, even the Illuminati was just as subservient. However, he couldn¡¯t say it, otherwise Grina wouldn¡¯t act ording to Cantory¡¯s wishes.

    After sending Cantory away, Grina returned to his underwater castle, and couldn¡¯t help butugh while looking at the sky. Since he arrived in the Gilded Kingdom, he had never been as ted as he was now. He could even imagine how furious Lin Li would be when he learned that the seahorse ves were missing upon his return.

    Besides, Grina was already prepared to take revenge for the way the Tower of Dusk insulted him in front of the embassy previously by humiliating the members of the Tower of Dusk once they returned.

    During Lin Li¡¯s absence, Four Seasons Ind seemed to have barely changed as it was still full of a festive ambiance, with everyone making various preparations for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. After a few days of sailing, the huge vessel, The Star, also finally sailed into Helena Port, which was full of festive decorations.

    Together with the members of the Illuminati, Edmund and Zumar bid farewell to Lin Li in the port, and got ready to return to the Illuminati to report the results of this operation. However, at this moment, a priest of the Illuminati hurried to the docks, and whispered something to Saint Edmund.

    No one heard what the priest said, but Edmund¡¯s face instantly became sullen. Immediately afterwards, Edmund bade goodbye to Lin Li briefly before taking his subordinates away with him as he left the port.

    Damn it, that punk of the Giant Shark n really doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s setting himself up for! Edmund cursed in his heart while taking his subordinates away from the port.

    There were some matters in the Gilded Kingdom that King Bradlor might not be aware of, but there was nothing that the Illuminati wouldn¡¯t know about. The things that Grina had done might be hidden from the Gilded Kingdom, but not from the Illuminati. However, the Illuminati¡¯s external affairs had always been handled by Saint Edmund of the Chaos Sanctuary. Hence, the members of the Illuminati reported this matter to him only when he returned.

    Besides, the Giant Shark n had four other Sanctuary-level divine generals, and if the other three Sanctuaries weren¡¯t involved, it would be difficult for the force on Four Seasons Ind to handle this matter.

    In the underwater pce of the Giant Shark n, Grina was still happily thinking about what he would do to the seahorse ves when he suddenly heard the sounds of hurried footsteps.

    Soon, a guard who had anxiety written all over his face scurried in. When he saw Grina, he immediately called out, ¡°Prince, bad news. The people of the Illuminati are here.¡±

    What¡¯s so bad about the Illuminati¡¯s arrival? Grina was puzzled. After all, the Giant Shark n had been in contract with the Illuminati. Although their rtionship wasn¡¯t exactly close, they would still be somewhat courteous to each other.

    Hence, Grina¡¯s face turned sullen immediately, and he asked in displeasure, ¡°What do you mean? So what if the Illuminati is here?¡±

    ¡°Prince, the members of the Illuminati want you to hand over all the seahorse ves of the Tower of Dusk immediately,¡± said the guard.

 Chapter 1273 - Vomiting Blood Out Of Depression

    Chapter 1273: Vomiting Blood Out Of Depression

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°What? They want me to return the ves?¡± Grina flew into a rage immediately. ¡±What¡¯s so great about the Illuminati? Are they really going to fall out with me for the sake of that Tower of Dusk!?¡¯

    At this moment, the Four Divine Generals also understood what was going on. They didn¡¯t think that the Illuminati would really be willing to offend the Giant Shark n, which was the leader of the seven hegemons of the sea, just for the sake of the Tower of Dusk.

    ¡°Prince, why don¡¯t we go out and take a look? Maybe it¡¯s just someone from the Illuminati who got bribed by the Tower of Dusk, and came here to persuade us,¡± Divine General Zorro said with a look of disdain. Although the Illuminati was a powerful force in the Endless Ocean, it didn¡¯t mean that everyone in the Illuminati would suppress others using the power of the Illuminati.

    Grina had also thought of that point. Hence, he waved his hand nonchntly, and said, ¡°Alright, go check it out. Show the Illuminati some basic respect and send them away, don¡¯t let things blow out of proportion.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Prince!¡± Zorro said and bowed before walking away with the guard.

    With Zorro, a Sanctuary-level Divine General, Grina believed that the Illuminati would back off after knowing that it would be difficult to convince them.. Thus, he started thinking about the seahorse ves again.

    However, just a few minutester, Grina suddenly felt that the entire underwater castle was trembling violently, as if there was a volcano below the castle that was about to erupt.

    The guard who led Zorro out stumbled over, and loudly eximed, ¡°Prince, Divine General Zorro has been captured by the people from the Illuminati. They said that they will throw this castle into the sky unless we hand over those ves!¡±

    Although the strength of the Four Divine Generals was in the lower tier, they were ultimately real Sanctuary powerhouses. Zorro had only gone out for a few minutes, and yet he had already gotten captured. How strong must the other party be? Grina was dumbfounded. While trying to stabilize his body, he asked, ¡°Who exactly is the person who came?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Saint Edmund of the Illuminati!¡± the guard answered stammeringly.

    Although Grina was a prince of the Giant Shark n, he was still shocked by Saint Edmund¡¯s identity. He initially thought that the person who came should be someone from the Illuminati who had been bribed by the Tower of Dusk, and was here to ask him to hand the seahorse ves over as a lobbyist. In that case, it would mean that the representative of the Illuminati definitely didn¡¯t have a high status, and could not really represent them.

    In fact, not to mention an Illuminati member of ordinary status, even if it was someone who was of the same status as Elder Zumar, Grina definitely would dare topletely disregard him. However, Saint Edmund was different. As one of the four greatest saints of the Illuminati, Edmund was definitely qualified to represent the Illuminati. If Grina disregarded Edmund, he would really be disrespecting the Illuminati.

    That made Grina feel incredibly indignant and resentful. Not only had the Gilded Kingdom shown favoritism towards the Tower of Dusk previously, now even the Illuminati was getting involved and taking the Tower of Dusk¡¯s side. What¡¯s the big deal with that tiny Tower of Dusk? They¡¯re just a nameless force no one heard of. So what if their president is at the Sanctuary-realm? So what if he can create a Guru-level mageweath scroll? Must the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati go to such great lengths to suck up to them!?

    However, before Grina could think of a countermeasure to deal with the matter, he suddenly felt the castle shaking violently again. At this point, the castle disintegrated and broke apart like a waterlogged sand sculpture. Be it the sturdy deep-sea gemstones or precious magical metals, they all seemed to have broken down into extremely small particles by a certain force in an instant.

    With the copse of the castle, everyone in the castle, including Grina, was naturally exposed to the outside immediately.

    That made the Giant Shark n dumbfounded. Although the underwater castle wasn¡¯t the pce of the Giant Shark n, it still represented their status and pride. Besides, as the prince of the Giant Shark n, Grina was here as a representative of the Giant Shark n. Hence, insulting him would be tantamount to insulting the Giant Shark n.

    Now that the castle was gone, there was naturally no need for his guard to ry the message, because Grina and the others who were in the castle immediately saw Saint Edmund.

    The three Divine Generals around Grina immediately roared in unison, and pounced onto Saint Edmund. Although Saint Edmund of the Illuminati had a great reputation as a veteran Sanctuary powerhouse in the Endless Ocean, he seldom fought with anyone in the past thousand years. In the opinion of the three Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n, since they were all Sanctuary powerhouses, their strength shouldn¡¯t be too far off from Saint Edmund¡¯s, even if they might be at a lower level than thetter.

    However, before the three Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n could get close to Edmund, they saw three huge palms emerging from the void and smacking all three of them to the ground immediately. Regardless of how they tried to struggle and release their power, they still couldn¡¯t break free from the palms.

    The three Sanctuary powerhouses were defeated by Edmund before they even had the chance to exchange blows with him. Including Zorro who had been captured just now, the Four Divine Generals that Grina relied on were beaten up into a pulp and rendered defenseless. No one would believe that the four of them were Sanctuary powerhouses.

    Looking at Saint Edmund who was opposite him, Grina¡¯s face was incredibly sullen. His castle had been destroyed, and the Four Divine Generals were now in such a wretched state. Saint Edmund showed no mercy at all!

    ¡°Saint Edmund, when all¡¯s said and done, the Giant Shark n and the Illuminati have been cooperating for more than 1,000 years. You¡¯ve gone overboard with your actions!¡± Although Grina was a bit timid, he was still the prince of the Giant Shark n, so he had to say something to preserve his pride.

    However, since Saint Edmund had demolished Grina¡¯s castle, he naturally didn¡¯t intend to save him from any embarrassment. He humphed coldly, and said, ¡°Grina, I¡¯ve already shown you enough respect by asking you to hand the ves over. If someone else hade over instead, you might not have been alive now.¡±

    Grina was still trying to put up a strong front, but when he felt the aura emanating from Saint Edmund, he was not only incapable of speech, he was even almost pressed onto the ground. He felt extremely depressed and perturbed as he didn¡¯t expect Edmund to have a simr stand as the Gilded Kingdom. Do they really value Felic of the Tower of Dusk so greatly?

    Grina simply couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on with the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, but Saint Edmund wasn¡¯t in the mood to exin. The castle had already copsed, and everyone including the seahorse ves had naturally been exposed. Edmund didn¡¯t say anything else, and simply waved his hand, after which a gigantic palm emerged from the void to grab all the seahorse ves.

    After ncing at Grina coldly, Edmund said in a deep voice, ¡°Grina, you¡¯d better not mess with President Felic for the sake of the Giant Shark n. Otherwise, I might not be able to save you again next time!¡± After saying that, he took those seahorse ves with him and left.

    Hearing Edmund¡¯s words, Grina was so depressed that he almost vomited blood. So he came to destroy my castle and snatch the ves while putting me to shame just to save me? How can there be such a thing in this world!?

    However, even if Grina was feeling indignant, he couldn¡¯t think of a good way to take revenge at this point. As the prince of the Giant Shark n, he naturally knew to judge the situation and choose his battles wisely. Now that the Gilded Kingdom and Illuminati were clearly trying to protect the Tower of Dusk, he would get himself in more trouble if he insisted on going against the Tower of Dusk. If he were to end up offending the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer to his father and the elders. He might even lose his position.

    After thinking about it, Grina had no choice but to suppress his resentment, and turned to the Four Divine Generals who had walked up to him as he said, ¡°Get to the bottom of this matter, and find out the intentions of Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati, regardless of what it takes.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Four Divine Generals answered awkwardly.

    On the other hand, after snatching the seahorse ves, Edmund brought them directly to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. Although he seemed to have gone overboard with Grina, he knew that he was indeed saving Grina and the Giant Shark n.

    Edmund could still remember clearly how Lin Li waved his hand to destroy a god in front of the rift on the Cursed Ind. Even though that god was somehow only at the demigod-level, he was still considered a nearly invincible existence to normal Sanctuary powerhouses.

    The Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n were all Sanctuary powerhouses, but they couldn¡¯t evenst a single round against Saint Edmund. The difference in their strength was worlds apart. Although Edmund was still unaware of how strong Lin Li was now, he could at least guess that Lin Li was probably unbeatable in the Sanctuary-realm.

    Hence, Edmund had no doubt that if Lin Li came to confront Grina instead, the consequences would never be as simple as destroying Grina¡¯s castle and insulting the Giant Shark n. Perhaps Grina and the Four Divine Generals of the Giant Shark n would die here.

    When Edmund brought the seahorse ves to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li was having a meeting with some guests from the Octopus n.

    After learning about Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of inscription, Great Monarch Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes of the Octopus n became even more determined to get on good terms with him, the human Guru of Inscription. In fact, when Lin Li was away on the Cursed Ind, they would show up at the embassy once every two or three days to ask if Lin Li had returned yet.

    That was exactly the reason that Hayes and Hegel immediately paid Lin Li a visit as soon as he returned to the embassy. Of course, Harquess, the prince of the Octopus n, had also tagged along. After all, he was the first to interact with Lin Li, even though the encounter wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant.

    Harquess¡¯ face was clearly sullen. Previously, he had been procrastinating in apologizing to Lin Li, but his father and Grand Elder Hayes eventually found out anyway. As a result, he ended up being reprimanded by his father and the few other elders. Hence, he still felt like their scoldings were ringing in his ears.

    However, Harquess did not resent Lin Li for it, and he now even seemed ashamed, awkward, and guilty. In the past, he might have really put the me on Lin Li, but now he was already well aware of how shockingly aplished Lin Li was in the field of inscription. It probably wouldn¡¯t be an overstatement to say that he was in awe of Lin Li.

    Harquess stood in front of Lin Li, and said in a sincere tone, ¡°Master Felic, it was my fault for offending you multiple times previously. I hope you can forgive me.¡±

    Lin Li had always preferred a softer approach when dealing with a conflict. Besides, Harquess hadn¡¯t gone particrly overboard, so Lin Li merely waved his hand nonchntly, and said, ¡°Save the apology. It¡¯s just an exchange of inscription knowledge, it¡¯s no big deal.¡±

    Everyone knew thatpetent and capable people were generally ill-tempered. Besides, the things that Lin Li had done in the Gilded Kingdom before seemed to prove that point too. Hence, the Octopus n hade prepared to incur a huge mary loss, and had even braced themselves for Harquess to suffer a little. For them, as long as they could get on good terms with Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription, it would definitely be worth it even if he had to pay a huge price.

    However, instead of making things difficult for them, Lin Li chose not to put the Octopus n down to shame, and even showed them due respect, which was to their pleasure. Putting aside the minor conflict, Lin Li¡¯s conversation with the Octopus n immediately became much more enjoyable. After all, they didn¡¯t have a strong feud with each other in the first ce.

    At this juncture, someone came in to report that Saint Edmund of the Illuminati had returned the seahorse ves whom the Giant Shark n had forcibly snatched away previously.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but smile after hearing this news. Naturally, he could guess why Saint Edmund stood up for him and got the ves back on his behalf. However, he didn¡¯t me Edmund for it. Anyway, regardless of who had done it, he was satisfied that the seahorse ves had returned unharmed. As for Grina of the Giant Shark n, he was just a nobody to Lin Li, so Lin Li wouldn¡¯t really bear a grudge over this matter.

    Out of courtesy, Lin Li excused himself from the few Octopus n members, and went outside to receive Saint Edmund.

    Watching Lin Li leave, Hegel and Grand Elder Hayes couldn¡¯t help but look at each other. They could already tell from this matter regarding Edmund how much the Illuminati valued Lin Li. For the sake of getting the seahorse ves back for the Tower of Dusk, Saint Edmund, one of the four greatest saints of the Illuminati, had even intervened personally. That was enough to show the Illuminati¡¯s firm decision to stand on Lin Li¡¯s side.

    At this moment, Lin Li headed outside the embassy, and saw Edmund, who had brought the seahorse ves over.

    Edmund was in fact a little worried. Given how much Lin Li detested being taken advantage of, Lin Li might me him for resolving this matter in case Lin Li was trying to take this opportunity to teach Grina a lesson. Hence, when Edmund saw Lin Li, he immediately smilingly said, ¡°President Felic, I hope you won¡¯t mind the fact that I have taken matters into my own hand to bring those ves back to you.¡±

 Chapter 1274 - You Guys Have Secrets

    Chapter 1274: You Guys Have Secrets

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Although Lin Li had never been willing to lose out, he was not a petty person. Regardless of what intentions or reasons Edmund might have for his actions, Edmund had indeed solved a problem for Lin Li. Hence, he didn¡¯t hold it against Edmund. He waved his hand to gesture for his subordinates to take the seahorse ves away. He then walked towards Edmund with a smile, and said, ¡°Saint Edmund, I can¡¯t thank you enough for bringing these people back for me. How can I possibly me you? Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n is here in the embassy. Saint Edmund, would you like toe inside and take a seat too?¡±

    Although Edmund knew that the Octopus n had to have developed an interest in befriending Lin Li since they bought his Mount Tai mageweath during the auction previously, he still couldn¡¯t help but be surprised to hear that Great Monarch Hegel hade to pay Lin Li a visit in person.

    However, Edmund knew that Hegel¡¯s visit had to be out of something more than just courtesy. Hence, he didn¡¯t want to go in to disturb him, and thus smiled before self-deprecatingly saying, ¡°Oh, you guys must be discussing inscriptions. I¡¯m just ayman who knows nothing about inscriptions, I shan¡¯t go in and make a fool of myself.¡±

    Of course, Edmund was not entirely clueless about inscriptions. After all, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had been living for thousands of years.. Even a fool would have learned quite a bit about inscription if they were in Edmund¡¯s shoes.

    However, Edmund¡¯s knowledge of inscription was far inferior to that of the Octopus n, who were born with a talent in inscription, and even more sopared to Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription who was nearing the Divine-Smith-level. Whenpared to the people of the Octopus n or Lin Li, Edmund really wasn¡¯t being modest by calling himself ayman.

    Edmund wasn¡¯t really keen on inscription, either. Hence, after learning that Lin Li, Hegel, and the others would definitely be discussing inscriptions, he decided not to join them, and thus bade farewell to Lin Li.

    After seeing Edmund off, Lin Li did not immediately return inside to continue conversing with the people of the Octopus n, and instead went to look at the seahorse ves who had been settled there. He knew that Grina definitely wasn¡¯t just trying to stand up for himself and vent his anger by snatching those seahorse ves, but rather was certain that Grina had to have other reasons for doing so.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about those issues. Hence, after taking a look at the seahorse ves, he said to them, ¡°I know that you hold some secrets that Grina wants to know, but I¡¯m not interested in those secrets. All you have to do now is focus on bing stronger. I don¡¯t need a bunch of ves to carry out hardbor, but I want you to be the Seahorse Knights that have once dominated the Endless Ocean. Show me a satisfactory standard ofpetency, and I¡¯ll grant you freedom. Your secrets will remain yours to hold.¡±

    Lin Li was not trying to get into their goods books or win their favor. After all, races that had suffered a tragic fate like the Seahorse n definitely couldn¡¯t be won over just with some sugarcoated words or ttery.

    Lin Li merely hoped that they could temporarily put aside those damned secrets, and focus entirely on improving their individual strength for the time being. Otherwise, even if Lin Li provided them with the best resources and environment for growth, they would only end up wasting everything if they couldn¡¯t focus on training.

    After giving those instructions, Lin Li left the room without even waiting for the Seahorse n members to pledge their allegiance and express their loyalty to him. Well, the guests from the Octopus n were still in the guest hall, and he couldn¡¯t make them wait for too long.

    Upon returning to the guest hall, Lin Li spoke to Hegel and the others for a few more minutes before finally getting to the main topic of their conversation. Great Monarch Hegel first invited Lin Li to visit the Octopus n where they could have enough time to exchange knowledge about inscriptions.

    When it came to the exchange of inscription knowledge, Hegel couldn¡¯t help but seem a little embarrassed because Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription who was nearing the Divine-Smith-level. Instead of an exchange of knowledge, it seemed more appropriate to call it an inscription lesson from Lin Li to the Octopus n. Although the Octopus n was talented in inscription, Grand Elder Hayes was the only one in the n who had barely achieved a Guru-level attainment in inscription. In the entire Octopus n, Gurus of Inscription were rare and few in number. Thus, there was nothing much for them to offer to Lin Li, and by calling it an exchange of knowledge, they would seem to be holding themselves highly.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t bothered about that. In fact, he indeed needed the Octopus n¡¯s help in some matters. He was nning to recruit a batch of inscribers from the Octopus n to work for him for free, as he had done with Wilkinson and the other pharmacists previously.

    Lin Li was indeed a Guru of Inscription who had already touched the Divine-Smith-level, but he ultimately couldn¡¯t make clones of himself, and thus was unable to juggle so many things and handle everything simultaneously on his own. In particr, the drawing of mageweath arrays would require severalplicated and fundamental processes which he waspletely uninterested in. He couldn¡¯t possibly waste his time on carrying out the basic processes, either.

    Therefore, after epting Hegel¡¯s invitation, Lin Li naturally raised his request too. ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that Octopus n is inherently talented in inscription, and I know that almost everyone in the Octopus n has considerable attainments in inscription. It just so happens that I still need some inscribers for the Tower of Dusk, so Great Monarch Hegel, may I know if you can help me assemble some of them?¡±

    If it had been someone else who asked for a batch of inscribers, Hegel would have turned them down immediately without any consideration. He might¡¯ve even fallen out with them. After all, inscribers had high status in Anril, and any force that had an inscriber would definitely put their inscriber on a pedestal and serve them with due respect.

    Although the Octopus n members were born with a high talent in inscription, there were very few who really qualified to be called inscribers, and the absolute majority of the Octopus n were only good at drawing some mageweaths for attacking and defense, while some specialized only in the drawing of magic scrolls.

    Those who were truly qualified to be called inscribers would have to have done adequate research on inscription, and could skillfully draw the majority of mageweaths that were below the level of their strength. Hence, even for the Octopus n, inscribers were extremely precious.

    However, the person who asked for the inscribers was Lin Li, so Hegel¡¯s attitude waspletely different. Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription who was almost at the level of the Divine Smith. Any inscriber who learned alongside Lin Li would definitely gain plenty of advanced inscription knowledge from him. If not for the fact that he was the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, Hegel would have rmended himself to Lin Li.

    Hegel knew that Lin Li¡¯s request would probably be an absolutely excellent opportunity for the Octopus n. However, he was also a little worried. After all, Lin Li had an extremely high attainment in inscription, so gathering a sufficient number of inscribers who met Lin Li¡¯s requirements was still a tricky issue for Hegel.

    Besides, the Octopus n still required arge number of inscribers to keep their businesses running, and they couldn¡¯t possibly terminate a huge portion of their magic scroll business because of this. Furthermore, inscribers were an important force of the Octopus n without which the Octopus n would definitely face more trouble in the Endless Ocean.

    Hence, Hegel suppressed his agitation, and cautiously asked Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, what level of inscribers do you need?¡±

    Lin Li couldpletely guess what was on Hegel¡¯s mind, so he smiled, and said, ¡°Great Monarch Hegel, you don¡¯t have to worry, I won¡¯t make you hand over your cherished inscribers. I just need about 20-30 mid-rank or senior inscribers. Besides, I believe that as long as they are not fools, their capabilities will definitely improve by the time they return to the n.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find you some senior inscribers!¡± Hegel eximed,pletely ignoring the option of mid-level inscribers. There were many high-level inscribers in the Octopus n.

    Sending out 20-30 senior inscribers was not an issue for the Octopus n at all. Perhaps the biggest problem to consider now was who to send to the Tower of Dusk. Hegel even considered sending his son, Harquess, to Lin Li along with the other inscribers in hopes that Harquess could return with Guru-level attainments in inscription.

    Lin Li nodded, and confirmed, ¡°Yes, they can be mid-rank or senior inscribers, or a mix of both.¡±

    ¡°Alright, how about this, Master Felic, you may look at the inscribers of our n during your visit to our ce, and pick them out as you please. It won¡¯t be a problem even if you¡¯d like to take 200 or 300 of them away with you,¡± Hegel quickly agreed. He wouldn¡¯t mind really giving 200 or 300 inscribers to Lin Li.

    Lin Li calcted the time, and realized that there was less than a month left until the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration. He was nning to wait until the celebration was over, and return to the Breezy ins. After all, there were still quite a few things that he had to handle there. Hence, after settling on a time with Hegel, he decided to visit the Octopus n in two days¡¯ time, thinking that it wouldn¡¯t take that long to pick out a few Inscribers anyway.

    After seeing Hegel and the others off, it was still as crowded as ever at the entrance of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy. Hearing that Lin Li, the Guru of Inscription, had returned, they quickly came forth to visit Lin Li with the gifts that they had prepared. Although not all forces eagerly needed inscribers, it would still be a good thing for them to get acquainted with a Guru of Inscription.

    The Siren n, which really needed Lin Li¡¯s help, naturally wouldn¡¯t procrastinate at this juncture. Soon, Prince Cleve arrived at the embassy of the Tower of Dusk again. He had heard from Hegel that Lin Li would be visiting the Octopus n in two days¡¯ time, and the Siren n¡¯s turf happened to be near the Octopus n¡¯s. Thus, they immediately came over to invite Lin Li.

    Lin Li happened to still need the Siren n¡¯s Siren¡¯s Tears for concocting a potion meant for enhancing the mental strength of mages. Hence, after some detailed discussion, Lin Li also settled on a time to visit the Siren n. Anyway, he would still be able to bring back some inscribers from the Octopus n, so they could help him out when the time came.

    In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and it was time for Lin Li to visit the Octopus n as agreed upon with Hegel. Great Monarch Hegel, Grand Elder Hayes, and the several other elders once again arrived at the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy to invite Lin Li in.

    However, Lin Li was not the only one who followed Hegel and the others to the Octopus n as a guest. Elder Zumar of the Illuminati was tagging along as well. Clearly, the Illuminati was determined to get close to Lin Li this time, and they weren¡¯t hiding their intentions at all.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t oppose having Elder Zumar tag along, either. After all, he indeed needed a guide to take him on a tour around the Endless Ocean.

    After leaving the capital of the Gilded Kingdom and boarding The Star that belonged to the Tower of Dusk, they began sailing quickly towards the area of the sea where the Octopus n resided.

    Sailing at full speed, The Star took less than four days to reach the territory of the Octopus n. The Star was moored at the pier of an ind named Tidal Ind, which was the ce that was specially meant for receiving guests of the Octopus n. There were merchants from all races and ns who ran businesses on the ind, which was probably just as prosperous as Helena Port of the Gilded Kingdom.

    After disembarking from The Star, Hegel specifically instructed the Octopus n members at the pier to guard The Star carefully and serve the crew of The Star well. He had seen how protective Lin Li was towards his subordinates, and knew that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t mind offending even the powerhouses of the Gilded Kingdom for the sake of his men.

    After making arrangements, Hegel led Lin Li and the others to arge, beautiful building in the center of Tidal Ind. There was also a teleportation array in the building, which was specially used to entertain the distinguished guests of the Octopus n, that could lead users to the underwater capital of the Octopus n¡ªLantis City.

    Two days before their departure, Hegel had already ryed the news back to the Octopus n, and made various arrangements for the weing ceremony. Thus, when they arrived on the ind, the Octopus n members were already long prepared to wee and receive them. The scale of the weing ceremony was just asrge and grand as when the Gilded Kingdom weed Lin Li.

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t care about such formalities at all. Seeing that it was about time, he said to Hegel, ¡°Great Monarch Hegel, we can skip this, I¡¯m really eager to take a tour around Lantis City.¡±

    In fact, Hegel had taken inspiration from the Gilded Kingdom for this weing ceremony because the Sea n wasn¡¯t good at such things. Seeing that Lin Li wasn¡¯t a fan of the ceremony, he decided not to insist any further. Hence, he waved his hand to gesture for his subordinates to leave. He smilingly said, ¡°Haha, Master Felic, please forgive me. Since you don¡¯t like this, we¡¯ll skip it and head straight to Lantis City.¡±

    They arrived in front of the teleportation array, and Lin Li started sizing it up, only to realize that it wasn¡¯t an advanced teleportation array, and was not at allparable to the one in the Sky Castle. The range of teleportation was probably only 50 kilometers. Thus, the Octopus n¡¯s Lantis City was probably at the bottom of the sea near Tidal Ind.

    After the few of them entered the teleportation array, the professionals outside activated it, and rays of mana light began to flow along the patterns on the teleportation array. By the time the lines were filled with magic, dazzling rays of light suddenly emerged from the teleportation array, shrouding all the figures within.

 Chapter 1275 - No Time

    Chapter 1275: No Time

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    When the light of the teleportation array dissipated, the group had already vanished.

    Almost at the same time, a teleportation array in the central square of the underground Lantis City began to light up with a rich light. Under the apaniment of Hegel and others, Lin Li slowly walked out from that light.

    After stepping out of the teleportation array, and getting a clear glimpse of the surroundings, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be shocked, even though he had seen a lot of this world.

    Although the Octopus n resided at sea, they weren¡¯t really submerged in water all the time. Only the weaker Sea ns would live underwater, just like residents from the countryside on the maind. However, there was a high level of humidity in the city because the Sea n had to live in an aqueous environment, after all.

    There was a transparent canopy dozens of meters above the underwater Lantis City which separated the city from the water. Looking up from below, one would be able to see fish swimming past, which was simr to the feeling of looking at birds in the sky from the ground.

    The buildings in Lantis City ranged from one to three stories high.. However, they were extremely colorful and shaped like erged conches. There was even a variety of patterns on them, which made Lin Li feel as if he had entered a fairy-tale world.

    Instead of trees, clusters of brightly colored coral were used to decorate the city. In the eyes of the Sea n, corals were not very valuable, but they would probably fetch sky-high prices on the maind.

    Lantis City was not full of a gilded splendor, but it made Lin Li feel dreamy. Of course, it was his first time seeing an underwater city. The only ones he had ever been to in his previous life were those underwater aquariums, and thus he was extremely shocked by Lantis City.

    Elder Zumar stayed by Lin Li¡¯s side, and began introducing the ce to him like a tour guide. He said, ¡°Among the various sea cities, Lantis City of the Octopus n can be considered one of thergest ones. It¡¯s in fact a notch bigger than the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s capital, Hopra City.¡±

    Lantis City of the Octopus n looked exceptionally gorgeous and resplendent under the light reflected through the seawater, reminding Lin Li of the Dragon King Ocean Pce, which was a legend from the world he had transmigrated from.

    Among the seven overlords of the Endless Ocean, the Octopus n might not be the strongest, but the amount of wealth that they had amassed over countless years was far more than what the other Sea ns couldpare to. That was obvious from Lantis City. It could be said that each type of building material boasted an extremely shocking value.

    In addition to the precious materials, there were also various mageweaths that were used to decorate the city since the Octopus n were experts in the field of inscription. Given Lin Li¡¯s judgment, it would be extremely easy to tell what those mageweaths were. Even the hidden mageweaths couldn¡¯t escape his eyes.

    Lin Li did not know what the other areas of Lantis City were like, but at the very least, every inch of space that he was in now was covered with mageweaths. However, the mageweaths and mageweath arrays here were mostly Master-level mageweaths.

    The mageweaths here had a variety of power and functions, some of which were for attack and some for defense. There were also some that worked like traps. Each and every single mageweath was definitely extremely sought-after in the outside world, and could be recorded in the history of inscriptions as an excellent work. However, with Lin Li¡¯s current judgment, these impressive Master-level or even Guru-level mageweaths could barely arouse much interest.

    The only thing that could catch Lin Li¡¯s eye was a Guru-level mageweath array that was simr to the Conquering Mageweath of the Sky Castle. It was said that during the Octopus n¡¯s prime, there were more than 20 Gurus of Inscription in the n, and they were the ones who created this Guru-level mageweath array.

    The Guru-level mageweath array was called the Kingdom of the Gods, and like the Conquering Mageweath, it had the power to significantly increase the strength of one¡¯s team within a certain range. Although it seemed to be mightier than the Conquering Mageweath, its actual effects might only be one-tenth of the Conquering Mageweath.

    Of course, even so, the Kingdom of the Gods mageweath array was definitely considered a top mageweath array. Only the Octopus n could have 20 Gurus of Inscription jointly creating a Kingdom of the Gods mageweath array. Other forces didn¡¯t dare to think about it at all.

    The mageweaths alone were more than enough to ensure that Lantis City would never fall. Although their power and functions might not beparable to those of the Sky Castle, this city could definitely be called a sacrednd. Lantis City was a crucial reason as to why the Octopus n could remain one of the top three Sea ns and dominate the Endless Ocean for countless years.

    Under the personal lead of Great Monarch Hegel, Lin Li slowly made his way towards a five-colored conch-like building while listening to Elder Zumar¡¯s introduction of Lantis City.

    This conch-shaped building could be said to be the center of political affairs of Lantis City where Great Monarch Hegel and the elders usually held conferences to decide on the various matters of the Octopus n. It was clearly used as the ce to receive Lin Li this time.

    At this moment, there were already a lot of people from the Octopus n waiting in line in front of the main entrance of the building. Besides, it could be seen from their attire that they should be powerful figures of high status in the Octopus n.

    Seeing this scene, even Elder Zumar was startled. Regardless of what the weing ceremony was like just now, it was only superficial. The personal greeting and weing by the significant bigwigs of the Octopus n was a true reflection of the importance that the Octopus n attached to Lin Li.

    Elder Zumar knew that Lin Li had extremely high attainments in inscription, but he didn¡¯t expect that he would warrant such a grand wee from the Octopus n. After all, he didn¡¯t know how high Lin Li¡¯s attainment in inscription was exactly, but everyone knew that the Octopus n had a high status in the field of inscription.

    Hegel led Lin Li to the front of the crowd, and began to introduce him to his nsmen. In the past, Elder Zumar had once visited Lantis City together with Saint Edmund, during which asion the Sea ns had sent people to greet and wee them. However, Elder Zumar still remembered very clearly that the people who hade out to receive them had been snobbish and arrogant.

    However, Elder Zumar noticed that the ones whom Great Monarch Hegel sent to greet and receive Lin Li were full of earnestness and fear towards Lin Li, and their tone of voice was also very respectful, aplete opposite of what he remembered.

    ¡°Master Felic, this is Joshner, a Master of Inscription who is responsible for creating mageweaths for the Octopus n. He is also very knowledgeable about magic scrolls,¡± Hegel introduced as he led Lin Li to an Octopus n elder.

    After hearing the introduction, Lin Li nodded with a smile on his face, and said, ¡°Hello.¡±

    Master Joshner was introduced simply as the person in charge of magic scrolls. What a in introduction! However, Zumar knew that Master Joshner could be said to be the ¡°directing producer¡± of the mageweaths of the Octopus n whose inscription attainments were absolutely considered to be the top in the n. The works of Joshner would definitely fetch record-breaking prices even during auctions.

    Elder Zumar still remembered that thest time he visited this ce with Saint Edmund, Master Joshner did not even show up. In fact, when Saint Edmund requested to meet Master Joshner, thetter simply declined, citing the reason of being unavable.

    Another person came up next, and Hegel simrly smilingly introduced him to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, this is my teacher, Guru of Inscription Harcrow. He has produced many mageweaths that are used in Lantis City, and has also participated in the drawing of the Kingdom of the Gods mageweath array.¡±

    ¡°Oh, hello, Master Harcrow,¡± Lin Li greeted. There still wasn¡¯t much of a change in his expression, as if there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between Harcrow and the previous inscribers.

    On the other hand, Elder Zumar froze in shock after hearing Hegel¡¯s introduction. Lin Li might not know who Harcrow was, but Elder Zumar was well aware that this name was a legend in the Endless Ocean.

    In terms of seniority, Grand Elder Hayes of the Octopus n was just like an elementary school student in front of Harcrow. During the Ocean Dynasty¡¯s rule, Harcrow was the chief inscriber until the Ocean Dynasty was overthrown, after which Harcrow led the Octopus n through countless ordeals in the great Ocean War, which allowed them to earn their position as one of the seven overlords.

    The most powerful mageweath array of Lantis City, the Kingdom of the Gods mageweath array, was created by 20-odd Gurus of Inscription of the Octopus n under the lead of Harcrow. Thepletion of the Kingdom of the Gods mageweath array allowed Lantis City to be a truly unconquerable city.

    Given Harcrow¡¯s identity and status, even the lord of the Illuminati might not get a chance to meet him. Over the past few thousands of years, there hadn¡¯t been any news of Harcrow, and people even thought that the famous Guru of Inscription had passed away.

    Elder Zumar had never thought that he would have the chance to meet this legend of the Octopus n thanks to Lin Li.

    Hegel¡¯s introduction of each greeter made Elder Zumar incredibly astonished. When he came to visit with Edmund previously, the Octopus n had only sent some senior members and a few junior inscribers to greet them.

    However, through Hegel¡¯s introduction, Elder Zumar heard the names of legendary figures who were extremely famous in the entire Anril. In fact, among these people, there were many whom he hadn¡¯t heard of in years, and who the people in the outside world thought had already passed and would remain legends.

    Even a powerhouse like Saint Edmund couldn¡¯t put on airs in front of these mighty figures of the field of inscription. Meanwhile, Elder Zumar somehow felt a sense of inferiority. However, Lin Li did not express much, and merely greeted them with an indifferent nod.

    However, the mighty figures of the field of inscription of the Octopus n did not show the slightest trace of dissatisfaction. Even though they seemed to have some suspicion in their eyes, no one dared to stand out and say something inappropriate in such an untimely manner.

    After the introductions, Hegel led Lin Li and the inscribers of the Octopus n to the five-colored conch-like building. On the other hand, Elder Zumar was already a little groggy and dazed at this moment. He didn¡¯t know what he was doing, and was merely following Lin Li subconsciously.

    Hegel invited Lin Li to Lantis City mainly for the sake of getting some guidance from Lin Li. On the other hand, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to waste too much time there, so he soon cut straight to the chase after a polite exchange of pleasantries.

    The inscribers of the Octopus n had already heard about Lin Li from Hegel. Although many of them might not believe that Lin Li, a human inscriber, really had such high attainments in inscription, they had all prepared a long list of questions to ask him a long time ago.

    The vast majority of the inscribers of the Octopus n had reached a bottleneck in their inscription research for various reasons. Hence, they had lots of inscription-rted questions. For example, the Guru of Inscription Harcrow had already been a Guru of Inscription for thousands of years, but he still hadn¡¯t improved much in inscription. If Harcrow could break through his bottleneck, his attainments in inscription would probably reach the peak of the Guru-level very soon. In fact, he might even be able to get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Divine-Smith-level.

    However, Lin Li did note to give a lecture on inscription. If he were to answer every single question of the numerous inscribers of the Octopus n, it would probably take him at least three to five months to do so. Hence, while the inscribers were about to ask Lin Li for some guidance on Hegel¡¯s signal, Lin Li extended his hand to stop them unceremoniously.

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s actions, Elder Zumar, who had just recovered from his senses, once again slipped into a state of confusion. President Felic is really bold. He actually didn¡¯t do those mighty figures of inscription a favor!

    Immediately afterwards, Lin Li turned around to look at the white wall behind him which was probably used for hanging things like maps and diagrams during council meetings. While everyone watched in bewilderment, he stood up and walked towards the wall, where he pulled out a crystal pen, and began writing on the wall.

    Lin Li was very quick in drawing the mageweath, and by the time the crowd below recovered from the shock, he was already putting away the pen and walking towards Great Monarch Hegel. He said, ¡°Alright, if they have any issues, they can find the answers to their questions on the wall. Let¡¯s talk about the matter of inscribers going to the Tower of Dusk.¡±

 Chapter 1276 - Heart of All Evil

    Chapter 1276: Heart of All Evil

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± Great Monarch Hegel was stunned, but immediately afterwards, he realized what Lin Li was talking about.

    Does he not want to teach our inscribers inscriptions? The first thing that came to Hegel¡¯s mind was that Lin Li didn¡¯t want to give the inscribers of the Octopus n any guidance. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t have asked to go straight to the topic of the inscribers going to the Tower of Dusk without answering a single question.

    However, immediately afterwards, Hegel recalled the things that Lin Li said previously, and immediately looked at the wall in front of him that was covered inplex mageweaths that he had never seen before. Although they hadn¡¯t been activated yet, it was obvious that they were Guru-level mageweaths.

    Hegel initially thought of taking a look to find out what was going on before responding to Lin Li, but he didn¡¯t expect to have his eyes glued to it as soon as he did so, as he couldn¡¯t bear to even blink at all.

    The master inscribers of the Octopus n were all widening their eyes like Hegel, and staring straight at the mageweaths that Lin Li had left on the wall, which made everyone fall silent.

    Elder Zumar didn¡¯t know much about inscriptions, but he was confused by the reactions of the Octopus n members. He only knew that the exchange of inscriptions seemed to have ended before it had even begun. He hurriedly got up, chased after Lin Li, and asked with some concern, ¡°President Felic, is this appropriate?¡±

    .

    Elder Zumar was afraid that Lin Li would offend the Octopus n. Even though Saint Edmund had already instructed Elder Zumar that the Illuminati had to express their firm stand on taking Lin Li¡¯s side regardless of what Lin Li encountered, the Octopus n was not the Giant Shark n, after all. The Illuminati had a deeper cooperative rtionship with the Octopus n, and if Lin Li were to fall out with the Octopus n, the Illuminati would definitely incur major losses as well.

    Hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s question and seeing how worried he was, Lin Li smiled calmly, waved his hand, and said, ¡°Elder Zumar, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve given them the answers they need, and they can go there to look for them themselves. What¡¯s so inappropriate about that?¡±

    Despite what Lin Li said, Elder Zumar was still as worried as before, and he could only stare at the hall nervously to watch the Octopus n¡¯s reaction. However, what he was worried about did not happen. Not only did none of the people of the Octopus n stand out and use Lin Li, they even kept their eyes fixed on the mageweaths on the wall, seemingly mesmerized and in awe. It was as if everything around them could not affect them at all.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the patience to wait for Hegel toe back to his senses. Hence, he raised his voice slightly, and even used the vibration of his mental strength to say to Hegel, ¡°Great Monarch Hegel, the mageweath is right there, and you can study it whenever you please. Should we get my matters settled first!?¡±

    If he¡¯d simply raised his voice and eximed loudly, he might not have been able to back Hegel snap out of his trance. Fortunately, he had used the shaking of his mental strength to draw Hegel out of his state of engrossment. Aftering back to reality, Hegel looked at Lin Li excitedly, and said, ¡°Master Felic, thank you so much. You¡¯ve given the Octopus n a treasure of inscription ssics that can be passed down through the ages!¡±

    There was no way Hegel wouldn¡¯t get all worked up and excited. Given his attainment in inscriptions, he could tell how precious the unknown mageweath was even though he had only been studying the mageweath for a few moments. Although he didn¡¯t know the exact name of the mageweath and the kind of power it contained, he could tell that the mageweath contained almost all the theories of inscription of various profoundness.

    It could be said that as long as this mageweath was in ce, even an apprentice of inscription would be able to advance all the way to the Guru-level of inscription following the guidance of the mageweath. At the level that Hegel was currently at, he couldn¡¯t yet deduce if the mageweath could lead an inscriber to the Divine-Smith-level, but he was certain that as long as one took the correct path, reaching the Divine Smith realm would certainly not be as difficult as before now that they had the help of the mageweath.

    Faced with an excited Hegel, Lin Li didn¡¯t say much, and instead asked the same question as before. ¡°Great Monarch, now that your problem has been resolved, should we talk about mine?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, I am getting way too excited. Don¡¯t worry, President Felic, please give me three days¡¯ grace, and I¡¯ll definitely get you all the inscribers with the best talent.¡± Hegel was nowpletely at ease and full of trust in Lin Li. Based on the mageweath that Lin Li had drawn on the wall alone, he was already certain that his inscribers would definitely obtain major gains in the field of inscription if they continued to learn alongside Hegel.

    In fact, ording to Lin Li¡¯s requirements, Hegel didn¡¯t have to get any extremely talented inscribers at all. As long as the candidates were senior inscribers who weren¡¯t dense, they would be able to meet Lin Li¡¯s criteria, and Hegel would be able to fulfill the task that Lin Li had given him. However, Great Monarch Hegel couldn¡¯t be that slipshod with the selection. After all, in their opinion, learning from a Guru of Inscription like Lin Li would be the best opportunity.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, Hegel would have followed Lin Li to the Tower of Dusk. Of course, even if he could not go himself, he was already determined deep down that he had to send his son, Harquess, to the Tower of Dusk.

    In fact, a team of inscribers who fitted Lin Li¡¯s requirements could be gathered easily within three minutes, not to mention three days. However, the Octopus n was having some trouble with those matters. On the one hand, Hegel had to consider the talent of the candidates. After all, those whocked talent would only be wasting the godsend opportunity if they went to the Tower of Dusk. On the other hand, he also had to consider the distribution of benefits and interests.

    For example, if Hegel tried to send his son to the Tower of Dusk, others would definitely be aware of the benefits it involved. Everyone in the n had their own descendants and juniors who they hoped could achieve great aplishments in life. However, there was a maximum quota of about 30 candidates, so there would inevitably be somepetition for the slots. Hegel had to consider this matterprehensively lest he let this wonderful opportunity drive a wedge between the members of the n.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you two days. I can stay here and dy my n by at most two days. Great Monarch Hegel, I hope that you can pick out the candidates by then,¡± said Lin Li, who knew that Great Monarch Hegel definitely had plenty to consider. That was why he didn¡¯t urge him much.

    Seeing that Lin Li wasn¡¯t displeased, Hegel nodded profusely, and said, ¡°Alright, alright, two days is fine.¡±

    Everyone in the hall was already immersed in studying the mageweath, so Lin Li naturally did not want to continue staying there and facing the dozens of ¡°statues¡±. Hence, after hearing that Hegel had agreed, he then said, ¡°Alright, since there¡¯s nothing more for me to do here, you guys go ahead while I take a tour around the city.¡±

    ¡°Alright, how about I let Harquess apany you?¡± Hegel immediately called his son over, and instructed him to apany Lin Li on a tour around the city to entertain Lin Li, the most important guest of the Octopus n, on his behalf.

    Although he was also fascinated by the mageweaths on the walls, Harquess didn¡¯t dare to disobey his father¡¯s instructions, and thus quickly led Lin Li out away from the hall enthusiastically. Fortunately, Harquess no longer bore a grudge or harbored ill feelings against Lin Li after the apology, so he seemed more rxed around him too.

    With Harquess¡¯ apaniment, Lin Li managed to take a tour around Lantis City in two days¡¯ time, and even collected some items that were notmonly found.

    Harquess did a rather good job at hosting Lin Li and treating him with the best hospitality. Besides, after the contact in the past two days, he felt that Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to be as loathsome as Cantory had made him out to be. Hence, he couldn¡¯t help but have some doubts about Cantory.

    Of course, Hegel was not just going to dump Lin Li to Harquess and forget all about him. He had also thrown a banquet of a considerable size during the visit, only to find that Lin Li wasn¡¯t interested in a banquet at all.

    In the past two days, the numerous senior members of the Octopus n had been vying intensely for a chance to learn from Lin Li. In fact, the sounds of their arguments could be heard in the hall of the five-colored conch-shaped building almost every single moment. Hegel waspletely overwrought while trying to resolve those issues. After all, the quotas were really too precious in their opinion.

    Two dayster, Hegel finally decided on the final list of candidates. Although Lin Li said he wanted 20-30 of them, Hegel maximized the quotas, and selected 30 senior inscribers for Lin Li. Of course, the inscribers were not all sons of nobles and powerful figures. Many of them were also famous geniuses of the Octopus n.

    Although Hegel had gone through a tedious selection process, Lin Li did not even bother to carefully consider their individual aptitude after seeing the selected candidates. Anyway, he just needed 20-30 inscribers who could assist him, and their talent didn¡¯t matter to him at all.

    ¡°Master Felic, please take a look at these youngsters. They do fit your requirements, don¡¯t they?¡± Hegel asked Lin Li carefully after seeing them.

    Lin Li merely nced at them simply before nodding as he said, ¡°Alright, these ones will do.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li nodded and agreed so readily, Hegel also felt a bit more at ease. Immediately afterwards, he said with some difficulty, ¡°Master Felic, these inscribers are among the best elites of the younger generation in my n, and so they are inevitably a little arrogant. In order to let them better obey your instructions, I n to send my son, Harquess, to keep an eye on them, what do you think?¡±

    Hegel originally intended to let his son Harquess take up a slot among the quota of 30 candidates, but there was already fiercepetition for those 30 slots, which gave him a huge headache. Hence, he thought of this solution where Harquess could follow alongside Lin Li and learn from him without having to take up a slot in the quota.

    Lin Li naturally saw through Hegel¡¯s intentions at a nce, but he wasn¡¯t bothered, because it was just one extra candidate.

    Now that he had taken a tour around Lantis City and gotten a team of inscribers, Lin Li didn¡¯t want to waste any more time here. Thus, he immediately said goodbye to Hegel.

    Hegel tried to make Lin Li stay a little longer, but when he realized that he couldn¡¯t change Lin Li¡¯s mind, he had no choice but to regretfully say, ¡°Master Felic, since you have some matters to handle, I¡¯ll leave these young men to you. If any of them, including Harquess, are to disobey you, feel free to banish them. I hope that you will have time to visit us again in the future. We will always regard you as the most important friend of the Octopus n.¡±

    Finally, under the escort of Hegel and the senior members of the Octopus n, Lin Li, Harquess, and the other inscribers boarded The Star, which then slowly set sail from the port of Tidal Ind to the Siren n¡¯s sea area.

    As soon as they arrived in the Siren n¡¯s territorial sea waters, there was already a special team sent by the Siren n, who had heard of the news long ago, to wee Lin Li and the others. There were numerous senior members of the Siren n riding 16 white whales with huge bodies, who were led by Prince Cleve, to wee them halfway.

    While riding on the back of a single-horned white whale, Prince Cleve arrived on the deck of The Star, where he saw Lin Li, Harquess, and the other inscribers of the Octopus n.

    Prince Cleve couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when he saw Harquess and the others on The Star, because he didn¡¯t expect that the Octopus n would actually value Lin Li so greatly as to send Harquess to stay by Lin Li¡¯s side. Harquess was the prince of the Octopus n who was going to seed Hegel as the great monarch of the Octopus n in the future. His importance to the Octopus n was far greater than that of the ordinary nsmen.

    Initially, Prince Cleve had invited Lin Li over to help them draw a mageweath that would beplementary to the Heart of All Evil because he thought that Lin Li¡¯s attainment in inscriptions should be on par with that of the inscribers of the Octopus n. After all, those truly powerful inscribers of the Octopus n could not be hired easily. Meanwhile, Lin Li had already proven his Guru-level attainments in inscription with the creation of the Mount Tai mageweath.

    However, Prince Cleve did not expect that Lin Li¡¯s inscription attainment would be enough to earn him the respect of the Octopus n, who had even bowed down to him. Only after hearing Elder Zumar¡¯s hint and the exnations from Harquess and the other inscribers did he realize how wise of a decision he had made.

    The Siren n¡¯s underwater capital was called Starry Crescent City, which, although it wasn¡¯t asrge and powerful as the Octopus n¡¯s Lantis City, was definitely unparalleled in the Endless Ocean in terms of the city itself and the surrounding sea environment.

    Prince Cleve led Lin Li all the way to Starry Crescent City under the sea. During the journey, Lin Li saw the breathtakingly beautiful scenery that showed him just why the Siren n would be called the ¡°elves of the ocean¡±. Not to mention the scenery under the sea, even the inds on the surface of the sea exuded the beauty of nature, which was probably on par with, if not better than, the High Elves¡¯ Emerald Forest.

    The Siren n greeted and weed Lin Li enthusiastically at Starry Crescent City. Compared to the peculiar appearance of the Octopus n members, the gorgeous female Sirens were like a feast for the eyes. Queen Halleleah of the Siren n had personally attended the weing banquet for Lin Li, and even expressed the friendly intentions of the Siren n towards Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li was quite indifferent to this, Elder Zumar, who tagged along, was once again surprised by the enthusiasm of the Siren n.

 Chapter 1277 - Sincerity

    Chapter 1277: Sincerity

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Elder Zumar couldn¡¯t help but remember how he had been brainstorming to devise a scheme against Lin Li back in the Breezy ins in the beginning. However, Lin Li had now not only given the Illuminati great help, he was also valued greatly by the Octopus n and the Siren n.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t waste much time with the Siren n. After attending the wee banquet of the Siren n, he went straight to the point by mentioning the deal between the two parties. The Siren n naturally couldn¡¯t wait to use the Heart of All Evil, and thus they didn¡¯t exchange a lot of pleasantries with Lin Li, and simply took out the mageweath of the Heart of All Evil.

    However, in the face of the mageweath blueprint that the Siren n had gone through painstaking means to obtain, Lin Li simply gave Prince Cleve a list of materials required for the mageweath without looking at the blueprint at all. After asking Prince Cleve to prepare the materials, he gathered all the inscribers such as Harquess, and began assigning tasks to them.

    Harquess and the others did not expect that they would have the opportunity to learn about drawing mageweaths from Lin Li. They weren¡¯t fools, and had been repeatedly instructed by their elders not to behave disrespectfully even though they were usually arrogant and snobbish, so they knew how they should act now. Furthermore, no one dared to disobey Lin Li under the watchful eye of the prince, Harquess.

    Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s instructions, the young inscription geniuses immediately became as attentive as elementary school students.. In fact, they could barely conceal their excitement, which was written all over their faces. Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t just assign them toborious tasks. While assigning the tasks, he naturally exined to them some problems that they faced in inscription and cleared their doubts lest they ended up messing up.

    After half a day, Prince Cleve had prepared all the materials required for the mageweath, while Harquess and the other inscribers had also begun carrying out their respective tasks in the Siren n¡¯s pce ording to Lin Li¡¯s instructions.

    Prince Cleve was a little worried to see the situation. Even though the Octopus n¡¯s foundation was in inscription, these young nsmen were ultimately only intermediate-level and advanced-level inscribers.

    The Siren n had invited Lin Li toe over and help them because he was a Guru of Inscription. However, if the Octopus n¡¯s inscribers were doing all the work, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if they didn¡¯t invite Lin Li here. Although Prince Cleve couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask about it straightforwardly, he couldn¡¯t help but tactfully ask Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, can they handle the task?¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t me Prince Cleve for being doubtful, and instead confidently said, ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t worry, they are just doing some basic work. After all, it would be too time-consuming for me to work alone on the mageweath that I¡¯ve envisioned. With their level ofpetency in inscription, they are fully capable of carrying out these processes without errors. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be worthy of being members of the Octopus n.¡±

    While Harquess and the others were doing the basic drawing of the mageweath, Lin Li went on a tour in Starry Crescent City in Prince Cleve¡¯spany. Starry Crescent City was known to be the icon of art among the Sea ns. Of course, during the tour, he had to talk to Prince Cleve about the previous deal that they had agreed on, which was regarding the purchase of the Siren¡¯s Tears.

    In order to make Lin Li put in more effort into the mageweath, the Sea n had not only promised to provide him with the Siren¡¯s Tears, they had also offered the treasure of the Siren¡¯s Tears, the Queen¡¯s Tears, which was a collection of teardrops left behind by the sessive generations of Siren Queens. However, the number of Queen¡¯s Tears left was rather limited because they had umted no more than 100 drops of Queen¡¯s Tears over the tens of thousands of years that the Siren n had existed for.

    Of course,pared to the rtively ordinary Siren¡¯s Tears, the effects of using the Queen¡¯s Tears during the preparation of a potion were absolutely beyond imagination. The potions used for enhancing mental strength were extremely incredible in the first ce. After being augmented with the Queen¡¯s Tears, such potions would enable a Legendary powerhouse to have Sanctuary-level mental strength, which could probably be considered a godly means.

    With the efforts of more than 30 Octopus n inscribers, it only took three days for the foundation of the mageweath to bepleted. Lin Li then began adding some finishing touches to the mageweath. Although he seemed to be just carrying out a simple process of connecting the various mageweaths together with a crystal pen, the mana fluctuations that emanated from the mageweaths as each one was connected made more and more people feel frightened, as if there was a terrifying beast hidden in the pce.

    After Lin Li finished drawing thest stroke, the entire mageweath suddenly flickered with light, and the magical fluctuations suddenly turned into another extreme as it was now full of a holy aura. The holy aura kept spreading around and engulfing Starry Crescent City, rejuvenating everyone in the city.

    The Siren n had spent hundreds of millions of gold coins to obtain the Heart of All Evil, and the mageweath blueprint that could exert the power of the Heart of All Evil was naturally not an ordinary item. However, when Lin Li started drawing the mageweath, hepletely ignored the mageweath¡¯s blueprint, which made Cleve feel rather anxious.

    However, since he was the one who invited Lin Li, and didn¡¯t have much knowledge in inscription himself, Prince Cleve had no choice but to suppress his worries while hoping that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t disappoint him.

    The moment the unprecedented holy aura emerged from the center of the pce, the worry in Prince Cleve¡¯s heart finally dissipated. Although he did not know anything about inscription, he could still feel from the aura that this mageweath was several times stronger than the mageweath he¡¯d drawn.

    The Heart of All Evil was formed by an umtion of filth over countless years, but it possessed the ability to suppress all the evil filth in the world. That was also the reason that the Siren n didn¡¯t mind paying such a huge price to outbid thepetitors for the Heart of All Evil.

    At this moment, the power of the Heart of All Evil was almostpletely triggered by the mageweath, and had even formed a holy Domain World in Starry Crescent City. Everyone felt an unprecedented fullness in their mental strength in this Domain World, while the power of their body was fully replenished, as if their souls and physical bodies had been fully baptized by the sacred power.

    After sensing the power, everyone in Starry Crescent City got into a huge uproar. The majority of the Siren nsmen and other ns were still unaware of what happened here, but Queen Halleleah and the other upper echelons of the Siren n knew very clearly that theplementary mageweath of the Heart of All Evil had beenpleted.

    Soon, under the lead of Queen Hallelujah, the numerous higher-ups of the Siren n arrived in the center of the pce, where the Heart of All Evil was ced. However, when they arrived, they were greeted with a strange sight. Apart from Lin Li, who was standing next to the Heart of All Evil rather rxedly, the young inscribers of the Octopus n seemed to have been frozen in ce by a spell as they were staring at the glistening mageweath with deadpan expressions.

    For the young inscribers of the Octopus n, Lin Li¡¯s method of drawing mageweaths waspletely beyond theirprehension and inscription knowledge. They totally didn¡¯t expect that the most basic-level mageweaths they had drawn in the past two days would actually be connected to form a mageweath array that they had never seen with a few strokes of Lin Li¡¯s pen.

    In fact, Lin Li had used this drawing method a long time ago in the Tower of Dusk too. At that time, the Tower of Dusk had just been built, and the Supreme Council had sent their senior inscriber, Moke, to help draw some mageweaths for the Tower of Dusk. However, Lin Li had not chosen to have any advanced-level mageweaths drawn in the tower, and instead had just asked Moke to draw 10 rather low-level Doom Mageweaths.

    When Moke had been done, Lin Li had connected the 10 Doom Mageweaths that Moke had drawn into an All-Kill Array, which had given the condescending and proud Moke a great shock.

    The young inscribers of the Octopus n were now just as frightened by the finishing touches that Lin Li had added to the mageweath with his pen. It wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t seen a mageweath array before, but rather that such a method of drawing had never crossed their minds. Besides, they couldn¡¯t believe that the foundation of such a powerful mageweath array was created by them.

    After a long time, the inscribers finally recovered from their shock, and their eyes were now full of desire and admiration as they gazed at Lin Li. They were considered the geniuses of the Octopus n, and were usually extremely arrogant and conceited. The only reason they didn¡¯t dare to disy their haughtiness in the past few days was partly because of the instructions given by the elders in the n, and also partly because the prince, Harquess, was keeping an eye on them.

    However, after watching therge andplex mageweath array in front of them that had beenpleted in a way that they had never seen before, the young inscribers really no longer had any doubts about Lin Li. In fact, they even began to perceive Lin Li as someone who was as great and noble as a god.

    1

    At this moment, Queen Halleleah and her husband, Prince Cleve, already quickly strode towards Lin Li along with the higher-ups of the Siren n. Trying their best to suppress their excitement, they asked Lin Li about the state of the mageweath. Although they could already feel the enormous power emanating from this mageweath, they still wanted to hear a confirmation straight from the horse¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Master Felic, this mageweath is nowplete, right?¡± Prince Cleve asked on behalf of his wife, as well as the senior members of the Siren n, the question that everyone was most concerned about.

    Seeing that the members of the Siren n had their eyes glued to him, Lin Li felt a little amused. He nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, it has beenpleted, but it¡¯s not the Sacred Heart Mageweath that¡¯s pictured on your blueprint, but a mageweath that I¡¯vee up with on the fly. It should be able to better exert and optimize the power of the Heart of All Evil. I believe you guys have felt it.¡±

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the members of the Siren n nodded. Even a fool would be able to feel the power that Starry Crescent City was now shrouded in. The power waspletely beyond their expectations, and they didn¡¯t dare to think about it at all.

    Of course, this also made the people of the Siren n even more determined to form a good rtionship with Lin Li. After all, no one dared to say that the Siren n would no longer need the help of inscribers in the future. Being able to befriend an inscriber like Lin Li would definitely be of great benefit to the Siren n.

    The Siren n was initially prepared to host Lin Li and the others with their utmost sincerity, but for Lin Li, the purpose of his trip here was nothing more than to fulfill his end of the deal with the Siren n. Hence, he wouldn¡¯t waste any more time here after the deal waspleted.

    Thus, after teaching Queen Halleleah some methods to control and maintain the mageweath, Lin Li bade farewell to them.

    After thanking the Siren n for their hospitality, Lin Li took the young inscribers of the Octopus n on board The Star, and headed for Four Seasons Ind in the Gilded Kingdom. The massive vessel, The Star, sailed through the sea at the speed of lightning, leaving behind a long water line that seemed to have really severed the sea into two.

    When The Star sailed into Helena Port on Four Seasons Ind, the festive atmosphere of Helena Port, or rather the entire ind, reached its peak like a volcano that was about to erupt. The change in atmosphere was due to the impending highlight of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration.

    Lin Li¡¯s real purpose ining to the Gilded Kingdom was not to participate in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, but to take the opportunity to handle some matters here, such as tracking down the Immortal King¡¯s traces, buying some items that could not be found easily on the maind, and making some deals with the Octopus n. Strictly speaking, the value of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration was even lower than that of the magic materials that Lin Li could get from the Sea Market.

    However, considering the rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li decided to do them the honor of attending the celebration, even though they had had some unpleasant encounters with each other. After all, the Gilded Kingdom had handled the conflict in a manner that was considered satisfactory to Lin Li. Moreover, Lin Li also nned to buy a batch of Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom, and equip the Sky Castle and The Star with them.

    Fortunately, the day of the celebration was just round the corner, and even if Lin Li wasn¡¯t willing to waste any more time here, he still had a few days to spare. Hence, after making arrangements for The Star, he brought the crowd back to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy to wait for the day of the celebration to arrive.

    In the blink of an eye, a few days passed.

    On this day, Lin Li was still giving pointers to the inscribers of the Octopus n when a mage, who was one of his subordinates, came in from outside to report to him that the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson, arrived.

    After exining the questions to the inscribers of the Octopus n, Lin Li finally said, ¡°Alright, go reflect on these questions on your own. That¡¯s all for today.¡±

    Harquess and the others hurriedly stood up like elementary school kids getting off ss to see their teacher, Lin Li, off. When Lin Li walked out of the room, they sat down again, and began to discuss the questions that they had talked about just now.

    After Lin Li drew the mageweath array for the Siren n, they were already convinced of Lin Li¡¯s attainments in inscription, so no one dared to belittle him at all. After Lin Li officially began to exin and answer their questions about inscription, they genuinely regarded Lin Li as their most respected teacher from the bottom of their hearts.

 Chapter 1278 - Celebration

    Chapter 1278: Celebration

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Of course, Lin Li didn¡¯t like to be a teacher, but he had to teach these young inscribers of the Octopus n because he needed their help to ensure the smooth procession of the processester. That was also the reason that he merely requested intermediate- and advanced-level inscribers from the Octopus n. Although these inscribers were of a lower rank than Masters of Inscription, they were much more flexible and versatile than the Masters of Inscription who already had fixed mindsets. Thus, it would be easier to train them into the talents he needed.

    When Lin Li arrived at the guest hall of the embassy, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson, was already waiting there.

    As soon as he saw Lin Li, Jefferson hurriedly stood up, and respectfully said, ¡°President Felic, the kingdom¡¯s founding celebration is just around the corner. I¡¯ve been instructed by His Majesty toe invite you to join us for the celebration in two days¡¯ time.¡±

    At least on the surface, the Gilded Kingdom was rather cordial towards Lin Li as both the war-supporting and peace-supporting ministers had reached a consensus not to offend Lin Li who wasn¡¯t willing to suffer any losses. Not to mention the Illuminati¡¯s support for Lin Li, the fact that Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription was enough to make them bow down even though they were extremely arrogant.

    ¡°Please tell His Majesty, King Bradlor, that I will be attending the celebration when the timees.¡± Since they had a good attitude, Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse.. Hence, he agreed very quickly.

    Seeing that Lin Li had agreed, Jefferson couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief, and the expression on his face was suddenly less tense than before. In fact, he knew very well that the founding celebration was of extraordinary significance to the Gilded Kingdom.

    If it was a force that was on good terms with the Gilded Kingdom, participating in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration would be a great opportunity to strengthen their friendly ties. However, based on Lin Li¡¯s performance since he¡¯d arrived in the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson really didn¡¯t think that Lin Li would take this matter as an opportunity or whatsoever.

    Hence, beforeing to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy, Jefferson was still rather worried and afraid that the ill-tempered Lin Li would really turn them down.

    After settling on a time with Lin Li, Jefferson stood up to leave, and got ready to return and report to Bradlor.

    However, when Jefferson was getting ready to leave, Lin Li suddenly called out to Jefferson, and said, ¡°By the way, please wait a moment. There¡¯s something else we need to talk about.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Jefferson¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he thought that some problem had cropped up. He quickly turned around, and anxiously said, ¡°President Felic, please feel free to let us know if you¡¯re displeased with our hospitality, or if someone hase to harass you again.¡±

    Having learned his lesson from the previous two conflicts where Lin Li put the Gilded Kingdom to shame, Jefferson didn¡¯t dare to be negligent when facing Lin Li, for he feared that he would cause more trouble for the Gilded Kingdom if he was a little slow in responding to Lin Li.

    Amused by how tensed up Jefferson was, Lin Li waved his hand, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lord Jefferson, I just thought that since we¡¯ll be getting ready to go home after attending the founding celebration, it¡¯s about time to fulfill my order for the Magical Crystal Cannons.¡±

    So that¡¯s what he wants! Jefferson couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat, and he quickly said, ¡°President Felic, please don¡¯t worry. Considering the difficulty in transporting the Magical Crystal Cannons, we¡¯re nning to deploy somerge cargo ships to help you transport them back to the Breezy ins after the purchase ispleted.¡±

    The reason that the Gilded Kingdom had refused to sell the Magical Crystal Cannons previously was because they had been hostile towards each other. Be it the peace supporters or the war supporters, they wouldn¡¯t do such a silly thing as to benefit their enemies.

    However, the Gilded Kingdom had nowpletely given up on going to war, and was instead fullymitted to building good rtionships with Lin Li. Naturally, they would no longer make any excuses in fulfilling the deal with Lin Li. In fact, in order to show their sincerity, the Gilded Kingdom had even specially deployed somerge cargo ships in hopes that Lin Li would be satisfied.

    However, to Lin Li, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s approach was obviously a little redundant. He shook his head, looked at a Jefferson who was full of anticipation, and said, ¡°No, Lord Jefferson, I really appreciate His Majesty¡¯s kind intentions, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m going to talk to you about. Previously, I¡¯ve already informed Grand Duke Vidi that you guys only have to prepare as many Magical Crystal Cannons as possible without having to worry about the problem of transportation.¡±

    Jefferson was baffled. Does the Tower of Dusk secretly own a huge fleet? Or have they already discussed and reached an agreement with some sea merchant to settle the transportation issue? More importantly, he said to prepare as many Magical Crystal Cannons. Exactly how many does he need?

    ¡°President Felic, we still have a considerable number of Magical Crystal Cannons in stock, so please rest assured about this matter. Also, do you really not need our help in transporting the cannons? Even if we disassemble the Magical Crystal Cannons, the parts will still require arge transportation capacity to be transported.¡± Jefferson had no choice but to remind Lin Li once more so that Lin Li wouldn¡¯t find any fault with them again.

    However, Lin Li waved his hand nonchntly, and said, ¡°No need for that. I just want to remind you guys that you don¡¯t need to consider the transportation issues, and should just focus on providing me with enough Magical Crystal Cannons.¡±

    Seeing that Lin Li had repeatedly reminded him to prepare enough Magical Crystal Cannons, Jefferson couldn¡¯t help but ask with some curiosity, ¡°In that case, President Felic, how many Magical Crystal Cannons do you need?¡±

    Lin Li really couldn¡¯t give an exact answer about the number of Magical Crystal Cannons he needed. Given the almost infinite space in the Ring of Endless Storm, he could definitely fit as many Magical Crystal Cannons as the Gilded Kingdom could provide. If he told them the truth, they would probably really be frightened, and when the time came, they would find some excuses to turn him down again.

    Hence, when faced with Jefferson¡¯s question, Lin Li didn¡¯t answer directly, and instead smilingly said, ¡°Please rest assured that we won¡¯t shortchange you in terms of the price. I just hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me when the timees.¡±

    Although he did not get a clear answer, Jefferson thought that Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t ask for an exaggerated number of Magical Crystal Cannons, and thus he didn¡¯t dwell on the matter any further. Hence, he agreed toplete the deal with Lin Li after the ceremony ended on the day of the founding celebration. He then left the embassy.

    After seeing Jefferson off, Lin Li continued to train and teach the inscribers of the Octopus n while waiting for the arrival of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration.

    Two dayster, it was finally the day of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration, and the atmosphere outside was extremely lively. Lin Li took Connoris and the others with him to the pce of the Gilded Kingdom under Jefferson¡¯s lead. Apart from Lin Li, the representatives of various Sea ns had also gathered in the royal pce at this moment. Even Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren n, as well as Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus n, had arrived a day in advance.

    After exchanging pleasantries with his acquaintances for a while, Lin Li and the rest boarded the floats that the Gilded Kingdom had specially prepared for the founding celebration this time. For the guests, it was a great honor to be able to board the floats and receive the worship of the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom together with King Bradlor. Only the seven most powerful Sea ns and the three great human kingdoms had the right to do that.

    As the president of a small and unknown force, Lin Li actually received the same treatment as the seven overlords of the sea and the representatives of the three human kingdoms. Clearly, the Gilded Kingdom valued him greatly. However, many people were aware that Lin Li was an inscriber, so they weren¡¯t too surprised by such an arrangement.

    Therge caravan set off from the square in front of the royal pce, and traveled along the avenue of the capital, all the way outside the city. Both sides of the avenue were crowded with the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom, who were all dressed in festive clothing and wearing smiles on their faces. They were all praising and giving their blessings to the Gilded Kingdom loudly.

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t quite get used to such a scene. Not only were they attracting the attention of everyone, it was too noisy here, and Lin Li even regretted epting the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s invitation. Had he known earlier that this would happen, he would have just gone straight to the celebration venue and waited there.

    Fortunately, after the caravan left the city, the number of citizens on both sides of the avenue gradually decreased. The honor guards then stood neatly in rows there. The military band yed music while marching. The honor guards looked extremely majestic, and the horses they were riding were trotting in sync, causing the ground to tremble.

    There was also a portion of nationals that followed behind the caravan, all ready to go to the square for the celebration. Although they were not organized or led by anyone, they sang the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s national anthem and simr songs together with the apaniment of the military band. As the caravan proceeded, more and more nationals joined the line, boosting the festive mood to the climax.

    It took half a day for the caravan to arrive at Hopra Square, where the ceremony was held. Hopra was the first king of the kingdom and the most revered person in the hearts of all the nationals of the kingdom. Hence, be it the capital of the kingdom or the square where the celebration was held, they were both named after Hopra.

    Hopra Square upied arge area, consisting of a 10th of the total area of the Gilded Kingdom. It was absolutely second to none even in Anril. The ground of the square was paved withzurite of the best quality, which was even more extravagant than gold. Even a Legendary powerhouse would barely be able to damage the ground of the square.

    There were several-hundred-meter-tall statues in the square, and they resembled mountains from a distance. The tallest statue in the middle was a statue of King Hopra, the first king of the Gilded Kingdom. On its right, there were statues of the founding fathers of the kingdom whose families were now the few existing senatorial families of the Gilded Kingdom.

    To the bewilderment of most people, the ancestral statue of the Giant Whale Family that had once started the rebellion was still present in the square. Some said that it was because the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom was very magnanimous, and wouldn¡¯t erase the great achievements of the ancestors just because of the Whale Family¡¯s rebellion. However, some people guessed that there was still a greater significance behind the existence of these statues, which wasn¡¯t for the future generations to revere and look up to.

    At this point, Hopra Square was heavily decorated, and the ground was spotless too, so much that even the reflection of the people there could be seen. The several statues had also been cleaned and maintained well, looking as good as new. There were also decorative ribbons.

    At this point, the teams from various ces had already gathered there a long time ago. There were military squads as well as civilian teams who were performing for the celebration.

    On the other side of the square, a viewing deck that was more than 10 meters tall had already been erected. The royals of the Gilded Kingdom and the representatives of the various forces were all watching the founding celebration from the viewing deck.

    The caravan stopped in front of the viewing deck, and King Bradlor alighted from a celebratory float together with the important members of the royal family. They then went up the stairs as Lin Li and the rest stepped onto the deck under the lead of ushers.

    After everything was prepared, the ceremonial minister in charge of the ceremony announced the start of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration using sound-amplifying magic props. The military bands on both sides of the observation deck began ying some celebratory music, while the first procession began to enter the square.

    Lin Li had witnessed major events such as the national day parade in the world that he transmigrated from, which was extremely spectacr. However,pared to the current celebration in the Gilded Kingdom, the national day parade seemed to be rather inferior.

    Although there would be performances with a variety of weapons at the national parade of the world he belonged to before transmigrating, as well as tanks, other military vehicles, and fighter jets, Lin Li felt that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s celebration was much more spectacr, perhaps because he had never seen the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s celebration before.

    For example, the crisp and fast trotting of the horses on thezurite ground of the square was just like mighty music. All the knights were dressed in colorful armor and pointing their spear diagonally at the sky in a neat formation, making it look like a forest of spears.

    There were heavily armored knights, infantry regiments, squads carrying spears and crossbows, and so on. Although there were no tanks or fighter jets in the Gilded Kingdom, there was still a great visual impact when they walked past the front of the observation deck in neat formations.

    After the military procession, the civilians¡¯ processions began to enter the square one after another. Compared to the neat and spectacr formations of the military squads, they were much livelier, and their processions were themed around sacrifice. The performers were dressed in various outfits, and performed scenes that were familiar to the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom, such as fighting amidst the wind and waves, battles against cmities, and so on.

 Chapter 1279 - Crimson Flames Tyrant

    Chapter 1279: Crimson mes Tyrant

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The festivities continued into the evening, and the clouds in the sky were all gilded with a golden hue at sunset. Everything seemed to be proceeding very smoothly. However, Lin Li, who was standing on the observation tform, felt that the atmosphere around him didn¡¯t seem to feel very festive anymore. Many people, including Bradlor, no longer seemed as gleeful as before. Instead, they were somewhat worried.

    That made Lin Li a little puzzled. Isn¡¯t this the most important day for the Gilded Kingdom? Why do Bradlor and the others seem so worried and dismayed? Are they not satisfied with this celebration?

    At this moment, Lin Li saw Grand Duke Vidi, who was standing near them. He kept his volume down, and called Grand Duke Vidi over. ¡°Grand Duke Vidi, why does it seem that you guys aren¡¯t quite happy? If it¡¯s because you guys don¡¯t want to celebrate the founding of the kingdom, you can just choose not to. It¡¯s not like someone will force you to do it, right?¡±

    The Gilded Kingdom had gone to such great lengths to hold a founding celebration for the kingdom, and even invited the bigwigs of various forces to attend it. Now that they were already halfway into the celebration, the people of the Gilded Kingdom were displeased instead. Thus, Lin Li felt that it would be pointless to hold the celebration if it made them upset..

    ¡°President Felic, please don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± Upon hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Grand Duke Vidi also sensed that his reaction wasn¡¯t quite appropriate. Thus, he had no choice but to say with a bitter smile, ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t know if we should be worried about this matter, either. After all, it¡¯s a legend that has been passed on for countless years.¡±

    ¡°What legend is it?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be curious as he wondered, Just what kind of legend is it? It actually made the people of the Gilded Kingdom so worried that they can¡¯t even celebrate such an important and joyous asion.

    Grand Duke Vidi shook his head, and rather awkwardly said, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about the details, but the legend has it that the ancestors once predicted that a great disaster would strike during the founding celebration this year. However, there was no way for us to prove it, so all we can do is keep our guard up and stay alert.¡±

    As the celebration progressed, Lin Li seemed to have vaguely smelled the odor of sulfur in the air, seemingly because he had heard Grand Duke Vidi¡¯s exnation. If it was nighttime now, and the celebratory fireworks had been set off, so there would definitely be a sulfuric odor, but the thing was that there wasn¡¯t any fireworks disy at the moment.

    Where is the smell of sulfuring from? Lin Li felt that the smell of sulfur was gradually getting more and more intense, and at this point, he was already certain that he wasn¡¯t imagining it. As far as he knew, only a certain type of wyrm or Abyssal Demon would emit a strong sulfuric odor as they appeared. However, there were no wyrms or Abyssal Demons here!

    Soon, the people on the observatory tform also seemed to have smelled the sulfuric odor, and the faces of the people of the Gilded Kingdom became more and more sullen too. At this moment, Bradlor said a few words to the people next to him, after which the performance in the square came to a halt before it was finished.

    Under the arrangement of the military, the people from various ces quickly left the square, which soon became empty. The military squads that participated in the event also dropped their ceremonial props, and got into a battle formation in the square, all ready to fight at any time.

    Those who did not know the truth were unaware of what was going on, and merely thought that it was part of the celebration. It wasmon for the Gilded Kingdom to showcase their military power in front of the guests of the founding celebrations in the past. It wasn¡¯t surprising that the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army would get into a battle formation now.

    ¡°Connoris, do you feel it?¡± Lin Li turned his head and looked to the side. Given Connoris¡¯ identity, he had to be extremely familiar with the Abyssal Demons. Lin Li wondered if the sulfuric odor came from a wyrm or Abyssal Demon.

    At this point, Connoris¡¯ expression became rather grave too. Hesitating somewhat, he said, ¡°There seems to be the smell of the abyss in this aura. It does seem familiar to me.¡±

    At this juncture, the ground suddenly began trembling violently, and cracks began to appear in thezurite ground due to thepression and distortion. Somethingrge protruded from the ground in the center of the square, and started heaving up and down like it was alive.

    The sudden change made the scene suddenly be extremely chaotic. The military squads that were on standby could barely maintain their bnce amidst the violent tremors. Fortunately, the civilian teams had long retreated to the periphery of the square. Otherwise, the scene would have been even more chaotic.

    With the appearance of the strange situation in Hopra Square, the sulfuric odor became increasingly strong. At the same time, countless thick, dark clouds gathered in the sky in the blink of an eye. They were piling up, and seemed to be about to crush their heads. Countless sanguine rays of lightning bounced about in the gray clouds with the sounds of thunder mixed with howling that resembled that of ghosts, making the space feel like hell.

    Therge protrusion in the middle of the square was arching up like a small hill, causing thezurite on the ground that was worth tens of thousands of gold coins to shatter. Afterwards, it copsed again as if it had lost all its power. The force generated by the movement began to spread outwards in all directions like ripples, as if the ground under the square had turned into the surface of the sea.

    Finally, the protrusion in the middle suddenly erupted, seemingly having umted enough power. An opening seemed to have formed at the top; immediately afterwards, hotva spurted into the sky inrge amounts. All of a sudden, the ground and sky were both red because of theva. The thick fumes of smoke also shrouded the space.

    Theva spurted high into the sky and scattered in all directions, just like a meteor shower. At this moment, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s army couldn¡¯t be of any help at all. Instead, they were thrown into jeopardy by the fire rain. There were humans who were afire all over the ground, wailing and rolling around in pain. Some were also running in all directions, and countless warriors had died in the fire rain.

    A tall and burly figure slowly stood up in the emerging volcano amidst the fire and fog, seemingly unaffected by theva. His body was wrapped in zing mes that seemed to make even theva dim inparison.

    With the appearance of this figure, a massive aura that would make one¡¯s soul tremble immediately filled the space. Faced with the terrifying aura, people no longer felt a single trace of courage, and were running away from the square with all their might, wishing they had an extra pair of legs.

    Seeing such a scene, the crowd on the observation tform became sullen. The nationals of the Gilded Kingdom were naturally upset because of the disaster, while the representatives of other forces were somewhat dissatisfied with the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s approach. In their opinion, it seemed that the Gilded Kingdom had already expected the cmity, and had invited them over with the intention of having the guests tiding the hosts over the ordeal.

    ¡°It¡¯s true, the prophecy is true!¡± Bradlor muttered with trembling lips as he looked at the center of the square, his face as pale as a sheet.

    Bradlor was surrounded by the important members of the royal family and ministers, who all looked extremely flustered and hopeless. Clearly, they had more or less heard of the so-called prophecy revolving around the situation now.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what exactly do you mean by prophecy?¡± asked a sullen and displeased Hegel, the Great Monarch of the Octopus n. They already felt like they were being used for coping with the ordeal in the first ce. After hearing Bradlor mention the prophecy, that feeling intensified.

    Bradlor came back to his senses, and he could tell from the facial expressions of the representatives of those forces that they had probably misunderstood something. Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t considered a misunderstanding, because the Gilded Kingdom indeed had invited them with the intention of getting their help in case the disaster really struck.

    However, he clearly couldn¡¯t be honest about everything. If Bradlor were to reveal that he really had such intentions, those forces would probably turn around and leave immediately. In that case, it would really be uncertain if the Gilded Kingdom could survive the predicted disaster with their own power alone.

    Hence, Bradlor had no choice but to perk up, and say to the representatives of the various forces, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but we actually didn¡¯t quite believe in this old prophecy, either. Otherwise, we would have rather changed the date of the founding celebration than let all of you go through this disaster with us.¡±

    Regardless of whether it was true, Bradlor¡¯s exnation was more or less effective in dispelling the suspicions of the crowd a little. After all, they had attended the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration more than once, and it wasn¡¯t that different from the previous ones this time.

    Although they could tell that the Gilded Kingdom had made some preparations for the celebration, it was barely of any use in the disaster. Instead, it caused the Gilded Kingdom to suffer greater losses. The warriors were all elites of the Gilded Kingdom. Although they seemed to be helpless in the face of the disaster, they were an incredibly powerful force on the battlefield.

    After Bradlor exined to the crowd, and saw that their expressions were less sullen than before, he frantically said to Great Monarch Hegel, ¡°Great Monarch Hegel, did you bring Master Felic¡¯s magic scroll with you? Please help our kingdom ovee this crisis!¡±

    The Octopus n had bought Lin Li¡¯s Mount Tai magic scroll at a record-high price during the auction. Later on, the magic scroll¡¯s incredible power that wasparable to that of a god was disyed during the fight against Wild Whale Rabu. Hence, Bradlor immediately thought of the magic scroll like he had found a straw to clutch at, and hoped that Hegel would help.

    However, after hearing Bradlor¡¯s request, Hegel shook his head with a bitter smile, and regretfully said, ¡°Your Majesty, if you had informed us about this matter beforehand, I might have brought it here, but apart from you guys, who could have known that such a thing would happen at the celebration? I¡¯ve already handed that scroll to the elders of the n for research when I returned two days ago.¡±

    Hegel was telling the truth. Due to the fact that the magic scroll Mount Tai had cost the Octopus n hundreds of millions of gold coins, Hegel didn¡¯t dare to carry it around, even though he was the Great Monarch of the Octopus n. Besides, the importance of the magic scroll Mount Tai was extremely high because of its research value. No one would bring it around for no reason.

    Hearing Hegel¡¯s answer, Bradlor and the senior members of the Gilded Kingdom turned as pale as a sheet. Well, they had themselves to me for being doubtful of the prophecy and failing to make sufficient preparations beforehand. Otherwise, he could have borrowed the mageweath from Hegel and avoided this.

    Seeing the expressions on the faces of Bradlor and the others, Hegel felt somewhat sympathetic, even though he was displeased with the fact that they had hidden the matter from them. Hence, he reminded, ¡°Your Majesty, although I do not have the magic scroll Mount Tai with me, don¡¯t forget that the creator of the mageweath is here!¡±

    Bradlor and the others, who were in a panic, and had be somewhat flustered because of the prophecy, forgot for a while that Lin Li, the creator of the Mount Tai magic scroll, was on the observatory deck too. After getting the reminder, Bradlor hurriedly led the crowd towards Lin Li without even thanking Hegel.

    At this moment, Lin Li and Connoris were standing on the observatory deck, and watching the developments in the middle of the square. As a tall figure emerged from the crater, the terrifying aura swept in all directions, and Connoris¡¯ face suddenly turned ashen. Even his body had begun trembling slightly.

    Sensing the physical changes in Connoris, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly, and asked, ¡°Seems like this guy is no stranger to you, Connoris?¡±

    Connoris also came back to his senses at this point, and he looked at the middle of the square with lingering fear. He bitterly said, ¡°Felic, it seems that the Gilded Kingdom is in big trouble this time, we¡¯d better leave this ce as soon as possible.¡±

    Since Connoris had obtained his perfect body, he had never been timid or felt the slightest trace of fear in the face of Sanctuary powerhouses. However, at this point, the first thing that came to his mind was to flee. Clearly, the man that emerged from the crater had a significant background.

    ¡°Who exactly is that?¡± Lin Li asked curiously.

    ¡°The Crimson mes Tyrant, Mosari, the monarch of the 99th level of the abyss and a true ancient demon deity. He¡¯s also the creator of the Endless Abyss, and the origin of all demons!¡± Connoris eximed in a trembling voice. As he revealed the identity of the figure, his eyes were filled with fear that he couldn¡¯t hide.

    Legend had it that the Endless Abyss was a world of demons created by 81 ancient demon deities several thousands of years ago. Connoris was one of them, and he mastered conspiracy and deceit. Another demon deity was the Tyrant Bk, who was killed by Highlord Osric for his magical crystal, which was used in the core of the Eternal Furnace.

    However, although Connoris and the others were said to be ancient demon deities, they hadn¡¯t really ascended to godhood, and were, strictly speaking, only considered ancient demons. The only one who genuinely possessed strength at the level of gods was the leader of the 81 demon deities¡ªMosari the Crimson mes Tyrant, who was known as the son of the ancestral demon.

 Chapter 1280 - Origin

    Chapter 1280: Origin

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Under Mosari¡¯s lead, the 81 ancient demon deities created the Endless Abyss and countless Abyssal Demons. Hence, to the Abyssal Demons, Mosari was their god and the ancestor of all demons.

    Although each floor of the Endless Abyss was ruled by a Demon Lord, the entire Endless Abyss was actually more like Mosari¡¯s Divine Kingdom. Including Connoris and Bk, the 81 demon deities were more like divine servants who helped Mosari manage his Divine Kingdom.

    ¡°Why is he appearing here?¡± Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but have another question in mind when he heard the information about the Crimson mes Tyrant. Since the Endless Abyss is Mosari¡¯s Divine Kingdom, why would a powerful demon ancestor like him leave his Divine Kingdom behind, ande to the Endless Ocean where he got sealed and suppressed?

    However, Connoris had been sealed in the hammer by Highlord Osric since the middle of the Dark Age, and thus did not know much about theter developments in the Endless Abyss.

    Hence, while recalling the situation, Connoris said to Lin Li with some uncertainty, ¡°Before I left the Endless Abyss, I seem to have heard some rumors that Mosari had once prepared to lead the Abyssal Demons to wage a war for the right and authority to rule Anril. However, when all the demons were already on standby, Mosari did not issue an order for them to strike. Legend has it that someone barged into the 99th level of the abyss, and fought Mosari, who got severely injured in that battle.¡±

    ¡°Barged into the 99th level of the abyss? That person...¡± At this point, Lin Li already had a vague idea of who the person was..

    ¡°No one has seen that person before, but I¡¯m guessing that that person who severely injured Mosari was probably the Immortal King. At that time, Mosari wanted to challenge the High Elves¡¯ authority, but perhaps only the Immortal King would have the strength to get rid of him before he really posed a threat to them,¡± said Connoris, having made the same guess as Lin Li, who had simrly thought of the Immortal King, who was almost almighty ording to the legends.

    Staring at the figure in the middle of the square, Lin Li said, ¡°What happened afterwards? Did you guys not see him again?¡±

    Connoris nodded, and continued, ¡°Yes, after that, the 99th level of the abyss was closed off, and even Bk and the few most powerful demon deities couldn¡¯t step onto the 99th level again. Since then, no one had ever seen Mosari again. Even Mosari¡¯s aura gradually dissipated from the abyss, and everyone thought that he might have fallen.¡±

    ¡°Now it seems that he has escaped to the Endless Ocean, and even formed some connection with the Gilded Kingdom. But I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s sealed here. Could it be that the Immortal King has caught up with him?¡± Lin Li wasn¡¯t making a wild guess, because there were still many gods sealed at the bottom of the Cursed Ind, and it was no big deal for an ancient demon deity to be sealed there.

    However, the ancient demon deity Mosari seemed to be rather capable as he managed to break open the seal and escape. Based on that point alone, Mosari¡¯s strength probably wasn¡¯t inferior to that of the ancient deities during his prime.

    Of course, Mosari wasn¡¯t in his prime now. Not to mention how severe the injuries that he had sustained after fighting the opponent back then were, the way that he had been sealed here for thousands of years had to have weakened his power by a great margin. In addition to the price paid for breaking the seal, Mosari¡¯s demigod-level power was at most a little greater than that of ordinary demigods.

    While Lin Li and Connoris were discussing Mosari¡¯s identity, King Bradlor also came close to the two of them with his subordinates. As soon as they came close, they bowed to Lin Li in unison.

    Immediately afterwards, Bradlor straightened his back, and pleaded with Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, you¡¯re the only one who can save the Gilded Kingdom now. I hope that you can help us tide over during this disaster on the ount of the countless innocent citizens of the Gilded Kingdom!¡±

    Faced with such a disaster, Bradlor couldn¡¯t even put on any airs of a king. Be it the peace supporters or war supporters, the facial expressions of the people who followed Bradlor over became extremelyplicated. None of them had expected that Lin Li, who they and the rest had despised at the beginning, would actually be the savior of the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, Lin Li did not immediately nod and agree to the request of Bradlor and the others. Instead, he said, ¡°Your Majesty, this seal probably isn¡¯t that simple. Did your ancestors not teach you any countermeasures?¡±

    Needless to say, Four Seasons Ind was extremely important to the Gilded Kingdom. The presence of such a terrifying demon deity that was sealed on Four Seasons Ind was just like a ticking time bomb. Since the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom had predicted that this demon deity might break the seal and escape, how could they not have provided some means for their descendants to save their lives?

    Lin Li didn¡¯t ask that question for the sake of mocking the Gilded Kingdom, nor was he waiting to see them make a fool of themselves, but rather he felt that Mosari wouldn¡¯t be that easy to deal with. Although Mosari¡¯s current strength wasn¡¯tparable to that which he had when he was at his prime ording to Connoris, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. A demon deity would still be a demon deity even if he was down-and-out.

    Although Lin Li had consecutively defeated numerous ancient gods on the Cursed Ind through Geresco¡¯s test, those ancient gods were actually just the condensation of a portion of the power extracted from the real ancient gods and some of their willpower. Strictly speaking, they were more like manifestations of the ancient gods. Although they were much stronger than Lin Li, they had miraculously not broken through Lin Li¡¯s tolerance limit. Otherwise, it would not have been a test, but a fatal encounter for Lin Li.

    Just because Lin Li was able to defeat those ancient god manifestations, it did not mean that he could defeat the real ancient gods. Even a powerful trump card like the Mount Tai mageweath wouldn¡¯t be able to make up for the absolute difference in strength between him and the ancient gods. The power of the god that he had killed after the god had escaped the rift with difficulty simply could not bepared even to the manifestation of the ancient god. It was just more powerful than the demigod-level High Priest Poer to a certain extent.

    ording to Connoris, the figure in the middle of the square was a true ancient demon deity and the real owner of the Endless Abyss. The Immortal King was a powerful figure who could even kill the Dragon of Destruction. Yet, he only managed to deal Mosari a severe blow, and cause him to be badly injured after entering the 99th level of the abyss.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t know why Mosari was sealed here, and whether the seal had anything to do with the Immortal King, he could tell that Mosari¡¯s strength was extraordinary. Lin Li didn¡¯t think that he had really reached the level of invincibility in Anril just because he had passed Geresco¡¯s test. At the very least, there were three people he knew of that he wasn¡¯t confident enough in defeating, and they were the three arbitrators of the Supreme Council.

    Mosari was the same. Although Lin Li was not necessarily afraid of him, he wasn¡¯t confident of winning, either, and even if he could defeat Mosari, he would definitely have to pay a huge price for doing so. If he was the one being forced into a desperate situation, he would of course fight with all his might at all costs. However, if it was for the sake of the Gilded Kingdom, he would have to consider if it was worth it or not.

    However, at this moment, there were once again changes in the square, and Lin Li didn¡¯t need answers from Bradlor and the others anymore. It seemed that Mosari was about topletely break the seal when the several tall statues at the side of the square suddenly came to life. They rose from the ground one after another, and strode towards the center of the square.

    Is that an Alchemy Colossus? After being surprised, Lin Li shook his head to reject his guess because he didn¡¯t notice the distinctive features of an Alchemy Colossus in the statues.

    Since they were not Alchemy Colossuses, Lin Li thought of another powerful magic weapon, and that was Giant Divine Soldiers. Although they were both enormous in size, there was essentially a great difference between a Giant Divine Soldier and an Alchemy Colossus.

    A Giant Divine Soldier was not created by piecing various parts together with alchemical techniques, but rather it was a magical stone weapon. When deactivated, the Giant Divine Soldier was nothing more than a statue that didn¡¯t have any joints or special settings. However, after being activated, the Giant Divine Soldier would gain mobility, and have the ability to move its limbs freely like a human. It was just like a giant in a shell made of stone.

    The Alchemy Colossus was created and powered with alchemical technology, while the Giant Divine Soldier was driven purely with mana, as if it were a solidified earth elemental magic spell. The Giant Divine Soldiers, just like Lin Li¡¯s Angels of Light and Dark, could only be activated within the domain, and would be immobile beyond it. However, their magic power was different.

    The Giant Divine Soldiers of the Gilded Kingdom all had powerful strength that was at the Sanctuary-level, but no one knew whom they were created by. However, the Giant Divine Soldiers were probably the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s greatest trump card and the reason they could have a foothold in the Endless Ocean.

    The Giant Divine Soldiers quickly rushed towards the ancient demon deity, Mosari, and swung their fists, which were like battering rams, at Mosari¡¯s body. At this point, it seemed that Mosari had yet to break free from the shackles of the seal as his feet were still in the crater of the volcano. Faced with the siege of the Giant Divine Soldiers, Mosari roared in exasperation, and swung his strong and muscr arm like he was swatting flies.

    With a loud bang, Mosari¡¯s arm collided with the fists of the Giant Divine Soldiers to create a violent tremor that shook even the surrounding ck smoke and mes away. At this point, Mosari appeared amidst the rolling fumes of ck smoke.

    Mosari had the typical features and characteristics of an Abyssal Demon, with a pair of scimitar-like horns on his head and a pair of gigantic ck wings on his back. ording to Connoris, most of the powerful demons in the Endless Abyss were actually created by Mosari, who modeled them after his own appearance. That was the reason that he was called the ancestor of the demons.

    With just a wave of Mosari¡¯s arm, some enormous Giant Divine Soldiers were swept backwards and retreated rapidly. Fortunately, there was more than one Giant Divine Soldier surrounding Mosari. The others were fearlessly attacking Mosari, leaving him with no time to break free from the seal.

    Although the several Giant Divine Soldiers possessed Sanctuary-level power, Mosari was a real ancient deity. Mosari¡¯s power might be far less than that from his prime, but it was more than what ordinary Sanctuary Masters couldpare to. The crazy siege of the Giant Divine Soldiers would only be slightly effective in restraining Mosari, and it would take a greater power to reseal this powerful ancient demon deity.

    Bradlor and others had also noticed that point, so the tension on their faces didn¡¯t ease up. Instead, they eagerly said to Lin Li, ¡°Master Felic, the ancestors have left those several Giant Divine Soldiers to us as the most powerful means for dealing with the crisis. However, as you can see, this power is simply not enough to help the Giant Divine Soldiers ovee this crisis!¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to attack, but this demon is many times more powerful than the Wild Whale Rabu that we encountered previously. Even if we use the Mount Tai mageweath, we won¡¯t be able to suppress him.¡± Of course, Lin Li was not entirely telling the truth, but he obviously wouldn¡¯t go all out for the Gilded Kingdom.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, a trace of despair appeared on Bradlor¡¯s face, and he said in disbelief, ¡°H-how is that possible!?!¡±

    For Bradlor, Lin Li was perhaps the only hope for saving the Gilded Kingdom, and now that Lin Li had said that, who else could help the Gilded Kingdom through this disaster? Was their only option really to just pray to the gods?

    ¡°How about you guys try your best to stall this demon? I need all the information you have about this demon, maybe I can find a way to deal with him using it.¡± Although Lin Li was a Sanctuary powerhouse who had almost reached the Divine-realm, he hadn¡¯t reached the point of being able to treat all beings like ants. If possible, he would save the Gilded Kingdom from aplete destruction under the condition that he didn¡¯t have to pay a huge price for it.

    In fact, even if Lin Li did not intervene in this matter, he believed that it was definitely possible to survive this crisis for the time being with the joint forces of the Gilded Kingdom and the other forces. After all, although this matter happened in the Gilded Kingdom, it did not involve only the Gilded Kingdom. If Mosari were to break free from the seal, he would definitely be a massive threat to the various forces of the Endless Ocean.

    Although the ancient demon deity was powerful, it would still be possible to drive him away if the nearly 100 powerhouses of the forces present were to go all out and fight Mosari to the death. Of course, if they were to do that, it would be impossible to keep Four Seasons Ind intact. The millions of civilians on Four Seasons Ind would also be the victims of this disaster. Lin Li believed that neither Bradlor nor the members of the other forces would be willing to see things develop to that point.

 Chapter 1281 - Secret Vault

    Chapter 1281: Secret Vault

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Hearing that Lin Li wanted information about Mosari, Bradlor and the few ministers next to him seemed to be hesitant. Although they were all aware how terrible this disaster was, they still found it a little difficult to ept the idea of letting someone read all the secret texts of the kingdom.

    At the thought of this, in a bid to test the waters, Bradlor asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, if you have enough power to cooperate, can you suppress that demon with your Mount Tai mageweath?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s brows furrowed into a frown as soon as he heard that because they were clearly bargaining with him. What a joke. He was just asking to see the so-called secret texts for the sake of helping the Gilded Kingdom make it through this crisis. Yet, they were still ignorantly trying to bargain with him!

    ¡°In this case, forget it, I believe that you can definitely deal with that demon and get rid of him with your power. He¡¯s just an ancient demon deity, after all. The celebration ceremony should also be considered to havee to an end now, so we will take our leave.¡± After saying that, Lin Li turned around, and got ready to leave with Connoris. Besides, anyone could tell that Lin Li meant that he was leaving the Gilded Kingdom altogether, and not just the square alone.

    His words had frightened Bradlor and the others.. If they really let Lin Li leave, they would have one less trump card to use in dealing with Mosari, and the loss would require them to pay a huge price to make up for it. Although they still had the Illuminati to rely on, the demon might soon break free from the confinement of the seal. By the time the Illuminati¡¯s rescue team came to their aid, Four Seasons Ind would probably have already sunk to the bottom of the sea.

    ¡°Please wait a moment and let us discuss this for a while, President Felic!¡± Bradlor hurriedly called out to Lin Li to stop him. Four Seasons Ind was the foundation of the Gilded Kingdom and where their roots were. Even if the Gilded Kingdom was in control of arge territory, they still couldn¡¯t afford to lose Four Seasons Ind.

    Seeing that Lin Li had stopped in his tracks, Bradlor didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer, and instead turned around to look at the few ministers, with whom he discussed whether they should let Lin Li, an outsider, read the secret texts of the Gilded Kingdom.

    If Bradlor and the others had a clear understanding of everything regarding Mosari and where the records containing information about him were, this might not be an issue at all. However, even they themselves were unaware of that information, so they had no choice but to show Lin Li, an outsider, the secret texts regarding the Gilded Kingdom in the early stage of its establishment. In that case, they would need to take some risks as there might be some information rted to the fate of the Gilded Kingdom.

    The several ministers around Bradlor were from the various senatorial families of the kingdom. Hence, Bradlor still had to consult them and ask them for their opinions before they could decide whether to show Lin Li the ssified texts. While Bradlor and the others were discussing this matter, the battle going on in the middle of the square had reached a cooldown stage.

    Mosari was indeed worthy of being an ancient deity. Although he had already been significantly weakened, he was still far stronger than what those few Giant Divine Soldiers could contend with. Amidst the various deafening explosive sounds, cobweb-like cracks began to appear on the bodies of those powerful Giant Divine Soldiers. In fact, everyone could even see countless stone fragments of various sizes falling downwards continuously.

    Although Mosari was not coping with the siege of the Giant Divine Soldiers with ease, there wasn¡¯t a single trace of injury on his body. He was continuously throwing punches and casting magic spells that sted the Giant Divine Soldiers that had rushed towards him far, far away. He was just like a lion that was teaching some insignificant jackals a lesson.

    Moreover, Mosari had somehow freed one of his feet that were initially still trapped in the crater, and stepped out at some point. When he stepped out with his other foot, he would probably havepletely broken free from the seal.

    When they saw the situation, the several Sanctuary powerhouses on the observatory tform finally stopped watching from the side without doing anything to help. Edmund and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, as well as the Sanctuary powerhouses of the various forces who had friendly rtions with the Gilded Kingdom, all began attacking Mosari, who was in the center of the square. They also knew that the cmity a terrifying existence like Mosari breaking free from the seal would be would definitely affect more than just the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, the attacks of the Sanctuary powerhouses were not of much help, as they barely changed the situation. Even the attacks of Edmund, a peak Sanctuary powerhouse, were still just like a tickle to Mosari, whose strength and realm were far higher than those of Edmund.

    Bradlor and the several ministers were initially still undecided as they couldn¡¯t reach a consensus, but when they saw the situation in the square, they stopped arguing any further. As long as one wasn¡¯t a fool, they would be able to tell that it was almost certain that Mosari would break free from the seal. It was only a matter of moments before he did.

    ¡°Okay, President Felic, as long as you¡ª Forget it, the secret texts regarding the kingdom during the early stages of its establishment are stored in the secret vault of the royal pce. I¡¯ll take you there now, I hope we still have time,¡± said Bradlor. He¡¯d initially nned to make Lin Li swear an oath or something. However, when he saw how critical the situation in the middle of the square was, he realized that he had to deal with it urgently instead of continuing to harp on this issue.

    Lin Li shook his head in amusement, thinking to himself that the people of the Gilded Kingdom were really oblivious to the severity of the current situation because they were still being so anal about such an irrelevant detail at such a critical juncture. If Lin Li hadn¡¯t been good-tempered and kind enough to want to save the Gilded Kingdom from total destruction by Mosari, he would have long left this ce instead of giving them time to discuss the matter.

    Rendered helpless by the situation, Bradlor and the ministers of the various senatorial families had no choice but to agree to Lin Li¡¯s request to read their ssified records. Compared to the danger that the kingdom was now in, the revtion of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s secrets and idle chatter was considered a trivial issue that wouldn¡¯t result in any significant consequences.

    However, when he was preparing to lead Lin Li to the secret vault, Bradlor nced at the square worriedly, and pleaded with Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, there is countless information in the secret vault, and I don¡¯t know how long it will take for you to find the information that you need, but as you can see, the situation here is urgent, and if...¡±

    Anyone could tell that the several Giant Divine Soldiers were simply too weak to stop Mosari from breaking free from the seal. If nothing unexpected happened, Mosari would definitely emerge from the seal, and when the time came, it would be difficult for them to handle the situation.

    Mosari had been sealed there for countless years, and once he broke free, he would certainly vent all his pent-up anger and frustration. In particr, the Gilded Kingdom could be considered Mosari¡¯s great enemy, so given the fact that he was sealed here, regardless by whom, there was a 99% chance that it had something to do with the Gilded Kingdom.

    Mosari was not a saint who would treat his enemy with kindness and grace, but a vengeful and vindictive great demon deity. So, how could he possibly let the Gilded Kingdom live well? Besides, Mosari would definitely have an urgent need to restore his power after breaking free. As long as he wasn¡¯t a fool, Mosari would know what to do to kill two birds with one stone by restoring his power while also exacting revenge on his enemy.

    Since Lin Li already had the intention to intervene and help, he naturally wouldn¡¯t want to see Mosari break free from the seal. Hence, he had actuallye up with a n long ago. Even if Bradlor hadn¡¯t asked, he would have created trouble for Mosari so that he could buy some time to read the information.

    However, Lin Li did not whip out his staff and charge straight to the battlefield like the others. Instead, he stood on the observation deck, and waved his hand in the direction of the center of the square in a seemingly inconspicuous manner.

    However, with a gentle wave of his hand, countless cobweb-like lines suddenly began to appear in the void in the battlefield in the center of the square. From afar, they looked like threads that were emitting rays of light. However, if one got closer, they would realize that the threads consisted of countless tiny magic runes.

    The countless threads emerged from the void, and wound towards the center of Mosari¡¯s body. As soon as they touched Mosari¡¯s body, they vanished without a trace, but at the same time Mosari¡¯s massive magic mes gradually faded too, and the aura emanating from his body was obviously weakened by a huge margin.

    Seeing this scene, Bradlor and the others were overjoyed. They hurriedly asked Lin Li, ¡°President Felic, can we suppress the demon again by doing this!?¡±

    At the end of the day, Bradlor and the others were still hoping that they wouldn¡¯t have to let Lin Li read the secret texts, which they perceived as ast resort, as long as there was a slight possibility of an alternative option. When they saw how effortlessly Lin Li had managed to suppress Mosari¡¯s power, they immediately saw some hope.

    However, Lin Li nced at the crowd coldly, and said in aposed tone, ¡°This method can only be used once. I¡¯m not interested in your ndestine records anyway, so if you think it¡¯s too difficult for you to let me read them, we can just forget it.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Bradlor and the others looked dismayed again as they were afraid that Lin Li would really stop caring about this matter and leave them in the lurch. Hence, the king hurriedly shook his head, and waved his hands while saying, ¡°President Felic, you¡¯re mistaken, that¡¯s not what we mean. Let¡¯s hurry up and look at the information.¡±

    Seeing how flustered and terrified Bradlor and the others were, Lin Li no longer said anything, and simply reached out to wave his hand in midair, creating a spatial rift which he then stepped into. Bradlor and the others no longer dared to waste any more time, and quickly followed Lin Li into the spatial rift.

    When Lin Li and Bradlor and the others came out of the spatial rift, they were already in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s pce. Bradlor sternly ordered the pce guards to stand down, and quickly brought Lin Li to the secret vault in the depths of the pce.

    Soon, under the guidance of Bradlor, Lin Li arrived in a heavily guarded secret vault in the deepest part of the pce. The secret vault was not built underground, but rather on the same level as the other buildings around. On the one hand, it would be easier to guard it, and on the other hand, it wouldn¡¯t arouse any suspicion.

    Bradlor stepped forward, and used someplicated techniques to open the door of the secret vault. He then led Lin Li into the secret vault, while the ministers from the senatorial families stayed outside.

    The secret vault, which was purely used for the storage of texts and reading materials, seemed more like a historical library. There were several rows of tall, neatly arranged bookshelves that rested on their weight on the ground in the secret vault. Apart from the secret records that Lin Li asked to read, there were also many books on magic, alchemy, and other fields of knowledge.

    Bradlor¡¯s concern might also be partly in this regard as he was worried that Lin Li, an outsider, would read the books that he regarded as treasures. They wouldn¡¯t know that Lin Li had collected magic books that contained information that was far more profound than theirs. How could he possibly covet their books?

    Lin Li did not even bother to look at the rows of magic books on the shelves, and instead followed Bradlor all the way to the innermost part of the secret vault, where there was arge number of historical documents. In other words, they were the secret records of the Gilded Kingdom, which were different from those of the Illuminati, which were only recorded in one book. Otherwise, Bradlor could have just taken out the book and shown it to Lin Li.

    ¡°President Felic, all information about the history of the Gilded Kingdom, down to the most minute detail, can be found in the records here. Where do you n to start reading?¡± Bradlor seemed somewhat anxious, mainly because he was worried about the time Lin Li would take to read them because he knew that finding the required information was not something that could be done in minutes. Of course, the other thing he was worried about was that the more Lin Li read, the more secrets of the Gilded Kingdom, some of which were rather embarrassing, he would find out.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t actually interested in those things at all. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of suppressing Mosari, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to look at those private matters of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Although the ancestors of the Gilded Kingdom had brought arge number of civilians to the sea since the beginning of the Dark Age, they hadn¡¯t established the kingdom immediately, because they hadn¡¯t wanted to attract the attention of the major forces at sea. Instead, they¡¯d chosen to wait until they had umted a certain amount of strength.

    When the Gilded Kingdom was formally established, it was already the middle of the Dark Age, and they were strong enough to survive in the presence of the High Elves and the Ocean Dynasty.

    However, even though the records started from the middle of the Dark Age, there were countless records rted to the Gilded Kingdom, and finding information about Mosari in them was just like searching for a needle in a haystack. By the time Lin Li found the information needed, the situation in the square would probably have reached the point of bing unmanageable.

    Hence, after hearing Bradlor¡¯s question, Lin Li gave it some thought, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s start by looking for that prophecy of the kingdom. Can you be sure of which era that prophecy was passed down from?¡±

    Although it was said to be a prophecy, it was more like a legend for Bradlor and the others. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been so uncertain about the authenticity of the prophecy. If it was a legend, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy to find out the exact era that the prophecy came from. Otherwise, how could it be considered a legend?

 Chapter 1282 - Great Demon Deity

    Chapter 1282: Great Demon Deity

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    After thinking about it carefully, Bradlor broke out in a cold sweat, and it covered his forehead. Hence, he finally raised his head, and nonchntly said, ¡°We¡¯re not very sure which era this prophecy originated in, but as far as I know, this prophecy should have appeared after we overcame a huge crisis brought about by the Ocean Dynasty after the establishment of the kingdom. It should be when the Ocean Dynasty suddenly got destroyed and the great ocean war began.¡±

    While Bradlor was speaking, he paced back and forth in front of the bookshelves to search for a book before finally stopping at an area that was marked as belonging to a certain era. The time period was designated clearly by years; byparison using the chronology of the Ocean Dynasty, it should have been just before the start of the Great Ocean War.

    Lin Li walked towards Bradlor and looked at the erasbeled on the shelf. He had already found out about the origin of the great demon deity, Mosari, as well as the estimated era during which the Immortal King barged into the 99th level of the deep abyss to severely injure Mosari. Hence, hepared the information he had to the era stated on the bookshelves, only to discover that there seemed to be an ovep between the two.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start checking from here, then.¡± Lin Li immediately waved his hand, and the information in the notes on the bookshelf immediately flew over. The pages of each notebook that flew towards him began flipping rapidly as if they were being blown by the wind. In a few seconds, the pages of a book were flipped through..

    If it were anyone else, they might not be able to see anything at all, but Lin Li had extraordinary mental strength that was far greater than that of the people around him. Hence, he basically didn¡¯t have to use his naked eye to read the information. Instead, he managed to rapidly flip through the pages by adding his mental strength.

    The books of notes flew towards Lin Li one after another, and were tossed to the side almost immediately afterwards. The entire process was almost seamless. Meanwhile, Bradlor stood rooted to the ground like a fool, and watched Lin Li flip through the book in an incredible manner while feeling worried. He wondered, Can he really find the information he needs in such a manner?

    All of a sudden, a book with information stopped in front of Lin Li, and the speed of flipping was clearly much slower than with the previous ones. Seeing this, Bradlor immediately saw some hope, and he frantically stepped forth to carefully ask, ¡°How is it going, President Felic? Have you found something useful?¡±

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t in the mood to answer Bradlor¡¯s question as he simply focused on reading the information in front of him. It was a record of the information regarding the war between the Gilded Kingdom and the Ocean Dynasty back then. At that time, although the Gilded Kingdom had already umted significant power and strength, they were still like children against giants in the face of the Ocean Dynasty, which had ruled the Endless Ocean for countless years.

    During that war, the fleet of Gilded Kingdom was simply fragile as the inds it upied were destroyed one by one, while countless civilians were reduced to ves of the Sea ns. In the end, only Four Seasons Ind and a few surrounding inds were left within the territory of the Gilded Kingdom. They were even surrounded by a million troops of the Ocean Dynasty that put them on the verge of annihtion.

    However, at that juncture, the powerful Ocean Dynasty suddenly underwent a huge change which caused the royal family of the dynasty to lose their massive power that they relied on to rule the Endless Ocean almost overnight. ording to the Sea ns, the royal family of the Ocean Dynasty had fallen out of favor with the Sea God, but based on the specific era of the incident ording to the information, Lin Li thought of the great demon deity, Mosari.

    The time interval between the urrence of the massive change in the Ocean Dynasty and the Immortal King¡¯s powerful attack on Mosari did not seem to be that long. Hence, Lin Li thought it was reasonable to suspect that the massive change that caused the Ocean Dynasty to crumble might have something to do with the great demon deity, Mosari.

    With the massive change in the Ocean Dynasty, the overlord Sea ns of the ocean eagerly divided the resources and wealth of the Ocean Dynasty among themselves, thus forgetting about the Gilded Kingdom, and allowing thetter to escape a disaster.

    The subsequent Great Ocean War gave the Gilded Kingdom an opportunity to develop and recover. By the end of the war, the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s power had already grown to be on par with and no weaker than the rest of the Sea ns. By this time, the seven overlord Sea ns stopped attacking the Gilded Kingdom due to their mutual restraint. Instead, they began trying to get closer to the Gilded Kingdom.

    However, it wasn¡¯t stated clearly in the records what exactly the power that saved the Gilded Kingdom was. Lin Li wasn¡¯t sure if the great demon deity Mosari was the one who did it, either.

    At that time, the great demon deity Mosari had just suffered a debilitating blow from the Immortal King, and to put it bluntly, he could barely save himself. How could he possibly have been able to save the Gilded Kingdom? Besides, Mosari wasn¡¯t a saint of the Gilded Kingdom, and its survival had nothing to do with him.

    After Lin Li had read that information, the book was tossed to the side immediately, and soon several more came flying past Lin Li¡¯s eyes rapidly. More than 10 bookster, a yellowed scroll made of animal hide finally stopped in front of Lin Li again.

    It wasn¡¯t an official historical record of the Gilded Kingdom, but the private notes written by a certain person. However, in those notes, Lin Li finally saw the prophecy that Bradlor had been talking about.

    ¡°The kingdom will live on because of demons, but it will also be destroyed by demons. When will our suffering end!?

    ¡°Will that mage from the faraway maind be our savior?

    ¡°No, it hasn¡¯t ended yet. On this exact same day 1,000 years from now, the kingdom will once again face a great crisis. But, who else will there be to save us!?¡±

    The perpetuation of the existence of the kingdom due to the demons seemed to be the exnation for the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s survival after that crisis that left them on the verge of annihtion. However, why would the great demon deity Mosari help the Gilded Kingdom? That made Lin Li think of a possibility¡ªa deal with the demons.

    One of the Abyssal Demons¡¯ favorite activities was to tempt others into trading their souls with them, which was a usual condition, in exchange for other benefits. For example, Connoris, who was called a Soul Trader at first, often dealt in trades that involved the acquisition of the souls of others.

    In Anril, there were people trading with demons every single day, but at the same time, there would also be people having their souls taken away by demons. Most of the heretics who were sanctioned at the Brilliance Shrine¡¯s Court of Heresy were those who traded their souls with the demons. However, the Brilliance Shrine could only have jurisdiction over the Ledin Kingdom. In ces like the Fn Kingdom where no one gave a hoot about the Brilliance Shrine, the Court of Heresy would not be able to extend their authority to sanction the heretics.

    Through this information, Lin Li was already 80% certain that someone from the Gilded Kingdom had made a deal with the great demon deity Mosari. However, there was another thing that made Lin Li bewildered. Given Mosari¡¯s identity as a great demon deity, it didn¡¯t seem reasonable for him to engage in soul trade like ordinary demons do.

    Besides, if his guesses were valid, did the great demon deity Mosari contribute so much power to help the Gilded Kingdom deal with the powerful Ocean Dynasty merely for the sake of a soul? That was obviously not an equal trade-off for demons, so it seemed impossible that Mosari would allow himself to get the shorter end of the stick in this deal.

    Besides, the Immortal King had struck Mosari with a severe blow at that time, so Mosari should have been urgently trying to recover his power. A mere soul would not help with his injury at all. Even if it was the soul of a Sanctuary powerhouse, it probably wouldn¡¯t be worth Mosari¡¯s effort and put in so much power for the sake of saving the Gilded Kingdom.

    In that case, the deal that someone from the Gilded Kingdom had made with Mosari was probably far moreplicated than a simple soul trade. The price that the Gilded Kingdom had to pay might be smaller than the extermination of the entire kingdom, but it surely wouldn¡¯t be too far off.

    More importantly, demons would never engage in fair trade, and there would often be plenty of traps in the contracts so that the other party entering the contract would have to pay more than what they offered. Of course, the people of the Gilded Kingdom might also have been aware of such tricky hidden uses, and merely had no other choice but to ept it, because they were facing a crisis that would destroy the kingdom.

    Since they had survived the crisis at that time, it was naturally time for the Gilded Kingdom and Mosari to settle the scores and fulfill the deal. At this juncture, the Gilded Kingdom received aid from a stronger external force that suppressed Mosari. Lin Li associated the external force with the Immortal King as soon as it came to mind. Although Geresco also had the same power to seal Mosari, it wouldn¡¯t make sense chronologically.

    However, deep down, Lin Li had a strong feeling that there seemed to be some kind of connection between the Immortal King and Geresco that he couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on. He felt so especially when he was greeted by Geresco, and not the Immortal King, in the tower where countless gods were sealed when he went to the Cursed Ind again.

    Of course, Lin Li knew that it was not the time to consider the rtionship between the Immortal King and Geresco now, so he put aside those doubts for the time being, and continued to check the records of the Gilded Kingdom.

    Indeed, Lin Li soon found another ount of a disaster in the ancient notes of the Gilded Kingdom. Soon after the destruction of the Ocean Dynasty, the Gilded Kingdom faced a horrifying gue, even though they had just started recovering. During that gue, arge number of citizens died, and the prosperousnd became barren. Despite the strict control of the kingdom, they couldn¡¯t contain the spread of the gue.

    Furthermore, the author of the notes wrote a clue stating that all the people who died in the gue soon lost their souls. Following this clue, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati paid a huge price to find the great demon deity Mosari. Of course, they did not know of Mosari¡¯s true identity at that time, and merely thought that he was an extremely terrifying Abyssal Demon.

    When the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati were at a loss for what to do with Mosari, a mage from Anril appeared. With the help of this mage from Anril, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati cast theirs to seal the Abyssal Demon that caused the gue to break out in the kingdom under the center of Four Seasons Ind. Afterwards, under the guidance of that mage, Hopra Square was built for the purpose of suppressing Mosari together with the Giant Divine Soldiers whose strength was at the Sanctuary-realm.

    Immediately afterwards, it was mentioned in the notes that the mage from Anril became friends with the founding Saint Aquilo of the Illuminati. In fact, the mage was more like Aquilo¡¯s mentor as he gave him guidance in various fields of knowledge. Afterwards, in a few short years, the incident on the Cursed Ind urred, and the mage vanished since then, while Aquilo fell.

    There were some oveps between that data and the records in the Illuminati¡¯s canon. At this point, Lin Li was basically certain that the mage from Anril should be the Immortal King, who had sealed the Ancient God of Light under the Cursed Ind.

    In the notes, the author mentioned that the mage from Anril once said to the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati that the seal that suppressed the great demon deity, Mosari, was not a permanent solution that could get rid of this huge trouble for them once and for all. At the end of the notes, he even said that he hoped that a younger version of himself could appear here in time in the future.

    Those words made the people of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati rather confused. In fact, the vast majority of people even thought that they had misheard something. The author of the notes had written down that strange statement together with the prophecy about the current disaster faced by the Gilded Kingdom.

    It wasn¡¯t Lin Li¡¯s first time seeing those strange words, because he had seen a simr statement regarding the return of another version of himself left behind by the Immortal King in the legends of the Cursed Ind.

    However, Lin Li really didn¡¯t think that the ¡°other version¡± of the Immortal King was referring to himself, because he was just an outsider who had transmigrated from another world. Instead of believing that he was the other version of the Immortal King, Lin Li was more inclined towards the possibility that the Immortal King was referring to Geresco. After all, they were both from Anril, and simrly possessed incredible talent and achievements that ordinary people could not easily have.

    Afterwards, Lin Li took a look at the back of the notes to see that the author had deliberately left clues to his descendants regarding this prophecy. He said that his descendants could look for a note that was left behind by the mage from the maind once that disaster he had predicted struck the kingdom. He also suggested that the notes of the mage from the maind could contain a solution to help the kingdom survive the disaster.

    Something left behind by the Immortal King? Regardless of whether it could be used to deal with Mosari or not, Lin Li was extremely attracted to it.

    Hence, after putting aside the notes, Lin Li immediately searched for the thing left behind by the Immortal King in the vast sea of information among the records. Fortunately, Lin Li had a significant understanding of the Immortal King¡¯s aura, which allowed him to quickly find a thin book with notes bearing the aura of the Immortal King soon after he searched with his mental strength.

    The book contained only over 10 pages of notes written on the hide of some kind of marine magical beast. The densely packed words were written in Titan Print, and covered almost every inch of each page. However, they shared onemon characteristic: they were all information about a certain Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

 Chapter 1283 - Seize The Time

    Chapter 1283: Seize The Time

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Lin Li had done quite a fair amount of research on Divine-Smith-level magic. Although he hadn¡¯t really reached the realm of the Divine Smith yet, it was actually still within his reach. Hence, Lin Li didn¡¯t have a hard time trying to read the Immortal King¡¯s notes. Besides, he also got the answers to many of the questions that he came up with in the past.

    While Lin Li was carefully reading the notes, Bradlor paced back and forth anxiously at the side. From time to time, he would turn his head to look at Lin Li, hesitant to speak. He didn¡¯t know to what extent things had developed outside, but Lin Li didn¡¯t seem to have made much progress, either. It was an arduous and torturous night for Bradlor.

    Some timeter, Bradlor had already lost count of how many rounds he had walked. When he turned around this time, he finally saw Lin Li looking away from a thin book with notes. Taking this opportunity, he hurriedly walked up, and anxiously asked, ¡°President Felic, how is it? Are there any clues!?¡±

    Lin Li took a deep breath and exhaled as he closed the notebook in his hand before saying to Bradlor, ¡°Alright, Your Majesty, I¡¯ve already thought of a way to deal with that demon, but my strength and efforts alone are far from sufficient. When we go thereter, everyone has to abide by my arrangements and buy enough time for me.. Otherwise, you may find someone else to help you.¡±

    ¡°No problem, President Felic, please rest assured that I¡¯ll do my best to convince the Illuminati and the other forces to obey your instructions. I believe that they won¡¯t refuse. After all, once this demon breaks free from the seal, it will not be beneficial to any of them,¡± Bradlor said, nodding profusely as he quickly agreed to Lin Li¡¯s request.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head there now then.¡± After saying that, Lin Li put away the Immortal King¡¯s notes, and brought Bradlor outside, where others waited. At the same time, he once again reached his hand out to open a spatial rift in the air.

    Through Lin Li¡¯s spatial rift, the group returned to the observatory deck in the Hopra Square. At this moment, the battle in the square had also reached an intense climax where two of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Giant Divine Soldiers had already fallen on the ground, while the Sanctuary powerhouses who were surrounding the great demon deity, Mosari, all seemed extremely disheveled and wretched.

    Although Lin Li and the others had only been away for a short while, Mosari¡¯s strength and dominance had already risen again by a significant margin. When Lin Li left, he temporarily suppressed Mosari¡¯s power using a mageweath, but now the mageweath had clearly lost its effect.

    At this moment, Mosari¡¯s feet were already on top of the crater, and there were only some vague and faint mana chains coiled around his thick and strong legs. However, in almost every blink of an eye, a few of the mana chains would break, and it was basically impossible to drag Mosari back again.

    Seeing the situation in the square, Bradlor did not dare to dy for a single moment as he hurriedly yelled at the crowd, ¡°President Felic has found a solution to deal with this. Everyone, please listen to President Felic¡¯s arrangements from now onwards. Only then can we seal this demon again!¡±

    If it had been in the past, everyone would have definitely thought that Bradlor was insane for saying those words. However, prior to this, the Octopus n had managed to easily suppress Wild Whale Rabu using the Mount Tai mageweath. Since then, Lin Li the Guru of Inscription, became a household name in the Endless Ocean.

    Before Bradlor even said anything, everyone had already seen Lin Li as the key to making it through this crisis.

    Besides, the people from the Gilded Kingdom would naturally adhere to Bradlor¡¯s orders, and follow Lin Li¡¯s arrangements. Not to mention the Illuminati, even the two overlord ns, the Siren n and the Octopus n, had absolute trust in Lin Li, which seemed unfathomable to the others. The four major forces were all willing to follow Lin Li¡¯s arrangements, so the other forces naturally didn¡¯t have anything else to say.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, either, as he immediately took charge, and gave everyone instructions loudly. The remaining Giant Divine Soldiers of the Gilded Kingdom were still the main force that was besieging Mosari, but under Lin Li¡¯s arrangement, a few Sanctuary powerhouses switched roles and started providing support to aid the Giant Divine Soldiers in resisting Mosari¡¯s counterattacks.

    Although the Giant Divine Soldiers¡¯ attacks were extremely powerful, their defensive abilities were clearly too weakpared to Sanctuary Masters. That was also the reason that two of the Giant Divine Soldiers had been destroyed by Mosari within such a short period of time. If they continued going toe-to-toe against Mosari mindlessly, the Giant Divine Soldiers would probably all be wiped out in the next moment.

    Hegel, the Great Monarch of the Octopus n, began focusing on using an auxiliary mageweath under Lin Li¡¯s instructions. His eight magic arms swayed and swung in the void to create aplicated mageweath out of thin air. At the same time, each and every person began to be shrouded in light.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s arrangement, the entire battlefield immediately became much more orderly than before, and unlike previously, they were no longer heavily suppressed by Mosari. In fact, prior to this, they had thought about cooperating with each other, but they were all figures of remarkable identities and status. None of them was willing to submit and take orders from anyone, so it wasn¡¯t easy for them to cooperate.

    Seeing that the situation had been stabilized for the time being, Lin Li didn¡¯t tarry any longer, and raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter in his hand. Using it as an inscription pen, he began to draw several patterns formed with mana in the air.

    The gemstone at the top of the Helios¡¯ Scepter was shining as brightly as ever, as if it were the tip of a crystal inscription pen. As the gemstone swung through the sky, it left several rays of light in the sky like thetter was paper. The light did not weaken in the slightest, and with the appearance of each ray of light, a tremor would ur in space, and a powerful mana fluctuation would gradually be emitted by the light.

    Seemingly sensing Lin Li¡¯s threat, the great demon deity, Mosari, suddenly roared into the sky, while a sea of magic mes surged beside him. They were magic mes of destruction that would turn everything in the world into ashes. Perhaps even the sun, moon, and stars could never withstand the burning of the magic mes.

    One of the Giant Divine Soldiers didn¡¯t retreat in time, and was struck by the magic mes that emerged, after which its rock-like body immediately caught on fire. The ck mes quickly spread up and down the Giant Divine Soldier¡¯s body, and in the blink of an eye, they engulfed the Giant Divine Soldier that was more than 100 meters tall. Immediately afterwards, the giant humanoid torch copsed, turning into ck ashes that scattered all over the ground.

    Fortunately, the Sanctuary powerhouses in the surroundings reacted much faster than the Giant Divine Soldier, and Mosari had obviously recovered only a portion of his power. Hence, they managed to barely escape death.

    Elder Zumar waved his staff, and a huge wave gushed out of the void before surging towards Mosari. However, as soon as the wave touched the sea of magic mes, it was lit like oil. Besides, the magic mes seemed to be urging upwards and towards Elder Zumar.

    At this moment, a mageweath emerged from the void in a sh, intercepting the front of the magic me, and severing the connection between the giant wave and Elder Zumar. Elder Zumar hurriedly took the opportunity to fly backwards. Even though he didn¡¯t divide his attention to take a look, he knew that Hegel¡¯s mageweath had saved his life.

    Immediately afterwards, a figure taller than the body of the great demon deity Mosari appeared in the void in an instant. It had four faces and eight arms, and it was the statue of chaos that Saint Edmund had summoned. The eight arms were either casting magic spells or wielding weapons to bombard Mosari in a frenzy.

    Prince Cleve of the Siren n was standing in the periphery of the battlefield, and slowly drew his longbow, after which he ced seven arrows that were condensed using Combat Energy on the bow. While Saint Edmund¡¯s statue of chaos appeared, Prince Cleve took the opportunity to pull the bowstring, and the seven arrows shot at various fatal spots on the demon¡¯s body.

    Although the Sanctuary powerhouses of other forces were forced into retreat by the magic mes, they soon started surrounding Mosari to besiege him again. Fortunately, the sea of magic mes was still bound by the seal. Otherwise, if Mosari were to unfold the boundless magic mes, the Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t be able to get close at all, let aloneunch any effective attack.

    Seeing that the battle in the square was getting more and more dangerous, Bradlor and others were so nervous that their hearts were about to jump out of their chests. However, no matter how anxious they were, none of them dared to ask Lin Li a single question. Even though they didn¡¯t know much about mageweaths, they knew that they couldn¡¯t disturb Lin Li when they saw therge andplicated mageweath hovering in the air in front of Lin Li.

    The great demon deity Mosari suddenly let out a groundbreaking roar; at the same time, he stomped on the crater violently, causing many of the magical chains that were originally wrapped around his legs to be broken.

    As more than half of the seal was broken, the magic mes on Mosari¡¯s body became even more intense as they started raging, while sanguine thunderbolts continuously descended from the sky. At this moment, be it the Giant Divine Soldiers or the Sanctuary powerhouses of the various forces, they could barely retaliate. All they could do was to fight with all their might to resist the attack of the magic me and sanguine thunderbolts.

    On the other hand, when Bradlor and the others saw the new development, they couldn¡¯t help but feel hopeless. They couldpletely imagine how effortless it would be for Mosari to destroy the Gilded Kingdom with his terrifying power once he broke free.

    At this moment, Lin Li suddenly stopped, while the huge mageweath in front of him began to slowly rotate like a millstone. At the same time, each magic symbol of each mageweath began shining brightly. The light almost enveloped everything around them, as if a sun was rising right in front of them.

    Immediately afterwards, Lin Li pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter that he was holding at the great demon deity Mosari, and the gigantic rotating mageweath immediately charged towards Mosari oppressively.

 Chapter 1284 - Slaying Demons

    <h4>Chapter 1284: ying Demons</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The diameter of the mageweath that Lin Li drew out of thin air continued to increase from a few meters to several hundred meters while closing in on the great demon deity Mosari. When the mageweath was nearing Mosari, thetter¡¯s massive body seemed rather small inparison.

    The massive mageweath rotated slowly in the air, continuously emitting sacred rays of golden light, as if a sun hadnded in the center of the square. Along with the force of washing away all the evil in the world, the endless golden light seemed to have painted the entire square golden.

    The Sanctuary powerhouses who were fighting against Mosari instantly felt like their bodies were full of power after being shrouded in the golden light, while mana surged in their bodies like a flood. Under the golden light, their bodies began to recover rapidly, and they were restored to peak condition in the blink of an eye.

    However, the endless golden light didn¡¯t feel that wonderful for the great demon deity, Mosari. Under that golden light, the dark clouds in the sky seemed to melt like ice in fire, while the sanguine thunderbolts in the sky vanished without a trace. On the ground, the sea of magic mes around Mosari had also converged into a mass due to the boundless golden light. As clear smoke rose rapidly, it became weaker and weaker.

    The magic mes that were burning on Mosari¡¯s body were also forced back into his body, revealing his cracked skin.. Afterwards, wisps of clear smoke rose while his body was shrouded in the golden light, resembling a fire that was extinguished by water.

    After finally getting the chance to break free from the seal, Mosari naturally wasn¡¯t willing to be suppressed again. Hence, when facing the terrifying mageweath that was approaching slowly, he stopped paying attention to those around him, and instead gathered all the power in his body, and swung his fists forward abruptly.

    Mosari¡¯s fists contained most of the power in his body, and they resembled two erupting volcanoes. The moment he struck with his fists, the entire space began to shake violently. It was as if his fists had prated countlessyers of void. The terrifyingly enormous force even sted a few of the Sanctuary powerhouses in the surroundings away.

    Those several Sanctuary powerhouses were tumbling and rolling in midair. After finally stabilizing their bodies through painstaking efforts, they couldn¡¯t help but seem horrified. Mosari¡¯s power had yet to even st at them directly, but they already found it unbearable. If they were to be struck by his fists, they would probably be blown apart like a watermelon even if they had Sanctuary-level power.

    At this moment, the power of Mosari¡¯s fists had already collided with the approaching mageweath. The mageweath that was initially still spinning slowly suddenly sped up again, and the golden light began to ovep like waves on the sea before sting towards Mosari.

    As soon as the two forces came into contact, the mageweath, which was like a new sun, clearly came to a halt, while the golden light resembled ripples in water due to the bombardment. However, a momentter, an even more dazzling ray of golden light emerged from the mageweath, which was bright enough to even cover the sun. The raging golden light devoured Mosari¡¯s massive body in the blink of an eye, as if a huge wave had been set off in the storm.

    Dumbfounded, everyone stopped in their tracks, and watched the changes in the center of the square, as well as Mosari who was now engulfed by the endless golden light, resembling a golden mountain. He waspletely different from his original form as his body seemed to have melted while being wrapped in the golden light. All that remained was various roars that continuously came from within.

    However, everyone could tell from Mosari¡¯s roaring that he hadn¡¯t given up yet.

    At the same time, a huge mageweath also emerged underneath Mosari¡¯s feet, and emitted a simr golden light as the mageweath in the sky.

    Afterwards, the massive mageweath also finally rotated and descended to the top of Mosari¡¯s head like arge golden millstone that crushed Mosari¡¯s head with crackling sounds while he was wrapped in golden light. Being crushed by this mageweath, Mosari almost couldn¡¯t resist any longer, and he couldn¡¯t roar at all towards the end.

    After some time, the golden light in the square faded away unknowingly, and the huge mageweath in mid-air gradually became thinner. Mosari¡¯s body, which had been shrouded in golden light, once again reappeared, but it no longer contained a trace of vitality. Instead, it was fixed in ce like a statue.

    Hasn¡¯t it been sealed again? Bradlor wondered as he stared at the center of the square, dumbfounded. All of a sudden, he couldn¡¯t figure it out. He¡¯d initially thought that Lin Li had probably resealed the demon, but based on the lifeless body of Mosari, he clearly hadn¡¯t been resealed, but simply exterminated.

    Of course, deep down, Bradlor wouldn¡¯t want to leave such a huge scourge behind on Four Seasons Ind. God knew when Mosari would appear to wreak havoc again after being sealed. Hence, the result was countless times better than he had expected.

    However, Bradlor couldn¡¯t quite ept the fact that such a powerful demon had been killed by Lin Li¡¯s mageweath. In that case, how terrifying must Lin Li¡¯s power be?

    Apart from Bradlor, those who were participating in the battle, as well as the spectators, were all looking at Lin Li with horror in their eyes. They couldpletely sense that the power of Lin Li¡¯s mageweath was several times greater than that of the Mount Tai mageweath that had suppressed Wild Whale Rabu. Clearly, Lin Li had made another huge breakthrough in the field of inscription.

    At this moment, Lin Li waved his hand, and the mageweath and golden light in the square finally vanished without a trace. All that was left in the center of the square was a silent volcano and Mosari, who was standing on the crater like a statue.

    Although Lin Li was using his own mageweath to kill the great demon deity Mosari, Lin Li didn¡¯t seem very overjoyed. At this point, he had a huge doubt in mind. Since it was possible to kill Mosari, why did the Immortal King seal him up instead of killing him back then?

    Besides, even if the Immortal King couldn¡¯t kill Mosari, why would he seal him on Four Seasons Ind? Countless gods had been sealed on the Cursed Ind, and there was definitely room for a demon deity.

    While Lin Li was thinking about that question, Bradlor and the others finally couldn¡¯t help but walk towards Lin Li, and cautiously ask him, ¡°President Felic, is that demon already dead?¡±

    He didn¡¯t me Bradlor and the others for being timid. Even if a powerful existence like the great demon deity Mosari was dead, his body would still pose a huge threat. An example would be the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction that was sealed under Cage Ind. Although its soul had long disappeared, the corpse would still have powerful strength that was close to the level of the gods.

    In other words, its might remained even after its death. Even the corpse of a wyrm was enough to frighten the timid ones to death. Thus, in the face of the body of the great demon deity Mosari, the surrounding Sanctuary powerhouses were at a loss for what to do. In fact, no one dared to approach the body at all.

    After ncing at Bradlor and the others who were worried sick, Lin Li nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°Yes, that demon is dead. Your Majesty, you may move that demon¡¯s corpse away.¡±

    Although he already had a conjecture in mind, Bradlor and the others finally felt overjoyed when they heard Lin Li¡¯s affirmative answer, thinking that they had already ovee the ordeal. One by one, they inched closer to Lin Li, and thanked him while showering him withpliments generously.

    After hearing his words with some amusement, Lin Li soon couldn¡¯t bring himself to continue listening to those words. He waved his hands, and said, ¡°Fine, you don¡¯t have to thank me. This demon happens to have something that I need. You can handle the rest ordingly.¡±

    It turned out that when Bradlor and the others were thanking Lin Li, Lin Li heard a message from Connoris through spiritual connection. He said that he hoped that Lin Li would get the Heart of Demon from Mosari. Moreover, Lin Li could sense from the mental strength fluctuation that Connoris was clearly suppressing his agitation.

    The great demon deity Mosari was the true master of the Endless Abyss, the boss of the 81 ancient demon deities, and the ancestor of the vast majority of demons in the Endless Abyss. Mosari¡¯s Heart of Demon could be considered the origin of demonic power, so it was naturally very appealing to Connoris who used to be an ancient demon deity.

    Hence, Lin Li interrupted Bradlor and the others while theyplimented him, and told them straight that he wanted something from Mosari.

    Even though Bradlor and the others were unsure of the origin of the demon, they could tell from his powerful strength that was near the level of the gods that the demon¡¯s body had to be extremely valuable. Even a wyrm was a treasure from head to toe, what more a demon that was several times stronger than a wyrm.

    However, Bradlor wanted to build a good rtionship with Lin Li in the first ce, and the Gilded Kingdom had managed to avoid the disaster this time all thanks to Lin Li. How could he possibly turn Lin Li down? Besides, he also noticed that Lin Li had mentioned that he just needed one thing from Mosari¡¯s body.

    At the thought of that, there was nothing for Bradlor to be displeased about. He hurriedly nodded, and said, ¡°What are you saying, President Felic? It¡¯s all thanks to you that the Gilded Kingdom managed to avoid that disaster. Even if you take the entire body away, it¡¯d only be a matter of course.¡±

    ¡°Okay, you don¡¯t have to go on. I only want the thing that I need, you are free to do whatever you want with the rest of it,¡± Lin Li said with a wave of his hand.

    Seeing that Lin Li had said this, Bradlor and the others naturally stopped insisting, and franticallymanded the remaining few Giant Divine Soldiers to carry the lifeless Mosari¡¯s body away from the crater.

    However, there were once again changes in the square. As Mosari¡¯s body was moved away, the volcano that emerged from the bottom copsed in the blink of an eye, as if it had decayed. All that was left was a huge and deep hole in the ce where the volcano vanished. It seemed to be bottomless, and there was nothing except the sounds of winding from it.

    On the other hand, Lin Li, who was about to reach for the Heart of Demon, couldn¡¯t help but pause in his actions when therge abyss appeared. He seemed to have vaguely heard some roaringing from the abyss, which sounded muffled yet somewhat familiar.

    That made Lin Li feel a little puzzled. When he thought of Mosari who was sealed here, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the Immortal King had sealed Mosari here for some special reason.

    However, no matter what, it wasn¡¯t a good time to explore the abyss now, and thus Lin Li put this matter aside for the time being whileing close to therge body of the demon Mosari.

    Mosari¡¯s massive body naturally wasn¡¯t an ordinary physical body of flesh, but rather every inch of his body was made of condensed mana. It could be said that every piece of his flesh was like a magical crystal. Of course, the body itself was the least valuable part. There were other parts like its magic tendons and bones that were excellent materials useful for creating magical weapons.

    However, without taking a single nce at those items, Lin Li merely flew towards the chest of the body, and pressed his fingers together before swinging them downwards, after which a massive de of light that was condensed with mana darted out. However, the de merely produced a ng when it shed the demon¡¯s chest, without leaving a single white mark behind at all. Clearly, the defense of the body did not weaken much because of Mosari¡¯s death.

    Of course, that didn¡¯t stump Lin Li. Mosari was already dead anyway, and a dead body couldn¡¯t pose much of a difficulty to Lin Li. He didn¡¯t bombard the demon¡¯s body with great power, and instead raised his hand to take out a crystal pen for inscription. Immediately afterwards, he drew a few strokes in the air. In the blink of an eye, a mageweath that didn¡¯t seem tooplicated appeared in midair again before sealing the chest of the demon¡¯s body.

    As the mageweath entered the chest, a fiery red light began to emerge from the spot where the mageweath had been inserted, as if it had turned into a pool of molten iron. Immediately afterwards, a massive chest emerged from that spot and slowly rose to midair. As the Heart of Demon flew outwards, the fire in the chest of the demon body also gradually died out. There wasn¡¯t a visible change at all.

    ¡°Connoris, I¡¯ll leave this to you.¡± After saying that, Lin Li moved his hand to the side, and the gigantic Heart of Demon immediately flew towards Connoris who was near him.

    Looking at the Heart of Demon that was gradually flying near, a look of excitement that couldn¡¯t be concealed appeared on Connoris¡¯ face. For a demon, the heart of a demon ancestor like Mosari was definitely considered a sacred object. He had never thought that he would one day be able to obtain Mosari¡¯s heart.

    #

 Chapter 1285 - Let Me Leave

    <h4>Chapter 1285: Let Me Leave</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    As the Heart of Demon flew closer, Connoris began to chant a long and obscure incantation in thenguage of the ancient demon deities. Each rune that he chanted would instantly condense into solid characters and symbols that glistened with golden light. The appearance of each character would also cause a tremor in space.

    The words that Connoris chanted were aligned neatly in midair, forming an ancient scroll that contained ancient meanings dating back to a long time ago. They also emanated a daunting aura that would shake the people¡¯s hearts. Under Connoris¡¯ maniption, the ancient scroll moved towards the Heart of Demon.

    As each character in the scroll was imprinted on therge Heart of Demon, the Heart of Demon seemed to have begun shrinking in size. The magic mes that were initially wrapped around the Heart of Demon seemed to have solidified too. It could be seen with the naked eye that countless cracks were continuously appearing in space baked by the magic mes.

    Immediately afterwards, a vast and majestic mana wave emerged from Connoris¡¯ body. His body was engulfed in light, resembling a god that had descended from heaven, and was repeatedly erging. In the blink of an eye, Connoris¡¯ body was already more than 10 meters tall; from the looks of his form, he seemed to have be a half-ethereal existence..

    However, at this moment, Lin Li received another message from Connoris, who was asking for help. After all, Connoris¡¯ control of this perfect body had yet to reach the level of wlessness. Hence, problems surfaced when he was fusing the Heart of Demon with his body.

    Lin Li immediately waved his hand, and an arcane mageweath instantly emerged from the void. It then seemed to form a bridge between Connoris and the Heart of Demon.

    With the activation of the mageweath, Connoris¡¯s body began to grow again. In no time, he reached a height of over 100 meters, and was almost asrge as the body of the great demon deity, Mosari. At the same time, the Heart of Demon, which was at the other end of the mageweath, was also pulled downwards by a certain force. It was then attached to Connoris¡¯ chest, and it began squeezing its way into it.

    When the Heart of Demon sankpletely into Connoris¡¯ chest, he suddenly raised his head and roared into the sky. His roar seemed to be tangible as it instantly pierced through countlessyers of the void before forming a ck hole that was more than 10,000 meters in diameter in the sky. In fact, it was as if there was a turbulence that shed past in front of the ck hole.

    The crowd in the square was stunned by the roar that Connoris had let out. Those who were weaker were even shaken to the point that blood seeped out of their ears. Even the Sanctuary powerhouses had a clear feeling that their souls would be torn apart. One by one, they couldn¡¯t help but release their Domain Worlds.

    However, after Connoris roared, there were no longer any movements, because the Heart of Demon had already fusedpletely into his chest. Immediately afterwards, numerous cracks began to appear on his skin like in a dried up riverbed. ck magic mes even began to spread from his skin.

    The ck magic mes had initially started licking the skin in the surroundings like tongues when it first appeared from the rift. However, the mes soon became even more ferocious, and they eventually merged to form a single me, shrouding Connoris¡¯ entire body in fire as if he was a human torch.

    The rolling magic mes began to spread out in all directions from Connoris¡¯ body. Even though the people around him were far away from it, they could still feel a piercing pain surge within their bodies. However, their souls felt like they were getting baked under the hot sun. That made them feel immensely miserable and agonized under the alternating extreme temperatures. Only after they had retreated to the outermost part of the square did they feel much better.

    The solid and sturdyzurite beneath Connoris¡¯ feet began to emit cracking sounds continuously before crumbling into pieces, and then further into ashes. In the blink of an eye, most of the square seemed to have turned into a desert, with Connoris in the middle. Each and every particle was wrapped in magic mes, making it seem like a sea of ck magic mes.

    At this moment, Lin Li was continuouslymunicating with Connoris through soul contact. Connoris would inform Lin Li about his difficulties, while Lin Li waved his hand and drew a mageweath to help Connoris ovee one difficulty after another. Thanks to the help of Lin Li¡¯s mageweaths, Connoris managed to fuse the Heart of Demon with his body confidently and bravely. Otherwise, he would have probably been burned to ashes long ago.

    Lin Li continued to draw a mageweath that flew into the magic mes that engulfed Connoris, allowing his condition to stabilize soon. At this moment, the magical mes that emerged from Connoris¡¯ body already converged within a certain range, and it looked just like a giant egg on ck fire from afar. Apart from the ck mes that were continuously licking around, countless dazzling gold magic runes began rotating around.

    Just like that, a day passed in the blink of an eye, and the Gilded Kingdom had already begun to deal with the aftermath of the matter. The most important thing to do now was to repair the Giant Divine Soldiers that Mosari had destroyed. Due to Connoris¡¯ presence, no one could walk into the inner area of the square, and thus it couldn¡¯t be cleaned up or repaired.

    Lin Li stood at the side, and would draw a mageweath from time to time to help Connoris resolve issues. However, towards the end, Lin Li¡¯s frequency of striking began to reduce incessantly, while the magic mes that Connoris was shrouded in had already be a beating heart as it started pounding forcefully.

    The beating sound seemed like a dull roar of thunder that emitted various waves together with the surrounding air. As time passed, the sound of the heartbeat was bing clearer as well as more and more powerful. However, the power that it emitted was no longer as unsettling as in the beginning.

    Finally, the magic mes that were wrapped around Connoris began to fade to transparency, gradually revealing Connoris¡¯ body. It was just a vague and blurry figure in the beginning, but as the magic mes became smaller and smaller, the figure got increasingly clearer too.

    However, at this moment, Connoris¡¯ appearance had changed drastically with the fusion of the Heart of Demon. His size was restored to a stature of nearly two meters, but there was a pair ofrge fleshy wings burning with ck mes on his back as well as a pair of scimitar-like demonic horns on the top of his head.

    His perfect body had initially been as handsome as the High Elves, but now that he had these demonic features and ck demonic runes all over his body, Connoris immediately began to exude a demonic aura.

    A momentter, all the magic mes were fused into Connoris¡¯ body, but the demonic wings and horns on his head were still present. The demonic runes on Connoris¡¯ body were also vague and faint, but they didn¡¯tpletely vanish.

    At the same time, a huge wave of mana emanated from Connoris¡¯ body, and it started surging in all directions like a flood. Bradlor and the others, who were dealing with the aftermath around the square, all had a drastic change in expression after sensing the terrifying mana wave.

    If they hadn¡¯t seen Connoris standing in the center of the square, Bradlor and others might have thought that Mosari had risen again. However, after seeing that the one who emitted the terrifying mana waves was Connoris, Lin Li¡¯s subordinate, they felt rather uneasy too.

    The Tower of Dusk now had yet another terrifying Sanctuary powerhouse. In addition to the Sanctuary-level Vampire, Norfeller, the small and nameless force, the Tower of Dusk, now had three Sanctuary powerhouses. With such elite manpower, no one would dare to call them a small and insignificant force. In the future, the Tower of Dusk would definitely be a top force that was not to be belittled.

    At this moment, the mana waves that were emitted from Connoris¡¯ body had not only broken through the limits of the Legendary-realm, but also reached the peak of level-28. That was because Connoris had yet to fuse with the Heart of Demonpletely. Otherwise, the power of the Heart of Demon alone wouldpletely be enough to push his power to the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, such an external force would not be sufficient to push him to the Divine-realm. Only when Connoris lit up the Divine Fire with his own power would he be able to truly be a great demon deity like Mosari. Of course, once he reached the Divine-realm, he could once again get a huge boost from the Heart of Demon.

    All the mes had now been contained in his body, and he wasn¡¯t exuding a single wisp of demonic aura, either. Connoris looked at his hands with satisfaction, as if he could see how terrifying the power emitted by his hands could be.

    After feeling his power for a few moments, Connoris turned to Lin Li with a smug expression, and said, ¡°Haha, Felic, I¡¯ve known for a long time that I¡¯d definitely gain endless benefits from following you, but getting Mosari¡¯s origin is still beyond my expectations. Mosari no longer belongs to this world now, and not only have I obtained his power, but I will also rece him and be the new master of the Endless Abyss.¡±

    However, Lin Li was now far less eager to gain a stronger subordinate, especially after having gone through the bottom of the Cursed Ind where he experienced the numerous tests that Geresco had left behind. They made him realize that when faced with Divine-level opponents, it would be difficult for peak Sanctuary-realm powerhouses to provide help for him.

    What Lin Li was really interested in was the matter of Connoris bing the master of the Endless Abyss. Although the High Elves had plundered the Endless Abyss, it was still a treasure vault full of infinite resources, especially thest floor of the Abyss that Highlord Osric hadn¡¯t prated. God knew how many rare resources had been left behind there.

    The current Sky Castle was still going through an orderly transformation ording to Lin Li¡¯s design, but the biggest problem at the moment was still the severe shortage of construction resources and materials. Even the treasure vaults of the several kingdomsbined might not be enough to meet the requirements for the overhaul of the Sky Castle.

    Hence,pared to Connoris¡¯ strength that had broken through to level-28, which was at the Sanctuary-realm, Lin Li attached greater importance to the fact that Connoris had now be the next master of the Endless Abyss.

    However, at this time, Lin Li did not immediately bring up the matter of emptying the Endless Abyss, but instead focused his attention on the abyss that appeared after the volcano vanished.

    This abyss was supposed to be the ce where the great demon deity Mosari was sealed, and there shouldn¡¯t be anything more after Mosari had been gotten rid of. However, when helping Connoris fuse the Heart of Demon, Lin Li vaguely felt that the sudden wind in the abyss seemed to be carrying a familiar roar.

    Although Lin Li wasn¡¯t sure if the roaring he heard was real or not, the curiosity that surged in his heart made him feel a strong urge to enter the deep cavern and find out.

    After ending the fusion of the Heart of Demon, Lin Li also made up his mind, and decided to enter the cave to take a look. Even if there wasn¡¯t anything in there, they could at least tell that the sealing mageweath that sealed the great demon deity Mosari should also be of great help to his attainments in inscription.

    After making up his mind, Lin Li instructed Connoris to guard outside the bottomless cavern while he leaped into it.

    From the moment he leaped into the abyss, Lin Li could already sense that the roaring was getting clearer and clearer in the wind. He also discovered that he could decipher the meaning of the roar as it seemed to be incessant cursing with boundless resentment. The target was none other than the Immortal King.

    Lin Li¡¯s curiosity was piqued, and he immediately sped up in his descent while also expanding his Domain World to guard against sudden dangers.

    As Lin Li delved deeper, the roaring and hissinging from the depths of that cave had be clearer and clearer. At the same time, the meaning of the roar had also be clearer to him.

    ¡°Damned Immortal King, let me out. I want to leave this world and curse you. I¡¯ll curse you to give birth to a son with no buttocks, sores on his head, and puss-filled boils on his feet! I¡¯ll curse your mom... and your sister...¡±

    After deciphering the meaning of the curse, Lin Li almost lost his bnce and fell. Regardless of how he looked at it, the curse didn¡¯t seem to be from Anril. It seemed that only in the world he hade from would there be people cursing others in such a manner. In particr, it was simr to the way the yers of the game, Endless World, would curse at others.

    That made Lin Li even more curious as he wondered if he wasn¡¯t the only one who had transmigrated to this world.

    After falling in the dark cavern for a long time, Lin Li¡¯s feet finally touched the ground. Immediately afterwards, he saw an altar-like structure not far ahead. The altar was shrouded in light, and there was a ck shadow in the middle that was hitting the light curtain around him while cursing incessantly.

    Perhaps because he had detected Lin Li¡¯s arrival, the figure in the light curtain finally stopped, and roared at Lin Li, ¡°Human, let me leave this ce, and I can grant you three wishes. I don¡¯t need incredible strength or power, but I want an infinite amount of wealth!¡±

    Lin Li fell silent again after hearing his words, which reminded him of the fairy tales of the world he transmigrated from, such as releasing a deity from a drifting bottle or gathering seven dragon balls to summon a Divine Dragon.

    #

 Chapter 1286 - From The Endless World

    <h4>Chapter 1286: From The Endless World</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Lin Li did not approach the altar recklessly, and instead began observing from afar, only to discover that the altar was surrounded by aplicated Divine-Smith-level mageweath which had two cores, one of which was an altar, and the other was an empty space. Hence, the power of the mageweath was waning.

    Seeing this, Lin Li thought of the great demon deity Mosari again. Clearly, Mosari had been sealed here all along, and it seemed to have been in the other core of the mageweath. That made him think of another question, and that was why the Immortal King sealed Mosari on Four Seasons Ind instead of the Cursed Ind.

    Could it be that the main figure that the Immortal King wanted to seal was not Mosari, but the figure on this altar that keeps cursing? Was Mosari sealed here for the purpose of providing power for the mageweath used to seal and suppress that existence on the altar?

    Hence, regardless of what was on the altar, the first thing Lin Li did was not to go up there and figure out what it was, but rather he thought of a way to master the mageweath on it. As long as he could master the mageweath, he would be able to be in control of the situation when facing the thing on the altar.

    Although Lin Li had yet to be a true Divine Smith of Inscription, he had the support of the foundation of the previous research that he had done on a Divine-Smith-level mageweath. Hence, it wasn¡¯t too big of a problem. It was just like how a person who did not know how to build a car was not necessarily unable to drive a car. Mastering the Divine-Smith-level mageweath was far simpler than learning how to draw it..

    It took only less than an hour for Lin Li to fully understand the operation of this Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

    While Lin Li was studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath, the shadow on the altar was constantly shouting at him. In short, it kept promising him plenty of tempting conditions, but after seeing that he still couldn¡¯t make Lin Li waver despite the temptation, the shadow started threatening him menacingly.

    ¡°Damned ant, didn¡¯t you hear what I said!?! If you help me get out of here now, I¡¯ll still thank you for it, but if you continue ignoring my presence again, I¡¯ll definitely teach you a lesson when I get out!¡± Although the shadow that was shrouded in light had a blurry appearance, the tone of its voice was clearly full of anger.

    Finally, Lin Li stopped studying the mageweaths around him, and shifted his attention onto the altar that was enveloped in light instead. He quickly made some gestures with his hands, and some of the mageweaths around the altar, which had been somewhat stagnant, immediately began to operate again. As the mageweaths began running, the light on the altar also became thinner and eventually dissipated, revealing the figure that was wailing incessantly on the altar.

    When the altar waspletely clear, Lin Li realized that the shadow who kept cursing incessantly was actually a dragon-like creature that was about the size of a dog.

    Based on its appearance, it seemed to be a wyrm, but its size was obviously countless times smaller than the average wyrm¡¯s. Among the various species of wyrms, perhaps only Elemental Dragons would produce such a pocket-sized descendant. However, Elemental Dragons were much smaller than this creature, and even an adult Elemental Dragon was norger than a dog.

    Moreover, Lin Li had the Elemental Dragon, Xiao Hua, as his subordinate, so he was very clear about the appearance of Elemental Dragons. Thus, he was certain that this ck creature in front of him definitely had nothing to do with Elemental Dragons.

    In Lin Li¡¯s eyes, this thing on the altar was actually more like a scaled-down version of a ck dragon as its body was covered in obsidian-like scales, and it had a pair of bloodshot eyes, two horns on top of its head, and a pair of fleshy wings on its back. Lin Li was reminded of the Dragon of Destruction, Azardas, that he had killed using his Hunter avatar in the Endless World game, but of course it only resembled Azardas if size wasn¡¯t an issue.

    Is this a descendant of the Dragon of Destruction?

    If it¡¯s a young dragon, it would seem usible for it to be of this size. Could this be a young ck dragon? Lin Li made a wild guess, but as soon as that conjecture surfaced in his mind, he vetoed it immediately.

    Lin Li had seen young dragons before. Although wyrms were powerful creatures, their young also shared simr characteristics with the young of other animals, with the most obvious being arge head, small body, and short limbs. It was a type ofw of evolution for species which applied even to dragons and wyrms.

    However, this ck dragon on the altar did not have any childlike features, even though its body was only the size of a dog. Its limbs were very proportional, and it just seemed to be a scaled-down version of an adult wyrm.

    Looking at the ck dragon who kept roaring and cursing while also issuing threats at the same time, Lin Li, who had already figured out the sealing mageweath on this altar, decisively stepped onto it.

    Seeing that Lin Li had barged into the altar, the ck dragon immediately pounced on him while seething, showing its fangs and waving its ws. At the same time, it roared, ¡°Damned ant, since you refuse to help me leave this hellhole, you will stay with me here!¡±

    After roaring, the ck dragon spewed at Lin Li a mouthful of ck dragon breath, which contained an aura that could cause everything to wither. It surged towards Lin Li immediately.

    However, a dragon breath as such posed no threat to Lin Li, who had already gained control of the seal. Without even picking up his magic staff, he simply fanned away the smoke in front of him with his hand, pushing it to the side.

    Lin Li then moved, and appeared in front of the ck dragon almost instantly. He then reached a hand out to pinch the skin on the nape of the ck dragon to pick it up like it were a cat.

    ¡°Damn it, let go of me. The great Dragon of Destruction Azardas is not your pet. If you don¡¯t let go now, you¡¯re dead meat because you¡¯ll face my boundless wrath!¡± The ck dragon growled and cursed while iling its limbs about, fluttering its fleshy wings, and whipping its tail in an attempt to struggle and break free.

    Lin Li was shocked to hear the ck dragon¡¯s roar, and he thought, This guy actually called himself Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. How is this possible!?

    The Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse was still lying in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm, and he had brought it over from the Endless World game. Besides, another corpse of the Dragon of Destruction was sealed under Cage Ind in the Breezy ins, having been killed by the Immortal King in this world. In that case, how could this annoying ck dragon be the Dragon of Destruction?

    At this moment, Lin Li felt his hand turning empty as the ck dragon, which he was holding by the nape just a few moments ago, seemed to have turned into air. Immediately afterwards, the ck dragon pped its fleshy wings, and flew towards the other side of the altar.

    ¡°How dare a small fry like you disrespect the great Dragon of Destruction Azardas? Well then, prepare to face my boundless wrath!¡± The ck dragon roared menacingly, seemingly ready to fight Lin Li to the death. However, after it got into a fight stance, it surprisingly turned its body violently and leaped out of the altar. It turned out that it had nned to just escape like that.

    However, since Lin Li had already mastered the sealing mageweath on the altar, how could the ck dragon escape so easily? When the ck dragon had already reached the edge of the altar, and was only a mere inch away from escaping, it seemed to hit ayer of ss with a loud thud, and it slowly slid downwards along something, and fell onto the ground.

    At this moment, Lin Li did not immediately go over to catch the ck dragon, but instead raised his hand to look at his moving fingers. The change just now was somewhat beyond his expectations as he was confident that he was definitely capable of holding something firmly with his hand. Clearly, the problemy with the ck dragon.

    With that thought in mind, Lin Li immediately spread his mental strength outwards to the ck dragon that had just slipped to the ground. However, the result of his mental strength detection took him aback because the ck dragon wasn¡¯t in a tangible form, but rather it was in a soul-like state. However, the soul-like form that the ck dragon was in was already solid and sturdy enough to almost seem tangible.

    That answered Lin Li¡¯s question as to how the ck dragon had miraculously escaped from his hand just now. Clearly, the ck dragon had temporarily returned its nape to a state of nothingness when it realized that it couldn¡¯t break free, thus leaving Lin Li with nothing to grasp.

    With this discovery, Lin Li also became more and more interested in this peculiar ck dragon. He knew that the Immortal King had to have sealed it there for some reason, and he reckoned that the ck dragon was probably of an incredible origin. Lin Li was now still a little uncertain if it was Azardas the Dragon of Destruction, as it was possible for him to be a legacy of the Dragon of Destruction, just like Tutankhamun.

    At this point, the ck dragon had already flown up from the ground, and was obviously aware that it couldn¡¯t break out of the altar. Thus, it turned to face Lin Li again, and bared its teeth in a bid to make itself look ferocious and menacing. It roared, ¡°Human, let me out of here immediately, or else don¡¯t me me for being unceremonious. Even though you possess the strength of the Sanctuary-realm, you are still a nobody to Azardas the Dragon of Destruction. You can never afford to incur my wrath!¡±

    However, Lin Li nced at it nonchntly with a contemptuous gaze, and said in response, ¡°Azardas the Dragon of Destruction? As far as I know, the Dragon of Destruction was killed by the Immortal King thousands of years ago, and even its corpse has been sealed and suppressed under a deserted ind.¡±

    To Lin Li¡¯s surprise, the ck dragon flew into a rage at the mention of the Immortal King, and he roared at the top of its lungs, ¡°The Immortal King?! Again, it¡¯s the Immortal King! That damned scoundrel brought me to this world with the sole purpose of satisfying his curiosity. In the end, he sealed me in this ce where I can¡¯t see the light of day nor the darkness of night. He even left a stinking, pungent demon here. One day, I will exact my revenge on him! But now, you must set me free immediately!¡±

    ¡°Haha, what a peculiar existence. In this case, I will see what you¡¯re made of.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t take his roar seriously at all, and just vanished into thin air abruptly. By the time he reappeared, he had once again picked the ck dragon up in his hand. However, he was well-prepared this time, and had utilized his mental strength when catching the ck dragon lest it used the same method of turning its body into nothingness in order to escape.

    However, after sensing Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, the ck dragon suddenly stopped struggling, and began chuckling while saying, ¡°Haha, so it¡¯s you, I didn¡¯t expect you toe here too. So, how is it? Are you enjoying yourself here in this disgusting world? Have you ever tried having someone conduct experiments on you, and then seal you in a hellhole like this for thousands of years?!¡±

    Lin Li was initially still squinting and grinning while waiting for the ck dragon to spout some more nonsense, but after hearing the ck dragon¡¯s words, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

    What does it mean?! Lin Li¡¯s eyes were wide open, and he even almost loosened his grip on the ck dragon. He yelled, ¡°What did you say? What do you mean I¡¯m here too? What do you mean how is it going in this world?!¡±

    The ck dragon immediately became smug when it saw Lin Li¡¯s reaction, and it gazed at him gloatingly like he was looking at a pitiful person. ¡°Why? Are you frightened just like that? In your ng, we could be considered to be from the same hometown. You should be tearing up when you see me!¡±

    Hearing the ck dragon¡¯s words, Lin Li immediately thought about how he had found the ck dragon¡¯s curses, promises, and threats to be rather familiar just now¡ªsuch as cursing him to have a child with birth defects and the granting of three wishes. Lin Li wondered, Could it be that this ck dragon is also a transmigrator in Anril, just like me?

    Seeing that Lin Li was somewhat stunned, the ck dragon sneered, and said with more derision, ¡°Oh right, I¡¯ve been sealed for too long, and I almost forgot that it was you who killed me the first time I died. But you probably didn¡¯t expect someone to hack into your game ount and bring you to such a hellish ce where there is no return. You humans seem to hold your kin and loved ones close to your heart, but have you ever thought about your parents or your lover? Oh, I forgot, how can someone like you who¡¯spletely addicted to and immersed in the world of the game have a lover? Haha!¡±

    As the ck dragon spoke, it burst intoughter, and seemed to be venting its frustration and anger. It even rocked backwards, and wasughing so hard that it could barely catch its breath. However, Lin Li, who was beside him, was stunned by his words. In fact, he even felt an inexplicable pang of panic that arose from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°Who exactly are you? Why do you know about these things?!¡± Lin Li¡¯s face was a bit pale, and he no longer had theposure of a Sanctuary powerhouse. His transmigration was definitely his biggest secret, and now that the ck dragon had revealed it, he was so astounded that he immediately forgot about his identity as a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    The ck dragon finally stopped guffawing, and raised its head to look at Lin Li before saying, ¡°Why? Haven¡¯t I made myself clear enough? I¡¯m Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction and one of the Dragon Aspects of the Endless World.¡±

    One of the Dragon Aspects of the Endless World!? After linking those words to what the ck dragon had said previously, Lin Li seemed to have finally figured it out. The ck dragon was indeed Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, except it wasn¡¯t the Dragon of Destruction from Anril, but from the Endless World game.

    #

 Chapter 1287 - Returning To The Original Owner

    <h4>Chapter 1287: Returning To The Original Owner</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    The Dragon of Destruction of Anril had been killed by the Immortal King, after which Tutankhamun and Nefa were hatched from the magical crystal. ording to the Immortal King¡¯s method, Lin Li hatched the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction of the Endless World. After a long time, he still hadn¡¯t hatched anything, and thus he had long suspected that the magical crystal was missing something. Now, it seemed that the likely reason for it was theck of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s soul in the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction of the Endless World.

    ¡°You¡¯re Azardas of the Endless World? How did youe to this world?!¡± Lin Li asked with some difficulty.

    The ck dragon, or rather Azardas the Dragon of Destruction, finallyughed out loud again, and eximed, ¡°Haha, do you finally remember it now? How did I end up here?! Of course it¡¯s because of you. If you hadn¡¯t killed me with the Hunter avatar, how could I have followed that Hunter that was upied by the Immortal King, and ended up in this hellish ce!?¡±

    ¡°What did you say? The Immortal King upied my Hunter?!¡± Lin Li was once again frightened.

    Although Lin Li had always felt that there was an 80% chance that his transmigration to his world was rted to the Immortal King, what Azardas said was still beyond his expectation.

    It also allowed Lin Li to figure out why he resembled the Immortal King that much, why he met the Hunter-like shadow in the Well of the Sun, why the Endless Labyrinth, which was known only to him, would appear in the Sky Castle, and why many things that existed only in the Endless World would appear in Anril!

    Lin Li seemed to have found the answers to all his questions at this point.. It turned out that in a sense, he and the Immortal King were indeed the same person.

    ¡°Wait a minute, it¡¯s only been a few years since I transmigrated to this world, but the Immortal King has already sealed you here for thousands of years...¡± Lin Li eagerly questioned Azardas when he thought of a problem with the chronology, which was like a straw to clutch at.

    Although Lin Li had obtained plenty of the Immortal King¡¯s legacies, he still couldn¡¯t ept the fact that he shared such a rtionship with the Immortal King. Even though he only had a slim chance to overturn that conclusion, he wasn¡¯t willing to give it up.

    However, Azardas sneered twice, and disdainfully said, ¡°You now have the strength of the Sanctuary-realm. Can¡¯t you figure it out yet? With the Immortal King¡¯s capabilities, manipting time is a piece of cake for him.¡±

    Azardas¡¯ words finally made Lin Li give up. Given the gods sealed under the Cursed Ind, it was already clear that the Immortal King¡¯s strength had already reached a height that was enough for him to override the gods. With the Immortal King¡¯s capabilities, it was indeed not too remarkable a feat to be able to roam freely in the river of time.

    Although manipting time and traveling through time seemed unimaginable for most people, even the Dragon of Time, which was one of the five Dragon Aspects, had the ability to do so, what more the Immortal King who had managed to kill the Dragon of Destruction, and whose strength was far beyond that of the five Dragon Aspects. Perhaps the Dragon of Time that had gone missing a long time ago had already been dealt with by the Immortal King, just like the Dragon of Destruction.

    Lin Li finally understood what Geresco¡¯s shadow meant when he told him that another version of himself would return the favor in the Mage Tower of the Cursed Ind. The Immortal King used Lin Li¡¯s Hunter avatar to transmigrate back to Anril, and that was considered quite a huge favor to the Immortal King.

    However, what Lin Li still couldn¡¯t figure out was why the Immortal King had adopted such an exaggerated approach to return the favor to him. He had brought Lin Li to Anril without seeking his permission, and even made arrangements for him to progress rapidly from an insignificant mage apprentice to a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    Although Lin Li was very satisfied with the achievements that he had made so far because they were, after all, things that he couldn¡¯t have aplished in the world he came from, he didn¡¯t feel at ease. He felt like he had be someone else¡¯s pawn, especially after the mysteries of everything had been unraveled.

    ording to Geresco¡¯s shadow, the Immortal King was returning a favor to Lin Li, but it didn¡¯t seem right to do so by turning Lin Li into a pawn. Lin Li had a conjecture that the reason behind the Immortal King¡¯s actions definitely wasn¡¯t as simple as returning a favor, but rather he might have a hidden agenda.

    However, given Lin Li¡¯s current ability, he was far from being qualified to have a conversation with the Immortal King on equal footing, and it was even more impossible for him to find out the Immortal King¡¯s real motive.

    Of course, Lin Li could be certain that the purpose that the Immortal King wanted him to achieve in this world as the Immortal King¡¯s pawn would definitelye to light one day. Now, the best he could do was to improve his strength as much as possible so that he might one day be able to get rid of the status of a pawn.

    After a long time, the shock that Azardas¡¯ words had brought to Lin Li finally dissipated as Lin Li began to calm down. He knew that regardless of what problems he was going to face and what the Immortal King¡¯s agenda was, the only thing he needed to and could do at present was to be stronger. There was no point in dwelling on the other issues.

    Having figured that out, Lin Li¡¯s gaze also regained rity as he looked at Azardas who was in the form of a soul. He said, ¡°Alright then, your words have provided the answer to a long-standing doubt I¡¯ve had. So, what are your ns now? Are you going to stay here or follow me out?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going to go out. Who would want to continue staying in such a sh*tty ce?¡± Azardas was excited to hear Lin Li¡¯s words, but he immediately became sullen again. Staring at Lin Li with suspicion, he asked, ¡°Why? Are you nning to open this seal and let me out of here?¡±

    However, Lin Li shook his head, nced at the surroundings of the altar, and said, ¡°The thing that was used to seal you is a Divine-Smith-level mageweath. Although I can enter and leave freely, I can¡¯t bring you out like this.¡±

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t deceiving Azardas, for a Divine-Smith-level mageweath really wasn¡¯t that easy to undo. Although Lin Li had done some in-depth research on Divine-Smith-level mageweaths, and even gained some knowledge thereof, he was still far from being able to undo a Divine-Smith-level mageweath. With his attainments in inscription, it would be a Herculean task to break the seal and take Azardas away.

    However, as soon as he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, Azardas flew into a rage, and hollered at Lin Li, ¡°Are you ying a prank on me!? If that¡¯s the case, why are you asking me that question?!¡±

    It was no wonder that Azardas was so enraged. If it were anyone else, they would definitely feel horrible to be given hope while in a state of despair and hopelessness, only to have their hopes dashed again a momentter. Besides, Azardas had med his tragic state on Lin Li to a certain extent, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t think of him as a nice person.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t annoyed. He simply nced at Azardas calmly, and after thetter¡¯s emotions stabilized a little, he smilingly said, ¡°It¡¯s true that I can¡¯t take you away just like that, but there¡¯s another method, though it will require apromise. Are you willing to ept it?¡±

    Azardas had initially already calmed down, but Lin Li made him get worked up again. However, he didn¡¯t curse loudly anymore, and instead sneered, ¡°A method that requires me topromise? Tell me then, what method can I use to get out of here?!¡±

    ¡°Actually, this method is very simple,¡± Lin Li said while taking out a hideous-looking stone from the Ring of Endless Storm, which was Azardas¡¯ Dragon Crystal. Immediately afterwards, he said, ¡°I can let you enter this Dragon Crystal so that your form of existence will change. That would be tantamount to disappearing from the seal, and so you would naturally be able to break free from the restraint of this seal.¡±

    Although Azardas wanted to leave this ce very much, it didn¡¯t mean that he would lose his ability to think straight. After hearing the solution that Lin Li proposed, he did not immediately agree to it, but instead sized Lin Li up from head to toe for a while before cautiously saying, ¡°Since it requires apromise, I¡¯m afraid I have to bear a lot of consequences, right?¡±

    Lin Li didn¡¯t intend to hide it from him, and nodded honestly. He said, ¡°Nothing in this world is perfect. Since it¡¯s an approach that requires some tricks, it will naturallye with some ws. The w of this method is that after you enter this Dragon Crystal, you will never be able to leave again.¡±

    ¡°In other words, I¡¯ll still be sealed, but just in a different ce from here, right?¡± Azardas asked with a tone of derision, seemingly mocking Lin Li and also mocking himself self-deprecatingly for being in such a predicament.

    ¡°You can say that. So, you can make your choice now. Do you want to continue being sealed here or move to another ce? To say the least, you can still look at the outside world if you¡¯re sealed in the magical crystal,¡± Lin Li said as he weighed the Dragon Crystal in his hand.

    ¡°Haha.¡± Azardasughed, seemingly resigned to his fate. He said to Lin Li, ¡°Okay, as long as I can get out of here, I¡¯ll do your bidding. What do I have to do?¡±

    Hence, Lin Li told Azardas to give up on resisting, and then chanted a demonic rune under his breath, and it was the very same one that he used when subduing the Lord of Darkness with the Dragon Crystal. Given the level of Azardas¡¯ strength, the demonic rune would not work as long as he had a wisp of conscious resistance. However, he indeed wavered due to Lin Li¡¯s words.

    A few momentster, Azardas turned into a mass of light and flew into the Dragon Crystal in Lin Li¡¯s hand. Immediately afterwards, the Dragon Crystal, which was initially extremely hideous, changed drastically. It seemed to have turned into a dazzling pearl that was shining brightly under several brilliant rays of light.

    As Azardas¡¯ aura and breath vanished from the altar, the surrounding seal also changed immediately. The mana that was initially calm seemed to have be extremely menacing and explosive like a storm in the ocean. The entire cave also began to shake violently, whilerge chunks of stonended everywhere.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to procrastinate or slow down at all as he frantically retreated from the altar before shing open a spatial rift in the air, and stepping into it. Almost simultaneously with Lin Li¡¯s departure, the cave already started copsing violently, and everything around the altar and the seal was buried in the depths of the earth in the blink of an eye.

    When Lin Li came out of the spatial rift, he was already in the sky above the square. At this moment, the abyss seemed to have turned into a massive vortex that pulled in everything in the square. Fortunately, there was no longer anyone else in the square at this moment. Otherwise, they probably wouldn¡¯t escape the fate of being buried in the cave.

    After more than an hour, the vibrations in the ground finally stopped, and the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Hopra Square had almost vanished too. Thezurite the ground was paved with had also been sucked into the cavern, turning into a filler for it. The entire square turned into a small basin, while the center, which wasn¡¯t filled, turned into arge, deep pit.

    Immediately afterwards, the people of the Gilded Kingdom who noticed the strange situation, as well as the representatives of the various forces, rushed over. However, when they arrived, Lin Li had already left the square, and returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. Thus, all that they saw was the wreckage and ruins of the square, but none of them knew what had actually happened here.

    Lin Li¡¯s team returned to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk, and Connoris, who was originally guarding the mouth of the cave, finally found the chance to ask Lin Li about what happened in the abyss.

    However, since the matter involved the secret of his transmigration, Lin Li merely gave Connoris a brief ount of what happened while withholding some information. He then asked,

    ¡°Connoris, you said that you can already rece Mosari, so will those demons of the Endless Abyss and the Demon Lords be an obstacle for you in taking charge of the Endless Abyss?¡±

    Now that Connoris had fused Mosari¡¯s Heart of Demon with his body, it was akin to bing the sessor of Mosari. However, his current strength had yet to reach the Divine-realm, and there were countless powerful Demon Lords in the Endless Abyss. Hence, it was still unknown if they would willingly concede to him, and ept him to be their master.

    An extremely bold concept had already surfaced in Lin Li¡¯s mind because he was no longer satisfied with the current small-scale transformation of the Sky Castle. The abundant resources in the Endless Abyss were the foundation necessary for his bold idea. Hence, whether or not Connoris could gain full control of the Endless Abyss was very important to him.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Connoris smiled confidently as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Felic, I¡¯ve already obtained the method to control the Endless Abyss from the Heart of Demon. As long as those demons are within the abyss, they will be subject to the abyssal force regardless of how strong they are. Hence, subduing them is not a problem at all.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Lin Li was thrilled to hear his answer, and he immediately gleefully said, ¡°Return to the abyss immediately and mobilize all the resources in the Endless Abyss. I need a huge amount of resources and materials for the transformation of the Sky Castle.¡±

    Although Connoris was now the master of the Endless Abyss, and everything in the Abyss could be considered his belongings, Connoris wasn¡¯t stingy after hearing Lin Li¡¯s request. On the one hand, he was still bound by the Soul Contract with Lin Li, and on the other hand, he didn¡¯t feel the pinch, because he had gained all of this effortlessly.

    #

 Chapter 1288 - Barely Sufficient

    <h4>Chapter 1288: Barely Sufficient</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Besides, to Connoris, the value of those resources in the Endless Abyss was far smaller than that of his rtionship with Lin Li. Even if Lin Li wanted the entire Endless Abyss, Connoris wouldn¡¯t say no, let alone regarding the resources in the Abyss.

    Connoris would never be blinded by interests and benefits. Even till now, he still couldn¡¯t tell where the limit of Lin Li¡¯s growth was. Lin Li might very well be a figure like the Immortal King or Geresco. Even a fool would be able to tell that staying by Lin Li¡¯s side would surely bring about great benefits.

    Hence, after hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Connoris immediately agreed with a nod, and even quickly chanted a few demonic curses and incantations. A small abyssal door was then opened in the embassy.

    Since Lin Li said to do it immediately, Connoris naturally didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. After informing Lin Li, he stepped straight into the abyssal door to receive everything that the great demon deity Mosari had left behind.

    After Connoris returned to the Endless Abyss, Lin Li, too, didn¡¯t intend to stay in the Gilded Kingdom any longer.. To a certain extent, he had already gotten some answers to the doubts in his mind, and the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration was considered to be over too. Hence, there was no point in staying here any longer.

    However, Lin Li still had one more thing to do before he could get ready to leave, and that was toplete his purchase of the Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom.

    In fact, one of the most important things on Lin Li¡¯s agenda on the trip to the Gilded Kingdom was to track down the traces of the Immortal King. Another was to purchase the Magical Crystal Cannons from the Immortal King. Although the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s Magical Crystal Cannons didn¡¯t require much technique to make, he at least didn¡¯t need to waste much time on it.

    The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s founding celebration had already been held, and regardless of whether it had been drawn to a close sessfully, the Gilded Kingdom definitely wasn¡¯t interested in doing it again. Hence, the only thing left for Lin Li to do now was to purchase the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    On the following day, almost all the important ministers from the Gilded Kingdom arrived at the embassy of the Tower of Dusk under King Bradlor¡¯s lead to thank Lin Li for his help in Hopra Square. Of course, the authorities of the Gilded Kingdom weren¡¯t just going to thank Lin Li verbally. The kindness of saving the entire kingdom during the crisis wasn¡¯t something that could be repaid easily.

    In order to thank Lin Li for his help, the Gilded Kingdom also expressed their gratitude with utmost sincerity as they sent to Lin Li loads of thank-you gifts, which required more than half a day to transport to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk. Although the Gilded Kingdom had sent arge quantity of gifts, the quality of the gifts wasn¡¯tpromised. There were valuable items such as top-grade fist-sized magical gemstones, Ocean Crystals that contained pure nomological power, magical metals produced specially in the ocean, and so on.

    There were also 10 pieces of magical equipment which were said to be treasures from the royal treasure vault of the Gilded Kingdom. They consisted of four magic staffs, three sets of mage robes, a magic sword, and two magic beads. In Anril, these 10 pieces of magical equipment would definitely be considered top-grade items, even if they couldn¡¯tpare to epic-level magical equipment like the Helios¡¯ Scepter.

    However, these items didn¡¯t appeal much to Lin Li. Be it the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, the Helios¡¯ Scepter, or the Space Robe, all the items that Lin Li carried with him were far better than what these pieces of magical equipment couldpare to. Even though the items that the mages of the Tower of Dusk were equipped with did not have much fame, the power they possessed might not be worse whenpared to these items.

    Of course, since the Gilded Kingdom had already sent those gifts to him, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t pretend to be aloof and turn them down. Even if he couldn¡¯t use them, he could just give them away. Even if the mages of the Tower of Dusk didn¡¯t need these items, he could give it away to others as favors. In short, even a stone would eventually have its value.

    After an exchange of pleasantries, Lin Li mentioned the matter of the purchase of the Magical Crystal Cannons, but the Gilded Kingdom no longer made any difficulties. They all knew very well that with Lin Li¡¯s strength, it wouldn¡¯t matter if Lin Li had any Magical Crystal Cannons or not if he were to wage a war against the Gilded Kingdom, because he could easily destroy the Gilded Kingdom just by drawing a few mageweaths.

    Since the issue of providing resources for a potential enemy no longer existed, and coupled with their desire to get into the good graces of Lin Li, a Guru of Inscription, Bradlor and others naturally chose not to make things difficult for Lin Li regarding this issue.

    ¡°President Felic, please feel free to let us know. Even if we don¡¯t have enough in stock, we¡¯ll definitelye up with a solution that will be up to your satisfaction, even if we have to dismantle the ones that are equipped on the battleships!¡± Bradlor waved his hand, and made a promise to Lin Li.

    Of course, they were just exaggerating by saying that they would remove the Magical Crystal Cannons that were currently equipped on their battleships. After all, there were already thousands of Magical Crystal Cannons in the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s inventory. In Bradlor¡¯s opinion, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t be able to empty their inventory of Magical Crystal Cannons in any case, because the transportation alone was already a boggling issue.

    None of the several important ministers of the Gilded Kingdom felt that there was anything wrong with Bradlor¡¯s statement. While they wouldn¡¯t deliberately make things difficult for Lin Li, there were some who wanted to see Lin Li make a fool out of himself, such as the ministers who were initially in support of the idea of going to war with Lin Li.

    They knew very well how difficult it was to transport a Magical Crystal Cannon, especially to the Breezy ins which was thousands of kilometers away. It was definitely a tedious process that was simr to an ant moving an elephant. Lin Li was indeed a Guru of Inscription, but there had never been a Guru of Inscription who could move away a few hundreds or even thousands of Magical Crystal Cannons just with a simple mageweath.

    Lin Li naturally saw all their expressions, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to confront them. He then said to Bradlor, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve been here for quite some time now, and there are still quite a few things that I have to do at the Tower of Dusk. So, since you have no objections, I think we should arrange a date and time toplete our deal as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Alright, President Felic.¡± Hearing Lin Li¡¯s intention to leave, Bradlor did not say any more words to make Lin Li stay, as he knew that such words didn¡¯t mean much to Lin Li. He then said, ¡°Tomorrow it shall be. I will arrange for someone to apany you to view the goods tomorrow. Do you really not need our help with transportation?¡±

    Bradlor really wanted to build a good rtionship with Lin Li, so he didn¡¯t have the intention of watching Lin Li make a fool out of himself. Instead, he once again offered to help Lin Li with the transportation of the Magical Crystal Cannons.

    However, Lin Li waved his hand, and nonchntly said, ¡°As I said before, we can solve the transportation issues ourselves, we won¡¯t trouble you.¡±

    Hearing that Lin Li still insisted on transporting the Magical Crystal Cannons by himself, Bradlor didn¡¯t say anything else, even though he was baffled. Hence, after settling on a time with Lin Li, he left the embassy with the ministers.

    Bright and early in the following morning, Prince Monterey of the Gilded Kingdom, and Elder Zumar of the Illuminati, once again came to the embassy of the Tower of Dusk to bring Lin Li over to collect the Magical Crystal Cannons as agreed upon earlier. Prince Monterey was naturally there toplete the deal with Lin Li on behalf of the Gilded Kingdom. The reason that Elder Zumar tagged along was to show how much the Illuminati valued Lin Li by helping him keep an eye on the Gilded Kingdom lest thetter created any problems for him.

    Under the lead of Prince Monterey and Elder Zumar, Lin Li first arrived in a small satellite city outside the capital of the Gilded Kingdom which could be considered an industrial city that specialized in the production of Magical Crystal Cannons.

    After observing the production line and manufacturing process of the Magical Crystal Cannons, Lin Li followed Monterey and Zumar to a guarded warehouse. The warehouse upied arge area, but there were only less than 20 Magical Crystal Cannons in it. It wasn¡¯t that the Gilded Kingdom was being overly cautious, but rather that the Magical Crystal Cannons were really just massive¡ªthey had already taken up the space of the entire warehouse even though there were less than 20.

    In order to avoid any misunderstanding, Prince Monterey exined, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President Felic, this is only one of the storage warehouses. There are six more of such warehouses in this city, with a total of more than 100pleted Magical Crystal Cannons.¡±

    Deep down, Prince Monterey felt that the Tower of Dusk would face some difficulties with transporting these 100-odd Magical Crystal Cannons without the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s help. He reckoned that this stock was the limit of Lin Li¡¯s transportation abilities, and was even prepared to offer to help Lin Li with the transport again.

    Elder Zumar knew that many of the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s citizens were bent on watching Lin Li embarrass himself. Hence, before Lin Li could show the slightest dismay of being put on the spot, Elder Zumar immediately seized the opportunity to say, ¡°President Felic, the Illuminati has its own fleet of cargo ships too, so you don¡¯t have to worry too much about the transportation issues.

    However, Lin Li shook his head slightly, and slowly walked past between the various Magical Crystal Cannons. As Lin Li passed by, something that seemed unbelievable even to Monterey and Zumar happened. The massive Magical Crystal Cannons actually quietly vanished from the warehouse!

    Monterey rubbed his eyes hard, but when he raised his head again, he saw that the entire warehouse had almost been emptied. The Magical Crystal Cannons had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and there was nothing in the warehouse except for some misceneous items that were piled up in the corner.

    Elder Zumar¡¯s jaw dropped, and he looked at Lin Li, who was standing across from him in the warehouse. His eyes were full of horror, and he was too shocked for words, if he had just seen a ghost.

    Where did those Magical Crystal Cannons go? As far as Monterey and Zumar knew, the sudden disappearance of those cannons had to have something to do with space magical equipment. However, the problem was that even the most famous space magical equipment in the world that was said to be close to the level of a Space Artifact couldn¡¯t have such a horrifyingly vast amount of space!

    In Monterey¡¯s and Zumar¡¯s memory, the best space magical equipment that they had seen contained at most more than 10 cubic meters of space, which was simply insufficient for holding even the base of a Magical Crystal Cannon, let alone 20plete Magical Crystal Cannons.

    At this moment, Monterey and Zumar finally understood why Lin Li repeatedly turned down their kind offers to help with the transport. The transportation of 20 Magical Crystal Cannons would require at least 10 of thergest cargo ships, and they would even have to bear certain risks in the ocean. However, if the cannons were loaded into space magical equipment, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for any cargo ships, as Lin Li could just open a rift in space to bring the Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Tower of Dusk.

    However, just when Monterey and Zumar were astounded by Lin Li¡¯s space magical equipment, Lin Li walked towards them, and said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done, didn¡¯t you mention that there are a few more warehouses?¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Monterey and Zumar werepletely dumbstruck and stupefied. Have those 20 Magical Crystal Cannons not filled up the space of his magical equipment yet?

    However, Lin Li did not intend to bother about their mood. Since Bradlor had already told him to take the Magical Crystal Cannons as he pleased, what else did he have to worry about? Lin Li wasn¡¯t trying to make things hard for the Gilded Kingdom, but rather it was that no number of Magical Crystal Cannons would be considered enough for the Sky Castle. If there were 10,000 Magical Crystal Cannons, it would allow the Sky Castle to truly be invincible.

    Unfortunately, even the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t have 10,000 Magical Crystal Cannons, even if they removed all the Magical Crystal Cannons on the current battleships. Besides, Lin Li didn¡¯t n to drive them to such an extreme, as it would be too much to make the Gilded Kingdom dismantle the cannons on the battleships.

    Thus, under the leadership of Monterey and Zumar, Lin Li arrived at the other warehouses that were used to store Magical Crystal Cannons. Once again, he emptied them out one after another. After Lin Li had emptied six warehouses in the city, Monterey knew that the 100 or so Magical Crystal Cannons were obviously unable to meet Lin Li¡¯s needs. So, he had no choice but to take him to the arsenals of the variousrge fleets of the kingdom.

    In half a day¡¯s time, Lin Li almost took an entire tour around Four Seasons Ind, and stowed away the Magical Crystal Cannons in the inventory of several major fleets in the Ring of Endless Storm. Towards the end, Zumar and Monterey were both used to it, and theypletely couldn¡¯t imagine how much space there was in Lin Li¡¯s magical equipment.

    Finally, after putting together more than 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons, Lin Li looked at Prince Monterey, who was almost on the verge of tears. He said with a hidden meaning, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll buy these for now and make do. They¡¯re barely enough.¡±

    Thank God, it¡¯s finally over! Monterey was really afraid that Lin Li would be displeased and start a war with them. If Lin Li were to say so, it would definitely be a huge headache for the Gilded Kingdom.

    After putting the goods away, Lin Li now had to discuss the price with Monterey. Initially, the Gilded Kingdom had nned to give the Magical Crystal Cannons to Lin Li as a favor if he only wanted four or five of them, but since he had taken way more than 2,000, the Gilded Kingdom couldn¡¯t afford to give such a hefty gift regardless of how magnanimous and generous they might be.

    Even with his status and identity, Prince Monterey didn¡¯t dare to decide presumptuously in a matter that involved more than 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons. Upon the group¡¯s return to the Tower of Dusk¡¯s embassy, he immediately bade farewell to Lin Li, and proceeded to ask for Bradlor¡¯s and the other ministers¡¯ opinion.

    #

 Chapter 1289 - Overboard

    <h4>Chapter 1289: Overboard</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    In the pce of the Gilded Kingdom, King Bradlor and a few important ministers were discussing the matter of Lin Li¡¯s purchase of the Magical Crystal Cannons. They knew that Monterey had brought Lin Li to look at the goods today, and although it wasn¡¯t appropriate for them to say anything in front of Lin Li yesterday, they couldn¡¯t help but discuss it now.

    In particr, although the several war-supporting ministers didn¡¯t dare to mention waging a war at every turn, they absolutely disliked Lin Li. During the founding celebration, Lin Li had saved the Gilded Kingdom, but some of the ministers felt that it seemed unnecessary to be grateful to Lin Li.

    The people of the Gilded Kingdom were all aware that Lin Li definitely needed more than just one or two Magical Crystal Cannons because the Tower of Dusk had been trying to buy Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom since a long time ago, but thetter had been dying the deal using various excuses. However, if they bought many Magical Crystal Cannons, transportation would undoubtedly be a huge problem.

    When the ministers headed to the Tower of Dusk with King Bradlor to thank and express their gratitude to Lin Li, they had clearly heard Lin Li rejecting Bradlor¡¯s offer to help with the transportation. If the Tower of Dusk had enough transportation capabilities, they wouldn¡¯t find it that peculiar, but the issue was that even till now, they still hadn¡¯t heard of the Tower of Dusk recruiting ships for transport.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see. President Felic is just too prideful. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll inevitably ask for our help in the end,¡± said a minister who was acting like he had seen through it all..

    Bradlor couldn¡¯t help but frown after hearing those words as he was displeased with the minister¡¯s tone. He said in a deep voice, ¡°If he needs help, we¡¯ll lend him a hand. What¡¯s the point of saying this now?! I didn¡¯t gather all of you here to hear you discuss these matters, but rather I want to discuss the future strategy for expanding into the Breezy ins.¡±

    The Gilded Kingdom indeed had to change their strategy in expanding to the Breezy ins. Putting aside the fact that the war-supporters had wanted to forcefully encroach on the Breezy ins, the peace supporters had also treated the Tower of Dusk condescendingly as if they had been doing the Breezy ins a favor by being kind enough to take a peaceful approach.

    However, the war-supporting faction naturally didn¡¯t dare to mention forceful encroachment now, while the peace supporters also had to change their original mentality. Otherwise, if they were to use the same attitude as before, and try to establish a cooperative rtionship with the Breezy ins, they would probably be put to shame again.

    While the members of the Gilded Kingdom were discussing this issue, a guard of the royal pce scurried in from outside, and reported to King Bradlor that Monterey had returned.

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s back? Hurry up and ask him toe in!¡± Bradlor hurriedly asked the pce guard to call Monterey in, eager to find out from Monterey how they had handled things.

    Soon, Monterey entered. Although he didn¡¯t forget to salute Bradlor, the anxious look on his face immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention.

    Bradlor¡¯s heart sank a little. Before even asking Monterey to take a seat, he eagerly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Monterey? Did things go awry?¡±

    The several important ministers also seemed to be curious as to why Monterey, who had always beenposed and reliable, would behave in such an anxious manner. In particr, the ministers who were in charge of the manufacture of Magical Crystal Cannons immediately panicked, fearing that their subordinates had acted ignorantly, and caused some trouble at this point.

    Looking at Bradlor with a bitter smile on his face, Prince Monterey said, ¡°Your Majesty, President Felic¡¯s selection of the Magical Crystal Cannons went rather well. I came back to ask you how far we are going to go with this deal. How much are we going to charge President Felic for the Magical Crystal Cannons?¡±

    Upon hearing Prince Monterey¡¯s words, Bradlor was instantly displeased. In fact, he even med Monterey for hisck of conscientiousness. He frowned, and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already mention before that we¡¯ll give the Magical Crystal Cannons to him for free as a favor? He won¡¯t buy many anyway.¡±

    Although the cost of manufacturing the Magical Crystal Cannons was rather high, the Gilded Kingdom had enough financial power to give 20-30 Magical Crystal Cannons to Lin Li for free. Besides, Lin Li didn¡¯t need help with the transportation, either. Thus, it made Bradlor assume that Lin Li would purchase at most 20-30 Magical Crystal Cannons.

    However, after hearing Bradlor¡¯s words, the bitter smile on Monterey¡¯s face intensified, and he said, ¡°But Your Majesty, President Felic wants arge amount of Magical Crystal Cannons. I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t afford to really give all of them to him for free! That¡¯s why I came back to ask for your opinion and an appropriate price to charge.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, Prince Monterey, you¡¯re exaggerating things. How many Magical Crystal Cannons can President Felic possibly want? 20-30 Magical Crystal Cannons would already require arge transport capacity. Or is it that President Felic has changed his mind, and wants our help with transporting them?¡± the right-wing minister Burgess asked disdainfully.

    Burgess was the leader of the war-supporting faction in the first ce, and he had hoped to gain more power by waging a war against the Breezy ins. However, his n had already fallen through, but even though they were no longer going to go to war with the Breezy ins, he was still as repulsed by Lin Li as ever.

    However, Burgess was smart enough to know that he couldn¡¯t take things too far and go overboard at this juncture. All he could do was mock Lin Li a few times to express his displeasure.

    Bradlor didn¡¯t bother paying attention to the tone of voice of Burgess and the others, either. He disdainfully said, ¡°Monterey, haven¡¯t I already given you full authority to handle this matter? As long as it¡¯s within our capacity, we should fulfill President Felic¡¯s requests to the greatest extent. Improving our rtionship with him is the most important thing to do now. So what if we have to fork out some money!? Tell me just how many Magical Crystal Cannons he needs.¡±

    Bradlor¡¯s current concern was not how much they would have to pay, but rather that Lin Li might be offended by and displeased with Monterey¡¯s decision to head back to the pce to ask for Bradlor¡¯s opinion. After all, they had already given Lin Li their promise previously, and they would seem like they were going back on their word if they were to discuss the price among themselves again.

    Faced with Bradlor¡¯s questioning which vaguely sounded like a rebuke, Monterey clearly felt somewhat aggrieved. Instead of telling the truth directly, he held out two fingers, and said, ¡°Your Majesty, President Felic wants this number of Magical Crystal Cannons. I really am in no ce to decide.¡±

    ¡°200?¡± Bradlor stayed silent for a moment. This number had indeed exceeded his expectations, and he would definitely feel the pinch when giving away 200 Magical Crystal Cannons as a favor.

    On the other hand, the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom had a slight change in expression because if the value of 200 Magical Crystal Cannons was measured in gold coins, it would probably amount to as much as a few years worth of the kingdom¡¯s tax revenue.

    Hence, the ministers immediately expressed their dissatisfaction, and said, ¡°You must be kidding, 200 Magical Crystal Cannons? President Felic has got such a huge appetite. Besides, how is he going to transport 200 Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Breezy ins? I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to end up helping him with the transportation in the end!¡±

    Bradlor couldn¡¯t help but hesitate. After all, it would really break the bank to do Lin Li this favor, but since they wanted to do him a favor, they had to fulfill it to the very end. If they were to take into ount the cost price and profits, it wouldn¡¯t be considered a favor.

    However, considering the importance of establishing a good rtionship with a Guru of Inscription, Bradlor decided to fulfill it after weighing the pros and cons for a while, even though he would really feel the pinch. He said to Monterey, ¡°Okay, go back and tell President Felic that we¡¯ll give him 200 Magical Crystal Cannons as a gift for his help in killing that demon. On top of that, we can also help him transport the Magical Crystal Cannons back to the Breezy ins should he face any difficulties in doing so.¡±

    While speaking, Bradlor felt extremely anguished, as if his heart was bleeding. He was about to let someone else rip him off, and was even going to help them deliver the goods. He really seemed to be holding himself cheap.

    However, just after Bradlor finished his sentence, and the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom were about to persuade him, Prince Monterey looked at Bradlor and shook his head helplessly. He said, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m very sorry, but President Felic wants 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons, not 200!¡±

    2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons!

    The spacious pce was filled with the sounds of the crowd inhaling sharply.

    Bradlor felt his vision turning ck, and he almost fell off the throne, but he managed to regain his bnce after a while. He eagerly confirmed with Monterey, ¡°What did you say? Repeat yourself, how many Magical Crystal Cannons does President Felic want?¡±

    The ministers had their eyes glued onto Prince Monterey with looks of disbelief on their faces. Indeed, 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons was different from 2,000 spears because it was all the stock they had in their inventory which they had umted for numerous years. If they gave away all of them in one go, it would be akin to incapacitating the Gilded Kingdom. It wouldn¡¯t just break their bank, it would be emptying itpletely!

    On the other hand, Monterey knew that he had to stop after taking some revenge. Hence, he said, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, President Felic wants to purchase 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons. This morning, we¡¯ve already been to all the warehouses where the Magical Crystal Cannons are stored, but we only managed to put together 2,000. That¡¯s why I came back to ask you how much we¡¯re going to charge him.¡±

    ¡°Impossible, 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons? How are they supposed to transport it back to the Breezy ins? He must be kidding!¡± Burgess and the other ministers were all in disbelief aftering to a realization.

    200 Magical Crystal Cannons already required a ratherrge fleet of ships to transport, and the transportation capacity required for 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons was even beyond the limit of the Gilded Kingdom. Thus, they couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around how the Tower of Dusk could possibly transport them.

    The doubts of the several ministers gave Bradlor a glimmer of hope. He looked at Monterey, and said, ¡°Monterey, are you sure that President Felic is not joking? I know that those two incidents in the past have caused him to have a bad impression of us, so it¡¯s understandable that he might pull a prank on us, but you should be able to tell if he was being serious or not.¡±

    Seeing the crowd¡¯s ignorance, Monterey sighed, and said, ¡°Transporting 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons is not an issue for President Felic at all. He has a piece of space magical equipment that isparable to an artifact. He can easily fit all 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons in it, so I¡¯m very clear that he isn¡¯t joking.¡±

    Although what Monterey said was the truth, Bradlor and the others found it even harder to ept than the news just now. They simply couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of magical equipment would allow one to easily store 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons. Even in myths and legends, there probably wasn¡¯t such an incredible item.

    Bradlor and the others knew that Monterey clearly wouldn¡¯t lie about this, so they had no choice but to believe that Lin Li really owned such an artifact. Now, the issue was that Lin Li wanted 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons. Regardless of how generous Bradlor might be, he wouldn¡¯t give them to Lin Li for free.

    Even if they were to charge him at the cost price, it would be a huge loss for the Gilded Kingdom. In the Gilded Kingdom, Magical Crystal Cannons were not ordinarymercial products, but reserve resources for war. In addition to the cost of manufacturing, they held greater significance too. For example, the kingdom had to rebuild the Fifth Fleet that Lin Li had destroyed, and if they didn¡¯t have any Magical Crystal Cannons left for their battleships, their ships wouldn¡¯t be considered battleships anymore!

    Hence, even if they sold the 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons to Lin Li at a high price, it would have quite a great impact on the Gilded Kingdom. Besides, this impact couldn¡¯t be negated easily, and they had no choice but to slowly umte more reserves again in order to gradually eliminate the impact of this loss.

    However, the issue now was that Lin Li had already stowed all the 2,000-something Magical Crystal Cannons in the Ring of Endless Storm, and Monterey had merely returned to ask about the price of the Magical Crystal Cannons. It could be said that it was toote for the Gilded Kingdom to go back on their word.

    ¡°Th-this is too much. What exactly is that Felic trying to do? Have we not given him enoughpensation?!¡± Burgess and the several ministers who used to be the main war supporters were instantly displeased with Lin Li¡¯s behavior. The only reason that they didn¡¯t ask to start a war was because they were still rather clear-minded now. In the past, they would have treated this as a good reason to start a war.

    Bradlor waved his hand. Although he med Monterey, he knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to reprimand him now. Hence, he said to the ministers, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s now discuss how much we¡¯re going to charge President Felic for the Magical Crystal Cannons.¡±

    By saying that, Bradlor had already resigned to fate, and all they could do now was to consider how to reduce the kingdom¡¯s losses. However, to make up for the loss, he had to do more than just charge Lin Li a high price for the Magical Crystal Cannons. After all, the Gilded Kingdom had intended to use this deal to get closer to Lin Li, but if they were to charge him a high price, it would be nothing more than a business transaction that had nothing to do with friendship.

    #

 Chapter 1290 - Want To Start A War?

    <h4>Chapter 1290: Want To Start A War?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Regardless of what choice they made, it would be very difficult for the Gilded Kingdom. Hence, the ministers of the Gilded Kingdom had another heated discussion about how much money they should charge Lin Li.

    While the discussion was still ongoing because they had yet to reach a consensus, the royal guards outside the pce came to report that the envoy of the Tower of Dusk hade forth to see Bradlor.

    The person from the Tower of Dusk was the deputy head of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Mage Legion, Dorick. At the same time, he also brought an Amethyst Card that was meant for transactions.

    Lin Li had long thought that the Gilded Kingdom would definitely fret over the price of the Magical Crystal Cannons. Hence, he didn¡¯t wait for Prince Monterey to return, and simply sent the amethyst card over.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t short of money. The Mount Tai mageweath scroll was sold for more than 400,000,000 gold coins, and the Tower of Dusk had plenty of gold coins to spare too. Thus, buying more than 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons was not a problem at all. Therefore, he didn¡¯t bother waiting for the Gilded Kingdom to reach a consensus, because God knew how long that would take..

    Lin Li¡¯s approach was to give the Gilded Kingdom a tough problem to solve. Of course, he was forcing them toe to a decision. Since he had already brought the money over, there was nothing else for them to discuss except for the price anymore.

    Dorick had also told Bradlor and the others what Lin Li¡¯s intentions were, and that was to just let them charge him the price that they should without considering the cost price or any other factors.

    After some hypocritical refusal, Bradlor epted the amethyst card that Dorick had brought over. The price that they had charged for the Magical Crystal Cannons was also slightly higher than before. Of course, to the Gilded Kingdom, even if they had charged a higher price, there were still some losses that couldn¡¯t be made up for, though it was still much better than selling at the cost price.

    After Lin Lipleted the deal with the Gilded Kingdom, he turned up to bid Bradlor goodbye. Although Bradlor had yet to recover from the shock, he nevertheless held a grand farewell ceremony for Lin Li.

    Besides, the farewell ceremony was clearly different from the previous wee ceremony, as almost everyone was genuinely ted to finally be sending the fiendish Lin Li away!

    During the time Lin Li was in the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li had first put the Gilded Kingdom to shame twice, which made them learn their lesson and discipline their juniors sternly. Thus, those juniors had had a hard time facing the music. Now that Lin Li was finally leaving, they no longer had to live fearfully on tenterhooks. How could they not be ted?

    On the other hand, Lin Li had had a fruitful trip. Not only did he get plenty of answers about the Immortal King, his strength and attainment in inscription had also increased greatly. At the same time, he also got to purchase more than 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons from the Gilded Kingdom. To him, there was no longer anything in the Gilded Kingdom that was worth staying for.

    With a loud and long roar, therge ship,?<i>The Star</i>, slowly sailed out of Helena Port, and gradually disappeared on the horizon where the sea and sky met while Bradlor and the others watched them leave.

    Bradlor finally let out a long sigh; at the same time, many ministers behind him made the same sound in unison. After Lin Li left, all the members of the Gilded Kingdom heaved a sigh of relief because the finally didn¡¯t have to worry about identally provoking Lin Li.

    Lin Li and the members of the Tower of Dusk were not the only ones on?<i>The Star</i>, as the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins all returned together with Lin Li.

    At this moment, they were all grinning widely, and marveling at the generosity and hospitality of the Gilded Kingdom while looking at Four Seasons Ind that was disappearing out of sight. Due to Lin Li¡¯s rtionship with the Gilded Kingdom, they had also negotiated with the Gilded Kingdom, and reached plenty of business cooperation agreements, which allowed them to make a huge profit.

    <i>The Star</i>?was sailing fast along the route towards the Breezy ins, but just after it left the waters of the Gilded Kingdom, it suddenly changed its course, and sailed in a different direction on Lin Li¡¯s orders.

    The people of the Breezy ins were initially rather puzzled, but no one asked Lin Li for the reason. They thought about how?<i>The Star</i>?had deviated from its course during their journey to Four Seasons Ind, and they¡¯d ended up harvesting arge amount of precious treasures and ocean specialties thanks to that. Hence, they wondered if it would have the same oue again this time.

    However, soon the people on board?<i>The Star</i>?knew the reason for Lin Li¡¯s actions. Just after?<i>The Star</i>?changed course and sailed for less than half an hour, an ind appeared in front of it. The crowd couldn¡¯t get a clear glimpse of what there was on the ind, but they saw the army of a Sea n surrounding the ind.

    The Sea n army that surrounded the ind had also discovered?<i>The Star</i>?at this point, and immediately moved towards it.

    Seeing how aggressive the army was, a few representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins stood out in a bid to exin to the army on behalf of Lin Li lest they got into a conflict due to a misunderstanding. They had all lowered themselves and put themselves in the right ce now, especially after their experiences in the Gilded Kingdom. They had be even more determined to take Lin Li and the Tower of Dusk as their superior.

    Hence, at this moment, the representatives of the forces of the Breezy ins no longer considered themselves as guests of?<i>The Star</i>, and instead willingly acted as Lin Li¡¯s subordinates. Hence, as subordinates, it was naturally their job tomunicate with the Sea n¡¯s army, and Lin Li didn¡¯t have to intervene at all.

    However, before us and the others said anything, Lin Li, who was standing on the deck, reached out, pointed his finger forward, and swung it in the air, opening a rift between the sea and the sky. It was just like the giant mouth of a ferocious beast. Immediately afterwards, the Sea n army that was moving towards<i>?The Star</i>?couldn¡¯t help but move into the rift before vanishing in the darkness within.

    Seeing this scene, us and the others were dumbstruck as they wondered what was wrong with Lin Li, and why he had struck before the Sea n even responded. What if it was just something that could be exined verbally, they thought. Although they had long known that Lin Li had always refused to suffer any losses, the other party had yet to do anything offensive, after all.

    However, after exterminating the army of the Sea n that had weed them, and as?<i>The Star</i>?gradually approached the ind, the scene on that ind became clearer and clearer to the crowd. That allowed us and the others to finally understand why<i>?The Star</i>?suddenly changed course and the reason for Lin Li¡¯s mercilessness.

    The area of the ind wasn¡¯t thatrge, and was probably only about a few square kilometers. There were bulging hills and sparse trees. In the center of the ind, there were 100 or so smaller and vulnerable Sea n members, each with a conch hung in front of their chests. They were the Bellerophon n who had bought the Coral Staff at the auction previously.

    The Bellerophon n members all seemed chagrined and furious as they looked at the army surrounding the ind with some faint despair in their eyes. There was a sanguine cloud floating in the air, with the vampire Norfeller standing in the middle, his bat wings open and covered with dark golden patterns.

    Since he was more interested in the abilities of the Bellerophon n, Lin Li told Norfeller to secretly keep an eye on the people of the Bellerophon n after the auction was over. If nothing happened, Lin Li would soon send someone to make a formal contact with the Bellerophon n before negotiating a business cooperation.

    However, the Bellerophon n had clearly gotten into trouble this time, so Norfeller had no choice but to walk out lest he allowed the Bellerophons, which Lin Li was interested in, to be killed.

    However, Norfeller was a Sanctuary-level vampire and a top assassin of Anril at the moment, and what an assassin was best at was assassination, not protection. If Norfeller was alone, he would still be able toe and go as he pleased even if there were 10 times more military units against him. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to destroy all the enemies.

    However, Norfeller wasn¡¯t alone now, and he had even brought along a bunch of Bellerophons who didn¡¯t have anybat power. Although they would be a good military force, they didn¡¯t have any direct lethal power. Thus, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for Norfeller to protect them.

    Besides, the Sea n army that surrounded the ind was the Sea Serpent n that had failed to bid for the Coral Staff. The Sea Serpent n could be considered the natural assassins of the Sea ns. Purely in terms of their talent in assassinating, they might not beparable to vampires, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t be far off.

    Although such a characteristic had caused the Sea Serpent n¡¯s army to suffer some losses in a face-on battle, and they could only be considered the lowest among the ranks of the seven overlords, the fact that they could be one of the seven overlords meant that they had considerablepetency.

    The scene that Norfeller was now facing was equivalent to facing the siege of tens of thousands of assassins, and he even had to take care of the Bellerophons who had no fighting ability. The Bellerophons not only couldn¡¯t provide any help to Norfeller, they even limited his abilities and performance to a certain extent.

    After?<i>The Star</i>?set off, Lin Li found out about Norfeller¡¯s situation through soul contact. Thus, he immediately made the ship change direction.

    Now that he knew the reason for this matter, Lin Li naturally did not bother to talk much to the Sea Serpent n, and thus he exterminated a team of Sea Serpents as soon as he struck.

    With the extermination of the Sea Serpent nsmen, the Sea Serpent n generals who were inmand of this operation immediately knew that they were in big trouble.

    The Sea Serpent n¡¯s elite actually wasn¡¯t there to snatch the Coral Staff from the Bellerophons. After all, the Coral Staff, which contained the secret of life, was too important for species like them with short lives. However, due to the fact that they didn¡¯t know of Norfeller¡¯s existence, none of the people they sent had returned. They had really suffered a double loss.

    That was why the Sea Serpent n deployed the elites of their n this time. With two Sanctuary-level elders to watch over them, they were confident and ambitious to get the Coral Staff.

    The situation seemed rather sessful at first, and even though the Sea Serpent n couldn¡¯t do anything to the Sanctuary-level Vampire, Norfeller, things were obviously developing in the direction that was favorable to them. However, Lin Li¡¯s<i>?The Star?</i>suddenly appeared at this juncture.

    However, the Coral Staff was too important to the Sea Serpent n, and even though they had heard all the legends about Lin Li, they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to give it up. Hence, after they got the news, they first sent a team to block?<i>The Star?</i>in hopes of buying some time.

    However, the two elders of the Sea Serpent n did not expect that Lin Li would destroy their team immediately without showing them any mercy. The two elders were instantly enraged, and they ordered their subordinates to intensify the siege on the ind while closing in on?<i>The Star</i>.

    ¡°Which one of you is President Felic? I want an exnation!¡±

    Caradio, one elder of the Sea Serpent n, was holding a silver sword in his hand and standing on the waves while looking at?<i>The Star</i>, which was near him. The other elder, Yarros, vanished halfway through, as if he had merged into the water vapor above the sea.

    The two of them thought that since Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk, was also merely a Sanctuary powerhouse like them, they would be able to cooperate well and take down Lin Li.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s high attainment in the field of inscription was no secret in the Endless Ocean, the drawing of mageweaths still required a certain amount of time, as with casting magic spells and chanting incantations. Lin Li didn¡¯t disy hispetency in magic during his stay in the Gilded Kingdom, so no one knew about it.

    Assassins were good atunching surprise attacks, and wouldn¡¯t give their opponents any time to react. Thus, they could be considered the natural nemesis of mages. The two elders of the Sea Serpent n could be considered Sanctuary-level assassins, and they thought it should be effortless to deal with a Sanctuary Master with mediocre strength.

    However, when Elder Caradio was still thinking of ways to create opportunities for his peer, Lin Li had no intention of speaking to him at all. Instead, he raised the Helios¡¯ Scepter, and swept it gently to the side.

    With Lin Li¡¯s effortless action,?<i>The Star</i>?seemed to have solidified while hovering in midair. Immediately afterwards, the hidden Sea Serpent n elder gradually appeared.

    If Lin Li had merely forced someone in stealth to reveal himself, it probably wouldn¡¯t have been considered an incredible feat, and Lin Li would at most have been considered to have senses that were sharp enough for him to see those who were concealed. However, the Sea Serpent n elder who had been forced out was a Sanctuary powerhouse, and yet he was frozen in midair and rendered immobile like an insect.

    ¡°Felic, do you want to go to war with the Sea Serpent n!?¡± Elder Caradio was astounded and frightened to see that. While speaking, he waved the sword in his hand, and prepared to go forward to rescue hispanion.

    However, in response to Caradio¡¯s threat, Lin Li merely sneered without casting any magic spells. He merely flicked his hand in the direction of the Sea Serpent n¡¯s Sanctuary powerhouse who was restrained. Immediately afterwards, the crisp sound of ss breaking could be heard in the space, which was suddenly divided into pieces. As the space shattered, the Sanctuary powerhouse of the Sea Serpent n shattered too.

    1

 Chapter 1291 - Return

    <h4>Chapter 1291: Return</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    In the blink of an eye, a Sanctuary powerhouse fell powerlessly, unable to retaliate at all. Caradio was so frightened that his liver and guts seemed to be on the verge of falling apart. He actually turned around, and tried to flee.

    Although Sanctuary powerhouses were high and mighty like gods in the eyes of ordinary people, they were afraid of death too. In fact, they were even more afraid of dying than ordinary people. The more one had, the more afraid they were of losing everything. Sanctuary powerhouses were existences that stood at the peak of Anril. Regardless of their inherent life expectancy, their lifespan would be prolonged, so they naturally were even more afraid of losing everythingpared to mortals.

    Hence, when watching hispanion die, Caradio didn¡¯t even think of getting revenge or anything. Anyway, the other party was already dead. He wasn¡¯t willing to give up everything he had for the sake of a deadpanion. As for the elites of the Sea Serpent n, he didn¡¯t have time to think about them at all. In the eyes of Sanctuary powerhouses, even those elites were considered nobodies who were only worthy enough of being cannon fodder..

    Caradio turned around and fled, but Lin Li did not intend to let him off the hook. He pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward, and a magic palm instantly emerged from the void, stopping Caradio from leaving. Immediately afterwards, Caradio seemed to have collided with the palm, and hended in the middle all of a sudden.

    Bang! With a muffled thud, the Sanctuary powerhouse was actually crushed by the giant palm.

    The two Sanctuary powerhouses died one after another, and the elites of the Sea Serpent n couldn¡¯t care about continuing to surround the ind. Of course, given their strength, they would no longer pose a threat to the Bellerophons without the help of Sanctuary powerhouses even if they fought with all their might. What could they do if they didn¡¯t flee?

    However, the elites of the Sea Serpent n soon realized that the space around them had been sealed at some point. Regardless of how hard they mmed their heads against the wall, and even when their heads began to bleed, they couldn¡¯t take another step forward. Everyone felt extremely hopeless because now that the two Sanctuary-level elders had died, what were the chances of survival for nobodies like them?

    At this moment, Lin Li stepped down from the deck of?<i>The Star</i>, and made his way to the ind in the air, taking one step at a time. In fact, he wasn¡¯t interested in killing the nobodies of the Sea Serpent n. Thus, he merely looked downwards, and coldly said, ¡°Ry my message to your Great Monarch. If he doesn¡¯t want the Sea Serpent n to be erased from the Endless Ocean, you¡¯d better behave yourselves!¡±

    As Lin Li said that, the elites of the Sea Serpent n also discovered that the power that sealed the space had also suddenly disappeared. However, despite facing such a situation, they did not run away in a moment of panic, for they feared that their behavior would make Lin Li displeased. Instead, they thanked him respectfully for sparing their lives before surging into the bottom of the sea and fleeing in all directions.

    The elites of the Sea Serpent n naturally didn¡¯t think that Lin Li was joking. There was barely anyone who could contend with his power and ability to kill two Sanctuary-level elders.

    After the army of the Sea Serpent n retreated, Lin Li arrived in the center of the ind, and saw the Bellerophons who had been protected by Norfeller.

    The Bellerophons were no strangers to Lin Li, but they didn¡¯t expect that a big shot like Lin Li would pay so much attention to a small n like theirs who didn¡¯t have much to offer. However, even though they couldn¡¯t figure it out, it was a matter of fact that Lin Li had saved them, and this wasn¡¯t the first time he had done so. Furthermore, Lin Li had long sent the vampire Norfeller to protect them.

    Hence, upon sight of Lin Li, the Bellerophons immediately knelt down on the ground, and expressed their gratitude to Lin Li with a salute.

    Seeing this, Lin Li waved his hand. Immediately afterwards, a strong force made all the people of the Bellerophon n stand up. He then asked, ¡°Which one of you is the n leader of the Bellerophons?¡±

    A Bellerophon with a golden conch hung in front of his chest immediately stepped forward, and first bowed to Lin Li respectfully before saying, ¡°Respected Master Felic, I¡¯m Akana, the n leader of the Bellerophon. Thank you so much for saving us when we were hopeless and in despair.¡±

    Lin Li waved his hand with a faint smile on his face, and said, ¡°n Leader Akana, you don¡¯t have to be so polite. I¡¯m actually very interested in your abilities, but I didn¡¯t have the time to visit you previously, so I sent Norfeller to do so on my behalf.¡±

    One ought to be d or proud to hear that someone was interested in their abilities, but Akana looked rather helpless as he said, ¡°You must be joking, President Felic. Our abilities arepletely useless in this era. If there is anything you need us to do, we will certainlyply, but please don¡¯t have much hope.¡±

    Over the past thousands of years, the Bellerophon were almost considered good-for-nothings among the various Sea ns of the Endless Ocean. Thus, even the n patriarch, Akana, couldn¡¯t help but develop an inferiorityplex and sound rather humble at the mention of his n¡¯s abilities.

    Lin Li could tell that Akana was not trying to avoid his request, but rather it was because he truly felt inferior. Hence, Lin Li smiled calmly, and said, ¡°n Leader Akana, you don¡¯t have to underestimate yourself. The usefulness of your abilities depends on what they are used for. Okay, I will skip the pleasantries, and get straight to the point. I hope you can select some people, and let them return to the Tower of Dusk with me. In addition, I will give you a letter, and you can arrange for your nsmen to go live with the Octopus n or the Siren n. I believe that they will take care of them on my ount.¡±

    Although the situation of the Bellerophons in the Endless Ocean was not as terrible as that of the Seahorse n, they were still pushovers. This time, they had spent all of the n¡¯s savings that had been umted over thousands of years during the auction of the Coral Staff at the expense of offending the Sea Serpent n. They had done so precisely because they were hoping that they could use it to change the fate of the entire n.

    Akana didn¡¯t expect that Lin Li, who had already be a household name in the Endless Ocean, would develop an interest in the special ability of their n. Besides, based on Lin Li¡¯s arrangement, it was obvious that he didn¡¯t just want to hire only a few Bellerophons. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been necessary for him to trouble the Octopus n and the Siren n for their sake.

    With the protection of the Octopus n and the Siren n, the Bellerophons would at least be able to live better lives than before, even though there might not be a drastic change in their quality of life. However, more importantly, being able to establish connections with Lin Li was a rare opportunity that many people dreamed of.

    Hence, as long as Akana was not a fool, he could not possibly refuse. He frantically nodded, and eximed, ¡°Thank you so much, President Felic, everything shall proceed ording to your arrangements!¡±

    Akana personally selected 30 Bellerophons, all of whom were said to be the most talented youngsters in the n. Of course, given the ability of the Bellerophons, the most talented ones were at most only level-5 or level-6. Akana seemed rather awkward when he handed the Bellerophons to Lin Li.

    However, what Lin Li wanted was not a bunch of strong fighters. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have approached the Bellerophons. Thus, the strength of the Bellerophons didn¡¯t matter to him at all. As long as the Bellerophon had the special ability to incite, they were enough for him.

    Taking 30 Bellerophons away with him, Lin Li returned to?<i>The Star</i>, which then embarked on a journey back to the Breezy ins. Norfeller was made to stay behind temporarily to help Akana with making arrangements for the matters of the n for the time being in case the Sea Serpent n hadn¡¯t learned their lesson, and came looking for trouble again. Norfeller¡¯s duties would bepleted only when the Bellerophons had moved to the sea area upied by the Octopus n and Siren n.

    Half a monthter, the huge vessel,?<i>The Star</i>, sailed into the harbor of the Tower of Dusk.

    Under Lin Li¡¯s orders, the shipbuilders on?<i>The Star</i>?immediately resumed with the construction of a new ship with arge amount of data from?<i>The Star</i>¡®s voyage. Lin Li wasn¡¯t satisfied with having just one battleship, and since?<i>The Star</i>?had passed the test of a long voyage, it was time to use it as a model for new battleships, which Lin Li nned to produce in bulk.

    The development of the Tower of Dusk in the Breezy ins had reached a bottleneck, and if he wanted to continue to grow and develop, he could only do so by expanding beyond the Breezy ins. On the maind, the Breezy ins was nked by the Ledin Kingdom and the Fn Kingdom, so while the Tower of Dusk¡¯s businesses could be expanded, the influence itself couldn¡¯t really be expanded. Thus, he would have to expand in the direction of the sea, and obtain countless resources from it.

    The idea of developing towards the Endless Ocean was something that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind when he was building?<i>The Star</i>. When he went to the Gilded Kingdom this time, he had even built a great reputation for himself, and achieved great fame that would be extremely helpful to the development of the Tower of Dusk in the Endless Ocean. With his identity as a Guru of Inscription, there was probably no one in the Endless Ocean who would dare to provoke him easily, be it the Gilded Kingdom, the seven Overlord Sea ns of the Endless Ocean, or the Illuminati.

    Of course, the development of the Tower of Dusk was not the most important thing for Lin Li. Lin Li had a vague feeling that all the mysteries and doubts he had been having were about to be unraveled soon. The most important thing he had to do now was to improve his strength. No matter what the Immortal King was actually intending to do, and regardless of what the mysteries were really about, he would have enough confidence to face everything in the future only if he was strong enough.

    Besides, for Lin Li, the transformation of the Sky Castle was undoubtedly a crucial factor to improve his strength as soon as possible. Lin Li knew very well that his desire to reach the Divine-realm wasn¡¯t something that he could fulfill within a short period of time, so the modified Sky Castle would definitely be of great help to him in the future.

    Lin Li was the one who designed the original transformation n of the Sky Castle as ast resort in response to theck of sufficient resources for the transformation. Thus, it definitely came with greater restrictions, and many of his ideal facilities and ns couldn¡¯t be implemented due to the constraint.

    Hence, upon returning to the Sky Castle, Lin Li gathered Gavin and the rest who were in charge of the transformation project, and started modifying the transformation n for the Sky Castle. After all, things were different now, and even if he put aside the Endless Ocean for the time being, Connoris¡¯ takeover of the Endless Abyss would provide an abundance of resources for the transformation of the Sky Castle.

    After making the arrangements for the transformation of the Sky Castle, Gavin reported to Lin Li that an emissary of the Dwarf Kingdom had been waiting in the Tower of Dusk for more than two months.

    Before going to the Gilded Kingdom, Lin Li had given half of the blueprint of the Sky-breaker to the Dwarf Kingdom, and put forward a proposal for them to cooperate to build the Sky-breaker. However, the senior executives of the Dwarf Kingdom were undecided, and had differing attitudes towards the Tower of Dusk because of the halved blueprint of the Sky-breaker. Some thought that they should ask the Tower of Dusk to return the other half of the blueprint, while some thought that they could cooperate with the Tower of Dusk. In fact, some even suggested that they resort to brutal force to snatch the blueprint back from them.

    In the end, when Lin Li set sail to leave for the Gilded Kingdom, the Dwarf Kingdom finally reached a certain consensus, and sent an envoy to the Tower of Dusk to negotiate about the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. However, at that time, Lin Li was busy searching for answers and studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath. Of course, he didn¡¯t have time to meet the envoy.

 Chapter 1292 - Transformation

    <strong>Chapter 1292: Transformation</strong>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    In a meeting room of the Tower of Dusk, Lin Li met the envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom who had been waiting anxiously for a long time. He was a middle-aged dwarf who had stumpy limbs and a gray beard.

    ¡°President Felic, this is Dyason Silverbeard, the envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom and also the n leader of the Silverbeard Dwarf n.¡± Gavin introduced Dyason, the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s envoy, to Lin Li after bringing him to the meeting room.

    Although the Dwarf Kingdom was a kingdom, it was different from the three kingdoms of the human race, and was made up of individual dwarven ns. The chief of each n held an important position in the kingdom, and had a certain authority and say in each of their ns.

    For example, Odin, the king of the Dwarf Kingdom, was also the chief of thergest dwarven n, the Thunderbolt Dwarf n. Of course, apart from the fact that he was in charge of thergest dwarf n, one of the important reasons that Odin could be the king of the Dwarf Kingdom was because he had incredible strength at the Sanctuary-realm.

    The Silverbeard Dwarf n that Dyason was from was also one of the top 10 ns in the Dwarf Kingdom. Hence, Dyason had quite a high position in the Dwarf Kingdom, and he was an important minister who was simr to a chancellor of a human kingdom.

    .

    In fact, at the very beginning, the envoy sent by the Dwarf Kingdom was not Dyason, but another dwarf with a lower status who was also in support of war. After the envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom came to the Tower of Dusk, he once demanded that they return the other half of the blueprint of the Sky-breaker to the Dwarf Kingdom while threatening to start a war if they didn¡¯t do so.

    However, the Dwarf Kingdom didn¡¯t expect the Tower of Dusk not to take their threat seriously at all. Not only did they ignore that aggressive envoy, they even began attacking the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s businesses shortly afterwards.

    If it was just the Tower of Dusk alone, the Dwarf Kingdom might not be affected, but as the Tower of Dusk carried out various operations, the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom soon got involved too. In particr, the Ledin Kingdom had not only imposed heavy taxes on the various ores exported by the Dwarf Kingdom, but also set up arge number of barriers on the borders of the Dwarf Kingdom.

    At this point, the Dwarf Kingdom realized that the Tower of Dusk was not a small and powerless force that they could manipte easily. Immediately afterwards, the Dwarf Kingdom began to investigate and find out more about Lin Li, as well as everything about the Tower of Dusk. However, the information that they found made them even more astonished. It turned out the Tower of Dusk, which they had underestimated, actually shared an extremely close rtionship with the top forces of Anril.

    The two major human kingdoms, the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom, were both powerful forces that were no weaker than the Dwarf Kingdom. However, they were both extremely close to the Tower of Dusk, and they even vaguely seemed to be deferential to the Tower of Dusk.

    The Dwarf Kingdom did not know what was so impressive about the Tower of Dusk, but based on the forces¡¯ attitudes towards the Tower of Dusk, they had no choice but to reconsider the attitude they should adopt when broaching the issue of the blueprint of Sky-breaker with the Tower of Dusk.

    Hence, the Dwarf Kingdom immediately made the envoy retreat, and sent Dyason, who had a higher status, to the Tower of Dusk as the envoy in a bid to show the Tower of Dusk that they valued them too.

    However, the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s approach did not make the people of the Tower of Dusk feel surprised at all. Instead, they continued to ignore Dyason, and made him wait somewhere.

    At the beginning, Dyason approached Gavin, the acting person in charge of the Tower of Dusk, in a bid to talk to him about the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. However, he was faced with rejection again, and in the end, Gavin even chose not to see him again. Helpless, Dyason had no choice but to stay behind in the Tower of Dusk¡¯s Magic City. So far, he had been staying there for more than two months, and had almost been forgotten.

    Putting aside Dyason¡¯s status in the Dwarf Kingdom, his identity as a Smithing Master earned him great respect everywhere he went, and he would be showered with praises too. However, in the Tower of Dusk, Dyason was given the cold shoulder and neglected by everyone, which was a feeling that he hadn¡¯t felt for a long time.

    Fortunately, on this day, Dyason got the news that President Felic of the Tower of Dusk had finally returned from the Gilded Kingdom. He was afraid that he would miss the chance, and he frantically thought of a solution to look for Gavin, and request to see Lin Li.

    This time, Gavin didn¡¯t give him any more excuses, and after getting Lin Li¡¯s permission, he brought Dyason to the meeting room.

    Although the Tower of Dusk had been established several years ago, and they had somemercial and trade rtions with the Dwarf Kingdom, Dyason was full of curiosity about who Lin Li was.

    In particr, after being ignored by the Tower of Dusk for such a long time, Dyason was definitely full of resentment. Hence, when he followed Gavin over, he wanted to see what Felic, the person who could make the Dwarf Kingdom bow down, looked like.

    However, when he saw Lin Li, Dyason suddenly felt as if he had been burned by fire, and he involuntarily dodged and looked away. Dyason¡¯s heart started pounding rapidly too. It wasn¡¯t the type of palpitation that resulted from love at first sight, but rather one born from the shock of facing a terrifying figure.

    That¡¯s way too scary. How can the gaze of this young man be so terrifying!? Dyason had also reached the Sanctuary-realm a long time ago, and was considered one of the powerhouses of the Dwarf Kingdom. He¡¯d never thought that he would one day be frightened by someone¡¯s gaze!

    A mere nce from Lin Li made Dyason too scared to reveal a single trace of his resentment. As a Sanctuary powerhouse, it was his first time sensing such fear. Besides, he couldn¡¯t muster a single trace of courage to resist it. It was an unprecedented feeling that he had never had before.

    After listening to Gavin¡¯s introduction, Lin Li smiled, and said to Dyason, ¡°Nice to meet you, Envoy Dyason, please take a seat.¡±

    Dyason couldn¡¯t remember the process of himself sitting down at all, and only when someone brought a cup of tea to him andid it down on the table did hee back to his senses. However, when he looked at Lin Li again after doing so, he intentionally avoided making eye contact with Lin Li before saying, ¡°President Felic, I came here this time to speak to you regarding the Sky-breaker blueprint that is currently in your hands.¡±

    Lin Li had long heard from Gavin about the change in attitude of the Dwarf Kingdom during this period of time, so he didn¡¯t show much enthusiasm, and merely said with an indifferent nod, ¡°I¡¯ve previously sent an envoy to the Dwarf Kingdom regarding the blueprint of the Sky-breaker. You may send some craftsmen here, and build the Sky-breaker together with us. In this case, you¡¯ll be able to get the construction method, while I¡¯ll be able to get what I want. That should be a fair exchange. However, you guys seem to have a different opinion.¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s tone was rather calm and indifferent, but it sounded like the shocking rumbling of thunder to Dyason. If he hadn¡¯t seen Lin Li and found out how terrifying he was, Dyason would probably still have thought of bargaining with the Tower of Dusk. However, Dyason now couldn¡¯t tell what level Lin Li¡¯s strength had reached, and he merely felt pure terror from his soul. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to bargain at all.

    At this moment, Dyason couldn¡¯t care less about what he had been prepared to say. In fact, he even stood up subconsciously, and said, ¡°President Felic, you must be joking. After some careful consideration, we also feel that this is indeed a very good opportunity for cooperation. Well, I came over this time in hopes of finalizing the details of cooperation with the Tower of Dusk.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lin Li nodded, seemingly satisfied with Dyason¡¯s attitude. He then pointed his finger at Dyason¡¯s seat, and said, ¡°Please have a seat, Envoy Dyason, you don¡¯t have to be so formal. We can have a chat whilst seated. Since you have no objection to this cooperation, I hope your craftsmen can arrive soon. I believe you guys are also very eager to find out the construction method of the Sky-breaker as soon as possible.¡±

    When Lin Li mentioned it, Dyason finally realized that he had stood up, and he couldn¡¯t help but seem a little embarrassed. He had been living for a few hundred years, and had only ever felt this kind of fear and scruples in front of his father and teacher.

    After returning to his seat, Dyason calmed himself down, and then said, ¡°Please rest assured, President Felic, I will bring enough craftsmen here with me as soon as possible after I return. I hope that you¡¯ll keep to your promise and not hold back.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t intend to ask for a batch of half-finished products. Of course, whether or not you can fully master the construction method of the Sky-breaker will depend on the talent of your craftsmen,¡± Lin Li said nonchntly, as if he didn¡¯t take the construction method of the Sky-breaker seriously at all.

    Aftering out of the meeting room, Dyason did not stay at the Tower of Dusk any longer, and instead embarked on his trip back to the Dwarf Kingdom. On the one hand, the dwarves were angst and feisty by nature, and on the other hand, he had finally made progress in the negotiation with the Tower of Dusk after being ignored for more than two months. Thus, he obviously wouldn¡¯t stay any longer.

    Dyason left the Tower of Dusk, while Lin Li reentered the Sky Castle, and continued with the transformation. ording to his previous request, the transformation n of the Sky Castle had been modified, and all theycked now was sufficient resources.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t worried about the resources. As long as Connoris gained control of the Endless Abyss, arge amount of resources could be shipped over soon. When the time came, the transformation of the Sky Castle would progress rapidly, and his n would be realized soon.

    Seeing that everything about the transformation of the Sky Castle was proceeding ording to his n, the sense of urgency in Lin Li¡¯s heart finally eased a little. However, he knew very well that he couldn¡¯t put the improvement of his personal strength on halt while transforming the Sky Castle. An increment in his strength, even by a mere trace, would be crucial when the mysteries were unraveled.

    Therefore, after making arrangements for the Sky Castle, Lin Li headed to the inverted tower below the Sky Castle, and once again entered the Meditation Land that Geresco had created. He had to calm down and get a peace of mind in order to consolidate the gains he had made in the Gilded Kingdom during this period of time.

    Soon after Lin Li entered the Meditation Land, arge abyssal door suddenly opened in the middle of the Sky Castle, followed by arge number of Abyssal Demons surging out from the door. However, unlike what one would expect based onmon knowledge, these Abyssal Demons did not kill and destroy everything around them after they came out. Instead, they arranged themselves neatly in a row like an army.

    Fortunately, Gavin and the others had already received Lin Li¡¯s instructions, and did not cause too much chaos as a result. However, they had no choice but to pause the modification works in the center of the Sky Castle while activating some mandatory defensive measures. On the other hand, the mages of the Mage Legion got ready for any changes in front of the door under Gavin¡¯s lead.

    Soon after Gavin and the senior executives of the Tower of Dusk arrived in front of the door, a figure suddenly walked out of it. It was Connoris, who had gone to take over the Endless Abyss.

    Since Mosari had died, the Endless Abyss had lost its master, but Connoris had fortunately obtained Mosari¡¯s Heart of Demon, and had learned of it way ahead before the Demon Lords of the Endless Abyss had. Hence, after he returned to the Endless Abyss, he immediately gained control of the Endless Abyss, after which he suppressed all the demons in one go.

    After bing the true Lord of the Abyss, Connoris relied on the spell Lin Li gave him to make the Gates of the Abyss open in the middle of the Sky Castle. Afterwards, the Abyssal Demons that would scare mortals all began transporting the resources from the Endless Abyss to the Sky Castle continuously like physicalborers.

    The acquisition of the Endless Abyss had undoubtedly brought about great help to the transformation of the Sky Castle. Not only was there a massive number of specialty resources from the abyss, there was also the massive Abyssal Demon army. The Abyssal Demons were almost all close to or had reached the Legendary-level. However, spurred by Connoris, the new Lord of the Abyss, they sumbed and performed odd jobs.

    After all, Lin Li¡¯s modified transformation n for the Sky Castle was no longer for a small revamp. In fact, it probably wouldn¡¯t be much simpler than aplete reconstruction of the Sky Castle. While technical knowledge and skill were important, physicalbor was also mandatory for such arge-scale transformation.

    Thebor used in the Sky Castle in the beginning was provided by the individuals that had been transferred from the various mercenary corps of the Breezy ins. Not only did Lin Li have to pay them a handsome sum as remuneration, he couldn¡¯t put too much pressure on them. However, there was no need to bother about humanity with the Abyssal Demons, and Connoris wasn¡¯t a kindhearted person, either. He wouldn¡¯t be benevolent to the Abyssal Demons, and would naturally exploit their power to the very end.

    Now that both the manualbor and resources were avable, the transformation process of the Sky Castle immediately sped up by more than 100 times. The appearance of the Sky Castle would change almost every single day, and even the people who participated in the transformation themselves were overwhelmed by the speed of the transformation.

 Chapter 1293 - Forging

    <strong>Chapter 1293: Forging</strong>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Dyason, the envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom, gave the important ministers and the king, Odin, a detailed report on everything that had happened in the Tower of Dusk.

    Initially, the Dwarf Kingdom was extremely annoyed that Dyason had been left alone in the Tower of Dusk for more than two months, and some of the war-supporters even suggested that they resort to force again. However, after listening to Dyason¡¯s ount, they immediately fell silent, especially when they heard how terrifying Lin Li¡¯s strength was.

    Dyason was a Sanctuary powerhouse whose strength was already at level-27, yet he was frightened into losing hisposure by a mere gaze from President Felic¡¯s eyes. How powerful can that President Felic be? they wondered. Everyone looked at Odin from the Dwarf Kingdom, and thought that perhaps he was the only one who would know.

    However, after a long silence, Odin the king of the Dwarfs shook his head helplessly, and said in a somewhat low voice, ¡°ording to Dyason, I¡¯m afraid that President Felic¡¯s strength has already reached the edge of Godhood!¡±

    After hearing King Odin¡¯s words, the glimmer of hope that the several of them had vanished. Perhaps they might think that Dyason wasn¡¯t powerful enough to have a say, but no one dared to doubt Odin¡¯s judgment. The Dwarf King Odin, who was always known as the strongest warrior of the dwarves, already had strength that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Thus, his words were naturally much more convincing.

    .

    ¡°Could it be that we can only bow down to the Tower of Dusk?¡± someone asked indignantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of pride. As long as we can get the construction method of the Sky-breaker, it¡¯ll be worth it regardless of what price we have to pay,¡± Odin, the king of the dwarves, said.

    In fact, Lin Li¡¯s suggestion was rather fair for both parties. The Dwarf Kingdom would send craftsmen over to cooperate with the Tower of Dusk to build the Sky-breaker. That way, the Tower of Dusk would be able to obtain Sky-breaker, while the Dwarf Kingdom would get the creation method, which was considered a win-win solution.

    However, the Dwarf Kingdom had been too prideful previously, and they kept thinking that the blueprint of Sky-breaker should belong to them, and that the Tower of Dusk should be returning the blueprint to them unconditionally. They would at most give Lin Li some gifts to thank him. They couldn¡¯t possibly let Lin Li threaten them into a cooperation.

    However, it now seemed that the Dwarf Kingdom woulde up empty-handed. None of them were fools, and they all knew that the mysterious young president of the Tower of Dusk wasn¡¯t someone whom they could deal with on their own.

    After reaching such a consensus, no one suggested using force again, and they instead handed over the list of craftsmen to the Tower of Dusk. After all, even if the dwarves were straightforward, they wouldn¡¯t be willing to let just one n have the construction method of the Sky-breaker. Hence, the name list led to another round of discussion.

    It took two days for the major dwarven ns toe up with an oue. ording to the size and poption of the ns, each n selected a corresponding number of elite craftsmen, and grouped them together to cooperate in the Tower of Dusk.

    Among the craftsmen, there were senior cksmiths and forging masters, all of whom were talents from various ns. After all, the Dwarf Kingdom wanted to master the construction method of the Sky-breakers, so naturally the morepetent ones were more confident.

    Hence, more than 20 dayster, the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s team of craftsmen arrived at the Tower of Dusk, which they had to bow down to, under Dyason¡¯s lead.

    Although Lin Li had already entered Geresco¡¯s Meditation Land at this moment, Gavin and others had already prepared the construction site for the Sky-breaker, just as Gavin had instructed. Besides, Lin Li had also left a special notebook covering some of the issues that they might encounter when building it.

    Lin Li was a Smithing Guru. In fact, if he had enough time, he could have built the Sky-breakers on his own. However, it would take ages, so he needed the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s cooperation.

    In the beginning, Dyason was rather worried because, after all, the kingdom¡¯s attitude was hostile towards the other party at first, and they even wanted to threaten the Tower of Dusk with force. ording to his understanding of the young president of the Tower of Dusk, he knew that he definitely wasn¡¯t willing to suffer any losses.

    However, when Dyason brought his team to the Tower of Dusk, he discovered that thetter weren¡¯t as harsh towards them in terms of hospitality, nor did they make things hard for them. Of course, there wasn¡¯t a lively wee ceremony. At the very least, the treatment that the Tower of Dusk had given them was clearly inferior to what the other forces had given them in other ces.

    Fortunately, before bringing his team there, Dyason had already instructed all the craftsmen in advance, so none of the craftsmen of the Dwarf Kingdom had stood out toin. Actually, dwarves were not too concerned about other aspects as long as they had enough ale to drink, because the other aspects didn¡¯t really matter to them, even if they had to stay in pigsties.

    Without giving the dwarven craftsmen much time to rest, Gavin brought the construction n of the Sky-breaker over, and began delegating the tasks with Dyason¡¯s assistance.

    Lin Li divided the construction n of the Sky-breaker into a few steps. Thus, even though the dwarven craftsmen had never built a Sky-breaker before, they could build a real one as long as they adhered strictly to the steps of the n and the instructions. It was actually simr to the production at an assembly line. Hence, it helped with increasing the speed of construction.

    After the Smithing Master Dyason got hold of that n, he got a great shock because he could tell from the n that Lin Li¡¯s attainments in the field of forging had reached a shocking extent.

    At this moment, Dyason recalled the investigation that he had made on the Tower of Dusk previously. Apart from potions, another mainstay of the Tower of Dusk¡¯s business was the forging of magical weapons and magical equipment. Besides, the magical weapons that the Tower of Dusk produced were all famous among humans, and in fact, they were starting to overtake the Dwarf Kingdom¡¯s position in the market of magical equipment.

    Although equipment wasn¡¯t the main business of the Dwarf Kingdom, the sales proceeds of fine Master-level equipment would usually be on par with the ie from selling hundreds and thousands of pieces of equipment. However, it was undeniable that the quality of the system equipment was still a crucial factor in determining one¡¯spetency in forging. At the very least, the Tower of Dusk had a good grasp of the concept.

    In the beginning, Dyason and the senior managerial executives of the Dwarf Kingdom thought that the cooperation with the Tower of Dusk was just meant for obtaining the construction method of the Sky-breaker, but now Dyason had a vague feeling that what he and the others could obtain from this cooperation seemed to be far beyond that.

    With the construction of the Sky-breaker, the Tower of Dusk could be said to be progressing in all three projects, namely the transformation of the Sky Castle, the construction of the Sky-breaker, and therge-scale construction of battleships at the coastline.

    Even though the Tower of Dusk ruled the Breezy ins, and had a strong financial power in the past, they would have been overwhelmed by a three-prong revamp as such. However, with the huge resources of the Endless Abyss, none of the forces in the Breezy ins dared to be a burden to the Tower of Dusk. Thus, all the construction processes were advancing in an orderly manner.

    In the blink of an eye, a full year had passed since Lin Li entered the Meditation Land. In the past year, there had been huge progress in the ongoing projects of the Tower of Dusk in ordance with Lin Li¡¯s instructions.

    Firstly, the construction of the Sky Castle had already undergone aplete transformation under the massive support of huge resources. It had not only be more suitable for human maniption, it was also significantly more powerful than before. Its power was beyond just a certain aspect, and there were drastic changes in all aspects.

    In terms of the weapon system, Lin Li brought more than 2,000 Magical Crystal Cannons back from the Gilded Kingdom. Apart from a few hundred that were reserved for the future fleet of battleships, the rest were all installed on the Sky Castle. There were more than 1,000 Magical Crystal Cannons, and although it would be a bit exaggerated to say that they would be like 10,000 cannons firing together, the effects of a simultaneous firing of all Magical Crystal Cannons would still be rather daunting. The power of the Magical Crystal Cannons was undoubtedly massive, and perhaps even Sanctuary powerhouses wouldn¡¯t dare to face more than 1,000 Magical Crystal Cannons.

    Apart from the Magical Crystal Cannons, the Sky-breaker that the Tower of Dusk and Dwarf Kingdom built together was a powerful weapon that could destroy even the Sky Castles in the past. Its power definitely wasn¡¯t inferior to that of a full-swing attack of a Sanctuary powerhouse.

    If the dwarves had possessed the Sky-breaker after the war at the end of the Dark Age, the distribution of forces in Anril probably would have been different from what it was now.

    In the past year, the dwarven craftsmen had built more than 20 Sky-breakers with their own efforts in ordance with Lin Li¡¯s arrangement. Even in the opinion of the dwarven craftsmen who had participated in the construction themselves, such a speed was really incredible.

    The envoy of the Dwarf Kingdom, Dyason, could already tell from this that Lin Li definitely had profound knowledge in the field of forging.

    In addition, the craftsmen had inevitably faced all sorts of problems rted to forging during the construction process. After all, it was their first time building the Sky-breaker. However, all Dyason had to do was ask Gavin, and he would very quickly get the answers to his questions. At one point, he almost thought that Gavin was the Smithing Guru.

    Once, Dyason happened to see Gavin flipping through a thin notebook on the spot to look up some information after hearing Gavin¡¯s question. Besides, when he asked about it tentatively, and heard that Gavin didn¡¯t have the slightest intention to hide anything, he knew that the notebook was naturally from Lin Li.

    The young President Felic turns out to be a Smithing Guru! After learning about that news, Dyason felt like he was in an illusion.

    Even in the Dwarf Kingdom, Smithing Gurus were rare, and even the Dwarf King Odin was only at the peak of the Master-level. However, a young human now actually had impable attainments in forging that would make the dwarves ashamed. If he hadn¡¯t experienced it himself, Dyason probably wouldn¡¯t have believed it to be true.

    After learning of the situation, and especially after finding out that all the answers to his problems could be found in a tiny notebook, Dyason had no choice but to take his hat¡¯s off to Lin Li.

    The Magical Crystal Cannons and Sky-breaker were only a part of the Sky Castle weapon system. In addition, there was also arge number of mageweaths and mageweath arrays. The inscribers of the Octopus n that Lin Li had brought here with him had arge treasured collection of inscription notes, which were the very same ones that he had made when he was studying the Divine-Smith-level mageweath.

    In order to study the mageweath left behind by the Immortal King, Lin Li had organized almost all the theoretical knowledge of inscription to a greater depth. In fact, the notes taken by the inscribers of the Octopus n were only a small portion of the content that Lin Li had casually written.

    However, the inscription knowledge contained in the notebook was enough to make the inscribers of the Octopus n value it like a treasure. In fact, when reading the notes, they even washed their hands before going through each page carefully as if it was a pilgrimage.

    With those notes, the tasks that Lin Li had delegated to the Octopus n proceeded smoothly. Whilepleting those tasks, the inscribers of the Octopus n could clearly feel that their inscription attainments had improved by leaps and bounds.

    In just a year¡¯s time, the inscribers of the Octopus n set up tens of thousands of mageweaths and magic arrays in the Sky Castle. However, the level of the mageweaths of the mageweath arrays was not that high. They were basically at the advanced level or Master-level and above.

    Of course, even though those advanced and Master-level mageweaths were enough to make everyone dumbfounded, they were not good enough for the Sky Castle that Lin Li had imagined. However, when Lin Li came out from the Meditation Land, he couldpletelybine these mageweaths and mageweath arrays through the special aspects that he had mastered, turning them into a terrifying existence that wasn¡¯t inferior to Divine-Smith-level mageweaths.

    When the time came, the massive power of these mageweaths of the Sky Castle would definitely not be any inferior to the Magical Crystal Cannons and Sky-breaker.

    The Magical Crystal Cannons and Sky-breaker were considered long-range weapons of the Sky Castle, while thebined mageweaths drawn by the inscribers of the Octopus n were mid-range weapons. Thus the Sky Castle was equipped with both long-range and mid-range weapons, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about any blind spots in their attacks.

    With powerful means of attack came the need for greater power. Otherwise, once the Sky Castle faced a powerful enemy, they would only face a major loss when attacking the enemy. In fact, the Sky Castle might be destroyed by the enemy before it could evenunch a powerful attack.

 Chapter 1294 - One Year

    <h4>Chapter 1294: One Year</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    In the legends of the Dark Age, a Sky Castle was known as the city that would never fall. However, during the war at the end of the Dark Age, this myth of the Sky Castle being indestructible was debunked by the rebellion alliance led by Geresco. On the other hand, Lin Li really wanted it to be indestructible, so he did not neglect the defense system while creating a powerful weapon system during the transformation of the Sky Castle.

    The original defense system of the Sky Castle was the canopy that enveloped the entire city, which allowed the Sky Castle to survive the constant bombardment of the terrifying Nether Storms during the thousands of years it spent in the Endless Void. Thus, it showed that the power of the canopy was considered very rare in this world.

    However, Lin Li wasn¡¯t very satisfied with the defensive power of the canopy.

    Although Lin Li didn¡¯t know what kind of enemies he would encounter in the future, he could tell from Geresco¡¯s prophecy, as well as the information from Rogge, the high priest of the Darkness Shrine, that the mission Geresco had left for him definitely wasn¡¯t going to be simple.

    Seal the spatial rifts? Lin Li didn¡¯t think that the mission that Geresco had left for him would really be that simple. When he was an Archmage, he didn¡¯t see the problem with the so-called mission, because he didn¡¯t have much knowledge of magic. Thus, he took it for granted that as long as he reached Sanctuary-realm, he would be able to seal the spatial rifts that posed a threat to the existence of Anril.

    .

    However, with the enhancement of his strength, Lin Li no longer had the same thoughts as he did back then. In fact, he even doubted the authenticity of the mission as he felt that it was just an excuse for Geresco to use him to enhance his abilities.

    After all, in Lin Li¡¯s opinion, Geresco¡¯s strength and abilities were already bing clearer and clearer. If Geresco could even suppress those gods and make them his ves, how could he possibly be unable to seal those spatial rifts?

    However, Lin Li still couldn¡¯t figure out Geresco¡¯s reason for doing so, and he wondered if it was really for the sake of returning a favor to him for the Immortal King¡¯s sake.

    At least from Lin Li¡¯s point of view, Geresco had really put in a great deal of effort to return this favor. In hindsight, Lin Li realized that it seemed that every step he had made in Anril was ording to Geresco¡¯s arrangements. For example, the time when he met the vampire, Norfeller, in the underground pce of the High Elves, followed by his acquisition of the debris of the stars, Holy Light. For example, the three Undead Lords guarding Osric¡¯s mausoleum in the Shadowglen, as well as the deal he made with Geresco.

    Towards the end, he even obtained the Book of Eternity, the key to the inverted tower, and the so-called mission to save Anril. The traces of Geresco¡¯s deliberate arrangements were bing more and more obvious. However, at that time, Geresco¡¯s arrangements seemed to have be more reasonable, and he even seemed to be portraying the image of a savior.

    When Geresco¡¯s shadow said below the Cursed Ind that everything was for the sake of returning a favor to Lin Li for the Immortal King, Lin Li began to develop a strong suspicion and doubts regarding the matter. Perhaps Geresco knew that when Lin Li came to the Cursed Ind, the so-called mission to save Anril might not be a reason enough to continue to spur Lin Li to strive to improve his strength.

    Lin Li was particrly skeptical about the returning of the favor. Did the Immortal King transmigrate him into this world, and train him into bing an expert that was near the level of the gods just because he had stolen his Hunter avatar?

    For someone like Lin Li who used to be an ordinary person, bing powerful and gaining a long lifespan was indeed a very generous gift. However, with the strength of the Immortal King or Geresco, they could easily bestow such qualities on a person, and there wasn¡¯t a need to put Lin Li through such a troublesome arrangement at all.

    Of course, it could also be said that Geresco was really just too generous, and thus decided to put Lin Li through this training to be a true powerhouse. Hence, he chose not to let Lin Li obtain everything easily. However, regardless of how he looked at it, Lin Li had a feeling that the enemy he was going to face would definitely not be a simple spatial rift or some prehistoric magical beasts in the spatial rifts.

    Hence, Lin Li couldn¡¯t afford to make any mistake or tolerate a single defect in the transformation of the Sky Castle, and strove to make the offensive and defensive systems as capable as possible.

    Hence, in addition to the canopy, Lin Li also tried to use the two Trees of Eternity to enhance the defensive system of the Sky Castle.

    The two Trees of Eternity might have only been nted in the Sky Castle for a few years, but under Lin Li¡¯s special care, they had been growing rapidly. In particr, the special characteristics of the Trees of Eternity were that one was alive, while the other was dead, both of which formed a cycle. The power that they possessed was far moreplicated than the concept of one plus one.

    In fact, Lin Li remembered that the existence of the two Trees of Eternity was mentioned in the background story of the Endless World game. Clearly, the current Trees of Eternity had truly be one, which was the best state for his power to be maximized.

    Although the current twin Trees of Eternity had yet to grow to full maturity, the power they possessed was rather impressive. Lin Li naturally couldn¡¯t waste such a great power. Hence, he thought of adding the power of the Trees of Eternity to the defense system of the Sky Castle.

    In Lin Li¡¯s n, there would be a mageweath array that was close to the Divine-Smith-level revolving around the Twin Trees of Eternity, making them the core of the mageweath array. Under the effect of the mageweath array, the power of life and death possessed by the twin Trees of Eternity would form another barrier of defense under the canopy.

    The defensive barrier formed by the power of the Twin Trees of Eternity would be far tougher than the canopy, and destroying it would be akin to destroying a world. Even those powerful deities probably wouldn¡¯t be able to break through it with a single blow. Those with strength below the Divine-realm would not even be able to break through theyer of defense.

    More importantly, with the growth of the Twin Trees of Eternity, the power of the defensive barrier would continue growing. Once the Twin Trees of Eternity grew to maturity, the power of the defensive barrier would be so massive that even the gods couldn¡¯t break through it, thus allowing the Sky Castle to be a city that truly never falls.

    However, during the year that Lin Li spent in the Meditation Land, the defensive mageweath array of the Twin Trees of Eternity was still only the most basic part of the defense system, which waspleted by the inscribers of the Octopus n. Aftering out of the Meditation Land, Lin Li still had to link the basic mageweaths toplete one of the most crucial steps of the mageweath array.

    With powerful weapons and a strong defense, he now had to go on to create a variety of auxiliary systems, such as the Conquering Mageweath that could instantly enhance the strength of the upants in the Sky Castle by hundreds of times, which was the best way to deal with the invading enemy.

    There was a famous saying that a strong fortress was always broken because of an internal fault, so Lin Li naturally wouldn¡¯t make such a low-level mistake. Although he also wouldn¡¯t just create another Conquering Mageweath, he had added many other settings that allowed the interior of the city to be as strong as a wall of steel.

    Magic traps and magic gears were already considered extremely ordinary in the Sky Castle as they wereid out everywhere, and could be found in every corner. Even a Sanctuary-level Assassin like Norfeller would end up facing defeat upon encountering them.

    The more dangerous thing, which could be called the nightmare of intruders, was the power of the Twin Trees of Eternity. Thebination of power of life and death together could put the intruder in an endless cycle of life and death, which would make them feel as if they were experiencing life again and again before finally forgetting everything in the endless cycle.

    The source of this design was naturally the reincarnation in the myths from the world that Lin Li belonged to before he reincarnated, and was something that didn¡¯t exist in Anril. Hence, when the Twin Trees of Eternity grew to a certain level, it would probably be unable to break free from the cycle of reincarnation easily even if the Divine mes were to enter it.

    After the transformation this year, the construction ording to the modified transformation n that Lin Li had left behind was basicallypleted. However, all the people involved in the transformation discovered that the Sky Castle didn¡¯t seem to beplete even though all the works had beenpleted. It was as if something very important was still missing.

    Gavin and the other senior members of the Tower of Dusk gathered together more than once to carefully study the transformation n left behind by their president, Lin Li, in a bid to determine if they and others had missed something. They all knew how important the transformation of the Sky Castle was to Lin Li, and they would be huge sinners if they were to cause any ensuing dire consequences because of their negligence.

    However, Gavin and the others had studied the n Lin Li had left behind no less than 100 times, and it was simply much more detailed than the High Elves¡¯ print. However, they hadn¡¯t found the real cause of everything.

    Pangs of panic and anxiety engulfed them. Gavin and the others came to the entrance of the Meditation Land in the inverted tower of the Sky Castle on the day Lin Li asked them toe. They waited there for Lin Li¡¯s return.

    Finally, when Gavin and the others were waiting anxiously, a light vortex gate slowly opened in front of them, while Lin Li slowly walked out of it.

    Gavin and the others were at most at the Legendary-level, so no one could see which level Lin Li¡¯s strength was at. However, Lin Li knew very well that after the past year ofprehension, he had gained enough confidence to challenge the three arbitrators.

    Even when Lin Li reached the Sanctuary-realm, the strength of the three arbitrators of the Sanctuary-realm was still vague to him, and he felt as if he was standing at the foot of a mountain while looking up at a mountain peak in the clouds. However, he could now sense what the level of the strength of the three arbitrators was at.

    However, Lin Li still hadn¡¯t taken the final step, and thus hadn¡¯t been able to ascend to the legendary Divine-realm. After the past year of enlightenment, Lin Li felt that he was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, which didn¡¯t seem to be far from the Divine-realm.

    ording to the generalw, the so-called advancement actually required the umtion of mana to a certain degree, which was a qualitative change. For example, the umtion of mana to a certain standard would allow an Archmage to advance from level-18 to level-19. On the other hand, level-19 Archmages who advance to level-20 Legendary-mages would have umted enough mana to result in a qualitative change to advance to the Legendary-realm.

    However, in the past year, Lin Li had been continuously absorbing mana in the Meditation Land. In fact, he even felt that his mana had been improved by dozens or even 100 timespared to when he entered a year ago. However, even then, he still couldn¡¯t reach the Divine-realm, as if he had never been able to let his mana fill his body.

    Considering that he had already spent a year in the Meditation Land, Lin Li had no choice but to put aside his eager intentions to break through, ande out to continue with his transformation n for the Sky Castle.

    Seeing that Lin Li had walked out, Gavin and the others immediately went to greet him. After bowing to him, Gavin told Lin Li about the problems that they had encountered with a guilty expression.

    However, after listening to Gavin¡¯s story, Lin Liughed nonchntly and waved his hand. ¡°This is not your fault. ording to my n, the Sky Castle is indeed still only a half-finished product. Gavin, how is the construction of our battleships at the port?¡±

    Lin Li¡¯s words made Gavin and the others finally feel relieved, but they couldn¡¯t imagine that the transformed Sky Castle was actually still just a half-finished product! They wondered, In that case, how powerful will thepleted Sky Castle be after it has truly been transformed?

    ¡°President, I received a report a few days ago that we already have 30 battleships that are at the same level as The Star after the past year of construction. Furthermore, all of them have passed the navigation test.¡± Gavin didn¡¯t have time to dwell on the issue of the Sky Castle, and hurriedly reported to Lin Li about the construction of the battleships.

    ¡°30 battleships, huh? That should be enough.¡± Lin Li nodded in satisfaction when he heard that result.

    30 battleships didn¡¯t seem like a staggering number. Even the naval forces of Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom had several or more than 10 times this number of battleships. However, these 30 battleships were all created based on The Star, and the power of a single one of them was great enough to even defeat a fleet of the Gilded Kingdom, what more that of 30 of them.

    30 suchrge battleships built in one year was such a powerful naval force. Even if they couldn¡¯t dominate the Endless Ocean, they could at least have a ce among the various forces in the Endless Ocean.

    Acquiring such a strong naval force in a year might sound exaggerated, but not all forces were able to enjoy the support of the vast resources of the Endless Abyss. Even the Gilded Kingdom, which had been developing in the Endless Ocean for thousands of years, could not have as many resources as there were in the Endless Abyss.

    ¡°Okay, gather all the mages of the Mage Legion, and put aside the report on the transformation project of the Sky Castle for the time being. I have more important things to do.¡± Seeing that Gavin was ready to report to him about the progress they had achieved in the past year, Lin Li stopped him. In fact, as soon as he came out of the Meditation Land, he had already scanned through the entire Sky Castle with his massive mental strength. Since he was well aware of the situation of the Sky Castle, he didn¡¯t think it was necessary to continue listening to Gavin¡¯s report as well.

 Chapter 1295 - What A Shame

    <h4>Chapter 1295: What A Shame</h4>

    Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

    Afterwards, Lin Li arrived at the central square of the Sky Castle where the mages of the Mage Legion quickly gathered under Gavin¡¯s instructions.

    Lin Li had spent a year in the Meditation Land trying toprehend something, while the mages of the Mage Legion had also made progress. The Mage Legion of the Tower of Dusk wasposed entirely of Legendary-mages, thus making them a powerful team that no force could belittle in Anril.

    After the mages of the Mage Legion gathered, Lin Li reached out, and formed a spatial rift in the air at the side, leading the mages directly to a port city on the coast of the Breezy ins. The newly built port city was named Lin Lacine City, and was built by the Tower of Dusk in the past year mainly to provide logistical support for the fleet of the Tower of Dusk.

    The 30 battleships of the Tower of Dusk were docked at Lacine City, while The Star became the training vessel for new sailors. It also served as a patrol ship, so it wasn¡¯t docked at the port.

    After Lin Li arrived at the port of Lacine City, he immediately ordered the fleet to get ready to set sail. Although the sailors of the current fleet of the Tower of Dusk were newly hired, and there weren¡¯t enough to fully crew the battleships, the battleships were powered with alchemical technology, so only a small number of personnel was required. Hence, their normal operation wasn¡¯t affected.

    .

    It took only a day for all the battleships to be ready to set sail. Lin Li brought the mages of the Mage Legion aboard the gship, The Sun King. The gship had a massive size and powerful attacking and defensive systems, with four Magical Crystal Cannons equipped and a Sky-breaker shipped over from the Tower of Dusk as the main cannon.

    After boarding The Sun King, Lin Li announced the goal of this operation, and the entire fleet headed in the direction of Cage Ind. The main reason for Lin Li¡¯s trip was to obtain the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction below Cage Ind.

    The Dragon of Destruction, one of the five great Dragon Aspects of Anril, possessed massive power that was enough to contend against the gods. The existence of the five great Dragon Aspects was precisely the reason that those gods couldn¡¯t really descend in Anril at will. Even if they were just casting a projection of themselves, they would still have to be very careful.

    It was said that when the five Dragon Aspects protected Anril, not only did they forbid any god from entering Anril, they would also immediately drive away anyone who ignited Divine Fire in Anril. After all, the power of the gods posed a threat to the bnce of Anril, which was also the reason that the five Dragon Aspects were called the guardians.

    However, no one was certain if the five Dragon Aspects had done so really for the sake of maintaining the bnce in Anril, or if it was because they treated Anril like the backyard of their home. However, no matter what, the existence of the five Dragon Aspects had indeed allowed Anril to avoid the control of the gods during those arduous years.

    The fact that they could constitute such a huge deterrence to the gods showed how terrifying the power of the five Dragon Aspects was. It wouldn¡¯t be overboard to say that they were above the gods too. Unfortunately, such powerful Dragon Aspects had died at the hands of the Immortal King.

    However, even if they died, the mightiness and power of a Dragon Aspect were not to be belittled. Even the basic abilities of the Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse had terrifying power that was near the power of the gods.

    In the beginning, the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction almost destroyed the powerful Gilded Kingdom. If it weren¡¯t for the ancestors of the kingdom, who found the seal left by the Immortal King on Cage Ind, the kingdom wouldn¡¯t have survived.

    Previously, Elder Zumar had invited Lin Li to help them suppress the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction on Cage Ind, and it took Lin Li a great deal of effort to do so.

    The Gilded Kingdom¡¯s intention was to use the seal to continuously extract the power from the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction before injecting it into the savior that they had chosen so as to create an invincible expert whose strength was close to that of a deity.

    Lin Li initially intended to trick the Gilded Kingdom, and take away the power of the Dragon of Destruction in advance so that the Gilded Kingdom would be left empty-handed. However, Lin Li changed his mindter. Not only did he want to obtain the power of the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, more importantly, he also wanted to get the incredibly powerful corpse.

    Although there was already a corpse of the Dragon of Destruction in Lin Li¡¯s Ring of Endless Storm, it was that of the Dragon of Destruction from the Endless World game. However, ording to his vision of the transformation of the Sky Castle, one corpse of the Dragon of Destruction would not be sufficient for the transformation of the Sky Castle to bepleted, so he thought of the corpse below Cage Ind.

    The huge fleet of the Tower of Dusk only took two days to arrive at the sea where Cage Ind was located. 30rge battleships began surrounding Cage Ind neatly, and all the weapons were gradually activated.

    Of course, Lin Li was very clear that even though the battleships were already considered the most powerful battle weapons in Anril, they were still far from enough to deal with the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Hence, their main objective in this operation was still to assist Lin Li, and prevent the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction from escaping.

    Although the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction no longer had a soul, and was only left with the basic abilities of its body, running away from danger was precisely one of the instincts of the majority of creatures. On the battlefield, those who could ovee their instinctive abilities would be heroes, while those who sumbed to them would be considered cowards who fled. On the other hand, the Dragon of Destruction no longer cared about things like pride, so it was just behaving instinctively.

    Hence, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, he wasn¡¯t afraid of fighting the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, but he was worried that the dragon corpse would flee once it realized that something was amiss with the situation. With the power of the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, even Lin Li would have a huge headache if it really wanted to escape regardless of everything else.

    Soon, the deserted ind that was shrouded in an aura of destruction appeared in front of the fleet of the Tower of Dusk. Lin Li, who was originally standing on the deck of the gship, suddenly leaped into the air, and continuously made a few hand gestures in front of his chest while chanting a short incantation.

    With Lin Li¡¯s actions, the sea around Cage Ind immediately surged upwards like it had started boiling. At the same time, dark clouds also gathered in the air quickly, while bolts of lightning flickered between the dark clouds, making the sky switch between bright and dim.

    Immediately afterwards, several dull roars emerged from the depths of the sea, and it was as if a volcano under the sea was about to erupt. As the seawater boiled and rolled, a wisp of ck smoke escaped from the bottom of the sea. However, it then began dissipating and diffusing away like real smoke. It seemed to be rather solid, as if thin ck lines that were gradually woven into arge ck between the surface of the sea and the clouds.

    Cage Ind, on which there were still traces of thest battle, also began to shake violently at this moment, and rocks began rolling down into the sea vigorously without stopping. In the center of the ind, a crack that resembled the mouth of a giant beast began spreading open, and a mass of thick ck gas gushed out of the crack.

    There was a massive shadow that covered the sky behind the ck gas. Its wings made the broken ind seem extremely small. The battleships, which could be said to be thergest ones in Anril, looked just like ants that could be overturned as long as the massive shadow sneezed.

    Lin Li looked at that huge figure, and muttered under his breath, ¡°Dragon of Destruction,e and make my Sky Castle even more perfect!¡±

    What Lin Li wanted was aplete and powerful corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, not a dragon corpse that had been drained of its power, and was already close to dposing. Hence, instead of taking the power that had been extracted by the seal, he reversed it, and channeled the extracted power back into the dragon corpse.

    That was also the reason that Lin Li had brought the fleet over. Otherwise, he could have just drained all the power out of the dragon corpse using the seal before taking the corpse away with ease. However, if he were to do that, the dragon corpse would only be a type of material, even though it would still be powerful.

    At this moment, the mana waves of the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction appeared to be countless times more powerful than it was thest time it appeared. The terrifying Menace of the Dragon sealed the entire space in an instant, suppressing the fluctuations at the bottom of the boiling sea.

    If it had been when Lin Li and Zumar and others had cooperated to deal with the dragon corpse, it would probably have broken free from the constraint of Cage Ind, and caused a huge disaster to the Breezy ins and even Anril. On the other hand, Lin Li, Zumar, and the others would only have ended up being the tonic of the dragon corpse. Who knew if they would turn into dragon feces?

    However, Lin Li¡¯s current abilities and strength had already changed drasticallypared to before. Even the apparitions of the ancient deities would not be able to pose any threat to him.

    ¡°Howl!¡±

    Despite the absence of soul willpower, the Dragon Corpse of the Dragon of Destruction still had a strong sense of pride out of instinct. Although it couldn¡¯t remember Lin Li who had resealed it previously, it could sense the power in Lin Li¡¯s body, and instinctively saw Lin Li as its enemy.

    With the roar of the dragon corpse, the immense Menace of the Dragon belonging to the Dragon of Destruction immediately darted out towards the surroundings. Under the surge of the Menace of the Dragon, ripples that were visible to the naked eye appeared in the space, and the surface of the water seemed to have be wrinkled.

    However, when Lin Li was facing the dragon corpse of the Dragon of Destruction today, he waspletely unaffected by the Menace of the Dragon. Although he had yet to ascend to the Divine-realm, he already had a considerable understanding of the power of the Divine-realm. The Menace of the Dragon of the dragon corpse was no longer that of a Dragon of Destruction, but the fluctuations resulting from the lineage of the dragon corpse. It was actually far worse than the might of the gods, let alonepared to the Dragon of Destruction.

    Looking at the roaring dragon corpse, Lin Li seemed to be rather rxed as he merely pointed the Helios¡¯ Scepter forward gently. In an instant, ayer of white frost dashed towards the dragon corpse.

    It seemed to be a Thousand Miles of Ice spell, but if one were to look closely, they would find that each particle that made up the frosty wave was a rune that shone brightly with the light ofws. Besides, the runes in the frost wave were not identical. Apart from the runes of the Laws of Ice, there were also that of many other basicws of time and space.

    Before the frost wave reached the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction, it was already covered in ayer of white frost, and even the dragon¡¯s breath had turned into cold air that was like fog.

    Although the dragon corpse only had its basic physical instincts left, it could also feel the threat of the frost wave at this moment. The huge fleshy wings on the back of the dragon corpse pped twice, and a mass of thick ck mist rolled outwards of its body towards the frost wave that covered the sky.

    At the same time, the dragon corpse pulled a move that made everyone¡¯s jaw drop. It actually turned around to flee without hesitation.

    The pride of a wyrm was not to be desecrated, and even the corpse of a dragon would be instinctively prideful. As a former Dragon Aspect, it was definitely prideful by nature. However, at this moment, the dragon corpse had merely touched Lin Li once, and they had yet to even fight each other, yet it decided to forgo its pride, and fled without putting up a fight.

    ¡°What a huge shame!¡±

    Azardas, who had been sealed in the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, felt a strong urge to jump out and teach the disgraceful dragon corpse. Even though the corpse was, technically speaking, the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction from Anril, Azardas couldn¡¯t tolerate such spineless behavior from it.

    At this moment, the people on the Dusk Tower fleet couldn¡¯t care less aboutmenting about Lin Li¡¯s power or the dragon corpse¡¯s cowardice. ording to Lin Li¡¯s previous arrangements, all the weapons on the battleships were pointed to the sky, and several mana cannons began sting all at once, forming a mana in the sky.

    Despite the strength of the dragon corpse, even the powerful Magical Crystal Cannons could barely injure the corpse. However, Lin Li did not expect the firepower of the battleships to be able to injure the dragon corpse, but rather he was only expecting it to dy the target.

    Besides, if the power of the Magical Crystal Cannons could really destroy the dragon corpse¡¯s defense, Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t have allowed the battleships to join the operation. After all, Lin Li wanted aplete dragon corpse, not one that was battered with wounds.

 Chapter 1296 - No Next Time

    <h4>Chapter 1296: No Next Time</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The dragon corpse had no intention to dodge the light woven by the mana cannons at all, and instead collided with it using its strong physical body. Clearly, ording to the instinctive judgment of the dragon corpse, the magic spells that Lin Li cast behind him were far more threatening than the light of the cannons.

    Although the light of the mana cannons could not really hurt the dragon corpse, its might had indeed made the dragon corpse stagnate a little. Behind the dragon corpse, the Helios¡¯ Scepter that Lin Li was holding immediately shed with a ray of light, and the frosty wave was immediately divided into countless bands of light that wound towards the huge dragon corpse.

    At the same time, those particlesposed of runes in the gigantic frosty wave changed too. They condensed into several mageweaths, and it looked as if each band of light was a mageweath arrayposed of countless mageweaths. This was no longer the power of magic or even simple nomological power, but a mysterious power that seemed to be close to the Divine-realm.

    After all, the dragon corpse was no longer the actual Dragon of Destruction. Apart from its strong physical body andbat instincts, itspetency in magic was, in fact, inferior to that of a mage apprentice. The power exerted by Lin Li was so overwhelmingly massive that even the great demon deity Mosari couldn¡¯t resist it, let alone a dragon corpse that only had its basic physical instincts left.

    The almost infinite magic runes instantly engulfed the dragon corpse, and were deeply imprinted onto every single cell of its body.. The dragon corpse instinctively resisted the invasion of the magic runes, and began rolling and roaring into the sky like it had gone bonkers. The power that emerged from its body spread in all directions like a storm, but as more and more magic runes invaded the corpse, the power that the dragon corpse exerted became weaker and weaker.

    The Dragon of Destruction¡¯s corpse, which was now bound and restrained by the magic runes, almost turned into a silvery-white wyrm. It gradually lost its power to struggle, and began drifting towards the Tower of Dusk involuntarily. From afar, it looked like arge white cloud that was slowly drifting in midair.

    Seeing this, the people on the battleships finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a peculiar feeling arose in their hearts. When setting off, they were all a bit nervous because they were facing a powerful dragon corpse, after all. However, no one expected that the powerful dragon corpse would be so helpless in front of their president, Lin Li.

    Although the people of the Tower of Dusk had almost blind trust in Lin Li¡¯s strength, and thought that no enemy would be a match for him, it would still be a battle after all. Thus, no one expected the battle to end before it even began.

    However, at this juncture, the dark clouds in the sky which seemed to have solidified suddenly came to life again as they started moving. Immediately afterwards, a huge vortex emerged in the middle of the clouds like a palm that seemed to be piercing straight through the endless void and towards the dragon corpse below.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Seeing this situation, Lin Li¡¯s expression did not change in the slightest, and he merely humphed coldly before turning to look at the void deep within the vortex.

    As Lin Li humphed, the giant palm that grabbed at the dragon corpse was suddenly fixed in space like it was being roasted in mes. Masses of ck gas spread from the giant hand and ws, which had now begun to be illusory and warped after arge amount of ck gas was dispersed.

    Lin Li raised his hand, on which he was wearing the Ring of Endless Storm, and pointed it at the floating dragon corpse. A gigantic six-pointed star array appeared in mid-air below the dragon corpse, and gradually enveloped the dragon corpse. In the blink of an eye, the massive dragon corpse disappeared in mid-air without a trace.

    After putting away the dragon corpse, Lin Li rubbed the Ring of Endless Storm on his hand while looking at the void in the distance. He coldly said, ¡°Nefa, on the ount that we have once fought together, I won¡¯t hold it against you this time, but don¡¯t do this again.¡±

    Under the vortex in the center of that dark cloud in the sky, a figure also emerged together with the disappearance of the giant ws. The figure was dressed in a ck robe, and had an evil look on his face. His pupils were as dark and deep as the endless void. It was the ck dragon, Nefa, who was supposed to be in the rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar.

    At this moment, Nefa seemed to be a bit wretched, and his eyes were full of shock when he looked at Lin Li. He didn¡¯t expect that the human Lin Li, who was still weak in the rift back then, would actually have such a terrifying strength in a few years¡¯ time.

    Back in the rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, Lin Li, Nefa, and High Priest Rogge of the Darkness Shrine worked together to fight against me Dragon Lothar. However, the main forces were the Sanctuary powerhouse Nefa and Rogge, while Lin Li¡¯s strength was almost insignificant. It was not an exaggeration to say that it wouldn¡¯t take Nefa much effort to kill Lin Li if he wanted to.

    Only a few years had passed, but Nefa could feel a terrifying wave of power that made his soul tremble from Lin Li¡¯s body. He evenpared the current Lin Li with the demigod me Dragon Lothar. It turned out that Lin Li was stronger.

    Just when Nefa was shocked by the power Lin Li had disyed, a violent roar was suddenly heard in the distance. With that roar, the dark clouds in the sky were split in half by a flying line. There was a figure flying at the front like a bolt of lightning.

    ¡°Tutankhamun.¡± Before the figure came close, Nefa had already recognized his identity. It was his brother, Tutankhamun. He nced at Lin Li helplessly, and did not dare to say anything. Instead, he turned around and transformed into a ray of ck light that darted into the vortex above his head.

    Nefa had been hiding in therge rift in the Eternal Darkness Altar. On the one hand, it was because he had fallen for Geresco¡¯s trick, and on the other hand, it was because Tutankhamun was outside. Although the two of them were considered brothers, and their strength was considered to be on par with each other, Tutankhamun knew of some methods to suppress Nefa¡¯s power which were left behind by Geresco.

    This time, Nefa felt the breath of the Dragon of Destruction, and was brave enough to emerge from the crack in hopes that he could beat Tutankhamun to get the lineage of the Dragon of Destruction. Unfortunately, he never expected to meet Lin Li here. Moreover, Lin Li now possessed a massive power that greatly frightened him.

    Nefa¡¯s figure disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye, while Tutankhamun, who had rushed all the way from the faraway ckstone Mountains, finally arrived in the sky above Cage Ind. Tutankhamun wanted to continue chasing Nefa until he expelled him into the spacetime rift, but he didn¡¯t expect to meet Lin Li here.

    ¡°Felic?¡± Tutankhamun suddenly felt a little scared to acknowledge Lin Li¡¯s presence. Back in the ckstone Mountains, Lin Li was still just an Archmage, but he didn¡¯t expect Lin Li to have be so strong that he could no longer see through him within just a few years.

    Although Tutankhamun also knew that Lin Li¡¯s strength would definitely increase rapidly after obtaining Geresco¡¯s Book of Eternity, he didn¡¯t expect the speed to be so astonishing. After all, reaching the Sanctuary-realm was worlds apart from reaching the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    Seeing that Tutankhamun was right in front of him, and was looking at him in disbelief, Lin Li nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we met, Master Tutankhamun.¡±

    Now, Lin Li was already certain that the three belongings of Geresco that Tutankhamun had given him actually had very little to do with any test, but rather it was just Geresco¡¯s deliberate arrangement. However, at the beginning, Tutankhamun was rather nice to Lin Li, even though he was already a Sanctuary powerhouse, while Lin Li was only an Archmage at that time.

    At this time, Tutankhamun had also confirmed Lin Li¡¯s identity, and the look of surprise on his face became more and more exaggerated. He sized Lin Li up for a long time before eximing in shock, ¡°It¡¯s really you, Felic, I didn¡¯t expect you to have reached such a high level. The person Geresco chose is really not simple!¡±

    Lin Li smiled without saying anything regarding this matter. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already given Nefa a warning, and he should have returned to the spacetime rift by now. You don¡¯t have to go look for him again.¡±

    Lin Li once thought that he might have been lucky to have been chosen by Geresco, but after discovering some secrets, he felt like he had been used as a pawn. Lin Li hated that feeling. Well, no one liked being treated like a pawn, even if it was a very important pawn.

    At Lin Li¡¯s invitation, Tutankhamun came to the fleet¡¯s gship. While the fleet was returning, the two talked about some issues of the Sanctuary-realm and the Dragon of Destruction. When the fleet entered the port, Tutankhamun finally said goodbye, and left to return to the ckstone Mountains.

    Through the exchange with Tutankhamun, Lin Li learned that there was actually nothing under the ckstone Mountains at all. The main reason that Tutankhamun was guarding the ckstone Mountains was because he had been waiting to hand over the Book of Eternity and the other items to Lin Li as per the agreement that he had made with Geresco.

    Nefa thought that Tutankhamun was guarding the Dragon of Destruction in the ckstone Mountains simply because it was once the ce where the Dragon of Destruction rested. However, after the Immortal King hadpletely killed the Dragon of Destruction and sealed it on Cage Ind, there was nothing left under the ckstone Mountains.

    After sending Tutankhamun away, Lin Li opened a spatial rift, took the mages of the Tower of Dusk with him, and returned directly to the Sky Castle.

    After returning to the Sky Castle, Lin Li released the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction from the Ring of Endless Storm. However, the body of the Dragon of Destruction was enormous and not any worse than the Sky Castle. If he were to really ce the dragon corpse into the Sky Castle, it would probably crush many buildings. Thus, Lin Li used some means to make therge dragon corpse float in the sky above the Sky Castle, making it part of the scenery of the Sky Castle.

    Afterwards, Lin Li called Gavin and the others toe over again. He then informed them of the next transformation n for the Sky Castle.

    At this moment, Gavin and the others finally knew why the Sky Castle still looked like a half-finished product. It turned out that there was really a very important step that was missing.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the next transformation n for the Sky Castle. Next, I have to enter the Meditation Land for a while, so I¡¯ll leave the transformation of this Sky Castle to you.¡± After handing over the transformation n of the Sky Castle, Lin Li got ready to enter the Meditation Land again to continue working on bing stronger.

    However, after hearing Lin Li say that he would have to enter the Meditation Land again, Gavin and the others couldn¡¯t help but get a little anxious as he frantically said, ¡°President Felic, this dragon corpse is so powerful. With our current abilities, it would be a waste if we don¡¯t handle this matter well.¡±

    Indeed, just like Gavin said, this dragon corpse was not only a dragon corpse, but also the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction. Thus, when processing the corpse, they had to treat even the scales carefully, and they couldn¡¯t deal with the dragon corpse as they would with an ordinary dragon corpse. Even if it was barely processed, it couldn¡¯t be used to the fullest of its value.

    Lin Li had naturally considered that question before. Even though he now had two corpses of the Dragon of Destruction, he couldn¡¯t waste it.

    Hence, after Gavin and the others worriedly raised their questions, Lin Li softly chanted a few incantations under his breath with a faint smile on his face. Before Gavin and the others could hear what Lin Li said, they saw a sh of light on Lin Li¡¯s body. To their surprise, a figure around him that looked exactly like him appeared.

    That was a manifestation method which was simr to the Lord of Darkness, the projection of the Dragon of Destruction in the abyss, as well as the manifestations of the Immortal King and Geresco. Creating manifestations was not really that profound, as it was a method that even ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses could use.

    However, the power exerted by the manifestation was dependent on the power of the main body. The manifestation had as much power as there was in the main body. For ordinary Sanctuary powerhouses, a strong manifestation would affect the power of the main body, but if it was too weak, it would almost be useless. Hence, very few people would create manifestations of themselves.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t use too much of his mana on the manifestation, and had mainly just replicated his knowledge. What Lin Li wanted was a double that could substitute him as amander after he entered the Meditation Land, and use the corpse of the Dragon of Destruction to transform the Sky Castle. Thus, the manifestation was at best at the level of an Archmage who had barely anybat ability.

    Of course, although it was only at the Archmage-level, the knowledge in its head was just as big as that of Lin Li. With Lin Li¡¯s attainment in the field of inscription, it would be easy for it to deal with one or two Legendary powerhouses even if it was only at the level of an Archmage.

    After leaving the manifestation, Lin Li returned to the Meditation Land again, and though he knew that umting more mana would not allow him to ascend directly to the Divine-realm, there was no harm in umting more mana.

    Under the guidance of Lin Li¡¯s manifestation, the transformation project of the Sky Castle began again.

    Firstly, the blood of the Dragon of Destruction was used to fill the Conquering Mageweath of the Sky Castle, allowing the effects of the mageweath to be maximized.

 Chapter 1297 - Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 1297: Transformation</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Initially, the blood of dozens of ancient wyrms was required for the power of the Conquering Mageweath to be exerted to a greater extent. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t know where to get that many ancient wyrms whose blood he could drain. Fortunately, the Dragon of Destruction not only contained far more blood than dozens of ancient wyrms, the mana in its blood was also unique in Anril. Thus, it was the best substitute.

    On the other hand, the flesh of the Dragon of Destruction was ced under the Sky Castle. The lower side of the Sky Castle was just like an inverted mountain peak, whose defensive ability was much inferior to that of the top. This was one of the crucial reasons that the Sky Castle had once been struck by the Sky-breaker.

    Now, under the catalysis of the physical body derivation technique, the flesh of the Dragon of Destruction enveloped the entire lower part of the Sky Castle, and the defensive power was immediately increased greatly. Wrapping the body of the Dragon of Destruction around the Sky Castle allowed the defensive power to be almost equal to that of the Dragon of Destruction.

    The ribs of the Dragon of Destruction were arranged at the edge of the Sky Castle, and the ribs of the two dragon corpses surrounded the buildings on the surface of the Sky Castle like giant pirs. There were extremelyplicated mageweaths inscribed on each rib, and not only possessed a strong defensive power, but also increased the power of the Sky Castle¡¯s offensive weapons.

    .

    The spine of the Dragon of Destruction was disassembled into segments which were then arranged to form bone towers that were ced on the Sky Castle ording to a specific orientation. The magic bone towers formed an evenrger Magic Array together with the existing 36 Magic Towers. By incorporating the power of Darkness and Destruction into the Magic Array, the Domain World of Destruction could be unleashed.

    The two pairs of fleshy wings of the Dragon of Destruction were each ced on one side of the Sky Castle, making it look as if the Sky Castle had grown two pairs of wings. With the power of these two pairs of fleshy wings, the Sky Castle would be able to fly at a faster and more stable speed. It would then be able to travel through the void with greater ease.

    Most importantly, the skulls of the two corpses of the Dragon of Destruction were ced on the Sky Castle one after the other. Moreover, under Lin Li¡¯s special concoction, the two dragon heads were revitalized, and they seemed to have turned into existences that were simr to a Humerus Wyrm. They had the ability to release most of the magic spells of the Dragon of Destruction, making them arguably the most powerful weapons on the Sky Castle.

    ording to Lin Li¡¯s n, the final oue of the transformation after thepletion of all the works should be a new Sky Castle that was shaped like two wyrms with their backs pressed against each other. That was the Sky Castle that Lin Li imagined to be genuinely indestructible and difficult for even gods to attack and destroy.

    Under themands of Lin Li¡¯s meditate, the renovation of the Sky Castle proceeded in an orderly manner. As for Lin Li¡¯s main body, he didn¡¯t continue umting mana, but instead arrived at the gate that led to the next level, which he passed to go to the realm that once led him on the pursuit of the traces of the Immortal King.

    After entering that realm, Lin Li easily found his way to Cursed Ind in the waters of the Gilded Kingdom, and entered the underground world where the gods had been imprisoned. The Light-winged Angels, ancient Titans, and even the incarnations of the Serpent of Light were still existing in this world, but they no longer caused any hindrance to Lin Li.

    Soon, Lin Li arrived in the Magic Tower where the gods were sealed, but this time it seemed that not that many gods had been sealed in the Magic Tower. Geresco¡¯s shadow wasn¡¯t around, either. It was just like a newly constructed tower that was nothing but empty.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯te here to enjoy the scenery again. Standing on the highest level of the Magic Tower, Lin Li silently chanted an incantation, after which his body vanished without a trace in a sh.

    When Lin Li¡¯s figure reappeared, he was still on the top floor of the Magic Tower, but his surroundings werepletely different from before. At this juncture, he was no longer in the world that Geresco had replicated, but in the Magic Tower where the countless gods had been sealed. He was now surrounded by rows and rows of bookshelves, but he had already taken the magic books from the shelves.

    If it were outside, Lin Li would not be able to enter this ce, where the various gods had been sealed, by traveling through space. After all, the power here was enormous since so many gods had been imprisoned, and the strength of the spatial barrier was already extremely exaggerated. Even those gods could not cross the spatial barrier to escape, let alone Lin Li, a Sanctuary powerhouse who was merely near the Divine-realm.

    However, Lin Li took a turn, and first headed to the world that Geresco had replicated before arriving in the same spatial position. He then used his power to travel through space to enter the Magic Tower in the real world. It was akin to taking the back door by using the world that Geresco replicated to bypass the powerful spatial barrier and enter the real world.

    Upon determining that his vision had been realized, Lin Li heaved a gentle sigh of relief, pushed open the door of the study, and walked towards the lower side of the high tower. When he reached the first level of the tower, Lin Li stopped and chanted a magic incantation, after which a staircase that led towards the underground space gradually appeared.

    The gods that were sealed in the Magic Tower were continuously having their power extracted by the tower, so there would definitely be a core that controlled everything somewhere. Lin Li came this time to find the core of the Magic Tower to drain all its power for his own use.

    Through the staircase deep underground, Lin Li came to the first floor of the Magic Tower where there was an extremely spacious underground hall. The walls around the hall were covered in patterns that were glistening with the light of mana. The patterns were of varying thickness, and were arranged neatly. All the light patterns finally converged in the center of the hall where there was arge Sr Sphere hovering in the middle like a sun.

    Seeing this scene, Lin Li immediately understood that the light patterns that covered the walls of the entire hall were channels that the mana extracted from the gods traveled through, while the massive Sr Sphere in the middle was the core where all the mana condensed.

    Lin Li could clearly feel that the mana fluctuations emanating from the huge Sr Sphere in the center of the hall had reached a terrifying level. In terms of mana alone, there was probably nothing in Anril that could possess that much mana. Perhaps only the sun that was high in the sky couldpare to it.

    <i>What a waste to leave such a huge mass of mana here!?</i>Even Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but yearn for the massive Sr Sphere after sensing the mana it contained.

    However, it was almost impossible to take it away. Although the Sr Sphere seemed to be very stable here, it was because of the existence of the Divine-Smith-level mageweaths. If Lin Li could not make a simr arrangement, and overestimated his abilities by moving it to the Sky Castle, the consequences would probably be as dire as an instant annihtion of the entire Sky Castle.

    Lin Li was well aware of that, so he didn¡¯t intend to take it away, and instead raised his hand to release Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua from the Dream Garden.

    ¡°Go ahead and absorb as much mana as you want!¡± Lin Li said to Xiao Hua, who kept making noises beside him, as he pointed at the Sr Sphere.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, Elemental Dragon Xiao Hua immediately chirped with joy, and pounced towards the Sr Sphere in the middle of the hall. The mana in the Sr Sphere had been drained from gods, and had been umting here for thousands of years. Even though a portion of it had been used to seal the gods, the remaining portion was still extremely horrifying.

    Xiao Hua had already grown past the infant stage, and was now in adolescence. If it were to absorb only the mana of the outside world, it would take at least a few hundred years of time to reach adulthood. However, the Sr Sphere that contained the power of the gods was simply the best tonic and growth catalyst for Xiao Hua, and would allow it to reach adulthood in the shortest possible time.

    After making arrangements for the Elemental Dragon, Lin Li returned to the top floor of the Magic Tower. Just like what he did when he arrived, he returned to the Meditation Land in the inverted tower to begin his umtion andprehension.

    Another year passed, but it was only a tiny segment of the long river of time. Even for ordinary people, one year was considered nothing.

    During this one-year period, the transformation of the Sky Castle was already gradually approaching the end. Under themand of Lin Li¡¯s manifestation, the two corpses of the Dragons of Destruction had been perfectly fused together with the Sky Castle.

    Under the effect of the Twin Trees of Eternity, the Dragons of Destruction, and numerous powerful forces, the huge Sky Castle appeared faint in the sky, and looked like it was about to break free from the shackles of the world. If this Sky Castle were a person, it would be a powerful demigod that seemed to be about to reach godhood very soon.

    However, for the rest of Anril, it didn¡¯t seem to be a good year. The magic tides in the space became more and more aggressive, which caused the mages who had been relying on the magic tides to improve their strength to finally stop rejoicing. Their glee was reced by panic and confusion.

    Although the magic tides could quickly enhance the strength of the mages, and even result in severalrge-scale developments in the history of magic civilization, there had to be a limit to everything, and when the magic tides surged beyond the threshold and capacity of the mages, it would probably be a huge disaster for them.

    For example, when filling a container with water, a faster speed would definitely allow the container to be filled sooner. However, when the amount of water exceeded the capacity of the container, and no more water could be added, the container would inevitably break.

    For mages, the amount of mana that could be umted would depend on the realm that they had reached. The higher the realm, therger their capacity. However, in the situation where there was a rapid injection of mana into the magic tides while the realm of the mage¡¯s strength could not be improved at the same speed, the final result would be an outburst.

    Hence, with the surging of the magic tides and the continuous deaths of mages, almost all the mages in Anril were in danger, and no one dared to meditate casually. Besides, they even tried to find ways to control the influx of mana because the speed of the influx of mana had long increased beyond the effects of ordinary meditation.

    The people of the Tower of Dusk had also encountered the same problem. Fortunately, the mages of the Tower of Dusk had a solid foundation; more importantly, because Lin Li had warned them about the danger of the magic tides a long time ago, the mages had long stopped using the magic tide to advance. The other thing that protected them was the Sky Castle. As long as the mages entered the Sky Castle, the defensive barrier formed by the Twin Trees of Eternity and the Dragon of Destruction would be able topletely block out the effects of the magic tides.

    However, the mages of other forces couldn¡¯t survive the disaster that easily. In fact, this event caused fewer mages to dare to roam the outside world. The ordinary people who did not sense anything also suddenly discovered that the high and mighty mages actually vanished from this world overnight.

    Besides, the impact of the magic tides on Anril was not only reflected in the bodies of the mages. Under the surge of the magic tides, thews of Anril slipped into chaos, resulting in an unpredictable climate change. It could be scorching hot one day and snow the other, followed by a thunderstorm the next. Thus, it made even ordinary people feel that there seemed to be terrible changes in this world.

    All of a sudden, all the people in Anril seemed to be petrified and fearful, be it the mages or even the insignificant ordinary people, who all now had heavy hearts.

    The Supreme Council, Darkness Shrine, and Brilliance Shrine were the top forces of Anril that could even manipte the history of the entire continent. Naturally, they were even more concerned about the changes in this world. In response to the abnormal magic tides, several major forces immediately carried an investigation in a bid to figure out the truth behind this phenomenon.

    On the other hand, emissaries of several major forces also arrived at the Sky Castle of the Tower of Dusk on this day, including Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine, High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, and Andoine of the Supreme Council.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s manifestation was outside, it was just like his double that had been fixed in ce, and was specifically responsible for presiding over the transformation of the Sky Castle. It couldn¡¯t rece Lin Li in other aspects.

    Hence, upon hearing about the arrival of these three great figures, Gavin was stuck in a dilemma for a while as he was torn between informing Lin Li about it, and letting the three of them continue waiting for Lin Li toe out and greet them. If the representatives were other people, Gavin wouldn¡¯t feel conflicted even if they were also from the Brilliance Shrine, Darkness Shrine, and Supreme Council. He would just arrange for them to wait somewhere.

    Currently, the Tower of Dusk was no longer the small and powerless force that it was when it was first established. With the powerful Sky Castle alone, they had enough power to hold their heads high in front of the major forces like the Supreme Council. Hence, since Lin Li previously said that he didn¡¯t want to be disturbed, Gavinpletely had the right to make visitors wait for Lin Li toe out.

 Chapter 1298 - Great Demon Deity Magical Crystal

    <h4>Chapter 1298: Great Demon Deity Magical Crystal</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    However, Gavin knew that the three of them had an unusual rtionship with Lin Li, the president of the Tower of Dusk. Englos of the Brilliance Shrine and Sendros of the Darkness Shrine were Lin Li¡¯s old acquaintances, while Andoine, the speaker of the Supreme Council, was Lin Li¡¯s teacher.

    However, when Gavin brought Andoine and the others to the Omniscient Tower of the Sky Castle, he discovered that Lin Li had already appeared in the center of the square.

    ¡°Teacher, Archbishop Englos, Master Sendros, I¡¯m so sorry for not going outside to receive you,¡± Lin Li said to the three of them smilingly.

    Although Lin Li¡¯s attitude was still the same as before, Andoine and the others felt a vague sense of emptiness from Lin Li¡¯s body.

    It was not an emotional detachment, but rather Andoine and the others somehow had a feeling that the Lin Li they were facing belonged to another world. It was as if the person in front of them was intangible and unable to grasp.

    Looking at Lin Li, Andoine and others were at a sudden loss for words.

    Lin Li smiled, and while leading the three into the tower, he said, ¡°Teacher, you¡¯re here regarding the matter of the magic tides, right?¡±

    .

    Lin Li¡¯s words made it easier for Andoine and the others to broach the topic.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve felt the change in the magic tides, haven¡¯t you? After the first few magic tides appeared, the ck Current appeared next. This time, the magic tides are raging so vigorously, and we¡¯re afraid that the subsequent ck Currents will also ur on thergest scale ever.¡± Andoine no longer looked as carefree as he used to be in the past. Instead, he seemed extremely worried.

    Although Andoine had always been bubbly and carefree, the Guild of Magic under the Supreme Council had suffered heavy losses because of the magic tides. He could no longer bring himself tough regardless of how optimistic he used to be.

    ¡°After thest magic tides, arge ck Current appeared in the Sunset Mountains, and it was dispersed only under the joint effort of the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine. However, during that operation, His Holiness the Pope was struck by the viper¡¯s poison. If it weren¡¯t for you who gave the pope an antidote, I¡¯m afraid the consequences would have been unthinkable.¡± Even though the poison in the pope¡¯s body had already been cured, Englos still couldn¡¯t help but have lingering fear when he thought about it.

    There was probably no one who would understand the terror of the ck Current better than the Brilliance Shrine. Even a Sanctuary powerhouse like Pope Rosario had suffered so much damage in the battle of the ck Current. Clearly, it was extremely difficult for those below the Sanctuary-realm to survive battle with the ck Current.

    ¡°Felic, I believe you¡¯re also aware that the Darkness Shrine had once declined precisely because of a disaster simr to the ck Current. However, with the full resistance of the Darkness Shrine and High Priest Rogge¡¯s efforts, that disaster didn¡¯t expand to the extent of the ck Current. However, we suffered heavy losses from it, and were nearly exterminated,¡± said Englos as he brought up the event that led to the decline of the Darkness Shrine.

    Lin Li had also heard more details about that incident from Rogge and Nefa when he entered the great rift in the Eternal Darkness Altar. If it weren¡¯t for High Priest Rogge who had used a branch of the Tree of Eternity to dy the awakening of the me Dragon Lothar, there would probably have been more than just the Minotaus and prehistoric magical beasts emerging from the great rift.

    Of course, that was also the reason that the Darkness Shrine¡¯s crisis became less famous than the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains after that disaster. If a demigod powerhouse like the me Dragon Lothar had emerged from the great rift of the Eternal Altar, the disaster it would¡¯ve brought would probably have been much greater than that brought by the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains.

    ¡°In the Supreme Council¡¯s database, there used to be some notes left behind by Geresco, and the three arbitrators conducted arge-scale research based on them. The conclusion that they reached was that the disaster that would ur this time was probably going to affect the entire Anril. In this disaster, no kingdom or race, not even the Gilded Kingdom and the Sea ns, will be able to survive on its own.¡± Andoine had a grave expression on his face as he talked about the conclusion that the three arbitrators had reached.

    Through Tutankhamun, Lin Li had obtained three of Geresco¡¯s items in the ckstone Mountains. That was actually not a secret at all, and the reason that he had obtained them was likewise known to most of the senior members of various forces.

    Hence, when faced with this disaster that was about to sweep through Anril and destroy everything, the various major forces all coincidentally thought of Lin Li. Although it seemed absurd to pin all their hope of oveing such a disaster on a young man in his twenties, Lin Li was the one who was chosen by Geresco. Since Geresco could lead the rebellion and overthrow the powerful High Elves Dynasty, Lin Li, his sessor, might be able to create a miracle too.

    However, after hearing the intentions of Andoine and others, Lin Li did not immediately make a stand, but instead began contemting.

    In fact, at this moment, Lin Li already had some doubts about the mission that Geresco mentioned.

    At first, he didn¡¯t know how high Geresco¡¯s attainments were, and merely thought that it was probably at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. Hence, it would be understandable if there were times when Geresco could not do anything about the affairs of Anril. After all, a Sanctuary powerhouse was not a god, and even a god couldn¡¯t be omniscient, let alone a Sanctuary powerhouse who was still in the realm of mortals.

    Thus, Geresco made a prophecy about this matter, and deliberately left his legacy to Lin Li in order to help Anril through this disaster. It all made sense.

    However, Lin Li was now certain that Geresco¡¯s achievement was definitely beyond the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and perhaps not even the ordinary Divine-realm. Otherwise, how could he have suppressed gods?

    Of course, the gods sealed under the Cursed Ind might also be the doing of the Immortal King. However, the series of arrangements that Geresco left, including the created world of the inverted tower, were enough to prove that Geresco was probably no weaker than the Immortal King.

    In any case, Geresco¡¯s strength should be on par with the Immortal King¡¯s, and he should also be called a god of gods. Thus, for Geresco, sealing the spatial rift in Anril and helping Anril survive this prophesied disaster was probably effortless.

    In that case, why would Geresco leave a hidden disaster behind, and give Lin Li such a mission? If it was just for the sake of urging Lin Li to improve his strength, it would seem too great of a price to pay. If Lin Li couldn¡¯t reach that step, wouldn¡¯t Anril be in huge trouble?

    Seeing that Lin Li seemed to be contemting something, Andoine and others got a little anxious, but they couldn¡¯t urge him too much. After all, Lin Li¡¯s identity was now different. He was not only the president of the Tower of Dusk, but also the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council who was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. The three of them felt like they were sitting on nails. From time to time, they would exchange nces with each other and look at Lin Li.

    After a long time, Lin Li finally snapped out of his contemtion, smiled slightly at Andoine and the others, and said, ¡°Geresco has indeed predicted this matter, and also left me an incantation to seal the spacetime rift. However, this incantation is very difficult to use, and it also requires the power of that spacetime rift to be released to a certain extent before it can be cast. So, I have some ideas on how to get through this disaster, and I¡¯d like to discuss them with you guys.¡±

    Lin Li was not babbling nonsense. Sealing the spacetime rift was not the same as mending clothes, and it wasn¡¯t as simple as chanting a few incantations. The reason that the spacetime rift appeared was because thews of Anril had lost their bnce; coupled with the help of some existences in the rift, cracks appeared on the spatial barrier.

    If Lin Li wanted to close the spacetime rift, he would have to fight against the existences in the rift, as well as a part of the power of Anril. To Geresco, who was like a god of all gods, that was just a piece of cake, but to Lin Li, it would require a considerable amount of effort.

    Since Andoine and others hade to see him on behalf of their respective forces, Lin Li naturally wanted them to share some of the pressure for him.

    Lin Li¡¯s idea was actually very simple. He would have no issue sealing the spacetime rift, but he would need the help of the major forces to deal with the prehistoric magical beastsing out of the spacetime rift. Otherwise, if a few overlords like the me Dragon Lothar were to emerge, Lin Li probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sessfully seal the rift even though he was now at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    After some discussion, Lin Li, Andoine, and others basically determined the solution to deal with this disaster. Andoine and the others were finally relieved, and the expression on their faces became much more rxed. However, in order to make arrangements in advance, they did not dy, and immediately bade farewell.

    On the way out, Andoine suddenly stopped again, seemingly having remembered something. He turned around, and said to Lin Li, ¡°Felic, before I came, the three arbitrators asked me to ry their message to you so that you remember the agreement you have made with them to visit the Sky Garden when you have time. After all, you¡¯re still the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly. He nodded, and said, ¡°Okay, Teacher, if we can ovee this smoothly, I will go to the Sky Garden to fulfill my obligations as the fourth arbitrator.¡±

    At first, Apophis and the other three arbitrators had asked Lin Li to be the fourth arbitrator of the Supreme Council because they wanted him to help them restore order in the Supreme Council so that it would not be as corrupt as those forces with ancient legacies.

    However, after Lin Li agreed to it, he got busy transforming the Sky Castle and going to the Gilded Kingdom, so he didn¡¯t have much time to do it. Besides, in Lin Li¡¯s heart, the force that really belonged to him was still only the Tower of Dusk, and he didn¡¯t feel a strong sense of belonging to the Supreme Council, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t waste his precious time at the Supreme Council.

    Since Andoine mentioned it this time, Lin Li could not refuse. On the one hand, he had to respect his teacher, and on the other hand, it was indeed awkward to keepying it off.

    However, what was more important now was obviously not to restore order in the Supreme Council, but how to deal with the next disaster. Moreover, Lin Li felt that after this disaster, perhaps the questions in his mind will be answered, and he might reach the Divine-realm in one fell swoop.

    If he were to really reach the Divine-realm, he would have to leave Anril. Even if Lin Li wanted to manage the Supreme Council, he probably couldn¡¯t.

    High Priest Rogge sent an invitation to Lin Li when he left, hoping that Lin Li would visit the Darkness Shrine again when he was free.

    Clearly, High Priest Rogge had alreadye out from the great rift of the Eternal Darkness Altar, and the Darkness Shrine now had two Sanctuary powerhouses, namely High Priest Rogge and Sendros. If they could sessfully endure this disaster, the Darkness Shrine might be able to regain its former glory.

    After sending away Andoine and others, Lin Li and Gavin began to inspect the progress of the transformation of the Sky Castle.

    After a year, the transformation of the Sky Castle was nearing its end. The two corpses of the Dragon of Destruction had increased thebat power of the Sky Castle more than twofold. Even if the seven Sky Castles of the High Elves came together, it would probably be difficult for them to defeat the Sky Castle of the Tower of Dusk.

    However, in Lin Li¡¯s heart, the transformation of the Sky Castle was still one final step short ofpletion. After checking the Sky Castle, he arrived at the core control room underneath the Sky Castle where there was arge magical crystal slowly rotating in the center, and constantly providing mana to all the magic equipment of the Sky Castle through countless mana circuits.

    Even Lin Li used to be bewildered as to what the origin of the magical crystal was, and he merely thought that it was the magical crystal of a magical beast that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm. However, Lin Li¡¯s current realm was no longerparable to the past one, as he was already nearing the Divine-realm, so he had broader horizons too.

    After his mental strength infiltrated the huge magical crystal, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be slightly surprised, though he seemed to think that it was a matter of course. Lin Li faintly felt a hint of the aura of a god in the huge magical crystal, and it turned out that it was probably a magic crystal from a Divine-realm powerhouse.

    ¡°Great demon deity Mosari? No wonder the sealed Mosari was that weak, it turns out that the Immortal King had already taken his magical crystal!¡± Through his mental strength, Lin Li sensed a trace of soul fragments remaining in the magical crystal. Only then did he realize that the true origin of this magical crystal was none other than the great demon deity, Mosari.

 Chapter 1299 - Disaster

    <h4>Chapter 1299: Disaster</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    ording to what Connoris said, the Immortal King had barged straight into the 99th level of the Endless Abyss, and severely wounded the great demon deity Mosari, forcing thetter to leave the abyss and flee into the Endless Ocean. For Mosari who was born in the chaos and was almost immortal, broken limbs and decapitation were not severe injuries at all. Only the loss of his magic crystal was considered severe.

    Perhaps because of the loss of the magical crystal, Mosari and the Gilded Kingdom made a certain demonic trade in the Endless Ocean to restore his strength in a somewhat inferior manner. Otherwise, given his identity as the great demon deity, how could Mosari possibly be willing to make a deal with mortals?

    However, the current magical crystal was no longer sealed with any mark of Mosari¡¯s, and was purely just a mana source for the Sky Castle. Lin Li¡¯s main agenda whening down this time was to transform this mana source, and increase the power limit of the Sky Castle by another notch.

    Lin Li took out the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction from the Ring of Endless Storm, and a dragon shadow could still be seen tossing around inside.

    ¡°Azardas, I found a new body for you, I hope you like it,¡± Lin Li said to the shadow in the Dragon Crystal.

    Boom!

    The phantom of a ck dragon condensed in the sky above the Dragon Crystal, and as soon as it appeared, it waved its fist at Lin Li, and somewhat indignantly yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t sugarcoat your words and make yourself sound so nice.. I haven¡¯t settled the scores with you for bringing me to this world. You¡¯ve already ruined my body, are you going to insult my soul now?¡±

    Lin Li grinned helplessly, and said, ¡°The one who brought you here is the Immortal King, okay? Also, don¡¯t say that I ruined your body, that¡¯ll cause misunderstandings to arise. I was just putting waste to good use. Now that you¡¯re in this Dragon Crystal, there¡¯s nowhere else you can go at all. Why don¡¯t you just fuse with my Sky Castle then? This body will definitely be stronger than your original body in the future. What else are you dissatisfied with?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s like I owe you a living or something. Do whatever you want, anyway, I have no way to resist.¡± At this point, Azardas paused for a moment, and seemed to have recalled something as he said, ¡°But, I have a request. You haven¡¯t named the Sky Castle, have you? Why don¡¯t you just call it the City of Destruction?¡±

    ¡°City of Destruction? What are you thinking? I think you are unlucky because of the word ¡®destruction¡¯ in your name. Are you thinking of bringing your bad luck to my Sky Castle!?¡± In fact, Lin Li did not care much about the name of the Sky Castle, but it couldn¡¯t be too absurd. Besides, the City of Destruction seemed to sound unlucky.

    However, Azardas seemed to be rather stubborn and adamant about that request. Hearing that Lin Li refused to agree, he immediately threw a tantrum. Being a transmigrator from the Endless World game, he was definitely skilled in all kinds of curses, and had arge repertoire that could allow him to curse for three days and nights without repeating himself.

    ¡°In the game, I was killed by you, and here I was tortured by the Immortal King. You even took my body apart to build a house. I¡¯m already unfortunate enough, can¡¯t you just grant me a small wish?!¡± Azardas did not simply curse, but when he saw that Lin Li wasn¡¯t wavering at all, he immediately pretended to be pitiful again.

    Lin Li still needed Azardas¡¯ active cooperation in order to fuse Azardas¡¯ soul with the Sky Castle, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have asked for the opinion of this unlucky guy at all. Seeing how stubborn Azardas was, Lin Li could only nod and say, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll call it the City of Destruction then. Quick, get into that magical crystal.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of fooling me, if I find out you¡¯re not keeping your promise, I¡¯ll mess up and fall asleep during the critical moment,¡± Azardas threatened as he flew towards therge magical crystal with the Dragon Crystal.

    Lin Li chanted an arcane incantation under his breath while drawing rays of mana light in the air with his fingers. On the other hand, Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, who was already close to the power core of the Sky Castle, gradually faded into the huge sun-like magical crystal Sr Sphere.

    When everything waspleted, the Sky Castle suddenly shook vigorously, and the flesh of the Dragon of Destruction wrapped around the surface of the Sky Castle, as if it hade to life in an instant. In the sky above the Sky Castle, a huge dragon-shaped phantom suddenly emerged from the void, and let out an earth-shattering roar while facing the sky.

    Severalyers of ripple-like waves that were visible to the naked eye spread out in all directions from the Sky Castle. Although its appearance didn¡¯t seem to have changed much, everyone could clearly feel that the Sky Castle was different from before!

    The soul of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, became the controller of the Sky Castle¡¯s power core, as if the Sky Castle was given its own soul. No matter how powerful the Sky Castle was, it was still just a lifeless building previously. However, it now became a powerful life, which was unprecedented.

    Of course, Lin Li did not give the Sky Castle to Azardas, and merely let Azardas be something like a smart control system of the Sky Castle. If Azardas really wanted to rebel, Lin Li had plenty of means to chase him out, or even extinguish his soul.

    Outside the Sky Castle, the huge phantom of the Dragon of Destruction dissipated like smoke in the blink of an eye after letting out a roar to vent his anger. That made the people in the Sky Castle, who saw that vision just now, think that they had been hallucinating. However, immediately afterwards, they discovered amazing inexplicable changes in the Sky Castle.

    While everyone was marveling at the changes in the Sky Castle, Lin Li had already left the core power room, and arrived at the top terrace of the Omniscient Tower. Looking at the boundless sky around him, he fell deep in thought.

    No one knew what Lin Li was thinking, but in the next few days, as long as they looked up at the top of the Omniscient Tower, they would be able to see Lin Li¡¯s figure on that terrace all day and night, as if he were a statue.

    Gavin and the other senior members of the Tower of Dusk gradually got a little nervous and worried as they wondered just what was going on with their president. Despite being curious, no one could go up to the top of the Omniscient Tower or have the courage to bother their president at this time.

    Time passed day by day, and some people gradually found that the sky of Anril was no longer turquoise in color, and it was almost like it was dusk the entire day as the firmament seemed to be shrouded in a reddish hue. With the bizarre change, the magic tides that gave the mages a huge headache so far calmed downpletely overnight.

    At the same time, the air was also filled with a strange atmosphere, though it was unclear if everyone was depressed because of the changes in the sky, or if there was really a negative impact or influence. In short, in the next few days, it seemed that everyone¡¯s emotions had be somewhat extreme, and there even seemed to be a few conflicts in the Sky Castle. Only when the power of the Twin Trees of Eternity and the cool aura filled the Sky Castle did the people in the Sky Castle quiet down.

    However, there weren¡¯t the same conditions on the maind as on the Sky Castle. In just a few days, the conflicts that broke out because of trivial matters reached an unprecedented high. Besides, the situation was still developing rapidly, and arge-scale conflict had also broken out even in the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom as it seemed that someone was trying to take the opportunity to overthrow the rule of the royal family.

    Next, disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, gues, and so on broke out one after another in various parts of the maind. More and more people began to spread the word that i was doomsday.

    Finally, news came from the Darkness Shrine that the spacetime rift in the Eternal Darkness Altar had opened, and even the Eternal Darkness Altar, which was previously used to suppress the rift, had been sucked into it. However, fortunately, there were two Sanctuary powerhouses, namely Rogge and Sendros, on the Darkness Shrine¡¯s side. Besides, Nefa had also reached some kind of agreement with the Darkness Shrine, so the Minotaurs and other magical beasts in the rift didn¡¯t give them much trouble.

    As for the me Dragon Lothar whose strength was at the demigod level, he had fallen into deep slumber again due to the power of the Tree of Eternity. Thus, when the spacetime rift erupted this time, Lothar didn¡¯t wake up to create trouble for the Darkness Shrine. Currently, the Darkness Shrine was considered quite lucky in this disaster.

    However, due to the fact that the power of the space rift had yet to be fully released, Lin Li didn¡¯t seal it immediately.

    Immediately after that, the ck Current of Sunset Mountains appeared the next day, and countless magical beasts gathered from all directions to form a horde of beasts that resembled the ck Current.

    An even more terrifying thing was that the effects of the magic tides could affect not only humans. Besides, due to the fact that the bodies of the magical beasts were much stronger than ordinary humans, and they could absorb mana from magical crystals, the benefits that the magical beasts gained from the magic tides were far greater than those the human mages enjoyed.

    In the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains, the strength of the weakest magical beasts was at least above level-15, and Legendary-level magical beasts were no longer as rare as they used to be. Although the prehistoric magical beasts had yet to appear, the ones here that formed a ck Current were already difficult for the humans to resist.

    Under the orders of the Supreme Council and the Brilliance Shrine, the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom had already begun to strengthen the defenses in the Sunset Mountains a few months ago. Although the rtionship between the two kingdoms wasn¡¯t that close-knit, everyone knew that there would be a massive disaster for both kingdoms if the ck Current were to surge into human territories.

    At the same time, the Brilliance Shrine and the Supreme Council both sent their teams of elites to the line of defense at the Sunset Mountains. However, even though they had already treated this disaster as the most severe one ever, they were still frightened to the point of being rendered speechless after finding out the scale of the ck Current in the Sunset Mountains.

    ¡°ording to the scouting we¡¯ve done thest time, there are nearly 300,000 magical beasts in the ck Current, and the number is still increasing. Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t get any more information after scouting again a few more times. For that, we¡¯ve already lost hundreds of scouts level-15 and above. However, no one can get near the ck Current anymore.¡±

    One of the generals in charge ofmanding the army on the fortified fortress walls came over to report the information that they had collected in the past few days to Englos and the others.

    The Sky Castle of the Tower of Dusk had now been renamed as City of Destruction, and Lin Li was still standing on the terrace on the top of the Tower of Dusk. He was staring outside the City of Destruction, and seemed to have already seen the various drastic changes that were going on in Anril.

    With his strength that was at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm and his powerful mental strength, Lin Li could acutely sense every single change in thews of this world. Although he didn¡¯t personally check out the various ces where spatial rifts might ur like Englos and the others did, he knew that Geresco¡¯s prophecy was indeed gradually bing a reality.

    <i>Geresco, what exactly do you want!?</i>

    That was not the first time Lin Li asked that question in his mind. Waiting for the power of the spacetime rift to be released was indeed a reason he hadn¡¯t struck yet, but a more important reason was that he was still troubled by that matter.

    Although he couldn¡¯t guess the answer, Lin Li had a vague feeling that Geresco had arranged all of this for him with the ultimate purpose of fulfilling the mission of saving the world.

    While Lin Li was thinking and waiting, the sky finally stopped turning dark as usual, and it was as if dusk was infinitely prolonged. There was no sun nor moon in the sky.

    There was a sudden tremor, which wasn¡¯t like that of an earthquake, but it could be felt even in the City of Destruction in the sky. It was as if Anril was shaking in pain. At the same time, that tremor also caused a whistling sound to appear in the air, even though there wasn¡¯t a trace of wind. It was probably the roar of Anril.

    After 10 days of congregating, the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains finally surged out of the mountains and towards the human defense line like a flood. However, the strange thing was that all the magical beasts were silent, and they didn¡¯t let out a single roar at all. The only sounds that apanied them were their thunder-like steps.

    The hundreds of thousands of magical beasts had at least level-15 strength, and the sounds of their steps when they were running made the ground shake violently like there was an earthquake.

    And the warriors standing on the walls of the line of defense of the Ledin Kingdom and Fn Kingdom seemed to have been affected by the tremor as their legs went limp in the face of the ferocious ck Current. They couldn¡¯t stand still at all, and were swaying unsteadily.

    However, immediately afterwards, the generals roared and ordered all of them to get ready for battle. At the same time, priests from the Brilliance Shrine and the Darkness Shrine, as well as mages from the Guild of Magic, all appeared on the walls, giving the warriors confidence.

 Chapter 1300 - Moonlight Magic Staff

    <h4>Chapter 1300: Moonlight Magic Staff</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    More importantly, everyone here had long gotten the news that the two Legendary-level archbishops of the Brilliance Shrine, and High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, who was already a Sanctuary powerhouse, were already in this fortress.

    For ordinary people, a Legendary powerhouse was already an admirable existence, while Sanctuary powerhouses were mythical figures. Hence, when they heard that there were Legendary powerhouses and Sanctuary powerhouses in the fortress, the warriors in the fortress were much less fearful when facing the raging ck Current, as if they had found a new faith.

    However, in Anril, the ck Current of the Sunset Mountains was indeed not the most dangerous thing. At the same time that the ck Current erupted in the Sunset Mountains, there was an invasion of prehistoric magical beasts in several other ces in Anril.

    In the sky above the Emerald Forest where the elves lived, a dark rift slowly opened like an eye. The Evil Eye that was waving its countless tentacles, a Chimaera that had fleshy wings on its back, and all sorts of other prehistoric magical beastsnded on the forest like raindrops.

    Some of thend were settlements of small ns where the elves resided, and suffered a destructive catastrophe almost in an instant. The elegant and beautiful elves no longer cared about mannerism as they all began tounch counterattacks against the prehistoric magical beasts.

    The beautiful sacredke, the Heart of Emerald, where the royal elves resided was dyed red with the blood of the elves and the prehistoric magical beasts.. The elven queen and the elders of the elven ns were fighting ferociously against an Evil Eye Tyrant as well as a four-headed Chimaera in the sky and on the ground.

    The death mist in the Shadowglen in nna, the capital of the Fn Kingdom, where countless Undead creatures had gathered, had be much thinner. A bunch of Earth Fire Dragon Rhinoceros rushed out from the cracks in the ground as One-Eyed Giants chased them out, trampling all the existences in their path.

    At this moment, the three great Undead Lords of the Shadowglen seemed to be extremely disheveled. Even the magic tides couldn¡¯t allow them to reach the Sanctuary-realm. In this apocalyptic disaster, they still seemed too weak.

    Just as the three Undead Lords were almost feeling hopeless, a figure suddenly emerged in midair, while arge fireball that resembled the sun charged towards the prehistoric magical beasts. In an instant, a hole was sted in the originally somewhat densely packed bunch of prehistoric magical beasts.

    At this moment, the three Undead Lords finally got a clear glimpse of the person who had saved them. It was Megard, the arbitrator of the Supreme Council who had been here before.

    Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine and Arbitrator Apophis of the Supreme Council could be considered the top powerhouses of Anril, but at this time, both of them had a grim look on their faces, and their eyes were glued to the enemy opposite them. They didn¡¯t dare to rx at all.

    ¡°The air in Anril is really notparable to that of the rift, especially this overwhelming smell of fear. I really miss the rift,¡± said a monster with a human head but a snake¡¯s body that was floating in midair. It was hundreds of meters long, and its head was full of densely packed venomous snakes.

    This human-headed snake-bodied monster was Queen Medusa that existed in myths and legends. Her strength had reached the level of the demigods, and she was truly an old monster that had survived since the prehistoric times. Even during the prehistoric times, she was one of the very few top powerhouses.

    On the ground, countless Medusas were besieging the Holy Mountain of Light and fighting vigorously against the Brilliance Shrine. In fact, even the believers of Light had no choice but to retreat.

    In this disaster that swept throughout the world, the Breezy ins could scarcely remain unaffected. While the cracks spread in all directions and the prehistoric magical beasts descended, a horrifying change that shocked countless people urred in the sky above Dnd where the Tower of Dusk was located.

    An eye appeared in the massive spacetime rift, and rolled around, as if it were peeking at the world through the rift. Gradually, the rift gotrger andrger, and fingers that were almost as thick as a mountain peak appeared on both sides of the rift, as if they were trying to tear the rift open themselves because it was just opening too slow.

    Below the spacetime rift, many powerhouses of the Breezy ins had already gathered there, along with Norfeller and Ujfalusi, who had been sent over by the Tower of Dusk. The Lord Devourer Garl, whose body was like a giant worm, as well as the Elemental Dragon, Xiao Hua, whose body shone with a brilliant light of mana, appeared at the same time.

    All of them looked nervously at the changes in the sky. Although the other party had yet to fully descend, they had all felt a terrifyingly powerful aura from the rift.

    The aura was vast and full of violence, so much so that everyone below couldn¡¯t help but be frightened by it. In particr, the Legendary powerhouses felt extremely small, and they even began to experience breathing difficulties.

    As that rift gradually opened, the terrifying existence inside finally squeezed out of it. Its massive head and half of its strong body had appeared, making the people below think of the legendary and famous existence.

    ¡°Titan, it¡¯s actually a Titan!¡± the two pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses of the Mithril Alliance, Elvis and Rojet, eximed in unison.

    The other pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses and Legendary powerhouses seemed to have suddenly been jolted awake as they stared at the giant that was struggling to get out of the rift with shock, fear, and horror written all over their faces.

    Titans were one of the protagonists of the prehistoric times who had once fought the ancient wyrms for the rulership of Anril. It could be said that during the prehistoric times, the Titans and the ancient wyrms were the most powerful races. Although there were many top powerhouses among the other prehistoric magical beasts, their overall strength was still no match for these two top races.

    However, after the end of the prehistoric times, the ancient wyrms still had some descendants, but the Titans had almostpletely disappeared from Anril. No one expected that the Titans would reappear in Anril tens of thousands of years after the end of the prehistoric times.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Titan,¡± Lin Li said as he stood on the terrace of the Omniscient Tower while looking at the giant that was breaking free from the rift in the distance. He thought about what the me Dragon Lothar had once said.

    When stopping the me Dragon Lothar from entering Anril, that old dragon, which had been sleeping for countless years, had once roared and tried topete with the Titans again. However, at that time, Lin Li and others thought that the old dragon Lothar was either dazed from sleeping for too long or had be senile. They didn¡¯t believe that there was a single surviving Titan at all.

    However, now it seemed that the me Dragon Lothar had indeed not spouted nonsense, because the Titans had never really left Anril. Instead, they had still been paying close attention, and had been awaiting the opportunity to regain dominance in Anril.

    However, even so, Lin Li did not think of letting the ancient wyrm, me Dragon Lothar, in. Thews of Anril were out of bnce, and the spatial barriers were already covered in holes. Thus, if he really allowed the ancient wyrms and Titans to use this ce as a battlefield again, this world probably wouldn¡¯t be far from destruction.

    There was a sudden sound of a horn that prated straight through the clouds, as if it could travel tens of thousands of kilometers.

    In ordance with Lin Li¡¯s instructions, Norfeller blew the ice horn, which was a token left to Lin Li by the Icest Wyrm, Sindera, who imed that it could help Lin Li in a battle.

    All along, Lin Li had never used this horn to summon the Icest Wyrm Sindera, be it when he was facing Osric or High Priest Poer who was below the Cursed Ind.

    Now that Lin Li had be stronger than the Icest Wyrm Sindera, there was no longer a need for him to retain this horn as a trump card. Not wanting to let it go to waste, he handed it to Norfeller, and asked him to use the power of the Icest Wyrm ordingly in correspondence to the situation.

    As the horn sounded, the surrounding temperature suddenly plunged significantly, and a silvery white dragon then emerged from the void, and appeared in the sky.

    Before Sindera could ask about the reason that he had been summoned, his attention was immediately attracted by the Titan in the rift as soon as he appeared.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Titan! Arisandes!¡± Sindra called out the name of that Titan immediately. Clearly, he had already known the Titan since the prehistoric times. At this moment, the Titan also stopped moving, and looked down at the Icest Wyrm Sindera. He said in a thunderous voice, ¡°Sindera, I didn¡¯t expect you to have be like this after such a long time!¡±

    Sindera had already lost his body. Although he had somehow condensed a body with the power of the Sanctuary-realm, there were still obvious differences. After discovering the change, the Titan spoke in a contemptuous tone, clearly gloating over Sindera¡¯s unfortunate plight.

    The ancient wyrms and the Titans could be said to be at odds against each other. Countless wars had broken out between them in the prehistoric times, and countless members of their races had also died, making it impossible to bury the hatchet. The loss of his body had already made Sindera rather depressed in the first ce, and now he was actually ridiculed by his enemy. Anger surged within him uncontrobly.

    ¡°I might have lost my body, but it¡¯s still a piece of cake for me to kill you!¡± Sindera raised the wings on his back, and flew towards the Titan in the rift while spewing a mass of ice mes from his mouth.

    The Titan simrly reached out and summoned a Titan Dragon Spear to draw a thunderbolt, which surged towards the ice me dragon¡¯s breath. While sting away the ice me, the Titan suddenly applied strength, and finally emerged from the spatial rift.

    The first Titan was like a plunger that stopped water from flowing out of a pool. As he finally jumped out of the spatial rift, numerous other Titans immediately emerged one after another.

    Titans did not have the ability to fly. Aftering out of the spatial rift, they smashed into the ground with a violent whistling, just like meteors. In the blink of an eye, everything on the ground was destroyed by the Titans, and more than 20 Titans stood on the ground like mountains.

    ¡°Fight, if you want to survive, you have to fight!¡± Looking at Norfeller and Ujfalusi who had already moved towards the Titans, the pseudo-Sanctuary powerhouses of the various forces of the Breezy ins also raised their weapons.

    Just as the Titans descended, Lin Li, who had been standing as quietly as a statue on the terrace at the top of the City of Destruction, finally moved too.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t go over to provide support for the people of the Breezy ins, nor did he go to any of the battlefields that the people of the Fn Kingdom and Ledin Kingdom were fighting in. Instead, he maneuvered the Sky Castle, and moved it to the Great Whirlpool where the Tree of Eternity was said to have copsed.

    Legend had it that the Great Whirlpool appeared on the ground because Geresco destroyed the High Elves¡¯ Tree of Eternity. No one knew exactly where the Great Whirlpool led to, and no one had ever gotten out alive after entering it. Thus, the Great Whirlpool was definitely one of the most dangerous ces in Anril. However, due to the fact that no terrifying life forms had emerged, no one really paid attention to it.

    Lin Li remembered getting a message from Brahere¡¯s soul when he was in Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum. It stated that he could find the weapon he had used in the Great Whirlpool. Although Brahere¡¯s soul had treated Lin Li as the Immortal King, Lin Li was certain that the weapon should be the Stars of Fury that he was looking for.

    Besides, Lin Li had clearly sensed that a great rift in which an absolutely terrifying existence was hidden was right above the Great Whirlpool.

    The dragon wings on both sides of the City of Destruction pped slightly twice, and the huge Sky Castle immediately vanished without a trace. Almost at the same time, the massive City of Destruction was gradually revealed 5,000 kilometers away in the sky above the Great Whirlpool. It then gradually solidified.

    ¡°Moonlight Staff!¡± Lin Li took out the Moonlight Staff that he had obtained from Prince Brahere¡¯s mausoleum, which was the very same one that the Immortal King had given to the High Elven queen. ording to Prince Brahere¡¯s message, he would be able to retrieve the Stars of Fury by bringing the Moonlight Staff to the Great Whirlpool where the Tree of Eternity had fallen.

    In fact, the Moonlight Staff was a weapon that Lin Li had obtained in the Endless World. However, Lin Li had long gotten used to that, and couldn¡¯t be bothered to study it anymore. Anyway, so many things from the Endless World had already appeared in this world, and one more wouldn¡¯t make a difference.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t chant any incantations or inject his mental strength into it. Instead, he took out the Moonlight Staff, which could only be used by the High Elves¡¯ descendants. As soon as he did, it began emitting brilliant rays of light. The light on the staff became more and more dazzling as it began to spread everywhere, shrouding the massive Great Whirlpool.

 Chapter 1301 - What Do You Want?

    <h4>Chapter 1301: What Do You Want?</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The Great Whirlpool that had been spinning for thousands of years suddenly began to elerate when it was enveloped by the light of the Moonlight Staff. At the same time, a speck of stardust lit up in the center of the Great Whirlpool, as if there was a twinkling star in the pitch-ck sky at night. However, the light was gradually getting more and more intense. It was as if something was emerging from the Great Whirlpool.

    ¡°Stars of Fury, I¡¯m finally seeing you again!¡± Lin Li had already acutely sensed the aura of the Stars of Fury from that speck of starlight, and he was certain that what he was about to see would definitely not be something that was condensed out of mana again.

    The speck of starlight became brighter and brighter until it darted out of the center of the Great Whirlpool like a bolt of lightning. It hovered quietly in front of Lin Li, and rotated slowly like it was on disy.

    Upon sight of the Stars of Fury that he had been searching for such a long time hovering in front of him, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but feel agitated, even though his strength was already at such a high level. This was the Stars of Fury, which was essential for the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars to be fully exerted: thebination of the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars would form an artifact that could truly destroy the demons and y the gods.

    Looking at the Stars of Fury that was rotating slowly in front of him, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but tremble in excitement. He raised his hand carefully, and reached towards the Stars of Fury, as if he was afraid of scaring it away..

    The seven pieces of the debris of the stars began to appear in the air around Lin Li like satellites before turning into streams of light that flew towards the Stars of Fury that was already in Lin Li¡¯s palm one by one. Upon contact with it, they turned into sharp arrows that began shaking and chirping.

    With the Stars of Fury in hand, most of the anxiety and uneasiness in Lin Li¡¯s heart was dispelled. With the power of the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, he was already confident enough to face any possible situation. The prehistoric magical beasts and Titans in the spatial rifts could no longer pose a threat to him.

    At this moment, a ck spot suddenly appeared in the spot in the sky that corresponded to the Great Whirlpool, just like a drop of ink in water that spread out rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it had already dyed arge patch of the sky, and a huge inverted vortex formed in the sky, seemingly corresponding to the Great Whirlpool on the ground.

    Seeing such a change, Lin Li suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and tilted his head while waiting quietly. One of the important reasons for his visit to the Great Whirlpool was to obtain the Stars of Fury. However, another reason was that this was also the spot where thergest spatial rift of the disaster had appeared.

    Besides, ording to what High Priest Rogge said in the past, a truly terrifying existence that could destroy this world was hidden in the great rift. Compared to this terrifying existence, the prehistoric magical beasts and Titans were just like cannon fodder that was at the frontline of a battle.

    Standing on the terrace of the Omniscient Tower, Lin Li waited quietly, while the Stars of Fury in his hand flickered, and the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars formed a radiant sight.

    The canopy of the City of Destruction opened, and the Realm of Life and Death of the Twin Trees of Eternity enveloped the entire city. All the attack weapons such as Magical Crystal Cannons and Sky-breaker also began charging. At this moment, there was no one else apart from Lin Li at the edge of the City of Destruction, and all the attacks and defenses were taken over by Azardas¡¯ soul.

    In the sky above the City of Destruction, the phantom of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, surfaced in the sky, and roared when he looked at the ck vortex in the sky like Lin Li did.

    Finally, a figure emitting light slowly emerged from the ck vortex, but it was way too smallpared to the vortex. It was far from being as shocking as thoserge prehistoric magical beasts.

    However, with the appearance of this figure, the light on its body gradually illuminated the surroundings, as if a sun was lighting up in the middle of the huge vortex. The vortex also seemed to have stopped rotating around the sun, and gradually became thinner.

    When that figure gradually walked towards him, Lin Li frowned, and he looked at the former with great suspicion in his eyes. The veins on the fist that he was holding the Stars of Fury with began bulging, and his knuckles had also turned pale. He seemed to be trying his best to suppress his emotions.

    When the figure stopped at a short distance away from Lin Li, he finally adjusted his emotions, and said in a low tone of voice, ¡°Should I call you Geresco or the Immortal King?¡±

    Lin Li did not expect that the one who appeared in front of him was actually Geresco, who had guided him all the way here. In fact, from the perspective of inheritance, Geresco could be considered his teacher. After all, all the knowledge of magic that he had was closely rted to Geresco.

    Looking at the figure in front of him, Lin Li was very certain that what he saw this time was definitely no longer a manifestation, but a true God of Mages. However, Lin Li did not directly address the figure as Geresco. Instead, he asked such a sentence that others would find unbelievable.

    Actually, Lin Li, who had been puzzled by the rtionship between the Immortal King and Geresco for a long time, suddenly thought of an extremely unbelievable spection at this moment.

    Lin Li thought of the time when he defeated that Hunter¡¯s Shadow in the Well of the Sun. At that time, the Immortal King had left a message saying that he was looking forward to meeting him in the Great Whirlpool, but now the one who appeared was Geresco.

    Although Geresco¡¯s shadow said it was returning a favor for someone back in the tower under the Cursed Ind, which seemed to be separating the Immortal King from Geresco, Lin Li also remembered that the shadow had begun introducing himself as Geresco at some point. The introduction was rather strange, and he wondered,?<i>Since he started being Geresco at that time, who was the one before that?</i>

    Hence, after seeing Geresco¡¯s true body, Lin Li asked that somewhat absurd question.

    ¡°I was once the Immortal King, but now I¡¯m Geresco. You¡¯d better just call me Geresco, and consider the Immortal King as a part of history,¡± Geresco answered calmly, clearly unconcerned about that question. After all, at his current level, his identity didn¡¯t matter anymore.

    However, after hearing Geresco¡¯s answer with his own ears, Lin Li couldn¡¯t stay calm anymore. There were too many legends about the Immortal King and Geresco in Anril, but no one had ever thought that the two could be the same person. The Immortal King created the High Elves¡¯ dynasty, while Geresco had led a rebellion to overthrow the same dynasty, which was akin to destroying his own achievements.

    However, considering the level that Geresco was at, Lin Li felt that it was understandable again. Be it the Immortal King or Geresco, they had all been existences that were like god of gods. To him, High Elves were probably just ythings. In fact, in the eyes of Geresco, human beings and other intelligent races were probably nobodies.

    Now that Anril was facing an apocalyptic disaster, Lin Li had no choice but to think of Geresco. He wondered,?<i>Is this also the result of Geresco¡¯s intentional maniption, just like the overthrowing of the High Elves?¡¯</i>

    Lin Li¡¯s thoughts were not exaggerated at all. Geresco had pushed the Tree of Eternity down, and the imbnce in thews of Anril was also caused by the fall of the Tree of Eternity. Given Geresco¡¯s strength, Lin Li did not believe that it was really necessary to destroy the Tree of Eternity to destroy the High Elves. In that case, Geresco¡¯s approach was worth thinking about.

    ¡°Well, Geresco, can you now tell me, what exactly do you want?¡± Lin Li had asked himself that question 1,000 times, and he really wondered what exactly was Geresco doing all this for. After learning of the rtionship between the Immortal King and Geresco, his desire to find out the answer to this question was getting stronger and stronger.

    At this moment, Geresco was already standing at the top of the entire world, and even the gods had to bow down to him. Lin Li really couldn¡¯t figure out just what else Geresco was dissatisfied with after having made so many great achievements. Could it all be just for a game?

    Frankly speaking, the conjecture was rather displeasing. Although being treated as a pawn and a toy was essentially about the same, a pawn at least had a meaningful existence, and served a purpose. A toy was just disgusting. In particr, Lin Li wasn¡¯t even willing to be someone else¡¯s pawn, much less a toy.

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, a smile appeared on Geresco¡¯s face, and he looked at Lin Li with an indifferent gaze. He asked, ¡°Do you think I should be satisfied with my current attainments?¡±

    Lin Li froze for a moment, frowned, and sized up Geresco from head to toe before saying, ¡°Given your ability to suppress the gods, there is barely anyone who is a match for you. You have an endless lifespan and great strength. Aren¡¯t you satisfied with that?¡±

    ¡°Gods? They are just a bunch of ants under the supremew!¡± Geresco¡¯s tone was full of disdain for the gods, and at the same time, he seemed to be rather disappointed with Lin Li. He continued, ¡°Under the supremew, even I am only an ant-like existence. I¡¯m just slightly stronger than the others. If I get all gleeful andcent from these minor achievements, won¡¯t I seem too ignorant?¡±

    ¡°The supremew?¡± This was the first time Lin Li had ever heard of such a thing.

    Everyone knew that this world wasposed of variousws that boiled down to the elementalws. The otherws of things like ice, snow, nts, etc., were derived from these sevenws.

    <i>In that case, what is the supremew? To ascend to the Divine-realm, a Sanctuary powerhouse has to break free from the restraint of the seven greatws, and be a great existence that jumped out of this world. However, Geresco has clearly be a god of gods. Yet, he mentioned a supremew.?</i>

    ¡°ording to the words used in your word, the supremew is something like the rite of heaven. Can you understand now? Even the gods still do not get true freedom and immortality from the supremew. I want to break the supremews, and be free from all restraint to achieve immortality!¡± Geresco exined with a murderous gaze in his eyes, as if the target he had been finding for tens of thousands of years was close at hand.

    After hearing Geresco¡¯s exnation, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by his insanity. At the same time, he was also full of doubts and skepticism about the so-called realm of nothing.

    However, if the real nothing could be exined, it probably wouldn¡¯t be called nothing. It was just like saying the universe was empty, theck of light was tantamount to darkness, and ack of temperature was coldness, but darkness was not nothing. Was extreme coldness nothing too? Perhaps, darkness and extreme cold was a manifestation of thews, so what kind of existence was that?

    In the game world, the gods were supreme beings, but they were still bound by thews of the world in the game. However, after jumping out of the in-game world, they would belong to another world. No one knew if there might be a pair of eyes peeking into the so-called real world, and perhaps there might be another existence behind that peeping person.

    That seemed to be simply an unanswerable question! Lin Li could not figure it out at all, but he could only put it aside and look at Geresco. ¡°How do you know that there isn¡¯t another greaterw beyond your so-called supremew?¡±

    Geresco smiled and looked into the distance, seemingly looking down on the entire Anril. After a moment, he finally said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Actually, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been to that in-game world of yours, and I know that it¡¯s surprisingly just a ything of another world. So, I¡¯m curious to know if I¡¯m also just a ything of a higher existence. As for your question, what does it matter if there is a higherw beyond the supremew? If there is, I¡¯ll break it again!¡±

    Geresco¡¯s tone was very t and calm at first, but towards the end, it finally made Lin Li experience the courage of the God of Mages to explore everything, as well as his domineering bravery to break allws. The path of the mage was exactly as such, manipting nomological power to break the power ofws. That was probably the most fundamental reason why Geresco could have such achievements.

    Although he felt that Geresco¡¯s appearance was not just to answer his doubts, Lin Li was still impressed by Geresco¡¯s spirit.

    However, despite being awestruck, Lin Li wouldn¡¯t forget about his own matters just because of that. Thus, he asked, ¡°In this case, what does the goal you¡¯re working towards have to do with me? Why did you drag me into this world? Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s for the sake of returning a favor. I think you don¡¯t believe that reason yourself, either.¡±

 Chapter 1302 - Reason

    <h4>Chapter 1302: Reason</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Geresco didn¡¯t answer Lin Li¡¯s question directly, and instead looked at Anril somewhat sentimentally as he said with indifference, ¡°I was born in the prehistoric times with the Tree of Eternity, and I have witnessed the rise and fall of the ancient wyrms and Titans. I met the one I loved, and helped her and her race to be the rulers of this world. Only when I lost her did I realize how ridiculous my so-called immortality was.¡±

    Hearing this, Lin Li seemed to have grasped a crucial detail, although it sounded just like a corny love story. Since the Immortal King had been born together with the Tree of Eternity, wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Immortal King was one of the Twin Trees of Eternity? One was eternal, while the other was immortal. The Immortal King had merely lost his tree body, leaving Anril with only one Tree of Eternity left.

    At the same time, another question that Lin Li had had also been answered: why did the Immortal King always have a terrifying aura of death? The founder of the Darkness Shrine, High Priest Rogge, had been transformed into a semi-Undead existence precisely because of the death aura that rippled from afar during the battle between the Immortal King and the Dragon of Destruction.

    Geresco did not pay attention to Lin Li¡¯s expression, and seemed to be speaking to himself instead of Lin Li. However, his tone was calm and slow, as if he wasn¡¯t talking about himself at all. He slowly said, ¡°I began to pursue true immortality, and this is where I found the passage to another world.¡±

    Geresco was obviously referring to the Endless World game when he mentioned the other world.. Hearing this, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but coldly ask, ¡°So, you set your sights on my Hunter character, as well as Stars of Fury and debris of the stars, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Without showing the slightest shame for being a thief, Gerescoughed nonchntly, and unabashedly said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s probably what I meant by the influence of the supremew! I found out that I could bring what you call virtual items in the game world to this world, and everything would be realized in a tangible form. That¡¯s how the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars appeared in this world.¡±

    ¡°However, it seems that this did not allow you to reach true eternity and immortality. It seems that even your disciple didn¡¯t take you seriously anymore.¡± Lin Li thought of Highlord Osric, and based on the bits of information he had, he reckoned that Osric wasn¡¯t very respectful to the Immortal King.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a fool who was bewitched andpelled by the gods. This channel is an existence that even the gods would go nuts about, and in order to get information about that world, the gods naturally had to use their brains to extract something from that dimwit.¡± Geresco¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t affected at all. Although Geresco had been tricked by his disciple, which wasn¡¯t an honorable thing, Osric had ultimately already received the punishment he deserved.

    Lin Li had also heard about some matters of the past from Geresco, such as the fact that Geresco had found the passage to another world, or that the gods and Osric had reached some kind of agreement to obtain the secrets about the passage as well as the other world.

    Lin Li was reminded of the fact that Highlord Osric had returned to the Eternal Furnace some time after leaving, which Connoris had told him about. However, Osric had been seriously injured, and had had no choice but to set up his mausoleum in advance and create a new body in order to be able to be reborn. Osric¡¯s serious injury obviously had something to do with the Immortal King.

    ¡°So, is this the reason why you suppressed the gods in the Endless Ocean?¡± Lin Li thought of the Magic Tower under the Cursed Ind where the gods had been sealed.

    ¡°I removed the obstacle that was hindering them from entering this world, and made them think that the passage was underneath that ind. I¡¯m afraid those gods that had always been high and mighty would never believe that they¡¯d be sealed there forever.¡± There wasn¡¯t a tinge of pride or arrogance in Geresco¡¯s tone, and it was as if he was just talking about a trivial matter.

    However, Lin Li could imagine that things were definitely not as simple as Geresco said. Clearing the obstacle that hindered their entry to this world meant the extermination of the five Dragon Aspects of Anril, which were the five great guardians.

    Deceiving the gods and misleading them into thinking that the passage was below the Cursed Ind definitely took more than just telling a few lies. That made Lin Li think of the Endless Ocean and the seven inds on which there were Divine-Smith-level mageweath towers. He reckoned that that was probably the key to deceiving the gods.

    Although he knew some of the secrets of what happened then, they were not what he was truly concerned about. Thus, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°You still haven¡¯t said what all this has to do with me.¡±

    ¡°After suppressing the gods, I was left with only one goal, and that was to challenge the supremew, and to be the one that dominates everything and is above all. I wanted to achieve true eternal immortality. However, I finally discovered that this body, which gave me great power, had an irreparable w that became an insurmountable obstacle for me. To eliminate this w, I became Geresco, and overrode everything of the past and severed all ties that belonged to the Immortal King.¡± Geresco finally came clean about his rtionship with the Immortal King, and also stated the reason for overthrowing the High Elves.

    In the other world that Lin Li belonged to before he transmigrated, there was amon belief called karma. In order to obtain higher attainments and to break the supremew, the Immortal King became Geresco and overthrew the High Elves, which was considered a severance of the karma between him and the High Elves, as well as his past.

    Lin Li knew without having to guess that Geresco had obviously also failed to achieve the desired goal. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been a need for Lin Li¡¯s transmigration.

    As he expected, Geresco turned to look at Lin Li again, and said, ¡°Unfortunately, I still didn¡¯t seed. However, I found the reason, and that¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Lin Li froze in shock for a moment. Even though he knew he had guessed one point correctly, he didn¡¯t think that Geresco¡¯s ability to break the supremew would have anything to do with himself.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s you, so I went back to the time when I first returned from that world, brought you to Anril, and ced you in the present, which is more than 1,000 years since then. I needed you to grow up so that I could use you to make up for my shorings. That¡¯s why you and I are here now.¡± After saying that, Geresco looked at Lin Li quietly, seemingly trying to observe Lin Li¡¯s reaction, but he also seemed to be looking at a piece of inanimate material that could make up for his own ws.

    Hearing his answer, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but get the chills, because he had suspected that he was being used as a pawn or a ything, but he¡¯d never expected that he would be treated as a material meant topensate for someone else¡¯s ws. Facing Geresco, a god of gods, Lin Li, who was merely at the peak level of the Sanctuary-realm, involuntarily shuddered a little.

    Lin Li wasn¡¯t clear about what shorings Geresco was referring to, but he was sure that the Hunter avatar that Geresco upied in the beginning and his life profession ount that he had used to transmigrate had to be connected in some way. In that case, Geresco¡¯s n to make up for the shorings was clearly a fusion between the two.

    Of course, Lin Li could be sure that since Geresco had such a great goal of breaking the supremew to achieve nothingness, which was above allws, it was unlikely that Geresco would be selfless enough to give up his own body. In that case, the only possibility would be that Geresco was nning to devour Lin Li in order to make the fusion happen.

    At this moment, a freezing chilliness suddenly spread into his hand, as if it was about to freeze his soul. The fear and scruples that Lin Li had about Geresco, his confusion, and frustration from being at a loss for what to do actually calmed down at this moment.

    Lin Li, who was slightly calmer now, subconsciously clenched his fist slightly, and the cold and hard sensation surged over again. It was the Stars of Fury!

    Geresco was undoubtedly strong, but when feeling the Stars of Fury in his hand, Lin Li gradually felt a sense of pride too. Even though Geresco was the God of Gods, Lin Li had once killed Azardas the Dragon of Destruction with the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars back in the Endless World. How could he not have the courage to fight now?

    Since Lin Li arrived in this world, he had faced countless opponents whose strength was far beyond his own. If he had been the type to give up whenever he faced a powerful enemy, he would have probably died a long time ago. He was well aware that regardless of how desperate of a situation he was in, mustering the courage to try and fight for a chance of survival was the only way to find a trace of hope of living. Giving up would only lead to true despair.

    Of course, Lin Li, who had made up his mind, did not immediately take action against Geresco, and instead just looked at him with contempt. He said, ¡°In this case, why do you need to make these arrangements for me? You could just grab me and do whatever you wanted to me.¡±

    Lin Li wanted to know what making up for Geresco¡¯s ws was all about, and he reckoned that it might be a powerful bargaining chip when he was in a desperate situation. He could now vaguely guess that Geresco¡¯s so-calledpensation for his ws should be more than just the simple devouring of his soul. If that hadn¡¯t been the case, Geresco would not have had to make such arrangements and push him to such a level.

    Geresco wasn¡¯t provoked or angered by Lin Li¡¯s mockery, and he seemed to have everything under control. Thus, without hiding anything at all, he said, ¡°It seems that you have already guessed it. Firstly, I don¡¯t need a weakling, so I made all of these arrangements so that your strength and capabilities can be improved step by step. Secondly, I want you to willingly give everything you have.¡±

    Lin Li couldn¡¯t help but sneer. The respect he once had for this God of Mages had long vanished without a trace, and he coldly said, ¡°Making me give up everything willingly? You might be the god of gods, but you¡¯re taking it for granted! I may be weaker than you, but I¡¯m not going to hold myself that cheap!¡±

    However, a smile appeared on Geresco¡¯s face when he heard Lin Li¡¯s words, and he said, ¡°Yes, what I want is your heart of resistance and your fighting spirit. If you didn¡¯t have it, you wouldn¡¯t be qualified to join me in achieving the nothingness above the supremew.¡±

    Gresco¡¯s answer made Lin Li almost spurt a mouthful of blood. To think that his decision to fight and retaliate was exactly what Geresco wanted. Of course, even so, he did not want to give up resisting, because it was clear that Geresco didn¡¯t intend to let Lin Li off even if thetter wasn¡¯t qualified. After all, there was no need for a person who didn¡¯t have any value to exist.

    Looking at the changes in the expression on Lin Li¡¯s face, Geresco smiled slightly as he seemed to have already seen through Lin Li¡¯s inner thoughts. He directly said, ¡°Besides, this may benefit you in some way. You should have probably guessed that something is wrong since you haven¡¯t been able to ignite the Divine Fire and ascend to the Divine-realm for such a long time.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lin Li looked at Geresco with some doubts, and a thought shed in his mind.?<i>Could I have thought wrongly?</i>

    ¡°The w I¡¯m talking about is not only within my body, but also in yours. Don¡¯t you want to make up for it and take that final step? In fact, it¡¯s even possible for you to be nothing beyond the supremew, and achieve true eternal immortality!¡± There was some temptation and yearning in Geresco¡¯s tone, which was his desire for the great goal he was pursuing.

    However, Lin Li remained absolutely calm in the face of Geresco¡¯s temptation and coercion. His strength was now only at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, and he was still worlds apart from the ethereal realm. Besides, in his opinion, maybe what Geresco meant was to let him devour Lin Li to reach that goal. However, if that was the case, it would be pointless for Lin Li.

    It was just like a joke. A hunter wanted the pr bear¡¯s hide as a coat, and the pr bear wanted to fill its stomach. Hence, the pr bear ate the hunter. The pr bear was satiated, and the hunter, in a sense, also got its hide as his coat. If that was the case, even if Geresco reached that so-called realm of nothingness, what would it have to do with Lin Li?

    Of course, regarding the matter of a w in his body, Lin Li believed that Geresco wasn¡¯t lying to him. After all, he had long felt that the Sanctuary-realm was his limit. Clearly, he was only a small step away from the Divine-realm, but there was no way he could break through it.

    Geresco took away Lin Li¡¯s Hunter avatar, while the body Lin Li used to cross to Anril was initially just a yer with life professions. Perhaps the gap between the extremes was because of that reason. Geresco had reached the peak of the Divine-realm, while Lin Li could only stagnate at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    ¡°What good can this do me? Can you bear to sacrifice yourself to let me seed?¡± Lin Li asked as he looked at Geresco with contempt. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t believe that Geresco had gone to such lengths for the sake of pushing him to the realm of so-called nothingness.

 Chapter 1303 - Lunatic

    <h4>Chapter 1303: Lunatic</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Anyone would be able to tell that Lin Li¡¯s tone was clearly full of contempt. However, Geresco seemed to have failed to notice it. He opened his arms while facing the sky, and indifferently said, ¡°You¡¯re right, that¡¯s exactly why I¡¯m here to see you! Why don¡¯t we make a deal with each other? If I defeat you, you will willingly make up for my w, and if you defeat me, I will naturally do the same, and use everything I have to fulfill your wishes!¡±

    <i>What a lunatic!</i>?That was the first thing that came to Lin Li¡¯s mind because Geresco¡¯s proposal was akin to making a bet with each other using their lives. However, immediately afterwards, Lin Li couldn¡¯t help butugh bitterly. Geresco wasn¡¯t being crazy, but rather he had given Lin Li a benefit that was too much for thetter to take!

    It seemed to be a bet, but they were worlds apart in strength: one was a supreme existence who could suppress gods, while the other was just a Sanctuary powerhouse who had yet to even ascend to the Divine-realm. In the eyes of the gods, Sanctuary powerhouses were just nobodies that were slightly stronger than other nobodies. How could they bepared to Geresco who could suppress the gods?

    If it was a bet, it would be one without any suspense. Even if Lin Li had already thought of using his life to fight, he didn¡¯t think he had a chance at winning.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that what you said ispletely meaningless!? You¡¯re already a god of gods who stands at the pinnacle of the world, while I¡¯m just a nobody who hasn¡¯t even reached the edge of the Divine-realm. Do you think this is a fair deal?¡± Lin Li mocked hostilely.

    .

    ¡°That¡¯s why I gave it back to you,¡± Geresco said with a faint smile as he pointed at Lin Li¡¯s Stars of Fury.

    Hearing Geresco¡¯s words, Lin Li fell silent and tightened his grip on the Stars of Fury that he had just gotten. Indeed, with the power of the Stars of Fury and the debris of the stars, Lin Li would still have a chance of battling gods even if he was only at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm.

    However, the problem was that Geresco was not an ordinary god. In the eyes of Geresco, gods were just like nobodies. In that case, could Lin Li really fight against Geresco with the power of the Stars of Fury?

    However, since it hade to this point, Lin Li had no other choice but to believe in himself and in the Stars of Fury that had apanied him to create one miracle after another in the Endless World.

    A smile of relief suddenly appeared on the gloomy face of Lin Li, who had been a little nervous and even a little panicky since Geresco appeared. Holding the Stars of Fury tightly in his hand, he sensed its coldness, and looked at Geresco who was opposite him. He eximed, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s fight!¡±

    Almost at the same time, Lin Li raised the Stars of Fury in his hand, and an extremely dazzling ray of lightning streaked across the sky before sting at Geresco with the sound of a thunderp. The sanguine sky suddenly became dull, and the lightning seemed to have split the sky into two. While roaring, it emitted a massive power that seemed to be able to destroy everything.

    Under the simtion of the real Stars of Fury, the power that erupted from the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, was far from what the power of the counterfeit Stars of Fury couldpare to. The power of destruction and creation contained in the deepestyer of Thunderbolt caused the entire Anril to shake. At the same time, countlessws copsed in that roar, and it was as if Anril was about to disintegrate in the next second.

    Under the influence of the power of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, countless thunderbolts emerged from the sky above Anril, making it seem like there was an apocalypse in this world amidst the disaster. Countless thunderbolts roared andnded like the rain. Fortunately, they were just ordinary thunderbolts. Otherwise, Anril would probably be destroyed.

    In the face of Lin Li¡¯s surprise attack, Geresco smiled with satisfaction, and pped the iing thunderbolt to the side with a wave of his hand, as if he were swatting mosquitoes away. Next, his figure shed, and he vanished without a trace, leaving behind only his voice that echoed throughout. ¡°If you don¡¯t want this world to be ruined,e with me.¡±

    That was also an important reason why the five Dragon Aspects forbade true gods from entering Anril. Not to mention a battle between gods, each and every move of a god could cause great damage to Anril that couldn¡¯t be made up for easily.

    Although Lin Li had yet to reach the Divine-realm, the power he could exert with the Stars of Fury was not inferior to that of the real gods. If he were to really fight with Geresco in Anril, the world would probably copsepletely before victory was decided.

    Lin Li was certainly aware of that, so when he saw Geresco flying into the void, the two pairs of dragon wings of the City of Destruction pped twice without any dy. The massive City of Destruction immediately vanished, and in the next moment, the City of Destruction had already appeared in the Endless Void, and stopped in front of Geresco.

    ¡°This is my Divine Kingdom, Law!¡±

    Although Geresco¡¯s realm was countless times higher than Lin Li¡¯s, he didn¡¯t show a tinge of animosity at all. After appearing in the void, he opened his Divine Kingdom immediately.

    However, in that void, a massive phantom of a world appeared, and countless chains crisscrossed, almost filling the entire world. Each chain represented the existence of aw. One was fixed in the World of Laws, while the other was in the Endless Void, with no definite end.

    On the other hand, Geresco stood in the center of all thews, and all the chains that wereposed ofws were swinging like they hade to life, as if they were trying to break out of the Divine Kingdom ofws.

    ¡°World!¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t dare to be slow, and immediately unfolded his Domain World. However,pared to Geresco¡¯s Law Divine Kingdom, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World seemed rather small and lowly.

    An extremely realistic world which was like a microcosm of Anril appeared around Lin Li. Thend wasrge, the vast sky was blue, the mountains and rivers were dense, and there were waves in the sea. Countless lives continued to be born and reproduce in this world.

    In this Domain World, time seemed to be passing countless times faster than outside, just like a movie in fast-forward mode. The changes of the world and reproduction of life were all developing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, intelligent beings like humans appeared, and in another blink of an eye, various cities and kingdoms appeared. Next, several wars between kingdoms broke out.

    With the appearance of a wise man, the beings in the realm world gradually began to believe in a god who was said to be the creator of the world and all the beings in it. Several tall statues of that god began to be erected on the earth, and they all looked almost identical to Lin Li.

    While everyone was worshiping him, several waves of power of faith condensed through the statues. However, Lin Li didn¡¯t absorb the power of faith, and the power was instead integrated back into the space of the Domain World.

    That was the reason that Lin Li was never able to step into the Divine-realm. Only by igniting the Divine Fire with the power of faith could he be a true deity. Although he could already obtain the power of faith, he couldn¡¯t use it, and could only allow it to fuse with the Domain World again for its power to be enhanced.

    Watching Lin Li unfold the Domain World, the smile on Geresco¡¯s face did not fade at all. He raised his arm slowly, and pointed a finger at Lin Li. In the Law Domain World, countless chains ofws seemed to stir up like a million pythons, each of which seemed to be 1,000,000 meters long as they pped at Lin Li¡¯s Domain World.

    In a moment, the chains ofws intertwined, and were woven to form arge web ofws. The Nether Storm that even the gods didn¡¯t dare to touch disintegrated immediately amidst the fluctuations of the Chain of Laws.

    Lin Li had no doubt that with the defensive power of his Domain World, he might not even be able to block it for a moment. Seeing that a Chain of Law was sting over, Lin Li frantically raised the Stars of Fury in his hand, and three rays of light darted out one after another. Three pieces of the debris of the stars, Thunderbolt, Pr Snow, and Raging mes, moved towards the Chains of Law.

    Thunderbolt darted out, and immediately crossed the void to st at the Chain of Law. In an instant, a brilliant ray of light emerged from the spot where the collision urred. Layers of fluctuations spread out in all directions. The meteoroids that had been floating in the void for countless years were instantly shaken into dust.

    After the debris of the stars Pr Snow darted out, it flew for a distance and then vanished. Next, an infinite amount of cold air emerged from the center, and silver snowkes floated up from the void, causing the surrounding crisscrossed chains to be covered in ayer of frost.

    At the same time, the debris of the stars Raging mes rotated, and shone brightly in the pitch-ck void above Lin Li¡¯s head like a lotus flower that was filled with mes of heaven and earth. The endless mes swept in all directions like massive waves of a flood, blocking the Chains of Law that blocked him outside.

    Under the stimtion of the Stars of Fury, the three pieces of the debris of the stars exuded a terrifying power that was simply unprecedented, and the light that was emitted from thews it contained seemed to have been reflected throughout the Endless World. The countless worlds of various sizes that were hidden in the void were fully exposed under the light of thew.

    Those worlds were the fragments of the worlds that were split when Anril was formed, and there were also the small worlds that had been expanded from the Divine Kingdoms left behind after the gods fell. Each small world contained arge number of living beings that were surviving and reproducing. Some were upied by prehistoric magical beasts, and some were upied by ancient ns that had existed for countless years.

    However, at this moment, the apocalyptic disaster did not only descend in Anril. The battle between Geresco and Lin Li was like doom to those thousands of small worlds.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions echoed in the void.

    The millions of Chains of Law were interwoven, and the small worlds hidden in the void barely had the power to resist as they began copsing and disintegrating immediately upon contact. Even though they were only affected by the aftershocks of the power, it was as if they were tiny boats in a gale, and the entire worlds were turned upside down.

    ¡°Myws shall subdue the gods!¡± Geresco did not have the slightest intention of showing mercy at all, and he raised his hand to point at the sky above him, after which the entire Law Divine Kingdom emitted bright rays of Divine Light. Numerous illusory faces appeared on the countless Chains of Law, each full of pious devotion. They were murmuring like gods, and created a scene of a gods¡¯ pilgrimage.

    Immediately afterwards, a Chain of Law that prated the void fell toward the lotus flower of the sea of mes above Lin Li¡¯s head. With just one blow, it knocked the debris of the stars Raging mes back to its original form, and fell towards Lin Li and his Domain World without stopping.

    Lin Li could clearly feel that his current defensive power was probably insufficient for him to withstand the blow. Thus, he frantically yelled, ¡°City of Destruction, Twin Trees of Eternity!¡±

    With Lin Li¡¯s voice, the City of Destruction beneath his feet shook violently, and the Twin Trees of Eternity in the city erged thousands of times in the blink of an eye. The crowns of the Eternal Twin Trees ovepped to form a giant green umbre that covered the heavens and the earth before fusing with the sky of Lin Li¡¯s Domain World.

    The Chains of Laws, which were like a gxy, collided into the green umbre formed by the Twin Trees of Eternity with a loud explosive sound. In an instant, the sounds of branches and leaves breaking filled the air, and the green leaves darted in all directions, as if green light had risen.

    In fact, these Chains of Laws were just like magic spells in the eyes of others, such as lightning, fire, and snow. However, the essence of everything wasw, so in the eyes of Lin Li who could already see the essence of it all, they were presented in the form of Chains of Law.

    Although Lin Li managed to block the blow that almost split everything in half with the help of the power of the Twin Trees of Eternity, the violent fluctuations that came from it still made him feel a strong sense of suffocation in his heart, and his head began buzzing as if tens of thousands of flies had been stuffed into it. That was one of the ws of his low level. Even the aftershocks of the impact could affect his fragile body significantly.

    Lin Li forcefully swallowed the blood that surged up in his chest. He then raised his arm at Geresco, and hollered, ¡°Fire together!¡±

    In an instant, countless muzzles of cannons appeared in the City of Destruction¡ªthey were the Sky-breakers that dwarven craftsmen had built and the Magical Crystal Cannons produced by the Gilded Kingdom. The muzzles of these thousands of cannons shed with the light of mana, and thousands of mana cannons were fired immediately.

    Facing a powerhouse like Geresco, a mere one or two Sky-breakers couldn¡¯t cause any damage to him at all. However, the salvo of thousands of massive cannons resulted in a qualitative change in the power of the cannons. The light of thousands of mana cannons fused together to form a mana light that was hundreds of meters thick, and then cut through the void in an instant, and darted at Geresco in the Law Divine Kingdom.

    Even ordinarys gods wouldn¡¯t dare to face the light of the mana cannons head-on, as it could even form a bottomless ck hole in the ground on par with the Great Whirlpool if it were to st into Anril. However, Lin Li knew very well that the cannon light was still not enough to threaten Geresco, so a ray of ck light and a ray of white light were emitted from the Stars of Fury in his hand at the same time.

 Chapter 1304 - Boom

    <h4>Chapter 1304: Boom</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Under the stimtion of the Stars of Fury, the power released by Holy Light and Gloomy Dark were far greater than what they once had. At the same time, under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, the power of Light and Darkness remained as closelybined as they were in the Light and Darkness Sword. Thus, their power was far beyond just the total of their power linearlybined.

    The power of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark wasbined like a spiral, and under the cover of the mana cannons, they prated the giant woven by the Chains of Law, instantly darting towards Geresco. The various Chains of Law that could seal heaven and earth on the trajectory of Holy Light before Geresco surprisingly copsed and disintegrated too. The faces on the Chains of Law were distorted, and they began fading into nothing.

    That was the power of the Stars of Fury and the power of the debris of the stars that could be exerted under the stimtion of the Stars of Fury, which far exceeded the power that could be exerted when Lin Li was using the Stars of Fury alone. Inparison, the Crossbow of Reincarnation that Lin Li had created based on the Stars of Fury was just like a child¡¯s toy.

    In the face of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, even Geresco couldn¡¯t help but be a little more serious as he braced himself by cing his hands in front of his chest, after which thousands of Chains of Law in the Law Divine Kingdom moved like snakes. The thousands of Chains of Law were intertwined, almost filling the entire void, and they moved towards the ck and white pirs of light that seemed extremely small like a train trying to run over a bug.

    However, the Holy Light and Gloomy Dark that had been shot out by the Stars of Fury did not copse as soon as they came into contact with the powerful impact.. On the contrary, when the two seemingly contrasting forces collided, the tens of thousands of Chains of Law twisted into a massive object, while the point of collision cracked, and countless fragments ofws scattered everywhere, making the ce look extraordinarily brilliant as if it was a huge fireworks disy in the void.

    That was the power of the Stars of Fury. It allowed Lin Li, a small fry who had just reached the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, to suddenly have the ability and strength to fight against a god of the gods. In fact, even Lin Li was stunned by the power exerted by the Stars of Fury, and it turned out that the fair deal that Geresco said was indeed somewhat true.

    Of course, Lin Li did not rely solely on the Stars of Fury. Without theprehension and mastery of the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars,he might not be able to exert much power with the Stars of Fury even if he had it in hand.

    However, since Geresco dared to return the Stars of Fury to Lin Li, he naturally had great confidence in his own strength. As a powerhouse who was trying to break through the supremew and achieve eternal immortality, everything would just be a joke to him if he didn¡¯t have the resolution to break through all obstacles.

    Geresco raised his right arm, and pressed it into the void, after which there was a sudden violent tremor in space, and countless small worlds hidden therein copsed as they were destroyed in it. In the Law Divine Kingdom, the countless Chains of Law danced and rotated, forming a huge Divine Throne of Law beneath Geresco¡¯s body, after which numerous rays of light emerged from the Divine Kingdom, lighting up almost half of the void.

    At this point, Holy Light and Gloomy Dark had already broken through the blockage of countlessws, and darted straight at Geresco¡¯s Law Divine Kingdom, as if it were trying to prate it in one go.

    Geresco, who was seated on the Divine Throne of Law, remainedposed in the face of such a situation. He then raised his hand to grasp something in the void. Almost at the same time, ripples appeared in front of Holy Light and Gloomy Dark, and a crystal-like palm shot through the void to grasp Holy Light and Gloomy Dark.

    Bang!

    Holy Light and Gloomy Dark was shattered by the crystalline palm.

    Moreover, although the crystalline palm was also covered in cracks, it still charged towards Lin Li, and grabbed the enormous green umbre that was formed by the Twin Trees of Eternity. With the force of the crystal palm, both the Twin Trees of Eternity and the City of Destruction shook violently, and it was as if the Twin Trees of Eternity were about to be uprooted by the crystalline palm.

    With a loud roar, the massive figure of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction, emerged in the sky above the City of Destruction. At the same time, the two heads of the Dragons of Destruction on both sides of the City of Destruction turned over with their mouths wide open. The raging power of destruction then charged towards the crystalline palms that were grabbing the Twin Trees of Eternity.

    Lin Li turned the Stars of Fury around, and pointed it at the earth beneath his feet, and the power of the debris of the stars Rebirth immediately caused the ground of the City of Destruction to glow with an intense yellow light. Under the power of the debris of the stars Rebirth, the swaying Twin Trees of Eternity immediately slowed down and came to a halt, as if they were rooted to the ground, and no longer growing on the City of Destruction.

    Immediately afterwards, Lin Li turned the Stars of Fury in his hand again, and pointed it at Geresco, who was sitting on the Divine Throne in the distance. Four pieces of the debris of the Stars, Pr Snow, Raging mes, Thunderbolt, and Rebirth, suddenly darted out. The four pieces of the debris of the stars, which represented the four basic elementalws, condensed into a four-colored ray of light that immediately pierced through the void, and appeared in front of Geresco in the next moment.

    Launching four pieces of the debris of the stars in unison was the most powerful attack Lin Li could use at the moment. The power of the four pieces of the debris of the stars shot in unison with the support of the Stars of Fury was definitely capable of destroying the world. Even powerful ancient gods would be instantly killed.

    Lin Li knew very well that only the power of seven pieces of the debris of the starsbined could possibly defeat or kill an existence as powerful as Geresco. However,unching all seven pieces of the debris of the stars at once not only required the support of the Stars of Fury, but it was also a huge challenge for him.

    When the four pieces of the debris of the stars reached Geresco, they suddenly came to a halt and hovered in space, as if they had reached a transparent barrier that prevented them from moving another inch forward.

    The four pieces of the debris of the stars kept spewing ferocious power that made the void copse and broke the Chains of Law. However, Geresco, who was right in front of them, grinned, and softly said, ¡°Chaos!¡±

    As Geresco said that, the four pieces of the debris of the stars that were originally moving in unison suddenly repelled each other, setting off a violent explosion immediately. It was as if a star had exploded. A mass of light that almost filled the entirety of his field of vision emerged, after which four rays of light shot out from that dazzling cluster of light.

    <i>Indeed, it still takes the power of seven pieces of the debris of the stars to win!</i>?Seeing that his powerful strike was easily defused by Geresco, Lin Li¡¯s face immediately turned much more sullen and gloomy.

    At this moment, the crystal palm that had grabbed the crown of the Twin Trees of Eternity previously finally shattered with a loud bang under the full force of the attack of Azardas, the Dragon of Destruction. The palm then turned into countless specks of light that drifted away in the void. However, Lin Li did not have a single trace of joy on his face, because the connection with the City of Destruction allowed him to understand the damage that the crystalline palm had brought to the City of Destruction and the Twin Trees of Eternity.

    Not only were the roots of the Twin Trees of Eternity damaged, Azardas¡¯ soul had also clearly be much more illusory, and seemed to be about to dissipate at any moment. The dragon heads on both sides of the City of Destruction were also drooping at the moment. Clearly, the counterattack that wasunched just now had resulted in an overdraft of power.

    Lin Li had actually built the City of Destruction to prepare for retaliation against arge number of prehistoric magical beasts, so many of the settings on it were made with that as the primary purpose. However, Lin Li did not expect to face Geresco, who had suppressed the gods. Thus, the power of the City of Destruction could only y a limited role in this battle.

    The only thing he could rely on was still thebination of the Stars of Fury and debris of the stars! Lin Li tightly gripped the Stars of Fury in his hand, and seven specks of light emerged from the Stars of Fury, rotating around it like satellites.

    After fending off the attack of the four pieces of the debris of the stars, Gerescounched his counterattack, and the Chains of Law that were constantly intertwining in all directions above his head and below his feet blocked out the space around Lin Li like a boundless ocean.

    As the Chains of Law filled the surrounding space, massive nomological power also engulfed Lin Li and the City of Destruction. Enveloped by that powerful nomological power, Lin Li found it extremely difficult to even breathe, as if his soul was being squeezed to the point of being on the verge of shattering at any moment.

    <i>What power is this! Is this the so-called supremew??</i>Under the oppression of the nomological power, Lin Li clearly felt that the mana in his body was almost suppressed, and the City of Destruction even let out a sound that suggested that it was about to shatter. The leaves of the Twin Trees of Eternity yellowed and withered, full of the sluggishness ofte autumn. It was as if their life hade to an end.

    Lin Li pressed his left hand on the Stars of Fury, and the seven specks of light that had been hovering around the Stars of Fury began to fly into it one by one.

    <i>This is thest chance!</i>?Faced with Geresco¡¯s pressure, Lin Li knew he had reached thest moment, and if he couldn¡¯t seize the opportunity, it would probably be impossible for him to even fight for a chance to survive. Thus, regardless of what it took, he had to gamble with his life and put up a fight!

    A piece of the debris of the stars fell into the Star Fury, and the outermost circle of the mageweath on the Stars of Fury lit up. This was followed by the second piece of the debris of the stars, and the third¡­

    At the beginning, Lin Li was still having a rtively easy time. After all, he hadunched four pieces of the debris of the stars in unison before. However, when it came to the fifth piece, dense spots of blood began to appear on Lin Li¡¯s body like he was bleeding. In particr, the expression on his face was distorted and hideous, while the veins at the corners of his forehead were bulging so badly that it seemed almost as if they were about to burst.

    The cing of each additional piece of the debris of the stars required twice as much mental strength as the one preceding it. The release of the fifth piece required mental strength that was already 16 times that of the first piece, and despite having a massive mental strength, Lin Li still found it difficult to withstand.

    However, five pieces of the debris of the stars were still far from enough to defeat Geresco. Lin Li gritted his teeth, and forced himself to bear with the severe, splitting headache as he loaded the sixth piece of the debris of the stars into the Stars of Fury. This time, the amount of mental strength Lin Li needed to inject into the Stars of Fury immediately became 32 times that of the first.

    Thest piece of the debris of the stars was Nothingness, which symbolized time and space, and represented the power of chaos among the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. At this point, blood was already streaming out of the corners of Lin Li¡¯s eyes, mouth, nostrils, and ears incessantly, staining the Magic Robe on his body with blood.

    ¡°Reign supreme, destroy everything!¡±

    As Geresco¡¯s voice resounded in the void, the Law Divine Kingdom slowly rotated, just like arge millstone in the void, crushing the void and causing it to crack and shatter. The countless Chains of Laws flew through all of a sudden, scattering theyers of nomological power. As a result, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World and the City of Destruction seemed to have undergone millions of years of wear and tear as they became decayed and worn down.

    <i>No, I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t do it anymore!</i>

    Only thest piece of the debris of the stars wascking, but Lin Li helplessly felt that his mental strength was already in overdraft and drained to the limit. This was no longer a matter that can be ovee by a strong willpower, as there was physically none left. There was no way he could gain more mental strength just by having a strong desire for more.

    Besides, the more terrible thing was that the massive nomological power of Geresco¡¯s Law Divine Kingdom also had a great impact on the debris of the stars. Although with the suppression of the Stars of Fury, the debris of the stars wouldn¡¯t rebel, the resistance Lin Li faced when he tried to add another piece of the debris of the stars was constantly increasing.

    At this rate, the six pieces of the debris of the stars would be broken apart and scattered again before all seven pieces could be shot in unison! Lin Li knew that he could not wait any longer.?<i>Perhaps the power of six pieces of the debris of the stars would be enough to defeat Geresco?</i>?he hoped.

    The moment that thought surfaced in his mind, his will to fight immediately dissipated, as if he was a person who had found an excuse to escape in the face of adversity. Lin Li no longer tried to add thest piece of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, to the Stars of Fury, but directly raised the Stars of Fury and pointed it at Geresco, who was sitting on the Divine Throne of Law.

    A brilliant light darted away from the Stars of Fury while emitting a terrifying aura that obliterated everything in its path. The sky ofws that surrounded the exterior of the City of Destruction disintegrated like wet paper when it was prated by that light. The countless Chains of Law dimmed in the blink of an eye under the influence of that power, and became like decaying rocks that soon disintegrated into ashes that scattered away amidst the shock.

    The power the six pieces of the debris of the stars converged was already enough to destroy Anril. This was the power of a god yer. Even ordinary gods would probably be as defenseless as ants in the face of such an attack. In just an instant, the pending destruction created by Geresco was eliminated by the power of these six pieces of the debris of the stars.

    BOOM!

    The light that had condensed from the six pieces of the debris of the stars bombarded Geresco¡¯s Law Divine Kingdom with an unparalleled might in the next instant. The solid walls of the Divine Kingdom shattered like ss, and the copsing power of thews formed a huge storm that caused the fragile void to copse inrge portions.

 Chapter 1305 - Still Insufficient

    <h4>Chapter 1305: Still Insufficient</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    As the void copsed, several giant ck shadows emerged. They seemed to be Void Beasts, legendary creatures unique to the Endless Void. Legend had it that the Nether Storms that gave even gods headaches were formed between the breaths of these Void Beasts. Once the barrier of a world began to decay, it would be time for the Void Beasts to appear and start feeding.

    However, this time, Lin Li and Geresco¡¯s battle caused arge patch of the void to copse, awakening hidden Void Beasts in advance. Unfortunately, these Void Beasts, which only woke up once every 10,000,000 years, awakened to face a disaster of extermination.

    The aftershocks of the collision between the six pieces of the debris of the stars and the Law Divine Kingdom spread millions of kilometres in the void. Before the Void Beasts in the void could react, they were torn into pieces by the aftershocks as soon as they woke up. Only a few Void Beasts at the edge of the area survived as they did not even dare to look over, and merely turned around to flee.

    At this time, in the center of the battlefield, the light condensed from the six pieces of the debris of the stars had already shot over and stopped in front of Geresco, as if it was already attached to the tip of his nose. The Divine Throne ofw turned into the most basic particles, and began to crumbleyer byyer like a sandcastle.

    .

    At this point, Geresco no longer looked as rxed as before as the frown on his forehead showed that the power of the six pieces of the debris of the stars shooting in unison had ced pressure and posed a threat to him.

    Boom!

    Geresco finally took a step back, followed by another, and then a third and fourth, each step spanning a distance of thousands of kilometers. Each step he took would make the void where hended crumble, leaving ripples like a dragonfly that touched the water surface gently.

    Of course, regardless of whether those existences in the void were Void Beasts or worlds of various sizes, every step that Geresco took was like an apocalyptic disaster. Under Geresco¡¯s footsteps, almost nothing could exist as everything was destroyed in an instant.

    After retreating several steps, Geresco slowly raised his arm, and stretched out a finger to point at the light of the six pieces of the debris of the stars, which immediately stopped in front of him. In an instant, the light that erupted almost filled that void, making Lin Li¡¯s vision turn white everywhere, and only the sound of rumbling vibrations could be heard constantly.

    <i>What exactly do I do!?</i>?Lin Li¡¯s heart had been tensed up since he shot the six pieces of the debris of the stars in unison, which was already the limit of what he could do. If he couldn¡¯t defeat Geresco like that, it would probably be useless to try any harder.

    At that moment, the six specks of light flew back around the Stars of Fury, and together with thest piece of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, they slowly revolved around the Stars of Fury. In front of Lin Li, the light that filled his entire field of vision gradually began to fade, and a figure gradually emerged from the fading light.

    <i>Geresco!?</i>Watching that figure appear, Lin Li¡¯s heart sank into a bottomless abyss.

    Although Geresco seemed to be somewhat wretched and disheveled, there was a wisp of a smile on his face, though it was unclear if it expressed smugness or contempt towards Lin Li.

    ¡°Is this your limit? If that¡¯s the case, you might as well admit defeat.¡± Geresco, who had already retreated far away, returned to the previous position opposite Lin Li in the void in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the damaged Law Divine Kingdom also quickly recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, and a huge Law Divine Throne once again appeared beneath Geresco¡¯s body.

    <i>Yes, this is already my limit, what else can I do except admit defeat!?</i>?Lin Li lowered his head, looked at the Stars of Fury in his hand, and let the Chains of Law again surround all the sides. Lin Li and his City of Destruction were like two flies that had fallen into a spider¡¯s web. Their final fate was to be a meal in the belly of the predator.

    Lin Li had once thought that by holding the Stars of Fury in hand while gathering the debris of the stars, he would be the most powerful existence in the world, and be able to kill gods. However, in the face of the powerful Geresco, Lin Li finally felt how powerless he was.

    <i>Is this despair?</i>?In the past few years since Lin Li had transmigrated to Anril, he had experienced many battles with great disparities in strength between his opponent and himself, but he ended up being able to find a way to get himself out of the tricky situation every single time. However, this time, he did not know exactly what he should do. Launching six pieces of the debris of the stars in unison was already the limit of his mental strength, but he only wounded Geresco, so what else could be done but to admit defeat!

    Geresco, who was standing in front of the Divine Throne ofw, looked at Lin Li, as if he was waiting for something. However, in the end, his gaze dimmed slightly as he raised his hand and pointed at Lin Li, who had already lost his fighting spirit. Next, tens of millions of Chains of Law shot out from the Law Divine Kingdom like a swarm of snakes that were dancing wildly while rushing towards Lin Li like a flood of giant waves.

    BOOM!

    The crown of the Twin Trees of Eternity was the first to be hit, and they even seemed to have be much weaker, as if they had sensed the despair and desire to give up in Lin Li¡¯s heart. Under the bombardment of those countlessws, the Twin Trees of Eternitysted only for a moment before its branches and leaves withered like a dying tree.

    Immediately afterwards, the canopy of the City of Destruction burst like a bubble as it barely yed any defensive role. With the shattering of the canopy, the entire City of Destruction also became dull immediately, while the light of the mageweaths that were initially in full operation dimmed one by one.

    The soul of Azardas the Dragon of Destruction transformed into a huge dragon shadow the size of the City of Destruction, and lunged at the thousands ofws. However, as soon as they touched, Azardas¡¯ figure was instantly scattered like a reflection in water before it could roar.

    Countless roars filled the air, as if the City of Destruction had been struck by a meteor shower, except that the aftermath was even more severe. All the buildings in the City of Destruction suffered a destructive bombardment. Houses copsed in the roar, destroying all the meticulously arranged mageweaths and Magic Arrays.

    However, the Omniscient Tower was still standing intact in the center of the City of Destruction asyers of light constantly emerged from the surface of the tower to repel all the attacks to the side.

    At the same time, Lin Li¡¯s Domain World seemed to also be facing an apocalypse as the sky copsed and the earth crumbled, leaving all living beings in a state of endless panic. Meteors fell from the sky of the Domain World, destroying city after city, and the statues of the gods standing in the cities copsed while wailing in pain.

    Those who were lucky to survive began to pray to their gods, and even though the statues before them were only half-built, the gaze in their eyes still looked so devout. Praying in despair, their power of faith kept converging, allowing the entire Domain World to seem to be filled with the power of faith. At this point, the Domain World, which was illusory at first, also seemed to have be tangible and real.

    Lin Li, who was in deep despair, suddenly felt a wave of power being injected into his body. It was a power that did not belong to anyw, but one that was full of hope and expectation. In his mind, it was as if he could hear countless voices telling him their wishes without sounding chaotic.

    <i>Is this the power of faith?</i>?Strictly speaking, Lin Li should not have received the power of faith, since he did not ignite the Divine Fire yet. Without the burning of the Divine Fire, the power of faith would be like poison to him.

    However, Lin Li did not resist it, and opened the floodgate to receive it, allowing the surging power to pour into his body like a flood. Gradually, the power of faith he received was not only from his own Domain World, but also from the hopes of all those who trusted him in Anril.

    With the power of the Tower of Dusk and the Eternal Furnace, the mages of the Tower of Dusk in Dnd fought fiercely against the Titans that had returned from the spatial rift. Although the battle seemed really difficult, all the mages still had faith in Lin Li, and they believed that he would eventually save the world.

    The allied forces of the human race in the Sunset Mountains had already retreated to the temporary defense line, which the countless magical beasts of the ck Current were constantly impacting. The people of the Brilliance Shrine, Darkness Shrine, Fn Kingdom, Ledin Kingdom, and other forces were full of hope for the future while fighting the prehistoric magical beasts.

    Even in the Endless Ocean, the Gilded Kingdom, the Illuminati, and several Sea ns also seemed to be hoping for Lin Li¡¯s appearance while fighting against the invading prehistoric magical beasts.

    All these people, who had pinned their hopes on Lin Li, unknowingly manifested a power of faith. It wasn¡¯t just faith in Lin Li, but more of a faith in hope, and Lin Li was the being on whom they ced their hopes.

    Perhaps the power of faith produced in the illusory Domain World could not provide much help to Lin Li, but the power of faith from the real Anril was a true cohesion of the power of hope of all beings.

    ¡°This group of ignorant ants actually put their hopes on you. I wonder what kind of reaction they would have if they were to find out that you can barely save yourself now. As promised,e on and be one with me. Bear witness to my advancement to the Realm of Nothingness!¡± Geresco said with a cold smile, and with a flick of his finger, the countless Chains of Law instantly wrapped around Lin Li and the Omniscient Tower, seemingly trying to crush them.

    As the Chains of Law tightened, the Omniscient Tower seemed to be groaning from inside as it was overwhelmed by the pressure. It was as if everything was going to endpletely in the next moment.

    However, at this juncture, a wisp of white mes suddenly emerged from the gap in the Chains of Law. Then, more and more mes followed, engulfing the Omniscient Tower and making it seem like a huge torch. The white mes were full of divine aura, and they licked the surrounding Chains of Law, which started breaking upon being set afire, just like ordinary chains.

    With the copse of the Chains of Law, the enveloped Omniscient Tower and Lin Li, who was standing on the tower¡¯s terrace, were finally revealed again. However, white mes were spewing from Lin Li¡¯s eyes, nostrils and ears, as if he was being burned from the inside out.

    Lin Li¡¯s Space Robe quickly turned into a pile of flying ashes under the burning of the white mes that enveloped every inch of his body. Every single pore of his skin was on mes, and he was just like a human torch.

    It was because the power of faith had been ignited, and without tempering with Divine Fire, Lin Li¡¯s mortal body simply wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the burning power of faith. However, Lin Li did not have the slightest intention to stop, and even continued to increase the absorption of the power of faith.

    Lin Li¡¯s body became hard and smooth yet covered with cracks like overheated ze. mes would erupt from the cracks from time to time and pop like firewood. Soon, even the Omniscient Tower and the entire City of Destruction were wrapped in the white mes of the burning power of faith, just like a zing sun in the void.

    At this time, Lin Li not only did not resist the burning of the power of faith, but also channeled all his mana into the me, making it the fuel for the power of faith, but that was not enough. Lin Li opened the Ring of Endless Storm, and countless magical crystals flew out. Be it Legendary-level or Sanctuary-level crystals, they all surged into the power of faith like water.

    After turning all the magical crystals into fuel, Lin Li added all sorts of rare and precious magic materials, including the Divinity Metal that he had brought from the Endless World, together with arge number of rare herbs like the ck lotus. Finally, he even threw some magical equipment into the mes. In the blink of an eye, they were burnt down to nothing.

    All that remained was a wisp of the purest power that merged into the ocean of Lin Li¡¯s mental strength, which was already in overdraft, and seemed nearly dry after the six pieces of the debris of the stars wereunched. Now it was getting filled up again under this massive infusion of power.

    <i>It¡¯s not enough! It¡¯s still not enough!</i>?Lin Li yelled in his heart, after which a staff flew out from the Ring of Endless Storms. It was the Moonlight Staff that only the High Elves¡¯ lineage could use. It was the very same Moonlight Scepter that the Immortal King had brought from the Endless World when he transmigrated over using the Hunter avatar, and which subsequently became the High Elven queen¡¯s exclusive staff. The Moonlight Scepter initially seemed to only serve as a token that was used to retrieve the Stars of Fury from the Great Whirlpool in Lin Li¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 1306 - Divine Fire

    <h4>Chapter 1306: Divine Fire</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Lin Li now found another use for the Moonlight Staff, and that was for burning. Shrouded in the mes of the power of faith, even the Moonlight Staff, which represented the supreme authority of the High Elves, barelysted a few seconds before it was burned down and shattered with a bang in the blink of an eye. With the shattering of the Moonlight Staff, a pure and massive wave of power surged into Lin Li¡¯s sea of mental strength like a flood, causing the total amount of his mental strength to increase by an obvious amount too.

    Lin Li was truly making a desperate gamble now by putting everything, even his own life, on the line. If he couldn¡¯t defeat Geresco, both his life and soul would perish, and if that were to happen, it would be pointless to leave those things behind!

    The Ring of Endless Storm was almost empty. Apart from insignificant items, all the things that were considered treasures in Anril, be it magic materials or magic equipment, were added to the mes of the power of faith. Even the ring made of the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, which Lin Li was wearing on his hand, and the Helios¡¯ Scepter that he had been using, were also burned away by the power of faith.

    The Helios¡¯ Scepter could be said to have apanied Lin Li through many battles. Even though Lin Li now had powerful weapons like the Stars of Fury and debris of the stars, and no longer relied heavily on the Helios¡¯ Scepter, he still had some emotional attachment to it.

    However, Lin Li didn¡¯t have the luxury to preserve these emotional ties and attachments at this juncture. Now that even his life was in danger, he obviously didn¡¯t have time or capacity to bother with this..

    However, the thing that truly provided great help to Lin Li was still the magical crystal of the Evil Eye Tyrant, which had an incredible effect of allowing the wearer¡¯s mental strength to be enhanced. Now that it was directly burned by the mes of the power of faith, the huge mental strength contained in it was also released in one go. It was actually no less than even the mental strength provided by that Moonlight Staff.

    ¡°You actually burned the power of faith? At this rate, how long will you be able to sustain this even if you can defeat me?¡± Geresco looked at Lin Li indifferently, watching him make his final struggle to survive.

    At this moment, Lin Li could no longer hear anything, and the only thought left in his mind was to defeat Geresco. Thus, he didn¡¯t respond to Geresco¡¯s words at all, and instead raised his arm, which was shrouded in the fire of faith, and pointed the Stars of Fury at Geresco with difficulty and great determination.

    Under the burning of the fire of faith, even the ancient touch and vicissitudes of the Stars of Fury faded away, revealing a silvery-white holy power that covered its surface. Under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, the seven pieces of the debris of the stars hovering around the Stars of Fury also began to fall into the Stars of Fury one by one¡­

    The Stars of Fury was once again filled with six pieces of the debris of the stars, finally bing the key deciding factor of the oue. Lin Li had given up so much just for the sake of achieving his goal ofunching all seven pieces of the debris of the stars in unison. If he still couldn¡¯t load all seven pieces, all of his previous efforts would go in vain.

    <i>I¡¯ve given all that I have, I will add Nothingness now!</i>?Lin Li screamed in his head, and used the fire of faith to ignite his entire soul, setting off a massive storm in his ocean of mental strength. Under Lin Li¡¯s maniption, the seventh and most crucial piece of debris of the stars, Nothingness, drifted slowly towards the Stars of Fury.

    Watching Lin Li¡¯s efforts and actions during hisst struggle, Geresco couldn¡¯t help but frown. As an opponent, he naturally couldn¡¯t watch Lin Li aplish this smoothly. He raised his hands to his chest, and quickly made several magic hand gestures, after which the countless Chains of Law that had been forced back by the Fire of Faith erupted again with an extremely bright and dazzling light ofws. He thenunched yet another attack at Lin Li and the City of Destruction.

    The Fire of Faith could initially burn almost everything in this world, but Geresco was already a god of gods whose strength had exceeded that of Lin Li well by several folds, after all. With such a great disparity in strength, many things couldn¡¯t be measured ording tomon sense. For example, while water could put out fire, arge fire was going to evaporate a smaller volume of water.

    Hence, despite the fact that the massive wave formed by the Chains of Law, which was enough to cover the sky, was blocked by the Fire of Faith engulfing the exterior of the City of Destruction, it still pushed continuously with an enormous amount of power. It began closing in on Lin Li, as if it were trying to extinguish the Fire of Faith.

    However, Lin Li seemed not to pay any attention to that situation at all as he was covered in mes, and no longer seemed to be in human form. However, he was still persisting, determined to load thest piece of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, into the Stars of Fury while controlling it a little.

    Regardless of the oue, he would let everything endpletely in this moment!

    Finally, thest piece of the debris of the stars, Nothingness, was loaded into the Stars of Fury. Immediately afterwards, the Stars of Fury vibrated, and almost flew away from Lin Li¡¯s hand¡¯s as a brilliant ray of light appeared from Nothingness,pletely condensing on the Stars of Fury.

    The phantoms of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars were gradually revealed above the Stars of Fury one by one. Rebirth represented the Law of Earth, Pr Snow represented the Law of Water, Raging mes represented the Law of Fire, Thunderbolt represented the Law of?Wind<sup>1</sup>, Holy Light represented the Law of Light, Gloomy Dark represented the Law of Darkness, and Nothingness represented the Law of Chaos of Time and Space.

    The phantoms of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars fused into one in mid-air, and fell once again on top of the Stars of Fury. Rays of light erupted from the Stars of Fury, and that power even forced the surrounding Fire of Faith away, revealing Lin Li¡¯s figure in the Fire of Faith once again.

    However, at this moment, Lin Li¡¯s appearance was no longer like that of a human, and he looked just like a melting snowman instead. However, the hand that he had been holding the Stars of Fury remained intact, and his fingers were gripped tightly around the crossbow mechanism of the Stars of Fury as he gently pressed it downwards.

    Boom!

    A vigorous storm was set off in the void, as if it had truly be a realm of nothingness that was devoid of any existence. A resplendent pir of light darted out from the front of the Stars of Fury, and everything in the void was frozen at this moment, be it the mes of the dancing Fire of Faith or the Chains of Laws that were being burned.

    Faced with the strike of the Stars of Fury, even Geresco, the so-called god of gods, seemed to have frozen in ce as he could only watch the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars charge towards him.

    There was only a light thud, without the roar of a violent collision. The Chains of Law and the barriers of the Divine Kingdom of Law were all as fragile as paper in the face of the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars. The light of the debris of the stars pierced through the giant wave of countless Chains of Law, followed by the barrier of the Divine Kingdom of Law, and finally through the body of Geresco, who was sitting high on the Divine Throne of Law!

    When the light dissipated, time seemed to have begun to flow again. Half-kneeling on the terrace of the Omniscient Tower, Lin Li raised his head to look at Geresco, who was far away. The Chains of Law that filled the entire space burst into a cloud of flying ashes without the slightest tremor, and Geresco¡¯s Divine Kingdom of Law seemed to be facing its doomsday as it began to crumble and copse inrge portions at a time.

    Geresco slowly stood up from the copsed throne with an ordinary-looking wound on his chest, resembling a hole left behind on an ordinary person who got shot by an arrow. However, golden divine blood gushed out of the wound incessantly, and trickled all the way to his feet before turning into a golden power that dispersed and scattered everywhere.

    <i>Did I win?</i>?Although Lin Li had put everything he had on the line to make the seven pieces of the debris of the stars shoot in unison, Geresco¡¯s appearance still seemed surreal to him at this moment.

    At this juncture, a faint smile appeared on Geresco¡¯s face, and it was pure and without any extra meaning.

    ¡°You¡¯ve won. This is myst lesson for you! I hope that one day, you will be able to show me what kind of existence exists outside of this supremew!¡± Geresco said indifferently without the slightest trace of dejection or frustration due to his defeat. It was as if everything was normal.

    However, at this point, Lin Li could barely react as his body and soul were already on the verge of copsing under the burning of the Fire of Faith. Lin Li did not know why Geresco said that. In fact, as long as Geresco held on a little longer, Lin Li might just die on his own.

    However, Geresco did not do that or continue topete with Lin Li to see who could persist till the end. He covered his mouth with his hand, and coughed lightly while shifting his gaze to the distant Anril. However, his body began to crumble at this moment like a sand sculpture, turning byyers into golden powder that floated towards the depths of the void.

    Next, a sphere of light darted out from Geresco¡¯s body, and came close to Lin Li immediately before sinking into his flesh. As the light entered Lin Li¡¯s body, which had been burned beyond recognition by the Fire of Faith, thetter recovered rapidly as if time was passing in reverse.

    After some time, Lin Li finally stood up. Both his body and soul were damaged, and he could already clearly sense that his soul seemed to have gone through an indescribable change.

    <i>Could this be what Geresco meant by making up for the ws?</i>?Lin Li looked at the spot where Geresco was at previously, only to realize that it was already empty. Geresco¡¯s Divine Kingdom of Law was no longer around, and it was as if everything had never existed.

    Lin Li recalled Geresco¡¯sst words, and felt that they didn¡¯t seem to be something that someone should be saying after getting defeated. There was no regret or indignation in his voice, but rather a heartened relief.

    <i>This is thest lesson I¡¯m going to teach you!</i>

    Lin Li felt as if Geresco¡¯s voice had rung in his ears again, and he couldn¡¯t help but have a change in perception. When he found out all the answers at first, Geresco seemed like a lunatic who could sacrifice everything in order to break through the supremew.

    Although Geresco was undeniably still the same reckless madman who would do anything to break through the supremew, Lin Li no longer had any resentment towards him. In his heart, there was even a trace of pity, though there was probably no one who had the right to take pity on Geresco¡¯s life.

    <i>Now that I can make up for the ws, can I finally take that final step, and ignite the Divine Fire to be an indestructible god?</i>?Lin Li asked himself after sighing for a moment.

    At that moment, Lin Li suddenly discovered that deep within his soul, a faint wisp of fire, which seemed to be the legendary Divine Fire, was pulsating faintly. At this moment, a message from Geresco seemed to have appeared in his mind, allowing him to understand exactly how to take that step.

    Standing on the terrace of the Omniscient Tower, Lin Li turned to face the City of Destruction, which was being burned by the Fire of Faith, and spread his mental strength out with open arms. In an instant, the Fire of Faith in the City of Destruction broke away from the buildings, and surged towards Lin Li like a flock of birds returning to their nest, seemingly attracted to him.

    In fact, the burning of the power of faith was very closely rted to the ignition of the Divine Fire. If Lin Li¡¯s soul had been wless, the Divine Fire would have probably been ignited the moment the power of faith had started burning. Now that Lin Li had made up for the ws, and even generated a wisp of Divine Fire in the depths of his soul, the next thing he had to do was to use the power of faith to continuously grow the Divine Fire.

    As Lin Li summoned, all of the Fire of Faith was absorbed into his body and integrated into the original wisp of Divine Fire seedling, after which it gradually began to growrger. It grew into the size of a candle me before quickly bing a torch that was continuously growing and expanding.

    While the Divine Fire grew, it started to temper Lin Li¡¯s soul and body, burning away the impurities in his soul, and leaving behind only the purest essence. His body gradually became as crystalline and pure as crystal, while his soul also became ethereal and devoid of a trace of impurity.

    Lin Li¡¯s Domain World, too, gradually began to solidify, turning from illusory to real. His Domain World also started to be a true Divine Kingdom. All of the beings in the original Domain World who were constantly praying to Lin Li felt the calling of a god, and began to pray devoutly, giving rise to arge amount of power of faith that condensed on the god statues of Lin Li.

    At the same time, those who were fighting against the invaders from the spatial rifts in Anril and those who had pinned their hopes on Lin Li also had a strange feeling at this moment. The wounds they had sustained and the power they had lost were actually restored at this moment.

    <i>This is a miracle. It¡¯s a miracle!?</i>Even though they didn¡¯t know that Lin Li and Geresco had been fighting in the Endless Void, and that Lin Li had stepped onto the Divine Throne to be a truly indestructible god of this world, they could somehow feel that it all seemed to be rted to Lin Li, President Felic of the Tower of Dusk, whom they had pinned their hopes on.

    Lin Li finally opened his eyes, raised his hand, and waved it downward gently. Next, the City of Destruction, which had been destroyed and nearly copsed during the battle, surprisingly recovered at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. The Twin Trees of Eternity, which had almostpletely withered, also came back to life. In the blink of an eye, they became leafy and much lusher than before.

    <i>Is this the power of the gods?</i>?Looking at the changes in front of him, Lin Li truly gained an understanding of the power of creation that the gods had.

    <i>Hey, what¡¯s that??</i>Lin Li was just about to go on to deal with the affairs of Anril when he suddenly noticed that one of the Twin Trees of Eternity, which had undergone a reversal of life and death, seemed to have undergone some changes. There was a fruit hanging on a lone branch in the center of the crown of the tree, and it emitted an aura that seemed new but somewhat familiar to Lin Li.

 Chapter 1307 - Continue Hibernating

    <h4>Chapter 1307: Continue Hibernating</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The fruit was probably a part of the Immortal King¡¯s brand left behind by Geresco. However, he didn¡¯t know if it would still have memories of Geresco or the Immortal King after it ripened. Perhaps it would be a brand-new life that hadpletely bidden farewell to the past.

    Lin Li withdrew his gaze, and turned to the Endless Void, where a speck of light was flickering millions of kilometres away in the spot where the people in Anril were fighting against the invading creatures from the spacetime rifts. Although Lin Li could not see the situation in Anril, he could sense the scenes of what was happening there through the power of faith that was full of hope.

    Although Lin Li had sessfully ignited the Divine Fire after obtaining Geresco¡¯s seal, he was still far from reaching the realm of nothingness which was beyond the supremew that Geresco yearned for. However, even so, the menacing prehistoric magical beasts or the Titans that had once dominated the world for a period of time were just like ants to Lin Li now.

    After igniting the Divine Fire, Lin Li could already easily use the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in unison, andunching them together would not be as difficult as before. Even the powerful Geresco was defeated by the power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, not to mention existences like those prehistoric magical beasts and so on.

    Of course, with Lin Li¡¯s current strength, it would only take a snap of his fingers to destroy those prehistoric magical beasts even without the use of the Stars of Fury and debris of the stars. He was now a true god, and what Geresco had left him was not just a mark and memory to make up for the ws of his soul..

    In the blink of an eye, the City of Destruction had beenpletely restored to its original form, or rather it had be even more powerful than before. After the burning of the Fire of Faith, the impurities of the entire City of Destruction werepletely extracted together with all the defects and hidden dangers in the construction. The City of Destruction was now a truly powerful artifact-level weapon that only the gods could use. It was a city of gods.

    Initially, Lin Li thought that the City of Destruction could be left to the Tower of Dusk so that the Tower of Dusk could be a force like the Supreme Council. However, the City of Destruction had now be something that mortals couldn¡¯t control. Even its descent into Anril might cause a turmoil, so it was obviously not suitable for the Tower of Dusk.

    However, the good thing was that the Tower of Dusk still had the Eternal Furnace, which, although notparable to the Sky Castle, was a top magic fortress in Anril.

    <i>It¡¯s time to take care of those bugs that invaded Anril!?</i>Lin Li turned around to leave, but he suddenly stopped, and turned his head to look in another direction of the void.

    ¡°Come out, you¡¯ve been snooping around there for a long time,¡± Lin Li said indifferently to the void.

    With Lin Li¡¯s voice, a ripple violently rose in that void, followed by an extremelyrge pce that squeezed into the void from the ripple. The gilded and resplendent pce was 1,000 feet tall and almost as huge as the Breezy ins. It was like a golden world floating in the void.

    When the huge golden pce appeared in the void, the dazzling golden light immediately illuminated it. Compared to the sun that had been shining on Anril for thousands of years, it was much brighter and even more dazzling. There were more than 10 giants standing in a square in front of the gate of the golden pce. They were wrapped in intertwining rays of lightning and holdingrge pir-like spears in hand.

    <i>Titans¡¯ Pantheon!?</i>When Lin Li saw the appearance of the visitors, he immediately thought of that legend from the prehistoric times. The ancient wyrms and the Titans had fought for supremacy in Anril, and the countless battles resulted in a double loss, with the remaining descendants of the ancient wyrms disappearing in the dragon¡¯s tomb, while the Titans vanished from Anril along with the Pantheon.

    The Pantheon of the Titans was not for ancient gods or any gods because they called themselves gods, and thus the Pantheon wasn¡¯t for them. The remaining Titans who had survived since the prehistoric times were not the only ones in the Pantheon. There were also the spirits of the Titans who had fallen in the great wars, which was also the reason that the gods did not dare to underestimate this pce.

    At this moment, the leading Titan standing in the square of the Pantheon, who was muchrger and stronger than his counterparts, was looking down at Lin Li from afar. With an arrogant smile, he said, ¡°This is really a wonderful show, I never thought that Geresco, who was titled the god of gods, would eventually fall in the hands of an ant like you.¡±

    To the Titans, especially those who had the powerful Pantheon, Lin Li who had just ignited the Divine Fire simply didn¡¯t pose any threat at all. Since the prehistoric times, more gods had fallen at the hands of the Titans than there were grains of sand on the beach. Thus, in their eyes, Lin Li, a god whose Divine Fire had just been ignited, was actually not too different from those nobodies.

    Hearing the Titan¡¯s words, Lin Li wasn¡¯t angered at all, and a faint smile appeared on his face. He said, ¡°The fact that you¡¯ve been hiding from Geresco for thousands of years is indeed a remarkable achievement. Unfortunately, however, you shouldn¡¯t havee out at this time. Although I don¡¯t want to inherit any of Geresco¡¯s legacy, I don¡¯t mind fulfilling a small wish for him since I¡¯ve run into you now.¡±

    While speaking, Lin Li raised the Stars of Fury in his hand, and the seven pieces of the debris of the starsnded on it, after which a brilliant light enveloped the Stars of Fury.

    Without giving those Titans a chance to speak any further, Lin Li pulled the crossbow, and the light from the fusion of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars instantly shot towards that majestic andrge gilded pce.

    It was only at this time that those Titans, who had originally nned toe out and get some advantages, realized what a terrifying enemy they were facing. The power of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars seemed to have made time stop in its tracks with a terrifying aura that seemed to be capable of destroying everything. It also made the Titans feel a strong sense of fear that they could hardly curb.

    At this moment, countless Titan spirits emerged from the Pantheon, waving their Thunderbolt Titan Dragon Spears while flying out of the Pantheon, and charging towards the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars fearlessly.

    The purpose of the existence of the Titan spirits was to guard the Titans¡¯ Pantheon, and any attack on the Pantheon would trigger a counterattack from them. These existences had transcended life and death, and thus werepletely fearless. They had no other thoughts in mind as all that they were focused on was their mission to guard the Pantheon against all odds. In fact, it could even be considered an instinct of theirs.

    In terms ofbat power, the Titan Spirits in the Pantheon were much more powerful than the living Titans, and it was because of their existence that the gods did not dare to strike the Pantheon, thus allowing the existence of the Titans to continue to this day. They even managed to escape Geresco¡¯s pursuit again and again.

    However, in the face of the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars, those powerful Titan spirits dissipated one by one in the void like moths throwing themselves in fire before they could evene close. Hundreds and thousands of Titan Spirits that the Titans had umted over tens of millennia dissipated in the blink of an eye.

    Afterwards, the light of the seven pieces of the debris of the stars darted towards the Titans in the square without pausing at all. Those Titans were almost defenseless, and they exploded into a mass of flying ashes when the light passed by, as if they were made of sand.

    BOOM!

    The light from the seven pieces of the debris of the stars finally shot into the majestic Pantheon, and with a loud roar that caused the void to shake, the massive golden pce crumbled and fell apart.

    ¡°Ant?¡± Lin Li waved his hand, and the seven pieces of the debris of the stars flew back to his side, after which a huge vortex appeared in the void, and swallowed Pantheon together with the many remains of the Titans in the blink of an eye.

    Lin Li then reached out again, and grasped something in the void next to him. A huge rift opened to reveal a sea of endless mes, after which an ancient wyrm that was engulfed in fire was grabbed and pulled out.

    ¡°Who is it that¡¯s disturbing my sleep!?¡± After the ancient wyrm appeared in the void, it seemed to have been jolted awake as it let out a roar of fury.

    However, Lin Li was unbothered by the ancient wyrm¡¯s roar, and he coldly said, ¡°Enough, Lothar, stop pretending, or else I don¡¯t mind going to your dragon¡¯s tomb and getting rid of everything rted to you wyrms from this world.¡±

    Hearing Lin Li¡¯s words, the me Dragon Lothar¡¯s body trembled slightly, and it turned to look at Lin Li who had caught him and pulled him out of the Fire Elemental World. In a vaguely fawning tone, he said, ¡°So it¡¯s you, I didn¡¯t expect you to have made such great achievements now. I merely came over to take a look because I felt the smell of those filthy Titans. I didn¡¯t have any other ideas!¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether you did or not, just keep hibernating since you¡¯ve been sleeping in the Fire Elemental World for so many years.¡± Lin Li didn¡¯t even bother to listen to Lothar¡¯s exnation, and simply raised his hand to draw a mageweath in the void, and punched Lothar¡¯s body.

    Lothar, who was once the top powerhouse of the ancient wyrms, was almost rendered defenseless, and fell into a deep slumber once again after Lin Li¡¯s mageweath struck his torso. However, he couldn¡¯t control when he would wake up this time. It might be in 10,000 years, 100,000 years, or he might stay asleep for the rest of his life.

    After throwing the sleeping me Dragon Lothar back into the Fire Elemental World, Lin Li once again turned in the direction of Anril, and pointed his hand at it, after which the seven pieces of the debris of the stars shot away and disappeared in an instant.

    Almost at the same time, drastic changes urred in Anril. The sanguine sky was suddenly reced by endless sacred light, which caused the world, which was previously riddled with holes, to be restored to its original state rapidly, as if time was rewinding.

    The spatial rifts that had been opened in the sky and the depths of the earth were quickly sealed at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. As a result, the prehistoric magical beasts that were charging into Anril through the spacetime rifts were somewhat confused and puzzled as to what the changes meant.

    However, immediately afterwards, a Divine Punishment descended!

    Yes, for everyone in Anril, it was a Divine Punishment because it was a baptism of the entire world that could not be carried out by mortals.

    Meteors fell from the sky, each being an aggregation of a powerful force. Some emitted Divine Power, while some emitted Dark Force. There were also some that emitted all kinds of elemental power. The meteors then charged straight towards the prehistoric magical beasts that invaded Anril, as if they had grown a pair of eyes.

    In front of the defense line in the Sunset Mountains, Pope Rosario of the Brilliance Shrine, High Priest Sendros of the Darkness Shrine, and the generals of two kingdoms stood on the high defensive walls, quietly watching everything that was happening in front of them. However, they couldn¡¯t calm the shock and agitation in their hearts, and some even got on their knees to kneel to the god that had sent the Divine Punishment with extreme devotion and dedication of their faith.

    The ck Current in front of the defense line was already inplete chaos. Under the shock of that divine might, even the prehistoric magical beasts seemed to be losing their bnce. Each meteor thatnded on the ck Current made the prehistoric magical beasts vanish without a trace, regardless of their strength.

    Some Titansnded on Dnd, and destroyed it while surrounding the Tower of Dusk which had the Eternal Furnace. However, just a moment before the sky of Anril changed, several Titans looked at a certain spot in the sky in confusion, seemingly having sensed the loss of something. However, before they could go berserk because of it, the Divine Punishment descending from the sky had already fallen on them.

    Several Titans roared at the sky, and exerted all the power they had to receive the Divine Punishment fearlessly. However, in the face of the Divine Punishment, the Titans who once dominated the Anril were just like ants, and were instantly overwhelmed by it. Next, with the destruction of the Pantheon, they died without the opportunity to be spirits, and simply vanished from the world.

    The Divine Punishment, whichsted for several hours, began to dissipate. The brand-new atmosphere of Anril, which had been baptized by the Divine Punishment, was revealed to the world. It was just like a brand-new world, with rich magic elements and a thriving vitality.

    Under the power of Lin Li, thews of Anril werepletely restored after the disaster. The imbnce inws caused by the copse of the Tree of Eternity had vanished, and the space had be stabler than ever. Although the vast majority of people would not know what exactly had changed in Anril, every single person, even an ordinary one who did not have any special power, could sense the difference in the world at this moment.

 Chapter 1308 - Vanished Without A Trace

    <h4>Chapter 1308: Vanished Without A Trace</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    The huge catastrophe that was disastrous enough to destroy Anril vanished with the descent of the Divine Punishment, and countless streams of power of faith immediately appeared in the continent, the Endless Ocean, as well as the faraway and mysterious eastern continent. They condensed into a majestic torrent of power of faith that charged out of Anril, and surged into Lin Li¡¯s body immediately.

    <i>Is this what it feels like to be a god!??</i>Lin Li quietly tolerated, or rather enjoyed, the infusion of the nearly endless torrent of power of faith. The Divine Fire in his body, too, burned more and more vigorously under the infusion of power of faith, rapidly transforming into Divine Power.

    However, Lin Li knew through the mark left by Geresco that he was nowhere near the peak of the Divine-realm, and could only be considered an elementary god at best. During the era of myths when the gods had yet to be suppressed, his realm would be at best that of the servants of gods. Only when the Divine Power was condensed into godhood could he be a true god of a world.

    Of course, Lin Li no longer had any ws now, and it was only a matter of time before he reached Godhood.

    While absorbing arge amount of power of faith, Lin Li discovered a bizarre situation. As a god who could receive the power of faith, he could also clearly sense the source of the power of faith, which was one of the most basic abilities of a god. That was to allow the deity to know where most of their followers gathered so that he could obtain more power of faith..

    While Lin Li was continuously absorbing the power of faith from Anril, he discovered that the power of faith in the eastern continent was surprisingly more massive and purer than that from Anril and the Endless Ocean. Lin Li found it incredible that there were so many of his believers on the continent that he had never set foot on.

    Although Lin Li wanted to start condensing his power of faith to achieve Godhood next, he couldn¡¯t help but want to see what the mysterious eastern continent looked like before that.

    There were many legends about the mysterious eastern continent in Anril. It was said that there was initially only one continent in Anril, and was dominated by the ancient wyrms and the Titans. However, in the battle between powerhouses, Anril was shattered, and the eastern continent was one of thergest parts thereof.

    It was said to be mysterious only because it was difficult to reach smoothly by sea with the current navigation technology of Anril. The Gilded Kingdom in the Endless Ocean happened to be located between the two continents, so it had always been serving as a transit point. That was the reason that some people in Anril knew that humans and other intelligent races were living on another continent.

    However, the othernd¡¯s situation couldn¡¯t be understood so easily. After all, even the voyage on the sea from Anril to the Gilded Kingdom was full of danger. For ordinary people, even the Gilded Kingdom was full of mystery, let alone the faraway eastern continent.

    Lin Li once had the idea of going to the eastern continent to see what it was all about. On the one hand, he wanted to see if there were any simrities with the East in the world he belonged to before he transmigrated. On the other hand, he had also once promised Ina that he would help her go to the Eternal Shrine to find her mother.

    Over the years, Lin Li hadn¡¯t managed to find a single clue on the Eternal Shrine in the Endless Ocean, so the Eastern continent that he had never set foot on before was the only possible ce left.

    Hence, before calming himself down to condense his Godhood, Lin Li decided to first fulfill this promise. Otherwise, it would take him a long time to condense his Godhood.

    Although the Endless Ocean could no longer be a hindrance to Lin Li today, he still could not descend to Anril with his true body at will. Thus, he could only use the method that was most often used by other gods to descend to the eastern continent. Fortunately, the five Dragon Aspects of Anril were no longer around. Otherwise, it would be troublesome even if he used a manifestation.

    Lin Li turned around and returned to the Omniscient Tower. Shortly afterwards, a ray of light darted out from the City of Destruction, and fell straight into the eastern continent of Anril, the ce where the power of faith was the densest.

    When Lin Li¡¯s manifestation opened his eyes and looked down, he saw thousands of uniformly dressed believers worshiping him under the lead of several old men, each with pious devotion in their eyes.

    ¡°Great Lord of Eternity, your light and glory are eternal and immortal, shining on us as we proceed forward¡­¡±

    Thousands of believers prayed to their god with devotion, praising and thanking him for saving the world.

    Apart from continuing to receive arge amount of power of faith, Lin Li didn¡¯t put much thought into the praises of those people. However, he noticed that the believers had mentioned a Lord of Eternity when he was hearing their prayers, so he wondered if this was the Eternal Shrine.

    Soon, from the power of faith of the believers, Lin Li confirmed his suspicion that this was indeed the Eternal Shrine that he had been looking for, the origin of the Brilliance Shrine and Darkness Shrine. Furthermore, the Eternal Shrine also had an extremely high status in the eastern continent, just as the Supreme Council did in the continent of Anril.

    The eastern continent was much smaller than?Anril<sup>1</sup>, and it was roughly only about the size of two Breezy ins. There were no kingdoms in the entire continent, so the humans and intelligent races were all ruled by the Eternal Shrine. However, the Eternal Shrine¡¯s ruling policy was almost without any harshws.

    After a long time, the believers finished their prayers and left one after another, leaving only the few old priests of the Eternal Shrine who led the believers in prayer. On the other hand, Lin Li¡¯s manifestation came out of the tall statue, and appeared in front of the old priests, thus startling them. They didn¡¯t expect that the god they believed in would actually descend and appear in front of them.

    However, the one taking the lead, who should be the Pope of the Eternal Shrine, bowed to Lin Li respectfully without the slightest fear after seeing Lin Li appear, as if he had expected everything. He said, ¡°Lord of Eternity, you have finally arrived!¡±

    Hearing this, the several old priests at the back also reacted and hurriedly bowed to Lin Li. At the same time, they each had an extremely fanatical expression. After all, not everyone could be so lucky as to see the deity they had believed in all their lives descend in front of them with their very own eyes.

    On the contrary, his reaction aroused Lin Li¡¯s curiosity. After sizing him up carefully, he suddenly thought of someone. He said, ¡°I should be calling you the pope of the Eternal Shrine, or rather Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine!¡±

    It turned out that Lin Li discovered that the person standing in front of him actually had a slight resemnce in appearance to the Retribution Knight Rodhart, and he couldn¡¯t help but think of the legendary Prophet Willen who had vanished after sealing Rodhart.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, the man¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, and he merely calmly replied, ¡°Lord, I am High Priest Willen of the Brilliance Shrine and also Prophet Willen of the Brilliance Shrine.¡±

    Only then did Lin Li realize that there wasn¡¯t a pope for the Eternal Shrine, but seven high priests. Apart from Willen, there were also the High Priest of Darkness, the High Priest of Holy mes, another four high priests who each represented an element, as well as a High Priest of Chaos. However, in the current Eternal Shrine, there were only Willen, the High Priest of Light, and the four Elemental High Priests. The positions of the two High Priests of Darkness and Chaos had been vacant since the Dark Age.

    Seeing that Willen had admitted his identity, Lin Li didn¡¯t have any intention to make things difficult for him. Thus, he merely nodded, and said, ¡°Well, no matter what your identity is, I am descending this time to find out about the Eternal Shrine and to look for someone.¡±

    ¡°Who are you looking for, Lord? As long as he is on this continent, we will definitely be able to find him as long as we do our best,¡± said an old man behind Willen who had a me painted on the chest area of his robe. It was none other than the High Priest of Holy mes, Gorona, and he frantically responded when he heard that Lin Li was about to give instructions.

    Lin Li smiled and ignored his interjection. Instead, he reached out, and took out a half of an iron arrow before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know that person¡¯s name, but I¡¯m very certain that she is from the Eternal Shrine. She probably visited Anril 20 or 30 years ago. If she¡¯s still alive, bring her here.¡±

    When the several high priests heard that the person Lin Li was looking for was someone from the Eternal Shrine, the expression on their faces immediately became less tense. After all, even with the status of the Eternal Shrine in this continent, finding someone aimlessly with barely any clues wasn¡¯t something that could be done in a short period of time. However, by the time they saw the half of the arrow in Lin Li¡¯s hand, they couldn¡¯t help but have a change in expression.

    ¡°What, is there a problem?¡± Lin Li noticed the change in their expressions, and couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart sink as he wondered,?<i>Is Ina¡¯s mother no longer alive?</i>

    ¡°No, no, please take a seat while we go bring the person here, Lord,¡± the several high priests said in unison. They then respectfully excused themselves to go find the person Lin Li wanted to see.

    On the other hand, the High Priest of Light, Willen, remained beside Lin Li with a calm expression as usual. He then led Lin Li into the hall of the shine at the front of the square.

    ¡°Willen, tell me more about you. There were many spections about your disappearance in the Brilliance Shrine, but I¡¯m afraid no one would have thought that you had actuallye to the Eastern Continent, and became the High Priest of Light of the Eternal Shrine.¡± Lin Li did not have the attitude of a god at all. He casually found a seat in the hall and sat down.

    Although Lin Li behaved casually, Willen did not dare to act recklessly, and respectfully stood to the side instead of sitting down without permission. It was not only because they regarded Lin Li as the Lord of Eternity, but also because of their awe of Lin Li¡¯s great strength. Even though Willen¡¯s strength was already at the peak of the Sanctuary-realm, or he could even be considered a demigod, he was still too far from Lin Li, a god who had ignited the Divine Fire.

    After hearing Lin Li¡¯s question, Willen seemed to organize his thoughts before he slowly revealed the reason he hade to the eastern continent.

    In fact, Lin Li had already more or less guessed that Willen¡¯s main purpose foring to the eastern continent was to find a way for his brother Rodhart to recover. That was also the reason that when Willen first stopped Rodhart, he chose to only seal Rodhart instead of purifying him.

    However, Rodhart became a Retribution Knight due to the contact with the death aura of the Immortal King. Later on, he even obtained an arm of the Immortal King. It could be said even the Immortal King could not restore Rodhart to his original form, let alone Willen. Thus, Willen couldn¡¯t find a way to save Rodhart in the Eternal Shrine until Lin Li purified Rodhart.

    Besides, when Willen was in the Brilliance Shrine, he was known as the Son of The Holy Light in addition to being a prophet, which was the very reason that he was the High Priest of Light of the Eternal Shrine. If he was the Darkness Incarnation, as said by the people of the Darkness Shrine, he would probably be the best candidate for the High Priest of Darkness in the Eternal Shrine.

    After chatting with Willen, Lin Li soon heard the sound of hurried footstepsing in from outside. Clearly, the people of the Eternal Shrine really didn¡¯t dare to dy when facing the orders of a god.

    With the sound of footsteps, a few of them walked into the hall of the shrine. Apart from the high priests who had just left, there was another haggard-looking woman who was about 40 years old. She shared a vague resemnce to Ina, and Lin Li was almost certain that he had found the right person.

    However, once he scanned Ina¡¯s mother¡¯s body with his mental strength, Lin Li frowned, and asked the high priests in a deep voice, ¡°Can any of you exin to me what is wrong with the condition of her body!?¡±

    ¡°Lord, please forgive me. Lilia was once the saintess of the Eternal Shrine, but she lost her purity when she traveled to Anril for training. Therefore, she was subject to punishment upon returning to the Eternal Shrine. Thus, she was stripped of her title of saintess, and was to be confined for life.¡± Seeing that Lin Li was obviously enraged, the several high priests were so frightened that they almost knelt on the ground, not daring to hide the real reason at all.

    Lin Li hated the concept of a saintess the most. The gods could have any beautiful women they wanted, why would they need a group of mortals to take it upon themselves to choose a woman and make her serve as saintess? Forcing a woman in her prime to give up her future and abandon her own happiness just for the sake of an ethereal deity was such a perverse system!

    However, Lin Li had obtained arge amount of power of faith from the Eternal Shrine, after all, so he didn¡¯t hold it against them. He merely raised his hand, and a pir of light from the void shone on Lilia¡¯s body. Not only did it heal the ailments in her body, it even helped raise her power to the Sanctuary-realm.

 Chapter 1309End - The End

    <h4>Chapter 1309: The End</h4>

    <strong>Trantor: </strong>As Studios <strong>Editor: </strong>As Studios

    Seeing Lin Li¡¯s actions, the several high priests lowered their heads even more as beads of sweat appeared on their heads. Although they had already guessed that the Lord of Eternity had to have a reason for searching Lilia, the former saintess, when they received the divine oracle to bring her here, they didn¡¯t expect that she would be so highly regarded by the Lord of Eternity. For ordinary people, reaching the Legendary-realm was already a very rare thing, and yet the Lord of Eternity helped Lilia advance straight to the Sanctuary-realm, which was simply a godsend of a favor that left them in envy.

    Lilia also seemed rather excited too, but it wasn¡¯t because of the power she gained. She raised the half of the arrow in her hand, and hopefully asked Lin Li, ¡°Where did you get this thing from? Are you the original owner?¡±

    Although Lilia had used honorific words, the several high priests still felt that she wasn¡¯t being respectful enough to the great Lord of Eternity. However, when some of them raised their heads and were about to rebuke Lilia, they saw Lin Li¡¯s nonchnt expression. Reckoning that Lin Li wasn¡¯t offended by her attitude, they quickly kept quiet.

    Lin Li didn¡¯t answer Lilia immediately, and instead said to the high priests, ¡°I won¡¯t hold this matter against you. If you believe in me and worship me as your lord, don¡¯t do such things again in the future, and don¡¯t confer any more so-called saintesses.¡±

    Although he was called the Lord of Eternity, Lin Li believed that he became a god because there was hope in his heart, as well as in those who believed in him. Technically speaking, Lin Li should perhaps be called the God of Hope, and since he became a god because of hope, how could he diminish the hopes of his believers?

    .

    When the several high priests heard Lin Li say that he would not pursue their responsibility for this matter, they immediately wiped away the sweat on their foreheads, and answered in unison, ¡°Yes, Lord, we will obey you, and never confer any saintess titles again.¡±

    Lin Li nodded, and turned around to say to Lilia, ¡°You have a daughter in Anril named Ina, don¡¯t you? This half of the arrow was handed to me by McGrenn before he passed away in hopes that I could find her mother.¡±

    ¡°McGrenn¡­¡± Lilia was instantly devastated to hear of the demise of her lover. Fortunately, Lin Li had just given her power of the Sanctuary-realm. Otherwise, she would have probably fainted now. However, immediately afterwards, she thought about her daughter. Since her lover had died, what could have happened to her daughter? Thus, she asked, ¡°Well then, is Ina¡­ alright?¡±

    Lin Li raised his hand in the void next to him, and a Gate of Light slowly appeared. He then said to Lilia, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else for you to do here, you¡¯ll be able to see your daughter by passing through this gate. However, after meeting her, please do not mention me to her.¡±

    At this point, Lilia no longer cared to consider why Lin Li deliberately told her not to mention him, as she was overwhelmed with the joy and anxiousness of being able to see her daughter soon. She didn¡¯t hesitate or doubt the authenticity of Lin Li¡¯s words. Instead, she just stepped through the Gate of Light, and walked straight in.

    In the Silver Hand¡¯s campground, Lilia appeared in front of Ina, and after a moment of silence, they spoke for a while and embraced each other with joy. Seeing this scene through the Gate of Light, Lin Li finally felt relieved and raised his hand. With a wave of his hand, the Gate of Light turned into countless specks of light.

    After fulfilling his promise to Ina, Lin Li could now concentrate on condensing his Godhood. However, when leaving the Eternal Shrine, Lin Li noticed that the statue erected in the middle of the square of the Eternal Shrine surprisingly resembled him a little.

    When he thought about it, Lin Li understood that the statue was not him, but the Immortal King. The founder of the Eternal Shrine had always been a mystery, and even the great priests of the Eternal Shrine, such as Willen, probably weren¡¯t clear about who the founder was, either. They only knew that the Eternal Shrine had existed in Anril even before the Dark Age.

    That had also touched Lin Li¡¯s soul. As he fused Geresco¡¯s memories, he immediately understood the true origin of the Eternal Shrine. The Immortal King was not a High Elf, but a humanoid that was formed from the Immortal Tree of the Twin Trees of Eternity, and then traveled around the Anril and founded the Eternal Shrine.

    Afterwards, the Immortal King fell in love with the High Elven queen, and used most of the resources of the Eternal Shrine on the High Elves to help them prosper, thus bing an important cornerstone of the High Elves¡¯ rise. Later on, the Immortal King even moved the Eternal Shrine to the distant eastern continent in order not to let it affect the High Elves¡¯ development.

    He had to admit that the Immortal King was really devoted when it came to love as he was willing to even abandon the Eternal Shrine, which was his own creation. Of course, based on theter events, the Immortal King was revealed to be ruthless in other aspects too. For the sake of his pursuit of the opportunity to break through the supremew, he reincarnated as Geresco, and singlehandedly exterminated the High Elves. In any case, he was definitely a ruthless man who was harsh on others and even harsher on himself.

    In the Endless Void, the City of Destruction was shrouded in ayer of divine light, after which it vanished without a trace with a slight tremor.

    In the Breezy ins, peace was restored in the Tower of Dusk, but the massive City of Destruction in the sky was no longer present. No one knew where the young President Felic, and the huge City of Destruction, had gone, nor did they know when they would return again.

    Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, a year had already passed. Dnd City, which got destroyed in the catastrophe, had already been reestablished on top of the ruins. Under the lead of Basel, Gavin, and the others, the Tower of Dusk grew slowly but steadily. However, their president still hadn¡¯t returned yet, and the City of Destruction hadn¡¯t appeared in the sky above the Tower of Dusk, either.

    Another year had passed, and with the migration of people from other ces, the liveliness and vitality of Dnd City was gradually restored. The number of mages from all over the Breezy ins who joined the Tower of Dusk had almost doubled again. Thus, the magic city under the tower had to be expanded again. However, the president and the City of Destruction still hadn¡¯t returned.

    Two years passed, and then three. In the blink of an eye, five years had already passed, and someone suggested that Basel, the chief judge of the Tower of Dusk, take over the position of the president of the Tower of Dusk. However, Basel rejected that suggestion because in his heart, as well as in those of Gavin and the others of the Tower of Dusk, they would only ever recognize Lin Li as their president.

    On this day, the vampire Norfeller stepped out of the ck Front Fortress of the Eternal Furnace, and appeared in front of Basel and the others for the first time in five years. However, when facing the crowd that was full of expectation, Norfeller merely said, ¡°Basel, Master wants you to take over as the president of the Tower of Dusk. We want to follow him.¡±

    After saying that, Norfeller disappeared in front of the crowd together with Uljfalusi and the Retribution Knights in the ck Front Fortress.

    A few monthster, Basil officially took over the position of the president of the Tower of Dusk, bing the second president. The various forces of the Breezy ins, the Supreme Council, Brilliance Shrine, Darkness Shrine, Ledin Kingdom, and Fn Kingdom, and even the Gilded Kingdom and Kingdom of Rotterdam, had sent emissaries to attend the inauguration ceremony.

    However, such a pompous and grand ceremony didn¡¯t make Basel and the others happy at all. Instead, it put great pressure on them. After all, the Tower of Dusk now was no longer the same as what it used to be when Lin Li was present. Now, the major forces had all sent their emissaries only because of Lin Li. They were still showing some respect to the Tower of Dusk now because of Lin Li, but what about it in the long run? Therefore, securing the current status of the Tower of Dusk was still a difficult task for Basel and the others.

    However, the Tower of Dusk was developing well now. Not only did they have a Mage Legionprising of Legendary-mages, they had also recruited many magic geniuses in thest five years. With the various resources left behind by Lin Li, the future of the Tower of Dusk would definitely be glorious and promising as long as nothing went terribly wrong. They could definitely be a powerful force on par with the Supreme Council.

    Of course, more importantly, even though Lin Li was no longer in the Tower of Dusk, many people knew that he didn¡¯t get into a mishap during the catastrophe. The Divine Punishment that had shrouded the entire world had not only saved Anril, but also became a huge deterrence left behind by Lin Li.

    Afterwards, Lin Li became a mythical figure in Anril, right after the Immortal King and Geresco. On the other hand, the Tower of Dusk also became a magical sacrednd in Anril, which was a fact that no one could ignore.

    After the inauguration ceremony of Basel, Gerian sighed and returned to his room, where he looked out the window at the lively scene of the bustling magic city. However, he felt more and more depressed because he knew that Lin Li, who was even more cunning than himself, was now a god who was high and mighty. Hence, Gerian was no longer sad about Lin Li¡¯s departure, but when he recalled the first time he met Lin Li, followed by the auction of potions that they went to, and then the time they dealt with the Merlin Family, he couldn¡¯t help but be emotional, because it all seemed to have happened just yesterday.

    ¡°Damn, Felic, you rascal, you went to be a god. What¡¯s so fun about that? It¡¯s been such a long time, why haven¡¯t youe back to visit!?¡± Gerian cursed, but he suddenly turned his head to look at the table at the side, seemingly having sensed something. At this moment, there was suddenly a vial with potion glowing with white rays of light on the table that had originally been empty.

    Gerian took two steps forward, reached out, and picked up the potion before scanning every inch of the room, only to realize that there was nothing unusual. He then lowered his head and looked carefully at the potion that had popped up out of nowhere, only to see a small line of words appearing on the potion bottle¡ª¡±Super Viagra, restore the masculinity of men! Old man, time to find yourself a partner!¡±.

    <i>Who¡¯s pulling a prank on me?</i>?That was Gerian¡¯s first reaction, but he soon noticed that this potion bottle wasn¡¯t ordinary, and seemed to be the Dream Crystal potion bottle that Lin Li used to use exclusively.

    One reason that Gerian was so certain about it was naturally because he had seen such a potion bottle at Lin Li¡¯s ce before. Another reason was that the Dream Crystal was so rare that it was probably difficult to find another potion bottle like that in Anril. Even if there were other Dream Crystal potion bottles, who would pull a prank on him with such a precious item?

    Gerian did not go around looking for Lin Li again, because he knew that there was naturally a reason Lin Li chose not to appear. Even if he tried to find him, his efforts would be in vain. He could only hold the potion bottle up and look out the window at the sky with some tears in his eyes while he started cursing.

    In the jungle of the Haiga Mountain Range, a small team of adventurers and a group of magical beasts were fighting intensely with each other. There was a burly ck-bear-like man who was more than two meters tall standing in front of the team while brandishing arge double-edged sword that looked like a door. It split an Arrow-back Magic Lizard in two.

    However, after the giant killed another demon lizard, a suit of armor that could not have been hidden in the demon lizard¡¯s carcass magically dropped out of it. The giant swept away the numerous demon lizards that charged over, reached out, and picked up the armor, only to be stunned. Clearly, he was confused about how it came about.

    An old man walked over from behind the giant and patted his back. ¡°Sean, if I¡¯m not mistaken, this armor should be the Dark Gold Magic Dragon Armor that your friend bought at the Gilded Kingdom¡¯s auction back then. I didn¡¯t expect that he would give this armor to you using such a method.¡±

    Sean snapped back to his senses, and turned his head to look at the old man, still baffled and bewildered. He asked, ¡°Are you saying that this armor was sent by Mr. Felic? But how did he manage to shove such arge armor into the lizard¡¯s belly? He could have just handed it to me personally, it¡¯s been such a long time since Ist saw him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a god, what can he not do? If you want to see him, you have to work hard, and maybe you can be a god like him too one day.¡± The old man sighed, and patted Sean¡¯s back again because he wasn¡¯t tall enough to reach his shoulders.

    ¡°Yes, I will, I said before that I still want to be Mr. Felic¡¯s follower!¡± Sean nodded with determination, as if bing a god was just asmon a goal to him as moving up a rank.

    In the Sky Garden of the Supreme Council, Speaker Andoine headed to his pharmaceuticalb as usual after handling the matters of the council. However, when he walked into theb, and was about to challenge himself by concocting an advanced potion, he stood in front of the concoction table and was stunned.

    There was a notebook on the table, on which there were severalrge words written on it¡ª¡±The Book Of The Great Potion Divine Smith, Felic¡±. Andoine was suddenly a little excited.?<i>It¡¯s been so many years, is that rascal finally willing to pass down the secret potion form to me?</i>

    Andoine¡¯s hand trembled as he opened the notebook, and flipped straight to thest page in a bid to see if he could concoct a Master-level or even a Guru-level potion. However, there was no potion form on the page that he flipped to, but a line of words written in red¡ª¡±To refine a Guru-level potion, you have to start from the basics. Teacher, if you don¡¯t want to blow up the Sky Garden one day, you have to start learning pharmaceutics from the basics!¡±.

    Later on, Andoine discovered that regardless of which page he turned to, he could only see that same line of words. The basic pharmaceutical theory was written only on the first page, making it the only proper content of the entire notebook. In other words, he couldn¡¯t browse the contents of the notebook freely as he pleased. Instead, he would have to reach a certain level of proficiency in pharmaceutics before he could read the content of the next part of the book.

    ¡°I have been concocting potions for so many years, and no matter what, I should be considered a senior pharmacist, right? Yet, he wants me to start learning from the first page!¡± Andoine griped, but he had no choice but to ept the arrangement, because he discovered that the contents of the first page were actually all things he did not understand.

    In the Emerald Tower of the Jarrosus Guild of Magic, President Kevin had just finished his meditation and walked out of the meditation room. Along the way, he greeted the mages of the Guild of Magic, and returned to the top floor of the tower.

    Standing on the terrace and looking out at the small Jarrosus City, Kevin couldn¡¯t help but look into the distance whilementing emotionally. Who would have thought that a mage from such a small and remote ce would leave and be a mythical figure alongside Geresco?

    Kevin looked away and turned around to return to the room with the intention of reading through the several magic books that the Tower of Dusk had sent to them. However, apart from the magic books, there was surprisingly a peculiarly shaped staff which was about 50 or 60 centimeters long on the table. It was dark red in color, with a cloisonn¨¦ handle and an egg-sized gemstone embellished on the top.

    ¡°Is this the¡­ Helios¡¯ Scepter?¡± This staff on Kevin¡¯s desk surprisingly resembled the Helios¡¯ Scepter that Lin Li had once used greatly. Or rather, this was perhaps the Helios¡¯ Scepter itself.

    Although Lin Li had burned even the Helios¡¯ Scepter in the Fire of Faith in order tounch the seven pieces of the debris of the stars in unison during the battle with Geresco, he had since be a god, so it was a piece of cake for him to craft another Helios¡¯ Scepter, especially with his high attainments in forging.

    Lin Li¡¯s figure appeared in the sky above the Great Whirlpool without the aura of a god at all. The City of Destruction had surprisingly also shrunk to the size of a fist as it hovered and revolved above his shoulders. He looked away from Jarrosus City, and nced at the sky and earth before finally making his way up to the sky step by step, as if he were walking up a stairway to Heaven. Finally, he vanished from this world together with the Great Whirlpool.

    Ring, ring, ring!

    Upon the crisp and clear ringing of a bell, a hand reached out from under the duvet, and smacked the top of the rm clock.

    Lin Li got out of bed, got dressed, and walked to the window where he pulled open the curtains and looked at the skyscrapers outside, followed by the endless traffic of vehicles cruising on the road below. The experience that he had in Anril was just like a dream, and the only proof of its existence was the City of Destruction, which was hovering and rotating on the table beside him. If one were to look at it through a magnifying ss, they would find that knights in armor were carrying out a drill in the parade square in the fist-sized city, looking like a bunch of ants.

    Norfeller, who was d in a butler attire, knocked on the door and entered. He respectfully said, ¡°Master, breakfast is ready.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll head downstairs soon,¡± Lin Li answered, but he didn¡¯t move. Instead, he looked out of the window at the rising sun, and muttered to himself, ¡°The supremew! How am I going to break the supremew of this world?¡±

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